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jiminsfault · 4 years

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Gamin’ for love 0.2 | jjk

— pairing: gamer!Jungkook x escort!reader

— genre: 18+ / smut, angst, fluff

— word count: 13.5k

— summary: if love was a game, even Jungkook wouldn’t know how to win. Ordering an escort might help.

— warnings: sex work, oral (m & f receiving), daddy!kink, awkward tension, emo!jungkook, pining, verbal and physical abuse, threats, manipulating and controlling behavior, harassment, implications of taehyung x reader, mentions of smoking, angst (like a lot), tears, jungkook and y/n are idiots in love, fighting (not fists, just words), implied panic attack(?), implied physical abuse, language, lots of love, soft!Jungkook, degradation, spit kink, name calling, slight spanking, tiny bit of aftercare, lOVe

— thank you so much for beta reading this! @shadowsremedy @meowxyoong you guys really pulled through and saved my ass!! Also @interludemoonchild thank you for helping me decide stuff!

— A/N: I’m really sorry it took me half a year to finish this fic!! I’m a clown but I finally got it done and I’m so happy and proud of it, gfl really is my whole heart so I hope you’ll enjoy reading it!!

moodboard | part one | part two | masterlist

When you rang the door to Jungkook’s apartment it wasn’t long until the door swung open, in front of you Jungkook, wet with only a towel around his hips. His eyes were big and his breath a little rushed.

“You’re earlier than expected.” Is what he greeted you with. It wasn’t unfriendly, just surprised, a smile gracing his face full of cheeks and teeth.

“Yeah, Bunny gave me a ride,” you explained, “she’s a colleague.” Jungkook nodded in understanding and made an overdramatic move to beckon you in, that made you grin widely.

As you walked through the door, you see the living room again, this time in the light of the day. The setting sun shined through the slightly closed blinds that were covering his windows.

“It’s pretty in here... really simple and minimalistic,” you throw into the quiet. You could see Jungkook fidgeting, scratching his neck.

“Yeah, it’s…” he thought about his words a little. “An interior designer told me it’s the latest trend...so...” he trailed off. The atmosphere was awkward, the air tense and heavy around both of you. Jungkook moved around in the background, the black TV screen showing you a blurry image of his silhouette when you sat down on the couch.

He moved around the room and clicked things on his computer, when he cautiously tried to start a conversation. “You want to watch TV? Eat something? I only have instant noodles though…” you let out a breathy giggle, as he trailed off and turned around to face him over the couch.

“Some dick would be fine too, don’t you think?” Your response made him laugh and he nodded. “Right. Hold on, just gotta do something. I didn’t think you’d be over this quick, so I didn’t get a chance to, you know...prepare,” he chuckled.

The clicking stopped and he walked over to the couch, still in his towel, hair slightly dried, but overall wet. As he sat down you didn’t have it within you to not stare at his body, muscles well toned and broad. His thighs, that so deliciously spread open, are big and you’d gladly suffocate between them. He noticed your ogling and blushed slightly. When he went to say something, his voice got stuck in his throat.

You groaned. “Why are we so awkward?” Laughing it off seemed right and Jungkook joined you.

“Ah...I’ve just never done it like this...usually I’d never have sex outside of a relationship and we don’t know each other well yet, so...” trailing off once again, he shrugged his shoulders.

You nodded and scooted closer to him, deciding to defuse the awkwardness. You put your hand on his knee, you trailed your hands all over his muscles, higher towards his towel. “Can I take this off?” You asked with a glint in your eyes.

Jungkook wasn’t good at hiding his nervousness, that was for sure. His Adam's apple bobbed with a big swallow and quickly he whispered a shy, “yes, please.”

His hands were clammy as he fiddled around with the cushion of his soft couch. You’ll never be able to not coo at him. Even when he sat here, in all his golden glory, he was able to make you smile with his hesitation.

Slowly you went on your knees, between his legs and you slid your hands up his well built stomach to touch his cute, dark nipples. You pinched each, Jungkook gasping with a high pitch and clenching his hands laying next to him.

Letting your hands roam around his body, he leaned back into the pillows and breathed out, finally relaxing a little. Smiling, you smoothed your fingers over his pecks, down his body again and curled them into his towel teasingly. Moving the soft fabric down just a little, more skin revealed itself to you.

You licked your lips in anticipation, remembering how his dick stretched you out just last week, ruined you for all the other customers. You weren’t able to walk properly for three days, still felt him inside of you. You couldn’t wait until he would thrust inside of your mouth and throb on your tongue.

He raised his hips to make you hurry up and take off his towel. His eyes pleading as he laid a hand on your soft cheek. “Just suck me off already, baby...” he almost let out a low whine, barely catching himself.

You hesitated, this seemed somehow off. The dominant Jungkook from last week nowhere in sight and his soft touch on your cheek had you anticipating what he was going to do next.

His eyes hardened as he lifted his hand and let it collide with your face, just softly enough to make a clap, not hard enough to sting. He was testing your waters, seeing how far he could go with you. A smile sneaked itself on his face, not the cute toothy grin, just a dangerous smirk.

“A week is kind of a long time, huh? Do I need to remind you who’s in charge here?” He snarled. His dominance appeared out of nowhere and almost gave you whiplash. Of course, it made sense. He made it seem like you could be in charge and quickly changed his mind when you didn’t comply. Through the harsh demeanor, you could still tell that he wanted your consent for this, not sure if he could just suddenly slip into this dominant act.

“Hmm, maybe you need to put me in my place, Daddy.” You purred. A low growl was building up in Jungkook’s chest, he pursed his lips a little and clicked his tongue.

“Such a fucking slut,” he groaned and pulled his towel completely off, his dick already hard and standing. Precum was oozing out of its slit and slowly trickling its way down his head. Your pussy clenched at the sight of it, felt the phantom pressure of his shaft inside your walls. “Come suck me off, now.”

The authority radiating off of him turned you on beyond belief and without hesitation you moved forward, closing your hand around his length. He breathed out, moving his hips around to get comfortable and laid his hand on top of your head. You were able to tell that he wanted you to just take him in already, putting a little pressure on and pushing you forward. Never too much, though. He still respected you too much to mistreat you.

You went down and took him in, licking along his shaft and paying attention to the grunts he made. When you suckled around his tip and flicked your tongue across his slit, he tugged at your hair particularly hard.

It felt good, he liked it when girls went down on him, but at the same time, it didn’t feel right. Jungkook would’ve hoped for you to maybe just watch a movie and eat with him. He wasn’t really up for sex, but he couldn’t take head from you and then bail. The thoughts made his dick deflate a little due to his growing discomfort. You assumed you were doing something wrong, given his reaction, and tried harder to get him up again.

But Jungkook only went softer. “Babe, this isn’t working today. I’m sorry,” he said, sounding off and stressed about something.

Curiously, you looked up at him and decided to sit back on the couch. “What’s got you thinking so much, handsome?”

Your question made him flush a faint pink, averting his eyes down. “I just...my mind’s not there. Sorry.” He threw his head against the back of the couch and grabbed his towel to cover his now limp dick.

“You don’t have to apologize, Jungkook. It’s fine, I’ll just take a cab ba-,” he scrambled up and interrupted you with his hands on your shoulders. Your mouth stood open and you leaned your head to the side in question.

“You don’t have to leave, we can just talk for a bit. I’ll pay you for the full time,” he hushed. A little confused, you raised your eyebrows and rose up from your knees to sit next to his side.

“Jungkook, I’m not here to be your friend, you know that.” Your statement was clear and he stilled, gnawing on his bottom lip.

“Please, I really want some company. I could eat you out?” He suggested. You felt bad for him, he seemed troubled and you wouldn’t be able to leave him alone like this. Your soft spot for him was already too present.

Breathing out heavy, you nodded, slapping your hand on his biceps. “Alright, get dressed and I’ll stay for a bit. Only an hour though, and you have to pay me, still. This is work time I’ll be spending with you.”

So that’s what you did, cuddling into his couch and selecting a nice series to watch when he came back with sweatpants and an oversized shirt. The TV noise started to blend into the background, neither of you paying attention to the screen and rather talking to one another.

Jungkook caved in to tell you what was bugging his mind, after long convincing of him. He revealed that his ex girlfriend contacted him again, not in a good way at all. She talked down on him in a way he didn’t specify, but you could already imagine enough. The poor boy seemed like a little puddle of sadness, talking about the rude girl and how she broke his heart three years ago.

He told you about how he only concentrated on video games to start his career and didn’t prioritize her, which made her seek the attention elsewhere. His voice cracked at a point and he stood up to get water. It was obvious that it still hurt him.

He mentioned, once his voice was smooth again, that that was the reason why he seeked out an escort. Not wanting to risk getting hurt again, he settled for an unavoidable way to not catch feelings. Through his story, you could still tell that he was seeking company, clear to see in the way he asked you to stay, willing to pay without using your services.

Once he exhaled, done with his narrative, he went quiet. “Please tell me something about you, otherwise I’ll panic about how much I just overshared and embarrassed myself.”

You chuckled airly, nodding and preparing yourself to spill your own story. He didn’t expect to hear about your manipulative ex, who you still lived with. It made him livid — to hear about the restrictions and daily struggles your ex was causing you.

He was expressing how much he desired to kick his ass, before he calmed down and carried a more sincere expression. “You need to get out of there, Y/N. You can’t possibly consider staying with that prick!” His voice was now collected, not laced with the irritation that he felt just a moment ago. It showed how much he considered your feelings, knowing that good advice was better instead of pointless anger.

Even though you knew he was right, you couldn’t just decide to leave, without considering all the different aspects that would come with leaving your job.

Realizing how much time went by, you straightened up. “Uh, I really have to go back now. If you won’t fuck me, I’ll leave,” you murmured. If your boss would find out about how you spent your time chatting with a customer, instead of doing your job, you couldn’t imagine what the consequences would be.

You felt awkward, mentioning your profession in a heartfelt conversation. The atmosphere was broken and he rasped his throat, sitting up as well. “Yeah, right. I’ll…let me get my wallet.”

Motioning for him to stop, you shook your hands in front of you. “No, no. Not necessary. I...really enjoyed spending time with you, Jungkook. Let’s not change the memories of today. This was just us, hanging out. Alright?”

He looked you in the eyes, seeing if you were sure of it. “Let me at least give you money for a cab?”

Biting your lip, you nodded hesitantly. “Yeah, alright,” you breathed. His gaze went down to your lips, he exhaled shakily. Reaching his hand up to your cheek, he pulled your lip from between your teeth with his thumb.

He leaned in, holding eye contact and flicking down to your lips again. Clammy hands, you waited for him to meet you, leaning in yourself. It was a soft kiss, he barely put any pressure in it. You could still taste the faint strawberry flavor of his lip balm and felt the softness of his lips.

Surprisingly, it didn’t make it awkward. You smiled at him, stood up and went to get your shoes while he got his wallet.

“Hey, uhm...before you leave, can I maybe have your number?” He suddenly asked, collecting all his bravery and holding his breath.

With a cheeky smile, you asked, “private or work reasons? Because I’m not allowed to give clients my private information.” He grinned, scratching his nape.

“Private,” he said shyly. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to see you again...not during working hours.” You giggled, nodding and holding your hand out for his phone. After tapping in your phone number, you saved yourself with a yellow heart and told him to call you. He assured you that he would very soon.

Before turning around to open the door, he handed you the money for your ride back and after thanking him for it, you took your leave with a smile on your face. With a weird, giddy feeling in your tummy, you went and waved a cab over, driving back to the club.

Over the next few weeks your phone had your constant attention, at home, on breaks and sometimes when you hid in the back of the club ‘to prepare drinks’.

Jungkook had the best humour and sent you the greatest memes, you had no idea where he got them from, but they always made you giggle. Sometimes he tried to flirt with you, but in a gentle, undemanding way, which made it cute and your stomach felt tingly. You’ve never had this, a guy showing interest in you for more than just your body.

You lost hours of sleep, texting him at night and once you asked why he was so active this late, he revealed that he was a professional gamer. He told you all about how he used to upload YouTube videos of him playing video games with friends. Always just for fun, until people started watching and his follower count rose through the roof.

Now he was mainly streaming on Twitch, even though he still uploaded the streams to the other platform. He stayed up late at night to cut the streams and edit them a bit, revealing his passion for video editing and photography while he was at it.

Sometimes you guys would have late night calls, you would listen to his voice and his tales about the latest games he reviewed. Once you told him about how much you loved to play video games yourself, it was a constant topic of your conversations.

At the beginning, he held back, not wanting to bore you with this kind of thing. The memory of his girlfriend and her hatred towards all video games flashing his mind. But with you shyly admitting that you always wanted to learn how to be really good at gaming, he couldn’t stop himself.

“You have to come over sometime, I’ll teach you how to get the best aim!” He exclaimed one time. You mentioned that you couldn’t play any video games at home, your boss didn’t want you to use his console and you didn’t have the money to buy one yourself.

Some nights you both fell into deep conversation about less fun matters, Jungkook insisting for you to find a job elsewhere and get out of your ex's apartment. You could only agree, but didn’t want to kill his hopes and tell him that nobody wanted to hire somebody with your history.

It wasn’t like you hadn’t tried before.

When the mood went more down the gutter, with time you started to reciprocate his flirting. Even sending one or two risky pictures of yourself, barely wearing anything. Jungkook could only groan when he looked at your body, looking gorgeous even just on screen. He’d prefer having the real version in front of him, but the pictures did what they were intended to do just fine.

He’d grip his half erect cock over his sweatpants and send it to you, telling you to finish what you started. You declined most of the time, giggling at home in front of your screen. Teasing was still the best weapon against a horny guy in his twenties, it always proved itself to be effective.

Only once did you give in, replying to him with all the things you wanted him to do to you. With the image of you, naked in his bed and moaning wantonly like you previously did that one night, he jerked himself off, sweaty and moaning your name.

But the sudden attention towards your phone didn’t go unnoticed by your ex. He side eyed you when you giggled at the screen, tapping away with a grin on your face.

“What’s got you all giggly, huh?” He asked, forgetting about the dinner that was in front of him on the table. His tone wasn’t teasing, not even happy the slightest. It was controlling and insistent, not giving you space to deny his question.

“Uhm…,” you fumbled. You couldn’t tell him that you were chatting with a client, but he wouldn’t allow you to have a relationship outside of your job, either.

“It’s just a friend,” you tried to lie. You looked at him with a careful expression to see if he believed you, but his scowl proved contrary.

“You don’t have friends, who are you talking to? Should I remind you of your place, whore?” His voice raised with the words and he ended it with the screaming insult. You ducked your head in, shying away from him and locking your phone. “Give me your fucking phone, right now, if you want to live to see the next day.”

His hand reached out for the phone, but when you tucked it back to retreat from the table, he stood up and grabbed your upper arm. “Who do you think you are, disobeying me in my own house like this?”

His grip on you was hard and he squeezed until you dropped the device and he finally let go, letting you pull away. With slow steps he walked around the table like a predator, eyes still on your shocked face and snatched the phone away, looking at the display to see Jungkook’s last message.

Gukkie [7.36 PM]: are you gonna come over tonight? Missing you.

