#i did it! i completed my project - all my boys have their custom tattoos and complexions finally <3

[katsigian]

──── ⁺ ☾⭒⁺˖ ᴏᴄ: ᴠᴀʟᴇɴ ᴋɪɴʟᴀᴡ // ᴅᴀʏᴡᴀʟᴋᴇʀ ⊹ ᴘʀɪᴠᴀᴛᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛᴏʀ ⊹ ᴀʀᴇꜱ ꜱʏꜱᴛᴇᴍꜱ

──── ⁺ ☾⭒⁺˖ ᴏᴄ: ᴠᴇꜱᴘᴇʀ ᴋɪɴʟᴀᴡ // ᴅᴀʏᴡᴀʟᴋᴇʀ ⊹ ɴᴇᴛʀᴜɴɴᴇʀ ⊹ ᴀʀᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇʟ ꜱʏɴᴅɪᴄᴀᴛᴇ

──── ⁺ ☾⭒⁺˖ ᴏᴄ: ɴᴏᴇʟ ᴠɪᴛᴀʟᴀ // ᴡᴇʀᴇᴡᴏʟꜰ ⊹ ᴇᴍᴛ ⊹ ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀ ᴛᴇᴀᴍ

All of their tattoos are designed and modded by me

──── ⁺ ᴄʏʙᴇʀᴘᴜɴᴋ 2077 ➸ 90/∞

ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ʀᴇᴘᴏꜱᴛ // ʀᴇʙʟᴏɢꜱ ᴡᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ // ɴᴏ ᴀɪ

[standbyyourmantis]

The Sims 4: The Mighty Nein

Once upon a time, it was January 14 and I thought it would be fun to make a set of Mighty Nein Sims because I was so desperate for new Widomauk content that I was re-reading fanfic two and three times. So, I went on a download binge. This project snowballed into creating Vox Machina and the then-unnamed Bell’s Hells. When some friends expressed interest in having them, I set about collecting a list of all the custom content I’d used for each Sim and while doing that I kept finding more cc that I liked. I ended up needing to learn how to create cc to perfect certain characters, and it’s finally, finally completed.

So anyway, here’s 29 Sims.

Each Sim in the set comes with two everyday outfits (except for FCG). I attempted to remain as close to their canonical clothing and style as possible with an eye towards this being a modern AU like you’d find in a fanfic.

Vox Machina || Bell’s Hells

You can find the full CC list required for all three sets here.

Here is the folder of CC I created (some may require additional meshes, this information is available in the CC list)

Introducing part two of three, The Mighty Nein!

Additional information and in-game headshots below the cut

Following the order of introductions, the first family on our list is Murder, Hobos. This family features Caleb, Nott, and Frumpkin.

Caleb has full body freckles, body hair, and a set of self-harm scars on his arms (they were the only small parallel scars I could find). He also has a chin dimple under the beard. He is a max level spellcaster because I couldn’t figure out how to reset that skill, but his others are all dropped back to 0.

Nott has sharp teeth and full sclera eyes with a pupil overlay. Her formalwear includes pierced ears. All my Sims with odd colored skin use the same skin set and she and Molly share an eye set just to cut down on how many things people had to download because it is A LOT.

Frumpkin is a Bengal. He has the Woozles. I did not cure him before porting him over because I didn’t catch it until they were already exported. Sorry.

Family two is The Blues. This is Jester and Beau.

Jester was one of my favorite Sims to dress. She and Molly use the same fangs and their horns and tail come from the same set as do their skintones. She has one of my favorite details, which is that little donut choker. She wears a LOT of pink.

Beau will default to male clothing because it suited her more than female. She has leg and armpit hair as well as a tattoo on the back of her neck similar to the canon one although I didn’t go exact because in my game Molly is still alive.

The Wild Brothers is the third family, which is Fjord and Caduceus.

Caduceus is the tallest Sim in my game. I have his neck and body stretched as far as they would go. He is furry and he wears two Maxis recolors I made for his everyday. 

Fjord was just real hard to dress, so I went with pretty basic straight dude clothes.

Circus People rounds out our player characters, and that is obviously Molly and Yasha.

Yasha has two different colored eyes, and while she shaves her legs she does not shave her armpits (as all Xhorhasian women do not shave their armpits, but she does canonically shave her arms so I decided she shaves arms and legs but not armpits, this was clearly a decision I put a weird amount of thought into). She is a little taller than average but not as tall as Caduceus.

Mollymauk has no body hair, as I am on the boat that Tieflings and elves tend to be naturally more hairless. He has a tail and horns that match Jester's, and a full set of canonical tattoos that were made by @viktormaru. Since I am also on board the "Tieflings don't handle the cold well" boat, he has my favorite of all the cold weather outfits on this set.

Finally, the last house on the list is Hot Boi. Yes, that's right, I made Essek to ensure that all your shipping needs are met.

Essek has my favorite of the warm weather outfits, and boy it is hard to get a good picture of him due to how dark his skin is. He is the same height as Jester who is slightly shorter than average.

[fairyoftbz]

Tournesol | Changmin

🌻 pairing: shy florist!changmin x fem!reader (briefs mentions of barista!Jacob & tattoo artist!Kevin) 🌻 genre: fluff, slow-burn, strangers-to-lovers (?) 🌻 word count: 3.1k 🌻 synopsis: you are new in town so you decide to explore a bit of your neighbourhood. You never knew that the flower shop down your street would change your life in a good way.  🌻 requested? : yes, thank you so much! ✨ 🌻 A/N: here comes my first ever post for my first personal project! thank you to the anon who requested this and i hope you’ll like it! constructive feedback is always welcomed in my dms or my asks!  I will write the English translation of the French word I used in that way. PS: If anyone wants to be tagged on my future posts for this project, please let me know !!

Locking the front door of the brand-new apartment you had just moved into, you pulled down your light coat’s sleeve after dropping your keys in your little cross-body bag. You walked down the few flights of stairs that separated you from the entrance hall, quickly checking if you had any mail and walked out the door as it was found empty.

Today was your lucky day because the wind stopped blowing right before you woke up, and the sun decided to show up as you were enjoying your breakfast, making you finish it on the little balcony right outside your living room. You couldn’t ask for a better start of the day, the light mood and warm atmosphere bringing nothing but a huge smile on your face.

You greeted the old lady with a wave and a bow as she was swiping the entrance of the bakery, wishing her a great day as you kept your route.

__

Two weeks ago, as you were moving in, the baker happened to be with her son and some of his friends, and instead of helping her serve the bakery customers, she sent them over to your place as she knew who you were, since you visited her place in a rush the day before. She seemed to have the gift of the gab because she was quick to ask if you were new around the neighbourhood. You remember being surprised by her behaviour and politely answered, but you were glad that you had this conversation with her. You weren’t even halfway through your move that the 4 boys appeared in the entrance hall, offering their help. Feeling a bit suspicious at first, you kindly refused, but when one of them offered you a smile extremely similar to the baker and introduced himself as her son, you finally gave in and accepted their help.  

The amount of time you had planned for your move got reduced by almost three thanks to them. They followed your orders like no one else, and once they were done moving the boxes around the rooms and left, you quickly went to the local convenience store you had spotted at the other street corner and bought 4 bottles and some chocolate for them. You walked by the bakery the following day, and the son happened to work here, replacing his mother while she was at a doctor’s appointment. He was touched by your small gifts, and he made sure to call his friends to come over and get them while you slipped away from the bakery to go to IKEA. Before you got to leave, he advised you to take a few walks around the neighbourhood to get to know your surroundings. You wished you could have followed his advice earlier, but you were busy with moving in and get ready for your interviews that could lead you to potential jobs.

But today was the weekend and you decided to take some time for yourself and follow the advice of the baker's son. It was a beautiful day, and you had planned to make the most of it to get familiar with your neighbourhood.

__

Your area was surprisingly calm to be in the middle of the city, but you weren’t going to complain since it was something you were dying to have: a friendly, quiet neighbourhood. The nice smell of the bakery lingered around you as you walked past the building, following you until you turned at a corner, leading you to a new, unknown street. Some shop windows were beautifully decorated, and you mentally took some notes of the various local shops that could become potentially useful one day. You walked past a china shop, staying for a few seconds to admire the detailed and precise work displayed in the window display. Offering a smile to the young lady inside the store, you walked away and looked around, noticing something that caught your attention on the opposite pavement. You quickly checked as no car drove by and crossed the street, smiling as two shops were the polar opposite of the other. The flower shop in front of you was sweet, it smelt delicate and chic, just like flowers. The walls were covered by some off-white roughcast, adding a soft touch to it.

A few meters away, on the left of the flower shop, was a tattoo parlour. You giggled as you noticed the cliche that emanated from the two places. The parlour was covered in black, with a Gothic, biker style, posters of metal and rock music pasted around the walls, hardcore music blasting from the speakers, completely contrasting with the softness and the sobriety of the flower shop. A tattoo artist appeared behind the counter that was situated next to the window and your eyes widened, trying to quickly count the number of tattoos and piercings that was decorating his body. A single front piece of hair was dyed blond among the other jet-black strands, his warm smile standing out from the rest of his physical appearance.

You turned your head to the side as you focused on the flower shop, its atmosphere suiting you better despite the next-door shop spiking up your interest. You smiled at the yellow Beetle parked in front of it and pushed the door open after a few seconds of consideration, a small bell tingling as it hit the glass door.

The smell of pollen and freshly cut flowers welcomed you in, the intensity of the colours making you slightly dazed. They were all gorgeous, the arrangements giving you an impulsion to buy a bouquet of each flower they had in store, but that would never happen.

“Welcome!” a voice from under the counter greeted you, a man appearing behind it a few seconds later, secateurs in hand. You smiled as you greeted him back, charmed by how similar he was to his store, soft and friendly. He stayed behind the counter, watching you walk around his shop, all of his other activities and tasks were instantly forgotten as soon as you stepped a foot inside his store.

Changmin was amazed by your smile, finding you incredibly beautiful, his heart hammering in his chest at the sight of your admiring smile creeping across your lips. He was dying to talk to you and get to know you, but he knew himself, he was most likely going to make a fool of himself if he ever dared to exchange some words with you. He was already pleasantly surprised that he had managed to welcome you without getting in a muddle or stumbling on his words.

With a slightly shaking hand, he diagonally cut the end of the red roses resting on the counter. He couldn’t help but glance at you, which you didn't notice, luckily for him. However, by paying too much attention to you and your gorgeous smile, he began to cut the stems a little too rapidly and too high, alas once pinching a piece of skin between the pruning blades, making him jump in pain and let go of the gardening tool. Changmin stifled a groan of pain and rushed into the back office, looking for the first aid kit. He hurriedly found a sticking plaster and wrapped it around his cut, pressing on the wound to ease the pain and get back to work as quickly as possible.

As he reappeared in the doorway that separated the back office from the front office, he heard the bell above the door chime again, signalling your departure.

His shoulders subsided and he watched you walk away with a disappointed pout. He sighed in sadness and pushed the roses away, nervousness and guilt fuelling his mind and regrets.

"Shit," he sighed, picking up the wilted petals of a few roses that were littered on the floor, shoving them into the front pocket of his apron. He blamed himself for not having spoken to you to at least know your name. Quickly, Changmin walked around the counter to door, showing the “now-closed” store sign as remorse flooded his veins. He let his feet guide every single one of his moves, now finding himself in the storeroom. He took a pencil and his notebook sticking out of his bag before returning to the counter.

Closing his eyes, he tried to remember your face and began a sketch. He erased a line, then two, then several, feeling the frustration overcome him as the portrait did not correspond to what he had seen a few minutes earlier at all. Changmin had a perfect image of you in his mind, but maybe the stress of forgetting you or his shaking hands prevented him from replicating your gorgeous face on paper.

Completely unaware of what was going on behind those four walls, you kept on walking around the neighbourhood until your feet hurt and decided to go back to your apartment.

__

The next morning you enjoyed the rays of sunlight that your curtains had failed to filter for a few minutes, smiling shyly as you remembered seeing the florist appearing in your dreams. He was here, you recognised his face, but you couldn't hear what he was saying. He sounded extremely sincere and filled with love, but it was probably just your lonely mind playing tricks on you. You decided to get up, a sudden urge for pastry invading your thoughts, your stomach growling at the sudden idea. After dressing appropriately for going out, you walked through your doorstep and walked leisurely to your favourite bakery. The baker was sitting on a chair on the small terrace of her shop, sipping tea with who appeared to be her husband.

"Morning Sir. Ma'am," you bowed, greeting them warmly, the baker hurriedly setting down her tea mug to gently grab your wrist. "Dear, this is the young lady Jacob and his friends helped move in the brick building, around the street corner that I told you about. Remember that?" she explained to her husband, who took the time to swallow his sip while nodding. "Ah, the bottle of wine and the chocolate," he says looking at you and you smiled, as it was your turn to nod. "That's right," you stated, holding out your hand for him to squeeze, which he did delicately. “Thanks again,” you told them, and the baker waved her hand in front of her face, a genuine smile on her face. "Oh please, don’t worry about it, it's okay," she declared, and you thanked them again before entering their bakery. Jacob was behind the counter chatting with an old lady who seemed to waylay him. He noticed you and apologised to her, seeing him sigh before greeting you. Jacob was a sweet man, always ready to help everyone and too nice to say no. Talking and getting to know him was a piece of cake, he was so nice to hang out with and a gem to have around.

"Y/N, hello! What can I get you?" he offered you a beautiful smile, which he got from his mother, noticing another time the striking similarity with the old woman on the terrace. "I'm going to get a baguette and one of those," you say, pointing at a pain au chocolat sprinkled with powdered sugar in the little window that separated you from the young man. He smiled and grabbed a metal clamp, placing the pastry in a paper bag. Typing a few things on the machine, you handed him a banknote and he gave you back the change, along with your pastries. You thanked him and started to leave when a familiar figure stood at a table against the window.

Changmin was quietly drinking his coffee when he heard a conversation start from outside the window. He almost spat out the liquid he had in his mouth when he saw you talking with the owners of the bakery, his eyes widening at the sight of you. He pursed his lips to stifle a smile and continued to drink his coffee, tapping on his phone screen. His heart was hammering harder, faster, in his chest as he tried to keep a low profile, lowering his head in case you were to curiously look around the place. He sighed through gritted teeth when he heard your complicity with Jacob, feeling a touch of jealousy pinching his heart without intending to. Changmin nervously finished his cup of coffee in one sip, the warm liquid burning his throat, not bothering looking up. Stuffing his phone in his jacket pocket, he was ready to go when he saw you still in the store, immediately freezing as his brown eyes met your sparkling ones.

"Hello!" you told him with a smile, waving discreetly with one hand while the other clutched the brown bag against you. He blinked several times, your beauty and kindness bouncing around his skull. He answered you with a brief, serious nod and walked away without even saying goodbye to his friend behind the counter. You watched him leave out the window before turning to Jacob, who was looking at you with a thin smile on his lips. "Did I say something wrong?" you asked him, and he exhaled a laugh through his nose, shaking his head from side to side. "Not at all. Changmin is just a very shy person sometimes," he said, and you nodded, still a bit confused from the florist's behaviour, but you said nothing and walked out of the store after wishing for a good day to Jacob. The latter smiled as you walked in the opposite direction from Changmin, greeting another customer as he understood his friend’s behaviour.

__

A week passed and it was time for you to start your new job. You had used up a good chunk of your last salary to pay for furniture and taxes which you barely remembered the names of, so you needed to have a new entrance of income. You applied to a real estate agency that wasn't far from where you live, as a financial chief director, exactly what you worked at in your previous city. You had to walk past the florist to get to your new workplace, but the florist was the only closed shop on the whole street, which surprised you. You had the opportunity to talk a little more with Jacob, and he had confessed to you that Changmin loved his job and was a flower enthusiast, which confirmed your concern when you didn't see his store open.

A smile grew on your face at the end of the day, when you took the same path as this morning, seeing the shop illuminated. When you had assembled your furniture, you remembered that you wanted to decorate your apartment with more greenery and flowers. Seizing the opportunity that the florist was still open, you pushed open that same door you had walked through a few weeks ago, the same wonderful smell and tinkling bell welcoming you inside.

You noticed a brown chunk of hair behind a large, flowered wall, immediately recognising Changmin's slender figure. You heard him clear his throat as he hummed a tune, arranging a bouquet.

Changmin heard a customer walk into his store and finished his bouquet of sunflowers and red roses before revealing himself, his eyes opening widely as he discovered your innocent smile and your office outfit. The pencil skirt and beige suit you wore made his heart fuzzy with warmth, his mind only filled with how pretty you looked.

“Good evening,” you greeted him, and he nodded, swallowing his saliva before answering you. "Welcome," he said, his husky, uncertain voice melting your heart. He managed to smile, finding dimples growing in the corners of his mouth, he was handsome when he was smiling with reddened ears. "I would like to know if you have any flowers or plants to recommend to decorate my apartment," you clear your throat before telling him your request. "May I ask the colour of your walls?" he asked in a hesitant voice, looking everywhere around the shop except you. "White, cream, and some in greyish tones as well," you explained and he nodded mechanically, looking through his stock.

"I can suggest you some dried pampas grass with cotton stems. It's... quite sober and low maintenance," he walked around the counter and you followed, his hands grabbing a few stems which he gathered under your nose. You liked the harmony of the two plants, you already had an idea where to put these at your place. "I like them a lot, I'll take a bouquet," you stated, and he nodded, giving you a small smile as he walked over to the cash register. He remained motionless for a few seconds, his finger hovering above a key. You saw him take a deep breath before disappearing into the back office, making you frown for an instant.

Changmin reappeared a few seconds later and you looked at him in shock, expecting everything but this. He held out an arrangement of sunflowers and roses in front of you, the warm tones of yellow and red reminding you of the summer warmth.

"It's for you," he said, holding your gaze, the tips of his ears turning a crimson red. You remained a few seconds dumbfounded in front of the bouquet, not knowing what to do. "For me? But in what honour? I don't deserve it," you stated but he insisted with a nod, so you shyly took the bouquet and gave him a big smile, your heart pounding. "That's so sweet, thank you very much," you told him, plunging your nose into the flowers, the scent of the two flowers blending beautifully together. He seemed to be breathing again when he discovered pure happiness in your eyes, giving you a big smile as well.

“You are as radiant as a sunflower, I… I wanted to gift you some,” he confessed, and you were touched by his words. “And the red roses… well, I don't think I should draw you a picture,” his voice trailed, and you were both embarrassed, but you could still feel some connection emerge between you two. Looking at the flowers again, you noticed a small card hanging at the base of the bouquet, and you flipped it to read it.

"A date to celebrate my arrival here?" you asked, surprised he knew this information about you. "Only if you want to, of course. I accidentally overheard your discussion with Mr and Mrs Bae, I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to show you around the city," he scratched the back of his neck, an embarrassed look painted on his face, apprehensive about your reaction. "With great pleasure," he looked up and sighed in relief, making you smile at his behaviour. "Saturday morning in front of the bakery, is that okay with you?" "It's perfect." He smiled while nodding, his brown eyes lingering into yours for seconds that seemed to last forever, but he didn't feel so intimidated anymore.

He almost felt confident, and that only sounded promising for the days to come.

[taelme]

Tattoo artist!Bang Chan

genre: tattoo artist!au, (fluff, slightly suggestive, this felt like slow burn to me lol) 

pairing/s:  Chan / Reader, ( some of the stray kids appear in this but not all sorry ) 

word count: 20k+ ( again, idk what happened my hand slipped ) 

tw: none!! just slightly suggestive but NO SMUT in this we keep it safe here bc im weak 

a/n: this was a ride....inspired by that one period of time ( PLS 191110 KAMP festival... ) Bang Chan kept wearing that fake lip piercing....n I love Bang Chan but like...I can't write smut for the life of me so this is the best I can do,... I put a mix in there I guess hope u guys like it!! ps gif not mine idk how many times I need to say this 

“Hi, welcome to peaches, what can I get you?”

You fumbled around in your bag for your wallet, looking up to make eye contact with the boy standing behind the counter, dark brown hair falling over his eyes slightly as he gave you an expectant look.

Taken aback by the sheer appeal of his looks, you avoided his gaze desperately, trying your best to calm yourself down as you wondered just why Felix wasn’t working today.

"Uh…I’ll just uh…I’ll get um. Can I have the peach thing?” you fumbled with your words, your hand going up to your head to scratch at your temple even though it wasn’t itching.

A small huff of laughter escaped the boy, your gaze darting up to look at him, somewhat curious to see what he would look like while laughing, but getting distracted by the shiny silver ring delicately hugging the corner of his lower lip, except this time you couldn’t bring yourself to look away.

“You mean the peach soda?” he quirked an eyebrow, giving you a small smirk.

You noticed a slight accent in the way he spoke, only serving to make you even more confused about just who he was, your mind wandering to possibilities on whether he was one of Felix’s friends from Australia.

Pursing your lips, you nodded quickly without paying attention to what he was asking you, trying to end your exchange quickly before your flushed skin became too obvious, thrusting your money forward and staring intently as he worked quickly at the register.

Holding the change out for you, you’d almost winced when the pads of your fingers brushed against the cool metal of his rings, hearing him thank you, mumbling something else that you couldn’t quite catch.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Name?” he prompted you again.

You made a sound of realization, remembering that this was your first time meeting him so he wouldn’t know your name, “Y/N,” you told him.

He made a small sound of intrigue, “nice name,” he murmured.

Thankfully you’d regained your sense of the situation before he could write your name on the cup, “wait, I’m not having it to-go,” you added quickly, not expecting to earn a chuckle from him.

“I know, sweetie, I asked you about that just know,” he raised his eyebrows at you, “I just wanted to know your name.”

Shoving your coins into your wallet, you thanked him quickly,  hastening your steps to find yourself a seat at the far corner of the room, away from the crowd of students playing board games but not too far away that your friend wouldn’t be able to spot you when they arrived.

Taking your phone out to pretend to fiddle with it, you couldn’t help the furtive ( you hoped, at least ) glances you stole at the said worker, your constant glances at him making you completely oblivious to what was actually going on around you, only snapping out of your thoughts with a start when you heard a loud thud on your table, your head snapping up quickly to spot your friend in the seat before you.

“Sorry I’m late. Did you wait long?” Jisung asked you, his hair in a mess from what you assumed was the cause of the thud.

“Huh?” you frowned, not hearing him quite well from how distracted you were, Jisung’s reply interrupted when you saw the cashier boy walking towards your table.

“Here’s your drink, sweetie,” he smiled, and in your desperation to avoid his gaze once again, you had noticed how only one of his hands was covered in a sleeve, something you knew people tended to do to cover tattoos.

You pretended you weren’t flustered, giving the boy a slight nod and looked elsewhere, fiddling with the straw in the soda, glaring at Jisung when he’d slid the glass from your hand slowly, raising both eyebrows in question while gesturing wildly with his head in the direction the cashier had walked off in.

“Who’s the hottie and why’s he calling you sweetie?” He wiggled his eyebrows, bringing the straw to his lips to take a long sip.

“Firstly, I want to know just as much as you do. Second of all, I don’t even know his name-”

“It’s Chris, I saw his nametag just now when you were too busy staring at God knows what,” Jisung rolled his eyes, leaning back in his seat to casually look at the counter, observing how Chris had brought a little juice box up to his mouth, fiddling with his phone as there were no customers in line.

“Why d’you think Felix suddenly hired him?” Jisung narrowed his eyes at Chris, making you shrug, wondering where Felix was, finding it oddly timely when Felix had chosen that time to enter the café, the bells dangling on top of the door jingling to announce his entrance. 


“He’s here, maybe we can just ask him,” you told Jisung, watching as Felix approached the counter with a wide grin.

Chris placed his phone down quickly, only to relax when he realised it was just Felix.

“Hey,” Felix nodded at Chris, turning to scan the room, waving at you and Jisung upon spotting the both of you.

Jisung waved his hand wildly to beckon Felix to your table, practically pulling him down into a squat next to your table, earning a wide-eyed look of confusion from Felix.

“Hi guys, everything alright?”

“Who is that! Your new hire!” Jisung used his head to nod in Chris’ direction, making Felix turn around in Chris’ direction before a knowing look washed over his face, his mouth curving into an ‘o’ shape, looking very much amused.

“I see you’ve met Chris?”

You nodded, “are you understaffed or something? I thought you said you don’t do part- timers?” You frowned.

Felix shook his head, jutting his lips out in a pout.

“Nope, I’ve been pretty busy these days with classes so I figured I could use some help, plus, he’s a friend of mine so I know I can trust him.” Felix grinned, holding his hands up beside his face in a thumbs up.

“He looks really….” You began, immediately regretting because you were struggling to find the right word to describe Chris’ intimidating aura.

Truth be told, you were just trying not to let how good-looking you thought he was slip. Jisung would surely never let you live it down.

“Scary? Yeah I figured, my parents told me to get him to cover his tattoos so he wouldn’t scare my customers off,” Felix giggled, “but the lip piercing was a little troublesome so I let him keep it on,” he shrugged, your eyes widening at the confirmation that he did indeed have tattoos.

“Trust me….his face is scary enough for that,” you muttered, taking a long sip of your drink in your poor attempt to suppress your curiosity.

Jisung shot you a look, rolling his eyes.

“Please, that ‘sweetie’ he gave you was far from scary and you know it.”

Felix raised an eyebrow at Jisung, turning to give you an amused smile, his hands coming up to cover his mouth (though that didn’t do much in hiding his grin).

“‘Sweetie’?” He giggled, peering over at Chris before shaking his head good-naturedly.

“Yeah, you know, you should tell him not to flirt with your customers,” you huffed, Jisung’s smirk already beginning to unnerve you.

Felix’s response had only unnerved you even more, “trust me, Y/N, he’ll grow on you.”

===

And grow on you he sure did. Though you weren’t very sure if you would liken him to the kind of unwelcome moss that grows on old buildings or that of a pretty morning glory plant. Though both had its own charm, you just weren’t sure which one Chris fit into. Whatever it was, you were sure he was leaning towards the more unwelcome one for you.

You shot an annoyed look at Chris when he’d turned whatever rave music he had been playing in the café even louder, interrupting the cute café project meeting you were attempting to have with one of your friends Jeongin.

“What? Sorry, I can’t concentrate with all...this,” Jeongin gave you an apologetic frown, using his hand to gesture to the speakers, making you turn to cast Chris an angry glare.

Catching his gaze quickly, he gave you an expectant look, which only served to unnerve you more with how nonchalant he was acting.

“The music” you mouthed, gesturing to the speakers, “is too loud!” you covered your ears and shook your head vigorously, repeating your gestures with your frown directed towards him.

Chris simply shrugged, even going to the extent of pretending to yawn, cupping his hand around his ear and knitting his eyebrows together in a wince.

Curse Felix for having cute asshole friends, you thought.

Frankly, Chris didn’t know why he was being such an ass either. Maybe it was the knowledge that that kid sitting with you was interacting with you more than you ever interacted with Chris. Or maybe it was the way you seemed like you’d dressed up more today, fiddled with your hair more and posed for pictures nicely compared to when you were with Jisung.

Maybe Chris was just a teensy weensy bit jealous.

“I’m really sorry, he doesn’t seem like he’s gonna lower down the volume anytime soon,” you leaned closer to apologize, slightly reassured when he shook his head dismissively at you, though it didn’t rid you completely of your guilt.

“I don’t know why he’s doing this,” you explained further, “I brought you here because the music he usually plays is really good,” you explained.

“It’s really fine, he looks like the kind of guy I wouldn’t mess with either...it’s okay.” Jeongin glanced at Chris’ direction furtively, Chris’ sickly sweet smile seeming to intimidate him.

You scoffed at the way Chris had smiled at Jeongin, turning to give him another apologetic frown.

“I’m so sorry, I know you wanted to discuss our project today...but maybe we can go somewhere more conducive next time?” you tried to sound more hopeful, huffing a sigh of relief when you’d seen him nod reassuringly.

Jeongin had bid you goodbye once he’d decided he had received one too many of Chris’ intense stares, making you free to storm over to the counter, hands on your hips to emphasize your dismay.

Only then did Chris decide to lower down the music volume, turning back to face you with an expectant smile as you heard a calmer michael bublé song playing softly through the speakers.

“What’s your deal, Chan?” you frowned, your fingers finding purchase on the hem of your shirt, telling yourself to stand firm! And Don’t let his dimples sway you!

“I’ve told you a thousand times, you can call me ‘Chan’,” there was an amused lilt to his tone, though he figured you weren’t going to repeat yourself with how firmly you were staring at him.

“What deal?” he murmured pensively, bringing a hand up to fiddle with his lip ring and tilting his head at you so casually that you wondered if teasing people just came naturally to him.

"What’s my deal?” you echoed his question in disbelief, “I couldn’t even hear myself think with how loud the music was just now!” you huffed, your frown only deepening when he looked at you apologetically.

“Sorry, sweetie, couldn’t hear you just now. The other customers felt like the music was too soft,” he pouted, something in his expression making you less upset despite how obviously he was lying.

You’d opened your mouth to retort but fell short of coming up with a good enough comeback, choosing to scoff at him instead.

“You’re really manipulative, you know that?“ you huffed, poking your tongue in your cheek and looking down at the menu on the counter (even though you already knew what you were going to order).

"So….I’ll get you your usual, then?” and apparently, so did he.

Determined not to let yourself get more affected by Chan, and even more determined on not mentioning him for the rest of the duration that you would be at peaches, you buried yourself in your reading, flipping your pages so roughly you had to stop every now and then to check if they tore.

Jisung had joined you halfway, when you had switched from angry-reading to slouching in your seat scrolling through social media.

Shoving his phone on top of your (now closed) books with a loud thump, you leaned forward, peering over your phone to see different drawings and designs on the screen, all in black and white.

“That’s nice, did you draw it?” you asked, pinching and pulling at the screen to zoom on the details of the designs.

Jisung snorted, giving you an all-too-satisfied smile, "my dear friend, I’m thinking of getting a tattoo.”

Your eyes widened, “tattoo? Your mom would murder you,” you scoffed.

Jisung shook his head proudly, his eyes wide and insistent, “that’s where you’re wrong.” He smiled proudly, “I asked her already and she’s fine with it as long as I find someone legit to do it.”

Your eyebrows raised, fairly impressed that he had gotten away with it.

“But she’s not paying for it, of course,” he added as an afterthought.

You hated how predictable you were, but at the mention of tattoos, your gaze had wandered over to Chan, who was busy placing a few orders together on a tray. Staring at his sleeve, you figured, he seems like the type that would know about tattoos…right? I mean, considering he has a few of his own.

Don’t say it. don’t say it. don’t say it.

“Maybe you can ask Chan?” you’d winced as the words left your lips, “I mean, he has tattoos, right? Seems like he knows what he’s doing,” you offered, closing your mouth quickly as you saw him approaching your table.

“Oh yeah! Why didn’t I think of that?” Jisung clapped his hands, head snapping around and startling in his seat when Chan had made his presence known.

“Here you go,” he murmured, pushing your peach soda towards you before turning to Jisung, hugging his tray to his chest, “hey, man. Anything for you today?”

Jisung shook his head, “actually I was wondering, you have tattoos, right?”

You had to refrain from making your embarrassment too obvious, pulling the straw of your drink to your lips to feign disinterest in Chan’s response. Your sips only grew longer when Chan leaned his free hand on the back of your chair, his torso next to your head. Since when did his perfume smell so good?

“Yeah,” he replied confidently, shaking his head slightly to get his hair away from his eyes.

“Do you know anywhere I could get something done? Not anywhere shady, of course,” he asked Chan.

Chan let out a giggle, nodding. “Gimme a sec,” he held his hand up in a signal for Jisung to wait, jogging over to the counter and pulling his backpack out from under the counter, fishing something out before jogging back to your table.

Holding his hand out, he showed the both of you two small palm-sized cards. Taking it from him, you realized that they were business cards.

“This is actually my studio...” he shifted his weight from one leg to the other, folding his arms across his chest around the tray, “I’m like...certified and all, so you don’t have to worry,” he told Jisung.

“But you can check it out first if you’re still unsure. If not I can just find someone else to help you,” he added, gesturing as he spoke.

“Cool,” you murmured, gripping the card tightly between your fingers, making a mental note to do some research on this ship once Chan left.

“Alright, man, thanks so much. I’ll let you know.”

Chan smiled at Jisung, patting him on the back lightly before going off to clear the other tables.

“Says here they have an Instagram,” Jisung murmured, scrutinising the card closely.

Telling you the name of the account, you pulled up a page of the shop, your mouth falling open in shock at the number of people he had following the account, not to mention the number of pictures of peoples tattoos on the account. Starting to scroll through the account’s posts, you realized most if not all of his designs were in black and white.

“Do you want your tattoo to have colour? Cause if you do..I don’t think he really does many colour pieces,” you murmured, angling your phone to face him so he could look at the designs with you.

“Honestly...I might just do one of his designs…they’re a lot nicer than whatever I had in mind,” you laughed at the way he stared blankly at your phone screen.

“Do they tag the people who get the tattoos?” You wondered out loud.

Jisung reached over to tap on the picture, tapping on the account only to be led to what you were very sure was Chan’s account.

You shamelessly scanned the account, noticing he rarely posted photos of himself but mostly of the sky or of scenery (with the occasional post-workout photo), and that there were a little to no actual coloured photos in his feed.

“Are you gonna follow him?” You asked Jisung, seeing him nod and give you a shrug.

“Yeah, why not?” he raised his eyebrows in question as if you were asking a stupid question.

“Follow him with me, so it doesn’t seem like I’m trying to kiss ass or anything,” he tapped on your arm incessantly, tapping on his phone before dragging your hand closer to him so he could press the follow button on Chan’s account.

“Jisung!” You pulled your phone away quickly, looking at him with wide eyes, making his eyes widen as well, looking at you in surprise.

“What? What?”

“I didn’t know you were gonna follow him now! He’s literally right there,” you whispered harshly at him.

Casting you an unamused glance, he held his hands up in a shrug.

“It’s no big deal. He probably won’t even think much of it…. I mean, well…unless you want him to,” his expression turned to a more teasing one, narrowing his eyes at you as he traced a heart in the air with his fingers.

“Oh yeah, speaking of which, I was meaning to ask you, how did your meetup with Jeongin go?” he placed his phone back down on the table, looking at you expectantly.

“Bad,” you groaned, “Couldn’t even hear him half the time because someone was playing the cafe music too loud,” you nodded your head in Chan’s direction.

Jisung winced, “So you guys didn’t get to discuss?”

You shook your head, “I told him we could just meet somewhere more conducive the next time since clearly Chan had a problem hearing me,” you sighed, leaning back in your seat.

“But the music’s fine now, though?”

“Well it wasn’t fine just now, and the dumbest part was that he turned it down after Jeongin left,” you rolled your eyes, knowing that the brown haired boy had no idea you were talking about him as he stood there sipping on his stupid juice box.

“Maybe he did it on purpose,” Jisung offered, making you scoff.

“Beats me, but whatever it is it’s crazy.”

“You’re just mad ‘cause he’s cute.”

You scoffed, huffing at him in disbelief, “no, I’m mad because he ruined my meeting,” your eyes widened in offence.

Jisung narrowed his eyes, letting his imagination run wild, “maybe he wanted to ruin your date,” he conspired, making you roll your eyes.

“One,” you held up a finger, “it wasn’t a date. Two,” you lowered your hand, struggling to find another reason, “you watch too many dramas,” you finally mustered, only serving to fuel Jisung’s entertainment even more.

“It’s easy, Y/N, the next step is to just… slide into his dms, I mean, since you’re already following him.”

You tossed your packet of tissue at him, “shut up, Jisung.”

That same night, you were about to sleep when you’d received a message.

Jisung

1:39am - r we placing bets on whether he’s trying to thirst trap me –

Attached to the message was a screenshot of Chan’s Instagram page with a selfie that he’d just uploaded, the picture showing Chan’s exposed collarbones and above making your eyes widen and close the image quickly, feeling your cheeks redden at the sudden post, unsure why a simple photo of him was making you flustered to no end.

