#But on a day-to-day level.... yep. that's bout it. just managing my stress levels well currently + springtime is bliss | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

saladejin · 5 years ago

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Call An Uber? | 07

BTS x Reader | idolverse au, uber driver!Reader, translator!Reader | Fluff, flirting, super slow burn, angst and hurt/comfort, mature themes and eventual smut

Summary: Your normal life with a normal, yet inconsistent job gets drastically changed when your dreams come true. Sounds boring right?

What happens when all of this occurs, but you’re still doing something you love AND getting a large sum for it? Now there’s something to think about, and it’s definitely not what you’re thinking.

Warnings: None

Word Count: 5k

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Soojin’s heels clapped loudly against the hardened floor as she sprinted through the office. Her straight black hair swung uncontrollably in her haste, and her hands were clammy from the sudden exertion.

“Unni! Why are you rushing?” I called hopelessly, left to trail in her rapid footsteps in a desperate attempt to catch up.

I’d only just arrived at the building for work five minutes prior, but someone had grasped my wrist after crossing the threshold into my own office. Soojin’s flurried instructions and widened eyes were the only indicators I was provided with before apparently having to make a run for my life.

“We need more people down at the concert hall! There’s no-one available, hurry!”

My eyebrows furrowed as my brain grasped at her words, not really understanding what was happening. The concert was tonight? How could I even forget something like that?

“Shit, but I thought we didn’t get involved with the concerts?” I questioned the short-haired woman, who was clad from head to toe in office-wear ironically as if to fortify my point. We had stopped sprinting once we reached the carpark outside and I squealed when the assistant bundled me straight into one of the transport vans out the back. I was extremely surprised at how spontaneous everything seemed at the moment.

“Well, we don’t usually. But I received a call for help, and you were the only person who didn’t have a packed schedule for tonight,” Soojin huffed, combing her hair away from her flustered face. She didn’t join me, but instead waved a hand towards the driver as a signal to depart.

“Sorry for the short notice, you’ll have fun though!”

Before I could even open my mouth in protest, the door was closed with a thud and I was left to wallow in the deafening silence. Sighing in defeat, I wondered if these kinds of things always happened around Bighit Entertainment.

“Oh my…we’re so sorry (Y/n)-ssi.”

I glanced up to see the remaining seats taken up by three other women, much to my surprise. They looked just as shocked as I did, but I could tell they were relieved they’d actually received the help they wanted.

“We didn’t expect Soojin to rush you over here like that, I apologise.” The oldest of the bunch shook her head and muttered drowsily. She was so obviously used to the stress-head assistant being excessively dramatic.

I noticed they were all dressed in darkened clothing to remain hidden if they ever needed to be directly backstage, and was just glad I hadn’t decided to adorn anything too flashy or bright for the working day.

It’s a bit of a change, but I didn’t have anything else planned anyway.

“It's fine, I’m willing to help out with anything the stylists and backstage crew need. What will I be doing tonight?”

The women were surrounded by plastic boxes full of stylistic and colourful stage clothes, but one also held a smaller crate full of makeup and cleaning supplies in her lap. I was a bit confused about what particular job they would be doing for the event.

“We’re bringing over supplies for now, but we just help out with anything that needs to be done. Usually we have many other volunteers, but tonight we had too many people call in absent.”

I fought the sudden urge to roll my eyes at the statement. This exact thing had happened when they needed an interpreter a few weeks back. Why were the employees around here so unreliable as of late?

“Okay, so we’ll be pretty pressed tonight, right?”

“Yep, unfortunately,” the eldest spoke again, looking crestfallen all of a sudden. “But we’re good at what we do, so we’ll be able to hold it together for them the best we can.”

Admiration for their resolve sizzled within me, and I nodded to try and put out the same attitude. I would do my best to make sure everything flowed nicely as well, even though I had no experience with backstage shenanigans.

“If you could,” the one holding the smallest crate piped up, “would you please take these down to the stylists when we get there? You can station yourself in the dressing rooms and help them with anything they need for the night.”

I was growing more excited by the minute, and the thought of spending more time with the stylists at an actual concert made me outright giddy. I was actually becoming quite close with them now, as I still made occasional coffee stops downstairs whenever they needed the extra energy.

“Of course. I’ll do my best.”

The crate wasn’t too heavy to lug around, and there was no trouble navigating the concert hall based off the given instructions. The entire hall was flurried with excited workers, and I almost got trodden on by way too many anxious supervisors and staff while trying to get to the stylist’s hallway.

Damn, these functions are intense…

I finally managed to reach the humid room, trying to rush in time for the working men and women to gather everything they needed. The concert was due to start soon, and usually all the makeup and necessary last-minute fittings would’ve been completed already. Something must have gone awry with the entire line of communication.

I could only manage a throaty cough when arriving at the dressing room. The stinging smell of scented hairspray laced the air way too thickly for me to even breathe. Nobody else seemed to be having a problem though, because I was instantly greeted with a skyrocketing enthusiasm.

"(Y/n)-ah! Thank God you’re here!”

“(Y/n)’s here?”

A male stylist popped his head around one of the ajar doorframes, and I managed a smile when he bowed and hurriedly took the crate from my outstretched arms. Obviously, they had been wanting these extra supplies for quite some time.

I glanced around to see darkly attired people promptly going about their usual jobs, but my breath hitched when I saw a few of the performers themselves seated in the chairs assigned for the hair specialists.

Min Yoongi, Kim Namjoon, Jeon Jungkook and Park Jimin.

Even though I’d recently come to know them on a personal level, the simple fact that they were existing within my vicinity caused my heart to beat erratically. I was continuously flooded with love and admiration for these boys, and having to contain it for so long was probably detrimental to my health. The sudden spike of adrenaline from the thrilled atmosphere did not help my churning emotions.

My mood dampened slightly when I saw the effect of the miscommunications painted clearly on each of their features. Yoongi was still cool and collected, having his earbuds plugged right in and his eyes closed placidly as a hairdresser worked gel deep into his fading locks.