“Do you really have to prove what a slut you are? Like I don’t already know?” He growled. Your crying blurred your sight so you only heard the slam of your phone on the table, looking up at him when he continued, “If you don’t want to end up on the street without a job, I’d suggest you to not test my limits.”

The words were final. He left the kitchen with a smirk on his face, proud that he put you back in your place. After he completely dismissed your crying figure, you could only hold your shaking figure as you sat in your chair, dinner getting cold in front of you.

You were splayed across Taehyung’s lap, bored from the conversation he and his company were having. Business usually wouldn’t be discussed in a club such as this, but Taehyung doesn’t realize these limits like others, uncaring about the location.

He pulled at his cigar and blew it away from your face, knowing how much you hate the smoke. He patted your thigh when you started to get squirmish, urging you to sit still.

Obediently, you straightened up, sighing. He gave your temple a barely there kiss, whispering into your ear, “getting impatient? Want me to fuck you tired and compliant?”

You whined, looking for his eyes, but he still had his gaze set on the man sitting on the couch across from him. The past few weeks, Taehyung was the only man accompanying you, so you had to keep him close. If he’d seek out another girl, you wouldn’t earn enough money to stay at your ex’s place. So it was natural for you to use your weapons, grinding on Taehyung’s lap until his sharp look made you whimper.

He noticed your advances and grinned, apologizing to his business partner, “I have to attend other matters now.”

Grinning, you stood up and dragged Taehyung up to the rooms. Usually, he wouldn’t put up with your behavior, hadn’t he told you before the conversation started, that he wanted you to give him a reason for an early leave.

This was going to be an extra big tip. Literally.

Before you could disappear up the stairs, your colleague called after you. “A client called and asked for you. Jungkook? He said you’d know who he was?”

She waited for your answer while you looked back at Taehyung. You really needed the money from him and your boss told you to separate private and work life, after he found out that you were conversing with a client.

“Uhm...I’m kind of not free right now?” You said sheepishly. Eying the man who walked a few stairs up, you bit your lip. You missed Jungkook, but you couldn’t risk your job. “Can you send someone else?”

“Oh yeah, I’ll just go myself? If you’re fine with me taking your customer?”

You nodded with half a mind, pushing the ugly thoughts to the back of your mind and rushed to catch up to Taehyung.

Jungkook wasn’t sure about any of this. When he called an escort and you came, he started to genuinely like you. Calling another girl over felt wrong, but he was lonely and didn’t know what to do when you disappeared. Not even ramen noodles, cheap beer and video games helped that.

His best friend was busy with deadlines and other friends weren’t in Jungkook's vocabulary. When you didn’t reply to his texts, he called the club, but you were busy. What was he supposed to do?

He would have to get the best out of this.

So he opened the door when the bell rang and let the woman inside. “I’m Candy, and you must be Jungkook?” The prostitute said with a wink and allowed herself to stride through his apartment. He swallowed the dread down and nodded, following her movements with his eyes.

“Come here,” she purred, patting the back of the couch and striding around it to sit down. He gulped loudly this time and touched his ears slightly, before walking towards her.

When he sat down, she caressed his thigh, scooting closer and putting her right hand into his hair. “What are you into, cutie?” She giggled.

What was with escorts thinking he would be submissive just because he was shy?

“A bunch of things, actually.” His tone was cold and distant, it surprised him. She didn��t seem to care or notice much, humming and moving in to kiss his jawline.

With a hurried move she pulled his face close and placed her lips onto his, starting to bite his lip and lick into his mouth. Candy overly exaggerated her moaning and moved her hand up to his crotch.

Before she could start to rub over the fabric of his jeans, Jungkook’s hand flew to hers and held it away from him. Pulling back, he removed her hand from his hair and looked like a deer caught in the headlight.

“I-...I can’t do this, I’m really sorry,” he whispered, his eyes filling with tears and his bottom lip wobbling.

She was taken aback, trying to read the situation, but staying clueless. “What do you mean?” She asked in panic, “what’s going on?”

“I just-,” he stopped, looking down at his hands laying in his lap. “I really like someone else and this feels...wrong. I’m really sorry.” His words shocked himself as well as her, trying to cope with the realisation.

She sat there, looking at him with a blank expression on her face. But Jungkook really couldn’t care about what she thought, he had just realized his feelings for a woman who was now ignoring him after seeming to be interested. He didn’t know what to do, he was lost and sad about liking you.

A tear slipped past his eyes and across his cheek, dropping onto his hand. He wiped it away quickly, moving to stand up. “I didn’t want to waste your time, I’ll still pay for the full hour. Let me get my wallet and then you can go back to actually work.”

He sounded heartbroken and even though she was only here for the money, Candy couldn’t leave him to be on his own, not like this. So she let the words slip, curiosity getting the better of her, “Do you like who I think it is? Because I noticed that she started texting someone and it was after she came back from yours last time, that she started to seem happier.”

Her words made him only feel worse, couldn’t believe how he made you happy, but you still decided to ditch him.

It made him legitimately start to sob.

He sat back down again with his hands over his eyes and shaking shoulders. “Ohh no! Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I really didn’t want to make you upset I-...” she trailed off, patting Jungkook’s shoulder.

“This is ridiculous!” He exclaimed, roughly wiping his tears. “I’m an idiot! I fell in love with someone who only saw me as a client and I took it too far!”

She kept moving her hand up and down his back and tried to calm him down.

In the end, after he collected himself again, Jungkook apologized for his breakdown. When he wanted to pay her extra, she waved him off, “you had to deal with my mess, it’s only fair!” he said.

But she insisted that she did it because she wanted to, she could’ve just left after he didn’t want to have sex. “You’re really sweet and I hope you’ll find a girl who appreciates it, but stop trying to get Y/N out of this. It won’t work,” she said, smiling sadly and turning to the door.

Jungkook sat down on his couch again, leaning back and looking at the ceiling. “I wish I could stop.”

Gukkie [10.28 PM]: Y/N please let me talk to you :(

Gukkie [11.57 PM]: Is it me? Did I do something wrong?

Seeing Jungkook’s messages hurt your soul, but you couldn’t respond. And you didn’t even want to. You couldn’t mean this much to him if he just went ahead and ordered another girl home.

You knew that he was just another client, but you still thought it meant more than just sex to him. Why did he even bother putting in the effort? If he wanted your body, he could have it for the money. He proved that when he went and fucked your colleague the moment you didn’t come around.

But you did ignore him for a few weeks now...and the fact that he still tried to reach you?

Maybe Jungkook wasn’t the bad guy you thought him to be. Maybe you were just doing this to get over the little tug your heart felt every time you thought of him. To make living here easier, get that bullseye off of your head, that your ex saw ever since he knew of Jungkook.

He had made it his mission to make your home a living hell and to keep you away from Jungkook. You didn’t know why you couldn’t just leave.

Maybe you were waiting for someone to save you. But that someone was buzzing your phone and you didn’t let him in.

You were too afraid.

A week passed with a lot of things on your mind. You were constantly thinking about Jungkook, how he still tried to reach out to you. You couldn’t understand his motives behind that, did he not realize that you knew of the other escort? If he thought you’d just forget about how he replaced you this quickly, he was wrong. Even though this was just work, it really did hurt you.

For most of the time, Taehyung had been visiting the club more frequently. He was still very keen on you and payed you extra most of the time, ‘for good company and good character’.

Everytime he left, your ex looked at you proudly. It made things easier for you at home. He let you eat in peace, sometimes even allowed you to sit and watch TV instead of growling at you to move to your room. When you thought you could live like this, Jungkook’s words sneaked into your head. Were you just trying to adjust to the situation or did it really get better?

Jungkook was right about telling you that you had to get out of this. Feeling yourself adjusting to living with your manipulative ex and selling your body wasn’t enjoyable, but inevitable if you were going to stay.

But how would you even manage to get away? Right now, you didn’t have any qualifications for a good job. And not much savings to even get a hotel room for a bit until you had an income and would get your own place.

“What’s taking you this long? It’s just a few drinks.” A voice boomed through the backroom you were standing in, facing the wall. It was Namjoon, one of Taehyung’s business partners, you could tell them apart by their voice easily. You didn’t bother with turning around when you heard steps and Bunny appeared as well.

“Y/N? Let me do this, there’s someone outside waiting for you.” Her tone was too happy for it to be a customer and you looked at her cheeky smile, once she arrived at the bar you were standing at.

She hurried you out of the back, alongside the tall man who complained. On your way to the entrance you walked past the booth Taehyung was sitting in, eyeing you with a questioning look.

Making an apologetic face, you shrugged and walked past, your heels clicking on the dark hardwood floor. Once out of the main area, you saw a man standing with his back to you, waiting. While he was obviously the one who asked of you, you couldn’t exactly tell if you knew him.

He was wearing a black hat, leather jacket and blue jeans. You couldn’t help the little spark of hope when you asked, “Jungkook?” Into the almost empty hall.

He turned around, dismissing the greek paintings hung onto the wall in favor of Aphrodite’s Erotes’ theme. Not knowing what to feel when you faced the man who’d been trying to reach you for weeks now, you reeled back a bit.

He hurt you, but you still missed him so much. Was this a pattern of yours? Falling for the men who hurt you the most?

“What are you doing here?” Your question made his little smile fall, his eyes growing when he saw your hesitant posture, ready to turn around and leave him there.

“I came here to see you, Y/N. You weren’t answering my calls or messages, I needed to see you.” His voice was soft, but still reverberated in the entrance hall.

“Well, I’m busy. You can fuck one of the other girls though, right?” You spoke sarcastically, your tone full of anger and demand. You crossed your arms in front of your chest and furrowed your brows. Jungkook opened his mouth to reply but his voice got stuck in his throat.

Trying to figure out why you were this angry at him turned out to be harder than he expected. “I’m not here for sex, Y/N. I really needed to-“

“This is a bordello, Jungkook. If you’re not here for sex, then leave.” He fished for words, taking a step towards you with worry in his eyes.

“This is his fault, am I right? He must’ve done something to you, you wouldn’t push me away like this on your own. I didn’t just imagine the way you looked at me.”

“Stop trying to solve me like I’m a puzzle! Stop contacting me and stop trying to act like you’re the innocent one here! You’re just the same as him, you lied to me and still act like you’d do everything for me! Go fuck someone else over, Jungkook.” Your voice became hoarse through half of your outburst and his eyes only grew, his mouth open because he couldn’t believe what you were saying.

“Y/N, I’m not trying to solve you, I’m trying to help and understand you. Please just talk to me! What did I do for you to bring me on one level with your asshole of an ex-boyfriend? When did I ever do any harm to you?” He gestured wildly with his hands in the air and walked closer to you, desperation in his eyes clear and he sounded really clueless.

“You fucked my coworker! Just because I wasn’t free for you to fuck! If you just wanted my body like everyone else, then why did you feel the need to go overboard and make me fall for you, Jungkook? Why do you have to hurt me when I’m already down?” Tears started to collect and you tried to fight them off. He gasped, quickly rushing over to your side and standing in front of you. You were holding yourself, trying to contain your shaking and felt small against his tall, broad frame.

“No, Y/N. I didn’t sleep with Candy, or anyone else beside you for the matter. I called her over, yes. But I just couldn’t do it. I tried to get over you, tried to make me realize that I’m just a customer for you. As soon as I hung up, I regretted it. We kissed, but I stopped her and...fuck. Y/N I fucking sobbed in front of her.” He laid his hands on your cheeks and looked you in the eye, “I never thought that I’d be able to fall for someone else after my ex hurt me. But you were there for me when you could’ve just left like everyone else did.”

He looked at you like he was searching for something inside of your eyes. “I never wanted to hurt you. I just want you next to me, smiling and safe. Can you believe me?”

Your bottom lip wobbled and you reached up to lay your hand on top of his. “Jungkook, why can’t you make me hate you? It would be so much easier…” you muttered. Before you could say any more, steps could be heard. They were quick and when they came to a stop, you realized in what compromising position you were in.

“Y/N, did you forget where you are?” Bunny said with panic in her voice. “Taehyung is looking for you, please just get back in.”

You looked at her, seeing her big eyes. She was ready to walk back and you nodded, sending her an assuring smile. After Bunny left, you turned back to Jungkook. With much hesitation, you searched for words. “I’ll text you, once I’m not working.”

He searched for the lie in your eyes, you could tell he was unsure about leaving. “But do you accept my apology? Will you come over soon?” He asked hastily, knowing you had to get back to work. “I really want to help you, please let me,” he whispered, staring into your eyes a final time. When you nodded slowly, you took his hands off of your face.

“I know you want to, but my boss was really angry at me when he saw me texting a customer. I shouldn’t be privately affiliated with you,” you confessed.

Jungkook was biting his lip, looking down at his feet. “I’m sorry if you got in trouble over me,” he murmured. “I won’t be a customer, Y/N. I’m in this for you, not for sex.”

You looked at his face for a short, quiet moment. The pause made Jungkook reach for more words. “Come over tonight, after your work.”

His request seemed innocent, but your need to clarify took over, “but no sex! And it’ll be late until I get out.” You just had to make sure Jungkook really meant what he was saying.

He breathily chuckled at the finger that you poked in his chest, nodding as he engulfed your hand in his. You smiled at each other for the shortest moment before he whispered that ‘you should go, he’ll wait for you’.

Going back in, Bunny visibly relaxed next to her own customer, looking at you intensely. You put your index finger in front of your mouth, motioning to keep quiet about your visitor.

After your shift at the club was over, you packed your things in the changing room for all the girls that work at Aphrodite’s Erotes. Just when you were done with brushing your hair out, Candy stepped in through the door. The air immediately felt tense, the both of you meeting eyes but not saying a word.

You couldn’t explain why you felt the way you did towards her, when you were the one who told Candy to take Jungkook’s call. Now that you knew they didn’t have sex, you felt bad. It wasn’t right to be jealous when Jungkook was supposed to be a customer, it didn’t matter that he wasn’t anymore. This is after all still your job, you couldn’t start a war with your coworker.

Wetting your lips, you checked if she was occupied, seeing her apply her lipstick. “I heard that you and Jungkook didn’t fuck. So I’m sorry for being weird to you,” you said, looking at her with a sincere expression. You weren’t closer than colleagues usually are, so an apology felt out of place, but you knew it was necessary.

“You know, Jungkook is a really nice guy. But he just won’t accept that you’re in this life, you know?” Candy trailed while she still touched up parts of her makeup, leaning over the sink to get close to the mirror. “He seemed like he was forreal about you. But in a different way than Taehyung. He likes you too, as his bitch.”

You thought about her words, knowing that she was right. For Taehyung the lines between work and privacy were set in stone, you belong into his work life. It was a business deal, to be with you for his money. He didn’t have the time to go out and occupy himself with girls who try to trick him for his money, so he’d rather go out and instantly pay. This way you both knew where you were for each other.

It was like this for Jungkook, at the beginning at least. But he started to like you, ultimately not his goal when he decided to order an escort. Still, you could tell that he meant his words, you believe that he’s in it for you. Nodding, you turn away from Candy to pick up your bag.

“I’m not sure if I can do this for much longer. I’m not made to be in this life, Candy.” She looked at you through the reflection, standing behind her. “I did this because I loved someone who isn’t here for me anymore. I really want to get out of this.”

Your words made her smile in a pitying way. “Baby, if you wanna get out, try it. But where are you supposed to go?” Her question made sense, you’d been asking yourself this ever since you got dragged into this life.