1:41am -probably-

Was all you could type out, debating in your head whether to open the image again, a part of you wanting to see it again but shaking your head decisively, shoving your phone back underneath your pillow, but the image of Chan with damp hair wearing coloured contacts burned in your head.

You found yourself growing more anxious about possibly seeing Chan the next day if you were going to the book cafe (which you probably were). But Jisung’s reply had you thinking that maybe it was the universe trying to shove and kick you towards Chan.

Jisung


1:42am - also ive decided n u are coming w me to his shop to get my tat tmr -

You sighed, casually scrolling up in your chat to have a look at Chan’s selfie again before typing out your reply to Jisung.

1:42am -lovely-

Shoving your phone aside, you closed your eyes, hoping the feeling of yourself being drawn to the image would go away quickly.

===

“Do you even know where the shop is? we’ve been walking for hours,” you whined, earning an eye roll from Jisung who was still faithfully following the google maps directions on his phone.

“First of all, it’s only been 10 minutes. Second of all, I know where it is, look,” he showed you his phone, the automated voice telling him he was about to reach his destination, “ms google says we’re really close by.”

“Okay, fine. Just hurry, I wanna sit down.” you sighed, letting Jisung lead you to a stretch of modern cafés, eventually ending up in front of a neon sign of what looked like a little cartoon snake, the cartoon logo fairly familiar after remembering seeing it on Chan’s Instagram.

Shoving the glass open, you heard small bells identical to those in the cafe signal your entrance. A tall, baby-faced boy wearing thin-rimmed glasses walking out from behind the curtains leading to the back. This boy had piercings too, but the skin exposed by his t-shirt was clean, not marked by any sort of tattoo, giving him a much more innocent appearance as compared to Chan.

“Hey, uh…I booked an appointment here for 2pm?” Jisung spoke, and the tall boy stalked over to their reception area wordlessly, going behind the counter to pull out a thick binder and flipping to the most recent page.

“With Chan?” the boy spoke, earning a nod from you. “Alright. I’m Hyunjin, by the way. Will both of you be getting tattoos?”

Your eyes widened, rushing to protest, “oh, no, no no. Not me, just him. I’m just moral support.” You clarified, earning a snicker from Hyunjin, who nodded in amusement.

“Okay, then,” he shut the binder with a light thud, “Chan’s just finishing up a phone call with another client. He’ll call you when he’s ready but in the meantime you guys can chill here, I guess.” he gestured to the small black leather sofas in the reception area.

You and Jisung did as you were told, the waiting making Jisung more nervous about the nitty gritty details of getting a tattoo.

“Here’s the forms to fill up while you wait,” Hyunjin walked over to pass an electronic tablet to Jisung.

You on the other hand, picked up a binder showing the various designs that the shop had specially come up with that people could choose, showing Jisung a new design every now and then to try to distract him from his nervousness.

“Hey look at this one, this is cute,” you pointed at a cartoon drawing of a kangaroo, flipping to the last page to see that they had pictures and the names of various piercings as well.

Jisung sighed, tone emotionless, “yeah, sure.”

Scrolling through the pictures absently, Jisung leant his head on your shoulder, looking at the binder’s contents with you.

“What about this?” Jisung joked, pointing at the lip piercing, “you could twin with Chan,” he snickered.

You rolled your eyes, “yeah, very funny.”

Sighing, you thought about how Chan looked with the lip piercing, “his lips are really nice…” Your voice trailed off, only realising what you said after. “I mean like, I’m not saying that with any double meaning or whatever I just mean like, you know, generally he has a nice lip shape and a—”

“Yeah save it, we know you have the hots for him.”

You huffed, ignoring Jisung and continuing to flip the pages.

“Wait stop, that one’s nice. I think you’d look good with this one,” he pointed at the picture of the helix piercing.

"This?” you brought your hand up to touch your ear where the piercing would be, “but this is like….the hard part of my ear, won’t it hurt?” you grimaced.

Jisung gave you a look, “c’mon, trust me, I think you’d look great in this….” Jisung lowered his voice, leaning closer to you and glancing at Hyunjin to make sure he wasn’t listening.

“Chan would lose his shit.”

You smacked the binder closed, glaring at Jisung. Holding the binder up threateningly, about to scold him when you heard the beaded curtains move, your head snapping around to spot Chan there, dressed in a black muscle tee and black jeans, dark hair messy on his head.

“Hey guys, Jisung you ready? I’ve already done the stencil so it’s your call,” you waited for Jisung’s answer, too busy gawking at Chan’s tattoo sleeve, now being the first time you weren’t seeing it covered.

Jisung let out a loud sigh, “lemme just go inside and mentally prepare myself first,” he stood up, shaking his head.

Chan held the beaded curtain open for Jisung, letting him walk through first as you took your time to gather your things, not realizing Chan was still holding the curtain open for you.

“Hey, sweetie.” Chan greeted, nodding his head at you with a small smile.

“Hi,” you murmured, suddenly nervous around him, about to sling Jisung’s bag over your shoulder when Chan’s voice cut in.

“Oh, you can actually just leave it here. Hyunjin’ll be here,” you glanced at the boy mentioned who nodded at you before going back to his handphone game.

“Oh, alright then,” you murmured, walking over to where he was.

“I see you’re playing the moral support role today?” Chan let out a small giggle, letting you walk through the curtain before following behind you.

You let out a huff of laughter at the sight of Jisung lying on the chair with his eyes closed, hands clasped as if in prayer.

“Didn’t really have a choice,” you laughed, earning a grim nod from Chan, who put on his gloves and lightly kicked his stool towards the chair Jisung was seated on.

The first thing you noticed about the room was that it was very neat, everything seeming as though it was in its rightful place, giving off a very clean feel to the room, which served to calm you down for some reason. The plants and warm lighting in the room served to add some comfort to the atmosphere.

“Dude, don’t look so deathly, you’re not gonna die. You can take breaks in between if it’s too much,” Chan’s tone was reassuring, which you were thankful for since Jisung really did look pale.

“Okay, you’re right. You know what? I’m not that weak, I can do this,” his eyes shot open, giving Chan a firm nod.

Chan shocked you by giggling, gesturing to a wheeled stool similar to his, “you don’t have to stand, sweetie, you can sit here. This might take a while.”

If you were embarrassed, you didn’t show it, as you padded over to the stool, going next to Jisung and feeling him grab your hand. For a second you were thankful he was so nervous that he couldn’t tease you for Chan’s term of endearment.

Chan had disinfected the area Jisung wanted the tattoo on, a blueish outline of the design transferring onto his skin before he’d started. You appreciated how patient and precise Chan had been to speed up the process, Jisung occasionally squeezing your hand when it hurt.

“How long is this gonna take?” you asked out of curiosity.

“Uhh… this isn’t that big of a piece, so about 2-3 hours? Give and take if he needs breaks in between.”

“So, uh….how long have you been doing this?” you made conversation, the buzzing sound of the tattoo needle growing too loud for your comfort.

Chan’s eyebrows raised, lower lips jutting out in a pout as he thought. “I would say…professionally about 3 years so far?” Your eyebrows raised.

“Started when I was 15,” you furrowed your eyebrows.

“Wait, so you’re 19?” Jisung huffed, almost moving to sit up when he was temporarily distracted by the discovery.

Chan huffed, shaking his head, “don’t move, please. But to answer your question, no. I’m not 19. I started my apprenticeship at 15…” he trailed off, tongue darting out to wet his lips as he concentrated on a particular spot of the tattoo.

Sighing, he leaned back slightly to dab at the perspiration on his temples with his arm, making you tempted to take the cloth and do it for him, “I’m 22.”

Your eyes widened, feeling Jisung squeeze your hand for what you knew wasn’t pain.

“Oh,” you murmured, unsure what Jisung’s little reaction meant.

Chan hummed, “Yeah, Jisung mentioned that you guys were entering uni soon,” he stated, earning an affirmative nod from you.

“Yeah, we’re turning 20 soon,” Jisung murmured, eyes open now, seeming to have adjusted to the pain level.

Now it was Chan’s turn to be surprised. “Interesting,” he murmured.

“Uh-huh” Jisung spoke, and the way his tone sounded was making you nervous, not knowing what nonsense he was about to spout next. “Y/N’s already so old and still doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

Chan flushed at the implication, hoping his shyness wasn’t too obvious. Meanwhile you were trying to convince yourself that you weren’t imagining the pink tint growing more obvious on Chan’s ears.

"Nothing to be ashamed of,” Chan mustered after a short silence, his volume dropping considerably, “I mean, I’m older than you, and at this point of time I’m not dating either.”

Jisung struggled to contain his excitement, thinking of ways that he could get you and Chan alone together, coming up with what he would deem to be the most brilliant idea.

“Hey, Chan. Do you guys do piercings here too?”

“Aren’t you a little too talkative for someone in pain,” you muttered through gritted teeth, shooting a glare at Jisung—which he promptly ignored.

Chan smiled, tilting his head in question, “you’re not even done with your tattoo and you’re already thinking about piercings?” he laughed.

“Not for me, man, for Y/N.”

Chan made a surprised sound, taking his lower lip between his teeth as he focused on a particular part of Jisung’s tattoo, leaning back with a small sigh, “oh, is that so? what kind?”

“Uh…you know the helix one?” you murmured, your hand unconsciously going up to your ear to fidget.

Chan hummed, “yeah, I can do that. You’ve already made up your mind?” You nodded, before realizing he couldn’t see you.

“I guess…will it hurt, though?”

Chan leaned back, shrugging, “Depends, a tiny bit more than your average piercing?”

“Oh…well, then, I guess that doesn’t sound so bad,” you murmured.

Jisung grinned at you, which went unnoticed by Chan, who spoke seriously, filled with concern for your friend, “you’re doing really great, by the way. We’ll probably be done a lot earlier than expected. Just let me do the finishing touches and you’ll be free.”

You fiddled with Jisung’s fingers for the rest of the duration, trying not to be too obvious when you stared at Chan. How his eyebrows would furrow just ever so slightly in his concentration, his tongue peeking out to wet his lips or play with his piercing when he was filling in the shading for Jisung’s tattoo.

Just as the waiting was starting to get even a little unbearable, your leg beginning to bounce restlessly, you saw Chan lean back, a satisfied smile on his face.

“All done,” he smiled, patting Jisung on the shoulder with one hand as he set his equipment aside, taking some cling wrap and wrapping it around Jisung’s wrist.

Releasing a relieved sigh, you silently thanked the heavens that it was over because you really needed to pee.

You’d excused yourself to the washroom as Chan told Jisung about the aftercare tips, coming back to see that Jisung had already paid for his tattoo.

“So uh..” you saw Chan leaning against the doorframe with one hand shoved into his pocket, a few strands of the beaded curtain draped over his shoulder which he fiddled with, “you still up for the piercing? Or would you rather come back another day?” He asked you, bringing a hand up to push his hair out of his forehead, his hair falling back against his forehead gently.

You hummed, taking your phone out to see if you would have any other free periods during this week, realising that the only big period of rest you would have this week would be now, and you figured you would rather adjust to the new piercing over the weekend instead of in the middle of the week.

“Yeah, I guess I’ll just do it today,” you shrugged, glancing at Hyunjin who was eyeing Chan suspiciously, finding the boy’s behaviour to be a little out of the ordinary.

“Cool, I’ll be in the back…just uh… come in and let me know when you’re ready,” he gave you a soft smile, the metal of his lip ring shining as it caught the light in the room.

“Have fun,” Jisung waggled his eyebrows at you once Chan went back, making you frown at him.

“What do you mean ‘have fun’? You’re staying with me,” your expression turned grim when you saw the way he was poorly stifling his laughter, “aren’t you?”

Jisung sucked in a sharp breath, grimacing, “yeah…about that…I actually have to go meet my group mates for something, but you’ll be fine,” he waved a hand at you dismissively, already beginning to backtrack out of the studio.

“Think of it as more time spent with Chan,” Jisung wiggled his eyebrows teasingly, turning quickly to leave the shop, leaving you dumbfounded in your place.

Turning around, you caught Hyunjin’s gaze, seeing the boy narrow his eyes at you, “are you and….Chan….you know…?”

You furrowed your eyebrows, your lips parting upon realising what he meant, shaking your head and waving your hands dismissively.

“Oh my god, no, really.”

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow at you, making you even more flustered that he was acting like he knew something you didn’t.

“No, seriously, nothing’s up. Stop looking at me like that.”

You quickened your footsteps in heading to the backroom, your cheeks flushed and eyes wide as you spotted Chan sitting on his stool, using his phone before looking up when you entered the room, a soft smile appearing on his face.

How can someone who smiles like this be the same person behind that selfie last night, you wondered.

“Ji..sung?” Chan’s voice trailed off, raising his eyebrows in question, setting his phone down on the counter attached to the wall.

“Oh, he actually just left…he had to meet his group members,” you murmured, gesturing outside.

Chan got up from his seat with a small grunt, walking over to you, making you confused as to why he was suddenly walking towards you.

You’d let out a confused hum, your voice coming out softer than intended, watching with wide eyes as he brought his hands up to yours, sighing in relief when he’d simply taken your bag and jacket from you.

“You can just take a seat on the chair if you want, but don’t recline it just sit on the seat,” he instructed, and you did as such, swinging your legs as they hung from the chair, the toe of your shoe grazing the tiled floor occasionally.

“Are you nervous?” He asked, bringing the various equipment he needed on the trolley, rolling it noisily over to where you were.

You nodded, making him laugh.

“Good.”

“Good? Isn’t it bad if I’m too stressed?” Your confusion was evident in your tone, making him shake his head at you.

Chan smiled, “it’s better to be nervous than over confident when it comes to these things.”

He took a new pair of gloves from the box, picking up a mirror from the tray and passing it to you, “hold this for me, hmm?”

Taking the disinfectant wipes, he pushed your hair aside, the constant falling of your hair making him giggle, “sorry can I just uh,” he shifted so he was standing behind you, bunching your hair into a ponytail, his hands brushing against the skin of your neck when he gathered the hair, almost making you shiver.

Securing it with the hairband around his wrist, he looked at you from the front, nodding at his handiwork.

“Sorry,” Chan added as an afterthought, “hope you don’t mind.” He put on his gloves, the metal of his bracelet peeking out from under the latex.

You shook your head, quietly observing his actions through his reflection in the mirror out of sheer anxiousness. Watching carefully as he held your ear with his first two fingers, disinfecting the area of your ear before picking up the marker.

Chan had crouched down slightly, pursing his lips in concentration as he made a tiny dot with the marker on your ear, leaning back so you could have a better look.

“Is this placement okay?” he asked, earning a nod from you.

“Great,” he gave you a close lipped smile, dimples appearing on his cheeks, “wow your ears are really red,” he commented with a laugh.

Laughing half-heartedly in reply, you shrugged, “think it’s cause of the air conditioning,” you lied, not knowing he would take you seriously, walking over to where he’d put your things and grabbing your jacket with his elbows, dropping it onto your lap.

“Sorry, it’d be a lot less awkward if I could use my hands,” he laughed, and you weren’t able to keep yourself from smiling.

After he’d prepared the needle and the studs, you tried not to let your tension be too obvious when he leaned down so he could be more precise. Funnily enough, though you were about to get a piercing, you were less nervous for that as compared to the fact that Chan was so close to you.

“Are you excited to graduate?” he asked you in an attempt to distract you, earning a shrug from you.

“I guess,” you murmured, Chan having successfully directed your attention elsewhere, “a little scared, though.”

“Of?” he asked, his gentle tone prompting you to elaborate.

“I guess I’m not really like…scared, I’m just kind of anxious? like…I don’t really know what to expect,” you laughed, earning a confused sound from him.

“Well if you think about it like that, then of course it’ll be negative,” Chan laughed.

“I mean, I wouldn’t know what it’s like because I didn’t go to uni but you know….maybe if you think of it as like a...i’m doing this so that I can do this in the future kind of thing then it’d be more exciting than scary,” Chan offered, moving to your other ear.

“Well…I guess that’s true,” you murmured, about to continue when you’d felt the needle piercing your skin, letting out a yelp, your hands unconsciously finding purchase on the closest thing to you, which (unfortunately and fortunately for you) was his torso, “why didn’t you give me any warning!” You hissed.

"Too late for a countdown now, huh,” he shrugged, fitting the stud onto your ear.

“All done,” he giggled, stepping away from you to set the needle into a tray for cleaning.

“You know what to do, right? Like…to care for your piercing?” Chan asked you, earning a nod from you.

“So, I’m done here?” You asked, watching Chan as he set his things aside to be sterilized, glancing at the clock on the wall at the side of the room.

“Pretty much,” he hummed, bringing up a hand to adjust his hair.

You hated how much the tension in the room was building, as if the both of you were just holding back on what you’d wanted to say. Almost deciding to walk out before Chan had finally spoken up.

“Are you gonna get dinner with Jisung?” he asked, looking elsewhere and pretending to be busy with throwing his gloves away.

“Nope,” you walked over to where he’d placed your bag, slinging it over your shoulder and taking your phone out to tell Jisung you were done getting the piercing.

“I’m probably just gonna go home and order in, or something,” you murmured, slightly preoccupied with texting to notice the way he’d perked up at the sound of you being free for the evening.

Chan walked through the curtains to the main reception area, leaning over Hyunjin who was sitting at the desk, fishing the tablet for you to fill in the form, murmuring a soft ‘sorry’ to Hyunjin, who was busy playing his phone games.

“Shouldn’t you have given that before she got the piercing,” Hyunjin whispered pointedly, his words going ignored by Chan, who knew very well that he was flustered into forgetting that small detail.

“Just fill these up and you’re all set,” he pushed them over the counter towards you, and you’d typed your details in quickly, eager to get Hyunjin’s suspicious gaze off of you.

“How much do I have to pay you?” You asked, getting ready to fish your wallet from your bag, confused when you heard Chan make a strangled sound of protest.

“Oh, no, it’s fine. Consider it ‘on the house’,” he told you, making Hyunjin’s eyebrows raise in question.

“What? But why? I mean, your shop is doing pretty well, services like that would probably be really expensive, right?” You gripped your wallet tighter, however he didn’t seem like he was giving you an option. Not with the way he was looking at you, that was for sure.

Hyunjin had ended his game already, nudging his glasses higher on his nose bridge. He pressed his lips in a thin, firm line, hoping it would help him stifle his laughter as you continued.

“But I can’t just let you do that, I mean, this is your business, you’d lose a lot of money if you just give people free services like this, you know?”

Chan almost snorted, “trust me, I won’t.”

You wracked your brain for other options on how to persuade him, “okay, but there has to be some other way I can repay you,” you stated, not expecting Chan to reply so quickly.

“How does grabbing dinner with me now sound?” The words flowed from his lips so naturally that even Hyunjin was surprised, not used to seeing his usually shy friend act so confidently around people.

Hyunjin let a small giggle escape him, narrowing his eyes at Chan who had kicked at his chair as a silent threat.

You opened your mouth and closed it back, unable to form a response in your shock, “uh…I um…” you fumbled to find the right words, making Chan let out the tiniest giggle.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” he assured you, “I’m just offering, you know...since you said just now that you wouldn’t have dinner at home anyway,” he gestured with his hands as he spoke, the silver chain around his wrist coming to your attention as he moved his hands around.

“No, no..uh,” you swallowed, clearing your throat softly, “yes? Yes, that sounds great, Chan,” you mustered out as confidently as you could.

“Cool, meet you outside, then? Lemme just go and grab my stuff,” he flashed you a small close-lipped smile before walking to the back.

“Bye?” You murmured to Hyunjin, who turned his narrowed eyes away from Chan to direct them towards you instead.

“I swear...there’s definitely something going on with you two…” Hyunjin muttered, tapping at his phone quickly before shaking his head abruptly, “never mind, I won’t harass you about it….yet. Have a good dinner,” his expression changed to a smiling one, waving at you as if nothing happened.

When you’d gone out of the tattoo shop, you only had to wait for barely a minute before you heard the door open behind you, Chan stepping out, now wearing a black leather jacket over his shirt with his bag in hand.

“Did you have any dinner place in mind?” You asked him, seeing him nod.

“Do you like tacos?”

===

“So, how come you’re working at peaches if you already have that whole setup at your tattoo studio?” You’d asked him during your dinner. You’d both already finished eating but were in no rush to leave, sipping your drinks slowly as an excuse to talk more.

“Felix told me he was looking for someone who could fill in for him part-time for whenever he had to go for classes, so I offered, since I don’t usually take appointments in the morning,” he explained, sipping his drink, fiddling with the straw between his thumb and index finger as he spoke.

“So you work in the afternoon?” he nodded.

“I work from around twelve to seven,” he told you casually, and at the mention of time you’d glanced at your phone, realising it was way before seven when he’d asked you to eat dinner with him.

Your eyebrows furrowed, “wait, then doesn’t that mean that you left work before you were supposed to?”

Chan’s eyes widened momentarily, bringing the straw to his lips ever so slowly, giving you a shrug in feigned nonchalance. “Nope,” he told you calmly, “I leave after my clients are done for the day, and I usually take 1 client a day.”

You narrowed your eyes at him, “are you lying right now?” you pretended to disapprove, since you knew you were past the point of saying you didn’t enjoy spending time with Chan.

Chan simply grinned, your heart skipping a beat at the sight of his dimples, hearing him let out an exaggerated sigh, “depends.”

He rest his chin on one of his hands, his fingers going up to fiddle with his lip piercing, only now coming to your notice that he’d changed the jewellery to a bigger silver ring.

“Does that hurt?” you asked, curiosity getting the better of you, making him gesture with his finger to his lips, earning a nod from you.

“Nope,” he said, popping the ‘p’, “I’ve had it for really long so you can like press or tug on it or whatever but it won’t hurt,” he said, his wording making your imagination wander, ears tinting red as you tried to dismiss the thoughts of kissing Chan that popped into your head.

“Your ears are red again,” he pointed out, an amused lilt to his tone, knowing exactly why.

In your distress, you tugged his hair tie off your hair, adjusting your hair so it would cover your ears, narrowing your eyes at him.

“It’s only ‘cause you said it like that,” you huffed.

“Like what?” he raised an eyebrow at you, feigning innocence as he continued, “all I meant was if I pull on it like this it won’t hurt…” he demonstrated by using his index finger and thumb to fiddle with his piercing.

“Unless, that wasn’t what you were thinking?” he teased, leaning closer to you over the table.

You got up abruptly, “we should get going,” you diverted the topic quickly, ignoring Chan’s laughter behind you as you made your way to pay the bill, managing to do so successfully before Chan had made it to the register, earning a pout from him.

“You pay for my piercing, I pay for our dinner. Simple,” you shrugged, walking out of the restaurant and letting him follow behind you.

“Is your place near here?” Chan asked.

Your eyes widened, not understanding why he was asking you that, a million possibilities of reasons why running through your head about what he could possibly have intended from asking that.

Chan realised your internal conflict after a few seconds, his expression flustered when he realised, “no, no! I meant like, how are you going back home since it’s late,” he explained slowly, hands gesturing slowly as he spoke.

You hummed, “I think I might have a bus I can take from here, but it’ll probably take a while,” you shrugged, eyeing him curiously when he’d taken his phone out of his pocket.

“Address?” He asked, and you told him as such, “your place is actually pretty near mine, I stay a couple streets down. Let me see if I can book us a car or something, I reckon it’ll be faster than taking the bus,” he murmured, and you watched him type on his phone quickly before a triumphant smile graced his features.

Letting out a surprised hum, he showed you his phone, “it’s less than 10 dollars if we share a car, do you want to?”

You nodded with a shrug, “sure,” taking your phone from your pocket to check the time, seeing that you’d gotten a text from Jisung.

Jisung


8:08pm -school starts next week???-

You sighed in realisation, making Chan frown at you curiously.

“What’s wrong?”

You laughed, shaking your head, “nah, it’s nothing. I just realised I’m starting school next week, but I feel like I haven’t done anything during my holidays,” you groaned, turning to Chan with an exaggerated sad look on your face, seeing his eyebrows lift in an expression you would use to comfort a crying child.

“Jisung and I had so many things we planned to do like…go to amusement parks or like….go camping or have a sleepover, but…we just ended up spending all our time at peaches,” you laughed.

“Oh, you guys wanted to go camping?” Chan asked, an idea sparking in his mind when you’d nodded affirmatively at him.

“That’s pretty…coincidental… Hyunjin and I were actually planning on going camping next week, do you wanna come?”

Your eyes widened, not expecting such an opportunity to come so quick for you.

“Really? Where were you guys planning to go?” You asked, and you’d felt his hand gently touch your forearm, the other hand swiping around on his phone before he showed you pictures of what looked like a cabin.

“There’s this place out of town where you can sort of rent the area and you can like, do barbecues and campfires, it’s really nice,” he smiled, “oh, and there’s like this lake nearby the site that looks really really beautiful in the morning. And you don’t even have to pay because Hyunjin’s parents bought a part of it so he can just use it privately,” you nodded, impressed at how convenient and attractive the place sounded.

“But…isn’t it kind of weird if it’s just me going with the both of you? Do you mind if I ask Jisung along too?” You asked hesitantly, a sheepish expression on your face.

Chan laughed, nodding as he wordlessly grabbed your arm, leading you to what you assumed was the car you booked, opening the door for you to go in first before he slid in after you.

You greeted the driver, who had given you a friendly greeting in return as well. One thing you noticed (regrettably or fortunately, you wouldn’t say) was that the back seat was a little cramped, the seats angled in such a way that you would tend to slide towards the middle. Being bigger than you, Chan occupied more space compared to you, causing you to practically be knee to knee when you sat comfortably.

“Also,” Chan yawned, leaning back in his seat, “to answer your question, yes, of course you can ask Jisung to come along. Felix is coming too since he’s been begging me to bring him.”

Chan shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket, sliding down in his seat. “we’ll probably only stay over for a night so you don’t need to pack much I guess…and Hyunjin can give us a ride to and from the cabin.”

You nodded, covering your mouth when you’d yawned as well. “Great,” you sighed, turning your head to look at him only to see him already looking at you with a tired expression, his gaze darting from your eyes to your ear.

Feeling shy from his staring but too flustered to confront him about it, you simply let your gaze fall to your lap, thinking about the upcoming camping trip.

“I don’t have your number, do I?” He murmured, seeing you shake your head no.

Unlocking your phone, you passed it to him so he could enter his contact, not missing the way he’d put his name as Chan instead of Chris, adding a wolf emoji behind his name.

“Thanks….for the dinner,” you murmured, seeing as you were getting closer to your house, figuring you had better say it now than never.

Chan huffed, “I should be thanking you, for not rejecting the offer,” he told you.

You scoffed, not believing that this was the first time, “I mean, you’re always swarmed at peaches, pretty sure it’s not the first time someone accepted your dinner offers,” you joked, regretting your joke when you saw the way he smiled at you, as if he knew something you didn’t.

“It kind of is….maybe ‘cause I never had the time to….offer to get dinner with all my work going on,” he said casually.

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, your mouth running faster than your mind could process, “so what made you do it this time?” you laughed.

Chan shrugged, leaning forward to rest his head lightly on the headrest of the seat, turning to look at you with an unreadable expression, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

“I don’t know, sweetie. Something about you just seems to keep pulling me in,” he shrugged.

"Why do you keep calling me sweetie?” You let out a nervous huff of laughter, looking elsewhere in fear that looking at him would make you more flustered, not knowing what sort of confidence came over you for you to ask him so boldly.

“Would you rather me call you something else? Honey? Baby—”

“How about my name?” You interrupted before he could go any further, your reaction seemed to have amused him to no end, making him erupt in a fit of giggles.

“Well that’s no fun, is it?” He scrunched his nose up in distaste, making you scoff.

“Why do I get the feeling that you won’t stop even if I asked you to?” you narrowed your eyes at him.

Pushing himself off where he leaned against his seat, he’d leaned dangerously close to you, your heartbeat starting to race at his proximity before he’d abruptly ruffled your hair, leaning back as if nothing happened.

“You are absolutely right,” he had a triumphant smile on his face.

Shaking your head in feigned disapproval, you saw that the car was slowing down, the driver trying to find your apartment complex.

“Yep, you can stop here,” you told the driver, slinging your bag onto your shoulder before waving at Chan.

“Goodnight,” you murmured, smiling out of your sheer shyness that you couldn’t explain (or maybe you could, but just didn’t want to admit it—ignorance is bliss after all).

He gave you a tired smile, tilting his head as he waved at you. You were already getting out of the car, leaning down before you closed the door since he seemed like he was about to say something.

“Goodnight…Y/N.”

===

After that day, Chan had started texting you, and you weren’t sure what to make of it, not wanting to misinterpret friendliness for flirting but at the same time not being able to stop yourself from thinking it was as such.

You would see him at peaches, and he would come sit with you during his breaks, and you would spend time lounging at the sofas reading books and sharing funny or interesting things about the book with each other, much to Jisung’s entertainment.

“I see that now you have Chan you don’t need me to accompany you to peaches anymore?” he would tell you, not without a dramatic sigh.

“That’s not true, we just hang out during his breaks,” you shrugged, nervous that Jisung’s questioning would actually make sense.

“And tell me again why you guys don’t just decide to date?” you shushed him, not wanting Felix to overhear your conversation since he was clearing a table near where you and Jisung were sitting.

Felix said he’d given Chan the day off since he had pretty big pieces to do for his clients these few days, which according to Felix would take at least 7 hours each and left Chan feeling dead tired afterwards.

“It’s not up to me,” you shrugged.

Jisung gave you an unamused look, “oh, really.”

You glared at him, “you better not try anything weird when we go camping or I'll really throw you in the lake.”

“Over my dead body,” Jisung stuck his tongue out at you, “I’ll see you guys married before I let you kill me.”

And it seemed Jisung really did mean it, because when the day came for you guys to go camping, you had met with Jisung and Felix outside peaches to wait for Hyunjin and Chan to come pick you guys up, the two boys showing up eventually, with Chan sitting in the passenger’s seat.

Momentarily relieved that you wouldn’t be put in another stressful situation of squeezing in the backseat with Chan, your relief was short-lived when Jisung had eyed the passenger’s seat, executing the first step of his self-proclaimed brilliant plan.

“I want the front seat! Please, I get motion sickness,” he deadpanned, knowing Chan would be worried enough for him to switch seats with him.

Chan had his hood covering his head when he got out of the car, looking more than a little tired as he murmured a soft greeting to you, surprising you when he pulled you into a hug, earning you an excited smile from Jisung who was already seated in the passenger’s seat. He greeted Felix with a hug as well, letting you get into the car before he did, Felix going in after him.

“Sorry, I really wanted to talk to you but I’m really tired, hope you don’t mind if I just take a nap,” he murmured to you, earning a dismissive shake of the head from you.

“No, no, not at all, go ahead,” you assured him, “it’s a pretty long ride anyway, might as well use it.”

You didn’t miss the appreciative smile he gave you before he leaned his head back on the headrest, folding his arms in front of his chest and closing his eyes.

“He didn’t get much sleep last night, was up late doing designs for one of his clients,” Hyunjin murmured after a while when Felix had commented on how Chan had fallen asleep so quickly.

You nodded, figuring some clients would have more specific demands for tattoos since their shop was pretty well known.

Looking out the window as Hyunjin drove, you gawked at how nice the scenery was, preparing yourself for the turn that he was about to make, your body tensing up when you’d felt Chan’s head fall gently against your shoulder, having slid down in his seat after falling asleep.

Not wanting to wake him, you silently hoped your shoulder wouldn’t be too uncomfortable for his head, trying to stay still so you wouldn’t wake him up.

Jisung had turned around to tell you about a ‘wild boar’ he claimed he’d spotted, stopping himself when he saw Chan’s head resting on your shoulder, pressing his lips together.

“I think the universe is helping me execute my plan.” Bringing a first up to his mouth, he pretended to tear up.

Glaring at him, you ignored both him and the way Chan unconsciously leaned into you as he slept, relaxing after a while as you grew to find it comfortable.

“We’re almost here,” Felix told you, giving you an amused look, “pretty comfortable over there, huh?”

You rolled your eyes, but couldn’t help the smile from your face, shaking your head.

When Hyunjin had stopped the car, him, Jisung and Felix were already getting out of the car to help shift the things out from the trunk, and you’d shifted your body to the side as carefully as you could, lifting Chan’s head from your shoulder gently, one of your palms against his cheek, a part of your heart fluttering when you felt him lean into your touch.

Snapping out of it, you cleared your throat softly.

“Chan,” you murmured, tapping his hand to wake him, his eyebrows furrowing before his hands came up to rub his eyes, leaning away from your hand.

“Y/N?” He murmured.

“We’re already at the cabin,” you huffed in amusement.

Chan opened his eyes, glancing at his surroundings, “oh, sorry,” he turned away, pushing the door open and getting out quickly, and you swore you saw his ears tint pink, wondering if he was actually shy or if you were just hallucinating.

Once you were out, you saw Jisung waving you over, “help me,” he whined, making you roll your eyes, but you left Chan’s side to go help him bring the cooler of drinks and whatnot into the cabin, Hyunjin choosing now to explain the room situation.

“You guys can choose roomies now, I’m probably rooming with Chan,” Hyunjin raised his hand to announce once you were all in the cabin.

“We’ll take the other room,” Jisung shouted, already grabbing your hand to pull you aside as if you were picking teams in school instead of just deciding roommate situations.

Felix laughed, nodding, “I’ll take the last room then.”

Only when you’d gone into the room you realised that it was already about mid-afternoon, and you had heard Felix shout something about going to play at the lake, hearing shouts of agreement from Hyunjin and Chan.

“Did you bring clothes for swimming?” Jisung asked you, and you answered him with a shake of the head.

“Wasn’t planning on swimming,” you told him.

Jisung looked at you, erupting into boisterous laughter, “shit, me neither….black shirt should do, don’t you think?”

You shook your head, laughing with him, “not like we have much of a choice.”

After getting changed, you’d met up with the rest of them outside the cabin, Hyunjin leading the group of you to a lake near a small waterfall, Felix, Hyunjin and Jisung jumping in first, leaving you and Chan behind.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” you asked Chan.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he gave you a look, “do you know how to swim?”

You nodded confidently…before shrugging, “I know the basics, like floating,” you said to defend your lack of skill.

Chan brought his tattooed arm over his chest to grab his other shoulder, “doesn’t matter, nothing to be ashamed of,” he told you casually, getting into the water and holding a hand out for you to take.

Stepping down carefully, you’d used Chan as a leverage for you to get into the water, almost stumbling when you’d stepped on a particularly slippery part of land, Chan quickly reaching his hands out to your waist to steady you, your face and neck heating up from how flustered you were.

Chan had helped you till you were able to walk on your own, surprising you when you found that the water reached up to your chest.

You heard Jisung call out for a game of chicken, deciding you would split into pairs and the losers would have to cook for later.

“I pick Felix! He’s super light!” Hyunjin called out, raising his hand to make his point known.

You were about to call for Jisung when he’d raised his hands.

“I’m the referee!” he shouted, making you gape at him, knowing this was probably another part of his plan.

“Alright, so me and Y/N are one team,” Chan said, nodding at Jisung.

Turning to you, Chan brushed his hair away from his forehead, wetting his lips before he spoke.  

“You can’t have me on your shoulders, I’m too heavy,” Chan laughed, making you cover your face.

“I can’t believe Jisung,” you muttered to yourself.

“what was that?” Chan asked, already making his way in front of you, and you saw that Felix was already on Hyunjin’s shoulders, the only advantage they had visibly being that Hyunjin was taller.

“Nothing,” you blurted, glaring at Jisung when he gestured for you to hurry up, Chan bending down in front of you to make it easier for you to climb on, his hand going behind your leg to push you up, and you’d settled down quickly, trying to see if you could balance well.

“Is it okay if I put my hands here? Is it stable?” you felt Chan place his hands around your shins, but you still felt like it was pretty wobbly. Either that or you were just in a generally wobbly mood from ending up in this situation with Chan.

“Not really, it still feels like I could fall,” you hummed,  your breath hitching when he’d moved his hands up to place them above your knees, hoping he hadn’t felt the way you tensed up. (He did)

“Is this better?” he asked, making you blurt out a small ‘yeah’, oblivious to the looks Hyunjin and Jisung were exchanging.

