#scoups fluff

[sailorsoons]

Please (c.sc)

PAIRING: Alpha!Seungcheol x Omega! f.reader  SUMMARY: A heatwave in your city makes dealing with your hormones more difficult than usual. Getting locked in a lobby at work for an hour with an alpha makes it ten times worse. Thankfully, Seungcheol is there to help you - and maybe a little more.  WC: 18,512 AU: Omegaverse, Coworkers to Lovers GENRE: Smut, A bit of Fluff, the barest hint of angst RATING: 18+ Minors are strictly prohibited from engaging in and reading this content. It contains explicit content and any minors discovered reading or engaging with this work will be blocked immediately. WARNINGS: Mix of traditional and nontraditional Omegaverse dynamics in terms of heat cycles, social statuses, and body chemistry but this fic doesn’t really dip into it very heavily - including no knotting or any of the traditional lore. There are brief mentions of social discourse and discrimination across all three subgenders. Reader has some internal back and forth and moments of feeling embarrassed and frustrated with her body and hormonal fluctuations. Some internal stresses/anxieties on reader’s part about what comes after with Seungcheol. Seungcheol is a touch possessive in parts. Explicit language. Explicit sexual content including very gratutious smut, oral (f. and m. receiving), multiple orgasms, overstimulation, biting, a lot of spit/slick/fluids mentions, nipple play, vaginal fingering, lots of praise (use of good/good girl/baby often), not explicit dom/sub dynamics but more alpha/omega dynamics, no use of a condom as in - I just never wrote one in and they never talk about it tbh I just forgot lol - reader experiences some highs and lows through her heat emotionally… I think that’s mostly it. Please tell me if I forgot anything.  A/N: I don’t know how I ended up writing so much of this, but here we are. Reader’s struggles as an omega are inspired directly by my struggles with PCOS, especially living in a very hot climate and constantly having fluctuating hormones and just having to exist!!! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did while writing it.  A/N 2: Thank you @daechwitatamic for beta reading this - I love u thank u hehe.  SMUT NOTICE: This fic contains multiple smut scenes. If you don’t like reading smut, this fic will be complicated to understand if you skip multiple smut scenes.

MASTERLIST | ASK | NOW PLAYING: BAMBI BY BAEKHYUN

SWEAT TRICKLES DOWN THE BACK OF YOUR NECK AND THIGHS. Irritated, you wipe at the back of your neck for what feels like the hundredth time before pulling at the collar of your shirt, fanning it in hopes of cooling the rest of your body off. It’s unseasonably hot, a heat wave sweeping through the city and turning your office cubicle into a toaster oven.

The small fan on your desk whirs pitifully, barely offering any sort of respite. Adjusting in your seat does nothing but remind you how uncomfortable you are, the scratchy grain of the chair digging into the back of your sweating thighs, the underwire of your bra digging into your ribs, the heat rash forming where your underwear digs into the creases of your hips. 

Unbearable. 

A message pings on your computer and you open it, growling in irritation as you see a message from Wonwoo in the cubicle behind you. 

Jeon Wonwoo: Ever heard of suppressants, diva? 

You: IT’S FUCKING HOT IN HERE

You: Tell this company to BUY SOME FUCKING AIRCONDITIONERS 

Jeon Wonwoo: Irritable… sweaty… irrational… 

You grab the nearest pen and whip around in your chair, launching it at the back of his head. It hits with a satisfying thwack. He flinches, cursing as his hand flies up to rub the spot where you nailed him. Wonwoo turns in his seat, shooting you a dirty look over his shoulder.

You meet his glare with a stuck-out tongue and a very deliberate middle finger before turning back to your screen, face flushed, partially from the heat, partially from embarrassment.

He doesn’t get it. You know he’s just teasing, but it still stings. That old, familiar insecurity curls in your gut at his jest, no matter its innocence. Being an omega is hard enough. You’ve spent years unlearning shame, of trying to accept this part of yourself you never asked for. And you’ve gotten pretty far with that. 

But then something as simple as a heatwave hits, the rise in temperature turning your body traitorous, unable to accommodate for a little bit of humid air and heat. 

Of course, Wonwoo doesn’t understand - can’t conceptualize the level of difficulty it is to maintain a baseline for you. Betas don’t have to deal with this kind of hormonal chaos. Sure, they’ve got their own issues - media erasure, medical neglect, in general being left out - but it’s not the same. Not when your body actively works against you, not when your biology fights you. 

You sigh. There’s no point in going down the rabbit hole and comparing omegas and betas. You’ve traveled that road since your subgender presented itself in your freshman year of college. Comparison is the thief of joy, but it’s also an endless torture device. 

Your thighs rub together uncomfortably when you get up. You swipe your water bottle, unscrewing the cap as you duck out of your cubicle, head down and steps fast. You’re pretty sure Wonwoo is attuned to your scent more than others, having been one of your closest friends and cubicle-neighbor for the better part of five years. But still, you’re nervous about it, hand snaking up to touch the translucent patch on the side of your neck, meant to dampen the smell from your glands. 

No one pays you much mind. You breathe a sigh of relief to find the break room empty. You make a beeline to the water cooler in the corner, sliding the water bottle under it and pressing the tap. As it fills, the air conditioning kicks on, the vent right above you. 

Cool air hits the back of your neck. Your eyes flutter, a shiver of relief slithering through you. For a moment, you lose yourself, letting the cool wick away the sticky sweat, the first time you’ve felt a little relief all day. A small sound escapes your mouth, half whimper and half plea. 

Someone clears their throat and you flinch, losing your grip on the water bottle. It crashes to the ground, water splashing up your legs but more importantly, all over the floor. You squeak in panic, diving to pick it up in an attempt to stop the outflow of water. 

Hands dripping, you pivot on your heel, scanning for paper towels only to find them being offered. You blink in surprise, body going rigid as you become acutely aware of who is offering them. 

Choi Seungcheol watches you with quiet concern, dark eyes steady behind his glasses. He keeps a respectful distance, arms extended with a roll of paper towels, waiting for you to take them. But you don’t move. Your pulse pounds in your neck as your gaze drops from his face to his hands, large and patient.

He has pretty hands, you think absently, staring a beat too long.

For a moment, all you can hear is the roar of blood in your ears. Then, he steps forward without a word, crouching down to wipe the water pooling around  your feet. You jerk, startled, a sharp sound of protest escaping you as you drop down and snatch more paper towels from his hands. Apologies tumble out, disjointed and breathless, your thoughts scattered. 

He doesn’t back away. Instead, he methodically dabs at the wet tile while trying to avoid soaking himself in the process. His proximity is overwhelming, his spicy scent nearly knocking you over. You grit your teeth and clench your jaw, irritated. He’s not supposed to affect you like this - never has before. 

Seungcheol is always mild. Unassuming. He’s worked here as long as you have, one of the few alphas on your floor, and one of the most reserved. He keeps to his office, always dimly lit, always quiet. He greets you politely. Never lingers. 

It surprised you when you first met him. Seungcheol looks like the type of alpha who is the opposite of quiet and shy. There’s a gravitas to him that you haven’t quite figured out and a body made to ruin. Broad shoulders, thick arms, a voice deep enough to rattle through your spine even on your best days. 

Yet somehow, he’s never once made a pass on a single omega at work. 

Which, he shouldn’t. You respect that about him, which feels ridiculous. You shouldn’t have to be flattered by the bare minimum of respect, shouldn’t need to be surprised when an alpha is able to be normal. To treat you like a human being. 

You mumble a quiet thanks, focusing on the mess. It’s the only thing tethering you right now. It shouldn’t feel this intense, but the goddamn heat is getting to you. It’s baking you from the inside out, turning your cube walls suffocating. It makes you tired. Irritable. Prone to throwing pens at Wonwoo’s head. 

“Thanks,” you mutter when you stand. You toss the soggy paper towels into the bin, avoiding his gaze. “Sorry again.” 

“No need to apologize. I’m sorry I startled you.”

Seungcheol stands slowly. You don’t move, watching the way he wipes his damp hands across his slacks. You hate that you notice how the fabric pulls over his thighs. As soon as you have the thought, you avert your eyes, looking anywhere but him, afraid that he’ll see the embarrassment or the way your body reacts without your permission. 

“It’s been a long week,” Seungcheol offers, voice soft. “You alright? I know Jeonghan had you working on that insane report.”

You swallow past the dry patch in your throat. “All good. Just tired. It’ll probably keep me here forever, but what can you do?”

“Mhmm. Don’t forget it’s Friday - cleaning locks the office and will trap you inside.”

“Sounds like you’re intimately familiar.” 

His smile is soft, cheeks flushed. “Cannot confirm or deny.”

“I see.” You gesture to the watery floor. “Thank you, again. And sorry for being a bit clumsy.”

“No problem.” 

You slide away from him, hoping that he can’t tell that you’re leaning, trying to avoid catching his scent again. He doesn’t seem to notice - or has the decency not to make it obvious - and you slip away from the break room, all but running to your cube.

Inside your little haven, you rip open one of your drawers, grabbing a pheromone damp nasal spray. You all but shove it up your cranium, putting it as far up your nasal passage as you can manage before squeezing and shooting a blast of medical grade dampener up your nose, inhaling sharply. 

It helps a little, settling your nerves and erasing the lingering scent of Seungcheol. You breathe out a sigh, calm and collected. Carefully and quickly, you peel the suppressant patch off your neck and swap it for a new one. It tingles when you apply it, the microneedles that embed into the skin to deliver suppressant a cool sensation at first. 

When you settle, you feel much better. It isn’t until you turn to start knocking out the rest of your report that you realize you never refilled your water bottle after dropping it, making you lean back on your desk and groan. 

-

Working for Yoon Jeonghan comes with its challenges. He's incredibly sharp and a natural leader, but he tends to be a bit forgetful and brings a touch of chaos wherever he goes. Jeonghan is the reason you’d started working at this company, though, admiring that there was an omega in charge, defying the long-standing social norms that omegas could not lead. 

It’s a silly stereotype, but you’ve been fighting stereotypes your entire life, unlearning your own and reminding yourself that there are still inherent biases to unlearn. 

Like right now, when you're mentally cursing Jeonghan for tossing a last-minute report your way, even though he had multiple reminders in his inbox and just forgot he'd opened them. You only blame him a little. Work’s been nonstop, keeping him up at all hours, and if there’s one thing that truly makes Jeonghan unbearable, it’s sleep deprivation.

Jeonghan doesn’t have an assistant, but you’re the closest thing to it, one of the few people in the office he trusts to get things done. So when he’s on vacation and starts spamming your email that he dropped the ball, it’s on you to cover for him, like he’s done for you in the past. 

The consequence of competency, he’d told you over the phone, the sound of the ocean in the background. I’m sorry, I owe you, please don’t quit. 

You weren’t going to quit. Despite your irritation, you like working for Jeonghan, and despite the unbearable heat burning in your cubicle, you like being able to focus on pulling and building reports, inputting data into a spreadsheet and setting pivot tables and charts.

It makes you forget about the world for a little bit, including the oppressive office air and the way that the building’s air conditioner barely keeps up with the raging temperatures outside. Makes you forget about the incident in the breakroom, and about everything else, including the passage of time. 

Above you, the lights go out. You flinch, looking up in surprise. Rubbing your eyes, you blink until your computer screen comes back into focus, looking at the time. You groan. It’s past seven, far later than you meant to stay at work. But you’re done with the report, dragging the attachment to your email to fire it off to Jeonghan with a less than happy emoji pasted in the body of the email. 

Exhaustion weighs you down when you stand. Your joints pop and everything feels hot and itchy again, all of your irritations flooding back to pester you now that you’re not locked in on your work. You flip off the fan, lamp and computer at your desk. Immediately without air circulation, your cube is sweltering, the dress sticking to you, fabric itchy and clinging to your skin.

A sudden wave of dizziness makes the room tilt around you. You steady yourself with deep, measured breaths, trying to stay grounded. A spike in temperature is normal. You can deal with it. It’s manageable. Sure, the heat triggers a surge of estriolase, the hormone that kicks in during Stage 1 of an omega’s heat cycle. And sure, it leaves you flushed, restless, skin prickling with irritation, and-  

“You’re still here?”

You shriek, whirling around, heart hammering as your hand flies to your chest in terror. Seungcheol takes a cautious step back into the hallway, hands lifted in surrender, quiet concern etched into his features. For a moment, the air between you is thick with silence, broken only by your uneven breathing, still reeling from the rush of epinephrine and cortisol.

Being an omega means constantly walking a tightrope of hormones. One shift sets off another, like dominoes toppling. Fear bumps into instinct, instinct stirs something deeper, until your body is a storm of tangled biochemistry.

Now, your body is caught in a storm of fear, annoyance, embarrassment and interest, each one fighting for dominance. You swallow thickly and lean off your desk, ignoring the way your body flashes between hot and cold, fear and something else.

“Just finished Jeonghan’s report.”

“Ah.” 

Something passes his face. It’s unreadable, but he’s focused. Your skin prickles under the heavy weight of his stare, watching as his mouth tightens at the corner. 

“You heading out?” 

“Yeah.”

A beat passes. His gaze flickers briefly, so fast that you’re not sure you track the movement correctly, but you swear it drops to the patch on your neck, dampening your scent. His jaw flexes once before he offers you a tight smile, gesturing. 

“Mind if I walk you out? It’s late.”

Your heart hammers. “Sure.” 

You’ve walked out of work with Seungcheol before. He offers to walk anyone out when it’s after hours, even if he himself isn’t leaving yet. It has nothing to do with your subgender and everything to do with him being kind, a sort of stoic office guardian.

Grabbing the rest of your things, you follow Seungcheol in silence. The building is quiet, both of you the only people still around on a weekend. The lack of sound amplifies everything else: the sound of your own quickened breathing, the warmth pulsing under your skin, the spicy scent of Seungcheol as he steps onto the elevator, lingering at the threshold to hold the door open for you.

You murmur a thank you as you pass by him. You can’t help the shiver that snakes through you as you pass. You clench your fists, angry and willing yourself to calm down. This has never happened around Seungcheol, and you blame the fucking weather for the way your body overrides you now. 

The forty five seconds spent in the elevator are borderline hell. Neither of you says anything. You’ve pressed yourself in the corner, trying to remain nonchalant, like your entire world isn’t spinning, like there isn’t a dull ache in the pit of your stomach, like there isn’t saliva pooling at the back of your tongue. 

Seungcheol smells warm. Grounding. Something that lingers, sharp and clean with a bit of a bite. You breathe in, trying to figure it out. Perhaps bergamot and cardamom, spice touched by sweetness, a hint of earth. 

The elevator dings and Seungcheol is halfway through the lobby before you realize it. You push off the elevator wall after him, steps stilted and uneven. It’s even hotter in the tiny lobby of your office building, making a bead of sweat trail down the back of your neck. You adjust your dress, licking your lips in an attempt to relieve the hot flash threatening you. 

Seungcheol pushes on the glass doors at the front, but they don’t budge. Both of you stand and stare for a second before he curses low under his breath, voice like gravel. You ignore what your stomach does at the sound of it as he turns to look at you, expression wary.

“Remember what I said in the break room?” You definitely remember the break room, but not anything he said. “The cleaners come on Friday evenings and they lock the doors.” 

“Oh.”

Seunghecol walks back to the elevator and swipes his badge at the scanner and presses the button. The metal doors do not open again, and the button doesn’t light up. He curses again, pinching the bridge of his nose right beneath his glasses. 

“Badges don’t work after hours.”

“They don’t?”

“No. It’s not the first time I’ve been stuck here, unfortunately.” He adjusts the strap on his bag and pulls a cellphone from his pocket. “Thankfully I have security’s number saved for exactly that reason.”

Seungcheol’s words do little to bring you relief. He paces a few steps away from you, dialing a number on the phone. He holds the phone to his ear, waiting for security to pick up. His free hand is stuffed into the pocket of his slacks, thumb tapping idly. You stand a few feet away, arms crossed, trying to focus on the sterile, white glow of the lobby lights instead of the way your skin feels like it’s humming.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Seungcheol’s voice sounds loud, making you twitch. “Yes, I’m locked in the lobby again.” He glances at you. “I’m with another coworker as well. The badge isn’t working to get us back up. Can you come let us out?” 

You barely register his words. A flush is working its way up from your stomach to your chest, your chest to your shoulders, shoulder to elbows. You feel it unfurl, the slow-burning petals of a flower blooming. The air feels thick and heavy, almost damp, and no amount of focused breathing seems to help with the pulse you feel throbbing in your neck.

Seungcheol’s voice momentarily pulls you from your daze. “They’re sending someone from central security. Might take about an hour, though. They were in the middle of a shift rotation.” 

You nod, swallowing hard. “Alright.” 

“Are you alright?” Seungcheol asks quietly, eyes fixated on you. 

You open your mouth to say yes, but the word dies in your throat. Because you’re not. Not really. There’s a heat curling deep in your belly now, slow and insistent, and your clothes feel too tight, your skin too sensitive. You press your palm against the marble wall behind you, trying to ground yourself with the coolness of the stone.

“Yeah,” you manage, nodding and giving him a thumbs up. 

You’re anything but. It hits you slowly, but when it does, it locks into place with terrifying clarity: the dizziness, the temperature spikes, the way everything around you sounds sharper, smells sharper, the bergamot and cardamom. 

Your body is crawling toward Stage 1 of heat, triggered by the unbearable temperature spike across the city and the unbearable proximity of the alpha standing across the lobby from you. 

You shift your weight, arms tightening around yourself, every nerve ending suddenly too aware of Seungcheol’s presence. He’s not even close, but you can feel him. Or maybe it’s just your scent receptors going haywire, both just as likely. 

“You’re flushed,” he says after a moment, eyes not quite meeting yours now. “You sure you’re not getting sick?”

“No,” you say too quickly. “I don’t think it’s that.”

Seungcheol’s brows pull together, not believing you but not sure what to make of it. He shifts his weight, gaze scanning you, trying to figure you out. You refuse to meet his eyes, looking up at the lobby lights that are too bright, making you squint. But you can feel him watching you, his gaze intense. 

“You look uncomfortable.” He shifts a little further from you. “I apologize if-”

“It’s not you!” You blurt, a little forceful. “It’s just hot in here. It’s… hard on me.” 

When he doesn’t answer, you dare a look at him. Seungcheol tilts his head slightly, like he doesn’t believe you but won’t push it. He nods, leaning against a wall, crossing his arms over his chest. Your eyes track the way his biceps flex, the way his shirt compresses across his chest and your mouth goes dry. 

He studies you carefully now, eyes narrowing just slightly—not in suspicion, but understanding. Something settles in his expression, the faintest flicker of recognition behind his eyes. Fuck. Fuck. He knows. He knows and the embarrassment is so overwhelming you nearly fold over and start crying. 

Still, he doesn't call you out. Doesn’t voice what you’re sure he knows, what his instincts are telling him. Doesn’t corner you with it.

Instead, he says, “Tell me something you enjoy.”

“What?”

He watches you, eyes soft. “Anything. To pass time. I only know the basics about you. Tell me something you’re passionate about.”

Something you're passionate about? A million things run through your mind. You grab the first thing you can think of, a single subject that you’re well-versed in.

“There’s a theory that the Tyrannosaurus Rex didn’t roar.” 

He looks confused. “The dinosaur?” 

“Yes. Like you know in the movie how they… rahhh.” You imitate the noise, immediately wanting to smack yourself for the ridiculousness of it. He presses his lips together, trying not to laugh. He nods and gestures for you to continue, dark eyes focused only on you. “So it’s a total myth. Scientists think they made way lower sounds, like… you know when crocodiles do that weird purr?” 

“Crocodile purr?”

“Yeah you know when they…” You hunch your shoulders. “Do that weird water rumble thing.” 

“I think I follow.”

You nod rapidly, grateful for the distraction even as your heart beats way too fast. “Yeah, like a subsonic hum. They think it was more intimidating that way. A sound that could vibrate through the chest cavity of its prey. Honestly, it’s kind of genius.”

He watches you with quiet amusement, one brow raised but not mocking. “I didn’t know you were into dinosaurs.”

“I was obsessed as a kid,” you admit, shrugging, eyes still fixed on the security panel like it’ll spark to life if you ignore it long enough. “Used to correct people all the time. I was that kid. I got in trouble once for lecturing my cousin while playing with dinosaurs because Stegosaurus and a T. rex never existed at the same time. They lived millions of years apart! And he was trying to tell me they were best friends.” You scoff. “As if.”

You hear a soft chuckle across the lobby and you look up to meet his face. Your pulse flutters again, reminding you why Seungcheol asked you to distract yourself in the first place. 

As though he can sense where your thoughts are going, Seungcheol asks, “So are you one of those people who thinks the Jurassic Park raptors were too big?” 

You huff, a flare of irritation licking through you. “Well yeah. They were too big, thank you for asking. Plus, Alan Grant pointed out in the first movie that they were the size of turkeys, and then they get to Isla Nublar and they’re fucking six feet tall! And they were supposed to have feathers!”

“Not very intimidating.”

“I mean, I feel like a giant bird of prey is pretty intimidating.” 

Seungcheol grins and you feel another shiver threaten to pulse through you. His grin is beautiful, turning his face from intimidating to soft in seconds. “I’m never going to be able to take them seriously again, I think.”

“You’re welcome.”

It’s quiet again. The tension from earlier hasn’t disappeared, but something in the air feels different. Sweat fills the creases behind your knees, beads on the small of your back, gathers on your thighs. Your rambling had made you forget about it all for a moment, but now it’s back, the awareness of the way your body is crawling toward Stage 1 of your heat. 

If security gets here soon, you’ll be okay. It’s the lightest phase of the cycle, manageable with some effort and focus. But it’s unpredictable. Sometimes it lingers, sometimes it crashes into the next stage without warning. And while your body usually keeps a steady three-month rhythm, outside stimuli can trigger an early onset.

Like being trapped in an overheated lobby with an alpha just a few yards away. One who’s quiet, watching, aware. 

Still, it’s not unmanageable. You’ve handled worse. If you can get home in time, the meds waiting in your cabinet will ease you through the worst of it, keep you from slipping into second and third stage alone, unprepared.

If not…

No, you can’t think about that. If you stray too far to the second stage of your cycle before getting home, your options are limited and grim. 

You don’t like any of them. 

You shift your stance again, ankles crossing and uncrossing, arms hugging your waist like that might hold everything in place. But it’s not helping anymore. Your skin feels too tight, like it doesn’t fit right on your body. The heat is building now, no longer a low thrum, but a steady pulse radiating from your core, licking up your spine and sinking into your limbs. Your breaths come shorter, faster, and there’s a dull ache beginning in your lower belly, something deep and hormonal and utterly beyond your control.

“Hey,” Seungcheol says, causing you to look at him. His face is soft. Concerned. “You still with me?”

The way he says it, soft and gentle, makes things worse. Makes you want to whine and cross the lobby floor to him, to let him pull you in tight and tell you it’ll be okay. To comfort you. The desire is so bad that you realize you’re much farther into Stage 1 than you thought.

Panic starts to nip at your heels. You’re unsure what to do. There’s nothing on you besides your nasal spray and your patches to help you out, but those aren’t what you need. Your patches protect others from your scent and the nasal spray protects you from others - from Seungcheol. 

You try to answer, but your voice catches in your throat, coming out thin and shaky. “I’m okay.”

“Are you in prodrome?” he asks quietly, voice pitched low and careful.

You flinch when he finally says it out loud, letting the acknowledgement ring in the lobby. You close your eyes for a moment, your silence an answer in itself. 

Seungcheol sighs and pulls his phone back out of his pocket, dialing as he lifts it to his ear. “Yeah, I know. Look, you need to expedite. My colleague needs medical assistance and we’re still locked in the lobby. No… no.” Seungcheol glances at you. “She’s experiencing prodrome. Can you please expedite? Yes. Thank you.” 

He hangs up and turns back to you, stepping slowly so he doesn’t overwhelm, arms loose at his sides in a show of calm. “They’re sending someone now. Shouldn’t be long.”

You nod, but your breathing is uneven, shallow now. You can feel the sweat dripping down your spine, the pressure behind your eyes. Everything smells too sharp, too thick. Especially him. Spice and warmth and safety. It’s awful. 

Seungcheol stays where he is, a careful distance between you, but his voice is steady when he says, “Tell me what you need. What I can do to help.”

“I’m fine.”

“I mean it. If you need space, I’ll back off. If you need something cold, we’ll figure it out. Just don’t… don’t try to pretend this isn’t happening. Let me help you.” 

The kindness in his voice cracks something in your chest. No judgment, no pressure, just him, steady and solid, offering help while your body betrays you one symptom at a time. 

You swallow hard. “I just need to get out. I just need to make it home before it gets worse.”

Seungcheol nods, no hesitation. “Then we’ll get you home. I promise.”

Time moves like molasses. The silence between you thickens. You give up on standing, sitting on the cool tile floor. It only offers momentary respite until you’re panting again, struggling to maintain your grip on yourself. 

It’s not working. Your entire body is pulsing, tingling, burning in waves that crest and fall without rhythm. Your skin itches with hypersensitivity, every shift of your clothes unbearable, your breath slow and ragged. It feels like you’re melting, burning up from the forge in your chest.

You can feel Seungcheol watching you from his assigned corner. He says nothing, keeping a respectful distance. You steal a glance at him through bleary eyes. He’s just leaning against the wall, hands clenched and jaw tight. He’s doing his best to appear calm, but you see signs of irritation. His throat works and your eyes linger on the way his Adam's apple bobs for too long. You think about sinking your teeth into his neck, tasting him-

His scent, normally warm and grounded, spikes. You sense the shift and it makes you squirm, pressing yourself further into the wall. You look away from him, hiding your face in your shoulder while you squeeze your eyes shut as another wave of cramping crashes into you. 

Seungcheol’s irritation is sharp. Shame floods you, thick and fast. Of course he’s annoyed. Today has gone from bad to worse. He’s now stuck in a lobby with an omega in prodrome, a liability that he now has to be responsible for, and you’re barely holding it together, shaking like a live wire. You’re stuck, and he’s stuck with you, and-

The lobby doors beep and hiss open. You don’t even lift your head. Don’t even hear the first few words from the guards. You only feel cool night air and the sudden shift in pressure, making you keen and melt into the tile. 

Seungcheol appears at your side, his scent fading from acrid to soothing. 

“Hey,” he murmurs, crouching down to your level. It’s the closest he’s been to you all day. You feel the heat of him, the nearness overwhelming. “They’re here. We can go.”

You don’t move. The thought of moving suddenly seems like an insurmountable task. Your world is tilting, your ears ringing. Your limbs feel detached from your brain and your body is locked, curled in on itself. Heat prickles across your skin like static.

Worst of all, you’re starting to panic. Fear sets in, stabbing deep. You don’t know how to get up and take the train home. Don’t know how to get yourself up the stairs and into your apartment. To the cabinet to take a suppressant. To the fridge for water. 

Seungcheol’s voice sharpens. “Hey. Look at me.”

It’s a command. You blink up at him, barely able to focus. Something flashes behind his eyes and he’s on the phone again. “Hi, I need emergency assistance for an omega. She’s in heat prodrome and she’s deteriorating fast. No, she’s conscious. She’s overheating, but having trouble standing and struggling to focus. I have no idea what to do.” 

You barely hear the voice on the other end of the line, but Seungcheol does. His expression shifts, each word they say tightening his jaw.

“She’s a coworker - we were locked in a lobby at work but I can take her to an omega hospital.” You whimper and shake your head vehemently, whining. He softens. “They said they can give you a heat inhibitor on-site.” 

“No,” you pant. “It hurts.”

He nods. “I can’t do that, she doesn’t want to go.” The operator says something else and he nods. His eyes tighten at the corners and he glances at you. “I can take you to a service clinic. They can assign you-”

“Home,” you plead. “I just need to get home. I can- I can deal with it.”

“I don’t know… do you have, um. Do you have an alpha you usually…?”

“No.”

Tears well up fast and hot, blurring your vision, sliding down your cheeks in silent streaks. Your whole body feels wrong, like you’ve been unraveled from the inside, trembling and raw.

“I just want to go home,” you whisper, folding in on yourself. “I have my meds. I can manage if I can just get home. Please.”

He repeats what you say into the phone. They say something and he shakes his head and hangs up, shoving his phone into his pocket. “Okay. Alright. We’re going to get you home, okay?” 

He helps you to your feet slowly, carefully, arms braced around you like he’s afraid you’ll break. You lean into him, weak and unsteady, but there’s no judgment in his touch, just quiet strength and a protective kind of focus that makes your throat tighten all over again.

The lobby fades behind you. The night air hits your overheated skin like salvation. Seungcheol doesn’t say a word as he guides you into the passenger seat of his car, buckles you in, and throws his jacket over your lap for warmth. His hands are shaking as he starts the engine.

“Can you give me directions?”

You mumble them. You’re not even sure that he hears you. He has no idea the bomb he’s given you, tossing his jacket over you. Your fingers curl into it, greedy. Inhaling deeply, you feel yourself drift as he drives, the hum of the engine lulling you into a half-daze. The smell of Seungcheol is overwhelming, but comforting. Steady. No longer a threat, but something you want. Need. 

It isn’t until Seungcheol’s hands are gently shaking you that you realize you’re at your apartment. You blink up at him, stars in your eyes. He looks down at you, glasses a little askew as he asks you a question. His words are garbled and you don’t understand, shaking your head in confusion as he gazes at you. 

“Come on,” he sighs, unbuckling your seat for you. His chest brushes across you as he does, bergamot and cardamom hitting you so hard that it knocks the senses out of you. You’re near catatonic for a second until you feel his hands pressed against your forehead. “Fuck, you’re burning up. Can I carry you?”

You must nod, because he bends low and scoops you out of the car. You jostle against his chest as he carries you bridal style toward the stairs. His scent is mind numbing. Your face is too close to his neck and he doesn’t have a scent blocker on, pheromones doing insane damage to your self control as he climbs the stairs, you in his arms like you weigh absolutely nothing.

Gently, Seungcheol places you on your feet. He slides an arm around your waist, keeping you upright and pinned to him as he unlocks your door. You have no idea where he got your keys, must have fished them out of your purse at some point. 

Seungcheol guides you into your dark apartment, helping you to the couch like you’re made of glass. You collapse onto it, dazed. He crouches, brushing a strand of hair out of your face. His eyes are devastatingly soft, touch featherlight. 

“Let me call a doctor.”

“No.” Your voice is hoarse but immediate. “Please don’t. I can’t go to the hospital again. I don’t want to do this strapped to a bed, surrounded by strangers and white lights and IVs. I can’t.” 

He exhales, hands flexing. “Okay. Okay. But—then what? Do you have anyone who can help you through it? Any alpha you-”

“No. I just do it alone with meds. They’re in my bathroom cabinet. If you could just get them, I can do this.”

“I don’t think meds are going to help.” His admission is soft. Regretful, almost. Like it pains him to tell you this. 

You think he’s right, but you don’t know what else to do. 

Seungcheol’s brows furrow. You watch the internal war play out on his face, concern and hesitance and something harder to name. His throat bobs as he swallows. “If… look, if there’s no one else. I can try to help.”

You suck in a sharp breath. “What?”

“I can try. Only if you want. Only if you need. I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage, I just… I don’t want you to suffer. I know it’s not ideal, but I’m here. I don’t want to leave you like this.”

A fresh wave of tears hits you, shame curling hot in your chest. 

“You don’t want to,” you whisper, voice cracking. “You’re just saying that because you feel bad. And I feel awful. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I don’t want to put you in this position-”

“Hey.” His voice is firmer now, but not unkind. He shifts forward, his hands finding yours, wrapping them gently between his palms. Your skin tingles where he touches you, a fresh wave of heat licking through you. “Stop. Look at me.”

You do. Barely. His face is open and honest, his eyes warm. He’s so pretty like this, looking at you like you’re something he cares about - someone he cares about. 

“I want to help you. Not because I pity you. Not because I feel obligated. Because I care about you. And you’re in pain. And I can do something about it.” He takes a breath, then adds, softer, “Even if that means the more intimate parts.” 

Your face crumples, fresh humiliation rising, but he keeps holding your gaze, steady and calm. 

“Only if you want to,” he says. “Only if you’re lucid and safe and sure. If you want me to sit on the other side of the apartment all night and just be here, I will. If you want to go to sleep and pretend this didn’t happen tomorrow, I’ll follow your lead.”

“I don’t want you on the other side of the apartment,” you admit. “I just feel embarrassed by what I need.”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, especially for something out of your control. Your body isn’t your enemy.”

You press your lips together, fighting the emotions building in your chest, but it’s no use. A soft sob slips out before you can stop it, and Seungcheol is there in an instant, wrapping his arms around you with careful strength, cradling you against him like he’s anchoring you to the moment.

His scent hits you more fully now, warm and earthy beneath the sharp spice, like cinnamon bark and sun-warmed cedar. It fills your lungs and settles into the frantic edge of your nerves like balm, and it’s… comforting. Not invasive. Not overwhelming.

Just Seungcheol. 

“I’m here,” he murmurs into your hair. “Whatever you need, we go slow. I’ll follow your pace. You lead.”

“Even if it’s more than you expected?”

“Even then.”

Seungcheol helps you sit back, propped with cushions on the couch, still watching you like you might unravel again, but not because he doubts you. Because he cares. Because he’s listening to every breath you take like it matters.

“I’ll need… a few things,” you say, quietly. “If this really goes into the full cycle. I have suppressants, but they won’t help much unless I can get them in the next hour, and I don’t think I have that kind of time anymore.”

“Okay. Tell me what you need.”

You breathe in. “Water. A lot of it. Heat spikes dehydrate fast, and I’ll probably get a fever if we don’t keep me hydrated. Heats are a game of chess except sometimes the board blows up.” 

“Funny. Got it.”

“And blankets,” you add quickly. “I’ll feel cold, even if I’m burning. Like weight and softness. Like nesting.”

“Like a bird… or dinosaur.”

You scowl at him and he grins, dimples appearing in his cheek. It makes you want to lean forward and bite him, to sink your teeth in and never let go. 

“What else?” He asks. 

“I’ll need food eventually. Simple things. Broths, carbs. My body’s going to want to burn through everything at once.”

“Easy.”

“And proximity.” You hesitate here, voice wavering. “I’ll need closeness. I haven’t had a heat partner before, but probably a lot of sex. It uh - comes in waves but it helps. Obviously. So there’s that.”

“I can do that.” There’s no hesitation. Just firm dedication. “It’s not a problem. What else?” 

You look at him, something stirring in your chest, still unsure how to express the storm of emotions bubbling beneath your skin. “What have you done for your omegas in the past? During heat? This is sort of new to me.”

He pauses. “I haven’t. I’ve never spent a heat with an omega.”

“What?”

“I’ve never been with an omega at all, to be honest with you.” The gravity of his statement makes you panic. You start to sit up, protests bubbling to your lips but he hushes you, eases you back down. “It’s fine. I’m fine, I wouldn’t have offered it if I wasn’t totally sure.” 

“Why offer at all?”

“Because it’s you,” he says simply. “And I’d rather learn how to help you than let you suffer alone.”

A beat passes. 

“Okay,” you whisper. 

“Okay,” he echos. “Let’s get you settled.”

Seungcheol stands, giving you one more lingering gaze before he sets himself to the task of readying your apartment. He sends you to your room to change into a pair of sweats and an oversized shirt before he lets you settle on the couch, sweaty and shaking.

Seungcheol moves through your space like he’s been here before, like he knows where everything is even when he clearly doesn’t. He opens cabinets and drawers gently, always looking back at you as though he’s seeking permission. You nod each time, endeared by his hesitancy. 

You don’t know what to make of his admission of never being with an omega before. In your experience, most alphas would loathe to admit that, finding something wrong with it. But Seungcheol doesn’t seem to mind, admitting it as a simple fact, neither good nor bad. 

You like that about him, his self-assuredness. 

When he finds your largest pot, Seungcheol fills it with water and sets it over the stove. He pulls out ingredients for simple foods: rice, pasta, anything with carbs like you’d said. He hums under his breath as he moves, a soft, low sound that vibrates in your bones.

It’s soothing. Almost domestic. But every second that stretches between you builds like static, his very presence buzzing along your awareness like an exposed wire. 

Seungcheol brings you a cool glass of water and kneels to hand it to you, his fingers brushing yours when you reach out to take it. You try not to flinch at the bolt of electricity that jumps up your arm. His eyes linger on your face, reading you. Not pitying. Not worried. Just seeing. 

“You’re doing okay?” He asks, but by his tone, he knows you are. You nod, but your throat is dry again, so you take a few gulps of water, nearly emptying the glass. He laughs and reaches for it when some spills over, running down your chin. “Careful.”

Something in his voice changes. The softness of it ripples down your spine and you look at him over the brim of your glass. His scent is warmer. Closer. Still under control, but pressing at the edges of your awareness like velvet, his alpha instincts responding to your body chemistry, the need of your hormones begging for him. 

Seungcheol rises, keeping a respectful distance, and yet his gaze burns where it rests on you. He takes the glass from you, fingers brushing yours again before heading to the kitchen to refill it. 

It makes you unravel, every part of you unspooling wildly as you watch him in your kitchen, the muscles under his shirt flexing. He rolls his sleeves as he turns the stove off before coming back your way, forearms bare, veins throbbing. 

Arousal unravels inside of you. You feel the tip from Stage 1 to Stage 2, your heartbeat kicking up a notch, your hands shaking more. When Seungcheol offers the glass, you don’t take it. You stare at your hands, willing yourself to stop, willing yourself to stop wanting him. The fear of making him uncomfortable is so sudden, a wave crashing into you.

Seungcheol notices. He drops to his knees immediately, putting the glass of water on the coffee table. This time, he doesn’t hesitate when he touches you, putting his palm to your forehead, his other resting on top of your wrist, his thumb tracing back and forth soothingly. 

“What’s wrong?” His voice is like velvet. “What happened?”

Your lips part, but no words come. You try again. Nothing. You don’t know how to shape the words, don’t know how to tell him that a second ago, you thought he was domestic and sweet, and now you’ve strayed into dangerous territory, thinking that you’d like nothing more for him to pin you down and fuck you until you can’t feel anything but him anymore.

You don’t need to tell him. Seungcheol inhales and you see the shift happen, a shiver rattling through him. He closes his eyes, inhaling again. A knowing, almost pained sound grumbles in the back of his throat and you squirm in response. He drops his hand from your head to your shoulder, fingers squeezing. 

“I’m sorry.”

His eyes snap open and he looks up at you, deadly serious. “Hey. No shame. Not with me. You told me to help, didn’t you? Let me do that.”

You nod, small and shaky. He lingers for a second longer, like he's giving you a chance to back out, then slowly rises, curling an arm around your back. You lean into him instinctively, your body already seeking contact, and he lifts you with ease.

Your bedroom isn’t far, but the walk feels endless, every footstep echoes with your racing pulse. You can feel his scent thickening around you, not overpowering, but present, comforting. It keeps you tethered, grounded. You cling to him in silence, your skin flushed hot, thighs pressing together in search of friction, your heart betraying you in its longing.

He places you gently on your bed, kneeling down beside you. For a long moment, he doesn’t touch you. He just watches, reading your every breath, every twitch of discomfort.

At first, you don’t do anything but stare at him. Seungcheol is so beautiful, with a plush mouth made for kissing, long eyelashes that frame gentle eyes, a dimple that appears each time he smiles. You’ve always noticed him, this quiet and soft alpha in your office. You’d never imagined you’d be here, looking up at him with want in your gut so strong that you can barely stand it.

Seungcheol senses it, because of course he does. He surges forward, catching your mouth in a gentle kiss. It’s slow and uncertain at first, hesitating to see if you pull away. You don’t pull away at all. Instead, you keen, a whine slipping between your mouths that makes him groan in response.

He deepens the kiss slowly, reverently. His lips are soft but sure, his hands careful as they frame your face. He tastes faintly of cherry chapstick, your omega running wild as you lean into him and lick into his mouth, eager to taste him. 

“Is this what you want?” He asks, panting as he breaks the kiss. He’s leaning onto your bed now, pressing his nose against yours. You feel him pant against you, barely contained. You nod, unable to speak. “Even if this goes further?”

“Please.” 

That one word seems to break him. He climbs up into your bed, hovering over you, pinning you to the mattress. You let out a sound of appreciation as he settles, his mouth meeting yours again. This time, there’s heat in it. One hand roams you carefully while the other is planted by your head, keeping him looming over you. Every touch eases the ache and stokes the fire in equal measure. 

You can’t get enough of him, running your hands over his stomach and around his waist, pulling at him, desperate. It feels like you’re burning up, both suffering and relieved at the same time as his tongue finds the warmth of your mouth, drinking you in. 

His scent is rich and spicy, unmistakably alpha. It makes your omega instincts claw at you, urging you to submit, to bare your neck. You tilt your head, exposing the sensitive skin, and Seungcheol growls low, his lips brushing the pulse point before he nips gently, not enough to mark but enough to make you shudder. Your slick pools between your thighs, the air thick with your arousal, and he groans again, nostrils flaring as he catches the scent.

“Fuck,” he growls, burying his face in your neck. It might be the first time you’ve heard him curse. “The sounds you make… fuck.”

Seungcheol’s tongue darts out, sweeping against your scent gland. His head snaps up and he frowns, realizing there’s a scent blocker on your neck. His lip curls like he’s offended, and he gently peels the pad off your neck, soothing the sting as the adhesive tears off with his warm, wet tongue. 

His tongue directly against your neck nearly makes you catatonic. Your eyes roll back, breath catching as he mouths at you before pressing warm, open-mouthed kisses up and down your neck. 

“You smell so fucking good,” he mutters, more to himself than to you. 

His hand slides down your body, fingers dipping beneath the waistband of your pants. You arch into his touch, a needy whimper escaping as his fingers find your slick-soaked panties. He teases you, fingers circling slowly, pressing the fabric of your underwear into your messy cunt.

“Please,” you pant. 

There’s that word again. It seems to make him malfunction, makes him bend to your will. He nods, peppering your collarbones with butterfly-light kisses as he pulls your underwear to the side. His fingers drag up and down your cunt and you squeeze your eyes shut. Your arms circle around his neck, clinging to him for dear life, hips canting as he leisurely circles your clit, applying subtle pressure. 

“Feel okay?” He asks, breathing the words into your ear. His teeth nip at your ear playfully and you gasp, making him chuckle deep in his throat. “Do you want-”

“Please.” 

He kisses your jaw. “Got it.” 

Seungcheol presses a finger into your heat, wet and slow, aided by the arousal dripping from your entrance.  The stretch is perfect, his fingers curling just right, and you gasp, hips bucking against his hand. 

You whine, clutching at his shoulders, nails digging into his shirt. He hums in response, pleased at your reaction. He slowly starts to pump his fingers, restricted by the waistband of your sweats. His thumb swirls against your clit and you hurtle toward an orgasm from the barest stimulation, already too worked up, too fucked out on him and his fingers and the hormones. 

Your body sings under his touch, heat coiling tighter, your omega keening for more, for him, for everything. His lips find yours again, mouths clashing as he slips another finger in, working you open until you’re shaking in his grasp and coming around his fingers. You hear the wet smack of his hand against your pussy, the way his fingers squelch. 

You don’t have the wherewithal to be embarrassed by it. Instead, you’re floating in a fucked out haze, the world dulling. There’s just Seungcheol’s lazy tongue in your mouth and the smell of bergamot and cardamom. The weight of him on you feels safe, setting you in a trance. 

Slowly, he pulls his fingers from you. You make a noise of protest but he hushes you with a gentle kiss. You feel a little more aware as the orgasm subsides, the ache you’d had a few moments ago dulled by the satisfaction. You know it’ll get worse and you’ll need more, but for now, you’re okay. 

You open your mouth to give a shy thank you when you’re stopped, entranced by the way Seungcheol brings his fingers, shining with your cum, up to his mouth. Your lips part in shock as he pops them past his lips, sucking generously. He hums, eyelids fluttering shut as he licks them clean. 

Never had you imagined that, imagined him like this. When he opens his eyes, his pupils are dilated. Starving. Feral. 

“Taste so fucking good,” He murmurs, leaning down to give you a lingering kiss. You taste yourself on him, different but not unpleasant. “Can’t wait to taste you properly later.” That makes you whine and you reach for him, but he smiles and kisses your nose before standing up. You pout and he laughs. “Water. You need water.” 

Seungcheol leaves your room but he leaves the door open just in case. You nuzzle into the bed, fisting the jacket he’d given you earlier as you nuzzle into it. You wish the bed smelled more like him. Right now it just smells like you, with bits of Seungcheol laced in. 

You close your eyes, letting your body melt into the sheets, muscles pleasantly sore and mind hazy with velocetin, a neurochemical that heightens arousal and reduces pain perception during Stage 2 of an omega’s heat cycle. The room is quiet, save for the distant hum of the AC and the faint creak of the floorboards as Seungcheol moves through the house.

When he comes back, Seungcheol is holding a bottle of water in one hand and something else in the other. A bowl of mac and cheese. He brandishes both proudly before sitting on the bed next to you. You prop yourself up on the pillows, looking at him through your lashes.

"Figured you might need both,” he says. 

You shake your head. “Just water.”

“You haven’t eaten dinner.”

“Don’t wanna.”

He levels a look at you. Switches tactics. “It would make me feel better if you did,” he urges gently. He puts the water on the nightstand, bowl of mac and cheese in his lap. He reaches out and brushes his fingers along your bottom lip. “Please.”

That word hangs in the air between you, both a pleasantry and a weapon. You feel the way he means it, the way it would make him feel better if you ate. You nod, sitting up with his careful assistance until you’re leaning against the headboard. 

Seungcheol stabs some of the pasta and lifts his hand before pausing, realizing he was about to feed you. You both flush, averting his eyes and handing you the bowl awkwardly, you trying not to put it down and jump him at the thought of him wanting to care for you this way.

Instead, you bite into the mac and cheese. It’s a little salty, but it’s good. You eat the entire bowl in comfortable silence, Seungcheol holding out the bottle of water for you in exchange for your empty dish. You trade and you chug some of the water, letting it keep you cool.

“I guess I didn’t realize how much of an appetite I had,” you note, sagging into the pillows. You feel good. Far better than you ever have when dealing with your cycle alone. 

He grins, cocky and unrepentant. “Guess I fixed that, huh?”

You roll your eyes, but you’re grinning too. “Shut up.”

“I could,” he says, climbing back into bed beside you, “but then I wouldn’t get to hear you whine like that.”

You flush at the memory, at the way your body still responds to his voice alone. He notices, of course he does, and his smile softens. One hand finds your waist, tugging you closer until you're nestled against him again.

“Take a nap,” he murmurs, leaning back into the headboard. “You need rest.” 

“What about you?”

He smiles softly. “I’m good right where I am.”

-

You wake to the sound of voices. For a moment, you're disoriented, wrapped in sheets that smell faintly like Seungcheol and sweat and a myriad of other scents familiar to you from years of heat cycles. It’s still dark in your room, only the glow of a neon sign outside slipping through your blinds a source of illumination. 

You roll over instinctively, reaching for Seungcheol and you freeze. The spot where he was when you had fallen asleep is now vacant. Cold, like he hadn’t been there in the last hour. 

