Ashton

Profiles - 1 2 3

Chapters⤸

1. yn’s a single mom

2. threats and souped jun

3. Chan’s therapist

4. jealousy

5. what a gremlin

6. piss kink

7. all you can eat

8. lost cats, cute neighbors

9. the bts meal

10. sweaty dudes

11. rats

12. Katie and Sadie

13. she really likes you

14. please kill me

15. yn is dumb

16. The gift of giving

17. hey, stfu

18. cute couple

19. a big fat kiss

20. just shat in the back seat xx

21. getting more acquainted

22. stalker behavior

23. booty pics

24. foobie’s new identity

25. later losers

26. spilled the juice

27. jotchua

28. head over heels

29. pee pee boy

30. ???

31. ???

32. ???

33. ???

34. ???

✧ And with that confirmed you try to get back to your daily life, but while recording Shu who has taken every advantage of being a penguin to do things that he wouldn't do as a human. Like gliding on the floor instead of walking, to which you have numerous videos of because even you could tell your sorcerer had the time of his life with the friction. And instead of sitting on the kitchen stools, he would instead just stand in all his penguin glory on the counter, quacking back at you when you told him to still hold some sort of decency.

✧ When you open your eyes the next morning to see Shu's bare back and a very much human hand rub the back of his neck however? You almost cry tears of relief. And when Shu feels your fingertips graze his lower back, he turns around to give you a smile, a smile that dies down quickly when he sees the tears pricking at the corner of your eyes, "Hey, hey, hey," he murmurs, dipping back down to the bed to cradle your face, "Why are you already tearing up? I thought you enjoyed seeing me as a penguin and being silly?"

✧ You only reply by wrapping your arms around his waist and burying your face into the crook of his neck, sighing upon feeling the warmth of his body against yours, "It was enjoyable and fun yeah, because I also knew you would turn back so I didn't need to worry. But I wouldn't be able to hug you and feel you like this if you stayed like a penguin," you say, pressing yourself closer to Shu who just ran his fingers back and down the spine of your back, "Let alone kiss you," you murmur quickly, Shu letting out a laugh at that, "You're so needy, I was only in that form for a day," he remarks, pulling away to instead lean his face closer to yours, breath fanning across your lips. "But want me to help you remember how my actual body feels like against yours then?"

✧ ".... I don't remember owning a cat," you say after a few minutes of silence, still staring at the cat who was very much staring back at you with wide eyes. Shu fiddling his thumbs at the side while looking everywhere, but at you. "Unless that cat is someone I know very well," you drawl out, eyeing the sorcerer.

✧ "Please don't tell me that's Ike," you speak with a smile, gathering the cat up who was very pliant in your arms and rubbing your noise against theirs. "That is Ike," Shu confirms and you let out a laugh, "I'm not even going to ask how or why it came to this, so just answer me this one question, Shu," cradling Ike in your arms before turning to his friend, "How long can I keep him in this form?" and with that you hear a surprised meow and a quick scratch to your arm.

✧ "Ikey ~ Ike, my goodest, sweetest novelist boyfriend, why don't you crawl out from the couch and into your lovers arms? We haven't vaccumed there in weeks so it must be dusty, hmm?" bending down to peek at the gap, you stifle a laugh at the glare your boyfriend turned cat gives you.

✧ To which your only response is a hiss. Well, it was a very valid reaction being that you had gushed over how cute he is in that cat form to Shu after the sorcerer had told you how long it would take before the spell would be undone. Cuddling and kissing Ike all over his small cat frame for what he felt like was hours on end. He did not know you were such a cat person.

✧ Or maybe it was because it was him? Just as a cat? He assumes that's the reason, but your affection is starting to wear him out, "Ikey, please come out?" his ears perk up when he hears the sad tone to your voice, turning his head around to be come face to face with your downturned lips formed into a pout.

✧ Oh dear god this must be some sort of cat sense inside him, because he knows he would usually be able to brush off your fake attempts to get something out of him - but right now it feels like doom is upon him and the world will end if he doesn't come to your side right this instant.

✧ So he lets out a small purr, crawling over to you from underneath the couch and shaking his body from any dust that has accumulated upon his grey fur before pawing at your knee. His need to scratch you however comes back at full force when you tackle him into another hug, Ike hissing at the sheer force you pulled him in with.

✧ You're greeted by the sight of Ike's bare arms the next morning, blinking a few times before your gaze redirects themselves to stare into your lovers green hues. A soft smile grazes your lips, "Welcome back, Ike! How was your day of being a cat? Oh, are you hungry? If I remember I'm supposed to make breakfast today, so how about I-" as you get ready to head out of bed, you're interrupted mid sentence by a hand yanking you back down and you soon find yourself underneath the novelist, confusedly blinking up at his pouting expression, "... Get breakfast ready while you put on some clothes."

✧ "How come you give me so many cuddles and hugs when I'm a cat, but the moment I'm actually back to being a human and can recopirate all those gestures, you're so quick to leave?" he mutters, and you stare at him in disbelief before a loud laugh slips away from your mouth, your lovers cheeks growing red, but pout still there, "I'm sorry, are you jealous over yourself right now?" you say with a giggle, wrapping your arms around his neck, "Naaw, my little Ike is jealous, however can I make up for this gruesome feeling you're feeling, love?" you wonder, the novelist rolling his eyes at your teasing, "Oh be quiet already," he mutters, leaning down to finally connect your lips.

✧ "Shu? I'm sorry I'm late! I got your message, why did you want me to meet up at Luca's base out of all places, you know the narrow street is hard to navigate- What the hell is a lion doing here?!" you squeak, throwing yourself back to the door you just closed.

✧ Said sorcerer only stands to the side, rubbing his temples with one hand while keeping the lions mouth shut with his other, "And how has that lion not bitten your hand off? When did Luca get a lion? How did he even get it all the way, speaking of which where is that idiot?" you panic, and Shu just hums in defeat, "You're staring at him."

✧ And at that you stop, your panic momentarily ceased as you stare at the lion who is wagging it's tail cutely, "I'm what?" you ask once again, and Shu lets the lions mouth go and the moment his hands are off the lion, said creature is already running towards you, not at all caring about your terrified shriek. "That lion is Luca." Shu says once more, waving his hand in the air, "It's a long story, but if we want to get him back I'll have to get a few ingredients ready, shouldn't take me more than a day, but in that time please just keep him company?"

✧ "I- easier said than done?! I can take care of Luca in his human form, but not as a lion?!" you squeak, Shu just clasping his hands in apology, "It's the same principle! Just, hold out for a few hours," and he's gone in a burst of flames before you can grab a hold of him, and you're left with a lion that resembles too much of a golden retriever nuzzling your neck.

✧ You didn't expect that your meeting with Luca after 3 weeks apart because of his work would end up with a lion attatched to your whole body. But here you are, in his headquarters, trying to pry off Luca the lion away from your body while he just growls at his closest henchmen who is honestly just doing their job, "Luca, please I cannot drag you through the streets when you're a damn lion at the moment, I'll only be out for maximum half an hour, I promise!" you try to reason, but maybe it's because he's a lion now, but Luca has become way more territorial, and in the end you find yourself underneath him once again while he growls at his henchmen - to which you only give them an apologetic look for.

✧ "I think I'll be fine, I think it would be safer for you two as well to stay right outside the door, but would you mind grabbing the food I had ordered in my stead?" you ask with an apologetic smile, the two guards just nodding in understanding.

✧ And it's like a switch turns in Luca's brain upon knowing the only people in the room are the two of you because he's back to acting much more like a dog than the ferocious lion you witnessed a few minutes prior, "God, what do I do with you, hmm?" you murmur, stroking his mane and ruffling it, Luca letting out a purr at the affection he's getting.

✧ Luckily for you, Luca only seems to want to be as close to you as possible instead of walking around the headquarters and scaring his other employees, baring his fangs and growling at whoever enters the door. Even at poor Shu who came back half a day later with whatever a small vial, eyebrows raising in curiosity at the animalistic behaviour, "Ohh, so the traits of a lion manifests faster than any other animal, that's nice to know," he murmurs, throwing you the vial before Luca can pounce at him, "Try to force every drop in it to him and he should be back by the time you wake up again."

✧ And true to his words, you're abruptly woken up by Luca shaking you awake the next morning, "Babe?! Oh my god I'm so sorry for how I acted yesterday, are you hurt?" Luca rambles on, shaking your half-awake body while you're still trying to wake up. Still groggy and tired from trying to restrain a grown up lion all day yesterday, you only glare at your lover who halts in his movements at your sour mood, "Luca, sweetie." you warn with a smile, pulling him down on the bed before climbing on top of him lay your head on his chest, "I'm fine, but right now I would rather want to sleep knowing you're back in your muscular glory instead of answering your questions." If you had to haul around a big lion half the day, Luca can survive staying still for a few more hours as you sleep.

✧ "Oh my god, Mysta?" you squeal, picking up the fox with excitement, but the only response you get from the orange colored animal is a snarl of annoyance, to which you only smile wider at, "Shu I don't know what you did, but please let me have this version of Mysta for at least a day," and the fox in your arm thrashes around at that, trying to break free from your iron grip.

✧ Shu laughs nervously, already sensing the panic in his friends movements and as much as he want to help Mysta, he has other things on the agenda for today, "I'm sorry Mysta... The curse will last for at most a day given how little magic I put into it. He can still eat the things he eats, but he may display a few more traits that's more noticeable in a fox," and before Mysta can jump away from your grip and run to Shu, the sorcerer had already teleported away, leaving the detective in your grasp.

✧ And as Mysta is jokingly squealing from Shu's betrayal, his more elevated hearing senses tunes into your small sniffle. Head snapping to your expression which has turned somber, "Is being around me that bad in that form, Mysta?" you ask in a whisper, and that's when the gears in Mysta's head turn at what Shu had mentioned before he left.

✧ Shu mentioning the more prominent fox traits wasn't meant for you, it was meant as a warning to Mysta himself. Because as much as Mysta knows you're joking, he can even see that devilish little smile painting your lips as you somehow manage to squeeze some tears out. But Mystas poor heart is still torn at the small sniffle that sounded all too convincing and his heart and soul literally hurts thinking that he caused you that "pain".

✧ So the little fox cradled in your arms furiously shakes it's head, pawing at your shirt to nuzzle his whole face against your neck. Even going the length to wipe your tears away with his tongue, and all you can do is laugh at Mysta's desperate attempts to quell whatever "sadness" you were feeling.

✧ And all you can do is just stare down at the panicking fox in your arms with a smile, "God, even as an actual fox you still act like normal, I don't know if that's endearing or fascinating," you tell him with a laugh. And Mysta the fox only glares at you before swiping at your cheek, you yelping in pain and the fox taking the chance to jump away from your hold. Mysta trots a bit ahead of you, orange tail swishing slightly before he stops to stare at you. And a few minutes passes before you can see a wide smile grazing his lower face and another squeak emanating from him before he runs off, "... Nevermind what I said, you looked like a hyena there."

✧ So a day you thought would turn out to be quite humorous and sweet, ended up being a battle for your life as Mysta had somehow become even more mischevious as a fox with the knowledge that it would be way harder for you to grab him and give him a scolding. Knocking over bowls, splashing you with water as you were doing the dishes, laying on your face when you were taking a nap even, the list goes on.

✧ By the time night rolls around, you're already exhausted, slumping down on the bed with Mysta jumping to his side with a smirk, "God, how can you look more insufferable as a fox, but just as adorable?" you huff, cuddling into the blanket, "Anyway, if the curse isn't broken by the time I wake up I'm cursing Shu himself," you murmurs, stretching out a hand to pat Mysta on the head, "G'night, love ya."

✧ Sure enough, when you blink your eyes open the next morning, you feel a familiar pair of arms around your waist and a familiar weight on your chest. Looking down you see Mysta happily snoring away while nuzzling into your chest. And the sight would've been cute, and you would've probably woken him up like you usually did. But yesterday events flash through your mind and before you know it you're pulling your lovers cheeks harshly from both sides, jolting Mysta awake as he screeches, "Wha was that fo-" he tries to murmur, but you only give him a close eyed smile as you stare him down, "Oh you thought you were safe? I have a bit of payback to give you from yesterday's torture." you say, grin spreading wider as Mysta gulps.

✧ "... I'll be completely honest, I think you could just let him stay like this and he would be content," you say after a minute of silence of you and Shu staring at the very big gorilla in the living room. The couches turned over and the table flipped upside down.

✧ "Why do I believe you?" Shu says with a defeated laugh, voice a tad bit higher than usual with how Vox hasn't stopped hollering and making noises ever since he had a chance to take a good look at himself in the mirror, "... Do we just leave him here?"

✧ "... As much as I want to, I'm also afraid he's going to run down the streets and suddenly I have animal control knocking on my door," you sigh, turning to look at the sorcerer who only chuckles nervously, "Is there anything I should look out for?"

✧ Shu shakes his head, and you admire his ability to stay calm when Vox is literally picking him up and putting him on his shoulders with what you assume is a laugh before walking around, "Nah, the spell shouldn't last for more than half a day with how his demonic energy can probably repel it, and he still has his consciousness and very functioning brain, so he is able to understand us, ain't that right Vox?" the gorilla in question hollers in response.

✧ "If anything I feel like this would just spur on his DnD obsession," you sigh, flipping the table back over before shoving it to a corner, "Thanks, Shu. I think I can take care of it from here. Half a day doesn't sound so bad, it's just 12 hours. I'm sure I can wrangle with a gorilla and not break all my bones by then," you joke with dry laugh, waving goodbye as Shu poofs away, leaving you alone with your demon turned into a gorilla, "Well then, how do I entertain a demon inside a gorilla body?"

✧ 6 hours into the 12 hours, you're wondering if you're handling a dog more than a gorilla. Somehow, you've kept Vox entertained by just throwing a ball into the hallway and making him fetch it back to you, your lover somehow managing to make the whole session interesting by doing something different each time. First it was running, then it was trying to walk like a gentleman... As a gorilla? And then he tried to roll all the way, and everytime he bumped into a wall he would would walk back to you, before rolling again.

✧ You have it on tape, it's interesting to say the least, and the rest of your friends think so as well with how Luca hasn't stopped laughing every since he had asked you to facetime him so he could see it firsthand. It's only when you bid Luca goodbye that you realize that Vox is in your face, which makes you screech in sheer surprise at seeing him so close, "Jesus christ, Vox?!" you yelp.

✧ And Vox only laughs, wait laughs? Blinking, you tilt your head once you see his long locks again, golden eyes staring into your own and that's when you realize your demon boyriend is back in his human form. Very much not gorilla, but naked as a gorilla in the middle of the day, "Put on some clothes, you're naked as the day you were born."

✧ And with that confirmed you try to get back to your daily life, but while recording Shu who has taken every advantage of being a penguin to do things that he wouldn't do as a human. Like gliding on the floor instead of walking, to which you have numerous videos of because even you could tell your sorcerer had the time of his life with the friction. And instead of sitting on the kitchen stools, he would instead just stand in all his penguin glory on the counter, quacking back at you when you told him to still hold some sort of decency.

✧ When you open your eyes the next morning to see Shu's bare back and a very much human hand rub the back of his neck however? You almost cry tears of relief. And when Shu feels your fingertips graze his lower back, he turns around to give you a smile, a smile that dies down quickly when he sees the tears pricking at the corner of your eyes, "Hey, hey, hey," he murmurs, dipping back down to the bed to cradle your face, "Why are you already tearing up? I thought you enjoyed seeing me as a penguin and being silly?"

✧ You only reply by wrapping your arms around his waist and burying your face into the crook of his neck, sighing upon feeling the warmth of his body against yours, "It was enjoyable and fun yeah, because I also knew you would turn back so I didn't need to worry. But I wouldn't be able to hug you and feel you like this if you stayed like a penguin," you say, pressing yourself closer to Shu who just ran his fingers back and down the spine of your back, "Let alone kiss you," you murmur quickly, Shu letting out a laugh at that, "You're so needy, I was only in that form for a day," he remarks, pulling away to instead lean his face closer to yours, breath fanning across your lips. "But want me to help you remember how my actual body feels like against yours then?"

✧ ".... I don't remember owning a cat," you say after a few minutes of silence, still staring at the cat who was very much staring back at you with wide eyes. Shu fiddling his thumbs at the side while looking everywhere, but at you. "Unless that cat is someone I know very well," you drawl out, eyeing the sorcerer.

✧ "Please don't tell me that's Ike," you speak with a smile, gathering the cat up who was very pliant in your arms and rubbing your noise against theirs. "That is Ike," Shu confirms and you let out a laugh, "I'm not even going to ask how or why it came to this, so just answer me this one question, Shu," cradling Ike in your arms before turning to his friend, "How long can I keep him in this form?" and with that you hear a surprised meow and a quick scratch to your arm.

✧ "Ikey ~ Ike, my goodest, sweetest novelist boyfriend, why don't you crawl out from the couch and into your lovers arms? We haven't vaccumed there in weeks so it must be dusty, hmm?" bending down to peek at the gap, you stifle a laugh at the glare your boyfriend turned cat gives you.

✧ To which your only response is a hiss. Well, it was a very valid reaction being that you had gushed over how cute he is in that cat form to Shu after the sorcerer had told you how long it would take before the spell would be undone. Cuddling and kissing Ike all over his small cat frame for what he felt like was hours on end. He did not know you were such a cat person.

✧ Or maybe it was because it was him? Just as a cat? He assumes that's the reason, but your affection is starting to wear him out, "Ikey, please come out?" his ears perk up when he hears the sad tone to your voice, turning his head around to be come face to face with your downturned lips formed into a pout.

✧ Oh dear god this must be some sort of cat sense inside him, because he knows he would usually be able to brush off your fake attempts to get something out of him - but right now it feels like doom is upon him and the world will end if he doesn't come to your side right this instant.

✧ So he lets out a small purr, crawling over to you from underneath the couch and shaking his body from any dust that has accumulated upon his grey fur before pawing at your knee. His need to scratch you however comes back at full force when you tackle him into another hug, Ike hissing at the sheer force you pulled him in with.

✧ You're greeted by the sight of Ike's bare arms the next morning, blinking a few times before your gaze redirects themselves to stare into your lovers green hues. A soft smile grazes your lips, "Welcome back, Ike! How was your day of being a cat? Oh, are you hungry? If I remember I'm supposed to make breakfast today, so how about I-" as you get ready to head out of bed, you're interrupted mid sentence by a hand yanking you back down and you soon find yourself underneath the novelist, confusedly blinking up at his pouting expression, "... Get breakfast ready while you put on some clothes."

✧ "How come you give me so many cuddles and hugs when I'm a cat, but the moment I'm actually back to being a human and can recopirate all those gestures, you're so quick to leave?" he mutters, and you stare at him in disbelief before a loud laugh slips away from your mouth, your lovers cheeks growing red, but pout still there, "I'm sorry, are you jealous over yourself right now?" you say with a giggle, wrapping your arms around his neck, "Naaw, my little Ike is jealous, however can I make up for this gruesome feeling you're feeling, love?" you wonder, the novelist rolling his eyes at your teasing, "Oh be quiet already," he mutters, leaning down to finally connect your lips.

✧ "Shu? I'm sorry I'm late! I got your message, why did you want me to meet up at Luca's base out of all places, you know the narrow street is hard to navigate- What the hell is a lion doing here?!" you squeak, throwing yourself back to the door you just closed.

