#telling me i could get a refund but um... never happened.

[burgerlabs]

i dont gaf twf anymore but is anyone ever gonna talk about how that one jack walten zine was a total scam

#burger labs.txt #i still havent gotten my money back #twf #the walten files #i ordered like almost two years ago #never came in. never was done #team just went silent #i got a few messages from one of the creators #telling me i could get a refund but um... never happened. #ive been asking for months and months now #Lol.

[munson-blurbs]

Chapter 5: You Don't Even Know

Collaboration with my one and only, @corroded-hellfire 💚

Series Summary: Based on the Jonas Brothers song of the same name. You and Eddie share a hospital room in the wake of Hawkins' turmoil, striking up an unlikely friendship that could lead to much more.

Chapter Summary: The road ahead after your surgery is not as smooth as you'd hoped. That means only one thing: boyfriend Eddie to the rescue.

Warnings: eventual smut (18+ only, minors DNI!), Eddie survives the Upside Down, hospital, mentions of surgery, angst, hurt/comfort, body image issues, therapy session

WC: 6.3k

Divider credit to @firefly-graphics

You take a deep breath before you speak. This could be the end of everything; your relationship with Eddie fizzling out faster than it sparked. With just one confession, you could destroy the best thing that ever happened to you. Yet something pushes you to forge ahead; you’re unsure if it’s courage or stupidity. 

“My cousin’s been staying with us,” you start. “She’s never been nice to me; kind of a bully, actually. The night of the…earthquake…she asked me if I was still dancing, and when I said yes, she just laughed and said, ‘I thought ballerinas were supposed to be skinny.’

“I went to the studio that night—I know where the owner keeps her spare key—and I brought a bottle of vodka with me. I just sat there and drank until the room was spinning, trying to forget what she said. And then everything started shaking and rattling, and by the time I realized it wasn’t just in my head, a beam fell from the ceiling and landed right on my leg.” The confession pours out of you, shame filling your body until it’s too stifling to ignore. “It sounds so stupid now that I say it out loud.”

Eddie rests his hand on top of yours, giving a little squeeze. “‘S not stupid, baby,” he murmurs, rubbing his thumb along your trembling knuckles. “I mean, I completely disagree with you, but that’s because I can clearly see how gorgeous you are.”

“Eddie…” you resist the urge to roll your eyes at his compliment, but the whine in your voice gives away your disbelief. 

“No, I’m serious. But I get it, I think.” He scrunches his nose in contemplation. “Because the thought of you seeing my scars, like, up close and personal…make me so fuckin’ nervous.” He uses his free hand to tug at the hem of his shirt as though he’s subconsciously trying to cover himself up more. 

You shake your head. “It’s impossible for any part of you to not be beautiful,” you tell him. Just the thought of him without his shirt on makes you flush with warmth, reminding you of another reason you wish your injuries could just heal. 

“Well, Sunshine, now you know how I feel about you.” Eddie leans in and plants a smacking kiss on your lips, punctuating it with a mwah! “Beautiful, beautiful, my beautiful girl.”

“I just can’t believe that a guy like you thinks I’m beautiful,” you muse, equally to yourself and to him. 

Your boyfriend—God, it feels good to refer to him like that—stares at you incredulously. “A guy like me?” he scoffs. 

“Is that so hard to believe?”

“Um, kinda?” Eddie gives a little laugh. “I mean, I’m a decent dude, but I’m not some cool, macho guy like…I dunno, Steve Harrington, or something.”

You squeeze his hand and smile. “Don’t want Steve Harrington. I want Eddie Munson: the sweetest, bravest, most incredible man I’ve ever met.” You cock your head teasingly. “Unless you think I should be with Steve? I mean, since he’s so cool and everything—”

“Nope!” Eddie chirps, bringing your hand to his mouth and fake biting it with his lips. “All mine. Forever. No refunds.” The brightness in his eyes fades to concern when he notices that you’ve stopped giggling. “Talk to me, babe. ‘S okay.”

You purse your lips in an attempt to stave off the tears. “I just…I can’t believe I ruined my dream because of some bullshit comment.”

Eddie kisses your palm, sending tingles down your spine. “Hey, hey…there’s still hope. Don’t throw it away yet, baby. You’ve got one more surgery plus physical therapy. And your beautiful boyfriend will be there with you every step of the way.”

Giving him a small smile, you bring Eddie’s hand up to your lips and press kisses on any inch of skin not covered by his chunky rings. “Promise? Promise that my beautiful boyfriend will be there?”

“I’ll be cheering you on the whole time. Might even bring pom poms and everything.”

That gets a small burst of laughter out of you, which Eddie takes as a win. He laces his fingers with yours and runs his thumb over the soft skin on the back of your hand. 

“Everything is going to be okay,” he vows. 

After Eddie leaves (he has to practically be chased out by the hospital staff), you’re sitting in your room and flipping through a magazine from January 1982. There’s a soft knock at the door, and you look up with a genuine smile. 

Mandy walks over to you, stapled sheets of paper in her outstretched hand. 

“What’s that?”

She smiles kindly. “Given the nature of your injuries and the trauma from your second surgery, Dr. Sanoj is recommending that you speak to a therapist,” she explains. “There’s a signed referral and a list of recommended—”

“Don’t need it,” you interrupt coldly. You feel bad; the nurse hasn’t done anything to warrant such a frigid attitude, but you can’t bite it back. “I’m fine. I just need to get through this last surgery and I’ll be on my way.”

“Okay,” Mandy says, keeping her grin a bit more tight-lipped, “well, I’ll just leave it here,” she places it on the dresser with a small pat, “in case you change your mind.”

The second she leaves, you lunge for the papers, crinkling them into a ball and tossing them in the nearby trash can. Therapy? It isn’t bad enough that your leg is busted; now they think there’s something wrong with your brain, too? No, you don’t need therapy. You need to be home, in your own bed, getting back to life as you once knew it. Therapy is only going to keep you stuck in the past; you need to move forward. 

When Eddie walks into your room the next morning, it brings a much needed smile to your face. Sleeping in a hospital is next to impossible, and now after so long like that, you’re pretty sure you don’t remember what a good night’s rest feels like. 

“There’s my girl,” Eddie says as he takes a seat in the chair next to your bed. “How ya feeling today?”

“Better now,” you tell him. He slips his hand into yours and leans back as you channel surf, trying to find something decent to watch. “It’s a shame the soaps aren’t on during the weekends.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I can recount everything you’ve missed,” Eddie says, throwing you a wink. He leans even farther back, the chair resting on just its back two legs when something catches his notice in his peripheral vision. Lowering the chair, he takes a proper look at what caught his eye, and sees a few pieces of crumpled paper in the trash can. It’s mostly too folded and creased to see what they are, but the word “therapists” is bolded on a crinkle facing his direction. 

Eddie doesn’t want to be nosy, but his curiosity gets the better of him and he pulls the paper ball from the garbage. You’re too focused on the episode of Alf and laughing at the alien puppet making another joke about eating a cat to notice Eddie smoothing out the papers in his lap. 

“Sunshine?”

“What, you’ve never seen Alf?” you ask, never taking your eyes off of the television. “He’s not actually going to eat any cats.”

“No, it’s just…what’s this?”

Turning your head away from the screen, your face drops when you see what Eddie’s been looking at. It was bad enough the hospital staff thought that you had something wrong with your brain, now your new boyfriend is going to see all this and think it too. 

“They, uh… Um, Mandy brought me that yesterday. I guess the doctor wanted me to talk about all the shit that’s gone down with a therapist.” You shrug, leaning back against your pillows. “But I don’t need that.”

Eddie doesn’t want to push you. He knows you’re a grown woman who can make her own decisions, but he’s worried. 

“You need to take care of yourself, baby.” Eddie sighs and gives your hand a squeeze. “Please.”

Frowning, you look down at the papers in his lap and then back up to his face. “Why do you think I’m not taking care of myself? I’m in the hospital. Where else could I go to get better taken care of?”

“No,” Eddie says, shaking his head. “I mean, mentally.”

A bubble of anger starts to grow in your chest. “Why does everyone think I’m crazy?”

“Sunshine, no one thinks you’re crazy. There’s just been so much happening in such a short period of time. You’ve experienced a rollercoaster of emotions and this could help you feel better.”

“Eddie, there are people who lost their homes. Their loved ones. Why would a therapist want to talk to someone who’s only hurt because she was wasted at the wrong time?”

“Baby,” Eddie says, his voice kind but firm. “I don’t want to fight with you. I just…I’d like you to reconsider. This isn’t because anyone thinks you’re crazy. I promise. It’s because you’ve been through a lot, sweetheart. Yeah, a lot of us have, but I’m concerned about you right now. It would make me feel better.”

You don’t intend to snap at him. He’s only trying to look out for you, and you know that. But it also feels like he isn’t listening to you and it’s frustrating. “Why don’t you go to therapy then?”

“I…I do.”

That shuts you up. Shame fills your body as you shift yourself on the bed. You were just crapping all over therapy and talking about it being for crazy people when your perfectly wonderful boyfriend sees a therapist. 

“I didn’t know that,” you admit in a soft voice. 

“Well,” Eddie says, scratching the back of his neck. “‘S not like it’s something I go around talking about to hot girls I’m forced to be roommates with.”

His humor takes some of the sting out of the shame. He can’t be too upset with you then. 

“I started going after my dad left. All the social workers said it would be a good idea for me. I begged Wayne not to take me ‘cause I didn’t wanna spend time with some strange adult that I didn’t know. Besides…I felt the same way as you. Like, I have my uncle, who actually takes care of me. Why should a shrink waste her time talking to me when she could be helping kids who didn’t have anyone? But I’ll tell you what. It helped. I became less angry, more happy. Therapy turned me into the sexy goofball you see here before you.”

A small laugh bubbles out of you and it brings a smile to Eddie’s face. 

“Please, baby?” Eddie gives you his best puppy dog eyes and you let out an annoyed groan.

“You know I’m a sucker for those eyes! That’s not fair. But fine. Yes, I will go to therapy.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Eddie picks up your hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. “I’m proud of you.”

“I didn’t do anything yet,” you argue, but he just silences your protest by pushing his lips against yours. You melt into him, reveling in the warmth you feel when he’s near. 

“So, how are you feeling today?”

Well, isn’t that the million dollar question. 

You look at the therapist, Sophie, sitting in the chair opposite the sofa you’re slouched into. “I dunno.”

You expect her to purse her lips, maybe peer over her glasses in admonishment, but she just nods. “Makes sense. You’ve been through a lot. It’s normal for our emotions to be scattered after a while.”

“Mhm,” you chew on the thought, trying to hide your surprise. “Sometimes…like, okay, I have this boyfriend. His name is Eddie, and we actually met here. In the hospital.”

Sophie offers an encouraging smile. “Tell me about Eddie.”

And so you do. You tell her everything—minus the whole alternate dimension ordeal—noticing the way your lips tug upwards as you describe how loving and caring he is. 

“But even with him, it’s like…things that made me happy just…don’t anymore. And I don’t wanna pretend like I’m happy when I’m sad, but I also don’t wanna constantly bring him down, y’know?”

“Absolutely. Have you talked to Eddie about this?”

“Kind of? He’s the one who encouraged me to see you, actually,” you admit. “I’m not used to asking people for help.”

Sophie nods again, kindness evident in her expression. “It’s hard to do. But I promise you, you’re stronger because of it. And talking to a therapist also allows you to talk to Eddie about happier things, because your mind won’t be so preoccupied.”

You consider this. “I never thought about it that way,” you muse. “Thank you.”

“That’s my job.” Sophie grins. “Now, whenever you’re ready, we can talk about your injury.”

There’s a long pause before you speak again, swallowing slowly. “Okay,” you finally say. “I’m ready.”

In the week since you began therapy you don’t feel like your journey is over by any means. But there’s a certain lightness about you. It could be just knowing that Sophie is kind and compassionate and willing to listen to you. Maybe it’s because, like she said, you could talk with Eddie about happier things now. Whatever it is, it’s led you to feeling more prepared for your final surgery. 

Laying in your bed in your room, your mom and Eddie sit with you while you wait for them to bring you down to the operating room. Your mom works on some knitting where she sits near the foot of the bed, and Eddie holds your hand from his spot up near your head. 

“This is it,” Eddie says, giving your hand a squeeze. “After this, it’s a few days in recovery and then you get to go home.”

Shrugging one shoulder, you reply, “But I’ll still have, like, a million years of PT.”

“And I’ll be cheerin’ you on the whole time. Pom-poms and everything.” 

The mental picture of Eddie shaking pom-poms while you’re trying to get strength back in your leg has you letting out a small giggle. 

“What’s so funny?” your boyfriend asks.

“Nothing,” you answer. “Just glad to have my own personal cheerleader.”

“Well, you need some motivation. If it’s not me coming up with little dance routines to entertain you, what would it be?” Eddie’s smirk is playful and it makes you want to kiss it off his face. Which reminds you of what that other motivation could be. 

“I think I’ll be plenty motivated,” you tell him in a hushed tone. “Gotta get some strength back so you and I can have some fun.”

Eddie’s eyes widen and it takes everything in him not to look over his shoulder at your mom. But the way his eyes dart in her direction has you basically reading his thoughts. Are you crazy? In front of your mother?

“Uh,” Eddie says with an awkward chuckle. “You and I have fun all the time, Sunshine.”

Your mom’s voice startles the both of you. “We both know that’s not what she means.”

The door to your room opens and two orderlies come in to wheel you down for surgery.

“Oh, thank God,” you breathe out, willing your face to cool down. 

“We’ll be right here when you wake up,” Eddie promises, and your mom squeezes your hand, careful of the IV. “Just, maybe wake up a little faster this time?”

You giggle and roll your eyes. “I’ll do my best.”

Eddie looks like he wants to say something else, but he just manages a tiny smile before the nurses take you into the OR. 

Breathe in, breathe out. Just a few more hours and I’ll be reunited with Eddie. 

“Sunshine? Sunshine, are you awake?”

The sound of Eddie’s voice sounds too distant, and you practically have to claw your way out of the anesthesia fog back to reality’s surface. 

“I think she’s starting to wake up,” you hear him saying, though you’re not sure who he’s talking to. “Sunshine, take your time, okay? I’m not going anywhere.”

You take that as permission to fall back to sleep, body not yet ready to shake off the drowsiness. When you wake up again, your throat feels like sandpaper. 

“E-Eddie?” you manage, wincing at the scratchiness in your voice. 

“Sunshine,” he breathes a slow exhale of relief, rushing to your bedside. He grabs your hand and rests his forehead against it. “Baby, oh, thank fucking God. I was so scared you wouldn’t wake up again.”

You use your tongue to coat your chapped lips with whatever saliva you can, though it isn’t much. “Water.” It’s all you can choke out. 

Eddie nods, reaching under his seat and grabbing a half-full bottle of Poland Spring. “Hope you don’t mind my cooties,” he jokes lamely, but you’re too parched to even pay attention. You chug the remaining water as quickly as you can, which isn’t too fast, considering all of your muscles are still weakened. 

“Th-Thanks,” you mumble as he takes the empty bottle from you. “Was it…did it work?”

Eddie smiles. “Doc said it was a success. Just a couple months of PT and you’ll be good as new.”

“‘Good as new?’” you question disbelievingly. 

His cheeks tinge pink. “Okay, maybe that’s just me hyping you up. But the rest of it was word-for-word.” He presses a soft kiss to your cheek. “‘M so glad you’re okay, Sunshine. Don’t wanna lose you now that you’re mine.”

You squint to try and read the clock hanging on the wall. “What time is it?”

“3:45 AM.”

Your eyes nearly pop out of your head. “How are you still awake?!”

Eddie chuckles, kissing your hand. “Your mom and I have been taking turns grabbing coffee. That’s actually where she is now.” 

As if on cue, your mom appears with two steaming paper cups, one in each hand. She almost drops them both when she sees you. Her eyes well with tears, and she’s rendered speechless, putting down the coffee cups to pull you into a hug. 

“Hi, Mom,” you say as she squeezes you gently in her arms. 

“Oh, my baby,” she coos. Reluctantly, she lets go and presses a kiss to the top of your head. “You look good! And the doctor said that everything—”

“Eddie told me,” you say with a sheepish grin. “Can I, um, have one of those coffees?”

Both your mom and Eddie give you skeptical looks. Eddie cocks an eyebrow while your mother crosses her arms over her chest; a long cry from the loving embrace you just received. 

“Coffee? Sweetheart, you just got out of surgery,” your mom says, as if you’d forgotten.

“Yeah, and they make you fast before surgery, not after,” you retort. 

“Why do you want coffee?” Eddie asks. 

Shrugging your shoulders, you find that your muscles are more tense and stiff from laying down so long than you’d previously thought. “Wanna stay up and talk with you guys.”

“You need coffee for that?” your mom questions, slightly defensive. 

“When I’m tired I do,” you grit out, getting a little irritated by all the questions. You just want some damn coffee, you’re not asking them to score you some cocaine or anything. 

“Sunshine,” Eddie says in that tone of voice that begs you to agree with him. “You need to rest. Your body’s just been through a lot—not to mention all it’s been through before. Either me or your mom will always be here when you wake up. You don’t have to talk with us now. Try and get some sleep.”

The instinct is to push back, to challenge him that you know your body and what it can handle. But between his adamant voice, him having a point, plus the fact that you really are tired, you cave. Settling back against your pillows—but not without a small huff so they’re both aware of your dissatisfaction—you make yourself comfortable in the small hospital bed. After a moment of deliberation, you hold your hand out towards Eddie.

“Compromise. I’ll try and sleep if you hold my hand until I get there.”

A soft smile overtakes Eddie’s features as he slips his ring-clad hand into your own. “I think I can live with that arrangement.”

The hospital needs to keep you for a few more days before you can be discharged. You can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel, but you feel like you have to run for it and running isn’t something you’re capable of at the moment. The good news is that you’ve been moved back into your old room and get to share with Max again. Her condition has definitely improved since you last saw her, but you didn’t know her before any of this so it’s hard to tell if she’s back to her usual self or not. The way she teases Eddie for never leaving your side has you thinking this is her regular ol’ personality shining through. 

Someone comes in everyday to help you with physical therapy. Sometimes it’s a breeze, other times you want to punch the poor guy helping you when he says, “Just five more minutes!”

You do all of this on a leg that was shattered not too long ago, you think bitterly. See how slow five minutes really is. 

“So, I haven’t seen this physical therapist guy,” Max says one day after your session, “but I’m guessing he has two perfectly good legs that weren’t crushed and operated on?”

“You would be correct,” you say as you resituate yourself in bed. Asshole, you think—even though you know it’s not true and he’s a very nice man.

“Wait, me or the guy?” Max asks. Oh, shit. You must’ve said it out loud by accident.

“Never you, Max. Sometimes I feel you’re the only one who gets me,” you tell her.

“Hey, I take offense to that,” Eddie says as he strolls into the hospital room, a gaggle of four teenage boys and one girl following in behind him. He plants a smacking kiss to your scalp and you giggle. “How’re you doing, Red?” he asks Max. 

“Pretty good,” she says, a smile tugging on her lips. She pauses for a second. “Not as good as you two, though,” she adds mischievously. 

Before you can ask her to elaborate, one of the boys takes her hand and kisses her cheek, and you watch her melt in his embrace. That must be Lucas, you surmise. 

“Yep, this is Lucas,” Max chirps, beaming. It’s almost as if she—

“Hey, Casanova,” a scrawny, floppy haired boy calls from behind Eddie, “you wanna introduce us to your girlfriend?”

Eddie grins. “Yeah, of course. Guys, this is Sunshine. My girlfriend.” He enunciates the title proudly. “Sunshine, this is Mike Wheeler and Lucas Sinclair. You’ve already had the displeasure of meeting Henderson,” he stops to see Dustin flip him the bird, “and these are two of their friends, Will Byers and Jane Hopper. But, uh, I’ve been told that she also goes by El.”

“Nice to meet you all.” You offer your real name, trying to keep Sunshine as Eddie’s special nickname for you. “Eddie never stops talking about how amazing his friends are, so it’s great to put faces to the names.”

“Well, Eddie hasn’t stopped telling us about this incredible girl he calls Sunshine,” Lucas says from Max’s bedside, teasing Eddie more than you. “We figured we should get to know her for ourselves.”

“And see if she was real,” Mike pipes up, the tiniest semblance of a grin on his face. 

Eddie throws his arms up in exasperation. “Jesus H. Christ! I mean, Henderson met her, and you still didn’t believe me?”

“I knew she was real,” Dustin offers, raising two fingers slightly. 

“Thank y—”

“However, you guys weren’t dating then, so I needed confirmation that she’s actually your girlfriend.”

Eddie grits his teeth and rolls his eyes. “I hate you all so much.”

The boy who Eddie introduced as Will Byers gives you a small smile. “You’re a dancer, right?”

“I used to be,” you murmur, trying not to think of how basic flexibility tasks are now too strenuous for you to complete. “Maybe I will be again someday.”

El sits by your bedside and gently touches your hand before glancing up at Eddie. “She is beautiful,” she says to him, and Eddie’s entire face flushes pink. 

“Okay, thank you all for thoroughly embarrassing me,” Eddie grumbles. “Why don’t you little sheep go take Red on a field trip to the cafeteria so I can get some time with my girl?”

Mike frowns. “But I’m not—”

“Wheeler, I swear to Ozzy that if you try and say you’re not hungry, I’m going to tell every girl in this town about the time you accidentally wore one of Nancy’s blouses to school.”

That gets them moving, the gang helping Max into a wheelchair. As she approaches Eddie, she reaches out to him pulls him close enough for her to whisper. 

“Just tell her, you idiot,” she says firmly. 

Eddie’s startled by her frankness. “Tell who, what?”

“Tell Sunshine that you love her.”

“How did you—okay, we’re gonna need to talk about this later,” he stammers, ushering the kids out into the hallway. He plops on top of the hospital bed and leans up, kissing you until you’re smiling too hard to continue. 

“I like your friends,” you tell him once your lips part. “Especially Lucas. He seems really sweet with Max.”

“Yeah, that boy’s got it bad,” Eddie jokes, hoping you don’t call him out on his hypocrisy. 

Luckily, you seem to skim over Eddie’s own head-over-heels behavior. “Speaking of Max—what did she say to you when she was leaving?”

“N-Nothing, just some weird freshman humor I guess,” he stammers. Now would be the opportune moment to admit his true feelings, but he can’t work up the courage. Soon, he tells himself. I’ll tell her soon. 

The day that seemed like it would never come has finally arrived. Your discharge papers should be brought up at any moment for you to sign off on, then you’re good to go. It’s been so long you almost forget what your own bedroom looks like. What you do remember is that your bed is big enough to fit both you and Eddie in it. 

Speak of the devil… Eddie plops down next to you where you’re seated on your hospital bed. A flowy sundress was the easiest item to get on without irritating your legs and your boyfriend hasn’t been able to keep his eyes off of you since he’s seen it. 

“Excited to be going home?” Max asks from her bed.

“I am,” you say. “It feels weird, honestly. I haven’t even seen the sun in months, except for what peeks through the window. Now I get to actually step outside.”

“Well,” Eddie says. “You can be wheeled out into the sun. Hospitals won’t just let you walk out.” 

“They need to stop fussing over me—they’ve done it long enough,” you say, waving a dismissive hand towards the larger hospital outside your door. 

“Now it’s my turn,” Eddie says, tugging down the sleeve of your dress to press a soft kiss to your shoulder. The feeling of his lips on your skin sends a shiver up your spine, which Eddie notices with a look of glee. 

“Ya know,” you say, nudging Eddie gently in the ribs. “You and Wayne can come stay at my house. I know the trailer’s almost all fixed up now and that you might be able to move back in a few weeks, but at my place at least you’d have a real bed instead of Gareth’s couch. And Wayne would have the whole guest room and bathroom to himself.”

Eddie’s brow pinches in slight confusion. “You only have the one guest room, though, right? So, how would I also have a bed?”

“Oh my God,” Max groans. “I’m pretty sure your girlfriend is saying you can sleep in her bed with her, Loverboy.”

Eddie’s face tinges with pink as he looks from her to you. “I-Is that what you meant?”

“Yeah,” you say, a shy smile quirking up the corners of your mouth. “Only if you want to, of course. I get it if you’d rather stay with your best friend and not want to lug all your stuff around when you’re just going to have to do it again in a few weeks.”

“No, no,” Eddie says quickly, shaking his hand as he lifts your hand in his own. “I would love to come stay with you. Gareth’s great but if I have to try and fall asleep to him playing his damn video games on more time, I’m gonna shove his drumsticks somewhere in his body. And his mom’s been driving Wayne crazy, too. She doesn’t like having beer in the house and she practically force feeds the man vegetables when all he wants is meat.” 

“Guess we’ll be roomies again, huh?” The smile is starting to ache your cheeks, but you couldn’t care less. Eddie goes to reply, but he’s cut off by Mandy stepping into the room with a clipboard full of papers. 

“And here we are,” the peppy nurse says. “Everything is all good to go and I just need you to sign by the X’s.”

“Gladly,” you murmur as you practically snatch the pen off of the clipboard. 

“And your chariot awaits,” Mandy says once you hand the completed papers back to her. An orderly comes in pushing a wheelchair and Eddie’s quick to help you get settled in it. 

“Oh,” you say when Eddie begins to start pushing you. When you gesture towards Max, he wheels you over so you’re able to take the girl’s pale hand in your own. “I really liked being your roommate, Max. And as long as I can get someone to schlep me around, I’ll be here to visit you. And when you get out, we’re gonna come up with schemes to get our boyfriends to buy us stuff.” This is said with a mischievous sparkle in your eye as you glance up at Eddie.

“I already have a few tricks that work for that,” Max says. “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you my ways.”

You chuckle and give her hand a soft squeeze before letting Eddie wheel you out of the room and out of the hospital for your first time in months. So much has happened and changed since you first went in. You have all these new friends and the best boyfriend you could ever ask for. The dark days you’ve gone through would have been far darker were it not for them. 

“How is it?” Eddie asks as he helps you into your mom’s car. It was much easier to get you into this than up in Eddie’s van with your injuries. “Life on the outside?”

“You make it sound like I was serving time in a prison.”

“As you should, you thief.” Eddie closes the passenger side door before you can ask him what he means, but he picks right back up where he left off when he slides into the driver’s seat. “For stealing my heart.”

“Oh, Jesus,” you say through a laugh. “I notice you save the corny and cheesy stuff until we’re alone.”

“Well, duh,” Eddie says as he starts the car. “Can’t have everyone knowing the resident freak is a moony-eyed schoolboy over his girlfriend.”

“Schoolboy, huh?” you question with a smirk. “Wouldn’t happen to have a uniform, would you?”

“Who would’ve thought my Sunshine is kinky?”

You slowly lean over to kiss the spot below his ear. “Just wait until I get the all clear from the doctor,” you tease. 

“Fuck, Sunshine,” Eddie hisses, adjusting himself in his pants. “Y’can’t do this to me.” 

“Sorry,” you shrug, leaning back in the seat and getting comfortable, or as comfortable as you can be given the throbbing in your leg. 

“Real convincing,” he grumbles, but he presses a wet kiss to your cheek before pulling away from the hospital. With the building literally and figuratively in the rearview mirror, a weight is lifted from your shoulders. You’re free. 

Well, almost. 

Though you’re no longer bound to the hospital, you still have physical therapy three times a week. It’s exhausting and often disheartening, especially compared to your agility before the accident. 

Eddie, as always, is your saving grace. He’s with you every step of the way. Usually, his enthusiasm motivates you, but on one particular day, your frustration gets the better of you. 

You’re trying—and utterly failing—to keep your balance on your bad leg when Eddie calls out, “you got this, babe; I believe in you!”

“Stop it!” you snap, putting your weight back on your stronger foot. “Just…just stop lying to me, Eddie!” Tears well up in your eyes, and you hastily brush them away. 

His brows crease in confusion. “I’m not lying to you,” he insists, hopping off of the equipment he’s been sitting on. “Sunshine, you’re amazing. I can’t believe how much progress you’ve made.”

“It’s true,” your physical therapist, Paul, pipes up. “You’ve exceeded all expectations. It’s remarkable, actually.”

“Then why can’t I even balance on this foot? I used to be able to do pirouettes and a la seconds without a problem, and now I’m hobbling around like a little old lady!” At this rate, you’d never be able to make a comeback to dance. You’d be lucky if you could walk without tripping over your own feet. 

Eddie takes your hands in his, pressing his lips to your forehead. “You’ve gotta cut yourself some slack,” he gently reminds you. “You’re only human—a human who happened to be injured in a serious, um, earthquake.” His eyes meet Paul’s and they share a moment of recognition before the therapist gives you two a moment of privacy. 

“Sunshine, come here.” Eddie takes a seat in a chair and gently maneuvers you into his lap. One of his arms wraps securely around your waist while the other traces patterns on top of your sweatpant-covered thigh. “I know you’re frustrated. Have you been talking about it in therapy?”

“Yeah,” you say. There’s a moment of you picking at the collar of Eddie’s Dio t-shirt before you continue speaking. “Sophie encourages me. But we also talk about what life would be like if I never get back to my old strength.”

“And what would that look like?” Eddie asks.

Sighing, you shake your head before burying it in Eddie’s neck. “Don’t wanna talk about it,” you mumble against his skin. 

“Hey.” Eddie rubs one hand soothingly up and down your back. “You’re still you no matter what, sweetheart. I know you want to get back to where you were before the accident, but even if you can’t, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I know,” you say. And logically, you do. But the emotional part of your brain can’t seem to accept that. It’s revolting against the idea of you not being the immaculate dancer that you were before. But you’ve been through a lot and you need to give yourself grace—dear lord, Sophie’s words are starting to sink in. 

“I fell for you when you couldn’t even get out of your bed,” Eddie reminds you. “I didn’t give a shit one way or the other because I was too busy looking at how beautiful you are and mesmerized by your kindness.”

“Eddie,” you say with a shake of your head. 

“What? You don’t believe me? Trust me?”

“Of course I trust you. I just think you’re trying to make me feel better,” you admit with a shrug. 

“I mean, I am, but only by telling you the truth. Sunshine, I don’t think you understand everything that you’ve done for me. When I was rolled into that room, everyone thought I was a murderer, but you were nice to me from the moment I came to. You gave me your jello, for Christ sake. You were so kind. You didn’t even hesitate.”

“You helped me too, you know.” Moving your gaze up from the pale expanse of his neck, you meet his eyes as you look up at him from beneath your eyelashes. “Every single time I felt like crying, you made me smile. I couldn’t have gotten through these shitty days without you.”

“We make a good team, huh?” Eddie asks you, a playful smile dancing on his lips. “Look at us. We started off as strangers and now…I think I love you.”

The admission has tears springing to your eyes and it’s the first time in a while they’re not from frustration. The grip you have on Eddie tightens, as if you’re afraid he’ll disappear into thin air after he’s made this confession.

“You love me?” The words come out barely louder than a breath, but he still hears them. 

“Yes,” Eddie says, more confident in his answer now that it’s already out there. “I love you. So fucking much, Sunshine.”

“I love you too.” The words feel right falling from your lips; like you were always meant to say them to him in this moment. Leaning forward, you let your forehead rest against his. Slightly chapped lips meet your own and the two of you exchange the softest and lightest of kisses. 

“All right, my love,” Eddie laughs. “Y’ready to kick some more ass?”

You look into his beautiful brown eyes and nod. “Yeah,” you murmur, clearing your throat to stand firmer in your answer. “I got this.”

--

taglist: @thebrookemunson, @mystars123, @h-ness1944, @hazydespair, @ajkamins, @aysheashea, @jasminelafleur, @brittney69, @arsonfrogger, @brassreign, @lunarzstarz, @aftermidnightwriting, @justtryingtobecreative, @micheledawn1975, @kailynn-exe @afunkyfreshblog @fangirling-4-ever @crimsonsabbath @babyexpertlampskeleton @whenshelanded @ches-86 @acmbooksfilmtelevisionandreads

#albl #eddie munson fluff #eddie x reader #eddie x you #eddie munson #eddie stranger things #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson angst #eddie munson fanfic #stranger things fanfic #fanfic #eddie munson stranger things #stranger things

[tennessoui]

hello 👋 I was catching up on your tumblr like it's my weekly newspaper of choice and, um, if you ever fancied writing a snippet of obi wan getting the call after a concert about fire fighter anakin getting hurt it would be much appreciated 🥺

alright yes of course!!! i always try to give my asks whatever they want 🥺🥺🥺 here's a snippet of singer!obi-wan getting an 'anakin is hurt' call

(1.8k)

When Obi-Wan gets offstage, the first thing he does is check his phone. That’s what he’s been doing for months now, ever since he and Anakin started dating. It’s not like he can look at his phone onstage in front of all the people who paid to see Obi-Wan Kenobi, rock star. He has to wait, to not carry his phone with him at all up to the stage in order to triumph over the temptation of seeing what Anakin is doing right now, what silly thing he wants Obi-Wan to see.

It’s almost better like this. He gets offstage and he gets little presents from his boyfriend: horrifically cooked meals at the station, complaints about one of his coworkers’ new taste in music, awful jokes his sister has told him.

Tonight, there’s nothing.

He doesn’t think much about it though, not when he doesn’t have his boyfriend’s work schedule memorized. Sometimes the firefighters’ schedules shift on random days; someone calling out sick, someone available to cover a shift they weren’t assigned….It’s a big city, but a small firehouse. Obi-Wan isn’t worried.

Disappointed, maybe, that he doesn’t get to see Anakin’s twisted, disgusted face at Jesse’s attempt at dinner. Or his string of laughing text emojis to accompany a joke from Ahsoka. Disappointed, but not worried.

He chats with Kit and Quinlan the entire time back to his dressing room. The drummer thinks the opening song could use a little more rehearsal. The guitarist thinks it’s fine. Obi-Wan hadn’t heard anything definitively out of place, but he’s always alright with more rehearsal. He wants to give the best performance he can to the fans. It’s that simple.

He’s alone for a few minutes when he changes from his performance outfit into his normal clothes. It’s just after ten p.m.

