#*squints at stylist* how did you get in here

[pen-of-roses]

WHG 20-Prompt 5-Silver

WHG tag list: @ratracechronicler, @maple-writes, @concealeddarkness13 @drabbleitout, @grailfish, @forthesanityofsome, and @pied-piper-of-hamlet (let me know if you want to be added)

(Prompt 4 was combined between Din and Silver so read that before this if you missed it)

Under threat of being dragged out by the Peacekeepers, they’d emerged from their hiding spot after most of the search party had disappeared to another car.

And regretted immediately as the cacophony threatened to drag them under the instant they set foot off the train. 

It’d be easy to slip away again. The Peacekeepers were trained, but for brutality and instilling fear, not for the survival that had been pressed into them. Their armor had a weakness at the neck. While the helmets protected their faces, they also created blindspots. One of their current guards was favoring a shoulder, easy to exploit. These were just more monsters, and human ones at that, so they could be beaten and pushed past just like—like—

The weight in their hand, taste of copper in their mouth, and battlecries of the long fallen slipped away with the memory and whatever nightmares they’d fought before. Probably for the better.

Besides, they’d gotten this far. Being alone in the heart of this abyssal damned place would probably be worse than the rigid rules prior to the Games. Not to mention they didn’t quite know what would happen to the District if its tribute fled prior to the Games.

So instead they bit their cheek and sat when prompted.

From there, the taste of copper became real as the true challenge of self control began as a group of people began to argue over them, about them, touch them, manipulate them however they wanted. 

Their clothes were stripped, and discarded. clothes that had been borrowed from their family and mended by hand over the months. They managed to not break each finger of the hand that had done it.

Forced into a sweet smelling bath and scrubbed raw, the hot water was so similar to the heat from the vision from the train. That did result in a dislocated shoulder and a blackeye. Technically two, but theirs healed before they were dry. 

A comb was taken to their hair, for it’s apparently Capitol-esque appearance, but also condemned for the tangled state of it, and the bone white horns underneath it. They forced down more gold-tinted memories of other hands doing the same and a voice in their ear.

The only benefit was no one was talking to them, and they weren’t expected to speak.

Wrapped in a towel and left to wait, they were hyper aware of every footstep outside the door, of every chant of magic in the air, of the sickly sweet perfume clinging to their skin, of the way all the metal shined in just the right light to look golden rather than silver, of where the camera was and how best to avoid it.

“Well, you certainly look more human than the animal the other’s described.” Someone said as he walked into the room and hung a bag off the door.

They bared their teeth, aware they were stained with blood from their cheek and signed “You’re the animals to me.”

“Oh so you can speak,” he signed back, and they blinked, rather taken aback as the strange man sat. “Perfect, that’ll make this so much easier on me. I’m your stylist for these wonderful things the Capitol calls Games. In short, my job is to make you look good so the lovely and ever gracious people out there will help keep you alive, if you wish them to. Or don’t, if that’s more to your liking. I’ll enjoy the show either way.” Crossing his arms, he sat back, raising one blonde eyebrow in challenge.

They squinted at him. He looked Capitol-esque alright, with a suit that looked almost like it was made of flowers, though the shape of them was unlike any they had seen. Calla had said the Capitol liked to genetically modify stuff, so maybe they were based off that. Or complete and inaccurate fabrications. His hair was covered with glitter, and purple makeup adorned his face in the same garish way they’d seen on the escorts and Capitolites. Yet he also seemed off. With his cocky smile, raised eyebrow, and head cocked, it seemed like he was sizing them up and judging.

Magic thrummed all around them, but whether he was the source of any was difficult to tell with all the different sounds.

Maybe not all of the Capitolites were as empty-headed and blind as the escort had made it seem. They would have to be more careful and observant.

“You didn’t give a name,” they signed.

“Nor did you, if you recall. Now, I have very little interest in wasting any more of our precious time, so if you’re willing, let’s get on with getting this over with.”

Reluctantly, they nodded. 

Time passed too slowly after that, but the stylist kept the others from handling them too roughly this time around, even giving them privacy while they changed.

In the end, they were left in front of a mirror, focusing on the intricacy of the bark-like texture of the suit, and the leaves and flowers that had been woven into their hair. Pointedly, they did not look at the makeup that had been done, couldn’t risk seeing that face. But the rest, they felt comfortable saying was almost…nice. Wildly inaccurate and overdone. But nice.

Some of the “wood” even covered their ears so when they walked out, the noise wasn’t completely overwhelming. And looking at the other outfits, they’d probably have to thank the stylist if they saw him again. 

Of course, whatever odd reprieve that had been couldn’t last terribly long as the chariots began. Two tributes raced off on the horses, which drew most of the crowd’s attention. But not all of it. 

There were eyes watching them again, too many, and no place to hide or shrink away from it. Even with the padding, the noise from their cheering was too loud. Several of the other tributes were screaming of powerful magic, and that pull from earlier was back, threatening to drown them in the gold.

Overhead, someone spoke of peace and tradition

Behind their eyes, a voice whispered of safety and love and power over destiny.

A cruel smile watched above.

A kind smile flickered in and out of existence and the air smelled of blood.

[earth4angels]

𝐌𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞

modern jacaerys targaryen x reader

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: living in the world of entertainment where cameras were always capturing every moment of privacy — being home in the comfort of your equally famous lover was all you wanted.

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: fluff, established relationship, comfort — corny af i’m sorry. experienced jacaerys mentioned. squint and you’ll see some smut.

��𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐞 𝐬𝐩��𝐚𝐤𝐬 !!: working in silence is my way to go now — going to follow in the footsteps of my love swordgrace. here’s a very short one shot inspired by the song woo by baekhyun. reader is a model, jacaerys is a famous heir, number one wealthiest families in westeros — not proofread.

Fall was at its prime.

The colors of the leaves changed to a bright green into a beautiful burnt orange with tints of red. You enjoyed the way the wind tickled your nose, slightly making it twitch yet you felt warmth by it. Fall was still warm yet it was also cold, it was chilly but it never felt welcoming when you were currently shoving through the flashing cameras that were itching to catch a glimpse of you.

“Can you tell us a little about your relationship with Jacaerys!”

“Y/n!! Look over here!”

“Y/n! Stop being so snobby! Turn over this way!”

Your heart started pounding. You feared you were going into a panic attack. The way your palms started sweating or the way your vision started getting hazy, you thanked yourself that you wore the shades your boyfriend bought you.

The shouts becoming muted as you continued to push your way into the car that awaited you. Your security guard holding you close, bringing you one piece of comfort. You enjoyed modeling, you always had a deep love for fashion and its stories, the becoming of trends and why stylists, creators make pieces so elegantly and beautifully crafted. However, you did not enjoy the discomfort and disrespect media always associated with you just because you had distinct ideas than a typical model. It became worse when you got together with Jacaerys Targaryen, the heir to the Targaryen family.

Jacaerys was beautiful, he was strong, patient, quiet at times but he was a man with strong beliefs. He always put his family first and was extremely smart, you had always praised his extreme care for business. He had a short temple but it only took a kiss on his neck, a cuddle and a movie with Vermax for the anger and stress the business brought him for it to disappear.

A model, with the most wealthiest man who happened to be an heir — the media had a lot to criticize. What exactly would a model bring into the family but worthless entertainment. You had heard ever critique, and it took everything for Jacaerys not to curse on national television, but you admired him. Jacaerys stood tall, confident, his face was hard as stone and publicly he announced he would take anyone to court if they ever spread misinformation or defamation against you or him. You watched with a heavy heart as he never paused, he never answered questions and you watched as Rhaenyra stood by him with the equally stern face, however you did not ignore the small smirk she held. She was proud.

The relationship you held with Rhaenyra was of one you wished you held with your own mother. She was your biggest supporter — it was a complete switch to how you first met her. The first year you started dating Jacaerys, he had brought you over as his date for a gala his family held. She was serious and briefly scanned you up and down. She spoke bluntly and the moment you introduced yourself, she knew then, you were the one.

You spoke with grace, tall and confident, you held no fear and she loved that about you. Since then, she was protective of you, she loved you as if you were her own. The love and respect she held only intensified the moment her other children became attached to you. Lucerys in specifically treated you as his older sister, coming to you for advice and stayed over your apartment when things became too tense at his university.

So when the media started to show its negative energy towards you, she demanded a conference — Jacaerys had already moved before her, with a date and time at hand. He was not going to let anyone belittle you and Rhaenyra cheered quietly beside him. She had raised him well.

James, your main security guard had tugged you hard to push you in front, the car now coming into view. The breath you had released came in a smoky cloud in the chilly night. You rushed to get inside the sanctuary of your car, as James shut the door and quickly jumped in the passenger seat you began to breathe normally. The cameras continued to flash your way, all you did was cover you face to avoid any photographs.

“Your house or…” James spoke, snapping you out of your empty mind. You looked towards him and thought about it.

“Jace’s,” you did not hesitate after that. You missed him.

You had your schedule packed, fashion week was coming and designers had you on their mind to walk their pieces. Jacaerys could have never been more proud of you.

“Yeah, they better. They need my beautiful girlfriend to show off their work, they would be blind if they didn’t choose you,” he said the night you told him. You rolled your eyes as you threw yourself on top of him in embarrassment where he held you as he laughed. His lips finding yours as his hands scrambled to get you off your pyjamas.

You had not seen him then, it’s been a month. You were busy with rehearsals, fittings, and he was busy in meetings, and learning after his mother who had taken him to every business engagement.

As you arrived to his penthouse that was in the city, you tried to contain yourself from the excitement that was boiling inside. James bid you a good night and you returned it with gratitude in your voice.

Knowingly you entered the key into his penthouse, being welcomed with silence. You had expected that, you knew Jacaerys would not be home for another hour or two.

My brother is still at the meeting with mom, he looked annoyed the last time I saw him. So careful with the attitude he’s going to bring.

You sighed at the text from Luke. Jacaerys could never catch a break and you feared he was going to grow grey hairs at 27. Tiredly you dragged yourself through the kitchen, snorting when you found a plate and a mug you had made him your first year together sitting inside the sink.

Of course, he wouldn’t have time to clean after himself.

You figured you would prepare him a nice dinner and wait to surprise him, you told Luke not to tell Jace that you would be home. You wanted to surprise your boyfriend — after 2 years close to 3 years together you already knew his likes and dislikes in food.

The house was too quiet, you silently walked away from the kitchen to enter his living room that was too plain, it certainly looked like a man owned the place. If it was not for your input you knew Jacaerys would never think of renovating, he claimed he did not care much about it but one look at your face — he crumbled.

Instead of too plain, the living room had touches of color, burgundy — and plants since you knew Jace was too busy to care for flowers. As you inspected the plants, you heard very distinctly the sounds of slight ruffles, little thundering. Your lips stretched into a bright smile. You had fixed your clothing, which contained of leggings and a soft camisole, you had rid of your trench coat upon entering.

“Max… my sweet Vermax — where are you baby?” you spoke with such love and adoration that you began to laugh as the mixed retriever came running towards you.

The overhyped fluff of Vermax jumped on you, running in circles and throwing himself onto the floor for your attention that you could never hold back the cooing that came upon you. He was such a bright but spoiled dog, Jace never said no to him.

“Hi, I missed you too,” you ruffled his flapping ears, he barked happily at your attention. “I love you Vermax.”

Vermax only barked before he grumbled, you laughed.

“Yeah, I am sure your dad loves you too baby,” you continued to laugh at the sight of your adorable dog, as if he understood you, he only stared with his bright eyes. “Vermax he loves you, he’s just busy.”

Vermax licked his snout before he ran to the couch and laid comfortably, he was being bratty and you knew that. Jacaerys definitely spoiled him way too much. You shook your head in amusement.

“I’ll need to talk to your dad when he gets home about that attitude Max,” you nagged playfully only to get Vermax grumble and his tilt of head as if saying okay.. so?

Your phone rang, you picked it up not checking the caller ID.

“Hello?” You moved towards Jace’s bedroom to change your clothes, you needed a bath before you started cooking.

“Hi my love.”

You paused mid action. The water ran calmly compared to the beat of your heart that began to pound fast. That voice never failed to bring you weak at the knees.

“Jace…”

You heard rustling of papers and another deep voice in the background. You furrowed your eyebrows. Before you asked him what was he doing he spoke with such softness that it made you want to kick your feet in the air.

“Sorry baby, Cregan’s asking for some papers. Anyways, I was calling because I miss you,” he paused before whispering, “I need my girl back.”

You clutched the phone tight, your smile wide, you truly loved Jacaerys way too much that words could never compare. He was your soulmate, your equal partner, he was your home.

“I miss you too Jace,” you said hearing him take a small breath, “I’ll be with you very soon,” you continued, knowing full well when you saw him, you were never going to leave his side again.

“Promise me you will let me know when you come home?”

Too late.

You bit your lip before breaking out a small chuckle, “I will let you know.”

He hummed, “I love you beautiful, I miss you, always.”

“I love you more Jace. Always.”

“I will call you when I’m done here okay? I want to hear about your day, how you are and how’s everything going with your rehearsals. I’ve gotta go,” he said suddenly, an annoyed tone in his voice now sounding apparent.

You in fact did hear the voice of your dearest friend, Cregan saying something off phone. You chuckled in amusement but also at the way your boyfriend started cursing out his best friend for interrupting. You did not hold any offense when he suddenly hung up.

Quickly you sunk yourself into the warmth of the water, covering it in rose bubbles. Jacaerys filled his bathroom with every small thing you loved, from your favorite bodywash to the skin care you applied every morning and night. He had said — more like promised — you will always have a home with him.

As you spent the next hour soaking in the bath, you finally got out, lavishing your body with your nightly routine. Lazily you grabbed a pair of panties from your bag, and Jace’s old university sweatshirt. When you arrived downstairs, you found Vermax sleeping calmly on the couch, you shook your head.

Tonight, you would prepare a full filling meal with wine to end the night with a scary movie, you found them scary but Jacaerys found them too comical to even find fear in them.

My mother and stepfather are far more scarier than these films, especially if you add Alicent in the picture.

The music played throughout the house in a soft tune, you cooked quietly, a smile on your face as the excitement of seeing your boyfriend soon ran through your body.

The dining table was prepped, candles and a wine bottle sat in the middle awaiting to be enjoyed. You sat satisfied at the couch, pulling out a blanket Jacaerys kept nearby to cuddle into the needy Vermax. He let out a small bark before licking your hand. You knew it was his way of expressing his love.

You moved your head to check the time. Your lips pressed against each other, it was barely ten - o clock. You only hoped Jace would get home early, but again, he was a equally busy man. You sighed, your hand grabbing the controller for the television, pausing when you stumbled into an entertainment gossip show.

“As fashion week approaches, we stumbled upon one of the most popular models of our time!”

You watched quietly, biting the inside of your mouth. The report changed to the scene where you had come out the airport. Your eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

“We asked her to give us some details on her relationship with the infamous Jacaerys Targaryen — we had no response. It seems our favorite couple want to keep their relationship private. The last time we saw them together was during Y/n’s last modeling session, we were in luck to get an anonymous tip!”

“Why can’t anyone mind their fucking business,” you muttered, as you angrily switched the channel to put on a random chick flick movie.

You got comfortable, laying down as Vermax made himself cuddle you. Slowly, without realizing you fell asleep. You did not wake up, not even when the penthouse shook slightly by the loud thunderstorm that hit as you slept. You never awoke, not even by the loud sighing of your tired boyfriend as he walked into his home slightly drenched by the rain.

Jacaerys had a whole day of paper work and negotiations. Hours of meetings and having to test his limits of being extremely patient. He would never understand how some of their business partners were just evermore greedy, yet he had to maintain a calm posture and clench his teeth tightly together as he smiled with stress.

“Fuck me…” he muttered, flinging his shoes to the side as soon as he stepped inside. He yawned, his body shaking slightly due to the rain and his clothes being wet.

“What the hell?” Jacaerys was confused, it was odd Vermax had not jumped on him, it was not usual but it was still rare. Vermax was a very needy pup, but that was not what made Jacaerys stop and question if he should call authorities.

The house was quiet, the TV was on, and the dining table was set up — there was food, candles and two glasses of wine.

This could have not been his mom, or you. As far as he knew, you were not in the city, you were in Oldtown, and Aegon had assured him she was safe. Aegon was an entertainer but he was also a designer, and while he had a talent to make a mean screwdriver, he was one hell of a talented designer that you never hesitated to try on his designs when he asked.

As he passed by the dining area, he grabbed the first thing his hand touched — a plate.

Quietly he stepped towards the living room where he found Vermax sleeping and a covered body engulfed by a heavy blanket he kept aside. Now instead of confusion, he was concerned. He had feared a crazy fan or stalker entered his home — you and him captured a lot of attention, good or bad.

His head leaned over the couch and the moment he saw chestnut slight curled hair he paused. As he pulled the blanket to the side just to see your face his heart leaped out his chest. You were home.

Immediately he put the plate on the floor and leaned his head down to place a kiss on your forehead, then your cheek and finally your chin. He continued to kiss your face until he heard you moan sleepily. Vermax nipped his father’s hand, annoyed he had come to wake them.

“Shush you or no food,” Jace spoke quietly, poking his tongue out at his fluffy child who just pouted— if he could.

“Angel, what are you doing in the couch?” he said again, as he continued to kiss your cheek nonstop, smiling wide when you moved, your nose scrunching up.

You had scrunched your eyes tight as you opened an eye finding yourself face to face with a certain lover, your curly favorite boy. You gasped, your arms automatically pulling him down towards you. He fell onto you in a loud “OOF!”

Vermax was now beyond annoyed as he flapped his tail yet he moved to his fluffy bed, his head on his paws where he laid with grumbling noises.

“Hi,” you whispered against his cold cheek.

Jacaerys moaned at your warm hold, his head was deep between your chest, where he felt the low rise of your chest. He moved to face you, his forearms resting besides your head.

“Hi,” he replied with a bright look in his face and a small grin, “How was your nap?”

Your lips twitched with mischief, “Hm… cozy warm.”

“Yeah?”

You nodded, your hands moving to push his curls back, finding itself deep in the wet curls. You saw his eyes fluttered close, a groan slipped out his lips. You pulled him towards you.

Jacaerys did not say another word before he kissed you. His lips moved with yours in perfect harmony. He swallowed your needs, your deep sentiment of longing. You allowed to mold yourself into the comfort of his own heart. Your tongue licked his lips where he had opened his mouth to welcome you. You were hungry for him, you missed him more than anything in the world. He was your best friend, your sun to the moon, your air and the love of your life.

He bit softly into your bottom lip, tasting the cherry of your lip balm and the taste of wine you had before you fell asleep. If he continued he would loose himself in your scent, your heavenly taste. So he forced himself to pull away.

“Let me take you to bed,” he mumbled.

You shook your head, “No. I made us dinner, you need to shower or you’ll catch a cold.”

Jacaerys only stared at you, before pulling himself off you. With no words he just moved to grab you in bridal style. You shrieked, “Jacaerys Velaryon-Targaryen! PUT ME DOWN!”

He moved towards his bedroom, he placed a kiss on your head, “Nope!”

“Jacaerys!” You kicked and wiggled in his hold, but you remembered, he was strong and you knew that nothing could make him drop or release you. You bemoaned, “Jace, the food…”

“I appreciate it my love, but right now I just want to be with my girl, hold her and kiss her because I have missed her more than anything. Can you give me that?”

He placed you on his bed, as he crawled on top of you. His wet curls lingered around his face, he had such a beautiful face and his eyes — oh you could have never imagined yourself loosing yourself in such a muted sunset. Even in the dark his eyes twinkled, it was like a silent night at the beach and his eyes spoke of timeless love.

You pushed his shirt off him, as he pushed himself closer to you. Your fingers moved in silence and he said nothing as he kept his eyes on you at all times, you never moved yours either.

“You are so beautiful, you are the most precious and most ethereal woman to ever exist,” he whispered against your lips.

Jacaerys had never met someone so beautiful, someone who moved with such elegance. He had girlfriends before, two. But before he had met you, he thought he knew love. Love was just a sentiment but with you, it was a touch, a whisper, a take of breath, a kiss, a bouquet of flowers, a kiss — love was everything, a puzzle that you helped solved. You were the calm to the storm, you were the sunrise to his blue. You were love.

You pushed his slacks off with your feet, as you continued to look into his eyes. “Never,” you disagreed.

“For the rest of my life I’ll prove that your existence alone is a blessing from the angels above,” his hands moved down your body, to your legs where he moved slightly to remove your panties.

“Then, make me yours forever,” you moaned into his mouth as his hands moved up your stomach to cup the swell of your breasts.

“You are mine. Always.”

The food was forgotten, the house was quiet but the sounds that came out of Jacaerys bedroom would have made someone run out. As Jacaerys entered your folds, his thickness caressed your walls in all the right way, and you felt like you were thrown out into the sky.

Jacaerys had not told you and he did not plan to, but as he continued to make love to you, watching how your face turned so beautifully blissed, the ring that could have bought the entire world sat in his dresser— a ring that was his mother’s but he added your own touch and that became a ring of an never ending love.

“I love you,” you both whispered, deep in each others embrace.

Jacaerys kissed your hands, more specifically your left hand — where soon would own his entire beginning to new life he longed for.

mootie gc tag: @divinesolas @hxtd @benjinotes @astrxq @swordgrace @xxselenite @vee-mage @bryscorner @eldrith @bucksplum @princessbellecerise @housetargaryenloyalist @v3lary0ns @softspiderling @cregnstark @manhandlememando

natties angel list (permanent tag list): @shameanon @yohanseyebrowmole @mthrgs29

jace tag list (open!): @smurfelle @number-0-iz @vividxpages @writtenapoiogy @jacesvelaryons @thenotesapppoet @agqrtz @cieraerickson8

[riekirei]

fan favorite— nishimura riki

you and riki, the iconic duo, were inseparable. your friendship was so loved in public, but it was something more in private.

pairing: idol!riki x 8th member!fmr | genre(s): fluff | content/warning: they kiss like once, riki teases reader and vice versa

[requested]

word count: 1.2k

author’s note: been insanely inactive but wtv, here’s something i wrote recently. hope u enjoy reading this! likes n reblogs r highly appreciated. not proofread

you step out of the van with the beaming sun rays hitting your face, the smell of the easing ocean breeze, and the sounds of the crashing waves filling the area. you pull your digital camera out of your bag that hung just by your shoulder. you try taking a picture of the bright summer sun that shined that day, but it was way too bright for you to see. you squint your eyes to the sun’s light that nearly blinded you when a hand’s shadow appeared from behind, hovering over your eyes to shield it from the light. it was riki, he had just gotten out of the van after you. “blinding lights, blinding lights~” (blind - enhypen) he sang as he watched you take pictures with the help of his hand preventing the sun from glaring at you. “hey!! since when have you gone down the car?” you asked him, wondering how fast he’d came as you expected him to take longer. 

you were at a beach for your new album’s concept photos, just like dimension dilemma (i guess it’s associated with the group’s storyline) and the makeup artists and stylists had just fixed your hair and makeup in the van before arriving at the beach. riki was up next to get his hair and makeup done, but he apparently was done? “did they not do your makeup or something?” you added onto your question from earlier. “they didn’t do my hair. probably the style they wanted for this album was something like this” riki replied. “you look good either way sooo” you told him, tucking his dark hair into his ear.

just a moment after, a camera panned towards the place you and riki stood. it was the staff shooting behind the scenes content for them to post on the official youtube channel. you snap out of the conversation you were previously having with riki and face the camera lens that was right in front of you. “hello engene!! today we’re at the beach and we’ll be taking some photos for our upcoming album” you say, making your way through the hot sand, towards the shore. riki follows shortly behind you. the camera films the both of you walking before you come across an area with countless seashells, laid out on the ground. it was quite a rough surface to be walking on so as you stepped on it, you tripped, slightly slipping your body forward. just as you were about to fall, riki’s grabbed your wrist and made sure to carefully support the other side of your torso from hitting the ground. he helped you get on your feet again. “guys y/n’s feeling silly” he says to the camera, laughing at what just happened. “engene, it was ni-ki’s fault, right? he pushed me” (he didn’t hsjahs) you jokingly said. “he pushed me!!!” you added. “nahhh, maybe its just a skill issue to be honest” he told you as you two bickered on camera for the nth time. 

you two found yourselves before the shore, watching the still water reflect the sky as waves came in. you went on your knees to draw doodles and words on the damp white sand. you drew a huge heart with the word ‘engene’ written in the middle. the camera captured the pretty sight before it shifted to what riki was doing. he was standing right where the waves met the shore, the water smoothly gliding on the sand. riki scooped some wet sand, combining it with some drier sand to create a ball. he shaped it with the palms of his hand and set them down to form a pile of multiple sand balls.

“what’s tha-“ you questioned riki before he picked one up and threw one at you. the firm sand ball flew its way towards you, crumbling to pieces as it came into contact with your body. riki bursts out laughing as he sees the mundane look you had on your face. “ha ha, ni-ki. you’re like so funny!” you say sarcastically. you try holding your laughter as you watched riki snicker. he walked back towards the other direction to form more sand balls.

while he wasn’t looking, you bent down over, grabbing a portion of sand that was laid out on the beach. you compressed the grains of sand together to form a sand ball yourself. 

“ni-ki!! look over here!!” you called out, having a plan in mind. just as he turned in your direction, you projected the sand ball right at him, hitting him on his arm. “HEY” riki shouted. 

oh you knew you were done for. like deadass, you were DONE for.

you quickly sprinted away from riki as he chased you across the beach. you stepped into the shallow water, trying to catch a hold of your breath while feeling the cool, relaxing sensation the flowing water had that came in contact with your feet. riki had finally caught up, stepping into the water as well. he wrapped his arms around you, tightly embracing you. “try escaping me now” riki said. “NI-KIII, LET ME GOO!!!” you exclaimed, swinging your body from left to right, attempting to escape him. 

you extended your arm, reaching for riki’s waist. you begun tickling him as you two giggle. he uncontrollably laughed at the tickle he felt. he tries pushing you off of him when you playfully nudge him too, not knowing how strong you had pushed him.

riki fell into the water, getting his outfit wet. “YOU THINK I’M THE ONLY ONE FALLING IN?” he said with a big grin on his face. he grabbed your wrist, pulling you down as you made a splash, landing right next to him. you two sat there and died laughing at what had happened. all this bantering was caught on camera for ENGENEs to watch. they adored the bond you and riki had. they’d make edits, compilations, and several posts about ‘y/n-ki’ and the endearing moments you two had.

you got up, slowly running away from riki who still hadn’t gotten up yet. “Y/N HELP ME UP, I CAN’T- Y/N!!” riki yelled. you looked back and tittered at the sight of riki struggling to get up. “hmmmm what about…. no!” you reply. “OKAY SO YOU DON’T LOVE ME ANYMORE” he responded in a sulky tone. he crossed his arms and pouted his lips. “OKAY!!! I GUESS-“ riki continued before you ran towards his direction, finally giving in and helping the poor boy up. “I’LL HELP YOU UP, OKAY? RELAX PRINCESS ARIEL” you teased riki. “whatever, bro” he said, jokingly giving you a side eye.

the sun set as you and riki spent time with each other at the beach, along with the other members. the cameras cut and the staff called it a day, allowing you all to relax and clear your heads before getting back onto the ride home. you both walked a distance far enough for no one to be able to catch sight of you two. you and riki sat on the sand, feet buried in it. you rested your head on his shoulder while you two stare into the horizon before you. “it’s almost just as pretty as you” riki said as he let out a chuckle. “really?” you reply, lifting your head from his shoulder to look him in the eye. “mhm” he said, slightly nodding his head. you smiled and leaned in to give him a peck on the lips. 

the chemistry between the two of you was good, maybe a lil too good. and the fan favorite duo were great friends on and off cam, maybe a lil more than friends too.

[snalsupremacy]

Why this is my favorite panel in hgsn

Hgsn has some incredible art and page composition, but out of the entire manga so far, to me this is the best panel of them all. Hell, this might be my favorite panel of any manga ever. (Note: Due to respecting the scanlator's wishes, I blanked out the dialogue and replaced all necessary dialogue with the official English source)

1- Build-up

Before I get to the panel itself, lets first talk about the pages before: For context, this is in chapter 2. Yoshiki has just found out about "Hikaru", and its trying to adjust to this new reality. As they walk from school to Yoshiki's house, Yoshiki asks him if he killed Hikaru. This is how the previous two pages look like:

Notice how the half shading effect is done in hatch marks. This is the first sign the all-black shading is a stylistic choice used to convey something.

Look at the balance the two pages form when you put them together: half white, half black, half black, half white. They compliment each other, both in color balance and in panel shape.

We have to turn the page to hear Hikaru's answer to Yoshiki's question. This gives the control of the narrative back to the viewer. This creates tension and build-up to it, it is a common tactic famously employed by Junji Ito in his famous "page-turner" moments where the viewer has to turn the page to see the monster. Except in this instance we are not revealing monsters, or are we?

2- The page

I'm not gonna get into too much detail on the page itself, I just want to point out the juxtaposition between the page composition of this page and the previous two. The last two were balanced and had all the panels closed while this one is much more liberal, bringing a feeling of unbalance, like something just shifted. I'd say the black and white balance is still there, with the Hikaru on white and Yoshiki on black panel side by side and all, which actually brings me to my next point:

3- Black and White

Honestly this could be an entire analysis post of itself, where do I even start?! Let's go from the very beginning. This is the very first time we learn of "Hikaru" :

Notice how the panel is colored black. In fact, throughout the story, we see black panels being spoken by "Hikaru", usually right before he does something unnatural:

And here are the only two instances we see of the Brain-snatcher's true form:

• He's literally a black blob, just like the text bubbles! And now combine that with Hikaru's white hair, and the fact his name means to be bright, and what's the brightest color but white, and there is a clear color symbolism going on:

Hikaru=White

"Hikaru"=Black

4-The Panel

And now we're back to the original panel! Taking all the other points in mind, we can analyze the panel itself

First, his expression. My G-d, his expression! His raised eyebrows and his squinted eyes, making his pupils way larger, make the expression seem almost childish and pitiful. But the half black-out face turns this pity look to an ominous one. Not being able to see the face or having your face obstructed is easy path into the uncanny valley, which I think is the case for this scene. Immediately 180 from "aww the poor guy" to "what is he hiding?"