Panic lances through your chest, so painful that it feels like a physical blow. You all but fall out of bed, heart hammering when you realize he left. He’s gone and you’re alone and you don’t know what to do, terror working its way up your throat. 

Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe everything he said was just talk. You squeeze your eyes shut, trying to silence the rush of doubt, of fear- until you hear it again. Voices. Voices that had woken you up in the first place, momentarily forgotten by a hormone-addled brain and sleep. 

The door is shut to your room but you reach for it now, cracking it open. Dim light floods through the gap. All the lights in your apartment are off, but the single bulb over your stove is burning, a warm golden glow filtering down the hall. 

Sticking your head out, you see Seungcheol standing at your door. It’s mostly closed, just enough for him to block the gap with whoever he’s talking to. His broad back is facing you and you cock your head, puzzled. You can see the tension rippling through him, the way his hackles rise and the rigid way he stands, like he’s barring entry to something important. 

“Yeah, you’ve been really helpful,” Seungcheol growls. There’s a low, dangerous edge to his voice that you’ve never heard before. It sets the hairs on your arm standing. 

“Relax, man.” You don’t recognize the voice on the other side of the door. It’s playful, distinctly male. “I brought you your shit, didn’t I? You’re acting like I came to steal her.”

Seungcheol bristles. “Out, Soonyoung.” 

“Okay, okay,” Soonyoung - whoever that is - says. “Message received. You don’t have to piss on the doormat, Cheol.”

“I just might.”

You can’t help the small sound that escapes you, half laugh, half sigh of relief. 

Seungcheol’s head whips around at the sound, eyes immediately softening when they land on you. “Hey,” he says, voice gentler now, but still tight with emotion. “You should be resting.”

You pad down the hallway toward him. Each step closer makes the fire inside of you return. You feel the throb come back, needing more, subtle but growing. “I thought you left.”

His entire expression changes, and he’s at your side in an instant. “No. No, baby,” he says, cupping your face with both hands. “I just went to the door. I called Soonyoung for some clothes and stuff. I wasn’t leaving. I wouldn’t leave you like that.”

Baby. He says it so naturally, so unconsciously, that you’re not even sure he realizes it slipped out. But it hits you like a warm wave, softening every edge of panic still clinging to your chest. Your knees wobble slightly, and he notices. His hands slide from your face to your waist, grounding you there, steady and sure. He pulls you closer, and you melt into him, breathing him in.

Not gone. Not alone. He’s right here with you, like he said he would.

“Sorry. I just panicked.”

“No, it’s my fault. I should have known you’d wake up.”

A throat clears behind him. 

You both freeze, and then Seungcheol stiffens, the muscles under your hands tensing like a drawn bowstring. His eyes narrow behind his glasses as he turns his head, keeping you tight against him, chest to chest, like a shield. A low, warning growl rumbles from deep in his throat.

“Soonyoung was just leaving,” Seungcheol asserts. 

“Soonyoung is leaving, but also says he hopes your cycle goes well!”

Carefully, you peek around Seungcheol to see Soonyoung in the doorway. He’s standing in the doorway with a duffel slung over his shoulder, unbothered and grinning. His dark hair is long around his ears, and his eyes curve into soft crescents when he smiles. He waves at you, the gesture so sincere it makes you falter, like he’s genuinely happy to see you, even though you’ve clearly never met.

“Nice to meet you!” 

Another warning growl vibrates through Seungcheol’s chest. You feel it more than hear it.

Soonyoung just rolls his eyes. “Alright, alright, relax.” He lifts his hands in mock surrender as he backs away. “Let me know if he starts brooding in corners or being unbearable. Happens when he doesn’t get enough attention.”

“Bye, Soonyoung,” Seungcheol grits out. 

Soonyoung flashes one last wink and manages to pull the door shut just before Seungcheol fully turns to kill him. He exhales sharply and mutters something under his breath.

You look up at him, a teasing smile on your lips. “Territorial much?”

His ears flush instantly, color blooming down to his neck. He chews the inside of his cheek, gaze dropping.  “I apologize,” he murmurs, stepping away. “I know I’ve overstepped and-”

“Don’t,” you interrupt, reaching to pull him back, hands curling into his sides. “I liked it.” His brows lift, uncertain. You offer a soft smile. “I don’t think I’ve seen that side of you before. You’re usually so calm. Quiet. Kind of unassuming. Not very…”

“Not very alpha.”

“Not in the way people expect. But that’s not a bad thing.” He studies you for a moment, searching your expression, and something in his shoulders loosens. “I like the way you are. And the possessiveness…” 

You shiver and he grins, cockiness returning to you. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Definitely.” 

His hands slide back to your waist, gripping just a little firmer this time. “You shouldn’t have told me that. Now I’m not going to be able to stop.”

“I don’t want you to. Please.” 

Seungcheol forgets all about his bag by the door. He scoops you up in his arms, taking you back to your room. You let out a soft sound, something almost like a purr, keening under him, excitement and arousal flooding you overtime. 

He notices, groaning when he catches the change in your body chemistry. He places you down on the bed gently, crawling over you, hand skimming up your t-shirt as he does. His fingers are warm and light, playful. You don’t want playful, though. You want greedy. Hungry. 

The buzz of anticipation curls low in your belly, heat blooming under your skin like wildfire. You arch into him instinctively, hips twitching. “Don’t play with me,” you breathe, reaching up to fist the fabric at his sides. “Please.”

Something flickers in his eyes. Recognition, you think. Like he sees the hunger gnawing inside of you and he recognizes it as his own. You want it, want that fire in him. You want to dive in head first and never come up for air. You want him so bad it hurts, a physical pain manifesting between your legs as your thoughts drift away and your instinct takes over.

“Please,” is all you can whisper. 

That’s all it takes. The control he’s been clinging to snaps like a thread pulled too tight. He crashes his mouth onto yours, swallowing your moan as his body presses down, heavy and solid, every inch of him demanding to be closer. His kiss is nothing like the ones before, this one is rough, consuming, all tongue and teeth and need. His hands slide up your sides, pushing the shirt higher, until the fabric is bunched at your ribs and he can finally touch bare skin.

His palms are searing, dragging up your waist to your ribs, brushing just beneath your breasts before he groans deep in his throat, your scent thick in the air now, laced with heat, need, you.

“You smell so fucking good,” he growls, mouth trailing hot, wet kisses down your throat. “It’s driving me insane.”

You thread your fingers into his hair, tugging just enough to make him groan again, his hips pressing into yours, and you gasp at the hardness you feel through his pants. He’s still in his work clothes, though they’re wrinkled and sweaty and a mess. You tug at them desperately, whining, trying to get them off. 

He growls again, low and possessive, and then he’s kissing you hard, his body rolling against yours in slow, grinding movements. His thigh slots between yours, pinning you in place, and the friction makes your back arch, chasing more.

“Tell me what you want,” he mutters against your mouth, one hand cupping your breast through the thin fabric of your bra, his thumb brushing over your nipple. “I’ll give you anything, baby. Anything.”

There’s that nickname again. Baby. It sounds sinful on his lips, like he’d do anything for you, like he would give anything for you. It makes you dizzy with gluttonous power and you pant, pulling him as close as you can get him, a button popping on his shirt. 

“I want you. Now.”

Seungcheol’s eyes darken, pupils blown, and he pulls back just enough to kneel above you. His gaze rakes over you, flushed, trembling. He makes a sound, something pitiful, hands trembling slightly as his fingers work the buttons of his shirt. 

He shrugs his shirt off, the fabric catching on broad shoulders before it falls, revealing hard planes of his chest, skin flushed with a thin sheen of sweat. His muscles flex when he moves, every line of him radiating strength. Your mouth waters, arousal pooling between your legs, screaming to touch him, to taste him. 

He doesn’t rush, though. His fingers linger on his belt, unbuckling it with deliberate slowness, the clink of metal loud in the charged silence. Your hips shift, impatient. He tuts at you, narrowing his eyes and you still immediately, falling into line, eager to please. His mouth twitches and he drops a hand to give your thigh a squeeze as if to say good job.

It makes you want to pass out. 

Seungcheol slides his belt free, letting it drop, and when he unbuttons his pants, the sound of his zipper is tortuous. You want him immediately, you want him now, but he seems dead set on doing this at exactly his pace. So you let him, letting the ache peak inside of you, shivering at what you know he’s going to give you. 

He carefully shoves his pants down, kicking them alongside his briefs in one fell swoop. His cock springs free, thick and heavy, the tip glistening with precum. Your core clenches at the sight, a fresh wave of slick dripping from you, and he groans, nostrils flaring as he catches the scent.

“God, you’re perfect,” he says, voice low. He peels your sweats down your legs, shaking his head as he goes, overwhelmed by the sheer need for him, to your body's reaction. “Fuck.”

He crawls back over you, hands skimming your sides, sliding up to peel your shirt off of you. The air is cold but Seungcheol’s touch is burning you up. He deftly removes your bra, tossing it somewhere behind him. He pauses, eyes locked on you, and the intensity of his gaze makes your breath catch. It’s like he can’t get enough of you, cannot fathom what’s in front of him.

Seungcheol shakes himself as if from a daze and then his mouth is on you, lips trailing fire down your throat, over your collarbone, until he reaches your breast. He takes a nipple into his mouth, sucking gently, tongue swirling, and you moan, back arching to press closer.

His worship is meticulous, unhurried. He lavishes attention on your other breast, teeth grazing just enough to make you gasp, while his hand slides down, fingers brushing the sensitive skin of your inner thigh. You’re trembling, omega instincts in overdrive, and when his fingers finally find your slick-soaked folds, you cry out, hips bucking into his touch. He groans against your skin, the sound vibrating through you, and pulls back to look at you, eyes blazing.

“Yeah?” He asks, voice scratchy. “So wet for me.” His fingers tease, spreading your slick, circling your clit with maddening slowness. “All for me?”

“Yes. Yours.”

Hearing you say it makes something snap in him. His pupils dilate, fucked out and filled with an intensity you didn’t know was possible. He dips lower, kissing a path down your stomach, nipping at the soft skin above your hips. He settles between your thighs, spreading them wide, and the sight of him there, all broad shoulders, dark eyes, and lips parted, makes your core throb. 

He doesn’t tease this time, reaching up with one hand to rip off his glasses and toss them to the corner of the mattress. He drops down and his mouth finds you, tongue dragging a slow, deliberate line through your folds, and you moan, loud and broken, as he tastes you. Relief floods through you. You feel yourself go boneless, the pain that was ebbing in you a moment ago dulling again as Seungheol leisurely tongues at you, groaning while he does. 

Seungcheol is relentless, worshipful, every lick and suck a testament to his need to please you. His lips close around your clit, sucking gently, then harder, and you writhe, fingers tangling in his hair, tugging hard. He moans into you, the vibration sending sparks up your spine, and doubles down, tongue flicking with precision, lapping up every drop of slick. His fingers join in, two slipping inside you, curling against that perfect spot, and the stretch, the pressure, is overwhelming.

You gasp, hips grinding against his face, chasing the building heat in your stomach. He hums, pleased, and the sound pushes you closer to the edge. He’s messy, slick coating his chin, his lips. He doesn’t care. He seems drunk on it, one hand pressing your thighs to further open you up, pressing his face further into your cunt to drink you in. 

His fingers thrust in time with his tongue, every curl and suck calculated to make you unravel. You shiver under him, your limbs unable to keep up, thighs twitching against his hand. It feels maddening, better than anything you’ve ever felt up until this point. 

Your orgasm hits like a tidal wave, dragging you under until you’re gasping for air. Your thighs clamp around his head and he lets you. He laps at your entrance as it drips, drawing out every shudder, every pulse, until you’re whimpering and overstimulated. 

Even overstimulated, you want more. Need more. 

Seungcheol pulls back, lips glistening, eyes wild. He pulls his fingers from you and crawls up to kiss you, letting you taste yourself on his tongue. The kiss is filthy, desperate, and you moan into it, pulling him closer. 

“Need you,” you gasp, hands roaming his back, feeling the muscles flex under your fingertips, your nails cramping. “Need you inside of me. Please.”

He nods, unable to respond. He lowers his waist and drops a hand down to peel your thighs open. You feel how wet and messy you are but you don’t care. Seungcheol seems to appreciate it, swearing when he looks between your bodies to fist his heavy cock and line himself up with your entrance. 

The anticipation makes you tremble. He pushes in slowly, stretching you inch by inch, and you both groan, the sensation overwhelming. He’s big, filling you completely, and your walls flutter around him, slick easing the way.

“Fuck,” he grits out, dropping his forhead against yours. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck.”

Seungcheol fights to keep still, fights to let you adjust around him. You’re stretched tight, gripping him like a vice, your breathing hitched as you struggle yourself, near ready to come from just this alone. 

You manage to hang on, tangling your fingers in the damp hair at the base of his neck. You need more - always more. You start rocking your hips, urging him deeper. It feels so good you see spots in your vision. He moans and thrusts hard on instinct, bottoming out. 

The pace builds, his hips snapping, each thrust precise and deep, hitting that spot that makes you see stars. The pressure builds so fast you barely register it, chasing your high and whatever he’ll give you, your omega instincts screaming for it. 

He can tell. He quickens his pace, trying to get you there faster. It does the trick, because you come around him without warning. You pulse around him and he slows down, grinding his hips against you, letting you gush around him until your shaking subsides. 

Seungcheol is still rock hard, cock throbbing. Your forehead rests against his forearm, Seungcheol leaning over you, caging you in.

“Can you take more?” You nod but he shakes his head, nosing your temple. “You have to verbally tell me.”

“Can take more.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.”

He kisses your temple and picks his pace back up. 

It’s slower, but more defined. Deep. Seungcheol’s stroke is slow and deliberate, one of his hands slipping under your thigh to hike it up around his waist. That makes you whine, high-pitched and he loves it, mouth catching yours, drinking in all the sounds you make. 

You’re close again, the pleasure building faster now, amplified by the way he watches you, eyes never leaving your face, like he’s memorizing every gasp, every moan. His hand slips between you, fingers finding your clit, still swollen from his mouth, and he rubs tight, relentless circles.

“Want you to come again,” he murmurs, voice raw. There’s a bit of a command in his voice, laced with something you swear is devotion. “Wanna feel you, baby. Give it to me.” 

His words and the relentless drive of his cock are too much. You whimper, nails digging into his back and he leans down, lips brushing against your neck. Not biting - that’s far too advanced for whatever this is - and his fingers press harder, circling faster.

The coil in your belly snaps and your second orgasm crashes through you, sharper and more intense. Your body locks around him, walls pulsing as you come again. He groans, low and guttural, pleased by the way you clench around him. But he doesn’t stop, fucking you through it. 

You’re shaking and oversensitive, but he’s not done. His thrusts are slow and deliberate, keeping you tethered. 

“So good for me,” he praises, kissing your sweaty forehead. “So fucking perfect. You did so good.”

The praise makes your omega sing, and you cling to him, breathless, as he chases his own release. His hips stutter, breaths growing ragged, and with a final, deep thrust, he comes, spilling inside of you. He groans, dropping his forehead against you, shaking in your arms as he comes down from his high. 

Finally, he collapses over you, careful not to crush you. You stay like that, a pile of tangled limbs, panting. His lips find your neck, kissing softly, soothing spots he’d nipped. 

“You okay?” He croaks, voice hoarse with disuse.

You’re only slightly coherent, somewhere stuck between a dreamlike space where your omega is satiated and reality. “Yeah,” you whisper. “Good.”

“I’m gonna grab water, okay? I’ll only be gone for a second. Just gonna get water and then we can sleep for a little.” 

“Mhmm.”

Seungcheol is hesitant this time when he gets up, no doubt worried about what happened the last time you thought he left. This time, you’re too out of it to really register how long it takes him to get water. One moment he’s out the door and the next the bed is dipping under his weight as he cradles your head to feed you water.

It’s cool and you come back to life a little, opening your eyes as you gulp, greedy. He admonishes you to be careful not to choke, tilting the glass so that the water isn’t gushing into your mouth. When you drain the glass, he smiles and kisses you. 

“Good,” he hums, happy. That makes you beam at him, thrilled that he’s pleased. “More?”

You shake your head. “Tired.”

“Okay. Let me change the sheets - don’t move. I’ll work around you, okay?”

Somehow, he manages to. With a careful series of rolling you to the side and lifting you to slide new sheets under you, Seungcheol executes an impressive sheet change without really bothering you. He disappears once more to throw the spent sheets in the wash. 

Upon his return, you’re barely awake. You reach for him anyway, buried somewhere underneath piles of blankets that smell like him. Finally. 

Seungcheol lets you pull him into bed, sliding across the mattress until you’re flush chest to chest, the beating of his heart against yours. He smells good. Content. Happy. Your eyes blink heavily as you breathe him in, all pain forgotten.

“Sleep,” he mumbles, just as tired. “I’m not going anywhere.” 

-

When you wake up again, you’re not really sure what time it is. All you know is that there is orange light burning through your blinds, something like late afternoon. More important, there’s an ache between your legs and there’s sweat on the back of your neck, already restless from whatever dream had woken you up.

The room is quiet, save for the soft rhythm of your breathing and Seungcheol’s steady exhales beside you. His arm is draped loosely over your waist. His scent is warm and spicy, grounding you. But beneath that cool calm his presence brings is a restless heat simmering, starting in your core and spreading to your limbs.

You try to ignore it, shutting your eyes and willing yourself back to sleep. It doesn’t go away, an ache growing in its place. A whine slips through your lips, despite your best efforts. The sound is small, but piercing through the stillness and before you can tamp down on it, Seungcheol is stirring, arm tightening briefly before he’s hooking a chin over your shoulder. 

“What’s the matter, baby?” He asks, voice low and rough with sleep. “You okay?”

His fingers brush back and forth across your waist. It’s supposed to be soothing but it’s almost maddening. 

“Feel hot. Need you.”

Seungcheol presses a kiss to the back of your shoulder. You feel the curve of his smile. “I’ve got you.”

He moves slowly, peeling the sheets back. His hands are reverent, skimming your thighs and parting them as he settles between them. The air feels electric, every brush of his skin against yours sending sparks through you.

Like always, Seungcheol takes his time. His lips start at your knee, kissing softly, then trailing higher, nipping the sensitive flesh of your inner thigh. You whimper, hips twitching, needy and desperate, and he hums, pleased. 

“So needy,” he teases. You’re not embarrassed this time, knowing that with him, there’s nothing to be worried about. 

He spreads your legs wider, exposing your warm, wet core. He bites his lower lip, teeth digging into the flesh as he groans, like he’s trying to fight himself on diving in and taking what he wants versus giving you what you need. 

The first pass of Seungcheol’s tongue is slow and deliberate, a long, slow-soft drag through your folds that makes you gasp, hands fisting the sheets. He hums, the vibration making you twitch. His lips close gently around your clit, giving an experimental suck. You cry out and he grins, dragging his tongue to dip back down to your entrance for a taste.

Seungcheol is relentless, his mouth working you with a devotion that borders on obsession. His tongue traces every inch of you, slow and thorough, lapping up your slick like it’s the sweetest thing he’s ever tasted. He alternates between broad, languid strokes and precise flicks, learning your reactions, lingering where you tremble most. His hands grip your thighs, keeping you open, grounding you as you writhe, the slick coating his chin and lips only spurring him on.

“Fuck,” he mutters, pulling away for a second. He leans over your cunt and lets a string of spit and cum drip from his swollen mouth to your cunt before chasing it with his tongue. “I could stay here forever.”

He dives back in, tongue pressing into you, fucking you with slow, shallow thrusts of his mouth. Your moans are broken, and he takes it as encouragement, running his tongue in lazy circles, tasting all of you. Just as you start to near a soft high, his fingers join in, pressing in gently, making your vision blurry. 

The first orgasm builds fast, your body already primed from the restless heat of your sleep. His fingers pump in time with his tongue, relentless, and when he sucks hard on your clit, you shatter. A cry tears from your throat, hips bucking against his face as slick gushes, your walls clenching around his fingers. He doesn’t stop, lapping through your tremors, drawing out every pulse until you’re shaking, oversensitive, whimpering his name.

“One more, baby,” he murmurs, voice thick. “You can give me one more.”

You can. He knows it. You know it.

His mouth softens, less intense but no less thorough, kissing your folds gently before returning to your clit with slow, teasing licks. Your body protests, too sensitive, but the heat is already building again, coaxed by his worshipful attention. He’s patient, methodical, every movement calculated to keep you on the edge without overwhelming you. His fingers slide back in, slower this time, curling lazily, and you feel the stretch, the fullness.

Your second orgasm creeps up, slower but deeper, a steady wave that builds as he works you with unwavering focus. His tongue flicks faster, lips sealing around your clit, and when he hums, the vibration tips you over. You come with a sob, less sharp but more intense, your whole body trembling as pleasure rolls through you, slick coating his hand, his mouth. He laps at you softly, easing you through it, until you’re boneless, panting, your omega sated.

Seungcheol’s kisses turn languid, worshipping, cleaning up the mess he made, savouring every drop. Your hands loosen in the sheets and he finally pulls back, crawling back up to the bed, pressing scattered, wet kisses up your body as he does. 

“Better?” He asks when he reaches your face, nose brushing against yours. 

“Thank you.”

He smiles, dimples flashing, and settles beside you, pulling you into his chest. His scent surrounds you, grounding, and you feel the bond pulse, warm and steady.

“Rest a little. Then we’ll shower.”

-

The shower fills with steam and the scent of eucalyptus. Fog covers the shower door as hot water runs over you and Seungcheol. His broad frame stands behind you, hands gentle but firm as he massages shampoo into your hair, working slow circles into your scalp. You lean into his touch, eyes fluttering closed. 

If only for a moment, it’s perfect. Almost too perfect, which makes your chest tighten with a quiet ache. This is just Seungcheol helping you through your heat, a temporary balm for a fire that will ultimately flare again.

You don’t know how you ever did this without him before. Don’t know how you’re going to manage to do it without him in the future. After just a day, Seungcheol has flipped your scope of the world upside down, changing your heat cycle entirely. 

Typically, it’s days of foggy suffering with suppressants to numb you. It’s a listlessness that chases you for days until your hormones are right again, until you can feel the sun on your face and let it make you smile. 

Now, you don’t know what it’s supposed to be. 

You turn to face Seungcheol. Water is streaming down his chest, catching the sculpted lines of his front. Each droplet clings to him in a way you understand - you want to cling to him too.

Seungcheol is breathtaking, all strength and quiet care. It’s a wonder that someone so powerful can also be so gentle. He’s unlike anything you expected, and breaks the norms of what you thought having an alpha help you through your heat might be like.

You don’t fool yourself into thinking there’s anyone else like him. You already know that this is just him, just Seungcheol. It makes a flicker of fear come to life in your chest, wondering what will happen when your heat fades and the intimacy here dissolves like the water flowing down the drain. 

You push the thought down. Gliding your hands over his chest, your fingers chase the droplets of water, feeling the steady pulse of his heart beneath your palm. It makes you ache with need again, an always there need for him coming back to life.

Heat cycles are like that. They’re made up of peaks and lows, moments where the need is so high it drives you insane followed by a near catatonic need to drift and sleep. 

Now, you’re approaching another peak, pulse picking up, body thrumming.

Seungcheol senses the shift immediately. He’s attuned to you quickly, but you refuse to let yourself wonder what that means. He steps closer, hands pulling at your waist, dipping his head to brush his mouth against yours in an almost kiss. 

His eyes darken with a mix of concern and something darker. “What’s that look?”

He steps closer, pressing you against the tiled wall, water pooling where your bodies meet. The warmth of him, the slickness of his skin, feels like a dream you’re terrified to wake from. You don’t answer, can’t. Your hands dip lower, tracing the hard ridge of his abdomen, and he tenses, breath catching. 

“Baby,” he warns, voice rough. There’s no real protest there. Just a playful warning, edged with want. 

The endearment hits you like a spark, igniting you.  You can’t get enough of it when he calls you that, when he says it velvet-soft and purring, when he says it like you are his baby. His world. His omega.

You sink to your knees, tiles cold and wet beneath you. You look up at him through wet lashes, biting your lower lip, hesitant, wanting permission. His cock is already hard - has been the entire time you’ve been in the shower - and the sight pulls a whine from your throat. You want to taste him. Want to make him feel good. 

“Please,” you ask, still unmoving, hands resting on your thighs.

The way he looks at you - everent, undone - makes you feel like you’re everything, even if part of you whispers that this is just your heat talking, just his alpha responding to your need.

Seungcheol nods. He places one hand to brace against the wall as you lean in to press soft kisses to the base of his shaft, lips brushing his warm skin. He groans, the sound deep and raw, and it sends a tremble of excitement through you. 

Your tongue traces the underside of his cock, following a thick vein from base to tip. You swirl your tongue greedily around the crown of his cock, tasting the faint salt of him. It’s intoxicating, perfect, and you let yourself sink into it, humming pleasantly. 

One of his hands comes down to rest on top of your head, not pulling, not pushing, just anchoring himself as you take him into your mouth. You go slow, savoring the weight of him. He’s big, stretching your mouth painfully to the limit, but you relax, breathing in through your nose. 

“Shit,” he hisses. “Shit fuck. That mouth.”

The praise makes your omega preen. You hum again, the vibration making his hips twitch as you build a steady rhythm, head bobbing, tongue working the underside of his cock while your hand wraps around the base, stroking in sync. 

Water rains down on you, making everything fluid. Your lips glide effortlessly around him, your grip on him firm, squeezing gently as your hand meets your mouth on the upstroke. His groans grow louder, more desperate, hips twitching but never taking control of your pace. His fingers tighten on your head, and yet he remains in control of himself, letting you take what you want. 

“Fuuuck, just like that,” He pants, head tipping back. Water falls down his throat in rivulets. The sight of him, vulnerable and unraveling, makes your pussy throb, a wave of arousal running down your thighs and mixing with the water. 

You take him in deeper until your nose brushes his pelvis, swallowing around him. He makes a broken sound, half growl, half moan, and his hips finally jerk. You welcome his shallow thrusts eagerly, moaning around him, encouraging him.

Seungcheol looks down, eyes locking with yours. His are fucked out and fazed, the raw edge to his gaze making your heart beat faster. You pull back a little, focusing on the tip, sucking hard, tongue swirling. Your hand pumps faster and his breathing turns ragged, muscles in his stomach twitching. You know he’s close and it makes you grin up at him, mouth full of spit and precum.

“Gonna - fuck - come,” he warns, voice strained. 

You don’t pull away. You suck at him harder, desperate to give him this, to hold onto this perfect moment. With a guttural sound, he spills into your mouth. You swallow down every drop, lips sealed until he’s over sensitive and shying away from your mouth. 

Easing back, you look up at him, your knees aching. He pulls you to your feet and to his lips, pressing you into a kiss that’s deep and messy, tasting himself on your tongue. He licks into you, uncaring as he pulls you close to his chest. 

“So good,” he murmurs between kisses. “Such a sweet girl for me.” 

You grin as he turns you around, walking you forward so that you're pressed against the warm tile of the shower wall. “My turn.”

-

Soft, neon light filters in from your window, washing your room in a smear of watercolor. You fidget in bed, body coming alive, arousal starting in gentle waves, building the more your body catches up. Seungcheol is already awake beside you, sensing your need. His warmth is a quiet anchor.

Seungcheol’s lips brush your neck, nuzzling and scenting, his gentle possessiveness soothing your omega. You let out a soft sigh, going pliant for him. He hums, pleased at your easy submission, tongue darting out to lick your neck playfully. 

He’s tender, peppering your shoulder and neck with soft, wet kisses. Each one stokes the steady fire in your core and chest. The way he handles you is maddening, like you’re spun glass but he knows you can take whatever he gives you. Your omega preens and you shift closer, feeling the heat of him against you. 

This is different from earlier. At this point, you’ve lost count of how many times you’ve done this. You’ve lost track of time and the days. There’s just this: Seungcheol’s hand sliding down to lift your leg up for him, the thick head of his cock nudging your entrance, weeping and wanting for him. 

Then he slides in, slow and stretching you inch by inch, earning a dreamy exhale from your trembling lips. He grinds his hips against the curve of your ass, deep and languid, easing the ache between your legs. His strokes are measured and intimate, each one dragging against your walls, stoking the flames without rushing. 

You moan, breathy, as your slick coats his cock, the wet sounds of your bodies obscene in the silence of the room. His hand slides up, cupping your chest, thumb brushing back and forth over your nipple until it pebbles under his rapt attention. You arch into his touch, whimpering. 

“So good for me,” he murmurs against your neck. His voice is rough with sleep, just how you like it. 

Seungcheol keeps the pace slow, hips rolling lazily. It builds a steady burn. His lips find the pulse point below your ear, sucking gently, not enough to make tender, but enough to make you shiver, cunt leaking down your thighs.

You reach back, fingers sliding in his hair to tug softly. He groans, low and raspy, the sound sending a fresh wave of arousal through you. 

“Seungcheol,” you breathe, voice barely a whisper. “Cheol.” 

He hums, pleased at the nickname. He grinds deeper, the friction perfect and overwhelming as the tip of his cock brushes against the soft spot inside of you, making you unwind. 

Your eyes flutter open and you peer over your shoulder at him. The neon light catches the sweat on his skin, making him glow. You marvel at how beautiful he is, a powerful alpha, yours in this moment. Maybe not later, but you don’t think about that now, trembling as he brings you close to your orgasm like he’s done every time before.

His hand slips between your thighs, fingers seeking your clit, slick and swollen. He starts to circle the throbbing bud with agonizing slowness, matching the rhythm of his thrusts. The sensation is devastating, punching the breath from your lungs. You rock your hips to meet his, desperate for your undoing, needing to come. 

“Come on,” he urges, lips brushing your ear. He presses his fingers hard, circles them faster. Your breath catches and he feels it, deepening his thrusts, becoming more deliberate. “Come for me, baby.” 

The words mixed with the intoxicating feeling of his cock makes you shatter, a soft cry spilling out of your lips as your pussy pulse around him, soaking him thoroughly. He groans, fucking you through it, slow and steady, drawing out the full length of your orgasm until you’re boneless and barely there. 

But he’s not done. Seungcheol eases out carefully and shifts you onto your back. You blink, starry eyed and warm as you watch him slide down the bed and settle between your legs. Your thighs fall open at the sight of him and he groans, pleased at how you immediately know what he wants, ready to comply with your alpha.

No. Not your alpha. But he is right now and that’s all that matters.

Any fight on that subject vanishes as he kisses the soft skin of your inner thighs. His eyes are dark and burning when he looks up at you, pupils wide. 

“Need to taste you,” he murmurs, mostly to himself. 

Then, his mouth is one you, tongue dragging through your folds, lapping at the mess left over from your orgasm. It’s filthy, the way he moans into you, lips and chin glistening as he buries his face in your cunt. But it’s gentle, his tongue slow and worshipful, circling your clit.

It’s soothing, the way he moves, tongue tracing lazy patterns, circling your clit with no pressure, just presence. His hands rest on your hips, thumbs stroking the sensitive skin there, grounding you further. Your fingers find his hair, threading loosely, not pulling, just holding, and he groans softly, the sound muffled against you. The ache in your core softens, not gone but eased, replaced by a warm, liquid comfort that spreads through your limbs.

Seungcheol mouths at you with no purpose other than to soothe and because he can. He doesn’t seem focused on getting you off, isn’t trying to overstimulate you. It builds a soft glow anyway, your breathing hitching as he keeps going, tongue dipping lower to taste your entrance, letting you drift toward the edge without pushing you toward it. 

“Taste so good,” Seungcheol mumbles, mouth full of you. 

This time, your orgasm comes like a tide, not crashing but rising, warm and steady. You whimper, hips shifting and he holds you steady, one hand sliding up to lace his fingers with yours. You squeeze his hand tight, letting him keep you tethered as you come undone, throbbing softly. He drinks you in, tongue lapping and slow, easing you until you’re limp and sated, the ache finally gone. 

Seungcheol pulls back, mouth glistening neon in the low light. His eyes are heavy with something that you can’t read. When he crawls back up, you realize he’s come untouched, spilling his own release while getting you off. It makes your chest tighten, instincts purring at the proof of his want, his devotion to you. 

He slides in beside you, kissing your temple before pulling you close. 

“Better?” He rumbles, already half asleep.

“Better.”

-

“You have to eat.”

You huff. “Don’t want.” 

You’re curled up on the couch in one of his jackets, inhaling deeply. His scent makes you tired, limbs heavy. You tuck your knees to your chest, wrapping  your arms around them to make yourself small. The blanket over your shoulders is warm and smells like him, making you sink further into the cushions. 

Across the room, Seungcheol watches with thinly veiled amusement. He holds a steaming bowl in one hand, a spoon in the other. You love him like this, hair fluffy and still damp from a shower, glasses pushed high on the bridge of his nose as he glares at you.

“You need to eat,” he repeats gently. It has to be the third or fourth time he’s said it, each time just as gentle as the last. 

You grumble and turn away from him, hiding in your blankets. He sighs and pads over to you, dressed in nothing but sweatpants. Shirtless Seungcheol is a weapon in itself, but the way you smell him immediately, can tell he’s using pheromones against you, makes you growl at him. There’s no heat in it and he laughs. 

“Yeah?” He teases. “Gonna growl at me?”

“I’m tired.”

“I know,” he coos, voice dropping into that low, soft register that always seems to settle you. “Your body is working hard. But you still need to eat something, baby. For me.”

“Meh.”

“I’ll feed you.”

That sparks your interest. You peek out from your blankets with one eye, peering at him. He smiles, dimples appearing when he sees he’s got you listening now. His scent wraps around you, luring you deeper into his spell.

“What if I say no?”

“Then I’ll start pouting. I don’t care if I’m an alpha, I’m good at pouting.”

You can’t help the small laugh that escapes you. The image of him pouting is sweet. His smile grows, triumphant as he stands up to sit next to you on the couch. You sit up, squirming toward him. 

“There she is,” he hums, happy. “Open up that pretty mouth for me.”

-

Blue light flickers from the TV while golden light of the afternoon sun washes the room, peeking through the blinds. You’re curled into Seungcheol’s side, his arm around your shoulders and your legs tangled together beneath the shared blanket. Jurassic Park plays quietly in the background because you asked for something familiar, something comforting. 

Your heat is finally starting to fade, edging toward Stage 3. The decline leaves you exhausted, but the full haze of Stage 2 is lifting, leaving you with less thoughts of tangled bodies and tongues. You can feel it in the way your body no longer aches with desperation, clarity seeping in like a slow tide.

With the clarity comes unease. Because… Well, what now? 

Neither of you have brought it up, the what happens next. Everything still feels good, but it also feels fragile, like you’re balancing in the quiet moment between inhale and exhale, waiting for the next breath to shatter whatever this little bubble you’re in. 

Your fingers fidget lightly against his chest. He notices, as he always does, and his hand smooths down your arm in slow, comforting passes. You lean into him instinctively - you don’t know how you will ever unlearn this - basking in his warmth. 

But your thoughts keep spinning. 

You don’t know how to voice the big question, don’t know how to talk about it. Don’t know what the best approach is. So you pretend it isn’t there, staring at the TV screen with unseeing eyes, thoughts burning you from the inside out. 

Seungcheol senses it anyway. 

“What’s up?” He asks, lips pressed against the top of your head. His eyes are still on the screen, the movie reflected in the lense of his glasses.  

“Did you know the stegosaurus had brains the size of walnuts?” You ask suddenly, eyes fixed. “Built like a bus with a very small brain. It was like two ounces.”

“Really?”

You nod, grateful he doesn’t question why you’re talking about dinosaurs again. “Yep. For years people thought they had a second brain somewhere near the anus.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I’m serious. There’s an enlarged area near their hips and early scientists thought it must have been for a second brain because they couldn’t believe something with so much mass could operate with such a small brain. Turns out it wasn’t an ass-brain.”

He huffs. “Ass-brain would have been cool.”

“Right? I always hated that people thought they were docile too. They literally have massive spiked tails as a built in morning star and could beat predators' asses. People need to put respect on them.”

“Hmm. Sounds like we’re talking about more than dinosaurs here.” 

You go quiet. Your eyes flick toward the screen, but you’re not really seeing it. He’s not wrong. You chew your bottom lip, fingers playing with the edge of the blanket. 

Of course it isn’t just about dinosaurs. You’ve always admired creatures like that, misunderstood, underestimated. Not flashy, not predators, not something people are afraid of on instinct, but fierce all the same. Stubborn. Ready to dig their heels in and fight if they had to. 

Which is why you liked the stegosaur. You resonated with that. Maybe not the smartest or the strongest, but never easy to push over, always ready to bare teeth when push came to shove. It was why you liked working for Jeonghan, too, seeing a lot of that fight in him. 

Which brings you back to thinking about work, and that tomorrow is a new work day, and your heat will most likely be fully complete. And you’ll have to go back to… normal?

You don’t know.

“Why are you so nervous?” Seungcheol asks, bringing you out of your reverie. You look at him, eyes wide. He gives you a soft smile. “What, think I didn’t notice?” 

You hesitate. His face is open. Honest. He’s giving you no reason to hold back, no reason to hide from him. But what you have to say is scary. 

You take a deep breath and think about the stegosaurus. “Because my heat is fading. And I know things felt intense and - to me - special. I just… what happens after?”

“What do you mean?”

Tears prick your eyes and you curse your hormones for making you emotional. “When my heat is over, what then? We go back to normal? I’m… I don’t know. Having a heat partner is new to me, and I’m not begging you to stay or make you feel bad, I just-”

“Hey,” he interrupts, catching your face in his hands. His eyes are round, gentle. “I’m going to be honest, nothing is changing for me when your heat is over.” 

You blink in surprise. See nervousness flicker across his face when he says carefully, “I stayed because I wanted to help you. I - look, I was already a little soft for you. Now that I’m here, I like being with you, heat or no. Even when you’re talking about dinosaur ass-brains.” 

That makes you laugh and his smile lights up the room. “Really?”

“Really, baby.” 

His thumb brushes across your cheek, catching a single salty tear. “Unless you don’t want-”

“I want,” you insist. “I want so much. I have never wanted this much in my life.”

“Then I’ll stay. I’m yours.”

“Even if I start talking about ass-brains?”

“Even then.” 

The air in the room shifts, charged with something warm and unspoken. You move without thinking, surging forward and climbing into his lap where he sits on the couch. The soft fabric of his shirt brushes your thighs as you straddle him, your hands settling on his shoulders. He feels solid and warm beneath you.

Seungcheol’s hands find your hips, pulling you closer. Your forehead rests against his, breathes mingling, and for a second, you just stay there. Savoring the intimacy. Savoring his scent, bergamot and cardamom. 

“You’re sure?” You ask, voice small.

“Very sure.”

His hands slip upward, slow, under the hem of his hoodie. His fingers graze the sensitive skin of your waist, making you shiver as heat pools low between your legs. You lean in and kiss him softly, lips brushing, then pressing, slow and deliberate. 

You deepen the kiss, unhurried. His tongue traces the seam of your lips, tasting you, opening you up. You shift, grinding down on him gently, feeling the hardening length of him through his sweats. He makes a sound, soft and low, and it buzzes through your mouth. You feel yourself grow wet against your underwear and he sucks in a sharp breath, catching it. 

“Yeah?” He mumbles against your mouth, pulling back just enough to look at you. His eyes are fathomless but warm. His hands push the hoodie up and over your head, baring your chest to him. His eyes flicker and he curses. “You’re so perfect.”

You flush, shy under his gaze. His lips find your collarbone, kissing softly before drifting lower, trailing wet, open-mouthed kisses down the curve of your breast. Your head falls back as the cool air hits you, your eyes closed. 

He takes a nipple into his wanting mouth, tongue swirling, sucking gently. You gasp, hips rocking instinctively, grinding harder against him. The friction is delicious. He groans against your skin, sending sparks through you. 

Seungcheol’s hands stay on your hips, encouraging your slow, rolling movements. He doesn’t rush you. Doesn’t push. It’s soft, the couch slightly creaking under the weight of you. 

His mouth moves to the swell of your other break, lavishing it with the same care. His teeth graze just enough to make you whimper, your fingers tangling in his hair, holding him close. You feel slick drip down your thighs, not as heavily as before, but still just as ready for him. 

“Cheol,” you breath, voice shaky. 

He hums, lips sealed around your nipple. The wet buzz of his mouth makes you grind on him faster, chasing the heat in your belly. 

Seungcheol pulls back just enough to look up at you, eyes glassy. “Love watching you like this. Love feeling you. Want you like this.”

He pulls back just enough to tug at his sweatpants, shoving them down his thighs, his cock springing free, thick and heavy, the tip already glistening. You bite your lip, the sight making your core clench, and he catches the look, a soft smirk tugging at his mouth.

Carefully, he helps you kick your sweatpants off. You sit back in his lap, not bothering with your underwear. He pushes them to the side with a careful finger, his knuckle deliberately dragging over the wet heat of your pussy. 

“Fuck. Wet.”

You nod as he grabs the base of his cock, helping you sit high on your knees. He rubs the rib through your messy folds, both of you moaning in unison before the head catches your entrance and sticks. You sink down, taking him slowly, the stretch punching the breath from your lungs. 

His shirt stays on, bunched where you fist it against his chest. It is work, sitting on him fully. You feel him deep in your stomach, your breath turning ragged. You savor the fullness, hands tangled in his shirt. 

Taking a deep breath, you start to move. His hands grip your hips, not controlling but encouraging, letting you set whatever pace you want. His cock drags against your walls, smooth and fluid. His lips find your chest, mouthing at a nipple, sucking gently. 

Your nails dig into him through the fabric of his shirt, the wet heet of his mouth, the press of his cock, all of it driving you mad, sticky with sweat as you continue to use him however you want. 

He lets you, content to suck and mouth at your chest all the while. The couch creaks faintly, a quiet underscore to the soft filth of it all, your slick coating him, dripping down to soak his sweatpants, the way his shirt clings to his sweat-damp chest.

Pleasure builds, slow and warm, a glow that starts in your core and spreads. You grind deeper, chasing it, and he groans, head tipping back, eyes half-lidded but never leaving you.

“How could I ever wanna leave this?” He asks. “How could I ever want anything but the perfect omega?”

The words, the way he says them, tip you over, and your orgasm comes soft but deep, a gentle pulse that has you trembling, walls clenching around him, a quiet moan spilling from your lips.

The way you tighten pushes him to the edge, and he groans, low and broken, thrusting up once, twice, before he comes, hot and thick inside you. His hands grip you tighter, pulling you close, and you collapse against him, panting, forehead pressed to his, the fabric of his shirt sticking to your skin.

“Mine,” he assures you, giving you a gentle kiss. “Ass-brain and all.”

“Please,” you laugh. 

That single word makes him melt, makes him all soft at the edges. “Anything for you, baby.” 

-

The office feels noticeably cooler when you return, the hum of the air conditioning a welcome sound after days away. Cold air brushes the back of your neck as you step off the elevator, a stark contrast to the lingering warmth on your skin, not from the building, but from Seungcheol following close behind you.

Seungcheol’s presence is unmistakable. And people notice.

Jeonghan is the first. He’s perched near Wonwoo’s cubicle, half-lounging on the edge when he glances up and spots you. His gaze flicks from you to Seungcheol, then back again. His eyes widen. A slow grin spreads across his face, and he immediately points a finger.

“You-”

“Not a word,” Seungcheol warns, voice low as he slides a steadying hand to the small of your back and gently guides you toward your desk. Your cheeks heat, teeth sinking into your cheek to suppress a laugh as Jeonghan starts bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“We’re just walking, Jeonghan,” you mumble, feeling anything but casual.

“You’re glowing!”

Wonwoo straightens in his chair, peering over his cubicle wall. His brow lifts as he spots Seungcheol casting a warning glance back at Jeonghan, lips curled into something between a snarl and a smirk.

“I knew it,” Jeonghan asserts, looking at you and nodding. “He’s always thought you were the cutest omega. Does he know you’re obsessed with dinosaurs yet?”

“Ugh, Jeonghan.”

“Yes,” Seungcheol confirms with a flat grin. “You remind me of a Stegosaur, Jeonghan. Very… you have similar brains.” 

You snort before slapping your hand over your mouth in horror.

Jeonghan saints at him. “I don’t get it.”

Seungcheol ignores him, turning to you instead. He brushes his fingers against your arm, and his gaze softens instantly, all gruffness melted into something warm and fond. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

You nod, smiling despite yourself as he walks away calm. Sure. Unmistakably yours.

[buntanteen]

svt fic recs list <3 - gyucheol edition: scoups & mingyu - sfw & nsfw ver.

summary: 9 sfw seungcheol, 11 sfw mingyu, 18 nsfw seungcheol & 25 nsfw mingyu x reader insert fics :)

contains: sfw section contains potential suggestive content, nsfw section contains 18+ content (mdni), majority is afab!reader

✩ svt writing & fic rec masterlist ✩

✩ sfw section ✩

❥ seungcheol sfw fic recs

❥ the way back - @suhnshinehaos

❥ friends to lovers! scoups texts - @cheoliedollie

❥ bf!seungcheol - @coupsstar

❥ seungcheol bf habits - @odxrilove

❥ so full of love (i could barely eat) - @studioeisa

❥ in your favour, i’m in your arms - @seuonji

❥ love languages: choi seungcheol - @cxffecoupx

❥ eat. play. love. - @husbandhoshi

❥ casual dominance - @svtswhorehouse

❥ mingyu sfw fic recs

❥ dating mingyu feels like.. - @ssentimentals

❥ boyfriend! mingyu texts - @cheoliedollie

❥ uni classmate! mingyu texts - @cheoliedollie

❥ none the wiser - @studioeisa

❥ "maybe i have a crush on you. so what?" - @studioeisa

❥ mingyu & bento boxes - @studioeisa

❥ hard carry - @studioeisa

❥ unadulterated loathing! - @studioeisa

❥ oblivious - @emocheol

❥ mingyu boyfriend texts - @odxrilove

❥ TEXTS WITH BF MINGYU - @orikiys

✩ nsfw section ✩

❥ seungcheol nsfw fic recs

❥ the cake in the back - @toruro

❥escapades - @toruro

❥ sweet (like candy) - @toruro

❥ take care - @toruro

❥ Friends with benefits - @hoshifighting

❥ Nerd!Seungcheol - @hoshifighting

❥ Mutual Masturbation - @hoshifighting

❥ Dildo Riding - @hoshifighting

❥ dumbification - @hoshifighting

❥ college fling!seungcheol - @hoshifighting

❥ fingering you as you sit between his legs - @hoshifighting

❥ dilf!seungcheol - @hoshifighting

❥ choi seungcheol as your sugar daddy - @woozivrsefactry

❥ bff!seungcheol fucks you before a date - @nsfwhao

❥ sweetest thing - @rubyreduji 

❥ us and the stars - @rubyreduji

❥ brat tamer! cheol - @svtswhorehouse

❥ your wish is my command - @svtswhorehouse

❥ mingyu nsfw fic recs

❥ LO$ER=LO♡ER - @toruro

❥ easy to love - @husbandhoshi

❥ an ode to mingyu's tiddies - @monamipencil

❥ big boy! - @monamipencil

❥ foreplay - @catboyieejeno

❥ his best girl (nsfw) (gg series) @svtswhorehouse

❥ thinking about on vacation mingyu being your best and most memorable fuck - @cherry-hulu

❥ soft sex before bed - @nsfwhao

❥ [7:05] - @monamipencil

❥ mingyu + squirting - @monamipencil

❥ dilf neighbor! mingyu - @monamipencil

❥ to the brim - @toruro

❥ Ovestimulation - @hoshifighting

❥ giving oral after your final exams -

❥ I can do it for you - @hoshifighting-blog

❥ Rivals to Lovers - @hoshifighting

❥ watching you fingering + fingering - @hoshifighting

❥ praising kink (reader) - @hoshifighting

❥ making you squirt for the 1st time - @hoshifighting

❥ reader entering in subspace for the 1st time - @hoshifighting

❥ edging sub!mingyu - @hoshifighting

❥ on his back - @hoshifighting

❥ the secrets kept from roommates - @hoshifighting

❥ an ode to m(ingyu's)arms 🌟- @hoshifighting

❥ virgin mingyu - @hoshifighting

[cheolaholic]

found myself a cheerleader; csc (01)

summary; the captain has his eyes set on a cheerleader. problem is, she isn't so keen on the idea of dating a jock. so, he tries to prove her wrong.

duology • modern! au • uni! au • rugby player x cheerleader • fluff, angst, smut

pairing; choi seungcheol x fem!reader | wc; 8.6k | rating; 18+ explicit nsfw

contains; rugby captain! cheol, cheerleader! reader, they’re both business majors but it’s barely mentioned, cameo of other svt members, mentions of shownu from monstax, reader has trust issues, cheol is a yearner here, everyone ships them together & are playing wingman/woman, beach ‘episode’ but i swear it works well for the plot, cheol’s a good/subtle flirt, reader opens up just a little but is still very much guarded

mature/trigger warnings; N/A in this chapter

petnames; his (Captain, Cheol), hers (Sunshine, Baby)

a/n; wasn't really planning on having this released as a duology but oh well- ik i said i was supposed to upload this in march, but guess who got too caught up in work (again, rip) hope yall still enjoy this fic tho 🥹 i genuinely think this was by far one of my fav cheol fic i’ve released, second to RoL based on this ask from rugby cheol anon months ago... hopefully ur still around for this release, rugby cheol anon 😭🫶🏻

✨ support me by becoming a patreon (enjoy exclusive perks & content) OR tip me on kofi !! 💜 if you are unable to do so, you can also show support by reblogging your favourite works of mine !!

