#one bed

There was one time after that. Just after Jonathan had pulled him back up the tower, mere seconds after he thought he was about to fall to his death. 

From just outside of his door, he heard you move on and continue to the stairs, then to the kitchen. The sounds of the pipes rattled at little as you turned the tap on for a glass of water. 

Three minutes and fifty five seconds later, you stopped outside of his door again before moving back towards your room. 

Since your folks had decided to take a vacation and go and visit family for a while, it meant you had your house to yourself. But, after everything, you didn’t want to be alone. 

So, Steve helped you pack a few boxes and drove you straight to his home. His parents wouldn’t be back for a couple of months and he had his house to himself, too. 

For the first three weeks, he barely heard you. Quite frankly, it was the easiest he’d fallen to sleep in a while. It still wasn’t great, but knowing he wouldn’t wake up alone helped ease his mind. 

But after three weeks, you had your first nightmare. 

You didn’t know Steve knew. You hadn’t woken up in a screaming state of terror. Cold sweat? Sure. Heart racing? Most definitely. But you barely made a sound. 

At first, each nightmare was different. Almost like your mind was trying to find the one that would scare you the most.

And the moment it did…well, it never left. 

Steve would find you in the mornings, already up before him. Dressed and ready for work, or ready for your college classes. Either way, you seemed put together. But he still saw the tiredness in your eyes. He still saw the distant look you gave when there was a loud noise or an ear piercing scream of car tyres. 

Ten days after the first nightmare and your mind had found an image to settle on, you started getting out of bed. You needed sleep. You knew you did. But you couldn’t settle until you found proof your nightmare was wrong. 

Every bone in your body wanted to knock on Steve’s door and ask if you could stay with him, but each time, you chickened out. Guilt, embarrassment and fear weighed heavy on your shoulders each time you stood outside of his door. 

So, you settled for listening out for his breathing. 

If he was breathing, he was alive. 

If he was alive, he hadn’t fallen from the tower. 

If he was alive, it meant your nightmare was wrong. 

Once you knew for certain that he was okay, you went back to your room and tried your best to get some rest. And, if Steve knew, he never brought it up. 

After a month of constant nightmares and essay deadlines, you finally got some semi-decent sleep. For a few weeks, at least. Until the unveiling of the memorial post in the centre of town. 

That night, you might as well have been back in the Upside Down watching Steve get bitten by bats, watching Eddie die so many times it seemed like your mind was a broken record and then, finally, watching Steve fall from the tower. 

Only, this time, Jonathan never caught him and he just continued to fall. Robin’s scream pierced your ears, Dustin’s cry of Steve’s name as he fell 500ft to the ground settled so deep into your soul, you knew they’d never leave and then you felt your heart break so deep, you knew it would never mend. 

When you woke up, you tried to catch your breath through the tears and adrenaline. 

Kicking the covers from your legs, you planted your feet on the cold floor before rushing over to the window and throwing it open. 

When the air had finally dried your tears and let you catch your breath, you looked over your shoulder. Steve. 

You made light work of it, moving down the hallway and standing outside of his door. You almost knocked. 

Almost. 

Instead, you moved to the wall and slowly slid down it until you sat on the floor. You didn’t know how much time had passed, but it was enough for you to stop hearing your own heartbeat and start hearing the steady breaths exhaling from Steve’s chest. 

He was alive. 

He was alive. 

He was alive. 

He was alive. 

He was alive. 

Letting out a long breath, you eventually stood up on weak legs and moved back down the hallway towards your bedroom. But you couldn’t sleep. So, instead, you sat on the window bench. 

Outside of Steve’s house, there was a tree that had been growing for a while. Somewhere in the back of your head, Steve said his dad and uncle had planted it when his dad first bought the house. 

The leaves were in full bloom. 

No doubt Steve would wrangle you and Dustin to help with the clean up in the Fall. Not that you minded. 

A soft breeze was blowing through and catching on the light curtains you’d had Steve help you hang up only a few weeks ago. It was fresh, but there was still an edge of warmth to it letting you know it wouldn’t be long before the sun would start to wake. 

For a moment you shivered, feeling your body temperature run cold after running hot on adrenaline for the last hour or so. 

“If you’re cold, you should close the window.”

You nearly jumped out of your skin when you heard Steve’s voice in the doorway. 

“What are you doing awake?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

You looked at your bed with slight trepidation. “Couldn’t sleep,” you told Steve. 

Steve just watched you in the quiet for a moment. You broke eye contact first, turning to look back outside the window. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked as he took a few more steps inside. 

“Not really.”

“Okay then,” Steve agreed quietly. He stood beside you, resting his hand on your shoulder. “You need to get some sleep.”

“I’m fine.”

“Come on,” he said, quietly, before you turned and looked at him. Feeling his gentle pull, you followed him. “We can keep the window open.”

Straightening out the covers on your bed, Steve sat down first before shuffling over to take the side closest to the door, all the while pulling your hand gently to join him. 

You didn’t say anything about him staying, and part of you hoped he wouldn’t bring it up. Talking about it meant it was a thing. And things could end. 

“Is this okay?” Steve asked as he settled his arm over your middle after he’d pulled the covers up. 

Your back was to him, but you nodded anyway. “Yes.”

Then, in a quiet gesture, you laid your hand over his as he held onto you. “It’s okay.”

There was a little shuffling on Steve’s side, but the noise quickly subsided and through the anxiety, you tried to calm your nerves enough to sync your relaxed state with Steve. 

Listening to the soft wind helped. 

Before you knew it, you were slowly waking up to a bright light, a warm feeling on your back, and a secure arm around your middle holding onto you in case you were the one to fall 500ft away. 

Somewhere outside, a car door slammed shut and the sound of children laughing as their parents called their names to slow down as they, presumably, ran inside their house, echoed through the street. 

Managing to move a little, you caught a glimpse of the alarm clock beside your bed. It was the first time in a long time that you saw 11:09 am without having seen the hours previous to it. 

There was a small rush of panic before you realised it was the weekend and neither you or Steve had somewhere to be.

Steve. 

Almost on cue, Steve’s arm tightened a little around you. From the steady movements of his breathing, he was still asleep, completely unaware of the fact he wouldn’t let you go further from him than enough to turn onto your other side. 

Rather than fight his sleeping frame, however, you stayed where you were. 

It was the best night's sleep you’d had in a long time and, selfishly, you weren’t ready to let that go. Or let Steve let you go. 

Not that he did when he finally woke up, which wasn’t long after you. Instead, he just pulled you closer to him. Or maybe pushed himself closer to you?

“You awake?”

“Almost,” you answered.

“What time is it?”

“After eleven,” you told him. “How did you sleep?”

“Honestly? Really, really good. Sorry if I…” Steve noticed his arm that still hung around your middle, but from the way your thumb was softly swiping over the back of his hand, he made no move to remove it from you. 

You shook your head a little. “No,” you said, softly. “It was nice.”

“Yeah?”

You nodded and looked at him, a tired smile on your lips. “Yeah.”

Steve smiled back but hid his face from the light of the nearly-mid-day sun. A laughing groan escaped him as he tensed his arm around you and held you a little tiger for a second before looking back at you. 

For a while, you both stayed like that, in the gleam of the sun, well-rested but still tired. 

“What?” You asked him after some time had passed and his gaze on you turned from happy to slightly curious. 

A cloud moved over the sun for a moment. “Why didn’t you come inside?”

“Inside? When?”

Steve took his time in explaining himself. “I’ve heard you a couple times, when you’re outside my door. I don’t really sleep all that good anyway but…you always stop outside my door. And last night…you could have come in. You didn’t have to stay on your own.”

You eventually broke your eye contact with him and looked at the ceiling, almost struggling to swallow. But your hand didn’t move from his on your stomach, so that made him hopeful he hasn’t upset you. 

“Why didn’t you…”

“Fear,” you answered honestly. It was easier to look at the ceiling as you told him. “I…I didn’t want you to be angry at me-”

“No,” you heard Steve whisper in shock. 

“-or annoyed because I’d woken you up. It’s bad enough I can’t stay at home on my own anymore, because I should but I just-”

Steve shook his head and sat up  to face you. “No. Never. Y/n, after everything we’ve been through, staying on your own is really fucking scary.”

“Steve-”

He shook his head. “No, let me just- can I please just tell you this?”

You sat up slowly and nodded. And then you listened. 

“I would never be angry, or annoyed or even judge you for coming to me. Or anyone, for that matter. What we’ve been through…nobody would ever believe us but…if it happens again, and I don’t care when, and you want to be with someone, please don’t be afraid to come to me?” Steve pleaded with you. “We’ve had enough to fear in this world. I don’t want you to fear me, too.”

“I don’t fear you, Steve.”

“No, I know, I just…I don’t know how else to…” Then something small hit Steve, right in his chest. “I don’t like being alone, either. Honestly, when you said you didn’t want to stay at home, I offered you to live with me because, yes, we’re friends and I’d rather know you’re here and safe. But, also…I didn’t like being alone, either. And as for sleep, and the nightmares and…my point is that I know how it feels and last night it was…”

You chuckled through the tears you didn’t realise had come forward. “Best night’s sleep?”

“Yeah!” Steve laughed a little, then he reached over and held his hand on your cheek, catching the tears. “If you don’t want to be alone, just come to me. Whether it’s just for five minutes or for the whole night…just…come and find me?”

Steve’s pleading eyes said more than his words ever could. They said enough to make you feel safe enough to nod and agree. 

“Okay.”

It was three nights before you had another nightmare, waking up in bed alone, staring at your ceiling. And, after thirty minutes of debating with yourself, you pushed against every screaming voice that was telling you to not go and find Steve. 

His door was already open by the time you reached him, just enough for you to push it open without it making too much noise. You didn’t have to say anything. Being careful to lift the other side of the covers, Steve woke for a moment, but didn’t freak out or shout. 

Instead, he helped you hold them open and waited for you to lie down before he held you close to him. 

“You okay?” He asked you, quietly. 

You nodded softly, “Yeah.”

Steve didn’t say anything but scooted a little closer to you and when he felt you finally relaxed into him, he smiled into your hair and fell into a deep sleep beside you. 

Over the following weeks, it started to happen more often than just once every couple of nights. And you weren’t the only one getting up in the middle of the night anymore. 

Some nights, Steve would slide in beside you. You’d wake for a moment, feeling the bed dip in its familiar pattern before you felt him beside you, bringing you under his arm. 

Eventually, it stopped feeling weird or awkward or scary because of the original reason for climbing in beside Steve and visa versa. 

To put it simply, you both slept better together than apart. 

And it hadn’t gone unnoticed by the group either. 

Weekend film nights, late night study sessions, evenings you helped them cram for their practice SATs, summer afternoons you tutored Max in order to speed up her graduation date. 

They saw the way you and Steve had adapted around one another. 

It started small. You’d come back from work carrying the groceries through the door as Steve was on the sofa with Dustin whilst Lucas and Max sat on the floor, all looking at the TV screen. 

Steve had jumped up to help you. 

But that wasn’t the thing that was different. It was how you both acted after it. Steve helped with the groceries, talking to you and asking about your day as you took your coat off and locked the door. You said ‘Hi’ to the kids who waved in your general direction. Steve chuckled at the kitchen doorway before looking at you and hugging you tight. From there, you both put the groceries away and Steve started making dinner whilst you both just talked and laughed.

It was all so domestic. 

Later that night, you’d fallen asleep against Steve and, in turn, Steve had put his arm around you and fallen asleep, too. 

“You don’t think?” Lucas asked quietly. 

Dustin shook his head, a little in denial. “No…no? No. Steve would have said-”

“If they’re not now, they will be.” Max had said. 

The next thing was a glass of water and a hand across your shoulders during your tutor session with Max and Will. The two had looked at each other with a noted and shocked look, all the while you and Steve were making doe eyes at each other. 

After that, it was a carpool ride into the city, an emergency study night – at that one, you’d fallen asleep before Max had come knocking on Steve’s door in a rush. 

She had a test the next day and if she didn’t pass it, it could mean doing the year over again. Something she didn’t want to have to do, like, at all. But, you’d been cramming for an essay based exam all week, having finally taken it that morning. 

There was no chance of waking you up until the morning. 

That night, Max watched as Steve lifted you from the sofa without a struggle – almost like it had been rehearsed a thousand times – and carried you upstairs to bed. 

He came back down after that and helped Max study. He wasn’t as academically smart as you, but he’d managed to graduate high school so he could at least try and help Max. 

Max had held her tongue all evening, but just as he dropped her back off at Lucas’s house, she turned back to the car. “Are you guys dating?”

“What?”

“You and Y/n. We can all see it but Dustin’s getting kinda pissed that you might be keeping a secret from him but he’s too chicken to ask. And-”

“We’re…we’re just friends.”

Max watched Steve for a moment. “I know a good lawyer.”

“Call all the lawyers you know,” he told her. “My statement won’t change.”

Max kept her glare on Steve as she stood up slowly. “We’ll see,” she said before adding. “Thanks for helping me.”

“Anytime.”

He waited until she was inside before driving away and coming back home to you. Within ten minutes of him getting home, he was laying beside you in bed, ready to fall asleep, all the while Max’s question swirled around in his head. 

Finally came the morning when Robin helped the kids ‘break-in’. Their final summer before their graduation year was just starting and they didn’t want to waste a second. 

Which meant making pancakes and the perfect summer breakfast in the only kitchen that had enough space to fit them all. 

Steve’s. 

And, now, yours. 

Your parents had made the move permanent outside of Hawkins but still kept your childhood home. You might not have been living in it, but they didn’t have to know that. 

Steve’s parents, if they stayed, it was usually as far away from Hawkins as they could get. 

And neither you or Steve had made a move in any direction that wasn’t staying together. 

“Guys! Come on! We’ve been yelling for like thirty minutes.” Dustin’s voice carried down the hallway, quickly followed by Robin’s. 

“And before you say, it’s technically not breaking and entering since- I have a key.” Robin finished her sentence slowly as she joined Dustin at Steve’s bedroom door. 

Inside Steve’s bedroom, both you and Steve were lying together on top of the covers. The night had been too hot to have anything other than a crocheted blanket you’d made the summer before, draped over both of you. 

Thankfully, to the prayers of both Dustin and Robin, you were both clothed. You were wearing Steve’s old Squawk t-shirt and a pair of shorts, whilst Steve just wore shorts. 

“Guys!”

Both you and Steve groaned. Robin smiled. “Like a married couple already.”

“Henderson,” Steve grumbled. “Robin-”

“Since when were you so hairy?” Robin’s question fell from her lips quicker than she could stop it. “Seriously, dude.”

“If it’s before nine in the morning, I’m gonna kill you both.” You grumbled as you hid from the light in the room. 

Dustin checked his watch. “It’s just after ten. But come on, please! It is the first day of our last summer before we graduate and have to spend our summer packing up for college. We have no time to waste!”

You heard Steve take a deep breath. “Alright. Alright, we’ll be down soon.”

Dustin scurried away and back downstairs to the others whilst Robin stood in the doorway with a light smirk on her face. “Nice t-shirt, Y/n. Could have sworn Steve owned the same one.”

“Alright, thank you, Robin.”

Robin shrugged at Steve as she turned down the hallway. “Just saying.”

As Robin disappeared and went down the stairs, Steve turned to look back at you. Your eyes were still closed, your forehead a little scrunched and you just looked so…

Beautiful. 

“Come on,” Steve said as he leaned down and kissed your head. “We should get up before they come back.”

“Or you could lock the door and we could go back to sleep,” you offered. “They’re kids. They’re meant to be sleeping till noon.”

“Those are normal kids you’re thinking of,” Steve told you. “Not ours.”

You hummed. “You’re right, I almost forgot.”

“I’ll make you coffee.”

You groaned a little as Steve started to sweeten the pot. Coffee, some fresh pancakes and the promise of getting the first choice of tape in the car. 

“You drive a hard bargain, Steve Harrington.” 

Steve chuckled as he sat beside you on the bed, softly caging you in as he looked at you. “I sure do.”

Quickly, he leaned down and pecked a kiss to your temple and stood. “But I’ve got to find a t-shirt first. Somebody stole mine last night.”

You shrugged. “Finders keepers.”

Steve chuckled, reaching into his drawers before lifting out a white on and throwing on a pair of shorts. “It’s alright, looks better on you anyway.”

You sat up on your elbows in bed and cocked your head. “Are you flirting with me, Steve Harrington?”

Steve just shrugged and made his way to the door. “See you downstairs.”

He heard your small laugh as he closed the door behind him. You walked downstairs, still dressed the same but a little more put together – rather than pajama shorts, denim ones, and a bra underneath the Squawk t-shirt you’d worn to bed. 

“It really does look better on you,” Steve whispered in your ear as he handed you your coffee. But the flirting was put on the bench for a moment. 

“Robin’s about to set fire to the pan,” you told him as you took a sip of your coffee. 

“No, she’s- oh, my god.”

Chuckling to yourself, you turned and took your seat at the breakfast table with the others, talking with Robin as Steve banned her from the kitchen stove. 

Later that day, Steve drove everyone to the video store where they disappeared for at least an hour, renting different movies, buying snacks, before he drove back home and the backyard was turned into a baseball/swimming arena where, for a bunch of nerds who had spent most summers playing D&D, had pretty decent skills in sports, too. 

It helped that they were still competitive as hell. 

Thankfully, the afternoon passed by without any bleeding noses or cuts. And, by the time the movie section of the evening came around, the kids including both Robin and Steve were tuckered out from the running and swimming. 

As you were taking a short break in the silence of the kitchen, washing off plates and other dishes, you felt a familiar hand coast under your shirt and across your stomach. 

Steve soon laid his head on your shoulder. 

“Hey,” you smiled and spoke softly. “Tired?”

“Exhausted. But, in like, the best way.”

You chuckled. “I’m glad.”

“Needed some silence?”

You nodded. “I love their noise, but I’ve been so used to just the sound of pen against paper or the computer for months. It’s taking my brain a minute to adjust.”

“You don’t have to worry about it.”

“Enjoy the calm, enjoy the chaos.”

Steve smiled as you spun in his arms. “Only the good chaos.”

“Good chaos?”

Steve hummed. “Something Dustin told me about D&D. There’s good chaos and there’s bad chaos. I figure,” Steve took a breath as his fingers slipped through the belt loops of your shorts. “We’ve had enough bad chaos to last us a lifetime. This time, we just keep the good chaos.”

You smiled. “Good chaos? I like it.”

Steve smiled and looked at you. “You really do look much better in this t-shirt than I ever did.”

“I’m starting to think you’re no longer flirting with me,” you told him. “But you’re just jealous that I look better in your old uniform.”

Steve chuckled. “That’s exactly what it is.”

You shrugged. “Same you had to give up your Rockin’ Robin radio gig. You could have printed more colours, maybe some hats.”

