Amazing Work!!! - Tumblr Posts

2:14 AM • KMG

lowercase intended.

cw: somnophilia (consensual), established relationship, fingering, unprotected sex (don’t be stupid), creampie!! yum!! multiple orgasms, slight overstimulation, nervous gyu, whiny desperate gyu & f!reader.. they both want to please each other so bad :( neck holding? it’s kind of implied that reader is smaller than gyu, his shirt is big on her and falls off her shoulders.. .. pet names such as baby, sweetheart, pretty girl… maybe more.. i don’t know.. i got carried away

word count: 1.7k~

not proof read!!

a/n: hi!! i’m eve~ this is my first time writing smut and i’m using it as a way to get back into writing! im super excited! i haven’t written in like.. 2 years.. so be nice to me.. :[ i hope you enjoy :]

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

mingyu couldn’t help himself. while you usually don’t move much in your sleep, especially within his tight grip.. tonight was different.

you wouldn’t stop moving..

at first, it wasn’t that big of a deal, with you occasionally shifting in his arms.. but it started to become an issue when your ass kept pressing into him, stirring up his mind and now painfully hard cock.

small soft whimpers and whines would occasionally sneak past your lips, making it more difficult for his mind to focus on anything other than fucking you in to the mattress..

while mingyu knew you weren’t doing it on purpose.. he could tell you were actually asleep.. the movement of your hips almost seemed too calculated. are you dreaming of him?

as if on cue, he was torn from his thoughts by a broken whine of his name.. “gyu..” it almost sounded painful. desperate. you needed him, he decided. he had to help you.

with shaky hands, mingyu found himself messing with the band of your underwear underneath your his shirt. why was he so nervous?

you had discussed your sexual limits and interests early on in your relationship.. and you’ve woken him up many times to some fantastic morning head.. so why was he so nervous?

mingyu sat there, contemplating for a moment before he whispered a small “fuck it..” under his breath, one of his big hands finding its way into your underwear.

using his middle finger, he pressed it between your folds finding your clit with ease.. groaning quietly into your hair as he can feel how warm and wet you’ve become. you were definitely dreaming about him.

with a skilled digit, mingyu circled your clit. feeling your head fall back into his shoulder, he peered down at you. the moonlight from the window illuminated your face, allowing him to watch the tension in your forehead release and your lips part in satisfaction.

he dipped his finger a little lower, teasing your entrance for just a second.. adding his pointer finger as he pressed them into you. you were always so reactive, so sensitive. your back arching off of his chest slightly.

using the arm that was underneath you, he adjusted himself to pull you back against him. pumping his fingers into you skillfully, curling them every few thrusts.

your breathing became heavy and a little unsteady, body wriggling against his from pleasure. mingyu hums softly, placing wet kisses along the side of your face, lips stopping at your ear to whisper a gentle “s’okay baby.. i’ve got you” as he increased the pace of his fingers.

as the tension in your belly began to build, your eyes fluttered open.. a hand reaching to grip his forearm. “fuck..” you whined, pressing your hips down to meet his movements.

mingyu smiled against your ear.. “there she is..” he muttered, shifting himself even closer to you as he became more brutal with his pace now that you were awake.

your grip on his forearm tightened, mirroring the band of fire stretching in your lower abdomen, signaling your impending climax.

clasping your fingers around his wrist that was setting an unrelenting pace on your dripping core, your mouth drops into an o shape, a high pitched gasp escaping before silence took over for a moment..

the only noise to be heard was mingyu’s quickened breath and your squelching pussy that was gripping his fingers even tighter than you were his wrist.

as you broke the silence with a anguished whine, mingyu wouldn’t let up. he couldn’t. he wanted more. he wanted to make you cum.. again and again.. and again.

“gyu, please.. i need more. i need you.. i need you to feel good.” you begged, turning to the best of your ability to look at him with teary eyes.

really..he felt great. watching you cum because of him was all he need. but he understood. you needed him. you wanted him.

mingyu searched your eyes, slowing down his movements before coming to a complete stop and pulling his fingers out.

despite asking him for more, you couldn’t help but whimper the loss of contact.. your hole clenching around nothing as it was desperate for more. for mingyu.

moving lazily, but skillfully.. mingyu pushes your underwear down, feeling you kick it off of your ankles beneath the blanket before following, pushing his boxers down and kicking them off the edge of the bed.

he quickly grabs your waist, needing to feel the heat of your skin. keeping you on your side, back pressed to his chest.. mingyu grabs your thigh, pulling it up and over his hip. you locked your foot behind his knee in a weak attempt to keep yourself grounded.

leaving open mouthed kisses along your neck, mingyu began to drag his tip through your drooling folds. sucking a breath in between his teeth, resulting in a quiet, hiss like noise that went straight to your core.

whining in impatient anticipation, you pushed your hips back against him, gasping when his tip bumped your clit.

mingyu felt hot. he felt like he was burning… that feeling worsening as he felt your warm, sopping cunt engulf him.. taking inch by inch of his painfully hard cock.. like it was made for him. molded for him.

a broken mewl escapes his throat, a hand sprawled against your thigh that was propped over his own. he speaks softly in your ear, voice laced with need.

“there ya go baby..” he exhales.. “shh.. s’okay, you’re taking me so well.. god.. you’re so warm sweetheart..” he practically coos, allowing you to adjust to his size. you’ll never get used to it.

when you started moving your own hips against him, he knew you were ready, hand dragging up your body to rest heavily against your throat.

pressing into you, the arm that was underneath your body adjusts to not only stop it from falling asleep, but to grip and paw at your closest breast.. underneath the fabric of the shirt you were still wearing.

the shirt has fallen off one of your shoulders, it’s bunched up around your waist. it’s pointless for it to be there, but neither of you care to remove it.

the room is filled with heavy, hot breaths and the pornographic sound of skin slapping as he repeatedly makes contact with your ass.

you’re dripping around him.. your thighs, his thighs, covered..so much skin is glistening with your arousal.

it’s loud, the squelching of your heat that is sucking him in so greedily.. your moans, whines and whimpers. his groans, grunts and mirroring whines.

“oh.. my pretty girl.. is that better? does my baby feel better? you needed me so bad” he starts, voice laced with an almost condescending hum “practically begging for me in your sleep”

you moaned out a broken sound that was more of a “ngh” than a reply, eyes fluttering closed as you were unable to keep them open any longer. you felt so good, too good.

gripping the forearm of the hand that laid against your neck, you felt yourself becoming dangerously close.. parting your lips to speak, to warn mingyu.. but nothing was coming out but breathy gasps..

mingyu’s pace is almost inhumane, his mind is clouded with the want and need for both of you to cum. hips snapping into yours as he chases both of your climaxes.

he takes note of your attempts to speak, hand snaking down for his fingers to find and circle your clit, your body reacting strongly to the added pressure. it’s almost too much.

“i know baby.. fuck.. are you gonna cum? hm?” he hums, kissing your exposed shoulder. “gonna cum for me pretty girl? gonna let me fill you up?” his tone is desperate, so desperate.. so whiny and overwhelmed. it’s only adding fuel to the fire that is erupting throughout your entire body.

pace unrelenting but becoming unsteady as he approaches his high, mingyu uses his pointer and middle finger to rub your clit until you’re practically exploding around him. a strangled moan echos in the room with the sinister sound of him fucking you so good as you reach back to grip his hip, back arching against his toned chest.

you see white as you cum, jaw dropping in a silent scream, fingers digging into the skin of his hip/ass. drool trickling down the side of your cheek, mixing with your tears that started to flow. you felt so good. so incredibly good.

mingyu whines, gripping your hip as he continues to pound your tightening, pulsating pussy.. mumbling praises as he closes in on his own high.

his bruising grip gets even tighter on your hip as he presses himself flush against your ass and body, painting your insides with hot, thick ropes of white.

hips stuttering against yours as he whimpers into your neck and shoulder, thrusting a few more times, riding out his high and pushing his cum even deeper into your warm heat.

you’re breath heavily, whining in overstimulation at his last few thrusts, your grip on him not letting up.

mingyu stills, leaving kisses on every inch of exposed skin he can reach. you stay like that for a while, catching your breath.. listening to mingyu’s sweet praises on how you’re so good to him, how pretty you are..

he pulls out with, slowly.. rubbing his length against your folds a few times to spread his cum all over you. chuckling when you whine again when he grazes your sensitive clit, attempting to move away from him.

you end your night with mingyu cleaning you up, giving you water and making you change your now sweat soiled shirt. he holds you, your body engulfed by his arms, head against his chest, your arms wrapped around him as he mumbles something about definitely needing to wash the sheets tomorrow morning before you both drift off into a comfortable sleep..

AHHHHH- Anya you are always so sweet. Thanks so much!!! 😭💜  I’m really glad of had met you ;v; 💜.

I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AMAZING NEW YEAR AND THAT EVERYTHING GOES WELL!!! YOU DESERVE IT!! 💜💜💜 .

             ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*  HAPPY NEW YEAR  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

          My first post of 2019, and I want to wish you a happy new year 2019 !

2018 had been like a rollercoaster to me. So many things happened. From bad to good things. Even though the trials, I want to remember the good moments I had, the new memories I created, the new friends I made, how much I grew as a person thanks to all my loved ones, friends but also all my followers. All of those people supported me, helped me through the year. Thanks to them, I could be happier in the dark moments. I could get up again, get that motivation back and fight for myself, but for those I love as well. There are no words strong enough to thank those people.

If I must tell one thing that I’m the happiest about 2018… All the new friends I made, being with them but not only. Being with my family. I felt supported, loved. If there’s one thing I hate, that’s being alone. But thanks to all of them, I know I’m not. If there’s one thing I know that I’ll always have : people who love me and care about me.I wish them the best. They deserve it. I love them, care about them, cherish them, and I would do EVERYTHING in the world for them. After all, what matters isn’t the studies, the success or the glory… That’s the people around you. They were the most important things  to me in 2018, and they’ll always be.

During 2018, I grew so much. I became a better writer, a better gif & graphics maker, a better artist, a better person. I’m very proud of myself. Even though I failed many times, I proud of what I did. I proud for passing 2018. In the end, I won against 2018. I passed the year with my loved ones & friends.

No matter what happens, I’ll stay positive until the end of 2019. I want to enjoy this year. Realize my dreams. Grow even more. Become a better person. Give SO MUCH love to everyone. Create new memories with everyone. Make new friends. In a summary, enjoy every moment.  I believe in myself, in every one of you. If you don’t believe in you, if no one does, I’ll. Maybe that 2018 was a disappointment to you, maybe that you lost many times. But never forget. The past makes you grow. The past helps you to build your future. Don’t give up. Love. Stay positive. Fight and never give up. Like Dumbledore said, in the dark moments, we have to remember to turn on the light.

After all this VERY long text, I wish you a happy new year, a year full of love, kindness, success and good health to you and to all your loved ones. Thank you to everyone, every one of you. I love you all !! <333

                                 ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*    *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Special mentions to my dear & precious buddies : @inazuma11memes @sinfonylanglader @seraph-san @letsplaysakka @inazumafocus @ygreczed @psychochanger @miss-shiota @grace1852 @xxlovelyrose95xx @chibineko-akio @love-yukimura @vraberika @emypony @lynneryon & @inazuma-eleven-lover

Special mentions to some people I truly admire : @ydotome @zappyspiker @5-n-g @catarinanosaka @zafiro-satoshi @inazuma-eleven-translations & all the buddies above because they’re all talented people with a lot of passion and love for what they do <3

the plot tho...

Stray Kids Kinktober Day 10

Stray Kids Kinktober Masterlist

Praise Kink - Hyunjin

Word Count: 11.7K

Summary: As a lead detective in the police department, you've been assigned to solve a serial killer case, but you've hit a point where you can no longer work on the case by yourself. Hwang Hyunjin, the golden child of the police department and your sworn rival, is assigned as your partner.

---------------------------------------

You have officially run out of red string. 

The cork board in the conference room doesn’t have any more open spaces for new leads or clues. You can’t even see the brown of the board anymore. 

Instead of whittling information down, you’ve only come up with more suspects for the case. 

It’s better than the case going cold, sure, but it feels like you’re getting further and further from actually solving the damn thing. 

It also doesn’t help that you not only have Chief Bang breathing down your neck, but the entire city as well. You understand, really, everyone wants a killer to be caught. 

But these sort of things take time. 

And they usually don’t have a million and thirty leads. Typically, you were lucky to have one. 

Everyone in the city has a tip. And you have to check each and every single one. 

Three sharp knocks draw your exhausted attention away from the board. 

“Come in!” You call out. 

The door clicks open and dress shoes click on the floor. 

“I think you’re going to need another cork board soon, Detective.”

Your mood curdles like milk. 

“What do you want, Hwang?”

Hwang Hyunjin, the department’s top detective and your least favorite person in the world.  

Every case he touches is solved. Every last one of them. But maybe— just maybe— it’s because he gets to pick and choose which ones he’s assigned to. 

The golden child of the police department. The biggest, cockiest pain in the ass you’ve ever met. 

He clicks his tongue and walks up to the conference table you’re leaning against. 

“I have a whole new stack of tips for you.” 

The sound of a thick stack of papers hits the table, you cringe. 

You haven’t even finished going through the last stack. 

“And I am once again humbly offering my assistance on this case.”

You look over at him for the first time tonight. His long black hair is pulled back with a few strands dangling in front of his face. 

He wears a pressed dress shirt, black tie, black vest, and slacks. 

Truly, it looks like he popped off a magazine cover and you hate it. 

“And I am humbly declining. I can handle this on my own, thank you.” 

Your own heels click along the floor as you come around the conference table to sit down in front of the first stack of papers. 

Hyunjin shoves his hands in his pockets and meanders closer to the cork board. 

He looks up and down all the different leads, the ever expanding list of suspects, murder weapons, locations. He’s silent for a long moment. 

The only sound in the room is the clock ticking on the wall. 

What time is it anyway? You’ve been here since 4 AM when a call came in about another victim. The bags under your eyes surely look like bruises at this point. 

Since you started on this case two months ago there hasn’t been a single night where you’ve gotten more than five hours of sleep. 

Words are blending together on the paper. Is the sun up?

Warily, you turn and eye Hyunjin, who’s still staring at the cork board. His head cocks to the side as he studies all the different clues littering the surface. 

He takes a deep breath and turns to look at you. You point an accusatory finger at him. 

“No! No, no. You’re not coming in here and solving my case that I’ve been working on for months!”

His mouth shuts, a smirk appears. 

Oh, you want to smack it off his face. 

“I was only going to say—“

“No! Nothing! I do not need your help! Get out of here!” You shoo him away. 

“L/N—“ he tries again. 

“Shut it!”

Hyunjin rolls his eyes and sucks his teeth while making his way to the door. 

You glare daggers into the back of his head, praying that a ceiling tile will miraculously fall and crush him. 

He grabs the door handle and walks into the hallway. Right before the door closes, he peeks his head in through the crack. 

“The killer is ambidextrous,” he says in a sing-songy voice. 

A frustrated, muted scream tears from your throat and you hurl the nearest object— which happens to be a metal cup full of pens and pencils— at the door. 

It shuts before the cup makes contact. 

Hyunjin’s laugh comes through the closed door and it only makes your blood boil more. 

You slam your head down onto the wood desk. 

“Of course he’s ambidextrous.”

---------------------------------------

“Detective L/N,” Chief Bang’s head pokes into the conference room. “Can I see you in my office please?”

You haven’t gone home yet. You’re in the same clothes as yesterday except now they’re more wrinkled. 

Nodding, you put down your pen and tell your chief you’ll be there in a minute. 

He hums and leaves the room. 

You rub the heels of your palms into your eyes to try and get the exhaustion out of them. 

About 100 ounces of coffee is flowing through your body but it’s doing nothing to wake you up, all it’s doing is increasing your heart rate. 

To anyone else who wanders through your police department, they might think you’ve escaped the morgue.

The walk to Chief Bang’s office was short. 

As soon as you step inside, your heart sinks. 

The chief sits behind his desk, but that’s not why your stomach turns. 

Hyunjin takes up one of the chairs, another freshly pressed suit on his body. 

The man is flawless and it makes you want to become a suspect for one of your cases. 

“Take a seat, detective.” Chief Bang motions to the other empty chair. 

Hyunjin looks up at you, arms crossed over his chest. A smug smirk pulls on his lips as he takes in your disheveled appearance. 

You tongue your cheek for a moment and flip your hair over your shoulder before sitting down. Your fingers iron out deep wrinkles in your pencil skirt. 

You try to maintain some level of pride. It’s comical, really.

“Now, I’ll cut right to the chase here, Y/N, it’s not that I don’t trust your abilities as a detective, I do.”

You deflate. 

“But this case is becoming too much for one person.”

Your jaw clenches. 

So badly you want to refute that claim, to tell Chief Bang that you have it handled, it’s no big deal. But that’s a lie and you both know it. 

And the smug asshole next to you definitely knows it. 

“Detective Hwang has kindly offered his assistance on the case, so I’m assigning him as your partner on this.”

You think for a moment. “Can I get a different partner? I think Detective Kim just closed his last case, meaning he’s available to help.” 

“Detective Kim started a new case this morning.”

“Detective Lee?”

“Busy.”

“Officer Yang?”

“He’s not even a detective.”

“What about Detective Seo?”

Chief Bang stays silent, deadpan eyes watch you. He cocks his head to the side. 

You sink back in the chair. 

“I specialize in homicide cases, L/N.” Hyunjin pipes up from next to you. “I’m the best one for the case and you know it.”

“Zip it, Hwang.”

Hyunjin scoffs. 

Chief Bang rolls his eyes, his patience obviously wearing thin. “Y/N, I’m going to need you to swallow your pride for the sake of the city. There’s a murderer on the loose, remember? You’re my top detectives, it would be stupid not to partner you together.”

You can’t meet his eyes, you look off to the side, crossing your arms over your chest. Anxiously, your leg begins to bounce.

“Put your personal feelings aside, Y/N.”

Silence falls over the room. Both of the men wait for you. 

It really doesn’t feel like you have a choice, here. Obviously, you don’t. 

“Fine.”

“Great!” Hyunjin taps his hands on the arms of the chair and then pops up. “I’m going to need access to all the files you’ve been looking at these past two months as well as the extra key to the conference room.”

He grabs his trench coat off the back of the chair. 

“I’ll also need you to catch me up to speed on the latest tips from civilians; you did have time to read those last night, right? Additionally, I think we should rearrange our hours so that we’re on duty together until this is solved.”

He makes his way towards the door. 

“Come on, L/N! We’ll discuss over coffee.”