He thinks about calling Anakin, as it’s only 8 in the evening in his city. Surely that’s too early to go to bed, even for a night off-shit. He thinks about it the entire time he’s changing into jeans and a t-shirt, the entire time he’s wiping off his stage make-up--nothing drastic of course, but just enough to be visible in the stage lights, just enough to look a little ghoulish in the warmer lights of the dressing room.

It doesn’t take much to break him, he’ll admit. He really, really likes Anakin. They’ve been dating for eight months now. He’s almost completely comfortable saying that he loves Anakin, but he doesn’t want to scare the other man off. Sometimes he thinks that everything he feels is too big and too dramatic for everyday life, that being in the spotlight from such a young age ruined him for anything private and selfish ever again.

But loving Anakin feels private, feels selfish. It feels right, amazing, like he’s a bandit robbing a small bank and just hopping on the train leaving town. It feels like he’s getting away with something he never should have even expected to have.

Anakin doesn’t pick up.

This too is excusable, as Obi-Wan hardly expects his boyfriend to wait by the phone, anticipating his call. Anakin’s messages during his concerts are gifts for a reason. They’re not mandatory, they’re unexpected.

Going into a serious relationship like this, they’d both understood the importance of their already established lives. Obi-Wan could no more give up a concert in favor of a call with Anakin as Anakin could go off shift and call Obi-Wan.

He packs the necessities he’d carried with him into the dressing room and looks around, if only to make sure he has everything and he’s not leaving too big of a mess.

Ahsoka calls him on his cell, when he’s halfway between his dressing room and the bus. He almost doesn’t pick up because he doesn��t have Ahsoka’s number saved into his contacts. But her city area code is the same as Anakin’s, and he picks up the call.

“Obi-Wan?” Ahsoka sounds like she’s half on the call and half not. “I couldn’t unlock Anakin’s phone, but I saw you were trying to call him.”

Obi-Wan pauses and leans against the wall. “Yes, I was,” he says slowly, his gut trembling with a bad feeling. “Why are you calling me, Ahsoka?” He hates sounding so abrupt, but he can’t help it. He needs to know. Perhaps Anakin is asleep, and Ahsoka is trying to ward off any further calls in order to let her brother sleep.

“Anakin’s in the hospital,” she says grimly and straightforwardly. Faintly, Obi-Wan thinks he can appreciate her no-nonsense attitude. She gets directly to the point, even though the point iis dangerously sharp.

“No,” Obi-Wan shakes his head, even as he slowly slides down the wall he’s against until he’s sitting on the floor. “No, he can’t be. I talked to him a few hours ago.”

“There was a call,” Ahsoka sounds so close to crying. No, Obi-Wan thinks. Impossible.

“But I just talked to him,” he says, clearing his throat. “I just….”

“There was a fire out on Temple Street,” she says thickly. “He’s in the hospital because a pillar fell on him. Trapped him in...in a burning house.”

Obi-Wan inhales sharply. If he hadn’t been sitting down already, he would have fallen to the ground. “But I--” I just talked to him, he thinks. As if it matters.

“He’s not critical anymore,” Ahsoka tells him. “But he’s still in surgery. Invasive, but. Not overly risky is what they told me.” She sniffles.

“I’m twenty hours away,” he says faintly.

“I know,” Ahsoka says into the phone. “I know. You’re almost on the other side of the country. But...they didn’t know to call you and I thought you needed to know.”

“I’ll be there as soon as possible,” Obi-Wan hears himself say. He needs to move. He needs to catch a plane. No matter expensive. He needs to get to the airport, get to Anakin.

Anakin’s hurt. Anakin needs surgery.

It’s Quinlan that finds him in the hallway, guitar slung over his back.

“Obi-Wan?” he asks, offering a hand out without explanation.

“Anakin’s in the hospital,” he says blankly, staring straight forward at the other wall. “He got hurt in a fire.”

“Then let’s get you there,” Quinlan replies instantly, pulling Obi-Wan up. “Come on. We’ll get you straight to the airport. I’ll tell the fans of the next concert.”

“We need to give them a refund,” Obi-Wan says distantly as he lets himself be led out to the tour bus. There are screams of fans, but it’s like he can’t even hear them. He’s underwater. Nothing matters as much. Nothing matters at all. Anakin needs surgery. Anakin’s in the hospital. Anakin’s hurt. He’s in the hospital. He needs surgery.

“We will,” Quinlan reassures him, leading him onto the bus. He tells the driver something harshly, quickly, and then not even a minute later, the wheels are in motion.

Anakin is in the hospital. Anakin had been hurt. He’d been in a building when it’d collapsed. How had Obi-Wan never even thought to worry about this? He worries about everything, but he’d never even thought of Anakin, of what Anakin’s career means. Sometimes he doesn’t get out. Sometimes Anakin doesn’t save the day. Who saves him?

Obi-Wan only realizes he’s making a weird noise with his throat when Quinlan clasps his hand. “We’re going to the airport,” he says with absolute surety. “We’ll get you to him, alright?”

Obi-Wan nods. What else is he supposed to do? He just talked to Anakin. He was fine then. How can someone go from fine to needing surgery in less than three hours?

He calls Ahsoka within the next fifteen minutes, as soon as it sinks in that this is happening. It doesn’t make sense, he can’t wrap his head around it, but it’s happening anyway. He’s ten minutes from the closest airport. Quinlan’s already got him a ticket. He’s coming. He’s almost there. He just...he needs to know Anakin is….that Anakin is……

“He’s still in surgery,” Ahsoka tells him softly. She sounds so small, so unsure. He’s only met her a handful of times, but he knows this tone does not belong anywhere close to her. “I don’t know, Obi-Wan. Please get here.”

Around the sixth hour after his concert ends, Obi-Wan cries. He leaves the official announcement to Quinlan, because he’s a coward. But he loves Anakin enough to type out a tweet anyway. It’s nothing too dramatic, nothing too honest either. There’s been an emergency. He’s sorry. He’s not sorry enough to not go, but he’s sorry enough to talk to fans. There’ll be a refund, maybe a rescheduling.

His entire life feels up in ends, but he talks about rescheduling. He doesn’t know what else to do. When the flight attendant tells him to turn his phone off, he puts it down until she’s passed by.

He looks out the window of the airplane and he can feel his tears soaking into his beard. Anakin is alright, he keeps telling himself. Anakin has to be okay. He doesn’t know what he’ll do if Anakin isn’t okay.

It’s suddenly so amazingly clear to him that if Anakin were to--to not be alright--Obi-Wan’s life would never, ever be the same. Never. They’re intrinsically linked together. Why wasn’t he contacted when Anakin was first brought to the hospital? He needs to know this. He needs to know as soon as Anakin is hurt. He can’t stand the idea that Anakin had been injured halfway through his set, maybe at the end, maybe before it even started.

He needs to know as soon as it happens, if it ever happens again.

He never wants it to happen again. He never wants Anakin to be hurt, to be unresponsive, to be so far from him that Anakin’s sister has to let him know what’s going on.

He needs to be something different, something more. Something that makes everyone understand that he needs to be informed immediately when anything happens to Anakin, his Anakin. His….

Husband. Husband would work. If Anakin were to marry him, Obi-Wan would get preference to every medical incident experienced. Obi-Wan could be there. Yes. Husband

Husband.

Obi-Wan wipes the tears from his eyes slowly as he stares at the backside of the seat in front of him. Husband. If he were to be Anakin’s husband, he’d never be third in the information chain. He’d know immediately when something happens to his...to his husband.

Anakin could be his husband. Obi-Wan would ask him. It would make everything easier. It would mean Obi-Wan would know anything wrong as soon as it happened. He’d be the first in the chain of information.

He wants that, he decides as he cries into his airplane food napkin somewhere over the Great Plains. He wants to be the first. He wants to know. He wants to be there everytime Anakin wakes up from an injury. He wants to hold his hand.

Nothing else will ever make him feel any better. He needs it.

#asks #firefighter au #he does marry anakin in the next few months #as soon as anakin gets out of rehab #for his injury #the tour is postponed so obi-wan can take care of his boyfriend/fiancee

[honeytae]

Hi!! Idk if you’re taking requests or not, but I was hoping I could request something along the lines of where you’re in love with your best friend, taehyung, but he doesn’t know and he’s getting married soon. you don’t tell him how you feel until the night of his wedding when you’re a bit tipsy from drinking your feelings away. you can decide the ending! thank you in advance if you end up writing this! hope you’re doing well and staying safe. Xx

hi darling! i’m so sorry this took so long for me to write. i couldn’t get it to a point where i was satisfied with it for a really long time, i still don’t feel that good about it honestly but hopefully it’s okay for you!!! i tried to make it angsty (yikes) so hopefully it’s not horrible lmao

tags: @ahgasearmyfan, @hoseokayy, @the1921-monsters

genre: angst

word count: 1.6k

warnings: um so much heartbreak, oc is a little (very) in denial about the situation and comes off a little toxic tbh, requited love but nothing they can do about it now, mentions of tae going into a panic attack

You couldn’t handle it.

You couldn’t handle the ‘congratulations to the happy couple,’ nor the Mr. and Mrs. Kim sign practically floating over their heads. You couldn’t handle the copious bouquets and all the preparations that went into this.

And you felt like a complete asshole about it.

Which is precisely why you decided to prematurely exit the event, doing yourself and everyone else a favor by leaving for the night to go sulk in your hotel by your lonesome.

The elevator ride up to your floor was miserable, your own battles within your mind coupled with the fact that your floor was the top one, making the ride excruciatingly long on top of everything else.

Rustling with the hotel key in your bag seemed to take forever as well, finally barging into your half unpacked space with a sigh. You quickly shut the door behind you, hoping you’d been able to sneak away from the hotel lobby without any guests noticing.

Shuffling further into the room, you sat on the edge of the king bed in the center of the room, placing your head in your hands at the mere prospect of this weekend.

Taehyung was getting married. Kim Taehyung, your best friend, the one person you’d been pining for since middle school, would be legally bound to someone else in less than twenty four hours.

Maybe you just shouldn’t have come. Despite sending red flags to Tae, you couldn’t think of a better solution than fleeing at this exact moment. Why did you think you could handle this?

Two knocks against the locked door had your head raising from its resting place, cursing under your breath at someone coming after you.

You didn’t feel well. That would be your excuse.

“Hey, you okay?” Immediately upon opening the door, Taehyung spoke the question out into the air, dark eyebrows knit in concern and kind eyes imploring yours for an answer.

“Hi. I’m fine, just a little tired, Tae.” You pressed your lips together in a hopefully believable smile, the man frowning before nodding at you.

“Me too. Can I come in?” He asked, the question completely innocent however making your heart rate a bit faster at the what if. What if things had gone differently? What if it was still a possibility for things to escalate between you two?

Cut it out. He’s about to be a married man.

You raised your eyebrows at him for a moment, then stepped back to allow him in, putting all your concentration on shutting the wood for a moment as you took a steadying breath.

“What about your party?” You wondered aloud, the man humming as he took a seat on your fully made bed.

“I’m tired of the parties. They’re exhausting.” He chuckled, covering his face with his hands as he reclined back on your bed.

Your heart skipped another beat at the vision, his tight pants leaving little to the imagination and buttons from his dress shirt stretched to new limits with his strained position. Diverting your eyes, you walked over to the desk chair in the corner of your room, reaching for a water bottle out of your mini fridge. Get a fucking grip.

Tossing one over to the bed beside Taehyung, you sat down in the plush seat, grateful that the man didn’t seem to notice your distance from him as you glanced out the window.

Until….

“Are you really okay? I feel like you’ve been avoiding me lately.”

At his sudden words, you froze, gripping your water a bit tighter as you brought your eyes back to his face. He was closer now than before, having scooted to the edge of your bed to lean toward you, eyes showing concern for you as you shuffled in your seat.

Taehyung was never one to beat around the bush, and at times like this, you really wish he would just brush some things under the rug as easy as you could.

“I’m good, Tae. Just have a lot going on, I guess. I’m sorry I made you feel like that.” You said, hoping to clear the air and dismiss the topic as soon as you possibly could. The man’s stare wasn’t helping your state any.

“No apologies. Just wanted to check in on you.” He sighed, seemingly disappointed with your lack of response before a hideous painting across the room caught his eye.

“What the fuck is that?” He griped, making you chuckle as he sat up to lean toward the art piece, squinting with his lip curled in amusement.

“It’s not so bad.” You shrugged, smirking when he turned back to you in bewilderment. Realizing you were teasing him, his eyes went back to normal size, a smile meeting his own lips at the return of your familiar banter.

“How can you sleep in a room with that shit? I feel like asking for a refund.” He shook his head, making you laugh before taking a swig from your water.

“Somehow I manage.” You replied, twisting the cap back on the bottle with a sigh.

It’s times like these that you feel as though nothing is wrong. Times like these that transport you back to periods of your life when Taehyung was just a call away, and you thought maybe, just maybe, you two had a chance. But that was over now. Those days were no more.

Because Taehyung informing you about a blind date then turned into him in a full blown relationship, a serious one at that, and soon enough they were taking big steps such as meeting the parents, moving in together, and yes, getting engaged.

Your friends had been just as shocked as you were, pitying you with deep sympathetic looks over Taehyungs shoulder as you hugged him in confused congratulations. It had all happened so fast...how did you manage to lose him forever?

Waking up the next day, you felt a particular heaviness on your chest. It was the day before the wedding, the rehearsal dinner turned into an entire day of partying for their guests. A celebratory day, if anything.

But waking up and getting all dolled up for this occasion was the absolute last thing you wanted to do, today or ever. You had always thought that you’d have much more of a starring role in Kim Taehyung’s life. Shaking your head to dismiss those kinds of thoughts, you cursed as you left your hotel room, wondering how the hell you’d be getting through this day.

Four martinis. Four martinis was how you’d be getting through today. The bartender had become one of your closest acquaintances over the past few hours, eyeballing you silently as he poured you yet another cocktail, your demands obvious that you were not drinking out of celebration.

Sitting at the bar, you contemplated everything. From the time you’d met Tae, you had been so sure that you two completed each other. Were you that naive? And fuck, why are you still thinking about this now? It’s over. You and Tae will never be.

Nearly jumping off your stool at a hand suddenly clapping your back, you shifted your gaze over to the arm belonging to Jungkook, one of Taehyung’s youngest yet wisest friends.

“You’re sulking.” He said plainly, dark eyes tracing over your faded features, briefly examining the drink in your hand before shooting the bartender a knowing look.

“You shouldn’t be out here.” You sighed, nearly breaking into a sob when his hand laid over yours, fingers fitting between your own in a comforting gesture. With one glance at the man, you gained all the information you didn’t want.

He knew.

You wondered how long he’d known. Jungkook, being the quiet and relatively introverted person he was, was an observer. He knew everything about everyone it seemed, by not speaking to them at all. He noticed everything.

You just hoped he didn’t notice the way your eyes started blinking rapidly, and that he’d instead just go back into the party without another word.

“Neither should you.” He replied to you, his tone holding nothing but concern as he tried to catch your eyes.

You just couldn’t hold it in.

“Well maybe if I wasn’t in love with him I’d be having a better time.” You mumbled, leaning your head down on your hands, elbows pressed to the tops of your thighs, sad and tired as Jungkook froze beside you.

Unbeknownst to you, a concerned Taehyung had also come to find you, stumbling upon that very scene as Jungkook tried to console you.

Meeting eyes with his older friend, Jungkook’s mouth gaped open for a moment, opening and closing like a fish out of water as you cluelessly rambled under your breath about how stupid you were to ever let yourself come here.

With a shaky exhale, Taehyung silently began to put it all together. The way you’d been working constantly lately, picking up every shift you could to decline his repeated attempts at getting together with you, the way you’d ran off last night and brushed it off as you being too tired. It was all adding up.

You were struggling with this as much as he was. Maybe more.

But what Taehyung could do about this years ago was no longer an option, his hands shaking at his sides as he spun on his heel and walked out of the lobby. He could briefly hear Jungkook call for him but ignored it, breathing heavily as he rounded one of the hallways leading to the restrooms.

Unshed tears misted over his eyes as he hugged a corner of the wall, feeling rather unsteady as he leaned his forehead against the cool surface. The burning pain in his chest had him sinking down to the floor in an instant, sobs wracking his shoulders with heightening emotions rising in his throat.

You’d finally given him the green light. And it was too fucking late.

#bts fanfiction #bts member x reader #bts x reader #bts imagines #bts angst #bts reader insert #kim taehyung fanfiction #kim taehyung x reader #kim taehyung imagines #kim taehyung angst #taehyung fanfiction #taehyung x reader #taehyung imagines #taehyung angst #writing #fanfiction #angst #x reader #reader insert

[michaelsdemon]

LoveBot Inc. [1/3]

Summary: (Robot!Valiant Thor x Female!Reader) During a drunken, lonely night, reader orders a sex robot, Valiant Thor. When he arrives, reader’s life takes a turn for the most pleasurable. 

Warnings: 18+, vibrating fingers, clit rubbing

So maybe getting drunk whilst feeling lonely and sad wasn’t the best idea, especially when it landed you with an almost empty bank account, and an email saying you’d purchased an actual sex robot. You looked through the email and saw you’d picked the ‘gentleman’ model, with a unique design. It came with, “vibrating cock and hands;” you almost choked at that. Shit. 

You tried calling customer service, but they told you, as it was made to order, and a unique design as well, that they couldn’t do anything. They didn’t accept cancellations. However, you could return the model upon arrival if you wanted to, and if it wasn’t to your satisfaction. With a sigh you thanked them and hung up, and within a few weeks the large, almost ominous parcel arrived.

Without even opening the box you decided it would have to go back, and made arrangements for a return. You set a time and a date, but nothing happened, no one came and picked it up. You called customer service again and informed them of the multiple occasions you’d tried to arrange a collection but no one came, and they told you it would be fixed within a week. 

A week passed, and nothing, except for a complete refund in your account appearing, much to your surprise, despite the parcel not being returned. With the refund, and the parcel not going anywhere anytime soon, you decided you would finally open it. 

You couldn’t lie and say having this robot in the box this whole time didn’t disturb you in some way. You sometimes thought you’d wake in the middle of the night and find it had turned on by itself and would appear at your bedside. However, it never happened and as you unbox it carefully, your eyes widen at the handsome face that’s before you. 

Oh, he’s very pretty, you think, tilting your head, admiring his neatly combed back hair, sharp jaw and nose, and his plump mouth, all creepily realistic. If you didn’t know this was some sort of machine then you’d think you had a real person tucked away in the box. You unpack him some more, and reveal his body, a nicely gently toned body, that was soft in places, thighs thick, and shoulders broad. 

You shake your head to rid yourself of some dirty thoughts, and grab the manual to figure out how to turn him on. Quickly you flick through and find the instructions, which tell you to use the thin key, similar to what iPhones have to put a sim card in, and press a small button behind his right ear. Slowly you move closer with the key, and gently push his ear out of the way, pressing the key into the tiny button you see and within seconds a voice leaves him, “Greetings, I am your new lovebot, here to please you. The name I have been given is Valiant Thor, however you may rename me as you see fit.” 

You jump a little as he suddenly moves and looks to you, his blue eyes shining a little, “Are you my owner?” He asks, “May I have your name, miss?”

You’re at loss for words, he’s realistic, too realistic, other than the slightly stilted voice, “Um, I-I guess I am, yes,” and you tell him your name, which he repeats. 

“I am programmed to please you as required, if there’s any questions, please ask me, or refer to the manual I come with, miss,” he tilts his head and smiles. 

“T-thank you, I will remember that,” you clear your throat. 

Valiant nods, and he looks at you intensely before assessing the surroundings, which is when it hits you he’s stark naked. 

“Um, Valiant? You don’t come with clothes?” 

Valiant looks at you then, “I do not come with clothes, however I can wear them if it pleases you?” 

“It would please me, yes,” you say quickly, feeling your face heat up as your eyes drift to his very adequate length, that’s currently soft. 

“Of course, miss,” he pauses and looks around, and you realise you need to give them to him. 

“I’ll just get them!” You run out the room and grab some sweats and a shirt for him, bringing them back out, “Here you go.” 

He takes them carefully, and begins dressing, and once dressed he looks at you, “Does this please you?” 

You lick your lips, “It does, thank you,” you say quickly. 

Valiant smiles, happy at that, and he stands in the middle of the room, awaiting an order you assume. You quickly move him to sit down on the couch and he looks to you, almost eagerly, “How else can I please you? Would you like to know all the functions I come with?” 

“Um,” You can just imagine how lost for words you look, and Valiant interrupts you. 

“I come with 3 different personality modes, Submissive, Switch and Dominant, currently I am in Switch mode, but you can change that as you please. I also have special features and functions, including a vibrating tongue, fingers, and penis.” He says very matter of fact, and he smiles as he recites the data, “I am also able to ejaculate and produce saliva, however I cannot impregnate you.” 

“O-okay, good,” you weren’t looking to having a child anytime soon, and you hadn't even thought he’d be able to do that anyway, but they must have had customers think the opposite. 

Valiant nods at your response, “I have extensive memory and I will learn your likes and dislikes. The more time I spend with you, the more natural I will become. I cannot eat or drink, but I can “sleep” when ordered to do so. Is there any more information you require, miss?” 

You shake your head, “No, no I think that’s enough for now, thank you.” 

Valiant seems pleased and he smiles as he looks at you, “Would you like for me to touch you? I am here to please you. If you’d like for me to call you a pet name, I can also do that.” 

“Perhaps, we can just,” you hesitate, trying to think of something, “lay in bed? And you can just call me by my name.” 

He nods slowly, a little stiff, before standing, “I will follow you to your bed,” and he does so, his steps light behind you. 

Once you lay down you take a deep breath, and Valiant lays beside you, looking up at the ceiling, before turning his head towards you. You wonder if he can sense your gaze on him. 

“Would you like to try one of the features I told you about?” He reaches a large hand over and places it on your hip, and you’re quite surprised at his forwardness. 

You hesitate in your answer, contemplating the morality and ethics of the whole thing, as the very attractive man’s, sex robot’s, hand massages your hip. 

“Please? I wish to please you, and my data suggests you are tense.”

“Would it please you? To please me?” You ask him with a soft voice, and he nods eagerly. 

“It is what I was made for, to please you,” his expression is eager, like a little puppy, and you wonder how he’s picked up such human expressions so quickly. 

“O-okay, but, just your hand, no kissing,” you murmur. 

Valiant practically beams at you and he slides the hand that was on your hip into your panties and slowly explores your soft pussy. You take a shaky breath to calm your nerves as it’s been a long time since someone else has touched you. He lays on his side and watches your reactions closely you notice, and you wonder if he’s storing all this away as data for future reference. His touch is pleasant, and you open your legs a little wider to give him more access, which vastly improves his performance, a soft moan leaving you. 

Your face heats up and you wonder if this is too soon, but suddenly a soft vibration runs over your clit and you shiver, blurting out, “Oh fuck.” You look to Valiant who has a slightly smug smile on his face as he circles your clit and watches you squirm more and more. 

He increases the vibration of his own accord, and you find yourself grabbing onto the pillow behind you as you buck against his firm hand. 

“Is this pleasing you, dear?” Valiant murmurs, close to your ear, as he rubs your clit, and you make a pathetic whimpering noise in response, which he happily takes as an answer, “I’m glad.” 

Your eyes roll back and your moans grow louder, when suddenly the stirring in your lower stomach snaps, and soaring pleasure rises through your body, your sight and hearing gone for a split second as it overcomes you, and you release a long cry, your hips bucking up into Valiant’s hand. 

You notice he works you through it, the vibration off now, as he gently massages your swollen clit before coming to a stop and removing his hand. You watch in a daze as he assesses the wetness on his fingers and he licks them clean slowly, almost savouring it. 

“I think we should sleep now,” you pant softly, and Valiant nods, licking his lips. 

“I will be in sleep mode until you wake me, miss,” He lays on his back and closes his eyes and he doesn’t move anymore. Slowly you reach over and poke his cheek, but nothing happens, so you turn off the lamp and fall asleep quickly in your post orgasm state. 

#valiant thor #cody fern #valiant thor x reader #lovebot inc #will be edited with a moodboard instead of a gif later

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: May 15th Part 2

And here’s the next part of the long answer set of the day!

When will OL: N&F take place? Beginnings and Always took place during summer breaks, will now and forever take place during a fall break or will the characters be going to school at the time of the events we play through? 

It takes place over all of the fall season, so school will be happening in OL2. Some events do take place in school, though many times events only start after school is already out for the day, haha.

Hey!! I have kind of a weird question?? I’m sorry if it’s been answered before and I just haven’t seen it but is OL 2 taking place during the same years as OL 1? I’m just curious, thank you for such amazing games!!! 

It’s a similar time frame, but not 100% exactly same.

Do you have any idea when the demo for now and forever will be available? 

Hopefully this fall! But that’s not a guarantee.

Okay the crime show in Step 2: Growing up. Long blonde hair, police station, crime series? Was it The Closer? Because I’m the same age as MC and Cove and my mom was constantly watching that when I was 13. 😂 

Haha, yeah! The Closer and, to a lesser degree, Medium were the kind of shows I was referencing there. My mom also used to watch those back in the day.

Hey um this might be an odd question but if the setting of OL: N&F is  fall/autumn, what country or city will it take because my mind tells me it is either Poland or Canada. Also I can't wait for the game I am hyped 

It’s set in the USA again. We’d like to be able to have cameos and that’s easiest to do if the OL games take place in the same country.

Is it possible for the PC of OL to have non-seriously dated other people in the in between years even if they’ve had a consistent crush on Cove? 

You can causally date Baxter in Step 3 if you get his DLC and then ultimately choose Cove in Step 4. If you mean off-screen people, it doesn’t really come up, but you can certainly headcanon that. The game never says Cove is the only partner you’ve ever had.

Is there going to be a Kickstarter for Now and Forever as well? For like voiced names and stuff again? Didn’t find B&A until after it was released and I’d really love the opportunity to hear my name in the game 🥺 

Yeah, we are gonna have a Kickstarter with getting a voiced name as a reward! Though, it will be more expensive than it was for OL1. I feel bad to raise the price but we realized too late the first time around that it was being super undersold for the amount of work it took, aha.

Do you know how much the remaining DLC for OL will cost? (Step 4, Derek, Baxter) 

Step 4: Free

Wedding DLC: $2.99USD

Derek DLC: $4.99USD

 Baxter DLC: $4.99USD

Has an artist for the new position been picked yet?! I'm super excited for the new game! 

We did fill that spot. Thank you so much for taking the time to apply!

hmmm what would it take to get each of the XOXO jerk squad to feel the need to hug you? 

They’d have to first like you a fair amount, otherwise the most you’d get is maybe a pat on the shoulder. If they were attached, they might hug you if you broke down crying or if you gave them super good news.

Unless it’s Shiloh, of course. If you want a hug you only have to ask!

May i ask how the Derek DLC will work? I believe that there aren’t any memories in step 4 and doesnt derek’s dlc take place during that step? So will the dlc add memories? Thank you! 

Derek’s DLC will add five Moments to Step 2 (a new page will appear on that screen if you get the DLC). Then in Step 4 you’ll have to choose between playing the default epilogue or going through the Derek romance story.

Is the pc version on itch,io different from the steam version? Like an offline one or something? 

Steam has achievements, but that’s about it. Both can be played offline, if you prefer.

I've been wondering this for awhile, what determines if cove winds up with a ponytail in step 3? I've done multiple runs with different MCs with varying hairstyles. Or does it have to do with a particular moment in step 2? 

I’m afraid I can’t say exact choices that determine things. But generally it’s preference based options in the Step before that decide those things.

Any Floret Bond updates? 

No, the artist had to leave the project and it’s been on-hold. I’m not sure if I want to try working just with what we have or replacing it all entirely. The design is a bit too specific for us to easily find someone who could mimic it. Hopefully we’ll work things out later, though.

In step 3 is Cove's plan always to stay in sunset bird? 

Yeah. He is never ready at 18-years-old to make a big life change.

I love your content! If it's alright to ask, you answered in a previous ask about how Jeremy was too particular with what he likes his types to be romanceable with just any MC and it's sort of got me wondering.. What /are/ his types and/or preferences and such? Sorry if it's a lot! 

Jeremy likes stubborn jerks and will not date someone who’s sweet or even generally a decent person, haha.

uh, excuse me if you said this somewhere before, but how will step 4 be actually? Will it he like an actual step and have moments and dlc and all? Or will it be more like a long epilogue of some sort?

Will the step 4, the wedding and extra routes dlcs be paid too? Im just confused, sorry if im asking too much

Step 4 is only an epilogue, so it’s just a long series of scenes one after the other rather than a collection of Moments you can choose from.

The Step 4 epilogue is free, the wedding DLC, Derek DLC, and Baxter DLC cost money.

i’m not sure how much of the wedding dlc you have planned already, or if this would be to spoilery, but what kind of wedding traditions will be included? i keep thinking about how flustered cove would get over a garter toss & was wondering if we’d see a scene like that haha. obviously no worries if it’s not included, i’ll enjoy literally anything cove related 

I don’t know for sure yet, haha. Right now we’re focused on the parts before the big day. We’ll see how many scene alterations we can include for the wedding itself later on.

Hello! Firstly, thank you for creating such an amazing game like OL, and I couldn’t be more excited for OL2! Out of curiosity, are you looking for any writers to come on for OL2 or are you all pretty much set in that department? Just thought I’d shoot my shot haha but I’m still excited regardless ^^! 

We will be hiring writers for OL2 later this year! Thank you for the interest.

Will we be blessed with a spin-off Yandere Cove, like XOXO Blood Droplets? 

Sadly, no. It’s a shame but there’s not enough time to keep making OL1 bonus/spin-off content.

How is Q pronounced?

I’m afraid Q’s full name hasn’t been publicly announced yet so I can’t answer here (Q and T are the first letters of the names for the new LIs in Our Life: Now & Forever).

Question; is the steam version getting a Mac update?  I purchased the dlc there thinking it had Mac support without realizing it and just wondered if I’d need to refund it to purchase on itch.io 😭 

I’m really sorry, you will need to get a refund from Steam. We do hope to have it there for Steam eventually, but have no idea of when it’ll happen. Apple requires special notarization to be an officially accepted app for their devices. We don’t have that. Steam requires having that, Itch will let you release it as an non-notarized third party app. That’s why Itch is the only place that has the Mac version right now.

would you mind posting outfit sheets for Cove in every step? it would make things a lot easier for us artists. it would save a lot of time spent looking for references 

I think we did do the earlier steps when they were finished way back in 2019 (this game took a long time to make, aha), but we can probably repost them sometime!

In our life n&f, will we be able to get into qprs/will there be more options in regards to having deep platonic relationships with the love interests? Because as an aroace individual, it would be great if there could also be emphasis on platonic love so that it's more aspec inclusive. 

It’s a little hard to say at this point. There may not be things like a wedding DLC for OL2 and so the relationship for platonic and romantic feelings might not go as far as it did in the first game. We’ll kind of have to see how much we can do based on timeframe/budget constraints that will only be set near the end of the year. But we will be keeping things like that in mind at least.

hi! i really really like your game and im absolutely in love with it! i cant wait to try your other games like xoxo droplet and future OL NF :))

during the step 3 erands moment i got curious, which fudge flavor is his favorite? it seems like he likes all of them, but which 4 do you think he would like best?

also i noticed that in some playthroughs cove would let me give him a piggy back ride, and in some he wouldn't, how come?

how does your choices affect cove's interests or looks? i replayed the game without changing any choices but i got cove to look different, is it just random?

thank you!

Cove’s favorite flavors are ones with nuts and that are fruity! But he appreciates them all. Whether or not you can give him a piggyback ride depends on if your MC is fit/large enough to hold a muscular 6-foot-tall beach boy, haha.

Cove’s appearance does depend on choices and it’s generally tied to choices that are preference based rather than emotion/action based, such as which key chain you pick in Step 1.

Is it possible for cove to reject MC's proposal at the end of step 3? 

Nope. He’ll always accept.

hi! i was wondering how heavily the side characters will be featured in the our life wedding dlc? obviously it'll be cove & mc focused, but i was thinking it'd be sweet if we could take lizzie dress / suit shopping or dance with cliff at the wedding or something. 

The side characters are there about as often as they are in normal events. So, it’s clearly focused on Cove but he’s not the only person you have any meaningful moments with.

When will responses be sent out to applicants? 

I’m afraid we don’t send responses out to all applications, only ones we’re interested in offering the position to. Not everyone likes rejection emails and the amount of applications is too high to contact them all to say we’re not hiring them. We post updates on the job page when a position has news. Right now we’ve filled every role that was open.

Is there also going to be the option to keep your relationships with the love interests platonic in Our Life: Now and Forever? That's something I really appreciate in Our Life: Beginnings and Always

Yeah! OL will never force you to end up in a romantic relationship with someone.

I was wondering, in the Step 3 Happiness moment, what are the different fishes Cove can compare MC to? I got "you'd be a paradise fish, because being with you is paradise," but my friend got "you'd be an angelfish." Are there more variations? 

He says paradise fish if you’re a couple, angelfish if he’s just crushing, and then a royal dottyback/queenfish/emperor tetra (based on your gender) if he likes the MC platonicly.

Hello! So, in one of the Step 3 DLCs, Cove's arm was gone. I think it was to show him putting his arm behind his back. But if that wasn't the case, did it get yeeted? 

Thanks for letting us know. That was an error we tried to fix a little while back. When did you make the save file you were playing? If it was older that might be why it happened. Or maybe the error wasn’t fully fixed after all.

Asking for your opinion, but do you think Cove would at all be into ABBA? Because all I could imagine during the car trip in step 3 was him and the MC belting to Mamma Mia. 

Haha, yeah, there’d definitely be some ABBA songs he was into.

So throughout the game, Cove can develop different interests depending on the player’s choices; does this mean that he can have different careers in Step 4? Or his is line of work in adulthood never mentioned at all? 

He can have different career paths in Step 4!

Hi!! I'm so so sorry if this has been asked before but I just acquired knowledge about the so famous nsfw dlc for OL and nearly chocked on my bubblegum 💀💀💀 So, my real inquiry is if that specific moment will have any kind of impact at some point of the fourth step OR if it will just be treated as a side-story-ish “what if” scenario.Also, is there any chance there'll be something similar for Step 4? Haha jk,,, unless 😳Questions apart let me thank you profoundly for making the best visual novel I've ever played 😭 Really really looking forward the epilogue and OL2 💕 Have a nice day 

It’s just a bonus side story that’s fully separate from the main game.