The white panel says "I like you" while the black panel says "I'm crazy for you". HOWEVER, The white bubble is by the black side of his face and the black bubble is by the white side of his face. So which Hikaru is saying that? Is "Hikaru" crazy for Yoshiki, while Hikaru just liked him, or the other way around? Did the original Hikaru ever love Yoshiki, or is that the monster's feelings? Well we don't know! That's the premise of the whole manga! In one panel!

And that's why it's my favorite :)

[riordanness]

tolerate it — [p.mellark]

wordcount: 3.9K

warnings: slight death mentions, but bro it’s the hunger games what did you reallllllly expect

requested: yes!! @ornellastreet <33

I didn’t think it was possible for my mood to get worse after being reaped, but hearing his name called out over the loudspeaker definitely made me feel like hitting something.

“Peeta Mellark!” The chipper lady, Effie, is way over the top about all this. I mean, I get that it’s her job and all, but we’re kids, fighting to the death. We aren’t lottery winners or something.

I watch as the all too familiar blond boy’s face goes pale, then stare as he slowly makes his way towards the platform, toward me. He doesn’t look me in the eyes at first, just simply takes his place beside Effie.

“We have our tributes!” Effie squeals excitedly. “Now, shake hands, you two.”

Great. I clench my jaw as I hold my hand out to Peeta. He hesitates for just a second, but when he sees my expression, he quickly shakes my hand.

“Excellent!” Effie claps, and I feel the ridiculous urge to slap her wig off.

“Come along, both of you.” Effie waves us into the back rooms of the Justice Building. As I follow her and Peeta, I glance back over my shoulder, at what is probably my last look at home.

I sit beside Peeta, my fingers tracing the soft blue velvet of the couches in this ridiculously extravagant train car. I stare out the window, watching the world flash by faster and faster, till I get dizzy and have to stop. Then I stare at the floor.

Every part of me is aware of the boy only a few inches away. If I leaned even slightly, I would be brushing shoulders with him.

After noticing this, I quickly lean the other direction. I rest my hot forehead against the cool glass window, close my eyes, and try to pretend this is all a dream.

“Well, well, well.” A drawling male voice comes from somewhere above me, and I wake with a start. I must’ve fallen asleep in my chair, which almost impresses me because I was sure I’d been too scared to sleep.

I squint up and recognise Haymitch, the only living victor of District Twelve. He had a glass of alcohol in his left hand, and is waving the other hand at me. “Up, up!” he insists.

I get to my feet uncertainly, glancing around for a sign of Peeta.

“The boy’s already gone,” Haymitch says. “We’re arrived.”

“Arrived?” I ask. “Where?”

He spreads his hands, like ‘are you stupid?’. “The Capitol, sweetheart. Now come on. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

Honestly? It wasn’t how I’d pictured it. I haven’t ever seen much of the Capitol, but the image in my head was way off. Everything was way more extravagant and expensive and ridiculous than I could ever have imagined.

We’ve been here almost two days now. Last night was the parade, where me and Peeta were basically lit on fire and forced to hold hands while all the Capitol citizens stared at us like we were circus animals. I hated every second of it.

I stand now in my room, on Floor 12 of this stupid tribute apartment complex. I stare out the windows, watching the Capitol go by. My fingers fidget with the satin sleeve of my new top, the most fancy thing I’ve worn to date.

I glance at the clock on the wall, and remember I’d better get going to dinner. Effie, Haymitch, Peeta, and apparently our stylists will all be waiting for me.

I hurry.

At the table, I’m forced to sit beside Peeta, much to my annoyance. He leaves me alone, though, which is more than I can say about Effie, who is peppering me with questions. I answer as little as I can, refusing to give this woman any information worth hearing.

“So.” My stylist, Cinna, gives me a smile. He’s nicer than I thought any Capitol people were capable of, but I didn’t exactly like him, not yet. “Ready for your interview tomorrow?”

“No.”

“I have your outfit ready to go. You’ll prepare with Haymitch and Effie all day, till four, then you’re mine. I’ll make you gorgeous.”

“Okay.”

Effie makes an exasperated sound in her throat. “Can’t you just try to be excited?”

I stare at her, dumbfounded. I can’t believe this. “What, excited to die?” I fake an extremely over exaggerated smile. “I can’t wait!”

Peeta kind of laughs, then immediately tries to hide it with a cough and a glass of water.

I ignore him. I’ve become pretty good at that.

Haymitch smirks. Effie sighs. Cinna gives me a knowing little wink, and Peeta’s stylist, Portia, doesn’t look at me.

I sigh and shove my chair from the table. “Night,” I announce, and storm to my room. I collapse instantly into my bed, curl into a ball, and let the tears come. I fall asleep like that, crying for home, for safety, for comfort.

The next morning, I’m woken by Effie’s ridiculous ‘It’s going to be a big, big, big day!’ The entire day sucks from that point onwards.

Both Haymitch and Effie are at their wits ends with what to do with me during my interview.

Effie has me first, and for the first hour, she keeps her optimistic outlook on my potential. Two sarcastic words from me and fifty-seven minutes later, she looks ready to wring my neck then and there. She hands me over to Haymitch looking ready to cry. I have a tiny bit of satisfaction from that, I’ll admit.

Haymitch looks, I don’t know, preoccupied, the entire of our session. Everytime I say anything, he seems almost jumpy. Eventually I give up and sit there in silence until he lets me go. I have a shower per Cinna’s instructions and wait for him in my room.

I have to admit, Cinna is a genius. His handiwork is incredible. I stand in front of the mirror and smooth my skirts, a hint of my smile on my face.

Luxurious clothing, especially dresses, were never something I even thought of back in Twelve. But it felt pretty damn good to wear one.

The dress is gold, with little pockets of white and yellow and orange and red and silver and black, like fire. When I move, it’s almost like flames are flicking over me.

“This is amazing, Cinna,” I tell him. “Thank you for making me feel pretty tonight.”

Cinna gives me a hug, and a kiss on the forehead. “I’m not allowed to bet,” he says in reply, “but if I could, I’d bet on you.”

This time, I really do smile.

I officially want to die then and there the instant I’m up on that brightly lit stage. I have no idea what to say, or how to act, and I fumble my way through the entire interview. Even Caesar Flickerman, who never seems to run out of funny things to say; who always knows how to keep the conversation flowing effortlessly, is at his wits end with me. It seems to be my only talent; making people exasperated at me.

I leave the stage to the quietest round of applause the world has ever known.

I pass Peeta in the hall, and he gives me the smallest look of acknowledgement. I wish we could just stop pretending to be friends. Nothing has ever hurt me as much as Peeta Mellark has, and I don’t know how to forgive him for it. There’s a tiny part of me that’s almost glad we're going into the Hunger Games. No matter how it goes, I won’t ever have to deal with Peeta again after this.

I go to stand beside Haymitch and Effie, and prepare to watch Peeta’s interview. I wonder what he will talk about.

I kind of feel annoyed at him the longer the interaction goes on. He and Caesar bounce effortlessly off each other, talking and joking about… showers? Anyway, the crowd seems to love it.

Then, everything changes.

Caesar leans in to Peeta conspiratorially. “So, Peeta,” he says in a whisper, but directly into the microphone of course. “Is there a special girl back home?”

“Uh, yeah, Caesar, there is.” Peeta looks a little red at the confession.

I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes. We’re about to be slaughtered, and they’re discussing crushes? How ridiculous is that?

“Oh do tell.” Caesar sounds more like a teenage girl than a grown man. “We’d love to hear about her.”

Peeta clears his throat, and looks uncomfortably at the cameras. From my position inside, it’s like he’s staring right at me.

I quickly look away.

“Well,” Peeta begins, “she’s amazing. She’s one of the best people I’ve ever known, and I stuffed it up with her once. I’ve never forgiven myself for that.”

I glance at the screen uncertainly.

Peeta stares right back out at me. “I’m sorry for what I did. I want to do everything in my power to fix it. I promise. I love you.”

Caesar makes a squealing noise. “How adorable!” he exclaims. “You’ll have to get back to District 12 and she’ll have to forgive you.”

Peeta laughs uncomfortably. “That wouldn’t work, in my case.”

“And why not?”

“Because…” Peeta shifts in his seat. “Because she came here with me.”

I remember very little of the aftermath of Peeta’s comment. I know a flash of fury, disbelief, and shock ran through me at once. I know I dashed off to my room. I know I got out of my insane getup and collapsed into bed. I know I wanted to hit Peeta Mellark for that comment.

But after that, I know nothing.

I wake the next morning feeling sick to my stomach. I have a headache, my body feels stiff, and I’m still irrationally angry at Peeta. Well, it’s not irrational. It’s perfectly fine to hate him for what he did. And ‘apologising’ on live tv? It was like a sick joke.

I slowly get dressed in comfy pants and a loose, light blue blouse. I tie my hair up in a ponytail, and head for breakfast.

Everyone else is already there, But I ignore them all, pile my plate with as much food as I can, and sit myself down on the floor as far as possible from Peeta.

Effie huffs. “Good morning to you too, young lady.”

I answer by shoving a bread roll into my mouth whole.

“Ugh!” Effie is more than annoyed with me, but when I catch Haymitch’s eye by accident, he has a small smirk playing at his mouth, so I figure it’s not all bad.

“Hey, y/n,” Peeta tries.

I don’t reply, don’t even acknowledge him. I’m still so angry, so hurt from all those months ago. His words from back then mix with the ones from last night in my head, giving me a headache to match my heartbreak.

“You’re not… I’m sorry… I stuffed up… she’s amazing… I don’t want to… she came here with me… you mean nothing to me… not like that, y/n… I love you…”

I squeeze my eyes shut tight, trying to block it all out. All the memories.

It was a dark, depressing day. The weather sucked, but I guess that just meant it matched the rest of District Twelve.

I was heading home after school, and trying to work up my courage to do something I’d wanted to do for years.

I was going to tell Peeta Mellark that I loved him.

Everyone knew where he lived. The bakery was a pretty, inviting little place. The window was always filled with cakes, all decorated by Peeta himself.

I skipped up the front steps, knocking twice quickly on the dark blue painted door.

A woman answered, Peeta’s mother. “Hello.”

“Hi!” I pretended not to notice her quick glance at my less-than-clean dress, or my coal-covered boots and hair. I knew I wasn't as rich as their family. I wasn’t ashamed, but her look made me sad.

“I’m here to see Peeta,” I told her.

“Ah.” She narrowed her eyes at me, then disappeared. I hear hushed voices, but don’t try to listen in on the conversation.

I just stood there and waited. Soon, Peeta appeared in the doorway. “Hey, y/n,” he says uncertainly.

“Hey.” I decided to just say it—get it over with as quickly as possible. “I like you, Peeta. Like, like, like you.”

Peeta blinked at me, stunned. “You… oh.”

I chewed my lip, suddenly feeling like this was a horrible, horrible mistake. I shouldn’t have come. I should’ve just pretended I wasn’t in love with him.

Peeta’s eyes looked conflicted, hurt, despairing. But his words, and his tone, are as hard and cold as ice. “I don’t like you. Not like that, y/n. You… you’re not… anything to me. Just a friend, an acquaintance even. You’re worth nothing to me behind that.”

I physically felt the pain of my heart breaking. I wanted to cry, run, hit something.

“Oh.” I managed. “That’s… that’s cool.” I turned on my heel and ran all the way home.

It’s been over a year since Peeta Mellark broke my heart, and I’ve never gotten over it. Even now, eating my breakfast, knowing we are both probably likely to die in the arena, I still can’t find it in myself to forgive him.

I don’t believe his little stunt last night. It was for the cameras, to make a statement and gain sponsors. He doesn’t love me. He made that pretty damn clear a year ago.

I slam my plate on the ground so hard it cracks in two. A mute, red-haired girl rushes over to help me clean it. I apologise to her, but I can’t stay in this room for a moment longer. I feel trapped, like I can’t breathe.

I find my way to an out of the way part of our complex, sitting against the wall in a little window alcove. I’m overlooking the Capitol central, the citizens milling about in their celebratory days before the Hunger Games.

I feel sick at the sight.

How can they be so enraptured by the horror that is the games? How can they find actual joy and pleasure watching kids die?

“Hey.”

I start, and turn, and see Peeta a few steps away from me.

“Hi,” I say back, a little stiffly.

He gestures at the ground beside me, and I nod. He gently sits down, looking slightly nervous.

“What’s up?” I say dully.

“Uh—nothing much, thanks.”

“What are you doing here?” I have no patience for small talk, especially not now.

Peeta licks his lips and doesn’t meet my eyes. “I actually came to apologise.”

I raise an eyebrow, surprised. “As opposed to your apology earlier?”

Peeta grimaces. “I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. Haymitch made me promise not to—and, I guess I just didn’t stop to think how you’d feel.”

I look away, trying to ignore the sudden lump in my throat. “Yeah, well.”

“I’m also here to tell you the plan,” Peeta adds.

My gaze snaps back to him. “The plan?” I ask incredulously.

He nods. “This… star crossed lovers angle is really good for getting sponsors. It’ll help us gain friends in the Capitol—people who will want to help us.”

“Because it’s my goal in life to be besties with the Capitol,” I say flatly, and Peeta almost cracks a smile.

“If it’ll help to keep you alive, it is your goal.”

I shrug. “Whatever. What’s this plan?”

“Act like we’re in love.”

I stare at him for a second, then realise he’s dead serious. I deflate a little, but I know deep down he has a point. We need sponsors if we want to have any chance at all of winning the Games.

“Okay,” I say finally. “Sure. Let’s do it.”

Training goes for three days, and it mostly sucks. I have zero talents, apparently, except for differentiating deadly plants from safe ones. Oh, I can also tie some knots. Not super helpful. I can’t throw a knife, shoot a bow, lift anything heavier than a couple kilos, or climb ropes very well.

As the third day comes to an end, I feel incredibly useless, and exceptionally hopeless. I’m going to be dead in a day, I can almost feel it.

Peeta actually had a pretty good chance. He’s very strong, and can lift even the heaviest of weights. He’s also a whiz at camouflage and starting fires. All bakery skills, I’ll wager.

As per Haymitch’s instructions, we stick together throughout the training, steering clear of the other tributes. We also touch whenever possible, holding hands, hugging, me letting Peeta touch my hair.

It’s all rather infuriating to me, but if it might help to keep Peeta alive for longer, then whatever. He needs to win. He needs to stay alive and get home to his family.

It’s finally the night before the Games, and to say I was completely terrified would be the absolute truth. I lie awake, goosebumps everywhere. I’m so scared I couldn’t eat anything at dinner, even though I know I should be trying to get up my strength. Who knows how long it might be before I can eat again.

I might be starving in that arena, or dehydrated, or freezing to death. Who knows? Maybe I’ll die right away, in the initial bloodbath.

I sit up in bed, sick of tossing and turning. I climb out, and head out my bedroom door. Surprisingly, it’s not locked. I guess they do have cameras literally everywhere, so they’d know if I was actually trying to escape. Which I’m not. That would be pointless. I’m going to die anyway.

Across the hall is Peeta’s room, and without thinking, I knock on his door. He opens it a second later, and his brow crunches together at the sight of me.

“Y/n?” he asks. “What are you—?”

“Can I come in?” I’m suddenly awkward, realising how weird this is.

Peeta nods quickly. “Yeah, yeah. Come in, please.” He steps aside and lets me pass. His room is indentical to mine.

I walk over to his bed and sit myself down on the silkily sheets. “Can I stay in here tonight?” I ask, not looking at Peeta.

I hear his bed creak beneath me as he sits too. “Yeah, ‘course you can.”

There’s a moment of silence, and then he adds, in a much softer voice, “Anytime.”

I wake up to the sun shining into the room, and for a moment, I forget entirely where I am, and what’s about to happen. I just sink into the pillows and close my eyes.

Then, I remember. The Games are today.

“Hey, you,” a voice says behind me, and I roll over in surprise. Peeta.

“Morning,” I say back, for some reason grateful he’s here. Having a familiar face to wake up to is much nicer than rising alone, facing the Games all by myself.

“Todays the day, huh?” Peeta asks, sitting up and frowning a little.

“Guess so,” I reply, rolling back over to stare at the ceiling. “I don’t want to get up.”

Peeta laughs, and it’s a pretty sound. Too pretty for such an awful day.

There’s a knock on our door, and Effie’s voice filters through: “Het up you two, it’s going to be a big, big, big day!”

“How does she know I'm here?” I ask, sitting up straight.

Peeta shrugs. “The Capitol has a crap ton of cameras, y/n.”

I roll my eyes in annoyance. Do they really need to know every single thing about us, before we die? It’s all so ridiculous I almost have to laugh.

“I’d better go get ready and stuff,” I tell him, sliding out of his bed. “Thanks for letting me stay here last night.”

Peeta looks at me for a second, like he’s going to say something big, but just replies with, “See you in the arena.”

“Good luck.” And I’m gone.

“Ten seconds til launch.”

I take a deep breath, feel Cinna’s reassuring squeeze on my shoulder, and I step into the glass tube that will be taking me up into the arena.

“Bye, Cinna,” I half whisper. “Thank you for everything.”

He gives me a smile, that somehow is genuinely caring. “Good luck, my dear girl.”

Something inside the tube clicks, and it slides shut, locking me into my fate. It begins to slowly rise, and so does my anxiety. I come completely out of the tube, and bright, blazing sunlight temporarily blinds me. When I can see again, my throat squeezes in terror and anticipation. All of us are the same distance apart, standing on little pods that I know we can’t step off of without being blown to the sky.

In the middle of the tribute circle is a metal cornucopia, with various weapons and supplies arranged around it, trying to tempt us. I remember Haymitch’s advice to leave it all alone and just run to the woods.

That’s when I remember Peeta. I glance left, seeing a girl from District Seven, I think, who’s also looking in my direction. Beyond her is a tall, dark boy I’ve never really paid attention to other than to get out of his way. I think his name is Thresh.

I squint, frantically trying to locate Peeta. I finally spot him, the farthest tribute I can see to my right. He’s already got his eyes on me, and is shaking his head. Why? What’s he trying to tell me?

Suddenly, the bell is sounding, and there’s a flash of movement as the tributes all simultaneously leave their pedestals, most heading right for the cornucopia. I freeze, my body not reacting at all. I force myself to move, running in just close enough to snatch up a small blue backpack, and then I sprint in Peeta’s direction. I just manage to catch a glimpse of him disappearing into the woods, so I head that way.

About an hour later, I still haven’t caught up to Peeta, or seen any other tributes. Sounds of the bloodbath behind me have faded away now, and nothing but the occasional animal or bird or wind sounds now echo through the forest.

It would almost be peaceful, if I wasn’t where I was.

Then, out of absolutely nowhere, someone grabs my arm from behind. I let out a scream, and a hand slaps over my mouth. I struggle, but I’m not strong at the best of times.

“Calm down!” It’s Peeta’s voice. “It’s just me, y/n, jeez.”

I twist him off me and whirl to face him. My glare is almost enough to murder him right then and there. “Don’t scare me like that!” I hiss. “You idiot!” I hit him, half out of the fear bubbling inside of me and half out of relief he’s here and alive and with me.

“Sorry, my love,” Peeta replies, cracking a flirtatious smile. “I won’t do it again.”

I narrow my eyes at him, half annoyed and half embarrassed at how much relief is flooding inside of me at this sight of him, alive and well and here.

“Allies?” Peeta asks.

A laugh bubbles up, and surprises both of us. Peeta laughs too, but then shushes me. “Let’s not get killed just yet, okay?” he suggests. “I’d like to hang out with the love of my life first.”

And for some reason, I don’t even disagree.

[renjunphile]

if my wishes came true, it would have been you | mark lee

PAIRING ✧ nct's mark lee x female reader WORD COUNT ✧ 12.0k TAGS ✧ idol!mark x idol!reader, exes!au, exes to lovers!au, really quite angsty, happy ending, fluff, non-linear narrative

PLAYLIST aka SONGS BY YN ✧ the 1 by taylor swift ; 21 by gracie abrams ; i miss you, i'm sorry by gracie abrams ; champagne problems by taylor swift ; in between by gracie ambrams ; somebody by hwasa and loco ; i know it won't work by gracie abrams, dancing with our hands tied (acoustic) by taylor swift

SUMMARY ✧ persist and resist the temptation to ask if one thing had been different, would everything be different today? (alternatively, every single time you and mark get a chance to talk about your breakup, it never goes as planned)

-

MAY 2021

"NCT are here."

You hum along to the track blasting in your left ear through the singular airpod. It's the first day of your comeback promotions, and while you should feel confident from the many months you'd practiced the song every single day for multiple hours, no amount of time could ever erase the nerves you feel each comeback day.

You're already finished with your hair and makeup, being the first to sit in the chair to give your members some time to wake up from their naps in the van. Though you should all be bright, awake, and preppy for your comeback stage, the reality was that all of you were obliteratingly tired from the near all-nighter in the practice room. Your makeup artists are true magicians for the way they cover up all signs of tiredness even under all those harsh, bright stage lights.

"Unnie, did you hear me?" your youngest member Kali poked your arm incessantly.

"Kali, stop," you whine, pushing her finger away, "I heard you."

"So why didn't you react?"

"Why should I?" you sigh, pausing the track on your phone.

She pauses for a while, choosing to craft her words before replying too hastily, "We should still go and say hi. Haechan is asking if we wanna film a TikTok with them."

"You know they only post with SM idols," you remind her.

"You were in SM too. It's just for fun," she mumbles, "You know how many idols feature on Haechan's private account. Please come."

"You're up to no good, Kali," you squint at her suspiciously, watching the room carefully to see if anyone had overheard. It wasn't really a big deal; all your managers were well-informed, just like your members, and your stylists were basically your friends.

"I already talked to our manager and Haechan talked to their manager," Kali wrapped her fingers around your wrist delicately, but pulling to encourage you to stand up, "Let's go."

The walk to the hallway where the NCT members agreed to meet the two of you wasn't exactly a long one, but the rumblings of nerves bubbling in your stomach made it feel like a million years. You weren't stupid; you knew exactly what to expect and you wouldn't put it past your maknae to meddle in a time like this.

"Oh look, they're here already," Kali was biting a grin behind her words as 3 figures came into view. Haechan gives you a warm smile and a famous bear hug before he was shoved away. 

"Noona," you resist a pout as one of the boys you had been taking care of since you were younger wrapped you up in a big hug, "Haven't seen you in so long. Missed you."

"Missed you too Ji. You grow an inch every time I see you," you also resist the urge to ruffle up his perfectly styled purple hair out of fear of getting hunted by his hair stylist, "I like this purple on you."

He gives you an appreciative grin and somehow you still see him as the tiny, shy boy running energetically around the halls of the company building after being chased by his fellow trainees. Jisung moves on to greet your member, who was still in conversation with Haechan.

It's definitely not that you dread having to face Mark Lee. It's totally not the fact that he's your ex-boyfriend. Or the fact that you're still in love with him. Or the fact that he's still in love with you. No, none of that.

Totally.

"You look really pretty, Y/N," he begins slowly, taking in your appearance in front of him, having not seen each other for a few months.

Mark Lee stands in front of you stoic, hands by his side and feet together. It's almost like he's fighting his instinct to wrap you up in his arms like he's done most of his life because you sure know you're having to fight that instinct too.

"Thanks, Mark. I like your blue hair," you smile softly, "How are you?"

"I'm good. Amazing, even. I guess," he's mumbling, running his hands through said hair you just complimented and you can tell he's nervous, "I love the song. And the whole album. I can tell which songs you wrote. You always make me so proud."

Ouch. It stings your heart whenever he says things like that. How could you have let go of someone so sweet?

"Thanks. Congratulations on your first album and coming back with Dream."

"Ah, thanks. I fought so hard to come back to the group and I'm really happy they finally listened to me," he began, "You know how much I love them."

"Yeah, I know."

You're barely meeting his eyes, but when you do, it feels like he's hesitating in his words.

"Mark-"

"Happy birthday by the way," he rushes out, "For yesterday. I'm sorry that I didn't text. Or call."

"It's okay," you reassure him, knowing that that was probably easier for you both that he didn't.

"How did you spend your birthday?"

"The members got me cake. Coffee, my favourite," you recount, "I did a live for a bit, but other than that we were practicing all day for today."

"Oh, I'm sorry. That really sucks," he frowns.

"You know how it goes. I'll have more birthdays to celebrate anyway-"

"But you didn't celebrate last year either!" he protests.

"Maybe next year, then," you pull your lips into a tight smile, "It's okay Mark. Don't worry about it. I'm not really fond of my birthdays anymore and 22's not a big deal."

He sighs while looking at you, "You deserve to celebrate your birthday no matter what. I hope you can find some time to do something  for yourself."

You chuckle lightly, "That'll be hard to come by. I don't know how you've done it with multiple groups all these years, Mark. I've only been debuted for three years and it's never got any easier. You were really stretching yourself thin, huh?"

"I guess," he's playing with his fingers, so you know he has something to say.

"Just say it, Mark. Whatever you want to say."

You can read him like a book and you've always been able to. It's not your fault that the book is wide open, as compared to the way you've always been- shut, bound, and locked.

"I just wanted to say I miss you. That's all. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Thanks to the secluded hallway that Haechan had found and led you to, the coast was clear enough for you to close the distance between you and Mark even just by a bit more. His breath hitches as you place a hand on his arm.

"Thanks for caring, Mark. I miss you too."

He smiles at you softly and the two of you are so engrossed in each other to notice that Kali, Haechan and Jisung had disappeared a while ago. You know it's time for you to go back though.

The worst part of the whole situation wasn't the breakup itself. Of course, the breakup hurt both of you for a long time and you don't even think you're recovered. It did happen over a year ago, but that wasn't the worst part.

The worst part is knowing that every time you meet again, walking away hurts more each time. It's the fact that there's nothing you can do but listen to your heart break with each step you take away from each other. It's the fact that there's nothing you can do about the fact that you still love each other more than anything else in this world.

-

2014

Mark Lee was known to be SM's golden child. In the future, he'd be known as the most over-worked in the company, due to his talents and resilience, but now, he's just Mark Lee, second to you.

You'd done everything before Mark. You were born first. You moved to Korea first. You beat him joining the company by 6 months and you beat him getting announced as part of SM Rookies just by 7 days.

None of that mattered because it was always just you and him together, wherever. Sure, you trained and practiced separately, but lunchtimes, downtimes, company gatherings- it was always the two of you attached to the hip. There was really nothing the company could say- the two of you were barely 15 so what was the worst you could do?

"How long do you think it'll be before your debut?" the two of you are lying down on the grass in a park a few minutes away from the building. His hands are rifling through the blades, yanking them up every so often, while you made daisy chains quietly.

He hums in response, "I don't know. Soon I hope, but I've only been here for like just over a year. Realistically, I'd say like 2 years. Don't tell anyone I told you, but I heard Johnny hyung talking to the manager about some kind of project that the company has been thinking of for a while. Something about having a group with infinite members!"

Your eyes widened at the thought, "Wow, really? EXO debuted with 12 and I thought that was a lot!"

"Yeah, right? But there are only like 9 of us in SM Rookies right now. How many do you think they'll start with and how am I going to get lines in a song if there's so many of us?"

You nudge him, "Well, with your awesome talent and writing skills of course. I can't wait to see what ends up happening to you guys- oh yeah, by the way, how's that new trainee you guys are training with? Donghyuck, right?"

"New?" he sat up with wide eyes, twisting his body to look at you, "He's been here for like 5 months and it's been the worst 5 months of my life! He's just so infuriating. His voice is amazing, sure, but he never listens and is always talking and hanging off me! I told him that he makes me want to leave the company."

You laugh at his frustrated expression, "Ha, you'd never leave the company. You'd never leave me behind. Plus, I bet you'll be best friends in a few years. Opposites attract and all that."

"Hm, but you and I are quite similar. Don't you think?"

There were definitely some traits that you shared to both be enduring the same path. Resilient, hard-working, brave, and enduring were all ones. After all, it's a big leap of faith to train to have the chance to be an idol just at 12 or 13 with no guaranteed future.

When it came down to it though, you'd like to think that there were also traits you each had that weren't always necessarily opposites all the time, but traits that complemented each other.

Mark liked to talk; you liked to listen. Mark was optimistic and would always be the one to cheer you up on your particularly moody days. You were Mark's calm through it all. Mark loved to rap; you found your passion in singing. Mark liked carrots and would take them off your plate in the cafeteria and swap them with his peas. Mark's hands were calloused from his guitar-playing, while yours were smooth and soft when he held them.

"No, I think we're the perfect example of opposites attract."

"Well then that's why you're my best friend," he grinned over at you while you slid a daisy chain bracelet onto his wrists, "Forever and whenever."

"Always," you grinned.

-

AUGUST 2021

"What are you doing here?"

"No happy birthday Mark?" he teases, holding a bouquet of flowers and a grocery store plastic bag in his hands on your doorstep.

"Come in before anyone sees you," you pull him inside your dorm, sticking your head out the hallway to see if it was empty, "How did you get here?"

"Relax, Y/N. My manager drove me and I was in all this," he pulls out a mask and a beanie from his pocket to show you.

"Oh, good. Happy birthday, I guess, but what are you doing here?" you question him again, looking at the contents in his grasp.

"Well, it all started when Hyuck said that we were throwing a birthday party for me. Then Jisung invited Kali and obviously, you too. And your members, of course. Then you said you couldn't come because you're busy," his eyes dart to the episode of Modern Family on your TV and the blanket lazily thrown on the couch, combined with your pajamas, "So I didn't want to come to the party anymore."

"But all my members are at your dorm," you frown, "There's still a party?"

"Yeah, I guess. Gives Jisung an opportunity to spend more time with his crush, which I'm sure Kali appreciates."

"So they're hosting your birthday party," you hum, "Without you? And you came here to what? Check that I'm busy?"

