#(before realizing he forgot his wallet and turning to L who only sighs and takes care of it)

[acidcitypoets]

death note orders at an american diner

light: 100% orders a salad to feel better than everyone else. still uses a ton of dressing

misa: orders a salad as well but also orders fries "for the table"

matsuda: club sandwich with fries. a milkshake but he feels bad about it when he sees light's salad

L: sugared strawberry pancakes and a milkshake he doesn't think twice about

soichiro: a reuben with potato chips. also iced tea

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

Father of Mine – 1/2

Character: Bruce Wayne x Daughter!Reader

Summary: With the tragic passing of her mother, Y/N learns to the truth of who her father is. 

Word Count: 4,000+

Warnings: Family death, cancer, absent father, cremation 

A/N: The reader is described as tall in this fic. Bruce Wayne is 6′2 and I’m tall, so I’m indulging myself with no apologies. Read it or don’t. 

“Do you want to say anything before we…” the operator asked her.

“No,” Y/N answered quickly.

“Oh, my assistant forgot to give you this,” the operator gave her a shy smile as he handed her a small cardboard box.

She opened it to find all of her mother’s jewelry that had been on her body at the funeral.

“Thank you,” Y/N told him.

“Ready?” The operator asked.

He had been so kind throughout the whole process. It was obvious he was used to people breaking down and being extremely emotional. 

But Y/N had been stoic, almost concerningly so. 

Though he wasn’t one to judge. Everyone grieved differently.

With the pull of a handle, Y/N watched her mother’s body going into the chamber.

“It will be a few hours,” the operator told her.

He meant it will it will take a few hours for her mother’s body to burn to ash. Then they would hand her a tacky vase with her remains.

Y/N just nodded. “I’ll go for a walk.”

As soon as she was outside, Y/N called her mother’s executor.

“Ms. Y/L/N, I was just about to call you.”

“I’m at the crematory,” she told him. “I figured we should discuss the bills that still need to be paid for.”

“Yes, of course. As I mentioned to you before, your mother’s life insurance covers quite a lot of it…” his words died out.

“But it’s still not enough,” Y/N finished for him. “I’ll get the money.”

She wasn’t exactly rich, but she also wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck. But people never realized how much money it cost for loved ones to die. It was honestly ridiculous.

“You might want to consider taking out a loan,” he tried to suggest gently.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Another thing, Ms. Y/L/N. There was an envelope with a name on it. And your mother left instructions on delivering the envelope to them.”

She stopped her pacing. 

“What name is on the envelope?” Y/N asked.

There was a pause.

“Bruce Wayne.”

Y/N’s brow furrowed.

Of course she knew who Bruce Wayne was – everyone in Gotham did, as well as most of the country. He was a billionaire playboy, only making headlines when he was a mess. But every once in awhile his philanthropy would sneak in there. Y/N always assumed those were only to help recover his image and not because he was a good person.

“You still there?” The executor asked.

“Yeah. I’m just a bit confused. But please pass it along to him, if that’s what my mom wanted.”

“I can’t. The instructions specifically say for you to deliver the envelop to him in person.”

“In person?” Y/N groaned in annoyance as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

Why did all of this have to be so god damn complicated?

“Yes. Her instructions are…oddly specific."

“Fine,” she huffed. “I’ll pick up everything from your office before the work day ends.”

——————

Y/N stared at the envelop that she’d tossed on her coffee table as she sipped a rather large glass of red wine.

She was wracking her brain trying to think of a time when her mom mentioned knowing Bruce Wayne. But Y/N would’ve remembered her mom saying his name – even in passing. It’s not a name that one can drop casually.

Y/N pulled up her phone and googled him. But she looked at his history. Yes, he was from Gotham, as was her mom, but so were 10 million other people.

But then Y/N’s scrolling paused when she realized they went to the same high school: Gotham Academy. Not only that, they graduated in the same year.

‘Were they friends?’ Y/N wondered.

But just classmates or friends still didn’t seem to warrant a handwritten letter to be delivered after one’s death.

Y/N didn’t open the envelope.

Her mother’s instructions specifically told her not to. And if she put in that much of an effort to get this done after her death, Y/N wasn’t going to ignore such a request.

That didn’t mean she wasn’t curious.

“Fuck,” Y/N sighed before throwing back the rest of her wine.

——————

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I can’t grant you access to the building without your name being in the system by the company you’re visiting,” the building receptionist told her for the third time.

“I understand. But I called his office 30 fucking times and they refuse to put me through to him or get me an appointment,” Y/N practically growled.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I already called their office to say you were here and they didn’t recognize your name. I can’t let you through to the elevators.”

Y/N’s gaze flickered to the security guard who stood a few feet away. He was eyeing her now that there was clearly an argument going on.

Y/N wanted to roll her eyes. She had a good foot on him – even without her heels on. And he looked like he couldn’t run a 50 yard dash without passing out or vomiting. If he thought he was going to physically stop her, he had another thing coming.

“Listen, I am not some crazy fucking stalker. My mom knew Bruce Wayne and in her will she asked me to deliver this to him,” Y/N’s voice lowered and became disturbingly calm. “I don’t want to be here just as much as you don’t want to have this conversation.”

“Ma’am, I’m going to need you to calm down,” the security guard finally stepped forward.

“Oh, fuck off,” Y/N rolled her eyes at the rent-a-cop.

“Ma’am, I’ll have to ask you to leave,” he continued.

“Call me ma’am one more fucking time…” Y/N growled.

But the security guard was taking a step to her.

“Excuse me. What seems to be the problem here?” A voice suddenly interrupted.

Everyone turned to see a young man – younger than Y/N – glaring at the security guard just as he was about to grab Y/N.

“M-Mr. Drake, we were just escorting this young woman from the premises,” the guard stuttered out.

Everyone at the building knew every member of the Wayne family. But unlike his siblings, Tim Drake was at the office almost every day. As one should be when they’re the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company.

“For what reason?” Tim Drake asked.

“She insists on seeing Mr. Wayne. But she doesn’t have an appointment. For security reasons, I cannot let her through, obviously, unless the company she is visiting has put her into their system and the building’s system,” the receptionist explained nervously.

Y/N frowned as if she was bored of the whole thing.

Tim stepped forward. “May I ask what your business with Bruce Wayne is?”

Now that he was closer, Y/N noticed how exhausted he looked. He was handsome still, of course. But she wondered when he last got a good night’s sleep. He was shorter than her, probably standing at 5’5. And she still believed he was younger than her, which was wild seeing as he was already the CEO and couldn’t be older than 24.

Y/N sighed before she grabbed the envelope from her black leather satchel, and showed that Bruce Wayne’s name was handwritten on it.

“My mother wished me to personally deliver this to him.”

Tim tilted his head slightly. “Why isn’t she doing it?”

“Because she’s dead,” she shot back without emotion.

But Tim’s face became sympathetic. “I’m sorry. I should’ve assumed…”

“It’s fine,” Y/N quickly cut him off before he could continue.

She was so tired of being on the receiving end of people’s sympathy. It didn’t help. And the words stopped holding any meaning to her.

“But I’m sorry. Bruce isn’t in today. And he probably won’t be coming to the office for the rest of the week.”

“Oh,” was all she responded with.

Of course Bruce Wayne didn’t come to work. Why would he?

This was a stupid idea. And now she had made a scene because of it.

“But if you give me your information, I will personally let him know that you are trying to reach him.”

“Really?” Y/N asked in shock.

Tim smiled at her surprise. “Of course.”

“Here’s my card,” she quickly grabbed one from her wallet and then a pen. “All my info is on that.” She wrote something on the back. “And that’s my mom’s name.”

He took it from her and nodded. “What was your mother’s relationship with Bruce?”

Y/N shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea. I’ve been trying to figure it out. Apparently they graduated in the same high school class. But that’s all I was able to find.”

He nodded.

“Thank you…Mr. Drake. For your help. Really,” she urged.

“Please, it’s just Tim.” Then he glared at the receptionist and security guard. “For you it is, at least.”

“Thank you again,” Y/N felt like saying it 30 more times still wouldn’t be enough.

“You don’t have to thank me. Someone will be in touch. Have a good day, Ms. Y/L/N.”

“Y/N,” she corrected with a smile before she nodded and started backing away.

He smiled at her correction and gave a final nod.

——————

Y/N didn’t expect to hear from anyone for at least a week.

If the Wayne family was one thing, it was busy.

They probably had parties to go to, meetings to attend, private jets taking them around the world whenever they wished.

Why would they ever prioritize a meeting with her, a stranger?

So imagine her surprise when she received a call from an unrecognized number the same day she gave Tim Drake her card.

“Hello?” She answered.

Usually she would let any unknown number go to voicemail.

“Hello,” a British voice answered. “Am I speaking with Ms. Y/F/N Y/L/N?”

“This is she,” Y/N sat up straighter on her couch.

“This is Alfred Pennyworth. I work for Master Wayne and manage all his personal appointments. I was told by Master Tim that you wished to meet with him?”

“Uhhh. Yes. Yes, I do. Is that…is that possible?”

“Would you be able to stop by Wayne Manor on Friday afternoon?”

Y/N already knew she had nothing going on that would stop her from getting this done. But she still paused to pretend to think about it.

“Yes, Friday afternoon should be fine. Are you sure he doesn’t just want me to stop by Wayne Enterprises?”

It felt oddly intimate to stop by Wayne Manor. Wouldn’t they want to meet her in a more secure location like a corporate building with security that already hated her?

“He is quite certain. Should I send a car for you Ms. Y/L/N?”

A car?

Y/N felt even more out of her depth now.

“Oh, no. That won’t be necessary. I’ll be there.”

“I look forward to meeting you, Ms. Y/L/N.”

“Thanks,” she answered before hanging up and realizing that probably wasn’t the proper response to such a polite goodbye.

——————

“I haven’t heard that name since high school,” Bruce had muttered as he stared at the business card for what felt like the thousandth time.

“Yes, and the end of your relationship did not end on the best of terms,” Alfred commented.

Y/M’s/N Y/L/N had been Bruce’s high school sweetheart.

An she had seen the last moments of Bruce’s normal life. 

Upon graduation, Bruce decided to leave Gotham and that’s how his second life was founded. The two of them broke up before the summer after graduation had even ended.

Well, “Breakup” was a strong word.

Bruce stopped answering her calls.

She was his first love and he continued to love her.

But once Bruce realized where his life was going and who he wanted to be, he knew he couldn’t drag her into it. She deserved better.

And Bruce was a coward about relationships then. Maybe he still was.

“I am certain you did a thorough background check on her already,” Alfred commented with a smirk.

Bruce took in a breath before listing off all of her accomplishments. “Y/F/N Y/L/N. Graduated number one in her class at Gotham Academy. She was the star of the track team, breaking the regional record for fastest time in 100m, 200m, and 400m races. Also captain of her soccer team. Attended NYU’s photography program before dropping out after a year. Now she’s a professional photography. Her work’s been featured in Vogue, New York Times, National Geographic…amongst others.”

“Rather an impressive woman,” Alfred said.

Bruce nodded.

“I should get the tea and coffee ready for her arrival.” And with that, Alfred left Bruce in the drawing room.

30 minutes later, the doorbell rang.

Bruce glanced down at his watch: she was right on time.

He heard Alfred saying his pleasantries before he heard the clicking of her heels as she rounded the corner to enter the room he was waiting in.

For being a famous photographer, she could’ve been a runway model with her height and the way she walked into the room, completely owning it. She wore four-inch heels, only adding to her natural tallness. And her bright, red coat only added to her presence.

For a split second, Bruce was convinced that he was looking at an Amazon. Diana immediately flashed into his mind for a split second. Perhaps that was what Y/M’s/N needed help with: to get her daughter to her real people. But how would she have known Bruce Wayne had such connections? Unless she knew Batman’s true identity…

As soon as Y/N spotted him in the room, he rose from his seat.

“Ms. Y/L/N,” Bruce greeted.

He took a step forward and held out his hand.

“You guys really love the formalities.” She said it with a dark evenness, but it was clearly a joke. “Y/N is fine, Mr. Wayne,” she added as she shook his hand.

“In that case, it’s Bruce,” he countered with a soft smirk.

There was something so familiar about her. But Bruce knew they’d never met. 

“Thank you for seeing me. I don’t want to waste anymore of your time,” Y/N quickly got to it. She opened her purse to grab the envelope.

“My mom wanted you to have this. And she wanted to make sure I was the one to give it to you,” Y/N explained as she offered it to him.

Bruce took it carefully, but didn’t open it. “Yes, I heard about her passing. I’m very sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” she said hurriedly, making it obvious to Bruce that she did not want nor need his condolences.

Bruce nodded slowly.

There was a pause.

“Do you know what it says?” He asked her lightly.

She shook her head. “I wasn’t supposed to read it.”

“I see.”

“I should really be going. I have a flight to catch later tonight.” Most people that visited Wayne Manor wished to stay there forever. Or their curiosity got the best of them and their eyes took in every little detail.

But Y/N looked like she’d rather be anywhere else. And she wanted to get out as soon as she possibly could.

“Thank you again for seeing me,” she rushed out.

Without waiting for his answer, Y/N turned and started walking out of the room.

But she only got a few steps before she stopped.

Bruce watched her shoulders tense and her body move as she was clearly taking in deep breath.

Slowly, Y/N turned around to face him.

“Were you friends?”

Bruce gave her a watery smile. “She was my girlfriend in high school.”

Y/N seemed annoyed by that answer. “She never mentioned you. Not once.”

Bruce’s brow furrowed at that and his eyes zoned out as if he was revising the past in his mind. “I’m not entirely surprised. Things didn’t really end well between us.”

She nodded slowly. “Goodbye, Mr. Wayne.”

And Y/N turned and strutted out of the room without looking back.

As soon as Bruce heard her cab drive away, he ripped open the envelope and pulled out a letter.

He barely noticed that Dick had walked into the room. “May I ask…Who was the extremely attractive and tall woman that just walked out?”

But Bruce didn’t hear him as his eyes raced across the letter. His heart sped as he continued reading.

“Bruce?” Dick asked after being ignored. “Is she your next conquest or what?”

It wasn’t until Bruce was done reading the letter for the third time that he finally looked up and acknowledged Dick.

Alfred had also walked into the room, unbeknownst to Bruce.

“You OK?” Dick asked, now concerned with how silent Bruce had become.

“Master Wayne?” Alfred also urged.

“That was…my daughter,” Bruce finally muttered.

Dick blinked before his eyes grew wide in shock.

Alfred seemed less surprised, almost as if he had already put that together.

“Excuse me,” Bruce told them and exited the room.

———

Dick and Alfred must’ve warned the rest of the family not to bother Bruce in the cave. Usually he would’ve been disturbed by now.

Bruce had been at the computer for hours.

Alfred was the first person to come down, carrying a tray with dinner and tea.

The butler wasn’t surprised to find Y/N’s face all over the screens.

If Bruce had left any available information hidden before inviting Y/N to the manor, it was all out there now. Bruce knew everything about Y/F/N Y/L/N that was public knowledge – probably even some things that were not.

“You know, you did not seem all that surprised,” Bruce said to Alfred as he put the tray of food down next to him.

“Seemed rather obvious, didn’t it?”

Bruce quickly turned to look at him. “It did?”

Alfred smirked. “Her eyes,” was all he said.

“The color?”

Alfred shook his head. “As soon as she walked into the manor, they were reading me.” He tilted his head in Bruce’s direction. “Observation. Perception. Attention to detail...That is all you, Master Wayne.”

“The way she held herself,” Alfred continued, "Shoulders held back, head high, walking with purpose. No hesitation.”

“Also me?” Bruce asked.

Alfred simply nodded.  

“I don’t think she liked me very much,” Bruce sighed.

He didn’t know how he felt about that yet.

“A lot of people think you don’t like them when you first meet them,” Alfred countered. “Because I don’t trust them yet.”

Alfred raised his brows and silently ask him, ‘Don’t you see my point?’

Bruce rubbed his face and reached for the tea on the tray, ignoring all the food.

“I don’t know why you’re so entertained by this, Alfred.”

“Yes, I was entertained. I just saw a younger, female version of you, Master Wayne.”

“I abandoned her,” Bruce shot.

“You didn’t know she existed,” Alfred corrected.

“And why do you think that is?”

Alfred’s face dropped a little bit when he noticed the envelope discarded on the far end of Bruce’s desktop.

He looked down at the ground as he asked, “Might I ask what the letter said?”

Bruce glared at the letter as if touching it would burn him.

But after a moment, he grabbed it and quickly handed it to Alfred.

Bruce,

If this letter has finally reached you, it is because I have passed.

I must admit that I wrote this letter mostly in the event that I leave my daughter before she is an adult. But once Y/N turned 18, I decided to still pass this along to you.

There is no easy way to tell you this, so I will get to the point.

The young woman who delivered this letter to you is your daughter, Bruce.

Y/F/N Y/M/N Y/L/N.

When I found out I was pregnant with her, I was only 18. We had just graduated high school. You had started traveling. You called less and less. And you grew more distant – physically and emotionally. Eventually, you stopped answering my calls altogether. I left you a voicemail, only saying that I so desperately needed to talk to you, that I needed you.

But you never called me back.

With no words at all, you made it very clear that you no longer wanted anything to do with me.

But there I was, a teenager who was pregnant with our child.

I would be lying if I said I never considered terminating my pregnancy. I was scared and you broke my heart. All I wanted to do was erase you from my life.

But I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Once I decided what my future was going to be, I also decided that I did not want you to have any part in it.

I knew even if you pretended to play the doting father and the committed partner, you would grow tired of us eventually. You would resent me and our child for bringing you down. And you would brush us aside for yourself.

I realized I would rather Y/N have no father at all than one who would only disappoint her over and over again.

To this day, I truly believe I did the right thing for all three of us.

There are not enough words to explain the complicated woman that Y/N grew up to be. But I will try my best. I think I owe you that at least. 

Or maybe you have no interest.

I don’t know how she became so much like you, even when I never so much as showed her a picture of you or uttered your name.

She enjoys being alone – almost to her own detriment. I constantly catch her repressing her feelings, always staying strong for everyone else. It reminds me of you. She’s assertive and confident, never letting anything stand in the way of what she wants. Sometimes I don’t think she’s scared of anything. It worries me, just like it worried me when I thought the same of you.

I truly don’t know what you will do with this information.

But…if you have any desire to form some sort of relationship with her, then you should know this: she will not make it easy for you. She will push you away. And she might even hate you. I raised her to never need a man in her life, and she’ll make sure you know that.

I don’t expect anything from you. I never did.

But I would just like to know there might be someone who will be there for her should she need them.

Goodbye, Bruce.

Alfred slowly handed the letter back to Bruce when he was finished.

“I pushed her away because I knew what I was about to become,” Bruce explained darkly. “And I didn’t want her anywhere near it. She would’ve been in danger.”

“Y/N, as well,” Alfred added.

“But had I known…if I just listened to her–”

“Master Wayne, I thought we had agreed to never linger on the ‘what ifs.’”

That sure silenced Bruce.

“Now, what do you plan on doing, Master Wayne?”

———

Y/N frowned when her phone started vibrating and she recognized the name of her mom’s executor on her phone screen.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Y/L/N, how are you?”

“Fine. How are you?” She was quick, wanting to get this over with. Surely, he had bad news. Another medical bill came in or some other expense that slipped by them.

“Good, good. Just curious…have you placed any payments to our various claims?”

“Uhhh…no. But I’m working on it.”

Y/N hadn’t expected to get a call nagging about paying bills.

“No, no, no. You misunderstand. They’ve all been paid,” the executor explained.

Y/N sat up straighter in her chair. “What? That’s not possible.”

“An anonymous donor. They somehow got record of all your outstanding payments and covered all of them.”

Y/N was stunned to silence.

“Ms. Y/L/N…this is a good thing.”

She blinked and shook her head. “Right. Yes, of course. I just…thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. Thank this guardian angel of yours.”

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

Part 2

Let me know what you think!!!

[crowfootwrites]

Los Guardianes | Part I [Nestor Oceteva x Fem!Reader]

I've been sitting on this for a while because I really like the story and want to make sure I do it justice. This is going to be a multi-part series. I hope y'all like it!

Warnings: references to playground injury | Words: 1,527

Also, oops, totally forgot to include my taglist 🤦🏼‍♀️: @chibsytelford @megapeacelovemusic-blog @broiderie

In the chaos that accompanied the start of the first day of school, you missed the shiny black Escalade that was pulling up out front of New River Preschool Academy. Your pre-K classroom was already noisy, the sounds of children chattering and laughing intermingled with the sounds of tearful farewells as parents prepared to leave for the day. A few children sobbed hysterically at their parents’ departures and you motioned for your classroom aide to attend to them while you answered questions from a couple of helicopter parents about naptime and the quality of the provided snacks.

You didn’t miss when a very severe looking man with long black braids and yellow aviator sunglasses appeared at the classroom door with a young boy in tow. It was almost comical, the juxtaposition of such an intimidating looking man, dressed in all black and sporting a neck tattoo, standing on your gaudy counting carpet. Your eyes flickered towards him as he tried to assess which of the adults in the classroom was in charge. You watched as the young boy tugged on his hand and pointed eagerly towards the bins of toy cars along your bright blue bookshelf. You politely extricated yourself from the claws of the two mothers demanding their children only receive brand name juice and made your way towards the door, navigating easily around crawling children and spilled blocks.

The man looked up at your approach and you swore there was a flash of relief in his eyes. But it was quickly replaced by the serious, acute gaze you had witnessed at his arrival.

“Good morning,” you addressed the duo cheerfully. “I’m Ms. (Y/L/N). Who do we have here?” you asked, crouching down to greet the boy. He stared at his shoes shyly, shuffling closer to his guardian’s leg. You noticed the tightening of his little fingers around the man’s hand, and you stood with a smile.

“Cristóbal. Galindo,” the man offered quietly. “He’s a little nervous.”

“I see,” you replied with a grin. “Well, hopefully we can pull him out of his shell a little today. I promise, he’ll be used to us in no time, Mr. Galindo.”

The man’s stern expression lifted for a moment as he smirked, shaking his head. “Oh, I’m – I’m not Mr. Galindo,” he clarified. “I’m Nestor. I’m the Galindos’ head of security.”

“Oh, I'm sorry! Little man gets his own security detail?” You hoped your teasing was well-received; Nestor didn’t look like the kind of person you wanted to upset.

But Nestor smiled at you. It was small, but it was there, and the tension in your chest relaxed just a bit. “Something like that,” he replied. He studied you for a moment before you felt a tugging on the hem of your shirt and tore your gaze away from Nestor’s to glance down at the tiny culprit: a little boy with cornrows was motioning to Cristóbal and holding up a toy Batmobile.

You chuckled. “Use your words, Marco,” you said gently. “You can ask him if he wants to play with you.”

Marco turned to Cristóbal, who was staring at him in bewilderment. But the moment Marco offered the Batmobile, Cristóbal was smiling, and the two boys scampered over to an empty spot on the carpet. You looked back up to see Nestor still staring at you, a strange look on his face. He seemed to snap out of it after a moment, and he fumbled to pull his wallet out of his back pocket. He handed you a business card.

“I think Mr. Galindo’s information is on the school paperwork, but if you have any issues and you can’t get a hold of him, I always answer,” he supplied.

You nodded and gave him a wry smile. “Thank you, I’ll remember that.”

With a quick nod, he was gone.

Your mornings went something like that for the next few weeks. As the kids settled into a routine and became more familiar with your classroom, drop-offs started going more smoothly. Every morning, Nestor dropped Cristóbal off, and picked him up every afternoon. Sometimes, you had the opportunity to chat with him, other times, he greeted you with a nod and then was on his way.

Cristóbal seemed to be thriving. He played well with others and followed directions. He was very inquisitive, which you found endearing. You knew, generally speaking, who the Galindos were, and you would have expected, coming from such a wealthy family, for Cristóbal to be very spoiled. But you were pleasantly surprised by his gentle and respectful demeanor.

On one otherwise uneventful Tuesday, Cristóbal fell on the playground and split his upper lip. When you attempted to call Mr. Galindo, per his information in Cristóbal’s file, he didn’t pick up. You remembered Nestor’s card in the top drawer of your desk and dug around to find it while you pulled Cristóbal onto your hip and he clung to your shirt, his little body shuddering as he sobbed.

You quickly dialed the number and put it on speaker, setting your cell on your desk while you dug out your antiseptic wipes for the boy’s lip.

“Nestor.” His voice was clipped and edgy.

“Hi, Nestor,” you rushed, not wanting to take up too much of his time, “this is Ms. (Y/L/N) from Cristóbal’s school. I’m so sorry to bother you, but Cris had a little accident on the playground today. I don’t think it’s anything too serious, but he split his lip and he’s pretty upset. I tried to call Mr. Galindo, but he didn’t answer.” You knew he could hear Cristóbal wailing from your hip.

The second you stopped speaking he was telling you he’d be there in twenty minutes. He sounded gentler by then, and you breathed a sigh of relief. In that moment, handling a cartel kid seemed way over your pay grade.

Nestor arrived exactly twenty minutes later. It was nap time in your classroom, so you had Cristóbal sitting next to you on a bench in the hallway leading to your room. The bleeding had stopped, and he held an ice pack to his face to help with the swelling. His feet were kicking gently, not reaching the ground, and you realized one of his shoes was untied. As you knelt in front of him to re-lace his red sneaker, you talked to him quietly, telling him about the last time you hurt yourself: tripping over your best friend’s dog at the park and scraping your knee. You told the story so animatedly that he was giggling behind his ice pack. Facing Cristóbal, you didn’t see or hear Nestor approach and when you happened to glance over your shoulder, you jumped to find him standing behind you. He grinned down at you, obviously trying not to laugh alongside his ward.

You rose quickly to your feet as Cristóbal cried, “Nes!” and hopped off the bench.

You could have melted into a giant puddle on the floor witnessing the tenderness with which Nestor interacted with Cristóbal. He knelt down on one knee, gently pulling the ice pack away from the boy’s face to assess the damage. His eyes were puffy from crying, his lip was swollen, and there was a robot bandage over the cut, but he looked ok otherwise.

“How does your lip feel, bud?” Nestor asked him quietly, his voice low and calm.

“It hurts a little,” Cristóbal replied, “but Ms. (Y/L/N) made it stop bleeding and said I was brave.”

You watched as Nestor tried to hide his smile.

“You are brave, chaparrito (shorty),” Nestor responded with a nod, ruffling his hair. “Is it ok if I take him home for the day?” he asked you.

“Yeah, of course, I – ”

“Hey, now I look tough like you do when you get hurt, Nes!” Cristóbal interjected as Nestor stood up, a grimace passing over his expression. You raised an eyebrow as he glanced at you.

He offered a rueful smile and shrugged. “Hazards of the job.”

“Thank you,” he offered appreciatively. “For taking care of him.”

“Of course. Happy to.” You took in his dark eyes and the set of his jaw. He looked more drained than he had that morning and you wondered fleetingly what he had been up to when you called.

Cristóbal grabbed Nestor’s hand and began towing him down the hall when Nestor paused. He glanced back over his shoulder at you. “Maybe the next time I need fixing up, I could come see you for robot bandaid?” he asked, his gaze sober and almost apprehensive.

Your mind raced, trying to come up with a suitably clever reply as your lips curled into a grin. “Yeah,” you managed, “I’ll make sure to stock enough for all your work hazards. I also have dinosaurs, if you’re interested.”

A small smile crept onto his face and he gave you a firm nod. “Very interested.”

Cristóbal tugged his arm and he let the boy lead the way out. Your breath caught in your chest, the stillness a distinct contrast to the thunderous beating of your heart behind your ribcage. Very interested.

Part II of Los Guardianes

[x-reader-theater]

A Shakespearean Soliloquy in Two Parts

Relationship: Asexua!Spemcer Reid x Asexual!Male!Reader

Summary: “Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” William Shakespeare, Julius Ceaser

Warnings: Scool shooting, asexual Spencer Reid and reader, implied autism.

Word Count: 7520 words

A/N: To be frank, I meant to post this at like, three pm. Also Asexual Spencer Reid owns my ass and I will only write him as such. Please enjoy. Edited by the outstanding, amazing, show stopping @mystic-writes​ . I love you please forgive me for forgetting.

"Are you sure/That we are awake? It seems to me/That yet we sleep, we dream" –A Midsummer Night's Dream

"Hey, Shelly," you say with a smile at the small book store you are currently checking out in. "Good to see you again." 

"You as well! Only one book this week?" Shelly asks and you nod. 

"Yeah. I have too much work to do, so I can't focus on more than one book," you say. 

She scans your book and you pay quickly. She hands you the book back and says with a smile, "Enjoy your book!" 

You nod and turn around quickly, taking a step, before colliding with someone. The books in their hands go crashing to the floor, and you do as well, crying out as you land suddenly on your tailbone, and stars flash before your eyes. 

"I am so sorry, I shouldn’t have been that close and I wasn't paying attention, and I should have been looking where I was going and-" you hold up a hand to silence the man who was speaking a mile a minute in front of you. 

"Really, it's okay. It was my fault," you say, wincing as you try and get up. 

The man holds out a hand out and you take it. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" 

He takes his hand back almost immediately once you're standing and you smile. "No, not really. Just bruised my tailbone," you say and the man sighs. 

You lean down and pick up a couple of the books he was carrying, and when you go to the last book, his fingers brush yours. You look up and see your faces are inches from one another, and you feel your face heating up. You see him blush as well and you both pull your hands away. You stand up so he can grab the last book and you shove the books you're holding into his arms. 

"Sorry again!" you say, not looking at him, and you leave because you can’t embarrass yourself any more. 

It isn't until you're in your car that you realize you gave him your book as well. 

"Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love." –Hamlet

You walk into the Alley Cat Café, a new café that just opened a block from your flat that also offered an area where you could hang out with adoptable cats. You never went in there because you would just adopt all of them and you didn't have the time for that right now. 

You walk into the café and the little bell above the door jingles to signal your arrival. You walk up to the counter and order your regular, the Calico Chai, and pay before finding a seat near the back close to the window where you could watch the cats. Your order is called, and as you get up, you look over to a table, and see a very familiar man reading a book at a remarkable speed. 

You distractedly grab your tea and go back to your table, gathering up your things before plopping yourself next to the man. 

"Hello again!" you exclaim and he jumps, looking up from his reading to glare at whoever interrupted him. 

When he locks eyes with you, however, his eyes widen. "Oh! Hello!" he exclaims and a small smile forms on his lips. 

"I think I may have given you my book on Tuesday," you say sheepishly, and his eyes widen even more and his mouth drops open adorably. 

He turns and fishes around in his bag, before turning back to you and holding out a book in both hands. "I've been carrying it around with me hoping to give it back to you," he says, blushing, and you grin, taking the book from his hands, your fingers brushing his. 

"Well, thank you," you say, grabbing the large book. 

"So, the complete works of Shakespeare, huh?" the man asks and you nod. 

"Yeah. I've never actually owned a copy before," you say. "I've only taken it out from the library or borrowed it from friends. I actually wanted to major in Shakespearean studies in college before ultimately deciding to go another way." The man nods, and silence falls over you for a moment before you say, "You know, I never got your name."

"Oh! Doctor Spencer Reid," he says with a wave. 

You wave back and say, "Doctor [Y/N] [L/N]."

"What's your doctorate in?" he asks, excited. 

You reply, "Biological Anthropology. I teach it at Georgetown."

"That's where I got my PHD in Chemistry," Spencer says and you grin. 

"Really? When was that?" you ask. 

"Thirteen years, two months, six days, and seventeen hours ago," he says and you blink owlishly. 

You think for a moment before saying, "You must have been really young when you got that."

He nods. "I was seventeen. It was my second PHD. I have three. One in mathematics, one in chemistry, and one in engineering. I also have five BAs."

You stare at him for a moment, not saying anything, before you whisper, "That's really impressive." You feel your cheeks heat up. "I didn't get my PHD until I was nearly 25."

"I have an IQ of 187, and eidetic memory, and can read 20,000 words a minute," he says and you smile. 

"You're one of a kind, Spencer Reid," you say, holding your book to your chest. "That must have been a very lonely childhood though," you remark, and he looks away from you. He nods but doesn't say anything. "What do you do now?" 

"I'm a profiler with the FBI in their behavioral analysis unit," he explains and you smile. 

"Maybe I'll have you come in and lecture to one of my classes some time," you say and he smiles. "Though Biological Anthropology isn't very exciting to anyone but me…" you look away and scratch the back of your neck, but Spencer assuages your fears. 

"Actually, I find it quite interesting. I read an article the other day about how work stress is actually de-evolving humans, causing their bones to actually lose density, causing them more physical pain and inability to do physical tasks, as well as loss of sleep, appetite, and more," he says, and you grin. 

"But, the study was only on French individuals, and it could have different results based on where the study is done. Like, in Japan for example, there may be the same amount of stress but they handle it better because in their culture, work is just a part of life and you have to deal with stress. Or in America, where we have different ways of dealing with stress that may cloud the findings," you add, and he nods. 

"That is true, though you'd have to factor that into the initial hypothesis and-" 

Spencer is cut off by his phone ringing. He picks it up and the phone call ends quickly. 

"I'm so sorry to have to do this, but I have to go to work. We have a case," he says and you nod in understanding. 

"Of course. It was nice talking to you Spencer. I hope we can talk again some time!" you exclaim. 

A small smile tugs at his lips and he says, "I do too, [Y/N]." 

You stare at each other for a couple moments before he turns around and leaves the café. You sip your now cold tea and realize you didn't get Spencer's number. 

“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt." –Measure for Measure

You sit at the bar and nurse your glass of water as the music and lights cause a headache to split at your temples. You groan and massage your head, but it doesn't do anything to relieve the pain. You take another sip of your water, and look up to see a familiar face looking down at you. 

"Co-workers bring you here too?" Spencer asks and you smile and nod. 

"Yeah. It's Fiona's birthday today and she wanted to go to a club," you say, and Spencer sits down next to you. "I got dragged along. And apparently I got a splitting headache too."

"Do you want any help with that?" Spencer asks and you look at him, questioningly. "Turn around." 

You do as he asks, slowly, and you feel his fingers lightly resting on your neck. You wince as he presses into your spine right where your head and neck meet, but after thirty seconds he releases, and your headache dissipates. You grin and turn around. 

"How did you know to do that?" you ask. 

He shrugs. "I had chronic migraines when I was younger, and I read a book on pressure points once," he explains and you nod in understanding. 

"Right. You're a genius," you say with a forced smile and he frowns. You sigh. "You just…" you put a hand on his cheek, and he stiffens for a moment before relaxing into your touch. "You make me feel inferior. Like I'm just never going to do as well as you."

Spencer grabs your hand lightly and squeezes it, putting it away from your face as he looks into your eyes. "Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. You're a doctor working at one of the best schools in the country," he says and you smile. He returns it. "And, don't compare yourself to me. I can read 20,000 words a minute. I'm a freak. You're more normal than I am."

"Spencer Reid, don't you ever say that again!" you exclaim, taking his other hand in your own. "You are not a freak!" He goes to protest but you take one of your hands from his grip and put it over his lips. "Nope. No arguing. What I say is final."

You pull your hand away and you see he's smiling. "Yes, Doctor," he says, his words dripping with sarcasm. 

You grin, before gasping. He looks alarmed as you say, "Oh! I forgot!" he places his hands on your arms. "You didn't give me your number in the café!" 

He sighs in what looks to be relief, before reaching into his pocket and taking out his wallet. "You want to see a magic trick?" 

You nod and he grins an adorable smile that has you grinning as well. He holds up a business card, probably his business card, and moves his hands in front of his face, and when they cross back over, the card is gone. 

"Oh come on! It's behind your hand! I know this trick," you say, and he raises an eyebrow. 

He opens up his fingers and turns his hand around, showing it's nowhere to be seen. Your eyes go wide and your mouth drops slightly in awe. 

"Hey, I think you have something in your hair… right there…" he says, pointing to your left ear, and you reach up before he can touch you. 

You feel something, and when you pull it out in front of you, you see it's Spencer's business card. 

You laugh and flip the card over, checking to see if it's real or not. But it very much is. 

"Wow Spencer, that's amazing!" you exclaim and his cheeks flare red. You take out your phone and put his number in, calling it. He looks up at you and you place your phone to your ear. He picks up and you say with a smile, "There. Now you have my number too."

"This sounds very strange, can I hang up now?" Spencer says out loud, and it's repeated in your ear only moments after. You laugh and nod, and the two of you hang up your phones. 

Almost immediately, his phone starts ringing again, and you put up your hands in innocence. 

"JJ," he says into the receiver, pausing for a moment, before saying quickly, "I'll be right there." He hangs up his phone and places it in his pocket, before saying quickly. "Sorry, that was work. I really have to go."

You smile and nod. "You have a job to do. Go save some lives." He smiles and turns to leave, but you call out, "Spencer!" he turns around and you stand up, lean forward, and place a kiss on his cheek. "For good luck." 

He grins and walks out of the club. You watch as a couple more people file out, and sit back in your seat and finish your water.

"Do not swear by the moon, for she changes constantly. then your love would also change." –Romeo and Juliet

You're flipping through papers when you hear someone call out to you. 

"[Y/N]!" they shout and looking up you see Spencer Reid walking down the hallway towards you, a messenger bag slung around his shoulder. He was wearing something similar to what he was wearing in the club only two nights ago. 

"Case ended early?" you ask and he nods. 

"Yeah. Child abduction. We had less than forty eight hours to get the child back alive since the family didn't report her missing until twenty four hours had passed," he says. 

"And did you? Get the child back alive, I mean," you ask and he nods. You grin.

