#7th year assignment

[nicollekidman]

one time i stopped talking to a kid in my elementary school class because he only ever read captain underpants books and i thought that was gross and dumb. we need to bring some of that energy back.

[i-eat-lip-gloss]

barely even a month into the school year 🔥🔥🙏

[falllpoutboy]

https://x.com/fatfabfeminist/status/1704831795798155630?s=46

when teachers complain about students being passed on to the next grade when they’re obviously behind on grade level by two+ years/grades, why do parents automatically point their fingers at their teachers lmao?? yes students missed up to 1.5-2 years in face-to-face learning due to the pandemic and the remote learning policies depending on their location so now that they’re back for in-person learning like we’re just doing our job and teaching them to the best of our abilities, but due to the curriculum and the policies in place (depending on where you live obvs), we have no choice but to pass them on. teachers make attempts to bring attention to a student’s attendance and grades to their parents but if the parents can’t follow up on the emails we send, the phone calls we make, the voicemails we leave and the parent-teacher conferences requests we send, then that sends a clear message that you don’t care about your kids education beyond the bare fucking minimum.

we get it, parents are busy and have jobs and other priorities and every parent and student has a different story. but if your kid is 12 y/o and is in the 7th grade and is reading/writing at a 4th grade level, is incapable of reading a 200 page novel and goes straight to tiktok or to their ps5 immediately after school, then we are not the problem!!!

[futureghost97]

rant in tags bc I want to sob into a pillow

[meownzter]

the genocide going on in Palestine is terrible, and whenever I think about it, I think about the assignment I did on it in 7th grade history class. It was like, how I would solve it or whatever. But the point is that was in 7th grade. I’m in high school now. This has been going on long before October last year and more people should be aware of that.

[kosher-salt]

Just saw a post that was basically "Hey off of the internet people usually aren't so crazy antisemitic and most of my day to day interactions as a visible Jew are normal, everything is gonna be ok" and I'm making a new post to not derail, but...

I'm super glad, obviously, that this is the case for many of you. But I do think we should be ringing the alarm bells. Because while you enjoy your grocery trips and post office in relative peace (as you ought to), here is a VERY incomplete list of things I have dealt with in the last 11 months.

-assaulted on my way to class, followed, spit on repeatedly (magen David necklace)

-professor took me outside of class and told me I needed to denounce my Judaism (I mentioned in passing my dad's family in an anthropology class)

-same professor refused to accept my final paper for reasons that did not match up with paper, email full of dogwhistles

-same professor told everyone to attend the protests and "teach those zionists to know their place" she is a Black Latina young professor. Yep.

-another professor straight up refused to accept any assignments that mentioned Jewishness (they were assignments about our families). Gave a student who submitted nothing except a picture of a Palestinian flag full marks. Failed me. I am an all As student, btw. Forced to drop.

-the chair of the anthropology department threw my complaints wabout said professors away without due process. His social media is full of blood libel.

-had to miss my finals as I could not physically get to them due to the protests

-followed and harassed in stores

-synagogue was vandalized multiple times

-called a kike while things were thrown at me

-protestors stood outside of my apartment patio with final solution signs

-new apartment, away from campus: friends of roommates harassed me constantly, to the point I could not use common spaces. Roommates told me that's his right because it's his "political view." He didn't even live there.

-new roommate moved in, less than 48 hours before she attempts to stab me, after learning I eat kosher style. "...kosher? kosher?! FUCK YOU" stab stab, etc. Bitch that was my good knife.

-the other roommates tell me to gtfo of the home I'm renting, keeping my rent ("you people can afford to lose money") and destroy a good portion of my belongings while cursing to me random nonsense about Israel. The police took 25 minutes to get there. We live in the middle of the city.

-fun fact: I had never mentioned my political stance to these people and it's not on my face-out social media (very bare bones profiles)

-been disbelieved by everyone I told this to including the police, my school, the leasing company, and my now ex best friend of 7 years

-cursed at in a store when I asked if there was a kosher section

-told nobody likes Jews because we bring down the vibe and have a victim complex. My knuckles are healing just fine after that, btw, thank you for asking! She is not.

I don't know how to request the 7th off from my school without basically incriminating myself with a threat of violence. There is no world where I just sit there when a classmate says "happy October 7th."

Hope this helps.

[diobrando]

this bitch is so flakey man it’s getting on my nerves

[still-searching-for-something]

I don't think I can say this with enough emphasis--if you are not Jewish, you don't get to decide what is and is not antisemitic.

There's no ambiguity here. Zero. I am sick and tired of being lectured at by goyim about how, 'oh, ackhtually, your explanation of how my words are antisemitic is off! You're trying to stop the discussion by being inflammatory!'

Or to be told that I am cheapening the term antisemitism, and that people used to react to it before October 7th, but now they're numb to it, which is just what happens you start using serious accusations for political means!

It's... genuinely astonishing to me. I'm consistently amazed by the arrogance, audacity, and disrespect it takes for you guys to lecture Jews on what antisemitism is.

Have any of you goyim experienced antisemitism firsthand? Is it your people who's experienced antisemitism for 3000 years? Is it you who has family members rescued by Schindler? Was it your ancestors who fled from constant, unending pogroms in with nothing but the clothes on their backs? Have you ever had someone tell lies to your friend about you sexually harassing people because you're a Jew? Have you ever had to sit and think whether you should mark down that you're Jewish on a job application? Have you ever felt unsafe and compelled to take off your Star of David because you've been afraid you'd be attacked? Have you ever had to worry about a professor who constantly brings up the war in class marking your assignment down because it talks about Israel being a democracy? Have you ever had the feeling of acid being splashed on your soul when you see antisemitic comments? The ice water rushing down your spine when someone is antisemitic to your face, and you feel the weight of 3 millennia of oppression bearing down on you?

No? Not you?

Then sit your ass down, and frankly, shut the fuck up.

[secretjeon]

Could you write something for SebastianxF!reader? Maybe later in their 7th year with Sebastian being jealous of all the boys interested in you. Him figuring out his feelings for you and maybe some kissing at the end 😳

ONLY YOU; SEBASTIAN SALLOW

pairing: sebastian sallow x f!reader

warnings: teeny tiny bit of angst if you squint, some arguing, jealousy, very quick slight suggestiveness, reader is seriously so desired by everyone its not even funny, fluff!!! not proofread!

word count: 1k+

a/n: first time writing for sebastian but it was so much fun im so excited!! for anyone who might want to request I write fluff, angst and smut so there's not really any limits. i don’t know how to write dialogue as a british person in the 1800s, so take it easy on me, but i hope u like it!! 🤍

comments/reblogs/likes are appreciateddd

He didn't know why he was so upset at the sight before him. You were currently sitting in your Defence Against the Dark Arts class, waiting for the professor to begin.

It wasn't just you at your table. There were also two boys, whose names you can't remember. They were both bragging about different things to you, one about Quidditch, the other about his amazing skills in Herbology.

It was a painful sight to watch, seeing as Sebastian was sat at the table just behind you. From where he was, he could very obviously tell they were trying to flirt with you. It bothered him deeply, why would these guys ever think they had a chance with you?

Smart, beautiful, perfect you. Things he all believed. Of course, he didn't think anything of it. Why wouldn't he acknowledge how beautiful you were? That was just simple human nature. But that didn't stop him from wondering why he was so bothered by the guys flirting with you.

He hated the thought of them doing anything with you. Talking with you, kissing you, touching you. The thought made his blood boil.

This wasn't the first time this had happened. Sebastian can recall the many times your chats were interrupted by another guy trying to take you on a date. Of course, you said no each time, but it wasn't any less annoying to him. He'd learned to refrain from rolling his eyes at this point, but still silently cursed the lads in his head.

"Alright, everyone! Take a seat." Professor Hecat spoke, allowing the two boys at your table to sit at their respective seats.

"Today, we are going to be doing something a little different. I want you to each partner up with someone, and then I will be explaining the rest." You immediately got up, about to go towards Sebastian when another boy got in your way, Liam, if you can remember correctly.

"Hey, Y/N, wanna partner up?" Sebastian couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes this time. You paused for a moment, trying to find a way to politely reject the boy.

"Erm, sorry... Liam, right? I'm afraid I've already partnered up with Sebastian." The brunette boy lit up at your words, suddenly feeling confident and looking at Liam with a smug face.

The other boy nodded with a tight lip smile, before leaving, defeated. You sat down next to Sebastian, who now had a bright smile on his face. "What are you all smiley about?" You teased.

"Nothing, let's listen for Professor Hecat's instructions, yeah?" Both you and him brushed it off, spending the rest of the class chatting up a storm and doing the assignment.

___

A few days have passed, and it just so happened to be Valentine's Day. You and Sebastian had gone to The Three Broomsticks to drink a butter beer together, as your own 'Galentine's Day', though you weren't sure if you could call it that because Sebastian wasn't a girl, but you were both single so the concept was the same.

You were sipping on your drink, enjoying each other's company when you see a guy who you recognize from your Charms class, someone whose tried to ask you out before, approach you.

"Y/N? It's Patrick, from Charms? I was wondering if maybe you'd wanna get a drink with me." This visibly angered Sebastian, his grip on his glass tightening, knuckles turning white. Before you could speak, Sebastian decided to tell Patrick a few words of his own.

"Don't you see that she's busy with me right now? And I don't know if it's clicked in that noggin of yours, but have you ever considered that maybe she's just not into you?" His voice was slightly raising at this point, but you couldn't help but find it attractive.

Patrick's eyes widened a little before backing up, muttering an apology and walking away. You turned to face Sebastian. "Why did you do that? You didn't even let me get a word in."

"Oh, please, Y/N, didn't you see how he was looking at you? It's like you were a chocolate frog and he was ready to eat you! Trust me, he's not the right guy for you." You quirked an eyebrow at his statement.

"Then who is?" You watched as he hesitated for a moment, before taking a sigh as if to prepare himself, and looked you in the eyes.

"I am," You stared at him in shock, not knowing what to say at the sudden confession.

"Y/N, I'm not sure why I didn't come to this realization sooner, but I've fallen for you. Deeply. I mean, we've gone through everything together, and you're just so perfect. You're truly one of the most amazing people I've ever known, and I've never felt this way about anyone be-"

You cut him off by leaning forward and capturing his lips with your own, catching him off guard. He's thrown off at first, but quickly matches your rhythm with his own, your lips fitting together like puzzle pieces, sparks flying everywhere in the room.

The kiss is everything and more. With his mouth still on yours, he grabs your chair, pulling you in closer, before moving his hands to you, one on your face, holding your cheek, the other holding your hand.

You both break apart, breathless with stupid smiles on your faces. "I've been waiting forever for you to say that." You grab his hand with both of yours.

If it was possible, his smile got even wider at your words. "You have?" You nodded, figuring it was time to confess.

"You've given me absolute butterflies since the moment I met you, Sebastian. I had all but hoped that you felt the same way. Why do you think I've always rejected the guys that flirted with me?

It's because it's you. It's only been you." You lean in for another kiss before Sebastian suggests a real date, perfectly fitting the day. The two of you leave The Three Broomsticks, feeling happier than ever before.

[gh0stsp1d3r]

As long as she likes it

Summary: it’s your daughter’s 7th birthday tomorrow, and Rafe is assigned with the task of picking up her gifts. He gets some extra gifts as well.

“Hey, baby, missed you today.” You called when you entered the house, he peeked out from the corner and greeted you with a kiss.

“So, did you ever go get her gifts?” You asked him, putting your keys up and taking off your shoes.

“Yeah. I picked up the ones you asked me to, but… i picked out some of my own.” He had a smirk on his face.

You furrowed your eyebrows as you sat on the couch.

“Lemme show you.” He said, dissapearing into the room and coming back out moments later with multiple bags in his hands.

“Rafe! She is 6, what would she need from fuckin’… Dior or Ralph Lauren?!” You asked him, rummaging through the bags. He had a proud smile on his face.

“7.” He corrected.

“How much did it all cost?” You asked him finally.

“Not important how much.” He said with a shrug.

“Rafe. Joseph. Cameron. How much?”

He swallowed. You never used his full name.

“Like… for all of it?”

“Yes!”

“Three thousand…”

Your jaw dropped. “Jesus… THREE THOUSAND? On a six year old?!”

“What? I spent 10 on your birthday.”

“Yeah, and I yelled at you for it!”

“It’s fine. Nothing I can’t get back.” He shrugged, a smile on his face still, giving you another kiss. “As long as she likes it…” he shrugged.

You sighed, shaking your head to yourself. “You’re gonna kill me one day.”

[writeonwhiskey]

the skz house: ch 14 (18+)

a/n: thank you as always to @bahablastplz for editing. thank you, thank you, thank you for your continued reading & support of this fic!

