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zb1 members top 3 kinks

✧ the top three kinks jiwoong, hao, hanbin, matthew, taerae, ricky and gyuvin have in my opinion

✧ warnings - no pronouns mentioned but reader is female bodied, strength kink, impact play, edging, teasing, dacryphilia, breeding, cuckolding, dollification, use of the term oppa, marking, praise, dumbification, mentions of pain, begging

✧ jiwoong

● edging

jiwoong has a slight sadistic side to him and it comes out rather heavily when he edges you. usually he’ll only edge you mildly, only going as far as delaying your orgasm 2 or 3 times until he lets you cum. some nights he can be a little more intense with you though, wanting to edge you until you’re on the edge of tears, sometimes even crying, before he’ll even think about letting you cum. jiwoong thinks you look so cute with tears filling your eyes and begs falling from your swollen lips as he plays with your aching clit, stopping when he can tell you’re getting close. by the time he presses his tongue against you, your clit is throbbing against it and you’re cumming in record time.

● spanking

jiwoong would love your ass, constantly grabbing it, holding it and slapping it when the two of you are alone. so spanking is something he enjoys heavily, he likes spanking you when you’re naked and he’s fully clothed. having you bent over his lap, he’d run his fingers over your skin, avoiding the place you’d want him most and laugh quietly to himself when you whine a little. he likes the sound that his hand striking against your ass makes, as well as the whimper you release at the contact. he’ll spank you a few times, sometimes making you count each time he spanks you and taunting you with his words every time you miscount due to the feeling. after a while he’ll bring his fingers between your legs to feel your soaked core, simply laughing at how drenched his actions made you.

● strength

have you seen his arms? jiwoong loves using his strength against you, holding you down, pressing you against things, he likes watching you squirm when he pins your hands above your head with just one hand caging both of your wrists together, he likes the way you try to get out but can’t. he thinks the idea of being able to manhandle you into any position he desires is hot and always uses it to his advantage, not being shy to pull his cock out of you and flip you over so you’re on all fours. not letting it last long before he pushes the top part of your body down against the mattress and pushing back into you.

✧ hao

● dacryphilia

tears are one of his bigger turn ons, he lives to see you cry. wants to watch you make a mess of your pretty face, especially if you’re wearing makeup. seeing mascara dripping down your face is one of his favourite sights, has multiple pictures saved of you in that state. he loves teasing and along side of that comes with wanting to tease you until you’re in tears, begging to cum, begging for his cock, just begging for any form of stimulation you can get from him. on the flip side, hao likes crying himself. isn’t one to admit to his submissive side and commonly ends up fighting back with you, fighting for dominance and all, when he loses he gets so whiny. breaks the moment you wrap your hand around his throbbing cock and rub it till he cums, or until you decide to let him cum. easy way to cause tears to fall down his pretty face and to get begs to leave his lips.

● lingerie

he will devour you in anything you wear, no matter what you’re in, or not in, you’re his sweet, pretty baby who he’d do anything for, and to. but seeing you in lingerie absolutely destroys the man, usually he’s eager to strip you down and touch your bare skin, wanting to kiss every inch of you whilst you lay breathless under him, but if you wear lingerie he’ll be sure to do all of that whilst keeping it on you. he reaches a point where he actively buys you lingerie without asking or consulting you before hand, one day you just get a randomly package delivered to your house with a cute little note inside from hao explaining how he thought white lingerie would suit you perfectly… so he had to buy you some to prove it to you. one of his top favourite things to do in the world is to just pull the panties of the lingerie aside so he can push his cock into you and fuck you like that, he’s weak for the way the fabric drags against the side of his cock with every thrust he makes. he especially likes this in the sets he brought for you, he’ll look sit back on his knees as he fucks you, holding your hips and looking down at you adoringly, murmuring about how you’re the prettiest thing he’s ever laid eyes on. it’s a process that gets repeated often but it’s something neither of you can grow tired of.

● teasing

hao’s a little shit who likes teasing you, he likes being condescending and watching you squirm and whine under him, he likes watching your bratty front falter, laughing at how you’ll resort to begging in order to get beat you want. the main focus of his teasing is often on how condescending he can be though. he’s mean, he likes watching you shiver under his touch, he purposely does things that he know will make you whimper so he can laugh at you. touching you in ways that make you incapable of staying still so he can look down you, tilt his head and ask “too much for you baby? so cute that you can’t handle me” laughing at he finishes speaking. he’ll lay between your thighs and kiss the skin of them, leaving your underwear on so he can press open mouthed kisses against your clit over them. cockwarming is one of his favoured ways to tease you, making you sit on his cock and be still until he thinks you’re ready to be fucked by him. hao’s one and true goal is to drive you as insane as possible, it always works out in both of your favour because he loves how sensitive and submissive you get after and you’re left in a state of indescribable pleasure due to how soaked and weak you became.

✧ hanbin

● breeding

he’s a simple man, he put two and two together and came out with this kink. hanbin is a family man who’s completely and utterly in love with you, often finding himself laying in bed at night with his thoughts drifting off to your future together. the wedding you’d have, the home you’d share and the children the two of you would create together. he finds himself feeling excited about living his life with you and creating a family of his own, mixing that with his love of filling you up with his cum ended up giving hanbin a very intense breeding kink. he’s not too reckless and he knows he’s not in the position to start a family with you right now, but that won’t stop the nights that occur between the two of you. sometimes he just can’t help himself, with his mind wandering about the future the two of you will have together, he wants to start it as soon as possible. whispering sweet words in your ear about how pretty you’ll look all dolled up on your wedding day, how he’d be able to fuck you over any surface of your house and how one day you’ll be carrying his baby looking as beautiful as ever. the final part is the one that really sets him off, losing himself in the thought of getting you pregnant he’ll find himself fucking you harder, basking in your moans and pleads for him to not stop and for him to fill you up until he can’t anymore. he wont be satisfied until you’re filled to the brim with his cum.

● cuckold

this is a kink hanbin was somewhat afraid to disclose to you, fearful of making you uncomfortable with what sometimes crossed his mind. though he was met with a pleasant surprise when you expressed interest in his thoughts, excitement almost. hanbin always had an interest in watching a friend fuck you but he’d never found a friend who he truly wanted yk experience it with, until he met a certain man named zhang hao. after a few discussions with the both of you, hanbin found himself sat on a chair next to your bed, naked, but hands resting on the arm rests of the chair, gripping it in order to keep restraint from touching himself. the sight in front of him was something he had only dreamed of. you were laying on your front, a pillow under you causing your ass to be propped up in the air and hao was over you, a hand in your hair as he held the side of your head against the mattress with his cock wedged deep inside of you. the position left you and hanbin watching each other, both of you overwhelmed and slowly being ruined by what was occurring. it was filthy, filled with intense pleasure for you and hao with pure humiliation for hanbin. just from that feeling alone, the three of you knew it was going to happen again.

this is something i might expand on and write a full fic for in the future .. possibly, that’s why it seems more drabble rather than just a description… i got slightly into it.

● dollification

to put it simply, hanbin thinks you are the single prettiest thing to ever grace the earth, an angel that he was given the blessing to call his. whilst he is sure you cannot be any prettier in his eyes, he finds himself in awe at how you look everytime he fucks you. his adoring view of you quickly brought upon a pet name he had for you. doll, specifically my doll, which is his favourite thing to call you. it doesn’t just stop with the pet name though, hanbin is obsessed with you, he loves the sight of you laying completely fucked out under him. some nights you being his doll is a concept that comes to life, he’ll fuck you whilst your prettiest set of lace underwear, that he brought, is pressed upon your skin. he’ll run his fingers over your skin and tell you how unreal you are with each thrust, bringing his fingers to your lips and telling you how lucky he is that he has such a life like fuck doll who’ll moan his name and let him do whatever he wanted to them. those nights are the heavier, more intense ones than usual and often leave you both worn out and ruined.

✧ matthew

● body worship

matthew thinks you’re the most beautiful thing to ever walk and he’s not shy about expressing that. his hands are always on you, lips by your ear whispering to you about how pretty you look and this goes into sex too. matthew just wants to kiss every inch of you and tell you how beautiful you are until you’re withering under him, whimpering his name with tears in your eyes and begging for him to fuck you. he does, he always gives his pretty baby what they want. matthew also really enjoys being worshipped, always showing off his body to you, flexing his arms, lifting his shit to wipe his forehead so you see his abs. always wants your attention on him, gets hard when you comment on how good he looks. he’d really enjoy you licking his abs when you go down to suck him off.

● oppa kink

maybe not a real kink, but it’s an obvious one for him … call him woohyun oppa during sex and he’ll flip out, in a good way. he likes the sexier tone it has compared to matthew, gives him an ego and a sense of dominance that he wants to hold over you, usually ends up rougher due to it. things like “you want oppa to take care of you, baby?” and “tell oppa what you want” leave his lips along with somewhat condescending laughs when you whine and plead for him to touch you and fuck you.

● praise

praise is something that goes both ways with matthew. he loves praising you, telling you how good you’re taking him, how wet you are around him. will always reminds you how gorgeous you are with his cock in your mouth too. he has a giant receiving praise kink though, he loves being praised. melts the moment you tell him how good he feels inside of you. matthew always unintentionally falls into the submissive service top role, the moment you pull at his hair as he’s fucking you and praise him he folds. fucks you harder, needs more praise, whines into your neck when you give it him. he needs to hear how much you’re enjoying his cock, needs you to tell him that you can feel him in your stomach because he’s so deep. he always cums so hard during those times, but is always so willing to keep fucking you until you’ve came.

✧ taerae

● dumbification

you’re his sweet baby, taerae is so blinded by love when it comes to you, in his eyes you’re just the most precious person he’s ever met and you cannot do wrong. due to this, he finds himself wanting to leave his precious baby in a state where all you can do is squirm and whimper under his touch. he just wants to fuck you dumb, leave you almost braindead where all you can focus on is the way his cock feels inside of you and all you can say is breathless whimpers of his name. taerae will go out of his way to learn every weak spot you have, he’ll study your body until he knows exactly where to touch you and what to say to you to have you whining and begging before his cock is even inside of you. he’s aware of how his lips around your clit will quickly send you into a state where no thoughts cross your mind at all, the intense pleasure of him sucking on your clit and flicking his tongue against it causes all strength to leave your body instantly, so it’s always his go to way to start the nights that he wants to have you fucked dumb under him.

● frottage

taerae can be a bit of a perv, but when he needs you, he needs you. there’s not much beating around the bush with him, he doesn’t like waiting, he doesn’t really have there patience to wait either. he loves the feeling of his clothed cock being rubbed against something and he really isn’t shy about grinding himself against your ass whilst you’re out, even going as far to cum in his pants because of it, knowing if he done that the two of you would have to leave because he made such a mess. he has no shame, he’ll grab your hand and rut himself against it as a way of telling you he needs to fuck you.

● hair pulling

it goes both ways but he loves, loves, when you pull on his hair, especially when his face is between your legs. the slight pain that comes with hard harshly you pull on the strands makes him moan against you. tongue flicking against your clit with the vibration of his moaning, he becomes a wreck for it. often ending up grinding his cock against the bed sheets and sometimes even cumming because of it. hair pulling really sets off the slight pain kink he has and he thrives because of it. he enjoys pulling on your hair too but it doesn’t give him the same kink as you pulling his does.

✧ ricky

● eye contact

nothing makes ricky melt more than when your eyes meet, especially when he’s inside of you. he’s quite gentle about it too, holding your chin so softly in his hands, leaning down to press a sweet kiss on your lips as he rolls his hips against yours before pulling his face away so he can see you. he thinks there’s something so intense and intimate about making eye contact with you whilst he’s fucking you, he can see the way you’re breaking apart by the look in your eyes, how they grow wider as you grow closer to the edge. ricky is always amused when you struggle to keep your eyes open, coaxes you to keep looking at him with sweet words “mm come on baby, show me your pretty eyes as you cum for me”

● pleasure dom

he lives for your pleasure. everything he does is the please you. wants to see your eyes rolling back and your lips parted with his name falling from them, he just loves watching you fall apart because of him. when you suck him off he still makes sure to give you pleasure, even if you tell him his pleasure turns you on too, he still finds a way to have his fingers on your clit. he really loves the 69 position because of that. having your mouth around his cock, moaning around it due to his lips on your clit just increases the pleasure he’s feeling. when he’s fucking you he’s so attentive to your reactions, paying close attention to the way you gasp when he angles his hips in a certain way, how you dig your nails into his skin when you get close. he cums so hard from seeing you so overwhelmed and in pleasure. always ends it with the “cum around my cock angel”

● clothed sex

ricky has a massive thing for having you ride him whilst he’s fully clothed and you’re completely naked. he finds the whole thing to be erotic, especially when you make a mess of his suit trousers. he never gets mad, he likes teasing you about it. “so wet, making a mess all over my trousers angel, ‘s a good thing i don’t have to go out after this isn’t it? my messy baby” he likes the way you grip onto his dress shirt when it gets too much for you, how you start rutting against him desperately as you get closer. he also likes the slight humiliation aspect of it. he’s there, fully clothed and you’re there fucking yourself relentlessly on his cock, desperate for a release. he sometimes can’t help but wish one of the members would walk in and catch you.

✧ gyuvin

● size

very self explanatory, works in every way. he loves the fact you’re so small under him, he likes towering over you, being able to look down at you. he likes the way you struggle to take his cock when he fucks you because it’s so big and you’re just so small that it struggles to fit. that’s his favourite part of it, he’ll always point out how little you are when you’re laying under him but behind those words he’s already dreaming about how you’ll look even smaller when he rests his cock on your tummy before pushing it inside of you. he ls mesmerized by how you look when he starts stretching you out, loves how you squirm when he stills inside of you once half of him has filled you up. basically trains you to take all of his cock but he’ll work you up to it, for the mean time he’s in heaven watching you struggle to take him.

● mocking

he can be kinda mean with it, but he does it in a very light hearted and teasing way. when you get too whiny he has to mock you by whining back with a little smile on his face, asking him to fuck you always ends with him looking at you almost menacingly. “need me that bad baby?” a sick little laugh following his words. he can’t let you have anything easily, he needs to tease and taunt you about it first. he can be worse with it when he fucks you, if you shed any tears at all his first instinct is to mock you. he’s so much bigger than you, his cock is so thick, it’s normal for you to cry as he fucks you die to the intensity of the stretch and the pleasure and he thrives off of it. “what’s wrong baby? too much for you?” all whilst fucking into you that little bit harder.

● overstimulation

this one goes both ways. usually happens when he’s fucking you and he’s just that little bit too excited and just can’t stop. overstimulates the both of you because he needs to be inside of you, needs to fuck you over and over again, is just completely insatiable and won’t be happy until both of you are worn out and done. he makes it messy too, sweat everywhere, cum covering your stomach, cunt, thighs. just wants you both to be fucked out and ruined.

Oh no I’m a villain. I’m a horrible horrible bad villain who kills and stuff . I think I need a sorcerer to come get me omg…

wish that was me

DAMN OKAY SIR

nct hard hours

Jeno+manhandling

Alpha Jeno+Alpha Haechan

Prince Alpha Jeno

Jungwoo+masturbation

Johnny+Jaehyun(dubcon)

Jaemin+throat fucking

Jeno+thigh riding(dubcon)

Jeno+wrong hole(dubcon)

idol Jaemin/idol Jeno

Alpha step brother Jaemin

Tutor Alpha Jaemin

Step-dad Johnny

Jaemin+fisting

Jaemin+just the tip

Yandere stalker ‘boyfriend’ Jeno(dubcon)

Alpha step-dad Johnny

Jeno+painful anal(dubcon)

Omega Jisung

Jaemin+gloryhole

Jeno+masturbation

Jisung+birthday surprise

requests are closed💙

Someone muzzle me before i say something truly vile

꒰ nanami is forced to put his sweet wife back in her place (under him) ꒱

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 ─── fem!reader, wife!reader, ceo!reader, lifestyle dom!nanami, househusband!nanami, brat taming, hair pulling, overstimulation, sir kink, restraints, finger gagging, nipple play, use of vibrators, chair bondage, reader gets spanked, fear of cheating, unprotected s[e]x, collaring, oral s[e]x, kento mentions divorce playfully, nanami slaps his c*ck on reader's face and tongue, degradation, pet names (baby, little slut, love, darling, good girl), aftercare

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 ─── 5k+ words because of mappa’s horniness they made him so big and beefy what did you expect me to do

“Fuck, baby, that’s a good girl.”

Your husband’s scratchy moan is followed by a tug to your hair. He’s got your locks in his firm, veiny grip, using it to guide your mouth up and down his flushed cock like you were nothing but a human fleshlight made just for him.

The kitchen clock ticks and you’re on your knees, still in your office blazer and figure-hugging skirt.

It was usually customary for you to greet your husband like this—like he’s pure treasure and deserves your devotion on these marbled tiles. They’re the same ones you bought with your twelve-month bonus, right when the company you spearheaded burst into the tech scene and started raking in the billions.

Through it all, Nanami Kento was with you, building your home while you changed the world.

More than anything, he was the rock which kept you from falling apart, but if they could see you now… how your mouth was slicked with a mixture of cum and spit and your eyes were woozy with bliss, they couldn’t tell that you were the same woman who once fired three directors on account of an embezzlement accusation. 

He pulled you off his flushed tip, those chiselled cheeks dusted with pink. Reacting like this, he was nothing more than an enamoured husband adoring his wife on her knees. But, you had been bad to him today, and bad girls didn’t deserve what they wanted. They needed to be put back in their place. 

Nanami tugged you up higher, enough to have you balancing on the slivers of your shins. His mouth found yours, insistent and hot with his lustful intention.

“Do you want your collar, baby?” His mouth was a stroke away from yours, warm breath caressing your tongue.

You nodded, not trusting your voice to break. The planes of your husband’s defined chest shook in a soft laugh as he let go of your hair—for now.

“Go and grab it, sweetheart. I'll wait for you.”

You did as he said, standing up on shaky legs that were riddled with pins and needles. He steadied you, looking ridiculously handsome even with his half-chub out and tiny pink apron still on. Nanami was just a man who could make even a trash bag work.

You stumbled into the bedroom, going straight for a drawer that was shut tightly. Using the key next to your perfume stand, you unlocked it, removing a smooth, dark leather strap with the words ‘Kento’s girl’ embedded into it with diamonds.

You heard your husband come back into the room, his body pressed behind yours as he took the collar from your shaking hands. Pushing your hair aside, he fastened it around your neck with a kiss to your earlobe.

“Shall we go back to what we were doing earlier?”

You slid back into your knees in response, shuffling to face him again. Those dark eyes appraised you with pride, tinged with an even darker possession.

“Always so pretty for me,” he hummed. “Aren’t you, my little slut?”

A dirty thrill shot down your spine, and you parted your mouth open on instinct. “Yes, Sir.”

Kento chuckled, giving his hard-hard cock a few pumps before nursing it back into your mouth. You sucked on the tip, tasting his musk and salt. Hollowing your cheeks, you took him deeper, till he hit the back of your throat, and whatever else you couldn’t fit, you fisted around the base of his cock to work it up and down.

Your husband hissed out a curse, and wound your hair back into his tight grip, watching you suck him off with barely concealed wonder. “Doing so good for me, love,” he murmured, a sharp tug on the nape of your neck making you wince and your pussy flood your red lace thong. “And to think you were just mouthing off to me earlier.”

You squirmed on your knees, needing to touch between your legs to ease the flame of desire only your husband could burn.

Kento used his sheer strength to pull you off his cock, and as if still punishing you, he slapped the tip of his fat dick onto your cheeks, coaxing your mouth open so he could do the same thing on your tongue. You didn’t complain, glad to be used as a stress reliever for your husband.

Pre-cum smeared your cheeks and spit was glossing your chin when you took him back down your throat again, this time with more urgency.

Kento was breathing deeper, his half-hooded eyes almost closing from your talented mouth. No one could suck cock as well as his wife could, and he would stand firm in that.

Your sheer hunger and eagerness blew everyone else out of the water, the devotion only you showed him shaping his unshakable love for you.

It's just too bad you had unintentionally insulted him where it hurt the most.

“Do you think you’re forgiven because I let you suck my cock?”

Before you could answer, you were wrenched off his dick, pushed back into your knees. Your cry of indignation was stopped when he shoved two thick fingers down your throat, gagging you with a wet choke.

You worked hard to please him—to apologise to him because you didn’t mean those words; they were just a product of a stressful day.

It’s not like you understand what the fuck I’m going through, Kento. You’re just a househusband who spends all day cleaning.

Careful, those dark eyes had narrowed at you. Do you want to repeat that, darling?

I said—

But, he never gave you a chance to finish.

As if remembering your painful words, Kento grunted, bringing you to your feet just so he could spread you face down, ass up onto your huge makeup counter. The mirror reflected back your desperate stare into your husband’s impassive face, his collar searing through your skin.

“Kento—“

Rough hands from days of labour pushed your skirt up, tugging your thong unceremoniously down your cheeks where the fabric burned against your sensitive skin. “Ah—!”

The first spank landed on your left globe, leaving a stinging pain on the tender flesh. He didn’t stop there—Kento viciously spanked your right cheek, then back to your left, alternating between them until you swore they were glowing hot like dying embers.

You were wincing and crying out softly, hair stuck to your temple and cheeks with sweat. The woman in the mirror had tears in her eyes, and her husband barely pay attention to her—just like how she had messed up and thought lowly of him for a split, disastrous second.

“I don’t know what you’re going through? Did you forget I used to be a salaryman, too, darling?”

His tone dripped with sardonic anger. Another spank, this time on your lower back. The tears broke down your face.

“I’m going to drill into that pretty head who owns you so you don’t mouth back to him. A househusband?” This hit was personal, right on your prickling left cheek. “Is that all you see me as? Do you think of me that lowly?”

Frustrated, Kento yanked your hair back at the same time he plunged two thick fingers into your glistening pussy.

“Oh—Kento!”

Your cry fell from your lax mouth, your eyes snapping close in ecstasy while he finger-fucked you roughly, tugging on your hair to deliver sharp prickles of torture down your spine.

The pain mixed with the pleasure till you couldn’t tell which one was which, your body spiraling closer and closer into delirium.

“Kento!” You sobbed, sure to have woken up the neighbors if your bedroom was soundproofed. “Oh, oh, ah—f-fuck, K-Kento, I-I—“

His forefinger was hitting that softest spot inside of you, and you ached to touch your clit to throw yourself down the agonizing high. Without thinking it through, one hand drifted in between your thighs, and you managed about three shaky circles on your sensitive bud with your middle finger when Kento noticed and yanked your hand away. Your soft cry was muffled when he pushed your face into the hard word, breathing unsteadily.

“Who said you could touch yourself? Did I say you were given permission to?”

“N-No—“

But, Kento refused to listen to your excuses. “You’re misbehaving more and more tonight. I think I need to teach you an even bigger lesson.”

You could barely cry out a complaint when he manhandled you into his arms, bringing you back into the kitchen. Plopping you down onto the huge dining chair, he left you stewing in your thoughts, tense as to what he had next up his sleeve.

Nanami returned not a minute later with a pair of arm binders and leg cuffs, and your eyes widened when he immediately took your hands, placing them in the restrictive loop behind the chair. He worked on your legs next, fastening them to the wooden stems, while you continued to pathetically bleat apologies that rained on his deaf ears.

Once you were secured, Nanami took you in. 

Everything about you was softness and seduction, and he couldn’t help but feel like he was the luckiest bastard alive. I love her, Kento’s eyes shone when you blinked up at him, all innocent and cute like you weren’t exposed in such a lewd way. I love her so very much. 

“K-Ken,” you whined, shifting in your seat. The gesture unintentionally hiked your skirt further up your plush thighs. 

As much as he loved you, Nanami had to put you back in your place—get you to respect him, even as his cock is raging to sink into your tight heat.

He tapped your cheek, a stern look emblazoned on his handsome face. “That is not what you’re allowed to call me.” His big hand wrapped around your neck, digging into your pulse point—restricting the breath from going down your airways. Asserting his point. 

“Sir!” You managed to choke out. “S-Sir—”

Your wheeze turned into a cough when he let you go, your watery eyes looking up at him filled with nothing but remorse. 

Nanami toyed with the idea of letting you go once the regret settled in, but the other half of him—that darker impulse which bludgeoned his Jujutsu years with bloodshed and violence—reared its head. It was the same sickly thrill he got whenever he beat up a curse and managed to squeeze in no more than an hour of overtime to get back home to you.

For your credit, you always let him exact his pent-up rage onto your willing body—never bending or breaking your resolve. 

Even when he walks back into the bedroom to retrieve your most hated G-spot vibrator, or when he sank it almost lovingly into your waiting pussy, you could never hate your husband—even if he drove you half mad. 

Nanami stared at his phone screen, connecting the vibrator to the app it came with. You could tell he was completely focused on breaking you, his eyes never straying when he adjusted the settings.

Soon, a pleasant hum goes off in between your thighs, and you toss your head back, a dulcet whimper leaving your lips and saturating the air with your pure neediness. Your husband doesn’t react beyond crossing his arms over his hulking chest, studying you with those intense darkened eyes you could go insane for. 

The vibrator notch constantly rubbed on your G-spot, leaving your clit throbbing with abject neglect. You almost didn’t notice your husband pushing off the sleeves of your blazer, unbuttoning the crisp white dress shirt he had ironed this morning to expose the rise of your heaving tits covered in the red lacy bra he loved so much on you.

“You wore this today?” He fingered the lacy strap, and you hiccuped a stuttering y-yes. Your husband chuckled, easing down the cups so your nipples sprung forward, ready to be teased and touched. Kento hunched down next to you, his entirely bigger build almost draping across your lap as he ran his tongue over the rise of your plush flesh, growing closer and closer to your stiffening nipples. But, he never gave you what you wanted. 

Everytime his tongue so much as grazed your areola, he would pull back, leaving you keening with disappointment. Your thighs were starting to shake, the constant pressure on such a susceptible spot slowly making you lose your mind. Without the stimulation Kento was selfishly withholding, you were sure you would be strung along for hours until he decided to show you mercy. 

As it was, your husband was a stubborn man once he put his mind to something. You could barely think past the haze of your blurry thoughts, your mind filled with cotton when finally—finally—Kento sucked on your nipples. It was soft at first, barely any stimulation, but once he had a hit of you, Kento couldn’t stop. He suckled on your tits roughly, tonguing them harsh enough to make those sensitive buds throb. 

Then, he bit down on them, eliciting a soft cry past your swollen lips. Your hips had basically taken on a life of their own, undulating minutely to the cruel game Kento played on your body. 

Once you were on the precipice, needing just a bit more stimulation to topple over the edge, Kento pulled back. He stopped the vibrator with one tap on the screen, and you came crashing back down—body slumped against the chair.

“Sir,” you sobbed, unable to hold back those fat tears from chasing down your cheeks. 

Nanami barely gave you time to adjust to the cresting sensations. He stood back up to his full height, toying with his phone and sliding his thumb pad across the screen. The same motions were replicated within the vibrator between your legs—the alternating softness and sudden vigorous overstimulation wrecking your body into dividing sensations.

You didn’t know whether to flinch or lean into the pleasure—whether to cry or to moan. 

All you could do was let out a stream of weak Sir, please, oh—Sir, past your lax mouth, your body jerking like a puppet caught in the web of his control. 

If it wasn’t enough to torture you, Kento wanted to tease you, too. He continuously pinched your hard nipples, flicking them up and down with the tip of his thumb to get them all perky and desperate for him. 

He even knelt in between your thighs, looking up at you with those melting dark eyes while his thumb gently rubbed on your twitching clit. Your husband was doing everything in his power to get you to fold for him, and you were so close to putting aside your ego just to beg him to fuck you.

“S-Sir,” you sniffled. 

Kento glanced up at you, noticing the tears beading your lash line. He swiped his thumb under one bulging tear, wiping it away.

In contrast to his filthy actions, his words were soft and sweet. “What do you want, darling?” he added, “Do you want to cum?” 

You gave him a shaky nod. 

“Do you think you deserve to cum?” 

Disappointment curdled in your belly at his simple question. Kento was giving you a chance to apologise, and you could either take the high road and beg for his forgiveness, or let your bigheadedness keep you unsatisfied.

“I don’t,” you whispered, ducking your head in defeat. Kento hated to admit how a carnal wave of satisfaction curled right in his chest from your admission. “I was mean to you. Y-you did so much for me—” you lifted your hips, as if to alleviate the tense pleasure. “—I-I’m so sorry, Sir.” 

His big hand smoothed down your belly, settling on your hip. He leaned forward, kissing your forehead tenderly. Instead of accepting your apology, he smeared your tears away with patient lips, trailing down kisses to your neck, his tongue running across the collar which held his claim on you. 

“You’re forgiven, sweet girl,” your husband murmured, standing up to switch off the vibrator. You sagged back into the seat with a teary hiccup, peeling your glossy eyes on him so pathetically, his heart couldn’t help but squeeze. “Come on—let’s get you cleaned up.”

Kento removed your bindings, careful to help you stand up on your trembling legs. He held you close to his chest, rubbing those big, warm hands up and down your back to soothe your shuddering sobs. “There, there. You’re alright, baby. You’re fine.” He lifted you into his arms, careful to tuck your head on his shoulder as he carefully made his way back to the bedroom with you.

There, Nanami reverted back to his loving, devoted self—removing your blazer, dress shirt, and pencil skirt with reverence. He lifted your leg onto his shoulder, kissing your ankles before easing off your stockings smoothly. Once you were naked in front of him, it was his turn to undress.

Kento shed off the pink apron, removed his sweatpants and then his fitted cotton shirt, exposing his shredded torso lined with numerous thin, pale white scars. There was once he was afraid of showing them to you—his past bare for your fingers to trace. But, you loved kissing each and every mark left from wounds he could not explain to you. And Nanami was grateful.

He counted himself one of the luckiest sorcerers to make it out alive of that world and into a semi-normal one. He had a wife, a home, a decent car, plenty of time to unwind and relax—in short, he was living the dream he once saw as unattainable. And it was all thanks to you.

“Come here, baby.” Kento gathered you into his arms, careful to not put too much pressure on your sore butt. He traced your features, kissed your eyelids and cheeks until you stopped quietly sobbing, all wrung out and lying exhaustively on his chest. “Good girl—just take a deep breath and tell me what happened.”

His voice was a deep, enticing baritone, inciting goosebumps on your arms and putting your guard down. Your eyes slipped closed and you inhaled unsteadily, fingers digging into his shoulders. 

“One of my executives found out her husband was cheating on her and she completely lost it at work today.” 

Kento stopped stroking your shoulder. “What?” 

You nodded, keeping your face buried in his chest to avoid meeting his eyes. “He was a… a stay-at-home husband, too. She trusted him with the nanny and—and that woman knew her kids inside and out. I was so disgusted. I… I thought that—”

“You thought that I would do the same thing to you?”

Nanami wasn’t an idiot. It wasn’t hard for him to piece two and two together—for him to see what was truly haunting you.

A minute of hesitation passed, and then, he felt you nod again. 

Nanami’s shoulders relaxed, and he tightened his grip on your tinier body. “I love you so much, Y/N. You know that, right? You’re the best part of my life. I’m so grateful you chose to marry me.”

His sincerity stopped you up short. You peeked from past your curtain of hair, finding him smiling gently at you. 

Perching half of your body up, you folded your arms on his chest, looking deeply into his eyes for the absolute truth. “If you ever fall out of love with me, Kento, please tell me. I won’t put up a fight if you want to leave me. Just don’t sneak around behind my back with someone else.”

How serious you looked, and those words… those words you spouted completely broke his heart. Kento’s expression fell, and he shook his head fiercely.

“You don’t get it, do you?” 

With barely any grace, he rolled you onto the bed, spreading your thighs around his waist. His hips drove against yours, cock sheathing in one fluid motion into your waiting pussy. The both of you cursed and cried out at the same time, heads thrown back and desire coursing freely in this bedroom. 

Nanami’s pace was brutal yet loving, his cock trying to bully into you what he had been desperately trying to show for the past few years you’ve both been blissfully married. 

He loves you—he would do anything to make you happy because your happiness was his own. 

“Nghh—Sir,” you whined, holding onto his biceps for dear life, trying hard not to fall around his cock without his permission. “Oh—oh, Kento, more, more—please, don’t stop—!”

He wasn’t planning to. If he could make you believe with his actions, Kento would keep at it until you finally accepted what he’d been feeling for all these years. 

He smudged endless kisses onto your cheeks, nose and lips, each time tasting your desperation a bit more. 

“Sir, can I please touch myself?” 

How sweet—you were waiting for his permission. In answer, Nanami plucked your hand from your side, placing it right in between your legs, implicitly telling you to pleasure yourself while he ruined your world. 

The both of you were hanging right on a thread, and the very second he felt your walls starting to melt around him, Kento pulled you in for a deep kiss, one which felt like it could break every resolve in your body. You became putty for him, dissolving into the kiss and his arms. 

You broke the second you felt his hot cum paint your walls, every fibre of your soul screaming out your husband’s name. “Kento,” you whimpered in between sloppy kisses, your bodies slippery with sweat. “Kento—”

Nanami caught you the second you sagged into his arms. With his ludicrous strength and yet, his gentleness, he easily rolled you against his chest, letting you catch your breath on top of him. His lips found your temple and hair, large palms methodically massaging your sore muscles. He gripped your ass, squeezing fondly and unhurriedly, content to enjoy this moment with you.

When you had finally stilled and your breathing returned to normal, Kento whispered: “I love you, darling. You know that, right?” 

Even with your raging insecurities, you couldn’t deny how sincere and sweet he sounded.

“I love you, too, Kento.”

Seriously now, he added: “And I won’t ever cheat on you because you’d take my car away first.”

You grinned, knowing that Nanami Kento was a man of his word and would never back down from it without a fight.

a/n: mappa made him so damn fuckable in the last ep as reparations for what they’re gonna do to him next im so sick

©️ lalunanymph, 2023

Could be us

VAMPIRE

// park sunghoon //

pairing: vampire!sunghoon x human!femreader

word count- 13.1k

genre/cw- angst, fluff, mentions of death, sunghoon is head over heels, slowburn, usage of “love”, violence(?), crying(sobbing), profanity, party setting, fangs, protective sunghoon, confessions, fated love, lucid (past) dreams, someone follows reader (just for a scene)

summary- Sunghoon lingered around until he was ready to sink his teeth into his desire

________________________________________________________

You didn’t believe in vampires or any mystical creatures for that matter. You believed they were just merely apart of the fictitious world. But if they were to ever exist, you believe they would take the form of Park Sunghoon.

Park Sunghoon was the notorious popular boy around your campus, he had everything anyone could ever want. Everyone knew him and the power he held and they all wanted a chance with him, to take a look inside the hidden shadows of a world that Sunghoon lives in.

Yet, he never gave the time of day to anyone, he kept his distance with anyone that were practically attached to the idea on him. He only continued on with his life, not letting the desires of others distract him.

However, there were the few selected that Sunghoon had spared a glance towards and they were never the same after meeting him. They seemed to have had a new side to them that no one could decipher.

You had your fair number of interactions with him, whether it was mere glances around campus or discussion about assigned projects, you thought it was nothing major but to others it seemed to unravel something you weren’t aware of.

The interactions you’ve had with him was more than enough to have people crowd you. You hated having random people show up next to you, only to ask what it was like to be so close in the presence of Park Sunghoon.

You didn’t get why everyone was practically at his mercy. He was just a human being like the rest of you.

You yawned as you could feel the all-nighter catching up to you, you had an exam this upcoming week and you decided to go over the material in the library.

You tried to stay awake but you knew better there was no way you would make it without falling asleep. You gathered your belongings and decided to call it night and hope for the possible best.

You had walked at night plenty of times and thankfully you never encountered anyone during these times. Yet, you guess that might change when you feel the presence of someone behind you. You were pushing past it a few blocks back thinking it must be someone else heading home after an exhausting day.

But you realized that the person was always behind you, taking every turn and stride as you. That’s when you realized you were being followed, you tried to remain calm and rational.

You would look at passing windows and see the reflection of the shadow figure of the person, head hanging low not wanting to get caught. You gulped nervously, you were just about to reach your place in a few minutes so you hope the person would just leave you alone.

As you were walking, your eyes landed onto a person walking in the opposite direction from you but widened to see that it was Sunghoon.

You wondered what he was doing out so late at night, but in that moment you were grateful to see a familiar face. You and Sunghoon made eye contact with each other, his gaze was hard and you could notice him slowing down his pace and changing directions to walk over to you.

You stopped walking, waiting for him. You could see the glance he took behind you and you assumed he must’ve noticed the person behind you. He kept his harsh gaze behind you until he reached you and changed his gaze onto you.

“I’ll walk you home” You didn’t protest his offer, you simply nodded your head and the two of walked by each other’s side

You could feel the presence behind you finally disappear and you released a sigh of relief. You could feel Sunghoon’s gaze never leaving you but you didn’t look at him, you were already beyond exhaustion.