It would be nice to have one for Step 4 too, but I sadly don’t see us having time to actually do it. I don’t know, if people are still asking for more OL1 content several months from now it might be doable and worth doing.

I'd just like to ask, when is Baxter's birthday :0 -- I'm really curious esp with their zodiac signs so ;w; 

I don’t know, haha. Maybe I’ll come up with one someday.

Please help!! I bought the Step 3 DLC but I still have no idea how to get to where you can propose to Cove - any tips? 

&

How do I get the option to propose to Cove at the end of the game?

You can click HERE for a discussion on that.

I love that Miranda and Terry are getting together! I'm curious if you have canon sexualities for them? Also just wanted to say how much I love OL and how much joy it brings me everytime I play it <3 

Terry likes ladies and Miranda likes dudes!

ngl Step 4 Terry's design reads like y'all see trans guys as their assigned gender more than you see them as men to me (a trans guy)... like maybe if he isn't heavily dysphoric, I could see it, but everything you've said about him doesn't line up with that. Even then, immediate warning bells go off in my head looking at him. I wouldn't have touched the game if I saw him ahead of time.

I’m sorry you aren’t comfortable with the way the design looks. The situation with Terry is that he’s now open about who he is, but the body he was born with is still physically the same. He only came out recently as an adult and hasn’t gone through any treatments/procedures yet (his chest is flatter because he wears a binder). However, even though his body hasn’t transitioned at the point Step 4 happens, no one treats him as anything other than the guy he is. Having a trans character who’s identity is supported/respected from the start is what we’re going for in this case. But what we’re doing with Terry isn’t the only trans content we’ve ever had/ever will have in the future.

how would baxter react to bae pyoun and vice versa? and can you please detailly explain both love interests personalities from our life 2: now and forever? i was just curious, sorry for dumb question!! 

I imagine it’d be pretty opposite experiences, haha. Bae would initially think Baxter is pushy and thoughtless, but would quickly realize, oh, he’s instead a soft, considerate boy. Very cute. Baxter would first be struck with the impression that Bae is charming and gentlemanly, but then would realize that, no, he’s a sarcastic asshole. And I’m afraid we can’t reveal the personalities for the next game yet.

Sorry if you've already answered this, but I have a question about the patreon exclusive moment you're working on. I was wondering if it's mainly going to be CGs or if it's mostly character sprites + backgrounds with some CGs.

Either way, thank you for doing the Lord's work and not only making Cove, but making this bonus moment as well 😌😌😌

It’s mostly sprites/backgrounds with two CGs!

—– —– —– —–

Thank you again for the interesting questions everyone :D

We released a new FAQ! It answers common questions and we’ll keep adding more to it. Please check there before sending an ask. FAQ   Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

#our life #Our Life Beginnings & Always #Our Life: Now & Forever #xoxo droplets #ask #gb patch #gb patch games

[companionjones]

Santa Claus Is Going To High School With Ethan and Y/n

Fandoms: StarKid, Black Friday, Santa Claus Is Going To High School

Pairings: Ethan Green x Reader, Chris Kringle x Reader

Summary: In the beginning, you were just a loner in high school who had a huge crush on one Ethan Green. You’re a big fan of escapism, and a certain kids movie brings you lots of serotonin. The teenage version of Santa Claus is more attractive than one might think. What happens when you and Ethan get sucked into the kids movie you’ve grown to love, and Chris Kringle starts vying for your attention? Will Ethan actually get jealous?

Warnings: This is long, cursing, speaking of cursed, I AM SO SORRY I MADE THIS

*******

    Ethan Green would have rather been at home, smoking weed. Instead, he was at Lakeside Mall with some kid he was babysitting. He took the job because he needed the money for his jalopy that was in the shop. He didn’t mind the kid all that much. The boy, a nine-year-old named Tim, was nice enough. The only problem was that Tim wanted to see a very annoying-looking kids movie in theaters called Santa Claus Is Going To High School.

    “Thirty bucks for two tickets? Are you kiddin’?” Ethan griped as he stood outside of the Cineplex. “Fine. But I want a refund if the kid doesn’t like the movie.”

    The half-asleep cashier responded detachedly, “We don’t do refunds here, sir.”

    Ethan groaned, “Yeah, whatever,” and pulled the kid inside.

    In Theater 4, the previews were still playing. All the seats were empty save for one. Ethan recognized the girl in it. He knew her from the hallways at school. It was you.

    Silently, you were thankful no one else was in the theater with you. That way, you couldn’t be judged as a teenager seeing a kids movie...for the fifth time. Yes, you were kind of obsessed with Santa Claus Is Going To High School. So what? That was your business, no one else’s. Or, at least, it was until--

    “What the hell are you doing, seeing this movie alone?” Ethan Green, the last person in Hatchetfield you wanted to sit next to you in that moment, decided to take a seat.

    At a loss for words, you were trying too hard to think of something to say. “Ethan! I...Um...I--”

    He chucked, “Relax. I’m not gonna make fun of you or anything. Just because something isn’t my style, that doesn’t mean you can’t like it.”

    Completely in shock that someone your age wasn’t going to judge you, you just gaped at him.

    Ethan didn’t notice. “Plus, it kinda rocks that you’re here. I thought I was gonna have to watch this movie with just Tiny Tim here. But it doesn’t seem so bad now with you at my side.”

    You cursed yourself for giggling. It was always like that with Ethan. You two would get paired together on a school project or something, and he would casually flirt with you like it was nothing. You would fall for it, you two would get really close, then the project would be turned in. After that, whenever you would go up to Ethan in the halls, it would be like the two of you had never spoken before. You hated it, especially after you developed a huge crush on him.

    And it was all starting again.

    When the movie began, you watched out the corner of your eye as Ethan fought to stay awake. He lasted ten minutes into the movie. Honestly, you were exhausted, too. You were just getting out of a double shift of waiting on tables. You thought you could get through the movie before crashing at home. You fell asleep not three seconds after the leather-clad boy.

    Ethan was woken up by a school bell ringing. He found himself sitting in a desk. Disoriented, he looked to his right to find you staring at him in alarm.

    “What the hell...” Ethan was able to mumble before the teacher called out to him and you to not be late for your next classes.

    He and you stumbled out into the hallway.

    Once out there, you whispered to Ethan in distress, “We’re in the movie. We’re in the fucking movie!”

    “No. Fuck. No,” Ethan adamantly disagreed, “We’re dreaming. This is impossible. This can’t be real--” Ethan immediately went to help you up when you ran into one of the other students.

    The boy you ran into beat Ethan to it, however.

    “Oh my god...” you voiced, completely in shock, as the stranger helped you to your feet.

    Right in front of you, holding your hand was the reason you came back to watch the kids movie over and over again. There was your #1 comfort character, your biggest crush since Ethan.

    He smiled warmly at you. “Hi there. Sorry about bumping into you...Say, you must be new here. What’s your name? I’m Chris Kringle.”

    “I know,” you blurted. Upon seeing Chris’ slight confusion, you backtracked, “I mean...You’re all people talk about around here. You must be the most popular kid in school, and you’re almost as new as I am.”

    Chris responded charmingly, “Well, that just means that you have a chance at becoming just as popular as I am, and probably even more so because you seem like you’re at the top of the nice list.”

    You felt your moth fall open and cheeks heat up from the flattery.

    Ethan cleared his throat in an attempt to get Chris’ attention off of you. He didn’t particularly like that Chris Kringle thought it was appropriate to be that friendly with you upon only just meeting you. Chris was also yet to let go of your hand.

    He didn’t let go when Ethan got his attention, either.

    Ethan had also gotten your attention. “Um, I’m Y/n, and this is my friend, Ethan. This is our, uh, first day.”

    “Oh, well you two probably need some friends around here, huh? You’re both welcome to come sledding with us. We’re heading off now,” Chris cheerfully invited.

    Ethan answered, “Uh, we actually have something--”

    “We’d love to!” you interrupted.

    Chris beamed, “Great! Let’s go! Oh, and don’t worry, people always bring extra sleds.”

    “What the hell are you thinking, Y/n?” chastised Ethan. “If this isn’t a dream, which I don’t think it is anymore, ‘cause you seem pretty self aware to me, then we gotta figure a way outta here!”

    “I don’t think we can get out of this until the plot of the movie plays out to the end, which is this Friday at the championship game against South Heights. I think all we can do is wait it out.”

    Ethan blanched, “Friday?! But I left Tim alone in that theater!”

    “Haven’t you ever seen a movie like this?” you questioned, “Jumanji? Teen Beach Movie? I’m almost positive no time will have passed once we get out of this.”

    “So what? You just want to go sledding with Chris Kringle until the game on Friday?” Ethan questioned.

    Lamely, you answered, “...Yes.”

    Ethan was rendered defeated by your hopeful eyes. He huffed out, “Fine.”

    Happiness overtook your face. “Thank you!” you celebrated.

    Ethan avoided your gaze due to how adorable he thought that was. Then, a new idea caused him to smirk, “Wait, how do you know how the movie’s going to play out?”

    “I...might’ve seen the movie more than once,” you explained. It was your turn to avoid your friend’s gaze. “...Four times, not including this one.”

    Ethan’s eyebrows shot up, “Four times?! Why the hell do you like this movie that much?” Just then, he followed your gaze to Chris Kringle. It clicked in his head. “Oh...”

    Your gaze dropped to the ground. You bit your lip, embarrassed.

    Both you and Ethan followed Chis to a large hill where a bunch of students had gathered to go sledding. You were able to borrow two extra sleds from a couple of students. After the first few trips down the hell, you and Ethan finally got used to the fact that the two of you were sledding in a Christmas movie with Santa Claus. Or maybe, you two had finally given into the insanity.

    You were standing at the top of the hill, waiting your turn with Chris when he asked you, “So, what’s the deal with you and Ethan?”

    “Me and Ethan?” You were shocked that someone besides yourself could see you and the Green boy like that. “Oh, no. We’re just friends.”

    Chris wondered, “Is there a chance at something more?”

    “Definitely not. Sorry. I guess I fucked up my Christmas wish, huh Santa?” Fuck. You did not mean to say that.

    Kringle panicked, “Wait, you know I’m Santa?!”

    “I, uh--Yes. I do, but you didn’t tell me, so Father Christmas’ spell is still intact. Tell Jingle and Jangle that before they freak out.”

    “YOU CAN SEE MY ELVES TOO?!”

    “NO! No, I can’t!” you assured, trying not to stress out Chris anymore.

    He furrowed his brow, still breathing heavy. “Then, how’d you know I’m...”

    “I...just got that vibe from you?” you lied, cringing because you couldn’t think of a better explanation than that.

    Somehow, Chris bought that, but he still had another question. “Then, how’d you know about Jingle and Jangle?”

    “Well, I see you talking to them all the time.” That actually wasn’t that much of a lie. Chris was pretty bad at talking his elves on the downlow all throughout the movie.

    Chris bit his lip. “Oh. Um, you won’t tell anyone about my secret, will you?”

    He had stepped closer, and your heart had sped up in response. You gazed into his eyes, a smile tugging at your lips. “Of course I won’t, Chris.”

    “Are you two going to actually sled, or just stand up here talking?” Ethan asked as he approached you and Chris.

    Chris, oblivious to the pissed off look on Ethan’s face, laughed and answered, “Sled.” He hopped on his sled and flew down the hill.

    “What the hell was that for?” You angrily questioned Ethan.

    He played dumb. “What are you talking about?”

    “Interrupting us like that? We were...in the middle of something, Ethan.” You were glad you stopped yourself from saying ‘We were having a moment.’ That would’ve been embarrassing.

    Green argued, “Didn’t you say the plot of the movie’s supposed to play out?”

    “Yeah. So what?”

    He wondered, “Doesn’t Chris have a love interest somewhere?”

    “Her name is Noelle,” you answered.

    Ethan sighed, “Of course it is...Y/n,” he got your attention again. “Are you sure you want to get in the way of that?”

    Your mouth slammed shut and your jaw clenched.

    Chris got you to turn to him by shouting your name from the bottom of the hill. He motioned you to join him.

    Glancing between him and Ethan, you chose to ignore the latter for the moment. You sledded down the hill.

    You successfully steered clear of the leather-clad boy for the rest of the time you spent sledding.

    That annoyed Ethan, but he knew you couldn’t avoid him forever.

    When everybody headed back home late that night, you and Ethan didn’t have a home to return to. The two of you decided to head back to Northville High. You and Ethan got lucky. The window to the staff lounge was open. The two of you slid in, and the school was yours.

    “Okay, so we have to find a place that we can sleep in where nobody will accidentally find us tomorrow...” you thought out loud.

    Ethan was still hung up on your conversation earlier. “Are we not going to talk about--”

    “Can we just worry about where we’re sleeping tonight?” you urged.

    Ethan sighed, knowing that talking about it was also something you couldn’t avoid forever.

    Eventually, you and Ethan found the boiler room. Ethan agreed with you that it was secluded enough that no one would catch you. The two of you got lucky again when you found that there were enough sweaters and blankets in lost-and-found for makeshift beds.

    At one point, you asked Ethan, “You cold?”

    He was shivering. Ethan was probably the least prepared clothing-wise to spend hours sledding on a hill. He was feeling the effects of that then. Not that he’d ever tell you. “N-no. I’m g-g-g-good.”

    “Yeah, right.” You rolled your eyes before waling over to the boiler and turning it on.

    Ethan’s cheeks tinged in pink. “T-thanks.”

    “No problem, Ethan.” You approached your bed again and covered yourself in blankets. “You know, you’ve always had issues with asking for help.”

    “How the hell do you know that?” Ethan didn’t mean for that to sound as mean as it did.

    That didn’t seem to affect you though. “The school projects we worked on together,” you explained, “I always had to find all these covert ways to help you out ‘cause you wouldn’t let me do it directly.” A faint smile was playing at your lips, like you were remembering those things fondly.

    Ethan never noticed how much you’d helped him. He didn’t like to admit it, but he had a really tough time in school. As he thought about it, however, Ethan realized that when he did projects with you, the material he was learning didn’t seem as difficult as it normally was. You made things easier for Ethan to understand. That was really nice of you, he thought. He felt bad for never thanking you before for all you did. “...Thanks for turning on the boiler...” Ethan tried. He figured it was a start.

    “Any time, Green,” you smiled before turning away from him and settling into bed.

    The next morning, you and Ethan snuck into the halls when school started. Chris quickly found the both of you. He’d brought you both pumpkin spice hot chocolate.

    “Oh, wow,” you commented when Chris handed you the beverage. You were truly surprised and flattered. “Thank you so much, Chris! This is so nice!”

    He brushed it off. “It’s really no problem. I got them from the cafeteria. We’ve got pumpkin spice for days here at Northville High.”

    You actually giggled at that. Then, you promptly got lost in Chris’ eyes again. You would’ve been embarrassed if you were even paying attention.

    Well, apparently Ethan was. He scoffed, causing you to look at him, and he grumbled, “I guess I should leave you two to it. I...gotta get to class.” He practically stomped off.

    Your eyes followed Ethan as he went. You wondered what in the world was wrong with him.

    Chris got your notice again when he asked, “So, what’s your first period class? I’ll walk you to it.”

    “Um...what’s your first period class?” you asked quickly.

    He shrugged, “Statistics--”

    “No way! Me too!” you lied. “Let’s go,” you suggested before he could become suspicious.

    “So tonight, everyone figured we’d go ice skating. You wanna join us?” he offered, “Ethan can come too if he’d like.”

    “Uh...thanks! We’d love to go,” you smiled, cursing yourself in the back of your head for speaking for Ethan again. You bit your lip, knowing what you had to ask. You weren’t exactly looking forward to knowing the answer. “Is Noelle going to be there?”

    He furrowed his brow. “You know Noelle?”

    “Um, yeah,” you lied, “I’ve seen her...in the halls.”

    He believed it. “Oh.”

    “She’s um...pretty. Isn’t she?” You hated that you were talking up someone else to your crush, but you also knew that Chris was destined to end up with her.

    Chris’ eyes widened in slight realization. “Oh. I didn’t know you swung that way. Do you...like guys?”

    Huh. Santa’s an ally.

    “Um...” Shyly, you nodded. You felt your cheeks thinking about the implications of his question.

    He just smiled. “Good!”

    You spent the whole day following Chris to his classes. It was a dream. Chris kept freezing your desk with his powers and doodling little snowflakes and Christmas trees on it. It reminded you of Jack Frost in Rise of the Guardians. It was really cute too. The teacher had to tell you to quiet down several times because you were giggling too much.

    At the end of the school day, you ran into Ethan again.

    He’d spent the day mostly in the boiler room. He figured that he was spending enough time in regular school. He wasn’t about to spend more time in a fictional one.

    When he saw you again, and you awkwardly brought up that you had signed both you and him up to go ice skating, he said, “Whatever,” which meant he’d go. The main reason he agreed was because he preferred anything over the blank cement walls of the boiler room.

    He just didn’t consider one thing.

    “Ethan, do you know how to skate?” you wondered, skating over to the boy hugging the wall.

    “Psh, of course I do,” he lied shakily, tightening his grip on the solid, non-slippery surface. “I just, uh...like it better over here.”

    You laughed. “Come here.” You took his hand.

    Ethan panicked. “Whoa, whoa. What’re you doing?”

    “Relax. I’m not gonna let go of you,” you assured. “Just one foot after the other, like this.”

    Slowly, you started leading him around the rink.

    For a little while, Ethan felt like he was actually getting it. One bad step though, and he started to freak out again. “Whoa, whoa!” he shouted.

    “It’s alright, it’s alright!” you tried to say, but it was too late. You stayed true to your word, though. You didn’t let go of Ethan. You went down with him.

    He was mostly scared of the act of falling down, so after that part was over, he was mostly concerned with the pain in his backside.

    Ethan looked over to you to complain that you had let him fall, but he found you losing yourself in laughter. He forgot what he was going to say. Watching you, Ethan felt his heart speed up and a smile growing on his lips. Soon, both of you were laughing your asses off.

    Eventually, you and Ethan had gotten your shit together enough to stand up. The two of you went over to customer services at the rink to get ice packs for your fresh bruises.

    “Sorry, I guess I should’ve told you that I...uh...” Ethan trailed off.

    You finished for him, “You’ve never been ice skating before in your life?”

    “Yeah...” Ethan smiled because you started laughing again.

    “It’s fine,” you shrugged off. “I guess I should’ve asked you if you knew how to skate before volunteering you for something against your will...again.”

    Ethan was about to say he didn’t mind. He was about to say that the past couple days with you had been the most fun he’d had in a long time.

    But then, Chris approached the two of you. “There you guys are! I’ve been looking all over for you! Y/n, I was wondering if you’d like to skate, um...with me for a bit.”

    “Oh! Um...”

    There it was. Chris was going to come along, yet again, and sweep you off your feet. You were going to say yes to Santa Creep, and Ethan would be left alone for the rest of the--

    “Ethan and I are actually gonna head back home,” you replied to Chris, interrupting Ethan’s thoughts. “We’ve been skating for a while, and we’re both pretty tired. I’ll see you tomorrow though, okay?”

    Chris seemed a little disappointed by your words. Ethan tried not to become too happy from the look on Kringle’s face.

    “Oh...okay,” Chris replied, “I’ll see you tomorrow...”

    Back in the boiler room, Ethan was still stuck on what had occurred at the ice skating rink. “You know...you didn’t have to come back with me...”

    “Hmm?” You turned to Ethan and furrowed your brow.

    He went on, “You didn’t have to come back with me ‘cause I don’t know how to skate. I coulda come back by myself. You could’ve kept having fun at the rink...with Chris.” Ethan had to physically push those last two words out.

    “Nah, I didn’t really feel like it,” you answered with a shrug. “I’m probably not going to be skating for a while with these new bruises you gave me,” you teased, but your voice grew softer. “Plus, I wanted to spend more time with you.”

    Ethan’s heart stopped. He looked away from you in an attempt to hide the growing blush on his cheeks.

    “Goodnight, Ethan,” you bid before turning over in your makeshift bed, and laying down to rest.

    Ethan’s last thoughts as he fell asleep that night was how the four concrete walls of the boiler room didn’t seem that lifeless with you there.

    The following day was Friday. For the students of Northville High, it was the last day ‘til Winter Break, and the championship basketball game was that night. For you and Ethan, it was the last day of the movie. Santa Claus Is Going To High School was supposed to end after the big game against South Heights.

    You and Ethan ran into Chris in the cafeteria during breakfast. He had more pumpkin spice hot chocolate for the both of you. “Hey guys! I forgot to tell you last night, but since it’s the last day of school, there’s caroling in the halls today. Students who join don’t have to go to classes. Do you guys wanna carol with me?”

    To prevent yourself from immediately responding “Yes!” you bit your lip. You looked to Ethan. You didn’t want to speak for him again.

    He glanced to you, and it looked like he was about to reject the offer, but then he thought about it for a second. “You said it gets us out of classes?” Ethan asked.

    Chris nodded.

    Ethan sighed, “Yeah...okay.”

    A smile broke out across your face. You couldn’t help but hug Ethan. “This is going to be so fun!” You felt Ethan’s body stiffen, and to it to mean that he thought it was weird that you were hugging him. You quickly separated from him.

    You dismissed the pink painting his cheeks as you seeing things.

    The actual singing part of caroling was pretty boring. The group of students you were with would just stop at random places in the hallway for a song or two. People in nearby classrooms would come out to watch you guys and get a little time off from class.

    What made caroling so much fun though were Chris and Ethan. Between stops, the three of you would mess around in an effort to make each other laugh. Well, while you were trying to make both Ethan and Chris laugh, it had turned into a bit of competition between the two of them to get you to laugh. Personally, you didn’t notice any malice between the two of them, but you were too busy laughing to notice much anyway.

    Throughout the day, everyone held their own books that had in them all the carols everyone was singing. Chris stole your book, and you had to go through the whole song and dance (no pun intended) of trying to get it back. Chris easily dodged you every time you went for the book.

    At one point, you tripped over your feet while going for your book. Chris caught you before you fell, and for a second he just gazed at you with wide eyes. Then, something insane happened.

    Chris Kringle kissed you. The boy, the fictional character you’d had a crush on since his movie came out, liked you enough to actually kiss you. You were frozen to your spot.

    Kringle must’ve taken that as a negative reaction. He parted from you.

    “Y/n...”

    You heard a shocked voice behind you before you could say a word to Chris. You turned around and saw Ethan’s highly concerned face.

    Suddenly, the bell rang. It was signaling the end of the school day. The sound made you jump.

    “...I...I have to go, Y/n,” Chris told you. “Coach said he wants us in the gym as soon as the bell rings.”

    You were reminded of the championship basketball game. “Right. Go,” you encouraged.

    “Come to the game later. We can talk there,” he offered.

    “Okay,” you nodded.

    Chris left. You and Ethan were suddenly alone in the hallway.

    Ethan stated, “I can’t believe he just kissed you.”

    “I can’t believe he just kissed me either.” You exhaled for probably the first time since Chris’ lips were on yours. You couldn’t stop a small smile from forming.

    “You don’t want to kiss him again, do you?”

    The question made your smile vanish. You avoided Ethan’s gaze.

    “Y/n, you can’t want any of that. None of this is even real!”

    Your face started burning from embarrassment and anger, but you fought back anyway. “So what?” you shouted. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for something like this to happen?”

    Ethan clearly hadn’t expected your voice to raise as well.

    “Dammit, Ethan,” you really didn’t care anymore, “I’ve liked you for such a long time, but you never noticed me! The only reason you sat next to me in the theater was because I was the only person there. You had no other option. But Chris, he had all the options! And he chose me! Do you have any idea how that feels?”

    You had shocked Ethan into silence.

    “Look, I’m going to the gym to watch Chris practice. Come, don’t come, I don’t care.” It was true. You didn’t care. At that point, you didn’t care that the movie was supposed to play out a certain way. You left Ethan alone in the hallway and headed toward the gymnasium.

    It took Ethan about a minute to even move. So many thoughts were running though his head. He was right to be mad at you, right? The movie had to end a certain way, or else you and him ran the chance of never going home. But then, there was the revelation that you had just unloaded on Ethan. You liked him? Like, liked him, liked him? The more he thought about it, the more obvious your crush became to him, and worse he felt about how he treated you in the past.

    Ethan also started to realize that, maybe he liked you like that, too. Maybe he wasn’t just worried about the movie’s plot. Maybe he was so concerned about Chris’ behavior around you because he was jealous.

    And that brought Ethan back to how he had acted around you in the past. Had he really been so bad? Yes. He’d been so concerned about his bad boy image that he pushed you aside whenever the two of you were around other students. He couldn’t imagine doing that after all you two had gone through in that movie. Ethan didn’t want to be away from you at all anymore, and that included right in that moment as well.

    Ethan knew he was going to have to admit a lot of things to you to get a chance at getting you back. He only hoped it wasn’t too late. He glanced up at a clock in the hallway and realized he only had ten minutes ‘til the game started.

    Meanwhile, you were looking at the same time on a clock in a hallway outside the gym.

    “Y/n.” Chris came jogging up to you. “Thank you so much for meeting me here.”

    “Uh...Hey, Chris,” you swallowed, dread filling you. You’d had some time to think since your argument with Ethan. You were still very angry with the leather-clad boy, and you still cared about Chris a lot, but Ethan was right about one thing. The movie needed to play out a certain way. You had no choice but to get out of the way of that.

    Chris noticed your unease. “Are you alright, Y/n?”

    You took a deep breath, preparing to let Chris down easy. “Um, we need to talk, Chris--”

    “Wait,” he interrupted you, “I know what you’re going to say. Y/n, I’m sorry I kissed you. It was pretty naughty of me to get in the way of the movie.”

    You blinked. Completely disregarding that ‘naughty’ line, you asked, “How’d you know that?”

    At that, he just smiled, “I’m Santa Claus, remember? It’s also how I know it was your Christmas wish to start dating Ethan.”

    “Wait, you’ve known this whole time that we’re in a movie? Why didn’t you tell me?”

    He chuckled, seemingly embarrassed. “I was trying not to mess up the plot. Stay in character, you know? I guess I really fucked that up, kissing you.”

    “Wow, I never thought I’d hear Chris Kringle curse,” you laughed.

    “You just came out of no where, Y/n. Quite literally. I had no idea I’d...like you this much when I brought you here.”

    Eyes nearly popping out of your head, you almost yelled, “You brought us here?!”

    There was an echo. It was Ethan, who had just arrived on the scene. “Why the hell would you do that?” he frantically asked.

    Chris just smirked, “You two will find out soon enough.”

    The buzzer in the gym sounded, signaling the game was going to start soon.

    Chris turned to you. “Y/n, I want you to hang onto my jacket for me.” He handed you his letterman. “Don’t worry about the plot of the movie, I’ll take care of it. I’m...really going to miss you, Y/n. Ethan, you got very lucky with this gift. Be very nice to them.”

    He kissed you on the cheek and ran off before you could say something in return. You absentmindedly put on Chris’ letterman and turned to Ethan. Your plan was to try and explain away Chris’ leading last words to Ethan, but before you could:

    “I really like you, Y/n,” Ethan blurted.

    Your words got caught in your throat.

    Ethan quickly continued, “I’ve only really noticed how I feel in the past couple days in this movie, but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t liked you for a long time. I’m sorry for acting like such an asshole. I really don’t know how you continued to be nice to me after all that...”

    He continued to ramble on, but some twinkling above your head caught your eye. You smiled when you looked up and saw it. “Hey, Ethan?”

    Your voice immediately shut him up as he gazed at you.

    “Look up,” you quietly prompted.

    Hanging above the two of you was a beautiful little mistletoe.

    “I...uh...” Ethan swallowed. “Does this mean you’ll forgive me?”

    You smirked, “Well, I guess that depends on whether or not you’re a good kisser.”

    Ethan’s face broke out in a grin as well. He hooked an arm around your waist and pulled you close enough where your heads barely had to move at all to kiss.

    You were woken up in the movie theater by the kid Ethan was babysitting—Tim, as Ethan had called him—cheering because Chris Kringle had successfully used the ‘Santa Swap’ to win the championship game against South Heights. At least, you thought Ethan had called him Tim. Did Ethan only say that while you and him were trapped in the movie? Was any of that real at all?

    Dread filled you when you started to think that Ethan had never actually kissed you, it had been a dream. That dread doubled when you realized that you had fallen asleep on Ethan’s shoulder.

    You slowly started to raise your head because you had a feeling that Ethan had fallen asleep too, and you thought maybe you could save yourself some embarrassment.

    However, as soon as he could, and at the same time Chris kissed Noelle in the movie, Ethan kissed you too. “I just had the most amazing dream,” he whispered to you once you parted.

    Several thoughts raced through your head. Was it a dream? Is it possible for two people to have the same dream? Yet, you quickly realized that it didn’t matter because Ethan had just kissed you. He liked you! You finally got your Christmas wish.

    As you and Ethan walked out of the theater hand-in-hand, Ethan asked Tim, “So, nothing seemed weird about that movie, kid?”

    Tim shrugged it off. “Nope.”

    “Huh,” Ethan turned to you, you guessed probably to ask you how much you remembered, but Ethan gasped when he saw what you were wearing. “Holy shit.”

    Following Ethan’s eyeline, you spotted what had freaked him out so much. “Holy shit,” you repeated.

    You were still wearing Chris’ letterman.

*******

Author’s Note: Thank you so much for reading! Fill up that heart and reblog if you liked it! I would also really appreciate a comment, if you have the time. If you would like to read more, I have more fics over on my page. You should check it out. Have a nice day, night, or whatever time it is for you! <3 <3 <3

#starkid #black friday #black friday starkid #santa claus is going to high school #ethan green #ethan green x reader #chris kringle #chris kringle x reader #robert manion #santa claus is going to high school with ethan and y/n #companion jones #i really have to go to the bathroom atm

[worldsover]

No More Drowning ft. Olivia Hye

length ✦ 7138

genres ✧ drunk hookup; outercourse; roommate!Olivia

✦✧✦✧✦✧

Perspiration deluges your white Taekwondo uniform. You make it fit loose so that it doesn’t stick to your skin. A refreshing breeze now annoys you as it whistles through your damn window that never sealed completely shut. At least you didn't need to turn on a fan today.

“Hey Captain,” you greet the commander of none. Hyejoo lies on a small blue couch, the only pristine spot in the living room. Her outfit suggests that there would be the usual cool air expected of the season but the fall is humid and stuck in the climate of a couple months past. It’s incredible that there is not a bead of sweat formed on her face. You study her and somehow she’s handsome in your eyes which is probably not a word others would use to describe the stunning woman reclining with her feet up.

“Wassup,” she says.

“You gonna-”

“Clean up?  Yeah, yeah, lemme finish this round.”

Her face is welded to her screen though her eyes dart around maybe holding a hint of remorse at the clothes that litter the cramped living space and the dishes in the sink.

“I’m not an impostor! Ahhh!” Hyejoo shouts into the screen. Certainly none of her actions follow through on that guilt.

“How'd this even happen? You got pyjamas on the floor, shirts on the chairs. You a camgirl or something?"

"I'm a camgirl? I can see your tits dude.” Cover your pectoral cleavage in faux shame. ”Yo, I swear I just saw green-"

"And all these energy drinks? Come on Hyejoo, no way your heart lasts more than a year.”

“Wow, meanie.”

You look at your watch. “It’s like 9:40.”

“Shit, right, the marketing test.” Hyejoo’s fingers show no pretense that she’ll stop playing. She definitely didn't see your disapproving face. “Oh relax, I still got time,” she says anyway.

Finally, she looks up at you and her brows crease. “What?” you ask.

"You look good today."

Your heart floats just a little. You always appreciate the little compliments she gives. They were just ones that friends, good friends, would say but you’ll take anything to keep you going. Well, it’s enough to get you to clean up for her again.

“It’s gonna be a long shower by the way.” She giggles and you step over empty cans and bottles when you walk to the bathroom.

“No prob, I’m heading out soon,” Hyejoo says.

“Sure you are.”

Her exaggerated yawn seems not so exaggerated by how she stretches her entire being before putting her phone away.

“Oh, soon means now. How long’s it going to take?” you say.

She shrugs her shoulders. “One, two? I dunno.”

In a rush to get all her supplies in her bag, a series of metallic clangs sound out when finished beverages fall over like dominoes.

“Fuck. I’m so sorry about that, I really am. I can buy you lunch if you want something?” Hyejoo starts picking up a few of them to set aside in the corner and you help her.

“Nah, I’ll still be in the shower by then.”

Hyejoo scoffs. “If I'm addicted to caffeine, you're addicted to water. A sandwich sound good?”

“Yeah sure. I got a lot on my mind, Captain.”

“That include me?” A dismissive puff of air exits your lips. No, no way. She walks up to smell your uniform. Your acute awareness of her distance or lack thereof causes you to ignore her pupils' subtle drift downwards.

“You’re a weirdo, you know that?”

"Get to your shower stinky."

You wave Hyejoo off then enter the bathroom. The scurry of little steps and a slam from the front door echo the whole apartment. Never any privacy in here. These sounds give way to the jet engine of your shower with its pressure betraying the bargain rate of your rent. Soap washes away your muscles' ache and the sun’s beating on your skin. It's been unusually warm since the leaves turned brown. Water builds up in the tub.

Something's not adding up. There it is again. That plunging in your heart. Sparring always helps a bit after your early morning manual labor carrying bags of sand. However, it does not stop the resurfacing of your every mistake as there's nothing but your mind in the shower. You don't have a plan and your future is void because money and work hours kill you as much as school. You're not even getting all the wages you earn and there's nothing you can do about it. Past choices bubble up in that unkind way. The cup fills and clear blue liquid engulfs you.

Lift yourself out the tub to catch a breath that you don't deserve. Deliberate respirations do nothing to slow down your heart rate. The only thing that can is a captain. You could wander the ocean on a raft with her alone but you have no idea if she felt even close to the same. Maybe she's just the most important friend you've ever had. Light from the small window hits the tiled floor. Unplug the drain. Right, you left your clothes in your room so wrap yourself with a green towel you find hanging from the doorknob.