👾 join my general taglist here !! this allows you to be automatically tagged in future fics !!

Cheerleading was something you never understood.

Sure, your parents signed you up for classes when you were a kid, but you dropped it some time in middle school. Something about being the stereotypical cheerleader that sleeps around with the players or dating the captain was something that didn’t appeal to you.

You thought you’d never get back into it.

That is until your friends pushed you into signing up for tryouts for your university’s cheering team. They tried a lot to get you to fill in your name – “Give it a shot!”, “You can’t go through the next three years without doing something.”, “Even if you don’t make it, it’s still a story to tell!”

And so, you picked up the pen and filled out your name on the form.

The memory of the tryout was a blur. The burn in your arms from holding a position too long, the nervous shake in your voice as you shout out the cheer – you swore you’d be cut immediately.

So imagine the shock you felt when in your student inbox sat an acceptance email.

Dear Kim ___,

Congratulations!

We at Cheonghwa University’s cheer team, The Hwa-roes, are excited to inform you of your acceptance into the team.

Please reply to this email within 3 working days to let us know if you will be joining us on the quads to hype up the players and crowd!

Warm regards,

The Hwa-roes.

(Word play on Heroes)

You read the email at least three times – waiting for the words to morph into a rejection email, for someone to tell you it was sent by mistake.

Yet, here you were – pom-poms in hand and sneakers laced tight, standing with the other newcomers in the basketball stadium in a uniform that was low-key a little too short for your liking. As the seniors began the introduction, announcing a little freshies night would be done that weekend, you realised that… maybe this wasn’t a joke anymore.

You were in.

The late afternoon sun stretches across the quad, the grass looking more vibrant; even a little golden. The sound of a whistle being blown pierced through the field, followed by the heavy thud and grunts of The Hwa-rriors, Cheonghwa’s rugby team, as their bodies collide with one another during their on-going practice.

Enter Choi Seungcheol, Captain of The Hwa-rriors.

Seungcheol is the type of man where one look at him out on the field, you’d know he was meant to play. Knew that he was meant to be captain with how he barked orders whenever someone slacked.

He practically lived for the game. The sweat, the grind, the competition – nothing could ever divide his attention from the field.

Or at least, nothing used to.

His gaze had managed to stray from his team to the corner of the field where The Hwa-roes were practicing their cheer routine. Half the team were forming a base while some of the male cheerleaders were balancing the girls mid-air, laughter filling the air in a way that was infectious – causing a small smile to tug at his own lips.

Then, his eyes land on a particular cheerleader.

Unlike the stereotypical looks most female cheerleaders would have – long hair that’s pulled into a ponytail, probably one of the two main colours of the university as a bow stuck at the top; this cheerleader had a bob that almost went past her shoulders.

Seungcheol felt… something in his stomach, but it wasn’t from the mediocre cafeteria food for sure.

It was weird.

The Hwa-roes and Hwa-rriors had always co-existed during practices, yet since two weeks ago, he finds himself watching the bobbed-hair cheerleader.

“Captain, ball!”

He came back to his senses a little too late – the rugby ball smacked against his head, bouncing off onto the grass.

Groans echoed from his team.

“Seungcheol, I swear to God,” Jeonghan huffs, flicking sweat out of his hair. “If you’re going to keep staring at the cheer squad, at least don’t ogle to the point you’re physically here, but mentally there.”

“I wasn’t staring,” Seungcheol defended, muttering a curse as he picked up the ball.

Joshua snorts, leaning an elbow against Jeonghan. “Sure. Your eyes probably have a mind of their own and decided to wander off.”

His jaw tightened at the jest, but he knew they were right.

He barks at the team to get back to practice, trying to regain his focus in the process. Yet, when he hears the cheer captain announcing they take five, his head snapped back towards them just for a minute too long before he starts the countdown.

On your side of the field, you’ve learned to treat the rugby team’s shouts and grunts as background noise for your practice. In a way, it helped the cheer team in finding the tempo.

However, several cheerleaders, including the seniors would point out that their captain was staring – specifically at you. From what you’ve heard, Choi Seungcheol was practically Cheonghwa’s pride and glory.

He was tall, broad – even his presence was commanding, the kind that made people pause mid-step whenever he walked by. When your head of cheer announced a five minute break, you glanced over to the rugby team and watched as he barreled into a tackle. The sound of impact was enough to make even the cheer team wince.

Still, he didn't flinch.

You shake your head, reminding yourself of the reputations rugby players had – loud, cocky, out of your league. You may be a cheerleader, but you were a new cheerleader. You were one voice in a choir at the sidelines.

You weren’t someone special.

“Mingyu.”

“ ‘Sup, hyung?”

Seungcheol hesitated, mainly because Mingyu gave him a knowing grin. God, he was never going to hear the end of this. He inclines his head subtly towards the cheer team, “The girl at the top of the pyramid. Layered bob. You know who she is?”

The giant followed his line of sight, his grin widening almost instantly. “Ohh, I see.”

“See what?”

“Our captain’s taken a fancy to one of the cheerleaders,” Mingyu teased. “I thought Joshua was just imagining things, but apparently not. Guess I owe him ten bucks.”

“You lot are impossible,” the elder groans, running a hand down his sweaty face. “Just answer the question, Gyu. Unless you’d want to run five laps.”

Mingyu laughs, clearly having a blast poking at his captain. “She’s one of the newcomers they recruited. Kim _.” He observes Seungcheol’s face for any sort of reaction, his canines showing off when he sees the tips of his ears turn red. “I think she’s in her first year, final sem. Heard from one of the cheer guys that Haesoo told them she wanted her in after she left the audition. Kinda obvious why.”

Seungcheol nods, repeating the name in his head.

Kim ___.

Pretty name for a pretty girl.

“So,” Mingyu leaned in with a wicked grin, “Planning to shoot your shot?”

Seungcheol scoffed, “Get back to practice, Gyu.”

The campus library was almost empty that evening. The scratch of the metal nib against your tablet screen paired with the soft hum of the air conditioning was almost perfect until someone slots themselves into the empty seat across from you.

“Hey there, Miss Cheerleader.”

The voice was unfamiliar to you yet the owner greets you with such familiarity it felt… odd.

Looking up, you’re greeted by none other than Choi Seungcheol himself. Captain of The Hwa-rriors, heartthrob of the campus. He hangs his backpack over the chair he’s seated in with a big puppy grin on display.

He looked far too alive for the library. Out of place. Sweat clung to his temple, dark hair pushed back and messy like he’d run his hand through it dozens of times before this.

You blinked at him, “Shouldn’t you be out on the field, Captain?”

Seungcheol shrugs, “Practice ended. What about you? Was expecting you out on the field cheering and doing flips.”

“Thursdays, Fridays and weekends are our off-days.”

“Off-days, huh?” He leans closer, propping his arms on the table. “Didn’t think you guys would have that kind of schedule.”

You raised a brow, deciding to tease him a little. “We don’t run on triple A batteries, Captain. We like to preserve our energy unlike you jocks that can’t go a day without needing to run into a wall of muscles.”

Something about your tone made his heart flutter. He hadn’t expected you to tease back and the fact that you did intrigues him. “Didn’t mean to interrupt your little focus bubble,” he continues. “Just… didn’t expect to see you elsewhere other than… y’know, flying through the air.”

“Are you assuming cheerleaders are bimbos, Captain Choi?”

HIs eyes widened, scrambling to defend himself and forgets his surroundings momentarily. “No!”

The librarian shoots him a look and Seungcheol smiles sheepishly before bowing his head apologetically. Turning back to you, he lowers his voice. “No, I would never have that ideology. It’s just… I expected you to be more of a social butterfly like the others.”

“Well, cheerleaders can be academically driven too,” you said dryly.

He lets out a quiet laugh, “Noted. Guess I only ever see you on the sidelines cheering us on.”

“Well, that’s the whole point of the cheer team, Captain.”

“Yeah.”

You set your stylus down, deciding to give him your time. “So, what brings you here, Seungcheol?”

God, his name sounds so right when it comes from your lips.

“Trying to look academic to swoon some girls?”

“Maybe,” he teases. You watch as he then turns to the shelf behind him and grabs a random book, “Or maybe I came to get some study materials for my subject.” Glancing at the book he had just plucked off the shelf, he regrets it instantly.

‘The Trade Policy of the European Union’ by Gstöhl and De Bièvre.

You let out a small laugh and it made the tip of Seungcheol’s ears go beet red. “I understand you’re a Business Major, Captain. But try something less… heavy… next time. That one will put you to sleep before the first chapter.”

That pearly white grin returns, “Got it, Sunshine.”

You blinked, “What?”

He froze, realising what he’s just said. “Oh– Sorry. It’s just…” He awkwardly gestures towards the window. “The… The light is… It makes you look bright.”

Get a grip, Choi Seungcheol. You’re Captain of the football team. Why are you fumbling over your words?

God, you look like such a–

You can’t help the quiet laugh that slipped past your lips, caught between being thrown off guard and amusement. “Didn’t realise you were terrible at giving compliments, Captain.”

He gives you a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his neck. “Yeah, well… Guess a pretty girl like you has me fumbling over my rehearsed lines.”

“Uhm… Thanks..?” You turn your focus back to your study material.

“Anytime, Sunshine.”

There’s a faint pink in your cheeks when you look up again. “You gonna start calling me that now, Seungcheol?”

He shrugs, grinning again. “Only if it annoys the hell outta you.”

“Careful now,” you warned, a teasing smile tugging at your lips. “It just might.”

“Then I’m not stopping.”

“Hey, Yejin?” One of the seniors called out to the Head of Cheer.

“ ‘Sup?”

“Sky’s looking a little gloomy… Should we call in a rain check?”

The Head of Cheer waves her hand dismissively with a smile, “Oh, y’know the sky is always gloomy. We’re nearing the middle of fall season so the sun is just a little shy.”

“But what if it rains? We can’t risk the team falling sick or getting injuries. The big game is coming up and we can’t really form a new routine if we do have casualties.”

Yejin seems to consider the words before announcing to the cheer squad that they’ll do one final routine and call in a rain check. The others, you included, agreed but not before casting a glance up to the sky where the graying clouds start to gather. You hear Seungcheol’s voice behind you, barking out orders and telling his team to keep an eye out for the weather.

It was clear the gloomy weather had both teams on high alert.

But it was soon pushed to the side when the rugby team was halfway through scrimmage drills, and the cheer squad ran through several formations that needed more focus in perfecting. This routine had somehow become a source of to you – how everything falls into a steady rhythm.

5 minutes later, any trace of sunlight was gone.

Then came the first drops, turning the once green field into a polka dotted pattern. Both teams glanced at each other, as though they were telepathically asking – “Are you retreating? Because if you do, I do.”

They didn’t have much time to ponder as within the seconds, the slight drizzle turned heavy. Y’know, the kind of downpour that soaks you in less than a minute.

Chaos broke out when a gust of strong wind swept across the fields. Laughter, squeals and shouts rang through the field as everyone sprinted towards the auditorium to take cover. In contrast to the humid rain outside, the auditorium had its air conditioning running and the coldness sent shivers down your spine and damp uniform.

You wring out your skirt and tried your best to laugh with the others, but the cold was starting to get to you. Your hands were freezing, the fabric of your top was sticking to your skin and no matter how much you rubbed at your arms, the goosebumps wouldn’t go away.

You hear Seungcheol talking to the Head of Cheer, “Did everyone from the cheer team make it in?”

“Yea, I counted three times. Yours?”

“All counted for. Make sure neither of you cheerleaders get sick, yea? We’d be lost without y’all cheering us on.”

Yejin snorts, “Yea?” She nods towards his team that were raking their hands through their damp hair, teasing them about resembling golden retrievers trying to dry themselves off. “Better make sure neither of them get the flu either. Not only will Coach kill you, we won’t have a team to cheer for.”

Mingyu chuckled behind Seungcheol, “Well, I’m sure Cheol hyung can cover for all of us.”

“Careful, Gyu. I might just drag you with me.”

The trio laughed, knowing the threat wasn’t serious nor that deep.

His gaze soon landed on your shivering figure.

You stood a little further from the others, staying quiet while your teammates whined about their ruined hair and soggy sneakers. One of the newcomers complained about how the soaked fabric of the uniform was starting to stick uncomfortably against their skin. You smiled when one of them teased you for shivering like you were just dumped into the middle of a snow pile, but the smile was tired.

Mingyu noticed Seungcheol was staring somewhere and following his line of sight, he smirked. “Staring at the pretty cheerleader again, Captain?”

Yejin’s eyes followed and she too joined in on the teasing. “Fancy our little ___, Cheol?”

“Shut up,” he rolled his eyes, “Both of you.”

The Head of Cheer grins, leaning in, “Well, you didn’t hear this from me, but so far she’s still single. But, unfortunately jocks don’t seem to be her type.”

“Why not?”

Yejin shrugs, wringing the edges of her skirt. “Well, nobody really knows, but my two cents is that it has something to do with jocks being players with better stamina. You know how the rumours are with you guys – always flirting, never really committing. Probably forgetting a girl’s name once the next game rolls around.”

Mingyu frowns, placing a hand over his chest. “Ouch, that hurt.”

“Um, dramatic much?” Yejin snorts. “She probably doesn’t want to end up as another cautionary tale in the locker room or y’know… The entire campus of why you should steer away from jocks.”

“Hey, we can’t be that bad.”

She raises a brow, “For some of y’all? Maybe. But the reputation the media paints? Kind of hard to shake it off when a few of them fit the bill. Loud, cocky, always surrounded by cheerleaders or girls.”

She turns to one of the senior cheerleaders, “Kinda allergic to communication.”

Seungcheol moved to his duffel before his brain could catch up, grabbing his varsity jacket – the black one with his name stitched in gold thread. “You say that like we’re a species, Yejin.”

She all but grins, watching with Mingyu as he crosses the room, “Well, if the boot fits, Cheol.”

You sat on a bleacher that was close to the heater, rubbing your arms to try and chase the chill away. While you adored the sleeveless design of the cheer uniform, sometimes you wished the sleeves were a little longer to make it less chilly. Not that it’d help in your current situation.

The rest of your squad huddled nearby, helping each other to brush out their damp hair or to undo the ponytail it’s been put in.

A shadow looms over you and looking up, you see him.

“Sunshine.”

“Captain.”

He held out his varsity jacket, voice low and steady, “Here.”

You blinked, caught off guard by his gesture. “What?”

Seungcheol chuckles, “I’m offering you my jacket, sunshine. You’re freezing.”

“I’m okay, Seungcheol. I’ll live.”

He raised a brow, “_, even I can see that you’re clearly shaking from the cold.”

He’s not wrong. The heater wasn’t doing much to warm you up and you could practically feel the cold seep into your bones. Before you could reject him a second time, he had already draped his jacket over your shoulders. The warmth hit in an instant – the jacket soft, heavy and carried a faint scent that was him. Behind him, you hear several ‘ooohs’ and ‘awws’ from the others.

“Feel better?” He asks quietly, knuckles making contact with the side of your neck as he brushes your hair to the side.

You swallowed, “A lil..”

He smiles, taking a seat next to you but with enough distance so he doesn’t crowd into your personal space. “Won’t you need it?” You asked. The Captain simply shakes his head, “Nope. I’ll live without it.”

You snort, “Confident, aren’t you?”

“Well, that’s because I need you on the sidelines,” he teased. “If you catch a cold, whose chants am I supposed to listen to? I might start missing passes and pissing the whole team off.”

You rolled your eyes, though a soft smile tugged at your lips. “So now your entire performance depends solely on me?”

“Kinda, yea.”

You huff, tugging at the jacket to wrap it tighter around you. It was definitely one or two sizes larger, engulfing your body in warmth – though some of it wasn’t actually from the piece of clothing. Seungcheol tucks a strand of hair behind your ear, catching you off guard and he’d half expect you to pull away – but you didn’t.

He gives you a small smile, lips parting to say something until one of his teammates yelled from across the room. “Yo, Seungcheol! If you’re done flirting, Coach said to hit the showers so we don’t get sick!”

A chorus of laughter erupted in the auditorium – some of the boys whistled while the cheerleaders had teasing smiles on their lips. The noise mixed with the distant patter of the rain outside, making the whole situation feel a little lighter.

You caught the way a faint flush crept up Seungcheol’s neck before he sighs, turning to give you a sheepish smile. “Well, guess that’s my cue to leave.”

You nodded. “Don’t catch a cold, Captain. Otherwise you won’t hear my cheers.”

He grins at your tease, lingering by your side just a second longer before walking across the room to his teammates.

Your thumbs brush against the fabric of the jacket, trying your best to ignore the stupid flutter in your chest.

📣 Hwa-roes Squad 🤸🏼‍♀️

HoC Yejin: hey there Hwa-roes, Head of Cheer here with some news !! HoC Yejin: our Cheer Coach & the Hwa-rriors’ Coach organised a little squad bonding this weekend for us to well, bond with each other. deets are as follows: Date: XX October - XX October 20XX, Saturday - Sunday Time: 8AM Sat - 3PM Sun Venue: Busan Coastal Beach Planned activities include Balance Exercises Grill Night !! Bonding Bonfire Tug of War And more… 🫦 HoC Yejin: attendance is compulsory unless there’s a valid reason for absence. see yall this weekend !!

The morning air at Cheonghwa’s main parking lot was a little chilly, but definitely noisier than most weekends. The clattering of luggage wheels against the gravel pavement, thumping of duffel bags being loaded onto the bus’ luggage compartments. Some were already on the bus to try and catch a quick nap, others were discussing what food they bought for the Grill Night.

The cheer squad, all wearing their navy warm up jackets, were gathered near the front of the bus as Yejin conducts her usual headcount that reminds the rugby team of a military headcount. Just a few feet behind them were the rugby team loading the rest of the luggages onto the bus.

You arrived a minute later, tote bag hanging off a shoulder with a cup of iced coffee in one hand, a pretty pink luggage in the other. “Morning, Yejin,” you greet with a smile. She checks your name on the clipboard, “Morning, honey,” she greets back, peeking behind you and shoots you a teasing smile.

“Looks like fanboy there is already staring.”

Turning your head to follow her gaze, you make eye contact with Seungcheol. He gives you a small smile, and while you were unsure of how you felt – the corner of your lips lifted to return the smile.

“Cheer squad, anyone missing right now?” Yejin calls out.

“Minjoo went to grab snacks from the vending machine with Jeonghan!” Someone from the rugby team calls out. Coach Song, the rugby team’s coach, glances at his watch. “Better hope those snacks will last the two hour bus-ride.”

On the bus, you managed to find a seat near the middle and slid in, tucking your tote under your legs. Halfway through pulling out your earphones, a familiar voice came from the aisle.

“Hey sunshine, mind if I sit here?”

Seungcheol stands there, a paper bag in one hand while the other holds his water bottle. “Oh– Uh, no,” you said, realising you were staring.

“Thanks.” He slides in, shoulder brushing against your for just a brief second.

You took a sip of your coffee and watched as the campus rolled past when the bus departed. The early sunlight flickers through the windows and you finally take out your earphones, glancing at the paper bag in his lap. He notices and reaches in, pulling out a KitKat bar and offering it to you. “I got a bunch of snacks for the trip. Some healthy, some unhealthy.”

You took the chocolate, chuckling, “I’m not sure I should be having a KitKat for breakfast, Seungcheol.”

He grins, fishing out a sandwich box with the words ‘Egg Mayo’ written on its packaging. “Well, lucky for you, I also got some sandwiches.”

Two thoughts popped in your mind.

First – Wow, this man is well prepared.

Second – Why is that lowkey hot?

Successfully getting your earphones out and plugging them into your phone, the captain leans closer. “What’re you planning to listen to, Sunshine?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” you mutter, “Any suggestions, Captain?"

“Hmm, why don't you give Love Again by Dutch Melrose a try?”

You offered him the left piece of the earbud, “Wanna join?”

He blinked, surprised at your offer. But who was he to pass up on, what he deems, the opportunity of a lifetime. “Don’t mind if I do.”

Mingyu, sitting two rows behind, catches the little interaction and elbows Wonwoo who’s sat next to him. “Would you look at that,” he teases. “Captain’s whipped as hell.”

It was roughly 10AM when the squads arrived at the beachside – the air filled with the scent of seawater and coconut (add a bit of sunscreen into the mix). Several of the boys from the rugby team were helping the cheer girls move their stuff into the beach cabins, some snack stealing going on because Dokyeom claimed while they didn't need to do drills,they certainly were too early for dinner.

Everyone was brainstorming on activities to pass the time until the designated beach activities. That is until – “Guys, I found water guns!”

“Where the hell did you even get these?” Yejin asked. Wonwoo snorts, “Hey, I warned you not to let him wander off when he’s bored.”

The tall giant shoots his signature grin, “Found these and a few more in the duffel bags Coach packed. Let’s have a water gun battle to see who’s the better squad. Winning team gets bragging rights for the rest of the season!”

That’s all it took.

In just minutes, the rugby boys and cheer team split up into “teams”.

You crouched behind one of the benches, peeking over the seat as you pumped your water gun in a random direction, somehow successfully hitting Chan who yelped – “Noona, I didn’t even do anything to you!”

You can’t help but giggle, shouting out an apology while Seungcheol barked out orders like this entire game was a championship match instead of a simple water battle – typical.

You squeal when cold water splashes onto your arm. “Hey! Whoever that was, you better count your days!”

“Would be a dream!”

“Jiwoo, she’s off limits!”

You like this. The chaos that fills the air with laughter. It’s simple and pure, just like how the movies portrait or romanticise college life for cheerleaders and the rugby team.

Rounding a tree for cover, you collided with someone else who had the same idea. You squeak and a strong arm caught you by your waist before you could fall on your butt. Looking up, there stood Seungcheol in all his glory.

His shirt was drenched and clinging to his chest, droplets of water ran down his neck and Gods, if you didn’t have some form of self control, you’d probably jump him.

He looked just as surprised as you were – but it only lasted a second before that infuriating smug grin of his spread on his lips. “Didn’t think I’d find you here, sunshine.”

You huffed, trying to play it cool. Trying to act like your heart didn’t do that stupid flutter. “This is a water gun battle, Captain. You’re supposed to be fighting, not flirting.”

Seungcheol chuckles, “Who says I can’t do both?”

Before you can come up with a comeback, the captain lifted his water gun and fired at you at close range. The stream hit your shoulder, the water cold enough to make you gasp at the sensation.

“Choi Seungcheol!”

He laughs, dodging the spray of water you fired in return. You chased after him across the beach, trying both your best to not trip over your steps, shouting half-formed threats in between laughter. The rest of the squad had fallen into a similar form of chaos – Jihoon was wrestling Mingyu for some waterballoons, some of the cheer squad had formed a barricade with one of the picnic tables and Yejin was chasing after Joshua for a spare water gun.

You finally caught up to Seungcheol near one of the beach cabins, both of you panting, soaked, but still fiercely competitive.

“Okay, okay,” he said between breaths, “You’re a tough one, Sunshine.”

He extends a hand towards you, “Truce?”

You narrowed your eyes, suspicions high. “You’re a Leo who’s fiercely competitive. You don’t do truces.”

He smirks, “Maybe I make an exception for a certain cheerleader whose smile reminds me of the rays of sun.”

You hesitated, but decided to trust him. “Fine. Truce.”

He takes a step closer, lowering his water gun. “See? We can work together afterall.”

Just as you lowered your gun, you felt a stream of water his you right in the chest.

You blinked. “You–!”

He was already laughing, running away with his hands raised in the air as you chased after him. “You should know better than to trust the enemy who is also a competitive Leo, _!”

“You are so dead, Choi Seungcheol!”

Whoever said the sunsets look even more gorgeous at the beach was right. The sky was a blend of soft pink, purple, and orange. Whatever team bonding or rivalry was done for the day and everyone settled into a new routine with the rhythmic rolls of the ocean waves in the background.

Several of the rugby boys moved the grills a little further from the campsite, but not too close to the tides so they could enjoy both sides without compromising too much.

Yejin claps her hands together, “Alright! Cheer squad on sides. Rugby boys on grilling.”

“Try not to poison us with the grill,” Minjoo teases.

“Excuse me,” Mingyu scoffs. “We know how to cook. In fact, we’re excellent cooks!”

“Seungcheol had to search up how to cut an onion last time,” Yejin snorted.

“Hey!” Seungcheol called out from the grill, raising the tongs at the cheerleader. “That was one time!”

Moments go by and you’ve decided to hover nearby Seungcheol’s grilling station, watching his actions curiously. The sizzling sounded promising, but the smell… not really. “I don’t think they’re supposed to smell like that, Captain.”

Seungcheol frowned, “It’s fine, sunshine. They’re on a grill.”

He lifted a skewer and is rendered speechless when one side is visibly blackened. You tilted your head to the side, “Define… fine.”

Mingyu picks up another skewer, waving it in front of the captain's face. “I think it's fighting back, hyung.”

Seungcheol glares at him, “Go and see if the cheerleaders need help with the sides, Gyu.”

The giant raises his hands in surrender, walking away with a shit eating grin that makes the captain want to punch it off his face. You stepped closer, "You're flipping them too late, Seungcheol.”

“It's not that bad.”

You raised a brow, “Would you eat them when they look like that?”

He huffed a laugh and stepped aside to make room for you. “Alright, ___. Show me how to not turn dinner into… charcoal.”

You sprinkled some water onto the grill to lower the heat and spread out the skewers while the captain observed quietly, secretly impressed. “Didn't think you'd be the type to be good with grills, sunshine.”

“Went on several camping trips with my family and had my dad teach me some tricks.”

“So you're an outdoors girl, eh?”

“Only if food isn't about to be burnt and I'm not shoved deep into a forest.”

Seungcheol didn't think he'd be more attracted to you, but here he is – whipped because his little cheerleader crush enjoys the great outdoors.

Food was finally ready by the time the sky darkened and stars started blinking in one by one. Everyone gathered around the grill and bench table with paper plates and plastic cups. “Remember to throw your trash in the bags, team!” Minghao called out, “If I see anyone littering, you will get an ass whooping!”

Jihoon takes a seat next to you on one of the driftwood logs. “So… ___, right?”

You turn to him, “Depends on who's asking.”

“The Flanker.“

You shift and he chuckles, “Don't worry, I'm not here with ill intentions. Just curious about the girl that's got the captain so down bad.”

You snort, “Oh, please. You say that like it's something serious.”

He chuckles, taking a sip from his red plastic cup before replying. “Well, I did grow up with him so it's safe to say that I know when something's up. Cheol is… I guess you can say he's not the type to fall for people. If I remember correctly, he's had two ex-girlfriends but he didn't really like them as much as they did to him.”

“Why did he get together with them, then?”

Jihoon's lips twitch into a smirk. “Curious, arent'cha?”

You narrowed your eyes and he shrugged. “He likes them enough to be with them, but relationships aren't exactly a priority to him. During his first year, when we just enrolled, it was studies and the girl was more of a party animal which did kinda turn him off.”

You raised a brow. “I thought you jocks like going to parties. Alcohol, hook-ups, weed–”

“Okay, maybe some of them do. But, Seungcheol is more like… He's there to keep an eye on us, y'know? Gotta make sure his boys don't end up too deep in trouble.”

You hum in understanding. Maybe not all jocks are hormonal party animals, you thought.

“In second year, when he got accepted into the rugby team, his priorities became study and rugby. It was a little hard for him to balance those two while maintaining a relationship so, yeah.”

“And you think that this time it'll be different because I'm a cheerleader?”

Jihoon snorts. “Please, if you're thinking of that stereotypical jock and cheerleader trope, you can abandon it. I think it'll be different because you check out at most eighty percent of whatever his ideal type is.”

“And that is?”

“Passionte about what you love. Independent. You talk back or challenge him in a sense, and trust me when I say that shit turns him the fuck on.”

“Excuse me?”

He smirks, “You'll find out sooner or later. That is if you give him the chance. Kink aside, you also prioritise your studies.”

A beat of silence before he nudges your arm, “But, you didn’t hear it from me. Anyways, I gotta bounce because I can feel Cheol staring daggers at me. I'm not saying all these things to persuade you into accepting him as a boyfriend if he does decide to tell you. Think of it as me vouching for some kind of long-term investment that will benefit you both.”

“Nice business talk, Jihoon.”

“Hey, I'm a Finance major. Gotta know how to talk business.”

Both teams gathered around a bonfire after dinner. Joshua strummed the chords of the guitar while Dokyeom sang a random line from one of Mariah Carey's songs. You and Yejin passed around some marshmallows while someone yelled out, “Alright, time for a game of Truth or Dare!”

“I got a good one!” One of the cheerleaders announced. Pointing at Seungcheol, she asks him to pick. Being the Leo that he is, the captain chose Dare. The cheerleader grins, “Sit next to someone you'd like to get to know better.”

For a moment, he hesitated.

You felt his gaze on you even as your gaze was focused on the fire, watching the sparks rise and disappear. The silence was torturous to the group, but their gaze soon followed his and landed on you. Mingyu nudges him, “You buffering, Captain?”

Seungcheol cleared his throat, his neck turning a light shade of red. He moves to sit next to you and the teasing was immediate

“OHH–”

Seungcheol glares at his team, “Shut your mouths before I make you lot run laps tomorrow morning.”

The cabin lights flickered on one-by-one as everyone retreated for the night.

In your cabin, Yejin is quick to start the conversation as soon as she kicks off her sandals and plops onto her bed. “So, are we going to talk about it or pretend it didn't happen?”

All eyes were on you.

You blinked, “Talk about..?”

Another girl turned her head, mid-way putting on her face mask. “Don't play dumb, ___. Obviously about Choi Seungcheol.”

The cabin erupts into a chorus of hums and giggles. You groaned, “Come on, girls. What's there to talk about?”

“Um, have you forgotten the incident where he lent you his jacket when it rained a few weeks ago?”

“How he sat next to you for the dare?”

“Not to mention the way he kept looking at you whenever you laughed. Like, constantly.”

You rolled your eyes, braiding your hair for sleep while also hoping the somewhat dim lighting managed to hide the warmth creeping up your neck. ”It doesn't mean anything. He's just being nice.”

Yejin snorts, clearly unconvinced. “Right, nice. Last I remembered, the only people who got this level of ‘niceness’ were those girls he dated. And based on my observations, there's a difference when it comes to him being nice in general and down so bad I need this girl to be mine kind of nice.”

You don't respond – partially because you had no idea on how to respond to that. Even if you were to respond, what were you supposed to say? That for some odd reason, you kind of liked the way he hovered around you without it feeling like he was invading your personal space? That occasionally your heart would flutter at the thought of giving him a chance?

Noticing your lack of response, Yejin diverts the topic – not wanting to pry even though she wanted to.

Eventually, the voices softened. Someone had fallen asleep mid-scroll, the dim light of their phone lighting up their face before blacking out. Another cheerleader muttered something in her sleep before rolling over, snoring softly. One by one, the girls in your cabin settled into sleep – except you.

You lay on your back, staring at the ceiling with the sound of waves rhythmically crashing against the shore playing in the background. Your mind replays several instances of Seungcheol essentially pining after you. While you try to convince yourself that it meant nothing, you begin to doubt your thoughts too.

That doesn't really answer a lot though – why you?

Out of all the cheerleaders, out of all the girls – why specifically you?

You shifted carefully, careful to not wake either of the girls as you slipped out the cabin. Walking along the shoreline, you let the tide roll onto the cool sand and occasionally soak your feet. It was peaceful and the view was breathtaking, bringing you a sense of peace.

You stop when you feel someone behind you. Turning around, you're face-to-face with Seungcheol.

“Creeping up on me now, Captain?”

He laughs softly, shaking his head. “I view it more as me making sure you don't get hurt out here, sunshine.”

“By walking at a very questionable distance behind me?”

“Touche.”

You let him come up to stand next to you, watching the silver painted ocean while the gentle breeze blows in your faces. “Guess I'm not the only one that can’t sleep tonight,” he starts. “Penny for your thoughts?”

For a second, you had an internal debate. Do you ask him about his feelings? Or should you just… play dumb and act like nothing is going on?

The words slipped through your lips before you could stop them.

“Do you like me?”

The captain blinks, clearly caught off guard. His lips part, then shuts; and opens again. For a second, you wonder if you had maybe read too much into it – that maybe Yejin and Jihoon also read too much into his actions. But, he lets out a quiet huff. “Should've known Jihoon said something to you when he sat next to you.”

“Yejin said some things too,” you added.

“Of course she did.”

He tucks his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants, looking up at the stars. “They're not wrong, though. I do like you. Like, like like you. As in, I want you to be my girlfriend kind of like.”

You stare at him, taking in the way he looks right now. The moonlight softened his usual sharp features, stripping away any roughness that's usually seen on the field. Right now, he just looks… gentle. Soft. Like he just belongs to the calmness of the night.

“But… Why?”

He looks at you,”Do I really need a reason to like you, sunshine?”

“Um… In this day and age, clearly. How can I be sure you aren't those jocks that tell cheerleaders they like them to get up their skirts?”

He rubs the back of his neck, “Yeah… The media and how some of the boys act aren’t really helping my case, huh?” Sighing, he turns to look at you – really look at you. What caught your breath was the look in his eyes.

Genuine. Full of emotions.

“Look, I just… I don’t want you to look at me and think I’m like that,” he starts. “How jocks, athletes and captains are all the same. I get it, y’know. A few bad apples s’all it takes to ruin the bunch, but I don’t want you thinking I’m just another version.”

“Another version of what, Seungcheol?”

“That I don’t mean what I say. That I thrive off of attention, which while is true, doesn’t apply to… romantic interests. I don’t want you thinking that I’m doing all this just to get up your skirt and leave.”

A breeze picked up and a shiver shot up your spine. The word slipped past your lips before you could stop yourself, “Why?”

He doesn’t answer right away, tearing his gaze away from you to look at the dark ocean. “I do things with intent, sunshine. Sure, you could look at what I’m doing right now like I’m trying to increase my chances of sleeping with you; but that’s not my intention. You… You kind of… expect the worst from people, which I don’t blame you for. But I don’t want to be that.”

You swallowed, “You don’t know me that well.”

“And I want to.”

Silence followed – the air charged with something and the ocean kept lapping at the shore.

“I don’t offer my trust to just anyone. Especially when that trust involves my feelings.”

He waited for a ‘But’ that never came. It was evident to the rugby captain that chasing after this little cheerleader would be a challenge.

Luckily, he’s never one to back down.

After a while, he stood. “We should get some sleep. Tomorrow’s probably going to be even hectic before we head back to campus.” He offers you his hand, and you hesitated for several seconds before taking it.

“Yeah… Yeah, we should,” you mumbled.

He gently helped you up and only let go when you were steady.

“Goodnight, sunshine.”

“Goodnight, captain.”

Several weeks have passed since that night by the beach.

There was no drastic change in the way Seungcheol interacts with you, but he has been acting more… thoughtful? Considerate? You weren’t even sure what word to use. Sure, your routine in Cheonghwa is pretty much the same – it’s just that now you’re seen with a particular rugby captain more often.

How it started?

Well, let’s just say that Seungcheol has taken it upon himself to walk you home.

It started off unintentionally, or at least that’s what you both have been telling yourselves.

Practice ran later than expected one evening. By the time you had finished stuffing your pompoms into your duffel and zipped up your hoodie to hide the cheer uniform, the field light flickered to life. You sigh, slinging the bag over your shoulder and begin to walk across the field towards the gates.

You were about halfway there when you heard quick footsteps catching up to you.

“If you’re thinking of jumping me–”

“Whoa there, sunshine.”

Seungcheol had his hands raised in mock surrender, his own duffel hanging over his shoulder. “I’m not a threat.”

“Count yourself lucky I didn’t have my pepper spray in hand, captain,” you retort. “Could’ve blinded the star player before his Friday game.”

He chuckles, “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Honest. I just… Well, your studio is in the same direction as mine so…”

The jock almost wants to kick himself at how bad he’s failing in trying to act and sound non-chalant.

“Are you offering to walk me home, Seungcheol?”

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

From that night on, it became part of your routine if practice ran on longer than usual. He’d catch up to you without a word, his pace adjusting to match yours almost immediately. After the first three times, Seungcheol’s even took it upon himself to carry your duffel bag for you – letting it hang over his own shoulder. You’ve tried to protest several times, technically every time, but he just shrugs it off.

“I want to do this, sunshine. Let me, alright?”

The walks with him were comforting, easy even. The conversations you both had never felt forced. It just came naturally – he’d ask about your routines, you’d ask about his pre-game ‘rituals’. Sometimes he’d even ask you about your classes, which subject made you nervous or which lecturer needed to be better at their job. Whenever you complained, he’d always make sure your feelings were valid.

When you talked about pressure and expectations, he shared some of his own experiences. How while he loved being captain, it was still a role he wasn’t expecting to receive.

“I always thought it’d be either Wonwoo or Jihoon to be honest,” he chuckled. “They’re both more… strategic.”

He goes on about how there were days he wishes he wasn’t captain – that the weight of leadership was heavy, especially when everyone expects you to have all the answers when you were figuring things out too.

Whenever you reach the lobby of your studio, he’d always make sure you walked through those gates. He never insisted that he followed you up to your studio in case it was crossing a line.

“Text me when you’re inside,” he would say, every time.

And every single time, you would.

What you didn’t know was that he’d only leave the lobby if he got that text. On the days you’d forget or were too tired to, he’d linger around for about ten minutes before leaving.

seungcheol 🏉: hey sunshine seungcheol 🏉: u up? seungcheol 🏉: kinda need hlp with some stuff sunshine ☀️: it’s 12am captain sunshine ☀️: what help could u possibly need? seungcheol 🏉: can i call u?

At first you thought he just needed to jog up his memory from previous classes – ones he’s taken before but had forgotten, and since you were both in the same course, it’d only make sense for him to do so. It was just two students helping each other with their grades, until you remembered he’s made the Dean’s List the past two years.

“You don’t actually need help, do you?” You asked over the phone.

Seungcheol lets out a laugh, one that’s warm and sheepish – like he’s been caught red-handed. “Okay, you got me. I don’t really need help with my studies.”

“Then why the calls?”

A pause.

It wasn’t the awkward kind, but you can tell he’s choosing his words carefully.

Then, he sighs. “Look, sunshine. I… I really like hearing your voice. I think it’s cute and admirable that you’re trying to explain something that you haven’t learnt, but still did it because you wanted to help me. And… Well, I like you.”

“You know I don’t trust anyone with my feelings, captain,” you reminded him. “Especially jocks.”

“I know,” he mutters. “I know you’re… scared of something, and I know my… courting methods probably aren’t making it any better. But, that doesn’t mean I won’t stop trying to earn your trust.”

His words had your fingers tightening around your phone. He wasn’t begging nor was he making a promise that’s too big to deliver.

He was just being honest.

Those calls stretched longer as time went on. Sometimes it’s about classes and exams; other times it’s just him indirectly getting to know you a little better. He’d ask you about your favourite colour, your childhood memories – sometimes he’d manage to get you to open up just enough where you’d say things you rarely said out loud.

Then, there were nights when exhaustion wins over you and you’d fall asleep mid-sentence.

Seungcheol never tried to wake you up.

He doesn’t hang up immediately either. He just listens to your steady, quiet breathing for a few minutes before he does hang up.

Like he’s making a silent promise to stay with you even when there are days where the world feels too heavy, where you’re too tired to speak.

One afternoon, right after practice, Yejin approaches you in the locker room. She leans against one of the mirrors, arms crossed when she says very matter-of-factly, “Seungcheol’s in love with you.”

You scoffed, “He’s not.”

“___, he carries your bag.”

“So? That doesn’t mean anything.”

“I heard he’s been calling you at night, too.”

“Studies.”

Yejin raised a brow.

You pursed your lips together, realising how weak that argument was. “Okay, fine – I’ll let you have that one…”

Another girl chimed in softly, “I’m gonna be honest, girl, he looks at you like you’re the only girl in the room. Anyone would kill to have that kind of attention from him.”

Your words came out harsher than intended, “That’s the problem.”

The silence that followed was heavy. You swallowed the lump in your throat, “Everyone wants his attention. Everyone wants him. Sure, he says all these sweet words and pays attention to me now; but jocks are all the same. They’ll get bored, ‘busy’, or maybe someone else will come along and then suddenly, you’re just… an afterthought to them.”

Yejin sighs, “Seungcheol isn’t like that, _.”

“How do you know for sure he isn’t like that?”

Tense silence fell over the locker room once again.

Against your paranoia or overthinking self, part of you wants to believe what Yejin is saying about Seungcheol. Hell, you want to believe the captain is genuine, too – especially with how his unspoken confession was seen everywhere.

In the way his knuckles brushed yours when he walked you home.

In the way he searches for you after winning every game with that stupid grin.

In the way his gaze softened whenever it met yours.

To the cheer and rugby squad, it was obvious that Choi Seungcheol’s feelings and intentions were pure even if you didn’t want to admit it.

And that terrifies you.

Seungcheol finds you sitting on one of the bleachers later that evening, lost in your own thoughts. He takes a seat next to you, maintaining a small; yet respectable distance between you both. The kind that tells you he’ll give you space, but if you need a shoulder to cry on, he’s just within reach.

“Yejin came to me to have a little chat,” he said carefully.

He hears you suck in a sharp breath. Turning to look at you, he studies your face. “She didn’t say anything bad about you, don’t worry. Just said that based on her observations or conversation from earlier, you have some… trust issues.”

He lets his words hang in the air for a moment.

“I’m not here to corner you, sunshine. I’m not here to force answers out of you too. I just… I want you to know that whatever it is you’re carrying, I’m not offended nor am I afraid of it.”

You let out a slow breath, though it trembled just a little. “It’s not you. I’m just… not good at trusting people without being reminded that there are consequences.”

He nods. “People don’t build walls without reason.”

He nudges you a little with his elbow, “I’m patient too, y’know.”

“Why? Why are you doing this?”

“Again, my feelings or actions aren’t temporary, sunshine. I really mean it when I say I want to be a part of your life. Highs and lows. Pretty and ugly. All of it.”

You desperately wanted to believe him, but the fear won’t let you.

“I’m not going to forcefully tear down your walls. I just… I want you to know that I’m willing to stand by your side. If you’ll have me.”

You slowly turn to meet his gaze. The longing and devotion in them were loud. They were telling you that he’s already chosen you.

You should’ve told him to leave. Tell him you wanted him to stop this pursuit quest he’s set his mind on.

But, you don’t.

taglist;

@cherry-zip @gyuhao365 @2holover

[wonwootattoo]

mess | choi seungcheol drabble

🖍️ pairing: husband!dad!seungcheol x fem!reader 🖍️ genre/content: parent au 🖍️ warnings: suggestive babymaking at the end LOL 🖍️ summary: seungcheol looks at how his life has changed since he met you 🖍️ word count: 716 🖍️ dad!seungcheol series: a chance encounter | mess | snow

Sometimes Seungcheol gets overwhelmed by the mess all over his house. But then he’s reminded that he’s lucky to be surrounded by this mess. 

The mountain of dishes in the sink waiting to be washed.

The spilled chocolate milk on the kitchen table. The peas under the chair because Kkuma won’t eat them.

The gigantic orange stain on his beige couch. The colorful marker lines on the white walls. 

Toys everywhere, in every nook and cranny of the house. Legos scattered in even the smallest of places. 

When Seungcheol was a bachelor, he prided himself on the pristine look of his floor-to-ceiling window apartment. Everything was white, black, and gray. It was just the way he liked it. 

But then he met you.

You were the exact opposite of him. Thriving under chaos and mess, you brought color and sunshine to his mundane life. Your laughter, your storytelling, your clumsiness, your mess- all the reasons why he fell so head over heels for you. It was a love that invaded every space of his brain, absorbed all his coherent thoughts, and made his heart pound like he was a seventeen-year-old again.

He remembers one night, the two of you were at a park watching the fireworks light up the sky. You were telling him an elaborate story about how you fell into a pond while trying to feed the coi fish when you were younger, eyes sparkling, hands moving, laughter loud. He remembers this night because it was when he knew deep, deep down in the very bottom of his heart, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you. You were it for him. 

And he interrupted you by grabbing your face in both of his hands and kissing you senseless with only the fireworks as his witness.

Now here he is, years later, standing in the living room staring at the chaos that would’ve put his past self into a coma. But he’s not upset.

Because these traces of his children all over the house remind him just how lucky he is.

Cheol sighs with a smile and starts carefully placing all the plushies in the living room into the toy basket, grinning when Kkuma comes in to keep him company. He’s lost in thought, thinking about which cleaner worked best for removing this big stain on the couch, that he doesn’t hear you make your way downstairs. It’s only when you wrap your arms around his waist from behind, he smiles and turns around to hold you in his arms, lightly laughing when you press a long kiss to his cheek. 

“Are the gremlins asleep?” he asks quietly.

“You can’t call your kids gremlins, Cheol,” you say with a big smile. 

