#2/?? super subtle pining looks from across the room

[fairchildestof-them-all]

@cole-atwolf​

[myheelsdontmatchmysweatpants]

Such a pretty event!!! May I have a Red Lily with Denki, please?

I am SO SORRY for taking forever to finish this. Clearly I have no chill and it is a tiny bit longer than I thought it would be. I hope you like this!

Red Lily (Passion) with Denki

Warnings: Swearing, mutual pining, sexual tension, making out, mention of a b0ner

WC: 4.4k words 

Denki still couldn’t believe his luck, here he was, with you, working on his quirk. He didn’t think much of it when he was sitting in the sitting area of the 3A dorms off handedly asking if anyone wanted to spar.

He got a look of annoyance from Bakugo, confusion from Kirishima and amusement from Mina and Sero. A sound of someone running up behind him had him turning his head to you clapping and excitedly jumping up and down.

“Oh, oh oh! Umm I would actually LOVE-” You see the looks on the other people’s faces and clear your throat, before continuing. “I wouldn’t mind helping you out Kaminari, if you still want to that is…” You looked down at the ground, playing with the hem of your shirt too nervous to look him in the eye.

Denki is still staring at you, his mouth wide open. You want to practice with him? The girl he’s been pining over since you stood up to that 2B prick saying that he isn’t worth the powerful quirk he has. He will never forget the look on your face as you yelled….

“How dare you! Kaminari works just as hard as everyone else! He is talented and strong, and you are weak for saying bullshit like that!” You are fuming, cheeks red fists balled at your sides, you were at least several inches shorter than the jackass and yet you seemed to tower over him.

After he stomps away red faced you turn to the rest of the class with rage in your eyes before blinking and looking away shyly. “I um... he deserved it.” You back to your seat, no one really knowing what to say. Denki can see admiration in most people’s faces, even Bakugo’s. When you sit down at your seat and stare at your desk Denki doesn’t realize he is staring until Mina throws a note at him.

You look like a lovestruck fish! Close your mouth!

Denki feels a thump to the back of his head. “Fuckin Ow! What the hell?” He turns and sees Bakugo with a glare on his face and a closed book in his hand.

“You haven’t answered her question dumbass!” Bakugo glances at you and goes back to his book.

Rubbing the back of his head he turns and sees you still nervously standing in front of him.

Shit

“Yes! I mean, umm yeah I’m down for that.” He feels Kirishima kick his leg and flinches. “Thank you! I’ll meet you outside in 20?”

Your head shoots up, your eyes wide and shining. “Okay! Yeah! I’ll see you in a bit!” You turn away and skip to the stairs a big smile on your face. You are out of sight of the group when Kirishima claps Denki on the back.

“You almost blew it there man! Good thing Bakugo helped you out.”

“Oi! I did not help him out! I was helping myself out by getting rid of sparky and L/N for at least an hour.” Bakugo doesn’t even look up from his book as he punches Kirishima.

“Of course, BakuBro! Whatever you say!” Kirishima shoots a knowing smile to Mina and Sero, none of them really believing the explosive blondes excuse.

Mina hops up and sits next to Denki. “Soooo! Looks like your gonna have some alone time with L/N! Are you finally gonna confess to her?”

His face goes red, simultaneously imagining you accepting his confession or rejecting it. “I-I-I I don’t know about that. She looked like she really wanted to spar… I don’t want to make it weird.”

“If you don’t I will.” Denki’s head shoots up and he looks at his friends, all four of them pointedly looking away from him. “I’m sorry what!? Mina?”

“What?! She’s amazing and smart and sweet. I like people Kaminari, doesn’t matter how they identify.”

“Kirishima?”

“Uh, Haha yeah dude she’s like super manly and you remember when she helped us out with English last year after Bakugo gave up? Not that I like her as much as you but if you don’t make a move….” Kirishima shrugs his shoulders.

“Then get out of the way you’re holding up the line.” Sero leans back on the couch, crossing his arms, a smile on his face.

Denki coughs and wearily turns to Bakugo. “You too Bakugo?”

Bakugo looks up and stares him down with piercing red eyes. “I’m not a liar fuckin dumbass, stop being a pussy and ask her.” He looks back down at his book, a slight blush on the tips of his ears.

Everyone decides to ignore it in favor of staying alive, Denki gets up and heads to his dorm room to change, Sero and Kirishima in tow.

When you get to your floor you beeline for Jirous’ room, needing to talk to the cool-headed girl before getting changed.

You bust into the room without knocking, causing Jirou and her girlfriend of 2 years Momo to split apart from each other, lips glossy and faces red. You shut the door behind you and sit in the bed, pushing their feet aside.

“You are not going to believe what just happened!” You jump back up and start pacing.

“You just barged into my room without knocking and interrupted my private time with my girlfriend… again?” Jirou lays down on the bed with a huff, sending an annoyed look to Momo.

Momo knows you don’t do it on purpose and decides to take pity on you, grabbing Jirous hand she turns to look at your pacing form. “What is going on L/N?”

“I’m going to be sparring with Kaminari!!!” You stop and look at your two friends, stopping your pacing but wringing your hands, suddenly nervous. “Oh god, I’m going to be sparring with Kaminari! What if I embarrass myself? What if I knock him out or give him a bloody nose! What if I fart?!”

You sit down on a desk chair and put your head in your hands, suddenly regretting speaking up when you heard him ask for a sparring partner.

“For the love of- “Jirou sits up to yell at you but Momo interrupts.

“N/N, it’s gonna be fine! We have handled numerous villain attacks and being in a class with not only Bakugo but Mineta as well. I promise you can handle it.” She sits up and leans over to pat you on the head.

You take a couple of deep breaths and look back up at your friends. “Thanks, you guys I needed a rational person to talk me down. I love you.”

Momo taps your nose and Jirou shakes her head with a smile on her face. “Anytime you drama queen, you know we love you too.”

You get up and say your goodbyes before hurrying to your room to change.

When you get back down stairs you are wearing your cutest workout gear and have a duffle bag with you.

No need for makeup, I’m gonna be sweating anyway and it’s not like he hasn’t seen me looking worse.

When you walk towards the front doors the Baku squad is huddled around the couch trying their best to look like they aren’t spying on you.  

“Real smooth you guys, real subtle. Hey Dynamight!”

“What do you fuckin want?!” Bakugou looks up from his book, red eyes blazing.

You try and fail to hold in a laugh. “Your Uhhh Haha, Your book is upside down.” Before he can throw it, you run outside almost colliding with Denki in the process.

“Woah there sparkplug!” Denki grabs your shoulders and steadies you with a small smile on his face. “Let me guess, running from Bakugou?”

You want to answer him, you really do. But he lost you at sparkplug and now you forgot what words are. “Uh umm w-what?” You shake your head trying to jumpstart your brain. “Did-did you just call me sparkplug?”

Denki’s eyes widen and he let’s go of your shoulders, putting a hand behind his head and rubbing his neck. “Oh Haha, yeah I uh I did.” He stands there for a moment, looking everywhere except at you. “OH! I’m – I’m sorry if you didn’t like it! It just kinda came out and oh geez I’m so sorry.”

His frantic waving breaks you out of your stupor and you giggle. “Don’t worry about it Kaminari! I actually… kinda …. Liked it?” Your face goes red and just as Denki opens his mouth to comment you start walking off at a brisk pace. “We better start getting over to the gym or it’s gonna be too late!”

Denki doesn’t follow immediately, cemented to the spot.

She liked it. She liked it!

He hears a knock on the windows and looks up, Mina and Kirishima yelling at him. He can’t hear it, but he doesn’t need to when they keep repeating, “Follow her you idiot!”

You keep walking, not even checking to see if Denki is following you.

I kinda liked it! Really Y/N? Just call yourself out why don’t you. God, I hope that didn’t freak him out. Alright, it’s fine. Just breath, just forget about it and move on.

You are taking deep breaths and giving yourself an internal pep talk when Denki catches up to you.

“So Uhhh, what ummm what do you wanna work on today?”

You can tell he is trying his best to ease the awkward tension, thankful really. You hoist the strap of your duffel higher on to your shoulder and glance at him.

“Well, you are the one who asked for a partner so I figured I would let you make that decision. But if you don’t have any ideas, I did have some of my own.” You both get to the doors of the gym stopping at a metal door that reveals a keypad. As you type in a password that was given to you by Aizawa, Denki can’t help but check you out.

You are in a pair of black slip-on shoes, a dark green pair of workout leggings with a matching zip up. The colors complimenting your beautiful skin, the pants stretched tight across your ass.

He rubs his hands over his face, closing his eyes and yelling at himself.

What am I doing? What if she doesn’t like being looked at like that, by me, or anyone. Stupid Kaminari, get it together!

You clear your throat, and he peeks through his fingers, you have a concerned look on your face one eyebrow raised.

���You okay there Kami?” You reach out and poke his forehead, to preoccupied with how adorable he looks with his hands covering his face to be worried about touching him.

Denki’s face turns red and his eyes widen. “Kami?”

“Yeah, Haha. I figured if you’re gonna call me a nickname I’ll call you one too!” You walk off with a smile on your face and a blush on your cheeks.

She’s so pretty I’m gonna die.

Denki takes a breath, dropping his hands from his face and accepts the fact he is indeed going to die because you are so pretty. But first he needs to figure out a way to make you his if you want to be.

As you walk to the middle of the gym you drop your duffle bag and start stretching, waiting for Denki to join you.

“I really didn’t think anyone was going to take me up on my offer, so I don’t have any ideas for sparring. I’ll just follow your lead on this.” Denki drops his water bottle on top of your duffle and starts stretching next to you.

“Well, I know you have been struggling with hand-to-hand combat since that wasn’t an option with your quirk until recently so I think that would be the best place to start.” You finish stretching your arms and sit on the floor to continue with your legs. You turn your head to look up at Denki and not realizing he was so close to you, look directly at his crotch. You can’t help but stare, he was wearing grey joggers for Christ sakes! And boy did he fill them out, he maybe more on the lean side but that does not mean he isn’t built. And hung apparently if that imprint is any indication.

You feel your face get tomato red and swear you can feel your nose start bleeding. You turn your head quickly and clear your throat. “Did you want me to use a specific persons fighting style or your good with a wildcard?”

You can see Denki thinking about It for a moment, sitting down to finish his stretches and sticking the tip of his tongue out.

God he is so cute, I just wanna kiss his face.

“Let’s go with wildcard, I can’t think of any specific people. Plus…. I trust your judgement.” He stands up and offers his hand to you.

You take it without hesitation but when you stand up neither of you makes a move to let go. You are both looking at the ground and when you look up and meet each others eyes you both move away.

“Alrighty then! Let’s get started” You walk to the middle of a circle painted on the ground for sparring and get into a fighting stance.

Your quirk was very handy for practicing like this and helping others with combat. Your quirk was both mental and physical, your brain being able to learn any fighting style after seeing it once and your body being able to replicate it. The draw back was that most people base their fighting style off of their quirks (which you can’t replicate) but that did help you in terms of defense.

“Just don’t use your quirk yet, I don’t have anything to protect me from getting zapped.” You knew Denki wouldn’t try to hurt you but mentioning it out loud made you feel better.

You both stood in the circle, waiting for the other to make the first move. You were still trying to figure out what style you wanted to fight him in when he lunged for you, reaching out to grab one of your arms. You dodged to the side, turning so your back was to him and putting his arm over your shoulder. You lean back then lurch forward pulling his arm and crouching so he flips over you and lands on his back in front of you.

You hear the air leave his lungs, but you have both been through a lot of training in your three years and he recovers quickly. Flipping on to his stomach he gets his arms underneath his chest and pushes up getting on to his feet quickly. This time he waits for you to attack. You are both circling each other before you run at him and then slide going for his feet, he catches on to your move and runs towards you. He jumps over your body turns and grabs one of your arms twisting it to flip you over on your stomach. Before you can get up, he bends your arm behind your back and pins you with his body, straddling your hips and pushing down on your back.

You both stop moving, trying to catch your breath before you tap out. Denki scrambles to get off of you and help you up. “Oh shit, sorry sparkplug! You okay?”

You lean over with your hands on your hips still out of breath and wave him off. “Yeah… m’fine…. Just…. need a minute.” You walk over to your duffle bag tossing him his water bottle and grabbing your before taking slow sips. You wipe your face with the back of your hand and put your water bottle down. Now WAY to hot after sparring you unzip your jacket revealing a sheer tank top with a sports bra underneath.

Denki is still drinking water, so he doesn’t notice until you walk over rolling your shoulders and neck. His is mid drink when he sees you, eyes going wide choking on his water.

You jog up to him rubbing his back with a concerned look on your face. “Hey, hey! You alright Kami? What the hell happened?”

He finally gets his breathing under control and stands up straight turning to you. “Wow! That was weird! I’m alright Haha, you ready for another round?” His face is red, rubbing the back of his neck his eyes darting from your top to your face.

You chose to keep your face neutral, not giving any sign that you know what his problem is. But you can’t help but both scream internally in embarrassment and laugh in “karma bitch”.

So, he is checking me out 100% and I might melt but it’s only fair since I got an eye full of the cervix destroyer.

“Yeah, I’m ready, you ready to get your ass handed to you?” You smirk, pushing his shoulder as you walk past.

He laughs, happy you haven’t caught on to his ogling. “If I’m remembering correctly, I won the first round.”

“Well yeah!” Shrugging your shoulders, you get back into a fighting stance. “But that was just the warmup.”

It had been about 2 hours before you both decided to end after the next fight. You had both won multiple fights, but Denki had taken the lead 6-5.

You were both sweating, breathing heavy, you had taken off the sheer top over your sports bra and Denki had taken off his t-shirt.

Thank god he was wearing a tank top underneath but that has been distracting none the less.

You and Denki stand at either end of the circle, watching each other for the slightest movement. You move first, running towards the left side of his body. You knew he always had an opening on that side, even if he were quick at closing it in his tired state you could probably get him this time.

Fate was on your side; you could see the realization on his face just a second to late for him to do anything about it.

You jump at Denki bringing your legs up to wrap around his upper torso, using the momentum to swing around and knock him to the ground. You land, him on his back and you on top of him straddling his waist a hand on either side of his head. Your hair had come undone and was hanging down, a curtain shielding both of your faces from the outside world.

Neither of you makes a move, looking into each other’s eyes, breathing in the others breath, your lips just shy of brushing together. You can see the want in his eyes, the same look reflected on yours. He brings his hands up and caresses your thighs, just before you close the distance you hear a cough.

“I believe I said you could use this room for practice, not…. That.” You both look up, your hair parting just enough so both of you have a view of your homeroom teacher glaring at you with tired eyes.

Denki and you look back at each other and then scramble to move apart. You turn towards Aizawa and bow apologizing and grab your things to leave. Denki isn’t behind you; in fact, he has his back to you, and you can tell that his neck is bright red. “Kami! Let’s go!”

Denki turns and glances at you with nervous eyes. “Oh uh, I gotta talk to Aizawa so I’ll see you later!”

“Alright! Yeah see you later.” You hurry past your teacher, eyes downcast. Walking back to the dorm you try to figure out what Denki could possibly need to talk to the teacher for.

It’s the weekend, and he never talks to the teacher, he isn’t getting bad grades so…. OH MY GOD

You suddenly stop walking, your face bursting into flames. Before you got up Denki had shifted while you were on top of him and you could have sworn something poked your thigh.

“Oh god, what if Sensi didn’t walk in at that moment? Would we have ended up having sex?”

You think about it for a moment, your brain going from embarrassed to pissed in a matter of seconds.

“Did I just get cock blocked by my homeroom teacher?!” You continue walking to the dorm pissed off, tired of the sexual tension and mutual attraction between you and Denki not going anywhere.

If he isn’t gonna make the first move, then I will.