"Oh, good. So! What are you doing here? You didn't come just to see me, did you?" 

Spencer blushes and you place a hand on his arm. "No, Doctor Priya Chopra wanted my help on an article she's going to write about fungal growth on skin and the potential benefits it could have, as well as any side effects it may cause," he says and you nod. 

"Well, I can show you to her office! She's new so it wouldn't have updated on any maps yet," you say and Spencer nods. 

He stops and you halt in front of him, turning as he says, "Oh! Do you want me to carry any of your papers?" 

You smile and shake your head. "No, it's okay. I'll just have to walk back anyways. My office is in the other direction."

"Oh, I don't want you to have to go out of your way. I can probably find it on my own…" Spencer trails off, looking helplessly at the myriad of plain beige hallways. 

You shake your head and bump your shoulder with his. "Really. It's not a big deal. I want to do this," you say with a smile.  He smiles back and you lead him down a couple hallways, until you stop at a door with a nameplate that reads, 'Dr. Priya Chopra, PHD'.

"Well, this is your stop," you say, almost sad with a slight slump to your shoulders. "With that eidetic memory of yours, I don't think you need me to show you around anymore."

Spencer places a hand on the small of your back and points at the paperwork in your arms. "You look like you could use a little help. How about I come by after my talk with Doctor Chopra? I know where your office is," he says and you grin. 

"I would love that, Spencer," you say, and watch him until he disappears behind Doctor Chopra's door. 

"One may smile, and smile, and be a villain." –Hamlet

You hear a knock at your door and you look up from your work to see a familiar head pop out from behind the door. You grin and say, "Parker! It's good to see you again! Come in." 

The young man with dark circles under his eyes slowly walks into your office, he wrings his hands out in front of him, and sits down in the chair across from yours. He slowly takes his backpack off and reaches in, pulling out a grey folder. The movements were slow and methodical, but you can see the young man's hands shaking slightly as he does so. Finally, he pulls out a stapled stack of papers and holds it out to you. 

You take it carefully and frown, looking it over. It was one of his essays that you just gave back a couple days ago with a big red 'F' on the front. 

"Why did you fail me?" Parker whispers and you sigh. 

You lean back in your chair, folding your fingers on your stomach as you say, "Your essay is all over the place. There isn't a coherent theme or message in any of it. Also, you should really find someone to help edit your grammar at least. You have misspellings and incorrect comma usage all over the place, Parker." The man in question looks down away from you and you sigh again, this time louder and lean forward onto your desk. "How about this. Go to the writing center on campus, find someone to help plan out your essay, and if you do a good job, I'll bump up your score to at least a B, if not more if you do really well, okay?" 

Parker looks up at you and gives you a toothy, forced smile, almost as if he doesn't smile much in his life, and says, "Thank you, Mr. [Y/N]."

You smile and nod, handing the paper back to him, and just as someone knocks at your door, he gets up. 

Opening the door, Parker comes face to face with Doctor Gerard Holden, professor of microbiology at Georgetown, and the man looks shocked for a moment before steeling his expression and saying over Parker's shoulder, "Dr. [L/N], do you have a minute to talk?" 

You smile and nod, before addressing Parker again. "Parker, I want to see that essay on my desk in a week and a half at the most. I hope to see some improvement."

Parker doesn't turn around but he nods and slides out of your office as quickly as he can without touching Dr. Holden. When Parker leaves, the older man walks into your office and closes the door behind him. 

"That boy is very strange. I don't know how you put up with him. I've had to kick him out of class before for being disruptive and talking out of turn," he says and you sigh. 

"He's a good kid and an even better student. I bet if you pushed him a little more, and actually called on him in class, he wouldn't interrupt so much," you say and the doctor in front of you is pale. "But, I hope you didn't come here to discuss our students."

The man shakes his head and goes into a lengthy question about having you guest lecture during one of his classes. You agree quickly and get the time and date and what you'll be covering before Dr. Holden opens the door to your office.

You see Parker standing on the other side of the door, and you know he heard everything you and Dr. Holden discussed about him. 

"They do not love that do not show their love." –The two Gentlemen of Verona

It's a Saturday. You and Spencer are sitting in your apartment reading. Spencer's stack next to him is significantly smaller than yours, and whenever he finishes a book, he places it on your stack. Whenever you finish yours, you place your book on the ground and pick up whatever book Spencer just finished reading. 

It's nice. 

"If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die." –Twelfth Night

"Come on! I don't want us to miss this!" Spencer exclaims, grabbing your hand, and pulling you along as he runs through the small park. 

"Wait! Spencer! I didn't know we were running! I would have brought my inhaler!" you exclaim as you try and keep pace. 

Spencer doesn't stop though as he says, "It's not far, now come on!" The two of you continue to run through the trees, and eventually you come upon a clearing. There are a few couples there, but not actually as many as you would have expected. The thing that shocks you the most are the group of college age students all standing around with boxes in their hands. 

"Spencer what-" 

"Shh!" 

You step closer to him, still holding his hand as the students all step up, and take the tops off the boxes. Light start flying out of the uncovered cardboard boxes and you realize that they're lightning bugs. 

You gasp as a swarm flies towards you before dispersing into a hazy cloud of blinking yellow and green emanating from the lower abdomen. You reach out and the bugs fly away from your hand in streaks of light and you laugh. You turn, grinning at Spencer's face. He's looking right at you. 

In the low glow, you can see Spencer's handsome features on display. His cheekbones are softer in the light, his auburn hair a deep brown and his hazel eyes reflecting spots of green back at you. You reach up and place a hand on his cheek. He looks beautiful. 

"What is this?" you ask, breathless. 

He smiles softly and you look down at his lips. They look inviting. "The biology majors at Howard under Professor Trudy study fireflies for a semester before releasing them here. Did you know that many fireflies do not produce light? Usually these species are diurnal, or day-flying, such as those in the genus Ellychnia. A few diurnal fireflies that inhabit primarily shadowy places, such as beneath tall plants or trees, are luminescent. One such genus is Lucidota. Non-bioluminescent fireflies use pheromones to signal mates. This is supported by the fact that some basal groups do not show bioluminescence and use chemical signaling, instead. Phosphaenus hemipterus has photic organs, yet is a diurnal firefly and displays large antennae and small eyes. These traits strongly suggest pheromones are used for sexual selection, while photic organs are used for warning signals."

You're silent for a minute before you say, "You said firefly."

Spencer frowns. "Huh?" 

"You said firefly. People around here say 'Lightning bug,' which means you're not from around here. Where are you from?" you ask, and his frown subsides. 

"Las Vegas," he says and you smile. 

"You're a long way from home," you reply, looking around at the lightning bugs floating lazily around you, taking in their new environment. You look back at him and say, "I'm glad you're here Spencer. I'm glad I ran into you at the book shop. Literally," you say, laughing lightly. 

"Me too," Spencer says with a small smile on his face. 

You lean up and kiss him, quickly, before pulling back, not really giving him a chance to react. He stares at you, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open, before leaning in and capturing his lips in yours again. You lean against him, turning so your front is pressed against his, he places his hands on your hips and you thread yours through his hair and rest them on the back of his neck. 

When you pull away, the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end, but you're so lost in Spencer's eyes you hardly notice. 

"I am not bound to please thee with my answers." –The Merchant of Venice

You jump as someone hits their bowl a little too hard with their spoon, causing a loud crashing noise it seems like only you can hear. You can feel your heart rate picking up as another person accidentally drops a glass on the floor, shattering it. Your eyes dart around as people talk loudly over one another, shouting to be heard over the low din of the restaurant. 

"[Y/N]!" 

You look up at Spencer sharply, your eyes going wide. 

"Are you okay?" he asks, reaching a hand out. You nod but don't take his hand, instead picking at your nails underneath the table. "I was just talking about the underlying effects of corsetry in the modern era…" Spencer continues as if nothing is wrong but another loud crash causes you to jump and lose focus from him again. 

You hear Spencer sigh and you look up at him, your cheeks flaming up. "Sorry…" you mutter. 

"What's wrong?" he asks plainly. 

"I-" you begin to say, but flinch as someone laughs loudly at a table nearby you. "I don't really like restaurants. They're too… loud." 

Spencer looks at you with that blank stare for a moment before sighing in what you hope is of relief. "Same here. A co-worker of mine suggested I take you out to dinner and when I told him I don't like restaurants either, he just said you would," Spencer explains. 

You frown. "Who did he think I was? We read books in your apartment all the time!" 

Spencer looks away sheepishly and pulls his hands into his lap. "I haven't used pronouns for you, so he assumed you were a woman."

You snort. "Wouldn't be the first time." Spencer frowns at you. "I've dated a lot of bisexual men with straight colleagues. The co-workers always assume I'm a woman." 

Spencer nods, and the two of you are silent once again in the loud restaurant. You flinch once more as something crashes together, and Spencer sighs. 

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" he asks, almost begging. 

You nod enthusiastically. "Yes. Please. We can go back to mine?" Your eyes widen at that. "Not for sex!" you exclaim and a few people look over at you. You blush in embarrassment and say, quieter, "I-I just meant to read or watch a documentary or something. I didn't mean to imply."

Spencer smiles softly. "It's okay. I didn't even realize. I'm not sexually attracted to people."

Your eyes widen and you grin. "Me neither!" 

Spencer grins with you and the two of you hastily pay and make a quick exit out of the busy restaurant. 

"God hath given you one face, and you make yourself another." –Hamlet

"Mr. [L/N]?" 

You jump and look up from your work and see Parker standing in your office. You put a hand over your heart and laugh. "Parker! You scared me!" 

"Sorry…" he says, not making eye contact. 

You chuckle as you say, "I should put a bell on you…" you see Parker flush a deep red but you ignore it. "So, what can I do you for?" 

Silently, still red and blushing, Parker pulls out a stapled stack of papers from his backpack and holds it out to you. You take it and see it's the revised version of his essay you failed last week. 

"I did want you asked…" he says quietly and you quickly look over the first page. 

You smile up at him, grateful. "Thank you, Parker. I'll get it back to you by the end of the week-"

"NO!" he shouts and you jump at that. 

"Parker, I have a lot of work to do and-" 

But he cuts you off again, shouting, "No! Get it done now!" 

You sigh, knowing he's not going to relent, and you pinch the bridge of your nose. "Okay. How about this. How many classes do you have left today?" 

"Two…" Parker says, and you almost miss it seeing as he's so quiet. 

You nod. "Okay. How about I work on it while you're in class and you can come back after."

Parker nods and without another word, leaves your office. You sigh loudly and lean your head into your hands. 

"I must be cruel only to be kind; Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind." –Hamlet

That night, you're sitting in Spencer's apartment, his head in your lap as you both read. You can't help but think of Parker, of hearing him yell for the first time since you met him. The boy was always so quiet, except in class where he was engaged and able to answer every question, even if his answers were a little all over the place. 

"[Y/N]?" You hear Spencer ask and you look down at him, dazed. 

"Huh?" 

"You haven't even looked at your book for six minutes and twenty-seven seconds," Spencer says and you frown. You put your book face down next to you on the side table and rub your hands over your face. You feel hands at your wrists, and they tug slightly, pulling your hands away from your face. "What's going on?" 

"Just a student of mine yelled at me today," you say. Spencer frowns and you lean down, kissing where his brow was furrowed. "It's okay. I've just never seen him even raise his voice above a whisper besides when we're in class. And even then he doesn't yell." You pause, and sit back up. Spencer sits up as well and lets go of your wrists, leaning into your side. "A lot of the students and faculty don't like him because he's disruptive in class, but I know he's a good student. He's driven and knows a lot. He just needs to be pushed in the right way." You sigh again and lean over to rest your head on Spencer's shoulder. "I told him that I would finish editing his essay by the end of the week but he yelled at me, telling me to finish it right then and there. I told him I would finish it by the end of the day. I knew he wasn't going to stop asking, so I made a compromise I thought he could live with."

You look up at Spencer's face and see him frowning. "How long has he been like this with you?" 

You let out a huff of humorless laughter. "What, you jealous?" you ask, joking. 

Some of the tension eases from Spencer's face but he doesn't stop frowning.

"No, I'm not jealous. I'm just cautious." He looks into your eyes as he says, "You should be too."

You sigh and lean down, kissing him. "I know. I will be. I just don't want to push him away. I think I'm the only friendly face he has around campus…" 

Spencer nods, and opens his mouth as if to say something, but he closes it, and the two of you spend the rest of your evening in silence, unanswered questions lingering in the air between you. 

"Go wisely and slowly. Those who rush stumble and fall." –Romeo and Juliet

"You okay?" you ask Spencer one night while you're sitting on your bed together, watching something on your laptop. Tonight you were trying to get him into Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but he seemed more distracted than normal. 

He looks up at you, a glazed look in his eyes before sighing. "The case we finished today? It was a stalker case. This man was in love with this woman and we had to make her tell him she was in love with him to get him to let his guard down," Spencer explains and you turn to face him, not saying anything. "We shot him. In the end. He died while the woman was sobbing into her husband's arms." You reach out and place a hand near Spencer, not touching him. He reaches out and takes your hand, kissing it. "I just keep thinking about how she'll never feel safe around another man again."

"You did what you could and you saved her life, Spencer," you say quietly and he looks at you sadly. "I'm so proud of you."

"But what about the people we can't save?" 

You sigh and kiss Spencer lightly. "You can't think about that. Think about the families you saved, the women, the children. You saved a life! That's amazing, Spencer."

Spencer smiles and nods but he doesn't look convinced. You just kiss him again and go back to watching Buffy. 

"<i>For which of my bad parts didst thou first fall in love with me?</i>" –Much Ado About Nothing

You startle as a knock sounds at your door. You aren't expecting visitors. Spencer's out with work, and he said not to expect him back for a few days. It's only been two, and he can't have caught the guy that quickly already. 

But when you open your door, Spencer is standing there, his eyes puffy and red, and before you can ask any questions, he's pushing himself into your arms. You stumble back and close the door before sinking to the floor, letting Spencer cry into your arms. 

"Love comforteth like sunshine after rain, But Lust's effect is tempest after sun. Love's gentle spring doth always fresh remain; Lust's winter comes ere summer half be done. Love surfeits not, Lust like a glutton dies; Love is all truth, Lust full of forged lies." –Venus and Adonis

"I love you," you say one evening while you're sitting on the couch, Spencer's head in your lap. You're running your fingers through his hair as you say this, making it fan out around his head like a halo of auburn curls. 

He cracks an eye open at you and smiles. "Really?" 

You roll your eyes. "Yes. I do. And I just thought I should say it," you say, and Spencer sits up, leaning in to kiss you. You put your hands on his cheeks and smile into the soft kiss. 

He pulls away and says, "I want you to meet my mom."

Your eyes go wide and you open your mouth as if to say something, but nothing comes out. You frown before asking, "When?" 

"I have some vacation time saved and we could wait until summer break!" Spencer exclaims, causing your frown to drop. "You're not teaching again until the second half of summer break, so we can see her then." 

"I've never been to the west coast before…" you say, trailing off and looking away. Spencer goes to say something but you cut him off with a smile. "But, that's okay. I want to meet her." 

Spencer grins and grabs your face, kissing you like his life depends on it. You laugh as he gets up and runs out of the living room, whooping with joy. 

"I love you, Spencer Reid!" you shout. 

"Love you too!" he shouts back. 

"Lovers and madmen have such seething brains Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend More than cool reason ever comprehends." –A Midsummer Night's Dream

It's a week until the end of term, finals right around the corner, and you have been stuck in your office for most of the day. Most of the week actually. You gave your students the last few days off to study for their finals, and to finish their final essays for you while you finished editing the last of their work before you were bombarded with essays and tests. 

Your phone rings on your desk, but you turn off the noise, groaning as the red light beeps incessantly. It's been doing that for the past half an hour. You even had to turn your mobile off and shove it into an unused drawer of your desk. 

After another five minutes of the light beeping, you pick up your phone. 

"WHAT!" you scream into the receiver. 

"Uh, Dr. [L/N]?" you hear someone say quietly into the phone. 

"You know, I'm very busy right now and I can't handle distractions so if you would just-" 

"Someone's shooting up the school." 

Your blood runs cold as a knock sounds at your door, and you watch the knob turning. You gulp as the voice on the other end of the line tries to get your attention, but you can't hear them. All you can hear is the creak of your door as it's slowly pushed open. 

"Mr. [Y/N]!" You hear someone shout as they enter your office. It's Parker. And he's holding a gun. "I thought I heard you in here! Who are you talking to?" 

You go to answer, but the words die in your throat. 

"I- I don't actually know. They-they were calling to tell me about you," you say finally, hanging up the phone as the person yells on the other side of the line. 

Parker closes your door and walks over to your desk with a happy smile on his face. "I came to get you, [Y/N]," he says, and you force a smile onto your face. 

"Really?" you ask, hoping your nervousness doesn't give anything away. 

He nods. "It's just you and me now! Forever!" 

You gulp, but smile. "Uh huh…" 

"The only thing left in our way is that whore who calls himself your boyfriend…" Parker says, and your smile drops. 

"Spencer?" you can't help the wavering in your voice as you say his name. 

Parker nods and places his hand against his chin. "Yes. Maybe you can call him? I'm sure he's already on his way over here."

You gulp, but nod. You pick up your desk phone and dial Spencer's number from memory. While your memory may not be anywhere close to as good as his, you forced yourself to memorize it in case it was an emergency. 

After the first ring, the phone is picked up. "[Y/N]? Are you okay? I've tried calling you for the past twenty minutes and you haven't picked up!" Spencer exclaims on the other end of the line. 

You take a deep breath before looking up at Parker, who's smiling expectantly at you. He nods. "Spencer, can you come to my office?" 

"I'm outside. Is everything okay?" he asks. 

"Tell him to leave his gun and vest outside," Parker whispers and you nod. 

"You need to leave your gun and vest outside," you say, your voice shaking with every word. 

"Oh!" Parker exclaims and leans forward. "And tell him if he doesn't do all that, I'm going to kill you."

You let out a sob and say into the phone, shaking, "If you don't do what's been asked, he's going to- he's going to kill me, oh!" you exclaim, another sob escaping your lips. You hear Spencer start to say something, but Parker puts a finger down on the plunger and you hear the dial tone in your ear. You slowly take the phone away from your ear and look at it shaking in your grip. 

You watch absently as Parker's fingers brush yours, getting you to open your hand, and you let him take the phone, and put it back down on your desk. 

You keep staring off into the middle distance, even as Parker's hand rests on your chin. He turns your head and your eyes lock onto his. You can see the simmering rage bubbling underneath the feigned love that he's projecting. It's probably not even conscious. You don't know if a man like him even <i>could</i> fall in love. 

You hear a knock at your door and Parker moves away from you, but grabs your arm forcefully. Your hips push into the desk painfully and you let out a small whimper. Parker's hand on your arm relaxes slightly and he pulls you around your desk to stand next to him at his side, his gun pointed at the dark wooden door that is slowly opening. 

You see Spencer slowly pushing the door open, his other hand raised to show he's unarmed. 

"Stay there," Parker says, holding his gun level at Spencer's chest. 

"Okay. Okay," Spencer says, putting his other hand up. "No one needs to get hurt." 

Parker shakes his head. "No. No. They do. They're going to come in the way of us!" 

Parker looks down at you and you look up at him, wide eyed. "No, they won't. No one can come in between us," you say, trying to keep your voice steady. "Spencer's right. No one needs to get hurt."

Parker closes his eyes and shakes his head again. "Spencer, Spencer… Why Spencer? Why him? Why not me?" 

You grab his arm and say, "It is you, Parker! It will always be you!" you look over at Spencer, asking with your eyes if you're doing a good job, if this is what you should be doing. He gives you a miniscule nod. You remembered from before when you talked about guys like Parker. "I don't love Spencer. I love you."

Your heart breaks as you say this, but you know that Spencer knows it isn't true. Parker's the only one who needs to believe it. 

"Say it," he says, before looking over at the man in question, "to him."

You gulp and look at Spencer, leaning more into Parker's side as you say, "Spencer, I don't love you. I never loved you. I'm in love with Parker. Nothing will be able to keep up apart." 

"[Y/N]..." Spencer says, heartbreak evident on his face. Either he's a really good actor or he actually believes it. You sincerely hope it's the former. 

Parker nods when you look at him, and grins. "Let's get out of here…" he says, holding out his hand. You take it gingerly and he pulls your back to his chest, still holding Spencer at gunpoint. He flicks the gun further into your office, and Spencer moves with his hands up, tears streaming from his face as he moves across from you in the room. 

Parker backs up slowly through the room towards the door, his gun still pointed at Spencer. As soon as he steps out into the hallway, you hear the gunshot. 

You feel Parker fall behind you, and you run back into your office, falling to the floor, and only then do you start crying. You sob loudly, and when you're pulled into a chest, you only cry harder. 

You hear Spencer whispering to you, and you feel his tears on your hair, your neck as he says, "I can't lose you too. I can't. I just can't…"

You pull him closer, pulling your legs to your chest as you sob, "I love you. I love you so much. I didn't mean anything I said!" 

"I know," he whispers, kissing your head. "I know." 

"I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest." –Much Ado About Nothing

"I've never been to Vegas before!" you exclaim as you get off the plane. "Can we go to any casinos? I've never gambled before!" 

Spencer chuckles as he grabs your hand, pulling you through the airport. "We'll see. I've been banned from a few, so I don't know if they'll let me in…" he says, trailing off and you laugh. "Did you know that what most people think of as Las Vegas is actually called Paradise? In the late 1940s, after the second world war was over, the city of Las Vegas actually banned gambling. The rich gamblers in town weren't happy with that so they created a town called Paradise and made gaming legal there. Well, it's not a town, but more like unincorporated land that doesn't follow Las Vegas' laws." 

You grin and grab your bag when it comes around. While Spencer was talking, you had gone to the baggage claim and your bag had already been around once. While Spencer was used to traveling light, with only a go bag, you were not. 

"I did not know that," you say, leaning up to kiss his cheek as he pulls out towards the exit. 

You get the car he rented and you let him drive you to Bennington. He wanted to go back to the hotel for a night before seeing his mom, but you didn't want him to waste any more time. You would freshen up after. 

You and Spencer are ushered through the sterilized, but still personable, halls of the sanitarium, and into a large room with a couple of other people in it. You see a blonde, short haired woman sitting on a couch and Spencer starts walking over to her. 

When she sees him, her face lights up and she exclaims, "Spencer!" 

"Hey mom," he says, giving her a wave. "I wanted to introduce you to someone."

She turns and looks you up and down, before wringing her hands out and looking at her son. "Is this the man you told me about in your letters?" 

Your eyebrows raise at that and you ask Spencer, "You talked to her about me?" he looks at you, nervous, but you smile. "All good things, I hope." He grins and grabs your hand. You turn to Diana and hold out your hand. "Hi. I'm Dr. [Y/N] [L/N]. Spencer's told me so much about you. He really loves you." 

She smiles and takes your hand lightly before letting go. "Yes, he's told me a lot about you too. He loves you too," she says, and you smile at him. 

"And I love him," you reply. 

"Journeys end in lovers' meeting; every wise man's son doth know" –Twelfth Night

[stayndays]

𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝𝐬! - 𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧

part of my anime!skz series, this story is based off of “Toradora!” and will include spoilers on the plot of the show.

genres & tropes: fluff, minor angst (mostly at the end), high school au, love triangle/square, enemies & neighbors to lovers au, tsundere!jeongin (i guess?), gender neutral reader, reader is misunderstood as a cold person

disclaimers: drowning (but no death), mentions of rumor spreading & outcasting, mentions of anxious feelings/actual anxiety, one or two swear words, i have not proofread this so if the last few episodes seem really wonky that’s why

word count: 11k... we don’t comment on that

summary: “Y/L/N Y/N. Yang Jeongin. Kim “Chuu” Jiwoo. Kim Seungmin. You like Seungmin, Jeongin likes Chuu. You’re best friends with Chuu, Jeongin’s best friends with Seungmin. You don’t like Jeongin, but you know about each other’s crush. It’s time to play a game of Cupid, while being struck with Cupid’s arrow yourself.”

a/n: happy valentines day and belated jeongin day! this is the first story i’ve decided to tackle for my anime!skz series as well, so i get to hit three birds with one stone with this fic. also, i decided to take out a couple elements in the original anime (such as the addition of a character that’s like ami, taiga’s family issues, and some events) just so it’s simpler and totally not because i’m on a time crunch. i hope you enjoy reading this! <3

taglist: @skzwriternet​ @dayawantstosleep​ @desertofdessert​ @mr-jisung​ @dreamylunarnight​ (sorry if i forgot you i’m running on 0.2 braincells)

anime!skz masterlist is here!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Episode 1: Collision Course

“Psst, look over there!”

“Huh? What?”

“The fennec fox is about to face off against the dark delinquent!”

You turn to face the two students after overhearing the words “dark delinquent”, making the duo back away in fear. Cursing your parents who gave you these intimidating genes, you heave out a breath out of annoyance, and continue walking down the hallway.

Alas, maybe your appearance is the reason why people never approach you unless it’s absolutely necessary. You still manage to give off this dark atmosphere despite how much you try to change your appearance. 

“Don’t worry, Y/N,” your best friend, Chuu, attempts to reassure you. “It’s only the first day of school! You still have an entire school year to prove them wrong.”

You’d be lying if you said you didn’t envy your best friend, who basically embodies the definition of the sun. Always smiling and having a positive attitude regarding the situation, you just so happened to be the exact opposite of her. Boys are constantly crushing on her, she’s one of the most popular girls of your year, but she just so happens to be buddies with you. 

“Oh, watch out Y/N!” Distracted by your thoughts, you process Chuu’s warning just a second too late, and collide with a particularly tall boy, somehow smacking your face right into the torso part of his male school uniform. The force manages to knock the both off you to the ground, sending your papers flying all over the place. 

Oh, that’s right. That’s what the two girls were talking about. You’ve heard rumors of who this “fennec fox” person is, and how he has a really bad temper when you push his gears. But this guy you just bumped into? A fennec fox?

You guess you can see some resemblance of a fox in his facial structure, but his figure literally towered over you, making you feel like an ant standing next to a tree. The small crowd of passing students trying their absolute least to hold in their giggles make you feel even smaller, your neck growing hot because of how embarrassed you are.

“Watch where you’re going next time!” the boy scolds you, brushing off the paper that landed on top of his head. His voice makes you flinch slightly, and it’s only in that moment that you realize the rumors, so far at least, were true. 

“Er, sorry,” you quietly mumble out, scratching the side of your face. He definitely looks pissed, you thought, smoke practically fuming out of the guy’s ears. “Here, I’ll help you gather your stuff.” 

“I’ll help you guys out, too!” you hear a familiar voice, and meet the eyes belonging to a face you know all too well. 

Kim Seungmin: your secret crush that nobody truly knows about (you’ve tried approaching the topic to Chuu multiple times, only to be interrupted by her other friends). He’s the vice president of your school, a role he’s gained through the student body president herself. The definition of hardworking and kind at the same time, who would you be not to fall for a guy like him?

Your breath gets caught up in your throat as you try to answer him. “Oh- Uh- Thank you, Seungmin.”

“Of course! Wouldn’t hurt to help out my best friend, too,” Seungmin replies.

Best friend?

“Thanks..” the boy simply mumbles in response, and you almost did a double take on what you just heard. Seungmin and this guy... best friends? Before you can dwell on it long enough, however, you’re already being pulled to your feet by Chuu, and your papers are back in your hands. 

“Let’s go, Y/N!” Chuu beams with enthusiasm, and you could only afford a small smile in return. “Say, which class are you two in this year?”

“2-A,” the boy answers in a composed manner, the anger he released on you must’ve vanished by now, and you could almost see the pink dust coating his face. “What about you, Chuu?” 

You can’t even process the way the guy completely skipped over you to only ask Chuu personally before you blurt out, 

“We’re in the same class?!”

Episode 2: A Bold Strategy 

Bad news: your love letter is gone. 

That bastard fox dude, Jeongin, you learned his name was, must’ve taken it when you bumped into him in the morning. Not that you blame him entirely, because how could you remember to grab your letter in the ocean of textbooks and notebook paper?

Good news: you have his own love letter.

Why good news? Well, that just means he’s in the exact same boat as you, and now you can call yourself even with him. An exchange of love letters, it almost makes your heart calm down for a split second.

Until you read who the letter was addressed to.

There’s no way in hell this guy could get with your best friend. Jeongin, based off of first impressions, is a literal firecracker (who, for some reason, shouts at people he just met), while Chuu is a ball of sunshine. You don’t blame him, though, as almost every male classmate you’ve had has taken some sort of interest in her at some point, and you guess he’s no exception.

Then again, you’re in the same situation as him, crushing on somebody way out of your league.

While Seungmin is a star student, always willing to help people out and socialize, you’re a total outcast who can barely get average grades in school. Seungmin just so happened to be one of two (the other being Chuu) who’s approached you willingly, and that’s why you fell for him. That charming smile of his, and his caring nature. It was all too much for you.

As you thought about it more, flipping Jeongin’s love letter to Chuu between the flesh of your fingers, it’s not a terrible idea to help out Jeongin. He may currently have a 0% chance of getting with Chuu, but if you succeed and play a bit of matchmaking, he could return the favor to you.

You like his best friend, he likes your best friend...

You gently rip open the envelope encasing Jeongin’s letter, and start reading.

Episode 3: The Cupid Game Begins

“Uh, Jeongin-” you tap the boy’s shoulder once, which was conveniently right in front of your desk. He continues to talk to the people around him, which makes you tap his shoulder harder.

Jeongin whips his head around to meet your calm eyes, only turning slightly frightened when you flinch at his sudden movement. “Wha- Ah! What do you want?” He says in an aggravated tone.

“Sorry,” you apologize quickly for making him jump, not wanting to cause another scene like yesterday. “I just need to talk to you about something for a few minutes.”

Jeongin lets out a groan, fixing his position so he can look behind him more comfortably. “What exactly do you want to talk about?”

“Something I’m sure you don’t want your friends to hear,” you respond casually, picking at the skin on your fingers. The boy’s eyes visibly perk up at your reasoning, and finally nods. “Thanks,” you say to him and stand up, pushing in your seat.

“Careful Jeongin!”

“Fight back if they hit you!”

You let out a deep sigh at the comments directed towards you, not even bothering to shoot them a glance in response. It’ll only make the rumors worse, you think as you walk out of the classroom, Jeongin trailing behind your footsteps after closing the door.

The hallway was silent once you stepped out of your class, no longer hearing the chattering of your fellow classmates about the latest gossip and homework. You could only hear your very own footsteps, along with Jeongin’s feet, which were behind you. Once the two of you made your way to the vending machines near the school stairs, you take out the coin you were holding in your hand and insert it into one of the machines.

“Which drink do you want?” you ask the boy without turning to face him, fishing out another coin in your mini wallet.

“The melon one-” Jeongin does a double take, not believing what he heard as he watches you insert another coin into the vending machine. “Wait, why are you buying a drink for me?” He questions your antics, slowly sliding down the wall to sit on the floor.

You stick your hand into the machine to grab Jeongin’s drink, making eye contact with him as you hand it over. “Why not? Is there a reason I should be buying you a drink?”

“Well, I mean,” Jeongin scratches the back of his neck in confusion. “Aren’t you supposed to be... a delinquent?”

You chuckle at his explanation, “Does that mean you’re a fox? Our nicknames in this school are only based off of our appearances, isn’t that funny?” Joining him on the floor, you crack open your own drink. “So no, I’m not a delinquent, and I’ll never be one.”

“That’s not what I’m here to talk about anyways,” you don’t bother to check Jeongin’s facial expressions as you continue, starting to take out his envelope before you’re stopped by him.

“Wait! I have something to give you too,” Jeongin stops your movement, slipping out something from his pocket as well.

“Is this yours?” 

You both say at the same time, revealing each other’s envelopes. There’s yours, with a tacky, red heart sticker stamped onto the envelope to seal it. Then there’s Jeongin’s, with only the word “To: Chuu” on the back.

Jeongin quickly snatches his letter from your hand, and quickly throws your own onto your lap. “Uh, thanks for returning it. You didn’t- Give it to Chuu for her to read... right?”

“Of course not.”

“And you didn’t read what’s inside?”

“..You got me there, I’ll admit it,” you chuckle slightly, raising your hands in defeat as your face starts to grow hot. Jeongin hums a bit, surprisingly not even a tad bit angry at your confession.

“Well,” Jeongin leans back against the wall. “I guess we’re even then.”

“What?!” you exclaim in surprise. “I mean- Yeah, cool. Actually, this works out perfectly.”

“Why?”

“I have a proposal for you,” you start. “We both like each other’s best friend, right? So we could be each other’s wingman and try to get with our crush. It’ll just take a bit of cooperation, though.”

Jeongin scoffs, “You made me look like a fool on the first day of school, why should I?”

“Well, besides being the apparent ‘delinquent’ of this school, I’d say I’m quite good at matchmaking thanks to Chuu, a cupid, you could almost say,” you cross your arms in defense. “Then again, since I’ve already read your sappy love letter to Chuu, I could always tell her that-”

“Fine!” Jeongin finally gives in. “I’m in, I’m in. I have absolutely no idea how I could get somebody like Seungmin to like somebody like you, but if you’re able to get me and Chuu into a relationship, I’ll try my best to play cupid. Okay?”

“I’m just going to ignore that comment about me and take it,” you shrug, standing up after checking the clock on the wall. “I’ll give you my address on a piece of paper later, so we could meet up and start planning.”

“Yeah, sure,” Jeongin follows your actions, standing up and tossing his drink into the trash can. 

“Remind me to pay you back for the drink, by the way.”

Episode 4: His Angelic Neighbor

“How ironic.”

“How ironic, indeed,” Jeongin agrees with you, the two of you standing at the entrance of Eda Apartments Complex, your backpacks on your back.

The studio apartment complex the both of you just so happen to live in, that is.

Part of you is relieved that you live near Jeongin, so maybe you could get to know him better (not as a friend, of course, but to see if Chuu would actually like him), and of course to work out your cupid plans together. However, the other part of you is confused as to why you’ve never even seen him around your apartment until now. 

These thoughts run through your head as Jeongin leads you to his apartment, walking up a lengthy three flights of stairs, as opposed to your usual two. 

When he’s about to open the door to his place, Jeongin turns around to face you, key in hand. “Whatever you do, don’t comment about my place.”

“Okay...?” you comply with an incredibly confused tone, but it seems to be enough for Jeongin, as he swings the door open.

Soda cans upon soda cans are messily piled up near a trash can, which was overflowing with paper plates and tissues. His bed, which is in the corner of the room (which, to be fair, it’s a studio apartment, and you have the same bed layout as him), wasn’t even made, and what you could assume to be a dining table had leftover Chinese takeout boxes on it.

When you peered into the sink after reluctantly placing your belongings near the door, it’s almost clogged up with muck and filth, making a shiver run down your spine. Not to mention, when you asked Jeongin if you could have a drink from the fridge, all your eyes could see were frozen meals & rows of soda and juice. How long has Jeongin been living this way?

“Uhm, hate to mention this to you,” you close the fridge gently after grabbing a can of soda. “but your place is really-”

“What did I say to you before I opened the door?” Jeongin fires back before you could finish.

You stay silent.

“Exactly. Now can we please start talking about our ‘Cupid Plans’ as you like to refer to it?” Jeongin raises an eyebrow at you, taking out the items in his backpack. 

“It’s a cute name, okay?” you respond, making your way to the table as Jeongin pushes the takeout boxes to the side. “And we’ll be studying too, we have a quiz tomorrow, remember?”

“I’ll rather do the studying later,” Jeongin. “So what does Chuu like?”

“Hmm...” it takes you a moment to think about what your best friend likes when it comes to love, which is a bit strange, because you’d think you’d know what Chuu likes after watching people confess to her after all these years. “I think she’d prefer something planned? Even extravagant, if you really push it. She likes plushies and small gifts.”

“What about Seungmin?” you ask Jeongin.

It also takes Jeongin a second to come up with an answer. “He’s always been into nerdy, yet bubbly people, I guess? Since you’re so antisocial, though, he probably won’t like somebody like you right now.”

“Wow, thanks.”

“I’m only trying to help!”

The conversation shifts slightly, and to your surprise, flows well despite your polar opposite personality. You and Jeongin discuss possible ideas as to how both of you could help each other out while studying for your upcoming quiz. 

“And for equation 17, would it be-” you lift your head up from your math textbook, only to see Jeongin using his arm as a pillow and sleeping on his own book. You blink a couple times in disbelief, but remember that you’ve been over at his house for a little over three hours at this point. Shrugging, you gently close your textbook and decide to call it a day at Jeongin’s place.

But then you go back to your senses and remember how filthy of an apartment you’ve been at this entire time. The more you look at your surroundings, the more you desire to clean up the place.

A neat freak, that’s what everybody calls you. It’s what your mom taught you all throughout your childhood, and it’s a trait you’ve kept until now.

Your mind goes into autopilot mode as you start moving around his place left and right. Somehow, you were able to find a box of plastic gloves stored in the back of the sink cabinet, so you put a pair on and start cleaning. Tying up garbage bags and cleaning out the sink, you also make the effort to place the leftover Chinese food into the fridge after checking if it’s spoiled or not. Most people would stare at you in confusion, but you shake your head at the thought, only hoping that Jeongin would at least appreciate your efforts. 

By the end of your cleaning session, you could now call the studio apartment an apartment, and not some kind of swamp. Pleased at your work, you take out one of your notebooks and rip out a piece of paper, grabbing a pencil along the way. You write a quick note for Jeongin to read when he wakes up:

“Cleaned up your place while you were asleep, I could also cook for you and teach you how to cook? (Chuu likes food) text me: xxx-xxx-xxxx”

Swinging your backpack onto your pack, you leave his apartment and make your way to your own.