✧ Said sorcerer only stands to the side, rubbing his temples with one hand while keeping the lions mouth shut with his other, "And how has that lion not bitten your hand off? When did Luca get a lion? How did he even get it all the way, speaking of which where is that idiot?" you panic, and Shu just hums in defeat, "You're staring at him."

✧ And at that you stop, your panic momentarily ceased as you stare at the lion who is wagging it's tail cutely, "I'm what?" you ask once again, and Shu lets the lions mouth go and the moment his hands are off the lion, said creature is already running towards you, not at all caring about your terrified shriek. "That lion is Luca." Shu says once more, waving his hand in the air, "It's a long story, but if we want to get him back I'll have to get a few ingredients ready, shouldn't take me more than a day, but in that time please just keep him company?"

✧ "I- easier said than done?! I can take care of Luca in his human form, but not as a lion?!" you squeak, Shu just clasping his hands in apology, "It's the same principle! Just, hold out for a few hours," and he's gone in a burst of flames before you can grab a hold of him, and you're left with a lion that resembles too much of a golden retriever nuzzling your neck.

✧ You didn't expect that your meeting with Luca after 3 weeks apart because of his work would end up with a lion attatched to your whole body. But here you are, in his headquarters, trying to pry off Luca the lion away from your body while he just growls at his closest henchmen who is honestly just doing their job, "Luca, please I cannot drag you through the streets when you're a damn lion at the moment, I'll only be out for maximum half an hour, I promise!" you try to reason, but maybe it's because he's a lion now, but Luca has become way more territorial, and in the end you find yourself underneath him once again while he growls at his henchmen - to which you only give them an apologetic look for.

✧ "I think I'll be fine, I think it would be safer for you two as well to stay right outside the door, but would you mind grabbing the food I had ordered in my stead?" you ask with an apologetic smile, the two guards just nodding in understanding.

✧ And it's like a switch turns in Luca's brain upon knowing the only people in the room are the two of you because he's back to acting much more like a dog than the ferocious lion you witnessed a few minutes prior, "God, what do I do with you, hmm?" you murmur, stroking his mane and ruffling it, Luca letting out a purr at the affection he's getting.

✧ Luckily for you, Luca only seems to want to be as close to you as possible instead of walking around the headquarters and scaring his other employees, baring his fangs and growling at whoever enters the door. Even at poor Shu who came back half a day later with whatever a small vial, eyebrows raising in curiosity at the animalistic behaviour, "Ohh, so the traits of a lion manifests faster than any other animal, that's nice to know," he murmurs, throwing you the vial before Luca can pounce at him, "Try to force every drop in it to him and he should be back by the time you wake up again."

✧ And true to his words, you're abruptly woken up by Luca shaking you awake the next morning, "Babe?! Oh my god I'm so sorry for how I acted yesterday, are you hurt?" Luca rambles on, shaking your half-awake body while you're still trying to wake up. Still groggy and tired from trying to restrain a grown up lion all day yesterday, you only glare at your lover who halts in his movements at your sour mood, "Luca, sweetie." you warn with a smile, pulling him down on the bed before climbing on top of him lay your head on his chest, "I'm fine, but right now I would rather want to sleep knowing you're back in your muscular glory instead of answering your questions." If you had to haul around a big lion half the day, Luca can survive staying still for a few more hours as you sleep.

✧ "Oh my god, Mysta?" you squeal, picking up the fox with excitement, but the only response you get from the orange colored animal is a snarl of annoyance, to which you only smile wider at, "Shu I don't know what you did, but please let me have this version of Mysta for at least a day," and the fox in your arm thrashes around at that, trying to break free from your iron grip.

✧ Shu laughs nervously, already sensing the panic in his friends movements and as much as he want to help Mysta, he has other things on the agenda for today, "I'm sorry Mysta... The curse will last for at most a day given how little magic I put into it. He can still eat the things he eats, but he may display a few more traits that's more noticeable in a fox," and before Mysta can jump away from your grip and run to Shu, the sorcerer had already teleported away, leaving the detective in your grasp.

✧ And as Mysta is jokingly squealing from Shu's betrayal, his more elevated hearing senses tunes into your small sniffle. Head snapping to your expression which has turned somber, "Is being around me that bad in that form, Mysta?" you ask in a whisper, and that's when the gears in Mysta's head turn at what Shu had mentioned before he left.

✧ Shu mentioning the more prominent fox traits wasn't meant for you, it was meant as a warning to Mysta himself. Because as much as Mysta knows you're joking, he can even see that devilish little smile painting your lips as you somehow manage to squeeze some tears out. But Mystas poor heart is still torn at the small sniffle that sounded all too convincing and his heart and soul literally hurts thinking that he caused you that "pain".

✧ So the little fox cradled in your arms furiously shakes it's head, pawing at your shirt to nuzzle his whole face against your neck. Even going the length to wipe your tears away with his tongue, and all you can do is laugh at Mysta's desperate attempts to quell whatever "sadness" you were feeling.

✧ And all you can do is just stare down at the panicking fox in your arms with a smile, "God, even as an actual fox you still act like normal, I don't know if that's endearing or fascinating," you tell him with a laugh. And Mysta the fox only glares at you before swiping at your cheek, you yelping in pain and the fox taking the chance to jump away from your hold. Mysta trots a bit ahead of you, orange tail swishing slightly before he stops to stare at you. And a few minutes passes before you can see a wide smile grazing his lower face and another squeak emanating from him before he runs off, "... Nevermind what I said, you looked like a hyena there."

✧ So a day you thought would turn out to be quite humorous and sweet, ended up being a battle for your life as Mysta had somehow become even more mischevious as a fox with the knowledge that it would be way harder for you to grab him and give him a scolding. Knocking over bowls, splashing you with water as you were doing the dishes, laying on your face when you were taking a nap even, the list goes on.

✧ By the time night rolls around, you're already exhausted, slumping down on the bed with Mysta jumping to his side with a smirk, "God, how can you look more insufferable as a fox, but just as adorable?" you huff, cuddling into the blanket, "Anyway, if the curse isn't broken by the time I wake up I'm cursing Shu himself," you murmurs, stretching out a hand to pat Mysta on the head, "G'night, love ya."

✧ Sure enough, when you blink your eyes open the next morning, you feel a familiar pair of arms around your waist and a familiar weight on your chest. Looking down you see Mysta happily snoring away while nuzzling into your chest. And the sight would've been cute, and you would've probably woken him up like you usually did. But yesterday events flash through your mind and before you know it you're pulling your lovers cheeks harshly from both sides, jolting Mysta awake as he screeches, "Wha was that fo-" he tries to murmur, but you only give him a close eyed smile as you stare him down, "Oh you thought you were safe? I have a bit of payback to give you from yesterday's torture." you say, grin spreading wider as Mysta gulps.

✧ "... I'll be completely honest, I think you could just let him stay like this and he would be content," you say after a minute of silence of you and Shu staring at the very big gorilla in the living room. The couches turned over and the table flipped upside down.

✧ "Why do I believe you?" Shu says with a defeated laugh, voice a tad bit higher than usual with how Vox hasn't stopped hollering and making noises ever since he had a chance to take a good look at himself in the mirror, "... Do we just leave him here?"

✧ "... As much as I want to, I'm also afraid he's going to run down the streets and suddenly I have animal control knocking on my door," you sigh, turning to look at the sorcerer who only chuckles nervously, "Is there anything I should look out for?"

✧ Shu shakes his head, and you admire his ability to stay calm when Vox is literally picking him up and putting him on his shoulders with what you assume is a laugh before walking around, "Nah, the spell shouldn't last for more than half a day with how his demonic energy can probably repel it, and he still has his consciousness and very functioning brain, so he is able to understand us, ain't that right Vox?" the gorilla in question hollers in response.

✧ "If anything I feel like this would just spur on his DnD obsession," you sigh, flipping the table back over before shoving it to a corner, "Thanks, Shu. I think I can take care of it from here. Half a day doesn't sound so bad, it's just 12 hours. I'm sure I can wrangle with a gorilla and not break all my bones by then," you joke with dry laugh, waving goodbye as Shu poofs away, leaving you alone with your demon turned into a gorilla, "Well then, how do I entertain a demon inside a gorilla body?"

✧ 6 hours into the 12 hours, you're wondering if you're handling a dog more than a gorilla. Somehow, you've kept Vox entertained by just throwing a ball into the hallway and making him fetch it back to you, your lover somehow managing to make the whole session interesting by doing something different each time. First it was running, then it was trying to walk like a gentleman... As a gorilla? And then he tried to roll all the way, and everytime he bumped into a wall he would would walk back to you, before rolling again.

✧ You have it on tape, it's interesting to say the least, and the rest of your friends think so as well with how Luca hasn't stopped laughing every since he had asked you to facetime him so he could see it firsthand. It's only when you bid Luca goodbye that you realize that Vox is in your face, which makes you screech in sheer surprise at seeing him so close, "Jesus christ, Vox?!" you yelp.

✧ And Vox only laughs, wait laughs? Blinking, you tilt your head once you see his long locks again, golden eyes staring into your own and that's when you realize your demon boyriend is back in his human form. Very much not gorilla, but naked as a gorilla in the middle of the day, "Put on some clothes, you're naked as the day you were born."

the bright white lights then welcome your vision, and a tall figure from your left awaits you. he approaches your slightly trembling body and holds your cold, sweating palms, "this is gonna be fun, trust me." he leads you to the restroom reserved for pwds, the spacious place is enough for you to have sex with him. "this is the dress that i bought for you, right?" mysta queries as he leans towards you, arms snaking around your waist and bringing your body closer to his. you could feel the broad plane of his chest pressing against you, as well as his painful dick easing some attention from your hands down below.

you hum in response, although something boggles your mind. "we can do it in a standard bathroom, why this one?" mysta pauses for a second but then goes back in track to tease you physically, he lifts up your tight dress and says, "relax, there are three restrooms of the same type. plus, our sex will be something different for now. today, i want you to move and lavish my dick completely." in a flash, your panties were stripped by his long fingers, a juicy wet surface seeps out of your naked folds. "i know you wanted to do something like this long ago, so here it is now. enjoy my dick~" he coos and sits on the toilet, his clothing stripped down as well.

his cock twitches while he waits for you to come and sit on him like a good girl would. his brazen gaze at your figure felt as if he was ready to eat you up and his conceited grin was the cherry on top. you finally get on top of him and held his dick with your hands, lubricating it with your saliva you saved up earlier. you stroke it up and down to keep it in its full glory and hard like a metal rod, you look straight at mysta's eyes as you insert in in your hole. the both of you mewls from the feeling, you rock your head back from the immense pleasure you got upon the first step of riding him. you try to buck your hips to get used to the feeling and slowly hold onto the metal railings on both sides of the toilet as support to keep you sitting atop mysta's lap. "ah— i can't stop myself anymore." he chuckles in response, "you don't have to. we have thirty minutes left to have fun in here."

LUCA — the more luca buried himself in the crook of your neck the more you could smell the scent of booze in your nose. you comb his blond locks with your fingers carefully, earning a hum from him in approval. "luca, are you drunk?" you ask right of the bat as you watch the scenes playing in front, getting cozy with luca to combat the cold atmosphere in the cinema. "drunk, hmm, no. tipsy, maybe?" he says, words uttered sloppily and with a strong accent.

you almost snickered at how different his voice was but at the same time, aroused at how raspy and rough his voice chimed into your ears. "why didn't you tell me? we could've watched other movies in your house instead so you'll be comfortable." luca weakly shakes his head in opposition to your idea, "i had to something special for the stream a little while—" his explaining was cut off with a hic, "do you need some water?" you ask as you hand him a bottle of water when all of a sudden, he opens his mouths and crashes his lips on yours. caught off guard, you widened your eyes but couldn't do anything as luca was already stopping you with hise bulked up arms; the latex texture of his gloves brushing on your skin was eerily cold.

he twirls his tongue and lightly sucks on yours, lavender eyes fluttered close, enjoying the momentum. you try to break the deep kiss by pulling away but to your surprise, your body reclines and fall down on the vacant seats beside you. luca as an opportunist, pins you down on the cushions still not stopping from giving you heated kisses. when he finally does so, a trail of saliva connects your lips to his pink ones, you try to catch your breath from how quick and heated the kisses were.

"luca, we're in the cinemas. we're outside." the blond male hums in acknowledgment of your point "oh yes, you're right— i'm sorry." he withdraws from your figure. naturally, you were shocked at how he stopped just like that. really? just like that? truth to be told, the moment you feel him press his itching dick against your clothed region, it made you yearn for more so you were a little disappointed at how quickly he gave up. "wait actually . ." you crawl back to him and lean in his face, "i kinda want more." you murmured.

luca's cheeks instantly heat up at your words as he was left with no choice but to stand up and strip his slacks down in an instant. "i want to feel you inside me so badly right now." a satisfied smile creeps up on your lips as you remove your clothing as well and bend over on the cinema seat, ass perked up— the perfect position to insert himself in. "you look so pretty tonight." he says as he hastily pushes his cock inside your heating pussy, a pretty moan bubbles from your throat.

thankfully, the movie you wanted to watch was the underrated type and so many people wouldn't attend to watch it. another bonus factor is: the timings. it was 7 in the evening and if you remember correctly, only seven people including you and luca availed for the tickets. you let yourself rock back and forth from how rough luca was pounding your hole, strings of endless mewls slip out of your mouth— almost drooling from how good it is for your feelings. "ahh— drunk you hits different."

SHU — shu and you agreed to do naughty things in the theaters just for shits and giggles but in all honesty, it was because you won from an uno game you played yesterday and this was his punishment (although not really, but still, a punishment). it was receiving a blowjob from you but in the cinemas, a crowded one at that. you've always been a little adventurous, ready to risk things for added zeal and excitement altogether.

you made sure to wear the prettiest, skimpiest and tightest clothing you can wear to seduce him and it was working. you were gliding your hands up and down his sturdy chest as you two tried to focus on the movie before you. every time you'd attempt to play with his nipples, he'd grab your hand and try to bear with the tantalizing feeling.

it was all foreplay, even going as far as planting shortlived kisses on his neck, ending each one with slight sucking that his pale skin turned reddish violet. "god, your skin is so sensitive." you tell him, snickering at the end of your sentence. "i know i know, please carry on with it already and finish my suffering." he whimpers, eyebrows furrowed from the multiple sensations he'd been receiving.

"if shu asks so, then i shall give." you finally get down on your knees to level yourself with shu's bulging pants. you strip him down with swift and ease, letting his lonely dick finally spring free. you lick your lips in anticipation and kiss the tip, slowly working your way down— at the same time spitting saliva you saved up earlier. you bobble your head up and down as you take him in, mouth widened as much as possible because his cock was just too girthy for you to take lightly. it felt sloppy but good in a different kind of way, the more you deepened his cock in your mouth, the hornier you got just imagining his dick inside you.

shu's hips buck up and down to create more friction and to pick up the pace while you gladly obliged. he was starting to feel better than the 'suffering' side, and immediately craved for more. "[name], how come you're so good at this?" he whines as he looks down on you, lilac eyes admiring such view. you decide to make him feel better as you deepened the blowjob, taking him all the way in, until his tip eventually reaches the deepest part of your throat. you feel tears in your eyes form yet you try to show him a caring, comforting smile— in order to make the experience one of a kind for him.

"i-i'm cumming!" he says as he rocks his head back, overwhelmed all in all. you continue on sucking his dick and stroking it at the same time until you feel the taste of his cum splash in your mouth. carefully taking it out, you show him his liquid that you accumulated through dedication and hard work and swallowed it all. "looks like shu enjoyed the so-called punishment huh?"

IKE — you've awaited this moment your whole life, and finally, ike agrees on a movie date. all tensed up from the waiting game guessing whether he'll reject it or not, an answer finally arises. he said yes. and now here you are, arm linked with his, enjoying his presence as you got to watch the movie you both wanted to see. apparently a couple of minutes later, the sound effects from the show silences and clapping noises reverberate inside from a distance.

who in their right mind would even have sex at a horror movie? or perhaps you're imagining things? you turn to ike and shoot him a question, "ike— do you hear that?" he responds, "ah yes. it's normal in this country apparently. do you want to join in the fun too? i'm here anyways." in an unfazed tone, let alone his voice soft and low. you look at him, doubt and shock painting your expression. and most importantly, he said the last part as if it was something out of the norm? "i'm fine, it's okay." you shrug off the tempting desire to see the male feel good from your body, and also to make him absolutely whipped for you as you planned to.

the movie continues, whoever may be doing the deed in the theaters are still on a roll and jump scares come minute by minute, your vocal chords nearing to surrendering every time you'd get spooked. "this movie is the creepiest and the scariest i've seen in a while!" you tell him and even though you used to love this genre of films and shows, you've never been this balls scared of one. "yeah true, the build up of suspense in this one is amazing." he laughs quietly but notices how you're barely watching the movie with two hands on your eyes.

"actually— there is a trick i learned on how to be less scared of movies like these." he shares and it piques your interest. "just spread your legs and allow me to do the pleasure, alright?" your mind was already clouded from the brewing temptation of carnal desire from earlier and now that being scared shitless is added to the mix, you were unable to think thoroughly and let ike take the wheel. his hands snake up to your clothed region, fingers brushing up and down your clit. you moan from the sensation, while ike's lush green eyes squint into two crescents, enjoying the noises that you're making. you heave a deep breath as you hold tightly on his arm, heart pounding against your chest. "go watch now, you won't be jump scared anymore in this way, no?"

you bite your lower lip to try and restrain yourself from being noisy. you anchor your attention back to the movie while focusing heavily on not to let out any loud moans or else you'll be banned from the mall. ike pushes your panties aside and inserts three fingers all the way in, your back arches, pleasure and lust coursing through your veins.

at the same time, a jump scare pops up in the frame and was ike right. you were too occupied from feeling the pleasure than focusing on the horror movie playing. little did you know, the same applies for him too. apparently, he was too busy making you feel good and indulging in the pretty noises you're making.

VOX — it was unanticipated for the movie having several r18 scenes happening left and right, causing you to get irked and sexually frustrated at the same time. meanwhile vox beside you isn't saying anything nor his expressions seem to change. if anything, he looks intrigued and interested, opposedly to you.

you try to shift your attention back once again to the movie playing on the big screen. as of the moment, the story actually seems to progress but a little while after, another bed scene was occurring. "just how much does this movie have porn?" you ask vox with a disgruntled face. "i didn't see it coming too." he responds in a low voice, attention still anchored at the movie. you sigh and decided to try bearing with the scenes for a little while.

focusing again, seeing the couple in the movie caress each other's body and showering each other with passionate kisses, the libido in your body increases rapidly. your breath deepens as they undress each other, until your vision gets blurry and you start to envision yourself with vox doing those things instead. "vox . . ." you whip your head to the right again and place your hand on his thighs. he notices how you're acting unusual as confusion paints his pretty face, eyebrows furrowed.

you begin to reach for his bulge and palm it from his white trousers, and vox bites his lips in an attempt to suppress the gasp about to slip out of his mouth. "you're surprisingly bold today." he whispers on your neck, his hot breath ghost on your sensitive skin. you no longer hesitated to zip his pants down to feel more of his bulging dick, the warmth it emanates from your touch is enough to drive you crazier than ever. "i want it inside me." you tell him as your dominant hand reaches out to his head, pulling him closer to your face.

vox immediately understood what you were trying to do, so he follows suit with your wish. he licks your sweet skin, following with light nibbling with his teeth leaving sloppy yet silent kisses all over your neck. you cover your mouth with a free hand and continue to stroke vox's dick. you feel it twitch everytime you'd glide your fingers underneath the tip of his dick. "you know i can't resist you." he says sternly as he carries your body and makes you sit atop him quickly to avoid suspicion from the other people, a whimper escapes your lips. "you know what to do." vox says as he strips his boxers down and lets his cock free of confinements, standing tall and warm, begging to be inserted in. you slowly stand up from his lap and rake your flowy yet short skirt up, showing vox your burgundy colored thongs that hugs the plush of your ass perfectly.