Denki finally walks back to the dorms, crestfallen. Aizawa knew exactly why he stayed behind, giving him a talking to about initiating that kind of behavior in public. As soon as his teacher started talking his issue calmed down and then he had to wait until he stopped lecturing.

As he is walking back to the dorms his quirk is sparking left and right, his mind going into self-destruction mode.

Dude! A boner? What the actual fuck is wrong with you? What if she felt it? Were you going to kiss? Her eyes are so pretty up close. Why did you get a hard on? That’s it, I’m digging a hole behind the dorms and living in it.

He is almost to the building when you walk up to him, a determined look on your face. “Hey uh L/N, I am so sorry about that. I didn’t mean to get us in trouble and – “You stop just short of bumping into his chest and look up.

“I like you. Do you like me too?”

Denki stops talking and just stares down at you.

“I’ve liked you since you found me crying after class and told me all those horrible jokes to help me feel better.”

Denki’s eyes go wide. “That, that happened in our first year!”

“Yes, it was.” You are still looking up at him, your face getting red, worry seeping into your eyes.

Denki is trying his best to talk, to assure you he does also like you, to say something but words are failing him. He can feel his quirk acting up, probably seconds from ruining this moment so he does the only thing he can think of.

“Mmmphf” Denki wraps an arm around your waist pulling you close, cups the back of your head, and crushes his lips against yours. You are shocked for a moment, literally shocked since his quirk was sparking off but the softness of his lips is intoxicating, you reach your hands up to grip his shirt.

When you start getting light headed from the lack of air you gently push Denki and he immediately pulls away. His lips are red and glossy, his eyes dark, pupils blown out.

“You okay sparkplug?”

You huff out a laugh, a small smile on your face. “I’m fine, just hoping that kiss meant you liked me too.”

“Why would it not? Do you normally kiss people you don’t like?” Denki tilts his head in question, laughter in his eyes.

You scoff. “Really Kaminari? I give you this whole heartfelt speech and- mmphf-you just-mmphf “Denki keeps kissing you, but you put your hands over his mouth, laughing. “Okay! Okay! I get it, you like me too.” Putting your forehead on his chest, you stick your lip out and pout. “The least you can do is say it out loud you know.”

Denki moves to grab your shoulders, slightly pushing you away so he can look in your eyes. You drop your hands, crossing your arms in front of you.

“I like you L/N. I’ve liked you since you stood up for me last year and I haven’t been able to get you off my mind since. I like you a lot and I want to be with you. Is – is that okay?” You can see his short burst of confidence wavering, so you take a page out of his book and lean forward to kiss him.

Later that night

“You saw them, right?”

“How could you miss them? Kaminari had a stupid smile on his face and L/N was holding his hand.”

“I saw them kissing out front.”

“I thought Kaminari was gonna zap her, it scared me for a second.”

As most of 3A is down stairs hanging out in the common room you and Denki are in yours, making up for lost time.

When you finally get up the stairs and to your room (Denki insisted on your room) its only a second after you shut your door and lock it before he pushes you against it.

His hands cupping your face, his body pressed against yours and you melt into it. He tilts his face down a bit, sucking your bottom lip into his mouth before nibbling on it and you moan. He lets go of your lip and chuckles, the slight opening allowing you to delve your tongue in. He moans this time, letting go of your face to caress the sides of your body, the heels of his hands ghosting over the side of your breasts before stopping at your hips.

When he pulls away you grab his hand and pull him to your bed, pushing him down to sit on the edge of it before getting on his lap and straddling him.

“Oh shit, are you- um are you sure you want to do this?” He rests his hand on your thighs looking at you with wide eyes.

You rest your forearms on his shoulders and kiss him softly. “We are just making out Kaminari, I just figured this more comfortable for both of us. Are you uncomfortable? I could move.” You shift, preparing to sit next to him but he grabs your hips and keeps you in place.

“No! I-I’m fine, just checking on ya.” He turns his head to kiss your arm. “You can use my first name by the way… unless you don’t want to of course.”

You hum in thought, moving so that your lips are a breath away from his ear. “Can you kiss me now…. Denki”

A shiver runs up his spine, he turns his face to kiss you, mostly tongue and teeth but passionate none the less.

Denki puts his hands under your ass and holds you to him before picking you up. He turns around still kissing you and lays you down on the bed before pulling away, hands on either side of your face.

“Y/N, if I could I’d never stop kissing you.”

@eyebagsbutglam @patchworkpuzzle @doinmybesthere

@reinawritesbnha

[patt-writes-stuff]

Pink (Hawks x gn!Reader)

Pairing: Hawks/Takami Keigo x gn! Reader

Word Count: 4.6k

Warnings: cursing but that’s about it!

Genre: Fluff, slight angst, Romantic/Relationship

Tags/Aus: boss x secretary, pining, slow burn, slight cannon divergence probably

Summary: 5 times your boss, Hawks, made you flustered + the one time you made him flustered

A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! This is my fic for the Attack on Academia server’s Secret Santa Event!! This is for @sugacookiies​ !! and I really hope you like it!!! 

~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸

Event No. 1

“Thank you so much for coming today, we’ll be sure to get back to you soon,” the lady who had been interviewing you said, smiling at you. You bowed your head slightly, thanking her for her time with a small smile on your face.

After exiting the room and closing the door, you took a deep breath, as if to calm your still very present nerves. You had been up for a job as a secretary at pro hero Hawk’s agency, something you were more than thrilled about.  

Growing up, you’d always been immensely intrigued with the world of pro heroes. Your room had been decked out in hero figurines and posters, the whole nine yards. Hell, even your comforter was hero themed at a certain point in time. It had just always fascinated you how these people would use their quirks for the good of humanity and to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves.

Sadly, your quirk, MoodLocks, wasn’t very useful in crime-fighting. All it did was allow your hair to change colors depending on your mood. It was pretty, of course, but you had a hard time controlling it and it could never help you beat an opponent. If anything, it would give the villain an insight into your thoughts and put you at a clear disadvantage.

So, as time passed, your childish fantasies of becoming a hero did as well. It didn’t bother you anymore, as you were more than happy with the career you’d chosen. Your love of heroes was still very much present, hence why you were so nervous about today’s interview. If you got the job, not only would the pay be incredible, but you’d also get the chance to help an actual hero. Maybe you’d even get the chance to meet more of them!

You were pretty sure you had made a fairly good impression so hopefully, you would indeed get a call from the agency soon.

Walking out of the agency, you couldn’t help but let out a yawn. You’d stayed up far too late last night googling commonly asked job interview questions so you wanted nothing more than to get back to your apartment and catch up on some much-needed rest. Maybe you and your roommate could order in.

“Oh God, I am so sorry that was my fault. I just finished this super stressful interview and I’m super tired so I was not watching where I was going-” your babbling came to a sudden halt as you looked up, brain losing all ability to form coherent thoughts.

Right before your very eyes was the man who’s “a bit too fast” in all his red-winged glory. You’d seen him in interviews online, of course, you kept up with most pro hero interviews, so you knew he was handsome. However, the cameras most certainly did not do the man justice. His yellow glasses were resting on his forehead, pushing his messy (and very soft looking) blond hair back. His gold eyes seemed to be looking right into your soul, calculating yet calm.

God, you wished you could make your eyeliner look remotely similar to his.

He raised an eyebrow at you, and you realized that you’d been staring for what you could only describe as an uncomfortably long amount of time.

Before you could embarrass yourself further, the winged hero placed a gloved hand on your shoulder. He looked at the top of your head, an intrigued expression adorning his face before morphing into an easy smile, he spoke, “‘S no problem, chickadee. Good luck with your interview.”

And just like that, the hero went along his merry way.

Curious what he’d been staring at, not to mention the nickname, you looked up at your hair, which had previously been a bright shade of orange due to being anxious, was now very pink. You blanched at the thought of having lost control of your quirk so easily, in front of a cute guy pro hero who might be your future boss no less.

‘Well,’ you thought, ‘at least I can say I met Japan’s #2 hero even if I don’t get this job.’

~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸

Event No. 2

Much to your surprise, and pleasure, you had indeed received a call from Hawks’ agency about a week later. After several follow up interviews (much more than you were expecting, honestly, but you suppose it made since he’s such a high ranking hero) a very thorough background check, you had gotten the job.

When you had gotten the job, you had been hoping that the blond would have forgotten your first encounter, since you had literally malfunctioned right before his very eyes. The chances of him forgetting weren’t exactly small, after all. You were sure he met plenty of people every day and your interaction had been incredibly brief.

A month into your job as his secretary, you seemed to be in the clear. Sure, he knew about your quirk, since he was your employer and the ever-changing array of colors in your hair aren’t exactly subtle, but seeing as he hadn’t mentioned it so he’d probably forgotten.

You’d stayed at the agency long after your shift was overdue to a couple of low-ranking villains attempting to rob a bank. It had been an easy win for Hawks, he was in and out of there long before his sidekicks had even gotten there, but the villains had caused a lot of unnecessary damage to the building, so there was a ridiculous amount of paperwork.

You couldn’t wait to get home and change out of your stuffy work clothes and into the comfiest pair of PJs you owned. Your roommate, always a sweetheart, had been kind enough to save you some leftovers from her dinner so all you had to do was warm it up, eat, shower, and crash on your bed.

Whilst you were getting ready to head home, your boss had decided that it was only fair to walk you home, seeing as it was late. You had insisted that he didn’t need to do that, even showing him the can of pepper spray you carried around your person at all times. Still, he’d insisted, and who were you to say no?

The winged hero had originally offered to fly you home, but you’d profusely told him it wasn’t necessary. So, the two of you ended up taking the train. The two of you got a couple of weird stares from your fellow passengers, seeing as the flying hero was taking a train instead of y’know… flying and his wings took a significantly large part of the seat the two of you were occupying (it seemed uncomfortable but he didn’t mention it). Hawks seemed to either not notice or not care, opting instead to have an animated conversation with you about the best fried chicken places in Fukuoka. It was mostly him talking, but you’d add to the conversation every once in a while, and sometimes people would interrupt and ask for an autograph, which he’d sign with a carefree smile on his face.

“You don’t have to walk me home, sir,” you told him after the two of you had exited the station closest to your apartment.

“What kind of hero would I be if I let a civilian walk alone across the dark streets of Japan?” He asked you, tone light and teasing. “Also, didn’t I tell you to call me Hawks? Sir makes me feel old.”

You rolled your eyes playfully at his words, turning to the left towards your apartment. You’d get there soon and a small part of you wanted to keep the banter going for as long as possible.

“I don’t think that would be very professional of me, sir,” you said playfully. He laughed and the two of you settled into a comfortable silence while you walked.

After a moment, he shoved his hands into his coat pockets and he spoke up, “I’ve been meaning to ask you, how exactly does your quirk work?”

“Oh well, y’know, it changes color depending on my mood, so red means I’m angry, blue can mean I’m sad or calm, pink means I’m flustered or embarrassed, purple means I’m scared, etc.”

“So your hair went pink the first time we met because you were starstruck by my devilishly good looks?” He asked in a faux haughty tone. “Don’t worry, I don’t blame you.”

The asshole remembered your first encounter.

Your hair turned pink and you celebrated inwardly as you approached your apartment. As you opened the glass door to the complex, Hawks laughed at your hurry.

“Good night,” you stated, tone indignant at his laughter, as you made your way inside.”

“‘Night, Pinky.”

~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸

Event No. 3

Working for the red-winged hero himself was both everything you were expecting it to be and completely the opposite of it at the same time.

The hours were crazy, something you were anticipating considering villain activity had been increasing and your boss was a busy public figure. What you were certainly not anticipating, however, was that Hawks would be such a teasing little shit.

Not only had the man remembered your first encounter, but after you had explained your quirk to him (he’d asked you about it despite it being in the agency’s records since you had applied for the position, you guessed he’d done it as a way to break the ice) he’d taken it upon himself to fluster you to get your hair to go that embarrassingly bright shade of pink.

He’d call you all sorts of nicknames ranging from pinky to songbird (your favorite was by far Pinky since it feels so personal. Not that you’d ever tell him that). He’d also gotten into the habit of trying out all sorts of ridiculous pick up lines on you. The greater majority of them were bird-related, of course. Those never really got you but they did make you laugh.

The one that probably got you the most was when he’d bring you your favorite drink or lunch from a place you’d mentioned you’d like offhandedly, saying he had just been “flying by” and remembered your conversation.

You didn’t mind his flirtatious banter in the slightest. He never crossed any boundaries and kept things professional when it came to business. It was pretty fun to see what nicknames or pickup lines he had up his sleeves.

The only downside was that you’d begun to develop a slight crush on the red-winged hero. It would never lead to anything, you were well aware of that. He was not only a famous hero who was constantly under public scrutiny, but he was also your boss.

It can’t hurt to dream though.

“What’s got you so distracted?” An all too familiar broke your very him-centric train of thought. You looked up from the paperwork you’d been blankly staring at. You’d been trying to multitask between eating and doing paperwork so you wouldn’t have to take any work home. After much insistence from your roommate, who was well aware of your crush on Your boss (she’d teasingly gifted you a pair of Hawks themed PJs on your birthday), you had finally given in and agreed to let her set you up on a date with a former schoolmate of hers.

“Nothing, just thinking about a date I have tonight,” you lied, looking up from your desk to meet those lovely honey-colored eyes you spent more hours than you’d care to admit thinking about. You scanned his body language, trying to gauge his reaction. Not that you could ever get a read on him. More often than not, it was impossible to get a read on him under the visage of carefree indifference he was so well known for. In the almost half a year you’d known him you’d never once seen the hero lose his cool or show any emotion other than the ones he wanted to portray. It was kind of unfair seeing as he could get a picture-perfect look into your thoughts and emotions just by looking at the color of your hair and here you were, left grasping at straws.

He seemed to have no outward reaction other than his shoulders tensing and his eyebrows scrunching up a bit in mild distaste. It was gone so fast you were sure you must have just imagined it.

“Pinky’s got themselves a date?” he said after a moment, a slightly forced teasing tilt to his voice. He crossed his hands and placed them on the taller part of your desk and leaned his weight on them, staring down at you with a cheeky grin.

“I guess so,” you said, fiddling with your chopsticks as you continued, “I’m kind of nervous though. I haven’t got on any dates since I started working here, I’m a little rusty.”

“How come you haven’t gone on any dates?” he asked, staring at you with an intensity you weren’t quite expecting from him. “Had a special someone in mind?”

The roots of your hair went white in surprise before you managed to school them into going back to your natural hair color. It was brief but he had surely noticed.

“I’d go on lots of dates if my boss gave me more days off,” you said, pushing past the momentary lull in the conversation and giving him a pointed look.

He let out a laugh, a real and genuine one, unlike the ones he’d let out during interviews or out in public. The thought made your face heat up. It made you feel special. Even if he didn’t see you in the same way you saw him, he at least trusted you enough to be real around you. That was enough for you.

“You’ve got nothing to be nervous about, kid, any person would be lucky to land a date with someone as beautiful as you,” He stated, looking at you with a certain emotion behind his gaze that you couldn’t quite decipher. “If your date happens to go south, just give me a call and I’ll pick you up. After all, what kind of hero would I be if I didn’t look out for my secretary?”

You looked at his retreating form, your hair as pink as bubble gum and heart threatening to beat out of your rib cage. He’d just called you beautiful. He’d also said that anyone would be lucky to date you. Did that include him? Did he like you?

“Hey Hawks,” you called out, surprising both him and yourself. Despite him telling you to just call him Hawks instead of ‘sir’, you’d stuck to calling him sir for the sake of professionality. “Thanks for the offer.”

~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸

Event No. 4

You let out a tired sigh as you watched the number of floors go up on the tiny screen atop the doors of the elevator you were currently in.