“Okay firstly the rules are: have fun, no kicking or biting, once you get knocked off you lose even if you’re still on your partner’s shoulders,” Jisung mustered his best announcer’s voice as he explained the rules.

But a part of you couldn’t focus with the way Felix was taunting you and Chan was drumming his fingers on your thigh.

“Ready?” Jisung lifted his hands as though he were starting a boxing match. “Go!”

You almost screamed with how quickly Hyunjin had advanced, Felix reaching out his hands towards you which you responded instinctively to by holding your hands out in front of you, palms facing him, pushing at his hands.

“Y/N I think the point is to push him off, not hi-five him to death,” Jisung cackled, making Chan laugh as well, Hyunjin moving to splash water in Chan’s direction.

Once Felix had caught hold of your hands, you knew you were in for it, he’d interlocked your fingers, trying to sway you left and right in the hopes that it would make you more wobbly.

“Having a good time on your date up there?” Hyunjin called out sarcastically, starting to get tired of balancing from all of Felix’s movements.

You swore you felt Chan grip your legs tighter from Hyunjin’s statement, making you eager to end the game.

Felix had let his grip loosen almost momentarily in his distraction when he glanced at Chan for his reaction, and you took that as an opportunity to find his weak spot, tickling the area under his wrist, making him draw his hand back quickly with a squeal, all of this happening while Hyunjin was trying to rub his eyes, Felix’s hand on his head making his hair press against his eyes.

Once you saw the opportunity, you prodded at Felix’s side, his ticklish reaction sending him falling off Hyunjin’s shoulders, a loud splash sounding when he landed in the water. Followed by shouts from Jisung and a loud groan from Hyunjin, of course.

“Hyunjin and Felix are on dinner duty, then!” You cheered, your hands going down to Chan’s hair when you almost lost your balance in your excitement, accidentally tugging on his hair, making his hands fly up to yours, having to keep himself from letting his eyes roll back, peeling your hands away from his hair.

“Woah, woah, woah, let’s get you down from there,” Chan laughed nervously, making you realize what you were doing, letting him bend down so you could get off of him, jumping in the water to get used to it again.

You’d made your way over to Felix, wanting to make sure he was okay, seeing him wiping the water from his face, “are you alright?” you asked.

“Look at him, gloating,” Felix pretended to be upset, directing your attention towards Chan, who looked your way, but you looked away immediately when he’d lifted his shirt slightly to keep it from clinging to his skin.

Dear God, you hoped Jisung hadn’t seen that.

“Wow, Chan, okay we get it!” Jisung yelled, making Chan drop his hands, a shy smile on his face.

Jisung looked at you with wide eyes, “did you see that?!” He whispered harshly to you while Chan was busy discussing something with Hyunjin.

Felix gave you a look, “why does he seem like he wanted you to see that?” He pointed at Jisung, making you shake your head, for lack of a better response.

“Also, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Felix continued, lowering his voice so they wouldn’t hear, “do you guys like…as in like you and Chan...like is there something going on?” Felix asked, his eyes widening in curiosity.

As you glanced over at the subject of your conversation, making eye contact with Chan as he gave you a soft smile, unknowingly returning the smile before turning back to face Felix.

“What makes you think that?” you murmured, feigning confidence.

“Well, for one, that weird smile thing you guys just did,” Jisung pointed out, making you roll your eyes.

“Doesn’t mean anything, he’s just…really friendly,” you shrugged, frowning when Jisung leant over to whisper something in Felix’s ear, after which he’d left promptly to head over to Hyunjin and Chan.  

Felix looked at you with a teasing smirk, “yeah, very friendly from the looks of it,” he waggled his eyebrows at you suggestively.

About to react defensively (as usual), your attention was diverted from Felix when you heard Hyunjin clear his throat, “hey guys, I think me and Felix will head back to wash up first so we won’t start preparing dinner too late,” you heard scattered murmurs of agreement before Hyunjin had started heading out of the lake.

“Stay with him,” Jisung instructed you urgently, making your eyes widen in confusion, seeing as Chan looked as though he had no plans on leaving the lake.

Increasing his volume, he announced, “I’ll be heading back with them too, you guys can just take your time, I’ll call you guys back when we’re done washing up,” Jisung waved, following behind Felix and Hyunjin.

Hyunjin turned around to wink at you, “have fun,” he drawled, which as much as you tried to ignore, you couldn’t help but read into.

Chan made his way to where you were in the water, tilting his head at you expectantly, “you’re staying here too?” he asked, his unexpected question catching you by surprise.

Nodding slowly, you’d brought your hand to brush against the surface of the water gently, “figured I could use a little break too.”

There was a hint of a smile on Chan’s face, nodding, “you still scared about school?”

You contemplated the question, realising that you were in fact a lot less anxious about school compared to a few weeks ago. “I’m alright, really… what about you?”

Chan shrugged, “usual, I guess,” he led you to an area of the lake that was more calm, the sun beginning to grow less harsh, “if you’re bored waiting for school to start you’re always welcome to come to the studio, you know.”

“Jisung’s been telling me the exact same thing,” you said with a laugh, “says I could get myself a tattoo while i’m at it.”

You hadn’t expected Chan to be so serious about it, “well, you can, you know.”

Shaking your head, you let out a huff of laughter, almost shy under his gaze as you averted your gaze, “oh, no, i’m not really too keen,” you said.

Your words had struck a nerve with Chan, making him wonder if his tattoos were making you uncomfortable. Though he’d bounced back quickly, lighting up with a smile, his dimples showing obviously as he did so.

“My friends and I used to come here a lot…sometimes I would come here just to chill and just like…float around, it’s pretty nice. Especially in the early mornings,” he told you, using his hands to push the water around.

“I don’t really know how to explain it,” he admitted, “it was a really nice feeling.” He told you, though he himself didn’t sound very satisfied with the adjective he’d chosen.

“If you could compare it to a feeling you get when you do something else, what would it be?” you asked out of sheer curiosity, earning a thoughtful hum from him.

“Lemme think about it?” He requested, earning a nod from you before he continued, “you mentioned just now that you knew how to float, right?” he smirked, earning another nose scrunch from you.

“Well, by float I kind of meant like…yeah, you know maybe I kind of exaggerated that a little,” you gave him a sheepish smile.

Chan pressed his lips together in an attempt to stifle his laugh, nodding as you felt him grasp your wrists.

“Do you trust me?” he asked, and you didn’t even have time to feel embarrassed at how quickly you nodded.

I mean, you let this man near your face with a needle, it was a little too late to say you didn’t trust him at this point.

Angling your body so your side was facing him, you felt his hand go behind your back, “relax,” he let out an amused huff, making you sigh, nodding as you tried your best to relax your muscles.

“Now, just like, lean back, and make sure you look up.”

You did as you were told, keeping your hands by your side and your head up facing the sky, all the while feeling his hands behind your back supporting you, a strange feeling of calm washing over you as you looked at the sky which was beginning to set.

Chan noticed it too, the way he felt you relax under his touch, enjoying how calm you looked now, happy that he could share this experience with you.

After you decided you were calm enough, you leaned forward, Chan’s hands instinctively going to the nape of your neck  to steady you as you got up, with you ending up facing him, his hand still gently cupping the nape of your neck, his other hand finding its way onto your waist.

“How was it?” he breathed, a hint of a smile playing at his lips.

“I think I get why you like doing that…it felt…nice,” you murmured, “have you thought of it yet?”

Chan nodded, a strange feeling building within him that he could only describe as warmth, feeling as though something in him was drawing him closer to you without him knowing.

“It’s kind of like...calling you after a long day,” a shy giggle leaving his lips after his statement.

Your breath hitched, the feeling of receiving such personal information rendering you at a loss of words. Unconsciously, there was a feeling of want building inside of you when you could see Chan leaning in, your head unconsciously tilting upwards, not daring to close your eyes yet, and his lips were barely inches away from yours, so close that you really thought that Chan was going to kiss you in the middle of this lake.

Though just as his other hand had went under the water to touch your waist gently, you figured the universe had decided it wasn’t time yet.

“Guys! I’m back! You guys can go shower now!” you jumped when you heard Jisung’s voice, immediately moving away so you could put some distance between you and Chan.

Chan brought his hands up to his ears, pressing and rubbing them firmly, getting out of the lake first to help you get out of the water, all the while Jisung had been eyeing you suspiciously.

The walk back was otherwise silent, with Jisung going off to disturb Felix and Hyunjin while you took a shower. Once you were done, you took your time drying your hair, seeing a text from Jisung come in asking you to hurry up.

Walking over to the barbecue pit you noticed Chan had taken over for Felix, grilling the meat with an ease that had let you know just how much he’d probably done it before.

“That smells really good,” you hummed, seeing Chan look up from the grill to give you a shy smile, nodding at you.

“D’you want some?” he asked, holding a small piece he’d just cut between the tongs, blowing on it before holding it out for you, a hand cupped underneath in case it fell.

Feeling Hyunjin’s gaze on you, as well as Felix and Jisung, you felt put on the spot, leaning over to take the piece between your teeth, letting out a satisfied hum at the taste.

“Alright, sorry to interrupt your…whatever this is, but we’re gonna steal Y/N for a while, so bye,” Jisung waved, linking his arm around your elbow and dragging you away with a very giggly Felix.

“Okay, let’s begin the meeting,” Felix announced authoritatively once you were seated at the campfire area. Jisung joined in on the joke smoothly, “okay, I’ll take minutes.”

“Why am I here, again?” You sighed, fiddling with the side of the foldable chair you were sitting on, crossing your legs to get into a more comfortable position.

Felix giggled, shaking his head before continuing, “important question, what do you think of Chan?”

You scrunched your nose up in distaste, “how am I supposed to answer that objectively?” You whined, seeing Felix nod encouragingly at you.

“No, no, that’s the point! I want you to be as subjective as possible.”

You hummed, “well, I don’t know, I guess, he’s really nice…and considerate?” Most of the time, at least. “He’s…cute? Like you know, the whole…dimples and all,” you shrugged, shuddering at how foreign it felt for you to actually list out the attributes you liked in Chan.

“He’s a real geek too, which is kind of cute, and all,” you mumbled, grimacing at them as a silent plea for them to end your misery.

“If,” Jisung emphasised, “you knew he liked you and whatever, would you get into a relationship with him?”

Felix made an impressed face at Jisung, “oh, that’s a good one. Chan doesn’t really date a lot,” He jut his lips out thoughtfully.

“I guess…I would? I mean,” you hummed in thought, “from what I’ve experienced, I feel like I can trust him? That’s the vibe I get when I’m with him or when we like, you know, call... and all?”

Felix’s lips pulled into a pout, “I feel like we need to call in an expert for this.”

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, “huh? Who?”

Felix tapped his phone, setting it back down and giving you a cheeky smile, the playful glint in his eyes making you nervous.

And you should’ve been, because when you saw Hyunjin walking over you knew you were either in for an interrogation or a whole lot of teasing.

“Alright, Chan’s just setting the table so we don’t have long, what’s up?” Hyunjin nodded his head at Felix, hands in his pockets and a bored expression on his face.

“Has Chan been behaving strange…or like just..different lately?” Jisung asked, making Hyunjin look directly at you, narrowing his eyes at you in realisation.

“I knew it! I knew there was something up,” he cried, making you shush him in fear that Chan would hear.

“What are you talking about?” you shushed him.

Hyunjin rolled his eyes, plopping himself on the seat next to Jisung.

“Let me just tell you,” he sighed deeply, “Chan has been so weird recently. He gets shy at even the slightest mention of you, and don’t think I don’t see how he’s been on his phone more lately.”

“I’ve noticed a great increase in thirst traps as well,” Jisung said seriously, clasping his hands together as if he were a reporter.

“Exactly my point!” Hyunjin told Jisung, “my bet, is that he’s been trying to get your attention but he’s doing it in the only way he knows how and that’s being a flirty bitch,” he said simply, leaning back with a nonchalant shrug.

Jisung nodded slowly, turning to Hyunjin, “I didn’t really like you at first...but can I just say...I love you.”

You brushed him off quickly, “are you sure, though? ‘Cause like, I’ve been telling myself for a long time now that I didn’t wanna read too deep into his actions,” you winced.

“Honestly, the best piece of advice I can give you right now is to just read into it.” Hyunjin told you, earning vigorous nods from Jisung and Felix.

“We should probably be heading back now, before Chan starts to get suspicious,” Felix murmured.

This made Hyunjin giggle, “yeah, I told him I was coming here to call you guys.”

Upon reaching back to the small barbecue area, you saw that Chan was already seated, giving you a soft smile when he spotted you.

“Food smells great, thanks guys,” Jisung sighed in satisfaction, him, Felix and Hyunjin having shared some sort of unspoken agreement to let Chan sit next to you, unbeknownst to you.


Suppressing the tension in you that you were feeling whenever Chan had reached over to put things on your plate, you had started eating, all of them falling silent when they ate, which you didn’t mind. But you knew Jisung did, and you wished you could disappear when he’d broken the silence.

“How’s your ear healing?” He asked pointedly over a mouthful of food, earning a confused hum from Felix, whose hand went up to his own ear with a frown.

“Ear? Who’s ear?” Felix followed Jisung’s gaze and realised you had a new piercing on your ear, his eyes widening, “woah, when did you get that done? It looks great! Dude, doesn’t it look great?”

He nudged Chan with his foot, making the older boy turn to you, nodding blankly, though his ears had started to grow redder with every second.

“I did it for her,” he shrugged, his casual demeanour making Felix nod slowly, a small smile appearing on his face as he gave Chan a knowing look.

“Thought you usually let Hyunjin do piercings?” Felix questioned pointedly, amusement laced in his tone.

Chan simply shrugged, pretending to be occupied with his food, “yeah, not always.”

You glared at Felix, telepathically asking him what he was trying to do, seeing him do a little happy dance in his seat, pretending not to notice your glare.

“Are we gonna set up the campfire after this?” Hyunjin asked, seeming to have taken pity on you, earning nods and hums in response. 


“We need to get the firewood from the back first,” Jisung mentioned, giving you a particularly pointed look.

You raised your eyebrows, trying to figure out what he was trying to imply before you realised.

“I can go get it later,” you offered (curse peer pressure), missing the way Hyunjin and Felix looked at Chan, exchanging triumphant looks when Chan had cleared his throat.

“I can go with you, it’s too much to carry on your own,” he proposed smoothly, his gaze meeting yours and his tongue darting out to wet his lips.

“Enjoy your date,” Jisung coughed, making you roll your eyes. You hoped the campfire would be over quickly.

While the rest of them were clearing up and setting up the snacks, you and Chan had gone to go get the firewood.

You would’ve usually found the silence to be quite soothing, with the way you could hear the crickets chirping and the gentle swishing of the lake, not to mention the way the air had gotten cooler from when you’d arrived. However, something about your discussion from just now had made your thoughts spiral into an endless cycle of trying to figure out what every one of his actions meant.

“Are you alright?” You asked abruptly after you noticed he wasn’t making any move to start any conversation.

“What makes you ask that?” He let out a small amused huff.

“I don’t know.. you know, like, Hyunjin told me just now in the car that you didn’t get much sleep these days and stuff…”

Chan gasped, holding his hand up to his mouth in exaggerated shock, “are you actually…worried for me?” He teased.

Scoffing, you ignored his giggles as you replied, “of course, I was. You slept like a log for the whole car ride,” you grit your teeth with feigned annoyance at him.

Chan shook his head calmly, not being able to help the smile from his face at your concern. “Honestly, you don’t have to worry about me. I mean, this is my job. I know that there will be times where I have to be tired to know that i’m moving forward, you know?” He shrugged, making you frown.

“That’s…true, I guess,” you murmured, seeing him step before you to open what looked like a garage door, seeing the firewood there, letting him pass some to you, “but you know…I couldn’t help but worry.”

Chan let out a surprised hum, taking a bunch of firewood in his arms, letting the door fall closed before he locked it back.

“Why? Did you think I wouldn’t take care of myself?” He asked, a small smirk on his face.

You nodded, “obviously, yes.”

Chan shrugged, “guess you have no choice but to take care of me, then.”

Your breath hitched, almost letting your firewood slip from your arms. Regaining your composure with a scoff, you ignored the way he giggled at your flustered expression.

Straightening up, you huffed at him, clenching your firewood tighter, “you’ve got to stop saying things like that.”

“Why?”

“Just….because,” you struggled to form a proper answer, knowing you couldn’t just expose yourself now, thankful that you were already reaching the campfire site.

Felix gave you guys a big wave when he saw you approaching them, cupping his hands around his mouth before yelling, “took you long enough!”

After struggling to light the fire, you’d sat in between Chan and Hyunjin, the warmth from the fire slightly uncomfortable but soothed by the soft wind blowing against your face and neck.

You were surprised to see how fast the sun set here, but strangely it put you in a calmer mood, maybe it was because you couldn’t see as much but you didn’t push the feeling away.

“Here,” you were interrupted from your stargazing when you saw a stick with a roasted marshmallow attached to the tip in front of you.

Looking at it hesitantly, you made a slight sound of uncertainty, feeling too full from your meal for snacks.

Shaking your head no, he gasped, “you have to try them, it’ll be good, I promise,” he nodded encouragingly at you.

Chan brought the stick closer to your lips, and you’d wanted to take it from him but it was already almost pressing against your lips, so you’d given up, ignoring Jisung’s smirk and taking the marshmallow into your mouth.

You gave a small hum at the sweetness, not having expected it to be so soft, smiling unconsciously when you saw the grin that he gave you after seeing your reaction.

After talking with the guys about their stories from the past whenever they came here, well, by they you meant Hyunjin and Chan, but you enjoyed the stories nonetheless. Something about the area holding more of an attractive charm to you.

After some time had passed and the sky had gotten even darker than before, you didn’t miss the way Chan had gotten quieter as time passed, simply smiling along with the stories but his eyes doing nothing to hide his fatigue.

Figuring it was about time to call it a day, you turned to Jisung to mouth ‘I’m tired’.

Jisung gave you a look that mirrored yours, nodding. Thankfully, he’d already made to stand up, Chan turning to give him a curious look.

“Hey, we’re gonna call it a day, you guys are free to continue hanging out if you want,” the rest of the boys nodded, Chan turning to you with a tired smile, reminding you of the car ride you shared, the look on his face making you want to just reach over and cup his cheeks, refraining from doing so by standing up abruptly, nodding.

“Goodnight, sweetie,” he smiled, eyes turning to crescents, making you smile in spite of your embarrassment, practically having to pull Jisung along with you back to the cabin with how much he was giggling.

Flopping onto the bed and getting ready to sleep afterwards, you’d feelt Jisung slip into the bed next to you, turning to face you with narrowed eyes.

“Don’t think I didn’t see what was happening at the lake just now,” he muttered, not being able to help the smile from his face.

“What exactly did you see?” you asked, just wanting to be sure he wasn’t just lying to make you admit to things (as usual).

“Oh yeah? Don’t act as if I didn’t see all of this,” he grabbed the pillow, grasping and looking at it with a hooded gaze, leaning closer only to pull back abruptly, directing his wide-eyed glare at you.

Jisung’s expression soon changed to one that was sheepish, “actually now that i’m thinking of it, maybe I shouldn’t have interrupted you guys,” he hummed, “but maybe it was a good thing too, if not I wouldn’t know what time you guys would return to the cabin,” he snickered, making you scoff.

Rolling your eyes, you’d reached past him to turn off the bedside lamp, “night, Jisung,” you sighed, for lack of a better retort.

You knew Jisung better than to have expected him to reply normally, rolling your eyes when you heard him muster a scarily accurate impression of Chan, “night, sweetie.”

“Shut up, Jisung.”

===

You weren’t sure what time it was, but all you knew was that when you woke up Jisung was still in bed snoring. Carefully stepping out so you wouldn’t wake him, you stepped out of bed, spotting Felix already huddled around the tv there with Hyunjin.  

“Morning,” Felix greeted, making Hyunjin turn around to greet you with a nod as well.

“Uh-huh,” you yawned, dragging yourself over to them. “What’s the plan for today?”

“Hyunjin and I thought it’d be a fun idea for us to play games today, and since it’s only a few of us I thought it’d be a good chance for you and Chan to, you know…” Felix dropped his voice to a whisper, “bond.”

“Jisung would love that,” you shook your head in dread, your thoughts wandering back to Chan, about to ask where he was.

“He went for a run, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Hyunjin told you with an amused lilt to his tone, making you flush in embarrassment.

“What makes you think I was wondering that?” you scoffed, tilting your chin up defiantly at him, your gaze looking him up and down for added intimidation (not that Hyunjin cared, of course).

Hyunjin merely shrugged, giggling, “pretty sure you know the answer to that yourself.”

You left them in the living room to go take a shower, sitting on the bed when you were done, shaking Jisung awake gently.

Jisung groaned, his hands coming up to rub his eyes, “what time is it?”

“Almost one, please get up. Felix and Hyunjin said we’re gonna play some bonding games today,” you sighed, laughing when you saw the way he stretched his arms out above his head, his eyes scrunching shut.

“Bonding games?” he whined, “the hell? I feel like I’m at a school camp,” he whined.

“He says the winner gets to dine free at peaches for a month,” he perked up at that, sitting up in bed.

“A very good school camp,” he corrected, an impressed hum leaving his lips.

Rolling your eyes, you saw him get up, moving to go to the bathroom to wash up, “I’m gonna go find things to eat,” you hummed, hearing him grunt in response, which you took as your cue to leave, stepping out of the room and walking to the kitchen area.

Fortunately or unfortunately for you, Chan was there, standing leaning against the counter in all of his post-workout glory, dressed in another black sleeveless shirt and shorts, sipping water and using his phone.

“Morning, sweetie,” he greeted with a smile, strangely making you nervous, suddenly unable to make eye contact with him.

“Heard from Hyunjin that we’re staying in the cabin today?” he asked, bringing his water bottle up to his lips to take a long sip.

You nodded, and as if on cue, Felix had entered the house, pushing his damp-looking hair away from his forehead as he walked over to where you were.

“It’s starting to rain outside, so I don’t think outdoor activities are much of an option right now,” he gestured out the window.

Following his gaze to the window you realized that it really was raining, the droplets slowly decorating the window.

“There’s a few board games near the fireplace, we can just play with those,” Chan gestured to the living room and Felix nodded, already making his way over.

“I’m gonna go shower, you guys can start first if you’re all ready,” he called before walking off leaving you and Felix in the living room to fish out the board games from the cupboard. You were surprised to find that they were still in good condition, not having expected them to be anything but dusty after being kept in the cupboard for god-knows-how-long.

“Okay, so we have a few options,” Felix murmured, picking up the games as he spoke, “there’s ‘uno’, there’s ‘monopoly deal’, whatever this is, ‘clue’..” he trailed off once he didn’t recognize whatever the rest of the games were.

“I’m leaning towards ‘uno’,” Felix hummed, considering the games as seriously as you’d ever seen him, not even looking away when you heard one of the doors open, Jisung making his way over to where you guys were, Hyunjin following behind him with a yawn.

“What are those?” Jisung asked.

“Board games, come here, take a look,” you beckoned him and Hyunjin over, seeing them bring a few games of their choice over to the coffee table, the four of you taking your places naturally at each side of the table.

“Should we decide on lunch first? I’m hungry,” Hyunjin suggested, whining and patting his stomach like a child.

Felix had raised his phone up at that, a smug look on his face, “I ordered us some pizza just now because I saw that they delivered here.”

You sighed at the thought of food as you thanked Felix, beginning to grow peckish at the thought of food, directing your attention towards the television in your attempt to find a distraction.

“Does that tv work?” You asked, seeing Hyunjin nod, leaning his arms on the coffee table to support his head as he waited for Felix to distribute the cards in his clumsy, Felix way.

“I watched some movies on it this morning, they’ve only been playing Christmas movies though, the channels are pretty limited.”

“I’m fine with Christmas movies,” you hummed, Jisung sighing deeply beside you.

“I wish it was Christmas.”

Changing your location to the sofa, you made yourself comfortable as Felix chose the channel, Jisung insisting on dimming the lights for the living room to look more cozy, after which he made his way over to where you were seated on the sofa.

“Can I sit here,” Jisung pointed next to you with a pointed look, “or did you already reserve it for your boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?”

Jisung’s head snapped around to see Chan coming into the living room, dressed in a baby blue sweater and black sweatpants, his hair slightly damp and messy on his head. The sight of his smirk flustering you into fixing your gaze on the television.

Jisung’s mouth clamped shut quickly, shaking his head dismissively as Hyunjin struggled to stifle a laugh.

Chan had ‘let’ Jisung sit on the sofa next to you, seating himself on the space on the floor between the coffee table and the sofa in front of where you sat, his proximity causing you to pick up the hint of cologne he was wearing.

“Oh, Christmas movies! Nice,” Chan commented, earning a ‘I know right?’ from Felix, meanwhile Jisung was wiggling his eyebrows at you, using his index finger and thumb to pinch his sweater and pointing at Chan, which you figured was Jisung’s sign language for ‘doesn’t he look good in that sweater?’

Ignoring Jisung for the sake of your sanity, the uno cards went ignored as the group of you focused on the movie. Something about the mood of the movie served to put you in a calm mood, ( or maybe it was Chan’s presence, you couldn’t tell ) so much so that you didn’t realise how quickly time passed until you heard a knock at the door.

You wouldn’t know this but Chan was thankful for his seat in front of you, figuring that if he were seated next to you he wouldn’t have been able to think about anything other than putting his arm around you or something cheesy like that.

Jumping up quickly, Felix offered to take the pizza, coming back to the living room with the boxes and a too-large bottle of sofa, placing it onto the coffee table with a harsh thud.

Hyunjin was quick to start eating, and Chan had turned his head around to look at you, shifting to the left to make space for you on the floor. You know, just out of his consideration.

Giving him an appreciative nod, you reached over to take a slice, not missing the way Chan poured drinks for everyone, silently doing things for them to take care of them, something about it making your heart swell just a little bit more.

“Can we play a game after this? The movie’s getting kind of boring,” Jisung frowned, his tone extra desperate, you should’ve known his intentions when he’d waited until Chan wasn’t looking to shoot you a wink.

Shrugging and murmurs of ‘yeah why not’ or ‘sure’s sounded among the group, Felix turning to Chan with a knowing look on his face.

“This one’s really competitive when it comes to games,” he gestured at Chan with his pizza crust.

Chan lowered his head, a shy smile on his face, his clean hand coming up to touch his ear, though he made no effort to deny Felix’s accusation.

“Really?” You asked, hoping you hadn’t replied too quickly, seeing Hyunjin nod gravely at you.

“I thought I was competitive but that was until I swam with him,” Hyunjin said with a raise of his eyebrows, shaking his head.

“It’s your fault for thinking you could go against him, you of all people knew he won all those medals in the past,” Felix laughed, making Hyunjin let out a stubborn huff.

“Medals?” Jisung hummed thoughtfully, nudging you with his knee.

“Yeah, I was in a lot of swimming competitions when I was younger,” Chan told you, a rather embarrassed expression on his face.

“A lot,” Felix echoed, a strange feeling building inside you from the new-found information, something in you finding the thought of baby Chan swimming absolutely endearing.

“Enough about me,” Chan waved his hand in dismissal, “let’s just play, okay?” Chan changed the topic quickly, making Jisung jeer but moving to clear the table nonetheless.

Once you were all done clearing up and washing your hands, Jisung having made sure to occupy a lot more space so it left you and Chan with little space, you’d returned to the living room, seeing they’d already laid out different games on the table.

You realized they’d decided on playing uno first, leaning over to Jisung with an urgency to your gaze.

“Why are we playing this?” you whispered harshly, panic in your eyes, earning a snort from Jisung, who shielded his cards from you almost immediately. Talk about friendship.

“I’m not teaching it to you again, you never listen to me,” he scolded you, making you frown as he pushed your stack of cards towards you, “face your fate, loser.”

The game had started, all of them seeming to know what was going on, and you hoped it wouldn’t be too obvious that you didn’t know what you were doing, always having to clarify if what you were doing was correct before putting it down, and it was no surprise that you were always at the brunt of the ‘+’ cards, Chan noticing not long into the game that you weren’t necessarily going in with a strategy.

“Uno!” You heard Felix shout, followed by Chan, and you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion.

“Wait, so do you win?” you mumbled, your hand coming up to touch your deck anxiously, peering at the middle stack of cards in confusion.

Chan laughed, “not yet, we still have to clear the last card.”

Nodding slowly, you simply followed the flow of the game, already having given up on winning, especially when Hyunjin yelped, Chan setting down his last card with a triumphant grin on his face.

Your lips parted in shock, about to set your cards down to reshuffle when you heard Jisung call out, “Second best!” and the game proceeded.

Chan leant back and rested his weight on his hands, tilting his head and peering over at your hand, a small giggle leaving him at the neat arrangement of the cards by colour and value.

You lifted the card of your choice slightly, showing it to him, silently asking what he thought, and he leant over to tell you which ones you could put down, and as you continued you were shocked at the rapid rate your hand was decreasing in number.

Your breath hitched, body tensing slightly when Chan had rest a arm on your shoulder, not having noticed how close he was to you until now ( and neither had he ), his left hand going up to either direct you or place the card down for you.

“Why does this feel so different from how I usually play?” you marvelled as he’d basically played for you.

“Maybe because Chan actually knows what he’s doing,” Jisung snickered, earning chuckles from Felix and Hyunjin as you scoffed.

As if by some miracle, Chan had helped you win the second place, earning protests from Felix who insisted that it doesn’t count because Chan played for you, to which you ignored, obviously.

Demanding for a break to regain his composure, Jisung had slumped against the sofa in defeat, and you’d almost instinctively reached over to nudge him when you realised Chan’s arm was still weighing on your shoulder.

He shifted his arm, bringing his hand up to push your hair away from your ear, “sorry, d’you mind? Just wanna check if it’s healing alright.”

You nodded, your gaze following Felix leaving to get more snacks, Hyunjin eyeing you suspiciously.

“Was it alright after we went swimming yesterday?”

You nodded, trying to ignore the way Jisung was tucking his hair behind his ear obviously behind Chan, batting his eyes at you.

“I think you can give it a few more weeks and it should be all healed,” he nodded, bringing his hand off of your shoulder, an unreadable expression on his face, which only served to make you more nervous. Chan wasn’t sure why he’d done this to himself, the urge to just bring you somewhere away from the boys and kiss you starting to become a little suffocating.

"I should probably still visit you, right? Just to be sure,” you murmured, averting your gaze to the bracelet on his wrist.

Chan smiled, his eyebrows lifting slightly in amusement, “you don’t need an excuse to come and see me… ”

And just like that, you dared yourself to meet his gaze again, instantly regretting your action when you saw the way Chan was glancing between your eyes and your lips, the giddy feeling building within you almost making you forget that Hyunjin and Jisung were in the room.

The boys wouldn’t have this, of course, and they’d made their presence known, Jisung’s loud cough making Chan’s gaze dart up, and in your shock you’d immediately put some distance between the both of you, flushing from how reckless you’d almost been. This wasn’t like you.

Standing up, you excused yourself to go to the washroom, Chan seeming to have regained his composure fairly quickly judging by the giggle that had escaped him from seeing how flustered you were.

“Hello?” Hyunjin chided, “we’re still here, you know.”

Chan sighed, “unfortunately.”

This made Jisung gasp, “that’s gross,” he shivered exaggeratedly, turning to Hyunjin, “speaking of which, when should we start heading back?”

Hyunjin glanced at the time as Felix was making his way back to the living room, “I think we can play one or two more games before we start to leave, we already packed up the rest of our stuff last night after you and Y/N went to sleep.”

“I’ve got this family dinner tonight, so I don’t think i’ll be joining you guys for dinner,” Felix pouted, earning a grunt of acknowledgement from Hyunjin.

Jisung pursed his lips, looking as though he were about to say something, finally relaxing his shoulders and shrugging, "I have no excuse. I just want to go home and sleep.”

“What about you, Chan?” Hyunjin asked, earning a shrug from the older boy. “Don’t you still have to finish up that design for next week?” Hyunjin prompted, referring to the client that Chan had been specially dealing with recently.

Chan shook his head, “that can wait till tomorrow,” he sighed.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, you’d splashed your face with water, hoping that you could lessen the heat you felt from your previous encounter with Chan. Giving yourself a resolute stare in the mirror as you convinced yourself that your cheeks totally weren’t pink right now.

After much convincing, you decided you were spending a little too much time in the washroom, returning to the living room at a reluctant pace, nervous at the sight of the boys all seated there talking and laughing.

“Did you show Jisung that thigh piece you did for that girl?” your eyes widened at Hyunjin’s question.

Thigh piece? You’d reminded yourself that tattoos could be anywhere, even places you would be too flustered to let Chan touch.

Chan was the first to notice that you were back, shooting you an amused smirk once you were seated next to him.

“Are you..better?” he teased, making you roll your eyes, waving him off.

“What are you guys talking about?” you asked, curious yet scared of your possible discovery.

“Chan did this sick piece for this girl, it was huge, it took him like 3 days,” Hyunjin said, words speeding up in his excitement as he took his phone out to show you the design.

Hyunjin had shoved his phone at Felix first, earning a low sound of approval from Felix, “wow, this is so cool.”

You grew more curious as the phone was passed to Jisung, all the while Chan simply smiled shyly, dimples appearing in his satisfaction that his work was being appreciated.

“This whole thing?! Where did she get it on?” Jisung exclaimed, making you furrow your eyebrows, suspicion rising.

Jisung shoved Hyunjin’s phone before you, and you saw a large detailed work that looked like a lady you would see in those scary lara croft movies.

Your eyes widened, a part of you feeling a little intimidated by the image.

“She said she wanted something that was like... a little creepy with like tomb raider vibes so I just went with it,” Chan explained, making you nod thoughtfully, hoping your shock wasn’t too obvious.

“You didn’t answer the question about the placement, though,” Felix spoke up with a curious lilt to his tone, looking down at his thigh and trying to mark out with his hand possible areas to place a tattoo like that.

“It’s a little hard to describe, we spent a while discussing but we eventually decided that we’d put it somewhere here,” Chan leaned over to Felix who had his leg already stretched out, placing a hand at the side of Felix’s upper thigh, marking an area that covered a little bit of the butt and most of the side of his thigh.

“It was crazy, the details were really amazing,” Hyunjin let out a low whistle.

“Thanks,” Chan laughed, making you scrunch your nose, your first thought being how the process would be like, knowing whoever was getting the tattoo would have to be showing quite a bit of skin to get it done. Since when were you so uptight? Snap out of it, it was just a tattoo on her thigh, no big deal.

Though you couldn’t help but turn to Jisung, lowering your volume to a discreet murmur.  

“Does that mean she had to take off her pants?!” you whispered harshly, making Jisung burst into a bout of hearty laughter.

“Is that your concern? because I mean, it’s not like Chan’s gonna tattoo her clothes, right?” Jisung’s chest heaved with how hard he was laughing, his statement catching Chan’s attention, said boy turning to you with an amused look.

“What’s wrong, baby? Are you shy?”

Jisung squealed, and you pitied Hyunjin for sitting next to Jisung because now he was the victim of Jisung’s hits.

You sucked in a sharp breath, feigning confidence by glaring at Chan, though on the inside you already knew you were more than flustered from his comment, wondering what gave him the audacity to be so bold.

“Mayhaps…” Hyunjin gave you a teasing smirk, “jealous?”

Felix’s eyes widened, excitedly tapping his leg in anticipation.

“Shut up,” you waved your hands, shooting a look at Chan, “I’m going to get water,” you murmured, starting to get up when you saw Chan stand up as well.

“I’ll go too,” he said, raising his hands up in defence when he saw you turn around to glare at him, “what? I just wanna look at what snacks we can bring back.”

Sighing, you let him follow behind you to the kitchen, pouring yourself a glass of water while he rummaged in the cupboards for snacks that caught his eye.