“Hats?”

You nodded. “Then your baseball team out there would have something more efficient to shield their eyes with.”

Steve chuckled. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Did you hear back from the coaching job?”

Steve couldn’t stop the smile on his face. “I did.”

“And?” You asked, already hopeful. 

“You’re looking at the new sports coach of Hawkins education,” Steve beamed. 

“Oh, my god!” Reaching up, you hugged him tight. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I only found out this afternoon. Just before I dragged you into the pool.”

You gasped. “I knew it hadn’t been Mrs Byers on the phone!” You whisper-shouted. “You were being way too cryptic.”

Steve nodded. “Also, I’m the new Sex Ed teacher.”

You nearly laughed. “What?”

“It’s part of the gig.”

You chuckled. “You…you are aware you’re gonna have to teach our kids about Sex Ed next year?”

“What?” Steve had gone from overjoyed about the coaching job, to slight anxiety and fear over your statement. 

You nodded. “Don’t worry about it, you’ll do great.”

“I-I can’t talk to them about…that.”

“Steve,” you said. “If it makes you feel any better, they probably already know how a condom works, how to prevent pregnancy and avoid STDs.”

Steve relaxed a little, but only for a moment. “Well who taught them that?!”

You just laughed. “Come on, Steve. Where did you learn?”

“Oh. Right.”

Stepping out of his grip, you turned back to the dishes. “They’ll be okay, Steve. And so will you.”

Steve smiled, trying his best to ignore the awkward conversation he was just a few months away from having with the kids he’d practically helped raise. “What about you? Have you heard from the Board yet?”

You shook your head. “Not yet. I won’t hear about my results until the middle of August.”

“You don’t have to wait, I can tell you now that you’ve passed it all, and you’ll get the job at the Firm.”

You nodded, trying to push your anxiety behind you. “Thanks.”

“I mean it. You’re crazy smart and, knowing all of us, we’re gonna need to know a good lawyer or two.”

You smiled and leaned back into Steve as he gently knocked your shoulder with his. 

A few hours later, the kids were either in bed or asleep on the sofa. Meanwhile, you and Steve headed upstairs to bed, climbing under the crocheted cover once more. 

“Steve?” You asked once the quiet had finally settled over both you and Steve. 

He hummed in response. You could feel the tired gravel of his voice rattle in his chest, under your hand. 

“This morning…when you were flirting with me…”

He hummed again, but not as relaxed. Leaning up to face him in the moonlight, you took a moment. His heartbeat under your hand sped up a little.

“If that was you flirting…” You took a quiet breath. “I want you to know that you don’t have to flirt with me to get my attention.”

Opening his eyes after a silent moment, he looked at you. 

“You don’t,” you confirmed. 

It wasn’t the first time you and Steve had a conversation between a simple look. And you doubted it would be the last. 

“Really?” 

He sounded…hopeful. 

You nodded. “Yeah.”

The arm he already had wrapped around you lowered down your back until his hand hit your hip. He squeezed it gently three times before letting his other hand reach out to cup your jaw. 

“C-can I?”

You swallowed and nodded in the quiet. “Yes.”

For the first time, Steve Harrington kissed you. 

And rather than being weird or confusing or starting feelings of uncertainty about your friendship with him, it just felt…

Normal. 

Almost like

Finally. 

Sitting up a little further, Steve pulled you closer to him until you were straddled over his thighs and he could feel every part of you against his own. 

“Finally,” he breathed as his hand tangled in your hair and he rested his head against your own. 

You had no words. His kiss had left you speechless. 

Literally speechless. 

“And,” Steve swallowed, his heart hammering in his chest. “For the record. I’ll never stop flirting with you.”

You felt yourself blush as you smiled. “Good.”

With his gently holding the side of your neck and jaw, he pulled you in for another breathtaking kiss. 

Smut warnings - oral (m and f receiving), fingering, brief face fucking, thick dick cheol lol, slight choking, allusions to a breeding kink, unprotected sex (these two are digustingly in love, extremely horny and highly irresponsible, please don't be like them), creampie, mention of the word slut like once, and I'm hoping that's all?

“Absolutely not.”

“No way in hell.”

Seungcheol glared at you as you narrowed your eyes at him.

“I’m not sharing a room with him.”

“I refuse to even breathe in her vicinity.”

“Then maybe I should do mankind a service by being around you more.”

“The only way you can help mankind is by shutting your mouth.” Seungcheol leaned closer, his voice dropping. “You’re not pretty enough for all the stupidity that comes out of it.”

You rolled your eyes. “Rich coming from you. If I had a face like yours, I’d sue my parents.”

“Aw, fifth graders can insult better than you, sweetheart.”

“That was a fact, darling.”

“Ah” The two of you turned to the receptionist, finally remembering her presence as her eyes flickered between you and Seungcheol. “So, the two of you are dating?”

Looking at her incredulously and with unadulterated disgust, the two of you immediately took a step back.

“No!”

“No!”

“I’d rather stub my pinky toe on furniture everyday than date her-”

“And I’d rather choke on my own spit everyday than date him-”

“Oh baby, I knew you were a desperate one. I can give you something better to choke on-”

“Honey, are you sure? I heard you can stack fruit loops on that skinny thing-”

“Enough!” The old woman behind the counter got to her feet, putting her hands on her hips, the never-ending squabbling finally getting to her. “If either of you say another word, I will personally put you both in the tiniest broom closet I can find and trust me, the ones in this lodge are devastatingly small.”

You immediately shut up, dreading that idea more than anything. Seungcheol too became uncharacteristically and thankfully, quiet.

“Now, as far as your room is concerned, your company booked only one room, number-” She glanced at the paper in her hand and pulled out a pair of keys from the drawer. “- 68. If you can bear each other for 4 nights, well and good, get moving. If not, then take your things and get out of here. Good luck finding another lodge in this miserable weather.”

And as though on cue, a bright light, followed by a loud thunder flooded the room, taking all three of its inhabitants aback.

From the corner of your eye, you saw Seungcheol visibly gulp, well aware of his fear of thunder. Seungcheol too heard the way you sniffled, knowing that your rhinitis would only get worse with the humidity rising outside.

Sighing with the realization that there was no way out of this, both of you reached for the keys at the same time, making the old woman snatch it faster than the damn lightning to avoid yet another fight from breaking out. Ringing for the bellboy, she handed him the keys before he took your suitcase and Seungcheol’s bag in each hand, leading the way to your despair of the night.

Seungcheol followed quietly behind you, hands tucked in his pocket, his large headphones perched on his head as he swayed to the music, blatantly ignoring you. You were thankful for that. Since you were little children, you had always craved moments where you could pretend like this man didn’t exist. Why wouldn’t you? Everything about him was a pain in your ass.

You first met Seungcheol when you were five. Your fathers were college mates turned business partners and coincidentally, your mothers were best friends since high school. Naturally, everyone expected the children of both families to be just as close as their parents but alas, even at the age of five, you could not bear him for more than five minutes. He was so aggressive and unruly, always messing up your dolls, always pulling your hair, never giving you a second of peace when he was around. Albeit that behaviour got milder over the years but there were other things now.

Like the fact that your father always preferred to have a boy, a son who could be his heir, someone like Seungcheol. It wasn’t like he didn’t love you but a different side of him came out every time Seungcheol was around, a side not even you could bring out. He would laugh louder, his eyes would shine more, he would seem so carefree. Seungcheol too never missed the chance to rub that on your face, constantly sneering and claiming that your father would be happier if he was a part of the family.

Over the years, your displeasure and annoyance at Seungcheol only grew into a deep dislike. As though it wasn’t enough that the two of you did your entire schooling together (yes, all twelve years of it), he was always present anywhere and everywhere you went - the debate club, the swim team, the dance academy, the cafes, the libraries, the movies - there was no place you were free of him. Ever since you were young, you had longed to escape to a place far away from home just to be carefree and explore and reinvent yourself without the constant looming of a figment of your past. You had hoped that at least after school you’d have the chance to go away from him but as your luck would have it, the two of you were accepted into the same business school, were interning in the same company, were working on the same project, and had come out of town for the same three-day conference together. It was one thing to have to bear this man’s presence all day, now you had to do it all night as well, thanks to your cheapskate company.

As you got in the lift Seungcheol held the doors open for you before settling in the corner opposite yours, keeping as much distance in between as possible. The bell boy looked at both of you confused.

“I thought the two of you are dating?”

You groaned, rolling your eyes, and fished out your phone, scrolling through it instead.

Seungcheol glanced at you before scoffing at the absurd idea of dating you. He wasn’t foreign to that doubt though – people often wondered if they were together and Seungcheol wondered what on earth they saw between them that even resembled a speck of liking or even tolerance for one another.

Seungcheol had honestly not met anyone as stuck up as you. He never understood why his parents constantly considered you as the ideal role model for their son - ‘Look Cheol, she joined debate, you should too’, ‘She got selected in the swim team, you should try Cheol.’, ‘What do you think about dancing Cheol? She’s really good at it.’. Seungcheol was sick of being dragged into everything you were in, only to always be second. He hated debates, he would rather play football than swim, and though he liked to dance, ever since he joined the academy with you, even dancing was not giving him any solace.

Yet he gave his best all the time. He tried and tried and tried but he was always second to you who was evidently a natural at everything. For example, back in the school days, Seungcheol would almost get the same grades as you but at the cost of sacrificing nights of sleep and putting hours and hours into teaching himself. Meanwhile, you would breeze through the notes a day before the test, get a full 8-hour sleep and still score higher than him. As if that wasn’t enough, you’d invite him home, offering to “tutor” him only to constantly berate him about his ignorance, drop snide comments about how you were better, subtly challenge him in a battle that the both of you were well aware he could not win.

No wonder you had no friends while Seungcheol was as popular as could be - who would even want to be friends with you when you were always so cold and condescending towards anything that moved or breathed. If your parents weren’t joined at the hip, forcing Seungcheol to be a constant presence in your life, he wondered who would ever even talk to you? You should have been thankful for him, that he was the one human presence in your life who was always there despite it all, yet you treated him like he was beneath you. He had hoped that at least after graduating the two of you could part ways but the universe apparently loved playing cosmic jokes, putting the two of you together yet again, at the same workplace. And completely up in each other’s space for the next few days as well.

It wasn’t like the two of you hadn’t ever shared a room before - whenever your parents would meet up at each other’s house to drink and talk all night, the two of you had no choice but to crash in the same room, sharing the same bed even but thank God it was usually queen size, allowing the both of you to take two opposite ends, not even your breaths mingling. It had been years since that though…..Seungcheol felt a bead of sweat trickle down his back. He had no idea how he was to spend tonight in this room. Or the next few ones.

Neither did you.

As all three of you stood before the door and the bellboy fumbled with the keys, you glanced at Seungcheol. He looked unbothered as one could be. Perhaps you were overthinking this whole thing. It was a matter of four nights, surely the two of you could at least try to be courteous right?

“What in the...?”

Seungcheol’s voice rang in the empty corridor and you leaned to see what had him so shocked. Your own jaw dropped in a strange mixture of surprise, confusion, and relief.

Room 68 was no average hotel room. It was as big as the entire lobby, 7 heavily pillowed and blanketed single beds aligned from one end to the other almost military barrack style, only small bedside tables putting space between them.

“Room 68 is uh our bachelorette party suite.” The bellboy clarified. “For, you know, those big groups of girls who are hell bent on partying all night together?” He looked away like he was recalling a horrifying memory. “Since it’s holiday season, the lodge is booked out, this was the only room we had left. Is... is it not good?”

Seungcheol looked at you and for the first time in nearly 25 years, the two of you could finally agree on something.

“No.” You stepped in. “It’s perfect.”

It had been years since you had seen Seungcheol half-naked.

Well, you frequently saw him during swim practice in those tight speedo shorts of his, ass all plump and taut but you were not talking about that. You were referring to the sight before you right now, him with a towel wrapped loosely around his waist, his wet hair falling into his eyes as he searched for something in his bag frantically – most likely his aftershave. You knew he must have cleaned up given the conference was starting tomorrow and also that his cheeks were burning because you couldn’t smell the subtle cinnamon spice aftershave that usually followed in his routine.

Seungcheol strangely felt a pair of eyes on him as he rummaged through his things and suddenly remembered he was not alone in the room. He quickly turned, looking for you, finding you curled up in your bed, writing in what he guessed was your journal, unbothered by his presence. You were wearing that cute nightgown with little tomatoes drawn all over it which Seungcheol found funny given how much you hated tomatoes with all your heart and soul. Realising he had been looking for too long, Seungcheol gulped, quickly grabbing the aftershave he finally found and rushed back into the bathroom.

You flinched as you heard the door of the bathroom slam shut, looking up from your journal. Shaking your head exasperated, you returned to your writing. Seungcheol always handled things around him roughly like he was just not built to be gentle - slamming doors hard, breaking at least one coffee mug a month, causing rips in most of his clothes when he would gym because he was so big…. And muscular…. And built…..You bit the back of your pen thinking about how good he looked in his gym wear but if you were being honest, he looked best in a suit.

He’s going to be wearing one tomorrow.

You snapped out of your thoughts realizing you were entering dangerous waters and turned your attention back to your writing. Seungcheol made that process slightly harder as he walked out, furiously rubbing his towel against the back of his head, dressed in a black t-shirt and grey sweats.

As he sat down on his bed, he looked at you sitting six beds across, all the way in the other end of the room, right by the window. The moment the two of you entered the room, he took bed 1, the one against the wall and you took bed 7, the one against the opposite wall, putting the maximum possible distance between the two of you. He let you use the bathroom first, not because he knew you preferred using it when it is dry but because he thought this was the best time for him to call his parents and wish them goodnight….. even though it was still 7:30.

He showered after you did but even now, despite being so far from you, he could still smell your bodywash, the fragrance of lilies, the mildest kind because strong fragrances irritated your sensitive nose. Throwing his towel on the chair he kicked his legs off the floor and lied on the bed, turning to the wall, hearing the faint annoyed click of a tongue. Seungcheol knew exactly what triggered it - you hated it when he tossed damp towels like that. But honestly, he couldn't care less right now, not when there were more important things to deal with tomorrow, not when he was so tired already.

You shut your journal, irritated by his behaviour remembering exactly why being in the same vicinity as this man infuriated you. Flipping the lights off and pulling the covers over your shivering body, you realigned your thoughts towards your goal - Tomorrow’s conference was crucial. You had to look your best and do your best so clocking in 8 hours of sleep was the priority, Choi Seungcheol's character development be damned.

But as you lied down turning towards the window, lightning flashed across the sky, a loud thunder following. You turned to see Seungcheol and his back was facing you, the outline of his figure moving up and down rhythmically like he was already in a deep sleep. Slightly relieved yet still unconvinced, you turned towards him before the sleep and tiredness took you away.

Seungcheol simply stared at the wall all night.

Seungcheol most definitely did not sleep all night.

You could tell by the fact that one, he was up without you waking him and two, he was not there in the room right now. That meant he was out for a run which in turn meant his face must have been all swollen which definitely meant he didn’t get enough sleep. You did notice though that his bedding had shifted from bed 1 to bed 2 and guessed it was because of the coldness of the wall - Seungcheol had the habit of tossing and turning at night and there was nothing he hated more than his bare skin accidentally brushing the cold walls. Considering you were still five beds away from him, you ignored it as you went to wash up and prepare for the day.

When he saw the time on his watch as he finished his last lap, Seungcheol realised he was way behind schedule and that you probably were already at breakfast, sitting with a dozen snide remarks, waiting for him. True enough, as he quickly showered, dressed, and headed down to the buffet, you were there already, going through the proposal, the plate beside you nearly empty. Quickly grabbing a piece of toast and stuffing it in his mouth he walked over, putting on his suit jacket in a hurry. As you saw him approach, you shut your laptop, looking at him top to down in an ensemble that fit him all too well. Seungcheol’s eyes wandered over the pretty way you did your hair, and the plunging neckline of your blouse, a sliver of your pink bra peeking from underneath the fabric-

Both of you cleared your throats and looked away.

“We should leave, the cab should be here in-” He glanced at his watch. “-should have been here ten minutes ago, fuck.”

“It’ll be here in ten.” You pushed a cup of coffee towards him, looking at him pointedly to take a seat. Seungcheol glanced at it then back at you.

“You changed the time on my watch.” He huffed annoyed. “Again.”

“Glad to know you are still capable of basic comprehension.”

“You vile woman.” Seungcheol gritted between his teeth, sitting down. “I showered so fast I thought I was going to pass out.”

“But you didn’t.” You shrugged. “And learn to be grateful Seungcheol, you’re only ever on time when I meddle, so say thanks to me.”

“I’d rather die before I thank you.” He took a sip of the coffee before the extreme bitterness hit his tongue, making him spit it out right back into the cup. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“You did say you’d rather die.”

“Fuck you.”

“I know ten minutes is more than enough for you but personally, I prefer longer.”

Every single time. Every single time you flashed him that sweet, mocking smile and every single time it pushed his buttons like no other. One day he swore to put you in your place but right now he was too low on energy for that.

Well aware that you loved strawberries more than anything, he grabbed the last one on your plate and walked off to the taxi stand, ignoring the way you whined behind him.

“Oh, real mature of you Choi Seungcheol!”

You knew in your stress about perfecting the proposal early in the morning you had forgotten something important and the moment you stepped into the room that night, you knew exactly what that was.

To close the windows.

Thanks to the pouring rain, the water had drenched your entire bed, not to forget, your bag full of your clothes which was conveniently placed right on the mattress, soaking nearly every piece of clothing you owned. Thank God the laundry in the lodge said they would handle it for you so you still had an outfit for tomorrow’s conference but there were still two major concerns - one, what to wear tonight and two, where to sleep tonight.

You solved the first problem (almost) by grabbing your umbrella and heading to the nearest clothing store as instructed by the receptionist only to find out it sold barely any ‘cloth’ at all. It was an adult shop, filled majorly with lingerie of all kinds which were aiming to cover as little as possible. Groaning inwardly, knowing you didn’t have a phone on you to go any further in this weather, you grabbed the most decent nightgown you could find and rushed back.

A hot shower, a change of clothes and a quick meal later you decided to deal with your second problem, moving your things from bed 7 to 6, not too displeased considering there were still three beds between the two of you. You glanced at Seungcheol’s empty bed and then at the time - it was well past 10. Sighing, you settled under the covers pulling out your journal to write but got lost in your thoughts instead.

You were pretty proud of what you presented today - people praised you, congratulated you for a well drafted proposal and even went so far as to offer you jobs in their company. Yet you were not satisfied. Somehow, the one thing constantly running in your mind was the swarm of women who had flocked around Seungcheol the moment the conference was done, ‘mindlessly’ touching his arms, ‘casually’ brushing their chests against his, ‘genuinely’ laughing too hard at whatever bullshit came out of his mouth.