“Are you okay?” He never asked you about your well being so this was definitely a shock for you

“Yeah I’m fine thank you” You gratefully smiled at him and he only hummed, you wanted to ask what he was doing out so late at night but you decided not to pry, it’s none of your business

After a few minutes of walking, you finally arrived at your place. You told him it was fine that he didn’t have to walk you all the way to your front door but he insisted. Just as you were going to go inside, Sunghoon stopped you.

“Can I use your phone to call my friend? I’m supposed to meet up with him but my phone died” You stared at him for a moment, but nonetheless you took out your phone and gave it to him, you were turning the favor of him walking you home

Sunghoon smiled quickly before typing in your phone. When he gave back your phone, you noticed that he never called anyone. You looked at your phone to see the new contact created in your phone.

Park Sunghoon. You looked to see Sunghoon already going down the stairs, he could feel your gaze on him and he turned around when he reach the bottom.

“Call me whenever you have to walk alone, I’ll walk with you” And with that he was gone, you looked to try and find him but you could his faint figure walking and turning the corner, before disappearing into the night

As you looked back down to your phone, you found yourself dwelling on his words, you scoffed to yourself as you shook your head.

Sunghoon didn’t mean what he said.

After Sunghoon dropped you off at your house, he got rid of the smugly smile he had as the thought about the moment between you two faded from his mind and was replaced with the thought of the person following you.

He had a scowl on his face as he grumbled. Now he definitely was going to be late meeting his friend.

Sunghoon yawned as the low vampire struggled from beneath his foot. He would be damn if the low vampire thought he would go easy. The low vampire was thinking of hurting you and if he hadn’t arrived, Sunghoon knew he would have to get his hands dirty.

Everyone in the area knew, you were the only one to never be messed with.

You were under his sworn protection until eternity.

“Are you going to apologize for trying to go after her?” Sunghoon was instigating an apology but when the low vampire stayed silent, Sunghoon pressed his foot harder causing the low vampire to groan

“I’m hungry” That was all the low vampire was able to mutter and he laughed hearing the reasoning

Sunghoon crouched down to level with the low vampire, never removing his foot.

“Then you find an alternative. You don’t go for someone you know you can never touch” His tone was cold, his words getting harsher and harsher than the previous one

“I’m sorry” He hummed happily as he took off his foot from the low vampire, who gasped for air

“Good, now go somewhere else to hunt” The low vampire only coughed and ran away from Sunghoon who stayed in the dark alley

He sighed heavily feeling exhausted, he dusted off his clothes and straighten them out before walking out the dark alley.

It was as if a flip switched inside of him as he replaced the scowl with a stoic face. His strides were prideful, he was an aware of the power he held.

After all, he was the most powerful vampire in the area.

Today was another all nighter, you were stressing over exams you know you should’ve studied before hand. But you were a procrastinator and decided to push for things last minute in hopes to get them done.

You yawned as you finally finished the last piece of study material. The achievement of finally completing this almost felt rewarding, but the time frame in which it was done seemed like a punishment.

You saw the time and your heart nearly dropped seeing it was almost four am, you seemed to have lost track of time in general. You were quick to collect your belongings before walking out of the library to head back home.

Yet, before you continued walking, you stopped for a moment. You pondered on a thought or rather a conversation and Sunghoon’s name seemed to be lingering in your head.

You took out your phone and went to his contact (which you never deleted), you pondered whether calling him or not. But you shook your head and put your phone away, you just assumed he was being nice. He didn’t mean his words for you to call him whenever you have to walk alone.

You were going to venture on back to your home and you could feel the drowsiness slowly take over, your eyelids felt heavy and you found yourself yawning every now and then. This was the last time you ever procrastinated studying for your exams.

You didn’t even make it ten feet away from the library until you felt your life flash before your eyes.

“Boo” Your scream could’ve awaken the whole world up with how loud it was, you could hear the groaning from behind you causing you to whip your head

When you see Sunghoon holding his ear from your scream, you felt a sense of relief seeing it was only him before it being replaced with anger.

“Sunghoon what the hell are you doing?” He made it seem like he was trying to regain his hearing and after a few moments of silence he finally looked at you

“You aren’t the only one cramming in studies for exams” He muttered as he straightened out his posture, he should’ve expected this reaction but thinking about it he didn’t mind

Today Sunghoon was longing for you deeply today and he didn’t know what caused this emotion to erupt in him. Maybe it was talking to you that caused him to miss the So he decided to drown himself in studies for the upcoming exams, which he knew he would ace with no problem.

He didn’t want to indulge in the desire for you, he wanted to keep his distance from you but he also wanted to keep an eye on you from afar.

When he decided to leave the library that’s when he saw you walking and yawning with each step you take. He wasn’t one to smile in public, but he couldn’t help himself when he saw you.

“But so late at night?” You tilted your head but soon you realized you were one to talk, so you quickly raised your hand for him not to say anything

“Let’s go” Sunghoon moved his head forwards as he took steps ahead of you, you looked at him with confusion and he could practically feel it oozing out of you

“I told you, you’ll never have to walk alone as long as I’m here” His words were smooth but rough like ice, you could feel the shiver in your body as he turned around to look at you

Under the moonlit sidewalk, your heart felt a churn and you were quite sure if it was a warning or a sign. You gulped down nervously before taking steps to pass Sunghoon. He smirked at your actions and followed to catch up to you.

The walk was quiet, it was awkward but rather you were too tired to maintain any conversation with him. He respected that and kept his mouth shut, as long as he was able to be by your side that more than enough.

Distant howls could be heard and you looked to left where there was a forest, Sunghoon stopped walking when he noticed your gaze.

“Dogs” He muttered and when you turned to face him, he puckered his lips ushering you to keep walking, you tiredly rolled your eyes and continued walking

Sunghoon took the chance to look towards the forest himself, before clenching his jaw lightly and walking back towards you.

The moment you crashed onto your bed, your eyes were quick to shut as you fell into the abyss of sleep.

You groaned when feeling the sunlight hit your face. You groggily opened your eyes as they tried to adjust to the surrounding and once it sunk into where you were, your eyes were wide open.

You looked around to see a grass meadow, you laid up against a tree with the leaves and branches covering you. Your breathing became heavy with no recognition of where you were.

“Oh you’re awake” The voice you knew all too well, you’d just heard it a few hours ago

When you turned to face Sunghoon, you were ready to start questioning him but you stopped when actually seeing him.

His gaze looked softer, the warm smile on his face contrasted when you last saw him. When he noticed your expression, you see the worry take over. He slowly walked over to you and just when he was close enough, you saw the necklace he wore.

You could see the first letter of your name dangling in the middle as he got closer to you.

“Are you okay?” The tone made your heart melt and you didn’t understand why but you weren’t able to respond, you could only simply look at him

No matter how hard you tried to speak with up, it was like your mouth was shut and you couldn’t say a word. When he cupped your cheek, you flinched lightly at the warmth of him. He retracted his hands for a moment before hesitantly resting it back onto your cheek.

He examined your face and when he noticed there seemed to be no sign of injury, he sighed before looking into your eyes.

The way he looked into your eyes felt different, it didn’t feel like the usual times he looked at you. He smiled softly before taking a seat next to you.

He intertwined your hands together and it made you shocked at how perfectly your hands fitted with one another. He rested his head onto your shoulder while rubbing his thumb on your hand.

“Let’s rest a little more mhm?” His tired voice seemed to have put you under a trance because before you knew it your eyes became droopy and soon you drifted off to sleep once again

Your eyes fluttered opened and you expected to be in the same location but when you noticed you were back in your room, that was enough to make you sit up.

Your breathing became uneven as you looked around your surroundings, the throbbing of your head didn’t help ease your nerves.

You wondered why you dreamt about Sunghoon and why the hell it felt so real.

As Sunghoon walked around campus, there was a slight bounce to his steps. His face still stoic but the steps he took seemed happier than usual, well he was happier.

Walking home with you last night felt like a fever dream. Even though, you two didn’t talk much, it was still enough for him to remind him.

He shouldn’t interfere, he knew that better than anyone else. But he’s waited months, years, decades to see you again. Upon meeting you again, he couldn’t help but inch closer and closer to you.

He wondered if you were to remember him, would you come back to him or would you run away in fear of what he’s become.

He shook his head, clearing it of those thoughts. He has an exam to ace, he couldn’t think of those things.

The vacation you anticipated was finally here. You walked out, stretching of your limbs freely. You felt exhausted but were more glad that the exams you dreaded were finally over. Now you were able to rest comfortably and not stress.

You were going to head home when you saw someone walking up to you. You looked and you could feel the racing of your heart, when Sunghoon came into your vision.

His gaze was cold but that’s how his gaze was. But the flash of the warmth gaze from the Sunghoon of your dreams, made you cough awkwardly.

As he stood in front of you, you could see the noticing gazes of people passing by. The short whispers wondering if the two of you were getting closer with each other.

“What?” You asked and you could see the faint scoff of a smile on his face before going back to his stoic face

“Heading home?”

“After a long day of exams, I think I will be” Your remarked would have made him chuckle if it was just the two of you, but in public he nodded his head

“Let’s go then” He tilted his head and you knew it meant he was walking you home again

“You know, you don’t have to. You can head home” You offered as Sunghoon was already walking ahead of you, he shook his head and continued walking

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to. There’s a difference” The glance he takes over his shoulder to look at you made your heart stop

You gnawed at your lips before sighing and walking behind Sunghoon, when he noticed he slowed down his pace to have you ahead of him.

You didn’t even seem to realize his actions, the two of simply slipped into a comfort of silence. Sunghoon wanted to savor this moment, he knew he shouldn’t be doing this but last time he checked he didn’t care.

It was you. For you, he will be willing to do anything if it meant being in your presence. He did it once, he wouldn’t be afraid to do it again.

When Sunghoon reached his house, it was already dark. He placed his belongings down and landed onto his couch, he wasn’t tired not exhausted, he just needed a breather.

That was until you filled his mind. He found himself finally releasing the smile he’s yet to show you, when the time is right. The moments may be small but to him, they mean the absolute world.

He rested an arm behind his head, the thoughts and memories that filled him were nothing but bittersweet. The smiles and laughter he once created for you rested in his dull non-beating heart. He remembered as if it were yesterday when he once had you in his arms without a care in the world.

He remembers when the two of you were once madly in love with each other.

That was until you were stripped away from him. He lost all sense of reality, the night he lost you. It was nothing but bitter and rage, when you were found. He never forgave himself till this day, he thought, if he had just stayed with you, the two of you could’ve lived happily ever after together.

Yet, he was given an opportunity. Where he can meet you once again and watch over you to protect you for eternity. But the cost? His mortality.

But he didn’t care, as long as he was able to see you again. He would everything in his power.

During, the pouring down rain, him and the person who’d given the opportunity stood in the moonlight. This was the night where Sunghoon would meet his new profound fate.

The hallucinations given to him made tears well up in his eyes. He saw you in front of him, the same smile he adored. You simply walked over to him and rested a hand against his cheek, he melted into your touch as he moved his head to expose his neck even more.

“Bite me”

The words were faint and when the striking of the bite struck him, the illusion of you disappeared as well as his conscious. The next time he woke up, he could feel the agonizing sensation in his mouth, the sudden coldness of his skin and the unbearable pain in his neck with the creeping sensation of hunger.

He looked around the person was no where to be found, he was all alone in this world until he found you again. Then, it would be you and him in this world once again.

Sunghoon brought himself back and got up from his couch, he didn’t need to think about this anymore. He didn’t need to dwell on the past, he has you and he wouldn’t let harm go your way.

You broke night as you laid awake in your bed. You couldn’t seem to get the dream out of your head and you were fearful of what it could mean. There couldn’t be a possibility that you were falling for him, you’ve barely interacted with him.

You racked your brain, thinking it must be the gestures of walking you home. You settled on that thought but the more it sunk, the more it gnawed at your gut and it didn’t feel right.

You groaned and stared at your ceiling, you mumbled reassurance words to yourself and it was working until you heard the ringtone of your phone.

You grabbed your phone wondering who could be calling you at this hour but when you saw the contact, you nearly dropped your phone. You sat up straight against your headboard and looked at the call ringing.

What the hell was Sunghoon calling you at this hour? But before you could decided which course of action to take, the call disappeared and your lock screen showed one missed call from Sunghoon.

You decided to wait and see if he would try to call again but when you waited a few minutes, you didn’t receive anything. You thought it might have been a mistake, he didn’t mean to call you.

But as you rested your head against the pillow, you phone still at hand, you felt the urge to call him back. You weren’t going to give in and force yourself to sleep, but an eye always peeked open to check in case you get another other notification from Sunghoon.

When he realized what you doing, you gave up. You clicked onto his contact and called him, the line rang maybe once or twice but after the third ring, you heard his voice through your phone.

“What happened?” His voice was undeniably soft, you could practically feel the worry from the phone and the same thump against your chest happen

“Are you okay?” His asked again and you almost found your eyes closing shut from the comfort that took over

You hummed in the call as you made yourself comfortable in the bed.

“Sorry, it’s just that you called and I wondered what happened” You mumbled out and on the other line, Sunghoon almost felt his heart jump in glee

“I’m sorry, did it wake you?” You shook your head as if he could see you as you muttered no, he hummed at your answer and you almost said goodnight if he didn’t stop you

“You sound tired” You were, practically exhausted yet you couldn’t seem to sleep fall asleep but now on call with him you could feel the drowsiness take over

“Suddenly I am now” You yawned and you knew you were going to be out soon it’ll be best to end the call now

“Stay on the line” Your eyebrows furrowed hearing his suggestion, you scoffed and he heard that

He let out a soft chuckle but you managed to pick it up. You never heard him chuckle before and it sent a sensation to your chest.

“Why?”

“Just because” His reasoning almost made you laugh out but you simply rolled your eyes

“I don’t want to pay for a high phone bill” You told as you finger hovered over the ‘end call’ button but his next words made you stop

“I’ll pay for the expenses, so stay on the line” It was silent on your side, he waited for your response but when nothing he assumed you must have fallen asleep

And he was correct, you were fast asleep in your, phone in hand with Sunghoon on the other line. He chuckled to himself before resting his phone next to him.

“Goodnight…Love”

When you wake up, you notice you are in a bedroom just not yours. You got up from your bed and looked to your surroundings, it was another place you had no idea of. But the extricating pain in your head made you hold it and loudly groan, you heard rapid footsteps and in walked Sunghoon once again.

His gaze was filled with worry and he made his way over to you and laid you back in the bed.

“What are you doing up? Your fever hasn’t gone away” This Sunghoon was completely different from the one you know in reality

“Do you need anything?” His question had you melting in mere seconds and you had no clue why, you shook your head and looked around to your surrounding

“Where am I?” He looked at you confused and placed a hang on your cheek to check your temperature

You flinched once again and retracted his hands from you and sighed.

“You’re in your room and your fever still hasn’t passed so continue to rest okay? I’ll be outside if you need me” Sunghoon warmly smiled and was going to leave but you grabbed his wrist before he could leave

You didn’t know why you did that but you knew that you didn’t want to be alone in this moment. Regardless of not knowing him that well, Sunghoon was still a familiar face that you oddly felt comfortable around.

He smiled at your gestures and nodded his head. He took a seat on the floor next to your bed and intertwined your hands together. He rested his head against the bed in order to face you with a smile, you could feel the beating of your heart.

“What if you get sick too?” You mumbled and he practically scoffed at your words

“Then, we’ll just be sick together right love?”

You woke instantly back in your room and you could still practically feel the thumping of your heart against your chest. Your uneven breathing made you lightheaded, you don’t know what jolted you awake. Whether it was the sunlight shinning into your room or the mere mention of ‘love’ falling from Sunghoon’s lips.

All you know is this cannot go on any longer. You needed to figure out why you were startling to have these dreams about Sunghoon.

When you went to go pick up your phone from where you usually put it, you noticed it wasn’t there. You freeze before searching everywhere for it.

“Crap where the hell is my phone?” You muttered and then you hear the call out of your name, now you think you’re going crazy

You looked around still hearing the calls of your name and you tried your best to hear where it’s coming from. When you realized it was coming from your bed, you went over and moved your sheets around until you found your phone.

Your eyes were wide when you see the ongoing call of nine hours with Sunghoon who was still calling out to your name.

“Why didn’t you hang up once I fell asleep?” You asked Sunghoon and you heard the sigh of relief he let out

“Well good morning to you too” You scoffed before ushering him to answer the question

“Just because” Your eye nearly twitched in annoyance hearing the same answer he gave you last night

“You better pay for the expenses Sunghoon” You told and the chuckle that filled your ears made you look at your phone to make sure you were still talking to Sunghoon

“I already told you, I will so don’t worry” The prideful smirk was livid in your mind and that was enough for you to hang up the call with a final goodbye

Sunghoon: Let’s do it again tonight

You rolled your eyes at his message, to hell you would do it again.

You: Whatever

As Sunghoon was relaxing on his couch, the excitement of tonight keeping him up and energized. He knew the chances were slim that you would actually call or even answer his call, but he can have false hope couldn’t he?

He was going to watch a movie to kill time but when a letter was slipped under his front door, he froze. He knew of only one person that would do such a thing. He clenched his jaw and picked up the letter before ripping it open, he knew it was bound to happen but he still wanted more time.

‘I’ve seen you’ve gotten comfortable’

It was a simple sentence and it was more than enough to have him rip it up into pieces and throw it in the garbage. He landed onto the couch again, hand in hair, frustrated.

The person who turned him now mocks him in pity. There was a secret price to pay other than having his morality taken, in order for you and Sunghoon to live happily ever after.

You would need to willingly let yourself get bitten by Sunghoon. If you don’t, your unknowingly continuous fate will keep happening until you finally let him bite you. Sunghoon didn’t experience fear, but this was his biggest fear.

He didn’t want you to experience what previously happened to you, he would never be able to move on if he had to witness losing you all over again. But he didn’t want to strip you from your mortality just for a selfish desire of his.

You were his main priority and he will fulfill his destiny in protecting you for eternity.

The realization you had late at night is that for some reason, you cannot get a good night of sleep regardless of how exhausted you are unless you’ve talked to Sunghoon.

Now, you didn’t like this observation. You were able to rest before but now that he was starting to squeeze and meddle into your life, you can’t seem to keep your eyes shut.

It was already three in the morning and you weren’t going to call Sunghoon. You won’t give in, you’ll force yourself to fall asleep if you have to.

You brought the sheets closer and shuffled in your bed and closed your eyes. You were beyond comfortable and it should be enough to have you falling asleep.

Yet, when you woke up at five in the morning. The drowsiness was taking over you, you grew frustrated and you almost gave in. You had your phone in hand and all you needed to do was simply call him and you could get the sleep you’ve been longing for.

But you were stubborn. You threw your phone onto the nightstand, forcing yourself to go back to sleep. And with the success you were able to drift off into a proper sleep.

You finally thought you were getting rest but when you opened your eyes again, you were under the stars and moonlight. Your eyes looked around and you could see Sunghoon sleeping beside you, when you sat up, you noticed your hands that always seemed to be intertwined with each other.

Sunghoon shuffled around in his sleep before waking up. He saw you looking at him and he gave the smile you only see here, he sat up along with you.

“We must’ve fallen asleep, I hope we didn’t miss the meteor showers” And right when you were going to respond, in the corner of your eyes, you could see the falling stars passing you by

You were mesmerized, you had never experienced a meteor shower before. You were so emerged that you forgot about Sunghoon next to you, who didn’t even dare looking at the sky.

His gaze remained on you, seeing the glistening stars passing by through your eyes. He was mesmerized by you. His heart was pounding out of his chest, he had something important to tell you.

When he called out your name, you looked away from the sky and turned to face him. The loving smile he showcased made your heart thump into your chest.

“I love you”

You gasped as you woke up in the familiarity of your room. Your breathing being even more uneven than ever before, you felt like a weight was crushed onto you.

The simple three words were the now going to become the downfall of you. These dreams you’ve been experiencing had to have a meaning behind it, these weren’t dreams that come and go. They were constant and felt almost real, like you’ve experienced this before.

The solution? Going onto the internet and searching trying to figure out what these dreams could possibly mean. And after searching the web for a while, it always gave you same answer.

The reason why you were dreaming about Sunghoon constantly was because it was your subconscious mind telling you that he is important to you.

You felt confused, how could he be so important to you when you weren’t even important to him? You hummed trying to make sense of all of this, but hidden under all the confusion, was the warmth in your heart at the thought of him.

“You’re inviting me to your party?” You questioned through the phone, Sunghoon had called you just like how he always did

The progression of you answering his calls were slow but surely. The letter he received should’ve been the warning sign to not to close but he couldn’t help it anymore. You were here and he was going to protect you with the entirety of his life. He will make sure history never repeats itself.

“It’s not just a party, it’s my birthday party” You mentally rolled your eyes and he could feel it through the phone, he called you out but you denied

“It’s a personal invite, I would like for you to attend but you don’t have to if you don’t want to”

“I thought you didn’t interact with people” You questioned and you couldn’t hear the chuckle you were slowly getting used to when talking with him

“I don’t but every once in a while, it’s not so bad” You hummed and told him you’d ponder on the thought and to leave the information of the party

He hoped to see you at the birthday party, because if you were to show up. It would truly be the best birthday he’s had in such a long time.

You decided to go to the party, it wouldn’t hurt to just simply celebrate his birthday. When you arrived at the party, you didn’t expect it to be like this. Red color lights flashed through the house, the blaring song through the speakers, the crowds of people partying.

You expected it to be a rather small party considering Sunghoon doesn’t interact with many people, but seeing all the people in the house begged to differ.

You looked around in confusion as you pushed through the sea of people, you seemed lost until you found yourself in what seemed to be the living room. There were a few people sitting in the couch while others stood to converse with each other.

That’s when you found Sunghoon. He was talking with a group of people but the moment his eyes landed onto you, he brushed them off and went over to you.

You kindly smiled at him and you beyond surprise to see him give a light smile in return, normally he would wave or nod his head.

“You came” You were surprised you were able to hear his voice but you nodded your head and seemed to forget the gift bag you held

“You didn’t have to bring a gift” He motioned to the gift and you handed it to him before shrugging your shoulders

“It’s your birthday” He eagerly opened the bag and you found yourself trying to stop him but he managed to grab out the small box

“Oh come on, open it later” You muttered and the light smirk plastered on his was quick to leave before nodding his head and placing the box back in the bag

“Whatever you say” You rolled your eyes at him and just as the night started, Sunghoon stuck to your side like glue

Where you went, he was right next to you even though the party was hosted for him. Whenever people came up to him, he would greet them with a wave and thank them before turning his attention back onto you.

"Sunghoon this is your party, you have to enjoy it" You tried to usher him to talk to others who seemed to be waiting for him and his attention

“I am enjoying it, I’m with you” The same thumping in his chest made you blink rapidly for a moment, you still weren’t used to hearing those words leaving his mouth

Whenever he would say it on call, you could easily brush him off but in person, it was much harder to do so. When you looked to him, he still had his gaze on you.

“Sunghoon, we need to talk” You both looked to see a person grabbing him by the elbow and before he could even protest he was taken away

You could hear the faint ‘stay there’ and ‘I’ll be back’ from Sunghoon until he was out of your sight. You chuckled lightly and decided to focus on the party that still going on.

“What the hell are you doing? Why would you even invite her here?” He rolled his eyes at his friends words and shook the grasp off of him

“It’s my birthday, I can invite whoever the hell I want” His friend groaned seeing the control you had over him, he knew why Sunghoon was acting like this, he understood but he was also aware of the circumstances and consequences

“You better know what you’re doing, because already having her here is dangerous enough. Especially with the vampires and werewolves roaming around” His friend seethed through his teeth and Sunghoon was quick to shoot a glare

“No one will dare to go near her. Everyone knows better than to even try. But even so that’s why I need to get back to her”

“Keep the party active or shut it down, I don’t really care. I’m just going to be with her”

As you waited for his return, you could feel a gaze on you, you assumed it to be Sunghoon but when you turned to see a new face you raised an eyebrow.

When the person saw your face, you could see the color fade from his face. He tripped back on his feet as he stared at you with wide eyes, when he called out your name, you titled your head in confusion.

“I’m sorry do we know each other?” You could see the person gulped down before taking a step closer to you to examine your face

You stepped back to create some distant and you don’t know but it almost seemed like Sunghoon sensed your distress because he was quick to come to your side. Once he saw who it was, he was quick to grab your wrist and put you protectively behind him.

You were too caught up in the moment to feel the sensation of his ice cold hands around your wrist.

“Sunghoon” The wide-eyed person muttered, his eyes never leaving you

“I don’t think she knows you, so I suggest you leave” The tone was dangerously low, you could feel shivers run up your spine as the glare Sunghoon had in his eyes shocked you to the core

The person brought their hands up in defense and walked away. You could see the clench of Sunghoon’s jaw relax when the person was gone, he quickly faced you and it was the worry gaze that made you feel deja vu of the Sunghoon in your dreams.

“Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you right?” The change in his tone when it came to made your heart feel something you weren’t sure what it was

You shook your head and the shaky sigh of relief that came from him made your heart ache for some reason.

“Do you want to head upstairs? It’s much quieter over there and I can tell you don’t like this party” Sunghoon suggested and he wasn’t wrong, even though you were with him most of the night, your social battery was already gone

You nodded your head and offered his elbow for you to hold as he guided you upstairs but, you swatted it away before ushering him to take the lead. There was the same light smile on his face as he walked and you following behind him.

He still carried your gift in his hand and he was constantly checking to make sure you were still near him. When you were passing through the crowd of dancing people, you could feel the grip that wrapped around your wrist once again.

That was when you finally felt the cold sensation on your wrist again, when you pulled for a second Sunghoon immediately turned and looked around. You looked between him and his cold hands but you didn’t think much of it, you assumed he might have just been very cold.

You and Sunghoon were oblivious to the moment that happened as he was too caught up thinking you had pulled him because something had happened.

When he looked at you, you felt your heart drop before picking up in a face pace. You shook your head and he continued to guide you through and once you both had made it upstairs, a sense of relief washing over.

Sunghoon had brought you to what you assumed to his room, it was definitely spacious and there was few to nothing in his room. It was rather minimalistic that contradicted the size of his place.

You could practically hear the sigh of relief come from Sunghoon as he went over to rest on a chair in his room. You almost let out your giggle at his reaction, you knew parties weren’t his thing.

“Knew that you didn’t handle parties well” You told and for the first time in your reality, you saw the Park Sunghoon smile and chuckle at your words

Your eyes widen and you didn’t notice the stare you had on him until he awkwardly chuckled and shuffled in the chair and pointed you out on it.

“What is it something on my face?” He touched around his face, trying to dust off anything on it but you simply shook your head

“Oh no, it’s nothing don’t worry about it” You muttered and finally looked away from him and looked out the window that could perfectly show the moon and stars light up the dark night

You were suddenly brought back to the meteor shower you experienced in your dream. The loving gaze Sunghoon had for you, the intertwined hands, the mention of the three words.

Sunghoon seemed to notice the change in you as you looked at the moon and stars and for moment the flash in his memory made him looked at you. The longing in eyes pouring out of them, the gift that he once held now dropped onto the floor with a thud.

The thud was enough to knock you out of your daze and when you slowly turned to face him, you saw longing gaze on you.

He nervously gulped and you saw his eyes scanning your expression as you looked at him. You didn’t realize the teary eyes you had but Sunghoon did and he quickly got up from his chair and made his way over to you.

“What happened?” His voice was almost killingly soft, in that moment you couldn’t tell the difference between this Sunghoon and the one from your dream

They practically felt the same and you could feel the lump in your throat and the uneven breathing start to come back. The single tear drop that fell from your eyes was quickly wiped away by Sunghoon.

You blinked your eyes repeatedly feeling the cold sensation against your cheek from Sunghoon’s hand. You made a mental note to get him gloves to make sure his hands don’t freeze anymore.

His tense smile as he retracted his hand after wiping your tear. You could hear the shake in his breath and neither of you still realized just how closer you were.

Sunghoon’s mind ran wild. He remembered every memory he had with you, that would include seeing the meteor shower with you and it being the first time he told you, he loved you.

So seeing you stare outside and feel the shift in emotions made a slip of hope linger in his non-beating heart. Did you possibly remember? When you awkwardly coughed and wiped your eyes to get rid of the teariness look, he knew you didn’t.

It was just the spur of the moment that shook your heart. He took a few steps back before wandering his eyes around the room, the awkwardness that filled the both you was becoming unbearable.

So when he remembered about your gift, he quickly went back to where he dropped it and went to pick it up. When your gaze followed him and saw him picking it up, you felt the pounding of your heart.

“No don’t open it now” You felt embarrassed having him open the gift you got him in front of you, but the warm smile he had made you forget everything

As he softly opened the present, his eyes landed on what was inside of it, his heart dropped which he didn’t even know was possible considering his situation. He gently picked up the necklace and could the ‘S’ that dangled from it.

It was the same exact one you once gave him back then but instead of having your letter, it had his. His eyes trailed to you and you could see the teary look he had in his eyes.

You were so confused but when he suddenly got up and hugged you, you felt your body freeze. The soft sniffling that came from him, ached your heart terribly. He held you tightly as if he was afraid if he let go, he would lose you forever. You hesitantly wrapped your arms around and him to help ease his nerves that seemed to be going haywire.

After a while, he seemed to realize the situation and immediately peeled himself off of you, he quickly looked away and wiped the tears and then cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me”

Lies. He knew exactly what came over him, it was the love he had for that rose from the hidden corner of his still heart.

“Are you okay?” Your worried voice soft on his ears that he felt like no time had passed between the two of you, his smile was bright and it did something to your heart making it flip over and over again

He nodded his head before taking a seat back into the chair, he looked at you and unhooked the necklace trying to put it on. But as he kept failing miserably, you chuckled before making your way over to him.

“May I?” When he looked at you, he got deja vu

He couldn’t put on the necklace back then and he still couldn’t put it on till this day. And you had to come to his rescue and help him. He smiled and handed you the necklace, when you gently picked it up and placed it around his neck, making sure the ‘S’ dangled properly.

When you clipped the necklace, his hand unconsciously went to touch it and looked down onto it. His warm smile never leaving his face as he simply admired the necklace.

“For some reason, I thought of you when I saw it and I realized it’d be a perfect gift” You muttered and when his gaze shifted to you, still holding the necklace in his grasp he smiled

“I love it. I’ll cherish it for an eternity” His words felt like it held truth to it, your heart fluttered in your chest as you openly smiled at him and simply nodded your head

“I’ll hold you to your words, make sure to keep it” You could see his fingers crossing over his heart and you rolled your eyes

“Cross my heart”

You groggily opened your eyes and took a deep breath. When you saw the surrounding, you sat up with haste. You were in a bed but you recognized to still be in Sunghoon’s room yet there was no trace of him.

Your recollection of what happened finally came to you and you let out a sigh of relief. You remember mentioning to Sunghoon that you were feeling somewhat tired and he offered to take you back to your place.

But you rejected as this was his birthday party after all, you wouldn’t possible let him walk you home and take him away from the party. The amount of times he reassured you, he didn’t care if left the party was uncountable.

Yet, you still told him you would be fine but when he suggested an alternative which was that you rest in here until the party was over and he would take you home.

You didn’t reject the offer and you had to admit that sleep must’ve been the best sleep you’ve gotten in ages. You felt energized and relaxed as if you could take on anything that was thrown your way.

Your theory that you slept better whenever you talked with him seemed to be true. You noticed the blaring music that once played was now long gone, you could hear a few voices talking through the silence.

You got up from the bed and slowly grabbed your shoes that were neatly set next to the bed. When you put them on, you went out of the room and tried to look for Sunghoon.

When the voice of Sunghoon filled your ears, you made your way downstairs but your footsteps seemed to have been picked up. When you reached halfway through the staircase, you looked and there stood Sunghoon and a few other people you’ve seen around campus.

Your beating heart soon stopped and dropped to the pit of your stomach. Your uneven breathing was the only thing heard throughout the silence of the house, you could see Sunghoon’s wide eyed expression as he saw you.

His fangs were openly exposed as he and another person held a tight grasp on each other. You recognized the person to be the one who approached you when Sunghoon was away. The person’s hand or you would saw claw was raised ready to attack Sunghoon.

“Y-you’re awake?” Sunghoon’s voice was fearful as he soon let go of the person’s collar, his eyes that were once brown are now blood red looked at you, his fangs popping through with the two words he spoke

He hesitantly walked over to the staircase but you stumbled backwards as you tried to step back and get distant between the two of you. Sunghoon froze and felt his the cracking and shatter of his heart, he swore if it was still beating, it would have stopped in this moment.

Your eyes tried to analyze the situation, the claw of the person who stood still looking at you, the fangs and red eyes of Sunghoon. It was enough for the tension to rise even higher. The fear that set the atmosphere was suffocating, you felt you were losing your mind.

You quickly got up from the staircase and rushed down as fast as you could. The calls of your name coming from Sunghoon would have normally made your heart beat faster but it only made your stomach churn.

You rushed out the house and ran as fast as you could. The burning of your lungs made you want to stop but you couldn’t seem to. You ran until you made it to the safety of your home before locking your door shut.

Your breathing was heavy as you rested against your front door. You tried your best to make sense of the situation but whatever logical sense you tried to piece with it didn’t make any sense.

Sunghoon’s red blood eyes, his fangs that were so prominent, the ice cold feeling of his skin.

You slid down against the door as you looked into oblivion. This whole time you didn’t believe in mystical creatures, yet, they existed and you even brefriend one.

To hell, you ended up falling for a damn vampire. You didn’t want to believe the realization that settled in your heart.

You should’ve know that it was strange how Sunghoon started to wiggle into your life like nothing after finding you that night. You thought you were smart but he made you look so damn naive.

“Sunghoon…” His friend tried to come up to him but he was quick to shove him away as he fretted with too many emotions in him

“Fuck” He mumbled under his breath and when he could see the person who approached you come near him, his anger took over

“Sunghoon no!” He was losing rationality in his mind, your fearful expression as you looked at him clouded his mind

“What is stopping me from sucking my damn teeth into you? Huh?” He asked the person in his grasp and he looked at Sunghoon with pity in his eyes

“Don’t look at me with those damn eyes, you tried to justify your actions years ago and I never forgave you. What made you think it was okay to show up to my party? To even think about approaching her” Sunghoon seethed through his fangs

“I told you I live with regret every single day for decades for what I did to her!”

“Seeing her again, erupted the emotions in me again and I couldn’t just believe she was right there before my eyes” The person yelled and tried to get out of Sunghoon’s grasp but he didn’t let go, his grasp only grew tighter

“She didn’t deserve it, you took her away” Sunghoon spoke the truth, the person in his grasp was the reason why you were taken so soon

He was the person who made him take the decision in giving his mortality in order to wait and protect you for eternity. Sunghoon wanted to protect you from ever experiencing history again.

“I didn’t mean to do it” The person’s voice softened and Sunghoon shook his head, he was losing it

“But you did it. You can’t and you won’t take her away again, I will never allow you. For eternity, she is under my protection”

When you opened your eyes, you realized you were in the darkness of a living room. Even though the room had a feel a familiarity to it, you had no idea where you were. The setting was rather eerie and the make matters worse, you seemed to be by yourself.

You could the nerves settling in your heart and you could feel the uncomfortable pounding of your heart against your chest. Something wasn’t right.

When you heard a phone, you looked to your side and once you saw the contact and your heart dropped. The contact that displayed as the call continued made your senses become overwhelmed.

‘Sunghoon <3’

He was calling you and as your hand hesitantly picked it up your phone and answer the call, you were suddenly met with darkness. The grasp you once had on your phone fell in the process.

Sunghoon called out to you multiple times and when he got no response he could feel his gut twist with unease. When the call hung up on its own, that was more than enough for him to know something wasn’t right.

Sunghoon kept calling and texting your phone for you to respond. He was frantic as he rushed over to your house and just when he was a block away, you could see and hear the sirens.

His heart dropped as his mind raced with thoughts, he prayed for you to be okay. As he rushed over, he was stopped by people and he tried to push them away trying to get to you once he realized the sirens were directly at your place.

The people around started crying and wailed to him when they realized he had arrived. He tried to decipher the words leaving their mouth. But when he did, his world came hurling down to crash.

His eyes went over to your place with wide eyes as they soon begin to fill with tears. He felt the life drain out of him. You were found in your house after a neighbor complained about the noise from your place. His once happy beating heart now shattered at the realization that you were gone.

Park Sunghoon lost you and soon enough he lost himself.

You woke up on your couch with a harsh gasp, your eyelids puffy and heavy from all the crying you did earlier that day. You tried to recollect the dream (if you could even call it that) you experienced.

Soon, a raging headache came crashing down and you held your head in agony. You were breathing heavily trying to calm your nerves but the headache only became worse.

You were witnessing memories flashing before your eyes. Memories you had never experienced before and seen ever your life. Emotions you didn’t even know that could rest in your heart, now rose to the surface.

