just my fav aus

reblogging to read (again) in the future

[theemporium]

[11.6k] when in desperate need for a date to your friend's wedding, the last person you expected to step up was nico hischier. then again, he didn't step up as much as he was thrown into the mess by jack.

inspired by 'the spanish love deception' by elena armas

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“Come on!”

“When I said a favour, I didn’t mean this!”

“You said you would do anything!”

“Yeah, like help change a flat tire. You know, the normal things!”

“Do you even know how to change a flat tire?”

“Well…”

“Jack.”

The boy let out a noise mixed between a laugh and an exaggerated groan as he threw his head back. He was just fresh out of the shower after practice, hair still dripping and cheeks flushed red, when you found him by the trainers’ kitchen grabbing a protein shake. 

Your friendship with Jack Hughes was one made through the bond of joining the New Jersey Devils together. He was newly drafted and feeling the pressure of being first pick, whilst you were freshly entering the real world on your own two feet with no real plan in your head. It was by chance that a friend of a friend had managed to pull you a job with the hockey team. And it was by chance you ended up befriending the new hot-shot player in a sport you honestly didn’t know all that much about. 

Still from the first day, after a very awkward meeting on both parts, you and Jack Hughes had been the best of friends—which was exactly why you thought he would help you out on being your plus one to a wedding. 

“I don’t get what the big deal is,” Jack whined, leaning against the counter that displayed all the blenders and ingredients for the players’ protein shakes and smoothies. “Isn’t it your friend’s wedding? Why do you need a plus one, it’s not like you won’t know anyone?” 

“That’s not the point,” you huffed out, feeling like a disgruntled child as you crossed your arms over your chest and resisted the urge to pout. 

Jack raised his brows. “So, what is the point?” 

“I—” You paused, something bitter and nostalgic twisting in your chest before you shook your head. “Can you do it or not? It’s not like you are running off to the Bahamas on your week off. You said yourself that you were free.” 

“The Bahamas sounds better than a wedding in South Carolina,” he grumbled, his lips twitching upwards when you knocked his shoulder with your own. He looked like he was about to say something else before he paused, his eyes brightening. “So, you really need a date to this thing?”

You shot him a look. “Did the last twenty minutes of me begging not give it away?”

His grin widened, something quite unsettling in the smile. “So, you’re desperate?” 

You frowned. “Well, I wouldn’t say desperate—”

“Nico is free this week!” Jack announced loudly, his grin reaching scary levels of taking over his face before his eyes glanced over your head. “Aren’t you, cap?”

Your eyes widened a little as you whirled around, finding the Devils captain standing a few feet away from the two of you. He was dressed similarly to Jack, in a team-branded hoodie and sweatpants, with his wet hair tucked under a beanie. He looked a bit caught off-guard as he glanced between the two of you, though his eyes lingered on Jack.

“Uh, yeah,” he cleared his throat, standing a little taller. “I guess. I didn’t have any plans—”

“Brilliant!” Jack clapped his hands together. “Nico can be your fake boyfriend to your friend’s wedding.”

Your head snapped around to glare at your friend. “I just needed a date—”

“Yeah, your date is your boyfriend,” Jack retorted.

Your glare hardened. “And I asked you—”

“And I’m busy,” Jack said with a shrug, almost as if he was saying ‘what could you do?’. “But Nico is free and you know each other. It should be an easy solution, right?” 

You finally had the courage to face Nico, who looked a bit stunned himself. If it were any other day, you would have laughed at the fact that the captain looked so lost and unsure of himself, so unlike himself. But right now—with the tightening band around your chest that felt like it would crush your ribs—you couldn’t find yourself to even smile.

“You don’t have to,” you said eventually, when you finally found your voice again and your thoughts were coherent. “Jack is just—”

“I’ll do it,” Nico blurted out.

You blinked.

“I mean,” Nico paused, looking a little flustered at his own sudden announcement. “If you need someone, I can help out. I don’t mind, really.” He paused again. “We’re friends, right? This is what friends do.”

“Yeah, friends,” you repeated, clearing your throat a little before giving him a strained smile. 

And just like that, Nico Hischier—captain of the New Jersey Devils—was your wedding date.

…

You decided that after this wedding was over and done, you were going to kill Jack Hughes.

In your mind, Jack would have agreed to help you out with your predicament, you would have gone to the wedding and had a laugh together. This would be one of those memories that you two would joke about for years to come, like when he almost burned down your kitchen making boxed macaroni cheese or when you called him sobbing because of a spider in your bathroom. 

You didn’t think he would throw you under the bus like this.

And maybe that was a bit dramatic, but it felt necessary after Nico left the room with the promise he would message to sort out the details of your plans.

Your issue wasn’t with the fact Jack didn’t want to do it. If that was the case, you would have understood. Your nagging and begging was mostly just a bit of friendly banter, and you thought he was reciprocating. 

He was reciprocating. 

But then, instead of being a normal human and telling you he didn’t want to do it so you could find someone else to help you, he just threw a solution at you. 

An—in the kindest way you could put it—unwanted solution.

It wasn’t that you hated or even disliked Nico Hischier. Not at all. Your relationship with the captain was just…non-existent, in a sense. Very superficial, if you were being honest.

When you were new to the team, you didn’t really talk all that much to any of the players. Jack was the exception, someone who was just as lost as you—though his extroverted personality hid it far better. But weeks passed and slowly you began to see some of the players beyond friendly acquaintances. 

But Nico just…never really left that label. 

It wasn’t like he was rude or mean to you, quite the opposite. Even though he was the captain to only the team, that caring and kind personality extended to everyone who worked for the Devils—you included. 

He was a good guy. He was sweet and thoughtful and loyal and kind. He cared more than any person should. He was the kind of person people write in books and movies. 

And it was intimidating, in a weird way. 

There was no logical explanation for it. But something about Nico Hischier felt too perfect for your shit show of a life. He was confident and put together and everything you weren’t. 

Jack knew that. Jack knew how you felt. Jack had laughed about it more than once before reassuring you that there was more to Nico than you realised. 

You just wish you could’ve discovered that side of him during a team night out rather than at your friend’s wedding out of state. 

And because Nico was the perfect guy, it was no surprise when he messaged you that the two of you could take his car down to Charleston, South Carolina with him taking the first shift. 

“I thought you’d be sick of being on the road,” you said to him as you stood outside your apartment complex, bags in hand as you walked towards where Nico had parked his car. 

“It’s a part of me now,” he joked as he reached for your bags, not giving you a chance to say anything before he placed them in the back with his own. “I go crazy if I’m not locked in a moving vehicle for more than three hours.” 

You snorted, turning your face away so he didn’t catch the way your cheeks burned in embarrassment at the noise. 

“I’ve also never been to Charleston,” Nico continued, shrugging his shoulders. “Thought it would be a nice chance to take it all in if we drive.” 

“I really don’t mind driving the whole way,” you said, chewing on your bottom lip nervously as you eyed his car. “You’re already doing me a favour, the least I could do is—”

“It’s a long drive, I wouldn’t want you getting tired behind the wheel,” Nico said, his brows furrowed together. “It’s fine. I promise.” 

“Okay,” you relented and took your spot in the passenger seat for the first stint of the drive. 

…

It was around two hours in when the small talk shifted into something deeper. 

“So, what’s the deal??”

You glanced over at the boy in the driver seat, your lips still wrapped around the straw of your slushie you bought at the last service station. Nico had gaped at you being able to drink something so sweet and cold so early in the morning, but you just grinned and shrugged. You didn’t get much of a chance to say anything before he was paying for it anyways, along with the coffee he got for himself. 

Sensing your confusion, he continued. 

“With the date,” he said, risking a glance at you before his eyes returned to the road. “You just seemed…”

“Desperate?” You supplied.

His lips twitched. “I was going to say insistent,” he corrected. “But yeah, desperate works too. Is it really such a bad thing if you go to your friend’s wedding alone?” 

“Well,” you started, still hesitant to say your thoughts out loud when you knew it sounded immature. “Not really. Lucy wouldn’t care if I brought a cactus with me, she would just be happy I was there for her big day.”

Nico huffed out a laugh. “So, why am I here instead of a cactus?” 

“I’m not a big fan of pricks,” you joked and, to your credit, he did smile. But the look he shot you told you that deflecting wasn’t going to get you very far. “My ex will be there.”

Nico didn’t say anything for a few moments. “And you’re…still in love with him?”

“What? No!” You quickly shook your head, your face scrunched up in a grimace. “God, no. Not at all. Never again.”

“Oh,” Nico murmured, though there was still a look of confusion on his face. “What’s the big deal if he’s there then?”

“Our breakup was…messy,” you confessed, wincing a little as the memories you tried to block out returned like an unwanted slap to the face. “It was ages ago and I’m over it. But the last time I saw a lot of these people was just before the breakup and I just wasn’t in a good place.” 

Nico didn’t say anything, letting you continue. 

“He cheated on me.” you said eventually because there didn’t seem like much point in beating around the bush, especially when Nico was helping you out despite being thrown into the deep-end unwillingly. “It got messy within the friend group and I ended up moving away after we broke up to get a fresh start. Not just because of him, but it was nice to get away from all the mess and drama.” 

“So you came to New Jersey,” Nico finished. 

“So I came to New Jersey,” you confirmed with a nod.

“And having a boyfriend when you see these people will…” he trailed off, his brows furrowed together once again. It was the same expression you saw on his face during games, when he was trying to work out plays in his head before they happened.

“I was originally planning to come myself,” you admitted to the boy. “But then I was on the phone with Lucy and she kept asking if I’d be okay with everything and I just imagined everyone asking me the same thing and,” you paused and shrugged. “I just ended up blurting out that I was using my plus one.”

When you turned to look at Nico, you were surprised to find a sympathetic smile on the boy’s face. 

“If you showed up alone, nobody would’ve thought you moved on. But if you came with someone, people would believe you were actually okay,” Nico finished for you, and it should have been unsettling how well he understood. But his empathy and insight were one of the many traits that made him captain.

“It sounds stupid but I just wanted to come here and enjoy my friend’s wedding,” you said with a dry laugh. “The pitying looks were bad enough the first time around, I don’t need them again.”

Nico hummed, nodding his head. “So, what’s our story?” 

You turned to him, frowning. “What?”

“Our story,” he repeated, a kind smile on his face that made your chest feel tight. “You know, like how we got together. Surely people will ask, no? We should have a plan.”

Your lips twitched upwards. “Can’t keep away from the strategies, can you?”

Nico laughed, smiling. “Guess you can’t take the captain out of the man or whatever the saying is.”

You snorted, shaking your head before you settled back in your seat. You thought about his point for a few moments, contemplating your options. 

“I don’t think we have to overcomplicate it,” Nico said, interrupting your thoughts. “You have that look on your face that says you’re scheming.”

You raised your brows. “How do you know that?”

“It’s the same look on your face you get when you plan a prank with Jack,” he responded, smiling a little wider at your shocked look. “Neither of you are subtle. Or quiet.”

“I was just trying to think of an interesting story,” you defended, narrowing your eyes at the boy. “We can’t just have a basic co-workers to lovers situation, that’s boring.”

Nico laughed. “Boring?”

“Yeah!” You laughed back. “We have the chance to make up the craziest love story ever, why not take it?” 

Nico shook his head. “What do you suggest then?”

“A puck was flying at your head and I saved you,” you joked. “Full on spidey sense moment, just caught the puck with my bare hands and you were lovestruck after that.”

The full belly laugh Nico let out made your smile widen. “Caught the puck?” 

“Bare hands,” you nodded. 

“I am sure everyone will believe that,” he teased.

“You clearly haven’t seen me in the net,” you mused. “I have insane reflexes.”

“I’ll let the team know the next time we need a goalie,” Nico retorted. 

In the end, you decided to go the ‘boring’ route. It felt safer to stick with almost-truths, it prevented any possible slip up if the two of you were interrogated separately. And, much to your surprise, there was something quite fun about fabricating a fake relationship with the captain you barely knew. 

…

You arrived in Charleston, South Carolina just after seven o’clock.

The address Lucy had given you was for a massive house by the beach she was renting out for the week. It was gorgeous, over three storeys high and looking like it had been plucked straight out of a postcard. The beach house was slightly secluded as well, far enough from the closest neighbours for all the main wedding party to park their cars outside with no bother.

It felt a little surreal. 

You didn’t even get a chance to step out of the car before the front door swung open and Lucy came running out, squealing as she opened her arms and wrapped them around you. Your chest tightened at the closeness, at seeing one of your closest friends in person after so long of being apart. 

“You’re here!” She exclaimed as she pulled back, her bright eyes finding yours with an understanding shining in them. She missed you as much as you missed her.

“And you’re getting married!” You retorted, watching as her grin—somehow—widened. 

“I’m so happy you’re here,” Lucy murmured before she brought you into another hug. And you let yourself sink into the embrace, to forget everything else until your friend let out an intrigued hum. “And I’m guessing this is your plus one?” 

Your eyes widened a little when you remembered Nico standing a few feet behind you and quickly pulled back, glancing back at him before turning to Lucy. Something deep in your stomach twisted at the idea of lying to your friend but there was no going back now. 

“Nico, this is Lucy. Lucy, this is Nico,” you said as you gestured between each other, hesitating for a moment before continuing. “My boyfriend.” 

Lucy’s shock was clear. “Boyfriend? You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend! You just made it seem like your plus one was a friend over the phone!”

You gave her a shaky smile. “Surprise?” 

Nico, seeming to somehow pick up on the way the guilt was starting to take over you, stepped in and offered his hand to your friend. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. And congratulations on the wedding. It’s an honour to be here, even just as a plus one.” 

Lucy’s brows raised in surprise, her eyes briefly finding yours as she shook his hand.. “Wow, you are a…gentleman.” 

“I guess I upgraded,” you joked, wincing a little when you saw her face scrunch up in guilt. 

“Are you sure it’s not weird that he’s here? I know Tom wanted him here but—” But you didn’t give her a chance to continue as you shook her head, reaching out to grab her hand and squeeze softly. 

“It’s fine, Luce, I promise,” you said, though you weren’t totally sure if she believed you or not. In an attempt to solidify your point, you turned back to glance at Nico with a smile. “I’ve moved on. I’m happy. And I want to be here with you to celebrate your wedding. It probably won’t even be that awkward, it’s been years since everything happened.”

Lucy nibbled on her lower lip. “You’re sure?” 

“Positive,” you nodded.

“Okay,” she said before smiling. “Well, I’ll let you two settle into your room. You’re on the top floor but I can get Tom out to help with your bags. Let me go get him!”

You didn’t get a chance to say anything before Lucy ran back inside but you were hit with a sudden realisation that had you turning to face Nico, an apologetic look painted on your face.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry,” you blurted out, your cheeks warming as he gave you an inquisitive look. “She asked if I only wanted one room and I said yes because I thought I’d be with Jack and it wouldn’t be that bad, but I forgot to tell her it’s changed. We don’t have to stay here! We can get a hotel nearby or—”

“Hey,” Nico stepped forward, his hands placed on your shoulders to ground you for a moment before you started pacing. “Take a deep breath.”

You let out a shaky breath in response. 

“It’s fine,” he told you, and you could hear the sincerity in his voice. “It would have been weird if we were in separate rooms anyways.”

“I can take the floor,” you suggested.

Nico shot you a look. “I’m not letting you do that.”

“But—” 

Nico’s look hardened. 

“Fine. No floor,” you grumbled before you flashed him a sheepish smile. “I really am sorry though. I feel like you have just been thrown into this whole thing and—”

“I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t want to be here,” Nico assured you, squeezing your shoulders before nodding towards the house. “C’mon, we should go inside and freshen up. Then you can tell me everything I need to know, starting with who Tom is and if we like him.”

And that was enough to make you snort, momentarily ignoring the problem of the one bed for now. 

…

You didn’t bump into your ex until later that night.

In retrospect, you should have expected to see him sooner rather than later, but a stupid part of you was still in denial about having to spend the week with him living under the same roof as you. Another part of you was also hoping he just wouldn’t show up, that he would bail on the whole event or maybe even just show up on the day of the wedding. 

But you knew that would have never been the case. Because as close as you were with Lucy was just as close he was to Tom, Lucy’s future husband. In fact, Lucy and Tom had met because of you two, because of the fusion of your friendship groups which now just felt like the biggest joke ever. 

At least someone benefited out of the relationship.

You weren’t even expecting some big confrontation or horrendous outcome when you expected to bump into your ex. You were just expecting to be a little more prepared, to have time to put yourself together. You knew you would see him at dinner that night, that much was inevitable. But you thought you could at least have the upper hand by walking into the room, hand in hand with Nico. 

What you weren’t expecting was to see him for the first time in years when you were waiting by the stairs for Nico (since being the gentleman he was, he had let you go refresh in the bathroom first). 

“Look what the cat dragged in!”

You hated the way your body instantly tensed up at the sound of his voice. You hated the way he was smiling at you like the last time you spoke he hadn’t shattered your whole world. You hated the way you felt so caught off-guard, so unprepared for a meeting you were expecting to have the upper hand in. 

“Jackson,” you managed to grit out as you gave him a strained smile. “Nice to see you again.” Lie. Lie. Lie.

“Yeah, it’s been a while, huh?” He said, so lighthearted and casual and dismissive. 

You had to bite your tongue when the urge to say something a little more snarky came up, but you would hate yourself if you created a scene. You were doing this for Lucy. You were here to celebrate a momentous moment in your friend’s life. You weren’t here to get petty revenge on something that happened years ago—at least not in the form of bitter remarks. 

“A couple of years or so,” you answered with a shrug of your shoulders. 

“I was surprised when Lucy said you were coming,” Jackson told you.

You frowned. “Why would that be a surprise? She’s one of my best friends.”

“Yeah but,” Jackson waved his hand like that explained everything. “You haven’t visited since you left.” 

And the underlying words went unspoken. 

You haven’t visited since everything that happened between us. You haven’t visited since you had your heart broken. You haven’t visited so people just assumed you were still hurt and inconsolable after we broke up. I thought that was why you never came back.

“My job keeps me busy,” you stated simply, swallowing the acidic taste in the back of your throat. “Lucy knows that.” 

Something quite like amusement shone in his eyes. “Ah yeah, Tom mentioned something about you working in some ice rink in New Jersey. That sounds super busy.”

You bit your tongue. He was goading you again. You knew that. But fuck, you just wished you could have—

“I would hardly call The Rock just some ice rink,” a voice spoke from behind you and you turned to find Nico settling into the spot next to you, his face remaining very…neutral. 

Jackson stared at the boy, his lips agape as recognition clearly hit him. He blinked and then turned to you. “You work for the Devils?”

“Last time I checked,” you said, a twinge of satisfaction sparking inside you at his disbelief. 

He puffed his chest out a little. “When Lucy said you were bringing a plus one, I didn’t think she meant a co-worker—”

“She didn’t,” Nico interrupted, a look on his face that reminded you of his post-game interviews after the team lost. Before he continued, he wrapped an arm around your waist, making sure the boy saw the movement. “I’m her boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend,” Jackson repeated. 

“Yes, that is a word Americans still use, no?” Nico retorted. 

“Of course, man,” Jackson said with a laugh, but it felt forced and strained. He tore his eyes away from Nico to look back at you. “Well, I should be heading back. I’ll see you two down there.” 

He didn’t wait before he turned around, heading down the stairs to the dining room where the rest of the wedding party were probably starting their dinner. A few moments passed between the two of you before Nico finally broke the silence. 

“So, that was your ex,” he said.

You snorted before you winced. “I was blinded by young love.”

Nico laughed at that. “I didn’t realise blondes were your type,” he admitted, something different in his voice that he couldn’t quite work out.

You rolled your eyes before you sighed. “They usually aren’t, to be honest. But Jackson was…Jackson.”