"I know you're not busy. Erin told me so, which I suspected anyway. I know it's kind of rude for me to come to force you to spend time with me when you didn't even want to come to my birthday party in the first place, but I thought I would try." he shrugs, "Is that okay?"

Mark is adorned in a white T-shirt and grey joggers. He's clearly not dressed for a party and your member clearly told him that you're staying inside and moping to your comfort show while you try to avoid your ex-boyfriend on his birthday. Plan failed, you guess.

Here's the thing: you've always been the worst at saying no to Mark. The one time you did, the world crashed around you. You would've thought it would have got easier to say no to him after already experiencing the worst-case scenario, but looking into his slightly pleading chocolate eyes shows you otherwise.

"Of course, Mark. You're the birthday boy," you finally say after a period of silence where Mark felt like his heart was thumping out of his chest.

"There's no one else I'd rather spend my birthday with," he hums lightly, even though his words are loaded, "Here, a big bouquet for missing last year too."

The tradition started on his 15th birthday in 2014. Even though it was his birthday, he had got you a bouquet of flowers to thank you for being his best friend of one year and making him feel all the more comfortable in his first year in Korea. You were his dance partner, his classmate, his fellow English speaker, and his best friend. He got you flowers again the next year, then the year after, and again and again for being his partner through everything.

The last birthday you shared with Mark before the two of you broke up was his 20th birthday in 2019 and he had prepared his own bouquet that year, choosing all your favourite flowers and colours and wrapping it all up himself. Mark was selfless like that- thinking of other people even on his birthday.

"It's beautiful," you examine the flowers- pink and red camellias and carnations, white primroses, pink peonies, red roses and baby's breaths. Taking that flower language course with Mark back when you were both 17 comes as a regret now, with the messages he's sending you through the bouquet. You hope it's just a coincidence.

"Anyway, I brought us- or I made my manager buy us- some Oreo ice cream, peanut butter chocolate, some ramen, and chicken and mushroom pastries," he grins as he pulls each one out of the bag, "And I brought cake, obviously."

You hold yourself back from saying what you would say every time he presented your favourite pastry from your childhood home to you- 'you know the way to my heart'.

"I haven't had one in so long," you gasp, taking it from him and preparing your plate already, "Thanks Mark. Why are you so considerate on your own birthday?"

"I like to celebrate the people I love on my birthday too. I wouldn't be me without them," he plops himself on the bar stool at your breakfast bar while you sigh hopelessly. He'll never leave your heart alone, "I wanted to soften the blow too."

You turn to him slowly, "Soften the blow?"

He sees the panic in your eyes and lets out that melodious laugh you've always loved, "Oh, nothing like that. Nothing to tell you. I just wanted to bribe you to talk to me on my birthday. I thought after over a year you might be ready to talk?"

"About what?"

"Us."

You thank the manufacturers of the heavenly pastry slice that only takes 90 seconds in the microwave. You set the plate down in front of Mark and take the seat next to him.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Are you still my best friend?"

"Mark, come on," you began warily, knowing the difficult conversation you were about to have.

He meets your eyes and you feel the pain reflected in them, "When we decided to give our relationship a try when we were 16, we pinky swore that no matter what happens, we'll always be best friends. Always. Right?"

You find the power to break his gaze and stare down to your hands on your lap, "We did."

"So, why can't we go back to being friends? I know, I know when you broke up with me, you said that you don't think we could stay friends. I understood, of course, and I wanted to give you some space. Well, at least initially, but it's been over a year now and I really miss us. Your friendship meant everything to me even if I can't have you as my girlfriend." his tone is heartbreaking in the way that it's vulnerable and pleading.

"I told you when we broke up that breaking up was the hardest choice I'd ever have to make. It blew the choice to leave SM out of the water. I didn't want to break up, but it felt like I had no choice," you explained slowly, "When we first started dating, I knew I already loved you, but growing up together and debuting and going through everything I went through really taught me what real love in real life looked like and I could never have predicted at 16 how I felt for you at 20. Mark, you're everything to me, I hope you know. I said I didn't want to be friends when we broke up because how could I have lived with myself seeing you and talking to you still knowing I had you in the way that I did and knowing I loved you that intensely but not being able to show it anymore? How could I live with myself still having you around knowing I let go of the greatest thing that's ever happened to me?"

Mark Lee was brave at 16 when he kissed you for the first time and asked you to be his girlfriend against all the bans and rules. Mark Lee was brave at 18 watching you walk away from everything you both knew at SM Entertainment and for not running after you to stop you because you both knew it was for the best. Mark Lee was brave at 20 hearing you sob through the phone while you were halfway around the world because you just couldn't do this anymore. Mark Lee is brave at 22, taking your warm hands in his, and Mark Lee is brave when he lifts your chin up to meet his gaze and asks you this:

"Why can't we just get back together? This year apart is hurting us more than it's benefitting us."

People say that the eyes are the windows to the soul- that the eyes say everything someone can't say. Your eyes are filled with tears, yes, but also love and fear and all the emotions in between.

The problem was that your brain always rules your life, keeping your heart's true desires always suppressed deep within.

"Mark," you trail, before he cuts you off.

"I don't see the problem, Y/N. Both our companies knew we were dating and you're not a rookie in the industry anymore. I mean, we dated through your whole rookie era! I acknowledge everything you said and felt when we broke up and I wanted to give you time to work through those emotions, but I'm asking if anything has changed. Has it?"

"I've never stopped loving you, but I'm still scared Mark. I'm even more scared now as your career grows," you say quietly, "I don't want to hurt you. If anything gets out, it won't just hurt you or me, because I could take it if it only hurt me, but it's our members, Mark. You know how fans feel about idols who date and it's never ever as simple as 'if they're a true fan they'll be happy for me'. That's not how the industry works."

He squeezes your hands, "Then we'll get better at sneaking around! You know the boys love you so much and they know how much our relationship meant to me and they'd never ever get in the way of that. Or we can just text and call and I don't even have to see you in person when it's risky. I just want the chance to tell you that I still love you every single day as I promised."

There it is again, the sound of your heart breaking at the most loving boy on the planet.

"Will you let me think about it? At least about being your best friend still? I'm sorry that I can't give you an answer right now on your birthday," you murmur. The confessions from Mark came as no surprise, but he never fails to leave you speechless with no clear thoughts in your brain and your heart always full.

"I'm just asking for a chance. Just for anything you can give me," he smiles finally, "How about we eat all this and continue your Modern Family? It's still my favourite show, so I couldn't dream of a better way to spend my birthday."

"I'd like that."

-

2015

"I'm debuting," Mark barges into the near-empty practice room, huffing and panting like he just ran a marathon, "Y/N, oh my God!"

You're sat cross-legged on the floor with your phone propped up in front of you. Your eyebrows are stitched together tightly, indicating that you were probably either criticising yourself on a recording or trying to learn a choreography. The moment you realise that it's Mark, your whole body unclenches and you relax as you pause the video. You don't comprehend the weight of his words until he says them again.

"Y/N, Y/N, I'm going to debut!" he's practically screaming in joy as he belly slides towards you and crashes into you, wrapping his arms around you.

"Oh my God, Mark! Really? Tell me everything right now!" you squeeze him back, pride bursting in your chest.

When you both joined SM, you came with the obvious dream of being an idol entertainer. Sure, the company can make all these empty promises to you at the start, but with the way the industry works, nothing is really ever truly for certain. For you, the company had not given you any time scale or idea of what direction they wanted you to go in. You weren't even really that hopeful, considering the company just debuted Red Velvet one year ago, but you were still enduring.

However, it was almost time to debut a new boy group since it had been 3 years and counting since EXO broke into the scene. You were always certain that Mark was always a part of that plan.

"So, do you remember last year when I told you about the infinite boy group idea? It was true! The company gathered all the male trainees and showed them their idea- it's called NCT and it's so cool, trust me! So it's like they're going to debut groups within NCT like different members in each group!"

"Mark, that sounds amazing. Which group are you going to be in?"

"Uh, they said all of them?" Mark frowns in confusion, "Like the first is going to be this unit where members can switch out anytime and it only has a comeback whenever it wants to, and then the second one is like a normal permanent group which I think I'll be with Hyuck and the hyungs, and the third one is a group where we graduate once we hit 20! But I don't think that one's fully confirmed with members yet."

He's running out of breath explaining it to you and his eyes are going crazy so you just laugh and hug tighter, "That's a lot of information, but it still sounds amazing. See Mark, I told you that you're going to be the most important person in this building! You're literally the best."

Mark nudges you so that you break away, "Psh, shut up Y/N. It's still a few months out anyway. We're going to be writing and practicing the debut song for the first unit really soon though."

"And I'm so proud of you," you tell him sincerely, knowing that there are not many people who you can say have worked harder than Mark to achieve their dreams, "Do you feel scared at all?"

He swivels his body so that he's sitting in front of you and he starts playing with your fingers like he always does, "Naturally, I guess. Debuting is a whole new world and being an idol too, but this is what I've been working towards so why shouldn't I be more excited? I've been waiting for this day, but I guess it's human nature to have fear of the unknown."

"It's definitely not wrong to not be scared. I'd be over the moon if they finally tell me I'm going to debut," you sigh dreamily.

"And you will! They can't keep you hidden here any longer and you know that the company loves you so much! You've given everything for them so you deserve it all back," Mark is now rubbing circles with his thumb on the back of your hand, "I can't wait until we achieve our dream together. No matter how long it takes, we'll both be standing on that stage together as idols. It's so close now, Y/N."

You smile softly at the boy, ever the optimist, "I can't wait for it too, Mark. Don't let the fame get to your head so quickly and don't forget me when you're famous okay?"

"You're so silly," Mark laughs, "You'll always be my best friend- wait scratch that-"

"I won't always be your best friend?"

"No! You will! But this is literally the best day ever and I have all this adrenaline and energy right now and if I don't say it now, I don't think I ever will, but all I'm saying is that I've been by your side for nearly 3 years now and you're literally my other half and it's so goddamn obvious that I like you so much and I really want to be your boyfriend. Okay, exhale Mark."

Your eyes widen at his confession and you slide away from him in shock, "Wait, really? You like me? You want to be my boyfriend?"

He looks at you like you just grew two heads, "Y/N, that's literally exactly what I said. Do you like me back?"

Shyness begins to creep out of you while your whole face flushes red. You've never been the type to be shy around Mark, even in the times his words and actions make you feel giddy.

"Mhm, you're my first real crush that developed when we met. I thought I'd grow out of it, but it kept getting stronger the closer we got," you admit.

The first day that Mark Lee walked into the practice rooms and got introduced to the trainees, you thought he was the cutest boy in the world. He was dorky and shy at first, but when he performed in front of you, he turned into a completely different person that made you fall for him even more.

The two of you were the same age and he was your deskmate in Korean lessons. Though Mark had grown up speaking Korean, he had never lived in Korea speaking it almost 100% of the time, so the company thought it would be good for him to join your lessons, especially to get training for the language he would be using as an idol.

The two of you became very fast friends and by the end of the month, you were chasing each other in the cafeteria and sharing food in corners with your own inside jokes.

His face breaks out into a grin, tackling you into a hug, "Aw, my little Y/N likes me back!"

You roll your eyes playfully and shove him off your body, "First of all, I'm 3 months older than you, and second of all, you have been spending way too much time with Donghyuck."

"Yeah that little devil rubs off on people," he sighs, "Whatever. Does that mean we're boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

"Wait, wait, wait. We have to consider the implications! Especially if you're debuting soon! Are we going to tell the company? How is this going to work?" you bombard him with questions, playing your part as the realist in this friendship, "Is this a good idea."

"I mean, half the hyungs have secret girlfriends so we can ask them for help and at least it helps that you're in the company with me so if they do find out it's easier to protect the both of us," Mark replies, "I've actually spent a lot of time thinking about this, believe it or not. You keep me up awake at night sometimes."

"You're so cheesy," you mumble, turning away to hide your blushing face, "But I guess I do want to be your girlfriend- but what if we break up? I don't want to lose you as my best friend!"

"How about this then," he extends his pinky out to you, "Let's pinky swear that even if we break up and this relationship goes horribly wrong, we'll be best friends still. Forever and whenever."

His words are dripping with sincerity and it surrounds you like a blanket. There's no one in this world that you trust more than Mark Lee when you entwine your own pink around his and smile at him, "Always."

Your pinkies are still attached a minute later when he's looking at you with a goofy smile.

You glare at him, "What's going on in that big head of yours?"

"If we're dating, then does that mean I can kiss you?"

The thought of kissing Mark had admittedly crossed your mind more than you could bare to say out loud. You wanted to play it off cool- shove him and roll your eyes or something, but truthfully, you really did want to kiss your dorky best friend Mark Lee.

"I mean, I guess," you shrug, "If you want to."

"Ha ha, I do," he starts leaning in closer and your heart is beating faster.

This was it. You were going to kiss your best friend-turned-boyfriend in the middle of a practice room. He was going to be your first kiss too!

Mark's face is so close that you can feel his breath on your lips. You can tell he's never done this before with how slowly and nervously he's advancing, but you can see the hope in his eyes.

Your eyes flutter shut. Your lips are almost touching, just ghosting over each others.

"Wait!" you groan as he opens his mouth, "If I'm your first real crush, then who's your first crush overall?"

You smirk, "Jongin-oppa. Duh."

-

2022

This was the biggest concert of your career. Playing the Olympic Stadium had always just been a distant daydream - something to dream about just to amuse you or occupy time. You'd never thought that you would actually live to see the day when that dream came to fruition.

It wasn't even a realistic dream. No girl groups had ever played their own concert at Jamsil Olympic Stadium, but your group was going to be the first.

Cameras were pointed all around you backstage as you prepared to go on for your opening.

"Leader, give us a pep talk," your bandmate Yana whines while nudging you. You gather in a circle, pretending you're not deafened by the noise of your fans screaming just past the partition, where they're waiting in anticipation.

The 5 of you lean closer, putting your heads together and your hands in the middle. Before that, you make sure to look at their faces carefully and examine each member's expressions.

Jian is a year older than you, but she's nervous as hell and can barely get any words out. You're not worried because she's proven time after time that she's born to be on stage and that she completely transforms in front of an audience showering her in love. Yana seems nervous too, but she's better at hiding it and it comes out through rambles of sometimes unintelligible speech. Erin is gripping her microphone tightly with a poker face, probably recalling all of her raps in her head quickly, even though you know it comes second nature to her. Your youngest, Kali, seems the most excited. That kid is the most fearless idol you've ever met and you're grateful for someone like her on the team.

As for you? Well, you're a mix of all of your members. It's coming up to a decade now since you started training and you still have to take everything that this career throws at you one by one. The feeling backstage is not exactly overwhelming- it's more pride and joy and excitement to be out there and perform the best concert you have to give.

"No one can ever take this away from us. We're the first freaking girl group to host a show here! We've worked so hard for this and we absolutely deserve it. Everyone out there is here for us, so we should give it our all and play the best show ever. Don't let your nerves get to you. Just relax and be the amazing and talented performers I know we all are," you breathe out, "I'm really thankful for you guys and I'm so happy to have you by my side with me for this. We're exactly where we should be. I really love you guys so much. Let's kill it, yeah? 3, 2, 1, Fighting!"

Your members release a chuckle and you all wrap your arms around each other in a group hug. Soon, your cues begin in your in-ear monitors and you break up to take your positions on the platform that will lift you up to the stage.

The concert starts off without a hitch. Everything is perfect and the energy you get as each song progresses is nothing like you've ever felt. The sea of fans is expansive and blinding and you still have to check you're not dreaming every few moments. You eventually settle into the stage and the concert slows down a bit with your solo performances.

Your company had encouraged you all to perform something of your own choosing and while you had a vast repertoire of songs tucked away on your GarageBand, they were mostly unfinished, too personal or waiting to be adapted to your group to go onto your future albums. The song had to be something that would only ever be just for you, but something you could bare to release into the world for everyone else to hear.

Okay, so maybe you let your emotions rule you and get the best of you. Maybe the song you chose was the wrong one to invite your fans to insert themselves into. Maybe it was too personal to sing a song about Mark Lee in front of the biggest crowd you'd ever played in your life, but when else could you?

The baby grand piano is gleaming in the centre of the stage and your blue dress is sparkling from the way the lights hit the crystals adorning the whole slip. You're admittedly more nervous about this, but you think it's more to do with the fact that you know Mark Lee is in the stadium, somewhere.

Your company had warned you that if you wanted to sing this song, you had to do a little speech before that would throw them off your scent, "Hi guys," you pause for their screams, "I know you guys enjoyed Kali's energetic dance and Jian's amazing original song! For my segment, I thought we could have a little chill time and not to dampen your spirits, but I wanted to show you guys this heartbreak track that I wrote after watching too many sad rom-coms. I really hope that none of you guys can relate and if anyone ever breaks your heart, just send them my way, okay? I hope you guys enjoy it. This is '21'."

You let out a deep breath and remind yourself that this was the right choice. Your fingers glide over the keys perfectly like it's muscle memory from the year you've been working on the song. You send a prayer to higher beings that Mark won't kill you as you begin the first lines.

"I missed your 21st birthday. I've been up at home; almost tried to call you, don't know if I should. Hate to picture you half-drunk, happy. Hate to think you went out without me. I'm sorry if you blame me, if I were you I would. Thought you'd see it coming, but you never could. I still haven't heard from your family, but you said your mom always loved me."

Mark celebrated your 21st birthday with you. Public dates were not a thing in your relationship, but this man made every effort to make the best out of your situation. He kicked out your members from your dorm after enlisting their help to decorate the place top to bottom in rose gold banners and balloons. After taking cooking lessons for weeks previously, he had then covered your dining table with expensive cloth and filled up two glasses with wine to go with the steak that he had perfectly cooked all for you. He then took you to the couch and serenaded you with a love song about how much you mean to him and how thankful he was for you. On top of all that, you had boxes and boxes of presents to unwrap that were all thoughtful, beautiful, or meaningful. Mark Lee was the perfect boyfriend.

For Mark's 21st birthday, you were sat cross-legged on your sofa with your phone placed on the table in front of you, face up. It was as if you were waiting for him to be the one to call when you were the one who broke his heart just a few weeks earlier and asked to not be friends.

You were drinking the wine that he poured for you on your birthday and you were half-drunk, punching in his number on your keypad, because even though you deleted his number, you already knew it off by heart. There was just something in you that refused to carry it through. You were a coward and Mark Lee celebrated his birthday without you for the first time in 7 years.

"I see the look in your eye and I'm biting my tongue. You were the love of my life since I was young. When the night is over, don't call me up I'm already under. I get a little bit alone sometimes and I miss you again. I'll be the love of your life inside your head. When the night is over, don't call me up I'm already under."

Later on that night, you're lying wide awake and staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that you and Mark had decided to plaster all around your ceiling when you were bored one day. The crowd seemed to love the song thankfully and it was easy to get their energy back up. People placed meaning into everything idols did, so you weren't surprised at the people who were making guesses about your love life and the subject of the song. Whatever, they'd never get it right, anyway.

Your phone ringing cuts through the silence and you curse, hoping it won't wake up the other girls in the dorm. They're probably dead asleep from the high-energy concert anyway.

"You're still up?" his voice is grainy through the speaker.

"You're the one that called. Did you not want me to answer?" you quip back, "It's the adrenaline, I think."

"Touché. I was going to leave a voicemail, but this is better, I guess," Mark uttered, "The concert was amazing, by the way. I'm sorry we didn't come and say hello backstage, but we really enjoyed it."

"Thanks, Mark and thank the boys for me too, okay?" you instruct.

"Mhmm, of course," he replies, "That song you wrote was good, you know. But you might've as well called it 'Mark'."

You're laughing softly at his comment, "I should've changed the number, I know. But shut up- if you know it's for you, then why don't you follow my words? I said don't call me tonight."

"I've never been good at following rules when it comes to you," Mark sighs, "Plus, there's not a lot of times I can just call you up like this. At least I had something to say to you."

"You can always call if you want."

"Would you always answer?"

You pause to think, but Mark takes that as confirmation.

"Have you thought about what I said? 6 months ago when I asked if you wanted to be friends again? Or even get back together?"

"That question keeps me awake every night," you joke, "But today, when I was just looking out at the fans and greeting the idols that came backstage after the concert, it really made me think about how much I wanted to be doing all of this with you. I've always regretted what happened between us because it wasn't a choice I wanted to make. There are no words to describe the way that love manifests in front of you from the fans. I always find myself wishing you were still here by my side."

"Hm, cryptic. Is that an answer to my question or do I have to wait another 6 months to call you up and ask again?"

"How long are you going to keep asking?" you uttered, the feeling of disappointment taking over your body as you still couldn't find the courage to finally give in and allow yourself to be happy.

"Until you say yes again."

-

JULY 2020

The world was still shut as you knew it, yet you were halfway around the world from the place you grew to call home. Your company was generous to give you two months off to spend with your loved ones, and you chose to spend some time cooped up in your parents' house and your childhood home because even though there were so many quarantining requirements to get between the two countries, you hadn't seen your parents in almost 3 years.

Of course, you missed your members, but you lived with them and would continue to see them nearly every day for as long as you could keep your career going. Of course, you missed Mark, but it's not like you could go and see him anyway with the tough restrictions imposed on the Korean citizens.

There was also one big- scratch that- giant problem looming over your and your company's heads. The bane of your existence and public enemy number 1 Dispatch had dangled over your heads the threat of releasing the photos they had grabbed of you and Mark abroad in Vancouver at the start of the year. It wouldn't have been damning evidence considering it was the only photo set they had acquired of the two of you, but you were holding hands with your eyes clearly in view. 

Your companies had threatened to sue, of course, but Dispatch has never been scared. Then, your companies tried to play the guilt-trip card and interrogate them on why they would care to do such a thing when the world was suffering enough as it is. Alas, nothing got through to Dispatch. Eventually, your companies surrendered to pay a preposterous amount to get rid of the problem and it probably didn't even make a dent in SM's savings, but it surely hurt your growing but small company even if SM took the majority of the bill. 

It was completely eating you up and tearing your insides to know that because of your slip-up with Mark, the trainees in your company had to get their debut pushed back by a good probable few years.

Mark had been the perfect boyfriend, supporting you through your change to your new company and your short training period before your debut. Mark had been there to metaphorically hold your hand as you got to know the other girls and make lifelong sister bonds out of it. Mark had been there to cheer you on in the early mornings when you were doing your first few stages. Mark had been there when your first comeback did even better than your debut and propelled you to the top of the industry.

So why, oh why, were you thinking about whether being together is good for everyone involved? There you found yourself in a dark room, the phone next to your head as soft cries and hiccups escaped your lips.

"Baby, please tell me what's wrong. I hate when you cry and it's really hurting me that I'm not there with you right now. Do you want me to come there? Cause I will! I'll say I'm sick or something." he's rambling through the phone and you can hear that it's raining heavily in Seoul.

"Mark, you know that I love you right?"

"Of course I do," he coos gently, "And you're my once-in-a-lifetime great love. I love you too, baby. What's wrong?"

You don't even believe the words that come out of your mouth when you whisper them, "I can't do this anymore Mark. I think we need to break up."

"What? Y/N, this is not funny," his voice instantly turns serious.

"I'm sorry Mark, but I'm serious," you're sobbing at this point and you're surprised he can even still understand you, "I really don't want to do this but-"

"So why are you doing this? Look, let's just talk when you get back, okay? You're coming home soon, right? Or I can take a flight there, but baby, don't make these rash decisions- we're just missing each other."

"The guilt is eating me up, Mark," you confess in hushed tones, "I feel like I don't deserve to be happy. And every time I'm with you, I feel only this sense of anxiety about being caught together that I can't shake. I love you so much, Mark, but I don't know why I feel like this."

"Y/N, we've dealt with so much over the years and we've fought through everything together! We can work through this together, I promise. Just give me some time to think about what to do and everything will be okay-" he's crying now too and it breaks your heart to hear it because he barely ever cries, "I'll get the company to pay yours back what you paid to those assholes. Come on, baby."

"Mark," you whimper, "I ruined the company. I don't want to hurt my members either. Even if we admit to dating, imagine the hate that my group will face! I don't want to let them down any more than I already have."

"I'll tell the fans to not hate- Y/N just tell me what I can do to stop whatever this break-up idea in your head is. We're meant to be, Y/N. We're each other's perfect match."

"I don't love you any less, Mark. Please remember that. I need to do this for my members and for my company that took a leap of faith in me. I don't want to walk away from you, but I don't see any other choice. I don't want to hurt you or your members either. I can't be seen with you."

His voice is small and strained, "You're breaking my heart, Y/N."

"And I'm never going to forgive myself for it."

-

EARLY 2018

This was definitely the hardest decision of your life and it wasn't one that you took lightly either. It was something you had been thinking about for over a year and more intensely when the company started to press you on extending your exclusive training contract.

Herin Seo had entered SM just before you did and she lived and trained with you. She was your best friend outside of Mark and it broke your heart when she left the company only after 4 years in 2017. There were only a few months left on her contract, but she was desperate to get an out and an idol survival show finally gave her the motivation to break free.

Right now, she's taking the seat in front of you after setting down your favourite drinks from your favourite cafe that she still remembers, "Iced vanilla matcha latte for me and an iced oat latte for my best friend."

"You're the best Herin! My treat next time," you promise as you take the first sip. It's been a while since you've come to the café since it hurts to go when it used to be your spot with Herin.

"Well better be soon because I'm leaving in 5 days," she pouts, "I'm sorry I could only come to visit for a short time."

"It's okay. I'm glad to see you anyway after all these months," you grin, "How's settling back in Manchester?"

"I mean it's always been home but it took me a few months to really get to grips with the fact that I wasn't leaving after a week like I did when I would visit during my training. It's really weird to know England is now my permanent home and that I'm going to start school again there," she looks outside the large window that overlooks the river, "I really really miss Seoul."

You take her hand and muster your best comforting smile, "I'm really sorry that things didn't turn out how we wanted them to."

"Ha, it's not your fault Y/N. I mean, you're in the same boat; what are you planning to do with this contract thing?"

You sigh at the age-old question that's been plaguing your mind for months. In fact, your meeting with the company to decide your future was tomorrow and you still had no concrete idea of what you wanted, "I really don't know Herin. SM has been everything I've known for 5 years and everyone I love is at the company. I don't even know how to switch agencies or what happens at other agencies. At the same time, I know they're planning for a group soon, but I have this feeling that I can't shake when I think about it. I look at Jimin and Minjeong and my sweet baby Yizhou and I don't think I'm what the company wants."

"But they've invested so much time and money into you!" Herin furrows her eyebrows, "Surely they're building a group around you, Yizhuo, Koeun, Lami, and Hina! We were a pre-debut team! They can't just disregard all of you guys, right?"

"I wouldn't put it past them," you're fiddling nervously with your hands, "They've been good to me, but they're a business at the end of the day. I'm so torn up and I was thinking you could help me. How did you know that you wanted to leave the company?"

She thinks for a while before answering your question, "Well the survival show was just the reason why I left before my contract was up, but I already knew that I wasn't going to stay on and re-sign. For me, it just felt like I had more to give, but the environment I was in wasn't letting me grow anymore. I felt like there was nothing more I could give to SM. Even though Idol School didn't work out for me, I was still glad that I went."

You nod along to her story, "I haven't told anyone about this Herin. Mark's been bugging me about my terms for re-signing my contract, so I don't think it's even fathomable for him for me to leave."

"It's about you, Y/N. This is your story, your career, and your decision. There are going to be a lot of people that are going to be hurt or angry, but they will never understand what you're going through. Especially not the people who already debuted," Herin advises, "Look, talk about it with Mark tonight, and don't leave it until after your meeting because that might hurt more, but if he really loved you and wanted what's best for you, he would trust in your decision."

"You're right Herin. Thanks for being there for me."

So, you called Mark later on that night to come over. You had cooked up a few dishes for you to share and asked your dorm mates if they could give you a few hours for some alone time. Telling Mark was definitely going to be hard, but you couldn't imagine the conversation with the girls, who were going to be the most hurt. You remember when Herin left- you weren't angry, but you were overwhelmingly sad about the thought of the girl you started your journey with not being there anymore. That was when you started to question if you should still be there too, but you were scared to instill this thought in your other younger trainees that maybe thought they still had a chance.

"Hi baby," Mark is beaming when you open the door to him. He quickly shuts the door behind him with his foot and wraps you up in a tight hug, making sure to plant a kiss on your lips and then all over your face, "I missed your gorgeous face so much- oh my God the apartment smells so good! What did you cook?"

"Just some beef and rice," you lead him over to the dining table with the food set out already.

"Oh my gosh, you're so amazing," Mark smooches your cheek affectionately and takes his seat on the table. You had lived at the dorm for your whole time at SM and along the way, Mark had chosen his own seat at your dining table for when you had dinners inside, which was almost every date you shared.

You start with small talk, letting him eat and enjoy his meal before you inevitably break a little bit of his precious heart. You hadn't seen Mark for a few days since he was busy with some schedules, so he tells you all about the boys and what they've been up to recently. They're working on the biggest project NCT has ever done so far- a full 18-member release- and it's going spectacularly well. The album itself was a few weeks out, but each unit had been dropping some songs along the way.

"Babe, the company is throwing a release party when the album drops in a few weeks! Isn't that so exciting? They actually asked us what food we want at the party so we're all going crazy. I think Hyuck asked for a fondue fountain, so I'm dying to see if they'll actually give that," he's chuckling, halfway through his plate, "Do you have any special requests?"

Okay, deep breath. Now's the time. It's all or nothing.

"Actually Mark, I invited you over to talk about something," you begin and the smile on his face drops at your warning tone, "Please don't be upset with me."

"Ah, what's wrong?" he's pouting and you have to look away to get the strength to say what you need to. If you looked in his eyes any longer, you would find some reason to convince you to stay just for him.

"My contract meeting is tomorrow," you gulp, "I'm going to leave the company, Mark."

The sound of his chair scraping against the floor makes you cringe, "What? Y/N, what? What do you mean you're leaving the company? Where are you going to go? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just made up my mind today, Mark. I'm sorry I didn't confide in you, but this was a decision I had to make for myself," tears are welling up along your lash line, "I spoke to Herin today and I realised that the only thing making me stay any longer was you."