“Our kids,” he says quietly, gripping your chin to pull you into a long kiss. His heart pounds when he feels your grip on his arms tighten.

“I love you,” he whispers, pressing his forehead to yours. When you just hum, he laughs, pressing you closer to his chest. “Yah! Say it back!”

“I love you too,” you finally reply, granting him another kiss.

The two of you spend the rest of the night wiping the walls and getting through the mess in the kitchen.

“Do you think we’re done having kids?” you ask after a period of silent cleaning. Cheol pauses and turns to look at you. You’re not looking at him though, choosing to focus on wiping down the counter. Your question is very heavy, and you both know that, so he approaches you, taking the cloth out of your hands so he has your undivided attention.

“Do you want more kids? Cause I can make that happen,” he says with his big, dazzling smile. You wrap your arms around his neck. “I think one more wouldn’t hurt.”

“We’d be outnumbered,” he says, but it really doesn’t mean anything because having another version of the two of you running around doesn’t bother him in the slightest.

“And we’d have to clean up more mess,” you add, but when you slide your hands down his chest, Cheol knows you’re both on the same page.

“Well, look at us. We’re good at cleaning up,” he says before lifting you in his arms.

He’ll never get tired of the mess. 

[maisonmilli]

Hi, can I request a fanfic with scoups where he just randomly starts making out with you when you talk a bit too much because he finds you so cute

Ugghhh i love him

Too Cute to Handle 💕

Genre: Fluff + Cuteness Aggression + Hot Makeout Warnings: Established relationship, excessive cuteness, soft!Scoups losing his mind (affectionately), light steam (making out, wandering hands, nothing explicit), pure unfiltered fluff

Song rec: “Adore You” by Harry Styles

You were sprawled across the couch in one of Seungcheol’s oversized hoodies, legs tangled with his, talking a mile a minute about the stray cat you saw on your way home.

“And then she did this little mrrp thing and tilted her head and I just Cheol, I almost cried on the sidewalk. She was so round and her eyes were so big and she let me pet her for like three whole seconds before she decided I was worthy—”

Seungcheol wasn’t even pretending to listen anymore.

He was watching you with that dangerous little smile, the one where his dimples pressed deep and his eyes went all soft and predatory at the same time.

His hand had been resting on your ankle, thumb stroking lazy circles, but the longer you talked gesturing wildly with the sleeve paws of his hoodie, voice pitching higher with excitement the tighter his grip became.

You didn’t notice.

You were too busy describing the cat’s little white socks.

“So then I was like, ‘Hi baby, do you have a home?’ and she—”

He made a low, strangled noise.

You blinked. “What?”

“Nothing,” he muttered, but his jaw was tight and he was biting the inside of his cheek like he was physically restraining himself.

His free hand came up to pinch your cheek gently, then not so gently, squishing the soft skin between his fingers.

“Cheollie, I’m trying to tell you about the cat—”

“You’re killing me,” he groaned, voice rough.

“You’re actually going to kill me.”

You tilted your head, confused and a little pleased.

“What did I do?”

“You’re talking with the hoodie paws. You’re using voice cracks. You called a stray cat ‘baby’ in that voice.”

He sat up suddenly, pulling you closer by the ankles until you were half in his lap.

“You’re being so fucking cute I can’t breathe.”

Your face heated. “I’m just talking—”

“Exactly.”

He cupped your cheeks with both hands now, thumbs brushing your skin almost reverently. His eyes flicked all over your face like he couldn’t decide where to look your sparkling eyes, your slightly puffed cheeks, the way your lips kept moving even as he held you. “You talk too much and it’s lethal. I’m having cuteness aggression. Medical emergency.”

You giggled, trying to squirm away half-heartedly.

“You’re so dramatic—”

He cut you off with a kiss.

Not a soft one. Not the gentle little peck he usually gave you when you were being silly.

This was sudden and deep and hungry, like he’d been holding back for the last ten minutes and finally snapped.

His lips moved against yours with purpose, one hand sliding to the back of your neck to tilt your head just right.

You made a surprised little sound that only seemed to make it worse.

“Cheol—” you tried to say between kisses, but he swallowed it, kissing you harder. His other arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you fully into his lap until your knees bracketed his thighs.

The hoodie rode up your legs and his warm palm slipped underneath, resting possessively against the bare skin of your lower back.

“You’re so cute it hurts,” he mumbled against your mouth, barely pulling away enough to speak.

“Every time you get excited like that… fuck, I just want to kiss you stupid.”

“Then do it,” you whispered, dizzy and grinning.

He did.

The next kiss was slower but no less intense tongue brushing yours, teeth grazing your bottom lip, the kind of makeout that made your fingers curl into his hair and tug. He groaned softly at the pull, the sound vibrating through you.

One of his hands slid up your spine under the hoodie while the other stayed on your cheek, thumb stroking like he still couldn’t believe you were real.

You pulled back just enough to breathe, foreheads pressed together.

“Hi,” you said softly, a little breathless, cheeks burning.

Seungcheol’s eyes were dark, lips kiss-swollen, but the fond smile that broke across his face was pure sunshine. He squished your cheeks again, gentler this time, and planted three rapid little kisses on your puckered lips.

“My baby,” he murmured, voice wrecked.

“My cute, talkative, lethal baby. Keep talking. I’ll just keep kissing you every time I can’t handle it anymore.”

You laughed, bright and giddy, and leaned in to kiss him again soft this time, sweet, the kind of kiss that tasted like promises and quiet nights in.

He smiled against your mouth, arms tightening around you like he never planned on letting go.

Outside, the city kept moving, but in here it was just you, his favorite hoodie, and Seungcheol’s endless, adorable, slightly feral love.

Taglist 🥂

@stella-dreamy @joongtime

[rosequartz-archive]

Pairing✨ Seungcheol x Female OC

Synopsis✨ After one cliché, comes another. The man of your dreams treating you like he might break you, too worried about taking your virginity, to treat you exactly like you want him to.

Genre✨ established relationship, angst, fluff, SMUT (it's 50% smut)

Warnings✨ female masturbation, references to gun play and being pleasured by a gun (she's reading a book, it doesn't actually happen), vaginal fingering, Seungcheol has a filthy mouth, he is so soft with her and yet the biggest menace, a brief hand job (he guides her), loss of virginity, unprotected sex, multiple positions, slight nipple play, body worship, rough(ish) sex, oral f. recieving, cum eating, lots of I love yous even when he's being a teasing shit

Plot warnings✨ Seungcheol is trying to be the perfect boyfriend but somehow completely missing the mark, a brief interaction with someone from his past, lots of self doubt on OC's part, he's scared of losing her and he's the biggest idiot because of it, he finds her masturbating, an argument, he is the sweetest most in love person there's ever been, the angst is only there to make the smut and fluff that bit sweeter, he is specifically described as having the short hair he has in the banner because the second I saw that hair cut I started drooling, and I'm not ashamed to admit that.

Word count✨ 12k

a/n✨ I had other drafts I wanted to work on before this but all I've seen on my fyp on tik tok is Seungcheol edits and honestly the amount of time out of my day I spend thinking about him is becoming a problem

This is part 2 to this, it can be read as a stand alone though

It’d been four months since that night at the cottage, when Seungcheol had finally got his head out his ass and told you how he’d felt for all those years. You’d worried things would be weird, going from seemingly hating each other to declaring that you’d always loved each other, but it wasn’t as huge of an adjustment as you thought it would be.

He’d well and truly become your person. When you’d had a rough day at work and your boss had been a dick, he held you close to him and told you he’d fight the whole world if he had to, as long as you were happy. If you were cooking, he was attached to your back like an over eager koala. And even if you were dressed in your most tattered of sweats and you were cleaning your apartment, he’d declare nobody had ever looked so beautiful whilst cleaning a toilet.

But one thing that hadn’t changed? Choi Seungcheol is one annoying motherfucker.

You missed the old him. Not the old him who took things too far and left you with an aching feeling of hurt in your chest. But the old him where it felt almost like sport to rip into each other. You missed the banter and the laughs that came with it.

He’d turned into this yes man. He didn’t disagree with you on anything, he didn’t laugh with you when you did something stupid and if you suggested doing something, he’d just agree to it. Just last week, you’d purposely suggested going to eat at a place you knew he hated, hoping that he’d finally stand up for himself, but no. He sat for a whole hour and forced down a noodle dish you know he hated.

You were beginning to feel more like you were holding him against his will and he was just suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

That night did backfire on you slightly though. Because it scratched at something that had been bothering you even more than him becoming the world’s biggest people pleaser.

You’d been sat happily enjoying your noodles, trying to ignore the way that Cheol sort of looked like he might vomit at any given second, when someone you vaguely recognised wandered over to your table.

“Cheol?” his eyes flit up to the woman hovering by your table, “oh my god it is you! How have you been?” She beams at him.

Your eyes run over the woman stood in front of you. She’s stunning. Perfect make up, perfect hair and annoyingly perfect body, automatically you feel the sudden urge to throw your noodles at her. Or maybe even him.

“Er,” he glances at you, putting his chop sticks down tentatively, “Good! I’ve been good. You?”

“All the better for seeing you.” the woman, who you now decide is your sworn mortal enemy, replies in a sickly-sweet tone.

You could make a big deal out of it, make a song and dance of showing off that he’s yours to whoever this random goddess is. But you don’t. Instead, you decide that your noodles are far more entertaining than anything going on here, and try to ignore her.

“Did you lose a bet?”

That you can’t ignore. What the fuck is she insinuating? You glance at Seungcheol who looks like a deer caught in headlights.

“No? Why?” His eyes look between you and the woman you now hate more than anyone in the world. 

“Well. That night at the club,” oh that’s where she’s from! Mingyu had dragged you all to some themed night at a club run by one of his friends, a couple of weeks before the cottage trip. Your stomach drops when you remember that the perfect woman stood in front of you is the very woman you saw Seungcheol had pressed against the wall as you went to get some air, “you said any man who ended up stuck with her, would be the unluckiest man alive.”

Your body tenses though you keep your eyes firmly on your noodles. You were used to him being fucking cruel in the past but knowing he’d said it to someone you don’t even know cuts pretty deep. It doesn’t change how you feel about him. All of that is in the past. You know him now better than anyone and you know he said all that shit because his head was messed up, but it doesn’t stop the tears that threaten to spill.

His fingers twitch like he wants to reach for your hand across the table, his eyes holding so much worry and regret that his “friend” who’s brought nothing but drama, must be able to see.

“Actually.” He turns to her, her smile faltering a little when she sees how pissed off he is. “She’s my girlfriend. And whatever shit I told you that night, was bullshit. I’ve been in love with her since we were teenagers. So, fuck off and leave us alone.”

He turns back to his noodles, not wanting to say anything to you until she’s disappeared back under whatever hole she’s crawled out of.

“Well,” she huffs, glaring at you both, “I only came over because you were a good fuck. It’s not like I liked you or anything.”

All three of you know that’s not true. Her excitement at seeing him would suggest she was hoping something might happen. She turns on her heel though and struts off into the night, leaving you with a very worried Seungcheol.

“I never meant that ____, you know what I was like. Please don’t be upset about it, I’m really sorry.”

You can’t lie, you are upset. You’re upset that he said it, but you’re not surprised. And with everything that’s happened and how solid you two have been since that night in the cottage, you can’t hold it against him.

But one thing did start to niggle at you more and more. “You’re a good fuck.”

Those four little words have been spinning round and round in your head for days now. He’s a good fuck.

It’s not like you don’t know that. Multiple women over the years can attest to that.

But one person who can’t? You.   

And it was starting to drive you insane.

Since that first night where you rode his thigh and watched him cum all over his hand, you’ve only experienced what can only be described as heavy petting, at best. That isn’t to say he doesn’t touch you. He’s always touching you somehow, a gentle hand on your thigh in the car, wrapped in his arms on the sofa and if you’re making out it’s rare that his hands aren’t on your ass. But that’s where it stops.

And it isn’t like you haven’t tried. Fuck have you tried to show him that you want him, that you’re ready to finally know what all the fuss is about and for him to finally take your virginity. But it’s like he’s blind to it, content to happily wander through life without so much as a hand job. And you really don’t get it. His friend from the noodle bar said it herself, “You’re a good fuck.”.

So why won’t he do anything? He won’t even finger you for fucks sake.

When you mix his newfound celibacy with the fact that he would literally tell you how right you are if you confidently declared that Mingyu had grown a whole second head, instead of clearly calling you an idiot, you were starting to feel like you were in some sort of twilight zone.

It was beginning to make you question everything. Does he even want this? Surely, he’s going to get bored sooner rather than later, things will fizzle out and you will truly end up hating each other. Your mind tries to tell you that maybe he just doesn’t want you that way, that you’re not his type and he’s now trying to find a way out of it. But that doesn’t make sense at all, why spend all his time telling you how beautiful you are to then turn around and say you’re not his type.

But maybe that’s it. There’s a difference between finding someone beautiful and wanting to tear their clothes off and pin them against the kitchen counter. Over the past 11 years you’ve seen him get with women smaller than you, bigger than you, smaller tits, bigger tits, the list goes on and on. Seungcheol doesn’t discriminate, if he thinks you’re hot, then you’re in his bed or literally wherever he can have you.

So maybe you’re not hot?

He just thinks you’re beautiful like you’d say about a nice view or a scenic water colour or something, nice to look at but it doesn’t get him going.

What doesn’t help is that for the past week you’d been staying at his place. Your lease ended on your apartment and there was another two weeks until you could move into your new one, so Seungcheol being the annoying loving boyfriend he is, said you could stay at his place.

Which is perfect. Sort of.

Each morning you wake up with his strong arms wrapped around you and you’ve never felt safer or more loved. But that also means most mornings you wake up with his hard dick against you and once he’s realised that you’re both awake and you can feel it, he rushes off to the bathroom and has a shower. Leaving you feeling more and more like you’re diseased and everyone forgot to tell you.

And so now you find yourself on your boyfriend’s bed, kindle in hand and only a baggy old t-shirt on, as you try to relieve at least some of the frustration you’re currently feeling. The mafia boss is doing something with his gun that is absolutely not how it was intended to be used, but fuck does the idea of it make your clit throb under your fingers. It’s not unusual that you imagine Seungcheol in these scenarios, especially when your book gets to the filthiest scenes, and that just makes you even wetter. 

You can’t help it, no matter how the male lead is described, you still only see Seungcheol’s handsome features and big body as you conjure up the fantasy world you’re trying to escape to. And today is no different. He’s holding his wife down on to desk, telling her to be more fucking careful about who she speaks to, as his gun runs through her sopping folds. You close your eyes, imagining your fingers are the barrel of the gun, that Seungcheol is the one pressed against you, caging you between the desk and his strong body, whispering into your ear about how you’d better start fucking behaving yourself or you’d regret it.

You’re barely even reading the words at this point, your eyes only flit open occasionally but then go back to whatever fantasy you’ve concocted for yourself whilst your fingers move frantically up and down your clit. Your pussy is drenched, your fingers absolutely covered in your essence as the familiar wet sounds of you pleasuring yourself ring round the room.

Gun play isn’t something you’d ever considered but when you open your eyes to finally read the next sentence and the mafia boss slips the tip of his gun just enough into his wife’s pussy to make her scream, you slam your eyes shut again as your fingers glide down to your clenching hole. You slip two in, stretching yourself open a little, just how his gun does in the book, before you peer at the next sentence, “are you even listening to me darling? Or has your brain turned all dumb baby, you like me fucking you with my gun? It’s all you’re gonna get, such a dumb little slut for me, you only deserve my gun. One day you’ll learn to keep your fucking mouth shut.”

Your eyes roll back, as fresh wave of arousal pouring out of you as you clamp down on your own fingers. What you wouldn’t give for Seungcheol to fuck you with anything at this point. You can imagine him, in one of the pristine suits he goes to the office in, folding you over his desk whilst he fucks something, anything into you to ease the pain of longing that you’re feeling.

You’re close, so fucking close that it’ll only take a couple more…….

“OH MY GOD, I AM SO SORRY!”

Your kindle flies across the bed, your heart in your throat thinking it’s someone who’s broken in and found you knuckles deep in yourself. But it isn’t, it’s just Seungcheol, eyes covered with his fingers as he turns around quickly then he doesn’t see you.

Does he find the idea of even seeing you masturbating so offensive, that he can’t bring himself to look at you?

Or maybe he’s just nervous? Maybe it’s time for you to take the initiative, to show him that you want him properly.

“You could help me?” you say softly, far too innocently for what you actually mean.

“Oh! Yeah sure!”

Your heart flutters almost as much as your pussy. This is it, he’s actually going to finally do something.

The small smile you had toying on your lips soon disappears though when he walks backyards into the room, eyes still covered aside from a small gap in his fingers, so he doesn’t fall, and he throws your sleep shorts at you.

“There you go.” They land on the bed as you watch him fumble out of the room, “I’ll be in the kitchen! I got us dinner from that Thai place you like.”

And with that he’s gone. He rushes out of the room, and you’re left with your legs spread, sleep shorts between them where they landed and your best hope of an orgasm long gone. All thanks to the man who is apparently “a good fuck.”

You can’t keep doing this. He doesn’t want you. Not like you want him. Why did he even start this if it was never going to go anywhere?

“I think I’m going to go and stay at my mom’s until I can move into my new place.”

You don’t look at him. Just keep eating your food, resigned to the fact that you’ll be a virgin for the rest of your life. Perhaps it won’t be that bad, you can live your darkest fantasies through the characters in your books and never have to deal with the fact that all men ever do is disappoint you. He can go back to being his usual self and this whole charade will be over.

“Why?”

He looks genuinely confused, his pad thai halfway to his mouth and a pout quickly forming on those perfect lips of his.

“I think it’d just be a better idea for me to be there.”

He searches your face, hoping there’d be some sign as to why you’re suddenly leaving but all he finds is a vacant expression that looks almost tired.

“Is this because of earlier? I swear I don’t mind you doing that! It was just a shock, I shouldn’t have made it a thing, I should’ve just turned around and let you finish.”

Should have just let you finish?! He cannot be serious. Your chest feels like someone is bouncing on it from how much your heart is thumping. There’s not a single part of him that had any inclination to even join you. To let his fingers bring you that much needed release instead of your own.

“This relationship isn’t working Cheol.”

You’ve no idea what he was expecting you to say but it clearly wasn’t that. He looks dumb struck with panic, eyes filling with tears before you’ve even told him why. And that breaks you, you feel like the worst person in the world, but you can’t do this anymore.

“Why? Everything was fine! Is this because of what’s just happened?” He presses again.

“It’s sort of because of that, I don’t know, there’s a lot.”

“A LOT? Fuck, what are you even talking about? Everything has been perfect!”

Your heart aches from how sad he sounds, tears now streaming down his cheeks and food pushed to the side.

“But that’s the problem! I think this whole thing has just been a fantasy of what you thought the perfect relationship should be. None of it even feels real Cheol!”

“What the fuck does that mean?! It feels real to me!”

“I don’t know how to explain this,” you mumble, fingers massaging your temples.

“THEN FUCKING TRY!” You jump when he screams it at you, tears still coursing down his cheeks and pain in his eyes.

“I..... I don’t think you want me. Not how I want you.”

“What th.....”

“Please Seungcheol,” you hold your shaky hand up to stop him, “just let me say this.”

He doesn’t say anything, just stares at you with a trembling bottom lip.

“That first night, at the cottage, you told me I made you feral. I always remembered it because it made me feel so wanted, so desired. But when this whole thing started, I was nervous we wouldn’t be ourselves anymore and I think I was right,”

“But we are!” He interrupts.

“We’re not Cheol,” you plead with him, “You haven’t been normal with me in months. And I don’t mean telling me things you wouldn’t tell anyone else or trying to make me happy, I love that you do that. But I mean your normal, jokey self, ready to laugh with me or mock something stupid I did. Like I would mock you. I don’t mean I want you to be fucking mean to me like you used to, I just mean I miss that banter. It’s what made us, us. And now any time I disagree with you, you just change your mind. It’s like you’ve got no opinion. I want to bicker, I want to laugh, I want the Seungcheol I’ve been in love with for years. Not this yes man that just agrees with me.”

He’s quiet, thinking through what you’ve just said to him.

“I didn’t want to lose you.” His voice is only a little louder than a whisper, but you hear him.

“Why would you lose me?”

“Because I know I took it way too far a lot of the time when we were at each other’s throats. Fuck I saw my whole life flash before me at the restaurant the other day, when she said about losing a bet. I know you always gave as good as you got but it was me that took it too far. I just kept thinking if I didn’t even give myself the opportunity to go too far, then I couldn’t hurt you like I used to. And now I’m losing you anyway.”

You hate that you’ve caused this sadness. All because you were too horny with your kindle. And you don’t want to lose him but surely going through this hurt temporarily, is better than hurting each other permanently, later down the line.

“Do you find me attractive?”

“What?” his eyes snap to yours.

“I just..... I guess this also ties into the other thing that’s been bothering me.”

You look up at him, hoping now he might stop you. Because now you’re not feeling as brave as you did when he was pissing you off. Because now you’re fucking terrified of hearing the answer.

“Why won’t you have sex with me? Earlier when you found me on your bed, all you did was fucking cover your eyes, it’s like the option of joining me, didn’t even cross your mind! Seriously if you don’t find me attractive, I’d rather you just tell me because clearly there’s a massive fucking problem here. Did you think you wanted me and now you’re stuck with me, you’ve realised I’m not what you want at all. Do you want other people? Like the woman from the other night? Why do you not want me like you wanted all those women?”

Your voice gets gradually quieter. Now you’re saying it out loud you just want the ground to swallow you up. All your insecurities are bubbling to the surface after spending years comparing yourself to the countless women you’ve seen him with.

And the fact he’s not saying anything, just staring at you, makes you feel even more insecure. You’ve actually done it, you must’ve done. You’ve managed to hit every nail on the head and now he doesn’t want to upset you by admitting that everything you’ve just said is true.

“Of course I do.”

Is that all he has to say? After everything you’ve just said to him, all he can do is appease you again.

“Don’t bullshit me Seungcheol. You’re not being you. Not in the way you are with women you want. Not in the way you behave with me in general.”

“How would you know?!” The sudden shout makes you jump again, your chopsticks falling to the ground.

“Because I’ve been watching you Cheol, for years!! And it’s broken me every single time! I’ve seen how you are with women, there’s a fire in your eyes, like you’re ready to risk it all for however long you spend with them! And with me it’s just “you’re pretty” and a quick half assed squeeze of my ass and that’s it! I know you better than that and don’t insult me by saying I don’t. I’ve seen you when you want people and you don’t want me! Fuck, you find your girlfriend fingering herself and you do fuck all and run off?!”

“This is what it’s about?! You just want to fuck?! Get up then, I’ll fuck you if that’s what you want!! Then you can stop all this fucking bullshit!!” He stands up like he’s ready to go.

Panic sets in.

Not only is he not understanding you. You’re really losing him.

That isn’t what you want. You want him to want to. Which he clearly doesn’t and your heart shatters.

“That’s not what I want!!” you sob, it all getting too much, “I just want you to tell me what I’m doing wrong and why you don’t want me,” you can’t help it, you can barely catch your breath you’re crying so much but this has been building up for weeks.

“Oh,_____.” He rushes over to you, kneeling down in front of you, hands tentatively holding your chair.

“I-i don’t want to lose y-you,” you hiccup, wiping your eyes, “but I don’t even feel like I’ve got you to lose. I-i know you’ll always protect me, but I don’t feel like you’re here. The real you.”

He hangs is head in shame, hands tightening on your chair.

“I want you. And I know I’m not showing it. But it’s because I don’t know how to stop myself if I behave exactly how I want to around you, because I want you so fucking much and I’m well aware I’m your first. And I know I’m behaving weird, but I swear it’s because I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to hurt you and that’s all I’ve ever done.”

You get that. You really do. But he’s just not him.

“These past few months,” you sniffle, “they’ve been amazing. I love you so much Cheol, but I miss how we used to be.”

You look down at the man kneeling in front of you and you still can’t believe he’s yours. You just wish he felt like yours.

“I love how caring you are, how safe you make me feel. And don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that you’ve never forced me to do anything before I’m ready. But it gets to a point where I’m starting to feel like I’m going insane. You don’t have to wrap me cotton wool,”

“I just,” he frowns, trying to find the right words, “I’m so scared of ruining this. And I don’t want you to ever think I’m going back to how I used to be.”

“I get that. But I miss being able to laugh at each other, I mean for god’s sake Cheol even I could tell I was driving like a grandma the other day and you didn’t even laugh with me. You just said that it wise to be cautious... Like what the fuck is that?!”

“If it helps,” he chuckles, thumbing your cheek, his beautiful smile wiping away the sadness slightly, “I did think it to myself.”

“Well thank fuck for that! At least you’re in there somewhere! Please just stop being so cautious. I just want the us from before but without the extra dickhead Cheol that came with it.”

“I get what you’re saying,” he chuckles, squeezing your hand, “I just never want to cross that line.”

“But I don’t think you will Cheol because the main thing that was making you do that, was because you loved me and thought you couldn’t have me. But you’ve got me. I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere.”

You take his cheek in your hand when a fresh tear falls from his tired eyes, wiping it away and hoping you’re finally getting through to him.

“I want to have sex with you. More than anything. And I hate that I’ve made you question yourself so much and compare yourself to anyone. You’re it for me _____, you are the most beautiful, hottest, most insanely attractive woman I’ve ever met.” He smiles when you giggle at that.

“And it isn’t a responsibility thing, I don’t think. It’s more that I don’t feel like I deserve it. It’s such a big thing and I’ve been such a dick to you, I’ve got it in my mind that it shouldn’t be mine to take. Fuck, every day I have to hold myself back because I don’t want us to finally do it, and then you to wake up tomorrow and realise what I’ve always known, that you’re way too good for me.”

“I wish you saw what I do,” your eyes search his, “you’re the person I rely on Choi Seungcheol, you’re the person I know I can go to when I’m scared or sad. And you’ve been protecting me for longer than I even knew. I don’t want a perfect relationship where neither of us speak our mind. I want us to argue, I want us to laugh....I want us to love Seungcheol. But we can’t do that until you open your fucking eyes and realise that I am totally and utterly in love with you. And I know you. And if I say you’re good enough for me. Then you are.”

“But.....”

“No. There’s no but. Even when we were fighting for all those years, we still knew each other better than anyone. You can’t piss people off as well as us two did to each other without knowing them. And I do know all of you. And I still love you.”

“I’m sorry, I love you so fucking much.” He says with a sad smile, staring at your knee rather than your face.

“I don’t want you to be sorry.” You lift his head with a finger under his chin, “I just want you back. The proper Seungcheol, who stands on the back of my shoe to make me trip so he can.....wait....” Something clicks in your mind that you’d never realised before. “Oh my god have you been doing that for years so that you could catch me?!”

He is such a fucking child.

“Took you long enough to figure out.” He chuckles, eyes shining. A huge improvement from the tears of a few moments ago.

You roll your eyes but pull on his hands to make him sit up so you can pull him into your arms.

You hold each other for what feels like hours, your nose nuzzled in his hoody, finding comfort in the familiar scent of him filling your senses.

“So next time you find me like you did......”  

“Oh, there won’t be a next time baby,” he interrupts, “I’ll make sure you never need to do that again.” You can almost hear the smirk in his voice.

You try to hold back your excited squeal at that, though he knows you so well that he’ll know that anyway.

“Was that the right answer, your Highness?”

“Mm-mm” 

“Good,” he pulls himself up in your arms and launches himself on top of you.

“Cheol you big idiot!! What are you doing?!” 

“I’m holding you.”

“You’re sitting on me. Could you move?!”

You can feel your legs going numb already. You may love his scrumptious thighs and big body but not when he’s on top of you. You feel like you’re being crushed.

“No. You told me to be myself. And I want to hold you. So, deal with it.” He pats your head sarcastically with a smug smile before humming when he makes himself comfy on top of you.

“Asshole.” 

“Takes one to know one.”

You huff but, in the end, tighten your arms around him, pretty pleased with finally getting to the bottom of whatever the hell was going on with him. And finally feeling like the normal Seungcheol is back.

Seungcheol’s apartment is eerily quiet when you close the door and take your shoes off, leaving your bag and coat on the stand and creeping in.

It’s pitch black. No TV blaring or food burning in the kitchen. Just dark and silent.

That is until you smell the distinct scent of candles. And hear a sort of warbling coming from the bedroom.

You wonder whether you should even look what he’s doing. Maybe he’s taken up Mongolian throat singing and wants his privacy. Or maybe he’s doing exactly what you were doing two nights ago. Fuck. If he’s doing that, surely you can risk a small peak round the door. Just to see. Just for a second.

But against your better, more pervy, judgement. You decide it’s best to announce yourself.

“Cheol?!” 

“You’re home!” he rushes through the door, a wide, if not frantic, smile on his face.

“Should I not be?” you narrow your eyes at him.

“You should be! Absolutely! Just give me one more second? Please?” he doesn’t wait for you to answer him, just rushes back into his bedroom.

What the hell is he even doing?

After the chaos of the other night, you felt a lot better about your relationship. He was far more like his old self, no more treating you like you were royalty and he feared being sent to be executed. Just the boyfriend you always wanted, that you knew was still there somewhere, who makes your heart flutter and smile like a goofball.

Your mind wanders whilst you stand and wait for whatever he’s doing. Maybe he’s taking you for dinner. You noticed, as he rushed in and out of the room, that he had your favourite brown suit on. He wore it for your best friend’s wedding, and you’d spent most of the day staring at him, rather than taking in anything else happening around you.

Now though, it looks even better.

He’d had his hair cut, much to your horror. Although when he walked in with his fresh cut, you’d had to eat your words and accept that you were wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. Because if Seungcheol with long hair made you weak at the knees, Seungcheol with short hair had you frothing at the mouth, barking on the ground like a dog.

He had no business being so fucking hot.

The night of the haircut you’d tried your hardest to get him to do something, finally. But instead, you sat and watched Shrek whilst he held your hand and occasionally kissed your head.

You were nearly in tears by the time you got home, crawled into bed and shakily took out your vibrator. Cursing Seungcheol. And his barber.

You’re so lost in thought at how hot he looks that you don’t even notice that he’s in front of you.

“Hi,” he beams at you, hands on your hips and placing a gentle kiss on your cheek.

You can’t help it, your whole body goes gooey when he’s soft with you like that.

“Hello.” You grin back, “What are you up to?”

“I got the afternoon off,” he takes your hand and leads you towards his bedroom. Every part of you hopes this is what you think it is. But then you remember Shrek and you do find yourself doubting it a little bit. “And so, I’ve got a surprise.”

Fuck you hope it’s his dick with a pretty bow on it.

Although that wouldn’t explain the warbling and the candles.

Good god maybe he’s joined a cult. And you’re about to be the sacrifice.

Your body jolts when you smack into him, you not even realising he’d stopped in front of you.

“Are you ok?” he chuckles.

“Y-yeah,” you don’t really answer him properly, your eyes catch sight of his bedroom and all your ability to speak disappears.

It looks like hundreds of candles, differing in size, on every surface and on the wooden floor, even on the window ledge. And where there’s no candles, there’s bouquets of pink peonies all in different sizes. The rain hitting the window and the cold night outside, completely juxtaposes the warmth and extravagance of the bedroom, making it seem like you’re in your own world completely.

“Cheol,” you move past him, taking in every detail in the room in wonderment, “this must’ve taken you so long to do! It’s....it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life!”

“Well, that’s a lie, you must’ve looked in a mirror before.”

You’re so awe struck you haven’t even got it in you to roll your eyes at that cheesy line. The more you look, the more details you spot.

He’s hung up string lights with clips on them, each clip holding Polaroids of you both taken over the years. Your friends always making you have your photos taken together, even when you were both adamant you didn’t want to.

There’re chocolates and champagne on the bed side table and even two new fluffy robes thrown over the chair that sits in the corner of the room.

“Do you like it?” his arms wrap around your waist, chin resting on your shoulder as you keep taking everything in.

“It’s amazing Cheol, I can’t believe you did all this.” You turn in his hold, arms settling around his neck whilst his arms tighten around your waist.

“I’m sorry I was so stupid about all this, anybody would think I’m the virgin.”

You both snicker at that. He has been very dramatic about this whole thing. You, of course, have been very level headed. Frothing at the mouth and barking aside.

“So....you want to? Tonight?”

“We absolutely don’t have to, there’s no pressure. Either way I wanted to do something to show you I love you, and that I’m sorry for being so weird about everything. But. Just for the sake of clarity and because I made you question everything..... I’m absolutely ready to ruin you.”

“Oh my god!” You whine, head on his shoulder as he roars in laughter.

You lift you head slowly, his laughter dying down and just leaving his most perfect smile as he looks at you.

“Do you want to?” he asks, nothing but care in his voice.

Your heart is hammering and suddenly you feel nervous. Yes, you’re horny and you’ve thought about this more and more every day. But now it’s happening, your mind is foggy with worry.

“Hey,” he says softly, a gentle finger lifting your chin to make you look at him. “It’s normal to be nervous, we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“I want this. I want it to be you, it was always meant to be you. It was always yours.” 

His breath hitches, his eyes marvelling at you.

“Fuck.” his voice is no louder than a whisper, his forehead resting against yours.

Your eyes flick down to his lips, his doing the same. It’s like you’re both in the same position, even though Seungcheol definitely isn’t. But the nerves feel the same. You suppose it’s a lot of pressure to be someone’s first when it’s been so long they’ve been waiting.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Mm-mm” he stares at your lips, watching you talk.

“Why is this weird music on?”

His eyes snap to yours.

“It’s Enya. I wanted to set the mood.”

You bite your lips, desperately trying not to laugh at him, not wanting to ruin all his hard work.

“Is there another option?”

“There is. I fuck you so good that all we hear is your sopping pussy talking to us.”

You freeze. Ears turning pink and pussy clenching around nothing. You were not expecting that switch up.

You just stare at him, open mouthed, not really knowing how to respond to that. You’ve spent over a decade wanting to hear shit like that come out his mouth and now you have, you’re not quite sure how to respond.

“Shall I turn it off?” he mutters, fingers digging into your waist and lips so close, you can feel his breath.

“N-no… I mean yes?” you glance at his lips, “Oh I don’t fucking care.”

You crash your lips into his, his smile soon fading when grabs your face and deepens the kiss straight away. Your lips move with such urgency that your brain can hardly keep up. His tongue slips into your mouth, swallowing the little moans that leave you as his hands grope your ass, bringing you flush against his already hardening dick. You’ve kissed him, a lot. But nothing like this. This time it’s like he’s trying to show you just how much he’s wanted you all these months. All these years.

You love his suit. But right now? You need it as far away from him as possible. Shakey fingers yank it out of his suit pants, buttons opening as quick as you can so you can see the body you love so much. He’s big, he always has been and you love how that feels. How when you’re in his arms, it literally feels like he’s caging you from the world. How when he gets out of the shower, you just want to bite his biceps they look so yummy. He’s big and you fucking love it.

His jacket is thrown onto the floor, followed by the shirt once you’ve finally got all those trickly little buttons undone and he begins to move you backwards towards the bed, unzipping your dress as you go, meaning that by the time the back of your legs hit the mattress, you’re in nothing but your underwear.

His lips never leave yours, both of you trying desperately to cling to each other whilst wrestling every last piece of clothing off yourselves.

“Get on the bed,” he mumbles, between little pecks on your kiss bitten lips.

You don’t even hesitate, just shuffle quickly up the bed, head meeting the pillows and resting on your elbows then you can see Seungcheol take off his last piece of clothing, revealing is now hard dick to you as he stands transfixed by your naked body in front of him.

Any nerves you may have had the first time, in the cottage, are long gone. His gaze doesn’t allow you to question is desire for you at all. He looks at you like you are the centre of his universe, which is lucky, because that’s exactly how you think of him.

He kneels between your legs, eyes taking in every inch of you in awe, fingers brushing along the soft skin of your calves, drawing little swirls and whirls as they wander higher up your legs, his eyes never leaving your body. When his fingers hover on the inside of your thighs, he glances at you, but you don’t look at him, you can’t, you’re just transfixed by how close his hands are to where you need him the most. You’re pussy weeping more the longer it takes him to do something.

His strong hands clasp your thighs and open your legs, your pussy fully on display for him the more he opens them.

“Fuck,” he whispers, shuffling at little closer to you and hovering over you, one hand near your head and the other softly stroking your thigh, “I love you.”

He looks deep into your eyes as his fingers finally part your soaked folds, gliding through them from how utterly ruined you are for him already. Finally, after all this waiting, you feel him and your whole mind goes dizzy. That night in the cottage, you’d felt his thigh against you but nothing else, and in the months after that you’d yearned for his touch so much that you were starting to feel like it might never happen.

But now your feel his long, calloused fingers circling your clit, your hips twitching evertytime he applies more pressure and you have to remind yourself that he is entirely yours. That he loves you just like you hoped he would for all those years.

He never takes his eyes off you, his big body hovering over you, lips occasionally leaving featherlight kisses along your collar bone and neck but pretty quickly averting his eyes back to your pretty face and the even prettier reactions you make when his two fingers circle your clit a little harder each time.

“You’re so fucking wet baby, all this time you’ve been this desperate for me?”

Your brain wants to answer him, it really does, but those two fingers he had on your clit glide down to your entrance and any ability you had to speak, is gone as his fingers apply the lightest bit of pressure before moving back to your clit.

“You’ve been this needy? All this fucking time. Fuck,” he bites your ear lobe, a whine leaving you at the shock of it, “I’ve thought about this you know. Every single time,” another bite and a particularly firm circle of your clit that has your thighs shaking, “I wake up and my dick is nestled in your perfect ass, fuck the number of times I’ve almost cum just from that.”

His fingers move back down to tease your leaking hole again and your hips buck a little, like you’re trying to make him move his fingers into you. You would literally do anything at this point, you just need something inside you.

“But you knew that didn’t you?” His fingers just push into your hole, “I’ve felt you shoving your ass back when you thought I was still asleep, fucking little tease.” He moves his fingers from your hole and back to your clit, making you want to scream in frustration.

“Cheol,” you plead, finally looking at him in the eye rather than at his body, “please.”

You’re pleading so innocently that you see a fire burn in his eyes, but you can tell he’s not done toying with you yet.

“Please what?” He pouts. “Please finger your perfect little pussy?” His fingers go back to toying with your swollen bundle of nerves.

“Mm-mm,” you nod, revelling in the way his fingers are playing with you.

“You didn’t do a good enough job the other day? Fingering yourself on my bed, pretending like you didn’t want me to find you? What were you reading baby?”

“A-a..book,” you sigh when you feel his fingers near your hole again.

“Don’t,” he nips your nipple with his teeth, the pain making you squirm underneath him, “get smart with me. What was happening? What got my perfect little girlfriend so wet that she had to finger herself on her boyfriend’s bed?”

This does make you snap back to reality. You can’t tell him. You know you said you wanted the little shit Seungcheol back, but you know damn well, he will never let you live it down if you tell him.

So, remain silent.

But that proves a step too far for Seungcheol. He removes his fingers from you, instead deciding to run his wet fingertip around your nipples whilst he waits for you to tell him what you were reading.

“I won’t do anything until you tell me. You’ll just have to finish yourself off whilst I watch.”

Fuck.

“It…..It’s a book about a mafia boss,”

He hums whilst he listens, watching his fingers wander back down to your pussy, his hand massaging you soothingly.

“And?” He parts your folds, spreading you open and gazing down at how much you’re leaking.

You suppose you’re going to have to bite the bullet. Much like the heroine did in your book.

“He was fucking his wife with his gun.”

His head whips back up to gawk at you. His hand frozen over your aching mound.

“He…..What? You were reading a book about fucking cats last week. And now you’re reading hardcore porn?!”

Does he really need to do this now?!

“It is not hardcore porn. It’s a love story.”

“Why do you only read boring shit when you’re sitting with me?!”

“Because you’re fucking nosey and I thought you’d get so bored, reading over my shoulder, you might finally decide to fuck me!”

His eyes are full of challenge, showing you he’s no intention of letting this whole gun fucking thing drop. But he’s got more pressing things to be getting on with, and his fingers finally greet your clit once again.

“Such a dirty fucking girl,” he bites your neck, his fingers moving back down to your hole, “who knew the quiet little virgin had such a nasty fucking mind.”

Your hands are clutching the bed sheets, his fingers circling your entrance once again.

“Look at me.” You do, without hesitation and his two long fingers finally push into you.

His eyes are filled with lust, almost daring you to look away from him as his fingers move slowly in and out of you, hitting deeper and deeper each time. You’re a squirming mess underneath him, head thrown back and desperately trying to keep your eyes open to revel in the fucked out look already on Seungcheol’s face. 

“Fuck your greedy pussy is fucking swallowing my fingers baby, you feel fucking incredible. So warm,” he nibbles your ear lobe, “so fucking wet for me.”

His fingers speed up once he knows you’re used to him, his two long digits hitting a spot inside you that you’ve never been able to find before. The second he hits your g-spot, you cry out, your legs kicking slightly as you cling to him.

“That’s it,” he coos at you, “doesn’t that feel good baby?”

It does feel good. It feels fucking incredible, it’s literally nothing you’ve ever felt before, but you can’t even figure out a way to tell him that. Your mind is blank, the only thing coursing through it is how his fingers greet your g-spot every time he fucks them into you and how incredible they feel as they drag along your warm, wet walls. Your fingers will never cut it again, you can already tell that.

“You want another one?” Fuck he needs to stop talking to you like that, like you’re nothing but his little toy, but you know he won’t because he can feel just how much you like it from the way your keep clenching down on his fingers, “you think you can handle another one baby?”

You’ve no fucking idea. Why the hell does he keep asking you questions?!

He takes your squirming as a yes and gently adds another finger, stretching you open more than you’ve ever been and making you throw your head back on the pillow, eyes clamped shut and lip between your teeth.

It stings. It borderline hurts. But he goes slow with it, watching every reaction you have to make sure you’re not in any huge amount of pain. He can tell it’s a little uncomfortable from the way your eyebrows have knitted together like they do when you get a paper cut or something. But the second he sees that fade and your mouth open a little, airy little moans leaving it, he knows he can speed up again.

You can feel your orgasm bubbling already, his fingers fucking you open and repeatedly hitting that spongey spot inside you that you never knew you had until about five minutes ago. His breath his heavy against your neck, he occasionally places a gentle kiss on it but he’s mainly just watching how his fingers disappear inside you.

“Shit _____, look at you creaming my fucking fingers. You gonna cum for me?”

You nod and cling to his forearms. Because its all you can do.

His fingers plunge in and out of you, the sound of squelching filling the room as your pussy only gets wetter and wetter the closer you get to your release. When his thumb meets your clit, just rubbing it slightly because his fingers are fucking you too fast to make even the loosest of circles, it proves too much for you.

You clamp down on his fingers so hard that he struggles to even keep moving them, they’re covered in a milky white ring as you spasm beneath him. Your whole body shaking as electricity courses through you like you’ve never experienced before. You always thought it was a myth that orgasms felt different if it was just your clit being stimulated rather than your g spot too. But now you know you were wrong. So wrong.

Your hips grind down onto him, meeting the thrusts of his fingers as you ride out your high, your body tingling and tears falling from how hard it hit you. And Seungcheol can do nothing but stare at you with hungry eyes, fingers slowing slightly as you orgasm ebbs away and his dick twitching against your thigh from how fucking beautiful you look, writhing around underneath him.

It finally hits him, as your body slows, that he’s the only person to ever see this. To ever know how stunning you look as you cum, to have your body like this. And it also hits him just how lucky he is, that you trust and love him so much that you’ve let him do this, to be the one that you give something so precious to. That you’ve been keeping for all those years.

He loses all sense at that point, he doesn’t even let you catch your breath, just smashes his lips into yours hoping that you feel just how much he loves you from how wanton his kiss is.

You hum into it, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him even closer to you. You can feel his hard dick against the inside of your thigh, but you don’t care, you just want him close to you, to feel the weight of his body against yours to ground you slightly.

His kiss turns into little pecks, like he doesn’t want to disconnect your lips but also wants to see you, to check on you.

“That was fucking incredible,” you beam at him, beating him to it.

“Really,” a quick kiss on your lips, “I couldn’t tell.”

You haven’t even got it in you to be mad at his sarcastic comment. Your body is on a high and now you’re back to reality, you very much do care that his hard dick in currently leaking precum all over your thigh.

Your hand twitches to touch him but then it hits you. You’ve never held one. Never felt one. Even that night all those months ago, you didn’t feel anything, you just watched him cum. Sure, you’ve felt it through his clothes, but you’ve never actually done anything more. What if you do it wrong? What if……

“What are you thinking about?” He moves your hair behind your ear, still hovering over you.

“I was g-going….” You curse yourself for faltering, he’s going to think you’re such an idiot, “to touch you. But,” you look anywhere but at him, “I’ve never…..I don’t want to….do it wrong?”

“Hey,” he makes you look at him, his hand holding your cheek, “do whatever you want to. I’m yours. Completely.”

Your heart leaps at that but it doesn’t shift the worry about fucking this up.

“I just, I don’t know what to do, what you like I mean.”

“I like,” he takes your hand in his, guiding it down towards his throbbing length and closing your hand around it, his on top of yours guiding your movements, “whatever you do. Because it’s you doing it, just like I always wanted.”

He guides your movements for a couple of strokes but then his hand leaves yours and now it’s just you, with his hard dick in your hand and moving slowly along it. His breath hitches, him taking your nipple into his mouth so you feel his moans against you as well as hear them, as your grip tightens slightly and your movements speed up a little.

You’re transfixed by him, the way his swollen tip leaks occasionally making the slip easier for your movements, how his body shudders against you when your thumb grazes said tip, wanting to know what the liquid oozing out of it feels like. Your pussy leaks a fresh wave slick when you realise just how big he is, and how he’s going to be buried inside you, the first and last man to ever do it. You can feel every ridge and vein, every breath that hitches as he suckles gently on your nipple.

He raises his head to look at you, his pupils blown and cheeks pink.

“I’m not being pushy, but if you’re going to keep doing that, the whole losing virginity thing is going to have to be put back a little because I’m about five seconds from cumming.”

Your hand freezes, eyes wide and feeling more than a little proud of yourself. It turns out years of smutty books have paid off.

“Really?”

“You don’t have to look so smug!” he chastises you, though he can’t fight of the little smile playing on his lips.

“Do you want to?”

“Baby,” he sits up, hands kneading your thighs, “I want you. I always have. And if you’re ready, then yes, I want to.”

“I’m ready.”

You say it confidently though you both know there’s a lot of nervous courage behind those words. 29 years you’ve waited and 11 of those you’ve waited for it to be Seungcheol. Sure, you always thought it would probably be someone else, always presuming Seungcheol never even liked you, let alone loved you. But now it’s happening. Finally. And you’re caught between excitement and fear.

He leans over you to his bedside drawer.

“Wait.”

He pulls back a little to look at you, hoping he hasn’t moved to quickly.

“Can we……Not use a condom? Please?”

Cheol’s eyes widen and panic sets in your mind.                                                                                                                       

“Wait that’s stupid, ignore me. You know best…….sorry.”

