#'oh man the switch is having a sale. if i buy it now i will surely start playing all those fun games my friends are all playing'

[phantomrose96]

I've played like at least 12 hours of pikmin on the switch over the last week, which definitely surpasses the previous total cumulative amount of time I'd spent playing my switch ever since I got it in November 2018.

[steddieas-shegoes]

love confessions in line

Another stupid little thing because I’m in the car and bored. It’s not edited or really anything much beyond just putting these boys in love in situations.

Rated t | tags: love confessions, established relationship, robin being so fed up with them

————————

“Why do we have to be here so early? My dinner hasn’t even digested properly yet,” Robin complained.

And, okay. It was cold and there were a lot of people standing in line outside of the only Walmart carrying the very specific guitar amp Eddie wanted. He’d called every Walmart in Indiana. Multiple times.

But he had to go all out for Christmas this year. Eddie had already said he’d gotten Steve something he’ll never outdo, never even believe. Obviously, that meant Steve had to do better than the Metallica hoodie that was stashed in his closet for the last four months.

“It’ll be worth it. There’s hardly anyone in line ahead of us and if we go straight to the electronics in the back—“

“You mean where everyone is going?” Robin interrupted, folding her arms across her chest.

Steve sighed.

“Yeah, well. I’ll run. It’ll be fine. I doubt anyone else here is interested in a guitar amp.”

As if the words ‘guitar amp’ were magic, someone who looked a lot like Eddie walked up to one of the security officers standing by the front doors.

Robin noticed at the same time as him.

“Is that…?”

“It can’t be. He said he was going fishing with Wayne in the morning and didn’t wanna end up stuck in crowds shopping,” Steve said.

But then the man turned back to the line.

“Steve?” Eddie yelled, eyes going wide when he realized Steve and Robin were there.

“Uh.”

“Um.”

“I thought you guys were going to Indy for this!” Eddie smiled as he walked up to them. “I don’t think this store will have what you’re lookin’ for.”

Steve panicked. There’s only one thing Eddie could be here for. He could go anywhere else. He could have stayed in Hawkins for that matter.

“Uh. Just wanted a change of scenery.”

Eddie’s brows furrowed as his smile fell slightly.

“O…kay. Well, I’ve got an amp to buy so I guess we’re all in this together now.”

Steve ignored Robin’s snort and mumbling.

Eddie glanced over at her with a questioning face.

“You two are unbelievable. Truly.”

“What? Why?” Eddie asked, genuinely curious.

His finger traced along the back of Steve’s hand subtly, out of sight of the people behind them in line.

“I.” Steve sighed.

Oh well. Maybe he could just try to get concert tickets the next time Ozzy came to Chicago.

“I was gonna get the amp for you for Christmas. I’ve been planning it for weeks,” Steve said, looking down at the ground.

Eddie was surprisingly quiet.

Absolutely no response.

After a full minute, Steve made eye contact with him.

He had tears building in his eyes and Steve felt himself start to tear up, too.

“You were?” Eddie choked out. “But this is-“

“The only place selling it on sale in the state, yeah.”

Robin was grumbling to herself again, but neither of them were paying attention anymore.

“How did you even know?” Eddie asked after a deep, calming breath.

“You mentioned it last month after a gig. Said you needed a new one anyways and this was top of the line or something. That a lot of the bands you like were switching to this kind for studio recording or whatever because of the…crisp? Sound? And then when no one else was selling it at all, I had to call around the Walmarts to see who had it on sale because $300 is a lot of money, Eds, and I wish I could afford that, but I don’t really have that lying around after paying for school and rent so when this place finally said they’d have it for $100, I made Robin promise to come with me since you’d be busy. And I guess you’re not that busy, but. I needed to do my best to get it.”

Eddie’s smile grew the longer Steve rambled. Robin was already walking away, probably back to Steve’s car, halfway through his speech.

“I love you.”

Steve’s jaw dropped in shock.

They’d been saying it in every way except this way for months, nearly a year, really.

It started as Steve taking care of Eddie when everyone else was busy taking care of the Upside Down.

It kept going as Steve was the one listening to Eddie slowly pick the guitar back up, working through the crying about his fingers not working right or his arm getting tired too quickly.

And then five months ago, Steve kissed him.

Took the plunge and kissed him.

They’d done everything together since. They’d become boyfriends. They came out to their group, together, always together.

And now, in a Walmart parking lot during the busiest shopping day of the year, Eddie was telling Steve he loved him.

“Because of the amp?” Steve asked, hesitant.

Eddie knew what he was really asking.

Because I’m buying you something nice?

“No, sweetheart. Because you listen to me. You know what makes me happy. You’re doing something for me that no one else would have even bothered to try to do.” Eddie laughed. “I have never wanted to kiss you as much as I want to right now.”

“Not even that time I wore a crop top and your boxers?”

Eddie groaned. “That was an outlier. You know how that affected me.”

“Oh, I sure do,” Steve smirked. “Too bad we’re in public.”

“The doors open in an hour right?” Eddie asked, checking his watch.

“Yep.”

“And then you have to take Robin to her parent’s house?”

“Probably should.”

“And then what?” Eddie asked, already knowing exactly what.

“And then I’ll come to the trailer and I’ll walk right to your room and hopefully-“ Steve cut himself off to whisper the next part. “You’ll be naked.”

Eddie’s brows raised. “You want me naked? What about Wayne being home?”

“Wayne’s been sleeping with ear plugs for months now. Can’t hear a thing,” Steve pats Eddie’s blushing cheek. “Said he didn’t need to hear what his nephew got up to.”

“We really should just move my stuff into your new place,” Eddie suggested for the fifth time in as many days.

Steve wasn’t opposed at all.

In fact, he’d planned on asking him to move in once he got more settled.

But.

“Wayne wanted another Christmas with you at home, baby. He won’t say it, but when I brought up you moving in with me, I thought he was actually gonna cry.”

“Yeah, yeah. With this new amp, he’ll change his mind.”

“What makes you think you get this amp before Christmas?” Steve put his hands on his hips.

“Because now I know you’re getting it!”

“Uh-huh. And it’s getting wrapped with your other gift to be opened on Christmas morning. No early gifts on my watch.”

“Steeeeeeve. Please! I could use it at our show next week!”

Steve shook his head. “Your amp works fine. Christmas is only a month from now.”

“You’re getting revenge on me,” Eddie pouted.

“Revenge for what?” Steve snorted.

“You know what.”

Steve did. He felt his cheeks and neck heat up with a blush.

“Fine. Yes. Maybe it’s a little bit revenge.”

Eddie huffed, but didn’t argue further.

“You know I love you, too, right?” Steve whispered.

And Eddie forgot about everything else except the way Steve was looking at him, like he needed Eddie to understand how much he loved him.

“Yeah, sweetheart. I do.”

———————

Three days later, Steve set the amp up in the second bedroom of his rented house.

When Eddie came over, he pushed him into the room and wrapped his arms around his waist.

“You can play it here, but I’m still wrapping it up for Christmas and you aren’t allowed to bring it to shows until after. Okay?”

Eddie was bouncing on his toes and squeezing Steve’s hands so hard he was losing feeling.

“Okay! Thank you, thank you! I love you! Thank you!”

Eddie smacked a kiss on Steve’s cheek before pulling away and running to the amp.

“You need your guitar, honey,” Steve laughed.

“Right!” Eddie ran from the room to grab his guitar from his van.

Steve shook his head, but couldn’t help his fond smile as the front door banged open.

[bl3pwastaken]

Trafalgar D. Water Law x Reader pt2

tw and cw: unintentionally leaving reader feeling left out and lonely, Law kinda sucking at communicating his feelings, partial use of (Y/n), Eustass Kidd typical cursing, I wrote this shit instead of sleeping and while listening to Mitsuki

Twas cross posted on Ao3

Part 1 and Part 3

A Dive in Crystal Waters

He remembered the day, as fucking corny as it was to say, like it was yesterday. There she was sitting outside with a book in one hand and a small pair of shears in the other trimming expertly at a small azealia shrub for sale out in front of her family's shop. Face stern with concentration of whatever the hell was in her book, shears occupied hand occasionally switching with random gardening tools not looking up once from the pages, eyes glued. Instantly the man was smitten, a pang in his chest that felt warm and hot so much it hurt. There he stood having fully forgotten that he was on a supply run for the Polar Tang with Bepo, far too enamored by the absolute gorgeous woman across the road, hair messily pulled out of her face, skin sun kissed from working outside to tend to plants.

“Pretty and smart- huh.” The only give away on Law’s face being the smallest barely there blush, slightly widened eyes and the tiniest of a crooked smile. Right then and there he knew he just had to do, or fuck it, say something to her. Slight panic filled the man when he finally came too and saw her quirk a brow at him, a small smile of her own gracing her features as she walked back into the shop. With a quick jog across the road, over and into the shop, he was met with her beautiful sight again, this time no book in hand, but tinkering with the wires of one of the many UV lamps in the shop. 

“I’ll be right with you!” Her baggy overalls were littered with presumably dirt, and whatever the hell else that involves plants, hell if he knew, a pretty green bandeau covering her chest, with a couple stray pens tucked beneath the fabric. She was perched on a step ladder tinkering, and working away when she presumably finished, with her wiping her brow with a heavily gloved hand, moving to step down. The rusty metal of the ladder creaked and wobbled, and surprisingly she seemed utterly unbothered, used to the old thing and most of it’s quirks. That was until she looked up from her footing and met the strong gaze of Law, clearly flustered, she lost her footing, on a quick tumbling journey to the floor.

“Oh fuck- uh- room!” Her pretty face would’ve met the rocky flagstone, but much to her surprise she hadn’t, seemingly floating in the spot. Opening her eyes she found her eyes looking at the ground mear inches from her face, panic instantly setting in at the fact she was mid fall, suddenly not mid fall and starring at what probably would’ve at best given her a bloody nose, and to the what appeared to be irritated man she saw outside earlier. “The fuck is happening right now!?” 

“I panicked, that's what!” Voice full of exasperating anxiety, and slight confusion, Law scrambled over to the woman grabbing her by the arms turning her rightside up and only then he felt safe to deactivate his devil fruit, the gardener’s boots plopping firm on the stone floor. Anger and frustration fueled anxiety ebbed away, when she finally managed to get a good look at the tall man. Now it was her turn to stare, eyes drinking in Law like  she had never seen anything like him before, before resting on his eyes. From the instant she took in his tanned skin decorated in ink, the fact this man actually pulled off a goatee and then his beautiful steely eyes, she knew right then and there she couldn’t let this pretty man leave her shop.

Having to remain docked on the Island another few days to wait for the log post to reset, he heavily indulged on his visits to the little flower shop, making a point to buy the first plant he saw to hopefully make it seem less weird. The Gardener already having caught on would simply just greet and smile at him from behind the counter, looking at him through her lashes knowingly. The intention of his visits not only known to the two dumbstruck flirts, but to the sneaky glances of her parents, always finding some excuse to leave the shop, or “retire for the night” knowing it was only noon. Strangely enough on the last day Law had run to the tiny little shop like a mad man on the run, heart and eyes full of purpose. He wasn’t really eager to leave her just yet, there was so much left to know and learn about, with nowhere nearly enough time left to do any of that shit. He decided the best course of action was to ask one last burning question before he absolutely had to leave, he needed to know.

He found (Y/n), he learned was her name, sitting legs crossed, that same book in hand and a mug of tea in the other, sitting so pretty in her own world. It was the heavy panting, and heavy steps of Law that managed to claw her attention away from the book, finding him hands on his knees hunched over and sternly staring at her from where he stood. 

“Join my crew.”

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“Can you believe that Law!? Like- just imagine how kickass it would be if this thing not only existed, but I could manage to grow it!” Currently the couple up laid in bed, legs tangled with one another’s, dressed in comfy pajamas, Law contently staring at the woman he loved, head propped on a hand, the former gardener turned botanist rambling ecstatically about this same plant he’s already heard what feels like millions of times already within the past few years. He remembers hearing from her how it could cure nearly any illness, it working wonders for pain and fatigue, something about it proving useful for mental health along with the physical health aspects. He had to admit although, yes this little plant sounded cool and piqued his inner doctor, he didn’t understand the hype around it. It was just a silly little plant, but it was this silly little plant that she talked about so animatedly that brought her joy, that she would occasionally be caught daydreaming about under the UV lights in the makeshift greenhouse room aboard ship, or discussing with whoever would listen during meals. It made her happy, and despite not understanding this whole thing all that much, seeing her so happy brought him what felt like just as much joy.

It was around a week later from that very night he actually managed to catch word of such a thing, found on a resource rich island. It was rumored to brim with precious metals, miracle working flora and fauna. What made such things damn near impossible for people to actually access such things being the fact the island was also covered in just as many dangerous plants, perilous animals and even stranger weather. It would prove difficult to even step foot inland if what he had been reading following months from the texts and books he scraped through piles of wild goose chases to find, were anything to go off.  The man was stretching his own self thin searching for this damned thing now having the knowledge that the damn thing was real. Digging through whatever information gathered late into the night, sometimes into the early hours of morning.

He knew if he were to get his hands on that fucking flower he’d need- help. He just needed someone dumb enough to rope into this, but strong enough to live through the whole ordeal of the new world island. Eyes of gray drifted from staring at the ceiling of his office to one of the notations on one of the many scattered notebooks, zeroing in on a very particular bullet point he only wrote as a passing thought during his reading.

 • Precious metals found deep at the heart of the island surrounding the Holy-Light Peony

To Law he couldn’t have snatched the transponder snail quick enough from the desk top. The dial tone of bedo bedo bedo resounded in the quiet dark lamp lit room for what felt like ages, ending to an abrupt click, gruff gravely grumbling coming from the line.

“Do you have a single clue what time it is fuckhead?” A quick glance of the clock flashed 3:27AM left the man speechless. He managed to spend another accidental night up late looking for this damned thing. It didn’t matter though, not when he could feel it in his bones that he was close. Quick on his feet, he came up with something to proposition Kidd, the infamous Captain of the Kid Pirates.

“How would you like to team up for a bit of a hunt?” Instant sputtering from the snail was what was heard along with a long string of curses and down right awful expletives.

“Law this better be so fucking good for interruptin’ my sleep, so fuckin’ help me-”

“Shut the fuck up and you’ll know that there’s some hard to come by super rare metal in it for you.” Silence. Hook and line.

“Go on.” Sinker. The smirk on Law’s face was downright criminal. 

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Somewhere along the line everyone on the crew had caught on to Law’s plan, finding it the sweetest most cute thing ever for their Captain to drive himself damn near crazy looking for a flower of all things. Shachi and Penguin could swear he looked damn near crazed whenever Law found a good lead on reaching the island, and even more so where on said island it was located. What drove him even more up the wall than anything than this damn hunt over the godforsaken plant, was ensuring this remained a shared secret in the crew with everyone but you. Redirecting attention during meals due to you mentioning something she was working on, which of course led to someone else always feeling the need to almost let it slip on the surprise, 1,000% unaware he cut his love off in the process. Keeping interactions short between Shachi and Penguin whenever the sweet lovely botanist was around and in earshot to avoid the pair from teasing and potentially flustering him to avoid suspicion on your part that he and now everyone on the crew had planned. Often leaving poor (Y/n) left out of the loop, everyone too caught up to notice how anything ended up coming off, all too absorbed in succeeding in helping their Captain with the sweet gesture of love, Law included, and far too awful at showing their feelings. 

Many things were happening with her, unbeknownst to everyone but her. Everyone too caught up, too focused, and she was being left more and more alone with not a single idea of why the friends and found family she loved grew steadily distant, feeling as though her own boyfriend and Captain didn’t even love her anymore. Unknowing of how the girl tucked away in a far dark corner of the sub with the same book in hand from when she met Law, had heart lungs and heart in a near death bloom of flowering loneliness, and heartache.

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Alright, kidd although begrudgingly, agreed to ally for the trek through the now located very much real island, was steadfast approaching the Polar Tang to arrive sometime tomorrow. He had a game plan, in his mind perfectly crafted, to have the love of his life take night watch duty so he could cram the crew on the opposite side of the sea vessel to run the plan over in prep for tomorrow. The Heart Pirates fired up simply, because their captain was fired up. Was it particularly strange it was over a plant? Yes, it definitely was. Was their Captain passionate about it though, and did it bring their friend in arms, practically the little sister of the crew, joy? Also yes, so to them who gave a fuck, they were damn well determined. Everything was smooth sailing from there. It was going smoothly, everything to plan, with how everyone had already packed for the following day, and the Kidd pirates had arrived surprisingly early in the next morning. With a particular pep in his step, and far too much anticipation of seeing his girlfriend’s face brighten when she finds out, he got up earlier than normal, rushed to get ready and started. 

Kidd, clearly annoyed, had a questioning scowl on his face, wordlessly inviting the rival pirate captain into his closed quarters to see what the plan was, seeing how it was this scrawny shits idea. 

“Sit the hell down, I got some damn questions for you before we go anywhere.” 