When you had signed your contract to work at Hawks’ agency, you were aware that you would need to be accessible 24/7, however, you thought that if he did contact you at an ungodly hour, it’d be for something important, perhaps something along the lines of a press scandal or a massive villain attack that you’d need to start filing paperwork promptly so that the agency could report the casualties or cost of the destruction. You had highly doubted Hawks, Japan’s literal #2 hero would call his secretary at 3:00 a.m. in the goddamn morning and order them to bring him a bucket of fried chicken from fucking KFC.

You clearly hadn’t known the man at the time, you thought as you stared at the red and white bucket in your arms.

The elevator dinged, alerting you that you had arrived at your destination. Making your way through the hallway, you tried to figure out why your boss would be so cruel as to make you get him fast food when he had two perfectly capable wings that could take him to and from the nearest KFC faster than you ever could. You bet it’d even be warmer.

You’d need to download UberEats on his phone.

Before your fist could make contact with the door, it was swung open, surprising your half-asleep brain. Before your eyes there was a very awake looking Hawks, his eyes zeroed in on the bucket you were holding

“Hey there, chickadee,” he said in a teasing tone, resting his arm on the door frame in a very attractive manner. God, if you were just a bit more coherent and a little less sleep-deprived, your hair would be the most embarrassingly bright pink color imaginable.

Thankfully, you weren’t and you could hear your bed calling your name from across the city, so without bothering to answer, you shoved the bucket of chicken into his arms before turning around to speed your way back to your at this point cold bed.

Before you could get very far, however, Hawks had grabbed your wrist with your free hand.

“You’re not leaving already, are you?” He asked you, letting go of your wrist.

“It’s 3 in the goddamn morning, Hawks,” was your deadpan answer.

“C’mon, you wouldn’t let your poor boss eat all alone would you,” you could tell his tone was meant to be light and playful but it was lacking his usual flare.

Your concern for the overgrown pigeon won out, and with a defeated sigh, you walked into his apartment, Hawks trailing behind you, visibly pleased that you stayed.

Despite all your time working for Hawks, you’d never actually been inside of his apartment. You had come here several times before to drop off documents he needed to sign or a new schedule (because the Hero Commission apparently couldn’t send emails directly to him) but you had always left the things at his building's front desk.

Hawks’ apartment was… emptier than you had expected it to be. It was nice, the furniture was obviously high quality, not that it was surprising considering he was a high ranking hero, but it lacked a personal touch. It had no pictures or knick-knacks in sight. It felt more like a house instead of an actual home.

“So, how’d your date go?” Hawks inquired once the two of you settled in his living room, him on the couch and you in the armchair next to it. He picked up a piece of chicken, offering it to you. However, it was far too early to even think about consuming food, so you politely declined.

“It was fine. He was nice,” you answered.

To be honest the date had gone well. He’d been nice, a complete gentleman. He’d taken you to a nice restaurant, he was great in conversation, he’d even walked you home but at the end of the night, the two of you had agreed that there was just no chemistry between the two of you whatsoever. You had decided to just stay friends.

“There won’t be a second one, though,” you added after a beat of silence.

“Good,” your eyes widened at his words and suddenly you had an epiphany.

Hawks had been jealous. He was jealous because he liked you. That’s why he had asked you to come here.

Before you could voice your thoughts, he spoke again, a sly smirk on his face, “By the way, I love your pajamas. I wasn’t aware you were such a fan.”

Your hair turned pink, as it often did whenever Hawks was around when you looked down at your clothes. In your haste to get Hawks his food so you could go back to bed, you had forgone changing clothes. You hadn’t realized you were wearing the Hawks themed PJs your roommate had gotten you as a gag gift. They were mustard-colored with lots of cute red feathers and tiny Hawks chibi heads scattered around the fabric.

He would never let you live this down.

~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸

Event No. 5

Following the KFC event, the two of you hadn’t spoken about the situation further. At this point, you were well aware of his feelings for you, and you hadn’t exactly been subtle about liking him. The two of you just hadn’t spoken about it. You weren’t official but there was an unspoken rule that neither of you would go on dates with other people.

You were fine with it. Really, you were.

Except that you were definitely not okay with it and you were very much upset that he had just answered that he was single when the lady that had interviewed him had asked him if he was seeing anyone.

Rationally, you understood why he said no. You weren’t official and saying yes would just throw the media into a frenzy while they speculated who he was seeing. You remember how crazy everyone went a couple of months ago when pictures of Mirko and Hawks in their street clothes hanging out started circulating on Twitter. They were trending for weeks, and you had had to answer call after call, explaining that no, they are not dating and no, they don’t have time to go on the 8:00 a.m. news to answer questions about what it was like to date as pro heroes.

On the other hand, you were tired of dancing around each other. You were aware that dating a pro hero would come with hectic schedules and even some danger, but you didn’t care.

“So I was thinking you could come over and we can watch that hero documentary you told me to watch- hey are you mad at me?” Hawks asked, brows furrowed as in confusion.

“No, I’m not angry at you,” you answered, putting your stuff away and heading to the agency’s doors. You were more than ready to go back to your apartment and there was a pint of your favorite ice cream waiting for you in the freezer with your name on it.

“You totally are,” he scoffed, following after you.

“No, I'm not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I am not.”

“Yes, you are.” Your overgrown pigeon of a boss insisted, mimicking your tone, “If you’re not angry then why is your hair red?”

With a sigh, you spoke, failing to hide the snarky tone to your voice “So what if I am angry? Why do you care? It’s not like we’re dating or anything.” You walked out onto the sidewalk.

“Oh, that’s what you're upset about?” He asked, realization dawning upon his features. When you didn’t answer he kept talking, “You of all people know why I didn’t say anything.”

“I know. It’s just- nothing, never mind. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” You told him, looking away with a defeated sigh.

You were about to walk away before he stopped you by placing his glove cladded hand  

“At least let me take you home,” it wasn’t much of a question, but you nodded anyways.

All of a sudden, you let out a shrill scream when he picked you up bridal style, hands instinctively clasping on to his coat to assure you wouldn’t fall.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking you home,” he explained as if it were obvious. Before you had a chance to argue he set off into the sky.

You couldn’t hear anything but the wind in your ears and his heartbeat, but you finally understood why he loved flying so much. Exhilarating was the only word you could use to describe it. And cold. It was also really cold. You understood why he walked around with such a heavy coat now. You snuggled more into him, trying to get some more warmth, which caused Hawks to tighten his hold on you. The affectionate gesture alone had your hair going a shade of pink.

You got to your apartment building much faster than you ever would by taking the train, something that you regretted a bit since it meant he’d let go of you.

“Look, Hawks,” you started, “maybe we should-“

“Keigo,” he said, effectively cutting you off,

“W-what?” You spluttered, caught off guard.

“I want you to call me Keigo,” he said with a sense of finality, looking into your eyes with an emotion you couldn’t quite read, or at least one that you were just choosing to ignore. It’d just make what you were about to suggest harder.

“Look, Hawks,” you started, opening the door that led to the stairs, “I really like you, hell, maybe even more than that, and I want to be with you but I don’t want to be whatever we are right now forever.”

Ignoring the way his wings physically dropped at your words, you closed the door behind you and headed to your apartment.

~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸

Event No. 1

Once you got home, you immediately stripped out of your work clothes and into your Hawks-themed pajamas (because they're the comfiest, not because they remind you of him, obviously) and you’d taken out your ice cream and went to town on it. Your roommate had noticed the dark blue that had taken over your hair but you’d brushed her off, saying it was nothing to worry about. She’d been doubtful, but she had a night shift so she left, but not before making you promise to call her if you needed to.

You’d spent the rest of the evening eating your ice cream and watching tv before deciding to get some sleep so you would feel at least a little less sorry for yourself tomorrow.

You were currently in your room, scrolling through your phone on your bed before calling it a day when you started to hear a tapping sound. You’d ruled it out to be some tree branch knocking against your window due to the wind. However, the longer you ignored it the more incessant it became.

You nearly fell out of your bed when you realized it was Hawks, your boss, the #2 pro hero of Japan, tapping on your window while squatting on your fire escape.

You got up, heading towards your window and unlocking it before pushing it up.  You helped him in before sitting down on the bed and motioning for him to do the same. An awkward silence filled the air, neither of you was quite sure of what you should say.

“Hawks, what are-“ you started before being cut off by him.

“Look, Pinky, I love you so much it scares the shit out of me,��� he declared. Your hair went the brightest shade of pink it had ever been at his words.

He played with the embroidered design of the throw blanket you kept in your bed. You don’t think you’ve ever seen the red-winged hero so vulnerable in all your time knowing him.

“But there’s a lot of crap that comes with my job and I could never forgive myself if I brought you into it and you got hurt. So-“ before he could finish speaking, you grabbed onto his coat’s collar with both of your hands and crashed your lips against his.

You’d waited almost an entire year for this. One thing was for certain, it was well worth the wait. You loved every single thing about him. And he loved you. That was all you needed.

After a beat, you pulled away, choosing instead to cup his cheek in an adoring manner. The two of you looked at each other with nothing short of pure unadulterated adoration.

“I love you Keigo,” you spoke his name for the first time, “as long as you’re by my side I don’t care about what happens.”

His reaction was, for lack of a better word, cute. His honey eyes were wide in shock, his face as red as his wings, and his aforementioned wings were puffed up in shock. Now you understood why he loved teasing you so much.

“So, do you wanna watch the documentary?” You asked him, walking out of your room and into the living room with a victorious smirk.

~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸

[lesserfandomappreciation]

Hello hello!  Thank you that’s really kind of you!!! I love your writing (congrats on Chap 9, it was awesome)!

Personally I am terrible at flirting or even understanding how it works, so I did my best with this. Hope it comes across as good!

This wound up longer than expected, whoops! Flirting with Self-conscious s/o ( Red Shoes and the 7 Dwarfs )

Arthur

Charm out the wazoo. Arthur’s boisterous personality combined with his a princely upbringing and deeply instilled ideas on what a knight should be have created an inherent need to be charming when he’s interested in someone. It can range from surprisingly smooth to over-the-top. He’s pretty good at coming up with them on the go too, responding to what may be an innocuous question with a decent line.

His lines come in three main forms. 

Traditional knight/ye olde romantic keeping ideas of courtly wooing.

“May I join you, milady/milord?”

“Should you feel fear let me know. It’s a warrior’s duty to protect that which he treasures.”

Painfully, genuinely sweet lines that work only because he’s showing his real self and is not being over-the-top.

“Could I... hold your hand?”

Boasting: AKA showing off his muscles and hyping himself up (desperate moves he thankfully only rarely uses now thanks to his experience with Snow White)

The issue with all of these is that they come across as a bit fake or showy, as this type of flirting really isn’t for everyone. So a line missing when flirting with his self-conscious s/o is something he sort of expected. He doesn’t think it’s because they’re self-conscious, Arthur just thinks he messed up.

The way the self-consciousness manifests itself is going to change the way he reacts. For example, if they withdraw a lot, he’s going to think he really goofed it and is going to apologize, asking for clarification on what he did wrong so that he doesn’t do it again. That’s a very different reaction than if s/o were to bluntly tell him they didn’t believe him, leaving him dumbfounded.

The first reaction aside, Arthur would want to let them know he genuinely meant it, but his own lack of experience would really get in the way of that. How does he go about this? Him being him though, he would confront them directly about it and in that moment let his inner sweetheart shine as he makes it clear that he meant what he said. 

If they want to explain why they feel that way about themselves, great he’ll listen, but even if they don’t he asks them to not speak about themselves that way. They’re too wonderful to be hateful towards themselves.

After that the prince makes it a point to compliment them every single day. It’s not even always flirting, it’s straight up compliments. Their smarts, their passions, their looks, their hands, their eyes - everything is free game, and he’s not going to stop giving sincere compliments until they get it through their heads he likes them for them for a reason, and they should too. 

Pino

Stating facts about them counts as flirting, right? Cards on the table I don’t think Pino is really capable of flirting well, at least not on purpose. Yes, he’s mature and the eldest but that doesn’t necessarily equip him for the terrifying world that is interpersonal relationships outside of family. To even try to flirt takes a massive amount of pondering before he lets out a single word

His flirting, thus, is not so much flirting as it is:

A) stating things he likes about them/ Sort of.

“You are very smart. And strong. Strong and smart. Smrong.”

“You are a good size.”

B) complimenting them about something they did.

“Good job.”

“’You did good with that.” 

C) Giving up and just staring silently trying to think of something to say. Anything. Come on brain you helped build a selfie machine surely stringing words together isn’t that hard.

That one video of Lin-Manuel Miranda chanting “Come on brain, think of things.”

D) Any of the above, only his brothers are there to be the world’s best worst okayest wingmen.

The thing is, is that with this style of flirting barely comes across as flirting. S/o or not, it is going to be very difficult for anyone to pick up on any of this as intentional romantic interest rather than Pino being... Pino. Most people would maybe register this as awkward platonic compliments, if even that. His insecure s/o’s self-consciousness may not kick in for a while until they figure out that this is Pino desperately trying to show intentions.

Someone give this man cue cards he’s hurting.

Actually no don’t do that his brothers might get ideas. 

Despite this terrible inability to communicate romantic feelings, Pino does have one thing going for him. A stupid amount of emotional knowledge courtesy of keeping an eye on his brothers. Pino’s not dumb. When it comes to the people he really cares about he can get a good read on them. His s/o is no different. 

Upon realizing that s/o, the same s/o he has been pining after for weeks of awkward semi-flirting, has self-conscious issues, Pino is baffled. Bamboozled. Confusioned. Setting his own feelings to the side, the eldest brother works up the nerve to tell them full throttle that they are awesome. He doesn’t know what they have been through, nor where the feelings come from, but he will not let this stand. He is a little curt and blunt, but the intent is there.

If his s/o says 1 tiny negative thing about themselves, he’s armed with something they cannot deny. Facts. Pino has been debating his brothers for years, he will make charts if he has to.

Noki

Constant non-stopping stream of compliments. Noki is what happens when a fidget spinner is outfitted with an energy-drink powered engine. Pino, Hans and Jack can only somewhat keep him from vibrating into another dimension, and that’s with their powers combined. When he has someone in his sights, that energy is re-focused on making his s/o feel like royalty. 

Flirting is, if nothing else, absolutely amazing to witness in just how it is:

One constant stream of consciousness that results in compliment after compliment.

“That’s amazing, you’re amazing, that hat really suits you-”

“Your hair looks really nice today, though it usually looks nice every day-”

Painfully, unapologetically, sincerely sweet, gen-u-ine statements that could give anyone a bad case of sugar rush. 

“Why wouldn’t I want to be here? I really like spending time with you, you’re a really fun person.”

“When you smile your noise gets all crinkly and it’s super cute, you’re like a kitten!”

Cheesy, horrible one-liners that were bad in high school then and are bad in current times now. 

“Do you have a map? I keep getting lost in your eyes.” 

^^^^ That’s as much as I’m writing on that, this stuff is painful.

The painful part in all of this is that Noki, being Noki, is going to have no flippin’ clue that his s/o is feeling about this until he starts paying very close attention to their reactions. Are they turning away from him because they are hiding a blush, or because they are hiding tears? Are they blushing and incoherent because he’s just that good, or because they have no idea how to respond, this is a new experience to them, someone please show them mercy and send help. 

“Wait, you don’t believe me??? Why?!” Noki is not going to hide his bewilderment at all. This whole time he’s been flirting with them and they thought he was kidding??? He thought he was bad at this, not that they were going through some insecurities he may be encountering for the first time. He is going to sit down next to them, and s/o has about two seconds to decide whether or not they’re going to talk about it, because otherwise he is.

“You are amazing though! Everyone knows it! Snow White, Merlin, Sword-head, Hans, Jack, my brothers- we all know it! Do you think I could invent something that can possibly help this? You should have to go through life thinking badly of yourself when the world is a brighter place because of you! I-” 

TBH I do not have room for the whole rant here, but essentially this would likely wind up with him confessing because this is painfully obvious. 