“_____,” he kneels back between your legs, the drawer long forgotten. “it’s not stupid. But, you’re sure? I’m clean, I got tested when we started dating. Are you?......Wait, of course you are.” He rambles on, “I know you’re on birth control but like there’s still risks. But like I said I’ve been tested……”

“Cheol.” His eyes snap to yours, pleased you’ve stopped his rambling on.

“I want to know what it feels like. Like really feels like. I want to feel you.”

His breathing is ragged as he stares down you, dick twitching slightly at your admission.

“Lean back baby,” he makes sure you’re settled on the pillows, his hands stroking your thighs and spreading them open wider for him.

Your heart is hammering in its cage. This is it. He’s finally going to take what has always been his.

“I can’t believe we’re finally doing this, I love you so fucking much _____, so, so much.” He places featherlight kisses on every bit of skin he can, his lips travel from hip, across your stomach, over your tits until eventually, the eyes you love so much are staring into yours.

“I love you,” you whisper, placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

He pulls back a little, lining himself up with you but pauses.

“You’re certain? You want this?”

Fuck you love this man more than anything. The fact he is being so careful with you, so caring, only makes you love him even more.

“I do,” your hand comes up to play with the short hair at the back of his head, “I want to be yours.”

“Oh baby,” he pushes forward a little, his bulbous tip pushing into your aching hole just a little, your whole body vibrating from that first feeling, “you always have been. Just like I’ve always been yours.”

Your breathing is heavy, his whole tip now inside you making your head spin as your fingers dig into his biceps.

“Just breathe baby,” he coos, fingers coming down to circle your clit just a little meaning he can slip into you just a little further.

You do as he says, taking a deep breath and feeling a little better for it.

“Just breathe,”

“I did.”

“I meant me that time,” his forehead comes to rest against yours, “I’m about three seconds from nutting and I’m not even halfway in yet.”

You can’t help the giggle you let slip.

“Don’t do that,” he half complains, half laughs, “you clench when you fucking giggle.”

“Sorry,” you kiss his cheek.

His hips rock, his dick moving deeper and deeper inside you each time, stretching your virgin hole so much that tears start to glide down your cheeks.

Cheol pauses when he notices.

“You good? Want me to…..”

“Don’t stop,” you whine, the pain turning more to pleasure by the second, “just..keep going.”

“Yeah?” he looks down at himself disappearing inside of you. “You like how my big dick is stretching your tiny little hole open?”

Fuck. Both of your heads are thrown back when his filthy mouth makes you clamp down on him.

“Who knew,” he rocks his hips a little faster, the wetness spilling out of you making it that bit easier, “that you liked such dirty talk? All these years I thought you were just a hot nerdm and you’re reading about fucking guns and thinking about my big dick fucking you into next week.”

“Shit!” you can’t help but scream when he finally bottoms out and that last light thrust hits you even deeper than his fingers did, “why are you s-so,” you swallow, “fucking b-big?”

You feel like you’ve been impaled on something. You always wondered what writers meant when they said someone felt full and now you fucking know. It’s like he’s moulded your cunt around him. Him sitting so snugly inside of you that it’s like he’s been your missing piece all this time, like you’ve been waiting for him to make you whole.

“I’m so big then I can hear you make all those pretty noises when you take my fat dick. Can I move?” he rushes to say, voice strained.

“Mm-mm,” you hum, nodding your head.

“Tsk,” he pouts, “use your words baby, if you can sit and read such fucking filth, surely you can say a simple yes or no.”

What the hell does he want from you?! His huge dick is inside you, your mind and body feel like they’re about to explode and now he wants you to actually form real words?!

“Yes.” You whisper.

“Sorry,” he nibbles your nipple a little, your pussy fluttering around him letting him know just what he always thought, that you like a little pain, “I didn’t quite catch that.”

“YES,” you basically cry, nails digging into his biceps and fresh tears forming in your lust blown eyes.

“Well, there’s no need to shout,”

You don’t get to answer, he pulls back so that just his tip is inside you and then slams, albeit pretty gently still, into your soaked pussy.

“Fuck,” you throw your head back, body writing and squirming at the new sensations you feel every time he slams back into you, it getting a little harder each time.

“Jesus fucking Christ, you feel incredible baby,” he gets out through a strained voice, his eyes fixed on where your bodies are connected.

You can feel every ridge and vein just like you did when you had him in your hand. But now you feel them as he bullies his way into your eager hole, you feel his thick length drag against your walls as he hits your cervix, he’s that deep inside you. You feel his balls smack into your ass every time he slams into you and it makes your whole head spin. Every little thing is like nothing you’ve ever experienced. It’s like you can focus on every tiny detail but then your mind is so fogged that you also can’t form any simple thoughts. You’re just caught in this limbo where the only thing that matters to you is Seungcheol’s dick and how fucking incredible he feels inside you.

When you finally open your eyes a little, the pain now fully gone and just a wanton need left between your thighs, you manage to take in the sight above you. Seungcheol’s eyebrows are pinched in concentration, his tongue in the side of his cheek as he grunts every time he hits the spongey spot inside you. His eyes never leaving the way his dick looks as his buries it inside you or the way your reward him with any increasing creamy ring around his dick, your pretty pussy showing him how much you need him.

“Turn over,”

“What?” you whine.

You can’t be without his dick inside you now, not when you’re already so close.

“Turn. Over.” He quickly takes his throbbing length out of you and all but rolls you over himself. “I want to see the way your pretty ass looks when you take my big dick from behind.”

“Shit,” you bury your head in the duvet.

“Come on,” he taps your thigh, “ass up. Be a good girl for me.”

You might actually die on this bed. Surrounded by hundreds of candles and bouquets of flowers. It can double as a wake you suppose.

He doesn’t give you chance to finish your thoughts, and he certainly doesn’t give you chance to kneel. Or just yanks you into the position he wants you, presses down on your back so arch for him and slams his dick back into you.

“F-fuck,” you clutch the bed sheets again.

This new angle has him hitting even deeper into you if that’s even possible. His hips crash into your ass, the sounds of wet skin slapping together drowning out whatever bullshit he had on this playlist as your eyes roll back from how amazing it feels.

His balls hit your clit just a little when he crashes into you, his fingers digging into your hips as he pulls you back onto his dick to meet his movements.

Your moans mix with his, your sopping pussy leaking all over his balls and your thighs, the wet sounds only adding your arousal. It’s like a viscous, horny circle. The more you hear the pathetic sounds of pussy squelching every time he fucks himself into you, the wetter you get. And that cycle repeats until you’re balancing perilously close to the edge of your second orgasm of the night.

“You’re taking me so well baby, just like I always knew you would.”

He pulls you up by your arm, your back meeting his chest, the feeling of his sweaty, sticky pecks and tummy meeting your skin and only adding to your arousal.

He holds you against him, one hand around your waist, keeping you where he wants you and the other moving your hair away from you ear then he can whisper his filth down it.

“For years,” he grunts, hitting even deeper into you whilst you hold his thighs behind you, because it’s the only thing you can get a good grip of, “I’ve thought about this. About ruining your pretty little cunt for everyone else.”

You’re certain you’re crying though you’ve no real idea. You’re just trying to cling onto your sanity whilst you feel his throbbing length repeatedly smash into your cervix.

“And then,” he bites your neck, trying to ground himself a little, “you tell me you’re a fucking virgin and you expect me to not want to claim this pussy as my own. To not claim you as my own.”

His dick keeps slamming and you keep whining.

“Because it is mine, isn’t it? You’re mine. Tell me this cunt is mine _____. Tell me and I’ll let you feel what it feels like when my cum hits so deep inside you, that it’ll take days to drip out of your tight little hole.”

You have actually died. It’s the only explanation for why you feel so fucking good but also like you’re at the gates of hell, this fucking devil with a god-like body behind you, whispering more and more shit into your ear that just ruins you even more.

But you’re so fucking close and he’s right, you do want to know what it feels like when he cums inside you.

So, you muster all your strength, every last scrap of sanity in your body.

“I-it’s yours,” you manage to get out.

He doesn’t say anything else, just turns your head so he can look at your face as you cum around his dick for the first time and pommels into you, your cunt dripping around him and clenching uncontrollably as you finally cum around him.

Your whole body tenses and shakes in his arms, your head thrown back on his shoulder as a wave much like a tsunami hits you. You’re cold and hot, torn between pleasure and the constant need to get more as he fucks into you again and again, like your body doesn’t know how to react to the pleasure it’s receiving. Your orgasm tips him over the edge, his body stilling a little when he slams you down onto his dick, it twitches inside you as he holds you down and cums so deep inside you that what he said earlier is sure to be true. Your body feels on fire as you feel him empty his balls inside, his body rocking gently as he rides out his high, the thrill of having his cum inside you making yours last just that bit longer.

You never thought it could feel like this, you’re numb yet your body feels like it can feel every tiny thing that’s happening to it. All you know is, you want more and more of it.

His body stills behind you as he holds you close, both of you breathless and sweaty but bodies still ringing from the pleasure.

“You good?” he whispers in your ear, placing a gentle kiss just below it.

“I’m great,” you fall forward onto the bed, a big goofy smile on your lips.

You freeze though when you don’t hear anything from him and lift your head, with much more effort than it should take, to look at him.

“Cheol?”

He doesn’t reply, just looks hungrily at your abused pussy as the first drops of him start to ooze out.

He leans forward whilst you frown at him, spreading your ass cheeks so he can see everything.

You watch in horror as leans forward.

“What you doing?” you squeal.

“Cleaning you up.”

And before you know it you feel his tongue licking every part of your pussy he can.

He can’t be serious?! You can barely even move, let alone do anything else! But the way his tongue feels, the first tongue you’ve ever felt on your pussy, makes new arousal start to gather already. Your body betraying your sex addled mind.

Once he realises you’re not stopping him, he lies on his stomach, spreads your legs completely, spreads your ass cheeks again so he can truly see his seed seeping out of you, and goes to town. He licks and sucks all over your pussy, swallowing his cum and yours until eventually your pussy drips with fresh essence that only seems to spur him on even more.

He goes between gently sucking on your clit and placing gentle little kisses all over your puffy folds, humming at being able to finally taste you and savour you just how he always wanted to.

You don’t move, mainly because you’re not sure that you can, but also due to fact that what he’s doing is bordering on relaxing. His tongue is so soothing, even though he’s bringing you closer and closer to yet another orgasm, you feel totally at peace as his pouty lips gently suckle on your clit.

His tongue flicks gently when he’s finished sucking, your hole seeping more and more as the gentle pressure builds in your stomach again and with a one last gentle lick, your third orgasm washes over you. It’s gentle, bordering on serine, just a warm buzz sparking through you like his tongue is thanking you for giving him to most precious gift you could. You.

Seungcheol swallows everything you give him, every last drop that leaves your beautiful pussy until eventually he stops and begins kissing his way up your body. Over your ass cheeks, along the small of your back and up onto your shoulder blades until he finally reaches your turned head, and he places a gentle kiss on your cheek.

“Thank you,” he whispers in your ear, kissing it softly, “for trusting me.” Another kiss, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

You lie in Seungcheol’s arms, both of you in the new fluffy robes and freshly showered, as you bite into one of the Belgian chocolates he’d bought for the night. The room is now only lit by six or so candles, Seungcheol having taken a good five minutes to blow them all out before your shower. But it’s lit enough so you get to thoroughly enjoy the look of increasing horror on your boyfriend’s face.

“I’m sorry,” he lowers your kindle, staring down at your mischievous grin, “you’re trying to say this isn’t hardcore porn?”

“No, it’s a love story. I told you.”

“_____. He’s just made her lick her own cum off his gun.”

“HEY! Don’t fucking ruin it!” you reach for your kindle, but he pulls it out of your reach.

“What happened to the sweet innocent girl that was reading Charles Dickens in the library just before Christmas break at university?”

“How do you remember what I used to read in the library? It was years ago.”

“I remember thinking I’d have to actually read something to see what made you smile so prettily,”

Your heart flutters, even now you find out little bits of the past that are entirely different from how you remember.

“If it was Christmas, it was probably A Christmas Carol,” you nod, taking another chocolate off the box on his stomach, “tiny Tim didn’t die, it was all very emotional.”

He doesn’t answer and you start to feel a little self-conscious when he just watches you eat your chocolate.

“What?” You ask slowly, lowering the chocolate from your mouth.

“Nothing, I just really love you. It’s hot when you talk about books.” He shrugs making you giggle.

“I thought I was a nerd.” You challenge.

“Oh, you absolutely are,” he pulls you into him, so your head rests on his chest, “but now you’re my hot, filthy minded, nerd, who I happen to love more than anything.”

“I love you too.” You snuggle into him, hoping to dose happily off to sleep.

What you don’t see is Seungcheol picking your kindle back up.

“Hm,” his chest hums, you not realising he’s reading out loud just yet, “you licked my gun so fucking well baby, get on your fucking knees you filthy little whore and……”

“SEUNGCHEOL, I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD,” you lunge for the kindle, the chocolates flying everywhere and his cackling laugh filling the room.

You realise two things as you try to wrestle your kindle from him. One. You love him like you didn’t think was even possible. And two. You’re never letting him near your kindle ever again.

🏷️ @rutheaflowers @bramos91 @blueyedqtpie1186 @vwintershire @toohyperactiveforyou12 @cheolwoo @sejeonggggg @epelletart @wonwooslefttiddie @fwairychlo3 @4kwp @fzenn @ninigyuuu @ashlinxloves @frayaatiny @cardi-bre91 @adoreuzi

[jakedustry]

𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐍 𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 - 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐈 𝐒𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐎𝐋

IN WHICH With his father’s sudden illness, his carefree life comes to an end. It’s expected of him to take over the throne and fulfill his first born duties, one of them being having a queen by his side. He doesn’t see the point, doesn’t want to trap a woman in a marriage with him knowing there could be someone out there who would make her happier, but the matter is not in his hands, and the least he can do for his people is marry. Even if it means living with someone he has no feelings for.

pairing » first born!Seungcheol x first born!fem!reader genre » fluff, smut, angst featuring » other svt members, Daniela (katseye), Yeonjun, Soobin and Taehyun (txt), original characters, Riki (enhypen), Mingi (ateez)

contains » arranged marriage, alcohol consumption, anxiety, dual pov, reader has siblings, protective!Seungcheol, slowburn, marriage, oldest daughter!reader, oldest son!seungcheol, mention of illness, jealous!seungcheol, reader is mentioned to be 25, jealous!reader, drunk dudes objectifying women in one instance, food mentions warnings » SMUT, oral (f. & m. rec.), unprotected sex, breeding kink, praise, body worship, virgin!reader, fingering

word count » 40k

↪ izzy adds... oh what a journey this was. I can't believe I finally finished writing this. Honestly, I wouldn't have if it weren't for the people on my side. As always, thank you yun @filmsbyun for writing with me, reassuring me at times where I felt like this entire thing sucked, and helping me brainstorm. Thank you to luna @belovedgyu and rae @nerdycheol as well for their support and excitement whenever I shared a bit with them and also when I showed them the whole thing. You were both great hype women. Then lastly, thank you to Viv @heartepub for helping me beta read and making sure I'm not just putting out bullshit into the world <3 I appreciate all of you so much

playlist | veloria tales | svt m.list

“This is the third week His Majesty, the King, hasn't been able to join us. I think it’s time,” Kaito, the council representative, proclaims as he looks around the throne room. William, the King’s Head Advisor, stands right beside him, looking slightly awkward. Seungcheol follows Kaito’s gaze, meeting eyes with his brothers.

The two of them are the embodiment of opposites. While Kaito stands with his head high, confident in himself and what he brings in front of the Princes on council’s behalf, William’s head is rather down, his posture flawed. Kaito towers over him with his black hair covering his forehead and hiding the pimples that still sometimes appear on his skin. On the other hand, William’s gray locks fall into his blue eyes, wrinkles covering his whole face. He is old, not as old as his father, but it shows.

Still, they’ve both proven themselves more than enough, always getting the King out of trouble when needed. It’d be foolish for the Prince and his brothers to question their judgment.

“His Majesty’s condition is stable at the moment, but the chance of getting better is slim, Your Royal Highness,” Wonwoo, the King’s best Doctor, explains, and Cheol hums.

“What shall we do then, William?” He asks, turning to face the Head Advisor again. He clears his throat, briefly glancing at the Queen in the corner before looking at the three Princes in front of him again.

“It’d probably be for the best if a new King takes over. So that in the eyes of people, the change looks like His Majesty’s retirement instead of a sign of weakness.”

“Everyone agreed on this?” Cheol raises an eyebrow and William nods, making him sigh.

“This is the best we can do for our kingdom and its people,” Kaito assures him. There’s not much he can do if the council deemed this the right move. He’s been raised for this exact moment, trained in etiquette, strategy, and politics just so he could take over the throne and lead the people one day.

He just hasn’t expected for the day to come so soon.

“I assume coronation shall be as soon as possible?” Joshua, the second born, questions, finally letting the room know of his presence. The council representative exchanges a glance with the Doctor, agreeing.

“When?” Cheol asks, his mind clouded with what this change might bring. No more sneaking around the palace and drinking in the kitchens with his lords, no more sword fights with his friends just because they were bored, and no more fooling around.

“Yesterday preferably, Your Royal Highness.”

“Let me change my question,” Seungcheol tilts his head, his irritation building up at all the stalling. He just wants to get this over with. “When is the earliest you can arrange a coronation? And make my father as presentable as possible so he doesn’t faint while placing the crown on my head?”

“His Majesty is in the best care. We’re trying hard to make sure he feels better,” Wonwoo proclaims, making the Prince grit his teeth.

“When?”

“A month,” Kaito interrupts. “Give us a month to prepare everything, Your Royal Highness.” The Prince runs his hand through his black hair, nodding.

“Is that all for today? I feel rather tired.”

“Of course, sire.”

He wants to speak up again, admonish the council member for his mistake because he isn’t the King, thou should not be called a sire, but he bites the words back. Because that’s what he is now, isn’t he? The King. And this is something he’ll have to get used to.

“Everyone leave,” he dismisses them, stopping Joshua and Chan when they try to step away. “You two stay.” The two younger exchange a glance, watching everyone else leave the throne room after the Prince’s command. The new role suits him more than he realizes.

“Your Majesty,” Chan mocks a bow as soon as everyone is gone, making Cheol scoff.

“Don’t call me that. It’s weird.”

“It’s what you’re going to be,” Joshua reminds him. “The King. Our King.”

“I hope you’ll leave me some land when you start ruling,” the youngest mumbles, making his way to the throne and plopping down as if it’d belong to him. “I guess I won’t get the chance to sit here in front of our people.”

“Do you want to?” Cheol raises his eyebrow. “I’ll gladly get the burden off my back and leave the kingdom to you.”

Joshua shakes his head, “for that we’d both have to fall dead and so far, I’m still enjoying my life. So no, thank you.”

“He could also fight me for the crown,” he shrugs, meeting the youngest’s eyes. “If that’s what he feels like doing, of course.” Chan quickly stands up and walks from the throne, his eyes flashing with the realization of what they are talking about. If he wasn’t so lucky, and his brother wasn’t so understanding, he might as well drop dead for treason.

It’s quiet for a beat before Joshua speaks again. “Who’s going to inform our sister?”

The oldest immediately shakes his head, shutting down the conversation before it can start. “She doesn’t need to bother herself with such things. Politics shall not burden her, she’s too young.”

“She’s my twin,” Chan reminds him.

“And she is also a Princess,” Cheol argues. The two younger Princes exchange a look, saying everything with their eyes. As much as they love Seungcheol and everything he does for them, sometimes his best interest doesn’t align with their sister’s, and they know it bothers her. But as the soon-to-be King of Veloria, there is nothing they can say to him.

“She shall know her father is slowly dying.”

“I’m sure William has that covered. One of her ladies-in-waiting might tell her.”

Joshua raises his eyebrow, “and you think that’s how she shall find out? From one of her gossip-loving ladies?”

“If you want to take it upon yourself to tell her, feel free to,” Cheol brushes him off. “But don’t let her think we need her help. She might want to jump into a marriage just to help with alliances and help people think about other things while our father goes. You know her.”

Joshua nods. That’s the best he can do at the moment anyway. Arguing would be pointless. He is right. He can never predict what their sister will do at times of crisis. Because no matter how far away the oldest Prince wants to keep her from politics, she was raised by her mother, a woman who always believed Princesses were good for more than just standing beside a King and giving him an heir.

♡⸝⸝

It’s safe to say the following days are hectic.

Seungcheol moves around the palace with William behind him, pointing out everyone he should know and greet so as to not make any enemies for the kingdom. It surprises him how many lords and ladies from different kingdoms are currently paying a visit to them. The word of a new King coming on the throne spread fast, and lords from all around the world came to show their faces and remind him of their places, while their mothers showed off their daughters, hoping for the future King to choose them as his future wife.

“It is true you shall find a Queen to stand by your side and show the people you’re as strong a ruler as the previous King, Your Royal Highness.”

“Why is a Queen necessary for this?” He raises his eyebrow, smiling as he walks past servants in the halls.

“You need an heir. And when the people see they’re led by a pair of people who love each other, it always helps.”

“But you don’t want me to marry for love,” he thinks out loud, making William blink a few times at his sudden boldness before he regains his calm demeanor.

“Love comes in many forms, Your Highness. Some people never fall in love, and some die from loving too hard.”

“Which one is your case?” Cheol wonders, never looking back to meet his eyes.

“I don’t have time for love, Your Highness.”

“That’s unfortunate,” he mumbles. It’s the last thing he says for a while after, simply nodding as William helps him grasp everything.

But if he is honest, his help feels more like nagging. Nothing Cheol says or does seems like enough, and William gives him a disapproving look on his every step. Eventually, he gives up, shutting down completely and just listening. He bites his tongue, pushing back all the insults and arguments that build in the back of his throat every time the Head Advisor treats him like a child, a little, naive Prince who shouldn’t come to power just yet.

It’s clear he doesn’t like the idea of Seungcheol taking over but there is nothing he can do about it, not when the King has barely moved in the past month, resting in his bed with maids running around him, making sure he has everything he needs.

It really doesn’t feel great. It’s not like he asked for the power. If he could, he’d leave the crown to his father for another hundred years. But that’s impossible, and William has to accept that just like he did. He is the crown Prince, the first born of the Veloria King, and as much freedom it gave him, as much responsibility it brings.

“Let’s call it a night,” Cheol interrupts William’s rambling about the coronation. He’s barely comprehending any of the information, too tired to register the words as they leave William’s lips. It’d be better for both of them if they just leave this for a different day.

William squeezes his eyes shut, waving off the maid that just came inside so they’re left alone in the throne room again. “Your Highness, this can’t wait any longer. Your coronation is near and people are whispering about it. It needs to be perfect. Based on how it goes, your reign will follow,” the words rot on his lips, making it more than obvious he isn’t happy with the amount of things he has to explain and teach the new King.

“How fancy you make my coronation has nothing to do with how I’ll rule my kingdom,” the Prince disagrees, waving at the knights guarding the door to open them because he is leaving. “I’ll see you tomorrow, William. Hopefully we are both in a better mood, otherwise our conversation will be far from pleasant.”

The door shuts behind him again, leaving the Head Advisor standing there, frustration building up. He needs the King to get back on his feet. And he needs it now. “Call for Doctor Wonwoo. I need to speak to him.” One of the guards nods, excusing himself before leaving the room to fetch the Doctor.

Seungcheol drops on his bed, allowing his eyes to close for a short second and his mind relax. It’s been a long day, and all he wants to do is turn it off and let others deal with everything. It might have worked had he still only had the responsibilities of a Prince, but right now, he has more things on his plate. He needs to think of the coronation, his sick father, protecting his people, and finding a Queen.

He needs to sit down tomorrow and listen to all of William’s suggestions. If he’s lucky, by the end of his speech, he’ll be able to pick a wife.

It feels wrong to think about it like this. He knows why it’s important to marry, why it’s expected of him, but the thought of trapping an innocent woman in order to make a new ally is ridiculous. He saw what marriage has done with his father. For eight years, he looked miserable, putting on a fake act every time he was asked to pose with Joshua’s mother for a portrait. They were even less than business partners.

On the other hand, he also saw the way his father’s eyes lit up every time his third wife walked into the room. The way he showered her in love and did his best to raise Chan and his twin sister right. Whenever he spoke of his wife, it was like a story from a fairy tale. A man truly loving a woman. It was a rare sight in this society, but not non-existent.

Cheol always knew that wasn’t written in his stars. His sibling might have a shot, they might be able to walk the Earth and take their time choosing a partner whom they love, but it wasn’t meant for him. His role was clear. He is meant to marry the Princess who brings the most for his kingdom and produce an heir with her. It’s expected for them to be business partners and treat each other as so while searching for love and pleasure elsewhere.

A loud knock on the door interrupts his thoughts, making him raise his head. “Yes?” He calls out and the door opens, his eyes meeting with Joshua’s. He’s not alone, though — three other men stand by his side with grins on their faces and alcohol bottles in hands. He smirks, nodding at the guards outside his door to let them in.

He stands up from his bed, watching his two brothers, one of his closest friends Mingyu, and Joshua’s lord-in-waiting — Choi Yeonjun — step inside. “Taehyun, get us more bottles from the kitchen and don’t let anyone else in. If William wants to speak to me, tell him to wait till the morning, no matter how important he says it is.” The guard at the Prince’s door nods, bowing slightly before closing the room and leaving to fulfill his task.

“We heard it was a hard day, King,” Mingyu teases, getting Cheol to roll his eyes. They all take a seat on the bed, kicking their boots off and settling the champagne and beer bottles in front of them.

“So we thought we could cheer you up,” Chan grins, already opening one of the bottles.

“William makes me sick every time I’m around him,” Cheol admits, taking another sip of his beer. He’s not sure how much he had until now, but he knows he’s getting tipsy.

“You can name a new Head Advisor after your coronation,” Lord Choi speaks up, sharing a champagne bottle with Chan.

Cheol’s eyes widen, the realization he doesn’t have to spend his ruling with William behind his back settling it. “Who would I name, though?”

“How about Seungkwan?” Mingyu suggests with a shrug. The moment all eyes land on him he wishes he hasn’t said anything after all. It’s been years since he’s gotten close to the Princes, and it still feels like he is doing something wrong when he is around them. He doesn’t address them by their titles when they are alone or holds his tongue like other guards, always worried they might change their opinion on him and send him away for disrespecting the royal family.

But the truth is far from it, and Seungcheol feels grateful to him every time he is around. He can’t remember a time of his life where he’s been able to laugh freely and forget about his title. With Mingyu, he can do so. And even just this one person, one person who doesn’t care about his rank or if he’ll make a good impression, is enough.

“The scholar?” Joshua questions. “I’ve heard about him.”

“Is he good?” Cheol blinks, trying to match the name with a face.

“The best,” he agrees. “I heard he’s the best student the academy has had in years.”

“He knows politics and finds interest in other royal families. He might even know your weaknesses,” Mingyu explains, catching the Prince’s interest.

“Do you guys think William will get mad if I ask him about naming a new Head Advisor tomorrow?” The guys laugh, their voices filling the room as they drink into the night, leaving their responsibilities behind for now. It can wait. Ruling can wait.

“Tomorrow, I’ll find myself a wife,” Cheol proclaims, raising his beer bottle high above his head as if he was celebrating.

“A wife?”

He nods, taking a sip. “A Queen. We need one, right? It’s what society wants from me, it’s what you all want from me,” he points at every single one of them, making them raise their brows.

“You’re drunk,” Joshua points out. “You should sleep.”

“I think not,” he argues. The thought of going to sleep just for tomorrow to arrive isn’t pleasant. If he’s lucky, he’ll last until the morning and convince his guards not to let anyone in because he is sick. Even though he wouldn’t be surprised if William bothered him despite it.

Rather than looking like a fool who can’t hold his alcohol in the morning, maybe he should go to sleep. He needs to look his best and prove to everyone he can be the person they need him to be. The King. A strong leader who knows what to do and how to present himself.

Alright, he can do so.

He waves his hand in the air, sending the four men out. “If you need anything, feel free to call for us, Your Royal Highness,” Yeonjun proclaims, staying in the right mind even with alcohol staining his breath.

“Yes,” he nods, just to show he comprehends what he is saying. Even though he’s not sure if he truly does. The alcohol is making its way to his head.

“Good night, brother,” Chan smiles, patting his shoulder lightly. “May the alcohol leave your body before William finds you.” Mingyu beside him snickers and Joshua nudges him, shaking his head.

“Good night, our future King of Veloria,” Mingyu bows, his lips curved into a teasing smile. But Seungcheol can’t find it in himself to care enough, the only thing on his mind right now being the great sleep he is going to get.

Everything is happening too fast.

You’re not ready, you realize as you look outside of your chamber window, taking in the sight of the beautiful garden. Your grip on the edge tightens as you steady yourself, your head spinning. It feels like you can’t breathe. You close your eyes, taking a deep breath with your mouth and counting down numbers.

Ten, nine, eight…

When that doesn’t work, you open your eyes again, focusing on the garden in front of you. Lilies, roses, daisies, foxgloves, anemones… You take a deep breath again, calming yourself as your eyes scan every flower in the garden.

“My lady, are you okay?” You turn around with a smile when you hear Daniela’s voice, putting on the best show you can.

“Never been better,” you lie, glancing out of the window once more before paying her your full attention. “What is it?” You wonder, hoping your smile is convincing enough and she won’t ask any more questions.

“The carriage is ready. Your family is waiting for you,” she informs you, and you feel like throwing up.

It’s too fast.

You nod either way, following her through the hallway as you go over the flowers in your garden again. When you get outside and the cold air hits your face, you feel better immediately. Daniela, your lady-in-waiting, tells you about how excited she is to step her feet into the Veloria kingdom, and how lucky your family is to be asked to join the coronation of the future King Seungcheol. You tune out her words, focusing on the laughter of kids running around the gardens and your mother's voice as she admonishes your brother to stop jumping around.

You’ve heard it many times in the past week. It’s always the same story too. You’re being constantly reminded of how grateful you should be for being the one the future King of Veloria noticed because it means you don’t have to worry about your future anymore and can live at ease that you won’t end up a spinster. But you feel everything but ease.

You never counted on getting married for love, it was always obvious your father would find you and your sisters the right lover that could help your kingdom grow. You can’t even blame him for it, because it is the right thing to do in his situation. A part of you just wishes it wouldn’t be so soon, and that you could at least have some say in who you’re marrying.

“Darling,” your mother, the Queen, welcomes you with a smile. It’s way cleaner compared to your half-assed one.

“Mother,” you drop into a curtsy, your head down as you bend your knees.

“We are late.”

“Then we shall get inside,” you interrupt her before she can continue, glancing back at Daniela so she can join you in the carriage with your siblings.

She simply shakes her head with an apology, making you frown. “Darling, join our carriage so we can enjoy your company while it lasts,” your mother’s voice is sweet and for a second, you forget why you’re so scared of this change. She makes you feel like there’s nothing to worry about, that courting and marrying a complete stranger is alright. You nod, smiling at your younger siblings as you walk past them before sliding into the carriage where your father is already waiting.

You sit opposite him while your mother joins his side, wrapping her arm around his with a smile on her face. You’re not sure if they’ve ever been in love. If they got to experience the feeling you’ve read so much about. Even a simple moment where their heart would race faster, their head spinning, or the physical pain in their chest from not being near each other.

You’d like to believe your mother knows the feeling. That she does love your father in her own way and all her smiles are genuine, but you’d be a liar if you said you think your father feels the same. But their marriage works, and that’s what matters, right? They’ve had four beautiful children and even though they might not be in love in the same way you read about, they’re good together and understand each other.

Maybe you can find that when you marry as well. It might not be love, but understatement is just as good, isn’t it? You’ve heard many great things about Prince Seungcheol. Apparently his education is excellent, his face more than worthy of his title, and his kindness overwhelming. If he’s even half as good as people say, there shouldn’t be any problems with coming to an agreement that suits both parties.

“Father, have you thought about how long you’ll stay with us yet?” You ask as the carriage starts and the sound of the horses in front moving reaches your ears.

“We’ll see after the coronation of the new Veloria King,” he says and you nod, knowing that’s the most you’ll get out of him. If you could have a say, you’d ask for them to stay until the day of your wedding, but you doubt they’d even as much as consider asking for your opinion on the matter. You’ll be lucky if they even find the time to visit you on your wedding day.

“Darling, how are you feeling?”

You glance at your mother, offering her another one of your smiles. “I’m great,” you lie. “I’ve been talking about Prince Seungcheol with my ladies-in-waiting and can’t wait to meet him.”

“Can’t wait to see if the gossips are true?” Your father interrupts and your eyes widen.

You quickly shake it off, disagreeing. “I haven’t heard any gossip, father. My ladies-in-waiting only assured me of the Prince’s kind heart and academic achievements.” He hums, and you wonder what’s on his mind. Is there anything else you should know about the Prince? Should you feel worried?

You brush the thoughts aside before they overtake you, glancing outside the carriage and watching the nature pass you by. If you’re looking forward to something, it’s the large garden of Veloria Kingdom you’ve read about in your childhood. You want to see the new scenery, much more than the Prince if you’re honest.

There’s a number of servants waiting for you and your family when you arrive. You step out of the carriage with the help of one of the knights, immediately looking around and taking in the sight.

“My lady.” You snap out of your thoughts and look at the knight beside you. “Let me take you to your chamber so you can settle in.” You nod, briefly glancing at your siblings before following the knight’s lead.

“What is your name?” You wonder, looking around as you walk through the halls.

“Kang Taehyun,” the knight answers without sparing you as much as a glance. He doesn’t say much but you expected that. Some might consider it rude if he decided to start a chat. No one can say anything if it’s you asking him questions, though.

“What’s the shortest way to get to the gardens, Taehyun?”

You listen carefully as he explains the floor plan of the palace to you, picturing the way you’ll go in your head. “There’s no need for you to worry about that, Your Highness. There shall always be a knight ready to assist you when you want to go on a stroll.”

You hum back. It’s no surprise, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t hoping for more freedom. “How about my lady-in-waiting? Can’t she accompany me instead?”

“We’ve been asked to look after you at any time, Your Highness,” he answers simply, stopping when he reaches your chamber. “Dinner will be in an hour. Until then, if you need anything, I’ll be here.” You shake your head, walking past him and closing the door behind you. It’s only then that you feel like you can breathe properly. You take a moment to relax before looking around the large room, appreciating the work they did for you. Everything is perfect, neat.

You walk around your new room for a while, picking out a new dress for the dinner and laying it down on your bed. You could probably fit three more dresses there. It makes you wonder just how large the King’s bed must be if this is what you get. Even your room is much bigger than the one back home. It doesn’t surprise you that it’s Prince Seungcheol whom your father deemed appropriate for you. Alliance with a kingdom like this could help your homeland a lot.

You open the door again, finding Taehyun already waiting for you. It catches you off guard, making you flinch. He clears his throat, not a single sign of emotion on his face as he looks at you. You shake your head slightly, reminding yourself why you came out. “Hi,” you smile. “Could you please get me a maid or my lady-in-waiting? I need help changing into my dress for dinner.” You watch his eyes trail behind you, noticing the light pink dress on your bed. He nods, not questioning anything as he turns on his heel.

You watch him leave the hallway, closing the door behind you as you wander through the chamber, following his guide and getting outside again, straight into the gardens.

They are as beautiful as the books painted them to be. You can’t get enough as you take in the sight of the flowers around you, breathing in the fresh air. While everything about your situation feels fast, making your heart race, it all slows down when you walk through the Veloria gardens, taking your time with exploring them. You know you should hurry, that Taehyun is most certainly looking for you by now, but you’d rather risk not being able to look at everything today — which you know you won’t be able to do either way if you want to be on time for the dinner — than rushing it and making the one place that calms you do the opposite.

“Your Highness.”

You stop in your walk, a smile on your face. It came later than you expected. You don’t turn completely, letting Taehyun wait for a moment longer as you take in the sight of the lilies in front of you. He comes closer to you, stopping right beside you and looking at the same flowers. It’s only then that you look up, blinking confusedly when it’s not Taehyun on your side.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize even though you’re not truly sure what for. Getting here without an escort? Not recognizing him? Stepping here uninvited? Maybe all of the above, actually.

“What for?” He tilts his head, taking in the sight of you. You hesitate, opening your mouth before closing it again. He smiles, resting his right hand over his heart and bowing, “Seungcheol,” is all he says.

But it’s enough to make your eyes widen, realization hitting in. “Your Royal Highness,” you quickly drop into a courtesy, closing your eyes in regret. You should have realized. This was stupid of you, so, so stupid—

“Please, Seungcheol is fine,” he holds your hand in his, helping you straighten again. You gaze into his eyes, swallowing nervously. He looks around again, encouraging you to walk with him. You do, of course you do, glancing at him every now and then, worried you just ruined your first impression.

Despite your nervousness, he doesn’t seem to be bothered by your slip up at all. His dark eyes stay focused on the path ahead, black strands falling in front of them. His eyebrows are thick, his white shirt unbuttoned at the top, exposing bits of his skin. The longer you look at him, the more you understand everything you’ve heard about him. He is handsome. You can see why Princesses from other kingdoms were so eager to meet him, hoping it’d be them he’d pick as his future wife. It also makes you wonder a lot more what led him to choosing you. Out of all the young Princesses looking for a spouse, why was it you he decided to pay attention to?

“Was your ride here okay?” He breaks the silence after a moment.

“Perfect, Your Royal Highness.”

He chuckles, shaking his head slightly. Looks like he’ll have to earn his way for you to call him by his name instead of his title. “And you? How are you feeling, my lady?”

You put on the same fake smile you showed everyone back home as you look at him and lie again. “Peachy, Your Royal Highness. It’s an honor to be here.”

He hums at your response, noticing the light drop of your eyes when you talk. It’s clear you’re lying, but it’s also clear you won’t tell him the truth even if he asks. So instead, he settles for the more sensible approach, changing the topic of conversation. “I’ve heard about your interest in our gardens, is that why you ran away from your guard?”

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to,” you quickly shake your head. “It won’t happen again.”

“That wasn’t my question,” his voice is gentle as he talks to you, much gentler than you expected. The Princes you’ve had the honor of meeting weren’t exactly welcoming, always making you feel like they were above you, like you were theirs to play with. But Prince Seungcheol doesn’t make you feel that way. You feel almost equal.

You nod slightly, looking at the path ahead of you. “I’ve read about your gardens my whole life, about everything they have to offer. And I must tell you, none of the books I’ve read grasp the feeling of being here enough. What you have here is truly special.”

“I’m glad they are to your liking,” he glances at you, meeting your eyes. You offer him a smile, this time a real one. “You are free to visit anytime. And if you have any questions, or suggestions, one of our gardeners will love to listen,” his eyes trail off, finding one of the men keeping the Veloria gardens in their beauty across the bushes lining your right, pointing him out. “But I’d appreciate it if you visited with one of our guards from now on.”

You part your lips just to push them together again, nodding. He’s not asking for much, the least you can do for him is take a guard with you when you’re going somewhere. Maybe you can get closer to Taehyun this way too and make your time here less lonely. Sure, you have Daniela but she can’t be with you at all times. A royal guard meant to protect you surely can though.

“Of course, Your Royal Highness.”

He stops in his track, turning to face you. “How about Prince?” He offers and you blink confusedly. “If I can’t get you to drop the full title, then how about you just address me as Prince? Prince Seungcheol?”

If your mother saw this, she would have called for your teacher immediately, insisting on having to learn your manners from scratch. You know your place, that no matter the fact you are to be married he is still above you, but it’s hard to think of him that way when he offers you his warm smile, your eyes getting lost in his. Prince Seungcheol makes you want to be close with him, to the point you can drop all your titles and just be comfortable with each other.

But it’s too soon for that.

“Okay,” you nod, “Prince Seungcheol.” His smile grows wider, your cheeks flushed red at the sight of him. He makes you feel warm and for some reason, that feels like more than the love you’ve been reading and dreaming about your whole life. Maybe getting married won’t be that bad, maybe you and the Prince can find more than just an understanding like you thought at first.

Taehyun is waiting in front of your room when you and the Prince come back and you give him an apologetic smile. “There are two maids waiting for you inside as well as your lady-in-waiting,” he informs you, stepping aside so you can walk inside.

“Thank you.” You turn around once more before opening the door, looking at Seungcheol once more.

He bows with a smile, “I’ll see you in a bit, my lady.” You drop into a courtesy as well, not saying anything as you watch him turn on his heel and walk down the hall, probably to his own chamber. As handsome as he might have looked earlier, a plain shirt certainly isn’t what he wants to be seen in at a formal dinner with both of your families.

“I’m sorry for running off on you,” you turn to Taehyun. “It won’t happen again.”

“Please, don’t be mistaken. Hadn’t it been for Prince’s eagerness to meet you as soon as possible, I would have found you as soon as you stepped out of your chamber,” he assures you and you blink confusedly. But before you can ask what he means, the door behind you opens, and Daniela is tugging you inside.

“We’re late, Princess, hurry.” That’s all Taehyun hears before the door shuts closed again right in his face, a heavy sigh leaving his lips as he turns his back to your door again, looking ahead while listening to your muffled laughs.

Seungcheol sits at the head of the table, his brothers and sister on his right. Your parents, The King and The Queen of Elowen sit on his left, indulging in a conversation with Joshua about the coronation. He watches them quietly, but the words start blending together. He can’t focus on them fully, his leg bouncing under the table as he waits for your arrival while thinking about how your youngest sister looks exactly like you when she laughs at something your brother said.

William stands behind him in the corner of the dining room alongside a few guards as well, watching the entire scene. Seungcheol doesn’t need to look at him to know he is impatient, probably already forming a speech in his head that he’ll have to hear later. He chuckles at the thought, clearing his throat and straightening his back again when he sees your parents glancing his way.

Truth is, the longer you take to get here the more he regrets keeping you out for so long. William has been against the idea of inviting you out of all the Princesses from start, and every imperfection he can find about you or your behavior only adds to the list of complaints he’ll have towards the council, hoping to send you back to Elowen before you can even settle in.

It’s his fault that you’re late right now, but how is he supposed to explain to the council that he’s kept you out with him without an escort or a lady-in-waiting to rush you back just because he wanted to get to know you better? Despite it being an open setting, he can already imagine the rumors that would start. Even though you’re to be his wife, the Queen of Veloria, it’d still look bad, and starting his ruling with people looking at him weird right off the bat isn’t something he wants to do.

The door finally comes open and Cheol snaps out of his thoughts, meeting eyes with you. A smile spreads on his lips as he takes in the sight of you, doing his best to calm you when he sees how your eyes flicker around the room. Your lady-in-waiting walks right behind you, stopping at the entrance which seems to only freak you out more as you look back at her.

“Why don’t you come eat with us, lady…” he trails off, waiting for her to introduce herself. She does, dropping into a courtesy as her name slips past her lips. “Lady Avanzini,” he repeats after her, motioning with his hand towards an empty seat beside his sister.

“Your Royal Highness,” William admonishes him, but he ignores it entirely, assuring her it’s okay. Once she sits down at the table, your shoulders visibly relax and you take a seat on the other side of the table, right opposed to Seungcheol.

“You look beautiful tonight, my lady,” he smiles at you, watching as you look down at your pink dress. His comment seems to please not only you but also your mother, a smile spreading on her face as she takes in the sight of you.

Seungcheol clears his throat, standing up from his place and raising his glass of champagne. “If I could have your attention for a moment.” All eyes land on him without hesitation and he makes the mistake of looking at his brothers, regretting it as soon as he meets eyes with Chan. How is he supposed to be serious when he looks like he’ll laugh at him the second he opens his mouth again?

“It is an honor to welcome the royal family of Elowen to Veloria as not just guests but kin,” he shares a smile with your parents, avoiding looking to his right where his family sits. “Coronation is near and it makes me pleased to know I won’t be standing there alone but with a beautiful woman that will soon be my Queen,” his gaze softens when he meets your eyes, letting you reassure him as much as he reassures you.

“May this union strengthen our land, our people, and our bonds,” he raises his glass slightly higher. “To peace, and to Her Royal Highness.” Everyone raises their glasses, smiles on their faces as they cheer to the starting connection, your younger sibling slightly out of place as they debate if it’s appropriate to raise their glasses with juice. He watches your sister hiss at them to keep quiet and just follow your parents’ lead, a soft laugh leaving his lips.

The food is served shortly after, the room busy as people come and leave again with trails full of drinks and food, the cutlery clinking against the utensils, conversations filling their surroundings. Seungcheol keeps his eyes on his siblings this time, listening to his sister’s speech about the importance of first impressions and how he’s aced them while his brothers tease him. But despite keeping his eyes on them, he can feel your stare on him from across the table, guilt creeping in as he thinks about what might be going through your head.

There were plenty of women William offered to him, pointing out the strengths of each of them. But the only thing that stuck with him was the information about you. It was far from love at first sight, quite the opposite if he’s honest.

He thought you were a safe option. Smart, beautiful, the oldest of the four Elowen heirs. He thought that, maybe, since you’ve been taught love wasn’t in your cards since the start just like him, marrying you could save you from being trapped in a marriage with a different noble far worse than him. Being with him was never supposed to be love. But understanding? Freedom? He could give you those. But as he thinks back to your flushed cheeks earlier and the way your eyes are looking at him in this crowded room, he’s worried again about trapping a woman who loves him when he can’t do the same.

He swallows his worries, focusing on his sibling as best as he can. The only thing left for him now is hope. Hope that he is wrong about you.

♡⸝⸝

Your mother’s eyes are welcoming, much more than he expected. He can’t imagine having the same warm smile on his face if it were his sister’s marriage they had been talking about. Maybe Joshua and Chan aren’t that far from the truth, maybe he is too protective of her. But what is he supposed to do? He knows how dangerous the world can be, how dangerous the men — despite calling themselves gentlemen — can be. He’d give anything to keep her safe.

“I’m seriously honored for being able to sit with you tonight,” Cheol smiles at both of your parents, glancing at William standing impatiently on the other side of the room. “Duties call but I hope you’ll feel at home during your stay. I’ll try to make myself available to accompany you to dinner again but I’m sure you know how preparations like this can get,” he excuses himself and your mother gives his forearm a light squeeze, saying her farewell with a smile.

“Dinner was supposed to last only until you were done eating,” William complains but Seungcheol doesn’t pay him any attention, leaving the dining room with his brothers right behind him.

He thinks back to the look in your eyes as he walks through the palace, tuning out his brothers’ chatters. He feels bad, far worse than he hoped he would. But the thought of his upcoming wedding, and what it’d mean for the two of you scares him. He wishes his father would magically get better every day more and more.

“We’re sorry for the delay,” he mutters an apology as he takes a seat on his father’s throne — soon to be his throne, he has to remind himself. Kaito stands on his side alongside Seungkwan as per his request, shaking his head.

“We’re simply glad you could join us, Your Royal Highness. As well as your brothers,” Kaito bows his head towards them, glancing at William. “I understand this is a matter of the future of Veloria.”

“Yes, precisely,” William agrees, his eyes locking to an awkward Seungkwan who has no idea why he was invited to join such a meeting. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

The young scholar clears his throat, glancing at Seungcheol for reassurance before speaking. “Boo Seungkwan, sir. I’m here per His Highness request.”