You stare at Chief Bang. He offers you a slightly amused, slightly sympathetic smile. 

“Best of luck, detectives.”

---------------------------------------

The hot mug rests between both of your shaky hands. Hyunjin sat across from you in a large diner booth. 

Files littered the entirety of the top of the table. It’s all things you’ve seen before and practically have memorized by now. 

You explained everything you knew to him from the beginning, sparing no detail. 

College girls were all found murdered in their dorms. No security footage of anyone going in or out of the building that doesn’t belong there. 

Each victim is about two weeks apart. 

A half eaten fruit cup sits next to your coffee. ‘Fruit cup’ is a loose term since more than half of it was honeydew melon. 

Why can’t they just throw a few strawberries in there? Slice up a banana or toss a few blueberries in? They already have the fruit in the back for the pancakes, it would be so easy to—

“I don’t think this victim is from the same killer.”

Your head snaps up and you glare at Hyunjin. “Who?”

He slides the file across the table to you. “Andrea Bowman. She doesn’t fit the same profile as the other victims. All the others were blonde, Andrea has brown hair.”

You sip at your coffee, glazed eyes scanning the file. You’re simply too tired to keep up the anger.  

“I had thought the same thing at first. But according to the coroner, her time of death would put her as the first victim of the killer, first victims of serial killers tend to not fit the profile of the rest since it’s the first taste.”

Her autopsy stares up at you. 

“Plus, everything else is consistent with the rest, bruised wrists and ankles and a slit throat. They’re all college aged girls who went to the local community college.”

You slide the crime scene photos around, taking in all the details. 

“Maybe she wasn’t his victim.” One of her school photos peeks out from the bottom of the stack, you pick it up and look at it solemnly. “But something tells me she was his first.”

Hyunjin watches you closely, any rebuttal he had died on the tip of his tongue. 

Plates clatter in the kitchen.  

Your nose scrunches and you pack away Andrea’s file. 

“You said they all go to the same school?”

“Yeah, the community college.”

“Did they all study the same thing?”

You shake your head, taking another sip of coffee. “Nope, all different fields of study, all different extracurriculars. They didn’t even live in the same dorm building.”

Hyunjin leans back against the booth and picks up his iced coffee, taking a long sip while staring out the window. 

Your fingers run through your hair. “I requested their transcripts and class schedules from every year but I’m waiting on all those requests to process. With how slow the registrar’s office is taking you would swear they didn’t want this case solved.”

“Red tape always gets in the way.” Hyunjin reaches down in his pocket and takes his phone out, tapping a few buttons and then holding it up to his ear. 

You cock an eyebrow at him, he only holds up a finger at you. You scoff. 

“Dianne? Hi, it’s Hyunjin!… I’m doing so well, and you? … That’s great to hear! … Yes, yes those homemade cookies were to die for.”

Your mouth falls open a bit. Who in the hell was he talking to? Homemade cookies?

Throwing your hands up in front of your face, you give him a flabbergasted look. 

He narrows his eyes at you and gives you a look that says ‘be quiet’.

“Listen, I was actually calling to cash in a favor, I have a list of students I need transcripts and schedules of for a case. … I can email it over to you, it’s for the— … yes, yes that one.”

You slow blink at him. Does he have a contact at the registrar’s office? Of course he does, why wouldn’t he have one?

The golden child strikes again. 

“You’re a darling, Dianne, thank you. I’ll send it to you asap. … of course, say hello to Rob for me. Bye!”

He hangs up and puts his phone back on the table. 

Hyunjin takes one look at your face and shrugs. “What? I helped her with a personal matter when I was a P.I.”

If you roll your eyes anymore, they’ll go into the back of your head. 

“So do you have a list—“

You interrupt him. “Yeah.”

“Can you—“

“Mhmm.”

You finish your coffee and reach into your purse, digging out a ten dollar bill and tossing it onto the table. 

“Where are you going?” He asks you. 

“Home,” you respond simply while shuffling out of the booth. “I haven’t slept since Monday.”

Hyunjin looks down at the various files on the table. “What about the list?”

You move the files around and pull out one of the papers and place it in front of him. 

“It’s right here. I’ll see you tomorrow, Hwang.”

“Tomorrow? But what about—“

“If Dianne gets the list back to you, just forward it to me. I’ll look at it when I wake up.” Your voice is full of venom. 

“I really think we should look at it together.” His eyes narrow. “We’re partners on this, remember?”

“As if you would even need my help,” you spit out. “By the time I come in tomorrow, you’ll probably have the entire case solved, the perp arrested, and all the paperwork done before I even pour my coffee.”

The more you talk, the more your anger levels rise. You lean over him in the booth, one of your hands on the back of the seat to keep you balanced. 

Hyunjin’s eyes widen and he leans back as you go forward. 

“The golden boy will strike again, solving a case that I’ve been working on for months and getting all the credit. Because that’s just how good you are. Mr. Perfect. Everything about you is just amazing.”

He gulps and shifts around. A red tint creeps up on his face. 

And for the first time since you met him, Hwang Hyunjin is speechless. His mouth opens to say something several times but no sound comes out. 

“Now. If you’ll excuse me.” You stand back up and turn on a heel, leaving the diner and a very flustered detective behind. 

---------------------------------------

Knock after knock after knock after knock bangs on your apartment door. 

You’re not sure of how long whoever’s been knocking has been at it, but it takes you a solid thirty seconds to wake up fully. You had peacefully drifted into a very deep sleep the moment your head hit the pillow. 

The entire bedroom is pitch black, the sun no longer in the sky. The clock on your nightstand displays that it’s around 1 AM. 

“What the fuck?” You slur out. It’s so hard to open your eyes right now. 

The knocking persists.

With all the grace of a drunken newborn deer, you slither out of bed and make your way to your front door. 

You flip on a light on your way there. 

Staring through the peephole, a frown pulls at your face as soon as you see who’s banging on your door at this ungodly hour. 

You rip the door open, startling Hyunjin. His hand still hangs in the air when you open it. 

“Finally!” He shoves past you and into your apartment. 

“No, please, come on in.” You growl and shut the door, securing all the locks in place again. 

Behind you, you hear him slam a stack of papers onto your kitchen island. 

“I forwarded you the transcripts hours ago but you didn’t answer.”

“I told you I would look at them when I woke up.”

He takes in your disheveled appearance with judging eyes. Your hair was all frizzy and out of place, a loose t-shirt hung off one shoulder and was so big you couldn’t see the shorts underneath. 

His Adam’s Apple bobs with a swallow. 

It was obvious he wasn’t used to seeing you in such a relaxed state. He was still wearing his dress pants from earlier, but he only had a dress shirt on with his trench coat over the top. 

“You’re awake now, aren’t you?” He looks back down at the stack of files and opens them up, spreading papers everywhere. 

You come up to the table and look down at everything. 

Semesters of different class schedules stare back at you. Some have highlighted portions, others are still blank. He seems to have given up in the middle of doing it himself, opting to bring it here. 

You tongue your cheek, looking over what you can see so far.

It’s going to be a long night.

“I’ll make coffee.”

---------------------------------------

Hours have passed, the sleepiness and weariness of being woken up has been replaced by the delightful thrum of caffeine in your veins.

After about a half an hour of going through the transcripts, you quietly asked Hyunjin if he was alright with you playing music softly. 

He stared at you with wide eyes, “Ah, yeah, of course, that’s fine.”

You cocked an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m just… not used to you asking for permission before doing something.”

Grumbling, you rolled your eyes and picked your phone up to scroll through playlists. You settled on a calmer one full of music from artists like Lord Huron and Tom Rosenthal. 

Since then the two of you have been silently going through each schedule. 

Biting the end of the highlighter absentmindedly, you study the class schedule. 

“I’m only seeing one similarity.” You say out loud. Hyunjin looks up. “This one class, it’s a gen ed Physics class. But each of these girls took it, all at different times though.”

“Which class?”

“PHYS 100. Same Professor– Dr. Furon.”

“Do you think we should bring the professor in for questioning?” he asks.

“Couldn’t hurt. Right now he’s the only common denominator. Is it anywhere on your transcript?”

Hyunjin flips through the pages. “Yep, right here, her freshman spring semester back in 2020.”

You pull out a sticky note and write down that info. 

“Can you go through each one and tell me when they took the course?”

Hyunjin gathers all the stapled packets of papers up. “Yeah.”

---------------------------------------

You and Hyunjin stood shoulder to shoulder looking through the one way glass. 

A near ninety year old man sat on the other side. 

“So,” Hyunjin says to break the silence. 

“So.”

“It can’t be him.”

“Obviously.”

Another long moment of silence. 

He shoves his hands in his pockets. “Do you want to question him or should I?”

You sigh, watching as the professor fidgets with a loose string on his sweater sleeve. The officers had completely forgone the handcuffs, allowing him to sit at the table freely. 

They also rolled in a comfier chair and gave him a cup of coffee. 

“My case. I’ll do it.”

“ Our case.”

“Shut it, Hwang.”

You make your way into the interrogation room with a notepad tucked under your arm. 

The professor looks up as soon as you open the door. He shakily stands up from his seat with proper manners. 

You smile gently. “Dr. Furon, thank you so much for taking the time to come down.”

Both of you shake hands before sitting down. His grip is not firm whatsoever. 

Arthritis. 

“Oh, it’s no matter. Happy to be of help.”

You place the notepad down and scoot your chair in. “I’ll get right to it since I can see you’ll be our best help here. When analyzing the list of victims, we saw that each of them had taken your class before. It’s a small lead, I know, but it’s too much to sweep under the rug.”

He nods, listening carefully. He blanches and leans back. “I didn’t realize I had each of them. There are so many students in each section, there’s not enough time to learn names.”

He shakes his head. 

“I had recognized a few in the paper, but I try not to do too much digging, it hurts too much to look into. I don’t know how you detectives do it.”

You reach across the table and grab his hands warmly. “I feel the same way about physics, I don’t know how you do it. All those equations.”

Dr. Furon cracks a smile. “Someone has to. But I do have help with all my courses. Each student has a specific discussion section once a week with a smaller class size, but they’re all taught by graduate students.”

You jot that down on your notebook and lean your chair back. You knock once on the window.

“On it.” Hyunjin’s muffled voice comes through the glass. 

“Just one more question, Dr. Furon, I won’t take up any more of your time, this has been very valuable. Are there any students or people that you come in contact with that maybe trigger some alarm bells or a gut instinct?”

He shifts around, he really thinks about it. 

“I really can’t think of anything, detective, I’m sorry. The girls’ names that I recognize were normal students too, granted they weren’t the best, but I do know they were doing their very best. Breaks my heart.”

You scribble that down and stand up. 

“Thank you very much for your time, Dr. Furon. We greatly appreciate your help.”

He nods and stands up as well. “Of course, if I can do anything else, please give me a call.”

“If you think of anything else, here’s my card.” You reach across the table and hand him a small business card. 

You showed the professor out of the room, asking if he needed anything. He patted your arm sweetly before leaving. 

When you turn around, Hyunjin is standing there, waving a file around. 

You roll your eyes. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

---------------------------------------

Your apartment has become the unofficial meeting place for both you and Hyunjin once your shifts are over. The department wasn’t great for concentration. 

They say not to take work home with you, but your home is so much cozier. 

It’s only about 8 PM. Takeout containers take up a small portion of the kitchen island. 

Another pot of coffee is brewing. 

“So, between the victims, there are five different graduate students that taught their discussion sections. And one of them graduated last year.” Hyunjin flips through his notes. 

You run your hands through your hair. 

“So, four graduate students.”

“Yep.” He pops the ‘p’. 

“Do we have any information on the four students?”

“No, but we have enough cause to bring them down to the station for questioning.”

You sigh and pick up your phone. “Let’s do that, then.”

A message is sent off to Chief Bang, he replies immediately saying he’ll contact them immediately and have them brought in and that he’ll call you when you can come in. 

“I just don’t think it was any of the graduate students.” Hyunjin adds, sliding papers around to grab a victim’s file. 

“I agree.”

He doesn’t seem to hear you. “Two of the graduate students are women— women don’t commit murders like this, the other two are masters in their field with promising careers.”

“I know, I agree with you, Hwang.”

“And I just don’t think that— wait, you agree?”

You stare at him with a blank expression. “Yes, I agree with you.”

He shifts around on the seat. His mouth opens and closes a few times before actually speaking. “You agree?”

Rolling your eyes, you place the papers down on the table. “Hwang, you know I would rather die than agree with you, but in this case, yes, I agree, I think you’re right.”

“Oh.”

Looking back down at the papers, you absentmindedly read a sentence in one of the witness statements. “I know you get the job done, I’m not going to put personal feelings before a case.”

Hyunjin fidgets more. “So, you think I’m a good detective?”

Is he serious?

You roll your eyes, still not looking up. “Yes, Hwang. Chief Bang has proclaimed you as one of the greatest detectives— everyone at the station knows that.”

“I just didn’t think you thought that way.”

“I’m not here to stroke your ego, Hwang.”

He clears his throat and shifts forward on his chair. “But do you , Y/L L/N, think I’m a good detective?”

Putting the paper down on the counter, you look up at him with a cocked eyebrow and a frown. “Really? Do your work.”

“Not until you say it.” He smirks and crosses his arms over his chest. 

Rolling your eyes, you look down once more. What was on this page again?

“Choke.”

Hyunjin takes a breath to say something, but your phone lights up with a call at the same time. Expecting it to be Chief Bang, you answer quickly. 

“Detective L/N.” 

“Detective!” An old voice comes from the other line. You pull your phone back to look at the unknown number and then bring it back to your ear. 

Hyunjin’s attention peaks at your confusion.

“It’s Dr. Furon, I apologize for calling so suddenly.”

“Oh, hi Doctor, it’s no trouble at all.” You look around for your notepad. 

“Put it on speaker,” Hyunjin hisses while leaning forward. You shoo him off. He reaches forward to grab the phone from you, you smack his hand. 

“I remembered something I didn’t get a chance to say earlier, I’m so sorry I didn’t think of it,” Dr. Furon continues. 

“That’s quite alright, it’s the reason I gave you my number. Now, what is it?” You grab a pen and a random piece of paper. 

Hyunjin reaches again, you smack his hand once more. “Speaker!” He grumbles again. 

Dr. Furon talks, unaware of the petty brawl happening on the other line. “All of the students that are struggling in my class, I point them to the tutoring center in the library. As far as I remember, the names that were in the paper, the ones I recognize at least, they were going to the tutoring center.”

Your eyes widen and you write it down quickly. 

Hyunjin’s patience wears out, he stands up from the counter and comes around to your side, his face dipping down to press his ear to the other side of the phone. 

“Is there only one tutor available for your class?” you ask, jotting down notes. 

“I’m not sure, I’m sorry. You know, now that I think of it, on their final exams, I give extra credit if they write down that they went to tutoring and name their tutor.”

“Do you have those exams?” Hyunjin asks into the phone. You reach over and flick his forehead. He swats your hand away. 

“Oh, Detective Hwang, how are you?” Dr. Furon says politely. 

“I’m doing very well, thank you.”

You go to smack him again, he once more swats your hand away.

The professor comes back to the conversation. “I have them but they’re in my office. Would you two mind coming to campus to get them tomorrow?”

“Of course,” both you and Hyunjin say at the same time. 

You sneer and push his face away. 

“Great!” Dr. Furon gives you all the details for tomorrow and the two of you hang up. 

Placing your phone on the counter, you stand up to get away from Hyunjin. 

“You could've put it on speaker.” 

“You could’ve been patient!” Grabbing the nearest object— a tissue box— you hurl it at him. 

Hyunjin only laughs and catches it. 

“Putting more coffee on?”

“Obviously.”

---------------------------------------

“It’s the same one,” you say incredulously, flipping through the exams that Dr. Furon had given the two of you. 

While you got the papers from the professor’s office, Hyunjin had gone to the tutoring center for a list of tutors. Apparently he had a connection there as well. 

The two of you now sat in the conference room with your original cork board to the side. New leads and pictures right smack in the middle. 

You had spent the day questioning the graduate students, but as you suspected, it was a dead end. No one knew anything. 

The exams spread over the table were the best lead. 

“It is,” he mutters in agreement and disbelief. 

“Eric Rowan.” 

“Do you think…?” Hyunjin trails off. 

“I do,” you state clearly. “I really do.”

Shaking your head, you flip through the exams over and over to make sure you’re right, to make sure you’re not looking past something. 

You’re not jumping to conclusions, are you?

Hyunjin suddenly stands up from the table and makes his way to the door. “I’ll have the chief get someone to bring him down to the station.”

He didn’t even give a second thought to your decision. 

The door clicks after him. The silence inside the room is deafening. 

It would be perfect if you could play music like you do at home. 

“Eric Rowan,” you whisper solemnly. 

One tutor from the library at the university. 

It would make sense. 

Hyunjin had managed to get Eric’s entire tutoring log, every student he’s ever tutored had been included. 

You were able to highlight each and every one of the girls’ names that were victims of these heinous crimes. There were about two weeks of time between their last tutoring session and when they were found dead. 

One name stuck out, one name brought you an endless sigh of relief: Andrea Bowman.  

It made your skin crawl, but you instantly noticed she was the first female he tutored during his time. 

Slowly, the pieces started clicking. Your throat got a bit tight, it was difficult to swallow the emotions. 

You look around and grab her file underneath a huge stack. Her school picture is the top photo paper clipped on the inside. 

Andrea’s smiling face will haunt you for a long time. 

Hyunjin came back into the room, you didn’t look up. 

“Chief just sent someone out to get him, we’re getting interrogation room two ready for him, I think that— L/N?”

Your head snaps up and you sniffle. 

“Sorry,” your voice is hoarse. 

He shifts his weight in the doorway. “Everything finally hitting?”

You bite your lip and look back at Andrea’s picture. “Yeah.” 

Standing up from the table, you close the file and tuck it underneath a few more. 

“The guy hasn’t even confessed yet, I’m getting ahead of myself here. It just makes too much sense. These girls stopped going to see him two weeks before he killed— supposedly killed them.

“It just reads so clearly. He probably made a move, they felt uncomfortable so they stopped seeing him for tutoring, he couldn’t face rejection, so he killed them. It’s fucking sick.”

You roll your shoulders and look up at the ceiling. “Am I being too hasty? It just feels right, like … like these girls are cheering for me and telling me I’m right.”

The door shuts behind Hyunjin. He weighs his words carefully and walks up to his jacket, grabbing it off the back of the chair he sat in before. 

Those perfectly polished dress shoes click on the floor. It echoes off of each wall. 

“There’s one thing I’ve always lacked as a detective.” He folds the trench coat over his arm and walks up to you. “It makes me so mad that I don’t have this, it would help with so many of my cases.”