Namjoon was fiddling impatiently with his fingers, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth occasionally as he tried to analyse the situation. On the outside, it looked as if he was as composed as ever, smiling at anyone who met with his perusing eyes, but I knew he was growing frazzled at the edges due to everyone losing their minds around him.

Jimin and Jungkook both looked quite lost, in one way or another. The younger members were glancing around and tapping their toes against the hardened flooring in bouts of anxiety. Jimin kept glancing at the maknae next to him, almost as if majority of his burden was a direct result of worrying too much about the other boy, and I saw him murmur a few soothing phrases here and there. It wasn’t as if they were a complete mess. They had obviously dealt with poorly planned concerts before, but I knew it still wasn’t pleasant for anyone.

Not one of them even knew I had entered the room.

“(Y/n)-ah, can you please, please do me a massive favour and straighten his hair? I’ll be back very soon!” One of the noonas scrambled towards me and dropped a large straightener right into my startled fingers. I snapped my eyes upwards to see the woman’s pleading gaze boring into my own before she darted away to address a more urgent matter.

I eventually shifted my gaze to Jungkook’s chair, which she had abruptly abandoned, and slowly began to make my way in that direction.

“Hey, maknae.” I smirked and rested one hand on the boy’s rigid shoulder, coming up to push his swivelling chair further into the makeup bench. His doe eyes widened, and I felt his whole body jerk underneath my touch, letting me know just how on edge he truly was.

“(Y/n)-noona? What?”

“Hey, hey. Everything’s gonna be fine, don’t get so tensed up or you’ll give yourself a cramp,” I chided, keeping my voice steady while attempting to plug in the straightener swiftly enough. If I wanted the boy to feel prepared, he needed this done as quickly as possible. Probably even quicker than that.

Under my hand, which I had begun to rub against his shoulder sympathetically, he sighed with a profound heaviness and loosened his posture. Feeling playful, I raised my fingers upwards to comb through and ruffle his messy dark strands of hair. He chuckled at my actions and even tried to duck away eventually, but I was just glad to see his cheeky smile again. The mirror was a little dirty from dustings of powders and sprays that just continued to build up, but I could still see what I was doing clearly.

“I have to straighten this mop now, so hold still you brat,” I teased the younger boy with a whine, since he wouldn’t stop trying to move away from me.

“Well, well. What brings you here Ms. Uber?” a deeper voice suddenly droned from the seat to our left, and I turned my eyes away from Jungkook’s gleaming ones to figure out where it was coming from. There, I was met with Yoongi’s curious pucker, which in turn morphed into an amused smirk at my expression.

I gave a sharp raise of my eyebrows before saying, “I don’t know what kind of show you people are running, but this seems more like a zoo to me.”

He laughed brusquely and pressed his tongue into the side of his cheek, catlike eyes crinkling up with his smile in the most adorable way.

“You’re definitely not wrong there.”

“(Y/n)? When the hell did you get here!?” a breathy tone, which undoubtedly belonged to Jimin, caused me to smile wider before turning my head in the opposite direction. He was currently getting the finishing touches done to his makeup via the powder brush, but I must’ve been pretty identifiable by voice alone. It was probably the bluntness.

“I’ve actually been here for about ten minutes or so, but you guys were way too stressed out to notice. I hope you all know things are getting sorted out as we speak, it just looks like bomb-zone because humans are awkward and don’t know how to deal with their shit.”

The three of them snorted or exhaled their mirth, and I even saw Namjoon who was scrolling through his phone absentmindedly nod in agreement. The taller man’s whole frame trembled once as a sign of laughter, and I sniggered inwardly at the thought of him eavesdropping. The leader was sitting one seat further down than Yoongi, but it seemed like he wasn’t going to join into the conversation just yet.

“Well, that’s a relief,” Jungkook mumbled, casting his eyes downwards once more before sighing again. I couldn’t massage his shoulder comfortingly anymore because my sole task was now straightening his freshly cleaned hair. Though I still badly wanted to engulf the wearied boy in a heartfelt hug to help him forget all his misgivings.

“I know you guys would do great out there, regardless of what went down backstage anyway,” I continued, running my fingers gently against Jungkook’s scalp once I had straightened out all of the kinked tresses. He leaned back into my hand, a small smile appearing at the kneading sensations against his skull. All of his worries were hopefully grooved out in these short moments of serenity.

“If she’s here, someone get Jin-hyung before he blows a fuse,” Yoongi exclaimed indignantly and jerked out both of his earbuds to look around. I watched with confusion as the other members gasped and started calling out raucously for the eldest member. Jimin couldn’t contain his chortles and leaned over to wack one small hand against Jungkook.

“Quick, he’ll starve us if we let this happen!”

The woman from before suddenly appeared next to me, and my eyes tore away from Jungkook’s peaceful expression to see her smiling visage. “Ah, thank you so much (Y/n)! You can go back to what you were doing now,” she said before sliding across to examine Jungkook.

“Wow, you’ve done an excellently thorough job, maybe you should be in the styling room with us instead of that stuffy office!”

I giggled, handing over the warmed straightener into her pale, awaiting palms. “I’m sorry unni, but your room is no less stuffy. How do your lungs even function with that much hairspray in your system?”

She sighed and shook her head knowingly before returning to work on the glossy mop of hair in front of her. The young singer had once again tensed up in the shoulders, and I had to bite back a growl of disapproval.

“Okay…I guess I’ll see you guys some other time, maybe after?” I managed to half-sigh, surprisingly more saddened than I thought about leaving them. Jimin, Yoongi and even Namjoon had turned to give me their undivided attention while Jungkook simply met my gaze directly through the mirror in front of him. All four looked taken aback, the reason for their bewilderment a complete and utter mystery.

“Break a leg, I’ll be cheering from wherever I am.” I began to back away, teasingly blowing a kiss towards all of them to break the tensioned air. At the gesture, Jimin reached upwards sharply to catch the kiss with widened eyes, and this caused everyone to break out into giggles and chuckles.