Summary: Welcome to Sigma Kappa Zeta, the most popular fraternity on campus. When you, down on your luck and looking for a place to live, see their ad for ‘IN-HOUSE STAY’. You're one of the four girls chosen and find that your duties for the rest of the school year will be cooking, cleaning, and pleasing your assigned house members: Hyunjin & Chan.

[ read chapter thirteen here ]

Chapter Fourteen: Of Surprises and Closets

Friday, November 10th

Apparently, the boys’ allowance is $3,000 a month. You and the other girls were fucking floored when Jeongin lost and the total in the pot shot up such a significant amount. You had never contemplated just how wealthy the boys, or their families, might be until then. Yes, the house you’re all living in is huge, but most fraternities and sororities have large homes for their members to live in. Perhaps the four Tesla’s in the driveway should have given an indication…or the way Chan handed over that credit card with no hesitation the day you moved in or anytime someone needed to go grocery shopping.

Their lifestyles are funded by much higher powers, they needn’t worry about the grocery bill. You can’t imagine being given $3,000 a month to use as you see fit. Your parents send you just enough to cover your ‘rent’ and keep your basic needs met—and it’s not even half of what the boys receive. It makes you wonder what type of businesses their fathers run and what’s in store for them after they graduate. It also makes you realize that Hyunjin can suck it. You don’t need to feel bad about making him or Chan lose. No wonder they have made this a tradition with such high stakes. It’s simply because they can.  

Phase One, as you have begun to call it, with Chan is already underway. He’s not exactly an open book after just a few days of casual conversation, however he is at least sharing small inconsequential details about his life with you. Such as the name of his siblings, his favorite color, and that he performed a Bruno Mars song for his 7th grade talent show. Yes, there’s footage, fuck no you can’t see it (his words). But it’s something.

It crosses your mind, though, that he could be entertaining your prying questions and showing an interest in you because he believes it will keep you at bay. You have to remember he’s playing this game too. Maybe his angle is to weaken your resolve by showing some semblance of kindness. To keep you from trying to make him lose, because when he’s being cordial and engaging with you…why would you want to ruin that?

You have no way of knowing if it’s true, of course. That doesn’t stop the thought of it from leaving a bad taste in your mouth. If that is the case, if he’s only letting you in temporarily and plans to shut you out again in December, you honestly don’t know how you will react.

You turn your focus to Hyunjin lying in bed next to you, still fast asleep. He has class this afternoon and while you don’t wish to wake him…there are goals to be achieved.  

You slowly inch closer to him, careful not to make big movements that might wake him. Possibly unnecessary antics because the boy could sleep through an earthquake. You drape one leg across both of his and place your hand on his stomach. You rest your head on his chest, feeling the light thump of his heart against your check.

When you’re sure he’s still asleep, you slide your hand along his bare stomach, rubbing it gently from side to side while consistently moving down lower and lower until you reach his boxers. You keep up the side-to-side motion of your hand, hooking your thumb into the waistband as you do. The rise and fall of his chest remain steady, encouraging you to slip your hand beneath the fabric. You lower your hand further until you feel his warm cock against you.

His heartbeat quickens and you feel him lift his head up and wish you could see the look on his face, but you can’t look at him yet.

“Mmmph,” he grunts, halfheartedly swatting your hand as his head falls back against the pillows.  

You cup his cock, causing him to let out a frustrated, or possibly annoyed, groan. It twitches against your hand as you gently squeeze it, betraying his half-assed objections by responding to your touch.  

“Y/n,” he says sleepily.

You continue to ignore him, choosing instead to lightly run your fingers up and down his growing length.

“This isn’t fair.”

You finally lift your head to look up at him with innocent, blinking eyes, your chin resting on his chest. You grip his cock in your hand and start stroking up and down. You can feel him harden with each movement. He draws in a long, quiet breath. His hips start to rock as you stroke. He’s enjoying it—he doesn’t really want you to stop either.

It may not be fair, but this isn’t breaking the rules. The girls can touch, just not to completion. And you can’t put your mouth on it unless he asks you to—which will result in him losing. This is a very good predicament to have him in.

You sit up, propping yourself on your elbow to position your face closer to his. You remove your hand from his boxers and bring it to your mouth to spit in.

“Y/n,” he says again. His eyes watch your hand as it returns to his cock.  

You lean forward to kiss his neck, licking with your tongue, nipping with your teeth as you make your way up to his jaw.

“Y/n,” he says again, lifting his arm to tightly grip your shoulder.

“Yes?” You finally respond, a smile seeping through your tone. You continue laying kisses on his cheek, still stroking him.

“Stop,” he says firmly.

You lean your head back and pout at him, halting your hand movements without fully releasing him.

“You want me to lose?” He asks.

“You don’t want me to win?” You counter.

“Hm.” He seems to consider it for a moment. “Touchè.”

“Are we stuck in a stalemate, then?” You say, removing your hand from his cock and boxers completely. Before he can even breathe a sigh of relief, though, you sit up and straddle his waist, making sure his cock is pressed right against your center. You roll your hips against him for good measure as you speak, “You don’t miss fucking me?”

He groans, hands flying to your waist to keep you in place.

“Don’t say that.”

“Say what? That you don’t miss fucking me?” You say with a smirk, sliding your hands up his chest. “You must not. And I thought we had something special.”

He grabs a pillow and holds it over his face.

“Is it easier to lose if you don’t watch?” You ask.  

Him grabbing the pillow has released your waist and you’re free to grind against him again. You trace patterns on his chest lightly with your nails, wanting to overstimulate him with sensations.

“November is my least favorite month of the year.” He announces, voice muffled by the pillow.

“Maybe I can help make it your favorite?” You grab the pillow covering his face, pulling on it until he releases it.  He’s staring up at you with pleading brown eyes.

You toss the pillow aside and then reach for the straps of the tank top you’re wearing. You slowly pull them both down, exposing your breasts little by little.

“No, no, no,” Hyunjin whines.

You take his hand in yours, bringing it up towards your breast. He resists.

The boys are not supposed to touch like this.

“We could just get it over with and then we don’t have to worry about the rest of the month,” you try to sway him, tugging on his wrist again. “Don’t you miss how soft they feel in your hands?

He sucks his bottom lip into his mouth, biting down on it. He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to pull his hands back with not even half the strength you know he can muster.

“I can’t lose this soon. Don’t do that to me, y/n.”

Still holding on to his wrist, you lower his hand down to your pajama shorts.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m not sure.” He replies, snapping his eyes open.

You roll your eyes and release his wrist. He doesn’t move his hand from where it’s resting against your shorts, though.  

“What if we don’t tell anyone?” You ask, putting your hands behind you on the bed, leaning back and spreading your legs further apart. You roll your entire body against him.  

“You promise?” He asks.

Oh, how you wish he hadn’t said that. Even if this is just a stupid game, you don’t want to break a promise you make to Hyunjin. Not when he’s been so good to you. You hesitate in responding for a moment too long.

“I’m gonna take a cold shower.” He moves his hands to your hips and guides you off him. He rolls out of bed and stretches as he stands. “I’ll add $100 to the pot after.”

He tosses a wink at you, and you smile.

It was worth a shot.

You check the time and realize you have to meet with the girls this afternoon, anyways. Rhiannon’s birthday is coming up and the four of you have been plotting a certain member’s downfall for the last couple days surrounding the event.   

Monday, November 13th

It’s nearly halfway through the month. There’s a total of $6,800 in the pot. Jeongin was the first to add his full allowance, followed by Felix. Han, Hyunjin, and Lee Know are also on the board now.  Only Seungmin and Chan have fully resisted up to this point.

It’s Rhiannon’s birthday today. She’s due back to the house with Seungmin any minute. You and the other girls convinced him to spend the afternoon with her and keep her away from the house for a ‘surprise’ party, but she’s fully aware of what’s happening. She has a plan of her own while they’re out of the house.

Everyone else, except you and Chan, are waiting in the basement for her to arrive.

“Anything else that needs to be taken down?” Chan asks from behind you in the kitchen.

“Just grab the bags of chips and pretzels,” you tell him, holding her cake carefully with both hands.

He grabs the bags from the counter then follows behind you towards the basement. You both stop in your tracks when the garage door opens and the sound of a bickering Seungmin and Rhiannon travels down the hallway.

“I don’t think it counts,” Seungmin is saying.

You turn your head to peak over your shoulder at Chan, unsure of what to do next. You start to take another step towards the basement, thinking if you move fast enough you can head back down before they spot you. But Chan hooks a finger in the loop of your jeans with one hand and uses the other to open the jacket closet door to your left. He nudges you inside, then steps in right behind you and tries to close the door as softly as possible.

You’re immediately enveloped in darkness when the door fully shuts.

“That’s cheating, Seungmin. You’re being weird about it. Are you ashamed?” Rhiannon says haughtily.

You and Chan are frozen still, the cake the only thing keeping you apart as they come down the hallway, voices growing louder.

“No, but—”

“But nothing. You refused to bring me home for whatever reason, said you wanted to fuck me in the car—and you did—and now you don’t want to come clean to everyone?”

You look down to hide your smile. It worked. Like she said, Seungmin had to think it was his idea.

Your eyes focus on the cake, and you see it’s in danger of being squished between the two of you.

“The cake,” you say softly.

Chan moves to help you with it, but the crinkling of the chip bags in his hands stops him. He abruptly stops all movement, and you giggle quietly.

“Shhh,” he shushes you, but being this close you can feel the laughter rumbling within him. He slowly squats and places the bags on the floor, careful not to make a sound. When he stands his hands cover yours beneath the cake causing an instant wave of heat to course through your body.

It’s been almost two weeks since he’s even remotely touched you. And you could be crazy, but it feels like he caresses the back of your hand. Twice.

His phone buzzes in his pocket. One hand leaves yours to retrieve it. He reads over the notification.

“Felix is telling Seungmin to stall her for ten minutes while they fix her…balloon arch…thing,” Chan whispers.

“Tel them we’re trapped in the closet,” you reply.

“Sure thing, R. Kelly,” he mumbles with a low chuckle before typing back a reply.

He takes the cake from you and reaches over your head to place it on the shelf above you.

Someone walks by the closet and you both still.

“Rhi,” you hear the familiar voice of Changbin call out.

“I’ll be in the basement,” Seungmin says, sounding extremely annoyed, as he passes the door you’re hiding behind.

You don’t know what kind of diversion this is; it was not planned by the four for you.

“Can you make me a sandwich?” Changbin asks, his voice moving towards the kitchen.

You silently slap your forehead. Of course Changbin would ask that. Have her catering to him on her birthday.

Chan’s phone buzzes again and he checks it.

“We’ll have to wait a few minutes before we can leave,” he says.

Being in this closet with him was not part of today’s plan either…but it’s an opportunity, nonetheless.

You become painfully aware of how close you are in this confined space and of how long it’s been since he’s really touched you. As much as he has opened up to you, it seems everything physical between you has gotten further away.

You take a step closer to him, occupying the small space the cake was just in. Your nose is practically rubbing the space between his collar bones. He doesn’t move back. Not that there’s much room for him to. The scent of him fills your senses each time you inhale. It’s all you can focus on right now. How much you miss him. How much you want him.

You tilt your head up towards his, slowly pressing up on your tiptoes.

He doesn’t stop you.

Your puckered lips connect with his jaw, sliding along his jawline, moving towards his lips until you feel him stiffen.

“Chan,” you say quietly, your mouth still pressed against his skin. You don’t want to come on too strong and settle for a humorous approach. “Have you ever played Seven Minutes in Heaven?”

“Y/n,” his tone sounds like a warning.

“What? Kissing is allowed,” you reply innocently.

You’re fully taking advantage of the situation. He can’t leave this closet without ruining the ‘surprise’. He can’t object loudly. You can’t see the look on his face, but you bet he’s staring daggers at you. Maybe you’ll pay for this, but regret is for tomorrow.

You don’t wait for him to reply before placing your lips on his. As you do, you’re not even sure this has anything to do with the competition. All you know is that you have missed the feeling of being pressed against him, his soft lips on yours.

He holds still for a moment, but you don’t back down. You can’t. You have to take this step towards initiating contact if any of your other plans are going to work. You slip your tongue out to slide it across his bottom lip, seeking entrance.

“Please,” you whisper.

The moment his hands are on your hips feels like the ultimate win.  Sure, you’ll be disappointed if you don’t get him to fully cave before the month is over…but you’ll always have this moment.

You place your hands on his chest, pushing slightly until his back is against the wall. He pulls you against him as he parts his lips, allowing your tongue to enter his mouth. His hands slide from your hips to your lower back, down your ass, cupping it to press you further into him. You wish you both weren’t wearing jeans. You want to feel his cock grow against your skin.