You watch him warily. There’s a sad smile on his face as he takes in your frazzled mood. 

You’ve never worn your heart this freely on your sleeve before. 

With a sigh, he reaches up and taps on your forehead. “Women’s intuition.”

For the first time, you have no response for him. 

As far as Hwang Hyunjin goes, this is the closest you’ve ever gotten to a compliment from him, or even an acknowledgment of your skill. 

Your lips stay sealed. 

“I’ve never not trusted your judgment. Ever. If your gut is saying this is the guy, then this is him. When have you ever been wrong?”

Your mind is reeling. 

Did he just compliment you again?

Heat rises to your cheeks. Your stomach flips. 

“I’ve always been so jealous of that. You just… know.” He shrugs and looks around, a small tinge of pink on his cheeks. “When the pieces finally fit into place you’re fucking brilliant at solving everything so fast. What’s that about?”

A sad laugh tumbles from his lips.

“This case would’ve taken any other team months to solve, but you and I did it in two weeks. Maybe we should work together more often, Y/N.”

There’s no way he said that. 

He’s jealous of you?

And did he just call you by your first name?

He stares down at you for a couple of seconds. Maybe you were imagining it, but you could swear that his eyes flickered to your lips more than once. 

“Come on then, we have an interrogation to do.”

Hyunjin turns on a heel and makes his way to the door. 

“Thank you,” you call after him. Hyunjin’s hand pauses on the door handle. “Thank you, Hyunjin.”

He doesn’t turn around. He doesn’t acknowledge what you did— the favor you just returned. 

He doesn’t speak on the new level that your relationship just crossed nor the mutual respect that you two just shared. 

Nothing. 

You don’t even get to see his face when you call him by his name for the first time. 

But, by the way his shoulders square and his head twitches, you know it affected him. 

Wordlessly, he nods and opens the door, leaving it open for you as he walks into the hallway and towards the interrogation rooms. 

Hwang Hyunjin, the golden child of the police department, considers you to be on the same level as him. Who would’ve thought? 

Maybe he’s right, maybe you should work together more often. 

---------------------------------------

Hours and hours and hours have gone by. 

Hyunjin as well as other officers have been grilling Eric for what seems like days. But it’s only been about 18 hours. 

The bags under your eyes feel like bruises. 

Three empty coffee cups and one full one sit next to you as you stare through the one way glass. 

Hyunjin’s pacing around the room with his hands in his pockets. 

His tie is loose around his neck, the sleeves of his button up are rolled up, his hair is tied up out of his eyes. 

He’s been trying to go the good cop route for the last 3 hours. Slowly, that act has been dropping; Eric is getting on his last nerve. 

You both let Eric sit in the interrogation room by himself for 4 hours leading up to this to get to his head. It didn’t seem to work. You can only legally keep him here for forty-eight hours.

If anything, he’s only gotten more agitated. 

Hyunjin walks up behind Eric, he reaches one arm down to the table. 

“You’ve never seen any of these girls before?” Hyunjin slides a few photos towards them on the table. 

“No.” Eric answers quickly. “I’ve already told you that.”

“I just think it’s interesting you’ve never seen any of them, Mr. Rowan. You tutored them. All of them.”

“Do you realize how many students I tutor on a daily basis?”

Hyunjin barks a laugh. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn't realize you were that popular.” He comes around the table and opens a file. 

Hyunjin pulls out one specific page, and reads off the top. “Actually, here we go, I know exactly how many students you tutor. Let’s see here: ‘Eric Rowan works two days a week in the tutoring center, Tuesdays and Thursdays.’ Last week you tutored 3 students total, and they were all returning students— how interesting!”

He slams the paper down onto the metal table. Eric jumps. 

“Only three returning faces to your tutoring session, Mr. Popular. And here’s the funniest thing;  I’ve noticed that there’s no women on this list. Weird.”

Eric’s eye twitches. 

Hyunjin takes a seat across the table, folding his hands on top of a notebook. 

“Have you ever had a girlfriend before, Mr. Rowan?”

Eric scoffs and shifts around in his seat. 

Your interest is piqued, you sit up straight in your chair and lean forward. 

Why did he get so nervous all of a sudden? 

Eric picks up the cup of water that he requested and takes a long sip from it. Hyunjin waits patiently. 

“I don’t see how that’s relevant to anything, Detective.”

Hyunjin laughs and opens the file. “See, I thought you would say that. My chief also asked the same question.”

Said Chief, who has been standing behind you for the better part of 5 hours, most certainly did not ask that. Chief Bang snorts quietly at the lie. 

“But you know what, we detectives have to do our due diligence.” Hyunjin opens a file and slides a large printed photo out across the table. “Recognize her?”

So many different emotions fly across Eric’s face: anger, loss, betrayal, depression, rage, hurt. The muscles in his face dance as they try to settle on an expression. 

“No,” he grits out. 

An obvious lie.

“Interesting.” Hyunjin pulls out another photo and slides it across. “Because just by taking a quick look at your social media profile, I can see how this girl was your girlfriend . Look, here you are together! Leah Miller. Pretty girl.”

Eric says nothing. He can’t look away from the picture. 

“Most interesting part I noticed was that you haven’t posted anything with her in about a year. What happened? Breakup? They suck, hm? Sorry, should I have said ‘ex-girlfriend’ before? My bad.”

You can’t help but smile. Hyunjin’s always been brilliant in interrogations, you can’t deny that. You’ve only ever heard rumors about how he is on the other side of the one-way mirror. 

Sneaking a peek at the picture of Leah Miller, your eyes widen. She fit the profile: long, blonde hair and sweet, light eyes.

More pieces fall into place. 

“It’s none of your business,” Eric grits out between clenched teeth. 

Chief Bang shifts behind you and grabs the back of your chair. Obviously he senses it too, a confession, a slip up, anything. It’s showing its head. 

“What? What are you saying?” Hyunjin laughs. “It’s exactly my business. That’s quite literally what my job is, you know, to know your business. It’s the same reason I know that you asked out Andrea Bowman during one of your tutoring sessions and she rejected you.”

“That’s not—“

“Oh, sorry, is that not how it happened? Did you maybe try and make a move on her and she rejected you that way? Maybe you put an arm around the back of her chair? Classic.”

“I-I didn’t—“

“Not that one? Understood.” Hyunjin nods and flips through the pictures on the table. “Oh, did you use the old ‘give me your number just in case you need more help’ trick? Used that on a girl in college, myself. Of course, it worked for me.” He winks at Eric.

Eric is fuming, his face is turning redder and redder, the vein in his forehead is popping. 

“Here we go,” Chief Bang whispers under his breath. 

Your mouth is agape, you’ve heard about Hyunjin in interrogation rooms before but you’ve never actually seen it. 

It’s like he’s dancing with fire so beautifully. He’s twirling a flaming sword with a silver tongue. 

“I think Andrea rejected you and then when she never came back for more tutoring, you lost it. You looked up her campus address in the internal systems, because guess what, you have access to that as a tutor, and you went to her dorm room, and you killed her.”

“Wh-What? You’re way off base here, Detective.” Eric stutters, his eye twitches again, his leg starts bouncing under the table. 

He pulls on the cuffs keeping him to the table. 

Hyunjin you’re so close, come on, come on. 

“Funny!” Hyunjin exclaims and slides another piece of paper across the table. “Here’s the search history in the library computer with your login credentials!”

Eric gapes, his mouth opens and closes several times.

“You know what, maybe you didn’t go to Andrea’s dorm with the idea of killing her. Maybe it was a grand romantic gesture, yeah, that seems more like it— flowers and everything.” He slams another picture on the table. 

A bouquet of flowers was found at Andrea’s crime scene. 

“You presented her with the flowers. And she rejected you. Again. ” Hyunjin’s voice is getting louder and louder, crescendoing with Eric’s anger and heart rate. 

Your breathing picks up. Both you and Chief Bang stop moving. 

“Stop,” Eric suddenly pleads. His hands shoot up to cover his ears but they’re stopped by the cuffs. 

The metal clinks and pulls, they dig into his wrists. 

“She rejected you twice! To your face! But you couldn’t take that for an answer. God, why did she do that? Why did she turn you down when you were just trying to be nice? ”

Hyunjin stands up slowly from the table, towering over Eric. 

“She was just like her, she was just like that bitch that broke up with you? She tore your heart out and spit on it! She was no better than Leah! So, you knocked her out and you tied her down to her own fucking bed in hopes that she would just hear you out!”

“Stop, stop!”

“Because maybe if she just listened she would understand that you’re just a genuine guy trying to be a good boyfriend to someone! You’re so nice, you’re such a good guy, no one likes good guys anymore, huh? And, of course Leah didn’t see that either!”

“ Stop! ”

“She tried to scream for help, so you killed her. You slit her throat without a second fucking thought for anything! And it felt so fucking good, didnt it? It felt so good to finally take power back from her? So, you didn’t stop.”

Tears spring from Eric’s eyes as he squints them shut, his body physically curling in on itself. He writhes around, unable to get far because of the handcuffs. 

“So you kept going, and you went after women who looked just like Leah. And it felt amazing because every single time you could picture her face as you slit their throats. Each and every one of them babbling for mercy, crying out for their mothers, to only choke on their own blood—“

“ FINE! ” Eric screams, slamming his fists on the table. “I killed them. I killed each and every one of the fucking bitches. And I fucking wish I could have killed her too!”

The sudden seemingly endless torrent of sentences comes to a screaming halt. 

Hyunjin sits down on his chair once more with a huff. 

And just like you did yesterday, he leans back on his chair and knocks once on the window. 

It takes you a second to find your voice after witnessing the most amazing, jaw dropping interrogation you’ve ever seen. 

“G-Got it!” You say loudly through the glass. “We got it. Oh my god!” You stand up quickly from the chair and turn around to Chief Bang, who has an equally surprised expression. “We got it! ”

He stutters for a moment and shakes his head to clear his mind before speed walking out of the side room to get officers to arrest Eric. 

Eric Rowan, who is now pathetically sobbing in his chair. 

Eric Rowan who signed his confession with the opposite hand that he’d been using to drink his water. 

Eric Rowan who is ambidextrous.

---------------------------------------

It’s so weird to see your kitchen island devoid of files and endless stacks of papers after the last few weeks. 

Eric was taken in for booking. Your job was over. 

Well, it was over for now. Chief Bang gave you and Hyunjin a week off and then you’re due back in the office for the next case. 

Plus, you’ll have to be at Eric Rowan’s trial since you were the lead detective on the case. 

So maybe ‘over’ isn’t the best way to describe it. 

More soft music plays from your speaker as you clean up the rest of the files. A large t-shirt draped over your body, it practically covers the shorts you have underneath. 

There’s a couple knocks on your door. His knocks are so distinct. You’ve gotten so used to them over the past two weeks. 

“Come in, Hwang!” you call out. 

The door opens and shuts. 

“I think I left a few things here,” he says kicking his shoes off in your entryway.

You hum in response, gathering up files to stack them neatly. 

His soft footsteps pad up behind you. 

“I don’t think I ever saw your countertop, is this granite?” he teases over your shoulder. 

You snort a laugh. “Yeah, it is. Came with the place, so don’t ask any more questions.”

Putting the stack down, you turn around and come nose to nose with Hyunjin. He is so much closer than you thought he was. 

You jump slightly and back up a bit, your hips hitting the countertop. 

Hyunjin doesn’t move. 

“I didn’t get to see you after the interrogation,” he says with a quieter voice. 

Not able to hold his searing gaze, you look off to the side and cross your arms over your chest. 

“Yeah, well, you know how the hustle and bustle can wrap someone up after a case closes. Next thing I knew, Bang was sending me home.”

Hyunjin takes a half step closer to you. “What did you think?”

“Hm?”

“What did you think of the interrogation?”

So many sarcastic, sharp retorts die on your tongue when you remember the conversation that the two of you had earlier. 

But still, complimenting him was about as easy as petting a cactus. 

“I told you I’m not going to stroke your ego, Hwang.”

He takes another step towards you, both of his arms come up to cage you to the counter. 

Heat rises on your cheeks more and more with each passing second. You refuse to meet his eyeline. 

“Humor me, L/N. How was my performance today?”

Tonguing your cheek, you roll your eyes. Your heart rate picks up at his proximity. Why does he smell so good?

The last time the both of you had an opportunity to shower was two days ago. 

He still smells like aftershave and expensive cologne. 

“It was good, okay? You got the guy.”

“ We got the guy, L/N.”

“Yeah, yeah, golden boy, we got him.”

He knows your sarcasm is empty. Just by looking at your flushed face he can tell you don’t mean it. 

“Come on now, L/N.” Long, lithe fingers grip your chin and turn your head towards him. “You can do better than that.”

Your jaw clenches. Arousal shoots down your spine like an electric shock. 

Fuck. 

Closer and closer his alarmingly handsome face inches closer to yours. The beauty mark under his eye seems more prominent than ever. 

His mind is one of a brilliant detective, but god, that face. He should’ve been a model. 

You bite the inside of your cheek and when you try to look away from his deep eyes, the grin on your jaw tightens. 

“Come on, L/N.” He smirks. “Tell me how good I did today. Say it.”

The brat inside you decides to surface. So, he wants to go this route, hm? “Why do you need me to say it so badly, Hwang? Everyone else in the department is so far up your ass, they can wear you like a hat.”

He rolls his eyes, his body pressing against you entirely. Your arms uncross and you reach back to grip the countertop next to his hands. 

It shouldn’t feel as good as it does. You should be shoving him away, slapping him across the face, spitting on his shoes. But instead you relish in the feeling. 

“Yes. But they’re not you. ”

Your eyes widen and the corner of his mouth twitches. He knows he has you in the palm of his hand. He just needs to break you more. 

But does he really?

Finally, he brings his lips closer and closer to yours. He pauses right before he makes contact, giving you a chance to say no. 

Nothing of the sort tumbles out. 

The first kiss he presses to your lips is nothing short of devouring. 

His soft, plush lips consume yours like he’s a starving man at a feast. You meet his enthusiasm with fervor.

Hyunjin’s head tilts to get better access to your mouth. His eyebrows pull together in concentration, he almost looks like he’s in pain. 

The fingers on your chin move down to your neck, he wraps his hand around it, thumbs on top of your pulse point, but he doesn’t squeeze. 

Your hands tentatively reach for him, grabbing at his dress shirt and tie, pulling him even closer to you. 

A small moan comes from the base of his throat and through his nose. Hyunjin’s other hand grabs your hip possessively. 

“Say it, L/N,” he hushes between kisses, completely out of breath. “Tell me how good I am.”

How is it that he has this sort of possessive grip on you and yet he’s putting the ball in your court?

A small boost of confidence courses through your veins. 

“Can’t you just admit it already?” he adds.

Smirking, you say nothing. One of your hands threads into his long hair and yanks his face back to yours for another bruising kiss. 

He huffs through his nose once more, but kisses you nonetheless. 

Twirl after twirl of his tie around your hand tightens your grip. With the last tug, Hyunjin moans once more into your mouth. The hand on your throat squeezes a bit.

“L/N,” he pleads again against your lips. 

You tug hard on his tie. Hyunjin loses his balance slightly, his knuckles turning white from grabbing your countertop so tight. 

Bringing your lips to his ear, you blow hot air on the sensitive skin first. He shivers against your hot body. 

At the same time, your bare foot travels up the back of his clothed calf, your thigh brushing against his hip.

“If you want my approval that badly, you’re going to have to earn it.”

Hyunjin makes a choked moan, “Fuck,” he whispers under his breath. The hand on your hip tightens. The fingers wrapped around your throat twitch. 

“How does that sound, Hwang? You be good to me and I’ll let you know how well you’re doing.” You roll your hips against his.

Your words have an obvious effect on him, the hardness that presses to your leg says it all. 

Hyunjins lips drop down to your neck, he bites the soft skin where it meets your shoulder. “Fucking hell, L/N, don’t play hard to get.” 

Humming, you roll your head back, enjoying the sensation of his mouth on your skin. “I’m not playing anything, I already told you how to get what you want.”

Licking and sucking his way down your neck, his teeth nip at your exposed collarbone. The hand on your throat slides backwards and into the hair on the back of your head. 

Your bottom lip pulls between your teeth to stop a moan from leaking out. You pull Hyunjin’s tie to keep his face there.

“Just like that, golden boy, your mouth feels so good.”

His hips involuntarily buck into yours at the praise, he whimpers against your skin. “ Shit, ” he curses into your neck with a hot exhale. 

You wrap your entire leg around his waist and roll against him more. His mouth stutters, but afterwards he sucks hard . A bright purple hickey already surfaces when he detaches. 

“L/N,” he murmurs into your neck. You hum in response. “Can I take this off?” He tugs at your shirt.

You smirk. “You can.”

When your hand unwinds from his tie, Hyunjin backs off of you. His face is already so fucked out; eyes are half-lidded and hazy, his lips are so puffy and swollen, spit glistening off them in the soft kitchen light. 

From all your pulling, Hyunjin’s hair is all askew and coming out of its usual ponytail.

He wastes no time, grabbing the hem of your t-shirt and yanking it over your head, he throws it behind him carelessly. His eyes light up at the sight of your bare chest, tongue poking out to lick his already slick lips.

You chuckle.

“You gunna touch me or what?” you tease. “Or maybe you don’t want it that badly.”

Hyunjin’s jaw clenches and he meets your eyes. The look he’s giving you is dangerous.

He huffs once and grabs your waist tightly, lifting you up off the ground and sitting you on the cold granite. The sharp temperature change against your flushed skin makes you shiver. 

Hyunjin parts your legs and stands between your thighs, his head dips down and envelopes one nipple in his mouth.

“Fuck!” you cry out, grabbing a fist full of his hair.

One of Hyunjin’s hands trails up your leg to grab at your exposed thigh while the other comes up to play with your other perky bud.

His eyes shut in his own pleasure. That tongue is absolutely relentless, licking circles around your nipple to flick over it a few times and then sucking.

Your toes are already curling, legs wrapping around his waist to get him closer to you.

“How about now, L/N?” his hoarse voice whines against your spit covered chest. “Is this good for you? Does it feel good?”

The more he talks, the more you can’t tell if he’s teasing you or genuinely asking for his own sanity. 

“It feels fucking amazing, Hwang, keep– shit – keep going.”

Hyunjin takes in a shaky breath and switches sides, your fingers yank on his hair and he whines again around your nipple. 

You let him continue for a while, relishing in the feeling of his spit dripping down your chest and onto your navel. The wet licks and sucks bouncing off the walls combined with his own small whines and your loud moans. 