Shit! There's not a mouse in sight but you shriek like there is one when Hyejoo materializes in the confined kitchen. Hyejoo expresses no surprise herself as she sits cross legged on the miniature wooden dining table playing yet another mobile game. Laundry baskets and garbage bags hold all the previous mess. Your surprise at her appearance transforms into surprise for her proactiveness. You want to give her thanks but no words escape your lips.

"You gonna put on some clothes? Perv. That’s my towel too."

Your hands push off invisible blame. The hands of the wall clock reads five minutes before noon. "Woah, woah, wait a sec. What happened to the midterm?"

"Walked out in the middle of it. Couldn’t deal. Dropped."

"Wait, what about the refund?"

"Sunk cost dude.” Hyejoo sniffs a wide white shirt hanging from a chair next to her. “This yours or mine? Ehh, it's clean either way."

You catch the shirt and smell it. A little vanilla. It's hers. “Thanks Captain.”

“Even sniffing it? Really a perv.” You almost forget a single piece of fabric separates full exposure of your genitals but the realization makes you blush anyway.

“Nah, you smelled it first and. Whoever smelt it, dealt it.”

“That’s not what that saying means.” Hyejoo gets up from her awkward seat.

Incredible how many new ways she can throw you off like when she bumps into you with her eyes are still on her phone. Hyejoo's clumsiness will be your death as the towel slips down and hangs solely from your half erect dick. Cool, you're just a clothing rack now. She turns you around with one hand and snatches the large shirt with the other. Your bare moon is in full view.

"You gonna put this on or just stand there?" she says with no qualms about the absurd sight of your newly cleansed rear. You scramble to wrap the towel tightly around you to tame your erection but there's no way she hasn't noticed by now.

"Y- yep, I, I will do that, for sure." Turn back around and take the shirt to put it on carefully. It’d be oversized for her but it fits you snug. Your ears must have joined your cheek’s redness because your nipples poke through the thin white fabric.

Hyejoo takes a single glance away from her screen at your makeshift towel skirt and laughs. "Actually, you look cute like that. Just keep the towel on, it's less to clean."

Wide-eyed, you say, "What if ahjumma barges in?"

"What if? Whatever, no fun." She sticks her tongue out then gets comfortable on the couch while her diligent and nimble fingers peck at the screen.

Return to the restroom and deal with your erection before it becomes a problem. You’ve seen hints of her comely body before and it helps you undress her layered attire in your imagination. Instead of the black button-up long sleeve and track pants she wore just moments ago, you picture a crop top, her hair tied up and white panties, and it's that latter image that affixes to your mind. On a particularly balmy day, Hyejoo wore only her underwear because she had nothing else to do but game and it hasn't stopped plaguing your fantasies ever since. Your hands are Hyejoo’s, soft and loving just for a moment.

"You taking another shower in there or what?" Hyejoo shouts, “I’d definitely hear from here!”

Reality smacks you in the face. She had no fear of you, no worry that you’d take advantage of her. Were you even a man? Stop your jerking and get up. 

Open the bathroom door absentmindedly and thump. It smacks her head. You don’t even think about why she was standing right next to the door, instead sweeping aside her hair from her face. Red doesn’t come from where you hit her.

Simultaneously, you and Hyejoo say, “You okay?”

“Um, I’m, look-”

Her blush grows but she interrupts your blabbering, “I didn’t hear you respond and thought you, uh, died in there or something.”

Nearly reached la petite mort if that counted but instead you say, “No, I just. Had a lot to consider.”

“Sure.” You’ve never seen her this flustered since it’s enough for her to scurry back to her room. Hopefully things wouldn’t be too awkward.

✦✧✦✧✦✧

“I fucking hate you!” Hyejoo yells.

“Oh yeah? Same!” you retort, probably too loud.

Her tone goes down. “Were those the lines?”

“Ehh, as long as we get the gist of the argument down.”

Hyejoo and you stand on the stairway up to your rooftop apartment in your rehearsed spots. She looks a little confused on how to start what she wants to start but you poke at her when you see the landlady walking towards the stairs.

“Chill out!” she yelps.

“Chill out, you’re telling me to chill out?"

"Seriously, oppa," that's about as strained as a human can say a word, "You’re such a slob!”

“Shut up, look at me straight in the eyes and tell me you’re not just as bad,” you say, trying not to laugh but Hyejoo’s punch knocks the wind out of you. Your pain is only half acting. Her sympathetic look does nothing to soothe you.

"Ya!" The elderly woman interrupts and forces you two apart. “That’s enough! I get you’re cousins but even I don’t fight this badly with my family.”

Hyejoo whips her pupils towards you as though to ask the same question you had, if you sold the illusion too hard.

“I get that living with your kin is tough but at the very least, no murders on my property. Not until one of you graduates.” The old lady squints and turns to each of you saying, “Promise me. No hitting. Not in my sight.”

You nod then Hyejoo’s sigh becomes an assenting nod when the landlady smacks her wrist nearly black and blue. Satisfied at her hard work reconciling family matters, she walks back down her stairs to do her usual wandering around the neighborhood. Hyejoo and you take a second to stretch and relax.

“Ha. Do as I say, not as I do,” Hyejoo says as you both sit on the concrete steps.

You caress your tender rib. “Or don't do at all. Ow. You wanna be a Youtuber? They do boxing and gaming, and you'd kill doing both." Hyejoo's laugh is rich and all that it takes for you to forgive her. You exhale. "Hopefully that gets her off our backs for a while.”

“How do you even manage Taekwondo? You’re so fragile and-" Her sentence is interrupted when she looks at your built arms.

"No way they hit as hard as you, Captain." You miss her carnal look when you close your eyes and think about the nickname that you aimlessly threw out one day.

She stands up. Your eyes violently spread open at her “Kya!” Hyejoo’s fighting stance and shouts masquerading kihaps are totally off. As much as Hyejoo could kill you, a Taekwondo fighter since your childhood, she could also be incredibly cute too.

You tsk. "All that power and no technique."

Hyejoo sits back down none the more ashamed and scratches her head. "You think it would’ve been easier if we came clean?”

“Ahjumma could never allow two strangers to live co-ed. No way. I’m still surprised you came up with that so quickly.”

“It just came out so naturally, oppa!” she says in a deriding high pitch. “Yeah right I ever call you that again.”

Ring ring. You answer the call and Hyejoo's quizzical stare turns concerned at your breathlessness from the words that drill into your ear. They slam, they crash and their volume could break your eardrums even though they’re said as calmly as possible. The hole in your raft grows bigger and leaks more so even when you reach the abandoned shore, you're marooned.

"Fuck, fuck, god."

Sprint for the next bus. Pay no heed to the girl chasing you. Dammit, this can't be happening. Every problem gets fucking magnified because you can't have anything good and if you did, never could it last for more than a goddamn millisecond. You embark on the most anxious ride of your life even though you already know exactly what's going to happen. Transfer buses. The skyscrapers hover over you and gloat about how you’ll never enter their doors. Asphalt and glass swelter you when they reflect radiation down the sky. Your skin hurts. You get off the bus and arrive at the headquarters of the construction company. At the front of the building stands your boss.

Slap. "Did you not get the message? Were you under a tunnel?"

You get on your knees and bow. "Sir, I'm sorry."

"No one else is going to hire a goddamn delinquent like you."

"Please. I thought you understood." You nearly prostrate yourself

"I have no idea what you're talking about. There's a lot of assault on your record."

You stop yourself from blurting out that you fucking know. Defending yourself from bullies is assault? He already knew this was bullshit since that's why he hired you in the first place but now he's backtracking like a rat. 

"I'll do anything to work here." He shakes his head while you hold back a tear. "Please. Just. Just tell me why?"

"You got greedy."

"Greedy?" You raise your head and then your tone. "Getting paid for the work that I do is greed?"

"You're on your knees and wanna talk back? Get out."

Bang. A closing door. Your head slumps back down and not a single person on the bus would misunderstand your emotions. You take the longest way home, unsure if you even deserve to go back. Any time, you could give up.  Ponder your choices. Never going to get a job again. Never going to school. Never will have a chance to learn or a chance to improve. Never going to have money and never will have a place to live. Never going to see Hyejoo again. You have to give up.

One missed phone call from your polar opposite. She can do so much better. The longest way home turns longer when it goes straight to the sea as you decide to live life as a fisherman with your uncles. You were always invited. You wasted your time in the city. There's no stress here.

✦✧✦✧✦✧

There's no happiness either. Weeks passed even though only days passed. That’s life on the water. Everything spins. Fortunately, you manage to keep your stomach in not wanting to inconvenience the bus driver, the only other person in the vehicle. 

You look at your watch as you near Hyejoo's home. She must be asleep by now but you carry each foot heavily when you walk up the steps anyway. Apologies, excuses and petitions that you wrote in your head blank away when you open the door when you see a woman asleep on the couch with earbuds on. Her unconscious head bounces to a slow rhythm. Your lungs fail your mouth's movements to form words because of all that creamy skin covered only by a green towel that creates an outline of her captivating curves. Hyejoo's legs beg to be licked and her collarbones direct your gaze to the bulging flesh poking from the top of the towel with her nipples an inch from your sight. Any other day and you’d ravage her on the spot. Stupid brain tells you to leave and stupid you follows.

You're outside when you hear Hyejoo say, "Hey! Motherfucker, where'd you go you son of a bitch?"

She steps out with no regard to her state of dress and you spin around watching for any witness. You notice her hold back when she hits you but her consecutive punches send a message anyway as each strike punctuates her words, "What, makes you think, you can worry me, like that?"

"Woah, you should. You should get back inside your house," your voice breaks and you back away.

"Hold on now, you're really about to go? Like this?" Hyejoo says.

"You. You look busy. I have to go."

"I'm sorry, I was just messing around with you. Come on, you're really telling me-" She notices your tumultuous expression and sighs. “Fuck it, we'll worry about it tomorrow. First of all, come in. With me. Into our home.”

You follow her into her apartment. She quickly returns from her room in a simple white tee and red gym shorts revealing the supple shape of her ass.

“I'm not gonna ask, okay? Tell you what. When you have a problem, the only answer is late night soju, beer and?” she says.

“Chicken, it’s gotta be. Come on, I see the bones right there.” You point to the countertop dishes. “I’m surprised this place isn’t messier."

"I can handle myself, thank you very much. And that. That was leftover, dry, sober chicken. We're going to munch down on that good crispy skin and we're doing it goddamn wasted." You can't help but match her smile, more radiant and genuine than yours.

Hyejoo pulls out all the alcohol from the small fridge while you call for delivery before both of you step outside the home. It’s night but the heat would make you believe the moon disguises the sun with how it shines on the green roof. What a weird fall. Only the trees remind you of the season. A short plastic table as the only furniture easily moved outside means that you’d have to sit close together on the floor, not that you minded.

Her silence confuses you but she becomes her usual self after you both down glasses of mixed beer and soju and especially after she sees the delivery man bringing an absurd amount of plastic bags for two people.

“Let’s. Go!” she shouts sloppily.

The poor worker looks at you so you give him a knowing nod and point to the beer and soju cans strewn about. His thumbs up as he walks away beguiles you. You look at Hyejoo and realize all the cleavage she’s showing with the shirt she chose. It's as revealing as the towel she wore earlier. Did she not put on a bra? Stand up quickly and search for the guy but his motorcycle revs and he’s already out of sight. That fucker probably saw something he shouldn’t have. You’re never gonna order from that chicken spot again. You bite angrily into the spicy crispy wing. Alright, maybe you just won’t order at this hour or whenever that dude works. Hyejoo chows down with drumsticks on each hand and it’s clear she’s responsible for a majority of the finished carcasses. The stains on her shirt would not make her look any less goddamn cute.

“Cheers!” Glasses clink. How many drinks, how many, burp, were you down? She burps too, you burp together. It’s funny. There was a lot of conversation but it slips you.

"I said I wouldn't talk about it, but Doyun and Michael, worried sick. They came here, everything.” Hyejoo garbles her words.

"Just ‘cause I don't show up to the club for a few days?"

"I'm telling you, a lot of people care. For you. I know I do."

It’s been a while since you started your little escape. All the food’s gone. You’re more sober now. You swear. The nighttime is so comfortable that Hyejoo brings out her blanket to lay on, along with a spoon and a watermelon.

"You're gonna have to wash this later," you say.

“Alright fine. Don't. Don’t rest yourself besides a pretty lady.“ Stab. ”On a perfect starry night.” Stab. “And don’t have some of this delicious watermelon."

One more stab at the watermelon she splits it open. Her devilish look suggests she might do the same to your rib cage if you don’t acquiesce. Lie down next to Hyejoo on the flimsy layer of cloth. You share pieces of the fruit and notice water spilling down her mouth. Definitely sober by now. She’s maybe half a meter away.

"Starry's a strong word to use.”  You twirl your finger at the scarce lights in the black backdrop. “Lady too with the way you eat-" She playfully covers your mouth and flicks your forehead.

You don't know when your laughter and banter slow down, or when you start inching closer to her. It doesn't matter.

“Fishing is boring. They make it look all dramatic on shows and you’re just waiting. The night sky’s much clearer though.”

“You gotta. When you do something like that, gotta lemme join in at least.”

“You’re really fine on going on a trip with a man, alone, faraway on the sea?”

“If it’s you.”

“I don’t count, not much of a man at all. I just run away from shit and-”

"Shhh,” she shushes you loudly. “You can count on me.” Hyejoo says and you don’t let her voice project into empty space.

“I will.” It sounds a little forced from you.

“You will,“ she sounds so sure of herself, ”you’ll be okay.”

Your head lays in her neck. A finger in a cup, breaking surface tension so a drop escapes past the rim. You have no outdated sentiments on displaying emotion but you held back often pretending your tenacity was as strong as your body. Not this time. Your cup overflows.

Only moonlight refracts on your tears and Hyejoo wipes them away. You have no idea what she’s thinking as she gazes into the few stars visible in the city. Turn on your side and Hyejoo does likewise to face you then puts a couple of fingers in your hair. Cup her face in return and it wears many emotions, such as impishness, meekness at a few times, and an often impenetrable focus, but above all it’s the standard for beauty in how it assumes no blemish. Her triangle mouth is distinct, welcoming, but you hesitate. Her minute sugary fragrance overwhelms the variety of smells in the air. Crickets and distant occasional traffic. Hyejoo’s head tilts forward then places her lips light on yours and your world is silent. Your heart’s pulse slows so it doesn't interrupt.

“Captain,” you exhale out when she finally retreats her mouth. The name sounds ridiculous in this setting. “Ma’am?”

“Whatever sounds right to you,” she yields, though the subdued caresses on the definition of your arms, and less subtle grabs on your black shirt, convey that she’s in charge even if it’s a gentle direction. "Just Hyejoo is fine."

It's like she’s teaching you how to spar for the first time though neither of you are virgins. Hyejoo gives another kiss then turns you recumbent. You could not and would not stop her now especially when she straddles your denim covered thighs. Take off your shirt and her hands rush to aid you.

“But I’d prefer we don’t think at all.” Is she drooling?

“That’s what got me into trouble. Thoughtlessness.” Your eyes somehow wander away from the woman and her sumptuous yet clothed ass grinding on you.

“What do you think of me?

“Huh?” you say and your eyes snap back to her.

The underside of her shorts warm your groin. “I said, what do you think of me?”

“I think, ugh,” her weight striking a sensitivity in your pants makes you moan, “I think, you’re the most beautiful woman I know.”

“What a player. Well, that’s all you need to think.” Hyejoo rocks back and forth. “Fuck, this is going to be good.”

Lay your hands on her hips and Hyejoo takes your right one, lifting herself just enough to let your dick breathe.

“Why do you need that hand?” you say.

“Feel this.” She takes your hand to knead the thin cloth under her mound and you feel just the tiniest hint of moisture build on your palm.

Pull away to take a base whiff of your slippery fingers. It’ll be a new addiction. The smell of alcohol and the most delicious fried chicken in the world couldn’t compare.

"It's been like this around you since the day we met." Hyejoo bends down and etches every word of the confession into your eardrums, her tone even raspier. "This is all for you."

“Really?” You give her a peck and it turns frisky when tongues join the mix and teeth nibble at lips. 

“Mhm.” Her lips vibrate on yours. Hyejoo gropes your crotch over your jeans. “I know it's going to be perfect.” She unzips and pulls down your pants to your knees. You take them off your legs completely and she searches for your wallet.

"I just lost my job and you're gonna rob me?" She breaks her serious character with a snicker. You sniffle and your mood lightens, “And how’d you know I had a condom in there?”

“Just had a feeling.” She winks.

Not an implausible cold reading but you can't count out the possibility of her snooping through your personal effects. You don't mind her proclivities this time. Hyejoo traces your every muscle’s curve with her index and middle finger and focuses especially around your pecs.

“I have to concede. I love these muscles of yours. Ever since that first day I met you at the open house. Maybe I’m just a simple woman.”

“Simplicity is sophistication.” Her fingers draw a line down your torso.

"Indeed. But I'm most interested in this hunk of meat right," she frees your cock from its confines, "Here." Hyejoo licks her lips.

“How is it?”

You’re already hard but Hyejoo's hands deftly work your shaft stiffer. “It’s so thick and this vein right here. It’ll hit just right.”

"Fuck, Hyejoo," you utter when she spits a little on your cock before she unrolls the condom on your erection. Hyejoo slips aside her shorts.

You don't get a view of her pussy with how she sprawls herself on top of you, but the slickness of her lips and the warmth that she emanates from between her legs immerses your senses enough. The missionary with her on top lets her control by the way she guides your cock and presses down on you.

“Oh god, I was right, fuuck,” Hyejoo proclaims when she sinks herself carefully into you and, on the next bounce, smacks her butt right into your waist. Her snugness clenches and quakes on your cock. Willowy arms share a similar hold of your body when she embraces you. You need her as badly as she needs you. You take heavy breaths, especially through your nose. Even her sweat is so alluring. The velvet texture that surrounds you keeps taut on your dick no matter how forcefully she rides herself on top of you. Squelches and quiet moans to a higher power pepper the warm night air.

Hyejoo removes her shirt and slings it away before bowing back down to lick your ears "God, your tits are perfect," you say even though your hands squeeze her buttcheeks in time to her thrusts. Her perky breasts recoil back and forth as they rub your chest while hard nipples juxtapose their softness.

No chance someone would come up to this little rooftop at this hour or have a good view though your cheeks flush at the thought. What if you had extra chicken coming? Or what if the landlady decided to check in on you two late at night? What if-

Hyejoo nudges her forehead against yours. She knows your habits. Your worried face is too familiar for her not to react so she nuzzles your neck and surrounds you with kisses.

Her husky voice vibrates your whole face. "Just focus on me." She makes out with you before her tongue dips into every crevice of your face the same way your cock does in her pink pussy.

Your dick slips out for a second and you take the time to admire her beauty and your fortune. 

“Telling me not to drown and you’re going to inundate me,” you say in between her smooches, "With all these kisses."

“Well. Mwah.” Another peck. "You're so delectable.”

“So I’m just chicken to you then.” This deep kiss is probably to shut you up. You’re fine with that.

Regret on her mouth that she pulls away from you. One of you rips off her shorts, the last piece of clothing obstructing you two from total symmetry. Who cares who sees. You’re both fully naked with not a woe for the surrounding world. Delicate hands splayed across your upper body grasp tightly and again, your pecs get particular attention while she fondles your nipples. 

She adjusts her back straight up and now she’s on her knees seated on your erection. The cowgirl stance allows her to find a new cusp of your cock head inside her. Hyejoo gyrates on you and you notice the understated lubrication of her pussy begins to overpower everything else in existence. Her musk vaguely reminds you of the ocean while its pheromones have you just as wobbly. It’s enough that, even though you're on your back, you have to hold her waist to avoid keeling over. Nails dig into your chest.

“God, yes, you, your cock, everything, just fuck into me.”

Hyejoo relaxes her body weight and relinquishes the rhythm to you. Pick up a new wind in your sails when you hear her gasp as you pinch her nipples. The momentum has you use all your stamina as though your rigorous fitness had one culminating purpose. You would make Hyejoo cum with only your cock. Rotate and circle your pelvis in pursuit of her most tender spot and an uncharacteristic high pitched wail confirms the location of the treasure. It’s difficult holding yourself up to reach the sensitive wall but she realizes your shared interest.

“That’s, that’s the spot. When I touch myself and think of you, it’s right there, fuck, it’s right there.” There’s no speed or power in your movement, only deliberate jabs and graceful nudges at the softest flesh. Sure it’s work, but damn did you get paid for it since she somehow sops even more between her thighs. Truly the reciprocating delight of friction and silkiness on your dick’s tip is worth it. Your name mixes profanities and wet slapping noises as Hyejoo bucks her hips in climax. Prized juices cascade all over your lap. Her highest vocalizations pierce your ears and her pussy tries its best to milk you but Hyejoo keeps as still as she can to hold your cock’s ideal positioning. Smear the fluids that coat her thighs slick with your hands and lick at your fingers, thirsty like you’re stranded.

Those thighs, by smothering your cock and removing your condom, soothe the pangs of when you pull out. Hyejoo is still in her cowgirl position reeling from her climax and her contorted face is yet more polished than any art you’ve consumed.

Seize the opportunity. Bend your dick forward. The topside of your shaft now rubs on her well-formed ass cheeks, moisturized by the wetness on your cock. Its cradle is different from her pussy's with perfect round cushions in her buns and a tight asshole that greets and tempts your shaft every time you thrust. It’s a siren call you’d have to answer another day. Fucking her bare buttcheeks satisfies you plenty enough.

She lifts up to let your erection return to its idle upward stance and you fuck her thighs in response. Her labia gnaws away at the bottom of your shaft and it begs you to shove it back in especially with how its liquor intoxicates your dick. You don’t forfeit, already overwhelmed by the thickness of her legs and her saliva dribbling from her mouth to help her juices. Hyejoo squirms as you repeat fucking her ass cheeks and fucking her thighs, and it makes the both of you feel heady. Alcohol and lack of sleep would probably do that too.

“Please. Hyejoo,” you implore, flexing your cock to scrape by her pussy lips.

“You want to?” She teases your bare tip but even just the spread of her satin pink on your head makes you shoot just a little. “I. I dunno.”

“Can we?”

“No.” You regret your loud sigh and feel selfish since you already had more satisfaction than one man could ever experience in his life. ”No, not no. No, as in no thinking.”

Plunge back into her wetness. Your cycle in and out continues with you eager to make her climax a second time. Maybe it’s the third time? The only thing you can recall is that this round, you can feel every corner of her pussy on your shaft tensing and relaxing without the latex protection. All of everything is a blur. Hyejoo could be clutching and ogling your muscles. She might be kissing your neck or maybe she’s bobbing up and down to show off her tits and her tummy. God, that midriff would look perfect coated in your cum. You could live forever with Hyejoo mounted on your cock and riding. A ringtone interrupts forever once again. It’s from that number. What was that number? Fuck it, no thinking. Her bouncing tits hypnotize you away from substantiality.

She snaps her fingers. “Hey! Hey. This is, fuck that feels so good, god your cock is just right. Ah fuck, I really think you should answer that.” You take an eternity to slow your boat. Hyejoo points to your phone on the table next to you. Work. She’s right. Both of you take a second to stabilize your breathing. Try to push her off but she refuses, shifting her mass onto your lap and keeping her pussy’s hold tight and warm on you.

“Really?” You groan, “You’re the one who told me to answer it.”

“It’s so late and they haven’t stopped calling.” She rests her head on your chest and yawns. “Your cock is sooo big in me. Don’t even need to move.”

Channel your practice silently jerking off to keep your cool though years of doing that couldn’t prepare you for this. Your hands certainly tried but never could imitate her pussy’s plush tightness. Really wish you didn’t have to but finally, you answer your phone after minutes of ringing. The voice on the other side mumbles a greeting. Didn’t expect to hear him. “Joonho. Why the fuck are you calling now?”

“It’s me! Joonho.”

“Yeah, I know. The hell you calling for?”

“Now that’s no way to speak to your boss, is it?”

“Huh?”

“I said that’s no way to speak.”

“I got that!”

“Hyung. That asshole, management fired him.”

“You telling me-”

“Yeah, they caught him stealing.”

“How the fuck?”

“Dude got too big for his britches and aimed up with his theft too. Mr. Son really didn’t like that shit.”

You cheer in your head. It wakes up the girl resting on you. Guess that wasn’t in your head. “Fuck man.”

"I know right. Fuck him!" You're not on speaker but Hyejoo must’ve heard him say that. You massage your ringing ear.

“Ow. But thank you. Seriously, it’s so late. You could’ve called me tomorrow.”

“I’m drunk as shit man. Sounds like you are too.” You don’t even realize how much you’re slurring your words. “Should I pull up, maybe we drink a little more?”

Stare at the woman still holding your cock in place, fluttering her lashes at you. Hyejoo mouths if you’re gonna take much longer. “I. I don’t think I will. We’ll have to meet up some other time, okay?”

Understanding that you’re winding down your call, she gets back upright and starts bouncing again. “You gonna pass out or something?” Joonho says.

“Something like that” Hyejoo teasingly drops her waist into you and waits, then lifts herself. You purse your lips. “Listen, ah.” And again. Purposeful slams into your cock too loud not to be picked up by a phone. “God. I gotta go, I’ll text you again tomorrow aight goodbye,” you rush your words.

She holds her hair up in pleasure and her profane cries let everyone living below know that you’re fucking the most gorgeous girl with more energy than you’ve ever had. For all the pressure on your sensitive nerves, it’s that image of Hyejoo satisfying her need with your cock that brings you closer.

“I’m almost there! Fuck, fuck.” You pull out and despite her drowsiness, Hyejoo diligently takes your dick with both hands, scoots back and bends down, slobbering on it with her mouth while her fingers stroke the skin of your shaft.

Hyejoo’s lips pop when she releases your cock’s tip. “Where do you wanna-”

“Those fucking perfect abs,” you shudder.

She takes advantage of your previous thrusts’ zeal on her thighs and repositions herself in cowgirl one last time to bend back and choke your cock with her toned legs. One single motion is all it takes. A tsunami and a storm clash. Didn’t remind her that you hadn’t cum at all away at sea as you explode. You call out, “Hyejoo, god, yes, fuck, Hyejoo, yes,” at every wave of pleasure. Shove desperately and Hyejoo’s eyes grow big at how much semen streams out of your slit because the volume of cum nearly rivals the fluid she ejected from her wetness. Her inner thighs, her lap and her stomach all soak in stickiness. She holds onto your arms as she finds enjoyment not only from your cock’s throbbing on her clit, but at your biceps and other curves. An inquisitive pinky takes a sample of your cum to lick up then, to your surprise, she collects all the cum she can with both hands and swallows it down.

“Ahh,” she presents her tongue to you.

Finally, you sit up and no amount of exhaustion would stop you from nibbling her neck as thanks.

“Relax, you hungry beast. You just came all over me and now you’re trying to tell the world we just fucked.” She gives you a little suck on your lips instead.

“I don’t mind.” You clash at her mouth and your teeth click. She smiles and gives you a deep but final smooch. Both of you breathe stiltedly and take time to readjust into the world once again.

“Me neither, if I didn’t have a presentation tomorrow.”

You fall back and feel everything aching in a good way. “Ah shit, school.”

“What did I tell you earlier?”

“Hmm?”

Hyejoo falls flat next to you and clasps her hands into yours. “You will be okay. I called them with an excuse. Speaking of which. You’re gonna find out sooner or later that a certain cool as fuck girl blew the whistle on that son of a bitch.”

This whole thing feels like it should be temporary, like a one-time thing. Any more and it’d be weird, yet her confidence makes you reroute all that anxious energy in your heart’s pace into something good. It’s not love but, “Thanks. I just. Thank you.”

“You are always welcome.” Her lips curl up.

“So. You a snitch now, huh?"

"Relax,” she hisses the end of the word. ”Maybe I snooped through the construction company records, maybe I didn’t. You didn’t hear from me, ‘kay?" She nudges your side with her elbow.

“Hey!” You laugh a little, ticklish in that spot. “Okay, okay. How’d you manage that anyway?”

“Joonho didn’t mention it? Well, I have my connections,” Hyejoo says.

You breathe out and you deserve it. “You really are the Captain.”

“Damn right. Guess you’re stuck on this boat a little.” Yawn. “Longer.” Her eyelids slowly descend.

Watch Hyejoo fall asleep and realize she’s nude and still a little sticky. You decide to make a smart decision just once by putting away all the garbage in your apartment. She giggles reflexively when you clean her up and you struggle but manage to put on her previous outfit.

After you get dressed yourself, you lie next to Hyejoo and watch the few lights in the sky all distanced from each other. You feel a little reticent but the old lady shouldn’t fret if the outdoors is a better bedroom for one night. Close your eyes. Drift away into the best sleep you’ve ever had even if it’s only you and a blanket separate the hard concrete rooftop from the atmosphere. Dreams of water are gracious for once. The ocean lacks bounds and you smile for it. Who cares about tomorrow? It’s made of sticks and rope fashioned from whatever bamboo you could find but the raft holds two. That’s all you need.

✦✧✦✧✦✧

"A college roommate scenario where the male reader is living with LOONA's Olivia Hye and she's attracted to him sexually since he moved in due to his physique. Then one day, he got home all stressed and the two hooked up eventually." - @optimisticwritersworld​

AFF, AO3

Pretty sure this was supposed to be all casual but then I started adding to explain the co-ed living scenario and the stress, so here we are. Watch out for more LOONA though no promises on timelines

#kpop smut #loona smut #request #male reader #reader insert #title tracks

[lemonpeter]

Yellow Carnations

Here’s my fic for @starkerfestivals Chocolate Box event - “Milk Molasses—Flowers” I hope everyone enjoys 💕

Warnings: none!

————

No one told him that flowers apparently had meaning!

Tony Stark was a genius. Everybody knew it, it was just a fact.

But flowers were not something he was particularly knowledgeable of. He picked up ones he thought looked nice before a date and that was that. No hidden motives or anything else.

Apparently there was some hidden flower language that he didn’t know about, however. And he’d given some ‘offensive’ flowers, from the words of his date. She stormed out before even explaining, leaving Tony at the table, completely lost.

To avoid another flower mishap, he decided to stop by the flower shop that had opened up just near the tower. He could ask for what to avoid, what was best for dates, and try to remember the information.

Once he stepped inside, however, that plan was almost completely out the window.

The young man at the counter was absolutely beautiful, every bloom in the building paling in comparison. His smile shone brightly as he talked to the customer he was working with.

“Yes, I promise you she’ll love them,” he assured a man who was clutching a bunch of flowers wrapped together. “I’ll give your money back if I’m wrong.” That was always his deal. But no refunds were ever handed out, because he was always right. It was something he prided himself on.

His attention turned to Tony after the first customer started leaving. “Hello! How may I help you today?” He asked cheerfully.

Their eyes met and Tony knew he was in trouble.

He hadn’t hoped to stay anonymous. Of course he was going to be recognized. It happened wherever he went, it was nothing new. But usually people made a big deal about it. He was happy that the florist didn’t even say anything until started talking.

He saw the flicker of recognition, but nothing was said. All that mattered was the instant spark he felt between them.

“So, I had no idea that flowers have meanings? And I’d like to avoid any future mistakes,” he told him, stepping up to the counter.

The florist chuckled, one hand clutched to his chest.

Tony was very proud of himself for causing such a wonderful sound. Even if what he’d said hadn’t been funny. “Do you get that a lot?”

“More than you could imagine,” the young man told him sincerely. “Bad date?”

“Very.”

“What did you bring?”

Tony hummed softly, trying to recall. But he really didn’t know much about flowers. “I think they were...something yellow. Carnations, I think.”

The florist covered his mouth, laughing harder this time. “Oh no...I don’t know why you’d do a full bouquet of carnations anyways, but never yellow!”

“Rejection, I know, I looked it up.” Tony sighed. “We didn’t even get to order dinner.”

A small laugh came from the other man again before he shook his head. “Okay. I can definitely help.”

Tony smiled at him, looking at his name tag. ‘Peter’ it read, which he thought was cute. Although maybe he just thought that everyone about the man was cute.

Which was not his point of being there.

“That’s good, because I can obviously use some help,” Tony joked lightly. “I mean, you could just tell me what I need to avoid and that will be good.”

“For starters, don’t give anyone yellow carnations unless you’re trying to let them down!” Peter laughed. He brushed his fingers through his hair, an action Tony’s eyes followed closely. “Okay, others…no petunias. Just don’t do it. Any color. Trust me on that one.”

Tony was willing to trust anything he said, about flowers or otherwise. So there wouldn’t be an issue with that.

“No buttercups either. Although you don’t see those much. And...hmm. You should probably avoid orange lilies, although those are debatable.”

“Oh, are they? I didn’t know there was big conflict in the flower community,” the older man joked.

Peter laughed again, nodding his head. “You have no idea,” he teased back. “God, there’s actually so many I should advise you against. I’m sure you don’t have that kind of time.”

And that just wouldn’t do. “I have all the time in the world, don’t even worry about that.” Tony gave him a slight grin.

It wouldn’t hurt anything to stay and talk to him. He was sweet, he was cute. Who knew? Maybe something would happen.

The florist smiled, opening his mouth to say something else before the bell on the door chimed with another customer entering. “Shoot. Hey, um.” He didn’t take his eyes off of Tony. “Maybe you could stop by again? I could teach you more if you’d like.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he was cursing himself. It was such a stupid proposition. Why would anyone want to just listen about flowers? The guy came in for one question, that was it. He clearly didn’t care that much.

“I think that would be nice,” Tony told him, snapping the young man out of his thoughts.

“Wait, really?”

“Really,” the older man confirmed with a smile. “I could use some schooling on this, I think. And who better to teach me?”

Peter felt like his heart melted right there. But he couldn’t let himself get too caught up in it. It wasn’t anything serious. It had nothing to do with him. Very little, at least. It was about the flowers. And the learning.

Right.

“Well, I work Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday,” he listed off, the words rushing out. “And it’s from opening to closing, so I’ll be here any time you decide to stop by on those days. So it’s whatever is easiest for you.”