By the end of this, he plans to make them blushy every single day until they see the them he sees, and beyond that too!

Kio

Shy sweetness that will punch you in the stomach when you least expect it. Oh you thought because he’s shyer and quieter than his brothers (and the entirety of the F7) that he isn’t capable of delivering some one-hit KOs using nothing but his words? You thought?! Pino is awkward but mature, Noki is a ball of constant validation, but Kio will use his reputation for shyness as an excuse to flirt out of the blue and then move on like nothing happened. 

Personal touch may be awkward for him but verbally making his s/o a goober just like him is his secret to being confident with his words. His s/o is in for it. 

Kio is a sneaky bastard who has the least range of flirtation (only 2 types really) but boy oh boy are they wildly different. 

The supreme sweetness that Noki (most of the boys if we’re being honest) take notes on when they want to be sweet to their loved ones.

“That’s a new bracelet isn’t it? It’s really suits you, you make it look good.”

“All your expressions are lovely but when you smile, the whole world seems brighter.”

The, ah, spicy stuff that none of the F7 besides Pino know that he is capable of uttering. Pino has no proof and is going crazy trying to prove to the group that the youngest brother can be downright heated with his flirting. 

“I could see you anywhere and be happy. Outside. Inside. In a house. In the bed. Especially the last one.”

“Your eyes are not the only part of you I could get lost in.”

Kio does not have the problem of not being clear in flirting. He’s not subtle. At all. As you’ve seen in some of the examples. The problem is that it can be a lot for a person to process, especially one that has self-consciousness issues. It really is out of the blue, which can throw the other person off when they’re not expecting it. Which is always. 

Thankfully, he is the happy middle between Noki and Pino’s ability to sense that something is wrong. It does take him a bit to pick up on it, but eventually he puts two and two together to realize s/o really is reacting oddly. Not in that they’re shy, but that there’s an underlying issue. It does take him a while to talk about it though because he has no clue how to approach it. It’s not a subject he’s good at tackling. 

The thought his s/o is going through this solo though does get him to gently pull them aside and ask them about it. He wants to know if it’s him overstepping into a very uncomfortable territory, if it’s specific things that trigger a certain response or if it’s something else entirely. Kio is a good listener, and mentally remembers a lot of notes for the next time he wants to compliment them. 

Very much makes it a point to let them know that hey, he likes them for them, and that yes, he is going to continue to give specific compliments their way because he adores them and they are worth it. 

[gwentoryfics]

Hot for Teacher, Part 7.

Genre | College Student x College Professor Smut AU

Pairing | Reader x Hongseok x Hyunggu (Kino) x Wooseok

Words | 9.8k

Summary | You never realized how much one drunken night could color the rest of your college experience until you discover that the handsome stranger from your cousin’s wedding is also the new professor at your university.

Warnings | Swearing. Masturbation. Mentions of underage drinking. Uhhhh pining? Lol

Parts | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 5.5 • 6 • 7 • More Coming Soon

Note | WOW this update took forever, but I feel like this is a super special part of the fic and I hope you all enjoy. PLEASE let me know which of the boys you’re rooting for - I’m trying to make it difficult (can you tell) and I really want to see how you’re all feeling 😏😏 love you, peaches!

Wooseok plops onto Yuto’s couch, tucking his bowl of fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza rolls between his knees as he picks up his gaming controller.

“You know those things are terrible for you.” Yuto criticizes the snack choice as he resumes the video game, skillfully ducking around a corner to avoid being shot.

“Yeah but they’re fucking delicious, so suck my ass.” Wooseok patiently waits for the food to cool off, not ready for the inside of his mouth to get burnt to hell. “Stop stocking your fridge with pizza rolls if you don’t want me to eat them.”

Yuto shoots Wooseok’s avatar twice in the back and once in the head until he collapses. “I only do it because you’d complain about how I ‘never have anything good to eat.’”

“What the fuck, dude? Friendly fire!” 

“You literally stood right in front of me and blocked my sight. Make better decisions.”

Wooseok finally bites into his cheesy pepperoni pizza bite as he waits to respawn, and it’s lava on his tongue. With a hiss, he tries to cool his mouth. Eventually says, “Speaking of bad decisions…”

“What did you do this time?”

“Remember how you talked to me about _____…”

“Wooseok, you fucking idiot.” Yuto seethes. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“It was her idea! I literally apologized for, like, making out with her and fingering her and stuff. And she was just like, nah it’s cool, let’s be friends with benefits.” He pops another one in his mouth and it’s just as hot as the last one. “I wasn’t gonna say no to that, so we hooked up. Also I’m not supposed to tell you about it so keep your mouth shut.”

Yuto pauses the game again just so he can look Wooseok in the face and express his full disdain. “Friends with benefits? As in, no romantic feelings?”

“Right.”

“...So does she know that you like her?”

Wooseok frowns. Yeah, he thinks she’s hot as fuck and she’s super cool and fun to be around, but he’s not, like, in love with her or anything. “I’m not even in it that deep! It’s totally fine, and we’re just having fun. So what if I’ve got a little crush.”

“It’s not going to be just a crush if you keep sleeping with her.” 

“You know, at some point you need to stop parenting me and just let me do what I’m gonna do. Just trust my judgment for once and if I end up being wrong, that’s my problem to deal with.”

“If you’re wrong, then I have to listen to you whine and complain about your broken heart.” Yuto is unrelenting in his disapproval. “You know that she probably won’t reciprocate your feelings if she ever finds out.”

Against his better judgment, Wooseok accidentally holds out hope that she could. “We don’t even know that she won’t. It’s just a hunch that she might like Kino. I could be totally wrong about that.”

“And if she does like Kino?”

Wooseok chews his bottom lip, his brows pinching together. “Then it is what it is.”

“What is that?” Yuto points at Wooseok’s face. “What’s that look? Are you sad? Is this sadness?”

“Shut the fuck up, Yuto,” he grumbles. Yeah, he’d be fucking disappointed if she and Kino turned out to be a thing. But it’s not really up to him to decide who she likes.

Yuto eases up just a little, showing his soft spot for Wooseok. “I can’t let you walk into this mess. You have to stop this. Either quit it with the hook ups, or come clean about liking her.”

“But I-”

“No ‘buts.’ It has to stop. And what the fuck, Wooseok?” Yuto frowns. “You’re supposed to keep this all a secret, but you’re telling me anyway?”

“You know I can’t keep secrets. I just need you, my one and only confidante, to know about this shit. Although I don’t even know if I can call you that anymore,” Wooseok turns the blame to Yuto. “Now that I know you went and told _____ not to get involved with me because I might get hurt.”

Suddenly there’s a knock at Yuto’s door, and he groans, completely ignoring the issue Wooseok just brought up. “Do you think we can pretend I’m not home?”

Wooseok’s petty side comes out and he yells, “Who is it?”

Yuto elbows him. “What the fuck, dude?”

With a shrug, Wooseok defends himself. “You kind of deserved that.”

Through the door, a female speaks. “It’s Nailah, I just need to talk for a second.”

“Ooo, who’s Nailah?” Wooseok prods, a stupid grin on his face as he looks at Yuto.

Yuto tosses his head back, resigning himself to having to get up and socialize. “She lives across the hall with _____, coincidentally.” He makes his way to the door, and Wooseok follows him like a little puppy. 

“_____’s your neighbor? Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Why would I when I know you’re just gonna try some dumb shit?” He throws open the door, bluntly addressing their visitor. “Yes?”

Nailah seems unbothered by his rude greeting. “Hey, Yuto. I just wanted to extend an invitation. I’m throwing _____ a birthday party at my friend’s place on Saturday, and I figured it’d be cool if you came.” She hands him a hand-written invite. 

“_____’s birthday?” Wooseok chimes, inserting himself into the conversation. “Wait I think I know you.”

Nailah nods casually. “Yeah, we ran into each other before, I think. _____ brought me to that party that got busted at your place.”

“Oh shit, yeah.” Wooseok chuckles. “Was a good night ‘til it wasn’t.”

“How much trouble did you get in?” 

“It wasn’t awful. I just couldn’t do clubs for a few weeks and I had to write a paper about how I’m going to make more responsible decisions.”

Yuto crosses his arms over his chest. “Clearly that made an impact on you.”

“Shut up.” Wooseok nudges him before changing the subject in a way that doesn’t really change the subject. “Is _____ home?”

“Yeah, but- hey!” Nailah steps back as Wooseok pushes past her, taking all of two strides to reach her apartment door.

“_____!” He knocks on the door, rapping a quick rhythm. “Open up!”

He turns back to Nailah. “Is the party a secret?”

“No, she-”

“_____! I wanna go to your birthday party!” Wooseok knocks again, and this time she opens the door.

She looks a little bewildered to see him, but she’s wearing a smile that’s just honest to God the cutest thing in the whole damn world. “Fine, you can come,” she laughs.

Wooseok tries not to be distracted by the memories of last night, but her messy hair is too much of a reminder. He pushes through the urge to come on to her, but only because he doesn’t wanna make a scene. “Were you not gonna invite me?”

“Of course I was. I was gonna bring your invitation to R&B Ensemble tomorrow.”

“Okay, good.” Wooseok leans against the doorframe, sliding a hand into his pocket in an attempt to look cool. “So your birthday’s Saturday?” 

“No, it’s Tuesday.”

“Cool, cool.” He keeps his face fixed in a relaxed expression and delivers a promise that he’s not quite sure how to fulfill. “Look forward to a bomb ass present.” 

“Dude, you don’t have to get me anyth-”

“Nope. We’re buds. You’re getting a present. Don’t you worry about that, short stuff.” He’s not at all subtle as he winks at her, and her eyes flash, a flirty grin on her face.

“Watch it,” she whispers, trying not to raise suspicion from Nailah and Yuto.

“It’s fine,” he speaks lowly, not concerned by their audience but still trying to keep a low profile for her sake. He knows he’s going to get a talking-to as soon as he returns to Yuto’s room, anyway. “You look hot today, by the way.”

Without missing a beat, she sasses, “When don’t I?”

“Good point.” He can’t hold back his laughter at her bold statement. “Alright, I’ll let you get back to doing whatever you were doing.”

“Okay,” she giggles. “See you tomorrow.”

He gives a two-finger salute as she closes the door, then turns back to Nailah. “Make sure I’m on the guest list. I’m RSVP-ing right the fuck now.”

“Great.” Nailah just stares at him with wide, questioning eyes. She’ll probably have some questions for _____ after this, but he’s trusting her to handle it however she wants.

Yuto’s got a flame of frustration in his gaze as he stares Wooseok down. “I’ll be there, too.”

And Nailah seems fully unsure of what to make of all of this. She looks between them both for a moment before heading back to her room. “Great. See you goons Saturday.”

Wooseok doesn’t fight the name-calling, and Yuto is far too focused on his idiot of a best friend to be bothered by the insult. He follows Wooseok back into the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

“Before you say anything,” Wooseok defends himself, “I just want to remind you how much I love parties. I heard there was a party and, like, my inner party monster just took over, and I had to make sure I was invited.”

“Quit the bullshit.” Yuto’s calm aura makes him even more intimidating. “What was all of that?”

Wooseok can’t help the sheepish grin that forms on his face as he tries to lighten the mood. “She seemed kind of into me, right?”

“Oh my God I’m going to beat some fucking sense into you.” Yuto threatens, but Wooseok knows it’s empty.

“Whatever.” Wooseok falls back onto the couch. “Are we playing or what?”

With a deep sigh, Yuto joins him. “Let’s do it.”

Hongseok’s favorite place to run is along the water. It’s so peaceful to watch the boats and hear the soft waves of the lake as it laps along the shore. Not to mention, the striking difference between the fluidity of the water next to the sharp, structured skyscrapers is a dichotomy that he finds profoundly intriguing.

Now that the temperatures are dropping, only the truly dedicated still run the lake trail. It’s windy and brisk, but Hongseok has always preferred running in cooler weather, anyway. Feels a little less like he could die of heat stroke.

The rock music coming through his headphones suddenly changes to his ringtone, and he slows to a gentle jog as he checks the phone strapped to his bicep. Hwitaek’s name appears on the screen, and he smiles as he swipes to answer.

“Hwitaek! Hey!” Hongseok falls into a walking pace to make it easier to talk. “Haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“I know! We’ve both been busy, I guess.” Hwitaek sounds glad that he answered.

“Right, how’s married life?” Now that he thinks about it, Hongseok’s not sure that he’s really talked to Hwitaek too much since the wedding. He headed back to the city before Hwitaek and Jiyoo returned from their honeymoon, so he had to say his goodbye at the reception. They’ve both kind of missed each other since.

“You know it’s really pretty weird, but in a good way. If that makes sense.” Hwitaek chuckles. “I feel like I know Jiyoo better than anybody, and it seemed like we were already so close that marriage wouldn’t really change much. But it really does make the whole relationship feel different. More official, you know.”

“A little slip of paper and a tax break can really do that much, huh.” 

“I know you’re skeptical, Hong, but love can be whatever you want it to be. Maybe for us it’s the ceremony, the certificate, the too-expensive dress, the whole nine yards. But you don’t have to avoid relationships just because that’s not the kind of love you want.”

“I’m not avoiding relationships,” Hongseok scoffs. “I’m just busy.”

“Whatever you have to tell yourself to be able to sleep at night,” Hwitaek concedes.

Hongseok hates to admit it, but there is a seed of truth to what Hwitaek’s saying. He’s never been a fan of traditional love - it just feels ingenuine. Like everyone is following a script, just doing and saying the things they’re supposed to. He wants it to actually mean something when he does a gesture like planning a day together or giving a gift. He’s not going to buy flowers just because that’s what guys do. That’s not how he is.

With a sigh, Hongseok says, “If something happens eventually and I fall deeply in love with whomever it is, then fine. It happens. But I’m in no rush. It was nice enough for me to watch you do the whole marriage thing.”

“So when it does happen, I think you know that I’m expecting to be the best man,” Hwitaek says indignantly. “It’s only fair.”

“Would Jiyoo be okay sending you off to my bachelor party?” Hongseok laughs just imagining the fit she would throw. He was much more of a partier during their college days than Hwitaek was, and he’s positive Jiyoo would prefer for her adult husband to behave himself.

Hwitaek’s voice is noticeably softer as he says, “I’ll do what I want. I don’t need her approval.”

“Is she nearby? Is that why you said that so quietly?”

“Yes and yes. But you’re my best friend so I’ll make it work.”

“A true brother.” Hongseok smiles warmly as he pauses to stretch his legs. Damn, he misses hanging out with Hwitaek.

“So, actually the reason why I called…” Hwitaek smoothly changes the subject. “Um, just out of curiosity - maybe this is none of my business - have you been talking with Minseo at all?”

“Minseo?” The name doesn’t immediately ring a bell.

“Yeah, Jiyoo’s cousin. Kind of tall. Loud. Really nice teeth, though.”

Hongseok struggles to come up with a face to match the name. “I don’t think I know her.”

“Wait, I’ll send a picture. She was just over last night.” A moment later, “Okay, check your phone.”

He pulls the phone out of the case strapped to his arm and opens the message to find a somewhat familiar face resting on Jiyoo’s shoulder.

The face of the girl that convinced him to dance with _____ at the wedding.

She’s the only one who actually knows what happened that night.

Christ.

“I do recognize her.” Hongseok tries to keep his voice steady so as not to give away that he’s hiding a secret. “Why are you asking about her?”

“I was just wondering if something might be going on. Or if she might be pestering you. I don’t know, like I said she’s just kind of a big personality and I just wanted to make sure she’s not, I don’t know, trying to get with you or something.”

“Why would you think that?” Surely that’s incredibly far from the truth, and it strikes him as odd that Hwitaek would have that impression. 