This was not new to you, Choi Seungcheol being the centre of attention wherever he went. He enjoyed it, basked in it, and chose to make a show of it whenever he got a chance. It was all so fake and superficial; you could not bear to stand it. That’s why even though everyone decided to go out for dinner and drinks tonight, yes, all twenty-seven of them, you politely said goodbye citing a headache and took a cab back. You were not interested in casual conversation and definitely not interested in seeing Seungcheol’s pathetic flirting.

Just as you begin to relish his absence and the beautiful silence that came with it, a loud knocking on the door and his voice screaming your name ended your perfect night. Grumbling, you opened the door to a fully drenched Seungcheol looking absolutely frazzled.

“What the hell-”

He stopped when his eyes fell on you dressed in a white floor length satin gown, the material seductively clinging to the curves of your body, your leg slightly visible between the slit. You crossed your arms to cover yourself up, feeling conscious under his gaze as he gulped audibly.

“What the hell were you thinking?” He met your eyes, a slight worry flashing behind the anger. “You just disappeared without letting me know-”

“I told you I was leaving.” You walked into the room rolling your eyes. “Maybe if you could see something beyond all that pathetic fangirling you’d have heard.”

“Fangirling?” He looked genuinely confused, following you in as he stripped off his jacket. You tried your best to not stare at the way his pecs were so perfectly outlined under the wet shirt sticking to his body but Seungcheol caught you peering, his features lighting up with amusement.

“Would you look at that?” He smirked. “Someone is jealous.”

“Please.” You scoffed. “I wouldn’t be jealous even if we were the last people on Earth.”

“Obviously, if we were the last people, who would you even be jealous of?”

You sighed. “You know what I mean.”

“I actually don't, sweetheart. If a little action is all you want, you can just ask for it you know?”

“Funny coming from a guy who kissed me just because another man was talking to me.”

The first tea break of the conference had led to an introduction that was surprising to you considering people did not really tend to approach you on their own. It was even more shocking that this man chose to speak to you in the lunch break as well, completely unprompted. He was sweet, not egging you too much with conversation, simply limiting it to work and the conference and then Choi Seungcheol appeared out of nowhere, snaking an arm around your waist, uninvited. Before you could glare at him and send him away, he planted a soft kiss on your cheek, excused himself and led you away from there, only to abandon you the very next second without an explanation.

“You call that a kiss?” Seungcheol scoffed. “You were so swept off your feet, you were this close to spilling details on our quotation for the project. That was actually me shutting you up.”

“Oh yeah?” You raised an eyebrow. “If you really wanted to shut me up, then you should have kissed me on the mouth.”

Seungcheol stared at you wordlessly.

As you began to walk away, he pulled you by the elbow, putting you against the wall, trapping you between his hands on either side.

“Is that how?” He leaned closer, the scent of his cologne taking over your senses. “Because there is nothing I’d love to do more than shut you up.” He cocked his head with a small smile. “And maybe also show you what a kiss really is.”

You tried not to gulp the phantom lump in your throat, cheeks suddenly hot under his gaze. Somehow, as though it had a mind of its own, your hand traced his exposed collar bone, trailing down his chest slowly, eyes following. Seungcheol held his breath under your touch. You stopped your tracks at his hard pecs, right above his heart beating just as fast as yours and looked up at him.

And then twisted his nipple.

Shrieking in pain, Seungcheol stumbled back, clutching his chest.

“What the hell mate?”

You walked towards your bed, grabbing your matching satin night robe and slipping it on. “It's ridiculous that you even think you of all people could show me a real kiss.”

“You forget sweetheart, I was your first one.”

You turned to Seungcheol as he brought up a memory you had actually done a great job forgetting. It was during your senior year - your parents had forced you to accompany Seungcheol to a house party so you could “get more involved in the social scene” instead of holing yourself up in your room all the time. It was a classic game of truth or dare and the worst dare of your life - to kiss Seungcheol for a minute.

Now the last thing you wanted to hear was him teasing you every day about how you were too scared to kiss him so you held him by the collar and pulled yourself into his lap straddling him, your mouth meeting his in a frenzy. If you were being honest, something about that kiss served as your sexual awakening - maybe it was the way he moaned into your mouth, or his hands gripped your ass, or hands entangled in his soft hair or your chest pressed up against his. Whatever it was, there was a video of it that your classmates took circulating somewhere out there, timed around five and a half minutes as opposed to the one minute it was supposed to be.

“Don’t take too much pride in yourself Cheol.” You sat on the bed, leaning back on your hands planted in the mattress. “Only I know how many other guys I had to kiss after that to know what kissing truly is.”

Seungcheol felt his jaw tighten.

Something in you had changed in junior year. Yes, you were still the same antisocial, inhospitable, unapproachable person you always were but somehow every other day, he found you in a new location with a new guy's tongue shoved down your throat. They were not boyfriends, Seungcheol knew that much, and it was the fact that they weren't that made his blood boil with anger.

“You shouldn’t take pride in yourself either sweetheart.” He looked at you with a strange mixture of anger and pity. “There's nothing to feel accomplished about not forming a single real bond in your life.”

The moment the words left his mouth Seungcheol regretted it, knowing he had hit a soft spot. It was too late now; the damage was done - pain was flashing in your eyes.

You looked at the insensitive man before you and laughed at him sadly, mirroring his hurtful words.

“No real bond? I’m afraid you filled that void Seungcheol. Hate forms really strong bonds too.”

And with that you turned away from him, tucking yourself under the sheets, turning off the lights on your side of the room. Grabbing his towel and a change of clothes, Seungcheol locked himself up in the bathroom, your words piercing his heart like no other. Over the years yes, the two of you argued and fought and annoyed each other and couldn’t stand one another but hate? He didn’t ever think that’s what you felt for him. Perhaps he deserved it - he had after all crossed a line with that comment.

He knew you had always struggled around people. He knew that even though you detested taking his help for anything, in every social setting, you would always choose to hide behind him. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to interact, you just couldn’t. You were a sick child since birth, constantly brought down by various illnesses that often confined you to your room - you didn’t go out to play with the other children, you didn’t join the kids on their trips to the ice cream shop, you didn’t go late night camping with your classmates, you didn’t do a lot of what kids your age did.

And when you were old enough, when you were healthy enough to step out into the world, you didn’t know how to anymore. Hence you continued to stay in your own shell, closing yourself off from everyone, wary of any and all interactions. Seungcheol knew all this, that’s why when he couldn't lay his eyes on you in the crowd of the conference, the panic he felt was like no other. He never thought he would ever feel his heart stop but Seungcheol felt it twice today - once when he lost you and the other when you said that. I’m afraid you filled that void Seungcheol. Hate forms really strong bonds too.

You stared out of the window, mildly annoyed by all the light falling in your face, Seungcheol’s words ringing in your ears. It might have sounded harsh but he was right. You never formed real bonds with anyone, you could never bring yourself to. Having spent years all by yourself, you didn’t know what it was like to let another person into a space that was entirely yours. That’s why, though you engaged in all sorts of flings and hookups, you never let it go beyond that - you never let yourself lose your heart to someone, walking away from them before they could walk away from you.

In that sense, Seungcheol was indeed the realest bond you had - just a constantly present, mildly irritating, oddly comforting white noise in your life. It was easy with him - you never had to think in his presence, you never had to wonder whether anything would drive him away, never had to worry about keeping him by your side unconditionally - he was always there. Somehow what you felt for Seungcheol was liberating in a way you hadn’t even realized. Hate could hardly define that; you were unnecessarily harsh earlier.

Seungcheol stepped out of the bathroom, eyes falling on your unmoving figure which he just realized was on bed 6 instead of 7. Noticing the damp sheets and piecing it together, he didn’t think too much of it as he switched off the lights and crawled into his bed.

Hearing the sounds of him shuffling, you turned towards him.

“Are you not going for the dinner?”

“It’s too late now. I would have eaten there if I didn’t have to run back here to check up on you.”

“You could have just called me.”

“I did.” He turned to you, looking at just your silhouette in the darkness. “A few hundred times.”

You checked your phone immediately and it wasn’t a hundred times but there were some fifty odd calls from him and two dozen messages.

“I put my phone on silent during the conference and forgot to take it off.” You mumbled, just a little guilty that he was missing out on a gathering because of you. “Did you at least eat?”

“I’m not hungry, thanks to all the Americanos you kept feeding me all day.”

“If not for that, you would have been snoring in the conference barely an hour after it began.” You turned to lie on your back, facing the ceiling. “And I wouldn’t have had to do that if you’d just obediently drank that double shot espresso in the morning.”

Seungcheol remembered you sliding the coffee cup to him and smiled to himself in the dark.

“Then maybe you should also listen to me and stop munching on those strawberries every chance you get, especially when you know they flare your allergies.”

You remembered Seungcheol gobbling up the last berry and smiled to yourself in the dark.

“Goodnight, you obnoxious prick.”

“Goodnight, you insufferable fiend."

When you woke up in the morning, two things had changed - one, Seungcheol had moved from bed 2 to bed 3 in the middle of the night and two, his shirt was gone, discarded somewhere in the mess on the floor. He was lying sprawled on his bare stomach, his back covered in a thin sheet of sweat, his tattoo shining as the light hit it. Ignoring the sight before you with much difficulty, you shook him awake.

“Get up Cheol, we’re going to be late.”

He groaned, rolling over, eyes slowly blinking open, falling on you first thing in the morning. Even though you were dressed in the sultriest thing he had ever seen on you, Seungcheol controlled himself and tore his eyes away.

“The radiator is right across the other bed; I was literally burning all night.” He mumbled, stretching awake, justifying his move.

You turned towards it noticing how it was in fact between bed two and three, closer to three than two to be honest. Considering Seungcheol was still drenched in sweat, his move in the middle of the night was actually quite pointless, but you chose not to say anything about it. Quickly washing up, the two of you rushed for breakfast, skimming over the presentation notes one last time. Today, neither of you noticed but Seungcheol drank the coffee and you didn’t eat the strawberries.

Day two went by in a flash much like day one. Only this time, you didn’t talk to the gentleman from yesterday, choosing to sit quietly by Seungcheol in the break and he didn’t leave your side either, regardless of all the ladies calling him to join them. In the evening, as the team headed to the city’s best karaoke bar, inviting you and Seungcheol again, Seungcheol brushed them off claiming the two of you had a little more work to do on the proposal. To his surprise, you shot him down, agreeing to join everyone, looking at him with a small smile.

“Don’t be such a killjoy darling.”

Seungcheol knew you were compensating for last night so he followed, well aware that you would most likely want to leave the moment the singing started. Well, he was almost right - you actually wanted to leave the moment you stepped foot into the room, turning to him with pleading eyes. Seungcheol turned you by your shoulder, laughing as he led you in.

“Don’t be such a killjoy sweetheart.”

You sat patiently as the beers poured in and people around you fought for the photobooth props. Seungcheol was sitting right beside you, his thigh a comforting weight against yours, laughing with everyone. As the night progressed, you had downed a beer or two, a slight buzz taking over, not noticing the way Seungcheol had his arm around you now or that you were warmly cuddled against his torso. Soon, one by one, everyone settled on the couches, tired from all the screaming, resorting to chatter instead and deciding on an old-fashioned game of truth or dare. Seungcheol smirked at you and you turned his face away with a soft push.

“So Seungcheol,” The man beside him spoke. “Truth or dare?”

“Neither actually. We should leave now.” He stood, pulling you up, stumbling slightly. “I’ve had too much to drink and it's late, Y/n needs to sleep.”

“Didn’t realize wacky wallflower here also had the bedtime of a toddler.” One of Seungcheol’s many fangirls piqued, jealousy stark on her face. “We can book her a cab, why don’t you stay a little longer, Cheolie?”

You raised an eyebrow, amused at the nickname, and at her jealousy but Seungcheol did not find anything about her words even remotely funny.

“No thanks, I go where she goes.”

“I thought you guys weren’t dating? Then why-”

“That doesn’t change what I said.” His voice dropped an octave. “I go where she goes.”

“Cheol.” You placed a hand on his chest, sensing his anger rising. “It’s fine, let’s stay for a few rounds, yeah?”

Seungcheol looked at you frowning as you sat down, pulling him with you. The girl you already disliked but quite vehemently hate now, spun the bottle with a giggle.

“We don’t have to stay.” Seungcheol whispered as the guy beside you excitedly asked the one across him a question. “You stayed long enough, you need sleep-”

“I’m fine.”

“I’m not.” He spoke between gritted teeth. “Just looking at that foul woman makes me mad. I already said I wasn’t interested in her, she had no reason to be a bitch.”

“Well then don’t you want to put the bitch in her place Cheol?”

You looked at him with big doe eyes which terrified Seungcheol even more. What on Earth were you up to?

“Y/n, you get to ask Yuri!”

You looked at the bottle to see it pointing between you and your little conquest of the night. Hook.

“Truth or dare?” Line.

“Dare.” And Sinker.

“Okay Yuri, then I dare you to not take your eyes off.”

You pulled Seungcheol by the collar, smashing your lips on his, swallowing his audible moan. His hands immediately found your waist, pulling you closer, up against his body, teeth roughly tugging your lower lip. Hand sliding up his neck and across his jaw, you entangled your fingers in his hair, drawing him even closer denying even air the right to come between the two of you. Yes, it was all a show for Yuri or whatever her name was, but at a point, she stomped her foot and got up, running out of the room. Perhaps the two of you should have stopped then or at least when you were running out of breath. But you only broke apart when someone dropped a beer bottle, smashing the glass loudly on the floor. Seungcheol and you looked at it, faces flushed, lips swollen. A low whistle echoed in the room.

“We-” Seungcheol cleared his throat, trying to get his voice back. “We should get going.”

“Y-yeah.” You agreed, getting up and grabbing your things as Seungcheol smoothened his hair with his hand, muttering a small goodbye to everyone. As the two of you stepped out of the room, you found Yuri crying at the entrance, her friend trying her best to console her. Not sparing her another glance, you walked away, Seungcheol following you close behind. As the cold air hit you when you reached the taxi stand, you felt a painful sting on your lower lip, making you hiss. Hand cupping your face, Seungcheol wiped the trickle of blood with his thumb.

“Guess you desperately did need a real kiss huh?”

“Shut up.” You smacked his hand away. “I had to help the poor girl get over her pathetic taste in men.”

“By getting a taste of me?” Seungcheol smirked as you rolled your eyes. Before you could say anything, his stomach let out a loud growl making you laugh and look around, spotting a burger joint.

“Let’s get you a taste of that big boy.”

“Sometimes I wonder-” You stared out of the window at the large clouds rolling in. “-considering our parents are best friends and we are not, do you think our children would be good friends or enemies?”

“Wow, children.” Seungcheol munched on his burger furiously. “I never thought that far.”

“Then think about it now.”

“I don’t know.” He hummed. He hated thinking when he was tipsy. “Siblings tend to have a love-hate relationship.”

“I was talking about our children Seungcheol.”

“So was I.”

“No, I mean, my own children and your own children.”

“Yeah, same thing.”

You looked at him exasperatedly.

“Let’s be honest here Y/n. Who else out there can put up with us for long enough to start a family?”

“We can barely put up with each other-”

“But we have, for almost 25 years.” He slurped on his drink. “There’s a reason why you have never been in a relationship and I have never been in one that lasts. Because whatever it is we share, it’s you and I, till the end.”

“Till the end.” You muttered, reaching for his burger, taking a bite from it. Judging by your expression, Seungcheol could tell you liked his better, like you always do. That’s why he made sure to get it without the tomatoes he usually loved and settled to eat your meal instead. He was just about to ask why exactly you were so lost in thought when a loud thunder boomed across the sky sending a shiver running down Seungcheol’s spine.

Shoving the last of the burger down your throat quickly washing it down with some soda, you began gathering your things.

“We should go before the rain starts.”

Seungcheol nodded, finishing up his meal as you threw the trash in the nearby can. As the two of you left, muttering your thank yous to the waitresses, you laced your fingers with Seungcheol’s, gripping him tight as another lightning flashed across the sky. Thank God it wasn’t too hard to flag down a cab because the moment the two of you sat inside, rain began pouring like there was no tomorrow. As you glanced at the obscurity outside the window, Seungcheol stared at his hand, the one that you hadn’t left in all this time.

There were times when he used to stay over in your room, unable to sleep due to all the thundering while you dozed away oblivious to his presence. Those days, you’d turn around, reaching for his hand, holding it in your sleep. Seungcheol now wondered if that might have been a conscious effort to comfort him.

Perhaps not he thought as you began to nonchalantly hum his favourite song. He wondered if you knew he loved that piece because of how beautiful you looked when you danced to it. He wondered if you knew that the reason he was always around you was to make sure you were alright. He wondered if you knew he always carried an extra inhaler for you, that he had written a long list of your allergies in order from ‘can handle’ to ‘keep away from at all times’, that he was constantly alert about everything you ate, smelt and touched. He wondered if you knew, deep down how much he cared about you…..but sleep dragged him away before he could wonder anymore.

Sensing Seungcheol had fallen asleep, you stopped humming, turning to him, smiling at his half open mouth. Scooting closer, you slowly pulled his head to rest against your shoulder, and he groaned softly, nuzzling into it. The driver looked at the two of you through the rear-view mirror, making your cheeks go red as you looked away.

“Is your boyfriend afraid of thunderstorms?”

You nodded, ignoring the title. “Since he was a child. I don’t think he’s been sleeping too well the last few days.”

“The forecast shows it’s going to be worse today.” The driver sighed. “Look out for him.”

You nodded again. You did look out for him. In your own ways you always did - you always challenged him knowing that was what pushed him to do better. You always made sure to wake him up or at least meddle with his clocks so he was always on time. You always made sure he ate and slept enough, knowing how it threw him off whenever he was deprived of either. Even now you were humming his favourite song knowing it calmed him down. You wondered if Seungcheol knew, that deep down you really cared about him…..perhaps more than anything.

When the taxi reached the lodge, you softly shook him awake after paying, dragging his sleepy self through the lobby. The receptionist's eyes followed the two of you, stumbling away hand in hand, mouth curling into a small smile as you disappeared. You only let his hand go when you reached the room and that’s what jolted him awake.

The silence that descended the room today was different. It wasn’t because the two of you were too tired to say anything to each other, rather neither of you knew what exactly to say given there was so much to. So instead, you resorted to washing up and filling in your journal for the day while Seungcheol worked on a few changes in the proposal for the final pitch tomorrow. Just as he shut the laptop and you shut your diary, the two of you looked at each other before quickly looking away, settling in your own beds, for the night.