Nico seemed oddly pleased with the response. 

“And he’s a hockey fan?” He questioned, his brows furrowing together like Jackson was a rival team’s game strategy he had to study. “He knew who I was.”

A slow grin spread across your face. “His family are from New York.”

Nico raised his brows before he laughed. “Islanders or Rangers?”

“Rangers,” you said with a proud look on your face. 

“That’s why you originally asked Jack,” Nico mused. “You wanted to rub it in that little more.”

“You bet them in the playoffs, I just thought he would like a nice reminder,” you retorted with an innocent look.

He laughed—that full belly laugh once again—before shaking his head in amusement. Before you could say anything more, he was intertwining your hands together and starting to make his way down the stairs Jackson had disappeared down a few minutes ago.

“C’mon, they are probably waiting for us,” he said. 

And honestly, you couldn’t find it in yourself to pull your hand away. 

…

Dinner was uneventful, though you did enjoy watching Jackson bitterly stew from the other side of the table. 

A sense of familiarity and nostalgia washed over you as you sat at the dinner table, enjoying a meal as you laughed and chatted to a group you once saw daily but now hadn’t properly seen in years. It felt so easy to slip into old dynamics, to laugh at old jokes and tease each other as Lucy and Tom were the first to take such a monumental step from the lot of you.

Nico fit in so well, it almost made your chest feel tight if you thought about it too hard. He didn’t seem to mind the countless questions thrown at him about his job and the team. If anything, you thought he was milking his answers a little just to see Jackson squirm—especially when asked about playoffs. 

Eventually the day-long drive finally caught up with the two of you and you wished everyone goodbye before returning to your room on the top floor. Despite trying to play the gentleman card again, you allowed Nico to go to the bathroom first and tried not to stare too hard when he came out in a tight shirt and flannel pyjama bottoms. 

It took an embarrassing few minutes to hype yourself up in the bathroom mirror before you finally headed back to the room, only to pause at the doorway when you saw Nico lying on the ground by the bed with a pillow under his head and blanket over his body.

“What are you doing?”

Nico frowned a little. “Uh, sleeping?” 

“Why are you on the floor?”

His confusion growed. “Because that’s where I’m sleeping?”

“You’re not sleeping on the floor, Nico,” you sighed as you shook your head, walking into the room until you paused by his feet. “You’ll fuck up your back. Let me take the floor.”

Nico smiled softly. “My back will be fine. Take the bed, schatz.” 

You ignored the way the nickname made your stomach flutter. “I’m not the one who needs to stay in good shape for hockey, captain. The fans will murder me if you can’t play because you have a stiff back. Now take the bed.” 

His eyes narrowed slightly. “Would you have made Jack take the bed?”

“Yes,” you answered instantly before wincing. “Well, I probably would have shared the bed with him.”

“You would?”

“Yeah, like a sleepover,” you said with a shrug. 

“Then we can do that.”

You blinked. “Huh?”

“We can share the bed like a sleepover,” Nico said as he stood up, failing to hide his groan as he stretched his back (and ignoring your pointed look). “We’re friends, right?”

You swallowed. “Yeah.”

“Then we can share,” Nico said simply. “Either you take the bed alone or we share. It’s your choice.”

“We may be friends but I am also doing this because the fans scare me and I don’t want to know what they would do to be if I broke their captain’s back,” you said with a pointed look before you climbed into the bed, ignoring the way your heart was thumping as he settled on the other side.

Nico huffed out a laugh. “I wouldn’t let them hurt you.”

You rolled onto your side to look at him, your eyes narrowing slightly. “You better not move to the floor when I fall asleep, Hischier.”

Much to his dismay, he blushed at your words. “I wasn’t planning on it.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“I know.”

You let out a sigh, allowing yourself to stare at the boy for a little while longer before you rolled over to fall asleep.

“Thank you for helping me,” you whispered.

Nico’s soft smile returned. “It’s what friends do.”

“Goodnight, Nico.”

“Goodnight, schatz.”

…

It took a solid thirty seconds after you woke up to realise you were practically lying on top of Nico Hischier.

As your body started to wake up, you realised how warm and comfortable you were. You snuggled further into your pillow, into the warmth and hoped your body would just fall asleep for a little longer. 

It took longer than it should have to remember that pillows weren’t warm before you opened your eyes and found yourself settled on Nico, your legs tangled together and one of his arms loosely wrapped around your waist. 

You didn’t give yourself a chance to live out a waking nightmare and risk waiting for him to wake up in the next ten seconds, so you pulled yourself away from him and then hid in the bathroom for fifteen minutes freaking out.

By the time you came out, Nico was awake and sat up against the headboard. His hair was ruffled and dishevelled, his eyes still hooded and a sleepy smile on his lips that made you want to turn on your heels and have another bathroom freakout. 

Instead, you smiled back and told him the two of you had to be outside in the next hour for the brunch Lucy had planned before both wedding parties went off to do their last fittings. 

Thankfully, no more bathroom freakouts were required. 

The brunch Lucy had set up looked like something straight out of a Pinterest aesthetic board. It was set in the house’s back porch with a stunning view of the beach and morning sun beating down on the sea. The table was set with plates of pastries, fruits and other brunch dishes, all topped with the morning mimosas Lucy demanded was a part of the experience.

Nico barely gave you a chance to settle down in your seat before his hand reached for the leg of your chair, dragging you closer to him until his arm could settle along the back of your chair comfortably. From the corner of your eye, you could see Jackson watching the two of you. Nico had noticed too.

If anything, it just made him smirk. 

One by one, everyone had made their way from their rooms to settle down at the brunch table like you all had done the night before. However, unlike yesterday, you noted an empty seat next to Jackon that hadn’t been beside him last night. 

Before you could even ask, a high-pitched voice shrilled from inside.

“I’m here! I’m here! I promise I’m not late.”

You turned to look at Lucy, your eyes widening in response but your friend only mouthed an apology before she turned to the door just in time for a redhead to wander out onto the porch. 

“Bryce! Happy to finally have you here!” 

You watched the two of them hug but your whole body had locked up, an unwanted flurry of memories washing over you. And just like that, it felt like another situation in which you should have been prepared for but didn’t get the chance to. Another rug pulled from under your feet. 

“What’s wrong?” 

You could feel him lean closer, hear the concern in his voice. And yet, you couldn’t tear your eyes away from the redhead talking to Lucy a few feet away.

You knew. You knew Jackson had a plus one, it was the whole fucking reason you showed up with one of your own because you didn’t want to look like the loser who hadn’t moved on. You had been warned that he was bringing someone else. 

You just never assumed it would be her.

“That’s the girl my ex cheated on me with,” you managed to mumble under your breath to Nico, managed to finally turn your head to look at him. 

His expression was some mix of surprise and anger and, honestly, you would have laughed at the seriousness on his face if it weren’t for the fact you felt the exact same. You didn’t care about your ex and you had moved on, but it was still a bitter sting to know he was still with the woman he cheated on you with all those years ago.

You tried to relax your shoulders and act as unaffected as you could as Bryce rounded the table to take the seat next to Jackson—the seat across from you. But any hopes of the brunch going as smoothly as the dinner yesterday went out the window when her eyes landed on you.

“Oh my god,” Bryce let out a laugh and smiled at you, a smile you were sure was meant to be friendly but just made your skin prickle. “I didn’t know you would be here! Luce didn’t tell me.”

Luce. That was your nickname for her, not Bryce’s.

“I guess we are both surprised then,” you replied with a strained smile.

Nico couldn't help but snort, not even trying to hide his reaction.

Her eyes snapped over to him, calculating. “And this must be your plus one. Your friend?” 

“Boyfriend, actually,” you corrected.

“Hm, how sweet.” 

You still felt on edge as the brunch continued. Nico’s arm around the back of your seat was a comfort but it didn’t help the fact Bryce’s gaze on you felt like daggers against your skin. You ignored both her and Jackson for the most part, listening to the stories exchanged amongst the group and Lucy raving about the final dress fitting later that day. It was easy to zone out until the conversation seemed to focus back onto you and the boy by your side.

“So,” Lucy grinned as she glanced between you and Nico. “What’s the story? How did you meet? When did it happen? I want details, I can’t believe you’ve been holding back on me!”

You flashed her an apologetic look. “You were busy with the wedding, I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Well, you can tell me now,” she retorted with a wink. 

“It’s really not that interesting,” you said, shifting in your seat when you felt everyone’s eyes on you. As much as you joked about having an insane love story, the idea of even saying the boring one right now with everyone’s attention directed on you made your skin prickle with discomfort.

But even if everyone else was oblivious, Nico wasn’t. 

“To her, maybe,” he spoke up and everyone’s focus shifted to him, even your own. But he was used to this. He was used to many eyes on him and attention directed towards him. “I still get teased about it by the boys.” 

Lucy’s smile softened. “Really?”

“Oh yeah,” Nico laughed, his eyes briefly looking at you before his gaze returned to your friend. “I had a huge crush on her when she joined the team. Like, embarrassingly huge. Jack used to tease me all the time on how I seemed to forget how to speak English around her.”

Your stomach dipped and, for a quick second, you almost believed him with everyone else.

“She always did play a little hard to get,” Jackson mused and something visibly changed in Nico’s expression. 

“And she was worth every second of it,” Nico retorted, the same camera-approved smile he gave the journalists during interviews. “Unlike some people though, I have no plan to lose her.”

Jackson clenched his jaw. 

“How long have you been together then?” Bryce jumped in, her narrowed gaze glancing between you both.

“A few months,” you and Nico replied at the same time.

Bryce’s eyes gleamed. “And how long is a few months?” 

“Six,” Nico answered simply before he turned to smile at you. “Best six months of my life.”

Your face warmed in response. “He’s a little cheesy.” 

“You mean romantic,” Lucy teased, but there was something approving in her expression. It warmed your heart a little at the idea that she would have approved of Nico if he really was your boyfriend. “She isn’t used to that.”

Jackson stiffened. 

Nico’s grin widened and before you could even realise what he was doing, he was taking your hand in his and placing a kiss along your knuckles. “I’m honoured to be the one to spoil her, then.”

Thankfully, Jackson and Bryce didn’t say much for the rest of the meal.

…

You felt like you were in an odd routine over the next few days, but you found that you actually quite enjoyed it. 

The wedding frenzy was in full effect but there was something grounding about having Nico by your side for it all. 

Every morning, you woke up first and found yourself tangled in bed with the boy. It also meant the bathroom freakouts had become a part of your routine, but it was worth it to wake up and enjoy the warmth of Nico Hischier’s hold for a few minutes. You two would end up lounging in your shared room, just trying to fully wake up before Lucy dragged you into last minute wedding nonsense. 

But even at night, you found yourself settled into a routine with the boy. He would go first to the bathroom and you’d go second, and then the two of you would be settled against the headboard, rambling away until one of you yawned and the other one turned the lights off for the night.

It almost made you laugh that there was ever a time you were intimidated by the captain—even when that time was just last week.

And yet, for the first time since you arrived in Charleston, there was nothing for you to do. The rehearsal dinner was tomorrow, the wedding was the following day and it was like you were facing the calm before the storm took over your lives. And it was the first time you could all enjoy the beach without a deadline looking over your head.

“C’mon, it will be fun!” 

Lucy snorted. “For you, maybe.” 

Tom grinned down at his future wife, lightly tugging on her hand but she remained sat on the deck chair. “It’s just a friendly game of soccer. Boys versus girls. Come on.”

“Football,” Nico corrected under his breath, making you snort.

“That is hardly fair,” Lucy argued. “You’ll have a professional athlete on your side!”

“Nico is a hockey player!” Tom retorted.

“Same thing,” Lucy waved off and Nico’s expression was enough for you to snort again. “Fine, we play but with mixed teams.”

Tom contemplated for a moment before agreeing. “Deal.”

“And I get Nico on my team,” she added, watching in delight as her fiance gaped.

“But—” He paused, lifting his head to find your gaze. “You’re on my team then.”

“She’s my best friend!” 

“You took the athlete, I get your best friend. That’s the deal.”

“Do we get a choice in this?” Nico murmured to you and you just laughed, shaking your head.

After more arguing and bickering and negotiating between the future married couple, the teams had been decided. Goals had been marked in the sand, a ball had been acquired and the game began. It was stupid and harmless and it was meant as nothing more than a little fun. 

But Tom and Lucy were more competitive than they let on. And it certainly didn’t help the fact Jackson seemed to have it out for your boyfriend before the match even began.

“Think you can handle tackling your boyfriend?” Jackson asked you. 

“I don’t think it concerns you how well I handle him,” you retorted, feeling the weight of Nico’s gaze on you from across the makeshift pitch like a comfort.

“He doesn't seem like your type,” Jackson continued, always sticking close enough so he could keep talking.

“My type is none of your business,” you stated bluntly.

“I mean, a jock? Really?” Jackson shrugged. “Just didn’t think you went for the airhead.”

You snorted, unable to help yourself. “Funny, I was thinking the same thing when I considered what I saw in you.”

He huffed. “You—”

“Don’t want to continue this conversation, Jackson,” you shot him a look. “I’m happy with Nico. I don’t care what you have to say about it. I’m here for Lucy, not you. Don’t get it twisted.” 

“You’ll never have what we had with Nico,” he said. 

“One can only hope.”

…

You were stupid to think Nico wouldn’t be competitive in a friendly game. He was a professional athlete. It was literally written in his DNA.

And honestly? You felt bad for anyone who played against the Devils because you couldn’t imagine how intense Nico was to play against in a proper game when this was how seriously he was taking a stupid football match that meant nothing.

“NEXT GOAL WINS THE GAME!”

The group had been playing for the last hour, the game was tied and you knew that you would have to head back into the house for lunch soon. But neither team wanted to leave the game until there was a clear winner.

Any semblance of friendliness went out the window as the last leg of the game continued. You weren’t too bothered, more than happy to watch Tom and Lucy mostly fight over the ball and constantly try to tackle each other. 

But your stomach dipped a little when you saw Lucy kick the ball back to Nico. And the feeling only got worse when you saw Jackson making a beeline towards the boy, determined to tackle it out of his hold. Before you even knew it, you and the rest of the party were watching the two boys race down the makeshift pitch.

However, no matter how hard he tried, Jackson could never match Nico’s speed. 

You watched as he kicked the ball, right through the makeshift goal that had been created in the sand. The group broke out into a mix of groans and cheers alike, people clapping and whooping as Nico ran back towards you with a massive grin on his face. 

You barely had a chance to react before he was right in front of you, crouching down enough for his arms to wrap around your thighs before he hoisted you over his shoulders. 

“Nico!” You let out a noise mixed between a scream and laugh.

“We won, baby!” He cheered and your cheeks burned at the nickname. 

Your hands tried to hold onto him for balance but a part of you knew he would never drop you. You patted his back and Nico seemed to catch the hint as he slowly dropped your back to the ground, though his arms remained wrapped around you to keep you close.

“You won,” you corrected. “We are on different teams, remember?”

Nico shrugged. “My win is your win.” 

You snorted. “That was cheesy.” 

“Didn’t like it?” He teased, and your cheeks burned warmer. 

“You make it work,” you admitted, the band around your chest tightening when you saw his face brighten at your words. 

“Yeah?” 

For a moment, you forgot that you were surrounded by people. For a moment, it was just you and Nico stood on this beach, smiling and laughing and alone. For a moment, you could have sworn his eyes dipped down to your mouth. For a moment, you thought he was going to kiss you.

A big part of you wished he did. 

“C’MON, LOVEBIRDS! LUNCH IS READY!”

You blinked, tearing your eyes away from the boy right in front of you and instead turned to look at the others. Some of the group were already making their way back to the house, but a few lingered on the beach. Lucy was grinning at you like a madman with Tom looking equally as happy. However, it was hard to focus on them when Jackson stood a few feet away, glaring at you and Nico.

You cleared your throat, hoping your smile seemed normal as you turned to Nico. “Ready for lunch?”

“Hm,” Nico hummed, looking like he wanted to say more but ultimately just nodding. “Yeah, I’m starving.”

“Scoring the winning goal really does knock you on your ass, huh?” You joked.

Nico just laughed, throwing his arm around you before the two of you began to make your way back to the house. “Running in sand is much harder than skating.” 

“Didn’t stop you from achieving the win.”

“I’m a winner, baby,” Nico grinned. “I don’t like losing.”

…

The football game had sucked the energy out of most of the group, so it was no surprise everyone started to head to bed before the clock had even reached ten.

You were dragging your feet as you followed Nico to your shared room, doing everything in your ability to stay awake as he went into the bathroom first. Every one of your moves felt lethargic and sluggish and you wanted nothing more than to curl up under the duvet to sleep forever.

It was like a cruel joke from the universe that the second your head hit the pillow, you couldn’t fall asleep. And it took a solid ten minutes of twisting and turning before Nico spoke up.

“Are you okay?”

You froze before letting out a heavy sigh, settled on your back as you stared blankly into the dark room. “Just can’t sleep.” There was a pause. “Sorry if I woke you up.”

“I wasn’t asleep yet.” he assured you before he shuffled in his spot until he was facing you, even if he couldn’t really see you in the dark. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

Your lips twitched upwards and maybe it was the exhaustion, but you couldn’t even stop yourself from letting out a laugh that echoed through the room.

Nico let out a noise of amusement. “What?” 

You shook your head, feeling oddly giddy as you spoke. “Nothing, it’s just,” you paused for a few seconds. “I just remembered Jack telling me how the team joked that you took on the role of the therapist before you became captain. That after bad games, you went out of your way to ask them how they were doing and being the shoulder they needed to cry on.”

Nico frowned a little. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Not at all,” you answered as you turned to look at him, imagining the features on his face even if you couldn’t see him. “It’s just funny that I knew what you were like this whole time but still…it took me experiencing you to realise how stupid I was.” 

His confusion grew. “Stupid for what?”

“For thinking you were scary,” you admitted in a whisper.

Nico didn’t say anything before he let out a laugh. “You thought I was scary?” 

“Well, not scary,” you corrected, but you couldn’t help but laugh with him. “Just…intimidating.” 

“Is that why you never spoke to me?”

“I spoke to you,” you argued.

“Hardly,” Nico mused. “I don’t think we had a proper conversation until you had almost been with the team for a year. I had to ask Jack if I had done something to piss you off because you seemed to get on with everyone else but me.”

You couldn’t hide your surprise. “You asked Jack?”

“I wanted to apologise if I had done something I didn’t realise upset you,” he confessed, and something in your chest tightened at the thought.

“Oh god,” you murmured, letting out a groan as you raised your hands to cover your face. “Now I feel like even more of a dick.”

Nico huffed out a laugh before he reached over, his palm warm and comforting as it rested on your arm. “It’s fine. We are friends now, right?”

You sighed. “Yeah but—”

“Hey, don’t feel too bad about it, okay? We were both being stupid,” Nico’s words washed over you, his thumb gently rubbing soothing circles on your skin. “And without that, you could have been here with Jack or someone else instead and I would have missed out on a pretty fun week.”

“You’re having fun?”

“Of course I am. I’m here with you,” he murmured, voice thick and full of sincerity. It made your heart race in your chest to the point you almost swore he could hear it. “Plus, it’s pretty funny seeing how pathetic your ex-boyfriend is.”

You snorted. “Not my finest decision in life.”

“As much as I wish you never experienced that kind of pain, I’m glad it happened,” Nico whispered, his hand lightly squeezing your arm. “It meant you moved to New Jersey. It meant that I—that the whole team got to meet you.”

Your cheeks burned but you smiled, even if he couldn’t see it. You placed a hand over his and squeezed back. “I’m glad I met you too. All of you.”

“Bet you wouldn’t have had this heart-to-heart with Jack, huh?”