“His Highness?” The words rot on his tongue as he looks to face the future King comfortable sprawled on the throne. “This is an inner matter. Nothing the nescient outsiders shall know of.”

“And that is precisely why I asked him to join us today,” Seungcheol interrupts. “Seungkwan is no outsider. He is important to me and I'd like for him to join us today,” Seungcheol takes great pleasure in disagreeing with his Head Advisor and being the only one who truly knows why Seungkwan is here today — so he can test his abilities.

“Your Royal Highness—”

“It’s been decided,” Seungcheol brushes him off. “Seungkwan shall keep us company as we talk. Who knows, maybe I'll like an opinion of a fresh blood.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” William mutters through gritted teeth. If he feels anything, it's anger, though. He is well aware of the way the council has been trying to get rid of him ever since they got power but until today, he could have done something with it. It didn’t matter what the council thought as long as he had the King’s support, and King Choi had never even thought about replacing him.

“Excellent. Then we shall get to business. You wanted to complain about my future wife I assume?” He tilts his head, the power he feels as he looks down at him from the throne unbeatable. He wonders if his father felt the same way sitting here, if looking down on his people made him the King he was. He’s not sure if that’s what he wants, if his father’s footsteps are the best example he should follow. That is also a part of the reason he wishes for a Head Advisor change, ignoring the fact he certainly isn’t William’s biggest fan.

“Before we start talking about the coronation — Yes, I’d like to inform you of Princess’ messiness, and lack of responsibility,” William starts and Cheol already feels annoyed, locking eyes with Joshua, hoping he’ll somehow come and save him. “She doesn’t care of time and rather spends her time gossiping with her lady-in-waiting than focusing on things that matter.”

“Is that true?” Kaito asks, his eyes flickering between Seungcheol and William.

“Far from it,” Cheol disagrees. “She’s knowledgeable, she carries great responsibility and what might interest you the most — alliance with her father’s kingdom will be a great advantage for us at times of war. She is of four children, it is also expected for her to be quite fertile so we won’t have to worry about the future of Veloria,” he assures him, hoping it might ease his worries. Though, if he is honest, your fertility is far from his main concerns.

“If I may add,” Chan clears his throat. “She is well studied in politics, much more than all the other Princesses I’ve heard of. Her Royal Highness will only be a positive addition to the kingdom.”

Seungcheol smiles at his brother, giving him a small nod of approval before looking at Kaito and Seungkwan again. “What do you think?”

Seungkwan opens his mouth and closes it again, caught off guard. “I haven’t met Her Highness just yet,” he says, panicked. Seungcheol tilts his head, not very pleased with his response. He is studied, from what he heard he was always on top of his classes, but yet he can’t give his own opinion on a situation? “But from what I know of the Elowen family,” he continues quickly, noting the disappointment on Prince’s face. “Everything the Princes said is true. An alliance in the form of marriage would be great for us.”

That’s more to his liking. Seungcheol smiles, “I don’t think there’s more we need to discuss regarding our future Queen then. The coronation, shall we talk about it?”

William grits his teeth again, knowing this is a lost battle for him. He’s always been the powerful, the one controlling the King, it’s not right that he now gets tossed aside as if he wasn’t the reason the Veloria kingdom has been doing so good in the past few years. “Everything is up to speed,” he proclaims. “Lords and Ladies are coming together to see you on the throne.”

“Doctor Jeon has assured us His Majesty shall be ready to crown you,” Kaito adds. “We’ve been trying to help him get better but the truth is, once you become the new King, it’s most likely he will spend the rest of his time in bed.” The three Princes exchange a look, a silent understanding of what it means for them. Their people might be losing a King, but a King can be replaced. They are losing a father. And no matter how many flaws he’s had, it doesn’t change the fact that a family is dying.

But even then, the three of them can’t understand the great pain his wife has been feeling ever since he first got sick. She’s been by his side through it all, her soft cries filling the room every time the King sleeps. She believes they don’t know, that they don’t notice the pain she bears, but it’s hard not to. And every time Seungcheol sees her, he wants nothing more than to be there for her, be a shoulder to lean on in this wicked time. She might not be his biological mother, but she’s always treated him equal to her children, now he just wants to do the same for her.

“Has Her Majesty eaten anything today?” He blurts out instead of acknowledging what was said.

Kaito clears his throat, apology written all over his face as he looks back at the Prince. “She’s refusing to eat anything unless we find medicine for His Majesty. She stopped speaking to us, too, barely noticing anyone other than the King.” Seungcheol’s knuckles turn white as he grips his hand into a fist, controlling himself not to punch anything. At this point, she’ll die with the King.

“Ask the kitchen to make Her Majesty’s favorite. I’ll pay her a visit.”

The Princes are the only ones left in the room shortly after, their smiles fallen as they look at each other. They’ve studied plenty of things at the academy, but none of their subjects included how to behave when the Queen decides to go down with the King.

“I shall go with you,” Chan mumbles, his confidence low as he keeps his eyes down on his feet. Seungcheol hesitates. He has no right to refuse him. It is his mother after all, but a part of him feels like it’s something he should do on his own. The weight of the eldest son lays heavy on his shoulders, the urge to take all the pain from everyone he knows and bear it instead strong.

“Mind if I go alone this time?” It’s then that their eyes meet, the pain behind the younger’s eyes obvious. “I want to do this. Please, let me.”

“Lord Choi has been wanting to introduce us to some of his friends, he wants to go out to the pub in town tonight,” Joshua wraps his arm around the youngest’s shoulder, sending a reassuring smile towards his older brother. “I could definitely use a distraction, hm?” Chan sighs, a heavy breath that shows just how tired he is. Still, he nods, sending one more glance Cheol’s way before leaving.

The Prince’s back hits the cold throne, his head tilted to the ceiling as he collects his thoughts. He understands the Queen, the urge to be by her loved one when he is in pain. He’d do the same for all three of his siblings, sit with them through it all and try to convince himself it’ll all be okay.

The thought of being in his father’s position stings. When Joshua’s mother had gotten sick, his father didn’t even bat an eye. He sent for the best Doctors, but that was the limit of his care. Would it be the same for him? Would he find himself on his deathbed with no one by his side that would care if he gets better or not, all because he is marrying for power instead of love?

The walk to the King’s chamber is filled with dark thoughts as he makes his way through the halls. This is certainly not the mood he wants to be in before dealing with things but there’s nothing he can do to help it. He’ll have to deal with situations like this later on anyway. It’s only in his favor if he can get used to it before facing his people.

He doesn’t wait for an answer after knocking, coming in. His eyes immediately fall to the Queen, sitting on a damaged chair beside the bed, holding the King’s hand while he sleeps. She doesn’t notice him right away, her hair covering most of her face, her eyes glued to the sleeping man. She’s not even dressed properly, and hadn’t he known better, he wouldn’t have guessed it was the Queen of Veloria in front of him.

Cheol clears his throat, waiting at the door until she looks up and meets his eyes. She quickly wipes away her tears and fixes her hair, putting on her best smile. “Seungcheol,” she greets him, her voice welcoming despite everything.

He smiles at her as well but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Kyong,” he greets her back, stepping forward until he reaches her and placing the trail with her favorite meal between her and the King, hoping his father doesn’t wake up all of a sudden and throw the food to the ground as he turns.

“I’ve already eaten but I’ve heard you haven’t had anything.”

“Oh,” even the little breath she lets out sounds guilty. It truly pains him to see her like this. It’s as if she were just as sick as his father. “I’ll eat later, son.”

“Then I’ll keep you company in the meantime,” he nods, his voice quiet. She averts her eyes from him, glancing briefly at the food before looking at her husband again.

“He’s been sleeping all day,” she informs him and Seungcheol hums. “It’s been like this a lot lately.”

“I’ve been told he is getting better? That he will be okay for the coronation?” She doesn’t answer, biting her bottom lip. He doesn’t push her for an answer either, knowing how hard it must be on her. The Queen looks up again, meeting his eyes.

“Tell me, how is the Elowen family?”

He leans against one of the dressers on the side to be more comfortable, “They all seem nice,” he says simply and she rolls her eyes.

“Your future Queen. How is she?” There is a hopeful smile on her face as she speaks and it hits him more than anything today.

“She’s smart,” he assures her. “Pretty, and she loves our gardens.”

“Then your mother would have approved of her,” she nods. It’s rather rare that people in the kingdom talk about his mother. A lot of the things he’d heard throughout his childhood weren’t painting her in the best light, but Kyong has never spoken ill of her. She always did her best so Cheol could meet her through her stories, since he didn’t have the chance to do so before she died.

“It’s a political marriage, don’t think too much into it,” he shakes his head.

“There are different levels to a political marriage, Seungcheol. Not all of them have to stay strictly professional.”

“I hope love will be in the cards for your son,” he answers simply with a smile as genuine as it can be.

“It is in your cards as much as it is in your siblings,” she assures him. “You are deserving of love, as much as anyone else is.” It’s his turn to stay quiet, unsure what to say to that. It’d be nice if that was true but honestly, it’s hard to believe when he thinks about the situation he is in.

“Look at your father,” she glances at the sleeping man, finally taking the trail of food from the bed. “He always thought the same, that he was meant for politics and was doomed to live through his people only. Now, look at us.”

“You are the exception, not the rule,” he reminds her but she simply shrugs, slowly digging into her food.

“Darling, you could easily make it into a rule.”

The words ring in his ears as he watches her eat, thinking about what she said. Deep down, he wishes he could be that lucky, that he could find someone to love, but he just can’t see it. Not now at least. Right now, he’ll be happy if he makes sure the Queen will eat her food well and stay with them for many more years, even if his father doesn’t stand by her side anymore.

Time seems to pass by faster than you can comprehend. It feels like you only blinked once and everything around changed. The palace is a mess, people coming in and out before you can properly learn their names, lords who don’t know why you’re here in the first place trying their chances to see if they could find their future wife, and all the servants panicking that nothing will be ready on time. Coronation is in two days.

One would think everything would be in place by now, all perfect for the future King of Veloria, but it’s far from it. If the palace is one thing, it’s disorganized. You had to learn that the hard way. You know you can’t blame Seungcheol, not when he’s barely gotten a taste of ruling yet. And not when you haven’t even gotten a chance to speak with him since the dinner with your families passed.

You understand that he is busy, deep down you know it has nothing to do with you, but you wish you could see your future husband more.

You’ve met once in the last two weeks. It had been over breakfast, when your father asked him to join your family so they could discuss the plans for forthcoming events together. You only managed to exchange two words with him before your mother took you and your siblings outside so the men could decide over your future. You can’t say you’d be surprised. It’s been like this your entire life. If anything, you’re pleased they let you finish eating before having you leave.

In a way, it’s nice not having to worry about anything. You spent the last two weeks in the gardens, accompanied by Taehyun or Mingyu. Unlike Taehyun, Mingyu fell into a comfortable rhythm with you much quicker. While Taehyun has always wanted to keep boundaries, making sure he wouldn't overstep, Mingyu had engaged in a chat with you as soon as you met him.

You later learned it was because he doesn’t have many worries about losing his position. His family has been working for the royal family for centuries, and it turns out, he and your future husband are quite close. Ever since you found out, you had to bite back your tongue not to ask him about Prince Seungcheol. About how he really is like outside of all the duties, without the (soon not so much) imaginary crown on his head, about his hobbies and biggest dreams.

You doubt he’d even tell you if you did ask.

Mingyu isn’t the only friend you’ve made during your stay, though. You’ve met plenty of interesting people like the royal teacher, a few of Veloria’s best scholars, and incredible ladies-in-waiting that had sworn to you their honesty and pure heart — even though you’re unsure if it wasn’t all for them to get closer to the Prince. You heard about ladies-in-waiting that had later become the King’s company back home, but you never wanted to believe it to be true. Why marry if you want to keep meeting new women?

But the most interesting of them weren’t the ladies or lords, it was the young gardener you found yourself spending every day with. You’ve seen the look on Taehyun’s face when you first got into a chat with Soobin, but it wasn’t like that. You’d be foolish to look at the gardener as anything more than a friend who shares the same interest in flowers as you. Especially when you already have a Prince courting you.

“Have you heard of the new flower the Amberielle kingdom has in their gardens?” You ask, watching as he waters the lilies around you.

“I have not, Your Highness,” he admits, barely sparing you a glance. Every morning, when he sees you coming down to the gardens, he feels like throwing up.

Not because your presence might bother him, in fact he is well aware he should be grateful for a Princess sharing her free time with him, but the look your guards give him every time he chats with you scares him. As aware as he is of his luck, he is also aware how easy it’d be for the King to get him killed if he does something he doesn’t like. And Soobin would be a fool to let his head be cut off for something he never meant to do.

“Really? I’ve read about it in the books Taehyun brought for me from the library,” you look at the guard beside you, giving him one of your thankful smiles. His lips don’t even twitch though, making you scoff. You thought he might have cracked after all this time but it seems like you’re still where you were when you first arrived.

“I see,” Soobin mumbles, locking eyes with the guard before looking down at the ground again. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go take care of… things,” he blurts out and you frown, sensing the lie on his lips. It’s weird. Some days, he has no problem spending all afternoon talking to you about the gardens or hobbies, and then others he shuts down like this, refusing to talk to you about anything. You want to ask him about it, question his behavior, but before you can do so, he is off, leaving you alone with Taehyun.

You sigh, turning to face the guard. “What shall we do then?” He opens his mouth to answer — probably to tell you to go back to your chambers and not step a foot out, you assume — but before he can do so, another guard interrupts him.

“Your Highness, His Royal Highness is looking to speak to you.”

You recognize Mingyu’s voice, taking a step to the side so you can see both of them. You narrow your eyes as you watch him, blinking a few times before nodding, telling him to lead the way. You haven’t spoken to him in days and now he wishes to bless you with his presence? You don’t see a reason why. But then again, coronation is in two days. And you are to be the Queen of Veloria.

Mingyu doesn’t tell you what it’s about as he leads you through the chambers to the crown room, Taehyun right behind you. You walk in silence, silence that you don’t like. It makes you feel weird, like you are in some sort of trouble. It makes you feel like a little girl all over again, walking the path of shame as the guards lead you to your parents to humiliate you and complain how irresponsible you are.

The memory makes you straighten your back, reminding yourself of everything your teacher taught you, remembering all the lessons you took so you wouldn’t feel like that little girl again. You’re a grown woman now, you tell yourself as you look ahead.

“Thank you, Mingyu,” Seungcheol smiles at the guard before looking your way. He sits on the King’s throne, confidence shining right through him. His hair is neat and so are his clothes. When you look at him, he truly looks like a King. “You can leave. I’d like to talk to the Princess alone.” Despite keeping his smile on and his calm demeanor, it’s a command, his voice ringing in your ears as the two guards leave, followed by another two guards who were looking after the Prince until now.

“You wanted to see me?”

He nods, standing up from the throne and walking over to the large window in the room. You tilt your head confusedly before deciding to join his side, standing awkwardly beside him and looking down at the people. “I’ve heard you’ve been in our gardens more often.”

“Oh,” you snap out of your thoughts and glance up at him. “I have,” you agree. “As you know, I find them beautiful. The flowers calm my mind.”

“Are you sure it’s the flowers that calm your mind?” He asks, turning his head towards you. The moment your eyes lock, you feel something hit you. A wave, spark maybe. You’re not sure. But you feel it, you swear you do. You stumble over your words, your cheeks heating up as you gaze into his eyes.

“Uhm— Excuse me?”

He sighs, breaking eye contact again and looking out towards the gardens. “I’ve also heard you’ve been talking to the gardener,” he admits. “Soobin?”

Now you’re even more confused. What does he have to do with anything? “Are you accusing me of something, my Prince?”

He doesn’t answer immediately, avoiding your eyes. You eye him confusedly, frowning. This is definitely not a topic of conversation your parents or teacher would approve of, but what are you supposed to do when he started it?

“I mean it’s understandable,” he clears his throat. What is? He makes no sense to you. “It makes sense to look for another in your position, I know that, but my lady,” he faces you again, his eyes stern. “You need to be careful with things like these. It’d be a great betrayal to both of our kingdoms if anyone saw you two together. Not to mention that due to his rank, it’d do him no favor. We would have to call off the wedding and it’d be especially hard for your father to arrange another one for you.”

“I don’t–” you shake your head. “What are you talking about, Prince?” He tilts his head, trying to read you with his eyes.

“What I’m meaning to say, you shall not be seen with him in public.”

“Why shall I not?” You push further, trying to make sense of this conversation. It’s confusing, Prince Seungcheol is confusing. It feels like he is talking in riddles, making you guess every word of his. And so far, you’re in no luck at solving the code.

“Have you not heard a word I just said?”

“I have, my Prince. I simply don’t understand.”

You’re not entirely sure if he is annoyed or confused as he takes the sight of you in. You can tell that he is thinking about something, going over what he is going to say next in his head. You tilt your head to the side, looking up at him. “Soobin, the gardener, aren’t you sharing a bed with him?”

Your eyes widen, realization from what he is accusing you of hitting you. You stumble back, your ears red from embarrassment and anger. How could he think so little of you? You’re a noble woman, a Princess, raised by the best teachers in the Elowen kingdom. How dare he even think you weren’t taught what even just being alone with a man would do to your reputation. And share a bed with someone you’re not married to? Heaven forbid.

Your name slips past his lips without any titles and you just shake your head, stepping away from the window. “It was nice chatting with you, Your Royal Highness, but I shall get back to my chamber. My ladies-in-waiting are waiting for me so we can have our afternoon tea.”

You try to leave the room but as soon as you open the large door Seungcheol’s hand wraps around your wrist, stopping you from leaving. You swallow hard, trying to pay as little attention to it as possible. You lock eyes with Taehyun and he shifts uncomfortably, his eyes flickering between you and the Prince. You don’t even want to know what he is thinking, worried he’d accuse you of the same thing the Prince did. How could you be so foolish? You know what rumors like this could do to you and your family.

“Give us another moment, we aren’t done talking yet,” Seungcheol says towards the guards, his eyes softening when he looks at you again, begging you to stay. You avert your eyes from him, thinking about all your options. You need to take care of this problem, and you need to do it fast. Daniela will know what to do. You need to go see her.

“I think we are done,” you argue but he doesn’t let go of your hand.

“Just two more minutes, Princess.” You bite back everything you wanted to say next. You are a weak, weak girl, you realize.

“I no longer shall be talking with you alone,” you say instead, doing the next best thing you can think of. He hesitates, finally dropping his hand to his side.

“Of course,” he mumbles. “Mingyu, may you?”

You find yourself behind closed doors again, this time not only with Seungcheol but his friend as well. You’d prefer it a lot more if the door stayed open but you know you’d be asking for too much then. Thankfully, you can blame this conversation on discussing important political matters not even the guards can hear of if anyone asks you why you were alone with the Prince.

“Your Highness?” You question awkwardly, looking at your feet.

“I didn’t mean to imply,” he apologizes, stepping closer to you. You let him, for now. “I’m well aware of your status, and what those accusations mean to you. I just—” he hesitates, waiting for you to look at him again. You do, doing your best to stay calm. “I just wanted to make sure you knew seeking pleasure was normal in situations like ours.”

“Pleasure?” You question, offended. “How am I supposed to find any pleasure in this, Your Highness? Pleasure in this chaos? In worries of what other people might think of me and my family? How is there any kind of pleasure in that?” You snap, deciding to forget about his title and the manners you should respect towards him.

Mingyu clears his throat but doesn’t get involved in your conversation any further, and honestly, you forget he’s even standing there. “I meant– different kind of pleasure,” he sighs, the longer he stares into your eyes the more realizing how wrong he’s got this. You watch the embarrassment settle on his face, but you’re certain it’s not as bad as the one you feel. “Forget it,” he blurts out. “I didn’t realize you don’t—”

“I don’t, what?”

“Understand.”

Your frown deepens, and for the first time since you closed the door behind you you look at the guard standing a few steps behind the Prince. He is clearly avoiding your eyes, making it clear he doesn’t wish to be a part of this conversation or help you in any way.

“Then help me understand,” you say, trying not to get mad when he shakes his head. Seriously? He wants to blame you for losing your dignity and then not even explain himself?

“We shall not be talking about this,” he says almost like an apology, taking a step back again. “I’m sorry, my lady.”

You scoff, tapping your feet against the wooden floor lightly as you watch him. “Alright,” you finally speak again. “Can you at least tell me why you thought so of me? What led you to the impression?”

“I read the situation wrong,” he says instead of answering your question. You want to argue further, tell him that that’s not what you’re asking him and demand explanation, but Mingyu joins your side before you can do any of that, giving you one of his smiles, pointing towards the door with his hand.

“Shall we, Your Highness? Your ladies must be impatient waiting for you.” You hum, glancing at Seungcheol one last time before walking away with the guard.

“My Prince, you wound me.”

Seungcheol turns on his bed, frowning even in his sleep.

“You could have made it a rule.”

The image he sees isn’t to his liking. The Queen, sitting beside his dead father, holding his hand as tears run down her face. She’s devastated. But it’s not her husband’s death that puts her in such depression. It’s when she looks at him, the oldest son of the Veloria kingdom, that it all comes crashing down — the disappointment, the anger, the regret.

No. He can’t bear seeing her like that. If she feels disappointed in him as well, then what is he supposed to do? He can’t rule, he can’t lead his people. He’ll only make them miserable. As miserable as he’s made the Queen. Bad things have always followed him, how else is he supposed to explain his mother dying during birth? It was always his fault, and he was now going to lead his people into failure as well.

He turns around on his bed again, trying to chase the image away. The last thing he should be thinking about is how big of a failure he is the night of his coronation. But the picture isn’t any better on the other side.

He dreams of you, in the same pink dress you wore to the dinner with your parents. You look crushed, your eyes watery as you look up at him, hiding an incredible amount of pain behind them. It hits him harder than he thought it could, his eyes widening as he quickly tries to cup your cheeks and brush your tears away. But he can’t. His hands go right through you. He can’t hold you. He can’t help. All he can do is watch you suffer because of him, watch you cry and yell at him, regret ever meeting him.

“I thought we could have an understanding, my Prince.”

It’s not truly you talking to him, it’s his own conscience, he knows that — or maybe he just hopes that’s the case — but it doesn’t change the fact your words hit him hard. It feels like you just pulled his heart out of his chest and twisted it between your fingers. He opens his mouth to assure you it will be okay, that he can make this okay again, but no words come out.

His eyes snap open, his breathing heavy as he stares at the dark wall in front of him. A dream, he reminds himself. That’s all this was. He closes his eyes again, hiding his face in his hands with a groan. Taking a deep breath, he drops his hands down, stepping out from under his blanket.

It’s still dark outside but he doesn’t feel like going back to sleep anytime soon. Taking down his pajama pants, he changes into his outdoor garments, leaving his room before anyone can notice. It’s not like he wouldn’t be able to leave whenever he wants, but he is sure any good servant would report it to the first guard they’d find and they would insist on staying with him. And honestly, he doesn’t feel like sharing the place with anyone else at the moment.

For the first time in what feels like ages, it’s quiet as he walks through the palace. The night sky is filled with stars shining above his head, his steps light as he walks through the gardens, taking his time with taking in the sight until he finally reaches his destination — the same place he first met you.

He stares ahead, unsure why he came here in the first place. It’s not like his dreams mean anything, and this place definitely doesn’t either. Yet, he can’t seem to move and walk away now that he is here. He turns around, enjoying the peace as looking at his surroundings. He can see your chamber from here, he realizes. It’s dark in your room, as it should be this early in the morning. The only light in the palace is coming from the kitchen, everyone busy preparing for the coronation, he assumes.

The coronation.

He should get back to his room, sleep as much as he can before the maid comes to wake him up, and pray everything goes well today. He still hesitates, his eyes glued to your window. It’s hard to hide his worries but he does his best, burying the memory of his dream deep inside. For now, that should be enough. How he’ll react when he sees you again later today is a different story, though.

♡⸝⸝

Despite the earlier panic all throughout the palace, everything is ready and set on time. Seungcheol smiles as he greets lords and ladies, engaging in a small talk with them. The walls are lined with guards everywhere, all of them focused on their job and nothing else. Which is likely also why he didn’t have a chance to speak with Mingyu yet. He was hoping for some reassurance from his best friend before it all comes crashing down, but for now, Joshua’s words will have to do.

“Look at you,” Kyong’s voice interrupts him, his eyes softening as he apologizes to lord Kim before glancing at the Queen. “You look beautiful,” she tells him, her hand wrapping around his biceps, giving a reassuring squeeze.

“I could say the same about you,” he takes in the sight of her, her dress deep purple and her hair falling in soft waves. This is the Queen he remembers raising him. The woman who stood by him and showed him manners as well as fun.

He feels proud. He is well aware how foolish that might sound. He is the one gaining power over the kingdom, it is his day, and yet, it’s not himself he is proud of. It’s the woman who has pulled through her spouse’s illness so she could be present for his big day.

“Father is coming in,” Joshua jumps into the conversation, fixing his uniform. He wears the same navy blue as the crown Prince, minus all the gold that lines him. Seungcheol clears his throat, nodding.

“I should go then, wait for the council to welcome everyone so we can begin.” They both nod to him and Joshua offers his arm to the Queen, walking with her to their designated place.

Seungcheol watches as the Queen takes a seat on her own throne besides the King, her smile wide but her eyes bearing the pain she’s hiding all day. The ceremonial robe the council made him wear looks heavy on him, and every part of the Prince worries if his father will be okay. It’s only once he sees him hold the Queen’s hand in his, looking at her like it’ll all be okay, that he leaves the throne room.

The noises all calm down and he is certain he’ll hear every one of his steps when he comes back to the room. It’s weird, standing here, with everyone even slightly important waiting for him inside so they could watch the King put a crown on his head. A lot of Princes his age have been married off for years, but it feels too soon for him.

Trumpets ring through his ears and before he can properly prepare himself, the door opens in front of him, a guard on each side. He takes a deep breath, straightening his back as he walks through the empty aisle his people created for him. He keeps his eyes laser focused on his father, not trusting himself enough to look at his siblings.

He kneels in front of the King, his head down. He recognizes Kaito’s voice as he recites a few words on the side where everyone can see him. Seungcheol doesn’t look, though. He barely even registers his words, everything that’s said until his father starts speaking a blur.

He glances up, just for a moment to make sure he is okay before his eyes burn holes into the ground beneath him again. The King clears his throat before reciting an Oath, encouraging the crown Prince to look ahead. He does, meeting eyes with his father as he repeats his words. A few people whisper behind him but he can’t hear anything, anxiety creeping up his back that he might mess up or something might go wrong at the last minute. It’s almost as if he had some sort of a protection device on his head, everything tuned out. His ears buzz which is not amazing but he pushes through, watching the King raise from his seat.

“Today, in the name of the crown, it is a great honor to proclaim my son, Seungcheol, a rightful heir to the throne. May strength follow your every step, wisdom guide you through the rough times of a war, and mercy lead your people. Rule in times of sickness, rule in the honor of the great Kings who carried this crown before you.” He steps down from his throne, slow, controlled steps like the Doctor advised him before.

The golden crown is heavy on his head but it doesn’t stop him from rising up, towering over his father as he walks up, taking his rightful place on the throne. It’s only then that he properly looks into the crowd. Mingyu stands on the very right, a proud grin on his face unlike the other guards who keep a stern face. It makes him smile as well, the realization of how much this means finally settling in.

Lord Choi stands on the left side, close to the royal family, a pretty lady on his arm. It makes him think of you, of you in his dream, of your pretty eyes and lips he’s thought about more times throughout the day than he’d like to admit. He scans the room once more until his eyes finally land on your figure, standing at the front with your family, a smile on your face as you bow down along with the rest of his people. His people.

Your pastel purple dress shines in the room. It might not be to everyone else, but it does to him. He isn’t sure why, why your presence in the midst of strangers feels like a soft light that peeks through the blinds in the morning, or why he sees your smile even as he closes his eyes, but it matters to him.

“Long live the King!” Someone in the crowd yells, making his serious demeanor crack, a laugh escaping his lips.

“Please,” he interrupts before the crowd can start celebrating, his eyes meeting Mingyu’s from across the room, a quiet thank you in his smile as it is his voice he recognized. “Before celebrations begin and all our doors open for you, I’d like to make a statement.”

As if the atmosphere wasn’t serious enough until now, everyone quiets down, nervously glancing around. He sees you do the same, trying to ask your father what’s going on. “My father was a great leader, one that got us through important battles and made sure his people would be taken care of,” Seungcheol looks at him, noticing his struggle as he tries to hold a cough in. Alright, quicker it is.

“It wasn’t just his work, though, which is also why I’d like to thank William,” he turns to the Head Advisor standing beside the throne. William smiles at the people, awkward as he has no idea what the new King of Veloria plans to say. “You did an amazing job helping my father. And I, as your King, grant you the honor of retirement.” He watches as his eyes widen, panic rushing through his entire face. “Instead,” he looks at the crowd below him again. “I’d like to name a new Head Advisor for the crown. Seungkwan, could you take William’s place?”

Whispers run through the room, filling his ears as he watches the scholar nervously step in front of him, a quiet thank you on his lips before he joins William’s side. “I trust his judgment to the fullest. And I can assure you, our kingdom will only grow with us.” It’s only then that he decides to step down, his shoulders tense as he joins the lords and ladies below. It creates a smile on Seungcheol’s face. Finally, finally, he’s got him right where he’s wanted him for what feels like ages — under him, with no power to rule over him.

He looks to his side, taking in the approving smiles of his brothers before everyone cheers, the room much louder than before. The throne room slowly clears out, everyone rushing to get to the great hall where the banquet for celebrations is hosted. Seungcheol stays in place, watching others leave before he allows a heavy sign to leave his lips.

It’s also then that his father grabs onto the first thing he can — which happens to be Chan’s arm as he rushes to help him — the coughs he kept in this entire time finally leaving his lips. “Let’s get you back to bed,” the former Queen coos, trying to remain calm.

“Will you be at the banquet?” her daughter asks, hope in her voice. It hurts, seeing the most important people in his life this low. He can read his sister perfectly, the way she misses her mother and simply wishes to spend some time with her. But he can read Kyong just as well, all the pain she bears, the tears she hides from her children in order not to worry them.

“We’ll see, darling,” she smiles, unable to tell her no right away. Seungcheol sees right through it but doesn’t say anything, calling Mingyu over instead to help them get back to their chamber without anyone noticing.

“Will he be okay?” His sister asks as they leave the room, looking up at her three older brothers. Seungcheol meets her eyes, his heart breaking in pieces. He’s never wanted anything other than happiness for her. He’d fight for her to get anything she wants, just a word and he’d do it. But what he cannot do for her is lie, look her in the eyes and promise her it will all go back to how it was, with everyone healthy and smiley.

Learning about his father’s illness hasn’t fully hit him until today. It all seemed like something impossible. How could his father, the same man who was always the strongest leader he knew, fail the bottle with sickness?

“The Doctors’ got him,” Joshua assures her when no one speaks, squeezing her shoulder. She smiles up at him, placing her hand on top of his. She believes him, of course she does. Why wouldn’t she believe it when her big brother tells her it will be okay? Seungcheol closes his eyes, unable to watch it any longer. Taking a deep breath, he turns around to the guards left near the walls.

“Can someone accompany my sister to the banquet?”

Two guards step forward without saying anything and the King nods, motioning for them to walk out with her. “You’ll all attend though, right? I won’t be there alone?”

“It’s to celebrate my coronation, you seriously think I could miss it?” Seungcheol turns to her again with a smile. She nods, visibly less tense now. The room stays quiet, all three of the Princes watching her leave the room.

Seungcheol sighs, plopping down on his throne as soon as the door closes behind her, finally relaxing. It feels like the first time he can breathe since he stepped into the room. “Are you alright?” Joshua worries, taking in the sight of his new King. It’s safe to say he looks exhausted. “Are you sure you can attend a banquet right now?”

“Do I have a choice?” It’s a rhetorical question. They all know what kinds of things would be said if he didn’t show up. He would lose his people before even gaining their trust. “Plus, not only do I need to speak with the council and entertain people, I should also speak with the Elowen family. I owe it to them after not being with them at all during their stay.”

“How’s the Princess?” Chan wonders, shifting uncomfortably in his uniform. It’s understandable, the robe they made him wear looks much heavier than what he’s used to.

“Good,” Cheol shrugs, but his mind drifts off to your standing in the crowd earlier. To your bow, to your pretty eyes focused on him as he named his new Head Advisor. He hopes you liked the ceremony. The thought makes him pause, confusing obvious on his face. His younger brothers raise their eyebrows, both of them having the same question looks on their faces. “We haven’t spoken much. But as we all know, she’ll be a great addition to the kingdom,” he assures them, the same words he said days prior to the council.

“Why not get to know her better?”

“We are not to be lovers,” he reminds them. But as soon as the words leave his mouth, it feels wrong. “She’s a political addition to the kingdom,” he continues, quickly pushing aside all the thoughts about you that appear in his head. “Unlike you two, I don’t have much of a choice.”

A hint of resentment appears behind Joshua’s eyes as the words leave his mouth but he doesn’t pay it any attention, figuring he’s just imagining things. “I don’t know, I think I’d like not having to worry if I find a wife on my own or not,” Chan comments with a shrug. “Doesn’t it make it all easier?”

Seungcheol hesitates as he looks at his brothers. “I guess it does,” he finally says, trying to read the look behind Joshua’s eyes. The longer he looks at him, the more he begins believing what he saw wasn’t just a figment of his imagination. Maybe a part of Joshua actually resents him. Which only leads him to another question — why?

“Shall we go?” Joshua brings the eldest out of his thoughts. There’s a smile on his lips as he asks, making Cheol’s eyes narrow. He doesn’t say anything though, nodding as he stands up again, following his brothers and the rest of the guards into the great hall.

“Wasn’t that beautiful?” Your mother asks as she sits in her seat. You smile immediately, the memory of Seungcheol finally getting his crown clear in your head. You feel proud, the smile you carry as genuine as it can be. You might have only spoken to him on a few occasions, but you know he is deserving of his role, despite the disagreement you had a few days ago.

“It was nice,” your father hums back.

“I think the coronation was amazing,” you proclaim, not noticing you’re interrupting your father. Thankfully, he doesn’t say anything, letting you talk freely.

“What about you, Nari? What did you think?” Your mother glances over at your younger sister.

She straightens her back as soon as all eyes are on her, clearing her throat before speaking. “The ceremony was beautiful, mother,” she nods, her politeness ringing in your ears. You wouldn’t say you were a bad student, but she’s certainly always cared more about growing into the beautiful, diligent, humble ladies you were raised to be. In a sense, you admire her for it. You’re confident she won’t have any trouble finding her future husband on her own, hopefully one who loves her dearly. “Brother and sister told me the same before the nanny took them back to our chamber,” she adds and your parents nod.

“And what did you think of the Princes? Aren’t they good looking?”

“Mama!” You whisper-yell. “Nari is seventeen.”

“Maybe it was our fault we didn’t look for a husband for you earlier. If we had, you could have been long married with children running around,” your father comments, sipping on the prepared champagne in front of him.

You open your mouth to argue, tell them it wasn’t a mistake that they waited until you were twenty five as you still had a lot of developing to do and things to wrap your head around, but before you can say any of it, your sister speaks again, “Looks certainly run in the Veloria family.”

“You shall ask your future husband if his brothers aren’t looking for a wife,” your mother encourages you.

“Of course,” you smile back at her, knowing you definitely won’t. You’d rather lose your parents’ trust than set up your seventeen year old sister with a man older than you.

You sit quietly after, listening to your parents talk about how pleased they are with the Veloria kingdom and the new King, reminding you how lucky you are to be chosen by him. Nari sometimes joins the conversation when asked to, but for most of it, she sits just as quietly as you.

That is, until a lord approaches your table. He bows with his right hand pressed to his heart, introducing himself as Lord Nishimura. He isn’t from around here, that much you can tell. “I hope I’m not intruding on an important conversation,” he apologizes, eyes locked onto your parents. He quickly glances at you and your sister before continuing. “I’d like to ask your daughter for a dance, if you allow.”

Narrowing your eyes, you scan his figure. He can’t be over the age of twenty, his eyes full of the same young energy you see in your eight year old brother. He extends his hand to your sister and you watch as her eyes flicker to your parents, waiting for their approval. Your mother nods with a smile and Nari’s eyes fill with excitement, placing her hand in his and leaving with him to join the other lords and ladies dancing in the center of the room.

You bite back everything you wish to say, knowing you can’t go against your parents’ methods. You’d be a fool to start a disagreement with them, especially when you are in public. You’ll just have to hope they won’t decide to go down the path of wedding their undeveloped daughter.

Your mother clears her throat after sharing a glance with her husband, causing you to look at her. “Don’t you feel like dancing tonight, darling? It’s a big day for us just as much as for the Veloria family after all,” she mentions and you know exactly where she’d be heading with it.

“You’re right,” you agree, forcing a smile. “I shall join the others.”

Your parents watch you with a smile as you leave the table but you know it’s as forced as your own. It makes you feel weird, something in your stomach makes you uneasy. You always loved your parents and believed the relationship you had with them was strong, but ever since you learned they arranged a marriage for you, it was as if it all shifted. All of a sudden, your afternoon tea conversations with your mother weren’t about the books you got your hands on lately or your interests but about preparations for the wedding and questions about your future husband.

Frankly, it all made you feel small, like you were stuck between four walls with no doors or windows. It began to be harder to breathe freely around them, everything crashing down on you. The bond you thought you always had with your mother was weakening with each day spent together, and you found yourself in the Veloria gardens more than not.

It was easy to escape from everything and focus on the nice things. You don’t have the heart to face the fact that your and your mother’s relationship might not be as great as you thought it was, if you’re honest.

You decide to stay near one of the tables, this one decorated with a chocolate fountain and all kinds of fruits you could think of. Most of the nobles are dancing in the center or chatting at their respective tables, keeping your surroundings quiet. Which is exactly what you needed, a quiet peace of mind to let you forget about your parents and their meddling.

Scanning the room, a part of you feels disappointed when you can’t find a certain King who you’ve been wanting to talk to ever since leaving the throne room two days ago. You understand he has other things to take care of before joining the banquet but that doesn’t stop you from wondering when he’ll turn up. He is your future husband after all, you can wonder about his whereabouts.

Your mind drifts to your conversation two days ago, to the memory of his dark eyes gazing into yours. Biting the inside of your cheek, you do your best not to think about the possibilities of where he might be, what he might be doing. If the roles were reversed, and you’d be the one who still hasn’t shown, the rumors would start before you could blink.

Being a woman is lovely, and with every inch of your body, you appreciate everything you have, but the difference between women and men in this society is far too obvious. You watched your youngest sister’s interest in weaponry fade away as she was pushed into afternoon tea she never liked and dressing up to her age while your brother got to be taught in said area despite being only eight years old.

“My lady.” You turn to the side upon hearing a man’s voice, smiling out of politeness.

“My lord,” you drop into a small courtesy. “Have you tried the mango yet? It’s delicious,” you motion towards the fruit besides you, his eyes following yours.

“Not yet,” he shakes his head. “The fruits do look great,” he agrees before meeting your eyes again. “But I came over because someone else looks much more beautiful.”

Your cheeks catch a hint of pink as you thank him, averting your eyes to the floor beneath you. “Thank you, lord…” you pause, realizing you didn’t quite catch his name.

“Lord Song,” he finishes for you with a small bow. “My apologies for not introducing myself sooner.” You shake your head, introducing yourself as well.

“Elowen?” He questions and you watch him mentally place your kingdom on a map. “What brings you here from so far away?” You hesitate, knowing you can’t just proclaim you’re marrying the King of Veloria all of a sudden. He only became the King an hour ago, it’s too early to announce a marriage for the throne.

“What else? The beautiful coronation we watched earlier. My family came to show our support to the future King, just like everyone else in this room.”

He hums back, watching you with a smile. You feel his eyes all over you, taking in the sight of you. You do look gorgeous tonight, the maids and Daniela made sure you would, and you feel extremely thankful to them. But you’re just as thankful when you hear Lady Avanzini’s voice as she joins your side. “Your Highness, could I steal you for a moment?”

You glance between her and the lord in front of you, nodding. You drop into a small courtesy again as you excuse yourself before following Daniela away. “Where are we heading?” You ask, taking your chance and looking around the room for the King.

“You looked like you needed some saving, my lady,” she says simply, making a soft laugh bubble out of you as you shake your head at her.

“Our conversation wasn’t as bad as it might have looked like.”

She stops in her tracks, turning around to face you. “Would you have rather I left you alone?” Your eyes soften as you shake your head again in a silent no. She smiles, “see, Princess? I know what you need at all times.” She looks proud of herself as she leads you into another quiet corner of the room, staying by your side and watching the banquet unfold.

“Have you happened to see the King?” You whisper towards her without taking your eyes from the nobles dancing, hoping that by some miracle you might find him in the midst of them.

“I did,” she nods. “He was speaking with a few gentlemen at their table. His brother was with him.” The mention of the younger Prince brings back memories of your earlier conversation with your parents, a heavy sigh leaving your lips.

“Don’t remind me of any of the Princes. My mother is hoping one of them might be interested in our Nari,” you tell her, voice low enough for only her to hear. Her eyes widen and she turns to you, looking for any sign of it being a joke. When she doesn’t find any, she laughs either way.

“I saw the youngest Prince eyeing at least five different ladies already, and the second born is nowhere to be found. I think we both know what that means.”

You tilt your head to the side, blinking confusedly. What does that mean? “A lady?” Your eyes widen, realization settling in. Of course. You were worried about the King seeing another woman just moments earlier when you couldn’t find him but it didn’t even occur to you his brothers could be doing the same. But why hide his relationship when there isn’t a different lady waiting to marry him?

Maybe you’re too used to the love stories you read about. It seems easy to you. He’s a Prince, he could have anyone in the country he wishes to, so why not just ask the King for a blessing to a marriage?

“Oh how I wish I could sneak away from this ball with someone as well,” Daniela sighs, bringing you out of your thoughts.

“Why?”

“Because, my lady, I’m dying to feel a man’s hands on me.” Your eyes widen as the words reach your ears, panic rushing through you. You quickly look around to make sure no one else heard her, that no one could spread something so scandalous about your closest friend. “What?” She laughs, as if she couldn’t understand your worries. She should have, she should know just how much it means for a woman to say or do something that could ruin her reputation. “Don’t tell me you can’t relate, Princess.”

You quickly shake your head, refusing anything even slightly close to what she’s implying. “I have not, and shall never, agree to anything this incriminating.” You watch as something flickers behind her eyes, understanding maybe. You’re not quite sure, frankly.

With a simple smile, she straightens her back again and looks into the crowd, leaving you to think about the interaction on your own. “Look, His Majesty is…in the middle of the crowd of ladies there,” she points out and you take a second to even register what she said before following her eyes.

Finally, after what feels like forever, you see the man you’ve been looking for for so long. Only, he happens to be surrounded by ladies from all around and their mothers, chatting. You can only assume it has something to do with the fact Veloria now has a single King, who by all the rules you both grew up with, should be looking for a wife to consume an heir for him. If it wasn’t for your already existing arrangement, you’re certain your mother would be standing in the crowd as well, trying to list all the good qualities you have.

There's a smile on his face as he speaks, and you can't figure out if it's simply a politeness or if he's enjoying himself. Despite knowing how selfish it sounds, you hope it's simply politeness. You wish you could look at him and not feel any sign of anxiety and sadness when you see him like this, but the truth is, you ended up caring about him more than you thought would coming here. And with every one of the glances you share together, you feel your heart aching.

He doesn't notice you, his eyes kept on the group around him. You catch the sight of Chan behind him, but he doesn't get as much attention as his older brother. You find yourself wishing they'd pay more attention to the single one of the brother's. Even though you can't say Seungcheol would be yours to claim, he don't want him exploring his opinions either.

“Anything on your mind, my lady?” Daniela teases, making you take your eyes off him. You shake your head no, but you're lying. There's a lot on your mind, and the new King of Veloria happens to be the center of every one of your thoughts. “Really? Because I think His Majesty is on his way to dance.” Your eyes snap back to him as soon as her words reach you, jealousy rushing through your veins. You know you shouldn't feel like this, you made peace with love not being in your cards a long time ago, but you can't help it. You can't help the way you feel, and when you see Seungcheol's hand hold another lady, it feels like your entire world breaks into pieces right in front of your eyes.

“I see,” you mumble, your voice barely above a whisper. “Do you know her? Who she is?”

“I'll have to disappoint you, my lady,” she apologizes. “I haven't seen her before. There is many foreign faces tonight.” You hum in response, unable to take your eyes off him. Daniela seems to notice your distress, taking your hand in hers and forcing you to avert your eyes. “Look over there, there's your little sister,” she points to the other side of the crowd, your eyes landing on a different beautiful lady this time. Nari's greed dress makes her eyes stand out, and you understand why lord Nishimura can't take his eyes away. Now that you look at them from afar, they do look nice.

But as gorgeous as your sister is, it only reminds you of the girl Seungcheol is dancing with more. She's in a beautiful pink dress, decorated with gold details, her hair is up, styled into a bun. A few brown strands line her cheeks, and without needing to look their way again, you know she has a beautiful smile as well.

A song goes by, maybe two, you're not sure. You keep your eyes on your sister, her laugh bubbling in your ears despite her being on the other side of the room. It's pleasing, seeing her have so much fun. Maybe she'll join you on other balls as well, and your only company won't be Daniela — despite the fact you love her with your whole heart — anymore.

You focus on the music and chatters around instead, slowly calming down again. You don't think about the King, the laddies dancing with him, or your earlier chat with Daniela. You just shut it all out, enjoying the moment as much as you can.

At least until you catch Lord Song approaching you again. Daniela tries stepping forward quickly, but you hold her hand, smiling as you wait for the lord to approach. There isn't any need for her to save you again. If Seungcheol can dance with other ladies while you stand in the corner and watch, why wouldn't you be able to have a little fun as well? There is no harm in a dance. And despite only thinking about Seungcheol as Lord Song asks you for a dance, you are determined to enjoy yourself.

You hold his hand, imagining it's someone else' gloved hand leading you through the crowd, someone else' deep eyes watching you as you stand opposite each other, and someone else reminding you how incredible you look tonight. You feel bad, using Lord Song so you could get your mind off your future husband dancing with different women — even though it's not working well.

“Have you heard anything worth mentioning tonight, Princess?” He asks, his eyes locked onto yours as you dance side by side, your hands facing each other but not quite touching.

“I don't pay much attention to gossip, my lord,” you answer, pushing aside the memory of Daniela's earlier words. You still can't believe she'd say something like that, in a public place on top of it all. You don't understand, no matter how much you ponder over it, you can't seem to find a reason, a meaning, for her need.

“What do you pay attention to, then?” He tilts his head slightly. It's a cute motion. And he seems genuinely interested, so you allow yourself to talk.

“There's many — flowers, literature, especially poetry,” you speak with a smile, letting yourself daydream for a while.

“What about your favorites, Princess?”

You open your mouth, ready to tell him all about your favorite flowers and books, when the dance comes to an sudden end, Lord Song stopping mid step and dropping into a bow. You blink confusedly, glancing behind you to see what startled him so much. His Majesty. Your eyes widen and you quickly drop into a courtesy, wondering what he's doing here, beside you, knowing well just a minute ago, he was still in the middle of the dance.