“How polite, don’t mind if I do-”

“Okay smart shit you’re testin’ my patentience and you don’t ask for shit let alone help, so I know you need me for somethin’. First, I wanna know what the hell you need my crew and I for.”

“The man eating plants and animals-”

“I wasn’t finished- the fuck you say to me?” Only getting a shrug in response was almost enough for an eruption of rage to explode and lead to an murder attempt on Law, really wanting to wipe that smug look off of his face. “You’re other question?” Trafalgar holding up two hands in mock innocence. Kid already snatching the stress ball Killer got for him, administering rapid squeezes to it as a small outlet to keep him from going off the deep end.

“Yeah, the hell are you doing this for and what’re you gettin’ out of it?”

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“You mean to tell me, you dragged me into a stupid fuckass alliance over a dumb fucking flo-mmMMm!?” Law quickly cutting off Eutass’s screeching wrathful outburst by shoving a hand to the redhead’s mouth. Out the corner of his eye he took a quick glance to confirm he did in fact see his girlfriend right on deck with the the Kid Pirates’ first mate and another of the crew looking between her and the outburst of their beloved captain. The two coming to a silent mutual agreement that Kid could handle himself drew their attention back to the love of his life.

“Yes, it’s because of a dumb fucking flower, but it’s not dumb to (Y/N). I remember at one point this thing was all she would talk about, and I swear sometimes she looks more happy at her plants than she ever has at me,” Eustass quickly caught on to why there was some form of importance to, in his opinion a stupid random plant, although still irritated the shorter man didn’t just settle for some random flower on whatever Islands they passed here to give to the chick instead of roping him in. “It means a lot to her. I don’t understand her plant obsession either, but I know it just so happens to be on the very same Island that you’re looking for a certain rare metal. The island is said to be crawling with all sorts of creepy shit. Man eating plants, animals that’ll kill and eat anything including people. You need me and the botanist if you hope to have you and your crew in one piece to get to that dumb fucking metal you want so bad, and I need you to keep whatever ridiculous creature at bay. Some give and take.” 

Grabbing a hold of the hand clamped over his mouth with a firm grip, Kidd snatched Law’s hand off his face.

“Okay shut the fuck up, I get it, you’re obsessed with your woman, she’s more likely to take a bullet for some plants, and yadda yadda, you get what you want, I get something else that’s just as hard to come by in the same place. Pull your sissy panties out of their wedgy, you’re gonna have me up chuck breakfast.”

[siremasterlawrence]

Breaking In To Hollywood: Henry Cavill

Breaking In To Hollywood studios is having a massive sale so I decide to take a long shot to see if they have anybody available for me as I arrive and the doors swing open as I walk in. The red carpet roles out me the youngest new star enter the compound as the lights blow up shining as I make my way down the red carpet and the owner of gallery greets me. In the door way he offers his hands at me as we shook hands tightly in excitement as I squeeze him hard and I let go as he points for me to sit carrying this massive apple red packet to me.

I grab it feeling something unraveling inside when I open it a golden color emits letting me now it is all about to go topsy turvey for me and a pen appears in my hand at the same minute. The time spins about as I realize my hand is writing on the paper my name turns to gold as it vanishes from my hand and I am completely in awe of it all and next thing the room spinning out of control. Once it stops rotating I soon come to noticing that I am in a entirely different room painted in a array of color schemes forcing me to see it as a door appears and a keys floats down in to my head.

Rising as I make it to the threshold of the door way placing face key in the key hole turning it as the door blows up in brightly lit room fill to the broom in red ink but I am not about to and or could not not make it out. I am swooping in as the door slamming right behind him as the air swirls in cooling up the room wrapping around me, the next thing I know I see the name Henry Cavill written in red paint. A flat screen television flips on switch to a video proof playing of Henry introducing himself to a perspective buyer because he has agreed to see his life for a lifetime.

“Did you buy that little act of mine? “

“Yeah I know!”

“Oscar worthy!”

“Don’t flatter yourself “

“Ok then! Magnificent “

“So you a contract to fill and the lifetime retainer.”

“All settled here you go”

“Excellent! Quiet the thrill ride “

“What is your story?”

“Well one day I found I myself despising the wealthy.”

“So you sought revenge by making them in to meat suits?”

“Precisely! You are lucky to make this deal with me dude.”

“If you can produce the magic.”

“Well step inside, let’s make the magic happen.”

“The machine is rolling on”

“The door closes behind me”

“We have a narrator here”

“Commence it already “

“I’ll see you soon Mr. Cavill”

“Alright! Here we go!”

“Wait for the light?”

“Then what?”

“Hello?”

“Anybody there?”

“Shit”

“Oh well!”

“Please walk to the center “

“Is that a scanner”

“Say cheese “

“This before “

The lights flips on revealing Mr. Cavill is lock in a glass connected to the walls the glass is shiny, clean and such a sight to behold as his eyes are closed and he is everywhere bit swoon worthy as I thought. I approach the class case placing my hand on the frame as I oogle his beautiful body from the front of the glass as it begins to change color and explode on my touch as the body falls forward. It tumbles on top of me so heavy, strong and so admirable before clumps up in to a hefty explosion it’s self drowning me a liquid sea of gold and attaching its self to my body rightly so before I collapse.

My body lifts upward in to the air lower then the ceiling as I begin encircling the upper area of the room going round and round as my body shook like crazy letting the goop sip in to my skin. I fall forward to the ground as I melt into the floor slowly my body took shape rebuilding in to what I thought it is my body fully forming in to a human shape taking a deep breath. Ilove the feeling standing up as I go for awalk towards the mirror happily, instead I see another man’s reflection as I see himHenry Cavill staring back at me with utter love.

I watch with smirk placing my hand under my masculine chin, blowing my self a sweet soft kiss as I feel my masculine body roll under my finger and I feel like God for the first time. My new body shiver at a quake when I check myself out he is ravish in all the ways letting me fingers slide down the cloth and gropes my ass tight knowing that everyone wants to worship this. The door swings open on both sides as he steadily makes his way to stand next to me with pride in his eyes and on his face he is definitely cocky and I plan on using it against.

“This is after “

“You were not kidding “

“Duh! want to try it out “

“Hell yeah!”

“At your service”

“Actually!”

“Don’t do it! Please “

“Ignore Henry! He will become non existent soon.”

“Give me back my body “

“What was that? Connection is bad”

“Asshole! Zip it “

“So static zzzzzz”

“Damn it! You bitch”

“Or what? What can you do?”

“I’ll usurp…”

“You will do no such thing and in fact you will see it my way now.”

“Mwahahahahaha”

“Oh My Goodness! I want to be “

“To be what?”

“Ffffrrrreeeee!”

“Go silent? Good Riddance”

“Where was I? Oh yes! Time to seal the deal bitch.”

The end

[lonely-north-star]

jewelry maker mammon x retail worker mc pt 3

hey guys. I'm back. As always this is me being silly and projecting my work experiences onto my own MC (and Mammon) for giggles. Please enjoy!

Part one below:

-As soon as Mammon learns about the sale on Sunday, he's mentally making a list of everything he wants to buy

-He asked MC if he could hide 'just a couple things, eh? Won't hurt nobody.' and she said no

-He looked so dejected but she said if her order fulfillment percentage got messed up, she'd have his head

-He realizes in that moment he's never seen her angry, but the look she gave him was murderous

-Friday comes around and he's already itching to buy the beads

-MC tells him to make sure he pays any bills off first before spending his money

"Weren't ya texting me saying ya bought some plushie online last night?"

"... Okay listen here you-"

-Sunday rolls around and Mammon is so restless

-Three hours into his shift, and MC has run out of things for him to do. Repacks and freight were finished yesterday. He's already straightened out every problem aisle.

-He's currently going through and pulling everything forward on aisles but he's already made it through the entire left side of the store and almost all of the middle

-This store has 123 numbered aisles for reference. Plus everything along the walls

-Meanwhile MC is running around doing orders and cursing corporate for making the coupon online only

-But at least she doesn't have to worry about returns or recovery.

-Every single time she goes up to the front to check the return cart, panicking because there's so many orders that she can barely keep up so surely there must be lots of returns, she finds that it's empty. She stares at it, switching between her cashier and the empty cart

"Mammon beat you to them. I think he's going just as crazy as you."

"... Has there been a lot of returns?"

"Yeah. But I swear he has some sixth sense. Because I'll put something in there, turn around to help a customer, and turn back and he's already walking away and the cart is empty! What the hell, man? He's just as bad as you."

-She stares at the cart for a moment longer, feeling slightly less stressed because that's one less thing to worry about.

-She is too stubborn to ask for help half the time, and will definitely overwork herself if needed. But seeing and hearing this, she's like "okay... maybe... maybe everything WILL be okay."

-She goes back to doing online orders, very rarely having to pick anything up

-Almost rams a cart into Mammon from how fast she's walking when he comes out of an aisle

"GAH- OI, STOP WALKING SO QUICK, DAMN IT!"

"Oh fu- Sorry, sorry I- Pfft"

-She starts giggling, wheezing even, because that could've ended terribly had it been a customer. She's crouched on the ground, holding the cart handle

-Mammon is slightly concerned, and he's trying so hard to scowl, and failing miserably

"It ain't even that funny. I could've died, y'know?"

"wheeze"

"Stop laughin'! I'm trying to be mad at ya! Ugh...Damn it, ya look cute when you're laughing like that.."

"Okay, okay, I-I'm good- *holding back laughs* What did you say?"

"NOTHIN'! GO PACK YOUR ORDERS OR WHATEVER!"

-MC is confused why he ran off so quickly. But she finally calms down, making an effort to walk slower (it doesn't last long)

-One hour left and Mammon has finished the entire store

-He finds it weird he hasn't seen the other manager walking around but hasn't questioned it yet, he's just counting down the minutes now

-When it's almost time for them to leave, MC finds him in the bead aisle, a few already in his cart. She finally finished all the orders that came in before cutoff time.

"Done with your orders?"

"Yeah. Finally. I never want to see another storage bin in my freaking life."

"Heh. Don't leave this aisle then, because there's a display right behind ya."

"Horrifying... How many are you planning on buying?"

"Dunno. I gotta pay for the one's that cost the most right? All the metal and glass one's are expensive."

"You know our discount works on top of the sale, right?"

-Mammon slow turns and stares at her like she hung the stars. Apparently, he did not know. But to be fair, this was his first check.

"Please do not buy out the entire stock."

"sucks in a breath"

"Mammon please."

"... You're no fun, ya know that? Fine. If you're gonna be like that, help me choose some as payment."

-Halfway through they did go and clock out, because they were not about to be bothered by customers while browsing

-Most of the things MC chooses are blue, with the occasional pink or red slipped in there. And any star beads she came across

-Mammon has a big handful by the end. He choose basic colored glass beads, going for the one's with multiple strands mainly

-He also snagged some that looked like pearls, and a few 'semi-precious' one's. He got some inquiries about doing bracelets that matched people's eyes

-And if he asked MC to look at him and compared some beads to her eyes? No he didn't <3

-By the end, he's got maybe 18 different beads, MC even has to help carry some. She's nervous about the price

"Are you sure you wanna get all these?"

"Don't worry about it. I know I'll use 'em all. And it's a hella good sale."

-They're both watching it ring up and it's not until he gets his employee discount that he's in awe

-It comes out to like $40 and he's skeptical everything was actually rung up because no way it was that cheap for all that

-He's genuinely so excited, he can't stop smiling

-After wards he walks outside with MC, who's calling her ride, and is confused when she sits down

"What are ya doing sittin' there for?"

"I have to wait for my ride. They're still at home so... I don't know when they'll be here. Soon, hopefully?"

-This is how he learns she doesn't know how to drive and takes the bus to work

-Only thinks for half a second before he's pestering her to come with him and that he'll give her a ride

"Mammon, it's fine, I can wait. I don't have cash for gas money either."

"Did I ask for gas money? Nah, I said 'come on, I'll give ya a ride'. Now, c'mon. Let's go."

-She brings him his favorite drink and a pastry from across the street next time she sees him as thanks because he refused any promises to pay him back

-They rarely get off at the same time, so when they do, he now gives her rides. Sometimes they even stop to eat, at which she insists on paying

-Mammon usually gets open or mid shifts after all

-There is one time where he agrees to cover someone's closing shift, and he's kinda nervous. Because he's only closed one time, and that was in the beginning with MC during his training days

-But he's not closing with MC this time. He's closing with the other manager.

-He remembers that one time going smoothly enough, and he cleans and straightens out the front as he usually does

-He's getting increasingly restless the closer it is to closing and the returns haven't been touched all day. He's only occasionally seen the manager downstairs to put away an order

-He's already swept and grabbed trash, but the bathrooms haven't been touched as far as he knows?

-He goes to sweep the store, thinking it'll get done in a second

-How very wrong he was. They closed an hour ago, they were supposed to leave 30 minutes ago, and Lucifer is texting to ask where he's at because he should've been home by now

-Stops doing returns and text rants to Lucifer he's being held back and that they still aren't done cleaning, the store is a mess

-Sends a myriad of angry emojis to MC as well

"😡😡🤬💢💢 NEVER CLOSING WITH THIS DUMBASS AGAIN"

"YOU'RE CLOSING?? Since when?? With who??

"NEVER AGAIN AFTER THIS"

-The next morning he gets thanked by the store manager for covering the shift, but Mammon tells him he's never doing that again if it's the other manager closing

-Says he will quit on the spot if it comes down to it

-And Mammon has not closed with him since. But he does do his best to finish any and all returns or straighten as much as he can if he's the mid cashier when that manager is closing

-----

-If only to hopefully make it easier on the closing cashier

hello I hope part 3 made people laugh - Not sure if I'll do a part 4? Or if anyone wants it. I've got like... Two ideas for it. This became way longer than I ever intended it to lmao

real and true, all my cashiers WILL ask who's the closing manager when we ask if they can come in after someone calls out. A lot of them rely on rides too, so staying late is bad 😭 we all just wanna go home

also the cart thing may or may not have actually happened. It was a long day. My panic response is giggling apparently. No team members were hurt 🤓

[samwrites-stuff]

"Wishing on a Star."

"I miss you..."

Kim Taehyung softly said, while he was staring at the night sky. He just finished work earlier and found himself walking up the stairs towards the rooftop. He leaned on the silver railing, which shined below the luminating stars.

He wore a thin white collared shirt underneath a black coat with black slacks and black loafers. He looked like a guy who had just come back from a date, but the girl stood him up.

His eyes scanned the skies like he was looking for something, something that he had been longing for since that night. They glowed like the stars above him as tears started to swell up in his eyes.

And then, finally, his eyes landed on a star. A star, which he thought was the most beautiful one in the sky tonight. A star, which reminded him of a person he lost a few years ago.

"I wish.. I could have you back..."

He blurted out without even thinking.

Time passed by, and now the sun switched places with the moon. Taehyung fell asleep on the wooden chair by the silver railings last night.

He woke up and felt the autumn breeze brush against his cheeks. The leaves started to fall one by one, from the trees. All around, orange is all he could see.

"It's a nice morning to jog."

He thought to himself.

The wooden chair creaked as Taehyung stood up. He went down the stairs to his room so he could change his clothes.

He closed the door of his room behind him. He is now wearing a white shirt and black shorts. He added a black hairband around his head to complete the outfit. After putting on his shoes, he reached for the golden door knob of his home, turned it, and went outside.

"Truly, it's a good day..."

He thought.

After 15 minutes of jogging, Taehyung was about to turn around and return home when he noticed a vintage looking shop that had a big red sale poster on its front window.

He hesitated for a bit, but remembered that special someone who has always wanted to visit authentic shops like this.

Taehyung smiled weakly. He can still remember how she begged whenever they passed by these kinds of shops.

"Tae, let's go there! They have a sale!! Oh, please, please, I'll do anything you want after this."

She pleaded.

He sighed and then proceeded to enter the shop. There, he saw lots of old, vintage pieces that probably many collectors would buy and display in special glass cases.

Taehyung walked around until he reached one corner of the store. There, he noticed a small, dark, golden box on a bookshelf in between some dusty, old books. He picked it up and saw that it was covered with dust as well too. He blowed all the dust off the box and realized that it actually had a lighter shade of gold. There were star engravings on the top of it that looked like they were glowing. It made him want to open the box.

When he opened it, he saw some fairy lights inside, now illuminating the corner where he stood. They kinda looked like the star he wished upon last night.

Without any hesitation, he went to the counter, where an old man was sitting, waiting for Taehyung to return.

"I'll take this one, please."

He said while he reached for the wallet in his pocket.

"Nice choice, young man. I believe... You truly need the magic it hides within."

The old guy said cheerfully.

He noticed Taehyung's confusion on his face, and so the old guy added:

"I see it in your eyes. They were just like mine."

Taehyung didn't know what to respond, and so he just paid for it, bowed, and reached for the package. The old guy placed it on a brown paper bag.

Later that night, he decided to put the fairy lights around his room, specifically on the ceiling.

He felt tired, and so, he plopped down on his bed. While lying down, staring at his ceiling, he admired the fairy lights that he bought. He tried to fall asleep, but he just couldn't.