You let out a breathless laugh. “No, he probably would have fallen asleep before I even left the bathroom.”

Nico laughed but didn’t disagree. 

You don’t remember exactly at what point you fell asleep that night, but you spent a little longer in his arms the next morning. 

It was a risk but you had lost time to make up for with Nico Hischier, even if it meant making up those moments tangled in bed with him.

…

The rehearsal dinner was where everything really hit you.

It had been running smoothly, though you expected nothing less from Lucy. You knew she probably had the day planned down to the minute, and even if the plan deviated, she would have five back up plans that were ready to go. It was just the kind of person she was.

It was held outside on the beach, the slowly setting sun casting the skies orange and pink over the venue. The tables were set to perfection, the fairy lights decorated across the borders and you had truly never seen anyone happier than Lucy and Tom in that moment. Your heart soared at the idea of the two most deserving people finding the happiness they earned.

It was gorgeous. It was perfect. It was the last fucking time and place you should have been hit with the fact that you were maybe, kinda, most definitely falling in love with Nico Hischier.

Lucy had just wanted a calm, laid back rehearsal dinner. The wedding party was just meant to practise walking in and out, before eventually sitting down to enjoy the nice meal set for the occasion. It was nothing intense, nothing high-stress or extreme. 

It was meant to be fine.

And it was, all things considered. Everything ran smoothly, everyone stood where they were meant to stand and there wasn’t a doubt in anyone’s head that the wedding itself would run smoothly. 

But it didn’t feel fine in your head. 

You had taken your place in the line of bridesmaids, waiting for your cue to start walking down the makeshift aisle. You had stepped out right on beat, you kept your gaze forward, you stood on your marked spot and then you turned to wait for Lucy to make her way down the aisle. 

Except your eyes shifted away from the bride and found Nico’s gaze. 

He should have turned his head to look at the approaching bride-to-be like everyone else was. He should have been watching the ceremony, enjoying the love shared between the happy couple you were all here to celebrate. He should have been looking the other way.

But he was looking at you. 

He was looking at you with a soft smile—one that only widened the second he realised you were looking right back. The skin around his eyes crinkled with his smile, his chain was peeking out the open collar shirt and the soft breeze was making strands of his hair flutter down onto his forehead and—

Fuck. 

You were falling for Nico Hischier. 

The realisation hit you hard and fast, it almost felt like you were winded by the thought. It was a small blessing that everyone was focused on Lucy, that they were far too preoccupied to watch the way you stumbled slightly in your spot at the weight of your sudden realisation. 

Well, everyone except Nico.

He frowned a little, a crease forming between the brows and you could see the concern in his eyes even with the large distance between you. You could see the way he tilted his head slightly, the silent question hanging between you as you just flashed him a small smile and nodded your head. 

You had to tear your eyes away from him before your lungs caved in or your heart burst out of your chest. You had to force yourself to remember to smile and focus on the rehearsal dinner. You had to force yourself to remain normal.

Because he was Nico Hischier. 

He was captain of the New Jersey Devils. He was your colleague. He was your newly-made friend. He was here doing a favour after Jack practically threw him in the deep-end. He wasn’t here to witness your sudden and mind-boggling realisations. 

So, when the dinner was starting to be served and he found your side again, you didn’t hesitate to lie through your teeth. 

“I’m okay,” you told him, a kind smile on your face that you hoped was believable. “Trust me, Nico, I’m fine. Just got a little dizzy, must have low blood sugar or something.” 

Because you were here for your friend’s wedding. And he was here to help you out. 

There was no place for your newfound feelings.

…

To absolutely nobody’s shock, the wedding went through without a single hitch.

The ceremony ran through smoothly with pretty vows and sweet kisses exchanged between the newly married couple. As the reception rolled around, speeches were given, laughs were shared and dinner was served as the guests all enjoyed the union of Lucy and Tom and their love. 

It was sweet. It was perfect. It was everything your best friend deserved for her wedding.

It didn’t take long after the dinner for the first dance to commence, a soft smile in place as you watched Tom and Lucy softly sway to their chosen song. They looked lost in their own world, so caught up in each other like they forgot everyone else existed. 

A pang of longing hit you but you shoved it away. 

It was somewhere between your third and fourth glass of wine when Lucy found you, dragging you towards the dance floor with some halfhearted rambles about wanting to get pictures of all the bridesmaids and groomsmen dancing before you all got shit-faced drunk.

It was your unfortunate luck that the photographer paired you with Jackson before you had the chance to disagree, to escape the way Bryce was glaring at you like you had chosen him.

“She isn’t you.” 

You tried to keep your eyes anywhere but his face, to try and focus on something other than his hands on your waist. You thought you could zone out and that maybe the song would pass quickly, but the universe had other plans for you.

“It’s not like how it was when I was with you,” Jackson continued. 

“What do you genuinely think this conversation is going to achieve?” You asked him, gaining the courage to lift your head to look him in the eyes. You kept your voice down to avoid attention, to avoid creating a scene. “We’re done. We were done years ago when you chose to throw our relationship down the drain. I’ve moved on, you should too.”

Jackson shot you a look. “Tell me you haven’t felt it this week. Tell me you don’t feel the pull—”

“I don’t,” you stated bluntly. “And I have no interest in what you’ve felt this week. I don’t care.”

He frowned. “Because of your lil’ hockey player?”

“Little isn’t the word I’d use to describe him but no,” you answered honestly. “Not because of him but because of you. You ruined things, Jackson, and I moved on with my life. Accept that.” 

Jackon’s frown only deepend. He opened his mouth and you could only imagine what he was going to say, could only imagine what bullshit he was about to pull out of his ass. But before he got the chance, a firm hand landed on his shoulder to halt his movements. 

“Mind if I cut in?” 

Jackson glanced over his shoulder to see Nico standing there, smiling like nothing was wrong, like he wouldn’t happily put Jackson in his place if he disagreed. And maybe your words got through to him or maybe Jackson accepted it was not worth arguing with a man over fifty pounds heavier and four inches taller than him. 

He turned to look at you, saying nothing as his jaw clenched in response before he wandered off. 

Nico hardly wasted any time in taking up Jackson’s spot, one arm wound around your waist and tugging you close whilst the other intertwined with your hand. He looked down at you, eyes full of concern, fondness and something else as he noted how tense you were.

“You okay?” His voice soft and quiet but, fuck, it was exactly what you needed to hear. “He didn’t say anything, right? Because I can—”

“I handled it,” you assured him with a soft smile, squeezing his hand to punctuate your point. “But thank you for being my knight in shining armour.”

“Selfishly, I wanted to do it the second the dance started,” Nico admitted, and if he hadn’t been drinking all night, you would have assumed the pink flush to his cheeks was a blush. “I mean, you’re my date after all. Surely first pick dancing rights go to me, no?”

You laughed, shaking your head. “First pick in the draft, now in dancing…you’re quite the man, Hischier.”

“I’m consistent,” he retorted, tugging you that little bit closer until you had the excuse to rest your head against his chest. 

And for a moment, with your cheek pressed against his shirt and his presence engulfing, you let yourself pretend this moment would last forever. You let yourself enjoy the last day Nico Hischier would pretend to be your boyfriend and imagined a world where it wasn’t really pretend at all.

…

Lucy wasn’t happy that you had to leave early the next morning, but she understood that both of you had to return to New Jersey.

It was dreadfully early—far too fucking early with how late you stayed up the night before—to start an eleven hour road trip, but Nico had just smiled and told you to nap the first few hours whilst he drove the first stint of the journey. 

You knew he was right, that you should have rested and gotten a little sleep but you couldn’t bring yourself to stay asleep for long. You felt like you were wasting time, you were wasting precious hours in this little bubble you had created with Nico that would burst by the time you both returned to Newark. 

So, you did what every normal and sane person did and stocked up on coffee and energy drinks at the next service station stop to keep you fuelled through the drive.

It was no different to the drive down to Charleston except for a shift in the energy. It was easier, in a sense. On the way down, Nico was essentially a glorified stranger to you that you had only shared a number of conversations with. But it felt different now, it felt like you actually knew the boy in the seat beside you. 

And it was bittersweet in that sense, too.

Because you loved this. You loved how easy it was to talk to him. You loved how you got to see the side of Nico Hischier that enamoured the fans, the team and the league. You loved that you got your own special version of him in the last week. And you didn’t want to lose that, you didn’t know if you would ever see this version of Nico again once you reached New Jersey. 

And as the hours passed and the closer you reached your destination, it felt like Nico realised the same. The car was tense and thick with tension, one that went unspoken but reeked of longing and the desire to cling onto the bubble the two of you created over the last week.

It was there, lingering and stewing and, yet, neither of you said anything about it once you reached your apartment complex.

“Thank you,” you said for what felt like the millionth time that weekend, but it was necessary. It had to be said. It meant so much more.

Thank you for coming with me this weekend. Thank you for backing me up. Thank you for being a good friend. Thank you for showing me who you really are even if it’s going to fuck with my head for the rest of my life. Thank you for being you.

“Any time,” he said, the words just as heavy as yours. You wish you knew what he meant by them. “Do you need help with your bags? I can—”

“I’ve got them,” you assured him.

His brows furrowed together. “Are you sure? I—”

“I’m sure,” you said, clearing your throat and finding the courage to finally look at him. You pushed away the stupidest and strangest urge to cry. “Well, see you on Monday then?”

Nico frowned a little but nodded. “See you Monday.”

It felt harsh being so blunt, so straightforward and direct. But you knew you needed to get out of that car as quickly as you could. Because you had spent the last week with Nico by your side the whole time, basked in the warmth of him as a person, and you knew all it would take was a few more moments alone with him for you to blurt out something stupid.

You knew you needed to get out of there and just be alone. To lock yourself in your apartment over the next twenty-four hours before you had to return to work, to attempt to wrap your head around the flurry of emotions bursting inside of you. You knew you needed to get behind that door before you had the urge to run back down to his car.

You couldn’t even bring yourself to look back at his car, to see if he drove off, as you reached the door of your apartment complex. You forced yourself to keep your gaze ahead, to put one foot in front of the other until you reached your apartment. You felt your body moving on autopilot as you unlocked the door, stepped inside and dumped the bags you had dragged up. 

And then, the overwhelming realisation and memories of the last few days washed over you. 

Fuck. You were in love with him. You were properly in love with him. You were going to have to go into work on Monday and see him there and pretend everything is normal. You are going to have to pretend for the rest of your life or until your feelings go away. You were going to—

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

You paused, the heel of your palm pressed to the centre of your chest as you tried to regulate your breaths. You had half the mind to ignore the knocks, to hope the person on the other side of the door just left you alone so you could curl up onto your couch with a fluffy blanket and a tub of ice cream.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

But you had a nagging feeling this person wouldn’t leave.

You avoided the mirror in your hallway as you headed back towards your front door, twisting the handle and pulling the door back with the full expectation of seeing one of your neighbours on the other side. 

Instead, it was a panting and breathless Nico.

“Nico?”

“I can’t pretend anymore,” he blurted out, beyond the point of caring whether he was too blunt or straightforward. “I can’t pretend because I have spent the last few years pretending and I’m tired of it.”

Your brows furrowed together. “What are you—”

“I wasn’t lying when I told your friends,” Nico continued, his eyes never leaving yours. It was almost like he was afraid to look away. It was like he was scared you would disappear if he did, or he would lose the confidence he had to say what he had been feeling since he first saw you. “I had the biggest crush on you when you joined the team years ago.”

Your lips parted in surprise, but no words came out. No words were needed as Nico continued.

“And Jack knew. Everyone fucking knew how I felt about you,” he admitted with a laugh, one that was a little dry and self-depricating. “They knew how I felt about you before you even spoke to me. And then Jack saw the opportunity and he tried to help me but it just made everything worse.”

Your heart twisted at his words.

“Because it showed me what life would be like if I was actually yours,” Nico whispered, voice cracking and emotions raw. “It showed me what it would be like for you to hold my hand and call me your boyfriend and introduce me to your friends like I’m this huge part of your life. And now it fucking sucks that it’s not true, that it’s over. And I can’t just keep going on in life and seeing you at work on Monday and acting like I’m still okay with pretending—”

You kissed him.

He was standing at your doorstep confessing a million different things at once, confessing things that had your head spinning and your brain racing to catch up with. But he was standing there and he felt the same way and you just couldn’t help yourself but to grab his face and kiss him.

Nico sunk into the kiss like it was what his body was made for, like an instinctive reaction to grip your hips and pull you closer. Your arms slowly wound around his neck, tugging him down to deepen the kiss as every racing thought in your head stopped and there was just him, him, him.

“I don’t want to pretend either,” you murmured against his lips because you genuinely didn’t have it within you to pull away properly, to put any more distance between you.

You could feel him smile against your lips. “No?”

“No,” you swallowed harshly as you lightly nudged his nose with your own. “I don’t want to go back to the way everything was before the wedding. I don’t want you to become a stranger in my life.”

“Never, schatz,” he murmured softly before leaning down to press his lips against yours again, slow and purposeful. 

You let him slowly lead you back into your apartment, listened to the way he kicked the door shut with his boot as he led you towards the coach in your living room. You could feel his smile against your own as you fell back onto the cushions, his body a comfortable and familiar weight on you as memories of your mornings together flashed through your mind.

“Oh god.”

Nico pulled back, holding his weight on his elbows as he looked down at you with a frown. “What?”

“Jack is going to be so fucking smug,” you grumbled, playfully groaning whilst the boy on top of you just laughed. 

“You’re something else,” Nico murmured with a grin.

You raised your brows. “Good something?” 

“Best something,” Nico corrected before he leaned down to kiss you again. 

.

[meadowtea]

[wonryllis]

Wut would hee do when his gf can't sleep at nigh (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

୨୧ WHEN YOU CAN'T FALL ASLEEP.

FEATURING. heeseung x fem!r WDCT. 326 GNRE. smut, est relationship WRNG. overstimulation ( ARCHIVE )

"one more baby, come on," heeseung rasps, lips ghosting over your ears as his fingers slide down to rub your clit soft and slow, cock thrusting his cum back into you. he moves his head into the crook of your neck when you whine, placing gentle kisses and sucking hickeys into your skin.

it was two in the morning and watching you struggle to fall asleep gave heeseung the perfect opportunity to pull as many orgasms out of you as he possibly could. trying to overstimulate you to tears under the excuse of tiring you out. fucking you full of his cum, filling you up and keeping you full. feeling crazed over the way his cum spills out with even the softest thrust and how slippery and wet and sticky it feels when he moves, pussy warmer than ever.

"ngh— heeseung, too m-much!" you whimper when a particular thrust goes too deep rubbing against your walls in a way that hurts but feels so damn good you can't bring yourself to tell him to stop.

and heeseung knows no matter how much you say is too much, it would never be too much, your boyfriend knowing exactly how to make you feel too good without actually hurting you.

"mhm, feels too good doesn't it, we should do this more," he groans, his hips speeding up, movements getting frantic as he feels close. your pussy clenches tight around at the rough strokes and heeseung can tell by the way you moan his name repeatedly, that you are too. he pulls you into a kiss, both moaning into each other's mouth as you cum together for probably the fourth time. panting and gasping for air with the overwhelming amount of pleasure and sensitivity.

"last one baby, give me one last one," heeseung voice whispers into your lips when you mewl at the touch of his fingers on your engorged nub. soft cock thrusting continuously despite the pain.

TAGLIST. @s00buwu @lilyuwon @pockyyasii @nctislifue @shawnyle @enhastolemyheart @aaa-sia @snoopypupp ( open. )

[creamysan]

♡クリーミーさん♡

[warmau]

everything is getting worse younghooon has his hat on backwards and i think im seeing the light

[warmau]

masters student for his degree in finance which he isn’t even fully interested in but is doing because he knows the job market is good right now and he has no issue with any of the core classes but he has the most fun in his creative electives and has an apartment off campus because he brought his dog along to live with him and he waits for you outside of your job after his evening classes so you can go get dinner together somewhere casual and cozy and a go-to place where you talk about your days together and everyone in the vicinity is awe struck by how handsome he is and you tease him about it because he doesn’t really believe you when you point it out and when you guys cuddle he only lets you kiss him on the cheek in public because his mom told him that he should be polite with pda but once you get home you push him down onto his knees while you take a seat on the sofa and he couldnt be anymore happy than he is right there …. lean in to take his hat off and brush your fingers through his hair and he looks up at you with stars in his eyes ill actually walk myself out before i keep going because im going to turn to dust

[warmau]

younghoon in one of his big comfy tshirts and loose fitting pants sitting at the kitchen table doing an assignment for one of his courses and you drape yourself over his shoulder to see what he’s up to and he smells really clean and you try to distract him with neck kisses and he is clearly turning to mush while trying to explain that this assignment is due tomorrow but you’re like tomorrow is tomorrow right now is right now and he can never win against you because he’s so in love with you and also you know the spot under his collarbone that really rattles him and also this is my au so younghoon is getting kissed like he deserves to be kissed 

younghoon bruises easily too so you have to be careful because once he came to campus and hyunjae was extremely loud about the red spot he caught sight of under younghoon’s collar for absolutely no reason other than to be a menace when younghoon texted you about it you sent hyunjae a vaguely coated threat through the dms about how you still have photos from halloween last year and hyunjae was like you know what i was wrong to your bf never gonna happen again please spare me but younghoon is blushing the whole day anyway because ahh fuck what if someone else sees it

younghoon nudging his head between your shoulder blades when he gets home from a late swim meet he also does sometimes for the uni and you’re like wahh your hair is still damp and he’s like dry it for me but he’s mumbling and you cannot hear him so you turn around and he’s just giving you the big brown chocolate puppy eyes im going to cry for real 

[warmau]

younghoon also annoys you for attention when you’re super busy because at some point the lack of touch feels weird to him and at the end of the day he’s a leo boyfriend who just wants you to call him cute nicknames and spend the evening watching tv shows all tangled up in each other so he starts shuffling around you like an impatient puppy and asking if you’ll be done soon and when you sternly tell him to go put on a movie and give you another hour he is pouty but nevertheless obedient because he knows he should let you work but also you sound hot ordering him around with a slight bit of annoynace

younghoon texting chanhee for advice of gifts for you and chanhee is like you’re their boyfriend use your brain and younghoon is like i am using it but please help me also 100% if you are dating younghoon you are gossiping with chanhee about it like this is a given younghoon is also like im not good at crafts how do i make this ribbon look pretty for them and chanhee is like i could k word you

younghoon diligently on the phone with his mom every other day and half of it is spent gushing about you to her over the absolute littlest things and he’s trying to half whisper at the start but he knows you hear him at some point and also he loves being in love with you and he’s confident about it so he just pulls you over to talk to her too and now they’re both gushing about you and this is probably the only time you are more flustered than younghoon in the situation AHHHHHHH. AH.

[warmau]

younghoon is having a nice morning munching on toast when you walk in wearing his hoodie unzipped and nothing else and you’re like give me some toast too and he nearly burns himself because he has to grip the closest thing next to him not to faint which happens to be the stove RIP.

[benedictscanvas]

forgive me - benedict bridgerton x reader

Pairing: Benedict Bridgerton x F!Reader

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings: friends to lovers, a lot of pining, some slight steaminess but it’s just built on intense longing and intense kissing

A/N: My first Bridgerton fic, which is slightly out of my comfort zone but has been a total joy to write! Feel free to send in any ideas you might want to see me write in the future. Hope you enjoy a good old friends to lovers confession with our boy Benedict <3

—

“You cannot seriously be considering such a thing? I shan’t hear of it, brother!”

It could never be said that the Bridgerton household was a dull one, a fact that you had witnessed firsthand ever since you were a child. Each time your mother had been invited round for tea with Lady Bridgerton, which seemed to happen far more frequently than was truly proper, you would attend too, following quietly behind her skirt. You would always begin with a shy smile towards the Bridgerton matriarch but once you were encouraged to join the children in the gardens, your inhibitions soon deserted you.