You were oblivious to the soft knocking on your front door. As you now groaned in pain of the headache and heartache you were experiencing.

Flashes of you and Sunghoon together caught your attention. It was the Sunghoon that you saw from your “dreams” and now it was supposed to be reality.

The dreams you experienced were memories from who knows where. Your eyes looked around trying to make sense of what was happening, the ringing in your eyes didn’t help in the slightest.

You were feeling numb to everything around that you the soft knocks on your door were now becoming banging against it.

The ringing of your doorbell was drowned out by the last memory to flash in your mind. The breath you let out was short and came out as a shutter, the tears spilling from your eyes.

Your door was suddenly burst opened and in walked a worried and heaving Sunghoon. Your eyes shot to him and you could feel the breath get knocked out of you. You stared agape at him.

Sunghoon knew he shouldn’t have done that but when you weren’t responding to your phone and now weren’t answer your door, fear settled into his heart.

The fear that he failed his sole purpose in life again.

But as he scanned around your place and saw you on the coach staring at him, your tears staining your face and the heaviness of your breathing. His heart broke at the scene.

You were quick to stumble over your feet and made your way over to him. Sunghoon expected for you to push him, punch him, yell at him, practically let out all of your emotions onto him.

But when you tightly hugged him, he was shocked. He didn’t expect this. But when you cried against him and hearing your cries made his heart drop, he was quick to hug you back to soothe you.

He whispered sweet nothings into your ears in order to help you but it only seemed to make it worse. Your hold on him only got tighter with each word told to you.

The mumbles of his name coming from your mouth made it seem like you were calling out to him even though he was right in front of you.

“What did you do to yourself?” When you ripped yourself away from Sunghoon to look at his eyes with your teary ones he looked at you in pure confusion

“My hoonie” The nickname that left your mouth made his knees weak and give out on him, he tumbled to the ground as he felt like he couldn’t breathe

“What did you say?” He muttered not believing his ears, he believed none of this was real, that his mind was simply playing tricks on him

The shaky smile that formed on your face made Sunghoon realize everything. His shaky hands hovered over your cheek as his own tears filled his eyes.

He shook his head not believing it but when his cold hands touched the warmth of your cheek, he knew this was all real. It came crashing down onto him and the smile he showed was enough to have you crying again.

Sunghoon brought you into his embrace as the two of cried in each other’s arms.

“You’re such an idiot. I would’ve found you. You didn’t have to turn into a vampire” Sunghoon’s chuckle vibrated throughout your bedroom as he had an arm around you

He finally told you everything from the day you left him till now. It was a lot to catch up but you were more than happy to hear him and to simply be in his presence. But you were upset to know he gave his mortality in the process.

“I wanted to wait for you, and I’m glad I did. It was the best decision I ever made” Your scoff was enough for the smile on Sunghoon’s face to get brighter, you remember rarely seeing his smile but now it seems like an automatic with you

As he shuffled around your bed, you didn’t fail to notice the bracelet on his wrist. You softly held his wrist, the coldness that once made you question him no longer phased you.

Sunghoon was surprised but when he saw looking at his wrist, he let you admire it.

“You kept it after all this time” Your voice was soft as you examined the necklace now turned bracelet with the first letter of your name in the middle

“Of course. It’s one of the three most prized possession of mine”

“What’s your other two?” Sunghoon grabbed onto the necklace you gave for his birthday

“This and you” His last word made your heart flutter against your chest and you proudly to accept it

You were bound to accept Sunghoon into your heart, so there was nothing other than to allow him into your life just like how he once was in.

While for Sunghoon, he was beyond over the moon. He swore his still heart fluttered against his chest as he looked at you and had you in his presences again.

“You know, what I noticed” This perked his interest and raised an eyebrow towards you

“You still have the habit of holding my hand” You lifted the intertwined hands and you could find Sunghoon coughing awkwardly

He tried to let go of your head and gave him a confused look as you still held tightly onto his head.

“I just pointed it out, doesn’t mean I don’t like it” You giggled and Sunghoon was quick to lay beside you once again

“I’ve missed you so much” He muttered and you contently sighed, you were pleased, happy that this was how your life is

“I’m sorry it took me so long” You apologized and Sunghoon was quick to shake his head, he rubbed his thumbs against your hand in comfort

“Doesn’t matter how long it is, I will always wait for you”

It was inevitable that you and Sunghoon naturally became closer. Everyday he was at your home from early in the morning to late at night, there were times where you had to kick him out but he didn’t want to leave.

So he ended up sleeping on your coach and you would wake up to hear your fire alarm going on. You would quickly rush to see what’s going on, only to find Sunghoon with burnt food on a plate.

He would cheekily smile and tell you breakfast is served. The efforts made your heart warm but the execution still needed a little more work.

As you and Sunghoon watched a movie, you excused yourself for a moment. While you were away, he paused the movie and waited for your return.

But when a letter slipped under your front door, his eyes widen. He quickly got up from your couch and hastily grabbed the letter and ripped it open.

‘Tic Toc’

Sunghoon crumbled the paper before shoving it into his pocket. When he sat back down onto the couch, his leg bounced, his eyes scanning the area.

He was too caught up in the moment that he seemed to have forgotten the hidden truth of reality. He was beginning to grow anxious and frustrated, his flipped his hair backwards in order to help himself calm down but it wasn’t working.

When he checked the date on his phone, he could the lump in his throat. That’s why the letter was sent, it was one week from now where Sunghoon would have to make his decision.

Whether to allow you to face your unwritten fate or for you to allow him to bite you. Neither of which he wanted to do but there didn’t seem to be an inbetween.

But there had to be a way in order for you to beat your fate, for you to live. And he was going to try everything in his power in order to make sure you did. Regardless of what needed to be done, if it meant having you stay.

Sunghoon will be prepared to give up everything just for you.

“No Sunghoon, are you crazy?” Indeed he was, it was t-minus three days until the choice had to be made and he’s been working in search of another ultimatum

And in which he did find one, but it involved a route he wasn’t sure how it would unfold. Yet, he was willing to do it however his friends beg to differ.

“You need to think this thoroughly. How do you know there won’t be another variable involved once it’s too late” His friend tried to reason with him but he simply shook his head

“There can’t be. It’s a soul giving up its entirety. It’s either fair or fair”

“Sunghoon in case you forgot, you’re already non-living. You truly believe you will be chosen over her?” His friend’s word held truth but at the same time his reasoning was the only way

“I’ll make sure I am” Sunghoon was determined, he’s always had been and he will always be

He did tell himself, for eternity you will be under his sworn protection. If he had to give up everything in order for you stay, he will do it in a heartbeat.

The wager involved instead of you having to face either of the consequences in which you weren’t even aware of. Sunghoon would replace you, he would replace his fate for yours.

But in doing so, he and you will seize to forget about each other. Only time could tell whether your paths would ever cross again.

It was a painful reality for him but this was the love a vampire had for a human being.

Today was the day. Sunghoon had wanted to spend his last day with you in happiness. He wanted for you to remember the remaining moments of him in your memories to be happy rather than sad.

So he had decided to create a special day, which he called ‘the anniversary’. It was corny but you didn’t mind at all, rather you found it endearing. Under all the facade he tried to put up, he was still the same Sunghoon you once fell in love with decades ago.

The day the two of you went to an open field. It would only be the two of you, just like how it used to be. It made you happy to know that after all this time separated from each other, you both were still the same.

With the fresh pile of snow that rested on the ground made the day seem nearly close to perfect. Even though, the cold didn’t bother him in the slightest, he still pretend to be affected by when you threw snow at him.

It was just the way you smiled brightly in success of ‘getting him’ that made him keep up the act, just to hear your laughter.

But when the snow softly grazed your skin, you were quick to shutter from the coldness and you always glared at Sunghoon when he dared to laugh and mock your reaction.

As you and Sunghoon walked the area, you didn’t realize the pictures he was taking of the scenery with you in it. It was only when you turned around at the call of your name is when you noticed the picture he took.

You groaned and motioned for him to delete but once it was on his phone, it will forever stay there. Your attempts in trying to get the photo deleted were in vain. You given up knowing Sunghoon was just as stubborn as you were.

So to make it fair, you secretly took a photo of him admiring the scenery. Yet, the photo was perfect. He was looking at the sunsets, his back faced towards you but you were still able to get a slight angle of his side profile.

“The sunset is beautiful, isn’t it?” You finally looked up from the picture you took to admire it and he wasn’t wrong

The sky was casted with a pink and orange tone that melted into each other. When you were beside him, Sunghoon was quick to intertwine your hands together. The coldness you felt against your warmth reminded you of the reality. He was a vampire and you were a human, but you didn’t care.

He was Park Sunghoon at the end of the day. He was the one you will forever love, regardless of what’s to come. You would put up with anything in order for him to always be with you.

The comfortable silence that rested between the two of made Sunghoon forget the day. That was until he felt a striking pain in his abdomen, causing him to lose his balance.

His hand still held yours as his free one rested above where the pain was settling.

“Sunghoon what’s going? Are you okay?” Your worried tone made him feel upset, but he tried to remain as positive as he could, he needed to for you

“I’m fine. I just need to rest” He muttered before letting his body fully collapse to the ground, you were quick to catch him into your arms

“No you’re not fine!” You stated the obvious and you were quick to wrap his arm around your shoulder, you needed to get back as soon as possible

“I’m doing this for you” His statement made you freeze and you faced him with hesitating eyes

“What did you do..?” You muttered as the same uneasy feeling settled into your gut

“Made sure you got to live” Sunghoon’s weak smile was all you needed before tears welled up in your eyes

“God damn it Park Sunghoon, what the hell did you do?!” Sunghoon’s hands cupped your cheek before brushing away the unknowing falling tears from your eyes

“It’s better me than you, I wouldn’t be able to bear knowing that I lost you all over again”

“But I have to bear losing you? How is this fair?”

“Because you won’t remember” When you heard his justifying answer, your heart stopped as you stared at him

“What do you mean I won’t remember?” Sunghoon smiled warmly before creasing your cheek with his ice cold hands, everytime he felt your warmth he could feel his own body on fire

“In order for us to have this dreading “happily ever after” you’ve needed to allow me to bite you and if not, you would have to face your fate of being taken away again”

“But luckily I found an alternative, in where you get to live with no worries”

“I promised to always protect you no matter where I am, so I was always be by your side” His weak chuckle made your grow frustrated at him

“That’s not the same, I need to have you here with me. I’ll have to live without you and I know I can’t experience that again”

“Bite me Sunghoon” His eyes widen and weakly shook his head no, over his dead body would he ever bite you and strip you away from your very mortality

“I’m allowing you to bite me, so do it!” Your tears stained your face as you showed your neck to Sunghoon, you rather be a vampire with him and spend eternity with him than having to experience losing him

“I love you”

The three words made you feel like sobbing. It didn’t feel like how ‘I love you’ should feel like, rather it felt like a goodbye. It felt like you and Sunghoon were saying goodbye to your eternal love.

“Don’t say that to me now Sunghoon. Tell me that later okay?” You mumbled through a sad chuckle and you could see the little efforts he tried to sit up

You helped him sit up and with the little strength he had left, he brought you into his arms. You could feel your sobs slowly let out as you wrapped your arms tightly around him.

“I love you. I’ll always love you”

“For the rest of eternity, I will always love you. I promise to find you again” You sobbed against him as you nodded your head at his words

“I love you too, so please don’t go” You mumbled, you knew it was too late but you still had a shiver of hope that your wishes would be answered

“Bye bye… My love” Sunghoon faint voice filled your ears and before you knew it, his arm that once wrapped around you fell, and be was gone right before your eyes

As you looked to where Sunghoon once was, you could see the necklace and bracelet he wore laid in front of you. You chocked out a sob as you shakily picked up the jewelry. You brought it to your heart as the tears fell from your eyes never seemed to stop.

You cried were loud, you looked around hoping for Sunghoon to appear in front of you just like he always does.

But when there was no sign of him other than the jewelry in your hands, you completely utterly broke. You started sobbing loudly, no longer caring if anyone could even hear you. The hiccups that rippled out of you filled the open land, you covered your mouth trying to muffle your sobs but it only made them louder.

You shook your head rigidly, you couldn’t admit it.

“Bring him back to me” You mumbled into your hands as you hoped the universe would possibly hear your desires and bring him back to you

Why couldn’t he simply bite you? If you were able to spend eternity with him, you would be the happiest person alive. So why didn’t he just bite you?

Your body shook from all the crying but soon it stopped. You pulled your hands away from your face and saw the tears that covered them. You were confused and looked at your surrounding trying to piece where you were.

You touched your face to feel the wetness from your tears. You began to wipe your face rid of the tears and that’s when you noticed the jewelry that dangled from your hands. You saw the necklace that had a ‘S’ dangling from it while the bracelet had your letter on it.

You tried to think as hard as you could but you didn’t know anyone with the letter ‘S’ in their name. You were even more confused on why you were crying and where you were.

You don’t remember coming out all this way and that worried you, you pulled out your phone and that’s was when you saw a photo you don’t even remember taking.

It was of the sunset that still painted the sky but there was a person in the frame. You couldn’t see their face but only see the side of it, who was this? You looked around trying to find anyone near by but there didn’t seem to be any

You looked back at the picture and seemed drawn to it. The scenery is just stunning and you couldn’t seem to get your mind off of it.

“The sunset is beautiful, isn’t it?” You muttered not knowing who you were speaking for

This was the happily ever after that resides in you and Sunghoon’s fate. The fate of a fated love between a vampire and human.

Unknown when the paths would cross again or if they even will cross again. It seems to be a play of chance in whether you and Sunghoon could meet again.

And possibly fulfill the happily ever after you both will always long for eternity.

As you rushed to your class, you could only hope to make it on time. You parents were going to beyond furious if you were late to class again. You could feel the burn in your lungs as you ran but that didn’t stop you, until you rushed into class.

Your friends immediately dragged you to the desk and just as you sat down the bell rang. You heaved in relief before laying your head down onto your desk.

You could hear the classroom door open but you didn’t dare to lift your head, already too exhausted in trying to make it to class on time. You could hear the murmurs from your classmate but it didn’t peak your interest.

That was until you heard the mention of your name to which you shot up from your desk and acted like you were paying attention. You were trying to register what was going on but once you realized there was already a person taking a seat next to you.

All eyes were on the two of you and when you looked to your side, you saw a face you have never seen before. You examined the face and the person seemed to have noticed because he turned his gaze onto you.

“Do I have something on my face?” He asked as he touched his face but you merely shook your head and focused your attention to the teacher

You could hear the light chuckle beside you until you heard a light tapping on your desk. When you look down, you saw a note being slid onto your desk, you look to see the person next to you smile briefly at you before looking to the front of the class.

‘Hi, I’m Park Sunghoon.

P.S- I like your bracelet with the letter in the middle, it’s nice’

Kinktober 2023 Teaser

Werewolf!Sanemi x F!Red Riding Hood Reader

Hehehe

“Wolf,” Your breaths were jerky and short though your voice remained firm. “Touch me again.”

A low growl reverberated from Sanemi’s throat, his fingers digging into the plush of your thigh, though you could not tell whether it was out of his wavering restraint or mounting desire.

When he did not move his hands, you bucked your hips against his, pushing against his groin in impatient demand.

Your name fell from his lips, choked and guttural. “If you keep doing that,” he ground out through clenched teeth. “I will not be able to stop myself.”

Your lips grazed the vein protruding in his neck, savoring the way it thrummed under your touch. The sharpened tips of Sanemi’s nails — his claws — bit into the skin on your hip as he snarled against your neck.

You only smirked at his fraying restraint. “Then don’t.”

@monster-october-kny-2023

Firsts & Lasts

Boss! Al Haitham x Employee! F!Reader (Modern Au) 

- random fic that i concocted cause i couldn’t get the concept out of my head 

Al-Haitham breaks all workplace rules for his favorite employee

Warnings: NSFW, slight jealousy/possessiveness, mentions of clubs + threats (not at reader)

As much as Al Haitham wishes to deny it, your presence always seems to draw his attention no matter the situation. 

The click clacks of your heels descending the stairs immediately disrupts his usually unwavering focus as he forces himself to read the first line of his email for the second time. Unfortunately, his brain is once again distracted by how he knows that you are approaching from behind. Knows that if he turns around, he’ll see you in your green bartender uniform with the logo of his bar printed right above your right breast. 

And for some absurd reason, the uniform, despite being intended to make you look professional, instead makes you look like you just stepped out the page of a 1950 pin up girl magazine. Smart and professional is the last thing that anyone would use to describe your current attire. A spark of annoyance oozes down his spine when he catches himself thinking of you, and he hasn’t even actually seen you yet. 

Seguir leyendo

Firsts & Lasts

Boss! Al Haitham x Employee! F!Reader (Modern Au) 

- random fic that i concocted cause i couldn’t get the concept out of my head 

Al-Haitham breaks all workplace rules for his favorite employee

Warnings: NSFW, slight jealousy/possessiveness, mentions of clubs + threats (not at reader)

As much as Al Haitham wishes to deny it, your presence always seems to draw his attention no matter the situation. 

The click clacks of your heels descending the stairs immediately disrupts his usually unwavering focus as he forces himself to read the first line of his email for the second time. Unfortunately, his brain is once again distracted by how he knows that you are approaching from behind. Knows that if he turns around, he’ll see you in your green bartender uniform with the logo of his bar printed right above your right breast. 

And for some absurd reason, the uniform, despite being intended to make you look professional, instead makes you look like you just stepped out the page of a 1950 pin up girl magazine. Smart and professional is the last thing that anyone would use to describe your current attire. A spark of annoyance oozes down his spine when he catches himself thinking of you, and he hasn’t even actually seen you yet. 

Seguir leyendo

god, you're annoying | l.hs

synopsis → ever since you and heeseung have come into each others' lives, he has been asking you out and flirting with you nonstop. for years, the cycle of him confessing his feelings to you and you rejecting every single one of his advances seems as though it has gone on forever. being fed up, you develop a plan to pretend as though you already have a boyfriend (spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well). after years of continuously trying to get heeseung off of your radar, you just can’t seem to get rid of him and suddenly (to your surprise), you find yourself not being bothered as much by his presence.

feat. → yeonjun (txt), yunjin (le sserafim), beomgyu (txt), minjeong (aespa), jake (enhypen), sunghoon (enhypen), jay (enhypen)

genre → university AU, enemies to lovers, romance, smut

pairing → nonidol!heeseung x fem!reader

warnings → MDNI, kinda long but bear w me pls

w.c. → 9k

disclaimer!! → any other idols mentioned in this story (that I portray are dating) i do not ship irl; this story is a work of fiction a.k.a. something derived from my delusions and imagination, take this story lightly pls and thx.

!!DO NOT COPY OR REPOST!!

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Everyday you walk onto campus and make sure you avoid eye contact with a “certain someone” and even though the outcome always remains the same, you still hope that one day it will actually make a difference. Unfortunately for you, on your campus, there is only one way to get to your morning class which makes this “certain someone” rather happy to know that you practically have to see him everyday. Although you try your best, he never fails to call out your name, even if you try hiding behind other people; he can spot you from a mile away. This, you find to be annoying. He, however, looks forward to this moment every day because what other reason is there to get up early in the morning if it means he doesn’t get to see you?

You hear him call after you as you try to quickly make your way to your first class which, luckily for you, does not include him. You can hear his footsteps hurrying towards you making you break out into a light jog to your classroom door that is just ahead. You reach for the door handle and open it just enough to let yourself in and as you are about to close it behind you, a hand from the other side stops you, forcing it back open enough for you to be face-to-face with the one and only bane of your existence: Lee Heeseung.

He gives you a cocky smile receiving an eye roll from you as you can already hear his irritating voice begin to say a bunch of sentences and words that you couldn’t care any less about because you couldn’t care any less about him. Heeseung is fully aware about how you feel about him and although some most of his actions are–-yes, he’ll admit–-advertently creepy, he means no harm. You, of course, don’t see it that way, but that doesn’t stop him. 

“You didn’t hear me calling your name?” he asks, knowing that you did and also knowing that you ignored him, but he just wants to hear any snarky reply you have because that’s the only time when you actually acknowledge his presence. 

“Nope, must’ve missed it.” you say in a fake sympathetic tone. 

He lets out a “hmm” and you mock him. He smirks, leaning a little closer to you. You would move away, but then you figured he might take that as his chance to open the door more, so you decide to stay put. 

“I was just wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner with me. There is this restaurant that my family and I only go to on special occasions and I think you’ll really like it.”

There it is, him asking you to the same stupid restaurant that you have said no to many (and you mean many) times before. You know what restaurant he is talking about, some way overpriced place that only really rich people go to. You clenched your jaw as your hand gripped the edge of the door a little tighter. He smiled at you, which you thought was him being smug, but rather it was him anticipating your answer. He meant what he said and he just wants to be given a chance to show you how much he likes you. 

Him asking you out to this restaurant, always offering to buy your lunch, pay for your snacks, or buy you some other object just felt as him rubbing his money in your face, making all of his attempts seem as though they are a joke; that you are a joke. Ever since middle school, when you and Heeseung had first met, he made his “crush” on you apparent, which all of the other kids found to be funny and ridiculous. You know he doesn’t actually like you and you hate him for still acting like this even though you both are now grown adults and not eleven year old children who still ride in the car with their parent on their way to school everyday. 

“Well, if you think I’ll like it, then I’ll surely hate it.” you reply.

“You’re only saying that be-”

“No, Heeseung, I will not go out with you and for the last time: stop bothering me.” you say sternly.

You scowl at him and he can’t help but find you to be adorable. He knows you’re annoyed by him, but there isn’t anyone else he would rather spend his time with other than you, even if his only way to spend time with you is by pestering you constantly. 

“I’m just going to ask you again tomorrow.” he says with a smile.

You knew he wasn’t joking about that and that made your blood begin to boil. You hated having to be bothered by him, you hated feeling like a joke, you hated seeing his stupid face everyday, and you hated how it seems like he doesn't even care. You have to put a stop to this, you simply can’t take it anymore. But how? You’ve tried everything, what other way could there possibly be? Then it clicked. You stood up straighter, looking him directly in his eyes. He found himself a little taken aback by your sudden eye contact, but didn’t want to show it; to show how you make him flustered and blush just by simply looking at him.

“Heeseung, I have a boyfriend.” you say, trying not to smile.

You don’t know how you didn’t think of this before, but you’re overjoyed that the idea finally came. His smile drops–for a split second–as he felt the wind practically get knocked out of him like someone had just suckerpunched him in the gut. You were bluffing, you had to be…right?

“Pfft, I don’t believe you.” he says, letting go of the door, only to cross his arms and lean against the doorframe.

You feel your face become hot as you stand your ground, “And what exactly makes you say that?”

“I’ve never seen you with your “boyfriend”.” he says, making air quotes.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t have one.”

“Well it surely doesn’t mean that you do.”

“I know you stalk me because you have nothing better to do with your life, but that doesn’t mean you know what I do every second of the day.”

He shrugs his shoulders, not buying a word that you are saying. He keeps telling himself that you are lying, but what if that small percentage of possibility actually means you are telling the truth? He doesn’t want to think about that, he has to believe that you are lying.

“Okay, what’s his name, then?” he asks, confident that you won’t have an answer.

Shit. How do you answer that? You try not to show your worry in your expression and quickly try to come up with an answer. You open your mouth to speak, hoping the words that do end up coming out make sense.

“Yeonjun.” you reply.

Well, you said a name and that’s all that counts. Sure, it’s the name of your best friend’s boyfriend, but she won’t mind if you use him for a lie…right? Now it’s Heeseung’s turn for him to clench his jaw. He scoffs, rolling his eyes before looking back at you.

“Then how come I’ve never seen you with him on campus?”

“Because he goes to another school, idiot.”

“How did you two meet?”

“Through my best friend; they go to school together.”

You could see him become more annoyed with your answers as you tried to say them with as much confidence as possible. 

“I still don’t believe you.” he says, less certain of what he is saying than before.

You’re so close and you know it, you just need to say something that will make him back-off once and for all.

“I’ll have him bring me to school tomorrow.” you said, now being the one to cross your arms as you smiled smugly.

Heeseung felt his blood run cold, terror now coursing through his veins. Were you actually telling the truth? He didn’t want to see you with some other guy, most definitely not someone who you are claiming to be your boyfriend. The thought made him both upset and annoyed. What do they have that he doesn’t? He’s the one who has been trying to show how much he likes you for years now and some rando comes in and sweeps you off of your feet? Over his dead body.

“Okay,” he says while standing up from leaning on the door, “I can’t wait to see you and a bunch of air walk into school tomorrow.”

“You still think I’m lying?”

He shrugs his shoulders, looking away before looking back at you.

“I just find it hard to believe.”

“That I have a boyfriend?”

“You could say that.”

Man, you couldn’t wait to prove him wrong (even though he is technically right). You fake laugh at his reply and stop as you grab his hand. He feels butterflies erupt in his stomach from your sudden contact and is so distracted that he isn’t even paying attention to what you are doing, which is putting his hand on the door frame. You plaster on a fake smile before quickly swinging the door shut. He snaps out of his daze and moves his hand out of the way just in time before it could have been smashed by the door. 

-

Beomgyu didn’t think to even hold back his laughter once the words left your mouth and although the music in the club was blaring through the speakers, you could still hear his piercing voice. The others, however, were a little more surprised to hear what you had said, especially Yunjin and Yeonjun. You had a guilty smile on your face as you exchanged glances between the two and then Yeonjun scoffed. He raised his glass in a ‘cheers’ manner and Yunjin slapped his shoulder.

“It’s honestly not that bad of a plan,” Minjeong says, trying to defuse the tension, “Yunjin, you know better than any of us here how badly this guy bothers her.”

Yunjin sighs before she chugs the rest of her drink from her cup. “You can borrow my boyfriend on one condition: it doesn’t go too far.” She says, pointing between you and Yeonjun. 

You both look at each other and cringe. Yeonjun puts his arm around Yunjin and she smiles. He kisses her temple, “As if that would ever happen.”

“So how exactly are you going to convince him?” Yunjin asks.

You chug the rest of your drink, wincing as the alcohol burns your throat. “Is it cool if Yeonjun takes me to school tomorrow? I was thinking all he has to do is walk me to my class and just essentially tell Heeseung to back off.”

“He’s not going to do it unless he believes it.” Beomgyu points out as he leans back into the booth.

“He’s right, him walking you into school isn’t going to be enough to convince him; he sounds persistent.” Minjeong agrees.

“The most he is allowed to do is kiss you on the cheek to make it believable, but that’s it.” Yunjin says looking at Yeonjun to make sure he understands.

“I don’t get a say in whether or not I agree to this?” Yeonjun asks, looking at everyone, but landing on you.

“No.” the rest of you say in unison.

He laughs before finishing his drink. “Okay. I’ll pick you up at seven thirty.”

-

Even as Yeonjun pulls his motorcycle to a stop in front of your campus, he can still feel your fingernails practically digging into his stomach. 

He lifts up the visor on his helmet, “Can you please stop trying to claw your way into my intestines?”

You let go of him all together and he lets out the breath that he has been holding in. 

“Sorry.” you say, it sounding muffled under the helmet. He smiles, taking off his helmet after getting off the bike. He sets his helmet down and holds out his hand for you to take. You take it, him helping you off, before he helps you take off the helmet. “Thanks.” you say and he shrugs his shoulders as a reply. 

He glances over his shoulder, noticing people looking at him and you, whispering. “So, which one is the stalker?” he asks, trying to be discreet.

You turn your head to look, not seeing Heeseung anywhere, oddly enough. You scoff, “The one day he isn’t here is the day that you bring me.” you roll your eyes and Yeonjun shrugs.

“Well, see you later.”

“Woah-wait. I still need you to walk me.” you say, grabbing one of his shoulders to stop him from leaving.

“What? Why? You just said he isn’t here.”

“That doesn’t mean that I don’t need reinforcements.”

Yeonjun groans, but turns back around to face your campus. You clear your throat before reaching to hold his hand. You intertwine your fingers, looking at each other through the corners of your eyes, confirming that you’re ready to go. You walk hesitantly at first, but the further you get, Yeonjun releases his hand from yours to put his arm around you. Low and behold, once you made your way to the front of your class, Heeseung was there waiting right beside the door.

He, of course, hadn’t been there the whole time. He was pacing back and forth in the bathroom before working up the courage to actually make his way to your class, a part of him hoping he had just missed you so he wouldn’t actually have to see you with someone else. Yet there you are, walking up to him (well, your class), with some dude who looked like he was trying too hard to be cool with his arm around you. He felt sick and the closer you came, the more he felt like vomiting. 

You smiled, stopping in front of your class door with Yeonjun. 

“Oh Heeseung, you’re actually here, I thought you chickened out.”

He smiles, annoyed. His gaze shifts over to Yeonjun and Yeonjun smirks.

“So this is Heeseung?” He asks, eyeing him up and down.

Heeseung pokes his tongue in the side of his cheek. He looks back at Yeonjun and eyes him up and down before crossing his arms. Although he currently feels sick to his stomach, he’s still a little suspicious. 

“Am I supposed to believe you’re her boyfriend?”

Yeonjun scoffs, crossing his arms, “You can believe what you want,” he steps closer to Heeseung, leaning close to his ear making Heeseung tense up, “but you better stop messing with her regardless.”

He pulls back, smiling at Heeseung and patting one of his shoulders. Heeseung scowls, wiping off his shoulder as Yeonjun turns to you. You smile at him, ignoring Heeseungs glares.

“Have a good day, babe.” he says before kissing you on your cheek. He glances back over his shoulder before snickering at Heeseung and walking away.

You smile proudly at Heeseung while he looks at you in complete and utter shock. Did he just see what he think he just saw? He couldn’t believe it, he didn’t want to believe it. 

“Well,” you say, making him snap out of his thoughts, “you heard him: stop bothering me.” you say before going into your class.

-

“I heard from some people that he has a motorcycle and he brought her on it today.” Jake says while taking some food off of Sunghoon’s tray, earning a glare from him.

Heeseung rolls his eyes, clenching his fork harder in his hand. “I don’t get it, he’s not even her type.”

Sunghoon laughs and Heeseung scowls at him. “How would you know? You’re not exactly close with her.”

“I think it’s time for you to just leave her alone, you’ve been bugging her since we were kids.” Jay comments.

Heeseung goes quiet. Should he give up? He reminisces about the time he first saw you, laughing with your friend, and the only thing he could think about was how pretty you look when you smile. He isn’t the type to hide how he feels and he thought you would be pleasantly surprised by how open he is about how he feels about you, but when you rejected him after he bought you your favorite drink, he was confused. He didn’t want to give up, though, because all he wanted was to be able to make you laugh just like when he first saw you.

“Jay’s right, the joke has gone on for long enough.” Jake adds.

Heeseung looks up at him, raising an eyebrow. “Joke? What are you talking about?”

Before Jake can answer, a girl walks up and takes a seat in one of the open chairs at the table. Everyone’s eyes go to her as she smiles.

“Hi,” she says shyly, “Heeseung, can I speak with you privately?”

“No, thanks.” he replies, continuing to eat his food.

Jake tries to suppress his laugh and Jay kicks him from under the table. Jake’s smile falls as he kicks Jay back.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish.” Jay warns.

“You started it.” Jake mumbles.

“Well, I was just wondering,” everyone looks back at the girl, momentarily forgetting she was even there, “if you would like to get coffee with me after school.” she says, moving some of her hair behind her ear.

“No, thanks.” Heeseung says in the same uninterested tone as before, not bothering to spare her another glance as he continues eating.

She sits there, a little taken aback as an awkward silence settles. Sunghoon clears his throat before taking another bite of his food. The girl stands up and walks away, not bothering to push back in the chair; Jay and Jake watch her as she leaves.

“She was cute, why did you say no?” Jake asks.

“We know why.” Jay says, drinking some of his water.

“You’ve been turning down every girl that asks you out for years, don’t you want to at least try and date someone?” Jake asks.

Heeseung groans and sets down his fork. “What’s the point? No one else is worth the time.”

-

“You all should have seen his face.” Yeonjun beams as you and your friend group continue roaming throughout the mall.

“So, it worked?” Minjeong questioned and you nodded your head happily.

“I didn’t see him for the rest of the day and he didn’t say anything else once Yeonjun left.” you replied happily.

“And there was nothing more than a kiss on the cheek?” Yunjin questioned.

“Of course.” Yeonjun says, kissing her quickly.

You and the others groan as they both just smile at each other. 

“Oh!” Minjeong says, grabbing your hand. You look at her and then the store she was looking at, “They finally restocked the perfume I was telling you about.”

“I can’t afford that.”

She rolls her eyes, “You can’t, but I can, now come on.” she says, pulling you with her.

“I’d rather not be stuck with you two sickos, so I’m going to go with them.” Beomgyu states to Yunjin and Yeonjun before heading off to follow you and Minjeong. 

Yeonjun grimaces and mocks Beomgyu as he walks off and Yunjin laughs.

As much as Heeseung would rather have gone home straight after classes than come to the mall to help Jake pick out a new keyboard, he came anyway due to his friend’s consistent pestering. 

“You’re paying me back for gas money, I hope you know that.” Heeseung mumbles.

Jake scoffs, “You’re richer than I am, besides, friends carpool other friends.” Heeseung rolls his eyes as he and Jake make their way to the store. Heeseung opens his mouth to say something, but is caught off guard by loud giggling coming across from where he and Jake are. Both of them look in the direction of where the noise is coming from to see Yeonjun and Yunjin laughing, her hitting his shoulder playfully and him scattering kisses on her face. Heeseung stops dead in his tracks. Jake stops walking and looks between Heeseung and the couple. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

Heeseung could feel anger surging through his body. Isn’t that guy your boyfriend? Why was he so publicly flirting with this other girl? Is he cheating on you? Unknown to him, Heeseung was walking towards the two, blinded by rage. Jake tries to call after him, but it just sounded like static to Heeseung. Jake rushes to catch up to him, trying to figure out what he was going to do and why he was even doing something in the first place. Heeseung stands in front of Yeonjun, making both Yeonjun and Yunjin turn their attention towards him.

“Shit.” Yeonjun mumbles.

Heeseung didn’t have the patience to ask any questions, he knew he was right in the first place. This guy had some nerve to hurt you like this, so before anyone had another chance to say a word, Heeseung clenched his hand into a fist and punched Yeonjun in the face.

“What the hell!?” Yunjin exclaims, grabbing onto Yeonjun’s arm as he falls to the ground.

Heeseung didn’t pay any attention to the throbbing pain from his hand and raises his fist to punch him again, but Jake stops him. Yeonjun touches his face, blood dripping from his nose as he looks up at Heeseung, clenching his jaw in anger.

“You son of a b-”

“Don’t start with that, you’re the one cheating.”

Yunjin scoffs and stands up to slap Heeseung. “You have some nerve to punch my boyfriend, asshole.”

“What the hell is going on?” Beomgyu questions as you, him, and Minjeong come out from the store.

You look around to see the chaos that has ensued as well as people starting to crowd around all of you.

“This idiot punched my boyfriend because he thinks he’s cheating on you.” Yunjin says shooting you a glare as she helps Yeonjun off of the floor.

“You did what?” you turn to Heeseung.

“Isn’t he your boyfriend? Why aren’t you upset that he’s cheating on you?” Heeseung asks, confused and starting to feel the pain from his hand as the adrenaline and anger start to subside.

You open your mouth to say something, but Yunjin interrupts you. “Maybe because he isn’t actually her boyfriend.”

Heeseung looks between you and her, confused.

“Bu-”

“They only pretended to be dating because she wanted you to back off.” Yunjin seethed.

Heeseung wasn’t sure how to process all of this information, let alone, he wasn’t even sure if he was.

“Yunjin-” you try to apologize, but she pushes past you with Yeonjun. You try to grab her hand, but she pulls away and turns to you.

“It went too far.” she says, trying to control her temper before turning around to walk away with Yeonjun.

You turn to look at Minjeong and Beomgyu, but they both just look at each other awkwardly. 

“We should probably go with them.” Beomgyu says.

Minjeong nods her head, agreeing, but before they both walk past you, she stops, “I’m sure if you try talking to her tomorrow, she’ll forgive you.”

You bite the inner part of your cheek as they walk away. The crowd starts to disperse, still earning a few questioning glances from those passing by. You glare at Heeseung and begin to walk away.

“Look, I didn’t-” he tries to explain, but you cut him off by turning around, now face-to-face with him.

Tears sting as they begin to brim your eyes. There are so many things you could say to him right now, so many things to yell, but for once you find yourself to be at a loss. He too, is also at a loss for words. Seeing you look at him this way, tears in your eyes, he feels so ashamed and embarrassed. 

“Just leave me alone.” you say through shallow breaths, trying your hardest not to cry in front of him.

You knew to him this was all some sick joke, so you doubt he would actually listen to you, but you hoped there was some small part of him that would finally see you never found any of this to be funny and that he has finally taken it too far.