You were almost ready to drift off to sleep, before the driver’s words rang in your mind - the forecast shows it’s going to be worse today. Without thinking much, you moved your things from bed 6 to bed 5, muttering that the light from the streetlamps was falling in your face there. Seungcheol did not point out that you could just close the curtains instead and curled up in his own bed, glad you were closer to him now.

He looked at you across the one bed that was in between and suddenly you felt too far, like the distance was too much.

You looked at him as his eyes fluttered shut, thunder rumbling across the sky, wondering if he could hear you across all this space, humming louder than usual, lulling the two of you to sleep.

When you woke up, Seungcheol was surprisingly awake and fully dressed, trying to knot his tie unsuccessfully in front of the mirror, expression focused with a small pout. Propping yourself up on your elbow, you stared at his reflection, eyes skimming over the beautiful features of his face which you never really consciously admired - his thick hair, thicker eyebrows, plump, pillowy lips, his jawline sharp and chiselled. He was indeed handsome, in a way you really liked….a lot.

You wondered why you always looked at him like he was the bane of your existence. Was it because it was easier to bury the unresolved tension under pointless banter? Or did you wantonly show him your worst side, hoping it wouldn’t scare him away, hoping he would stay despite every flaw, every shortcoming. What did it mean if in 25 years, he didn’t leave even once?

Seungcheol groaned, annoyed at his futile attempts, eyes finally meeting yours in the mirror. You slid off your bed, walking up to him as he turned to you. Yawning, you took his tie in your hands, tying it for him. Seungcheol’s eyes drifted over the features of your face as he held his breath.

He could get used to this, the sight of waking up to a sleepy you, your hair all over the place, your eyes slightly droopy, nose red. God you were so beautiful - he knew that, but why didn’t he ever think about it? Why did he choose to fight every remote thought about you with irritating banter? Was he scared that the tension would remain unresolved? And what did it mean if you were still here, right by his side, helping him out in everything big and small, always making sure he was going the right way and doing the right thing, every single day for the last 25 years?

You pushed the knot up to his neck, smoothening the material, patting his chest with a proud smile. Seungcheol gulped as you walked away to wash up, trying to get his breath under control.

When the two of you came down for breakfast, you pointedly avoided the receptionist's gaze. There was no time to deal with more thoughts.

The rest of the day went like that, thoughtlessly. It was a little awkward at the conference considering the little show you two put up last night, so the moment it ended for good in the evening, you bid everyone goodbye, citing you had an early flight and had to leave soon. It was true though, you did have to travel in the wee hours of the morning, but leaving from the conference so soon also meant having to spend longer with Seungcheol, all alone. He agreed with you though, stating his social battery was at an all-time low and that he just wanted to go back.

Today the two of you were somehow sitting on two ends of the car backseat, bodies pressing against the door, in complete contrast to last night. It was a silent ride, a silent walk to the room and a silent session of packing up. Suddenly there were very conscious efforts to not brush hands, or accidentally walk into each other or catch the other person randomly staring, lost in thought. It was only when you were finally done that you asked Seungcheol if he wanted to order dinner. He agreed, leading to a very small and very efficient discussion about what dishes to eat and then silence descended upon the room again. While waiting for the food to arrive, Seungcheol muttered that he was going for a quick run, leaving you alone with the thoughts you could no longer stop from plaguing your mind.

Something had changed over the last 3 days. It wasn’t you or Seungcheol - he was still throwing his damp towels on dry clothes and you were still meddling with his clocks. No, the two of you hadn’t changed. Neither did the arguing, neither did the banter, neither did the subtle flirting, neither did the silent support. No…. nothing had changed. It was all the same. It was all the exact same except now, you were finally willing to acknowledge something you hadn’t even admitted to yourself since the age of five, that-

“I’m in love with him.” You whispered, smiling to yourself.

Seungcheol on the other hand thought running around the lodge would mean those thoughts wouldn’t run in his mind anymore. He was wrong - even though you were not there, like always you were on his mind, in his every thought, in his every breath. Seungcheol didn’t know of a life without you. He also knew that you would be there with him for the rest of his life but for the first time in 25 years, he finally found himself owning up to it - that he truly wanted you be a part of his future, that he could not bear to think of one without you in it, that-

“I’m in love with her.” He whispered, smiling to himself.

By the time Seungcheol had returned, dinner had arrived. Between each bite you searched for the right words to say, noticing that Seungcheol was trying the same. Somehow, neither of you could bring yourself to say anything.

You couldn’t peacefully finish up your journal and Seungcheol couldn’t take a relaxing shower, both muttering under your breaths, practicing long speeches, determined to confess everything before sleeping tonight.

But when all was done for the night, both of you laid down on your respective beds, staring at the ceiling, unable to talk, unable to sleep.

Seungcheol turned his head as you did towards him, making his heart clench a little.

Sighing, he grabbed his pillow and put it on bed 4, lying down, facing you.

You looked at him blinking slowly.

Seungcheol held his breath.

Taking a deep breath, you grabbed your duvet and joined him on the fourth bed, throwing it over the two of you, lying down, facing him.

Seungcheol slid his hand over your waist, pulling you closer.

You gripped the material of his shirt, snuggling into the warmth of his neck.

Nothing was said that night.

Nothing had to be said as the two of you drifted off to sleep.

It was the harsh morning sun and the annoying chirping of the birds that woke you up.

You stared out of the window surprised at the bright light given the last few days were as gloomy as it could be. Seungcheol’s soft breaths tickled your shoulder as his arms held you tight, your back against his chest. Smiling you wiggled in his grip turning towards him, taking in how much more stunning he looked in the morning light-

Morning?

“Cheol.”

He hummed softly.

“Cheol!”

“What?”

“It’s bright outside.”

“That’s how mornings are Y/n.”

“Oh thank you for enlightening me.” You rolled your eyes. “Might I return the favour by reminding you that we had a flight at 5am?”

Seungcheol’s eyes flew open.

He quickly grabbed his phone from the nightstand, 11am flashing on the screen.

“Fuck.” He muttered, running his hand through his hair. “Fuck fuck fuck, I can’t believe we missed the flight!”

You took the phone from him and scrolled through the app. “The next flight out is tomorrow morning, same time, 5am.”

“But the company hasn’t paid for the room tonight, where will we stay?” Seungcheol groaned. “How could you not wake me up?”

You frowned at him. “And why is it my job to?”

“Because, you don’t like it when I put alarms on my phone.”

“Uh no, I don’t like it when you continue to sleep through the dozen alarms you put on your phone.”

“Whatever your reasons are, I think its been established that you are the one who's supposed to wake us both up.”

“Yeah well thanks to you I forgot to set an alarm.”

“Thanks to me?” He looked at you bewildered. “What did I do?”

“Who asked you to..” You pointed at everything around with the wave of a hand, the two of you only just registering the situation you were in.

“You were the one who came to my bed.” Seungcheol shrugged. “This is on you because you were desperate.”

“Says the one who’s boner poking into my back woke me up.”

Seungcheol gawked at you, stuttering. “M-morning wood is a scientific phenomenon, okay? I can’t help it-”

“I could have.” You muttered, slipping out of the bed.

Seungcheol pulled you back under him, half hovering over you.

“Oh yeah?” He bit his lower lip with a small smile. “How exactly?”

You hummed, “I happen to know some good meditation techniques-”, running a finger down his abdomen, tracing a random design.

Seungcheol grabbed your hand and pinned it to the mattress by your face, leaning close.

“Think of a better way, baby.”

The nickname sent a delightful chill down your spine as you slightly squirmed under him, smiling.

“How about I get you some ice-”

“That’s not what I want right now.”

“Then what do you want right now?”

His eyes ran along the features of your face.

“I want to kiss you.” He whispered. “So bad.”

“And what are you waiting for?”

Seungcheol groaned, immediately pressing his lips onto yours, needy and ravenous, like he had been waiting eons for this. Well, so had you.

Pushing him off you and onto his back, you straddled his hips, kissing him again, rolling your tongue over his. Seungcheol moaned into your mouth, one hand wrapping around your waist, the other holding you by the nape of your neck, taking back control. When you ran your hand over his thick pecs, he pulled away with a dreamy sigh, planting a trail of kisses along your jaw, down your throat.

“Strip for me.”

Sitting up immediately, you lifted your hips a little letting Seungcheol push the material of your nightdress up your thighs and you pulled it over your head, tossing it somewhere. In the ten seconds it took you to do that, Seungcheol was a changed man. The old him wanted to take his time unravelling you slowly, pushing you to the edge but the new Seungcheol felt the animal in him come alive with a throbbing, insatiable desire. It became exponentially worse when you pulled your hair up, tying it with the hair tie on your wrist, baring your neck, perfect breasts, soft stomach….unable to reign it in anymore, Seungcheol lunged forward, hungrily sucking a tit into his mouth, making you lose your balance over him a little, grabbing his bicep half laughing.

“Huh, I really thought you were more of an ass guy.”

Seungcheol let go with a wet pop, looking up at you from between his thick lashes. Oh wasn’t that a sight.

“For you, I’m an everything guy.” His hands gripped your ass hard. “Your derriere does take the cake though.”

You laughed, “Who even uses that word?”

“I don’t know, I have no idea what is coming out of my mouth right now.” He confessed, his tongue running up the gap between your boobs, the sweet and salty taste of your skin driving him insane. “I just know what I want in it.”

“Yeah?” You sighed, threading your fingers through his hair, pulling him back with a harsh grip, before he latched onto your other tit. “I have better things to put in it.”

Seungcheol grinned like he couldn’t wait, flashing his canines, biting his lower lip.

God he was going to be the end of you.

But you’ll beat him to it.

Palms planted behind you, you slid yourself back off his thighs and sat between his legs, lifting your own up for him. Seungcheol’s eyes darkened in an instant and the moment he saw the wet spot in the middle of your pink panties, he could not hold himself back anymore. With a swift movement he was up on his knees before you, hooking his fingers in the elastic by your waist and slowly dragging your underwear along your legs. Like a man starving he crumpled it in his hand, breathing it deeply, eyes fluttering shut like he was intoxicated by your scent.

“I’m going to be borrowing this, for whenever you’re not there.”

“Pervert.” You whispered as he tucked it in the back pocket of his tracks. “But I’m never not going to be there. I’m afraid you’re stuck for life now.”

Seungcheol fisted the material at the back of his neck and pulled it over his head, flinging it somewhere before he put his hands between your knees and spread your legs apart, groaning at the sight before him. You were quite literally hiding his paradise between your legs.

“Trust me,” He reached for a pillow behind him, throwing it to you. “I want to be stuck here.”

The moment you tucked it under your head lying back, Seungcheol wasted no time in crawling between your legs, tossing them over his shoulder, descending on your sex. You felt your back arch off the mattress as he devoured, his tongue, mouth, lips all showing you stars in daytime.

“Fuck Cheol.” You whimpered as his tongue slipped into your hole, his moan sending a wild vibration against it. Bringing your hands to his head, your fingers gripped his hair, pushing your hips up against him “Give me more.”

Seungcheol smirked, pressing your hips down, continuing his ministrations in a way that made your toes curl. Damn he knew what he was doing. For a split second you wondered how he knew so much and an ugly jealousy began coursing through you but it was lost almost immediately, when he began to suck on your clit.

“Cheol….” You moaned, the sudden stimulation too intense for you, a tightness growing deep inside. “F-fuck that’s good.”

Seungcheol knew he was good. Not because he was experienced, not exactly - more because he was desperate to taste every inch of you. If he thought the taste of your arousal was heavenly, the moment your legs trembled and your breaths got harsher and you came against his mouth, Seungcheol knew he’d cast aside the heavens for it. This wasn’t enough.

This was probably the fastest orgasm you ever had, waves of the buzz washing over as your jaw fell slack. You rode it out against his mouth, tense shivers running down your body as his nose grazed your clit before falling limp into the softness of the bed, chest heaving.

Seungcheol was so noisily devoted to making you fall apart on his tongue, he wasn't sure if you didn't moan his name or if he was too entranced to hear it. Either way, he had to go again, keeping in mind to put his eyes on you this time. When he looked up at you, your face was flushed, lips curled into a blissful smile and Seungcheol thought he fell more in love with you, if that was even possible.

“We're gonna have to talk about why you're so good at that.” You half laughed, trying to sit up. Seungcheol pushed you back down, throwing another pillow at you, humming.

“How good was I exactly?”

“Nice try big boy,” You stacked the pillow over the previous one, leaning back against it. “I'm not going to feed your ego.”

“I'll feed myself then.” He smirked before licking a long strip between your folds making you tremble with over stimulation.

“Cheol not yet-”

“If I don't hear you I'm not going to stop.”

And he descended upon you like a mad man again, making you gasp in surprise. You did not think he'd go through with it.

“Cheol I really can't-”

but Seungcheol did not stop.

When he didn’t listen, you reached to pull him off you but Seungcheol was quicker as he grabbed both your wrists in a flash and held them against your heaving chest, continuing to eat the life out of you.

“Seungcheol please.” You couldn’t even squirm if you tried to, held down hard by his brute strength. “I really can’t-”

He looked up, his mouth wet with his spit and your arousal as he licked his lips. Fuck you really loved this man.

“Do you actually want me to stop?”

He was taunting you but there's a slight concern laced in his voice.

You shook your head slowly.

“I thought so.” He chuckled before continuing his act of wolfing down on you.

Your second orgasm began to rush in with an unreal speed and you don't know how Seungcheol could read your body so well already but the little bitch backed out before you could cum again.

“Cheol…”

You whined, frustrated at the feeling ebbing away, desperately clenching to hold on to it.

“I said I wanted to hear you.”

You glared at him, not used to him having the upper hand. He knew he's got you under control when he finally loosened his bruising grip on your thigh to sit up and you opened your mouth on your own accord to let him slip his fingers into them.

“What a pretty little girl.” He sighed as you sucked on his digits. “My pretty girl.”

“Yes yours.” You moaned, as he pulled them out of your mouth and pushed them into his, wetting them more as you practically panted below him.

“I'll do what you want, just put them in me Cheol.”

“You're quite demanding baby.” He leaned over you looking amused. “I hope you deliver as well as you talk.”

“I'll suck the life out of your dick after this I swear, just let me cum again.”

Enticed by the idea, Seungcheol captured your mouth in another one of his messy kisses, his fingers slowly slipping into your heat. You gasped into his mouth, surprised by how thick his fingers were. Oh his dick would probably make you pass out and god were you ready for it.

“Say my name baby.” Seungcheol pressed his forehead against yours, still holding your wrists between both your bodies with his other hand. “Tell me who's making you feel so good.”

“You.” You moaned as he pumped his fingers, slowly stretching you open, your arousal dripping down between your thighs. “Fuck Cheol, faster.”

He obeyed, picking up the pace as you babbled a string of curses, legs squeezing his hand desperate to feel more. Seungcheol sucked on your neck, enjoying the way you were crumbling apart for him. How was he ever going to be away from you after this?

“Oh god yes.” You sighed, as his fingers curled hitting the spot, eyes rolling back. Seungcheol looked at you in awe.

“I apologise if I ever told you that it was annoying when you rolled your eyes.” He continued to push you over. “That was the hottest thing I've ever seen.”

“Yes yes yes.” You chanted not hearing him, too lost in your own pleasure building. Pleased with himself, Seungcheol finally put his thumb over your clit and that was all it took for you to cum all over his fingers with yet another silent scream.

Seungcheol let your hands go and sat back on his heels, admiring his artwork. Your chest heaved erratically like you had forgotten how to breathe, squeezing your tits, hands desperate to claw something. Hair sticking to your forehead, sweat running down your neck next to the bruises he marked, you were a vision to behold.

Seungcheol sucked his fingers clean, relishing the taste of you yet again. You stared at him wide eyed, curious.

“Have you never tasted yourself?”

You shook your head.

“Oh sweetheart.”

Seungcheol pushed his tracks down just a bit, enough to pull his dick out. It's not the longest you've seen but God was it thick, a stark vein running down the length which looked painfully hard. The thought of having him fill your mouth and choking around it literally made you drool.

He pumped it a few times before hooking his hands under your thighs and pulling you towards him with unsurprising ease. You scrambled to raise yourself up on your elbows, watching as he ran it up and down your slit, gathering your release on it.

“Come taste.”

You blinked at the man holding out his dick to you like it was a treat, like he expected you to crawl to him, stunned at just how cocky he had gotten in 20 minutes. Hell no.

You shook your head, tilting it in challenge.

“Come fuck my mouth.”

If Choi Seungcheol had a fatal flaw it was how much he desired control but right now, there was nothing he desired and craved more than you.

Moving over not so gracefully he aligned himself by your mouth, knees planted on either sides of your waist, looming over you.

You immediately wrapped your lips around his tip, humming at the weight on your tongue as he pushed your hair off your face softly.

“I know baby, you taste fucking divine.”

Giving him a half nod, running your tongue over his slit before hollowing your cheeks around him. The mix of your and his arousal indeed tasted….right, like they belonged together.

You tried to take in more of him but you might have underestimated his girth and overestimated your ability. Pulling back with a pop, you licked your lips.

“You're too thick.” Mumbling you tried to push him off you, onto his back. “Let me move over-”

“Oh no no.” Seungcheol clicked his tongue, grabbing the back of you neck, forcing you to look up at him. “It can't be that bad, someone claimed they could stack fruit loops on it.”

You rolled your eyes realising he was a bit too proud of himself. “I still can. I just don't have the cereal to prove it.”

“I'll buy some on the way back and when we go home that's the first thing you're going to do.” He wiped the spit leaking around the corner of your mouth with his free hand. “And if you don't manage to prove your point, that's grounds for punishment.”

You grinned at him.

“Oh you like that.” He hummed, guiding your head back to his cock. “We'll see how much of it you can take baby.”

A lot apparently.

Seungcheol should have known. You were like him - you didn't like to be challenged. That's why the moment he thrusted himself into your mouth, you held onto the back of his thighs with both hands, pushing it in a lot more than Seungcheol had thought you were capable of. Throwing his head back with a satisfied moan, he began moving his hips ever so little, slowly fucking your face, but you had other ideas, taking him as far back as you could, your throat constricting around his dick.

“Alright that's it.” Seungcheol pulled you off him, staring at your confused face. Somehow you had no gag reflex and Seungcheol suddenly had the endurance of a teenager. “Want to actually fuck you.”

He muttered drawing back, kicking off the remaining of his clothes and sitting up, trying to hide his breathlessness.

“Aw Cheol, was I right again?” You laughed, getting up and clambering onto his lap. “Is ten minutes really enough for you?”

“You'll see.” He pulled you into a deep kiss before abruptly breaking away, leaving you confused yet again. “Or not.”

“What?”

“I just realised… I don't have a condom.”

You waited for him to tell you he was kidding but he looked serious.