I continued to help out wherever I was needed, mostly carrying boxes and supplies around the concert hall whenever there was an impromptu need for them. I even ran into a breathless Taehyung a good fifteen minutes or so before the concert was about to launch. Since the walkway was tiny, I quickly pressed myself into the wall with my hands splayed on the painted surface to let him pass by.

“(Y/n)? Hello! I’m sorry, I’m in a rush.” He grinned widely and rested both of his large hands on my shoulders to inch along as quickly as he could. He’d clearly been rehearsing, so the body heat radiating from the boy was borderline crazy.

“Hey, good luck out there!” I called after him when I finally managed to regain some breath into my body, receiving a half-hearted wave and a booming ‘Thank you!’ in return as he continued to sprint down the narrow passage. My eyes trailed his slightly wavy grey-brown hair as it bobbed with his movements, endlessly thanking whoever invented bandanas. It wouldn’t be so farfetched to believe they were made exclusively for him.

It was time for the boys to get fitted with the clothes they would be performing in, and I quivered gleefully at the thought of seeing their dances and vocals up close. This was about to be the best concert experience I could possibly dream of.

“It’s going to start soon!” A woman who was part of the backstage crew ushered me out of the walkway, and I met up once again with the three helpers I’d arrived with. Their brows were glistening, and their breathing ragged. I knew they’d been working just as hard as I had been.

“Well done, all of you.” The eldest chuckled airily. “Now we’ll be side-stage to help with equipment and props. When you feel like you don’t have a job to do, talk to that blonde coordinator standing next to the curtain.”

I followed her gesture to see a significantly younger looking woman who was preoccupied with ordering workers around rapidly. Even though she was under fire from the stressful organisation, she threw out directions and commands like a programmed machine gun. I gulped as I watched her alternate between muttering into her headset and steadily directing every single person who so much as peeped in her direction.

The other assistants moved off, obviously already having things to see and get done, but I was left to consult the aforementioned coordinator herself.

“There’s so much to do, but everything is being looked into. Could you please go to the left wing and speak with the crew there? I think there was something about quick changes,” the blonde woman barely took a breath before dishing out the instructions, and I knew things were really starting to intensify as the lights of the concert hall dimmed.

The sounds of loud cheering and screaming only flooded my ears now, and I was left baffled on how they had been tuned out for so long. The adrenaline must have worked its way into my head and created figurative earplugs.

Wow, maybe you’re just going deaf already. Let’s face it.

The excitement continued to bundle around within me as I ducked into a different walkway that crossed backstage. I hadn’t been over to this side yet, but I knew it was where the resting and recovery section was most of the time.

“Okay, are you the helper?” A middle-aged woman with deeply set eyes greeted me as soon as I emerged into the open space, and I could only nod enthusiastically. She smiled warmly in relief and guided me over to where a few piles of clothes were lined up against the back wall.

“This is where quick changes happen, but it’s only occasionally and there’s never a point where all the members need a quick change of clothes at the same time. You’re here for us if we need the extra help, it’s always good to have another pair of hands when things don’t work out.”

“That’s understandable, I’ll look out and help if I need to,” I responded with confidence, and only received a brisk nod in reply. The concert had begun, and the shrill screams of fans rose upwards until it was a literal roar of exhilaration and awe. I suddenly grew disappointed, because I realised only then that I wouldn’t actually see any glimpses of the concert at all. I would just be stuck back here listening to the action unfold.

Well, it’s better than nothing. This job has already brought me a lot more than I could have ever asked for.

I strained my ears intently to listen to the boys as they greeted their fans affectionately, just as they usually did, and tried to conjure up the image of their smiling faces. Their declarations of love for ARMY used to make my heart clench and squeeze with a crushing adoration, but now I felt somehow disconnected. It was as if they were addressing something completely separate, almost like…I wasn’t even a member of the fanbase anymore.

It wasn’t as if I was any less of a fan, it just felt so different and alien to identify as normal now. Especially as an International-ARMY, who were known for collectively struggling with the idea of never meeting the boys and only getting rare visits. I suddenly felt as though my fortified world as a fan had shifted on its axis.

When ‘Fire’ started blaring through the speakers of the stadium, the tumbling thoughts vanished, and a smile suddenly erupted onto my features. Memories of the action-packed lesson back in the practice room at Bighit caused me to shake my head fondly. Was it strange that I had to fight the urge to break into the dance routine Hoseok and Jimin had taught me? Maybe, but I wasn’t ashamed.

Maybe, there was an off chance they were reliving the same memories? I doubted it, but it would be hilarious to see their faces during this performance and catch any random, straying grins or chuckles.

As the minutes flew by, I hung back against the wall a few metres away and glanced around to see if my help would be required. Then, a couple of seconds after the third song – ‘Save Me’ – drew to a close, the sound of hasty footsteps ricocheted off the large surrounding walls. There was barely any warning before three of the members burst into the area and scrambled for the piles of clothes on the ground. In the darkness of backstage, I could just distinguish the features of Namjoon, Yoongi and Hoseok. The three rappers.

They quickly shrugged on oversized coats and the crew helped them speedily by looping shimmering chains around their sweaty necklines. I figured they must have been going out to perform one of the ‘Cyphers’, as suggested by their suddenly delinquent fashion sense. I watched with wonderment as the heavily breathing performers worked themselves up to deliver their savagely natured disses.

A couple of minutes soon passed after they’d taken their leave. The loud, banging track was pulsating through the air around those of us waiting in the wings. When the final verse opened up, more panting bodies arrived into the changing area. The vocalists needed to begin gearing up for their own performance after this one, and I was eager to possibly hear ‘Dimple’ or maybe even ‘Lost’? Anything would’ve literally been A-okay with me at that moment.