-

You have never dreaded walking to your class this morning more than you do at this very moment; you just don’t have the energy to put up with Heeseung now or even ever again. You tried texting Yunjin, but she never replied let alone even opened the messages. You were so wrapped up in your emotions you didn’t even realize you made it to your class in peace. Relieved was an understatement about how you were currently feeling, but you also felt oddly sick. 

Although you didn’t want him bothering you, you couldn’t help but feel annoyed at the fact that he didn’t even try to apologize once while you were on your way to class. It was the least he could do, afterall. He pretty much destroyed your friendships with your closest friends and now that he’s had his fun, he no longer felt the need to keep up the act? The more you thought about it, the more angry you became. You knew you hated him before, but you’ve never been this furious with him, not even at his attempts to rub his wealth in your face by buying you things. No, this was a new low, even for him, but you keep trying to tell yourself you should’ve seen it coming.

-

“Oh hell no.” Yunjin mumbles before standing up from the steps she and the others were sitting on. Heeseung approaches cautiously as he feels their eyes burning into him with their intensive stares. “You really are a stalker, how did you even know what university I go to?” she asks, crossing her arms defensively. 

“It’s in our high school yearbooks, everyone put where they were going.” he replied. Yunjin scowls, hoping he would get the idea and leave once and for all. “I came to apologize. I just-” he pauses, looking away while clenching his jaw before looking back at them. “I’m sorry I punched you.” he says to Yeonjun. 

Yeonjun looks at him, unimpressed. 

“You suck at apologizing.” Yunjin states.

“I thought he was cheating! I didn’t know-” he groans, becoming frustrated. He tries to calm down, running his hand through his hair before speaking again. “All I want to say is that I really am sorry, I was just trying to look out for your friend, okay? She deserves better and when I saw who I thought was her boyfriend kissing someone else, I just…handled things poorly.”

Yeonjun gets up to stand next to Yunjin, draping his arm around her shoulders. “I get it, you didn’t know.”

Yunjin scoffs, “You’ve officially taken this joke of yours too far, so stop acting like you care about her and just admit it already.”

“Why does everyone think I’m joking?” he asks, both frustrated and genuinely.

“Everyone in school knew you were joking. I thought you took it too far back when you bought her a pair of some new, expensive shoes.”

Is that really how everyone saw it? Is that really how you see it?

“I bought her the shoes because she had her old ones for years and had bandaids for the blisters she was clearly getting. I also bought her extra bandages, did you forget about that?”

Yunjin stops scowling, “So you aren’t just messing with her because she rejected you?”

“Of course not, I really care about her. I know I annoy her, but I never thought she would think I was doing all of this just to hurt her feelings.”

Yunjin stands there for a second, questioning whether or not she believes him. 

“You’re right,” she starts, making eye contact with Heeseung, “she deserves the best.” It falls quiet again for a moment, mainly because Yunjin is wondering whether or not she wants to give him a chance to prove himself to you. “We’re going to meet at the club downtown around ten, if you really mean what you say, you should come.”

Heeseung stands there, stunned. Does this mean she believes him? Does this mean they all believe him? Does this mean you’ll believe him? As they walk away from the steps, they all look at him, but not the same way they did when he first came over; skeptical. They all looked at him like they wanted what he said to be true and tonight is the night he is going to prove it.

-

You walked into the club, anxious, yet grateful that Yunjin finally responded to one of your messages. You wanted tonight to be like any other night that you all hang out here, like everything was back to normal; like it was before the whole debacle with Heeseung at the mall. You made your way past the crowds of people through the darkly lit club, over to the booth you all usually sit at. 

“Hey.” you say, trying not to sound awkward.

Yunjin sheepishly smiles, “Hey.” she says.

“Are you guys going to kiss and make up now?” Beomgyu asks, honestly over all of the drama.

Everyone laughs and Minjeong hands you your usual drink as you all make your way to the dance floor. From there, you move your body to the music, just wanting to let go of all the stress you’ve been under lately. Dancing along with your friends, having a good time, is all you care about at this very moment. You were enjoying yourself, feeling confident in the outfit you chose to wear paired along with the light buzz from the alcohol you were drinking. You closed your eyes as you soaked it all in; it felt like nothing could disrupt this feeling.

“Wow…” you hear someone say before they trail off.

You open your eyes and freeze. You know this voice a little all-too-well. Your grip on the glass you are holding in your hand becomes tighter as you slowly turn towards the person who was speaking. Your eyes lock with Heeseungs as he looks at you in awe. You look stunning and he felt like all of the air from his lungs had escaped the second he saw you; breathless. You walk closer to him, so he wouldn’t get any crazy ideas and try to do something else to your friends, but as you got closer to him you couldn’t help but think about how nice he smells. You shake the thought from your head as you look up at him, your eyes meeting once again. 

All thoughts you previously had were now gone; he made your mind go blank. Have his eyes always been this pretty? No…what the hell are you thinking? Pull yourself together.

“Do you take nothing I say seriously?” you manage to blurt out.

He smiles, happy that you’re talking to him (and just because he’s happy to see you in general).

“For all the years you’ve known me, you should know better than anyone else that I can’t stay away from you.” he replies before smirking.

That smug attitude thankfully snapped you out of whatever weird thoughts you were having earlier and brought you back to reality: he’s a prick. You roll your eyes and push yourself past him as you head to the bar to return your glass. You set the glass down a little harsher than you anticipated and Heeseung follows you as you make your way out of the club. He calls after you, but you ignore him. Nothing is going to change, apparently. But as you’ve said to yourself before: you really shouldn’t be surprised.

Heeseung stops calling after you and instead catches up to you, grabbing your hand gently so you would stop walking away from him. You turn to face him, looking down at your hands for a split second, feeling a different kind of buzz result from it. You try to shake his hand away, but he doesn’t budge. You meet his eyes, feeling your heart begin to race. As much as you tried to stop, something was happening, and you were certainly not a huge fan. 

“I spoke with your friends earlier and apologized.”

He did what? Wait…have you been hallucinating this whole time? That would explain why you suddenly feel this way because you know, not in any lifetime, would you possibly have feelings for Lee Heeseung. 

“How?” is all you could manage to say. 

Your mind was running a thousand miles a minute, not really in any shape to hold any kind of conversation, but especially not one with Heeseung.

“I made a mistake. I have a lot of things I want to apologize to you for.”

He spoke so gently and sweetly; it was like he was hypnotizing you. The streets were oddly quiet, not too many people, but you could still hear the music from the club. You found yourself staring at him in amazement. The fluorescent lights from the signs of stores nearby and the streetlights felt as though they were shining on the both of you, like you two were the only people who matter.

“What?” is all you can think to say.

“I’m sorry I’ve been bothering you to the point where you felt like you had no other choice but to lie.” he says, taking a step closer to you. “I’m sorry I made you and your friend fight.” he takes another step closer to you. You felt your breath hitch as your eyes traveled along his figure. Has he always looked this good in a black button up and black pants? It doesn’t help that his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows and you find yourself staring at his arms.

He waits for you. He waits for you while he clearly sees you checking him out and it’s turning him on. God, you look so beautiful and the way you are looking at him, slowly taking in everything about him as if you are seeing him for the first time makes him want to kiss you; it makes him want to do a lot more. When your eyes meet his again, he takes this as an opportunity to step closer to you, placing his other hand on your cheek, gently cupping your face. He wants to be gentle because you are one of the most precious things to him. He leans close to your face, each others’ breath scattering lightly along one anothers face. 

“And I’m sorry,” he whispers as he rubs his thumb back and forth on your cheek, still looking into your eyes, “for making you feel like a joke.”

You feel yourself tense up. “Was it? All a joke…” you trail off, not necessarily sure what you want to happen next.

He continues looking into your eyes, never looking away because he wants you to know that he is being serious; that he means every word he says.

“Not for a second.” he replies.

You think back to everything he has done for you in a new perspective. How he would leave your favorite snack on your desk on test days, notes telling you how well you did after a presentation, volunteering to be your partner because he didn’t want you to feel alone or left out, buying you your favorite drink if you forgot to bring money for it, and asking you out to a restaurant that holds a special meaning to him and he only wants to share it with you. 

You want to kiss him, but you find yourself pulling away instead. He looks at you, confused, as you separate yourself from him, letting go of his hand. 

“I should get home. You know how early my morning class is.” you say while looking at the ground.

“Are you walking home? This late?”

You step back a little bit, finally looking back at him and you smile nervously. “I usually take the bus, but I think I missed the last one, so yeah, I guess I am.” you say kind of bunched together. Are you nervous?

“I can just drive you home.” he says, not really offering, more like telling.

You shake your head as your eyes shift to one of the cars in front of the club. You recognized it as his since he drives it to school everyday. A small, small part of you would love to ride in it, but you can walk home yourself (even if you also know it’s a bad idea).

“Yeah, I’m not letting you walk home alone this late.” he says, no longer wondering why you pulled away from him, but more concerned for your safety. He reaches for your hand and you let him take it, even if you keep telling yourself you shouldn’t. You both walk over to his car and he opens the door for you to get in. You look at him and he looks back at you, not intending on budging from his offer. You roll your eyes playfully as you get into the car. He closes the door and walks over to get into the driver's seat. He gets in and closes the door before starting his engine. You sit there, a little surprised you were even in his car in the first place. “You kind of need to put on your seatbelt.” he says, nodding his head towards the seatbelt that you left untouched. 

You laugh nervously, but for some reason, you still don’t think to move to put it on. He sighs, smiling to himself at your cuteness, before leaning over to grab the seatbelt, slowly extending it over your body before clicking it into place. He looks at you, your faces inches apart, and you feel your breathing quicken once again. His heart begins to beat faster, but he can’t stop looking at you; you’re stunning. He manages to pull himself away, worried he might make you feel uncomfortable, before putting on his own seatbelt and putting the car in drive. 

“Do you want to tell me how to get to your house?” he asks as he pulls out of the parking spot.

Your eyes widen. Right, your house. A house that--you assume--is nowhere near as nice as his house. What if once he sees just how different you two are he will stop liking you? What if he was lying before and this was his final cruel attempt to make fun of you? You shake your head.

“I would rather not tell you.”

He steps on the brake, turning his head to look at you.

“You…don’t want to tell me?”

You shake your head, hoping he’ll give up and let you out of the car. You hear him let out a tut, making you turn your head to look at him.

“Would you rather I take you to my place?” he asks, trying not to sound nervous.

Not particularly, you kind of already planned on going to bed once you got back home, but you stayed quiet, leaving him to answer his own question. He sighs, releasing his foot off the brake.

-

Heeseung pulls up to a gate that guards a huge house behind it. Your mouth falls a little agape as you look at it, thinking about how the driveway is the size of your own home. He puts in the code, opening the gate, and driving up the huge driveway. He parks the car and turns off the engine, unbuckling his seatbelt before looking at you. 

“Do you need me to unbuckle it for you?” he asks while smirking.

You kind of want him to, but you opt for doing it yourself. You both get out of the car and he waits for you before he begins to lead the way. You can’t stop looking around as you two walk up the stairs leading to the (in your opinion) oversized doors, to which he opens and lets you walk in first. The house is even more luxurious on the inside than it is on the outside, which you honestly didn’t think could be possible. He shuts the door behind him and you both take off your shoes. You feel out of place, starting to feel insecure. The guy with all of this money to have this grand living room with a huge television, windows covering the walls and expensive furniture littered everywhere claims to like you? And has for years? You were starting to find it hard to believe again. 

“I hope this is okay.” he says, breaking the silence. 

You weren’t sure what he meant, but you assume he’s hoping it’s okay that he brought you here. He starts heading for the staircase and you follow behind, still taking in your surroundings. He leads you to his room, and you decide to stand by the doorframe. To you, it doesn’t seem like the downstairs even needs a living room since he already has a couch and t.v. in his room along with a big bed laying on a platform and more windows for walls. A beep is heard and the curtains for his windows start automatically covering them and the two lamps on his bedside tables turn on. He looks back at you, smiling at your expression that he finds to be adorable. 

“You can come in, you know.” he says as he rummages through some drawers.

You hesitantly walk into his room, somehow just noticing how nice it smells, and find the confidence to walk up the few steps to his bed to take a seat. You turn your head to look around some more and Heeseung looks up, stopping what he is doing upon seeing you on his bed. You are on his bed. Is he dreaming? He honestly never thought this day would come and he clears his throat to try and calm his nerves, making you look at him.

“What are you doing?” you finally ask.

He grabs what he came in for and walks over to you holding out the clothes he picked himself.

“The guest rooms don’t have any clothes in them, so you can borrow mine.”

Did he just say “rooms” as in plural, like multiple? 

“Right, naturally.” you tease.

He smiles and you stand to grab the clothes from him. You hold them as you look up at him, once again meeting his eyes. That feeling starts to form again, the one where you don’t want to stop looking at him and certainly don’t want him to stop looking at you.

“I forgive you.” you whisper.

He looks confused for a second before he understands what you mean. He smiles.

“You don’t know how happy I am to hear that.” 

You aren’t sure if it’s the atmosphere, the way he smells, the way he’s looking at you, or all three combined, but before you can even process what you are doing, you are tossing the clothes he handed you onto the floor and pulling him by the collar to kiss you.

Holy. Shit. You’re kissing him. You’re kissing him. One of your hands moves to hold the side of his neck while the other moves to the back of his hair as you start running your fingers through it, gripping it here and there. He moves his hands to hold your waist, squeezing them lightly from anticipation, as he kisses you back. He gains more confidence, pulling you as closely as possible to him, as he deepens the kiss. He is desperate for you, he is desperate to show you how he feels. He lifts you up and your legs wrap around his waist, him carefully carrying you and placing you onto his bed. He lays you down as you two continue to kiss, him pulling away from your lips and beginning to leave a trail of light, breathy, kisses from your jaw down to your collarbone. Your chest raises from the deep breath you take and he swears he is going to lose his mind from looking at you in your current state. The state he is currently leaving you in. 

His hands roam your body, wanting to feel every inch of you.

“Heeseung…” you say breathlessly, practically sending him over the edge.

He can feel his erection growing and you saying his name like that makes his cock ache harder. He pulls away from leaving hickeys along your chest, pulling you up by the waist so he can lift your dress off of you. He pulls it over your head and you help him, throwing the dress off to the side. He rests his forehead on yours, trying to calm his breathing and you begin to palm his erection. He whines, moving your hand away before laying you back down. His eyes scan your body, now realizing you were never wearing a bra. There you are, laying on his bed in nothing other than your underwear and he has to try and collect himself before he cums in his pants at just the mere sight of you. His right hand begins to travel up your leg, his fingers lightly running along your skin as he continues to look at you, look at every inch of you. His fingers travel past your hip up to your breasts where he cups one of them, earning a small gasp from you.

He bites the inner part of his cheek, trying to contain himself as he fondles your breast, playing with your nipple, watching how your face contorts in pleasure. He leans down to leave light kisses on your shoulder, looking at your face between each one, going down and stopping at your other breast before latching his mouth around your nipple. You bite your lip, one of your hands comes to grip his hair. He moans as he swirls his tongue around your nipple, occasionally flicking it. He felt drunk and so incredibly turned on. He stops fondling your other breast with his hand and lightly trails his fingers down to your underwear, sticking his hand inside. You gasp again, his fingers feeling a little cold as he runs them along your wet folds. 

Fuck he was making you feel good and you let out a moan, making him smirk. He sticks a finger in, making you grip his hair a little harder, and so he sticks in two. You moan again and he pulls away from your breast to kiss you as his fingers pump in and out of you. You’ve become so wet that you start to cover his hand in your wetness, the sound of his hand coming in constant contact with your pussy starting to fill the room. You feel yourself become close and your mouth falls agape. He stops kissing you and pulls back as well as pulling his fingers out of you. You open your eyes, the dim lights suddenly being so bright as you try to process what is happening.

He brings his fingers to his lips, licking off your arousal from them. His eyes close as he inhales deeply, consumed by the taste of you.

“Please, Heeseung…” you start to plead.

He opens his eyes and figures he can’t leave you without what you want. So, in honor of a fair trade since he feels intoxicated by your taste, he takes off your underwear and throws your legs over his shoulders as he positions his face in front of your pussy. You swallow harshly as you feel his breath on you before he licks a stripe along your core, causing your eyes to roll back a little bit and your back arch at the sudden contact. His hands grip the sides of your thighs as he indulges in you, licking up every last drop of you before making his way to your clit and sucking on it.

“Fuck, Heeseung…” you moan out breathlessly.

He’s too consumed by your taste to notice and he pulls you more into his face. He moans into you, one of his hands leaving your thigh as he starts to finger you again. He hears you moaning and gasping, prompting him to open his eyes and look at you. Just the sight of you causes him to pick up his pace, his fingers rapidly going in and out of you and the more you moan, the more turned on he gets. You feel yourself become closer, gripping the sheets as you call out his name. That mixed with the taste of you on his tongue makes him moan. You taste so good, you look so beautiful, he feels like the luckiest man alive to have you call out his name. He sucks harder and pumps faster as he moans into you, cumming in his pants. 

Your head falls deeper into the pillow you were laying on as you release yourself all over his fingers, mouth, and face. His movements begin to slow down as he calms down from his high and he pulls away, seeing your legs shaking a bit. He sits back, taking your legs off of his shoulders and you look at him. His face is flushed and shiny because of your cum, which he didn’t mind. He licked his fingers again, trying to catch his breath afterwards and you find the energy to sit up. 

You pull him in for a kiss and his hands land on your ass, squeezing it. You moan and reach your slightly shaky hands up to the buttons on his shirt, unbuttoning them. You pull away as you take the shirt off of him, throwing it to the side. This time, you leave a trail of kisses from his jaw to his neck, his mouth falling agape from pleasure. He was becoming hard again and so you started to undo his belt as well as the button and zipper on his pants. You can hear him let out shallow breaths, and he pulls you back to kiss him on the lips. You kiss each other with so much need, and as you start taking off his pants, he pulls away to take them off himself. 

You watch as he does, seeing his bulge through his underwear along with the cum stain from earlier. You smirk, which makes him feel a little shy.

“Come here.” you say, your eyes flicking back to meet his.

He listens, and you move each other so he is now the one laying back as you sit between his legs. He swallows harshly, completely turned on by the sight of your bare self looking at him in such a sinful way. Fuck, he wants you to ruin him. You keep eye contact with him as you lightly grab the edge of his boxers. His breath hitches as he becomes increasingly more nervous and he bites his lip as you run your pointer finger over his v-line. You smirk, slowly pulling his boxers off of him and finally letting his aching cock free. You cast aside his boxers, lightly running your fingers along his length, making him let out little moans, trying to decide what you want to do next. Seeing him like this, you decide you can’t wait any longer, so you position yourself over his cock, one hand holding onto his shoulder as the other guides it into your cunt. 

You both throw your heads back as you let out a moan in unison. You slowly sank onto his length and he watched in awe. He couldn’t believe this was actually happening and when you finally settled fully onto his cock, his mind felt fuzzy. You felt so fucking good and here you were, riding his dick with hickies all over your chest and neck made by him. Consumed by his thoughts, he gripped your hips a little bit harsher as he let out a stifled breath. You look at him, wondering what was happening, but feeling his cock twitch inside of you and him letting out a string of moans and apologies answered your question quickly as he came inside of you. 

His breathing settled after his release and he looks at you, eyes a little hazy, but full of pleasure; he looked so fucked out. 

“I’m so sorry.” he half whispers and half exclaims. 

He really meant it and to be honest, he was kind of embarrassed. You shake your head.

“Don’t be,” you say, starting to rock your hips, causing his eyes to roll back in pleasure, “it was hot.” You pick up your speed and call out his name from how good he is making you feel. “Shit…” you whine as you start to lose momentum from the pleasure. He notices and adjusts himself so he is laying a little bit lower to which he slings his arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him. You let out a small yelp as he hoists his hips up, thrusting into you, fast and deep. “Fuck…” you call out into his ear, making him pick up his pace. 

Moans mixed with the sound of his cock rutting into you fills the room and you grip the sheets as you feel yourself clench around him.

“Fuck-” Heeseung starts, but is cut off by his own moans from being close to his climax.

He thrusts into you faster and you clench around him harsher, your legs shaking as you cum all over his dick. He grips your waist harsher and clenches his jaw, breathy moans still escaping through his teeth as he cums–once again–inside of you. He does a few more thrusts to ride out his high before pulling out of your throbbing cunt. You both lay there for a moment, you still on top of him, trying to catch your breath.

“So…” Heeseung starts. You lift your head slightly to look him in the eyes and he smiles sheepishly, “does this mean you’ll go on that date with me?” he asks, hopeful.

You roll your eyes, “God, you’re annoying.” you say before smiling.

seven days a week (but not really)

zb1 hyungs (01 and older) x fem!reader smut | ~1k each

jiwoong, zhang hao, hanbin only bc this took me a while (i got carried away with hanbin’s)

with your boyfriend debuting, he’s been busier than usual but he makes time for you as much as he can, or your bf is busy but not busy enough to stop loving you

18+ MDNI CW: AFAB reader, eating out, fingering, p in v sex, no protection (wrap it up!!), riding, creampie, size kink, reader is shorter, choking in hanbin’s, reader wears a skirt in hao and hanbin’s, manhandling, use of pet names (pretty girl, baby, love, etc), slightly mean dom jiwoong, pussy drunk and kinda mean dom hao, rough sex with dom hanbin, oh also everyone got big …..

jiwoong

your boyfriend comes home from one of his schedules late as always. you’d made dinner for him, reheated it twice and eventually gave up on waiting, falling asleep in the living room with some reality show droning in the background. jiwoong finds you in your shared apartment looking peacefully asleep, he would’ve thought the sight was adorable if not for how his shirt swallowed your frame and rode up your plush thighs in your slumber. your pink underwear peaked out from the hem and jiwoong reminded himself that you’d visited him at music bank just yesterday, both of you disappearing right after his performance and coming back disheveled, but he was already getting worked up. he groaned as you stirred and his shirt rode up revealing your tummy, he wanted nothing more than to press kisses to it trailing them up your body until-

no he had to let you rest, he’d eat the dinner you made and then carry you to bed, you deserved some rest after waiting up for him. jiwoong dutifully changed his clothes into his sleepwear, just a pair of boxers, and then ate the food you made. although he’d been quiet you woke up from the sound of the microwave beeping, you grumbled as you opened your eyes to see your boyfriend sitting at the dinner table. lazily, you made your way over to him, jiwoong pushing back in his chair as you wordlessly sat on his lap. you sat sideways, graciously allowing him to reach his plate still. he pressed a kiss to the crown of your head as you squinted and adjusted to the dim light of the kitchen. “my pretty girl’s cooking is the best.” jiwoong must have been hungrier than he realized because he was finishing the meal in record time. now he could give you all his attention.

“hmm you like it?” you rested your head against the hard plane of his chest, you’d only realized then that he was shirtless.

“so good baby, sorry i made you wait.” he pressed another kiss to your head, breathing in your strawberry shampoo and the smell that was just so deliciously you.

“it’s okay, i don’t mind, makes me feel like a housewife.” you giggled at your own words, not thinking too deeply before saying them but god did they affect jiwoong. images of you with his kids running around all day flashed in front of his eyes and he sighed out in agony, he was really trying to compose himself, but you made it so hard. you felt him harden underneath you, making a small noise of confusion as you sat up in his lap. jiwoong winced at the movement, you weren’t helping in the slightest. you were looking at him, he could feel your pretty wide eyes staring at him expectantly.

“you need rest.” he said sighing as he finally met your gaze, forever a brat you shook your head no and you noticed his lips twitch as if he was holding back a laugh.

“i need you.” jiwoong was patient, his members said he was so mature and calm but not when it came to you, his resolve crumbled just from a look. he pulled you up with him as he got off the chair, your legs going around his hips as he sat down on the sofa where you’d slept.

“show me.” he leaned back, eyeing you up and down on his lap and you flushed at his gaze, you knew what he wanted and your fingers shook as they dipped underneath the edge of his shirt and pulled your underwear down and then off your legs. jiwoong watched your every move like a predator, even if he was letting you use him he was still the one in control and the thought alone made your blood rush south. he crossed his arms, intent on just watching and you pouted as you pulled his hard length free from his boxers. it was red and throbbing in your hand, always so thick and heavy in your hold and you gulped down as you leaned up on your knees to fit him in. the only time he did move was so he could lift his shirt up and see your pretty little cunt swallow his length. you breathed out slowly, your cheeks puffing out and you scrunched your nose in concentration as you slowly lowered down. “relax doll, you’re clenching me so hard i won’t last long.” you nodded as you finally bottomed out, letting yourself adjust and easing up your grip as you did so. you put your hands on jiwoong’s broad shoulders as you began to rise up and down and take his length as well as you could. it never felt as good as when he fucked you, he knew just how to make you come again and again and the feeling of building pleasure was never like how he made you feel. you needed him, not his stupid perfect dick. and jiwoong could tell, from how pouty your lips had gotten and how you didn’t bounce with as much fervor as when he touched you. he was just waiting for you to admit it. “jiwoongggg” you whined out his name, lighting hitting his chest and he huffed out a laugh, gripping your waist before he pounded up into you. you moaned at the feeling, he was relentless bouncing you on his length so hard and fast you were squirming in his hold. your slick combined with his was coating your thighs and no doubt his balls, you whined his name insisting that you were close and he held you close as he angled himself to fuck you deeper, hitting the spot that made your toes curl and your eyes roll back in your head. you cried out his name as your orgasm hit you like a truck, your legs shaking as jiwoong continued to use your cunt. he came soon after, the way you clenched around him making him see stars as he filled you up. “my pretty little cunt, always so perfect for me.” he murmured into your shoulder, his hot come leaking out of you making you whine and jiwoong laughed at your actions promising you he’d fill you up properly tomorrow.

zhang hao

his pretty baby, he’d do anything to run to you right now but instead he was stuck in a meeting at the company. just one more hour and he’d be free. the trouble was you had sent a picture of your outfit this morning and all hao could see when he closed his eyes, when his mind drifted or when he didn’t try his damn best to focus on something else was your bare thighs in a mini skirt and knee high socks. the small glimpse of skin was enough to drive him crazy. it had been days since he last saw you in person so it was safe to say he was feeling desperate to be near you. the manager droned on about the upcoming week’s schedule, yes it was important but it wasn’t anything he didn’t already know. all he could think about was being between your legs, heat traveling south and he sighed out in relief that he chose to wear an oversized shirt today. hanbin looked over at him suspiciously, noticing his pink ears and glazed eyes, god hao was so obvious sometimes it was a wonder the company hadn’t found out about you.

“alright that’s it.” finally after what felt like years the meeting had come to end and zhang hao didn’t even try to hide how quickly left the room, saying he needed to call his family privately. of course the members knew what really was happening since they’d greeted his parents on the phone just this morning but they withheld their remarks as they watched their hyung hightail it out of the room. he made it to your place pretty quickly, he’d made sure you were close to the company, just like their dorm, when you moved to a new place and of course one pout from your boyfriend was enough to convince you to move closer.

he’d shot you a text before the meeting, and you’d been waiting for him at your place. you usually worked from home and always made time for him when he popped by during his busy days. sure enough when you heard the front door open you quickly closed your work computer and practically skipped to the door to greet your boyfriend. hao grinned at you as he looked you up and down, watching you outstretch your arms to him, your crop top rode up and another sliver of your skin drove him crazy. yeah the real thing was much more maddening then that picture, hao decided. he embraced you pressing kisses to every inch of skin he could reach as you burrowed your face into his shoulder. he loved how much shorter you were than him, loved being able to cover you completely and especially the way he could feel your smile press into his skin.

“missed you so much today baby. you look so pretty,” you whispered a thanks to his skin, flushing as you met his adoring gaze.

“i missed you too hao, always do.” you kissed him, losing yourself in his soft lips and how he deepened the kiss so naturally, drawing your sweet breath as a gasp as he teasingly bit your lip. he pulled back after he was satisfied in getting you riled up, your small hands now scrunching his shirt material. hao watched as a string of saliva connected his lips to yours and it didn’t do anything to help his growing problem. your flushed cheeks and swollen lips made him dizzy.

“baby can i eat you out?” you flinched in shock and looked away from his gaze, feeling hot already and hao’s innocent seeming eyes were burning you up. you nodded shyly and he grinned like he hadn’t just asked something obscene, kissing you again and lifting you over his shoulder in a swift motion. hao laid you down carefully on your bed, making sure you were comfortable on the bed, prop your head up on a couple pillows like you liked so you could watch him, or at least struggle to watch him.

he laid down on the bed the plush of your thighs bulging out the top of your socks, his fingers tracing the skin and his cock throbbing in his pants just from how you shivered at the feather light touch. hao huffed out a laugh as he lightly shifted your skirt up, being pleasantly surprised at the lack of underwear. “sweetheart, were you waiting for me to find you like this?”

“n-no hao, it’s just comfier.” you weren’t very convincing you were sure, you had sent that picture to him with one objective and one only.

“hmm, is that right? even when you’re practically dripping?” he pried your legs open wider, watching the light catch on your slick cunt. you whined, covering your face with your hands and he laughed before pressing a kiss to the inside of your thigh. he continued teasing you like that making you whine as his strong arms kept you spread open for him. your heady scent and sweet noises were making him lose control slowly and so finally he let you win, pressing a prompt kiss to your clit and earning a hiss.

“so sweet,” he hummed mostly to himself as he pressed another kiss to your slick hole and you squirmed. the sweetness leaving him the next second as he pulled by the hips closer to his face, looping one leg over his shoulder as he licked a stripe down to your leaking hole. you followed his silent instruction your shaky leg moving to his shoulder as he dipped his tongue into you and drank you up. you cried out his name, already feeling on the edge of an orgasm. his sharp nose ground against your clit as he pulled more ichor from you and swallowed it down in one go, withdrawing when you felt close and moving to suck your clit as his pretty fingers circled your hole. without warning he dipped two fingers into you and you arched your back as he masterfully found the fleshy spot that made you shake. in seconds you were coming undone from his fingers, your wetness would no doubt stain your white skirt if not for zhang hao making sure to clean you up. you whined as he overstimulated you but he didn’t see like he would stop any time soon, you begged for him to stop.

“h-hao s’too much.”

“taste too good baby, just one more come on.” and with such pretty words hao was able to pull not one but two more orgasms from you. every time he made to clean you up, insisting that you were the sweetest taste in the world.

hanbin

you’d been at the dorm with hanbin, getting there before the other members came back from a schedule without him. he’d done a solo shoot for a magazine and you couldn’t keep your hands or desperate eyes off of him when you saw him all dolled up. now you were whining for him to hurry up with his shower, pawing at the bathroom door like a puppy. hanbin laughed at your desperation, he’d only left you for a few minutes and you were already whining for him. he was no better really but the makeup on his skin had began to bug him and although he liked staining your lips with his, he’d rather not see the reaction on his member’s faces at what you’d been doing. they’d be back pretty soon, he was doing his damn best to keep things tame between you two. when he heard his name leave your lips in a soft whine, his resolve shattered.

“baby the door’s been open, come join me.” you had no intention to join him in showering, instead just opening the door and propping yourself up on the sink counter. you could see his frame through the frosted shower screen, it did nothing to hide how unbelievably perfect your boyfriend was. you could make out his tattoos, his dripping wet hair, his strong arms and muscular build and worse of all his annoyingly pretty cock. despite the warmth rising to your cheeks and quickly moving south, you kept staring.

“i’m started to get creeped out baby.” hanbin ducked his head out, a smirk on his face at how unabashedly you’d been admiring him. you just pouted.

“not my fault you’re so hot.” he laughed before finishing up his shower, turning the water off and reaching for a towel. you made yourself useful, bringing it to him and motioning for him to lean down so you could towel his hair dry. he had to lean down quite a bit due to your height difference and now all he could see was your bare legs under your skirt, god you made it so difficult for him to be a good hyung. you dried his hair gently, not any bit as rough or careless as hanbin usually was and when you felt satisfied you handed him the towel and tilted his chin up, combing your fingers through it and styling it as you pleaded. hanbin watched your lips pout in concentration and your eyelashes bat as you worked under his scrutiny. he found you so adorable and more and more irresistible the closer he got to you. “there, my handsome binnie.” you loved his natural bare face and hair and hanbin’s eyes glazed over at the compliment and the way you said his nickname. standing up tall, he couldn’t help himself as he wrapped the towel around his waist and brought his hands up to cup your face and bring your lips to his. you gasped into the kiss, spreading your soft warm hands on his still damp broad chest, standing on your tiptoes to deepen the kiss and hanbin sighed contently into your lips. you were always so sweet and so soft and warm under his touch. anything he gave you you’d react so well he couldn’t help but tease you. you swung your arms around his neck pulling his hard chest against you and hanbin was still very aware that the only thing keeping him decent was a wryly bound towel. despite that he couldn’t help but mold your lips to his, sucking and biting at the plush of them as he grew hard against your stomach. he pulled back, finding the common sense to end this early but your pretty lips followed him pressing kisses to his bare face, neck and collarbones.

“my girl is so needy huh? the boys will be back soon.” he warned, cupping your face and swiping your warmed cheek with his thumb. you nuzzled into his hand playing with the drying hair at his nape.

“please binnie? i’ll be good.” you were begging, eyes glazed over and wide and watery from how badly you wanted him. hanbin would hold you to that promise. he didn’t waste any time then, he wasn’t sure how much there was left anyways and he needed to capitalize on that. lifting you up by the back of your thighs he placed you on the sink counter, making you finally his head level and you gasped as he practically tore your underwear off under your skirt. you grasped his shoulders as he pulled you towards the edge of the counter. he pressed two of his long fingers against your lips, and ever pliant you opened up and sucked them down to the knuckle swirling your tongue over them until hanbin was satisfied. although you’d never admit it you were sure you were already dripping onto the cool counter. he watched you with a smile the type that took over his entire face, if anyone saw him they’d think he was looking at a cute animal and not the love of his life prepping his fingers to finger them. with a pop he pulled his fingers from your plush lips and snuck them under your skirt, brushing your clit before collecting all your slick and diving into you. he was met with resistance, you clenching on his thick fingers as you whined out his name. “shhh baby, don’t want anyone to hear us do you?” you shook your head, opting to burrow your face into his neck instead to silence your moans. “so wet, so tight, so perfect for me, my good girl.” you clenched on him harder, his fingers grazing the fleshy spot inside and making it impossible for you to keep quiet. “look at me baby,” if there was one thing that drove hanbin crazy it was seeing your fucked out expression when he plunged into you. you did your best to maintain eye contact, your pretty face bobbing from the pace he set with his fingers before he pulled them and licked them clean, humming at how sweet you were, eyes still on you and a sob caught in your throat. you were so so close, he was making your blood boil, your legs shake, and your mind cloud over. all you wanted was hanbin, the room smelled like his shampoo and was filled with the sounds of your embarrassingly wet cunt getting fucked by his fingers. you watched him step back, hanging his towel instead in the drying rack as he lined up his hard cock at your entrance, he watched your expression as he collected your arousal, coating his own dick with it and sliding in. hanbin gave you time to adjust, the tip of his stupid long cock bullying your cervix and you breathed out slowly with a nod to get him to move. he was a man on a mission, you both had to come quickly and look fairly normal when you left the bathroom. as if sensing the worst possible time to come home, hanbin heard the front door open and he clasped a hand over your mouth as he pulled out and plunged back in. you whined against his hand, eyes rolling to the back of your head as your boyfriend filled you up.

“stay quiet.” he whispered into you ear and caged your neck with the hand that had been on your mouth. you bucked with his thrusts, the sheer force he was fucking you with making you knock things down as you got shoved up the surface. he hissed at the sound, it wasn’t like it was pin drop silence in the bathroom anyways, the sound of your wet cunt swallowing him and the slap of his balls against your ass filled the room. the apartment was too quiet, he turned the sink on behind you with his free hand, the sound of rushing water disguising the obscene clapping of skin against wet skin. he felt close, you were still clenching around him, his hand on your neck applying pressure as he felt you leak down onto the counter. when he finally plunged into you, coming inside he choked you to keep you quiet as he flicked your clit and made you come along with him. you squirmed in his hold, clenching and milking him for everything he had, feeling dizzy from the pressure on your neck and the mind-numbing orgasm he brought you to. hanbin pulled out slowly, looking down and seeing his come slip out of you onto the counter and he pouted at the sight, shoving it back in you and putting your underwear on swiftly so it would stay there. he couldn’t have his pretty baby have his come spilling down their thighs, it was bad enough you looked ruined. “binnie-“

“hanbin hyung you home?” you heard gunwook yell out from the living room, the sound of the tv being on made him breathe out in relief. at least with the members distracted he had some chance of sneaking you out.

“yeah just showering up!” he yelled back, tucking your hair behind your ear as you looked up at him, standing on shaky legs. you closed your eyes from his touch, it felt so soft and gentle on your skin compared to moments prior when he used like a fuck toy, he was so hot and cold. you loved him more for it.