“Cheol….” He looked at you apologetically. “Ugh Choi Seungcheol, why not?!”

“One, don't call me that and two, I don't know, maybe because this was a work trip and the conference dress code didn't mention dick envelopes.”

You sighed annoyed. “I just always thought you'd carry one on you, xl sized.” You shot his overconfidence down before it even grew on him. “you know, for your head.”

“Oh because I'm a dick?” He rolled his eyes at the comment you had used on him too many times already. “Well, wouldn't that make you a little slut? Since you’ve been in love with me for so many years.”

“Who said I was in love with you?”

Seungcheol looked at you with the biggest, fucking cutest eyes. “Are you not?”

You smiled, surprisingly shy despite all that transpired so far. Honestly, you didn't have to answer that question. What you felt for each other was clear as day.

Putting a finger on his mouth, you whispered. “Less talking, more fucking please.”

Seungcheol groaned. “What do you want me to do? Go buy them now?”

“No…” You hated the thought of him leaving.

“Or…. I could pull out?”

“The last thing I trust in this world is your timing.” You laughed, wrapping your arms around his neck. “Besides, don't you want to be inside me when you cum? Squeezing you tight? Milking you dry?”

“Kinky.” Seungcheol raised an eyebrow, secretly delighted. “And shoot me if I ever say no to that, but you're not on birth control are you?”

“No…” You drawled. “But I can get plan b?”

“Baby, you realize how reckless this is-”

“I know.”

“-we've barely just-”

“I'm aware.”

“-plus your health-”

“Choi Seungcheol.” You pushed him back into the bed, annoyed. “Are you gonna fuck me or not? Because if you don't then I'm gonna do it myself and all you get is to watch-”

Seungcheol, tucked his arm under his head, looking like he liked that idea a little too much.

“-while I cum taking someone else's name.”

His eyes darkened as his hand wrapped around your throat, pulling you down to his eye level, “Try me sweetheart.”

“You know how I feel about challenges.”

“And you know how I feel about sharing what’s mine.”

“Then fuck me like I’m yours.”

Seungcheol smiled, dropping a soft kiss on your mouth, much in contrast to what followed. “Remember, you asked for this.”

One arm wrapped around your waist, he flipped you over, putting you below him once again, the hunger in his eyes burning a lot more now. As he shifted to push your legs apart, hand leaving your neck, a soft whine left you and Seungcheol caught it immediately.

“You’re into that too?” Seungcheol smirked as you frowned at him, annoyed.

“Apparently. I just found out as well.”

“I wonder what else you’re into.”

“You can wonder all you want, after you put that dick into me.”

Seungcheol clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “I don’t like how you think I’d listen.”

Yet before you could talk back, he slid his cock along your folds, the tip slightly dipping into your hole, pulling out the most exquisite moan from you.

“Now that’s something I’d listen to.” He pushed himself a little further, your hands immediately coming to grip his biceps, gasping again at just how big he was. Seungcheol had been dying to listen to you sound like this and god was it so worth it.

You attempted to relax, adjusting around his girth as he eased himself in, but gave up even trying to maintain the facade of composure when he bottomed out, pressing all the way in.

“Fuck yes Cheol.”

He hissed softly, feeling your soft walls flutter around him. He had never fucked anyone raw and after this, how was he expected to just not spend his whole life buried in you?

“Please, move.” You begged, and he folded immediately, his hips slowly picking up pace as he kissed you along your neck.

“We should have done this years ago.” He groaned, wrapping your legs around his hips, pounding faster, harder. “We should have been doing this for years now.”

You nodded half listening, half submerged in your pleasure, nails running down his back. “Let’s just never get out of this bed.”

Seungcheol chuckled, absolutely agreeing with that idea, snapping his hips faster, delighted by the way you were reacting under him.

He wanted to flip you around and take you from the back, mark your ass with the red prints of his hand. He wanted you sitting on him, fucking yourself on his dick while he watched, your head thrown back in pleasure. He wanted to eat you out till you cried, fuck your throat and make you swallow, pull every moan and every whine and ever chant of his name out of you. God he wanted so much but Seungcheol wasn't capable of any of those right now - he had been hard for almost an hour now and your grip around him was like a vice.

“Seungcheol more.” You whined, despite him already railing into you like there was no tomorrow. He still listened though, sliding his hand down between your bodies and finding you clit, well aware that you would probably go unbelievably tight the moment he touched it, rendering him absolutely helpless. Sure enough, you keened, clamping down on him hard the moment he began rubbing circles, a string of curses leaving your mouth.

“Cum for me.” He whispered, hips rutting against yours harshly, holding his own release back desperately. “Cum all over me.”

And you did, the pleasure washing over you in waves, legs tightening around him before they finally went slack, exhausted. Seungcheol pulled them off him, gripping your thighs instead, shifting from an erratic rhythm to quick, deep strokes as he finally came inside you, collapsing on top.

He was careful enough not to crush you under his weight, holding himself up a little so you could regain your breath, watching your eyes flutter tiredly.

“We need to get you cleaned up.” He tucked your hair behind your ear, glancing at your mixed arousals dripping out of you. “I don’t know how long the statute of limitations for ejaculate is….”

For the first time in your life, Choi Seungcheol had managed to turn you dumb, as you nodded mindlessly, not having registered the stupidity that just came out of him.

He chuckled, rolling off you, but you dragged him back by the wrist, wrapping your arms around him.

“Hold me.”

And as though the universe hated you, a sharp knock on the door made you two jump apart. Seungcheol still proceeded to hold you but the knocking only repeated, louder this time. He huffed annoyed, sliding off the bed, grabbing his shirt from the floor and threw it on. Opening the door just a little, half hiding behind it, lower half specifically, he peaked out but his plan was foiled when the receptionist pushed the door fully open and came barging in, throwing her hands around.

“Check out time was 12! You’re late-”

She froze as Seuncheol quickly covered himself with a towel from nearby and you scrambled in a hurry, hiding under the sheets, squirming in embarrassment.

The old woman slowly, still shocked to the core, muttered an apology and walked out of the room as Seungcheol smacked his head against the wall, regretting not wearing his pants.

“You…” She cleared her throat from the other side of the door. “You have till 2. Get it together and get out of my lodge.” She then walked away, the sound of her footsteps fading, before they suddenly got louder again. “I would also like to add that I knew this was going to happen from the moment you two stepped foot in here!”

You covered your face trying not to pass out from the embarrassment as Seungcheol locked the door laughing.

"Why does she sound so happy?"

“I cannot believe she saw us." You groaned. "Who walks in like that-”

“Who cares?” Seungcheol walked over to you. “I cannot believe we still have two more hours.”

“You’re not even ready to go again.” You looked pointedly at the softened dick in his hand that he was pumping lazily. “Besides, we're going to have to book the room again, for tonight.”

“2 hours isn’t enough for you? Oh baby-”

“Our flight is at 5am tomorrow you idiot, we still need a place for the night.”

“Right.” Seungcheol recalled, “I forgot we had to go… that this had to come to an end.”

“Nothing’s ending.” You clarified, putting a rest to his worries. “Didn’t you say, you and I, till the end?”

Seungcheol nodded as you held your hand out to him. He walked over taking it, dropping a soft kiss on your knuckles.

“Say.” And you knew an unholy thought was brewing in that head of his. “We have all this time and there are seven beds here.”

“I don’t care how many there are.” You laughed, pulling him into the softness of the sheets. “I only want one to share with you.”

You, yourself, were a younger agent, but there was nothing enticing about going home. You sat cross-legged on top of your desk sorting through case files while Chris Redfield leaned back in a chair nearby, recounting some disaster from a mission in Eastern Europe.

“-and this idiot,” Chris said, pointing across the room, “thought he could outrun infected dogs on a motorcycle.”

Leon Kennedy, sprawled bonelessly in the chair beside your desk, didn’t even look up from the paperwork in his hands.

“I could outrun infected dogs on a motorcycle.”

“You crashed into a church.”

Leon finally glanced over.

“One time.”

Chris barked out a laugh.

“One time was enough, man.”

You smiled into your coffee.

Leon noticed immediately. That was the problem with him.

Leon Kennedy had spent years teaching himself how not to feel things too deeply. He kept right on the surface of every new relationship. Only coworkers from his first couple of years on the job made it under his hard exterior because if he let every death, every mission, every failure settle fully into his chest, it would have hollowed him out years ago.

So now he moved through life carefully, like a man forever trying not to disturb old ghosts.

Until you.

You had walked into the DSO three years ago with bright eyes and terrifying competence and had ruined his emotional restraint almost instantly.

Leon remembered the exact moment, actually.

When you'd first walked in, short heels, no-nonsense attire, thing, rectangular glasses on your nose, he didn't think much other than ‘pretty new rookie’.

And as you oriented yourself around, your curious eyes kept glancing up at everyone. You didn't seem to remember manners with how often you were taking in your surroundings, including everyone else in them.

Leon felt your gaze land heavily on him many times. But he was used to respect, professional admiration, and rookies being attracted to him.

He assumed it was one of these.

It wasn't.

He stayed late. Because he always stayed late.

He barely noticed as other employees filtered out of the building, the agency becoming quieter and quieter as the dark filled in the empty space.

What he did notice was that the new rookie, on your very first day, was still there. Still putting in the hours typing away on your computer, the harsh screen glinting your glasses, making it impossible for him to see your eyes.

Every few files, he would look up again at you. You would still be typing away.

Eventually, it got too late for even senior officer Leon S. Kennedy, and he fell asleep at his desk, posture still upright, looking almost like he was still working.

But you had known better. Had seen how much he put into this place. How much it had taken from him.

Most importantly, how sad his eyes had looked.

You tip-toed over to him, reaching out for him, then away several times. It was your first day after all, and you weren't sure if this behavior was acceptable.

But then you committed.

You walked over to his desk and filed his papers for him. You clicked his computer off, the bright screen instantly turning dark. You set a mug of fresh coffee on his desk for when he woke up. Turned off the florescent lights.

Then you went back to your desk. Pulled something out of your drawer. A little crocheted something-or-other and placed it on his desk.

Didn't need Agent Kennedy banging his head on hard wood if he fell forward. It would make the perfect pillow.

And that it did, when he woke up several hours later, the office completely empty, with criss-crossed lines etched into his face, the subtle scent of coconut all around him.

Leon could have figured it out. Wouldn't have been hard. But the mystery was solved when Chris Redfield came up to him the next day, smirk on his face, and replayed the footage for him.

You still didn't know he had seen the footage. That kind of thing doesn't come up on conversation, exactly. But one day he wordlessly returned his makeshift pillow.

And ever since then, it's been over for him. Leon had been doomed from that moment forward.

Chris knew it too.

Which was why he looked between the two of you now with the exhausted expression of a man watching a train wreck happen in slow motion.

“You know,” Chris said, “normal partners don’t spend this much time together off duty.”

Leon took a sip of beer. Chris held his own.

Not you. You still looked like you were working, but you hadn't flipped a file page in over an hour.

“We’re not off duty.”

Chris looked pointedly at the beers.

Leon looked at his own bottle like he’d forgotten it existed.

“Mm.”

You laughed softly again, offering a tiny smile.

Leon’s chest tightened painfully around it the way it always did.

God.

He ran a hand down his face, acting like it was the late hour that was affecting him, and it wasn't that he wanted you with an intensity that made him feel seventeen and stupid again.

Leon had accepted long ago that wanting you quietly was probably the closest thing to peace he deserved.

Chris stood eventually, stretching.

“Well,” he sighed. “I got a wife waiting for me at home. Let me get out of here before Kennedy starts acting like you hung the moon, again.”

Your eyebrows shot up.

“What?”

Leon dragged one hand slowly down his face.

“Chris.”

“I’m serious,” Chris continued mercilessly. “It’s getting embarrassing.”

Leon looked deeply unimpressed, but you saw through it because the tips of his ears had gone faintly pink.

“Good night,” he muttered pointedly.

Chris grinned.

“Night, sweetheart.”

“Mm.”

Then Chris was gone, leaving the bullpen quieter than before.

Rain against windows. Distant humming electronics. The soft warmth of Leon beside you.

You looked back over the files, eyes unseeing.

“Agent Kennedy?” you asked. “What was he talking about?”

Leon leaned back in his chair slowly. Older now. Sharper around the edges than he used to be. Time had turned him dangerous instead of merely handsome.

Silver threaded faintly at his temples beneath the dim office lighting. His tie hung loosened from earlier meetings, sleeves rolled to his forearms. There was something unfair about how good exhaustion looked on him.

His blue eyes settled on you heavily.

“You ask a lotta dangerous questions.”

You covered a blush by finally flipping that damned page even though you weren't done reading it.

Leon watched your face over the rim of his beer bottle. His tongue shot out and licked against his bottom lip.

“You’re off tonight.”

You blinked.

“In what way?”

“You’ve been picking at that same file for over an hour.”

You glanced down.

He was right, and damn him for it. That was the thing about being friends with federal agents - they noticed everything.

And Agent Kennedy seemed to be the best. He noticed everything. Specifically, about you.

You tried for casual.

“Just distracted.”

“Hm.”

That quiet hum of his was lethal. Somehow more intimate than most people touching you.

He set his beer down.

“Why?”

Simple question. No pressure, which somehow made it harder to avoid.

You stared down at the papers in your lap for a long moment.

“My ex is getting married.”

Leon went completely still beside you.

You laughed softly at yourself.

“It’s dumb.”

“How long?”

You looked over.

“What?”

“You were together how long?”

“Since high school.”

Something flickered behind Leon’s eyes. Then it was gone just as quickly.

“Our families were really close,” you continued quietly. “Everybody thought we’d end up together eventually.”

Leon looked away first. Toward the rain-soaked windows. His jaw was tight.

You kept talking because you trusted him. Because Leon had become the safest place in your life so gradually you never noticed it happening.

“He invited me to the wedding.”

That got his attention back instantly.

Your laugh this time sounded smaller.

“And I sort of have to go.”

Leon’s gaze narrowed faintly.

“Why?”

“Our families are still close. His whole family’s gonna be there. Mine too.”

You shrugged one shoulder helplessly.

“And I’m going to walk in alone while he’s standing there marrying somebody else.”

The words settled heavily between you.

Leon looked at you for a very long moment after that.

God, you had no idea what you did to him.

No idea what it felt like sitting beside you every day pretending he didn’t think about your laugh, your safety, your happiness, your future, your hands, your mouth…

What it would feel like to be chosen by you

Meanwhile you were worried about showing up somewhere without a date, as though someone had not already been half in love with you for years.

Leon exhaled slowly through his nose.

“He’s an idiot.”

You looked upward. Your glasses glinted and concealed your expression.

“What?”

“Your ex.”

The bluntness startled a laugh out of you. Leon’s eyes softened instantly at the sound.

“You don’t even know him.”

“Don’t need to.”

“Leon-”

“No,” he interrupted calmly. “Guy had you and lost you anyway.”

Your breath caught slightly because he said it so simply like it was objective fact. It almost made you believe him.

Leon leaned back again afterward, one arm draped loosely behind your chair. He was careful to avoid touching you, because if Leon started touching you the way he wanted to, he wasn’t entirely sure he’d survive it.

And he certainly wouldn't be able to stop.

“You showing up alone doesn’t make you less impressive,” he continued quietly. “Just means he was too stupid to keep up.”

You stared at him, at the exhaustion in his face. You saw the impossible gentleness hidden inside a man who carried the weight of entire outbreaks on his shoulders.

And suddenly your chest hurt a little, because nobody had ever spoken about you like that before.

Leon noticed your expression immediately. His eyes flicked over your face carefully. Protectively.

“Hey,” he said softly.

Your throat tightened unexpectedly.

“Hm?”

“You don’t owe anybody proof that you’re wanted.”

The room went very quiet after that. Rain caressed windows and the florescent lights hummed.

Beside you, Leon looked like a man trying very hard not to say something crazy.

And, boy oh boy, did he fail catastrophically.

Leon stared out at the rain for so long you wondered if maybe he wasn’t going to say anything at all.

In the few weeks you have known Bucky, he’s barely said a word to you. You’re a very outgoing person, so you’ve tried to strike up conversations, but he just doesn’t seem to want to talk to you. And now you were going to be in a car with him for 12 hours. You wanted to just fly there, but they didn’t want to have to deal with a rental car since you had to use different names.

You laid in bed for a little longer, finally pulling yourself out of bed at 6:10. Bucky wanted to leave by 6:30, so he would kill you if you weren’t ready by then.

You already had everything packed except for what you had to use this morning, so it didn’t take you long to get ready. You pulled on shorts and a t-shirt, finished packing up your stuff, pulled your bookbag over your shoulders, grabbed your pillow, and finally picked up your heavy duffel bag. You didn’t know how long you were gonna be there, so you tried to pack as many clothes as you could.

You shuffled down the hallway and into the kitchen at 6:25, and Bucky was cleaning up dishes, obviously having been up for a while.

“Morning,” you grumbled, setting your bags on the ground by the door.

“Morning, I’m surprised you actually rolled out of bed this early.”

“Didn’t really have a choice,” you mumbled.

He just laughed, drying his hands and looking around the kitchen. “Okay, ready to go?”

“I guess,” you responded. “Do we have any good snacks to take?”

“Uhh, I don’t know, check the cabinets.”

You rifled through the cabinets as he went to his room to grab his bags, and you found nothing good. He walked back into the kitchen and you sighed as you turned to face him.

“A tower full of people and there’s no good snacks.” You sighed, running your hands through your hair. “Man, I just wanted cheeto puffs,” you mumbled to yourself.

“Alright, you sure you have everything?”

“Yeah,” you responded.

“Okay then, let’s go.” You put your bookbag back on and slid into your Birkenstock sandals, picking up your pillow. You were about to grab your duffel bag when Bucky stepped in front of you, grabbing your duffel bag with his metal arm and slinging it over his shoulder like it weighed nothing.

You followed him to his truck and walked around to the passenger side as he put his bookbag and both your duffel bags into the backseat. You stuck your bookbag in the backseat before opening the passenger door and hopping up. Bucky got in and set a packet of papers on the middle console.

“What’s that?”

“The directions,” he answered.

Your jaw dropped. “You mean you printed off the directions? You do have a phone, right?”

“Yes,” he said, obviously annoyed, “I’m just used to using a map.”

“I mean, that’s valid, but you’ve got to learn how to use your phone eventually.”

“I know how to use it,” he replied.

“Oh really? Get the directions up on your phone then,” you said, crossing your arms.

He didn’t look at you as he started the truck and put on his seatbelt. “We don’t have time.”

“Hmm, good save,” you said, narrowing your eyes.

He just ignored you, backing the truck out of the garage as you put on your seatbelt.

“Well, I’m gonna try to get some more sleep,” you said, setting your pillow up against the window.

“Okay, I’ll try to drive as rough as I can,” he said, smirking.