“She just keeps asking about you. She wants to know what you were like in college, what your relationship history is like, whether you cook. Just really random stuff and I don’t know why she’d care unless she were into you.”

What Hwitaek doesn’t know is that the only possible reason why she’d be asking all of those questions is because she’s trying to share the information with _____. That’s it. That’s why.

Does that mean _____ has been trying to find out more about him? Has she tasked Minseo with a spy mission?

Hongseok rubs his temple, gripping his phone tightly. He really should tell Hwitaek what’s up, even if he doesn’t want to own up to what happened. Walking towards the water, he finds himself a place in the grass to sit. “She’s not asking for herself. She’s asking for _____.”

Hwitaek, the poor ignorant bastard, asks, “Why would she do that?”

Here it comes. With a single deep breath, he finally sets the truth free. “I slept with her after the reception.”

“With _____?” Hwitaek is audibly shocked. “You slept with Jiyoo’s cousin? At our wedding?”

“After the wedding, okay? Jeez. It’s not like we fucked while you were at the altar.” Hongseok defends himself. “I even made a point to say goodbye to you beforehand to officially end the night, so really the whole situation is completely removed from the ceremony.”

There’s a lot of noise coming over the phone, because Jiyoo very obviously heard Hwitaek say the whole you slept with Jiyoo’s cousin? thing. Hongseok’s head falls back in dread. That’s a whole can of worms he was not prepared to open.

“Just put me on speaker phone and I’ll explain.”

Immediately, Jiyoo’s voice responds. “You slept with _____? My baby cousin?”

Hwitaek jumps to his defense. “Don’t sound so disgusted! Hongseok’s not a bad guy!”

She retorts, “He had a one night stand with my sweet little _____. She’s not that kind of girl.”

“She certainly was that night.” The words come out of Hongseok’s mouth before he can stop them.

“HONGSEOK!” Jiyoo screeches.

He just frowns as he hears Hwitaek frantically try to calm Jiyoo down. “Buckle up, you guys, because the story’s not over.”

“Don’t tell me it happened more than once. Please.” Jiyoo’s voice is lined with an unspoken threat.

“It hasn’t, I swear.” Another sigh as he gears up for the last bit. “We haven’t done anything but talk. But you two should know that she’s one of my students.”

Jiyoo doesn’t say a word, which somehow makes it worse. Hwitaek speaks up instead. “I didn’t even realize that she went to your school.”

“Neither did I.” Hongseok rubs his eyes with the heels of his palms before returning his gaze to the water, shimmering in the bright sunlight. “I wouldn’t have touched her if I knew. But she and I had a conversation, and we agreed that nothing can happen between us again. The class is strictly business. Neither one of us wants to risk getting in trouble with the school for misconduct.”

Sassily, Jiyoo’s voice returns. “So he has a brain after all.”

“Sweetie, come on. Cut him some slack,” Hwitaek pleads. “Yeah, it wasn’t a great idea to sleep with her, but it happened and it’s over. There’s no use getting so worked up about it.”

Even with Hwitaek defending him, Hongseok can’t just sit there and take this. “Stop acting like I’m the villain and she’s some innocent victim. She’s capable of making her own choices. I didn’t force her into anything. It was fully consensual, and now we’re both handling the situation like mature adults.”

That may be a bit of a stretch. He’s done nothing but ridicule her for acting like a child since the semester started. But he’ll stick up for her if it means getting Jiyoo off their case.

“My apologies.” Jiyoo comes off much softer. “I need to take a moment to let this all sink in.”

Hongseok hears her leave the room, and then Hwitaek’s voice is much clearer as he turns off the speakerphone. “Don’t worry about her. She’ll settle down.”

Hongseok lets himself take a deep breath, feeling much safer now that he can talk with only his friend. “I just needed to tell you that. I think Minseo might be digging for more information about me to share with _____, because she knows what happened between us. And she knows that I’m _____’s professor.”

“Are you handling all of this okay? It sounds like a really tricky situation to be in.”

“It’s… hard. It’s really difficult. I’ve been really cold to her just to prevent anyone from thinking I might be biased in any way, but that’s just caused so much tension. And then she just does stuff sometimes that’s so cute…” His memory flashes back to the time she sang Aerosmith in his office, and then the song played in class and she started laughing. It was just so endearing. “Do you think I can stop being attracted to her? That would make everything so much easier.”

“I don’t think there’s a real answer for that, Hong. In my experience, you’re usually just attracted to the people you’re attracted to, and that’s that.” Hwitaek attempts to reassure him, but it’s useless. Especially when he follows up with the most problematic question he could’ve asked: “Do you have feelings for her?”

Hongseok pulls his knees in towards his chest, tucking his head down and effectively curling into a ball. He’s been trying so hard to avoid all of this and now he has no choice but to just confront whatever it is that’s been going on in his head and his heart. He’s felt attracted to her ever since he first laid eyes on her, but could it be anything more than that?

The night they spent together was nothing short of incredible, and he fondly remembers the way she so warmly looked up at him in the moments before he kissed her, the soft touch of her lips overwhelming his senses and driving his desire for more. 

Even though the nature of their relationship is obviously very different now, he still sees flickers of that warmth in her. He sees the way she absentmindedly bites her lip when she’s thinking, and the small taste he’s gotten of her ridiculous sense of humor makes him wonder just how great they could be together.

If only she were older.

If only she weren’t his student.

Hongseok can’t even pretend that he wouldn’t be interested in her if the circumstances were different. He knows that under different circumstances he would certainly try to date her, because he already tried the night they were together.

He gave her his phone number with the boutonniere. He gave her the opportunity to reach out and establish something more than just that one night, but she didn’t do it. That’s part of the reason why he was so frustrated to see her in class - it’s one thing that they slept together, but it’s entirely different to know that he expressed an interest in seeing her again and she rejected him.

And now he has to watch her work admirably hard in class once a week and pretend like it doesn’t make his chest ache.

Forever reticent, he seeks a way to keep his thoughts to himself. “Do I have to answer that question?”

“That response says a lot.” Hwitaek sighs. “It might feel better to just get it off your chest and say it out loud.”

“Nope. Saying it just makes it harder to ignore.” Hongseok peeks up from the crook of his elbow, finally starting to feel chilly now that he’s been sitting for so long. He stands and briefly stretches his quads, getting ready to continue his run.

Hwitaek tries to encourage him. “Well the most important thing in this situation is that you just get through the rest of the semester without acting on it. And then she won’t be around anymore, and you’ll be able to move past it.”

“You’re right. I just have to make it to the end of the semester.”

“And that’s not so far away, right? You’re probably about halfway by now.”

“Midterms were about two weeks ago, so yeah, we’re nearly there.” 

“See? You’ve got this.” Hwitaek sounds cheery as he motivates his best friend. “I’m rooting for you. I think it’ll all turn out fine. It’ll continue to be difficult for a little bit, but it’ll pass.”

Hongseok lets out a deep sigh, feeling some sense of relief for the first time in months. “I should have told you about this a long time ago. Thanks for looking out for me.”

It seems like Hwitaek is also a bit relieved after this conversation. “I’m glad that we got to talk.”

Hongseok smiles, returning to the path he had been running. “Go take care of Jiyoo, okay? And if you want, it’s okay to tell Minseo that you two know. I’ll leave that up to you. But don’t tell anyone else.”

No matter how hard he tries, Kino simply cannot stop thinking about Saturday night. Something about holding her hand completely captured his whole consciousness and he could think of nothing except the feeling of their fingers intertwined and his lips on her forehead.

He had probably gone too far by kissing her like that, but it just felt right, even though they’re only friends. He just feels so comfortable with her, and it’s easy for him to get wrapped up in the moment. She hasn’t seemed interested in anything more than friendship, especially after that whole dirty voicemail incident, but she also didn’t seem to be bothered by the kiss. If anything, he distinctly remembers the cute way she looked up at him right after he did it, like she was surprised but definitely not opposed. 

There’s only one way to find out for sure what she thinks… but he’s not ready to have that conversation yet.

As he waits in the lobby of her dorm building to walk with her to R&B Ensemble, he tries to at least clear his head. He has something important to ask her, and he doesn’t want it to accidentally come out awkward.

He stands there, trying not to pace, and he notices how much lighter he feels the second he spots her coming off of the elevator. She waves cheerfully when she sees him waiting there.

“Hey!” She greets him as she approaches. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Was trying to wrap up that aural skills homework.”

“You know it’s not due until Wednesday, there’s no rush on it,” he chuckles. She’s such a go-getter.

“Well yeah, but tomorrow’s my birthday and I don’t want it to be full of homework. So I’m knocking it out now.”

Kino sucks in a breath and bites his knuckle, grimacing. “Ah, I completely forgot about your birthday, shoot…” It’s a total lie, but he just wants to get her worked up.

She deflates a little, but it’s hardly noticeable. “That’s okay. I didn’t expect you to remember or anything. I probably only brought it up once.”

“_____, I’m teasing! Of course I remember!” Kino nudges her playfully. “You’re like, my closest friend. How could I forget?”

With a shy smile, she loops her arm in his, and they head out into the cold. “That’s right.”

“Do you have anything planned for tomorrow?” 

“Just class, actually. Nailah’s organizing a party for Saturday, though, and you have to come! I have your official invitation in my backpack. I’ll give it to you when we get to rehearsal.”

“I can totally be there Saturday.” Kino immediately agrees.

“Good. It’ll be a shitty birthday party if you’re not there.” She tugs on his arm, and it makes his cheeks grow warm.

He takes a deep breath now that it’s his turn to extend an invitation. “Okay, so if you don’t have any plans for tomorrow night, you should be able to come to the birthday dinner reservation I have for you and me downtown. Right?” He hates that he can’t keep eye contact, but he just can’t get himself to look at her while it feels like he’s asking her on a date.

But it’s not a date, exactly. It’s just a nice dinner. Between friends. For a birthday.

Totally regular stuff.

She scoffs. “Well I guess I have to if you made a reservation and everything.”

Kino pulls his scarf closer around his chin and jaw, trying to block out some of the cold wind. “I mean you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to. Don’t feel like you don’t have a choice…”

“Kino, stop. I’d love to go to dinner with you. It better be a nice place, though. I’m a woman of taste.”

“Says the girl who downed a whole family size bag of salt and vinegar chips in one sitting.” Kino cringes at the memory. Even the smell of the chips made him shrivel up in disgust.

“Okay you’re the one with a suffering palate. Salt and vinegar chips are the bomb.”

“Gross.”

They spend the whole walk to class bickering about food tastes, and it’s a completely pointless conversation, but he’s fully invested because it feels meaningful when it’s her. 

When they enter the rehearsal room, they’re both full of smiles and laughter, but his smile fades when he locks eyes with Wooseok. The tall drummer is standing next to Yuto, and he seems less than thrilled to see Kino with _____. He looks a little disappointed, actually.

Kino gets himself set up with the other singers while she heads over to the rhythm section, and Wooseok’s expression changes as he playfully greets her, pulling her into a headlock and messing up her hair. She squirms and laughs, and Kino tries desperately to pretend like their interaction doesn’t bother him.

He stops paying attention until she comes up to him with a little envelope in her hand.

“Here,” she hands it to him. “That’s for Saturday. Wooseok and Yuto are coming, and so is my friend Shinhye. You’ve met her before.”

“Yeah I remember her.” Kino nods.

“And some of Nailah’s friends will be there too, since they’re hosting the party. We all thought it would be a good idea to have the party off campus, since there’ll be booze.” She grins impishly. “It’s gonna be fun.”

Kino laughs. “I bet. I’ll be there for sure.” 

“Awesome.” She squeezes his arm. “And honestly, I’m seriously looking forward to dinner tomorrow. It’s super sweet of you to make dinner plans.”

“No problem.” He tells himself to smile confidently so she doesn’t see how flustered he is. “Just make sure you’re wearing something nice and I’ll come get you around 5:45.”

“Sounds great.” With one last squeeze, she heads back to her part of the room.

This time when Kino catches Wooseok’s gaze, he doesn’t stop smiling.

It’s just another class. Just another Tuesday morning. That’s what Hongseok tells himself, anyway. But when she shows up, he immediately realizes that this is actually a very special Tuesday.

Shinhye’s trying to convince her of something, as they walk through the door, but she refuses. And then Shinhye turns to Hongseok.

“Professor Yang! It’s _____’s birthday today,” Shinhye announces as she holds up a piece of silky fabric with ‘Birthday Girl’ embroidered on it. “Can you tell her that she has to wear this sash for class?”

The birthday girl averts her eyes, clearly unwilling to participate in whatever Shinhye’s trying. As flatly as possible, he comes to her rescue with an incredibly practical excuse. “No birthday sashes. It’s a hazard around the power tools.”

A perfect smile breaks across her lips as she finally looks up at him. She holds his gaze for a moment, and it’s really a beat too long before she finally turns back to Shinhye. “See? Now put it away.”

The girls walk off to their spot in the back of the room, and he forces himself to focus on his computer to keep himself from looking back at her. There’s something especially magnetic about her today, but maybe it’s just because he knows that it’s her birthday.

When he has today’s workshop playlist set, he looks around the room and realizes that the birthday sash would have been the least concerning part of her clothing choices. The olive colored v-neck sweater she wears draws his gaze directly to her chest, and he knows today is going to be more challenging than usual.

He wishes he could just avoid her during class, but he needs to make sure all of his students get the help they need. Most of them don’t know anything about sawing, sanding, or the appropriate way to use wood glue, and he needs every kid in this class to leave the room with all of their fingers intact.

Inevitably, he makes his way back to her after weaving through the room and helping other students with their projects along the way. A few pieces of wood that will eventually become the body of her instrument lay on the table in front of her. He helps her select the right grit of sandpaper to sand down the edges of the pieces she finished cutting for the top and bottom of her dulcimer. The last big piece of her project build is to bend the side pieces into the hourglass shape she wants her instrument to have.

He had to bring in his bending iron just for her, since literally every other student wanted to do simple instruments with straight sides. It’s not a difficult process, but it’s a little tedious.

Hongseok picks up one of the side pieces and walks her over to the bending iron. “So the shape that you want is going to require three bends in the wooden piece. Here, here, and here.” With a pencil, he marks the two spots where the wood should curve out towards the top and bottom, and the spot in the middle where it should curve in. “You don’t have to be perfect with this, but work on getting the general shape.”

She just nods attentively. He tries desperately not to look at her for fear that he might accidentally look down her sweater. Thankfully, it’s fairly easy to do as he demonstrates how to use the iron.

With a wide, clean paint brush, he brushes water onto the first spot they’ll bend. “First, you want to make sure that the wood is wet before you bend it. The water turns to steam from the heat of the iron, and that’s what bends the fibers in the wood. You’ll have to reapply water pretty regularly to keep it from getting dry. Then you just rock the wood over the iron like this.” He shows her how to slowly work the wood. “The iron does get really hot, so keep your hands at a safe distance, and just apply a bit of pressure. Not too much, though, or you might crack the wood.”

“Got it.” She nods again, observing.

He takes a moment to get a bit of a bend started, and then hands the wood to her. “It’s going to take some time, so you just need to be patient. Rushing the process will just damage the wood.”

“Okay. I’ll be careful.”

Hongseok’s not sure why, but it almost sounds like she’s reassuring him that she’ll be okay. He wasn’t trying to come across as being protective, because he gives all of his students the same warnings whenever he shows them a new tool. But he just nods. “Give it a try.”

She steps up to the iron, wets the wood, and starts mimicking his rocking movements.

“Keep the edge of the wood parallel with the back of the iron, otherwise the bend is going to be crooked.”

She follows his instructions. “Like this?”

“Exactly. You can even use just a touch more pressure. If you don’t use enough, the wood won’t bend.” He resists the urge to reach over and show her, reminding himself that he needs to keep his distance.

“Just gotta find that happy medium,” she chuckles, and the lighthearted sound makes him smile. 

“That’s it.”