The vocalists tried their best to remove their shirts in the quickest and quietest way possible, but it wouldn’t have mattered much because ‘Cypher 4’ had enough noise and adlibbing to accompany a battlefield movie scene. Plus, they were getting enough help from the crew members to shuck their decorative getups in no time. All except a very flustered Seokjin…

Seeing the oldest member of BTS up close for the first time rendered me speechless, and it suddenly struck me that he was the only one I hadn’t actually met. My eyes scanned over the broad-shouldered man as he tugged off his shoes and snatched at the clothes to find the right button-up shirt. Cypher was drawing to a close, and he was fumbling with the buttons of his shirt despite the shakiness of his fingers. It looked like he was way too hyped up to even look in a straight line, and I saw that he still hadn’t even fixed up his earpiece.

Everyone else is occupied! Shit, why am I forced into this with the one member I haven’t spoken to?

I instantly jumped to my feet when the black-haired man bit his bottom lip in frustration, looking towards his bandmates desperately for help.

Seokjin's eyes blew wide when I swiftly appeared in front of him and gently knocked his hands away from the buttons of his snowy white dress shirt. I averted my eyes away from the view of his exposed chest, because the sight would surely only muddle my mind further. The wafting tendrils of fragranced cologne and body sweat were already doing enough to my insides as it was, and I really didn’t need the added suffering.

“Fix your mic-earpiece thing!” I whispered urgently and snapped the buttons of the shirt into place quicker than he ever could’ve managed. His concentration flew back to the task at hand, and I felt rather than heard his rickety sigh of pure relief. There was only about a handful of seconds remaining before all four of them had to rush out on stage, so I kept a level head and willed any tremors far away from my fingertips. The man towered above me, so my average height had somehow become useful for once. Only when it came to doing up shirt buttons, so it seemed.

Seokjin looped the cord of his earpiece back around to the correct position, making sure to avoid knocking my rapidly moving fingers, and craned his neck from side to side to loosen the muscles there. Sweat gleamed from his hairline down to the flawless skin of his collarbone, and I couldn’t even bring myself to be disgusted by the coating of it on my fingers just from his clothed chest alone. I now knew why changing outfits halfway through a concert was such a brilliant idea.

“Are you (Y/n), by any chance?” his hushed voice suddenly whispered close to my eardrum, and I looked upwards to see him covering his mic with one careful hand. He had leaned in slightly to make sure it was easy to hear, and I gulped at the scorching temperature blooming from his body. My cheeks were definitely serving consequences.

“Well, how did you manage to figure that out?” I smirked in a sorry attempt to push down any unnecessary stammering, finally finishing up with the buttons and leaving him to smooth out any fabric creases. He did so, and I saw his eyes sparkle with triumph as he rolled his shoulders to release the cramps.

“You’d find it weird if I told you why.”

He shook his head with a smile and reached up to wipe at the smattering of salty droplets cascading down his jawline. I raised an eyebrow at the statement, blaming it on the obvious lack of time, and reached behind me to grab a blue bleach-stained towel resting over a chair.

“I’ll question that later, for now you should have a drink,” I murmured and reached up to smooth his bangs away, letting me dab at his sweat covered brow. He looked positively stunned at my forwardness, but then broke into a mischievous grin and spread his feet further apart so he could lower himself enough to stand at eye-level.

“Hey, I’m not even that short,” I grumbled, narrowing my eyes while continuing to wipe at his jaw more forcefully than before. He almost fell over because of the unbalanced stance, and ducked his head away from my violent towelling, covering his mouth with one hand to muffle his laughter.

“You guys better stop messing around, you’re going out in ten seconds Seokjin-ssi.” A hand tapped my shoulder harshly and I whipped my head around to see the coordinator fixating me with a warning glare. She then scoured it over Seokjin before muttering into her headpiece and departing towards the stage manager’s desk.

I puffed out my cheeks and met Jin’s equally terrified expression, my heartbeat hammering at the daunting encounter. Then seeing his offended pout made me purse my lips, and we could both barely contain ourselves from snorting with amusement again. It was so weird how things seemed to get funnier when you really weren’t supposed to laugh.

“Stop, or you’ll get me fired.” I cleared my throat softly, trying to stop my lips from quirking at every single movement or sound he made.

“Oh, so it’s my fault now? I seem to remember a certain somebody attacking me with a towel…”

Before I could even bite back with a witty reply, Jimin hopped over and tugged Seokjin by the loose flowing fabric of his shirt.

“Hyung, we have to go on!”

I heard Seokjin curse under his breath before he adjusted his earpiece and rolled his wide shoulders once more. His exhilarated but nervous demeanour had made a comeback suddenly, and I felt bad for distracting his focus from the actual concert.

“You’ll do great.” I flashed a thumbs up to both boys and received a heartfelt smile from Jimin in return. Seokjin nodded towards me with one corner of his lips tugged up, and I felt my brain start swimming when he winked.

Not usually being one to back down from a challenge, I dared to throw my own wink back. He definitely wasn’t expecting that, and I turned away with a chuckle upon seeing his widened eyes and confronted expression. He’d tried to turn to Jimin and point at me accusingly, but the signal was finally given for the boys to venture out onto the stage and the vocalist instantly fell back into his serious stage front.

I could only watch them go, feeling giddy that I had finally met the famous ‘worldwide’ man and his luckily genuine sense of humour. It was easy to think that everything he portrayed for the fans was just a mere persona, but after finding out that he truly was the dork we all knew and loved, I could rest easy.

Next thing I know, we’ll be battling it out to see who has the best dad jokes.

As the concert finally mellowed out into the bittersweet goodbyes and thankyous, I was tasked with packing away the supplies and loading them into the transport vans behind the venue. The process took longer than usual, as the organisation was still short on helping hands, but the concert itself had definitely been a huge success.

Humid night air filled my nostrils, and I observed the glittering stars above me serenely. I considered how the world was seriously full of countless blessings: friends, family, joyful memories, wealth, education, sleep, laughter, love…and boybands, I guess. The conclusion, which only took seconds to figure out, was that I was just lucky to have experienced them all.

Well, hopefully I would.

"(Y/n)! Wait up!"

I turned and saw a very flustered Jimin running at full pelt towards me. His hard-soled shoes echoed against the concrete of the emptying carpark, and I couldn't help but smile fondly at his excitable expression.