Your kisses feel needy, as they always do, yet sweet at the same time. That’s new. It feels like he misses you, too, and that makes you want to squeal and cry. He has been so determined to steer clear of touching you in any capacity that you assumed this challenge was no big deal for him. Maybe you’re wrong.

When Chan pushes himself away from the wall, you’re afraid he’s going to tell you to cut the shit and stay off him. Instead, he picks you up and takes two small steps towards the opposite wall so your back rests against it. He hooks one arm around your waist and the other finds its place at your throat.

You moan as he sucks your bottom lip into his mouth, arching your back to push yourself against him even more. You want to fully grind on him, to make his cock hard and have him fuck you right here in this closet. But that’s too risky for everything at stake. You still need him to think you have no interest in making him lose.

Right now, though, all you get are his lips quietly pressing against yours. And you’ll take it. You both kiss and nip and tease, all the while slowly rocking your hips into him, his hand remaining in its rightful place around your neck.

When his hand on your waist begins to roam, slipping beneath your shirt to caress your back, you begrudgingly pull your lips away from his. With his hand still on your neck, he uses his thumb to turn your head to the side and laces your neck with kisses.

“Chan,” you say softly, hating yourself for the words you’re about to say.

“Hmmm?” He hums, giving your neck a gentle squeeze of acknowledgement.

“I really don’t want to, but we should stop.”

“Kissing is allowed,” he repeats your earlier declaration.

“Yes, but…I don’t just want to kiss you,” you admit, pushing against his chest.

He lets out a sigh and places one last kiss on your neck before resting his head on your shoulder.

“Same.”

You blink. Swallow. Blink again.

He wants to do more than kiss you, too. He does miss your physical interactions. He puts up a good front, but this must be harder for him than he’s letting on. And you’re okay with that. You’ve gotten some kind of admission. You’ll lock it in a box and bury it deep. He will never get it back.

He lowers you back to the ground so you’re standing.

“19 days,” he whispers near your ear. “Until I can make you mine again.”

You clench your jaw and push back on his chest once more, creating some space between you in hopes that it will ease the throbbing between your legs. You want to tell him not to say things like, that it drives you wild. But you don’t. You like hearing him profess how much he wants you.

His phone buzzes again and you’re thankful for the interruption.

“The coast is clear,” he tells you, grabbing the cake from the shelf above you and handing it to you.

You hadn’t even heard Changbin and Rhiannon walk by the door again. Or maybe they went upstairs. Fuck…what was the plan again?

Rhiannon’s ‘surprise’ party is a success. She excitedly crosses out Seungmin’s name on the board as everyone (except Seungmin, of course) cheers at his demise. The four of you girls share a look, celebrating your successful plotting. Drinks are made, food is eaten, games are played, and by 11:30pm you’re ready to head to bed.  

You shower and change into your pajamas, and by the time you make it back to Chan’s room, he’s there, taking a shower himself. You tuck yourself into your blankets to wait for him, hoping to get in a late-night chat but you’ve been up since 7:00am so you start to doze off.

You don’t know how long passes, but you jerk awake when you feel your blankets being pulled off of you.

Chan is standing directly above you clad in nothing but his boxers, one knee on the bed.

“You okay?” You ask, furrowing your brow. Your heart feels like it’s going to beat its way out of your chest at the unexpected sight of him here like this.

His eyes meet yours and you feel like the wind has been knocked out of you. His gaze is soft…tender, almost. He says nothing as he hooks one hand under your shoulders and the other beneath your legs. With little effort he lifts you up and holds you to him as he carries you to his bed.

To. His. Bed.

You turn your head towards his chest and squeeze your eyes shut. Are you dreaming?

When he sets you down, you still have your eyes closed. You have to keep them this way. If you open them, you might wake up.

His footsteps retreat and you hear him flick the light switch off. He then comes back to the bed, slides in right next to you and pulls the comforter up over you both.

He doesn’t cuddle you; he doesn’t touch you. He doesn’t even say anything.

You’re not fazed by his silence or the small distance between you. This one simple action has said more than ever.

[ read chapter fifteen here ]

a/n: *hides*

taglist: @iflmho / @stayatinykatsy / @blackhairandbangs / @ayoitschannie / @idunnomanmynamewastaken / @charmer-c / @ihatemen55 / @channniesslefttt / @jiwoos-babygirl / @krayzieestay / @kayleefriedchicken / @sunnyhonie / @cotton-candycloud / @lubsungie / @conwunder / @puckmaidens / @ashleighland / @hyunjiinnnn / @bmnyy / @ihrtlix / @maqqiekwon / @teti-menchon0604 / @you-make-skz-stay / @zandra-42 / @seungminindabuilding / @slytherinatheart / @loveuwoo / @hyunjinhoexxx / @chartrucewhore / @torothecatt / @fun-fanfics / @yaorzu-blog /@yjeonginlvr / @tenshimara / @a-person-with-void / @ilovetheworldilivein / @dhillomilo / @skzfelixlove / @luvvvash / @blondechannie / @sailor--sun / @stephanieeeyang / @msauthor / @grlcbrd / @minnieprincess85 / @tiny-skidz

[cakelitter]

Between Me and You Major Leon x Fem Reader !one shot!

summary: Leon catches feelings for new apprentice

content: slight NSFW, mentions of masturbation, age gap, reader is 22, death island Leon

words: 2.2k

a/n: longest one I've written so far, don't really plan on it being a series but we'll see. Not my proudest work though.

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It’s October 7th, one of the many days that Leon dreads. Why? Cause a new batch of trainees come waltzing through the doors of the DSO after applying to be here. Why is that such a big deal? Cause he was assigned to be their major, their coach, their superior, whatever you want to call it. You can write that title in a cursive font in pink and decorate it with pretty bows and pearls and he’d still fucking hate it.

Seeing these eager young men and women willingly sign themselves up to work in this field is practically suicide. Most of them walk in here wanting to be a cool agent the way they are portrayed in shows and movies, you know blowing shit up, saving the day and picking up a hot new chick on the way. Bullshit.

The process of becoming an agent is usually the training period which takes about 12 to 15 months, then when the trainee is ready they get sent to sign the DSO contract as the final step of the way. Reality is, the minute that contract is signed and you are assigned your first mission, is the minute that most trainees realize what they signed up for. Pain, suffering, and restless nights are all part of the job. Most rookie agents regret going down this path but by then it would be too late to turn back, not like that’s an option.

Every year it’s the same song and dance, he argues with the higher-ups over this position the same way he did 6 years ago, and of course he never succeeded at winning those battles. “The DSO’s Golden Boy” more like their bitch, his only way of escaping this hell is to reach the age of retirement, or maybe they’ll keep slaving his old ass till his heart eventually gives out only to be replaced by someone else 20 minutes later.

The sound of his boot’s echoes through the hallway as he makes his way to the gym where this year’s victims await. His hand holds the folders of trainees for this year which he never bothered to look through beforehand, why ruin the surprise? The door opens and he is greeted by a sight he’s seen too many times, trainees standing in a straight line waiting for him. He takes a deep breath and walks in.

“Sorry for being late, had a few things to take care of”

The tension in the room only seems to increase as he starts making his way to the first person in line while opening the folders. He checks the name enlisted then looks at the face of the person in front him, studying their face and body language before making mental assumptions of whether this person has it in them to make it to the finish line, a game he likes to play to make things more fun, for him at least, and so far each year he always guessed it right.

Everything is going the way it normally does, nothing out of the ordinary till he reaches the last person in line. A girl’s name, interesting hadn’t had a female trainee in a while, that’s a way to spice things up for this year. He looks up from his folder to your face.

You poor thing.

Puppy eyes looking up at him is an understatement, how could such a sweet thing as you end up here? You’re pretty, a little too pretty actually. Shoulders tensed, hands fidgety, lips practically trembling, this process must feel so scary for you. The light coming from the nearby window alluding your soft features, you just might be the most angelic thing he’s ever seen and you’re expected to kill bioweapons? Your lips look so- he’s staring. Fuck.

Your tense expression turns into a confused one as he studies your features before snapping back from whatever planet he was on and walks away to stand where he could be seen by everyone before beginning to give them the same speech he gave to hundreds before them.

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Two months have passed since then and he would be a liar if he said you weren’t the one catching his eye the most. He assumed your elimination would be easy, l mean look at you, you look like you don’t have it in you to kill a fly. But he fell for the oldest rick in the book and did the biggest mistake of underestimating his opponent, you managed to pass your first monthly evaluation with flying colors, and still doing great so far. Sure, you have some weak points, but you excel in knife skills and defenses.

He watches the way you behave, your expressions, movements, your habits, you’ve become more of a lab rat to him to analyze, a cute rat at that though, maybe a guinea pig. What the fuck is he even talking about.

Albeit he spent the past two months studying you, you still manage to make moves leaving him perplexed on how you even managed to think about that. It’s like you have a trick up your sleeves each time that he genuinely can’t predict. You manage to take on men twice your size and come out unscathed, then without fail, after each match you win, you give him that stupid smile which is full of pride and that screams  “Did you see that!”

You’re so desperate for his approval it’s adorable, the way your face lights up when he compliments your strategy and technique, the way you memorized and learned some of his signature moves and incorporated it into your work, and the way you take note of his comments and work on improving your self instead of throwing a tantrum like the rest.

Ok fine maybe, perhaps, possibly he has favorites, but someone like you surely deserves the special treatment. So what if you did a mistake that could’ve gotten your entire team killed? So what if you were 15 minutes late a couple of times? Would he have lost his shit of someone else did that? No doubt, but it’s you so it’s fine.

He knew that he had a problem when once you were going up against one of your fellow trainees and they ended up going too far and hurting you, he almost kicked him out of the program on the spot. The injury wasn’t severe, a cut on your thigh, nothing a few bandages couldn’t fix, a wound that he decided to treat himself when there is a whole infirmary upstairs...

“Does it hurt?”

“Squeeze my hand if it burns too bad”

“It’s okay, you’re okay”

Is all he can remember whispering to you, as tears brimmed in your eyes from the burning sensation of the alcohol making contact with the open wound. Afterwards you were limping like a kicked puppy for a couple of days. Maybe if he kissed it better it would’ve healed faster? Get a grip Kennedy.

Once you had a knife move you were struggling with so he offered to spend a few hours extra to help you with it. He demonstrated the way it’s done but you still got it wrong, so he walked behind you grabbing your hand which in turn was holding the knife. His back was pressed against yours as he bent down a bit to reach your level making his mouth dangerously close to your ear. The calloused skin on his hand was juxtaposing the soft one on yours while the scent of your shampoo filled his nostrils, his voice was husky as he spoke softly to you as if you were made out of glass.

“You need to do it more swiftly, no need to be so stiff with it.”

You nodded eagerly, as he guided your hands once more. In the past 6 years of training, he has never even once spoke this sweetly to one of his apprentices before, hell he never even offered spending extra time after his shift to help them.

“Got it?”

“Yes, major.”

Yeah, he jerked off after that. Felt extremely guilty afterwards, he could hear Claire’s voice calling him a creepy old man, a crib robber, disgusting, the list goes on, before chopping his dick off. Like there is only a 16 year old age gap it could be worse… That’s a sentence he never thought he would say.

He sat on his couch staring blankly, you’re giving him a mid-life crisis without even knowing it. And so he made the decision of pushing you away, that means no longer letting you get away with things by simply batting your eyelashes at him, no more giving you extra praise, no more giving you extra attention. And you know what, for the first 3 days he was doing great, treating you like the others and being the major he’s supposed to be from the beginning, cold and professional, just like the man that trained him. The look on your face when you flashed him your bright smile and he didn’t reciprocate like usual made him want to die right then and there, but it had to be done.

Everything was going according to plan…that was until he was in his office doing paperwork when you knocked on his door asking to speak. You walked in and sat on the chair in front of his desk as he watched you.

“Major, is everything okay?- Like did I do something wrong?”

He took in a deep breath and sighed, how is he supposed to tell you why he’s doing this?

‘No, I just have a massive crush on you at my prehistoric age’ this is getting ridiculous.

“No, why would you think that?” Playing dumb, a classic.

“Well ,I don’t know, you just seem like you’re upset with me. Is my performance lacking?

God, you’re dense, totally clueless on what’s going on, either that or you’re also playing dumb and now you’re both clowns in this circus, except this circus sucks and it’s also on fire.

“No no, you’re performance is fine I just uh-“

You tilt you head to the side raising your brows a bit.

“I’ve just been having a couple of rough days is all, you can go back now.”