She presses down on the wood a little harder, and her form looks good. “How soon should I re-wet it?”

“You can give it a few minutes. So just do that until you’ve got a nice curve going for the lower body, and then you can do the waist and the upper body, in that order. You might not get to all of it today because you want to give the wood some time to cool between each bend.”

He loves sharing his craft with his students, but there’s something different about sharing it with her. It just feels so intimate to share such an important piece of his life with her in this setting, and her genuine interest in the subject only makes him want to share it with her more.

At the end of the day, he knows that it’s only because he’s slept with her. Every little interaction feels sexually and emotionally charged. She’s just so attractive in both looks and personality, and he’s drawn to her over and over again.

But he can’t let himself give in to whatever it is that he’s feeling for her. Hwitaek’s advice rings in his head and he reminds himself that he only needs to get through a few more weeks before the semester is over.

He can avoid the temptation for at least that long.

“Seriously, Kino, this place is amazing,” _____ gushes, taking the last big bite of her steak, savoring each chew and talking with her mouth full. “Jesus, this steak is fucking delicious.”

Kino covers his mouth as he laughs, trying to maintain some semblance of maturity. They’re at an incredibly fancy restaurant, after all - one that he’s certainly spending way too much money at, but it’s worth it for her - and he doesn’t want to make a scene when it’s clear that they’re just two dumb college kids trying to have an experience. 

“Maybe you should swallow first before you talk,” he comments.

“That’s what he said.” She doesn’t miss a beat, making it even harder for Kino to keep his composure.

“No,” Kino nudges her leg under the table with his foot, softly lecturing her. “Bad.”

“Kino, are you trying to play footsie with me?” She nudges him back, playfully teasing.

She’s been in particularly high spirits all night, and he’s trying to convince himself that it’s only because of her birthday. Everything has been borderline flirtatious since he picked her up from the dorms. 

“Stop it,” Kino gives her a warning look, but he’s still smiling. “You’re just asking for trouble.”

She smiles and takes a sip of her water. “I’m just having fun. Thank you for taking me out tonight, Kino. I’m having a blast.”

“I am, too.” He feels his cheeks unintentionally grow warm.

“Good! I’m gonna use the bathroom. I bet they’ve got bathroom attendants and everything in a place like this.” She gets up from the table and heads off to the bathroom, the skirt of her dress clinging to every curve as she walks and making Kino way more flustered than he should be. When he had told her to dress up, he hadn’t quite expected her to wear something so… hot.

It’s not a big deal, he sees dancers clad in tight clothing every day. But it’s her, and that makes it different.

While she’s gone, he flags down their waiter. “Excuse me, it’s my friend’s birthday today. Could we get a dessert?”

“We have a chocolate lava cake that she’d likely enjoy. We can even write a Happy Birthday message on the plate for you.”

“That sounds perfect! Thank you.”

As the waiter heads off with his special order, Kino notices _____’s phone on the table, lighting up as multiple messages come in. He’s not a snooper by any means, but when his eye catches Wooseok’s name as the sender, he can’t help but feel curious. She hasn’t said anything more to Kino about Wooseok since the night she came over drunk, but he never pried. He always figured that she’d share whatever she felt comfortable sharing.

The previews of the messages give away everything he needs to know, though - the number of eggplant and winky emojis that comes across is enough to make him feel embarrassed. That has to mean something’s happening between them, right?

A sense of dread suddenly sets in. Maybe this was all too much, and it’s going to come across like he’s romancing her when she’s already involved with somebody else. He doesn’t want to be that guy, if that’s already the case. Ordering that dessert was definitely too much… ah, he definitely shouldn’t have done that…

No, it’s fine. It’s just a cake, and it’s her birthday! He’s just being a good friend. That’s all. He’s just a good friend.

_____ reappears right in the middle of his internal debate. “I was right! There was a lady in there, and she squirted soap into my hands and then dried ‘em off with a cloth towel after I washed up.”

“Wow,” he breathed, forcing out a small chuckle. “That’s fancy.”

“Right?” She takes her seat, and the cake comes out shortly after. There’s no song because this restaurant is clearly too classy to have the waiters sing. But the joy on _____’s face is absolutely precious, and he’s glad that he ordered the cake after all.

“Kino! Did you do this when I was in the bathroom?” She surveys her plate in awe, with the beautiful chocolate sauce message and the strawberry slices atop the chocolate-drizzled lava cake. 

“Yeah. We can’t have a real birthday dinner without cake, can we?”

“Kino… This is so sweet…” She looks like she’s getting a little choked up, but she manages a smile. “You’re the best friend I could’ve asked for. Thank you so much for doing all of this for me.”

“You’re welcome, _____. Happy Birthday.” He smiles wide, pretending like his whole chest hadn’t painfully tightened at the word friend.

It’s fine. This is what he wants. He’s just her friend.

After they wrap up their meal and he pays the astronomic check - still worth it for his best friend, he reminds himself - they hop on the bus and head back towards their dorms.

“I’m actually coming to your building,” she announces as the bus pulls up to their stop. “Wooseok said he has a birthday present for me, so I’m going to stop by.”

“Ah, okay.” Kino tries to seem cool about it, but he just has to say something. “He’s seemed pretty flirty with you recently, don’t you think?”

“Wooseok?” She lets out a laugh and they step out onto the sidewalk, heading for the dorm building. “Nah, he’s just like that. He’s playful, you know?”

Kino hums. “Yeah, I guess he is.” He holds the door open for her, and they pile into the elevator together, each pressing buttons for their respective floors.

“Thanks again for tonight, I seriously had so much fun.” She pulls Kino into a tight hug that lasts just a bit longer than it probably should. But he holds her, completely willing to keep her there as long as she wants. When the door opens and she finally pulls away, she parts with the cutest smile. “Next time, don’t wait for a special occasion to get dinner with me.”

He lets himself smile, even though he’s fully aware that he’s filling with false hope. “Okay.”

Wooseok crosses his arms over his chest as he surveys his handiwork. He didn’t mean to make her gift so romantic. When he had considered what to do for her birthday, he thought to himself, you know what’s cool? Fuckin pillow forts. It was supposed to be something fun but like, there’s no way that she’ll see what he’s done and say wow, thanks for this pal, you’re really just a true friend, let me just casually suck your dick now.

Not that a blow job is expected. He just likes to think about it sometimes.

Anyway, he knows nothing sexual is gonna happen between them tonight unless she doesn’t care that his roommate is home. Wooseok had tried to get him to go somewhere else, but Minho was adamant that he was staying in and going to bed early, since his Wednesday 8am class regularly kicks his butt.

Briefly, he considers tearing it all down, but she’s going to be here any moment and he doesn’t want to be empty handed after promising her a cool gift. 

Hopefully she’ll like it and it won’t be weird.

Right on cue, there’s a knock at his apartment door, signaling her arrival. Wooseok ducks into the bathroom for just a moment to check his hair before giving himself a weird look in the mirror. Why is he concerned with looking good? He’s not, like, trying to impress her or anything. It’s just casual.

He pushes his hand through his hair once before deciding it’s fine, and he heads for the door. She looks super cute in her dress, her jacket hanging open to reveal the tight fabric clinging to her curves. It immediately makes him think of the time she showed up and handed him her panties - which he safely stored in his underwear drawer, because that just makes sense - and it nearly gets him hard on the spot. 

“Hey,” she glows as she smiles up at him.

“Is that dress comfortable?”

She raises an eyebrow suggestively. “Why, you want me to take it off?”

“I’d definitely never say no to that, but… just a sec. Cover your eyes.”

“...Okay.” She gives him a quizzical look before holding her hands up to her eyes. He guides her into the apartment and directs her into the bathroom.

“Just a sec.” He flicks on the light and closes the door.

She laughs from the other side. “What are you doing?”

“Just hang on!” Wooseok shouts as he dips into the bedroom, where Minho is diligently reading his history textbook. 

“She here?” Minho doesn’t look up.

Wooseok digs through his drawers, pulling out a clean t-shirt and some sweatpants. “Yeah. She hasn’t seen it yet, though.”

“Girls love that shit. She’s gonna fall head over heels for you as soon as you show her.” 

Wooseok’s heart pounds with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. He definitely likes the thought of her falling for him, but there’s also a good chance that this whole gift won’t go over well and she’ll feel like he’s trying to make a move on her, and then she’ll want to call the whole thing off. So he needs to make sure he frames it right. “I guess we’ll see.”

“Good luck, dude.”

“Thanks.”

He emerges from the room and opens the bathroom door just enough to hand the clothing in. “Put this on. You need to be comfy.”

She takes the clothes with a quiet giggle, and then opens the door a few minutes later. 

The way his heart jumps into his throat at the sight of her in his shirt is unreal.

His clothes are big on her, of course, since he’s basically a giant, and the way the fabric hangs on her frame is just the most adorable thing that he’s ever seen. He knows immediately that he made a mistake and she should’ve just kept the dress on.

Regardless, he swallows his heart and gives a thumbs-up. “Better?”

She nods with a cute smile. “Very comfy.”

“Good. Close your eyes again.”

“Whyyy?” 

“Because it’s a surprise, dipshit.”

As soon as she covers her eyes again, Wooseok pulls her into the living room and angles her to face his masterpiece. He doesn’t let his hands linger on her shoulders any longer than they have to.

“‘Kay. You can look now.”

He’s completely fixated on her as she drops her hands, anxious for her reaction. And when she sees what he’s done, she completely lights up.

“You made a blanket fort?” 

“It’s cool, right?” He tentatively asks.

“It’s awesome!” She laughs joyfully. “Can we go in?”

“Nah, we’re just gonna look at it from out here.”

She playfully smacks his chest before approaching the fort, lifting up the sheet to peek inside. “Wow, this is so much cooler than the ones my brother and I would make when we were kids.”

From the outside, it looks like just a couple of sheets draped over various pieces of furniture, but the inside is really where most of his effort went. The fort’s ceiling is lined with twinkling lights, and there are decorative pillows of all shapes and sizes lining the back and sides. Small fake candles are scattered throughout and a fresh bowl of popcorn sits next to his opened laptop.

“Wooseok…” She crawls inside, making herself at home. “This is seriously awesome. I can’t believe you did all of this.”

He follows her in, taking extra care not to bump any of the blankets or chairs out of place with his large frame. “I promised you a cool birthday gift, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you did.” She looks up at him, and her sweet gaze is a little too much for him.

“So I thought maybe, like, a lowkey movie night would be fun? We can just relax and hang out and watch your favorite movie or something. Or we could pick something we haven’t seen. Your call, birthday girl.”

After a few minutes of browsing online, they eventually pick a movie to put on. It’s a crime thriller that he’s surprised she’s interested in, but she insisted that this is the one she wants. And then the movie starts, and they’re just sitting there side by side, and he’s internally debating whether he should put his arm around her. He knows the right choice is absolutely no, but it’s just so tempting to let her snuggle up next to him. 

Wooseok glances down at her to see where she’s at, and he notices that her little eyebrows are pushed together in concern.

“Hey, you alright?”

“Hm?” She looks up at him and throws on a smile. “Oh, yeah, sorry. I’m alright.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing. I just…” She scoots a little closer, curling her legs in towards her body and leaning against him. “It’s nothing.”

Is that the signal? Should he go for it? She’s trying to cuddle with him, right?

Wooseok feels hopelessly lost. This would be so much easier if he didn’t actually have some kind of feelings for her. Even though they both agreed that they’d come clean if any feelings ever cropped up, he just can’t convince himself that it’s a good idea to confess. If he says something, then they’ll stop hooking up, and she’ll probably feel weird about being his tutor and hanging out with him. He can suck it up and pretend like he doesn’t have feelings.

“Woo.” She shortens his name to get his attention. They lock eyes. “You know, you haven’t actually wished me a happy birthday yet.”

“I haven’t?”

She shakes her head minutely, her gaze not moving a centimeter. There’s something deep in her eyes, and he’s probably just reading into it all too much, but it feels like it did the first time he kissed her - like they’re connected and grounded and alive in this moment.

This time, he doesn’t ask for permission.

Wooseok kisses her slowly, as if she might break if he’s not careful. His eyes close as his lips connect with hers, and she’s soft and sweet as always. He fights off the urge to hold her hand, to cup her face. He just wants to kiss her, and that’s what he does.

It’s a long moment before he pulls away from her. She looks happy and he feels like at least for tonight, he’s done a good job.

“Happy Birthday, short stuff.”

Hongseok finishes off his bourbon and looks around, not really sure why he thought it would be a good idea to come back to Andy’s jazz club. He had planned on going to the bar across the street, thinking he might be able to find someone there who could serve as a distraction for the night. He had plenty of hookups when he was at university so he knows how that scene works. 

But as soon as he got there, curiosity got the best of him. It’s the Friday after _____’s birthday, which means she’s probably looking for a way to celebrate, right? And she’s snuck into Andy’s before, so why couldn’t she do it again?

Honestly, even if he found her there, he’s not sure if he’d tell her to go home or just be glad to cross paths again.

When he arrived, she was nowhere to be seen. He knows that’s for the best, since she's still not legally old enough to be here, and he shouldn’t be going out of his way to try to interact with her anyway.

The best he can do now is just look for a distraction as he had originally planned. 

Hongseok leaves his empty glass at the bar and approaches an attractive woman in a deep red dress. He smooth talks her. He lays it on thick, because he notices right away that she’s eating it all up. He asks her to dance, and she agrees.

The band tonight is great, and they play plenty of music that’s perfect for dancing. The smooth jazz makes for perfect slow dance music, and he clasps her hand in his, his other hand resting on her back and keeping her close. He murmurs everything she wants to hear, his lips brushing the cusp of her ear as he flirts. She’s like putty in his hands.

And when the moment’s right, his lips find hers. 

He kisses her like it means something, like he’s not just trying to avoid his problems. And she kisses him back, a delightful breath of fresh air.

Perhaps he can actually break free of _____’s spell.

It’s not long before their kiss becomes more than what is socially acceptable in public, and he suggests that they go back to his place. But she declines, claiming that she’s not that kind of woman, but leaves him with her phone number and a request to meet up for dinner next week.

Not exactly what he had hoped for, but he can't let himself be bothered by the fact that they both want different things. Still, he decides to keep her number, because she is quite beautiful. Who knows if anything will ever happen between them.

The pianist on stage starts a solo, effectively catching Hongseok's attention and driving his gaze to the front of the room. The melody is tender, full of longing, and for just a brief moment he thinks it might be _____ at the piano.

Of course it's not.

That's all the reason Hongseok needs to get the hell out of there.

When did he get in so deep? When did he become so crazy for this girl that he's hoping for any chance just to see her? He has no excuse for acting this way, but he can't help the fact that he's been completely enamored by her from the moment he first spoke to her at the wedding reception.

Hongseok returns to his apartment to settle in for the night, realizing that the only distraction he could possibly get for the night is his music. He lounges on his bed, plucking at the strings of one of his many acoustic guitars, his cat stretched out next to his leg.

His fingers move freely as he tries not to think about her, but is there really much harm in just getting lost in his thoughts?

He remembers the first time he saw her in his classroom, and how differently it hit him than the first time he saw her at the wedding. He remembers how dreadful it felt to see her sitting in the back, yet how thrilling it was to invite her into his hotel room. 

He remembers her anger, her joy, her ecstasy. She’s beautiful and fun and sexy and charming, entirely intoxicating. 

The memories of their night together visit him once again. He thinks about it far more often than he should, but he’s always told himself that he can at least savor the memory if he can’t let himself be with her again. 

As Hongseok lets himself relive that night in his mind, he sets his guitar to the side, his hardening length capturing his attention. His hand slides down the front of his sweatpants, tentatively stroking himself in search of some relief. 