When you were first invited, Daphne and Eloise were just slightly too young to play with you properly and so you were forced to form friendships with the three eldest brothers. Whilst Anthony had largely grown out of such youthful things as friendship and Colin had travelled so extensively that your exchange of letters had grown thin, there was one Bridgerton brother that had provided a constant ever since childhood.

Czytaj dalej

[jayflrt]

i’ll save you (again)

❝ held hostage again? y/n, at this point, maybe you should just write ‘live bait’ across your forehead. ❞

PAIRING ▸ jake sim x fem!reader

GENRES ▸ fluff, crack, angst, enemies to lovers, spider-man au, college au, journalist au, action, hurt/comfort

WARNINGS ▸ profanity, making out, depictions of violence, lee heeseung as venom, that one cute upside-down kiss, a few more kisses after that, playful banter, mc is failing chemistry (this is a plot point i swear) 

SUMMARY ▸ you’re one of new york city’s most well-known news reporters despite only being an intern; unfortunately, that’s a result of being constantly kidnapped and held hostage by an infamous supervillain. lucky for you, spider-man!jake is always at your rescue. what you don’t know, however, is that jake is also your very annoying coworker who can’t seem to leave you alone.

WORD COUNT ▸ 14,120 words

PLAYLIST ▸ i’m ready by jaden • jopping by superm • sunflower by post malone, swae lee • i think by tyler, the creator • invincible by aminé • 777 by joji • industry baby by lil nas x, jack harlow • stay alive by jungkook (prod. suga) (♡)

TAG LIST ▸ @mmsriza​ @fiantomartell​ @iconjaeyun​ @maknaechu​  @13isacoolnumber​ @from-xero​ @yangrden​ @acciomylove​ @sakuracoffe​ @nyujjan​ @honeyju​ @goldenhypen​ @bbanggami​ @lvsunq​ @msxflower​ @baekhyunstruly​ @mykalon​ @heelariously​ @hobistigma​ @simplyxlea​ @wntrsgf​ @person-standing​ @ja4hyvn​ @choibinn3 @bat-shark-repellant @fairyjjuniee @shmooooo @cheonsacheol @jaylaxies @dnyamight @danyxthirstae01 @notmangojuice @rae-blogging @ryuflix @lazycursedchild @killyoselff @luv3iza @stressed-but-still-a-kpop-blog @hotgirlsunoo @luvrjn @heysukecore​ @miedei​ @aeonghaseyo @90sni-ki @itsapapisongo​ @euphorecore​

AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ hello !! some references + allusions to the spider-man movies in here <3 also, note that tycoon is a made-up villain but venom is in this !! thank you so much for checking out this fic! i hope you enjoy !! ♡ 

IF YOU KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO GET KIDNAPPED AGAIN, YOU WOULD HAVE AT LEAST PACKED SNACKS.

“Mr. Supervillain,” you complained, “do you really have to hang me upside down over the edge of a skyscraper?”

This was about your sixth or seventh time getting abducted, and you were starting to get sick of it.

Said supervillain, infamously known as Tycoon, pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. The man had absolutely no interest in you, only using you as bait for luring in Spider-Man. You couldn’t understand his obsession with the superhero. It wasn’t like he got any satisfaction out of it considering Spider-Man kicked his ass every single time.

Czytaj dalej

[goldenhypen]

▸ NECK KISSES WITH ENHYPEN ! ♡

ot7 x reader // fluff // 1.8k (0.2k per member but riki is an exception)

⋅ ⎯ ✈︎ LEE HEESEUNG.

“hi, love,” heeseung greeted you softly after having just arrived home.

finding you in the kitchen, cooking, he snaked his arms around your waist from behind, leaving a kiss on your ear before resting his head in the crook of your neck and letting out a satisfied sigh.

“hi,” you smiled, resting your head against his own. “how was your day?”

“tiring,” he told you. “i’m glad to be home.”

he watched your hands move back and forth, making dinner for the two of you.

“smells good,” he commented.

“thanks, i’m making your favourite.”

“i wasn’t talking about the food.”

“oh-“ you smiled.

he then pulled back slightly, only to begin leaving kisses along the side of your head that slowly trailed down to your neck before just staying there until he was satisfied.

after a few moments, he pulled back, hugging and watching you.

and minutes later, you finished cooking. turning off the stove, you turned around in his hold, snaking your arms around his neck.

“hi, beautiful,” he said with the softest, most loving expression.

“hello, handsome,” you looked into his eyes with a smile.

leaning in and kissing you gently, against your lips, he whispered softly, “i love you.”

⋅ ⎯ ✈︎ PARK JAY.

you and jay had just gotten into an argument, and after having some time to cool down, jay came into the bedroom where you isolated yourself to talk to you.

“hi,” he let out softly after making eye contact with you from the door.

still mad, instead of returning the greeting, you glared at him, turning your body in the opposite direction.

“y/n, can-“

“can i still have some space? i’m not ready to talk yet,” you said, voice shaky as a tear ran down your cheek.

“y/n, can we please fix this? it’s killing me knowing you’re suffering like this-“

you let out an angry sigh, standing up and making your way to the washroom.

but before you could get there, passing by jay, he grabbed a hold of your wrist firmly yet gently so as to not hurt you, halting you in your tracks.

all within seconds, he wrapped his arms around your waist.

“i’m so sorry,” he whispered close to your ear, defeated.

you held your head low as more tears began leaving your eyes.

he hugged you tighter before pressing a kiss to your stained cheeks and lingering there for a moment.

holding you in that position for a while longer, your sobs began to subside.

he left one more kiss on your cheek, which eventually led to another, then another, trailing all the way down to your neck.

you turned around in his hold, looking into his eyes before they left yours and travelled down to your lips, and you took the lead, placing your lips on his own in a forgiving kiss.

⋅ ⎯ ✈︎ SIM JAKE.

“ack!” you squealed, a hand at the back of your neck in pain.

your boyfriend’s ears perked up at the sound of your agony, and he didn’t hesitate in making his way over to you at your desk.

“hey, love. what’s wrong?” he questioned, concern in his voice.

“i don’t know,” you told him.

“it probably hurts from looking down for so long,” he frowned before leaving a kiss on the back of your neck. “you okay?”

you shrugged, tilting your head side to side to stretch it out.

seeing as you were still in pain, jake’s hands were immediately on your shoulders, massaging them.

you smiled, looking to your right and leaving a kiss on jake’s hand before he left one on the side of your head.

he then trailed several quick, loving pecks down to your neck, starting with the right side, causing you to tilt your head to give him more access. after a few seconds, he moved to the back of your neck and then to the other side.

after he was satisfied enough, he snaked his arms loosely around your neck in a back hug, leaving one last kiss on your temple.

“better?”

you turned your head to look at him, noticing your faces were only inches apart. you nodded with a smile.

“‘kay,” he smiled, satisfied before grabbing one of your hands. “come, it’s time for a break.”

you let out several giggles as you complied, standing up with him as he pulled you into a hug, staying in that position for a long moment before taking you to enjoy your break.

⋅ ⎯ ✈︎ PARK SUNGHOON.

you and sunghoon had just finished watching the second vampire movie of your mini marathon, and you were sharing your thoughts with each other about what you had just watched.

he let out a laugh, agreeing with one of your comments, “yeah, and the part when he was about to bite the girl’s neck… like this—”

he looked around before facing you again and placing his hands on either side of you, quickly diving down to your neck to reenact the scene.

taking you by surprise, you let out a squeal. what you didn’t expect, however, was that instead of biting you, he ended up hovering by your neck for a moment before leaving a soft peck at the exposed skin, immediately followed by several more kisses.

he pulled back, face inches from yours and smiled, “did i surprise you?”

you playfully glared at him before answering and lightly hitting his chest, “yeah! how could you do that to me?! you almost gave me a heart attack, hoon!”

he laughed and grabbed your wrists to stop you.

“i’m sorry—“ he pressed a kiss to your lips before continuing. “do you forgive me?”

you stared at him before pretending to ponder his question.

after a couple seconds, not receiving an answer, he continued littering kisses from your jaw and back down to your neck.

“forgive me now?” he asked innocently after pulling away.

you couldn’t help but smile, nodding as you left one last kiss on his lips.

⋅ ⎯ ✈︎ KIM SUNOO.

“hey, love! what’s wrong?!” your boyfriend ran up to you, seeing tears staining your cheeks. “bad day?”

you looked up at him with a large frown on your lips as you nodded, answering his question.

“it’s okay,” he told you, pulling you into his embrace. “wanna talk about it?”

you only continued to cry, unable to answer his question.

“that’s okay. let’s just stay here, like this,” he comforted you in his arms.

you buried your head into his chest, wrapping your arms around his torso, sobs endlessly leaving your lips.

“hm, let’s see. what can i do that will cheer y/n up?” he pretended to think for a moment before you heard him gasp with an idea. “i know.”

without further warning, he dived down and left kisses all over the top of your head and your forehead.

you scrunched up your shoulders, letting out a soft giggle.

“i knew that would work,” sunoo said as he pulled back, a proud smirk on his lips.

you quickly let your laughter die down, but wanting more, a pout met your lips.

“aw, so you’re not better yet?” he said in a babying tone.

he smirked once more before quickly leaving dozens of pecks along the sides on your neck, causing you to squirm and squeal, emitting lots of laughter from you.

“now that’s the smile i love to see.”

⋅ ⎯ ✈︎ YANG JUNGWON.

“oh, are you wearing a new perfume?” your boyfriend, jungwon, asked, smelling the new fragrance you sprayed on earlier that day.

you smiled as he noticed, “yep, it is. do you like it?”

he leaned in closer to catch a better whiff of the new scent.

he hummed, pulling back, “yeah, i- wait let me see again.”

and he dove back down, sniffing the fragrance on your neck again, causing you to giggle. but instead of smelling your perfume for the second time, he used this opportunity to leave a peck on your neck.

you squealed, “ah! wonie, what are you doing?! it tickles!”

but he only left more light pecks on your neck, so many, it was as if he was trying to litter the entire front and sides of your neck in kisses.

eventually, your laughter died down, and before pulling back, jungwon left his lips lingering near your skin for a moment longer, only to later stare you lovingly in the eyes, glancing down to your lips and leaving another kiss.

⋅ ⎯ ✈︎ NISHIMURA RIKI.

you and riki were having your weekly movie night, and being only minutes in, he found himself snuggled into the crook of your neck, something you only got to experience when you and him got alone time together; if there was anyone else around, he would refuse to show his incredible soft spot for you.

and knowing this, you took this rare opportunity to record the moment on your phone.

so with the device in hand resting on your lap, you lifted it up slightly, making sure it was out of his vision, and began to film.

and to your delighted surprise, after a few seconds into the video, riki said in a soft voice, “i’m gonna go get some snacks, be right back.”

and with his last words, he tilted his head up slightly to leave a kiss between your jaw and neck.

you gasped in surprise and joy that he would ever do something like that, and to make it even better, you caught it on camera!

he sat up, still unaware that you were filming, and you began laughing, causing him to look back at you, about to ask what was so funny, before he noticed your phone recording him.

his smile fell into a very unimpressed expression, narrowing his eyes at you.

“are you kidding me?” he said before laughing slightly. “delete it! right now!”

as you shook your head, he came over to you and playfully tackled you, trying to obtain the phone from your hands, but you refused to let him take it from you.

“i’m not deleting it. that was adorable!”

he suddenly stopped his actions and playfully glared at you before pretending to think for a moment.

“okay, how about if i give you ten kisses, you delete it?” he bargained with you.

“no! you already usually give me ten kisses in just an hour. not worth it,” you said, chin up with confidence as you shook your head.

“20?” he asked you.

“20 and i get to keep the video-“ you negotiated.

“deal-! wait what?!”

“hah! you said ‘deal!’ no take backs!” you laughed, guarding your phone by your chest.

he tried to hide his laughter, but he was unsuccessful.

“fine,” he huffed. “but do not show that video to anyone—ever!”

you smirked before holding out your hand for him to shake, “deal.”

he playfully rolled his eyes before swatting your hand away, “whatever. let’s just continue watching the movie.”

you both laughed, and before you knew it, riki returned back to his position, snuggled back into your neck, just like he began.

© GOLDENHYPEN 2022

TAGLIST FORM.

A/N. i always get carried away with riki’s for some reason,, and i was considering rewriting it cuz it was so much longer than the others, but i kept it cuz it’s cute :> ,, and lol i’m not complaining ,, hope you guys liked this one <3 oh and how do we like the new format omg?? kinda loving it 👀

[i-kai]

you maniac! — a sunghoon smau.

synopsis: after a distressed sunghoon fails to win back his ex, he resorts to using a plan that’s widely used in books and tv — getting a fake girlfriend to make his ex jealous. after making a deal with him, you agree to become his fake girlfriend.

genre: humor, fluff, angst

featuring: enhypen, kim minju, ive’s yujin, stayc’s isa

inspired by: maniac by conan gray & the to all the boys i’ve loved before book series by jenny han

warnings: reader uses she/her pronouns, cussing, inappropriate jokes and remarks lol, sunghoon’s kinda two faced, this fic doesn’t reflect on how these idols actually act irl! everything is purely fictional and for entertainment purposes only.

status: ongoing

taglist: open! (send an ask to be added)

tags: #✉️: you maniac

📖 = includes written part

minju’s children / jay’s parasites

1 — yujin NO

2 — 🚩...?

3 — joe goldberg era

4 — chase fucking atlantic 📖

5 — #girlboss

6 — gee… eff…

7 — crazy ex disease

8 — andrew garfield, my husband

9 — fuck ynhoon!

10 — girl stfu 😑

11 — operation: play cupid

12 — who wants donuts? 📖

13 — sunghoon you loser

14 — lovesick!

more chapters to come !

[simjyun]

─── ✰ 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐘

⌗— PAIRING fboy! jake x fem!reader

⌗— GENRE smau, humor at points, angst, fluff

⌗— SYNOPSIS you had a somewhat interesting life. for one, you were attached to the hip to jake sim, your best friend as well as a known heartthrob at your uni. though notorious for his player reputation, he was the sweetest to you and treated you like no other— but he was also the root of many of your problems.

⌗— WARNINGS sexual jokes, cursing, jealousy, mentions of suggestive/mature ideas (no smut), underage drinking, a lot of jokes about death

⌗— FEATURING ningning of aespa & intak of p1h

⌗— DISCLAIMER this is all fiction and does not depict how these idols really are ! SLOW UPDATES !

..send an ask to be in the taglist <3

PROFILES one | two

one // just one chance

two // aired out (written-ish)

three // you wish, dont you?

four // lol yall hear something

five // been there done that

six // i blocked him

seven // sour mood

extra.. sub tweets

eight // cryptic tweets

nine // get it together!

ten // reparations!!

extra.. new year prep

eleven // escape the night (1.4k)

twelve // live, laugh, love

thirteen // you don’t know me

fourteen // i want her

fifteen // life is great

sixteen // psych ward patient

seventeen // a good day…not

eighteen // wants WHO?

nineteen //

twenty //

[jaeminvore]

𝐌𝐘 (𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋) 𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧!𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧!𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: Sunghoon wasn’t expecting to be sent to the mortal world by his “father”, much less being forced into attending college (he’s a demon! why would he need to?!) and being accidentally summoned by a clueless human almost had him marching straight into Hell to have a word with its ruler. Only he couldn’t, because he was already bound to you by a fucking paper-cut sealing your contract which means he can’t just leave the mortal world without taking something of yours in return.

𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: please do read everything on here thoroughly! I do regularly update this whenever the update schedule has changed or if I added new warnings and when new chapters come out of course.

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄: college au, social media au with occasional written parts, modern supernatural (?) au, “and they were roommates”, horror themes (but not really?), slice of life, mystery, thriller, light angst, fluff, humor and crack (you know the drill 🤣)

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: y/n has little to no verbal filter (she’s kinda crazy... and dumb), Sunghoon is tired despite not needing sleep, swearing, dirty/inappropriate jokes (you have y/n to blame mostly), light sacrilege, light blasphemy (idk what to say except this is a smau abt demons) if you wish to proceed, read at your own discretion. I’ve laid out what you’re going to expect already.

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: ENHYPEN, Aespa's Karina, IVE's Wonyoung, TXT's Yeonjun and Soobin and brief appearances of other idols.

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒: on-going

𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐋𝐄: MWF 10PM (PHT)

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓: JAN 02, 2022

𝐄𝐍𝐃: APRIL 11, 2022

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒 𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐃: #asks.demon.roomie👹 #demon.roomie.things👹 (in case you want to filter them so I wont clog your dashes <3)

𝐀/𝐍: this is for all the monster fuckers out there!! /hj there will be some world-building in this and i hope there is as just as much plot like before 🤩 keep in mind this is all fictional and none of this represents the idols in real life. Also any info about the occult/supernatural may not be accurate and some elements here are my own interpretations and/or twists hehe.

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝟏 | 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝟐

PROLOGUE: and so it begins

PART I: vore?

PART II: nefarious plans

PART III: a full essay? in these trying times?

PART IV: RONALD MCDONALD???

PART V: dumb b*tch allegations

PART VI: so mote it be (written)

PART VII: oh sweet Hecate

PART VIII: SOOBIN ENOUGH

PART IX: look at us

PART X: hoonie my roomie (written)

PART XI: foul creature

PART XII: demon fact(s)!

PART XIII: Kaneki Ken

PART XIV: brocolli kid

PART XV: S.S

PART XVI: not a serial killer

PART XVII: fucking goldfish

PART XVIII: bronies look away

PART XIX: brittle bones

PART XX: Furries.

PART XXI: demon ROOMIE fact(s)!

PART XXII: scooby dooby doo!

PART XXIII: human sacrifice 🙌🏼

PART XXIV: tamed that what?

PART XXV: lesbian lesbianer lesbianest

PART XXVI: fond

PART XXVII: manners maketh man

PART XXVIII: a furry gathering

PART XXIX: Operation S.O.S

PART XXX: see you in the dark night (written)

PART XXXI: and the truth comes spilling out (written)

PART XXXII: blessed or cursed? (written)

PART XXXIII: balls

PART XXXIV: bad daddy behavior

PART XXXV: let me in… LET ME IN!

PART XXXVI: please wrap it up

PART XXXVII: you’re so beautiful (written)

PART XXXVIII: don’t mince the cojones

PART XXXIX: MILFS?

PART XL: Monster Mash

PART XLI: summer what?

PART XLII: Y/N gone wild (not clickbait)

PART XLIII: tumblrina

PART XLIV: Sunghoon’s slow descent to madness

PART XLV: the girls are fighting

PART XLVI: arts and crafts

PART XLVII: something smells 🤥

PART XLVIII: mother (fucker)

PART XLIX: four of crows 🦅

PART L: i found the devil; i found him in a lover (written)

PART LI: mortal peril

PART LII: the twilightifaction of ynhoon

PART LIII: humanoid cephalopod

PART LIV: me & sunoo when

PART LV: i’m srs.

PART LVI: babe wake up!

PART LVII: girl is a gun (written)

PART LVIII: because you’re mine, i walk the line (written)

PART LIX: and when I opened my eyes (written)

PART LX: hold me down forever (written)

PART LXI: vacuum arc

FINAL PART: forever?

[heeliopheelia]

𝐄𝐍𝐇𝐘𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐒/𝐎

genre: fluff (and shitload of cuddles bcs i luv them) | word count: 2k | masterlist

↬ Lee Heeseung (이희승)

You shifted on your couch, again failing to find a comfortable position after staying in one place for five hours straight. Ever since you called Heeseung with an obvious clogged up voice, he's been over at your place babying you and trying to help you get back in shape. You didn't mind any of it though, you enjoyed every moment you could spend with your boyfriend with his hectic schedule.