Lowering your voice to a murmur so the boys wouldn’t hear, you grit your teeth, “I told you you have to stop saying things like that,” you muttered, holding your glass of water to your lips and leaning against the kitchen counter.

Chan made a confused sound, closing the cupboard while he had a few bags of snacks in his hand, “stuff like what?”

You shot him a look, “you know what i’m talking about. Look, I know it might be fun or whatever for you to flirt but it’s gonna be your problem when I start… feeling some way about it,” you snapped, annoyance taking over you at how even at this moment you still managed to find Chan absolutely attractive.

Chan looked at you with a soft smile on his face, raising his eyebrows slightly at you, “go ahead.” He took a step towards you, making you furrow your eyebrows.

“What?”

Chan moved closer so he was just about to walk past you, leaning over so his lips were barely touching your ear, and it took you every inch of willpower in you not to flinch away.

“I want it to make you feel something,” he murmured, walking back into the living room nonchalantly after that, leaving you stunned in the kitchen.

“Y/N get your things! We’re leaving soon!” You heard Jisung’s voice snap you from your trance, nodding to yourself and finishing the rest of your water and walking over to your shared room with Jisung.

“Dude! Chan is stressing me out,” you whisper-shouted once you entered the room, seeing Jisung turn around like a deer caught in the headlights.

“What did he say?”

You recounted what happened in the kitchen to Jisung, who was an excited wreck after you were done, clenching his fists next to his head in his sheer inability to contain his excitement.

“He totally likes you, it’s so obvious at this point, what more is there to think about?” he told you matter-of-factly.

Sucking in a sharp breath, carrying your bag on your shoulder and squeezing your eyes shut before opening your eyes harshly, you shook your head.

“I don’t know what the hell I’m gonna say to him when I see him at peaches… can we change our spot?” You shot Jisung a look, though the both of you knew you had no plans whatsoever to change cafes.

“Hey, don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

Surprisingly, that served to be of some consolation for you during the dead silence on the ride back, Chan having fallen asleep again but this time he’d leant against the window so that saved you from more stress, you guessed.

Hyunjin had dropped Felix off at his house for  his family dinner first, followed by Jisung who was insistent on wanting to sleep.

You remembered Chan mentioning to Hyunjin at the start of the ride that he wanted to head to the shop after dinner so you didn’t bother waking him up when you’d reached your house, figuring he should get as much sleep as he can if he was going to be working later on, choosing to text him instead.

5:57pm -hey, didn’t wanna wake u just now so ill say bye to u here instead haha-

Once you were home, you couldn’t help but wonder if Chan was going to call you again today, like how he usually did. But after almost applying shampoo on your body in your distraction you’d decided not to make yourself too anxious about it, choosing to tidy up your house and watch movies to kill time since you wanted to enjoy the rest of your holiday while you could.

Thanks to a little too many romantic comedies, you’d successfully forgotten you were waiting for Chan to call you, already halfway through devouring your ice-cream sundae when you’d startled at the sound of your phone ringing.

Peeking at the caller id, you were almost embarrassed at how quickly you’d answered once you saw Chan’s contact name, putting the phone on speaker on your lap.

“Hey,” you heard him murmur, his tone soft and gentle, yet there was something about it that sounded a little on edge, “hope I didn’t interrupt you when you were about to sleep or anything.”

You shook your head, “oh, no, not at all, I was just... chilling,” you shrugged, picking up your remote to turn the volume down on your tv.

“Are you home?” He asked you, earning an affirmative hum from you.

“You?”

“Nah, I left the shop a short while ago… ”

You wracked your brain for a response, your mind running wild imagining all the possible ways the conversation could go.

Was he going to ask you about what happened in the kitchen? Or should you have asked him instead?

Whatever it was, the longer you kept silent, the more your heart picked up speed, a part of you growing desperate to confront him and just ask him about it over the phone because you knew you wouldn’t have to face him in real life if you did— no matter how cowardly it was of you.

“Oh, please be careful, it’s really late,” you murmured, wincing at your shitty reply.

You heard him huff on the other line, “oh, yeah. Totally… don’t scold me but…I feel a lot better after hearing your voice.”

Stunned into silence, you were unsure how to react, a nervous laugh leaving your lips, “list—”

“Can—” you’d spoken simultaneously, a laugh escaping you. 


“You go first,” you insisted, scooping the last bits of your ice cream up as you waited anxiously.

“I was actually wondering uh… can we talk? I’m almost at your house.”

Your eyes widened, glancing at the door in shock, placing your ice cream down on the table haphazardly.

“Oh, uh, yeah sure. Of course we can, gimme a sec,” you said, hurriedly putting on the jacket you had draped over the sofa next to you since you weren’t wearing a bra, hearing the knock at your door when you hadn’t even finished slipping your arm through the sleeve yet.

“Just a minute!” You shouted, hanging up the call and jogging over to the door, opening it to reveal Chan.

You’d tensed up almost instantly, the time of the night coupled with  something about the way the light from your house hit him making him look like he was glowing.

“Hey,” you breathed, seeing him give you a close-lipped smile. “Come in,” you ushered him in, closing the door behind him, though he stayed at your door, looking almost scared to walk any further.

“I’m sorry, again, for coming so unannounced it’s just that… this has been, you know, weighing on my mind for the longest time and after what happened in the kitchen earlier today I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry,” he blurted, his hand coming up to grasp the back of his neck, letting go and letting his hand fall back to his side.

You hoped you didn’t look too dumbfounded.

“Sorry? For what?”

“Nah, like… I was thinking about it just now and I realised that I never thought about how I could be like, you know, imposing my feelings on you and I know that just because I feel a certain way doesn’t mean you have to feel the same way and I just felt really bad because I never meant to put you on the spot or—”

“Chan, calm down,” you laughed, hands naturally going up to his shoulders to rub them reassuringly.

He nodded, meeting your gaze and sucking in a sharp breath before sighing deeply, “you know what? I’m just gonna say it. I’m sorry, in advance. Just so you know, you can reject me, i’m perfectly fine with it. I just have to tell you this before I lose my mind,” he huffed, heaving another sigh.

“I know it’s no secret but… I like you Y/N.”

Your eyes widened, your smile growing bigger, unable to help yourself because of how endearing it felt to see Chan who usually looked so intimidating and confident suddenly become this rambling wreck before you.

“Me too,” you nodded, suddenly feeling more confident now that you knew how he felt, the knowledge spurring you on.

“I’m sorry—wait, you do?”

You nodded, “I’m surprised you couldn’t tell, I did for a while now… ”

Chan let out a relieved sigh, and you felt his shoulders relax under your touch, his hands going up to cover yours which were placed on his shoulders, grasping them gently, his hands cold to the touch.

“Thank—now I’m glad I came here. I thought hearing your voice would be enough but now that I’m here I’m thinking, seeing you…” his hands peeled yours away from his shoulders, interlocking his fingers with yours, “feeling you,” he took a step closer to you, so close that you could feel the warmth radiating from him.

“Is so much better,” he muttered.

It was as if you were transported back to the lake, with the way you felt him leaning closer to you, and taking a step back, you felt your back hit the door gently, his thumbs smoothing over the back of your hands, making you giggle.

“So, I take it as I’ll be receiving more… ‘dinner offers’?” You said, mustering your last bit of confidence.

Chan let out an amused huff, taking his lower lip between his teeth gently and shaking his head at you. Leaning down, Chan brought your hands up to press them against the door on either side of your head, his head dipping down to your neck, pressing a kiss to your neck, the way just the smallest of gasps left you making him smile.

“You really… drive me crazy, sweetie,” he murmured, the smile practically evident in his tone.

Moving his head higher, he pressed a soft kiss to your jaw, the cold metal of his lip ring making you shiver, pulling away so he was face-to-face with you.

“May I?” He smiled, and you’d wished you could have cupped his face and kissed him right there, and it seemed as though he’d read your mind, letting go of your hands.

Once he did so, you’d taken the opportunity to cup the sides of his face, your hands closer to his ears, pulling him closer and pressing your lips against his.

Feeling Chan smile into the kiss, you’d almost shivered at the feeling of his hands going to your shoulders before running them down slowly to your waist, deepening the kiss as he gave your waist a small squeeze, making you utter a surprised sound, sighing into the kiss as you felt his hands going down to grasp your hips.

“Ice cream?” he hummed after you’d felt him lick your lower lip, making you scoff, not knowing how to respond to him, which had only served to further amuse him.  

Feeling confident, he pulled away only slightly (eliciting a rather disappointed sound from you), surprising you when you felt his teeth nip lightly at your lips, making you pull away, cheeks flushing.

“So,” you ignored his comment, pulling away in your shock, seeing him tilt his head at you with a giddy smile on his face, as if he hadn’t just done whatever he did in the past minute, “I take that as a yes?”

Chan hummed, pressing a hand against your back and pulling you closer to him so your chest was flush against his, smirking at the way your hands had almost come up to cover yourself.

“Kiss me again and I’ll tell you my answer.”

[isolemnlyswearpevensie]

Hot Chocolate in the Summer | Sirius Black x Reader

Warnings: None 

Era: Marauders era (Graduated)

Word Count: 1k

Summary: On a brisk summer evening, Y/N and Sirius reminisce about their past 

Request: A Sirius black x reader when you and Sirius get married and/or have a child together right after Hogwarts

A/N: First Harry Potter imagine on this blog! Yay! I hope you enjoy <3

Masterlist | read on ao3

Being a young father wasn’t what Sirius imagined when he thought about his life plan. Y/N wasn’t either if he was being completely honest. He always imagined himself a young bachelor who would charm bartenders out of free drinks or ride around his motorcycle until dawn with no hesitation. That all shifted when he met the love of his life during his fifth year. 

Sirius didn’t pay attention to people outside of his house, or, really, anyone outside of his close circle of friends. His friends were his world, and other relationships outside of the circle were jeopardizing. A new clique member could throw off the dynamic, and if worst comes to worst, break up the tight bonds they had. Sirius was not about to let that happen because he was dating some silly girl. 

In Herbology, debatably Sirius’ least favorite class, he was paired up with Y/N for a project. He had been partnered with James originally, but they goofed off in class, broke four pots, and lost the privilege to even look at each other. Y/N was the best in the class and was very well behaved, so naturally, Sirius was stuck with her. 

He thought she was shallow at first; just a know-it-all that would boss him around and get under his skin. But, as they worked together, he discovered that she was the exact opposite of that. She was sweet, funny, sarcastic, and most of all, smart. Y/N was muggleborn, yet she came to Hogwarts knowing more about the school than Sirius did. How she knew, Sirius didn’t know, but it was still impressive. Not to mention, they shared a ton of the same interests. Y/N’s father was an auto mechanic and when he showed her his bike for the first time, she knew the exact model. I helped Dad work on one of these last summer, she explained. 

The real test before asking her out, though, was how James reacted to her. James was the end-all-be-all opinion. Y/N had the boy wrapped around her finger within three minutes of meeting him. Sirius asked her to Hogsmede right then and there.

Their wedding had been quaint; only friends and Y/N’s immediate family. The meadow they chose to get married in was bustling with life, whether that was clovers and dandelions, or bumblebees and wildflowers. A nearby stream could be heard from the reception, as could frogs, and lightning bugs lit up the venue when it got dark. It was simple, fresh, and beautiful. Y/N had a gorgeous, flowing dress and a flower bouquet of sunflowers and red roses. Sirius wore a red bowtie. It was the perfect wedding to start a perfect marriage. 

Except, it wasn’t perfect. Six months after their wedding, the couple had discovered that Y/N was pregnant. The two had spoken about kids previously, but they had decided to wait many years until they started a family. They had plans to travel, to see the world, and be happy-go-lucky young adults. After many evenings of discussing what to do, the happy couple decided to be the best, most badass parents a kid could have. Not long after Sirius and Y/N, James and Lily announced that they would also be having a child. That meant the new additions to the marauders would have a built-in best friend, and that made the couples happy. While the timing wasn’t the best, due to the war, at least they weren’t alone. 

On May 15th, 1980, Y/N gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Ellie Marlene Black. She looked exactly like Sirius, with hints of Y/N. It was love at first sight for Sirius and when Y/N saw him hold her for the first time, she knew that Ellie would be daddy’s little girl. 

~

“Who knew it got cold at night,” Y/N said one summer evening as she rocked her daughter. Her and her husband were standing on their porch watching the sunset; Sirius sat comfortably in a chair with his legs spread out while Y/N paced. Ellie wasn’t falling asleep. Instead, she tugged at Y/N’s hair. 

“Well, it tends to do that every day, love,” Sirius answered, sipping on a beer and watching his girls with an amused look on his face. 

“I didn’t ask for sass, mister.” Y/N continued to bounce the one-and-then-some-year-old. 

“Ah, come on, darling. Give it up, she’s not going down.”

“Gid id up! Daddy!” Ellie reached her grubby fists towards Sirius. Sirius scooped her up and blew a raspberry on her tummy. 

“Yeah, that’s right! Give it up, Mama!” Sirius situated Ellie on his hip and kissed her cheek. 

It was interesting seeing him interact with Ellie. Here Sirius was, barely 21 with long hair, a leather jacket, piercings, and tattoos, holding a toddler that absolutely adored him. The contrast was insane. It was especially odd seeing them together when Y/N visited him at work. Sirius was an apprentice at a magical tattoo parlor in Diagon Alley, so it was always fun watching the customers’ reaction to Ellie’s precious deminer. 

“I’m going to go make us a treat, babe.” Y/N calls, opening their screendoor and walking back into their kitchen. Sirius hummed in response. A few minutes later, Y/N returns with two mugs of hot chocolate. 

“Baby, it’s the middle of August.” Ellie’s head was starting to droop and her thumb was in her mouth. 

“Yeah, so? It’s cold outside. Do you want it or not?” Y/N’s smiled ear to ear. 

“I never said I didn’t want it,” Sirius remarked back, taking the cocoa from his wife and taking a sip. The warm liquid warmed his body and left him feeling a little groggy. He stared lovingly at his wife. How did he get so lucky?

“You’re so beautiful, my love.” Sirius comments, taking a sip of the cocoa again. “You’re such a good mom, too. Ellie adores you. I adore you.”

This made Y/N flush a deep red. No matter how many times he compliments her, she still feels like the nervous school girl who was paired to do a project with him. How far they’ve come since then.

“You’re the amazing one. You work two jobs to support us...I can’t even imagine how hard that is. And the Order is so dangerous-”

“It’s all worth it to see the my two girls so happy.” Ellie was now asleep on Sirius’ chest. Her thumb was placed in her mouth and her body was limp. 

“I love you, Sirius.”

“I love you even more, my love.”

[hains-mae]

Flowers

(Damian x Reader) Soulmate AU

Rating: T

Ages: Damian and you are 16, everyone’s ages follow after.

Summary: Soulmate AU where the wounds on your soulmate turns into a flower tattoo on your skin, if it heals with no scars the tattoo goes away, if it heals with a scar then the tattoo stays. You are just an ordinary girl, with an ordinary life, so one might think it only makes sense that your soulmate is just as ordinary as you. But that isn’t the case. Especially not when your body is constantly littered with flowers. Some of them fade over time, some stay, but one thing is for certain – your soulmate seems to get hurt. A lot.

Notes: Hey there you guys. Recently I’ve been caught up in a Batman fever, and I can’t do anything about it. I ended up creating a challenge for my friend @mrevaunit42​ which was an “Character x Reader” Soulmate AU. Seriously, it was all in the name of fun.

And then I got caught up in it, perhaps a little too much – and created this. I’ve never written a soulmate au before, though I really wanted to. (Now I have! Yay~) So please forgive my writing since I’m a little rusty, and I hope you enjoy.

Stay safe everyone.

Disclaimer: I do not own DC. If I did, I wouldn’t make it as confusing as it is now.

I woke up to a burning sensation on my lower ribs in the middle of night. Hissing in pain I slowly pushed my feet out of the warm covers and turned on the lamp beside my bed. Pulling up my shirt I assessed the damage.

It was purple lilacs this time, stretched across the middle of my torso going horizontally to my side. I winced as the tattoo completed itself and just as the heat came, a cold chill ran through it and down my spine. Somehow it soothed the burn.

God, another one? I frowned at the beautiful flower and sighed. It worried me that my soulmate was prone to getting hurt. Sometimes the injuries made sense, like when I found them on my knees, I could easily chalk it up to falling and scraping – but injuries like these were more difficult to decipher.

How does someone normal get hurt this way?

They don’t.

“Unless they’re a criminal.” One of my friends stated dryly days ago.

“Or a hero!” Another said quickly.

Needless to say, I wasn’t in a rush to find out. Whoever this person was, I knew from the start that they were trouble.

The next time I woke, it was to the early morning rays that escaped my curtains and played a fiery dance on my eye lids. I groaned and pulled the covers up wishing I could sleep in for a couple more minutes, but I knew I couldn’t.

A few weeks ago my school, Gotham Academy, announced that they were holding their annual science fair at a convention centre as opposed to the regular school gymnasium, because surprisingly enough, Wayne Enterprise offered to fund the event.

It was no secret that Gotham’s economy was hitting below the desired margin. Many people don’t have jobs which resulted in an influx of crime in the past years. And so Wayne Enterprise collaborated with Gotham’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to raise awareness and encourage young minds to strive for a better, innovative future. They shouldered the expenses needed and created an international affair, to top it off; Wayne Ent. also offered scholarships to future college goers and internships in all their branches.

Which was why I couldn’t sleep in today. I had project to work on. In line with our team of sponsors, I decided to invent a weapon that could help the GPD when catching criminals. A gun that projects thin plastic case marbles filled with a chemical concoction that erupts into a quick hardening foam upon impact. The foam itself is not toxic, but it works with catching and detaining. It turns as hard as stone but there was another type of compound that I was in the process of creating to counter act it as a measure of safety.

I got up and started my day.

“Good morning sweetheart.” My mom greeted as I entered the kitchen. She smiled warmly at me as she placed a plate of eggs and bacon on the table.

I couldn’t help but return the gesture, walking up to her and placing a kiss on her cheek. “Morning Mom, are you working tonight?”

“I have to, but don’t worry I’ll be leaving something in the fridge for dinner.”

I thanked her and took my plate into the living room. Turning on the T.V., I easily found the news channel and watched the latest reports on Gotham’s activities.

Mom sometimes had to work on weekends just to make ends meet, which was one reason why I was so hard to get that scholarship and hopefully the internship as well. The other reason was…

A family picture caught my eye in the middle of the news and I bit back a sigh. My dad, my mom, and me. We all were smiling at the camera.

Dad was part of the Police force and died during a heist. Reports stated he was running after the criminals and got shot before he could capture them. That was another reason I chose this as my project. Dad always wanted to fight for justice, hopefully this invention could help.

I finished up my breakfast and helped my mom with chores before I slipped into science mode and continued tinkering with the project. The projectiles were complete and I was able to make 3 in total, which I stored in a small box encased with extra padding.

It was around evening after my mom left that I got another burn. I dropped the screwdriver I was holding and bit my lip. Gasping for breath I pulled my sleeve and watched another flower blossom on my forearm.

The pain was gone in an instant and the cold tickled the skin that was branded. I sighed and slowly straightened my poster. This person, after all these injuries, they better not die before I meet them. I grumbled to myself when I realised I was short on supplies. Poor planning on my part.

I grabbed my bag and locked the front door before I headed out to the nearest hardware store, careful to keep my marks hidden from view. I’ve lived in Gotham my whole life, and I knew that standing out, even in the smallest way, would lead into trouble.

The walk to the store was short and uneventful, thankfully. There were only a few customers. I manoeuvred my way between the isles and picked up what I needed. After paying at the counter I hauled my goods and ducked back into the streets. I almost wished I didn’t stop when I heard that woman cry out for help. I was unarmed, unprepared, and every cell in my body screamed at me to walk – no – run away from the scene that was unfolding before my eyes.

But she was helpless. Clad in a trench coat and rain boots, she didn’t look like much but her bag was definitely designer. The thieves in question had a knife pointed at her face. There were 6 of them. All were towering and bulky next to her petite frame. Their menacing stares struck a cold shiver in me and my hand involuntarily clutched the projectiles I was working on in my pocket. I had a feeling it would be safer with me than it would be at home, however this was not how I imagined I’d first be using them.

The woman screamed again and I clenched my palm.

I sucked in some air and got ready to shout at the perpetrators – until I felt the wind rush past my ear.

In a flash someone had swooped into the scene and kicked the man holding the knife to the ground. The sound of blades being drawn stole my attention. It was Robin. He took a stance between the woman and the men.

“Run. Now.” He told the lady.

She whimpered and scrambled up to her feet dashing towards me, towards the entrance of the alley. She zipped past and didn’t stop running till she turned the corner. I should be running too. But my eyes were fixed on the fight that was about to happen.

Robin seemed no older than me. In reality there was no way he could win against 6 huge men. But then again, this was Robin. No normal teenager.

“6 against 1.” He mused, the grip on his katana tightened. “That hardly seems fair.”

The one who held the knife, possibly the leader of the gang, growled thickly. “Get‘im boys.”

They all rushed towards him at the same time, hands in the air and weapons ready. Robin whipped his blade and easily knocked two knives down, the remaining used their strength and threw punches that looked like it would strike anyone straight to next week. The masked boy effortlessly dodged all their hits. Crouching, jumping, twisting, exactly when needed and not a second too late. His movements were precise; a quick jab below the rib striking the kidney with the handle of the sword, a sharp slam of his elbow to the chin, and to close the deal with a blunt blow force to the side of the neck. The goon fell like a tree that’s been cut down.

I gaped in awe.

The others rushed to avenge their fallen comrade, but Robin was quicker and used his blade to disable them. He kicked one of them into the brick wall, a sickening crunch echoed as the goons’ head smashed into it, then a howl of pain when Robin sliced his back. I cringed at the sight of the blood. It was a superficial wound, at least from my vantage point. The cut was deep enough to hurt and draw red, but not enough to kill.

The next lunged himself and grabbed Robin’s wrist, the boy growled and kicked him the face, forcing to free himself. He couldn’t see the other one running towards them from behind, the weapon aiming straight for Robin’s back.

“Robin!” I found my voice and screamed. “Behind you!”

He did a roundhouse kick and slammed the head of the one holding his wrist, then using the momentum back flipped and kicked the one who was behind.

I sighed in relief.

“What are you doing just standing there?!” He shouted at me as he readied himself again. “I said run!”

That got all the men’s attention. The ones that fell got back up and huffed angrily.

“Get the girl!” The leader shouted. “We can use her.” His leer sent bile rushing up my throat.

I squeaked as 3 of them started to chase me. Finally my legs listened and I dashed across the street onto the other pavement.

They were too fast though, their thundering footsteps grew closer towards me. My lungs burned as I tried to inhale some much needed oxygen, physical sports like running really weren’t my thing. I nearly tripped on an uneven tile as a scream rippled out of my throat. I braced myself for impact but it never came. Instead I felt a rush of wind across my face and a lightness below me. The ground was getting further and further away.

I realised I was being carried. Looking up, I was face to face with Red Robin.

“God thing I saw you when I did or you’d be dead meat.” He said dryly as we landed on a roof.

“Th-thank you.” I breathed, trying to gulp in as much needed air as I could. “Robin – he –“ But I didn’t know how to articulate. The adrenaline rush was messing with my head, and I could barely think straight.

Yet Red Robin nodded, understanding. He jumped off the roof and shot his grappling hook. I peered down and saw the fight started to move, from the alley to the side walk. The goons cornered Robin into a store front and were relentless as they threw punch after punch. The other 3 that were chasing me were already fighting Red just below the building that he deposited me on.

I watched in horror as the glass shattered everywhere around them. They weren’t just normal gangs I discerned, they knew how to fight. And unlike the birds and bat, they didn’t mind taking a life.

Clutching the projectiles again in my pocket, I brought them up with trembling hands.

“I hope this works.” I whispered to myself and pulled out my elastic hair tie.

Hooking one of the orbs onto the elastic, I aimed for the goons attacking Robin, and pulled as far as the band could go. Willing my hand to stop shaking, I said a silent prayer and released my hold.

Time seemed to go into slow motion as it flew across the air. I held my breath.

It hit the ground between two goons and burst into a big foamy cloud of vibrant cobalt, instantly seizing the men and solidified their prison as the concoction cooled.

Both fights stopped for a split second, as they watched the chemical reaction, which now looking back was a mistake on all parties.

I gasped and thanked whoever was listening.

The leader roared and pulled a pistol. I felt my throat tighten as the gun set a bullet free.

Robin and I cried out in pain as the bullet dug into him. Tears threatened to roll down my cheek as I clutched my burning shoulder.

A birdarang zipped towards the leader, catching his wrist and making him let go of the weapon. With a grunt, Robin kicked him hard across the chest stealing the perpetrators breath and with a quick turn, smashed his foot onto the mans jaw, cracking it before letting him fall with a loud thud.

The fight continued and Robin easily subdued his last opponent. Then he ran across the street to finish up with Red. Both of them moved in fluid motions like well trained dancers as they fought while protecting each others weak spots. They took down the last 3 goons and tied them up just as the police sirens blared within the distance.

I jumped up from my spot and turned to run but stopped when I saw the two Robins in my path.

“You.” The younger one started. “You were the one who shot the…”

I nodded wordlessly, still feeling the adrenaline coursing through my body. A nasty red splotch caught my attention and I believe they both noticed as I glanced at it. My own hand went up and clutched my shoulder unconsciously, a cold sensation rippled through where the bullet was.

“Oh my god.”

---

to be continued...

Part 2, 3, 4, 5 (end)

[saintsofvoid]

Not saying you have no reason to feel "bleh", sometimes the brain just insists, but there is so much character in the little snippets and commentary and photos you do. Even if they are similar to other people's (which is really hard not to do), they are so unique to themselves it's absolutely worth it.

Hopefully you're feeling better soon, and can find joy in creating and talking about your boys again ❤

Its late so I'm gonna kinda reply to this with what has been going on on my end and where this funk is coming from. Putting it under a read more to spare everyone, but first and foremost I do appreciate all of you beyond belief for reaching out and having such kind words to say. I know its just a me thing but sometimes it all does just get to me. With that being said, feel free to ignore the whole next bit.

I 100% understand and accept its never going to be completely possible to make completely original characters, especially given the restricted format we have for CP2077. I wish we had more power to craft our characters, more like Fallout 4's character creator (which despite the game's flaws I still go back to just to make characters lol). The problem is I see Valor in game and these screenshots of him and while I do like how he looks... its not him. Not completely. His scars are wrong, he doesn't have his tattoos, hair isn't right, he's missing the ports on his body, and overall things just aren't 100% with him. But despite all that, 3rd time around I think he looks pretty good. Again though am limited to what the game allows so a part of me does get a bit offed when I see other ppls Vs that look a bit too similar. I know its just me, I don't take it to heart, its just upsetting reminder I can't make him look how he's supposed to. Same with Umbra, he looks nothing like how he looks in our TTRPG and it really hurts because I spent a long time making him with our GM and I can't show that. Its not possible in game and my art doesn't do him any justice. So it gets frustrating because I look at some of these guys and they're not my characters, just similar figures to them, but not them.

Which is really hard especially when it comes to Val because long ago he was a self insert that I used to project how I wanted to look. I Have never done well with identifying as trans, I don't like to glamorize it or be recognized for it. I'm saving up for chest surgery but I'm fucking terrified of having the scars. I just don't want to be associated and recognized with it after my transition just because it's been really rough to go through in general. I haven't enjoyed this journey at all really, and really wish I didn't have to go through it. Valor in the RPG was my way of coping and going through stuff. Instead of gender though it was his association with cyberware and having parts of his body and "humanity" removed, replaced with machine and wires. I don't project onto him as much as I once did but he still will and forever hold pieces of that history because that's how I made him.

With all that, all I really do have is my words. Part of the problem with that is there's literally years worth of lore. I've been playing the same campaign with the same group of friends since my freshman year of college. So like 6/7 years now? There's a lot. The issue is these are people I'm really good friends with. This game has become a kind of safe zone for us. We're all a bunch of artist that mainly specialized in horror content. We were part of a movie club that mainly watched horror movies. We're the bitches that watched the Saw series during our free hour in the school library, like we are chill. That also just kinda means there's a lot of dark and twisted subject matter that ends up in our games. Characters having experienced some fucked up shit, witnessed some fucked up shit, and have done some fucked up shit. Feel kinda weird posting or sharing some of the more dark things in detail. So end up watering them down and they don't always feel right.

Top of all that, I just don't have the time to do things I wanna do. I feel so goddamn pressured at home and like I should be doing more. I honestly don't know how half these people have the time to learn and do the amount of mods and edits they do. I'm not gonna lie, I'm envious of it. I get 8-10 hours of being yelled at by customers, and then I may or may not have an hour long drive to take my brother to work or pick him up some days, and then whatever my parents have going on. I want to get back into art, I want to learn 3D modeling, I want to learn how to properly mod but I'm usually so stressed out or just exhausted nothing sticks so I don't even bother really. It sucks, because I want to learn, I want to do things, but I can't. I feel like because I have so little private and personal time now if I can't get things quick enough its not worth the effort. Its frustrating but again that's all on me.

And in other news, lotta people around me are dying or have had family die do to COVID and other things. Earlier this year a close friend of mine lost her dad to COVID and she's still struggling with that. A family friend of ours died earlier this week at the age of 35 from unknown causes. I have another friend who is in the psych ward because he is once again dealing with mental stuff and wellness check did not turn up well. Round it all off, my grandpa has basically given up on his life as well, flat out saying there's nothing worth living for anymore. Given his health issues I know its only a matter of time until I'm saying my final goodbye to him as well. So its rough, and fucking sucks. Not much I can do about it, but it makes me feel fucking worse with my own depression and suicidal thoughts. I know I'd never act on the thoughts, but seeing how death effects those around me makes me feel fucking worse for even thinking about it.

The part that sucks the most about it all, and even something I've expressed to my therapist is I'm completely self aware that its all in my head. I know I can't control these situations, and that skills take time to be acquired and grow. I am so grateful for all friends and support I do have, here, on disco, irl, I see the kind words and love and it really means a lot. I feel like a horrible friend because I don't know what to do really. I know its in my head, and I know what I can and can't control. I know what I need to do, yet I don't feel any better. I feel worse, I feel like I'm distant, and dismissive. I feel like what content I am putting out is stale and boring. I just feel lost and I'm not sure what piece I'm missing to really get things going again. I love my characters, I love making stuff with them. I love the story arch I have for Val and Ker and I want to share all of that with you all. I just feel really weird.

[sushiandstarlight]

“Scarf”: NaNoWriMo 30 Days of Prompts

Today’s Prompt

Read this story on AO3

Personal note: today I bring you tooth-rotting Christmas fluff.  Also, I do not knit or crochet, though I have poked at both hobbies.  Mostly, I take what little I know from the knitters and crocheters in my life.

“I've joined a knitting circle in town.” He had said it without preamble over dinner at their favorite restaurant.

“Knitting?” Crowley tried to recall what knitting looked like, “Something to do with string and big needles, right?

“Well, crochet actually. Right now, anyway. Apparently they go back and forth for new people. Crochet, they said, was easier to learn.”

“Crochet.” That, he assumed, also dealt with string and needles.

“Yes. I thought- I thought, you have your garden to muck about in... I should have something, too. Aside- aside from my books, of course. But, having no shop or customers-” the way Aziraphale said the word customers: it dripped, ever so, with disgust, “I wanted to find something to do with my hands, you see?”

“Sure, Angel. You crochet now, it's cool.”

And nothing more had been said about it that night. Or any of the following. On Thursday evenings Aziraphale would kiss his cheek and disappear for a few hours.

The house started filling, little by little, with bits of yarn. Squares at first, some parts of them loose or tangled, other parts stiff and tight. Tension, he said, he was learning tension. Crowley thought he knew plenty enough about tension, but didn't mention it.

He would come in from the garden once it was too dark to work (not that he couldn't see, but it was the human thing to do and they were living among humans) and find the angel in the living room, in his chair, lap full of yarn- the string was called yarn, he had learned- and tiny hooked needles. There was muttered counting and some amount of grumbled curses over “dropped stitches.”

Eventually they had a big pile of what he called pot holders in the kitchen. They were squares of all sorts of colors, Crowley supposed to go with the seasons. Or maybe Aziraphale got tired of one color and went to the next, hard to be sure. They were more uniform than what he had done before, perhaps he had learned about this “tension” he muttered about for weeks.

And then he became secretive. New projects stopped showing up around the cottage. Crowley would come in for the night and have the feeling that Aziraphale had hidden something swiftly right before he returned. Something about the near-manic way he would be staring at the book sprawled out on his thighs.

Their first Christmas after the events of almost-megeddon was fast approaching. He might not have guessed except the pot holders in the kitchen were red and green now, as opposed to fall colors. He wondered if he should get Aziraphale something for Christmas. He probably should.

“Don't come in here, Crowley, I'm on Christmas business!” Crowley stared at their bedroom door, now barred from entering it. He supposed that answered that.

“I'll be back, Angel, I'm headed to town.”

“Kisses!”

Crowley stared at the door for a further minute before shaking his head and heading out to the car. He returned some hours later with large bags from all the local craft stores. Who could have guessed there were so many kinds of yarn? What on earth were they all for? He had spent some time before he left, going around and touching all of the crochet projects he could find around the house, trying to guess the material. Or at least know it when he found it again at the store. But, that was an impossible method, he had found. Dumbfoundedly, he had stood in the yarn aisles- AISLES, plural- touching them one at a time.

“Whatever project you're getting them for, you should get the colors in one dye lot,” The overly-friendly employee of one store had said, “so they'll match.” Whatever that meant.

It wasn't so much that he bought out the stores, at that point. That would have taken a miracle to get home and would definitely have been noticed by his angel. But, he did settle on buying the softest of yarns. The ones that drifted through his fingers rather than dragging. Aziraphale enjoyed, nay deserved, soft things. He was soft and he had not had enough softness in his centuries.

“Oooh, what have you got there, my dear?” Crowley startled, clutching his packages to his chest, suddenly grateful that the stores had elected to give him unmarked bags. He was pretty sure they were all giggling about him, even now. Their smiles as they helped him and rung him up had been... conspiratorial. 'Happy Christmas, Mr. Crowley,' they'd smiled, 'I hope he likes them!' He wondered if they worked on commission.

“Nothing!” his voice hadn't squeaked, it really hadn't, “Christmas business, as you say. Nothing here to see.” He swept upstairs and hid the bags under the bed.

Christmas morning had dawned colder than expected, crisp even. He was happy enough to give the angel the gifts he had picked out, but he was even happier to stay right here, tucked snug and warm under the covers with him. But, fingers tickled along the tattoo on his face.

“Five more minutes,” he grumbled, not opening his eyes.

“You said that five minutes ago,” Aziraphale was smiling at him, he could hear it in his voice. Yeah, it was possible he had asked before, and it was possible he would ask again. He grumbled some more and slid further under the covers, wrapping his arms around the angel's waist.

Time passed, how much he couldn't say because he drifted. He felt fingers comb through his hair.

“Five more minutes,” his voice was muffled by the angel's bed clothes pressed against his face.

“Really, Crowley!” Aziraphale chuckled softly, Crowley enjoyed the bounce of his chest, squeezing him and nuzzling closer- the sound and feel of Aziraphale's happiness made him giddy. It also had the side effect of waking him up completely, at last.

“Happy Christmas, Angel,” he rolled on to his back and stretched, feeling the blankets fall down around his middle. It wasn't nearly as cold as he remembered it being... how ever many minutes ago, how ever many minutes he managed to bargain for.

“Happy Christmas, Crowley, you beautiful creature,” Aziraphale was draped over him and kissing him softly, a bit teasingly, his smile pressed to Crowley's lips. It was like drinking happiness, Crowley decided, this was like drinking Aziraphale's very joy. It made the already giddy part of him crow inside.

“Maybe,” Crowley snaked his arms back around Aziraphale's middle and tugged him down onto his chest, “maybe five more minutes.” He was smirking, himself, as he muttered against his soft lips. They pulled down into a frown. When he pulled back he saw it was mostly for show.

“I suppose you don't want your gift, then.”