All six of the remaining members appeared from the double glass doors, and I knew I was about to be faced with the combined elation of them all. There was absolutely no feeling like pulling off a successful concert, and today I could even consider myself a part of it.

Maybe...no hopefully, this wouldn't even be the last time.

tagged: @l4life, @joyful-jimin, @gee-nee

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toastnekohime · 6 years ago

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By The Pulse Of A Heartbeat

Part six of a 2018 Camp NaNoWriMo Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Elementshipping novel. Based on rp’s between myself ( @getyouraoion ) and my amazing, precious Twin’s Jaden ( @kiibx ), By The Pulse Of A Heartbeat tells the story of how Aoi and Jaden met at Duel Academy and formed their incredibly tight friendship, eventually falling into a relationship, and how they handle the various threats thrown at them over their three years of schooling.

There are currently no triggers, but should any arise, they will be tagged.

STILL IN PROGRESS. Please forgive any typos you may find~

Tagging @starisia, as this wouldn’t exist without my wonderful Twin <3

Summary:

Duel Academy is the place to be, the dream school for many kids. Be it through intense studying, duel prep schools, scholarships, or being rich enough to buy their way in, most kids have had their sights set on it for a long time, knowing it to be the perfect place to start towards a career as a professional duelist. Someone has to Dethrone Yugi and take the title of King of Games, and everyone wants a shot!

Except that is, for Aoi Sakazaki.

Falling in love with Duel Monsters when her father bought her several cards in her childhood, she makes the choice to try her hand at the entrance exams, despite having no idea what she wants to do with her life… And just barely squeaks her way in. Her poor exams scores, combined with even poorer grades, land her a solid spot in the Academy’s Slifer Red dorm - The lowest of the low, where students are almost expected to drop out if they don’t advance to Ra Yellow or Obelisk Blue, first.

The rank comes with the rest of the school looking down on them, as well as the worst lodging the furthest distance from the main campus and fewest privileges compared to the other dorms. But it also brings a surprise friend in fellow Slifer student Jaden Yuki, who seems to have absolutely no problem with the hand they’ve been dealt.

It’s not long before Aoi and Jaden find themselves caught up in a whirlwind of an adventure, dealing with exams, classes, ‘evil’ teachers, and somehow still finding enough time to explore the island they now call home. But living on Academy Island isn’t all fun and games; shortly after their schooling begins, things around their home begin to change, and rarely for the better.

Neither friend has any idea what lies in wait for them in the next three years… But is it an adventure they’ll be able to tackle together, or will it end their time at the school - and them - before it’s even begun?

It’s time to put their skills where their mouths are and find out!

Or be miserably left behind in the dust, that was, her legs still sore when she ducked out of her room and made her way down the balcony the following afternoon. It hurt to even walk, though there was no way she was missing this meeting, only releasing her iron grip on the thick binder hugged to her chest to knock on the door at the end.

The previous day's race had brought them to a stretch of beach on the island's southeastern side, water crystal clear and waves far more gentle than what usually hit the rocky cliff behind the Red dorm. With just about everyone exhausted after their first half a week of classes, they'd had the beach mostly to themselves... And like a couple of kids, settled for building a sandcastle until Syrus had caught up.

Sandcastles, jumping around in the surf, checking out the surf shack, nudging each other into waves, crab catching... By the time night had fallen, they'd done it all, Aoi and Jaden dripping wet from impromptu 'swims' in front of a campfire while Syrus took to scolding them and reminding if they got sick from swimming in the middle of October, they were on their own!

But it was a dose of normalcy, of happiness, she'd needed since coming to the academy. It'd been impossible to get too close to her roommates, and there was no way she could talk to Chazz the way she did Jaden, either. Even Syrus she was still guarded towards, keeping a fair bit of distance between them at all times, though he didn't seem to mind despite it all.

Jaden... There was something about him that just seemed to make it all melt away. All the stress, all the worries, her defensiveness and desire to keep her distance – Around him, she couldn't help but laugh and relax. His enthusiasm and grin made the day brighter, for sure, and in a place so determined and full of competition as Duel Academy, it was a breath of fresh air she hadn't known she'd needed until it'd nearly mowed her down – Litteraly.

Even when he opened the door, she could feel the tension melting off her shoulders, tight grip on her binder loosening slightly at the sight of that grin. Whatever it was about him, she didn't want it to ever change.”I though y' would b' out today, honestly.”

Jaden chuckled, stepping aside to let her in. “Nah. I can't feel my legs.” Closing the door behind her, he crossed the room to drop into a desk chair, a hand burying itself in his hair for a gentle scratch. Her laughter wasn't enough to make his grin fade, though it did get him to look up as she came closer after kicking off her shoes, pulling out another chair and setting her binder down on his desk. “What?”

“I can't feel mine either,” she managed out between laughs, sinking into her seat far slower than he had. “Calves, mostly. Y' run t' fast.”

“Need to stay quick on my feet. Can't avoid friends and waves otherwise, y'know.” His eyes practically sparkled, the tease enough to get her to reach out and ever so gently push at his knee. Touching him of her own free will was still slow going; nudges and pushes had been as far as she'd gone, still wary of being too physical with him.

Still, it wouldn't stop her from taking out her deck and flipping open the binder she'd brought. “This is m' entire collection, mister speedyfeet. I'm n' good with homework an' m' grades're 'bout as good as yours, b' I try an' keep this organized th' best I can.” Her fingers ran over the clear plastic sheets, cards set into each of the nine slots. “Monsters, spells, traps. In that order.”

“And a page of charmers,” he pointed out, lifting several of the pages for a look at what lie beneath. “Wait... Is this all of them?! You've got them all?!”

Aoi laughed, flipping over the pages herself. “Mhm. M' charmers are m' favorite. All it takes is one little flip, an' y' can grab a monster off y' opponent's field n' problem. An' then once y' got that, y' tribute 'em both f' th' next form, th' familiar-possesed charmers. They work out a lot better then.”