You nod and smile before thanking him, he nods back and smiles slightly and just like that you leave. Great job Leon, congrats on coming up with the worst lie in history and sending your self back to square one. He doubts that he even thinks anymore when he’s around you, maybe he should get put down, that way hopefully in his next life he can fall in love with someone his age, have a kid or two, and work a normal nine to five job.

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A couple months have passed since that day, and his feelings for you are still going strong. You had him on his knees every night praying- no, begging god for the ability to simply move on, when the last time he stepped into a church was back in high school. Do you have that effect on every person that has ever liked you or is it just him that’s losing his moral compass?

He’s now sitting in a meeting room with the higher-ups as they discuss the status of the trainees so far. Being completely honest, he isn’t even registering a word they are saying till he suddenly heard your name being said and that was enough to draw his attention. They are now discussing you.

“We’ve been looking recently at her performance and she’s doing great. Isn’t that right Mr. Kennedy?”

“You can say that yes, but there is still some improvement to be done in some departments”

“Well, her skills are certainly developing very quickly considering the short period she’s been here. We’re considering giving her another week or so before considering her ready. Some other organizations have also seen her files and performance and are actually requesting her to transf-“

“She’s not ready”

His voice interrupts one of the higher-ups. Transfer? Leaving the program? A week? He won’t see you anymore?

“Training period should be a minimum of a year and she’s only been here for six months. I-”

“That’s not up for debate Mr.Kennedy. We already made our decision.”

You’re more than ready, he knows that. He simply just doesn’t want to accept the fact that you’re gonna be gone soon. You’ve just recently started getting closer to each other, spending some time alone practicing together, you’ve gotten so good at combat you’re almost as good as him. He even starting telling you some of his stupid jokes.  And now you’re leaving? He’s been so distracted with what he was feeling and forgot about how your time together is limited, that one day you’re going to leave to do what you always planned on doing. He’s in too deep and doubts that he’d be able to move on easily, but at the same time he can’t just confess.

The more he thinks about it the more he realizes how much this situation is a lose-lose no matter what, he can either, never tell you and watch you walk out that door, or he could tell you and have you be absolutely disgusted with him and then walk out that door. Unless… no, no way.

He lets these thoughts marinate in his head as he decides his next move. And a few days later, he decides to bite the bullet and tell you. He’d never forgive himself if he found out later on that he had a chance but lost it. And so as you were walking down the hallway you hear a familiar masculine voice call out to you.

“My office, we need to talk”

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[medusas-daughter]

Okay we need to talk about May December

Joe's slow descent into depression and existential crisis and how he seemed to be frozen at 13,how his teenage son seemed to have more emotional maturity than him and how most of his life revolves around Grace's needs

Elizabeth slowly acting more and more like Grace from the mannerisms to the clothes to the voice and accent and even the lisp without making it seem like a caricature at all

The way Elizabeth seems like a voyeur in this story. How she acknowledges how fucked up the story is and the victimhood of Joe and yet still asks the producer to cast a "sexier" actor to play 13 year old Joe

Every time Grace mentions a "romantic" moment between her and Joe and then she deadass brings out a school assignment he did in 7th grade that was chilling I was just frozen looking at Joe's love letter to Grace is written in a gel pen in a child's handwriting

Every time Grace tells a "funny" story from her childhood and it's literally as traumatizing as it gets

Every time Grace interacts with her daughters and you literally see the cycle of trauma perpetuating

Every time Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore share a mirror I get literal goosebumps

When Joe says "this isn't a story it's my life" I immediately thought of My Dark Vanessa, when she tells her therapist "I need it to be a love story" and her therapist asks her "if it isn't a love story then what is it?" and she answers "it's my life"

Grace's gaslighting when Joe tries to bring up their first time

That butterfly leaving it cocoon right after the first time Joe confronts Grace about their first time

[kbandtrash]

Less Than Three (Hongjoong x Reader)

~Rachel~

@sorryimananti-romantic hahaha remember how I said I was the slowest writer ever? Apparently that's not true because it only took me a month and a half to write this. I need help

Content: fluff, a whole lot of delusional one-sided pining (the cute kind though) (from him), silly middle school antics from both teachers and students, betting, friends to lovers

Summary: Kim Hongjoong teaches middle school math and finds himself absolutely smitten with you, the math department's newest hire. You're the last person to find out.

Note: This is set in an American-style middle school because that's where my teaching experiences have been and I figured my best work would come out of the system I'm most familiar with

Word Count: 11.5k

Why did Hongjoong choose middle school?

He asks himself this question every day as well

If he wanted to be a math teacher, high school was clearly a better option

But no he had started out in a middle school, promising to take a high school position as soon as one opened up

And now he was actively avoiding high school principals that wanted to recruit him

Is it because he found out the math is easier to explain and the kids really aren’t that bad?

Yeah sure

But this year he had another reason to stay

See his math department had a position open up this summer and as he got to take part in interviews to select a new hire

He fell in love

Now that was not the whole reason he advocated to hire you

In fact your credentials as a math teacher

The places you had taught before

Your praxis exam scores

Your recommendation letters

The professional development programs you were a part of

Test scores from your previous classes

The way you understood math

And especially the way you believed that every student had the potential to pass your class

All of these made you the obvious choice and everyone else agreed

But he was struck several times with Cupid’s arrows throughout the interview and that absolutely did not hurt his opinion of you as a potential colleague

On this particular morning his excuse to talk to you before classes started for the day was a test for your 7th graders

Which they would be taking next Friday

Your feedback always ended up being valuable anyway so there was no need for this to be an “excuse” but it got to be one anyway

You were typing something up when he knocked on the open door to your classroom to announce his presence

You finished typing your sentence before you looked up, and when you saw Hongjoong leaning against the door frame with some papers in his hand, you greeted him with a smile and a wave

He wondered if it would look unprofessional if he grew out his hair to cover his ears

You looked gorgeous today (every day) and he knew there was no stopping his ears from turning bright red

“I have the unit tests for 7th,” he said, stealing a chair from a desk to sit backwards on while he talked to you

“Oh good!” you replied. “I’ll take a look at those and get them back to you by lunch”

Buy lunch he thought

That sounded like an excellent idea

He should buy you lunch

He didn’t say that though

“Works for me. How was your weekend?”

And he stalled and stalled and stalled until the first bell rang and he had to get out to hall duty

At lunch he walked in again while you were putting in assignment scores and munching on some pretzel sticks

“I made a key for that new assignment we decided to add for 8th grade. Can you check answers if you get the time?”

His heart did a little flip as you covered your mouth with your hand while you finished chewing

How could you be so graceful and polite?

And your hands were so pretty wow

“Yes just as soon as I finish putting these in. And—” you turned your chair around and grabbed something from behind you— “here are the 7th tests from this morning. I added a couple notes on the integer operations review questions, but other than that, I think they’re great”

He unfortunately did need to go and eat his own lunch and fulfill other teacherly lunchtime duties so he couldn’t stall as much as this morning

But he read your notes on the way back to his classroom

And boy he could have lived in your handwriting

The pen that you used was the perfect instrument to capture every letter, every dot, every loop in a way that encapsulated your personality

And as soon as he caught himself thinking that he knew he needed to ask the home ec teacher to smack him over the head with a frying pan because wowie

He would need professional help in order to date you like a normal person at this point

Anyway he was practically skipping back after lunch because he came up with another question to ask you

There were students there so instead of using your first name he caught your attention by calling you Miss (L/N)

Which for some reason gives him more butterflies than calling you normally

This time luckily instead of giving you a new task it was a task he could do for you

“How many copies of the activity page should I put you down for?”

“Ooh good question”

You put your finger over your lips as you counted on your other hand and he had to actively look away and think about other things

There were students present after all

“Which classes are you doing it with?” you ended up asking

He used the opportunity to set a hand down on your desk and lean forward in a cool pose

“I’m making the eighth graders do it but it’s extra credit for the seventh”

“That sounds like a good plan to me. So sixty for the eighth graders and then how many do you think I would need if it’s optional?”

Oh boy he loved it when you asked for advice

It gave him the chance to look cool and smart and he always got to play it off as the humble senior teacher

“I do half just to be safe. Plus then you have extra if you want to do it again later in the year or even next year”

And then your face did that thing it did when you liked a suggestion he gave

Your face lit up with your eyebrows raised and your mouth in a little “ooh”

There were students around there were students around

“Okay then sixty for the eighth graders and forty-five for seventh. A hundred and five?”

He scribbled the number down on the copy request form

“Excellent. I’ll run this down then”

He gave you a smile and a wave as he went to attend to his own class

Which you returned

And he was sure his heart would never physically recover from the stress it was under this year

You didn’t need to know that you were the only other teacher he was sharing this particular activity page with

He would give it to the other teachers if they asked him for it but he wasn’t going to go out of his way for this one because it was kind of silly and short

But he would do anything to make your first year at a new school just a little bit easier

Back in his classroom he tried to get class started when one of his eighth graders had the audacity to raise his hand and say the following:

“You just walked back from Miss (L/N)’s class huh?”

Mr. Kim squinted suspiciously at the student

“Yeah…why”

“You’re way nicer when you go to her class before our class starts”

Before he had any time to figure out what that meant, the class exploded in giggles and shouts of agreement

“Yeah you smile a lot more this year than you did last year” a girl who had had his class the previous year as well agreed

And then from the back corner

One of the notorious trouble makers stood up

Pointed his finger up at poor Mr. Kim, who was now considering taking a high school position again

And shouted “Mr. Kim has a crush on Miss (L/N)!!!”

There was no longer any hope for this class

Exponent rules? Down the drain

Hongjoong was now a laughingstock

Irredeemable in front of a bunch of 13-14 year olds

So he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, lips pursed, and his eyes dangerously blank

It wasn’t long before kids started shushing each other

Even once they were quiet, he held their attention for a second longer

“If you have two to the fourth times two to the third, what’s the product?” he asked clearly, writing the problem on the whiteboard in new black marker

Not addressing the issue would not stem the tide of curious teenagers for long but it would have to be a band-aid solution until he figured out how to do this properly

Because he couldn’t allow rumors to spread that he liked you because firstly unprofessional and secondly what if you heard them and thought he was weird

But he couldn’t lie and allow rumors to spread that he definitely didn’t have a crush on you because firstly. unprofessional kids don’t need to know about that stuff

Like they think they’re all mature and old enough to date when they can’t even drive yet like can you imagine as a teenager asking your mom to drive you to your date with your girlfriend. Embarrassing

BUT SECONDLY

What if you heard the rumors and maybe you did like him back and it crushed your heart to hear that he didn’t like you

While the kids were working on their assignment and he was working on his computer he decided the best way to explain this to them

If they ever brought it up again

Was that they’re always in a better mood when they get to talk to their friends, right?

You’re a good friend and it’s fun working with you

The other math teachers are fun too but you’re close to his age so it makes sense that you would be closer

Yep

Good explanation Mr. Kim

Literally just one day later the kids bring it up again and they do not buy his explanation

They don’t even pretend to because their brains are not developed enough to have that kind of social tact

And the rumor doesn’t exactly spread like wildfire around the school but everyone knows about it you know what I mean

Except you actually

You’re usually very aware of everything going on in your classroom but somehow this particular subject escaped your attention

You learned early on that for some reason kids don’t have shame anymore in spilling their guts to the classroom about what they’re gossiping about

So the usual “if you can’t wait to tell your friend later then tell the whole class now” classroom management tactic is now useless

So you didn’t do that instead you just asked them which problem they’re helping their friend with and if they’re not helping their friend with math then they should get back on task

You didn’t think that any middle school level gossip could actually be that interesting anyway so yeah you had no idea that kids were shipping the teachers

And you didn’t want to know

So you stayed blissfully ignorant

While Hongjoong was lowkey agonizing over it

Now you and Hongjoong tend to eat lunch in your own classrooms rather than the staff lounge

Because why use up any more social energy than necessary right

But there is a vending machine in the staff room and Hongjoong was craving something sweet one day

And when he walked in the other teachers in there suddenly went awkwardly silent

And he knew

They were talking about him

Yeah he should take a high school position next year

Two of the younger teachers, Jung Wooyoung from the history department and Choi San from the phys ed department, broke the silence giggling to each other

“Sorry Hongjoong” San apologized “the kids are just hilarious these days. They’re so excited about you and (Y/N) it’s adorable”

Hongjoong gave them a look

“Adorable?”

“Well firstly you” Wooyoung pointed out “I never thought I’d see you fall head over heels but I totally get it. She’s super cool”

“And secondly the kids” San continued “any time you guys are talking in the hall I have all of the girls talking about it during warm ups. The boys all think of you as their role model when it comes to liking a girl”

“That reminds me!” Wooyoung interrupted “I actually did have a boy confess to a girl in my class the other day and you wanna know what he told her??”