You raised your head and pulled yourself up into a sitting position when your per said boyfriend walked into the frame of your TV, interrupting you your yet another re-watch of the drama he hated. You smiled up at him, his pretty face immediately making you feel better. But then you saw the bottle in his hand and your face dropped within a millisecond, making him laugh.

"No! Hee, I literally drank that like an hour ago!" You croaked out in a whiny tone, weakly pushing his hand away from you in an attempt to avoid drinking your most loathed medicine.

"It was four hours ago to be precise," he corrected you and giggled at your pouty face. "Oh, come on, baby. I know you hate it but you need to drink it. For me?"

You glared at him, knowing well you could never say no to those bambi eyes of his. With a dramatic sigh you took the medicine from his hand and raised it up to drink it directly from the bottle. You, behaving like a literal child, pretended to take a sip while in reality you didn't even tilt it high enough to let any of the gross beverage into your mouth. You licked your lips as you handed him the bottle back, scrunching up your face at the faint taste.

Before you could even react, Heeseung leaned down and captured your lips with his. You gasped at the sudden kiss, eyes fluttering close when the tip of his tongue swiped over your bottom lip and you sighed, giving him enough space to slip it into your mouth. You wrapped your hands around his neck, the sickness and the sudden rush of warmth making your head dizzy.

And then he pulled away with a raised eyebrow.

"I knew you didn't drink it, you little liar."

↬ Jay Park (박종성)

Jay closed the door behind him, frowning at the unexpected silence in the house. Usually whenever he came back home, he'd find you watching the TV or listening to some music, but now it was so quiet that he couldn't help but worry.

"(Y/n)?" He called out but got no response back.

He went to your bedroom and sighed in relief when he spotted your curled up body on the bed. He walked over to you and smiled, realizing that you were fast asleep. His expression quickly turned into a frown when he noticed how flushed your face looked. He pressed his hand to your cheek and his frown deepened at the feeling of your burning skin.

"Hi," you whispered quietly, smiling when Jay's eyes met yours. You didn't really mind that he woke you up since you really missed his presence. And cuddles.

"Hi, honey. How are you feeling?"

You shrugged slightly, stretching your arms out to him. You were wrapped up in his hoodie and his heart melted at the sight in front of him. You pouted and he immediately realized what you wanted of him, so he quickly retreated from the bed, snickering at your whine.

"I feel fine, Jay. Now, come here!"

"I will, I'm just gonna make you some soup real quick," he assured you and rolled his eyes playfully when you pouted again.

You spread your arms again, motioning for him to come back. "I don't want soup, I want you. I haven't seen you for the whole day and I've missed you."

Jay groaned at your cute stubbornness and walked back to the bed, laying down next to you. You instantly swung your leg over his hips and snuggled into his warm body, nuzzling your face into the crook of his neck. You pressed a small kiss to his skin and he couldn't hide his smile anymore.

"Thank you," you whispered and with the feeling of his gently fingers stroking your hair you fell back asleep.

↬ Jake Sim (심재윤)

You blew your nose into another tissue, groaning as you realized your cold was not easing up at all. You were curled up on a couch, patiently waiting for your boyfriend to finish his shower. Jake just came back from practice half an hour ago and after giving you some medicine that he picked up on his way, he went to clean himself up.

Your eyelids involuntarily grew heavier with time as you tried to keep watching the series playing on the screen in front of you. Just as you were about to doze off you heard the bathroom opening and in couple of moments Jake walked back into the living room.

He plopped down next to you and you wasted no time in crawling over to his lap, straddling him as you tucked your face in his neck. You sighed with content at his body still warm from the shower.

"Seems like someone missed me," he giggled and left a kiss on your burned up temple.

The scent of his body and the comfortable position made you feel sleepy again within a second, so the only thing you found yourself able to do at the moment was humming in reply, tickling his neck in a result. Your arms sneaked up and wrapped themselves around his neck and you didn't care if Jake was suffocating from the warmth. You were sick and had the privilege to coddle your boyfriend to death, okay?

"Well, I'm here now, love. Go to sleep," he murmured into your hair and just like the obedient girlfriend that you were you did as he said and drifted off in a matter of seconds.

↬ Park Sunghoon (박성훈)

You looked out the window, feeling drowsy with the gentle rocking of the bus, and also the headache that you've been struggling with for most of your date. You were so excited to finally go out with your boyfriend after he's finally found a free day in his schedule, only to feel sick the morning you woke up. You didn't tell Sunghoon about it, not wanting to worry him or to ruin your date.

He caught up pretty quickly though, noticing how glossy your eyes were or how much paler your face looked than usually. After telling him what was the matter and getting a slight scolding from him, he paid for the coffee and dragged you out of the coffee shop to the nearest bus stop to get you back home and take care of you.

Now the two of you were sitting next to each other, knees pressed together as you looked outside at the dim lanterns you passed by. Sunghoon was scrolling through his phone, hand intertwined with yours and comfortably laying on his thigh. His thumb was caressing your palm and you leaned your head on his shoulder, feeling dizzy from all the lights flashing in the dark behind the window.

"Next time just tell me you're not feeling well, yeah?" He pleaded quietly, resting his head on top of yours.

You squeezed his hand, feeling sorry for making him worried. "I promise. I love you."

"I love you, too."

↬ Kim Sunoo (김선우)

You were leaned over the kitchen counter, wrapped up in a thick blanket as you waited for the water to boil. You heard a sudden commotion from behind your front door, so you walked over to it and looked through the peep-hole. You gasped when you saw Sunoo searching his pockets for the keys, and you opened the door.

"Babe, what are you doing here?" You asked, throat itching painfully with every word. Sunoo only shot you a glare and walked into your apartment, setting a small grocery bag on the counter.

"How could you not tell me you were sick? I literally had to find out about it from your classmate," he said with a scoff as he started unpacking all the medicine that he's bought for you.

You walked over to the stove when the water started boiling and you were finally able to make yourself some tea. You tugged the blanket over yourself even tighter and sniffled, pouring sugar into your mug.

"I don't know. I just didn't want to worry you, I guess," you murmured, stirring your tea. "You have enough problems on your head already."

There was a short silence before you felt Sunoo's arms wrapping around your waist. He pulled your back into his chest and rested his chin on your shoulder.

"Don't ever say that again. I'm your boyfriend and it's my duty to take care of you when you're not feeling well," he said and kissed you right below your ear with his plush lips. "Now, finish it up so that I can finally cuddle my sick baby."

↬ Yang Jungwon (양정원)

The headache was killing you and so was your math teacher who just gave you another two pages of homework with a due till Friday. You leaned your chin on your palm, feeling dizzy as the pounding in your head only worsened with every minute.

You were the only person in the entire classroom who was still wearing their blazer despite the stifling warmth in the room, and in addition Jungwon gave you his own to lay it over your lap.

By the time the class has finished, your whole body was trembling with cold. A minute after the bell rang, you felt a warm hand pressing to your forehead and a worried face of your boyfriend appeared before your eyes.

"You're burning up, love," he murmured, then gathered all the things from your desk to put it into your bag. He carried it for you as the two of you walked outside the building, hands intertwined together.

Jungwon always walked you back home, it became like a routine for you two. But now with your pace visibly slower than usually and your hand gripping his tightly, he knew that your well-being was a lot worse than you stubbornly tried to convince him it was this morning. With a sigh he put his own backpack on your shoulders before turning around, bending his knees slightly.

"Hop on," he said and while usually you'd protest and say that your legs worked just fine, right now you felt more tired than ever, so without a word of protest you did as he said so. You wrapped your arms around him as he continued the walk, piggybacking you with his hands underneath your legs and your bag hooked over his elbow.

You nuzzled your face in his shoulder and sighed softly. "Thanks, Wonnie," you said quietly, your breath tickling his ear gently.

"It's okay, just rest for now. When we get you home, I'm gonna make you some tea, okay?"

↬ Nishimura Riki (西村 力)

Your back was pressed against Riki's chest as you sat comfortably between his legs. You two just finished eating some take out and now you were watching Tangled while being all cuddled up. Your boyfriend's long arms were wrapped around your waist, hands softly caressing your sides.

When you first called Riki to tell him that you were sick, he didn't really know what to do nor how to help you. He had to ask the older guys for some kind of advice and when he concluded that he'd rather not burn your kitchen down, he settled for ordering your favorite food and cuddling you until you felt better. His usually teasing and playful persona got pushed aside as his softer side took over couple hours ago.

Your never stopping cold bothered you throughout the whole movie, the piling stock of balled up tissues growing bigger and bigger on your bedside table.

"I hate being sick," you mumbled after another sneeze, turning your face away from the laptop and snuggling up into Riki's chest. He pulled the blanket higher to cover you better before leaning down and rubbing his nose against yours softly, pressing a small peck on its tip as he pulled away.

"Don't do that unless you wanna get sick too."

"If that means I'd get to stay with you for another three days, then I wouldn't mind it at all."

A/n: i'm so sorry if you guys found some of them boring or similar but like i stated before i'm a sucker for cuddles (つ✧ω✧)つ Also, i'm sorry that my reactions are so hee biased and he has almost twice the amount of words that hoon has i think... Am i the only one who thinks that jay strikes as a calling his partner 'honey' person? (⊙_⊙)

© dazedheedeungie // All rights reserved.

[fandom-imagines-stories]

Terrible Tradition

Tristan Thorn x Reader

Words: 2332

Summary: In preparation for his third child, Tristan begins to worry about his family’s past and the kingdom’s tradition of choosing an heir. You try to ease his mind before the baby comes.

Notes: Okay. Here it is. Writing for Tristan because this movie introduced me to the wonderful human that is Charlie Cox. I really hope you guys like this. I wrote it in about a day, so fingers crossed it’s okay!

-

The king ignored the calls of his advisors as his feet carried him swiftly out of the meeting. He darted between servants, rounded corners, and nearly knocked over a very old, very expensive-looking vase. But when he opened the doors to the queen’s chamber, the room was quiet. There were no nurses bustling about. Only the doctor, who was speaking calmly with the woman expecting her third child.

“Your Majesty,” he bowed, “I’m sorry to have disturbed you, sir. Twas only a false alarm.”

Tristan let out a sigh, trying to catch his breath from his sprint up here.

You smiled from your place in bed, holding out your hand for him to take. He crossed to you and sat on the edge of the bed. His eyes held nothing but absolute adoration. Tristan lifted your hand to his lips, placing gentle kisses across your palm

“Don’t tell me you left another meeting to check on me,” you said. His expression turned guilty, making you giggle. “Tristan! Lord Winters is going to have my head if you keep ‘abandoning your kingly duties’ on my account.”

“I’d have his first.” He held up his hands in a mock-fight position.

“I don’t know. I think you might be getting a little rusty with your swordsmanship, Your Majesty.” You teased.

The doctor bowed again, giving you strict instructions to rest before he was dismissed. As he walked toward the door, he was met by a clammer in the hall. The door was thrown open before he could step out of the way.

Two little figures scampered across the room, followed by a very flustered nanny. Tristan caught both of them in his arms before they could jump onto the bed with you.

“Gently now!” He exclaimed with a laugh. “Your mother needs to rest.”

“Papa, I thought my little sister was coming.” Elanor pouted.

Tristan gave her a small smile and kissed her forehead.

“Soon, darling.”

“And we don’t know if it will be a sister,” You corrected with a grin. “We could very well have another prince.” You affectionately ruffled little Dunstan’s hair. He broke out of his father’s arms and threw his arms around your neck.

“Careful-”

“It’s alright,” You laughed, hugging your son tightly. You lifted your hand to Tristan’s cheek. “You should go back before Lord Winters sends out a search party for you.”

“Oh, alright.” He sighed, giving Elanor’s cheek another kiss before setting her down. He stood and leaned over you, pressing a sweet kiss to your lips. “I expect you to rest today. Don’t even leave this room. That’s an order from your king.” He grinned and kissed you again.

“I’ll do my best,” You promised. There were countless events you were in charge of, along with several letters you needed to write. There was just so much to do. Not to mention, the two little royal rascals who always managed to evade their nanny.

“I will return to your side as soon as I am able,” he said, gently caressing your cheek. He kissed both children goodbye, reluctantly leaving your chamber to return to yet another boring meeting with his advisors.

“I want a brother.” Dunstan huffed.

“Sister,” Elanor said. The young siblings glared at each other.

“Brother.”

“Sister.”

“Brother!”

“Sister!”

All you could do was laugh.

-

Tristan looked over the documents before him, feeling rather content. Crop numbers were steady. Trade thrived. The kingdom was doing well. All of his advisors seemed pleased with his decisions. Well, almost all.

Lord Winters was an advisor to his grandfather. He was the only advisor Tristan had kept from the previous king. He felt having a man who’d been here longer than him would be helpful during the transition. After all, an eighteen-year-old king from Wall could use all of the help he could get. Over the course of these last seven years, however, Lord Winters tended to treat Tristan as if he were still that young boy. But he couldn’t bring himself to let the man go. Frustrating or not, he knew more about Stormhold than Tristan probably ever would.

“Another false alarm, sir?” Lord Winters asked once all of the other advisors had gone.

“Hmm?”

“Queen Y/N. I assume the maid was wrong in telling you she was in labor.”

“Oh,” Tristan chuckled and looked up from his work. “Yes. It seems we will just have to wait a little longer for our new prince or princess.” He grinned from ear to ear, the excitement of having another child bubbling inside him.

“Well I certainly would hope for another male heir for Stormhold,” Lord Winters said. He smirked with an odd look in his eye. “Someone else to vie for the throne.”

Tristan’s brows drew together in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Tradition dictates that the crown passes to the surviving male heir.” He shrugged as if he were suggesting a new trade agreement, not fratricide.

“Surviving?” Tristan gasped. “You suggest that my sons would- that if this next child is a boy that he and Dunstan-”

“Stormhold is not like the world you came from.” His tone held a venom Tristan had become quite familiar with through the years. “Who’s to say that the firstborn son is best fit to rule the kingdom? No, here it is best decided through contest and cunning which heir will make the best king.”

“I won’t allow it.”

“Not only must you allow it, but you are meant to encourage it, sir. Do you not want the best leader for the kingdom after you’re gone?”

“I am not going to encourage my children to murder each other to take my place. It’s absolutely ridiculous!” Tristan’s mind wandered back to his memory of his uncles. Primus and Septimus hated each other, as well as the other brothers they’d killed. Out of the seven, none survived each other’s ambition. How was that supposed to be the better way?

Lord Winters clicked his tongue. “Perhaps you should do your own research, Your Majesty. It’ll help you understand our ways.” He left without another word.

Tristan’s hands shook. In his seven years as king- six as a father- it never occurred to him to remember exactly how it was he became ruler of Stormhold. His mother’s brothers had wiped each other out, except for Septimus who had met his fate at the hands of evil witches. Was he really expected to force this brutal tradition upon his own children? Dunstan was barely four years old.

“This is ridiculous,” Tristan muttered to himself. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Of course, I won’t allow this. I could never.” He closed his eyes, picturing the faces of his children and the face of the baby yet to come. “But what am I going to do?”

-

Dinner was held as normal in a private room next to Tristan’s office. You’d both agreed long ago that the formal dining hall was a bit ostentatious and impractical for family meals. Here, you had a smaller table that allowed for everyone to sit near each other. It also helped you make sure that your children behaved.

“Elanor, don’t play with your food,” you scolded

“I’m not hungry.” She continued to push her vegetables around her plate with her fork. Usually, this was when Tristan would jump in with a silly voice and puppy dog eyes to convince her to eat her dinner, but he just sat across from you in silence.

“Well, if you don’t eat dinner, you won’t have enough energy for your horse riding lesson in the morning,” you said, “I’ll just have to tell the stablemen-”

“Look at that, I’m starving!” She exclaimed and began to gobble down her meal.

“Not too fast, darling. I don’t want you to choke.” You laughed. Tristan, still, remained quiet. You leaned over the table and whispered playfully. “You know, children, I’m willing to guess that Mrs. Wilbury has some cookies stashed away somewhere. If you ask her really nicely she might even help you find them.”

“Cookies!” Dunstan squealed, running out the door, followed by his sister.

You faced your husband. “Alright, out with it. What’s troubling you?”

He finally looked up from his plate, eyes locking with yours. “What? Nothing.”

“Tristan,” you stood slowly, feeling the weight of your belly try to push you back down. You walked to his side of the table and put a hand on his shoulder. “I know when something is wrong.”

“I just-” He took a deep breath. “I had a stressful day, that’s all.”

“It was Winters, wasn’t it?”

“You know, Lord Winters is a very trusted and-and reliable-”

“Lord Winters is insufferable and you think so too,” You snickered, running your fingers through his brown locks. “I should have him beheaded. I’m pretty sure I can do that.”

“That’s a terrible thing to say.” Tristan tried to sound angry, but he just ended up laughing. He took your hands in his and looked into your eyes. There- in the glimmer of his eye and the slight mischievous turn of his smile- you saw the boy you fell in love with.

“Very well. If you aren’t going to tell me, then I am going to call it an early night,” You said. You leaned down and kissed his forehead. “The children have been begging for you to tell them a story anyway. Apparently, you do better voices than I do.” You both chuckled until you winced, your hand falling to your belly.

“What is it?”

You breathed deeply. “Nothing. He’s just a fighter, this one.”

Tristan paused. “H-he?”

“Just a feeling.” You shrugged with a smirk, stealing a bit of his bread before heading back to your quarters.

“Papa, you’re going to tell us a story!” Dunstan yelled, running back into the room with a fistful of sweets.

Tristan put aside his worries and smiled. Elanor jumped into his lap and Dunstan began to tug on his arm.

“Alright, which one would you like to hear tonight?”

“Captain Shakespeare!”

“Meeting mother!”

“Crossing the wall!”

Tristan laughed heartily and carried his children to their rooms to tell them the story of all three.

-

The idea of the king and queen sleeping in separate rooms was entirely ignored. Either you were in his room or he was in yours. Tonight, when Tristan entered his room, he shouldn’t have jumped so high when he saw you sitting up in his bed.

“Heavens,” he exclaimed. He even had to stop and catch his breath for a moment. “I thought you’d be in your room, asleep.”

“And I figured you would try and avoid me for the rest of the night, so I decided to sleep in here.” You smiled coyly. He pursed his lips and sat at the end of the bed to remove his boots. Rather than join you in bed, however, he walked to the window and looked at the sky.

“Sometimes I still think I’m just that shop boy from Wall and all of this is just a wonderful dream,” He mused. With a fair amount of effort, you climbed out of bed and joined him.

“Tristan, darling, what is it?” You laid your head on his shoulder, lacing your fingers with his.

“One moment I think I understand everything and the next I feel like it’s the night of coronation and I have no idea what I’m doing.” He turned to face you, taking your other hand and bringing them both to his lips. “Lord Winters reminded me of a terrible tradition.”

You huffed. “That man-”

“Do you remember my mother’s family?” He asked suddenly.

“I mean, I remember what I was told about them.”

“All of her brothers died. That’s why I became king. They murdered each other for the throne. Their father did the same to his brothers before him. Lord Winters said that if this child is a son…” He trailed off, returning his gaze to the stars.

You couldn’t hold back your laughter. He gave you a look of confusion, but you just kept laughing.

“That’s what you’ve been worried about?” You snorted. “Lord Winters told you that ‘tradition dictates our sons must fight to the death for the throne’ and you think that means something?”

“Of course it means something!” He said, sounding mildly defensive. “It’s tradition.”

“You’re the king! Make a new one!” You put your hands on either side of his face. “Darling, traditions change. There are other ways for the crown to be passed down. The fact that this has haunted you all day just shows that you are not just a kind and loving father, but a kind and loving king. We’ll figure it out.”