Roll after roll of your hips grinds against his hard tent in his dress pants. After a few minutes, your hips seem to have a mind of their own, your soaking wet cunt seeking friction against anything to satiate the need for contact. 

The more he licks at your chest, the more Hwang Hyunjin continues to drive you insane. 

“H-Hwang,” you pull his attention. His eyebrows furrow as you yank him away from your purple marked chest. 

When he finally detaches, he looks up at you, panting. 

“Touch me, touch me, please . I can’t fucking take it.”

His shoulders curl forward like you knocked the air out of him. 

With more strength than you thought he had, he scoops you up and wraps your legs around his waist while smashing your lips together again. 

You cling onto him for dear life while letting your tongues slide over one another. 

“Hah,” you pant out in between kisses. “You’re doing so fucking well.”

He whines.

“Could’ve made me cum with just that tongue on my tits. Such a shame.”

Hyunjin drops your body onto the couch without a warning. You squeal and bounce on the soft cushions. 

“Hwang–” your voice dies in your throat when you catch the sight of him standing on the other side of the sofa arm. 

The change in his demeanor gives you whiplash. 

His eyes are dark, almost black. His chest is heaving with heavy pants. Those long fingers are tugging at his tie, until it's loose enough for him to rip off his neck. 

Your knees tuck up a bit towards your chest as you watch him with wide eyes like prey. 

Hyunjin reaches down and snatches your ankle, he tugs on it harshly. You yelp as you’re dragged forward into a lying position.

Coming around the sofa, he swings one knee over you to straddle your hips. One by one he begins to unbutton his dress shirt, never once breaking eye contact.

Each sliver of skin that is revealed is devoured by your eyes greedily. Never once has he so much as undone the top button on his collar at work.

Shamelessly, you rake in his athletic build. 

“You want to cum with just my tongue? Okay, L/N, I can do that.”

Your heart thuds in your chest. 

He shrugs his shirt off and drops it to the floor. Hands grab at the waistband of your shorts and yank them off with your panties in one swoop. Another article of clothing to hit the floor.

The cold air against your soaking wet folds makes you hiss slightly. 

Hyunjin stares down at your arousal, biting his bottom lip. Lower and lower he descends until you can feel his heavy exhales against your cunt.

He pushes your thighs apart, putting one over his shoulder, your heel settles into the dip of his spine. He’s smirking the entire time.

Finally, he tears his eyes away from your folds to look you right in the eye.

Your jaw clenches and you watch as he licks all the way from your entrance, up to your clit, circles around it to go back down to your entrance again.

An immediate shockwave of pleasure shoots through your body down to your toes. You toss your head back with your mouth agape, a silent scream stretching your lips.

Hyunjin keens at your reaction, doing the same maneuver again before focusing his attention on creating the most sinful figure eights with his tongue.

Your hand flies down to grab at his hair, shoulders arching off the couch. “Shit, shit, H-Hwang, feels so– hah – s-so good.”

He moans into you, the vibrations go right through you. 

With your heel on his back, you can feel how his back curves as his hips rut into the couch underneath him to relieve some pressure off his aching cock. 

Praises fall from your lips like water falling over rock. Each one makes Hyunjin whine and kick it up a notch. 

“That fu- uh -cking silver tongue, holy shit .”

Hyunjin moans loudly, he grabs both of your hips, nails digging into your skin with deep scratches. It only makes you cry out louder, pulling on his hair even harder. 

The tie in his hair comes out completely. You toss it away from you and gather up his hair in between your fingers to keep it out of his eyes. It feels like silk.

A coil within you begins winding tighter and tighter. The more he licks and sucks, the higher your cries get and the tighter your abdomen feels.

“Feels so good, it feels fucking amazing ! S-So close! Shit, please make me cum, please, shit!”

Each word makes Hyunjin sutter and moan into your folds, his eyebrows pulled like he’s in pain. Harder and harder he ruts into your sofa, his nails digging into you so much you think he might draw blood.

It’s taking every ounce of his will not to spill out in his pants at your praise. At your begging .

One of his hands comes up and kneads at your chest. His thumb rubs over your nipple a few times and that’s all it takes for the band within you to finally snap.

Your orgasm washes over you so hard it’s like being hit by a bus. 

With a silent cry, your entire body tenses up. Hyunjin’s movements slow down, but he still coaxes you through your climax with that skilled tongue of his. 

He hums into your folds, licking up every last drop of your juices.

You come down from your high slowly, chest heaving up and down, every exhale is paired with a moan. Shockwaves still ripple through your thighs.

Hyunjin’s eyes open and he stares at you, his mouth going over to bite your inner thigh. You squeal and squirm.

Slowly, like a lion, he gets up and crawls over your form, keeping eye contact. Once he’s close enough, he captures your lips greedily. Your arousal is still all over his tongue. It’s swapped between the two of you with your spit. 

Your hands reach down and fumble with his belt buckle. Hyunjin makes no move to stop you, instead, he pushes you further.

“Look at that,” he pants, looking down at your fumbling hands. “So desperate for my cock, huh, L/N?”

Your eyebrow twitches. You undo the buckle and reach down to grab his rock hard erection through his pants.

Hyunjin’s elbows buckle at your touch and he grunts, squinting his eyes shut.

“All talk, aren’t you? Once I touch you, you crumble .”

“Shit!” His eyes snap open and he bucks into your hand. “Because– ugh –, like I said, it’s you . Fuck ,” he moans when you squeeze him again over his pants.

“Keep going,” you tease. “Keep going and I’ll keep stroking this fucking monster cock you keep tucked in these pressed dress pants of yours.”

He exhales shakily while you unbutton his trousers. 

“When were you ever going to fucking– agh – realize that you drive me fucking insane, L/N?” His eyes start to unfocus when you push down the waistband of his pants and boxers down his thighs.

Fucking hell . Has he always been packing this?

“God damn, Hwang.” Your hand runs up his length. Hyunjin shudders and closes his eyes. Your touch is so featherlight he thinks he’s going insane. 

His eyebrows twitch and hips buck forward to try and reach your touch. 

“I’m not hearing a lot of talking.” You lean up and attach your lips to his neck, continuing to only trail the gentlest of touches up and down his throbbing cock. 

The head is red and angry and weeping precum.

His body trembles. “ Shit – I wanted you for so long, L/N. You drive me– fuck – insane. Every single fucking day I did whatever it fucking took to get your attention.”

Finally, your hand wraps around his length tightly and you start pumping very slowly. The long, pathetic moan that tumbles from Hyunjin’s lips is something of sin.

He sounds so relieved yet even more aroused at the same time. 

You continue to suck your own marks onto his perfect skin. Sweat drips down the side of his face and down his now slick back. 

“ Ughhh – L-L/N…” He buries his face in the crook of your neck. 

Your hand stops moving when he stops talking.

He cries out into your neck, hips frantically bucking into your touch to chase it. You only chuckle in response. 

“ Please! ” He whimpers. 

“Keep going then, golden boy.” You suck a sensitive spot underneath his ear. 

Another stutter of his hips.

“I begged the chief to put me on your case!”

Your pumping picks up speed again, his entire body rolls into yours. You grip him tighter and jerk him faster.

“I said– ah – I would do whatever case he wanted next if he– ffuuck – let me work with you on this one– oh my god! And I still would, I would do whatever– mmmph – case I need to to fucking work with you every day. Agh! ”

Despite your outwards nonchalant expression, on the inside, his words are fucking killing you. The throb in your cunt that was satiated moments ago comes back with a vengeance. 

To hear Hwang Hyunjin at your mercy is going straight to your core. Each noise he makes goes straight to your pussy.

“God, fuck , L/N, I-I’m close. Please, god , shit.”

After a few more pumps, you stop, taking your hand away completely. Hyunjin cries into the crook of your neck again, his body rolling and rutting the air at the loss of contact. 

“Please, why, fucking hell , I was so close!”

You grab the hair on the back of his head and yank his head up to look down at you. His eyes are cloudy, ears and cheeks bright red. Sweat drips down the side of his face and over his sharp cheekbones and jawline.

“Wouldn’t you rather fuck me?”

His face twists up with another moan. 

Hyunjin dives down and captures your lips in the sloppiest kiss of the night. He’s messy and desperate the longer he kisses you. 

While trying to stay attached to your lips, Hyunjin fumbles around to kick off his pants and boxers.

Both of you finally naked together, he grabs his cock in his fist.

“I-I’m not going to last–”

You cut him off with a sharp tug to his hair. “Fuck me, golden boy, don’t you think you deserve it after today?”

His eyes practically roll back in his head.

As soon as he’s lined up with your entrance, Hyunjin slides into you slowly. Inch by inch you’re stretched open,

He might not be thick but god, he is long .

With his mouth on yours, he swallows each moan and cry of pleasure. Without wasting any amount of time, he pulls out to slam back into you.

Both of you moan out together.

Your arm wraps around his neck. He rests his weight on one elbow and the other wraps around your shoulders to hug you close to him. His hand splays out between your shoulder blades to keep you anchored against his sweat slicked chest.

The skin to skin contact sends both of you wild.

Over and over again his hips undulate to thrust into you in the most delicious way. The angle of his hips brushes his pelvic bone against your clit with each slam against you. 

“You feel so fucking good,” you whine into his ear.

Hyunjin’s next thrust hits a bit harder. If praise makes him fuck you harder, then so be it.

“God, your cock is amazing.” Harder. “Hitting me just right.” Harder. “Never knew you would feel this fucking good.”

With his mouth on your neck, he leaves sloppy hickeys wherever he can reach. His pants fill the room and mix with your whines.

His head suddenly dips down to take your nipple into his mouth once more. You keen and toss your head back, hips canting up. The new angle has his cock slam right into your g-spot.

A loud scream tears from your lips. Hyunjin immediately picks up on this and picks up the pace, making sure he hits that spot every time.

If you thought your first orgasm had a sudden build up, it’s nothing compared to this one. There’s a sudden pressure increasing in your lower stomach.

“Fuck!” Thrust . “So good!” Thrust. “Oh my god!” 

Praises and noises fall from you, you don’t even realize what you’re saying anymore. The pleasure has your mind in the clouds.

“Y/N,” the sudden use of your name grabs your attention. Hyunjin comes up over your face with a pleasure twisted face. 

“Say it, please, please , I’m fucking begging you , please, say it.” 

Your eyebrows pull together, mouth still hanging open. What does he want you to say that you haven’t said already?

“ My name. Say it, please, please, please, please–”

Oh, fuck.

You smirk and watch as the desperation drives him wild. Even in the deepest throes of pleasure, you string him along for a few more seconds as you approach the edge.

Closer and closer you come to the edge.

He whines, begging louder and louder as his own climax creeps up on him, the muscles in his body tightening more and more. 

He needs it so bad. 

“Y/N! Please! ”

Just as you’re about to tumble over, your mouth stretches open.

“Fuck, Hyunjin! ”

The loudest moan you’ve ever heard from a man comes falling out of his mouth as he buries his face into your neck. Hot, sticky warmth shoots within you in long, drawn out spurts that match with Hyunjin’s whines and groans. 

His hips stutter for another twenty seconds before his moans finally calm down. 

Both of you hold onto each other tightly, heaving heavy inhales and exhales to catch your breath.

Absent-mindedly, your hand begins to rub up and down Hyunjin’s clammy back, drawing small circles and lines onto his skin.

He hums into your neck and holds you closer for a moment before collapsing onto the couch on top of you.

Surprisingly, his weight on top of you doesn’t seem to phase you; instead it brings the same comfort as a weighted blanket.

After a few more minutes of you silently rubbing his back, Hyunjin begins to lazily press kisses onto your bruise covered chest, paying extra attention to your collarbones. 

The kisses are soft and sweet, nothing like the lust coated ones from before. 

“Did you mean it?” you ask him quietly.

He pauses his kisses only to answer you. “Mean what?” He starts kissing you more.

“That you asked Bang to work on the case.”

He chuckles against your neck, his hair tickling your skin. “Oh, yeah. It took entirely too much convincing.”

You laugh with him and keep him close to your body.

In the back of your mind, you know you should get up, that he should pull out and the two of you should shower and drink water, but you can’t seem to distance yourself from him.

There’s no harm in sitting there for a while anyway.

Hyunjin hums into your neck again, “Thank god we have the week off.”

You couldn’t agree more.

Hi there 💕

Eight Drarry Nights 2023 prompt idea:

Louis Tomlinsons song "Miss you"

In case you have any inspiration for it 😊

Lots of love 🫶🏻

Hello, lovely!! Thank you for this prompt! @misscarrots28

Ah, Louis. Hearing his voice takes me back to my 1D days. Good times 😂.

Here's my take on this fun song. I know it could be angstier but this is just where my brain went lol. Hope you enjoy!

CW: implied alcohol, implied heavy drinking, getting back together

A Day, Or Forever

Someone is taking a bludger to Harry's head.

He whines as he wakes up, becoming conscious to the throbbing pain. He keep his eyes closed and presses a palm to his forehead. "Fucking ow," he mutters.

"A hangover potion will help with that," a voice says above him.

Harry knows that voice. It shoots through his blood like lightning. Draco.

"Draco?" Harry peels his eyes open and then immediately has to scrunch them closed as they adjust to daylight. He rubs away the sleep in his eyes, and tries again, blinking and then frowning when his vision is blurred.

"Utterly useless, Potter," the Draco-shaped blob in front of him says. He reaches onto the bedside table, retrieves Harry's glasses, and slides them onto his nose.

"There you are," Draco smirks. "Now you may properly ask me what you clearly want to know."

"What are you doing here?" Harry blurts out.

Draco's smirk widens. "You asked me here." He reaches for his mobile, taps a few buttons, and shows it to him. Harry groans at his drunken, typo-riddled texts.

"I have more questions, but first can I have the potion?" Harry grunts, stretching his sore muscles.

Draco snorts, but he hands him the vial. "Here."

Harry sits up and accepts it gratefully, uncapping it and downing it in one go. He swallows, winces as it washes over him, and then vanishes the emptied vial.

"Thanks. Now, what happened?" he asks, clear-headed and sober.

Draco shrugs. "You, in a clearly intoxicated state, told me to come get you from the pub. I, being the gracious ex-boyfriend that I am, came to your aid and brought you safely back here. When I tried to leave, you insisted that I stay the night. And, well, here we are."

Harry flops back down onto his bed. "Right. Well. I'm sorry to have bothered you. I won't, er, keep you any longer. I'm sure you have other places to be." He swallows against the lump in his throat, closing his eyes to avoid looking at Draco. He can't watch him leave; not again.

He braces himself for the feeling of Draco's weight leaving the bed. Instead, he feels cool fingers brush the fringe from his forehead. He dares to open his eyes, breath catching at the sight of Draco leaning over him and biting his lip.

"Harry, I..." Draco trails off for a moment, seeming to collect his thoughts, before he continues. "I'm sorry."

Harry's heart races. "W-what?

"I'm sorry. For not having the courage, at the time, to be someone you deserve."

"I..." Harry wants to respond, to say the right thing. This moment feels so precious; so fragile. Harry can't mess it up again; he won't. "I'm sorry, too," he says, finally. "For not fighting harder for you."

Draco lets out a shuddered breath, and it takes everything in Harry not to kiss him. Instead, he grips the sheets, restraining himself.

"Stay," Harry hears himself say, his voice raspy. "Just—stay with me."

Draco bites his lip. "You mean, for an hour? The rest of the morning?"

Harry swallows. "A day. Forever. As long as you'll have me." He bravely takes Draco's hand in his own. "I know we have a lot to talk about, still. And we should take it slow, if we're going to do this again. But I want to, if you do."

Draco stares at him for a moment, looks down at their clasped hands, and then back up at Harry with a hopeful smile.

Draco lets himself be pulled down onto the bed next to Harry, their legs tangling together. Draco leans forward and kisses Harry, soft but too quick, and whispers, "Of course I'll stay."

Omg I wanna do edit with your oc, he’s amazing

some other art of my mascot, smile

Submitted by @sylver93 for @ukelele-boy based on this animatic

This is so gorgeous!!! Absolutely beautiful!!!

its winter post summer lucy (sorry about the colours they look different on every single device of mine)

Indelible Imprints

Chapter 7

Word Count: 6.2k

Summary:

-Astarion is weird and Erin is insecure

-Erin chats with other companions

-Erin gets hurt

-Erin and Astarion clear up some awkwardness

-Astarion is hungie.

Ao3

Previous Chapters: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Hope you like this one!

As always, likes and reblogs are appreciated, and I’d love to chat with you in the comments! <3

Tag list: @roguishcat @thisisew

Please let me know if you would like to be added to the taglist!

Astarion

Astarion raced silently through the forest, clinging to shadow and looking for any signs of life he could sink his teeth into. The animals he’d fed on from his last hunt had been the most substantial meal he’d had in nearly two-hundred years. An absolute feast compared to the scraps of vermin he’d been used to. So why was he so hungry now? He’d also been far more active these past two days than he had in the last few years combined. Fighting the band of goblins had been fun, and he’d relished being able to inflict pain on some other monster than him. But it had taken far more out of him than expected. Not to mention what he’d fed on had been such an improvement in quantity and taste from his usual diet that he’d found himself yearning for more almost immediately. 

Then there was Erin. He came on too strong too fast. She was right, after all. They had only known each other for two days. Normally, he didn’t have any trouble luring victims to bed within just a few hours. That was in a different environment, though. Usually he’d be on the hunt in taverns and the streets of Baldur’s Gate. It was easy enough to find someone well in their cups looking for a night of pleasure. This was different, and he’d miscalculated. 

He had no idea how to go forward with his plan now that she’d shut down his advances. And she continued to gift him things he didn’t know how to repay.

He thought back to their earlier exchange.

“What does a man have to do to earn your friendship, then?"

"Well, you don't really have to earn it. I'm gonna give it to you for free." 

For free. 

Her words repeated over and over again in his head. They irritated him. Nothing comes free. Not ever. There had to be some greater expectation she had of him, beyond simply getting to know him. 

Damn her.

She was the only one of the group he could imagine successfully seducing. By far, she was the most trusting and naive of them. The wizard didn’t interest him and the cleric observed him with suspicion. The Gith was far too volatile an option, and the monster hunter… well, clearly he’d avoid getting too close to that one. Princely as he may seem. 

Besides… despite Erin’s insistence that he stop his flirting, the nervous flutter of her heart and the blush that spread across her cheeks seemed to indicate more than simple embarrassment. No. His chance wasn’t lost yet. He’d just have to change his approach. He’d accommodate her shyness and indulge her proposition of friendship. For now.