"But you're so close to debut!" he's arguing pleadingly, crouching beside you and holding your hand, "Babe, I can't imagine this company without you."

"I'm not Mark. You know that I'm not any closer to debut than I was when I joined 5 years ago. You're indispensable to this company, but I'm really not," you expressed, "I don't want to leave and I love you, your boys, and my girls, but I think this is what's best for me."

"But where are you going to go?" Mark sniffles, "I love you so much Y/N, but what's going to happen to us?"

You shake your head at his insinuations, "No, Mark. Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen to us and I'll make sure that whatever company I join will know about us and protect us. I hope you'll find it in you to forgive me for this."

He stands up and wraps his arms around you from above, "I'm sorry for reacting this way Y/N, but there's nothing for you to be sorry for. I trust you, okay? I love you and I want you to do what's best for you. I know I can't make decisions for you, but I'll try my best to support you however I can."

You look up at him with adoration dripping from your eyes, "I love you, Mark. We're going to be okay, yeah?"

He brings his head down and connects your lips in the most love-filled way that your heart explodes in that familiar overwhelming feeling that Mark always seems to do to you, "We're going to be okay, baby."

-

LATE 2022

The world was playing a sick joke on you- it really was. There was no way your whole career wasn't just some April Fools' prank or that you weren't just the main target of some joke show.

You always prided yourself on being close with the company's staff and higher-ups. As a leader of your group, you felt that it was integral to your success that you were able to communicate your wishes and worries to the company and this gave you more creative freedom too. Apparently, the company too was getting more comfortable with you.

"What did you just say?" your eyes were incredulous, peering towards your sheepish CEO, "That's actually the worst idea I've ever heard in my life."

"Look, Y/N, you wanted a feature on your song," your CEO chuckles at your response, "I think this is an amazing idea."

"You're literally giving Dispatch a green light to release those photos. Do you want me to email you a picture of me and Mark making out so you can just tweet it from the official account?" you counter, "Why in the hell would having my ex-boyfriend feature on my solo debut title track be anything short of a terrible idea?"

"Mark is incredibly famous and incredibly talented," she begins, counting with her fingers, "You have high standards. We have a good relationship with SM Entertainment. Your fans love shipping the two of you together since you're in the same age group."

"He's also my ex-boyfriend. Is that not extremely problematic? Everyone will hyper analyse every interaction we have or have had and then they're actually going to figure out that we dated." you ponder, "The worst part of this all is that I know he would say yes if his company lets him."

"Exactly- he's your ex-boyfriend, not your current one. By all logic, he's now just another fellow idol or colleague that you can collaborate with. Anyway, SM will definitely say yes; look how many of their idols are in relationships or at least feature on tracks."

"This is all Crush and Joy's fault," you groan, looking at the pleased expression on your CEO's face knowing that she had won the argument.

When your company proposed the idea of having a solo debut to you half a year ago, you had vehemently declined the opportunity, citing it wouldn't be beneficial to your group as a whole and that you wanted to be known for your group and not your individuality. Your members, on the other hand, had different ideas and talked you into at least hearing out the company. You had really only agreed to the debut when they told you that they would give you full musical freedom and the help that you personally requested. It only seemed like a good idea when you realised that someone in the group needs to be the one to start doing solo activities so the rest of the group can follow suit. You've always known that Jian has been curious about acting.

So you find yourself swiveling in your chair in the studio, waiting for Mark to find his way to the room. It's your first time working together for your solo debut and the last time you had spoken to him was a text he sent you asking if you actually wanted him to feature on the track before he gave a response to his company. You begrudgingly replied a yes because even though you still didn't think it was a good idea, you couldn't imagine yourself working with anyone other than Mark. The industry was crazy sometimes.

The knocking on the door snapped you out of your thoughts and you jumped up to open it to Mark Lee holding two cups on the other side.

"Hey pretty. I got us some coffee," he pushes a cup into your hand and you move aside to let him in, "How are you?"

"Don't call me pretty," you mumble as you turn away to hide the blush starting to appear on your cheeks, "But I'm okay. It's getting busier with the holidays coming up, so you know how that is, but the company thought this time was a great time to work on my debut."

"I feel you," Mark grimaces, taking a seat on the other spinning chair, "Don't tell anyone but Dream is actually having another comeback. It's going to be out just before Christmas."

"Another one?" your eyes widen in shock, "But you just released 2 Baddies and I know you definitely have a repackage soon!"

"Yeah, it's hard to be part of both units," he sighs, "Cause our new album will be over 6 months out from Beatbox, but only 3 months from 2 Baddies. Whatever, you know I love what I do."

"Doesn't mean you don't get tired," you cross your arms, "Now I feel bad having you on this track. You are way too busy, Mark! Why didn't you or your company say no?"

He shakes his head to reassure you, "Nah, trust me Y/N; you're exactly the break I need from the boys. Besides, I've never had the chance to formally work with you, so why would I give up the opportunity when it comes? We always made a great team back then."

You smile fondly, thinking about all those times when you and Mark were young teenagers and would huddle up in the practice rooms writing songs together and creating melodies on your guitars.

"I guess we did. Anyway, have a listen to this track. It's just something I wrote a while ago, but it always seemed unfinished so I thought that a feature would complete it," you hand him a pair of headphones and gesture over to your laptop with the track already loaded up, "If you like it, you can do your part in the second verse, but otherwise we can start from scratch."

You watch his face as he listens to the song and you're endeared to find out he still carries the same habit of letting his face do all the talking whenever he's listening to something new. His head is bobbing up and down as he nods along to the song and you can easily tell which parts he likes.

"So, what do you think?" you inquire.

He has a grin on his face, "I love it! Honestly! It's a cute song about a crush, I guess?"

"Yeah, I didn't want to go with any song that's lyrically strong for my debut. This song's pretty unassuming and you know how important it is to the companies to have a general public-friendly song," you shrug. They didn't really explicitly give you guidelines, but you knew what the company was really looking for- a hit, "Can you work with that beat? I'll send you the song of course and you don't have to rush or anything."

"I'll see what I can do," Mark teases, "Can I get an insider sneak peek at the rest of the album? You know, feature perks and all of that."

You flush even redder than when he complimented you earlier, "I'm going to be so honest Mark, the whole album is about you. Every song I've written is about you."

He shrugs casually, "I would've figured. You're a big inspiration to my writing too. Is that a no, then?"

You decide that there was no point shying away from Mark's request, considering that he would end up hearing each and every song whenever your album came out anyway. Plus, the two of you were artists and you understood being each others' muse- good or bad. Mark had seen you in every vulnerable state possible. Showing him your songs that you were comfortable enough to release to the public anyway was nothing to you.

"You can listen."

You don't bother giving Mark any explanations for any song- he's the one that lived through these experiences with you. You leave him with your tracklist on the laptop and tell him you would leave him for a few moments to grab some lunch for the two of you in the company cafeteria. You were hoping it was going to be a quick trip down and back up, but you had run into a producer you were also working with on the album, and that gave Mark at least 5 songs worth of time alone.

What you hadn't expected upon returning was to find Mark crying softly, his sweater paws rubbing at his eyes.

"Mark? Are you crying?"

Your surprise caused him to jump up and frantically wipe away his tears, "Ha. That's a really sad album, huh?"

The guilt continues to eat you up from the inside out, "I'm not going to release all of them, I think. A few sad songs and fill the rest in with inconspicuous tracks."

"Well your songs are beautiful anyway," he gives you a pained smile, "You're an amazing writer. I just wish I wasn't the cause of your pain."

"Hey," you scold softly, bumping his arm with yours, "Don't say that. You were nothing but amazing to me. You made me so happy. It was just the circumstances around us."

He chuckled bitterly to himself, "If we weren't famous- if this industry wasn't so vicious, I would still have you?"

"Mark," you warn, but he cuts you off.

"Have you thought about what I asked you?" he interrupts, "It's been a year, you know? I still miss you."

"Mark, it's not that easy," you counter, "Nothing's changed!"

"It's either you want to be with me or you don't. Don't skirt around it and just tell me the truth, okay? It would really make working together easier if I know where we stand. I won't stop fighting for us until you tell me to stop, so tell me what you want, Y/N," Mark pleads, standing up to face you, "I'm sorry for springing it out of nowhere, but I need to know. I can't move on until I know to let you go."

You hate yourself for what you did to Mark. He was the boy that taught you how to love and how to love patiently, sincerely, and passionately. He was the boy that held your hand and rubbed your back when you cried and the boy that celebrated every success with you. He was the boy that told you how proud he was of you, even every time you felt like the world was collapsing around you. He was the boy who would lay kisses on your forehead and whisper sweet nothings in your ear whenever you faced another setback. He was the boy that made flowers bloom out of your heart from his kind gestures and the way he showed you how much he loved you. And if nothing else, Mark was the boy that made you happy.

You remember a conversation with your youngest member the night before. You had confided in her how nervous you were to work with Mark and she lectured you on finally letting yourself be happy. You were already a 4-year idol and Mark was coming onto 7 years. You weren't rookies anymore and you had solid fanbases. It was clear that the companies weren't extremely opposed to revealing that the two of you were dating back then, so she told you that it would be fine now. Kali told you, rather cliché-ly, that the heart wants what it wants and your heart has been screaming and begging from Mark since the second you ended that phone call with him all those years ago.

"Y/N?"

"Mark," you meet his eyes and melt all over again, "It's you, Mark."

Mark wraps one arm around your waist and pulls you tighter. The other hand reaches up to your face to brush your hair out of your face and cradle your cheek as he brings it up to his own face. Your noses are almost touching as Mark lays it all bare for you, "Do you love me or do you not, Y/N?"

"I do," the feeling is cathartic when you finally tell him and when he finally presses his lips in a searing kiss that sets off all the fireworks in your heart. The feeling of Mark is familiar, but the kiss is longing and hopeful and you can't get enough.

You're both panting when he breaks the kiss and he rests his forehead against yours as he laughs softly in relief. He's been waiting to do that for over 2 years.

"I need you back, Y/N. It's been the worst 2 years of my life," he whispers against your lips, "Please come back."

You smile when he opens his eyes. They're that shade you grew to love all those years ago and they're sparkling like the day he first asked you to be his girlfriend.

Nothing's changed in your environment, that's for sure. What you're also sure about is that each time you see Mark again, you feel a little braver and more courageous. Each time Mark tells you that he loves you even though you shattered his heart like glass, you feel like his love can get you through anything. Maybe you needed those 2 years to see what you were missing or maybe you were just stupid.

Whatever. All you know now is that even 2 years on, Mark Lee is still begging for your love and your brain is losing out in its battle against your heart. It might've taken you two years, but now you see that all you need is Mark Lee by your side to get through the torrential storm that was heading your way and that you were going to get out on the other side to a bright and sunny sky, as long as he was holding your hand and leading you.

You place a kiss on his lips that tells him all he needs to know, "I'm here, Mark. It's always been you. You've always been the one. Always."

[ladykailitha]

--ipation!

Did I split it in two just to make that joke? Hell yeah I did. No regrets!

Um...a teeny-tiny bit of poly Nancy/Jonathan/Argyle if you squint, like really hard.

Part 1

***

Eddie and Steve pulled up to the Hawk to see that their friends were waiting for them...well all except Janice, but she was on her way.

“You ready for this?” Eddie asked.

Steve took a deep breath and then nodded. “Yeah, let’s do this.”

Eddie stepped out first.

“Where’s Steve?” Robin asked, running up to him.

Nancy, Argyle, and Jonathan were fast on her heels.

“Is he okay?” Jonathan asked as soon as he reached Eddie.

Eddie held up his hands. “I got it all figured out. I had a friend come in and give me a hand but Steve’s here and I can’t wait for you to see it.”

He cocked his head to the side and licked his upper lip. He cocked one eye brow and said, “I want to see you shiver with antic—ipation.”

Jonathan and Robin giggled, but Nancy and Argyle, who hadn’t seen it yet looked confused.

Eddie turned around but before he could open his mouth Janice came running up to them, high heels clanging hard on the pavement.

“Oh good!” she said, panting, clutching her knees as she tried to catch her breath. “I was hoping to get here before Eddie did the reveal.”

Everybody but Eddie turned and looked at her like she was crazy.

She popped up, waving her hand and grinned. “Hi-ee! I’m Janice, I’m Eddie’s friend and Stevie’s fairy godmother.”

Eddie grinned back. “Perfect timing, babe.” He kissed her cheek.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, sweetheart,” Eddie called over his shoulder. “Ready when you are, Rocky Horror!”

A beat. And then another.

Then Steve stepped out of the van and popped his hip. He smiled at them, hand on his hip.

They all cheered again.

Robin walked up to Steve and touched his sides. “You can’t even tell they were ever there.” She turned to Janice. “You did that?”

She nodded with a grin. “He’s a got a great figure for Rocky, all I did was help a little with his confidence.”

Steve blushed. “Thanks Janice.”

“My pleasure, babe,” she cooed. “Especially since I’m getting such a great stylist out of the deal.”

Eddie put his arms around Janice and Steve. “We’ve got a movie to see, I’ll introduce you all after.”

“Totally bodacious, brochacho,” Argyle said and held out his arm for Janice to take.

She took it with a grin and began talking his ear off about how their characters were related.

Robin took her place under Eddie’s arm and the three of them followed their friends into the theater.

*

After the movie everyone was introduced. They all loved the movie.

There was also a costume contest. There were prizes for best costume for each character, best group, best in show, and wildest interpretation of a character.

They won best group, which some of the other groups protested because they had seven in theirs, while most groups only had three or four. But the Party decided that they were just bitter because of how cool everyone looked.

Eddie won best Frank N Furter. His natural curls and commitment to the whole bit really helped sell the whole look and it was easy to see that he really deserved it.

Steve won best in show. There were other people dressed as Rocky of course, but he really had the whole look down. Especially when standing next to Eddie’s Dr Frank N. Furter.

They all went back to Steve’s for popcorn, drinks and homemade pizza.

While they were waiting for Steve to cut the pizza and bring it out, Robin said, “God Janice, I don’t think I’ve seen Steve smile so much since he got those scars. You really are a fairy godmother!”

Janice stood up and curtsied. “Thank you. I wouldn’t recommend he do it all the time, especially since it’ll be covered up by his shirt. But he’s more than welcome to call me anytime and I’ll happily do it again.”

“God, you’re so perfect I could kiss you,” Robin breathed.

Eddie whispered in her ear, “Well, considering she bi and single, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”

Robin turned bright red as Janice waggled her eyebrows.

Steve came out with the pizzas, wearing a t-shirt over top of his costume.

“Aww...” Eddie pouted. “Why did you cover up?”

Steve laughed. “Getting hot tomato sauce on your chest is no laughing matter.”

Eddie cocked his head to the side. “Yeah, that’s fair.”

They dived into the pizza.

“I liked the movie,” Argyle said they had stuffed themselves. “It was very cool. Thanks for the invite, man.”

Nancy laughed. “Yeah, it was fun.”

Steve grinned. “I had a lot fun too, thanks to Janice.”

“I’m glad I was able to make the night fun for everyone,” she said. “I know I keep harping on this, but seriously I’m getting the best end of the deal with Steve starting on Monday to work for me.”

“It’s so cool, bro,” Argyle said. “The work you did with me and Eddie’s hair was so wicked. I’m glad you get to share your talents with others.”

Steve smiled. “Thanks, man. I’m super excited.”

“I’m also thinking of putting him through beauty school,” Janice said. “He deserves to be the best he can be.”

Steve blushed. “Thanks, Janice.”

“Foods over, pretty boy,” Robin huffed. “If I have to be centimeters away from flashing people my ass, you can go without a shirt.”

Steve laughed and took off the t-shirt. They continued to eat treats and drink soda while they talked and laughed.

It was moving from late at night to early morning and one by one they were dropping off.

Argyle, Nancy, and Jonathan were cuddled together on the sofa, while Janice and Robin snuggled up under a big, fluffy blanket on the loveseat.

It was just Eddie and Steve left. They were cleaning up in the kitchen, moving together as though they had done this for years.

Steve turned to face Eddie. “Thanks for tonight. You really came in clutch.”

Eddie grinned. “Glad to be of service. Plus any chance to see your chest again is always a plus in my book.”

Steve grinned. “Oh I don’t doubt it. I’ve noticed that you really, really like my tits.”

Eddie coughed, choking on his own saliva. “You can’t just say it like that, man.”

Steve stepped forward, closing the distance between them. “I’ve been noticing your attraction since Lover’s Lake.”

Eddie gulped. He had hoped in the aftermath that Steve would have forgotten his little cigarette moment. Apparently not.

“Which is why I was a little confused when you pushed me at Nancy.”

Eddie’s mouth went desert dry, his heart rate picked up, and his breathing became labored.

“But then Robin explained it to me,” Steve said as he got right into Eddie’s space, “you were trying sniff out if I liked her. Well, here’s the answer in black and white, Eds. I don’t like her. I like you.”

Eddie’s jaw dropped and it took a moment before his brain caught up. He grabbed Steve’s face and smashed their lips together. It was hungry and sexy and rough.

And oh god, did Steve love it. He got his hands into Eddie’s curls, wincing a little at the sticky mess that was all the hairspray and tangle of bobby pins. But he didn’t falter for a moment, kissing back as fiercely as Eddie had.

When they finally broke apart, they were both panting for breath.

Eddie huffed out a laugh and ran a finger over Steve’s lips, further smearing the lipstick Eddie had been wearing. “I think we’ve got to get you cleaned up, lover boy. My makeup is all over your face and you really don’t want to sleep with that makeup on your torso.”

Steve winced looking down at his chest. “Yeah, that would be pretty gross.”

“I’ve got you.”

Eddie led him upstairs to Steve’s bathroom and gently removed their makeup. He started with Steve taking the makeup remover he had bought for his own costume and a warm, wet wash cloth and touched it to his side.

Steve could have just taken a shower but let him carefully remove the layers of make up that had hidden his scars.

He then helped Eddie out of the corset and fishnet stockings. He removed the bobby pins and gently rinsed out the hairspray. Eddie’s curls fell in down his back once again.

Soon they were both wearing the same amount of clothes, Steve in his shorts and Eddie in black bottoms.

They laid down on the bed and curled around each other. The heat from earlier was gone, replaced by tender care.

“Can I ask–” Eddie started.

“Why I chose Rocky?” Steve murmured back.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “You didn’t have to go through all this. I mean I loved it and you got a fancy new job out of it, but it could have ended in disaster.”

“I hadn’t seen Rocky Horror before tonight,” Steve said. “But Robin had. When I asked who I should be she told me that of all the characters I fit Rocky the best. I didn’t know if she was insulting my intelligence or what until I saw the movie. Then I got it. Because despite everything, Rocky loved Frank.”

Eddie gulped. “And do you love me, Stevie?”

“Yeah, I really do.”

They kissed again. They drifted off to sleep in each others arms.

And if they came down the following morning to Argyle and Jonathan making breakfast, hand in hand no one said anything. Nancy just smiled at them from her perch on the counter where she was watching Argyle and Jonathan cook.

Or at least no more then Steve or Eddie said anything about Janice offering to drive Robin home.

All in all? It had been a great night.

***

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @goodolefashionedloverboi @messrs-weasley @maya-custodios-dionach @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @emly03 @bookworm0690 @itsall-taken @bookbinderbitch @redfreckledwolf @littlewildflowerkitten @vecnuthy @scheodingers-muppet @mira-jadeamethyst @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @genderless-spoon @yikes-a-bee @anne-bennett-cosplayer

[vqrtualheartss]

42!Miles x Black!Fem!Y/N ― “They sleepin' on you” part two

ᴅ☆ᴇ'ꜱ ꜱᴀʏ|

Y'all didn't expect this huh (My bad for the 5- week wait pookiess― promise I love y'all) Anyways, part one Obviously there will be a part three in two weeks or less

The teased rain from the night before had eased up, a few sheer droplets appearing here and there, and the cold breeze making her aware of her exposed hair. Immediately after getting her body into comfort, (y/n) furrowed her brows in remembrance of her dream. It was of her and Miles going out and giggling, just like the day before ―just what she did not need―. Bringing her phone over her face, the reflection made her suck her teeth and staple a mental note to book a hair appointment today. As if her missing bonnet wasn't already the most out-of-place thing she needed, something on her phone sent her into a deeper confusion.

11:37 AM ― Oh damn? No, not that, that

Hi Miss Mysterious sleeping already?

It was easy to figure whom the person was, having known who was to call her by that name.

Yes I was 'sleeping already'. It was almost 2 in the morning nigga

I planted my phone face down with absolutely no expectancy of a reply. I mean, why would I expect one? After a quiet 3 minutes my phone pinged with a notification.

Woke up on the wrong side of the bed? miles trust and believe that i don't need you making me miserable right now ouch that hurt ... all that progress yesterday for nun?

I squinted my eyes, subconsciously tapping on the side of my phone still opened on Miles' thread. He did go through all that trial and tribulation. Ah, fuck it

myf, I just don't feel alright aight all good so.. so? dry ass texts ― message deleted i saw that okay and? pick up huh?

My phone started to ring, and with no immediate excuse to mind, I answered.

Miles had a PlayStation controller in his hands, headset tucked underneath his braids but the microphone attachment over his mouth still.

"Hello to you too (y/n)'s wall" "Real funny. Hi Miles"

"Just woke up?" Through the tiny window I could see him pressing back into the reclining gaming chair. It had purple streaks all over it

"hmm, how'd you know?"

Looking into my recent chats, I found the user I was looking for. "You sound like a man" My thumb lingered over the profile picture. Did I hear that jiggaboo right?

"Funny how I sound like one more than you do" I smirked at his new found expression, trying to sight any open bookings my stylist offered between the time-frame of today and Saturday.

"What's that shit to mean" He questioned with a defeated tone, his ever so nonchalant look mixed with petulance.

"Play silly games, win silly prizes" He rolled his eyes before fixing his posture and pressing harder into the controller. Sassy much?

꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ · Moving away from the phone unnoticed, (y/n) slumped herself to get ready for the 1pm appointment she barely managed to snatch.

Thank God for cancelling clients, she sighed with relief coming outside the bathroom wearing an off-the-shoulder shirt and casual sweats with her pre-washed hair in a loosely tied, top knot bun.

꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ · Retrieving her charging phone, she furrowed her brows, shaking her head and smiling at the flood of texts.

"you there?" "(y/n)" "(y/n)?" "everything good?" "atleast shake the phone if you're okay"

I sent him a text saying that I was fine, it didn't go through. "Weird" Grabbing a sizeable shoulder bag, I put my purse and card in it, texting my mother my location while closing the front door.

Being distracted placing my keys and phone inside the bag, a big pair of hands held onto my forearms. I screamed, squirming and forcing my way outside the grip before a hand covered my mouth. "Shut u― CHILL. SHH" I looked up at the person before tilting my head with an aloof expression, hitting a smiling Miles on his shoulder "Not funny" "Making me think that you were in danger isn't either―"

"Okay― Wait― How do you know where I live"

"Asked your friend"

Now what if I got kidnapped Would you complain?

He did a once-over at me, raising a brow

"Are you really wearing a mask just to do your hair ?" He shook his head, pointing to the bag I held.

"What―" I raised a hand over my mouth, clutching onto the bag of braids and speed-walking to the salon. "Late?" Because of you― "yea". Before I finished, he grasped onto my hand, dragging me through different lanes and shortcuts, call me crazy but some real kidnapping shit going on

"Calm, I don't plan on taking you away" "I said that out loud?" He chuckled softly at my dumbfounded expression.

Standing infront the lightly tinted, push-and-pull doors, I turned to him.

"How do you know so many― I don't even care― Just― Thank you for getting me here" "No problem" "Can you hold this for me?"

Giving him the bag of hair, I expected him to let go of my hand but nope. Instead he took his time slowly rubbing my thumb in patterns with his as I reached for my phone. We arrived earlier than expected.

"So, see you later?" "Who said I was leaving" He can't be serious "Suit yourself, I can't help if anyone hits on you. A lot of your fan-girls are probably in there" "Would you even be able to? Aren't you like 5"5?" "Not you flexing being a giraffe" "Not you not being able to"

Finally entering the store, we stood awaiting the hairdresser that told us to do so. I pinched Miles' hand with my index and thumb, forcing him to untangle them. He flicked my arm in retaliatilon but before I could do anything, I was embraced by the 20 year old stylist, Keziah. She's one of my close friends, basically an older sister to me, probably how I slipped into my appointment so quick.

We engaged in small talk as she led me over to her station. With my hair down and out, Miles snapped a picture, I posed with a peace sign before pointing at him. "I know, I know. I won't post it" Having no other way of showing gratitude, I made a heart sign, to which he photographed again.

Look who's getting comfortable with someone she swore she'd never talk to

"Y'all together?" "nah, he's my friend" "sure, but believe me, I've heard that from one too many people one too many times. It's all the same ending " "which is?" "the inevitable, falling in lovee"

She made a heart gesture with her fingers to which I playfully rolled my eyes to. In the vanity mirror I peeked Miles' head buried deep in his phone. Looking up, he smiled and waved. Aww

Deciding on knee-length knotless, as expected, the wait took a longg time.

꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ · Throughout the 8 hours (y/n) couldn't help but soften up at the things Miles did for her.

★ · When her neck hurt, he went out to buy a stuffed toy, earning laughs at the name he picked out for it ―Milo, despite not deciding the gender beforehand. Coincidence or not, it was in her favorite color, easily gaining its spot in her heart as a #1 gift. Maybe it was that or the fact that she got it from Miles, either way she adored it.

★ · For the umpteenth time she had reminded Miles of his freedom to leave, and each time he gave the same answer

"You can leave y'know" "Who said I wanted to"

★ · Halfway through, he fell asleep and seizing the opportunity, she took a picture unbeknownst that the flash was on and waking him. Snatching the plush from her hands as revenge, he laughed when she asked for it back with grabby hands.

"Okay, no. Milo is my child and therefore off-limits, give him back" "As Milo's biological father I believe I also get a say in who's care he's in" "And as Milo's biological mother and current guardian I want him back" "Nahh you'll be fine, sit still"

The teasing had Keziah chucking softly over (y/n)'s head, resulting in her putting on a forced anger expression that, however, quickly dissipated.

"Look, mami's angry Milo" "I hate you" "You love me"

★ · Nearing to the end with two braids left, she asked Miles his opinion on what to add. Miles he would've found it cheesy be it any other girl, but he felt happy, ―lovesick even― by her asking for his opinion on something so minor. 'The small things' he'd call it.

"Curls or no curls?" He thought long and hard before answering, he swore you'd look great with either. "Curls"

Closing her eyes as Keziah wrapped the end of her braids with curlers, she heard a buzz from her bag draped across his lap.

"Could you hand me that please?"

The new notification was a message from Miles. Looking at her phone, (y/n) couldn't help but smile.

"you ok?" "I've been ok for the last 13 times you asked" "I'm just worried about you" "What the fuck is tjag Fyt ??"

Spotting Keziah walking with a kettle in her hands she could only assume that was what he was referring to. Pointing at it, she tilted her head as if to ask:

"You mean that?"

He shook his head in response, watching closely as Keziah dipped her hair into the hot liquid. Slightly wincing in pain, he put Milo in her hold, it didn't go unnoticed by (y/n) how their fingers interlocked over the others before pulling away. Ouhh

꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ · Ending off the night with the ladies talking briefly, it finally dawned on (y/n) how late it was getting, ―deciding to pay and leave.

On the other side of the door they stood separated; no type of touch between the two. Miles had his hands in his pockets, (y/n) holding tightly onto Milo. Usually, she was so accustomed to the sting of fresh-braids but no sah, this time it didn't work out like that.

Walking, he looked over his shoulder to see me still put, holding onto the back of my head for dear life and rubbing it. Just how long was that water boiling for? "You good?" "No" my answer― even thought against my will― came off somewhat harsh, tiredness and pain driving me agitated. Now standing infront me, he silenced my ever occurring grunts with a hug? Placing his hand over mine, he started to knead away the pressure, the tension within fading. After some time he hoisted my chin with curled fingers. "Better?" I mumbled an incoherent "Mhm" falling back into his hold and wrapping my arms around him loosely.

I don't know why I did that, well, I'm trying to push away a few ideas but even they're too out-of-reach. Looking up at him, he smiled. I returned it, my half-opened eyes closing fully before I let out a yawn. Hurriedly, I slapped a hand over my mouth as he laughed "How 'bout we head back to your place, sounds good?"

I felt drunk with fatigue miserably stumbling over my own two feet. It didn't help that Miles was laughing like a rass hyena helping me up.

"Can't hold a joke?" I tilted my head, lazily crossing my arms "Come here" He dragged me nearer to him with one arm around my neck, hugging me as we walked. I thought our feet would get caught up from us walking so close, the idea made me giggle.

He guided me the way home and when I tell you that déjà vu hit like a bus, believe me. We sounded like those recordings that had people talking as if they're in their own little world with the calming songs in the background. (Hope it makes sense lol) If anything, a video from some vintage camera would make us look like starring actors playing school-kids from a sappy love-sick drama .

Nah, that's too far. It's just a friendly encounter, nothing to go feral about...yeah

-------- Heyy, it's Wednesday

Dropping my head into my palms, I scanned my bed. Usually, as you can tell, I don't wake up this early, but the pain from the braids was too much for my subconscious to bear even after being alleviated. It wasn't anything concerning or harsh on my scalp but― ugh― how do I explain― it's like when there's a mosquito right, it's not doing you anything but it's there and being bat-shit annoying.

I slapped my forehead repeatedly, waking up myself to get ready to conquer day 2/6 of holiday. Trust me, extra sleep would be greatly appreciated, but I think it's time to give my bed a rest. Throwing on cargo shorts and a loose-fitting top, I did my hair in a low bun with a headband after doing any chores I think I'd get penalized for ―nothing atrocious though. Just the regular like cleaning my room and doing my section of the roster―

----

Taking a water for myself, I slid a bottle of juice down to my sibling per her request. Dae, my 14 y/o sister, is almost a mini-me; she reads a lot, plays most games I do, and really really quirky ―in a good way though, fs . But unlike me, she's what you'd call a 'social butterfly' and a pretty one too, genes run strong in the family i guess.