The mental image of her naked body very quickly drives him wild. God what he wouldn’t give to be inside of her again, his hands massaging her round ass as he peppers kisses along her throat. He wants to hear her sighs of pleasure, wants to watch the way her lips part as each wave of her orgasm washes over her, her walls pulsing around his cock.

And the feeling of her tongue as it swirled around the head of his cock… he’d never get over it. 

It’s like she knew every single one of his buttons. Like she already had full and total control over his pleasure.

Hongseok breaks out of his fantasy just long enough to push his sweatpants down and grab the lube from his nightstand. His hand alone isn’t enough, doesn’t do justice to the incredible wetness of her.

He lets out a groan as he resumes his stroking, his cock twitching delightfully in his hand.

And, completely swept up in the heat of it all, he allows himself to imagine what would happen if he caved.

What if he told her how badly he wanted her, and she said the same? What if he invited her over, and she agreed without hesitation? What if he gave himself just one more chance to taste her, explore her, ruin her…

Love her?

Hongseok lets himself moan as he pumps harder, imagining his cock plunging into her, her nails digging into his back. He can practically hear her voice as it wraps around his name in the most seductive tone he’s ever heard, and all he wants is to give her everything she could ever ask of him. 

He wants to bite her skin, squeeze her curves, bury himself so deeply in her that he completely loses himself.

Hot ropes shoot from his cock onto his v-neck shirt as he thinks of nothing but her, and once his breathing returns to normal he finally realizes just how fucked he is.

It feels harmless, but he knows that fantasizing about her will only continue to chip away at his already weakening willpower, and eventually he’s going to end up doing something incredibly dumb.

After pulling off his dirty shirt and cleaning himself up, he returns to his bed, picking up his guitar once more. Unfortunately, not even his release is enough to get his mind off of her, so really he’s just back to square one.

He remembers how he played in his office for her, how she watched him in awe. He wonders if she feels music just as deeply as he does, if she feels the same connection to the melodies she plays and hears. 

She had asked if he could drum while he played, and his attempt had been mostly unsuccessful. He was sorely out of practice at the time, but he's been working on it since then.

He fingers a tune, taps his fingers on the face of the guitar, bumps his palm against the wood. If only she could hear him now, she'd surely be impressed.

And then - he has an idea.

The rest of his night is spent in the makeshift recording studio he's created inside of his closet with his best guitar, his microphone, and the desire to create something just for her.

Post Script | Thank you for reading! Please stay tuned for Part 8.

All Rights Reserved © gwentoryfics. No translations, reposting, and/or modifying of the material is allowed without my direct permission.

[rugsrat]

Ok. Buckle up. This was my actual fucking life. Long story time.

Our story begins in early 2009. (The actual beginning is in 2008, but the relevant part is 2009)

I am in a bad long distance relationship, but trying to make it work. My now ex is asking me questions about my friends, fishing for me to make her jealous, basically. She says "one day you're going to dump me for K."

Well, that wasn't the plan, but you know, now that K is mentioned, she is very lovely.

Girlfriend also messages K asking her if she would date me. Yikes this is awkward.

Anyway, flash forward, I am desperate for a roommate and kind of accidentally blindside K into rooming with me that fall. Whoops.

Oh well. Girlfriend and I break up. It's ugly. I decide I want to be single for a while.

K is staying with her aunt and uncle that summer, and one night at 9pm calls me asking "do you like Gargoyles?" Because she had just purchased the first season on dvd.

Hell yes, I says. We stay up till like 4am at her Aunt and Uncle's house, and then pass out on their giant guest bed.

Oh no. Now the feelings pick up.

I wanted to be single.

Oh no.

But what if she doesn't like me back?

Oh, no.

We spend the entire summer practically inseparable from each other. Often sleeping in the same bed, despite there being another guest room right across the hall.

So, one day I tell my mom I'll be hanging with K that weekend. And she asks me: "Are you and K, like, secretly dating or something?"

To which I respond with a heavy sigh: "No. But I would like to be ACTUALLY dating."

So I spend the night on the other side of the gigantic king sized bed, again. Pining.

Now, K was also pining during this time, but I was an unobservant fool and didn't notice.

This is relevant because the next morning K and I went out to breakfast at a small diner, and I LIKE AN IDIOT tell K about the conversation with my mom.

And so K (apparently in a moment of cartoon record-scratch panic) responds: "wouldn't it be funny if we PRETEND to be secretly dating?"

Ha ha! Good joke! I agree. Then excuse myself to the bathroom and immediately vaguepost song lyrics to Facebook while freaking out.

(Apparently 2 old men in the diner gave K some really judgy looks while she panicked at the table).

So we spend the rest of the summer basically the same way, but now pretending to be secretly dating. One of our pretend dates was to go see the movie 9 (the one with the burlap humunculi voiced by Elijah Wood), and agreed that Somewhere Over the Rainbow was "our song" because they played it during that movie.

So the moment the semester starts I immediately tell everyone about this. So everyone is aware that we are pretending to be secretly dating. Super subtle. Go me.

Because, remember, K and I are roommates, in addition to pretend secret lovers. What even is my life?

It was Friend F who finally got through to me when he said "You're whining while your window of opportunity closes."

So that Thursday, now October 18th, 2009, our friends are making plans to all go see Zombieland, which had just come out in theaters. We discussed this while packing up from D&D.

So, on our way from dnd to the cafeteria to get some late night food, I stop K in the door to the building, since everyone else had gone ahead, and asked:

"Do you want to go see Zombieland with me?"

Now, if you recall, we were already going to see it with friends, so K responds:

"Uh… yeah?"

And then it clicked.

"Did you just ask me out?"

"... yes?"

She said yes! For some reason.

We agreed not to mention anything to our friends that evening.

We spent the entire night making out, btw, and did the I Love You Bomb that same evening.

The next morning, K and I tell Friend E and Friend S over breakfast. E THROWS down her spoon of fruit loops onto her tray and exclaims loudly: "FUCKING FINALLY!"

We never did see Zombieland in theaters, either as a group or as a couple. Whoops.

But when Zombieland 2 came out on October 18th 2019, exactly 10 years to the day that K and I started dating for real, we made it a point to finally have our "first" date and see it.

Oh also we got married in 2016. Go us. Our first dance was to Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

[yoonia]

Maps | 02

⟶ Summary | The sudden exchange of kiss has unexpectedly open something within you which had been perfect hidden, unlocking a new stage of your friendship, as you are left with your truth—both yours and his—laid bare and exposed.

⟶ Character | Christian Yu/DPR Ian x reader ⟶ Genre | Friends to Lover!au, Fluff, Smut ⟶ Ratings & Warning | +18 / M for Mature; including: mutual pining, sexual tension, sharing a bed, sleepy cuddles, subtle flirting, head kissing, making out, hair pulling, grinding, Ian being super cheesy, basically this is mostly fluff. ⟶ Word count | 3,002 words | ⤎ Previous Chapter | Next Chapter ⇢

⟶ Main Masterlist | Mailbox | Taglist | Ko-fi ⟶ Read in AO3

Christian kept his word about coming back.

But he also wasn’t lying when he said he would be extremely late.

It isn’t until 2 AM when Christian finally walks through the front door. He tries his best not to make too much noise as he walks in, silently praying that the sound he made when entering the key password and the rough click of the door closing behind him won’t disturb you in your sleep. Yet his worries seem pointless when he looks up to find you still awake.

Hoping to see you resting in bed or lounging on your couch like you always do, he is surprised and bummed to see you sitting at your working desk right across the room. You don’t even notice him entering your home, with your eyes focused on your computer screen. The deep crease between your brows tells him you are still finishing your work.

Yet he can also tell that you are already at your limit. Slouching forward, you rest your chin on one hand, your elbow propped on the table to keep you up, while your other hand hovers mindlessly over the computer’s keyboard. He knows well that at this point, you are merely awake only because you are too stubborn to listen to your own needs.

Sighing deeply, he walks over to you. He keeps his footsteps light to avoid startling you. Even his hands are gentle when he lowers his bag and jacket to the side of the couch, keeping as quiet as possible just in case you are already drifting to sleep. Coming to your side, Christian places a hand on your shoulder, giving you a gentle shake to let you know that he is here.

Blinking rapidly, you look like you are drifting awake—or drifting back from wherever your mind had taken you—before looking up at him.

“Oh, hey,” you greet him with a tired smile, your voice is so gentle and soft that Christian feels like he is slowly engulfed in warmth.

“I thought you’d be asleep by now,” he muses as he positions himself behind you, placing both hands on your shoulders to gently start massaging your exhaustion away.

You make a humming sound and slowly relax under his touch. Your eyes begin to flutter to close again as your head falls back, resting against his abdomen. A deep, tired sigh slips out of your lips before you say to him, “Seems like I lost track of time. I was just about to finish up, though.”

You open your eyes and look up, meeting his smile with your own, and he can no longer hold back. Wrapping his arms around you from behind, Christian holds you close. He relishes the perfect fit he feels with you in his embrace, before he leans down, pressing a kiss at the top of your head. He can feel you shuddering in his arms, and he breathes a sigh of relief when you make no move to push him away.

“Then finish up,” he whispers, kissing your hair gently one last time before pulling away. “And then join me in bed.”

Christian watches your eyes fluttering with the delicate shiver running through your skin. The moment you look at him again, something in your gaze seems to have shifted, causing his heartbeat to start racing.

“Wait for me in the bedroom,” you ask him with a gentle voice, “I’ll be there in a second.”

He wants to argue, yet he holds back from saying anything, knowing that you won’t do as he asks you to once your mind is set on something. “All right, then,” he only says instead. He leans down, pressing his lips on your temple before he steps away. “Don’t take too long. I might get impatient and come back here so I can carry you up my shoulder like a caveman.”

You laugh at him. “Be careful, I might take my time just to have you carry me to bed.”

His lips twist to a grin. “Stop threatening me with nice things to look forward to. I might get excited.”

Giving you another kiss on your temple, he finally steps away, letting you finish the rest of your work as he makes his way to your bedroom.

The small distraction you get from Christian helps you regain a bit of a good mood. But you also know that your time is up.

From here, you can hear him using the bathroom to clean or wash up, so you quickly start saving your work before shutting your computer off so you can soon be with him again.

It feels weird to have such a thought crossing your mind. Everything seems to be happening so fast, so suddenly, it still feels like you are dreaming. You cannot believe how much has changed in such a short time. You don’t even understand how things are suddenly changing. But what you never expected the most would be the fact that you don’t mind having things between you changing at all.

By the time you make it to your room, you find Christian lounging on your bed. He has his back propped against the pile of pillows, your plushie doll on his lap as he waits for you to join him.

Seeing him there, on your bed, looking as if he belongs, pulls something in your chest that you come to a halt. He lifts his head, and the air shifts. As if sparks are rising around you, pulling at you, and the urge to come to him starts growing so strongly.

You realise only then that things between you have always been peculiar, even from the beginning. The friendship that you have built with him, the bond that has grown, it as always been more than having the right company in times of need or a place of comfort where you can each run towards during those long, lonely nights. There has always been a reason for you to gravitate towards each other, that this—whatever this is—has always been there from the start.

“_____?” His gentle voice calling your name snaps you out of your stupor, and all of a sudden, everything starts to make perfect sense.

Without saying a word, you walk over to the bed. Christian falls silent as well, yet he keeps his eyes on you the whole time, as if waiting to see what you are about to do next. He watches you closely, his hands clutching the sides of your doll as if he is restraining himself from pulling you close.

Deep down, you wish that he would. Already, you miss the touch of his hands, the warmth of his embrace wrapping around you. But after all the truth he has shown you all day, you decide that it is now your turn to make a move before either one of you would suddenly change your mind.

You keep your eyes locked on his as you slowly climb the bed. No words are said as you crawl over the sheets, making your way towards him. The intensity building in the air has your heart beating rapidly in your chest. The closer you are to him, the more the shudders rushing through your body are heightened, as anticipation keeps building up inside you. Your hands tremble a little as you take your place on his lap.

This time, you are the one to reach the doll, pulling it off his hands and tossing it away so that there is nothing left keeping you from him. With the last barrier gone, Christian’s shoulders sag in relief, as if he is shedding his last protective wall. As if he was just as worried about taking things further as you were.

You can feel his muscles relaxing under your touch the moment you place your hands on his shoulders. A slow smile grows on his face when you whisper to him, “Hi, there.”

“Hi,” he answers, drawing a bashful smile from you.

A myriad of questions runs through your mind as you remain settled on his lap, keeping your gazes locked with one another.

What happens now? What does everything mean now that you’ve shared a kiss? What would happen next if you kissed him right now?

Your hands become the tether connecting the two of you together, while at some point, his hands find their way to your waist, resting there to keep you steady on his lap. Still, you have no idea what to say, or where to start asking just to understand what is happening between you.

The silence that falls between you feels familiar, and in some ways, it feels comfortable. As if nothing has truly changed. Things have only become better, intense, but solid. And the more you feel his presence, to hear his steady breath and feel the steady pulse of his heartbeat under your touch, you realise that this is all real.

This is truly happening.

You open your mouth to speak just at the same time he does the same. While your words instantly die on your tongue, a sharp exhale of breath leaves his lips before he suddenly mutters, “Oh, fuck it.”

His hands move before you realise he is moving; one arm snakes its way around your waist while the other moves to cup the back of your head. And then he pulls you to him, taking you in a deep, long kiss.

There is no more hesitation this time as your lips are connected. A sudden burst of heat rising from your core threatens to push your heart out of your chest. His kiss feels intense, yet you manage to return it just the same way, showing the same need and urgency and desire as if everything that has been hidden and buried for a long time is suddenly unleashed with the kiss.

A deep, breathless moan slips out of him when you press harder into the kiss, leaning into him the more he devours your lips. You feel him pulling on your body; on your waist, where his hand is fisting the bottom hem of your top; and on your hair, as his fingers weave through the strands of your hair and he pulls them back. Your body is burning hot with the kiss that you feel as if you are melting into him. Your chest arches against his as you mirror his move, weaving your fingers through his messy hair to make a lot more mess out of him.

Getting lost in the kiss, drowning in the delightful haze rising through you, he catches you off guard as he flips your bodies together, moving until you are lying on your back and he is covering your body with his.

It feels like a repeat of earlier this afternoon when he does the same, when he first gave in to his desire, rousing yours with one simple kiss. Only that this kiss isn’t so simple, isn’t as innocent, and you feel no restraint as he moulds his body onto yours.

The kiss continues just a bit longer, until your chest feels tight and you clutch onto his shirt to let him know that you need air. Reluctantly, he pulls back, allowing you to have a look at his face when he looks down at you.

His face is flushed. His hair is messy under the work of your fingers. His lips are swollen thanks to the kiss, which you have no doubt would mirror perfectly on yours. And then you look into his eyes. The deep, intense look he gives you pulls the rest of your breath out of your chest.

“Ian—” Your voice comes out as a breathless whisper and strained, feeling overwhelmed with the sensation rushing your body. Once again, the questions filling your head are hanging at the tip of your tongue. Yet they refuse to come out, as the desire to have him kissing you again feels stronger.

You know he feels the same when his lips keep hovering over yours, his warm breath falling on your lips as he refuses to stay away. But he holds back, breaking out of his trance when he whispers, “Yes, baby?”

“What”—you take a deep breath to find your voice—”what does this mean?”

His gaze flickers upward, finding yours. Licking his lips, it takes a moment before Christian manages to snap out of whatever fog he is under. His gaze clears, as if your words only start to sink in after a moment has passed.

“This only means one thing,” he says, his voice soft, yet steady with every word he says as he continues, “that I no longer have to hide how much I truly like you. I really like you, ______. I’ve—never felt like this to anyone else before.”

Your breath is caught in your throat with his confession. But finding out that he likes you more than just a friend only reveals the truth that you have been hiding and ignoring for quite some time; that you feel the same way for him too.