"my fucking god, what a view." he cusses under his breath and wastes no time by putting his dick into your sopping hole right away with a light push. he supports your position by grabbing ahold of your arms and continues to pound in and out, making sure you're feeling him all the way in. "fuck vox . . my pussy really loves your dick i can't do anything about it." you tell him as you look back, seeing him smirk at your pleading, desperate face as he thrusts into your hole. "and that's just how it should be. if you were to be this crazy about others, i might just act up."

the bi-haired male flashes you a smile as he leans on the huge sofas, waiting for an update regarding the hosts of the mixer. you quickly open your phone with one swipe and proceeded to check the messages application. fortunately, they have responded— but as soon as you read the contents of their answers, you wished right then and there you vanish into thin air.

"hi sorry an emergency came up! enjoy the mixer with them in the meantime, they're a bunch of decent guys, they don't bite (:"

you feel your soul leave you at the exact moment after seeing the whole text, your heart starting to race quicker by pulse and palms sweating from the nervousness gnawing at your bones. turning your head to the direction where the male who wore glasses sat on, you were appalled to see his figure not present there. instead, a new person welcomes your vision— someone who had a quite bizarre appearance, hair is of onyx black but streaked with blond and lush violet color. he was looking at you across the table. "ike left for a moment, he said he's going to order some drinks for us. what's the matter?" his voice sounded honeyed yet lightweight, his aura emanating of warmth and friendliness.

"apparently my two friends couldn't come, and that means it's only the six of us here." you explain to him the sticky situation as his slight smile purses into a thin line. "oh hold on, i'll talk to the others regarding this issue." he says and rises from his seat to approach the three males by the doorstep, calling the staff for the drinks they ordered.

meanwhile you were now left with a male whose looks were sharp and intimidating, mainly his aquamarine irises sending shivers running up and down your spine. you try to avoid his gaze but then a voice from his direction reverberates inside the room in spite of the loud music playing. "hey, you alright there?" his tone was laced with a mix of concern and pressure, you whip your head to look at him and nod a couple times, fake it until you make it, they said.

finally getting to talk with the boys about the scenario, all of you almost came to a conclusion to postpone the event, go home and hold one again when your friends are finally free. but when one man asks how long the trip was from your home to the city and you answered 'three hours', hesitation perturbed their minds. at present, you're currently doing everything to convince them that it's not that big of a deal but the man from earlier insisted, "we need to make the most out of this mixer to make sure your three hour trip pays off well." upon thorough observation of him for the past hour, he was referred by his friends as vox. he radiates the controlling type in a relationship and he definitely gives you chills whenever he gets near you.

another man exclaims in agreement, amethyst eyes squinting into two crescent moons from his blinding smile. "yeah! exactly!" you were sure he was luca. as for ike, the two of you have exchanged several sentences already so there's no difficulty in trying to get to know him more. for shu, he looks someone striking but his saccharine sweet voice almost made you melt like an ice cream faced with the sweltering hot summers and lastly, mysta who you feel most disconnected with.

"if vox insists on that then we'll have to first acknowledge the elephant in the room, we have to break the ice to truly have a fun time no?" speak of the devil, mysta suggests and you agree in your mind.

"ice breaker questions it is then?" shu suggests, while all of you nod in agreement. luca was then tasked to search up icebreaker questions that were truly proved to break the ice, while vox and ike had to get the drinks delivered to your rented room.

you thought it will be a fucky wucky moment to be stuck with a room full of 5 attractive men, but then as you got on the icebreaker questions, the thick, suffocating tension that used to linger in the air ceases in an instant. you started to get a long with them and understood each of their humor, exchanging laughter and teasing every opportunity you get.

"i must say, you're a fun person to be around with." mysta expresses, his gaze at you now was far different from the previous one. this time, he looked affectionate and softer— you were so focused in his charm that you lately noticed he switched places. this time, he sits beside you and balls his fist, waiting for you to reciprocate the gesture. "no, you are." you answer and fist bump him as well. later on, luca's tread of foosteps against the marble floors grow louder as he enters the scene, holding a tray of liquors of different shades in color and varying greatly from the glass sizes. "here you go!" he chimes, voice velvety deep but at the same time enthusiastic. he seats himself beside you and distributes the drinks to each one, making sure he didn't get it mixed up.

"okay, next question please! whose turn is it?" you ask the boys as you nestle the liquor glass on the palm of your hand, swaying it a little— the vivid yellow liquid dances at the rims. "i think we ran out of questions." shu responds with a worried expression sculpted on his features.

another parts his lips open, "good thing i brought this." he chuckles at the end of his statement as he whips out an oval container and rattles it, making shaking sounds. you cock a brow, confused but when vox takes the lid off and reveals the embossed chopsticks with the numbers ranging from 1 to 8 and the word 'king'. all of you suddenly felt the fervor ignite in your heart as you cheered, looking forward to the game you're about to play.

"the king's game. i suppose everyone is familiar with this already?" he places the container on the center of the glasstop table, looking at each person in the room by the eyes. the five of you nod in unison, waiting for the follow up rules. "good. since it's just us six here, i'm getting rid of the numbers 7 and eight, is that clear?"

"let the king's game begin!"

vox commences the beginning of the game and everyone eagerly pulled a chopstick to their own accord and intuition. you hide your pull with a palm covering the chopstick of what you got, but out of curiosity, you scanned the whole room to guess what the others could've gotten. from the looks of it, they seemed to be disappointed and when you finally reveal your hand to yourself, you snickered in victory. you pulled the king.

"i order number 2 to down his drink all the way!" ike's jaw falls agape, "i think the alcohol is getting to your system." he says as all of you wait for the reveal who got the number 2.

apprently it was mysta to which he immediately accepts the challenge and obeys your command. he aggressively gulps the drink all the way down, his adam's apple moving in intervals from the rate he's going. the next thing you knew, his glass was empty. "i'll never forgive you for this." he says as he drapes his arms on his head for support, heaving deep breaths as he feels a heating line down his throat.

the second round then begins shortly after . . luck didn't last that long apparently as you pulled the number 5.

"i order number 2 to flash number 5!" mysta, the king commands to which you slowly turned your head to your right and looked at him in horror. "mysta . . take that back right now."

"oops, which number did you get?" he chuckles as the corners of his lips spread wider. you slowly mouth 'five' and he slams the cushions as he cackles louder than ever.

vox rises from his seat and dusts his formal white blazers, the beads of his bracelet clashing against each other with each movement. "reveal yourself, number five." he says sternly as he preares to unzip his slacks. with enough courage to muster, you raised your hand and avoided his gaze from the way you brazenly stare at mysta's direction. your heartbeat picks up by each second, your hold on the liquor glass was starting to shake and knees about to tremble.

"let's get this over with." the ebony haired says as his calloused fingers hold the tip of your chin, forcibly making you look at him. as soon as you were face to face with vox, you saw his erection springing free just like that, his free hand stroking it lightly. it was veiny, girthy and long all at the same, stirring your thoughts into a cesspool of emotions.

"a surprising flashing from vox akuma! as expected!" mysta commentates, energy not fading anytime soon. he casually laughs the events off while shu and ike were speechless most of the time. meanwhile luca, he indulges in his alcohol from time to time. "you look stiff." the gray haired says as he gives you another drink with a pat on your shoulder, "relax, you're gonna enjoy this."

"round 3! i order number 6 to give number 1 hickeys!" the luck you deemed you had immediately vanished the moment you no longer got to pull the king chopstick. shu walks up to you and seats himself beside, sticking his long tongue out with his hand on your neck in an instant. "sorry about this." he says as he proceeds to start off with flicking his tongue against your supple, sensitive skin granting him whispers from your lips. shu then lightly sucks on several spots of your neck, also nibbling on the part and vice versa— reaching to a point where you're shamelessly moaning from his lustful kisses.

every time shu leaves a spot as it was done, you could hear his poorly stifled hums of pleasure from biting down on your skin. "shu? i think that's enough—"

"there's no such thing as enough." the familiar deep voice chimes into your ears like a reminder as you attempt to look at what was happening, and it was vox clasping on your left arm, slowly dragging his tongue over your wrist with gentle strokes.

shu didn't seem to understand what you were saying as he continued to nibble on your skin, littering couple shades darker of bruises from your skin in every almost spot of your neck. "w—wait!" you whimper from a sudden sensation from your lower region only to see ike with an innocent smile carved on his lush lips. he was palming your sex through your clothes in a painful slow manner, getting you riled up even more.

"you need to drink . . more." luca's lips crashes on yours, forcefully slipping his hot tongue in your mouth, drowning you with his lukewarm juices with a tinge of liquor aftertaste. you shut your eyes and try to relax for a moment, but to no avail, you couldn't.

who could focus in this time where 4 men are pleasuring you all at once? 4 men? that's when it clicked, where is mysta? even though you were occupied by exchanging sloppy kisses with the blond, you lazily flutter your eyes open in search of the man. "don't exclude me out of the fun." he says and throws the chopsticks behind him, losing interest in the game and jumping on in whatever is happening. "mysta . ." you call out to the grizzle haired, but he beams you his snarky smile.

as soon as you peel your eyes open, you were shocked to feel your hands tied up at your front, the leather feeling restrained upon your skin. apparently, the material looks familiar. "the king orders you to . . give these two gorgeous men your best blowjob!" in front of you, standing were ike and luca, pants stripped all the way down, cocks twitching at the sight of you being submissive. your genital throbbed from the sight, their dicks were practically begging to be lapped up by your warm mouth anf you gladly obeyed.

you use your tied up hands to stroke ike's while you gave kitty licks for luca's throbbing dick, starting from the tip down to his shaft. the longer you traced his veins with your tongue, the more melodic luca's moans has become; almost as if like it's music to your ears, it feels very rewarding. realizing that you were paying less attention to ike, you immediately tended to his needs as you stroke him up and down while enveloping his crown with your lips, flicking his slit left and right in a harsh manner.

the onyx rimmed glasses that sat crookedly from the bridge of his nose falls off the more he tried to adore the view below him. you attempt to not break the titillating eye contact you share with him as you gobble him all up in slow motions, circling your palm around his shape in the same rhythm. ike's mewls of satisfaction slips as muddy white strings spring out, as well as from luca who has been currently pumping himself, getting off on watching you pleasure his friend for a solid minute.

mysta gives you another glass of drink to gulp in one go and you happily accept, grinning wide after you down the liquor just like that. "next please!"

"the king orders you to . . be a submissive cocksleeve for shu yamino and vox akuma!"

the two men approaches your wobbly figure, possibly from the alcohol in your system acting up already. "shall we take turns, shu?" vox queries and shu mumbles a low yes. you lay on your stomach by the cushioned sofas as shu faces you while vox positions himself in your hole. he wets the tip of his dick with a lubricant he purchased downstairs, and you could feel the contrast cold temperature of the lube in paradox with the heated up session of the mixer.

shu casually strokes himself, long and slender fingers smoothly gliding along the tip of his cock all the way down. you watch him pleasure himself with a tantalizing gaze, clouded with intoxication and lust as well as your sane bones. for tonight, maybe it wouldn't be that bad to be rowdy. an intrusion from down there abruptly cuts your grimy train of thoughts, you almost felt like screaming in the spot from how big he was. "a goddamn clamper." vox cusses under his breath as his hands grips your naked waist, the pressure leaving imprints on your skin for sure.

he starts off with a fast pace, stealthily thrusting in and out of your hole even though your walls clamp around his shape like there's no tomorrow. the feeling was bizarre yet it felt good, but then shu decides to start it as well. "open your mouth." you wholeheartedly oblige and opened wide, your arms propping you up from the sofa as support to suck him off. your body racks back and forth from the demon's force exerted on you, lapping shu's dick the same way and direction with a few pumps of both of your hands at the same time.

mysta who has been watching from the sidelines earlier, couldn't wait any longer as he squats down to your level and gloved hands snake on your chest, the glossy fabric brushing past your hardened nipples. you yelp in surprise, not seeing him enter the scene nor anticipating his participation. "they say that when you slap a nipple it will harden for 10 seconds."

"i wonder if your nipples can get any harder than this?" he asks and looks at your eyes with genuine curiosity lingering in his irises, to which you gladly answered, "wanna try?"

a slap sound reverberates in the room, apart from your cheeks getting clapped by vox in the other hand. the sharp stinging of pain made you whimper but to mysta's amusement, your nipples indeed got harder than ever. "i see. you're into his huh?"

"alright! it's about time we wrap the game with a bang! the king shall claim the cocksleeve with its hole and the four men who were unfortunate to pull the king's role shall jack off and reward the cocksleeve with their cum! yay!"

vox and shu stops with what they're doing as you sit yourself on mysta's lap, teasing your hole with the dick you've never felt before. luca, ike, shu and vox gathers around the two of you and pumps their cock in their own pace and style, while mysta prods your walls with his cock in, balls deep with no warning at all. "oh fuck!" you swear under your breath as you keep your eyes peeled open to see a grandeur view right in front of you. gorgeous males stroking themselves, getting off on the scene of you getting railed by the king.

you lick your lips in anticipation as mysta bucks his hips upwards once more, "yes! yes! just like that!" you exclaim at him and bite your lower lip as he continually hits the right spot. "jesus christ . ." you stammer, feeling a little too spent from the numerous sessions earlier.

"i'm already tired but . . you four look like you need a hand."

grabbing a hold of vox and ike's dicks with one hand on the left— luca and shu's cocks on your right, you sloppily stroke them, tongue sticking out, wanting to be rewarded already.

luca couldn't avert his gaze away from you, but tries not to indulge in the feeling a little too much by covering his view with his gloved hand, the golden ring on his thumb glinting from the disco light in the room. "what's wrong, boss?" you tease him as you flash him a reassuring smile. "we need to meet up after this, got it?" and the blond was wrapped around your pinky finger just like that.

shu who has been beet red ever since he started to do these things with you, his expressions said it all: he's having a fun time yet the shame is eating him up. "shu . . you want to put it in me after this?" he slightly nods as he pumps his erection along with your tremblind hand.

on the other hand, ike was attempting to remove the belt tying both of your hands up to make the jack of session a whole lot easier. the moment the buckles came off, the moment your realization dawned on your mind. what were keeping you restrained were ike's belts and now it definitely feels a lot better and lighter in weight.

lastly, vox who has been swearing for the nth time this night as he unabashedly watches every detail of your actions in pleasuring the five of them. he was absolutely smitten how you took him earlier with a tender, loving smile in spite of the sudden intrusion of his dick into your velvet walls. "good thing the mixer ends like this." his fangs flash from a nanosecond of his mumbling, focus heavily anchored on your exhausted face.

mysta starts to feel his release nearing and you could tell how his toes start to curl, head throwing back from the satisfaction and lust desire being fulfilled with the use of your walls. "fuck! i'm cumming!" he exclaims and shoots it all inside you, down to the very last droplet of his cum that he painted your walls cloudy white in monochromatic hues.

you pant heavily as mysta's arms tightly envelop your body, feeling a little too fucked up with dicks and alcohol in the mix.

Lucifer is afraid one day you'll realize just how emotionally constipated he is and choose someone else, someone who could show you love and not just in private but infront of the world. Though he'll never admit to all this, at times when he is working late at night, he thinks that his sin, the one thing he used to be so proud of, is the damned thing that is holding him back from you.

Mammon

That he is as much of a scumbag as his brothers make him out to be. Mammon sometimes lies awake looking up at the ceiling, wondering what you see in him. A scummy, greedy, worthless being. Why do you, when you could've chosen anyone in the world, choose him?

Although Mammon's worry washes away a bit when you tell him that you love him for him and that greed is just his sin and he can't control it, he still can't help the nagging in the back of his mind, the little voice telling him that you could do so much better than him.

Leviathan

That you're just playing him like a tool. Levi knows that you would never do something like that but he can't help the rise in his heartbeat whenever he looks at you chatting and laughing with any of his brothers. His mind begins to wonder if you had perhaps made a bet with them on how fast it'll take you to get the third eldest to date you.

Levi thinks that maybe any moment now you'll come up to him and say the words that he doesn't wanna hear. That you are tired of being with a shut-in, wreck of nerves and you found someone else, someone much better. He doesn't wanna hear it, 'cause to him it feels like the truth.

Satan

Satan knows that he has mastered his patience for centuries and would never release his wrath on you. He knows this, yet nothing stops his mind from going places. What if he loses control over something absolutely miniscule and hurts you? He wouldn't be able to live with himself.

He thinks that maybe you would be better off without him. He's like a ticking time bomb, ready to go off any moment and he hates to think that maybe all you are doing is walking on eggshells around him. And Satan hates to think- no he knows that you deserve better, deserve someone with whom you could be with freely. And maybe that someone isn't him.

───────────

Warnings: weed smoking, shotgunning, swearing, sex while high, best friend threesome, wonwoo’s cold hands, dom cheol, switch wonwoo, fingering, oral f. rec., restraining (they hold reader down), they both have big dicks (i yam who i yam), finger sucking, cum eating, crying, voyeurism, male masturbation, squirting, lots of fluid talk, unexpected feelings (as in i didnt expect them) 

Reader Notes: she/her pronouns used, breasts, vagina, sub, wap

“You know what I miss?” you say rhetorically from your place on the floor, taking a drag and preparing to give them your answer whether they want it or not, “Cumming.”

Their eyes grow wide, Wonwoo shifting in his seat and Cheol giving you an appraising look. 

“Do you not do it by yourself?” Cheol asks quietly. 

“No I do, all the time, but it’s just not the same,” you sigh as you lean back against the couch, passing the blunt to Wonwoo and missing the trembling of his hands. 

“You miss cumming with someone else?” Wonwoo asks, exhaling the smoke-wrapped question. 

“Yeah,” you sigh dreamily, watching as Wonwoo hands the blunt to Cheol, who wraps his plump lips around the tip and takes a deep pull. 

They stare at you, not that you notice, too caught up in precious memories of a time when you weren’t the one taking care of yourself. 

You do catch them sharing a look, communicating silently and coming to some sort of decision just as Cheol passes you the blunt. 

“We can do it, if you want,” Wonwoo offers. 

“You can do what?” you ask absentmindedly, blowing out smoke and picking at a loose thread on your pajama pants. 

“We can make you cum,” Cheol clarifies, his face straight and serious but his eyes fiery. 

You only need a few seconds to consider. 

“Okay. How do you wanna do this?” 

“Why don’t you let us worry about that, hm?” Wonwoo asks gently.

You nod, tongue tied and a bit lightheaded already, watching as Wonwoo drags the coffee table out of the way and Cheol starts rolling up his sleeves. 

You wonder if you should warn them how wet you get when you’re high, but decide to let them find out for themselves, like a little surprise. 