Just then, he noticed one bulb of the fairy lights, which started almost shining 10 times brighter than the others.

"Eh?"

He got curious, and so he stood up on the bed to get a closer look at what's happening to the bulb. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Reaching out his hands while raising his toes, he tried to reach the bulb and attempted to fix it by twisting it from left to right and then right to left.

"Hey, Sis! Look at this. It's getting kinda weird..."

He called out from his room. His little sister was just staying in the other room, just in front of his.

Kim Taeyeon, his sister, entered his room, a little annoyed.

"Yah.. What is it again? Ugh." "Taehyung-oppa? Eh?"

She gasped, noticing that his brother wasn't in the room.

"I was sure he was here! Aish, he's teasing me again..."

She stamped her feet, then ran out of his room.

Little did she know, Taehyung really did vanish from his room that night.

-------

Taehyung tried to open his eyes, but it was super bright. He tried to stand, but his legs were super wobbly. It seemed like he had just woken up from a deep slumber.

"Taeyeon is overacting again. She opened all the lights AGAIN. Such a scaredy-cat. That's what she gets for liking horror films too much."

He thought while he tried to walk and reach for the light switch with his eyes half-opened.

After taking about three steps, he tripped and started falling down...

From a cloud?

"Oh... my... gosh? AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

He was about to fall through another cloud when a girl suddenly grabbed his shirt and tried to pull him up.

"Aigoo, so heavy..."

She gasped.

Taehyung looked up.. and saw an angel. Well, for him, she looked like an angel, with her wings fluttering in the wind. The next thing he noticed was her smile, a very familiar one, a smile that he had been longing to see, for too long. It's the only smile that can make Taehyung forget his name.

"Hey there. Guess you still don't know how to use these wings of yours, huh?"

She said sweetly while pointing his wings.

"Sam??!!"

I grabbed her hand tightly and then started sobbing.

"I thought.. I thought I've lost you forever..."

Taehyung said in between words while now hugging her so firmly, crying on her shoulders.

Unbeknownst to him.. The fairy light he bought in the vintage shop was whimsically authentic. They were made from real stars. Mixed with fairy tears, it created a talisman that can transport anyone into a different kind of world.

Where humans live on stars..

Where humans could relive a wish, one wish that anything their little hearts mostly desires.

"I missed you too, Taehyungie..."

She replied, while tears began to fall from her eyes as well.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Taehyung shyly asked.

"Anything, my love."

She chuckled when she noticed his shyness.

"Could you maybe... Teach me how to fly?"

He laughed while wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"えがく story かなう ように wishing on a star... "

(The story that we paint, I'll be wishing on a star so that it comes true...)

[spotconln]

hi i’m back on my filipino spot agenda. got a snippet of a 92sies/uksies rewrite that i’m working on! 

“No Decision For Trolley Strikers!” hollers Spot. “Union Meeting Reaches Stalemate!” 

The third day of the new price has yet to truly hurt the newsies yet, but the mood coming into the distribution yard that morning was significantly more dour than the previous day. There wasn’t a person that hadn’t sent a glare their distributors’ way and there were comments thrown that were sharp enough to cut. 

Spot feels drained already and she’s only sold ten of her stack of hundred. It’s been an hour of selling, normally she could knock out at least twenty by now.

Maybe takin’ Kelly up on strikin’ would’a been the smart move, she thinks snidely, Could’a gotten a free day off. 

She shakes her head, no use in dwelling over it now. A choice was made. It’s up to Manhattan to prove whether it’s worth joining. She hasn’t heard anything from the other borough since the day the prices went up, and while she knows not to expect anything so soon, the silence feels odd. As if she should be hearing screams and explosions over from the other end of the bridge. But, she waits. 

“Fighting Breaks Out at Strike Meeting!” Not technically a lie. There was only a tiny bit of arguing between strike leaders and trolley higher ups. It manages to get her a sale; an older man who barely gives her time between throwing the coin in her direction and stealing the paper from her hands. “Salamat, po,” she huffs under her breath, stuffing the cent into her pocket. The same one where her treasured newspaper scrap still hides. 

She’s finishing a sale with a kinder woman who hands her a nickel when she hears it. The words get lost in the cacophony of the streets for a moment, but when she moves closer to the ladies running the fabric vendor, the conversation becomes clear as day. 

“They did what?” gasps one woman. 

“Knocked down the wagon carts and tore up newspapers, those Manhattan kids.” the other shakes her head disapprovingly. 

I’ll be damned, Spot thinks, ‘Hattan’s got a backbone after all. 

“Oh, the absolute disrespect,” the first woman says. “All the hard work gone into making them, gone just like that. What was the reason?”

“I hear it’s all because it costs more to buy the papers now. Now, I don’t understand what the big deal is. If they wouldn’t act like such children and sold more, then they’d have the funds to handle the price change. Simple saving. It’s nothing but immature overreactions, if you ask me.” 

They continue to bash the newsies for striking, but Spot walks away. She’s heard enough. 

In a spiteful and petty fashion, Spot needs to prove that the newsies are anything but lazy and deserve to have a fair price. To have them read the headline one day and realize they were wrong, that their voices do matter and can make a difference. Manhattan also did hold up their end of the bargain. Making a statement and being proud about it. Standing their ground and showing Spot their commitment to the cause. She respects that, admires it. 

But mostly, it’s because striking is the right thing to do. It’s not just a childish rebellion, but a full scale revolution.

It isn’t fair for men like Pulitzer to switch the prices on them so suddenly and without a reason. Nor is it fair of her to allow her newsies to be taken advantage of, to put the idea in their heads that what they want doesn’t matter. They need to fight before more is taken from them: their voices, their jobs, their lives. They’re more than pawns to be controlled by the game makers, they have to flip the board over and rearrange the pieces. Remake the game from scratch.

It’s their work, who says that they can’t decide the rules?

While Spot is unprepared for the difficulties that lay ahead, she understands now that they are necessary risks to take. They can’t go on fearing the day the price change truly hits and they can’t afford to make a living as newsies anymore. Spot’s aware of the influence Brooklyn has amongst the newsies. She wants to be able to look back one day and be content that she took the chance instead of living surrounded by constant regrets and what ifs. 

The newspaper from the previous day finds itself in her hands and she reads its contents once more, soaking it in, clinging to it like a lifeline. 

We think the tenacity of the Filipino purpose has been underestimated. 

She feels like a young girl again, sitting in her mother’s lap as they sit by the window while the southern sun warms their skin and hearts. Listening in adoration as she tells the story of their ancestors joining the fray alongside American troops for the freedom of others. She recalls thinking that, one day, I’m gonna be jus’ like ‘em, protectin’ others an’ bein’ scared’a nothin’. I’m gonna be a leader, Nanay! 

Here’s her chance, her opportunity to be the leader her younger self would be in awe of.

Abandoning her selling, she traverses the streets with a purpose, passing on the decision to all the newsies she comes across. With every kid that joins her, she feels their presence feed into her confidence, giving her the motivation to continue on. 

Hey, Manhattan, the calvary’s comin’.

[theghostpinesmusic]

Alright, one more and then even I will be Goosed-out for one day.

This is "Everything Must Go," also from the monster 4/7 show. I'll have tunes from the 4/8 and 4/9 shows eventually, and I already weighed in on the one jam from 4/10 that got posted to YouTube awhile back, albeit in an odd, sort-of backhanded way.

But for now, let's finish this sucker off.

That sounded bad. Oh well, too bad there's no way to edit text on the internet!

I've written about "Everything Must Go" already, so even though I still haven't gotten to covering the incredible Red Rocks '23 version, you can read about the song in general here.

This was one of the band's most consistently great jam vehicles in the months before Ben left, so I was happy to see it not only get dropped into the setlist for his debut show, but also get taken for another huge walk.

I think Cotter's drumming on the composed part of the song is semi-significantly different than the way Ben played it, but I'm not sure. Cotter's take sounds a bit more backbeat-y to me. Too bad there's no way to listen to old shows on the internet!

We get some good, long shots of Jeff doing his thing during the composed portion of this version, along with a shot at 2:45 that tells us that Peter hasn't even opened his grapefruit Spindrift yet and it's midway through the second set! C'mon, man! Some of us can only buy that shit when it's on sale!

I usually don't pay a ton of attention to the short instrumental break during the song that happens during this version at 3:30, but this version features a great drum breakdown. I'm not sure who's doing what, but both drummers are playing offbeat off and on, and I think it's Jeff who briefly plays a digital pad (it sounds like) right when and after the lights go out at 3:43. Regardless, it's super cool and I want more of it.

(Actually, at 4:19 it looks like Cotter is the one playing the weird effects. Whichever. They're both killing it during this song.)

At 5:25, we get a hard drop into the jam via a decisive key change, and initially Rick leads the way with a particularly dark tone. Peter plays off of him for a bit on the piano. Cotter continues being an absolute maniac.

Also, can I just say how fun the stutter/trill thing Rick does at 6:25 is?

I like how, throughout this section, Peter is adding to the jam on piano by playing around what Rick is soloing without falling into one particular, repeating pattern (like I was complaining about in the "Pancakes" jam).

The mood of the jam changes subtly at 7:58 and we move to something a bit more lighthearted.

Eight minutes and thirty-two seconds into the jam is one of the many, many times I've heard Rick tease "Seven Below." I don't know if it's intentional or not, but I hope so and would love to hear them cover that great-but-semi-obscure Phish tune some day.

This is a great video/jam for getting a feel for what Jeff - often the least-heard player in the band - adds to their sound. For the record, I've never been a Jeff naysayer, but there are certainly times when he stands out to my ears more than others. This is one of those times.

The "Seven Below"-flavored jam continues in its buoyant vein for awhile here, a nice counterpoint to the mellower, moodier "Drive" and "Pancakes" jams from earlier in the show (and most of the longer, previous versions of "EMG" which tend to go dark). Rick also really commands the momentum of the jam here, rather than largely laying back as he did during the earlier jams in the show.

I really dig the lights at about the 12:00 mark. That is all.

This portion of the jam peaks around 13:15, and then as we come down the back side, Cotter switches up the beat, causing the rest of the band to move into a funkier space. Peter moves to the clav, which precipitates some gnarly rhythm playing from Rick. These transitions have always epitomized the band's jamming style, but I feel like they've somehow gotten faster and smoother with Cotter behind the drum kit.

Rick takes the wheel again pretty quickly after the transition and starts ripping off some "vintage" '19-'20-style licks. This is a super fun section.

Peter gets a neat little clav breakdown at 16:00, which lightens the sensory assault a bit while letting Rick switch to a tinnier tone. Peter moves over to the Vintage Vibe in response and Rick drops back out a bit, allowing Trevor to really dominate for the first time in this particular jam.

When Rick jumps back in at 17:15, it's to suggest a new key and set of chord changes. The rest of the band adjusts accordingly, and for a minute or so the jam is a weird combination of funk and distorted almost-90s-rock. In the end, the funk wins out.

At 18:40, with a look over to Trevor, Rick switches back to the "Everything Must Go" key and the band moves into the outro of the song proper. Peter stays on the Vibe because, hey, why not?

We get a little bit of an extended outro jam here, which is fun, but it's more of an exclamation point on the jam than some entirely new idea. Nobody tells Rick this, though, as he continues to destroy his guitar in grand fashion.

These guys are ridiculous. Maybe more tomorrow.

[asoulofatlantis]

Yeah... he is that good.

This is ALMOST as satisfying as watching Jusis hit Rufus in CS4 XD Some people just deserve a hard punch in the face ;P

Right! Give it to him! He deserves it!

Well it was supposed to hurt!

Imagin someone who can even surprise Cao... this woman is going to be dangerous as heck. And when she eventually marries that man and they work together... urg, what a nightmare! Heiyuu will be unstoppable!

I wonder if the symbols on that thing have any meaning. Like that every Genesis stands for something. And all those somethings together, will form whatever is necessary to stop the end of the world.

Or something along the lines like this.

Oh so we know that already? I totally forgot ^^' But... influence life... was does that even mean?

Uh... I am not sure if I am happy about that or not ^^' But my grudge is probably totally stupid anyway, if Rean shows up here will probably be all buddy-buddy with her and I will feel like an idiot for being salty when he himself isn't... so... uh... hurray? ^^'

Thats tough. Like to get chased around by a caused Celis or...

Walkthrough says we have to do them both anyway eventually, so let just start with the first one for once. Maybe we work with Towa again... because I am not homesick enough yet XD

Something tells me that as soon as the game reveals who she really is we will all be: "OF COURSE!" after being shocked for a minute or two that is XD But seriously, I am at a loss. I have a few ideas, but they all sounds ridiculous if you think about them a bit longer. But there is no way in hell this isn't someone we know.

I almost forgot that I have a doctors appointment tomorrow morning to check if my illness is better and because of that I have to wash my hair (I am a bit lazy with it when I am home sick, to be honest ^^') and then make my Steam Deck ready to be shipped, as I am sending it back because I am absolutely disappointed by it.

It was meant for gaming merly when I can not use my big (and expensive) tower-computer so I though around 700€ would spare me the money for a bigger and heavier gaming-laptop. However, I should have payed the extra money, as the Steam Deck is just... dare I say it? Cheap! From the 111 games I own (WOW!) only around 20 were Steam Deck compatible and there is no system behind it which one is and which one isn't. Cold Steel 1 is, but 2, 3 and 4 are not. Reverie is but Kuro 2 is not. Makes no sense whatsoever. ALSO Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons games who always come out for the Switch too, so should be ready for a Console like this, are not compatible either. Not to mention that it took my over half an hour to get that thing even running do to an issue that A LOT of people have for years now... this thing was just not worth 700€. So I send it back.

Eventually I will get a gaming laptop. Might be more expensive, but I will buy one for around 1000€ in a sale around black Friday or so if there is a good offer than and than at least I can not just play ALL Steam games, but also ones from the other platforms, like Sims 4 from EA for example. And I can use Tumblr for Live-Reactions and watch Videos and so on. Its really more convenient to begin with and thus probably worth the extra money.

Anyway, that said, I have to get the Steam Deck ready to get shipped back so this is were my little trip to Kuro 2 ends.

[benis-chillin]

2023 Gaming Backlog Top Ten

So...Meant to make this post back in January, but as I mentioned in the Sonic Fanfiction posts, I got a bit sidetracked getting back into plasma donation.

But anyway, last year, I started seeing my backlog as getting a bit daunting, since I want to get into a lot of things I've missed over the years, but I have this problem with dedicating to a series once I start it. I got back into gaming in late 2018 with Sonic, and I'm only just now getting near the end of playing all of the mainline entries, along with most of the spin-off titles. Plus, I binged Metroids 1-4 through late September-early November last year, and that one was on a whim.

But I did have a bit of a revelation when watching My Life in Gaming's end of the year video where they cited Femtrooper's video as inspiration for tackling a backlog via a "top ten list." So, I took inspiration from THAT, and made my own list for this year. I'll consider it a win even if I only get half of them done, but I'll occasionally reblog this post when I finish and start a new one.

So, let's start with the first game on the backlog.

1)Sonic 06(PS3)-Silver and Final Stories

January 2nd-April 16th(off and on)

This is mainly a leftover, since I've been cracking away at it off and on since Christmas 2021. I actually took a break after finishing Shadow's story, and now I'm determined to finish it.

2) Metroid Dread(Nintendo Switch)

???-???

Haven't bought this yet for reasons, but it'll take priority when I do. Last 2D Metroid(beyond the original 1&2)I need to play, and the demo has me looking forward to it!

3) Hollow Knight(Switch)

???-???

More of a recommendation from a friend, I got a Steam copy from her over Christmas, but I prefer 2D games in a handheld format, so I bought a digital copy for my Switch while it was on sale. Looking forward to it.

4)Devil May Cry-Switch OR PC

???-??? Another friend recommendation, to the point where one of them shared their Steam Library with me for it(which is how I played Sonic Frontiers). So I'll either buy a Switch copy during the next sale, or just play his copy on PC.

5)Resident Evil 2(Leon's story)-Wii

???-???

(Yeah, I'm listing what I'll play it on, not the system it released on. This will be the GC version)

Watching videos on this series gave me some weird-ass nightmares one time while home alone, so I want to beat at least one. Couldn't get into the first one via the DS port, so I'll give this one another go, maybe around September/October.

6)Spider-man(2000)-PS3

???-???

I like Spider-man, but have barely played any Spider-man games. So hey, may as well dedicate a slot to it.

7-9)Metroid Prime Trilogy-Wii

3 games, so 3 entries. Not planning on marathoning like I did the 2D games.

Prime 1: ???-???

Prime 2: ???-???

Prime 3: ???-???

10)Batman: Arkham Asylum-PC

(damn, that cover is crispy)

???-???

Another one I have access to via my friend's Steam library. RIP Kevin Conroy.

Oh yeah, and almost forgot(since I'm watching a stream about a YouTuber I used to watch who just murdered someone)that I bought Mega Man Legacy collection to play during Plasma Clinic waits and stuff. Already finished 1&2.