He sighed. Although this night had not gone how he’d planned, it had been far more pleasant than he’d expected it to be. Confusing, but pleasant. Her song played in the background of his mind, and it was lovely. Despite her bashfulness, she sang well, and it was refreshing to listen to a timid bard for once. He was so used to the ostentatious, hammy, over-confident bards of the city. Sure, they could sing a pretty tune now and then but they seemed never to shut up. He found her timidity… cute. He wondered if he might be able to find her a lute to play.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d truly listened to, let alone enjoyed, a song. It seemed meaningful to her, and it was her last. He couldn’t understand why she’d shared it with him, or what she had to gain from doing so. If she had so little time left with something so important to her, then why in the nine realms had she come to the forest with him? He’d have been irritated, of course, but he would not have forced her to come if she was truly insistent on not going. Why would she go with him, and then share this piece of her home with him? He was beginning to believe she was truly just the kind to share freely with others. Utterly naive.

Perhaps she would share more. 

Perhaps her friendship would have its perks.

He could make her want more than his friendship. Then she just might share everything. Her trust, her strange power over this group, some hidden key to his salvation that he can take.

A rustle in the brush ahead caused him to snap his head in its direction. He stopped his breathing and went completely still, waiting. Another rustle. A doe emerged from her grazing spot, and Astarion lunged.

Erin

Erin walked back to camp silently, wondering about what had just happened, going over everything she said and did in her head. She thought she must have done something wrong to make him send her off like that. He couldn’t have gotten away from her faster.

She kicked the dirt in front of her, thinking about how she had awkwardly sung that stupid song to him. Why did she do that? She could have easily told him what the song was about. She didn't have to sing it. Worse, she couldn't even look at him when she did it. He probably thought she was a fool. 

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!

They’d only known each other two days and she'd just spent the evening making fun of him, awkwardly singing, eating all his food, and making him uncomfortable by asking him questions about himself. Not to mention she cried over her phone dying. Of all things for him to have noticed, she wished he hadn't caught that. No wonder he ended their lesson so abruptly, before it had even begun. He probably thought she was crazy. Or annoying.

The thought of facing him again for their rescheduled lesson was mortifying. She hoped he would forget, or maybe he'd just never bring it up again. He probably wanted to avoid it as much, if not more, than she did.

She shoved her hands in her pockets and felt for her phone. She wrapped her fingers around it tightly, fighting back tears as she thought of what she'd just lost. Besides the few things in her duffel bag, it was the last thing connecting her to home. Even if it didn't technically have a connection. Countless songs and photos were on it. She had a few books downloaded, too. Not to mention her notes app, full of little ideas and messages to herself. 

It wasn't much, really. The only photos she really cared about were of her cat. She'd already read the books that were downloaded. And she didn't know what she'd do with the notes out here anyway. She mostly mourned the loss of so much music. It seemed like the only thing that brought her any real comfort here, and she'd had so little time with it. 

As she came up to the edge of the camp, she released her grip on the phone and pulled her hands back out of her pocket, quickly rubbing her eyes of any remaining wetness. Gale, Wyll, and Shadowheart were still sitting around the campfire, the two men chatting amicably while Shadowheart seemed content to listen. Lae’zel must have gone to her tent for the night. Not wanting to be alone with her thoughts of home and her dead phone, Erin started walking toward the fire to join them.

"Well, that wasn't very long! First lesson must have gone well, eh?" Gale smiled broadly at her.

Erin sat down on the log across from him, next to Shadowheart. She gave him a weak smile and shrugged. 

"I'm not sure archery is for me." She replied.

Gale waved his hand around, dismissing her comment.

"Nonsense! You managed to hit a few foes earlier today with little to no experience. I'm sure that under the guidance of our roguish friend, you'll become a formidable opponent with that bow of yours." He glanced around, "speaking of which, where has he gone? Did he not come back with you?"

"Oh, uh, well, after our lesson he sent me ahead so he could hunt for more food for the group." She muttered, embarrassed by his generous comments. He’d given her more credit than she felt she deserved, not to mention only one of her arrows had hit its mark today.

"Ah, of course, "Gale nodded, "I suppose one would start lessons in archery with stationary targets until they've mastered the basics. Good of him to hunt for us as he has."

Erin nodded. "So what have you all been talking about tonight?" She asked, changing the subject.

Shadowheart leaned against Erin’s shoulder amicably. There was an empty bottle of wine by her feet and another bottle in her hand. It was the first time she looked relaxed since they’d met.

"Oh, Gale's been educating Wyll and I on the superior methods Wizards use to practice magic, opposed to our chosen classes’." She smirked, the words rolling sarcastically off her tongue.

Wyll chuckled. "He's been very informative."

Gale beamed at Wyll, seeming to take his and Shadowheart’s sarcastic remarks seriously. 

"I'm glad you think so! I do so love an engaging conversation on the nature of magic and the weave. I'm happy to share my knowledge with you!"

Shadowheart snickered and Gale gave her a confused look.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh nothing," She laughed, "just remembered something funny."

Erin giggled at Gale's earnestness and Shadowheart's lighthearted teasing. She was warm by the fire and it felt nice to be here chatting with the others. Gale turned to her and asked, "What about you? Is there really no magic where you're from? I have a hard time imagining a world without it."

Wyll’s brows rose. “No magic? Truly?”

Erin shrugged. "I've never seen anyone do anything remotely like what I've seen people do here. All we have are stories and songs that talk about magic.” She reached for the wine bottle in Shadowheart’s hand, and she gave it to her.

“Wouldn’t that mean that there is magic?” Wyll asked, offering Erin a cup to pour the wine in. “Where else would people get the idea to write about it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I wasn’t the first to leave my world?” She poured a bit of the wine in her cup and handed the bottle back to Shadowheart. “Regardless, if there ever were magic there, it’s gone now. There are magicians and illusionists, but it's all a show. There's always a trick, a hidden wire or something, like smoke and mirrors." 

"Ah, charlatans exist in most worlds, it would seem," Gale shook his head and tutted, "they give true practitioners a bad name."

She snorted at this serious tone. "Here, maybe,” She said, "At home, there's no 'true practitioners' to give a bad name to. Just people putting on a show. There's scam artists, too, but they mostly just make themselves look bad."

Erin took a sip of the wine and nearly gagged. Her face twisted up at the strange sour bitterness of the drink as she fought the urge to spit it out. She swallowed hard and stuck out her tongue. “Eugh! What is this?” 

Gale reached out and took the cup from her, sipping a bit of the drink himself. “Not a particularly sophisticated wine, to be sure, but adequate considering our circumstances.”

Erin brushed her tongue against her teeth, trying to banish the flavor from her mouth. “Hard disagree there, Gale. Please tell me this world has sugar. I might die if it doesn’t.”

The group laughed, assuring her there were plenty of treats for her to try. While Erin watched Shadowheart snatch the cup away from Gale and drink its contents, she wondered where they might find something sweet. She wondered if they had candy shops. They had to have bakeries, right? At least, she hoped they did. She suddenly missed donuts very much.

Interrupting her daydreaming about bakeries and sweets, Shadowheart spoke again. "So people can’t cast magic where you’re from. What about magic that isn’t casted? Are there no inherently magical items or locations?" She asked.

"None that I've seen. To be fair, I’ve seen very little of my world. I should probably try to see more when I get back.” She made the last comment more to herself than the others. “But with the way communication works there, if people were doing magic out and about somewhere, the whole world would probably know about it. I guess the closest thing we have to magic is technology. But it's not the same." She said.

Gale leaned forward in interest. "Could you elaborate on the technology of your world? What capabilities of it would you compare to magic?" he asked eagerly.

Erin leaned back, looking up at the sky while she thought about how to answer him. She placed her hand on her pocket and felt her phone outlined through the fabric. 

"Well," She pulled the phone out and held it up so he could see, "almost everybody has one of these little devices. You can do a lot with them, but their main purpose is communication. You can use it to talk to anyone, anywhere in the world. It's called a phone."

Both Shadowheart and Wyll leaned closer, to get a better look at the device she held. Shadowheart’s eyes narrowed slightly, recognizing it from when Erin had found it at the Nautiloid crash site.

"Fascinating!" Gale's eyes lit up, "Not unlike a sending stone! Could you demonstrate?"

Erin sagged a bit, looking at the ground. "No. I'm sorry, I wish I could. It's out of power and I have no way of charging it here. Even if it had any juice, I’m way too far from home for it to be able to connect to anyone. It's pretty much useless now."

Tears were pricking at her eyes again and she blinked hard a few times in an attempt to get rid of them. 

Gale seemed to notice the shift in her mood. "Not to worry, my friend.” He gave her a sympathetic smile. “Do you mind me asking what the source of power was for the device?"

Returning his smile, she answered, "No, I don't mind. Back home most things run on electricity. If I'm honest, I don't really understood how that works. People much smarter than me work with it, providing power to people all over."

"How is the power deposited to those who use it?" Gale asked, fully engrossed. 

"Well, pretty much everyone uses it. The power runs through wires and stuff. Homes are full of those wires in the walls, and they connect to a bunch of small holes where you can insert whatever needs power. Some stuff can charge and have power for a while without being plugged in, other things have to be plugged in to work. My phone usually only needed to be charged at night. Sorry, I wish I could explain it better.”

"You’ve explained it quite well.” He reassured her. “It’s been an interesting topic to learn about.”

“So interesting.” Shadowheart rolled her eyes.

“You’ll have to share more of your world with us in the future.” Wyll added sincerely.

Erin laughed. “It’s hardly as interesting as this one. I still can’t wrap my head around magic existing, let alone different kinds. What did you call it earlier, Shadowheart? The different ways you do magic?”

“Hmm?” Shadowheart responded, “Oh, you mean our classes?”

“Yeah, what does that even mean?” Erin asked.

“You could think of it like a job, or a calling. There are several classes that specialize in some form of magic, or at least use a bit of it to accentuate their other specialties. Gale is a wizard, so he’s studied magic his whole life in an academic setting. I’m a cleric, so the magic I do is… spiritual. Clerics receive power from the gods they serve. Most of us are adept healers. Wyll here is-“

“A warlock.” He finished. “We receive power from our patrons and that’s pretty much all I can say about it.”

“No study involved in becoming a warlock,” Gale added. “A rather undisciplined route, if you ask me.”

Shadowheart shot him an annoyed look. “We didn’t.”

“Is magic something anyone could learn here?” Erin asked sheepishly.

Gale’s eyes lit up. “Certainly! They’d require a certain aptitude for it to begin with, but otherwise an eagerness to learn and a disciplined study routine is all that is necessary. And years of study, of course.”

“Years?” Erin replied, a bit disappointed. The idea of doing magic herself was enticing, so she’d hoped it might be more accessible. 

Probably for the best, she thought, remembering the radiant flames Shadowheart had casted before. I’d probably bald myself trying that.

“That’s only the Wizard’s route,” Shadowheart interjected nonchalantly, “You could pledge yourself to a god or make an agreement a devil.” 

Gale frowned deeply at Shadowheart while Wyll shifted around uncomfortably. 

“Erin may prefer to be unburdened with such deals,” Wyll said, adding, “especially if she intends to return to her own home.”

The thought of a deal with a devil made Erin shiver. Who knew what that would entail in a world like this? There was apparently an entire pantheon of gods here, but she found that more concerning than comforting. From what she knew of mythology, she figured it’d be best for her to avoid anything overtly related to gods here.

“Yeah, It’s probably best I avoid any long-term commitments.” She laughed uncomfortably. “The commute from home to here would be murder.”

Wyll nodded. “Well I’m sure there’s a few things we could teach you.” He suggested. “You may not be able to cast on your own, but there are always scrolls and potions.”

Eager for an opportunity to learn something useful, Erin nodded quickly. “Honestly, I’d be grateful to learn anything that might help me survive out here. I’d be happy to trade for some lessons here and there with you all.”

“Trades aren’t necessary-” Gale started, but Shadowheart suddenly thrusted the wine bottle she held in front of his face, cutting him off.

“What do you have to trade?” She asked.

Embarrassed, Erin flushed a bit. “Oh. Uh- nothing… tangible? I mean I got taken from home with very little. But I’m happy to do things for you guys like cooking and cleaning at camp.”

Shadowheart frowned, pushing her lower lip out into a small pout. “Disappointing. I thought you’d offer us something more entertaining. I suppose chores are a fair trade, though.”

The mention of entertainment made Erin jump up, suddenly excited. “I can offer entertainment! I love entertainment! Do you all like hearing stories?”

Wyll laughed, “Well that certainly perked you up. You’ve got some rather good ones, I take it?”

Gale chimed in, “Is there any better place to share a story than with friends beside a campfire?”

Their good-natured kindness made Erin smile. And the way Gale continued to call her and the rest of the group friends, despite how little they knew each other. As though it were more true each time he said it. She hoped she’d be able to call each of them a friend by the time she went home. 

“Well?” Shadowheart interrupted her thoughts. “I think I’d like a preview of your storytelling. I need to see if it’s worth trading for.” She smirked.

Erin laughed and lightly pushed Shadowheart’s arm. “Alright, alright. I guess it’s only fair. Just give me a second to think of a good one.”

She ran through the catalogue of her favorite movies and books in her head, trying to think of one that would translate well for everyone here. Fantasy? Maybe she could tell them The Lord of the Rings. That might be a good bet. Or a terrible one. It might be too close to home here. They might try to correct her on elements of the story, such as the way magic worked. All she could think of was what a great story it was, and she wanted to impress them. She remembered the movies well enough to recite them pretty accurately, and she could tell it to them in parts, starting with Fellowship of the Ring.

“Okay,” she started. “I’ve got one. It’s one from home that has magic and adventure, but it might be very different from the way those things work here, so I ask you to suspend your disbelief while I tell it.”

They nodded in agreement, silently waiting for her to start.

“It all began with the forging of the Great Rings…”

***

Astarion

Astarion sat outside his tent, feigning interest in a book as he watched Erin across camp. 

Lae’zel had risen early and immediately went to work, sharpening her blades at the grindstone she had set up outside her tent. Erin emerged from her tent shortly after and headed straight toward the Gith’s tent. He’d assumed she was on her way to ask her to take up a quieter activity until later in the morning. When she asked to borrow the training dummy Lae’zel had constructed, he focused in on their conversation.

“…your so called “stories” will not suffice as repayment.” The gith said sternly. “You may use this today, but you must make your own to practice and become competent in battle to satisfy me. I will show you.”

“That would be great, thanks Lae’zel! I’ll do my best to improve.” Erin started pulling the dummy away from the tents.

“All talk until I see your improvement.” Lae’zel went back to her grindstone.

Astarion watched Erin struggle to pull the dummy to a spot at the edge of the camp. What had Lae’zel meant by “stories?” He must have missed something in the conversation. Satisfied with the location, Erin stopped dragging the dummy and went back to her tent. After a moment, she emerged with the bow and arrows Astarion had slipped back into her tent last night while she slept. She marched back to the dummy and stepped back a few yards, pulling an arrow out of her quiver and nocking it to the string. Her form was poor, and he watched as she pulled the string back, paused, then released the arrow. It shot into the dirt a few feet ahead and to the left of her target. She pulled out another arrow.

It was amusing to watch, and he was content to let her frustrate herself a bit before going to help her. He’d wait until she was ready to quit, then he’d swoop in and show her how easy it was. After a gentle touch here and there to correct her form, she’d improve greatly and likely swoon over his help. A smirk spread across his face as he watched.

Nearly ready to go help her, he went to set his book in his tent. When he stepped back outside, his smirk dropped as he watched Lae’zel do exactly as he’d planned. Although she was far more aggressive than he’d have been. She brusquely moved Erin’s arms and poked in places that were lacking the appropriate posture, demanding she memorize the correct form. It was stiffer than Astarion would have advised, but functional. An improvement, but one that he should have been the source of. 

He gritted his teeth as he watched Erin make her first hit in the target’s chest. She squealed, jumping up and down in excitement. 

“An acceptable improvement.” Lae’zel said, and Erin turned toward the gith and wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her into a tight hug. 

Astarion’s chest felt tight as he watched. Lae’zel had shouted some disgruntlement and Erin giggled, releasing her and apologizing. There went his plan for the morning. 

As the others got up and slowly milled about the camp, preparing breakfast and setting up packs for the day, Astarion sulked. He’d been out hunting later than he’d planned the night before. It took a while to find enough to satisfy his hunger and bring back to the camp. His thirst was insatiable, and he’d drained three deer completely before he could think of finding something for the rest of the group. By the time he got back, everyone was asleep in their tents, besides the wizard, who had nodded off on watch. Astarion simply wrapped his catch for Gale to prepare and preserve later and went back to his tent.

It seemed he’d missed a lot while he was gone. As Erin helped Gale prepare breakfast, Wyll and Shadowheart asked her question after question about the story she’d apparently told them last night. They mostly asked her what happened next, and she repeatedly told them they’d have to wait to find out. It seemed they were all quite enthralled by the tale she had spun. 

How is it that she has suddenly become even closer to everyone in this group besides him? She hadn’t even spared a glance his way since she’d left her tent this morning. This hadn’t been the start to the day that he’d expected. 

At breakfast, Gale mentioned that the group should go back to the grove to see if they could gather a few additional potions and supplies before they went to investigate Kagha’s letter. They all donned their armor and headed out.

Each time Astarion had gotten near Erin, she’d suddenly remembered something she meant to look at elsewhere, or something she wanted to ask one of their companions, and dashed away. It was becoming clear that she was blatantly avoiding him and it gnawed at him, irritating him to no end.

He couldn’t understand her sudden shift in behavior. Had something happened while he was hunting? Had one of their companions poisoned her against him? It must have been the cleric. He’d heard her minor warnings against Erin trusting him. Or maybe it was the wizard? The gith didn’t seem to care enough to say something. What about the monster hunter? Had he discovered they were camping with a vampire spawn and warned the rest of the group? Were they all planning to stake him in the night?

No. The rest of them had regarded him normally throughout the morning. It was only Erin who was acting differently. Whatever her concerns were, they weren’t shared. 

After informing Shadowheart that he’d meet them before they left the grove, he slipped away from the group. He was determined to find something in this place that might bring him back in her favor. 

***

Astarion paced angrily outside of his tent. They’d made it back to camp a couple hours ago and Shadowheart was still in Erin’s tent, tending to her wounds.

After they’d found Kagha’s hiding place for her correspondence with the Shadow Druids of Cloakwood, they’d brought back the evidence to the grove. Turned out the Shadow Druids were already there, fittingly posing as rats. They transformed to reveal themselves and a fight broke out. Erin had been in close quarters with nothing but her bow on hand, and one of the blighters had turned into a wolf and bit into her stomach. 