Hongjoong’s eyebrows furrowed in a glare, absolutely sure that his reputation was never going to recover

“He said ‘I like you more than Mr. Kim likes Miss (L/N)’”

The teachers tried to tone down their laughter out of respect

Hongjoong wanted to leave immediately but this stupid vending machine was having issues

“And then you know what she said back?”

Wooyoung was having trouble holding himself together

His eyes were shining a little with tears of laughter

“She said ‘That’s impossible. No one can like anyone more than Mr. Kim likes Miss (L/N)’”

The other teachers could not hold it back anymore

The vending machine finally gave Hongjoong his candy bar

(Plus the extra one he bought for you)

So he made his way swiftly back towards the door

“Oh no no wait” Wooyoung called after him

“Tests to grade” Hongjoong lied simply

“No come on you have to hear this”

Hongjoong stopped at the door, fighting the urge to classroom manage his coworkers

He looked back both unimpressed and expectant at the same time

“Okay everyone raise your hands if you betted on before Christmas break” Wooyoung called out

Some of the teachers looked at him like he had just asked out a widow at her husband’s funeral

But they raised their hands sheepishly anyway

“Great yes and after Christmas break?”

The other half raised their hands, most of them looking like they wished that had eaten lunch in their own classrooms

“These are bets on when you’re going to ask her out” Wooyoung explained cheerfully

“Wasn’t someone also trying to get bets going on whether you would confess first or she would notice first?” San asked

“That was also me” Wooyoung said with a grin

The lounge door opened again and in walked the principal and one of the vice principals

Hongjoong thought this was finally the end to this stupid conversation

But no

“Oh Hongjoong!” the principal greeted him with a pat on the arm “I’ve got $50 on you dating before Christmas. Don’t let me down”

Waiting until the end of the school year to take a new position would simply not be soon enough

Hongjoong needed to find a new job or retire within the month

But then on the way back to his classroom he remembered he had an extra candy bar for you

So he made a detour

But what greeted him was a closed door with the window on the door covered

He hadn’t ever seen your door shut like this before so he wasn’t sure what it meant exactly

Maybe you went out to lunch today?

Then he could just nab one of your sticky notes and leave the candy bar on your desk with a positive message

He would rather give it to you himself, but the idea of you finding the candy bar on your desk later made his chest feel all warm and cozy so it was fine

Your door was unlocked, so he pulled it open just enough so he could see inside

And you were in there actually

Slumped in your desk chair with your head in your hands

Oh

Oh no

Hongjoong had been there before

Every teacher had been there before

The work of a teacher isn’t as easy as most people would like to believe

Especially for middle school, and even more so for math, it takes someone with unending patience and courage to help kids learn every day

And some days that patience and courage runs a little thinner than other days

Even experienced teachers wonder from time to time if it’s worth the soul that they give to their classes

The classes that seem sometimes not to notice one way or the other if you’re teaching or not

You hadn’t noticed that you weren’t quite alone anymore, so that left Hongjoong with a choice to make

Did he let you have this moment to yourself?

Or did he try to help you through it?

He closed the door as softly as he could

And then he gave a little knock to give you some privacy and some time to gather yourself

Then he opened the door and stepped halfway through

“The vending machine spat out two candy bars instead of one” he lied with a grin, holding up the extra candy bar and wiggling it between his fingers

You had sat up and were resting your chin on your hand curiously

But there was definitely a downtrodden aura about you that he couldn’t miss

“That’s pretty lucky,” you replied

He took that as permission to enter and on his way to your desk he snagged his usual chair to sit backwards on

“How’s today going so far?” he asked as if he knew nothing, setting the candy bar down on top of your closed computer

“Oh, you know,” you sighed

He chuckled, opening his candy bar, not making eye contact with you to relieve some pressure for you to keep up an act

“That good, huh?”

You laughed in return

“Just got my butt kicked by a bunch of seventh graders, so yeah, it’s kind of whatever right now”

Ah the teacher equivalent of “I want to quit my job and hide in my bed for the rest of my life”

“Oh, yep, I’ve been there more than once” he said with a nod “and sometimes there’s really nothing you could have done better, you know? Kids are just like that sometimes. It makes me glad I’m not an elementary school teacher”

“Oh my word yes” you agreed, finally picking up the candy bar “at least I can kick these gremlins out after 45 minutes and I don’t have to see them again until the next day. I can’t imagine being with the same class all day”

Did Hongjoong end up squandering his entire eating time just to talk with you and make sure you felt better?

Yes

He would have to sneak bites of his sandwich in between activities during his afternoon classes

But like it wasn’t the first time he’d had to do that and heaven knew it wouldn’t be the last

At least he had a good reason today instead of something stupid like he was lost in the test grading sauce and forgot to eat

He proceeded to get his butt kicked by his afternoon classes because he couldn’t wipe his lovefool smile off his face

But it was okay because once again it wasn’t the first time and heaven knew it wouldn’t be the last

Not long after came the hallowed and hated teacher inservice day

Professional development day

Both a huge waste of time and a relaxing little work day

The administrators usually planned a series of workshops for the morning that all looked. well. kind of stupid but it was all planned with good intention

Then it was lunch time

And then after that you had until the end of contract hours to do whatever pretty much

The math department liked to go to lunch together and then have a really productive planning meeting until people got bored and then it was individual prep time pretty much

Mostly it was just kinda nice to be at school without kids there

This year was no exception to all of this

But Mr. Principal had $50 on the line and decided to play matchmaker about it

For each of the workshops the teachers were split into groups

And you and Hongjoong had been placed together every single time

Somehow you genuinely thought it was just good luck

Hongjoong was hyperaware of every other teacher looking and pointing and giggling and you were so peacefully oblivious to it

The first workshop was about medical emergency training, specifically training teachers in case of allergy or diabetic emergencies

As soon as the nurse finished with the epipen instructions you leaned over to Hongjoong and whispered “like this?” 

And stabbed him with the fake epipen right in the thigh

Hongjoong swore he was going to die right then and there because why was that so attractive???

“Four…five…six…seven…eight…” you counted out, holding the epipen in place for the full ten seconds

And like a good patient he sat like a statue because his circuits were absolutely fried

You glanced up at his face and your expression immediately dropped

You checked the epipen all over to make sure it was just a trainer

(It was)

“Hongjoong are you okay?? Your face is all red did I do something wrong?” you worried

He unfroze and tried to undo the damage of his Little Moment but the nurse was already over at the table taking a closer look at him after dismissing the rest of the teachers to practice

She looked at you and then at Hongjoong and then at you again and back at Hongjoong and a funny look of understanding came over her face

“Are you Mr. Kim the math teacher” she asked

He nodded awkwardly

“And are you Miss (L/N) the math teacher” she asked

“Yes?” you answered

She patted Hongjoong on the shoulder

“He’ll be fine in a minute or so” she reassured you, glancing up and away somewhere else

You both followed her gaze over to the principal, who gave her a bright smile and a thumbs up

Which looked innocuous enough to the untrained eye

But to Hongjoong this was just another in a long list of embarrassments

The principal had told the guest workshop speakers about him

And he had been spotted that easily

After that was administration-provided snack time

Hongjoong offered to grab sodas if you would grab chips and stuff

And at the soda table he was greeted by Wooyoung and San, who called him affectionately Mr. Traffic Light

Hongjoong resisted the urge to react publicly

Even though there were no children around he refused to allow himself to be caught cursing them out

But he brainstormed violently about the ways he could get back at them without getting caught

Truly his middle school teacher powers of ignoring were activated because those two were practically dancing around him trading one-liner after one-liner and Hongjoong paid them no mind

Until he realized they were following him back to the table where he was sitting with you

He did not need them teasing him around you so he tried to shoo them off

But Wooyoung gleefully turned his attention up to the projector screen where the groupings for the next workshop were displayed

Truly your presence was the only saving grace this day had to offer

They were in this group with you two

The computer teacher/school tech support guy was leading this workshop and he was showcasing how one might use ai in their classroom

And all four of you were totally zoned out because firstly ai in a math classroom?? For what

Chat bots are notoriously bad at math

Ai in San’s gymnasium? Once again no practical application

And Wooyoung honestly just wasn’t that interested because none of you were listening so he didn’t feel like he had to either

So he decided flirting with you was more fun

Just to make Hongjoong mad

But for all of his whispered pick up lines and compliments you had approximately the same response as to this ai workshop:

Playing gamepigeon with Hongjoong under the table

(Which Hongjoong had initiated by the way)

(And you had perpetuated after destroying him at the mini golf game)

Aka you ignored Wooyoung pretty well

So Hongjoong got to glare over at him with the peace of mind that your attention was fully his right then

San tapped your shoulder and asked for your number

Which you gave him a little too easily for Hongjoong’s continued peace of mind

But then San just made a group chat for the four of you to play uno together for the remainder of the workshop

So Hongjoong decided that actually this setup wasn’t so bad

The last workshop was unfortunately much more important so the four of you couldn’t continue slacking off

The principal was running this one and it was genuinely for the betterment of the school environment

Plus San and Wooyoung were sent off to other groups

So it was the two of you and a few other senior teachers that were going to have a discussion about one of the behavior initiatives that the school was trying out

You were the only two math teachers in the group, so when the principal passed out data that had been collected about this behavior initiative, the other teachers sort of automatically passed the papers to you

(And the science teachers in the group but that’s irrelevant)

There was only one copy of each dataset, so that meant you got to share

And that meant that you got to scoot your chairs close together to look at the paper at the same time

And even better the text was kind of small so you had to bring the papers close to your faces to read them

So the two of you were shoulder to shoulder

Practically cheek to cheek, your heads almost touching

To read this data and explain it to the less number-savvy teachers

Today was actually pretty fantastic so far, Hongjoong thought

He also wondered if you could physically feel the heat coming off of his face but that was not something he was going to let bother him right then

He was going to live in the moment

And perhaps thank the principal later

After a surprisingly productive and insightful discussion

It was finally ~lunch time~

The math department gathered up in the department head’s classroom to decide which of the nearby restaurants to choose to go to

And no one could agree

Not a single person was feeling like eating the same thing

Except Hongjoong he was agreeing with whatever you said

Not just because he wanted you to have your way but because whatever you said sounded good to him too

Maybe it sounded good because you said it but nonetheless

And then the department head said the following fateful words:

“How about you two just go ahead and we’ll try to decide on something for the rest of us

Hongjoong was suspicious right then and there that this was a setup

The department head probably had money on Before Christmas

But Hongjoong was absolutely not going to let this opportunity slip through his fingers

“I’m cool with that” you answered before Hongjoong could gather his thoughts enough to say anything

Then you turned to him

“I need to go grab my purse from my classroom. Do you need anything from yours?”

“Oh, yeah, just my wallet” he answered totally on autopilot

You stopped by your classroom first and then his since his was closer to the front of the school

He was so excited to finally realize that dream of his from a few weeks back

He was gonna buy you lunch

And not only that it was just the two of you going out to lunch

It didn’t matter that this wasn’t a date

Or that technically you were just gonna buy food and eat it back at school

It was special to him to go somewhere with just you 

That wasn’t school

Seriously he was so happy he couldn’t stop smiling when he told the cashier that your orders were together and he was going to pay

You kinda elbowed him and told him he didn’t have to do that

But he just shrugged and turned his smile on you

“But I wanted to” he replied

You accepted that

“It’s on me next time” you promised

And oh man he could have died right there he felt so complete

Except if he died then there would be no next time

But you were saying next time and it made him think that wow yeah this would happen again

You meant if it ever happened again but he was determined that it was a certain for the future

Because even if it didn’t happen by chance then he would make it happen himself

When you got back to the school the rest of the math department was gone so you started eating without them

And that was a magical moment of peace too

Just the two of you

No one around to tease Hongjoong

He could almost pretend you were just normal friends and he wasn’t head over heels for you

Then the rest of the department came back and they all had food from the same restaurant

So Hongjoong had been right to be suspicious earlier

It was most definitely a setup to get the two of you by yourselves

And he liked it so he wasn’t going to complain about it

Even though it was embarrassing

Well as fun as professional development day ended up being

Parent teacher conferences were not

Hongjoong was looking forward to more Mr. Principal shenanigans

Like maybe when all the teachers were in the gym yours and his table could be next to each other

And he could talk to you when neither of you had any parents

And when the night was wrapping up

And he could walk you out to your car because it was dark

And maybe treat you to dinner because the school-provided food wasn’t usually that great

But no

None of that could happen

Because someone had decided to have teachers stay in their classrooms for conferences this year

The parents would have the wonderful opportunity to get lost in their child’s school trying to find all of their classes

What a joke

They were probably going to get so many complaints they would switch it back to normal next semester

But the one time Hongjoong was looking forward to parent teacher conferences

Of course

Was the one time they had to switch it up

The one silver lining in this was the teachers complaining about it together

Hongjoong’s favorite email he had ever received was now from Wooyoung

Who was replying to the email notifying teachers of the different setup this year but just to Hongjoong

In all lowercase:

“hey loverboy u see this crap

math teacher romancephobic fr smh”

And then with his full professional email signature at the bottom

This precious email was moved to Hongjoong’s funny emails folder, which was usually reserved for unhinged student emails

He did not reply to it

San and the other phys ed teachers were joking about how nice it would be to have the gym to themselves for once but they were in agreement that this probably wouldn’t last

Of course the math department had tests scheduled across all the grades right before conferences

Which of course left everyone grading like crazy

And of course the kids trashed the classrooms the day before

And of course the head janitor ended up getting sick

So it was up to the teachers to make sure their classrooms didn’t look like trash

Even though they had 150+ tests to grade and a pile of late work to grade

And they had 24 hours (7 of which were going to be spent teaching, and hopefully 7-8 would be spent sleeping) to make this all work before parents started showing up at 4 o’clock tomorrow afternoon

What a time this was going to be

So Hongjoong picked up his pile of tests and went to your classroom

Predictably you were grading tests

He stole a student desk and moved it close to your desk

“Which tests are you working on?” he asked

“Eighth” you replied, not looking up from the test you were currently grading

“How does this sound” he began “I’ll take your seventh and you take my eighth so we don’t have to switch answer keys?”