He was disgustingly eager, but luckily he didn’t think Tony minded. He didn’t look like he did, at least.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he noted. He would be back as soon as possible. Which would be...Wednesday. That would be good.

The other customer cleared her throat, annoyingly reminding Peter that she was there. “Oh, I’m sorry! Just a moment, I’ll be right with you,” he promised.

Tony chuckled softly. “So, I’ll see you soon. I’ll be ready to learn, I promise.”

“Perfect.”

As Tony walked away, he couldn’t help the slight bounce in his step and the grin on his face.

Peter was smiling big as he worked with the customer, already excited for the next time he’d see Tony.

***

He figured out quickly that Tony was a wonderful student. And a bit of a flirt, but he could have expected that.

The man stayed for hours, listening to Peter explain different flowers and their meanings in between customers.

Tony came to the shop every day that Peter worked. And every day he listened, memorizing each detail that the florist gave him. One day he’d use the knowledge. He just wasn’t sure when that would be.

Peter detailed plants with multiple meanings, the common meanings, negative meanings, everything. He was clearly passionate about what he did and was happy to share the information.

Occasionally there would be mention of a flower that stood out exceptionally to Tony. A blue iris, for hope. A soft baby bell that meant purity or pure love. Things like that. He kept those in the front of his mind, determined that they stood out for a reason. He would need them.

Even if he wasn’t quite sure when. Or why.

Weeks passed and they continued spending the days together. Tony was there every time, charming and ready to listen to everything Peter had to say.

And god, the young man was definitely falling.

He hated how easy it was for him to fall in love. After all, it was never returned. He just got attached fast and found all the best qualities in someone and that was it. He was in love.

And he should have known much sooner that Tony would be the same. The man was just so perfect. He was sweet, handsome, and always seemed so interested in what Peter told him. Of course the young man couldn’t have helped but fall for him.

The thing he didn’t know, however, was how quickly Tony was falling as well.

***

It had been a few months since their first meeting. Any other time he would have considered it too fast for anything. But it just felt different with Peter. So Tony worked on making a plan.

On the way over to the shop, Tony was working on recalling every meaning that Peter had taught him. He wanted to make sure the bouquet was perfect, not going to offend in any way.

When he got to the shop, however, it was harder to keep his thoughts straight as he met eyes with Peter. Was he supposed to ask for red or pink tulips? And he was pretty sure it was white chrysanthemums, but what if he was remembering wrong?

As he walked through the door, going straight for the counter, he wished he’d written out a list. But it was a bit too late for that now.

“Hey. You’re back,” Peter said happily, leaning onto the counter. “Here for another lesson?”

“No, actually.” Tony cleared his throat, trying to sound confident and fight down his nerves. He wanted to show Peter that he remembered what the flowers meant. And he hoped that would be a good way of asking him out. And confessing how he was already deeply in love with him. God, he was a disaster. “I’m actually here for a bouquet this time. And I’m hoping I’ll get it right.”

“Oh. Well, of course, just tell me what you’re wanting.” The young man’s heart sank. Flowers meant that Tony was going out with someone. He turned away, grabbing a vase to start working with. And having his back to Tony meant that he didn’t have to hide his disappointment.

“Okay. I’m really hoping I get all this right.” Tony’s heart was pounding, threatening to beat right out of his chest as he did his best to recall the flowers he’d planned out. “Um...red tulips, to start. Then some...some white chrysanthemums. And baby’s breath for the filler. And then...one blue iris, right in the middle. Please.” He was pretty sure those were the right ones. He really hoped so.

Peter fought back tears as he arranged them, the meanings not lost on him. Tony really cared about whoever these were going to.

Red tulips for true love, not one he got asked for often. So it must have been really serious. White chrysanthemums for loyalty and devotion. A good thing to promise. Baby’s breath to fill, continuing the idea of pure love. Then the iris. Hope.

He wiped his eyes quickly before turning back around, offering the arrangement to the man. “I hope this is good...they’re really going to enjoy it.”

Tony took it, looking over everything for a moment before smiling nervously and handing it back to Peter.

Peter’s brows furrowed. “Did I get something wrong? Shit, did I mix up-“ that never happened. Was he really that upset, that it messed up his work?

“No, it’s perfect. That’s not why I’m giving it back.” He held it out until the confused young man took it back. “I, uh, I know all that was probably a lot. A lot of love there.” Suddenly he was a little embarrassed. “I know that’s probably coming off really strong. But I want you to understand how strongly I feel.”

“No, I understand. I’m sure whoever is getting them is going to be really-“

“Peter.” Tony gave him a small smile. “The person getting them already has them.”

Peter watched him for a moment, blinking dumbly. He looked down at the bouquet in his hands, trying to work it all out. Then it finally clicked. “This is...for me?”

“If you want it to be. I...I didn’t know how else to say it. But I wanted to show you somehow.” Tony looked at him, trying to hide how nervous he was. He couldn’t tell how Peter felt about the gift and it was definitely stressing him out. “Will you go out with me? Or something like that?”

A smile slowly appeared on Peter’s face, pushing away the confusion. “Was the iris because you hoped I’d say yes?” He whispered, eyes on the soft blue flower.

“Well...yeah,” the man admitted. “I didn’t know what all to do. But I really tried. I...I want you to know that I really care about you. I’ve really fallen for you.”

“I’ve really fallen for you too, Tony,” he whispered, bringing the flowers closer to his chest. “I never thought you’d feel the same way.”

“Well, I do. And I have.” Tony grinned at him, brushing one hand through his own hair. “Does that mean you’ll go out with me?”

Peter would have been willing to do way more than that. But he just simply nodded, ignoring the tears welling up in his eyes. “I would love to.”

#starker #peter parker #tony stark #tony x peter #tony stark x peter parker #my writing #chocolate box event #starkerfestivalschocolatebox #florist!peter #florist au

[sevlgi]

dinner

requested: no

group: red velvet

pairing: joy x gn!reader

genre: fluff

contents: waitress!joy. [17/33]

warnings: none

synopsis: It’s way too difficult for Joy to watch you go on disaster dates, especially when she knows she could do so much better.

a/n: kdrama? no it’s just me

word count: 1.1k

Your first date was really freaking pretty.

Sooyoung remembered the way your cheeks flushed when the girl first arrived, the way you couldn’t stop smiling when she didn’t turn out to be a catfish.

Of course, the smile on your face slipped after about 15 minutes.

The girl wasn’t a catfish, but she was a gold digger without a personality- the entire time, she basically tried to seduce you instead of talk with you, and Sooyoung could easily tell how uncomfortable you were the whole time.

“Check, please,” you sighed, waving a hand halfheartedly once the girl had stormed off. Sooyoung winced at the price, but you just signed and handed her the money without a second glance at it. “Could I get a whiskey or something to go?”

The waitress didn’t have the heart to tell you that the restaurant didn’t allow her to give you alcohol to go, so she just silently handed you a little cup of amber liquid. “Have a nice night... Y/N,” she greeted, reading the name off of your receipt.

“Thanks.”

The second date was just as disastrous. For whatever reason, you and the second girl just didn’t seem to click at all, despite your efforts to stir up some kind of conversation. She was like a wall, and you were a ball bouncing futilely off of it.

That time, you didn’t even bother to ask for the whiskey, barely mumbling a ‘thank you’ before leaving. Sooyoung could only stare at you sympathetically for a few minutes before moving to serve the next customer.

Somehow, she always managed to be the server when you arrived, every Monday and Thursday night at 7 with a different date, each as horrible as the one before. She watched you go on nearly a dozen dates, and to be honest, Sooyoung came up with some interesting and mostly factual observations about you.

First, you always put in copious amount of effort; no matter how difficult it was, you carried every conversation on your own, coming up with endless questions to try and stir something up.

Second, you weren’t easily discouraged. That much was evident at how many times you came back, and how hopeful you seemed at the beginning of every date. Sooyoung admired that- perseverance, however stupid it might be.

Third, you were kind. No matter how terrible each date went, you never took your frustration out on others. Some people wouldn’t tip as high as you always did when things went badly, but maybe that was just you being a decent person.

Last, you were gorgeous. That part was just Sooyoung’s personal preference, though.

But with everything summed up, she couldn’t possibly fathom how someone like you was still single, or how you were so unlucky in finding a match. You had barely spoken 3 words to her, but she was sure that just one date with you would have her head over heels in love.

The 11th date, though, was by far the worst. Your date, a pretty but extremely hot-tempered and disagreeable girl, left before the food was even delivered. “Your foo- oh. Um, is she...”

“Gone? Yeah.” You raked your hands through your hair frustratedly, grimacing at the 2 huge platters of pasta. “I have no idea how I’m going to finish all of this.”

Sooyoung frowned, too, still holding the serving tray in her hands. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you can refund. What would you like me to do?”

Biting down on your lip, you tossed the napkin folded neatly on your plate aside. “I’ll try my best, I suppose. Could you bring me some takeout boxes? I’ll have food for a couple weeks.”

A jokester. Before she could stop herself, Sooyoung blurted, “I could... try and help you finish? You won’t have to pay for what I eat, of course, I just. There’s not many customers.”

It wasn’t a lie- the two of you were the only people in the entire restaurant, the two cooks in the kitchen quiet too. You stared up at her for just enough time for her cheeks to redden, but you cleared your throat and gestured vaguely at the chair opposite you. “Uh, yeah. Help yourself.”

She smiled before setting the food down, pulling the chair out and sitting. You were even more attractive up close, and you made it terribly hard to actually focus on the food. “Is there a reason you’ve gone on 11 dates?” she asked in an attempt to start a conversation.

You looked up, surprised, before nodding. “Right, you were here each time, weren’t you?”

At her nod, you shrugged, “I don’t really know. I guess I’m kind of bored with the way I’m living, you know?”

“Being alone is no fun,” Sooyoung agreed, twirling her fork. “Why this same restaurant, though? I didn’t think eating the same pasta 11 times would be very inviting...”

“Ah. That’s not really the reason. I met my last girlfriend here, actually,” you explained. “Maybe I’m just hoping I’ll get lucky again.”

The other girl smiled, “Maybe you will.”

Before she knew it, you were talking freely, conversation rushing so fast that her brain could hardly keep up. You’re funny, Sooyoung realized, in a kind of way that not many people would pick up on. Everything about you was a bit understated- you’re kind in subtle ways, witty rather than outright hilarious.

The pasta finished itself incredibly fast, and you stared at your plate in disbelief. “Wow. I don’t think any of the dates I went on in the past month lasted this long.”

“They definitely didn’t,” Sooyoung responded, laughing when you pressed a hand to your chest in mock-hurt. “Well, you can count this as a date in your records, if you want.

You sipped at the wine the waitress brought over. “After everything that happened, I didn’t think I’d ever want to go on a dinner date again. But this was fun. If we were to go on another date, though, let’s not occupy your work time.”

Despite the pink flush to her cheeks, Sooyoung continued to joke, “You might have enjoyed it, who said I did? I’m just kidding. You’re the best date I’ve been on in a while too.”

Checking your watch, you hesitated just a second before blurting out, “Then. Do you want to go somewhere, after your shift? We already ate, but I think we can find something else to do somewhere in the city.”

“Sure,” Sooyoung grinned, standing as well. “My shift is over, anyway.”

“Is it really?” you laughed, seeing right through her.

She assumed a serious expression, slinging her apron over the chair and grabbing her purse from the lockers. “Of course not. But I’ll risk it to be your 12th date.”

#red velvet #red velvet x reader #red velvet imagines #red velvet scenarios #red velvet joy #red velvet sooyoung #red velvet park sooyoung #park sooyoung #park joy #joy x reader #joy imagines #joy scenarios #red velvet reactions #girl group imagines #girl group scenarios #girl group reactions #red velvet incorrect quotes #red velvet icons #joy icons #park sooyoung icons #red velvet fluff

[monokyokyo]

Flower Boy

An old one but I'm working on a part 2 so I figured I'd share it anyway!

Jongsang (although it's not really focused on), pretty fluffy, Jongho is a florist

Flowers had a range of emotions. From the fiery passion of roses to the sombre colour of forget me nots'. Jongho found comfort in the likes of these pristine plants. After all, he had an entire shop dedicated to nearly every flower the region had to offer. It was such a simple job yet there was nothing he would rather do.

Every day, someone new entered his shop in search of a flower to suit their tastes or situation, and it was Jongho's job to assist them.

The day started out normal. Jongho was rearranging the objects on the front counter when a familiar face strutted in. "Hello Mr Park," He greeted the tall man cheerfully.

"How many times must I tell you? Just Seonghwa is fine." Chuckled the customer as he removed his sparkling sunglasses.

"I'm sorry. What can I do for you today, Mr Park?" Seonghwa shook his head, deciding to just leave it be. His eyes travelled around the small shop, a light hum coming from his lips.

"I'm looking for something that really pops! You know? This couple is really into gemstones, so they're having a crystal wedding." Seonghwa was a wedding planner. Every now and again, usually once or twice a week, he would come to Jongho's store in search of the perfect flowers to impress his clients. He was a rather picky individual and Jongho learned during their very first encounter that he wasn't someone whose time should be wasted.

As such, Jongho got right to looking for the perfect bunch of flowers for the occasion. He glanced around before finally landing on what he hoped was the right bouquet. "Why not freesia?" He suggested. "The red ones represent passion, something these two must have a lot of if they're theming their wedding around their love of crystals. Wouldn't you say?"

Seonghwa nodded at him, a slight grin forming on his face at the bright smile on the younger man's face. "I would say indeed. Alright, I'll need two dozen bouquets. I'll send you the details on the wrapping later." He put his sunglasses on and turned to the door. "Give me a call when you're ready to plan your wedding, hey Jongho? I promise I'll give you the best of the best."

"I'm only twenty," He giggled. "I've still got some time, Mr Park."

Seonghwa chuckled. "Indeed you do." He left, leaving Jongho with a smile on his face.

About an hour or so later, the bell above the store entrance dinged. Jongho looked up from his order and saw a man scanning, somewhat frantically, through several displays of flowers. "How many I help you today?" Jongho asked the customer cheerfully.

The man sighed and sluggishly walked over to the counter. "I need the perfect flower for my boyfriend. He's been going through a lot recently and I need something to show him that I'm here for him..." Jongho tilted his head at this and hummed. He told the man to wait a moment then hopped over to one of the shelves.

"Here," He said. The man looked down curiously at the pink hydrangea in Jongho's hand. "Pink hydrangea for a passionate and emotional romance. You clearly care about him a lot. I'm sure these flowers will show him that." Jongho tilted his head at the light hum of consideration he received, hoping he would take up his suggestion. "I could label the bouquet if you'd like? What's your boyfriend's name?"

"Wooyoung," Jongho didn't fail to notice the way the man smiled at the mere mention of his boyfriend's name. He found it sweet how love two people could share with one another. Words are hard to express, but one could show them through something as simple as a flower. So Jongho made sure to put on the nicest tag he had, and encased the hydrangea a shiny, clear plastic to keep them safe.

"I hope things go well for you two," Said Jongho just as they finished their transaction. He handed the man the bouquet, sending him a grin with it. "Have a good day Mr..."

"San. Choi San," Then they parted ways. It made Jongho feel a certain pride inside, knowing he had the potential to help someone with his flowers. Regardless of if he knew the turnout, at least he was able to provide some assistance to those who would appreciate it. Well, it wasn't always appreciated.

About thirty or so minutes later, another familiar face stormed into the flower shop. The front door slammed open, disturbing the usual calm atmosphere of the store when he stomped in. An empty vase on the counter, nearly cracking it and causing Jongho to flinch from his seat. He let out a yelp in surprise, a small squeak that only made the man in front of him scoff.

"M-Mr Jeong? I'm sorry I-"

"You should be," Growled the older man. He pushed back his blonde hair with an aggressive sigh while Jongho slowly pulled back the clay pot. His brow furrowed in confusion, wondering what could've gone so wrong that he would come back so vexed, especially after their calm encounter last week. Mr Jeong or, Yunho, had ordered a pot of roses for his girlfriend. Could she have hated them that much?

"I-If you don't mind me asking...What happened last week?"

The blonde huffed, though it sounded more like a growl to Jongho's sensitive ears. "She's allergic," The younger male squinted, carefully asking him to repeat himself. "Are you deaf? I said she's fucking allergic!" Jongho flinched back at his harsh and loud tone yet Yunho hardly made the effort to reel himself back in.

"You sold me these damn flowers, giving me this grand speech about how special they'll make her feel and how she'll love them and you know what happens? She ends sneezing through our entire date! Why the hell would you give those to me?!"

"W-Well how was I s-supposed to know? Y-You came in asking for flowers!" The look Yunho gave him had to be the scariest thing Jongho had ever seen...in his shop. He was tall, about six foot, and easily towered over the cowering boy.

"Are you saying this is my fault?" He seethed through his gritted teeth. Jongho gulped, unsure of what to do in this sort of situation. He had never had anyone this angry over roses of all things.

"W-Well, no...I'm not blaming you but...shouldn't you have known?" He flinched yet again when Yunho leered closer, his hands thrown up in what would likely be, useless defence.

"Those roses had to be bugged, sprayed with something, I don't know! You had to have done something to them! We have roses at home for crying out loud!"

"And do you water them?" When Jongho's only response was silence, he lowered his arms, creasing his brow.

"Well...I've never seen anyone water them...but..."

"So...You ordered real roses thinking that your girlfriend wouldn't be allergic...because she doesn't react to the fake roses in your home?" Yunho could only sputter out a string of incoherent words that basically proved Jongho's suspicions to be correct. In response, he sighed then wordlessly pulled out his logbook.

Yunho watched curiously as he flipped through before he landed on last week. Jongho then grabbed a piece of paper and asked for the man's card, which he reluctantly agreed to. When it was handed back to him, Jongho hit him with a frow. "Here is your receipt sir. I've refunded your flowers..." The face alone was enough to make anyone feel lousy but the way his words trailed off just added extra salt to the wound.

So just before he took his receipt and left, Yunho mumbled something under his breath to the boy. "Thank you...for what it's worth...she loved the flowers before she started sneezing..." A tiny grin formed on Jongho's face and it made Yunho sigh, successfully feeling like less of an ass.

Jongho never had aggressive customers. Irritated, sure, but no one had ever gotten that upset with him. It was a flower shop after all. All of that before twelve as well...

The brunette let out a sigh of relief when his phone went off at twelve-thirty, signalling that it was finally his lunch break. Though the day was mostly quiet, he hadn't eaten since that morning and was eager to fill his stomach with some sort of nutrients. However, just before you could put up his 'Back in 20 minutes sign', the sound of the doorbell caught his attention. In shuffled a man with jet black hair, featuring various strands of gold.

His eyes were light red and his face was a little puffy as well. Jongho didn't give himself a moment to mourn his lost lunch break and hastily rushed over to greet the once crying figure. "I'm sorry...Am I bothering you?" He sniffled, wiping whatever remaining tears he had.

"No, not at all! What can I help you with?"

The man fidgeted slightly, eyes wandering around the shop and towards the floor. Clearly, he was trying to look anywhere but at Jongho, something the younger wasn't at all bothered by. "I'm looking for a flower..." He shook his head, muttering how that was obvious. "A gift I mean. I-It's for..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..." Shaking his head once, the customer told him that it was alright, followed by mumbling a few things that Jongho didn't quite get. "Pardon?"

"S-Sorry I um...I just got back from the hospital..." Judging by his mannerisms, Jongho couldn't quite tell if he was a patient or if he was merely visiting someone. "My father he um...isn't doing too well," Well now he felt awful for assuming his condition. "I just wanted to get him some flowers and my boyfriend recommended this place..."

The snap from Jongho's fingers made the older male flinch, put off by the rather bright grin on his face. "You must be Wooyoung! San's boyfriend, right?"

"Y-Yes...That's me..." Jongho had realised his awfully chipper tone wasn't very appropriate and did Wooyoung a favour by calming himself down.

"Sorry...Why don't you browse around and tell me what catches your eye." A slight nod was all Jongho got before Wooyoung began to walk around the store. He tried his best not to follow the young man whilst he strolled about but it was difficult not to be curious. The way he moved was so tired, sluggish even and Jongho knew he wouldn't find anything he would like in a reasonable amount of time.

So, with that, Jongho stood to his feet and made his way over to the mixed-haired male, following his gaze across the shelves. "Anything that's caught your interest?" His sudden question made Wooyoung jump. Jongho apologised as soon as he startled him yet the older only turned away.

"I'm sorry...I don't really know what I'm doing here," Jongho heard his airy chuckle but it definitely wasn't humorous. "I don't know the first thing about flowers or what he would like...I think I'll just go."

Jongho grabbed his arm before he could turn away, earning him a questionable look from Wooyoung. His arm was yanked back and Jongho replied with a nervous laugh. "Sorry. Um, stay right here?" With the soft tone of his voice, Wooyoung couldn't possibly leave yet. So he sighed to himself while watching the young florist run off to the corner of the room, where an array of purple flowers caught his eye.

He came back not too long later with a bouquet in his hands. "Iris'," Said Jongho just as he handed them off. "They represent hope. I hope you and your family have enough, but a little more won't hurt. Stay strong." Wooyoung looked down at the flowers in his hand. Incoming tears were the only thing he saw as they began to fill his vision, eventually clouding it entirely until he felt the water roll down his pale cheeks.

Whatever words he mumbled to Jongho were interrupted by his unstable breaths and cries but it hadn't deterred him in the slightest. Instead of charging him the moment Wooyoung was handed the flowers, Jongho asked him if he would like a cup of hot chocolate. The older male wiped his tears, offering him a slight grin and saying: "T-That would be wonderful..."

Jongho even gave him extra marshmallows to make him feel better.

It was rather late when Wooyoung left. Well, if you count quarter past three to be late - which Jongho did. Although, he didn't mind much. Wooyoung left his store with a smile, flowers and a cheeky bit of foam around his lips. It was good enough for him.

Thankfully, Jongho had gotten to eat a cookie or two while speaking with the mixed-haired male. It was just enough to distract his growling stomach while he helped his few customers. One of which was certainly one of the most intimidating Jongho had seen yet.

A tall stature, black leather jacket, red hair and a dark stare - Jongho had no clue what he was doing in a flower shop of all places. However, he had learned to never judge a book by its cover and greeted the man with a bright beam, just as he did with all his other customers. "Hello..." His voice certainly fit his appearance. It was deep, like it could reach the depths of the ocean if he wanted it to.

"How can I help you today?" Said Jongho, as he waved to the old lady who had just bought a pot of daisies right before the redhead entered.

"I'm looking for some flowers..." As obvious as that may have sounded, Jongho didn't hold it against him though. It was clear that he had never been in a store like this. The poor man looked too scared to touch anything as if he were afraid it was going to burst into flames if he so much as lifted a finger. Honestly, Jongho found it rather cute.

"Of course! What kind?" That didn't seem to be the right question to ask. As all the man did was rock back and forth on his heels, the gears turning in his head as attempted to come up with a suitable answer.

"Um...Pretty ones?" Jongho nearly giggled at how adorable his answer was. He was clueless about flowers and the young florist was ready to help him find the perfect one for his occasion. Walking from behind the counter, Jongho made his way to his titan of a customer and looked up at him. He was quite small in comparison but he didn't mind.

"I'll help you find the prettiest ones around! Who are they for?" Big men like him didn't usually visit Jongho's shop, so it was no surprise when a light blush crept across the customer's cheek and he began to avert eye contact in embarrassment.

"They're um...f-for my mother..." This time, Jongho didn't hesitate to giggle, eliciting a deeper blush from the taller male. "D-Don't laugh! What? Got a problem with me getting a gift from my mother?" The man's tone dropped to a frightfully low level, ending Jongho's laughter within seconds.

"I didn't mean it like that...It's just, I'm surprised. That's all. Not many tough looking guys like you come in here." This time, it was the other male's turn to laugh. A 180 that was nothing but appreciated by Jongho.

"Never judge a book by its cover, I suppose," He sent Jongho a grin and the younger smiled right back. "My mother's been telling me all about this shop, she comes here every Tuesday to look at the flowers and pick up supplies for her garden. She was busy today, so she asked me to pick a few things for her house."

"Oh! You must be Mrs Song's son? Mingi, was it?" The redhead nodded at him, continuing to grin even as he chuckled somewhat awkwardly. "She talks about you quite a bit. The one that sleeps with plushies, right?"

"Yep, that's me. I'll be honest, I'm not much of a flower guy but my mother adores them. Mind helping me pick out something she would like?" Jongho nodded at him, eagerly bouncing up and down in a way that made Mingi giggle.

Despite his rough exterior, Mingi was a rather sweet person. Listening attentively and nodding along as Jongho told him about his various selection of flowers and even giving his own input, saying what and what not his mother would like. Eventually, the two settled on yellow daffodils, quite a few dahlias and a tiny pot of lavender. Once Mingi was completely sure this was perfect, he bid Jongho farewell, promising to come visit again with his mother at some point. The prospect of seeing him again made Jongho grin. Another satisfied customer.

The day was officially coming to a close. Jongho sighed the moment the final customer went on their way. It was a rather old lady and he had just spent the last fifteen minutes explaining that the stamen and anther of her plants weren't insects. A rather draining conversation, as you can imagine. After that, the young man was just about ready to close his shop and head home.

He glanced at the clock, smiling at it finally struck six. Closing time. He trotted over to the front door and got ready to flip to the open sign to close. Yet just before he could do so, the door suddenly swung open and Jongho flinched back in surprise. A hand grabbed his waist just before he could fall backwards, lifting his body to meet another.

Light, sparkling brown eyes met with Jongho's dark ones. His hazel hair managed to look unkempt yet too perfect to fix and his expression was soft but his features were sharp, almost prince-like. He was the epitome of beauty. "Are you still open?" Were the first words to leave his soft lips.

Jongho couldn't find the words or the will to say no or so much as shake his head. All he did was slowly escape his grip, carefully gesturing him into the store. The stranger smiled at him then made his way in. Jongho gulped, watching his every movement. He had seen him before. A delivery boy from the restaurant down the road. The two had never spoken but Jongho knew he existed. Yet he yearned for more.

"Do you know what you're looking for?" He inquired in a voice more akin to a whisper rather than his usual upbeat speaking voice. The older brunette turned back to him. Jongho thought he had done something wrong judging by his stare yet the smile returned to his face.

Slowly, he made his way towards the florist, prompting Jongho to step back until he was pressed against one of the displays. "You," He stated simply.

Blush erupted onto Jongho's cheeks, sending him into an internal frenzy of panic. "M-Me? What do you..." He trailed off when the other male picked a lone rose from the table. Oh...he meant the rose. He told Jongho that he would take it and go, filling him with a heavy heart.

With that, Jongho filled out their transaction, trying his best not to let his gaze travel to the lean figure in front of him. How could he be so intimidating while doing practically nothing?

The man had sweater paws for crying out loud.

Jongho then handed him the rose and a receipt. "Have a good evening, sir..." Yet he hadn't left yet. He glanced up to see the man wrapping a tag around the flower, before he placed it back on the counter. Just before Jongho could question what he was doing, he was hit with another smile.

"Good night, flower boy." Was all he said before he leaned in and placed a kiss on the younger's forehead. Just like, he disappeared into the night. Like a strange yet delightful dream Jongho had experienced in the wake of dawn.

Cautiously, he glanced at the rose that was left on the counter.

Call me XXX-XXX-XXXXX Kang Yeosang I would love to get to know you, Flower Boy

#Jongho #choi jongho #ateez #ateez fluff #jongsang #ateez fanfic #kpop #kpop fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction

[slashyrogue]

Hannigram AU: The Christmas Waltz

A month before his wedding Will Graham decided to surprise his wife-to-be with a gift: dance lessons. The lessons would last all the way to their big day, which happened to be on Christmas Eve.

Molly had always dreamed of a Christmas wedding ever since she was a little girl and though their guest list was a bit small even Will was excited to finally make her dream a reality.  

A reality that wasn’t meant to be.

He sat across from her in Bon Appetit, her favorite Italian restaurant and the same place he’d proposed, as she tearfully told him she was getting back with her ex-husband.

“I...we...we just...I didn’t expect it but...Will, I love him. We’re meant to be a family.”

Will dug his nails into the chair beneath him as he forced himself to smile when she handed him her engagement ring.

“All I want is for you to be happy, Moll,” he whispered, taking her hands, “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

They hugged and Will held on a bit too long but he forced himself to pull away leaving the restaurant quickly. The tears didn’t start to fall till he got into his car, and he pulled out the envelope with the dance lesson receipt inside tossing it onto the chair beside him. The ring was still in his pocket, stabbing into his chest, but he didn’t dare look a it again.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

He hit his head on the steering wheel, stomach in knots, and took several breaths before he pulled out of the parking lot.

The ride home was a blur, and he passed out on his bed fast waking up the next morning feeling like shit.

He’d taken the day off today, wanting to prepare for their lesson, and now he was immensely thrilled they’d decided to wait to move in together. Molly had said it was for Walter, her son, but part of him wondered if she knew that even after a year she’d change her mind.

Will sighed when he heard Winston’s collar jingle and held out his hand for the dog to lick. “Good morning, buddy.”

Winston had always been a bit standoffish with Molly.

He’d liked her dogs though.

He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling with tears in his eyes.

“Always the groomsmen, never the groom,” he whispered, letting his hand snake inside his suit jacket.

The ring was a modest diamond, but still pretty.

Will stared at the way the diamond shined for way too long before put the ring back into his pocket. He stood up, groaning, and pulled his cell phone out.

Pas De Duex was a bit more upscale than Will usually went for but he’d gone there because they were the best. The clerk at the desk had looked like she thought Will was shit on her shoe even when he shelled out a thousand dollars for weekly classes. He hesitated before he looked the place up again, and waited for someone to answer.

“Hello, may I help you?” an oddly accented man asked.

“Um, yeah, this is Will Graham. I signed up for classes the other day? I was just wondering if I could cancel over the phone or if I had to come there in person to get a refund?”

There was a pause.

“We do not offer refunds.”

Will blinked, rubbing his eyes. “What? How...”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Graham, but this is a very private and selective business. We only took your wedding dance class because of a cancelation. The dance instructor is very...”

“Oh fuck you, seriously? You think you’re so goddamn special?”

“Mr. Graham...”

“I’m coming down there, buddy. Try saying this shit to my face!”

Will nearly jumped out of bed, a man on a mission, and got hastily dressed. He fed Winston and took him outside to do his business before heading out. Will was laser focused on tearing that snooty asshole on the phone a new one, so much so that he nearly got into two accidents on the way, and when he pushed his way inside Pas De Deux he nearly fell in the entryway.

Several people stared at his arrival, and he caught his breath seeing the same red haired receptionist he’d bought classes from only twelve hours ago.

She grinned at him. “Mr. Graham, I assume?”

Will glared at her. “Mr. Snooty on the phone tell you I was coming?”

The redhead, Freddie her nametag read, nodded still smiling as she pointed to her left. “Mr. Lecter is in the studio if you still wish to speak with him about our cancelation policy.”

Will stood up straight, fixing his rumpled suitcoat, and stomped down the hallway. The hallway ended in an open area where he could hear music wafting through, and when he got down to the end he froze at what he saw.

There was an oddly handsome man dancing alone with what appeared to be an imaginary partner. He danced beautifully, not one toe out of place, and when he turned a third time he seemed to spot Will.

“Hello, may I help you?” he asked, smiling as he got closer.

Will knew from his voice that this was the man on the phone from earlier. He suddenly found himself a bit tongue tied. “Um...I’m...”

“Mr. Graham,” the man finished, his warm smile fading, “I apologize but we do not offer cancelations.”

He suddenly felt the ring poke his chest and tears filled his eyes.

“Oh god,” he said, falling to his knees.

“Mr. Graham! What’s...”

Will fell forward, pressing his hands to his face, and a sudden sob came unbidden from out of nowhere.

And the ring that was inside his pocket fell to the dancefloor rolling away from him.

He sniffled, reaching to grab at the same time that Mr. Lecter did the same. Their finger brushed and Will recoiled, staring up at him. The way Mr. Lecter stared at the ring made Will feel even more embarrassed.

“I...”

“She called off your wedding.”

Will grabbed for the ring and was given it with care. He stood up and his legs shook as he glared.

“That’s none of your business.”

The frown he got in response made him want to throw up.

“I will give you your cancelation.”

He shook his head. “Don’t pity me. I can lose a grand, it’s...”

A warm hand hit his shoulder and Will slumped forward suddenly falling into Mr. Lecter’s chest. He smelled like expensive cologne and a bit like sweat but still very nice.

“I’m sorry, Mister...”

“Will,” he said, his voice cracking, “It’s Will. I...fuck.”

Mr. Lecter smiled. “Hannibal,” he said, still clutching Will’s shoulder, “My name is Hannibal.”

Will sniffled wiping his eyes. “I’m sorry about all this. I just...it just happened last night.”

Hannibal frowned. “I see. Would you...like to have a cup of tea? We would have complete privacy in my office.”

He stared at Hannibal for far too long before he answered. “I...”

“I promise you no one will see the state you’re in,” Hannibal promised. “It’s right behind that door.”

Will turned to see a rather impressive looking door at the back of the room. He sighed. “Yeah,” he said, chuckling a bit, “I...I’d really like some tea.”

Hannibal led him toward the door that opened on a rather expensive looking office that had a couch where he sat down. It also had a fully operational automatic tea kettle, sink, and a perfectly ordered desk.

“I admit your call this morning was a bit of a surprise. I don’t normally get such a response.”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Will mumbled, leaning back against the couch, “I just...had a shit night.”

“I’m sure.”

“I didn’t even get to tell her about the classes,” Will murmured, watching Hannibal make their tea, “It was a surprise.”

Hannibal handed Will a very expensive looking teacup and sat down beside him. He watched Will with an odd focus, and when Will let out a sigh of appreciation he smiled.

“I take it you like the tea?”

“It’s great,” Will said, smiling back, “I...you know, you don’t have to give me the refund. I know you don’t usually...”

Hannibal sipped his own tea, still eyeing Will, and pulled the teacup back to look at him seriously. “No, I will honor what I promised. Your circumstances are...worthy of an exception. But...have you thought about...keeping the classes and taking them alone?”

Will blinked. “Alone? Why would I need dance classes?”