[ickybby]

seree spends her day making futile attempts to deal with that restlessness she's been combating since boarding the plane back in los angeles. flying triggers her anxiety, so by the time she lands seree is too wired to crawl into bed and shut off her brain via sleep. sex with her man would be top tier antidote to this pent up energy, alas she's resigned to managing her emotions on her own like some kind of modern day peasant. with the help of a security team to maintain the peace, she spends some time at her favorite restaurants, fitting in a midday workout at her favorite nature reserve since making these Paris trips a regularity and window shops until she finds some sleek sunglasses she can resist buying for dakota... the sales attendant totally didn't have to work hard to get her to buy a smaller pair to match his. the day passes tediously slow, but it passes. by the time dakota makes it back home, seree has managed to disguise her impatience behind the pages of the current novel demanding her attention and a tart glass of moscato. what was only supposed to be a quick glass and chapter before her shower turned into a boozy distraction only interrupted by the arrival of her boyfriend. his moodiness is unmistakable. all seree needs to discern this fact is to hear the way the door slams shut behind him. guiltily, she wonders if he'll take his frustrations out on her body and by proxy relive her of her own jitters. she doesn't have to wonder for too long, doesn't even get the chance to speak before he finds her and makes quick work of her leggings after pinning her to the floor like she HASN'T been working on her self defense moves for the past few weeks. seree doesn't even get the chance to bitch. like she'd remember any complaint once his intoxicating scent hit her nose. if those notes of warm spices and amber his weren't enough, there's that moment where he first sinks into the warmth of her slick cunt to completely reset her brain. dakota gives her no respite to grow accustomed to the harsh thrusts. while a part of her aches to take his length in full, the rest of her aches for more. whatever was clearly causing this turbulent release of pent up emotions to come down in full could be discussed later, once they were done singing praises for one another. arms lock around his neck with a grip to rival the one her thighs had around his torso, manicured nails digging into his scalp unconsciously. he starts to switch languages as she finds the ability to use hers, though not very coherently, given the moans that fall out of her mouth before she can string words together. "-- daddy, oh fuck," her face falls into the crook of his neck, lips automatically finding that spot where his pulse beat against his skin the loudest to nip at it with her teeth and soothe the skin with her own kisses. "thank you sir, for using me. i- i love it when you use me! 'love you too." while the feelings are there, the thought genuine, it's not like seree's stellar at expressing her emotions in a rational state. much less now, basically being BOUNCED on her boyfriend's cock as she clung to him in her disarray and half dressed state.

@putaaas ... having a long and stressful day made dakota feel incredibly on edge. since he was exhausted and also in a horrible mood, he kept to himself and didn't say much. if he did open his mouth, he wasn't sure what would come out. he was a nasty bastard when he was pissed off and was learning how to control his temper every single day. sure, it probably wasn't the best idea to ignore everyone around him. he didn't wish his team a goodnight before packing his shit up and exiting. and he gave his boss a cold shoulder, choosing to ignore him instead of engage in conversation like he usually did after practice. but he was quiet because he didn't want to fly off the handle and embarrass himself. the reason why he was angry had little to do with his teammates and more to do with his piece of shit cousin who felt entitled to bully every one of his sister's just to have access to his phone number. caleb was quickly blocked, but dakota was seething. the only person dakota could think about was caleb and what he would do when they crossed paths. he didn't want to revert back to his old ways, but he felt tempted to each passing second.

as he stormed into his apartment, he threw his bag into the corner and flung his shoes off. and then he went into the kitchen, and to his surprise, his girlfriend was awake. he understood that the jet lag from LA to Paris was a pain in the ass, so he never expected her to be functional at reasonable hours. but boy, was he glad to see her. swiftly, he came up behind her, pushed her to the floor, laid her on her back and began fucking her before she even had a chance to greet him. "goddamn, you're so fuckin' wet already." he praised, cock slick with her pussy juice. passion raged through his body like a wildfire. “good girl. you're always ready when i want you, just like i taught you." he praised, snapping his hips back and forth in an overly aggressive matter. “giving me free use of that pussy like i own it. like it fuckin’ belongs to me. god, i fucking love you.” a string of french curse words left dakota’s mouth as he moaned in her ear.

[whatthefishh]

Satisfactory Part 1

Jake Lockley x Fem Reader

Words: 1.7K

Summary: Jake has a secret that's not really a secret but he's hiding it from Marc and Steven because they’d be scandalized AKA the Jake Porn Star AU nobody asked for and is probably slightly OOC but is honestly just for fun so don’t take it too seriously

Warnings: in this chapter, no smut just hints at sex, talk of sex toys, future parts will have smut

Thanks to everyone who encouraged my idea and writing ❤️

Jake had a secret. Jake liked knowing that certain things were just his. Once he came out to the boys, he liked being part of their lives but some things he wanted to keep just for himself. It was a little exciting, if he was being honest. So he kept some secrets. No biggie, right? Plus, the money was good. A small bonus to what he felt was a thrilling side hustle. 

Jake liked to be on camera. No, no, that’s not the full truth now. 

Jake liked to fuck on camera. 

He got off on exhibitionism, he loved the thought of people getting off to him getting off. He liked seeing the undeniable pleasure he gave his partners on set, even though many in the industry faked it when necessary, he made it a goal to actually make his partners finish on camera. Their noises spurring him on to really give it to them good. Their look of surprise when they realized his reputation rang true - you won’t fake it with Jake. He was a good guy like that, you know? A real gentleman. 

It was a flexible gig, whenever he had the time or whenever he had the urge to splurge on a nice pair of leather gloves, a new cap, something for his cab. You get it. 

Jake wasn’t insanely popular to the point where Marc or Steven would easily find out, but he had a decent following. Also, that big dick energy? It wasn’t just a brag, it really was just… big. Memorable, even to the viewers. So much so, that when he - quite literally - ran into you at the sex shop around the block of his usual cabbie route, you recognized him immediately as one of your go-to content creators. 

“Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t...see y-you…” You trailed off after completely making a fool of yourself and falling over bumping into a strikingly handsome man rounding the corner of the aisle you were perusing. Eyes wide, heat rising to your face as you were staring into the man’s eyes. You were able to place him from your memory after only a couple seconds of taking in his features. 

No. Freaking. Way. Jake motherfucking Lockley, Jake object of your fantasies Lockley, Jake all-eight-inches Lockley, the man whose videos you’ve gotten off to countless times, the man who is literally holding your arms to steady you because you almost fell at his feet. Oh, God you’re mortified. 

“That’s okay, cariño, s’my bad.” He finally let go of your arms as you looked less like you were going to topple over but still had that deer caught in headlights expression. He smiled kindly at you to try and diffuse the situation which only served to make you drop the items you were limply holding. 

It was at this untimely moment that you realized where you were and what you had just dropped. 

You both looked down at the clatter of the box hitting the floor, and Jake quickly bent to retrieve your… vibrator? Right. You were buying a vibrator since your last one decided to die on you, mid self-love session and left you insanely frustrated. And now Jake was examining it like he was the one who was deciding whether or not to buy it and if possible, your face grew even more hot. 

Your last vibrator was a simple bullet, with a few different functions to switch it up every now and then, bought out of necessity due to the dry spell you were going through for the past year. This time the sales associate, who to be honest seemed too young to be working here to begin with, convinced you to upgrade to a more advanced vibe and you were open to trying something new. Until now. The neon pink, glittery, curved toy would’ve been cute in your bedroom drawer, not in the hands of Jake will-rearrange-your-insides Lockley, staring down at it with mirth in his eyes and a smirk playing at his lips. 

“Mierda, 7 inches?” he muttered, still smirking, and finally dragging his eyes away from the package to look at you through his lashes. “Your boyfriend not doin’ his job or something?”

Fuck, he was more handsome in person. “N-no boyfriend.” You managed to spit out. Great response. So well spoken. 

He looked you up and down appreciatively at that. “I’m Jake.” 

“I- Yes, I know who you are,” you breathed out, grabbing the box from his hands. 

Jake seemed to pick up on your discomfort and was about to back off until he registered what you just said. “Wait, have we met before, cariño?” 

Will the floor just open up and swallow you whole now? This interaction could not get any worse for you. How were you going to explain where you’ve seen him before without further embarrassing yourself? You blushed harder at the thought of telling him to his face that you’ve watched all his content, some of them repeatedly. 

He didn’t miss a thing. “Or have you just seen me around?” He prompted with another panty-dropping smile. 

“Yeah we’ve met bef... no, that’s a lie, alright I’ve seen you online and your… stuff. Good stuff.” Biting your lip at the end of your sentence. You wanted to play it cool but that was undoubtedly not going well for you. Good stuff, you said. 

“Thanks, doll.” He laughed it off smoothly, hand rubbing at his growing stubble almost bashfully. “I’d love to show you sometime but I won’t keep you. It was nice to meet you..?” Stuttering, you gave him your name, to which he repeated back to you, winked and smiled one last time and continued down the aisle. 

You had to take a deep breath in before being able to continue shopping and picking up some other items you had your eye on. Your hands were slightly trembling from the interaction, replaying the way his eyes roved over your body. You were not used to men giving you attention, checking you out or being openly flirty with you. You doubted his intentions were sincere, he probably just made conversation with all the women he almost knocked over. 

Your conversation with Jake felt like something you made up after repeating it a few times in your head. The whole time you couldn’t help but look over your shoulder to see if Jake was still around or almost bumping into you again, and it made your insides flutter at the thought of speaking to him again. As if you could keep your cool the first time around, you thought to yourself with an internal groan. How is he just allowed to walk around freely with those intense eyes? 

Gathering all your items in a basket, you made your way up to the cash register standing in line behind an older woman arguing with the cashier. The minutes pass you by, idly checking out the fast-grab trinkets near the counter. Tiny bottles of lube, single packets of flavoured condoms, nipple covers with a single connecting chain, phallic-shaped silicone keychains, and the like. 

A receipt has been pulled out with some more angry noises from the lady, and the cashier seems to be getting more and more flustered. 

You pick up a penis keychain out of curiosity. It’s neon pink. 

“Did you grab the batteries?” A gravelly voice asks from behind you and you gasp as you turn to see Jake standing in line behind you with another mischievous smile directed at you. 

“Jeez! Yes, I grabbed the batteries.” So you didn’t hallucinate that conversation. 

“Lo siento, didn’t wanna spook you.” He snickered. “I just wanted to make sure you’d be… satisfied.” Jake’s eyes were sparkling with his teasing tone, but there was a layer of suggestion beneath that had you raising a brow. 

The air grew hot and you resisted the urge to tug at the neckline of your knit sweater. Was Jake Lockley flirting with you? 

It took you maybe one second too long to reply just because you were powering up to finally flirting back with the man of your literal dreams, and hoping it got you somewhere. 

“Hmm, there’s other ways of checking if you really want to be sure.” You say with a coy smile of your own, internally screaming. Shit, this isn’t going to work. You’re embarrassing yourself. You’re being ri-

He takes a step closer to you, eyelids lowering seductively looking down his nose at you before purring, “You want some help with that, hermosa?” Shit, this was actually working. 

You giggle, you can’t help it. Up close you can see a light scruff coming in, thick eyebrows resting over extremely expressive, espresso brown eyes that are gazing back at you. You can feel his body heat radiating off of him the closer he comes to you, and you’re looking up at him through your lashes and he’s staring down at you with a smile like the cat that ate the canary and the angry lady at the counter is yelling now, clearly not done reaming out the employee, and you’re okay with it, you’re somehow more than okay with all of it. For a minute it’s just you and Jake, imagining all the ways he’ll take you apart, the store fading into black.

The lady asks for the manager, and finally moves to the side to allow your turn. You don’t hesitate to dump your items on the counter, suddenly in a rush to leave with the strikingly pretty man at your elbow. 

“I actually live nearby… Wanna-” 

Your heart is beating loudly in your chest, almost matching the register beeps as the cashier is ringing up your purchase.

“Yes.” He growls into your ear while sliding his card across the counter to pay for your things. He’s grinning at you now, grabbing your bag of purchases before reaching for your hand and leading you out the door. He leads you outside but stops on the sidewalk, hands still intertwined, and turns to you to ask which way to go. Half the bravado leaves your voice, but you still point to the building that’s yours and you two make your way towards it. When you shyly link your arm with his, he doesn’t pull back and just looks down his nose at you again, lids low.

“Whatever you say, hermosa. I’m yours for the night.” His voice went straight to your core and you felt a swirl of desire stirring in your gut. 

What have you signed yourself up for?

People who have encouraged my writing/gave encouraging feedback on my first fic  - if you don’t wanna be tagged lmk, no hard feelings :) :  @lucianadraven32 @kittyofalltrades @romanarose @dameronscopilot @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @unspokenmoon @bit-dodgy-innit @milkymoon2483​ @symbioticskywalker​

[666writingcafe]

MC, Mammon, and Lucifer's Trip to Downtown Devildom

Author's Note: "Lucifer" = "Satan (Lucifer), "Satan" = "Lucifer (Satan)"

"OH MAN! Check this out!" Mammon's shouting has Lucifer and I joining him in front of a shop window. "It's a super-rare magic stone!" The little plaque accompanying the stone reads "Twinkling Onyxrialite".

"What does it do?" I ask Mammon.

"Does it matter? It's on sale!" Sure enough, attached to the plaque is a note that states that it's today's featured item. "It's cheap! Crazy cheap! If I broke it into smaller pieces and sold those individually, I'd make serious bank." Mammon chuckles.

"Wouldn't that diminish the power of the stone?" Lucifer nods, but Mammon pays no attention to me.

"Lucifer, my favorite big brother! You gotta buy that for me! You gotta!"

"Keep your voice down," Lucifer warns. "No one else knows what's happened, remember?" Mammon, unsurprisingly, ignores him, and he launches into a song about how he's gotta have that stone or he'll throw a tantrum.

"Leave him be, MC," Lucifer tells me. "Pretend you don't know him."

"Gladly," I reply, walking away from the two of them to go look at a different shop window. Of course, Mammon's so loud that I can still hear him begging Lucifer to buy the stone from him, and a part of me feels like returning just to slap Mammon upside the head. If anyone not part of the student council overhears Mammon, our cover's going to be blown, and we can't afford that to happen, not when the speech is literally scheduled to occur tomorrow.

"The entire reason I brought you along with me to begin with is to get you away from Satan," Lucifer tells Mammon as the two of them join back up with me. "When you two pair up, nothing good ever comes of it, especially when I am expected to clean up the mess." Lucifer sighs. "It's almost time for my big speech, and yet the curse that caused us to switch bodies shows no signs of going away."

"Which means that there's no guarantee that you'll be back to yourself in time for the speech," I reply.

"Exactly." Mammon rolls his eyes.

"Doncha think it's about time to give in and ask Satan to do it for you?" he asks. "You're sorta out of options here. I mean, all ya gotta say is, 'Satan, no funny business this time. Give the speech and be done with it.'"

"I have no intention of begging him for his help," Lucifer snaps. "Even if I did do that, I couldn't be sure that he wouldn't end up trying something nefarious anyway."

"What if I asked him?" I suggest. "He might be more willing to cooperate if he thought that he was doing it for me. After all, the speech is about updating the student body about the exchange program."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but you don't know Satan like I do. I highly doubt he would simply do as asked if he knew that it was connected to me."

"Ya know," Mammon says, "I know you're serious and all, but hearing those words come outta Satan's mouth like this, it's hard not to laugh..." The glares that come from Lucifer and me quickly make Mammon regret making that observation.

"Anyway," he states, changing the subject. "After everything that went down inside that game, Satan seems like he's changed some. Doncha think?"

"I think so," I agree.

"Exactly! Like, how do I put it?"

"He seems more chill when it comes to you now, Lucifer," I tell him. "He's not as bitter as he used to be."

"Well, I don't believe that he's changed at all," Lucifer responds. "We're talking about Satan. Since the day he came into this world, his entire purpose in life has been to defy me. And now you're suggesting he's changed?"

"Everyone's capable of change. I get that demons are a lot different than humans, but I'm sure you've noticed that certain individuals start acting differently after a while simply because being the same type of person gets boring. Think about how Asmo tries different aesthetics or how Beel tries his hand at different sports or even how Satan reads different genres of books. I know I've changed during my stay here so far, so what makes Satan exempt from evolving as a person?" Mammon's eyes widen, but Lucifer remains cool.

"It's in his very nature to oppose me, and a demon's nature doesn't change so easily."

"But you acknowledge that it's possible."

"It is possible," Mammon chimes in. "Like, just yesterday I told him we should totally use the fact that he looks like you to our advantage. I said we should scam random folks, make some easy money, but Satan wasn't havin' any of it. He was like, 'Nah, I'm tired of doing stuff like that,' and 'Eh, too much work.' It used to be that he'd jump at an opportunity like that, but now he's no fun at all! Back before all that stuff happened in the game world, he would've done anything if it meant makin' life difficult on you. But now suddenly he's not interested..." He trails off, allowing Lucifer to take the opportunity to ask,

"Did I hear you correctly? You were planning to take advantage of the fact that Satan looks like me to scam random folks?" Mammon gulps as purple light envelops Lucifer, and I make sure to put some space between myself and the two demons. I'm not in the mood to risk my life at the moment.