Sitting on the counter-top I flicked through whatever the media had to offer, Dae staring at me with a knowing look and crossed arms. Glances like that would've normally been exchanged from the two of us but this time I had no clue what's going on

"Your boyfriend seems nice" "My who now?" "Y'know, your Prince Naveen with the braids that held you oh so close to his manly chest"

In the middle of her sentence she held overlapping hands over her arms and twirling. She talked in a ludicrous princess voice; to which I cringed heavily at, earning laughs from her.

"He's not my boyfriend" "Soo you're like that with all your male friends?" Which male friends? "NO―"

She started to eye me up and down with a cheeky smile. I looked at her blankly, eyebrows drawing nearer as her smile got wider. She opened her phone, scrolling through something before she brought it up to my hand, urging for me to hold it. It was a thread of messages

"Even ma' likes him" This the intervention or sumn' ? "Wait― Hold on― What?" "I was on a call with her, and not gonna lie. You looked drunk as hell"

Flashbackk ¦

"You can leave me here, my house is right around the corner" Lifting herself off of Miles' body, (y/n) pointed groggily towards a shop. Hissing his teeth, he brought her back to her original position with a soft pull on her arm. "If it's right there we can just walk. What if something happens to you?" Shrugging, she clinged onto his arm for support. Stunned by the sudden affection, it was hard to bite back the smile that cuffed his lips. He felt something dull surge within his body when she didn't smile back, well, when her eyes didn't squeeze together like they usually would.

¦ In the past few hours (y/n) found the walls she built for her own protection falter; the bits left crumbling every time she interacted with him. Miles Morales did something to (y/n), be it the way he looked at her, the things he did, the stupid stuff they talked about; whatever it was, it was serenating. But she knew giving in would could cost her a lot ― much more than her 'ghost' reputation, it was her sanity at stake.

For Miles, all that mattered was the girl tucked underneath his arm, it's hand intertwined with hers― a stance they were sure to grow fond of. Unsure why he was acting the way he was, he found himself wanting to do and be so much more than an 'accomplice' by her. He wanted to watch every late 90's romance-movie while taking down the braids he wished he could've funded for her. For her, he would splurge his life savings on anything she could ever want and need. Miles knew that the Ms. Independent in her would never let him, something he admired about her. He grew to admire a lot about her. She's going to work me hard

Right now, our favorite two were in front the (l/n)'s residence as she frantically searched for her keys. Opening the door, she stood nervously as Miles remained outside, (y/n) went back down the steps to face Miles before―

Flash ¦

Hiding her phone in an instant, Dae smiled innocently, chuckling softly as she made way to her room.

"My dearest princess Tiana, whenever you're done dreaming about your prince Naveen and you find yourself needing me. Well, which I hope not, I'll be playing Valorant's new season" "There's a new season?" With her head peeking out the door frame, she narrowed her eyes "I don't know, fuck around and find out"

Before I could say something she shut her door. Yup, mini-me. I took up my phone in reaction to the notification sound, it was a message from Lailah.

"Mind explaining why thee Miles Morales wants your house address?"

okay culprit.

"took his book on accident" "so what you're telling me is" "You saw miles in the flesh and blood within less than three feet?" "Eww lailah" "It sounds weird like that" "girl, you cannot tell me that you don't find him cute" "who?" "miles?"

If you want him girl take him, I certainly won't

"..obviously" "nope...you do?" "who doesn't" "I'm worried about you" "wtv"

I scoffed.

What's so special about him? He looks like every other guy, like literally. The only difference is probably his jawline, smile, eyes..how all his features just make him look so. so. so.. majestic? I hissed and laid down on the countertop, groaning when my hands couldn't push my head any deeper into the material as I accepted defeat. The image of just him doing anything could bring a smile and not a scowl to my face. Ew

I hate this― whatever that he's making me feel, I don't like it.

I'll be staring part three for my other story and also this one

[thenextdawn-backup]

Yours Again

Word count: 4.7K

Summary: you’re invited at golden globes both as a nominee and to present but there you’ll meet your ex, Jenna. How will it go and what will happen?

Warnings: angst if you squint

Pairing: Jenna Ortega X Fem!Reader

———

You had never expected to be nominated and competing for the golden globe that would be given to the best actress of the year but, here you were. Surely you weren’t expecting to win either, you had no hopes of that. Your career had yet to reach its high, and you had a long way to go, considering you haven’t been acting for long and your works haven’t fully been acknowledged yet. People were slowly starting to see you more often though, and your recent show where you had been protagonist, was the one that made you get a nomination. You wouldn’t have gone to the golden globes if it weren’t for this nomination, considering that Jenna would be there. She had been nominated in two categories. Best actress and best comedy show, and it was obvious to you that she would win both of them, giving you zero chances of winning the best actress award.

You and Jenna had broken up a couple years ago and it was the worst heartbreak of your life, you lost over 10kgs because of that heartbreak. She was too busy, putting work before you, getting too close to other people. You didn’t deserve that, so the two of you broke up and you pursued your own career, which inevitably led to this. You enjoyed having your own reputation, and for once it was good to be recognized for your works instead of being known as “Jenna’s girlfriend” or worse, “Jenna’s Ex”. People knew the two of you had broken up but no one ever knew why, and after two years finally people had started to bypass this detail of your life. Still, you would have refused going if they didn’t call you to present for the best comedy show nomination, so you had to go. You showed up wearing this dress which wasn’t the most expensive or the prettiest, but it would do for the night.

Everyone was told that they could bring a person with them, a “plus one” that would be there to keep you company, but you didn’t have one so you showed up alone, with the only company of your stylists and body guards. They were really good people, and you loved being around them. As soon as you arrived, paparazzis came your way and started taking pictures and videos of you, while you kept walking inside the place, going to the place where you could actually pose for the pictures. Soon you got there and your stylists fixed your hair - which was tied in a high wavy ponytail - and dress quickly for the pictures. Your makeup matched the dark green of your dress, especially the eye shadow. Eyeliner and mascara completing the look as well as some highlighter on your cheekbones and nose. You looked gorgeous, to say the least.

You started posing for the pictures, both staying serious and smiling. You were confident with yourself so these things, came to you very naturally. “(Y/N) over here!” “(Y/N) smile for the camera!” These sentences were echoing throughout the place, other actors turning to look at you. It was your first golden globes you attended, some actors didn’t know you, some others did. But you had definitely made an entrance and people wanted to see more and more of you. Soon enough though, you had to go because you had to go present for the category and as you turned around to check the stylist fixing your dress, you saw her. Jenna was posing, paparazzi there the same numbers as your own. She looked gorgeous, you hadn’t seen her in forever but she had cut her hair, now keeping them in a shoulder-length. She was wearing this probably gucci dress in a rose gold color, with a really long veil behind her.

Your jaw nearly dropped. She looked even more beautiful than the day you two broke up. You were still kids relatively, both being 18 but now you were both 20 and had definitely matured, you wondered if it would be a good chance, to get back in contact with her and try have a relationship again. Though on the other hand, you two haven’t talked ever since and you didn’t know if it would be a great idea. Your stylists saw you were staring, and knowing your situation with Jenna they grabbed your attentions and led you to where you were supposed to present, even though you had to wait a bit more for everyone to join the salon, as you waited backstage.

About 30 minutes passed and finally you could walk on stage. Lights turned on and as you walked in with a smile on your face people started cheering for you, unexpectedly. Until it was just the paparazzi, you could understand. But now it was the other actors too. You were slowly realizing how famous your new show had made you and to be honest, you liked it. As soon as you arrived in front of the microphone, you adjusted it for your height as you smiled at the public. “Hello everyone. As you know tonight we’re presenting the nominations for the best comedy show and best actress of the year, we’ve got many actresses competing for those awards that I’m personally a very big fan of and I’m really honored tonight to be here and present for the best comedy show. We’ll get to it in a minute, the time to get the envelope” you gave out one of your smiles and people applauded to you and waited.

Only when you walked on stage did Jenna see you. She totally wasn’t expecting to see you there, even if she knew you were a nominee for the best actress of the year award, she thought you wouldn’t come, knowing you. She was there with her best friend Percy, who you knew as well. Jenna was still in love with you, but back two years ago she had too much work to think about a relationship and she didn’t realize it until she saw how hurt it made you, that hurt to break up with her. She understood your points of view, but still, it hurt, even if she knew it was her fault. “She looks beautiful, doesn’t she?” Percy asked, seeing that her friend Jenna’s jaw had dropped looking at you. Of course he knew everything. “Yeah, she does..” Jenna said, not taking her eyes off of you.

You soon got the envelope and soon talked into the microphone again. “Okay, we’re back with the envelope” people applauded once again, before a deep silence fell into the room, everyone hoping to receive the awaited award. “And the golden globe for the best comedy show goes to…” of course you had to create suspense as you opened the envelope. “Jenna Ortega!” You said with a small smile. Of course it had to be her, she was getting so much recognition recently as well as you, because of her new show dropping, Wednesday. The room exploded with applauses and cheers as your ex girlfriend walked on stage, a huge smile on her face as she held her dress up as not to trip. Even with your past, you had to smile and set it aside. You took the award and handed it to her “congratulations” you said as you both leaned in for a hug, it was just a polite hug, yet you felt like you had been longing for it forever.

She gave a short speech to which you didn’t listen, too busy thinking about the hug you two had just shared. It probably meant nothing to her, but you needed it and now that you had it, you wanted more, but you couldn’t. You made your way to your table which you hadn’t even tried to find yet, but being alone, you hoped it wasn’t the table with Jenna. Then you went back on your words because the table ended up being the same one your other ex girlfriend Amber was in, and as if it couldn’t get any worse, your seat was right next to her. You sat down without acknowledging her. “How’s it feel to be this famous?” The girl asked you with that provocative tone of yours you so badly hated. “Not now, Amber. I’m trying to figure out if I won an award” you said and tried to ignore her, listening to the woman presenting. You didn’t know her, but it probably was another actress.

“You broke up with me, you broke up with Jenna… have you tried thinking that maybe the problem is you?” God this woman had always been on your nerves but what she said had you thinking. Was it really your fault? Were you too needy? “Amber, shut the fuck up. Will you?” You said harshly, and maybe even a little bit too loud because some other people in the room close to your table turned to look at you, Jenna included as she was in the table next to yours, but you ignored them. The girl looked at you with a shocked face. “Thank you.” You said and moved your attentions back to the woman presenting. “And the Golden Globe to the best actress of the year goes to…” your heart was beating so fast, fingers crossed in hope to win it, even though on one hand you knew that there were better actresses than you.

“(Y/N) (L/N)!” The room erupted in cheers, applauses and happy screams as shock took place on your face. A huge smile appeared on it as you covered your mouth with your hand and stood up, looking around. You walked on stage, lights on you and paparazzi taking pictures of you as you took the award in your hands and stood in front of the microphone. “Hey again” you said with a bright smile, your eyes were slightly teary from the emotions. “I had a speech prepared in case I ever won an award, but I seem to have forgotten it” people laughed as well as you. “I had never expected to win an award, especially not this one. My works haven’t been getting recognized much until just recently, and I’m finally getting a reputation for my own name and it feels really good. It has always been a dream of mine to have such a reputation and now that I have it, it doesn’t feel real. Thank you so much” everyone started applauding again and you looked around, noticing Jenna smiling - a big smile indeed - at you and applauding. The look in her eyes almost telling you ‘I’m proud of you’ .

You smiled back at her looking directly in her eyes and then walked off stage, award in hand as you made your way back to your table. When you walked there, People you knew and people you don’t congratulating to you. When you sat down Amber didn’t dare to look at you, and you figured out that she was competing for that same award and she was mad you took it instead of her. “(Y/N)” you turned around at the mention of your name, to where the familiar voice was coming from. You saw Jenna smile at you again. “Congratulations. I knew you’d make it” she said and you slightly smile back, the desire of kissing her right then and there kicking out but you knew you couldn’t. “Thank you” you said and paid attention to the rest of the ceremony.

When the ceremony had finished and you left the salon, you were met by your stylists who you were really close with and they hugged you tightly, congratulating to you as they also told you how proud they were of you, having been following you ever since the start of your career they were family now. You explained them how you met Amber, how you were the one to give Jenna the award and how she congratulated to you and useless to say, they were as shocked as you were. “(Y/N), you know this means she still likes you, right?” One of your stylists, Jamie said, whispering as to not be heads by paparazzi. “No, she doesn’t. I’m sure you’re mistaken” you tried to convince yourself of it, even though deep down you wanted to believe that she still liked you. “I swear! When you won the award they always recorded her and she was looking at you with heart eyes! If that isn’t love I don’t known what is.”

You were about to reply but then you were called to take pictures with the awards and other actors and of course you were called to pose with Jenna. Somehow you felt like you had been set up: you had to award her, your table was right next to hers and now the pictures together… anyway, she was already there and waiting for you, smiling and you soon reached her and also gave her a small smile, though a slightly uncomfortable one. You posed next to her but the photographers invited you to stand closer. You were taller than her even if she was in high heels and yours were shorter, your dresses making a perfect contrast to each other’s. Your dark green dress was in contrast with her rose gold one but at the same time, they looked good together. This served as a metaphor to what your relationship used to be… you and Jenna were so different to one another, yet together you were just perfect.

To get closer without seeming to awkward, Jenna wrapped an arm around your waist and you did the same with her, even though your touch was less confident than hers. You smiled for the picture, award in hand as they took a lot of pictures of the two of you. You were soon finished “(Y/N), can we talk?” Jenna asked after the photographers had left. “Not now Jen, I have some interviews… maybe later” you said, not wanting to dismiss her completely and then went to your interviews. They were all the same, except for this one. “Everyone, meet the best actress of the year!” You were introduced by the woman as you smiled at the camera and said hello. “So, how’s it feel to be best actress of the year?” She asked and moved the microphone towards you. “It’s amazing. It’s a dream to be here in the first place, and to be nominated best actress… it doesn’t feel real. I don’t know what to say, it’s still a shock for me” you laughed nervously

“Tell us a bit about the show that got you this award” she asked and you smiled slightly. “Well it’s a show that talks about this girl going through lots of bad stuff such as grief, loss, car crashes, depression. All the bad stuff no one expects in their life. It was really hard for me to film because you have to show a lot of emotions in very different ways, but I think I did a great job” you said proudly. “You definitely were amazing in there! How do you feel about the reputation you finally got?” Your smile dropped a bit, everyone always asked about your reputation well knowing that at first you were only known as Jenna’s girlfriend. “It feels good, really. Finally I have something I can call my own and I’m really really proud of it” you answered shortly, you hated this question. “And how about being the one to give out the award to the best comedy show actress?” Again, a question somehow regarding Jenna.

“Well being there presenting was definitely an honor, this being my first golden globes I never expected to be called to present. Jenna is a really good actress so she definitely deserved the award” luckily you knew how to respond to answers without making people misunderstand your words. “Well it was nice interviewing you. Thank you for your time and congratulations again” you thanked them as well and then left perhaps to go to another interview. Going on interviews the questions started getting crazier and people hinted to you being back with Amber. Did she tell people something? Did she tell people that the two of you were back together? After hearing this you refused any kind of interviews and went to look for Amber. When you found her, she was having an interview. “I’m sorry, I’ll steal her for a second” you said and moved not too far away, wanting paparazzi to hear what you were going to say.

“Amber, why are you telling people that we are back together?” You asked her angrily, eyes fuming “because, I deserve another chance and I want to try again” she said and you furrowed your brows in anger. “It’s not something you decide on your own! Jesus Amber, Don’t you understand that I do not want to get back with you? Here I thought I was the problem. You’re toxic, and the fact that you tell people we’re together when we’re clearly not says everything. Stop lying to people and make your own life without it affecting mine” you said, your voice tone higher than usual as you wanted paparazzi to record what you were saying so that they wouldn’t make weird articles about the two of you. After this sudden outburst, you headed to where the after party would be taking place. Your stylists had taken your award and let you go to the party, obviously after fixing your hair and make up once again.

At the party, you realized that not bringing your plus one was a bad choice. Everyone was busy talking or having fun while you, on your own, just took your drink and sat down, having occasional talks with the other actors that congratulated to you for your award, and the few that had listened to your conversation with Amber told you how badass you had been. They all knew how Amber was and some even wondered how you could get in a relationship with her. You sat at your table the whole time, sipping on your drink before Jenna came towards you. “Can we talk now? Please?” She asked, her voice soft and eyes pleading. You nodded at her and the two of you went somewhere private - this time were no one would see or hear you - as you waited for her to talk.

“(Y/N), I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for… what happened two years ago, you know..” she said and looked down, ashamed. She had recognized her mistakes long ago, only you didn’t know. “Yeah… I’m sorry, too..” you said looking down, though sometimes glancing at her. “Can we just.. start over?” You looked up at her “as friends. Nothing more nothing less. Then see where it takes us” you thought about it for a while. Amber had asked you the same stuff, only she was forcing you to give her another chance, while Jenna left you free choice. You had missed her a lot, and you needed her back in her life to finally be whole again, you knew you needed her. And even though you wished you were more, you knew it had to wait. “I missed you, Jen” you said smiling and she moved in for a hug, which you reciprocated hugging her very tightly obviously being careful not to step on her dress.

“I missed you so much, you have no idea” she replied back as she took your hand and squeezed it gently. “I have no idea but I can imagine… you have no idea how much I missed you too. Like my jaw dropped when I saw you walk in in this beautiful dress” the two of you kept on talking for a while as you went back to the party, also joining Percy who smirked at the two of you. “Okay so, you’re starting of as “friends”” he started, using air quotes. “But we all know that soon enough you’ll be back together, the way you look at each other is flirty enough” he said making the two of you blush. The party continued, you all got a few drinks because the three of you were tipsy, and more pictures of you and Jenna were taken, until it was finally time to leave.

“Do you have a drive back to the hotel?” Jenna asked. The hotel was the same for everyone present there so she knew where you were supposed to go. “Uh my stylist was supposed to take me there but I suppose I’ll send he a text and tell her I’m coming with you” Jenna smiled at you while nodding as you texted her an ‘no need to take me to the hotel, I’m going with Jenna’ to which she replied with a couple 😏 emojis. You smiled at the text and got into the car with Jenna, Percy getting in another car as the two of you headed the hotel, sitting close together in the backseat. The trip was awkward for a while until she spoke up “you know, I’ve been watching all of your works recently… your latest show is amazing, you did really good” she said and you smiled back, looking at her. “I’m obsessed with your new show Wednesday too so, we’re even” you smiled making her giggle, god you had missed that laugh of hers.

The two of you exchanged glances for a while, just looking into each other’s eyes with a small smile. “You know, you’re even prettier than you were two years ago” you said softly, you didn’t mean to say it, you were thinking it but it just came out like that, you blushed and she did the same, but she grabbed your hand and intertwined your fingers with her own. You felt comfortable so you just stayed like that till you got back to your hotel. “Do you want to spend the night in my room? We’re both alone and… I could use the company” you knew where this was going, but you agreed. You were alone too, and you had been alone for a while now, plus you had definitely missed Jenna. You went to your own room just to change into your pyjama and take your dress off, and Jenna did the same.

When you were done you walked back to Jenna’s room, when you knocked it was almost like she was there behind the door because she opened it immediately. “Hey again” you said awkwardly as she smiled and took your hand, pulling you into the room. “You know, this reminds me of when I would sneak you on set” she said smiling as the two of you sat on her bed. That made you smile as well “yeah, it was really fun. I remember that night on The fallout set when Megan got mad because she thought someone unknown had gotten in and then she saw it was me and got mad at us for scaring her” Jenna started laughing pretty loudly as she slowly scooted closer to you “oh my god yes! That’s a core memory of mine” she said happily and then silence filled the room for a while.

“You know I’m glad we decided to start over. I don’t know how long I can go being just friends because I’m still in love with you” you said softly and hesitantly brought a hand up to her face, first moving a strand of hair out of her face and then you gently caressed her cheek with the back of your hand, while she looked at you with nothing but love in her eyes. “(Y/N) we were young… and we didn’t know how to organize our time. I did put my job before you and I regret it every single day, but at the time I didn’t know that it could cause you so much pain and I’m so sorry for that. You only existed in my shadow and it was wrong in so many different ways but I only realized it was wrong when I had already lost you. I’m so proud of the woman you are now, and I’m so glad that you decided to give me a second chance because until now… I wasn’t fully living. I was just surviving. Because my life without you is just surviving and now that you’re back in it, I feel like I can start living again, regardless of what’s between us. I just need you to be in my life” she said and took both your hands, eyes filling with hope.

You squeezed her hand and looked at her, hesitantly raising your hand once again to caress her cheek. She leaned in for the touch and closed her eyes “I love you so much (Y/N)… I’ve never stopped and I feel so bad for hurting you, please, please, please forgive me” she begged and looked at you, getting closer to you. You had to admit you were hesitant. “Don’t get me wrong for what I’m about to say, but in our relationship, you hurt me so much… but still, I’ll do it again. I’d rewind time to be in a relationship with you again because I love you so much. Jenna you have no Idea how much I want to be in a relationship with you again” you said and she looked at you, fearing that you’d refuse her. When her thoughts became too intrusive, you leaned in and kissed her very softly. Hand on her cheek the other pulling her close from her waist as you felt her kiss you back, tears escaping Jenna’s eyes which you felt and wiped away.

In this moment, it was just the two of you. Your lips, your bodies getting closer together. She had always been so small and would be the perfect fit for your body, you weren’t too big, you were average but she fit perfectly in your arms. The kiss the two of you were sharing was so soft. There was the urge of kissing each other after years, sure, but it was the softest kiss you ever shared with her, you both felt so many emotions, but relief was the main one. Both of you were finally relieved to be with each other again and it felt perfect. Jenna’s left hand moved to your neck and then your shoulder, pulling you closer with the other hand that went through your hair. Eventually the two of you had to pull back, and without saying anything else, you just smiled at each other and went to sleep.

The next morning you were the first to wake up, like it always used to be two years ago. You and Jenna were facing each other and she was still sleeping, you always loved watching her sleep. She looked so pretty and so peaceful, she looked like an angel, your angel. You lightly caressed her cheek to wake her up like your usual, and feeling your soft touch she smiled and moved in closer to you, you wrapped your arms around her. “I missed this…” she whispered. “Good morning sleepyhead” you said and kissed her head, and then you took your phone. Your stylists had sent you a link, which took to a website online. “Jenna Ortega and (Y/N)(L/N) Dating again? Fans are hopeful after a video of the two of them went viral on tik tok. Do we have hopes of seeing them together again?” The title of the article read. You showed Jenna, and you two went on tik tok to see the videos. Useless to say that you were both really embarrassed.

“Looks like we gave them what they wanted without even knowing it. Should we uhm, confirm or deny?” You asked her. She went quiet and then she took her phone, shooting a picture of your legs entangled with hers and posted it on her instagram stories, writing “mine again.” Without tagging you. You smiled at her possessiveness and pulled her closer, “yep, I’m yours again.”

[forbidding-souda]

Hii!! May I please have some headcannons with Gundham, Kazuichi, and whoever with a gyrau s/o!!! Please and thank u!!

Gundham Tanaka and Kazuichi Souda with a SHSL Gyaru S/O

here's another gyaru s/o fic i did with mondo, shinguuji, and kaito! it was rather recent too since when was i posting in 2022 what the fuck. i didn't add any characters because i realized i had three that i have already done so there's more mwahahahahaha

i love gyaru's rawr rawr i'm so excited to write this ty anon

-Mod Souda

Gundham Tanaka

❤ It's clear you two are a couple. You both have a very eccentric way of speaking which makes you guys such a good couple wow, nobody is surprised when you tell them you're together. They can probably guess that. With you two having voluminous hair and heavy eyeliner, it's as if your aesthetics were compatible. Though being in two different subcultures, the overlapping stylistic details adds a charm to the times you've walked together hand in hand. Your both overdramatic way of talking makes people group you together.

He departs from the barn, quickly making his way back to the main building, where you wait on your phone. He doesn't have to look for you. Your appearance is eye-catching. Your loose shirt, a more casual one, is heavily wrinkled from how quickly you put it on this morning. You're not even wearing any of your iconic belts. You wanted to join him despite how early it was. Your eyes flick up to his once you hear him approaching. "Are you done?" You ask. You turn your head towards him, makeup still perfectly done (you focused more on that then your outfit, which you did last). Before he can respond, you squint at his name tag. "That's cute." He grumbles and unpins it. His mind was too busy for a proper conversation. He was logging all of the animal's names in his head and the medications and treatment they needed it. While you two walk, he places his hand on the small of your back, a simple form of affection to tell you he was still paying attention. But when you yawn, it breaks his thought process. "You're tired?" You nod. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yawn like that." "Nonsense. Perhaps we can arrange an hour of slumber." You nod. "Can it be more than an hour?" He hums, thinking for a second. "As many as you need, my dear enchantress."

❤ Oh my god if you wear more dark colors or purples (else a goshikku gyaru) you could absolutely be the same color palette as him. Purple and black pleaded skirt with eyeliner in your waterline omggg. Or a zip-up with skeletons on it.

❤ He absolutely loves your style, he adores anything vaguely alternative and subnormal. Ur definitely getting some more romantic nicknames like "my muse" or "my agony".

❤ Ya ya ya it's unhygienic but you can share makeup if you can't find something (aka you probably left your eyeliner in your purse but completely forgot).

❤ You will scream and cry when you tease your hair and then you go to visit animals with him and a giraffe just starts licking it.

❤ But the hamsters love your hair / wigs.

❤ You can probably convince him to wear more eccentric earrings.

❤ And necklaces. Omg matching necklaces. From the one dogtag he wears, you can convince him to wear a chain or a bunch of layers of silver.

❤ I doubt he has social media so he doesn't see your persistent presence, but he will take pictures of you with the animals for some posts.

❤ When you start using a bit of his lingo online no one questions it.

❤ Also in the scenario thing above I fought the urge to say you were playing dress to impress.

.

Kazuichi Souda

❤ He was so nervous around you. He wasn't as bold as he was with Sonia. He'd give you compliments and then promptly walk away after you say thank you. It takes you and your boldness to finally get him to have a lingering conversation ("No, no, you get back here"). He's such a charmer, you loved the conversations, and whenever you gave him compliments back he was fighting the urge to completely melt.

❤ You post a lot of photos of you two together. You just love his pink hair and it tends to fit your layout perfectly. Some of them aren't just cutesy selfies, it's things like him with his jumpsuit tied around his waist as he's too focused on his work to realize you have your phone pointed at him. He's started to do the same to you. Taking pictures as you're posing yourself for your own camera. You love the candid photos he takes of you so much you end up posting them instead. He loves your online presence. He's gonna pick up the slang you use and it's gonna be funny LMFAO.

Upon entering the house, he spots you sitting on the couch with a sugary snack in your hand. You immediately smile. "Sorry," you say, "I couldn't help myself." He was planning on a real meal for tonight, but of course, you've indulged in the popular snacks you love so much. At least your well, that smile on your face says as much. He kicks off his shoes, leaving them scattered by the door. You study him for a moment, wondering if his sour mood is because of you or whatever job he had outside. "Are you good?" You ask mid chew. He eyebrows furrow a bit and he nervously scratches at his jaw. "I lost the necklace you gave me." "What?" "I took it off and I don't know where it went, I'm an idiot." You place your snack aside and stand, approaching him. "Dude," you place your hands on his cheek. "It's not that serious. I have a thousand of them. I'll get you another one." "But you gave me that one." "And I'll give you another 'that one'. You worry too much." He sighs, placing his forehead against yours, the small thunk drawing you back, but you don't pull away. He's constantly fearing offending you or disappointing you. But you always assure him that things are alright. The simple things he stresses over are never things that will push you away, and he needs to understand that.

❤ He loves it when you scratch his back with the long, decorative nails. Or when you massage his scalp when he's trying to sleep. His small, half-awake hums are soooo cute.

❤ He'll want you to do his hair. He trusts your stylistic abilities with his life. You're not going to be able to do the dramatic makeup on him, nice try. But hair yesss. He'll want to add small braids to your style as well.

❤ His work is a little too messy for you and if he gets motor oil on you you're gonna fight the urge to throw a fit. On your yellow shirt? Kaz. You piece of shit.

❤ ^ Frantic cleaning-related google searches.

❤ ^ On the rack beside the front door, you keep your shoes far away from his.

❤ He gets you a lot of those glitter, bajeweled (or whoever it's spelled) reusable cups. He uses them a lot for himself though. He wanted an excuse to have them, and you definitely figured this out LOL.

[ofstoriesandstardust]

so long, daisy may (lt. bradley “rooster” bradshaw)

a/n: anti-hero belongs to rebel but so does you’re on your own kid and i won’t change my mind. @struggling-with-delia​ has been here for every step and evolution of this piece and i’m truly posting this for her because i honestly never thought this would see the light of day. i am going to hide under a rock until further notice bye. 

summary: It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero. 

originally inspired by taylor swift���s “anti-hero” and “you’re own your own, kid”

main masterlist | top gun: maverick masterlist | same mistakes-verse | same mistakes-verse timeline

warnings: nightmares, blood, swearing, jealousy, insecurity, alcohol, brief brief brief reference to an ED if you squint, we were introduced to Petals in the my tears ricochet piece and there was popular demand for me to bring her back, i took some stylistic risks with this one, and it’s that this has no point of resolve and a very abrupt ending, if you hate this don’t tell me because i’ll cry

word count: 3,325

Picking up Bob’s wrist where his watch sits, you glance at the time, rolling your eyes. He looks down at your curiously, sipping his drink. 

The last thing you expected to be the topic of conversation tonight was her. You’d made the mistake of leaning over to your best friend’s phone, being nosy about what he was looking at on Instagram. There’d been a picture of your old teammate, Moonshine, as she’d taken a leave trip to New York City after the Green Vipers short trip to Miramar. 

It’s how you learned she’d been at Top Gun with your best friend the first time around, and subsequently your boyfriend. And apparently most everyone else too. 