Later that night, your phone dings with a message from an unknown number.

[Unknown: i’m so tired of frozen meals and takeout, please cook for me (and teach me how)]

Episode 5: However

“Here’s your lunch, Yang,” you pass your spare lunchbox to the seat in front of you, which Jeongin takes gratefully. Chuu, who was making her way over to the seat next to you, catches sight of your interaction with Jeongin.

“Y/N’s food is good, isn’t it Jeongin?” Chuu strikes up a conversation right away, leaving Jeongin flustered, and most likely burning hot.

“Y-Yeah, it is.”

“Say, you two have been talking a lot lately,” Chuu starts talking as you tilt your head up to take a sip of your drink. “Have you two been, or should I say, has Y/N finally gotten a-”

You choke on your drink, almost spitting it all over Jeongin’s back before catching yourself. Jeongin has almost the same reaction as you, only choking on the food you prepared for him instead. It had only been two weeks of school; two weeks of talking to Jeongin solely about each other’s crush, and yet Chuu believes that you two have something going on.

“Absolutely not, Chuu.”

“Yeah, no way.”

You exchange a glare with Jeongin, almost in a panicked manner. If Chuu believes that you two are dating, that would practically be the end of your chances to be with Seungmin, same going for Jeongin with Chuu.

“Alrighty then, I trust you two,” Chuu leans back in the chair she’s sitting on, before promptly getting up and making her way to the door of the classroom. “I’m gonna use the bathroom.”

As soon as she closes the door, Jeongin immediately leans over to your desk, ignoring his bento box. “We have to do something about what Chuu said.”

“Duh, there’s no way we could let her think that about us,” you agree with him. “What are some solutions? We could try to be more distant with each other, which honestly I don’t think either of us would mind too much. I could simply tell Chuu that we aren’t even close friends, or-”

“You need to confess to Seungmin,” Jeongin bluntly tells you, catching you off guard. 

“What- why would I do that?!” you almost yell at the boy in front of his face. His plan is all kinds of crazy, you would’ve never thought of it yourself.

“You’ve known Seungmin longer than I’ve known Chuu, so you have a lower risk of being rejected. And if you actually end up dating Seungmin, then Chuu would know that us two aren’t a couple,” Jeongin crosses his arms over his chest. “It’s a win-win situation.”

You scoff, “And if I get rejected?”

“I’ll like- I don’t know, buy you ice cream?” Jeongin attempts to persuade you, to which you sigh as a response. 

“I guess I’ll trust you on this.”

The day passes by without a hitch, to your utter shock, as the churning in your stomach says otherwise. The thought of impulsively confessing to your long time crush makes you feel lightheaded and dizzy, as it was something you’ve never done before. However, your stubbornness is refusing you to back down from Jeongin’s wild plan, so here you are, face to face with Seungmin at the roof of the school.

“Erm- So-”

“The weather is pretty nice today, isn’t it Y/N?” Seungmin casually breaks the ice wall between you two.

The sudden question catches you off guard. “Ah, yes.. yes it is...” Already, you could feel the heat rising up your body, even when the weather today was particularly cloudy. “Uhm, I brought you here to tell you something, Seungmin.”

“Oh, what is it?” Seungmin seems surprised at your statement, but the voice in your head tells you otherwise. He’s smart enough to look through people, you know that already, so why are you trying to hide your feelings when you’re already this far?

It’s time to take a leap of faith, you think, as you take in a large breath before telling him everything. “Uh, you see.. I’ve always appreciated you ever since you approached me that one day. Nobody’s ever done that for me except for you and Chuu, and because of that I think you’re a.. great person... What- What I’m trying to say here is-”

“I like you, Seungmin.”

You tilt your head downwards, almost in shame as you play with your fingers anxiously. Letting out a shaky exhale, you can’t believe that you just confessed all of those things to your own crush. Your heart beating a thousand miles a second, it felt like you were about to explode from either embarrassment or anticipation; quite possibly even both at the same time.

“You, know, Y/N..” Seungmin starts to chuckle, grabbing onto his left wrist with his right hand.

“I used to like you.”

That made you look back up at him in shock, blinking a couple times out of disbelief. “Really?!”

Seungmin simply hums, confirming what he just stated. “That’s why I approached you in the first place. There was something about you that drew me into talking to you. And of course, you didn’t disappoint me,” he flashes you a comforting smile, but it soon goes away at his next word.

“However...”

Seungmin leaves you hanging after that one word: however. His mouth opens and closes, most likely trying to come up with the right words to say. You wobble your feet back and forth, becoming more and more impatient.

But then, he says something. A simple, ten word sentence. Not a compound nor a complex sentence. Easy for a little kid to understand.

“I hope we can be good friends in the future.” 

And yet it cracks your heart.

In a blink of an eye, Seungmin has disappeared from your view. An unexpected wind blows through your body, almost feeling like a comforting pat on the back after being rejected; friend-zoned. 

You make your way to the front of the school, dragging your feet in a lazy manner. Jeongin’s head perks up when he nears footsteps, only to gaze down at your slumped figure. Letting out a deep exhale, you give Jeongin a glare that could cut him in half; one of disappointment and exhaustion.

“You owe me ice cream.”

The ice cream place is about two blocks away from your apartment complex, decorated in obnoxious pastel colors that make your eyes squint. Jeongin is relatively quiet throughout your walk there, only offering to carry your backpack if it’s too heavy for you, to which you declined quietly. You can feel the burn of his eyes on top of your head, anticipating for you to let out a scream in anger, but you’re simply not that kind of person. 

You remain deep in thought even when you sit down, grabbing a menu to cover your face. Jeongin’s eyes remain on your figure, and you wonder if he’s actually, genuinely, worried for you.

“Er, what do you want to order?” Jeongin asks you in an attempt to break the tension. “I’ll pay, since you seem a bit heartbroken right now-”

“Hi, welcome 901 Freeze Treats Parlor-” you look up from the menu at the sound of a familiar, cheery voice.

You forgot Chuu works here.

And you forgot to tell Jeongin that information.

“Oh, Y/N! And Jeongin, hi guys,” Chuu flashes a grin at the both of you, and you can’t help but smile and almost giggle at how Jeongin grows beetroot red. She’s sporting a pair of pigtails in her hair, and the striped uniform topped with a cute hat on top. “What can I get you guys?” “I’ll- I’ll get the banana split Chuu!” Jeongin exclaims a bit too loud, attracting the rest of the customers at the parlor. Chuu, although a bit confused, seems to enjoy Jeongin’s enthusiasm for ice cream and writes down the order.

You set down the menu and point to what you want with a hum, to which Chuu bends forward slightly in order to see what you want. “You always order that, Y/N! Don’t you want to try something else?”

“I’m good, Chuu, thanks,” you give her a gentle smile, praying that she won’t comment about how tired and defeated you look. Fortunately for you, she leaves you alone, and you’re left back with just Jeongin.

“How have my letters been doing?” Jeongin blurts out before he could stop himself, covering his mouth with one of his hands soon after. “I- I mean, I shouldn’t.. really ask when you’re sad.. but I mean I might as well ask you since we just talked to her, right? Sorry-”

“They’re doing good, she likes them a lot,” you reply softly to the frantic boy, and he lets out a sigh of relief at your answer. You’ve spent the past few weeks helping Jeongin write love letters to Chuu, even decorating them with cute stickers. For once, your writing skills can come into play, and you haven’t let Jeongin down yet. “And it’s okay, my head is just in the clouds. At least he let me down gently.”

“What exactly did he say?” Jeongin eggs you on, wanting you to elaborate further.

“Something along the lines of us being good friends in the future,” you explain to him. “He even said that he used to like me, but I don’t know-”

“Then you still have a chance, right?” Jeongin doesn’t wait for you to finish your sentence before jumping in. “He left the door wide open for you to walk into, or- something like that at least. And, now thinking about it, I actually do think he used to like you.”

You roll your eyes, “You’re only saying that to make me feel better about this.”

“No, really! He mentioned that he liked somebody quiet and mysterious, and that he was gravitated towards that person. He told me that he would approach that person someday. It must’ve been you! I’ve known Seungmin for years, and this is one of two times he’s told me about his crushes,” Jeongin carries on with his own explanation. “So, in conclusion, I still believe it’s possible to win over his heart.”

Your lips press into a thin line, “You sure? Like, you’re absolutely positive about this?”

Jeongin nods, and for the first time since you’ve met him, he sends you a genuinely positive smile. It’s not like the annoyed snarks or the cheeky smirks he gives you all the time, but rather, something you could find comfort in. Just like Seungmin’s smile.

“Okay then, I’ll trust you.”

Episode 6: Swimming Lessons 

“Did you guys hear that the school’s swimming pool is opening next week?” A masculine voice you know all too well, yet you wish you didn’t at the same time, is heard from behind your back. Seungmin locks eyes with you as he tosses an arm around Jeongin’s shoulder while you continue walking down the hallway. 

It’s all too weird in your opinion that Seungmin is actually even friendlier after rejecting you. Because, shouldn’t the two of you be distant for at least a week or two? You guess that’s just not how Seungmin operates, then, as he dove right back into talking with you after that dreadful day on the school rooftop. 

“Yeah, Seung!” Jeongin answers with a joyful tone, giving you the chance to break your eye contact with Seungmin. You, on the other hand, were not a swimmer whatsoever.

Being submerged into a body of water to the point where your toes can’t reach the ground has never been ideal for you. Any kind of physical action required to even survive in the water is off putting in your option, so you’ve always stuck to dipping your feet into the water and nothing else.

But you guess that changes starting today.

“You know Seungmin,” Jeongin starts to say, “Y/N is actually a pretty good swimmer! I think they could even beat you in a swimming race.”

Your head jumps up in surprise, eyes widening when Jeongin turns to you. He mumbles the words “trust me” before going back to Seungmin. How many times will you have to trust Jeongin and his crazy schemes?

“Oh, really?”

Jeongin hums in confirmation, ignoring the side nudges coming from you. 

“Then we should race once the pool opens, Y/N!” Seungmin suggests with visible excitement beaming from his face. 

Your gut immediately tells you to deny, but then you have to consider Jeongin’s “trust me.” He seems fairly confident that everything would work out, so is the risk worth the possible reward?

“Oh- Uhm... Sure! Sure, let’s.. let’s race, yeah,” you manage to let out before you could change your mind. “Just give me time to prepare, I, uh, haven’t swam in a while.”

“Of course!” Seungmin grins. “Let’s do it in two weeks, okay?

All you could respond with is a nod, which Seungmin takes without anymore questions. He bids the both of you well, and makes a left to the student council room. 

You feel like a puddle of mush, waiting to collapse onto the tile floor of the school hallway. “I. Hate. You,” you scowl harshly at Jeongin.

“What?” Jeongin is caught off guard at your sudden hostility. “You never mentioned that you were afraid of the pool, and I don’t think it’s that bad of an idea. This is your chance to impress Seungmin!”

You scratch your head in confusion and denial. “Isn’t this a bit much, though? And who’s going to teach me how to swim?”

“You could always get me back with any ridiculous idea on how to get Chuu to like me,” Jeongin suggests to you. “And I’ll teach you, I’m a decent swimmer.”

“Sure, sure. Thanks for the idea, by the way,” you comment with a smirk, watching as Jeongin’s expression turns into one of regret.

“Now, teach me how to swim.”

An entire two weeks pass, and with those two weeks, comes the opening of the school pool. Although the vast majority of your classmates are genuinely excited to get a chance to cool down in the recent, scorching weather, you’re visibly less enthusiastic about it. You still try to keep a smile on your face with Seungmin is around though, so he doesn’t see through the lie Jeongin spontaneously made up.

“Y/N!” Chuu approaches you after exiting the changing room near the pool; you’ve already changed prior to her. “Your race with Seungmin is today, right? I see you’re all decked out in floaties.”

“Yeah, I’m just, uh- using them for safety purposes.” you give her a short and sweet response due to the churning in your stomach after being reminded of the event happening today. It’s a shame that your entire class knows what’s going down in just a few minutes, because they’re all anticipating your match with Seungmin. “The Delinquent vs The Student Pet” is what they’ve dubbed the match.

Also, Seungmin was generous enough to add onto the rules that floats were allowed to be used. So now you have floats all around your figure: some attached onto you, some you have to hold. 

“Hey Y/N-” Jeongin stops walking towards you after noticing Chuu, her hair in a braid and only wearing a casual swimsuit. “Oh- Hi Chuu!”

Chuu acknowledges Jeongin’s presence, but quickly turns back to you. “I hope you win the race, Y/N. I have faith that you could do it!”

“Y-Yeah Y/N! We didn’t train all for nothing,” Jeongin adds onto Chuu’s comment. Thankfully, although Chuu doesn’t even know that you couldn’t swim prior to now, she doesn’t question Jeongin’s extra addition of training. “Let’s head over to the start of the pool? Seungmin’s already there, I’m just here to fetch Y/N.”

“Okay! I’m referee as well, so I have to be there too,” Chuu claims, and the three 

Seungmin turns around from a group of boys to greet you, “Hey, Y/N! Ready for our match?

“H-Hey Seungmin,” you greet him with a friendly, yet shy tone, along with a nod.

“Okay!” Chuu gathers everybody’s attention with just the sound of her voice. “We’re here today to watch the race of Y/N vs Seungmin. On the count of three, I’ll blow my whistle and they’ll start swimming. You must go to the end of the pool, and right back to where we are right now. Ready?”

“3...”

“Also, just to calm your nerves a bit,” Seungmin whispers to just you right before the race begins.

“2...”

“I already know that you didn’t know how to swim before this. It’s okay if you fail, I’ll make sure nobody makes fun of you. Just stay safe, okay?”

“1...”

Your breath hitches for a split second, but before you can fully process what Seungmin just confessed to you, the whistle blows. 

Seungmin dives into the water head first, while you jump in measly with your feet touching the water before the rest of your body. By the time you’re able to start kicking your legs, Seungmin is already ahead of you, so you push against the wall using your feet and start doggy paddling. It’s quite pathetic, and you’re sure that’s what everybody is thinking as they watch you swim, but it doesn’t matter at this point. 

Or does it?

Because while you’re swimming across the pool, your brain just had to remind yourself about what Seungmin said seconds before the race started. He already knew you couldn’t swim, so it’s not really about impressing him anymore. 

Then again, it’s not necessarily about winning, but about showing Seungmin that you’re dedicated enough to try new things to have fun with him.

That’s why it matters now.

However, it feels like you’re sinking.

Throughout the race, you’ve lost float after float, and now you only have the two floats that wrap around your arms. The water is slowly starting to touch your lips, and falling into a standing position, making your situation even worse. Your heart pounds faster and faster in a panicked frenzy, struggling to comprehend what to do.

Thankfully, cupid comes to rescue you.

He jumps into the pool like a lifeguard, placing his hands near your armpits before pulling you out of the water with a surprising amount of strength. Despite the midst of chaos you were put in, you’re able to hear cheers and applauds, signaling that Seungmin must’ve finished the race. Once again, you’re left to vanish, with the only other misunderstood student to help you.

You feel the surface of the concrete outside of the pool on your bottom as you cough out water. Yet, Jeongin is nowhere in your sight.

That’s when you realized. He’s submerged under the water.

You assume that he must’ve lost energy while saving you, resulting in the two of you swapping places. Eyes widening at the sight, you sprint across the flooring of the pool site, screaming your lungs out for somebody to help.

“Shit!” you curse yourself when you finally get the an adult’s attention after being unable to get a classmate to help you. All of your classmates ended up next to Seungmin, aka, the opposite end of where you stopped swimming. It’s only when the teacher pulls Jeongin’s unconscious body out of the water for it to lay down that it grabs everybody’s attention, swarming to see what was happening.

That’s when you snap.

“I’m disappointed in all of you right now!” you scold all of your classmates, something you’d never think you’d get the courage to do until now. “All of you were focused on that stupid race, but you never bothered to check on Jeongin. He could’ve died because of your ignorance! I hope you all know that.”

After leaving your classmates’ mouths agape, you storm out of the crowd, and make your way to the changing room. Nobody, not even Chuu or Seungmin, bothers to approach you.

Later that day, after some of your classmates apologized for not noticing what was happening, you, and a now in-stable-condition Jeongin, walk home after an exhausting day. Not many words are said, just like your regular walks after each school day, until Jeongin turns to you.

“Uhm, I just wanna say..” Jeongin starts to speak,. “Thanks for defending me earlier after I drowned.”

You blink in surprise, “Wait, you heard all of that?”

“Yeah, I was already conscious for a few seconds before you started going off on them. But thank you, seriously. I appreciate it after being misunderstood by our classmates for all these years,” Jeongin sighs, and then gives you another one of his kind smiles.

“Of course...” your mouth forms a thin line after you mumble out those two words.

Why is your heart fluttering like Jeongin’s pair of cupid wings?

Episode 7: All For Your Happiness 

“Hey Chuu, listen to this!” you hold your phone right next to Chuu’s ear, which was playing the sounds you’d find at a haunted mansion. She yelps once she realizes what she’s listening to, and pushes your phone away with her palm, making everybody laugh.

Never in a million years would you find yourself sitting on a train with Chuu, Jeongin, and Seungmin all at once. The four of you were on your way to Chuu’s beach house, a place you’ve been to before during every summer break prior to this one, but it was always just the two of you. Now, however, you have your very own crush tagging along, plus his own best friend (and you don’t exactly know what you should call him anymore... Friend? Good Friend? Partner in Crime? Cupid Partner?). 

And you and Jeongin have a plan. One time, for once, you came up with, and you believe that it’s less traumatizing than nearly drowning in a pool.

It just so turns out that Jeongin is a horror movie enthusiast, so he slipped multiple DVD sets of horror movie classics into his suitcase to do a watching marathon at the beach house. It also turns out that Chuu is terrified of anything that could scare her, like jump scares. So, the plan is for Jeongin to become Chuu’s knight in shining armor for whenever she gets scared during this trip.

“Why are you making me listen to all of these things?” Chuu whines with a pout. To be fair, you’ve been making her listen to these chilling noises for the entire train ride, to the point where you’re almost at your stop.

“It’s kind of funny to watch your reactions, that’s all,” you semi lie, because while it is a bit hilarious to see Chuu’s dramatic reactions, you’re waiting for the moment for Jeongin to strike. 

And it’s at that moment when Jeongin finally speaks up, “Er- Chuu! If you ever get scared during this trip, come to me and I’ll-”

You mouth the word “protect” to Jeongin once he stops speaking.

“Uh- protect you!” Jeongin finishes after looking at you.

“Oh okay!” Chuu gives Jeongin a heartfelt grin. “I’ll make sure to go to you then, thanks!”

Jeongin nods eagerly, something Seungmin chuckles at, and you lean back in your seat at ease. If you’re able to successfully help Jeongin be Chuu’s knight during this trip, you’re certain that Chuu will at least take some interest at Jeongin. 

The train reaches your destination swiftly after Jeongin’s interaction with Chuu, and after a quick bus ride and a trek to the beach, you’ve finally reached Chuu’s family beach house.

“Wow, this is awesome Chuu!” Seungmin shouts gleefully as he looks at the house. The house is relatively small and gives off a modern feel, but it’s fortunately enough to fit four people in.

Chuu smiles at the compliment, “Thank you! My family is fortunate enough to own a place like this for the summer. But since my parents are always overseas when summer rolls around, this place turns into a paradise for Y/N and I!”

“Anyways,” Chuu continues. “We should probably clean up the house since it hasn’t been used since last year, but I say we go play on the beach first!”

While Seungmin and Jeongin nod their heads eagerly, a lightbulb is turned on in your head.

“Actually,” you speak up. “I’ll go on ahead and clean up the house first. It’s probably messy inside, and you guys know how much of a ‘neat freak’ I am.”

Jeongin seems to catch onto your idea, his eyebrows rising, “Oh, then I’ll clean up with Y/N too!”

“But you seem really excited for the beach Jeongin,” Seungmin questions, but Jeongin waves it off.

“It’s okay! You two can go play first,” Jeongin insists, and the other two don’t ask anymore questions, heading towards the ocean. “You really are a smart person, aren’t you Y/N?”

There it is; that fluttering in your heart again, but why now? “Well, you’re smart for catching on. Let’s go place scary traps all over the house?”

“Heck yeah.”

After some time cleaning up the house (and making what would be Seungmin and Jeongin’s room especially clean) and placing various objects around the rooms to create a horror effect, the two of you had finally joined the others at the beach. It was then that the “Scare Chuu Montage” officially began.

During your time at the beach, you attempted to kick some seaweed at Chuu’s legs to make her jump, but the ocean water never agreed to your intentions and spared her. That night, Chuu walked into the dark bathroom only to meet eyes with a reflection in the mirror. But when Jeongin came rushing over, Chuu had already turned on the light and saw the makeshift face you created on the mirror using face cream and cotton balls. 

The second day, Chuu woke up to the sound of being a woman screaming her head off, making her jump out of her bed in alert. It was simply a sound you found on the internet, but at least it woke up her up. The day was spent shopping at the nearby mall, so you couldn’t do very much to scare Chuu other than to hide at various nooks and crannies. You also ordered for Jeongin to stay by Chuu’s side at all times, but he didn’t do very much other than attempt to hold her hand (which was a very poor attempt, so of course, he failed). At least you and Seungmin talked individually while getting some ice cream, and to your utter surprise, it wasn’t that awkward.

The third day, you finally got Seungmin on board with your plans. Although a bit skeptical at first, you insisted that it would be a fun and harmless prank, and counteracted him by saying he laughed when Chuu got scared during the train ride. With Seungmin teaming up with you and Jeongin (without knowing your real intentions with the pranks), the horror movie marathon started despite Chuu’s pleads (to ensure that Chuu didn’t find any other movie disks around the place, you hid them all on the first day in a location she’d never look). 

With Jeongin and Chuu on the couch and you and Seungmin on the floor, you don’t think it’s possible for the two to still be away from each other after this marathon ends. The first movie starts off generally slow pacing, but it’s enough for Chuu to mutter out pleas of worry for the characters. Jeongin quietly laughs at her antics, telling her once more that he’s there if she needs to be comforted, and you give Jeongin a mental high five. 

By the end of the night, the two were cuddling, Chuu’s face looking especially scarred, while you and Seungmin finished the massive bowl of popcorn. When the lights finally came on, Chuu and Jeongin finally realized the position they were both in, and quickly scurried away from each other to your amusement. 

The fourth morning came shortly afterwards, and with that morning came the end of your trip at the beach house. Although it was spent mostly with your attempts at scaring your very own best friend, you still had fun yourself, and even spent some time with your crush.

And it seemed like your efforts finally paid off, because Chuu wanted to talk with Jeongin privately. 

After Jeongin shoots a glance at you while walking off to a private room of the house with Chuu, you quickly shuffle your feet over when Chuu’s not looking, placing your back against the wall. You hear footsteps inside the room before they suddenly stop, and then hushed whispers are all you could hear.

But then, Jeongin’s voice increases in volume. 

“You.. You knew that we were pranking you?” 

Your next breath gets caught up in your throat once you realize what exactly that meant. 

You failed?

Chuu hums, “I did, but I didn’t bother to tell you because it looked like you and Y/N were having so much fun. Actually, I was only guessing that you were pranking me this entire time, until Seungmin came and confirmed it with me.”

“Seungmin?!”

“Yeah, Seungmin! I guess he played you guys,” Chuu laughs. “At least you had fun on this trip! I actually did, too, because I love scary stuff. I’m not afraid of it at all.”

“Oh...”

“Hey, cheer up! You made me happy, and you’re happy too, isn’t that what matters?” Chuu reassures Jeongin. “Anyways, we should continue packing. I just wanted to get that off of my chest.”

You hear more footsteps, and then something that sounds like a cushioned thud.

“Thank you, Jeongin.”

You must’ve heard Jeongin squeak, because he has to clear his throat before answering. “S-Sure, Chuu. Yeah, of course!” Jeongin says the last few words more confidently as Chuu giggles.

That’s when you rushed into the nearest bathroom moments after the door swings open. The shuffling of footsteps is heard again, until they stop once more, and then somebody knocks on the door.

“I know you’re there, Y/N,” Jeongin claims, and that’s your signal to open the door.

“Yeah, but that’s not what matters here!” Jeongin’s eyes are wide open as he lets out wheeze after wheeze. “I- No- We made her happy, Y/N! She really enjoyed these past couple of days! And, and! She gave me a hug, Y/N!! I don’t think I’ll ever get over this, seriously. I’m falling for her more and more.”

It’s the first time that you’ve seen Jeongin as giddy as this, in the several months you’ve known him. Is this what love does to people? Is it supposed to make their heart burst like what you’re seeing right now?

Because, if so, why don’t you feel like that for Seungmin anymore?

Note to self: Jeongin, out of all people, loves hugs.

Episode 8: And He’s Gone 

Seungmin has been acting.. rather odd lately. 

To be fair, the school festival had just ended, plus the student council election was about to occur, so you’d reckon he must be exhausted as vice president of the council. Perhaps he must be busy thinking of ways to campaign (not that he needs to, everybody agrees that he’s the best person to become the next president) or maybe he’s just getting a good rest.

But that’s not what Jeongin claims.

[Jeongin: he doesn’t want to run for president]

[You: really?!]

[Jeongin: yeah, but he won’t even tell me the reason]

[You: ahhh what do we do now T-T]

[You: on one hand we should respect his decision]

[You: but on the other, the school will crumble without him]

[Jeongin: idk y/n]

[Jeongin: i could try to explain to him why he should run or at least try to get his reasoning]

[You: yeah you should do that]

[Jeongin: cya]

You drop your phone down onto your chest, sighing heavily. Rolling over on your bed to face the window, you ponder as to why Seungmin would make such an impulsive decision like that. He was always so passionate about being a member of the student council, so why is he backing away from it now?

“Bad news: I wasn’t able to get any info from Seungmin,” Jeongin confesses as the two of you walk to school for another day. “Good news: I have a plan in case Seungmin truly doesn’t want to run for president!”

“It seems like all of your plans are either dumb, crazy, or both,” you retort back at him. “But shoot.”

“One of us runs for president!”

“Don’t shoot, nevermind.”

“No no no, you have to listen to me for this,” Jeongin attempts to persuade you. “Because after you hear my explanation, you’ll probably think it’s a good idea.”

You stay silent.

Jeongin continues though, “So, if one of us runs for president, and campaigns really bad, we’re talking ‘I’m going to give everybody six ounces of homework when I become president’ bad, then Seungmin would want to jump in to save the school!” 

“Why don’t we make somebody else do it? Like- Chuu for example!” you insist, but Jeongin’s not having any of it.

“Chuu’s too popular, she might actually win. So it has to be one of us.”

“Then you do it because it’s your idea.”

“Nope.”

You sigh in defeat, “Rock paper scissors?” Jeongin nods, and gets his hands out. You’re quite confident that you’ll win, as you’re somehow incredibly good at rock papers scissors. Jeongin seems like the type of person to throw out scissors as a first move, and since this isn’t a best out of three game, you have to take your shot.

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”

Your rock is meant with his paper as Jeongin chuckles, covering your fist with his hand.

“Looks like you’re running for president!” Jeongin beams at you.

It’s now a week after your rock paper scissor match with Jeongin, the reason you’re even here in the first place. Next to you is a set of speakers, and in your hand is a megaphone. Taking a deep breath, and taking the time to glance at the boy behind you, you put the megaphone next to your mouth.

“Listen up you morons!” you shout at the confused crowd of students beneath your feet, trying to ignore the burning of your face. “I, Y/L/N Y/N, am running for president! So unless any of you cowards decide to run as well, I’ll be your new president! Get used to it!”

“Y/N’s running?”

“Out of all people?”

“Gosh, why isn’t Seungmin here when we need him?”

You continue on with your speech, going on and on about how you’re basically going to rip this school into shreds. You start to worry that you’ll be doing this until the school bell rings for first period, starting to question how much courage you have left to not collapse out of embarrassment, until he finally shows up.

“Excuse me! Sorry, I need to get through!”

“Why are you doing this, Y/N? And why are you helping them Jeongin?! This isn’t like you guys,” Seungmin demands with a worried expression on his face.

You and Jeongin look at each other, before you decide to answer. “We’re doing this because you weren’t running for president for some dumb reason. This school needs you, Seungmin!”

Seungmin’s mouth forms on “o” shape as he realizes your intentions, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

He chuckles, “You really are something, aren’t you Y/N?” Seungmin’s expression softens when he meets your eyes, showing gratitude. He gently takes the megaphone from your hands, and clears his throat.

“My name is Kim Seungmin, and I will be your next student council president!”

An uproar of cheers follow his announcement, and you let out a laugh of relief. Now you could bail out of the election, leaving Seungmin as the only person the school could vote for as president. It’s a win win situation.

Until the election ceremony rolls around.

All of the students are packed into the gymnasium, each class standing in rows. On the stage you could see the current student council members, along with Seungmin, and your heart races for him. 

He’s called up to the front of the stage after being announced as the school’s new president, and a thunder of applause booms through the gym. Seungmin stands in front of the microphone.

“I’m Kim Seungmin, I’m your new president, and... and-”

“I am in love with our former president, Park Jihyo!”

He’s in love... with Jihyo?

Jeongin immediately turns to look at you, his mouth agape just like yours. The rest of the audience starts murmuring to each other in disbelief. Seungmin, out of all people, pulling a stunt like this? 

Oddly enough though, you don’t feel the same heartburn that you felt the first time you were rejected. It’s almost as if... you’re okay with this.

“You’re the reason why I’m standing here today; because you gave me a purpose at this school! And I know that you’re leaving to study abroad right after I take your role of president, so that’s why I’m shooting my shot today!” Seungmin explains loudly to the microphone, right in front of Jihyo, who’s standing there with an unamused look on her face. “Do I have any chance to be with you? Any chance whatsoever?!”

By the end of his speech, Seungmin is out of breath from shouting so much, and Jihyo seems to be stunned. She quickly shakes her head to clear out her mind, though, and takes the nearest microphone into her hands.

“And here, ladies and gentlemen, is your new student body president,” Jihyo calmly announces to everybody, not even acknowledging Seungmin’s confession at first. 

“I taught him how to be a good leader, and that’s how he ended up on this stage today. I have absolutely no doubt that Seungmin will do an incredible job as body president. I care for him quite deeply, and I hope you will help him succeed at his duties of being president.”

“Please look after my good friend, Kim Seungmin, while I’m gone. Thank you.”

Rejection: unrequited love, but confirmed. To some, it may feel like a glass filled to the brim with water suddenly shattering onto the floor. To others, it’s a gentle, yet brutal, falling of a feather, easing its way to the ground.

While Jeongin thinks that two hearts were broken in that gymnasium, only one truly was.

And it wasn’t yours.

“So you’re saying you’re over Seungmin at this point?” Jeongin’s voice goes higher in pitch when he asks you. “Did I shoot my cupid’s arrow at the wrong person or something?”

You walk in silence for a few moments, letting the both of you ponder for a bit. How do you answer that question without obviously revealing who you truly like?

“Yah,” you ultimately avoid the question. “You never paid me back for that peach drink I bought for you.

Episode 9: Shot an Arrow at Each Other

[Chuu: i think i like him]

[You: who?]

[Chuu: jeongin]

You suck in an unexpected breath, and it’s almost as if your heart stops. Valentines Day is tomorrow, so it’s no wonder that Chuu’s coming to you for love advice. When you don’t reply, Chuu keeps sending texts.

[Chuu: i think i might confess to him on valentines]

[Chuu: and i have suspicion that he’s the one who’s been sending me love letters, but im not too sure]

You gulp, turning over onto your side and tucking yourself further into the sheets of your bed.

[You: then go for it!]

[Chuu: i would but]

[Chuu: i feel like somebody else would be happier with him]

[You: care to elaborate?]

[Chuu: i know there’s somebody else out there who could treat him better than me]

Does Chuu know? Are you that obvious?

[Chuu: y/n]

[Chuu: you have a special connection with jeongin]

[Chuu: you like him, don’t you? ^_^]

That damn emojicon. You could imagine that if this conversation were to happen in person, she would smile at your real big before dropping the bomb.

And you wouldn’t know how to respond. Because she’s right.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Jeongin wasn’t supposed to be nice to you. Jeongin wasn’t supposed to save you from drowning. Jeongin wasn’t supposed to encourage you to confess to Seungmin when you still liked him, and he wasn’t supposed to buy you ice cream

But at the same time, you weren’t supposed to buy him a drink. You weren’t supposed to clean his apartment. You weren’t supposed to cook him meals willingly. You weren’t supposed to help him that much during summer break.

The two of you were supposed to just be each other’s cupid, but because you weren’t, you’ve fallen for him.

[You: but jeongin likes you]

No, you refuse. You refuse to let your emotions get in the way of Jeongin’s and Chuu’s happy ending. You refuse to let your emotions get in the way of what you and Jeongin have been striving for this entire school year. You’re better than that, stronger than that.

But why does it hurt so much?

The next day, Valentines Day, comes faster than you would’ve liked. Normally, this would be your favorite day of the year, because you liked seeing other people happy despite you being alone yourself. The outcasting you’ve put up with for the majority of your school life doesn’t bother you on this day surprisingly, as it’s always fun to see Chuu’s desk swamped with candies and anonymous letters.

It’s fun watching other people be happy.

This year, however, you’re left with a stain in your heart that you’re constantly reminded of throughout the day. Jeongin raves on about how he’s thinking about confessing to Chuu, yet you don’t have the heart or the energy to tell him that Chuu is thinking of the same thing. Then again, it’s better not to get in the way of love, right?

Chuu hasn’t spoken to you much ever since she read your final message to her last night. You don’t blame her, really, but she should do what’s best for her, not what’s best for you.

And Seungmin, to your utter shock, has been pretty chill this Valentines Day, not making a fuss over being rejected by Jihyo. Jihyo has already been abroad for several months at this point, so it’s given time for Seungmin to heal.

You make it through the day without too much distracting you, other than those thoughts buzzing in your head. The bell rings, signaling the end of the draining school day, but Chuu grabs onto your wrist and drags you into an empty classroom.

Your stomach starts churning once more when you see Jeongin and Seungmin in the room. Flinching when Chuu slams the door close a little too hard, you watch as she walks to the center of the room.

“Seungmin, you’re only here if I need backup, okay?” Chuu eases down Seungmin’s nerves, to which he responds with a nod.

“So,” Chuu takes a deep breath. “Don’t you have something to say to me, Y/N and Jeongin?”

You’re caught off guard by the sudden question. “What- What do you mean?”

Chuu only laughs, “You and Jeongin teamed up to make sure I fall in love with Jeongin this year, right?”

You and Jeongin freeze.

“And also, you tried to make Seungmin fall in love with Y/N, yes? But it didn’t work out, which brings us here,” Chuu crosses her arms over her chest. “You know, you almost did make me fall in love with Jeongin. Remember our conversation yesterday, Y/N? About how I was gonna confess to Jeongin?”

You don’t bother to move a muscle, but Jeongin, across the room from you, looks stunned.

“Well, I never bothered with that plan anymore. I realized that I only merely had a crush on Jeongin, and crushes never go that far. So with that being said-”

“Why are you... ruining everything now?” you take the chance to ask Chuu, but your question comes out in a more timid tone than you had anticipated. 

“Ruining everything, you say?” Chuu scoffs. “That’s not what I’m doing here! I’m making sure everybody gets the ending they’re happy with.”

“But this isn’t how it was supposed to go!” you finally yell at the top of your lungs. “Jeongin liked you, and now you like Jeongin. The two of you already have a happy ending, why do you need to push this further?”

“Because you like Jeongin, that’s why!”

You shut your mouth before you could utter another word, panic spreading all over your body. Not even making the effort to look at Jeongin’s current expression, you raise your head up to look at Seungmin, who looks like he could offer you no help whatsoever.

It’s all falling apart.

“Y/N-” Jeongin attempts to speak, but you cut him off without realizing.

“I.. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“You’re running away, Y/N,” Chuu states, which makes you grit your teeth.

“Wait, Y/N, just listen to me-”

“Please, not now-”

“Y/N!”

Once Jeongin shouts your name, Chuu accidentally releases her grip on your wrist, and you flee the classroom, sprinting as fast as you could in your school shoes. Chuu stares at Jeongin once you swiftly exit the classroom, to which Jeongin responds by running after you, Chuu following behind right after after thanking Seungmin for being there.

“You can’t force love! You can’t make two people fall in love with each other!” Chuu tries to tell you while running through the hallways. “Love happens naturally. I might love Jeongin, but Jeongin only had a crush on me, that’s not the same!”

“So I’m willing to put aside my feelings to help two people who truly, genuinely, love each other without any doubt in their hearts! Can’t you see? Jeongin loves you, not me. And you love Jeongin, not anybody else.”

And then Jeongin snaps.

“SHE’S RIGHT!” Jeongin booms. “Y/L/N Y/N, you’re the one I love! I love y-”

But you’re already gone from their sight. The school entrance has no people around, not even a silhouette of you running in the distance. The two catching their breaths at the entrance of your high school, their shoulders slump over in defeat.

Of course, it doesn’t end there.

Hours after the incident, hours after crying over the mixed emotions you experienced this Valentines Day, your doorbell is rung. You hesitate on whether you should even answer the door in the first place, sifting through the possible scenarios in your head. Your feet answers first, though, making your way to the door before your brain could even stop your motions.

It’s a letter, and you know that handwriting.

“come upstairs!”

And despite how reluctant you are, you still head to his apartment.