You’re already wet, you can tell, feeling the slickness dampening your panties. Who could blame you though, when Wonwoo’s crouching in front of you, eyes hazy behind his glasses and big hands slowly moving toward the hem of your shirt. 

Cheol is watching from the side, having moved from his chair to sit on the floor a few feet from you, and you hold his gaze as Wonwoo drags your shirt up. 

You can see his pupils dilate, and you remember you’d taken your bra off before they’d arrived. 

“Can you guys take your shirts off too?” you ask, lifting your hips so Wonwoo can pull your pajama pants off, “I’m not self conscious, you’re just hot.”

Cheol smirks and reaches a hand behind his head, whipping his top off and tossing it to the couch. it lands behind you, and damn, he smells so good, and then Wonwoo takes his shirt off too, and shit, his abs are right there. 

Right there, and already under your hand, and you’re not sure when that happened, but fuck are you glad it did.  

“That’s nice,” you whisper, petting Wonwoo’s stomach and feeling more wetness seep into the seat of your panties. 

You honestly forgot they’d taken off your pants until you hear Cheol groan, and look over to find him staring between your legs with his lip bitten between his teeth. 

His plump, red bottom lip that you’ve always wanted to taste, always wanted to sink your teeth into, and it occurs to you that you can. 

Now, if you want. 

So you reach one hand out, the other still on Wonwoo’s abs, and wait for Cheol to shuffle over. 

Your fingers catch in the waistband of his sweats, tugging him closer until you can lean up and capture that plush lip between yours. He groans into your mouth as you dig your teeth into his soft flesh, and you moan when he slides his tongue into your mouth. 

Or maybe you moaned because of the cold fingers on your nipple, tweaking and rolling and pinching. 

You’re really not sure. 

Your mind is foggy with the smoke still floating around the room, and you pull away from Cheol to grab the blunt on the side table. 

Taking a drag, you watch as Wonwoo kicks his sweats off, his hard dick pushing against his boxer briefs and leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination, thank goodness. 

You lean in, holding your breath, and press your lips to his, exhaling the smoke into his mouth with a sigh. 

You don’t want to forget about Cheol, so you break the kiss and take another hit, sliding your fingers into his hair and pulling him close to give him the same treatment. 

His groan rumbles deep in his chest and vibrates against the hand you’d placed on it, his skin warm and toned under your palm, and you bite his lip again before breaking away to take one final drag. 

The blunt’s almost done, so you pass it to Wonwoo, who takes a hit and closes his eyes before handing it to Cheol, who breathes the smoke in deep and leans in to blow it into your mouth. 

You feel like you’re swimming, high from the weed and from their hands on you, and you let out a contented sigh as Wonwoo starts tugging your underwear down. 

His eyes track the fabric as it slides over your skin, and you suspect he may not be ready to look at you bare yet. You pull him into a kiss so he doesn’t have to, one of your hands on his chest and the other playing with the waistband of Cheol’s sweats, and you feel more than hear Wonwoo ask, “can I?” as his hand trails up your leg. 

You breathe out a yes against his lips, tilting your hips into his touch when his fingers tentatively slide along your slit. 

Wonwoo works you open slowly while Cheol kisses your neck, drifting lower and lower, pushing Wonwoo’s head down when he gets in the way. Wonwoo takes the hint and slides down to lay on his stomach, pushing your thighs apart so he can fit in between, and you gently pull his glasses off and set them on the couch so they don’t get wet. He thanks you with a kiss to your inner thigh and leans in until you can feel his breath on your pussy, before looking up at you. 

The look on his face, open and wanting and reverent, steals your breath. You’re starting to wonder if there’s maybe something he’s not telling you, but you can’t find it in yourself to care when he finally licks into you. 

Fuck, his tongue is perfect, so good so so so-

You can feel Wonwoo and Cheol laugh, and realize you’d said that out loud, but now that you’ve started, you just can’t stop.  

“Wonwoo, yes, fuck, please can you-,” you suck in a gasp as two long fingers sink inside you, clenching around them already and bucking your hips into his hand. 

“You really did miss this, huh?” Cheol chuckles, wrapping those plump lips around your nipple and sucking until you squirm. His fingers play with the other, tugging harder than Wonwoo did, and you arch your back, pressing into his warm touch. 

You’re close, open your mouth to warn them, but whimper instead when Wonwoo curls his fingers inside you and suctions his mouth around your clit. 

Your hips jump when he works in another finger, colder and thicker and longer than yours, and you love it, you love it all. 

“So good, Wonwoo, you’re so good,” you whine, pitch raising when you feel him groan into your pussy. 

The vibrations feel incredible, and you can feel your clit starting to pulse under his tongue, sending your hips into his face again. 

That begins a delicious feedback loop of you grinding against his tongue and him moaning into you, and with a long, hard pinch of Cheol’s warm fingers around your nipple, you fall over the edge. 

God, it feels like you cum forever, wave after blissful wave of sensations hitting you, and you know you’re crying, know you’re babbling, know you’re near sobbing their names, but you can’t stop. 

You’ll never be able to stop if Wonwoo keeps his tongue on you and his fingers curled like that, and you sigh gratefully as he helps you ride it out and then slowly pulls away. 

Your face crumples when you see him suck your wetness off his fingers, and scrunches further when Cheol replaces him between your legs. 

“Mind if I have a taste too, baby? Think you can cum again?” he asks softly, lips hovering a few inches from your pussy. 

“Can we rearrange a bit first?” you ask, voice a bit raspy from smoking and then moaning so much. 

They nod, waiting for you to tug them into place. 

Your second orgasm always hits harder than your first, and you know you’ll need Wonwoo to ground you when Cheol starts, so you sit up and bring Wonwoo behind you, pulling his hand until he settles at your back, stretching his legs out alongside yours and wrapping his arms around you. 

You feel safer like this, pressed up against his chest and cocooned in his arms, able to feel his lungs rise and fall and his heartbeat against you.  

Keeping one of his hands beneath yours on your sternum, you let the other wander, and it immediately finds your breasts again, testing the softness of them and watching the flesh dip under his fingers. 

Cheol’s just been watching this all unfold, sitting on his knees and waiting for you to give him the go ahead. His thighs look so thick, his hard dick trying to push through the fleece of his sweatpants, and you almost want to keep him like this just so you can look at him. 

“You’re so pretty, Cheol,” you whisper, tilting your head back onto Wonwoo’s shoulder and squeezing his hand with yours. 

Seungcheol blushes, face remaining stoic but the tips of his ears turning red, and he waves you off as he lays on his stomach between your thighs. He grunts when he realizes the angle isn’t very good with you sitting up, and you can see the gears turning in his head as he figures out what he wants to do. 

“Baby, hold your legs up so Wonwoo can cross his,” he waits for you both to move before pulling each of your legs down to hook over Wonwoo’s knees. 

You’re fully spread out like this; you can feel the air on your wet pussy, feel Wonwoo’s hard cock pressing into your back, and you should feel exposed, but you just feel dizzy with need instead. 

Cheol tugs you closer to his face, making your thighs strain as they spread wider over Wonwoo’s legs, and you try not to pant as he sucks kisses into your hips. He chuckles when you whine and try to get closer to his face, unable to get far with your legs spread as they are, and finally decides to have mercy, pulling your lips apart with his thumbs and licking a broad stripe up your cunt. 

He swirls his tongue over your clit and you want to buck into him, but you really can’t move, especially as Wonwoo holds you tighter against him, so you talk instead. 

“Cheol, please, can I have your fingers? I feel empty,” you moan, near ready to give up all your dignity and beg. 

He pulls away, and through lust gritted teeth grinds out, “Aw, our baby feels empty? Wonwoo, should we let her have what she wants?“ 

You shiver at the depth and tone of his voice, and it becomes a full body shudder when Wonwoo answers, “Of course we should, she asked so nicely. Said please and everything.” 

His words trail off at the end, whispered into your neck as he lays kisses over your skin, bites his marks into your shoulders. 

Cheol hums around your clit, brings a hand up and sinks three thick fingers inside, pushing through your tightness to curl into your g-spot. 

You keen through the stretch, your heart thudding harder against Wonwoo’s hand, and Cheol grins into you, watching as your pussy opens up to take his fingers. 

“So fucking good for us, aren’t you?” Cheol breathes, licking your wetness off his lips before diving in to paint them with you again. 

“So good, baby, taking it so well,” Wonwoo sighs against your throat, his lips drifting up and down your soft skin. 

“She tastes fucking delicious, doesnt she, Wonwoo?” Cheol goads, reminding Wonwoo he’s not the one with his tongue on you, and Wonwoo glares at him, pushes him away from you by the forehead, and slides his fingers onto your clit. 

You jump at the feeling, his calluses dragging on your skin as he rubs circles into you, and Cheol just shrugs before sinking down further and shoving his tongue inside you with the next thrust of his fingers. 

Crying out, your hand shoots down to fist in Cheol’s hair and pull him closer to you. He follows, spreading his fingers so he can get as much of his tongue in you as possible, groaning when a fresh wave of wetness hits his face. 

You’re close, so close already, and you don’t think you can speak, can barely even move, to tell them before your vision blurs and you cum with a wail. 

Your hips jerk uncontrollably, into their touch and then away, and Wonwoo holds you down through it all. Your body squirms in his arms, but he’s too strong for you to get anywhere, and you have no choice but to take the pleasure they’re giving you. 

You cum for what you fear might be hours, shivering in Wonwoo’s arms and clenching down tight around Cheol’s fingers, and you can feel the tears streaming down your face, dripping into your open mouth. Your wail cuts out, taken over by a gasp as Cheol curls his fingers into your g-spot again. 

You can tell he wants to go for a third, but as you regain your breath and your capacity for complex thought, you realize you have something else in mind.

“I want you to fuck me,” you plead weakly with a pout. 

“This was supposed to just be about you, baby,” Cheol reminds you. 

“Yeah,” you say, confused, “I want you to fuck me, how is that not about me?” 

Wonwoo shifts from his place behind you, glancing at Cheol from the corner of his eye before his gaze lands on you, “She’s got a point.”

“You’re only saying that because you’ve wanted to fu-“ 

Wonwoo clears his throat, glaring sideways before smoothing his hands down your body in contemplation. 

“Me first, then you?” he asks Cheol absently, his eyes caught on your curves. 

“Fine, but you can’t cum inside,” Cheol stipulates firmly, to which Wonwoo nods in all seriousness. 

“Deal,” they voice in unison with a shake of their hands. 

You stare incredulously, but suppose you shouldn’t be surprised they’re approaching this like a game between friends. 

Because they are friends, best friends, and you’re their best friend too, and this is all just a game, a game that you definitely won’t think about in the shower, or on the way home from work, or when you’re lying in your cold bed alone at night. Definitely not. 

But maybe every once in a while, as a treat, you think as Wonwoo tugs you down to lay flat on the floor and starts pushing inside of you, his size a shock to your system even though you’d literally seen his massive dick with your own eyes. 

You stretch around him, cringing slightly at the sting, and he pulls your ass to rest in his lap, fucking into you slowly until he bottoms out. You jump when you feel a hand snake between your legs, not realizing you’d closed your eyes. 

You open them to find Cheol staring at you with his fingers on your clit. He holds your gaze, lip pulled between his teeth again, and circles over your swollen bundle of nerves with warm, sturdy fingers. 

“You good, baby?” Wonwoo asks gently, waiting for your nod to pull his hips back until he can see his cock glistening with you. He slides back in gradually, giving you time to adjust, though you can feel his fingertips digging into the flesh of your hips and know you must be tight around him. You squeeze down, just for fun, just to hear him moan, and he does, curling over you and dropping his face into your neck. 

The space narrows between you, pressing Cheol’s fingers into you harder, and when the new angle forces the head of Wonwoo’s cock into your g-spot, you yelp and writhe beneath him. He soothes you with his hands running up and down your sternum and breathes,”I know, baby, I know,” into your throat before straightening up again, pulling back, and thrusting in a bit harder.

It’s like you can feel Wonwoo’s cock in your throat, he’s so big inside you, but you love it, can’t get enough, buck your hips into his until he’s really fucking you, fucking you like he wants. 

You want it too, you realize, have wanted it for months, years, maybe the whole time you’ve known Wonwoo, and it’s that realization that makes you break, back arching, cunt throbbing around his length and pushing him into his own orgasm. 

He pulls out just in time, his hot cum shooting out onto your pussy and dribbling down to your ass, Cheol’s hand flying back to avoid being covered. 

You jump at the movement, and Cheol smirks, “Yeah, baby, I’m still here.”

You bite your lips sheepishly, honestly having forgotten about him, and as Wonwoo pets your hips, you whisper a timid, “Sorry, Cheol.” 

Seungcheol just shakes his head in bemusement and tugs off his pants, waiting for Wonwoo to get out of the way before claiming his place between your legs. He gathers up the cum on your pussy, showing Wonwoo his fingers, and slides them inside of you, smirk growing when he catches Wonwoo’s harsh glare. 

“You wanted to go first,” Cheol teases Wonwoo with a tilt of his head, pulling his fingers out and bringing them up to your mouth, waiting for you to close your lips around them and suck before sinking his dick inside you. 

Wonwoo’s cum is still warm, tinged with your wetness and a bit salty on your tongue, but you can’t say you hate it, can’t say you wouldn’t mind another taste, maybe from the source-

“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?” Cheol whispers, leaning down close to you to hide the movement of his lips. 

You cringe, nodding apologetically and gasping when his hips meet your ass, his cock huge and hard inside you. 

“Why don’t you look at him then, baby? Look at Wonwoo while I fuck you,” Cheol commands, gently taking your face in his hand and turning your head until you catch sight of Wonwoo. 

He’s flushed, panting, glasses back on and near fogging up with how hot his face must be. He holds your gaze as Cheol pumps into you, as his hand wanders down to his half-hard cock, as his mouth opens on a moan when he sees the way your breasts bounce as Cheol rocks into you. 

It’s hot, so fucking hot, having Wonwoo watch you like this, seeing the look on his face as your shared best friend fucks you into the carpet, and it only gets hotter when his hand wraps around his dick, squeezing at the head, moaning when precum dribbles out. 

Cheol roots his cock deep inside and you moan too, trying to turn your head to look at him, but he holds you in place, makes you watch Wonwoo jerk himself off, makes you watch him watching you, and you can feel the knot tying up in your stomach again. 

With every thrust of Cheol’s hips into yours, every groan he lets out, every clench of his fingers on your hip, the knot gets tighter, and you can feel your cunt getting tighter too, your walls hugging his dick, swallowing it deeper every time he tries to leave. 

Eventually, Cheol stops trying, just fucks himself deep inside you and stays there, glances over at Wonwoo and smirks, beckoning him over. 

Wonwoo shuffles to you on unsteady feet, hand leaving his cock as he walks, and you’re nearly entranced by the way it bobs heavily between his legs. You’re still stuck on how big he is, so much bigger than you thought he’d be, and it’s not like you thought he’d be small. You just didn’t expect… this. Him. And his massive fucking cock. 

You want it in your mouth, you think, but Cheol has something else in mind, stilling his fingers on your clit and waiting for Wonwoo to kneel next to you, before telling him, “Make her cum.”

You and Wonwoo both look at Cheol, confused, until he shifts the hand between you to your hip, freeing up space for Wonwoo to fill. Wonwoo sucks in a broken gasp, slides his hand between your legs, and rubs his rough fingers over your clit insistently.

He curves his palm around your cheek, pressing his lips to yours and exhaling a sigh into your mouth, and you return it on a moan, weaving a hand into his hair to pull him closer to you. You arch into his touch and try to grind against him, making Wonwoo groan raggedly and press harder on your clit, swirling precise circles, over and over and over until you shatter with a cry. 

You can feel yourself gushing around Cheol’s cock, feel it seeping out of your entrance and coating Wonwoo’s fingers, making them glide on you as you clench. Cheol’s head is thrown back, his eyes scrunched closed, plump lips stuck open as he starts to cum inside you. 

His cock jumps as it spits hot cum into you, making you whine in Wonwoo’s mouth when you feel it flood your insides, and he pants as his fingers speed up on your clit, sending you spiraling into another orgasm. This one hits different, your vision whiting out and a buzz filling your head, and you squirm in their hold as wetness splashes out of you, soaking Cheol’s stomach and Wonwoo’s hand. 

You can’t stop clenching and you can just barely hear Seungcheol whining in overstimulation over the roaring in your ears. You feel something warm on your stomach, break away from Wonwoo to blearily look down, and find his cock resting on your abdomen in a pool of white. 

You’re a bit confused, because Wonwoo’s got one hand between your legs and one cupping your face, so how did he just cum? 

You look up at him again and, through blurry eyes, see his cheeks redden, his hand leaving your face to push his glasses up and cover his mouth.  

You’re still staring at him, dumbfounded, as Cheol starts pulling out, and even soft, his cock drags against your walls. Your hips jerk with residual waves of your orgasm, stoked by the friction of his cock leaving you, and you can’t hold in the whine or the wriggle when his fingers find your pussy and push his cum back inside. 

You try to catch your breath, and Wonwoo’s eyes, but he’s avoiding your gaze. 

You’re not really sure why, but you decide to let him take his time, smiling sleepily at Cheol while he tugs his sweats up and scurries off to grab you a damp washcloth. 

Wonwoo looks like he wants to die, crouching on the floor next to you with his hands hovering above your stomach, as if he wants to scoop the cum off of you but wouldn’t know what to do with it. You can tell he wants to say something, but he seems frozen in place, tongue tied. 

It’s hard, realizing you didn’t really think this through. You didn’t have any worries about your friendship with Cheol, that’s always been solid as a rock, even through you accidentally sending him your nudes and you walking in on him with your roommate. 

Wonwoo, though, Wonwoo’s always been different. 

You wouldn’t say your friendship is precarious, but it’s… delicate. Special. Something you’ve nurtured and grown over time, and now you sit here, his cum drying on your stomach and him avoiding your eyes, and you wonder if you’ve just undone it all. 

Cheol comes back before you can spiral too much, swiping at the puddle then helping you stand and hobble to the bathroom, shower already running and your skincare set out. You can hear towels tumbling in the dryer, and over the water, you think you just might hear Cheol say, “If you wait any longer, you’ll ruin everything.” 

You just close your eyes and sink into the steam, letting this be a problem for future you. 

AN: thank you to the anon who brought this to me and the other anon (same maybe?) who reminded me of it!! and also thank you to @sluttywonwoo for reading this over for me 🫶

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Mingyu was a big guy. 

He just was, in the sense that most people looked and would be considered small in comparison to him. He was tall and broad-shouldered with biceps that broadcasted his strength and pecs that, unless he was wearing an actual coat or any sort of puffy, ill-fitting top were impossible to miss. You hadn’t seen his abs, but you would guess that his torso was as fit as the rest of him. 

All of which was to say that it wasn’t news that he was either large or strong. For the most part, though, it had become a sort of…background noise. Like, the sky was blue, fire was hot,  water was wet, and Mingyu was big. When you’d first met, sure, it had maybe made you a little weak-kneed because you felt honest-to-God tiny and delicate next to him. And okay, yeah, he was also obviously a very good-looking man. You had eyes. 

You and he had slipped into a friendship, though, and so the crush (in your own thoughts, you could admit it) sort of faded away in favor of an easy back and forth, playful friendship. Which was probably why you felt so comfortable teasing him after it happened. 