The group had now been trading stories of their experiences will her, all glowing. It’d been at least a half hour of this, and you slowly felt like you were losing your grip on your sanity, what with the whiplash Coyote was giving you. He’d been there, watched her follow everyone else and treat you like shit, so where did he get off talking like this?

“Take it you’re not a fan?” Hangman smirks as he raises an eyebrow at you. You shake your head, running a hand through your hair. 

“Not in the slightest.” 

“Really?” Phoenix asks, leaning up against the pool table. 

“Why?” Your boyfriend asks incredulously and you glance at him, shrugging. 

“Just... didn’t have a good experience with her.” 

You didn’t talk much about how awful everyone on the team had been. They knew you didn’t like your old squadron but you were unwilling to detail just how badly they treated you. 

“Gonna need more reason than that, babe.” 

You turn to him. “Well, why do you like her so much?” 

He looks away. “You know... she’s a good pilot. Funny. Life of the party.”

“Pretty too.” Hangman comments, looking between you and Rooster. 

You glance at him. “What? Why do I get the feeling I’m missing something?” Coyote nudges Hangman, shaking his head. Phoenix coughs awkwardly, looking up at the ceiling. “What?” Your boyfriend shifts, setting his drink down next to the pool table, game long forgotten. 

“We... hooked up once or twice when we were at Top Gun the first time.” 

Oh. 

He carefully watches you, waiting for a reaction, but you don’t have one to give him, trying to not squirm from the slimy feeling slithering up your spine. 

“But that’s not why I like her. She’s cool, really good pilot. I don’t know, you don’t meet pilots as genuine and level-headed as her. She’s just.. she’s really... I don’t know, she’s cool.” 

There’s a prickling sensation, something you want to recognize as jealousy. 

You pick up your drink, knocking the rest down your throat. You swallow and set the glass down with a little bit more force than necessary. The noise the movement makes echoes in the silence of the group. “If she’s so cool, you should go date her instead.” 

You pull yourself from your boyfriend’s arm, slipping off the bar stool and moving away from the pool table. 

“Oh Rebel, c’mon, I didn’t mean it like that.” He calls after you but you ignore him in favor leaving the bar. Crossing your arms, you take a deep breath as you walk towards your car. 

Only a month or so in, and despite the years you’d known him, you wouldn’t call your relationship with Bradley anything short of new. 

At times, it felt like no place had ever felt more right than being next to him. At times, it seemed like everything had happened to lead you to be right here, right now. 

Other times though, it felt like one misstep would take you hurling back to the years of animosity. One misspoken word, one argument, would fracture the happy family and fragile peace, leaving your hands littered with glass as you did what you did best. 

Hurt them first, right?

As gross as the two of you were (Fanboy’s words), always so blatantly in love with each other, you were still unsure about if you belonged here. Belonged here, belonged with them, belonged with him. 

It had little to do with Moonshine as a person. You did have to admit, that when her head wasn’t up Ghost and Shadow’s ass, when she wasn’t constantly seeking the approval from others, she was cool. She was funny, was genuine. If she could get away from her “follow the leader” mentality, the two of you probably could’ve been great friends. 

But... You hadn’t been around for Top Gun with this crew. Most of them had known each other since then, and hell a few of them went all the way back to flight school. You were just as new as Bob and it still sometimes felt like you were fighting to earn your place here. 

You still weren’t sure you were cut out for this team, for what the Navy expected from you all. You still weren’t sure that one day you’d be turning around and heading straight back to the Green Vipers. The only two ties you had to this group were your best friend and your boyfriend and if they changed their minds about you... well, you weren’t a fool to think these people would still be friends with you. 

It had little to do with Moonshine as a person. It was what she represented. If she was so great... well, maybe she belonged in your place instead. 

You certainly didn’t disagree. 

- 

You sit at the bar, head propped up on your hand as you watch Rooster clap Bob on the back. He’s startled by the movement, dropping a few peanuts, but smiles the toothy grin at him nonetheless. 

You’d retreated to the bar twenty minutes ago under the pretense of getting more beers and it doesn’t seem like anyone had noticed your disappearance from the group. Hell, they probably wouldn’t have even noticed if you hadn’t shown up tonight.

Why had you shown up tonight? 

Penny’s making polite conversation with you as you sit there, and you thank your lucky stars she doesn’t comment on the fact that you are clearly uninvested in the discussion. Looking back to the group, you make eye contact with Rooster and you immediately look away. 

“Someone’s coming to talk.” She whispers and someone is as the bodies of Rooster and Hangman appear on either side of you. Your boyfriend sighs, settling down in the seat next to you, arm moving to settle on your back. You ignore him, continuing to sip on your drink. 

“You’re mad at me.” He says as Hangman orders different drinks from Penny. 

You swallow as Penny eyes the two of you, handing the beers over to Hangman. “I’m not mad.” You finally settle on. 

“Course she’s mad Rooster, it’s not cool to bring up a girl you used to bang in front of your current girlfriend.” 

“You instigated that Bagman, so shut up.” You say, taking another sip of your drink. 

Hangman raises his hands in surrendering, retreating the the pool table. Rooster nudges you, nodding his head back to the group. “C’mon, come play.” 

You shake your head, swallowing the last of your drink. “’M good.” 

“Honey, I’m sorry I brought her up. Know it must not feel good to hear about that.” 

“Quite frankly, I don’t care that you hooked up with her.” 

He nods slowly. “Okay... then why are you mad?” 

“I told you, I’m not mad.” 

He sighs, leaning his head up against your shoulder. “Honey, please just talk to me so we can fix this.” 

“I’m not mad; do you want me to create feelings that aren’t there?” You ask, feeling yourself starting to get defensive. 

“You’re jealous.” 

And he’s not wrong, not entirely, because you had been for a moment, but only before the insecurity had set in. 

You shake your head. “Not jealous.” 

“Well, you’re something because you’re been sitting over here for half an hour talking to Penny and you’ve barely talked to me all day.” 

“How do you know I’m not having an engaging, intellectually stimulating conversation with Penny?” He gives you a look that has your defenses rising up even faster. “Would you just drop it?”

“Are we gonna be good if I do?” 

You stand up from your seat, turning towards the pool table. “Yeah, we’re fine.” 

He groans. “That does not sound like we’re fine.” He calls, catching the attention of Fanboy. You slip in between him and Payback. “Rebel-”

“I said, I’m not mad and we’re fine. We’re dropping it.” He watches you for a moment, assessing if that’s really what he wants to do, but must decide from continuing the conversation, deflating down into a stray bar stool. You turn, grabbing your keys and jacket that had originally been thrown over the railing near the pool table as the team watches you. “I’m going home.” You say to no one in particular. No one protests or follows you as you make your way out of the bar, and it takes everything you to not let that sting as you walk to your car. 

-

Shutting the locker door, you shoulder your bag and slip your phone into you back pocket. 

“Hey, you coming to the Hard Deck tonight?” 

You turn to see Halo sitting on the bench, looking back to you. Phoenix turns at the comment, wet hair from her shower falling over her shoulder. Tentatively, you grip the straps of your bag and shake your head. “Nah, I’ve got a friend in town. Going out to dinner to catch up with her.” Phoenix raises an eyebrow but says nothing. “What?” You ask, turning towards her. 

Most days, you weren’t sure if you and Phoenix would ever be friends. Maybe the two of you could be amicable, friendly even, a few years down the road. Still, she’d grown on you and you had hoped you had grown on her but... it was tough. 

You knew she kept you at arms length, that much was obvious. Knew she was still Rooster’s best friend, didn’t trust you to take care of him, to not break his heart. She didn’t trust you and damn if that didn’t sting. 

Phoenix shakes her head. “Nothing, you just... don’t seem to be doing a lot of spending time with us lately.” 

You sigh, shifting your bag. “That’s not true, you guys were at my house on Saturday.” 

“Okay, let me rephrase: you don’t seem to be wanting to spending a lot of time with us lately.” 

“That’s especially not true, considering game night was my idea.” 

She eyes you for a moment and then glances back to Halo before dropping down to the bench. “Does this have anything to do with the Moonshine thing-” You huff, readjusting your grip again as you move your eyes to the ceiling “-from last week, because truly Bradshaw didn’t mean it-” 

“-like that. Yeah, I got it Phoenix, thanks. Look, I really gotta go-” She sighs, cutting you off. “What?”

Once more, she shakes her head, rubbing her fingers over her temples. “Nothing. Have fun with your friend.” 

You nod slowly, feeling your throat dry. “K, well, I’ll- see you all tomorrow then.” You wave, bidding them goodbye, as your back turns and head for the door. You blink back the tears threatening to fight their way over as you walk towards the parking lot. 

That couldn’t even be considered a fight, barely a disagreement between teammates. Still, you wanted her to like you so bad-

There was a sickening feeling of deja vu crashing over you. 

You never learned. 

-

The laughter ringing out made your soul feel lighter than it had in weeks as you sit across from your friend in some Mexican restaurant Google had recommended. She smiled at you as you looked down to your phone, seeing a text from Bradley, telling you that he missed you and wished you were there. 

“Lover boy?” You nodded as you lock the device and slip it back into the bag, returning your attention to your friend. 

“I wish you were staying longer than a night.”

She sighs. “Wish I could too, but I’m out on deployment for six months at 8 am sharp tomorrow.” 

A silence falls over the table as you fiddle with your fork, avoiding her eye. “Can I ask you a question?”

She hums an affirmative. 

“You went to Top Gun with them all, right?” She nods. 

“A few of them, yeah. Why?” You sigh, leaning back in your chair as she reaches across the table for another chip. “Uh-oh, is this the part of the night where you’re honest with me and tell me there’s trouble in paradise?” 

You roll your eyes, shaking your head. “What did you think of Phoenix?”

“Of Phoenix?” She asks, pausing as she raises an eyebrow. You nod. “I liked her. Very intelligent, very clever. Good pilot. Earned everything she’s gotten. Why?”

You shrug. “I just don’t think she likes me very much.”

“I doubt that. She sticks to the other female pilots. There aren’t many of us. And even if she doesn’t, what does that matter?” 

“She’s Bradley’s best friend and I don’t- I don’t know.” You mumble, cheeks going red. 

“What’s really going on? C’mon, out with it.” 

You sigh. “Um, last week Moonshine-” Petals makes a noise in her throat, rolling her eyes. “-got brought up and I found out she and Rooster hooked up a few times at Top Gun.” 

“Thought he had standards.” 

You shoot her a look. “And I just- I’ve sort felt like I’ve been on the wrong foot, with this whole team since I got here, and I just- I don’t think I belong here P. Maybe she belongs here instead.” 

“Belong with this team or with him?”

You groan, reaching up to rub your eyes. “Both, maybe? I don’t know.” 

She eyes you as you fall silent. The silence grows as she waits for you to continue but no words find their way to the surface. The waitress comes over, asking if you want dessert. She looks to you as you down the last of your margarita. 

“I don’t know about you, but I kind of want one of everything.” 

You laugh as the alcohol warms you. “One of both? Sure, why not.” 

You didn’t acknowledge the little voice in your head screaming at you that you didn’t need one of both, let one of any dessert, because you didn’t do that anymore-

Petals closes the menu, smiling at the waitress. “Can we also have another round of margaritas? Thank you so much.” The waitress walks off and Petals turns to you. “Why do you feel out of place?” 

“I just- I don't feel like I’m good enough to be here. And I don’t know, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop with him, to fuck things up like I always do-”

“First of all, no you don’t. He is equally, if not more, responsible for your falling out. Second of all, and I’m sorry to be so frank with you, but the idea that you are not good enough to be with this team, or don’t belong with this team, is bullshit.” She puts her elbows up on the table, clasping her hands together. “If the Navy wanted Moonshine on this team, wanted Moonshine called back for that mission, they would’ve called back Moonshine and Coyote. But they didn’t. They called you back because the Navy wanted you. Bradshaw doesn’t want Moonshine, he wants you.” 

You look at her, struggling to allow her words to ring true. 

You deserved to be here. 

You were good enough. 

He wanted you. 

“I just-”

“Rebel, he loves you. Loves you more than I’ve seen another person love someone. Even back then, I knew. I know now. He loves you so honestly, so openly. He’d bleed open if it meant you’d accept his heart. Why can’t you trust him with yours?”

You make a noncommittal shrug, avoiding her eyes. “I don’t know... things are good right now, I’ll admit it. But they’re delicate. If I fuck it up, I lose everything.” 

She raises an eyebrow. “This isn’t just about Bradshaw is it?” You shake your head and she sighs. “Okay, here’s what I know. I’ve had my issues with Bradshaw. We’ve talked about it.” You nod. “Hangman’s an ass and I can’t stand him.”

“Yeah, fair. valid. I don’t like him either.”

“And for however much I like Phoenix, I know she’s still loyal to Bradshaw.” 

You nod, bottom lip catching in your teeth. “Yeah.” 

“But I know Coyote to be good people, but I also know you know that too.”

You duck your head. “Of course I know it P. They’re all good people, I think Hangman might even have a heart in there somewhere.”

“But?” She prompts. 

“But I know that I have a reputation. And you know, how do I... how do I ask them to keep taking hits because of it? How long can they put up with me before they get tired of it? I mean, you know it, it’s got to be exhausting defending me all the time, to have to have my back, to carry the brunt of my shit.” 

“What reputation do you think I’ve got exactly?” She asks sharply, eyes narrowing.

“For being a rule-breaker. For-”

She waves a hand, cutting you off before you can even finish. “You earned your callsign. And if anything, you’ve earned a reputation because you’re a good pilot. For being a good friend, for always having your wingman’s back. I know you think you’re asking a lot of these people but you’re not. You’re not asking a lot of them to be there, to be your friend. What you fail to see is that they want to be your friend. Bradshaw doesn’t want to be with anyone but you. And I consider myself damn lucky to call you my close friend.”

She settles back in her chair, eyeing you as the dessert arrives at the table. There’s silence as she continues to stare at you, even as you reach for one of the plates, ignoring her. 

Finally, she sighs. “You heard from your Mom lately?” 

You pause, eyes snapping up to hers at the sudden change in topic. “No and I don’t care to. Why the fuck are you bringing her up?”

She shrugs, leaning over the table to take the plate you’re holding from you. “Don’t let her dictate your life. You’re not on your own anymore.” 

-

The white of your dress was stained, blood seeping through the material, turning the creamy color to one that made your stomach turn. You wiped your hands against it, leaving streaks of blood behind, but never able to fully get them to become clean. 

You swallow, getting frustrated as you try so hard to rid yourself of the stain, of your mistakes. 

You had sworn your wouldn’t do this again.

“I knew you’d break his heart in the end.”

It’s Phoenix’s voice.

Your head shoots up, searching for her, begging for her to forgive you for hurting him first. 

You didn’t mean to-

The only one who’s there in this room of white though, is a figure you never thought you’d see again. 

“Mom?” 

She smiles softly at you. “It happened, didn’t it, honey?” 

“I tried, I promise, but now-” You look down again to your hands, realizing how red they are. Red with his blood. It had been his heart you’d broken. “I’m sorry, so sorry-” 

“Oh, honey, don’t you know?” You shake your head, eyes searching hers. “They never cared in the first place. All the bridges burned.” 

You swallow, fighting to stand to your feet. “No, they like me, they’re my friends-”

She lets out a laugh that sends cold straight through you, echoing and ringing out for miles through the space. 

[niki-phoria]

i really love how you write for enha :(<33

can i request a reaction for all members where m!reader got a bad hair day? *totally didn't experienced this rn*

‧₊˚✩ enhypen helping their boyfriend with a bad haircut (8th member reader)

note: i tried to keep this as inclusive as possible but i'm asian (chinese) and have no experience with curly hair so if there's anything i can edit or any word choices i should change please let me know

includes: 8th member reader, thinking of 07 different scenarios was hard but i tried to keep them semi different, blushy jake, nothing suggestive but reader takes a bath with sunghoon, riki's is extra long bc he's my bias

a/n: thank you for requesting !! i kept this as them helping reader with a bad haircut/dye job in general but some of them differ into damaged hair in general lol i hope that's okay i hope you like it :))

male reader (he/him pronouns used)

requests open !! read my rules first

‧₊˚✩ heeseung

word count 296

your manager glances back at you through the mirror of her car as you readjust your cap again, pushing it further over your head. “it looks good y/n,” she reassures. “besides, we have stylists for a reason.”

you nod, thanking her. she winks at you before she parks the car, leading you up the steps to your dorm. heeseung is sitting on the couch when you enter. sunoo and niki sit on the floor, playfully arguing about mario kart. he smiles, greeting you with a hug. you cling onto his body. “do you wanna cuddle?” he whispers. you nod, letting him lead you into your shared bedroom.

heeseung sits on the bed as you change out of your jeans into a pair of sweatpants before finally taking the hat off. “did they cut your hair?” 

you hum. “i’m not sure i like it.” 

“come here.” heeseung sits across from you, holding your face in his hands. his eyes scan your face intently. you feel nervous under his gaze. even after dating for so long, he still manages to fluster you. he raises a hand, brushing your bangs out of your eyes. “it looks good.” he finally hums. 

you raise an eyebrow at him. “that’s it? it looks good?” 

heeseung smiles. “y/n, you are the most handsome man i’ve ever seen. you look incredible, even when you’re wearing my sweatpants and dancing around our kitchen with bed hair and no makeup on. nothing will change that. not even a ‘bad’ haircut.” 

you can’t help the smile that spreads across your face. heeseung always seems to know exactly what to say to make you feel better. “i love you.” 

he leans forwards to press his lips against yours in a sweet kiss. “i love you more.”

‧₊˚✩ jay

word count 254

the dressing room is cold as you sit around, patiently waiting for your turn with the stylists. you’re surrounded by mirrors - usually a common item in a dressing room, but today, the different reflections seem to add to your growing insecurity. it’s hard for you not to notice how your haircut doesn’t fit your face at so many different angles. 

“babe,” jay calls, gesturing for you to walk over to him. “come here.” 

you obey, making your way over the corner of the room. he coaxes you to sit down in the chair in front of the mirror, standing over you. “what are you doing, park?” you tease, looking up at him. 

“i’m gonna be your stylist today.” you raise an eyebrow as he begins pulling out various different hair products. 

“did you get permission for this?” 

“i won’t tell if you don’t.” you stifle a chuckle as jay begins working, manipulating your hair in different directions until it’s styled properly. you focus on his face in the mirror, admiring how he looks when concentrated. his brows furrow slightly as he works. he squints a little, completely focused on your hair. 

you can’t help yourself, waiting for jay to lean down when you press a quick kiss against his cheek. he pauses, looking over at you. “what is it?” 

“nothing,” you smile. “thank you.” 

jay hums, his lips quirking upwards into a small smile of his own. he presses a small peck against your lips before he pulls away again. “anything for my boy.”

‧₊˚✩ jake

word count 295 he's so OESINLSDKL i love him

you pull your knees up to your chest as you scan through the comments scrolling on the side of the screen. they move quickly, though you do your best to pick out the ones that catch your eye. “any comeback spoilers?” you chuckle, shaking your head. “you know i can’t say yes to that.” you dramatically glance over your shoulder before leaning in, lowering your voice. “don’t tell anyone about this, but you should ask niki. i’m sure he’ll be happy to give you some.” 

the comments move even faster as you move back, readjusting in your seat. you bite back a smile at the flurry of words that pass by. a knock at the door startles you. you turn towards it, trying to see who it is through the glass. “i’m on live!” 

“it’s jake,” the voice replies. “can i come in?” 

instead of responding verbally you stand up, opening the door for him. jake smiles brightly at you, tugging you into a hug. he sits in your chair in front of the camera, greeting engene as you pull up another chair beside him. despite it being your live originally, jake all but takes over as you fall into silence beside him, simply admiring him. you don’t say anything about the blush on his face as he looks over at you. “you’re staring.” 

“you dyed your hair,” he hums. “i like it.” 

“it matches yours.”

this time it’s your turn to be flustered. you turn away from him, attempting to refocus on the comments. there’s an implication to jake’s words that makes a warm feeling spread through your chest. your dislike of your haircut fades a little bit more each time you look over at your boyfriend and see the same color on him.

‧₊˚✩ sunghoon

word count 267 i wanna look like hoon SO BAD oh my god the gender envy is real

the water is still warm around you as you lean back against sunghoon’s chest. he smiles, pulling you even closer. despite having been an idol for years now, you still haven’t gotten used to the various hotel rooms you stay in on a regular basis. 

you had jumped at the opportunity to room with your boyfriend, especially after finding out your room had a tub with a view of the city below. the lights shine brightly through the streets - a rainbow of flashing colors illuminating the buildings below. 

sunghoon coaxes you to lean down a little lower, cupping his hands into a bowl to wet your hair. it drips as you sit back up. he reaches over to grab something you hadn’t noticed before - strengthening conditioner. “i know you aren’t a big fan of your hair,” he murmurs. “and i know how important it is to you, so i got something. i’m hoping it’ll help. it’s supposed to strengthen damaged hair.” 

you smile as sunghoon uses his fingers to massage it into the strands. he’s gentle. he always is with you, as if you’re a precious thing he needs to use the utmost care with. in some ways, you are. 

“what did i do to deserve you?” you sigh. the question is more directed at yourself than sunghoon, though he chuckles anyway. 

“i ask myself that question every day.” 

you don’t say anything else. you don’t need to. sunghoon’s tiny kisses he presses against your neck and shoulder as you lean back against his chest under a beautiful skyline view says enough for the both of you.

‧₊˚✩ sunoo

word count 290

“baby!” sunoo excitedly opens your door, setting down multiple different bags on your bathroom counter. you sit up, watching as he pulls out various different products. “i have an idea.” 

you cock your head at him, leaning against the doorway of your bathroom. “what is it, sunshine?” 

“i know you don’t like your haircut, so we’re going to have a makeover day!” there are a multitude of different skin and hair care products spread across your counter. you can recognize different cleansers, toners, and hair care masks. 

despite your hesitation that this won’t change your feelings, sunoo’s enthusiasm is infectious. besides, the bright smile that spreads across his face is more than enough of a reason for you to join him. “where do you want to start?” 

“here,” he says, holding your face in place. you close your eyes as he spreads the cool substance against your skin. “it smells like peaches.” 

once the skincare mask has been applied, sunoo moves onto a hair care mask. his hands are gentle as he massages it into your hair, fingernails gently scratching against your scalp. you let out a content sigh, letting your eyes flutter shut. sunoo smiles, leaning down to press a small kiss against the side of your neck before he continues. 

once finished with the masks, you join him on your bed. sunoo props his laptop up in between you as he puts on a movie. you’re overly cautious of the products in your hair as you lean against him. he takes the cue to wrap his arms around your waist, pulling you in to cuddle with him. 

“i love you.” you mumble. “thank you. i needed this.” 

sunoo presses a kiss against your temple. “i love you too.”

‧₊˚✩ jungwon

word count 352

jungwon watches as you pull at the ends of your hair, holding the strands up to the light. your eyebrows furrow as you let go. “do you think my hair is damaged?” 

he cocks his head at you, looking your hair over. “it looks fine to me. what makes you say that?” 

you sigh, leaning back against the couch. “the stylist cut my hair really short earlier. she said it’s really damaged so she had to cut all the split ends off.” you roll onto your side. “maybe i’m just overthinking it. i’m not a huge fan of how it looks.” 

jungwon reaches out to brush a hand through your hair. “i think it looks good.” you smile, grabbing his hand and pressing a kiss against his knuckles. 

“thank you.” you sigh, forcing yourself to stand up. “i’m gonna go to bed.” you press a kiss against his forehead mumbling a quick goodnight before leaving to your shared bedroom. 

when you wake up the next morning, jungwon isn’t in bed. it’s odd to wake up without your boyfriend curled into your arms. you rub your eyes as you sit up, leaving your room. 

jungwon is in the kitchen, helping jay with breakfast. you smile, wrapping your arms around his waist into a hug. “hi baby,” he murmurs. you groan, leaning against his back. he turns the heat down before twisting in your hold to hug you properly. “jay-hyung, can you finish breakfast alone?” 

the older boy nods. “of course. thanks for the help earlier.” 

jungwon smiles, grabbing your hand. “i asked the stylists to drop something off earlier. come on.” 

you let him lead you into the bathroom where he pulls out three bottles. you recognize seeing them in the salon, though you’ve never used it before. “what is it?” 

“it’s supposed to help with bleach damaged hair. you use it like a regular conditioner.” jungwon lets the words trail off, a little embarrassed. “i figured you would like it.” 

you set the bottle down, wrapping him into a quick hug. “thank you.” 

jungwon smiles, relaxing into your arms. “you’re welcome baby.”

‧₊˚✩ niki

word count 576 i couldn't find a gif of niki with his highlights for some reason :// i hate the tumblr gif system why is it so difficult to find enha gifs

it’s night when niki rolls onto his side to look at you. the dorm is quiet. the other’s are gone; either already asleep in their rooms or working late somewhere else. “wanna sneak out?” 

“now?” you roll over to grab your phone, turning it on. “it’s 02:00 in the morning.” 

niki simply shrugs. “i have an idea.” 

you sit up, slipping on your shoes and a coat before grabbing a hat and a mask as you follow niki out of your dorm and into the night. he holds your hand tightly. it’s a luxury. you aren’t given many opportunities to be affectionate. despite the lax social rules around friendship, the possibilities of what could happen if anyone was to find out the true nature of your relationship keeps you from holding his hand wherever you go the way you long to. 

niki leads you along into a convenience store. it shines like a beacon of light in the darkness. he pulls you along to a particular aisle full of hair dye. “what are you thinking, nishimura?” 

he dramatically gasps, placing a hand over his heart. “my last name? ouch.” you roll your eyes at him as he continues looking through the various products. “we’re gonna have matching hair.” 

“you’re gonna dye your hair without telling anyone?” 

“no, you’re going to dye my hair without telling anyone.” you can’t help the laugh that escapes you. niki looks gorgeous, even under the dim convenience store lights. you reach forwards to brush the hair out of his eyes. 

“do you remember how long it took to bleach your hair? and how much they fuss over keeping your highlights blonde?” 

“well, yes, but…” niki pauses, glancing at the dye for a second. “i know you don’t like the color they chose. and i also know that you won’t say anything about it because you don’t want to be a bother. you’ll just silently dislike the way you look for the next few months, or however long it takes before they change it again.” he steps closer to you, reaching up to put a hand on your face. his voice drops as he leans closer. “i love you. i want you to be confident in yourself and the way you look. i know you don’t like breaking the rules. we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. i just thought this would make you feel better.” 

words fail you. there are a million thoughts running through your head. things you want to say, should say. but the only thing that comes to mind is that you want to kiss him. so you do. you tug his mask down before removing your own to press your lips against his. niki smiles into it, pulling you into another kiss. 

he readjusts his mask as you grab the box before taking his hand into yours once again. he intertwines your fingers, following you to the self checkout section. “how are we gonna rinse the dye out?” 

“i was thinking the bathroom sink.” 

“okay, but if it stains, you’re cleaning it up.” he playfully glares at you. 

“come on, we both know you’re too much of a sap to let me clean it all by myself.” 

he’s right, but you don’t give him the satisfaction of admitting it. instead, you quickly pay, hiding the bag under your jacket as you make your way back to the dorm. “whatever you say, nishimura.”

[tenaciousduckpoetry]

i. Carbon Copy

Miles finds himself in a new dimension with a friend who he didn't think he'd see again.

Just to be clear, in Mile's original universe reader was his best friend, but there was an accident and reader moved.

Warnings: angst, cannon violence, reader is not so nice, changed some stuff from the movie to fit the series a little better, not edited yet, reader genuinely seems crazy and is mentioned to be manic

Miles wasn't sure what he was expecting when he arrived at his 'original' dimension. Flowers? Peace? He didn't know. But he was not expecting an onslaught of violence and crime within every inch of the city he would have called home. His panic sent him frantic, running to escape the multiple spider-people after him. With Miguel just minutes away from finding him, Miles wasn't sure where to go.

The only place he could think of was his house. He hoped it was his house.

There was a sort of comfort when he first climbed through his window. The smell of freshly done laundry and his mamas cooking had his stuttering heartbeat slowing to a consistent pace. His room looked the same as it did back home. His desk was cluttered in recent drawings, shoes thrown next to the door and bin overflowing with paper balls. Expect, there were no expensive Vision Academy books.. and his uniform was nowhere to be found. Maybe he stayed on campus in this universe as well? He'd have to play it safe and just assume so.

His head perked up when the door began to open. He almost wanted to hide, but something stopped him. "Mama.." he mumbled, watching her freeze in the doorway with a basket full of freshly washed clothes under one arm. Rio looked at him for a moment, squinting for a moment before offering her gentle smile. The heartfelt conversation that Miles had planned didn't go as he expected.

When he mentioned Spider-Man and then being Spider-Man he wasn't expecting the laugh that came from his mother. His own mum was laughing at him. He wasn't joking. This was not funny, and if it was the universe playing some sick joke on him it was working. The moment ended just as fast as it started with Miles quickly rushing up the stairs. He wanted to run. To feel the air rushing past his face instead of how his blood seemed to rush so loudly beneath his skin.

He glitched, doubling over on the stairs before mustering the strength to pull himself up. He needed air. The corridor seemed to grow tighter around him and for a moment he wondered if there was any oxygen in the room. The last few steps were the hardest, but soon enough he was on the roof of his apartment. He didn't have time to look behind him before he heard the thump of heavy boots on the ground.

His head turned to face whoever was behind him, only to come into contact with a fist. He tripped over his feet and soon enough the world grew dark once again.

Instead of waking up in his dorm as if this was all a bad dream, he woke up tied to a punching bag. Miles was sure he had a hefty bruise on his cheek from the dull ache it provided. His eyes, droopy and adjusting to the light, squinted as he glanced across the room. There was a shadow against the wall. Or was that two? He took another look and.. yeah, that was two.

A part of him wondered if this was the end, but his thoughts were interrupted by the voices of his capturers.

"You aren't listening to me. You can't keep him here forever. Someone's gonna realize what's happening-"

They were cut off.

"No one is going to realize if you don't let them follow." A voice so similar to his own spoke. He heard a scoff and soon enough you came into his view.