“What if it isn’t that simple? What if there’s some kind of curse and all but one of them has to-”

You interrupted him with a kiss.

“We’ll figure that out too. We have- if you recall- fought far worse.” You gave him a reassuring smile. “Everything is going to be fine.”

Worry slowly disappeared from his face, replaced with the same adoration he always looked at you with. His lips connected with yours once again, his hands moving to caress your baby bump.

A pain shot through you. You jerked back, looking at him with as calm of an expression as you could muster.

“I-I think it might be time.”

His eyes went as wide as saucers.

“Right now?”

“Yes, dear, right now.”

He helped you back to the bed, wincing at your pained groan. He held onto you with panic in his face.

“The doctor, darling, we need to fetch the doctor.”

“Right. Yes. Okay.” After two children, one would think he would feel less flustered. He started towards the door, but doubled back, pressing a kiss to your lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” You beamed. The sweet moment was cut off by another groan.

“I’ll be back in a moment, darling.” He assured you and took off into the hallway.

[novesillow]

Hot things jay does! ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

: ̗̀➛ has his hand in your back pocket!

I feel like he does this for a few reasons! One being in public he’s asserting that you’re his but also to give you a sense of comfort that he’s still beside you. And ofc just to have an excuse to hold ur ass 🙌🏻

: ̗̀➛ shoulder kisses!

Always comes up behind you, wrapping his arms around you and landing a gentle kiss on your shoulder. Doesn’t matter where or what you’re doing. Sometimes will place one on your neck if he’s really trying to get your attention!

: ̗̀➛ pulls you by the belt loops!

I think I saw someone else write about this but it’s so accurate. He’ll run up behind you in the hallway and grab your belt loops, spinning you around to kiss you 😮‍💨 or even just tugging on them to get your attention or to just to pull you closer to him ugh😩

: ̗̀➛holds your jacket out for you!

Hopefully you know what I mean like when someone holds up your jacket behind you so you can slip your arms in. But also then he wraps around your front and zips it up for you 🦋🦋

: ̗̀➛pretends to whisper something to you!

He does this all the time he ushers you to ‘come here’ so he can tell you something but just kisses your cheek or does the thing where he turns your head and plants one on your lips😵‍💫

: ̗̀➛ calling you sweet names!

Usually beginning with ‘my’ such as; ‘my love’, ‘my girl’, ‘my angel’ etc fshshshdjd especially ‘that’s my good girl’ im gonna pass out 💀

© scorrio 2022

[warmau]

the real “tea” is that out of everyone in the boyz the member with the most “press my forehead to yours in a sign of affection and trust as if we were two cats” is and always will be … haknyeon

[warmau]

the matter of the fact is that the member with the most “bump your forehead with my forehead to question if you are ok or to cheer you up as if we were two cats” is and always will be ….. sunwoo

[mavericsohn-deactivated20240714]

— WALKING ON SUNSHINE (k.sw)

summary: everything about your breakup with sunwoo had been amicable. you even still considered him to be a close friend — which was probably a good thing considering neither of you remembered to inform your families of your split. so when a conjoined family holiday is sprung on the both of you as a summer surprise, you have no choice but to act as though nothing had changed.

genre: exes to lovers, fluff, authors terrible attempt at comedy, slow burn

word count: 12.5k

warnings: mentions of food (ice cream in one scene), mentions of alcohol, profanities, reader threatens to k!ll sunwoo a lot (valid), cliche after cliche bc author is in love with sunwoo, not proofread bc elle is Lazy

dt: the wonderful @kurosism because you said you were always excited to see what i post and that melted my heart <\\3 also i will never miss an opportunity to tell you how incredible and kind you are ; and my beloved @seoulbinz for the wonderful header and for putting up w me complaining about writing this for the past week <3

inspired by walking on sunshine by katrina and the waves

“what do you mean sunwoo’s family will be there, too?”

“i mean, sunwoo’s family will be there too.” your mother sighed in exasperation, completely unaware of the look of sheer terror on your face at that moment. “we thought it would be a lovely way to get to know your boyfriend’s family a little better - the kim’s are in full support of it!”

“no – no, there’s no problem.”

except there was. there was one huge, debilitating, unavoidable problem.

sunwoo wasn’t your boyfriend.

he hadn’t been your boyfriend for five months.

apparently, you had forgotten to tell your mother that part.

it hadn’t been something you had deemed urgent, considering the nature of the breakup. there had been no tears, no drama – just a simple hug and a diverted conversation onto the latest marvel show to be released. rushing home to tell the world you were single again wasn’t anywhere near the top of your priority list.

you had intended to tell them at some point. it had just so happened that, by the time you got around to visiting, your brother had conveniently announced he had signed a record deal, and the subject matter had been pushed out of your mind once again. if you had then been distracted by netflix and many drunken adventures with hyunjae… that couldn’t be held against you.

after all, it was starting to seem like you weren’t the only one who had forgotten to mention the breakup.

your mother finished filling you in on the details before hanging up, only half of which you fully took in, but you managed to gather that the trip was somewhere along the lines of a resort holiday on jeju island. knowing your combined families, it would surely be far too expensive, and more of a pageant than a holiday, but you would have time to digest that later.

for now, you had to deal with the raging issue of what the hell you were going to do.

your fingers had never moved as fast as they did when opening your chat with sunwoo, but before you got the chance to even decide on your opening sentence, his caller id flashed brightly across your phone screen. he had received the same message, it seemed.

“so, i guess my summer plans of doing absolutely nothing have to be cancelled.” sunwoo mused before even saying hello. “i can’t believe you forgot to tell your eomma we broke up!”

“excuse me, mr. kim!” you chastised, no real anger in your tone “i’m pretty sure you forgot to mention anything, either.”

a dramatic (expected) gasp from sunwoo had you giggling on the other side of the phone. “you really want me to break my eomma’s heart like that? you’re her favourite child – and she has two actual children!”

“we broke up – i didn’t die.”

“same difference to my mother.”

even in such strange circumstances, it was good to hear sunwoo’s voice. despite your history, you had still missed the boy, not able to find time to see him anymore. your interactions were limited to the occasional text now you weren’t obliged by relationship to hang out. if you were really feeling fancy, you might even reply to his close friends story on instagram with a joke from a few years ago. that had been sufficient enough for the past few years, but hearing his voice over the phone was a small reminder of how much you still cared for him as a friend.

“do we tell them?” you asked quietly, testing the waters of how sunwoo truly felt about the situation.

truthfully, you were more than willing to put on an act for a few weeks in exchange for a free holiday. but the lack of contact with your ex made you unsure whether he would feel the same. for all you knew, there could be someone else in his life now. you doubted he’d want to spend two weeks pretending to be in love with you if that was the case.

“break their hearts and miss out on a free holiday? i thought you knew me better than that.” and perhaps you did, although you hadn’t wanted to get your hopes up.

“so we lie to our families and scrounge off them for thirteen days and then conveniently split up on the final day?” you offered, already planning a million and one ways to put your love of dramatics to good use.

you didn’t have to see sunwoo to be able to picture the shit eating grin probably on his lips at that moment. it was one of his signature expressions. “exactly. the most awkward plane ride home known to man.”

the pause that followed was surprisingly uncomfortable for you could practically hear sunwoo’s brain running at full speed.

“it’ll be nice to see you again, anyway.” he admitted after the pause, such a confession somehow making things more awkward, but that didn’t stop the smile from returning to your face.

“are you sure you want to admit that considering you’ve got to spend fourteen whole days with me?” you giggled, hoping to bring some sense of comfortableness back to the exchange.

you succeeded, for the quiet laugh sunwoo let out was a reward in itself. “i might drown you by day five, we’ll see.”

“i’d be more worried about my brother drowning you.” happy with the dissipated tension, you giggled along. “he still hasn’t forgiven you for beating him at the christmas family quiz last year.”

“younghoon doesn’t scare me.”

younghoon absolutely terrified sunwoo. you could still remember the first time you introduced the two of them, the way sunwoo’s hand clammed up the entire journey there, his constant questions of whether he looked okay, if you thought younghoon would like him.

as it turned out, younghoon loved your boyfriend. so much so that he had taken to bullying the poor boy as a sign of affection. sunwoo loved him back, you were sure, but it didn’t stop him from panicking every time the older of the two turned to look at him.

really, there were too many reasons you couldn’t tell your family about your break up.

“i give you a day before you’re asking me if he really likes you.” you jabbed, hearing the muffled mumbles of complaints come in from the other side of the phone.

“it’s not my fault he’s so tall.”

if the holiday went anything like this phone call, it just might be okay. all you had to do was fake it for two more weeks, and then you could go back to just being casual friends. plus, it wouldn’t be hard to pretend you were in love with sunwoo, as you still loved him – it just happened to be in a more platonic way this time.

if it saved breaking your family’s hearts, just for two more weeks, then you were prepared to do anything at this point.

-

it was painfully embarrassing how long it took you to recognise sunwoo at the airport.

first of all. his hair was pink.

pink. not just a casual peach - it was eye burningly bright pink. and annoyingly so, he looked even hotter than usual.

you knew sunwoo was hot – you dated him for nearly two years, after all, but this was a whole new level of attractive you hadn’t been prepared for. the boy could pull off pink hair, for god’s sake! that was a feat in itself.

“well, i’m definitely not losing you any time soon.” was the first thing out of your mouth, pleasantly greeted by a wide grin on sunwoo’s lips. you had been fairly confident that he wouldn’t make the situation awkward in the first place, but it was always a relief to be proven right.

so why did you feel so breathless right now?

“can’t wait to dye the private pool pink.” sunwoo puffed his cheeks out, then in one swift move, pulled you into a hug. it felt friendly, to you at least. you were sure your family (who were sat idly by the side, observing) would see it as something else – but it was a welcome comfort nonetheless. sunwoo’s strong arms didn’t hold back as he squeezed you against his body, the action followed by the realisation that this was what you were in store for all week.

“if you get pink on my bedsheets you’re sleeping in the pool.”

“please wait until we’re at least at jeju to start the freaky shit.” your brother complained in passing, too quick to be caught by your hand stretching out to hit him.

“that wasn’t even weird, you asshole!” younghoon only winked back at you, skipping happily to join his best friend, chanhee, who had also been invited on the family trip. that alone made you want to cry, for there was no way you were escaping their teasing for the next fortnight.

“younghoon, don’t wind them up. you’re stuck on a plane with them for an hour.” your father scolded his eldest child, prompting you to stick your tongue out in your brother’s direction. you could already see him pulling faces, a welcome victory.

sunwoo shuffled by your side, alerting you back to his presence. “how long until the flight?”

“an hour and a half until the gate opens.” his own mother answered, joining your parents in whatever gossip session they were having, but still finding time to pass her son a soft smile.

an hour and a half to relax before the first two weeks of your acting debut began. or so you thought.

sunwoo, it seemed, had other plans. with a convincing hum of come on, and a firm grip on your hand, your ex boyfriend quite literally dragged you away from your conjoined family and off towards the airport’s food court. you barely even had time to let out a whine before you were appearing in front of the starbucks, and sunwoo’s hand was releasing your own.

“you know we could be spending valuable bonding time with our parents right now?” you complained petulantly.

“and have to pretend for an hour longer than needed that we’re still dating?”

clutching a hand to your chest in feigned hurt, you didn’t care about the stares you’d surely receive as you collapsed into sunwoo’s side dramatically. “wow, say what you really feel.”

“i want coffee. shoot me.” sunwoo shrugged with a grin, receiving a smile from you in response.

he wasted absolutely no time in hopping up to the counter to order whilst you found a high table in the centre of the open drinks court. it was still way too early in the morning to fully function, but you somehow managed to clamber up onto the tall seat and make claim to your resting spot before the hour flight.

most surprising of all was that when sunwoo walked over to your table, he was holding two drinks – one very recognisable as your regular coffee order. he handed it to you as though it was nothing, and you had to resist the urge to point it out as you supposed nothing was all it was. you were going to have to do a lot of reminding yourself that he was your friend now. it was just a friendly gesture. he had remembered your coffee order from all the times you had forced him to order for you over the past few years, that was all.

“we should probably talk about boundaries, i suppose.” sunwoo mumbled after taking the largest (and most annoying) slurp of his iced drink.

“probably.” you grimaced back at him, the sound going straight through you. “this feels so weird.”

“no need for it to be! we’re just two friends… pretending to date… again.” sunwoo seemed to realise just what he was saying mid way through, stopping to pull a face of his own. “okay, yeah it’s weird, but it’s only for two weeks.”

even with the strange air surrounding the both of you, you managed to push out a smile. it always seemed easier around sunwoo. “i don’t really have too many boundaries. just be nice.”

“touching? kissing?”

ah. that was something you hadn’t even considered.

you shuffled in your seat, hoping sunwoo misjudged your antsy habits as tiredness instead of reading into it. “well, we were never really big on the p-d-a anyways, so they won’t get too suspicious if we’re not super clingy.”

“it’d probably be suspicious if we avoided each other for two weeks, though.” sunwoo frowned slightly, eyebrow raising with a type of suspicion that even made you wary of your own thoughts.

it wasn’t like you didn’t mind sunwoo kissing you. you had once been used to it, so an occasional peck ever now and then for two weeks didn’t seem like much of a problem at all. it was more your concern that he would be uncomfortable with it. you knew where you stood, but you weren’t a mind reader.

“you’re welcome to get close when you feel it necessary. and i don't mind a kiss or two.” looking directly at the boy, you saw him staring straight back at you with an unusual type of recognition. one you couldn’t place “you know… just to convince them.”

sunwoo cleared his throat not so subtly. “yeah. to convince them.”

there it was again. the uncomfortable sense of self that overtook the two of you. it was like a brutal reminder of exactly what your relationship was all over again. inbetween moments, it was easy to convince yourself that this was normal, and the two of you were just friends going on holiday – but every now and again came the reminder of who sunwoo was to you.

he was your ex boyfriend. and this was weird.

who could blame you if you found it easier to sit in silence for a moment? sunwoo would restart the conversation once he felt the tension disappear.

“you feeling okay?” and he did just as so.

“hmm?”

“‘bout the plane?” sunwoo paused to take a drink as he let his words sink in, waiting for the recognition to show on your features before he continued. “i know you’re not really a fan of flying.”

it was true – probably even an understatement. flying terrified you, hence why you usually avoided such a thing. in any other situation, you would have found a way around it, but the last thing you wanted was to tell your mother your true worries after all the effort she had put into planning. “i’m nervous, but at least it’s only an hour.”

sunwoo nodded along, clearly vividly remembering your trip to japan for your one year anniversary, in which you spent half the plane ride wanting to cry, and the other half fast asleep from the exhaustion the fear had brought you. “you’re welcome to hold my hand if you need.”

he gave you a classic smile. one of those you had grown to adore over the time you had known him, a simple reminder that he meant it – that you would be okay as long as you were by his side. funnily enough you always believed him.

so, if you held sunwoo’s hand tighter than necessary during take off – then that was a secret between the two of you.

-

whilst day one had been full of greetings and laughter; a few hours to unpack followed by a chaotic group meal with both families, day two brought around the start of the relaxing part of the holiday.

everything so far had been hectic enough to stop you from overthinking. you had landed at jeju, been escorted by a very suave man to an insanely expensive resort, shown your incredibly expensive room, and whisked away for a far too classy meal. it had been one whirlwind and then another, so much so that you had even put your socks in your t-shirt draw in your rush.

the prospect of lounging around the pool seemed almost euphoric after the mind-boggle of the first day.

the biggest problem was that now, you had time to think. too much time, infact, to the point you were starting to feel guilty for coming on this entire trip in the first place.

your parents had paid for a private resort, with five star service and a view of the beach from all your rooms. there was a private pool, a gym in the basement, and a dining room just next door with the most exhilarating seafood platters you had seen in your life.

and you weren’t even dating sunwoo.

deep down, you knew there was no reason to feel guilty. your parents had booked the holiday because they wanted to, not purely for the sake of you and your ex, but the prospect of having to break their hearts all over again at the end of the holiday was what made you feel bad. you didn’t want them to think back on this trip and have it clouded by drama.

plus, looking across the poolside where you sat to see your father in a deep discussion with sunwoo’s own dad was too much to bear. you only hoped your news of a breakup wouldn’t ruin their freshly blossoming friendship.

once you noticed the telltale signs of your brain wandering off once more, you buried your nose back in the book for an easy distraction. you weren’t far off from needing to add more sunscreen, but you could last another chapter.

not that you would ever get that far.

“when did you become a bookworm?” came sunwoo’s grainy voice, telling that he had just woken up (at one in the afternoon, nevertheless, but what else were holidays for?).

“since i was like, seven.” you grumbled in response, looking up to greet the boy but being met by his silhouette and the blazing sun instead.

sunwoo noticed you squinting, gently reaching out and pushing your sunglasses from the top of your head so that they covered your eyes. it was a simple action, but in the corner of your eye you could see your mother’s cooing at the both of you.

“i’ve never seen you read before.”

you couldn’t help but scoff “yeah, because you’re an attention whore and wouldn’t let me focus.”

sunwoo only made a sound of agreement, shrugging as he flopped down (ungracefully, you had to add) on the lounger next to you “sounds like me.”

humming, you returned to your book, thinking that was the end of that conversation. you really should have known sunwoo better.

it took all of thirty seconds before the pink haired boy began poking your arm from the lounger. you had half a mind to get up and move away from him, but stubbornly weren’t ready to give in. sunwoo only took that as a sign he was winning, reaching over until he could poke at your thigh instead.

a pathetic attempt to kick him off only made him whine, getting more annoying in turn, and you were suddenly reminded that this was day two. you loved him indeed, but murder was starting to seem ten times more likely by the end of this holiday.

“this is exactly what i meant when i said you’re an attention whore.” you murmed, trying not to look up from your book, but failing all in the same second.

“i have absolutely no shame.”

“y/n! sunwoo!” chanhee’s voice rang out, saving you in the moment. you looked to the doorway back into the resort to see your brothers best friend stood with a towel over his shoulder. his vibrantly blue hair hadn’t been as shocking to you as sunwoo’s pink as you were fairly used to him sat in your parents bathroom at two in the morning getting younghoon to play hairdresser. “we’re going to go play volleyball on the beach if you wanted to come?”

“well, i’m going to play volleyball. chanhee’s going to give it his best go.” younghoon appeared from behind his best friend in the doorway, narrowly avoiding chanhee’s flying arm as he grabbed his beach bag from a nearby chair.

glancing over at sunwoo, you could practically see the divide on his features. he clearly wanted to go, but mr. younghoon doesn’t scare me was seemingly terrified of spending time with your older brother.

“i will kick your ass kim younghoon.” you effectively made the decision for him, discarding your book (after marking your place, of course) and jumping to your feet. sunwoo followed, only seeming partially hesitant now you had shown your enthusiasm.

younghoon laughed, already leading the group down the pathway that led to the beach. you barely had enough time to grab your own towel, pleasantly surprised to see sunwoo had already grabbed you a spare bottle of water as you followed. “i’ve seen you try to play volleyball before, i’m not scared.”

truthfully, this match would just be younghoon versus sunwoo, and both you and chanhee were very much aware of this. younghoon had the height advantage, and sunwoo had the athletic ability, but having a minor chance at beating your brother in something meant that competing was definitely worth it.

the volleyball net was luckily unoccupied. the resort’s private section of the beach being, in itself, surprisingly empty today. this probably had something to do with the extortionate prices of the rooms here, but you certainly weren’t complaining about it being practically empty minus a few families.

younghoon and chanhee took their positions on the other side of the net to you, taking just a moment to discuss a sort of strategy. you thought you should probably do the same with sunwoo, but only one thing really came to mind.