Despite your attempts to ignore his presence and keep your eyes on the lord dancing with you, every now and then, when you got the chance, your eyes would wander to him, checking where he is and who he is with. He was with a different lady than the one you saw him first with the last time you checked. Her dress was red, and her hair blond. You wonder which one of them he found more attractive.

“What brings you here, Your Majesty?” You dare to speak first, his eyes moving from the man next to you when he hears your voice. A chuckle tugs on his lips and it doesn't take you long to figure out it's because of the title you are using. He asked you to not be so formal with him before, but can you do that now that he is the King?

“I'd like a dance,” he states simply, pinning Lord Song down with his eyes. You feel awkward watching it, knowing every part of you hoped for this, for a dance with him tonight. You didn't think it'd be like this. That he'd interrupt your dance, making everyone around look your way to check what's happening.

“Of course,” Lord Song answers without further questions, stepping aside to create more space for the King. Before leaving completely, he takes his chance and smiles at you once more, motion which you reciprocate.

Seungcheol takes his place, his hand moving with yours as a mirror, his eyes solely on you. Your cheeks turn red as you hold his eye contact, nervousness building up as you feel your heart beating faster. You worry he might hear, that just by the look in your eyes, he'll know it all. You move in the rhythm without saying another word, too scared that if you even as breathe too loudly, he'll disappear, and it'll turn out you dreamed it all.

He steps closer to you, closer than a King should be to a lady he is simply dancing with, but not close enough for anyone to mention it. You look up at him, gazing into his chocolate brown eyes with yours. He stands out in the crowd, and it's not just because everyone's eyes are on the new King. His presence draws people in, and you know they can't get enough of his looks. You are no better than them.

“You were saying?” He asks, his face unreadable.

You tilt your head slightly before shaking it. “I didn't say anything, Your Majesty.”

“Drop the Majesty,” he stops you before explaining what he meant.

“And call you Your?” Your lips curve into a smile, proud of the joke you made. You know what he means, of course you do. But speaking to him without a title in such public place just doesn't seem right.

“You can call me yours,” he agrees, leaning closer to you so only you can hear. A shiver runs down your spine, his voice ringing in your ears.

He pulls back, an equally proud smile as you had on his lips. But you're not amused, your eyes wide and cheeks red. Everything about the situation making you feel hotter. You need to get away right after the dance, get some fresh air and hopefully a fresh mind. “Sire,” you blurt out quickly. It's supposed to be a warning for him, reminder that you are surrounded by nobles from all over the country, but your anxiety makes it seem like anything but. Seungcheol rolls his eyes, obviously not satisfied. But he leaves it, for now at least.

“Your conversation with Lord Song, what was it about?” He asks again and this time, you actually know what he wants you to talk about.

“He asked about my interests.”

“And?” He encourages, “what did you say?”

“That I love flowers, and literature,” you tell him, even though you have a feeling he already knows that. You never directly spoken to him about the things you like or what sparks your interest, however, the first time you met, you were surrounded by flowers you couldn't take your eyes off. You told him how much you loved their gardens and he must have seen you visiting them every day.

“Tell me more about it.”

“Maybe another time,” you smile, knowing the song is coming to an end. As much as you wanted to dance with him, look him in the eyes and enjoy his proximity, it all feels suffocating. You can feel multiple pairs of eyes on you, making you feel small. You wonder what they think when they look at you and the King, if they like the scene or would prefer someone else to take your place. Everyone has their own opinion on what the next Queen of Veloria should look like, what she should wear and how she should present herself. Deep down, you know it's impossible to meet everyone's standards, that one way or another you'll end up disappointing someone no matter how much you try, but it doesn't change the fact you don't like the way they are looking at you at the moment.

“Why not now?” He presses, needing to hear more from you, have another excuse not to dance with any of the other ladies looking to seek their change at becoming the Queen. “We have the whole night to ourselves.”

“I shall not stay long,” you shake your head in a small excuse. “My feet hurt and I promised my brother I'll read with him before he goes to sleep.” Seungcheol can't argue with that, nodding as if he approved. Despite knowing you don't need his approval, that you can leave whenever you want, you're glad to have it.

The song comes to an end, both of your stopping your movements and bowing. You drop into a courtesy, your legs bend much more than when you were greeting Lord Song and your head down. “We shall see each other another day, then.” You hum, not giving him a clear yes or no answer before pushing past the crowd, not bothering with finding Daniela again or saying good night to your parents, heading straight for the exit.

You don't go find your brother to read with him like you promised, you can't. Instead, you find yourself at the palace entrance, closing your eyes as you breath in the fresh air. You learned that Veloria is beautiful no matter the time of the day, but there's something captivating about the night sky and stars. The moon is clear as day from where you stand, casting soft light in the darkness of the night. The only people around are the two guards standing at the door, but they don't pay you any attention. You try to place their face to a name but no matter how you try, you don't recognize them.

However, a guard you do recognize is Taehyun, his voice pulling you out of your thoughts about how attractive King Seungcheol looks tonight. “My lady, it's cold here.” You turn around, giving him a smile. You don't need to ask why he is here, it's obvious he came to take you back to your chambers. So you simply nod, stepping forward to reach him.

You don't say anything for a while, letting him lead you through the hallways you know as well as the ones back home by now. It's only when he stops in front of your door that you hesitate, eyeing him curiously. He doesn't react, ignoring the fact your eyes are gazing into his soul. It's something he got used to since becoming your guard. “How did you find me so quickly? I didn't tell anyone where I was going.”

He looks at you, finally meeting your eyes. “His Majesty told me you were leaving the banquet, it is my job to be with you at all times and protect you. I was going to come to your chamber, but he told me I'll find you in the gardens by the lilies at the very back. It was luck I reached you before you could wander further into the dark.”

Seungcheol knew where to find you. For some reason, it makes you smile. You shake your head slightly, not saying anything back as you disappear into your room with a grin on your face. Changing into your sleeping gown, you think of the new King as you slowly fall asleep in the comfort of your bed.

The following week after coronation was filled with celebrations, alcohol, and cheers to the new Veloria King. In those seven days, Seungcheol didn't show his face on any of the events happening in his honor. Stuck in a conference room with the entire council, he had to study more than ever before. When they found him after the coronation, he thought the time they stole from the banquet would be enough to agree on everything. But turns out, all the information they dumped at him there wasn't even half of it.

It was tiring, to say the least, but thanks to the people around him, it began to feel less like a duty and more like a friendly hang out. Of course, there was still all the papers he needed to sign, letters he needed to send, and events to approve of, but knowing it no longer remains William standing by his side but is now joined with a much younger scholar who has the same opinion on many things certainly made it all worth it.

Still, there is something he hates missing out on. You.

The only time he stood by your side since the banquet was the first Sunday of his ruling, when you joined him to announce to the people you were to be the next Veloria Queen. Many cheers filled the palace shortly after, celebrations of his coronations turning into celebrations of the upcoming royal wedding. The more he thought about it, it seemed like his people will take any chance they can to celebrate something as long as it involves dancing and drinking. Not that he could blame them.

Your parents left the kingdom shortly after, leaving you alone in here. Maybe that's why he hates being busy even more, knowing you have no one else here to hang out with. Sure, your ladies-in-waiting are here to accompany you, and from what he heard, Lady Avanzini stayed, but that's different. He is to be your family, your husband, he should be able to spend time with you as well.

Instead, all he can do is watch your from the palace as you walk through the gardens, just like you have many times before. Taehyun follows you on every step, and he's never been more grateful for the knight's devotion to the royal family. Knowing you always have someone by your side to look out for you when he can't helps him ease his mind.

He's noticed you spending more and more time outside, seeking the comfort of the gardens more than before. Every part of his body wants to come down and join you, ask you what's on your mind and if he can help anyhow, but each time he is close to leaving the room and chasing after you, a member of the council or Seungkwan show up, needing him for something that apparently can't wait.

It's been too long. Too long since he last got to look you in the eyes and read every emotion behind them, since he danced with you, and since he allowed himself to think about how gorgeous you look. And as much as he wants to break the cycle and see you, with each passing day, as the wedding nears, he reminds himself he'll get to see you and spend his ruling by your side for the rest of his days from now.

“Is everything ready for tomorrow?” He asks, averting his eyes from the beauty wandering through his gardens and turning to face Kaito and Seungkwan. The two of them exchange a quick glance before agreeing.

“Everything should be set. We have every flower the Princess requested, most of our guests have confirmed their attendance, and the servants are preparing the room as we speak,” Kaito proclaims, making the King hum. “We've got everything under control, so you can just relax for the night and spend your last day before the wedding however you wish,” there is a slight implication behind those words but Seungcheol decides to ignore them, focusing on the important part — he can relax tonight.

There is many things he could do, sleep the entire night, visit his father and see if his condition got any better — despite knowing it hadn't, and it's only a matter of time before he leaves them for good — but the first thought that comes to mind is he could spend time with you. He could join you on your walks, take you from your ladies and have dinner with you, or simply replace Taehyun and follow you like a lost puppy for the rest of the day. Neither of the options sound bad.

“Your brother asked me to tell you to meet him in front of the palace in…” Seungkwan's eyes trail to the sun outside, guessing the hour by the shadow it sets. “In about an hour, Your Majesty.” And there go his plans of spending time with you. A sigh escapes his lips, wondering which one of his brothers just got on his bad side. “Or I could tell Prince you are busy?” He asks upon seeing the look on King's face.

Seungcheol shakes his head, coming to peace with the face he'll have to wait one more day to spend time with you. “No need. I'll meet him. Has he said why he wants to see me?” Seungkwan apologizes, nervous as he tells his king he hasn't asked as far. Kaito gives him a dirty glance, almost as if he was judging him for his lack of knowledge, but truthfully, Seungcheol doesn't care.

♡⸝⸝

“We are going out together,” Joshua announces with a grin, Mingyu right beside him. Now as he stands face to face with his brother, he hates not yelling at Seungkwan before for not knowing why his brother wanted to see him. Had he knew it was just about going out, he would have never came down here. “Oh come on, don't get all you now.”

“What does that mean?” He narrows his eyes, his brows furrowing together.

“That,” Joshua says simply. “That face, the sulkiness. You can't be mad we want to take you out on your last night as a single lord.”

“Not a lord.”

“Same thing,” Mingyu brushes him off. “You can let go of your responsibilities for the night, so take the chance. Let's go out and have fun. Last night before everything becomes heir, wife, duties, hm?” The two of them stare at each other for a second before Seungcheol finally sighs, agreeing. The two younger men silently cheer, grinning at each other as if they just got the greatest news of their life delivered on silver plate. He shakes his head at them, finding them ridiculous.

“I need to change then,” he mumbles, looking down at his clothes. It's too royally. If they are going out, joining the common, far from the responsibilities and duties he holds, he should dress accordingly. “Put on something…less.” Mingyu laughs at him, telling him to hurry.

He does, almost stumbling over his own feet and knocking down half of his wardrobe as he changes into a simple shirt and a dark vest, something much more casual than the clothes he's forced to wear to the council meetings. He passes by your lady-in-waiting on his way outside again, sharing a brief smile with her. He can only hope she is on her way to see you, and spend some time with you while he can't.

It scares him how much he wishes he could.

The pub is filled with laughter that fills his ears right after stepping inside, everyone holding a glass of beer. A few people in the corner yell at the entire place, and it takes him a second to realize they're singing. It's completely different from the events and celebrations he is used to, but if he's honest, the atmosphere in this place is much more to his liking. Everything feels a lot more casual, no one caring if they leave a good impression or what others think about them.

It's filled with men, which is another thing he isn't used to. The lack of femininity could turn a lot different ways. “Don't just stand here,” Mingyu pats him on the back as he walks past him, saying his greetings to the guy behind a bar. They laugh at something Mingyu says, the two of them obviously friends. Seungcheol hesitates for a second before following Joshua to one of the tables, taking in the sight of everyone once more as he sits down. No one is paying attention to him, everyone busy with their conversations to notice him. And frankly, he loves that.

In the palace, everyone's eyes are on him at all times, giving him little to no privacy. But here, it looks like as if no one knows who he is. Mingyu comes back with three beers, setting them down on the table and spilling some of it out. No one points it out, all three of them raising their glasses and clinking them together on top of the table. “To our King,” Mingyu grins, his teeth showing.

“To the Queen,” Joshua adds with a smile.

“To our kingdom,” Seungcheol finishes, bringing the glass to his lips and gulping down the bitter liquid.

The three of them chat away about the past few weeks, and Mingyu answers every question about you and your safety Seungcheol throws his way. Joshua watches it in awe, slowly piecing one and one together. But it'd have to take a lot more for the King to admit how much space you take of his mind, brushing Joshua off every time he tries to tease him about how smitten he apparently is with you. He wouldn't say he is smitten or anything, he is simply worried about the well-being of the woman supposed to rule the kingdom by his side. Nothing weird about that, right?

He's only halfway through his second beer of the night when a conversation catches his ears, his eyes focused on whatever Mingyu and Joshua are talking about while his true attention rests on a table a few feet away.

“The coronation was so weird,” one of the guys says, alcohol reeking even from the tone of his voice. It makes Seungcheol frown, glad he isn't the one sitting opposite him, smelling the drinks he had tonight. He shakes his head, redirecting his focus back on his two close friends. He knows people have different opinions on the coronation, the process and reasoning behind it. And honestly, he doesn't really care. As long as his closest enjoyed it, there is no need for him to dwell on it. But their conversation continues, taking a much more interesting turn.

“I mean, it was fast, out of nowhere, right. But you know what was weirder — the wedding announcement. Don't you think that was extremely fast?”

“She must be pregnant!”

“The King really didn't waste any time,” a laugh leaves his lips and Seungcheol finds himself glancing their way. There is just the two of them, both of them drunk and neither of them paying attention to their surroundings. If they had, maybe they'd notice the topic of their conversation is right beside them.

“Honestly, can't blame him for fucking her and wanting her baby. Have you seen her? I'd pay to see her bouncing on my cock,” the same guy who started the conversation laughs loudly, taking another sip of his beer. Seungcheol's eyes widen immediately, his knuckles turning white from the way he grips his glass. “We should visit the brothel after our drinks,” he suggests, nodding rapidly, obviously liking his own idea. “What do we know, maybe she works there too, with a body like that.”

His friend laughs, agreeing.

“Hey,” Cheol calls out, deciding enough is enough. The two drunks raise their heads, meeting his eyes. It takes a second for them to register who they're talking to, but he loves watching their eyes widen as realization sets in. The less of an idiot one — as Seungcheol decides to call them — opens his mouth to say something, but closes it again, knowing there really isn't anything he could say to fix this.

“What's going on?” Joshua wonders, both him and Mingyu watching their friend curiously.

Seungcheol doesn't pay them any attention, though, his eyes locked on the two idiots. “My wife,” he states, anger beaming through his voice. “Is far too busy ruling the kingdom to look your way. So if I were you, I'd shut my fucking mouth and get out of my sight before I have your heads cut for disrespect and conspiracy against the Crown.”

“We didn't—”

“Now,” he rasps, too irritated to bother even pretending to hear them out.

The two guys quickly jump from their chairs, almost tripping over their own feet and falling down as their vision blurs, their head spinning. Their glasses are still halfway full, but that's not the main subject of their worries at the moment. Neither of them looks him in the eyes again, quietly cursing each other out for not keeping their mouth shut before hurrying out of the pub, ignoring the owners call after them not to come back again.

“What was that about?” A disbelieving chuckle leaves Joshua's lips as he brings his beer to his mouth, keeping his eyes on his brother.

“I rule over brainless animals,” Seungcheol grumbles an answer before gulping down the rest of his beer at once. The bitter taste soon turns rich, the liquid sliding down his throat with ease.

“Whoa, slow down,” Mingyu shakes his head. “No need to drink your ass off because of them.”

“Didn't you two take me out so I could do exactly that?” He waves at the over to pour him another one and he nods. When he looks around the pub again, there is a lot more eyes on him, everyone whispering about what just happened. Great. Truly amazing. His annoyance only grows, and he wants nothing more than to join you in your little corner of his gardens and look with you at the flowers they have to offer.

The two share a look before looking at their King again, telling each other everything they need with their eyes. “I didn't know you care of the Princess so much,” Joshua comments casually, testing the waters.

“I don't, that's why,” he refuses, not meeting either of the guys' eyes as he waits for the owner to bring him another beer. As soon as he does, he takes another long sip, not caring what it might look like to the people around. He needs to wash his anger away and if this is how he does it, then so be it. He'll never be able to please all of his people, so what's the big deal in making a few more lose their believes in him?

Mingyu hums, not trusting him in the slightest. “You're just passionate about what the others think of you, right?”

“Something like that,” he brushes him off, refusing to discuss this further. “Now, can we focus on why we came here? Aren't we supposed to celebrate my last day before becoming a husband?”

“Right,” Joshua nods, deciding to follow his brother's lead for now. If he doesn't want to talk about it, then so be it.

If the palace was chaotic at the day of the coronation, you don't want to put a name on today. You barely got to eat breakfast in peace before Daniela and two maids on her side came rushing for you, claiming they need you immediately. You didn't question it, assuming you'll be able to finish your breakfast later after you'd be done with them, but you were dragged through the palace ever since then, everyone needing your opinion or style a part of you you didn't even know needed it.

You can't blame them, you know it's their job to make sure everything — including you — is perfect. You just wish they'd give you a time to breathe in between. You've tried all your clothes a week prior and yet, they need you to do it all over again. You need to get dressed just to take it all off again and wait for after lunch to put it back on. It's time you wish you could spend in the comfort of nature and clear your mind before the big day.

“When will this be done?” You wonder, holding in your breath as Daniela ties your corset the tightest she can. You can't breathe well but that is likely exactly what she was going for. All of your undergarments are in some sort of beige shade, making you feel bland. You know it's a wedding, and that there isn't much color you could add, but you miss your every day dress either way.

You wonder what clothes the King will be wearing. If he'll have the same royal blue you can't help but gaze at every time, if his eyes will stand out, or if they'll force him into black just so he can prove some authority. As much as you're certain black will suit him just as much, you hope he'll get to wear something else, and showcase some color for the both of you.

“Patience, Your highness,” one of the maids smiles at you, hoping to ease your mind. You sigh, looking around the room. With everything going on, you won't be surprised if they take hours until allowing you to go relax again. You'd much rather stand by and check if the place is all prepared or stay locked in the council chamber like your soon to be husband, away from all this.

“May I at least get something to drink?”

“I'll send your guard,” Daniela speaks up, trying not to pity you too much as her eyes meet yours. You nod, and before you can add anything else, a maid is calling you over, asking you to take a few steps forward on the dais. Listening, you follow their directions, watching them finish dressing you up and start fixing things. You're in for a long rest of the day.

♡⸝⸝

Standing in front of the cathedral, you feel more nervous than ever. Knowing everyone is waiting for you inside, expectations high, every part of you wishes you could turn around and run away. But you know you can't, you can't even think about what kind of trouble you'd get into if you did.

Your ladies-in-waiting went in just a few seconds ago, right after the flower girl, leaving you all alone. You never wished your parents would have stayed for the wedding more than now. You want to walk down the aisle with your father, just like you read of other ladies doing. You want to know your mother and siblings are sitting in the very front, excited to see you in your white dress. But you can't have either. The King's parents aren't here either from what you heard, but you can't imagine anyone questioning him as much as they'll question you after seeing you all alone.

God, you want to go back to your chambers.

“My lady.”

Your eyes widen, making you turn around immediately. You've never felt more grateful for hearing his voice. “What are you doing here?” You ask, eyeing Taehyun up and down. His usual uniform is switched into a ceremonial one, matching with the rest of the guards inside you can only assume. He shrugs, like it's not a big deal. “Shouldn't you be in position with the rest of the knights? What if they discipline you for disobeying orders?” You panic, despite every part of your body wanting to ask him to stay, beg him not to leave you alone.

You wonder if he'd find you pathetic if he learned what's going on through your head. You wonder if the King would, if he'd decide you're not a suitable match for him anymore because he doesn't want to rule with someone too scared of what others think of her.

“I doubt they would,” he shakes his head. He doesn't say anything for a moment, letting you relax in his presence before offering you his arm. “I'm here to walk with you. His Majesty asked me.”

“He did?”

Taehyun nods, “He thought you should walk with someone. And since I've been doing well protecting you over the past few weeks, he asked me to protect you today during the ceremony as well.”

You bite the inside of your cheek, thinking about the man waiting for you inside, the same one you've dreamed of many times before, the one who's made you nervous without even being around, the one who apparently thought through every single part of this ceremonial, even who'd walk you to him. A part of you just wants to rush inside, wrap your arms around him and thank him for everything as you let tears run down your cheeks.

Instead, you wrap your hand around your knight's arm, smiling up at him as he steps forward with you.

You walk on the red carpet beneath you, focusing forward instead of on the quiet whispers of nobles around you. You can feel their eyes on you, a lot of them with smiles on their faces, while some reek of jealousy. But there is only one pair of eyes in this room that matters to you, one pair of eyes that makes all of this easier.

You tighten your grip on the bouquet of flowers in your hands, sharing a small smile with the King waiting for you. He stands tall, intimidating, yet as welcoming as the first time you saw him in the gardens. Even from afar, his eyes stand out thanks to the navy blue gown he is wearing, lined with gold details matching yours. You can't imagine him anyhow else. This is perfect.

Keeping your eyes on him, you step on the ceremonial platform, joining his side. Taehyun quickly moves out of the way, sharing a brief smile with your lady-in-waiting before falling into space with the knights on the side. Seungcheol gives you one last reassuring smile before facing the priest. You feel your heart aching at the small motion, unsure if you want to love or hate how well he can read you.

“Dearly beloved,” You keep your eyes forward, allowing the priest your full attention. “We are gathered to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony. It is said that marriage hath in it less beauty but more of safety than the single life.”

Does it? Is marriage less beautiful than the life you were living until now? You'd hope otherwise. And as you turn to the King of Veloria, ready to exchange your vows, your hope only grows.

You briefly meet eyes with Seungcheol's brothers standing behind him before looking at him. “I, the Princess of Elowen, take thee, Choi Seungcheol, to honor our duties and fulfill our legacies. I shall honor our kingdom and our family. In sickness and in health, in times of war and peace, I promise to stand by your side.” Unable to avert your eyes, you find yourself getting lost in his orbs as you speak, the chocolate brown bringing you the same comfort you once thought only nature could provide. But ever since coming here and meeting him, you're learning a lot new things. This might just as well be one of them.

“I, the King of Veloria,” he starts, his eyes softening. You feel your cheeks turning red, everything around you becoming blurry. It's just you and him at the moment, despite the cathedral being full of nobles. He repeats your words, your name falling of his lips with so much ease and grace your head spins. “I promise to stand by your side,” he whispers, the words holding more meaning to you than he probably realizes.

“In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.” The priest brings you out of your thoughts, but before you can properly look at him, and focus on anything else other than the man beside you, he holds your hand in his, his fingertips cold against your bare skin. Your breath catches in your throat, but he is there to hold you, giving your hand a light squeeze. You nod, more of a reassurance to you than to him, and he slowly slides the diamond to your ring finger.

It's only then than you manage to avert your eyes from him, watching your connected hands. “I now pronounce you man and wife.” The priest finishes and your hand slowly falls to your side. It feels like the first time you actually register what's happening around you when you face the crowd, the soft melody played by the royal band reaching your ears.

This is it.

You shall be the Queen of Veloria now.

It is as scary as it was the first time you heard the news.

♡⸝⸝

The wedding celebrations feel a lot more like celebrations for your people than you and your husband. You haven't seen Seungcheol in hours, but that's something you've gotten used to. He is busy, it makes sense. You've had your company despite his absence, anyway. You were greeted with nobles you once read about for their great achievements, getting their blessings and praises on your looks tonight. A part of you knows they are approaching you simply to get on the King's good side but you don't mind. As long as you can focus on anything other than the fact your handsome husband is missing at the moment, you feel okay.

“Your Majesty.” You smile as you watch lord Song bow in front of you, his smile nothing if not sincere. “I didn't realize I had the pleasure of dancing with my Queen.” You allow him to kiss the back of your hand as a greeting.

“Back then, I was no Queen,” you remind him, urging him to stand straight again. You will take a moment getting used to the honor everyone pays you.

“You look beautiful tonight, Your Majesty,” he says instead of acknowledging your previous comment.

You give lord Song a bit of your time, engaging in a chat with him as he accompanies you to get you a drink. It's then that you finally catch a glimpse of your husband, his brows furrowed together and eyes tired as he dismissed his Head Advisor, obviously not in the mood to talk with him. Your smile falls as well when you see him, wishing to change directions and meet with him instead, to ask him what's bothering him and help.

You wonder if it's the first born curse, wanting to take care of other people. Because every single bone in your body itches for you to drop everything and help him.

“Mingi!” Lord Song turns around upon hearing his name, meeting eyes with his older brother. “That is my cue,” he says gently, giving you one last of his smiles. “I shall bother you no longer, Your Majesty. My sincere congratulations,” he bows with his right hand over his heart, leaving you alone. For the first time since the King's coronation when your parents left Veloria, you are happy to be on your own.

There's no hesitation as you walk past your people, offering them all your best smile. But honestly, you don't care about the impression you leave on them, you just want to get to him. “Seungcheol,” you breathe out as soon as you reach him, catching his attention immediately. He turns to face you, his eyes softening when they meet yours. Your cheeks flush at the sudden attention. You didn't think this through enough. “May I ask you for a dance?”

His hand reaches forward, palm up. “Of course,” he smiles and you hold his hand in yours. Guiding you through the nobles surrounding you, he finds the center of the hall, eyeing the people around. They don't need to be told twice, stepping back to give you the much needed space. It's just you and him, everyone else standing aside, watching you. The soft melody reaches your ears as you put your left hand on his shoulder, your right still holding his. His palm rests on your back, sending shivers down your spine. Your eyes stay locked together as you begin dancing, the world around blurring — just like it happens to do every time you allow yourself to get lost in his eyes.

“You look quite upset,” you mumble when you know no one else can hear you.

“Do I?” He blink confusedly, doing his best not to mess up his steps. “Please, don't think it has anything to do with you.” You hesitate, unsure of your place. You are the Queen of Veloria, his wife, but does he think of you highly enough to let you in, and tell you what you want to hear?

“What happened?” You ask after a brief pause.

Shaking his head, his thumb brushes slow, barely noticeable, circles on your back. “Nothing of importance,” he assures you. “I'm simply not pleased with the council wanting to keep me busy on my wedding night.”

“Will you work tonight?”

“I don't know yet,” he admits, trying to find any sign of disappointment in your eyes. He doesn't find it though, not since the only thing your eyes are filled with is the need to be closer to him than you already are.

A few nobles join you, dancing along with you, but you don't pay them attention. You don't know half of them, anyway. The song slowly comes to an end and you drop your hands to your sides despite wishing to do the opposite. “I shall find Lady Avanzini and ask her to accompany me back to my chambers, I've grown quite tired,” you excuse yourself, but before you can leave, he stops you.

“Our chambers,” he corrects you, watching you blink confusedly. “With today, our honeymoon begins. We shall share a room, for a week at least. The honeymoon,” he hesitates, biting back the words resting on his tongue. “It is a tradition. You can return to your chambers next week.” You nod, letting him know you understand.

“Then I shall see you again later,” you stop yourself from dropping into a courtesy out of habit, simply saying your goodbye with your eyes before walking away.

It doesn't take you long to find your lady-in-waiting, interrupting her chat with Taehyun. “Lady Avanzini,” you smile at her before directing your attention to your knight.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” She asks while dropping into a courtesy. This feels much more odd than you thought it would. If getting used to the respect other nobles pay you will take you a while, you can't even imagine how long before you get used to Daniela doing so. “Can I help you with anything?”

“I'd like to go back to my chambers— the King's chambers,” you correct yourself. Her smile turns into a smirk, one you could recognize from miles away. She's planning something, something you probably won't like.

“Shall I join?” Taehyun asks, glancing between you and your lady.

“Next time,” Daniela turns to him, sending him a wink. “Her Majesty won't be needing your protection tonight, I'm certain the King will take care of her well enough.”

You tilt your head confusedly but before you get a chance to ask what she means, she's leading you out of the Great Hall, finding the nearest maid to tell her she needs to bring your night gowns to the King's chambers.

“Are you excited for your honeymoon?” Daniela asks as you walk through the halls, everything quiet with everyone at the Great Hall, celebrating your marriage.

“Is there anything to be excited for?” You question, causing a soft laugh to bubble out of her.

“Of course there is, Your Majesty,” she proclaims. “Staying in bed with your husband all week, I can't imagine anything as exciting.”

“Staying in bed?”

“Yes. How else do you believe you shall spend your honeymoon? It is given for the newly weds to produce an heir and enjoy each others' company.” An heir. You are supposed to produce an heir with the King this week? In bed? Every chat you share with your lady, you question just how little you know about ruling and the duties it brings you. “I mean, I am well aware you and His Majesty didn't marry out of love, but that doesn't stop you from fulfilling your duties.”

“Of course,” you nod, even though you aren't quite sure what she means. You'll have to ask your husband when he arrives. You are sure he knows much more than you, so maybe he'll be able to help you understand.

Daniela helps you change before going back to the banquet. You take your time exploring the King's chamber, admiring his view, wardrobe, and even the washing room connected to it. Everything is double the size of your own chamber, which you understand. But as soon as your eyes land on the large bed he owns, you wish this was your room.

“Can we talk about this tomorrow?” You recognize the voice, closing the wardrobe and turning around to face the door. Seungcheol walk in right after, dropping his ceremonial coat to the floor. Your eyes widen when you see him, unsure what to do. He seems to have forgotten about you. “But, Your Majesty!” There's another male voice coming from behind the door but he decides to ignore it, shutting the door closed after himself. “A moment of relaxation is all I asked,” he mumbles under his breath, annoyed.

“Seungcheol,” you call our carefully not to scare him. He raises his head, finding your eyes in an instance. Your name slips past him lips, realization settling in as he remembers your earlier conversation.

“I apologize, I—” he curses quietly, quickly gathering his clothes from the floor and bringing them to the closet you are standing beside. “I am truly sorry for my ill manners.”

“Seungcheol,” you repeat, your voice soft, trying to get his attention back to you. “It is perfectly fine. I have three younger siblings, remember? I am used to being messy behind closed door and allowing to speak freely with my closest ones.” He gives you a smile, nodding. “That is, of course, if you don't mind me speaking so casually to you?” You question nervously. Despite his effort to get you to drop his title since your first meet, you still worry about being too forward with him.

“I am happy you do,” he assures you, closing his wardrobe and facing you again, his body only inches from yours. You feel hot, standing so close to him. He reaches forward, brushing a messy hair behind your ear before meeting your eyes again. “I haven't had the chance to tell you yet, but you looked beautiful tonight. You look beautiful every day, actually.”

Your cheeks only redden more and your eyes fall to the floor, unable to look at him at the moment. “If you give me a moment to wash up, we can go to sleep. Or talk, anything you wish.”

You nod, standing frozen in place as he walks around you to get into his wash room. “Wait,” you blurt out, facing him again. “Can I have a question now?” He nods, waiting for you to speak. “I have…” you think over your words carefully, trying to find the right thing to say. “I was told the honeymoon is supposed to be used to produce an heir.” You watch his eyes widen at your words, realization of how this conversation is going to go washing over him. “I am not sure how that works.”

“Your mother didn't teach you?” You shake your head. He keeps his eyes on you, also hesitating. He seems nervous, and it makes you wonder how you are meant to understand anything if it's so difficult to talk about. “There is enough time for us to produce an heir,” he settles on instead, deciding it is safer to run away from this conversation for now.

“Is it that difficult?”

“No, no,” he shakes his head with a sigh, taking a few steps forward to reach you again. “It isn't difficult. But I do not believe it is something you'd want me to teach you about now. We can wait.”

“Seungcheol,” you try again, your big eyes gazing into his chocolate ones. “Please. I wish to know.” He is nervous, that much you can tell from the way he looks at you, as if he is scared to break you, to harm you. It only confuses you further. Your heart beats faster because of his look, but your head tells you it's wrong, almost as if it wanted to warn you him being so secretive isn't right. “Please.”

You watch his eyes drop to your lips, the inner fight behind his eyes obvious. He can't decide whether to step closer to you, close the gap between you and give you what you want, or if he should step back, turn around and run away from you, guard himself like he thought he would do back when he first told William you are the one he wishes to marry.

“When an heir is produced,” he whispers, not wanting to break the moment. Tugging your hair behind your ear, he keeps his thumb on your cheek, his eyes flickering between yours and your lips. “You must be naked. Here,” his free hand gently brushes between your legs, barely touching, “is where it all happens.” Your breath catches, his nervousness moving onto you as you feel your body begging you to press against his, be even closer than you already are.

“You… Are you naked as well?” You whisper, knowing your voice would break if you tried speaking normally.

“I will be,” he nods. “If that's what you want.” Your body moves on its own, nodding to him. You watch his eyes flash with need, something in him snapping. He leans closer, no hesitance left as he presses his lips to yours, one of his hands still on the side of your neck while the other squeezes your waist, fingers digging into your flesh.

Your mouth moves against his on instinct, your eyes closed as you tilt your head slightly. Your entire body burns as your hands find his shoulders, holding onto him as he kisses you. You've read about this many times before, about how it feels for people to kiss their loved ones, but none of the books has been able to capture the feeling enough. You feel every one of his touches in your entire self, your head clouded with him — his smell, the way he grips your waist, the softness of his lips, and the way he presses into you.

If this is what every kiss feels like, you understand why lovers do it so often. You don't want this moment to end, you want to stay in his touch till your end.

But that's not how it works, and you have to pull back to breathe. But just as you are leaning for more, he steps back, his hands falling to his sides. Your brows furrow confusedly, confused as he averts his eyes from you. This is nothing like the kisses you have read about, you realize. Stories don't capture the feeling of your lips pressed against his well enough, just as they don't capture the feeling of your heart shattering into pieces when you are forced to watch him walk away from you right after.

“I shall go meet with Seungkwan and the council, they said it was important,” he blurts out, not meeting your eyes again as he rushes out of the room as fast as he can, not caring that his hair is messed up or that he is breaking you into pieces with this simple action.

There are many ways Seungcheol thought his honeymoon would go, but in none of the scenarios he imagine has he kissed you like you were his entire world just to run away right after in a foolish attempt to guard himself from what it means.

Love has never been in his cards, he has reminded himself of that many times since you've arrived. But every time he sees you looking up at him, your big eyes sparkling with what he could only call pure interest, he believes his words less and less. There is simply something about the way you look at him and speak to him — that has him believing, believing he could be so lucky and rule by the side of someone he loves.

Last night was the breaking point. With you in his room, in just your sleep wear and your innocent eyes asking him how you could make a child with him, it was impossible to resist you. You were always beautiful, he has never denied that, but nothing compares to how incredibly gorgeous you are with your cheeks flushed and your lips swollen.

The image of you right after he's pulled away from the kiss will stay in his head forever.

But so might the sadness in your eyes when you watched him step away.

To this hour, he isn't sure why he did what he did. He had a chance to be with you, do what everyone has been wishing him and fall in love with you, but honestly, the thought of that is scary.

He's studied the principles of politics, social manners and sword fighting. No one has taught him how to love, though. No one has ever told him how scared he'll be every day, how much he'll want to protect you and wrap his arms around you, guard you from the ugly of this world. Jumping into something like this, something he was never meant to have, is much scarier than ruling the kingdom.

He hasn't stopped thinking about you, about how much you must hate him at the moment. Not when he sat in his study with Seungkwan, not when he rested his head on the table and closed his eyes for a brief nap, or when he ate breakfast all alone, because you have gone to the gardens before anyone else could wake up.

“Your Majesty, do you wish to leave?” Kaito brings him out of his thoughts. Seungcheol blinks quickly, reminding himself where he is and that he is in no place to be daydreaming about the way your lips felt against his. “We can move this conversation to later,” he offers, well aware of the fact the King isn't paying him the attention he wishes to have.

“Please,” Seungcheol nods. “I need to go for some fresh air. We can come back to this after lunch.”

“Perfect,” he nods, hesitating before leaving. His eyes flicker between his King and the window behind him, well aware of the reason he wishes to go outside.

“If you excuse me then,” His Majesty mumbles, not meeting Kaito's eyes again as he rushes out of the study, his destination clear. There is a lot going in his head at the moment, and as much as he wants to guard himself and go through with the way he knows, the unknown calls to him just as much.

He doesn't need to look for you for long, finding you right where he thought he would, crouched down near the lilies with your hands resting over your knees, your eyes glued to the flowers in front of you. Taehyun stands a few feet away from you, close enough to be able to help if anything happened, but far enough to give you personal space.

Your name slips past his lips, making you look up at him. He watches as sadness flashes in your eyes, feeling his heart clench in his chest. He drops down beside you, hugging his knees the same way you do. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” you lie. He can see right through you, a sigh leaving his lips as he shakes his head. “I'll be fine,” you correct yourself but it's still not an answer he'd like.

“What is it?” He asks, his voice soft. “Can I help?” You shake your head as quickly as you can, refusing. Standing up, you fix your dress and take a few steps away from him, pretending to admire the other flowers. He can tell you just want to get away from him, though. He stands up as well but respects your space, staying in place.

“I miss my family,” you mumble quietly, not sure if he can even hear you. But when he calls out your name, you know he did. He waits for you to turn around, his eyes finding yours immediately. “I know I am the Queen now and it is silly. I am well aware how this makes me look, but I can't help how I feel.” Your words hold a much deeper meaning and you both know it. There is only as much emotions you can hide from each other. “I don't like feeling alone”

“You aren't alone,” he interrupts you, carefully taking a step towards you. You don't move back, which he takes as a good sign. “You have me,” he reminds you. “I am right here.”

“Don't,” you shake your head, your lips trembling slightly — a movement so small he doubts anyone else would notice. You probably don't notice it either. Your eyes are hollow when he looks at you, like you can't decide if you feel empty or too much as you speak to him. It hurts him just as much as it hurts you. “Don't do that.”

“Do what?” The words come out a lot more desperate than he intended for them to, the silent plea in them on full display. He hopes with everything in him Taehyun isn't listening, and he can somehow keep this conversation between just you and him.

“This,” is all you say, biting your lower lip as you look at him. “Giving me home— acting like we are beyond just a partnership on a paper.”

Oh.

He'd lie if he said that didn't sting. But it is what he deserves, it is what he made you believe last night after all. But no matter how much he wants to hide from the fact, you are more than that. You are more than a stranger who came to power thanks to him. You are a dream, beautiful, brilliant, caring dream he wishes to see every time he goes to sleep.

He opens his mouth to argue, to apologize for last night and promise he never meant to hurt your feelings, but the words don't get a chance to leave his lips as Taehyun's voice rings in his ears, a quiet curse leaving his lips as he glances around to see what he needs. If it's stupid, he'll make sure to let him know just how much he doesn't appreciate his interruptions.

“You've received a letter,” he explains, holding the piece of paper in his hands. Seungcheol's eyes flicker between the knight and the boy behind him still trying to catch his breath. “What does it say?” He asks, crossing the space between him and Taehyun and taking the letter from him when he can't give him an answer.

“I was told to give you this message as quickly as possible,” the boy breathes out when Seungcheol eyes him up and down. He can't be over the age of twenty, his brown hair messy and eyes nervously snapping from one person to another, scared he might get in trouble.

Nodding to reassure him it is okay, he opens the letter, scanning the words with his eyes. “Fuck,” he blurts out before he can stop himself, his hand dropping to his side again as he turns to face you, meeting your curious eyes. He hesitates, only scaring you further as you rush to him to read the letter yourself. He doesn't allow you, hiding it behind his back, his eyes pleading for you to leave it to him.

“Seungcheol,” you demand. “What is it?”

“There is…” he stops, unsure how to say it. “Your parents were attacked. No one is hurt,” he assures you before you can panic. “Everyone is okay, and they have moved to their winter residence, but we can't know how long that will be safe for them.”

“We have to help! Who attacked them? What—” He wraps his hand around your shoulders, pulling you onto him and letting you rest your head on his chest. “You have to help, please,” you whisper, the worst case scenarios running through your mind.

“I will,” he whispers back, pressing his lips to the top of your head. He is truly a fool. A fool who thought pushing you away would somehow help him be a better ruler, a fool who can't bear seeing you upset like this. “I'll get them.”

♡⸝⸝

A letter to your parents along with a carriage and a few of the best knights Veloria has to offer was sent as soon as you made it back inside.

Seungcheol's hands rest on the back of your chair — his chair — as you sit in his study, both of you carefully listening to what the council has to say. He speaks for the both of you, not because he'd doubt your abilities but because he knows you can't do it at the moment, too busy pretending to be okay in a room full of men talking about a possible war.

“How did it even happen? It's not like their security is small.”

“It could be an insider. Someone stole the guards' attention, allowing for them to get inside.”

“They got inside?” Your eyes widen as you finally speak as well. They redirect their attention to you, a pitiful look on their faces. Cheol's hand moves from the chair to your shoulder, giving you a tight squeeze. Your body moves on its own, your hand resting on top of his, holding onto him as you steady yourself. There is only as much bad news you can bear at the moment, and he is well aware of that.

“Can someone get Lady Avanzini in here as well as Kang Taehyun?” Seungcheol speaks up, interrupting them before they can even answer. “And give us a moment alone.” The council members exchange a look before slowly stepping out, the door slamming clothes echoing through the study room. “Hey,” his voice is soft unlike when he speaks to the others, walking over to your side and kneeling beside you.

Your eyes find his and you quickly shake your head. “I'm not going anywhere with Daniela and Taehyun,” you read his mind completely, making him sigh. Holding your hand in his, his eyes plead, plead for you to do as he asks. “I'm staying here with you,” you proclaim, shaking your head again. “I don't care what your plan is, but if you want me anywhere other than the room it all happens, you will have to carry me out with your bare hands.”

He tilts his head, his eyebrows raised as if he was question your words. “You do know I could do that with ease, right?” He watches your cheeks turn pink, like they have many times before, always messing with his head. He didn't mean for it to sound like this, he's better than to flirt with you when you are scared for your parents' well being, but gosh does he wish to keep talking just to see what reactions you'll give him.

“You should get your mind off things,” he says instead, giving your hand a tight squeeze. “Sleep, and hang out with your friend. And once this is all over, you can come to your family and tell them just how much you love them.”

“I am not leaving,” you repeat, leaning closer to prove your point. If you prove anything, though, it's that Seungcheol's heart can beat way faster than he thought. “I'd much rather go with your knights to pick them up than go to sleep.”

“Our knights,” he corrects you without hesitation, making your eyes flutter slightly. “And I'd much rather know you are safe so please, don't do anything reckless. I promise I'll get your parents here safely.” He keeps his eyes on you, unable to avert his eyes. You lean back, a heavy sigh escaping your lips as you give in.

“Okay,” you nod. He sighs as well, relief washing over him. “Now, get off the floor,” you shake your head, a smile decorating your face. Seungcheol is convinced he could look at your smile for the rest of his life if you let him. Only if you'd let him. “It's not a good look for the King to be kneeling on the floor.”

“People might argue with you on that,” the words leave his lips before he can think properly about them, his eyes widening when he realizes what he said. “Forget that, you are right,” he quickly blurts out, letting go of your hand and pushing himself up on his feet.

Fixing his coat quickly, he looks ahead at the door, clearing his throat. His head clouds with thoughts he should certainly not be thinking about at the moment, the image of him on his knees in front of you making his head spin. He's in a need of some fresh air, and preferably a cold shower if he can excuse himself.

Thankfully, before he can do anything reckless, a knock on the door rings in his ears and he is greeted with Taehyun and Daniela. That was rather quick. “Your Majesty,” they both bow before stepping into the room. He gives them a brief nod, acknowledging their presence. He watches them walk forward, his eyebrow raising slightly at the sight of Taehyun's fingers brushing against hers. His eyes fall to you on their own, partly to check if you noticed as well, if you know anything, but mostly simply because something like this — a light brush of fingers in secret — makes him think of you, hope for you.

“Could you accompany Her Majesty back to her room?” Your eyes shoot to him but he decides to ignore it. “Keep her safe until we get her family to us. And, Lady Avanzini,” his eyes meet hers. “Please help her think about other things.”

“I thought I could stay with you,” you complain as you glance over your shoulder at him. Seungcheol's eyes soften when he allows himself to look down at you, hoping for you to understand. “Will you come to me at least? Be with me?” You whisper, causing his eyes to wince. He doesn't need to be asked twice, though, knowing his answer before the words even left your mouth. He'll do his best to be with you, to be the one bringing you on different thoughts as you wait impatiently.

“Of course,” he whispers back. Your shoulders are visibly less tense now, and you give him a gentle nod. His eyes stay glued to your figure as you stand up and walk around him, joining your friend. He knows this is no time for it, that his priority should be helping your family and thinking about his next moves, but he can't help but think about how beautiful you look, your dress hugging your body in the perfect way, and every part of him wonders just how more gorgeous you'd look if the dress came off.

“Shall I ask another guard to join my side?” Taehyun asks but it takes a second for the King's eyes to pry away from you and focus on him instead.

“No need,” he refuses. “We don't have more knights to spare at the moment and I trust you, Taehyun.” The knight quickly nods, and despite Seungcheol's intentions never being to put pressure on his back, it surely looks like it as he walks out of the study room with the two women.

“May we continue now, Your Majesty?” Kaito steps inside, the rest of the council right behind him. “Not yet,” he shakes his head. “I need to find Mingyu and talk to him.”

“May we know what for?”

“I need to assign him to my sister. Or do any of you wish to put your Princess in any danger?” Their response is immediate, all of them shaking their heads as they step aside to make space for the King, letting him walk away.

Your feet move faster than your mind does, rushing through the palace hallways with Daniela and Taehyun trying to catch up behind you. “You need slow down, they aren't going to run anywhere,” Seungcheol tells you but you went his words out, not even glancing his way. You'll pay your attention to him once you know everyone is safe again. You'll give him all your attention then, no questions asked.

Thanks to only looking ahead, you don't notice the stares you get from staff around you, or the way your lady and knight get lost behind you, only stopping once Seungcheol grabs your hand and forces you to. His tug makes you spin around, crashing against his chest. You don't step back, simply looking up at his chocolate eyes. “Slow down,” he breathes out. Your cheeks heat up, and you aren't sure if it is because of how close you are standing or embarrassment. Possibly both.

“I'm sorry,” you blurt out, gently pressing your palm against his chest as you push yourself back. His grip on your hand only tightens, keeping you close.

“Don't apologize, don't distance yourself from me. Stay with me.” Your eyes wince, lips falling apart but no words come out. So instead, you nod, glancing at your connected hands as you slowly lace your fingers with his. You catch his eyes falling to them as well, his fingers carefully closing around yours. “Let's have dinner tonight,” he says softly, and even though it's not a question, his gaze is uncertain, as if trying to read your thoughts.

“I'd like that,” you agree and his eyes soften, the nervousness you saw washing off. “Just the two of us,” you add for him, a small smile tugging on your lips.

“Just the two of us.”