Clad in neon green and black spandex, a hoodie over the top. You pulled your mask from your face. It was black and looked quite similar to that of the Prowlers with some simple stylistic changes. Miles felt his breath get caught in his throat. It couldn't be. He hadn't seen you in a year. Unresolved feelings bubbled in his chest and he almost called out your name.

"What are we going to do with you, copy cat?" You hummed, arms crossed as you lightly kicked the punching bag just next to his right leg.

Copy cat? That was a new one.

Another face came into his view and the colour drained from his face. The Prowler stepped forward and suddenly he was transported to the moment where he found out just who his uncle was. For a moment he thought it was his tio Aaron.

"Miles." The voice spoke, mask finally disappearing and exposing just who it was. His eyes widened as he stared straight at the carbon copy of himself standing just a few meters away.

"You're me." Holy shit. How could he have been so foolish? Maybe Miguel was right.. this was his fault. He wasn't supposed to be Spiderman. He didn't sign up to face the villain version of himself. That wasn't a part of the contract!

"No shit, Sherlock. Do you want a reward or something?" You huffed, turning back to 42 Miles. "We should just get rid of him. Who's going to know other than us?"

"Glad to know you're willing to kill me." The other Miles (E-42 Miles) spoke up, venom dripping from his voice. He was stoic and moody, unlike you who looked as if you were starting to enjoy this. "You'd do the same with me." You shrugged. You knew Miles, your Miles like the back of your hand. He wouldn't kill you. At least you hoped he wouldn't.

"Uh. I don't know if you guys have noticed, but I'm right here." Miles spoke, a migraine forming from the slight bickering and constant swaying of the punching bag. "It would be nice to know if you're going to kill me or not." He huffed slightly, hands fiddling with the the chords that were wrapped around him.

You and 42 Miles glanced towards the carbon copy swaying on the red punching bag. You watched as 42 Miles stared him down as if he was trying to analyze him.

"You better start explaining yourself. I want to know who you are and what you're doing here." He spoke, a more montone feel to his voice. How was Miles supposed to explain this.

'Oh, by the way, I'm actually from a different dimension where my dad is going to die in three days and I really need to get back there, but the spider that was supposed to bite you, bit me, and then I got hunted down by a grown man.' Yeah, no. That wouldn't work.

"You won't believe what I tell you." Miles spoke hesitantly. "My name is Miles Morales. I'm spider-man. I just need to get back home so I can save-" he cut himself off, "I just need to get home, okay? And the only way I can do that is if you let me go."

The way you were staring at him sent a shiver down his spine. He'd never seen you look so.. different. Instead of the cheerful personality that you had in his dimension you were different. You were moody, had the eyes of a manic person, and you were a villain. You definitely weren't a villain where he came from.

"If you think your pathetic sob story is going to get you free, then you're quite wrong." You spat at him.

[eventuallyaugust]

bbtr misc. female idols who got a crush on txt seol

note: just pretend that you're viewing this piece in 2023, just like hyunseol's kprofile. i gave proofreading this.

warning/s: a bit angst in some parts if u guys squint

itzy — choi jisu (최지수) ⸻ early 2020 - present

first meeting

when lia first met hyunseol, she'll say it was something unexpected, like really unexpected.

her encounter with the txt member happened when the latter bumped into her who was heading to a restroom at a music award show.

pretty unexpected, right?

when they bumped into each other, poor surprised lia lost her balance but good thing hyunseol is here to save the day (good thing too because lia tries to avoid any interaction with her slightly strict stylist)

but enough of that because there's something else that needs our attention right now, like how did hyunseol here break lia's fall?

things you need to know: an arm wrapping around a waist

lia didn't realize hyunseol's hand placement at first since she is too busy looking at the latter's face and too stunned at what had happened.

but when she did, oh boy, she felt blood rushing to her cheeks and the area where hyunseol's hand landed became warm even though she had a fabric of clothing that separated her skin and the bighit idol's hand.

hyunseol profusely apologized to her, thinking that she embarrassed the itzy member without any slightest hint that the blush on lia's face isn't from embarrassment but from something else.

lia is so flustered that she couldn't bear to say why she is blushing, too flustered to think of anything else but how close her face was to the other idol earlier, how warm hyunseol's hand was against her side, and the scent that was coming from the tall idol.

lavender and jasmine, two scents she didn't imagine would smell good together in someone until now.

the two stood in the hallway in an awkward silence before hyunseol's manager came strutting towards them with that motherly tone of hers.

"there you are, seol. i've been looking for you, come on. you guys are up next for the performance."

with a final bow, the bighit idol let her manager dragged her away without saying anything, leaving lia standing in the hallway before a hand fell on her shoulders.

the stranger got startled when lia flinches before the latter turned her head and saw one of her members, yeji staring at her skeptically.

"are you okay?", yeji asks her, concerned.

"y-yeah."

lia stutters out an answer as she places a hand over her chest, hoping that small action would calm the raging storm in her heart.

start of interest

lia immediately get interested on hyunseol the moment they parted ways on their first meeting.

her curiosity on hyunseol started with a research on the tall idol, like who she was, how long she has been a trainee, etc.

when she found out that hyunseol used to be a jyp trainee, she somehow started regretting not signing up in jyp earlier and often gets thoughts like what if i had met seol earlier?, what if i had become friends with seol if i had signed up with jyp immediately?, etc.

she was so curious on who hyunseol is she even started watching those txt (un)helpful guide videos in youtube, because apparently, moas considered hyunseol as the most charismatic member in txt.

one video led to another various more and now, she started watching the group's mvs and immediately understands why hyunseol has a huge fanbase coming from various other kpop groups.

everything about hyunseol are insane, especially her vocals, her dancing skills, her confidence, and her visuals as if she was made by the greek goddess of love and beauty herself. a living and breathing of perfection.

her curiosity led her into getting caught by ryujin who had a knowing look over her face and she immediately felt guilty after like a child guilty of hiding their mother's most precious broken vase.

but surprisingly, ryujin just told her that she was expecting lia getting interested on her best friend and a "you weren't totally good at hiding your interest on seol, you know."

okay, lia probably is not good at keeping everything in the low when she realized that she starts to listen more on hyunseol-related stories ryujin shared whenever they eat together (probably her members realized it too and that thought just made her more embarrassed than before)

ryujin chuckled when she saw lia blushing furiously before patting her member's shoulder. "it's okay, unnie. there's nothing wrong with liking seol. you know i won't mind that and besides, you're not the only one who's crushing on her."

"what?"

and that was the moment lia's world stops for a moment.

----

fromis_9 — lee chaeyoung (이채영) ⸻ early 2021 - present

first meeting

when chaeyoung first met hyunseol, it was after bighit change to hybe and acquire various companies to become one. she could remember it clearly as if it just happened yesterday.

it was a normal day for fromis_9 as a hybe staff gives them a tour around the huge building and talking about the company's rules and regulations when jiheon, who was standing beside her, suddenly let out a small squeal and started to hit her arm.

she looked at the maknae and the latter could only point at the front double doors to see bang si-hyuk, a female manager, and six tall figures walking inside.

she had heard of the six-membered group from jiheon, the moa resident of fromis_9 and mostly, the maknae always talks about oh hyunseol, her bias and bighit's wildcard.

fromis_9 was in front of the lobby when the well-known chaotic group passed them and bowed to them while hyunseol met jiheon's eyes and approached the latter before she smiled widely when the latter let out a squeal and pulled her into a hug.

"nice to see you again, fangirl. how have you been?"

"ahhh, unnie!!! it's nice to see you again, too."

the rest of fromis_9 looked at the pair in stunned silence and when they look at the txt, they saw the members looking at their oldest and jiheon with wide smiles plastered on their faces.

"you know each other?"

hyunseol looked at chaeyoung, the one who asked and smiled at her while nodding before she gently patted jiheon's head and met chaeyoung's eyes again. "yeah, i met heonie through yujin. your maknae was pretty excited and shocked when she learned that i'm friends with yujinie."

the rest of fromis_9 looked at hyunseol with their mouths forming into 'o' and laughed at their maknae's reaction while chaeyoung remained her eyes on hyunseol with a dazed look over her face. mainly, her eyes were focused on the latter's lips and how it stretched into the brightest smile she ever seen (with jiheon being in second).

"txt, come on! bang pd-nim is waiting!"

"we'll be there!", txt loudly replied back and bowed to the nine girls with hyunseol smiling at chaeyoung last as she finally pulled away from jiheon's hug before the six-membered group ran off to their manager.

chaeyoung was left looking at hyunseol's face until txt disappeared behind the elevator doors and snapped out of her trance, hoping her members didn't notice her odd behavior.

jiheon, who noticed her unnie's actions, smirked and looked away with a shake of her head.

start of interest

chaeyoung didn't exactly know when and how she starts to get interested on hyunseol, but once she heard jiheon blasting some txt songs in their dorm, she knew she'll end up thinking about the txt member more than once.

she doesn't know how to ask jiheon about hyunseol without getting suspicious, but when she gave up to her curiosity, she asked jiheon and the latter surprisingly answered all of her questions like who hyunseol was, what her favorite foods are, etc.

the maknae was so receptive in answering her questions chaeyoung was starting get suspicious of jiheon and confronted the latter about her behavior one day.

"you're interested on seol unnie, so i'm just helping your interest on her grow even more."

"s-so you knew? ever since?"

"yeah, and don't worry, i didn't tell unnie about your... sudden interest on her. i'm evil, but not that evil."

but those words alone didn't convince chaeyoung and that drove her in asking the maknae. "why are you helping me when you already knew that i'm interested on seol?"

"why not?", jiheon retaliates with a smirk. "besides you're attracted to tall people, right? unnie, i told you that seol unnie is tall tall. she's like 5'11 foot, unnie."

chaeyoung could only blink at the maknae's words with her lips slightly apart. "oh, also unnie." she looks at jiheon and sees the latter looking at her in a serious matter.

"don't fall for seol unnie too hard. you're not the only idol who is interested on her."

----

ive — kim gaeul (김가을) ⸻ late 2021 - present

first meeting

(be warned: slight angst)

when gaeul first met hyunseol, it happened when she caught yujin and wonyoung sneaking out of the dorm at the late of the night after a hectic schedule.

when the two got caught, yujin answered with a pleading voice, "wonyoung and i needed to meet someone. please, unnie, let us go."

"can i tag along with you guys? just to make sure you two will come back home safe."

yujin and wonyoung looked at each other for a moment and shrugged before gaeul changed her clothes.

after hitching a taxi, gaeul couldn't help but wonder who the person yujin and wonyoung were trying to go to this late

when gaeul decides to ask who this person is, yujin just answers with a nonchalant shrug, "you'll meet her when we get there" while wonyoung tried her best not to fully break down right there and then.

due to her members' odd behavior, gaeul didn't bother to ask again and has fallen so deep in her thoughts she didn't realize the taxi had already stopped if it weren't for yujin who pulled her out of her thoughts.

when they stepped out of the vehicle, gaeul realized they are in front of an apartment building before wonyoung walked inside first, hurry present in her steps and yujin led gaeul inside.

gaeul then saw someone waiting by the lobby, talking to the receptionist and to her surprise, yujin and wonyoung immediately ran to that stranger, pulling the latter in their arms.

seol, who was the stranger, got startled and turned to the two tallest members of ive, worry plastered on her face when she heard sniffles from them.

gaeul accidentally caught seol's eyes and the latter bowed at her before the former immediately looked away with a blush, her heartbeat consuming her sense of hearing before she chastised herself for even reacting that way and gently pinched herself.

"come on, let's take this in my apartment", seol says as she keeps an eye outside the building for unsuspecting sasaengs lurking in the shadows.

after a painfully 1 minute in the elevator, the txt member led the three ive members inside her apartment and to her living room before grabbing some tissues and water bottles with a few snacks in the kitchen.

"here, some water, tissues, and snacks. now tell me what's happened."

gaeul took the single seat across her members while keeping her attention on the older girl while seol took a seat between yujin and wonyoung who immediately clung on the txt member.

she saw how seol kept her attention on yujin who was crying on the latter's shoulder while letting out the problems ive is experiencing under the media's cruel hand as wonyoung buried her head against seol's arm, tears adorning her cheeks.

and soon, gaeul found herself crying along with yujin and wonyoung when the topic reached to the most sensitive ones like how the netizens made liz uncomfortable wearing the clothes she likes, how leeseo was mocked by some fans when she was doing her thanksgiving speech, etc.

but through it all, gaeul always sees seol listening to yujin's rants and vents with undivided attention and open ears.

seeing seol being so caring to her members, attentive to whatever topic they are talking about, and somehow being good at making her members smile made gaeul's heart flutter.

she doesn't know why or how but hearing the short laughters seol and her members share amidst of the sensitive topics, gaeul couldn't help but to view seol in the different light considering she knew there are only a certain group of idols in the industry that could be trusted.

after that small session, seol's phone rang and the bighit idol immediately answered the call before standing up and walking away, leaving the three ive members talk to themselves in the living room.

"so gaeul unnie, what do you think of seol unnie?"

gaeul threw yujin a look and saw a hint of mischief on the way the leader is looking at her, narrowing her eyes at the latter. "why are you looking at me like that?"

"looking at you like what?"

"like you want to start something i don't approve of."

yujin snickers. "wwhhaattt? i do not. you're just jumping into conclusions."

gaeul gets silent while rolling her eyes.

she then looked around and examined every furniture present in the room before she looked at the picture frame beside the tv and spotted seol with a kid seated on her shoulders.

meanwhile, yujin and wonyoung are talking about their oldest while keeping their eyes on the latter, seeing how distracted gaeul is.

after the phone call, seol immediately barged inside and put her phone inside her sweatpants pocket as gaeul noticed a hint of daze in the way the txt member looks at her members but she didn't ponder on that thought any longer.

"hello, sorry. that was my manager. she was asking something, but anyways— why are you looking at me like that, yujin?"

"is it our time to go?", yujin asks.

"go? at this hour? god no, you girls will stay at my guest rooms. i won't let you girls leave, especially now that you know crime rates are high around this time." seol shook her head, the trio only noticing spare clothes in her hands. "now, go change your clothes. the clothes you two left behind days ago are in the closets."

once yujin and wonyoung left to change their clothes, seol turned to gaeul and gave the clothes to the '02 liner with a smile. "here's some spare clothes, gaeul-ssi. i hope you have a good night's sleep tonight."

"why are you doing this?" gaeul's eyes immediately widened when she realized she talks her thought out loud and covered her mouth with a gasp before grabbing the clothes. "uhm, s-sorry, s-sunbaenim. you can just leave that question unanswered, i'll just—"

"it was the right thing to do, gaeul-ssi." the ive member looked at seol to see the latter looking at her with a solemn expression.

"besides, you girls deserve some kindness, not to mention the whole world. we may not be fully acquianted with one another, but i hope you are aware of how much yujin and wonyoung kept saying how proud they are to have members like you, even they don't know if you guys aren't exactly the the type of people to have deep conversation with or not."

seol looked away with a sigh and shook her head. "it's unfair and unfortunate for your group to be targeted by such unkind and mean people in your debut. you girls just want to achieve your dreams and besides you aren't doing anything bad, so..."

"why should they hate your group?"

seol's question kept gaeul up at night thinking as she spent the night looking up at the ceiling filled with glow-in-the-dark stars.

start of interest

gaeul's interest on seol didn't start growing until it was the last week of december 2021 after hyunseol had given six-membered group delievered foods in christmas with a printed note, "hello, ive! merry christmas! i hope you guys have a good day ahead of this special day. i wish i could bring these boxes myself, but i was needed at a short notice in the company. the first box contain your favorite foods while the second contains my gifts for you. merry christmas again 🫶 sincerely, azrael"

at first, the ive members didn't know who this azrael person is and almost called their manager if not for yujin and wonyoung explaining to them that azrael is hyunseol's english name and the bighit idol always used that name for deliveries.

why?, the question gaeul kept asking to herself. why is she so... helpful? caring? kind? pretty? funny? smart? understanding? open-minded? and more positive qualities that somehow describe how perfect she is??

being a curious person herself, she decided to watch some videos about hyunseol and her group that either could be from the group's official account or the fans while she hid in the comfort of her room.

her curiosity and interest not only led her to watching txt's mvs but also the behind-the-scenes, the group's variety show 'to do', and some music awards performances. it eventually led her eyes being glued to her phone screen more often and her members may or may not have noticed her sudden interest on her phone.

as the leader of her group, yujin noticed that gaeul started binge-watching something but whenever she approaches the latter, the oldest always puts her down as if she's afraid to accidentally spilled a secret.

one day, when ive took a break from practicing, yujin saw gaeul wiping her sweat off her face while facing the mirror in the room and immediately approached the latter before dragging the '02 liner out of the room, "gaeul unnie and i will bring some snacks, we'll be right back!"

due to the quick turn of events, poor gaeul didn't get a say in the impromptu hang out. all she could do is follow the leader out before she gets confused when latter asks, "so why are you suddenly being interested on your phone? i've been noticing how much you kept smiling to yourself while watching something in your phone."

i could lie to her and save myself from embarrassment, gaeul thought to herself. or i could say the truth and get this feeling over with.

yujin, sensing the hesitation, immediately added, "if you aren't ready to tell me yet, it's fine. i totally—"

"no, it's okay. i'll say it." gaeul took a deep breath. "it's because seol unnie. i was watching txt's variety show, to do the other day and i was trying not to laugh because i don't want to draw attention to myself while watching."

yujin scratches her nape, trying not to smile and avoiding gaeul's eyes. "well, you kinda failed because you did draw attention to yourself the other day to the point the members kept asking me what you were watching that got you smiling so wide."

gaeul's face fell. oh shit.

----

gfriend (former) & viviz — jung eunbi (정은비) ⸻ early 2022 - unknown

first meeting

when eunha first met seol, it was around viviz' comeback for their mini album, beam of prism. she doesn't know why but she could still remember the way how seol laughed at wonyoung's joke when her group entered the interview room (idk what it's called where mcs interview idols just like jangkku interviewed the idols).

the moment the three idols walked in the room, eunha immediately met seol's eyes and saw how the latter's eyes brighten at the sight of her. the bighit idol and jangkku immediately bowed at the three idols while greeting them.

sinb immediately smiled at the sight of the 5'11 foot idol while umji ran to the bighit idol and pulled seol in a hug while the latter let out a loud "umji unnie!"

her two members are close with the txt member ever since their gfriend days and she could always hear umji talking about the bighit idol to their leader, sowon even in the maknae's sleep.

hearing so many stories of seol from umji made eunha grow curious, but she never get the chance to meet the idol herself considering in the industry, hyunseol is known to be everywhere and anywhere. it is only a matter of luck to meet the idol herself.

but eunha didn't expect to see seol hanging out in interview room with the two new mcs out of all places. it's just too... random place to be in.

hyunseol and umji then pulled away from the hug before the latter smacked the arms of the tall girl, earning a groan from the txt member.

"ow, what was that for, unnie?"

"that's for telling me that you won't make it, and this." umji then grabbed ahold of hyunseol's t-shirt and pulled the latter down to her height before kissing the latter's cheek. "is for coming anyways. thank you, seol."

"y-yeah, a-anytime", hyunseol stuttered while blushing. "but unnie, you should know that i was going to tell you that i'll come."

"then why didn't you?" hyunseol could only look at sinb and the latter jerked her head back before her eyes fell on umji.

"so it was you all along?!"

hyunseol took several steps away from the scene and stood beside eunha who suddenly got nervous at the bighit idol's presence beside her.

why? it's because hyunseol was so tall beside her and she admits that the 5'11 foot idol is so prettier up close.

eunha doesn't know if hyunseol being pretttier up close is because of the latter's dimples making an appearance, the way the txt member's eyes disappear in her cheeks whenever she laughs, or maybe the way the bighit idol carries herself with confidence.

like she owns the place (and eunha's heart and the viviz member doesn't know it yet)

but whatever it is, eunha could only feel her heart starts having a rampage inside her chest while her thoughts became about the txt's oldest member.

start of interest

eunha's curiosity on seol didn't get bigger not until she got a birthday gift from her and a bunch of teasing from her fellow viviz and former gfriend members.

"happy birthday, eunha unnie! umji unnie told me the other day your birthday is getting close and well, i want to give you a gift even though we aren't close and acquianted with one another. i hope you have a great day today and i also hope you enjoy my gift. from azrael."

umji could only squeal in excitement once eunha told her friends who gave the gift and what gift was. it was a korean cookbook and a blank notebook to which has another note stuffed between the blank pages. "while you cook various foods, i hope you could make recipes that could satisfy your tastebuds, make you reminisce the past, and make you inspired to do more. use this notebook for the ideas you make because i know you'll do great now and forever, eunha unnie."

"eunha unnie, you received a gift from hyunseol, ahhh!! azrael is her english name if you're wondering." umji then shook her head and sighed with a hint of smile on her face. "but wow, i didn't expect her to go through with it."

"what do you mean?", yerin asks and soon the other five women looked at the youngest, intrigued.

"well, you see, unnies. i dragged hyunseol with me when i was shopping for my birthday gift to eunha unnie the other day since i don't know what to get for eunha unnie."

"then?", sowon asks, clearly interested on the maknae's storytelling.

"well, you know that we're close, right? to the point i shared some random trivias about you guys and everything that happened to us, right?"

yuju answers, "yeah, what about it?"

umji scratches her nape. "well... i told hyunseol from before that eunha unnie likes to cook. although i expected this to happen, i'm still surprised that hyunseol still remembers that info and decides to buy eunha unnie a cookbook and this blank notebook."

"when did you tell her that eunha unnie likes to cook?", sinb inquiries, narrowing her eyes.

"uh... two years ago?" umji looked at her unnies in confusion.

"and hyunseol still remembers that even though it's been two years?!"

eunha could feel herself blush as she held the txt's member's gift close to her chest, unable to join the chaos her six friends were in.

----

iz*one (former) and actress — kim minju (김민주) ⸻ early 2020 - present

first meeting

when minju first met hyunseol, it was when she decided to sneak out of the dorm at night. too late in the night that she could get scolded by eunbi, but she couldn't care less.

normally, she goes to the place she frequented, a karaoke bar, but with everything that is happening in her mind and the stress coming from the group schedule, she decided to ditch the bar and let her feet led somewhere new.

and that's why she ended up standing in front of a park that had a kid's playground and some benches around the area that overlooks a riveed.

she was walking towards the nearest bench by the river when she felt a presence nearby and when she was about to run away, a hand with a handkerchief immediately got ahold of her mouth.

tears soon build up in her eyes and fear immediately consumed her as she tried to break free, but a strong scent invaded her sense of smell as she slowly started to feel dizzy.

seconds later, minju could breathe again as she felt the strong grip on her vanishes and tried to catch her balance, but her knees gave up on her.

then a strange thing happened.

another arm had caught her and before she could slap the stranger with the force remaining in her body, she heard a voice that stop her.

"it's okay, minju-ssi. you're safe, i'm here. this bastard won't bother you anymore."

she doesn't know what happened next, but all she could remember was that she fainted.

when she woke up from the terrifying night before, minju finds herself in a bedroom and immediately gets alarmed because the only thought in her mind that time was where the fuck am i?

she looked around the room in panic and found some picture frames settled on the nightstand. once she laid her eyes on the pictures, she slowly recovered from her panic.

oh, so i'm in hyunseol's bedroom, yena unnie's best friend. it kinda looks... like her.

suddenly, the bedroom door opened and showed the txt member holding a bed food tray. the two stared each other for a moment before hyunseol smiled, making minju gulp at the sudden increase of the pace her heart took inside her chest.

"hey, you're finally awake. i was getting worried that you got too affected by what had happened last night."

the bighit idol walked in and placed the tray on the desk table nearby before she sat on the end of the bed and looked at minju solemnly.

"i'm sorry you had to go through the feeling of almost getting kidnapped yesterday." minju looked away and hyunseol immediately regretted saying those words as she stood up and walked up to the food tray, her back facing minju. "sorry."

"what's happened to the suspect?"

"i called the cops on him and threw him behind bars."

"how?" hyunseol could only smile and immediately recomposed herself.

"don't worry about your pretty little head on that. come on, you need to eat breakfast after that ordeal."

hyunseol carefully set the bed food tray on the bed, mindful not to get clumsy in front of minju. once she finished, she placed the silver utensils on the side.

"i don't know what food you usually eat at breakfast, so i hope you like blueberry pancakes and greek yogurt."

"i..." minju didn't know why she feels her heart beats against her ears, but just seeing the '99 liner's effort of preparing breakfast and seeing how nervous hyunseol is if she likes pancakes or not makes a small smile appear on her lips.

"i like it."

hyunseol smiled and nodded while having her eyes trained on her desk table, the feeling of blood rushing to her cheeks getting to her.

"oh okay, that's good to hear. i'll go now so you can enjoy the silence. i hope you enjoy the food, minju-ssi."

but before hyunseol could take a step, minju already stopped her.

"please stay, i could need a friend right now."

starts of interest

minju wasn't supposed to get interest on any idol because she knew it could lead to some kind of scandal and didn't want to bring that kind of damage to her group.

but whenever she hears her fellow member, yena talking about the bighit idol whether it may be because of her unconditional kindness, undeniable charisma, or her outrageous height (yena's exact wording), she couldn't help but remember the time hyunseol took care of her and became true to her words when she asked the bighit idol not to tell anything to yena.

(until now, yena doesn't know the almost kidnapping)

she tried to not to acknowledge the rampaging emotions happening in the deep pits of her stomach whenever she hears hyunseol's name, but whenever she does, her heart pounds with each breath she takes.

she wants to tell the others about the strange feeling she got ever since she and hyunseol talked, but how could she even talk to them without mentioning the part she almost get kidnapped?

sure, eunbi would scold her about that but that's the least of her problems because she's more concerned for mentioning the word, crush.

knowing her members, they would get excited over the fact that she got a possible crush and hyunseol getting known as minju's crush in iz*one is something she isn't ready for.

but she needs to take some risks every now and then and taking risks is what she'll do.

"uh, everyone. i've gathered all of you today to tell you something."

"it sounds pretty serious when you're nervous, minju-ah", chaeyeon voices out her concern while the iz*one members took their seats on the couch and on the carpeted floor.

"i just want to hear your opinions on this because it has been bothering me and makes me feel confused, so please i hope you take this seriously."

the rest of iz*one members look at one another, muttering things minju couldn't understand before they returned their attention on the '01 liner.

"it's okay, minju-ah. you can tell us anything." eunbi's soft motherly voice toned down the anxiety minju felt in her nerves before the latter took a deep breath.

"okay, i think i like hyunseol unnie."

"hyunseol unnie? from txt?" yena immediately stood up on the floor and looked at her member in surprise. "when did you meet her?"

"last week."

looks like she needs to tell them the whole story by how confused they are right now. take another deep breath, minju. you can do this.

"okay, you see. i met hyunseol unnie when i almost got kidnapped last week, but it's okay—"

"what do you mean it's okay?! you almost got kidnapped last week!"

minju retorts back at eunbi, "but it's okay, unnie! i'm okay now! hyunseol unnie saved me—"

"she saved you?", yena repeats before she starts smirking at the younger girl. "she saved you, huh? did we hear that right?"

minju blushed with a sigh. oh boy, she could feel the wave of teasing coming from the girls.

----

twice — chou tzuyu (周子瑜) ⸻ late 2019 - present

first meeting

when tzuyu first met hyunseol, it happened at the mma 2019 when nayeon decided to bring newly befriended idols to the twice waiting room with everyone's permission.

the other twice members were resting in the room when nayeon suddenly barged inside with a wide smile on her face.

"hello, everyone!"

"what do you have on your sleeve now, nayeon?", the leader asked the oldest.

"remember my request to bring two friends in the waiting room?"

"yeah, who is it?"

"you'll see." nayeon smirked at momo before she walked up to the door and talked to a pair behind it.

"okay, are you guys ready?"

"go ahead", jeongyeon says, eager present in her voice.

"okay, come on in!"

the door then was pushed open and two tall figures came out, bowing to the jyp group. when the latter finally lifted their head, tzuyu was not disappointed to know the identities of the two strangers are.

kang taehyun and oh hyunseol of tomorrow x together, bighit's newest group and bts' juniors. tzuyu also had heard about the two members especially the various titles several netizens had given the txt's oldest in the span of several months after their debut.

bighit's wildcard, txt's solace, and nation's best friend.

seeing the 5'11 foot idol in front of her somehow made sense why seol was given those titles, although tzuyu feels that two of these titles contradict one another.

in bighit's wildcard, mystery is present around the tall physique of the bighit idol. one look from seol could give tzuyu the shivers she would feel whenever she felt an unsettling sensation in her body.

also, tzuyu had heard from various idols that seol was known to be the hidden ace of bighit, but she doesn't know if those statements held some truth in them.

in txt's solace, tzuyu had seen several videos containing hyunseol and her unconditional love for her members from cooking them food, gifting them expensive yet meaningful gifts, and being the best older sister the other txt members could have.

while the title, nation's best friend is a bit self-explanatory considering the various friendships hyunseol has formed with a variety of idols from different companies.

tzuyu couldn't grasp the question how hyunseol managed to befriend idols from almost all of the groups whether it may be a girlgroup or boygroup, but all she knows is that she feels a bit jealous on the fact that hyunseol could easily make friends without getting involved in dating rumors.

"hello, twice sunbaenim. it's an honor to meet you." taehyun tried to hide behind hyunseol, getting flustered and the latter took notice of it, stepping forward.

meanwhile nayeon looked at her members proud. "see? i told you guys i would eventually befriend her."

hyunseol nodded and smirked at twice's oldest member. "yeah, nayeon unnie was so determined to be friends she even dragged us on the way here."

the '95 liner blushed and pouted. "hey, i told you to not tell them that!"

"you didn't exactly make me swear on txt, nayeon unnie. besides, you were so adamant on befriending me i simply couldn't resist telling them that", hyunseol teased.

the twice members laughed at nayeon who was now smacking hyunseol's arm with the latter letting the older girl do whatever she wants.