“Got all I want, right here,” he squeezed him.

“Soppiness is not going to get you any more five minute reprieves.”

“It was worth a shot.”

“Hmm.” And then Aziraphale did his worst: get left the bed and took all his warm softness with him. Crowley groaned and pouted dramatically.

“Bastard.”

He heard chuckling fading as the angel padded down the stairs. He sat for a few moments more, hoping he would return, but then gave it up. He threw back the covers- extra messy so Aziraphale would make a fuss later- and stepped into his slippers. Slippers. He had slippers now. Who'd have thought? Grabbing his robe, he donned it and went downstairs.

The night before he had waiting for Aziraphale to fall asleep and then he had snuck down with his packages and piled them under the tree. Every skein was wrapped individually in shiny, red wrapping paper, tied with white ribbon. There were... a lot of little red packages. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, Aziraphale was in the sitting room, staring at them.

“Looks like St. Nick really delivered this year,” Crowley walked up behind him, hugging him and resting his chin on his shoulder to peer at the piles of packages, “You must've been a good boy.”

“Oh, Crowley, it's too much, isn't it?”

“Nah, could be half of them are fake. You won't know until you open them,” he was getting distracted by the line of Aziraphale's jaw and nuzzled his nose against it. Aziraphale's arms came up and rested over his, squeezing his hands.

“You're planning to spoil me, aren't you?”

“What? I got you nothing. This is all Santa's work. I might have to have a chat with him, he thinks he might win you from me with presents.”

“Pssh, really.”

“You should be spoiled,” he placed a soft, gently sucking kiss where his jaw met his neck and delighted at the shiver he felt, pressed as close as he was, in response, “I won't have it any other way. Sorry, you're gonna have to suffer it.”

“I suppose I'll survive it, somehow,” there was a beat of silence, “but I did not get you this many things.”

“It's not a competition. No tally's here. I'm sure I'll like whatever you give me, Angel. Just enjoy your presents, alright?” He let him go and went to the kitchen to put the kettle on. Something strong and earthy for him, something light and slightly floral for Aziraphale. When he returned with tea, there were three more packages under the tree: these wrapped in silvery tissue paper with black ribbon.

“Oh, did St. Nick make another stop by? Find something at the bottom of the bad did he? Bad form, should be more organized. He would be hell to live with, you know?” Crowley sat their tea on the coffee table and then sprawled on the sofa.

“I can feel the mussed bedsheets from here, you fiend. You're hell to live with.” The statement held absolutely no fire.

“Just so,” Crowley propped his slippered feet on the coffee table, to be a further annoyance, “Go on and open them.”

“All of them?”

“Sure, why not?”

“We could take turns?”

“Oh, go on, I want to watch you.”

Aziraphale dithered another moment before sitting on the ottoman beside the tree. He picked up the first one, pulling off the ribbon and finding the tape to pull it off gently. Crowley watched in growing madness as he carefully removed the paper, folding it and setting it aside.

“It's yarn!” and then his fingers dug into the skein, “Oh, it's angora yarn!”

“Best for you, Angel,” Crowley took a sip of his tea.

“Tell me they aren't all angora.” Aziraphale was staring, wide-eyed at the packages.

“Well, not all of them. There's some different wool blends. Some of it's alpaca? I think. And a few are made from bamboo. Amazing, humans, eh? I never would have looked at a bamboo plant and thought yarn. But, oh Angel, it's so soft. You had to have it.” Crowley watched him over the rim of his mug as he opened them all one by one, cooing over the softness and the variety of colors. And stopping to fold every. Single. Piece. Of. Paper. He couldn't decide if it was endearing or crazy. When he had them all unwrapped he stacked them gently under the tree. Then he grabbed the silver packages and strode over to the sofa. He sat them down next to Crowley and picked up his own mug, pausing to allow Crowley to snap it warm.

“Perfect,” he smiled over the rim, tucking his feet up under him and angling himself towards the demon, “your turn, love.”

Crowley put his mug down and picked up the first package. It crinkled under his fingers. Something soft. He looked over at the neat pile of wrapping paper Aziraphale had left behind and then back over at the angel himself. Then in a flurry of movements, he had the paper flying everywhere.

“You're such a child!” But Aziraphale was laughing, batting at the paper that drifted his way.

“Oh, but it's...” he picked up the pile of yarn and let it unspool over his knees, “Angel this is beautiful!” He lifted it, almost against his will, and rubbed it against his cheek. The scarf, black on one side and red on the other was buttery smooth against his skin. He wrapped it around his neck a couple times and then let the rest hang over his chest. Only now could he see that the ends were tasseled in the same colors, alternating. At the ends, just above the tassels were designs. On one side they matched his tattoo. On the other was a pair of wings. It would depend on if he was showing the red or black side, which one would show. He stared at the designs, a lump forming in his throat.

“You really like it? I mean, I'm still learning, but I thought it was okay.”

“Okay,” the word came out strangled and a moment later he was climbing over the sofa cushions and into Aziraphale's lap, “I love it, really.” And he leaned in and kissed him soundly, slipping his fingers into the hair at his name. Aziraphale kissed him back, holding him close for a moment. Then he pushed against him, smiling against his lips again.

“There are two more, you know? Do I get a kiss like that for every one of them? I might have tried to make you some more,” his eyes were twinkling with mirth and happiness and it made something in Crowley's chest ache with joy. He wondered if a demon could be discorporated from feeling this good. Surely, they weren't built to contain it.

“I could have the kisses now and the presents later,” Crowley peered at him through his lashes, nuzzling his chin into the scarf around his neck.

“Oh, do open them.”

“You don't want my kisses,” he pulled his face into a pout.

“Now, you know that's not true!” He was starting to look honestly worked up.

“Alright, let's see what's in package number two,” he pulled the ribbon off and put it atop the angel's curly hair and then he destroyed the paper in the same fashion as before so it fell like confetti over both of them. It was matching gloves in the same black yarn with his sigil in red on the backs. He reached for the final package, shredding it mercilessly, and found a black beanie with his sigil on the front. It was a whole set, just for him. He reached up and pulled the hat down on the angel's head, sitting back and smirking at him, “oh, I like that look, I do.”

“The mark of the beast, for sure.”

“I do say,” he tugged it down until it covered his eyebrows and nodded, his work complete.

“But you like them?” The angel's voice was small, quiet.

“I love them. I love that you made them for me. They're perfect. I'll wear them until they fall apart and when I do,” he rubbed his cheek against the silky yarn, “I'll think of you, even when I'm away.”

Aziraphale wiggled happily, grasping the ends of the scarf in either hand. Crowley cocked his head to the side in question.

“I'll have those kisses now!” and with a tug, he pulled Crowley to him by the scarf and took them.

Previous Prompt Ficlets:

Family / Hearth / Frosty / Ribbons / Wrapping / Cardinal / Coal / Unwrap / Blustery

[meowlayn-art]

meowlayn, i was just wondering, and this might be a rlly bizzare question, but i see on twitter that your commissions are closed, but once they open up again, would you consider drawing me a tattoo design? 👀👉🏽👈🏽 i really like how you draw flowers, the ones on the obey me boys look flawless, and ive been wanting to get a specific tattoo designed that has flowers in it, and if you’d be okay with designing one for me, i’d love to commission you to draw it for me!! 😁🤩 ofc its completely fine if youre not okay w the idea of this, i know tattoo designs can be a whole different ballpark,, i just thought it would be worth asking heheh (^-^)

Hi @leiigh!

Wow thanks a lot for asking, that’s really... Well that’s really flattering to say the least! My brain went blank for a minute there haha. It’s such an honour to see that someone would consider getting my art tattooed on themselves. Really! (°◡°♡) And no worries, it’s not a weird question! 

(It’s a long-ish answer so I am putting it under a cut.)

Ok now that my braincells are back, I can type haha. I am not a professional tattoo artist, but I have a few friends who design them (and I personnaly have and enjoy them too), so I put a few advices that could be useful. You are free to follow them or not, of course. I just wanted to make sure you have a few other infos before jumping on this exciting project.

For now, I don’t feel 100% comfortable with the idea of designing and selling a tattoo design, given that my artstyle, as it is, is not suited for tattoos (uneven lineart, too many colors, etc...). It means I would have to spend a lot of time on trying to draw something that a tattoo artist will have to tweak anyway (with me having no control over it etc...), and for now I don’t know, it scares me a bit xD I could technically do it, because the flowers I did for the ObeyMe! portraits are all completely hand-drawn - (EXCEPT for Satan. He has a complex floral scarf thingy, so I actually used a lineart floral brush from Clip Studio Paint, then added manually the eyeglobes, tweaked the lineart a bit again, colored it, shaded it... ) But even if I did, it probably wouldn’t be as good as the one from someone who is used to designing tattoos, because the weight of the lines, the shading, the colors if you want colors, the composition etc... is really different.

I think that if you ever want to commission an illustrator for this project, you should have in mind that:

You need to find a tattoo artist that is ok with tattooing someone else’s work (and vice versa of course). Not every tattoo artist is ok with tattooing someone else’s work : some want to avoid problems in case it’s a stolen design, other’s are tattoo designer themselves and wouldn’t want someone else’s design to appear on their “walking portfolio” - aka you - etc... Maybe you already knew it! :) But if not, I would suggest you to start by finding a GOOD tattoo artist (emphasize on good), that is also ok with that (whether it’s tattooing custom-made design or ticket tattoos - you can google it if you don’t know what it is ^^). It will save you time!

Tattoo design is indeed a whole other technique, on a whole other medium (skin). So if you commission an illustrator that isn’t a tattoo designer, I would really, reaaaaally suggest you make sure that the tattoo artist that will tattoo you redesigns it so that it’s suitable for tattoos. And make sure the illustrator you commissioned is ok with their work being slightly modified, because some may not. Some designs, although absolutely wonderful on a piece of paper, might NOT look as good once tattooed and/or age well (lineart too thin, colors fades too quickly, bad composition), so you really need a professional’s opinion on that.

My final advice would be : try and find a good tattoo artist 1) whose artstyle and universe speak to you 2) that is used to doing custom tattoo design, 3) and run your ideas by them!

If what you wanted was a tattoo design with spooky eyeglobe flowers and it’s their jam, chances are they would love to work on a custom piece. And you are more than welcome to show them my pieces as a reference ! I don’t mind any tattoo artists taking inspiration from that - I do not own this concept afterall ^^ - on the contrary! The only thing I don’t want is straight copy or worse, tracing - but no decent tattoo artist would do that I think. Thanks again Leiigh, for enjoying my art that much and considering commissioning me for a tattoo design. It really means a lot! And I am sorry if my answer disappoint you - I hope my little advices will nonetheless help you find the perfect artist(s) for your project! And feel free to drop a picture of your tattoo once it’s done, I would love to see it!

[katsigian]

ＷＩＰ ＷＨＥＮＥＶＥＲ

Tagged by @trashkingnyx thank youuuu

I'm perpetually working on things because I pick up 100 million projects when I'm inspired and then lose said inspiration but then the stubbornness kicks in so then I gotta finish them or else I feel guilty. Hope that helps <3

１． ＣＯＭＰＬＥＸＩＯＮＳ

Who saw this coming, because I surely didn't. It's not like complexion mods are the only thing I know how to make well.

The frankly unsettling flattened skin texture, or diffuse, on the left are tattoos I'm making for my woof boy, Noel. There are many different pieces because there's a billion seams I have to account for to make a sleeve that covers from shoulder to fingers without gaps. And it destroys my brain. The handsome lad on the right is my baby Vesper and those are his custom tattoos I made that need to be fixed up a little bit. Because there's flaws only my eyes can see <3

２． ＰＲＯＰＳ

Ya boy is also venturing into propmaking. Less venturing and more throwing myself in the deep end because I physically can't learn anything normally. ANYWAY I want a trillion neon signs at my beck and call for picture taking so I've been scouring in game assets and yoinking them out for my own use. They're functioning, but there's some stuff I gotta touch up yet.

３． ＬＯＲＥ

Yes, yes, we've all heard about my lore. It's still an ongoing process and frankly kinda tiring. Here are some snippets:

"The Saint" - while the name conjures imagery of holy pureness, Valen is anything but. Though that is part of why he's called this; it's a play on words that reflect his true methods. Early on in his career, Valen gained his reputation for being effcient, aggressive, and having a high success rate. Some operators that worked beside him began sarcastically calling him the Saint after seeing his typically ruthless and effective methods of completing contracts. The name stuck, even as Valen didn't embody saintly tendencies by any stretch yet. Although, that was part of the joke - a saint would never be as violent as Valen is, so how hilarious would it be if that's what he's called? It could be argued he was a saint of sorts for his clients, coming in and washing away their problems. Beginning around 2074, the name had another meaning attached to it - Valen would often willingly accept a pay cut to take those contracts that clients couldn't afford. These were usually non-corporate aligned persons who did not have the dollars at hand for the services offered by Ares Systems. Valen, apparently a bleeding heart at times, would take the contracts anyway and complete them. "The Saint" stuck even further after this.

Vesper's Lore - Around 10 months after running from Dario, Vesper found Valen. He'd been searching for him specifically, but Valen's not easy to find; he eventually approached him outside of Valen's work facility and Valen, of course, was shocked. He'd never known about Callen's other children, even though he'd always felt *something*. Unknowingly connected to Vesper from their shared father/sire. Over the next 6 months, they slowly grew closer, getting to know each other. They were both a little too similar to their father though, Vesper's brash nature inherited from Callen meaning he often called out Valen's own similarities to their father. To Valen's extreme dismay. Even though they tend to grate on each other's nerves, they do learn from each other and lean on one another often. Valen can't live without him now, nor can Vesper without him. When Vesper was 23, Dario found him again. He'd stopped being careful and accidentally let himself be found. Terrified, he was forced to tell Valen about that part of his past. Valen, in typical fashion, took it upon himself to make sure Dario could never find Vesper again. To this day, Vesper still doesn't know what Valen did with the body, and he'll never tell him.

And that's that <3 I'm going to tag some pals BUT there's NO pressure to share if you don't want to. If you do want to share, it could be anything; art, writing, mods, etc.

@rindemption @noirapocalypto @spicyraeman @nuclearstorms @aartyom @uldwynsovs @halsin @nokstella @reaperkiller @arcandoria @cybersmallz @itzsassha @pathfinderlittleduck @strafethesesinners @thefrostyshepard @noonfaerie @neon-prison @elvenbeard @aldcaldos @holofishes @fleetwoodmoth @breezypunk @hertzdo

[jisungsjheekies]

𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙸𝚗 𝙼𝚢 𝙼𝚒𝚗𝚍

Genre: Soulmate!au, fluff, slight angst?

Word count: 6k

Warnings: swearing

Requested: Yes, for my friend Kenz ♡

*****Important note before reading: when words are italicized during conversations, it is Mackenzie’s thoughts //// when words are italicized and bolded in conversations, it is Changbin’s thoughts*****

In this world, everyone has their ‘person’. Someone to spend the rest of their lives with. Someone to love them forever. Someone chosen specifically for them. In this world, everyone has a soulmate. But no one knows who they are until they discover them through certain abilities. Some soulmates share matching tattoos from birth. Some are able to communicate through the writings on their arm. Some even see in black and white until one day, they meet their soulmate and finally see in color. There is a wide variety of connections that people share with their soulmate. 

In Mackenzie’s particular case, she can hear her soulmate’s thoughts. It all began when she turned twenty last month. She’d woken up during a nap because she kept hearing a voice. Thinking someone was outside her apartment. However when she opened the door, nobody stood outside. That’s weird. She shut the door before she heard the voice again. Where the hell is that voice coming from? she thought to herself. Terrified that someone had broken into her apartment, she began to panic. I’m about to die aren’t I? The voice rang out again, making her stop in her tracks.

Calm down, it’s just me, the voice spoke out. 

Turning her head all around, she looked for the source. Nothing. “Who’s there?” she whimpered. 

Will you please relax? You’re giving me a headache, the voice spoke again.

“What’s going on?” Mackenzie rubbed her face in distress.

It’s me. Your soulmate.

After the confession, she went silent. Afraid to speak. Afraid to think. Was this really her soulmate? It’d been five minutes and she’d already annoyed them. This was not how she wanted her first interaction with her soulmate to go.

________________________________________________________________

1 month later...

Even as the days passed, she’d been too scared to acknowledge them. Too worried she’d only annoy them further. Still, they could hear her thoughts as she could their’s. She began to wonder just how long they’d been able to hear her. Had it been for a while or had they only started hearing her recently too?

Suddenly the voice rang out, acknowledging each other for the first time since that day. I’ve been able to hear you for a little over a year now.

Her eyes grew wide as she apologized, Oh god I’m so sorry. I know I'm annoying.

She could hear them snicker, Relax, it’s cool. It’s been quite interesting.

Immediately she groaned. I don’t even want to know the type of things you’ve heard. She recalled all the times she complained about period cramps and the stress from school to quoting vines and fangirling about boys on a regular basis. At this point, she wanted to crawl into a hole and die alone from the embarrassment.

I’ve heard it all. Especially your little fascination with Stray Kids. 

Okay. For one, it’s definitely not little and two, we’re absolutely not going to discuss that. You’ve already heard too much.

That I have Mac.

Exac—wait what? How do you know my name?

Do you not realize how much you talk to yourself?

Point taken. What’s your name?

Bin.

Cute.

Please don’t.

Damn okay.

I’m off to work now. I’ll talk later.

Bye Bin.

Bye.

“Well they seem like fun” Mackenzie pursed her lips together as she got in her car and drove to work.

________________________________________________________________

2 days later…

“Don’t forget your paper is due Sunday night at 11:59 pm” the professor announced. Everyone gathered their things as they exited the lecture hall. Mackenzie sighed heavily. She had two days to complete a paper that she hadn’t even started. Between her other classes and work, she didn’t really have time for it. Now her busy schedule was catching up to her as she would more than likely have to pull all nighters to finish it. Walking through her apartment door, she tossed her bag on the couch before grabbing a couple snacks from the kitchen to get her through the night.

“Only the power of god and anime will get me through this paper” Mackenzie groaned as she opened the bag of chips and her laptop before beginning her paper. About four hours later, she’d gotten a little over half of the assignment done before she had to take a short break. Looking at her phone, the clock showed, ‘11:46pm’. Yeah, it was probably going to be a long night but she was determined to finish the assignment before work tomorrow night. Resuming her work, she spent another hour typing away at the laptop when a voice interrupted her thoughts.

You’re literally making ME stressed out and I’m not the one even writing a paper.

I’m sorry.

Are you okay?

If I say yes, will you leave me alone so that I can work?

I would but that doesn’t seem like the right thing to do. Now what’s wrong?

I’m stressed and exhausted.

Why don’t you stop and finish it later? You shouldn’t overwork yourself.

Because I have work tomorrow and the next day so I literally have no other time to do this but now.

Just don’t overwork yourself please.

Why? Are you worried or something?

Considering you’re my soulmate, yes I am.

Mackenzie’s heart skipped a beat. Sometimes she forgets that the voice in her head wasn’t hers and that it was the person she was destined to spend the rest of her life with.

Okay. I won’t.

Good. I’m going back to work now. Good luck Mac.

Thanks Bin.

Afterwards, Mackenzie set her mind to finish as soon as she could. Closing her laptop not too much later. She checked her phone again as the clock struck ‘2:00am’. She lifted her tired limbs from the couch to tread to her room. Changing into something more comfortable, she collapsed into bed and immediately knocked out.

________________________________________________________________

3 hours later... 

A voice stirred Mackenzie from her sleep. Was she dreaming or----?

Bin?

Yes?

It’s 5am, why are you awake?

Because it’s 6pm for me.

Oh. So he lived across the world.

Did I wake you?

Yeah but it’s okay.

I’m sorry.

You sound stressed. What’s wrong?

It’s nothing, go back to sleep.

Do you really think I’m going to buy that? Spill.

I’m just stressed about work and took it out on one of my roommates.

Why are you stressed?

My project’s deadline is in a week and I’m still not finished with it.

What kind of project?

They hesitated for a moment. Mackenzie waited patiently for an answer.

Producing a song.

You work in the music industry? That’s pretty cool. Mackenzie could hear them sigh, slightly relieved.

Yeah. It’s fun but stressful most of the time.

Understandable.

What do you do?

I’m in college but I work part time at a clothing store.

That’s--

Not exciting I know. Look, as much as I’d like to learn more about you, it’s almost 6am and I have to work tomorrow, so I should probably go back to sleep.

Okay, sorry again for waking you.

It’s cool. Goodnight Bin.

Goodnight Mac.

________________________________________________________________

1 week later…

Over the past few days, Mackenzie had more interactions with her soulmate. Granted, it wasn’t very many because they both had very different and busy schedules, especially with the time zone difference. However, they’d managed to learn a few more things about each other. So far, Mackenzie had learned that Bin was a twenty one year old boy from Korea who worked in the music industry and lived with several obnoxious roommates (his description, not hers). Bin learned that she was a twenty year old girl who lived with her best friend Allie in New York and was in college. 

“You know the tickets go on sale in a month right?” Allie asked the girl, bringing her back to reality. The two girls were currently trying to pass the time at work as they folded clothes and reorganized the racks.

“I know. You’re still going with me right?” Mackenzie asked, holding a shirt in her hands. Allie looked at her dumbfounded.

“As if I’d ever miss it. I’ve been saving up for like four months now” Allie laughed.

“I’m just worried that we won’t be able to get tickets. You know how fast they sold out last time” Mackenzie expressed worriedly.

“I don’t care what I gotta do. We are seeing Stray Kids and that’s final” Allie huffed in determination. Mackenzie just laughed at the girl, moving behind the counter to help the customers in line.

God please let us get tickets, Mackenzie thought to herself, wanting the day to be over with.

I’m afraid I can’t help you with that, Bin’s voice startled her.

With what?

The tickets. Who are you trying to see?

Stray Kids.

Holy shit.

Don’t tell me your a fan of them?

And what if I am?

Omg. Who’s your bias?

Who’s yours?

Changbin.

Eh, mine’s Felix.

Are you going to see them?

Would be kinda hard not to.

Exactly. I hope I can get tickets. Allie and I have been saving for months.

Good luck. I hope you can get them.

________________________________________________________________

30 minutes before the ticket release…

“I’m so nervous I might vomit” Mackenzie announced. In front of her, laid both of their laptops and phones with the ticket website open.

“Please don’t” Allie paced around the room, biting her nails anxiously. They’d both been a nervous wreck all day due to the concert tickets going on sale tonight. After several months of working their ass off and saving every penny possible, the moment had finally come. If they didn’t get tickets, they’d be absolutely devestated.

“Holy shit. Only 5 more minutes Kenz” Allie threw herself on the ground next to Mackenzie, ready to spend all her money.

“Just stay as calm as possible” Mackenzie told the girl, also trying to do the same for herself.

5……..4….….3……..2….....1

The clock struck 7:00pm as the girls refreshed the websites. The website immediately crashing due to all the people trying to do the same as them. Quickly after, the website recovered as they searched for tickets. In a matter of six minutes, Allie turned to Mackenzie and she did the same, both girls speaking at the same time.

“They sold out.”

“I got them.”

“WHAT” Allie choked as her eyes doubled in size, shock spread across her face, “Kenz don’t play with me like that.”

“Al, we got VIP” Mackenzie grinned at the girl as she showed her the purchase confirmation on her laptop. ‘2 VIP tickets for Stray Kids in New York on December 16th’

“Holy shit” Allie began to tear up, “WE’RE GOING TO SEE STRAY KIDS HOLY SHIT!” The girl tackled Mackenzie into a hug as tears streamed down her face.

“I’M GOING TO MEET BINNIE” Mackenzie all but screamed as the girls jumped up and down in excitement. Immediately, Allie froze in place.

“Oh my god I’m going to meet Jisung” Allie began screaming again, as if she just realized they’d be meeting them. After their excitement died down, the girls watched netflix while they ate dinner together before splitting off into their own rooms.

Congrats Mac.

Thanks! Did you get tickets?

No. Sold out immediately.

Oh no, I’m sorry.

It’s cool. I’m at work now, I’ll talk later. Bye Mac.

Bye Bin.

Three months until her and Allie would be seeing the boys in concert for the very first time. How is she supposed to sleep now?

________________________________________________________________

2 weeks later… 

Mackenzie sat in class, bored out of her mind as she listened to the professor ramble on and on about whatever topic they’d been discussing. Completely zoned out, she started humming I am You to herself.

It’s 3am. Please stop singing.

I’m bored, sorry.

Are you in class?

Yep. I don’t even know what the professor is talking about.

Maybe if you paid attention.

Maybe if you stanned Loona.

Um what?

Nothing. Go back to sleep.

I can’t.

Why?

I want to talk to you. Mackenzie’s heart fluttered at the thought. How sweet.

About what?

Are you excited for the Stray Kids concert?

YES. I’m going to meet Changbin!

Why do you like him so much?

Isn’t it obvious? The boy can fucking rap better than anyone else. He’s pretty badass but he’s also a cute baby.

Cute baby?

The cutest. I also admire his love for music and his members.

That’s…..really sweet.

It’s the truth. I have to go now, class is over. Bye Bin.

Bye Mac.

________________________________________________________________

1 month later…

Mackenzie and Allie wandered around the department store, looking for the perfect outfits for the concert that was two months away. They were currently in the fifth store today. All the others proven to be unsuccessful.

“What do you think of this?” Allie held a dress up to her body. Mackenzie gave it a glance before shaking her head.

“Too bright. Find something darker” Mackenzie recommended, looking through the various racks of clothes. An item caught her eye as she grabbed it from the rack, walking around the store to find something to go with it. Quickly finding what she had envisioned, she found Allie holding up two jackets to her front, comparing them. She turned to her friend.

“Help” Allie asked, internally struggling as she couldn’t decide which jacket she liked more.

“The green one” Mackenzie said without hesitation as she walked towards the dressing rooms. Allie placed the other jacket back before following Mackenzie. The two girls walked into the rooms next to each other. Prepared to show the other their selection. 

“Are you dressed yet?” Allie asked the girl. Tying the laces on her boots, she answered the girl by opening her door. Stepping out of the room at the same time, the girls looked over each other before Allie clapped her hands excitedly.

“You look perfect!” Allie shouted in glee. Mackenzie adjusted her hat. She’d chosen an oversized black and yellow flannel paired with a black t-shirt dress, black knee high socks and black combat boots.

“You don’t think it’s too bland?” Mackenzie asked worriedly. It’d already taken most of the day to find something and if this wasn’t it then she didn’t know if she’d ever find the right outfit.

“Omg no. Changbin’s gonna freak when he sees you” Allie stated confidently, making the girl smile. Mackenzie then took notice of her friend’s choice of clothing.

“Did we really get the same shoes?” Mackenzie stifled a laugh. Allie had chosen a pair of black denim high-waisted shorts with a black top, an oversized olive green jacket (Mackenzie’s choice from the two), black combat boots, and a cheetah print beanie.

“Soulmate things” Allie replied as if it wasn’t already obvious. 

________________________________________________________________

2 weeks before the concert… 

The day couldn’t get any worse for Mackenzie. First, she’d gotten back her history test, finding out that she’d failed it. Then her car wouldn’t start so she had to get it towed and because she was short a car, she had to walk home. Just when she was ten minutes away from her apartment, rain had begun pouring down as it soaked through her hair and clothes. Once inside her apartment, she was met with silence as Allie was working the night shift that night, leaving her home alone. Peeling the wet clothes from her body, she took a warm shower to ease her stress before climbing out and getting dressed. Mackenzie sighed as she crawled into bed.

The stress of the day had finally hit her as she broke down, sobbing into her pillow. She was pretty good about controlling her emotions but after the events from today, there was no way that was happening. Fifteen minutes had passed when a voice broke through Mackenzie’s sobs.

What’s wrong? Bin asked you after hearing your upsetting thoughts.

I’d say nothing but you’re not stupid.

Do you want to talk?

It’s just been a really shitty day and I want to forget about it.

Alright then. Ask me something.

Ask you something?

Yeah ask me a question. I’m trying to change the subject.

What’s your full name?

Okay anything but that.

But… 

You know I can’t answer that.

Okay then. When will we meet?

A lot sooner than you probably expect.

What’s that supposed to mean?

It means we’ll have to wait and see when that day comes.

Are you kidding me? Mackenzie groaned, earning a laugh from the boy.

Sorry Mac. Just be patient. 

Yeah yeah, like I have a choice.

I know it’s late there, you need to go to sleep.

I don’t wanna.

Omg go to sleep.

Okay damn I will.

Goodnight Mac.

Goodnight Bin. 

________________________________________________________________

The day before the concert… 

Work had been slow as Mackenzie and Allie tried finding any little task to pass the time. Mackenzie had been staring aimlessly at the people walking past the store just as Allie sat next to her.

“Can you fucking believe it? We’re seeing Stray Kids tomorrow night!!” Allie hollered in excitement.

“Could you be any louder? You’re scaring the customers” Mackenzie apologized to the customer walking by.

“Actually I could but you’d slap me” Allie retorted. 

“I’d slap you regardless” Mackenzie snickered, making Allie roll her eyes.

“I hate you sometimes” Allie groaned.

“Likewise” Mackenzie winked playfully at her friend.

“You’re pretending to act cool but I know you’re freaking out on the inside” Allie commented.

“Of course I am. We’ve waited forever for the moment” Mackenzie started before adding, “I just have this gut feeling like something will be different.”

“What do you mean?” Allie questioned her friend.

“I’m not sure. Something in me just feels different” Mackenzie answered, confused as well.

“Good different or bad different?”

“Definitely good” Mackenzie grinned brightly.

“What if one of them falls in love with you!!!” Allie all but screamed, once again scaring the nearby customers. Mackenzie threw her hands over her face as she groaned.

“As if that would ever happen” Mackenzie quickly shut her friend’s idea down.

“You never know” Allie winked at the girl before assisting a customer in need.

Alone with her thoughts, Mackenzie couldn’t help but wonder what was causing her to have this feeling. Maybe it wasn’t the concert that was giving her this feeling. Maybe it was the fact that Bin said they’d meet sooner than she expected. How soon was soon? She was afraid that she’d never meet him considering he wouldn’t share his name. Mackenzie understood that he kept it hidden for safety precautions, just as she did her own identity. If only she could shake this feeling so she could focus on the excitement of the concert with her best friend.

Why are you always so stressed?  Bin thought, making Mackenzie huff.

I could say the same to you, Mackenzie retorted.

Touche. So…what’s on your mind?

Too much.

Do you want to talk about it?

Not exactly. I’d rather just not think about it at the moment.

What DO you want to think about?

The concert tomorrow night.

It’s tomorrow night?? Bin asked, somewhat panicked.

That’s what I just said.

Wow. I didn’t realize it was so soon. Are you excited?

Of course I am. I’m just extremely scared to meet them, especially Changbin.

Why especially him?

You know how it goes, everyone wants to be remembered. He’s my favorite so of course I’d like for him to remember me. I just don’t want to embarrass myself or for him to be disappointed.

Why would he be disappointed?

There’s plenty of other girls who are much prettier than me so I can’t be that exciting to meet.

I know for a fact that’s not true.  You’re a beautiful girl Mac.

Bin, you’ve literally never seen me before.

I don’t have to see you. I know your personality, how kind your heart is, how hardworking you are. Looks aren’t the only thing that makes you attractive.

You really think that?

I don’t think, I KNOW.

Thank you for cheering me up.

Anytime.

I have to go back to work now.

Let me know how the concert goes. Bye Mac.

I will. Bye Bin.

That feeling in her stomach only intensified after the conversation came to an end. Instead of thinking about it more, Mackenzie focused all of her attention into little tasks at work, hoping for the day to come to an end as soon as possible. If only she knew what would happen to her the next day.

________________________________________________________________

Concert day… 

“I’m so glad we have seats because there’s no way I could stand in that line all day” Allie commented as they’d arrived at the venue with only five hours to go until the concert.

“Seats or not, I still can’t believe we got VIP. Like, we’re gonna meet them in less than eight hours” Mackenzie remained calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside she felt like she would vomit any second now thanks to her anxious nerves. Allie, however, was a different story as she grabbed ahold of Mackenzie’s arms and started jumping excitedly.

“I’m gonna meet Jisung and you’re gonna meet Changbin!!!!” Allie squealed loudly. There wasn’t any point in shushing her as she wasn’t the only one acting this way.

“Promise me when we do that you won’t scare the poor boys” Mackenzie begged, making Allie laugh.

“I promise…maybe” Allie grinned. That girl really had no shame. Mackenzie figured that’s why they made such a great pair. They were both similar and different in every way. Mackenzie shook her head.

“After we get our wristbands, let’s grab some food at across the street and hang out there until it’s time to get in line again” Allie pointed at the cafe, Cozy Cup,  in front of the venue as Mackenzie agreed. Both of the girls proceeded to get in line for their wristbands, only having to wait around thirty minutes before they walked to the cafe. Cozy Cup was a small cafe that’s menu consisted of coffees, smoothies, and baked goods. Mackenzie ordered an iced caramel coffee and a scone while Allie ordered a pineapple smoothie and cookie. They’d both eaten a large breakfast so they weren’t in the mood for much at the moment, waiting until after the concert to pig out. Food on a nervous stomach was never a good idea. Sitting down with their purchases, they spotted a few other fans sitting around the cafe, probably doing the same thing as them.

The two girls chatted for the next couple hours, having to get refills on their drinks, before the clock struck ‘6:30pm’ signaling that it was time for them to get back in line as the concert would begin in an hour and a half. Throwing their trash away, Mackenzie and Allie headed back across the street towards the venue, noticing how the lines had grown at least three times in size. After forty five minutes of waiting, the two girls were finally ushered inside the venue after going through security and getting their tickets scanned. Even though they had seats, they made sure to get as close as possible to the stage, scoring seats in the front row.

Watching as more fans continued to pile into the venue, it was now five minutes until the concert would begin. Suddenly, Mackenzie’s head filled with anxious thoughts as her soulmate had begun to freak out over something.

Bin are you okay?

I will be soon, don’t worry, Bin rushed out before adding, Enjoy the concert.

Talk to you later.

Oh you have no idea, Bin accidentally thought. Mackenzie furrowed her brows in confusion.

No idea about what?

Nothing. Have fun, Bye Mac.

Bye Bin, Mackenzie thought just as the lights when down and fans began to scream.

In one moment the stage was empty and then the next, nine boys filled the empty stage as the noise from the fans intensified. Mackenzie and Allie would, without a doubt, have sore throats the next day as they joined the rest of the cheering. Never in her life did she believe she’d ever get the chance to see these boys live, much less with her best friend next to her. It really was a dream come true. The odd feeling still remained but she pushed it into the back of her mind as she focused on the boys on stage. Halfway through the concert, they took a break to talk to the fans before Changbin spoke up.

“Who’s ready for the next song?” He asked as fans screamed in response.

“This is….. Voices.” The moment he announced the title, that feeling in the pit of Mackenzie’s stomach grew stronger as she grew silent. All she could do was listen and watch as they performed the song. She wanted to sing along but something told her not to. She started to feel overwhelmed, having to sit down for a moment. Her actions caused Allie to glance over, asking if she was okay. Mackenzie reassured her that she was fine and Allie turned back to the boys. The moment Mackenzie lifted her head, she noticed Changbin searching into the crowd, looking slightly worried. I wonder why, she thought. Changbin quickly recovered, continuing with the concert as he searched the crowd. 

Sooner than anyone wanted, the concert came to an end as the boys bowed goodbye on stage before exiting, probably going to get ready for the hi-touch event. Mackenzie watched as the fans who didn’t have VIP exited the venue while the fans who did remained in their seats, waiting to meet the boys. Everyone was split into three groups, Mackenzie and Allie being in the second group. As the first group was called to enter, the next group stood to go next. A few minutes later and then it was their group’s turn to go. Allie was in front of Mackenzie as they followed through the halls, security directing the fans the right way.