“you think you can walk?”

Trouvaille - Chapter One

Pairing(s); BTS OT7 x Reader

Genre/Themes; Hybrid!AU, themes of the supernatural and the occult, religious themes, violence, hurt/comfort, horror, romance

Rated; 18+ for swearing, violence/gore, future sexual themes. Reader discretion is advised.

Word Count; 20.4k

Trouvaille Masterlist

Trouvaille playlist

Updates on the 7th of each month

Hello everyone, this is Dana! This is the first complete chapter of Trouvaille, an introduction to the story and several characters. I have been working on this story for a long time, so I am overjoyed to share it with others. If you'd like to be added to the taglist for the next few chapters, don't hesitate to ask, I'll gladly add you. Any comments, questions, and feedback is lovingly received, and thank you for reading, and please enjoy!

Next Chapter

Although it was Friday, the hands of Y/N’s watch moved as if stuck in honey, hours ticking by painfully, and her patience was wearing thin. Today was her last day at her job. That morning, while sipping a cup of tea wrapped up in her quilt in bed, she had stared out the window absently as she frequently caught herself doing, fog rolling through the tall grasses of the back yard and filling the sky with stormy colors. The morning of her last day of work was like any other, planned to the minute, methodical, and solitary. Routine, she found, drove her crazy, but she wondered what exactly she would do after it’s upheaval – was it back to school, helping her mother out at the library, applying for a job at the smoothie bar, starting a ghost hunting crew? Endless possibilities boggled her even more than repetitive routine, she didn’t have a plan, and it was somewhat freeing. 

The veterinarian hospital she worked at was located in the heart of Boston, and saw near-constant foot traffic. When she arrived in the morning there were nothing but appointments to attend to, animals to check in, bags of kibble to sell, and of course, the odd surgery or two. Her position, specifically, was the on-staff exotics veterinarian, and often trained her colleagues to treat animals that weren’t cats and dogs. 

She was in the midst of her last examination, one that would likely end in surgery for a broken wing. It was getting late, there were only a handful of her colleagues left in the building, and she still had to talk to her supervisor about her leave. Y/N had chosen to word it as “taking a leave” rather than formally turning in resignation papers, as much as she was leaning towards a complete change of career. There was a chance after a few months of indulging herself in new directions that she’d come running back to the hospital.

Squinting, Y/N skimmed the clipboard containing information about the parrot she was currently treating, taking care not to touch his injured wing when she wrapped the bird in a towel for better handling.

“Lex, I need the radiograph up on the screen, please. Watch out for his beak!” Nimbly, Y/N turned the agitated bird away from the young lab tech before he nipped at her elbow. “He’s a biter, not that I can blame him, after what’s happened to his wing,” adjusting the towel around the Macaw, Y/N glanced at the large screen above the observation table. Eyes scanning the radiograph with practiced precision, she realized that the fracture was not something that could be mended with tape and time. A door closing and the sound of metal rolling in a tin alerted her of the presence of the tech she was most proud of training, a young man named John.

“John? Oh, John, thank God you’re back, did room 103 have the IM pins? I want this parrot to be stabilized as quickly as possible. I don’t think he is used to being handled,” Y/N explained, struggling to keep the bird's large beak away from her ears. Vaguely, Y/N heard Lex slip from the room, likely running to the next room for another emergency radiograph. John, his blue eyes drooping in concern, slid the tray of IM pins across the observation table while clicking his tongue. 

“Poor guy. What happened?” John asked, chest heaving with the effort of running down the veterinarian hospital halls. His creamsicle colored scrubs, an undoubtedly sunny wardrobe choice, was littered with sunset orange sweat stains and spots of animal drool as he reached across the table for the patient file. He let out a low whistle at the accident report as Y/N decided one IM pin would be plenty to get the fractured bone to realign once more.

“Wing caught in cage door? That can’t be right, especially with the size of the fracture,” John exclaimed, smooth features pulling into an incredulous expression. Eyes flicking up to the parrot, Y/N’s eyebrows knit together in frustration, John hurriedly washed his hands in the sink and pulled two pairs of latex gloves from the box next to the sink. It was the unsaid in the report that raised suspicion; how, exactly, did the bird get its wing stuck in the cage door himself? It was more common, in fact, for Y/N to treat animals that were abused; things were rarely accidents, when it came to exotics. 

“Are you ready for surgery? For the size of the bird and the fracture, I estimate we’ll be working for about three hours before he can be brought to recovery,” Y/N slipped a clean mask over her face, adjusting the frameless plastic goggles so they don’t fog, before carefully ensuring John had a hold on the parrot. John grunted in assent, likely just as bone-tired as she was. 

Rider, she faintly remembered, was the parrot’s name, as she watched white suds circle and filter down the drain. Once her hands were dry and the gloves snapped over her wrists, she felt the numbing sensation of dropping into total concentration. In a way, that was the best part of her job; the quieting of her brain for the length of a surgery, distracted by the methodical procedures, the pressure to work against the clock, and above all – the importance of helping the animal. 

Perhaps it was selfish, in a way, to crave the escape from her inner monologue considering her line of work, but some people had meditation and some people were joggers. Certainly, every sane person needed an outlet for serenity to make sense of the rest of the chaos infecting their lives. Sometimes, Y/N even believed she had combined her serenity with vocation, her work and her respite intimately entwined. Other times, at the bottom of a nondescript bottle with her friends, she grew nauseous at the rigidity of it all. 

“Prepare the K-wires, let’s get started,” Y/N declared, pulling the operating light over the table. John grunted in response, Y/N smoothing a hand over the parrot’s crown in a practiced soothing manner. 

“We’ll get you all fixed up, Rider,” Y/N whispered to the Macaw, the eyes of the parrot boring into her in a way that made her feel exposed. 

“So, does this mean we can finally call it a day?” John asked raggedly, wiping a bead of sweat from his temple. The air outside of the operating room felt significantly fresher, the bright lights by the employee lockers snapping Y/N out of her surgical reverie. Peeling the sticky gloves from her hands and tiredly tossing them into a nearby trash can, she nodded. 

“All done, John! You can go ahead and get out of here. It’s Friday night, after all – I just have to talk to Dr. Davies before I can go myself,” Y/N smiled warmly at John. While he was one of the newest vet techs, over the past seven months at the office he had managed to surpass all of the other techs in surgical skill. 

Frowning slightly, John paused before reaching for his book bag. “Are you going to discuss your leave?” He inquired softly. 

Y/N sighed heavily. While she had enjoyed training John, and found significant fulfillment in her profession, the past few months had felt more and more draining. Being an exotics veterinarian was one of the hundreds of things she had dreamed of as a child. She had excelled in school, graduating close to the top of her class, and had even landed an amazing position at her current animal hospital fresh out of university. For the first year, Y/N saw herself at Harbor Animal Hospital long-term, aspiring to be like the incredible Dr. Tia Davies, her boss and mentor. 

As time went on, Y/N felt a sadness well up inside of her as she treated animal after animal. The world had become a cruel place full of neglect for animals, especially for the exotics she cared for. When she was a little girl, her grandparents took her to a traveling circus every summer when it came through Boston. It was there, where she watched beautiful parrots soar, elegant leopards slink through elaborate obstacles, and giraffes stand tall in all of their glory that Y/N first dreamed of working with such beautiful animals. To help them, specifically, as she grew up and realized the types of trials and tribulations the circus animals went through in order to perform, was one of her biggest desires. 

Fresh from college equipped with rosy lenses, she believed she could make a difference – but all she found was the revolving door of the hospital, each animal’s case more soul crushing than the next. Abuse, neglect, abandonment; these were the things that kept Y/N staring at her ceiling at night, waiting for sleep that would never come. She couldn’t help but notice the uptick in her anxiety and the dark circles rimming her lower lash line as time wore on, desperate to love her job again. At twenty-four years old, she ultimately came to the conclusion that in order for her to help animals in a way that mattered, she needed some time to sort out her personal feelings. 

“Yeah,” Y/N replied, raking her hand through her hair, “I just don’t know if I can keep this up, John. I’m running on empty and I just can’t shake this feeling – oh, I don’t know – of heartbreak? I just feel like I need time to regroup. I can’t afford to have my personal feelings negatively impact the animals,” she explained, corners of her mouth turning downwards. 

John nodded thoughtfully, slinging his book bag over his shoulder. He was yet to feel this way, and was generally more optimistic than Y/N, but he saw how depleted she had become over the months. She prayed that he would not end up like her; the hospital desperately needed him. 

“Well, Y/N, I’m really going to miss you around here. Hopefully the new exotics vet is just as patient as you are,” he said gently, placing his hand on her shoulder. Y/N appreciated the fact that he didn’t plead her to stay, or press the subject too hard. “Call me when you decide to come back. I’ll be waiting for you with your favorite Starbucks order!” 

With that, Y/N gave John a hearty wave as he pushed his way through the doors to the employee parking lot. She would miss him, certainly, but she had wrestled with taking a leave for months before she decided John was ready to take her place until Dr. Davies could find a full-time replacement. 

She opened up her locker, pulling down the picture of her posing at a cocktail party with her friends Ben, Laura, and Alice, the magazine clipping of Keanu Reeves as John Wick, and her bag of toiletries for when she worked late, shoving all of the items into her canvas tote bag. Simply clearing out the locker made her feel lighter in a way, albeit a tad guilty. She thought about some of the patients she saw regularly, such as the sweet elephant seal she treated at the Boston Aquarium, and felt the guilt rise up in her stomach even more. But she had already decided; she was no help to any creature in her current state. 

Setting off down the hall towards the office where the doctors kept patient files and keys to the pharmacy and lab, Y/N took one last look at the polished linoleum floors, the pastel walls, and unflattering fluorescent lights guiding her way. She knocked twice on the closed door, all of the other staff and techs gone for the day as the rapping sound echoed about the empty clinic. 

“Y/N, I’m assuming that is you? Come on in,” Dr. Davies’ sweet voice called, muffled by the sound of a medical mask. Pushing the door open, Y/N hiked her tote bag up further on her shoulder in determination.

Dr. Davies, or Tia, as she insisted everyone call her, was a kind woman in her mid-forties. She wore purple rectangular glasses and had frizzy graying hair, and looked something akin to an art school aunt. Tia always wore chunky, funky jewelry and colorful scrubs, which she had mentioned “brightened up the place”. 

“So, have you made your final decision?” Tia looked up over her glasses, setting the folder she was holding down on the desk. She stood, smiling fondly at Y/N. Swallowing down even more guilt, Y/N nodded. 

“I’m sorry, Tia. I just feel like I’ve…” Y/N trailed off while looking at the floor, at a loss for words that accurately described her feelings. 

“Hit a wall? Been emotionally drained?” Tia suggested helpfully. Eyes shooting up to meet Tia’s, Y/N’s confidence returned after she registered the understanding look on the doctor’s face. 

“In a way. I still want to help animals, and that will never change. Lately, I feel like I haven’t been able to help enough. In a way that matters. The world is… the world is so awful. To these animals, to humans–”

“–to hybrids?” Tia added encouragingly. 

Hybrids!

“Oh my God. Hybrids! I knew I was forgetting something about my schedule today!” Y/N exclaimed, blood draining from her face. 

“Oh Y/N, I remember you telling me about your plans to go with Ben and Roy to a hybrid shelter this week. Is that today?” Tia rounded the corner of the desk, grasping one of Y/N’ wrists tenderly.

“Uh, yes– it is– Ben is going to kill me. I’m supposed to meet him at Government Center in half an hour. I’m so sorry, this couldn’t have come at a worse time,” Y/N gasped out, furious at herself for forgetting such an important meeting. Her timing never seemed to be perfect. 

“Listen, Y/N, relax. It’s alright, I just wanted to let you know that my old colleague from Chicago has agreed to take your position until you return,” Tia reassuringly squeezed her wrist. “Or, if you return,” she added, a twinkle of some kind of knowing in her eye. 

“Oh, that’s such good news,” Y/N exhaled, thrilled Tia could find a replacement so quickly, a weight lifted off of her shoulders.

“I have no doubt that you will continue to help animals, you’re like me in that way. You’re young, and like me, you may have to take time to truly figure out where you fit in to make the best difference,” Tia continued, a warm feeling of kinship spreading through Y/N. 

“Tia,” Y/N mumbled in a watery manner, eyes filling up a little.

“I want you to call me, at least once a month, or whenever you need me. I’m here for you. Besides, knowing you, you’ll come up with some new venture that I absolutely need to be a part of. I’ll lend any knowledge I can,” Tia released Y/N’s wrist, opening her arms for an embrace. Now, Y/N truly had tears running down her face, burying it in Tia’s shoulder. 

“Now, get going! If you want to make it to Government Center in thirty minutes, I suggest you run the yellow lights,” Tia released her, winking. Y/N wiped a stray tear from her cheek, squaring her shoulders. 

“Thank you, Tia, for everything. I’ll call you,” Y/N affirmed, taking one more look at the kind doctor. She hurried from the office, the newfound source of anxiety of being late quickening her step to her car. 

As she launched out of the clinic, she took a deep breath in, the air free from the scent of rubbing alcohol and pet fur. While Boston city air was certainly tainted with cigarette smoke and exhaust, the light perfume of black-eyed susans studded along sidewalks filtered through pleasantly. Invigorating her, she squashed down the dread of her evening plans. 

While Y/N was well-versed in the subject of the animal kingdom, hybrids were always a source of puzzlement to her. Hybrids, a part of modern life long before her birth, were created specifically for human enjoyment in large labs, factories, and even dilapidated basement operations. When her parents were in their twenties, the price to own your own hybrid was an astronomical fee, and only the elite were photographed with hybrid companions at fundraisers and derbies. 

As the “wheel of progress” turned, hybrids spliced with large animal DNA became workhorses in many parts of the industrial USA. Hybrids working on logging plants, mining, and even construction, was faster and cheaper labor than hiring humans – an abysmal fact. In more recent times, almost anybody could adopt a hybrid, for better or for worse. Of course, the nasty sort of animal abuser found even more enjoyment tormenting a hybrid, one who could potentially fight back and feel human fear. God-wealthy “hunters for sport” lined up at fancy hybrid shelters to pick out bear and prey hybrids for their sick hobby, according to recent news headlines. 

For the most part, Y/N avoided the topic of hybrids. Although her family had money, there was never a hybrid within their home. This, she did consider odd, simply due to the fact that a large part of her family’s wealth came from her father’s revolutionary studies and practices on hybrid heart surgeries as a cardiologist. He had treated thousands of hybrids and truly cared for them, in a similar way that Y/N cared for her exotics. Her mother, on the other hand, loved hybrids, and even ran a bookclub out of the library she worked at specifically for adopted hybrids. 

Y/N chewed on her lower lip as she contemplated her relationship with the beings, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel as she waited out a red light. The radio murmured about the weather comfortingly, however, she could still feel the nervousness eating away at her stomach. It’s not like she had never talked to a hybrid, plenty of her parent’s friends had one or two. However, she couldn’t ever shake the feeling that like actual animals, hybrids could sense things about her that humans could not. In an all-knowing, exposing way. 

She blasted through the last yellow light, spotting the bright gold kettle that served as a giant Starbucks sign next to Government Center, and miraculously found a street parking spot nearby. Y/N was only ten minutes late, but in Ben’s mind, she might as well have been an hour late. Taking a quick peak in her rearview mirror, she pinched her cheeks to bring some life back into her complexion, ruffled her hair, and hastily shoved her wallet and keys into the pocket of her lavender scrubs. 

The sun was starting to set as she scuttled towards the entrance of Government Center, dreading the humidity and musty smell of the MBTA station. Ben and Roy told her to meet them inside of the station, where the couple met after Roy’s office hours. Stumbling over a cobblestone in her clunky clogs she wore to work, she cursed loudly as a pack of college students giggled at her outside of the Starbucks. Giving them a passionate Boston-style middle finger, she straightened up when she heard her name. 

“Y/N! Jesus Christ, over here!” Ben’s sharp voice cut through the Friday night rush hour traffic. Whirling around, she noticed Ben’s perfectly coiffed head of red hair, one of his Gucci loafers tapping the sidewalk impatiently. Behind him, sitting sheepishly on a fountain ledge, was his fiance, Roy. Y/N all but ran over to the two of them. 

“Shit– I’m so sorry I’m late– I got caught up in surgery and had to talk to my boss about the leave, plus the traffic, I swear, these Emerson students walk into the street on purpose,” Y/N heaved, right hand clutching her pounding heart. Roy chuckled lightly as he stood from his perch, hand smoothing over the back of Ben’s tweed suit. 

“I texted you this morning to remind you about tonight! Scatterbrain,” Ben scolded, his annoyance tempered by Roy’s gentle hand. Y/N always thought Roy was the best thing to ever happen to Ben. 

Ben Alpin was Y/N’s childhood neighbor, and although he was four years older, they were attached at the hip all throughout their youth. Ben was an amazing friend to have growing up; he was outgoing and sharp of tongue, always protective like an older brother. Considering Y/N had no siblings, Ben was the closest to one she ever had. They had gone to separate high schools, where Ben had flourished in leadership programs and dominated student council. He had always jokingly said that “money was his dream”, but Y/N knew that what he really wanted was to be a leader of some kind. He had eventually gone to Harvard Law, and was now a successful business lawyer. So successful, he was able to afford a brownstone on Beacon Hill – in the end, Y/N supposed he did indeed achieve his dream of money. 

Ben had met Roy Heath at Harvard post-grad, Roy being a new professor of architecture attending a leadership seminar Ben was hosting at the university. As far as personality, the two balanced each other out so well it was almost cosmic. Incredibly patient, calm, and easy-mannered, Roy could de-escalate a classic Ben meltdown in seconds. Y/N adored Roy, he had become a dear friend to her almost as quickly as he entered her life. He often helped her work on her house on the weekends, which offered her not only someone to reach high areas of the ceilings with a paintbrush, but a grounding presence to bask in. The two planned on getting married in less than a year, after Roy published his current thesis. 

“I know, I know… I even replied to your message! Just goes to show how absolutely fried I am these days,” Y/N complained, smacking her face against Ben’s chest and squeezing his midsection until he wheezed. Patting her back, she felt his chest rumble in amusement, surprisingly not as angry as she thought he’d be for her tardiness. 

“It’s okay, Y/N, you were barely even ten minutes late. I doubt ten minutes will determine whether or not there’s a hybrid for us,” Roy reassured her, stooping low to give her a brief hug after she let go of Ben. The latter scoffed, intertwining his fingers with Roy’s, before rolling his blue eyes. “I found three shelters online the past few months, so we’ll see which one is lucky.”

“Don’t forget that seedy one over in Downtown Crossing. That’s our last resort,” Ben added. Ben, ever the realist, had been forwarding articles about hybrid scarcity to Y/N for the last six months. For some reason, the supply of hybrids could not keep up with the growing demand of those who wish to adopt. Y/N suspected the worst – sport hunting was growing in popularity. She did not vocalize her opinion to the couple. 

“Let’s get going. The first one is right up the street by that sucky Irish pub,” Ben declared, pushing a graying-brown curl behind Roy’s ear affectionately. They were nauseatingly adorable, Y/N thought. 

Setting off, Y/N told the two all about how she asked for her leave, what she planned on doing while she had time off, and of course, her house. Stopping at a crosswalk, Ben looked at her inquisitively. 

“So, any luck finding roommates for that big old creepy house of yours?” He asked, an eyebrow arching up into his hairline at the absurdity. Y/N pouted, yet another situation she found kept her awake at night. 

Her maternal grandparents, the very same ones that took her yearly to the circus as a kid, lived in a gorgeous Stick Style Victorian manor outside of Boston when she was growing up. It had been in her family for generations, built in the 1860’s for some wealthy judge and his wife. Y/N loved the house more than anything, its hundreds of nooks, crannies, passageways, and secrets made her giddy like a child every time she went home. She had moved into the home after college, when her grandparents became too old to live on their own. They lived with her mother and father down the street, but Y/N couldn’t bear to leave the beautiful Victorian empty. The house itself would have been part of her inheritance, so she figured why not move in immediately after college?

What she didn’t realize was that her grandmother was a bit of an antiques hoarder, and her grandfather didn’t like to “fix what ain’t broke”. Meaning, the last time the place had any kind of repairs or facelifting was in the sixties. Y/N had her work cut out for her between scraping linoleum off of the kitchen floor and managing the several acres of trails and gardens on the property. Additionally, the place was gigantic – with 10 bedrooms, she could have a convent of nuns move in with her. It was this reason, (certainly not the fact that she could really use someone who could operate a ride-on lawnmower) that she had been asking around her pool of friends if they were looking for a place to live. She hadn’t found any luck. 

“Don’t remind me of that. Seriously, my head’s going to explode. I’ve been asking around for months, I’ve even told people they could pay me three walnuts to live there,” Y/N groaned, following the couple across the street. Roy was practically pissing his pants, face red with glee. 

“You know, Y/N, Roy spends enough time there hauling out your grandma’s chair collection, he should move in.”

“Hey! Working on that house is hands-on experience for me. It’s not very often architects get to work freely on a Victorian,” Roy nudged Ben with his shoulder, having to lean down six inches. The sight made Y/N snort. 

“I’m just going to throw in the towel. Maybe I’ll get five cats and they can have the run of the place,” Y/N said thoughtfully. At least with cats, she wouldn’t have to worry about a roommate filling her old home with modern Ikea decor. 

“Oh, yeah, really solidify your granny status with that. Sexy,” Ben teased, head craning backwards to give her a cheeky grin. She stuck her tongue out at him, pointing beyond his nose to the sign in front of him reading Hattie’s Hybrids. 

“Okay! This is the first one, let’s all say a quick prayer to whoever’s listening… Oh, I’m so excited, Ben,” Roy was practically bouncing, the perfect picture of an excited father. Or, potentially soon-to-be father. 

Roy’s excitement was short-lived. Pulling on the door handle, Ben realized the shop was locked up. Cupping his hands and pressing his face into the window, he frowned. 

“The lights are on, but the place looks deserted! I swear, I checked the hours online and they’re supposed to be open,” Ben exclaimed, puzzled. 

“Right here, honey,” Roy sighed, tapping a taped-up sign on the window.

We do not have any hybrids at this time. Please check back in the upcoming weeks.

“What?” Ben’s voice pitched upwards, scanning the paper. “Great. The next shelter is three blocks away. I’m going to need a drink.”

“After we check out the next two shelters,” Y/N warned, knowing how rowdy Ben could get on a Friday night bar crawl. Ben shook his hand twice, yeah, yeah, before following Roy down the sidewalk to the next location. Feeling a touch of exasperation that Hattie’s Hybrids couldn’t save her from a whole night of traipsing around the city, she closely tailed her friends in search of the next place. 

“Fuck! I needed that,” Ben slammed his shot glass down on the crumbling wooden bar, holding up his finger to the bartender to leave the bottle of tequila behind. 

The next two shelters Roy had found were similarly locked up and deserted, which caused Ben to fly into pissed-lawyer mode. 

“How do these people even make money? I can’t understand why there doesn’t seem to be a single shelter in the city of Boston with hybrids. Where are they all?” He continued, pouring himself another shot. Roy looked discouraged, nursing a Budweiser and rubbing slow circles along Ben’s lower back. 

Y/N was similarly distressed. It was getting late, she had been in surgery most of the day, and all she wanted was to crawl into her bed. Instead, she found herself slumping around the humid city, already buzzed off of a stiff gin martini, like she was in grad school again. Mostly, she felt bad for her friends – all they wanted was to have a family together. Swirling an olive around in her glass, she hummed. 

“So I take it, we're off to the ‘seedy’ place,” Y/N encouraged, taking the last sip of her martini. They had ended up in a bar in Downtown Crossing anyways, so at least she wouldn’t have to walk up the hill towards the State House again. Ben grunted.

“Please. If those three places were shut down, I doubt the last resort is harboring a miracle. We’ll go for shits and giggles, the hot dog cart is by there anyways. I’ll have to do more research before we find our little one, Roy…” Ben trailed off sadly, downing his third shot with a shake of the head. 

“It’s alright, honey, we’ll do it together,” Roy affirmed, a sweet smile spreading across his face. Y/N felt her martini rise in her throat at the purity of it all. 

Slapping down a fistfull of cash, Ben rose from his stool, rolling his shoulders back. 

“Come on, granny, last stop before you can race back to the Haunted Mansion,” Ben helped Y/N up from her seat, leading her to the exit. 

The last shelter was less than a block away from the bar. Ben swore when the hot dog cart seemed to have shut down for the day. Roy was busy gaping at the flickering lightbulb outside of the last shelter, which had a chipping sign that simply read HYBRIDS. The door was propped open with a wooden block, the lights were on, and there was a man hunched over a cellphone at the front of a store. 

“Holy–” Roy clamped a hand over Ben’s mouth, probably trying to save him from a bad first impression. Y/N was just as floored as her friend, staring dumbly at the shabby storefront, barely registering Roy pushing Ben into the shelter. Scrambling after them, Y/N entered the building. 

The place was entirely gray. The walls, the tin desk with an ancient register, the old guidebooks lining dusty shelves, all radiated a depressing emotion. Even the man behind the desk, still watching a noisy pre-season Patriots game, had dull gray hair and a sagging complexion. Stifling a smirk at how out of place ritzy Ben looked, Y/N pressed a hand over her mouth as she sifted through a rack of hybrid-specific clothes that were about as old as she was. Roy cleared his throat, standing before the desk, Ben uncharacteristically silent as the man grumbled with annoyance, peering up at the three of them. 

Setting his phone down, the man stood arthritically before painting on a customer-service smile. 

“And how can I help youse today?” Y/N nearly snickered at the man’s Quincey accent, alcohol making her a little giddy, until she realized this man just might be the saving grace of her Friday night. “We’re havin’ a sale on them jeans over there,” the man pointed to the rack Y/N had steadied herself on.

“Uh, okay, good to know. Actually, we’re here to potentially adopt, if you have any hybrids available, that is,” Roy took the lead, Ben’s eyes glazed over as he stared at a cobweb on the ceiling. The man made a noise of understanding in the back of his throat, grabbing a key ring from the desk drawer. 

“Got just one, follow me,” the man motioned to them with a finger, unlocking the door at the back of the shop behind a shelf of books. Roy looked a bit disheartened, the chances of the lone hybrid at the shelter being a child slim to none. The trio stepped through the threshold anyways, the back room filled with what could only be compared to empty jail cells sans doors, the scent of cleaning products heavy in the air. Y/N was shocked by Ben’s continued silence, analyzing his stony expression as they reached the back of the room. There was a slim hallway to Y/N’s right, dimly lit, but they did not go down that way.

“Got this one in about two hours ago. She’s the smallest of her siblings, apparently… too hyper for them fancy shelter’s customers, or so’s I’ve been told by the person who dropped her ‘ere. Name’s Daisy, up-to-date on her doctor’s visits, guaranteed,” the shopkeeper rattled off, scratching the back of his head. He stepped to the side, allowing Ben and Roy to peer into the chamber Daisy was in. 

Sat on the little bed in the corner, engrossed in a colorful picture book, was a little girl about four years old. She had beautiful white blonde hair, long white lop ears sprouting from her crown, and was wearing a sundress with strawberries on it. She looked very well taken care of, a teddy bear clamped under her arm and hair neatly brushed. One of her ears twitched at the sound of the man’s voice, large chocolate eyes darting upwards. A tiny, toothy grin stretched across her precious face as she jumped up from the bed, book clattering to the floor. 

“Oh my gosh!” Ben gasped delightedly, the little bunny hybrid gathering a fistfull of his pant leg. Y/N was flabbergasted at the sight of such an angelic little girl in such a drab, depressing place. How in the hell did nobody adopt her?

“Hi! Hi, you’re here! They’re loud…” Daisy practically vibrated with energy, shaking the material of Ben’s pant leg excitedly. Her eyes darted down the narrow hallway Y/N had spotted moments before, one of Daisy’s ears lifting in that direction. 

“She’s beautiful! I can’t believe it – we were looking for a child just like her! Ben, what do you think?” Roy was so happy, his face was entirely pink as he bent down to say hello. The hybrid seemed to not have an ounce of shyness in her body, thrusting her teddy bear into Roy’s hand and telling him the bear’s name. 

“I think that this place was harboring a miracle after all,” Ben said in a disbelieving tone, simply glowing at Roy and Daisy’s interactions. She was chattering on about her morning, what she wanted to eat for dinner, and her new book. 

“I don’ think she’ll be here for very long,” the shopkeeper called from next to Y/N. He looked like he was aching to get back to his Patriots game. “If you wanna adopt, I suggest you do it tonight.”

“What breed is she? How old, and how much, and where do we sign?” Ben asked rapidly, blushing furiously as Roy picked Daisy up when she stretched her arms out to be held. Y/N could hardly believe the events unfolding in front of her; she knew that the couple was prepared to adopt that very night, but she was sure they wouldn’t be able to find what they were looking for right away. Suddenly, she felt like she was intruding on a private moment, no matter how close she was to Ben and Roy. 

“Uh…” the man pulled his eyebrows together, checking a clipboard velcroed to the wall. “She just turned four. Lionhead rabbit, the fancy Latin name ‘ere too if you want it. Adoption fee for her…” looking thoughtfully at Ben’s Gucci loafers, the man smirked. Y/N turned away, feeling ill from her martini, stalking off slightly down the mysterious hallway. “... $2,500. I’ll print up them papers in the office.”

Slinking down the short hallway, Y/N took a deep breath. Daisy was like a gift from some cosmic entity, and it almost seemed too good to be true. She felt warmth spread through her chest as she thought about the spare room in Ben’s townhouse, already decked to the nines with children’s toys and furniture. Daisy would want for nothing, and it was as if Ben and Roy had already fallen in love with her. Dragging her fingertips along the cinder block walls, she made a surprised sound at the heavy metal door a few feet away from her. Further down the hall, there was a normal wooden door left ajar, an office, from the looks of it. Humming, she turned her attention to the safe-like door, a big red sign nailed to the left of it. The sign read: Exotics and Aggressives - Do Not Enter. 

Now that sign certainly caught her attention – all she had to read was Exotics before a happy sensation flooded through her. Giddy, she began to rise on her tiptoes to peek through the small square window of the door, when she heard a throat clear behind her. Startled, she whipped around, guilt painting her features as the shopkeeper eyed her suspiciously. 

“I wouldn’ get too close to them, if I were you, young lady,” the man said, hands on his hips. “They’ll take off your arm in a second.”

Arching an eyebrow, Y/N’s curiosity was piqued even more with this statement. The man sighed, pointing at the window. 

“Go ahead, take a look. They’re all vicious, the jaguar bastard bit me yesterday,” he muttered, tenderly rubbing a bandage on his left forearm. Staring at the man, as if to decipher if he was egging her on or not, Y/N turned back to the window, finally peering in. 

The room was large, but all divided by iron bars, like giant cages they would keep big animals in at the clinic. At first, she had to squint to see anything other than iron, but then she let out a startled gasp as her eyes focused. 

She counted four hybrids, fully shifted into their animal forms. First, her sight landed on a gorgeous, albeit underweight, leopard, laying on its side, asleep. In the cell next to it was what appeared to be a coyote, turned away from the door and shaking like a leaf in the corner. 

“My God,” Y/N whispered, taking in the third animal, a black jaguar, most likely the one that had bitten the shopkeeper. It was asleep, breathing labored, as blood oozed from a jagged cut on his side. 

Anger welled up inside of her, beginning to turn to the shopkeeper in wrath, before her breath was cut off by the sight of the final animal she could see: the biggest Northwestern wolf she had ever seen, and it was staring right back at her. Undoubtedly a male, the wolf’s amber eyes bored into hers, ears swiveling forward in alert and teeth baring immediately. The creature’s expression sent shivers down her spine, even as he was laying down in his cell separated by the heavy door Y/N was pressed against. Unable to tear her gaze away from the wolf, she forgot all about her bed calling her name, about Ben and Roy, and about Daisy. 

“Who are they?” Y/N asked, eventually breaking eye contact with the wolf. Looking at the shopkeeper, who had pulled out his phone to check on the Patriots, didn’t even spare the door a glance. 

“Bunch o’ bastards. We get the unadopted hybrids that are found wandering the streets, the ones that are rejected by other shelters, sometimes from circuses or zoos if they stop doin’ what they’re supposed to,” he replied, sounding bored. He began to walk away, heading towards the office, when Y/N pulled herself away from the door to urgently grab his wrist. 

“Wait! I– oh,” she let go of his wrist, blushing in embarrassment. “What’s going to happen to them?” Y/N asked, fearing the worst. The man scoffed, beginning to get annoyed with her questions. 

“Listen, lady, I’ve got a guy from Manhattan coming in tomorrow morning to pick up them animals. He’s offering seven G’s for all seven of em’... for hunting or something, I don’ really care what for. It’s payday tomorrow. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to send that rabbit on her way with your buddies so I can finish the game in peace,” with that, the man stalked to the office, muttering something about “women”, the sound of a stuttering printer filling the hallway. 

Affronted, Y/N felt her heart begin to race, thinking about the beautiful leopard being hunted down, and the chances of the injured jaguar living past tomorrow evening. Feeling more ill than ever, the disgust for the world she lived in infiltrated every cell of her body. She peeked back into the room once more, immediately searching for the other three animals, but could not strain her eyesight into the far hidden corners of the room. A pained wheeze came from the jaguar, tail limply beating the floor. She looked at the wolf again, but to her surprise, he had turned around from her view and curled himself into a ball. Her heart sank, palms sliding down the door. If she didn’t feel powerless to help animals before, she certainly did at that moment. 

“Y/N? Where did you go?” Roy inquired, voice raised. She blinked rapidly, ears picking up Daisy’s childish giggle, and huffed sadly for the seven hybrids behind the locked door. While her heart was breaking for them, she wouldn’t allow herself to dampen her friend’s spirits on such a wonderful night for the two of them. 

She stiffened as the shopkeeper brushed past her, a packet in hand, grumbling in her direction. Curling her lip up in a snarl of disgust, she begrudgingly followed him, glancing at the metal door once more. 

“The papers. Let’s sign em’ up front, come on, now,” the shopkeeper grunted, stepping into the light of the main hybrid holding room. Roy still had Daisy on his hip, his face confused as it landed on Y/N. She brightened up in the best way that she could, smiling sweetly at Daisy, who had begun to sleepily nod her head against Roy’s shoulder. Ben held her teddy bear and picture book, pacing around the space she was in as if to check for any other of her belongings. 

“Sorry, guys! I had to run to the bathroom in the back,” Y/N lied, watching the shopkeeper carefully to see if he would rat her out. He rolled his eyes disinterestedly, already making his way to the storefront. Roy easily bought the lie, trusting and easygoing, face dissolving into understanding. She felt rotten about the deception, but she would feel even worse if she robbed her friends of the happy glow around them with the news of the exotic hybrids only feet away. 

Ben straightened up from where he was crouched over by the bed Daisy had been sitting on, face a touch melancholy. 

“Honey, is this all that you brought with you?” Ben asked Daisy, brushing a strand of hair away from her cherubic face. She cracked an eye open, peering at Ben’s outstretched hands holding her teddy bear and book. Nodding twice, she buried her face into Roy’s neck, sleep threatening to pull her under. Ben tutted, a look of adoration on his face. 

“I think she likes you, Roy,” Ben whispered with glee. “Let’s go sign the papers and get her home,” Ben took Roy’s free hand, flashing a brilliant smile towards Y/N, face clear of all stress from earlier. She trailed after the new family, no longer filled with exhaustion from her eventful day, but instead was consumed with cyclical thoughts. 

She felt dazed as she watched Ben smoothly sign his name on the papers, eagerly pushing them towards Roy once he finished, nearly tossing the packet off of the tin desk. The shopkeeper went back to his game on his phone, yawning, as Ben excitedly joined Y/N at the front of the store. 

“Can you believe it? Y/N, what are the chances?” Ben gushed, fingers fumbling along the bookshelf stocked with the hybrid guidebooks. Digits dancing along the spines, he carefully selected one while scratching his close-cut beard thoughtfully. The book was specific to hybrid children. 

“I can’t believe it. I also can’t believe it’s this easy to adopt – I mean, there’s no interview? Or background check?” With this statement, Ben turned to look at her curiously.

“Well, I know that the other shelters have at least one quick interview, but I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth,” Ben said slowly, sensing something off about Y/N’s countenance. “Besides, look at this place. Sadly, I don’t think Belichick over there is very concerned with who walks out of here with a hybrid. What’s up? Why do you look so upset?” 

Y/N shook her head, spotting a rabbit hybrid booklet and pulling it off the shelf for Ben. Her fingers paused, noticing a thicker book for wolf hybrids a couple of spines over. She snapped out of it, sensing Ben’s probing gaze, and handed him the booklet with a grin. 

“I’m not upset, that martini just made me feel a little sick. I think today has just been a little crazy,” Y/N explained. Ben softened at her response and her offering of the booklet, pulling her into his side tightly. 