She had screamed and sobbed, trying to use the bow to bludgeon the beast, but it had gripped her too tightly in its maw. Astarion had been too slow to stop it, and as the creature tore into her flesh, he’d been hit with the intoxicating scent of her blood in the air. He lost all coherent thought as her sweet metallic notes filled his lungs. There was a pit in his stomach as he watched, unmoving. 

Shadowheart screamed something at him and suddenly, there was an arrow in his shoulder. His eyes slid to the shaft sticking from him to its sender. Momentarily snapped out of his daze, he growled viciously and sent a dagger flying. It hit the mark, sinking into the man’s eye, and the fool fell backward. 

His gaze snapped back to Erin, and Lae’zel had felled the beast that had her in its jaws. Gale had taken out the last of the shadow druids with a witch bolt, and Shadowheart ran to Erin’s side to assess the damage. 

Astarion stopped breathing to avoid her scent filling his lungs and his head again, and  stepped closer. She was sobbing, her breathing haggard and uneven. 

No.

“Someone give her a godsdamned potion before she bleeds out!” He shouted, looking between her and Shadowheart. “What are you doing?!”

Shadowheart kept her eyes on Erin and spoke in a steely voice. “Someone shut him up so I can concentrate.” 

Gale stepped toward him, placing a hand on his uninjured shoulder. Astarion shoved it away and snarled, “Don’t touch me!”

Gale backed off, asking if Shadowheart needed any assistance. 

“Be ready to lift her. I’m going to close the wounds, but we need to get her back to camp before I can do more.”

Astarion stood by as Gale and Wyll moved to either side of her, ready to lift her when Shadowheart gave the go-ahead. Blue healing magic swirled from her fingertips to Erin’s wounds, stitching the flesh back together. She looked to Lae’zel and nodded, and the gith pushed past Gale and Wyll and scooped Erin up into her arms. 

When they’d gotten back to camp and placed Erin in her tent, Shadowheart shooed the other companions away, assuring them that she’d be fine, she just needed some time to work on the internal damage.

Astarion kept to his tent, going back and forth from sitting inside it and pacing outside it. He couldn’t sit still. He hadn’t taken a breath since he’d stopped back in the grove, worried at how smelling her blood again might affect him. It smelled unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. The wound from the arrow had already healed, though he wore a bandage for show. It grated on him that he’d been distracted enough for it to hit him in the first place.

Finally, Shadowheart emerged from her tent. The others rushed to ask her how Erin was doing, and she silenced them with a gesture. 

“She’s fine. As I told you all she would be. She’s already talking. Give her another hour or so. She needs to rest. After that, a decent meal and another potion will have her right in the morning.” Shadowheart went to her own tent, saying she needed some rest herself.

Astarion sat down on his pillows and busied himself stitching his doublet where the arrow had pierced a hole. When that was finished and Erin still hadn’t come out, he decided to wash up to pass more of the time. He grabbed the soap Erin had let him take and took a change of clothes with him to the river outside camp. 

When he returned, he heard Erin laughing, and he started to breathe again. She was sitting at the campfire with the others except Shadowheart, who’d apparently retired for the night. It seemed Erin was finishing up telling them another story as she sipped on a bowl of the stew Gale had prepared. 

“Well hello, darling,” he said as he walked up to where they sat. “You’re looking well.”

“Yes, extremely well for your recent trials.” Gale added, and Astarion’s eyes snapped to the wizard in a glare. “I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d chosen to sleep for the rest of the night, you’re too kind to share your company with us again so soon.” 

Erin set her bowl down and started to stand. “It was a great dinner, Gale. I probably should go back to bed now, though. I’m still pretty tired. Good night.” She waved to the group and walked past Astarion, back to her tent, not looking at him once.

He’d had quite enough of this now. He followed after her and let himself into her tent. 

“So what was the point of all that friendship nonsense last night if you were just going to stop talking to me today?” He snapped.

“Just let yourself in, then.” She said, looking at him with annoyance. “You can’t go one day without the majority of my attention? We’ve been busy. After the way you ran off last night, I figured you’d be glad I left you alone. I don’t know what you want, Astarion.”

He glared back at her, “What do you mean? What did I do wrong?” 

She sighed, looking down. Quietly, she answered. “You didn’t do anything.” 

“Clearly that’s not the truth.”

She looked back up at him, all annoyance and anger gone from her expression. She just looked… tired. “Really, you didn’t. I’m sorry for snapping.”

He wasn’t going to let it go at that. “Well then why have you been avoiding me all day? Don’t tell me you haven’t.”

She started to open her bedroll, sliding herself in. “I don’t want to have this conversation. We’re good, I promise. Can we just move on?” She pulled the covers over herself.

“No.”

She sat back up and met his eyes. “Fine. You didn’t do anything. Including teaching me like you said you would.”

He balked. “That’s what this is about? I told you I was hungry.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s what you said, but was it the truth? It didn’t feel like it. It felt like I had just spent the evening annoying you and being vulnerable and you couldn’t get away from me fast enough.” 

“What?” He was truly incredulous. Last night had been one of the most pleasant nights he’d had that he could remember. She irritated him, but he’d found that he didn’t mind her company, which was far more than he could say of countless others. At least with her, it was his choice. 

He realized she was embarrassed. She wouldn’t look at him.

“Darling, I assure you, I was ravenous last night. I’m not sure you’ve noticed, but we haven’t exactly been feasting in camp.” It wasn’t a lie.

She looked back up at him, seeming to believe him. “I mean, I don’t think I’ve seen you eat with us once.”

He seized the opportunity. “Exactly! I haven’t had the stomach for much lately, with everything that’s happened. Last night it finally caught up to me. I went to finish hunting as soon as possible so I could eat what I had saved in my tent.”

She gave him an apologetic look.“I’m sorry. I guess I had just been a little emotional last night after my phone died. I guess I was overthinking.”

That seemed to work.

Relieved to be done with this nonsense, he gave a little laugh.

“Well I’m glad we’ve got that sorted out.”

“Me too.” She smiled. “But since I’ve got you’re here, would you mind telling me what that is?” She nodded to the corner of her tent where a lovely mahogany lute sat.

“I believe that is called a ‘lute,’ dear.” He’d nicked it from the purple-haired bard he’d found singing near the grove that morning. It was lying in the grass while she played another. She couldn’t possibly have needed two. It was just greedy. 

“Well, Shadowheart told me that much. Do you know where it came from? I’ve never seen it before.”

“Can’t say that I do.” He lied. “Perhaps it’s a magical lute, and it materialized because it’s chosen you to be its otherworldly bard.”

She raised a brow at him, amused. “I somehow doubt that.”

“You don’t know. You’re not from here, you don’t know how magic works.”

“Oh well I guess I could go ask Gale-”

“Or you could just learn to accept a gift without asking questions.” He interrupted.

She laughed, then gasped. Astarion knew before she said anything. He could smell it. A wound had opened again. 

“Take that potion Shadowheart left for you,” he said quickly. “It should close the wound back up again.”

She did as he said and sighed in relief. “That’s probably the best magic I’ve experienced here. It’s so warm and comforting. I wish we had medicine that worked like this back home.”

He could tell that the potion had worked and her wound was closed again, but the scent of her blood lingered. He needed to leave. Now.

“Well, I ought to let you rest, lest your wounds open again. I’ll see you in the morning, dear.”

She waved at him as he left. 

Back in his own tent, he couldn’t trance. He couldn’t think. 

Why did her blood smell like that? What was in it? He was so hungry. Animals were not enough. He felt it today. He was slow and distracted. That arrow should never have hit him. He knew what would help. Erin had it. He wouldn’t need too much.

He could easily slip into her tent and take only a little. She was probably so tired from healing her wounds that she’d be sleeping too deeply to notice him. Shadowheart’s healing and the potions should have replenished any blood she’d lost from her wounds. 

He slowly crept out of his tent. He couldn’t stay weak like this. He needed to be strong. She wouldn’t even have to know. He made his way to her tent and carefully opened the flap.

Lying on her side, she appeared to be fast asleep. He moved closer. This would work. It would be okay. He leaned over her body and gently placed a hand to her shoulder.

She stirred at his touch, rolling over and bumping into his chest. Her eyes flew open and she let out a gasp.

“Shit.” He said.

She reached out into the dark, then brought the lute he’d given her down on his head.

Domination

okay, to start off—woah. this series had me feeling swirls of emotions. and this particular chapter was great. I felt the nostalgia. I felt the sad—for lack of a better word—farewells between good friends. this is my favorite type of writing. the writing that allows you to feel the emotions the characters are feeling. this is when you know someone has perfected writing. this is when you can consider writing an art. this series was amazing.

Sugar and Coffee [Finale]

Chapter 22 - Chapter 23 [Finale]

➜ Words: 5.1k

➜ Genres: 99.5% Fluff, 0.5% Angst, Pâtisserie school!AU

➜ Summary: It isn’t hard to be a pâtisserie chef, but it’s not a piece of cake either. It seems like for you in particular, life keeps throwing in one wrench after another. It always finds ways to make your sweets bitter. The cherry on top is Jeon Jungkook — a rival with a sensitive sweet tooth who always finds ways to complain about you.

cr.

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this was beautiful 😍 we all need somebody like yoongi to give it to you straight lol. and then ending was iconic 🤣👏🏻👏🏻 couldn't have made it any better 🤩

an abundance of mondays (m)

genre: college!au, childhood friends to lovers!au

pairing: jeon jeongguk x reader (f)

word count: 15k

contains: fluff, angst, smut, mutual pining, oblivious best friends in love, exasperated but well-meaning best friend yoongi, a happy ending because I’m a sap

warnings: marijuana use, alcohol consumption, underage drinking, swearing, explicit sex in the form of: (loving) dirty talk, fingering, penetrative sex

summary: “why the fuck would it be easy? you’re disgustingly in love with your best friend. of course it’s complicated.” he pauses to roll his eyes, as if he hasn’t just laid out the most secret parts of you here in the middle of the campus dining hall.

alternatively, it’s an old cliche, falling in love with your best friend. it’s a shame none of the stories ever told you it would feel like this.

soundtrack: fools - troye sivan | tokyo - rm | not in that way - sam smith | … and more!

- written as part of the @ficswithluv​ luv library project in the music category & also MAJOR shoutout to the absolutely lovely gia @fantasybangtan who gave this two read-overs, helped to inspire a few key moments, and is just generally the best ♡

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I love alien!jungkook au's 😩 the smut was so hot, and I never thought I'd be into smuts involving tentacles 😳 that aside, this was a masterpiece. I loved the way jungkook was portrayed here. and I also loved his development the more time he spent with y/n. this had me so engulfed throughout the entire thing, that I was a little sad when I finished it 😭 but all-in-all, this was amazing. definitely one of my top ten favorite jungkook fanfics.

EXPLORER

jjk x female reader

FOR GCN’S ❝ 23 | JUNGKOOK BIRTHDAY PROJECT ❞ ! Alien AU | “I want to have your last name!” | “I like when you do that, it makes me crazy.”

summary; Jungkook does not want to impress the frankly tyrannical ways of his planet on you. He just wants to stay here and keep your couch warm for you, hold your hair back when you wash your face in the morning.  warnings; smut in the forms of cunnilingus, loss of virginity, unprotected sex, anal, tit play, and all that jazz bc surprise its tentacle porn rating: mature (18+) miscellaneous; FLUFF, strangers to friends to lovers, curious alien kook, there’s a saber tooth tiger mention, virginity is a social construct, they both have skewed perceptions of sex and love, and idk what else word count; 17.8k

notes; someone said once “all u ever do is write college aus 😃” and i was like lol true but i was also a virgo and was like “i’ll prove u wrong” and next thing i knew i was writing a 17k alien au clap for me lads

special thanks to; my savior and editor rumu ( @kigurumu​ ) who very politely tells me when im making up words n also when shit doesn’t make sense but lets me make stupid final decisions that will come back to bite me in the ass<3 and also my gf yeji @suqakoo​ who watched me crash and burn about ten times while writing this monstrosity of  fic and just laughed her support amazes me<3

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GOSH this was so GOOD. it's been SUCH a long time since I've read a fanfic that triggered these particular emotions in me and just- UGH! I loved this. I wish it took me longer to read so that I could savor the feelings felt before finishing 😩 beautiful piece of work. authors that manage to make me, personally, feel this way are rare to me. 11/10. work of art. deserves so much more attention.

Gimme S’more

Pairing: Jungkook/Noona!Reader

Rating: Teen + 

Genre: Tooth rotting fluff

Synopsis: You spot the man of your dreams across a crowed bar, tall, fit, devastatingly attractive, expensive suit…everything you’ve been lusting after since puberty. That dream is shattered when he finally approaches you in baggy pants and an oversized hoody looking like he toddled out of daycare without a parent. You’re about to shoot him down, because you are too old to babysit anyone, when a burst of confidence impresses you, and you give him one chance. Just one. That’s all you’re giving him. No more.

Warnings: Strong Language, Implication of sex

Authors Notes: I’ve been working on this fic on and off since October, but Christmas is a rough time for me so it took me for ever and I apologise for it taking so long to get something out. This fic is for my Platonic Aquarius friend, Bun, whose birthday it is today (11th Feb *cough*) It was her idea, she requested a very simple cute fic, and I accidentally wrote her 11k words of tooth rotting fluff. I hope you love it my lil cabbage <3 

Word Count: 11k

Gimme S’More

The first time you saw him, he’d just walked right into your regular after-work bar, looking like the idealised version of every guy you’ve been throwing yourself at since you were a teenager. It wasn’t your usual night to meet up after work for drinks, but going by the way he was greeted by the bar staff, and the sudden roar above the crowd that went up as the group in the corner booth opposite the door cheered as he made a beeline for it, it must have been his.

He was tall and fit, not a snack but an entire buffet. The grey suit he was wearing fit him almost perfectly, the only imperfections being certain areas of tightness, where the material was stretched tight across his biceps and thighs, highlighting his obviously well-defined form, hiding under those clothes. But despite how professional his outfit looked, his hair was long, parted on the side, neatly brushed back off his face and tucked behind one ear. It gave him just an slight air of a rebel, like he wasn’t your standard, straight-laced office type. You spent most of the night ignoring the chatter of your colleagues around you, using the time to send surreptitious glances his way. Your table is as far away from the corner booth him and his friends occupy as you can get, not allowing you to get too good a look at him unless he heads up to the bar. You lose yourself in fantasies about the lawyer, or investment banker, or whatever he might be, hidden from you. He’s obviously paid well. The suit looks expensive, and tailored. You realise you’ve checked out and focus again on the noisy bar around you, you blink and notice he’s standing at the bar watching you. When he realises he’s been caught staring, he ducks his head and looks away. The bar is dimly lit, but you swear you can see a blush spreading across his cheeks. He turns away from the bar, heading back to his table and you’ve half convinced yourself to just be bold and follow him and get his number, when your friend informs you the taxi you’re sharing has arrived.

Maybe next time.

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I loved the format of this!!!! shy jungkook had me in my feels 😭😭 this was seriously so great. the ending was iconic, and so so sweet! I wasted my entire morning reading this, and I have no regrets 👍🏻 10/10, can't wait to read more of this author's work!

pairing: jungkook x (gender neutral) reader / word count: 20k / genre: fluff (author!reader, florist!jungkook)

summary: “You’re in love and you didn’t tell me?” Jimin sounds affronted. “Who is it? Are they cute? Where are you hiding them? I knew you were lying about those flowers, you lying liar.” or: the story of how you meet a pretty florist with soft hands and warm eyes, how he mends your broken heart, and how he helps you realise some other things along the way.

warnings: use of a few curse words, reader is self-deprecating and suffering from heartache towards the beginning (v mildly angsty ig? but dw it passes), but otherwise this is a Very Soft fic!

–

“It’s time to get up.”

“It absolutely is not.” Your voice is muffled under a layer of pillows and blankets, material pressing down on your body and head, covering you. A protective cocoon. “I’ve become one with my duvet and we shall never be parted.”

You yelp when the blanket is ruthlessly ripped from you. Your curtains have been thrown open and you can feel how the sun is streaming in through your windows, warming your skin, even if you can’t see it; there’s a particularly fluffy pillow smothering your face right now to keep the world outside at bay.

“This has to be against the Geneva convention,” you whine as your collection of pillows is similarly stripped from the bed, leaving you entirely bereft from their comfort and protection. You curl into a tight ball around your Pusheen cushion and try to protect her from Jimin’s grasping fingers— your final bastion of defence against him. “No! Not Pusheen! Please! Take me instead!”

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this had me feeling some type of way. I loved this so much. this might possibly just be my favorite fic of all time. it had me so soft. and the sensuality of the smut scenes was perfect. this fic is literal perfection.

Shield || jjk

⇢ pairing: security guard!jungkook x bartender!reader ⇢ genre: fluff, romance, smut ⇢ word count: 18.6k ⇢ warnings: unprotected sex, oral sex, rough sex, lots of dirty talk it’s pretty filthy, a brief scene of harassment (it’s not graphic, no touching involved), spanking, hair pulling, jungkook has a big dick, jungkook is the cutest shyest boy to ever exist, reader and jk blush A LOT, jk in a leather jacket that’s about it ⇢ summary: An unfortunate, messy situation involving a drunk asshole not taking no for an answer prompts your boss to hire a new security guard to stay near, just for safe-keeping. When all you were expecting was a guy in his late thirties who couldn’t bother to smile, much less be friendly, you’re pleasantly surprised by the cute, rather shy guy whose job is to keep his eyes on you and protect you for five nights a week.

A/N: I am SOSOSOSO happy with this fic. I had so much fun writing it. This was written in a couple of days where I just sat for straight HOURS writing like,,,,5k words a sitting. I love this with my whole heart and I hope y’all do too. Please, let me know what you think, feedback is, as always, very much appreciated!

Banner was made by the wonderful angel @mikrokosm​ thank you sm baby!!! this looks so much better than the trashy one i made asjsksj

tag list: @sscarletrrose @giadalin @out-of-jams @kookoo-kachoo @teresaisla @wickizer @fakeleaves @el-mc @smol1 @luisafuchs @athenakyle @claude-y 

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this series was seriously so good. i loved jungkook's character, i loved y/n's character, and i loved their development into a relationship. y/n's decisions and form of thinking made much sense; i never got irritated at her behavior because it made sense. i just loved the way this series turned out, i loved the angst, the fluff, the ending. truly wonderful.