Without responding to her question, maybe because you didn’t know the answer yet, you left the changing room and the whole building after saying goodbye to Bunny. Exiting the club and walking onto the streets, you grabbed your phone, checking your messages.

Gukkie [9.26 PM]: Are you already on your way? Do I need to pick you up?

You [9.34 PM]: I’m out now. I’ll get an uber, be there in 15.

When you were just about to close the messenger app to call yourself a car, the bubble meaning Jungkook was typing, popped up.

Gukkie [9.35]: I’m waiting in the parking lot actually, I knew you wouldn’t ask me for a ride ;)

Exhaling a breath that was visible because of the cold air, you chuckled quietly to yourself.

“You cooked? I thought you survived on ramen,” you said, surprise evident in your tone. Jungkook grinned proudly and pointed to the plates full of pasta, cheese on top and even real forks and spoons laid out.

As he walked towards his couch table, because that’s the only surface besides the kitchen counter in this apartment apparently, Jungkook explained the reason for his efforts. “I thought I should let us get a bit of a reset. I want to get to know you, without your work between us.”

His words could’ve made you tear up, if you weren’t so hungry. You supposed emotions could come after your hunger has been stilled and the pasta has been consumed, it really did look delicious.

“Noodles are my forte, as ramen and pasta are in the same family, it has to be good. Don’t tell me otherwise, my feelings will get hurt.” He sniffed, playing up the act and pressing his hand where his heart sits in his chest. Laughing at his antics, you sat down next to him, grabbing your plate. “Please have a taste,” he wrapped up his speech.

It didn’t take much more than the first bite to realize, Jungkook really was talented with noodles. Moaning at the taste, you munched on the pasta and creamy sauce, turning over to the waiting man. With big eyes, he’d been watching you, waiting for your final conclusion. “It’s delicious! The best pasta I’ve probably ever had!”

This left him in delight, finally taking his own bite and throwing his body back against the couch. When he swallowed the food down, he groaned in satisfaction, “I’m such a good cook, my god.”

The rest of the meal was spent mostly in the quiet, Jungkook turned a playlist on to play for background noise. From time to time you complimented him again, making a blush slowly fade onto his protruding cheeks, eyes smiling too.

After the plates were almost licked off, you sat back into the couch pillows and watched Jungkook as he walked to his kitchen, used dishes clinking when he put them into the sink to let them soak.

Jungkook went to get into a bit more comfortable clothes than the jeans he was wearing, he offered you to change as well. You declined the offer, thanking him but thinking it wouldn’t be appropriate to wear his clothes.

Deciding that you should watch a movie, you tried to pick up a bit of small talk, to fill the quietness while Jungkook was searching through his movie collection. “That really was one of the greatest pasta I’ve ever eaten, Jungkook.” The compliment made him turn around with a big smile from where he was sitting on the floor, so you continued, “what’s your secret?”

“If I tell you, I have nothing to bribe you with to come over again,” he joked. Having the movie on start, ready to play, you completely missed what he picked out before sitting back down next to you. “It’s just adding the pasta water, is all.”

He still wore the gentle smile and his lips wouldn’t falter, leaning back into his couch and pressing play. The movie blasted through the sound system in his living room, giving a better experience.

The experience was great until about half an hour into the movie, when you accidentally looked down to the side and saw how Jungkook’s legs were spread open, innocently enough. The short sweatpants he was wearing were up until his knees but bunched together from sitting, so his thighs were on show and you remembered how good they felt underneath your fingertips. Just rippling muscles and golden skin, deliciously broad and full on display for your hungry eyes.

Jungkook and you hadn’t had any physical interaction past a few gentle touches ever since you were at his place weeks ago, so you were deprived of the feelings of his rough hands on your skin. They’d glide across your back, holding you up on his lap, looking up at your lust filled eyes. The way he would guide your movements to rub your cunt across his meaty legs, whisper encouraging words and filthy names. You could feel yourself getting hotter, pressing your own thighs against each other to create some sort of friction but suddenly, the very man of your heated daydream interrupted your fantasies.

“Y/N, are you even watching the movie?” He asked, looking at you, now sitting cross legged and turned to you on the couch. Realizing how long you’ve probably stared at his crotch and thighs, you turned red almost immediately. You felt your face heating up and could imagine very well what you’d look like, eyes opened wide as you felt like you’d been caught in the act.

“No,” you admitted honestly. Gulping, you scooted closer to Jungkook and tried reaching in to his frame but he raised one eyebrow sceptically.

He leaned back a little and took a hold of your wrist, looking in your eyes to regard you with a concerned expression. “You know that’s not what I invited you here for. No sex,” he said sternly, of course he saw where you were looking and after weeks of calls and text messages, he knew many of your thoughts. Including how much self respect is missing from you. “You’re here for a date, Y/N. I’m not expecting anything from this other than some quality time with the girl I have an embarrassingly huge crush on.”

Jungkook’s voice was laced with humor but his sincerity never wavered. He truly meant it and it made you feel horrible. “But that’s what I’m always there for, Jungkook. How do you not want to fuck me right now, I don’t understand it.”

After you spoke those words, you looked up from your hands in your lap to see his eyes full of regret. “You shouldn’t ever reduce yourself to a body. Baby, you’re a person, with valid feelings. You’re so much more worth than just sex,” he said, fully loaded with all his feelings.

“Just because I want to see you, doesn’t mean I need sex. And just because I say ‘let’s not have sex’, doesn’t mean you’re not desirable. You’re still the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen, but I want this to be more than pleasure.”

His rant, words spoken with a soft tone, made your bottom lip wobble a bit, not being able to contain your feelings. Never has anyone ever told you that you’d be worth more than the price your body costs, that you’re deserving of just enjoying time with somebody. It shook you up, to see how much you mean to him, he would’ve just given up on you long ago if you wouldn’t be special to him.

Trying to wipe your tears away from your cheeks before they could roll down to your chin, you nodded, showing Jungkook that you understood what he had said. You understood that he wasn’t rejecting you, but that he just wanted to have a nice evening with you.

When you looked up at him again, eyes a little red and watery, he took your face in his hands. Wiping the tears off with his thumbs, he smiled at you. “You’re so beautiful, I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to look at you right now. I’m undeserving of such a wonderful girl right in front of me.”

You exhaled a laugh, still sounding like you were crying but he could tell he made you feel better. “Can I kiss it better?” He whispered, inching closer.

Nodding, you held eye contact and sniffled a bit, waiting to meet his lips. When they finally clashed, it was soft, sensual. Full of emotions and you could feel how much he tried to hold you with care. He didn’t move his tongue onto your lips, just pressed his soft kiss and poured his heart out. After you parted, his hands still on each side of your face, he pressed his forehead against yours and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again to look at you, his teeth were on display, his lips parting to show you his widest smile.

“I’m in this with you, if you let me. I won’t give you up.”

When you came home that night, you were determined. Before opening the door, you rid yourself of the playful smile, dreaming about the way Jungkook held your hand during the drive to your place. He insisted on bringing you home, wanting to spend as much time with you as he could. When your hand was already resting on the door, he reached in and kissed your cheek, wishing you a good night. Jungkook had no clue that you already decided to leave as soon as you would be alone at home tomorrow. Once your ex will go to work, as late as ever, you’ll pack your things and get out of your own personal hell.

That was at least the plan. Until you got called in because the club was low on girls, rushing into work even though you should’ve been on your way out of the apartment with your luggage. But now it was sitting in your room, only half packed and waiting for you to get it.

Your nerves were at an all time high, not being able to concentrate on anything other than ‘how is your plan going to work out now?’

“Are you okay?” The sudden noise from behind your back made you flinch, turning around with your eyes opened wide in shock. Bunny stood in the doorway, looking at you questioningly. “You seem out of your mind today. Maybe you should go home,” she suggested.

You considered it. If you’d leave now, you could still make it before your ex will come home. But you felt bad leaving your friend almost alone on a semi busy night in the club. She saw your worry, smiling at you. “I’m telling you to leave, no buts! Get some rest and be better on your next shift.”

“Thank you, Bunny. I love you, I’ll text you as soon as I can,” you hushed with hurry. Her confused face was expected, you never once told her that you don’t want to be in this life. “I’m so sorry, I’ll go now.”

She must think you would go down with a fever, the way she looked at you seemed to speak her mind, you must be going crazy. None of it made sense to her, but you knew she’d get it once the employees had to carry out the hell that you built them tonight. Your ex was furious and he wouldn’t hold back to take it out on the other girls.

The rest of your bags were packed quickly. You never had a lot of things so you ended up with one backpack on top of your suitcase, a duffel bag slung over your back already.

Right when you closed the door to your cleaned out room, turning to the hallway, that would lead to your freedom — a key turned in the lock of the front door. You could feel the fear and tears building up in you, only imagining what was going to happen now.

And your ex, your personal devil, went beyond all you could’ve had imagined. Once he saw you, he let loose, screaming and throwing things. You flinched, curling into your frame and crying, sobbing. “What do you think you’re doing? Where do you think you’re going?” He furiously asked, burning eyes held on your shaking body. “You have nowhere to go! Except for back into that goddamn room of yours.”

Your sobs turned high in pitch, breathless and panic cursed through your veins. You knew, this couldn’t continue on like it was. But your nerves were failing you.

It started becoming a challenge to get air into your lungs and when you looked up with panicked eyes, you saw your ex coming closer, raising his hands, reaching to you. The stress made itself more present by raising a high pitched noise in your ears, blending out all noise and the voice of the man coming closer blurred out. Everything felt far away and when he finally grabbed your arm and yanked you to your right, you yelped. Seeing his hand raise to impact with your face, you clicked into autopilot.

In seconds, you renewed your hold on your baggage and you made a run to the door. It wasn’t far away, not even closed yet. Without looking back, still fighting the blurred out noises, you ran as quickly down the few stairs, out on the street and meters along the sidewalk.

Once you breathlessly stopped, collapsed down on the pathway, you looked back. He hadn’t followed you. Pitiful sobs escaped your throat once more, shaking with the adrenaline of finally escaping. You couldn’t stay there, the risk of him following you wasn’t out of the picture yet and you needed to call someone.

Like a punch into your gut, you realized that you just gave up everything. But the thought of Jungkook made everything seem like an easy battle. You’ll get through this.

That is what you repeated in your head as you started walking along the streets in the dark, dialling the saved number and sobbing into the speaker once he groaned a greeting.

“What happened, why are you crying?” He asked, suddenly sounding alert. “I’m sorry, Baby. I was asleep, I just — he what?”

At your slow explanation, disturbed by hiccups and sniffles, he put down his phone and slipped into his clothes. “Share your location with me, I’ll be right there. Don’t talk to anyone, okay? I’ll be quick!”

He hung up and you sat down on the curb after you did as he asked, shaky hands making it harder to press and your tears blurred your vision. You held your knees to your chest, laying your head down on them and breathing out heavily. It felt like no time passed when suddenly, the familiarity of Jungkook’s arms was around you, hugging you close to his body.

“Come on up, let me help you.” He guided you into the backseat, came around and sat down himself. With a short look at him, you started crying all over again. “Hey, stop crying. Please, I’ll cry too.”

He was gentle with the way he talked to you, trying to calm you down and make you look at him. “It’s fine, you’re fine.” His whispered words made you relax a little bit into the seat and to his orders you reached back to find the seatbelt, pulling it only for Jungkook to take it from you and securing it. He reached his hands up and wiped your cheek a bit with the back of his fingers, cooing at your pitiful sniffles.

On the drive to Jungkook’s place, after he went back out to get your luggage, he played calming music and you curled into yourself, lone tears still straying, shock still evident. Your ex was going to hit you, he never went that far before. He would’ve pushed you or gripped your arm harshly but he never once hit you in the face. If you wouldn’t have ran away, he would have beat you to a pulp and you shuddered at the thought.

The gentle touch of Jungkook’s hand on your shoulder shook the images out of your mind and made you look at him. Once you nodded that you were fine, he turned off the car and stepped out, retrieving your bags and making sure your steps were secure enough so you could walk on your own. They were shaky but still grounded, so you staggered in front of him through the parking lot and into the building.

Once in his apartment, Jungkook made you sit down on the couch and murmured that he was going to brew some tea, it was going to calm you down. And it did, you curled up into Jungkook’s side as he let you ramble your thoughts about the day and he just listened. Brushing up and down your back to soothe you when you started crying again, he took the half empty cup away from your hands and held you with both arms close to his chest. Jungkook turned his head to kiss the top of your head and whispered, “you did it, Y/N. You’re so strong.”

Somewhere along the way you fell asleep, causing Jungkook to carry you into his bed, unmade from how he sprung up when you called. He tucked you in, making sure the blanket covered you and put a glass of water on his nightstand in case you’d wake up thirsty. Out of respect and self restraint, he decided to grab a blanket and crash on the couch.

Jungkook’s couch was comfortable, the blanket was soft and the pillow just right. Still, sleep wasn’t welcoming him. He closed his eyes and tried his best to drift off, the hour of sleep he got before you called him wasn’t blessing him right now. He’s awake, so he sat up again. If he couldn’t sleep, he could at least work.

Work, as in start filming a video of him playing his newest game, a completely new and never seen before first person shooter. It was clearly a rip off but he had to review it since they sent him the game for free and will get extra pay if people use his code to buy the game. Giving it his all, headphones on and trying to keep it quiet because you were in his bedroom sleeping, he laid down an awesome game and just started to sum up his opinions of it, when he saw the light in the hallway flicker on.

Sucking air through his teeth, he knew you must’ve woken up and probably came to complain. When he turned his head around the back of the chair, his heart turned liquid. You came out barefoot and wearing his sweater, which was out because he was wearing it to sleep earlier and pulled it off when he left the house. It was an old, worn sweater but you still looked precious in it, no pants and ruffled hair. Your face was puffy from all the crying and your eyes were swollen and red as well.

“Hey,” he greeted you, voice just above a whisper and full of worry. “Did I wake you? I’m sorry, Baby.” Jungkook turned his chair around to look at you fully.

You shook your head slowly and walked closer, looking at his screen. “Are you making a video?” Your voice was sleep drunken and he had to pull himself together to not coo at you.

Instead, he hummed and pulled you towards him with a hand on your hip. “Wanna see?” You nodded and sat down on his lap, surprising him but ultimately Jungkook decided to just quietly thank God for his blessings. Turning now both of you around again, he pulled up the already saved file of the screen recording and the separate one of his face. “I have to edit my face camera onto the game so it fits and then I have to edit out unnecessary time or lame moments.” He explained.

You leaned back into his chest, resting your head in his nape and watching him cut scenes out or edit them so that they fit, adding music and doing all kinds of other things that you were too tired to pay attention to. When he whispered that he now only has to film his review and add it onto the file, you glanced at the clock on his screen, gasping when you realized how much time went by. “Do you always spend so much time on just one video?”

“Yeah, it has to be perfect. I have a lot of followers, they won’t accept an uncut video with no background music and a fancy intro anymore. Quality is important, you know?” The nerd started to show and Jungkook couldn’t stop himself from explaining more, “when I play a game and the match doesn’t turn out good enough, I have to refilm everything.”

Stunned at the work he puts into his gaming career, but also extremely worn out from the day, you yawned and stretched with a squeaky noise.