It, in this case, being you catching him flexing and essentially puffing out his chest – preening, really – for the barista at the coffee shop where you were meant to be meeting him. You stayed back for several moments, just watching him show off and grin at the reaction of the poor barista who was visibly flustered, shaking your head and trying not to laugh at his antics. Eventually, though, you a) wanted coffee and b) couldn’t resist the urge to give him a hard time. 

Smiling widely, you walked up behind Mingyu, sliding your arm through his and letting your hand wrap around his bicep, cooing up at him. “You’re so strong, baby.” You ignored the choked noise he made in favor of turning your attention to the barista and lowering your voice as if to commiserate. “Is he giving you a hard time? I’m so sorry. He’s hot and he knows it.”

The barista laughed and assured you that he wasn’t and that it was okay, smiling shyly at you as she gently slid the two drinks across the counter toward you and Mingyu. 

You thanked her and passed Mingyu his before grabbing your own, then finding yourself being dragged away by the arm still – oops! – linked through his. Carefully holding the coffee in your other hand because you did not want to wear it, you pursed your lips and pulled your arm from his as soon as the two of you were outside and there was the space to separate. 

“Gyu, geeze,” you half-grumbled, half-laughed.

“Don’t ‘Gyu, geeze,’ me,” came his response as he moved to stand in front of you and looked down at you, his expression somewhere between amused and confused. “What was that?”

Lips pressed to the lid of your coffee, you hummed as you took a sip and gave him your most innocent, wide-eyed, fluttering lashes look. “Hmm?”

He scoffed, but the twitch of his lips belied his good humor. “Oh, are we doing that now?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure, baby,” he crooned, grinning when your response was to start coughing, glaring up at him, and smacking your own chest. “You okay there?”

You held your hand up in the universal shush symbol until you were able to recover from the whole being-provoked-into-inhaling-your-coffee thing. Once you had control over yourself again, you were able to speak. “Maybe wait until I’m not in the middle of swallowing next time?”

Mingyu smirked. 

It took you a moment but then you rolled your eyes and bit back a smile. “I seriously can’t take you anywhere. Rein it in,” you said, giving his chest a soft push and gesturing behind him with your chin, reminding him that you were meant to be walking. “It’s too early for innuendo and we’re going to be late.”

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

A couple of days later, you ran into Mingyu at the gym. 

You must have missed each other when you initially came in and headed straight for the group HIIT class, but the sound of your name being called across the room as you exited the smaller group room into the main area was unmistakable. Your head turned toward the voice and your lips curved into a smile when you recognized him, seeing a matching smile on his face and Seungcheol standing next to him, hand raised in greeting. 

Of course you moved to join them at the weight bench and, as you and Seungcheol settled into a conversation, Mingyu went right back into lifting. Every so often, his grunts would tear your attention away from Seungcheol and you’d find yourself glancing over at him. 

Clearly he had been there a while, given the way his body was basically glistening with sweat, his hair wet and sticking to his temples. Despite yourself, your gaze caught on and watched a drop of sweat sliding down his neck, disappearing into his shirt. Which really just brought to your attention to the fact that the shirt was sleeveless, your eyes focusing on the flex and release of his muscles as he pressed the weights over his head. 

Jesus, he was distracting. 

Seungcheol cleared his throat and you turned back to him, forcing a neutral expression onto your face. “Don’t even say it.”

His lips quirked at the corners and he raised both hands. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Your eyes say so much that the words aren’t even necessary.” 

“I can’t control my eyes. You should be able to empathize with that, shouldn’t you?” There was just enough emphasis in his words and just enough knowing in his gaze to make you shift from foot to foot. 

“I –”

“What are you guys even talking about?” Mingyu asked, placing the bar on the rests and turning on the bench to face you and Seungcheol, his brows pulled together. 

“She was just –” 

“We were just talking about how big your arms are,” you cut Seungcheol off, moving to stand in front of Mingyu and widening your eyes exaggeratedly. When in doubt, apparently your new MO was to go for over-the-top and excessive – so much so that there was no way he or anyone else could take it seriously. You purposefully let your gaze sweep over the length of his biceps and forearms, then drifted to his chest. “And your pecs. God, Gyu.” 

Seungcheol snorted – he actually snorted – behind you. 

Mingyu, though, looked back and forth between you and Seungcheol, like he wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or to be suspicious. “T-Thanks. I, uh, I work hard,” he said, running a hand through his hair, and he might actually have been blushing. 

Which was the most adorable thing you’d ever seen, honestly.

You grinned and reached forward to squeeze his shoulder. “I can tell, baby,” you cooed down at him. “I bet you could even bench press me.” You continued the tease, then let go and stepped back. If you felt butterflies in your belly at the sight of Mingyu’s mouth dropping open and the heat that flashed in his eyes in response or the brief mental image you got of him doing exactly that… you would take that with you to the grave. 

Giving yourself a mental shake, you glanced over at Seungcheol then back at Mingyu. “Well! I’ve gotta run, but I’ll see you two around, okay?”

“Wait –” Mingyu started, rising from the bench and taking a step toward you. 

Seungcheol just looked amused and you fucking knew he was going to call you later with questions. “See you.”

“Bye!” You called out, already walking toward the exit. You had to get out of there before you thought too long or hard about why Mingyu’s response to the teasing affected you the way it did.

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

The expected phone call with Seungcheol went something like this:

“So, you’ve got a thing for Mingyu, huh?”

“I absolutely do not have a - a thing for Mingyu.” 

Seungcheol chuckled and you could practically hear his smirk across the line. “You wanna try that again, maybe without the stuttering? I might actually believe you then.”

You flushed and gritted your teeth, grateful he couldn’t see the pink in your cheeks. “I do not have a thing for Mingyu. I have a thing for fucking with Mingyu.”

“Eye-fucking him, maybe,” Seungcheol countered, voice filled with mirth, absolutely at your expense. 

“Okay, first of all, I am a woman who is attracted to men and I have eyes. If you were the one in the sleeveless top, sweating and grunting in exertion, lifting God only knows how many pounds, I would’ve been looking at you, too,” you argued, definitely not defensive. Nope. 

Not at all. 

“You’ve seen me doing exactly that many, many times, and I don’t recall you ever looking at me like you wanted to –”

“Stop! Right there,” you protested in a rush. “Mingyu and I are friends.”

His sigh was loud and his tone was clearly exasperated when he replied. “If you say so.”

“I do say so.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. Fine. Glad we sorted that out.”

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

The next time you saw Mingyu was at a picnic for your whole friend group. You knew he was already there when you pulled into the parking lot, so you texted him for help bringing the drinks and food you’d brought from your car to the spot everyone had set up at. 

You were leaning into your open trunk, switching things from bag to bag in order to consolidate and make for the fewest trips, when he came up behind you and grabbed your hips, leaning over you and resting his chin on your shoulder. “Whatcha doing?”

Nearly jumping – and you would have if his body wasn’t basically covering yours and his hands weren’t holding your body in place – you let out a startled gasp, heart hammering in your chest before you realized it was him. “What –”

“Easy there,” you heard him say softly into your ear before the hands on your hips squeezed gently, “It’s just me.”  Mingyu then released you and drew back, coming to rest on the bumper of your car, looking wholly pleased with himself. 

“Mingyu, I swear to God – Just for that, you get to carry the heavy stuff!” You gave yourself several moments for your heart to stop racing and for the blood to stop rushing through your head, body still trying to work its way past the initial startle. Deliberately not allowing yourself to think about anything else – namely, the way your body had reacted to that squeeze of your hips with him pressed up behind you. 

That was just biology, anyway. 

Or something like that. 

Mingyu laughed and his smile widened. “Worth it.” 

You crossed your arms and narrowed your eyes at him, trying not to let your lips twich and betray your own enjoyment. His good humor was contagious, but there was a point to be made here!

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry!” As he stood back up, he held his hands out. “Load me up.”

Your smile was wicked when you hefted the cooler full of beverages into his arms, then plopped several bags down on top of it. “That’s not too much for you, is it?” you asked as sweetly as could be. “Not too heavy?” You grabbed the one remaining bag, that one carrying bags of chips and clearly the lightest of the bunch, and pulled the trunk closed. 

He shook his head and lifted the cooler higher, not looking like he was exerting himself too much, but you did feel a little bad. 

“Are you sure? Because I was just messing with you and I really can –”

“No,” he said with another shake of his head and turning away when you reached out to grab for one or more of the bags. “I’ve got it, I promise. You brought it here, the least I can do is carry it.”

And he really did. 

When you got to the area where everyone else was and Mingyu placed the cooler on the ground, you came up behind him, rested your palm against his shoulder blade, and couldn’t help yourself. You said, “Thank you, baby. I don’t know how I would’ve carried all of that without you. You’re just so much stronger than me,” then dropped the bag of chips onto the picnic table and walked over to greet the others, leaving him to stare after you and not looking back to see the mix of emotions play across his face.

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

After that, it just became a habit for you to point out how big he was, how strong whenever the opportunity presented itself, sometimes on purpose and sometimes just because – now that you had started actively noticing again, you noticed. 

Like the time a couple of the guys and you, including Mingyu, had got caught in the rain after lunch at a restaurant near your place. Since your apartment was closer and nobody had any pressing plans, you decided to just run there and hide out until the rain let up. You changed into a set of dry clothes and handed the guys dry shirts – you couldn’t do much about their pants, but you definitely had some oversized shirts lying around. In your defense, it wasn’t as though you intentionally gave him a shirt that his torso stretched so much that it was a miracle it didn’t tear. It was just the biggest shirt you had and, breasts or not, they were no match for his broad shoulders. 

“Oh,” you’d said a little breathlessly as you watched him try to squeeze into it and fought to pull it down to cover his upper body. “I, uh, fuck. You’re big.” The damned shirt left his belly bared and lord have mercy, but you couldn’t look away from his abs. They really were as fit as the rest of him. 

You watched as a shiver seemed to run through him and heard his breathing pick up pace, which was enough to shake you out of your stupor and into action. “Shit, you’re still cold, right? Hold on. I think I ended up with one of my ex’s hoodies after the break-up!” 

You’d managed to grab said hoodie from your closet and toss it at him before escaping into the living room where the rest of the guys were watching some action movie. 

A mischievous voice in the back of your head was the reason for the lion’s share of the instances, though. 

Including the time you decided you wanted to rearrange your living room on a random Saturday morning. The two of you were standing in your living room and you purposefully bit at your lower lip, giving him your best doe eyes and asked him so nicely, “Gyu? Can you help me move my couch? It’s just so heavy and it’s way too big for me to move, but I know how strong you are and I just – can you?”

He had squeezed his eyes shut and you watched the rise and fall of his shoulders as he appeared to take a very deep breath before opening his eyes and smiling kindly over at you. “Sure! Where do you want it?”

Oof. There was a question your brain chose to interpret in the absolutely wrong way. Were you teasing him with this or were you torturing yourself? Probably both, but fuck if you could stop. 

“Uh, over – over there, please.”

“There?” he asked, gesturing, and you nodded. He took a step toward the couch, looking back at you over his shoulder and you could have sworn his gaze flickered down to your lips. “Okay, baby. If that’s where you want it, that’s where you’ll get it.”

You really hoped he didn't see – or hear – your reaction to the endearment or the ease with which he moved the heavy couch across the floor. The way your breath hitched in your throat or the way you chewed at your lower lip, traitorous body clenching around nothing. And you couldn’t exactly complain because a) you’d started it, b) you actually really didn’t want him to stop. 

Which was absolutely something you needed to unpack later. 

Time to brazen it out again, apparently. You walked up to Mingyu and hugged him from the back as he settled the couch into its new location. “Thank you,” you said breezily, forced though the nonchalance may be. “You’re my own, personal Superman.”

The doorbell signaled the arrival of your other friends, pulling your attention (and arms) from Mingyu as you went to answer the door. 

Some small part of you was aware you may be playing with fire, but the larger part of you almost wanted to get burned. 

Not that you would, of course. Because you two really were just friends.

You were. 

And so it continued. 

You needed something from a tall shelf? You asked him to get it for you and gushed over him when he handed it to you. 

You were playing a game of soccer in the park and he kicked the ball completely normally hard? You laid the praise on thick for the power in his legs. 

It didn’t matter how innocuous whatever the action was or the looks everyone else gave the both of you. You, for the clearly over-the-top emphasis on Mingyu’s size and strength. Mingyu for the way he would either blush or lean into it, asking if you needed anything else – anything at all – kicking the ball harder the next time, grabbing more bags on his next trip, adding more weight to his sets. 

You just kept poking and he kept rolling with it, the two of you falling into a new sort of routine.

The most recent instance of which being when your heel broke as Mingyu was walking you home. He’d met you for a quick coffee and snack on your way home from work. You certainly didn’t plan for the heel on your shoe to break six blocks from your apartment, or for Mingyu to sweep you up in his arms, one tucked beneath your knees and the other resting against your back. 

In all honesty, the universe should get some credit for that one. 

His name came out on a shriek as you found yourself airborne, your arms instinctively wrapping around his shoulders to prevent yourself from falling on your ass. “Mingyu!” You looked at him then down at the ground. If he dropped you from this height, it would definitely hurt. Tightening your hold around his broad shoulders, you lifted your gaze from the cement passing beneath you to his gaze.

“So this is what the world looks like from up here,” you said with a puff of laughter, a smile curving your lips as you watched him try to bite back his own smile. “I can walk, though, you know? It’s not the first time I’ve done the broken-heel hobble.” 

“I know you can, but you’re not going to.” He shook his head as you opened your mouth to protest. “You don’t have to. I’m here. Let me help you, yeah?”

You sucked your lower lip into your mouth, the action unconscious, but the playfulness in your voice was not. “You just wanna show off.”

His grin was instant and more than a little mischievous. “What am I showing off?”

Pfft. Now he was just fishing for compliments. But it was part of your game so you were, er, game. 

You loosened your death grip around his shoulders just enough that you could brush a hand across the width of his back and give one of said shoulders a squeeze. “These. The strength in them. How it doesn’t even phase you to pick me up and bridal carry me half a mile because you’re my big, strong hero.”

Mingyu’s hold on you tightened and his focus definitely dropped to your lips before he quickly turned his head forward to watch where he was going. “So you’re saying I have a hero complex?”

“Hah,” you playfully scoffed. “That and you have a strength kink so you just love it when people notice.”

Mingyu stopped in his tracks, turning his head and giving you an incredulous look. “I have a strength kink? Sweetheart,” he crooned, “I think maybe you need to look in the mirror before you start casting stones.” He called you ‘sweetheart’ and he fucking crooned, at which you felt the pink spreading across your cheeks and a wave of heat rush through you. 

You cleared your throat. “Maybe I do,” you said, injecting the words with as much casualness as you could. “And maybe I don’t. Maybe I just like the way you react when I point it out.”

The fingers curled around your knee squeezed, and you felt his very real strength in a different way. When his eyes darkened right then and there, your mouth went dry. 

“You’re late,” came a wry voice from somewhere behind you, breaking the impromptu staring contest you and Mingyu had entered into. When you looked over your shoulder and saw Seungcheol standing at the main door to your building, your eyes widened. 

“Cheol! I’m so sorry. My shoe broke on the way back and it took us a little longer,” you explained, smiling sheepishly. “Forgive me?”

“I can see that,” he replied, voice full of humor as he looked from you to Mingyu, “and of course I’ll forgive you. I’ve got her from here, man. You can head out.”

“No.”

“What?” you and Seungcheol asked in unison. Seungcheol had a brow arched at your other friend and you were looking at Mingyu like he’d grown another head. 

Mingyu didn’t look away from the other man when he elaborated. “I’ve carried her this far; I can carry her the rest of the way. Can you get the door?” he asked Seungcheol.

Seungcheol gave a shrug and did just that, catching your eye as Mingyu carried you past him through the doorway, the gleam in his eyes giving away his curiosity and ongoing amusement. He definitely wasn’t going to let you off the hook on this one.

When you got to your apartment, Seungcheol entered first and made his way directly to the couch in the living room, leaving you and Mingyu in the entryway. You tapped Mingyu’s shoulder and tried to extract yourself from his hold. “Okay, Hercules,” you teased. “You can put me down now. The damsel has safely made it all the way home.”

Not letting you down immediately, he instead shifted you in his arms so that you were sliding down the front of his body, toes just brushing the floor beneath you but not lowering you fully to your feet. You looked up at him curiously, trying to stretch your legs enough so you could actually stand, but were unsuccessful. “Mingyu?” 

He had a hand on your hip and the other arm was wrapped around the middle of your back, holding you pressed against him, when his gaze found yours, expression unreadable. “Why’s Cheol here?”

What?

“We’re studying. Well, he is. He has a paper and I promised him I would help with editing it,” you answered, surprising yourself with how soft and almost breathless your voice was. But God, it was one thing to see him in those tank tops and sleeveless tops or shirts that fit just right, and it was something else entirely to feel every one of those muscles against the entire length of your body. While he just held you there, not appearing to be exerting himself much if at all. Despite yourself, your arms slid back around his shoulders and you found yourself clutching at the back collar of his shirt. 

Mingyu’s lips curved into a smile and his expression shifted into something you could read: pleased. “Is that all?” 

“‘Is that all?’ Um, of course it is? What else would it be, you weirdo?” His question was enough to shake you out of your – very brief, thank you – moment of distraction caused by his ridiculous upper body and how damned tall he was that he could hold you there, still towering over you while your feet didn’t reach the floor. “Seriously, I’m home and I can stand. Let me down so I can go help Cheol and we can maybe finish in time for me to get some sleep tonight.”

“If you have to ask, then I’m not worried.” You felt your feet touch the ground and Mingyu’s hold release so that you were bearing your own weight again. If anything, he looked even more pleased with himself as he slid his arms from around you, but didn’t move away. 

Worried? You were going to ask him what that was supposed to mean but Seungcheol chose that moment to shout from the other room, “Are you two done flirting yet?”

You were going to kill him. 

“We’re not flirting, you brat!” You shouted back, pinching the bridge of your nose, hoping it was dark enough in the entryway that Mingyu somehow miraculously didn’t see the blush that crept over your face. Which was also really annoying because why the fuck were you even blushing? 

Mingyu grinned at you then leaned down to press a quick kiss to your forehead. “Aren’t we?” he asked, earning a wide-eyed look from you, before turning to leave. 

He left and you stood there for several moments trying to process those two words. Were you flirting? 

As expected, Seungcheol had his laptop open when you walked into the living room, but he wasn’t looking at it. Instead, he was smirking knowingly over at you, and you had to fight the urge to squirm under that gaze. 

Deciding that discretion really was the better part of valor and, maybe if you ignored him, he would let it go, you grabbed his computer and pulled it into your lap, eyes scanning the document. You lasted for all of thirty seconds before you broke. 

“Okay, what?” you asked, finally turning your head to look at him and finding him staring at you. 

“Are we not talking about that territorial display downstairs?”

“Terri– What territorial display?”

He laughed. “Please tell me you’re not that oblivious and are just faking it because you’re trying to get me to shut up.”

Given that you were still trying to process whether or not you and Mingyu had been flirting, you were so not ready to consider whether he had been acting territorial and definitely not to talk about it with someone else, not even Seungcheol. Maybe especially Seungcheol, given the two men were close. 

“Why ask a question when you already know the answer? Just go get me some water, please. And maybe some ibuprofen. I can feel the migraine coming on.”