[yoongiseesawmp3]

just about perfect - seonghwa

howdy folks, back with another fic but i’m switching it up on ya! i might start writing regularly for ateez as well so y’all are cool with that right? right.

summary: this is NOT inspired by seonghwa saying he watches nevertheless. why would you even think that.

warnings: not the kind of warning u were expecting but there’s no smut (i know its based off a show abt friends with benefits so that’s why i’m warning u. do not get ur hopes up) a little cussing, a lotta me waxing poetic abt the perfect man park seonghwa. also slight tomfoolery from the teezers

word count: 10.6k

the bookstore just off campus is your current go-to study spot, mostly because the cafe inside has a drink special where you buy one coffee and get a voucher for the new bakery next door. so, let’s just say the past few days you’ve been well caffeinated and well fed. you’re on the way there now, already planning out what your treats are going to be. 

today you were supposed to meet your “study group” after your last class of the day, but it looks like you’re the only one here so far. and you say “study group” loosely, the professor for your music theory elective encouraged everyone to make a study group for the upcoming final and your group of friends chose to work together. there’s been no studying going on, though.

especially not when hongjoong’s new friend seonghwa has been flirting with you literally nonstop. he’s apparently friends with everyone else in your group too. san knows him from an art class they took together last semester, meanwhile wooyoung and yeosang claim they lived on seonghwa’s floor freshman year and he always bought them booze. seonghwa denies it, only because hongjoong would slap him if he admitted to buying alcohol for underage kids. 

tasteful delinquency aside, seonghwa is a fine person. you mean personality fine, not like, fine fine even though san would beg to differ. he knows you’ve developed a thing for seonghwa despite trying not to, and he’s secretly trying to get you two together. 

which is why san suddenly texts you and says he can’t make it, and neither can yeosang or wooyoung. they decided to ditch studying to practice for the final in their dance class instead, so it’ll be just you, seonghwa and hongjoong. and little did you know, hongjoong was trying to do the same thing as san. so we’ll see how this goes. 

- 

“y/n, you can’t do that,” hongjoong warns you, referring to the scale you were trying to fill out. 

“why not?” you ask, looking down at your work and wondering what’s wrong.

“because it’ll sound like shit,” seonghwa replies before sipping his coffee. 

“what he said,” hongjoong agrees, grabbing your paper and erasing some of the notes you had scribbled out. “it should look more like this.”

you glance over at what he’s done on top of your old work and sigh. you took this class because you like music, and you thought learning about how it works would be interesting, but it’s hard. 

“can’t you just do all my work for me?” you plead. at this rate, you don’t think you’ll be able to pass the final. 

“no, i don’t want you dragging me down in this class,” hongjoong replies. “my grades are great.” 

“i hate you.”

“what are you struggling with, y/n?” seonghwa asks as he finally looks up from his laptop. he had been working on an assignment for another class this whole time because he, like hongjoong, is great with music theory. so maybe this study group was a good thing. 

“here, you can switch seats with me,” hongjoong says as he clears the spot next to you on the weathered loveseat. “i’m going to look for a book i should’ve started reading two weeks ago.” 

before you can protest, seonghwa is sliding his laptop across the coffeetable and slides himself into the spot next to you. when he sits you notice your thighs are touching, which is weird because there was plenty of space when hongjoong was here. you don’t know that seonghwa is doing this on purpose, that hongjoon really left so he could flirt with the cute cashier in the cafe to give you and seonghwa some alone time. 

“so,” seonghwa starts once he’s settled. “what are you struggling with?” 

“hmm, all of it?” you reply. your answer makes seonghwa smile, and you like the way his eyes sparkle when he does.

“then i guess we’ll be here a while.”

-

about an hour later, seonghwa has walked you through all the major and minor scales you need to know for the test and you’re starting to understand a little more. you’re still having problems with the back of the study guide where you have to come up with note combinations that can apply to those scales, but you have time to work on that since the final is two weeks out. right now, your brain is fried and you need a break. 

“do you mind if i go get a coffee?” you ask seonghwa, who was in the middle of sending you the minor scale cheat sheet he made. he looks up from his laptop and shakes his head before he speaks.

“i would only mind if i can’t come with you.”

“it’s literally right over there, why do you need to come with me?” you question.

“i think i would just miss you too much,” he pouts, and you roll your eyes. seonghwa shuts his laptop and stands up. “what if i need coffee too?”

“you already had one,” you remind him as you stand.

“yeah,” he nods. “but teaching you is exhausting, so i need another. c’mon.”

he walks ahead of you to the counter, and you’re too busy searching for your wallet to notice he took his jacket off, revealing a sneaky tattoo on the back of his neck. it isn’t until you’re behind him in line that you get a look at the hand drawn star right on the nape of his neck, and you have to refrain from reaching out to trace the lines.

“i didn’t know you had a tattoo,” you decide to say. he turns around and instinctively rubs his hand across the tattoo, smiling at you with those sparkly eyes again.

“yeah, i have a couple,” he replies. “but this one is my favorite.”

“why?”

“because my name means ‘to become a star’, so i like knowing that i have a reminder with me all the time,” he explains.

“nice. it’s really pretty.”

“thanks, so are you.”

“sir?” the barista calls, pulling seonghwa’s attention from you. he steps up to give his order as you stare at the tattoo again, noticing alongside it a couple of freckles that almost make it look like a constellation.

“y/n?” seonghwa’s voice draws you out of your thoughts and you realize he’s finished ordering. “what do you want?”

“oh, i can get it,” you begin, but he cuts you off.

“no, my treat,” he insists, and you sheepishly walk up to the counter to give your order. seonghwa makes a mental note of what you get, and he also snatches the bakery voucher from you before you can put it in your pocket. you make a confused sound and seonghwa laughs. 

“why’d you do that?” you whine.

“you only get to use it if you come with me to the bakery later,” he teases. “say yes or i’m drinking your coffee and getting myself an extra cupcake.”

“fine,” you huff. “but i have an assignment due at midnight, so i can’t stay long.”

“it’s 4pm, that’s not enough time for you to finish it?” he asks while you step out of the way for the next customers.

“i haven’t started yet,” you admit. 

“you like saving things until the last minute, don’t you?”

“what makes you say that?”

“well, it looks like you haven’t been studying music theory at all, and now this,” he shrugs. 

“not everybody can be perfect like you, park seonghwa,” you grumble as the barista places two coffee cups on the bar. you hear seonghwa giggle shortly, and you give him a questioning look.

“so you think i’m perfect?” he smirks.

-

it’s the next day, almost midnight, and you really need spray paint. 

why? well, you’re stressed because you have so much to study for your finals and you don’t know where to start. yes, seonghwa helped yesterday, but he’s not in all your other classes, so you’ve decided you need a break from tearing your hair out over the material you can’t comprehend. the best way to distract yourself from that is to finally paint that dresser you got from a garage sale a few months ago, hence the spray paint. 

thankfully, san is still awake, and he has a car, so you ask him to pick you up for a quick run to the art supply store that’s surprisingly still open. a bonus of going to college in the city, you can get anything almost whenever you need it. 

“thanks for coming to get me,” you tell san as you hop into his car. 

“no problem,” he replies. “i was bored and hongjoong said he needed paint pens so this is a win-win situation. plus, i get to hear about your date with seonghwa yesterday.”

“it was not a date,” you groan, choosing to ignore the suggestive way san is looking at you right now. 

“but you spent the whole afternoon together,” san starts. “he bought you coffee and you went to the bakery together and talked about, like, your favorite colors and stuff. sounds like a date to me.”

“how do you know all that?”

“seonghwa told hongjoong and then hongjoong told me,” he explains as he turns onto the street that’ll take you to the art store. 

“well tell hongjoong that i’m still mad at him for ditching us,” you reply. “and i’m still kinda mad at you and the other two for bailing in the first place.”

“hey, if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have had your first date with seonghwa,” san points out.

“it was not a date!” you cry. “we studied most of the time we were together, then he bought my coffee and bullied me into going to the bakery. i couldn’t stay long because i had a paper to write, so we talked about stupid shit until i had to leave.”

“it sounds like the beginning of true love to me,” san sing-songs. 

“stop the car, i’ve decided to walk.”

-

when you get to the store, san separates from you quickly because he sees his friend mingi behind the counter. they’re busy talking while you search the store for the paints, and you’re so busy looking up at the aisle names that you don’t notice you’re about to run into someone. 

“hey-” you start to complain, but you recognize the man you almost bumped into. “oh, seonghwa.”

“y/n,” he smiles at you. “what are you doing out so late?” 

“uh, distracting myself from how small my brain is,” you explain. “what are you doing here?”

“hongjoong needed paint pens,” he says, and you’re about two seconds away from finding san and slapping him. did they really plan this too? 

“why didn’t he come get them?” you ask as you remember what you’re here to find. your eyes scan the aisle behind seonghwa and you spot the paint cans at the end, but he’s in your way.

“i offered,” he says with a shrug.

“you must be a really good friend, then.”

“well you did call me perfect yesterday, so...” he trails off, smirking. you roll your eyes at him but can’t help the blush creeping up your neck. he interrupts his new favorite activity of staring deeply into your eyes (just to fluster you, of course) and he sees that you’re looking past him at the shelves of paint. “you need something down here?” 

“um, yeah, the spray paint,” you reply, awkwardly trying to skirt around him to get into the aisle. he steps aside to let you through, but still follows you as you search for the color you want.

“what are you making?” 

“i’m painting a scuffed up dresser i’ve had for a while, so i want something simple that’ll go with the rest of the things in my room,” you explain as you stop walking and crane your neck to scan the bottles on the top shelf. seonghwa stops behind you and places his hand on the small of your back as he reaches for a can just out of your reach.

“what about this one?” he offers, handing you a can of light blue paint. it’s really pretty, and it’ll stand out with the white furniture you already have, but you really like it.

“oh, that’s perfect!” you say as you take the can from his hands.

“there you go again,” seonghwa teases, and you shoot him a questioning look. he smiles as he responds. “calling me perfect?”

“i said the paint was perfect, weirdo,” you snap. “but thank you for finding this.”

“anytime,” he tells you. “you said your favorite color was blue right?”

“right...” you mumble, thinking back to the conversation you had at the bakery yesterday. “how’d you remember?”

“ugh, i’m hurt!” he exclaims, hand flying to his chest in mock surprise. “i can’t believe you already forgot that it’s my favorite color too.”

“hm, guess i was too distracted by how perfect you are,” you joke. seonghwa laughs at that, a sharp sound that seemed to catch him off guard. he covers his mouth to stifle the sound, but you’re close enough to the cash register now that it draws attention from san and mingi.

“find what you need?” san asks with a shit eating grin.

“hm, just about,” you say as you place the paint on the counter. “couldn’t find a hammer big enough to drop on your head, though.”

“wow, harsh,” san scoffs. “and to think i brought you here out of the goodness of my heart.”

you’re too busy half-bickering with san to notice that seonghwa has paid for your paint and the pens he promised hongjoong. he mumbles something to mingi, who then hands him a piece of paper. he scribbles his number down for you before handing you the can and his number. 

“i gotta go, but i’ll see you later for study group, right?” he confirms. you’re still processing the fact that he keeps buying things for you and you can’t respond in time, so san steps in.

“yeah, y/n will be there,” san assures seonghwa. he nods and shoots you one last smile before he excuses himself and leaves. you’re stuck with san and that stupid grin again. he looks at you and then checks the paper with seonghwa’s number on it. “yep, i think you got what you needed.”

-

even though seonghwa very willingly gave you his number, you’re still afraid to text him. it’s kind of hard to believe that he’s into you the way you’re into him, so you’re fine with just seeing him for study dates. or, uh, not study dates. study gatherings. with just the two of you. because the other guys have bailed, again.

this time, though, you’re not working on music theory. you have an assignemnt due for your ethics class, and you need family and friends to read about your results from this morals test. you wanted san to do it, but he’s currently “chasing a sweet piece of ass,” whatever that means. he’s probably bothering his lab partner that he claims descended from greek gods. you would usually tease him for saying something like that, but it’s a thought you’ve had about seonghwa, so you kept your mouth shut.

anyway, you know you need someone to answer these questions for you, but you can’t bring yourself to ask seonghwa. he kept up his “perfect” demeanor again today, showing up at the bookstore before you so he could get you the coffee you like. you would ask why he keeps doing things like this for you, remembering your favorite color and your coffee order, but you’re afraid he’ll stop if you bring it up. little do you know, every time he learns something new about you, he writes it down in his notes app, keeping a running tab of the things you like.

“y/n?” you hear him ask. his voice snaps you out of your thoughts and you realize you’ve been staring at him this whole time. the smirk you’ve become so familiar with makes another appearance as he gets ready to tease you. “something on your mind?”

“no, i...no,” you stutter. “i’m just thinking.”

“about what?” he questions as he lifts his coffee cup to his lips. you watch the way he slightly pouts them before taking a sip and you have to stop yourself from staring again.

“just this ethics assignment i want to finish,” you explain. “sorry, i didn’t realize i was staring at you.”

“must be an important assignment,” he nods, leaning forward to put his cup back on the table in front of you. you get another glimpse at the star tattoo on his neck as he does. “because i was definitely staring at you too, and you didn’t even notice.”

“oh?” 

“yep,” he confirms. “i was giving you my best puppy dog eyes and everything.”

“puppy dog eyes?” you ask, unsure of what’s coming. “do you need something?”

“eh, not really,” he shrugs. “i’m just worried.”

“why?”

“you never texted me the other night.”

“after the art store?” you ask incredulously. 

“isn’t that when i gave you my number?” he smirks. 

“i didn’t think you wanted me to text you immediately...”

“well, it’s been three days and i still don’t have your number,” he pouts. 

“hold on a second,” you mumble, reaching for your bag. you fumble around in there, searching for the piece of paper with seonghwa’s number on it as he watches you fondly.

“what are you doing?”

“looking for your number,” you reply like it’s obvious. seonghwa laughs a little and places his hand on your arm to stop you. 

“you do know i’m right next to you, and i could just put my number in myself?” he asks, eyes sparkling as he half-smiles at you. you blush, because no, you weren’t thinking about that. you sheepishly hand him your phone and watch as he adds his number and then texts himself. he gives your phone back and replaces it with his own before asking, “what’s your favorite emoji?”

“um, the smiling cowboy?” you offer, not sure why he’s asking. he laughs again, like he did in the art store, but this time it’s harder for him to quiet the breathy giggles coming from his chest.

“why that one?” he asks, typing something quickly.

“it’s funny,” you shrug. “why?”

“needed something cute to put next to your name, but you’re a weirdo, so it’s not as cute as i was imagining,” he explains, showing you the contact card in his phone. your number is saved as “y/n 🥰🤠” and you can’t help but laugh. you look up at seonghwa, warmth in your eyes, and he starts laughing too.

“see?” you giggle. “it is funny.”

“whatever, at least now i have your number.”

-

after exchanging numbers with seonghwa, you’re starting to let yourself believe little by little that he might feel the same way you do. it’s not anything serious, but there’s definitely something there. the texts he sends are always flirtatious, and it has your heart beating faster every time you get a notification, hoping that it’s him. you’re in the middle of studying for your spanish final when you feel your phone vibrate on the bed next to you, and you smile when you see who it’s from.

seonghwa 🥺💫, 6:28pm: are you busy rn?

you, 6:28pm: not really, just studying

seonghwa 🥺💫: can’t be studying too much if you replied that quickly 🥸

you: what do u want

seonghwa 🥺💫: be nice :-(

you: sorry

you: hi seonghwa, how are you? what do you want.

seonghwa 🥺💫: come get dinner with me? 

you: right now?

seonghwa 🥺💫: no, in 30 years. yes right now 

you: but i’m studying ://

seonghwa 🥺💫: liar!

you: fine, when and where?

seonghwa 🥺💫: i’ll pick you up in ten 🤠

- 

“you sure like staying close to campus, huh?” you ask seonghwa as he walks you about a block from your usual hangout and to a little hole in the wall restaurant that looks like it could seat maybe 20 people, uncomfortably. 

“i know what i like,” he responds with a shrug. “speaking of things i like, you look nice.”

“oh, thank you,” you semi-laugh. you’d been close to panic trying to figure out what to wear (because you’re not sure if this is a date) so you went with something simple, but you’re glad seonghwa likes it. not that you wanted to impress him. but you did, a little. anyway, he looks...well, perfect, wearing black ripped jeans and a velvet-y navy shirt. you continually have to stop yourself from reaching out and stroking his arm just to feel the soft fabric (and maybe his muscles). 

“so i take it you’ve never been here before?” he asks as he hands you a menu. you shake your head no in response. you can’t tell if he’s doing it intentionally, but seonghwa leans closer into your side as he explains. “you pick a main entree, but each dish comes with these sides. they say no substitutes, but i know the guy behind the counter so you can ask for more of something else if you don’t like one of them.”