“I haven’t thanked you yet for coming along with us today. It means more than you know, having you be here for this,” Ben confessed, squeezing her once. 

“Always,” Y/N replied, tears threatening to fall for the second time that day. He let her go, lifting the books in the air, heading to the register to pay the final fee before they could leave with Daisy. 

“That’ll be $3,000 even – with the tax an’ the books,” The shopkeeper punched numbers into the noisy cash register, cursing as the sport’s broadcaster announced a foul from his phone. Ben handed him his thick black credit card easily, and with the flimsy bag for the books in hand and credit card securely back in his wallet, the four left the dreary shelter without any complications. 

Unlike when Y/N left the clinic earlier in the evening, exiting the shelter and breathing in the nighttime air offered no relief to her current anxiety. Roy was busy ordering a cab for their ride back to their townhouse, carefully shifting the sleeping bunny hybrid on his hip. Ben was busy blathering on about what he should whip up for Daisy’s dinner, or if he should call in some takeout. Y/N tried to steady her breathing, checking her slim wristwatch for the time. It was only 9 PM, but it felt like midnight. She considered leaving her car in the spot seven blocks away in favor of jumping on the Red Line, but wasn’t thrilled about a ticket likely being tucked under her windshield wiper come morning. 

“Guys, I’m gonna get going. My car’s a little ways away, so I should start walking now,” Y/N piped up through Ben’s cooing at sleeping Daisy, both men turning to face her. 

“Do you want me to walk you to your car? I can order another cab for myself after,” Ben offered, ever protective and concerned for her walking alone at night. She shook her head lightly, reaching out to stroke the back of Daisy’s head. She was irresistible and her hair was impossibly soft, and Daisy leaned into the touch even in her sleep. 

“No, no, don’t worry about me. I have a taser and a knife. And my clogs are heavier than they look, for kicking some nuts. You guys should get home as soon as you can, settle her in,” Y/N said slowly, trying her best not to wake the child. Ben looked like he wanted to protest, but was cut off by the pulling up of the cab Roy ordered. Y/N pushed him towards the passenger side door, eager to spend some time thinking on the walk to her car. 

“I’ll call you in the morning to check in, and I’ll even come and stop by tomorrow if you want, and ask my dad to schedule a check-up for Daisy,” Y/N offered, opening the doors for both of them. Roy gave her a swift kiss on the cheek, mouthing a thank you sincerely, carefully maneuvering his way into the backseat. 

“Thank you, Y/N. Text me when you get home,” Ben hugged her once more, folding himself into the passenger seat and closing the door softly. Y/N waved as the cab drove away, waiting until it turned the corner before sparing another glance at the shelter behind her. Brushing a sticky piece of hair from her forehead, humidity pressing down on her, she set off down the street to her car. 

It was close to four in the morning, and Y/N was putting away gin seltzers like it was her new job. Sweat rolled down the back of her neck, the air conditioning units she ordered not to be installed until Monday morning, as she bent on all fours scraping a hideous high-gloss varnish off of the landing on the grand staircase. Sleep evaded her after she arrived home from the shelter, even after a cooling shower and a bite to eat. Instead of tossing and turning in her bed, she decided to get thoroughly drunk, get a chunk of housework done, and pass out watching Ghost Adventures reruns on the couch in the parlor room. 

Wiping sweat from her brow, Y/N leaned back on her knees and let the grip and pull scraper clatter to the floor. She had a metal playlist on, numbing her thoughts, pulsing through her little wireless speaker as she worked. The Tiffany lighting fixtures in the foyer were dim and flickering– they’d have to be replaced soon— making her eyes strain in effort as she fumbled for her drink. Greedily, she gulped down the last few swigs of the botanical liquor from the condensation-coated glass, bobbing her head at the sound of Corey Taylor’s passionate vocals. Metal was one of her favorite genres, the heaviness and noise of it clearing out all intrusive thoughts; and it just sounded so damn good. Feeling too tipsy to continue scraping varnish, she assessed her work. She had gotten half of the staircase stripped, muttering curses about her grandfather’s foolish decision to defile beautiful oak planks with period-inappropriate glossy varnish the whole time she worked. 

Y/N, with the help of her mother and Roy, had made significant progress restoring the mansion for the past two years, but there was still much work to be done. The kitchen and the bedrooms were her first priority, especially when she thought she’d have roommates moving in. Roy had painstakingly gutted and designed a new kitchen for the home, one that would flow well with the old-world charm of the place but with modern comforts. Y/N had fond memories of tossing Budweisers back and forth to him last spring as they peeled lemon yellow wallpaper down from the crumbling 50’s style kitchen. 

The bedrooms weren’t too difficult to restore; some had water damaged ceilings, others had horrifying The Conjuring-esque wallpaper, and a couple were stuffed to the windows with old junk her grandmother collected at antique shops around New England. Grandmother’s antique collection was good for one thing— free furnishings for the home. Her mother even helped her crack open the basement door, leading to a pretty grim, unfinished and wasted space, totally transforming it into another whole bedroom and rec room for art projects or exercising. 

Y/N’s paycheck pretty much went entirely into the home, an amount set aside for food and essentials, but every penny she put into making the home beautiful again was worth it. The bedrooms were stately and comfortable, the kitchen spacious with marble floors and sleek appliances, and most of the unused items her grandmother had held onto that were broken or just plain ugly had been donated. She still had her work cut out for her with the rest of the home and the grounds, but all of the work she had accomplished had turned out beautifully. 

Wobbly, she stood, grasping the railing of the staircase gingerly (considering if she applied pressure, the whole thing might clatter to the floor), empty glass in her free hand and speaker tucked under an armpit. A Deftones song began to play, making her giggle in delight, descending the steps slowly to avoid scuffing her hours of work. It was a challenge, considering the low lighting. 

Traipsing through the hallway past the parlor and dining room, she reached the kitchen, lit up beautifully with brand-new stained glass fixtures. Roy’s work took her breath away every time she enjoyed a cup of coffee in the refurbished breakfast nook, and even tipsy she had to pause and admire the space. Setting the speaker down on the island, Y/N yanked the fridge open for more seltzer and gin, swaying her body to the gnashing guitar. She swore that this would be her last drink, collapsing heavily on a barstool at the island, mixing her drink sloppily and taking a hearty gulp. Cutting through the music, the grandfather clock in the hallway clanged noisily, scaring the wits out of her. Suddenly, she was aware how alone she was on a Friday night, drinking at four in the morning and tip-toeing around the house like there was a ghost about to pop out of the dining room.

Glancing around, she began to feel unease, noticing all of the space around her and how empty it truly was. It was a shame, really, that a large family wasn’t taking up the ample space, but she had always planned on either having one herself or substituting family for roommates. At times, when she was by herself in the home, she felt lonelier and more on edge than ever. It’s not that she was exactly afraid of ghosts, but it was an old home and she had watched many horror movies that involved a single woman in a creepy house.

Staring deeply into her glass, her mind went to the place she prayed it wouldn’t – to the seven hybrids left at the shelter. A sharp pang of sadness shot through her like a bolt of lightning, the glass loosening in her grip as she straightened up in her seat, music suddenly making her head pound uncomfortably. Slapping the off button on the speaker aggressively, she groaned loudly, the sound echoing throughout the hollow halls of the house. Fisting her hands through her hair, Y/N squeezed her eyes shut. 

Come morning, when she would peel herself out of bed and cradle an AlkaSeltzer to her chest in the bathtub, those seven hybrids would likely be loaded into some kind of horse trailer to their imminent doom. Chased, hunted, humiliated and killed, all for sick enjoyment. She felt booze crawl up her throat, foolishly washing it down with another sip of the same poison. Perhaps a few of them would get away, but perhaps not. And the ones who didn’t, maybe the injured jaguar or the malnourished leopard, what would become of them after their deaths? Would they be left in the woods, would they be stripped of their coats? Blood rushed to her face, heating up her entire body with the beginnings of a panic attack. 

“Fuck! What the hell is wrong with me?” Y/N exclaimed, standing suddenly. She began to pace around the kitchen, calming herself in the best way she could for her panic. The thought of the hybrids dying became unbearable, even if she hadn’t even seen the other three that were tucked in the corners of that dark back room. Practically tearing her hair out, she stared out the glass door to the backyard patio, full moon illuminating the foliage. Without thinking, she tossed on her light denim jacket she’d left hanging on an old hatstand, and hurried out into the backyard. 

Crickets chirped as she sucked a deep breath in of cool nighttime air, collapsing on one of the lounge chairs near the door. Counting her breaths as she focused on the hazy stars in the sky, gentle wind rustled the willows beyond the pavingstones of the patio. Familiarly, her fingers dove into the pocket of her jacket, finding the lighter and carton of menthols her cousin had smuggled to her from Rhode Island. It wasn’t a healthy habit, but Y/N had carried on the drunk distress cigarette tradition she had picked up with her friends in college whenever she felt the urge. It was a small rebellion. 

Flicking the lighter, cigarette balanced between her lips, she took a cathartic drag, closing her eyes as she exhaled. She felt a calming, minty sensation blanket her immediately, the sounds of nature refocusing her thoughts. Smoke curled and danced in the air, and she tried to make out shapes in the forms. Humming, she craned her neck backwards, taking in the imposing height of her house, and froze with the cigarette dangerously hanging from her mouth.

The mansion had 10 bedrooms. It had a small guesthouse that needed some work, a library room, numerous nooks and plenty of bathrooms. Vast grounds with trails, gardens, and water. A kitchen for a family on TLC reality show, multiple lounge rooms, two towers, even. Y/N had plenty of space, plenty of loneliness, and money.

An idea so crazy enough for her to flinch to a stand, knocking the cushion off of the lounge chair, struck her like a freight train. She could adopt all seven of the hybrids. Laughing, a sound that was akin to Gollum from the absurdity of the thought, she stuck the cigarette into the ancient outdoor ashtray. If she was a touch more sober and sane, she’d take a couple Benadryl and sleep her fantastical thoughts away. 

Marching out to the yard, she took a better look at the house in the moonlight. Only her bedroom, the kitchen, and the foyer she was working in less than a half hour ago was illuminated. Y/N imagined the whole house lit merrily, string lights on the patio twinkling with use and the picnic tables set for a beautiful summer cookout. The image in her mind almost tore a sob through her chest, because that was what the house was always for; for family and celebration of life. 

Ben had always teased Y/N for lacking the logical mind of someone who was a medical professional. Y/N had always chalked it up to her hippie mother and her fantastical side of the family, straight out of Practical Magic. If Ben was there at that moment, he probably would have forced her into the shower with her clothes on to sober up. 

Sober or not, Y/N figured that she would have dreamed up this solution in a cold-sweat that night in bed. As soon as she had the thought of having people to come home to, the house warm with life, her mind was made up. Besides, she couldn’t let them suffer so terribly at the hands of some hedge fund manager’s trigger happy son, it went against her very oath she swore to help creatures of any kind. Hurriedly, she made her way back into the house, switching on her coffee maker, and made a beeline for her bathroom to freshen up.

Y/N was still chuckling to herself, bumbling down the hallway to the master bedroom in a gleeful manner. She’d already come up with a plan to undermine the Manhattan man’s plans to take the hybrids away, and it was so delicious, she could hardly believe she came up with it four gin seltzers in. 

Her bathroom was still outfitted with fixtures from her grandparent’s heyday, the bathtub, toilet, and sink all an off-putting swamp green, but even that couldn’t dampen her spirits. Scrubbing her teeth violently, she used her other hand to shimmy out of her “restoration sweatpants”, nearly toppling over in the effort. After splashing cold water on her face and spritzing some body spray from her head to toe, Y/N raced into her bedroom, rummaging through her dresser for a pair of linen pants and a clean tee shirt, throwing everything on and checking the time on her illuminated alarm clock. It was now almost five, and she would need to leave as quickly as possible to get to the shelter as soon as it opened. 

She guessed that dealing in cash would be more tempting to the greedy shopkeeper, and she was prepared to hand over a significant sum. Her grandfather kept a three-foot tall safe in the master closet for his coin collection, and it was there that Y/N kept cash for everything from buying period appropriate curtains at some Jamaica Plain estate sale to unlikely hostage situations. Turning the lock combo with urgency, she cracked the safe open, grabbing a stack of bills from the top shelf, and slammed it shut. She tucked the band of bills into her tote bag, dangling from the post of her bed, and left the bedroom swiftly. 

Returning to the kitchen, Y/N filled the largest to-go coffee cup she had with the piping hot coffee she had brewed, burning her throat by finishing what was left in the carafe. Thankfully, the drinks she had consumed were spaced out enough so she wasn’t drunk, just tipsy, something she could get rid of quickly with the coffee and adrenaline she had running through her veins. Besides, she had about two hours to completely sober up and find her way to the shelter. She pulled up the app to order a cab to the shelter, not irresponsible enough to drive in her condition, and turned off all the lights in the kitchen on her way out. 

Stepping out the front door, Y/N locked the heavy deadbolt and ran down the steps of the porch, latching the gate at the front of the property when she reached it. The sky was still dark, but a little greyer with the slowly rising sun, and the mansion looked dreary and deserted. Smiling wistfully, she supposed this would be the last time she would see it look so sad. 

Y/N waited on the curb for her cab, sucking down scalding coffee with her tote bag on her lap. She felt like she was carrying a Fabergé egg, the stack of $100’s laying heavily in her lap through the canvas bag. A little voice in her head told her she was absolutely nuts for what she was about to go through with, but she ignored it entirely. 

What she had wanted all along was to have some kinship; especially with her friend’s lives going off in different directions. She knew that Ben and Roy would always be with her, but with the adoption of Daisy, they would have their hands full settling her in and raising her as a family. Laura was busy with her own young family, and Alice had her cat and full-time job at the newspaper. Everyone seemed to have something they could go home to, and Y/N wanted that, too. Additionally, without her job, she had ample time to care for the hybrids, to fill the hours with friendship rather than longing. She was not oblivious to the challenges that would come with the adoptions, considering the shopkeeper had mentioned the hybrids weren’t exactly friendly, but Y/N was prepared to handle all of the hiccups in order to give them a safe home. 

The cab she ordered rolled down her sleepy street, headlights cutting through the oppressive humidity. Jumping up from her perch on the curb, she jogged to the passenger’s side and crawled into the car. Buckling in as the young man pulled away from the end of her driveway, she took another swig of her coffee and felt the remaining alcohol haze slip from her body like a spirit. Y/N’s heart was racing, the whirlwind of events and lack of sleep making her feel like a floating head. Even so, she knew that her mind was made up, despite the fact that she hadn’t even met the hybrids yet. Thankfully, the young man driving her to the shelter only exchanged a “good morning” with her before following his navigation into the city, leaving her to eagerly go over her “plan”.

The cab dropped Y/N off right in front of the shelter, which was to open any moment. She bounced on her heels, scanning the sidewalks for anyone dressed in a suit or hunting gear waiting nearby. The shopkeeper hadn’t mentioned what time exactly the Manhattan man was to pick up the hybrids, however, Y/N wanted to beat him to the punch as soon as the shop opened. Sneaking a peek into the window, she noticed the same man from the night before counting the register serenely. Before she could stop herself, she began to knock on the glass, making the man jump a foot into the air in surprise. Registering Y/N’s face with great surprise (and annoyance), he ambled to the door and turned the lock. 

“Now, why’re you here? Tell your buddies I don’t do refunds,” he threatened, looking Y/N up and down. She imagined her appearance, purplish dark circles from her all-nighter, holey Black Sabbath tee, and hair wild with frizz. Likely, she looked like an undergrad student the night before a final exam. Y/N pulled the door open determinedly. 

“I want to adopt those hybrids in that back room,” Y/N blurted out, the shopkeeper’s mouth hanging open in shock. 

“What? Lady, are you insane?” The man sputtered, hobbling after Y/N as she marched to the door leading to the back. 

“All seven of them. I’m prepared to adopt them all, now,” Y/N confirmed, arms crossed as she waited for him to unlock the back door. The man looked angered, hands on hips. 

“So, you are nuts. Didn’ I tell you I got that guy from Manhattan picking them up today? He’ll be here in an hour or so,” The man made no motion to open the door, leaning against the register and wiping limp gray hair from his eyes. 

Frustrated that she was not being taken seriously, Y/N reached into her bag, slamming the band of bills on the counter. The shopkeeper swore colorfully, flinching away from the large stack before grasping for it. 

“That’s $70,000, count it. I’d like to adopt those hybrids. All of them,” Y/N enunciated. Her plan had unfolded; making a counter offer to the Manhattan man, way too tempting to refuse. 

“Holy shit. I don’t care if you’re crazy, lady, you’ve got ‘em,” the man wheezed, already leafing through the stack of money greedily. “Never liked pricks from New York anyways,” he mumbled, a greasy smile spreading across his face. 

Tucking the bills in his back pocket, Y/N stepped aside impatiently as he unlocked the back door and led her to the slim hallway. The room was unchanged from just a few hours ago, the scent of Clorox even stronger. She was relieved that the shopkeeper had taken the money – there was no backing out now, and there was no chance of the hybrids being shipped away to their doom. 

“So, how do you wanna do this?” The shopkeeper asked, the two of them standing before the metal door to the hybrids. Freezing, Y/N stood still like a statue; she hadn’t thought that far. How would she get the hybrids home without a bus of some kind? What if they didn’t want to come with her, or didn’t like her? She didn’t even know their names, ages, or gender. Feeling a little silly, she hoped that her generous payment for the hybrids would butter up the shopkeeper enough to help her out with logistics.

Normally, people prepare for an adoption of a hybrid; including reading up on their habits and behaviors, buying a suitable wardrobe, and making sure the pantry is filled with foods for them to enjoy. Y/N had gone off half-cocked, and all she could offer the hybrids was shelter and their pick of a bedroom, for now. Their personalities might clash, they might reject her completely, and it would be hard for the hybrids to trust her right off the cuff. Not to mention, the hybrids were completely shifted to their animal form, and it was unlikely they even had a single set of clothes with them. Unlike Daisy, Y/N didn’t think they’d have books or pretty sandals that they’d be ready to walk out the door with. The thought formed a pit in her stomach, but she couldn’t be too upset with herself. The opportunity came as quickly as a summer storm, and she would not have been able to prepare for seven whole individuals in seven days — let alone in 12 hours.

“I suppose I should meet them first,” Y/N offered, wringing her hands. The light was off in the room, so she wasn’t able to see through the window on the door. “As for transportation, I’m not quite sure…” she trailed off, trying her best to look in need of assistance.

“You’ll probably have to make a couple of trips. Some of ‘em don’t get along, so start with the ones that don’t gnash their teeth at you. I got a buddy with a van I can give a call,” perfectly pleasant now, the man even gave her a toothy smile, using his comically large key ring to unlatch the deadbolt of the door. “My name’s Gerry, by the way.”

Putting a hand up to stop Gerry for a moment, she looked at him sternly. 

“Why is the jaguar injured?” She demanded, giving his bandaged wound a pointed look. Gerry followed her gaze, scoffing. 

“That wasn’t me, swear. Damaged goods aren’t good for business. He was dumped ‘ere that way,” Gerry replied, pushing on the door. Y/N was appalled, about to ask for more information, but Gerry had already begun to push the door open.

 The door gave a deafening groan, which was followed by a series of feline hisses and deep grunts of an animal Y/N couldn’t place. Squaring her shoulders, Y/N followed Gerry into the room, his fingers fumbling for the lightswitch and flooding the room with fluorescence. Her eyes adjusted for a split second, blinking rapidly as they darted around the room.

The hybrids were still shifted. She caught sight of the jaguar, first, side still injured and lying in the same position he was when Y/N spotted him the night before. The coyote was curled up on its cot, blearily eyeing her and the shopkeeper, and the underweight leopard in the cell next to it was sitting closely to the bars separating them all, staring right at Y/N. 

Standing a bit taller, she turned to get a look at the left hand corner cell she couldn’t see, trying not to look intimidated by the sight of a very large elk. The elk grunted loudly with the eye contact they made, the sound she could not place moments ago identified. Nodding thoughtfully, Y/N swallowed, stepping closer to the right side of the room, where she curiously sought out the remaining three hybrids – the two unidentified, and the wolf.

Her eyes registered the vibrant orange coat of a red fox, head inquisitively cocked at the sudden intrusion of the room. It jumped down from its cot, sticking its twitching nose through the metal bars. She had always loved foxes, and practically squealed upon seeing the perceived friendly action. Gerry backed up slightly, once blocking the furthermost cell on the right, pale in the face. 

“That one… you might need a bus, if he doesn’t shift,” he said weakly, inching towards the hallway. Y/N tore her eyes away from the fox to see what he was referring to, and gasped softly. 

“Oh!” She exclaimed, coming face-to-face with the largest bear she had ever seen in person. He must have been at least 10 feet tall if he was standing on his hind legs, and would make even the most experienced animal caretaker wary. Recovering quickly, she wondered what kind of bear he was, far too big to be a grizzly, and was embarrassed that she didn’t know right away. 

“So, they’re all yours. I’ll get them papers ready and call Murphy about the van. We’ll work out who’s going with you and when I come back with the goods. Clipboard with information is on the wall next to the bear,” the Gerry called, already inching out to the hallway. He looked anxious to get the hell out of dodge, to the recesses of the office. Stunned, she watched him leave, various sounds of confused animals making her feel overwhelmed all at once. Y/N closed her eyes briefly, composing herself as best she could, before turning to the center of the room. Feeling eyes boring into her skull, she looked for the source, but somehow knew who it was already. 

The wolf, standing in a defensive position, eyed Y/N with an intensity that made her feel like her skin would melt off. It made her want to shiver, but she knew that she had to maintain a cool head in order to establish a trusting relationship with the hybrids. Not exactly sure what to do, especially because all of the hybrids were shifted, she cleared her throat, wincing at the sound cutting through the room. 

“Uh, hello. I’m Y/N,” she began, her voice a tad scratchy from her hot coffee earlier. “This is probably pretty strange to you all, considering we haven’t met before. I was here last night? My friends adopted a child here, and I happened to take a peek through the window.”

Scanning the room, most of the animals were watching her carefully. The jaguar was still on his side, but his ear was flickering, so she knew that he was listening. She continued, slowly reaching for the clipboard as if not to startle the bear that was crammed into his tiny cell. 

Not noticing before, Y/N realized there was a little bathroom by the elk’s cell; she thought that the hybrids could shift and change before they left together. It would be much easier to get back to the house if they were in their human forms, as well as more comfortable, considering the size of each hybrid. They weren’t house cat hybrids– most of them were apex predators. 

“Well, Gerry told me last night that there was a man coming in from Manhattan to adopt you all,” pausing when she heard a loud rumble coming from the bear. She figured the hybrids were clued in with their fate, acute hearing most likely picking up most happenings at the shelter. “And I guess I just… Well, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. All night. One thing led to another and I found myself coming back here, so I want to apologize for lack of preparation on my part,” Y/N scratched the back of her head sheepishly, realizing she was rambling. Deciding to cut to the chase, she bit the bullet.

“I… I’m adopting you, all of you. Instead of the Manhattan man,” she announced, clutching the clipboard to her chest. A symphony of growls and noises of surprise filled the room, however, Y/N was not to be discouraged. The deed was done. 

“I just left my job last night. I was an exotics veterinarian, I worked on the other side of Boston. My home has plenty of space, so I have been looking for others to live with anyway. And, I know you don’t have any reason to trust me yet, but I promise I just want to give you all a home to be comfortable in,” Y/N summed up her best elevator pitch of herself and her plans.

The coyote had jumped down from its cot, getting closer to Y/N as it could behind the bars, its yellow eyes assessing her very closely. She heard low growls coming from the wolf. Perhaps it would take a few days of convincing to get him in particular to the manor. Her first priority was hopefully bringing the jaguar with her at the very least, so she could treat his injuries and prevent further harm and infection.

It came as no surprise that the hybrids were wary of her, considering the place they had landed in. There was no way for her to tell what kinds of tribulations they had all gone through. Every day, there were articles about some of the disgusting things that happened to stray hybrids; they were forced into unpaid labor, adopted by sexually abusive owners, bought to be hunted. Just as she had no knowledge of them, they had little to go off of her own character by the state of the world.

There was a folding chair against the wall near the door, so Y/N dragged it to the center of the room slowly, the sensation of being inspected from all angles making heat rise to her cheeks. Lowering herself onto the chair, she smoothed down the first page of the clipboard. 

“Okay…” she mumbled to herself, scanning the page. The sheet had pertinent data relating to species, heights, measurements and weights of both animal and human forms, as well as age, gender, and name. The first sheet was the leopard’s. 

“I want to get you all out of this place as quickly as I can, but I’ll keep coming back until you’re comfortable enough to leave with me… so, you’re Yoongi? 28, male,” Y/N tilted her head towards him, what sounded like a rumble of acknowledgement came from the hybrid. She flipped through the other 6 pages slowly. So they’re all male, Y/N thought, understanding why some of them didn’t get along. Finding the page she was looking for, the jaguar named Seokjin, she studied his stats. Y/N wasn’t leaving the shelter that morning without him. 

“Seokjin,” Y/N murmured, memorizing his measurements so she could buy at least one set of the decrepit clothes up front for him to change into when he shifted. Eyes flickering upwards, she noticed Seokjin had turned his head at the sound of his name, still laying on his side but finally looking at her. He was beautiful, but had an expression of sadness about him. 

“So, I was thinking, since you’re injured, it’s probably best if you come with me today. I can treat your injury, I have all of the supplies at home to mend that wound in a flash,” Y/N speculated, maintaining eye contact with Seokjin. The hybrid wheezed, which was better than growling at her, so she took it as either resignation or feeble consent. Maybe it was resignation, or the hybrid was in so much pain he couldn’t bear it any longer. 

“Hmm… so, I get the feeling that a few of you will need some time before you come with me, but I’d love to take a couple more of you with me today, yeah? Don’t worry – I’m signing the adoption papers for everyone today, so nobody else will come and take you God knows where. Anyone willing to take the leap and get out of here?” 

Y/N was met with silence, which made her want to crawl into a hole. Not ready to give up yet, she stood, making a slow circle around the room. She avoided the wolf, who was still regarding her with hostility, as well as the bear and elk that backed away from her as soon as she approached. She would not try to engage with the hybrids that wanted nothing to do with her yet, it would be counterproductive in earning their trust. Yoongi had slunk back to his cot as she passed by his space, disinterested. Y/N bit back a chuckle, sensing he would be a bit of a character when she got to know him. Not today, then. 

Circling back to the fox, who was still poking his face through the bars, Y/N grinned. 

“You don’t seem to hate me, huh?” Y/N wondered aloud, consulting the clipboard for his name. “Hoseok! How ‘bout it?” 

The fox blinked, pawing the ground. She registered the reaction as a green light to consider him one of the ones leaving with her today, making her feel utterly elated. 

“Alright! Any other takers for today?” Y/N inquired, starting to feel mirthful. A pitiful whine came from across the room from the coyote. She remembered his name from the sheet already, he was Jimin. 

“Jimin, right?” Y/N crossed the room at a glacial pace, smiling at the quivering hybrid so as not to frighten him further. He looked like he’d rather travel to Mordor than spend one more second in that shelter, so she made a mental note to bring him along that day as well. “Well, three out of seven for today is more than I was expecting, so that makes me happy,” Y/N breathed, a smile stretching across her face. Jimin’s ear fluttered, sitting shakily on his haunches in expectation. 

“Alrighty, I’ve got all of the certificates, ‘ere. Just need your signatures. Murphy’s on his way,” Gerry bustled into the room, holding a stack of paper and a fountain pen. Again, he made sure he stayed far from the cells, not sparing a single glance to the hybrids. Y/N felt acute dislike for the man, but needed to remain cordial so he would allow her to return for a couple days for the others. 

Walking away from Jimin, Y/N reached for the papers, adding them to the clipboard. Gerry watched her with mild interest as she sorted through the certificates, uncapping the pen. Aware of the hybrid’s stares more than ever, she signed her name carefully seven times, officially sealing the deal. The hybrids were safe, and she could breathe a little easier.

“I’d like to get some clothes from up front for them, for the ride back,” Y/N handed the pen back to Gerry, tucking the clipboard close to her side. Gerry nodded, scuttling out of the room, beckoning to follow. 

“I’ll be right back!” Y/N assured the seven pairs of eyes on her. 

Back at the front of the shop, she studied the measurements of the men, deciding to just pick up a set for all of them. She would take them all shopping for things of their own style when they settled in later that week, the thought of enjoying a day at the outdoor mall with seven new companions filling her with anticipation. 

The clothes were just as plain and dated as they were the previous night, and there was not much to pick from, but thankfully all of the sizes she needed were available. She selected various tee shirts in colors of cream, gray, and olive, as well as seven pairs of thin black sweatpants. Adding a pack of socks and underwear to her armful of apparel, she hummed, lamenting the quality. In little cubbies, there were even shoes that she could buy, so she had Gerry haul seven pairs to the front of the store. 

“Murphy’ll be here in ten minutes. He’s over in Chinatown. How many you takin’ today?” Gerry asked her, hanging up the phone he had been shouting on while Y/N was choosing clothes. 

“Three. I’ll be back tomorrow for the others. I might have to impose on Monday, as well,” Y/N explained, heading back to the hybrids. Gerry waved in acknowledgement, whistling and loading the boxes of shoes on a dolly to cart behind her.

Reentering the room with the stack of clothes, Y/N grunted as she piled everything on the folding chair. Seokjin had managed to roll over, head weakly lifted as he watched Y/N rip the pack of socks and underwear open. She squealed as the socks burst out of the plastic bag, catching her off guard, quickly apologizing as a startled growl came from the wolf on her right. He was definitely going to be a tough nut to crack. 

Divvying up the clothes according to who they were for, she neatly folded them into piles as quickly as she could, depositing each pile in front of the hybrid they were intended for, easily accessible through the wide iron bars. Gerry had wheeled the shoes to the mouth of the room, his key to the cell doors on the top box as per her request, but went no further inside the room himself. Y/N could still hear him whistling at the front of the store, to the tune of Money, Money, Money by ABBA. Muttering about his inconsideracy, Y/N placed the shoeboxes in front of their new owners as well. 

“So! I’m sorry you weren’t able to pick these yourselves, but we can go out next week or whenever you’d like to pick out clothes that are your taste. We could even order some clothes online if you’d prefer,” Y/N apologized, arms coming out to hug her midsection. She was starting to feel the fatigue of staying up for longer than 24 hours, and was running purely off of fumes at this point. 

“Seokjin, Hoseok, and Jimin, the ride home should be here any minute. I’ll wait for you up front, and let you change,” Y/N urged gently, sensing the eagerness to leave in both Jimin and Hoseok. She felt the need to say more to the other hybrids, a bit crushed that she’d have to leave them for some time.

“The rest of you guys, I’ll be back first thing in the morning like today. I’d love it if you’d all come with me tomorrow, but we’ll talk about it then,” she turned to the elk, Jeongguk, the clipboard informed her, and admired his beautiful antlers with a wistful smile. Keys in hand, she slowly approached Jimin’s cell, unlocking the door but keeping it closed, before doing the same to Hoseok’s and Seokjin’s. A large part of her wanted to unlock all of the doors, but she didn’t want to risk an altercation between the remaining hybrids when she left for home.

With that, she gave a little wave, and retreated back to the storefront. Her heart began to race, wondering what the hybrids looked like when they shifted, how their voices sounded, and what their personalities were like. She couldn’t wait to actually hold a two-sided conversation with them, feeling like she was talking to herself for the past half hour, and paced back and forth in front of the window as she waited for Murphy’s van to pull up. 

Tempted to add some guidebooks to her list of purchases, Y/N thought the better of it as she noticed the outdated materials. Her mother would be able to find what she was looking for at the library, that is, when Y/N told her about the hybrids. Blood draining from her face, she realized that nobody in her life even knew what she had just done. Grinding her teeth, a part of her basked in the feeling of having a secret just to herself, for now, even if it wouldn’t be for long. She wouldn’t even be able to put Ben off come evening. 

Deciding to cross that bridge when she got to it, she jumped a foot in the air as a car noisily honked outside. Checking the window, a rusted mint green VW Microbus was double parked in front of the shelter. A sandy haired older gentleman was waving at her, mouthing her name and pointing to the backseat. Frantically, she ran out the door, approaching the vehicle. 

“You’re Y/N?” The man confirmed, scanning her face expectantly.

“Yes, sir. Thank you for coming out like this,” Y/N leaned into the passenger window. “I’ve written my address down for the GPS, I’ll come back out with the others,” handing him a scrap of paper that came from the sock package, she tripped her way back into the building, bewildered. She almost fell over as she collided with another body, hands reaching out to steady her by her biceps. 

“Whoa, there,” an unfamiliar voice exclaimed, immediately releasing her upon her recovery of footing. Looking up, Y/N felt her cheeks flame as she registered the man’s face. 

The first thing she noticed were a pair of clever mocha colored eyes, widened in surprise. Second, of course, where the red fox ears were crowning glossy strands of mahogany hair, ears turned back flat against his head. His golden skin contrasted unfairly well with the olive tee shirt he had donned, and all at once Y/N felt overwhelmed and embarrassed. 

“Hoseok?” She breathed, face on fire. Of course he had to be good looking. Backing up a foot, resisting the urge to fan herself, she watched as a cheeky grin appeared on Hoseok’s face. Starting to say something, he was swiftly cut off by the sound of a dragging foot behind him, stepping to the side in alarm. Trying to shake off her astoundment, she pulled her eyebrows together, peering around Hoseok’s frame for the source of the sound. 

The two other hybrids inched towards the front door, the taller’s arm slung around the other’s shoulders for support. Gasping, Y/N moved forward to help, noticing blood seeping through the cream colored shirt Seokjin had put on. 

“Oh, Jesus, can I please help you out?” Y/N hesitated reaching out, not wanting to touch someone without permission. Seokjin’s head of wavy raven hair was bobbing, skin an ashen color, and she forgot all about her previous state of fluster. It must have taken a lot of effort for him to shift and change, his energy waned to nothing.

“I don’t think he can hear you, entirely, Miss,” a rugged voice piped up: Jimin. Balking at the title, Y/N glanced at him with concern. Overgrown blonde hair covered his eyes, a concentrated grimace across his lips. “Don’t worry, I’ve got him,” Jimin assured her, his hand firmly gripping Seokjin’s wrist over his shoulder. 

“O-Okay–” 

“I’ll help you get him in the back, let’s go,” Hoseok cut her off urgently. Leaping out of the way, Y/N suddenly felt out of place as she watched Jimin drag Seokjin out of the shelter, Hoseok jogging out first and pulling the van door open. She didn’t miss the way Jimin tipped his head back, filling his lungs with fresh morning air, and Hoseok’s stiffened posture loosening up the moment his feet touched the sidewalk outside of the shelter.

“Gerry, I’ll be back in the morning. First thing!” Y/N yelled into the recesses of the shop, not caring if he replied or not. 

Out on the sidewalk, she bit at her nails nervously as she watched Jimin shift to get a good hold on Seokjin’s shoulders, Hoseok grasping his ankles and hoisting him up. Seokjin groaned loudly, head rolling back, his sweaty face screwed up in pain. Y/N felt her heart break, the same way it did whenever she saw agony written all over someone’s face, and vowed to find whoever did this to him and slap them with Ben’s most aggressive lawsuit, or maybe claw their eyes out. 

Hoseok bared his teeth as he hauled Seokjin’s lower body into the van gingerly. Waiting for Jimin to lift the rest of him into the van, Hoseok sat in the back seat with Seokjin’s legs dangling over his lap. Jimin had to maneuver Seokjin’s chest and head so it was propped up on his thighs, all three of them cramped in the back, breathing laboriously. 

“Aw, hell, is that blood?” Murphy exclaimed, twisting his body to eye Seokjin’s bloodied shirt. 

“I’ll pay for any damages, can you just take the fastest route?” Y/N shot back as she slammed the passenger door, buckling up. Murphy sputtered, looking at her like she had two heads, but obeyed by throwing the van in drive and shoving AirPods in his ears. Adjusting herself so she could face the backseat, she scanned Seokjin’s face, his eyes closed and breathing shallow. His face was positively angelic, however, marred by the shadow of pain, and he was definitely feverish judging by the sweat dripping from his hairline.   

“So… where do you live?” Hoseok asked, his cadence a bit awkward as he tried to sit as close to the edge of the seat as possible. Y/N cleared her throat, tearing her attention from Seokjin’s face, returning Hoseok’s gaze. 

“Outside of the city, in a wooded area by a lake. I live in my grandparent’s old house,” Y/N answered, squeezing her fists as she prayed Murphy’s driving was as fast as her’s. Hoseok half-smiled thoughtfully, looking out the window curiously as buildings rolled by. Sunlight caught gold flecks in his irises and the rich red of his hair. 