Delivery Boy 12

Genre: Unplanned pregnancy, Food delivery boy Jk! Slow burn, Angst, fluff, smut

Pairing: Jungkook x f. Reader

Word Count: 8k

Warnings: non graphic depictions of birth, protected sex

Summary: You’re a business woman who has everything figured out, so what happens when the guy you didn’t see coming makes a permanent stake in your life? Aka the one where you get knocked up by the delivery boy

12/12 series masterlist

Being full term is already a feat on it’s own, but add that with the weather warming up, and you’re practically miserable. You’ve been freezing Jungkook out when you get home, and you almost feel bad about it, seeing him shiver with a sweatshirt on.

Despite the first trimester’s problems, not being able to fit into your shoes, and not being able to squat or get up when you sit down, you’ve enjoyed pregnancy. Just knowing you’re growing your child inside you makes you feel powerful. You’ve never done anything more important than this. You also feel closer to the baby now that they’re active in your stomach. It feels like a constant companion. Absent-mindedly, you find yourself talking to the baby all the time. You never really feel alone being pregnant.

Despite all the wonderful things about it, it’s safe to say you’re more than willing to get this baby out of you. Jungkook has been on edge ever since you hit full term, like he’s expecting you to burst at any moment. Anytime you call him he answers immediately, sounding nervous. He always sighs when he realizes you just called him to tell him to pick up something on his way home.

You were given a list of things at the doctor to help induce labor. Jungkook’s been cooking you spicy food every night, and then trying to get it on with you. If it weren’t for the labor inducing benefits, you’d probably say no. You feel like a beached whale, unable to move anymore, not exactly the sexiest thing in the world.

You’ve been training this new girl to take over for you on maternity leave. She’s just barely in her twenties and a nervous wreck. You try not to get frustrated at her because all she wants is to be good at her first real job, but her calling outside of work hours is really starting to grind on your thin nerves.

You tell yourself stress isn’t good for the baby, and try and do counted breathes that you learned from googling, “how to relieve stress, pregnant”. Poor Jungkook picks up on your stress too and tries his best to help you out. He was already a nervous wreck with the baby being due, but he’s also trying to walk on eggshells around you to avoid stressing you out.

It isn’t your break time, but you’ve made it your break time before you start yelling at your replacement. You need some fresh air, so you head outside. There’s a staircase at the front of the building, and you can’t exactly tell where you step anymore, so all it takes is you missing the step by a few inches, causing you to trip and land on your ass.

Pain radiates through your tailbone and back, causing you to screw your eyes shut and clutch onto your stomach out of instinct.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” A panicked voice sounds near you, and you open your eyes to find two random people hovering around you.

“I’m fine.” You attempt to stand up with their help, but let out a squeak of pain when your stomach cramps, hard. You land back on your ass, albeit a little softer this time.

“You want us to call an ambulance?” The woman asks, fear clear in her eyes.

“No-” you aren’t even able to form the end of the word properly because you gasp at another sharp pain.

“I’m calling an ambulance!” The man insists.

It takes a little convincing, but they agree to just let you call your boyfriend to come get you.

You brace yourself, know how Jungkook’s going to respond. “Hi. So, I had a little accident-”

“WHAT?!” all attempt at trying to hide his panic is gone.

“I’m fine. But, I might be going into labor.”

“Fuck. You’re at work?” He doesn’t let you answer before he says, “I’ll be right there.”

“Go get the hospital bag!” you yell into the phone, but you aren’t sure he heard you before he hung up.

~

Jungkook looks like a mad man when he arrives, and you’d laugh if it wasn’t for the cramping.

“Did you get the hospital bag?” you ask once he helps you into the car.

He looks like he’s going to burst a blood vessel, or into tears. “No!?

You can’t help but laugh, laying a hand on his thigh and squeezing. “Calm down. You’re making me nervous.”

“How are you so calm? You’re the one about to give birth.”

Thankfully, you’re offered a wheelchair upon arrival and wheeled back to the maternity wing without wait.

You’re dressed in a gown and hooked up to some machines while Jungkook calls and texts everybody to let them know what’s happening. He’s had about an hour to settle down, and you think he’s finally handling it better.

“Your water hasn’t broken yet, and you’re only dilated at a two. The fall must have jarred you into early labor.” The doctor announces, taking her gloves off after examining you.

Your contractions are about twenty minutes apart and feel like bad period cramps.

“How long will it take to fully dilate?”

She gives a sympathetic smile. “Could be any number of hours. Everyone’s different. We’ll see how quickly you continue to dilate.”

“Do you want an epidural?”

“Yes, but I want to wait.”

“Okay, don’t hesitate to let me know when.”

“Mom’s leaving the restaurant to come down,” Jungkook says once the doctor leaves. “Do you want me to tell her not to?” You shake your head. You know she wants to be supportive.

“Your dad responded that he’s coming too.” You bite your lip at that. You appreciate the sentiment, but you almost wish to just be left with Jungkook.

You get another hour of peace and quiet alone until his mom and then your dad show up soon after. Jungkook makes small talk with them while you mostly zone out, counting and breathing through the small contractions.

Your dad leaves to go get coffee a little while later. When the door opens, you think it’s him back, but you almost shoot straight up in bed when you see who it is.

“Mom?” You didn’t know she was coming. Jungkook didn’t tell you. Or maybe she didn’t tell Jungkook.

“Hi darling, I started coming as soon as I heard the news.”

Your heart stutters at the thought of your parents being in the same room as each other. They haven’t spoken to each other since the divorce. You hate it, it shouldn’t be about them. This is supposed to be yours and Jungkook’s day.

You throw a glance towards Jungkook and he slyly tells you on his face that he’s just as shocked as you.

Seconds later, your dad walks through the door and you hold your breath. The two freeze when they spot each other. Then, it’s like nothing happened. He says her name curtly and she does the same.

Jungkook’s mom breaks the ice by talking about something you can’t pay much attention to because you’re still stunned. It's odd to you, after all these years to see them together again.

They both engage in conversation, but never with each other.

“Alright.” The doctor comes in, putting on gloves. “Everyone out, I’m going to check her dilatation.”

“I think I’m going to head to the cafeteria,” Jungkook’s mother announces.

“I’ll join you.” Of course your mom says so she won’t be left alone with your dad.

“Don’t you want to go?” you ask Jungkook and he shakes his head.

He’s fucking starving, but you aren’t allowed to have anything to eat, so he isn’t eating either. You told him he could earlier, but he said he’d feel too guilty eating in front of you. They let you have popsicles, so you both pretend to sate your hunger with barely flavored frozen water. You appreciate the solidarity.

“I can’t believe they’re in the same room together,” you finally speak lowly to Jungkook once everyone leaves.

“At least they’re getting along, right? That’s good.”

You hum but can’t help but feel it’s too good to be true.

“Still only 4 centimeters,” the doctor says after examining.

You groan, throwing your head back.

“I’m going to break your water which should help speed things up. Keep in mind, your contractions are going to be more intense. Just let us know when you want that epidural.”

You do your best to smile and nod at her.

“Don’t look when I start to push,” you tell Jungkook once you’re alone.

“Why not?”

“Some women tear all the way down to their assholes, do you really want to see that?”

“I want to see him being born.”

“I don’t think you will. I don’t want to.”

You watch your parents again when they come back in. They get less stiff around each other and even start to make retorts to each other. It makes you feel as though nothing is ever final. These two who swore to never talk to each other again are here doing it. You think they’ve finally managed to put the hard feelings behind them.

When your contractions start getting bad Jungkook’s mom suggests they stay in the waiting room until the baby’s born and your parents follow her lead, leaving you and Jungkook alone.

You ask for an epidural not long after. You thought you might make it all the way through, but five hours of pain is enough for you.

The nerves that had been hiding under the surface all day, covered up by family drama and breathing through contractions have resurfaced all at once. Your whole body starts to shake with anxiety.

You try to hide it, but of course Jungkook notices “Are you cold?”

Even though you’re not, you nod to cover up your nerves.

“Hey. Everything’s going to be fine. Just think, it’s not long until we can meet him.”

You nod, trying to smile for him even though you’re still scared.

“I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” He squeezes your hand and you squeeze it back. You don’t know what you would do without him.

He keeps you distracted by humming, singing, and rubbing your back all while you’re waiting to get to 10.

When you finally get the news, you’re relieved and terrified at the same. You’re ready to get it over with, but scared to do it.

They guide both of your legs up and ask Jungkook to hold one in place. The doctor instructs you on how to breathe and push. The epidural only worked on half of your body, so one side is numb and the other you can still feel the pain. You have a new found sympathy for people who go all natural.

You sweat and pant, cry and lean your head back when you think you can’t do it anymore. Jungkook is there every time, wiping your face with a cold rag and telling you how good you’re doing.

They constantly wipe around your bottom, and you’re not sure what's even coming out of you at this point, and you don’t ever want to know. Jungkook stays near your head, but you know he can see most everything from where he’s at.

You finally feel like you made progress, only for it to go away when you relax. You don’t remember when you start crying, but Jungkook gets you to breathe through it. The doctor keeps telling you to push, but you’re still trying to ground yourself.

“You’re doing so good, baby,” Jungkook speaks over her and you try and just pay attention to his voice. “You can do this. You’ve got this. Remember to breathe.”

You listen and breathe, for him, the baby, and your poor worn out body. You gather all the strength inside of yourself with a deep breath and push out with all your might.

“That’s it, that’s the pushes we need. Again.”

You don’t think you’re capable of doing it again, but you try and you feel the head actually breach your walls, screaming out at the small pain you feel and the strain you're putting on your body. You go limp after, but it doesn’t matter because the doctor catches the baby that practically shot out of you.

He cries immediately and the nurse sits him on your chest, while you feel like you’re stuck in a dream. Your baby’s here, and you pushed him out. You finally did it. Your arms finally move once reality sinks in, and you stroke his small back, cooing at him to stop crying as the nurse wipes him off, a little harshly in your opinion. “We have a baby,” you say to Jungkook without taking your eyes off your son. “He’s here,” you say, still in disbelief. You and Jungkook created him.

“He’s perfect.” Jungkook says beside you.

“Oh, looks like he peed,” The nurse chuckles, cleaning you both up.

You look at Jungkook to share a laugh with him, but you’re met with a camera over his face.

“We’ve got to push out the placenta, okay?” The doctor says.

You’re done with pushing, but luckily you don’t do much as the doctor mashes on your stomach. It feels like she’s rearranging your organs and you’re mad it's distracting your attention away from your baby.

“Dad, you want to cut the cord?”

Jungkook finally puts the camera down and you notice the tears that have been streaming down his face. He wipes them away, grabbing the scissors, and the doctor reassures him he can’t hurt you or the baby.

“Did I tear?” You ask the doctor even though you know the answer. You felt your vagnia practically rip to shreds at the last push.

The nurse finished cleaning up the baby and slipped him under your gown to lay skin to skin.

“Just a little bit. I’m gonna patch you up though, don’t worry.”

You know you tore more than a little, but you try not to think about the dull pull of the needle on your skin and instead focus on the whining baby on your chest. He’s letting out soft cries and squirming so you coo him again, stroking his back. “It’s okay, mommy’s here,” you tell him, pulling him farther up your chest.

You look back at Jungkook who’s still wiping at his face. You smile at him, then your baby. “Come say hi,” you try to coax him closer.

Jungkook steps closer, with the gentlest touch ever, he runs his hand on the back of the baby’s head that’s already full of dark hair, just like his dad. “Hi, Moon.” He leans down, giving him a kiss on the head. By now he’s settled down, just suckling on nothing. “I’m your dad,” he tells the little boy, like he’s just now realizing it himself.

You chuckle, snuggling him closer to you. They eventually get you cleaned up and a cooling diaper. The exhaustion has finally set in, and your arms grow tired, but you keep them wrapped tightly around the bundle on your chest.

“Here’s your matching bracelets so we can keep you together.” The nurse wraps the laminated paper around yours, Jungkook’s, and Moon’s wrists.

“We’re gonna take him to the nursery and then we’ll be back,” the nurse tells you. She’s waiting for you to hand him over and you reluctantly give him a kiss on the head before she scoops him up. “You can follow me dad.”

Jungkook leans down and gives you a kiss on the forehead before leaving.

~

Jungkook follows the nurse down the hall who’s pushing his baby in a cart. Moon starts to cry and he wants to stop and comfort him, but the nurse keeps going until she leads him into a room with other crying babies.

The nurse takes him out of his cart, laying him on a scale and Jungkook sees the faces of all his family members and your parents on the other side of the glass. His sister and dad are crying, his mom teasing his dad.

He smiles proudly at them as they all fawn over his baby. He did that. He made that cute baby. The nurse tells him the weight and he holds up his hand and two fingers for his family to know how much Moon weighs. Seven pounds and eleven ounces.

Jungkook takes pictures as the nurse does her thing, sometimes making him bite his tongue when Moon clearly isn’t happy with the tests. It’s almost like a natural instinct to cuss someone out when they’re making your baby cry.

When she finishes up she tells Jungkook to hold Moon up to the window for his family to see. Tears come when he realizes this is the first time he’s actually holding his baby. Moon is so tiny and weightless in his arms, and he’s terrified of making a wrong move. They take all kinds of pictures through the window and he feels like he’s going to burst with all the love and pride he feels for his child.

He eventually brings the baby back to you, knowing you’re missing him. It almost killed him seeing you in pain like that. He didn’t like it. The doctor also wasn’t helping. You’re clearly the type of person that needs gentle encouragement, and the doctor was acting like a coach yelling at a player.

Moon starts crying as soon as he walks back into the room and you hold your arms out for your baby. Jungkook scoops him out as gently as he can, transferring him to you. The nurse insisted that babies are tough, but he’s not about to test that out.

“You wanna try feeding?” The nurse asks you and you nod. She lifts your fresh gown up, helping you adjust the baby. He could have done that. He steps closer to you, as if saying, i’m here if you need me.

You lay him across your chest, nestling the crying baby up to your nipple, but he doesn’t react. You glance up at the nurse, as if embarrassed it’s not working. She smiles at you. “It’s okay, just keep encouraging him.”

He won’t stop crying, in fact his crying gets worse until he’s wailing and his little face turns completely red. You give up on breastfeeding and just holding him close, gently rocking your body.

“We can try later,” the nurse tells you, leaving the room so you’re both finally alone.

“What’s wrong, baby? Why are you crying?” You have tears in your eyes at your baby crying, as if it’s your fault.

You look over at him, and he feels useless as he just stands there, like he has the past twelve hours. “The nurse recommended that you do skin to skin with him too. Do you want to try?”

He immediately nods. He’s read about this in his research on how to be a dad. There’s a lot of stuff out there about motherhood, but what about guides on being a dad? He googled and bought every ebook there is about being a dad and even stuff about motherhood so he could sympathize with you. He constantly asks his dad and Namjoon for advice because he admires their parenting so much.

He takes off his camera first, setting it down on the bedside table before taking his shirt off. He gently takes Moon from you and lowers into the chair next to your bed, cradling him close to his chest.

“You can take his blanket off,” you tell him, gesturing towards the wrap the nurse put him in. He’s got a little hat on now too, covering his head full of hair. As smoothly as possible, he wraps the blanket around them both, holding him skin to skin. Somehow, Moon finally stops crying. He looks up in shock at you to find you’re holding his camera, snapping pictures.

Jungkook holds him for a while, and he almost drifts to sleep with him in his arms. You’re already asleep, your body couldn’t hold out any longer after being in labor for hours. He feels fully at peace now, knowing you and Moon made it out perfectly healthy. There’s nothing else in the world he feels he could wish for, he’s already got it right here in this room.

Everything is going great until Moon starts to suckle again. He doesn’t want to wake you up, but knows you won’t want to miss this opportunity.

Thankfully he doesn’t have to be the bad guy because the nurse comes in again and wakes you up, asking you to feed before the first hour is up. The fact that it’s only been an hour since he was born is crazy. It felt like a whole day to Jungkook.

He trades off the baby and lets you try again, guiding Moon up to your breast. He actually opens his mouth this time, suckling around your nipple. You almost let out happy tears. Jungkook snaps a picture of you both, knowing you’ll want to remember this moment.

“Does it feel like he’s getting anything?” The nurse asks you.

“I think so.” you try to smile at Jungkook, but he can see you grimacing as if it’s painful. “Oh,” you say in shock, looking down at him. “I think it just now came through.” You laugh and the nurse smiles. She shows you the proper technique and gives tips on how to get him to latch. “Keep trying to feed him. He can feed for the next hour or so.” You nod. “Do you want to see family?”

Your head jerks up to Jungkook as if you forgot anyone existed outside of this room. “Oh, I definitely want them to come in,” you tell him. You feel guilty that your first thought is you wouldn’t mind seeing Jungkook mom and sister. You could use their motherly presence right now. But, you’re not going to hurt your parents like that so you tell the nurse you’ll accept visitors in about an hour.

“You don’t have to see anyone, you know.” Jungkook tells you.

“No, I want them to come in.” You want the grandparents to be able to hold their new grand baby and his sister to get to hold her nephew the day they were born. “Don’t you?”

He nods.

You drift to sleep breastfeeding. Moon latches on off and on, but you keep him snuggled to your chest the whole hour. You wake again sometime later, feeling like your nipple is raw. You’re supposed to be switching sides, but you fell asleep.

You go to say something to Jungkook and find him slumped over in his chair, his phone on the ground where it fell out of his limp hand. He’s gonna wake up with a crick in his neck.

You text everyone to come back when Jungkook wakes up. Your mom is the first guest and finds it strange seeing her hold a baby, your baby.

Maybe they can have a better relationship together than you do with her. Moon stares widely at his grandma, as if saying, there’s more people?! He studies her as she tries to get him to smile. “He’s perfect, y/n,” she says softly while fondly gazing at Moon. For some reason it makes you tear up.

Your dad comes in next and your mom hands him over. You watch as your dad holds your newborn child, with such delicacy it was hard for you to believe. It was like you had forgotten that you had been little once, and that he had been your hero. Your dad was always ready to play with you instead of helping your mother around the house, and he was always the one you wanted to rock you to sleep, your mother expressing her betrayal. Your mother always called you a daddy's girl, bringing it up whenever you had a fight with him as a teenager.

You didn’t realize that as a child, it was so hard for you to find any fault in your father. Whatever he did you assumed was what good fathers did, even if it displeased you.

Just because you have a distant relationship with your parents doesn’t mean Moon has to. You’ll bring him to see your dad often and FaceTime your mom. As many mistakes they made as parents, you won’t doubt your parents' love for Moon.

Jungkook’s family comes in at once, Unnie already crying. His mom picks Moon up first and Unnie comes over to you. “How did it go?” She starts rubbing your shoulder and you almost cry at the question. You’ve been so focused on Moon that you’ve pushed down how tough the birth was for you.

“Good.”

She laughs, knowing the pain you’re hiding. “Could you feel it?”