“Can I watch you play sometime?” You asked after you sat up straighter on his lap, turning your face towards his own.

He smiled at you, turning away to close the tabs on his computer before he layed back in his chair, “Hell yeah you can, or you could just join me for a match?”

Surprisingly, your Ex hadn’t bothered to find you. He had everything needed to seek out Jungkook’s place; the most obvious person for you to escape to. But instead, Bunny called you a few times over the last week that you’ve been out of the club.

She told you about the morning after you ran away, how confused all the girls were. Your ex-boyfriend and now ex-boss let her know about you leaving and showed no anger towards anyone but you. He’d clearly displayed the displeasure whenever your name fell but unexpectedly didn’t leave it out on one of the other girls.

“He announced just tonight that he found a new one, you’re being replaced by a complete rookie!” Bunny said, full of drama. “And Taehyung, I feel so bad for him. Maybe he really cared for you, Y/N.”

That did leave you with a bit of guilt, you disappeared for everyone else and didn’t ever thank Taehyung for how well he treated you, given the circumstances. He was your best customer at the club and was almost always respectful towards you and whether or not you’d be in the mood. “But he already found a liking to another girl, at a different club!” Bunny announced just before you could really think about it.

“So many people are disappointed about you leaving, it’s insane! One of my main customers told me about how a lot of people only stayed for you, our Boss is fuming with the loss of clients!”

That did soothe your soul a tiny bit, made your chest swell with pride. Even though you never wanted this life, proven by the lack of pseud and different identity. Bunny, Candy, all the other girls at the club — they enjoy being a different person, different name and completely new life. You never did that, your Ex being completely apathetic towards your comfort in the club.

Sure, it was a risk to go by your real name. At least you never lost track of who you are this way. Talking to Bunny was fun for a bit, but after three calls in one week you had to break it to her. “You know that I’m never coming back, right? And I can’t keep in contact with you much longer. I have to leave all this behind me, Bunny.”

She sighed, agreed with you and wished you the best for your life from now on. With mischief in her voice, she’d also voiced her congratulations towards a certain young man who stood in the kitchen, cooking dinner for you both. “I love you, Bunny. I’ll never forget how great of a friend you were to me.”

Before the tears that were building up could fall, you hung up. Exhaling a big breath, you stood up and joined Jungkook behind the kitchen counters, hugging him from behind.

“Are you okay, Angel?” He murmured, noticing the tension in your movements. You hummed, nodding sideways against his shoulders and kissing the fabric that laid over his back.

“I’m fine, I know I’m doing the right thing. It was good to hear about all that I’ve left behind, even hearing about my clients felt kind of reassuring.”

Jungkook fumbled around with the pots and pans on the stove before he turned around quickly. An obviously overplayed expression of shock laced over his face, he exclaimed, “I just realized that I have to prove myself against all these men! I have to be the best man who you’ve ever laid with!” He put his hand on his heart with momentum, resulting in a thumb and an almost unnoticed wrinkle of his eyebrow.

You laughed at the display of drama, invading Jungkook’s space and laying one hand on his chest, the other on his cheek. You caressed his cheek and drove back to get a gentle grip in his hair. “You already are, Jungkook. Don’t worry about that,” you breathed against his lips, pulling him closer and feeling the corners of his mouth raise into a smile.

With heat in your stomach, you leaned in to give him a passionate kiss, slowly licking against his bottom lip and when Jungkook opened his mouth to align it with yours, he sucked on your tongue and pulled you close to his frame with both of his hands on your hips. One of them slid down to your bottom, gently rubbing the skin, still covered by your shorts, before he moaned into the kiss and grabbed a handful of your plump asscheek.

Reluctantly, you parted yourself from his kiss, already missing the press of his lips against yours and looked into his eyes with a glare full of desire. “But you can always prove it again,” you purred suggestively before completely parting yourself from his hold and walking out of the kitchen. “Make sure the food isn’t burning!”

Living with Jungkook had a lot of perks, besides his large movie collection, the delicious food and the regular cuddles he provided for you. For example, the way that you laid down for a good night's rest in his bed before you heard slow tapping on the floor. The shadow in the doorway was predictable, Jungkook standing there and seeing if you were still awake, before he walked closer and put his one knee down on the mattress.

“You know, I’m still hungry.” He said, a playful glint in his eyes as he threw his other leg over your body, covered by the blanket. “How about dessert?” He wiggled his brows, crawling over you to be directly above your face.

“I’m kind of full, though. You can have some yourself,” before you could roll to the side with a giggle, he planted his hand down on the pillow right next to your face.

“Or,” his voice dropped an octave lower, “you could sit on my face, Baby.” Unwillingly, a whimper left your mouth and you scanned his face for any sign he was just trying to make a joke. You hadn’t gotten a hand on this godly man right in front of you for weeks and for him to so casually offer his tongue, the one that curled together so well with your own, was cruel. “Seems like you’d want that?”

His cocky tone made the pull towards him even stronger and without much more thinking, you hissed out a curse before you threw your arms around his neck and pulled Jungkook close to your body, moaning deeply into the kiss. He slotted against you perfectly, moving around to remove the blanket from your body and with a strong grip on your waist, he almost ripped your shorts, including your panties, down your legs.

“Fuck,” he groaned, moving his hand up and down your thigh before he slid to the inner leg and hesitantly brushed across your lips. “Are you sure you’re ready for this, Baby? You don’t have to,” he hushed once he lifted himself up on one hand.

“Yes, I really want it. Please, Jungkook. Please make me cum.” He moaned loudly and closed his eyes forcefully, seemingly collecting himself. His chest filled with air quickly and moved with it, the friction moving against you.

“Okay, let’s switch places,” he said, hurrying the both of you around so that he was laying down on the pillow. You sat across his lap with no clue how to go about this, before Jungkook saw your obvious struggle and pulled your hips towards him. “C’mon, really wanna taste you.”

With his help, you comfortably settled down with your knees next to Jungkook’s ears and your legs opened up so he could easily have access to your glistening cunt.

Still hovering in the air, you weren’t sure what to do, you couldn’t just sit on him, right? In all the years of having sex for money, you never once experienced this.

You felt his breath on your lips, warm and tickling. “God, you’re so fucking wet already. I missed this pussy so much,” he murmured senselessly, brushing a finger through your slit and making you jump. With more determination, he parted your lips and rubbed his thumb across your wetness, collecting your juices before he circled your clit. You moaned out breathlessly, sinking a bit down towards the pleasure, towards Jungkook’s face.

“Don’t be shy, Princess. Sit on my face, I won’t die ‘cause of a little bit of pussy, huh?” He groaned when you followed, moving your hips downwards and scooting around to fit your lips onto his mouth. His nose was brushing against the hood of your clit and you gasped, moving forward but his hands reached up to hold your cheeks. You moaned at the subtle display of dominance, the way he was controlling you when he used his hold on you to move your hips against him. At the same time, he moved up to lick a long stripe across your cunt and sucked your clit into his mouth. Gently, he took the bundle of nerves between his teeth and graced them across, making you mewl and shudder.

You needed to hold onto something, desperately gripping the head of his bed before your hand slid down your body and buried itself into Jungkook’s hair. Tugging, you ripped a moan from his chest. The sound almost vibrated against you, losing the last control you had over your hips and completely pushing onto Jungkook’s face.

“Fuck,” he muttered into your folds, licking along your entrance and moving his face with his tongue pressed against you. One of his hands moved up your front, groping your breasts and twisting your nipples. Your senses were overwhelmed, moving against his tongue and holding his hand close to you. The hand in his hair kept tugging, gracing his scalp and the moans slipped out of you like you were in a trance.

“Jungkook, I can’t I- ah!” you interrupted yourself with a high pitched noise when he slapped your ass where he was holding you. The sudden movement made you press against him after you coiled forwards, he moaned from being soaked with pussy and his nose kept a delicious pressure on your clit. “I’m cumming, please don’t stop, I’m,” he nibbled on your clit and that was the last kick over the edge, you almost screamed and wantonly moaned out his name, folding into yourself when he continued to lap up your juices.

“You’re so hot when you cum, fuck,” he groaned with a gravelly voice and kissed your clit, smacking your butt lightly again before he used both of his hands to help you be stable. He slid from beneath you and sat down on his knees, ready to let you sink into his frame. You were sweaty, breath heavy and eyes struggling to keep open, laying on his lap.

“I’ll never get enough of your fucking cunt,” he gritted, taking your jaw in between his fingers and opening your mouth with them. If you were more concentrated on him than on calming your breathing, you would’ve clearly noticed his tongue swirling around his mouth before he pursed his lips, bowing down closer to you and spitting onto your tongue. Realizing it, you moaned before you looked into his eyes and obviously swallowed the glob of spit down, tasting a sheen of yourself in it. “Such a good slut, moaning so loud when she gets her tiny pussy eaten, hm?”

His words made your head spin, eyes rolling for a second before he manhandled you towards the pillow again, face down and legs opened. “Stay here, I’ll clean you up.” He whispered, his voice back to the familiar, soft melody.

When he came back with a warm, wet rag, he wiped your thighs up and carefully over your lips, making sure the cum wasn’t going to flake on your skin. Jungkook brought the rag back into his bathroom before he removed his pants and shirt, climbing back into the bed.

“C’mere, Princess,” he pulled you close to his chest and put one arm underneath your neck. Leaning over you, he removed your hair from your face and stroked over it, smiling at your flatted out form. He kissed your temple and got comfortable behind you, holding your body close and feeling warm.

“Jungkook,” you whispered into the sudden dark room, not remembering it to be this dark when he walked through the door. He hummed in recognition, breathing out a sigh into your nape, ready to knock out. “I feel like I could be in love with you.”

He grunted, raising his head to look into your face. “Then let me work towards that,” he smiled, dropping an overly loud kiss onto your cheek. With a chuckle, he laid back and whispered, “you don’t need to be afraid of love. It can be a good thing.”

It felt like he didn’t only say that to you, but also for himself. With a smile on your lips, you turned around to face his chest, putting your head onto his pecks.

Falling asleep next to him, you knew you were, where you were supposed to be.

The next morning you not only woke up to the delicious smell of pancakes but also to the loud sound system in the living room. Jungkook was playing a shooter game, yelling profanities once in a while and monotonously announcing his position on the map.

Not thinking much of it, he was a gamer after all, you slid into a sweater of his and tapped with bare feet towards the noise. First, you saw the strawberry pancakes sitting on the kitchen counter, visibly still warm. After that, you looked at Jungkook, or more like his chair. The big backrest covered his frame almost completely and you only saw his arms that were reaching towards the keyboard and mouse.

Still full of sleep, you walked towards the food. Jungkook wouldn’t be able to give you attention anyway, so food was clearly the bigger priority. After munching on one, Jungkook removed his headset and turned towards you, a grin on his face. “Slept well?” You nodded, stuffing your cheeks with more of the delicious breakfast.

Jungkook chuckled and turned back around, putting his headset on and being sucked into the game again. Mischievously, you walked around the kitchen and towards Jungkook, moving his arm from his mouse and slipping underneath to sit on his lap. “Baby, this is live-” he gasped, his eyes wide.

“Oh,” you pondered, “hello!” With a wave, you grinned into the web camera and looked down onto the screen, seeing the small window in the corner where you and Jungkook were visible. He broke into a short laugh, teeth on show and took his hands off of the keys to reposition you. Pulling up the chat of his stream, you could barely read what was commented, people spamming multiple messages in only short moments.

Jungkook’s game didn’t seem to be of interest anymore, considering how he hadn’t removed his hand off of your stomach to hold you. “What are they saying?” You curiously asked and tried to read the messages. Jungkook scrolled up in the chat to let you read a few comments and you grinned. “They all wanna know who I am.”

While you giggled because of how Jungkook rolled his eyes, he concentrated back on his game, with you on his lap this time. Absentmindedly, he muttered, “I guess you could say that she’s my gamer girlfriend.”

You looked to the side and took in his profile with wide eyes. “Heart eyes, or something,” he added, the viewers only being able to hear him because of the microphone that stood directly in front of you on the desk. The rest of the game Jungkook’s subscribers calmed a bit down from your guest appearance and enjoyed how you watched him play and started to feed him a pancake after some time passed.

Once the stream ended, with both of you waving towards the camera and Jungkook disconnecting the live broadcast, you turned towards him. He removed his headset again and lifted you, making you turn around and straddle him. “So,” you trailed. “Gamer girlfriend, huh?”

His eyes widened for a split second before he smirked. “Ah, well. I guess I said that, hm?” You smiled at his try hard, cocky expression and lifted your hands to his cheeks.

“I like the sound of that,” you whispered as you leaned in towards his face, holding eye contact.

“Yeah?” He asked, nudging your nose with his and keeping only a hair's width apart from your lips. “Guess it’s official then.”

With a chuckle, he pulled you closer to his chest and closed the distance, kissing you. He bit into your bottom lip before he licked over it, holding it between his own and moving your head to the other side, deepening the kiss.

“Then let’s play a round? You know, for the title,” you suggested, pulling away and wiggling your brows. Laughing breathily, he nodded. With an applause, you jumped from his lap and threw yourself onto the couch, waiting for Jungkook to get the controllers and starting a game for you two.

Only a few days after, Jungkook asked you to move in with him, officially. He led with the obvious argument, that you just got out of living with your ex and that moving in with Jungkook would be so fast. But he also pointed out how he was willing to help you find a job and a place to stay would definitely lift one of your worries. He insisted that you were free to leave his place whenever you wanted, just as you were free to come back anytime.

He gave you a key, shy smile on his face and his cheeks reddened a little bit. So of course you agreed. He was right when he said that you should accept the offer without thinking about the future of their relationship. In a regular time schedule, moving in together would be much after the first year.

It should be considered that your relationship wasn’t regular at all. Staying would hurt and once you found a job as a waitress in a bar Jungkook’s best friend worked at, you stopped feeling bad about constantly being at home.

Finally you were able to actually contribute to living with someone in a healthy relationship and you were overly excited for every day of coming home to Jungkook.

At home he was more of a roommate than anything, with the occasional kisses sneaked in between video game wars.

“No! Jungkook you’re going to kill me again!” You screeched, moving the joystick on your controller aggressively to make your character run away from Jungkook’s.

“Noo don’t die, you’re so sexy aha,” Jungkook quoted, pushing his shoulder into your frame to distract you. With success, the move got him the opportunity to attack your character and end the game with a win for him.

You pouted, slumping into the couch. With a pout equally deep, Jungkook turned around and cooed at your pitiful state. “I’m sorry, Baby. Let me make it up to you.”

“You said you were with me in this! Not fair! How do you play like this with your girlfriend? A little love here, sir!!”

Your tantrum made him giggle and he leaned over you. “This isn’t a love game, Baby. Winner’s losers.”

The pout was glued onto your face from this point forward and Jungkook wasn’t able to shake it until he made a peace offering. “Let me win your heart back, Angel. I’ll let you win every round until you bully me for being a loser.”

Springing up with a gleaming face, you took the controller back into your hands. “Deal!”

739 notes · View notes

canvas-the-florist · 3 years

Text

Kat and Ann

Warnings: Bullying, transphobia mention, swearing, abuse mention, food mention, kidnapping

Summary: Kat never felt like an individual as she grew up until she made a friend.