Jeongin greets you at the door, still wearing his school uniform just like you. In his hand is a rubber spatula, which is somewhat odd because you’ve never seen him hold kitchen utensils unless you were teaching him how to cook.

But there’s the aroma of food coming from the kitchen, one of various vegetables, and even the smell of meat. When you turn the corner, you infer that Jeongin was attempting to cook one of your one pot pasta meals, and it seemed to be almost done.

“Honestly,” Jeongin quickly goes back to tending to his cooking. “I wasn’t even sure if you were going to come, and that would be bad because this is two servings of pasta. But I knew you wouldn’t left me hanging.”

You hum, taking a seat at the dining table that was sparkling clean (something Jeongin kept up with even after you cleaned his apartment). Jeongin brings over two plates of pasta, steam still coming off of them. 

“Try it! It’s your recipe, so unless I messed up something, it should be good,” Jeongin dives in with a fork, slurping up the noodles eagerly as you do the same.

“It’s good, really good, actually,” you compliment him. “But why did you invite me over here?”

“Well,” Jeongin says with food still in his mouth, but he swallows shortly after. “This is a date.”

You almost choke on your food at the word “date” coming out of his mouth. “But what about Chuu-”

“Didn’t you hear Chuu while we were running earlier? She’s content at the fact that we’re about to become a couple. She told me that she rarely ever saw you as bright and as happy before you met me, that’s a good sign, right?” Jeongin smiles at you, and it’s that smile again.

“A good sign that...?”

“You love me too.”

You pause your movements for a full three second, before you laugh tiredly. The realization hits you while you twirl your pasta with your fork. “This is weird.”

“What is?”

“That we tried to be each other’s cupid, but ended up falling for each other instead.”

Your analogy makes Jeongin burst into laughter, nodding his head excessively. “Yeah, you’re right.”

The two of you eat Jeongin’s food in a comfortable silence for a few moments, before Jeongin speaks up again.

“Does that mean that I shot an arrow at myself then?!” Jeongin gawks at you comedically, almost making you choke on his food.

“Perhaps,” you simply shrug, leaving your, what you assume you could finally call your boyfriend, up to speculate for himself.

The cupid game was finally over, after many, many months of pinning.

And it ended with a pair of cupids, in love with each other.

~

it’s promo time baby!

follow my networks @fluffyskzclub​ and @/angstyskzclub, our members provide you with sfw fluff & angst content for you to read!

i’m starting an official taglist for my fics! there’s one for oneshots like these, and one for my stray kids ot8 reactions & scenarios! (not gonna bother with one for my blurbs, don’t waste your time on a 2 minute read fic LOL) just let me know through my inbox as to which one(s) you’d like the join.

thank you so incredibly much for reading “a pair of cupids!” this story was physically and mentally draining. i wrote the first 3 sections last week, took a 3 day break because my family visited another state, and then wrote these last 6 sections in a span of... 5 days? it was NOT FUN my back is killing me oh my gosh have mercy on me if you think this was bad

[cafedanslanuit]

♡   f l u f f v e m b e r   2 0 2 0   ♡ 

♡  week three  —  kuroo tetsurou   |   first date

♡  summary  —   it was just a boba date, what could go wrong? apparently, everything or highschool student kuroo tetsurou finds a way to epically mess up his first date with you

♡  masterlist  ♡

It was Kuroo’s first date.

No, scratch that. He had had dates before. But it was the first time he had ever asked someone out. Kuroo had managed not to stumble over his own words as he invited the libero from the girls’ volleyball team to a boba date. Kuroo waited for you after class and walked you to the gym, as your team was using the space that day. He noticed the blush on your cheeks as you agreed, trying to play it cool. He couldn’t blame you as he was trying to do just the same (he did wish he was doing a better job, though). You gave him your number and waved him off as you joined practice.

“What do you think about them?” he asked Kenma, as he walked him home after school. He hadn’t stopped talking about you in the past few weeks, bothering his friend about this joke you had made or the way he caught you staring in awe at a stray cat on the street. ‘Ask them out’, had been Kenma’s only advice (and a not-so-direct manner to shut him up). He then had watched Kuroo rehearse the question about whatever a boba date was in front of his mirror for a long time while he played with his Switch.

Kenma let out a long sigh, his eyes darting to the sky.

“They’re okay.”

“Just okay?”

“They offered me their notes one day I missed class,” Kenma remembered. Kuroo smiled and kept walking, hands in his pockets.

Tomorrow was going to be easy. He would meet you near the park and you would walk to this boba store he had found out was very popular on Instagram. You would walk around town, it would get cold and he would offer his jacket. Yes, Kuroo Tetsurou had it all planned and he was confident it was going to be a date to remember.

He really wished he had chosen his words more carefully.

Kuroo was already at the park when he realized he had forgotten his leather jacket. He cursed under his breath as he sat on one of the park’s benches. It’s going to be fine, he told himself. So what if you can’t lend her your jacket? That doesn’t mean anything. You both can still have a good time. He sighed and passed a hand across his face.

Keep it together.

He looked up at the sky and saw the grey clouds from that morning still lurking around. It had been raining for a couple of hours, but it had thankfully stopped before ruining his date. The air was cold, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. He just had to focus on being himself, relaxing and having a good time.

“Hey!”

Kuroo turned around and saw you walking to him. It felt unreal to see you without your uniform, but he had to admit he liked it. It was like getting to know another part of yourself, a bit of what you liked and the knowledge you had dressed up knowing you were going to meet him. Still, you looked comfortable and he greeted you with a smile. He didn’t fail to notice the sweater you were carrying on one arm. Of course.

“Hey,” he replied, standing up and going to meet you. “Should we go?”

The walk to the boba store was filled with small talk and your laugh as he cracked a joke or two. He remembered why he asked you out in the first place, how your sole presence could brighten up even the grey clouds above both of you and make him forget all about the forgotten jacket. He watched you stare at the menu board and hum to yourself as you picked your order and told the girl behind the bar something he didn’t pay attention to.

“And you?”

Your voice brought him back from his daydreaming, and he finally looked at the board above both of you. His eyebrows furrowed as he noticed the different combination and options shown there. Four steps? Thirty five flavours? Wait-- did he read correctly? Thirty-five? Kuroo was convinced it would be like going to Starbucks and just now he was realizing his mistake. Who invites someone over for boba tea when they don’t know anything about those stores themselves?

“Do you like mango?” you asked, once again bringing him back to reality. “The matcha mango one is really good and kind of sweet. I think you’ll like it,” you said, offering him a smile.

“Sure, that sounds good,” he said, his eyes darting to the other options on the board. “And also a couple of chocolate chip cookies,” he told the cashier, who added it to the list.

“Oh, I love those,” you muttered to yourself, and he grinned at your excited expression. Kuroo took his wallet out to pay for your drinks.

A chill ran down his spine as he found his card slot empty. Scared, he looked in every compartment of his wallet, and then inside his jeans pockets. Nothing. A vague memory of him needing some cash and taking out the card from his wallet to go to the ATM the day before crossed his mind. Of course. He hadn’t put the card back to his pocket when he returned home.

He couldn’t face you now. Who the hell takes someone to a boba store, not only not knowing anything about boba, but also forgets his money? He counted the cash he had and realized it wasn’t enough to cover for everything. Fuck. Fuck.

“I’m so sorry, I left my card at my house,” he said, his eyes fixed on his almost empty wallet.

“Oh, it’s okay,” you say, taking out your wallet and handing your card to the girl in front of you.

“I’ll pay you back, I’m actually so sorry”, he apologized, masking his deep embarrassment with a smile. You smiled sweetly at him while shaking your head and he managed to feel even worse than before.

As you waited for your orders, you looked at how nervous Kuroo looked. He didn’t look like the confident guy who you had been talking to the past few weeks, who always had a funny remark or proud smirk when he won a debate. You nudged your shoulder at him, forcing him to look at you again.

“Hey, did you manage to talk to the science teacher about that problem he got wrong?” you asked, trying to take his mind out of it. His eyes lit up, and he started rambling about the chemistry problem he noticed the teacher had been wrong about.

You kept listening to Kuroo as he picked up your order and looked for an empty table to sit with you. He found one at the back of the store and led you there. Kuroo sat in front of you and you watched him take special care in popping the lid of his drink with the straw, as if he was scared of somehow messing it up. You hid your smile and poked the lid of your own drink, taking a sip and humming at the known flavour.

“Had you come here before?” he asked.

“No, I usually go to one that is next to my house, but this is really good. The thirty-five flavours plus the toppins really gives you a lot to choose from,” you smiled, taking another sip and munching on one of the pearls. “How is practice going?”

“It’s good. We’ve actually invited some schools over next week for practice matches, so it should be fun. How is your knee going?”

You blinked at him in surprise.

“Hey, you remembered,” you said, a smile drawing on your lips.

“Of course I did,” Kuroo said, rolling his eyes playfully. “I’m a nice person.”

“No doubt there,” you chuckled. “I’m actually feeling a lot better. I still have another appointment with the physical therapist tomorrow and--”

You proceeded to explain about how your therapy was doing and Kuroo listened to you, all his senses focused on no one but the person in front of him. He wondered if you knew about the little mannerisms you had when you talked and daydreamed about telling you all about them, only this time you would be resting in his arms. He thought about taking the hand that was resting on the table but forced the thought out of his head. No, maybe in a while. It was too soon.

Kuroo has been on dates before, sure. But it was the first time he was the one who asked someone out. His previous dates had been fun, but they had also felt like he was talking to any other friend, hence why there never was a second date. So, this newfound nervousness was tearing him apart, forcing his confident self into unknown territory. He took a sip of his drink and noticed a combination of citrus and sweetness. Somehow, knowing you had picked it made it even better. You laughed at your own joke and he smiled back, entranced by your spontaneity, being thankful you had agreed to go out with him. Maybe--

Kuroo coughed.

You kept talking, unbothered.

He coughed again.

It took a couple of seconds for you to realize he was choking.

“Oh no, water? Do I bring you water?” you asked in fear. He saw you standing up, attempting to go ask for some water, but he tapped the table, making you look back at him. Kuroo shook his head and patted his chest with force twice. He coughed inside his hand a couple more times and finally he felt the damn pearl travelling down his esophagus and the air entering his lungs once again.

You took his drink and moved the straw up, making sure he only drank liquid and handed it to him, trying to soothe him. He didn’t look at you as he drank a few more sips, mentally kicking himself for being so entranced in watching you he forgot about the damn pearls in his drink. You waited for him to take a deep breath and continued your conversation.

(You didn’t mis the way Kuroo was way more wary whenever he brought the straw to his lips).

Almost an hour later, you decided to walk around town, finding a small volleyball court behind an Elementary School. You convinced him into joining some kids playing volleyball there, who were in need of someone to set for them. He watched in awe how you laughed, even if both you and him were not used to setting for someone. By the end, the sun was setting and you said goodbye to them, getting lost in the streets of Tokyo as the night started.

The signs from the stores shined brightly against your skin, making you look even prettier than before, Kuroo noticed. He knew it was almost time to let you go, but he had to admit he didn’t want to. Still, he was thankful he had gotten over the initial awkwardness. Spending the afternoon had only taught him more things about you to like, and he wished there was a way both of you didn’t have to go back home that night.

As you were both waiting to cross the street, he thought about holding your hand again. It was a small gesture, but he thought it was enough to let you know how he felt about you, in case you had wondered about the nature of the date. There wasn’t an inch of him that wasn’t intoxicated in your existance, the sound of your laugh, the way you talked with the kids as you played volleyball with them or the way you handed him his drink after he choked. Kuroo was falling, and he was falling hard. Honestly, if he didn’t end up kissing you by the end of the night, it would only be because he wanted to take his time and do things right by you.

The traffic light changed from green to yellow and Kuroo noticed a car speeding up. He put his arm in front of you and pushed you slightly backwards, shielding you, as the car passed in front of both of you.

Immediately followed by a big splash of water staining his white shirt.

Of course. It had been raining earlier after all.

The light turned red and the rest of the people started crossing the street, a couple of people looking back at the highschool student with the wet shirt.

Okay, it was a sign. Maybe it just wasn’t a good day to go out.

Kuroo let you move him aside and grab the hem on his shirt, squeezing it and trying to get rid of all the excess water. He watched you as you did, knowing there was no point. Even if it magically dried, the water was dirty and had already left an ugly grey stain.

It was time to call off the date.

“I’m so sorry,” you whispered, squeezing his shirt as much as you could. Kuroo shook his head and gently guided your hands down. That wasn’t the way he expected to touch your hands for the first time.

“No need to be sorry, it wasn’t your fault,” he assured you, forcing a smile. “I’ll just throw this to the washing machine and it’ll be as good as new. But, um-- probably should head back now. Can’t get sick when we have those practice matches next week,” he explained, with a small shrug.

You nodded, slightly biting your lip. Before he could talk again, you took the sweater you had been holding under your arm and offered it to him.

“It’s over-sized, so it will fit you just fine,” you say, holding the sweater in front of him. You noticed the doubt in his eyes. “C’mon, I don’t want you to get sick either. And it isn’t really cold anymore, so I’ll be fine.”

Kuroo took your sweater and put it on. You had been right, it was big so it fit him nicely. Not to mention your scent was now even closer to him, a lovely mix of flowers and a bit of sweetness filling his senses. He looked at you, who were smiling softly at him and wished this date had turned out different.

“I’ll give it back to you Monday,” he promised, but you waved your hand.

“Don’t worry about it, take your time. Kind of looks nice on you,” you joked, pinching the hem of your sweater.

Why were you so sweet? You were trying for him not to feel as bad as he felt in that moment. It was probably one of the most laughable dates you had been in, he thought.

Forcing another smile, he offered to walk you to the station, to which you said it was fine. He should hurry and get home, so he didn’t catch a cold due to his wet shirt. Right. It was understandable you would want to finish the date soon.

Kuroo said his goodbyes and turned on his heel, the fake smile dropping from his face as soon as he did. He hadn’t taken more than two steps when he felt someone gripping on the sleeve of the sweater, forcing him to stop.

“Kuroo!” you called. He turned around again and faced you, his right eyebrow raising questioningly. “We should keep going back until we try all the thirty five flavours,” you said, a small smile playing on your lips.

He couldn’t stop himself from laughing, but this time, it was different. Despite everything that had happened, your eyes were still looking kindly at him, your lips slightly parted after basically asking him out on a second date.

And there wasn’t anything in the world Kuroo wanted more than that.

Before he could stop himself, he leaned down and pressed his lips against your forehead. He heard a small gasp eliciting from you, but then felt your hands closing on the sweater he was wearing. When he looked down at you again, he noticed how red your face was, all the remains of the confidence you had just shown him gone.

Kuroo smiled again. He could get used to seeing you like that.

“We should,” he agreed with a small nod.

In the middle of a busy street in Tokyo, no one paid attention to the tall highschool boy threading his fingers on your hair, but you could have sworn the whole world stopped every time Kuroo Tetsurou set his golden eyes on yours.

[hanniiesuckle17]

Anything But Normal

A/n: this was such cute Idea I hope I did it justice. It’s been a while since I’ve written a comedy piece. There are probably spelling errors I’ll go back and fix them later. also I love Jon Favreau as Happy so I had to put him in. (i swear he is one of my favorite actors) btw this is not edited (i’ll come back and do that eventually)

Requested by: @tokiokiedokie​

Warnings: Cussing,(come on it's me guys), partial nudity.

Member: Han Jisung

Summary: When Y/n’s best friend goes through a drastic change he starts keeping secrets. Secrets that include him being New York’s one and only friendly neighborhood spiderman. Shit hits the fan when his new secret life is exposed and she gets dragged into it.

Genre: Spiderman!au, romance, comedy, friends to lovers!au, little bit of angst

There are only three things that truly matter in life. Good friends, good pizza, and a good story. So far I had two of those at the moment. Sadly I was lacking a good story. Our school newspaper had been quite dry despite my efforts to discover new and intriguing stories. 

“Stop sulking and eat.” My best friend said, shoving a piece of cheese pizza in my face. Jisung laughed when I bit the end before returning to look at my laptop. We were at our usual pizza place seated next to the window with the big bright red neon sign lighting up our faces. The sun set over the New York skyline making the moment almost perfect. If only I was writing an exciting article. Instead, I was putting together a riveting look into the school’s menu changes. 

“You know I invited you because I thought you were going to be good company.”

“Please. You invited me because Felix was busy with a stupid Lego project and no one else will eat pizza with you.”

“Whatever.”

Jisung and I weren’t the most popular people in our senior class. To be frank, Jisung was my only friend. So going out and eating pizza every other day at ten o’clock at night was often the highlight of my week. Having had enough of the lack of attention Jisung slammed my laptop closed and removed it from the already small table. “Hey! I didn’t save!” 

“That’s what Google Docs is for.”

He was right. I needed to stop working. I had been slaving over that stupid and boring article all week. He didn’t have to be such an ass though. “You are such a teenager.” I scoffed, watching him shovel yet another slice of pizza down his throat. “Oh, and you are such an adult!” The mocking tone of his voice threatened a laugh. 

“I swear you are God’s punishment for enjoying sex. Everyone’s libido just disappears when you are around.”

“Hey don’t ruin our date. I was considering sleeping with you tonight.”

He laughed when I threatened to smack him. It had been like this for as long as I could remember. Just me and Jisung. My parents had been friends with his before they passed away in a car accident. Now Jisung lived with his Aunt May and his Uncle Ben a few blocks away from me. 

I remember after the crash I would wake to a tap on my window to see an eight year old Jisung on my fire escape. Not wanting to bother his Aunt with his nightmares, Jisung had run all the way to my apartment and climbed the fire escape to my room on the sixth floor. I would open the window and let him sleep in my bed. My eight year old brain used to think maybe my bed was like force field keeping away the bad dreams about his parents.

“Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?” Jisung asked bringing me out of my thoughts. 

“Mr. Finoli asked me to take pictures of the science field trip so I’m going with you guys. Why?” A look of realization crossed Jisung’s face making him freeze. “Did you forget to ask May to sign your permission slip?”

“I forgot to ask May to sign my-...you can be a real ass sometimes, you know that?”

Laughing I pulled a ten out of my wallet and left it on the table. “Come on, you’ve gotta get your slip signed, dummy.” “I can pay, it’s no problem.” He said watching me pack up my stuff. “Nah, you can get the next one.” Bellies full of pizza, we left Tony’s Pizzeria and headed in the direction of Jisung’s apartment, his arm draped over my shoulder and talking my ear off about some random experiment they had done in Physics that day. 

The next day I woke up bright and early to meet the class at the New York Museum of Science. Camera bag on my shoulder and camera around my neck I stood outside the museum with about ten other students and two teachers. My tired eyes brightened when I saw Jisung step out from the subway, May right behind him.

I laughed as he wiped a kiss from his cheek before waving goodbye to her. His dyed blonde hair was messy and blew slightly in the wind. Jisung waved when he saw me and jogged over. His hoodie lazily hung off his shoulder and his shirt and jeans were somewhat wrinkled. “Don’t you look nice?” I couldn’t help but chuckle at his appearance. 

“Shut up.”

He laughed throwing an arm around my shoulder, leading me closer to the group. Soon the tour began and I busied myself with taking photos of the group for the paper and yearbook. Jisung followed the group, only half-listening to the teacher as he looked at other random exhibits. 

At around one in the afternoon, the group moved outside to have lunch on the steps. I sat off to the side with Jisung, his legs spread out across the stairs and his elbow rested on the step above us. It was refreshing to be next to him talking about absolutely nothing. Even if he stole my food. 

Eventually, we were all called back to resume the tour. I angled a shot of two students looking at a bug exhibit, but just as I took the picture Jisung jumped in the frame throwing up a peace sign and crossing his eyes. “Hey! Stop hitting me!” He yelled as I smacked his shoulder over and over again. “Look I’m just innocently observing the exhibit. Leave me alone crazy woman!”

Sighing, I pushed him away and resumed taking photos. As the group was moving onto the next room I noticed Jisung was missing. It wasn’t unlike him to wander off into a room he wasn’t supposed to just to look at probably like some DNA model or some other weird science shit. I could never get over the fact Jisung was super into science when he gave zero fucks about his other classes. 

“Jisung?”

“Ji?”

“Ji, we are moving on,” I said looking for him. My eyes landed on a semi-open door marked ‘Lab’. He wouldn’t. He did. Just as I started to walk towards the door, he exited with a goofy smile on his face. “Y/n! Dude, they have all these cool spiders and test tubes in there it was so cool! One of them bit me!” Like an excited three-year-old, he showed me his wrist where he indeed had a red spider bite. 

“Ooooooh! Take a picture!” 

He shoved my camera into my hands and held up his arm pointing to the spider bite making the dopiest smile. Knowing he wouldn’t shut up until I complied, I took the picture. 

“Let’s catch up with the group,” I said taking his hand and dragging him back to the class. When we reached the group a teacher looked over at us his brows furrowing. “Excuse me, Miss L/n, is your friend okay?” He pointed to Jisung, a concerned expression on his face.

“Jisung? There are certainly things wrong with him but he’s oka-”

My words stopped when I turned to look at my best friend next to me. “Ji- Oh my god! Ji are you okay?” His face had obviously paled and he looked dizzy. A thin layer of sweat lay on his forehead. 

“Hell yeah. I’m doing fine, baby.” His voice sounded drowsy.

“Miss L/n he is not alright. Does he have anyone who can come get him.” The teacher said pulling out his phone. I shook my head. May worked in the day and his Uncle Ben was on a business trip. “No, they are working.” 

He sighed and turned to me. Jisung was clearly getting worse by the second and was wobbling a little. “What about you? Can you take him home?” Jisung laughed and wrapped his arms around me loosely. “Fuck yeah, I’d her take me home.” 

“I have a test in my last period.”

“I’ll write you a pass and send it to your teacher. Take him home please.”

Nodding he typed something on his phone and returned to the group who had started to move once again. “Okay Ji, let’s get you back to May’s.” Slowly we started moving to the exit. Before we made it to the doors, Jisung practically turned green. He pushed away from me and burst towards the nearest restroom. 

“Jisung!” 

Ignoring the looks and yells I followed Jisung into the restroom and looked for the stall he was in. “Hey, lady get out of here!” A man standing at the urinal screamed. 

“Oh please. Get over yourself.”

“Ji?”

Following the coughing and gagging sounds, I pushed the final stall door open. Jisung sat on the floor his mop of blonde hair hanging over the toilet. I crouched next to him and rubbed his back gently. “Oh god, I hate puking.”

“Jisung everyone hates puking.”

“Yeah well.....your face likes puking.”

“Nice comeback.”

Feeling too terrible to respond, he just threw up the contents of his stomach again. When he seemed able to stand the two of us made our way outside and down the subway. Jisung leaned most of his weight on me as I slid my metro pass through the scanner. How I managed to get him through the turnstile and onto the metro I have no clue. Thankfully there was once last seat free for Jisung to sit down in. 

“Y/n, I don’t feel good.” 

“I know,” I said softly as he rested his head against my stomach. The train turned sharply making me hold onto the strap, not wanting to fall into Jisung. Soft whines and groans came from him every now and then. This was the worst I had ever seen Jisung. 

I listened to the stations being called out as I ran my fingers through his hair, hoping that would calm him down a little. We were only four stops away but more people were getting on the train. Jisung looked up at me a sick expression on his face. It changed when he looked at the passengers boarding the car. 

“Here, Ma’am. You can take my seat.”

“Thank you so much, young man.” An older woman said taking his seat as he got up. “Jisung, you feel terrible. Are you okay to stand?” He shrugged latching onto the strap next to mine, his face paling again. “I’ll be fine, it’s only four stops.”

Jisung’s eyes started to droop as the train started up again. His body began to act heavier than it was so he resorted to leaning on me and nestling his head between my neck and shoulder. I did my best to make sure he didn’t fall over.

“You two are very cute together.” The old lady said with a smile.

“Oh- we aren’t--” 

“You better hold onto a good man like that, sweetie. Handsome and kind. Those are hard to come by.”

Before I could respond we turned again, and I had to keep Jisung from falling in this poor nice old lady’s lap. I felt his skin burning against mine. Could this train not go any faster. Soon enough our stop came. I said bye to the old woman and helped Jisung get off the train and up the subway stairs. 

“Come on, Ji. We are almost there and we both know I cannot carry your ass.” 

Eventually, I made it up the stairs of his apartment building to the fourth floor and managed to drag him to his door. “Jisung, where’s your key?” Trying not to hurt his head I propped him up on the door frame. He laughed when I started searching through his pockets.  

“Y/n if you wanted to cop a feel just ask. That tickles.” 

“Jisung where are your fucking keys?” 

“Back pocket.” He said drowsily. I sighed and reached behind him. My hands searched through his jean pockets for the cold metal keys. “Having fun back there, because I’m sure enjoying it.” 

I suppressed the urge to punch him in the stomach out of fear he would vomit all over me. Finally finding his keys, I unlocked the door and threw my stuff inside, before lugging him in as well. Jisung leaned on the couch while I put my stuff on the table.

“Y/n it’s burning up in here.” 

“Jisung, you just have a temperature.”

“It burns like fucking hell! It’s too hot!”

Before I could stop him Jisung was shedding layers like a snake. He tossed his shirt somewhere in the small living room. He was sweating like crazy, his blonde hair sticking to his forehead. “Ji, come on let’s get you in the shower.” I started running a cold shower for him before rushing back to the living room to call May. It would only be a couple hours until she got home, but I should still let her know what’s going on.

While Jisung was in the shower, I grabbed some medicine from the cabinet. I had absolutely no fucking idea how to treat a spider bite. Antibiotics? Hearing the shower turn off I knocked before entering. Jisung had a towel wrapped around his waist and was leaning his head against the wall. “Y/n...”

“I’m right here, Jisung.” Cautiously I led him to his room and watched him collapse onto his double bed. Rummaging through his drawers I found some mostly clean sweatpants. “Ji, do you even do laundry?” 

“Y/n, I feel a little too fucking sick to do chores now.”

“I know. I know.” He slipped on the sweatpants and let me dry his hair. I wrapped his arms, covering the bite so it wouldn’t get more infected then it already probably was. Jisung’s temperature flipped like crazy. One minute he was burning up and the next he was freezing. 

A sigh of relief left my chest when I heard May call out in the apartment. “Y/n thank you so much for taking care of him.” She gave me a short hug before running to go get more meds. She would know better than I would, being an ER nurse. “Ji, do you want me to stay? I can call my parents and tell them I’m staying the night.” He slowly shook his head.

“No, it’s okay.” 

“I can stay really-”

“Y/n, I’ll be fine. You can go home.” 

He gave me a half-assed smile and squeezed my hand. There was no arguing with Jisung sick or not so I gathered my things and left. May promised to keep me updated and I told her I would have my phone next to me.

The walk back to my apartment seemed longer than usual. I couldn’t stop thinking about Jisung. When I got home, my parents greeted me before telling me they would be working tonight. My dad was a cop and my mom worked at a hospital downtown. It was rare they were even home, to begin with. Exhausted from taking care of Jisung, I rolled onto my bed and fell asleep.

This boy really texted me at five the morning telling me to meet him at his locker three hours later. If he wasn’t still sick I would for sure have throttled him. Except for the fact that Jisung didn’t look sick. Not at all. He looked perfectly healthy as he walked down the hall towards me. In fact, he looked...really....good. It pissed me off. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be sick?”

“Yeah, I got better.”

Jisung opened his locker like it was any other day and got his books. “What did you want to talk about?” He sighed and looked over at me. There was something different about him. Did his jaw always look like that? No. No jaw looks like that. 

“So this morning I woke up and like I felt completely fine. In fact, I felt the best I have in years. And this weird thing happened to me on the subway-”

Jisung’s words were interrupted by the sound of his locker closing, only the entire row of metal lockers rattled as his shut. “The fuck? Did we have an earthquake or something?” I asked looking around. “What? No. New York isn’t on a fault line.” Shrugging it off I turned back to Jisung.

“You were saying?” He seemed distracted now, looking at his closed locker. “Ummm.... I wanted to thank you for yesterday.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him. “Ji, you don’t need to thank me. I’ll always take care of you if you need me.” As I pulled away his hands stayed on my waist, which wasn’t totally out of the norm. Jisung was always a really touchy and flirty person. It drove me crazy sometimes, knowing that it was just his personality and not him acting on something else. 

“So this weird thing happened on my way to school this morning. My hand-” Again Jisung was interrupted. This time by the bell ringing for homeroom. “Hey Jisung, I’ve gotta go, but you can tell me at lunch right?” He nodded, his expression becoming more uneasy. As I turned his grip on my waist stopped me.

“Ji, I know you wanna tell me now but I have to go!” I said with a laugh. A nervous breathy laugh escaped his lips as he tried to pull away from me. “Well, you know how hard it is for me to keep my hands off of you.” Arching an eyebrow I chose to ignore his weird behavior and walked off to my homeroom. 

When the lunch bell finally rang I took my food outside to where Ji and I normally ate. However, he was nowhere in sight. As if he could read my thoughts, my phone notified me of a text from Jisung.

Lix asked me to help him with some Chem work. Sry I can’t eat with you :(

I sent him a quick reply saying it was okay. It wasn’t the first time I had eaten alone and it surely wouldn’t be the last. To no surprise, Chaeyoung and one of her friends walked by. “Have you seen that kid? What’s his name? Jihyun?” She said in her shrill voice. It was hard not to hear her conversation even from twenty feet away.

“No, I think his name is Jisung. Han Jisung. He is in my physics class. Kind of a dweeb if you ask me.” 

“Well, that dweeb filled out. He was probably just a late bloomer, but like all of a sudden, he got really hot. Have you seen his arms and his chest? Oh my god! A girl could die.” 

The girls laughed and continued to objectify my best friend. They were right. Jisung had seemed to have had a huge glow up overnight. His lanky form did seem more toned and his arms were much more muscular than I remembered. 

“Can you believe he still hangs out with that new junkie girl? Like, please. He could get any girl he wants now. Why stay friends with that waste of space?” 

“That bitch is so full of herself. Literally, no one even likes her.” Chaeyoung said laughing. Having heard enough, I got up and decided to go to my next class early. It didn’t necessarily bother me what she had said. Chaeyoung always liked to mess with me.

All my classes seemed slower than usual and Jisung was answering my texts. At this point in the day, we would probably be having a meme war or a stupid conversation ignoring our teachers, but my phone was silent. Not a single notification. 

By the end of the day, I was feeling totally depressed. English was my last class and thank god I had it with Jisung. No doubt he would be late though. He rarely ever showed up on time to class. But, as I walked through the classroom door I did a double-take seeing my best friend in his usual seat right beside mine. 

He gave me an innocent smile. This was strange. Jisung was never early. He looked...normal. I mean other than the physical overnight puberty storm. He slouched in his chair his long legs spilling into the aisle, not that he cared, and he twirled a pen between his long slender fingers. 

“Yo, wassup, cutie?” He said as I sat down. “You seem to be the talk of the school.” He shrugged and shuffled through some physics work he had on his desk. “You jealous?” That stupid smirk appeared on his mouth. “No. Just confused.”

“Okay, class. Settle down. We are going to be returning to our analysis of Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility.” 

I busied myself with taking thorough notes knowing Jisung would just fall asleep again or just play a random game on his phone. The teacher droned on making a seemingly not boring book a complete snooze fest. The lecture continued without end threatening to send me to sleep as well. Out of habit, I looked over at Jisung, except he was not asleep. Jisung was wide awake and he appeared to be listening intently. 

As if he sensed I was looking at him he turned and smiled at me before returning his attention to the front of the classroom. This was too weird. Where was my Jisung? Maybe he was still sick. That could explain the weird behavior, right? 

The harsh sound of the release bell brought me out of my thoughts. Jisung was already packing up his stuff. “Hey, you wanna stop by Tony’s on the way home? You can buy me a slice!” I said latching onto his arm. The girls were right. Jisung had filled out. Feeling myself starting to blush, I let go and looked back up at my best friend. 

“I can’t. I’ve gotta run some errands fro May and then Uncle Ben asked me to pick up dinner and some other stuff.”

“I can come with you?”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll text you later!” 

Without another word, Jisung raced out of the classroom. I knew Jisung pretty well and it was clear he didn’t want me around today. Alone-again- I rode the subway back to my apartment to be greeted by an empty living room. My mom had left a note on the counter leaving me money for dinner and saying Jisung was welcome to come over. “Yeah, well he’s too busy,” I said to no one in particular. 

It got dark pretty quick. All my homework was finished. I even managed to submit the stupid article on lunch menus. Eventually, I had nothing to do but stare at my ceiling. The news was getting pretty boring. After the whole Avenger’s fiasco, things had quieted down, and no interesting stories were in sight. By 11:30 I had given up hope Jisung was going to text let alone call so I did the next best thing. 

“Hi, May! Is Jisung busy?” 

“Hi, sweetie! Jisung got home about an hour ago. He said he was out with Felix. Should I tell him to call you?”

“No, no. It’s fine. You don’t have to tell him. I’ll talk to him later.”

“Okay, honey. Goodnight!”

Han Jisung you filthy little liar. If he didn’t want to hang out with me he should have just said so. Deciding I had finally had enough of this awful day I curled up under my covers and fell asleep.

Months had now passed and Jisung had started acting normal again. Well as normal as Jisung could be anyway. Our near daily trips to Tony’s had decreased to only twice a week and Jisung always seemed to be busy after school, though he made sure to text me back for fear of facing my wrath. 

“What do you think of this Spiderman guy?” I asked typing away on my laptop. Jisung lounged across my bed, the Saturday afternoon light casting a warm glow over his face.  He looked up from his place beside me. “Uhh...I don’t know. What do you think of him?”

“He seems a little childish and amateur, but he is a great story. Vigilante helping out downtown New York? That’s gold.”

“Childish? What do you mean childish? He’s professional as fuck. I heard he stopped a bank robbery the other day.”

“Yeah, and they found the criminals hanging from a lampost by their underwear.”

Jisung laughed and ran a hand through his blonde hair before looking up at the ceiling. “You’ve been talking about Spiderman a lot lately. What do you have a crush on him?” I scoffed, fingers flying across my keyboard. “Please. I don’t date children. Besides, I just think he is a great story.”

“You wanna order takeout?” Jisung asked reaching over me to get my phone. My dad was on duty and my mom was on call so Jisung had come over to keep me company. I did my best to pretend I didn’t notice how amazing he smelled as he leaned over me. “You know you should really stop eating junk food. You are what you eat.” I said distracting myself from how close he was.

“Well then if we are what we eat, I guess I would be fast, cheap, and easy.” 

Jisung winked at me, making my eyes roll. Jisung had grown at home in his new body and somehow he got even cockier than he was before. He groaned at my lack of response and instead let his head rest in my lap, giving him a good view of my screen. “Play with my hair, bitch.”

“Excuse me, dick. I’m working.” He laughed and unlocked my phone. I often wondered why he liked just sitting with me. I think I remembered him telling me once that he liked the sound of me typing. He said it had sort of a rhythm that only belonged to me. How he could pick up on that I had no clue. Like he had superhearing. 

“I ordered sushi. Don’t worry, I’ll pay.” Jisung said, adjusting his body slightly so he wasn’t at an awkward angle. I smiled continuing to write about our masked arachnid hero. “Please tell me you got boba too.” I sighed suddenly craving the sweet drink.

“Of course, baby. I’ve got you.” 

There was a moment of silence. Any minute now Jisung was going to break it. The boy couldn’t go three minutes without talking. “Do you think Spiderman is hot?” Jisung blurted out. 

“Jisung...do we need to have a talk?”

“What- no! Oh, what- no! I mean like do you think he’s hot?”

“The guy wears a mask; how am I supposed to know?”

He shrugged and played on my phone. “I don’t know. What do you think he looks like?” With Jisung’s mind, he wasn’t going to drop this until he got an answer. Saving my work, I closed my laptop and moved it onto the side table. “He’s probably like thirteen. I’m mean he is skinny enough to be a pre-teen.”

“No, like his face.”

“You are weirdly obsessed with this you know.”

“Answer the question already. I’m getting bored.”

I thought for a minute, my hand unconsciously moving to run through his blonde locks. What would spiderman look like? “He is probably just some random white dude. Dark hair, blue eyes maybe?”

He nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. The topic changed after that. Jisung told me about spending time with his Uncle earlier that day and we talked about his weird physics experiments. Soon enough, the food came and Jisung paid for it like he said he would. We spent the next several hours sitting in my bed eating sushi, drinking boba, and watching a drama Jisung insisted I ‘needed to see or my brain would explode out of my ears from being lame’.

After several episodes, my room was obscenely dark and my parents had yet to come home. My back rested against Jisung’s chest letting me feel the vibration of his laughs. “Hey, it’s late. You should probably head home.” He smiled when I made no attempt at moving or letting him up. “Do you want me to stay?” “Yes  please.”  He chuckled and pulled out his phone, calling his uncle and letting him know. 

Soon I began to grow tired, my head slumping back onto his shoulder. He poked my side, trying to wake me up. “Hey, go change for bed.” Sleepily, I nodded and shuffled out of bed to sift through my closet for a nightshirt. Jisung moved around getting comfortable while I changed. 

As I walked back over to the bed Jisung shut my laptop and placed it on my nightstand. When I climbed back into my bed he pulled me on top of him, wrapping his arms around my waist. It had been quite a while since Jisung had stayed over. It felt so nice just to be next to him, feeling the warmth radiating off his bare chest. The sound of his heartbeat lulled me to sleep. 

Jisung’s ringtone blared in my small room quickly waking me up. “Ji-” I said shoving my head under the covers. “I got it. Go back to sleep.” A quick glance at my clock told me it was two am. Who the hell was calling Jisung at two am? Jisung reached over me and grabbed his phone off the stand. He tried not to move a lot because my head still lay on his arm. “Hello?”