“Mm, still level fours.” Placing a finger one a copy of Raging Eria, he reached over for the deck set down nearby with his other hand, spreading it out on the desk and nudging out both Eria the Water Charmer and Familiar-Possesed Eria. “See? You don't need the tribute.”

She laid a hand over his, gently guiding the pointing finger to Familiar-Possesed Aussa, letting it rest over the effect text there. “Look again. I don't need it, n', b' doin' it that way? There's extra damage t' b' dealt. Th' tribute grants them piercing damage. An' with an 1850 attack... Could d' some good damage.”

He nodded, glancing between the binder and spread out deck. Though he was still smiling, the look in his eyes had changed; he was more serious, focused, so much unlike the boy she saw in class. As if there was something that just clicked mentally whenever he looked at their cards. “I've never seen 'em myself, but I've heard of the charmers. Attack's good... Your favorites?”

“They are. See-” She paused, the hand still holding his lifting so she could flip the page, “they have three forms, matchin' traps, an' three of 'em have familiars t' match their second form: Jigabyte, Inari Fire, an'...” A groan. “Nefarious Archfiend Eater of Nefariousness.”

The returned laughter brought her grin back. It wasn't her fault Aussa had a weirdly named familiar! “That's why they're all here. Er.. Except f' Eria. She's m' favorite above 'em all.”

“Then we keep Eria.” The moment she released his hand, he set about sliding several other charmers free, pushing them and the water magician up higher on the desk. “Here- It's your deck. What do ya wanna save from this one?”

“Eria... An' this...”

“You sure? What about this one?”

“Mmm... Nah, that one. N' Jigabyte, either. I have an idea. What about this one? Think it could work?”

“Pfft- It could- You've got a better idea going now, huh?”

“Yep- All 'cause y' pointed it out.”

An idea, that was, that would take them both the majority of the afternoon to execute. The sun had begun to set by the time Aoi leaned back in her chair, hugging her new deck to her chest; why hadn't they done this sooner?! “It's perfect! Ah, Jay, y' th' best f' this!”

Both teens paused, sharing a surprised glance. Had.. She just called him Jay? The hours hadn't been just deck talk either, jokes and vague stories of their pasts worked in between cards. He knew her father worked for the power company back home and had bought her Eria, and she knew he'd spent a lot of time dueling with the neighborhood kids in his hometown... And with little, smaller tidbits added in, it'd clearly led to... What, exactly?

Jaden's lips spread into a slow forming but broad grin first. “Hey, no worries- It's a cool nickname! But y'know what would be even cooler?”

“I'm gonna read y' mind an' say a duel.” She laughed, flipping the cover of her binder closed. “Depends. What time is it? 'cause I'm getting' hungry an' Professor Banner's cookin' is amazin'. M' stomach beats out a duel any day.”

As her deck found its way to her lap, his PDA came up from the pouch on his belt, the hem of his shirt tugged aside enough that she could see it. Her own was usually shoved in her pocket; maybe the school's store would have something similar? A holder would certainly come in handy rather than sitting on it every day! “...Six-thirty. Could probably get one in – Though I'm with you! Never miss a meal around here!”

“Tell m' 'bout it.” The tease was soft and gentle, widening her own smile at the sight of his nonchalant shrug. “What can I say, I'm a growing boy-”

“Y' got th' same endless stomach I d' is what y' are.”

“Heeey, no fair-”

“Wanna get back at m'? Get y' duel disk an' let's g'! I jus' gotta grab mine from m' room- Meet y' b' th' stairs?”

“Deal.”

All but bouncing out of her chair, Aoi sipped her deck back into it's case; while it wouldn't stay there for long, it was better than accidentally dropping it while she tugged her boots on, making it a point to do so while leaning against the wall by the sink. The angle gave her a chance to watch him prepare, too, shrugging out of his uniform jacket and tying it around his waist. She'd never seen him without the blazer before...

Making sure the colored tongues of her shoes were straight, she stuck her tongue out at him and ducked out the door. She could always go back for her binder later, but for now she needed to get past her roommates and ignore the challenge called out by her friend for teasing him. She'd already agreed, what was the point of a formal challenge, anyway? If she'd agreed, it wasn't needed – Except for the dramatics of it, which she was quickly learning came easily in their newfound friendship.

Thankfully, it took all of three seconds to sneak past Kassidy and Mia and grab her duel disk from beside the sink before she was out again, sliding the device onto her arm. The familiar feeling of the wide metal band slowly tightening around her arm was almost comforting, relaxing; why was it just the idea of a duel of late eased a lot of tension? Taking her deck from the case and sliding it into the disk's slot ranked up there with it, the click of the band settling into place and deck held tight in the device's grip bringing a smile to her lips.

“Having fun without me?” Jaden questioned, stepping out of his room with a quick tug to close the creaky door behind him. Blazer still tied around his waist, he'd donned his own disk, deck already set and a wide grin on his lips. If she didn't know better, she'd think him a three year old on his way to the candy store, not a 15 year old headed out to duel!

She waited until he'd joined her to turn, the pair making their way down the balcony together. It was amazing how much more comfortable it was to have someone to talk to! “N' way. Y'know... Nothin' on this island's as fun as y' make it. Y' even made a walk t' th' beach fun.”

He bowed his head with a broad grin, gesturing to let her down the stairs first, to which she bowed in return with a laugh. “You've never had fun at the beach before? C'mon, Aoi, you make it sound like nothing's fun here!”

“It's n'. All th' studyin' an' th' homework... I fell asleep on that Spell Theories paper we had t' write. Pretty sure drool doesn't count as a theory.”

“...We had a paper?”

“Jaden!”

His grin faded into a sheepish smile, then a laugh shared between them, honey meeting green-blue. Settling his hands behind his head, he took up the lead, guiding her down the slope towards the cliff bellow. The red dorm had the fewest privileges of all the dorms, students even looked down on to the point of being expected to drop out, yet they had the best place to duel – a small, rocky bit of cliff the waves constantly crashed against, and this afternoon was no different.