And then she saw them. First up was Seungmin. Everything happened so fast, she couldn’t process it quick enough. The order of the line went: Seungmin, Felix, Woojin, Minho, Jisung, Changbin, Jeongin, Hyunjin, Chan. While greeting the first few members, Mackenzie watched as Allie stood in front of Jisung, the girl freaking out when Jisung winked at her. The line continued to move as it was Mackenzie’s turn to greet Jisung. The boy flashed her a bright smile, thanking her for coming before moving to the next fan. Mackenzie looked up at the next boy, heart dropping in her stomach as she noticed Changbin already looking at her. She moved closer, smiling nervously at him.

Holy shit it’s really him, Mackenzie thought excitedly.

Time seemed to freeze as Changbin’s eyes went wide, “Mac?”

The smile that once painted Mackenzie’s face, dropped instantly after hearing the nickname fall from his lips. “Bin” Mackenzie gasped, watching as the boy panicked when security rushed Mackenzie to greet the remaining members. She couldn’t help but glance back at the boy the further she moved down the line, catching his eyes on her more than once. 

Please don’t leave.

No response.

Let’s talk after I’m done. Please Mac.

Okay. Meet me across the street at Cozy Cup.

After one final glance, Mackenzie followed behind Allie as she moved out of the boy’s sight. Stopping just outside the venue, Mackenzie dropped to her knees in shock as everything finally hit her.

“Kenz what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Allie continued throwing questions at the girl as she crouched down in front of her.

“No” was all Mackenzie could get out before looking up at her friend in horror.

“You’re scaring me” Allie panicked, grabbing Mackenzie’s hands.

“I need to tell you something” Mackenzie rushed out, “but it needs to be in private.”

Allie nodded her head, helping the girl up as the two walked across the street to the cafe. Choosing a booth near the back, away from other customers, Mackenzie took a deep breath before beginning.

“I met my soulmate” Mackenzie admitted for the first time to anyone. Allie’s eyes grew wide in shock.

“You WHAT? Omg!!! Who is he????” Allie sat on the edge of her seat, waiting for an answer.

“Changbin.”

“What? How? When? WHAT?” Allie threw questions at her left and right before Mackenzie stopped her.

“I’m trying to explain woman! It started a month after my birthday. I started hearing things. I thought I was being crazy but turns out that was my connection with my soulmate. I could hear his thoughts and he could hear mine. At first I was freaked out because he’d been able to hear me way before I could him, but then we started to warm up to each other. We didn’t share names, only nicknames, just to be safe. I knew a few things about him like how he worked in the music industry or that he lived with several of his friends in Korea. He knew I lived in New York with my best friend and that I was still in college but that’s all we shared.”

Allie looked at her friend confused, “Wait, so how do you know it’s Changbin?”

“When I got to him in the line, the first thing he said was ‘Mac’” Mackenzie announced, still in shock from it all.

“Mac?”

“He called me Mac and I called him Bin. That’s how we knew.”

“Holy shit” Allie leaned back in her seat, also in shock before smirking, “I fucking called it.”

“What?” Mackenzie stared at her friend dumbfounded.

“You said you had a weird feeling about something happening today and I said, as a joke, that one of them would fall in love with you and now look” Allie grinned excitedly.

“I---”

“Hold up. Are you going to meet him?” Allie wondered.

“If it’s actually him, he’ll be here soon.”

“He’s coming here? To the cafe?”

“Yes.” Allie squealed quietly, excited for her friend. “After you start dating, introduce me to Jisung.” Mackenzie smacked the girl’s hand playfully as she laughed.

“Take the car and meet me back at the apartment. I’ll find a ride home” Mackenzie stated, handing Allie the car keys.

“I can wait for you” Allie offered.

“No don’t. There’s no telling how long this will take. I’ll call you after” Mackenzie promises, pushing Allie out of the booth.

“Be careful” Allie told her as she exited the cafe. Mackenzie remained in the booth, alone with her thoughts as she waited for any sign of the boy’s arrival. Maybe he wasn’t coming. Maybe he’d forgotten. Maybe this was all some sick trick that her mind was playing on her. So much had happened in the past hour, she felt overwhelmed. Laying her head against the window, she watched as people walked by. So consumed in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the person slip into the booth in front of her. After a few moments, Mackenzie sighed to herself before turning her head forward, jumping in her seat.

“Holy shit you scared me” Mackenzie gasped, earning a laugh from the boy in front of her.

“Sorry” he laughed. Both of them stared at one another, waiting for the other to speak.

Is it really you? Mackenzie thought, watching the boy closely.

Changbin removed the mask from his face, before nodding his head, “It’s really me.”

Tears welled up in Mackenzie’s eyes as Changbin hesitantly reached for her hands, holding them in his own.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you” he apologized, all the guilt weighing down on him, “I just didn’t know how you’d react.”

“No it’s okay, I understand” Mackenzie nodded her head. Then it dawned on her.

“Oh my GOD I talked about you TO you!” Mackenzie wailed in embarrassment, throwing her head into her hands.

“I thought it was cute” Changbin smiled at her. Mackenzie lifted her head, giving him an ‘are you kidding me’ look.

“Cute? I probably sounded so stupid” Mackenzie whined.

“No you didn’t. I appreciate everything you said about me” Changbin mentioned, “The way you said you admired me for my dedication for music and the way you always helped me when I felt stressed. I got to know the real you, not just the side of you who’s a fan of Stray Kids.”

“I knew I picked you as my favorite for a reason” Mackenzie grinned making Changbin laugh. A comfortable silence washed over them as they gazed at one another.

“Bin?” Mackenzie whispered.

“Yes?” 

“What does this mean now?” Mackenzie wondered. She’d waited her whole life to find the one she was destined to be with. And now that she’d found him, she wasn’t sure what would happen next considering her soulmate was a member of one of the biggest boy bands in South Korea.

“I’m not gonna let you go” Changbin mentioned as Mackenzie gave him a confused look. “Just because I’m in front of you doesn’t mean I can’t still hear your mind.”

“You’re an idol Bin. How is this going to work?” Mackenzie worried. Changbin grabbed ahold of her hands tightly.

“It’s going to be hard but we can do this. You just have to trust me… do you trust me?” he asked her. Mackenzie held his stare for a brief moment before nodding her head.

“I trust you.”

“Good” Changbin smiled brightly, “How do you feel about moving to Korea after you graduate?”

“And live with you?”

“I don’t see why not” Changbin answered. Mackenzie felt the familiar feeling in her stomach return as the butterflies erupted in her stomach.

“On one condition” she bargained. Changbin quirked a brow at her, waiting for her to continue.

“Allie comes too.”

“She was the one Jisung winked at, right?”

“How did you--”

“You were thinking about it” Changbin replied immediately. “Considering Jisung wouldn’t shut up about her, I don’t think either of them would have a problem with it.”

“Wait” Mackenzie realized something, “Do the others know about me?”

“Of course. They were the ones who helped me figure out why I was hearing voices in my head that didn’t belong to me.”

“Lucky you. I thought I was getting robbed the first time I heard you” Mackenzie shuddered at the memory.

“I know” Changbin snickered, causing the girl in hit his arm. “So” he began.

“So” Mackenzie repeated him.

“Do you want to meet the guys?” he asked.

“You do know I just met them less than two hours ago, right?” she giggled.

“Yeah but they didn’t get to meet you as the girl who’s also my soulmate.”

“It’s so weird hearing you say that” Mackenzie commented.

“Why’s it weird?” Changbin wondered.

“Because you’re you” Mackenzie announced as if it was the most obvious thing. Changbin just laughed in response.

“So do you want to meet them?” he asked once more. Mackenzie just nodded in response, watching as he rose from the seat in front of her before extending a hand her way. She grabbed ahold of his hand as he helped her from the seat. She followed behind the boy as they exited the cafe. Waiting to cross the street, Mackenzie could sense the nervousness radiating from the boy as he turned to face her.

“Can I ask you something?” Changbin gazed into her eyes as the girl nodded.

“Can I kiss you?” His question made her freeze in shock. She remained silent as Changbin began to panic, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have--”

“Yes” Mackenzie interrupted the boy, taking one step closer to him. Placing his hands on either side of her face, Changbin gave the girl one last moment to back out, but seeing as she only moved closer, he took that as his chance. Gently placing his lips upon her own, the kiss could only be described in the way they do in movies. It was like a spark was ignited the moment their lips connected. In that moment, everything felt right. Changbin knew she’d felt it too as she smiled against his lips. Shortly after, the two parted as they tried to catch their breaths.

“I’ve wanted to do that the moment I laid my eyes on you” Changbin confessed. It’d only lasted for a few seconds and yet she was already addicted. Already craving for more. 

“Do it again, the boys can wait a little longer” Mackenzie encouraged, making Changbin smile as he leaned in again.

Or maybe they can wait until tomorrow.

________________________________________________________________

Mackenzie’s concert outfit:

Allie’s concert outfit:

[purplesurveys]

1068

What internet browser do you use?  Chrome. It’s what I’m used to, but I also think it looks the cleanest among the other available browsers.

What brand water do you drink? (Smart Water, Dasani, etc) I never reach for imported water brands like Evian because what is the point?? The local bottled water brands we have like Summit and Absolute work fine and already do a great job of quenching my thirst.

Do you have a job? Yes and I go back tomorrow and I’m cringing thinking about it. I love my job, but I wish it wasn’t so mercilessly hectic for 9 straight hours, 5 days a week. I like to think that I was hired right at the start of all the simultaneous Christmas campaigns of our clients which is why everything seemed busy; so I’m hoping the workload will start to die down a little bit now that all the holidays are over.

Are you full-time or part-time? Full-time.

Are you watching TV right now?  Nope. I was watching on YouTube earlier, but I decided to focus on this.

Or are you listening to music? No. It’s silent here in the living room, just the way I want it to currently be.

Would you go to jail for 3 years for $1,000,000? I don’t think that’s enough money for a dare that big.

When's your birthday?  April 21st.

Thoughts on kids?  I’m a lot less idealistic about them now. I used to want kids with my only formula being “I’ll do the exact opposite of what my mom did with me.” but I realized it’s so much more complicated than that. Raising a kid/kids is a whole damn job in itself and I see that with how my cousins of the same age, but from different families, have been acting. My cousins from one family are really spoiled and entitled, and I can’t last in a room with them for more than a minute; but my cousins in another family are so ridiculously well-behaved I can’t even start to fathom how respectful and kind they are. That observation has scared me away from kids in the meantime, because I still have to figure out how to not fuck such a responsibility up.

Worst punishment you've ever received by your parents?  The worst thing they ever did was take away my laptop privileges for an indefinite period when I was 11, when they caught me being a dumbass on social media and cursing all over the place. It’s a reasonable punishment per se, but that was also a time when the internet was starting to become a resource and requirement for homework and school projects; so my parents didn’t know how many things I failed to submit because they didn’t allow me on the internet.

Are you the type who is completely against abortion? I am pro-choice and pro-pregnant people should be allowed to make decisions about their own bodies. I don’t like the idea of abortion, but I’ve always believed people should have access to resources to learn more about it, to a healthy culture that embraces it as an option, and to actual facilities that will enable them to receive one if the need be.

Have you ever read a book that actually changed your outlook on life? No, I don’t think so. Not yet at least.

Does your favorite flower hold any meaning to you? Peonies don’t mean anything in particular. I just think they look pretty.

What would you do if your favorite animal became endangered?  I can’t imagine dogs ever getting endangered, but hypothetically I’d be crushed. I’d do the same thing I would do with other endangered animals, which is to spread the word about their situation and what can be done to save them from getting even fewer in number.

Have you ever owned an expensive eyeshadow palette?  No. I never cared for makeup. I’m turning 23 and still don’t feel the need to invest in it...should I be worried?

Do you own a tripod for your camera? We used to, but I have not seen it in a long time.

Are your nails always painted?  They never are.

What's one thing you've had a toxic reaction to? A breakup. < This was true for me too, at least for a time. Another one would be the barbecue that my uncle bought for a family gathering once that was definitely contaminated with something...shit gave me food poisoning at 3 AM and made me think my half-naked self was going to die right then and there in the bathroom.

Which holiday is your favorite to decorate for?  We only ever decorate for Christmas, so I guess it wins by default.

Were you popular in school? By the second half of high school I was hanging out with the popular groups and getting invited to popular kid things, but I never wanted to claim to be popular myself. I still liked letting my friends take the spotlight.

Are there any foods that often give you heartburn or indigestion?  Is there something you intend to buy in the near future?  Is anyone in your family artistically talented? What about musically? What cute behaviors or characteristics does/do your pet(s) have?  What's the screensaver on your computer?  Crossing these out as I believe this survey is a shuffle of questions from many different surveys...? and I have already answered these five in a past survey I recently finished.

What’s the sexiest thing about a guy? I don’t really care for guys, I think... I still haven’t made up my mind about them yet, but all I know is I definitely have not felt seriously attracted to any irl man my whole life.

What’s the sexiest thing about a girl?  THIGHS

Who were you with at midnight on January 1, 2021?  Who was the last person to send you a message on social media?  ^ What qualities does this person have, that you appreciate? What was the last thing that caused you to scowl, or frown?  Have you smiled at any point during the last hour?  What was the last thing you consulted Google for? So, did anyone send you a "Happy New Year" message when midnight hit? When was the last time you were on a carousel?  What is the closest you have ever been to an elephant? Have you ever played Halo?  Have you ever read a National Geographic magazine?  When was the last time you had a pillow fight?  Name somebody who you think deserves more respect: In your own words, define what the word sexy means.  What is the most popular tourist attraction where you live?  Without looking - do you know what brand your underwear is? Are you any good at volleyball?  Have you ever had a water balloon fight?  Same situation as above. What an interesting order of questions, hehe. Still having fun with this though!

Do you think some babies are ugly?  Newborns are super wrinkly and make the strangest facial expressions from time to time. That won’t stop me from cooing at them, though.

Don’t you miss Chuck E. Cheese? I’ve never been there. Is it like a standard birthday party events place for kids?

Do you think Fall Out Boy is gonna be a classic band, like Queen or AC/DC? In time, maybe. 

Do you love stuff-crusted pizza?  Yessssss.

Do you apply lotion after you bathe? I don’t, but I should probably pick it up as a habit seeing how dry my skin can get.

What’s your favorite color? Pastel pink. < Same!

Who did you have your most amazing kiss with? Gabie.

Has a YouTube video of yours ever gotten over 10,000 views? I’ve never even posted a video on YouTube.

Would you ever get a tattoo on your collar bone? Not my spot of choice, so maybe not.

Do you like Robert Frost poems?  I’m only familiar with one and I’m having a little trouble remembering it rn haha.

Do you go to church every Sunday?  We used to go to church, yeah; back when it was okay to. Our local church has allowed face-to-face masses again (but with very limited attendees) but my mom has preferred for us to stay home, so for the last few months we’ve been watching livestreams of Sunday mass every week.

Have you ever been in a relationship on-and-off for more than a year?  I would say Gab and I were on-and-off, but it went on a lot longer than a year. The total time would amount to six years.

If you had to get famous for one of the following, which would you choose: music, acting, writing, modeling? Writing. Or modeling, if I could only pull it off.

What do you think of girls with huge boobs that don’t wear bras in public? I seriously don’t care. I skip out on bras all the time because I honestly personally don’t need them, and everyone should be allowed to feel and act the same way.

What is the last thing you tried on in a store? I never do this. Even before Covid, I’ve felt iffy about trying clothes that many others have already put on and were probably not washed 100% well. I’d rather get something, try it on at home, decide if it’s a good fit or not, and then return it ASAP if it ends up being the latter.

Is sleeping naked more comfortable than in clothes?  My mom doesn’t knock so I’ve always been scared to try sleeping naked (and she also throws a fit if she catches me locking my door, which is like - then why did you even buy a doorknob with a lock??), but I definitely see the appeal.

Have you ever had a dream in which you were making out, or more, with someone?  Yes for the more part lmao, but I don’t know if I’ve ever made out in a dream.

Do you feel as though you have a good memory, or are you forgetful at times? Do you feel that your short-term memory or long-term memory is better? Have you ever had a concussion or some other sort of brain injury before?  Do you have any sort of mental illnesses or disorders? What do they involve?  What’s the longest that your hair has ever been? How about the shortest? When is the last time that you got it cut? What are some ways that you style your hair? Do you use any sorts of products in it?  Who was the last person to truly get on your nerves? What do you think caused you to feel that way? 

Do you recycle? Is this through choice or do you live somewhere where it’s compulsory? Through choice. Waste management is sadly not much of a priority here, if at all.

Do you prefer plain, carbonated, or flavored water? Do you think you drink enough water throughout the day?  I have never tried the latter two. Water has always been tasteless and plain to me, and I never understood the point of customizing something that’s meant to be tasteless and uncarbonated. There are days where I’m able to have several glasses and other days where I unconsciously skip out on water until dinner.

Have you ever needed to call the police, ambulance, or fire department? Fortunately I’ve never had to call any of these.

When was the last time you visited the library? What was the purpose of your visit? I wasssssss maybe having something printed? If it wasn’t that, I was probably returning a book.

Do you see a lot of wild animals where you live? Are any of them dangerous? None of that here, especially since I live in the city. A sighting of a wild animal outside of a zoo or eco-park would definitely make national news, like that time an ostrich was seen running around a private village many months ago.

Aside from when you were born, have you ever had to stay the night in the hospital? Yep, from a dengue scare that turned out to be just a simple low platelet count.

Have you ever experienced a panic attack?  Yes, but they are extremely rare. The last time I had one was maybe two or three years ago. Unfortunately I think all my panic attacks were caused by and involved my mom.

Would you ever want to go into the medical profession? Was your answer different pre-COVID?  For a time, when I was hating journalism in college, I was daydreaming about the idea of shifting to biology and making the drastic swerve to med school. But I knew a love of memorizing and biology topics won’t be enough for me to be successful in the medical field, so I quickly shot the idea down.

Where you live, are people paying attention to whatever restrictions are in place to help control COVID? Many? People are definitely following and have been obedient with protocol in different places. Some cities are also still strict with maintaining their checkpoints and banning tourists from entering their area just yet. It’s the government that hasn’t really been making the effort to put measures to contain the virus.

Do you get a real or artificial Christmas tree?  Artificial. I don’t know if getting real trees for Christmas trees is a thing here.

What’s your favourite type/flavor of popcorn?  Cheddar cheese.

Do you drink oat milk? Nopes. I’d like to try it just to say that I have (and I might end up loving it too), but I have yet to look up what foods or drinks it works best with.

Do you love thrifting?  Sure, sometimes I get good finds from it.

Do you consider using only lowercase letters your aesthetic?  Sometimes I’ll use it in a Powerpoint or a tweet, but I wouldn’t say it’s an aesthetic that defines me as a person.

Do you say “mood?”  Too much.

Do you own fairy lights?  No. I wanted those before, but I’m not so sure if I still do now.

Do you own glass straws because the metal ones kind of gross you out because you can’t tell if they are clean or not? I don’t own glass straws. Most places have changed their cups into a design that you can sip directly from, anyway.

Have you made a TikTok? No, don’t care.

Do you own airpods?  No, but would like a pair.

Are you afraid of Mercury in retrograde? I really don’t care.

Do you make life choices based on astrology?  No, I don’t believe in it. It scares me how much some people rely on it and use it as an actual moral compass or judgment system. It doesn’t harm anyone so I never actively speak out against astrology, but it scares me nonetheless.

How many pairs of converse shoes do you own?  One pair. I used to own another one, but my mom threw it out several years ago.

Number of jeans in your closet:  I would say like 10-12.

What accent do you have?  Philippine English/Americanized Filipino, I guess.

Do you have a big butt? I’d say it’s decently-sized.

Do you count how long you and your gf/bf have been together? Yeah, before.

Have you graduated?  Both high school and college, yup.

Rihanna or Lady GaGa?  I like Rihanna’s music more, but I love Gaga’s outfits, concepts, and stage presence more. Do you use fake eyelashes?  No. I had to use them twice, but I’d never seek them out on my own.

Which was the last book that really captivated you? It’s been a while since I encountered a book like this.

What makeup brands do you use?  I don’t use makeup.

[ev--writes]

Master wip Intro Post (I’m so sorry lol)

I mentioned in my last post that I had notes for upwards of 15 projects in a ton of different formats (side note to myself:whyyyy). Ergo, I thought it would be helpful to do a short overview of all of them, as I’ll probably be doing update posts for all of these at some point.

Also: Thank you for 6 followers already??? I honestly didn’t think anyone would see my last post (especially as I had no idea how tags worked until after I posted it).

Novels

GRACE

“After the sudden death of her childhood best friend and crush Vicky, Robin is invited to spend the summer with her estranged father, his new husband, and her half-sister at their Maine cabin. As her relationships with her father’s family and a fellow vacationing teen Claire grow, her relationships with her remaining friends and mother back home begin to fracture.”  

Oh boy does this book have a backstory.It’s a little complicated to get into right now (I’ll talk about it in my post for this wip), but I got the idea for the original version of this book in April 2016, and it’s been through three major overhauls since then. I’ve done enough planning to start drafting the newest version, but I’m waiting to get a few mostly-complete projects done before I jump in. 

Attic (working title)

“The discovery of a dead body in the attic of Theo’s new house puts a damper on his fresh start. When a singular death becomes a series, Theo and his new friends decide to investigate and discover that the explanation isn’t able to be explained.”

This story also has a long history. I wrote this for NaNoWriMo 2017, overhauled it for NaNoWriMo 2019, and overhauled it again in the middle of that month. I’m currently stuck with a certain aspect, so I’ve put it to the side for the moment.  

Pinewood Guild

“A group of scholarship students at an elite private boarding school obsess over the seemingly unexplainable death of a fellow student.”

This is very much a baby idea, from April of this year. I was having a grand old time writing a different project Three Can Keep a Secret (which I’ll get to later), and I wanted to write another book about terrible people being horrible to each other. I don’t have very many plans for this book at the moment. 

Blood in the Water

“Paul returns to his hometown for the first time since high school to attend the funeral of his brother when he starts to receive anonymous letters. What starts as innocent and quirky quickly turns dark and potentially deadly”

I got this idea in February of this year, as I wanted to write a novel with the letter format. I was supposed to start this project as my “I’m Leaving Highschool Emotional Support Book”, but I’m not sure if I’m going to actually do that.

The Lion Tattoo

“Jordan bonds with classmate Cade over their shared foster care status. As Jordan starts to spend more and more time with Cade, they see a darker side to the boy. When one of Cade’s adventures ends with them sent off to different foster homes, Jordan must turn their life around.”

This is a very old idea that I honestly forgot about. However, there’s still a lot I want to explore with this story, so I’ll probably get to it someday.  

Anthologies

Sunny

“August ‘Sunny’ finally gets engaged to her long-time girlfriend Tatsu, sending her back to the beginnings of their relationship as camp counselors.”

This is a short set of vignettes I wrote as a birthday present to a friend. As it was just for shiggles, it’s not my most sophisticated story, but I’m okay with it. You can actually read this on my Wattpad if you’d like (I’ll add a link here when I figure out how to do that). I also adapted it as a short film because I was bored, if I’m being honest. 

Hypocrite

This is my poetry collection! Some of these poems are based on real life experiences (for example, the poem I named the collection after was based on a friendship that exploded), and others are completely fiction. This might just be my favorite project I’m working on, if I’m being honest. 

Short Story Collection

I can’t title this wip for the life of me, so the name is relatively self explanatory. I’ve written four stories for this so far, and I have three brewing in the notes app.

Safety Orange

“When an accident kills her father and sends her mother into a coma, Angie and her brother Oliver are sent to live with their Aunt Marie. Romance should be the last thing on her mind when a local barista Natalie catches her eye.”

This was my “Quarantine Emotional Support Book”. I had two simultaneous itches--to write something cute and fluffy, and to try out prose poetry. These two ideas birthed this story. I want to get a printed copy for me and my mom, but I don’t have any plans for it after that. 

Three Can Keep a Secret

 “Hattie, her girlfriend Regan, and her best friend Vincent return from a weekend camping trip to discover their town has been ravaged by the undead. Sophie and her brother Joseph are driven from the military’s safety by a tragic accident. Aspen discovers something wrong with her younger sister Paris that might prove more difficult to handle than the walking bodies around every corner.”

This was my other “Quarantine Emotional Support Book”, written for Camp NaNo 2020. It’s technically a short story collection, although I structured the stories with chapters. I also enjoyed the little flash pieces that appeared in-between each story. Like Safety Orange, I want to get a printed copy of this book, but I don’t think I’ll seek publication for it. 

Screen

Horror Web Series

“Outcast sisters Heaven and Eden make a new friend--one that gives them special abilities. While Eden is more timid about her powers, Heaven is almost too excited and drags her sister along on her quest for revenge.”

This is another one of my projects that I just Cannot Title.The description makes it sound kind of lighthearted, but it’s one of the darkest ideas that I’ve come up with. Right now it’s outlined on my phone, and really all I need to do is dedicate a day to pounding it out. 

Video Games

I’m Sorry This Happened

“Archer’s attempts to cheer up her girlfriend Helena accidentally awakens Sylvia, a playfully violent ghost who convinces the girls to get revenge on the two boys that caused her death almost half a century ago.”

This is a visual novel my sister and I are teaming up with to create. We’re still not sure whether we’re going to publish it, but nevertheless I’m having a grand old time writing it, and I guess that’s what really matters. 

Swanhill Convenience 

“A misfit crew of the local gas station convenience store have a strong customer base. When new employee Pearl becomes suspicious of the group, the whole town’s careful facade crumbles.”

This one needs...more time to brew. There’s a lot of basic details that I’m having trouble making solid decisions on (for example, whether the store is a coffee shop or a convenience store), so this will probably have to sit until I have an epiphany or something. 

[I can’t put the working title here because it’s a blatant spoiler]

“You should not have gone into the forest. Now escape, however you can.”

I debated whether to put this on the list because it’s so hard to talk about without ruining the whole thing. It’s a puzzle solving game that I think has some really interesting lore that I can incorporate. I think that’s literally all I can say lol. 

Wow, that post was LONG. Thank you for reading all the way through! Each of these projects will get dedicated post when I start working on them more frequently. Moral of the story: I have absolutely no self control when it comes to starting projects. 

Note: Any photograph used that I did not take myself came from Unsplash.

See you around,

-Ev

[clansayeed]

Bound by Circumstance ― Chapter 9: A Puzzle with No Edges

PAIRING: Nik Ryder x trans*M!MC (Taylor Hunter) RATING: Mature

⥼ MASTERLIST ⥽

⥼ Bound by Circumstance ⥽

Taylor Hunter (MC) has made it good for himself in New Orleans; turns out moving to a new city fresh out of college to reinvent yourself isn’t as hard as people make it out to be. Things only start to get confusing when he finds himself the target of a malevolent wraith. Good thing someone’s looking out for him though — because without Nighthunter Nik Ryder as his bodyguard he definitely won’t survive long in the twisting darkness of the supernatural underworld he’s tripped into.

Bound by Circumstance and the rest of the Oblivion Bound series is an ongoing dramatic retelling project of the book Nightbound and the rest of the Bloodbound series. Find out more [HERE].

Note: Circumstance only loosely follows the events and plotline of Nightbound, and features a separate antagonist, different character motivations, and further worldbuilding.

*Let me know if you would like to be added to the Circumstance/series tag list!

⥼ Chapter Summary ⥽

The protection spell is cast, which means the time has come to identify their enemy. Easier said than done. Things get a little complicated when henchmen arrive with their eyes set on Cadence.

[READ IT ON AO3]

He’s ready to flinch away when Ryder presses the still-smoking charred end to the back of his hand — but doesn’t need to. The tightly-wound bundle of herbs is warm but doesn’t burn. Just leaves smeared black ash in its wake.

“Not to break your concentration or anything…”

“Then don’t.”

“Too late. This stuff isn’t permanent, is it? Like, it’ll come off?” All he can think is how so not happy the company director will be if he shows up to rehearsal with occult symbols twirling up his arms. Especially when the Oberon costume is pretty much sans shirt.

Ryder doesn’t stop as he carefully traces the symbols from Ivy’s borrowed tome. “And here I was thinkin’ you wanted to be protected.”

He does. “I do! I just —”

“Stop being an asshole, Ryder. Once the spell is complete it’ll basically act like a magical cloak. The smudge ash is just a conduit. You’ll be fine.”

Katherine leans over Taylor’s shoulder; watches with the curiosity of someone who doesn’t have anything better to do. And since she explained how, once she and Cadence were sure they were off the tail of Persephone’s — and Lady Smoke’s — henchmen, she was back on standby until the vampire had use of her again? She really doesn’t.

“Good to know.” Taylor sighs in relief; lets Ryder keep drawing.

He stops just below the crook of Taylor’s elbow and switches to the next arm. Taylor’s trying his best not to squirm but he can’t help it — this shit tickles! Makes him yank his arm to the side involuntarily.

Ryder just grunts, yanks, and wipes away the mistake with a bit of spit on the pad of his thumb.

“Ew.”

“Get over it.”

There’s a quick rap of knuckles on the open front door. Of the four apartments only two are in use so there’s not much worry about who it is.

Ryder pulls back and takes Taylor’s wrists in his. Inspects his work with gentle turns and doubled-back looks at the instructions in the book. Cal appears with a brief crinkle of his sensitive nose but smiles and waves nevertheless. Only when Taylor tries to wave back Nik grunts and holds his arm tighter.

“How goes it?” Cal takes up the empty armchair opposite them. Looks to Taylor like he knows what’s going on and isn’t that a laugh.

“Good, I think?” He leaves his words hanging in the hopes that Nik might take up the lead but… not exactly. “Sure, we’ll go with good.”

The Nighthunter tosses the half-burnt bundle into a silver dish. “That Hunter’s Sage was good shit, Lowell.”

“Does that mean it’s helping?”

He picks up the book and settles it in his lap; twirls a stone pendant in his fingers as he reads. “Time to find out.”

The fact that Katherine steps back doesn’t settle well in Taylor’s stomach. Even the smile she offers is only halfway reassuring. So instead he looks to the werewolf for comfort — and Cal holds his gaze like he’s holding Taylor’s hand to help him through it.

The air is thick with the lingering smell of charred herbs. Even with the windows open the muggy Southern evening makes the sweat on the back of his neck cling to him. Coats him tacky and unsure.

The fact that Ryder and Katherine can still wear their leather gear without complaint is either a serious power move or just plain supernatural. Both are viable options at this point.

Ryder wraps the pendant’s leather cord in his fist and holds it aloft; dips the chipped yellow stone into a glass bowl still foaming at the mouth with all the ingredients they’d procured from Luc’s back rooms. It comes out dripping with the pearly brew — not even a drop wasted as it swings wide and stops over Taylor’s marked arms.

Despite the fact that Taylor himself had taken the ingredients off of the dutch oven on the nearby stove each drop is cold as ice as it falls onto the runes — seeps into his skin, his bones and chills him all the way down to the marrow.

“Nos rejecto nostro quod mortale est a servis suis ut altius virtute. Ubi autem non est datum quaerere Sanctuarii. Itaque accepimus ipsis facti ignara cladis virtutes invocare. Postulamus illorum tutela…”†

No one dares interrupt the Latin curling on Ryder’s tongue. Not just for the sake of the spell — there’s a beauty to his careful incantation that holds them captive listeners. Willing, but captive.

No way the small surface of the stone should hold as much of the potion as it seems to. Even when it hangs closer to his eyes Taylor can’t see a porous surface or hole to drip from. But now probably isn’t the time to question the mechanics of magic.

Careful not to miss a word Ryder’s finger traces underneath the hand-written invocation. “Postulamus ab oculis eorum. Hoc tu arcebis auferat sua mala, et a dolore suo. Praesidio cute quod tactus de turpi, ex quo sanguis malus est animus a nequitia sua.”

The thought I’m going to get through my first spell without freaking out isn’t even fully formed when it becomes a lie.

When a strange tingling besets across the surface of the runes. Pinpricks of tiny needles like his arms have fallen asleep but only where the ash is drawn.

It’s probably just the spell. It’s definitely just the spell. It’s just the spell, right?

Only he’s a tingled breath away from asking when Ryder — like he’s sensed Taylor’s interruption — holds up a finger.

“Et hoc usque dum facinus patratur malum exitum.”

It stops in sync with Ryder’s chant. With the droplets from the stone which Ryder tosses aside; no longer of use.

Only he keeps reading — doesn’t give indication good or bad whether the spell worked or not.

Thankfully Taylor isn’t the only impatient one. Not when Cal not-so-subtly coughs into his fist.

“So is that it? Did it work?”

Please, please say it worked.

Katherine shrugs — but steps forward back into potential harms’ way. “No one blew up so that’s a good sign.”

“I didn’t know — seriously?” If Taylor looks between the hunters any quicker he’s going to get whiplash. “That was on the table? Why didn’t you tell me that was on the table?”

“Because it wasn’t,” explains Nik curtly, “not when I’m the one casting. Kathy on the other hand — she’s got a reputation for that kind of thing.” He finally pries himself away from Ivy’s book to give his rival a sardonic raise of his eyebrows.

“Touché.”

But Cal hasn’t gotten his answer and makes a point in telling them. “Just ‘cause no one blew up doesn’t mean it worked. Did. it. work? Is he protected?”

Maybe the way Ryder lets his hand linger on Taylor’s knee is a bit awkward — but not uncomfortable. Like his touch is an extension of the spell. He even gives what may be the first look of hope Taylor’s ever seen.

“We can’t be certain until we’re outta the Shift’s wards but yeah; yeah I think so.”

It’s good news. Arbitrarily good, but good — and boy does he need a dose of good right about now.

“We should go tell the others.” Taylor stands and tucks Ivy’s book at his side.

“We should start workin’ on tracking down what’s after you.”

“Why not both?” It doesn’t take supernatural senses to know there’s another round of bickering on the horizon — so Cal takes it upon himself to pluck the book in hand; gestures to Taylor’s smudge-tattooed forearms.  “We’ll start team strategy downstairs and, Taylor, if you wanna get rid of all that?”

Yes, yes he wants to very badly.

Ryder frowns, starts to argue; “This ain’t a team sport — hey! Kujo, get back here with that book!” And is caught between standing his ground and doing his job when Cal darts out towards the hallway staircase.

Katherine gives a shake of her head but doesn’t do much to hide her bemusement at their antics. “Go on,” she tells Taylor on her way out, “I’ll make sure they don’t throttle each other. At least not until you can bet on the winner.”

“Gee, thanks.”

He closes the door behind her — closes it, but doesn’t turn the lock just in case — and heads to shower off the spellwork.

“I asked nicely, Smith. Now I’m telling; calm down before I have to rethink lifting your ban!”

“Come on Garrus, but him some slack. He’s excited.”

“Well an excited vampire does not a friendly and relaxed environment make! At least move all this to a table — I don’t have any room to serve drinks!”

The rest of the Shift comes into view when Taylor finishes rubbing his hair dry and tosses the towel over his shoulder.

Sure enough Cadence — still imposingly tall with Krom sitting at a booth — hovers over a spread of papers, folders, and what look like newspaper clippings scattered across the bartop.

Garrus huffs with two large wooden steins filled to frothing in his hands. Practically shoves them at Cal on the other side of the bar with a flippant and frustrated gesture to the customers waiting while engrossed in their billiards at the front.

Katherine continues defending Cade — though at this point it seems a little more involved than simple loyalty to her employer. It’s the same concern she had for him in the cage fight.

Only he hopes this won’t end similarly.

“I can’t believe you’re not interested, Garrus,” Cadence laughs with borderline hilarity; opens a manila folder and pulls out thick embossed paper that oozes age and historical importance. “Or was I only interesting when I was shiny and fresh from the war?”

“Oi!” barks Ivy from her booth; looking up from the page Ryder has her tome open to, “that’s not fair and you know it.”

Katherine knocks the tip of her boot into the vampire’s leg — draws a long sigh from him.

“Very well… you’re right. Apologies, Garrus.”

“As long as he’s throwing insults and not his fists like he did in that cage I couldn’ give less of a shit.” As Cal passes Taylor he ruffles the damp blond hair out of place with a silly grin.

“What’s going on…?”

Taylor wanders over; looks over the piles with passing curiosity before he makes his way to scooch in beside Ryder at the back.