“Happy? What’s wrong?”

“Jisung tell the Disney dwarf to hang up. I wanna go back to sleep.” I whined, drowsily. Snuggling back into his chest, I reluctantly listened to him sleepily talk on the phone, Jisung not being fully awake himself. “Where am I? I’m at Y/n’s.....Yes....Yes, you can add the location to the list.” I felt Jisung run a hand through his fluffy hair and sigh.

“Mr. Stark said what? Yeah, yeah I have it in my bag....What now?....She’s gonna kill me....I can be there in ten.” Jisung hung up and started to get out of bed. “Woah, where the hell are you going? I need my personal space heater.” Jisung let out a tired laugh as he slipped his baggy shirt back on and rummaged through his bag looking for something. 

“I’m really sorry, but I have to go.”

“Jisung who the fuck is calling you at two am? What is so important that you have to leave?” I asked still not really awake and comprehensive. “Uhhh....my....internship.”

“Your what?”

“My internship.”

“Your what?” 

“My internship.” 

“Yeah-Ji- you keep saying ‘your internship’ like my half-asleep half murderous mind will understand what your saying.”

 “I got an internship with Stark Industries. They have uh... a problem....with some of the...code that I wrote....last week.” 

Jisung started slipping his socks back on as I stared at him in confusion. “When did you get an internship with freaking Tony Stark -You work with Ironman?!” He laughed and started searching for his shoes. 

“Y/n, go back to sleep. I’ll see you on Monday.” Then he left. I was alone once again in my room. A random siren went off in the distance and I just sat in bed. Suddenly, the police scanner on my dresser crackled to life. My dad had given it to me for my birthday a few years ago. 

We have a 647g Disorderly Conduct at 284 Hickom Av.

647g? Why bother calling that in at this time of night? That was just loitering. Sighing, I got up and walked over to turn the radio off. Another voice coming through stopped me. 

Disregard suspect has left the premise with another group of guys. Headed south down Hickom. 

South down Hickom street? What had my dad said earlier this week? Something about several high arms deals going down near there. If I could catch one in the act this would be a great story! Throwing on some pants and slipping on my sneakers, I grabbed my camera and put on my jacket. “Finally a great story!” 

Hickom Avenue was maybe about ten minutes away. The streets were pretty dark at two am, but it didn’t really bother me. My curiosity overpowered any fear I should have. My eyes scanned the area looking for any sign of the guys the scanner mentioned. Just as I was about to cross in front of an alley I saw them. Quickly I doubled back and pressed against the wall. 

“If I’m paying 4k for some lightsaber shit, I’d better get a demonstration, man.”

Carefully I peeked around the corner. Seven men stood in the hallway. Three were next to this heavy-duty van with blacked-out windows. This was definitely an arms deal if I had ever seen one. Which....to be fair...I hadn’t. But it was pretty clear. 

A guy with muscles bigger than my head pulled out a large weapon with green glowing lights. Quickly I pulled out my camera and started snapping pictures. They proceeded to fire this huge light cannon around the alley. Holy shit. This thing was powerful.

“Okay, you got a deal. I’ll take four-”

Let’s dance the night away,

Let’s  dance the night away,

Yeaaaahh

One, Two, Three! Let’s go!

“Fuck,” I whispered ripping my phone out of my pocket and struggling to turn it off. “Turn off, come on.” Finally, I silenced the phone and turned to see if they had heard. Instead my eyes met a broad chest only a couple inches away. 

Okay....think, think, think. Too busy panicking. Can’t think. Uhhhhhh......fuck. I followed my first instinct and threw a punch at the guy’s nose. His head did not recoil like it was supposed to. He just simply cracked his neck and glared down at me.

Okay.....instincts bad.

Before I knew it I was struggling against the man’s grip as he dragged me into the alley. “We’ve got a visitor.” He said throwing me onto the ground in front of all the other men. They sneered and inched closer clearly quite upset I had interrupted their little party. 

“Make that two. Hey, how are you guys doing?” 

All heads turned to the roof of the liquor store we were next to. My eyes widened. There was Spiderman. Complete with the red and blue suit and cocky childish attitude. “Who the fuck are you?” The buff guy, who now had his foot digging into my stomach, said.

“Bro....Come on. I’m Spiderman. You know. I shoot webs and kick ass.” 

“Isn’t he that guy from YouTube that did the flip on that building?”

“OH MY GOD, THAT WAS ONE TIME!”

The man scoffed and pressed further onto my stomach, making me wince slightly. “Scram, Arachne Boy.” The men around me laughed at I assumed the leader’s joke. The hero sighed and shook his head.

“See now I have to beat you up. You can’t just make fun of my name. That shit hurts, bro.”

“What the fu-” Before he could finish his sentence a web shot and grabbed onto his face and flung him into the side of the building. Soon a fight broke out. Trying to remove myself from the situation I crawled away as Spiderman fought all the men. 

“Ah!” 

A strong hand grabbed the back of my neck and hoisted me off the ground. “You aren’t getting away that easy, little girl.” The man sneered. A huge welt was on the side of his face from Spiderman’s attack. My airway’s started to close as he squeezed tighter. My hands tried to pull his fingers away and slapping at any place I could reach. Meanwhile, the last thing I would hear before I died would be Spiderman yelling something about Naruto running a dude into the next Millenium. 

As the edges of my vision started to fade, I heard another voice come closer. “Get your fucking mutant hands off her!” It screamed. I was dropped to the ground. Air filled my lungs as I took huge gasps. Looking up I saw Spiderman taking on the huge monstrosity of a man with nothing but his own two hands. 

“I was told never to play with guns. But I think today might be the exception.”

A web shot out of his fingertips and pulled the weird contraption into his hands. A bright light emitted and fired at the man, blasting him into the building wall. Within seconds Spiderman had wrapped up the villain in a little cocoon of sticky webs, keeping him secure. A quick look around told me he had already done the same to the others. 

The boy in the red suit danced around like a weirdo, while I sat on the ground. “Go Spidey! Go Spidey! Hell yeah! I made all of you my bitches!” I coughed still trying to get air back into my lungs. The white eyes on his mask widened. It must be some pretty advanced tech in that suit.

“Holy shit- Are you okay, Y/n...........I mean...wait-...random citizen I don’t know who means nothing to me personally. Are you okay?”

His voice weirdly got lower halfway through his sentence. Dazed, I looked back up at him. He offered me a hand up and gratefully I took it. “Thanks for helping back there,” I said, voice coming out a bit sore. He shrugged and puffed out his chest. 

“Yeah, I did kick some serious ass didn’t I?”

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed my camera and started to walk away. “Wait! Where are you going?” He swung from a lamppost and landed in front of me the suit’s eyes widening and shrinking again. His suit must have facial readers or something. 

“I’m going home. I’ve got my story; I’m done.”

“Hey it’s not safe. Let me take you home. What would your friends say if you weren’t at school tomorrow?” 

Spiderman continued to follow me as if he were a lost puppy. I laughed when he almost tripped over a trashcan. “Okay, one- how do you know I’m a student? And two- I don’t really have any friends. People don’t like me at school.” He stopped in his tracks. 

“What do you mean- Are you getting bullied at school?” His words stopped me. He sounded genuinely concerned. By now we were halfway to my apartment. I simply stared at him as the old streetlights flickered and struggled to light up the sidewalks we were on.

“A couple people bother me, but I just ignore them. Look I’m gonna go home. Thanks for back there. You were a real hero.” 

He looked between me and my hand as I stuck it out for him to shake. Slowly he took it, his grip firm, but cautious. “You know, usually heroes get a thank you kiss for rescuing such a gorgeous girl.” I scoffed and pulled my hand away. 

“Sorry, Spidey. I’m not interested in cocky little shits who run around wearing masks.”

“Yeah well, you’d be surprised. What is your type? Bet, I’m still it.”

My eyes lit up thinking about him. “I guess I’m more of the boy next door type. They say you always fall for your best friend right?”

He blinked as if he was processing my words. What I thinking? A horny fourteen-year-old boy wouldn’t understand. “Night, Spidey. Thanks for the save.” Not letting him say another word, I headed back to my apartment. My apartment was still empty when I returned. My parents wouldn’t be back until after I left for school in a few hours. Reluctantly I went back to my bed, missing the space where Jisung lay only a few hours earlier. It was harder to fall asleep without him next to me.

My legs carried me as quickly as they could. I ignored the crazy looks from people on the street as I raced to May’s apartment. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I burst through the building’s main entrance. Knowing the elevator would take too long and it was probably broken again, I took the stairs up to the fourth floor. 

The door was unlocked when I ran into the apartment. “May? May!” I called, looking for her in the living room. Hearing small cries I turned to find her exiting the kitchen. With open arms, I let her hug me and cry into my shoulder. 

We sat in the kitchen in silence. Occasionally one of our cries would slip, but the emptiness would return. He wasn’t answering any of my calls. I was beginning to worry. May said they were together. Where was he? It had been hours since May had called me. The sound of the door opening made us both stand from our seats. 

Jisung walked in with heavy shoulders and blood on his forehead and smeared across his shirt. He had dried tears staining his cheeks. I had seen the footage of the shooting on the news with May, but the sight of Jisung standing before us made my heart break. 

I held myself back as May went to her nephew. They needed each other. I could wait. Whispers between the two were shared, most likely about her husband. She had already gotten a call, but hearing it from Jisung seemed important to her. After a moment she excused herself, saying something about wanting to go to bed. 

The two of us stood in silence. I had no idea how to comfort him. How could you comfort someone who just watched their uncle die? Jisung started to slowly move towards his room. Wordlessly, I followed. 

After I closed his door, I turned to find him staring at the walls small cries coming from his form. There were pictures of him and his uncle all over his room. Jisung sighed when I wrapped my arms around him from behind. He turned around so he could hold me to his chest. Hot tears fell against my neck as he cried. 

It felt like hours before he calmed down. Gently I led him over to the bed and sat him down. All he could do was stare at his hands as I grabbed a clean shirt from his closet and a wet cloth from the bathroom. There was no fight from him as I lifted the bloodied shirt from his body and put it in the hamper. 

Carefully, I lifted his chin and gently started cleaning the blood away from his face. I tried not to wipe away the tears that slowly ran down his cheeks. He looked broken-and tired like he hadn’t slept even before today’s events. My heart shattered when he finally looked me in the eye. 

“I’m not ready for this.” He whispered, more tears falling. 

Wrapping my arms around him, I let the clean shirt fall to the floor. “I know...” I tried to keep tears from falling from my own eyes. I concentrated on running my fingers through his hair and how tightly he held onto my waist. “You’re never going to be ready for it.” He cried even harder, making me want to scream for him. 

Slowly, I laid back onto his bed, holding him on top of my chest. “No one is ever ready for what you are going through,” I whispered. His body shook from crying and he buried his nose into my neck, holding onto me as if I were the only tether keeping him from floating away. “But, you are so strong. We aren’t faced with challenges we can’t overcome.” His breathing started to steady as my hand traced patterns on this bare skin of his back. “Sometimes I wish I was normal,” He whispered.

“Ji, you are anything but normal. And that’s okay. But for now...you can just be here. I’ll be with you. When you’re ready you can do whatever you need to. But...just stay here for now.”

He nodded and held onto me even tighter. I listened to his breath, gently rubbing his back and playing with his hair. When I knew he was asleep, I let myself do the same. Tomorrow would be another day. I would most likely have to leave and let Jisung and May grieve, but for now, I could be with him. Hopefully, that was enough. 

Early the next morning, I woke up to an empty bed. Jisung’s covers were loosely wrapped around me and his window was cracked open, letting a strip of sunlight in. Slowly, I sat up and rubbed my head. It was quite unusual for him to be up this early. Well, it was quite unusual for me to be up this early, but it was like my body had a sensor for when he was gone. I pulled my phone from the table and started to text him.

The sound of the window opening caused my attention to turn. I froze as I saw Jisung climbing through the window. “What the fuck!” He froze when he saw me. My eyes widened, taking the sight in. Jisung was standing before me wearing a familiar red and blue suit, a mask in his hand. 

“Y/n, I can explain...”

Was Jisung Spiderman? Was my best friend Spiderman? Holy shit! “Okay explain!” He simply stared at me, eyes wide. His hand came to scratch the back of his neck. His eyes avoided mine as my arms crossed my chest. 

“Jisung, might I suggest explanation protocol #38 for Miss L/n?”

“Oh my God! Friday, shut up! You aren’t helping.”

I watched as Jisung said to the AI apparently in his suit before he tossed the mask onto his desk. “You have an explanation protocol for me?” The look on his face showed that he knew he was in trouble. 

“See the thing is...I’m not Spiderman-...” He stopped when I glared at him. “Okay, I am Spiderman. This is my internship with Mr.Stark.” Without hesitation, I got up from his bed and started slapping his arm.

“This doesn’t even hurt, does it? You have superstrength. Oh my god, I’m going to fucking murder you.” An aggravated sigh left my chest. “So this whole entire time you have been swinging around the city saving people and doing flips on buildings and I was none the wiser?” I said turning back to him.

“That was one time! But...yes.” He stood awkwardly in his own room. “Look, I’m sure you have a lot of questions.” He gulped when my stern gaze turned back on him. “So, anything you ask I’ll answer.” 

“Who else knows?”

“Mr. Stark, Happy- the guy who is my supervisor-, and Felix.”

“FELIX?”

He flinched as my voice raised. Taking a breath, I calmly sat back down on his bed. He watched as I crossed my legs and turned off the sound on my phone. No way was I gonna let my parents interrupt this conversation. “How did you become like...this...” I asked pointing to his clearly toned physique.

“At first I thought it was just like another puberty thing. But, like puberty doesn't make me shoot webs out of my hands. I think it was that spider from the lab.”

“So do-...are all your...bodily fluids...like...webs? Like do you shoot webs out of everywhere or-”

“You wanna find out?” Jisung said with a smirk, coming closer. I did not hesitate to slap him. 

“You couldn’t think of a better name though? Spiderman, really? You couldn’t come up with something more aggressive?”

“Well, I mean...like - spiders are cool, okay!”

I could tell he was uncomfortable. Usually, Jisung always stood up straight and had some sort of a smile or smirk on his face, but he was truly nervous. He watched me expectantly, waiting to answer whatever questions I asked next.

“So when you said you were away on a company retreat for the weekend. That was actually you who was fighting Captain America and all that shit in Prauge?”

“Yes.”

“When you left that night, did you go to the arms deal?”

“Yes.”

“So, it was you who saved me.”

“Your welcome.”

“Don’t push it.”

Nervously, he let out a laugh. No matter how many questions I asked...he was still my best friend. I was proud of him. He was doing so much good. Don’t get me wrong I was still very pissed at him for not telling me. “You owe me pizza at Tony’s for the rest of the fucking year.” A sigh of relief left his chest and he wrapped me in a hug. 

“That’s fine by me. I’m honestly surprised you didn’t ask about the whole crush thing.” I pulled away to see that fucking smirk on his mouth. “I think it’s cute you’re in love with me.” He tugged me closer to his body, gripping my waist.

“Who says I’m in love with you?”

“Me.”

“You’re an asshole- you say a lot of stupid shit.”

“I’m an asshole, not a liar. There’s a difference.”

My breath caught in my throat when I saw his eyes glance down to my lips. I could practically feel my heartbeat pulsing through my entire body. It was true and he knew it. I was in love with him. “Well....what are you going do about it? Prick...” I said in a shaky breath. He let out a soft laugh, his eyes lighting up. 

“Kiss you....bitch.”

My heart went crazy as he pressed his lips to mine. Closing my eyes, I melted into his touch. This was definitely the craziest two days of my entire life. I never would have imagined I would have to comfort my best friend, find out he was a superhero running around New York, and then have him kiss me in his bedroom.

Jisung smiled as I kissed him back, draping my arms around his neck and threading my fingers through his blonde hair. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought kissing Jisung would be like this. Without his mouth leaving mine he pushed me up against the wall of his bedroom. He sighed when my teeth caught his bottom lip.

“Fuck...do you know how long I’ve thought about this?” He asked before returning to my lips. 

“Kissing me?”

“To be honest I’ve been thinking about more than that since I was thirteen.”

Ignoring my scoff, Jisung continued to attack my lips like he had found water for the first time after walking in a desert. His hands slid under my legs, making me shriek when he picked me up. In one swift motion, he turned around and threw me onto his bed, before hovering over me. “I love you,” He whispered, before placing a soft kiss on my lips. Slowly, he moved down to my neck, my hands running through his soft hair. Impatiently, I pulled him back to my lips. 

Our little makeout session was interrupted by the sound of Jisung’s phone ringing. He sighed and dropped his head onto my shoulder. “I have to get that,” He sighed and pushed himself off the bed, walking over to pick up his phone. My eyes couldn’t help but rake over him. Now, I could freely ogle how gorgeous his body was. I bit my lip, looking at the lines of his broad shoulders go down to his slim waist.

“Happy, now is not a good time.”

“Yes....among other things...” A blush flooded his cheeks as he looked back at me still laying on his bed. 

“Can’t Mr. Stark send someone else?”

“I’m not just going to up and leave.”

Getting bored, I got up and wrapped my arms around him. He tried to look over at me, but I just buried my face in his chest. Patiently, I waited for him to finished the call with Happy. Finally, he threw the phone onto his bed and kissed me again. “Do you have to go?” I asked against his lips. He pulled away another smirk filling his face.

“You want to go to Berlin for a week?”

“What?”

“Mr. Stark needs me in Berlin. Something about S.H.I.E.L.D and an Avenger thing. But, there is no way May will let me go. Especially after yesterday.”

“Why am I going?”

“Happy said I could take you with me, you know to convince May to let me go.”

I laughed and kissed him again. “Sure. I’ll go to Berlin with you.” He laughed and spun me around the room. “However, you are gonna be the one to tell my dad that we are going alone with no chaperone to a country where the drinking age is sixteen.” 

“Fuck.”

“Good luck, Ji.”

Requests are open, just send an ask my lovelies!

Masterlist

[loftec]

Hi! in this prompt, could we know about Mickey's ex boyfriend or something? I think his name was Matt?

thank you for participating + pre NTW - Mickey's POV 👀

Anon: tell us about Matt

Yevgeny: his name was Mark

Mickey, pinching the bridge of his nose: Martin, and no. I’m not gonna tell you about Martin.

Narrator: little did Mickey know that he had zero say on the matter, let’s goooo.

April 13, 2013. Saturday.

Mickey is just off the L when his phone rings. For a moment, he considers ignoring the buzzing in his pocket as he lights up a cigarette and bounds down the metal steps. The list of people likely to call him is very limited, and most of that list is very welcome to fuck off to voicemail on a Saturday evening. Work can fuck off, telemarketers can doubly fuck off. On this particular Saturday, even his extended family can fuck off. It might be Martin, wondering where he is, but he can quite frankly also fuck off, seeing as Mickey is no more than five minutes away from their agreed rendezvous.

That only leaves one, and the thought alone is enough for Mickey to step out of the flow of people rushing to and from the platform, and check the damned call. Seeing the ID, he quickly picks up, pressing the phone to his ear.

”What the fuck?” he asks, unsure if he should be annoyed or alarmed and figuring this would best cover a bit of both.

”Hey dad,” his son says, unexpectedly.

”Yev?” Mickey says, inching towards annoyed. At least his son is unharmed enough to dial a phone, so it can’t be too bad. ”What’s wrong? Where’s Sonya?”

”She’s right here,” Yevgeny says, he sounds fine, normal, good, ”we can’t find the cake poking thing.”

Staring at the empty space in front of him, Mickey feels the rest of his mood swan dive head-first into annoyed. ”The what?”

”The thing we use to poke cakes, to check if they’re done? We can’t find it and we need it, the cake is almost done.”

Taking the forgotten cigarette from his lips, Mickey angles the burning end away from his face as he rubs at the deep line between his eyebrows.

”Kid,” he says, trying to sound calm, ”give the phone to Sonya.”

There are some muffled noises over the line, and then Mickey can hear his son’s distant voice. ”He wants to talk to you.”

”Hey Mickey,” Sonya comes on, breezy as anything. ”Is it supposed to be in the cutlery drawer? Been rifling through that thing for a good minute already.”

”Are you fucking kidding me?”

”What? It’s not such a weird guess, is it? I’d say it’s cutlery adjacent at least.”

”I’ve been outta the fucking house for less than forty minutes!” Mickey says, calmly. He is absolutely not screeching loud enough to have people on the street give him concerned looks. ”And you call me about some fucking–, I don’t have anything like that! Who has a thing specifically for poking cakes?!”

”Oh please,” Sonya scoffs. ”Plenty people do, you being one of them!”

He wants to point out that this is categorically not what he meant when he said ’call me if there’s an emergency’, but he’s got a feeling that this is only going to get him into an argument about the definition of ’emergency’ that he’s not going to win, and besides, he’s got bigger fish to fry right now.

”I absolutely do fucking not!” he splutters, glaring at a couple throwing him side-eye as they rush past him. ”Are you outta your mind?”

”I know you have one, because I gave it to you,” Sonya says, clanking sounds in the background from where she’s still presumably rifling through Mickey’s shit. ”Remember? When you moved in? I got it in Sweden when I was visiting for my cousin’s wedding. It was hand crafted, Mickey, you better not have thrown it out!”

”That thing?” Mickey balks, smoothly electing to not point out that they both know Sonya came home from her trip with like ten of those in her luggage and then spent the next two years giving them to all her friends and family whenever she’d forgot about getting gifts for an occasion. ”I stuck it in Merida.”

The silence on the other end of the line is palpable, and it takes a second for Mickey to hear what he just said.

”Who is Merida, and do I want to know why you stuck my hand-carved Swedish cake poker in her?”

Mickey sighs, and decides that he doesn’t have to answer that. He can try, at least. ”Tell Yev it’s in Merida.”

”I most certainly will not tell your sweet summer child that you’ve stuck the cake poker in–,” her increasingly high pitched voice abruptly falls to a hiss, ”–Merida, who is Merida?”

Luckily, Mickey can hear his son in the background, saving him from having to explain. ”It’s this thing?”

There’s another silence, Mickey takes the opportunity to smoke and accept the inevitable.

”Two questions,” Sonya says, her usual good humor back in her voice. ”One, you stuck my hand-carved Swedish souvenir in a potted plant? And two, you named the plant Merida?”

”It’s cartoon character–,” Mickey starts, before realizing what he’s saying and cutting himself off, ”I didn’t name it, obviously.”

”But you still call it by its name.”

”Whatever,” Mickey blows out a puff of smoke and can’t help smiling. Sometimes he just has to stop and take stock of how fucking ridiculous his life has turned out. And how much he fucking likes it, despite himself. ”Congratulations, you found it. Any other emergency you needed me for, or can I get back to my–”

He swallows, catching himself mid-sentence, suddenly unsure of how he intended to end it.

”–thing.”

”You’re there already?” Sonya asks, sounding genuinely remorseful now. ”Sorry, you left so late I thought for sure you’d missed the train and would still be en route, or I wouldn’t have told Yev to call. How’s the date going?”

Mickey swallows again, throat dry. He starts walking down the street in the direction of the bar.

”It’s fine, still on the way,” he says, ”and it’s not a date.”

”Like heck it isn’t,” Sonya tuts, ”you’re out on a Yev weekend for the first time since I’ve known you, and I saw that shirt you’re wearing.”

He runs a hand self-consciously along his belt, his button-down still tucked in and in place. He refuses to worry about it.

”You looked good, Mickey, I meant to tell you,” Sonya continues, and she doesn’t even sound like she’s teasing anymore which Mickey knows even less how to handle. ”And you’re undeniably on a date.”

”Shut up,” Mickey mutters and smiles to himself when Sonya laughs. Feeling a little more himself, he chucks his cigarette to the curb and stops to look across the road at his destination. ”Maybe.”

He hadn’t really considered the possibility, before Martin asked him. But the sex was always good, they got along really well, and when Martin looked up at him from his bed as Mickey was pulling on his jeans, his hair rumpled and lips still shiny, and asked if he wanted to go to some kind of hipster showcase gig together, Mickey had barely even hesitated.

”About time, too,” Sonya says. ”Was starting to think the guy wasn’t all there, taking his sweet time. Maybe he was waiting for you to ask.”

”Ey,” Mickey shakes his head, ”it’s only been a couple of months.”

”Try six! That’s half of a whole year.”

”Try minding your own fucking business,” Mickey says and frowns. Maybe it has been that long since the first time they hooked up, but it’s not like they’ve been fucking on the regular the whole time since then.

”Just happy for you, Mickey,” Sonya says, like it’s an easy thing for her to say. ”You like him, right?”

He doesn’t say yes, but he doesn’t outright deny it either, which probably tells Sonya everything she needs to know.

”Gotta go,” he says instead, ”and don’t call me again unless it’s an actual fucking emergency. See you tomorrow.”

Not waiting to see if she’s got something to say to that, he hangs up and shoves the phone back into his pocket. Staring at the unassuming building across the street, he allows himself a moment to take it all in. He’s just casing the joint before he enters, it’s normal fucking behavior. He isn’t stalling.

It doesn’t look too busy from the outside, there’s no line, and no bouncer or guard by the propped open double doors. The walls of the building are littered with layers of posters, on both sides of the doors and across the covered windows. Not much can be seen through the doors from his vantage point, but he assumes that it’s a front room leading to whatever’s going on inside the building.

There’s a guy standing off to the side of the doors, smoking. He’s got a lanyard shoved down his back pocket, ID badge dangling in clear sight. Most likely someone working at the bar, out on a break. His shoulders are hunched and he’s got a phone clutched to his ear, head bent and lips pressed together in a thin line. He nods at whatever is being said to him over the phone. Mickey looks up at the worn sign above the door.

”Fuck it,” Mickey mutters and, pushing aside the last of his niggling doubt, makes his way across the street and through the doors. It’s dark enough inside that his eyes need a second to adjust, before he quickly orients himself and heads toward the noise and lights leaking out from behind a set of swing doors beyond the coat check.

”Excuse me!” someone pipes up behind him, and he turns back to raise his eyebrows at the girl standing behind a counter by the entrance. ”We’ve got a showcase tonight, you need to buy a ticket.”

She makes an apologetic face as Mickey gets closer and pulls out his wallet.

”25,” she says when he gives her a questioning look.

”Christ,” he mutters, but forks over the money. ”This better be good.”

”We’ve got a really exciting lineup tonight, all local acts,” she says, obviously relieved now that he’s payed and she can tuck away his hard earned cash in her little lock box. ”I’m hoping I can take a break soon so I can sneak a peak of the headliner.”

She winks at him as she hands over a ticket, and he has zero fucking clue what he’s supposed to do with any of that.

”Okay?” he says and accepts the ticket. ”What’s this for? I’m already here.”

”In case you want to go in and out,” she says, and then tacks on when she seems to remember something she’s supposed to say; ”there’s no smoking in the venue.”

Mickey shrugs and pockets the ticket, biting back the urge to tell her that there’s no fucking smoking anywhere these days, thank you very much. The girl is still smiling at him when he turns his back on her and heads for the bar.

”Have fun!”

Finally inside, the place seems to be a collection of smaller rooms with some walls knocked down to make a larger, oddly shaped space. The bar is crowded, three bartenders moving around each other and pouring drinks in the narrow space behind it, and all the tables tucked away in the dark half-room next to it seem occupied. In the main room, Mickey finds the small, raised stage with a bigger crowd gathered in front of it. There’s a guy on stage, talking about something and looking like he’s about to cry while getting thoroughly ignored by a majority of his audience.

Mickey included, when he spots Martin a bit to the left of the stage. He’s talking to a couple of people he must have met in the crowd, smiling in that carefree way of his, eyes squeezed together and head tossed back when he laughs. He seems to do that a lot, laugh and talk and make friends wherever he goes. Open about himself in casual throw-away lines as he lets Mickey into his apartment, takes his clothes off, catching his breath, seeing Mickey off again. It’s nice seeing him out here, in the real world.

Maybe this could work. Mickey really should have tried harder to be on time, leaving your date to make new friends while he waits for you to show up seems like a bad move, now that he thinks about it.

Shit. Here goes nothing.

”Hey!” Martin exclaims, face lighting up with a wide smile when Mickey walks into his line of sight. He doesn’t sound upset, really doesn’t look it either when he pulls Mickey in for a quick kiss. It’s over before Mickey’s had the chance to do much else than blink in surprise.

”I’m late,” he acknowledges and hopes Martin will take the attempt at an apology for what it is.

”It’s fine,” Martin gins at him, tilting his head in the direction of the stage, ”you haven’t missed anything good.”

”– have you ever noticed that?” the guy on stage mutters into the microphone, ”I mean–, uh, I’ve noticed, that–, sometimes–”

Tuning the guy out again, Mickey looks past his date at the two people still standing on his other side, regarding them curiously.

”We got a problem?” he asks them, raising his eyebrows further when the woman just smiles at him.

”Oh,” Martin says, angling himself so the four of them make a little semi-circle in the crowd. ”My friends, Nora, Ethan, this is Mickey.”

Mickey stares at the side of Martin’s face for a moment, before he notices Ethan’s outstretched hand. He feels confused enough to grab it in a quick handshake. The woman, Nora, just keeps smiling.

”Nice to meet you, Mickey,” she says, clearly hiding something. People generally aren’t this smiley without an agenda, in Mickey’s experience.

”Sure,” Mickey says, glancing at Martin for some clue as to what he’s supposed to do now.

”You wanna go get yourself a drink?” Martin asks, pointing in the direction of the bar. ”This comedy train wreck should be over soon, hopefully.”

”Sure,” Mickey says again, wrong-footed by the whole odd situation and frustrated with himself for not being able to shake the feeling that he’s made a huge mistake.

”Go with him!” Nora says, making Martin take a half-step closer to Mickey by shoving lightly at his shoulder. ”We’ll save the spot.”

She gives Martin a pointed look and some kind of silent communication seems to happen between them, ending with her looking victorious and Martin dropping his head back with an exaggerated sigh. Then he turns to Mickey and playfully gestures for him to lead the way.

”Sorry about her,” he says once they’ve reached the bar, leaning in closer to speak directly into Mickey’s ear. The warmth of his breath makes the hairs on his neck stand on end. ”I keep telling her to back off, but she’s got it in her head that we’re doing something we’re not.”

Mickey swallows and turns his head to look at Martin when he leans back.

”And what are we doing?” he asks, and he doesn’t realize how it sounds until he sees Martin’s gobsmacked expression.

He lets out a startled laugh. ”Are we really gonna talk about this now? Here?”

And technically, Mickey agrees with him. He really doesn’t want to have the ’what are we’ conversation, and he definitely doesn’t want to have it now, here. But he’s already said it, and now he needs to know.

”Maybe,” he says and frowns when Martin just stares at him for a moment.

”I don’t know?” Martin eventually says. ”We have fun, right? I didn’t think you wanted it to be more than that?”

Mickey can barely hear his own thoughts over the noise from the bar, but he can practically feel his heartbeat in his throat. ”Do you?”

Martin makes a pained face, like it’s an involuntary reaction to the mere idea, before he shrugs helplessly and gives Mickey an uncertain smile.

”We don’t really have anything in common, Mickey,” he says. ”I don’t know, I just don’t see it going anywhere.”

”Thank you for participating,” the guy on stage says, his voice louder and verging on hysterical. It gives Mickey a reason to look away from Martin’s face for a second, hating the sympathetic twist to his lips. He feels like a fool.

”You suck!” someone yells in the audience.

”Yeah? Right back at you buddy!”

”Get off the stage!”

”Sure,” Mickey says, and nods. ”No, sure. You’re right.”

”Sorry?” Martin says and grins when Mickey rolls his eyes. ”And we can still have fun, right? Hey, I’ll buy you a drink! What do you want?”

”Anything, a beer,” Mickey tries to focus on Martin, on the list of prices pinned to the wall behind the bar, but there is suddenly too much noise, too many people, too much… stuff. ”I just gotta–”

He doesn’t know what he’s trying to say, so he stops. He doesn’t know what he wants, but getting out of this room would be a good start.

Martin looks confused, and then tuts reproachfully when Mickey pulls out his pack of smokes and gestures in the direction of the doors. He hates it when Mickey smokes, always makes him brush his teeth before they do anything. Guess that’s another thing they don’t have in common. Mickey hadn’t given it much thought.

He leaves Martin by the bar to fend for the bartender’s attention on his own and goes back outside, ignoring the surprised look on the girl by the door when he strides past her. Once outside, he’d hoped the fresh air and relative silence would knock him back on track, but it doesn’t. Everything is exactly the same, only now he can add ’running away like a pussy’ to the list of tonight’s embarrassments. He hates this, this isn’t him.

He should go back inside, show Martin and his friends that he doesn’t give a shit. Have a couple of beers, get through the night, make that asshole suck his dick until he can’t feel anything but a warm mouth and his own pleasure. But he’s not repaying any favors, not tonight, let that shithead take care of himself, since he can’t see it going anywhere. Fuck that. It’s fine.

”I know–, no, I know…”

Wrapped up in his own bullshit, Mickey hadn’t noticed he wasn’t alone. The same man from before is still on the phone, and he looks if possible even more miserable than he did when Mickey first arrived.

”That isn’t–, no, I know you didn’t… listen–”

Mickey ignores him, taking out a cigarette putting it to his lips. Might as well, he’s already out here. He lights it up. He, lights it up… come the fuck on, he lights it up. His lighter is out. Fucking great.

”Ey,” he says and turns to the guy on the phone, ”you got a light?”

The guy stares at him, and Mickey absently thinks he looks even worse up close. Like, disturbingly hot and built enough to properly toss a guy around if he wanted, but absolutely worn down by whatever it is he’s doing with whoever’s on the phone with him. Whatever, not Mickey’s problem. He shakes his empty lighter when the guy doesn’t immediately react.

”Oh,” the guy blinks, his eyes are red. He digs out a lighter from somewhere and hands it over. ”Here.”

”Thanks,” Mickey steps close enough so he can reach out and take it, and consequently hear the distant sound of a man’s voice on the other end of the line. He can’t make out any words, but the tone is unmistakable. The guy frowns and turns away slightly.

”Jesus, Jace, what the fuck?” he says, voice low and sharp. ”Are you serious right now? I’m not–, you know what?”

Mickey lights up and takes a couple of steps away to give the guy some privacy, but might still watch him out of the corner of his eye and hear pretty much everything he says. Call him a nosy bitch, but he really needs the distraction right now.

”I can’t do this right now,” the guy sighs, rubbing a hand over his eyes. ”We’re on in like ten minutes and I can’t–, I can’t do this with you right now. I asked you for time.”

He listens, and whatever it is that’s being said to him seems to hit a nerve. The general air around him of annoyed resolve slowly shifts into something more resigned.

”Yeah, I know… I’m sorry,” he says, and Mickey doesn’t know him or his situation, but he knows this can’t be right. ”Tomorrow, we’ll talk. I promise. Yeah, thanks… I will. Love you, too.”

Mickey shouldn’t be listening to this, he should finish his cigarette and go back inside. Find Martin and enjoy the night, have some fucking fun. Maybe he should, but he doesn’t want to.

He wants to go home, put on some fucking comfortable clothes and watch a movie with his kid.

”Heads up,” he says and waits until the phone guy looks up before he lobs the lighter back at him. He fumbles, but catches it. ”Fuck him, you deserve better.”

The guy stares at him, and rightly so. Mickey doesn’t know why he said that, he doesn’t know anything about it. But the guy looks… he looks a bit like Mickey’s feeling, deep down and buried many times over.

He looks lost.

”You deserve better,” Mickey repeats, because he already said it and he’s nothing if not all in. The guy opens his mouth on a shaky exhale, but he doesn’t say anything. Probably thinking of ways to get away from the freak accosting him on the street with unsolicited affirmation bullshit. Which, fair enough. Guess that’s Mickey’s cue to fuck off. If the guy would just stop staring at him like that.

A hand-holding couple suddenly walks right through their intense moment, heading for the doors. Mickey comes back to himself and, thinking quick, he takes out his ticket and waves it at the couple to get their attention.

”No thanks,” the man said, probably thinking he’s trying to sell it.

”Just fucking take it,” Mickey grumbles, shoving the ticket at them.

”Uh, thanks?”

Mickey waves a dismissive hand at them, already on his way.

”Thank you!” someone shouts after him.

He can’t wait to get home. Kick off his shoes, wash out the gel in his hair. Untuck his fucking shirt. Investigate whatever that cake poking business was about, hopefully cake. Watch his kid watch a movie, see his little face light up and mouth along with the words. Absolutely ignore Sonya’s inevitable attempts to get him to ’talk about it’.

His life is fucking fine the way it is, he doesn’t know why he got it in his head to try and make it something it isn’t.

[shuahoonie]

you. [tom holland] - five.

PAIRING: tom holland x female!celebrity!reader

SUMMARY: ah, to be young and in love. it sounds great if only you and tom were actually dating out of pure love and not for the sheer reputation of your careers. it also should be great if you two actually got along, but life isn’t that easy.

WARNINGS: mostly swearing! sexual innuendos are present kids! a bit of fluff, a bit of angst. it’s haters to lovers / fake dating au so take that information as you wish! this is definitely a filler chapter tho. 