Word Count: 2737

Kat was thirteen when she changed her name. Not that it mattered, everyone called her by her last name just like her ten other siblings. It wasn’t a big deal, and Kat was fine with that, it made it easier to transition too. Who could make fun of you for being the trans kid when several of your siblings were as well? She wasn’t singled out. Wasn’t much of an individual either. Kat went to school, studied, and got average grades. Most of the time, at least. She loved her family! Kat wasn’t close with all of her siblings, sometimes lost count of how many there were, but she appreciated them overall. So, why did she always feel so lonely?

When she was fourteen she stopped someone from beating up a kid on the ground after school. He was scrambling for all of his stuff and she sat next to him to help. “Hi, I’m Kat!”

“Oh, um, I’m Anthony.” Kat examined his face. There were two identical large scars coming up from his cheeks. “Thanks, for standing up for me! No one’s ever done that before, not even my brother.”

She helped him up and threw him his stuff. He mostly just looked nervous, scratching his face. Kat didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable or anything so she flashed a quick smile. “Well if your brother won’t help I will! That’s what my siblings would do at least… Do you need to go home now?”

Anthony made a grimace, wrinkling his nose. “Not particularly. I don’t think anyone will notice. I live close by anyway. Don’t need a carriage or something to take me there.”

“I live close by too!” Kat exclaimed. She considered all the possibilities. Anthony hadn’t mentioned any of the other Katabazi’s and so far it seemed like they could be friends. Maybe this would be nice? “That means it’s official. We need to check if we can walk home together.”

“Won’t your siblings mind?” Anthony asked, and Kat let out a loud sigh (mostly in disappointment) after he finished talking. “Oh, are you not a Katabazi sibling? Sorry I just assumed with the blue crystal necklace and- I shouldn’t have assumed that was rude of-”

“Dude, it’s fine.” Kat gave a smile. Her hand went up to the necklace. It probably was a big giveaway but it was also important to her. A shard of good luck charm passed down through her family. It used to be her grandmother’s. The original was hung up on a wall, but it was still significant.“I’m a Katabazi but now you know my first name so let’s stick with that, alright? Or should I call you… Ann or Tony?”

Anthony let out a laugh, as they both walked through the small trail through the woods. “Honestly I wouldn’t mind Ann. Anything’s better than Tony. It sounds like I’m interested in attending galas or exploiting the working class. No thank you.”

“Okay, Ann! No galas or exploitation for you~!”

Kat and Ann kept walking through the woods to get to and from school once they realized they lived close to each other. It was fun to have someone to kick pebbles with or avoid fairy circles with. Eventually the leaves started falling and Kat put on a long jacket, with her necklace underneath it. On a walk home, Kat was balancing on an old wall covered in moss, Ann was walking along next to her, dragging his feet. “Hey, Kat?”

“Yeah?” They both stopped walking.

Ann gulped. “You’re a girl, right? My brother says you’re not and well, he’s usually wrong. Is he just… Being a dick? Or have I just been misgendering you?”

Kat’s arms dropped. Well, that’s one way to come out. She sniffled, but wouldn’t back down. “I’m a girl. Excuse me for saying but your brother is an idiot for being like that.”

“Okay, that’s what I thought.” The two kept walking but Kat still felt like she wanted to cry. The leaves blew past them, picking up Ann’s hat. Kat caught it and looked at Ann. He looked like he wanted to cry too. “Kat I’m glad we’re friends. My brother doesn’t understand human decency but he still got into my head. That was my mistake. I won’t doubt you about that stuff ever again!”

There was a pause as the wind picked up. Kat stared him down with a squint before putting his hat back over his curly blonde hair. “Good! Because your brother doesn’t decide how the world works. We do.”

“Both of us? We aren’t gods or anything.”

Kat shrugged. “How do you know? I mean cursed people do exist, who’s to say their magic is the only kind out there?”

Ann shifted uncomfortably, covering it with a laugh. “Yeah! We can be gods if we want to! Fuck nature! Fuck stupid brothers! AAAAAHH!” He held up both his hands and yelled to the sky. Kat laughed loudly before joining with a scream of her own. The two continued screaming, seeing the birds flee from the trees and the wind grew louder, like nature itself trying to drown them out.

The yelling devolved into laughing, they both fell to the wall for support. The wind died down and they were both sitting on the wall silently. Every once and a while they would shake the leaves from their wool clothing and go back to watching the scenery of nature. Ann took a deep breath. “I think my brother hates me for being cursed.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Kat asked, looking at him. He shrugged.

“I don’t know… I mean I can’t do anything cool or bad but he’s mean about it.” He crossed his arms angrily. “And dad thinks that Garrett is the perfect child for not having headaches all the time or being slow or…” Kat put her hand on his shoulder as he wiped his eyes. “I just don’t understand. I try so hard not to let the curse control my life but I can’t help it! But sometimes I go into his dreams and he got mad at me about it.”

“Well, your brother doesn’t deserve you! I would love to have a brother like you! You’re nice and you don’t just assume what I’m like based on my family. It’s nice! YOU’RE nice.”

“You want me to be your brother? Is that a thing that can happen?”

Kat shrugged once more, crossing her legs on the wall. “Absolutely. We’re the gods remember? Who cares if we aren’t actually related or something. That isn’t relevant anymore. We’re siblings now!”

Ann smiled. “Yeah, okay! You’re a great sister, Kat.”

“And you a great brother.”

It was almost spring and the rain was starting to pick up a lot. But Ann and Kat still walked through the woods. Finally seeing all the frogs and slugs they desired. Ann convinced Kat that climbing the wall in the rain was a very bad idea and he didn’t want his only sister to die young. Because he would get arrested for her death. Kat couldn’t argue with that, even if she thought he could get away with her murder.

The day after that Kat didn’t see Ann in the forest. And for the first time in a while, she walked through the woods alone. It didn’t usually make her scared to be there alone, but after getting used to a person to talk to, she felt unnerved. The next day Ann was there looking sad. He brushed it off in the morning but after passing the wall on the way home, Kat stopped and sat. Signaling that they needed to talk about something. Ann sat down, without looking at her.

“Ann. You don’t need to tell me what’s up, but, do you… want to talk about it?” Ann didn’t make eye contact with her, but Kat could see tears brimming his eyes. “Ann?”

That made him start sobbing and his head fell into her lap. His hands were gripping the sleeves of her hoodie and she let him cry it out and the sprinkling off the rain started. She didn’t say anything and let him cry. Eventually he sat back up with bloodshot eyes, and Kat opened up her arms so he could get a hug. Ann accepted it.

“Garrett ran away from home today. I don’t know why and my dad blamed me for it. Because I hang out with you. I tried to defend you because you’re my friend, my sister even, and…” He trailed off and hid his face in Kat’s shoulder. She tightened the hug, trying not to feel guilty for being brought into it. Kat assumed the worst but didn’t bring any of it work. “I don’t want to go home either. I think Garrett was right to leave. Even if he’s a jerk.”

“My parents would understand if you needed to come to my house.” She offered.

They stopped hugging to face each other. Ann wiped his face as more tears fell, he started laughing. The rain was coming down harder, he was openingly sobbing and crying through it all. Kat started laughing too. It was horrible surviving the weather, but they were doing it together so it was fine.

“That’d be great, I think.” They held their arms around each other’s shoulders running out of the rain and into Kat’s home. And it was fine. Kat’s siblings fussed over the two of them getting mud in the house and possibly getting sick. One of her older brothers was a little concerned about the crying white kid in the house but didn’t say anything. Kat had mentioned a new friend that she made a while ago and that was that.

Eventually Ann had stopped visiting his father, and even later he was practically adopted by Kat’s family. Kat wouldn’t admit it, but she cried a little when her mom gave him a copy of the blue crystal good luck charm. Ann knew she did though, he was just kind enough not to mention it.

Ann had moved into Caleb’s room after he moved out. Kat and Moss’s room was across from that. He was the only cursed person in the entire house. He would be hurt easily and his stamina wasn’t very good because of it. It would worry Kat a lot. Lelise had told Kat that the curse had to be a secret but she didn’t specify why. The house became emptier as the older siblings grew up and moved out. When Nia was getting ready to move out they shared a nice dinner together.

Kat and Ann stayed behind at the end to clean up the table.

“Hey Kat? What do you think you’ll do when you move out?”

She looked up at him for a moment before going back to pick up the utensils. “I haven’t decided yet. Don’t really feel motivated to do anything in particular…” They went back to the silence for a moment, the only noise being the clinks of dishes gently hitting each other. Kat cleared her throat before opening a drawer. “What about you? Any fun ambitions?”

He gave a soft smile. “I think I want to help other people. Like work through their emotions and stuff. Is there a word for that?”

“I’m not sure, but I think you’d be great at it, Ann.” The two finished cleaning up and sat down at the table. Kat had crossed her legs on the seat while Ann had one leg up on his seat. She messed with her hair idly while looking outside. Fireflies were gently floating around peacefully. “Do you want to go on a walk through the forest? I think I have nerves to work out.”

“What, like to our old school?” Kat gave a shrug and Ann chuckled quietly. “That sounds fun actually. Why not?”

Ann got on his hat and Kat draped her blue cloak over her shoulders. They walked out after leaving a note behind on the newly cleaned table. The two siblings laughed together, going past the trees. Kat danced in circles as they went on their way, causing her to trip over a root and land on her back. Ann leaned down next to her.

“Wow, klutz.”

“Pshh, shut up, moron.” She got up, shaking the dry leaves and grass off her clothes. As she got a leaf off, Kat noticed something in the distance. “Oh shit, is that the wall?”

Ann squinted and ran over to it, causing his sister to follow after. It was even more dilapidated than the two remembered. Moss and plants were growing in between the rocks and a lot of the wall was on the forest floor surrounding it. “I can’t believe it’s still up. This thing used to give me so much anxiety when you would balance on- Kat why are you climbing it? It’s like a century old!”

“We’re gods, remember? I can do what I want!” She placed her hands on her hips. The cobblestone wall seemed to crumble into smaller pieces under her weight, which made Ann bite the inside of his cheek nervously. Kat rolled her eyes but moved to step off of it, not wanting to contribute to his constant worrying. “Okay, I’ll get off now.”

She stopped when she heard people yelling deeper in the forest. Kat turned and saw a dimly lit lantern in the distance. “Who are they?” She whispered under her breath, before tripping over a rock. Ann quickly reached out his hands to stop her from falling. And she did stop, but she wasn’t being held by anything but a pink glow. Kat’s eyes widened before dropping the rest of the way. Ann quickly sat next to her on the ground as the unnatural light grew brighter.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to use your curse because it hurts your body?” Kat murmured. Ann was clutching his head, and didn’t respond. She peaked her head over the wall, there were three figures, only one holding a lantern.

“Listen there is a cursed person in that house! I’m not lying!” One yelled. Kat squinted her eyes, trying to see better in the darkness. She could barely make out rope around this person’s hands. She turned back to Ann, to tell him they had to get out of here and he was clutching his legs with a shocked expression on his face.

Kat lightly tapped his shoulder. He looked at her and mouthed ‘That’s my brother.’ She turned back to the group and saw that they had gotten much closer than she had anticipated, making eye contact with one. A person holding a lamp and seemed to have a vacant expression, if they could ever change their face, it didn’t show. They pointed at her so she grabbed Ann’s arm and dragged him as they ran. The people gave chase.

“That’s him! He’s the cursed one!”

Ann let out a cry as his arm got grabbed by the cloaked, expressionless one. “Good job, Garrett. You’ll make a good recruit.” Kat looked back at them and desperately reached for Ann’s hand, as he tried to grab hers.

“Ann!” She called out. The one holding up Garrett stepped on her hand as the other one picked up her brother off the ground. Kat grabbed her hand and helplessly watched as they disappeared. Ann had been hurt by so many people and yet he only wished to help people. Kat was never like that. She was so scared of being considered just another one of her siblings that she didn’t focus on her future. But she wanted to help Ann, or people like him. After months of searching for Ann, nothing had come up. It was like he had never existed at all. Kat gave up after a year.

So she decided to do something else instead. Maybe Ann was dead for being cursed. Kat went to a bigger city and trained to be stronger, without breaks. She lived with her brother Caleb and his husband Merlin until she could support herself with a brand new job. On her first day, Kat walked into the building confidently and took a breath. The man running the business gave a nod and handed her a badge.

“Welcome, Kat Katabazi, to your first day at the Charlotte Institute.” His head tilted to the side without a smile.

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welllpthisishappening · 5 years

Text

All Was Golden in the Sky (20/27)

Magic is dying.

Emma knows it. She can feel it, the emptiness rattling around in her, like it’s trying to make sure she disappears as well. What she doesn’t know is what to do about it, because, suddenly, there is a man in Storybrooke claiming she’s the Savior and a seeress certain a prophecy promises the same and the last thing she expects is for her minimal amount of lingering power to pull her away.

To New York City.

And another oddly familiar man with blue eyes and a smile that sinks under her skin and makes magic bloom in the air around her. Things are about to get interesting.

—

Rating: Mature AN: Hey, thanks for reading this. For realz.

|| Also on Ao3 if that’s your jam ||

She wakes up by herself, a small mountain of blankets and her knees curled into her chest. It’s the same thing that’s happened every morning for the last four mornings and Emma knows there’s a variety of reasons for it – least of all the continued aerial state of the ship they’re in – but it never fails to leave a little jolt of fear flickering down her spine and she counts to ten before she gets up.

Every single morning.

“Alright,” she mutters, entirely to herself because she is entirely by herself and she swears it’s getting warmer. Sweltering, even.

There are already beads of sweat on her temple, hair matted to the back of her neck and every inch of her feels absolutely disgusting. Like she’s wading through fog or mist that’s far too heavy to be natural and she’s only a little annoyed with herself that it takes so long for her to figure out what is, in fact, going on.

She’s going to blame the hard tack.

There’s only hard tack on this ship.

“Magic,” Emma mumbles, scrambling to her feet and nearly tripping over herself in the process. She kicks back, trying to dislodge her foot from a blanket that’s far too scratchy and she’s been sleeping well, but there’s not much else to do on a ship in the middle of the sky heading towards, quite possibly, the worst place in the realm.

She feels restless and anxious and the stars are kind of freaking her out.

There’s too many of them.

She doesn’t like it.

“We do not have time to freak out,” she says, and she’s got to stop talking to herself. It’s not going to help – particularly when she glances to her right, eyes tracing over the small window in the quarters she and Killian had claimed and--"Oh, God, fucking hell,” Emma groans.

It’s still dark out.

“Swan!”

Emma sighs, running a hand over her face. It comes away damp.

She hears his footsteps before she even has a chance to turn around, landing heavy on the rungs of the ladder that Emma’s certain is incredibly impractical. He’s got the jacket back on, an extra weight to his shoulders that makes him look impossibly piratical, but she barely notices that when Killian’s eyes are that wide, all unspoken questions and even quieter fear and--

“What’s happening to your face right now?” Emma asks.

His mouth drops open. “Let’s talk about your face real quick.” “Ok, rude.” Killian hums, a hiss of an inhale and more teeth than Emma is used to seeing. He takes another step into her space, treading on at least six blankets in the process, grumbling under his breath as he moves. “You look like you’re having every single thought any human could possibly have all at once.” “That is convoluted.” “And your magic is very loud.” “Oh.” “Right,” Killian mutters, letting his head fall forward slightly. It’s not enough that he’s actually touching her, but the air is doing that thing again and Emma already hates Neverland.