“Gotta admit, this view's the best on the island,” Jaden blurted after a few moments, stopping by the line of large rocks making up a bit of a barrier on the cliff's edge. The breeze ruffled his hair, hands finally coming out from behind his head, smile falling to one of contentment and peace. “'Specially from our dorm. Yellow and blue don't get anything like this, I bet.”

Aoi sighed, biting the tip of her tongue right after. There it was, the reason he kept dragging people in; his boyish charm and optimism knew absolutely no bounds, the desire to see others happy and smiling as wide as he did harder to stop than a cockroach. He could bring in even the coldest, hardest soul and make them smile, of that she had no doubt... And she now suspected that smile had caught her a month earlier, when she'd first seen him at the exams.

“I wouldn't doubt it. They're nowhere near th' sea like we are – I mean, blue's got th' lake, right? They... would... Jay?” Just mention of the lake had turned his sunkissed cheeks a pale shade of red, stance shifting to reflect his sudden sheepishness. What in the world could've been wrong with mentioning the lake? It wasn't that far away and- Oh, for goodness sake, it was a lake! “Y' got issues with th' lake? I know y' can swim, s' what's wrong?”

All he did was shake his head, pressing his lips tightly together. The gesture was enough to make her laugh, but not eliminate her concern; what could've happened between him and the lake that would result in this? Everyone on the island already knew how he'd happily tell a story if it meant getting a smile or helping someone out, but this was a little on the ridiculous side, wasn't it?

A second later, he turned to face her, arm raised to show off his duel disk. “It's nothin', I promise. We came out here for a duel, right? Time to get your game on, Aoi!”

“M' game's always on, Jay, jus' y' wait!” A quick movement of her arm to match his activated both duel disks, the electronics starting up enough to get her even more excited than she had been before. Several large steps put a decent amount of space between them, fingers all too used to the routine quickly drawing their starting hands, plus an extra for the barely quicker raven. “Ladies first- M' draw!”

This was already going to be easier said than done, and she knew it. She'd at least drawn a monster she wanted in her first go, but the rest wasn't quite as helpful... Pulling a card from her hand, she set it down on the disk, grinning at the charmer that appeared. “Aussa th' Earth Charmer, in attack mode! An' I'll set a face down,” a pause, sliding another card into the spell and trap zone, the hologram of the set card appearing between her and the brunette monster, “an' it's y' g', Jay!”

Aussa's 500 attack wouldn't get her too far, a thought that hit her harder than an 18-wheeler once her friend grinned at his hand. She knew his deck; full of elemental heroes, it was a challenge to anyone who faced it, with him being currently unbeaten on the island. Just like she knew he'd get rid of her face down – a tactic confirmed a second later when he held out a spell to show her before sliding it into his disk, the larger hologram easier to see.

“Mystical Space Typhoon destroys your face down! I helped you build that, I'm not risking it!” His chuckle was the only thing she could hear over the winds, sharp gusts forcing her arms up to shield herself and cutting through her set spell. That wasn't good... Book of Taiyou's effect would've needed some specific timing, but she'd hoped to protect Aussa by using it to flip his monster face down. Without it, she was defenseless, waiting for the gusts to ease before removing the card and sliding it into her disk's graveyard, with Jaden following suit a second later.

And he wasn't done, either, slapping a monster down before she could even try to guess what he held. “Elemental Hero Burstinatrix! Sorry, but I've gotta take down that charmer of yours – Attack Aussa with Flare Storm!”

She barely had a chance to shield herself from the heroine's flames, focusing instead on the life point counter on her disk ticking down. The drop to 3300 was one she could easily say she'd expected, mumbling an apology to Aussa while sending her card to the grave. It was still a new deck, one she was still learning, and things like that were going to happen, especially against the top duelist of the Slifer Red dorm. “Y' n' gonna get away with that one!”

Still completely at ease, her friend shrugged his shoulders, practically beaming. “Then c'mon, it's your draw! Show me what you've got!”

Why was he so bright and happy? Just like when they'd been building her deck, the spark in his eyes was less 'Slifer Slacker' and slightly more serious, focused – and overall like a kid with a brand new bunch of balloons. She couldn't say it wasn't cute, either, his clear excitement putting her at ease with her next draw. “Y' got it! I hope y' ready f' this one!”

Her eyes widened a fracture at the sight of her drawn card; if he wanted to see her best, he was about to get it! “I'm settin' two cards and throwin' down a monster in defense mode. Y' might have helped m' build this, b' I don't think y' gonna guess what I have in store f' y'!”

“Why would I want to?” He paused, two fingers set on his deck. “This duel's a blast! If I knew what was coming it wouldn't be any fun!”

“...Y' th' biggest dork I know.”

“I'm gonna take that as a compliment-”

“It was one, s' good.”

Any confusion he'd shown melted away with his draw. His stance shifted just slightly, showing more confidence than before, though she wasn't quite sure how that was even possible – Either he'd drawn something good or he was bluffing to throw her off... And worse, she was ready to believe a bluff that good!

“I'll throw down a face down myself, and summon Elemental Hero Avian!” The winds whipped up again with the hero's appearance on the field, but it was the face down card that appeared seconds before him that had her attention. For all she knew it was Polymerazation, though if it was, wouldn't he have used it already? To be fair, with a spell and trap left in her hand, she should've played her own, and.. Hmm...

So lost in her thoughts, she nearly missed the movement of his arm, a dramatic sweep to point at her face down monster. “Go, Brustinatrix! Attack that face down!”

In return, she lifted her own, one of her cards raising with it to reveal her trap. “An' I'm activatin' Unpossessed in return! On top that...” Aoi grinned; he'd fallen into her trap, the hologram of her monster flipping in reply to Burtinatrix's attack and bringing with it another charmer, hiding behind her staff and deflecting the fire thrown at her. It couldn't have worked out any more perfect! “Meet Hiita th' Fire Charmer! Her 1500 defense beats out Burstinatix's 1200 attack, s' y' get 300 damage from it!”