“you know i’m absolutely horrendous at beach volleyball, right?”

sunwoo actually snorted “you think you can handle being at the front?”

“handle is a bold word, but i can give it a go.”

and give it a go you did. so much so that you were embarrassed to admit just how much sand you ate. as expected, sunwoo and younghoon both excelled in their roles, to the point you and chanhee had taken to playing a dramatic game of rock paper scissors through the net.

on the few occasions you were called upon to hit the ball, you either made such a genius move to the point that sunwoo screamed and hugged you, or hit the ball far enough away that a family’s dog began to chase it down the beach. there was a fifty percent chance you were going to cause someone an injury, but that was better than you expected.

as it turned out, you ended up with the most important shot of the game. you had conveniently looked up just in time to see the ball coming towards you, hitting it back over chanhee’s head and catching younghoon off guard to make your team reach the target score. sunwoo hugged you tighter than before as a result, but the most satisfying part was watching younghoon turn sour as a result of losing.

“you’re a big baby.” you could hear chanhee prod, holding in a laugh as your brother muttered about unfairness and advantages. younghoon mumbled something in response which you couldn’t hear, but it didn’t stop the giggle that escaped your throat.

“i’m all sweaty now.” sunwoo spoke to no one in particular, but your reaction had been almost instantaneous. up until then, you had latched onto his side, a small amount of skinship (or a lot, considering your ex was in the smallest tank top known to man) that would back up the act of your relationship. but this didn’t stop you pushing him away after the admittance.

sunwoo only laughed at this, doing his best to follow your movement and hug you again. “kim sunwoo i will kill you i swear!”

“return his body! i want to laugh at him!” younghoon shouted over at the two of you as you wrestled amongst the sand.

you had just managed to get out of his path when sunwoo grabbed your hand, tugging you firmly until the sand moved below your feet and you fell straight forward. he tucked an arm around your waist easily, stopping you from slamming onto the sand, but you didn’t even care for the action, more focused on getting his self-confessed sweaty body away from you.

“you are so disgusting!” you squealed, kicking your feet in the sand in annoyance once he decidedly flopped on top of you. “i will literally break up with you!”

“can’t do that if we're not even dating.”

you gasped quietly, shoving at his shoulder once more as you lowered to a whisper “younghoon doesn’t know!”

instead of the terrified face you had expected, sunwoo only burst into laughter and rolled off of you to the side. it was then that you became painfully aware of the sand sticking to your own body, the feeling unpleasant, but the least of your worries right now.

“he’s gone, you idiot.” sunwoo chuckled to himself, chest only heaving further as you tilted your head backwards to see that, indeed, younghoon and chanhee were nowhere to be seen. chanhee had clearly escorted your sulking brother back to the resort whilst you had been battling your teammate. “come on. let’s wash the sand off in the sea.”

“fine.” you happily took the hand he offered to pull yourself to a stand, not thinking twice about it. “if there’s fish, i’m letting them eat you.”

“we’re literally in the sea, of course there’s going to be fish.” sunwoo’s hand slipped down yours, but never left it completely. instead, he let his pinky finger intertwine with yours, an action he always did when you were dating, but didn’t seem to realise he was doing once again. selfishly, you daren’t make him aware either, happy to indulge in your first pieces of physical contact since your breakup those months prior. “also what is it with you and threatening to hurt me lately?”

you hummed, shrugging as you began to walk out into the water. it was cold, but not unwelcome considering the blazing sun battling down on your bodies. “i’ve got four missing months of threats to make up for.”

“touché. how did you ever survive without me?”

“i had to direct all my anger towards eric. but then i felt bad every time he bought me lunch.”

sunwoo stopped once the water reached his waist, the level coming higher on your own body. he dropped your hand finally, and you simply put the action down to him ceasing movement. if it had been in response to a certain boy’s name – well, then that was only for sunwoo to know.

“you and eric are speaking again?” he asked quietly, and you knew why he was so hesitant.

prior to meeting sunwoo, eric had been your best friend for over a year. the two of you were practically inseparable until you started dating sunwoo. after that, eric became distant, avoiding you when you were with your boyfriend all together, no matter how much you insisted that the two of them would get on.

as it turned out, eric had apparently been harbouring a crush on you for years. his sudden avoidance of you made you confront him one day, finding out about his secret in the process. you didn’t know exactly why he had backed off until your breakup, when eric had turned up to apologise, completely unaware you and sunwoo had broken up only hours prior.

“yeah, we made up. turns out he only backed off because he didn’t want to make us uncomfortable.” you couldn’t help but absentmindedly touch the water with your fingertips as you spoke, sunwoo following the movement closely. “he’s happy now, i think. dating someone in his calculus class.”

“i’m happy for him.” sunwoo didn’t sound completely convinced in his own words, but you daren’t question it. the last thing you wanted was to completely shatter the mood once again.

this was one of those moments where your brain amazed you. you didn’t want it to turn awkward, and yet instead of continuing conversation like a normal human being, the only solution you could come up with in the moment was splashing your ex boyfriend straight in the chest. the physical effect was immediate, his tank top sticking right to his body (and you weren’t looking at the way it hugged his figure), but the mental processing took a little longer.

sunwoo blinked at you once, and then twice. then three, four times, repeatedly until what you had just done hit him. then, all at once, he attacked.

no mercy was shown.

“hope the fish enjoy their dinner.” was the only warning he gave before his hands were on your shoulders, pushing you backwards until your body slammed against the water and you went under.

worse still, the scream you let out was so ill-timed that instead of inhaling air, you inhaled a hefty mouthful of salt water. it was a good job you managed to close your eyes in time, but that barely mattered coupled with your under water sputtering. you were lucky you didn’t swallow a fish at this point.

once you surfaced again, hair now flat to your face and expression less than impressed, sunwoo couldn’t hold his laughter in. he nearly doubled over with amusement, which in turn only made you frown more, and the process repeated itself.

“yeah yeah, laugh it up.” you splashed him again, but with no real malice behind the action. sunwoo didn’t retaliate either, far too occupied laughing his heart out over your new appearance.

sunwoo barely managed to calm down enough to get his words out, “that certainly washed all the sand off.”

“hurry up and get washed off, you ass.” you grumbled “i desperately need a drink.”

“i think you need a towel first.”

“now listen here you little–”

-

the first time sunwoo kissed you again, you tried not to think twice about it.

it was only day five when it happened, a tiny, insignificant part of your day that you weren’t yet ready to process.

whilst the volleyball games and tanning sessions had been wonderful, your families had insisted that part of the holiday be spent exploring, too. although your mother’s idea of exploring was searching for every handbag she could find in a local market.

ulterior motives aside, you had to admit it was turning into a fun day out. the market had a bigger selection of handmade gifts than you had given it credit for, and along the way you had even managed to pick up a few gifts for your friends back home. notably, the most out of shape plant pot in existence, but you couldn’t leave it behind. if anything, it’s irregularities gave it character.

somewhere along the line, younghoon decided to layer as many silk scarves over chanhee’s shoulders as he could, their laughter echoing through the market space and infectious enough that soon, half of your group were in a battle about who could find the most unusual clothing item. you definitely annoyed a few of the stall owners, but it was worth it to see the proud look on sunwoo’s face when he stepped out of a booth in a pink tutu adorned with tiny embroidered pigs trapped in the mesh. he would’ve won the competition too, had his own father not found a t-shirt made from newspaper cuttings of lee byunghun’s face.

the only prize from the competition was bragging rights, but sunwoo’s father, kind as ever, decided that the commiseration prize was ice cream, and none of your group would have ever turned down free snacks. especially after seeing the wide range of flavours available.

“i don’t think i’ve had that much fun since i was a teen!” your mother exclaimed rather dramatically as you sat around two sets of benches with the sweet treat.

“i’d like to think our wedding was pretty fun, darling.” came the counter from your father, sunwoo’s parents chuckling along with them, exchanging their own memories of marriages and celebrations.

“i bet the next family wedding will be y/n.” the not so subtle way sunwoo choked on his ice cream was a perfect example of how you felt.

the only thing you could do was chuckle nervously. “we’re way too young for marriage, eomma.”

“age doesn’t mean a thing,” sunwoo’s mother smiled at you, gaze kind and completely unaware of exactly why the comment horrified you, “we got married when we were eighteen, and look at us now!”

“unless sunwoo has any plans to propose, i have no plans to get married.” was your measly attempt to get your family to drop the topic.

your mother, it seemed, was having none of it, asking “so you wouldn’t be opposed to marriage?” at the same time as sunwoo whined “who says i have to be the one to propose?”

you chose to fixate on the latter, shooting sunwoo a glare that practically screamed shut up. you should have known you’d be met by his usual mischievous grin, and absolutely zero intentions to help rescue you from the situation. he was showing by the second that he was a much better actor than you were.

sunwoo raised an eyebrow as he waited for your response. “because… you know.”

“what if i want you to get down on one knee?” he teased, completely immune to the sheer terror you were experiencing.

“oh my god, no one is getting down on one knee-”

“personally, i’m a little offended you’ve ruled out the possibility of me getting married first.” younghoon pouted, prompting a glorious snort from his best friend, who had just happened to be taking a sip of water at that moment.

“your parents are going to have to pay someone to marry you, at this point.” chanhee giggled to himself. you weren’t watching the duo, but you could hear the sound of a (light) slap, followed by the mumbled bickering you were very much used to between your brother and his friend.

“at least i want to get married, unlike someone.” younghoon turned his attention back to you, playful and goading, but enough to have you spluttering.

“i– it’s not… i mean… marriage. you know.”

sunwoo was the one to stop your murmuring, fully aware of the way all eyes had fallen on the two of you and the anxiety it would surely cause. instead of saying anything to draw further attention, he only took your hand in his, placing them on top of the table. the contact was just enough to satisfy your nerves, the comforting squeeze he gave it being just enough to reassure you that you hadn’t messed things up. it could be played off as nervousness; you hoped, at least.

“how did you and younghoon meet, chanhee?” sunwoo’s mother asked kindly, directing everyone’s attention away from you.

you were grateful for the space to breathe as chanhee rambled on about high school and library books, far too aware of how close you were to blowing your cover. you hadn’t meant to panic, but the topic of marriage was one terrifying thing in itself, let alone when the groom in contention was sitting right next to you as your ex lover.

it passed, eventually, sunwoo’s hand in yours just enough to make up for his teasing from before, and you were able to focus in on chanhee’s story for a moment. not that hearing about your older brother’s high school days was much better.

despite the new conversation, you couldn’t help but notice the way your father stared at you for that prolonged moment, eyes dropping down to your hands. sunwoo, it seemed, noticed it too, attempting to subtly grip your hand firmer until your satisfied father turned away.

that was when the kiss came. you knew it was for the sake of replacing the fallen beam in your act, but the naturalness to the action still terrified you.

“hey, you have some ice cream,” sunwoo had started, quiet enough to seem secret, but still surely heard by the rest of your party. he turned you head with his hand until you were looking at him, but his own gaze was focused elsewhere. with one swift swipe, he used his thumb to wipe some ice cream residue you hadn’t even noticed off of the corner of your lips, “here.”

if you weren’t aware of the performance the two of you were putting on, your heart might have fluttered. hell, it still did, even with the script in the back of your mind. it was only made worse when sunwoo leant forward, completely aware the audience were watching, to capture your lips ever so briefly.

the angle was enough to spare you a full on kiss, but the peck was still enough to make your stomach twist slightly. it was an intrinsic reaction to your ex boyfriend, way too used to feeling nervous around him, but it didn’t stop the lump from appearing in your throat. for just a moment, it was like nothing had changed. looking into sunwoo’s eyes was just enough to let yourself get lost in the fantasy. it was, after all, a classic sunwoo move. especially when he knew the oohs and ahhs from his family would follow.

satisfied with his display, sunwoo sat back, acting as though bashful to be caught in such an act of affection. you could only force yourself to follow his lead. you weren’t about to let yourself be the weak link, after all.

you expected that jittery feeling to linger for only a second. then disappear as quickly as it came. but it didn’t. it made itself known as you finished the rest of your ice cream, and as sunwoo took your hand back in his. it stayed all throughout the walk back to the hotel room, and barely left when you made your way back down to the beach.

when most of the day had passed, and you still couldn’t shake the butterflies, you could only do one thing.

ignore it.

so, you locked that emotion in the tiny box in your brain – the one with the big red sign that screamed DO NOT THINK, and then you moved on.

or at least, you tried to.

perhaps it was just your sudden awareness of how much you longed for physical contact. that was the only reason you could still feel the ghost of his lips on yours. you had kissed him a million times before, after all. hell, you had done more than just a simple peck over two years. there was no way such a small action had you overthinking this much.

it was just that it felt so natural. had you not been painfully aware of your predicament, it would have felt like sunwoo meant the kiss. but that was a stupid thought all together. sunwoo was playing his part, and you should be doing the same.

it certainly didn’t help that his eyes sparkled in the sunlight whenever he laughed. or that he kept making a point throughout the day to refill your water bottle whenever it found itself empty. or that he still looked beautiful when fast asleep on his side of your shared bed. and there was absolutely no way you could escape him.

you would be lucky to survive the holiday with any room left over in that little box in your mind.

-

as it turned out, family holidays when the children reached adulthood were one giant excuse for the parents to get drunk and not have to worry.

you knew sunwoo had a low tolerance (chanhee too, if younghoon’s stories of university were anything to go by), meaning you were actually impressed that both sets of your parents managed to tap out before any of you. or rather, were forced to withdraw.

sunwoo’s mother’s tolerance was actually impressively low, just a few sips of her husband's wine, and she was giggling all over the place. and your father wasn’t far behind. younghoon had aptly called it ‘car crash tv’ at one stage, and watching four grown adults giggling amongst themselves about something that definitely wasn’t that funny seemed to fit that description perfectly.

“i can’t believe i’m only tipsy, and they’re wasted.” sunwoo had even commented at one point, younghoon patting him on the back in sympathy.

“that’s because you’ve only had half a glass of wine. you and chanhee aren’t allowed anymore.” younghoon scolded, only half serious, but the return of sunwoo’s scared-of-younghoon face was definitely worth it.

“hoon, y/n. i’m pretty sure your mother is about to leave her husband for the waiter.” chanhee suddenly giggled, leaning his head on sunwoo’s shoulder.

“oh my god – eomma, he’s still in university, please leave the poor kid alone–” younghoon huffed as he ran over to apologise profusely to the young server who had seemingly been stuck talking to your families for way longer than his contract would have stated.

you could only giggle at the sight, happy that everyone seemed to be getting on so well, whether they were drunk out of their minds or not. you had no doubts it would only be a matter of minutes before you were walking them back from the restaurant to the resort, but the giggles it would bring would certainly be worth taking care of your drunken parents.

the intention of the holiday, in your mothers own words, had been to get to know sunwoo’s family better. there was no better bonding experience than wine, it seemed, and who were you to say no to them having fun? you were certainly glad, however, that neither younghoon or yourself had picked up your family’s awful tolerance.

“okay, bed time.” you heard younghoon chastise again, doing the best that he could to all-but lift your father from his chair.

“love, i think we’re being grounded.” your father had only giggled to himself, making the others erupt in another round of laughter.

you stood up to join them, choosing to be helpful and link your mother’s arm, as sunwoo and chanhee copied you with his own parents. it was certainly a task to get them up from the table, and you were more than glad the tab would be charged automatically to your card, as there was no way you would be able to face the waiters your parents had already traumatised. plus, if the way your mother was latching onto your arm was anything to go by, you had about five minutes until she fell asleep standing up.

getting them back to their rooms was another task entirely, more about wrangling a bunch of overgrown children than actually walking. everything that sparkled, or resembled an animal in any way (including a potted plant your mother was especially enamoured by) was cause enough to stop and coo until they were perfectly satisfied.

somewhere along the journey (the literal five minute route it was meant to take you to get back to the hotel), they had all broken free from your grasp and managed to regroup with more laughter. it was certainly a good job you were in an enclosed and safe area, otherwise they would definitely be a flight risk. still, their regroup left the opportunity for the four of you to cling to each other as well.

you practically mimicked the adults, younghoon and chanhee walking ahead, the latter with his arm hooked lightly through your brother's arm. they were talking about something animatedly, still stopping occasionally to check that your parents hadn’t ran away, but were otherwise engaged with whatever they were discussing.

you envied their friendship sometimes. you had a lot of wonderful friends, one’s who you were sure loved you very much, but there had always been something special about chanhee. not just in the way they cared for each other, but also how chanhee cared for the rest of the people younghoon knew. you were a few years younger than him when he met you in his teenage years, but not once had you ever felt unwanted, or spoken down to. he had always made it his mission to fit into your little family, and even now, you felt incomplete without him. you could only hope one day you’d have a friend like that.

sunwoo, it seemed, was that for you. except sunwoo wasn’t who they thought he was, not anymore.

the way he held your hand gently as you walked back to the resort made you delusional enough to forget that. just for a second.

even when you reached the glass doors that led to inside your parents’ rooms, bidding them goodnight and sweet dreams, he didn’t let your hand go. he kept you close by his side, thumb subconsciously running over your knuckle, holding you just close enough that your lower arms brushed together with every light movement.

it was all for show, you had to remind yourself. he was doing this to further your little lie you had created, and the second your parents turned away, he’d drop your hand once more and pretend nothing happened.

but he didn’t.

he didn’t drop your hand when your parents said goodnight, and he didn’t drop it when younghoon and chanhee said their own goodbyes. he didn’t drop it when you walked back outside and around the courtyard and headed back towards the pool and the glass doors that led to your own room. he only let go once you passed the pool, stopping suddenly to turn and face you.

instead of moving backwards like you had expected, he took a step forward, arms falling around your own frame in a firm, but surprising hug. so surprising that you didn’t register for a moment, confused by the sudden affection, especially when out of sight of your families.

you could only put the action down to the glass of wine he had consumed, the same one that had tinted his cheeks red. or maybe, he was itching just as much for physical contact as you had been.

you should have really known sunwoo better than that.

his true intentions became clearer within five seconds, his arms moving from around your waist to hook under your arms, lifting you up off of your feet.

there was no point wrapping your legs around his waist. you knew exactly what was coming.

it was inevitable no matter what, but you still pathetically protested: “if you throw me in the pool, so help me kim sunwoo, it will be the last thing you do.”

sunwoo hummed, tucking his head over your shoulder as he walked you to what you knew was the edge of said pool. the one you were certain you would be in within seconds. “sorry what was that? i couldn’t hear you over my plans to throw you in the pool!”

true to his word (and your suspicions), he did just that. it took a little more effort, the angle he was carrying you at coupled with your half-hearted attempts to escape making the toss difficult, but you still hit the water nonetheless. most disappointingly, you hadn’t even managed to pull him in with you.

and the water was cold. it was no longer the glorious refresher from the lunchtime sun, but a night-time ice bucket that you could only flail around in until your feet found the ground once again.

your outfit was certainly ruined – it wasn’t like it was the best one you brought, or anything. not at all. and your shoes wouldn’t be in a better state, but you almost couldn’t find it in yourself to be mad. sunwoo laughed and laughed, expecting your incoherent shouts and face of disgust, but none of that came.

not one ounce of annoyance came over you.

because it was then, as you looked up at his figure standing on the poolside, the moonlight outlining his figure and his laugh ringing through the otherwise still air that you realised. every little niggling emotion you had felt over the past week made sense and every thought aligned all at once.

you were still in love with kim sunwoo.

truthfully, you didn’t think you had ever fallen out of love with him.

maybe you didn’t even know at the time. maybe you really thought that you were happy with the break up, that you would be content on your own. you had spent four months convincing yourself that it was okay, so much so that you had tricked your own brain into believing those lies.

perhaps, all you needed was a chance to fall in love all over again. a reminder of why you adored the boy standing in front of you so much.

if the realisation had hit you whilst freezing to death in the pool he threw you in, then that was just a minor inconvenience. the feeling itself was enough to warm you, the boxy smile that never left his face only making the butterflies in your stomach crash into each other once again.