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

Two days later, you had been able to do enough self-reflection to admit that okay, yes. You might have been flirting with Mingyu and maybe you sort of weren’t quite as over that crush as you previously believed. Or maybe you had been, but if that were true at some point, it probably wasn’t anymore. Some part of you got a thrill out of calling Mingyu, “baby,” and putting your hands on him. 

On the way he had blushed sometimes at first but how, more and more recently, he would touch you back and call you, “baby.” How he didn’t even hesitate to just pick you up and carry you across town for anyone to see. 

And fine, all right, it was possible that you’d woken up this morning from a dream about him whispering the endearment into your ear while he thrust himself into you, while your nails raked down his back and you panted his name, begging him not to stop. 

Fine. 

That didn’t mean you had to act on it, though, because This, too, shall pass and all that. You could flirt with your friend without it meaning anything.

As soon as you walked into the house party and your eyes spotted Mingyu laughing down at something some random woman you’d never seen before was saying, and the way she swatted at his bicep, though, you knew you were well and truly fucked. Neither of them were doing anything even remotely wrong and yet the hurt, the anger, the goddamn jealousy you felt burned through you and were mortifying. You were not going to claw some innocent woman’s eyes out for being rightfully attracted to Mingyu, who was your friend.

Just your friend.

Forcing yourself to tear your gaze away from the two unsuspecting victims of your eye daggers, you made a beeline for the kitchen and thus the alcohol. Wholly focused on not focusing on Mingyu, you missed the way his gaze followed you, brows drawn together.

Nor did you see his sharp eyes catch sight of Seungcheol entering after you, or the way those eyes narrowed in response. 

Instead, you grabbed a beer from the fridge and struggled to twist the cap off when your friend found you. Seungcheol rested his back against the counter next to you and watched you fight to twist the top off of a not a twist-off bottle, lips twitching. “Rough day, cupcake?”

“You,” you said in a voice that was half frustrated whine and half accusatory. 

“What about me?”

“You did this!” You grunted, pouting at the bottle in your hand and trying even harder to twist the damned lid off, glaring at the bottle when it didn’t budge. “I was totally fine – happy, even – living in, I don’t know, denial? Ignorant bliss?”

Seungcheol’s gaze drifted behind you, toward the entrance to the kitchen, and he looked like he was going to speak, but you cut him off. “But no, you just had to bring up me having a thing for Mingyu and flirting and ‘territorial displays’ and oh my God, Cheol! I have a thing for Mingyu. I so have a thing for Mingyu. And he’s out there – I mean, of course he’s out there flirting with a woman, okay, because we’re just friends, but fuck my fucking life.” 

Taking in a deep breath because, after that ramble, you needed it, you finally turned your attention away from the still-unopened beer and back to him. You took in the arched eyebrow and the quirk of his lips, and the way his focus was still behind you and over your head. 

“What are you even looking a–” you started, turning your head to figure out what was so captivating, and nearly dropped the bottle in your hand when you saw Mingyu standing not three feet away. “Oh hell.”

“I’ll take that as my cue.” Seungcheol gave your shoulder a pat as he walked by you, sharing a look with Mingyu that you couldn’t see – only the nod Mingyu gave before returning his full focus to you. 

Once Seungcheol was gone, you gave Mingyu your best impression of a definitely-not-embarrassed smile and forced out a cheery, “Hi!”

“Hi,” he said back, closing the distance between you two, hand reaching out to grab your hip gently to stop you when you started to take a step backwards. 

“How – uh, how much of that did you hear, exactly?” 

Mingyu’s lips curled into a smile and the hand on your hip squeezed, his thumb then brushing against your hip bone and causing you a shiver to make its way down your traitorous spine. “I walked up somewhere around ‘territorial displays.’ Which is kind of ironic, actually, because I was on my way in here to put on another one. Still might.” 

You groaned. “Oh God. You heard it all then.” The rest of his words registered and you let out a soft, confused laugh. “Wait, what? For whom, exactly?” You looked around the kitchen, mostly empty at the moment, save the two of you and a couple kissing in the opposite corner, clearly wrapped up in themselves. 

“You mean when I walked in or now?” Mingyu drew you closer to him, his other hand coming up to brush your hair back, his voice a quiet rumble. “I know you guys are friends, too, but every time I turn around, you and Cheol are together.” 

As he entered your space, your hands moved to rest against his chest and you swallowed hard. At the strength beneath your touch – not teasing now – and his closeness. The way he blocked everything from your view except him because he was so goddamn big. 

Which was how this whole thing started.

“I’ve been trying to tell myself that he’s not the one you can’t seem to stop touching,” Mingyu admitted, gaze dropping down to watch your hands, unconsciously stroking over his chest, sliding down his torso and causing his abdominal muscles to flex beneath your touch. Then he looked back up at you. “The one you keep calling, ‘baby.’”

Christ, you could feel the burn in your cheeks and you weren’t sure how much of that was from embarrassment at being called out or how much it was a result of feeling him flex under your fingertips and look down at you with a burning intensity in his eyes. You bit back a gasp when he dropped his head toward yours and you felt his breath against your face. 

“He’s not. I only do that with you, Gyu. You know that, don’t you?” 

He hummed, the hand at your face shifting to cradle the back of your head and tilt it further back. He leaned in closer and let his lips hover over yours. “I do now,” he spoke softly, closing the distance between your lips and brushing his against yours. “And I wasn’t flirting with her, just so that’s clear. Only wanna flirt with you.”

You sucked in a sharp breath then, your hands clutching at his hips. Unable to stop yourself, you rose up on your toes and pressed your lips into his in a soft kiss. 

Mingyu’s fingers tightened in your hair and he deepened that kiss, his tongue sweeping out to taste your lips, teeth capturing and gently nipping at your lower lip, tearing a soft whimper from you, which pulled a groan from him and had both of his hands slipping down to your waist, sliding down and around to cup your ass, dragging your hips into his. 

Lifting your arms up, you wound them around his shoulders and pressed closer, a thrill shooting through you, centering in your core, at the drop in pitch of his voice when his hands moved from your ass to the back of your thighs and he lifted you up his body, your legs automatically encircling his waist. “You want that? Want to be the only one I flirt with?”

You nodded, letting your forehead rest against his and trying your best to focus on answering him rather than rubbing yourself against him like a damned cat. “Mhm. Unless you want me to go flirt with someone else? I guess I could see what Cheol’s up to….” You wouldn’t, but the urge to push Mingyu’s buttons clearly hadn’t gone away.

His voice was a growl when he spoke and he brought a hand up to fist in your hair, grip tight enough for you to really feel the pull. Which you did. In a straight line from his hold to your cunt, which clenched in response, liquid desire starting to pool. “Not gonna fucking happen, baby.”

Your thighs squeezed his sides at that, and you let out an embarrassingly needy sound. God, why was it so hot to rile him up and hear him say shit like that? “No? Why – Why’s that, baby?”

The smile he gave you then was cocky, his dark eyes smoldering, knowing. “Guess you want that territorial display, huh? I’ve got you, sweetheart, and I’ll put on a little show just for you,” he promised. 

Did you want that?

Mingyu carried you out of the kitchen, just like that – legs and arms wrapped around him, very clearly staking his claim in front of anyone and everyone who happened to notice him walking you to his bedroom and shutting the door behind the two of you. Your gaze flickered behind him along the way, catching sight of the amusement on some friends’ faces, surprise on others’, and – you narrowed your eyes as you watched Hoshi pass cash to Jeonghan. You were totally going to kick both of their asses later.

You found yourself pressed up against the door as Mingyu closed it behind you, his big, broad form flush to you and holding you there. His hips giving a thrust into you and the friction where you’d needed it pulling a whimper from between your lips. You cursed, squirming against him, legs around him dragging him even closer, moaning his name at the hard length he rolled against your clothed cunt. “S-Shit, you’re big everywhere.” 

He let out a breathy laugh then and your insides went a bit melty at the slight flush you saw spread across his cheeks. “I could make a Red Riding Hood comment here, but I’m trying really hard not to.”

“...the better to fuck me with?” 

Mingyu’s eyes squeezed shut and his hips bucked into you before he turned you from the door and carried you over to his desk, dropping you down onto it and stepping back between your legs. His hands landed on your knees, slowly sliding up your thighs. “You gonna let me?” he asked, his voice thick with need, as he reached the apex of your thighs and he slipped a hand between them, fingers pressing along the seam of your jeans, mouth dropping open at the heat and the moisture he felt there. 

“God,” you gasped, jerking into his touch, your own hands coming to rest on his biceps and squeeze. “If you don’t, I’m gonna need the room, I –” you moaned when his fingers managed to roll the thick fabric against your clit, when his breath hitched and he groaned your name. 

“If I don’t fuck you, you’re gonna fuck yourself on my bed?”

Your nails dug into the backs of his biceps and you felt another wave of arousal drip out of you, soaking the denim beneath his fingertips. You nodded. “Make it nice and messy, too. So you can’t lie down there without thinking about me with my f-fingers inside myself. Without wishing it had been you inside me instead.”

The hand not between your thighs grabbed the nape of your neck, tilting your head back, and Mingyu stared down at you with naked hunger. “Who says I don’t already think about that when I’m lying there, hm?”

“You – fuck, please.” You let your head fall further back, but your hands moved to the hem of his shirt, pushing it up, palms pressed against the bare skin of his abdomen. Fingers tracing the lines of muscle there, following them up his torso. 

Mingyu drew back to pull his shirt up and over his head, tossing it behind him before he was back in your space, helping you get your own shirt off before returning to your space and covering your lips with his, his tongue sweeping between your lips and tangling with yours. Captured your little gasps and whimpers into his mouth as he unfastened your jeans and dragged them down over your ass, turning his attention to placing kisses and licks against your neck, voice a low rumble when you lifted your hips for him. “Mm, such a good girl for me. So helpful.”

You braced your weight with your hands, pressed flat to the desk on either side of your hips, nodding. “I can be a really good girl.” As if to demonstrate your point, you gladly kicked the denim away once it reached your ankles. “Especially if I’m properly motiva–” you broke off with a yelp when Mingyu fell to his knees in front of you and pulled your hips forward, lifted your knees onto his shoulders, and started nipping and kissing his way up your inner thigh. 

“What was that?” he crooned, lips curved into a smirk that said he knew exactly what he was doing to you and loved the effect he had on you already. 

“Properly motivated! I do well with – with that, Gyu…” 

His fingers pressed into the seat of your panties, groaning at how wet they were. He hooked those same fingers beneath the fabric of your panties, drawing it to the side and baring you to his gaze. “So fucking pretty, baby. Already so needy for me, I probably don’t even need to use my tongue on you, do I?”

He really didn’t, but fuck, you wanted him to. Your whine and the way you bucked your hips were all the response he needed, and he gave a soft chuckle, breath warm against your cunt and nearly a caress in and of itself. 

You lifted your hips for him again as he drew your panties down and off, and at the first swipe of his tongue along your slit, your elbows nearly buckled. When he flicked it against your clit, then wrapped his lips around it and sucked, the sharp stab of pleasure was so acute that you had to drop back down onto your forearms. Just the fucking sight of him with his head between your thighs – his contented hums that sent vibrations through through your sensitive bud, that had you dripping with need. He slipped two fingers into you and started pumping them, curling them, searching, searching until – 

“Mm, there it is,” he moaned, focusing the thrusts of his fingers there, nipping at your swollen folds, sucking them into his mouth, then his tongue was circling and swirling around your clit again and it wasn’t long until you were falling apart, falling back onto the desk and shaking, waves of release rolling over and through you.

Mingyu worked you through the orgasm, gentle kisses and kitten licks against your inner thigh, slowing the movement of his fingers until your hand covered his, pulling it from you and lacing your fingers together. 

You managed to lift your head enough to meet his gaze, letting yourself be pulled upright and into his arms. You let out a happy hum and dropped your forehead onto his shoulder before the temptation of his skin was too much, and you started to press kisses there. Traced a line with your lips up his neck, pausing just beneath his jaw to catch the skin between your teeth, sucking at the sensitive skin and earning a gasp from Mingyu. 

He wrapped his arms around you and lifted you into them, smiling down at you when your legs immediately wrapped around his waist. It was instinctual, as was the way your arms moved to hold him and the way you couldn’t. stop. covering his neck with marks. Completely enraptured with the way they looked on him. 

Mingyu carried you to his bed and laid you down on the soft surface, covering your body with his and settling between your thighs. “I’m going to get so much shit for those, you realize?” 

“Oh? My bad. Should I apologize?”

“Fuck, no. It’s worth it,” he said with one of those oh-so-self-satisfied smiles. Propping himself up on one hand, he traced his fingertips along your own neck, across your chest, slipping them just under the edge of your bra. “And this way I don’t have to apologize when I cover all of this pretty skin with my own marks.”

You bit back a whimper, breath hitching in your chest. “Yeah?”

He hummed an affirmation, cupping your breast in a hand, and you watched the sharp rise and fall of his chest as he gave it a gentle squeeze. Were enraptured when he tugged the fabric covering your breast to the side and groaned, tongue coming out to wet his lower lip while his thumb circled your areola. Round and round until finally he brought it to your nipple, rubbing against it, forefinger coming to join and softly pinch the swollen flesh. 

His hips were thrusting against your cunt, slow rolls that were nowhere near enough for either of you but were just enough to stoke the fire within you. You could feel the way your arousal was coating the fabric of his pants, soaking through it, as you pressed yourself up into the thrusts, in silent entreaty. 

“Fuck,” he rasped, lips replacing his thumb, tongue and teeth and those lips teasing your nipple while he ground down into you. 

Your hands cradled the back of his head, fingers tangling in his hair, and you let out a breathy whine. “Want,” you started, legs locking behind his back and pulling him into you, moaning at the slow slide of his cock against your pussy, hissing when he circled his hips into yours. 

“What do you want, love?” Mingyu moved his lips from your breast to brush against yours, and he spoke against your lips while he stared down at you with eyes so full of heat you felt flames lick along your spine, centering in your sex. “Tell me what you need and I’ll give it to you.”

“You,” you answered simply. Your hands came to the waistband of his pants, slid beneath it so that you could wrap your fingers around him, stroke up and down along the length and let your thumb rub across the head. Gasping at the liquid you found there, at the precome that had slipped down the underside, easing your movements. “Think you need me, too, baby. Wanna feel you inside me so bad. Need to.”

Mingyu cursed and then he had his pants and underwear shoved down, kicked off toward the end of the bed. He held himself over you, weight borne on a forearm while his other held the base of his cock, guiding it through your desire-slicked flesh. Rubbed the tip against your clit. Teased at your entrance. “You want this?”

“Fuck, yes, God, Gyu, please.” You whimpered, whined, shifted your body beneath him. Your hands found his hips and you tried to tug him to you.

He captured your wrists and gathered them both above your head, holding them there, and you would complain – you really would – except there was that strength again. You looked up at him, your pupils blown wide, cheeks flushed, and every bit of your expression spoke to how much you actually liked that. How much you wanted him. 

The flash in his own eyes told you he noticed. You heard him curse and watched him swallow hard, felt his grip on your wrists tighten. “You like being helpless beneath me, fuck. Gonna remember that,” he promised. “Do we need a condom?” His voice was tight and he looked tense enough above you that you don’t know how he held it together. 

“N-No. I’m – I’m good. Implant. Clean. You?” It wasn’t the most eloquent sentence, but it got the point across and, in the next moment, Mingyu was pushing into you. 

“Clean, too, shit, sweetheart. Feel so fucking good,” he groaned as his pelvis met yours, cock in you to the base, filling you so full. He drew his hips back and then slowly pumped them forward again, giving you time to get used to the feel of him, cunt stretching around him and your body learning his in the most intimate of ways. 

“Oh fuck, you can – you can move faster, Gyu. Harder. Need you to. Need you to – to show me how strong you are,” you admitted, burying your face in the crook of his neck and whimpering when he did. 

Mingyu sat back on his heels, hands coming to your thighs and dragging your body into his next thrust, this one a sharp snap of his hips into you that made your eyes roll back. “Fucking love how strong I am, don’t you? Always teasing me about being so big –” he emphasized with another deep, hard thrust, and another as he continued, “so strong.” 

Guilty as charged. 

“Like it doesn’t get you off, too,” you said on a gasp, arching beneath him, heated gaze taking in every detail: the movement of his hips, the tension in his abdominals with each thrust, his thick biceps flexing, the muscles in his forearms and the strength in his hands where they gripped your thighs, sure to leave marks there tomorrow. His face. God, his face. The way his brows drew together in concentration, how his gaze – still hot enough to burn and completely focused, wholly attentive to you and this and getting you both off – kept flickering between where his cock was disappearing into your cunt and your face, the way he clenched his jaw and growled out your name. 

Shifting his hold on your legs, Mingyu leaned forward, a hand coming to fist in your hair and drawing your face to his, taking your lips, your mouth in a kiss as wet and deep and harsh as the movements of his every thrust. You felt his fingers on your clit, circling and rubbing fast around the sensitive bud, making you cry out, and your breath hitch, and you fuck, you were a heartbeat away from coming again. 

Heard him rasp against your lips, “Gonna come for me, love?”

You nodded, and your voice was shaky, breathless. “Uh– Uh huh.”

“That’s my girl. Let me feel it,” he hissed, groaning, starting to lose his rhythm and you knew he was close, too. “Gonna come, too. Gonna fill you all the way up, huh?”

You whined out his name, and yes and please, Gyu, please, baby and wanna be full of you. It was enough. It was too much. It was everything. Your orgasm slammed into you, rolling through you like a wave, leaving you clinging to him and shuddering in his arms, pussy squeezing his dick, dragging him into bliss with you.

His face pressed against yours, cheek to cheek, you heard him moaning your name as he came. You felt the shuddering of his own body, above you, around you, inside you, as he spilled himself into you.

Felt yourself being rolled over and onto his chest. Felt his heart pounding under your cheek as you sucked in sharp breaths, little aftershocks of pleasure working their way through you. 

You pressed soft kisses to his chest then turned your face into the touch of his hand, let his palm cup your cheek and tilt your face to look up at him. The broad, happy, sated smile you saw there and the warm affection in his gaze brought a grin to your own face. 

“I realized I never said earlier,” Mingyu started, gently guiding you up his body so you were eye level. “In case it’s not glaringly obvious, I have a thing for you, too.”

A soft, happy puff of laughter left you then and you leaned down to kiss him. Tenderly. You brought a hand up to cup his jaw and couldn’t bite back a smile when he turned his head to press a kiss to your palm. “I may have had some suspicion for a second there, but it’s good to have the confirmation.”

It was Mingyu’s turn to laugh then and he shook his head, arms coming around you, holding you close. “Do you have plans tomorrow?”

“Oooh, what time?”

“I was actually thinking like, all day.”

“What?”

“Breakfast, lunch, movie, dinner? I figure I have a lot of dates to make up,” he said and his smile took your breath away.

“I need you to go on a double date with me.”

Your friend’s question appears out of nowhere and catches you off-guard. Some of the latte you drink dribbles out of your mouth, runs down your chin, and splatters on your slacks. Your friend quickly leans over the table and takes your cup out of your hand, handing you some napkins. You wipe your chin and dab away at your slacks, groaning at the thought of returning to class and standing in front of your science class with prominently stained pants – cinnamon oat milk flavored if it honestly matters.