As conversation halted there, Y/N started to plan out the mid-morning: she would have to roll out her grandfather’s old wheelchair for Seokjin, find the best place to treat him, show the other two around the house, and hopefully sneak in a nap somewhere along the way. Later that night, she wanted to order a few more sets of basic clothing for the hybrids until they could make it to the stores – after all, she didn’t know when the wolf hybrid would want to even be in the same room as her. She’d probably have to order some groceries, as well, there weren’t enough items in her fridge and pantry to feed everybody. Pulling out her phone, she kept track of all of the loose ends to tie up that night, ignoring missed texts from Ben crowding her lockscreen. She’d have to call him later, as well, and she wasn’t looking forward to it, luckily he was probably preoccupied with Daisy. 

“Miss? You said you’re a veterinarian?” Jimin piped up after a stretch of time, brushing his hair off of his face. His eyes were a shocking shade of yellow, round and clear as a spring morning. Swallowing hard, Y/N nodded.

“I am. I worked with exotic animals, like parrots, lizards… I even treated a giraffe at one point. Though, hybrids, I have not treated before…” Y/N trailed off, unnerved by Jimin’s intense eye contact. He seemed significantly less jittery now that he was shifted into his human form, which was relieving. “But, I know that I’ll be able to help Seokjin, for sure– and my father can come by, as well. He specializes in hybrid cardiology.”

Jimin’s sandy colored ears pricked up in interest, with this, his shoulders relaxing an inch. Interestingly, the three hybrids had no animosity between them, seemingly, as Seokjin was passed out, and Y/N wondered which ones didn’t like each other. She wondered if Laura, the master of conflict resolution in her friend group, could swing by in the future and give her some tips. 

“Hybrid cardiology?” Hoseok repeated, an eyebrow raised. Nodding enthusiastically, Y/N cringed as Murphy took a sharp turn off of the highway towards her town. 

“He went to school for cardiology, because my grandfather on his side passed away from congestive heart failure quite young. He eventually became part of a group study that practiced surgical procedures for hybrids when my mother was pregnant with me, for some additional experience. My mother told me that he enjoyed working with hybrids so much, and that the field had so much improvement to make, my father focused his studies on hybrid cardiology from then on. Up until a year ago he had a practice in Boston, now he’s semi-retired— he can still access his office and do examinations,” Y/N explained. Her father had helped trailblaze heart surgical procedures for hybrids, and would love the news of Y/N’s spur-of-the-moment adoptions. Another phone call to add to the list.  

Hoseok and Jimin listened to her carefully, and while she was grateful they seemed to express at least a little interest in her life, she was absolutely dying to know more about them. Sadly, she knew that it would take a lot of time to get close enough to ask personal questions, and knew better than to pry right off the bat. While they didn’t say more than a few words compared to her ramblings, it felt nice to have someone listen.  

“I’ll have to go back to the shelter tomorrow to pick up the others, as I’m sure you heard, but you’re welcome to come with me into the city again then! Maybe we can stop at a drugstore on the way back so we can pick up toiletries and snacks,” Y/N offered hopefully. Jimin opened his mouth and closed it, eyes flicking downward as if he was conflicted. She began to backtrack when she remembered how anxious he seemed at the shelter, internally scolding herself.

“Sure, I’ll come with you,” Hoseok replied quickly, flashing a lovely smile. Overjoyed, Y/N returned the grin, admiring just how pretty his smile was – after all, it was the first time she saw it in its entirety. 

“Jimin,” Y/N continued, not wanting to put him in a tight spot, “If you’d like, you can write me a list and I can pick up whatever you need. It’s a good idea to have someone stay with Seokjin while he comes down from his fever, and you can settle in.”

Biting down on his thick lower lip, Jimin looked both alleviated and a touch guilty, a peach blush dusting his cheeks. 

“If that’s alright, Miss, I’ll watch over Seokjin for you,” Jimin answered, hand reaching up to tug at something on his head that wasn’t there, as if he had an imaginary hat on. The action was odd, Jimin slightly frowning as he realized his fingers grasped air. Pretending not to notice, Y/N turned the right way in her seat as the familiar library building passed by, her mother’s car parked out front; they were almost home. 

“Oh! We’ll be there soon!” Y/N exclaimed, bouncing in her seat. She stole a glance at Seokjin, who was fast asleep, oblivious to the chatter between the rest of them. Hoseok was locked in on the scenery of the town, small shops she grew up around zooming by, beautiful August flowers studding the storefronts. The fall festivals would be coming up in less than a month, and bringing the hybrids to the events would be a blast. Thinking of the hayrides, harvest stands, and apple picking filled her mind, now that she finally had time to attend the festivals. 

Murphy pulled out an earbud, snapping gum between his teeth. 

“Next street over?” He yelled, earning a gravelly moan from Seokjin. Y/N had the feeling Murphy was a bit hard of hearing. 

“Yes, yes,” Y/N waved, directing him where to park. She’d have to unlatch the gate and blast into the house for the wheelchair.

Murphy crawled to the end of the street, Y/N tapped her foot, watching her neighbor’s old Victorians pass by. The hybrids in the back seat were quiet, the only sound in the van coming from the GPS. Finally pulling up in front of Y/N’s house, the last one on the dead end street, she breathed a sigh of relief, unfastening her seatbelt. 

“This is it!” Y/N announced nervously. She hoped that they would like the house, that it wouldn’t be too old and scary looking to them. If the hybrids held any opinions on the exterior, they kept them to themselves, ears alert as they both leaned towards the window to take a look. Admittedly, the view of the house was pretty obstructed by the large willows planted in the front yard, but the shapes of the roof peaked over enough to get a glimpse. Debriefing Hoseok and Jimin on her plan to retrieve the wheelchair, she had them wait in the van while she ran into the house.

Jimin and Hoseok maneuvered Seokjin as gently as they could into the leather wheelchair. Murphy honked his way down the street as he left, and thankfully none of Seokjin’s blood seeped into the seats of the van. Y/N insisted on pushing the wheelchair despite Jimin’s protests, Seokjin still fever dreaming and mumbling incoherently. She had to take the hybrids in the side door where the wooden ramp fashioned for her grandfather’s wheelchair led into the kitchen. 

“This place is huge,” Hoseok observed, getting a better look at the building once in the backyard. Looking back at the two hybrids trailing behind her, Y/N noticed Hoseok’s mouth hanging ajar, eyes roaming over the windows and steep eaves of the roof. The house was pretty imposing, painted dark shades of maroon and gray, but it was light and airy inside, something she knew the hybrids would love. 

“Yeah, it is. I used to get lost in some of the nooks and back staircases when I was really little, my dad got me Barbie walkie talkies for Christmas one year when it became a frequent problem,” Y/N chuckled at the memory. “Back when it was new, a wealthy local judge had it built for his wife. They had six children, so it has more bedrooms and living spaces than the average Victorian.” 

She eased the wheelchair over a bump in the pavingstones, finally back to the patio where she had only been hours ago. It was almost impossible to believe where she was now compared to just a short time ago.

“Looks like you’ve got some real nice grounds in the back here, Miss,” Jimin added, bright eyes sparkling as he took in the fauna in the backyard. Y/N froze as she attempted to unlock the kitchen door, casting Jimin an embarrassed look. 

“Thank you, Jimin, we can walk around the trails tonight if you’d like – and I can show you my poor landscaping skills! And please, you can just call me Y/N,” she insisted, smoothly yanking the sliding door open. She heard him sputtering, along with a snort from Hoseok. 

“We made it! Okay, so I’ll give you guys a proper tour after I treat Seokjin, but this is the kitchen,” Y/N gestured about the room, the mid-morning light warming the room pleasantly. Thankfully, she had cleared away her gin glass from last night before she left that morning, so the kitchen was absolutely spotless and ready for dinner. Hoseok whistled lowly, skimming a palm along the granite island. With the restaurant-sized refrigerator, multiple ovens, beautiful cooktop and walk-in pantry, Y/N was more excited than ever to reignite her passion for cooking and baking now that she had others to share food with. 

Pressing on, Y/N wheeled Seokjin towards the hallway, opting to put him in the nearest bedroom to her’s until he was well enough to pick one for himself.

“Either of you like to cook?” Y/N wondered aloud, slow footsteps behind her flooding out into the hallway. Cringing as soon as the words left her mouth, she realized that the possibility of them having access to a kitchen could be slim. Stupid! 

“The only thing I can make is a hamburger,” Hoseok said mournfully. So far, he had taken her completely by surprise, and her anxieties were quelled. Y/N laughed heartily at this response, looking forward to teaching him and the others how to make a few other staples in the future instead of lamenting over their pasts she didn’t even know about yet. Jimin even allowed a small chuckle to escape, with this, the mood light despite the circumstances. 

Passing through the foyer, by the dining room and parlor, they arrived at the bedroom, which was once where Y/N stayed before her grandparents moved out. It still had her large bookcase filled with all of her favorite books and encyclopedias, a small geode collection lining the desk, and her old wardrobe filled with clothes from her teenage years. When Seokjin got better, she’d have to clear out space on the bookshelf and the wardrobe. Acting with urgency once more, she pushed the wheelchair into the sunny sage green room.

“Let’s get him onto the bed,” Y/N switched into vet-mode, pulling the comforter on the bed back and easing Seokjin’s sneakers off. Hoseok and Jimin pulled Seokjin up by his armpits, heaving him onto the queen-sized mattress, moans of protest coming from the jaguar hybrid. The two stepped back as Y/N rounded the bed frame, getting a good look at Seokjin’s face. 

His fever had spiked, hairline completely soaked, skin pale and blotchy pink. Breathing shallowly, Seokjin’s eyebrows were scrunched together in pain. Bending over to grasp for the medical kit Y/N placed there earlier, she placed it on the bed, sorting through the items she’d need right away. She pushed damp hair off of his forehead, using the back of her hand to check his temperature, cursing at the ovenlike body heat coming off of him. 

“Jimin, do you mind wetting a cloth or two with cool water for me in the bathroom just there please? There should be some face cloths in a basket on the sink,” Y/N asked, pointing to the ajar door to the un suite. 

“O-of course,” Jimin stuttered, hastily crossing the room and disappearing into the bathroom. Y/N took Seokjin’s pulse at the base of his throat, which was thankfully thrumming strong against her fingers. Taking a deep breath, she carefully lifted the hem of his soiled shirt to reveal the wound on his right side. 

A series of healed scars littered the hybrid’s body, standing out against his damp skin. He was bruised in several places along his torso, shades of purple and green mottling around the site of the open wound. It looked like he had taken a few years of beatings or had fallen off of a ladder judging from the damage. Gritting her teeth, she examined the cut, which was miraculously uninfected, but still dribbling blood. The wound was not a puncture, but wide enough to not be able to mesh together without treatment, likely the reason it was still bleeding. Her fingers gently grazed the bruise by the site, Seokjin flinching even in his stupor. The wound was not deep enough to require stitches, but it was gnarly enough for butterfly bandages and gauze. She would have to periodically change his dressings, making sure an infection wouldn’t set in, but there was a lot less she had to do than she originally thought. 

“Here you go, Y/N,” Jimin returned, making the effort to drop the earlier “Miss” title, three cloths wrung out and rolled up in his outstretched hand. In the other, he had even filled the glass for the toothbrushes with more water. Looking up to him with a grateful smile, she set the glass on the nightstand and placed a cloth over Seokjin’s forehead gingerly. Feeling him still looming over her, if she should need anything else from him, she set the cup of water on the nightstand carefully. 

“Thank you, sweetheart, why don’t you and Hoseok sit tight on the couch until I finish up and I’ll show you around. I’m sure you’d love to settle in and relax,” Y/N said, using another cloth to begin swabbing away dried blood from Seokjin’s chest. Jimin had gone pink, mouth opening and closing again, before hurrying over to Hoseok already sitting on the green couch when the latter cleared his throat in amusement. Y/N fell into silence, searching her kit for some bruise cream. 

“Where’re you from, Jimin? That accent of yours certainly isn’t Bostonian,” Hoseok questioned, crossing an ankle over his knee. Loading up a piece of gauze with disinfectant, Y/N pretended she wasn’t listening to their conversation as she worked, hand pressed lightly on Seokjin’s chest so he wouldn’t flinch off of the bed due to the stinging sensation.

“I’m from southern Montana, my family is still there. I worked on the Yellowstone Park ranch,” Jimin answered easily, Hoseok making a hum of acknowledgement. “You?”

“Ah… I’ve been to so many places over the years, I can’t say that I remember where I was originally. Could have been London, might have been Paris. Around the time I was 17 I was brought to the States,” Hoseok said vaguely. Y/N had the feeling he was leaving out certain pieces of information purposefully, the tone of his voice genuinely surprised someone had asked him a personal question. Arching a brow, she applied the bruise cream on all of the spots she could see on Seokjin, hoping the cooling properties of the formula would ease some discomfort brought on by the fever. Hybrids healed faster than humans, so Seokjin would probably be able to get out and about by tomorrow afternoon, but she wanted to make sure he felt better as soon as possible.

The site of the wound cleaned, Y/N began to carefully place butterfly bandages on it. Her eyes felt like they were beginning to cross with fatigue as she fastened the last one by a rib, balling up the paper wrappings and stuffing them in her pocket. All she had left to do was cover the bandages in gauze and tape, and monitor his fever periodically – the thermometer she had pointed at Seokjin’s forehead told her his fever wasn’t something that required medications.

“So, a ranch? What, were you a cowboy?” Hoseok continued, preventing Jimin from asking a question first. Jimin sucked his teeth in annoyance, crossing his arms and leaning away from the fox hybrid. The sandy fur of Jimin’s tail stood on end, a defensive though uncontrollable action.

“You could call it that if you want, but we were ranchers. Mainly, we managed the cattle, trained horses, and maintained the park’s wildlife. I wasn’t Clint Eastwood,” Jimin grit his teeth, the words coming between them. Jimin must have gotten a remark like that hundreds of times to warrant that reaction, which made Y/N hide an involuntary snort as she taped down the gauze rectangle on Seokjin. 

Hoseok was laughing freely, his eyes squinting in humor while Jimin fumed on the furthest spot of the couch away from him, ears flat against his hair. Frowning, Y/N felt too bad to leave Seokjin in a shirt soiled with sweat and blood, so she straightened up and walked across the room to the wardrobe stuffed with her teenage garb. She was very into baggy band shirts in high school, so she knew that there would be at least one in the drawer that could accommodate Seokjin’s wide shoulders. 

“Good lord, I’m sorry, Jimin. I wasn’t expecting you to react like that,” Hoseok wiped a tear from his eye, sighing happily. Contrary to his unwillingness to reveal much about himself, Hoseok seemed completely at ease between the two other hybrids and Y/N herself, his body language relaxed as he slouched on the couch. Jimin mumbled back, Y/N not quite catching what he uttered. She grasped her largest shirt, an ancient Good Charlotte graphic tee from Warped Tour, cringing hard from the memories that came flooding back. 

Back at Seokjin’s side, she used the tiny pair of scissors in her kit to cut away the soiled shirt, pulling it off of him like a paper doll. 

“Hoseok, can you please help me sit him up for a second?” Y/N removed the cloth on Seokjin’s forehead, sliding a hand under his shoulder blade to lift one side. Hoseok jumped from the couch lightly, watching as Y/N held the back of Seokjin’s head so it wouldn’t roll backwards. Moving awkwardly, Y/N eased the well-worn shirt over his head, his rounded black ears popping up cutely as they passed through the neck opening, thanking Hoseok as he pulled Seokjin’s left arm through the hole. Straightening out the shirt, embarrassed of the print, Y/N and Hoseok gently laid him back down. She pulled the covers up over Seokjin when he began to tremble, the fever chills setting in. Lastly, Y/N replaced the cloth on his forehead with a new one, and supplied a bottle of water from her tote bag to leave on the nightstand.

“That wasn’t too bad, luckily. Another day or so in that shelter, he would have gotten an infection,” Y/N used a finger to swipe a lock of hair from Seokjin’s eye, smiling in satisfaction with her work. He looked far more comfortable, cozy, even, now that his fever was being managed, even humming in his sleep with the comforter pulled up to his chin. 

“Ready for the tour?” Y/N tore herself away from Seokjin, rubbing her eyes as she approached the other two hybrids. 

“Are you tired, Mi– Y/N?” Jimin asked, quickly covering up his habit for titles. Grimacing, Y/N drew the curtains partially closed in the room to keep it from heating up in the afternoon sun. She definitely looked tired, her eyes swollen, watering, catching a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror by the wardrobe.

“Just a little bit! I’ll probably take a short nap after I show you around. Staying up all night isn’t as easy as it was when I was nineteen,” Y/N admitted, almost fainting at the thought of sinking into her bed for an hour or two. “Let’s let Seokjin get some rest, I’ll check on him before I nap myself.”

Leaving the door halfway open, she motioned the two hybrids out into the hallway. 

“Straight ahead here, that’s my bedroom. These two doors here on the right are coat closets,” Y/N pointed out their immediate surroundings, moving forward into the foyer. “This is the front entrance! It still needs quite a bit of work, as does most of the house, as you can see with the half-stripped staircase…”

Hoseok made a circle around the foyer room, looking closely at the cloudy stained glass windows, pausing by the staircase. 

“What’s that door, there?” He questioned, pointing to the door down to the basement. 

“That’s the basement! My mother and I just finished renovating it, want to check it out? I suppose you took a peek into the dining room and the living room we passed by earlier, so all that’s left on this floor is the old office, the yellow and blue bedrooms, and the sunroom. You can take a look as you please, later,” Y/N opened up the basement door for Hoseok, switching on the lovely new lights her mother hung up. 

In an effort to make the basement less horrifyingly haunted looking, Y/N’s mother painstakingly helped her paint it in bright creams and soft green, making sure there were plenty of light fixtures and lamps. Y/N took the lead as Hoseok and Jimin followed her down the carpeted staircase, the scent of paint still vaguely lingering in the air. 

“Over there, my mother put in a little gym area.”

The right side of the basement had a mirrored wall, an exercise bike, and a rack of dumbbells. The full bathroom was over there, as well, complete with a little sauna room, something her mother had splurged on for Y/N’s last birthday. It hadn’t gotten much use, with Y/N’s extended hours in the past months, but she had a feeling that was about to change with her newfound free time. Hoseok whistled, an apparent quirk of his, smiling widely at the stereo system mounted on the wall. 

“On that side is a nice new bedroom, what was once a storage room for my grandmother’s junk collection. There’s even a little window in there by the ceiling that was hidden behind some old, crumbly drywall,” Y/N slid the pocket door open, which offered privacy from the gym, letting Jimin and Hoseok get a good look. 

The bedroom had a nice set of rosewood furniture, keeping it on theme with the rest of the home. A large dresser, a desk, queen sized bed, even a space heater tucked away for wintertime. It was one of her favorite bedrooms, artistic painted wallpaper stenciled in by her mother’s hand. 

“This is beautiful,” Hoseok breathed, fingers skimming the cream quilt. She watched him admire the painted ivy on the wall, tail swishing as he walked the width of the room.

“I’ll relay the message to my mother,” Y/N crossed her arms in amusement, leaning against the doorframe. Jimin had gone to examine the sauna, excitedly, his shoes making hollow thuds as he walked around in it behind her. “You want this room?” 

Hoseok’s head snapped up, catching Y/N’s bemused expression, before tilting his head in contemplation. 

“Can I think about it?”

“You absolutely may, there’s a lot more to see,” Y/N affirmed, bringing him back out to the stairwell. Jimin was already waiting for them, flicking his overgrown hair out of his eyes again. She’d have to make appointments for everyone to get a haircut next week, her list of to-do’s becoming longer by the second. 

“Onwards!” Y/N marched up the stairs and wincing, legs screaming in distress. Jimin made a choked sound as he hurried after her, Hoseok lingering for a moment longer before he followed. 

The three ended up on the second floor after taking a blast through the remainder of the first floor. Jimin took a liking to the blue bedroom by the sunroom, overlooking the backyard. Y/N could tell he wanted to claim it when he sunk into the royal blue velvet chair by the window, but refrained from pushing it on him until he saw the rest of the place.

The hybrids followed her through the library, the dusty billiard’s room and family room, and the two tower rooms. They didn’t seem to jump on the opportunity to be on the higher floor, even the pink, lavender, and sunset orange rooms with smaller windows than the tower rooms didn’t get them as excited as they were previously. Y/N was wilting with exhaustion, patiently answering questions about art on the walls or books on shelves, but with the tour of the house done, she knew that she’d be crawling into bed any moment. 

“Any decisions?” Y/N pondered, trudging down the stairs. Met with nervous silence, Y/N sighed lightly, giving the two an encouraging look when they arrived back in the foyer. 

“I’m partial to that blue room, over in the back…” Jimin stared at the black and white tiled floor, voice soft. Y/N wanted to grab the both of them and insist that this was their home now too, and deserved to pick the room they wanted the most, but getting them to believe that would take time and even more patience. 

“It’s yours,” Y/N confirmed, hoping Hoseok hadn’t wanted the same room suddenly. Jimin perked up, shuffling his feet, and giving her a nod in thanks. They both gave Hoseok an expectant look, while he stared at the basement door. 

“Hoseok?” Y/N giggled, his ears swiveling back in embarrassment when he caught their looks. “Did you think about it?” 

“I think the basement is calling his name or something,” Jimin teased, surprising everyone else in the room. Perhaps it was payback from Hoseok’s earlier jabs. 

“Am I that obvious?” Hoseok exclaimed, nudging Jimin with his shoulder. Jimin blushed, eyes squinting in mirth. He had a gorgeous smile, and it was so nice to see the two of them get along amicably with their teasing. 

“So, Jimin will take the blue room and Hoseok the basement room? Is that right?”

The two nodded, still smiling from their little moment. A chorus of angels sang hallelujah in her head, finally able to get some rest now that the room choices were squared away. 

“Do you need anything from me before I get some sleep? I’ll be up to make some late lunch, but please feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen if you want a snack,” Y/N insisted. 

“I’m alright, thank you… but you should really get some sleep. We’ll be fine,” Jimin reassured her, Hoseok agreeing with a hum. Grinning gratefully, Y/N began to head towards the hallway. 

“Well then, I’ll leave you two to settle in for now. I’m just going to check on Seokjin, first,” she gave them a little wave, watching as Jimin set off towards his room with a skip in his step and Hoseok waved back animatedly. 

Shaking her head with a chuckle, she slid into Seokjin’s room quietly, eyes adjusting in the low light. She could hear his steady breathing, and upon closer examination Y/N saw that he was still fast asleep. Gently, she rinsed another cloth in the cool cup of water, swapping it from the warm one on his forehead. Seokjin mumbled in his sleep as it draped over him, his ears fluttering against the pillow. 

Leaving him, Y/N set an alarm on her phone to wake her in time to make the food mid-afternoon, stumbling down the hallway. The list on her phone grew lengthy, bullet points reading: open up seven hybrid-specific credit cards, call friends and family to break the news, order cell phones, schedule haircuts… all of which she would tackle later that night. 

She strained her ears for any sounds of the other two hybrids, but all she heard was the wind blowing willow branches against the windows of her bedroom. Deciding to take a nice, cool shower after her nap, she closed her door, stripped to her underwear, and collapsed into her bed. Her lights were out almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, but she already felt like she was floating through a dream.

Taglist; @blancflms @grazysf @sbromp @jaxavance @sunderlight @ot7nem @mageprincess7 @wittyreader @drenix004 @mayla548 @skyys-universe

Please do not repost or translate my work. Thank you!

Trouvaille Masterlist

Pairing(s); BTS OT7 x Reader

Genre/Themes; Hybrid!AU, themes of the supernatural and the occult, paranormal themes, religious themes, violence, hurt/comfort, horror, romance

Rated; 18+ for swearing, violence/gore, future sexual themes. Reader discretion is advised.

UPDATES ON THE 7TH OF EACH MONTH

In a world where hybrids are both the hottest commodity and largely exploited, a recent shortage of hybrids nationwide due to the wealthy adopting for sport hunting dominates the news headlines. More than ever, stray hybrids are whisked off the streets and taken into shelters to meet the demand. Mistreated, neglected, forgotten – in a notoriously disreputable hybrid shelter in a pocket of downtown Boston, seven “aggressive” hybrids await their inevitable fate of being sold for sport.

After years of trying to distance herself from her mystical past and upbringing, Y/N finds herself quitting her emotionally-draining job and is forced to face past mistakes. While accompanying her friends looking to adopt a child hybrid into their newly-formed family, Y/N inadvertently finds herself face-to-face with seven hybrids doomed to die. In a spur of the moment epiphany, Y/N decides to change the course of fate for the better; though bringing seven aggressive hybrids into her life and the darkening spiritual energy of her old home is trickier to navigate than she originally thought.

MAIN STORY;

Chapter One posted 2.7.23; 20.4k words

Chapter Two posted 3.7.23; 20.8k words

Chapter Three posted 3.20.23; 21.5k words

Chapter Four posted 4.7.23; 20.6k words

Chapter Five posted 5.7.23; 20.5k words

Chapter Six posted 6.7.23; 20.9k words

Chapter Seven posted 7.7.23; 22.3k words

Chapter Eight posted 8.7.23; 23.4k words

DRABBLES;

"My boys" posted 9.1.23; 2.2k words

EXTRAS;

Trouvaille playlist

Mood boards - Seokjin . Yoongi . Hoseok . Namjoon . Jimin . Taehyung . Jeongguk

Trouvaille Inspirations (coming soon!)

Things readers have created for Trouvaille

Teaser to Chapter One

PREQUELS (coming soon!);

Something Kind of Fantastic Hoseok, coming soon!

Fire, Walk With Me Yoongi, coming soon!

Midnight on a Moonless Night Taehyung, coming soon!

Almost Doesn't Matter Jimin, coming soon!

Same as it Always Was Seokjin, coming soon!

You See Them... They See You Jeongguk, coming soon!

Truth Beyond Our Own Namjoon, coming soon!

gojo? gojo.. is the type of man to get so.. engrossed in the feeling of your cunt wrapped so snuggly around his thick cock— so drunk and stupid on your pussy.. that he proposes. he proposes to you in the midst of rutting into you, seconds before he spills his load into your cunt.

he’s really into it too.. saying things like: “god, i’m gonna fucking— marry you.” or “shut up.. shut up, please.. and marry me.” through his teeth. gojo doesn’t really know what he’s saying either but they are his subconscious thoughts he’s been harboring over time. its just? he’d rather not want to commit with every he has going on with him at the moment.

so he fucks you like he’s your husband, & you’re his wife.

Mystic Trail ✧ * ˚ ˗ˏˋ ´ˎ˗˚

[supernatural!txt x researcher!reader] [One-shots]

Pairing(s): Various supernatural!txt x researcher!reader

Contains: Profanity, dark themes, mentions of blood & injury, romance, fantasy elements, supernatural creatures, fluff, angst.

Genre(s): One-shot series, Romance, fantasy, dark fantasy, comedy.

Link: Masterlist

Summary: Your fascination with the supernatural grew beyond just reading online journals and documentaries from a young age but rather it's now your entire career. As a rookie researcher, you have gone on a decent amount of field expeditions.

You knew some supernatural creatures were more dangerous than others, though that didn’t stop your pursuit towards them.

Though the question remains, how safe can you remain and to what extent were you willing to go to get your research?

———————-•••••••••••••••••————————

Take your pick and see if you make it out unscathed or utterly in love…

———————-•••———————

1. HUENING KAI:

Pairing: Elf!Hueningkai x Researcher!reader

Contains: Mentions of injury, profanity.

Genres: Fantasy, fluff, romance.

Summary: Your footsteps crunch through the dead leaf litter and you grunt as you push through the numerous vines. You’d gotten separated from your fellow researcher and now you were additionally lost. You had no idea where your base camp was?

You knew this was a fucking bad idea; but the pay check was just too damn good. Now you know it was more likely incentive.

A pure voice alerts you through the shrubbery, “Goodness, don’t you look all bruised up! You’re rather far from your little camp, no?” You peer to your right-

Holy fuck, this man was beautiful.

[CLICK HERE]

———————-•••———————

2. YEONJUN:

Pairing: FallenAngel!Yeonjun x Researcher!reader

Contains: Dark themes, mentions of blood, injury, manipulation, captivity, slight possessive behaviour, lots of angst.

Genres: Dark fantasy, fantasy, romance, thriller, angst.

Summary: When you wanted someone to fall for you, this was not exactly what you meant. Your lips tremble as you see his hands press against the glass panel of his containment. He was merely just a specimen to your team right? He was the first ever fallen Angel caught alive.

You’d been used as the bait, immediately once they knew you’d found one. Heartbreakingly, you toyed with his heart and trapped him for research.

His dark eyes stare into your emptily as he gives you a smile, “I lost my wings for you, y/n. I won’t let you go that easily. Not after what you did to me.”

[COMING SOON]

———————-•••———————

3. SOOBIN:

Pairing: Vampire!Soobin x Researcher!reader

Contains: Mentions of blood, injury, profanity.

Genres: Fantasy, romance, fluff, slice of life, comedy, slight angst.

Summary: You peer at your fellow researcher with slight suspicion. “Are you…okay?” He hums trying to avoid any eye contact with you. Sighing, you say, “You’re pale. Paler than usual I mean. Have you eaten? Had anything to drink?”

Soobin freezes, “What?” You scoff, “Blood, I mean?” The man seems to pale even more impossibly, “You know?” You start laughing, “Doesn’t everyone know?”

You realise he’s not laughing with you. You murmur awkwardly, “Wait, is it not obvious?” Soobin murmurs, “It’s not supposed to be, yeah.” “Oh.”

[COMING SOON]

———————-•••———————

4. TAEHYUN:

Pairing: Siren!Taehyun x Researcher!reader

Contains: Profanity, manipulation, gaslighting, dark themes, possessiveness, violence.

Genres: dark fantasy, fantasy, thriller, romance

Summary: You had heard about numerous siren sightings upon this very beach; and you were determined to take a photo of at least one!

Perhaps, it was stupid, though, you were just ever so intrigued. After all this field of research was your specialty. Though, you’ve been here for two days and there’s still not single sight of one. Was your effort coming here going to got to waste?

A sudden voice breaks your thoughts, “My, my, are all humans this adorable when they space out?” You freeze instantly. No way.

[COMING SOON]

———————-•••———————

5. BEOMGYU:

Pairing: Fae!Beomgyu x Researcher!reader

Contains: profanity, thriller elements, mentions of blood and injury, manipulation.

Genres: Romance, fluff, fantasy, slight enemies to lovers, dark fantasy,

Summary: Stepping up the rocky terrain you grunt clearly unimpressed with how you weren’t alone. “Come on, won’t you tell me your name, pretty please?” Deadpanning, you scoff, “Surely you don’t think I’m that stupid?”

The ethereal man pouts innocently but you knew there was true mischief behind it. His eyes glimmer stepping forward, “What’s in a name? I’ll tell you mine. Consider it an honour to know my name.”

Glaring you mutter, “No thanks, I’ll pass. I’m here to study the elves anyway, not you.” His eyes narrow, “Sorry, what?” His sweet tone changes making you snort.

[COMING SOON]

with gyu every moment! 🐶

like the moon ☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ huening kai

huening kai x gn!reader , tags; mermaid!kai , human!reader , modern fantasy au , fluff , courting , slightly inspired by the little mermaid ofc , rejection , angst , getting together ? in a mermaid way , mates/soul ties , reader is sleep deprived , taehyun is a smartass , totally not stealing outfit inspo from sugar rush ride as an addition to the plot wdym haha

warnings: making out , reader's gender isn't specified but you wear dresses , near death experience? reader almost drowns

a/n: hiiii! sooooo i tried something a little different this time for my fairytale-esque fantasy lovers??? lmk how u guys feel about it :] i hope you enjoy!!! (edited but not beta read so pls excuse any mistakes aaaa)

wc: 8.4k+

you love the ocean more than anything else in this big, wide world. you treasure the crisp air and the salty, but comforting scent of the atmosphere,  the way the rays of the sun would bounce off of the rushing waves and onto your skin fills your heart with an uncontained warmth, and the sunset reflected on the surface brings you a sense of serenity. you have loved the ocean since you were little—growing up on the coast, the sea was basically your backyard.

your mother had nicknamed you “droplet” from the way you would always run into the house dripping with ocean water, spending most of your days out at sea swimming—your favorite thing to do was pretend to be a pretty mermaid, chosen to protect the reef from any bad guys nearby. the ocean is your home, your sanctuary… where you belong.

ever since you moved towards the inner, bustling part of your town, you have made it your mission to visit the beach every few days if you can, whether it be to stay for three minutes or three hours. so here you are, stepping onto the sand with bare feet in a secluded area of the beach, jacket discarded on some random rock, notebook and pen in hand. you prefer writing your lyrics out here; the sounds of small waves hitting the shore and the occasional squawk of a passing seagull always seem to calm you, letting you release any tension in your muscles. you have been overworking yourself lately, staying up all night to produce and write songs, barely having any time to yourself to just be.

you settle down into the sand, resting your back against a washed-up long, and from there, you let your pen do all of the work. the air is a bit harsher than usual, the breeze whipping around you, knocking the bottom of your dress up slightly with the movement. you cross your legs, digging your toes into the sand as you look up at the sky—it’s a dull gray filled with heavy clouds making their move toward your small town. 

a faint frown makes its way onto your face; a summer storm must be coming soon. the clouds are still a ways away though, so you bask in the small time you have left to relax, writing down a few more lyrics as you listen to the quiet song of the sea. 

words flow easily onto the page as you let your train of thought take the reigns, a familiar serenity washing over you. the wind, although slightly aggressive, feels nice on your skin—it’s a little clammy outside, the humidity of summer lingering in the atmosphere. everything is hushed, peaceful, and you think you can fall asleep right here on the shore.

the calmness in your body only lasts for so long—your body snaps to alert as a loud, echoing shriek interrupts the quiet. you tuck your legs into your chest as your eyes scan the beach, but nothing seems out of the ordinary, save for a forgotten towel a little further down the shore and the heavy clouds above you.

you squint a bit as you look out onto the water and a beat later, you notice a head peek out from under the deep blue surface. it’s not alarming in the slightest, though—divers do frequent this area during this time of year. brushing it off, you let your body relax as you settle back against the log, watching the diver go back under the water.

for a while, things go back to the way they were, your pen writing down as many lyrics as possible, tapping your foot in the sand as you hum a quiet tune to yourself. figuring out melodies has to be your favorite part of songwriting—hearing the words on your page come to fruition is a beyond-satisfying feeling. it isn’t until a few minutes later that your groove is heckled once again, that same shriek you heard before ringing through your ears. 

your eyes immediately find their way to the water, your heart nearly stopping in your chest as you lock gazes with the same head you saw a moment ago.

you’re quick to realize that whatever you’re seeing isn’t a diver. the man, or rather… creature has emerald green eyes, almost glowing as they glare from above the water, its dark hair wet and pressed down against their forehead. something akin to white, fish-like scales line the side of its face, flashy and sparkling. you can’t see the rest of the face due to the waves, but the head goes back under before you can fully process what you just saw.

you’re frozen still—those unnaturally green eyes send a chill down your spine. there’s no way that was just a diver, or a passing fish. whatever it was, it freaks you the fuck out. maybe you’re just imagining things. you’ve been running on less than three hours of sleep a day, staying up late to write and produce. you have over 20 commissions to complete in the next two months, so to say you’ve been neglecting your health would be an understatement. thinking of the fact, you decide it’s best to head home early; not only to avoid the soon-to-come storm but also to possibly squeeze in a quick power nap before the all-nighter you’re about to pull.

shooting a quick text to taehyun about how you’re so looped out, you’re starting to hallucinate (and receiving a lengthy scolding of a text back), you make your way home—and you don’t let yourself look back onto the water after a third noise sounds from behind you. must be a dolphin mating call.

or something like that.

the clouds have parted for the sun the next day you make it onto the beach. the wind is still persistent, but it’s not as bad as the day before, so you simply zip your jacket up to your neck as you walk through the sand. you didn’t bring your lyric book today—partially because taehyun had chastised you over the phone about your workaholic tendencies—but you really just wanted to relax. there’s a slight crook in your neck from the awful sleep you had last night, your eyelids heavy and your movements nearly sluggish. this lack of sleep has really been doing a number on you, but you know the sound of the ocean waves can help you de-stress, even just a little bit.

as you make your way to your usual spot against that big, washed-up log, you notice things sparkling in the sand right where you normally sit. you tilt your head in confusion, making your way over with a little more ferver in your step.

a small circle of pretty shells rests in your secluded spot, sparkling as the sun hits their smooth surface. they twinkle like stars in the sky and you can’t help but gasp at how beautiful they are, luminescent and bright. in the center of the circle sits a small, rusted gold necklace with an attached hand-carved pendant—the symbol is a crescent moon with faint initials at the bottom that you can’t quite read. you look around to see if anyone is around to claim the necklace, frowning a bit at the deserted beach. someone must’ve forgotten their things. 

you take a closerlook at the beautiful array, running your fingers over the awe-worthy shells—and one, in particular, catches your eye. it’s a pristine white, so rich you’d think it were manmade. it glimmers as you gently pick it up, holding it up to the sunlight. the color reminds you of those scales you had seen above the water the last time you were here.

it’s odd—whatever you imagined seemed so vivid and true. you can still physically feel the intensity of those green eyes, sharp and prying from where they watched you over the colliding waves. the sight had been so jarring that when you closed your eyes to rest that night, a pair of verdant ones glared back at you in the darkness. you don’t get enough sleep as it is, but you were barely able to get a wink of it with that image in your head.

you take a good look at the shell one last time, declaring it too beautiful to leave here all alone on the deserted beach—you slip it into your tote bag before taking a seat a few feet away from the necklace, just in case anyone comes back to retrieve it. the waves are gentle as they crash onto the shore, leaving seaweed, pebbles, and little crusteaceans in its wake. the sound is lulling as you settle your back against a nearby rock, letting your eyes slip shut to bask in the peaceful bliss.

you may have underestimated just how tired you really are, because as you blink your eyes open with a tiny yawn, you realize you had fallen asleep. the hidden gleam of the sun has moved towards west and you aren’t sure how long you’ve been here, but the uncomfortable pain in your lower back from the sharp rock behind you is telling enough.

it isn’t until you hear a small, surprised noise next to you that you actually will your brain to wake up. the scream you let out at the sight of a man crouched down next to you is absolutely embarrassing—especially with the way he simply fliches back a bit, his eyes widening at the sudden noise.

his eyes.

they’re a shockingly vivid green, round and dilated as he blinks owlishly at you.

they look incredibly familiar.

he seems to be just as startled as you are, and as your vision focuses a bit more, you notice the pearly white scales that sit on his face, glistening in the sunlight. tiny, pointy fangs peak out from his slightly ajar mouth, his black hair fluffed up and sun dried as it falls in waves on his forehead, framing his face prettily.

he’s very pretty.

but holy shit—you gasp as he blinks at you again, finally remembering where you’ve seen those eyes from.

well, this is great. you are so sleep-deprived that your imagination has now festered into some sick lucid dream. 

wake up, y/n! 

the man—the thing—seems to sense your disarray, a quiet noise sounding from the back of his throat as he reaches out to you with furrowed brows. you jump, moving back from the sudden movement, eyeing the fangs that rest on his bottom lip. 

oh god, this dream feels all too realistic and now you’re about to get eaten by some sexy monster man! this is why it’s important to have a consistent sleeping schedule, y/n!

you can hear your heartbeat in your ears as he stands to move in front of you—from this angle, you can get a good look at his figure. he’s incredibly tall, with long legs that go on for miles. his frame is covered by a tatted black and white sweater that just barely hangs onto his shoulder and a satchel across his frame, his upper body completely exposed to the slightly chilling air. he wears loose white shorts that reach just above his knees, littered with holes and tears—as if they had been washed onto sea after a treacherous journey across the ocean. that gold necklace from before rests in his hands, the chain dangling down and clinking softly in the wind. it must be his, you register. you open you mouth to defend yourself as not-a-theif—but you’re quickly cut off. 

he doesn’t speak other than to hold out the necklace to you with a small and insistent noise, his green eyes flitting quickly between yours. the pounding in your chest is incredibly persistent, every single bone inside of your body urging you to not take it—but your hand seems to have a mind of its own, reaching up to grasp the damp gold, your fingers shaking as they brush over the green-eyed man’s.

you can see the way his eyes glimmer as you warily hold the necklace against your chest, your breath stuck in your throat as he digs around in his satchel again. there’s no way you aren’t dreaming, everything seeming like a haze around you as you inspect the scattered white scales on his cheekbones, eyeing the fangs that slightly peek out from his mouth which leave shallow indents on his bottom lip.

his head turns towards you again and you feel your neck heat up from being caught staring, your gaze shooting down to your lap. you squeeze your eyes shut, willing yourself to wake up from this lucid dream, ignoring the way you can hear the man so clearly shuffling around in front of you.

you’re lucid dreaming, y/n. you really shouldn’t have eaten right before bed! wake up, wake up, wake up.

you count to ten in your head before you open your eyes again, flinching back as you find emerald green staring directly into yours. he’s kneeled down in front of you now, one of his hands in the sand next to your foot, his head cocked curiously as he scans your face—his thick, black hair falls into his eyes messily and up close, you notice the tiny beauty marks littered across his face and neck, the way his lips are bitten red, and the steady rise and fall of his chest.

so you aren’t dreaming? then that means… 

the man is cautious as he raises a hand to his chest, pressing over his heart before he bows to you. your mouth is dry—what the hell is going on?

you have no time to think before he lifts his head again, gazing up at you through his impossibly long eyelashes, the tiniest shadow of a smile slipping onto his lips. 