“Dance is a rather good distraction for me when I’m feeling low. Perhaps it would be of some help to you?”

He shook his head, chuckling. “Nah, I’m not...I’m no dancer.”

“Anyone can be a dancer, Will. Some people are just better at dance than others and if they’re lucky they can...find the right partner who will make them exceptional.”

They stared at each other for far too long without saying a word and Will blushed, setting the teacup down on the table beside the couch.

“No, I think I just...no.”

“Of course it’s entirely up to you,” Hannibal said, standing as he walked to his desk again, "I just thought I would ask. Would a check suffice? Or would you prefer cash?”

Will felt his cheeks warm as he watched him sit and open a drawer. “Um, a check is okay.”

He watched him pull out a checkbook and begin to write.

“It was a month’s worth of sessions, correct?”

“Um…”

Will suddenly felt his earlier sadness returning as the ring poked at his chest again.

“I…”

“Will?”

He stared at the closed door to the dance studio. “You...you said dancing helps you?”

Hannibal didn’t answer for a moment. “Yes, very much so. I think if I didn’t have dancing as an outlet I would unleash my upset in more...destructive ways.”

Will swallowed past the lump in his throat as he turned to look at Hannibal again. “Would you be the one who instructed me?”

Hannibal’s smile widened. “Yes, of course.”

He let out a long breath, his hands shaking, and nodded. “I think I...I want to keep them. The lessons. Unless you think you can fill them in or…”

Hannibal closed the checkbook and put both his hands on the desk. “I would be delighted to be your teacher, Will. I think we would dance beautifully together.”

Will blushed, chuckling. “Probably not, but...I think it’ll be a good distraction from now until Christmas.”

He watched Hannibal walk across the room and open the door to the studio. The room still had music playing and it was oddly inviting to Will. “ I’m certain I can teach you a proper waltz by Christmas. Would you....like to start today?”

Will suddenly had butterflies in his stomach as he stared at him. “I...yeah. I think I would.”

Hannibal walked into the studio and held out his hand. Will took his hand and was startled when he was pulled tight to Hannibal’s chest. The warmth of his breath tickled Will’s nose.

“Then...let’s begin.”

#hannigram au #hallmark au #christmas waltz au #christmas stories #oh shit i shouldn't have started this lol #fluff

[breadoffoxy]

Of Insults and Flowers

Summary: You weren’t sure what to expect when a hot customer comes barging into your shop, but the depletion of your flowers representing insults and falling in love was definitely not on the list.

Written for the  BTS Ghostie Writers Bingo Bash. Prompt: Florist!AU

Pairing: Jungkook x n. Reader

Genre: Fluff, one sprinkle of angst, humor, florist!AU

Warnings: Some language, cheesy flirting, kissing, an innuendo, Jin being the best chaotic friend, brother, and boss a person could ever want.

Word Count: 5,363

The day at the shop has been slow. Here you are trimming yet another thorn off yet another rose. One large pile on the left slowly shifting to become a large pile on the right. Your phone is hooked up to a little speaker playing music that's irresistible to dance to.

The clanging of the bell on the door makes you squeak as you quickly look up. Your dancing form is frozen as you hope that they didn't see your booty shaking.

A young man strides forward purposefully, large eyes intently focused on your form behind the counter. Crap he totally saw you dancing.

Double crap he is super-hot.

The brunette customer is decked out in all black from his large shirt, jeans, and clunky boots. Tattoos peek out from under his sleeves on muscular arms. Small silver hoops swing from his ears from his hurried pace.

When the man reaches the counter, his hands slam down on the surface making you jump. From their position you see more tattoos inked across his hands. The grip on your cutters tightens. The type of customer that is impatient, rude, and knows better than you have frequently entered your shop, but no one has ever entered like this. You're not sure what set the brunette off as you never seen him in your shop before. You would have remembered him if he did.

"How do you say fuck you in flowers."

"...Excuse me?"

"I need a bouquet to give to a...acquaintance. One that says fuck you, and not the good fuck you. Sure, he's good looking for someone his age but ah sorry that's not the point." He runs a hand through his dark locks. The action makes it look incredibly fluffy. "The point is, I need flowers that look pretty but are a proverbial middle finger."

The only sound is the music from your phone. Body rigid despite the tune you love, you stare at him with wide eyes.

An awkward beat passes between the two of you as you try to gauge the hot madman in front of you. He seems to finally notice the death grip you got on your cutters and the confusion in your eyes.

Black boots take a couple of careful steps away from the counter. He raises his hands in front of him.

"Sorry...I'm just really frustrated at this guy. I didn't mean to scare you."

Quickly the young man bows deeply. "Please forgive me."

Ok, now you are even more shook at the situation.

Your hand loosens its grip on the cutters a bit as you wave your hands frantically.

"It's ok, please don't bow. I was just really surprised."

The man straightens slightly from his 90-degree angle and looks at you with large eyes. The intensity of them has simmered down to a sheepish look begging for forgiveness. 

Oh god, the hot man just turned into an adorable puppy.

"Just don't walk into someone's store like that again, ok."

You place the cutters on the table gently but keep your hands lingering close to the tool. The man returns to his deep bow.

"That acquaintance must be a piece of work."

Straightening, the man huffs and smiles sardonically, "Oh, you have no idea."

"Fill me in, that way I can get the appropriate 'fuck you' across."

"Ok, so I work at Kim's." At the lost look on your face he adds "That small restaurant on the other side of the neighborhood."

"Oh, I think I've seen the sign before?"

"Seriously? Their food is to die for. Sorry, I keep getting off point. Jin, he's the head chef there. His brother is on vacation and he's been missing him which causes him to act up more. The two are a force together but on their own its a whole other story."

You learn that the man in front of you is a server at Kim's as he regales tales of his boss Kim Seokjin, head chef. He misses his youngest brother Taehyung dearly, and has been acting out as a result. Dad jokes have been at an all-time high along with bickering over every little thing with is servers. Without Taehyung there, apparently no one comes close to the man named worldwide handsome in the looks department causing him to gloat about his looks more frequently as well. Many of the stories have you laughing. Leaning against the counter you're completely invested in every word the young man tells you.

"So here I am because Tae wanted me to buy his brother some flowers as a gift. As a friend it is my duty, but I feel like this is my time to get some revenge as well you know?"

You nod sagely in complete understanding. "I think I have just the ensemble of flowers for you...ummm...sorry I didn't catch your name?"

"Sorry, I really am an idiot. I'm Jeon Jungkook."

"Nice to meet you Jungkook. I'm y/n. Just give me a minute and I'll be back with some flowers."

You ponder over the flowers in your stock for a moment before carefully grabbing some to take back to the counter. Jungkook looks over your colorful assortment in curiosity.

You pick up an orange lily from the pile for Jungkook to inspect. "If you want the biggest fuck you in flower then this is it."

Next you pick up a delicate white flower. "This is orange mock, which means deceit. I thought it would be appropriate as well."

Jungkook carefully takes the flower from you, fingers brushing against yours accidentally in the process. The touch makes you jolt slightly. It goes unnoticed as the customer appraises the flower.

"Why is it called orange mock when it's white?"

Slightly still flustered you do your best to answer. "Its um well... you see the flower looks similar to orange blossoms. if you smell it, it also smells citrusy kinda, and that is why they have that name. Fake oranges."

Jungkook tilts his head down and takes a deep breath of the orange mock. He looks up with a smile partially hidden behind the flowers. You think your heart may have stopped at the sight.

"It does smell nice."

"So, um this last one," you sputter and focus on the cluster of flowers on the counter instead of the customer who's smiling with glittering eyes over your shyness, "is a zinnia. They come in many colors but they mean thinking of an absent friend. I figured your friend would appreciate part of the flowers being partly symbolic in the way he wants."

Jungkook picks up the zennia that's a mix of yellow and orange with highlights of pink. "He would like that." With all three of the flowers now in his grasp he nods. "Plus, I get to be petty now."

"Exactly. Now how would you like these wrapped?"

"You wouldn't happen to have a small vase for these would you? Something that's not too expensive?"

"I got something that'll work."

You retreat to another section of your little shop and return with a simple and small glass vase.

"Will this do?" You tilt the vase for Jungkook to see the price tag on the bottom.

"Yeah that'll be fine."

Putting the flowers in your outstretched hand, Jungkook watches in fascination as you assemble the flowers together.

"Tada! How do you like it?" You exclaim after you put in the last flower.

"It's perfect, thank you."

Making a customer satisfied has never made you happier. Quickly you scribble everything down on the receipt pad as Jungkook pulls his wallet out from his back pocket. You give him the receipt which he quickly looks over before giving you his card.

"Alright, I hope Jin likes it." You can't help but giggle. "Thank you for your purchase."

"No, thank you y/n." He bows quickly again before picking up the vase. He walks out of your shop, but not before giving you a little wave goodbye.

A few hectic days pass after that as you fulfill an order for a bridezilla's wedding. You almost forget about the ordeal until a tall handsome man with wide shoulders enters your shop. You can't help admiring the man as you cut off a long piece of ribbon to tie around a small arrangement. That is until your eyes spot a familiar looking assortment of orange and white flowers in a little glass vase. Crap, you hope he isn't here to yell at you. Double crap because he is more attractive than Jungkook mentioned, if he is who you think he is.

He notes you eyeing the flowers he holds with wide eyes. "Recognize these do you?" He places them on the counter as he leans over it slightly. "Imagine my surprise when I thought I was being gifted this beautiful bouquet," One of his hands waves at the flowers before resting on his hip and his polite smile turns into a frown, "were part a lovely message from my brother, but also an insult from that brat."

The fingers on his other hand strum against the table, adding to your anxiousness. "You can imagine how shocked and upset I was when my beloved smart brother told me the true meaning of these flowers."

"I'm sorry about that sir." You force out your customer service voice. "Our refund policy would not cover these flowers as there are no defects."

"Oh no, I'm not here for a refund."

What is up with these hot men making you so confused.

"I want my own insult flowers to give back to him."

"...Okay?"

So here you are going over different flowers with the handsome customer who you learn is indeed Jin, mister worldwide handsome himself.

The two of you decided on monkshood, a pretty purple flower that's poisonous if eaten, among a bundle of pink and white Rhododendron. Basically, it’s a batch of flowers warning Jungkook to watch his back. You make sure Jin promises to keep the monkshood away from food and he swore on his pride a chef he would never ruin food like that for someone.

"Thanks, Flower, for the flowers." Jin winks at you with a chuckle. "Come by the restaurant sometime and I'll whip you up something good. My treat."

You stand there a bit baffled as the man makes his exit.

For some reason you're not surprised when Jungkook stops by a couple days later asking for more flowers to serve as insults to his boss. The two keep coming back and forth to your shop. You find it entertaining and honestly their feud is really good for your business. Seeing the attractive men always makes your day a bit better. However, you're starting to run out of different flowers that they would consider insults. Jungkook did just buy out all the buttercups you had left to give to his somewhat childish boss.

One day while watering your plants you receive a phone call. Cradling the phone between your shoulder and you're ear you answer, "Hello, this is Spring Day how may I help you?"

"Hello, this is Kim Namjoon from Kim's restaurant. I'm sure you're familiar with the name with your two loyal customers."

You can't help the chuckle at the tone of Namjoon's voice. "Yes, very familiar." The common visits of the two have sparked a unique friendship. It hasn't helped that the attraction you felt for the younger frequent customer has turned into quite the crush.

"The arrangements you have been making for my brother and Jungkook have been displayed around the restaurant and the customers have been noting how much they like them. We would like to hire you to supply flowers for our place sets if that is something you are interested in. If so, I have some numbers ready to go over with you."

"Ok Mr. Kim, thank you for the opportunity. Let's talk some business."

After Namjoon and you discuss prices and scheduling you eventually came to a solid agreement. When the phone call is over you can't help but do a happy dance. You're so proud of how your little business is growing.

Despite Jin and Jungkook visiting your store so often, you still haven’t visited Kim’s Restaurant until now. You stand out of the classy looking restaurant with your first delivery. Assorted colors of orchids fill the box, the simple yet elegant flower you and Taehyung agreed upon would work best to start with for now.

The youngest Kim brother emailed you upon returning from his vacation. He was the one in charge of the restaurant's graphic and interior design. He often worked as a host, greeting everyone who enters with a boxy smile. One was aimed your way just now as he helps you with the door to get inside. "Great to see you y/n, come in, come in."

Enthusiastically he ushers you into the restaurant. It's early in the morning so there are no customers yet. A lovely smell wafts from the kitchen as you follow Taehyung to a table further back. The restaurant is very chic looking with black and white pictures of various sizes and settings hanging on the walls.

"These photos are all beautiful Taehyung. Are they all yours?"

"They are." Taehyung is beaming at the compliment. "I took new photos on my trip so I can't wait to get those developed. Now let's look at those flowers."

Taehyung helps you carefully take the flowers out of the box and set them on the table. Namjoon, a couple of tables over with what looks like important papers and folders, tries to come over and help, but Taehyung shoos him away. "He'll destroy the whole batch if we aren't careful y/n." He whispers playfully to you.

"I can hear you; you know that right."

Namjoon just gets Taehyung's signature smile in return. The back door opening and slamming shut drags your attention towards the back hall.

"Yah! What have I told you punks about that door, huh?" An aggravated voice yells from the kitchen.

"Sorry Yoongi," comes a triage of voices. You're excited to see Jungkook come into view along with two other men. Your favorite customer stops with wide eyes as he notices you. A smile quickly blooms on his face and he makes his way over to you excitedly.

"Y/n! You finally came."

The two other men look at the scene with interest, recognizing your name instantly as it comes out of the youngest staff member's mouth.

"Hey Jungkook, sorry it took me so long, and that it's for work. I'm an awful friend huh?"

Jungkook whips his head side to side. "No, no, your business keeps you busy. I'm just glad you're finally here."

The young server leans close to you to get a good view of the flowers on the table. The other two servers behind him share a knowing look before approaching.

"So, you're the famous y/n, we've heard a lot about you." You turn to see the attractive men bow in greeting. "I'm Jimin." Greets the grinning blonde who gets elbowed by Jungkook after his statement.

"Hiya! I'm Hoseok, nice to finally meet you." He makes a cute sound effect as he also examines the flowers. "These are really pretty."

"Thank you, and nice to meet you too." You beam at the two servers. Jungkook's hip suddenly bumps into yours softly making you look at him questioningly. He only smiles at you so you bump your hip back into his.

"Wait, is that my Flower that I hear?" A voice comes from the kitchen as a head peeks through the server's opening in the wall that also lets customers see into the kitchen. "It is!"

Junkook frowns at the nickname as Jimin, Hoseok, and Taehyung laugh at his disappointed face.

"Hello Jin." You call out to the man walking his way out of the kitchen. He makes his way over towards you and opens his arms for a hug which you gladly return.

"Oh, it's so cool to see you in your chef's outfit." Jin's wide shoulders fill out his black chef's jacket which is tied tightly around his thin waist. The chef's ears turn slightly red at your compliment. "Oh stop...tell me more."

"Ok, that's enough back to work." The grumpy voice calls over from the open area into the kitchen. The man with dark hair, you assume must be Yoongi, nods in greeting before disappearing.

"On my way Yoongles!" 

You swear you can fell the sigh that came from the kitchen.

"Don't think I forgot my promise to treat you to something y/n. Prepared to be blown away." The tall chef blows a kiss to you dramatically before reentering the kitchen.

"Ok guys," Namjoon claps at the servers. "Let's go over today's items." He ignores the collective groans. "You're good Taehyung and y/n?"

You nod as Taehyung answers, "All set."

Jungkook hips bump into yours as he follows the others to Namjoon's table. He smirks over his shoulder and sends you a little finger wave, which you return. Straightening your shoulders, you turn back to Taehyung and the two of you get into business mode. You figure out which arrangements you want on each table, making the displays form a slight pattern based off color. Taehyung and you now stand near the host's table, eyeing the flowers approvingly.

"This look's good y/n, thank you for the hard work."

"I'd say a lot of this is a win for you. You have a really good eye Taehyung."

Taehyung playfully puts a hand on his heart and looks at you with the cutest expression. Namjoon walks from the back and nods at the flowers approvingly as well as he passes.

"Y/n have a seat please." You follow the two Kims to Namjoon's table where you discuss further business. That is until a bowl of japchae is put down in front of you. The sight and smell of it make your mouth water.

"Compliments of the Chef." Grins Jungkook, who is now changed into his server uniform of a black button up long sleeves shirt tucked into black slacks with a sleek black belt. Not used to seeing him dressed so sharp, you can't help that your eyes look him over appreciatively.

"Sorry y/n, but Jungkook isn't on the menu."

You whip your head to look at the youngest Kim brother looking slightly affronted. Taehyung's head is resting in his hands propped up on the table and is grinning at your reaction. Taehyung winks at you while Namjoon snickers as he busies himself with his papers.

"Eat it before it gets cold y/n" prods the grinning server besides you. You pick up the chopsticks ready to bury yourself into the heavenly looking japchae and pretend you don't exist. Flavor explodes in your mouth the taste is-

"I wouldn't mind if you wanted to order me though."

You're choking on the noodles, coughing to try to clear your throat. Oh god this was how you're going to die.

Hands are hitting your back trying to help you clear the food. Luckily the food gets cleared quickly and a large glass of water is placed next to you. Quickly you gulp down the water as a large hand gently rubs up and down your back soothingly. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah..." You clear your throat for good measure. "Yeah I'll be good."

The perfect server, Jungkook refills your water quickly.

"Thanks."

"Don't kill our customer and florist now Junkook." Namjoon slightly disciplines.

"Sorry boss. Sorry about that y/n."

You see the young man look sheepish and enter a deep and apologetic bow.

"You're going to kill me one of these days Jungkook I just know it." At your teasing tone Jungkook brightens up immediately.

“If that happens, I’m sure it would be from me giving you too much love.”

You roll your eyes at his cheesiness. He’s clearly learned from the best.

“Now go on, give it a try.”

You take another bite of food, and you're grateful no one says anything as you appreciate the taste slowly.

"Tell the chef this is amazing and thank you."

"He'll be glad to hear it." With a slight bow, Jungkook heads back to the kitchen. The sound of some sort of commotion starts back there making everyone at the table shake their head.

"Sorry for the trouble y/n."

"It's no problem Namjoon. I'm quite fond of it now."

Time flies by before you know it. You're busy at Spring Day fulfilling orders and spending your time at Kim's, not all of it for business. It's a lively environment, and going there has made your days so much more enjoyable. It also made your crush on the server Jungkook a whole lot stronger and into something more real and concrete. His flirting still shocks you every time much to everyone's amusement at the restaurant.

The bells on the door clang loudly making you stop your dancing to greet your customer. A loud voice greets you back. "Hello Flower! How are you today?"

"Hey Jin. Just cutting thorns off roses...again." Seriously cutting thorns off roses seems to be a never-ending task for you but that's what you get for being a florist.

"So, what brings you in today?" You glance at the calendar tacked up to the wall. "It's not delivery day."

Jin looks at you with a mockingly offended expression. "What, so I can't just come here to visit my favorite florist?"

"I'm the only florist you know Jin."

"Fine, fine you got me. I am here for a reason."

"I told you I don't have any new revenge flowers to give you. You'll have to do repeats if you want any."

"Nope that's not the reason I'm here today, but you know you really need to get some new ones in."

You raise an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to get to the point.

"What brings me here today is..." He taps a drum roll on the counter top. "...is love."

"Love?"

"Yes, love!"

"Ok, I'm getting a little offended with your blank stare of yours right now." Jin confesses.

You lean against the counter, careful not to smush any roses, and rest your head on the palm of your hand. "So, tell me of this love of yours."

Jin mimics your position and you feel like two kids gossiping.

"Well they are really sweet, and they get super cute when their shy. He li- I like their smile and laugh. Makes my heart flutter and all that."

"Uh-huh. What's their name?”

Jin winks at you. "Now that's a secret y/n."

"Of course it is." You can't help but roll your eyes. "So, does your lover know about your feelings and this is a gift, or are you needing to use the flowers to confess."

"The second one." Jin points finger guns at you.

"Alright, do you know what their favorite flower is." You straighten up and reach out for your inventory book.

"Uhh, what's your favorite flower."

The binder falls to the ground with a slap after your surprise caused you to fumble it.

"J-Jin," You squeak. "Are you confessing to me?"

You love Jin, but not that way. Your heart beats faster despite that, it feels like a hummingbird in your chest. You've never received a confession before.

"What, no no no, not me! Oh god I'm sorry I didn't mean for it to sound like that." He denies until he sees the look of disappointment in your face. You know you are not interested in him like that but his strong refusal makes your eyes sting.

"...Oh, that's fine. Good yeah, because I don't see you that way either." You try to play it off, but your voice doesn't sound that convincing. You bend down to pick up your binder. quickly trying to get your act together, you stay hidden a second longer behind the counter than you need to.

When you pop back up from behind the counter you keep your eyes focused on the inventory book you open up and avoid looking at the handsome man in front of you.

"So unlike revenge flowers, there are a lot more flowers that represent love."

Large hands cup your face and to pull your gaze to meet warm eyes that are worried yet reassuring.

"y/n there are so many people out there that love you. All of us at the restaurant," He pauses to wipe a stray tear with his thumb. "It may not be all romantic love, but you're part of our family now. So, don't be sad. I know there's someone who will give you the love you deserve. You got that Flower."

You nod your head in his warm grip. His hands stroke your cheeks before pulling away.

"These flowers are for...for someone else, but I know I can trust you to make something beautiful full of love."

You sniffle, but a smile is on your face now as you flip to the page you need. You’re lucky to have such a good friend. "Well let's get started on making the best confession bouquet that's going to knock their socks off."

Jin smiles at you reassuringly as the two of you look over your stock. You explain the flower meanings to him as you go along. After analyzing a variety of choices, the two of you decide to go with a simple arrangement of red tulips and orange blossoms.

At first Jin was wanting to go for the iconic roses, but you explained that something different with a similar meaning might be good by impressing the receiver with not the default choice. It could just be you and your high stack of roses you still have to dethorn, but you’re a little tired of the beautiful flower. Jin quickly relents and goes for the red tulips that you explain represents a declaration of love, and to believe the person giving the flowers is honest in their feelings.

He does question your choosing of orange blossoms as a filler flower to the bouquet over the traditional carnations, but you explain that they have a similar meaning as well and it would be something unique. It has nothing to do with the memory of Jungkook serenely smelling orange mock and looking at you in-between the delicate blossoms. Orange blossoms allude to innocence, eternal love, marriage and fruitfulness. You ignore the eyebrow wiggle Jin gives you at that last part.

"Do you want me to wrap these up for you, or just the bundle as is?"

"Wrap them up like one of your french flowers for me would you."

You roll your eyes as he laughs at his own joke.

"You should come by the restaurant tonight. It's dessert night." The chef sings to you.

You started the tradition of joining the staff at Kim's for a meal once a week after the store closes. Once in a blue moon, Jin and Yoongi go a bit over the top and make crazy beautiful fragile pieces of art they call desserts. When the rare mood strikes them to undergo the delicate process of creating such treats, the rest of the staff dresses up for the occasion to match the aesthetic food and to feel fancy once in a while.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Jin smiles fondly at you and carefully takes the flowers out of the shop, but not before giving you his signature flying kiss as goodbye.

Your shoes click on the ground as you approach Kim's. You glance at the time to make sure you weren't too early as it was dark inside. You peek inquisitively through the glass and you see Taehyung waving at you in dim lighting. After getting to know Taehyung better, you don't question things like why he would be standing alone in the dark at the front of his restaurant.

You wave back as the man rushes towards the door to let you in.

"Don't you look beautiful tonight."

"Same goes to you Taehyung."

Really Taehyung was dressed in rather laid-back clothes then what he normally wears for dessert nights. However, he's always beautiful no matter what he does which is so unfair.

Glancing around the dark restaurant, you don't see anyone else, though that could be because of the poor lighting.

"Why is it to dark in here Tae, and where is everyone?"

"They're out back. We're trying out something different this time."

He makes a dramatic bow and holds his arm out to you. Giggling at his antics, you link arms with his and he leads you through the restaurant.

Taehyung pats your arm reassuringly before unlinking his from yours as the two of you stop at a table adorned with a set of candles. With another flourish he pulls out one of the chairs at the table for you to sit at.

You look at him, to the romantic table settings, and then to the chair before hesitantly sitting down.

"Ok Tae, what is going on?"

He just grins that boxy smile of his before moving back into the kitchen, leaving you to sit anxiously at the table. Your fingers fiddle together before a figure steps out from the kitchen.

A quiet gasp escapes you as you take in the man dressed in black walking slowly your way. He's wearing his normal working attire just like Taehyung, the black button up shirt, black slacks with belt; but this time the top few buttons are undone showing you a tease of skin. The sleeves are rolled up showing off his strong tattooed arms that he knows you admire.

And he's holding a bouquet of red tulips and orange blossoms.

"J-Jungkook..I..what are you..."

You turn in your seat, about to stand before he motions you to stay sitting. He kneels in front of you and takes your hand in his. He brings it up to his lips, his eyes never leaving yours as he places a delicate kiss on the back of your palm.

You feel your heart trying to beat out of your chest, blood flushes to your head and it feels really hot all of a sudden. He holds the flowers for you to take without letting your hand go.

"Someone told me you like these."

You take the flowers and breathe them in. "They're perfect."

"Just like you."

Your foot kicks out at him lightly, embarrassed at his words.

"The flowers are telling you to believe me you know. Do you, do you believe in me?"

You see the earnestness in his eyes as he looks at you, remember all of those non-accidental touches as his thumb runs circles on your hands, the sweet words that come out of those perfect lips, the way your heart beats faster every time he's near you and dulls when he is gone. How you dreamed of kissing him as you lick your lips, his eyes following the movement.

"I do."

He leans forward until his lips meet yours in a soft kiss. His lips trace over yours as soft as a petal would. Shyly, you push your lips towards his, continuing the kiss. Your grip on his hands tighten as the hand with flowers seeks the table blindly as your bodies come closer together. His free hand comes to hold the back of your head, tangling itself in your locks to angle your head to deepen the kiss. You can't stop the breathy moan that escapes your lips, making Jungkook smirk into the kiss.

"Ok, time for dessert!"

The yell makes you jump, startled to remember you are not exactly alone. Jungkook groans as he breaks the kiss and glares over his shoulder.

"Jin they were having a moment!" Yells out Yoongi as Jin bustles out of the kitchen carrying two plates of dessert.

"I don't want them to have any more of a moment because I don't want my place of business to become unsanitary with their fruitfulness."

"Don't worry boss, we'll take our fruitfulness somewhere else."

"Oh no you don't, not after Yoongi and I made you these. Now sit down and eat."

You hide your face with a groan. Some things change and then some never do.

#btsghostie #btsghostiebingo #bts fanfiction #jungkook fanfiction #jungkook x reader #florist au #bts fluff #of insults and flowers #my writing

[unityghost]

Strangers

Here’s some new fanfiction for those of you who wanted to see some (and I know some of you did). Sorry for my cat delaying the writing process by shoving her chonky little body into my lap.

Have fun with the angst that occasionally makes me question my decision to refrain from anonymity.

Part 28 of Post-Asmodeus Sabriel Feels because I can’t stop myself. Find the full series here.

That Thursday afternoon, two days after they had left early in the morning for Missouri, Dean and Sam returned home.

Gabriel, who was aware of Sam’s impending return, had left his door open so that Sam could simply enter if he wanted.

Sam knocked on the doorframe anyway. “Hey.”

“Hey,” said Gabriel. “Nice gash on your knuckles there, soldier. You didn’t even try to clean yourself up, did you?”

Sam glanced down at the offending hand. “I was distracted, I guess. And I thought it wasn’t really important.”

“What the hell did that to you? Pennywise?”

“The witch had a familiar. Guess she’d trained it to go after anyone who might want to mess with her.” “Was her familiar a saber-toothed tiger?”

“Not exactly, no.”

“A wolf?”

“No. She had a, uh - ” Sam cleared his throat. “A gerbil she’d probably done some powerful spellwork on.”

“Perfect! There’s your story for any awkward silence at the next family reunion. Can I try and heal you? You got bitten like chum.”

“Definitely not. Don’t waste any of your grace on this.”

“Whether ‘this’ was from the Loch Ness monster or a jacked class pet doesn’t make any difference to me. Come on, get over here.”

Sam gave a sigh and stepped nearer so that he could offer his hand. Gabriel grabbed him by the wrist and examined the wound, which was no longer bleeding but evidently had not been properly sanitized.

He pressed his thumb into the jagged cut, waited a moment (I’m gonna look like a tool if this doesn’t work), and let a warm pulse of grace permeate the skin. Gabriel’s own human form crawled with gooseflesh as the surge of power rose up and then ebbed out of him. He pulled away once the damage was no longer visible.

“Look at that!” he declared, taken aback by the pride in his voice. “No big deal.”

Sam studied his hand and then grinned at Gabriel. “Thanks. Nice work.”

“Keep away from any and all furry fiends, Sam.” A wave of exhaustion overtook Gabriel on the tail end of the sentence. “Yeah, um … listen, I’m glad you’re safe and sound. And I guess maybe it’s been a long morning or something, so I’m gonna go ahead and kick back for a good half hour or so. That sound okay to you?”

“You’re tired because you just used up your grace.” Gabriel could see it: Sam was making a conspicuous effort not to appear perturbed. “Gabe, man, you really didn’t - ”

“It’s not that, it’s not that; I just … I just need …” Gabriel rubbed his forehead. “Whatever, I’m all right; I just want to lie down for a few minutes. You know me. I’m like Manhattan: sexy, psychotic, and eternally sleepless.”

Sam looked concerned, but nodded. “Sure. I’ll be around if you need anything.”

Once Sam had left, closing the door in his wake, Gabriel felt sleep overcome him in a way it typically didn’t when he tried to fall asleep at night. His entire body was worn down, as if he had forced it to its limits over a number of hours. He almost wished he hadn’t offered to heal Sam; what use would he be if something more serious came up?

But he had little time to dwell on the question, as exhaustion overwhelmed the ability to think.

He slept deeply, as he almost never did; and in the abyss of his own subconscious, he heard voices.

I can’t be alone with them, I can’t; I don’t know them!

Shut your mouth, you spoiled little weasel. They gon’ be good to you; ain’t that right, boys?

I don’t know them; I don’t know them!

Oh, well now, you’ll get to know them soon enough. And ain’t these fellas just so lucky to ignite a friendship with my favorite archangel? Sometimes I wish I could make your acquaintance all over again, boy. There ain’t nothin’ like the first time.

I don’t know them; I don’t know them! Please, no, wait! Why won’t you listen to me? Why won’t you touch me? Stop it! Stop it! Look at me! Help me!

What happened in his dreams seemed to last hours; and indeed, when the door creaked open and a small voice called his name, the time was 5:00 P.M. - three and a half hours since Gabriel had told Sam he needed rest.

“Are you okay?” Jack called. “Sam told me to come check on you.”

With the flat, bitter taste of afternoon slumber in his mouth, Gabriel sat up. His face felt warm where it had pressed into the pillow. “Yeah. Yes. Apparently Sam went and got himself chewed up by a bloodthirsty hamster, and I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal to try and fix it. Guess I had less in me than I thought.”

Jack nodded. “Okay. It was a gerbil, by the way. Not a hamster.”

“Whatever. Something in the category of small, furry, and unexpectedly lethal.”

“You know how witches are. Imagine what Rowena could do with a gerbil.”

Gabriel yawned. “Guess I’ve never thought about it.”

“You’re not shaking, are you?”

“Me? Nah.”

Jack stared at him. "I don't like seeing you like this."

"No refunds. Sorry, little guy.”

Jack watched him for a few moments, then strode over to the bed and wrapped his arms around Gabriel.

Jack pulled away, crestfallen. "Oh. I'm ... I'm sorry. I guess I thought I could help. If I had my powers, I ... maybe I could do more."

Gabriel shook his head. "Doubt it, bud. Don't feel bad, all right? This isn't about anything you're doing wrong. It's about me being too icky for you. Don't want you to get whatever disease it is I've turned into." Gabriel hadn’t anticipated this bitterness, especially not in front of Jack. The rush of self-loathing had seized him without warning.

Jack's expression creased into an odd mix of horror and puzzlement. Perhaps he sensed that these words were troubling, but didn’t fully understand them.

“You go ahead and tell Sam I’ll be right out,” Gabriel said, feeling as though he had just violated his nephew in some way. “Go on, let him know. I just need to stretch, all right?”

Slowly, Jack nodded. “Are you upset because I hugged you?”

“No! No, come on; I’m not upset over that, or over anything else. Don’t worry so much. I’m a grown-ass angel and can take care of my own damn self. And even if I couldn’t, the job isn’t yours.”

Jack seemed uncertain of what to say in response, so he simply nodded again, forced a smile, and exited the bedroom.

“Close the door,” Gabriel called. “I like to get my bearings in solitude.”

“Sure,” said Jack, although he sounded anything but sure.

Once the door was shut and Jack’s footsteps - lighter than Sam’s, more staccato - Gabriel squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. He would have liked to have been able to shake the dream off before heading into the hall, before seeing anyone else, but it stirred its way through his insides and refused to leave.

Once he had some semblance of composure, he dragged himself out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, where he found Jack and Sam sitting at the table in conversation.

Gabriel was disappointed but not surprised to hear Jack say, “And I think something might be wrong with him, but I don’t really know what” before both of them fell silent upon Gabriel’s entry.

“Oh, hey,” said Sam. There was a mug of coffee in front of him, still steaming. “You feeling okay? Were you asleep that whole time?”

“I …”

Sam glanced at Jack, who looked troubled. “Give us a minute.”

“I don’t think it’s true,” Jack said, not to Sam but to Gabriel. “It’s not true what you said about being able to take care of yourself.” He sounded bewildered.

No, Gabriel realized, He sounds hurt.

“I know when you’re not telling me the truth,” Jack said.

Before Gabriel could respond, Sam put a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “For now, Jack. Okay?”

Jack looked back and forth between Sam and Gabriel, helpless, frustrated - and then jerked himself out of Sam’s grip and left the room.

Gabriel watched him leave. Once Jack was out of earshot, he said, “Kid’s messed up. My fault. He needs you more than I do.”