WORD COUNT: 3761 words

SONG INSPO: hard times - paramore

A/N: hiya babes! sorry if i skipped a two weeks-worth of an update, got caught up from uni & my part-time job. been writing for uni a lot, and ngl yall kinda wanna cry! anyways, the amount of love i’ve received for this series is wild you guys!!! thank you so much for the kind words! i know i suck at replying but please know that i really appreciate it you guys and y’all make me feel soft and so loved 🥺 sorry again for the late update, hope this makes up for it!! enjoy part five & happy reading x 🥰💛

UPDATES EVERY SATURDAY 11 PM CST 

gif credits: @thwip

vanessa’s masterlist | one | two | three | four | six | seven | eight | eight.5 [interview excerpt] 

You woke up by the sun beaming on your face. Already dreading the day, you pulled the covers over your head and buried yourself in the pile of pillows that were taking up most of the space on your bed. God, you were exhausted from yesterday. 

See, yesterday- yesterday was a blur. Everything happened so fast. You and Tom were trending on Twitter for god-knows how many hours. Headlines about you two dating were plastered everywhere. 

It made you roll your eyes. Do people care that much? And they do. People cared a lot about you two. People said that you two look great together, while a handful said you were in it for the clout. Technically, we both are. 

So, now that you got the people’s attention, what’s next? 

Well, for starters, they started tracking yours and Tom’s relationship from where and how it started. They wouldn’t find anything because you two aren’t really dating in the first place. 

However, they did compilations of possible hints that you two were dating-or maybe was just getting to know each other. Luckily for you two, you followed each other on Instagram for quite a while now so you got that foundation to build up. 

You liked some of his photos before, as did he. You actually found Tom quite adorable back then. The first time you saw him was when you saw Captain America: Civil War with your friends. You and your friends bonded over watching Marvel movies and once you saw Tom Holland as Peter Parker on screen, it was safe to say that you weren’t just crushing on Sebastian Stan anymore. 

However, you did convince yourself that nothing trumps over your crush on Sebastian Stan. You also convinced yourself that you were crushing on Peter Parker-not Tom Holland. Peter Parker was sweet and kind, Tom Holland was not. 

You pushed off the covers and finally pulled yourself out of bed. After doing your morning routine, you threw yourself into the couch with a coffee in hand while a toast on the other. 

Today was your last day off before you went back to taping so you were expecting a pretty dull day today- that is until your phone kept on buzzing.

You looked at the caller ID before letting out a huge groan, “Zoë, Please for the love of God, it’s my day off.” 

“Good morning to you too, Y/N.” Your manager said on the other line. “And I know it’s your day off, I just wanted to check up on you.” 

You furrowed your brows. “That sounds oddly suspicious, what are you planning to do, Zoë?” 

“Would you relax, Y/N? I was just asking if you have anything to do for your day off.” She replied. 

“I’ll probably do a bit of grocery shopping later, but other than that I might bury myself in blankets and watch movies in the living room.” You answered and took a bite of your toast, frowning as you tried to swallow your sad and bland breakfast. 

“Okay, that’s good to know-Oh, and I also wanted to tell you that your taping tomorrow has been moved for the next two days. Apparently, Alissa won’t be back till tomorrow.” 

“Oh, thank god,” You sighed, relieved to hear that you have another day off. “Thanks for the heads up, Zo. I’ll see ‘ya soon.” You hung up the phone and finished the piece of toast. 

You watched a few episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine before you gathered up the will to get yourself ready. After taking a well-deserved warm bath and doing your extensive skincare routine -watching videos about Koreans sharing their skincare routine on Youtube really got the best of you and your bank account- You put on a plain white shirt and paired it with your favourite pair of mom jeans. 

As you grabbed your keys and your wallet, ready to bust out the door, you heard your phone ring. 

“Are you home?” 

“Yes, I am, Ronnie. Why are you asking?” You asked her. 

“Cool. Can you open the door please?” She asked on the other line. 

Confused, you opened your front door and sure enough, Veronica was standing in front of your apartment wearing her university sweatshirt and denim jeans. 

“Oh thank god you’re ready, I had the most awful day at school. I just received my paper for my 400-level political science class and let’s just say that the mark I got, I haven’t done it in bed for a while now.” Veronica ranted off, taking her shoes off before placing her books on the coffee table. 

It took you a solid minute before you just realized what she just said. “Ronnie, I don’t want to know about your sex life-” You said before you fixed your hair. “Or lack thereof.” 

“I could really use some good fucking, ‘yannoe?” 

“Jesus Christ, Ronnie-” You sighed as you handed her shoes back to her. “C’mon, I have to do some serious grocery shopping.”

“Okay, but I’m driving,” Ronnie said as she grabbed her car keys. “You’re a horrible driver.” 

“Works for me,” You shrugged and locked the front door. 

The travel to the grocery store was typical: you two belting One Direction songs the whole time. You and Veronica were strolling the yogurt aisle when she asked about your whole love life situation. 

“Oi, I thought you and Tom weren’t dating?” She asked as she put an assorted pack of yogurt down the cart. 

“I’m never going to eat that,” You pointed at the yogurt. “And we aren’t.” 

“I will eat it whenever I stop by unannounced at your place,” Veronica argued. “Then what’s with that photo that I’ve seen with you two holding hands yesterday?” 

You looked around, checking if there was anybody within-distance that could hear whatever you were about to say. “We’re not actually dating.” You murmured.

“Come again?” Veronica asked, completely lost. 

“We’re just doing it for publicity.” You whispered loud enough for Ronnie to hear. 

“I’m sorry, but how exactly did it escalate to that?” She asked, totally confused. 

“Remember that stunt I pulled at the club the other day?” 

“Yeah, you were all over the news.” 

“That was the reason as to why it had to escalate to me and him dating.” You answered as you pushed the cart again. 

“Yeah, no, I need a cup of coffee before we do this, I’m all caffeine-out,” Veronica said before she bid of herself off and went towards the Starbucks that was found near the entrance of the store. 

You rolled your eyes playfully at your friend and carried on completing the least stressful adult task for you. 

It was actually quite serene. You managed to finish your shopping without people noticing you-well, that’s a stretch. People did notice you. Most of them gave you an acknowledging nod followed by a small smile, some of them asked for a photo, and only a few just stared at you-which you didn’t mind. 

You were paying for your things when Veronica appeared right beside you with a cup of coffee in hand. “What? Did the line at Starbucks reach the parking lot? What took you so long?” 

“No, but a cute guy bought me a drink.” She beamed, taking a sip of her coffee. 

You chuckled. “Good for you, Ronnie.”

“Y/N, girl, I swear- he has the most gorgeous eyes.” Ronnie carried on, the smile was stuck on her face. “Oh, he was so sweet.” She sighed happily. 

You were happy for your friend since it’s not every day she meets someone that she’s completely enamoured with. However, she can express her liking for this guy while helping you load the grocery back in the cart. “Ronnie, that sounds great and all, but can you help me with the groceries so we can leave now?” You practically begged. 

Veronica nodded and helped you load the groceries back in the cart, immediately speeding up the process. Taking too much time fixing your groceries at the till always gave you anxiety, especially when there’s a long queue behind you. 

“Oh my god, Y/N,” Veronica gasped as you two were walking towards the parking lot. 

“What? What happened? Are you okay?” You asked, completely baffled. 

“I forgot to tell you that he has this amazing accent,” She sighed, making you roll your eyes. 

“Ronnie, I swear to god I will fucking kill you.” You grumbled as Veronica opened the trunk of her car and started handing you the groceries for you to put in. 

“I forgot to get his name though,” She mumbled. “which is a bummer because he was honestly a godsend.” 

All you could do was roll your eyes as you were lost for words. 

“Oh, quit rolling your eyes at me. Just because you have a boyfriend, doesn’t mean I don’t deserve to have one.” Ronnie pointed out. 

“As if I actually have a boyfriend,” You countered, finishing up with the groceries.

“Whatever,” Veronica mumbled and shut off the trunk of her car. “I’ll just put this cart back and-”

“Hey, Veronica, was it?” 

You and Veronica both turned your heads towards the person who just called Veronica’s name. As soon as she saw who the voice belonged to, it gave her extreme delight. 

“Yes,” She beamed at the brunette with insanely blue eyes. “We talked earlier but I didn’t get your name.” 

“Sorry ‘bout that. I had to take a phone call and when I got back, you weren’t there.” The guy explained. You took a good look at him. He seemed familiar but you couldn’t exactly put your finger on it. 

“No, you’re okay! I had to go back to my friend here-which reminds me,” Veronica pulled you closer “This is my best friend, Y/N, Y/N, this is-” 

“Harrison,” The guy smiled at you and extended his hand for you to shake. You politely shook his hand and after what seemed like an eternity, his eyes widened. “Wait, You’re Y/N L/N, right? From the Alchemist?” 

You gave him a small nod, still trying to figure out who he is. “You’re also Tom’s girlfriend, I presume?” He asked a bit shyly. 

“Great. I can’t believe I have to live with that label attached to my name now.” You thought to yourself.

You weren’t exactly sure if and how you were going to answer his question. Where are you with this stunt anyway? Are you and Tom supposed to be vocal about your relationship or were you two just blatant and left the people to figure out for themselves? 

Harrison seemed to take notice of your hesitation in regard to the question. “It’s okay,” He says softly. “I know.” 

“Pardon me?” 

“I know the real deal about you and Tom.” He whispered. 

There was a look of panic in Veronica’s eyes. “Yeah, that they’re totally in love.” She said defensively. You, however, seemed unbothered. You were also curious. You’ve seen Harrison before but you couldn’t point out where you’ve seen him. 

“Harrison, you’re Tom’s best friend, yeah?” You asked him, starting to get a picture of how familiar he is. 

Harrison nodded. “I wasn’t really expecting for our first meeting to be like this.” He chuckled. 

“Eh, it’s alright,” You shrugged. “Much better for us to meet this way and in our own circumstance, considering your friend makes everything ten times more unbearable.”

Harrison let out a small laugh, “Tom’s not that bad once you get to know him.”

“Oh trust me, I know him plenty and so far, I’m not liking it.” You argued quite defensively. “Well, I’ll leave you two to chat for a bit as I put this cart back in its place.” You said as you gave Veronica a short look, in which she beamed at you in return. 

You purposely took your time with returning the pushcart back in its rightful area. You fumbled with your phone for a bit, checking your Twitter only to find out that you’re still trending and people still have no idea what to feel about you and Tom’s relationship. 

“Why did I pour my drink all over him again?” You asked yourself in frustration. 

As you walked back towards Ronnie’s car, you saw your best friend and Harrison talk animatedly around each other with their smiles never leaving their faces. 

The tad bitter side of you wondered if their mouths hurt from all that smiling, it also made you wonder if it’s even okay for a normal person to smile that much. However, the better part of you was glad that your best friend was happy. Veronica needed to be happy. 

Soon after, they bid their goodbyes, not before exchanging phone numbers. Harrison gave you a friendly wave-goodbye before he walked towards his car. 

As soon as you sat on the passenger seat of Ronnie’s car, you were already greeted by a huge smile on her face. 

“Okay, don’t get mad-” Ronnie began.

You groaned. Knowing your best friend, you knew that she did something that will get you mad. “Ronnie, what did you do?” 

“Okay, so I know that tonight was supposed to be our movie night but I just couldn’t help it! You know me through thick and thin, Y/N! You know how I do things impulsively around guys that I’m interested in. I’m like a mindless machine around them! I don’t even know why I’m talking this much when I usually have everything under control but Harrison-” 

“Ronnie sweetie, breathe,” You said with your hands placed on top of her shoulders. “You are babbling and I need you to get straight to the point.”  

Veronica took a deep breath before she said the words that almost made you want to smack the living daylights out of your friend. “I invited Harrison for dinner and I told him he can bring Tom too.” 

“Could you stop?” Veronica threw the kitchen towel at you as you continued to glare at her. “You’re being childish, hon.” 

“I am not being childish! You’re being childish.” You argued, crossing your arms. 

Veronica just stared at you, her face seemingly screams that she’s absolutely done with you. 

“Okay, so maybe I am being childish,” You admitted. “But you threw the towel at me so I’m not the only one here with an attitude.” 

Veronica rolled her eyes as she finished setting up the table. You two were supposed to have pasta over dinner and have a Harry Potter movie marathon while eating junk food. Well, you two were still going to do it, except this time you’re joined by Harrison and Tom. 

“This is the worst thing you’ve ever done to me,” You said dramatically. 

“Y/N, hon, you’re exaggerating. I’m pretty sure this evening’s not going to be bad.” Ronnie commented. 

Veronica left the kitchen and proceeded to the living room to check her makeup in the mirror that was propped over the wall. You followed her into the living room and threw yourself on the couch. 

“Ronnie, why did you even invite them? Don’t you have classes tomorrow? Also, aren’t you supposed to be writing your paper for your social class?” You asked as you watched Ronnie retouch her makeup. 

You were trying your best to cancel this dinner. You tried to reason with your best friend though because this is your house in the first place. However, she pulled the “This is my chance in getting myself a love life” card and she has moaned for years that she really wants to meet someone. You’d do anything for Veronica’s happiness. You’d also do anything to keep your best friend quiet about how she wants to date so bad. 

“I already have my draft for that paper, just need to edit it,” Ronnie replied as she applied a coat of mascara. “Besides, I don’t have any classes on Mondays, you knew that.”

“Right,” you mumbled. “Still think this is a bad idea though. Things got so unbearable with Tom yesterday, I don’t think I’ll be able to handle another day with that guy ever again.” 

After your whole lunch scene with Tom yesterday, it felt suffocating. It was unbearable. He was back with his usual snarky attitude and it drove you mad. 

You learned one sure thing about your set-up though: He was only charming around other people, but if it’s just you two? He was a jerk. 

Not even a minute later, the doorbell rang. You got up and checked who was at the door and sure enough, two familiar faces filled up the screen. 

“Speaking of the devil,” You muttered before opening the door and was greeted by Harrison who gave you a hug. 

“Thanks for having us over, Y/N” Harrison said as he pulled away from the short hug. He then proceeded to give Veronica one, and it was obvious that his intentions were solely focused on her anyway. 

“Uh, yeah. No problem.” You said almost awkwardly as you gave Ronnie a look, who in turn mouthed a grateful ‘Thank you’. 

You turned back to the door and saw that Tom standing there, a stoic look on his face. He looked like he came out of a photoshoot based on the clothes he was wearing: slouchy black button-ups and a pair of denim jeans. “Holland,” You greeted him as you opened the door a bit wider. 

“Y/L/N,” He said as he gave you a once-over. “You look...” Tom seemed like he was really trying hard to think of a nice word to say. 

“Don’t strain yourself,” You said as you rolled your eyes.

You were wearing an oversized band shirt -that was tied in a knot at the front- and paired it with high-waisted patterned pants. You and Ronnie shared a small argument on what you should wear for dinner. 

She insisted that you should dress for your comfort while looking presentable and you argued that that is the outfit that gave you comfort. 

You also argued that Ronnie and her guests should be glad that you weren’t wearing sweatpants like you anticipated before Ronnie invited people for dinner. 

“Good because I wasn’t planning to,” Tom nagged, sending you into absolute overdrive.  

As soon as he had his back turned on you, you resisted the urge of strangling him right then and there. 

Unbeknownst to you and Tom, Veronica and Harrison caught the frustration painted on your face causing them to chuckle amongst themselves. 

You and Tom had only known each other for two days at most, and yet you already had the most confusing relationship that existed in this world. 

“If this carries throughout the evening, the world will know me not as Tom Holland’s girlfriend, but as the girl who killed him.” You muttered to Veronica as you passed by her. 

“Relax, Y/N,” Veronica chuckled as she put a hand over your shoulder. “Dinner wouldn’t be that bad.”  

Saying that dinner wouldn’t be that bad would be an understatement. Dinner was horrible. 

Veronica and Harrison were pretty much occupied during the entire meal. They mostly had their attention to each other, which didn’t surprise you. Ronnie and Harrison were smitten for each other, it actually made you snort. 

You and Tom, though, were a different case. You two were seated across each other and you two wouldn’t stop bickering. 

It started when Tom accidentally kicked your foot underneath the table. 

“Ouch!” You yelped. “Why did you kick me?!”

“It was an accident,” He said defensively. 

“Psh, right” You scoffed. “Accident my ass.” 

The “I accidentally kicked you underneath the table” carried on for the entire meal, with you and Tom exchanging kicks every few minutes. 

You two also shared glares throughout the dinner. 

“Why are you mad at me?!” Tom argued. 

“Because you’re here!”

“Well, why did you invite me then?!” 

“I didn’t! It was all her!” You hissed as you pointed at Veronica who was rather talking intimately with Harrison, and was also very much oblivious to the argument unveiling in front of her and Haz. 

“God, why did I even think coming here was a good idea.” Tom moaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose, obviously annoyed. 

It didn’t even end there, as you all moved from the kitchen and into the living room to start the Harry Potter marathon, you and Tom started bickering over a piece of furniture. 

As Ronnie and Haz went to the loveseat sofa, you claimed the larger couch so you could lay down while watching the film and leaving Tom with nothing to sit on. You didn’t have much furniture considering you’re the only one who lives in this apartment. 

“Scoot over, Y/N.” He said as he approached the couch you were laying on.

“You can sit at the ottoman.” 

“And have nothing to rest my back on?”  

“God, you are such a diva.” You grumbled. “Just sit on the floor then.” You replied as you pulled the faux fur blanket over you, keeping you warm and cozy. 

“I don’t want to sit on the floor for hours,” Tom argued as he tried to pull you up from your position. 

“Fine, I’ll get you the floor cushion.” You said in defeat. 

“I want to sit on the couch, Y/N.”

“I am not moving, Holland. You can’t make me.” You said rather childishly. 

“Fine,” Tom sighed and pulled the ottoman closer to the couch. He pulled up your feet and sat on the end of the couch as he propped his feet on top of the ottoman. He placed your feet on top of his lap, as you claimed you weren’t going to get up from your laying down position.  “Then don’t move.” He dictated, leaving you to roll your eyes. 

And as for the cherry on top, you had your manager nag you to post something about your evening. You didn’t even know that Veronica filmed a quick story for her Instagram until you received a message from Zoë saying: “A couple of fans that follow Ronnie saw her story. Share it on your Insta too, it adds foundation to  our story.” 

Ronnie’s Insta story showed the television playing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s stone, and it panned to Harrison who was smiling softly at the camera and then, panned to you and Tom who were sharing the couch. You two were watching intently and from the looks of it, you looked like a very believable couple. 

Your manager was right and that irked you. The devil works hard but Zoë works harder.

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[justanotherdreamer12]

Misunderstanding

Authors note: HI everyone.. I'm new to this as you can see... Therefore please read with an open mind and heart.. Just a random thought that took a form of a short story.

Pairing: SeungcheolxReader

Summary: Joshua wanted to talk to the girl who would always sit next to the window on the far corner of the Cafe and Seungcheol was just trying to be a good Friend.

Genre: Fluff and Flirty

Word Count:

**********************************************

"Where do you think you are going?" Seungcheol asks the shadow that was moving ever so softly and carefully behind him in order to not get sighted by anyone.

"Out." Joshua answers, huffing softly in frustration of getting caught red handed.

"You know we are supposed to head in for practice right now right?" Seungcheol asks raising his right brow, his leader side kicking in.

"I know. I won't be long. I'm just going out to grab some coffee." Joshua answers.

"At the cafe near our agency?" Seungcheol asks him.

"Yup. You want me to get you something?" Joshua asks the leader.

"Nope. Enjoy your coffee and your view." Seungcheol teases.

"Wah-what? What view?" Joshua stutters.

"Yah we all know about your coffee and the view. Seriously how long do you plan to keep it up? Just talk to the girl already!" Seungcheol laughs.

"It's not-I was not." Joshua tries to explain only to be interrupted.

"Well if you want the coffee you better hurry up so that you're not late for the practice. And while you're at it talk to the window girl." Seungcheol laughs.

"It's not that easy." Joshua mumbles under his breath. "I'm leaving."

"Yeah okay. Be there on time for practice." Seungcheol reminds.

"Yeah I will." Joshua nods. Just as he was about to walk out the door, it opens to reveal their Manager walk inside the dorm.

"Going somewhere?" The manager asks looking at Joshua. Seungcheol who was about to go inside in order to gather his member pauses, confused to find his manager here.

"Yes hyung, for some coffee at the cafe near the agency." Joshua answers.

"No you can't. You need to come with me." The manager shakes his head.

"Where hyung?" Joshua asks confused.

"The studio. There was some problem in the part that you recorded so they want you to come and record it once again." The manager explains.

"Oh okay hyung. We can stop by the cafe on the way then." Joshua nods.

"No time to make stops we need to get there soon." Their manager shakes his head adamantly.

"But hyung it won't even take 10, no 5 minutes." Joshua tries to convince him.

"The PD is already waiting for us Joshua." The manager tells him, adamant in it.

"But hyung.." A whine escapes Joshua's lips.

"Seungcheol can buy your coffee for you." The manager says turning to face the leader, "Right?"

Seungcheol who was surprised by his name being called out could only mumble a, "Me?" Seungcheol looks at Joshua who gives him defeated look. "Sure I guess." He shrugs.

"There now that's done. Oh also Seungcheol while you're there buy some cakes for you and the boys. My treat." The manager says quite pleased with himself.

"Sure hyung." Seungcheol nods. He could hear the thundering of footsteps coming towards him, no doubt his members all ready for practice.

"Hyung, we are ready." Mingyu tells his leader.

"Manager hyung, what are you doing here?" Jeonghan asks, noticing his manager standing near the door with his best friend.

"Oh I had some work with Joshua. Heading for practice?" He asks them to which they all nod. "I can drop you guys there get inside the car parked outside." The manager instructs and with a cheer of not having to walk to the agency the members all rush outside.

"Hyung, you don't have to." Seungcheol tells the manager.

"It's okay. I planned to that's why I got two cars. Now let's head out." Saying this the manager walks out. Seungcheol and Joshua walking behind him and the older of the two pats the younger back in assurance. Joshua gets in the vehicle with the manager and Seungcheol in the car.

Seungcheol gets down at the cafe and the car moves towards the agency with his members. Sighing he pulls in his mask as he enters the cafe that was surprisingly empty except a few customers lounging in the chair enjoying their warm drink. He turns towards the counter to place his order when a girl with h/l h/c hair wearing a simple white shirt and blue faded jeans with a pretty face walks past him. He couldn't help but turn to get another look at the girl and finds her sitting in a table furthur away from the room and near a window.

"Can I take your order?" The waitress pulls his attention to her.

"Uh yes." Shaking his head he walks closer to the counter to place his order.

"One coffee and 10 of your finest pastries please." He places his order.

"To go or to be eaten here?" The waitress enquires.

"To go please." Seungcheol answers pulling out his wallet and pays the bill.

"Please wait for two minutes." The waitress instructs him and turns around to get his orders ready. Seungcheol looks around the cafe to pass the time when his eyes find the girl sitting near the window once again. He didn't know what it was about the girl but he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Her appearance was strangely familiar like he had seen it before. He thinks hard drilling his mind to recall a memory when it hits him, he had not seen but heard a description of her appearance from Joshua.

She always sits at the window farthest from the cafe. When you look at her you can't help but want to keep looking at her with her, h/c h/l hair, smooth fair skin and e/c eyes that you can get lost in. She always orders the same drink, hot chocolate with 5 marshmellos on top! And when she smiles it just lights up the whole Cafe!!

Seungcheol looks down at the cup of hot chocolate though he couldn't see clearly he could make out the distinct features of marshmellos floating on top. That's the girl, Joshua's view, he thought. He wanted to text his member about her when he realizes that he would be busy recording and shouldn't bother him. He was satisfied with just teasing him which he would now more than ever since he got a look at the girl and even he had to admit that she was indeed pretty.

He couldn't help but contemplate, because knowing his friend it would take him a million years to approach the girl first and say hello, he could already imagine the countless musing he would be subjected to as his friends suffers from being unable to talk to the girl and so he wanted to help him. But he didn't want to overstep his bounds and cause trouble for Joshua by interfering in his personal matters. But then again if he didn't do anything his friend might just remain stuck forever.

"Here's your order sir." The waitress pulls him out his thoughts handing him a box filled with pastries and a cup of coffee to go.

"Thank you." He bows in gratutute and turns to walk out the door when something stops him. His instincts holding him in place, telling him to take the step which will help not only his friend but also him and so he turns around and makes his way towards the girl sitting in the farthest table of the Cafe before he can second guess himself.

"Hello." Seungcheol approaches the girl, trying his best to not startle the girl. The girl looks up at him with her big e/c eyes.

"Hi." The girl smiles widely up at him, surprising him with how easy and alluring it was.

"I'm sorry to disturb you but could I have a seat here?" Seungcheol asks the girl.

"Seat?" The girl looks around at the almost many empty seats around them. "Sure." The girl nods, slightly curious and amused.

"Thanks." Seungcheol bows slightly before taking the seat. He puts down the coffee cup and box of pastries as the girl gets back to reading the book in her hand. He can't help but stare at the girl in front of him. He could clearly see what attracted Joshua about her in the first place. Her soft looking skin, bright e/c eyes and the most alluring smile he's ever seen. The girls aura was open and friendly which would pull anyone in.

"Did you need something?" The girl asks him as she finds his eyes in her.

"Huh?" Seungcheol was very confused by the abrupt question.

"You kept staring at me so I wondered if you needed something from me." The girl answers, straight forwardly.

"No, I mean yes. I wanted to ask no more like tell you something." Seungcheol stutters out.

"Oh and that is?" The girl asks him.

"You are really beautiful." Seungcheol blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. "I'm not hitting on you or anything. I don't want you to misunderstand." He tries to explain without wanting to embarrass himself furthur.

"Yes. I won't misunderstand." The girl tries her best not to burst out laughing, not wanting to embarrass the male sitting in front of her. "I am a little pretty right?" The girl couldn't help but tease the male in front of her a little.

"Saying it's little is too modest of you." Seungcheol blurts out and could feel the blood rushing to his face when the girl bursts out laughing.

"Thank you. I know I shouldn't be laughing but you really surprised me." The girl manages to whisper out.

"It's okay. It was too sudden right I don't know why I said that either. I'm sorry." Seungcheol says scratching behind his neck, embarrassed.

"No you don't need to apologize. It's nice to hear someone complimenting me and actually mean it. It was really nice." The girl reassures him with a bright smile that gets his heart racing a mile every second. He shakes his head trying to pull himself together, the action so sudden that it surprises the girl.

"Are you okay?" The girl asks worried now.

"Oh no I'm fine." It was now Seungcheol turn to reassure the girl.

"If you say so. Won't it be better for you to remove the mask? It might make you feel better." The girl suggests pointing at his mask.

"Oh? Oh right." Seungcheol nods realizing and pulls his mask down his face causing the girls e/c eyes go wide in complete surprise. Seungcheol looks up at the stunned girl and realizes her struggle. "Oh right I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Choi Seungcheol. It's nice to meet you Miss?" He enquires.

"R-right. F/N L/N." The girl introduces herself.

"It's nice to meet you F/N-ssi." Seungcheol smiles widely at the girl and raises his hand for a handshake.

"Please just F/N. No need for formalities." The girl says shaking his hand.

"Very well then. Also please treat me as you did before. No need for formalities." Seungcheol nods taking his hand away but already missing the girls warmth. "Actually there is a reason that I approached you today."

"Reason? What reason?" The girl asks confused.

"Actually my friend, one of my members I'm not sure if you know him." Seungcheol mutters.

"I'm sure I know him. I'm a fan." The girl says smiling warmly at him.

"Oh you are CARAT?" Seungcheol asks and the girl nods. "Wah the odds of this happening are really fantastic." He mumbles softly but the girl hears it.

"I know." The girl nods still unable to grasp that her bias was sitting right in front of her. "You were saying something." The girl reminds him.

"Right. Um so Joshua has been visiting this Cafe a lot, we all visit this Cafe the coffee here is really good but Joshua more than all of us and the reason is you." Seungcheol tries his best to explain without scaring the girl.

"Me?" The girl asks confused.

"Yup. You visit the cafe every alternative days and Joshua after realizing this also visits the cafe whenever you do just so that he can get a sight of you." Seungcheol explains and watches as realization dawns on the girls face.

"Actu-" The girl starts but only to be quiet down once again as Seungcheol continues.

"I know it's kind of hard to believe but it's the truth. Joshua has developed a crush on you and no matter how many times we've told him to approach you he wouldn't. He's quite shy. I wasn't going to say anything but this has been going on for a month already and when I saw you I thought that maybe I should just help him out a little." Seungcheol explains.

"It's your first time seeing me right? I mean the girl Joshua likes?" The girl asks clearly amused.

"Yup." Seungcheol nods.

"How can you be sure that it's me? And not someone else?" The girl asks him with a raised brow, it made her look even more alluring.

"Though I haven't seen you before but Joshua has told me all about you. How you always take a seat near the farthest window and drink hot chocolate with 5 marshmellos. Also he had described you, how you have h/c h/l hair, smooth fair skin, e/c eyes and a very beautiful smile. You are just as he described." Seungcheol explains.

"Seungcheol-ssi has anyone ever told you that you could be quite slow at times? But I guess that has its charms as well." The girl chuckles slightly flashing him a bright smile.

"People do say that." Seungcheol agrees honestly when something clicks inside his head. "Charm?" Seungcheol asks confused.

"I'm saying that you are quite charming. Cute too." The girls answers honestly with a smile that just shined brighter than any star.

"Charming? Me?" Seungcheol was very confused but at the same time a warmth spread across his body.

"Yes." The girl nods but before she could explain any further her cell phone rings. "One second." Saying so she answers the call. "Hello? Oh, I'm still waiting here. I got the order also. Where are you? Are you serious?! Okay I got it. I'll be there in 15 minutes. I need to take a taxi you crazy women! Yeah yeah I'll be fast don't worry. I'll see you later." Saying so she hangs up.

"All okay?" Seungcheol asks looking at the girl curiously.

"Yup. That was my sister. I was supposed to meet her here but she changed the location all of a sudden, so I'll have to get going." The girl answers while packing her things into her bag.

"Oh okay." Seungcheol nods helping her pack and walking out with her while carrying the pastries in one hand and the other holding his coffee.

"I hope I'll get to see you again, Seungcheol-ssi." The girl smiles brightly at him as the two stand outside the door of the Cafe.

"Yeah. Me too." Seungcheol answers honestly.

"Oh right." The girl blurts out startling Seungcheol. "Let me borrow this for a bit." The girl says grabbing the cup of coffee while handing him her cup. After digging in her bag a little she pulls out a pen and writes something on the coffee which Seungcheol isn't able to read. "Here." She hands him the coffee cup before taking her cup back from his hand. "Give it to Joshua-ssi. It's the number of the girl he has a crush on." The girl instructs.

"Oh okay." Seungcheol nods dumbly.

"Seungcheol-ssi you are really slow aren't you." The girl chuckles.

"Huh?" Seungcheol was surprised by the statement.

"I'm not the girl Joshua has a crush on. It's my sister. We look quite similar so you got confused by his description. My sister is the one who visits the cafe every alternative days. She was supposed to be here today but she got held up in some work and since we had planned to meet up I was waiting for her at her favorite place and drink." The girl explains while showing him the cup in her hand.

"Oh!" Seungcheol exclaims in shock.

"Yup also tell Joshua to not be shy and contact her. She'll like it as he is her bias. After talking they can decide if they want to go furthur or not. Also S/N, that's my sister's name." The girl says smiling at him.

"Right. I'm sorry for my misunderstanding." Seungcheol apologizes embarrassed.

"Don't be. Cause of it we got to talk so it's all good. Also can I borrow your phone?" The girls asks him a little sheepish. Seungcheol nods and hands her his phone. The girl types something in before handing him his phone back. "I um gave you my number, if you'd like call me sometime. I'll really like it if you do." The girl says smiling at him. "I'll get going now. Bye Seungcheol-ssi." Saying so the girl walks away, a few steps later she turns to face him for a wave before walking away and stopping a taxi. The girl gets in and the taxi drives away leaving Seungcheol standing near the door still, stunned.

He shakes himself out of his stupor and makes his way towards his agency for practice. He walks inside the practice room to find all his members standing near the mirror talking.

"Guys I got pastries." Seungcheol calls out to his members who quickly surround him excited about the delicious treat. Jeonghan takes the box from his hand and Seungcheol walks towards Joshua. "This is for you." He hands him the coffee cup.

"For me?" Joshua asks, after taking the cup.

"Present." Seungcheol smirks at him. Joshua looks down at the coffee filled cup only to notice a phone number written on it.

"S/N. That's the window girls name. You should text her and no need to thank me." Saying so and after an encouraging pat on Joshua's shoulder Seungcheol walks away to a corner in the room to remove his jacket and cap leaving a shocked Joshua staring at his back.

"Hyung, don't you want the pastry?" Minghao calls out to the leader.

"Nope. You guys can have it." Seungcheol says pulling out his phone. There was a new number in his call register with the contact name: S.Coups No 1 Fan! He couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the contact name.

"Hyung we need to practice." Soonyoung calls out.

"Coming!" Seungcheol says as he tucks his phone inside his jackets pocket. All throughout the practice he couldn't help but be distracted thinking about the girl sitting in the cafe with the most alluring smile he has ever seen on her face, which ended up in him getting lectured by the performance units leader. But he couldn't be bothered about it as he had decided to indeed call the girl soon.

[im-a-star-boy]

Harry Osborn, 13, 1, 16 for the drabble game, please and thank you~

Ah yes, it’s taken ridiculously long for me to make this, but IT’S FINALLY HERE!!! Just so you know, in this fic, being soulmates doesn’t exactly mean being in a relationship, so yeah. Here it is!

.oOo.oOo.oOo.

A loud blaring noise filled the dark, barren room, startling Harry awake. He coughed slightly, the red string tied around his finger wrapped around his throat and choking him slightly. He unwrapped himself and yawned, stretching his sore muscles out. He glanced at the clock. 5:00 flashed in bright red, blocky numbers, as the windows slowly opened to reveal the still-dark purple skyline of a New York City morning. He stood up and began making his way towards the closet, before tripping over the soft red string. He cursed loudly as he fell face-first onto the blue-grey plush rug. He rolled over and glared at the string. "You're just gonna cause all types of problems for me today, aren't you?" He muttered aloud, tugging it playfully.

He got up again and made his way to the closet, feeling drained as he opened the doors. Even when looking past tripping on the string, he could tell today was going to be a very, very long day. He pulled his pajama shirt off as he picked out a comfortable long-sleeved white shirt. He had repeats of several shirts, most of them were different fabrics, however, and he pulled it over his head. He pulled out a separate sweater, a dark blue one, and pulled on black jeans. He looked through his closet, debating on whether to wear casual tennis shoes or his dress shoes. He decided to wear the dress shoes, knowing that his father would have him switch the shoes even if he did decide to wear tennis shoes.

He pulled out his collar and strode towards the bathroom, styling his hair back as usual. He brushed his teeth and washed his face, preparing for the rest of the day. He spent a moment, admiring the red string on his finger, before turning and beginning to leave, tripping over the string again. He screeched, catching himself before he hit the ground, and struggled to his feet again. "Wow okay you're just really gonna be a bitch today, aren't you?"

He made his way out of the room, keeping the red string's trail in his gaze. He made his way to the kitchen and made himself a bowl of cereal. The penthouse was unsettlingly quiet as he ate while leaning against the counter, refusing to sit. After he finished, he rinsed out the bowl in the sink and washed it, placing it in the dishwasher, before washing his hands and gathering his-over-the-shoulder bag. He glanced at the clock and startled as he realized he only had a few minutes to get out.

He quickly grabbed a few items he needed, before making his way to the elevator and descending to the first floor to meet his driver, Bernie. He sat down, making himself comfortable as he looked through each of his folders, making sure he had everything. As he checked over his completed homework, he cringed at how difficult it was to hold the paper. He returned the paper to the folder and began searching his bag for his hand lotion. When he couldn't find it in the usual pocket, he began frantically searching through other pockets. When he couldn't it, he groaned loudly. Bernie glanced into the mirror. "Is something wrong?" He asked.

Harry shook his head. "I just forgot my hand lotion and my hands are really dry today."

"Do you want me to turn around?"

"No, it's not the end of the world." He replied, shaking his head.

After a moment, Bernie nodded. He continued the long, tedious drive to Midtown, and when he pulled up, Harry had to convince himself to leave the car and begin the day. After a few moments, he pulled himself out of the car, closing the door. He let out a long sigh as he approached the gates to hell. Oh, my bad, school. He could feel people's prolonged gazes on him as he stepped down the halls, mentally preparing himself for the day.

The first periods passed without a hitch, they were long though. Too long for Harry's enjoyment. As lunch rolled around, he was quick to make his way out of the school to Joe's.

As he strolled down the street, he heard a loud curse from somewhere behind him, before feeling his foot catch on the red string. He screamed as he fell face-first for the third time that day. He quickly rolled over, untying himself, before feeling it tug. He glanced up to see an unfamiliar boy doing something similar, sitting down on the ground and untying a red string from around his legs. He felt his breath hitch as he tugged it lightly. The boy stopped and looked up and the two met each others' eyes for a moment.

Harry felt his heart skip a beat as the boys' shining green eyes met his blue-grey ones. The boy seemed to have the same realization as him as he looked down at the string, then at him again, before gasping loudly. "SOULMATE?!" He shrieked.

Harry laughed ridiculously. "UM?! HI?" He choked out through his laughter.

The boy was quick to untangle himself before quickly standing up and assisting Harry to his feet. "I- uh, hello? My name... I'm Peter?" He managed to say.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his face flush. "Uh- yes, hello, I-I'm, my name is Harry." He stuttered out.

The two stood there for a moment, not entirely sure what to do. Finally, Harry took a breath. "Uh, I'm on lunch break, wanna umm... wanna go with me? To Joe's?" He offered.