You don't let go of his hand as you walk trough the halls, this time actually carrying yourself as the Queen you are supposed to be. You are well aware how it must have looked like, what your servants must be saying about you now, but it cannot be changed. Somehow though, with Seungcheol by your side, it doesn't feel as bad as it probably should. It doesn't scare you as much.

As soon as you step outside, you are greeted with your mother's smile as she takes in the sight of you and your husband holding hands. You excuse yourself from him, rushing to your family. “Darling,” your mother's hands rest on your arms, in what seems like a reassuring gesture. “You shine with happiness.”

“You looks beautiful,” Nari joins in and your eyes trail to your younger siblings. Does it look like you shine with happiness? You find yourself thinking about the King a few feet away from you, talking with the knights about something you can't make out. You wouldn't say happiness is the right words, you aren't sure if you can even put a name to what you feel when it comes to him. There are many emotions you could think off — joy, trust, adoration, crave, but also pain, fear, defeat — and together they all mix into confusion.

“Is everyone okay?” You scan them as carefully as you can, deciding not to acknowledge any of their comments at you. You aren't who's important right now, they are. “Everyone is fine,” your father's attention redirects to you, but his words don't reassure you as much as you'd hope. Something simply feels off, like this isn't over just yet.

“How about you take your sisters to the guest chambers and we'll meet you later, darling? We shall greet His Majesty and congratulate him to the wedding.” She doesn't congratulate you to the wedding but you don't mention it, watching her approach your husband.

“It's not fair, I want to go with you,” your brother complains, crossing his arms over his chest. It makes you chuckle as you softly pat his head, promising him you'll steal him later and you'll be able to spend time just the two of you. That seems to work, his eyes sparkling as he runs off to join your mother with a giggle.

“He acts like such a child,” your youngest sister shakes her head and you raise an eyebrow at her, eyeing her up and down.

“And you are so much better?”

“No, she isn't,” Nari scoffs, pushing her younger sister forward and telling her to mind herself before she gets in trouble with the Queen. You shake your head at them. You missed this, honestly. You missed your family and having them everywhere you go. In a sense, it made Veloria feel empty. Nowhere you'd go would you find your siblings running around and making a mess, which just feels odd. Thankfully, that can now change.

“Dinner,” Seungcheol mouths to you as you pass him to assure himself your plan is still on your mind. You nod, your lips seeled together as you try to contain your smile. It's silly, it is just dinner, nothing big. But you feel excited, looking forward to your night. You know you shouldn't get your hopes up considering what happened last night but something tells you he won't run from you again, that this time you might actually sleep in the same bed as your husband.

You lead your youngest sister into her chamber, asking the knight already waiting in front of her room to keep an eye on her. He simply nods, just like you expected him to. “Where to next?” Nari asks, wondering where her chamber will be.

“How would you like to check the Queen's chambers?”

“What?” Her eyes widen and she stops in her tracks. “Wait, no. You cannot.”

“I can,” you assure her. “I'm on my honeymoon,” you grin proudly. “I share a room with my husband now, which leaves my chamber empty. It deserves your love so it doesn't age badly.” You both know it won't, that there are maids taking care of your place even while you are out, but that doesn't stop you from wanting Nari to take it.

“Do you not mind?”

“Not at all,” you shake your head. “In fact, please stay there.” You watch as she bites back her smile, her eyes betraying her and telling you everything you need to know — she wants to stay there.

Leading her into her new chamber, you let her tell you about their trip to Elowen and back. You listen closely, trying to find anything that would explain the attack, anything that would give you a clue. It all just leads to the middle of nowhere, and you are stuck wondering what could have possibly went wrong.

Your family has always had enemies, of course, but it was never like this. Your father made some bad choices, made alliances with the wrong people in the past, but when you were leaving your home, everything was well.

Your name leaves Nari's lips, snapping you out of your thoughts. You glance at her, questioning her with her eyes. “How is it like?”

“How is what like?” You tilt your head in confusion, opening the door for her and following her inside her new chamber. Her eyes immediately scan the room, taking in the beautiful sight. You remember standing in the same place she does when you arrived for the first time, your eyes just as wide.

“How is it like being married?” Her eyes find yours again. You freeze, the spark of want in her eyes catching you off guard. It's this exact moment that makes you miss your family even more, knowing that something happened when you weren't there for her. It's only been a few weeks since you last saw your sister but it feels like ages. You wish you could have been there when thoughts like these started occurring in her mind, when someone who made her want to know of this stuff showed up.

“It's…” you hesitate, rethinking your words. “Thrilling,” you breathe out when the memory of last night appears in your head, the softness of Seungcheol's lips on yours still vivid. You can see him in front of you, in his shirt and messy hair, with his eyes full of hesitance before he closed the space between you, his lips crashing with yours. “And beautiful.” The memory of Seungcheol running away after kissing you flashes in front of your eyes but you push it aside, deciding to ignore it. “But at the same time, I don't feel like much changed.”

Nari hums. “Do you like being married to him?”

“I do,” you answer without hesitation. “I like him, I cannot imagine not liking being married to him.”

“I'm glad,” she mumbles, taking a seat on the bed. “I was worried when we were leaving,” she admits. “About how you were going to do here on your own, if you'll be fine. I even debated asking our parents to stay longer, to stay here as long as possible, but I'm happy to see you happy.”

You smile at her. It's nice to know now that you are gone, your family still has someone looking out for them. “I am,” you assure her. “I do feel happy.”

“Do you think I'd be happy in a marriage?”

“I think you will always have a place in here if anyone makes you question if you are happy or not, even if it's for just a brief second.” She grins, and you take a seat beside her. “Is there a specific someone you are asking this for?”

She looks down into her lap, debating if she should tell you or not. “Me and Lord Nishimura have been exchanging letters ever since the banquet, and I look forward to hearing from him every day,” she finally says, not looking up from her lap. Oh? Every part of you wishes you would have gotten to know him better when he was here for the coronation, that you would have asked him a bunch of different things about him and his place of origin. Maybe you still can. Someone surely knows of him here.

“Does he make you happy?” Is all you need to ask for now, though. All your other questions can wait for later, for someone else. What matters now is how your sister feels.

“Yes,” she nods, meeting your eyes to prove her point. “I think he does.” You hum, a soft smile spreading across your lips as you reach for her hand.

“In that case, just keep doing what are were until now. What's important, is how you feel.”

“What if…” she averts her eyes, gazing at your connected hands. It's been long since you held her hand, since you had the opportunity to be her big sister. You can't remember the last time you sat with just her, talking about whatever that has been bothering her. You need to fix that. You need to find time to spend with all your siblings now that they are here again. “What if they pick someone else for me, though? You haven't married for love either.”

You squeeze her hand. “You are still so young, Nari. You have yet to learn about the world and yourself. You shouldn't have to worry about marriage.” She nods, but you can see how much she hesitates. “I'll talk with our parents,” you proclaim, settling your mind on it. “Yeah? I'll tell them you still have a lot of time and they shouldn't rush you into anything. Trust me, they don't want to go against the Queen of Veloria.” A laugh bubbles out of her and you feel relief washing over you at the same time.

“Not to disrespect you, but I think they won't care as long as they have the King's reassurance of their alliance.”

“Well, then it's a good thing I'm having dinner with him and can ask him to stand by me instead of them,” you grin, standing up from the bed. “Which brings me, I shall prepare. I will see you again, though.” She nods, her smile now much more comfortable.

“Have fun tonight.”

“I will,” you smile back at her.

♡⸝⸝

“This one is it, trust me,” Dani nods proudly as she brings a dress from the rack in the very corner of the room that one of your maids brought when you asked them to prepare you for a dinner with His Majesty. You eye it up and down, your lips seeled together. Her smile falls immediately, a heavy sigh leaving her lips. “No?” You shake your head, apology written all over your face. “Alright, just pick which ever one you like. But if it's ugly, we will seriously need to talk.”

You chuckle, nodding as you make your way towards her, gently running your fingers over the dresses you posses. It's only a small portion of what you actually own, most of your dresses still in the wardrobe in your chambers. It's only for a week that you are supposed to stay in this room, and apparently for those reasons it's not needed for them to bring all your clothes here. You'd like to argue, but you're not even sure if Seungcheol would appreciate you taking over his space. So for now, this will have to do.

“This one,” a smile tugs in the corner of your lips as you take down the same pink dress you wore to your first dinner here, your love for them still the same as that day.

“You have worn that one already,” Daniela points out and you agree. “It is rather plain, Your Majesty,” she adds but despite her dislike, you want to go out in this one. “Okay,” she nods when she notices the plea in your eyes, motioning towards one of the maids to help you out with it. “You have this beige undergarments, I think it'll go perfectly with it.”

“Actually,” you tilt your head sheepishly. “I don't think this dress needs one, right?” Glancing at the maid taking your dress off your hands, you catch her off guard.

“Whatever Her Majesty deems appropriate,” she blurts out quickly and you smile, meeting Dani's eyes again.

“What do you think?”

“I think you are finally speaking my language,” she breathes out a soft laugh, shaking her head at you. “And I'm sure His Majesty will love it too,” she assures you, hurrying you into the washroom. “Now, let's make sure you are fresh and clean as well.”

It's dark outside when you make it into the dinning room. Taehyun excuses himself in front of the door, letting you walk in on your own and taking his position. You smile at him, telling him to relax a bit. He doesn't listen though, keeping his eyes ahead without acknowledging what you just said. Of course he does, he is an amazing knight.

“My apologizes for being late, Your Majesty,” you smile, the door closing behind you. Seungcheol raises his head from the table, his eyes widening immediately upon laying on you. You watch as his expression softens and he motions for one of the guards behind him to pull your chair.

“You are as gorgeous tonight as always, Your Majesty,” he smiles back at you, taking in the sight of you. It honestly feels like a dream. He is unable to take his eyes off you, every inch of his body itching to hold you, to be able to touch your curves and press his lips to yours again. He watches you as you walk to take a seat on the opposite side of the table, quickly stopping you. “Bring Her Majesty a chair besides me. What is with the stupid tradition of man and wife sitting so far away.”

You bite back your smile as you walk over to him, taking a seat on his left. You glance around the room, acknowledging the two knights keeping you company as Seungcheol's knee brushes with yours under the table. It only takes one look from him for the two of them to leave the room, leaving you all alone.

“I love this dress,” Seungcheol breaks the quiet, your smile only widening. “It might be a close second to the one you wore to my coronation.”

“You remember the dress I wore to the coronation?” Your eyes widen. He shrugs like it's no big deal, reaching for your hand on top of the table. You gladly let him wrap his fingers around yours, your eyes flickering between his hand and face.

“I'm confident I could point out every dress you wore around me since you arrived.” You realize you don't need much to feel happy. As long as you are with him, everything he does makes you excited and your cheeks flush.

“I doubt that,” you shake your head, averting your eyes. He squeezes your hand, trying to get you to look at him again. You don't though, too embarrassed to meet his eyes.

Your name leaves his lips, soft and elegant. His voice rings in your ears, making your heart beat faster. You are absolutely gone for him, so terribly gone. You are convinced none of the authors you read up until now were actually in love. The way you feel when you are with him can't compare to anything you have read, the emotions simply too strong to be put into words on paper.

“You consume so much of me I'd have to be blind not to notice and remember everything about you.” And there he goes again, messing with your head. It'd take a miracle for you not to feel like the luckiest person for being able to share these moments with him.

“Stop talking,” you mumble, your voice barely above a whisper. Your head is a mess, the image of him splattered everywhere, the memory of your kiss in the back of your mind and his words repeating in your head. You consume so much of me. How are you supposed to just go on about your dinner? Choi Seungcheol is insane. Absolutely insane. There is no other explanation.

“Baby, look at me.” His words bring you back to earth, your eyes shooting up to his immediately. There is a sheepish smile on his lips, his cheeks catching a hint of pink as well — even though he has yet to match your color. “I mean it.”

You open your mouth to answer, to tell him just how much he means to you, that you love spending time with him, that you love being his wife, that you'd love to kiss him, that you love him, but you don't get the chance to, closing your mouth again when a bunch of servants comes in, carrying your dinner.

You straighten your back, pulling your hand away from his as they set plates in front of you. You can feel his eyes on you as you do, but you don't have the courage to meet them, a part of you too scared he'll tell you he takes it back, or that maybe this isn't what he wants. Clearing your throat, you do your best to focus on the food instead of the man beside you and his knee that is still pressed against yours.

“May I have a question?” You whisper when everyone leaves and you are alone again.

“Always,” he encourages you, taking a bite of his steak.

“Do you know Lord Nishimura?” He tilts his head confusedly, obviously not a question he expected. And if he is honest, it doesn't feel the greatest having you ask him about a different man after he has opened himself to you without getting an answer. He feels vulnerable — a feeling he is starting to despise.

“Not much,” he shrugs, as if it didn't bother him at all. He knows it's probably stupid, that he is thinking about stuff that might have not even crossed your mind, but he can't help it. He is starting to realize he cares more than he'd want to admit.

“He's been sending letters to my sister,” you explain, as if you could read his mind, riding him off all his worries.

“Which one?” His eyes narrow and you roll your eyes, a bit worried he'd even consider you are talking of your thirteen year old sister.

“Nari. She said they've been writing letters to each other since they met at the banquet. He seemed fine but, I don't know, I think I just wanted to make sure you didn't know of anything I shall look out for.”

Seungcheol smiles again, assuring you that even thought he doesn't know him much, he hasn't heard of anything that should make you overthink this. “But if it'll make you calmer, we could ask Seungkwan tomorrow. It is a part of his job to know everyone, so I am sure he will be able to answer your questions better.”

“Thank you,” you whisper with a smile, the way he talks of you as a duo, a pair, only making you happier.

A comfortable silence settles over you as you eat your food, stealing glances at your husband every once in a while. He catches you each time, his eyes meeting yours with a smile. You return his smile, finding yourself only falling for him more and more.

He places his cutlery down on his plate, tilting his head slightly as his eyes rest on you. You pretend like you don't see it, but you are pretty sure your flushed cheeks give you away. “Tell me about flowers,” he says and you almost choke on your own saliva. His eyes widen, his hand on your back in an instance, panic rushing through his veins. You shake your head in the air, bringing a glass of water to your lips to prevent any more coughing.

“You want me to tell you about flowers?” You ask, gazing into his worried eyes. They soften when he sees you are okay, and he relaxes again, nodding. Choi Seungcheol, possibly the greatest man you have met in your entire life, wants you to talk about flowers, your favorite thing in the world. The universe really took his time with this one, building him to an absolute perfection. “What do you want to know?”

“Anything. Why do you love them so much? All of your favorites, and if I should ask the gardeners to plant any of your favorites or if we have them all already.”

You find yourself melting slowly, your adoration for him only growing. Setting down your cutlery as well, you bite back your smile, thinking about your answer to all of them. “There is many kinds, it is incredibly hard to pick just one favorite. Lilies are beautiful, and seemingly many people's favorite, but so are tulips and orchids.”

“Which one is your favorite?” He prompts.

You hesitate, thinking about all the beauties the Veloria gardens have to offer. “Freesias, I suppose. They are the first flowers I took into my room after arriving here.”

“But those can't be the first flowers you loved.”

“They aren't,” you agree. “But they became my favorite the moment I set them in my chamber. I took them after our first dinner, when I was wearing this very dress.” His eyes scan your body again at the mention of your clothes, taking his sweet time craving the image into his head. “When I first became interested in nature, it was lilies that spoke to me the most,” you admit. “But I was six then, and all I knew were the few kinds we grew in our gardens.”

He listens closely without interruptions. The interest in his eyes would be obvious from miles away, and it only makes you keep going. “Ours were nothing like yours, so I only knew a small portion of them. Then, when I was twelve, I started reading about flowers, what they mean, what colors they can have and which ones are used for what. They were always my escape, a home, if you know what I mean?” You meet his eyes, blushing.

“I think I do,” he nods, reaching for your hand. You hold his hand in yours, watching as he laces your fingers together. “A comfort, a place where you could be yourself. I was told that is the same reason my mother had our gardens build — so she could have a place to run to.” He hesitates for a second, scanning your face. “Is that why you've been in our gardens so much? Were you looking for a safe space?”

“In a way,” you nod. “I think I was. But I learned to find comfort somewhere else as well since I arrived, in someone else,” you admit. “But then after our kiss, when you ran away—” your voice breaks, the memory right in front of your eyes. “The gardens were the only comfort I trusted.”

“I'm sorry,” his voice sounds just as broken, everything about his expression making you believe he truly means it. “I was scared. And I know it's stupid.” You squeeze his hand, hoping to give him the reassurance he so desperately needs. “But I was scared of you. Of what it might mean if I let myself fall, if I allowed myself to be vulnerable.”

“I was raised to be strong, forced to believe a King must have everything under control, including his emotions for the prettiest girl he's ever seen. So I ran, I ran away and buried myself in work so I wouldn't be able to think about how much I just wanted to go back to you and kiss you again, sleep in the same bed with you and wrap myself around you.”

“Do all that today then,” you whisper, your eyes pleading as you gaze into his. “Don't run away again and stay with me.”

He doesn't need to be told twice, reaching with his free hand for your chair and pulling you closer. You yelp, caught off guard. But as soon as your legs rest between his and he leans closer, your eyes soften again. His lips press against yours and you can instantly feel sparks in your stomach. This is one thing they got right in the books — it truly feels like fireworks. His right hand cups your cheek, tilting your head as he deepens the kiss, his left hand squeezing your waist.

You push your plate aside as you rest your hand on the table, trying to steady yourself. But it's hard, your body not listening to you and melting into his touch. You don't even register him picking you up and pulling you into his lap, but when you open your eyes again you find yourself exactly there. His eyes search your face for any sign of discomfort but he doesn't find any. Cupping his cheeks, you take your time just admiring him. “I love you,” you whisper, the words spilling from your lips before you can stop them.

You watch as his eyes widen and something in him stops, a groan leaving his lips as his hand moves from your cheek to your neck, slightly pressing on the sides, his lips on yours again. Your eyes roll back, your legs weak. Everything about him — the way he looks at you, the way he holds you — makes your head spin, his presence consuming you.

Your hands wrap behind his neck, fingers tangling in his hair as you moan into his mouth, pleasure taking over you. You're not sure what is happening, why you get a sudden itch between your legs or why there is so many butterflies in your stomach, but you know you don't want him to stop kissing you.

“Seungcheol,” his name leaves your lips, a quiet, broken, plea. He seems to understand your needs much more than you do, nodding into the kiss.

“I got you,” he promises, his voice ringing in your ears.

Seungcheol scoops you up in his arms, erupting a laugh out of you, a sound he is learning to be obsessed with. You hold tightly onto him, your arms wrapped around his neck. “I should have carried you like this to bed on our wedding night,” he shakes his head, regretting all his choices.

“You are doing it now,” you remind him, a smile decorating your already beautiful face. He is unable to take his eyes off you, knocking onto the door with his feet so someone would open them for him. Without waiting for the door, his mouth presses against yours again, similar smile you carry on his lips.

“Your Majesty—” Taehyun stops mid sentence, stepping aside to create more space for the two of you. Seungcheol pulls away from you for a moment, only so he can speak to him. “We won't be needing an escort,” he proclaims. “You can send guards to our door in,” he glances at you, taking in the sight of your innocent eyes batting your eyelashes at him. “Just take your time,” he finishes, not looking at him again as he claims your lips, carrying you into his chambers.

The moment your feet hit the ground again, his hands are on your waist, squeezing as much flesh as he can gather in his hands, pushing you back until your back is flat against the door. “Cheol,” you moan, your head falling back. Your lips are swollen at this point but it only makes him want to kiss you more, knowing he is the one who has turned you into such mess. Your entire body burns, needing to be closer to him.

“You asked about children,” he mumbles, his lips tracing wet kissing down your neck, paying attention to every bit of skin he can reach. “How they are made.” A soft, barely audible, whimper escapes you, sending a shiver down his spine. He'll need to hear another one, one much louder preferably. “Let me show you.”

“Seungcheol,” you beg him, unsure what it even is you are asking for, tugging on his hair. His hand slowly moves onto your back, harshly tugging on the laces holding your dress in place. He moves with a plan in his head, not wasting any time at taking the awfully gorgeous dress off your body.

“Is this okay?” His eyes find yours, waiting for your approval before letting your dress drop to the floor. A loud groan slips from his lips at the sight of your bare skin, breast on full display. “You aren't wearing any undergarments,” he mumbles, the realization making his head spin. You hum, your cheeks flushed as you watch his reaction, your nerves obvious. But if there is one thing he wants to show you it's how you have no reason to feel nervous around him. “You are so beautiful,” he reminds you, cupping your breast with his hands. They fit perfectly, his cock twitching inside his pants.

“Do you want my baby, love?” He asks, his mouth a mere inch from yours. “Do you want me to show you how we could make one?” You nod, desperate to feel him closer, to have his body press against yours.

“Please,” you beg. He doesn't need to be told twice, squeezing your breast in his hands before slowly kissing his way down your body until he is kneeling in front of you. Your fingers tangle in his hair in an instance, the sight of him on his knees, with his eyes glued to yours, making you moan again. His lips press to your bare thighs, taking his time showing love to all of you. Leaving a few marks behind, he faces your glistening pussy, all wet and ready for him.

“Have you ever…touched yourself?” You quickly shake your head at his question, your cheeks only turning more and more red. “There is this place,” he starts, carefully sliding his fingers between your folds. “That brings you pleasure, that makes you feel good,” his thumb presses against your clit, his eyes staying on your face to watch for your reactions. Your eyebrows furrow together, lips tightly pressing together as you try to contain the lewd sounds building in your throat in.

Your hips buck forwards on instincts, creating a smirk on his lips. “Do you trust me, my love?” He asks and you nod without hesitation, giving him all of you. Collecting your wetness on his fingers, he slowly thrusts his middle finger into your hole, slowly testing the waters. Your mouth falls open, your moans filling his ears as he wraps his lips around your bud.

If Seungcheol is anything, it's talented. Both of your hands find his hair as soon as his tongue slides over your clit, adding second finger. A part of you wants to pull him away, get rid of the intense pleasure he makes you feel, but a bigger part of you wants to pull him even closer. Glancing up at you, he continues working you with his mouth. Pulling his fingers out and making you whimper, he moves his hand to the back of your thigh, pulling your leg over his shoulder and telling you to hold onto him. You do, listening to his every word.

His tongue slides between your folds, his nose rubbing against your clit. His hums against your wet pussy make you shiver, back arching onto him. Your desperate cries only drive him crazier, precum leaking through his undergarments as he laps on your pussy.

There have been women he fucked before, women he went home with to relieve the build up tension — but never like this. He's never wished to have anyone as close as you are, and he's certainly never wanted anyone to come on his tongue so badly. Usually, he'd just quickly get it over with, chasing his own pleasure and then out, but not with you. He wants to take his time with you, devour every inch of you and take care of you. He'd be damned if he doesn't make you come multiple times tonight.

“Cheol!” You gasp, making him wince as you pull on his hair. He might end up with a bald spot at this point but he doesn't care enough, convinced this is all worth it. Your release comes crashing down on you, your eyes rolling back and hips rocking forward as he licks you clean, not letting a single bit go to waste.

He pushes back, ignoring the painfully hard cock in his pants and letting his eyes trail your body. Your legs shake, the orgasm obviously much stronger than he thought it was. It makes sense, he supposes. This is the first orgasm you felt after all. The realization hits him like lighting, his eyes widening and his cock twitching again. He is the first person to make you come. He is the first person to make you feel this good. God, he has a problem.

“Come here,” he whispers and you allow yourself to fall into his arms, your body visibly exhausted. “Can I continue?” He asks, his voice nothing if not gentle as he brushes your sweaty hair behind your ears.

“Continue?” You blink, causing a low chuckle to escape his lips.

“Babies don't come from this alone,” he explains, rubbing his fingers between your folds again. “You need to get my sperm into this pretty cunt of yours,” he thrusts two fingers inside, stretching you out. “But we don't have to do anything today,” he assures you, pressing a kiss to your temple. “We can go to bed and sleep. We have our entire lives ahead together for that.” As soon as the words leave his lips his cheeks flush, the idea of spending the rest of his live together making him much more excited than he'd want to admit.

You shake your head, cupping his cheeks. His eyes gaze into yours, finding himself falling even deeper for you. “Give me a baby, Seungcheol. I wanna carry your baby.” If he was feeling feral before, he can't quite put a name to the desire that takes over him now, his entire body moving quicker than he can comprehend. A giggle bubbles out of you as he carries you to the bed, his lips glued to yours as he cups your breast again, rolling your nipples between his fingers. Your hands lock on the back of his neck, pulling him as close as possible.

“You make me lose my mind,” he mumbles between kisses, never staying away for too long. “Did you cast a spell on me?” You laugh, the sound echoing in his ears.

“Obviously,” you smile, watching as he pushes back and fights with the buttons on his shirt, hating being apart for so long. You sit up, helping him get his clothes off.

Everything is gone in seconds, all of his clothes splattered over the floor. It is certainly an ego boost, watching as your eyes trail down his body, gawking at his naked skin. Your pretty hand wraps around his cock, your eyes flickering to his. It's barely anything, just a brush of your fingers, but it makes him twitch nonetheless, every inch of him itching to see you jerk him off. The image of your lips wrapped around him flashes in front of his eyes, making him groan. There will be another time for that, he has to remind himself.

“Lay down, pretty. I'll take care of you, hm?” You look up at him through your lashes, the big puppy eyes you give him making him adore you even more. He watches you as you follow his words, your lips slightly parted and eyes sparkling with expectation. Settling between your legs, his lips find yours again, allowing you to focus on the kiss as he collects your wetness on his tip, rubbing his cock on your heat.

“Just focus on me, okay?” You nod, trusting him fully. Your lips fall apart, a soft gasp escaping when he pushes the tip in, giving you all the time you need to adjust. He doesn't rush, doesn't force you into anything. His thrusts are slow and controlled, the urge to chase his own orgasm as quickly as possible pushed aside when he is with you. He might have been with other women before you, but this is the first time it feels like this — like it actually matters.

Praises slip off his lips without him thinking much about what he is saying, one of his hands resting beside your head and keeping him up while the other plays with your breast, unable to get enough of how well they fit in his palm. The longer he looks at you, the more convinced he is he won in life. There is no one more incredible than you he'd want to spend his life with.

“Does this feel good?” You don't answer, broken whines leaving your lips instead. It makes him chuckle, loving how good he makes you feel. Your moans fill his ears as he slowly picks up his speed, feeling your walls squeeze around him. Your eyes are filled with lust as you look at him, his name falling off your lips like a prayer. With your hips rocking forward, your orgasm comes crashing down onto you faster than he thought it would. He wanted to come with you, but this will have to do as well.

Your name falls off his lips as he chases his own orgasm, only needing a few more thrusts after you. You gummy walls clench around him, driving him over the edge. Seungcheol's groan rings in your ears as he finishes inside you, thrusting a few more times just to make sure nothing leaves your body. As soon as he pulls back, he misses the feeling of your warmth. His eyes trail down your body, taking in the sight. He'll have to look at your every night to be satisfied. He doubts he'll ever get enough of looking at you.

“That was amazing,” you breathe out and his eyes find yours. A smile spreads on his lips, his eyes soft.

“You were amazing,” he proclaims, brushing the messy strands of your hair aside. “Do you feel okay?” You nod, because the truth is, you feel better than ever before.

“Is this what people do to make children?”

He nods, “It doesn't always have to be just to expect children. We can do this as much as you'd like. Just because. Just because we are married and love each other.” Your flushed cheeks and fucked out eyes make you absolutely stunning, the messy side of you attracting him as much as the put together one he saw earlier at dinner.

“Good,” you laugh. “It feels good.”

Seungcheol leans down, kissing your lips again. He falls down beside you, his arms wrapping around your waist before pulling you into his chest, closing his eyes. Tonight is going to be a great night. It might be the first night he gets to sleep beside you at night, but he certainly doesn't intend for it to be the last one. This is only the beginning.

You feel different when you wake up. It might be because of the man you wake up next to, or maybe it's because of the warm shower you take as soon as you get out of bed.

Who are you kidding, it's definitely because of Seungcheol.

His arms stayed wrapped around you throughout the entire night, his touch keeping you warm. You thought their pillows were incredible when you arrived, but now you know nothing compares to the feeling of sleeping on your lover's chest.

Or the feeling of his cock sliding between your folds as soon as you are both awake while he presses kisses all over your shoulders and back. You definitely don't mind getting used to this. You learned about love from books, about how such emotion was supposed to look and feel like, but you are starting to realize pages don't show you everything you need to know. If they told you about this part of love — the lewd noises and messy kisses — you are sure you would have wanted a husband much sooner. If you only knew about what it truly meant to be married, you wouldn't be so opposed to the idea.

When you shared your thoughts with your husband his smile fell off, muttering under his breath how he is glad you didn't in fact get married before he was looking for a wife. It made you laugh. It only took a few kisses and secret promises of forever to get his mood back up, both of you smiling as you left the chamber to do your own things.

“You have sparks in your eyes, Your Majesty,” Daniela's voice is teasing as she looks at you, a knowing smile on her face. “Did you have fun with His Majesty last night? On the dinner, of course.” You roll your eyes but a smile spreads on your lips. You meet her eyes, shrugging as if you had no idea what she's talking about. You are starting to understand her. The comments she's made before about men, comments you were certain would ruin her reputation if anyone caught her — it makes sense now. You don't blame her. In fact, you are quite certain you'll be craving your husband's touch a lot from now on, itching to be with him whenever you are apart.

“Are you certain you want to spend you honeymoon with me instead of your husband, Your Majesty?” Seungkwan asks you, his eyes nervously flickering between you and your lady. You don't have to turn around to know Daniela is giving him a look.

“I shall know what is best for me, don't you think?” He quickly agrees with you, blurting out apologies. “Besides, my husband is busy trying to find out who attacked my family. I couldn't be with him either way,” you glance at your lady, explaining it to her rather than the Head Advisor in front of you. She simply smiles at you, acting all innocent. Shaking your head at her, you walk forwards, taking a seat at the head of the table where you breakfast already lays. Taking a sip of your morning tea, you find Seungkwan with your eyes again. “I wanted to ask you about Lord Nishimura.”

“Nishimura?” He repeats, tilting his head slightly. You see the exact moment the name clicks and he connects it to a face. “Oh, yes,” he nods. “What would you like to know?”

“Do you think he is a nice man?”

“That isn't as easy to say as you'd like it to be, Your Majesty.” You hum, knowing he is right. The world isn't just black and white, there isn't just good or bad, but it'd still ease your mind if he could tell you yes. “I can tell you I haven't heard of anything that would make me think otherwise. As far as I know, he is a great swordsman and even though his studies weren't the greatest, he is growing into a well trained man.”

“My sister might hold an interest in him,” you explain, taking a bite. “And I'm simply worried if she isn't going to get hurt.”

“Did you have any certainty you wouldn't get hurt coming here, Your Majesty?” He asks back. Some might take it as a form of disrespect, but you simply smile, knowing what he means. Of course you didn't. You had no idea what to expect of Veloria and after arriving, you spent every free minute hiding in the gardens looking for an escape. He is right, there is no way to know without risking it.

“Thank you,” you smile at him, a quiet understanding passing between you. He smiles back, looking down at the table. “You should eat with me before you go.”

“Oh, no, Your Majesty,” he quickly shakes his head. “I shouldn't. In fact, I should get back to work soon. His Majesty only allowed me to miss the meeting because it was you who wanted to speak with me.”

“I insist. If you get into any trouble, I will talk to my husband about it and make sure he understands,” you smile, trying to focus on the man ahead of you and not the scene with Seungcheol beneath you that paints in your head. A part of you wishes for Seungkwan to get into trouble, simply so you could have a chat about it with your husband. Preferably one that involves less talking and more of your new favorite activity.

Seungkwan opens his mouth, probably to convince you otherwise, you assume, but he is interrupted by the door opening, two knights rushing into the room. “Mr. Boo,” he blurts out without acknowledging you. It sparks your interest, your head tilting to the side to see better. “We are here to escort you into the study room.”

“Why shall that be?” You interrupt, having all three men turn to you.

“Your Majesty,” the knights bow quickly, realizing their mistake. “My apologies for interrupting your breakfast. We have a direct command to bring Mr. Boo to His Majesty as soon as possible.” He doesn't tell you more, doesn't explain what is so urgent that they have to take him away from you. You don't question it further either, glancing at Daniela instead. She understands exactly what you want to say without any words needed, nodding to you.

Quickly standing up from the table, you follow the knights and Seungkwan out of the room, only to be met with a knight much more familiar to you. “Your Majesty, wait here,” he stands in your way and you are forced to watch the knights leave without you.

“Taehyun, don't stand in our way right now. What if something happened?” Daniela speaks up and his gaze shifts to her immediately, apology written all over his eyes. It only makes you more worried. What could have possibly happened for them to be acting like this? “Taehyun,” she tilts her head, worries written all over her face. “What is going on?”

He mimics her movement, his head tilting as he whispers an apology towards her. It's your turn to push at him, demanding to know what is going on and if anything happened to your husband. “There is a lead,” he finally admits. “And I have an order from His Majesty to keep you far away from there, no matter how much you ask me to take you to him or if you give me an order.” Your eyebrows furrow together in confusion. How can he think you'll leave it all to him again? God damn it, he has a wife now to stand by his side, so why does he keep trying to take care of everything on his own?

“It is for your safety, Your Majesty,” he assures you. His eyes fall to your lady again, hesitating. “My order only applies to Her Majesty, so I cannot stop you if you want to follow them, but I beg you.” Your eyes flicker between the two of them, realization settling in. Oh. Oh god. Were you so focused on your new relationship with Seungcheol you didn't notice one of your closest people falling in love? “Stay here. Let me protect you both for once.”

She sighs, nodding in defeat. You watch as relief washes over him, deciding not to make it any harder on him today. Turning around, you walk back into the dinning room with Dani and Taehyun right behind you, settling back in your chair. “Can you at least explain to me what's happening out there? What lead do they have?”

His hesitation is clear as day, fighting with himself about if he should tell you or not. “I don't know everything. Actually, I'm sure I don't know even half of it. But I caught a bit of their conversation, saying it might be someone from the palace.”

“From the palace? My parents' palace?” You question, all kinds of possibilities running through your head. You can't imagine anyone you grew up alone being behind this. It doesn't make sense. Your father has made enemies, but surely not with anyone on the inside, right?

“Your palace, Your Majesty,” he corrects you, making your eyes widen. This place. This very place you are ruling. That makes even less sense. Why would anyone from your people attack your family? You haven't had a proper chance to introduce yourself to them, thou you couldn't have angered anyone. Right?

“Taehyun, take me to my husband,” you ask but it's really a command. He shakes his head, refusing. “Taehyun. I mean it when I say I will convince him to fire you if you don't take me to him right now. Your job is to protect me, so protect me while I run towards danger.” His eyes flicker from you to Daniela, trying to see her reaction. You can almost see the internal fight he is having and you hate being the one forcing him into this situation. There is nothing you can do, though. You need to be a part of this.

“Okay, fine,” he sighs. “But try not to make my job any harder, could you?” You grin, jumping up from your chair again. “Your Majesty, please,” you can hear the regret in his voice but you don't acknowledge it, simply walking out of the dinning room, heading straight for the study room.

As soon as you push the door wide open you feel all the eyes in the room on you. You do your best not to show your anxiety, clearing your throat and straightening your back. “What are you doing here?” Seungcheol's eyes narrow at you before glancing at your knight. “Weren't you supposed to keep her safe away from all of this?”

You hear Taehyun gulp beside you unsure of what to say, and decide to jump in before he can. “Why do you keep doing this?” You question, everything about your tone giving away that you are upset. “Why do you keep trying to push me away instead of asking for my help? I thought we were done with this!”

A few whispers from the side catch your attention but you keep your eyes on your husband, watching as his shield slowly falls apart, his fight mode turning into something much calmer — something you love much more. There is an apology written all over his eyes, making you sigh. He motions with his head for you to join and you do, giving him one last disappointed look before taking his side. His arm wraps around your waist within seconds. “I didn't mean it like that,” he whispers so only you can hear. You only hum back, eying the council members in front of you.

“Who will explain to me what is going on?”

You watch the men exchange a look, debating what to do. It is only when Seungcheol prompts them to continue that they do, and you hate how even though you are their Queen just as much as he is their King, you still need his approval for people to listen to you. “As I was saying,” Kaito clears his throat. “Our next move should be finding William and arresting him as quickly as we can.”

“William?” Your eyes widen. There is only one William from the palace you've heard of, and it is hard to believe someone like him would be behind an attack on your family. “The previous Head Advisor?”

“We think it's his response to how I treated him on the coronation day. He wasn't aware I was replacing him, and probably wasn't happy with how I announced it either,” Seungcheol explains, his grip on your waist tightening — a possessive movement that makes your head spin. You know it's no time for that right now but he makes you weak in the knees. “He never liked the idea of us getting married either, so I think it all just pilled up. I'm sorry it is my fault your family got attacked,” the last sentence stays a secret between just the two of you, a whisper he hates saying out loud. It eats him alive, knowing he is causing you pain even after everything.

♡⸝⸝

You aren't sure how long you stand here for. Time blurs together as you listen to all the men talking, only some of their words sticking with you. You know the important — they have a plan how to get William. Taehyun and the rest of the knights leave the room, going to collect as many people as possible. The council and Seungkwan follow right after, leaving you alone with your husband.

Seungcheol takes a seat on his chair, spreading his legs apart and pulling you between them. You look down at him, holding his hands as he takes the sight of you in. “I'm sorry,” he apologizes without hesitation, squeezing your hands in his. You don't say anything, keeping your eyes on his. “I don't mean to push you away — I never want to push you away. Protecting my people is what I know the best, and my first instinct was to keep you save far away from this, with someone I know would protect you when I cannot.”

“It is the thought of you hurt that makes me act like a fool, because the truth is, I am a fool. I turn into a fool when it comes to you. I am sorry you felt like I was pushing you away. Those were never my intentions,” he assures you and a heavy sigh leaves your lips.

You sit in his lap, looking down at your connected hands. “I know. I know, love.”

“And I am also sorry for bringing all this onto your family. I should have never replaced him, none of this would have happened if I just learned to rule with him by my side.”

You shake your head, letting go of his hands so you could cup his face. “It is not your fault. You did everything right,” you proclaim. “I would hate to see you miserable and we both know ruling with William on your side would make you feel that way. And who knows, maybe he would have found a different reason, maybe he would have targeted you instead. You can't blame yourself for what happened.”

“You are the definition of perfection,” a soft laugh bubbles from his lips as he shakes his head in disbelieve — disbelieve that he gets to be here with you, share moments with you, and call you his. Closing the space between you, his lips press onto yours, letting you forget for a moment where you are and why you are here. You let him pull you closer and tug your hair behind your ear, allowing yourself to enjoy the moment instead of thinking about what is happening outside of these four walls.

But you have to get back into reality no matter how much you wish otherwise, pulling away with a soft smile. “When this is all over,” you promise him, your palm resting on his chest. “Once everything is behind us and we can focus on just us.” He smiles back, agreeing.

“Once this is over,” he nods. “Lets have dinner together.” You roll your eyes, remembering where your dinner night lead to last time. Not that you would be complaining. “So you can tell me how it's possible Taehyun brought you here despite my direct order not to listen to any of your orders,” a smile tugs at his lips, one you absolutely adore.

You shrug, acting all innocent. “What can I say, I have that effect on people,” you smile, trying to stand up. He only tugs you back, pulling you onto him. His eyes are narrowed, trying to read your face. He is jealous, that much would be clear to anyone. If he gets like this when he is jealous, you might have to make him feel that way more. “Relax, I have threatened to fire him if he didn't listen to me. I convinced him I have you wrapped around my finger and if I said I want him gone you would do it.”

“You weren't lying,” he says without hesitation, making your grin widen.

“I know,” your smile is impossible to hide as you escape his hold, glancing over your shoulder as you walk to the door. “You should do your best to take care of this. I'll be waiting for you in our chambers.” You disappear from the room before he can say anything, giggling as you think about the look on his face — his eyes wide, excited.

Being married is thrilling and beautiful, you explained that to Nari perfectly.

If there is one thing Seungcheol appreciates, it's having you by his side.

You stood by him through it all, holding his hand when he announced to his people a betrayal happened within the palace walls, and you were there to explain to them he has been arrested by your best knights when he couldn't do so, feeling like it was all his fault.

William was brought in front of the council shortly after Taehyun and others left the study. When Seungcheol heard they found him in a local pub, taking with the common about secrets he's learned during his stay and bad mounting his ill father, his anger only grew. Taking revenge at him was one thing, holding it against him for humiliating him during his coronation was understandable too, but everything else was making his blood boil. How dared he? Attacking your family already crossed the line, but talking ill of his father who has done nothing but trusted William's judgment was only adding salt into the wound.

There was nothing he wanted to do more than wipe the awfully annoying smirk off William's face when he saw him. But you were there again, with your arms wrapped around his and reminding him where he stands.

It didn't take long to decide of his future, his punishment. The entire council agreed on a form worthy of his betrayals within minutes. But it was your opinion that mattered to him the most. If you agreed with the rest of his men, he wouldn't hesitate executing him in the center of the town for everyone to see. But deep down he knew that wasn't something you'd agree with, which was also why he waited for your comment.

And despite the council's arguments, trying to convince him such actions shall never be forgiven, he decided for exile. William might still be able to walk around, but far, far away from you or your family. And if he even dared to come close or conspire against the kingdom, he would make it his personal mission to get rid of him.

He was send away the following day along with the people conspiring with him. Turns out, his experience in the palace didn't teach him well enough who to have as a friend and who as an enemy. He's made many mistakes on his way, mistakes that helped the knight discover his plans and contacts.

Ever since, he'd like to say the palace became quite calm. Quiet even.

Well, except for the rather loud sounds he finds himself making every time he is with you alone. With his head thrown back and his hand in your hair, he has to bite back his groans. Despite knowing the throne room is empty, the thoughts of one of the knights passing by and hearing him through the closed door makes him do everything in his power to keep his voice down.

He's never thought of himself as someone loud. But then again, he also never thought of himself as someone worth finding love, someone who deserved all this attention you are giving him. Meeting you turned his entire world upside down in the best way, and he now finds himself learning something new about himself every day. For example, how desperately he wishes to have children, especially if it is with you.

“Fuck—” he curses, looking down at your lips wrapped around his cock. The simple scene has him twitching in your mouth and he has to fight himself not to come already. “Darling, you are going to make me lose my mind,” he groans, his free hand gripping the throne armrest. He watches you smirk, your tongue swirling over his tip. God dammit. He should have never taught you any of this. He should have just lived his life with eating you out instead of telling you there is a way for you to do the same. This is on him.

Even though he must say, you are doing an incredible job. You bat your eyelashes at him as you bob your head forward, making his eyes roll back. He didn't think becoming a King would mean having his cock sucked as he sits on the throne, but truth is, he cannot complain.

“I haven't bled yet,” you mumble when you pull back and the words echo in his ears. It is crazy just how much power you hold over him, how much your words can mess with his head. Because it is then, when he realizes what you mean that he finishes, covering your lips white. He watches your eyes widen, cursing under his breath again. That is far from how and where he wanted to cum.

“Can you repeat that?”

You laugh, licking your lips clean. Standing up from the floor and fixing your dress, you watch him with a sheepish smile. “It has been over a month since I bled last,” you repeat, your eyes falling to his cock to see if it does anything with him again. “I can't be sure, though.”

Your last words barely reach his ears as he reaches for your hand and pulls you onto him, his lips crashing with yours. You gasp from shock before melting into his touch, tilting your head as he kisses you. Seungcheol is convinced he will never get over how it feels to kiss you, how his head spins when he feels his lips on yours.

“I'll be a father,” a soft laugh full of disbelieve leaves his lips, making you smile. “And you'll be the mother of our kids. Our kids.” You nod, unable to control the excitement you feel when you look at him. Pressing your lips to his once again, you let him pull you onto his lap.

“Our kids,” you agree, loving how it sounds on your tongue. You share the same shock as he does, the realization just how far you have come settling in. It is unbelievable you get to spend the rest of your live with Seungcheol — the greatest man you have ever met — by your side. He makes everything better, easier. If it's with him, you truly believe fulfilling your duties isn't as unbearable as you once thought of them to be.

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[nerdycheol]

Just One More (I Swear!)

Pairing: Seungcheol x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Humor, Established Relationship

wc: 650 words

Summary: You just want to keep kissing your boyfriend, and Seungcheol pretends to suffer. (he does not!!)

part 2 || join my taglist

“Babe, seriously—”

“Just one more,” you insist, leaning in before Seungcheol can finish his sentence. Your lips press against his in a quick, warm kiss, and you feel him sigh against your mouth.

“That’s what you said ten kisses ago,” he mumbles as you pull away, his hands already resting on your waist.

You shrug, eyes twinkling. “Yeah, and I meant it every time.”

Seungcheol shakes his head, amusement flickering in his dark eyes. “You have a problem.”

“A you problem.”

“Me?” He laughs, tilting his head back. “I’m literally sitting here, minding my own business—”

“Oh, please.” You roll your eyes before leaning in again, catching his lips in another kiss, this one longer. His hands instinctively tighten around your waist, pulling you closer, and for a second, you think he’s about to kiss you back properly—but then he pulls away with an exaggerated groan.

“Baaaaabe—” he drawls, falling back onto the couch like he’s being tortured.

“What?” You blink innocently, hovering over him. “You don’t like kissing me?”

Seungcheol opens his mouth, probably to tease you, but then you pout—big, dramatic, bottom-lip-jutting-out pout. He pauses. You see the moment he falters, his eyes flickering to your lips before he exhales sharply.

“…That’s not fair.”

You grin. “I know.”

You don’t wait for him to complain again before kissing him once more. It’s soft and slow this time, your hands sliding up to cup his face, thumbs brushing over his jawline. You feel the way his body relaxes under you, the way his fingers dig into your hips as he lets himself melt into it.

And just when he starts to tilt his head, deepening the kiss—

You pull away.

Seungcheol lets out the biggest whine you’ve ever heard, his grip on your waist tightening. “Oh, come on.”

You giggle. “What?”

“That was mean.”

You feign innocence. “What was?”

“You know what.” His eyes narrow, but there’s no real anger behind them, only a frustrated kind of fondness. “You can’t just kiss me like that and then stop.”

“Like what?” You bat your lashes. “I was just giving you ‘one more’ like I said.”

Seungcheol groans, dropping his head back against the couch. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Unfortunately.”

You gasp dramatically. “Oh? Unfortunately?”

Before you can roll off him in mock offense, he grabs you, flipping you onto your back in one smooth movement. His weight settles over you, pinning you down, and suddenly, he’s the one smirking.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Your breath catches slightly. “Uh—”

“Oh, now you have nothing to say?” His voice drops slightly, teasing. “That’s cute.”

You glare at him. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t,” he mimics your tone perfectly, grinning.

And then, before you can protest, he kisses you. Properly. Deep, warm, slow, like he’s trying to make you forget about every other kiss before this.

When he finally pulls away, you’re breathless.

“…Okay, yeah,” you admit, dazed. “Maybe that was a little better.”

Seungcheol chuckles. “Now you’re satisfied?”

“…No.” You grin, tugging him back down.

He doesn’t complain this time.