“i might do that,” you say. “i don’t really want dumplings, so could i get extra sweet potatoes?”

“of course,” he nods, noting the way you smile slightly. it makes your eyes light up, and his heart does a little backflip knowing that he’s the reason for it. well, the sweet potatoes probably are, but he’s the one getting the sweet potatoes, so he’s taking that win for himself. once you both confirm what you want, he places his hand on your back and guides you to the counter.

“hey seonghwa!” the tall guy with a lopsided smile behind the register greets. “long time no see. who’s your friend?”

“hey yunho,” seonghwa smiles back. “this is y/n, a vip, so make sure you give us the good stuff.”

“extra sweet potatoes?” yunho laughs. you and seonghwa both nod as yunho continues taking your order, and you find yourself comfortably leaning into seonghwa as you wait for yunho to calculate the price. before seonghwa can even think about taking his wallet out, you’re handing yunho cash for the food, which makes seonghwa sputter.

“what? y/n, i was going to pay,” he whines, and you simply shake your head.

“nope, my turn,” you tell him. “you’ve bought me coffee too many times.”

“but i asked you out! i don’t want you to pay on our first date if i’m the one who brought you here,” he continues to complain.

“so this is a date?” you confirm, right as yunho asks suggestively “oh, this is a date?”

“yunho, give y/n’s money back,” seonghwa says, ignoring the two of you. “i’m paying.”

“yunho, if you give me that money i’ll be forced to leave and stand seonghwa up for our date,” you say, emphasizing the last word. now you’re glad you wore clean pants.

“seonghwa, why don’t you let y/n pay for this, and then you can get the next one?” yunho suggests, sending you a wink before he turns to the kitchen to share your order with the chef. you’re left with a flustered seonghwa, which is a sight you’re not used to, and it makes you laugh.

“c’mon,” you say as you pull on his arm. “let’s go find a table.”

you’re the only ones in the restaurant, so the food comes out pretty quick, and you have to stifle a laugh when you see that someone has arranged the sweet potatoes on a separate plate in the shape of a heart. seonghwa blushes at this, and you’re taken aback by how shy he’s suddenly become.

for some reason, seonghwa showing signs of nervousness puts you at ease, and you lead the conversation to something stupid san told you about the boys and their shenanigans at their dorm. the story has seonghwa laughing, and he confirms that yes, yeosang does have a sword by the tv, and yes, hongjoong did threaten to use it on him after he lost an intense match of fifa. 

“in hongjoong’s defense,” seonghwa begins, “i do think yeosang cheated. wooyoung was definitely helping him.”

“it still sounds ridiculous,” you tell him. “why does anybody need a sword?”

“yeosang is just...yeosang,” seonghwa replies. “he’s weird but he won’t admit that to anyone.”

“i’m just saying, if i went to someone’s house and there was a katana by the tv, i’d haul my ass outta there.” seonghwa giggles at how serious you look, but this conversation reminds him...

“you never showed me your room,” he says bluntly. you pause for a moment, spoon halfway to your mouth, and seonghwa realizes how that must sound. “i mean, the paint, your dresser. you never showed me a picture once you fixed it up.”

“oh,” you breathe out. “let me grab my phone, i can show you.”

“show him what?” a familiar voice suddenly asks from the seat next to you. when you notice that san, and some of your other friends, have snuck their way into the restaurant, you have to keep yourself from groaning.

“why are you here.”

“i’m hungry,” san replies, then turns to seonghwa. “you didn’t tell us you were getting dinner.”

“i didn’t want to,” seonghwa deadpans. “ i wanted it to be just me and y/n.”

“too late for that, pal,” honjoong says as he slides into the seat across from you. “hi y/n.”

“hey hongjoong,” you grumble. “please tell me you’re getting your food to go.”

“we were, but then we saw our good friends eating all by themselves and thought we should join them,” hongjoong teases. by now, the rest of the boys have sat down around you, some at other tables, and one of them you don’t recognize. that must be jongho, their younger “roommate” who technically lives in first year housing but doesn’t get along with the other guy in his room. you’ve heard seonghwa complain that jongho eats all of his snacks. 

“well, i hope you enjoy your food, but seonghwa and i were just about to leave,” you lie, looking at seonghwa with a stare that pleads ‘please go along with this.’

“where are you going?” wooyoung asks, one table over.

“my apartment,” you respond quickly, standing up as seonghwa follows your cue with a stupidly adorable look on his face.

“oh, perfect!” san chirps. “we’ll come with you!”

- 

so much for your date with seonghwa. it was hard to stop the boys from insisting they all join you at your apartment, especially after yunho said his shift was over and he could really use some destressing. and by destressing he meant booze, so you currently have 8 tipsy boys scattered across your living room. if you thought they were loud before...it’s amazing that your neighbors haven’t complained yet. 

it started off innocent enough, you were just playing card games at first and the loser of each round had to drink. then it turned into never have i ever, and each time you put a finger down you had to drink. then yeosang suggested shots, and it really went downhill from there. san tried convincing everyone to play a round of spin the bottle just for the chance of making you and seonghwa kiss, but mingi and wooyoung were the only ones down, so majority ruled there. 

“san, stop pouting,” you laugh, noticing that he’s upset over his evil plan not working out.

“it’s fine,” he lies, duck lips on full display. 

“spin the bottle is such a tween-y game too,” jongho pipes in. “and we’re adults, so it would be kinda stupid to play it anyway.”

“says the baby of the group,” yeosang scoffs. 

“what about truth or dare?” hongjoong suggests. “still immature, but we can make it fun.”

“yes!” san shouts, suddenly back in a positive mood. 

“i’ll start,” mingi volunteers. he takes a deep breath as he looks around the room, eyes narrowing when he looks at you and seonghwa. you’re currently smushed into your armchair together, not really by choice, because the couch is completely full and neither of you wanted to sit on the floor (you know how dirty it is, and seonghwa has a bad hip). thankfully, mingi has mercy on you and directs his gaze to his best friend. “yunho, truth or dare?”

“truth,” yunho slurs out. you’d say he’s the opposite of stressed by now.

“did you sleep with that girl you met at the party last week?”

“no,” yunho replies quickly, cheeks turning a knowing shade of red. “i just walked her home.”

“and went missing until the next morning?” yeosang asks. he gets a few snickers, and you laugh a little too because you remember san and wooyoung talking about their friend who disappeared for a few hours last weekend.

“whatever,” yunho groans. “yeosang. truth or dare.”

“dare,” yeosang chooses confidently. 

“kiss wooyoung on the cheek.”

“no,” he replies, just as confidently. 

“then take another shot,” yunho concedes, waving his hand at the stubborn boy. wooyoung mumbles something about how kissable he is as yeosang downs what looks like more than just a regular shot.

“this is boring,” jongho whines, which makes him the next target. he chooses dare, and you have to detach yourself from seonghwa so you can go into your kitchen and find the lemon juice in your fridge so jongho can chug what’s left. he’s sputtering after a few sips and gives up, grumbling up to you, “ i hate you for that.”

“hey, it wasn’t my dare,” you defend yourself. “you owe me lemon juice.”

“i’ll give it to you if you choose dare,” jongho challenges. you roll your eyes and take the bait, earning a round of ooo’s from the boys around you. 

“make her kiss seonghwa,” someone hisses.

“or me!” wooyoung chirps. jongho looks over at him with a death glare, and wooyoung shrugs. “i just want someone to want to kiss me.”

“i think you’re cut off,” hongjoong says as he leans across your coffee table to move the bottle away from wooyoung.

“everyone be quiet!” san shouts. “jongho has to give y/n a dare.”

“hmmm,” jongho starts, tapping his finger on his chin. “what should i do?”

“for someone who said this was boring, you’re really milking this,” seonghwa says under his breath. you’re perched on the arm of the chair, close enough to hear him, but thankfully no one else does.

“what’s that other childish game called?” jongho wonders aloud. “seven minutes in heaven? i think you should do that with seonghwa.”

“do i have to?” you pout, and your reluctance makes seonghwa stiffen. he thinks you said that because you’re uncomfortable, and not because you don’t want the boys pressing their ear up to the door while the two of you make out.

“rules are rules,” hongjoong concludes, nodding his head toward your room. “go have fun. i’ll keep the kids from bothering you.”

you look to seonghwa, who isn’t looking directly at you. you tentatively take his hand, giving it a squeeze before you stand up and lead him to your room. there are so many catcalls, whistles and cheers coming from your friends that you barely hear san say “take your time! it doesn’t have to be just seven minutes!”

once you get to your room, you let seonghwa go in first and then you lock the door behind you. he quirks an eyebrow at that, and you shrug shyly. 

“don’t want one of them bursting in,” you explain. seonghwa nods, and you both fall silent. it’s not necessarily awkward, just tense. you both want to do what seven minutes in heaven is meant for, but you’re not gonna make the first move and seonghwa still isn’t sure you even want to be in this situation. so he takes this time to turn around and take your room in, pointing to your dresser.

“is this it?” he asks. you hum out a yes in response, and he runs his hand over the freshly painted wood. “it looks nice. whoever picked out the color sure knows what he’s doing.”

“eh, he’s just lucky,” you joke, and you both laugh. you move to stand next to him and place your hand on top of his. “sorry we couldn’t finish our date.” 

“sorry my friends are so annoying,” seonghwa adds. 

“sorry san pushed me into your lap earlier,” you continue, and seonghwa smirks.

“well, i didn’t mind that,” he says. “i wanted you to sit with me, but i didn’t want to draw attention.”

“oh,” you squeak, feeling a blush on its way to your cheeks. a heavy silence falls over you, and seonghwa is the first to break it.

“listen, if you don’t want to kiss me, that’s cool,” he begins. “i kinda got the vibe earlier that you didn’t want to do this, and that’s cool. if you don’t want to do this we’re still cool.”

“you don’t sound very cool about it,” you chuckle, and seonghwa’s face flushes. “but i was only nervous because i didn’t know if you wanted to kiss me.”

“oh i want to kiss you,” he says firmly. “have for a while.”

“why don’t you do it then?” you challenge. seonghwa takes a step closer to you, and before you know it he’s pinned you against your dresser. you balance your hands on it and the cool wood helps you ground yourself as your body heats up from having seonghwa so close.

“are you sure?” he asks, only a few inches from your face. you nod and whisper out “i’m sure” and seonghwa quickly cups your face and smothers you in a kiss. it starts off slow, and your face warms at his touch. once you relax into it you move your lips against his, nipping at his bottom lip slightly and earning a groan from the man before you. you take the chance to slip your tongue past his lips as you bring your hands up to the nape of his neck, slowly brushing through his soft hair. his hands find their way to your waist, gripping tightly but not too hard, and he leans in to get as close to you as possible. you keep kissing for a few moments, but eventually you need to breathe so you lightly tap on his neck. he pulls back, breathing heavy, and his smile shines like the most beautiful stars in the sky. “so?”

“so?” you repeat, equally out of breath.

“that was nice.”

“it was.”

“the boys are gonna know we made out.”

“of course they are,” you laugh. “your lips look swollen.”

“so do yours,” he counters. 

“but wasn’t that the whole point of us coming in here?” you ask. your hands have fallen to his chest, and you finally get a chance to smooth out the soft velvet of his shirt. and you notice his chest is very, uh, firm, too.

“we didn’t have to kiss,” he says with a shrug. “we could’ve just talked.”

“about what?” you ask with a smile.

“my keen eye for interior design,” he replies. “how sexy you look in low lighting.”

“so you think i’m sexy?” you tease, and seonghwa rolls his eyes.

“i just had my tongue in your mouth, does that answer your question?”

another silence comes over you both, but this one is lighter than before. you’re subconsciously rubbing your hands over his shirt, and seonghwa brings a hand up to cover yours, stopping it right over his heart.

“we don’t have to tell them,” you offer. “i mean, they kept it a secret from us that they were trying to get us together this whole time.”

“oh no, i was fully aware of that,” seonghwa tells you, and you scoff. “do you think i really wanted to get out past midnight just to buy hongjoong some expensive markers? he never even paid me for them.”

“well now i really don’t want to tell them we kissed,” you whine. “how could everyone be in on this except me?”

“it was more fun that way,” seonghwa teases before pecking your lips. “but we can keep this between us, for now.”

“i think we should,” you say with a nod of finality. “it’s more fun that way.”

“c’mon, let’s go back out there before they send a search party.”

you return to the living room before seonghwa (so he can sneak into the bathroom and fix his hair) and you find most of the boys asleep on the floor. you sigh as your eyes meet hongjoong’s, and he shrugs.

“at least they didn’t bother you,” he says. 

“can you help me find pillows and blankets for them, please?” you ask, and he nods before jumping into action. he throws one of the couch pillows down to yeosang, who takes it and hugs it to his chest. you have a couple extras in your hall closet and you pass them to yunho, who’s sitting up when you come back. he places one under mingi and another under jongho and keeps the last one for himself. san and wooyoung are on the couch, and hongjoong tells you he’s fine with the armchair. seonghwa is out of the bathroom by now, and, like the perfect man he is, he’s carrying blankets in his arms. the three of you work on getting all the boys covered before you realize that seonghwa doesn’t have a place to sleep.

“i can take another spot on the floor,” he assures you. “do you have another pillow i can use?”

“let him sleep in your room, y/n,” san mumbles from underneath wooyoung. you pause and look at seonghwa, who’s looking back at you with something you can’t read in his eyes. 

“it’s not a bad idea,” hongjoong pipes in from somewhere within the blanket cocoon he made for himself. “he was just there. you can put him on the floor.”

“y/n?” seonghwa asks, pulling your attention back to him. “i don’t have to if you’re uncomfortable.” 

you would try to fight it, so you could hopefully ignore taunts from the boys in the morning, but you’re suddenly really tired and you just want to lay down.

“i’m ok with it if you are,” you yawn. “take the rest of those blankets, we can use those for your bed.”

“make good choices,” honjoong mumbles as seonghwa leads you back to your room, and you hear san going “oooooo” as you close your door a second time tonight. this time you don’t lock it though, and when you turn around you see the blankets on the floor and seonghwa sprawled out on your usual side of the bed, so you tell him.

“well why don’t you come join me then?” he teases with a grin. you blush and shake your head.

“scoot over.”

he does, but only by an inch. he still looks at you with that flirty glint in his eyes, and you can only shake your head again as you crawl into the tiny space next to him. he immediately wraps an arm around your waist and gives you a tight hug, placing a kiss on your shoulder.

“thank you,” he whispers into your back.

“for what?” you reply.

“for not putting me on the floor. and for liking me.”

-

you just woke up from maybe the best night of sleep you’ve ever had. seonghwa’s arms and legs are draped over yours, so you can’t get up without waking him, but having him so close is a welcome source of warmth. your apartment is quiet, and the sun is peacefully filtering into your room through your curtain. it’s the perfect moment, with your perfect boy, until- 

“i think they’re still asleep,” you hear someone whisper from the hallway.

“wooyoung, leave them alone!” another voice hisses. there’s silence for a moment, and then a smack, followed by someone jiggling the doorknob to your room. you quickly untangle yourself from seonghwa before you watch as the door cracks open a bit, revealing wooyoung in all his bed-headed glory. you close your eyes as much as you can while still peeking at who’s sneaking into your room, and you see jongho close behind him. he must’ve been the one who got smacked. or did the smacking. either way, they’re both staring at you and seonghwa in your bed, but you notice wooyoung smile and pause.

“i knew it! they definitely got together last night.”

“how do you know?” jongho asks. “maybe y/n let seonghwa sleep on the bed because of his old man hips.”

“whatever. they’re in the same bed, so that’s at least something,” wooyoung replies. “lame, but still something.”

“what did you expect?” jongho asks incredulously. “you thought we would catch them doing it?”

“i mean, not exactly, but couldn’t i get a little cuddling maybe?”

“you want me to cuddle you hyung?” jongho deadpans.

“yes, actually-”

“hey!” a third voice whisper shouts. you hear footsteps and then you see hongjoong pulling wooyoung out of your room by the neck of his shirt. “leave them alone. and you, jongho, i’m surprised you’re playing along with this.”

“well...” jongho mumbles.

“well what?” hongjoong asks, sounding like the mom-est mom to ever mom.

“they’re the only ones that know how to make breakfast.”

“both of you, out! now!” hongjoong semi-shouts, and you feel seonghwa stirring behind you. hongjoong doesn’t realize you’re both awake and closes the door as he leaves.

“what time is it?” seonghwa grumbles out, and your heart skips a beat hearing how deep his voice is when he wakes up.

“early,” you reply, turning around to be face to face with him. his arms slowly snake around you as you look up at him and share a sleepy smile. “how can you look this good when you first wake up?”

“weird, i wanted to ask you the same thing,” seonghwa replies, leaning in to kiss you but you touch your fingers to his lips and stop him, so he pouts. 

“uh uh, not until i brush my teeth,” you say as you try to get up, but seonghwa’s grip on your waist keeps you down.