“Another one of our dear mystery man’s wild wyvern chases.” comments Garrus with no less salt on his tongue.

“Goose chases.” corrects Krom absently.

“Hm? Oh, well, those too. Equally nasty creatures either way.”

Like always it’s Ivy who takes pity on Taylor’s lack of experience and knowledge. “Taylor, this is Cadence Smith; don’t let the lack of glamour fool you, though, he’s —”

“A vampire,” he nods and gives a small wave; isn’t surprised when it’s ignored in favor of Cadence’s thumbing through the papers for something specific, “I know. We met last night.”

Ivy gives an “ah” in understanding; “Then you got the life story then? Or — well — lack thereof.” And when he shakes his head she claps and giggles with glee. This is obviously a story she adores sharing. “Oh goody. And, pah, he’s too busy to tell it himself. So here’s how it goes. It’s a cloudy night in the summer of 1918…”

“Shouldn’t I be telling it, petal?” Garrus calls, “after all that was decades before your time. I was there.”

“Hush, momma’s regaling.” And it’s all the argument he has since the fae falls silent — returns to slicing lemons with a hum. “Now where was I? Ah — yes — it’s a cloudy night in the summer of 1918.

“Before you ask: yes that 1918. Half the world dead and the other half dying, and a half somewhere in the middle that can’t be bothered to care. This particular scene is set at the temporary wartime hospital Saint Marcellus. †† Pause for laughter —” — she does pause, though no laughter comes — “— well that’s disappointing.

“The beds are full, the bugs are a-buzzin’, and this summer was one of the worst. All those brave soldiers shipped back from the trenches only to deal with an all-too-familiar brand of torture from New Orleans herself. And in the Marcellus you’ve got wings for everything; for lost limbs, for limbs that needed losing, for bullet holes and for internal bleeding and for those who they didn’t really know what was wrong with ‘em, but they had to be shoved somewhere until someone figured it out.

“How did that middle-class education on world history do for you, Taylor,” Ivy dances the tips of her nails on the wooden tabletop, “like, what do you know about shell shock?”

He tries not to glance Cadence’s way — glad that he has a chance to avert his gaze before he gets caught staring.

“It’s what they used to call PTSD, right?”

Nik nods; a curt jerk of the chin. He’s definitely heard this story before but there’s a strange and uncharacteristic reverence in his silence.

Especially given how eager he’d been upstairs to get on with the hunt.

“They had a wing for that, too. That was the one the doctors at the Marcellus tried their best to keep empty — bad for morale, you know. And they did a bang-up job with everyone except for Cadence here. First they couldn’t get him to talk; not a sound or a written word to help him out. Then he started talking and they couldn’t get him to shut up.”

A deeper voice cuts her off. “I didn’t have a name nor tags to identify me. I’d been shipped all the way across the Atlantic in civvies for lack of a uniform. The moment the chief medical officer heard my accent he swore up and down every corridor for an hour — trying to find the incompetent fool who mistook a British soldier for an American one.”

Judging by the satisfied look on Ivy’s face she has no problem with Cadence jumping in to give a first-person account. Maybe she even expected it seeing as she goes right back to reading her book like she never said a word. Like she didn’t start it.

Cadence continues without looking up from a fragile folded newspaper. Cradles the old edition of The New York Times with sentimental longing. At his awkward angle Taylor has to stretch his neck in order to barely make out the headline.

ARMISTICE SIGNED, END OF THE WAR!

“I had been admitted as a mute with a severe case of trench foot and an undiagnosable allergy to direct sunlight. The infection they were content to amputate; the rest… attributed quickly to shell shock.

“They kept the curtains drawn and drilled me without end. Anything to get me to remember my name, my regiment, how I’d landed on the wrong side of the pond. Professionals, experts in their fields couldn’t crack me open. I was one angry Corporal away from being sent back to Europe when a London-born nurse lied and said I was her cousin. As far as anyone knew I very well could have been. I certainly didn’t argue.

“In truth she knew what would happen to me back on English soil. They didn’t call it shell shock there, they called it cowardice. She lied her way through missing documents and got me released to her care. She was a kind woman, Meredith LaPointe. Took me in while her own husband was looking at a future without his arms. Had two little ones — barely more than toddlers if I recall.

“Killing her is still my fiercest regret.”

The needle scratches on the proverbial record. Leaves Taylor gaping in shocked silence — aware with a bitter slap of reality to the face that no one will meet his eyes.

But it’s Cal’s first time hearing the story, too. And he’s not so quiet in the face of injustice.

“She saved your skin and you — you killed her? What the fuck?”

Only Cadence doesn’t answer; palms spread flat and wide on the bartop. Taylor swears he can see a small tremble in his broad shoulders.

Katherine speaks in his stead. “He didn’t know what he was.”

“Bullshit.”

“Believe what you will,” Cadence finds his voice back from some dark abyss, “but it’s the truth. A fortnight shut up in that ward and no amount of food they gave me did the trick. I didn’t even realize what I’d done until she was slumped on the floor at my feet.”

The wolf still snarls. “If you say you hurt those kids I swear to Christ…”

“No. I ran.”

“And put the rest of the city in danger.”

“No more than it already was. If I recall correctly your Pack took advantage of the poverty of the time. Something about the hunger of the wolf allowing them to extort rations.”

Cal lets out a primal growl. The wooden bar under his fingers groans — tries desperately not to yield.

It’s the twist and whip of a hand towel that snaps him out of it. Garrus practically flush with anger and glowering between the werewolf and vampire heatedly.

“The past is the past — let it go; both of you — before you,” — to Cade — “deal with another ban and you,” — to Cal — “find yourself out on the curb. Got it?”

They break eye contact but that doesn’t seem to be enough. Not when Garrus slams his palms down with an expectant look.

“I asked you boys a question; I expect an answer.”

“Got it.”

“Understood.”

“Good,” and the most terrifying thing about it is when Garrus resumes cleaning new glasses as though it never happened, “now, continue. You’re gettin’ to the best part.”

There’s a rueful twist to the vampire’s mouth but he continues anyway. “There isn’t much to tell after that. I found my way to the same place many lost souls did at the time; to the Graveyard Shift. Garrus was kind enough to put me up for a short while — gave me better forgeries for an identity and helped organize a meeting and arrangement with de la Rosa and his clan to get me blood when I needed it.

“And I’ve spent every year since working to recover my lost identity.”

There’s definitely a wow in there somewhere but Taylor’s having a hard time finding it. Instead awkwardly points between Cadence and Katherine — who answers his unasked question like she’s used to picking up at the end of story-time.

“He started hiring Nighthunters to help his crusade a few decades ago. The guy before me put up his standby job on the table in a high-stakes card game and I lost.”

“You make it sound like I treat you terribly.” Cadence scoffs. Gets a grin from his mortal companion.

“I just hate being at your beck and call.”

“Well I’ve gotten farther with you than I did the others. So you’re doing something right.”

“No shit. I’m me.”

“Indeed you are.” The looks they share are fond but there’s no mistaking the pain hidden behind the vampire’s useless spectacles.

As someone who has been there — suffered the struggle of self and identity — whether he’s a murderer or not Taylor only feels sympathy for him.

“So what’s this new information then? Something from the what’s-her-name you met with at Persephone?”

Cadence nods. “Isadora, yes. Among other things that turned up following her father’s death she discovered he had some digging done on my identity in secret. On their own they don’t go very far, but coupled with the favor Kathy here called in last month I think I may finally have some names to dig through.”

“That’s great!”

“Yeah, and also not our concern.” The look Nik gives him is full of reproach. “We can play private identity investigator all we like when we I.D. and gut your would-have-been killer.”

Taylor’s definitely more than a little amused by the ‘we’ aspect of that argument but prior banter tells him to let it go for the moment. It’s not like Ryder’s trying to divert them away from the real reason they’re all there.

Well, all except for Katherine and Cadence. They just seem to need a place to do… whatever it is they’re doing.

Ryder actually pushes back Taylor for a direct look to Ivy. “Did you bring those bestiaries from your collection?”

“I did.” But the revenant turns up her nose at him. Flexes her cheek muscles while her heavy leather platforms thud with her bouncing foot.

“So… can we look at ‘em?”

“You know you’re asking for an awful lot of favors without payment. The protection spell, the invocation tome, and now you want access to my carefully crafted and collected bestiaries — meanwhile I haven’t seen even a hint of a vial of payment from you.”

There’s Ivy’s playful banter and then there’s whatever she’s up to now — her eyes burning with hot pink embers and looking paler than usual; like the milky, glassy eyes of a corpse.

Maybe it’s because of the clothes she wears but sometimes Taylor forgets she’s somewhere between the living and the dead.

No way he’s forgetting now, though.

And he’s very, very content to not get involved in their shady (well, he suspects) dealings. Until Ryder is grabbing him by the shoulders and turning him head-on in Ivy’s direction.

“You’re tellin’ me you’re ready to turn a blind eye to this poor, cute face?” Oh, he’s despicable.

Makes Taylor try to worm his way out from between them; “Don’t get me involved in this!”

“That’s not fair!” Ivy pouts.

“Neither is the death sentence he’s been given.” He tries to grab Taylor’s jaw — dear god he will not be mimed like a puppet — but accepts the hand that bats his away as nope too far. “Is there no room in that heart of yours for his well-being?”

“You know as well as I do that my heart is withered and all shriveled up like a—like a raisin!”

Still her resolve is crumbling every time she’s unable to stop herself from looking Taylor in the eyes. He wants her to fight it solely on principle. But apparently Nik is just as well-versed in the art of weaseling his way out of payments as he is doing the things that get him paid.

She wails — an echoing thing befitting of her undead status — and covers her face with skeletal fingers. “I can’t run a business like this, Ryder! He’s just — just too damn cute!”

If it wasn’t helping him stay alive he’d resent that.

“Gah!” The sweet noise of Nik’s victory. “Get up — move it you fleshballs before I change my mind!”

Ryder tugs Taylor out of the booth with him. Gives Ivy a wide berth as she hauls her own butt out toting a large carpet-bag behind her.

She hauls the tremendous weight of the bag onto the tabletop and undoes several ornate-looking silver clasps. All in a careful order judging by the way she seals one or two back up and comes back to them later.

When she opens the bag there’s nothing Taylor can immediately see — even when he stands on the tips of his toes to look the only thing visible is a gaping, empty blackness.

The only way he can describe it? — He feels like he’s looking six feet under; like her body should be way down at the bottom even though Ivy herself said it burned to sinner’s ash long ago.

Ivy pushes up her sleeves; rubs her hands together like she’s itching for a fight. And like an eldritch hellspawn of Mary Shelley and Mary Poppins she reaches down — way down, like impossibly far down — into the bag to scavenge through contents unknown.

“Impressive, right?” asks Krom from his view still in the booth.

Taylor most certainly agrees. “Very Hogwarts.”

“Ha! Bitch, ask who did it first.” Were Ivy’s hands not otherwise occupied she wound definitely be pointing two thumbs at herself. “I know I packed them in here. I regretted not having them as reference on Carlo’s autopsy.”

The distant shatter of glass draws everyone’s attention — even the unwitting Garrus who steps back and looks for the mishap. Only when he realizes it’s not his fault, instead something fallen in her bag of horrors, the fae huffs in frustration and refuses to give Ivy any more of his attention.

Even though his ears twitch to every echoing sound.

“Fu—finally!” Taylor doesn’t get the time to debate the biological physics of Ivy’s breathlessness when he finds three aged tomes suddenly stacked in unprepared arms; each bigger and in worse shape than the last.

But of course she beams at him with teeth bleached white as bone and all struggles are forgiven. At least until the leather-bound edges reveal their bruises.

One by one Ryder takes the bestiary trilogy and goes about making his own Cadence-adjacent spread on the table. Nudges Krom and his poetry book out of the way to take up whatever space isn’t displaced by the carpet-bag of the void.

“These are great, Iv’. Thanks.”

“I didn’t do it for you.” Makes her point by flicking the round of his ear. They both reach for Taylor at the same time but Ivy gets there first — loops her arm with his and sticks out her tongue (or the closest thing she has; truthfully he’s afraid to ask what exactly it’s supposed to be — because it certainly doesn’t look like a tongue) in childish victory.

“I don’t know where you think you’re goin’ but I need him to identify the big-and-ugly.” Ryder drolls.

“My payment will be in the form of mortal gold,” she pats Taylor’s arm reassuringly, “otherwise known as caffeine. You get to page-flipping and we’ll go on a coffee run for the lot.”

“Actually,” Garrus interrupts, giddy with glee, “I think I may have concocted —”

“Another time sugarplum!” As it is she’s already halfway to the front door.

The look on Ryder’s face is enough for Taylor to know if he really doesn’t want to go he doesn’t have to. That his body guard will, well, guard his body and keep him at the Shift.

But his legs are restless and sunset has always been his favorite time of day. So he’s grateful, but no thanks.

Plus… coffee.

Garrus volunteers an old drink specials chalkboard from the back when it gets obvious they’re going to need more than jotting down theories, ideas, and recollections on napkins. Mostly because he has to keep restocking the napkins.

If Ivy would just let them use little sticky notes on her bestiaries there wouldn’t be a napkin issue. But things snowball as they do and one thing leads to another. Which leads to the right-handed Katherine wrenching the chalk away from the left-handed Ryder to give them a less-smudged list of possible suspects.

THE GRAVEYARD SPECIALS HAPPY HOUR: Possessed Corpse(?) TO not likely—no relatives(friend?) buried in state

THIRSTY THURSDAY COMBO: BUY pursuit began before STL — can’t recall if other being/s present GET 5 6 7(?) holy light arrows = barely a scratch HALF OFF!! AMAZING DEAL!!

Among various scribbled (and crossed out) suggestions both sleuthed and thrown out by the resident experts.

Thankfully Cal and Krom are about as versed in the finer details of the supernatural kingdom as Taylor is; makes him feel better about not really being able to contribute other than rehashing the events of that night for the umpteenth time.

But is it all in vain?

The list keeps going on — Katherine’s resorted to adding her words to the embellished paint border around the board. A fact or prediction will cause them to double-back and cross one theory out but one takes its place not a minute later.

When Cadence’s curiosity was piqued enough for him to offer help, Katherine had mentioned the vampire’s penchant for, how did she put it: “long, boring research projects.”

The fact that he and Ivy seem to be the only ones getting a real hoot out of the never-ending cycle they’ve trapped themselves in probably says it all.

Taylor uncrosses his legs; hops down from his latest attempt at unconventional comfort on the pool table and makes for the door.

“Whoa there — where are you headin’?”

He’s relieved Ryder doesn’t announce it to the whole bar. Up front Cadence tries yet again to explain the difference between a vengeful spirit and a poltergeist to Cal. But the wolf keeps insisting all “spectral ghoulies” are the same.

Hopefully the smile he gives his bodyguard doesn’t make him seem ungrateful.

“I was just gonna get some air.”

He would have the same look of ‘seriously’ that Nik has if their positions were reversed. If he didn’t know what it felt like to feel so damn useless like he does right now.

“You realize all this —” with a wave backwards, “— is for you, right? Everyone puttin’ in their time and knockin’ their heads together; it’s all so you can be safe.”

Way to make him feel like the biggest piece of shit to ever live.

Only this time his thoughts bleed through — his tongue edged like a razor. “Wow, really? I had no fucking clue. Thanks for the update!”

And despite the guilt knotting in his stomach and all the rules on self-sacrifice he’s been unlearning for too damn long Taylor turns on his heel and practically marches out of the Shift.

Of course he immediately feels terrible the moment the air hits his face. Wants to turn around and practically march back in; push himself into the conversation to help as best he can. Even if all he can do is repeat every. single. detail of the attack.

But he’s trying to prove a point. So he doesn’t. He tells that nagging voice in the corner of his thoughts to stop trying to make it out like he’s seeking attention and makes himself comfortable on the curbside.

Or at least… he tries. Are there points for trying when he doesn’t want to be disturbed but can’t seem to shake the weirdest and most flippant bodyguard in the whole city? Well since it’s his point system he decides that yes, yes there are points; a good dozen of them — two if Nik starts lecturing him on the risks everyone inside the Shift is taking on his behalf.

What this point system will lead up to exactly Taylor isn’t sure. But it’ll be something good — like a giant platter of beignets when this is all over.

“Y’know what occurs to me, Rook?” They have to look like street comedians, the pair of them. Nik’s coat is so spread out it might as well look into buying real estate on the sidewalk.

When he doesn’t get an answer Nik tries again — this time nudges his shoulder with more gentle caution than he thought the man was capable of.

“I said, ‘y’know what occurs to me, Rook?’”

“Dunno who you’re talking to — can’t be me. That isn’t my name.”

“All right, listen here wise-ass —”

“No you listen.” Theatrically it was a very bold choice to interrupt but definitely added drama to the scene. Except now he has to follow through on account of Nik actually listening.

So he steels himself — accepts internal defeat at not getting those two dozen points — and gives the hunter something to listen to.

“I get it, okay? I get how important this is and I get how much I need to appreciate a bunch of randoms I’ve known for less than the time it takes for me to finish a pint of ice cream in my freezer all coming together and helping me find out what’s trying to get me. And I do appreciate it; all of it.

“Garrus for putting me up, Krom and Ivy for trying to help me make sense of everything. Cal for sticking by my side and, hell, even Kathy and Cadence for pitching in what they know. And you—Nik—you’re running around this city on empty but that’s not stopped you from doing your job once.

“I see it; everything you guys are doing, and it blows my literal freakin’ mind because I’ve never really been the kind to just let myself be helped. But I don’t know what else to do except sit there and take it because I can’t… I mean I’m…”

He struggles to find the right way to say it; is definitely a little more than irritated because no doubt Nik is enjoying all his bravado suddenly wilting. That is until he catches the strange (but no less obvious) look of open understanding he’s being given.

Yeah that definitely doesn’t help him get his words out any easier.

But Nik doesn’t look ready to interrupt him without hearing what should have been a strong conclusion to his vented frustrations. So…

“I don’t know what to do because I’m useless. At least for this kind of crazy. So I’m not going to apologize for needing some space when I’m not really contributing much to the conversation anyway.”

The street is mostly empty — all signs point to the parties a couple blocks up and over. But Nik actually waits until a small group of couples are well out of earshot before he speaks.

“Get it all out?”

“What?”

“I asked if you got everythin’ out of your system. I’ll shut up if not.”

Taylor rolls his eyes. “I’m surprised you were quiet for that long.”

“It was a struggle, I’ll admit,” Nik’s mouth twists into a rueful half-smile, “but I know sometimes you just gotta say your piece. So keep goin’ if you need to.”

After a moment; “No — I think I got it all out. All I can think about, anyway.”

“Good, ‘cause you’re wrong.”

“Great — here we go —”

Nik gives a light backhand to Taylor’s arm. “I let you go, now can I get a turn?”

“Not if you’re just going to lecture me.”

“How would you know what I’m gonna say? Y’ain’t lettin’ me say it.”

And he only frowns because Nik makes a fair point. Begrudgingly settles himself in and avoids eye contact for what little dignity he has left to be spared a verbal lashing.

“I won’t sit here and argue every little point, ‘kay? Frankly we just don’t got that kinda time. Hell — I won’t even try and tell ya all the thoughts I have on that ‘useless’ comment. And trust me; I’ve got a fair few.

“‘Cause that’s how you feel, Rook. No amount a’nothin’ will change that. Not until somethin’ happens that changes your mind for yourself. But if you sit out here kickin’ pebbles and feelin’ bad for yourself what’re the chances of that one thing happenin’ anyway? Slim to none, if you ask me.”

“I don’t think I did ask you.”

“Roo—Taylor,” he turns them face to face this time; no longer content with avoidance, “I’m trying to help here. To give you space, tell you that yeah — all this shit is crazy and it’s easy for people like us to feel like we don’t got a seat at the table. But if you won’t even listen to what I’ve gotta say then I ain’t gonna waste my breath.”

Okay, bad idea. Because he feels bad enough but seeing the exhaustion wrinkled in the hunter’s forehead, the developing dark circles under his eyes? Nik’s not kidding — he’s one petulant quip away from straight up leaving Taylor alone.

Isn’t that what he wanted, though? At least when he came out here it had been. Now he’s not so sure.

But something Nik said isn’t sitting right. “‘People like us?’” he repeats, “that’s not… we’re not…” Nik knows so many things. Knows the spells and the weapons and who to avoid and who to cross. They may both be human but that’s like saying Krom and Ivy are first cousins.

Nik though, like the damn mind reader he is, shakes his head.

“Every Nighthunter was innocent once. Me, Kathy — there’s about as many ways to get into the life as there are ways to stay outta it but don’t think just ‘cause I know what I’m talkin’ about now that I always did.”

There’s a tug on Nik’s coat; makes him whip around and give the sleek black shoe and the suited man wearing it the bird and a snarl. “Watch it buddy.”

The man says nothing and enters the Shift. But Nik seems content to pick a fight another time and lets him go.

Looks back to Taylor in that same uncomfortably honest way that makes the butterflies in his stomach start to twist themselves into knots.

“Y’know what occurs to me, Rook?” he repeats his question again, now and after all this. Taylor isn’t even remotely surprised. This time he’s a little more receptive to it. Maybe Nik was onto something about speaking his piece.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t groan to show his reluctance before answering; “What occurs to you, Nik?”

This victory smile is small and short-lived but no less important.

“It occurs to me that I don’t know much about you.”

“Seriously?”

His protest goes ignored. “So how ‘bout after we narrow down the usual suspects we change that? Get Gar’ to fry up some onion rings or summin’ and take the rest of the night to make sure that protection charm holds good and tight?”

Well that was unexpected.

“Are you…?”

“What?”

“I mean, I just — it sounded like…”

“Words, Taylor; they’re for more’n just startin’ sentences.”

Are you asking me on a date, Nik Ryder? He wants to ask; he’s even ready to play it off as a joke. But given how things have gone the last few minutes, nay hours, he just brushes it off with a laugh and; “Are you trying to permanently distract me with the promise of onion rings?”

Together they stand — already Taylor’s trying to think of ways to explain or lie his way through whatever questions everyone inside will ask about his blustery exit. Then Nik is grabbing him by the arms and coaxing him off the curb. Keeping him from being trampled by three more suited men heading inside the bar.

“Is Garrus throwing a special we didn’t know about?” he laughs; means it as a joke.

But the way the Nighthunter’s brow furrows isn’t joking. Not at all.

“What,” it takes Taylor a second to realize Nik’s glower is over his shoulder at the door, “what’s up?”

“Here’s a lesson for you —” —Nik’s gravelly voice is suddenly so low he has to lean in just to hear him— “— somethin’ to remember about this world we’re in. ‘Cause there’s weird, and there’s weird-weird. Shit that don’t even make sense in a bar full’a creatures.

“And four suits comin’ to Garrus’ at this time’a day — ‘specially when every coven, clan, and pack is celebratin’ Mardi Gras — is weird-weird.”

But they aren’t going to not go back inside. Even as ‘useless’ and mortal as he is Taylor knows that. And doesn’t resist when Nik gives him a light pull back and behind him.

“You stay behind me, got it?”

“No arguments here.”

“For once.” It’s a reply on some sort of instinct — doesn’t develop into their usual bickering half for the situation and half for the fact that Nik doesn’t waste any time yanking open the Shift door as a man on a mission.

They pass through the threshold and into an invisible fog of tension.

Nik’s right; though they arrived separately the suits are together and — a little more than that — two of them have handguns aimed forward. It doesn’t take supernatural senses to know they have every intent to use them.

“Maybe I wasn’t speaking loudly enough,” says Garrus — who looks more flustered and angry than Taylor thought the fae had in him, “but you. are. not. welcome. here. So leave before this gets ugly. The next time I have to say it, it won’t be a suggestion.”

“Everything all right here, Garrus?” Nik calls. Makes one of the armed men turn for a fraction of a second before he focuses back on the group ahead.

Only it occurs to Taylor how weird-weird it is that they don’t bother turning around — or didn’t bother locking the door behind them for that matter — when confronted with new arrivals.

Means, perhaps, that whatever they’re facing at the front is too dangerous to even consider looking away.

Judging by the way Cadence stands — one arm thrown out as a barrier to Katherine, upper lip twitching in a flicker of a snarl, eyes the same burning red as they had been while fighting the Minotaur — yeah; that’s the case for certain.

Garrus scoffs his answer. “Besides the fact that these imbeciles apparently need a refresher on the definition of a sanctuary, just peachy!”

“We’ll be happy to leave once we’ve got who we came for.” barks one of the suited men. “And not a moment before.”

“You idiots,” Ivy sneers, “you won’t even be able to fire those things in here without the wards handing you your asses on a platter.”

“It’s not the act, but the threat behind it.”

Cadence steps forward. Like a dance one of the men goes to step back on instinct until his partner holds him fast. The vampire sweeps his ruby gaze across the line they form. “Am I wrong? Your boss wouldn’t send you in here without warning you about the wards first.”

“Enough yakkin’. You either come with us willingly or as a body in a bag. Your choice, Smith.”

“If you’re going to act like you don’t have ears…” Even Taylor can’t suppress a shudder at the warped, demonic lilt to Ivy’s threat. The hunger in her fiery eyes.

But Krom holds her back — the only one who looks like bullets would bounce right off of him but also the most fearful of the lot. “Ivy don’t, please…” he whispers.

“Care to catch a guy up?” Nik tries again. Katherine leers at him over the black-suited shoulders.

“They’re here for Cade, dumbass. Three guesses who they work for.”

Nik nods, something unspoken passing in the undercurrent of her response. He gives a few jaunty steps and even tempts fate so far as to pat one of the armed man on the shoulder. Brings Taylor around with a hand on his wrist only to push him out of harms way to the corner of the bar.

“Well you gotta admire their work ethic.”

“Do we, though?”

“Yeah!” He sizes up the goons — steps back with a challenge in his arms spread wide. “More so when you think a’those wards Garrus mentioned. D’you know what happens to firearms, Gar’? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.”

Garrus practically growls. “It’s not pretty.”

A ripple of unease starts to break the would-be kidnappers’ bravado. Fingers flex on triggers. A bead of sweat trickles down and stings in one’s eyes.

“If Lady Smoke wants to speak to me she can come herself,” snarls the vampire, “since she obviously knows how to find me.”

“Not just you.”

It’s an empty threat in the safety of the Shift’s wards but the damage is done; makes Cadence rush forward with an open fist ready to catch the speaker at his throat.

“Cade — no —!” Garrus calls too late.

A bright flash of light momentarily blinds them — but even as Taylor goes to shield his eyes he watches an invisible force of incredible strength send Cadence flying backwards and into the bar. The wood is solid, refuses to yield, and he sinks down onto the floor just as Katherine rushes to help him stand.

Apparently the wards aren’t just against goons — but anyone ready to cause harm.

The henchman rubs his throat, probably near wetting himself at the knowledge of how close he came to the same end as the Minotaur, and has the gall to manage a half-grin. “Well that’s handy.”

“What the fuck does Smoke want?” Kathy shouts through gritted teeth.

“What she’s owed.”

“She isn’t owed shit!”

Cadence rubs the back of his head with a groan. “I gave up what she owed me.”

“You don’t offer up a nickel and take the whole damn safe. Not in this town. Not when it comes to Lady Smoke.”

Katherine looks ready to test the boundaries of the wards; at the very least with her words. But Cadence’s hand on her arm as she helps him stand holds her back.

“Fine, I’ll go —”

“Like hell you wi —”

“If only to right this fucking business of favors and what’s owed.” The look Cade gives her isn’t one to be argued with. Not that it’s stopped her before. But even from across the room Taylor feels the same unease that he had back watching the vampire in the cage.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Rather than outright refusing Nik plays his cards a little closer to his chest. Gives Cade a stern look that promises help if he needs it — which might be very soon judging how things have escalated so far.

“No, but that doesn’t mean I won’t do it anyway.”

“Smart choice.” With a gesture from the same shiny-shoe asshole who stepped on Nik’s coat the guns get tucked away. Whether they can be seen or not it doesn’t change the fear they bring. “Get a move on. Lady Smoke doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

Cadence scoffs. “She may have power over many things but not even Tonya Reimonenq can control the sun and moon. She can wait until it’s safe for me to leave.”

Compelled by the lurch in his stomach Taylor flies forward; bolts around the table as if fucking compelled and pushes Ryder aside to grasp for the vampire’s arm.

“What did you say?”

Cadence looks like he’d forgotten Taylor even existed. “What? Let go.”

“That name — say it again.”

“Rook?” He feels Ryder’s concerned touch but couldn’t give less of a fuck.

“Say it again.”

But confusion aside, Cadence does; “Tonya Reimonenq — Lady Smoke.”

What are the damn odds?

†incantation full translation (taken from google translate): "We cast aside our place as mortal servants to a higher power. Where we seek sanctuary none has been given. Thus we take it upon ourselves to invoke powers who have gone blind to our plight. We demand their protection. We demand their sight. You will ward away this evil and its sorrows. Protect this skin from foul touch, this blood from ill intent, this mind from wicked ways. Do so until the deed is done and evil has met an end."

††Saint Marcellus: Marcellus is a name derived from Mars, the Roman god of war. Ivy finds it funny that a hospital was named after violence. (Saint Marcellus is/was not a real hospital.)

[missingtheboys]

hi !! these were the fics that I read (or re-read) and loved this month !! feel free to message me on how much these fics emotionally hurt you (:

never coming home by rainbowsandgucci [8k]

“You alright love?”

Louis sighs, and nods, still keeping his head rested on Harry’s shoulder. “Yeah, better now that we’re here.”

Harry smiles then, just a little, and reaches his left hand over to grab Louis’ left as well, so their rose and dagger tattoos that they’d both gotten at the start of the Revolution are showing.

“Always better together, my Honeyed Dagger.”

Louis huffs out a quiet laugh, and squeezes Harry’s hand. “Let’s go to bed, Cyanide Rose.”

Later, after the lantern has been blown out and their emotions have been sated, Louis presses a kiss to Harry’s chest, and whispers into the darkness. “What if you hadn’t come home?”

Harry’s quiet for awhile, before finally squeezing Louis just a little bit closer to him, and whispering back, “Then you know where to find me.”

Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy by lovelarry10 [10k]

Harry's a barman at Flaming Saddles, a country and western themed gay bar.

Louis’ a customer who’d like to see if the tall barman is as good on the ropes as everyone says he is...

come together by bottomlinsons [11k]

Harry and Louis slept together three weeks ago, and haven't talked.

Their coming group project is gonna change that.

damn your love, damn your lies by ifthat [14k]

“Of course you’d use your free time to go to the gym.”

“Your idea of the best way to spend your free time is annoying your neighbors,” he laughs, dimples carved into his cheeks like marble.

No, Louis likes to annoy Harry. Everyone else on this floor is just an unfortunate casualty.

“No one has complained except for you,” Louis informs him smartly. Which is actually a good thing. If someone other than Harry had complained to him long ago, he would have unfortunately had to stop.

time's never been our side by softhar [31k]

“Come back to me,” the man whispered in a surprisingly deep voice, his sad eyes flicking over Louis’ face. “Please.” he gave Louis’ hand one final squeeze, then turned around and silently left the room, leaving behind the faint scent of lilies. All eyes were instantly on Louis — or rather, on the hidden object in his hand. Everyone subtly crept closer to steal a quick glance, while some started bombarding him with questions about the strange man. Louis could barely register the questions over his own confusion. He brought his hand closer to his face and opened his fingers carefully, revealing a shiny gold pocket watch unlike anything he had ever seen before. When he pressed the small button on the side, the lid popped open and revealed a pearl-colored watch face with small encrusted diamonds in place of actual numbers. “Who was he?” Louis faintly heard someone ask. All he could do, though, was stare at the gold watch in his palm. After a moment, Louis shook his head and whispered, “I…I don’t know.”

To the Ends of the Earth by stylinsoncity [68k]

During a yearlong hiatus, Louis visits Harry at his cabin in Idaho, where long-buried feelings ignite like the fire keeping them warm.

One for Luck by leavingonatrain [96k]

The very first time Louis remembers hearing Harry Styles' deep, deep voice, he's just won gold at the World Equestrian Games and he's officially back on Great Britain's Olympic team. He's also three sheets to the wind, drunk on victory and champagne, and there's a gorgeous boy whispering in his ear. Life's grand.

(AU: Louis and Harry are professional riders on the British Olympic team.)

Say Hallelujah, Say Goodnight by alivingfire [110k]

Louis has been alive since life was a mere concept; he watched the summoning of Man into existence, he was there when Eve took the apple. He’s seen seas break the world into separate pieces, he’s watched empires crumble into dust. He’s seen wildfire consume cities, he’s seen the world painted white with snow. He has known the most beautiful humans to walk the planet, he has watched the most powerful mortals gather their riches and influence around them and then die just like the poorest, weakest humans do. He’s met humans whose motives defy explanation, people who use their lives as battering rams, as tools, as weapons, as chess pieces.

None of that stopped Louis in his tracks.

But Harry did.

Tired Tired Sea by MediaWhore [113k]

As a B&B owner on the most remote of all the British Isles, Louis Tomlinson is used to spending the coldest half of the year in complete isolation, with his dog and the sea as sole companions. Until, one day, a mysterious stranger on a quest to rebuild himself rents a room for the winter.

[popliar]

jin ships fic links

disclaimer - this is all a bit random, I bookmark so many things and sometimes I don’t remember what I actually thought about them… But they are all readable and worth a click imo.

for @timesuck2000​

other posts: fic links

YOONJIN

Every Single Sparkling Thing - sinkingmyships Seokjin/Yoongi. "Of all the kinds of magic, Seokjin prefers enchanters’ magic most. Loves the power to entrance and beguile, captivate and mesmerize. Loves walking into a room and knowing everyone wants to be him, be with him, or be on him. Yet of all the kinds of magic, Seokjin practices enchanters’ magic least. It’s just that he doesn’t need magic to charm people. He’s good at that all on his own." 32,000 words.

Path/Road - misspamela  Seokjin/Yoongi. "“I don’t like parties,” Yoongi said suddenly, like he was confessing something. “And I’m pretty sure two people doesn’t really count as a party.” “Well, fine, if you’re going to get pedantic about it.” Seokjin threw his arm around Yoongi’s shoulders. “Then this is the best date I’ve been on in months too.”" early days! 2300 words.

the growth cycle of a narcissus - moonbaby (autopsyofwebs)  Seokjin/Yoongi. "Seokjin sits cross-legged on his home couch. He takes a sip of whiskey in a wine glass, pinky slightly lifted, and lets out a gusty sigh of satisfaction. He turns to face the camera; his eyes flash conspiratorially. “I’m Seokjin, but you can call me Jin. I’m the most handsome guy you’ll ever meet.” He winks. (A Queer Eye AU where at first, nobody is quite sure why Kim Seokjin, self-proclaimed Worldwide Cutie Guy and a handsome, successful office manager, has been nominated for the show, until the Fab 5 actually meet him." 13,000 words.

Worldwide Lonesome - loindexter   Seokjin/Yoongi. "After the BBMA, Yoongi starts bringing guys back to the house." Really good story about coming out and living in the public eye and idol life. Great Jin voice. 40,000 words.

my safest sounds - prosperousends   Seokjin/Yoongi. "Min Yoongi and Kim Seokjin are a part of the same podcast network, but have never personally spoken to each other—until they find themselves asked to swap shows for an episode. The venture turns out to be more involved than either of them thought it would be." good!! 31,600 words.

Let's only walk on flower trails - rhythmsextion Seokjin/Yoongi. "In which Yoongi devises a plan to win the heart of the town's hot bank manager. And it doesn't quite work out like he'd hoped." small town puzzle hunt. 10,100 words.

Time After Time - august_d Seokjin/Yoongi. "Min Yoongi is a part-time coffee shop employee, part-time author. Kim Seokjin was born in the wrong generation - literally." Jin travels from 1988 to 2018 by accident and Yoongi covers for him by saying he's his boyfriend. 41,900 words.