Still barely looking up, you handed him three binder-clipped stacks of paper

“As long as you don’t mind working to music” you replied, your eyebrows raising as a little smile played on your lips

He took your tests and handed you his eighth grade tests

(This worked out nicely as you both had three classes of seventh and two classes of eighth. He was tricking you into letting him take the heavier load ohoho so sneaky)

(He was just lucky you were grading eighth instead of seventh first)

“Don’t mind?” he snickered, uncapping his favorite felt-tip grading pen “I’d prefer it”

And that’s how speed grading turned into karaoke

Grading went almost certainly slower than it would have if you had worked alone but it was way more fun this way

Of course he ended up with sixty some more tests to grade than you

So when you finished you left for a bit and came back with snacks

As well as his pile of late work

He tried to protest but no no

“You’re not nearly as sneaky as you think you are Mr. Kim” you teased him “You thought you could fool a math teacher into thinking we had an equal workload here?”

“That wasn’t the point” he whined, trying to put the cap back on his pen and inking his finger instead

“Then what was the point?”

I love you that’s the point

But what was the point actually

What was a point he could believably tell you without giving himself away

“Just…because” he said convincingly, shrugging his shoulders and settling back into his tests “You look stressed these days. Wanted to do something nice I guess”

You brandished his late work stack again

“So I’m going to do something nice too”

Yeah he probably wouldn’t ever feel this way about anyone ever again

For him at this point it was you or nothing

But the problem was he was willing to let it be nothing for far too long

He would never make a single move unless he knew you were okay with it

Because if he and his stupid heart ruined whatever you had going now then it would really be nothing

He wouldn’t give up the something he still had

He was like a curve approaching an asymptote

He could get infinitely close, but he would never actually touch you

After settling your gradebooks for tomorrow you started by picking up your classroom together

This did go faster with music by the way

And then you picked up his classroom together

And then he realized Hongjoong realized he could have his wish

The one about walking you out to your car and taking you out to dinner

Walking you out was easy but taking you out was another story

He would have to suggest it himself

A little known fact about teachers is that they became teachers because they don’t know how/don’t want to talk with other adults

Kids don’t judge you if something comes out of your mouth a little different than you meant it

Other adults are mean and judge you over silly things

This unfortunately meant that he didn’t know how to ask you to go to dinner with him without making it sound like a date

He was kinda just hoping a lil Kdrama moment would happen and one of your stomachs would rumble really loud so he could laugh it off and say you should go eat together

But you got closer and closer to your car and no tummy rumbling

You got to your car and no tummy rumbling

You opened your door and said goodbye and still no tummy rumbling

“Wait!!!”

He could have slapped his own mouth

You were a little startled but it stopped you from getting in your car

“Hmm?”

“Just uh…it’s kinda late and snacks are great but they’re not that filling…so do you wanna um…” he trailed off and did not finish his thought

“Wanna what?” you asked

Big boy pants Hongjoong come on

“Go grab dinner? Or something?” he finally spat out

He must not have seen your face light up in the dark

“No pressure” he added when you didn’t answer within 0.05 seconds

“No that sounds great! I was thinking of grabbing something on the way home anyway and it would be way more fun to do it with someone else” you accepted

He let you pick the place again and you drove separately because after you would be going in different directions

But it ended up being a nice little fast casual restaurant

And it didn’t feel like a date really but it kinda felt like a date but no it didn’t

It just ended up being a comfortable little outing between friends

Hongjoong knew he couldn’t stop smiling

And he wondered if you already knew how he felt about you

He was sure he didn’t smile like this at anyone else

And you were many things but dense couldn’t possibly be one of them

He knew he was the opposite of subtle

But if you were willing to spend time with him like this then that meant he didn’t make you uncomfortable

Honestly he was so used to the way you made him feel at this point that loving you from afar felt like second nature

Being friends with you was enough if he could keep loving you like this

The waiter came by and asked if it was one check or two

And Hongjoong was fully prepared to pay once again

But you beat him to it

You were already prepared with your card and everything

“I owe you for last time, remember?” you told him with a cheeky grin

He shook his head

“You don’t owe me anything”

“Well then next time it’s on you”

Hongjoong started to smile again

“Next time?”

“Well, yeah” you said with a shrug, now a little bashful “This was fun. We should keep doing it”

“It is fun” he agreed with a laugh “It’s nice to hang out with people outside of school for once”

You laughed at that

“Oh boy tell me about it. Nobody told me that teaching would ruin my social life”

And things just kind of continued like that for a while

Before you had come to the school, Hongjoong had lowkey felt like he was kind of going nowhere with his life

Any time he spent at school outside of his contract hours felt like an infringement on his personal time

Or not even at school, just away from home

He had been hoping that taking a high school position would give him back a little bit of the passion for teaching that he was losing

He hadn’t even been teaching that long it’s just that the profession really is like that

Indescribably rewarding and incredibly draining all at the same time

(Especially these days. Sometimes you really wonder if it’s worth it)

But having something to look forward to every day besides a favorite class ended up being what he needed to love his job wholeheartedly again

It wasn’t just you he had fallen in love with

He had also found new friends in an unlikely place

The math department was like family and he enjoyed their company dearly

But that weirdo phys ed teacher and obnoxious history teacher had turned into excellent friends frighteningly fast

Sometimes they joined you and Hongjoong on your dinner outings

And honestly it was such a blast

An amendment to my previous statement about teachers being teachers because they don’t like talking to other adults:

Other teachers often do not count as other adults

Sometimes they do when you have to have grown up conversations

But gossiping about students does not count as grown up conversation

There were some eighth graders that all four of you had

Hongjoong not currently but he’d had them for previous classes and they were now in your class

Was it a little embarrassing as 20 somethings to have your main source of gossip be preteens?

Yeah but oh man there is nothing like finding out which of your students are lying to their other teachers about the work they need to do

Or what they’re like in other classes

(You and Hongjoong, and sometimes Wooyoung, tended to have very different opinions about some students than San did so it was double fascinating)

Who they’re friends with outside of your class

Or crushes they have on each other

Basically if you spend every day around preteens you gossip like them too

It was now November and starting to get uncomfortably cold outside

So San had offered his home as a little gathering space for you all to order food and hang out

It was almost like a little Friendsgiving

“Any of you have (male student name, obnoxious connotation)?” Wooyoung asked, taking a sip of his soda

You immediately scoffed

“I’m about to write an email home about that kid”

Hongjoong was surprised

Annoying kids existed in every class but you usually had something nice to say about them at first at least before you got into the bad behavior

He hadn’t had this particular student but he was intrigued as to why he annoyed you so much

Wooyoung and San also both looked surprised

“He’s great in gym—like cooperative, doesn’t do stupid stuff too often—” San said “but that doesn’t usually mean anything about how they are in math class”

“No he’s great in history too” Wooyoung added “finishes all his work on time, helps his friends with theirs if he finishes”

Your eye might have twitched a little bit

You let out an unamused laugh and crossed your arms over your chest

Hongjoong was fascinated and quite enamored with this new side of you

“If he has time to help his friends then he should be working on the seven late assignments I’ve been reminding him about. He hasn’t turned in anything for two weeks”

Wooyoung gasped and covered his mouth

“You’re joking”

“I’ve talked to him about it twice and I warned him if I had to remind him a third time then I would email his parents” you said, shaking your head “Like I asked him if he’s understanding the material, if he’s got something going on at home, if he needs some help, and he’s giving me nothing to go off of”

Wooyoung smiled devilishly

“He’s been lying to me, then. I ask him every day if he has other classes to do stuff for and he says no. I will absolutely be getting on him about that”

San shook his head

“Teenagers” he sighed

Everyone nodded and repeated what he’d said

“Teenagers.”

After a moment of silence, Hongjoong spoke up

“How about (female student name, pleasant connotation)?”

The mood lifted immediately and everyone gave their own version of the word “aww”

“She is the highlight of my whole day” you said

“Seriously she’s so polite and she tries so hard even when she’s having a hard time” Wooyoung agreed

“Super athletic too” San added

“Ooh and (male student name, pleasant connotation)?” you said to another chorus of agreement “He’s kind of a punk sometimes but he’s another one that always does his best”

Hongjoong smiled

Complaining was fun, but he loved the light in your eyes when you talked about the parts of the job that you loved

Anyway as I said it was November and the Before Christmas faction of teachers was starting to get nervous because there was no sign of anything happening

They saw you walk out together more than usual but they didn’t know that you were meeting up outside of school and stuff

The kids were also more riled up about it than usual

To the point where Hongjoong wondered if the other teachers were inciting chaos on purpose

It was getting bad enough that one of his classes almost failed a test across the board—on a unit about rounding and converting fractions to decimals of all things

As in the easiest math ever

So Mr. Kim had to resort to drastic measures

At the beginning of all his classes, he drew a box on the edge of the whiteboard

“This is the nonsense box” he explained with a teacherly smile

That is to say frustrated but still filled with love for his students

“Every time one of you is talking about anything that is not related to class, a tally mark goes in the box. Each tally mark represents an extra fifteen seconds you get to sit in your seat after the bell rings”

A chorus of protest arose

“I don’t want to hear it” Mr. Kim shook his head “How many of you are planning on retaking last Friday’s test?”

About half of the hands in the room came up sheepishly

“Exactly. It’s because we’re constantly off topic that no one is able to listen and learn in here. We can do better, okay?”

And then immediately from the back of the room

“Ooh, Miss (L/N) just passed in the hall!!!”

And chorus of “Ooooooh”

Whether it was true or not, Hongjoong was happy to draw his first tally mark without a word

Just that same teacherly smile

Another round of protest came and he drew another one

After the third tally mark, they shut up

“Good. Let’s talk about coefficients. Has anyone heard that word before?”

Once again I will say it was November

And the month after November is December

And December is the month of Christmas

Not just Christmas break

But Christmas itself

And that meant that Hongjoong now

After coming back from a brief Thanksgiving break

Had only a few weeks to find you a Christmas present

Now he wasn’t thoughtless like this wasn’t the first time it had crossed his mind

It had just stressed him out wondering if he would have the guts to confess his feelings for you or if he would be outed somehow first

Plus in case y’all didn’t know teaching (especially teaching around the holidays) is stressful

He just imagined Christmas as this far off date that was too good to ever come

And so he hadn’t even had time to think about what to get you

Something for your classroom?

Something for your home?

A cute accessory?

A fun math shirt?