He keeps standing at the helm. Staring. At stars. They don’t seem to freak him out as much.

“Sorry about the magic.” “That’s not something you have to apologize for, Swan,” Killian says. His hand flinches, half an inch forward and what feels like several thousand miles back, not landing on Emma’s waist like she expects it to. “I just--” “--Oh, that makes me feel better actually,” she mumbles. “It’s super shitty, but I’m--well, maybe we’re on even ground now.” “We’re not on any ground.” She rolls her eyes, but she can just make out his nearly-there smile and the hint of something on the edge of her gaze makes her pulse settle for a moment. “It’s a defense mechanism, right?” “Mmhm,” Killian nods. “Entirely.” “Right, right.” Emma licks her lips, dry despite the moisture she’s sure is hanging around her and the ends of her hair are starting to curl from the humidity. Maybe they should have used fewer blankets. She ignores any continued thoughts regarding the bedding, lifting her hands up instead to rest her palms flat on Killian’s chest and it takes a moment for his breathing to even out, but then he’s actually smiling at her, and-- “Still dark out, huh?”

He squeezes one eye shut. “That’s how this place works.” “It’s almost too on the nose, don’t you think? I always get annoyed when the magic is too obvious.” Killian barks out a laugh – not entirely unexpected, but Emma can’t help but a little proud of the sound and she absolutely leans into his hand as soon as it brushes her shirt. “Well, if we ever happen to run into that seeress again, I’m sure that’s something you can mention to her. Let your complaints be known, as it were.” “Way too confident in your own humor.” “Still a defense mechanism.” “And what are we defending against, exactly?” “Probably far more things than we should,” Killian admits. “But mostly the island itself. I don't know what's going to happen. You destroyed Darkness, Swan, but there's still magic here and it isn’t going to like you, Swan.” “It doesn’t even know me.” “It’s got very strong prejudices.”

Her whole body shakes with the absurdities of this conversation, head colliding with Killian’s collarbone when her neck just kind of...gives up. “Well, that’s a dick move by the island, huh?” “Aye, very much so. And it’s not just the island itself; it’s everything that’s here.” “Really, really bad at telling stories in a coherent manner,” Emma mutters, mostly into his chest because the shirt he’s got on under this jacket is only a little ridiculous and cut far too low. She’ll make fun of that when she can see some sunlight again.

“There are other people here.” “Jesus fuck, Killian.” He chuckles, a distinct lack of humor to the sound. “I’ve never actually seen them, so--” “--Wait, wait, wait, so how do you know they’re here?” “Traps. More traps. Deadly traps. Traps you can’t see. Some that look like one thing, but are actually just another trap. And, uh--” “--Oh my God how is there more?” He kisses her hair, almost like he’s trying to remind himself of something good and Emma can hear more footsteps moving towards that stupid ladder. “Creatures.” "I’m sorry, what?” Emma jerks back, brows pulled low because this is all getting worse and worse and Ariel is already cursing as she climbs into the cabin. “How in all of Poseidon do you two manage to get down here?” she grunts, a wary foot hovering just above the ground. Her eyes flit around, taking in the scene and the almost too-obvious tension, lips going thin. “Ah,” she says slowly. “So, uh...did we get to the part where the likelihood of being attacked as soon as we land is incredibly high?”

Killian sighs. And Emma is going to dislocate her jaw if she keeps snapping it like that.

“No,” she answers. Killian’s eyes widen, not an apology because, honestly, they should be past that at this point, but something that’s almost bigger. Like he’s looking for an ally. “I should probably have a sword too, right?” Killian exhales – and the jacket doesn’t look so heavy anymore. Emma needs to stop making pointed metaphors in her head. “Aye, probably.” “I think Kristoff found a whole stash in the crew’s quarters the other day,” Ariel says.

“And you didn’t want to mention that?” She shrugs. “I figured we’d get there eventually. Both with the swords and Neverland.” “Hysterical.” “I can hear you trying not to laugh, Hook, it’s fine, you don’t have to actually tell me.” Ariel grins when Killian groans, crossing her arms and letting her chin rest on her palm. “Incidentally, are we actually here? It’s difficult to figure out.” “That’s probably because of the endless night of certain death,” Emma drawls. That gets Killian to laugh. Or at least scoff. She’ll take it. “Not certain,” he argues. “Just enough threat of death to be annoying.” Emma hums, mouth twisted and magic shifting. Again. Probably because the air has shifted. Again. The weight of it has stayed the same, a mugginess that’s already starting to make Emma’s shirt damp, but the smell that wraps around them and reminds her of cobwebs and unsteady walls and that’s unexpected.

“Shit, do you smell that?”

Killian nods, quick and jerky. “Aye, it’s--it’s like...decay. Like something’s rotting.” “What?” “What do you mean what? How can you not smell that?” “No, no,” Emma objects. “It’s like New York.” “What?” “Ok, you’ve got to pick another word. I don’t--” She scrunches her nose, like that will get rid of the smell that only seems to be getting stronger, permeating every inch of air and working between each string of fabric in every bit of clothing she’s got on. It lingers around her hair and Emma’s positive she can taste it on the tip of her tongue too, making her eyes water and her stomach lurch. “It smells like it’s old. Dusty and kind of sweaty and--oh shit, it smells like Grand Central. Like Track 61.” Killian stares at her – eyes going wide again because she does, admittedly, sound a little insane, but Emma’s having a hard time not actually gagging. “Swan, that’s not--”

“Are you both going crazy?” Ariel snaps, the words barely audible with her hand covering her mouth. “It smells like smoke.” “Smoke? What?” “God, that word,” Emma grumbles. She stumbles back, sinking onto the edge of a cot she’s done her best to avoid for the last four days. It doesn’t matter now, though, knees bending of their own volition and everything is starting to go a little blurry as she does her best not to breathe too deeply.

Ariel makes another noise – a soft whimper that’s hardly inspiring, particularly when they’re still in the goddamn air with all the goddamn stars and Emma mumbles fuck when she understands.

“Babe,” she says sharply, snapping her head up to find Killian’s gone pale. His teeth are digging into his lower lip, far too many crinkles around his eyes when he tries to meet her gaze. “What else do you smell?” “Should we be harping on this?” Ariel asks. “Shouldn’t we be, you know, landing?”

Emma waves her off, only a little wobbly when she jumps back up. “What else do you smell?” she asks again, and Killian turns his head into her palm as soon as it lands on his cheek. His lips are soft on the inside of her wrist. “Pomegranates?” It’s not much more than a guess, but she’s got a pretty good idea of what’s happening and this island can go fuck itself, honestly. He nods, scruff scratching her skin. “How did you know that?”

“You said this piece of garbage place wasn’t going to want me here. I think it’s proving that.” “More specific,” Ariel mutters, perched on the ladder.

“What are you most afraid of?” “Not pomegranates.” “I’m serious,” Emma says, the smell getting worse. She closes her eyes, trying to fight against the memories that flood her brain and her consciousness and it’s like she’s standing there again, watching it all play out in front of her on loop.

Making her relive it. The very worst thing that’s ever happened to her.

“You said you found Eric after a storm, right?” Emma continues, and she’s not sure if she moves closer to Killian or he moves closer to her and it does not make a difference. The hook is freezing cold when it brushes over her arm.

Ariel doesn’t answer. She looks like she’s in pain.

“And the ship was sinking, fire and smoke and everything burning. Right?” Still nothing. Emma’s whole body hurts, the tears stinging her eyes and she reaches back on instinct.

He’s not dead. She didn't kill him. It’s over. She doesn’t have to do it again.

“That’d be terrifying for you,” she continues. “All that water and fire doesn’t make sense there. And then again. Another shipwreck and more destruction and--”

“--Atlantica,” Ariel whispers, eyes darting over Emma’s shoulder towards Killian.

He exhales softly. “Fuck.” “He said the flames moved so quickly they barely even had time to jump. Half the crew gone and--” Her breath catches, tears staining her cheeks because they’ve been on this ship for four days and none of them are particularly clean anymore. “It’s not real though, is it? Whatever’s happening to us.” Emma shakes her head. “I don’t think so. I think it’s--it’s trying to ward us off. Freak us out or something so we’ll leave.”

“It’s impressive magic, I’ll give it that.” “Generous,” Killian murmurs, crowding against Emma’s knees and for the first time in maybe ever that doesn’t leave her magic roaring and her heart beating erratically. It just is. Steady and certain and she lets her head fall forward, eyes fluttering closed as she tries to focus on something.

Anything else.

He’s not dead.

And that’s enough. It’s not much, but it works, a flicker of energy in the tips of her fingers, making the metal she’s still clutching a bit warmer and Ariel gasps loudly when, presumably, the scent disappears.

“Did you curse Poseidon before?” Emma asks. She doesn’t bother to open her eyes.

Ariel makes a noise in the back of her throat. “I wasn’t cursing him, particularly. More like asking for help. Anything else seems like an idiotic move when we have to land in water.” “That’s a good point.” “It happens from time to time. Thanks for being stronger than an entire island.” Emma chuckles, finally opening her eyes and she’s not sure of it, doesn’t want to jinx it or something equally juvenile, but she’s cautiously optimistic that some of the stars outside have gotten just a bit brighter. “Talk to me after we leave the island.” “Yeah, that’s fair.” Ariel sighs, brushing strands away from her eyes “Alright, well, almighty heroes and eventual rulers of the entire realm--” “--Get to your point, Fisk,” Killian hisses, but he doesn’t actually object to any of that and Emma hopes he doesn’t feel what it does to her magic. He does. Obviously.

“I’m just wondering where, exactly, you’d like to land. And how we land. And what your plan is once we get on the island because that water is--” She trails off, a lack of ending that’s almost enough to make Emma realize she doesn’t have an answer to that second point. “Not good.” “Can water be good or bad?” Emma asks.

“If we do this right, it won’t matter.” “Ok, but that’s not an answer.” Ariel grits her teeth. “You need to get us as close to the shore as possible. I don’t think we want to actually spend too much time treading through the water here.” She nods once, like that’s that and not horrendously ominous, but they’ve already been quasi attacked by magic and it’s so goddamn hot in that cabin and Kristoff is shouting for them.

“Hey, uh guys,” he calls, and his voice has a very distinct shake to it. Emma’s eyes are going to get stuck mid-roll. “You should--can you come up here?” “Well, that sounds promising,” Killian says. He kisses the top of Emma’s head – and maybe she’ll start keeping track of those, some weird metronome to keep her focused – twisting around her and nudging his hook into Ariel’s back. “You’ve got to move, Fisk.”

She kicks him. And climbs up the ladder, Kristoff’s shouts getting more and more screech-like, and Killian glances at Emma before flashing her an almost-confident grin.

“You ready, love?” She flips her wrist, the light in her palm steady. “Yeah,” she nods. “Let’s go see what fresh hell we’ve got to deal with.” “That’s the spirit.”

Kristoff is still talking when she steps on deck, mumbled words that sound a lot like questions and a few more that sound a bit like you’ve got to tell me who you are and--”Is this a goddamn joke?” Emma shouts because there is a woman on their ship.

A woman who they did not leave Roior with.

“That’s what I’m saying,” Kristoff says, both hands lifted in mock-surrender when the woman points a tiny dagger at his chest.

“I am trying to help you,” she sneers. “How many times do I have to explain that?” “Probably a few more after you tell us how you got on this ship,” Emma says. She takes a step forward, false confidence and surging magic, Killian muttering objections as soon as her foot moves. He’s already got his sword out. “Who are you, exactly?” The woman spins – all grace and hair that doesn’t look like it’s affected by the humidity at all. She’s not very tall, but there’s a strength in her stature that makes Emma less wary. Her smile settles on her face with ease, a strange counterbalance to the steel in her gaze, and she’s dressed in head-to-toe green.

“My name is Tinker Bell,” she says, Emma’s eyes bugging at that. “And, like, I said. I’m here to help you.” “Tinker Bell. Like...like the fairy?” She narrows her eyes at that and the last thing they need is for Emma to inadvertently insult someone from a storybook she knew about when she was cursed. What a weird sentence. But she can also her Killian breathing heavily next to her, sword resting on his shoulder like he’s trying to prove how calm he is, so maybe everything is just a little ridiculous now.

And she keeps forgetting everyone in this realm thinks he’s Captain Hook.

Gods, it’s weird.

“Like the fairy,” Tink confirms. “Or at least I will be again. That’s where you come in.” “Is it now? How did you get up here?” She clicks her tongue, digging into a pocket in her dress and pulling out a small pouch. “Pixie dust? Last bit I had, so this better work.” “And what exactly are we trying to work on?” “Getting me out of this godforsaken place.” Emma’s eyebrows fly up her forehead, fast enough that it almost hurts, but that may just be the clench of her jaw and how loudly Killian is tapping his fingers on the hilt of his sword. “You can’t leave?” she asks. “You’re--I mean, you’re a fairy. When I was a kid I always thought fairies were, like, the ultimate. You know, magic-wise.” “I think that’s you actually, Emma,” Ariel muses, dropping onto the deck to sit cross-legged with her elbows digging into her bent knees. “You look ridiculous, Hook.” He makes a face at her, but his eyes keep darting between Emma and Tink and this is all getting to be a bit much. “Do you know where Blackbeard is?”

“Look who’s asking the important questions,” Tink says, enough sarcasm in the words to last several sentences. “Yes, I do. And I know that he’s already stirring the Lost Boys--”

“--Wait, wait, hold on,” Emma interrupts. “Lost Boys? So there are other people on this island?”

Tink nods. “Of course.” “Told you,” Killian mutters, Kristoff sounding like he’s choking and Emma’s mind is spinning. She rubs a circle on her temple, not nearly as good as a kiss, but she’s working with what she’s got at this point.

Which, at last count, is her own magic, a dark hell-scape of an island with at least one pirate and a group called the Lost Boys, a half-drunk man from Arendelle, a mermaid, a fairy, apparently, and--

“In through your nose, out through your mouth, Swan,” Killian says. He hasn’t moved his sword. That is also stupid.

Emma scowls, but she’d definitely been holding her breath and her lungs appreciate her letting go of some of that tension. “Aye, like that,” he adds, lips curling up into a smirk. “If you’d be so kind as to answer the question, though, Lady Bell. How did you get to Neverland? And why can’t you leave?” “I remember you,” Tink whispers. “You were much younger then, weren’t you? Not nearly as--” She clicks her tongue, gaze turning appraising and Emma shuffles slightly, trying to put herself in the middle of it. “Heavy. And...there’s something else, isn’t there? It was and now it wasn’t.” “Is it a requirement of all magical beings to talk in the most obnoxious riddles?” Emma growls. The planks under them creak slightly when Killian leans forward, and that kiss lands on her shoulder. She counts it anyway.

Tink hums, lips pursed. “I was banished here,” she explains. “A lifetime ago.” “Banished doesn’t exactly seem very good,” Kristoff says. He’s got his sword out as well now, a bit of color returning to his face when he isn’t being actively challenged.