His soulmate, Peter, swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, uh yeah okay. L-lead the way."

Harry motioned him to follow and began towards Joe's, thankful that the small coffee shop was close by. After a long, silent walk, the two arrived at the lounge. He held the door for Peter, smiling awkwardly. Peter nodded and thanked him, before closing the door behind them. He watched Peter approach the barstools and slide onto the one nearest the door. Harry stopped beside him. "Wh-what drink do you want? And what do you want to eat?" He asked.

Peter smiled awkwardly. "What do they serve?"

Harry pointed to the menu above the cash register. Peter facepalmed lightly. "Of course they have a menu- I'm sorry, I'm not usually this stupid..." He trailed off.

Harry felt a pang in his chest. "Hey, no it's not stupidity, you've never been here before." He mumbled, still unsure how to respond to everything.

Another awkward silence overcame them as Peter glanced at the menu. "I-I'll umm... I'll just get a sandwich, chicken, and mayo I guess..."

Harry nodded. "What do you want to drink?"

Peter hummed. "Soda I guess."

In an effort to shake the awkward silence, Harry grinned. "Milkshake it is."

Peter turned to him, his eyes flashing with curiosity. "They have milkshakes?"

Before Harry could finish nodding, Peter continued. "What kind? Do they have strawberry?"

Harry laughed. "I'll go get you one, I'll be right back."

Peter nodded eagerly as Harry approached the counter. He waited for a moment before Joe appeared around the corner. "Hey, Osborn. What's up, you look flustered."

He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. "I found my soulmate and I brought him here, and things got really awkward, but I think I managed to break the ice." He replied.

Joe slapped his shoulder affectionately. "Congrats kid, God knows you've been lookin' for him."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, thanks. Okay, so I'm buying lunch for us. I'll get a strawberry and blueberry milkshake, a chicken and mayo sandwich, a burger, and a boat of fries please."

Joe nodded. "I'll have it out in five, cash or credit?"

"Cash," Harry replied, pulling out his wallet and handing over a 20.

Joe nodded, putting it in the register and pulling out $2.23 in change, handing it back over.

"Thanks, Joe."

"Go on, I got more customers." He snapped playfully.

Harry chuckled and quickly returned to Peter's side. "He'll bring out the food in a second." He said, sliding into a seat beside Peter.

The brunet jumped slightly, before looking up and nodding. "Alright, this is a nice place. How'd you find it?"

Harry shrugged. "School food sucked and I couldn't be bothered to pack a lunch, so I looked for a place nearby and voilà, here I am." He replied cheerfully, motioning to the building around. "It's a great place to calm down at, I come here to study a lot."

Peter nodded curiously. "Well, maybe I should join you. What're you studying?"

"A few different things mostly notes for class and finishing homework. What about you?"

Peter shrugged. "I'm ahead of most of my class so I've kinda just gone along with it until I get to something I don't understand. I mostly just have trouble with my other language classes."

Harry straightened. "Maybe I can help?" He offered.

Peter flushed for a moment, before nodding with a smile. "Sure, it gets boring sometimes."

Harry laughed, the last of his tension fading away. "You can say that again."

Peter smirked. "It gets boring sometimes."

Joe delivered their food before Harry could reply. Peter thanked him and sipped the milkshake excitedly. As he sipped, his face lit up and he pulled away, looking at the cup. "Oh my god, this is amazing." He moaned, before taking another long sip.

Harry laughed. "As I said, the milkshakes here are absolute heaven."

He took a moment to admire Peter's figure. He was slim, attractive, and somehow, he hadn't recognized him. He silently wondered how long he could keep up the facade of being a normal teenage boy, and not the son of the ever famous billionaire, Norman Osborn. He shook his head clear of the thought, before smiling and beginning to eat. He nudged the fries towards Peter, who had begun to dig into his sandwich eagerly. "You can have the fries." He said.

Peter looked up and took a fry, dropping it into his mouth. "You're getting some too, right?"

Harry hummed, swallowing a mouthful of cheeseburger. "Maybe, depends if I'm still hungry after I finish this."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm not gonna eat them if you aren't."

Harry stopped and stared at him, before taking a fry and eating it quietly. "There, I ate one, now you can have the rest."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we'll see about that."

The two finished eating, occasionally trading playful banter and small talk. In the time he managed to learn that Peter's name was Peter Parker, his favorite color was red, he was 13, his age, and he was, almost alarmingly smart. His intellect definitely rivaled Harry's and he wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. He's so used to being the smartest one in the room, and now he wasn't, and it was almost thrilling. He felt vibrations go off in his back pocket and he pulled out his phone, cursing softly. "I gotta go, class is starting soon for me."

Peter looked up, looking at the clock on the wall, before nodding. "Same here, we came from the same direction, right? Let's walk together." He offered, throwing the trash into the trash bin.

Harry nodded mutely, doing the same, and following Peter out of the comfortable building. The two walked side by side towards where they had first met, tripping over their strings. Harry laughed softly when they continued going in the same direction. "Where do you go to school?"

"Midtown High,"

He nearly dropped his half-finished milkshake as he sputtered and coughed. Peter glanced up at him. "Are you okay?"

"Oh my God! I go to Midtown too!"

Peter came to a stop. "What?! We've been going to the same school and we've never met?!" He cried out in alarm. "How?!"

"Okay, wait wait wait, okay..." Harry trailed off for a moment, before bursting into laughter. "Well this changes things, we should hang out after school."

Peter hesitated, before nodding. "Y-yeah, that sounds great!"

Harry nodded. "Okay, where do you wanna go?"

Peter hummed for a moment. "I know this little skate park that's usually empty that we can go to, do you know how to skate?"

Harry shook his head. "No,"

Peter grinned. "Looks like I'll have to teach you then, come on, let's get to class. Don't wanna be late." Harry flushed and nodded, a small smile crossing

The walk was quiet and uneventful as they arrived at Midtown High. The two cast each other small glances as the passed through the busying hallways quietly, before reaching a turn. The two stopped and looked at each other, as Peter laughed softly. "I'll, uhh... I'll see you later, I guess, meet me by the statue out front?"

Harry nodded. "I'll see you then, Peter." Harry agreed, a smile crossing his face.

.oOo.oOo.oOo.

3 Years Later

.oOo.oOo.oOo.

Harry stared at the window quietly. The lotion he used to use constantly remained where it had been the day he had forgotten to bring it to school, the day he had met Peter.

It's been a long year, what with everything that's happened, and horrifying memories remain ever-present in his mind. Especially with learning that the red-and-blue clad vigilante that performed epic stunts and deadly heroism was his small soulmate. He still remembered it like it was yesterday, the Horizon High scholarship program, the one he desperately wanted Peter to take part in so they could continue schooling together, the one that was crashed by the Vulture. He can still remember his exact thought process when had Peter disappeared and when Spider-Man had taken the stage, the crimson string still wrapped around his hand, leading straight to Harry. Initially, Harry had thought that he had two soulmates. There was absolutely no way that this stunt-performing beetleboy was his glasses-wearing asthmatic soulmate.

But only one string remained on his hand, and it led to him.

The argument that had ensued had resulted in a less-than-pleasant separation of the two, one that they had long gotten over at this point, but tension still remained between them. Tension that was finally beginning to drift.

Harry sat on the barstool, sipping his blueberry milkshake quietly, the strawberry milkshake sitting beside him, still full. Peter had arrived and nearly sprinted into the bathroom before Harry could even greet him. He watched the bathroom door in amusement, and after a few moments, Peter emerged, looking thoroughly relieved. He scanned the room for a brief moment, before locking eyes with Harry, his face lighting up happily as he began a quick stride to the seat. He slid up beside Harry, a smile on his face. "Hey, Harry."

"Hey, Pete, you're late, again." He teased.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Blame the bus, they were late and made me miss my train so I had to jog to the next stop to catch the next one."

Harry snorted. "You ran a mile and beat the train to its next stop?" He questioned.

Peter nodded enthusiastically, causing Harry to chuckle lightly. "Okay then, well I got you your usual milkshake." He said, motioning to the glass.

He eagerly sipped the drink. "So, what's up? Usually, we wait until after school to hang out," Peter hummed curiously.

Harry felt his heart rate immediately spike. He had called Peter because he was planning on confessing his feelings to him. However, now he was having second thoughts. His face was bright red as he attempted to gather his thoughts. He swallowed thickly before taking a deep breath. "U-umm... I just wanted to..."

Peter seemed to notice his discomfort as he set down his milkshake. "Are you okay, Harry?" He asked worriedly.

Harry felt his face darken as he immediately looked away, his heart pounding heavily in his chest. "I-I- umm- I was wondering..." He trailed off as he tried to figure out how to ask Peter.

Finally, he set down his drink and grabbed Peter's hand, suddenly feeling self-conscious about how dry his hands were. "I- uh, I'm sorry, my hands are really dry..." He murmured, pulling his hands away quickly.

Peter reached out and grabbed them. "No, it's okay, what's wrong?" He asked softly, squeezing both of Harry's hands lightly.

Harry looked to his lap, suddenly feeling his chest swell. "I wanted to- I was hoping- do you...  want to- you know... maybe go on a date with me.?" He finally managed out, becoming very quiet at the end.

His silence didn't do much, as Peter's enhanced hearing picked up on it easily. His face turned bright red suddenly and his breath hitched as he released his hands. Harry squeezed his eyes shut. "I-I'm sorry- I shouldn't have-" He began.

Before he could finish, he felt two cold hands grab his cheeks, forcing his head up, then a pair of lips pressed against his. He felt his heart rate suddenly spike as he opened his eyes in alarm, seeing Peter's face close to his. After a few moments, he began kissing back, feeling his entire body practically melt as he rested his hands on Peter's sides. After a long minute, Peter pulled away, taking deep breaths, meeting Harry's flushed expression. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to ask that."

Harry felt a sense of relief overcome him. "You have no idea I've been waiting for me to ask that..." He chuckled lightly. "So, do you want to go on a date?"

Peter shook his head as he laughed. "Was I not clear? Of course, Harry."

Harry leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to Peter's lips again. He could get used to this.

[kth1]

Can I have 23 and 25 with Tae please🥺 (for the fluff drabbles)

Thank you for requesting something bb! I hope you like it! Fluff Drabbles for the world~ using this prompt list

Taehyung23. “You’re so cute when you’re half asleep like this.”25. “Is that my shirt?”

warnings: mentions of a physical fight, drunken state, a wound/blood, OC takes care of her roommate, etc.

“Grown men,” you said with a derisive reproach, “fighting over some stupid nonsense nonetheless.” You moistened a corner of a washcloth in the bowl of water on the nightstand beside you. You sat besides Taehyung who was hunched over on the bed, hand holding his head up as his elbow rested on his knee.

It was nearly after two in the morning when your phone vibrated, and vibrated, and vibrated. Causing you to shift out of your slumber to inspect the annoying alert of your phone. Missed calls and texts littered your notifications from your roommate, Taehyung. After missing the first seven calls, you were able to pick up the eighth with a tone of agitation along with your groggy voice.

Taehyung had lost his wallet along with his house keys while out at the bar. His desperate attempt to call you awake to let him inside for the night was his only way of getting to his bed. After stumbling out of the warmth of your blanket, padding your bare feet hurriedly across the wooden floor, you opened the front door to see a mess of your roommate. Half drunk, have irked, and a split in his bottom lip with a faint stain of blood.

“Sorry I woke you – “

“Just get inside.”

Here you are, settling Taehyung down on his bed to help clean his cut up while you still were trying to wake yourself up. You dabbed his lip with the wet cloth, being sure to be as gentle as possible not to irritate the wound any further.

“Ouch, damn! Stop that.”

“I need to put something on it, Tae!” you retorted.

“Forget it.”

“You’re lucky it’s not worse.”

“I could have done worse to that asshole back at the bar.” He muttered.

“Why did you guys fight anyways? It’s not like you to get into confrontation.”

Taehyung shrugged, cutting the conversation short and refusing to speak. Well, you’re sure he’ll come back to his senses in the morning and maybe then he will tell you when he’s ready.

He allowed you to continue however, having his banged-up bottom lip get soaked by the wetness of the cloth you held. You continued to grumble under your breathe, bits and pieces of your agitation coming out. His eyes watched your face, seeing the attentiveness displayed upon it as amusement. The scruff of your bedhead all wild, the extra special attention you attempted to use as precaution as your eyes scrunched up with concentration. The driven focus of your out-of-sorts mind… considering the fact that you nearly just woke up.

“You’re so cute when you’re half asleep like this.”

You paused your actions. Glancing up at Taehyung’s alcohol infused eyes, reddened from having one too many drinks at the bar. It must have been the strong intoxicants that had deluded his perception, he must still be drunk you thought. Because there was no way in anyone’s right state of mind that you looked anything but a terrible sleepy mess. But the comment itself made you feel a sense of embarrassment.

“Ha-ha, very funny.”

You took back the washcloth, taking a good look over at Taehyung’s pouting bottom lip that shined with damp wetness. It was swelling up already, a light shade of bruising coming to the surface of his soft… pink… flesh. You shook your head.

You didn’t notice the subtle sadness in Taehyung’s eye’s when you thought his comment was a joke. In all honesty he was trying to be sincere to you. Since you helped him inside, got him to bed, and now trying to clean his wound. So, when you shook the remark off like it was nothing – he sulked.

“I was being honest, Y/n.” He sighed, turning himself around to pull off his t-shirt and continued to shove himself under his covers. You picked up the bowl on the nightstand along with the washcloth in hand, turning to look at the back of Taehyung’s head that pressed into the plush of his pillow.

“Tae… I didn’t mean it like… I mean I just thought you were making fun of what I looked like right now.”

Taehyung turned his body enough so he could face you, looking at you from this different angle made him realize something he hadn’t noticed before. Or was it that he was sobering up enough to pay attention to more than just your face?

“Is that my shirt?” He tilted his head up, inspecting the garment that covered your body. The fine print of ‘C E L I N E’ written in clear English across the chest area of the white material.

Your eyes widened, taking a brief look down at your article of clothing and back to Taehyung’s eyes.

“I – uhh… Yes?” You shamefully admitted. “I forgot to do laundry and I needed a night shirt…”

Now Taehyung was fully aware of his logical side of his brain, as he took the sight of you in wearing one of his stationary shirts as sleepwear. He knew you were definitely cute half asleep – adding to that now you look cute half asleep while wearing his clothes.

[tortorou]

If you could stand one night

Tw// Drowning, concussion, blood, Ximena being a bastard. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy. 

After some fervent, carefully worded persuading, Elaina had convinced Ximena to bandage up the man's head. It would be troublesome, after all, if he fell into some sort of coma before she'd had any chance to make use of him. Ximena would admit, Elaina was a crafty thing. It was why she liked her, to take something so crafty and make it feel dumb. There was an accomplished feeling in it. 

So Ximena rounded her way down the grim hallway, where shuffles and scrapes and muttering voices could be heard behind thick doors. Sometimes screaming, although the screaming was muffled enough not to cause her much issue. Emery's door was near the end of the hall, and Ximena busied herself along the walk by flicking through his wallet. It had fallen into the trunk of her car, likely amongst the tussle, not that she could bother herself in remembering. Emery Dalton, aged twenty-nine, just two years older than herself. An organ donor as well... at least he'd be useful to someone once she was done with him. 

She poked his I.D. back into its little slot in the wallet as she reached the door. Elaina had left the light on for him and she sighed. She'd have to fix that...

The door creaked open, and she spotted him still lying against the floor, looking like he'd fallen in and out of consciousness, smudged red stains trailing along beneath his head. It seemed he'd been squirming about, trying to get up or get out. The poor thing had barely even reached the door. Maybe she'd been a bit rougher than she thought...

"Hey, baby," she grinned, watching his head bob, looking up at her and squinting against the bright light above him, reaching out like she might be an angel cast in the fluorescence of the room.

"He...l... help..." he wheezed, struggling to try and sit himself up, fingers scraping uselessly along the ground as he lumbered up a few inches and then dropped right back into place on his elbows. 

"Shh shh shh..." she soothed, kneeling to cup his cheek in one hand, making him look at her as she peered into his eyes. One pupil was bigger than the other... it seemed like he did, indeed, have a concussion, "Oh, poor baby," she smoothed back his sweat-soaked hair, "Don't worry, I'll help you. Put your arm abouts my shoulder, would ya'?" she instructed, helping him along as he barely moved, limp as a boiled noodle as she draped his long, scrawny arms around her shoulder, "That's it, baby, just like that," she rose, struggling a bit beneath his weight, finding her balance before helping to lug him off down the hallway and into the main entrance of the lavish basement. Elaina stood in the middle of the room, hands crossed neatly over her skirt, eyes partially aimed towards the ground, right where Ximena had left her. Right, she'd say to 'stay-put', she forgot just how literally Elaina had come to take her word.

Ximena certainly wasn't complaining. 

The pale girl perked up once Ximena entered, going back to that eager look of waiting, knowing she'd be asked to do something or other. Well, may as well give the girl what she wanted.

"Come take him for me, will you?" Ximena asked, wobbling him about to emphasize, smiling a bit at the way he so limply complied.

Elaina came forward, though there was a distant fear in her arms, afraid to drop him, "Uhm... How, how should I...?" she hovered about like a confused bumblebee over wax flowers.

"Just take him, doll, it's no science," she practically tossed him onto her and her knees buckled under the weight, letting out a high pitched yelp as she collapsed to the floor with him, pinned beneath his weight.

"Don't go damaging him any more than he is, Lai," Ximena scolded, hands on her hips as she peered down at Elaina.

"Sorry! I'm s-sorry, I'll, I'll get him, I'm sorry...!" she softly rambled her panicked apology, scrambling to get out from beneath him, trying not to seem too pained as she twisted herself oddly to get up quicker, trying to pick him back up.

By some miracle, she managed to drape him over her back, hardly standing so much as squatting when she finally got to her feet with him, clearly shaking under the weight, "Sorry..." she said once more, barely a whisper, strained as she tried to focus on holding him up.

"Come on, then" Ximena continued to hurry her along, making her way towards an opposite hallway, not bothering to slow her pace.

"Uhm..." Elaina staggered forward, "Where... Uhm, which, which room are we...?"

"Bathroom, Lai, you see how dirty he is," Ximena replied in a tone that made Elaina feel rather silly for asking, just as much as it made her wide eyes go wider at the prospect of walking all that way.