Not a gift card though that was far too impersonal

Nothing seemed good enough for you

If he were to deliver his feelings with a gift like any of these, it felt insufficient

Most lunches the last bit of November and the first week of December

(If not spent pestering you)

He spent fretting over his Amazon cart with his head in his hands

And then the most unfortunate miracle occurred

The heaters toward the math hall decided working at full capacity was a waste of tax dollars

And the weather was shaping up to be quite uncomfortable

Everyone started to bring blankets and stuff but it was never quite enough

Your classroom was especially cold, since it was the farthest down the hall

So Hongjoong was gifted an opportunity

He went and found one of those soft and cozy electric blankets

In a color he assumed to be your favorite considering how much you wore it and how many of the little trinkets around your classroom were that color

And he packaged it like he had meant to give it to you for Christmas anyway

Then he brought it for you the next day

You were sitting at your desk in your full winter outdoor gear with a blanket that did look cozy but thankfully was not electric

And your teeth were practically chattering as you waved hello

He still hadn’t taken off his coat or his gloves either actually

He set the present on your desk

“I was saving this for Christmas but I think you might need it more now” he told you with a grin

Your curiosity was suddenly piqued

You opened the gift cautiously, glancing up at him every few seconds

But as soon as you felt the material of the blanket, you perked up

And upon discovering that it was electric you could have cried

“I haven’t been able to feel my fingers since last week” you told him gratefully “Seriously I was trying to figure out how many space heaters I would need to buy to survive the winter”

“The department head has one in her classroom” he said “If you grab your old blanket and your laptop then you can let your new blanket heat up here while we hang out over there”

What a beautiful suggestion

The department head raised her eyebrow at the two of you coming in with blankets

But she smiled too when she saw you settling down in front of her heater

“Don’t tell anyone” she said “but sometimes I take a nap over there during lunch”

“Oh I see exactly why” you agreed, sitting cross-legged and setting your computer in your lap “I can literally feel my bones thawing out”

Hongjoong settled down a respectable distance from you

But he thought someone else was pranking him when he felt a blanket drape over his shoulders

He looked around, startled, and then he realized it was the other side of your blanket

You had thrown your blanket over him to share, even though he had one of his own

And now you were pulling his arm to get him to scoot closer to you

Was this a dream??

He would not be happy if his alarm rang

But no it was real and he happily obliged

You were sitting shoulder to shoulder again

Just like at the professional development workshop

Except this time it was so warm and cozy and there was definitely a much less professional vibe

The department head raised her eyebrow at you once again

But Hongjoong was way too enamored with your shy smile to notice

After just a few minutes in this cozy little haven

Your time was unfortunately cut short

Not by students arriving to school

But by Wooyoung poking his head into the classroom

“Oh I’ve been looking everywhere for you guys”

He stepped into the classroom and greeted its owner accordingly

She nodded as if to allow him permission to enter

“They have hot chocolate down in the teachers lounge” Wooyoung informed them “I figured you icicles back here in the freezer rooms would want some but it looks like you were hiding a—” he looked down at the two of you skeptically “campfire back here”

Wooyoung clearly thought he meant something by that but no one else knew what he was trying to say

So his last comment went ignored

“Do you want hot chocolate?” Hongjoong asked you “I can go get some for us”

“No it’s okay I’ll go with you” 

Oh Wooyoung saw exactly what was going on here

Hongjoong did not

Hongjoong was a little confused—was his help becoming an awkward burden to you?

While Wooyoung saw the truth

You just wanted the excuse to walk with him

Now Wooyoung had two choices

He could step back and let you two walk down together, maybe say something to speed this math teacher romance along

Or he could third wheel

And who was Wooyoung if he didn’t pass up the chance to annoy?

Plus he had taken an oath once he started collecting bets that he wouldn’t try to swing the competition one way or another

And since telling you about the hot chocolate while you were together felt like pushing the competition faster, it felt right to pull it back a bit by getting in between you for a few minutes

So he offered hands to both of you to help you off the floor

“Let’s all go together then” he said “You should also find out if your campsite director wants any”

“Campsite director?” Hongjoong asked, shutting his computer

You also closed your computer and set it aside, looking around to figure out who Wooyoung was talking about

“Your gracious host this morning” he clarified, giving the department head a charming little wave

You both took Wooyoung’s hands at the same time and almost pulled him down with you in the process of standing up

As you straightened your pants, you asked the department head if she wanted you to bring her back any hot chocolate, to which she responded yes please

Wooyoung insisted on walking in the middle

And Hongjoong wondered if all of the patience he had acquired as a middle school teacher was going to be spent on not wringing this guy’s neck this morning

Fortunately Mr. Jung acted enough like one of Mr. Kim’s students that he was able to pretend he was one and just let it go

Unfortunately by the time they got back to the department head’s classroom kids were starting to show up so that was the end of artificial campfire cuddle time

But there was a silent agreement as you picked up your blankets and computers that you would be doing this again sometime

The first few weeks of December didn’t necessarily fly by but they did go by quickly in hindsight if that makes sense

And before everyone knew it

Christmas break was upon you

And there was no further progression of the math department couple

The Before Christmas teachers had gotten antsier and antsier right up until the day before break started

But thankfully no one had been worried enough to interfere

Hongjoong decided to stay in his classroom that day

(As if he didn’t stay in his classroom every day)

Because people had been giving him disappointed looks all over the school and he was tired of it

Even the principal had made a trip to Hongjoong’s classroom the Friday afternoon before everyone left

Just to tell him how disappointed he was that he hadn’t had the guts to make a move even when he knew the principal’s precious money was on the line

And ask him if you were secretly dating already and just didn’t want to make a big deal about it

But ultimately to wish him luck and a nice break

A few minutes after he left, you popped into his classroom

You had your bag and your coat and it looked like you were ready to head home

“Are you so ready to get out of here?” you asked

He stopped immediately in the middle of his task and slammed his laptop shut

Contract hours had ended a whole minute ago and he had wasted a whole minute still doing work? On break?

“Say no more” he said, standing up and putting his coat on “We should have left five minutes ago”

“Wholeheartedly agree” you replied “I would have but the principal visited me and I felt like I had to look like I was doing something”

Hongjoong froze

The principal had visited you too?

Why?

For what purpose?

Betting purposes?

This technically didn’t still count as Before Christmas Break right?

“That’s weird haha he came and visited me too, like ten minutes ago” he said with the normalest most unbothered tone he could manage

(He tried)

(His voice was not quite an octave higher than usual)

(Which is considerable improvement since it’s usually an octave and a half)

“Maybe he’s just making rounds” you said with a shrug “It’s nice to see how much he cares about this school. Definitely one of the better principals I’ve worked with”

Hongjoong relaxed perhaps too visibly

“Yeah if you need a guy to have your back he’s got it no question”

“Anyway if you don’t have any plans for the day after Christmas you should spend it with me”

If Hongjoong had been drinking something he would have choked

Even if he’d had plans in the first place he would have canceled them for you

“My day is wide open” he said “As is almost all of my break”

You smiled and his stomach did a flip

He wondered if it was ever going to stop doing that

He hoped not

“Mine too. If you’re bored, you can probably text me and I won’t be doing anything”

Was it cringe that he was now looking for technically his second Christmas present for you?

Yeah maybe but that was his lifestyle now

To quote N.Flying’s Lovefool “if they call me a lovefool it’s okay as long as it’s for your sake”

Even if you didn’t see him that way that was A-Okay

Anyway he found some cute little math-themed trinkets like pi earrings and a right triangle pin that said “I’m always right”

Because actually who are math teachers if they don’t like puns

And the morning after Christmas Day he wrapped them up all nice for you

And he got ready to meet you at a little restaurant you now frequented together

But this was actually like the first time he was meeting you on a whole day off so he had to figure out how to dress not like a teacher but still kinda nice

He had no idea

All of his pants were teacher pants

His shirts? All teacher shirts

He was way too good at dressing for his job

So he wore jeans instead of his usual khakis and hoped that was different enough?

He also layered one of his graph paper teacher shirts with a plain t-shirt underneath and didn’t button it up

He looked himself up and down in his mirror, trying different poses to make sure he looked like a Normal Guy

In the end he decided his hair was the only issue

He only knew how to style it in a teacherly fashion

And leaving it unstyled wasn’t an option

So he looked up some tutorials on some easy styles but he just could not see himself as anything other than a math teacher

So he gave up and just prayed that he looked okay

You looked perfect of course

The difference was subtle in theory but the way you dressed, the way you did your hair and makeup, it made for a world of difference

Oh you looked so gorgeous he was never going to get over it

Your eyes practically sparkled when you met him out front and man he thought before that he couldn’t be more in love with you but he was wrong

You did seem a little more awkward today than usual and he couldn’t figure out why

Like you almost seemed nervous

What for? It was just him

You got your food and he suddenly remembered the gifts in his pocket

“Oh!” he exclaimed, pulling them out “I know I gave you the blanket a few weeks ago but I found these and I knew you had to have them. Merry double Christmas?”

You covered your mouth to hide your laughter and your bite of food

“That’s so funny because I found something for you too”

And you pulled a little package out of your bag

Down bad wasn’t even a good descriptor anymore and neither was head over heels like there had to be a stronger silly description of being in love and if there wasn’t it would have to be invented for him

You had found him a shirt that said “Math is hard. So is life. Get over it.”

(Tbh an actual shirt that I own)

And he promised you he would be wearing it the day you all got back from break

As for his silly little gifts you adored them

You put the pi earrings in immediately and started brainstorming what do do with the other things out loud

He could not have been happier with himself

And then you caught him staring at you

You paused in your excited little ramblings

He sat up a little straighter, wondering what to say next

But you smiled and looked down at your plate

“You’re pretty cute, you know that?” you told him, unable to meet his eyes for more than a second

In front of you, his first instinct was to deny the possibility and he followed it without thinking

“Eh, no I’m not—not in comparison to you, anyway”

Hmm if he wanted to keep his feelings secret then that was not the thing to say

But you deserved to know it

Not just cute but beautiful

Heartstoppingly so

You took the compliment well anyway

“Have you ever thought…” you began, trailing off

You watched him as he waited for you to continue, his eyes wide and curious

“Never mind” you dismissed with a casual wave of your hand

“No hey what were you going to say?” he asked

“Nothing I just had a weird thought for a second”

“No no come on! You know I wouldn’t judge you for anything”

You hesitated again and he could see that same nervousness he’d noticed before

“Have you ever thought…I don’t know” you put your elbows up on the table “of us as more than friends? Like dating maybe?”

Once again he was going to be very upset if his alarm clock went off now

But even if this was a dream, there was no harm in saying it out loud

“Every day since the day I met you” he answered honestly

You blinked like you didn’t believe him

“You’d better not be joking because I mean this like I’m risking our whole professional relationship here—”

And then he realized

You literally had no idea about him

Genuinely no clue that the whole school knew exactly how you had him wrapped around your finger

Except you

“—on the slightest chance that you might feel the same way—”

“Hey” he stopped you softly “I would never joke about how I feel about you”

Embarrassment began to set in for both of you

“Seriously,” he said, holding back a laugh, “you can ask any of my students, any of the teachers. I think you were the last one to find out that I have a massive crush on you”

“Oh no you’re kidding!” you exclaimed, your hands coming up to hide your face

“I really wish I were—Wooyoung has two rounds of bets going with the teachers about when and how we would end up dating. It’s just about me though—I don’t think anyone else knew about you”

You buried your face further in your hands

“That is so embarrassing” you whined “Seriously I might kill Wooyoung when we get back from break”

“I’ll help you” he promised

You ended up deciding to tell the other teachers on account of the bets they had placed on you

But you asked them not to tell the kids

Hongjoong was comfortable dealing with them at this point and he didn’t see the point in subjecting you to the attention he got about it

Speaking of the bets

No one won any of them technically

The two categories were before/after Christmas break and you notice/he confesses

And since you confessed during Christmas break well

As tempting as it would have been to say that you two deserved the money

(Especially on those teacher salaries)

You just made Wooyoung give it back to everyone who had put money down

And honestly? Very little about your at school dynamic changed

The kids still teased Hongjoong every day about his obvious soft spot for you

But he didn’t care because he knew better than they did anyway

You did actually start to notice now that kids were gossiping about you and Hongjoong

And it was really funny actually

Especially when he stopped by your classroom and the kids went dead silent watching you

Or when you left his classroom and you heard the kids explode with their weirdo little preteen comments from just outside in the hallway

Wooyoung insisted on telling you about every time you were mentioned in his classroom

This included the story about the girl rejecting a boy because quote no one can like anyone as much as Mr. Kim likes Miss (L/N) enquote

And you about died from laughter and embarrassment

Because how had you missed every single sign thrown your way??

It was so obvious now that you were dating him and you knew why he spent as much time as physically and contractually possible in your classroom

Because like I said very little about your at school dynamic changed

He still treated you almost exactly the same way

Except now if you were having a bad day he could hug you and kiss you on the head and tell you that everything would be okay and you were a good teacher

And if he got cold he could come to your classroom and have you sit on his lap while you shared your blanket

You were very very careful with any displays of affection by the way like it was only behind a locked door that you would even dare

Because firstly unprofessional

A literal breach of the code of ethics more likely than not

And secondly what if the kids saw you???

The other teachers were whatever like you didn’t really want them to walk in on you either but at least they were other adults

But the kids??? 

There were already too many rumors flying around the school about you and they did not need a even whispering of confirmation

The end of that came of course when you got engaged like a year or so later idk and you showed up to school with a ring on your finger and the kids went wild

“Mr. Kim she has a ring!!!”