“Well, that’s because it wasn’t very good. And the Savior is right. Fairies are powerful, but we’ve gotten greedy. There are rules and--” She sighs. “All I wanted was to help people, set them on the right path and that was...it doesn’t matter. What’s done is done and I was sent here. Without my wings.” “And the wings make the difference, huh?” “Are a scholar, sir?” Tink asks, and Emma cannot keep groaning at this pace.

“Ok, ok, but you still have magic, right?” she presses. “You got up here didn’t--”

“--With the pixie dust.” “It’s the magic here, isn’t it?” Killian asks softly, Tink snapping her head around quickly with a look that’s somewhere between stunned and only slightly offensive. She nods. “Ok,” he continues, “so that--it’s keeping you here?” “In a sense.” “And that sense is?” “Neverland is a place for lost souls,” Tink explains. “People don’t come here because they want to. They land here because there’s nothing left for them anywhere else. It’s regret and disappointment, magic that yanks on you and makes you--” “--Remember the worst things that have ever happened to you,” Emma whispers.

“Maybe this will work.” “But Killian left. After--you say you remember him. He was here. How did that happen?”

“Oh I get it,” Ariel breathes. Emma doesn’t know where to look. There are far too many stars in that sky.

And her eyes fall on Killian.

Naturally.

“Almost too on the nose, huh?” he laughs, Emma’s sniffle sounding a little pitiful all things considered. His eyebrows twist, another flutter of his fingers against his sword and--”What’s changed now, ma’am? Swan’s right. You’ve been here for years. What’s drawing you out of Neverland now?” “Maybe we don’t insult the fairy like that,” Kristoff suggests lightly, and Emma’s loathe to agree, but she does agree and Tink only looks a little amused.

“I was born with magic. It rang in my ears and settled in my soul and I wanted to use it to help people. But that was against the rules, so I was sent here where I couldn’t do anything, where the rest of the world went on without me. And magic disappeared. At least, mostly.” She flashes a grin. Emma doesn’t blink. “Anyway, that’s changed now, hasn’t it? The Savior is back, magic is stronger than it’s ever been in this realm and I want to leave this place. Incidentally, did you have magic the first time you were here?” Killian shakes his head. “Not yet.” “Huh. That’s interesting. Well,” Tink adds pointedly, “you’ll have to be careful. The island will realize there’s something new about you, an emptiness there that it will try to fill.” “We’ve done this already,” Emma says, and her voice sounds as if it could melt a variety of things. With acid. “The Darkness is--that’s not a problem. You know what will be a problem? If you manage to fuck up our escape plan.”

“Do you have an escape plan?” “Or, you know, a plan?” Kristoff amends. Emma glares at him. “I’m just saying.” “Alright,” she snaps, “you want a plan? Let’s plan. We land in this water, ignoring Ariel’s illusions to how dangerous it is--” “--Oh, that’s foolish, Savior,” Tink cuts in. “There are mermaids in that water. Not particularly nice to humans either.”

“See,” Ariel mutters, and Emma resists the very real urge to start jumping up and down Killian’s hook presses lightly on her arm.

“Fine, fine, fine,” Emma sputters. “So we land in the water, we don’t get attacked by mermaids, goddamn Tinker Bell tells us how to get to Blackbeard, we also avoid the Lost Boys, get the Jolly back and then get the hell off this island. Any questions?” She glances around – an unspoken challenge that, for half a moment, she’s certain won’t result in actual objections, but then Kristoff shake his head slowly and both Killian and Ariel curse at the same time.

“Jeez,” Emma sighs. “What? What is your question?” “How do you plan to get Blackbeard to give back the Jolly?” Emma opens her mouth. And closes it. And opens it. And growls. Her magic flutters under her skin, frustration mixing in with fear because she doesn’t have an actual answer to the question and she hadn’t really gotten that far yet, figured she’d plan as she went and her biggest concern was just getting here, but now there are fairies and demands for rides and--

“Oh, that’s simple,” Killian says, a forced lightness to his voice, “I’m going to kill him.” The explosion of voices around them is nothing to the one in the very center of Emma, what feels like a small nuclear reactor going off in the pit of her stomach. It leaves her legs trembling under her, a hand flying to her chest to make sure her lungs haven’t collapsed and her fingers grip the ring there like it’s the only thing that will keep her afloat.

Or, at least, airborne.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” she rasps, and Killian actually has the gall to shrug. With his sword on his shoulder. “That is--” “--Do you have a better plan?”

“Anything is better than that!” He shakes his head. “That’s the only option we’ve got, love. The bastard’s not going to give up my ship without a fight and I’m not going to take any chances. Tie up the loose ends, as it were.” “Loose ends of what, exactly?” “That magic,” Tink whispers. “The one you don’t have anymore. That’s what you mean, isn’t it?”

Another shrug, more forced calm that feels like a slap in the face when the tension between his shoulders is so blatantly obvious. “Something like that.”

“It’s not the smartest thing you could be doing.”

“Ah, well.”

Emma drags both her hands down her cheeks, tugging on skin and likely leaving marks in her wake. And Killian’s eyes dart towards hers for a moment, another question, but she also can’t come up with a different plan.

She just kind of wants to be the one to do it.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Emma says. “Let’s just get on land before we start throwing out murder decrees, ok?” “I like the phrase murder decrees,” Ariel mutters, pushing back up and she’s already got a trident in her hand. “We should have thought of that before, Hook. What we were doing?” “Several thousand other things.” “Eh, that’s true, I suppose. It’s a lack of creativity on our part, though.” “Tink,” Emma cuts in, before the conversation can drift into even more macabre territory, “Is there somewhere in particular we should be landing? Or, like, some water with a lower concentration of mermaids?”

“They’ll show up as soon as we do,” Ariel says. “Shadow mermaids hate humans more than anyone else.” “How many kinds of mermaids are we talking here?” “How many types of people live in all your kingdoms?” She widens her eyes when Emma doesn’t have a response to that. “Exactly. There’s me, you know, Atlantica. And then Ursula was rumored to have actually been descended from Poseidon. That’s why she is--was? How does that work, exactly?” “Is this pertinent to our current situation?” Kristoff asks, an immediate absolutely not from Killian.

“Oh, shut up, Hook,” Ariel objects. “Anyway. There’s her, and all those rumors about how she was part siren too--” “--That’s true, actually,” Killian interjects.

“Wait, what? I thought you didn’t want to talk about this.” “I don’t, but the siren thing is true for Ursula. Ask me about that in, like, at least a week, Fisk. It’s very dramatic.” Ariel sticks out her lower lip in passing interest, Emma only half paying attention now as she tries to pull her magic into the center of her. “Keep talking,” she says, twisting into Killian’s side and, for the first time since she woke up that morning, the air around her smells almost sweet. “It’s making it easier to concentrate.” “Oh, right, right, well, there are also cold-water mermaids. I think they used to kind of congregate around Arendelle. What’s the name of that sea?” “It’s just the North Sea,” Kristoff answers. “It’s so cold because it’s near the North Mountain.” “That’s not very creative either.” “I didn’t name it.” “Ariel,” Emma grumbles, and landing is much harder and slightly more terrifying than taking off. She grits her teeth, trying to account for gravity and magic, the feel of it yanking on every one of her limbs, like the island is trying to pull Emma down with it.

Emma balls one of her hands at her side, the other reaching up and she barely hears Killian's sword sheath so he can lace his fingers through hers. He tugs her hand up, lips dragging across the bend of her knuckles as he breathes words into her skin. She can’t hear much of them, the buzzing in her ears already too loud, but he keeps going and Ariel keeps talking, listing off types of mermaids and customs, the differences between freshwater and salt water and there’s some kind of story about a crab and specific type of fish and Emma jaw aches.

Neverland keeps fighting her, bits of angers and hints of an odor that make her nose scrunch and a variety of internal organs rise up in revolt. Killian's hand tightens.

And then it’s gone.

There’s nothing but light and a soft breeze, a blast of color that makes the stars impossible to see. The ship lands, far from a glide or perfect descent, particularly when it sounds like every inch of it groans upon impact, but nothing shatters and the sails are still intact.

Emma huffs, exhaustion rippling down her spine and settling at the small of her back. She barely has a moment to consider that before she’s being tugged forward though, fingers leaving hers so he can wrap his arm around her, chin hooked over her shoulder and lips ghosting over the shell of her ear.

“Bloody brilliant.” “I don’t ever want to do that again,” Emma says. That’s two kisses to the top of her hair. And one to the side. Either side. That should probably count as two. “What was the difference between freshwater and saltwater mermaid’s hair?”

Ariel’s laugh is nice. And that’s a far too small word for what it actually is, but the stars are starting to return and Emma’s fairly certain she can see more than a few ripples in the water and she really should have gotten a sword before they landed.

“Oh, right, right,” Ariel stutters. “Uh, saltwater makes it easier to style, but uh freshwater definitely helps with the shine.” “Good to know.” She smiles, the movement not reaching her eyes. Figures. And so does the first shake of the ship, a slap that is, quite obviously, more than a few mermaid tails.

“We need to move,” Tink says. “Now.”

Emma jerks her head, chin colliding with her chest in the process and she doesn’t think before she starts casting spells – invisible barricades and freezing incantations she doesn’t actually voice, but she moves her lips anyway. Only half of them seem to work, likely something to do with Neverland itself, and the water is ice-cold when they clamor over the side of the ship.

“Holy--” Emma starts, unable to finish that particular thought when she feels hands wrap around her ankle. She jumps. It doesn’t make a difference. She can’t move, a vice-like grip on her leg and water everywhere. Her clothes are already drenched, mud caked to the backs of her calves and both Killian and Kristoff are stabbing at the rough current around them.

“Stop that,” Tink yells, but it’s no use and whatever has a hold on Emma is trying to pull her underneath the water.

There’s more shouting. Screams and cries and curses and far too many tails, Emma’s head on a swivel as she tries to keep her balance. Her eyes meet Ariel’s, a silent question and even quicker agreement, and one of them probably takes a deeper breath.

Emma catches the cuff as soon as Ariel throws it.

And lets herself get yanked underwater.

“Emma,” Killian shouts. She barely hears it, lungs already objecting to the distinct lack of oxygen she’s providing them and the water makes every one of her senses react, far too cold and almost painful, tiny, metaphorical knives that stab at her skin and make her magic falter.

Her eyes close, everything going a bit blurry, until she notices the few dots of color just out of reach, hands that curl around her elbow and whatever was holding onto her ankle is gone now.

Emma can hear someone talking – low and unquestionable, a power to it that’s kind of familiar because it also kind of sounds a little royal and the shadows in her vision are starting to get stronger. It takes her a moment to realize she’s passing out.

Maybe drowning.

Oh, damn, she’s totally drowning.

And it’s not an entirely unpleasant sensation, is a bit like floating even. Until. It’s always until. The fingers around her elbow get tighter, yanking her up and Emma gulps down breaths of air like her life depends on it.

She swallows, gasping and coughing up water that isn’t quite as cold as it once was. Ariel’s staring at her, her own breathing a little uneven with strands of hair plastered to her cheeks and not a single other mermaid in sight.

Her tail flips back and forth in the water.

“All hells,” Kristoff murmurs, dropping both his arms in the water. Emma swallows. And glances at Killian.

He looks torn between furious and terrified, barely any color left in his gaze. “What just happened?” he demands, and the fear disappears entirely. It’s definitely furious.

Emma grimaces. “I had an idea.” “And?” “And Ariel’s also very good at reading my mind.” “Nothing was ever going to happen, Hook,” Ariel promises, although she sounds a bit like she’s convincing herself as well and neither of them mention the near-drowning thing. “I told you, shadow mermaids are notorious for their hatred of humans. The last thing they expected was for a human to give itself up like that. Plus, you know--I talked to them.” “Yeah, about that,” Emma says. “Why did that sound like some kind of decree?” Ariel winces. “Eh, because it might have been?” Eventually she will blame the lack of consistent oxygen to her brain for how long it takes her to figure it out. And whatever Killian is doing to the back of her shirt, clutching at her like she’s gone again. It was a bad plan.

“It’s a trident because that’s my father,” Ariel explains, waving the weapon in her hand. Kristoff’s eyes take up half his face. “I get to make fun of Hook becoming a royal because I’m--” “--A mermaid princess.” “Yup.” “You know I'm starting to really feel very self conscious about my lack of title here,” Kristoff grumbles, trudging towards the shore and falling to his knees almost immediately. Killian still hasn’t let go of Emma’s shirt.

She twists, ignoring the soft rip of fabric. “Nothing was going to happen.” “You did not know Fisk was royal.” “No,” Emma concedes. “But I knew she had the possibility for a tail. I figured she liked me enough to save me if I gave the other mermaids what they wanted.” “And what was that?” “A human to prove they weren’t attacking them.” Killian scowls, another huff that brushes against Emma’s cheek when he drops his hand. “Never again. We’re not doing that again.” “Aye, Captain.” “Swan.” “I know,” she promises, tugging lightly on his charms. “C’mon. Let’s go explore Neverland, huh?”

That, however, proves to be the most ridiculous thing she’s said all day because Neverland proves to be little more than a seemingly never-ending jungle. There are vines everywhere, a variety of greens that make Emma hope she never sees the color again, and every step they take forward only leads them further into darkness.

She’s so tired of that word.

“Is there a particular path we’re following here, Lady Bell?” Killian asks eventually. His fingers are back around Emma’s, the impatient swipe of his thumb against the side of her wrist a slightly twisted metronome.

And everything around them is so loud. It’s strange because Emma can’t actually hear where any of the noises are coming from, but they’re there. Constant. There are bugs, a low hum, and not-so-quiet squawks, what she hopes and isn’t entirely sure are birds, cresting over the tops of trees with even more vines. She can hear muffled voices, whispers that sound like ghosts and those must be the Lost Boys.

It makes the hair on the back of Emma’s neck stand up.

“Can you hear that?” she asks, careful not to raise her voice too loudly and Killian’s nod is barely that. Tink gasps. “What? Jeez.” “You can hear that?”

Emma snaps her teeth together. “Ok, seriously, straight answers from here on out.” “Royal decree,” Ariel mumbles.

Tink narrows her eyes – that same penetrating and vaguely judgmental look she’d given Killian before. “He can hear it too,” she says, another statement that makes goosebumps rise on Emma’s arm. “That’s interesting. That doesn’t normally happen.” “I’m going to scream,” Emma warns, Kristoff muttering please don’t under his breath.

“The Lost Boys,” Tink explains. “That’s not simply a name. It’s a descriptor. They are, in fact, lost. Runaways and orphans, children with nowhere else to go and no one to cling to. They’ve been hurt. Lost things, quite literally. That’s usually how magic like this works.” “Yeah, so I’ve noticed. But that’s not--” “--Oh, too similar,” Ariel interrupts softly, a note of sadness in her voice. “You can hear it because you both lost something too. Tinker Bell’s right, that is weird. You’re each the thing that would pull you out of here, but losing the other draws you into the magic too.”

Emma gapes, breathing through her mouth, and she’s not sure if her fingers tighten or Killian’s do. It doesn’t matter. Again. She holds on with everything she’s got, a team and that’s simplifying the whole thing. Her shirt is still far too wet to get more particular.