Echo Chorus - smiles Seokjin/Yoongi. "Persuasion AU. Five years ago, Seokjin was persuaded to break up with the only man he has loved, brilliant producer and adoring boyfriend Min Yoongi. Now, just as Seokjin's record company is failing, Yoongi returns, cold and seemingly indifferent. As they continue to circle around each other and navigate the idol world, Seokjin must determine his future, and if Yoongi has a place in it." 95,700 words.

Table for Two - Zee Yoongi/Seokjin. "The sign on the restaurant door promises a free entree to any customer who is there on a date. Yoongi doesn't know how they determine whether or not people are there on dates, and doesn't know how this venture could possibly be profitable for them. He just knows that he could never afford eating there under normal circumstances and that he is deeply sick of ramyeon." 3700 words.

Crashed the Wedding - smiles Seokjin/Yoongi. ""I'll explain it slowly so you can understand. My wish is to travel to the future to my own wedding, get in, see who I'm marrying, find them in the present and get rid of all the middle junk. Understand?" In which Seokjin makes a wish to crash his own wedding and it actually comes true." Delightful. 3800 words.

Love and Muffins - weakforjin Yoongi/Seokjin. "Bakery owner Kim Seokjin wants to get a tattoo. It's a good thing his store is attached to a tattoo parlor. No literally, it's attached. The wall is basically made up of an incredibly large glass window. Pretty convenient for Seokjin since he can ogle the attractive tattoo artist Min Yoongi while he works. Also, everyone else is in love with Hoseok." 3100 words.

A Gilded World - smiles Yoongi/Seokjin. "Jeon Seokjin has exactly four weeks to stop the impending engagement of his younger brother, doomed to a loveless marriage. The only way to stop it is to make a better match, more advantageous, more lucrative for the Jeon family. It's impossible. It's his only option. Min Yoongi does not want, will never want, will never ever even consider, marriage. It's not in the cards. He's stubborn enough to achieve the total ban on marriage talks. Except maybe his grandmother is a little more stubborn than he is, and maybe she's determined to see him march down the aisle. The chaebol arranged marriage au that exactly one and a half people asked for." A really classic 'mutual pining while married' story that hits all the right beats consistently well. 168,700 words.

Rumor Has It - smiles Yoongi/Seokjin. "Due to a misinterpretation of Yoongi's newest song, the public and press think rapper Yoongi completely dissed idol Jin in his newest release." 2300 words.

we are all fools (in love) - kaythebest Yoongi/Seokjin. ""How are you, uh, doing?" Yoongi shoots him a weird look. "You mean after the proposal went horribly wrong and you shot me into the dirt?" Seokjin sets his jaw. "You deserved it." [Or: Yoongi and Seokjin are both prideful and prejudiced but maybe with time, things will turn out alright.]" 3000 words.

the night is still young (and so are we) - pagdiwa (neko11lover) Yoongi/Seokjin. "Summer 2012. They’re so, so close to debuting. Yoongi knows that he won’t be able to forgive himself if he let Kim Seokjin leave." 6100 words.

I Sought A Muse (But The Words Just Wouldn't Come) - sinkingmyships Yoongi/Seokjin. "Yoongi is, quite frankly, sick of photographing Taehyung's tongue, and the deadline for his photography project is approaching faster than he really wants to admit. He needs a new model. The first person to answer his ad—his name is Seokjin, if Yoongi remembers correctly—sent a message with something super vain like "cameras love my face," which should be an enormous red flag, but Yoongi's getting desperate. And in any case, if it's true, it'll just make his job a lot easier." 14,000 words.

come back tomorrow (and the day after too) - Trotter Seokjin/Yoongi. "Seokjin is an actor who MCs a variety show called Eat Jin. His show's successful-- but like every other show on the circuit, he's never managed to book the international superstars Bangtan Seonyeondan, who are notoriously picky about their variety appearances. He never expects that his shot at getting BTS on his show will come when it turns out BTS's Suga is a fan of his acting." 7000 words.

until there are no more cities - squeen Yoongi/Seokjin. "Seokjin has pillow creases in his cheek and his eyes are puffy, still closed as he slowly rolls onto his side. Yoongi lies next to him on his back, turns his head towards Seokjin’s sleeping face, whispers, Kim Seokjin, I think I could fall in love with you." They meet on the Siberian railway. 6700 words.

wanna be yours, now - dollyeo Yoongi/Seokjin. "This is not how Yoongi planned his grand love confession to go." He takes Seokjin out to dinner and Seokjin tries to guess who he's interested in. 1600 words.

hold the press, I wanna get off with you - Finedae  Seokjin/Yoongi. "Seokjin's an idol, visual and vocal of popular boy group BTS. Yoongi's a hip-hop artist and producer. They're not supposed to be together, except when they are--hands all over each other when they show up at underground parties, the new hot 'couple' except--they're not together together, of course not. that would be ridiculous." 4300 words.

Heartbeats - bulletproof_bad_wolf  Yoongi/Seokjin. "They were different, he and Yoongi. Yoongi was rough around the edges but soft on the inside. Jin was smooth to the eye, but if you looked closer, there were jagged thoughts and complicated twists just under the surface. They were different, they were opposites, but there was a balance, just like he’d thought there would be. For all their differences, they approached music the same way, and held some of the same philosophies on life, so it seemed. There was enough common ground there to build on. They’d be friends, Jin knew that much. Friends and collaborators." 17,000 words.

Building Hearts - iamnotaprodigy Yoongi/Seokjin. "Seokjin’s roommate breaks everything in their apartment. Luckily, the Engineering major next door is cute and willing to help. Otherwise known as, the first time Namjoon actually managed to help create something instead of destroy it. The “my roommate breaks everything and my cute neighbor fixes everything” AU." 12,800 words.

Eat Your Heart Out - bazooka Jin/Yoongi. "Okay, look - all Seokjin wanted was to get into the wedding expo with a fake fiance and try all the free cake. He didn't mean for all of this other stuff to happen." 6000 words.

TAEJIN

bring me some reckless times again - pearl_o   Seokjin/Taehyung. "Seokjin makes a series of snap decisions, starting with going over to talk to Taehyung. Somehow, they all turn out pretty well." Kinda making their exes jealous but not really. 3500 words.

my best decision - madanach   Seokjin/Taehyung. "“You’re a menace,” Seokjin says. “You come here—you wake me up from my sleep—to do these things versus me. To do the things that you do, against me, specifically.” “All I did was call you pretty,” Taehyung says. “And say that when I was seventeen I wanted to kiss you.”" 3700 words.

on the boundary - brightlight Seokjin/Taehyung. "Honestly, Seokjin should have known things would escalate. One of Seokjin’s favorite things about Taehyung is that he’ll always play along with whatever dumb shit Seokjin says, so he always does it back to return the favor; Seokjin loves an enabler. So when Taehyung calls him on fucking Valentine’s Day and says, “Hyung, Bottoms Up is no cover tonight if you come as a couple,” Seokjin thinks, Yeah, okay, this makes sense." VERY GOOD. 5900 words.

Wake - AlixSkyeDawg  Taehyung/Seokjin, Namjoon/Jimin, Jungkook/Hoseok. "Taehyung wanted to bite out that the only thing that would help is her not being dead. He wanted to shriek that a fucking beach resort was not going to suddenly fill the void her death had left. He wanted to rage that forcing him to come to an island in the first place was doing more harm than good." island holiday soap opera. 72,100 words.

seven - tastelessfool Seokjin/Taehyung. ""Seokjin and I were talking last night, and we ended up deciding on dating each other on a trial basis.” “Seokjin? Your roommate Seokjin?” “Uh huh.” “Your first and only best friend Seokjin?” “That's the one.” Jimin gapes at Taehyung for a long moment. “What the hell's a trial dating?” alternatively, Seokjin and Taehyung try dating each other for seven days." 11,000 words.

rent-a-bed - tastelessfool Seokjin/Taehyung. "Seokjin is very broke and very drunk when he's offered a proposition he can't refuse from a stranger at his party- to actually rent his bed. He's not convinced all of this isn't a fever dream." Cute and silly. 10,000 words.

Took No Time With the Fall - Trotter Seokjin/Taehyung. "It says a lot about how lazy Seokjin and Yoongi both are as people that they keep being friends after they break up." 6400 words.

To pay the rent - AwkwardBeansidhe Seokjin/Taehyung. "The job of an extra is to enhance the scene, not steal it, but when Kim Seokjin and Kim Taehyung sit down on set to talk, they can't help but draw the attention of the whole room." 3900 words.

NAMJIN

you make the sea bass drop in my heart - oliviacirce Namjoon/Seokjin. "He looks back down at the contract, reading through the details again. Sea Life of Hawaii, blah blah blah, three weeks, blah blah blah, travel, housing, catering, salary—nice, nothing to complain about there—Co-host: Dr. Kim Namjoon, Professor of Marine Biology. "He's an asshole," Seokjin says. "He's an insufferable know-it-all who thinks he's better than everyone else because of his big fancy degree and his big swollen head and his big—" He cuts himself off ruthlessly, and finishes, "And he hates me."" 7100 words.

lights flashing, flashing - monbon Namjoon/Seokjin. "Jeongguk writes self-insert fanfiction, Jimin is the president of the namjin fanclub, and Jin and Joon go grocery shopping. That's it, that's the fic." cute! 4100 words.

Double Trouble - nicowememoney, Scripturient27  Namjoon/Seokjin, Hoseok/Yoongi. "Separated since a young age, identical twins Taehyung and Jungkook grow up believing they’re the only child to their respective single dads, Namjoon and Seokjin. Until they meet at summer camp and decide to swap identities and go back home as each other for the following reasons: 1. It’s fun ok 2. Jungkook has a hopeless crush on classmate Jimin but is too shy to talk to him so Taehyung decides to take matters into his own hands 3. They’re curious what their other dad is like 4. Again, it’s fun ok and 5. Maybe… just maybe, they can get their dads back together again. [CHAT FIC] [The Parent Trap AU]" if you can roll with the premise, this is fun. 49,100 words.

just let the feeling grow - marienadine Namjoon/Seokjin. ""I don't have a problem with Namjoon," Seokjin lies." great character voices. 8500 words.

just hold on, we're going home - cosigned Namjoon/Seokjin. ""This guy - Seokjin - in one day, successfully got you so flustered that you've planned to avoid him for the rest of your life, and then saw you naked?" "It's not like it sounds," Namjoon tries to reason with Yoongi, even though it's exactly like it sounds. Kim Seokjin has him scrambling for his sanity, and he's fighting a losing battle. or In a foreign country, Namjoon finds a little piece of home to hold onto." charming! 15,800 words.

Unbelievable - mllevangogh   Namjoon/Seokjin, Jimin/Jungkook. "Jin's a singer. Namjoon's band needs a new one. The thing is, Namjoon fucking hates Jin. Or, Namjoon's in a romantic comedy, and he's the last to find out." also charming! 18,700 words.

i gave you my heart (last christmas) - linkpoisoned Seokjin/Namjoon. "“He just cut me off, Jungkook. My New Year’s resolution was to not let douchebags play me, and I’ve stuck to it,” Seokjin replies. “So when this cable car goes back down the mountain, I’m going with it.” Jungkook winces again. “About that. Uh. We only booked the cable car for going up."" cracky and cute. 10,600 words.

Law of the Jungle - MmeIrene  Namjoon/Seokjin. "Namjoon is a frazzled grad student who just wants to finish his thesis, but somehow ends up getting cast as an extra in a movie instead." 16,100 words.

Love Me, Love My Dog - nicowememoney Seokjin/Namjoon. "In the Korean branch of the renowned intelligence agency Kingsman, the wannabe candidates each receive a dog that will be training at their side. Which would be pretty rad except Seokjin’s dog, Adam, doesn’t listen, and he kind of needs Adam to listen or else he won’t qualify. Or: a Kingsman! AU in which there is very little spying and a lot of dogs, and Seokjin thinks it’s unfair that Namjoon has such huge dimples." 5000 words.

Like You're Whispering - joonphases Namjoon/Seokjin. "Namjoon needs a new laptop, and Seokjin needs a fake boyfriend." cute!! 14,400 words.

a sugar coated pill and a pick me up - whomstisthis  Namjoon/Seokjin. "namjin are soccer dads who fall in luv" very cute! 18,400 words.

It's Dead, We Killed It - prandcocaine  Namjoon/Seokjin, Hoseok/Jimin. "Bangtan's newest company-imposed torment drains their hearts, minds, and wallets." swear jar fic.

no more sad songs - mochi (ttthisismo)   Namjoon/Seokjin. ""unknow: it’s going to sound creepy anyway but i think i got your dog? by mistake? not my mistake, tho" or never trust late night singers with cute dogs" fun chatfic with jimin/yoongi/hosoek and taekook sequels. 11,100 words.

charmed - kaythebest Seokjin/Namjoon. "So you’re not going to eat me?" Seokjin asks, just to confirm. "Why would I eat you?" "Because you’re a dragon," Seokjin says slowly, because it should be obvious, despite Namjoon not looking very dragon-y at all. Namjoon looks unimpressed. "I may be a dragon, but I’m not an animal." this is good. 23,400 words.

A Not So Terrible Idea - Theawinde   Namjoon/Seokjin. "For some reason Namjoon let Hoseok convince him to play Spin the Bottle with his friends. It turned out better than he thought." Cute! 6600 words.

love is always a part of me - hi_pretty Seokjin/Namjoon. "Jin's opinion on soulmates changes a lot through the years." 12,000 words.

Everything That I Am (Not) - thisissuchbts   Namjoon/Seokjin. "He was Kim Namjoon, damn it, and he was going to finish what he started and help this perfectly wonderful Christmas dumpee probably get kicked out of his family." Namjoon is Seokjin's bf for hire when Seokjin decides to come out to his family. 28,300 words.

am I wrong? - jeosheo Namjoon/Seokjin. "For years Namjoon kept this pact with himself—years—all spent repeating to himself over and over again that this was the way things had to be. So when he found out about Jimin and Yoongi, he didn’t think he had ever been angrier in his life, because he knew, because everyone knew, that if anyone was going to break the rules and be together, it was going to be Namjoon and Seokjin." 4500 words.

All I Want For Christmas (Is You) - cute_nerds Namjoon/Seokjin. "That was it, Namjoon thought, toying with the small box in his pocket. It was a conspiracy. He was being... being... proposal-blocked." Based on on the let's share the heart ad. 3200 words.

Like You Lots - mnsg Namjoon/Seokjin. "Seokjin needs the heat of Namjoon’s big hands on his thighs. He needs the dorky underbite smile Namjoon only pulls out when he’s being self-deprecating. He needs the thoughtful texts before big pitches, the iced coffee Namjoon drops off on his way to class, the deep satiation of the mindblowing sex they have. That’s what he needs, and that’s exactly what Namjoon gives him, so he’s not exactly in a position to ask for anything more." 5000 words.

Could Never - mnsg Namjoon/Seokjin. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder - or, in Seokjin's case, just makes you realize something completely, stupidly obvious. AU where Seokjin owns a little bookstore, his old college friend Namjoon has become a novelist, and everyone has a lot of understated feelings." 2700 words.

before things come together - brightlight Namjoon/Seokjin, background Yoongi/Hoseok. "Namjoon didn't expect to run into the TA from his philosophy class at the gay bar Taehyung and Jimin drag him to, he really didn't expect him to look this nice outside of class, and he really, really didn't expect to have a crush on him. It's going to be an interesting semester."  31,800 words.

how people move - doozy (jungtaeh)   Seokjin/Namjoon. "Seokjin can get used to tripping over a discarded shoe every now and then, as long as he has Namjoon to catch him before he falls. Or: Seokjin's roommate nightmare comes in the form of Kim Namjoon, and he accidentally falls in love with him." 17,000 words.

A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Epenthesis in Academic Convergence - bazooka Namjoon/Seokjin. "There were a lot of jobs worse than being partnered with world-renowned Absent-Minded Professor Kim Namjoon, but Professor Kim Seokjin couldn't think of what any of them were at the moment." 39,900 words.

Oceans Between Us - novilunar Namjoon/Seokjin. "After two years, Seokjin suddenly reappears in Namjoon’s life." 15,500 words.

Celebrity Crush - bazooka Namjoon/Seokjin. "Right now Namjoon was exhausted and he'd been saying rude shit and he kept snapping at Taehyung and then they'd had to sit through that interview ("Who's your celebrity crush?") and Seokjin had tried making a joke ("Rap Monster," he'd said, thinking he was being clever) and even as everyone around them cracked up the look that had flashed through Namjoon's eyes belied something that looked almost brittle." 16,500 words.

secret recipe - staygame (sungjae)   Seokjin/Namjoon. "Plenty of people read Jin's blog, thank you very much." He and Namjoon start emailing, initially not realising they know one another irl. 3600 words.

i can put you in the mile high club (what's up?) - jonghyun Namjoon/Seokjin. "The turbulence gets more than just Seokjin's mood down. Namjoon was just trying to get to work when it all started. Whatever this is. (fwb/flight attendant au)" Namjoon is a music producer who keeps ending up on Seokjin's flights. 11,900 words.

I Dream in the Shape of Your Mouth - jonghyun   Seokjin/Namjoon. They keep studying together at the library. 17,000 words.

I will help you climb - fitzgarbage   Namjoon/Seokjin. "namjoon punches seokjin in the face. twice. this can be interpreted as a prequel to "we'll find a way to make it right" but it doesn't have to be so don't worry." They meet in high school and first hate each other then fall in love over detention.  73,000 words.

A Wonderful Institution - bazooka   Namjoon/Jin. "Kim Seokjin is a wedding caterer. Kim Namjoon is a wedding planner. Both of them think marriage is a societal construct with no place in modern life. Neither of them would know Real Love if it came up to them at a wedding and made a wager." the first bts fic i ever read... 42,400 words.

JINKOOK

if it's true looks could kill (you'd be the first to make me mad) - raviolijouster Jungkook/Seokjin. "Seokjin blames Namjoon for Jeongguk wholeheartedly, and just can’t understand why his thighs aren’t getting the attention they deserve. OR  Seokjin and Jeongguk don’t like each other. Promise." 7700 words.

Nothing Holdin’ Me Back - hope_and_hardship   Jungkook/Seokjin. "Jungkook is so shy he can barely make eye contact with baristas when ordering coffee, but Seokjin has a way of pulling him out of his shell. Somehow he ends up in a competition with Seokjin to come up with the most elaborate way to ask someone out. The trouble is the person Jungkook wants to ask out is Seokjin." 5100 words.

Maybe He Snapped - merryofsoul Jungkook/Seokjin. "Five times Jungkook tries to flirt with Seokjin, and one time Seokjin finally gets it." 4700 words.

move in time and get entwined - pearl_o Jungkook/Seokjin. "Everything's about to change, and Seokjin thinks you'd have to be an idiot not to be a little scared. But maybe it's all right if Jungkook is kind of an idiot." Space academy! 1700 words.

tell the world - vastlyunknown Jungkook/Seokjin. "Seokjin is about to embark on a new jouney and meeting Jeongguk might be exactly what he needs." Seokjin starts up a new entertainment agency. JK is the reporter and Yoongi is the photographer. 21,100 words.

Tie Me in Ribbons (Put Me Away) - hobily   Jungkook/Seokjin. "When Jeongguk draws Seokjin's name for Secret Santa, he finds himself way in over his head." 4300 words.

the clock strikes twelve - Kaleidotears Gen, Seokjin/Jungkook. "Hundreds of idols debut a year. There’s only one Big Bang. There’s only one SNSD. Everyone else falls through the cracks and gets forgotten. Kim Seokjin refuses to disappear." A Produce 101 AU that explores the idea that the seven BTS members were contestants and trainees from different agencies. The writing has some roughness to it but I was so into all the ideas about fame, the idol industry, fannishness, and personal ambition - and about how narrative is constructed thru reality tv, social media, and social context. I loved both the meta commentary about the industry as a whole, and how that translated into these seven very different journeys. The elimination format made me AS TENSE as if I was watching an actual elimination tv show. Doesn't shy away from some of the ugliness of the industry; but there is a happy ending. 98,600 words.

more and more and more - moonsuns Seokjin/Jungkook. ""If you haven’t had sex by the time you’re twenty, then I’ll have sex with you. That way you’ll have a guaranteed end date for your virginity.” “Do you promise, hyung?” "I promise." The problem was, Seokjin never expected to be called on it." 23,700 words.

terms and conditions may apply - vppa Seokjin/Jungkook. "Fuck. It wasn’t even his fault - no one told him delivery guys could come in all shapes and sizes and levels of attractiveness. No one told him. or: Jungkook falls head over heels for the FedEx guy, and it all goes invariably downhill from there." so funny. 13,800 words.

Take A Shot - TheHalesNyx Seokjin/Jungkook. "It’s crazy to think that a twenty-year old can even have a son who’s three - Seokjin still finds it hard to believe, if he’s honest. Hell, he hadn’t even known about Jungkook’s son until three months after the other began working as his assistant. In which Seokjin gives a helping hand, a comforting shoulder, and his heart, to Jungkook, a single father who is just trying to do his best to make his son, and himself, happy; it’s just a little hard to do all on his own." 44,400 words.

As Soon As Possible - forheart   Jungkook/Seokjin. "When Jungkook first met Seokjin, they had to drive ten hours together, in a honda civic, with a dented passenger side door and a broken Air Conditioner, from Southern California all the way up to the Bay. After spending too much time in a too small space, Jungkook thought he would never see Seokjin again. But fate had other plans." Loosely based on When Harry Met Sally. It's super charming and the background Hoseok/Yoongi is A+. 19,000 words.

Eternalism - hobily Seokjin/Jungkook. Seokjin is an ordinary guy and Jungkook is the time traveler trying to stop the world from collapsing. Funny and charming, with some fresh twists to the time loop trope. Tagged major character death but it's temporary lol. 34,700 words.

All Above Board - Trotter Jungkook/Seokjin. "Seokjin laughed, and how unfair was it that his laugh sounded so hot and so stupid at the same time? Jungkook was a simple guy, and his body was having a hard time responding to all the contradictions Seokjin was: take, for an example, this morning, when he introduced himself on deck, made a bad pun, and sucked Jungkook’s cock behind the cabins so quick and dirty Jungkook had thought his brain would explode." Idol JK goes on a Japanese cruise and hooks up with chaebol Jin. 4000 words.

Making It Up As We Go Along - bugarungus Seokjin/Jungkook. "Jin needs to find a date for his brother's wedding before his future sister-in-law tries to set him up with the every gay man in the city." 9500 words.

everyone else in the room can see it(everyone else but you two) - tastelessfool Seokjin/Jungkook. "in which everyone thinks Seokjin and Jungkook are dating, except Seokjin and Jungkook." silly and cute. 3300 words.

Different Names for the Same Thing (where i follow you go) - Trotter Seokjin/Jungkook. "Being Jungkook's childhood friend is rough. Being his manager is worse. (or: the one where Seokjin is BTS's manager and still fails to catch a break)" 4400 words.

Tents and Temperaments - sugarkookie Seokjin/Jungkook, Hoseok/Jimin, Namjoon/Yoongi, mastermind Taehyung. "Everyone's fighting with each other, and Jin has no idea what's going on. In an effort to make them reconcile before they ruin their comeback, manager hyung dumps them in the woods for a weekend of camping. 9500 words.

suddenly I see - Trotter Jungkook/Seokjin. "Jeongguk's had a crush on all his bandmates at one point or another; only one of them stuck. (or, the story of Jin and Jeongguk told through alcohol, confessions, arm wrestling, and food. So much food.)" 3000 words.

stop, rewind - vppa Seokjin/Jungkook. “We’re not dating.” Seokjin sits up on his elbows and stares Yoongi down to make a point. “Definitely not.” This is worth reading as a history of the group and Jin as much as a ship fic. The ship gives it it's arc but it's really good because of how it works with canon - so many references and callbacks!! 10,700 words.

Forever Young: Boy’s Side [Seokjin Walkthrough + Review] - numberts Jungkook/Seokjin. "Jeongguk woos Seokjin the only way he knows how: by treating it like an otome game." I repeat - 'like an otome game'! amazing. 28,600 words.

JINMIN

jack i'm flying! - ameliabedelias Jimin/Seokjin, Hoseok/Yoongi. "“Are they okay?” A concerned booze cruise attendant walks by. “They’re not gonna jump, are they?” “Please, just ignore them,” Hoseok sighs, flopping into one of the deck lounge chairs as Seokjin and Jimin get into position. “They’ve been doing this for three years now. It's kind of their thing.” Or, five times Seokjin and Jimin do the Titanic Pose™." Cute! 4500 words.

Like I've Been Awakened - hope_and_hardship   Jimin/Seokjin. "When Jimin moved to Seoul to study dance, he planned on getting a job to help make ends meet. But getting a job proved harder than he expected, so on a whim he found a sugar daddy website. He was just in it for the money. He never expected to meet a man like Seokjin." 9500 words.

another name for pirate treasure - misspamela Jimin/Seokjin. "Kim Seokjin is the worst pirate Park Jimin has ever seen." adorable. 2900 words

wait for me (the world is changing) - reflectionslie (fallsink) Seokjin/Jimin. "Seokjin is determined to keep her taekwondo academy from shutting down, so she teams up with Jimin from a rival school. Despite being past competitors, through the planning and hosting of a tournament, they bond over keeping the school open and their love of their art form" 7000 words.

The Greatest Good - ofmindelans Jimin/Seokjin. "The plan was for Jimin and Seokjin to get married for financial aid money, not for love. They just forgot the part about life never really going according to plan." 4100 words.

2SEOK

The Truth Inside the Lie - AttilaTheHun   Hoseok/Seokjin. "Jung Hoseok has always been straight, and he likes knowing that. It keeps life simple, without complications, and he's never felt the need to step across the shadowed line to the other side to see what might be found. Never, that is, until an obscenely handsome Kim Seokjin kisses him, more prank than reality, and suddenly he can think of little else but what's lurking over those dark borders waiting for discovery. But he doesn't know how to ask, and Seokjin doesn't seem inclined to help, and the only thing Hoseok knows now is that he's in a lot of fucking trouble." the plot is very pride and prejudice. a VERY readable fic. 78,100 words.

I Like You Like I Like to Dance - hope_and_hardship Hoseok/Seokjin. "Hoseok is hired to teach Seokjin how to dance before a wedding, but he isn't even remotely prepared for the tall, gorgeous, flirty man who shows up at his studio." 3200 words.

Take a Chip and Dip Me Low - in_too_deep (biaswreckmepls)   Hoseok/Seokjin. "Hoseok: Welcome to salsa class! Who's ready to dance? Jin, hiding a tortilla chip bag: There may have been a misunderstanding" 4000 words.

getting through the night - ffairyy Hoseok/Seokjin. "Seokjin and Hoseok are two months into their relationship and very much in love, but there's one unspoken issue. Whatever he does, Hoseok never stays the night." 5555 words.

Your Hands in my Hair My Heart in Your Teeth - ChaoticJackass (CannibalKats) Hoseok/Seokjin. "Hoseok isn't particularly happy to be at this fancy museum party that Namjoon got him invited to, but when a handsome donor drops his coat Hoseok's whole life takes a turn. In which Hoseok gives a Selkie back his coat and suddenly finds himself with a boyfriend."  18,600 words.

the optimal combination of choice and chance - Chlexcer Hoseok/Seokjin. "seokjin dislikes flying because he never knows what kind of freak will end up sitting beside him. hoseok dislikes flying because he's lowkey terrified of heights and speed. this one flight might help them change their minds." 5800 words.

Welcome to the Garden - smiles Hoseok/Seokjin. "The thing people don't realize is, within all their lore of mermaids and vampires and tigers praying to be human, they missed the most obvious magical creatures that dwell among them in plain sight. Hoseok supposes that's a good thing. If the general populace found out that there are a bunch of flowers walking around in human form, there would be pandemonium. aka Hoseok is a flower, meets Seokjin, is convinced he is also a flower, and sets out to prove it." 1800 words.

So Close (So Close and Yet So Far) - CheekyBrunette  Hoseok/Seokjin. "Hoseok was gorgeous; Seokjin couldn't help but stare. (In which Hoseok choreographs the dance for Seokjin's performance in the Mr. Seaside male beauty pageant, and Seokjin finds a million and one reasons to fall in love with him.)" 10,000 words.

little by little, one step two step - misspamela Seokjin/Hoseok. "Mr. Wonderful -- Jung Hoseok -- turned around, caught him staring, and winked. Not to be outdone, Seokjin sent him a flying kiss, which Hoseok pretended to catch and put in his pocket, then shot him double finger guns before turning back to the rest of the class. Seokjin was in love." 4700 words.

two bros, chillin' in the gay club - Chlexcer  Hoseok/Seokjin. "it’s a game. a stupid, silly, ridiculous game that got a little bit out of hand, and now Hoseok is getting turned on. alternatively, the one where Seokjin and Hoseok, token straight friends, get pulled along to a gay club and to avoid getting hit on by other guys, they pretend to be dating each other. (no homo, though)" WIP.

'Cause Every Time We Touch - kuragecharms   Hoseok/Seokjin. "“Fuck, it hurts but it feels so good,” Seokjin mumbled. “L-lay down,” Hoseok instructed. With only a moment’s questioning quirk of an eyebrow, Seokjin complied, placing himself face down on the dance floor. Taking in a deep swallow that he knew was himself swallowing down his pride and his nervousness, trying to convince himself that okay, Seokjin is kind of really loud about when he feels good. It doesn’t mean anything sexual. Even though it totally sounds - and now looks - sexual. Hoseok slowly lowered himself down to straddle Jin’s hips, bending forward to bury the heels of his palms into Seokjin’s shoulders and using the leverage of the flat floor to deepen the massage. Seokjin let out an actual scream." 16,700 words.

They Say Fortune Favors The Brave - teenuviel1227 Seokjin/Hoseok. "Hollywood Boulevard hooker Jung Hoseok is down on his luck--that is, until hotshot investor Kim Seokjin decides to pick him up and they change each other’s lives forever." Pretty Woman AU. 23,300 words.

Fire - noraebangbang Seokjin/Hoseok. "Jin's a firefighter. His station is full of idiots. He is Very Tired. But at least Hoseok makes it better. Kind of." 3300 words.

The Totally Untrue Story of Kim Seokjin - greenet Seokjin/Hoseok. "Seokjin is in love with Hoseok. So starting a fwb relationship with Hoseok is possibly not the best idea he's ever had." I'm so here for this. Especially all the stuff about identity and image creation. 8900 words.

we'll still be dancing (on shaky ground) - Pardon Hoseok/Seokjin. "Seokjin is sick of being made fun of for his dancing. Hoseok is all too willing to help him out." 7400 words.

Timeless As A Kiss (I Don't Want To Miss A Moment) - lulublue1234 Hoseok/Seokjin. "Jin's a hopeless romantic. Hoseok's a realist. Fate has a hilarious plan." wedding planner. 14,500 words.

The Photo I've Been Looking For - teenuviel1227 Hoseok/Seokjin, Yoongi/Jimin. "Yoongi and Hoseok have a promise that they’ve held onto since they were teenagers--if they’re both 30 and still haven’t found anyone, then they would get married. A day before his thirtieth birthday, miles away from Seoul, Hoseok gets a phone call from Yoongi asking him to come home; he’s finally met the one--he just knows Hoseok will love Jimin when he meets him--and he needs his best friend to be there for him. With Seokjin’s support, Hoseok flies home for the first time in years." 28,100 words.

caught in a landslide (of emotion) - fitzgarbage Seokjin/Hoseok. "hoseok keeps catching seokjin at his worst" 5200 words.

love in an elevator - bazooka Seokjin/Hoseok. "Kim Seokjin takes a cab, gets stuck in a broken elevator, and gets jerked off by The Hot Alpha Who Lives Down The Hall." Alpha/Alpha. 3100 words.

Sweet Tart - numberts (numberthescars) Seokjin/Hoseok, Taehyung/Yoongi. "How, exactly, is Seokjin supposed go about telling his favorite cousin that his new crush is actually Seokjin's old roommate from college—the same “douchebag” (Taehyung's words) roommate who’d hooked up with Seokjin's ex, the same roommate Seokjin had had drunken hatesex with and ruined their friendship forever? Or: Hoseok just wants to taste hyung's love (and other significant life events that happen over food)." Hoseok is Seokjin's fake bf on a double date with his cousin Taehyung and ex Yoongi. 6400 words.

disco, calypso (it don't matter) - ofmindelans Seokjin/Hoseok. "Seokjin didn't ask for any of this. Not for his estranged son Taehyung to suddenly move in and turn Seokjin's orderly life upside down. Certainly not for said son to come with a mentor and dance instructor in the form of the impossibly sunny, annoyingly attractive Jeong Hoseok. Fortunately, the universe doesn't seem to be paying much attention to what Seokjin does and does not ask for." 27,100 words.

THREESOMES (and more and other)  

playing for your heart - umji  Jungkook/Hoseok/Seokjin. "Jungkook should have known something was up from the way they were acting, they had been unusually quiet all night, sharing looks across the room when they thought he was caught up in his game. He didn’t quite know what he was expecting them to say - maybe they were going to elope? That seemed like something the pair of them would do - but he was certainly not expecting them to tell him they had signed him up for a dating game show." hobi is the bachelor. 17,100 words.

Something Brewing Between Us Three - merryofsoul  Hoseok/Namjoon/Seokjin. "Hoseok leans his body into Namjoon’s with a soft sigh as they watch Seokjin walk out, but perks up a little when Seokjin stops in the doorway and turns back. “It’s bean a pleasure,” Seokjin calls, and then starts laughing at himself as he leaves the cafe. Namjoon and Hoseok stand in shock for a few seconds before Namjoon says, “Oh my god.” or; Namjoon and Hoseok work in a coffee shop, and a cute customer starts to flirt with them." 11,700 words.

Can't Spell We Without W(you and you) - gbyesummer (shouldshy)   Hoseok/Namjoon/Seokjin. "“We’re going out tonight,” Namjoon says. “You should come with.” Hoseok sits up and narrows his eyes. “I don’t think Jin would appreciate me being invited on your date without asking him first.” “It’s not... like a date-date. It's a friend-date." or: Hoseok loves that they’re a close group of seven, but seven is six plus himself, and six is an even number. He's the seventh in a group with three (well, two and one almost-couple) couples. He’s a seventh wheel." I LOVE. 12,900 words.

Steals and Deals - idyllic_hummingbird   Hoseok/Namjoon/Seokjin/Yoongi. "Boyfriends Namjoon and Yoongi sometimes commit petty crimes to get by. When Yoongi hears about a rich CEO going out of town, he convinces his boyfriend that an attempted heist couldn't hurt. Little do they know that the CEO's son, Seokjin, was given housesitting duties, and brought his boyfriend along for company. or, namgi are terrible burglars and 2seok are amused about it." 13,000 words.

Just a little bit (is what you need) - pacajins  Yoongi/Hoseok/Namjoon/Seokjin. "When you spend so much time with someone, living together and doing everything with one another, some things are probably inevitable. Like taking care of each other's needs and making sure the frustration doesn't interfere with work." 3000 words.

Kaleidoscope - youarethenorthernlights  Jungkook/Taehyung/Seokjin. "Despite popular belief, it is very easy and very possible for someone to be in love with two people at once. Jeongguk is, like he is at most things, excelling at it." a/b/o idolverse. 82,500 words.

Look Me In The Eye & Tell Me You Won't Go - teenuviel1227 Yoongi/Hoseok, Jimin/Namjoon, Seokjin/Taehyung/Jungkook. "BTS are doctors at the biggest hospital in Seoul and stuff happens. Particularly, Min Yoongi wakes up with Jung Hoseok in his bed." A really fun, enjoyable longfic with all the melodrama, shenanigans, and OTT plot twists you'd expect from a hospital drama. Loosely based on Greys Anatomy. 78,300 words.

우리들 앞길이 훤해 (ahead of us, our future looks bright) - my_hope

Seokjin/Yoongi, Seokjin/Hoseok, Hoseok/Yoongi. "Okay, now Seokjin was more than eighty percent sure there was something in his food. Otherwise, how would he explain this crossover between an acid trip and A Christmas Carol—fucking magic? Ha." three alt endings, all happy. 9700 words.