“Absolutely not,” you put the soaked napkins on the table and grab a wet wipe from Jeonghan’s stretched hand. He learned to always be prepared when it comes to you – it’s not very often he doesn’t see you with some weird stain on your clothes; after all, you are an Environmental Science teacher. 

“Come on, Yn,” he whines while you rub furiously at the stain with the wipe. “I didn’t even tell you when or where the date is going to take place. How could you reject me so quickly?”

“Jeonghan, I really don’t have time right now,” you sigh and drop the wipe next to the wet napkins. He stares at you with pleading eyes, his hands in prayer. “You know how busy I get whenever Spring Break is almost here. We have midterms this week, there’s the spirit rally, and not to mention my errands…” you trail.

“But what if the person I’m meeting is sketchy?” he sulks.

“Then they should be the one afraid because you’re the sketchiest person I know,” you exclaim. “Where did you even meet them in the first place?”

“Tinder,” he takes a sip of his Iced Americano and places the glass cup back down on the beige café table.

“You know what…” you let the thought marinate in your head for a brief moment. “You’re right. They actually might be sketchier than you are.”

He quickly nods his head in agreement. To him, this is a more than good enough reason for you to go on the double date with him.

“But I’m not going on a double date with you. People already get the wrong idea about us.”

.

In the middle of the same café, Seungkwan thanks the barista at the cash register and walks over to the side of the counter to wait for his coffee. While stuffing his wallet into his back pocket, Seungkwan’s eyes gloss over the several artisanal coffee bean bags and teas on display along the white café walls before his eyes wander to the several people sitting in the café. His head gently bops to the music playing in the background while he people watches. There are a few college students hunched over their laptops and a couple of people near the windows having lunch. Sitting in the corner of the room is a familiar face he’s seen on social media and sometimes in passing when he drops by Vernon’s classroom for lunch.

You seem to be bantering with the guy sitting across from you, but Seungkwan can’t hear anything from where he’s standing. From the looks of it, his friend’s earlier apprehensions about your lunch plans seem to be confirmed. His cellphone vibrates in his hand, and he flips it open to look at the text from the same friend who stayed up worrying last night:

[text from: nonie]

nonie: wyd? i'm bored rn bc yn isn't here

kwan: apparently looking at yn on a date

nonie: should I be concerned?

kwan: yeah you should be bc he's pretty handsome

kwan: should be you tho

nonie: see? I told you it was a date bc they styled their hair differently

kwan: but don’t people normally dress differently for dates?

nonie: but yn always dresses nicely bc they spend too much time deciding what they're going to wear for the day. like they even take into consideration the weather changes throughout the day.

nonie: so nice hair = extra effort

kwan: I’m begging you to go get a life

nonie: bro call me

kwan: i'm picking up my coffee now. byeee

.

“You see my wallet?” Jeonghan opens his black wallet in front of him like a picture book for you to see. He tips it forward and opens it slightly so you can see the bills stacked neatly against each other. “I will literally pay you to go on this double date with me. If anything, maybe the friend will be hot and Vernon will get jealous and actually ask you out.”

You roll your eyes at him and motion for him to put his wallet away. You can’t believe he came prepared with his monetary bribe. “But Vernon doesn’t seem like the type to get jealous.”

Your phone pings and three consecutive messages wake your screen:

[text from: work husband]

work husband: I miss you. my lunch sucks today :P

work husband: I’m eating in my classroom today bc I’m avoiding Carl

work husband: fucking Carl

Jeonghan’s eyebrow arches while you try your best to avoid replying to Vernon. Not the type to get jealous my ass, Jeonghan thinks while reluctantly putting his wallet away. Telling you to do your hair differently was his idea. So, if his plan worked, Vernon probably sent you messages because he thinks you’re on a date with somebody. 

“How about you ask out Vernon yourself?” Jeonghan takes his provided fork to prod at his forgotten slice of cake in the middle of the table. He knocks off the strawberry at the top of the cake and plunges his metal fork into the tip of the cake. The fluffy spongey matcha cake that sandwiches diced strawberries and fresh crème fraiche? A perfect mouthful. 

His question doesn't mean anything in particular. Jeonghan usually asks you whatever he thinks, but you’re glad you aren't drinking anything this time. If you did, your latte was absolutely going to end up anywhere but in your mouth. So while Jeonghan enjoys his dessert, you’re faced with another problem:

“How? I don’t even know if he flirts with me because it’s a part of his work husband act or if it’s because he actually likes me.”

“You bring him lunches every day and he pays for your groceries. I’ve tasted your cooking before,” he says in between bites. “There’s no way that man isn’t in love with you.” He places his fork down and reaches over, taking a sip of his Iced Americano to cancel a bit of the cake’s sweetness. He nods in delight. Going to this café for afternoon tea was honestly such a good idea. 

“You know I only bring lunches for him because I always end up cooking extra,” you grumble while thinking about whether or not you should answer his texts.

Your phone pings again. Jeonghan props his elbow on the table and lazily rests his cheek against his knuckle. He notices you itching to pick up your phone and sighs to himself. He’s now halfway through his cake while your apple pie sits in front of you, idle and long forgotten. He thinks that maybe if he feeds you some of his cake you would forgive him for eating your slice.

“I’m literally your best friend. Shouldn’t I be the one you’re cooking for?” he huffs.

Your phone is in your hand. You’ve managed to go a few minutes without replying back to Vernon. Jeonghan is secretly proud of you.

He waves his fork in front of your lip to offer you a bite of the cake. When you notice, you open your mouth to accept his offer.

Fuck yes, he thinks after he sees you close your mouth and chew. He immediately reaches over to swap his half-eaten plate for yours.

[text from: work husband]

work husband: oh I signed us up for crowd control for this Friday’s spirit rally because I know you don’t want to participate in the spirit rally games.

work bb: oh thank god. I completely forgot signups were today.

work bb: if I knew I was going to have to attend spirit rallies again I would’ve never become a high school teacher

work husband: but you wouldn’t have met me :c

Jeonghan leaves his seat to walk to your side while you quickly reply back to Vernon. He tries to look over your shoulder while you shrug him off, turning your body toward the window. Jeonghan is positive that there is no way Vernon isn’t in love with you.

“Anyway,” Jeonghan gives up and returns back to his seat. “I already told my date you agreed to the double date. See you this Saturday.”

“What?” you look up at your best friend and he shrugs while picking up the half-eaten slices of cake and pie.

“Our lunch break is almost over. I’m going to go get these wrapped so you can take them with you to work. Can you throw away our trash? I’ll come back for the drinks.”

[text from: work husband]

work husband: I think some students are filming tiktoks outside my room. I’m going to go scare them.

You tell Jeonghan to order you another cake while he’s getting yours boxed at the counter.

chapter two: gymnasium; spirit rally

It honestly did not make sense at all that Friday’s Spirit Week theme would be called “Tie-Dye Friday,” when Tuesday or Thursday are arguably days that better suit the theme. Nevertheless, you’re standing with Vernon at the side of the school gymnasium wearing the sweatshirt he lent you during the few minutes before your second period class started. Your little interaction certainly caught the attention of some students, and it has been the subject of a majority of their conversations. Because when you have two young and hot teachers at your school who seem to be really close friends, word spreads, and ships sail.

The two of you were hired at the same time two years ago, both fresh out of college with a teaching certificate in hand. It is a pretty distinguished school district, a district that receives awards every year for its rigorous pedagogy. In all honesty, you and Vernon landed your jobs by an extreme stroke of luck. This school district? Hiring not one but two new teachers with little to no teaching experience? There were a few positions open because some teachers were retiring. The teacher who was hired before you had to leave the job for personal reasons, and the teacher hired after that one never showed up for training. It kept going on. You were their last option. Putting pride aside, you were just happy someone decided to hire you. But maybe it was the same stroke of luck that brought the two of you together.

You met Vernon during the summer orientation and quickly became friends, realizing that the two of you had to stick together to try to make it through your first year of teaching. Your classrooms are close together, and he would stop by for a quick chat during breaks, coming over to tease you or disrupt your class. You don’t know what he is doing half the time, but he’s a good teacher. His class is relatively easy as long as you do the studying, and the tests are hard enough that you can’t bullshit your way through and expect an A – they’re in essay question formats after all. Despite his easygoing personality and calm demeanor, rumor says that he’s the strictest person when it comes to testing season. (Mafia boss the students call it.) 

But here you are, standing next to your crush wearing one of his most cherished sweatshirts while a bunch of high schoolers sit on the bleachers and on the wooden floors. A student walks up to the two of you and asks if they could use the restroom. Vernon nods, and the student leaves. Vernon tells you that when a student directly asks you if they could leave the assembly, he would answer for you. He knows you’re the shyer one between the two of you.   

When you have a crush, a big and stinky larger than the sunflowers growing in the garden in front of your classroom type of crush, you cherish any moment spent with them because you never know when the next moment will come. 

“Don’t you have to go get your driver’s license changed?” Jeonghan asked you one night while the two of you were eating dinner at your apartment.

You scrunched your eyebrows together deep in thought, “I don’t think it’s expiring soon.”

“Your address doesn’t match the one on your license though,” Jeonghan pointed at your wallet on counter above the sink.

You got up from the couch and walked over to grab your wallet. You were pretty sure you had at least two years until your license expired, but it didn’t hurt to check. You opened your wallet and looked through the transparent slot in which you put your wallet.

“But my address is correct,” you walked back to the living room and pulled out your license for your best friend to see.

The crowd cheers as students are called from each year to participate in the next activity. It’s cacophonous, but you don’t mind. You join their rambunctiousness – laughing and cheering with those around you.

Vernon leans in and gently nudges your left arm, “You look nice.” He compliments loudly enough so only you can hear.

You grin and raise your left arm in front of you to admire the mix of blue, white, and grey. The fabric smells fresh and feels soft against your skin. It was probably treated with the fabric softener he bought the last time the two of you ran errands together. “I’ll return this to you after I wash it,” you promise him.

“Keep it,” his hands automatically reach to adjust the hood on your sweater so it lays nice and even against your back. “It looks good on you,” he murmurs when he stands in front of you while adjusting and pulling the strings in front of your neck so they’re even.

More cheers erupt from the crowd in front of you, but you are too busy trying to keep yourself from blushing to even care about what is happening in front of you. A few students could’ve exited the building without asking, and you still wouldn’t care.

“No, it’s definitely wrong,” he took the license from your hand and tapped his finger on the printed country.

You leaned in to look at the error on your card.

“It should say Simp Nation right here,” he snickers.

You snatched your license from his hand, “I’m kicking you out of my apartment.”

Over the course of the next few minutes, they make the teachers participate in an obstacle course, show a video about Spring Break safety, and have the school band perform. Vernon somehow procured two seats so the two of you could sit instead of stand the whole time. In the middle of talking to your co-worker about grading midterms, you hear the entire student body shouting for the both of you.

You look up to see some participants making their way to the center of the gymnasium for some game they were nominated to participate in. The two of you shake your heads and politely deny their request. They groan in response, but it can’t be helped. Everybody knew that the two of you rarely participated in assemblies, especially when it came to doing anything remotely physical. Although the two of you are the high school’s youngest staff members, the two of you are also some of the most unmotivated and uncompetitive people to ever exist. Everybody already knew that the two of you were going to reject their request, but it never hurt to try. The most the two of you have done during a spirit rally was walk across the gymnasium while holding a banner the students made. There was also that other time the two of you volunteered to participate in the spicy noodle challenge because the two of you were starving, but that was honestly about it.

When the assembly ends the two of you direct the students out of the gymnasium and stay behind to pick up forgotten belongings to bring to the lost and found.

“Let me take those for you,” he takes the sweaters out of your arms for you. “Do you have any lunch plans today?”

“Yeah I do,” you reply. You look at his face to see if he is at all disappointed. His expression remains blank and he purses his lips.

“It’s your loss,” he makes his way to the gym doors while you walk over to stack the chairs the two of you sat in. “My Rubiks Cube club is having a crazy pizza party,” he calls on his way out.

.

If you count a bunch of students lounging around a history classroom with a bunch of Star Wars and other pop culture memorabilia trying to solve their different types of collectible cubes a party, then this one is a banger. A rager even.

Mr. Chwe sits at his desk, right leg anxiously bouncing up and down while he holds his second slice of pizza in his hand. He thought that he managed to play it cool when you told him you had plans, but in reality, the thought of you having lunch plans for the second time this week is making him mentally scream on top of his imaginary mountain into the empty abyss below.

In the background, Dokyeom screams when he solves another side of his Megaminx and proudly holds it up for his club members to see.

[text from: nonie]

nonie: seungkwannn

nonie: help me

kwan: see, you wouldn’t be freaking out if you just asked yn on a date

kwan: you’re constantly flirting with them. I don’t see how you never accidentally asked them out

nonie: I have a bunch of times but they never take me seriously

nonie: yn told me they have plans for lunch

nonie: do you think they’re on a date again?

kwan: oh speaking of dates I have a double date this Saturday

nonie: wait keep talking about that so I stop thinking about yn

kwan: when do you not think about yn?

nonie: never

nonie: they’re actually wearing my sweatshirt today. can you believe it?

kwan: my best friend is a SIMP!

kwan: a shy one who won’t properly confess his feelings! but still!! a simp!!!

kwan: one of my friends from work needed someone to tag along because they’re meeting someone they met on Tinder. I only agreed because they said they would cover one of my overtime shifts for me

nonie: oh that’s scary. the tinder part. not the overtime part.

kwan: right?

nonie: but the idea of yn going on a date that’s not with me is scarier.  

kwan: no wonder you’re a history teacher

nonie: because the humanities is for hot people?

kwan: because you’re a loser

kwan: like I bet you’re actually enjoying the pizza party with your lame rubiks club rn

nonie: oh my god I’m a loser

kwan: a hot one tho!

kwan: wait yn’s classroom is literally under yours. can’t you just go downstairs and check if they’re there?

kwan: did you not do that before you started overthinking?

kwan: Vernon?

.

You adjust your sunhat to shield your face from the brazen afternoon sun. You’re in your gardening overalls, Vernon’s sweatshirt folded neatly and tucked away in your classroom for the time being. It’s finally Spring and you’re tending to the nursery pots in the small garden located outside of your classroom. Around you, your agriculture club works and chats amongst themselves.

Intrusive thoughts are distracting you from what would usually be a lovely day in your garden. Maybe you should’ve told Vernon that you were going to be in the garden with your club today. Vernon probably isn’t overthinking it like how you are, right? But still, was saying you had plans a little too much? Does it sound like you had something important to tend to?

You sigh and stand to stretch your knees. Behind you, your little garden is beautiful, lush, and thriving. The flowers are in bloom and provide shade for the vegetables in the dirt. Everything seems to be thriving and buzzing with life. It makes you happy to see how far the little seedlings have grown.

A student arrives with refreshments that they picked up for everybody. You tell your club to take a break under the shade. It would be a shame if one of them has heatstroke. You take off your gloves and shove them in your side pockets. Your phone pings in the front pocket of your overalls while you make your way into your cool classroom.

[text from: work husband]

work husband: hi love. you took the bus to work today, right?

work husband: let’s pick up some groceries after work and I’ll drop you off at your place

work bb: even when I smell like dirt?

work husband: you’re an envisci teacher. I’d be concerned if you didn’t smell like dirt

work bb: you don’t have anything to do tonight right?

work husband: did you just assume I have no plans on a Friday night

work bb: omg sorry it’s because we always hang after work on Fridays

work husband: no you’re actually right. I have no plans.

work bb: then I’ll cook dinner for us

work husband: I know I’m already work-married to you, but I’m going to marry you one day

work husband: lol

work bb: haha silly

“Teacher Yn,” a couple students approach you while you set your phone face down on your desk.

“Hmm?” you up at them while taking off your sunhat.

“Can we send you a list of ideas we came up for our club education trip? We know we have to fulfill the requirement before the end of the semester, but we wanted to get it out of the way.”

You nod at them, “Sounds fine by me.” You pull up a website on your desktop and show it to your students, “Did you guys include the city garden? It’s pretty close by and it’s pretty this time of year.”

“Did you choose that place so Mr. Chwe can tag along? I heard he likes running there.”

You look at your students in disbelief. How did they even find out things like that?

Just then, someone knocks loudly on your open door. All eyes turn to see Vernon standing at the opening with his gaggle of students behind him, Rubiks Cubes, pizza boxes, and packs of sodas in their hands.

“I brought nerds and pizza.”

One of your students leans in and whispers to you, “Looks like your boyfriend is here.”

You don’t know if you should be happy or if you should consider this to be one of the most horribly timed entrances of all time. You decide you’re going to be happy – it’s Vernon after all.

chapter three: grocery store; dinner

People are definitely staring at the two of you while you grocery shop together. It’s not because the two of you are wearing your tie-dye outfits from earlier today, but because of the fact that Vernon is handsome. At least that’s what you believe. It’s enough to make the other shoppers stare for at least a brief second before they return to their usual routes.

You think your shoes covered in dirt are a direct juxtaposition to his pristine white sneakers. There’s a part of you that will always be insecure whenever you’re in public with your crush, but your hand in his reassures you otherwise.

“Do you think people don’t approach you at grocery stores because I’m next to you?” you ask him while the two of you are hunched over the leafy green section. A handwritten sign states the organic kale is finally on sale.

“Why would you think that?” Vernon curiously asks you. His tone is a bit upset, but he still peruses through a few bundles of kale before choosing the one he like most. He drops it in the plastic bag you opened for him.

“I don’t know,” you shrug while placing the bagged kale into the shopping cart. “You’re handsome and people stare, but nobody is making a move.”

“I don’t care about other people,” he muses. He reaches for the baby carrots on the top shelf and passes the bag to you. “You know I only have eyes for you.”

You push the shopping cart to the fruit section and he follows closely behind you, happy his comment made your ears turn red. He knows you’re embarrassed and is purposely moving onto the fruit section when the two of you still have a few more greens to buy.

But it’s true, he only has eyes on you. Only you don’t seem to realize that he does. He constantly tells you his feelings, but you never seem to take him seriously. He clings onto you and holds your hand in public because he also sees people looking at you. Was it wrong of him to be jealous? Was it wrong to want to hold your hand at all times? Maybe it’s his fault you never do, yet he can only wish for you to take him seriously.

“Hey babe,” Vernon calls to you from the mountain of potatoes in front of him. He sees your figure shoot up like a meerkat standing among pyramids of fruit, looking side-to-side to try to locate the familiar voice. “Right here,” he calls to you again, this time holding a bag of potatoes above his head. He laughs when he sees you cover your face in mortification while you cart your way over to him. You’re cute, he thinks. His little meerkat.

.

The two of you pose while he takes a picture of the two of you in the black and white monitoring screen above the self-checkout machine. He scans his loyalty card and begins to scan the items in the cart.

“Hey Vern,” you pass him a box of pasta for him to scan.

“Yes, baby?” he winks while taking the box from you.

“Why do you call yourself my work husband even when we’re off work?” you ask him while passing him a bag of bagels.

“You’re right. If we’re off work then that just means I’m your husband,” he takes the bag from your hand and scans it. “Because the adjective describes the fact that we’re at work, but we’re not at work. So just call me husband.”

“Smartass,” you grumble to yourself. He’s constantly embarrassing you, but you somehow like it.

“What is that?” he pokes at the touchscreen. He clearly heard you grumble to yourself.

Checkout. Beep. No Bags. Beep. Credit/Debit. Beep.