You just shot him a dirty look before leaning your seat back a little bit and resting your head on the pillow, drifting into sleep almost immediately.

--

When your eyes fluttered open, the sun was fully out. You yawned as you started to stretch, trying to wake yourself up.

“Morning, sunshine.”

“Mmm, what time is it?” you asked.

“9:30.”

“Ugh, you mean we’re not there yet?”

“Not even close,” he said, laughing.

You leaned your seat back up and threw your pillow in the backseat. You stretched again, trying to get rid of the soreness in your neck and back from sleeping in a weird position.

Bucky reached his hand into the backseat and put something in your lap. You looked down and smiled when you realized what it was. A bag of cheeto puffs.

“I stopped and got gas and thought you might want those,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, obviously a little embarrassed.

“Thank you, I’ve been craving these so much,” you said, tearing the bag open.

You slipped out of your Birks and put your bare feet up on the dashboard as you started eating. You figured he would yell at you to put your feet down, but surprisingly he didn’t.

What you didn’t realize was how his gaze lingered just a little too long on your long tan legs stretching across his truck.

You sat in silence as you ate, and as soon as you were done, you crushed the bag and stuffed it in the cupholder. Bucky immediately opened the center console, pulling out a pack of wipes and handing it to you.

“You are not getting cheeto dust all over my truck.”

“Then you shouldn’t have gotten me cheetos,” you said, smirking at him. You pulled a wipe out of the pack and wiped your hands clean. “You would be the type of guy to keep wipes in your truck,” you said laughing.

“Do you not keep wipes in your car?”

“No, I don’t have much of anything in my car honestly.”

“Well don’t worry, I’ll get you some wipes. You’re a messy eater so you’re gonna need them.”

You just slapped him on the arm as he laughed, obviously enjoying making fun of you.

You just sighed and picked up his phone. “Can I play some music?”

“I’m listening to the radio,” he said.

“Of course you are,” you replied, rolling your eyes. “Well can I connect my phone and play some music?”

“Yeah, I guess. I’m assuming you know how to do that because I don’t.”

You just laughed, pressing the Media button on the screen. “Obviously I do.”

You started playing music and drifted into steady conversation for the next couple of hours. You talked about a little bit of everything, all worries about the ride being awkward fading away.

You didn’t realize how long it had been until you looked at the clock.

“Wow, it’s almost 1 already? We need to stop for lunch,” you said, not realizing how hungry you had gotten.

“Okay, we can get off on the next exit and see what’s there.”

“Or, I can just look up restaurants near me and see what there is,” you said, grinning at him.

“You know, it’s okay to not use your phone for everything,” he said laughing.

You ignored him as you looked up restaurants. “Do we have time to go to a sit-down restaurant or are we just doing fast food?”

“Doesn’t matter to me. I’d rather not have you get crumbs all over my truck though.”

“I’m not that messy of an eater,” you said, rolling your eyes. He just laughed.

“Okay, how about Chick-Fil-A? I mean, that’s technically fast food but it sounds so good,” you said.

“Fine with me.”

It only took five minutes to get there and you hopped out of the truck right after he parked, eager to stretch your legs.

He opened the door for you as you walked inside, surprised at how busy it was for being 1:00.

“Man, I have to pee,” you said.

“If you tell me what you want I can order for you.”

“Oh, perfect. I want an 8-count nugget meal, fries, mac and cheese, and a cookies and cream milkshake.”

He raised an eyebrow at you, obviously judging you for getting so much food, but didn’t say anything about it. “Okay.”

You went to the bathroom, and when you came back, Bucky was at the register ordering. You found a table and sat down, pulling out your phone to see a text from Nat:

So how’s sitting in silence going?

You just smiled and texted back:

We’ve actually been talking the whole time surprisingly! Well except for the first 3 hours I was asleep lol

Bucky walked up then, setting the table marker and two drinks down on the table. “I also got you a water since you haven’t drank any today.” That’s when you realized you forgot to bring a water bottle.

“Ughhh I totally forgot my water bottle,” you said, dropping your head in your hands.

“I asked if you had everything,” he said, laughing.

“I know but it was also 6 am, my brain was not functioning.”

“We can stop at the store when we get there and get a pack of waters, we have to go grocery shopping anyway,” he said.

You were interrupted by the waiter bringing out your food. You instantly grabbed yours off the tray, realizing how hungry you actually were. You grabbed a couple packs of ranch off the tray, realizing you never told him you wanted ranch.

“How’d you know I wanted ranch? Or is this yours?”

“Oh, no I got the Chick-Fil-A sauce. You made chicken tenders for supper the other night and had ranch so I just assumed you might want some.”

You didn’t even remember you made chicken tenders, and you definitely didn’t remember Bucky being there. He might not be talkative but he’s definitely observant. Exhibit A being the cheetos you ate earlier.

“Oh, well thank you!”

You finished eating in silence, stomach full with satisfaction.

“Mmm, that was good,” you said.

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Bucky said in return.

Your jaw dropped. “Wait, you’ve never been to Chick-Fil-A before??”

He just laughed and shook his head. “They didn’t exactly get take-out for you in Hydra.”

You froze, feeling bad for bringing it up. He never talked about Hydra with anyone, let alone joked about it.

He noticed your reaction and smiled. “It’s okay, I’m able to joke about it a little bit now.”

“Well – that’s good,” you said, still hesitant to say any more. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” he responded, picking up the tray.

You picked up your water and made your way back out to the truck, hoping the conversation about Hydra wouldn’t make things awkward. But once again, you guys fell into steady conversation as you got back on the highway.

A couple minutes later, your phone vibrated with a new text from Nat:

I kinda expected that honestly, he definitely likes you

You choked on the water you had just taken a drink of, nearly spitting it out.

“Y/n, are you okay?” Bucky asked, his arm immediately on your shoulder.

Your skin tingled where he was touching you, hyperaware of what Nat had just said. You turned your phone off so he couldn’t see the screen.

“Yeah,” you choked out, coughing a little more. “Just went down the wrong pipe.”

You continued to cough a little more, and Bucky moved his hand to lightly pat your back. Your coughing finally slowed and you took another drink to soothe your throat.

“Okay, I’m good,” you said, embarrassed.

His hand remained on your back for probably a second longer than it should have, until he finally moved it back to the steering wheel.

You thought about telling Nat what just happened, but she would only bug you about it more.

He definitely does not, I’m basically forcing him to talk

You pressed send and put your phone down, thinking about what she said. I mean, he did get you cheetos when you were just talking to yourself about it, and knew you wanted ranch because he saw you eating it one time. But you figured he noticed stuff like that with everyone. Right?

You pushed the thought away, not wanting to look too far into things.

You sat in silence for a while, drifting between easy conversation and comfortable silence for the next couple of hours, stopping only once at a rest stop to go to the bathroom.

Before you knew it, you were only 30 minutes out from your hotel.

“Wow, this drive went so fast,” you said.

“Yeah, it really did.”

“So, what’s the plan when we get there?”

“Well, I figured we’d check into our hotel first and then we can get something to eat if you want?”

“Ugh yes please, I’m starving,” you answered.

When you got to the hotel, Bucky went inside to get you checked in, then pulled around to the back door to park. You both got out and you were so relieved to finally stretch your legs again. You grabbed your bookbag but left your pillow in the car, and Bucky carried your duffel bag again.

You found yourself thinking, would he do that for anyone else, or does he really like me?

You shook your head, trying to shake the thought away as you followed him up to the door. He scanned the keycard and opened the door for you, letting you go in first. Okay, maybe he’s just a gentleman. I mean, he is from the 40s.

You tried to shake the feeling again as you pressed the button for the elevator. You went up to the fifth floor, then walked down the hall to your room. The hotel was really nice, and you just knew your room was about to be fancy.

You walked in and, once again, Bucky opened the door but let you go in first. Straight ahead was a couch and TV, to the left was a small kitchen and barstools to sit on, then there was a door to the bedroom. You walked over to the door, realizing almost immediately there was only one bed.

You started to freak out, only to remember Bucky sleeps on the floor, so it wouldn’t make sense to pay for a room with two beds. You dropped your bookbag on the floor and flopped face-first onto the bed, realizing how exhausted you were from the drive.

“You know they don’t wash the top comforter, right?” Bucky said, walking in behind you.

“I don’t even care at this point,” you replied, voice muffled from the bed.

He just laughed and set your bags on the other side of the bed. He went to the bathroom as you laid on the bed, seriously about to fall asleep. When he came back out, he immediately started unpacking his bags and putting his clothes in the dresser.

You rolled onto your side and put your hand under your chin to hold your head up. “Did you even look at the view from the window before you started unpacking?” you said, teasing him.

He just shot you a dirty look, but he couldn’t keep a little smile from peeking through. “Well, if I don’t do it now, I might not ever do it.”

“That’s a good point, maybe I should too.”

“Probably, you can take the bottom two drawers,” he said.

“Ugh, I just don’t feel like it,” you groaned, flopping onto your back.

“Well you gotta get up soon, I’m hungry.”

You groaned again, running your hands over your face then dropping them to your sides again. “Can’t we just like, order pizza to our room or something?”

Bucky looked at you and raised his eyebrows. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Now that I’m here I don’t wanna leave either.”

“Oh, perfect. Now we just have to figure out who will deliver here.” You pulled your phone out of your pocket and Bucky gave you a look. “What?”

“You and your phone,” he said, shaking his head.

“Well, I don’t know if it’s been 100 years since you’ve been to a hotel, but they don’t usually have books with all the food places anymore,” you said, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Alright, alright,” he said laughing.

You ordered from a local place, and the pizza got delivered about 45 minutes later. You wanted to eat it on the bed, but Bucky wouldn’t let you, so you ate at the barstools in the kitchen.

“Mmm, that was good,” you said, wiping the grease off your hands.

“Yeah, they really know how to make pizza,” Bucky agreed.

Together, you downed a whole large pizza in 15 minutes. You got up and washed your hands as Bucky folded up the pizza box so it fit in the small trash can.

“I’m gonna hop in the shower,” you said.

“Okay, I think I might run to the store and get a few things.”

“Oh, do you want me to come with you?”

“No, that’s okay,” he said. “It should only take a few minutes.”

“Okay.”

--

About 20 minutes later, you stepped out of the shower, drying yourself off, when you realized you hadn’t grabbed any clothes to change into. You opened the bathroom door and looked out, but Bucky wasn’t in the bedroom.

“Bucky?” you called out, with no answer. The coast was clear.

You darted across the room, first closing the curtains. The sun was about to go down, so you didn’t want anyone seeing into the room. You walked back over to the bed, rifling through your bag. You found the pair of shorts you wanted, but couldn’t find your favorite sweatshirt. You were reaching for your bookbag when you heard the door unlock.

You whipped around, gripping the top of your towel, suddenly realizing how little it was.

Bucky stumbled into the room, holding a case of water and a few plastic bags, freezing when he saw you. “Oh – uh, sorry,” he mumbled, turning around to set the groceries on the counter.

“No, I’m sorry. I – uh, forgot to grab my clothes,” you said, laughing nervously. You kept going through the bag, when you suddenly realized you left your sweatshirt sitting on your desk because you had planned to put it on this morning. You sighed, smacking your hand onto your forehead.

“Uhh, what’s wrong?” Bucky said, walking into the bedroom.

“I just realized I forgot my favorite sweatshirt.”

“Another thing? Wow, I’m disappointed,” Bucky said, holding back a smile.

“I didn’t bring another sweatshirt because it’s supposed to be warm here,” you whined.

“It’s okay, just wear one of mine,” he said, walking over to the dresser. He pulled open one of the drawers, revealing a stack of sweatshirts. He pulled one out and handed it to you.

“Oh, are you sure?” you asked.

“Yeah,” he said with a smile.

You took it from him, suddenly hyperaware that you were only in a towel again. You spun on your heel and quickly walked back into the bathroom, as Bucky watched you the whole way.

When you walked out, Bucky did a double take, but you didn’t notice. He loved the sight of you in his sweatshirt. He quickly looked away though, playing it off. “I’m gonna shower now,” he said, grabbing his clothes.

“Okay.”

You forced yourself to unpack your bag while he was in the shower, and it didn’t take near as long as you thought it would. When you were done, you grabbed your phone charger and plugged it in beside the bed. You pulled the blankets back and slipped in under the covers. Hotel beds always felt so cozy, and you had to admit, you felt extra cozy with Bucky’s sweatshirt on. Did this mean he liked you?

As if Nat could read your mind, when you picked up your phone, you had a text from her:

Walked past your room and saw your sweatshirt on the desk, did you mean to leave that?

You quickly typed back a response, knowing you were going to regret it:

No, I was gonna put it on this morning but forgot :( Bucky let me borrow his tho

She answered almost immediately:

Omg which one

You were confused why she was asking, but answered anyway:

Just a plain gray one, why?

You quickly realized why she asked when she responded:

Shut up, that’s his favorite one

As if on cue, Bucky walked out of the bathroom, running a towel through his hair. When he put the towel down and shook out his wet hair, you had to admit, he looked really hot. If only he walked out in just a towel too.

Your eyes went wide from the intrusive thought, but you quickly regained your composure and looked down at your phone, sending Nat a quick text back:

I think it was the only one he brought and I was freezing

It was a lie, but you didn’t want her making a big deal out of nothing. It was nothing, right?

You looked at the time, realizing it was only 9:00. “Do you wanna watch a movie or something?”

“Sure,” he said, “what’s on?”

“I don’t know, let’s look,” you said grabbing the TV remote and turning it on.

After scrolling through channels, you finally decided on Disney Channel, only because Frozen had just started and you begged Bucky to watch it, telling him it was one of the best Disney movies. Surprisingly, it didn’t take that long to convince him to watch it, and it took even less time to convince him to lay in the bed with you to watch it. Again, that means nothing…

You and Bucky didn’t say anything during the movie, and when it was finally over, you yawned, looking over at him. “So, what’d you think?”

“I think it’s definitely a kid's movie,” he said laughing. “Not as bad as I thought it was gonna be though. But I’ve had to pee since the rocks were singing,” he said, quickly getting out of bed as you laughed.

When he walked out of the bathroom, you had turned off the TV and were curled up under the blanket.

“Comfortable?” he asked, clearly trying to sound casual, but you caught the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

You smiled sleepily. “Very. Thanks again for the sweatshirt.”

“No problem,” he said, walking over to the other side of the bed and grabbing a pillow. “I’ll just—”

“Bucky,” you interrupted, sitting up slightly. “You don’t have to sleep on the floor.”

He froze. “It’s fine, really. I’m used to it.”

“I know,” you said gently. “But you don’t have to be used to it anymore. It’s a big bed. And I promise not to kick you in my sleep.”

He looked at you for a long moment before nodding once, quietly. “Alright...if you’re sure.”

You smiled, patting the spot next to you. “I’m sure.”

He slid under the covers, staying as close to the edge as possible, stiff as a board. You turned to face him, grinning.

“You know,” you said softly, “you’re not as grumpy as you pretend to be.”

He turned to look at you, and for once, didn’t try to hide the way he looked at you. Warm, almost amused. “And you’re not as annoying as I thought you’d be.”

You gasped. “Hey!”

He chuckled, his voice low. “Kidding.”

Silence settled between you for a second, the kind that wasn’t awkward anymore - just comfortable.

Then, you decided to be brave.

“Nat thinks you like me,” you said, staring up at the ceiling.

He was quiet for a beat. Two.

“And what do you think?” he finally asked.

You looked at him then, your heart beating just a little faster. “I think you remember what kind of sauce I like and got me cheetos just because I mumbled about them once. So…I think maybe you do.”

He gave you a soft smile - real, this time. “Well…she’s not wrong.”

You blinked. “Really?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Really.”

You grinned, trying to keep your cool. “Well...good. Because I think I might like you too.”

He turned onto his side to face you more fully. “Good.”

And with that, he reached out, gently brushing a strand of hair out of your face. Your breath caught slightly, and for a second, you thought he might kiss you - but instead, he just whispered, “Goodnight y/n.”

You smiled, heart full. “Goodnight Bucky.”

He groans, tossing his head back. “You gotta be kidding me.”

You shook your head. "Sorry, I could've sworn I had some."

"It's all good, Princess. Doesn't your brother have a bong somewhere?"

"Yeahh, in his room but I'm pretty sure he and Sarah are asleep."

"Dammit." He thinks for a moment then squints at you. "Don't you have a bowl?"

You bark out a laugh and shake your head. "You broke it idiot, remember? When you were tapping on the porch steps to empty it literally last weekend?"

JJ freezes mid thought, eyes widening a little. Then that familiar grin spreads across his face, the one that usually gets him out of trouble. "Oh yeah. My bad, Princess."

You frowned. "It was so cute, too."

He stared at you with a lopsided grin, thinking about how adorable you were as you poked your bottom lip out at him. "I'll get you another one, promise."

After a moment, you both look toward the Twinkie parked out front and then back at each other. Without another word, you’re grabbing your jackets and heading out.

The gas station light buzzes above you like a dying fly, but it’s warm inside. The same bored guy behind the counter doesn’t even glance at your IDs. JJ grins at you when you walk back out, rillos in hand. God, he looked so handsome under the neon lights.

He tosses the rillos into the console and slides behind the wheel, that crooked grin still lingering from the gas station. "Love that guy." The van rumbles to life, headlights cutting through the empty road as he pulls out of the parking lot.

You smile and sit back in the passenger seat, rubbing your hands together and blowing into them. Your breath fogs the air.

JJ glances over. “Hands cold?”

You hum a distracted “mmhmm,” still blowing into your palms. He raises an eyebrow.

“How cold we talkin’?”

You grin a little and reach over, pressing your icy hand against his cheek.

“Jesus!” He jerks his head away with a laugh.

You laugh too, pulling your hand back and tucking it into your sleeve. “Told you.”

He rubs his cheek dramatically. “You’re lucky you’re cute or I’d throw you out of this van for that.”

You giggle, blushing a little bit at the comment. “You wouldn’t last five minutes without me.”

He flashes a grin, all teeth and trouble. “You’re probably right," he says, making you giggle again. Then, after a beat “My hands aren’t cold, by the way.”

You snort. “Great! That’s so awesome, JJ.”

He shoots you a look, smirk deepening. “Wanna feel for yourself?”

You roll your eyes, ready to fire back something sarcastic, but before you can, he reaches over and catches your hand in his. His fingers slide around yours, his palm hot against your skin.

For a second, you don’t even move. The heat is so good you could melt right into it... as is the fact that it's his hand.

Then, remembering yourself, you scoff softly and roll your eyes. “You’re so smooth.”

He grins, still holding your hand, a little tighter now. “What can I say? I’m a giver.”

You shake your head, pretending to be annoyed, but you don’t pull away.