"also, i agreed to befriend her because taehyun and i want to give you our albums. we hope we aren't interrupting something when we came in."

jihyo then smiled and stood up. "no, no. you aren't interrupting something. we are actually expecting you since nayeon and jeongyeon had a bet against each other on who you would befriend first."

hyunseol blinked and tilted her head at twice's second oldest. "you... were trying to befriend me earlier?"

jeongyeon blushed and nodded while the rest of twice members noticed the reaction of the second oldest and jihyo turned to hyunseol, confused. "may i ask what happened?"

the txt's oldest member turned red and cleared her throat. "she asked me if i can hang out with her and get drunk after the awards show."

tzuyu has never seen jihyo turn her head so fast until now and doesn't know if she'll laugh at jeongyeon or feel bad. "what did you just say to hyunseol?!"

"i'm sorry! she was in the legal age already, so i thought of inviting her to drink!"

hyunseol speaks once the chaos temporarily stopped, "uhm... i would accept your invitation, jeongyeon unnie, but i don't think the company would allow me. that's why i rejected your offer, sorry."

"so... you're willing to get drunk?"

hyunseol and taehyun shared a look before the former answered whike scratching her nape, "yes, but i never get drunk, momo unnie."

"eh? are you sure?"

"seol noona...", twice then turned their attention on taehyun who suddently got nervous. "has a high alcohol tolerance."

"when did you find out about that one?"

hyunseol and taehyun shared a look once again before the oldest of txt avoided the nine women's eyes.

"when g-idle had a bet against me that i will get drunk first before all of them."

"so who won?"

"of course hyunseol did. that's why she found out she had a high alcohol tolerance."

"so if you—"

the waiting room door then opened and showed txt's manager, yongsun before she bowed to the 3rd gen idol group. "hello, twice. i hope you don't mind me fetching seol and taehyun. the award show is about to start."

"oh, of course we don't mind. we need to get going, anyways." jihyo bowed at txt's manager before she turned towards the two txt members. "thank you for the albums. you can just give them to tzuyu here."

hyunseol then approached twice's maknae and gave txt's album while bowing at the latter. due to her sudden nervousness, the txt's oldest member accidentally touched the other idol's hand.

the 5'11 foot idol blushed and immediately stepped away when tzuyu had grabbed the album from her. this is so embarrassing.

the two txt members and their manager gave their final bow to the girl group before they walked out.

once the trio left, jihyo threw the maknae a look and her eyes widened when she saw the hint of pink invading the latter's cheeks.

start of interest

tzuyu doesn't know if she should let her interest drove her into finding more about seol, but hearing so many txt songs on her way to the agreed rendezvous on the day she will hang out with shuhua doesn't help her decision-making.

she thinks it was god's sign to tell her to give in and she isn't usually the religious type of people, but she doesn't know if she could give it a shot or not because what could she lose in a simple curiosity?

her [REDACTED]

taking the seat in front of her friend in the café, tzuyu couldn't help but sigh and her action caught shuhua's attention.

"are you okay? did you guys have a rough week at practice?"

"i wish it was from the practice, but no."

shuhua looked at her taiwanese friend and tilted her head. "is it a crush problem?"

tzuyu could only nod in embarrassment and shuhua's jaws drop. talking about crushes is normal between them, but tzuyu's crushes? that's rare, considering tzuyu herself finds it hard to get interested on people.

"so... what's wrong?"

"i don't know if i'm just curious about her or have a crush."

her. shuhua pondered. tzuyu might like a another female idol.

"first of all, who is it?", shuhua asks before she takes a bite off her blueberry crêpe.

"oh hyunseol."

shuhua immediately choked on her food and tzuyu went to her aid, giving the g-idle member a drink. once shuhua finally got to breathe, she croaked as she looked at her friend with wide eyes. "oh hyunseol? really, her?"

"yeah. what seems the problem?"

"i'm surprised that you have a crush, but having a crush on oh fucking hyunseol? that's expected."

"why?"

shuhua ran her hands over her face and breathed out, the pain from getting choked is slowly decreasing. "i know you don't care about what netizens think, but i also hope you know what you're getting into."

tzuyu's eyebrows creased together. what does she mean by that?

shuhua added, "other than being known as nation's best friend, she is also has the reputation as being nation's heartbreaker by the netizens who hate on txt for fun."

"how? how did she become a heartbreaker?" tzuyu then took a sip of her coffee.

"because netizens think hyunseol intentionally make friends with every group to flirt with one member and break their hearts after."

"but what do you think? yuqi sunbae is friends with hyunseol unnie, right?" tzuyu took three bites of her chocolate cake.

"my advice? go for it." tzuyu's head shot up in surprise, her mouth filled with cake. "what? just because netizens think of hyunseol that way doesn't mean i believe their words. besides, i've already met seol unnie and believe me when i say that netizens are just jealous of her and her friendships with various idols.

"but it's still your choice, you know if you wanna pursue your feelings or not."

tzuyu finished her cake as she finally decided before she speaks up, "i have a question."

"ask away."

"is there any chance that you'll like seol too?"

shuhua smirks, raising a brow. "aww, are you jealous i might take her away?"

shuhua's teasing made tzuyu blush like a madman and smack her friend's arm. "n-no, i-i'm just curious."

"sure, ms. curious." shuhua took a sip of her drink and chuckled before looking at the tall girl with a serious expression.

"if i'm not so stupidly in love with soojin? i would." shuhua cleared her throat, blushing as she looked away. "like hyunseol, i mean. but luckily, i already have soojin with me, so there's no need for me to join the chaos of being attracted with seol."

tzuyu then fell in silence after that.

is it really a curse to like seol?

----

red velvet — kim yerim (김예림) ⸻ late 2019 - present

first meeting

when yeri first met seol, it was when the latter accidentally got lost in the asia artist awards backstage. red velvet members saw her looking around the hallway frantically and irene decided to lend a hand as the leader of her group.

"oh, shit!" hyunseol jumped as she felt cold fingers wrapped themselves around her right arm. she turned around to see the five red velvet members and her eyes widened when she realized what she said.

"oh, i'm sorry, sunbaes. it wasn't me, it was azrael. i'm sorry, i'm sorry." the txt member bowed profusely and the sm idols chuckled, making hyunseol's ears turn red.

"azrael, huh? i heard that you're one of the english speakers of your group." wendy starts a conversation in english.

hyunseol's eyes slightly widen with familiarity and nodded. "yeah, i am. nice to meet you and your group, wendy unnie. i hope you didn't mind me swearing in front of you."

wendy chuckled and patted hyunseol's arm. "we don't mind. besides, we curse too, you know. just not around irene unnie, though."

hyunseol's lips twisted into a pout and wendy chuckled again. "but don't worry, she won't mind now considering we did scare you. anyways, what's wrong? we kept seeing you looking around the place."

"yeah, you look like a lost puppy looking around."

"a cute puppy", yeri mutters and joy's eyes rose in mischief, trying not to smirk.

but it seems that the txt's oldest member hadn't heard yeri's words and hung her head low. "i've lost my members in the sudden surge of crowd and now, i'm trying to find them, but it's been unsuccessful so far."

"did you know where your waiting room is?", irene asks, her motherly instincts coming out for a moment.

"no, unnie. my manager was leading us to our waiting room when i lost them."

"aww, don't worry, i'm sure we can help you find them", seulgi consoled as she patted the tall idol's arm, smiling.

hyunseol scratched her cheek. "uhm, i'm not worried about getting lost. it's more like getting worried for my members—"

"seol noona, where are you?!"

the loud voices of yeonjun and huening kai cut hyunseol off as it boomed through the hallway, startling all idols and staffs present in the area including red velvet.

"anddd that's what i'm talking about." hyunseol then sighed and turned to the 3rd gen group with an apologetic look. "sorry, my members tend to panic or feel edgy whenever they realized i wasn't with them or they lost me."

"separation anxiety?", joy asked.

"no, it's just the fear of leaving me behind, especially the maknae. huening kai grew protective of his older members." hyunseol ran a hand through her hair and threw her wristwatch a look, her eyes widening a little bit.

"anyways, i need to go. i'll see you around, sunbaes." hyunseol bade goodbye before she shouted, her hands around her mouth. "yeonjun, huening kai!"

"seol noona?! wave your hands so we can see you!"

hyunseol then did what she was told and turned back to the five sm idols, giving them a wave before she turned around again and walked away.

"w-who was that?" yeri finally got her voice back after being so speechless in front of the tall stranger.

"it's txt seol, nation's best friend and nation's heartbreaker."

start of interest

yeri is aware of her sudden interest on txt's oldest member (she found out that seol is the oldest when she stumbled upon the group's official website) after hearing the title the idol earned in the span of several months after debut from seulgi.

and through nayeon, the idol she is currently hanging out with, yeri's interest on seol has been amplified. especially after the twice member's story with hyunseol's birthday gift for another twice member, jihyo.

"jihyo was so happy that hyunseol remembered her birthday and got her a bunch of clothes as a gift, especially the ones that are good for the skin."

nayeon sighed and placed her chin on her hand. "jihyo's so lucky to receive a gift like that." the twice member then looked at yeri to see the latter deep in her thoughts while staring at now-lukewarm coffee before gently nudging the younger girl.

"are you okay? you're spacing out. what's on your mind?"

"hyunseol." nayeon jerked her head back at the quick response.

"hyunseol? why is she on your mind? did something happen to you two?"

"no, i'm curious about her." yeri then threw the twice member a look. "seulgi unnie referred hyunseol as the nation's best friend and nation's heartbreaker. i'm curious how she got both of those titles when they're contradicting one another."

"oh, that." nayeon suddenly got quiet for a moment and sighed before speaking up again. "the nation's heartbreaker isn't true, though. male fans of various girl groups gave that title to her because they are jealous of her and what she is capable of, knowing their idols are at seol's disposal."

"those fans are aware of their idols' crush on seol?"

"some idols talked about it in vlive while some kept it secret. those obsessive male fans are jealous of seol because she has the confidence and freedom to talk their idols while they don't."

"is all of that true?"

nayeon shook her head as she sipped her coffee before she put the cup down and speaks, "god no, but it was the observation between me and jihyo had after tzuyu started liking seol."

yeri looked at nayeon stunned and when the latter noticed her behavior, nayeon just raised a brow back. "what? you think everyone is immune to seol's charm?"

"i just didn't think—"

"think that tzuyu will like seol?" yeri nodded. "most idols call it seol's curse, you know."

seol's curse?

"it was called seol's curse because seol has so many admirers she'll have a hard time dealing with them." nayeon finished her cake with two bites and wiped her mouth with a napkin while yeri looked down at her hands.

"you know, jihyo and i felt bad for her because apparently, she didn't want to get involved in this mess and despite the chaos happening in seol's life, she could still keep a smile on her lips."

"but..." yeri then looked up and met nayeon's eyes trained on her. "there's nothing wrong with liking seol, especially if you're not doing anything bad. as long as you still respect her as a human being who has feelings, then you can still continue being infatuated with her."

nayeon then placed her hand over yeri and smiled at the younger girl. "i know what you've heard of seol and please believe me when i say what the netizens kept saying negative things about seol isn't true."

nayeon gently squeezed yeri's hand. "seol is an innocent person and she didn't mean to make almost every female idol to fall in love with her, so please..."

"don't let the opinions of others change your view of her because you'll miss the real story."

"i-i won't, nayeon unnie. i-i promise."

who are you really, oh hyunseol? and why are you so mysterious?

----

female idols who almost got a crush or stopped having a crush on seol

kang hyewon - almost; reason: already have fallen in love with eunbi

kim chaewon - stopped; reason: claims seol being bad for her heart (her exact words: she's too much of a green flag)

cho miyeon - stopped; reason: doesn't want to be rejected by seol by the time she'll confess

seo soojin - almost; reason: already in love with shuhua

kim jiwon (liz) - almost; reason: wants no drama in the group

lee joowon (jooe) - stopped; reason: afraid of the scandals

----

taglist (open!!): @curly-fr13s , @neuftaeng , @myothegreat , @yoontoonwhs , @nasyu-kookies , @awkwardtoafault , @osakis-gf , @dream-chasers-things , @woonie57 , @juhyunsthirdwife , @sewiouslyz, @mxrning-star ,

masterlist

[jinisnuggets]

𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕄𝕖 ℙ𝕋.2

ᵖᵃⁱʳⁱⁿᵍˢ: ˢᵖʸ! ˢᵉᵘⁿᵍᵐⁱⁿ ˣ ⁱᵈᵒˡ ᶠᵉᵐ! ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

ʷᵒʳᵈ ᶜᵒᵘⁿᵗ: 2.2ᵏ

ᵍᵉⁿʳᵉ: ᵃⁿᵍˢᵗ, ˢᵖʸ!ⁱᵈᵒˡ ᵃᵘ, ˢᵉʳⁱᵉˢ

ʷᵃʳⁿⁱⁿᵍˢ: ˢʷᵉᵃʳⁱⁿᵍ, ˢᵒᵐᵉʷʰᵃᵗ ᵃᵍᵍʳᵉˢⁱᵛᵉ ˢᵉᵘⁿᵍᵐⁱⁿ, ᵐᵉⁿᵗⁱᵒⁿˢ ᵒᶠ ˢᵗᵃˡᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᵃⁿᵈ ʰᵃʳᵐⁱⁿᵍ, ᶠᵃᵏᵉ ⁱᵈᵉⁿᵗⁱᵗⁱᵉˢ.

ˢʸⁿᵒᵖˢⁱˢ: ᵃᶠᵗᵉʳ ʸᵒᵘʳ ʷᵉⁱʳᵈ ᵉⁿᶜᵒᵘⁿᵗᵉʳ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵃ ᵐᵃⁿ ʸᵒᵘ ʳᵉᶜᵒᵍⁿⁱᶻᵉᵈ ᵃⁿᵈ ˡᵒⁿᵍᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ˢᵉᵉ, ʸᵒᵘ ᶠᵃᶜᵉ ᵃ ˢᵉʳⁱᵉˢ ᵒᶠ ᵇᵃᵈ ᵉᵛᵉⁿᵗˢ ᵒⁿ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵗᵒᵘʳ, ᵃⁿᵈ ᵐᵉᵉᵗ ᵃ ˢⁱᵈᵉ ʸᵒᵘ'ᵛᵉ ⁿᵉᵛᵉʳ ⁿᵒᵗⁱᶜᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᶠᵃᵐⁱˡⁱᵃʳ ᵍᵘʸ.

ᵃ/ⁿ: ᵖᵃʳᵗ ᵗʰʳᵉᵉ????

ᵇʳⁱᵉᶠ ⁱⁿᵗʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵗⁱᵒⁿ ᵗᵒ ᵐʸ ᵇˡᵒᵍ

Seungmin turned over to face the only person he hoped not to see.

L/N Y/N

“My apologies, I didn't mean to interrupt your day.” he bowed as his words exited his mouth.

However, it didn't end there… you recognized this face.

“Oh, no worries. That's alright, I was just confused.”

You let out a small chuckle in order to lighten up the tense mood.

Seungmin got up from his position and smiled lightly.

“I'm sorry to have caused confusion.”

“It’s okay, partially my fault.”

“Oh, don't worry about it, it's okay.”

You were tempted to ask him all the questions you had kept to yourself throughout the past week or 2, however they wouldn't exit your mouth. They were eternally trapped inside with no escape.

“I should get going, I hope to see you around sometime.”

“We will.”

“We will…?*

“Mm, we will, anyways, I'll see you around.”

“Yeah…”

Partially confused, but partially creeped out, you had too much on your mind from your schedules, but this was taking over all those thoughts.

All the words that came out of his mouth were, tender, soothing, low, yet so eiree.

“Y/n?”

“Yes Manager?”

“Are you ready? You took a while, remember we have to get there before 4:00pm.”

“Yes, I remembered, I just got stopped for a moment, my fault.”

“It’s okay, just hurry and get in.”

Entering the car, you shut the door and looked out the window as the car begun moving, you put on your headphones and loaded some music to clear your mind, nothing was working because the words “we will” constantly reappeared in your head, nothing could change it. At the time you never thought this way about any fan, but ever since you ran into Dongyun, you can't think straight. Who was he? Did he have good intentions? Perhaps bad? What about him attracted you to him? It was always just the same questions that you couldn't get an answer too, even though they were absolutely devouring your insides, and you knew you wouldn't be able to perform to your best, all because of these words that just wouldn't stop haunting you.

Before you knew it, you arrived at your location, entering through your assigned entrance and came face to face with a bunch of managers walking around with the idol under them, a lot of big names were currently in the same building as you, although it wasn't a new thing, it never failed to amaze you.

“Okay, Y/n, I need to go this way since I have a meeting, you can go ahead and go to your assigned stylists so she can start preparing you.”

“Got it, how long will you take?”

“I'll be done before you go on stage, hopefully before final rehearsals.”

“So in about an hour or so?”

“Hopefully, yes. I doubt it'll go over 2.”

“Okay, I'll see you later then.”

Your manager nodded and then disappeared into a nearby room, you knew your way around the building, you had been here multiple times throughout your career.

“Hello L/n.”

You turned around to the familiar voice, in an isolated area it made complete sense to hear this voice now.

“Hello.”

“It's good to see you again, you're performing today right?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“I bet you'll do amazing.”

You raised an eyebrow and slightly squinted your eyes.

Knowing this wasn't the real Yang Minyung, you saw a lot more flaws in the makeup, hair, and features.

“Are you performing today?”

“Unfortunately, today I'm just here to spectate.”

“That's a bummer, why aren't you? You normally always do.”

“Didn't invite me as an idol today.”

She did a broken heart motion with her hands along with a small frown on her face.

Lie number two, Yang Minyung was always invited to these events without fail, as one of the top soloist, chaos would break loose if she wasn't invited to an event like this.

“That's unfortunate, I'm sorry about that.”

“It's fine, what time will you be up?”

“Around 6:40ish”

“Oh! That's lovely, I can't wait to see you, bet you'll do great.”

“That's very kind, thank you but I have to get going."

“Okay! Fighting!”

Although the ways were separated, you couldn't help but grow chills at the way you ran into her twice in places that only idols could be in, how did she manage to get in without getting caught by any guards? Or how was she able to run into you specifically every time?

Or maybe…

It wasn't an accident…?

You left your bedroom to pick up a glass of water from the kitchen. It was dark and late at night, however you still wanted to finish reading your book, not to mention your skincare was still on.

Getting your glass of water, you started making your way back to your bedroom until you heard a low knock on your door.

It was a bit suspicious judging by how late it was but you decided to look outside from your peephole to try to catch a glimpse of who it could possibly be.

You saw a man, around late 20’s standing outside your door, looking straight at the doorknob…

Immediately pushing back from the door, you turned the double lock and ran to the bathroom quietly, washing off the cleanser that was placed on your face, closing the door and locking it. You heard a couple more knocks until it went silent, and no further noises were heard.

You thought you could hear the sound of two men lightly talking outside your door before walking away, you took a moment and thought about everything, before you realized…

One voice wasn't of a man…

Rather of a woman.

You only saw a man outside your door, so where was the woman?

Opening the door to the bathroom slowly you gathered a couple belongings and called room service, they assured you no one was in your floor and that they would look into it, and so, you left the room and went to another random door.

You took a breath before knocking lightly in hopes of not attracting anyone nearby.

Hearing a couple noises, such as rustles, and footsteps, you knew someone heard you, you let out a sigh and hoped you hadn't knocked on the door of some creep, you waited anxiously, quietly pacing around your spot and hoped whoever knocked on your door was no longer in the building. Thoughts filled your head until you heard the door lightly open.

“Why the hell are you outside in the middle of the fucking night!?”

The voice sounded aggressive, almost angry, you couldn't blame the guy. It was late.

“I'm sorry… could I please ask to sta-”

Unable to finish your sentence because you finally noticed whose door your knocked on.

Non other, than the one and only Dongyun.

However, the thought never settled in upon hearing the sound of approaching footsteps and 2 voices whispering to each other inaudible words.

This was no stranger to Seungmin. He knew exactly why you stood at his door the moment he heard the two voices.

You quickly turned around with a worried look on your face, and before your mouth could even open, Seungmin dragged you into his room, and shutting the door behind him quietly.

“Okay… what's going on?” he said while turning on a dim lamp next to him, he sat down on the table and kept his voice to a minimum..

“How did you know what I-”

“Answer the fucking question. What is going on?”

You paused upon hearing his voice, tired and raspy, angry and deprived.

“I don't know!! I don't know what's going on myself…”

Seungmin sighed in frustration, before turning on his phone and opening up an app.

“Tell me everything you know.”

“I don't know anything!!”

“Don't be silly! What did you see!?”

“Nothing!!”

Seungmin breathed in slowly, and glanced over at you

“Why are you scared?”

“A man… knocked on my door just now.”

He glanced at his screen and started typing.

“What did he do?”

*Just knocked.”

“Did you catch a glimpse of him?”

“Not much… I can't say any features other than the fact he was tall and looked around mid to late 20’s”

“What were you doing when it happened?”

“Getting a glass of water.”

“Did you see him with the woman outside your door?”

“No… it was just him…”

“So while getting a glass of water just now, you heard a knock and saw a mid-late 20 aged man standing outside your door, he knocked multiple times with absolutely no woman in view until her voice was heard speaking to him!?”

“Yes! He was looking at my doorknob, when I looked out the peephole.”

You noticed him type before beginning to dial a number, the phone rang a couple of times before it went to voicemail and he hung up.

He glanced down and groaned in hopelessness before turning back to look at you.

“Well, I guess you can spend the night.”

“Would it be alright?”

“For right now I guess.”

“Thank you so much.”

You put your bag down and sat on the couch, Seungmin glanced on you before sighing.

“Sorry, could I lay here?”

Seungmin nodded lightly before bring his lamp over and putting it over the table.

“Just in case you need it.”

However, you didn't get a chance to thank the guy because he was already making his way back to his bedroom.

“Hey!”

Seungmin turned around to face you, looking a bit annoyed despite being in the dark.

“What now?”

“You… you're Dongyun… from the fan sign right..?”

Seungmin's expression changed, from annoyed to worried. How did you manage to remember him!? Why hadn't you said anything upon seeing him for the first time? Thoughts brushed his head as he looked back at you and began to speak.

“Goodnight.” He began walking to the hotel bedroom, although it wasn't an answer his response was clear.

“Goodnight.”

However Seungmin wasn't going to bed just yet…

He had some work to do.

“Dongyun?”

Work to complete.

You asked, looking up at the tall man hovering over the couch holding 2 cups of a relatively warm drink.

“Take the cup, it's burning my hands.”

“My bad… is this for me?”

“Yes it's for you, I'm not here with anyone.”

Although the response was aggressive, you let out a smile and drank the warm coffee, you needed it after all that happened last night.

Seungmin kept looking at you before beginning to walk away from the couch and over to the hotel kitchen.

“Dongyun!”

You noticed the young man turn around before completely turning his body to face you.

“Let's watch a movie, or a drama, or anything, I brought my computer and it's my free day.”

“Don't you have any schedules?”

“I do, but not until later on, like around 5:00.”

Hesitant, but later giving in and walking over to the couch, you always had something separating the two of you however the distance being so close startled you, but you kept your word and took out your computer.

“What would you like to watch?”

“Drama.”

“So you're a drama guy huh?” You joked.

Seungmin looked over at you and turned away while slightly nodding his head.

“How long have you been watc-”

“Why are you so nosey? Just look for a drama..” he looked away from you in a hurry, as you kept an annoyed stare.

“Fine then. What type of dramas do you watch?”

“Prefer thriller or action...”

You continued to look for a drama you could watch with him and ultimately decided on one, you noticed Seungmin turn after the intro was over.

Why did he even turn away for so long? Were you annoying him a bit? Or were you just being nosey like he mentioned..? Or both, you decided to try not to speak to him throughout the rest of your stay to avoid causing conflict.

The rest of the morning and afternoon with Seungmin was mostly silent, 5:00pm came and you left off to your schedules only to return later that night, you went over to the front desk upon stepping in the building.

“An extra room?”

“Could I get an extra room?”

“Yes.”

“L/N Y-”

“Name?”

“What are you doing?”

Recognizing the voice, you turned around to face the familiar man

“Dongyun!?”

“You're coming with-”

“Why!?” quickly cutting him off before he was able to finish his sentence, he soon turned around to face you, letting out a small sigh after a moment of intense eye contact.

“Listen, sometimes you can't trust someone on their own.”

“I'm a grown adult, I can take care of myself-”

“Maybe you can but others won't allow it.”

For one of the first times you heard him raise his voice higher than he normally kept it, recalling all your interactions, he always had a soft and calm voice, however right now he raised it ever so slightly.

“What..?”

“I'll explain everything if you stay with me for the time being.”

“I can't….”

However, Seungmin didn't wait for your response before grabbing your arm and dragging you into his room.

“What the hell-!?” although, you were unable to finish your sentence, as you felt your back touch a wall, and right in front of you stood the guy who you thought you knew, but realized that the entire Identity he built for you was a lie.

All of it….

Was lies.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Lovebirds

Timari January: Replacement (Art) by @maribat-calendar-events

Summary: They find an old project from art class while moving.

Back to Timari January 2023 Masterlist

Tim slumped on top of Marinette, his chin resting on her shoulder to let him see what she was doing in his darling box. “You know, it’s not right to snoop.”

She snorted dismissively, but her hands stilled where they had been sifting through the many photos he had opted to take with him to their new house. “You got nudes in here that you’re trying to hide?”

He rolled his eyes. “No, I have those in a separate box.”

Marinette made a choking sound and her head whipped around to look at him to see whether he was joking. He kept his face perfectly impassive.

She squinted at him for a moment before shaking her head, grinning. “Anyways, I just wanted to see. I haven’t gotten to look at your photos in ages,” she said.

“Can I go through to make sure you don’t see any of the bad ones?” He asked, smiling nervously.

“... why would you go through the effort to develop bad ones?”

He huffed. “I was a kid. I didn’t know about shot composition.”

“Then why keep them?”

He thought about it for a moment before shrugging. “Couldn’t get rid of them, I guess.”

She hummed lightly.

Tim shooed her off so he could lean over the box. She huffed a little, clearly not enthused at the idea of going back to unpacking, but did so without any real complaint. She resumed her desperate search for bedsheets, neither of them wanted to sleep on a bare mattress if they could help it.

He grabbed a handful of pictures, the laminated pages just barely sticking to his hands. And then he started flipping through them. A tiny smile made its way across his face. He hadn’t seen a bunch of these in years, and there was something kind of adorable about seeing how bad he had been back in the day. Some of it wasn’t his fault, admittedly, catching people in motion was difficult with a camera, especially at night, but still. Looking at the blurs of color on dark backdrops that he had used to think of as tastefully stylistic rather than unfortunate…

It was a simpler time.

Besides, it made the few good pictures littered through the box seem more amazing. A shot of Robin and Batman awkwardly standing in line for smoothies. A picture of Robin in free fall, his cape fluttering in the ‘wind’. A picture of Batman poised perfectly against a rare moon in Gotham, a dark silhouette against the light.

And then he reached something at the bottom of the box that was too large to be a photograph.

Maybe it was a collage?

He pulled out a large sheet of laminated paper. It took him a moment to recognize it, but when he did he laughed out loud. “Holy shit, Mari, look.”

She blinked once, setting down a random vase so she could make her way across the room to stretch over him. Her eyes sparkled with recognition. “Ooooooh, I remember that,” she said, leaning closer.

The ‘that’ in question was a finger painting mural that their class had collaborated on during art way back when they were about to graduate from kindergarten. The base was a professionally done drawing of a forest, the trees sporting an almost ungodly amount of branches. This wasn’t the main feature, though. It was a backdrop for the actual finger painting the kids had done. Really, it was less of an art project and more of a ‘stamp your thumb in a spot and then turn it into an animal’ activity.

“When I put my bird next to yours everyone went ‘ooooooooo’. A classic,” Tim said quietly, pointing to the pair of tiny fingerprints in the top right corner. They had both opted to turn theirs into birds, because it ‘just made sense, they were in trees!’, but you wouldn’t know that from looking at it. They looked like smiley faces with feet.

Marinette and Tim’s blue and red birds had overlapped somewhat, turning the area between purple. Marinette had insisted that he had ruined it by ‘turning them into a Venn Diagram’, he had cried, and she had cried because he was crying and had begged for forgiveness.

It was quite a day.

He rubbed the two laminated birds, smiling. His thumb nowadays could cover up both of their old fingerprints. “I’m guessing you don’t have your copy anymore?”

She pouted. “No. It was the worst day ever and I tossed it into a river before it got home. My favorite pink skirt got ruined, why would I want to remember that?”

He snorted into his hand.

“You’re laughing. That’s my villain origin story and you’re laughing.”

He grinned and pressed his hand against his mouth as hard as he could in hopes that that would muffle his amusement even partially. He could still remember the pure horror on her young face, which looked particularly pale when compared with the bright green paint that one of their classmates had spilled on her. At the time, that had seemed like the biggest thing to ever happen to them.

She grinned and took a seat next to him, her eyes on the pair of birds. She leaned into him a little, almost mirroring the way they leaned against each other in the picture. At least they didn’t meld together like the birds had, that would have been inconvenient.

She absently rubbed her thumb against her palm, as if remembering the way the paint had felt on her finger all those years ago. “I almost poisoned a bunch of customers because I forgot to wash off all the paint on my hand before helping my parents.”

“... wait. Is that why I got a bunch of bread the next day?”

She cleared her throat.

“You told me the blue was just food dye!”

“Technically, I said that the blue wasn’t mold. And it wasn’t.”

He sputtered.

“And, I mean, you’re fine now, so it’s all good.”

His eyes narrowed at her. She was avoiding eye contact, so she definitely felt bad about it. But. He would have preferred an apology. Since she wasn’t offering one, he thought it was perfectly reasonable to resort to torture.

“How do you know that? I could be un-bread for all you know.”

She groaned. “I’m going to strangle you.”

“I’m a ghost! You can’t do that! Your hands would go right through me but, hey, at yeast you tried!”

Her eye twitched. “One more,” she dared him.

“... hey, you don’t gotta be a brioche about it –!”

She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him into a kiss. “Shut up,” she muttered against his mouth.

And he did.