“please,” he pouts again, sparkly eyes on full display as he pleads with you. it takes about half a second for you to cave and kiss him quickly, catching him off guard. he shifts to pull you on top of him and deepen the kiss, but he loses his grip on you and you’re able to slip out of bed before he can stop you. a noise comes from deep in his chest that almost sounds like a growl, and you shoot him a glare.

“hey, you got your kiss,” you warn. “now i’m going to make breakfast for the gremlins. do you want to help me?”

-

after the intrusion into your bedroom, wooyoung obviously told the boys what he saw. but, like jongho said, most of them thought it was just because of seonghwa’s hips that made you share a bed with him. there wasn’t enough evidence otherwise, and none of them really expected either of you to make a move despite their efforts. but they’re starting to get suspicious.

little do they know, after the set up fell into place, seonghwa wanted to take you on a real date. the only way to do that without your friends knowing was to sneak around without them, which was kind of fun. it was nice having this bubble with seonghwa, just the two of you, but it was getting harder to avoid your friends. seonghwa lived with them after all, so they pestered him about how often he was out and who he might be out with. 

“san keeps asking if you’re a good kisser. i told him i didn’t know, and then he asked if he could find out for me. should i be concerned about that?”

“we need to be more careful, yeosang said he saw us at the taco place yesterday, and he said we hold hands weird.”

“hongjoong has been saving seats for us at the bookstore, and each time we don’t show up i think he steals something from me.”

you have been ditching study group lately, but that’s more because you need to do some deep studying for your other finals and your friends are too much of a distraction. seonghwa can be distracting too, but at least he can take a hint and back down when you really need to focus. it’s been nice actually, just spending time in his presence. you were so nervous around him just a few weeks ago, and now you feel like you could trust him with just about anything.

today, you don’t get any personal study time, though. your music theory final is coming up and seonghwa wants you to get all the terms memorized before the review session in class tomorrow. he’s motivating you with a kiss for each right answer and the promise of him making dinner once you’re done. you’re currently cruising on five wrong in a row, and you’re getting frustrated. 

“c’mon y/n, you know this,” seonghwa encourages you, but you just whine in response. “we did this like four minutes ago, and i told you the answer so you could remember it.”

“yeah, well i obviously didn’t,” you snap, and seonghwa fakes being hurt. “sorry. can we skip this and come back to it?”

“sure,” he agrees quickly. “but first you need to write down the circle of fifths for me.” 

“i hate you.”

“hm, wrong answer,” he hums. “but kiss anyway. maybe that’ll keep you from getting so grumpy.”

“i am not grumpy,” you defend after kissing him gently. “i’m stressed.”

“you know what you need?”

“hm?”

“you need to go on another date,” he begins. “with me, obviously.”

“damn, i wanted to know if yunho was free,” you tease, and seonghwa doesn’t think it’s funny. “now who’s grumpy?”

“ignoring that,” he scoffs, but you can tell he’s trying not to smile. 

“when would we go? i’m really busy the next few days.”

“what about after class? we could both clean up and do something nice before we get some dinner?” seonghwa suggests. “why don’t we go to that art exhibit you told me about?”

“ugh,” you groan as you learn your head on his shoulder. “that sounds amazing, but we both said we’d be at study group tomorrow, remember? hongjoong practically begged me to be there, and i said i would ask you to come.”

“what about not letting them know we’re a thing?” he pouts. you don’t tell him about the youngest two that saw you all cuddled up, but instead you assure him that you inviting him to study group wouldn’t look unusual to the boys.

“plus, if we both cancel last minute, they’d know for sure we were up to something together,” you continue. “so yes, we need to go on another date, but just not tomorrow.”

“fine,” he mumbles. “now i am grumpy.”

“would something from the cafe make it better, my little boba ball?” you ask in a baby voice.

“ooh, actually, boba sounds good,” seonghwa smiles. “let’s go.”

-

the next day you get to the bookstore late because your professor gave a pop quiz at the end of class and you’ve been so busy studying music theory you forgot to study for anything else, so you needed all the time you could get. when you finally arrive, all of the boys are there, surprisingly. since you’ve never seen yunho, mingi and jongho here before you’re a little confused, but happy to see them nonetheless. 

as you walk up to the usual spot, you notice a coffee cup sitting in front of an empty chair, and you point to it as the boys greet you.

“is this for me?” you ask, placing your bag on the ground before grabbing the warm mug. “thank you, coffee angel.”

“you’re welcome, actual angel,” seonghwa replies, and you almost choke on your first sip. what is he doing?? you’re supposed to be sneaky sneaks and keep your relationship quiet, but here he is flirting with you in front of everyone!

except, that’s what he did before you started dating too, so it’s not out of the ordinary. in fact, no one pays any mind to it, so you’re left with a burnt tongue and blushy cheeks while seonghwa looks at you with a stare that only you would understand. you quickly shoot him a wink before you put your mug down and reach for your notes.

“um, hello? what are you guys doing?” you ask yeosang next to you, who’s rabidly tapping at his phone, just like everyone else. if they weren’t distracted they might have picked up on the vibes between you and seonghwa, but thankfully they’re the oblivious ones now.

“playing a game,” half of them respond, just as hongjoong says “writing lyrics” and jongho mumbles “texting my mom.”

“aren’t we supposed to study?” you ask. “or did you already learn everything in the world while i was gone?”

“well you’ve missed a lot of study sessions, y/n,” san begins. “so yes, we have learned everything. now we just come here to hang out.”

“so then why did you insist on me being here, joong?” you ask newly orange-haired hongjoong. it’s been a while since you’ve seen him, he must’ve dyed it recently. 

“we missed hanging out with you,” he says simply, eyes peeking up from his phone. your heart constricts at this, and you catch seonghwa’s eyes again. you might have to rethink the whole sneaking around thing if they really do miss you.

“yeah, we missed you AND we had to make sure you and seonghwa are still spending time together,” wooyoung adds, wiggling his eyebrows. 

“where have you been anyway?” yeosang asks. “you don’t have other friends.”

“yes i do,” you scoff.”

“give me names and numbers.”

“ignore him,” yunho tells you, and you nod.

“i always do. but i’ve been really stressed about finals, so i had to do some soul searching on my own to decide if i need to graduate or not.”

“seems fair,” mingi agrees. “i almost had to drop a class.”

“because he forgot he was even enrolled in it,” jongho clarifies, and you laugh.

“but seonghwa has been missing a lot lately too,” san starts. “i wonder what he’s been doing.”

“or who,” wooyoung snickers, and hongjoong reaches over mingi to slap him.

“i haven’t been feeling well,” seonghwa says with a shrug. “i’ve mostly been in my room, or at the pharmacy to get medicine.”

“oh, so you could’ve bought new paper towels for the dorm then, huh?” hongjoong asks, and as the two of them start to bicker, yeosang nudges your arm.

“i saw you two,” he says quietly. “at the mexican restaurant.”

“i know,” you whisper back. 

“so i know you’re dating.”

“are you gonna say anything?”

“hmmm, no,” he thinks. “but you have to buy my silence.”

“with coffee?” you offer, and yeosang smiles. he stands up and puts his phone away before speaking, looking directly at seonghwa.

“my best friend y/n is gonna buy me coffee, we’ll be back,” he says as he loops his arm around your shoulders. seonghwa watches as you walk away (and stares at your ass) but he’s mostly thinking about how he’s a little jealous right now. like, he knows you wouldn’t do anything, he trusts you, but he doesn’t want his friends thinking you have a thing for anyone but him. so while you’re gone, he talks.

“i haven’t been sick,” he admits. “i’ve been seeing y/n.”

“we all knew, dude,” hongjoong says casually, and everyone agrees.

“then why didn’t you say anything?!”

“because YOU weren’t saying anything,” jongho replies.

“yeah, we figured that we did enough trying to get the two of you together, so if you didn’t end up dating then that was your fault. we were just waiting on you to make a move,” san explains. 

“then why did you let us lie to you like that?”

“it was fun,” wooyoung shrugs. “by the way, did y/n let you sleep in the bed because of your hips, or because you wanted to cuddle?”

the red tint on seonghwa’s cheeks gives him away, and the boys start laughing and ooo’ing so loud he’s afraid you’ll hear it over by the coffee counter.

“ok, ok, just. keep this quiet for now,” he says. “y/n may still want this to be private.”

“but you just told us about it,” yunho says. “why would you do that if you knew y/n wouldn’t want you to?”

“well,” seonghwa begins. “i need your help with a date.”

-

seemingly by an act of god, you have time this weekend to go on a date with seonghwa. little did you know, he’s the reason your plans suddenly freed up. san said you could critique him and wooyoung for their dance final another day, hongjoong said he would send you his music theory notes from the review and save you hours of studying and then yeosang found the exact spanish book you needed to finish your performance final ahead of time. it was the perfect circumstances, orchestrated by your perfect boy and his perfect-adjacent friends, who all agreed to help him with this (hopefully) perfect date. 

it starts with seonghwa picking you up from your apartment, coffee in hand. 

“you’re the man of my dreams, you know that?” you say in passing as you grab the warm to-go cup. even if you were only saying it lightly, it made seonghwa’s heart soar. you notice he hasn’t said anything to you, so you meet his eyes to find them full of stars like always, but this time there’s something scheme-y in there. he’s up to something.

“are you ready for the best date of your life?” he asks with a smile that puts the stars in his eyes to shame.

“yes, i think,” you respond, grabbing your keys and locking your door. “but i don’t know what we’re doing.”

“and it will stay that way until we get there,” seonghwa says firmly as he laces his hand into yours. you squeeze his hand and sigh.

“i guess i just have to trust you then.”

“but that won’t be hard right?”

“wait, didn’t you say something earlier about going to that art exhibit? is that it?” you question, even though you know he won’t budge. seonghwa just shakes his head no and punches the button for the elevator. a moment of silence passes before you guess again. “a movie? you rented out a movie theater, like you said you wanted to?”

“i tried, but it was expensive,” he admits and you have to laugh. “funds are tight right now.”

“i watched you buy a couple hundred dollars worth of legos the other day babe. maybe that’s why the date fund is lacking.”

“you’re not coming between me and my collectables, y/n,” seonghwa scolds. the elevator pings to open to the parking garage under your building, and you’re confused for a moment before he explains. “i want this to be a nice date, so yunho let me borrow his car. it would be no fun if we show up all sweaty because we were walking.”

yunho’s car, which is actually pretty nice thanks to all the tips he gets from flirting with clientele, is parked by the elevator. seonghwa leads you to your door and opens it for you, revealing a basket of flowers and candies in the seat. you coo as you pick it up, and seonghwa looks on proudly. you lean over to give him a kiss, and you whisper your thanks as you pull away.

“that was mingi’s idea,” seonghwa tells you, smiling brightly “i got all your favorites.”

“i see that.”

“but look around the flowers,” he guides you. “there’s something else.”

you hold the basket up to eye level, noticing the silver sparkle around the stems of the flowers. is it glitter? you tug at a flower and realize it’s a chain, and attached is a hand drawn star charm to match the tattoo on the back of seonghwa’s neck. 

“seonghwa, this is beautiful,” you say breathlessly. “we’re gonna match! that’s so cute. who’s idea was this?”

“would you believe me if i said it was mine?”

“no.”

“that’s what jongho said too,” seonghwa laughs. “it was his idea.”

“tell him thank you,” you say as you play with the charm. “mingi and yunho too. it’s a good date so far.”

“oh baby, it hasn’t officially started yet.”

-

in the car, seonghwa plays a mix of songs that he really likes, and he’s mixed in some of your favorites too. he has to keep convincing you that the songs aren’t clues, because you ask every time a new song plays.

“so are the songs just distractions?” you ask, finally giving up on getting any information out of him. 

“why do you ask that?” he smirks as he turns down a familiar road.

“because i can tell you just took the long way to the record store,” you explain. “are you stalling?”

“me, what? why?” his response does nothing to manage your suspicions, and suddenly you remember how your friends have helped with the date so far. are they all in on this? you need answers.

“seonghwa, i swear to god, if san or wooyoung jumps out to surprise me wherever we’re going-”

“that won’t happen,” seonghwa laughs while he parks the car. “we’re here anyway, and i promise this is the last surprise of the night.”

“the record store?” you question, looking up at the shop you’ve been to countless times to shop and to bother hongjoong while he works. 

“yeah, you said there was a new album out you wanted to get, right?”

“yeah,” you blush. “but i just said that in passing, i didn’t expect you to remember.”

“y/n, i want to know everything about you,” seonghwa says seriously. “so of course i remembered. wait, don’t get out yet. i’ll open the door for you.”

as seonghwa helps you out of the car, you quiz him on the other things you’ve said around him that you didn’t think he remembered. sadly, he does remember you saying your favorite disney movie is ratatouille and you’ve always wanted to try the mushroom/cheese concoction remy makes in the first scene.

“that’s a little embarrassing,” you sigh as you reach for the door. you’re going to complain some more about how seonghwa doesn’t need to remember everything about you, but the sight in front of you makes you stop mid-breath.

the record store has been decorated from floor to ceiling in fairy lights, and there’s more flowers all over the place. as you look around, you notice the flowers are tucked in the shelves next to your favorite artists. next to the door is the album you were talking about, and a little further down you see your favorite album of all time with a few extra flowers next to it. you’re still taking everything in when you notice hongjoong behind the counter.

“did you help him with this?” you ask breathlessly, and hongjoong nods. 

“yeah, but the flowers next to the albums was my idea,” hongjoong explains. “we’re running a new special called “y’n’s favorites” so everything that’s marked with a flower is yours, if you want it. everything is on the house.” 

“i...i don’t know what to say,” you start. you turn to seonghwa and there are those starry eyes that you love to see. you reach out to cup his face and smile. “thank you. this is...perfect.”

“it’s even more perfect now that i’m here!” wooyoung shouts from the front door of the shop, followed by san and yeosang. you look at seonghwa and all he does is laugh.

“what? at least he didn’t jump out and scare you,” seonghwa teases.

“oh, i would never,” wooyoung nods with a half-serious look on his face. “but i definitely wouldn’t do that when i have your dinner in my hands, i can’t let all this hard work spill.”

“especially not on my clean floor,” hongjoong warns. 

“you made dinner for us?” you ask wooyoung, but you’re looking at seonghwa, who simply shrugs.

“yep, i made one of your favorites and then threw in a couple recipes i thought you’d both like,” wooyoung says as he and the two other boys place food down on the counter by the register.

“and what did you two help with?” you ask san and yeosang.

“who do you think made this place so beautiful?” yeosang asks incredulously.

“yeosang did the lights and i bought all the flowers,” san explains with a smile that makes his eyes turn into happy half moons. “you’d be surprised how many places i had to go to get all your favorites.”

“i really don’t know what to say,” you whisper in disbelief. “i can’t believe you all did this for me.”

“it was all seonghwa’s idea,” san tells you. “we did it for both of you.”

“yeah, we’re just his little minions,” yeosang jokes, and wooyoung giggles. 

“you tell me how that food tastes, got it?” he asks as he backs out of the store. “don’t say anything mean though. i only accept compliments.”

“wooyoung,” seonghwa smiles tightly. “please leave.”

wooyoung holds the door open for san and yeosang as he gives seonghwa a thumbs up. san waves goodbye sweetly and yeosang gives you a knowing smile before the door closes behind them.

“well, i think that’s my cue to go,” hongjoong says, handing the keys to seonghwa. “don’t make a mess. if i get fired, i’m selling all the stuff i stole from you when you were sneaking around with y/n and not telling us about it.”

“i’ll keep him under control,” you assure hongjoong, who nods as heads to the door. you don’t see him leave because seonghwa has stepped in front of you, and he places his hands on your waist to pull you closer.

“so,” he begins.

“so.”

“what do you want to listen to while we eat?” he asks, pulling you by the waist over to a row of records. you stand there quietly, looking over the albums hongjoong pulled to the front for you, and you just can’t believe how much work went into this date. you can’t believe how sweet it is that each of your friends helped, and you put your hand on seonghwa’s and give it a squeeze.

“hwa,” you whisper. he hums in response, but you place your hand on his cheek and guide his gaze to yours.

“thank you,” you tell him. “thank you for this.”

he smiles at you with a look in his eyes that can’t be anything else but love, and you smile back with that much love, if not more, in your own face. you use the hand on seonghwa’s chin to guide his lips to yours, and you lose yourself in the kiss, in seonghwa, for who knows how long.

“mm, y/n,” he mumbles against your lips before detaching. “the food will get cold.”

“you’re right,” you sigh. “but we didn’t pick any music.”

“how about this?” he asks, pulling an album out from the top shelf. you smile at the cover, knowing exactly what song seonghwa wants you to hear. 

“perfect,” you agree. “i’ll put it on while you get the food?”

and that’s how you end up eating the perfect meal, on your perfect date, with all of your favorite things around you, sitting right next to your perfect boy.