“i’m sorry.” he giggled, mistaking your silence for frustration, but he wasn’t sorry. and you were glad he wasn’t, because suddenly everything make sense.

new problems would come along soon, you were sure of that, so for five more minutes you’d allow yourself to bask in the feeling.

all through him helping you out of the pool you let yourself focus on the feeling of his hand in yours. you let yourself imagine that the way he helped you indoors, got you a towel, and even put your pyjamas on the heater to warm up was because he felt the same. and just for a moment, it felt real.

the past week and a half, just for five minutes, was real. your relationship was real, sunwoo loved you back, you had never broken up, and everything was okay.

it almost hurt to leave him, to slip into the bathroom near your room to change. you knew once you left, the illusion would be shattered, and you’d be alone with your thoughts once again. sunwoo’s warmth would be gone, and replaced with the cold bitter reality that he wasn’t yours. not anymore.

then, once you were changed and ready for bed, eaving the bathroom only stung more as you were suddenly faced with the lack of safe space, and the image of sunwoo curled up on his side in bed. he wasn’t asleep, you could see that much, laying with his back to the doorway, scrolling on his phone, but he had yet to notice your return. you couldn’t make your presence known, not just yet. if anything, you were ready to resign yourself to running away – catch an early flight, go into hiding, never have to face your feelings again.

because now, it really did hurt. standing in the doorway, watching him simply exist, hurt.

all because you knew you couldn’t have that, not now, not again. sunwoo wasn’t yours anymore, no matter how much the holiday fooled you into thinking as such. he hadn’t been yours for four months, and wouldn’t be again.

everything you were feeling, sunwoo was completely oblivious to. you’d return home, and he’d go back to his life. he’d date, he’d work, he’d move on, and you’d be left in the dark, forced to reason with your own emotions and pretend nothing was wrong. you were pretty fed up of pretending by now.

love was a stupid concept, in theory. great when it comes naturally, but painful when the man you choose to be in love with just happens to be your ex boyfriend. worse still when all you could do was suffer in silence alone. you were an adult, you could deal with it, and you were going to have to.

but even adults now and again need their siblings, so that was exactly where you headed.

by some miracle, you managed to slip back out of the room without bothering sunwoo, heading down the corridor to where you knew you’d find who you needed, only hoping he hadn’t succumbed to sleep just yet.

when you pushed open the door to younghoon’s room, you could faintly hear the tell tale signs of your brother debating with chanhee over another pop culture issue. deep down, you felt awful for interrupting their conversation, especially so late at night, but this was one of those moments in which you needed to speak to younghoon as your brother.

“hoon? can i speak to you?”

the two boys on the bed looked up and over at you, only one second of processing your stance before they realised the nature of the upcoming conversation. chanhee stood up upon instant, giving younghoon’s shoulder a squeeze as he whispered about giving you privacy. he made a point to gently rub your arm as he passed on the way out, a gesture which you appreciated, but you were undoubtedly happy to be alone with younghoon just for now.

it was like the closing of the door was a trigger, for once the wooden frame fell shut, the tears sprung up to your eyes, and you were forced to move towards the bed for fear that your legs wouldn’t hold you up any longer. younghoon reached out upon instinct. pulling you close to his cross legged frame so that he could wrap his arms around you in a tight hug. his hands naturally came to cradle your head, tender touches accompanied by soothing whispers as you finally let the tears fall until the emotion began to dissipate.

“i’m still in love with sunwoo.”

younghoon pouted playfully, not clicking on just yet. not that you could blame him, considering the act you had put on. “i would hope so, considering he’s your boyfriend, and all– hey, what’s wrong?”

“we’re not together, hoon.” you admitted all at once, too terrified to even look your brother in the eye for fear he’d be ashamed of your lies, “we haven’t been for five months.”

younghoon sighed, but didn’t back away. instead, his grip tightened on your body, holding you as close to his chest as he possibly could.

“fuck, y/n. why didn’t you say anything?” he whispered, hurt evident but worry outweighing any of that.

“i was going to, but then all this time passed and i just forgot, and now…” your words were lost in a sob. “eomma was so excited for this trip, i couldn’t just break her heart like that.”

“you could have told me, baby.” younghoon spoke so tenderly, you panicked it might make the tears worse. he was exactly what you needed in that moment, the comfort you had been searching for that could only be provided by your brother. “i’m your brother. as much as you get on my nerves, you’re still my favourite human.”

no matter what happened, younghoon was still the person you knew loved you the most. you argued a lot, as expected of any sibling duo, but the love he showed you in even the smallest of actions far outweighed the tough times. he would have been there for you through anything, and a hug from him had better healing powers than magic, you were convinced.

that was what broke your heart more, knowing you had kept the breakup from him initially when he was so kind, and so understanding. a lot terrified you in life (love, for one), but losing touch with younghoon had to be top of that list. you were foolish for ever thinking he would treat you otherwise.

simply getting it out helped. saying those words out loud, not just about being in love, but about what you had gone through, made you feel lighter, even if just for a moment. you hadn’t even realised how hard it had been to carry it all.

it had been just what you needed. the only problem was that this security couldn’t last all night.

by the time you returned to bed with a lighter conscience, sunwoo was fast asleep, or so you thought.

you nearly considered sleeping on the sofa, just to spare you heart for tonight, but it wouldn’t have been worth the questions it brought from the boy in question. so instead, you resigned yourself to clambering under the covers with the intention to stay on the opposite side of the bed.

sunwoo, it seemed, had other ideas. within around five minutes of you waiting patiently for sleep to overtake you, there was movement on the other side of the bed and sunwoo soon shuffled by your side. you didn’t resist the arm he threw over your body, but that didn;t stop you from tensing up just for a moment. he no doubt felt it, opening one eye to see your expression.

it wasn’t like you didn’t expect physical contact with him, but so far the two of you had kept your distance at night. this coupled with your recent thought process and the heavy beating of your heart meant that it was much harder to stay sane than first thought.

“where did you go?” he mumbled sleepily, cheek smushed firmly against your shoulder which was muffling his speech.

“just to see younghoon.” you answered honestly, trying to focus on keeping your heart rate level. you wanted to cry, in complete honesty, far too emotional from earlier discussions.

sunwoo hummed, the sound vibrating through your body. “missed you.”

“you should be sleeping.” you scalded instead, too terrified to consider what that statement might mean in contention.

you couldn’t allow yourself even a moment to think of what could be. you needed to sleep, brush these thoughts out of your mind and pretend that the day hadn’t happened. sunwoo was determined to make that difficult, and you couldn’t even be mad. not at him, not ever.

“hm. couldn’t sleep without you.” if only he knew the weight those words carried for you. the raspy, sleep filled chuckle that followed only made the thumping of your heart worse “i’m getting sort of used to this.”

“don’t say that.” you muttered, having had enough of the torture. you pushed him away lightly, not enough to cause offence and hoping you could pass it off as being warm.

it failed it seemed, sunwoo sitting up on his elbow to stare down what was now your back facing him. “y/n, what’s wrong?”

“nothing. i’m just tired.” you lied through your teeth, praying he gave in to the late night and settled down. you gave in, however, when the silence that followed became far too much to handle. “go to sleep, woo.”

sunwoo, from what you could tell through just the silence, didn’t seem convinced. you were sure his brain would have mimicked a clock had you been able to hear, the ticking practically audible even now.

you half expected him to give up and settle down, petulant and stubborn as usual. instead, you were met with a strange timidness to his tone. “if something was wrong, you’d tell me, right?”

the sincerity in his voice was enough to grab your attention. he sounded so genuinely concerned that your head almost willed to turn, being greeted by a face that mirrored his words. he looked oddly anxious, nibbling on his bottom lip and playing with the bedsheet, looking so unlike sunwoo that you couldn’t help but turn back to face him.

instead of the act of ignorance you had tried to implement, you stuck out your hand to rest on his wrist in response to his question. you were a weak person when it came to kim sunwoo, and there was no point denying it any longer. maybe, for tonight, your heart and its worries could wait if it meant getting to satisfy the pink haired boy.

“i promise.”

sunwoo didn’t seem convinced for a long moment, searching your features for any signs of lying. it was a good job the holiday had helped you perfect your poker face. the last thing you wanted now was for your emotions to betray you.

he wasn’t satisfied, that much you could tell, but he gave in nonetheless. you knew he had accepted defeat when his arms opened wide in an invite you brain was practically screaming to deny. it would only cause more trouble for your heart down the road, but you had tried to deny it once before, and this was where you ended up.

and so you gave in, let yourself be engulfed in a cuddle by sunwoo, lulled to sleep unexpectedly quickly by his breathing and warmth – because after all, no amount of anxiety and insecurity would ever beat the safety that being in sunwoo’s arms brought you.

-

your revelation marked the start of the last three days of your holiday, and they seemed to roll around slower than before.

the final full day had been spent as expected, everyone moping and lounging until it turned dark, too sad to admit that soon you’d be saying goodbye to the island. that the holiday was over.

except, for you and sunwoo, this meant something different. it marked the end of much more.

you had gotten used to not seeing him, to no longer living out of his pocket. but two weeks in paradise, coupled with the feelings you still harboured in your chest were going to make what was about to come ten times harder than initially planned. not just on you, but the families too.

everyone had bonded over the two week period, from your parents, down to sunwoo and chanhee. you knew the latter of whom had exchanged numbers, their friendship built on teasing, but based on love. the last thing you wanted was for the impending break up to nip that in the bud.

in theory, it should have been easy. you had been friends after the real breakup, before the holiday. you should be able to go back to being friends now. but something had shifted, at least for you.

you knew you couldn’t go back to friends. before, it was easier. to your best knowledge, your feelings for sunwoo had disappeared, and you could continue with the knowledge and safety that he felt the same. you could live your life without that weighing on your conscience. all of that safety was gone now.

you knew you couldn’t just go back to being friends. that would hurt you too deeply, and you weren’t sure you were ready for pretending – not with sunwoo. it was easy with everyone else, but never with him. strangers would hurt, but it was seeming the only option that would protect your heart in the long run.

when you all retired to bed that night, it began like the one a few days before. sunwoo’s arms around your frame, his head tucked gently in your neck, and slow breathing lulling you both to sleep. it was easier to focus on the melody of his breath than to think about the alternatives. how this time tomorrow it would all be over.

except when you woke up, the end hadn’t quite come. you woke up in tomorrow, but with the world still in darkness, and an empty space on the bed where sunwoo had laid just hours earlier.

the clock on your nightstand told it was only three a.m, the sun not due to rise for at least another hour.

you knew better than to hunt for where sunwoo had gone, especially so late at night and with your heart in such fragile condition. it would be easier to stay in bed, remain ignorant and pretend that you had never woken up. that way, you wouldn’t be tormenting your heart with the idea of having sunwoo for just a second longer. you could prepare yourself for the inevitable, start practicing the distance.

that was the problem. you were too selfish to do just that.

so with a deep breath, and the blanket wrapped around your body, you clambered out of bed and on the hunt for where the boy you were in love with had gone.

he wasn’t at the poolside, the first stop you came across once leaving the glass doors. if he had been in the bathroom, you’d have heard him, so the only reasonable place he could have gone was to the other rooms – or so you had thought at first glance.

it was as you headed across the decking to the corridor adjacent to yours that you saw the gate down to the beach wide open, distinctly remembering closing it when you returned earlier in the day. that was pointer enough as to where sunwoo had headed.

venturing into the dark on your own didn’t seem like a pleasant concept, but the prospect of finding sunwoo there was enough to spur you onwards. and sure enough, your process of elimination had served you well.

there, sat by the sea with his shoes by his side, and bare feet dug into the sand, was kim sunwoo.

“couldn’t sleep?”

sunwoo turned his head to see you walking towards him, giving you a rehearsed smile that seemed different than usual. if you didn’t know better, you’d say he almost looked sad.

“needed some air.” he commented, chin resting against his own shoulder in support.

“i won’t disturb you, then.” you smiled peacefully, moving to turn back inside when sunwoo’s voice rang out from behind you once more.

“no!” he had jumped up to his feet, taking a stride towards where you now stood, hand outstretched with an attempt to stop you. “no! uh – stay? maybe? unless you’re tired, obviously.”

“i’m not tired.”

“good.”

there was a moment in which the silence dropped into awkwardness, unusual for the past week. you were grateful for the waves in the background masking the sound of you heart ringing in your ears. it distracted you from getting too lost in your thoughts, a difficult task considering sunwoo was standing in front of you in just his pyjamas, pink hair messy from the wind and sleep. looking just as perfect as ever.

he knew it too, that things felt wrong. the distance between you felt longer than just a few metres, your bodies isolated from any connection as a result of something unspoken. something you couldn’t even recognise.

“can i ask you a question?” sunwoo blurted suddenly, breaking the silence, but not sounding any less awkward than before. even when you nodded, it took him a moment before he could go on, “did you try to date again... after we…?”

you thought about teasing him, just for a moment. it would have been too easy to coo about his curiosity, make him blush and writhe under your stare, but something about the way he stared back at you with such genuine want to listen compelled you to be honest.

“uh – no. not really.” it was true. the prospect of dating hadn’t once crossed your mind in the four month period you hadn’t been together. now, you supposed you knew why “you?”

the expression on his face told he was about to say something you didn’t want to hear.

“i tried. just a month before we came here, actually.” you were right. you didn’t want to hear that. but you let him continue, nonetheless. “they were in my music production class, we got on really well. i sort of figured out they had a crush on me, and i liked their company, so i asked them out.”

“sunwoo, if you were seeing someone, you shouldn’t have agreed to come here–”

sunwoo didn’t give you enough time to finish, something akin to determination taking over him this time. “i’m not seeing anyone. i said i tried, but it didn’t feel right. quite the opposite in fact.”

should that have made your heart squeeze in your chest? it didn’t mean what you thought – it just meant it didn’t feel right. there was no point in getting excited, but there was a tiny part of you that couldn’t help but hope. the same part that made you ask “how come?”

sunwoo shrugged, a strangely genuine smile creeping onto his lips as he discussed such a topic. “i don’t know. they were fun, don’t get me wrong. we had a great time. i took them to that little arcade down the road from the politics building. we were there for like six hours, or something stupid, just challenging each other on every dumb game we could find.” you remembered the arcade, the fond memories the two of you had there in summers of the past. if you thought about it for long enough, the prospect of sunwoo taking another person there might have hurt. “but by the time i walked them home, i realised that was just it. i liked spending time with them, for sure, but they weren’t the one for me.”

something in sunwoo’s eyes told he wasn’t done.

“they weren’t you.”

forget skipping a beat, your heart nearly stopped all together. you didn’t understand, you needed more before you let yourself get your hopes up. you couldn’t be crushed like that “sunwoo–”

“just, let me finish, yeah?” sunwoo countered, cringing at himself for cutting you off once again, but you wouldn’t take offence “if i stop, i don’t think i’ll be brave enough to get it all out.”

it seemed more was what you were going to get.

“when we broke up, i really thought we were doing the right thing. i thought that i still had all this growing to do outside of our relationship, that i still had to learn to be independent. and it felt right for so long. shit – i think i convinced myself i wanted it because i was too scared of what i actually wanted… which was you, forever.” his breathing faltered, eyes dancing everywhere around the beach front but at you. “i think i’ve realised now that i was wrong all along. i didn’t have to be isolated in order to grow. i could have done that plenty well enough with you by my side, and i would’ve been happier that way.”

more. you had gotten more. and now you didn’t know what to do with it. scream? thank god? cry?

you knew exactly what he was trying to say. it was how you had felt about him all along. the realisations that had hit you that night, looking up at him from the pool, they were all reflected in the way sunwoo looked at you. like everything made sense once again. you didn’t know if your heart was ready to handle such a thing.

“i don’t even know if i’m making sense. hell, i barely even knew my own emotions until a few days ago. i had a feeling when i went on that date, but being here with you, seeing the way my parents adore you… it made me realise just how big a part of my life you still were.”

even as he paused, taking a breath big enough to prepare for his continuation, you couldn’t find the words to respond. you could only stare in disbelief that he felt the same. he just needed to say it.

“i never fell out of love with you, y/n. if anything, i think this trip has only made me love you more. i just had to put my naivety aside to see it.” sunwoo knew, too. those last words he needed to say out loud to make the confession real. “fuck, i love you. i love you so goddamn much that i would completely respect it if you decided to walk away now and never look back.”

you could only laugh, eyes stinging with grateful tears as you stared back at him. words had completely evaded you. any normal thought except for he feels the same had disappeared from your mind, leaving only happiness and disbelief in their wake.

sunwoo loved you too. he had never stopped loving you.

and he thought you were stupid enough to walk away.

“you’re an idiot.” you laughed quietly, desperately wiping at your eyes to see his terrified expression in full clarity.

he looked terrified indeed, more than, even. too scared to even blink and miss you turning your back. “i know. i’m so sorry.”

you shook your head lightly, feeling mean for not putting him out of his misery, but you were too elated from the confession to even care. “no – you’re an idiot because you’ve spent way too long standing there when you could have been kissing me.”

sunwoo’s eyes widened, staring ahead at you with the same expression you were sure you were wearing during his confession. confusion morphed into disbelief, which morphed into relief, and settled on happiness. the realisation of exactly what you were saying. that was enough to career him forward, feet travelling in the sand until he was stood in front of you, and you returned those three precious words that meant so much more.

“i love you too. i never stopped. i didn’t realise until the other day, but now i don’t want to waste any more time.” you admitted, searching his eyes for any sign of doubt – none of which you found.

he knew, just as much as you. this was the right thing, this was exactly what had been intended by the universe. you loved kim sunwoo, and he loved you back – no breakup, no amount of distance or space could ever change that.

when he kissed you again, properly, this time, you could have sworn you felt the earth move below your feet. the peck in the market was nothing compared to the elation the real thing brought. it was truly as though nothing had changed, from the way his hands gripped your waist, to the way he led with such confidence. he knew everything about you, down to the way you liked to kiss – slow and steady but with tender confession swapped between bodies. and he made sure he did just that.

sunwoo let one hand lift to your cheek, thumb brushing over your cheekbone with gentleness that on, any other day, might have made you cry. you were on top of the world, now, a quick exchange from worry to elation, and kim sunwoo was the reason for all your joys. he held you close, nibbling on your bottom lip and whispering almost incoherent confessions between touches and pecks. by the time he pulled away, it was as though everything left to be said had already been spoken.

you felt it, too. loved. you felt so, so loved from just the way he looked at you. you couldn’t believe you hadn’t seen it before – mistaking the glistening in his eyes for being hues of the summer, when in reality, they were all for you.

every worry you had seemed insignificant now. your lie had only shifted into a white lie, performance become verbatim, and you couldn’t be happier.

paradise had a funny way of making the truth come out. even now, with the sun still below the sky and no sign of it yet appearing, you felt warmer than ever.

you were walking on sunshine, and it felt good.

note: hello and welcome to: officially the longest fic on this account HSHDHSH would u believe me if i said this was only meant to be 4k long :o and yes the ending Is rushed bc i wanted to get it up asap but i do not care i am happy

this was honestly a little different for me. it might not seem it but usually i go in with all these preconceptions about the writing being good and the descriptions being good etc etc. but for this i just decided to have fun. and i sort of really love the outcome. so i hope w all my heart that you enjoy it too <3

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TAGLIST FOR THIS FIC: @stealanity

[jiminxoxo]

• roommates to lovers with sunwoo 😎

for anon <3