“A little.”

“Tears?”

“I forgot what he called them, but I just know it’s a bloodbath down there.”

She laughs then shifts her attention to her brother. “You better take care of her, okay? She just pushed a human out of her.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen, like he’s afraid he hasn’t been doing just that. “I will.”

After his family dotes on Moon for a while they dismiss themselves like your parents to give you some alone time, but Unnie lingers “You want me to stay?” she asks. “I can help out while one of you sleeps.”

The polite thing to do would be decline, but the thought of her leaving so soon makes you panic. It’s nice having someone who’s been in your shoes before. “Just for a little while. You need to go home to your kids.”

The nurse comes back in, but not for the baby this time. “Do you need to pee yet, mama?”

You had a small meal while everyone was visiting and holding the baby, but you didn’t drink enough to have to pee so you shake your head.

“I’ll give you a few more hours until we have to do a catheter.”

Your eyes widen at the word and Unnie most have noticed because she leans down to you. “It’s okay, y/n. A catheter might even be better. Peeing is going to feel like the depths of hell breaching your vagina.”

The nurse laughs. “Why don’t you try first, and if you can’t we’ll try to hydrate you more.”

Not knowing what sounds better, you decide to take your chances with peeing. When you try to sit up for the first time you realize all the aches of your body.

“Jungkook, help her,” Unnie instructs.

Jungkook quickly wraps his arms around you, gently guiding you off the bed. Your legs feel like jelly as you wobble to the bathroom, not caring that your ass is hanging out of the gown, showing off your diaper. This is definitely the roughest you’ve ever felt, and probably looked. If your relationship with Jungkook can survive seeing you like this, you think it’s pretty strong. You tug your diaper down and he helps you lower onto the toilet.

“I’m good now.”

He nods and shuts the door to give you some privacy.

You try, but nothing comes out. You manage to get yourself back up and when you open the door Jungkook fusses at you for not calling him.

The nurse inquires and you shake your head.

You’re fed various liquids to try and encourage your pee, meanwhile Moon feeds off and on.

The nurse encourages a diaper change, and you both hover awkwardly above the cart, neither moving first.

“I’ve never changed a boy diaper,” you confess even though Jungkook knows this.

“I can do it.” You watch him as he’s the first to change Moon’s diaper. You feel a little useless, but you remember how to swaddle him like the nurse taught so you feel better.

Thankfully, all the liquid did get you to pee, even though it made you cry with how much it burned. At dark, Namjoon drops off food for you both and Unnie leaves with him.

You’ve made it pretty much a full day of being parents. Jungkook falls asleep in the reclining chair that you’re sure isn’t very comfortable. Moon sleeps in his cart beside you. You snap a picture of them both sleeping. Your boys.

~

You’re so fucking glad to leave the hospital. You just want to lay in your own bed and be alone with your baby and baby daddy. Jungkook had to go home and put the carseat in, which took him a while, and you resisted teasing seeing how frustrated he looked.

Jungkook drives almost under the speed limit on the way home, making you bite back your smile at how cautious he’s being. You definitely want him to, but he’s so focused on driving and being careful, it’s actually adorable at the amount of concentration.

You wanted to introduce Moon to his new home, but he snoozes in his carrier, so you’ll have to do it later.

It is a little terrifying. At the hospital you relied on them to guide you and correct you if you did something wrong. Now it’s completely up to you and Jungkook. You’re both responsible for this new life you created. Everything is up to you two now.

Jungkook sits the sleeping baby down in the living room, looking at you. “We’re parents now.”

You’ve been parents for a while, but you laugh, knowing what he means. It simultaneously the most scared, and prepared you’ve ever felt. “We’re parents now.”

~

For Moon’s first bath, Jungkook sets up the camera. His tiny tub sits in the big one and you make sure you’ve got the right temperature ten times before you finally put him in. He cocks his head curiously at the first splash of water you pour on him, but starts to smile when you do it again. Of course, you and Jungkook freak out over his first smile, and he smiles at how silly his parents are.

Breastfeeding is hard. Your nipples are in pain, chafing, raw, sometimes even bleeding. But, you keep pushing through it, wanting to use your milk for Moon. He loves it, gobbles it up everytime. You and Jungkook joke he gains a pound a day. You don’t get much sleep at night because of it, but you tell yourself all you have to do right now is take care of him, so that’s what you do.

Jungkook tries to help you occasionally by bottle feeding with your stored milk, but a lot of the times Moon cries and your milk lets down regardless, making you have to feed or pump.

You like to lay on the couch and watch tv while Moon lays beside you feeding. This is how Jungkook finds you most afternoons and joins you by cuddling in behind you.

The apartment is always a disaster, and if it wasn’t for Jungkook doing laundry, you wouldn’t have any. Since you’re home all day, you cook in the afternoon. Jungkook said he would, but you tell him you’re still making up for everything he did for you.

You thought your romance might die out after the baby was born, but Jungkook always finds a way to make you feel wanted. He’s good at small touches and still compliments you regardless of what you look like. He makes you feel as though you didn’t just give birth a few weeks ago.

You try to show him the same affection, even offering to give him blowsjobs which he declines. You’re hurt by it, but he insists it’s because you should be resting instead of giving him blowjobs which you roll your eyes at.

You get mad at him for a while and he makes up for it by saying he’d love a blowjob from you when he can reciprocate.

You practically live in Jungkook’s t-shirts, or none at all. Yours are too clingy. You like keeping your bra on at all times because it stops leaking and acts as a holder when you need to pump. You just slip the pump into your bra and you can walk around, hands free.

Jungkook sets his phone background to a picture of you and Moon. He doesn’t think much of it until you lean over his shoulder one day. “You can’t use that picture on your phone!”

“Why not?”

“My boobs are out!”

He didn’t really think about it. You’re practically shirtless all the time, or at least have a boob out. He forgot that is something people cover up. A sheepish smile forms. “Oh, sorry.”

“How many people have you accidentally flashed my boobs to?!”

He grimaces, rubbing his neck. He changes it to a picture of the both of you again, with your boobs covered this time.

The doctor said you only had to wait six weeks to have sex, but it’s taken until twelve to actually feel like you possibly could have sex again.

Your stitches healed up nicely, but you know you don’t look the same, there and everywhere else too.

Unnie is keeping Moon for the night, after practically begging. She insisted you both need a night alone, but you know she just wants to have her nephew to herself. Jungkook is in the shower when she arrives and you’re still gathering Moon’s things.

“I’m sure if you forget something, we’ll have it at our house,” she assures you.

You smother your child in affection before finally letting him in Unnie’s arms.

“You two have fun tonight.” She winks.

It’s not until she leaves that you realize you left the bag of stuff you got at the drugstore unpacked on the counter. One of the items being lube. Ugh, whatever. You know she understands.

“I miss my baby,” is the first thing you sigh when you and Jungkook are alone.

Instead of saying, “it’s only been a few minutes” Junngkook responds, “Me too.”

The mixed drinks were your idea. Truthfully, you’re more nervous than you were the first time you had sex. You’ve missed the intimacy, but the thought of having to face how your body has changed is hard.

You wish you were confident enough to come out in some lingerie and surprise Jungkook, that’s what you think he deserves.

When the night eventually leads to Jungkook carrying you back to the bedroom you make him stop before he takes your shirt off. He’s seen you breastfeed, but at least then you’re able to wear your pants to cover your stomach.

“Let’s turn the lights off.”

He frowns from above you. “Y/n.”

“My body doesn’t look the same.”

“I don’t expect it to. It’s okay, you’re still you, only you carried our child for nine months.” He smooths his hands down your sides, leaning down. He plants a kiss on your nose, “Which only makes you more badass.” You smile at the flattery, but he knows you don’t buy it. “Don’t worry about me not finding you attractive.” He grabs your hand in his, pulling it down to feel hardness through his pants. “You could never be unattractive to me because you’re you.”

You lean up to kiss him and he meets you there. You forget about your insecurities for a little while, and he starts to suckle on your neck. But, when his hands travel to your breasts and you flinch back. They’re sensitive and sore from breastfeeding and the thought of Jungkook treating them like he usually does makes you cringe.

“Let me take care of you first.”

He’s a little resistant, but you manage to push him to sit in front of you. You get him out of his clothes and settle to the side so your boobs aren’t squished on the bed.

You can tell Jungkook’s having a hard time holding back so it seems like he’s not been deprived, and trying to let go and show you how much he likes it. He makes you pull back before he finishes in your mouth.

When you get the condom from the bedside drawer you reach over and turn the lamp off and Jungkook sighs. Your eyes adjust and you can still see each other in the dark, just not clearly. Finally, you take off your pants, but keep on your bra. You can feel that familiar ache in your boobs and you hope the bra will help when inevitably they start moving.

You tear open the condom and Jungkook lets you put it on him, but pulls back after. “I haven’t touched you yet.”

“It’s fine, I bought lube.”

He laughs when you pull the bottle out of the side drawer. “I don’t think it’s meant to be a substitute for shitty partners.”

“I don’t really want to be touched,” you admit softly.

His face contorts in worry. “We don’t have to do this.”

“I want to though.”

“Do you?”

You nod. “I’m just not open to everything right now. I still want to do this.” You reach up to run your hand through his hair and kiss his jaw. “I want you.”

You can sense his body respond to the words and he settles between your legs. You brace yourself for him to push inside, but instead he nestles himself into you. He drags his hips against yours, making his length brush from your entrance all the way up to your clit.

Your arms wrap around him to pull him closer to you. His mouth finds yours again and you both groan into each other as he works himself up and down you. You were already wet from pleasing him, but this is what gets you needy.

“Please,” is all you have to whimper to him.

Gently, he pushes himself into you, making you gasp at the feeling.

“Does it hurt?” he’s quick to ask.

“A little,” you admit, even though it hurts more than a little. He goes super slow, and he knows how you’re feeling based on your nails digging into his back. “Do you want me to stop?”

You shake your head.

“Can I touch you?”

“I’m fine,” you assure with confidence. Then, he doesn’t even get halfway in till you jolt up, wincing. “Ow, ow.”

“What?” his voice is panicked and he immediately pulls out of you.

“My milk, I'm letting down.” You reach into the drawer for your pump. The feeling was building up slowly, but it just hit you out of nowhere.

You slip the pump into your bra and Jungkook wordlessly gets up, leaving the room. The sobs break though all at once. You feel bad because you want you both to have sex, but you’re also mad at him for leaving you just because you can’t have sex.

“Hey,” he tries to soothe you when he comes back, clearly shocked to see you so upset. You immediately sink into the bed with adoration because he went to go wet a rag to clean you up. “Don’t cry.” He wipes your cheeks with his thumbs before leaving kisses in place.

You let him clean you up, and he pulls your pants back on for you.

“We don’t have to have sex just because we don’t have Moon. There will be other opportunities.”

You nod even though you feel like it’s not true.

~

It’s the next night and Moon sleeps in his crib next to your bed and you have the baby monitor resting on your chest while you and Jungkook lounge on the couch together. Usually one of you falls asleep like this because you’ve stayed up all night with Moon, but you got a good night sleep so you’re both up.

You’re not sure how it gets here, but he ends up on top of you, leaving open mouth kisses along your jaw and your hips jut up towards his for some friction.

He takes your shirt off and you’re about to tell him to stay away from your boobs when he presses light kisses around your breasts, knowing to be careful this time. “Is this okay?”

You nod.

The lamp beside the couch doesn’t help hide your still swollen stomach all it’s stretch marks. You thought a couple months would be enough time for your body to go back to normal, but no. You look like you did when you were a few months pregnant.

He places kisses all along your stomach, stopping in between to say things like, “You’re so strong.” “Your body has done amazing things” and other little compliments about how you look.

It’s oddly tear provoking and you grab his face to pull up to yours to kiss him firmly before you can cry.

His hands snake around your back and fiddle with your bra strap. “Can I take this off?” he mumbles against your lips.

“Just be careful.”

He obeys and looks back down at you with a new hunger in his eyes. His hands are as gentle as his mouth around your breasts. He knows not to touch your nipples still because of how sore they get.

His hands find your pants and you encourage him to pull them off.

“Can I touch you?”

You’re even more insecure now that there’s light for him to see everything up close and personal. But, the only thing holding you back is being scared of how you look, and Jungkook has proven so much already that he’s not judging you.

So, you tell him yes.

You keep glancing at the baby monitor on the coffee table, even though Moon doesn’t move in his sleep. You like the peace of mind.

He starts slow with timid touches, but you encourage him that you can take it. He wants to use his mouth, but you tell him to save it for another time.

After the third finger, you make him pull out so you can have him inside you. This time goes a little smoother. It’s still a little painful, but he goes slow and you’re turned on enough you don’t mind.

It’s slow and not rushed like you imagined the first time would be after not having each other for so long. Neither of you are impatient, you just enjoy each other.

You can always tell when Jungkook is close by his little grunts and the way he picks up his thrusts, and you know he’s about to come when-

A cry comes through the baby monitor. Of course, your first instinct is to run to him as you usually do. But, you turn back to Jungkook. “Keep going.”

“Huh?”

“You can finish, he’ll be okay.” Who knows the next time you’ll be able to have sex again and you usually give Moon a few seconds anyway to see if he’ll settle down on his own.

Jungkook leans his head back down to yours, slowly thrusting back into you. You can tell he’s lost all his momentum, so you squeeze around him, and tug him closer with your legs. Your nails rake down his back in the way you know he loves.

He suddenly stops, sitting up. “I can’t do it.” He pulls out of you, already half limp. He redressess and heads towards the bedroom. Moon’s crying slows and Jungkook emerges with his son in his arms, bouncing him.

“You go and clean up. I’ll get him to settle down,” he tells you.

You come back from the bathroom to find Jungkook swaying Moon in his arms, singing him a song. He’s completely fixated on his dad’s voice. You stop in the doorway to admire them before pulling out your phone to record.

You end up having sex again on the couch, no rush or any sort of pressure. Just wanting to be close to each other.

It’s not the last time Moon interrupts you’re private time, but both always find a way to make it up later.

~

You both tell Moon you love him all the time and there’s been many times you’ve both let it slip that you love each other. It’s easy to do when the “i love you’s” are flying for your son. You both ignore it every time, knowing they were slip ups.

Jungkook comes over to tell Moon goodbye before heading off for work. He leans down, kissing his tiny forehead. “I love you,” he coos, grinning when Moon grins.

He comes over to you, accepting his keys from your hands. He leans down to kiss you on the mouth, “I love you.”

Your mouth opens and closes and before you can form a reaction, he’s out the door.

You reciprocate by surprising him with the three words when you drop off something at this work and leave before he can react just like he did to you.

Eventually, it just comes naturally to say it to each other.

~

“I don’t think I can go back to work,” you admit to Jungkook one night.

The thought of leaving your baby makes you physically ill. You feel like he was just born and now you’re going to have to not see him all day? Not being able to squish his cheeks, kiss him all over, and not feed him until six?! That sounds fucking miserable and has tears in your eyes just at the thought.

Jungkook’s mom insisted that she would retire from work to keep Moon, but you won’t let her do that. You know running the restaurant is her dream that you aren’t gonna let her give up early. You’ve found a few reputable nannies around, but none of them feel like you can leave your baby with. He’s your baby, and you’re just supposed to leave him with someone you don’t know all day?

“I’ve thought about getting a job I can do at home or take Moon to but, I’m gonna lose all my insurance.”

“You could get a job at the restaurant. Part time. Mom can watch Moon while you work, and she can work on the days you don’t.”

It’s not a terrible idea. Jungkook’s mother is the only person you would trust watching Moon besides his sister. This way you don’t have to give up a job. It sucks you’re going to have to give up your degree level salary, but you can make enough between you two to live a humble life. You may be giving up a few luxuries in life, but you think it’s worth it for family time.

“What am I gonna do there?”

“We’ll find something. They did for me.”

“Let’s talk with them first before we get too gung-ho,” you say, but know as well as he does his parents will make it work.

“Mom’s gonna freak out.”

You both laugh.

You’re gone on a lunch date with Kate so Jungkook decided it would be nice to go on a walk. He put Moon in his stroller and headed for the park.

It’s become normal for him now to expect people walking by to stop and try and talk to both him and Moon. But, he’s never experienced it without you there. The women are like vultures and Moon is their prey.

The first people to stop him are two women that look to be in their thirties. They coo at Moon first and then all attention is on Jungkook. “What’s his name?”

He tells them and they freak out, but he could have said anything. “That’s so cute!”

One of them bats her eyelashes up at him. “I’m sure it’s hard being a single dad.”

Jungkook chokes on his spit. “O-oh. No, I’m not single. I’m with his mother.” He notices the way her eyes flit down to his left hand.

This doesn’t stop the whole way through the park. Women make goo-goo eyes at Moon, then at him. Someone even puts their hands on him which he had to quickly remove.

Even men and old women stop and try and talk to him, like having a kid is an invitation for a chat. He just wanted to walk through the park, not be a spectacle.

Maybe he should get some sort of promise ring so people will stop thinking he’s single.

“How did the park go?” you ask when you get back to the apartment. Of course, you go to scoop your son up first and smother him in kisses.

“Fine.”

The way Jungkook answers has you tilting your head at him. “Did something happen?”

“No, just…” he looks off, ruffling the hair behind his neck.

You raise your eyebrow at him and Moon starts blowing bubbles.

“What if we got rings?” He notices the confusion and quickly corrects, “Like, promise rings of some sort? Something less cheesy?”

You wonder where all this is coming from. You haven’t exactly talked about marriage before. “You were thinking about this at the park?”

“Sort of. People just assume I’m single, ya know?”

Oh, you finally get it. Jungkook’s getting hit on.

“Like pre-marriage rings?”

“Or just symbolic rings of sorts since I know you don’t want to get married.”

You furrow your eyebrows. “I never said that.”

His head whips around to you. “When you talked to my grandma about it-”

“Sure, I’ve never had the best idea of marriage. But, the idea of it now seems so… harmless.”

Marriage isn’t what holds people together, and it’s not what tears people apart. It’s simply a label put on whatever relationship you build together. Your parents would have had the same relationship regardless if they were married or not.

“Do you want to get married?” you ask, already expecting an answer.

“You don’t have to get married because of me. I’ve also come to understand that marriage isn’t all I thought it was. If we never got married, I don’t think we’d love each other any less.”

A small smile forms on your lips. “So, we’re gonna get married then?”

He laughs, making Moon automatically grin too.

Detective au/Mafia Addams Family au shenanigans

Do I need you, my hope, my gun? Do I owe you my everything? My heart, my liege, my second birth

Hero Forge is really getting elaborate with their customization features.