You want him to know this. Yet words don’t see adequate to express how you are feeling for him. So you tighten your arms around him instead, choosing to show it to him rather than speaking it out loud as you pull him down on you, allowing things to unfold through your actions.

You initiate the kiss this time, starting gently as you are still trying to process everything and wanting to savour the moment. You feel every worry and all the apprehension you feel lifted as he hums into the kiss, giving in by returning it yet still allowing you to take control. You smile into the kiss as you press into his lips one last time, before pulling back, releasing him with a sigh.

“I like you too,” you find yourself whispering, the words simply flowing out of your lips with a deep exhale of breath, and his face lights up.

You have always loved how transparent he could be whenever he is with you. Just like now, when his emotions are written all over his face. Relief, affection, and wonder, everything appears so clearly in his eyes, his face, his smile.

With a sigh of relief, he leans down, resting his forehead on yours, giving himself a moment to take everything in. And then he starts pressing his lips on you, giving you soft, light pecks in quick succession, starting from your temple, your cheeks, the tip of your nose, and a few more on your lips before moving down your chin, all while murmuring softly between each kiss—

“Be mine.”

“Please.”

“Please don’t say no.”

“I won’t survive if you do.”

“I need you.”

“Be my girlfriend.”

His silly action draws a series of giggles coming out of your lips, all while you keep saying “Yes, yes, yes!” to answer each question, each request, each confession. The cheesy and playful manner he is asking you to be his girlfriend makes you feel warm inside, your skin flushing with his bluntness, before he intensifies it with a deep kiss at the end.

“Thank you,” he whispers against your lips once he is done. You are both breathless at this point, both from the kisses and from laughing in between, yet he doesn’t make any move to pull away.

With a soft chuckle, he moves to brush the tip of your nose with his, a playful manner that shows his tender side as he takes in this moment. You feel his fingers trailing down your sides, each tip of his fingers grazing at your skin which has become exposed after your heated makeout session.

Silence falls once again as he looks deep into your eyes. He seems reluctant to pull away, to stop himself from kissing you again, as if he wants to keep devouring you until there is nothing from you left by the end of the night.

After holding back for so long, you realise that you feel the same. You wish you could pull him back down and let him kiss you again. You want to show him how much you want him, just as much as he wants to take all of you in the heat of the moment.

But in the silence that has fallen, and in the revelation of your truth, calmness begins to set in. Everything that has been pushed aside when you gave in to your desire is slowly coming back to the surface. Through the pinch showing on his face and his soft gaze, you can tell that he can see it too. Perhaps he also feels it; the exhaustion that has taken over, weighing down both of your bodies after the long day; the dire need for a good sleep; and the fact that neither of you has any energy left now that all the heat has dwindled.

“Why don’t we continue this in the morning?” he offers, more to himself than to you, a reminder that he needs some rest too. “You’re supposed to be sleeping already. So am I, actually.”

With a soft chuckle, you push yourself up to your elbows to kiss him on the cheek and chin. “Okay. I know I’ll fall asleep right away if you hold me,” you say with a tease, drawing a soft laughter from him.

Dropping down beside you, he presses his lips on yours for a brief kiss. He wraps his arms around you, pulling you close to have your head resting on his shoulder, his toned arm cushioning your weight.

“Good night, babe,” he whispers, kissing the top of your head as he runs his fingers through the strands of your hair, allowing you to relax in his embrace.

You stifle a yawn, only to fail. Your eyes are already drifting close, the comfort of his embrace pulling you to slumber. But not before you whisper to him one last time,

“Good night, Ian.”

— © Yoonia, all rights reserved. reposting/modifying of any kind is not allowed. unsolicited translations are not allowed. First published & completed in Nov 2017. Rewritten and re-published in 2024.

[inb4vaughn]

Remembering R.J. Harper, Pebble Beach’s Point Man

Editor’s Note: On November 8, 2017, the game of golf lost one of its greatest leaders, characters, supporters and ambassadors. Robert “R.J.” Thomas Harper, who started at Pebble Beach as a course marshal in 1985 and rose through the ranks to become Executive Vice President of Golf and Retail for the Pebble Beach Company, died of pancreatic cancer, leaving behind sons Tucker and JT Harper, grandsons Caden and Hudson, sister Cathy Carr and former wife and close friend Kelly Yost Harper. He also leaves behind a legacy of excellence that may never be equaled in the golf resort realm, or at any level. He was the consummate host, boss, visionary and friend of the game, and he never failed to greet newcomers with a smile, a rich story and a kind word while overseeing one of the most respected and admired golf operations in the world with grace, humor and a tireless work ethic. In 2003, as editor and co-publisher of Fairways + Greens magazine, Golf Tips editor Vic Williams sat down with Harper for the following interview. Though we’re 15 years removed from these words and a few changes have taken place along 17-Mile Drive over those years, including the names of the owners and partners, Harper’s enthusiasm and bright spirit shine through — and will continue to echo across the cliffs and coves of his beloved Pebble Beach.

He runs the most famous and revered public golf operation in the world, but R.J. Harper doesn’t put on airs. He’s as down-to-earth and humble as they come, and always puts the customer first — whether he’s a well-heeled CEO or an everyday Joe who’s saved up the bucks to make the pilgrimage to the Monterey Peninsula and play Pebble Beach itself or its sister courses: Spyglass Hill, the Links at Spanish Bay or Del Monte Golf Club. He’s got the best job in golf, and the toughest.

In his 18 years as Director of Golf Operations for the Pebble Beach Company, Harper has hosted a couple of U.S. Opens — including Tiger Woods’ epochal 15-stroke victory in 2000 — thousands of celebrities and top-tier pros in the AT&T National Pro-Am every February, and hundreds of thousands of golfers who stream in day after day to tee it up in whatever weather the fickle Pacific throws at them.

“Today it’s hot,” Harper told us in late June as he prepared to take a much-deserved vacation. “It’s pushing 85 degrees, with almost no wind. We usually don’t get into the 70s around here. It’s unusual — and gorgeous.”

Just another day in golf paradise, which put Harper in the mood for a fascinating talk about what makes the Pebble Beach Company tick, and how he, his employees and the company’s principals (including Arnold Palmer and Clint Eastwood) are constantly striving to make a unique, stellar product even better.

You’ve seen all kinds of changes in 18 years — changes in ownership, changes in the golf course, moving a new tree to No. 18 in place of the famous old tree just last year. You’re probably at the most revered course in the country if not the world next to Augusta National. What’s it like to be there on a day to day basis and see people’s reaction to the course and the whole Pebble Beach mystique?

Harper: There’s a unique challenge every day with respect to Pebble Beach, the entire company and our resort. It’s exciting to come into the office every day after all these years and know there’s something new on the horizon that needs to be addressed. It’s all about progress, never about looking back.

I was the championship director for the U.S. Open in 2000. I kind of ran the tournament. It was a wonderful shining moment, but the day after the Open left here, we had a full house with both hotels full, and it was business booming and let’s go get it. There’s no real time to sit back and look at the past. It’s about moving forward, particularly with respect to this new ownership. Not to diminish what their predecessors did; they did a wonderful job of polishing the jewel with Pebble Beach. But this group is intent on continuing to progress and keep improving everything we have, everything we’re privileged to manage out here.

How great is it to be here? It’s fantastic. I can’t say there’s no stress in the job. When you manage four golf courses and all that potentially can go wrong, and have as many visitors that come through here with extremely high expectations, there’s certainly a level of responsibility that goes with that. But I don’t love it any less today than when I came here.

After seeing the course in person, the thought is always the same: There’s no way TV can bring across how special the place really is.

Harper: No doubt. There’s a drama to it that changes during the day. It can be sunny and beautiful, and instantly a mist rolls in off the sea and it takes on a different hue. Then the sun starts to go down and everything just “wakes up.” It’s an interesting place. I’ve been to a lot of coastal courses around the world and have beauty and uniqueness, but nothing to match this. You go to Hawaii and get pretty much a continual weather pattern. Same in the desert. Here you get those subtle changes. You’re peeling off and putting layers back on, all in the course of one round of golf. It adds to the magic of the place.

When I came out here I had never seen Pebble Beach, just on TV, but I loved it. I went out and sat by the old pine tree on the 18t, watched the sun go down as the last two groups came in, and I swore that one day I was goingto be able to afford to play this golf course. And to think that now I’m running all of the Pebble Beach golf operations, I pinch myself. It’s a dream I could never have conjured up. I’ve been very fortunate.

Back to the new management team. Obviously they’re high-profile guys. Some of the locals don’t like what they’ve done. Others say, “Thank God they got Pebble back into American hands.” But it still has that feel of a classic American public golf course, even though it might not be accessible to everybody. So what has their contribution been as a whole and on an individual basis?

Harper: All four principals have provided their expertise on a very frequent basis.

I’ve used Arnold in a number of ways. He’s got his hands into the golf at Pebble Beach, Spyglass, Spanish Bay and even Del Monte, so we’re excited about every opportunity we have to engage Arnold in re-examining everything we do relative to the golf course, for a better experience for golfers — and keeping the promise these owners made to continue to improve the product.

Dick Ferris is a real hotel guy and also a golf guy. He’s on the PGA Tour policy board. He and Arnold are very close, so he’s working with use closely as well on the golf and hotel sides. He’s really involved.

Peter is doing a lot of work in sponsorships and marketing sales. He lends his expertise there. And Clint is doing a tremendous amount of work helping inform the community and political bodies about the Del Monte Forest plan so the right information is being submitted out there. We want to grow the core of our business — which is another golf course and some additional hotel rooms.

So each of them is really active in what we’re doing here.

When you headed up the [2000] Open, the USGA swooped in there and set up giant tents and huge infrastructure. You had a couple days of fog delays. Do you ever look back — even though the following Monday morning was business as usual — and think that you’d ever seen anything so colossal in scope? It was like the Super Bowl.

Harper: It was definitely our Super Bowl. We’re fortunate to do it once in a decade, and it’s been great.

I have a picture of the U.S. Open committee on my office wall. I look up every once in a while and look at all the faces that orchestrated this thing. We do sit back and marvel at what a feat it was. We had to build a city that was going to go up carefully and quietly and taken down carefully and quietly. We’re in a significant residential community, and we hear about it if we don’t do things right. We got their support on our side and there wouldn’t too many missteps. There were a few behind-the-scenes things we had to improve upon, but it was almost seamless from the perspective of the people who came to the event. NBC did a great job broadcasting the beauty of Pebble Beach. They had about 40 percent more cameras than any other tournament we’ve had here.

I just went to Olympia Fields [site of the 2003 Open], and that put it all back into focus for me — watching other people do it.

The golf course itself: You’ve got those classic holes, four through 10, along the ocean, then 17 and 18. Do you think some of the inland holes get short shrift? Are there a couple of favorites of yours?

Harper: One of my favorite golf holes is 16. It’s obviously in the home stretch, but it’s just a great hole, sets up real nicely off the tee. You’ve got to position yourself on the left side of that fairway, so you’ve got to hit a precise shot. And the green sitting down among that grove of oak trees is a pretty sight; you can see the ocean in the distance, so you don’t feel the ocean but you’ve got a presence there.

So many people who play Pebble Beach a few times talk about 16 as being one of those unsung, really good golf holes. All the coastal holes are terrific, obviously.

Fourteen is a beast of a hole. It requires three really good golf shots, then you’re not finished. You don’t want to be in that big greenside bunker, and most people are. There are a lot of high scores on that hole. It deserves its No. 1 ranking.

Walking the course, you notice all the design nuances that don’t come through on TV. For instance, the big half-pipe bunker in front of No. 2 green, and the big bunker in front at 16. You get out there and say, “This is totally different than on TV.”

Harper: You’re absolutely right. Television doesn’t have the perspective that you obviously have when you’re walking. Those bunkers are much larger than you imagine.

Being there every day, do you sometimes feel the ghosts of the past? Do you feel Payne Stewart on the 18th green — there’s the story of him going out on the rock wall with his bottle of Cristal…

Harper: Oh, yes, I was part of that. I was in the Tap Room with him that night. There were a couple of guys sitting at the bar; Payne and I and Chuck [Cook, his longtime coach] were in the corner. Most everybody else had gone. These two guys kept looking back at Payne. He didn’t have his knickers or cap on, plus the Tap Room is dark, so it was hard to tell if it was him. When Payne and Chuck got up, they walked toward the lobby of the hotel. Payne had the U.S. Open trophy up in his hotel room. I walked out the front door, then I turned around when I heard the guys saying, “Hey, you’re not Payne Stewart, are you?” And he said, “Sure I am. Why do you ask?” And they said, “No, no, you’re not. We just made a bet.”

So Payne goes upstairs and gets the trophy, brings it back and sets it up on the bar. Then he gets the bartender to fill it up with beer and they’re all drinking out of the U.S. Open trophy. Later, Chuck and Payne carried it out to the seawall. It was pretty funny.

But to answer your question, we saw a lot of Payne Stewart here. He played the AT&T a number of times, and an Open or two. He was a wonderful guy. But there are a lot of guys who have come and gone; Pebble Beach conjures them up in the minds of most people who walk the golf course. They look back from the 18th green along the coast and kind of reflect that they’ve just walked among the greats.

With most Open championships, PGA Championships — and certainly The Masters and the British that don’t move around the United States — you’ve got very few golf courses that a great number of people have had a chance to play. Pebble’s one of them. You can remember shots the greats have hit here to win the U.S. Open. I can’t tell you the number of times people drop a ball at the left side of 17, filling in for Tom Watson’s shot in 1982.

Pebble is so famous and unique, but you’ve got a couple of other tracks there that are pretty darn good. Spyglass Hill has to be one of the toughest golf courses in the state, if not the toughest.

Spyglass is in its best condition ever. All our members and guests tell us that. We have been working so hard on it. The company made a significant capital investment — millions of dollars in infrastructure  — to make sure Spyglass is the golf course it’s supposed to be. We’re not going to stop there, but it’s so good right now.

Spyglass is kind of like Phil Mickelson in golf course form. Phil is the best golfer never to have won a major [Editor’s note: Mickelson finally broke through the following spring at the Masters], and Spyglass is the best course never to have hosted one. It should have had a major by now, but unfortunately it sits in the shadow of Pebble Beach. But I submit it’s still one of the better courses in the United States. It could host a major right now; it’s in that kind of shape. All the players in the state amateur qualifier earlier this year said the same thing.

How often do some of Pebble’s biggest fans — Mark O’Meara, who’s won the AT&T several times, Peter Jacobsen, who’s also done well there — sneak out for a round?

Harper: A number of players come out here on a fairly regular basis. Most top players are signed to sponsorship deals with a number of companies, and when those companies host meetings, outings, client entertainment et cetera at one of our hotels, O’Meara, Freddie Couples, Lee Trevino — all those guys will come out here to enjoy a day or two of golf. Johnny Miller. Mike Weir was here two weeks ago.

Once every week or so we’ve got a top name in the house. We’re very fortunate.

Hard-core golfers see the merit in paying a lot of money to play Pebble Beach. What would you say to somebody who’s skeptical — why is this golf course worth that kind of money? What pushes it over the edge?

Harper: You can play golf at 17,000 courses around the United States. There are a handful where you would say, “I had an experience,” something you’re going to talk about for the rest of your life, over and over again. Others are just a round of golf. I think what separates courses like Pebble Beach and other courses is, this one lingers with you. There are all those intangibles that add up to an experience like no other.

If you look at the price of Broadway shows, or sitting courtside at an NBA game, or NFL playoff tickets, they’re the same as playing Pebble — and that’s three hours of entertainment. So if you compare a round at Pebble Beach with other types of experiences that you’re going to remember and reflect on, and share with your father, or your son, or your wife, then you kind of see the reality of it.

I’m not trying to justify why Pebble Beach fees are what they are. But that’s the way people who want to come out here all the time feel about it, what I hear from them.

And you can’t really put a dollar amount on that.

Harper: No question about it.

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