“No. No, he’s all right. He just wants to help and doesn’t know how.”

“Well, that’s not how things are supposed to be.”

“So, um …” Sam sat down. He was probably expecting Gabriel to do the same, but Gabriel felt more comfortable standing up. “What happened? Is something wrong? Jack said - ”

“I heard what Jack said.” Gabriel looked down, examining the floor.

“Are you okay?” Sam pressed.

“I’m fine.”

“You want me to ask Jack? See if he can confirm?”

Jack, who had been sent in place of Sam; who had been given the unfortunate duty of making sure that his uncle wasn’t in urgent need of help. Jack, who should have been too young to know anything of Gabriel’s pain. Jack, who was incapable of choosing for himself whether to opt in as caregiver or to step away from what he didn’t know - couldn’t know - was too heavy for such a naive spirit.

“No,” Gabriel said. “I would like to humbly request that you not ask him a single freakin’ thing.”

“Did you have bad dreams?”

The images floated into the present, still warm. He saw the face of a stranger (a demon whose presence had been background noise during Gabriel’s imprisonment, but who apparently had taken up space in his memory), bloated with derision and the definite appetite that only manifested in nightmares.

“Yeah,” Gabriel told Sam. “But - I mean, that’s, you know - ” Words hummed into static as he tried to think of just what to confess, and whether he ought to say anything at all. It wouldn’t necessarily do any good for either of them - and especially not for Sam, who had had only a few hours to recover from his encounter with a witch and her maniacal gerbil.

Sam gave him a moment to think before stepping in. “Look, Gabe, don’t take this the wrong way, but I think I can tell when something’s the matter with you. Jack isn’t the only one.”

“Stop talking about Jack!” Gabriel snapped, and Sam blinked in surprise.

He asked, “Can I maybe do anything to help?”

Gabriel could tell that Sam feared pushing conversation, confession, or counsel. Sam wanted to know; Sam had every right to know. Gabriel owed him at least some piece of the truth. And so he said: “I’m sorry. Maybe I just missed you while you were away.”

Sam smiled at him. “You knew I was coming back, right?”

“Sure I did.” A pause, and then: “However, there is the minor possibility that the halfway point between ‘I’ll be right back’ and ‘I’ll head home once you’ve taken out the trash’ got lost in translation.”

Sam didn’t seem to immediately understand what Gabriel meant. When his look of puzzlement became one that Gabriel couldn’t quite identify - resigned, but also horrified - Sam got to his feet and took a few steps toward Gabriel and held out the hand that, just hours earlier, had sported an ugly wound.

“Oh please,” Gabriel said. “We don’t have to do this. You don’t need to suckle me. Maybe I’m just a little shaky after kicking my grace into gear. I mean, don’t think I’m not glad to have used it; your hand looks a hundred times - ”

“Gabriel,” Sam said, “I missed you too.”

The kitchen tilted and fogged. Sam jolted forward and caught him as Gabriel’s knees buckled, although he hadn’t felt particularly weak or faint up until that moment.

Like a punch to the jaw, he thought. Enough force at once and down you go.

Sam helped him to sit at the table.

“That was on purpose,” said Gabriel. “I was trying to do a cartwheel.”

“Can I get you some water? Some coffee? There’s still a lot left.”

Gabriel shook his head. “I don’t need - I mean, there’s not much to be done when everything around me is fine.”

Sam squinted at him. “Have you eaten anything today?”

“Yes. I’m all right.” He glanced away. “Or I thought I was.”

Sam hesitated for a few seconds. Then he asked: “Did you really think I wasn’t going to come back?”

“No, that’s not what I thought.”

“Honestly, Gabriel?”

Gabriel sagged in the chair. “What difference does it make? My intuition isn’t exactly razor-fine these days. I knew you were coming back. You’ve got family here. You’ve got every reason in the world to dust your rodent-bitten hands of whatever case, turn around, and head home.”

“You can come with me next time, if you want.”

“No, I - ” The idea of Sam being forced to tote him around like a needy child humiliated Gabriel. “I just see everything as a landmine, that’s all. You know what? You could tell me, ‘By the way, we’re thinking of retiling the bathroom’ and my first thought would be, ‘Have they been hinting that I’m supposed to retile the bathroom and I was too dense to pick up on it? Are they angry? Can I do something to make up for not retiling the bathroom? Did they run out of tasks to keep me around and are trying to think of some other use for me, or - ’”

“Okay,” Sam interrupted, “I get the picture. The important thing is I’m back now; I’m here, and you’re okay. It’s all okay.”

“Great. I can feel my troubles drifting away like spider silk on the summer breeze.”

“I know it’s easier said than believed, but that still doesn’t make it less true.”

Gabriel straightened up a little. The room was no longer spinning. “Sam, I know that you wouldn’t just, you know, completely disappear. I know that, okay? And even if you did go AWOL, I’ve got a whole team over here; it’s not like you’d be replaced with a stranger or - or anyone who wanted to hurt me. I know that,” he emphasized, and Sam, looking concerned, didn’t reply. “But,” Gabriel added, “I think I may have fallen into a little bit of an old pattern without realizing it. And I can’t really say why now, out of the blue. It isn’t as if you haven’t left for days at a time to do your job.”

“Is this the first time you ever felt that way when I left? Like I wasn’t going to come home? Like I was going to leave you to someone else?”

“Yes,” Gabriel said, before he realized that that was actually wrong. In fact, he couldn’t remember an instance of Sam traveling when Gabriel hadn’t been, at the very least, nervous about being left without him. “I mean, no, but I haven’t had a nightmare about it. Not one this bad, not one this gruesome.” He swallowed. “I guess I was catching up on lost sleep, especially after using my grace.”

“What’d you dream about?”

“Oh, I dreamed about Asmodeus. And about some other demon I thought I’d maybe forgotten. One who watched over me once or twice when he - when Asmodeus - had other business to attend to. He would do to me everything Asmodeus did, only - only when he did it, it just felt different, because I didn’t even know his name. I used to plead with Asmodeus not to go, but sometimes he had to, I guess, and he left me. I look back on it, and I see that he couldn’t have stuck around for me all the time, but - ”

“Gabriel,” Sam interjected, “Can I ask you something?”

“Is it a less foreboding question than ‘can I ask you something’?”

“I want to know,” Sam said, “Why you end up trying to defend him.”

“What? I don’t do that.”

“Yeah, you do. He had no right to - ”

“I know, I know. He was in the wrong; I was the unwitting beaten animal. I don’t want to talk about that.”

“I just don’t want you to - ”

“In any case, when he left I felt exposed. When it was him, I mostly knew what to expect, even if it was just a familiar face. I remember screaming and begging with him not to leave me by myself, either with no one or with someone I didn’t really know. I remember him laughing at me whenever I did that, or just pretending like he couldn’t hear me.” Gabriel shivered.

Sam took his hand. “It’s okay. That won’t happen to you again.”

“Yeah, I know that.”

“Good.”

“What are we gonna do about Jack?”

“Jack? I told you, Jack’s fine.”

“No, he’s confused. He thinks he wants to help me, and he doesn’t know that he can’t. Of everything that’s eaten away at his innocence, I think I might be the biggest culprit.”

“What? Jeez, Gabriel, that really couldn’t be farther from the truth. And anyway, I thought you didn’t want to talk about Jack anymore.”

“I want to be better for him. Or I at least want him to see something that isn’t this. Something that isn’t me the way I am now.”

“Don’t twist yourself in knots over Jack. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Why did you send him in?”

Sam frowned. “When? To check on you?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know, I was making coffee and I thought he might like to see you.” Sam suddenly looked troubled. “That’s really all it was. I wasn’t trying to stay away from you.”

“Yeah. I, uh … I know.” Gabriel focused on breathing steadily - not too shallow, not too deep - and on the weight of Sam’s hand. “You get it, right? That I trust the others, I do; but I don’t trust them the same way, exactly. You know? I can’t help that. I try, and I can’t. They care a lot; they show that they care and I like that. But it still - it feels different with you. I wish I could get everyone on the same level, Sam; it’d only be fair to you, and to them, if I could learn not to be afraid of anybody. I just don’t know how to be as okay with them as I am with you. I keep trying to fight that - I keep trying to remind myself that nobody here is dangerous. And that maybe I can ask them for the same things I would come to you for. You know, after a nightmare, or when my mind goes dark. It just feels different when you’re gone, Sam.”

Sam squeezed his hand. “That’s okay.”

“I don’t - ” Gabriel’s throat was tight. “I’m not - I still find Castiel sometimes, when I need help in the middle of the night. Wanna give you a break. He helps. Next to you, he’s the one who feels least like Asmodeus. I mean, there’s Jack, of course, but he’s a different ballgame. I can’t tell my brother the truth, though. I can’t tell him that I don’t really want him. He tries so hard and he’s a superstar. Even when I’m awake, with him, and - and crying, or sick, I can never bring myself to tell him what I’m really thinking. I can’t explain to him that a part of why I can’t really calm myself down is that I feel like I need you there.”

Sam seemed at a loss. “I don’t think that would bother Cas.”

“It’s difficult; it’s confusing to need the things that I do. It’s confusing to be this lost and out of control and dependent. I don’t think I’m handling it right.”

“There’s no right way. No wrong way, either.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Sam, but that’s just plain not true. There is a whole world of wrong ways to move through this experience. Someone with more sense would know that the aftermath of something like what happened to me isn’t as bad as being in the thick of it. But me, I can’t seem to get the one stubborn foot out of Hell no matter how hard I pull at it.” Gabriel felt his heartbeat entwine with the knot in his throat, making it hard to breathe. “I’m not supposed to need this.”

“To need what?”

“Not supposed to need to cry, I guess. I don’t think that’s the right way to get through this. What good’s crying gonna do, you know? It’s not helpful and it’s degrading.”

“It’s pretty normal, I think.”

“I don’t want it to become so frequent that - that you - ” As if his body was in a state of defiance, he felt tears slip down the edges of his nose. “That you see it so much it becomes background noise. That you don’t think - that you don’t take it seriously. I think that was part of why he started to just turn away from me. He’d seen me upset too many times to think anything of it.”

“Jesus, Gabriel, you keep trying to make this into your fault.”

“I want you to know that when I can’t - can’t hold myself together, it means nothing.”

“That’s not what I think when you cry, Gabriel.”

“After a while, though - ”

“No. And besides, you know how I feel about trying to keep it all inside.”

“Can we, uh - ” Gabriel dragged a shaking hand across his cheeks. “Can we maybe go somewhere else? I don’t want Jack to walk in and see this.”

“I can take you to my room. Can you get to your feet okay?”

Gabriel nodded and stood up, although the task proved more of a challenge than he had anticipated. Something in him was desperate not to move: he wanted to hide, to seek shelter in his own smallness.

“Come on.” Sam took his shoulder and steered him down the hall. Gabriel trained his eyes on the floor; if Jack was nearby, Gabriel wouldn’t have known.

Sam shut the door behind them as they entered the bedroom. Gabriel immediately curled up on the bed, face in his knees, hands gripping his hair.

He felt Sam sit next to him. “Hey, buddy, deep breaths.”

Gabriel couldn’t bring himself to look up. He hated himself for what he wanted just then: more than anything, he hoped that Sam would put an arm around him, or that Sam would hold him. But Sam was probably using caution, afraid that Gabriel would recoil from touch.

I don’t need that anyway, Gabriel told himself. I don’t need it. I don’t. I don’t need that.

“Not sure if this makes any difference,” Sam said after a while, “But try not to forget that I - that all of us - we understand what it feels like, you know. At least in some way. We all know what it’s like to want to look good for each other. All of us have been hurt pretty bad at some point. We don’t need each other any less than you need me. And we know how it feels to not want to tell the truth about that.”

Gabriel turned his head so that it rested sideways on his knees and he could look at Sam, who went on: “I just want you to keep in mind that however much you don’t like how things are right now, this isn’t you having a weird reaction to Amsodeus. I know it feels gross, but it isn’t wrong, Gabriel.”

“Doesn’t really matter,” Gabriel whispered. “I feel like I’m wrong just because of whatever it is he made me into. I’m disgusting.”

“You’re really not.”

“I can feel it, Sam. The feeling of just being something wrong. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“You don’t have to,” Sam told him, and Gabriel’s chest tightened at the realization that Sam knew precisely the feeling he was talking about.

“I wonder what he thought when he saw me like this,” Gabriel said hoarsely. “Sometimes he wasn’t exactly upfront about what was going on in his mind. What did he think when he saw this diseased little rodent clawing for a split second’s attention?”

Sam looked vaguely ill at these words. “It doesn’t matter what he thought of you.”

“It does matter, because I want to know that you aren’t thinking the same thing about me.”

“Well, I certainly don’t see you as a … a ‘diseased rodent.’ Where’d you come up with that? Gerbil still on your mind, huh?”

Gabriel couldn’t bring himself to return Sam’s half-hearted smile.

“I don’t see that at all,” Sam insisted. “I just see you.”

“Ugh. That’s worse.”

“You’re different. I see that. And I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to you being so … different. Not because it’s bad; not because it’s wrong. Just because it’s, you know …”

“Different,” Gabriel muttered.

“Right. Because ‘different’ is what happens when you’ve had everything taken from you.”

Gabriel was silent.

“You’re still Gabriel, though,” Sam reminded him.

Gabriel closed his eyes. “I don’t know if that’s what I want to be.”

“You have a choice now. You can be Gabriel any way you like.”

Gabriel hid his face again.

So Sam saw him. He saw Gabriel. And when Sam saw this terrified, sobbing phantom of what Gabriel had once been, did he really think he was seeing the true Gabriel?

And why? Gabriel thought. Why won’t he touch me?

Sam’s voice broke through once more. “Asmodeus didn’t leave you with anything good, Gabriel. All he gave you was violence and fear and shame. And look - I don’t know about you, but I think it makes sense that it’d take some work to get back any of the good things he kept out of reach.”

Gabriel raised his head, showcasing what he felt was probably a grotesquely tear-stained visage. “Sure it does. Except that if he kept all that for so long, he must have had a reason. I don’t know that I want to put up a fight for happiness I don’t even deserve.”

“You do deserve it, and you should put up a fight.”

“I don’t know if I - ”

“Then I’ll put up a fight,” Sam said. “Okay?”

Almost involuntarily, as if seizing, Gabriel jerked sideways and used both hands to grab onto Sam’s arm. He squeezed tightly, not sure exactly what he was doing or why. It felt primitive and desperate.

Sam’s features softened. “Hey, hey …”

“Is it okay?” Gabriel asked hoarsely. “Is it okay if I touch you?”

“Of course it’s okay.”

The bewilderment in Sam’s voice served as a reminder that Gabriel was being stupid and overly cautious, that Sam definitely didn’t mind touching him, ever; but the fear was present no matter how irrational Gabriel understood it to be.

In fact, he realized, it wasn’t fear that plagued him as he worried about Sam’s potential aversion: it was something nearer shame.

Yes, he thought, of course he was ashamed - he wasn’t afraid of Sam not wanting to touch him; he was guilty that he wanted Sam to touch him when he knew that nobody should have to.

“What’s wrong?” asked Sam, seeing that Gabriel hadn’t moved and was still clutching Sam’s arm.

“I don’t know,” Gabriel mumbled. “I think I might just be stupid.”

“No! You’re not stupid; you’re stressed.”

“I thought - you know, if you wanted to keep your hands to yourself, it’d be justified.”

“What? Listen, if you need something from me, Gabriel - some time to talk, or a hug - ”

“I can ask, I know. But I - ”

“But you don’t.”

“Well yeah, because what if you don’t want me around?”

“Come on, Gabriel, I do want you around.” Sam put a hand on Gabriel’s arm and pulled him in for an embrace. “God, you’re gonna drive yourself crazy.”

“Oh, that ship left the dock a long time ago.”

They sat in silence for several minutes. Sam held onto him, and Gabriel didn’t try to hug back. He just let himself lean against Sam, not speaking, not crying.

“Sam,” he said finally.

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t get it into your head that you can’t leave to do your job. Don’t ever feel guilty about not being in my immediate vicinity just because I’m scared of my own reflection. Okay?”

“Sure, Gabriel. Okay.”

“I really mean it. Don’t let this change the way you operate. I came into your life by accident and you don’t need to take maternity leave for something that shouldn’t have thrown your life into chaos.”

Sam laughed. “I wasn’t working nine to five before you showed up, Gabriel.”

“You know what I mean, don’t you?”

“I do. I get it. You don’t have to worry about that; I’m glad you’re here. I like having you around. I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t being honest.”

Gabriel wasn’t sure how to explain that, in some ways, it would have been easier to accept the notion that Sam was lying.

Instead, he said: “I was so afraid of him, Sam.”

“I know.”

“He … but I was afraid of being left alone, too. Sometimes. I was afraid of the other demons, the ones I didn’t know. I never knew what to expect from them. They had weapons, and tricks, and insults, and - even the stupid ones were terrible; any simpleton can learn what violence is. And they watched him; they knew how to hurt me. They’d seen what he did to me. I was his toy and they were just happy to get a turn.”

Sam stiffened.

“So when you’re gone,” Gabriel whispered into his shoulder, “And I’m here with someone else, anyone else, a little of that just creeps on in. That’s all. I knew you were coming back, but I felt differently. I know Dean doesn’t want to hurt me. Or Cas, or Jack. When it was just me and those two, I didn’t - I knew I wasn’t threatened. None of this crew have ever given me any reason to believe I’m in danger around them. It’s just a dumb feeling.”

Sam sighed. “No, it’s not dumb. But you’re right: they’re not going to do anything to you.”

“When he’d come back,” Gabriel added, “He would brutalize me all over again. Taking my grace whenever there was enough to go around. Beating me until I couldn’t remember my own name. Just tearing me apart in any way he could.” Gabriel shook his head. “Didn’t matter how much I cried. He thought it was funny. ‘What a whiner,’ he’d say. ‘It’s almost like you think you didn’t deserve it.’”

“Gabriel, god!”

“Yeah, and then he’d - you know - off he’d go, leaving me sobbing like a baby. I kept hoping he’d hear me from wherever he was; I thought maybe he’d at least pay me some attention. Even if it was just to yell at me. No one wants to be wailing into their own blood and vomit solo.

“But it was my fault, always my fault. It was always me. I was the one who’d said something out of bounds; I was the one who asked for something I wasn’t supposed to want; I was the one who - who - ” Gabriel pressed himself against Sam. “And if he did show up, he’d ignore me. Turn his back, go about his business. I may as well have been any soul in Hell, just radio static.

“And when he did notice me, when he decided to stop shutting me out, he’d just say to shut up; or sometimes, for whatever reason, he would switch things up and give me a little spoonful of comfort before finding some other reason to grab me off the floor and slam me into the wall and then hold me down so he could play.”

Sam took a shivery breath. “I - yeah. Yeah, okay. Okay.”

“So when you’re gone, Sam, I can’t always think rationally. It’s as if maybe you want nothing to do with me, and the others - well, Sam’s not here to protect this nuisance who’s taken over our lives, so let’s get in what we can. And then it’s - it’s - if you don’t come back, what am I supposed to do? Who am I supposed to trust?”

There was a pause. When Sam replied, he sounded restrained. “I really didn’t think about that.”

“Because there’s no reason to! Because you’ve got a brain that operates according to fact! Whereas mine leaps in any direction it sees fit in response to any threat, any hazard. And Sam, everything is a threat. Everything is a hazard. Compared to you, the others are strangers to me, and I don’t like strangers; I don’t trust them; I don’t know them.”

“I would never leave you with strangers.”

“And you shouldn’t have to leave me with anyone, Sam! I’m supposed to be able to watch over myself like a damn grown-up! But I can’t, not anymore; and who knows if the day will ever come when I’ll be able to take care of myself again? The important thing is I know you aren’t leaving me with strangers. What little remains of my rational mind finds that obvious. But these old ways of thinking, they just - they’re next to impossible for me to shake off.”

“I know.”

“That’s all this is. Old habits. Old ways of looking at what’s around me. Or what’s not.”

“I guess I’m glad you know that.” By now, Sam sounded almost as shaken as Gabriel did.

“If I could just balance out the knowing and the feeling, everything would be a whole lot easier for every single one of us. And one thing I don’t understand is …” But he trailed off, afraid of saying something the wrong way, or of being misunderstood, or - worst of all - overstepping a boundary.

“What?” Sam asked. “What is it, Gabe?”

Gabriel shook his head.

Sam sighed. “Okay. All right.”

“No, it’s … all I was gonna say is that …” Gabriel was glad that Sam couldn’t see his face. “Maybe it’s because you were the only one who really tried, the only one who really showed a lot of concern for this deflated ragdoll of an angel that somehow ended up in your custody like a doorstep newborn. Maybe it’s just something about you, I don’t know. Something you have that the others don’t. I’m not sure, Sam. All I know is I have this - this gut-based terror about losing you. Not necessarily because you’ll get sick of me, but because - because - see, I don’t know. I feel it when you hold me like you are right now; the idea of letting go scares me more than Asmodeus ever did.”

He was afraid to look up, but he did; and Gabriel was horrified to see that Sam’s eyes were glossy with tears.

Gabriel wrenched himself away. “Don’t, don’t do that! I’m not trying to make anyone more upset. It’s not anything you’re doing wrong. It’s not that you could be doing anything different, Sam; you’re better at handling me than anyone has any right or reason to be.”

“Well …” Sam closed his eyes, gathered his composure. “Right.”

“I’m putting so much pressure on you with those words, aren’t I?” Gabriel was shivering now. “I’m making you think you have to be perfect, that you have to be next to me a hundred percent of the time.”

Sam swallowed and shook his head. “No, that’s not what I was thinking. I just wish you didn’t feel that way, is all. I wish you weren’t so … that he hadn’t made you feel like …”

“Right?” said Gabriel. “It’s hard to articulate, isn’t it? I can’t figure it out, and I don’t know what to do with it. Wanting the - needing to be taken care of the way I do lately, and needing it to be you, and being so scared to death that you might be there one second and gone the next. I don’t understand that feeling.

“There’s time to figure it out. Stop trying to force yourself to understand everything, Gabriel. You don’t have to, and it’ll probably come with time.” Sam looked flushed, but his eyes were dry now.

There was a sound from the hallway: a door opening, and small, tentative footsteps. They paused outside the door, and then moved on until neither Gabriel nor Sam could hear them.

“Jack came in and hugged me,” Gabriel told Sam.

“Oh. Sorry about that. I did say - ”

“No, it’s all right. I’m only bringing it up so you know you don’t have to warn him not to touch me. He can touch me. If he wants to.”

“What about what you want?”

“I … no, I just mean that maybe I’m not … not good for …” Gabriel gave a frustrated sigh, still speaking into Sam’s shoulder. “It’s fine.”

“I know you still worry about that.”

“About what?”

“I know that you worry about corrupting Jack.”

“I don’t know that I ever used the word ‘corrupt.’”

“But Gabriel, he cares about you. He looks up to you. And I know you think that’s a bad thing, but he likes you just the way you are now. He knows you’ve been through more than your fair share of trauma. He’s seen you when you’re not feeling your best. And he still wants to be around you. Listen, I’m not here to tell you what to do, but I really don’t think you should push him away.”

“I let him hug me! I’m not pushing him away. I’m trying to protect him.”

“But why? What good do you think is going to come of him seeing that you’re hurt, and walking away without any understanding of what’s going on? It’s better for him if he can learn how to help. Otherwise he’s going to feel like you don’t trust him.”

Gabriel froze. “Has … has he said that to you?”

“Not in so many words, no. He doesn’t always know how to articulate himself, or what’s frustrating him. You’re right: in a lot of ways, he’s just a kid. And I think instead of trying to stop him seeing you like this, you might teach him that wanting to help isn’t a bad thing. I just - I don’t want him to get the idea that he should try not to act the way he does. Loving you, caring about you. If you tell him no, if you keep trying to make him stay away from you when you most need somebody … he might get it into his head that he’s wrong to have those instincts.”

“Wait, what? What does that mean? So I’m - am I corrupting him by making it seem like it’s bad to be compassionate? That’s a whole new kind of crisis.”

“Not corrupting him. Just maybe sending a message that he finds confusing, since it goes against his nature.”

Gabriel considered this for a few moments.

Sam waited.

Then, finally Gabriel asked: “Where’d he go?”

“I don’t know. Back to the kitchen, maybe.”

“I guess I should talk to him, shouldn’t I?”

“You don’t have to. Not right now. Just let him in when he wants to give you what you need.”

“No, I - let me go find him.” Gabriel started to rise from the bed, but Sam gently pulled him back down.

“What?” Gabriel demanded. “You think I shouldn’t talk to him?”

“It’s not that,” Sam replied. “I just want to make sure you’re not mad at yourself.”

“Not any more than usual.”

“If you go to him and say you hate yourself for ‘corrupting’ him any which way, you’re both gonna miss my point.”

“Please,” Gabriel said. “I just - I really - will you please let me talk to him?”

Sam looked pained. “I’m not going to keep you from talking to him. It’s up to you. I just want to make sure you feel okay.”

Gabriel stood up again. “I never feel okay.”

“Why don’t I go get him for you?” Sam suggested.

“You can do that as long as you don’t give him a contract to sign about when it’s okay to touch me.” Gabriel wasn’t sure why this was such a sticking point for him, but Sam’s words about Jack’s natural character, and about his impulses to express affection, made it seem more logical.

“I’ll get him for you,” Sam repeated. “Gabriel - ”

“Please, Sam. Either you can grab the kid or I can, but I really want to talk to him.”

Sam nodded, studying him, making sure. Then he patted Gabriel on the shoulder and left the room.

Jack came in a couple of minutes later, looking nervous.

“Hey, bud,” said Gabriel.

Jack raised a hand in a silent, tentative greeting.

“Wanted to have a word. Sit?”

Jack sat beside him. “Am I in trouble?”

“Oh, please. You sound like your uncle.”

“Listen, if this is about me hugging you …”

“No, come on, kid; you didn’t do anything wrong.” Gabriel worried that Jack was picking up on some of his more neurotic interpersonal habits. “I wanted to thank you. And before you ask for what, you should know that you’re … you’re good, you’re a good bean; and I’m the one who isn’t doing what I should be. I’m not - Jack, I don’t mean to tell you to bug off when I know you only mean to help.”

“I know you think I’m too - ”

“I don’t think you’re too anything. I think I’m too - too me to let you get past a whole lot of nonsense. Look, I don’t wanna make this more complicated than it has to be; what I’m trying to say is that I’m not proud of myself for swatting at you like a fly when, in a perfect world, everybody would be like you.”

“Oh.” Jack looked down at his knees, thoughtful and perplexed.

“Don’t try to change yourself on account of my orneriness,” Gabriel clarified. “Be nice. Be good. Be you. You’ll just have to be patient with your stubborn old uncle. Sam can tell you that I’m difficult.”

Jack looked back up at him.

“Do you get what I’m saying?” Gabriel asked. “I don’t know how to explain it any more eloquently than that.”

Jack nodded. “I think I do.” Gabriel waited for him to explain the concept, to paraphrase what he had just been told; but Jack said nothing, and Gabriel could only assume that the message had gotten through.

Finally, Jack replied, “I’m sorry too.”

“No - kid - I’m trying to say you have nothing - ”

“I mean I’m sorry about what happened to you. I’m sorry you got hurt. That’s all.”

Gabriel clamped his lips shut. He could only nod.

Jack stared at him, studying him, reading him like a map.

Gabriel gave a hoarse laugh. “Is there something in my teeth?”

“Do you want me to go get Sam?” Jack asked.

“No.”

“You looked like - ”

“I always look like that. Anyway, Jack, I hope you understand - at least a teensy bit - what it is I’m trying to explain to you. I’m sorry that I can’t wrangle a single thought into words.”

“I think I understand.” Jack hesitated, then asked: “So how can I help? What can I do?”

“Ah, I don’t know; you’ve already been doing everything right. I’m the one who’s trying to fight you on it. So just … just keep doing what you’re doing.” It pained Gabriel to say it. He agreed with Sam, but he could hardly stomach the instant guilt that came with implicitly encouraging Jack to watch Gabriel struggle.

Jack smiled, and Gabriel thought he saw relief in his eyes. “Okay. Sure. Thanks.”

“Oh, please. Thank you.” Gabriel felt that he ought to try and touch Jack and was ashamed that he couldn’t bring himself to initiate contact.

Someday, he told himself.

Jack stood up to go. “I hope you feel better later.”

“I already do.”

“You look - ”

Gabriel held up a hand. “Again: I always look like that.”

Sam reentered immediately after Jack made his exit. He looked tense and wide-eyed and was evidently trying to conceal his agitation. “Hey.”

“I’m fine,” said Gabriel.

“Did it - ”

“Everyone’s fine, Sam.”

“Listen,” Sam said, stepping over to the bed, “I really didn’t mean to make you think you were doing something wrong.”

“Except that I was doing something wrong, and I’m old enough to learn from my mistakes, so don’t apologize for straightening me out.”

“I’m not trying to make you do anything. I’m not trying to put pressure on you, Gabriel.”

Gabriel sighed and closed his eyes. It seemed that those hours of sleep had been anything but restful. “If you don’t drag my attention to where it really belongs, nothing’s ever gonna get set right. I told you, there is a wrong way to do this. Sometimes I see it, and sometimes I don’t. And if you’re going to fight me on that, if you wanna say there’s no 'wrong' way, then how about this? There’s a better way.”

“Well, Jack looked calmer for sure. How about you? You feeling better?”

Gabriel considered, and then shook his head. The lopsidedness of an afternoon cleaved by turbulent slumber had left a stinging headache, and the nightmare had nested in the pit of his stomach, souring his whole body.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have used your grace on me,” Sam lamented. “Don’t try again for a while, okay?”

“It’s not that. I can feel that that’s not what’s wrong with me. It’s what I said to you earlier; it’s me being afraid of everything.”

Sam retook his place on the bed. Although there was no way to see outdoors, Gabriel could feel the afternoon darkening into evening. Neither of them spoke.

He was painfully aware that Sam felt familiar to him. Sam was safe; he wasn’t going to try and harm Gabriel. Somehow that knowledge made everything much more complicated - in part, Gabriel realized, because there seemed no way to explain the feeling without coming off as saccharine, puerile, or both.

Although he was no longer crying (however much he wanted to), Gabriel hoped Sam would touch him. He thought about asking and couldn’t bring himself to say a word.

After several minutes of complete silence, Gabriel spoke. “Did you fight back?”

Sam frowned. “What?”

“The hamster, the gerbil, whatever it was. Did you fight back, or was it too precious to hurt?”

“There wasn’t much I could do. It was vicious.”

“Was it? Or are you just tender-hearted?”

“Gabriel, you saw what it did to my hand.”

Gabriel glanced down at the hand that had been injured. “Yeah. I don’t know, I feel like maybe you didn’t want to hurt the little thing.”

Sam seemed amused. “Why would you say that?”

Gabriel reached out and took Sam’s hand. Sam seemed surprised, but held on firmly.

“Just because I know you,” Gabriel told him. “I know you too well.”

#supernatural #spn #fanfiction #sam winchester #gabriel #jack kline #sabriel #platonic #friendship #hurt/comfort #asmodeus #season 13 #gabriel lives #ptsd #pasf #post-asmodeus sabriel feels

[drprettyboyspence]

Spencer Reid can dance?

Dr. Spencer Reid/reader

Summary: Y/n has been planning to take a ballroom dance class for a while, but what she hasn’t planned on was needing to find a partner four hours before the class. With no one left to turn to, she asks her best friend and secret crush Spencer Reid. As it turns out, the night couldn’t end any better.

words: 3.3k

warnings: some mentioning of anxiety, there’s one kiss scene, nothing else to my knowledge, it’s a lot of fluff!! :)

a/n: I thought this was a cute idea, it isn’t a part 3 of Beach Day and A Perfect Date, that will come sometime soon! (This is set in season 14/15). I hope you guys enjoy!!

“A partner?” Y/n asks the male voice on the opposite end of the phone, “I wasn’t aware that I would need a partner for this class, yes I understand there are no refunds, alright, I’ll find a partner, thank you.”

Y/n hangs up the phone and sighs heavily, finding herself in a tricky situation all of a sudden. She had signed up for a ballroom dancing class, I know, sounds stupid, but she’s almost 36 years old and she’s never learned how to dance, so she figured why the hell not. The problem is, she had figured it was a “you don’t need a partner, we’ll set you up with someone” type of deal, turns out, she’s expected to come up with a ballroom dancing partner in the next, oh lord, 4 hours before the first class. She debates blowing it off altogether, but it was expensive, and Y/n wants to learn how to dance. She sits down at her kitchen table to think, the obvious choices would be Emily or Garcia, they’d be up for it and it would be a fun girls night. Plus, it wouldn’t be awkward when they see how ungraceful she is on her feet, ironic, an FBI profiler who chases down the worst of humanity every day is nervous to walk into a ballroom dancing class.

Right as Y/n is about to send a text in the BAU girls group chat, she’d go with anyone from that group, even Tara who she honestly doesn’t know that well, Y/n remembers that Emily took Garcia and JJ to Memphis for a lower-profile case centered in technology, and Tara is off on a sabbatical teaching a lecture and interviewing serial killers, so Y/n finds herself back to the drawing board once again. An idea pops into Y/n’s head that seems so absurd she almost pushes it out immediately, but she’s desperate and hey, what’s the worst that could happen? She dials the phone number before she can find herself too nervous to click call.

“Hey Spence! I have a question for you, what are you up to tonight?” Y/n says to her best friend Spencer Reid, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice from the genius profiler on the other end of the line.

“Hi Y/n, I was thinking about having Doctor Who marathon and maybe reading some Chaucer, but I’m honestly free, why?”

Okay, now Y/n has no excuse to hang up and forget any of this ever happened, Spencer’s free, which means he can totally come to a ballroom dance class with her this evening.

“I know this isn’t something you’re usually into, but I signed up for this ballroom dancing class, and I didn’t realize I needed to bring a partner with me, all the girls are busy and I have no one to go with, so I was, um, wondering if you would come with me, please Spencer?”

“Oh Y/n you know I would do anything for you, but I’m really not the dancing type, you don’t want to see me dance, trust me, I wish I could help, I’m sorry.”