Then JJ glances over and does a double take. “Wait... are you blushing?”

You roll your eyes again, trying to hide your smile. “It’s cold, JJ.”

He laughs. “Yeah, sure, that’s why your cheeks are all pink.”

"Your cheeks are pretty pink yourself, asshole."

You’re about to shove his shoulder with your free hand when the engine sputters. Once. Then again.

JJ frowns, reluctantly pulling his hand from yours and tapping the gas. “Uh, that didn’t sound good.”

The van lurches as he pulls to the side of the road. The lights flicker and you both jolt forward as it lets out one final wheeze before going dead quiet.

JJ stares at the steering wheel like it personally betrayed him and you bite your lip to keep from laughing.

“Please tell me you know how to fix it.”

“Normally, yeah,” he says, turning the key again. The engine coughs once, then dies. “But I think the battery’s toast.”

He pulls his phone from his pocket, tries calling John B, then Sarah. No answer. The cold is creeping in fast.

“Well,” you sigh, blowing into your hands again. “Guess we’re camping."

You both huff and climb into the back of the van, complaining about how now you have papers and no weed. But at least you have a some blueberry mini doughnuts.

“There’s a couple jackets back here,” JJ said through a mouthful of doughnut, tossing one over to you. “We can use ‘em as pillows.”

“And that?” you pointed to the single blanket.

“That’s… a shared situation, I guess."

JJ lays on his back when you both decide to try to go to sleep, hands behind his head. You turn the other way, the blanket pulled as high as it’ll go.

It’s quiet. Just the wind outside and the tick of the engine cooling.

He sighs softly. “Sorry. This was my dumb idea.”

You glance over your shoulder. “Pretty sure it was mine.”

He chuckles. “I drove, so technically—”

“JJ, it's fine,” you mumble, smiling through your shivers.

Minutes pass. The cold presses harder, and your body starts shaking no matter how tightly you curl up.

JJ’s voice breaks the quiet. “Hey.”

You hum in response, teeth chattering.

He hesitates. “You’re freezing.”

You roll over, facing him now. “Kinda hard not to be.”

He smirks, but it’s soft. “Yeah, I can tell. Your teeth are driving me crazy.”

You blink at him, mock offended. “Oh, really? And what are you gonna do about that?”

He tilts his head, eyes glinting even in the dim light. “C’mere.”

You stare for a second. “You sure?”

“Yeah,” he says quietly and shrugs. “For survival.”

You laugh softly and scoot closer, awkward at first, but the second your cheek finds his arm and your face presses into his chest, something shifts. His arm wraps around you instinctively, warm and strong and sure, pulling you in until you can hear his heartbeat under your ear. His hearts pounding just as hard as yours.

You giggle, the sound muffled by his hoodie.

He grins against your hair. “What?”

“Nothing,” you whisper. “You’re just... cozy.”

He lets out a slow breath, chest rising beneath your cheek. “You too. We should do this more often.”

You snort, hiding your face in him, shocked by his boldness. “You mean freeze to death in a van with you?”

“Nah,” he murmurs, voice low, “just the cuddling part.”

You look up at him, the smallest blush warming your cheeks.

He’s smiling down at you, sleepy and content, like this is the only place he’s ever wanted to be, despite the situation. Your faces are so close you can feel his breath, warm and slow against your lips.

“JJ…” you whisper.

He doesn’t answer. Just searches your eyes, gaze flicking from your lips back up again. And then he leans in, slowly, pressing his lips to yours.

The first kiss is soft and a little nervous. But when you breathe against him, when your hand curls into the front of his hoodie, he deepens it, slow and aching and warm. His thumb finds your jaw, tilting you up as his lips move with yours, and suddenly the cold doesn’t matter anymore.

When you finally pull away, you’re both smiling like idiots, cheeks flushed, breaths mingling in the dark.

You both laugh quietly.

He grins, brushing his thumb across your cheek. “You a little warmer now?”

"Way warmer. Thanks," you nod happily, "You?"

He nods back. "No need to thank me," he presses another gentle, lingering kiss to your lips. "And yeah, way warmer."

You settle back against his chest, his arm still wrapped tight around you, unable to stop smiling.

JJ lets out a quiet laugh against your hair, the sound low and rough in the quiet van.

“Well,” he murmurs, “guess John B’s gonna have two things to be pissed about tomorrow.”

"He'll be alright." You smile into his chest, heart hammering but calm all at once. The van creaks quietly in the wind, the blanket pulled up to your chins. Neither of you says anything else.

Having to room with one of your fellow BAU agents on cases is not uncommon, and sharing a room with Spencer isn’t new either. The two of you have roomed together on multiple occasions before, but previous instances were distinct from this one. In all those prior times, you both had separate beds. 

“I, uhm… I can sleep on the floor,” Spencer suggests tentatively, breaking the silence that had filled the room. His voice is hesitant, almost as if he’s apprehensive about suggesting such a thing.

You look at him, noticing the slight blush on his cheeks as he avoids eye contact. It is clear that he doesn’t want to inconvenience you or make you feel uncomfortable by overstepping any boundaries.

But there is absolutely no way that you’re going to let Spencer sleep on the cold, hard floor, especially after a long day of chasing down an UnSub. “You’re not sleeping on the floor, Spence,” you protest, shaking your head gently. “There is more than enough room on the bed; we can put some pillows between us if that’ll make you more comfortable,” you suggest. You can see his apprehension, his discomfort at the idea of encroaching on your personal space. 

In a way it’s very sweet, you know Spencer well, and you know how little he would enjoy lying on the floor, yet he is willing to give up his own comfort for you.

But at the same time you can’t help but feel a little pang of… Of what exactly you’re not sure. Disappointment maybe, or even longing? And a little irrational fear that maybe he actually finds sleeping next to you so uncomfortable that he would prefer the floor.  

You have tried to suppress your feelings for Spencer for a long time, you have had a crush on him from the moment you first joined the BAU three years ago, but the more you got to know him, and the deeper your friendship deepend the deeper your feelings for him also grew. 

You know that you’re being irrational, but you can’t help but wonder if Spencer actually feels uncomfortable by the idea of sharing a bed with you or if it’s something else entirely. As you continue to stare at him, hoping for a clue, Spencer nervously fidgets with the strap of his bag which he still hasn’t put down. 

“Sure, pillows…” he finally speaks, his voice trailing off. You can tell he’s hesitant, it’s clear that the idea of sharing a bed with you is not something he had anticipated or prepared for.  

You take a step closer to Spencer, trying to ease the tension that has settled between you. “Spencer, it’s going to be okay. We’ve slept in the same room many times before, remember? This is just a little different, but I’ll promise to stay on my side of the bed,” you assure him, offering a small smile.

Spencer glances over at you, his eyes meeting yours for a brief moment before he takes a deep breath andnodding slowly as he finally sets his bag down and starts to remove his jacket. His movements are deliberate, almost mechanical, as if he’s trying to distract himself from the tension in the room. Lost in your thoughts, you find yourself stealing glances at him. You watch his every movement, wondering if there’s more to his unease than just sharing a bed. As he hangs his jacket neatly on the back of a chair, you can’t help but notice the way his fingers tremble ever so slightly. 

“Do you want the bathroom first?” you ask, trying to break the silence and bring some normalcy back into the situation. Spencer looks up at you, his eyes reflecting gratitude for the distraction.

“Uh, yeah, that sounds good,” he replies, his voice slightly shaky. He walks past you towards the bathroom, his steps quick and purposeful.

While he’s in the bathroom, you take a moment to collect your thoughts, as you start to take out your pajamas and toiletries from your bag before going over to the bed, placing a few pillows in a row in the middle of the mattress. The tension in the room is palpable, and you can’t help but wonder if there’s something more going on with Spencer. You’ve always had a strong connection with him, but lately, there have been moments when you’ve sensed a shift in his behavior towards you. It’s hard to put into words, but there’s a certain longing and vulnerability that seems to surface whenever you’re together.

As you ponder these thoughts, Spencer emerges from the bathroom. He’s changed into his pajamas, checkered flannel bottoms and a long sleeved cotton t-shirt, his hair damp from his shower. You can’t help but notice how adorable he looks. There is something so soft looking over him like this, almost domestic and your heart skips a beat.

“Your turn,” he says softly, gesturing towards the bathroom. You nod and make your way inside, trying to steady your own racing heart.

The warm water from the shower helps to calm your nerves, but your mind is still filled with questions. What if there’s a chance that Spencer feels the same way? What if this shared bed situation could bring you closer together?

You finish your shower and step out, wrapping a towel around yourself. As you reach for your pajamas, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. You take a deep breath, reminding yourself to stay calm and not let your emotions get the best of you, yes you have developed feelings for Spencer but first and foremost he is your friend and, and you can’t start assuming things. He is allowed to find sharing a bed with you awkward. 

When you return to the room, Spencer is already tucked into one side of the bed, the one closest to the door, his back turned towards you, and you can’t help but notice that he is far closer to the edge of the mattress than he needs to be. The only light in the room now coming from the bedside lamp on the side of the bed that has been assigned to you by Spencer.

You quietly slip into your side, letting the heavy comforter cover your body as you lay down on your back, looking over at Spencer’s back for a short moment before looking back up into the ceiling.  

The proximity between you is both exhilarating and nerve-wracking, as you lie there, so close to each other yet so far away. You take a deep breath before you break the silence once again. “Ready to turn off the light?”

Spencer shifts slightly, his voice barely above a whisper as he responds, “Yeah, sure.” You reach over and switch off your lamp, plunging the room into darkness. The only source of light now is the faint glow of moonlight coming shining through the blinds.

As you lay there, your mind starts to wander, replaying all the moments you’ve shared with Spencer over the years. The late-night conversations, the shared laughter, the times he’s been there for you when you needed someone the most. Each memory fills you with a mixture of warmth and longing.  

“Good night, Spence,” you utter softly into the darkness,   

“Night,” he replies, his voice barely audible in the quiet space and the room falls silent once again. 

You let out the softest of sighs as you close your eyes, finally letting yourself feel how tired you really are, slowly letting yourself try to surrender to sleep. 

· · ·

It’s still dark in the room as you wake up, only an hour or two have passed since you fell asleep, and for just about half a second you get to wonder what had woken you so abruptly before the reason becomes clear to you. 

It is Spencer who woke you. In the dimly lit room, his agitated body twists and contorts restlessly next to you. You turn around so you’re facing him, propping yourself up on your elbow so you’re slightly hovering over him, the darkness of the room shadowing his face, but as your eyes get used to the dark you notice the beads of sweat glistening on his forehead, his eyebrows knitted and his breathing erratic and shallow.  

Unintelligible, fearful murmurs escape his lips, carrying traces of an impending terror. With a gentle touch, you place your hand on his shoulder, hoping to offer some comfort as you try to gently pull him out of his nightmare.

“Spencer,” you say softly. “Spencer, wake up.”

His eyes fly open, wide with fear, his gaze darting around for a second or two, before they lock with yours which seems to calm him down a little. -

“I’m sorry, I woke you,” he mutters, his rapid breathing slowly coming under control. 

“Spence, it’s okay, I get them too,” you remind him. “We all do.” 

“I-I know… this one was just so real…”  Spencer takes a moment, his brows knitted as if he’s contemplating whether to share the details or simply let the disturbing dream fade away. “You were there,” he finally says, taking a deep breath before continuing, “I couldn’t get to you in time, I-I kept running but I didn’t get any closer a-and…” but then he stops, like he can’t get himself to continue.  

You feel how your heart clenches at his words, he had a nightmare about you…

“Well, I’m right here, and I’m okay,” you reassure him, offering a soft smile before you place a gentle hand on his shoulder as if to emphasize your statement, hoping to offer some comfort.

He places his own hand on top of yours, giving it a gentle squeeze. 

“You think you can go back to sleep?” you ask him as you finally remove your hand from his shoulder. 

“Yeah, I think so,” he says and the two of you both lay back down on the mattress, but a short silence falls over the room before Spencer speaks again. “Would it  be okay if we removed the pillows?” 

“Of course,” you whisper back, removing the pillows. There is still a decent gap between you, but the cushioned wall is now gone. You yearn to close the gap, wanting to reach out for him, to comfort him with an embrace, but you just stay on your side of the bed. This can be enough, you can live with just being his friend, despite how your heart yearns for more. 

“Goodnight,” Spencer whispers, now laying on his back instead of facing away from you like last time you said goodnight. 

“Goodnight,” you whisper back, “and, Spence?” you add.

“Yeah?”

“Remember you can always talk to me if you need it, I know how it feels.”

A beat of silence. “Yeah, I know, and thank you, it’s really nice to know that.”  

You let out a soft sigh as you finally close your eyes again. “Of course, that is what friends are for.”

“Yeah, friends…” he mumbles, so low you barely hear it. 

But you do hear it, and you ponder over it a little as you again begin to slowly drift off to sleep, and as you find yourself in the liminal space between wakefulness and slumber. Each breath you take seems to synchronize with Spencer’s soft breathing. In the darkness, your thoughts become even more encompassed by the draw you feel towards him, the yearning to hold him, to be held by him.

Suddenly, you feel a shift in the bed, and your heart skips a beat. Did Spencer just move closer to you? You open your eyes to find him curled up, facing your direction. His features softened, no longer affected by his nightmare, but now relaxed in sleep. It takes all of your willpower not to reach out and touch his tousled curls, to trace the contours of his face.

But you don’t. You don’t want to risk jeopardizing the friendship you share. As much as you yearn for more, you’re determined not to overstep any boundaries. 

With a heavy sigh, you turn away from Spencer, facing the wall instead. Your emotions are in disarray, swirling within you like a tempestuous storm. The closeness you currently have, even if it’s just a hair’s breadth away, feels agonizingly bittersweet.

As you drift closer to sleep, nestled in the comfort of the bed, you feel a sense of contentment and tranquility. Despite the uncertainty and longing, there is solace in the silent presence of Spencer beside you. And for now, that is enough.

· · · 

You are stirred from sleep once again later in the night. This time, it is a gradual, more peaceful transition into consciousness. A sense of warmth and snugness engulfing you, making you fill with a sense of complete safety and comfort, your eyes still closed and your mind still groggy from sleep. 

As you slowly emerge from your drowsy state, it takes a moment for you to identify the source of your comfort. As time passes, and you’re pulled enough out of your sleepy daze you start to become aware of the gentle movements against your body, and you start to perceive the muffled sounds emanating from beside you, and confusion is washing over you for a short moment before you remember where you are. Remembering that you’re in a hotel room in a small town in Nebraska, a hotel room which you’re sharing with Spencer, a hotel room that only has one bed…   

 Your eyes flutter open as Spencer’s arms squeeze you a little tighter, your back is pressed up against his chest and your legs are tangled under the warm covers. His steady breath gently fan the back of your neck, his lips ghosting over your skin, grazing just over your pulse point. 

And it is now, as you are being pressed tight up against him, that you feel it. How he gently is rocking against you. How the outline of his hard cock is pressing against the curve of your ass. You let out a faint gasp, as a warm shiver runs through you right down to your now throbbing cunt. 

Your heart skips a beat, overwhelmed by the intensity of this unexpected intimacy from Spencer. You are not completely sure what to do, what Spencer would prefer you to do in this situation. There is no way you’re gonna be able to wiggle out of his embrace without risking waking him. You should probably wake him, right? 

You can’t believe that this is really happening, that you really are in this position with Spencer right now. But you know that you can’t read too much into it, that people just get wet dreams sometimes, that this is just a physical reaction. He didn’t even want to share the bed with you in the first place, and you were the one who insisted on it. As much as you dread having to face him in this position, you really should wake him. 

You know Spencer, you know that he will feel embarrassed when you wake him, but it will be nowhere near as bad as the betrayal he will feel if he finds out that you didn’t stop this. 

Taking a deep breath, you start to gently nudge Spencer awake, careful not to startle him. “Spencer,” you say gently, slightly wiggling in his embrace as you try to face him. “Spencer, wake up.” 

As he stirs, his eyes flutter open, and he looks at you with a mixture of confusion and sleepiness, before a look of absolute horror overtakes his face, his eyes filling with panic. His embrace immediately loosens, and he quickly pulls away from you. The distance between your bodies, making you feel a sudden pang of emptiness as he bolts off the bed. 

“I- I’m so sorry,” he stutters, his voice frantic. “I don't know what came over me. This isn’t... I didn’t mean to…” His words trail off, and he looks utterly mortified.  

“Spence, it’s okay,” you try to reassure him, watching as he begins to pace back and forth in the small room, and start to gather his belongings, his eyes darting around the room anxiously, as if searching for an escape. “Spencer?” you try again, hoping to bring him back from the edge of his spiraling thoughts. You get out of the bed, your bare feet hitting the cold floorboards. 

But Spencer doesn’t seem to even hear you, he just grabs his bag and starts stuffing his belongings inside, his movements frantic and uncoordinated. “I-I’ll leave,” he begins, his voice strained with guilt and embarrassment. 

“Spencer, please,” you say softly, stepping around the bed to get to him. “You don’t have to leave.”

He is halfway through the bathroom door by now, his bag dropping from his shoulder. Tears are pooling in his eyes, his expression tortured. “I can’t stay,” he says, his voice quivering. “I made you uncomfortable...”

“Spence,” you try again, now standing only a few steps from him. 

“No… I made you uncomfortable, and I-I’m so sorry, I just- I mean- or no, I didn’t mean…” he begins to ramble before giving up and burying his face in his hands. 

Your heart aches at his words, at the pain in his eyes. You never wanted this to happen, never wanted to make him feel like this. “Spence, you could never make me uncomfortable” you say, trying to keep your voice as steady and comforting as you can, your heart thumping loudly in your chest. 

“You don’t have to say that,” he begins, but you cut him off before he can start spiraling even more than he already is. 

“I do, Spence, cause it’s true. You haven’t made me uncomfortable, okay?” you need him to believe you, you are colleagues and you’ll have to see each other everyday, but also, and more importantly, he is your friend and he means so much to you, you just can’t lose him. “You didn’t make me uncomfortable. I promise. Please, look at me.”

You take a step closer to Spencer, reaching out for him, gently placing your hand on his trembling shoulder. Sensing the depth of his distress, you speak softly, attempting to soothe him further, and he finally looks at you, his damp eyes filled with shame and embarrassment. 

“I... I didn’t mean for this to happen,” he stammers, his voice shaky. “I never wanted to make you uncomfortable or take advantage of you. I don’t even know why I…”

You interrupt him gently, placing a hand on his cheek to bring his attention back to you. “Spencer, listen to me. It’s alright.” 

He searches your eyes, seeking reassurance. A moment passes before he finally speaks. “Are you sure it’s alright?” vulnerability shining through his words.