[random-imagines-blog]

Love Peas {Hiram Lodge x Reader}

Requested by: Anonymous Wordcount: 1894 Summary: Hiram comes home after a very rough night. Notes: Mentions of death

Shifting under the covers, you heard a noise coming from downstairs. The house was usually quiet save for the murmur of the appliances and electronics, a sound that you had gotten used to over the months of living here with your boyfriend, Hiram. So each and every footstep on the ground sounded like a racket. You laid still, expecting the security system to trigger, saying that there was an intruder, but it did no such thing. The power was still on, you could hear the hum still, that little electrical buzz that was your constant background noise. So that meant whoever was in your house had the keycode. Hiram.

There was even more clamor from downstairs. A groaning sound. Now you knew for sure it was Hiram. You’ve heard him, unfortunately, be in pain on more than one occasion through your relationship. It was the price that he paid for being in the ‘business’ that he was.

You swept the blankets off of you, your bare feet touching the cold wooden floor. You pulled your robe closed over your pajamas as you made your way quickly to the door, through the hallway, and then started down the stairs to see what the damage was this time. You were always terrified that he was going to come home covered in blood, battered beyond repair. That you were going to hold him and hear nothing but the death rattle right before he would be gone. It was a scene that ran through your nightmares. A scene that if it were in front of you, you were ill-prepared to deal with.

There was nothing lazy, or just-woken up about your movements. Foot descending after foot on the runner of the stairs, keeping the chilliness of the hard floors at bay. Through the moonlight coming in through the windows, you were able to see a form just slipping out of the foyer, making it’s way to the kitchens. “Hiram?" You asked, reaching the bottom of the staircase and turning to follow. He was hurt, though there was no blood on the floor. There wasn’t a trail leading after him. But by the way that his leg was sliding behind him, it looked like it was broken at the very least. You flicked the switch and the kitchen came to life with bright lights, revealing everything. Under those florescent s, there was no room to hide.

Though Hiram was trying pretty hard to hide.

He sat down on the floor, head leaning back against the wooden cabinets. He was bruised, but that was an understatement. He was severely bruised. Black eye. Split lip. His usually perfect hair was tousled in a not-unattractive way but the very fact that he hadn’t immediately took a come to it scared you a little. If that was the state of his face, you were very concerned about the rest of him. You got down on your knees next to him, ignoring the discomfort, nervous to even touch him. He looked like he would break if he did.

“I can explain...” Hiram started off by saying, but then realized that he wasn’t going to be able to talk his way out of this one. He’d look up into your face, and then would immediately try to cut off the eye contact, looking down at the ground instead.

“I think this is going a bit beyond the first aid box’s capabilities,” You winced upon seeing the other side of his face. Oh lord, even that eye was starting to swell up. He was close to being a human bruise at this point. That poor, gorgeous face of his. “Maybe we should get you to a hospital. Is anything broken? How did you get home?”

“Cab,” Hiram admitted, ignoring your first question. “The driver was - taking care of things while I left.”

“Christ, Hiram,” You groaned. You got up to your feet, dashing towards the bathroom to get the first aid kit that was in there. The amount of times that you had to replace this thing. The pharmacy probably thought that you were in an abusive relationship. You came back to see that he hardly moved, other than to wipe a bit of blood that was coming from the deep cut in his bottom lip. You sat back down beside him, opened up the first aid kit, tore into a package that contained an alcohol wipe and started to blot.

“Do we got any ice packs?” Hiram moaned. You stood up to go and check, looking through the contents of the freezer. You rummaged past the frozen vegetables, frozen pizzas, bottles of alcohol to find that - no, there were no ice packs in the freezer.

“Have to do with some vegetables,” You said, grabbing a bag of frozen peas. You held it up to his face, pressing it as tenderly as you could against the rougher looking eye. He hissed, and brought his hand up to grab it, only to show you how damaged that looked too. Bloody knuckles were the least of his worries. “We’re going to have to get that looked at,” You said, pointing towards his hand.

“It’s fine,” He muttered, letting it rest on the bag, which was resting on his face. It looked like it hurt. You didn’t know how he wasn’t crying out for a hospital. You would be if you sustained even half of those injuries.

“As much as we love peas in this house, I don’t think they’re going to be granting you any miracles,” You said, and went back to dabbing with the alcohol wipe. “Your lip is going to need stitches. The cuts too big. It won’t heal right.” “So call my Doctor,” Hiram growled, grumpily. By instinct, you slapped the top of his thigh, making him gasp out in pain and drop the frozen bag onto the ground. It broke open, the little green vegetables scattering across the tiled floor.

“I don’t care how hurt you are, you don’t talk to me like that,” You said, shaking your finger in his face. “I’m just worried about you. I don’t know how many more of these you can take before you have some serious internal injuries. Even Houdini died from a punch to the stomach, and you’re not nearly as good at escaping trouble as he is.”

“Mi amor, comparing me to a dead man,” Hiram groaned, pushing peas off of his lap. You got up again, your legs getting a work out from all of the squats that you were doing tonight, and grabbed another bag of frozen peas. It was weird that there were so many, but even rich people buy stuff that’s on sale sometimes. It’s how you stayed rich.

“You keep this up and you will be a dead man,” You quipped, putting the fresh bag on his face, holding it this time instead of letting him do it. “At least let me look at you, please?”

He finally gave a nod, and you slowly lifted his shirt to see all of the markings and bruises that were on his abdomen. His torso looked like a Jackson Pollock painting with the different shades of colors everywhere. You winced, bringing the shirt back down. You really hated seeing him look like this. You’ve been pleading with him to retire since the last time that he had received a beating like this. Or at the very least, hire someone younger to take his place in these fights. He was getting too old for this. “You should see the other guys,” He quipped.

“I don’t doubt it. And what were they - half your age?” You asked, raising an eyebrow, moving the bag from one eye to the other. “Hiram, my love, don’t you think it’s about time that you think about retiring? We can move away from Riverdale. We can get a spot on the beach somewhere, where it never snows. Where it’s never warm. Where the only damage you have to worry about is getting too much sun. Getting burned. But I’ll take care of you and always put sunscreen on you. Aloe vera if you do end up getting burned. Just - think about it, okay? For me?”

“I can’t give up my business like that,” Hiram shook his head, not even considering the possibility. You sighed. You knew that was going to be his answer. You hadn’t been expecting anything else. And yet you were still disappointed. As per usual. “I cannot be seen as weak or everything that I’ve done so far will have been for nothing. All of that work. I can’t pull out yet.”

“Of course you can’t,” You sighed. “At the very least, can you plan on it in the future? I don’t want to be putting this bag on your eyes when you’re well into your seventies.”

“Do you think we’ll still love peas then, mi amor?” He asked, breaking into a smile despite what must be a lot of pain, especially in his lip area.

“I think the better question is will I still love you them,” You teased. pressing a kiss onto one of the few parts of his face that wasn’t mottled with bruises. “But yes, to both. These are lovepeas, don’t you know. Rumor says that if you put them on the black eye of the person that you love, you’ll be together until the ends of the Earth. Or until there are no more peas. But given how the bees are dying out, that might not even be until the ends of the earth.”

“And your creativity is why I love you, and why I always come home,” Hiram said, taking your wrists around his hands. You smiled gently, loving that he cared about the weird side of you. Not just the well made-up person who was always by his side at work events. He always had a way of making you feel like you were someone special. Someone worth adoring.

Now if only you could actually get him out of the criminal business and move somewhere like Mexico where you can lie on the beach together.

“Do you love me enough to let me leave for a moment to call the Doctor? I am worried about this lip of yours. I need it stitched up and better so I can kiss you again.”

“Yes, I suppose I love you that much.” His thumbs would rub at the underside of your wrists for a moment, and then he would gently release you so you could get up and walk back to the bedroom where your cellphone was waiting. Even leaving him that long seemed like an eternity. You called the doctor while you were on your way back down the stairs, hanging up as you entered the kitchen, just in time to see Hiram picking one of the frozen peas off of the ground and popping it into his mouth.

“What are you doing?” You asked, going for the broom and dustpan to finally clean that mess up.

“Oh, I thought these were the feel-better peas. You eat a couple and then you feel all better until the end of time?” He’d ask, showing his very rare funny side. You laughed and shook your head.

“Let me clean these up then I’ll get you to your chair. The doctor is on his way.”

[dlwritings]

Not Prick | Tom Holland

masterlist found here

pairing - Tom x reader word count - 1,877 warnings - language A/N - for the anon who requested x

summary - A fan gets a little aggressive with Tom at the mall, and he takes it out on the wrong person. But he’s a good guy, and when he realizes his mistake, he’s determined to make up for it.

Tom was having a bad day. There was no rhyme or reason. He was just cranky and tired and wanted to be home. Instead, he was out at the mall with Harrison. Apparently his favorite store was having a sale, and Harrison wanted a new pair of shoes.

“Why don’t you just order them online?” Tom had asked as Harrison all but dragged him out of his apartment.

“I gotta try them on and make sure they look good,” the other argued. Tom rolled his eyes but agreed to go. Now, they were out, and Tom was regretting it.

By the time they got out of the store, they had been spotted by a bunch of fans. And Tom, being the nice guy he was, knew he had to stop and talk to them. He wasn’t going to be the guy who brushes off fans and looks ungrateful. So he painted on his camera-ready smile and chatted with the people in the crowd.

It didn’t take long for Tom to get a pounding headache. There were a lot of factors, he was sure. He was tired, he was cranky, and there were just way too many people around. Tom didn’t usually get anxiety attacks, but when he already wasn’t on his A-game, they kind of snuck up on him. Like now. He looked over at Harrison -who had fans of his own to meet- and locked eyes with him. Harrison could read the stress in his best friend’s eyes and started to try to come up with a way out of the situation.

“Alright, alright,” Harrison said with a light chuckle. “Tom and I have gotta head out. It was so lovely meeting you all.”

A few people whined and tried to protest, but Tom and Harrison just awkwardly laughed it off.

“What a dick,” Tom heard someone say. “We built his career, and he can’t even have the decency to stay for a picture?” She scoffed. “I swear, some celebrities have the biggest fucking egos. Ungrateful prick.”

Tom. Snapped.

He turned around and locked eyes with the girl who had spoken.

Only it wasn’t the girl who had spoken.

Your eyes grew wide when Tom stared at you, anger clear in his brown eyes. “I don’t have any obligation to stand here and talk to you,” he said. “I’m not ungrateful. I’m tired. I’m overwhelmed. I don’t always love leaving my house and getting followed by crowds of people. It’s not normal. I didn’t ask for this. So don’t say shit like I have a big ego when you can’t even begin to imagine what I go through when I step out my front door, alright?”

Tears came to your eyes immediately, and you had no idea what to say. The girl next to you -the one who had actually made the rude comments- was slowly backing away, afraid you would speak up in your defense. Instead, you just opened and closed your mouth a few times, then swallowed thickly. “I’m sorry,” you choked out. Tom just scoffed and rolled his eyes, and you turned and pushed your way past the crowd and to the nearest bathroom.

Your hands were shaking as you found a single-stall bathroom and locked it behind you, sinking to the floor and leaning your back against the door. You didn’t care that you were sitting on the floor of a mall bathroom. If you stood up for too much longer, you were afraid your legs would give out.

Shit, shit, not right now. Not like this. Not here. Not. Here.

You didn’t handle confrontation well. In fact, it was the number one trigger of your panic attacks. The first panic attack you ever remembered having was triggered by two boys from your high school getting in a screaming match in front of you. Their raised voices and angry eyes shook you, and you started crying. On the plus side, your anxiety attack stopped the boys from fighting because everyone was suddenly focusing on getting you to calm down and catch your breath.

So yeah. Confrontation of any kind was not your favorite.

You pulled your knees up to your chest and tried to focus on your breathing, but it was hard. You kept replaying the moment that had just happened in your head. Tom Holland -a legit famous person- just yelled at you in front of a crowd of people for something you didn’t even do. How many people filmed it? Was your favorite celebrity going to remember you as the bitch who called him an ungrateful dick? You weren’t the bitch who called him an ungrateful dick. Why couldn’t you just defend yourself? Why did you have to shut down like that?

Breathe, breathe. Don’t do this. Don’t. Do. This.

Harrison ushered Tom away from the group of fans, noticing his fists clench in anger as he watched the girl run off. “Wait, wait, Tom! Harrison!”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Harrison mumbled. He turned to find a girl jogging after them. “Listen, we really-”

“No, I know, I know,” she said. “I just, that girl you yelled at?” She was looking at Tom. “She wasn’t the one who said that stuff.”

Guilt settled in Tom’s stomach. “What?” he said.

“I saw the girl who actually said that,” she said. “It wasn’t that girl. I don’t know either of them, but I just thought I should let you know. She seemed pretty shaken up, and I just-” She paused. “I’m not trying to make you feel bad or anything. I just didn’t want you thinking the wrong girl was being a bitch. It, it-” She stuttered, feeling foolish suddenly. “This probably doesn’t matter at all, and I should’ve just-”

“Did you see where she went?”

The girl furrowed her eyebrows at Tom’s question. “What?” she asked.

“The girl,” he said. “The one I yelled at? Did you see where she ran off to?”

“Uh, the bathroom I think,” she said. “The single stall down by Topman.”

Without any explanation, Tom jogged off in the direction of the bathroom in question. He heard Harrison calling after him, but he didn’t stop or turn around. When he got to the bathroom, he paused, his fist inches from the door. Was this necessary?

Yes. Mum raised a gentleman. You were a prick, and you need to own up to it.

You sat up a little straighter when there was a knock at the bathroom door. “Just a minute!” you called. You stood up and quickly went to the mirror to clean any mascara that might’ve slid down your cheeks. You flushed the toilet and pretended to wash your hands for good measure, then opened the door.

On the other side was none other than Tom Holland.

You felt a lump grow in your throat again as you hung your head and tried to brush past him. “Sorry,” you mumbled.

“Wait, wait,” he said, reaching out to grab your forearm. You stopped and looked at him. He looked stressed, and his eyes were sad. He looked like a completely different person from the man who yelled at you ten minutes ago. “I’m sorry,” he said, releasing his hold on your arm. “Someone told me you weren’t the one who said those things.” You pressed your lips into a tight line and looked down at your shoes. “Even if you were,” Tom continued, “I shouldn’t have snapped like that. I was out of line. I don’t usually snap like that. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” you said, though your eyes were still trained on the floor.

Clearly, it wasn’t fine. Tom wasn’t dumb. He could see your slightly puffy eyes and the remains of mascara on your cheeks that you hadn’t quite been able to wipe away. He had done that, and that wasn’t okay. What had gotten into him?

“Do you like smoothies?”

This caused you to look up. “What?” you asked, your eyebrows furrowed.

“Do you like smoothies?” he repeated. “Harrison and I were going to grab some on our way home. Let me buy you one.”

“You don’t have to do that,” you said quickly, shaking your head.

“I want to,” he said. “Consider it an extended apology. And maybe proof that I’m not a prick.” A small smile crept up your lips, and the sight made Tom do the same.

“Okay,” you said. “That sounds nice.”

Tom nodded happily, and the two of you walked back over to where Harrison was standing and waiting. “So what’s your name?” Tom asked as the three of you walked to the parking garage.

“(Y/N),” you said.

“Well it’s nice to meet you,” he said.

You smiled. “You too.”

Tom bought you a smoothie and invited you to stay and hang out with him and Harrison. Of course, you obliged. The three of you sat on the patio of the smoothie shop and had your drinks, chatting and laughing like old friends. They were both really easy to talk to, and you were quickly forgetting about the whole ordeal at the mall. Tom clearly felt horribly, and you knew it was all just a misunderstanding. Plus, everyone was allowed to have bad days. Even celebrities. You couldn’t count the number of times you snapped at your friends or family because you were in a bad mood.

When you finished with your drinks, the boys offered to drive you home. You accepted, considering you had taken the bus to the mall. Maybe you were being naive, taking a ride from two boys you didn’t know, but you highly doubted you were going to get kidnapped by Tom Holland and Harrison Osterfield. Again, maybe you were being naive.

But you gave them directions to your apartment, and you arrived unscathed. “Let me walk you to your door,” Tom said.

“Okay,” you said. You smiled at Harrison. “It was nice to meet you.”

“You too,” he said back. Tom walked you to your door with his hands shoved in his pockets.

“So,” he said, “I just want to apologize again for what I said.”

“It’s really not a big deal,” you said. “I understand. You’re allowed the occasional bad day. And to be fair, what that girl said was really rude. I get why you-”

Tom cut you off by placing a sweet kiss to your cheek.

You blushed and put your hand where his lips had been. “What was that for?” you asked with a shy smile. Tom held back a smile of his own and shrugged.

“I just think you’re sweet,” he said. “And I liked spending the afternoon with you.”

You laughed lightly. “I liked spending the afternoon with you, too.”

“Could I get your number maybe?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah,” you said. “That’s okay.”

You switched phones and exchanged numbers. When he handed yours back to you, you laughed at the name he put: Not Prick

“You think you’ll remember that’s me?” he asked as you slid the phone in your pocket.

You nodded. “Impossible for me to forget.”

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck again. “I’ll text you, then.”

“Okay,” you said. “Thanks again for the smoothie.”

“Of course,” he said. “Maybe next time it’ll be dinner.”

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