“Are you filing for a divorce just because we’re not at work?” he purposely makes his voice louder than usual and brings his phone to the screen to pay for the groceries. “Do I mean nothing to you?” his tone clearly implies he’s poking fun at you, but it’s enough to let the workers around you two eavesdrop.

“Vernon, oh my god,” you quickly shuffle to his left to put the items in the reusable tote bags in the cart behind the two of you. “People are staring.” You pull your hood over your head and he gently pulls it back down, quickly running his fingers through your hair to minimize the mess.

The workers point and giggle at you two before going back to work, telling those in line to move to an open self-checkout machine.

“Just like how I stare at you at work?” he takes the receipt and consecutive coupons from the mouth of the machine and folds it before putting it in his back pocket. He moves the shopping cart behind the two of you and separates the cold items from the fresh and boxed items.

“Babe, I’m going to file for divorce,” you grab the bag of baby carrots and wave it in front of his face. “And I’m taking the children with me.”

“Aww you called me babe.”

.

You wish you could be as open as Vernon when it comes to flirting, but at the same time, the jokes and the act that the two of you put on around each other often times sound and feel a little too real. Your feelings for him are real, but you struggle to understand whether or not he’s joking with you. You know you could just ask him, but there’s a ninety percent chance he would joke with you and a ten percent chance he would tell you the truth. However, because of how the two of you normalized flirting with each other, you know you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between his truth and his jokes. You’re afraid of telling him the truth, but you’re also afraid of letting go of this false reality the two of you created.

Where is the thin line between flirting romantically and flirting jokingly? How do you find it? How do you cross to the romantic side?

The two of you are currently in you apartment. His shoes are placed in the usually open spot next to yours on the shoe rack, and his car keys are in the ceramic tray next to yours. You are prepping the ingredients for dinner while he sorts the groceries he bought into their rightful places in your tiny kitchen.

“You know my student, Chan, right? The one who I swear is out to get me?” your co-worker asks you nonchalantly while reaching above your head to open your white kitchen cabinet. “Right when I was about to play a video for the class, Chan raises his hand and has the audacity to ask me if I’m ever going to teach them.”

“How did you respond?” you lean over the kitchen counter to shut the microwave door and start the timer. You’re used to his daily post-class lunchtime rants, but he somehow forgot to tell you until he saw the picture of the two at orientation stuck on your refrigerator with a magnetic turtle.

Vernon sighs while looking through the cabinet contents, “I called him lame and told him to watch the damn Crash Course video.”

He gently places his palm on top of your head to shield your head from getting hit when he swings the cabinet door close, a colander in his other hand. He places the colander in the sink behind the two of you and turns back to you. He is interested in what is in the microwave and mimics your position, bending over to stare through the translucent screen. It’s hard to make out what is spinning slowly through the glass so he leans in, accidentally brushing his shoulder against yours for a brief moment. It is brief, but it is enough to make you question what you have done in your past life to deserve this moment.

“Wait,” you turn your head to look at your co-worker beside you, curiously asking, “students actually get annoyed when we show videos in class?”

“I don’t know,” he stands upright and scratches his head, his expression clearly showing that he was dumbfounded that a student would be against watching videos. He leans against the back counter and crosses his arms. He frowns. “I mean, am I ever going to tell them that watching videos stimulates different modes of cognitive learning? Of course not,” he answers his own question. “I’m the cool teacher.”

Spoken like a mantra.

“I’m just defrosting the garlic bread so I can pop it into the oven so you can snack while I cook.” You notice he is looking around your kitchen. You think it’s because he doesn’t have space to exit with the tote bags on the floor and the lack of mobile space in your kitchen. “Did you want to exit? Let me move out of the way so you can go chill or grade in the living room.”

It’s exactly the opposite of what you think.

Vernon loves your place despite how much you hate its small size. To him, your tiny apartment feels like home. You’ve told him several times how much you want to move out. You hate how you don’t have a desk to do your work on. You hate how your bed is literally pushed in the corner of your bedroom against the wall and window. You even hate how there’s no closet in your bedroom so you have to use the hallway closet as your closet.

He wishes you know just how much he loves it when he can hear the soft hum of the in-unit washer and dryer in the background while he lounges on your plush sofa. Because of the size of your apartment, the smell of your baking sometimes lingers for hours. Because of the lack of space, you’re forced to display many of your things for your guests to see instead of tucking them away in some storage bin or cabinet. There are postcards your friends sent from around the world, pictures on the fridge, awards hung on walls, and small trinkets placed all around your apartment. The sticky notes the two of you exchanged during orientation are pinned to your corkboard. Not to mention, the sectional sofa with the chaise you bought with your first paycheck proudly lines your living room. It’s one of the most comfortable things he’s fallen asleep on. Although the apartment may seem suffocating at times, this apartment is you personified.

Of course, it wasn’t like he never offered you to move into his place multiple times in the past. You slapped his arm in response every time he suggested.

.

Earlier, the two of you decided to power through grading midterm papers for your respective classes so the two of you could freely enjoy Spring Break without any worries. It is now nearing midnight when you blindly reach into the popcorn bowl on the side table beside you only to feel nothing. You are out of movie snacks. Your legs are stretched out on your chaise and Vernon’s head is still in your lap, pointed toward the second movie the two of you are watching that night. You decide to not get up to make more popcorn just in case he is sleeping.

Next to the empty popcorn bowl, your cellphone pings and Vernon stirs.

Damn you, cellphone.

There is another notification sound, and Vernon pushes himself off your lap to sit up. You look over at your phone. It’s fucking Yoon Jeonghan.

[text from: devil’s incarnate]

devil’s incarnate: don’t fowget about ouw double date t-tomowwow (//▽//)

devil’s incarnate: the reservation is at noon at the bistro opposite of the café we went for lunch

headache personified: WHY MUST YOU RUIN EVERYTHING FOR ME

Vernon somehow manages to quietly squeeze himself behind you while you lift yourself to text  Jeonghan. When you put your phone down he tugs your body closer to his, his legs stretched out and sandwiching yours. He points to the blanket at the foot of the chaise and he lets go of his arms around you so you can lean forward to grab the blanket.

You open the blanket so it covers both of you and his arms sneak around your stomach, pulling you into his chest. He puts his chin on your shoulder to see the screen in front of you. He emanates warmth like a human-sized hand warmer, like the warm summer sun on your skin the first day you met him.

About halfway into the movie your body naturally turned to lay against his. You’re not watching the movie anymore because he knows you’re tired. It’s not the first time the two of you have cuddled this closely before, but he only hopes you mistake his uncontrollable fast heartbeat as his reaction to the movie.

You’re fiddling with the strings on his clean hoodie and he takes your hand in his and puts it on his chest.

“The plot is really good,” he hopes you can feel his chest vibrate.

You do. You’re on cloud nine.

“You can stay over if you’re not comfortable driving back at this hour,” you suggest to him. Your hand goes back to playing with the aglet on his hoodie string.

“Mmm,” the thought of leaving makes him groan. “I’ll stay until the movie ends.”

In the closet toward the entrance, your dryer hums. The air smells like rose petals and warm vanilla. In his heart he knows the two of you are way past the simple “work spouse” phase. He hugs you tighter and wishes the movie never ends.

[text from: devil’s incarnate]

devil’s incarnate: btw I’m picking you up so you have no way of escaping (o¬‿¬o )

devil’s incarnate: see you soon baby <33 -xoxo

chapter four: bistro; double date

The loud knocking on your front door causes you to jolt awake and fling the blanket covering you onto the living room floor. You can recognize that impatient knock anywhere. However, what you’re afraid of is not the knocking sound, but the person currently knocking.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,” you repeat while you sit up and look around the living room. You realize it’s Saturday morning. The television is turned off, and you can still see the stacked pile of midterms pushed to the side of your coffee table. Is Vernon still in your apartment?

Your phone is ringing on the side table next to you. You look over your pillow from your bedroom. I don’t remember bringing one from my bedroom. You see the Caller ID. It’s Jeonghan trying to reach you from outside your door.

Then you see it, a light blue sticky note stuck in the empty popcorn bowl next to your phone. It’s his handwriting, tiny and scrawled. He says he took your laundry out of the dryer and took out the trash on his way out. He’s sorry he couldn’t lock the door. There’s a tiny heart next to his initials. He doesn’t tell you when he left.

The note is in your hand when Jeonghan barges into your apartment and shuts the door behind him. He stands in the doorway and stares at you, his hands on his waist. He’s annoyed.

Your apartment is silent. Even leaky faucet decides to rest for a while. You swear you can hear your best friend’s heavy breathing.

“I’m sorry,” you squeak while you stand up to face him, hiding the note behind your back.

“I. Sent. You. So. Many. Texts,” he roughly kicks off his shoes and storms into your living room.

You scream when you realize he is making his way over to you. When he reaches your sofa, the two of you circle around your coffee table.

“I’ve been outside your door knocking like a man trying to win back his ex. Do you know how embarrassing that was for me?” He wants to strangle you at this point, but he can’t because he needs you to go on the double date with him. “And I couldn’t even park in your second parking spot because guess who I saw get into his car in your second parking spot in the morning?”

Does that mean Vernon slept over last night? And Jeonghan now knows about it?

He lunges. You scream again.

.

Seungkwan sits on Vernon’s barstool and faces the door, ready to read his friend to filth the moment he walks into the door. His legs are crossed and he’s counting the number of cardboard boxes stacked near Vernon’s front door. It’s Saturday morning and Vernon isn’t in his own apartment. He’s a loser who can’t even properly confess his feelings to his crush – where the hell was he last night?

Seungkwan has a double-date to attend in about an hour. For him, lecturing Vernon would take at least 15 minutes and asking for opinions for his outfits would take around 5 minutes. Driving would take at least 10 minutes if it was all green lights. However, if there is a stop light or two-

Vernon calmly unlocks his door and opens the door to see his friend sitting at his counter. It’s totally normal to have Seungkwan invite himself into his apartment – he gave him a spare key for a reason. However, when Vernon is halfway through the doorframe, he realizes he’s wearing his extra set of clothes he sometimes leaves at your place. He is also holding his work bag from yesterday. Seungkwan seems to have already noticed as his legs uncross and his eyes widen at the sight of his friend. Vernon slowly backs out and closes his front door ready to leave and never come back. Start a new life maybe.

“Get your ass back here,” he hears Seungkwan’s menacingly sweet voice from the other side of the door.

He audibly sighs. He has no choice but to open the door.

.

You’re folding your laundry in the backseat of Jeonghan’s car while he drives the two of you to the double date. You can tell he’s still angry – his sleeves are rolled up. He already undid his collar to let off some steam and pent up anger when you told him you didn’t want to go on the date. You can see the gorilla grip he has on his steering wheel. His arm veins protrude prominently, and you swear you can see them throb. Jeonghan glares at you through his rearview mirror every chance he can get, so you sulk in his backseat and quietly fold your clothes. You probably also lost your aux privileges. For the next week or month maybe.

He purposely makes a hard break at a stop sign when nobody is around, and some of your folded clothes launch themselves to his car floor. You look at your t-shirt crumple to the floor and bite your lower lip. You nod to yourself. You deserve this. You were on a winning streak last night so karma (Jeonghan) has to show up to make sure everything is set at equilibrium. There must be balance to this world.

“Did you shower last night?” Jeonghan softly asks you when he notices you’re a lot quieter than usual. He turns on his right blinker, ready to make a right.

“Of course I did,” you pouted when you realized your favorite pair of socks rolled under the front seat. “I smelled like dirt.”

“So you showered while a man was over?” he snickers. There’s a glimmer in his eye. “Naughty.”

“He was grading in my living room,” you protest while looking out the window. Your clothes are folded and placed back in the laundry basket.

You can tell Jeonghan’s anger is subsiding. He rolls his shoulder backwards and stretches his neck left and right. The gorilla grip is gone. You know he cares for you. That you are certain of.

The two of you are still relatively early when Jeonghan parks. He rolls down his windows and turns of the engine and then his car. He drops his car keys in his cupholder and turns back to look at you. He smiles.

“Spill.”

.

Seungkwan is holding onto the car handle above his seat for dear life.

“So I woke up with Yn in my arms, but their phone was going off like crazy because someone was spam texting them. I reach over to switch their phone to silent because I’m a good husband who cares about Yn getting a good sleep, but I see the same person texting them and calling them. Bro this person was using all the pet names that I use. So, already, in my mind I was like ‘oh my god am I a home wrecker?’ And then I looked at their phone again even though I shouldn’t have been looking through their notifications, but it was just right there and I saw that he said he was going to come over soon because they have a date. So I tidied up a bit and packed my bags and zoomed out of there. Because what if they’re really dating? What if he’s the same guy you saw at the café? Dude my mind was racing so much. But Yn looked so peaceful and serene. I was going to melt then and there and then reality hit me: I may have just been a homewrecker. But it all doesn’t make sense because their lock screen photo is the photo I took of us at the grocery story yesterday. Wouldn’t it make more sense if your lock screen photo was your boyfriend instead? So I was freaking out and I’m still freaking out. My non-existent love life is in shambles bro.”

“Is this car ride over?” Seungkwan’s eyes are closed and his knuckles are turning white. “Am I alive? Is the car in one piece?”

Vernon unbuckles his seatbelt and then Seungkwan’s, “Yeah dude. I parked a few minutes ago. Were you listening to me rant at all?”

“I’m going to step out and take a breather,” Seungkwan nods to himself. It was his fault for making Vernon drive. He knows how fast Vernon can drive, but he didn’t take into consideration that he would be sitting in the passenger seat. Was it worth it in the end to arrive early to a date he wasn’t even going to enjoy?

He opens the car door and stretches his legs. “Do you see that café across the street?” he points at the café he visited earlier this week. “Please stay in there and clear your head. Drink some tea. Coffee will make you even more jittery.”

Seungkwan exits the car and shuts the door. Before he starts walking towards the front entrance, he turns around and points at Vernon who looks like he is on the brink of a mental breakdown, “But stay in there in case I need an escape plan.”

.

Vernon recognizes this café as the same café printed on the tiny cake roll box you left on his desk earlier this week. The sticky note you attached to the underside of the box is tucked away in his wallet as are some of the other ones you wrote for him in the past. He keeps them all and occasionally switches them depending on his mood.  

Did you miss me? the note reads. I’m sorry you had to eat lunch alone. This roll reminded me of you because it’s round like your hair when it’s flat. HA! Did you think I was going to write “sweet?” -yn ;-)

He’s been staring at the chalkboard menu for the past few minutes, his eyes squinted and his head deep in thought. The baristas think he’s having a hard time looking at the menu up above and offer him a physical menu in larger print. It takes a few tries to get his attention, but he bashfully takes the menu from them and moves to the side so the incoming customers can order their drinks and other menu items.

He regrets not asking you out sooner. He’s sulking and mentally beating himself up in a café in which his crush had a date a few days ago. How lame is that? While you’re out enjoying your date and probably having the time of your life, he’s regretting all of the chances he didn’t take in the past. But the angel on his shoulder reassures him – he was still by your side despite not taking the chances in the past. It comforts him a bit. Maybe is all just a big misunderstanding. Maybe you don’t have a boyfriend. Vernon promises himself while walking up to the counter to order his drink: if the universe sends him a sign anytime soon, he is going to take it. No questions asked.

[text from: kwan]

kwan: sos

nonie: do you think I should go for a fruit tea today?

kwan: I s2g if you don’t get your ass over here

nonie: how bad can your date be?

nonie: did the food come out already?

kwan: my coworker is meeting yn’s bf

kwan: MY COWORKER IS MEETING YN’S BF FOR OUR DOUBLE DATE

kwan: YN’S BOYFRIEND IS A CHEATER

nonie: YOU FR?

nonie: WHO TF WOULD HAVE THE AUDACITY TO DO THAT TO YN?

kwan: YOU’RE A TEACHER. COME TEACH HIM A LESSON.  

nonie: I’M COMING

kwan: not the face tho. it’s a money maker

nonie: WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?

Vernon practically sprints out of the café. Thank you universe!

.

[text from: devil’s incarnate]

devil’s incarnate: did u grab my wallet?

devil’s incarnate: save me. my date came and I was totally catfished (╬`益´)

devil’s incarnate: and your date is sending me death glares for some reason O.o

headache personified: when we go home we’re signing you up for bumble

headache personified: I’m almost at the front entrance. you want me to act like you’re my bf?

devil’s incarnate: oh we haven’t used that tactic in a long time

headache personified: wait is that you three under the umbrella at the porch?

headache personified: is my date vernon’s seungkwan?  

devil’s incarnate: bro how should I know how vernon’s seungkwan looks like

devil’s incarnate: ahh fuck it I’ll just be mean and call my date out for catfishing me.

devil’s incarnate: can you record for me <3 -xoxo

You’re already outside the front entrance when you think about ways to try to avoid Seungkwan while you're inside the bistro. You think if you walk along the bistro’s perimeter instead of heading inside the bistro, you can get a better video angle of Jeonghan without having to show your face to Seungkwan. However, someone gently grabs onto your arm and tugs on it.

You turn around and you're surprised to see Vernon looking back at you. He looks frazzled and out of breath. You wonder if he really goes jogging in the city garden like what your students said.

“Hear me out. I have to tell you something,” he pleads.

Your heart is screaming Omg it’s Vernon! Vernon! but you’re worried Jeonghan might get mad at you if you don’t record him while he’s lecturing the catfish. You can probably email the bistro for a video recording tomorrow. If Jeonghan draws enough attention, you can probably have one of the bistro patrons text you a recording of the interaction.

“I had so many chances to tell you how I really feel, but I keep beating myself up for not telling you my feelings. I really like you. I really do,” he takes both of your hands in his hand. “And I don’t want you to go in and end up with someone who is on a date with another person.”

Fuck Jeonghan’s video. Vernon is actually confessing to you. Yet at the same time, something about his confession doesn’t really make sense. How did he find out about your double date?

“What do you mean you catfished me because you thought I was a catfish? Have you seen me?” you can hear Jeonghan’s shrill voice screeching from where you’re standing. You imagine he’s standing up and gesturing at his own face. “Why would I need to catfish as someone else?” You swear you can also hear Seungkwan laughing.

Vernon also seems to recognize Seungkwan’s laughter. His mouth hangs slightly agape and he looks at you and back at the patio in horror.

In that moment, everything made sense. Seungkwan probably texted Vernon that Jeonghan showed up to the date while believing you were dating Jeonghan. It’s honestly not the first time the confusion happened. You smile and pull him in a hug.

“The person I like thinks my best friend is cheating on me when in reality I was forced to go on a double date. So if anything, you just stopped me from going on a date with Seungkwan before I even went on a date with you,” you laugh into his chest. “Did you really run to try stop me from seeing my best friend cheat on me?”

He hugs you back and you can hear his heart beat slow down. He’s relieved.

“Baby,” he hums into your hair.

“Hmm?” you look up at him.

“Do you still want to call me your work husband at work even if I become your boyfriend?”

You groan in embarrassment while he laughs at you. He separates from you and starts walking backwards with his hand stretched out.

“Let’s go on a date. I heard the café across the street has really good cake rolls.”

He’s waiting for you to come hold his hand.  

You can still hear Jeonghan yelling in the background. You think Seungkwan is also yelling with him. Considering the fact that they haven’t been kicked out already, the two of you know they’ll be fine without the two of you.

“The ones that look like your hair when it’s flat?” you catch up to him and interlock your hand with his.

“Exactly.”