"That's... Uhm, I, I don't know if I ca- can, uh..." she stopped when Ximena glanced back at her, the subtleties of her expression making Elaina's blood run cold, "Never- nevermind..." she corrected herself quietly. 

~~~ 

They reached the bathroom, Elaina feeling like her slim legs may just break, almost numb from forcing herself from falling again and fighting against the burning in her calves. She felt her heart jump a bit once they were done, in a good way, setting him down as gently as she good with a rather proud look in her eye, "I did it...!" she whispered to herself, having so truly thought that she wouldn't manage, that she'd sooner pass out than manage to carry this large man. It may not seem the biggest task, but for her, as weak and small as she was, so used to failing, she felt uncharacteristically happy.

"Would you like a gold star?" Ximena mocked as she knelt to run the bathwater, and just as soon as Elaina's emotions had soared, they came crashing back down just as roughly. 

Elaina fell silent, expression falling as she bowed her head and folded her hands again, an empty pit forming in her stomach. 

Ximena tested the water, turning to Elaina and chuckling at her expression, "I'm kidding, doll," she laughed, standing up to pull her into a loose hug, Elaina feeling her wet hands at her back, "Good work."

The new praise rose her spirits a bit, but they'd already been quite thoroughly shattered, "Thank you..."

"Now help me lean this babe against the side, we need to wash that bloodied scalp of his," Ximena was quick to move on, and Elaina followed her lead in propping Emery against the tub. He was still conscious, Elaina noticed, though it didn't seem like that was saying much. The two of them washed him, or more accurately, Elaina washed him while Ximena enjoyed the sight of watered-down bloodstains against Elaina's pale skin, somehow speckling along her bleach white hair and flecked over the ends of her short sleeves. Elaina worked gently to pull small bits of gravel from the gash in the man's head, brow furrowed with sympathy now that she could get a better look at the wound, the way it still bled and didn't seem to want to stop, head bent back over the edge, the ends of his hair kissing the surface of the water, trailing the blood down with it like some morbid water park. 

"What should we name him?" Ximena mused, quite sure he wasn't paying enough attention to hear anything more than running water in his ears.

"Uhm..." Elaina thought carefully as she carded through his hair, cupping up water in her small hands to better wet it. She thought of one answer, but it was an awfully bad one and could get her in a lot of trouble. Even still... she wanted to help him keep his real name, "What, what about... Em-Emery?" she glanced at Ximena, the back to the water, only catching a brief look of her face, unable to tell if there was anything different in her expression. Her heart pounded in her ears and the room stilled and froze around her, cheeks prickling with terrified anticipation, and when Ximena reached forward Elaina flinched, only to melt when she realized Ximena was just brushing some hair back that had begun to dangle in the bathwater. 

Now, Elaina turned to properly look at her. She was smiling, so Elaina smiled back, "... So you did talk to him," Ximena finally replied, and what little color was left in Elaina's face drained away entirely. 

"Wai-!" before she could finish, Ximena had her face shoved beneath the water, holding her there as she struggled weakly against Ximena's grip on her hair, flailing, splashing bloody water across the floors, staining them pink, her white dress soaked in the same color. Her scream muffled and bubbled up about the water, turning to something more waterlogged before the girl struggled harder.

The promptly began to go still, shivering instead of flailing, small bubbles rising before they stopped.

Beneath, Elaina tasted the stale water and the faint metallic taste of blood, water running up her nose, down her lungs, burning her eyes, her throat, her chest, everywhere. She felt her chest tighten as the water went to fill it, that was when her struggling got worse, when she couldn't breathe any longer, and when the burning seemed to spread along with the buzz down her fingertips, and she'd run out of air to exhale, her head felt full of cotton and she slowly stilled, knowing she wouldn't be let up if she struggled, not knowing if she would be let up at all. 

 And finally, just when her vision was beginning to go dark and her lungs felt empty and full all at once, she was yanked back up from the water and tossed across the floor, where she struggled in the puddle of her own flailed water and choked up the red-stained bathwater that had so blocked her from breathing, eyes bugging and blinking out the stinging water in them as she tried to hold herself up and slipped, hitting her elbow rough against the tile and watching as a new, brighter little puddle of red began to blend with the rest. She collapsed there, blurred vision looking towards Ximena, who was finishing in cleaning Emery up as if nothing had happened at all, twirling his damp hair around her finger with a smile.

"I think I'll call you Micah," she sang, and with that, Elaina blacked out. 

[forwhycas]

Oh What a World (part 2)

So this part is wayyyyy longer than the first part, but it super cute and we find out a bit more about Charlie, super fluffy and swearing since who doesn't love a beautiful girl who swears like a trucker! This picture of Joe gives me life (even thought its blurry, if anyone has a better quality version, please send it to me) I hope you enjoy:)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you got home you immediately hung up the clock and put the matching towels out as well. You snapped a picture and sent it to Joe.

 Charlie: Be jealous!

Joey: I’m not, but I’m glad you like it. I have a lot of pictures from today, did you want me to send them?

Charlie: Yes please!

 20 pictures later, and your favorite one was Joe holding you from behind your arms up pretending to be jack and rose from the titanic on the red steps. You zoomed in on somebodies face you noticed in the background, this woman’s face looked so annoyed, you screenshotted it and sent it to Joe.

 Charlie: This woman’s face is how I’m going to feel waking up in the morning, because my shift starts at 8 L

Joey: So call out, I’m sure wherever you work can handle a day without you.

Charlie: Well, I wish they could but I work at a group home, so if their one person down the place kind of runs awkwardly. Which can cause some pretty pissed off kids.

Joey: You work at a group home?

Charlie: Yea it’s part time, and definitely the most interesting job I’ve had. I might see if someone can cover for me though, I can feel myself already struggling to get out of bed tomorrow morning.

 You txt your coworker Emily, reminding her that she owed you.

 Charlie: Remember when I covered your shift that week you went on vacation with your friends?

Emily: Yes, do you need me to cover you this week?

Charlie: Yes please, final exams start next and I’m stressing L

Emily: I got you, I’ll txt Eric to let him know what’s going on.

Charlie: Thank you!

 You sighed with relief, while yes finals were next week, you were fully prepared! You just really haven’t had a day off from work in a long time, and you mine as well use the favor. You smiled at the fact that you could hang out with Joe tomorrow, he was easy to be yourself around and it was refreshing. Your phone vibrated.

 Joey: So?

Charlie: A whole week covered, and this week my classes are online because finals are next week, so basically all I have to do is a bunch of practice quizzes.

Joey: So what are you going to do with your new found freedom?

 You had so many ideas but the first one was to cover the tattoo you had on the side of your arm that had your exes initials. You facetimed Joe. When he picked up he was in bed looking super cozy, you kind of wished you were still with him, laying on his couch.

 “Sorry to interrupt, but I have the best idea! See this tattoo right here?” He nodded. “I want to get this covered up tomorrow.”

 “Who’s initials are those?”

 “My ex’es.”

 “Ah, well then I’m all for that.”

 “Want to come with me?” He yawned and nodded. “Awesome, do you have any tattoos that need covering?” He snorted.

 “I don’t have any tattoos Charlie.” He yawned again.

 “Well I have…” You started to count on your free hand. “10? No 14! Yea 14, catch up! Anyways go to bed grandpa! Meet me at mine for 11, I’m on the 5th floor, my last name is on the door. Do you even know my last name?” He nodded.

 “Everleigh? Right?” You nodded and said goodnight, he waved then hung up. You hopped in the shower and towel dried your hair the best you could before falling asleep. You awoke to pounding on your door. You checked your phone and you had 3 txt’s from Joe.

 Joey: I’m up, and heading over with coffee.

Joey: Warning I’m out of breath and I’ve only walked up two flights of stairs.

Joey: Your still asleep!

 The last txt was 10 minutes ago. You sprung up out of bed, realizing you slept in just underwear you grabbed your bath robe and wrapped it around you. You unlocked the door, and Joe was holding a tray with two coffees, an annoyed look on his face. You smiled, “Morning sunshine!” his face softened when you spoke, he pushed past you, you could feel the coldness radiating off of him.

 “Good morning, glad you got some extra sleep.” He smiled and slumped down onto your couch. Placing the tray of coffee on your end table. You sat down next to him and reached over him to grab one, placing it in his hand and then grabbing the other one.

 “Sorry, I guess I forgot to set an alarm. Thanks for the coffee, do you want something to eat?” You got up and went to your cabinets, you remembered the muffins you bought from the bakery down the block 2 days ago. “I have blueberry muffins!” You turned around to look at him. “I’m trying to cure your morning grumpiness with delicious muffins and you look like you want to kill me, has this friendship already run its course?” He chuckled. “Why are you looking at me like that?” He got up and came over to you.

 “You have a piece of hair sticking up the opposite way…there.” He was so close to you, not moving. “Also yes, I’ll take a muffin please.” You reached up to grab the container and put them on the counter, you got a pan and started to melt some butter on it. Joe was leaning against your counter on his phone.

 “Do you want a whole one, or a half one?”

 “I’ll split one with you, I’m not super into eating this early.” He nodded then went back to his phone. “There’s a really good tattoo shop called village tattoo, it’s by Washington Park. I went there with my friend Sebastian once, they do some good work. What are you getting to cover that up anyways?”

 “I think I’m gonna get some daisy’s and roses, It’ April’s and June’s birth month flower.” You cut the muffin half and through them on the pan, it sizzled slightly. You took a sip of coffee.

 “Who’s birthday is it in April and June?”

 “Well my dad’s birthday was April 17th, and mine is June 16th.” You grabbed some plates and grabbed one half of the muffin handing the plate with the muffin on it to Joe. You grabbed yours as well. “Try it.” You smiled weakly at him. You took a bite and you moaned. “Oh fuck this is good…” Joe took a dramatic bite, and his eyes rolled back into his head. “See it’s delicious! Your welcome for warming it up for you!” You nudged him in the side. “Right while you make love to that muffin I’m gonna get dressed. Make yourself at home.” You winked at him and walked across the living room to your door, you left it slightly open. You went through your closet and found a NYU long sleeve, you contemplated putting on a bra but did so anyways, you then contemplated putting on actual pants, you did that as well. Joe was walking around yourliving room, looking at all the paintings, mostly landscapes, and the family photos of you and your dad.

 “Are you an only child?” Joe yelled.

 “Yup!” You yelled with a mouth full of tooth paste. “You?” You spit it out and rinsed with some mouthwash. You washed your face and moisturized. Joe yelled another question.

 “A brother and a sister! Just you and your dad?”

 You took a deep breath and walked out of your room. “My mom dipped when I was about 10, I don’t remember much of her.” You walked over to your shoe tray and started to tie your nikes. “How far is this tattoo shop? Also is it grossly cold outside?” Joe put his still cold hands on the sides of your face. “Yea it’s grossly cold outside.” You pushed his hands away and wrapped the purple scarf you bought the day before, and the matching gloves. “Wallet!” You went to your cabinet above your fridge, where you always put it. Joe gave you a weird look. “The dead lock on this door sucks so I figure if someone’s going to break in the last place they would look for money is above the fridge.” You shrugged.

 “I have never seen a woman get ready so fast in my life.” You were zipping up your jacket and putting your wallet in your inside breast pocket. “Impressive, really.” You smiled at him and grabbed your coffee from the counter, grabbing your keys from the hook next to the door.

 “Ready?”

 “Yup.”

 Joe convinced you to take the subway for once. You just hated confined spaces. Which you expressed to him, but he told you that you had to get over your fear eventually. You sat so close to him your thighs touched. “Are you for real right now?” You turned your head towards him, not realizing how close you guys really were. You glanced at his lips for a split second. Then darted up to his eyes.

 “Yes, I’m claustrophobic, and I’m not just saying that.” He rolled his eyes and he put his hand out on his thigh, motioning for you to grab it. You hesitated and decided to just rest your head on his shoulder instead. Closing your eyes, taking a deep breath. He ended up grabbing your hand anyways. “Ugh Joe! Why are your hands so sweaty!”

 “Because it’s hot in here, I can’t help it!” He let go of your hand, wiped his hand on your jeans, then grabbed your hand again. “Better?” You snorted and gave him a disgusted look.

 “Yes, now that I have all of these Joe germs on my leg. Much better, thank you.” He rolled his eyes at you and reached in his pocket for his phone, he was scrolling through Instagram, you looked over his shoulder being snoopy. “I forgot to tell you, I started to watch Dear Sidewalk the other night with Dean.” You paused.

 “And?” He stopped scrolling and he looked at you from the side since your head was still on his shoulder.

 “Your very cute as a mailman…” Joe shook his head and continued scrolling.

 “Wait till you get to the end…”

 “I will say it’s odd having an actor as a friend, because while I’m watching Gardner going through all of this lovey dovey shit, all I can think about is you snorting orange juice out of your nose the other day at breakfast…”

 “Just when I thought you forgot…”

 “I wish I got it on video, I’d show it to every news outlet, make so much bank!” You chuckled to yourself, Joe turned towards you fully. “I’m joking!” You rolled your eyes and rested your head back on his shoulder, you grabbed your phone out of your jacket pocket and started to scroll through your Instagram as well.

 “So you do have social media…”

 “You’ve probably been spelling my last name wrong, I don’t know how though since it’s on my apartment door…” You grabbed his phone from his hands and looked up your Instagram account everleigh.charliee93, you followed it for him.

  “Do me a favor and stalk me later though.”

 “Who says I’ll stalk your Instagram?”

 “It’s human nature to be curious, I’m a psych major remember?” The train stopped and your breath hitched, squeezing his hand in the process.

 “Relax, this is our stop anyways.” He got up, putting his phone back in his pocket, his hands still attached to yours. You let it go once when you got back onto the streets, you saw the tattoo shop sign a few minutes later and squealed with excitement! Once inside you took your gloves off and waited at the front desk. A girl came out from the back with bright pink hair and gave you guys a cute smile.

 “What can I do for you guys today?”

 “I’m looking to get some letting covered up with some floral creation.” You stripped off your jacket and put it over Joe’s shoulder, then pulled up your sleeve, she took a look and asked what you were thinking for flowers. You told her your idea and she nodded and went to go get another artist.

 “This is Nick, he loves a good floral piece. Nick this is…”

 “Charlie! Nice to meet you.” You gave him a warm smile and he smiled back. Joe noticed how he wasn’t the only one who was effected by your smile. Nick’s face almost dropped when your face lit up.

 “So what kind of flowers are we talking about?”

 “Roses and daisies, just enough to cover this, not too much.” You motioned to the side of your left forearm.

 “Color?”

 “I think I’ll keep it black and white for now.”

 “Right let me take a few pictures and then size up the area and then I can get you a price range.” After doing so the damage was 200$

 “Yea that sounds about right! Do you have time for it today?”

 “I have the whole afternoon open, give me about 45 minutes to do a few sketches, then we can get going on it! Have a seat and I’ll come grab you when I’m ready. Rider can grab a copy of your ID and have you sign a few things in the mean-time.” You pulled out your wallet and started the process. You finally sat down on their huge couch in their waiting area, putting your legs over Joe’s lap.

 “What do tattoo’s feel like anyways?” Joe asked as he rested his hands on your legs.

 “The only way I can describe it is like a sunburn jabbing into your skin over and over again. Some places hurt a lot, others don’t. It also depends on a person’s pain tolerance, I have a pretty good tolerance for pain, so it doesn’t bother me too much.” You looked back down on your phone, smiling a little as you txted a potential date. “Is a paint and sip a good idea for a date?”

 “I would enjoy that, I have no artistic ability what so ever, but I’m sure someone would enjoy that. Why?”

 “I think I’m gonna ask this guy from my stats class out to do a paint and sip next weekend after finals are over.” Joe appeared great from the outside but in all actuality he was annoyed.

 “Friday or Saturday night?”

 “Ummmm, Friday night.” Joe was actually annoyed now, he had asked you to go out with him and his friend that night.

 “I thought you were coming out with me and my friend that night?” He tried not to outwardly appear pissed.

 “Well the paint and sip is at 6, I’m not meeting you guys till 9, right?” You looked up at him from your phone still smiling giddily.

 “True, but I wanted to pre-game with you!” He frowned like a child.

 “Well, pretend I’m their in spirit, I’ll be pre gaming with wine, so I’ll be showing up slightly buzzed.” You looked back down at your phone, and giggled when he said yes. “Ha, he said yes!”

 “You make it look so easy!” Joe crossed his arms, turning to face you.

 “That’s because it is…” You rolled your eyes, then felt bad for being bratty. “Look if I can casually ask someone out, anyone can! Who are you interested in right now?” You, he thought. He was shocked that he thought that, but then realized it was probably just because you were new in his life, he was fixated on you. He was blushing though.

 “Nobody? Yea no one.”

 “Nobody? Everybody is interested in someone.”

 “I mean, one person, I think?”

 “You think?” He shrugged.

 “Alright Charlie, let’s get you started!” Nick came out and he motioned for you follow him. Joe was relieved he was saved from the conversation going any further. You sprung up and grabbed Joe by the arm. Rider was right Nick enjoyed a good floral tattoo. He came up with 4 solid layouts in just under an hour. You loved all of them but went with the third choice as it flowed better with the shape of your arm. “So who’s initials are these anyways? I love getting a good story from new clients.” He was shaving the peach fuzz away as you got comfy in his chair.

 “My ex-fiance’. Quinten.”

 “Wow, well he fucked up!”

 “Royally.”

 “I see you have some other tattoo’s, but I always like to break a tattoo session in half, give the client a break for a smoke or some food. Where did you get your other tattoos from?”

 “I’m from the cape, so mostly black pearl and coastline. I like to keep it local.”

 “I love the cape actually, I’ve been to black pearl, where’s coastline?”

 “Provincetown, all the way at the tip of Mass.” He put the stencil on and gripped it with his hand.

 “I’ll have to check it out! So about the flowers, just your favorite flowers or?”

 “Oh, well my dad passed about 6 years now, and his birth month flower are daisies, and mine are roses, so I figured I’d cover up this assholes initials with something meaningful.” You shrugged. Joe didn’t know this but had a hunch since there weren’t many recent pictures of you with your dad back at your apartment.

 “Well I’m sure he would love it, my dad passed away a while back as well. Fuck cancer.” Nick frowned.

 “I’m so sorry, your right fuck cancer!”

 “How did your dad pass, if you don’t mind me asking?” There was always something about opening up to a tattoo artist, they made it so easy, they were like your therapist.

 “Early on set dementia. Very early…” You frowned but gave him a faint smile.

 “Oh god, I’m so sorry. Fuck Dementia!” You chuckled.

 “Fuck dementia!” You responded and looked over at Joe, who looked like his whole world had crashed and burned. He was thinking about you being sad and it made his heart sink. He just wanted to wrap you in his arms and tell you how sorry he was. But instead he said ‘fuck dementia’.

 “Alright darlin, gonna start off with some outlines, then we’ll break and do some shading! Sound good.” Nick questioned.

 “Yes sir!” After an hour of outlining and he got to one spot where it just felt like shit, your free hand grabbed Joe’s thigh, you bit your lip. “Wow that’s a tender spot.” Joe was brought out of his day dreaming session when your hand collided with his thigh. He was a year into your Instagram, you were right stalking someone else’s social media was just human nature. His free hand grabbed yours and he gave it a squeeze and a reassuring smile as he continued scrolling, he hit the post where you posted about your engagement. He didn’t even realize you had started to talk to him. “Earth to Joe?”

 “I’m sorry what?” He looked up from his phone fast.

 “I said you should get me some McDonald’s when Nick here is done with the outline. Pretty please.” You gave him the cutest smile ever, squinting your eyes together.

 “Well I can’t say no to that face, you’re lucky your cute when you do that.”

 “Oh my god, was that a compliment? Did I hear cute come out of that mouth?”

 “Yes, it was, don’t get used to it. What do you want?”

 “Everything off of the menu! Just kidding, I have to be stoned for that. Maybe just some McChickens and a large fry.” Joe was learning so much about you today.

 “Right, well I’m make sure not to go on a McDick’s run for you when your stoned then.” Nick was finished and wrapped your arm up. You stretched and let out a squeal, then yawned. Another thing to add to the list of cute things you do, he thought. You gave him your card, and he fought with you about how it was just McDonalds. “Well maybe Nick want’s something?”

 “I could go for a happy meal, mostly for the toy, my daughter loves those!”

 “See Nick’s kid wants a cute toy, take the plastic square!” You waved it in front of his face, he was un-amused. “Do it for the kid Joe, unless you hate kids!”

 “Definitely don’t hate kids, kids are great.” He zipped up his jacket, and left. Nick already had a cigarette between his lips and was gearing up to go out to have a smoke. It’s been months since you had one and just looking at it you already knew you were gonna ask to bum one off of him.

 “Nick can I trouble you for one of those bad boys?” he nodded and handed you one.

 “Didn’t think you would be the type, but yea kid here ya go.” You got your jacket on and headed outside with him, you sat on the bench that was right outside of the shops window, and sat down with him, he lit it for you and you guys got to talking about each-others dads and laughing about funny times you’ve had with them. Joe was walking back towards you and he crinkled his nose when he saw you take a drag. Not cute when you smoked, but it was somehow hot when you did. He was annoyed with himself for thinking that you looked hot when you did that and he finally approached you guys. 4 bags in one hand.

 “Alright so we got not one but two happy meals, because kids are great,” he glared at you “four McChikens, 3 large fries and a big mac.” He was staring at your lips as they curved around the cig and then blew out the smoke.

 “Thanks Joe!”

 “Thanks man! I can’t wait to see what toys these things have.” Nick put out his cig and you did to and you guys all chowed down before going back inside again. The shading seemed to go by faster and before you knew it, it was done. You got up to look at it in the mirror, you could cry, it was so pretty. You just nodded your head and hugged Nick. He blushed when you did so, catching him off guard with such a personal gesture. He took a few pictures and Joe took some for you on your phone.

 “Alright 150$.”

 “You said 200 before?”

 “Yes but your cool and sat so nicely for me, also your friend here got me some food. So 150$.”

You pulled out your card and paid and then slid him a 20$. He thanked you and you and Joe said goodbye to him and Rider.

 “So what now? It’s almost 4…”

 “I don’t know about you but I really could for a good nap.” You shoved your hands in your jacket pockets.

 “I’m always ready for a nap.” Joe smiled at you. You convinced him again to walk since you had enough of the subway. “If were gonna walk can we nap at my place, it’s closer and my legs hurt from walking yesterday.” You nodded and 20 minutes later you were in his kitchen cracking open a beer, annoyed that he was still deciding what to watch.

 “Joe! You’ve been searching for something for ages, just pick something, I’m really not picky, I’ll watch anything.” He ignored you and he kept searching. “Family guy?” he nodded. “Finally!” You yelled from the kitchen. He was laying on the couch. And you couldn’t help it, you snuggled up next to him, he didn’t mind at all. “This is fine right? Because I wanted to lay down first but your long ass legs took my spot first…” he rolled his eyes at you.

 “When you fall asleep don’t drool, this is a new sweater.” You rolled your eyes this time. Family guy was playing in the background and you closed your eyes. Between Joe’s laughing and the rising and falling of his chest you passed out quick. When you woke up Joe was wrapped around you, one of his arms draped over your waist, the other wrapped around your shoulder, your head resting on his bicep. He smelled delicious, his sweater heating you up, his bicep soft and comforting on the side of your face. You could stay like this forever, you shut your eyes again and tried to fall back asleep.

 When Joe awoke he realized he completely attached himself to you, but you looked so warm and cozy to him, one of your arms was underneath the pillow his head rested under and the other over his chest clutching at his sweater, he stretched his free arm and watched as you shivered so he grabbed the blanket that was draped over the side of his couch, he gingerly moved a piece of hair away from your face and watched you snuggled back into his arm, he could feel your soft breaths tickle it. He wrapped his arm back around your waist and fell back asleep.

 You awoke to the smell of coffee and something greasy. You had the blanket still wrapped around you and it smelled like Joe, you smiled and got up to stretch. “So did I drool on you?” Joe jumped a little as you entered his kitchen.

 “Nope! Much appreciated.” Joe was in sweatpants and a hoodie, which reminded you of the sweatpants you bought the other day.

 “MY SWEATPANTS!” You ran to the bathroom and put them on, along with washing your tattoo and finding some lotion on the top shelf of his medicine cabinet. You walked out and smiled while hopping up onto his counter. “I feel so much better, sleeping in those jeans was the worst! Also falling asleep in a bra is disgustingly annoying as well.”

 “Is that what was digging into my rib cage all night?”

 “You think it was digging into your rib cage all night! I have marks from the underwire!”

 “Well I’m making pancakes, so hopefully that’ll cheer you up.”

 “I fucking love pancakes! My dad always used to put m&m’s in them for me!” You smiled at him.

 “Sadly I don’t have any, but I’ll make a mental note for next time.” After breakfast you continued to watch some more family guy, before you started to get ready to leave.

 “Alright I guess I should head out, I’m already pre stressing for finals next week, make sure to txt me every once and a while to make sure I’m alive.” He chuckled.

 “I don’t miss college, but I will try to remember to shoot you a ‘are you still breathing’ txt.”

 “You’re the best! Alright wish me luck I’m gonna take the subway.”

 “Wow, all on your own! They grow up so fast!” He wiped away a fake tear.

 “Shut up!” You gave him a quick hug and you were on your way home. Subway wasn’t too bad, although you missed your stop twice, so it took you an extra 30 minutes to get home.

 Charlie: Finally home, I missed my stop twice! But I did it! Also I’ve finally taken off my bra and my boobs feel ten times happier!

Joey: So proud, glad your boobs aren’t angry anymore.

 You chuckled and took a long shower, right when you got out someone was knocking on your door. It was either Dean or your neighbor asking for something. Dean lived on the third floor and always came knocking for something. And your instincts were right, an out of breath Dean in half drag was standing there, hands on his knees.

 “I need to borrow some hair spray and hair gel to lay these edges, help!” You pulled him by the arm and sat him down on your toilet as you helped him style his edges.

 “Where have you been! I’ve been txting you for like 2 days and nothing!” He was using your mascara and a few other of your scarce beauty supplies.

 “Oh I was with Joe! He took me on a tour of the city on Friday and then yesterday we went to get a tattoo, I just got home a few hours actually.” Dean smirked at you. “What!”

 “You like him! You were with him for two days straight? Don’t answer me, or anybody in the group chat. You totally like him!”

 “I do not! He’s just a new friend and he helps me navigate the city, still a newby remember!”

 “Have you slept with him?”

 “What! No! Don’t get any craze ideas either, nothing is going on between us.” He was still giving you that same look. “Stop it! Finish up or you’ll be late!”

 “Charlie if you haven’t noticed, you have an effect on guys. You bat those long eye lashes of yours or give that cute cheesin smile and they are hooked.” You looked at him baffled.

 “I don’t know what youre talking about.” You crossed your arms over your chest.

 “Your fucking gorgeous and you don’t realize it, it’s a tragedy.” He was shaking his head and gave you a kiss on the cheek before he put your makeup bag away and started off for the front door. “Joe is gonna fall in love with you I can already tell…” he pulled you in for a hug. “Don’t forget to txt me tomorrow around 3 so we can take that online practice quiz together!” You nodded as he started to gingerly walk down the stairs in his glittery red go-go boots.

 “Please be careful in those shoes! Have fun tonight!”

 “You know it girl! Dinner is on me tomorrow night!” You chuckled and closed and locked your door again. Doing your nightly routine, and finally passing out around 3am, shortly after Dean sent you a ‘I’m alive and home safe’ txt. When you woke up it was 1pm, and you were scrolling through Instagram. You decided to post the picture of your new tattoo, ‘daisies and roses and permanent ink, oh my!’. You finally got out of bed a half hour later and txted Dean to make sure he would be up in time to take the practice quiz in time with you.

 Charlie: Your bitch ass better be up! T-1 hour till practice quiz.

Queen Dean: My bitch ass is up and doing a facial, counting my cash, I’m thinking Chinese food for dinner?

Charlie: I’ve been eating like shit lately so I mine as well keep the trend going!

Queen Dean: That’s my girl! Order it now by the time it get’s here I’ll be over, make sure to get extra egg rolls!

Charlie: Of course!

 Dean came barreling in 20 minutes later, green face mask on and everything.

 “I brought a sheet mask for you, and some undereye treatment, because those under eye circles are DARK! Don’t worry this will help though chica!” You chuckled at him and shuffled over on your couch.

 “I lit some candles, put your fave musical on and I have tissues just in case we cry, I think were set for this practice quiz.”

 “Your like my mom, stop it! But thank you, you know I have that test anxiety, I wish I could take all of my exams with you, you definitely know how to calm down a hysterical gay man.” He kissed your cheek, and set up his computer on your coffee table, your phone buzzed.

 Joey: good luck on your practice exam!

 You smiled and put your phone down. Dean of course picking up on your classic wide eyed smile. “Are you sure you don’t like him just a little bit?” He cocked his head to the side.

 “Dean I’m sure, he’s just wishing me luck on my practice exam, simple gesture, calm down.” Just then someone started to knock on your door. “FOOD!” Dean laughed at your excitement and got up to pay, all singles. “I see you had a goodnight.”

 “I’m convinced it’s because of the new fishnets you bought me, so thank you, now please shove these crab ragoons into your stomach, I can hear it yelling at me from here.” He placed all the food out on your coffee table and you two counted down the minutes till the exam. It took you an hour and a half out of the 2 it gave you. After demolishing all the food you were exhausted. Dean was already asleep in your bed but you were wired, and also too full to function. You decided to txt Joe.

 Charlie: While Dean is passed out after that hour and half torture, I’m over here in a food coma ready to do 5 more exams, any tips to tire me out?

Joey: Tea? A nice run? Sex?

 You snorted when you read that last one.

 Charlie: I do have tea, I’m in no shape to run, and sex? Well, I have no one to really do that with at the moment, sadly.

Joey: Well what about Dean?

Charlie: Dean is very much gay.

Joey: Did not know that. Well what about tinder? Isn’t that what every young person uses these days?

Charlie: Joe you do realize you are also young, right?

Joey: Well yes, but 33 years old’s on tinder is weird, for you though it’ll be easy.

Charlie: Maybe I should call up Bradley from my stats class, I mean I was gonna wait till the paint and sip to try to get some action, but…

Joey: You’re going to fuck a guy named Brad?

Charlie: BRADLEY! Also sex is sex, who cares what the person’s name is, you’re the one who suggested it!

Joey: I mean you’re right.

Charlie: Alright I’m done talking sex with you, I think I’m just gonna stick with tea for now, Bradley can wait till Friday!

 After a week of practice quizzes and a lot of fast food courtesy of Dean, you had come down with a nasty cold, probably due to stress, just in time for actual finals. You had to not only cancel your date but also going out with Joe and his friend.

 Charlie: I have a cold, I just had to cancel on Bradley:(

Joey: Well there goes your opportunity to get laid! Are you cancelling on me and Chase as well?

Charlie: If I didn’t have finals next week, I would push myself to go out, but I can’t. I’m sorry Joe L

Joey: Hey it’s ok, I think I might just cancel on him and reschedule to when you’re feeling better, I saw him last night anyways.

Charlie: I was looking forward to getting properly fuck up with you and him, but yea it’s gonna have to wait till next year.

Joey: Next year?

Charlie: Yea after finals, I’m out of here and I’ll be home for 2 weeks. Which reminds me, I got you a gift!

Joey: Oh did you?

Charlie: Nothing big, just a little something.

Joey: Well now I have to go get you something epic.

Charlie: You really don’t need to, I just saw it and I was like ‘Joe would like this’ so I got it.

Joey: Yea I’m gonna get you something now.

Charlie: I wanna see you before I leave though, maybe a movie night?

Joey: Sounds good to me, when were you thinking?

Charlie: Well I’m taking all my finals on Tuesday and Wednesday, so Thursday?

Joey: Sounds good, I’ll see you then.

Charlie: Remember to check up on me to see if I’m still alive, because I’m gonna need all the luck I can get!

Joey: Don’t be so dramatic, but I promise I will.

 You laughed, as you made your way to your kitchen to make some tea. After a long couple of days and a lot of cold medicine by Wednesday your cold was almost gone, just in time for your stats exam, the one you were nervous for the most.

 Charlie: I’m about to take my stats of psych exam, if I don’t txt you by at least 7, I’m dead on the floor.

Joey: lol, you’ll do just fine.

 You chugged some water and took a caffeine pill to keep you alert. 3 hours later you were half asleep on your couch and your phone chimed.

 Joey: It’s 7, are you dead?

Charlie: Nope, but I feel it, I’m actually tired and ready to fall asleep at a normal time, this is odd.

Joey: Go to bed then, I’ll see you tomorrow night. My place or yours?

Charlie: Mine, I don’t want to leave this apartment till I have to drive home Friday night.

Joey: Alright, so I’ll see you tomorrow night around 7. Also why did you drive into the city, it’s going to be a nightmare for you to get out of here with all the tourists!

Charlie: Yea 7 is good, also I didn’t feel like shipping all of my stuff from Mass to here, so I stuffed my car with all of my shit, and I’m an aggressive driver so it’ll be fine. I’m gonna drink some tea and pass the fuck out, see you tomorrow night Joey!

Joey: Ugh. Stop with Joey, goodnight Charlie.

 It was 1 in the afternoon when you awoke, you checked your phone and there were 5 txts from Dean.

 Queen Dean: Charlie, I need to borrow those sequined tights you have.

Queen Dean: Is your bitch ass still asleep?

Queen Dean: It’s noon, you never sleep this late, have exams really killed you?

Queen Dean: I miss you!

Queen Dean: Come out with me and the gang tonight!

 You smiled, and finally opened your eyes enough to txt him back.

 Charlie: Me and Joe are doing a movie night, so I can’t, when I get back though I promise I’ll go out with everyone.

Queen Dean: Ughhhhhhhh, I’m coming down for those tights, so put clothes on.

 You groaned and wrapped your robe around you, you unlocked the door for him and made your way to the kitchen to start making some food. Dean came in a few minutes later with a plate of pancakes and bacon. You moaned when he sat them down in front of you.

 “Ed just woke up too, so he made a plate for you. Where’s those tights!” You shoved some food in your mouth and got up to go to your dresser pulling them out for him.

 “Please don’t rip them, I haven’t worn them yet!” Dean was about the same build as you, just much taller. So he borrowed a lot of your basic essential wardrobe.

 “I promise! Enjoy that food, I gotta do a dry run of my outfit for tonight. Speaking of tonight, you and Joe?” He wiggled his eye brows.

 “Me and Joe hang out all the time just us two. Although last time I did fall asleep on him…” You thought back to his arms wrapped around you and you started to blush.

 “Oh my god! You did not tell me about this, how was that? He does have some nice arms.”

 “Well I told you about how he took me to that tattoo shop, after that we went back to his and watched some family guy and I fell asleep on top of him and when I woke up I was gonna skip out but his arms were around me so I stayed. And your right his arms are quite nice…”

 “Oh my god you do like him!”

 “Nope, but he’s nice looking I’m not gonna deny that.”

 “Would you sleep with him?”

 “Jesus Dean!”

 “I bet you he’s lar…”

 “I really don’t want to think about Joe’s dick! He’s my friend, just like you’re my friend, nothing more!”

 “Well that’s too bad you would look cute next to him, sure he’s a little bit older but you two would be cute together!”

 “I’m not really looking to be in a relationship with anybody for a while, last one really fucked me up.”

 “Well don’t date him then, just fuck and be friends.” Dean shrugged.

 “Not really into casual sex these days.”

 “Ugh! Your lame sometimes, I’m gonna leave you to eat your food, have fun with Joe, tell him I said hi!” He left with your tights and you devoured the pancakes. You ended up falling asleep again, and woke up around 6:30. You checked your phone, and you had a txt from Joe.

 Joey: Heading over now, I picked up some snacks.

 Shit! You hopped in the shower and just as you were getting out you heard a knock on your door. You quickly wrapped a towel around your head and secured your robe around your body. You opened the door and Joe looked so cozy in his sweatpants and Yankees hoodie.

 “Sorry I fell asleep again, but I’m up!” You moved aside so he could come in. Joe tried his hardest not to eye you up and down, since your robe was way too short. “Make yourself at home, I’m gonna put some clothes on.” You closed the door behind him and made your way back to your bathroom. You got on your usual attire and tied up your hair in a bun.

 “I got skittles, pop-corn, chocolate covered almonds, and m&m’s!” Joe yelled from your living room. You smiled as you rubbed your moisturizer into your face. You came out and plopped onto your couch next to him.

 “You know I’ve gained a whole 7 pounds since I started to hang out with you.” You said as you grabbed the bag of m&m’s.

 “Hey I just like good food, you’re the one who always eats whatever I get.” He stuck his hand in the bag and devoured whole hand full of m&m’s.

 “So I’m thinking Wizard of Oz, it’s my favorite, but I will cry when Dorothy says goodbye to everyone in Oz, so fair warning on that.” You grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and through it over you and Joe.

 “I mean that is a very sad part, I’ll probably cry as well.” You turned the t.v on and started the movie up, you couldn’t help but sing along with Judy Garland as she sang somewhere over the rainbow. Jo stared at you in disbelief, he didn’t know you could sing. Another thing to add to the list of cute things he thought. “Oh wow.” He was looking at you.

 “What, I can’t not sing along.” You shrugged.

 “Yea but you can sing, like good! Is there anything you can’t do?”

 “Run, I cannot run to save my life.” You laughed.

 “Ha! I can run, so I have one thing over you, that and my height!” He had a smug look on his face.

 “Well congrats on being a giraffe.” You rolled your eyes and grabbed the bag of kettle corn, and through some pieces of it at his head. “Don’t you dare throw any at my hair, it’ll get lost!”

 “So you can throw food at me but I can’t throw food at you? That seems very unfair.”

 “Life’s unfair!” You shoved some of it in your mouth and then snuggled up next to him. He welcomed you with open arms. As the movie went on and it got to when Dorothy was saying goodbye to everyone in Oz, you tried your hardest not to cry, but the tears poured out. You looked up at Joe to see if he was crying as well, he wasn’t but he did look super sad, he caught you staring and you smiled at him as tears ran down your face.

 “Jesus Charlie you weren’t kidding.” His free hand reached for the side of your face and wiped them away, his hand lingered just a little bit too long and you began to blush at the contact, it was sweet and you almost melted into his touch. When his hand moved away you turned to look at the tv again. “Any other movies that make you cry?”

“Marley and Me, Pride and Prejudice, Titanic, The Persuit of Happyness, My Girl, Awkenings, The Green Mile, ummmmm oh and Finding Neverland!” You looked up at him, eyes still glossy.

 “Right well, let’s not ever watch any of those! Although those are all great movies, don’t feel like seeing you cry anymore.” You got up from leaning into his side and reached for the remote.

 “Here, you pick something.” You handed him the remote then assumed your position next to him.

 “Your like a cat, you know that?” He motioned to the way you were curled up next to him.

 “You should see me when I go home to my dog, he get’s annoyed so fast when I make him sleep in my bed and I’m all up in his personal bubble.”

 “What kind of dog?”

 “Jacks a Chocolate lab, he’s 4, and he is the absolute love of my life, I’m so excited to go home to see him.” Joe looked down at you and you had that wide smile on your face, the one you make when you talk about something that makes your extremely happy.

 “Who takes care of him when your gone?”

 “My Aunt Sherry, she lives a town over, which means when I pick him up he’s going to be even more excited to see me because I’m taking him on a car ride, and those are his favorite!” Joe was in awe of how happy you were right now, and his heart was racing just imagining how cute you would look sleeping in bed with your dog next to you. “If I remember I’ll facetime you when I get home Friday night so you can see how fucking crazy he get’s when he’s in my car.” Joe nodded at you and finally decided on Dunkirk. “Oh this is the one with Harry Styles in it! He’s so pretty, I’m pumped now.”

 “Harry Styles?”

 “Yea he was in one direction? You know that song what makes you beautiful?” He looked down at you with his eye brows furrowed. “Ugh I keep forgetting your older than me, hold please.” You reached for your phone and looked up all the members for him. “This ringing a bell?”

 “They’re all English right?”

 “Yup! And Harry was always my favorite, so I am pumped! Even though it’s a sad movie I’m ready to see this man’s perfect face.” A few minutes in and their he was. “Ahhhhhh look at him, that’s my man!”

 “So your into older English men?”

“Well fist of all, I’m the same age as him and second of all I don’t have a type. But you’re going to look at me in the eyes and tell me he’s not an attractive person?” He looked at the screen again and paused it.

 “I mean he’s not ugly.” He shrugged.

 “You should here him sing, he’s a fucking angel!” Joe pushed play and the movie continued. You ended up falling asleep an hour in, per usual. Joe nudged you and you buried your face further into his side.

 “Well hello, you were so excited to see Harry that you fell asleep and missed the ending.”

 “He didn’t die did he?” You yawned and slowly sat up straight.

 “No, you missed so many good parts though, promise me you’ll re-watch it when you get home.”

 “Promise.” You yawned again and stretched your arms up, Joe got up and headed for your door, he started to tie his shoes, you gathered all the leftover snacks for him.

 “No keep them, eat them on your way home tomorrow, think of it as a filler Christmas gift, because I’m still figuring out what to get you.” You wrapped your arms around him going on your tippy toes, he wrapped his arms loosely around your waist and buried his face into your neck. You pulled away slightly, your arms loosening their grip, however his arms were pulling you closer. You could hear your heart pounding through your ears, he glanced at your lips and you found yourself moving closer to his. His breath fanned onto your lips and you closed your eyes, you’d suddenly forgotten how to breathe.

 “Charlie!” your eyes snapped open and both you and Joe jumped away from each other. You leaned your head out of your doorway to see a drunk Dean staggering towards you. “Shit was I interrupting something?”

 “No!” You and Joe stated at the same time. “Um no, were just saying goodbye.” You smiled shyly at Joe. Dean was clearly drunk.

 “Hey Dean! Fun night?” Joe was blushing and thank god Dean was too drunk to pick up on anything.

 “Yea! You guys should have been their!” Dean smiled at Joe and you.

 “Well next time I’ll gladly go out with you guys. Promise…I’m gonna head out, you guys enjoy your winter break! Bye Charlie.” He gave you both a small wave and you watched him head down the stairs. You let out a sigh, and turned your attention to Dean, you helped him to his apartment and then went to bed thinking about Joe.

[h-o-l-l-i]

Love Never Hurt So Bad

Dean Winchester X Reader

Word Count: 1.5K

Warnings: language

Author’s Note: Requests are open again! This is going to be a new SERIES! Please give me some feedback so I can get better as a writer!

Requested by the amazing, brilliant, talented @coffee-obsessed-writer (Ooo I have a request! Its honestly been a really rough week (Chuck help me its only Wednesday) but I could use some fun, flirty, (smutty if you're up for it, no worries if you aren't), Dean Winchester maybe with the song "I Hate Myself for Loving You" by Joan Jett? Long, short, drabble, series lol, whatever you are feeling, darlin'! xoxo)

tag list: @coffee-obsessed-writer // @roonyxx // @mrsjaxtellerfan

want to be added to a tag list? Let me know!

Part 1

You slumped down in the ripped, red high barstool and placed your elbows down on the bar-top with a thud. The bartender placed a clean glass in front of you, “Long day?” He raised an eyebrow to you, tipping the bottle of Jack Daniels. You gazed up to him through your long, thick eyelashes and let out a half chuckle in response. “So, what’s a beautiful lady like you doin’ in my bar, in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere at,” his deep brown eyes darted over to the clock that hung crookedly on the wooden wall above the entrance of the bar, “going on 4 am?” His attention turned back to you as he leaned his body casually on the bar near you.

“Work.” You stated simply, setting the small glass back down.

“You a cop or somethin’?”

“Yeah. Something like that.” He opened his mouth again to speak again but you interrupted him sharply, “I appreciate your interest chief but—” The jingle sounded to alert someone else had entered the empty bar. Your heart fluttered with happiness that you would be going home with Dean Winchester instead of this wart of a man, bartender.

“Two beers.” He held out his bruised fingers and then ran his hand through his growing hair, ruffing it around some. Your heart skipped a beat with the look he gave you, his hair slightly messy; making you melt deeper into the old chair you sat in.

“You got it.” The bartender smirked then looked into your blue eyes before nodding in realization before fetching your drinks.

***

“You okay?” Dean sipped from the bottle, staring straight ahead.

You took a moment, gathering your thoughts, nodding, your voice soft and subtle, “Yeah. What about you?”

His head gently swung to your direction, his eyes full of pain and hurt, tears beginning to burn at the corner of his eyes, “Yeah.” His lips pursed together, his dimples gracing his perfect face. He cleared his throat and slid from the chair, reaching into his wallet and laying a couple bills down, “You ready, Y/N?”

You twisted your body to your left and your feet met the ground, bits of dried mud releasing itself onto the sticky floor, marking your territory. You grabbed Dean’s hand in your, squeezing it gently.

***

“You should sleep, Y/N. It’s been three days since—” Dean started.

“You haven’t slept either so don’t even try any of that, Winchester!” You snarled, punching his shoulder playfully, his teeth glistening in the passing street lights.

“All right, we can find someplace and get a couple rooms for the night.”

“A couple rooms?” You raised your eyebrows, “Dean, we barely had money to cover those two beers.” You scoffed, “Get out of here with ‘two rooms’” you mocked, making him laugh silently.

“You want to share a room with me?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Don’t get your hopes up.” You winked at him.

***

The impala rolled to a stop, the neon light flickering, casting a red hue through the windshield. “I’ll get the room, you can grab what you need from the trunk.” Dean’s exhausted voice commanded. You nodded in response, yawning.

***

“Room for two.” Dean raised his eyebrows and closing his eyes, wiggling his head hoping to shake his sleepiness.

The manager turned at the sound of Dean’s groggy, rough voice, “You’re in luck, friend. Got one room left.” He paused, handing Dean the key, his eye catching your figure leaning against baby, “You’re a lucky man.” He pointed to the window, Dean’s emerald eyes followed his finger.

He chucked, rubbing the back of his head with his rough hand, raising his eye brows, “Yeah, I am. She’s amazing and I don’t deserve her.” He sighed, “I just hope she doesn’t wise up and realize she’s too good for me.” He laughed awkwardly before nodding and bowing out of the small motel office.

***

He walked briskly over to you, dangling the keys from his finger, “Room 18.”

“Awesome!” You exclaimed with the small amount of energy that you still had. “I cannot wait to take a nice hot shower and go to bed!” you slumped your shoulders as you walked side by side with the older Winchester. “Oh!” You raised your voice causing him to go into save the world mode, “maybe I can get five hours sleep instead of the usual four!” You laughed, “What?” You smile faded seeing Dean’s guard fully raised.

“You scared me, Y/N.”

Your jaw dropped open slightly, “I. Y/F/N. Y/L/N. Scared Dean Winchester. The. Dean Winchester?”

“Shut up! I wasn’t even scared.” He scoffed, pursing his lips and shaking his head, you laughed back at him, “Whatever…” he finished.

“You and Sam always pranked me, consider it payback from all of the years on the road as kids.” Your hand accidentally brushed against his as you walked up the steel staircase. Your heart skipped a beat and your breath caught in your throat when his piercing eyes caught yours.

His lips curled up slightly, his cheeks blushing a little bit, his voice so softly said, “Sorry.”

For a moment, all time had stopped and it was only the two of you in the whole entire world; no monsters, no armageddon, nothing; just you and Dean. 

You never thought that you would find love, not in your line of work anyway… You knew Dean since you were kids, your father hunted with John, so you were dumped at Bobby’s along with the Winchester brothers. As time rolled on, people died, your father never came home from a hunt one night, so you called John.

He came and picked you up, he had no idea what to do with you so he took you in; and everyday after that you fell more and more in love with Dean Winchester.

“You can take a shower, I’m going to go get some food, the usual?” He asked you.

“Sounds good Winchester.” You said closing the bathroom door.

Your guard went up instantly at the sound of a lamp crashing to the floor followed by shuffling, you kept the shower running but got out, wrapping the rough motel towel around your body. You leaned down the the heap of clothes that lay on the floor where you stripped, you found your knife that you always had on you, it was your father’s…

You readied yourself and slowly and very quietly cracked the door open, your heart thumping up into your throat, your eyes welled with tears and you closed the thin door again; sliding your back down until you were seated on the tile floor, tears running down your cheeks.

You sat there for almost thirty minutes before there was a knock at the door causing you to jump and wipe your eyes.

“You okay in there?” Dean’s voice boomed.

“Yeah. Um.” You stood up, furrowing your eyebrows and reached a shaky hand to turn off the shower, “I’ll be out in a second.”

A minute later you opened the door, your wet hair making small rivers running down your shoulders. Dean’s attention went from his greasy burger to the woman who stood half naked in front of him. “I forgot to bring my bag in there with me…” you muttered, your voice shaking from anger and pain in your chest.

He nodded and tried his hardest not to give in and let his eyes wander your body. “Your, uh, food is over there.” He pointed from the bed, his words almost inaudible from the amount of food that was shoved in his mouth.

“I’m actually not that hungry. It cool if I take the Impala?” You asked digging though your bag, gathering your clothes instead of your nightwear.

“Where are you going?” He asked you, his voice thick with concern, “You okay, Y/N?” He inquired, swinging his legs around, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You lied. He took notice but he knew better than to pry, he knew you so well in some respects but in others he was a complete stranger to you.

He nodded, wiping his hands on a napkin then bringing it to his lips, “Okay. Just, call me if you need anything. Okay, Y/N.” He came over to give you his keys, his hand lingered on yours for an extra moment, “Be safe.”

You remained silent but nodded your head once, tightening your jaw, your hand squeezing the cold metal keys. You were startled by the manager who was getting ready to knock on your door, you stopped your fist seeing the fresh towels he was clutching, realizing he wasn’t a threat you slid out around him and briskly descended the staircase, jogging over to he impala.

“Oh, boy. Maybe she did wise up…” the motel manager stated, his bushy eyebrows raised, his eyes following the sound of the impala leaving the lot. 

“What?” Dean asked him curiously.

“Whatever you did, you’re in the dog house with that one.” He warned, pushing the towels into Dean’s strong arms and turning on his heel. Leaving Dean there alone in the empty room, without you.

[petri808]

Doodles

@fic-writer-appreciation  Day 19 & 20 Cuddling & Infatuation

NaLu AU story

It’s lunch time at Magnolia high where most of the students assemble in the cafeteria.  Lucy is hanging out with her friend Levy waiting for the rest of the group to show up and as they wait, the blonde scribbles in her notebook…

Levy taps her friends shoulder, “So, are you ever gonna tell him how you really feel?”

“But look at him,” Lucy glances over at the high school quarterback currently surrounded by the cheerleading squad.  “Mr. Popular over there, I can’t compete with those girls.”  

“What are you talking about, you guys are already close.”

“Yeah, but he’s also never asked me out,” sigh, “he probably just sees me like a sister.”  

“You don’t cuddle with your sister.”

The blonde blushes, “How do you know we’ve done that?”

Levy giggles, “Gray told me, cause Natsu told him.”

“W-well it was a fluke, he got drunk after the homecoming game, I just helped him home, and sat with him till he fell asleep on his couch, that’s all.”

“Yeah, Lu, I was at that party remember, he was drunk, the head cheerleader was trying to get him to go home with her, but he ignored her and staggered over to you instead...”

“B-because he’s comfortable with me Levy, he knows I’ll just take care of him.”

“…and according to Gray, Natsu said he had you snuggled in his lap, his face all up in your hair cause he likes your scent.”  Sigh, “Lucy you should just try and flirt with him, see what he does cause I think he might like you.”

Lucy flashes back to that night, apparently Natsu forgot or left out the part of his hand glued to her thigh and the sloppy kisses he was trying to place on her neck.  But the next morning he had acted like nothing happened and she broken heartedly chalked it up to the booze.  

She shakes her head more to erase the images than emphasize her resolve, “No thank you, he could’a just been doing that cause he was drunk and I’d rather not ruin our friendship if he doesn’t feel the same way…”

A couple weeks later on a Saturday afternoon, Natsu drops by Lucy’s house for their study date.  English has been giving him trouble and the young girl offered to help him study for the upcoming test.  Virgo, the maid lets him in saying Lucy should be in her room and to just go on up since he knows the way.  

When he reaches her bedroom, he notices the door is slightly ajar and peeks in slowly; Lucy’s asleep.  As the jokester that he is, he creeps in with plans to scare her, how dare she take a nap when she’s supposed to be ready to tutor him!  

But when he walks by her desk he sees her note book open and something catches his eye.  Scribbles along the margins, nothing out of the ordinary for a teenager, a couple stick figures, random squiggly lines or other doodles, and then a heart around two initials ‘L & N’.  

‘Who the hell does ‘N’ stand for?’  Surely, it’s not him, right?  Lucy’s never behaved like she had a crush on him, even after homecoming and the brief make-out session, she acted like nothing happened, so he thought maybe it really didn’t happen and it had been an alcohol induced dream.  

So, who else could it be?  

A small wave of anger erupts at just the idea she’d end up with another guy that’s not him.  His head tips up slightly as he runs names through his head, with plans to tell that person off, anyone he can think of that she might know, yet curiously no one with a name that starts with an ‘N’ comes to mind.  

That starts to relax him a little, ‘maybe it’s a character from an anime or something…’  But now his curiosity or maybe ego demands he keeps looking.  Turning through the pages he finds more.  More hearts and initials in different sizes, colors, sometimes in capitals others lowercase, ‘Gah!  What is this guy’s name?!’

Finally, at almost the last pages he hits pay dirt.  There it is, the confirmation he had been secretly hoping to find, ‘Lucy & Natsu’, ‘Lucy loves Natsu’.  His pulse quickens with excitement, not only did his crush like him too but she’s fantasizing about the future!  ‘Lucy Dragneel’, ‘Lucy Heartfillia Dragneel, Mrs. Natsu Dragneel <3 <3 <3’      

Pumping a fist in the air, he’s become so engrossed in looking through the note book that he doesn’t realize she’s waking up until he hears the gasp.  “Oh my god, what are you doing?!”  

Immediately, his body stiffens and turns to see a crimson faced girl, his lips part, “Um…” but the shade of color on her face is steadily growing darker, if that’s even possible when she realizes he’s just as flushed as she is.

A squeak escapes the blonde, as she flips her blanket over her, trying to hide from him.

“Lucy?”

“Lucy’s not here, she’s going to go die now from embarrassment.”  

Natsu blinks a couple of times at the adorable reaction.  Sure, he’s just as nervous but the way she’s acting only make her more endearing to him.  He shakes his head, chuckling, and makes his way to the bed, the mattress shifting as he sits down beside her.  “Lucy, you are so weird,” he pulls the blanket off her, but she simply brings her knees up and buries her head in her arms to avoid his gaze.  “Luce?”

“Natsu, please just go away, I-If you don’t feel…”

Another squeal, as he pulls her into his lap like he did that night of homecoming, “I wanna show you something Luce.”  He takes out his wallet and inside, tucked into the money section he pulls out a small photo, her eyes widening further when she sees it’s a picture of them from middle school with a heart drawn around her face and the caption, ‘my dream girl’ written at the bottom.  “I was trying to muster up the courage to ask you out, just was worried you’d reject me.”

“I didn’t think you saw me like that,” She continues to stare at the picture, “y-you’re always surrounded by other girls and I’m not as popular as you…”

“Lucy I’m only popular cause of football, those girls never gave me the time of day till I became the quarterback...” tipping her chin to look at her face, “you know that.”

“Maybe…”

“Maybe?” he chuckles, “you’ve been by my side since before all that happened, why would I choose one of them over you?”

“I thought you’d prefer a prettier girl on your arm…”

He starts laughing, the arms around her waist tightening, “But, I’ve already got one.”  

“But that night after the game…  Natsu, the next day you acted like there was nothing between us and I assumed…”

“You acted like normal that morning Luce, so I thought I’d dreamt the whole thing…”

“What!” elbowing him in the gut, “Natsu why didn’t you say something instead of making me all crazy!”

But that outburst only makes him laugh harder, “I’m sorry Luce, how can I make it up to you?”

Exhale, “Holding me like this is a start.”

“Oh…” Natsu nuzzles her hair, “Anything else?”

“Err…” she bites her lip, “I don’t know, you think of something.”

“Hmm,” moving her hair away from her neck, “how about this…” he sweeps his lips against her skin, then presses them gently to the crook.  

A wispy sigh, breathes out of the blonde, “that works…”

He smiles and places more velvety kisses along her neck and shoulder.  “Definitely, much better than the fantasy…”  One of her hands snakes into his hair, fingers twining their way into the locks.  “So, does this mean I get to show you off at school now… as my girlfriend?”

She giggles, “Mmmhmm,” the squad’s gonna be so pissed.”

“Let ‘um,” maneuvering her onto her back, he caresses her cheek and kisses her lips, “You’re the only cheering section I need…”