“Yes, Spence… It’s alright,” you feel sad, because as selfish as it is, you do wish your words weren’t true, wish that it did mean something, but you have to ignore that for now. It’s not fair to be selfish right now, what you need is to comfort Spencer and reassure him that it’s okay. You have to ignore how good it felt to feel him against your body, having him grinding against you, having his lean arms around you…

“What happened... It was just a physical reaction and I don’t hold it against you. I know you didn’t mean for it to happen, and it’s not like you can control your dreams,” you offer him a small smile, one that you hope will convince him that you mean what you’re saying, but it feels bittersweet as you say your next words. “I know it didn’t mean anything.” 

Spencer’s shoulders visibly slump as he absorbs your words. He still looks deeply conflicted, but your reassurance seems to have calmed him down slightly. “That’s not true…” he murmurs, he sounds unsure, almost shy as he says it, yet there is a determination flickering in his hazel brown eyes. 

That’s not true..? You wonder if he is going to disagree with your statement about not being able to control dreams and launch into an extensive explanation of the technicalities of lucid dreaming, but what he says instead makes your heart flutter and fills you with a sense of hope. “It did mean something,” he admits, his voice barely above a whisper.

Your breath catches in your throat at his words. The room feels charged with tension, the air thick with uncertainty. You take a step closer to him, your hand still resting gently on his cheek. “Spencer, what do you mean?” you ask, your voice soft and filled with curiosity. And a realization courses through your body, he didn’t just have a wet dream, he had a wet dream about you… 

He takes a deep breath, his eyes locked with yours. “You mean so much to me. My dreams, my nightmares, my…” he trails off, a pink blush spreading across his cheeks, my wet dreams, his blush is telling. “My waking thoughts, they always end up being about you.”  

You feel your heart swell, a mix of excitement and nervousness bubbling within you. Spencer’s words hang in the air, leaving you momentarily breathless. Unable to contain your own feelings any longer. You close the last distance between you, so close that you now can feel the heat radiating from his body, your hand sliding from his cheek to the back of his neck. Your touch is gentle, craving a connection, desperate to convey your own emotions. “Spencer,” you whisper, your voice filled with a tenderness you can no longer hide. “It’s the same for me.”  

Spencer’s eyes widen in surprise, his breath hitching in his throat. It takes a moment for his words to find their way back to him. “You...you feel the same way?” he says, almost breathlessly, his eyes searching yours for any sign of deception. “You’re not just saying this to make me feel better?”

You shake your head, your voice filled with sincerity. “No. I wouldn’t say this if I didn’t mean it.”

Relief floods his features, and a small smile tugs at the corners of his lips. His pretty, pretty lips which look so soft and so damn kissable… “Oh…” is all he manages to say, his voice filled with soft gentle wonder. 

You can see how the weight is slowly lifting off of his shoulders, his eyes sparkling with a mixture of relief and happiness. He reaches out to take your free hand in his. He moves his other hand to your waist, at first not  fully committing to the touch, his fingers gently ghosting over your pajamas, but with a soft smile of encouragement from you he gently places his palm against you, and his touch sends a wave of warmth through your body. 

The room seems to shrink, the world outside becoming distant and irrelevant. At this moment, it’s like the two of you are the only two people left on this earth. Spencer’s lips part slightly, as if he wants to say something more, but the words remain trapped in his throat. Instead, he leans in, his breath mingling with yours, and then, his lips brush against yours in the softest, most tentative of kisses.

It’s a moment of pure vulnerability, and raw emotion. The kiss is a little hesitant at first yet filled with longing. The warmth of his lips against yours creates an electric current that surges through your entire body, igniting a fire within you. His arms wrap around your waist, pulling you closer to him, as if he never wants to let you go. The possessiveness in his touch sends a shiver down your spine, and you find yourself losing all sense of restraint. 

In this moment, the world outside doesn’t matter. All that matters is the connection between you and Spencer, the warmth that courses through your veins with every touch and every kiss. You feel how heat is pooling in your stomach.

 Your fingers tangle in his hair, lightly tugging on the wavy strands, making him gently moan into the kiss as your other hand finds its way to his face, caressing his cheeks as if trying to convey all the feelings you have bottled up inside.

The kiss deepens, becoming more passionate and desperate, as if both of you have been longing for this moment for far too long. It’s a dance of tongues and teeth, a melding of souls, and you can’t help but lose yourself in the sensations. The taste of his lips, the feeling of his hands on your waist, the way he pulls you closer as if he wants to merge your bodies into one.

Desire courses through you, igniting a fire within that consumes every rational thought. You press yourself flush against him, unable to stop your body from slowly grinding against him as the need for more contact intensifies, making Spencer moan into the kiss, which only makes your own desire for him grow even stronger. Every touch, every movement sends a jolt of anticipation through your body, the friction between you building a deliciously tantalizing tension.

The need for more becomes unbearable, but your lungs start to burn and you finally break the heated kiss to get a breath of air. His lips hovering mere inches from yours, his breath warm and ragged. The room is filled with thick tension as you lock eyes, the intensity between you crackling with electricity. You take a moment to steady your own breath before asking him, a little shyly, what you want to know the most in this moment. “Wanna tell me about your dream?” 

Your words hang in the air, a challenge and an invitation, as you search his gaze for approval. He looks into your eyes, his own filled with a mix of desire and vulnerability. “How…”  He takes a deep, steadying breath, before continuing. “How about I show you instead?” 

You feel your heart skip a beat at his words, a rush of excitement and anticipation flooding through you. Without hesitation, you nod your head, your voice barely above a whisper as you respond, “I’d like that.”

You reach for his hand, guiding him towards the bed. As you lay down, he hovers above you, his eyes filled with a mixture of passion, desire, and a hint of vulnerability. The vulnerability only makes you want him more, to show him that the connection you both share is real, that it’s more than just a passing moment of lust.  

You place a hand at the back of his neck, drawing him down towards you, and his lips meet yours in another fervent kiss. The weight of his body pressing against you sends a thrill through your veins, a delicious ache building between your thighs. You bring your legs up, wrapping them around him, making him let out a low grunt. 

His mouth leaves your lips to instead trail down along your jawline, down your neck, leaving a trail of hot, open-mouthed kisses in their wake. His movements start out slightly clumsy, but he is very quick to adapt and adjust, finding a rhythm that suits both of you. You tilt your head back, giving him better access, surrendering yourself to the pleasure that ripples through your body with each touch of his lips. His hands move up the sides of your body, leaving a trail of fire in their wake.

“Fuck, Spence,” you whine. Your fingers thread through his hair, tugging gently, urging him on. His lips find their way to your collarbone, and he nips at the sensitive flesh, causing a gasp to escape your lips. The sensation sends a jolt straight to your core, and you can feel yourself growing wetter and wetter with desire for him.

His fingers dip beneath the hem of your shirt, skimming along the curve of your waist, his touch leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. You arch your back, silently begging for more, and he obliges, his hands slipping further up until they find your breasts, his thumbs rubbing softly over your hardened nipples. A low moan escapes your mouth, and his lips find yours once again, swallowing the sound and pouring his own desire into the kiss before pulling away to speak. “We… we weren’t wearing this much clothes… In my dream.” 

As the words tumble from his lips, you feel a surge of anticipation flood through you. The desire to match his dream, to fulfill his fantasies, takes hold of you. With a breathless chuckle, followed by an encouraging smile you nod and begin to undo the buttons of your pajama shirt, slowly revealing your bare skin to his hungry gaze. His eyes darken with desire as he watches the fabric slip off your shoulders and expose your breasts fully to him.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs, his voice filled with awe and reverence. 

Spencer’s hands tremble slightly as he reaches out, gently cupping your breasts, his touch sending shivers down your spine. His eyes never leave yours as he experiments with different pressures and strokes, learning the map of your body through touch. Each caress sets you ablaze, igniting a fire within you that only he can satisfy.

“I...I never imagined this could be real,” Spencer admits, his voice laced with awe and reverence. “To have you like this, to be able to touch you, it’s beyond anything I ever dreamed of.”

His words melt into the air, caressing your senses as you guide his hands down your body, your breath hitching with each movement. The heat between your legs intensifies, the ache growing unbearable as his fingers brush against your heated, still covered core.

“Then let’s get rid of the rest of our clothes,” you whisper, your voice filled with anticipation and desire. With shaking hands, you help Spencer undress, removing his shirt and pants after he has shed you of your own pants. 

The air is thick with tension, as the only things that are now covering the two of you being your own panties and Spencer’s gray boxer briefs. You swallow, the sight of him making a hot shiver run through your body, right down to your throbbing cunt, making you squeeze your thighs together. The imposing size of the bulge in his underwear only adds to the anticipation that swirls inside you. The dark spot of precum on the gray cotton, making you drool and without a second thought, you slide your hand down to where his arousal strains against the garment, palming him gently through the fabric, a low groan escapes his lips, the sound music to your ears. 

“Shouldn’t we get these off too?” Your voice takes on a sultry tone as you gently squeeze him through his underwear. 

Another groan, this one a little more whiny, falls from his lips, as he nods eagerly.       

You let out a gasp as he follows your suggestion, and slides off this last item of clothing. His hard cock springs free, hitting his stomach. He is big, thick and throbbing with a bead of precum at the tip that you would love to lick off of him. You have never seen a more mouthwatering cock in your life, and if it wasn’t because you were so damn desperate to have him inside of you, you would get on your knees and choke on him in this instant. “Has anyone ever told you that you have a really pretty cock, Spence?”  

“N-no…” 

“Well, you do,” you assure him. Spencer’s cheeks flush by your bold compliment as you reach out for him. “Now come here, pretty boy,” you say, pulling him down on you again and he doesn’t hesitate, capturing your lips once again, but not before telling you how beautiful you are.

“Can’t concentrate sometimes, you’re so beautiful, it’s distracting,” he murmurs between kisses. “And you’re always so sweet to me, to everyone, and so fucking sexy,” he whispers against your lips. The warmth of his breath sends a shiver down your spine, intensifying the electricity between you.

You smile into the kiss, feeling an overwhelming surge of affection for Spencer. His words touch a deep, insecure part of your heart that you rarely expose to anyone. It’s moments like these when you realize just how lucky you are to have him in your life, and how deeply you want him to play an even bigger role than he already does.

Breaking away from the kiss, you gaze into Spencer’s expressive eyes, his pupils blown wide with lust and affection. “I could say all that about you too, you know” you confess, sincerity lacing your voice as you bring your hand up to push a stray curl away from his face. “You can be very distracting too, Dr. Reid,” you whisper, a mischievous glint in your eyes as you gently rut your clothed pussy up against his erection as you address him by his title. 

A desperate grunt escapes his lips as he feels the friction between your bodies. He leans his forehead against yours, his voice husky with anticipation. “God, you have no idea how badly I want you,” he breathes, his voice thick with desire. You can feel his body trembling against yours, the need radiating off of him in waves. 

“Me too, Spence,” you pant, you are now grinding against him in a slow, sloppy rhythm, “need to have you inside of me so bad.” you confess. “Do you have a condom?”

Spencer’s eyes widen slightly at your question, a mix of desire and concern flickering across his face. “No… I didn’t think... I-I mean, it’s not something I… I didn’t expect...this,” Spencer stammers, his cheeks turning pink. “I didn’t think we would…”

“It’s okay, Spencer,” you say, your voice filled with understanding, gently cupping his face in your hands, you take a little pause before continuing, “I’m on birth control, and I’m clean... so if you want…” you trail off, wanting him to be the one to make the decision   

Spencer takes a moment to process your words, his expression shifting from surprise to relief. He exhales a shaky breath, his eyes searching yours for reassurance. “I-I’ve never done this without a condom…” he confesses, blushing even more, “not that I’ve done this a whole lot…” he says, his voice filled with vulnerability.

You have been unsure about how experienced Spencer is but his honesty and vulnerability only make you appreciate him more. You stroke his cheek gently, comforting him with your touch. You are just about to tell him that it is okay, and that you don’t have to do anything he is not ready for and that you can stop if he isn’t feeling like doing this anymore, but Spencer speaks before you have a chance to say any of this.

“But I want to do it all with you,” he says, his voice filled with determination and longing. “I trust you.”

His words send a surge of warmth through your body, a reassurance that he is fully committed to this moment and to exploring the depths of your connection. You lean in, capturing his lips in a deep, passionate kiss, conveying both your love and desire for him.

Now that you finally know how it feels to kiss him after having pondered over it for so long you just can’t stop, his lips too intoxicating, too addictive. “I trust you too, Spence,”you murmur against his lips, your voice laden with affection and honesty as you spread your legs, inviting him to take the next step.

Spencer’s eyes flicker with a mix of desire and admiration as he brings his hands down to skim over the thin, and by now soaked, fabric of your panties, you arch your back, silently begging for more.

A hungry expression dances over his features before he slides the fabric aside, his touch sending sparks of pleasure coursing through your veins. His fingers trail through the wetness already pooling between your legs, spreading out your arousal as he circles your clit. A shudder runs through you, your back arching off the mattress as pleasure courses through your veins. He continues to tease you, his touch feather-light yet impossibly intense.  

“You’re so wet,” he says intrigued, and you find his fascination utterly endearing. 

“Well, it’s all for you, Spence,” you moan in response as Spencer’s fingers glide over your slick folds, his touch becoming more purposeful and assertive. The anticipation builds inside you, a mixture of desire and nervous excitement. You watch Spencer’s face for any signs of hesitation or uncertainty, but all you find is a hunger that matches your own as he slides a finger inside of you. Your breath hitches as he curls his finger, hitting a spot deep inside that sends a wave of pleasure crashing through your body. You grip the sheets, your nails digging into the fabric as Spencer adds another finger, stretching you and filling you up. 

The room fills with your moans and gasps, the sound of your pleasure mixing with the wet sounds of his fingers working you. You can feel your walls tightening around him, a signal that you’re close to the edge. Sensing your impending release, Spencer leans down, his lips finding yours in a searing kiss as he continues to thrust his fingers inside you. The combination of his touch and his kiss sends you spiraling over the edge, waves of ecstasy washing over you. 

You cling to Spencer, your body trembling with pleasure as he guides you through your orgasm, his fingers never faltering in their movements. As your climax subsides, he withdraws his fingers slowly, his gaze locked with yours. You’re both panting, trying to catch your breath as the intensity of the moment washes over you. 

“That was...amazing,” he whispers, his voice filled with awe. You smile, feeling a surge of pride and contentment wash over you.

“You’re amazing,” you reply, your voice filled with love. 

“I want to be inside you so badly,” Spencer confesses, his voice filled with desire and urgency. His eyes bore into yours, pleading for your permission. You can see the vulnerability and longing in his gaze, making your heart swell with affection for him.

With a nod, you give him your consent, silently urging him to take the next step. and he gets up on his knees. His erection stands tall, glistening with anticipation. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he slowly positions himself between your legs, his hands trembling slightly as he supports his weight above you, his  gaze never leaving yours.

As he slowly enters you, a rush of pleasure courses through your body. Inch by inch, he fills you, stretching you in the most delicious way. A low moan escapes your lips, the sensation overwhelming yet incredibly satisfying. Spencer’s eyes never leave yours, his expression transitioning from concentration to blissful surrender.

Once he’s fully inside you, he pauses, allowing you both to savor the feeling of being intimately connected. You run your hands over his back, sending shivers down his spine as you guide him to start moving. With each thrust, waves of pleasure crash through you, igniting a fire that burns brightly between you.

“Spencer,” you whisper breathlessly, your voice filled with need, “you feel amazing.”

He whimpers in response, his rhythm picking up as both your bodies move in perfect synchronization. The sound of skin slapping against skin echoes through the room, a raw display of the passion simmering between you.

The room is filled with the sounds of your bodies colliding, the bed creaking in rhythm with your passionate movements. Spencer’s thrusts become deeper and more assertive, his movements guided by pure instinct and the desire to please you. He holds nothing back, giving himself to you completely.

“You’re so tight,” he groans, his voice filled with a mixture of pleasure and disbelief. “I’ve never felt anything like this before.”

You dig your nails into his back, urging him on. “Don’t hold back, Spencer,” you gasp, your voice laced with urgency. “Give it to me, all of it.”

Your hands roam his body, tracing the contours of his lean muscles, urging him on with every touch. His lips find yours in a desperate kiss, each one filled with a mixture of love, desire, and a hunger for more. The intensity of your connection drives you both toward the edge, pushing you closer and closer to the brink of ecstasy. 

His thrusts become harder, deeper, and you cry out, overwhelmed by the sensations coursing through your body. Pleasure builds within you, radiating outwards in waves, threatening to consume you entirely.

“I’m close, Spence,” you manage to utter, your voice strained. “I’m so close.”

He increases his pace, his movements becoming erratic as he chases his own release. You can feel the tension coil within him, the way he desperately clings onto the edge, on the verge of falling. And then, as if in perfect unison, the dam breaks. The pleasure crashes over you both, engulfing you in a tidal wave of ecstasy. You can’t help but let out a series of desperate whines and moans as you feel the warmth of his release filling you up as he pumps you full of him, coating your walls with his cum. You cling to each other, riding out the waves of your orgasms, the walls of your pussy convulsing around his cock, your bodies trembling with the intensity of it all.

Spencer collapses onto you, his weight pressing you further into the mattress. You wrap your arms around him, holding him close, basking in the afterglow of your shared intimacy. As your breaths finally steady, he lifts his head and gazes into your eyes, a tender smile playing on his lips.

“That was... beyond words,” he murmurs, his voice filled with awe and reverence. “I’ve never felt this connected to someone before.”

You stroke his cheek lovingly, your own smile mirroring his. “Me neither, Spence.”

He leans down, capturing your lips in a gentle kiss, pouring all his adoration and gratitude into it. 

And as you both lie tangled in each other’s arms, basking in the warmth and intimacy you have just experienced, a feeling of contentment washes over you. It is a feeling you have longed for, a feeling of being truly seen and accepted by another person, and you know that for a long time that longing has been for Spencer and only Spencer. 

“I am so grateful for you, Spence,” you whisper, your voice filled with sincerity. 

Spencer’s eyes softened, his gaze locking with yours. “Thank you for being patient with me. Before meeting you I honestly never thought I could feel so comfortable and safe with anyone.”

Tears well up in your eyes. The depth of emotion in his words touches you deeply. You lean in to capture his lips in a tender kiss, a kiss filled with love and gratitude.

Spencer shifts, gently pulling out of you and sliding to your side. He scoops you into his arms, holding you close to his chest. The rise and fall of his breath against your skin is soothing, creating a sense of comfort and security on a level that you have never felt before.

You curl up against him, your head resting on his shoulder. “I’m so happy there only was one bed,” you whisper, the words spilling from your heart without hesitation. Spencer presses a gentle kiss to your forehead.

“Me too,” he reply, his voice filled with emotion.