“Mr. Kim what are you going to do?? She’s gonna get married!!”

“Mr. Kim you must be heartbroken”

You had prepared for this together

You had known it was coming so you knew you had to be ready for the chaos it was going to cause

So you had decided that he would also start wearing a ring to match even before the wedding

So to all his very concerned students he got to hold up his hand and say in the coolest most chic manner possible

“And who do you think gave her the ring huh?”

It was like setting off a nuclear bomb of middle school gossip but it was so worth it

Anyway breaking the chronological flow going back in time because this needed to be the last scene

The cutest change with your at school dynamic now that you were dating was now you could exchange secret messages on sticky notes with the papers you traded

He started it by handing you a test key to check with a sticky note on the top that you assumed was a label for what the test was

But on closer inspection it was a pickup line

“The limit of my love for you is like the limit of 1/x as it approaches 0; it doesn’t exist”

So you wrote back on the same sticky note “well mine is like 1/x^2 and it approaches infinity so there” and handed it back to him once you checked his key

Not to be outdone he wrote you a new note

“Girl are you a 30° angle inscribed in a circle because you’re acute-y pi”

Oh that one was bad

You had to give him something worse

“If we’re both math teachers, how come we have so much chemistry?”

You handed him that one in between classes

And as he read it he had to disguise his sudden laughter as a cough because there were kids around and they didn’t need to be curious about what he was laughing at

His next sticky note had a crease down the middle horizontally

128√e980

You recognized it immediately but you folded it in half to reveal the secret message anyway

“I love you”

So you gave him back “I hope you like fractions because you’re my other half”

You stored all these away in a little file on your computer titled “Valentine’s Day Math Jokes”

Maybe for some future Valentine’s Day activity

But mostly just to keep them all somewhere safe where you could look at them any time you wanted

Without some kid being like “oooh Miss (L/N) whatcha lookin at”

Your favorite note from him was about as simple and dorky as they came

Much like Hongjoong himself actually

Simplify 2x+6i<2(x+9u)

First you distributed the 2 on the right

2x+6i<2x+18u

Then since there was a 2x on both sides, you could subtract them and cancel them

6i<18u

Then divide by 6

And the answer made you smile every time

i<3u

(so I know how I wrote this so fast actually. I just have a goal to write 250+ words every day and uh pretty much every day of the month of January ended up dedicated to this one. Someone said Math Teacher Hongjoong and I (graduated in December with a math teaching degree, student taught in a middle school for 4 months) went feral over it whoops)

Masterlist

[messenger-of-babel]

This is my masterlist for this month! I'm pushing myself to try out angst and drabble across things. As usual, MDNI for sensitive themes. Uploads for this might take a backseat due to potentially prepping for a surgery, but I've written enough in advance to still publish semi-regular. They are written, but summaries will be revealed each consecutive day upon publishing.

Without further ado, enjoy!

────────────────── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ────────────────────

❂ October 1st Again ║ Jill Valentine x fem! reader Summary: After all you've been through, you still see remnants of your Jill.

❂ October 2nd Countdown ║ Hal Jordan x fem!reader Summary: Hal reflects on all the ways he could have kept you around for another New Years.

❂ October 3rd Self Destruction ║ Bruce Wayne x reader Summary: Bruce isn't sure how to stop breaking things, or how to stop breaking in the process.

❂ October 4th Blood ║ Jason Todd x reader Summary: He likes you in his colour, just not that like that.

❂ October 5th Do Better ║ Dick Grayson x reader Summary: You wanted to be better for him, but maybe better wasn't what he wanted.

❂ October 6th Medication ║ Albert Wesker x reader Summary: You've only ever been able to see Wesker in shades of pink, even when that colour brings you to your knees.

❂ October 7th You Still Don't Get It ║ Kyle Rayner x reader Summary: You wished that Kyle could distinguish between argument and conversation.

❂ October 8th Growing Pains ║ Jason Todd x reader Summary: Jason did what he swore he'd never curse upon anyone. It just so happened to be you he cursed in the process.

❂ October 9th Promise ║ Luis Serra x reader Summary: Luis made you a promise, and that was that he would come back no matter what.

❂ October 10th Humiliation ║ Bruce Wayne x fem!reader Summary: You and Bruce have the picture perfect relationship, but all it takes is a picture for it to be undone.

❂ October 11th Wake Up║ Tim Drake x reader Summary: The Wayne family calls you in When they can't snap Tim out of it.

❂ October 12th Rotten Touch ║ Chris Redfield x reader Summary: Chris is plagued by memories, nightmares, and the dream of you.

❂ October 13th Shaking ║ Dick Grayson x batsis!reader Summary: Very few things could make Dick this scared, but patching up his younger sister is one of them .

❂ October 14th Only Around You ║ Leon S. Kennedy x reader Summary: After being out of the field so long, you've been assigned to help Leon rescue the presidents daughter, but who really helps who?

❂ October 15th False Hope ║ Kyle Rayner x reader Summary: Kyle hopes with all his heart that you like him back after rumors begin floating around.

❂ October 16th No One Else to Turn to ║ Dick Grayson x reader Summary: Dick takes you into his apartment when you appear on his doorstep, unable to cope with the recent accident.

❂ October 17th Shhhhh ║ Luis Serra x reader Summary: In ten seconds Luis Serra made your world change forever.

❂ October 18th Falling Stars║ Hal Jordan x reader Summary: As a fighter pilot, you're Hal's favourite shooting star. Even if that means one day you'll fall out of the sky.

❂ October 19th Tear Stained Cheek║ Leon S. Kennedy x reader Summary: Even after everything he endured, the memory of you kept him alive. Even if that meant losing you forever.

❂ October 20th Spare Me ║ Leon S. Kennedy x reader Summary: Leon would make any amount of wishes to make his dreams come true, but the events of Racoon change your lives forever.

❂ October 21st Abandoned ║ Jason Todd x reader Summary: You've never seen Jay crack before, but when he starts it's more broken than you realise.

❂ October 22nd Crocodile Tears ║ Damian Wayne x sis!reader Summary: You turn up on the doorstep of Wayne Manor, pleading for your brother to let you in.

❂ October 23rd Safe/Unsafe ║ Bat-family x reader Summary: One little call to each of them. One big consequence.

❂ October 24th Dark Sunrise ║ Clark Kent x reader Summary: Clark isn't much of a morning person, but your eyes are enough to get him out of bed each day.

❂ October 25th You're No Better ║ Jason Todd x reader Summary: When you argue with Jason, you slowly start seeing less of Jason Todd and more of Bruce Wayne.

❂ October 26th Persuasion ║ Albert Wesker x reader Summary: You know Wesker is bad for you, but you still can't pull away from him.

❂ October 27th Curled Up ║ Batfamily x reader Summary: Batman was late when you needed him the most, but he refused to let it happen again

❂ October 28th Perfect ║ Jason Todd x reader Summary: You could never tell what Jason was thinking, and this particular night he has a lot on his mind.

❂ October 29th Get Out ║ Carlos Oliveira x reader Summary: Trying to escape the outbreak in Raccoon City, you find an ally amongst the chaos- might as well flirt a little.

❂ October 30th Nothing Else to Tell You ║ Dick Grayson x reader Summary: You take Dick home to the farm for a breath of fresh air. It's perfect, but there's something weighing on his mind.

❂ October 31st It Ends Here ║ Leon S. Kennedy x reader Summary: When complications arise on his mission, all he has is one phone call back to you.

[sorchathered]

I can love you through the dark

Pairing- Jake Seresin x OC (Savannah Monroe-Seresin)

Warnings- language, angst, mentions of death, pregnancy, ptsd

Summary- sometimes the past keeps Jake up at night, but she is always there to bring him back from the dark.

A/N- an old WIP I found deep in my Google docs that I thought could use some love. Not beta read.

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Jake Seresin had a short fuse. He’d been working on that.

He kept his composure as Rooster threw that cheap shot at him, brushing it off despite the shock all over everyone’s faces by the pool table. “The only place you’ll lead someone is an early grave.” It rang in his ears later that night, Coyote was too damn perceptive as he watched his friend from across the shitty barracks room they were assigned to.

“I’m fine” Jake grunted as he stared at the ceiling, trying to will the thoughts away.

Two years. It’d been two years since his former wingman Torch had lost his life in a field exercise gone wrong. Jake had been cleared of any wrongdoing but he knew; if he’d watched his teammate’s back like he should have Torch would still be alive.

He’d worked his ass off to prove he was the best ever since, and refused to let anyone else in again after that day. Maybe that’s why he was so frustrated with Rooster, he cared too much where Jake refused to care at all. The mission was what mattered now; not making friends. All getting close to someone guaranteed was that you had more to lose, and Jake couldn’t bear to lose anything or anyone else.

“How are things going?” The soft voice filtered through the speaker of his phone as he paced the halls, another night full of nightmares and no sleep.

“It’s going. This is a big one, everyone who’s anyone is here and I worry that they aren’t taking it as serious as they should.” He sighed and ran a hand over his face, he shouldn’t be on the phone with her right now, one of them at least needed to get some rest.

“You need to take care of yourself, and try to be a team player-“

He barked out a laugh at that and he could just see her shaking her head and sighing, she knew he couldn’t afford to get close to someone like that again, no one knew better than she did.

“Jake. I need your head in the game. I can’t do this without you, I- I need you to come home ok?” She was crying, he’d promised he’d do everything he could to never make her cry and here she was getting upset over him again.

“Sweetheart I’m not going anywhere, but you need to rest ok? I’ll be good, I’ll be the very best. Take care of yourself and our little angel. I love you Savvy, fuck- I love you so much.”

They said their goodbyes and Jake slept for the first time since he’d gotten back to Miramar.

Savannah “Savvy” Monroe had been Torch’s high school sweetheart, she’d followed him wherever the navy took him until that fateful day when his plane had gone down. She’d always seemed like an unstoppable force until then, and Jake watched one of his best friend’s crumble and turn into a shell of the woman she’d been. It seemed obvious to everyone but him that they would seek solace in each other, no one blamed them for how they chose to stitch themselves back together, and while they started a new life together Jake couldn’t help but struggle with the guilt.

She’d dragged him to therapy after a big fight, he’d walked out her early in their relationship; determined to prove to her that he didn’t deserve her love and push her to hate him as much as he hated himself. 6 months later he’d finally found himself again, only to find out that Savvy was pregnant. He couldn’t help but wish Torch was here, and his therapist told him it was not only normal but expected. He’d made an honest woman out of her quickly after that, life had proven to be too short and they wanted to start their new life with all the bows tied up nice and neat.

When the call came up to head back to top gun they were nearing the 7th month and he wanted her to stay in Texas with his mom where he knew she’d be safe and taken care of. Now he was here and all he wanted was to hold her, especially after Rooster managed to get under his skin. No one really knew that he and Sav were married, except for Javy and his wife and he wanted to keep it that way. Rooster knew Torch would always be a sore spot, and he’d pressed just the right buttons to bring Hangman to the surface. He filed that rage away for the right moment and when the time came he was ruthless, he knew it was wrong to cut Bradshaw down like that but Rooster had thrown the first punch.

When he got reduced to spare and Rooster got promoted to wingman he was almost relieved, he had too much to lose and it was easy to get caught up in the competition. He wanted to be the best, but he had to think of his family.

Mission accomplished and successful, everyone had survived and made it back to Fightertown safely. As he stepped off the carrier he heard her shouting his name and shook his head in disbelief, he should’ve known better than to think her stubborn ass wouldn’t be here waiting for him to return. She couldn’t run bless her heart but she waddled across the lot as fast as she could with a giggle as he scooped her up in his arms, kissing her deeply and then dropping to his knees to talk to his baby boy.

Rooster watched from a distance, realization striking him as he took the scene in. He’d met Torch’s wife before, years ago when they were in flight school. Heat burned his cheeks as he realized that maybe- just maybe he was just as much of an ass as Jake Seresin, and maybe his judgement had been too harsh. Coyote clapped him on the shoulder as he passed, nodding his head in their direction as he watched Jake pepper kisses to her cheeks, he treated her like she were made of glass as he escorted her across the lot to his truck.

“Now you know a little something about Hangman, he wants you to think he’s a pompous ass; but the man couldn’t be more of a marshmallow. I hope to God we never have to live through what they did, don’t you agree?” Javy Machado didn’t wait for an answer, just left Rooster to ponder that thought.

He thought of his mother, broken over the loss of his father and felt a cold chill, he’d find a way to thank Hangman someday, he had saved his life after all.

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Tagging- @roosterforme @attapullman @bobgasm @seitmai @sebsxphia @mynameismckenziemae @sailor-aviator