Y/n has to frantically turn this around, because Spencer is her last option, she tries to use what she’s actually good at, profiling. Her mind jumps to a few months ago, she had been in the elevator with Luke and Spencer, her and Luke having a conversation about their weekends, and they'd been playfully teasing each other, you know, as friends do. After the elevator ride, Spencer had been so grumpy and confrontational towards you for hours, Garcia teased you for days about Spencer’s obvious crush on you, but you figured he was just sleep-deprived or stressed about his mother, you know, plausible reasons for Spencer to be distressed.

“Alright Spencer thanks for telling me, you know I’m thinking about Luke to come with me, he looks like the kind of guy that would be good at ballroom dancing, you know? I’ll give him a call right now. Anyone, thanks-”

“Wait, you know what, maybe I can spare the time after all Y/n, I’d hate for you to have to go with Luke, plus, you never know when ballroom dancing might come up on a case, I’ll go with you.”

Y/n smirks to herself, honestly shocked that had worked but excited to tell Penelope about it when she gets the chance.

“Spencer thank you so much! I owe you one, can I pick you up at 6:30? The class starts at 7.”

“Yes I believe that will work fine, should I wear something special, I obviously don’t think I have the correct ballroom dancing attire but uh, I’ll try and find something appropriate, see you then Y/n.” The click of the phone hanging up makes Y/n realize the truth of the current matter. To be honest, Y/n has had a huge crush on Spencer for years, like a lot of years, she had been secretly thrilled when Garcia decided that Spencer was pining for Y/n as well, but she had kept it hidden, not letting herself belief that someone as handsome, funny, and brilliant as Spencer would ever be interested in someone like her. No matter how many times Spencer says he isn’t the dancing type, Y/n is sure she’ll be twice as awkward and ungraceful, but she lets herself, for just a split second, think that in a few hours she’ll be dancing with Spencer, pressed up against his lean but muscled torso. Y/n isn’t ready for this, that’s for sure, but she only has a few hours to get ready for the class, she better get started.

“Spence! Thanks again for coming with me, if it makes you feel any better, dancing isn’t really my thing either, it’s part of my ridiculous New Years Resolution to learn new hobbies that don’t involve studying the likelihood someone will become a cold blooded serial killer, I figured ballroom dancing might be fun.”

“I’m sure you’ll be great Y/n, there are very few things you aren’t good at, I’d despise you if you weren’t so funny and nice, its unbelievable.”

Y/n laughs and hides her blushing cheeks as Spencer’s words sink in, he thinks she’s funny and cute. It’s embarrassing really, Y/n is a 35 year old woman, laughing and blushing over a simple conversation with her best friend who she has a goddamn crush on, it’s like high school all over again. Before long Y/n pulls into the dance studio, feeling anxious but rather excited, which when she thinks about it, is how she feels whenever she’s around Spencer. “You alright Y/n?” Spencer asks, noticing she seems rather pale and sweaty all of a sudden.

“Yes Spencer, I’m just feeling rather anxious to go in for some reason. It’s funny isn’t it? We’re FBI agents, we follow armed unsubs into darkened basements and chase down psychopaths in high speed car chases, but I can’t seem to get over the fact that I’m going to look ridiculous in there, and everyone is going to judge me.”

“Oh Y/n, it’s totally okay to be feeling anxious about something like this. Did you know that 6.8% of the United States population suffer from social anxiety disorder, which is characterized by intense anxiety of being judged in a social situation, and obviously not everyone who feels anxious in a situation like this has the disorder, so it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Plus, don’t you worry, remember this is a beginners ballroom dance class, I’m absolutely sure that every single one of the people in this class are sitting in their cars nervous about the same things you are right now. Besides, if even one person judges you, we can employ the one and only Penelope Garcia to totally legally cyber stalk them and embarrass them back, that’ll teach them to mess with the BAU.” Y/n giggles, she knows Spencer is too respectful to ever sick the powers of Garcia on anybody, but his joke does it’s job, it gets her to laugh, and she feels that she can overcome her anxiety and enter the class now, which is good because it’s 6:58 and she’s really not looking to be late. By the time the two of them walk into the class just as the clock chimes 7 p.m., the room is already filled. It’s a large room with high ceilings, it’s well lit but not overly bright, and there are two people at the front who are obviously the teachers, the man being the one Y/n had spoken to on the phone earlier that day.

“Welcome to the ballroom dancing class! This class is a no-judgement space and it’s specially designed for beginners, so don’t feel nervous, we are going to take you step by step and by the end, you’ll be on your way to being a great ballroom dancer! Spencer leads Y/n to the middle of the room, not the very back but not the front either, which Y/n is grateful for. As the class begins, Y/n realizes that somehow, she and Spencer had not been shockingly off the map with their choice of attire. She had read an article that recommended a loose skirt or pants with a comfortable blouse for females, and a dress shirt with dress pants for males, she assumes Spencer and probably most of the others in this class had read a similar article. She does notice that Spencer is the only man in the room wearing a tie, which is so on-brand for Spencer that it makes Y/n smile, Spencer is always the best dressed member of the team, wearing formal wear every single day, even when they’re not on a case. Y/n likes the teachers more than she expected to, she expected them to be bossy and pretentious, plus the man on the phone had been border line rude, but they are kind and explain each move in detail, so even Y/n and Spencer can keep up. They haven’t done anything too awkward yet, they’ve spent a while warming up, the teachers explaining that they must be warmed up because ballroom dancing takes more muscles and flexibility than one might think, and they don’t want anyone pulling a muscle or injuring themselves in any way.

“Imagine that,” Spencer whispers to Y/n “I can see it now, Emily disappointedly asking why I have a sprained ankle, and we have to shamefully admit that we were ballroom dancing.” Y/n laughs just a little too loud earning her and Spencer dirty looks from the older couples around them, which honestly causes them to laugh more.

“Alright, it’s time for us to turn to our partners, the taller partner should place their hand on the back of the shorter partner’s shoulder, they should place their hand on the front of the taller’s shoulder. The couple should hold hands with their other hands.” Y/n’s lessened nervous feelings come back full force when she realizes this is the moment she’d been anticipating, she’s about to be holding hands with Spencer and dancing with him. Spencer waits for Y/n to make the first move, she places her hand on the front of his right shoulder after she nods at him, getting his consent to do so.

“You can put your hand around my shoulder, Spencer, it’s alright.” Y/n says with a hint of teasing in her voice, but she’s secretly very happy that Spencer is so respectful and doesn’t want to push her past her boundaries or anything, he’s so sweet. Spencer nods and Y/n sees just the hint of a blush on his face, she assumes she’s adorned with the same by now, which deepens when she feel Spencer’s strong hand wrap around her shoulder and stay there. The two of them raise their free hands and intertwine them, this surely isn’t the way Y/n had imagined the first time she holds hands with Spencer, and she’s imagined it a lot if she’s being honest with herself. They’re then instructed to start moving their feet back and forth, just back and forth, Y/n can handle this. It’s awkward at first, Spencer steps on Y/n foot then profusely apologizes, which Y/n finds adorable, but they get it rather quickly, and they sink into a rather choppy rhythm, but a rhythm nonetheless.

“You’re doing great Y/n, see, I told you you’d be good at this.” Y/n smiles up at Spencer and their eyes meet, it’s all of a sudden like they’re the only two people in the room, the other couples and the teachers fading into the background as the two of them find themselves enamored with each other. It’s honestly something unlike anything Y/n has ever experienced, she feels more comfortable in Spencer’s arms in this moment than she ever could have expected she’d feel at a dance class. She’s suddenly overwhelmingly graceful that the BAU girls had been out of town, this moment is nearly magical and it ends too soon for both Y/n and Spencer, judging by the disappointed looks on their faces that they both try and hide. The class is over so fast it’s almost laughable, Y/n had spent so much time being anxious about something that she actually enjoyed, how ironic. There’s a sort of silence that follows Y/n and Spencer as they descend the stairs and walk out into the parking lot to Y/n’s car. It’s bordering on awkward silence by the time Y/n is pulling out of the lot to drive Spencer home. “Did you have fun Y/n?” Spencer asks, Y/n grateful that he finally had the courage to break the strong tension the silence had created.

“You know what Spencer, I really did, I can’t thank you enough for coming with me, I was thinking about just blowing off the whole thing.”

“Thank you for inviting me, you better not tell the team this, but I enjoyed myself too.”

“Dr. Spencer Reid likes ballroom dancing! I can just see the headlines now! The unsubs are terrified!” Spencer laughs and playfully swats Y/n’s arm in response to her unabashed teasing. The two of them are about 10 minutes out from Spencer’s house when he suddenly asks Y/n to take a turn in the opposite direction, leading them to a park.

“Spencer what’s up? What are we doing here?” Y/n says in confusion, she’s been to this park before a few times, with Spencer actually, they’d gotten coffee here when they were getting to know each other years earlier.

Spencer gets out of the car and they walk in the summer evening, it’s almost dark but not so dark that Y/n feels unnerved by the absence of light. They sit down on a park bench not far from Y/n’s car before Spencer begins speaking. “What you said about New Years resolutions earlier, it got me thinking, we’ve known each other for almost five years now Y/n, and in that time I’ve been to jail, gotten out of jail, been reinstated, and seen enough horror for a lifetime, you’ve been through a hell of a lot too, but here we are, and that’s why I need to tell you this. You don’t have to say anything, but I don’t express my feelings enough, I guess I’m afraid of getting disappointed, but I need you to know.”

Y/n’s heart is racing with the same combination of nervousness and excitement that characterizes her moments with Spencer, but now it feels exaggerated, because she can’t remember another time she’s seen Spencer like this, so honest.

“You can tell me anything Spencer.” She says to him and he nods, grabbing her hand lightly, which makes Y/n’s heart jump almost dangerously.

“I’ve never met someone that makes me feel like you do Y/n. I know there’s no such thing as a perfect person, it’s impossible in every definition of the word, but if there were, it would be you. Your imperfections only add to your perfection, you’re hilarious, brave, kind, brilliant, and gorgeous. You’re the most independent and strong woman I’ve ever met in my life, you inspire me every single day to be the best I can be and when I look at you, any doubt I have about if I’m doing what I’m meant to be doing in life disappears, because I met you, I’ve been falling in love with you over the last five years Y/n. The first time I realized how much I cared for you was right here, we were drinking coffee and you saw a kid fall of his skateboard across the way, you jumped up and helped him right away, and I suddenly realized, wow I could fall in love with her. It terrifies me but I have to get this out, because who knows what is going to happen tomorrow, it could be my last day on this Earth, and the thought of leaving this life without telling you how I feel is more terrifying than any unsub I’ve ever come into contact with. I know this must be a lot for you to take in, but just say the word and we can forget any of this ever happened, I will never stop being your best friend Y/n, and if that’s all you want me to be, then that’s all I will ever be.” Y/n finds herself with tears in her eyes, Spencer’s loving words making her extremely emotional, too good to be true. She knows she needs to respond before Spencer begins regretting telling her all of that, but she doesn’t know how to respond in a way that would ever accurately express her feelings towards the amazing man in front of her. Y/n leans forward and kisses Spencer, attaching their lips together firmly but not over aggressively. Spencer seems startled but leans into the kiss after a split second, he reaches up to cup Y/n’s face and she reaches her hand up to tangle her hand in the back of Spencer’s hard, causing him to let out just the smallest noise of pleasure. The kiss ends too soon, the two of them breathing way too heavily after just a 15 second kiss, their eyes glazed over as they look at each other passionately.

“I love you Spencer Reid” Y/n says, feeling like she’s in a dream, the words that had been hanging over her head for the last five years had just left her lips, and she momentarily worries that the last 10 minutes had been some sort of daydream, and Spencer would laugh in her face and walk away.

“I love you Y/n Y/l/n.” She says back. They sit there in silence for who knows how long, it honestly could have been hours and the two of them wouldn’t be any the wiser. They eventually get back into Y/n’s car, the two of them having seen way too many late-night park abductions and murders to allow them to stay any longer. As they’re pulling up to Spencer’s apartment building Y/n says teasingly,

“So Spencer, I’m guessing you’ll be accompanying me to the next ballroom dance class, would that be okay? Or should I ask Luke?” Even in the dim light of the car Y/n can see Spencer’s eyes darken almost imperceptibly, most likely with jealousy of hearing Luke’s name once again. He grabs Y/n’s hand and responds “You’re mine and I’m yours now Y/n, I’ll ballroom dance with you for the rest of my life if that’s what you want, and Luke Alvez surely isn’t lucky enough to ballroom dance with the goddess that is you, text me when you get home please, goodnight.” Y/n giggles and lets Spencer kiss her hand like a true gentleman. Driving home she feels like she’s in a trance, this evening having been better than she ever imagined. Ballroom dancing, who knew?

#spencer reid #dr spencer reid #imagine #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fluff #criminal minds #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds fluff #fluff #spencer reid x reader #reader insert #y/n #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n

[my-crazy-crazy-mind]

I'm not good at writing but I made this so here.if you have any feed back at all let me know or requests or anything I like to talk.Ill do requests for any male wrestler any links ect. Within reson no fluid play ect.

Rating:Mature only read if you are 18 or older:

Braun Strowman & Reader

His world

Trixie8923

Summary:

Your a low level worker in the wwe.You are nothing just a cog in the machine until a run in makes you more.

18+ only

Notes:

I take any WWE requests of any kind and will do my best to complete them. This story is complete. I am working on a sequel to this story. Thank you for reading if you have any suggestions or comments please let me know anything polite is welcome. Finished may make a follow up for the story but not sure. Not good at spell check ect if your intrested in editing for me let me know.

Chapter Management

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Chapter 1

Chapter Text

You were nothing in the world of World Wrestling Entertainment or better known as WWE.

Just a catering aid your job was mainly to arrive before everyone with the rest of catering services put everything out then make sure everyone is happy whether its putting plates together for the superstars making their coffees etc.

If you do say so your self you were damn good at it you should be in a month it would three years since you joined WWE. Most of the superstars are nice to you of course there are some that aren't nice to anyone you just try to stay away from them and be professional.

You were lucky tho you made friends with Becky Lynch through her you were friends with Seth and the other girls were always friendly with you. It was Monday night Raw and you were taking one of your breaks talking to Becky. "Becks your crazy I know I'm trained to be a wrestler but I'm just not cut out for it I'm just happy to be near the business. Becky sighs" you always say that " yn" but I've trained with you and saw you wrestle your good you should go to a try out surprise everyone".You shake your head" when would I find the time I have a job to do Becks.

Suddenly you are lifted into the air and come face to face with a mad Bobby Lashley his low voice rumbles in your ear" I want my coffee the way you make it now "he sets you hard in front of the coffee table.

Becky stands up" hey what's the idea shes on break. Bobby shrugs" I want my coffee she's going to make it now"!You were terrified about to do as be says when you are lifted up again this time on Braun Strowmans shoulder. "Make your own coffee Bobby," he says staring him down. You gulp holding onto Braun the best you can. Bobby stomps off mad. "Uh um thanks Braun but um can I get down now"?You feel his body shake with laughter as he placed you down gently.

Becky smiled, thanks big man thought I'd have to handle myself. Braun laughed again, "I'm sure you could Becky I wouldn't doubt your ability for a moment. You just stared in wonder your heart pounding, face blood red. Ever since you saw Braun you were attracted to him every time you were near him you couldn't think straight and grew flustered unable to speak or do anything right. You take a deep breath and manage to quietly say" thank you Bbraun. He smiles gently at you pulling you against him in a side hug" any time " yn" .You stop breathing when he pulls you close and you think you're going to faint before he lets you go. You start breathing again but instantly miss his touch.

Becky gets a call from Seth and walks off to take it leaving you and Braun alone" Wellll" you start off " I better get to work thanks again Braun"- you turn to walk away when he grabs your arm. He looks nervous, "un I was wondering if you weren't busy tomorrow if you would like to go out with me. You stare at him wide-eyed unable to speak but you manage to nod to him. He smiled "well I have your number I'll text you".He quickly leaves to get ready for his match leaving you alone and stunned.

You were done for the night about to leave when your phone vibrated, you looked at it and there was a text from Braun."Have you left yet?"You quickly typed " no".It's only a second later when you received another text " meet me outside the locker room?".You gulp and text back " on my way" before u could change your mind. You put your phone away grabbed your bag and hurried toward the locker room.

You arrive at the locker room door and there is no one around. You have just taken your phone out to text Braun when the locker room door opens and Bobby storms out right into you knocking you to the floor. He growls" stay out of the way you nothing "- he stomps out. Braun opens the door hearing the commotion " what's going on Bob........He sees you on the floor tears in your eyes clutching your right leg. Braun reaches down picking you upholding you close to him. "Oh " yn" I'm so sorry are you ok?

You whine "my leg he stepped on it".Braun growled he knocked you down and steeped on you I'm going to...You cry out in pain stopped his rant. He carried you to the trainer's room, they look you over as Braun paces. Triple H looks over the tape as we wait his face looking furious.

"That dick" he growled The trainer looked up from your leg " it's not broken he said badly bruised its a wonder it's not broken You breathe a sigh of relief. Triple H does as well " I'm sorry this happened I'm going to find him and whatever else I can do including an apology. Braun growls" not good enough this isn't the first time he messed with her I want him. Triple H sighed then looked at you. Becky was telling me your a trained wrestler is that true.

You grit your teeth from the pain. Yes, sir, I am. I have trained for 6 years and was in the independents for 3 before coming here.."Alright" he said I'm going to sign you to a contract we are going to show the footage of him walking over you and make it a storyline you, Braun, and Bobby. Braun smiles " good I'll destroy him for treating her like trash. You gulp " I I I uh I ".Triple H nodded" I'll have your contract ready Monday before the show you will arrive early at one pm look it over and if it's all good sign it. You just nod humbly Braun grinning beside your arm wrapped around your good side. Triple H excused himself and left.

Braun picked up his and your bag leading you toward the exit. He looked nervous " before all this started I wanted to ask you if you wanted to travel with me to the next show especially now since your off till Monday. You somehow manage to find your voice " I'd love to Braun I usually just ride in the back of the van with all the equipment. He shook his head" yn" if you'll let me I'll make sure you never have to again. He stops at the full-size sedan putting both yours and his bags in the trunk.

You hop in the passenger side buckling up" I'll drive when we stop next. Braun smiles getting in buckling up himself " we will talk about it then alright sweetheart. You blush at the nickname.

Sometime during the drive you fall asleep you wake up to Braun gently shaking you "We're here".You blink the sleep away. "Hey, I was spouse to drive some" you pout before yelping in pain as you move your leg forgetting the accident for a second. He looked down at you amused, "maybe next time when you are not hurt let's go check into the hotel".You follow and get checked in with no issues. Braun went to check in as you waited you hear the woman at the desk" oh I'm so sorry sir it seemed we accidentally double-booked your room and have no more available I'm going to refund your money and give you a voucher for a free night at any of our locations. He walks over to you looking stunned, the voucher still in hand. You can't let him just wander around looking for a hotel so you reach up grabbing his hand pulling him toward the elevator. He looks confused. You smile " Big man you helped me out now it's my turn you're going to stay with me. He starts stammering " I I uh I I.You giggle pulling him out of the elevator toward your room." Yes you can and will end of discussion. "You sit your bag down by the bed sitting on it."Braun, we are both adults, while your extremely large we are lucky I'm small and got a king-sized bed now relax it's almost eleven pm we need to sleep if you want to take me on a date tomorrow before needing to go meet with triple H sign my contract, etc. He nods gulping before looking through his suitcase.

Braun went to take a shower while he was in the bathroom you changed into your T-shirt you wore at night then sighed you usually only wore the tee shirt and your panties. You see Brauns open suitcase and put on one of his tee shirts it came to your knees and figured that was good enough. You crawled under the covers texting Becky about what's going on. She was excited and texted to keep her in the loop that we would double date. I laughed shaking my head. Braun walked out of the bathroom in a pair of basketball shorts " what's so funny?"You look up at him " Becky already has us as a couple and wants us to double date with her and Seth at CrossFit. He chuckled " I was wondering if you would agree to be in a relationship with me?" You look at him dumbstruck." are you serious Braun? He sat on the bed looking down at you " Never been any more serious in my whole life I love everything about you your so nice, sweet, passionate, caring, and more your everything I could want in a girlfriend and eventually more. You stare at him tearing up nodding your voice straining with emotion " I'd love to be your girlfriend Braun. He leans down kissing you gently. You close your eyes gripping at his shoulder as if he was going to fade away.

He pulls away stroking your cheek "baby I've been waiting a long time for this and I don't want to rush it and maybe ruin this so let's get some sleep ok?you nod laying down he did the same and you curl up against him it takes a while but eventually, you fall asleep curled against Braun.

The next morning you stretch and notice Braun, not in bed you sit up and see him sitting at the little table in the room talking on his phone eating some breakfast he got. You crawl out of bed walking behind him you reach over stealing a piece of his bacon. He smiles pulling you into his lap hugging you close to him. Into the phone sweet thanks, Gary see you tonight. He hung up "morning sweetie sleep well"?You giggle " like a rock big guy who you meeting tonight. He looked slightly worried well I called my agent he's coming to look over your contract hope it's ok I just want to make sure you get a good deal. You look up at Braun with such awe " Braun that's the kindest sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. He leans down kissing your forehead. Baby, you deserve everything I intend on making sure you get in. You hear Becky's music Braun lets you go as you find your phone answering it."Hey, Becks what's "Becky cuts in" I just heard that you and Braun slept in the same room why didn't you text me"?You sigh "Becky who told you she laughed into the phone Seth saw it last night don't worry just messing with you."You sigh in relive "Becky you had me worried thought we were on TMZ or something but I've got to go talk to you later ok?" Beck laughed" yeh get back to Braun tell him I said hi and not to wear you out too much" You basically yell into the phone " Becky!!" - she hangs up laughing.

Braun has an amused look on his face " she really is something. You nod" yeah she's something alright. Hey " yn" how's your leg?".You smile thinking it's sweet he's worried about you " I barely feel it anymore Braun. He smiles good " let's get dressed then we can go to the farmers market I heard about it's even near the arena and a park. You smile " sounds like a good plan big man."

You both dress quickly and head to the market. You browse with Braun for an hour enjoying just being around each other you both buy a fried apple pie to eat in the park and some apple cider. Braun wonders off on you and returns with a bag when you ask what it is he just says it's a surprise. You are both currently eating your snack in the park when his phone rings." Hello?"Really?" "Great thanks goodbye." Braun looks at you smiling big. My agent looked over the contract and had some things changed he got you a great deal he wants us to come to sign it. You nod."Thanks, Braun.

You and Braun walk into the room where Brauns agent and Triple H were. The agent greeted you and explained everything Braun was right it was a great deal and you eagerly agree."Alright," HHH said, " we will show the video tonight Bobby will do a promo next week the week after will be your debut where you do a promo against Bobby with Braun that's when you will announce your relationship as, well be ready".You don't know where it comes from but you immediately say " don't worry I will be."

The two weeks went by quickly with you training in the ring with Braun getting your teamwork down he was impressed about how well you were doing. You both were so busy tho you barely had time to kiss before collapsing at night due to the training in the ring and for television. Tonight tho you hope it will all pay off. You and Braun are in the gorilla position waiting. You are extremely nervous Braun sees that and hugs you close to his side " relax you got this."You smile taking a deep Breath as Brauns music went off. You lift your head getting into character. You march out first fists clinched at your side. Braun follows behind you you both March down to the middle of the ring and both he and you raise your arms at the same time.

Braun grabs the mic and hands it to you. You look around at all the fans and take a deep breath. Hello, Chicago you might not know me I'm "yn" and well I'm Braun Strowman's girlfriend".There is a mixture of cheers and boos around the arena." Hey hey, it's ok to be jealous I know I'm lucky to have this monster".Braun leans in " I'm the lucky one" There is a round of " oohs" around the arena. You smile up at him " down to business three weeks ago I was standing outside the locker room waiting on Braun when Bobby Lashley came barreling out of the door knocked me down stepped on me and called me nothing. You act chocked up and Braun takes the mic pulling you into a side hug keeping his arm around you." Bobby shes, not nothing shes my whole world, and for hurting her you are going to GET THESE HANDS!! Bobby's music plays and he and Lana walk out onto the ramp. Lana gets a mic. You are thinking we didn't rehearse, get told about, or plan this. Lana clears her throat " Yn" why are you making a big deal about this so he knocked you down at least you got to touch this Adonises body I'm sure it was exciting and now you're jealous because you can't have this perfect man. Bobby takes the mic "I'm sure even tho Braun is rather large not all of him is and cant satisfy you as I could. You are flustered and mad you grab the mic and angry growl " I'll have you know Braun is very proportion everywhere and has no problem keeping me very happy and satisfied. The crowd cheers.

Braun chuckles " why don't you come down here so you can Get These Hands? Bobby shakes his head " I'll beat you whenever I choose not on your time and I chose extreme rules. Braun grins " we will be there"You take the mic almost screaming in it " And you will Get These Hands!!

Braun then has a match where he easily squashes the indy wrestler and you both head to the back. Becky is waiting in the Gorilla and hugs you "you did so good I'm so proud of you. You smile " thanks but I wasn't told they were coming out I hope I didn't say anything wrong. Becky grins " you should be fine you danced around inappropriate perfectly.

Braun agrees with Becky before looking up at a runner who approached us." Sir ma'am McMahon and Mr. Helmsley wish to see you both in Mr.Helmsleys office. You gulp looking nervous. Braun chuckles " relax baby you didn't go off-script first and you didn't say anything wrong.

You both walk to the office Braun sees how nervous you are and takes your hand in his before knocking on the door with the other. Mr.McMahon says come in Braun opens the door and you both walk inside. Mr.McMahon is behind the desk Hunter standing beside him."Have a seat. You sit in a chair Braun stands behind you.

I'm sure you both are wondering why we called you in here. Hunter speaks up we are very proud of you "yn" we wanted to test you that's why we didn't tell you they were coming out you passed with flying colors, you skirted around being inappropriate perfectly. We have decided to extend the storyline past Extreme Rules. You smile "Thank you very much. They smile " also " Mr.McMahon slides a paper over to you and you see a tee shirt design with your name on it. You look up surprised. Hunter looks at you "Like it?" Like it? I love it" McMahon slides you another paper "sign and we will get it into production." You quickly sign it. You and Braun walk out extremely happy once you are into a free hallway you hug each other.

He holds you close " I'm so proud of you baby I love you".It feels like your world stopped as you looked up at him tears in your eyes." I love you to Braun." You stay together hugging for a while before heading to the locker rooms to get your bags.

You both go to the hotel room, shower and you are currently snuggling in bed your head on his bare chest. You look up at him "Braun I um well can we?"Braun looks down at you " can we what baby?" he asks smirk on his face. Your face is blood red " You lean up kissing him deeply he returns the kiss slipping his tongue in your mouth placing his hand on the back of your head.

He pulls back slightly looking into your eyes. Are you sure you would like to do this baby? You smile up at Braun," please Brauny, please.

He slowly pulls you into the middle of the bed nipping your neck "you're so beautiful".His words make you blush. He pulls the shirt off of you leaving you only in your panties. His large hands cover your boobs he pinches your nipples causing your back to arch and cry out. He watches concentrating on your reactions." Mmmmmm Braun more, please. He chuckles " We got all night baby.

He pinches your nipples again you jump and twist one of his nipple rings. He growls at you carefully you are playing a dangerous game baby girl."Mmmmm maybe we could get you some nipple rings. You smile "next break we get I'm game. He reaches down pulling on your panties and accidentally tears them from your body causing you to gasp. He blushes " sorry". You giggle " buy me a new pair and we are good. Braun chuckles " if you let me see them on you I'll buy you ten. You feel him gently slide one of his large fingers inside of you it causes you to moan. Its voice is low with lust " baby you are soaked

It causes you to groan. Braun starts to rub your g spot quickly putting some pressure on it. The sensation causes you to wiggle under him he holds you down with his free hand. You cry out cumming hard your vision goes white. You hardly feel him slide into you all the way to the hilt. As you come down you feel his size in you causing you to whimper some. Braun kisses and nips at your neck to distract you.

After a few moments, you buck up against him testing it."Alright, I'm good you can move" Braun kisses you gently and starts thrusting in and out of you steady and hard. You pant moaning against his lips. Braun pulls away from kissing your shoulders and neck." Brauunnn" you moan " faster please faster" Braun Angel's his self arching into your clit causing you to see stars." Braun, I'm close" you pant out. He keeps going he reaches down pinching your g spot it pushes you over the edge it causes you to cum so hard you pass out. He cums in you and pulls out. He cleans you both up and carries you to the other bed in the room. He crawls in beside you and falls asleep with you.

You wake the next morning Brauns arms wrapped around you. He's fast asleep holding you close you stare at him for a few minutes before trying to get loose. He grumbles in his sleep pulling you closer. His hand slips between your legs and starts rubbing your G-spot. You gasp "Braun "? He snores some as his hand keeps rubbing. You moan wiggling in his grasp it makes you start panting."Braun" You cry out before cumming Braun wakes to blink his hand stilling.

He pulls his hand away " did I hurt you?" You shake your head " no you just gave me a mind-blowing orgasm. He chuckles well if that's all. He rubs your cheek " you are perfect. Braun, you are such a sweet talker.

It has been a week since you debuted on Monday Night Raw and you and Braun have been making love any chance you got. You were both backstage talking to Seth and Becky when Tripple H ran up " we have a problem Brock refuses to show up and we need to fill five minutes. Bobby and Lana had done a promo earlier we need you to do a counter one but you will have to wing it with no script.

You follow him backstage to where a camera crew is."I'm trusting you to don't let me down. You stand in front of Braun he drapes his arms over your shoulders. You nod at the cameraman and he indicates it's recording. You smirk " Oh Bobby you look a little frustrated is Lana not enough woman for you? Braun smirks never look for a lady in a hooooooooooo. Braun lifts his hand in a thumbs-up as the whole arena echoes hoooooooo. Braun is going to take you out and Lana if you try to interfere in the destruction of your bf. You are going to get these hands you slut.

They indicate the recording is over. They quickly send it to the production truck.HHH grins it is perfect like I knew you would do perfectly I see great things in your future "yn"."Thank you sir me and Braun always do our best. I would not be anywhere near the level I am without him. Braun suddenly places you on his shoulder" nonsense "yn" "you are a talented hard worker."

Extreme Rules come before you know it the match had been made a No discolifacation match. Braun and Bobby practiced some but with the hatred between you four, it was decided to wing most of it. You are pacing backstage scared to death. Braun walks up behind you placing a hand on your shoulder. Calm down " yn" we have been practicing for this we are going to destroy them. I nod "you're right big man ".

The match was violent both men put to destroy the other you and Lana kept out of the way most of the match. Then the referee was knocked down that was planned. Lana slid into the ring with a chair that was unplanned so you follow suit sliding into the ring with your own chair. You and Lana glared at each other in a standoff. Lana screamed and swung the chair at you you swing yours at the same time you are stronger knocking her off of her feet she rolls out of the ring clutching her hands to her chest screaming. You throw the chair to Braun you turn to get out of the ring and Bobby kicks you in the head everything goes black.

Your groan blinking "too bright". A large hand moves in front of your face " thanks big boy".Braun smiles " do you remember what happened?" You whine rubbing your head. Heard Lana say now Bobby take him out for good I stopped her he kicked me right?" You slowly move Brauns's hand and see you're in a hospital room. Yeh they caught it in audio they both have been suspended you broke both of her hands".I smile " so how bad am I?" Braun stroked your cheek concussion you'll be out for 2-4 weeks. Management is doing damage control and when you come back they plan on pushing you maybe put the title on you. I close my eyes " not good enough he will do it to someone else" He nods that's what I said they've agreed he won't come back unless he takes anger management goes through psychological counseling, and a harassment course then they will consider letting him back Lana has to do the same"." Also, both are required to stay 30 feet from us both at all time and we won't have to wrestle them again."

You open your eyes looking up at him " thank you Braun that sounds good".You notice tears in his eyes" I'm sorry "yn" I should have been able to protect you." You shake your head taking his hand." Braun I love you this wasn't your fault it's mine because I was protecting you and I would do it again." Braun smiles sniffling. I love you too.

You went home to rest for the weeks you recovered you and Braun texted and talked on the phone but you missed him like crazy. It was WrestleMania weekend so you didn't hear much from Braun. You had just got cleared to wrestle when Triple H called he had you get on a plane and fly straight there. They kept you hidden from everyone but Becky you and her practiced because she was going to drop the belt to you in the ultimate Wrestlemania surprise.

Tonight was the night you were waiting alone in a guarded locker room when Triple H walked in." ready "yn".You stand "you are going to make sure Braun watches right?" He smiles " yeh I'll make sure he's in the gorilla position." Thanks, Trip. You make your way to the gorilla position. Becky was in the ring " I'm tired of facing the same old woman week in week out this is Wrestlemania so any woman I haven't wrestled for the championship this is your time.

Your music played and the entire crowd was on their feet. The noise was deafening as you walked onto the stage. You smile brightly " I'll take that offer Becky" then you run to the ring. The match was the best you ever put on. In the end, you finished Becky off in a modified version of the rko.

The crowd was deafening but you didn't notice you hugged the title crying you never thought this would happen that your life would be so perfect. Brauns music snapped you back from your celebration. He hurried to the ring hugging you closely.

The entire locker room fills the ramp as Braun grabs a mic you put the championship on your shoulder. Braun stood across from you taking your hand "Yn" I met you a few months ago and I knew from the moment I saw you you were special, my love for you has just grown from that day. Will you do me the honor of spending the rest of our lives together?"Braun gets down on one knee pulling out a box he slowly opens it revealing the most gorgeous ring you have ever seen." "Yn" will you marry me"?

You shiver everything overwhelming you. You look down at his love in your eyes. You nod " yes yes yes Braun yes yes".The crowd is deafening the roster invades the ring everyone congratulating you both. You are on top of the world it couldn't get any better. Lana slipped into the crowd no one noticed her she slipped up behind you and hit your leg as hard as she could with a bat. You feel to the ground screaming grabbing your leg rolling around in agony. Security drags Lana off as the rest of the roster tries to get you help.

Just like that your whole life is changed forever