“i am kai.”

his voice is clumsy and horse, almost as if he doesn’t use it much, and a heavy, unknown accent paints his words as he speaks. the white scales on his face gleam in the sunlight and you find yourself slightly intrigued, wanting to reach up and feel them, but stopping yourself from doing so.

the man… or rather, the creature seems gentle enough—if he had planned on biting your head off, he surely would’ve done it by now. you let your guard lower as you sit up a bit, the necklace still clutched tightly between your fingers.

“my name is y/n,” you respond quietly—and the way his face lights up is absolutely blinding, a broad gleam taking over his initially shy smile, his scales twitching in an almost cute way. you watch as his hand drops from his chest, moving into your space to cup the side of your face. your body immediately tenses at the unexpected touch, a noise of surprise leaving your lips.

he leans forward as if to kiss you and a surge of panic courses through your body, cringing away from his hold—but he does no such thing. instead, he rests his forehead against yours, mumbling something in an unrecognizable language as his eyes flutter shut. you’re frozen in slight shock, but the lack of fear in your body confuses you to no end. you should be trying to run away from this strange creature, but instead, you feel… relaxed. a calm washes over you as his skin touches yours, feeling yourself be lulled by the quiet words he speaks to you.

when he pulls away, the grin is still on his face, running his finger down your cheek before moving out of your space. you try not to acknowledge the slight emptiness that fills your chest at the loss of touch, a faint and warm trail lingering from where is finger had traced.

“you took… you took one of m-my shells,” kai speaks with an eager bounce in his tone, gesturing toward your tote where that glimmering white shell still remains. your eyes follow his hand, quickly reaching for your bag to pry it open and search for the shell.

“oh, i’m sorry! i didn’t know it had an… owner…” you trail off as his eyebrows furrow, his lips twitching downwards as you grab the shell out of your bag. “you can have it back if you want…?”

the creature’s eyes comically widen, shaking his head at your words. he pushes your hand back towards you, a small whine emitting from his throat. 

“gift,” he states firmly, nodding towards the shell. you look down at the shell quizzically, everything slowly piecing together in your head bit by bit.

“you… did you leave all of those shells for… me?”

the bright smile quickly returns to the creature’s face as he nods fervently, his scales rippling in excitement. while you finally got answers to the weird phenomenon, you’re still full of bewilderment—what is this creature and why is he giving these gifts to you out of all people? it simply makes no sense.

“for you,” kai confirms, leaning into your space again now that you seem to understand. you catch the way his verdant eyes flicker with an emotion you can’t quite read. 

offering him a genial smile, you gently place the shell back in your bag. “thank you… but… why?”

the creature cocks his head, confusion overtaking his charming features at your question. he turns his head to glance back at the water before meeting your gaze again, pointing in that direction. 

you blink at him a few times, trying to understand what he’s referring to, but nothing comes to mind. seeming to sense your puzzled state, kai reaches into his satchel again—his eyebrows are furrowed with concentration as things clink and clang around in the bag. all you can do is sit and watch as he hums with contentment, pulling out a tiny metal ring before setting it in the sand before you.

you gape at the object, glancing down at the ring and back up to his eyes a few times—because if this is what you think is happening… and if this isn’t a dream… then you’re definitely hallucinating. you aren’t ready to get married! especially not to some strange being who clearly doesn’t know the concept of personal space.

“what is… what is this?” you ask quietly, your voice wavering slightly. kai smiles at you, nodding towards the ring gently.

“for the humans to know y-you are my mate, y/n.”

you blink at him, feeling your breath catch in your throat.

his what?

“i’m sorry… i’m not your… uh, mate. i—i think you’ve gotten me confused with someone else…” you begin slowly as you move to stand and get the fuck out of here; something you should’ve done when he first approached you. kai is quick to shake his head, his vibrant eyes dulling with something melancholic and heavy, reaching out to grab onto your bag so you can’t go.

“i am not confused. you are my mate,” kai speaks desperately, still kneeling down with the ring now slightly buried in the sand. you don’t know what type of creature he is, or what is even going on, but you are certain this doesn’t have anything to do with you. 

you’re a human and he’s a… whatever he is. there’s no such thing as mates. he’s surely one hell of a hallucination. next time, you’ll actually listen to taehyun’s lecture about the side effects of sleep deprivation and too much caffeine intake.

“this is… this is crazy. i have to go,” you respond sharply, ripping your gaze away from his distraught eyes—something in your heart pangs deeply at the pure sadness on his beautiful face, your gut twisting with something sticky and vile.

kai’s fingers hesitantly let go of your bag with a quiet, pained noise, shrinking in on himself as you give him one last glance before quickly heading towards your car. 

when you take a glimpse back to the shore as you begin to pull off, the man is nowhere to be seen—except for a slight glimmer of a white scale disappearing beneath the tide.

for the next few days, it rains—thick and heavy clouds cover your small seaside town, drenching every bit it can reach. the beach is closed off due to high tides, the waves all too harsh and cutting to be safe for visitors. being cooped up in your apartment is starting to drive you crazy—you already miss the salty smell of the water, the softness of the sand between your fingers…

and the calming touch of the strange creature you encountered.

it’s something horrible in the way that this… thing has been overtaking your mind, tainting your mind with emerald green every passing second. every time you sit down to write a new song, your pen develops a mind of its own; going on about the ocean’s waves, and glittering white scales, and vibrant eyes. it’s like a curse, the way you can only think about kai and nothing else.

after ruminating in your thoughts as the rain continues to nearly flood your town, you’ve come to the conclusion that kai wasn’t a hallucination. that shiny white shell sits nicely on your dresser, right next to the gold necklace you had been so selflessly gifted. 

you try not to let the guilt eat away at you—the creature had been nothing but kind to you, but the uncertainty is too much. what, with the talk about mates, the gifts, and that eerie calmness that overtook your body as he whispered those foreign words to you… it sounds like something straight out of a fairytale. 

it’s late when you settle into bed, your laptop resting in your lap as your phone sits on speaker next to you—they say curiosity killed the cat, but you need answers. sleep be damned.

“so what you’re telling me is that a strange, sexy man with scales on his face gifted you random shells and an old ass necklace before claiming you to be his mate?” taehyun recaps through the phone, voice coated in monotone incredulity. it sounds absolutely ridiculous when he puts it that way, but you’re having a hard time believing it even happened yourself, so you can’t blame him.

“i said a strange, sexy creature, not man.” 

the line is silent for a second.

“y/n… i know you’ve been stressed lately, but don’t you think it’s time to bring these delusions to a licensed professional—”

“taehyun, this isn’t a delusion! it actually happened!” you huff out, resisting the urge to roll your eyes. you try to put yourself in his shoes—if your friend told you they’ve been approached by a majestic creature, you’d also recommend them to get help—but you know what you saw. what you felt.

“that’s exactly how delusions work, sweetheart. we may think things are real, but—”

“hold on, shut up. listen to this,” you click on a link to a news page set in your town, the article dated back to 2007. “two foreign aquatic creatures were spotted near the shore on june 6th, at approximately 3 pm. they are described to be humanoid beings, with scaly, fish-like features.”

“y/n, that’s literally like every fish ever.”

“since when were goldfish considered to be ‘humanoid-beings’,” you quip, actually rolling your eyes this time before you zoom in on the blurry pictures provided on the site. It’s hard to make out in the 480p photo taken from a distance, but there seems to be two people, a male and a female, washed up on shore. they have long, shiny fish-tails that glisten in the way the scales on kai’s face did, their torsos completely human save for the gills on the sides of their neck. 

it’s all too jarring, all too real—and in your mind, right then, it clicks.

“please don’t tell me you think—”

“i think he’s a mermaid, taehyun.”

back when you were young, still the little “droplet” everyone knew, your grandmother would tell you and the other kids in your town stories about how she once fell in love with a mermaid when she was young. they’d met on the same beach you frequent and pursued their love in hiding. she’d go on and on about how he was the most beautiful person, or rather, creature she had ever laid her eyes on. how he was gorgeous and alluring—and the way his green scales sparkled in the sunlight.

you seemed to be the only one to ever believe her stories, even in the slightest. you already loved the sea, and the prospect of mermaids, real-life mermaids, inhabiting the waters you adored so much intrigued you to no end. you would stay at the shore with your grandmother after all the other kids had gone home for dinner, begging her to tell you more stories about this mysterious mermaid who held her heart.

she had said mermaids were forbidden to interact with humans, let alone be with one—but the two of them didn’t care. they had believed their love was too strong for even the wind and sea to tear apart. she spoke of how after the fishing industry became prevalent in their town, she had begun to see him less and less, until one day, he had stopped showing up at all—thus being the dull end of their story.

thinking back on her words now as you stare at the pixelated photo, things slowly begin to come together in your brain. he’s a mermaid. he has to be. there’s no other explanation.

“you’re still stuck on that? you know your grandma once told me a watermelon would grow in my stomach if i ate the seeds? i was scared for years, y/n. years! i don’t know if she’s the most reliable source—”

“this is the only thing that makes sense though,” you mumble as a pair of bright green eyes fill your thoughts.

it’s like something is calling you from deep inside your soul, something anguished and distressed—and it’s calling you back to that beach. you know answers are there. even if this all turns out to be some weird, ongoing delusion, you need to find out the truth—for your own peace of mind. (and maybe taehyun’s as well, seeing as he’s still rambling on about his fear of being pregnant with a watermelon.) 

and in all truthfulness, you want to… need to see those eyes one more time.

it’s a horrible idea. actually, it’s in your top 10 most stupid y/n moments.

sneaking onto the shore is easy enough. there’s no lifeguards on watch, or any lingering public safety employees as you step onto the sand. only a sliver of it is visible—even your usual spot is covered with water as the waves crash against the shore with untainted vigor. the rain is heavy, grimly pouring from the sky in buckets. your jacket isn’t doing enough to block it from seeping through the fabric, making your clothes cling to your skin uncomfortably. 

honestly, you pitched yourself to be smarter than this–-everything in your body, ever nerve and muscle screams at you to run around and go home. there’s no point in trying to prove something that simply doesn’t exist. they say the human body can only run on so much sleep before you start to feel out of character; and you already feel like you’re outside of your body.

it’s like you’re in a trance, under a spell as your feet keep on walking, your vision completely focused in the darkness of the night as you scan the water for anything. it feels like something inside of your body is calling for someone, the feeling profound and wretched to the point where it makes your heart heavy and raw.

that feeling tugs you like a magnet, past the public part of the beach and to a more vacant, woodsy area where trees and bushes reside, the branches hanging over and dipping into the water, leaves being whipped up by the unforgiving breeze. you’re close—you can feel it, deep inside your soul.

the waves are unrelenting as they tumble over eachother, some shallow ones hitting your ankles and splashing up your legs—and you’re too out of it, too entranced by whatever song is singing inside of your chest to watch where you’re going.

you trip over a rock hidden in the sand, falling over yourself as your already drenched form becomes soaked with ocean water, the harsh waves tumbling over you as you try to sit up. you’ve always been a great swimmer, phenomenal even, but the storm has turned the ocean into something wicked and unlawful, pulling you further and further into the water the more you struggle against it.

you’re tugged into the rip before your brain can process it, having only half the mind to call out for help—but it’s not use. the waves are too loud and the pouring rain drowns out any and every noise in the breeze. it’s too dark to see anything and you can already feel yourself tiring out as you fight to stay afloat. 

the ice cold water does wonders to sober you up from whatever hypnosis you were under and now that your mind is clear, true panic and terror sets deep into your chilled bones. you’re going to die out here, in the hands of something you have loved since you were a child. things really do come full circle, don’t they?

the full moon resting in the condensed sky is the last thing you see before you completely black out.

you feel it before you even open your eyes. a heavy, burning hand on your back and a heated finger trailing down the slope of your nose. your entire body is warm from head to toe, your cheek cushioned by a soft, cotton-like material. a captivating voice sings a gentle song in words you can’t understand, the volume just under the perpetrator’s breath—the sound is almost completely muted out by the roaring sea outside.

the roaring sea.

you inhale deeply as if you’re searching for air that’s nowhere to be found, sitting up quickly with labored breaths. your eyes automatically lock onto a figure—an all too familiar figure with worried green eyes and luminous scales and soaking wet hair that drips water onto the sand.

kai.

you fling yourself into his arms despite both of your wet clothes. his touch is grounding and comforting as you bury yourself into the crook of his neck, holding onto him tightly. he doesn’t speak as his arms hesitantly wrap around your torso, his hands smoothing down your back in silent consolation. only then do you register the thick sweater that is strewn across your shoulders—it’s the same one he had on that first day you met. 

the thought makes your eyes brim with slight guilt. he has just saved your life, even after you so rudely ran away from him. you want to apologize, but nothing comes out as you finally break away from the embrace. he won’t meet your eyes, and that fact alone makes your heart wrench.

“how did you… how did you know i…?” the words are stuck in your throat as you gape at him, trying to not let your eyes wander down his exposed clavacle where a few more shiny scales reside. kai’s pretty, pretty emeralds are sad—the kind of sad that radiates off a person and spreads to everyone nearby. your gut clenches. he’s quiet for a few beats before his hand moves to his chest.

“i… i can feel it. your fear,” he whispers, his hand resting over his heart as a visual communicator. you don’t know what to say, any words that come to mind die on your tongue just as quickly as they appear. your silence is incredibly loud as kai’s bottom lip trembles, hastily standing to his feet. your eyes follow him as he take a couple steps back, creating distance between the two of you. your body immediately goes cold, feeling a harsh shiver run up your spine, wracking your entire body.

“i am sorry,” kai mumbles solemnly, looking down at the sand below him, his hands folded tightly in front of his body. you’re still shivering despite the sweater draped across your shoulders, staring up at him as you wrap your arms around your body.

“why… why are you sorry?” you inquire, feeling your heart pang at the whine that leaves his throat. he won’t meet your eyes and you already find yourself craving to see those vibrant irises again.

“you r-rejected me as your mate. i must leave you alone now,” kai nearly whispers as he strictly keeps his eyes trained in the sand. he should be cold in his sopping clothes—this heavy wind and pouring rain outside of the small cove is enough to freeze just about anyone—but he seems completely apathetic to the weather. 

an ugly, weighted emotion rips through you at his words, mentally cursing your past self for being so rash about it all. you don’t know the implications of “rejecting” a mate, but with the way kai is weary of stepping any closer to you, you’re sure you’ve done enough damage to last a lifetime.

“kai—i’m sorry about what i said. i’m still confused, but…” you inhale deeply, watching the way his scales sparkle with the reflection of the moonlight on the water. he’s truly gorgeous. “i’m willing to listen if you want to teach me. about what all of this means… about yourself.”

you can physically see the way kai’s breath hitches, his body tensing up as he just barely lifts his head, emerald green peeking through his dark shaggy hair. kai’s eyes meet yours and you feel something akin to relief wash over you. he seems to be waiting for something as his eyes glimmer with hope and hesitancy, so you give him an affable smile, warm and inviting, before patting the spot in front of you.

kai’s scales ripple as his weary demeanor softens, quickly moving to take a seat in the sand. he mirrors your position, pulling his legs up to his chest, your feet almost touching from how close he is to you. your heart stutters a bit as he watches you, his gaze filled with so much infatuation and mesmerization, it fills your stomach with knots. 

“what would you like to know, y/n?”

the way your name rolls off of his lips, sounding oh, so elegant coated in his unnamed accent makes your head spin. his moles are placed perfectly on his unblemished skin like stars at night, his eyes shining like the moon herself. 

“i want to know what you are,” you start, speaking quietly so that only he can hear your words. kai smiles at you, his pearly fangs showing themselves once again. they aren’t so scary now—not with the way his hands are so delicate as they mindlessly draw shapes in the sand or the way his scales ripple once again as enthusiasm overtakes his body. 

“i am a mermaid. the sea is my home.”

the words would have surprised you, had he told you the very first time you two met, but now they simply settle the uneasiness in the pit of your gut. it all makes sense now. the scales, the eyes, the shells, and his fantasy-esque features… he’s a mermaid. 

you inhale deeply to collect your thoughts—the fact that this is all real is too much to take in at once. you look down at your own feet buried in the sand, shivering again at a harsh gust of wind. your heart rate picks up as kai lets out a soft sound, reaching up to adjust the sweater around your shoulders, running his hand down your arm before retracting. the touch that lingers in his fingers’ wake is incredibly warm, feeling it spread throughout your entire body. you want to feel it again.

“i… i thought mermaids aren’t supposed to be seen by humans,” you nearly question as you find his eyes. something sharp flashes through them, as stormy as the night sky above, and you feel your breath catch in your throat.

kai glances away as he thinks for a moment, his pupils shaky as the words strike him. he’s tensed up again and you begin to think you’ve said the wrong thing.

“you don’t have to tell me, kai. i’m just… i’m just glad you’re here with me right now.” your voice is incredibly gentle as you coax him to look at you again, watching the way his shoulders slowly relax at your tone. he doesn’t look at you, though—his eyes stay trained on a random rock, his fingers twitching from where they sit in the sand. he’s quiet for a bit as you two sit in a light silence, the sound of the fierce rain and the rough waves outside filling in the space around you.

it isn’t until he takes a deep breath, those emeralds on his face absolutely glimmering when they meet your eyes. there’s no smile on his face, but his eyebrows are slightly furrowed and his eyes are so incredibly sincere, you feel it pierce through your heart like a sword on fire.

“you are my mate, y/n. i will do anything for you,” kai speaks, closing his eyes for a second. “even if i had to betray m-my coven to find you… my life is for you. nothing else matters.”

his words invoke a deep stirring inside of you—the urge to reach out and caress his face, to hold onto his hand, to feel his skin—it’s untameable. it’s as if a flame is ignited inside of you as he opens his eyes, hearing your heartbeat pound incessantly in your ears, watching the way his scales flicker as they reflect the moonlight. his eyes are entirely dilated as he scans your face, the vibrant green of his irises overtaken by his dark pupils—you feel completely bare despite being fully clothed, vulnerable like a butterfly pinned to a board.

it’s only then does he move, untucking his legs to kneel on one before you—almost an exact replica of the way he had bowed to you the first time you met. he reaches his hand out to you and without a second thought, you take it, letting him pull you both to stand. his fingers are ice cold, but a warmth spreads throughout your body like wildfire, a soft gasp leaving your lips as he tugs you closer. he lifts his other hand to rest on your cheek, his eyes flitting in between yours. 

when he leans in again, you’re ready, your eyes slipping shut as he presses his forehead to yours. you can feel his breath on your lips, the sensation sending tingles down your spine. he’s silent for a moment before he whispers something in that enchanting language of his—even though you can’t understand what he’s saying, his timbre is like a lullaby, filling your head with cotton and stardust.

“i… do you feel it?” kai whispers as his nimble fingers stroke your cheek gently.

he doesn’t elaborate—he doesn’t need to, because you do. you feel the way his touch leaves a burning trail against your skin, the way his eyes pull you in like quicksand, entrancing and bewitching, and the way his voice sounds like music to your ears. you feel it all, and you’re nodding in response before you even realize it, registering the way his hand grips onto yours tighter, his breathing picking up ever so slightly. 

“it does not matter if you are human, y/n. our souls are connected… and mine has not stopped searching for yours.”

you’ve always wondered why you resonated so much with the ocean. sand is a pain to clean out of shoes, the waves can be terribly unforgiving, and the tide even stole your favorite pen once. but nothing can deter the pull you feel toward the sea—or more so, towards what resides in the sea.

your mate.

you don’t have to say anything for kai to know you finally understand, blinking your eyes open as he lifts his head. his eyes are practically glowing as they lock onto yours, his fangs peeking out as he smiles at you, his scales rippling and fluttering animatedly. 

“you are so beautiful,” he speaks through his small gleam. it’s such a cliche, but the way he says it holds so much weight, it squeezes your heart painfully. he says it like you’re a breath of fresh air, as if you’re the most captivating thing he’s ever had the pleasure of seeing with his own eyes.

the heat that crawls up your chest blooms throughout your entire body, wrapping your heart in a cozy blanket as his fingers trail down from your cheek to your jaw, tilting your head up ever so slightly. you don’t move away—and in all honesty, you have no desire to. he’s gentle in the way his hand lets go of yours, finger by finger, before moving to find a home on the small of your back. 

you’re not shivering anymore. his touch is incredibly searing, yet impossibly calming, feeling your mind go dizzy as his eyes search yours for something you aren’t quite saying. it’s almost nerve-wracking, how the suspense builds up in your chest as those emeralds flicker down to your lips, feeling your body grow hot all over. 

“will you allow me to… to k-kiss you?” kai whispers, not even the aggressive waves outside able to drown out his voice in your ears. 

there’s no doubt in your mind as a breathy “yes” slips into the air. 

he’s clumsy with the way his lips find yours, your hand coming up to his chest. his heartbeat under your palm pounds at lightening speed, his body slightly trembling as your lips move against his tranquilly. there seems to be no rush, melting into his embrace with each passing moment.

the press of his fangs against your lips only slightly stings when the tips of them dig in a little too hard, and kai is quick to soothe over the pain with a swipe of his tongue. he tastes of ocean water, a bit salty, but there’s another sweet undertone as well that you can’t quite place your finger on. you don’t linger on it for too long—you don’t want to have to use your brain, so you lose yourself in the feeling of his fingers against your spine, his thumb brushing over your jaw so delicately, you almost want to cry.

his tongue prods against yours as he presses closer to you, as if close is never close enough, as if he wants to sink into your body and become one. your mind is hazy, but you feel safe as his fingers trail down to the side of your neck, leaving fluttery, ticklish sensations in the process. he explores your mouth as if you are a cavern full of gold, mindless to the way small, needy noises leave his lips. it’s overwhelming for the both of you, engulfed in this little bubble you’ve created. 

when he pulls away, it’s slow and reluctant, leaning back in a few more times to get another taste of you, peppering kisses down your jaw and your neck. you can’t help but moan softly at the feeling that stirs in the pit of your gut as he nips and bites and sucks at your skin—completely enamored with you.

he places one final kiss under your ear before his emerald eyes meet yours—you preen at the way he looks at you like you’re the heart of the sea, the ocean herself. it’s too much and not enough at once as you tuck yourself into his broad chest, your heart beating in sync through your dampened clothes. it feels right. this—him. he feels right and now you’re certain he isn’t just a measly dream.

the sky appears to be unreal, coated with lovely hues of pink and purple, a deep orange settling near the horizon as the sun lowers itself from the sky. it’s still warm out, the tide low as you tip-toe through rocks and shells, feeling your heart fill as tiny hermit crabs take cover in the sand, holding the bottom of your flowy dress up so as to carefully watch your step. the waves wash against the shore with a subdued rhythm and the sky is void of any clouds—the calm after the storm.

your breath catches in your throat as you see the man waiting for you at the end of the shore, his black hair mussed and slightly damp. it seems as if he’s been waiting for a while—he stares off at sea, sitting just a few feet from the tide as his hand mindlessly picks up sand and lets it fall through his fingers.

he’s oh, so gorgeous, even from afar. the white button-up he adorns is rolled up to his elbows, legs covered by brown pants that flow in the wind. his trusty satchel is slung across his frame, seemingly full to the brim as it rests in the sand next to him. a contemplative look resides on his face, his head slightly tilted to the side as his mind wanders. you almost feel guilty for the thought of disturbing this quiet moment. 

but then you’re reminded that he’s waiting here for you—your stomach flutters as he turns his head, those vibrant eyes lightening up at the sight of your figure making its way toward him. he stands to his feet with the brightest smile on his prince-like face, his pretty fangs pressing into his bottom lip in the cute way they always do. 

his scales ripple as he pulls you into the tightest hug you’ve ever experienced, a serene buzz washing over you as he safely holds you to his chest. you register the feeling of him pressing small kisses onto the crown of your head and you giggle a bit at the fluttery sensation. you tilt your head up to meet his eyes; and they never fail to make your head spin, containing so much sincerity that squeezes your heart in all of the best ways. he cups your cheeks, the warmth of his fingers spreading down your neck and blossoming in your soul.

“i missed you,” you speak softly, and you mean it—nothing, no one can compare to the way kai can make you feel so loved and wanted with a singular, simple glance. you dream about his little beauty marks, his wide smile, and those iridescent scales that sparkle when the sun hits them just right. even just a few days without being near him makes your core surge with a deep longing—and now that restless feeling finally dissipates as he leans in to kiss your nose, and then your cheek, and finally your lips.

“i have missed you more,” he mumbles against your lips, his nose brushing yours as he kisses you so delicately, attentive to every little noise that leaves your lips. his hands smooth down your sides, running his fingers over the soft fabric of your dress, coming around to press against the small of your back.

when the kiss breaks, you’re rendered breathless, blinking your eyes open to find him already watching you. the faint smile on his face widens as you reach up to carefully touch the sparkling scales on his cheekbones before running your fingers through his disheveled hair. he leans into your touch, his eyes fluttering shut with the gentle movement of your fingers. 

“how long have you been waiting?” you question as you finish adjusting his hair, resting your palm against his chest. he hums in thought before he opens his eyes—and you’re in awe at the way the setting sun manages to reflect in them, looking like specks of gold against his irises.

“not long at all. i-i made something for you last evening,” he responds almost shyly. your eyes widen in surprise, watching as he takes a tiny step back to open his satchel. his cheeks are flushed a pinkish-red once he pulls out a handmade crown, woven with dried seaweed, softwood, and the prettiest, eye-catching flowers you’ve ever seen. there are even a few tiny shells tucked in here and there, and they all sparkle the same, twinkling as the sunlight hits them.

“you made this?” your voice comes out airy, in awe at not only the gift, but also the thought of him spending time handmaking something for you. kai nods timidly, looking up at you through his eyelashes. your heart threatens to explode as he gestures toward your body.

“m-may i put it on y-you?” he asks, a slight nervousness coating his voice and you’re quick to nod, bowing your head a bit to give him better access. a quiet, enthused noise escapes his lips before he can contain it, stepping close to you again. he adjusts your hair ever so slightly before situating the crown on your head. you can’t see yourself, but you’re sure it looks amazing by the way kai’s scales flutter, his gleam almost blinding as he moves back to admire his work. the crown is light and a few of the flowers tickle the side of your face. you feel beautiful.

“you know you don’t have to keep gifting me things, right?” you softly chide with a little chuckle, but kai’s bright smile falters at your words, cocking his head in confusion with a little whine.

“do you not… do you not like m-my gifts for you?” kai’s voice slightly trembles and you’re quick to backtrack, grabbing onto his hands with both of yours.

“no, no, no, kai–-i love your gifts. it’s just… isn’t the courting stage over? you know i’m yours, right?”

kai’s eyes sparkle with admiration as you speak, letting go of your hands to wrap his arms around your waist, pulling you close to his body. he’s warmer than he usually is, and you suspect it has something to do with the humid air around you—the storm has long since passed, the shore drying up quickly, leaving only fluffy sand and a quiet, sedated ocean in its wake. 

it’s a reflex now, to close your eyes as he gently rests his forehead against yours, a faint, contented hum sounding from the mermaid.

“you still deserve the entire sea and all of the stars, my beautiful mate.”

it’s horrible, the way your entire body tingles, feeling your face heat up from his words. it should be sappy and sickeningly sweet, but his voice brings you nothing but peace, letting yourself melt into his embrace as he subtly sways you both to the rhythm of the waves.

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𓂃 alhaitham + congrats being the first/last person to know!

you finally confess to kaveh that you have feelings for his flatmate, only you forget to tell him one key information.

when you realized you like al haitham, the experience was ironically similar to waking up on any day.

there were no fireworks that erupted, no scoffs of unbelief from yourself, no “kiss me” by sixpence none the richer playing in the background. there was only kaveh— al haitham’s flatmate ridiculing you in the background.

it was a saturday morning and you chose to spend it on a little quaint coffee shop in downtown brooklyn with your best friend, kaveh. he was your common link to the brooding man, the one who had introduced the both of you to each other.

and as kaveh rambled on and on about his co-worker that has been driving him nuts, you suddenly blurt out something you haven’t thought of much.

“i like al haitham,”

you see your best friend drop everything he was doing— literally. his knife clangs on the porcelain plate as he stops his rant midway.

really, it was more of his moment than yours.

“congrats dearest, you were the last one to know!” he chirps happily, before picking up the bread knife he dropped a moment ago and resumes spreading butter to his bread.

your jaw drops dramatically as if your best friend had just insulted your entire family clan.

“what’s that supposed to mean?”

“exactly what it means.” the blond deadpans as if anything he uttered under the twenty minutes you’re together has been helpful with your situation.

“fuck you.”

“i thought you liked al haitham?”

“fuck you, fuck you.”

“sorry, i’m unavailable.”

“do i really look like i have a crush on him?” you say under your breath, looking around like you were relaying top secret information.

“even the most socially inept would notice.”

the café doors open as signalled by the bell ringing. you would have pay no attention to it if it were any other of the regulars that kept this place running, but as you catch a glimpse of an ashy grey hair, you immediately duck your head under the table in hopes of making yourself unnoticeable.

“what the fuck are you doing—“

“hello.”

kaveh finds himself interrupted by the very man he finds insufferable and with how his luck is, the same guy whom his best friend is currently crushing on.

the man standing eyes your form— at least what’s visible of it above the table, before raising his eyebrows on the blond. your friend shrugs, opting to stay out of this because even he didn’t have any explanation for how you’re behaving.

“what are you doing?” you hear the scholar’s voice from above.

the blond snorts, “finding their leftover dignity, probably.”

in an attempt to retort something— anything, you raise your head up quickly to look at kaveh’s eyes and cuss him out, but you should have known better than to carelessly throw your head in any direction as you feel your head slam against the table.

ouch.

al haitham hears you whimper although it sounded more of a strangled attempt at breathing as you immediately cut it short. out of concern, he kneels down beside you and oh god— he’s caressing the top of your head in an attempt to sooth it. he asks you a simple question, a really simple one that can be answered with a simple yes or no, and yet your heart quivers.

“are you okay?”

you finally look up from the floor and see that al haitham is still charming.

and kaveh, kaveh was still a dick.

“you know, with how hard headed they are, it would be more appropriate to ask how the table is faring instead.”

you feel the turquoise eyed man glare at your best friend.

suddenly, you feel a sudden shift in your weight. looking around, you notice how al haitham is leading you to get on your feet only he was doing all the heavy work— he’s literally bringing you up.

“what were you doing down there?”

the still concerned scholar asks, to which you wince at as you take your seat once more. you try to rack up your mind for a totally false reason, but the task proves itself to be difficult when a small bump is starting to form on your head. you feel like your encounter with the table has made your brain shake inside your skull and ended up in a very wrong position.

thankfully, your best friend answers the question himself.

“y/n, my dearest friend over here, has realized that they like you. and although that sounds like an incredible disaster, i’m still glad to say that the pining is over.”

or not.

for someone having a small mouth, kaveh pretty sure talks a lot. but then again, with kaveh, he had absolutely no filter for his lips, always airing out private business to anyone and everyone.

kaveh, strangely enough, receives a look of nonchalance from the taller man. this wasn’t the reaction he was trying to get— he was expecting for his roommate to suddenly malfunction. like completely speechless, or stammering at least, red as a tomato and stiff as a plywood kind of malfunction. instead, he receives the usual unamused look from the other that he usually dons.

“of course y/n would; it’d be troublesome otherwise. we are seeing each other romantically, of course.”

your newly revealed boyfriend responds curtly, keeping his reply clear and concise. it was kaveh who eventually malfunctioned.

“you two are what?!”

“dating, yes.”

“how— when— why—“

“i confessed, they felt the same way so i asked them out. it happened before winter break, and why not? we like each other.” the taller man responds for you.

“no! i mean, what was your deal earlier?” the blond explains, pointing at you accusingly as if you had eaten the last remaining cupcake on the plate.

“why’d you make it seem like you were only realising now that you like al haitham?!”

you grin shyly, “it was me trying to see if you’d notice… we meant to keep it under the wraps for a while and you were kind of a test subject?”

kaveh feels his jaw detach. yeah sure you were a stem student and all, but weren’t you taking your research too far?

“i hate the both of you.”

your boyfriend shrugs while you laugh sheepishly.

“if it makes you feel better, you’re the first one to know… congrats?”

“it doesn’t at all! forget it!”

♥︎ please do not repost or translate without my permission . reblogs are heavily appreciated!