“Well, that’s absolutely awful isn’t it?” Killian asks, drawing an almost manic laugh out of Emma and it isn’t easy to twist back into his chest. She does it anyway, his cheek resting on top of her hair. It makes it almost easy to feel the way his lips quirk up.

“It is admittedly kind of depressing,” Kristoff agrees.

“The island doesn’t want you here, Savior,” Tink adds, Emma doing her best to ignore anything except her rather pitiful attempts to breathe when her nose is still pushed into Killian’s jacket. “It despises everything you are, wants to rip that out of you and stomp on it.” “Is the island capable of that?” Ariel asks. “Like...you know, physically?” Tink sighs. “The less time you spend here the better.” “So we should probably keep moving, don’t you think?” Emma mutters, glancing back over her shoulder. “How far are we?” “Oh, wasn’t that obvious? We’re here.” There are several pointed curses from all of them, Tink’s expression unchanged when she points a finger in front of her. And Emma has no idea how she missed a giant skull-shaped thing, but there it is and she can just make out the flickers of firelight in the left eye.

“That’s menacing. Is it actually called Skull Rock?” “That’s what the Lost Boys call it,” Tink says, stepping around Emma and Killian with a lightness that’s probably genetic. “We’re going to have to be quick. Blackbeard doesn’t have any magic, but the island has taken a liking to him and--”

“--You know this probably would have been good to know when we were still in the air,” Emma cuts in. Her magic is thrumming, matching up with every swipe of Killian’s thumb. Ariel keeps bobbing on the balls of her feet, sticks and half-dead leaves crunching under toes, while Kristoff twists his sword in the air.

“He’s gotten some of the Lost Boys on his side,” Tink continues, “and there will probably be traps going forward, so just watch your--”

She takes another step, and that’s as far as she gets before everything goes to complete and utter shit.

Emma is not surprised. She almost expects it at this point.

Tink’s cry is piercing, suddenly several feet in the air, and there are shadows moving towards them, none of them particularly large because they are children, but they’ve all got some form of weapon and Emma waves her hand when one of them tries to bludgeon her in the side of the head with a makeshift axe.

“Fucking a,” she gasps, the kid in front of her freezing immediately. He’s covered in dirt and there are more than a few scrapes on him, bits of dried blood on his cheek and obvious through the rip in his shirt.

There are more of them. Kids of varying shapes and sizes and ages, some of them looking hardly old enough to cross the street on their own, all of the armed and angry, a snarl on their lips and cry that echoes off the leaves.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Emma chants. She’s not sure how her back finds Killian’s, but the roll of his shoulder blades into hers is almost comforting, even when that means he’s blocking a blow from a Lost Boy and Tink is trying to shout from the net she’s still trapped in.

“That about sums it up, doesn’t it, love?” “Oh my God, you do not get make jokes now.” “Defense mechanism.” “Excuses,” she corrects, kicking out at the latest kid who lunges at her. “Ah, damn it!”

It lasts forever. At least it feels that way, a never-ending stream of kids masquerading as warriors and they’re not exactly doing a good job of fending them off, but Emma can’t see any blood and that’s probably a positive.

Until. It’s always an until.

The firelight in Skull Rock flickers again, doused suddenly. The Lost Boys freeze. And Emma doesn’t dare breathe, certain something absolutely horrible is going to happen and the footsteps that move towards them sound like they’re trying to prove something.

Killian laughs.

The sound reverberates around them, bounces between tree trunks and off piles of dirt, wraps around weapons and drifts in between stars that are, maybe, just a shade brighter than they were that morning. He keeps going. Every deep breath just fuels more laughter, head thrown back with the force of it.

The footsteps stop.

And Edward Teach does not look great.

Emma doesn’t remember much about him, just how much she detested him and what he’d done to Killian when they were children. She always thought he was taller. He looks incredibly slight now, as if he’s been sliced and diced and stripped of any control. His coat hangs on his shoulders, far too big with more than a few stains dotting the fabric, and the feather in his hat is pitifully limp. There are bags under his eyes, a pastiness to his skin because he hasn’t seen the sun in quite some time.

He looks like the kind of man who would run away to Neverland.

“Killian Jones,” he croaks, and Emma wonders when the last time he actually spoke was. “I thought you were dead.” “I think you wished I was dead,” Killian says. “Unfortunately for you, that’s been vastly over exaggerated. Where’s my ship, Teach?” “What?” “My ship. What have you done with it?” Blackbeard scoffs, lips twisting into a disbelieving smile. It makes Emma skin crawl. And she can’t stop the burst of light that flies out of her palm, lighting the entire clearing and it only makes it even more clear how young the children around them are.

All of them with matching looks in their eyes. Empty. No hope, at all.

“You came all this way to get your ship, Jones?” Blackbeard asks, and something is wrong. Emma doesn’t know what it is, but it’s something. “Even with her here?” “Leave her alone.” “No, no, no, this is---” Blackbeard makes a noise that’s probably supposed to be a laugh, but it sounds a little deranged and Emma’s eyes flash towards Ariel. She keeps licking her lips. “You really never learn do you?” “Probably not,” Killian admits. He draws his sword slowly, the challenge obvious in the movement. “So I’ll ask you one more time. Where is my ship?” “It’s your fault, you know. Several times over.” “That’s not an answer, Teach.” Blackbeard’s smile widens, showing off teeth that are barely that. Ariel gags. “That’s not very kind, my dear. I remember you as well, the latch-on mermaid. Did you ever find your prince? I’m sure he’ll be very interested to discover where you are before I kill him.” “That’s suggesting you’re getting out of here,” Killian points out, the tip of his sword directed just above Blackbeard’s heart. “Last chance, Teach.” “There’s something different about you, boy. What is it?” “Nothing.” “No, no, that’s not true. You were a force last I saw you. All power and fury, demanding information and prying it out of my goddamn head when I wouldn't give it to you.” Killian’s arm drops. It’s not much, but it’s there, half an inch and a bit of a give and Emma does her best to take a step in front of him without him knowing. “Stop that,” he mumbles, barely opening his mouth when his gaze darts her direction. “You’re not winning, Teach. You’re stuck here. So you might as well atone for your sins now.” “You think I’m just going to admit everything that’s happened since you gave up your only bartering chip? Please,” Blackbeard chuckles. “No, no, you’ve not learned a single thing since you were a lad. Far too hopeful, you were. Aiming above your station. You know what happens when you get that close to the sun? You burn.” Emma will, eventually, get better control of her emotions. In the moment it doesn’t matter. In the moment she swipes both her arms through the air, a rush of wind and another surge of light and Blackbeard is pinned against the nearest tree, laugh turning into breathless gasps when Killian’s sword presses against the jut of his throat.

“How did you get here, Teach?” he fumes, and more than a few of the Lost Boys start to mutter quietly. As if they’re worried about who’s in charge now.

“You know the answer to that.” “The Dark One?” “That was you, my boy.” Killian growls when he pushes his sword forward, the sudden red on his sword a stark contrast to the sheen of the metal. “Not yours,” he says. “Never.” “No, that’s true isn’t it? You were always hers.” Blackbeard jerks his head up, a quick gasp when it only serves to cut him again. “The stories were rather epic after you left, your highness. Captain Hook and his lost love. How absolutely disgusting.” Emma lifts her eyebrows, and there’s no electricity in this realm, but she feels like she could single-handedly charge the entire Eastern seaboard. “Where’s the Jolly?”

“In my pocket.” “Wait, what did you say?” Ariel balks, and Blackbeard grins triumphantly.

“My pocket. The right one, just inside my jacket.” He winks at Emma, Killian’s sharp inhale far too loud. “If you’d be so kind, my dear. I don’t really trust, Jones, you understand.”

She glares, stepping forward anyway and reaching around the lapel. Her fingers curl around a bottle, tugging lightly and whatever noise she makes when her brain processes what she’s holding is not dignified at all.

Because Blackbeard wasn’t lying.

It’s right there. In front of her. The Jolly Roger. In a bottle.

“What the fuck,” Emma breathes. “How did that--” “--I told you, Savior. This is his fault. He found me, wanted that bean, to get to you, and offered me the Jolly in return. How was I supposed to say no?” He grins when she continues to glare, whatever emotion has appeared in the back of her throat far too large to swallow. “Well, I got the Jolly. Finally. The ship I’d wanted for years, what should have been rightfully mine, the truest pirate on the seas and--”

He groans when Killian moves again. “That is not an insult, lad. It’s a fact. And making it difficult to tell the story.” “Get on with it.” “Well, as I say. I got the ship, the lad got the bean and little did I know who I was dealing with at the time. I admit, that was my own fault, but would you guess it, several years later, my crew and I are somewhere off the coast of DunBroch when we’re boarded.” “In the middle of the water?” Emma asks.

“Smart lass. Yes, in the middle of the water. She seemed to be able to control it.” “Who?” “Ursula,” Killian answers, head darting towards Emma. Her jaw drops. “I was gone already and--damn, Arthur was right.” “Ah,” Blackbeard says. “Is that you how you figured it out? A suggestion, my dear. Never start drinking in Camelot. That lot knows how to hold their ale.” “What did Ursula do?” Blackbeard clicks his tongue when she refuses to banter with him. “Is that not obvious? The former Dark One made it very clear that he wasn’t pleased I had helped Jones get out of this realm. Of course I was none the wiser at the time, but that didn’t make much of a difference. That man--Rumplestiltskin, he prided himself on the sanctity of the deal, said I should have been more astute and it was my own fault, what happened next.” “Which was?” “That sea witch transformed my ship. Shrunk it down and stuffed it into the nearest bottle that had been rolling around on deck. She left us there, in the middle of the bloody ocean, to drown like rats. Not a second thought. And it was all Jones’ fault, the whole thing.”

Emma blinks. Again. And again. She’s certain, if she keeps doing it, the scene will change or the story will change, but nothing ever does and Tink is still hanging in a net, several dozen Lost Boys circling around them and they need to get out of there.

She tightens her hold on the bottle.

“So, now, you see, I’m here,” Blackbeard continues, “because I realized what Jones was. Only, that’s not entirely true anymore is it?” He widens his eyes at the silence he gets in response. “Fascinating, the lives of the magical. And now you’ve given me the perfect opportunity to get out of here. I thought I’d be stuck after I found that one portal in Wonderland. But, if you’re here there’s nothing for me to be worried about and I’ll just--”

He ducks, a grunt of pain when the blade scrapes against his skin, but his arm finds its way around Emma, yanking her against his chest and she can feel the point of a dagger digging into the small of her back.

Killian freezes. “No,” he whispers, part objection and bigger plea. “No, that’s--” “--Oh, I think it is. Because she’s magic. Everyone’s always known that, known what she’s meant to the kingdom and what she’s supposed to do. So, I’ll take your princess, Jones. I’ll take your ship. I’ll get back to Misthaven and you can...well you can stay here and rot, for all I care.”

He ducks his his head, lips close enough to Emma��s ear that she recoils in disgust. “Let’s go, princess. I’ve got some big plans I’d like to get underway.”

And, really, Ariel is getting very good at reading her mind. Which is all the more impressive because Emma is only half certain she’s even got the start of a plan, but then Blackbeard takes a step back and his foot lands directly in a puddle, the soft splash echoing louder than Killian’s objections and Kristoff’s curses and--

“The water,” Ariel nods, “Neverland water’s supposed to be magical.”

Emma closes her eyes. She’s sure she’ll be exhausted sooner rather than later, but for now she’s running on adrenaline and that look of panic etched on every inch of Killian’s face, one hand on the bottle and the other yanking Blackbeard’s arm down.

“Stay,” Emma says, and it’s kind of a lame word really, but it also feels incredibly powerful as it flies out of her – an incantation and a command, royal and strong and every single one of the Lost Boys gasp at the burst of light around her.

The water inches up Blackbeard’s leg, moving under fabric and between strands, wrapping around his calf and circling his knee. It latches onto the end of his jacket sleeves, pushes its way into pockets that are probably filled with other things. It hangs off the ends of his hair and pools on the top of his shoulders, drips off the bottom of his chin and the tip of his nose.

And Emma watches the whole thing, fingers clutching him with a fury she’s never had before because she should have been quicker before and she was never going to let Killian hurt him.

Not anymore

Not after the darkness.

“What--what are you doing?” Blackbeard stammers. He tries to swat the water away, but they’re beyond that now and his whole body is starting to look a little more fluid. It shimmies and shakes, an unsteadiness that matches up almost perfectly with the chaos of Neverland.

Fuck Neverland, honestly.

“You know I’m actually really good at controlling magic,” Emma says lightly. “All kinds. It’s nuts. And, uh, well, you’re not exactly magical now, but your whole--” She waves her hands through the air, drops of water landing on Blackbeard’s lips. “--Being, I guess. It’s kind of tied to the magic of the island now.” His eyes widen.

“Yeah,” Emma nods. “It’s not great, right? So here’s what’s happening. This magic? It’s shit. Total garbage, super terrible, really awful. All those words you’d think of when you think of bad stuff. And I’m not really that. The opposite, honestly. So, I’m almost honor-bound, I guess, to get rid of that. Except you’re here. Being a dick.” “What did you do?” Blackbeard roars. His whole body is soaked through now, clawing at his own clothes like getting rid of them will undo the magic.

Emma grins. “Your whole being is wrapped up in that water now, Edward Teach. You’re not magic, but your continued existence is dependent on it. You need it to stay alive. But, and this is the kicker, if you leave Neverland, try to get off this island again, not only will you destroy that magic, which, you know, I’ll take--but you’ll also destroy yourself. So. You’re stuck.”

Ariel lets out a whoop, punching the air in a way that makes her look a bit like an 80s teen movie protagonist. That’s another misplaced reference.

And Blackbeard falls to his knees immediately, scraping at the dirt and cursing Emma loud enough that the trees around them shake. There’s a flutter of wings as well, a heavy breathing that Emma thinks is her at first.

It’s not.

It’s Killian.

She spins back towards him, finally getting her throat to cooperate and she can’t read the expression on his face. One of them probably moves first. It continues to not matter, not when his body heaves against her, lips peppered across her hair until she loses track of how many times he makes contact and-- “We have to get the fuck off this island.”

Emma hums. “Yeah, ok.”

She’s just about to wave Tink back down when she hears a soft cough behind her, jerking around so quickly she nearly falls over and the cough is a boy and the boy is looking at her and he’s not trying to attack her.

“I, uh--” he starts, digging the toe of a worn boot into the ground. “I just didn’t know if you wanted to see the other grown up that’s here?” Kristoff drops his sword. “What other grown up?” Emma doesn’t want to hope. She doesn’t. She wants to stay cautious and in firmly entrenched in the maybe, the quiet comfort of a kid who was lost and can still hear that sound, but she’s not that kid anymore and she’s here to save everyone.

The kid nods. “On the other side of the island. That man put her there.” “What man?” “He wasn’t here long, but he said his name was Rumplestiltskin.” “Fuck,” Emma mutters, wincing at the curse. “Ok, ok, yeah. Do you have a name, kid?” He doesn’t answer at first and for one painstakingly horrible moment Emma wonders if she’s overstepped and they’re going to have to fight their way out of there again. The kid smiles. “Henry,” he says. “My name is Henry.”

#cs ff #captain swan ff #cs fic #captain swan #all was golden in the sky #that stupid witch fic #i did not originally plan on the end of this chapter happening the way it happened at all #like #at all

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