It wasn't the grand attack she'd wanted to, but there was something about seeing him take the hit that did wonders for her confidence. She'd actually dealt damage to their dorm's ace – and it she had her way, it wasn't the only damage he'd take, either! “An' that's n' all, Jay – Flippin' Hiita activates her effect! She grabs Burstinatrix from y' field and brings her over t' mine!”

Even with the distance between them, she could tell his eyes were on her rather than Hiita's grin, or Burstinatrix switching sides, slowly floating down to a stop beside the spellcaster. That feeling of being watched sent a shiver down her spine, but... Were his lips moving? Was he talking to himself? They were the only ones there - “My turn's over, then. That's a pretty good move there.”

“Thanks. Y' b' amazed what y' learn from listenin' t' y' friend durin' deck buildin'.” Whatever that had been, she wasn't going to question it, drawing her next card... And bursting out into laughter right after. “Remember when I first got t' y' room? An' I had t' tell y' 'bout th' charmers?”

His expression fell, shoulders sagging some. “You didn't-”

“I did! I'm tributin' Burstinatrix an' Hiita t' special summon her more powerful form, Familiar-Possesed Hiita! An' t' top that off, I'm activatin' m' other face down, Brain Control! This lets m' take y' Avian, t', f' this turn only!” With the continued slumping of her friend's shoulders, Burtinatrix faded from the field, leaving behind a rush of flames to consume the charmer. By the time Avian had switched sides, the fire had rolled away to reveal the far more powerful Hiita, twirling her staff around as an entrance. The perfect entrance, in her opinion, stifling a giggle with a lightly closed fist at his clear pout.

Like before, he was back to grinning and confident in no more than a heartbeat. “Attack?”

“Attack, definitely! Hiita, Inferno Rage! An' Avian, follow it up!” But this time, the attack was less satisfying, even if it did still give another confidence boost. Watching him shield himself from Avian's quills was one thing, but Hiita never held anything back, launching an oversized ball of fire at him. The connection forced him down to one knee, rubbing at the chest where the brunt of it hit in a reminder that though they were just holograms, the technology had advanced enough since the days of the Battle City tournament years ago, now coming just solid enough for the duelists to feel some of the damage they took.

And it didn't matter if Jaden was her opponent for the time being, he was still her friend. Hurting him was the last thing she wanted to do, concern hitting her hard at the sight of his shoulders trembling. “Hey- Y' okay? Didn't t' hard, did it?”

With the end of her turn, Avian returned to his side of the field, bringing with him the faint sound of laughter. Well, that explained the shaking shoulders... “I'm fine! Didn't expect that- This duel just got a lot more fun!”

Nuts. The kid was nuts.

His next draw had her shaking her head, more than amused; was there anything that could bring down the energetic boy before her? Even down to 850 life points compared to her 3300, he didn't seem fazed in the least-

“Now you're gonna meet one of my best heroes! I'm activating Polymerazation, fusing the Sparkman and Clayman in my hand!”

Though that could be why, Aoi realized, turning her attention from the brunette to the clouds and thunder rolling in above them. If that wasn't enough to make her nervous, the giant that descended from the storm was, the sparks coming off his hands and body the perfect match for Jaden's brilliant smile. “Aoi, meet Elemental Hero Thunder Giant! Hiita, too- 'Cause when he's summoned, his effect activates! It destroys one monster on the field whose original attack points are lower than his! Thunder Giant, blow Hiita away with Static Blast!”

“Kindda good thing I'm n' afraid of thunderstorms, huh?” Enough so that she only flinched with the loss of Hiita, Thunder Giant's electricity zapping the spellcaster like a lightning bolt in the midst of a real storm. “B' y' forgot 'bout m' trap!”

“What about it?”

“B' destroyin' one of m' monsters, once per turn I can replace 'em with a spellcaster from m' deck, s' long as it's of a different attribute an' has 1500 or less defense! An' since all I can d' is play defensively, I'm gonna summon out Gemini Elf in defense!”

As if on command, the requested card popped out from her deck, letting her switch Hiita for her replacement. The twins weren't exactly the sight she wanted to see, but at least they were a shield between herself and Thunder Giant-

“Avian, attack Gemini Elf! Thunder Giant's Voltic Thunder's coming right for ya, next!”

Not for long, anyway, her elf gone mere seconds before the lightning followed. That she could do without in the future, the attack reminding her just how hard the monsters could actually hit – and how realistic it could feel in some cases, knocking the wind from her and leaving her knees trembling. It was a reaction that passed rather quickly, but it was still frustrating none the less, especially knowing it'd dropped her down to 900, just 50 points higher than Jaden.

Pulling another card from her deck, she barely gave it a glance before throwing it down on her disk, following it up with another spell. “Last ditch effort- I'm summonin' m' favorite, Familiar-Possesed Eria! An' with her is Magician's Right Hand- as long as this's in play an' I have a spellcaster on m' field, y' can't use spells! Eria, attack Avian!”

“Sorry, can't let you! My face down activates- Hero Barrier!”

How had she forgotten about that? Eria's wave formed from the tip of her staff, spreading and growing as it raced across the field, just to disperse on hitting the barrier protecting Avian. She'd been banking on his face down being a spell, not something that could protect his heroes from attack. And as long as she only had her one monster, she couldn't even try again, waving a hand to Jaden with a slight bow. “Then it's y' move. An' speakin' of moves, that was a good one.”

“Thanks, I try.”

Their shared laugh at least made things even better, her eyes drifting closed. “'M sorry, Eria. I kindda failed y' this time.” And it meant she didn't have to see Thunder Giant destroying her favorite monster on his duelist's call, or watch Avian follow it with his attack, though not knowing when the quills would hit made the sting that much worse. Letting the pain roll off as fast as it'd hit, Aoi sunk to the ground, sighing softly and turning her gaze back up to her companion just in time to see him point with two fingers and grin, lips parting for the now familiar call of “That's game~!”

Slowly, her duel disk deactivated, the cards sitting in the graveyard ejected and carefully removed before the disk itself returned to standby mode. A loss was to be expected when testing a new deck, sure, but... A loss was still, and always would be, a bummer.

“You okay? Here.”

Jaden's voice pulled her attention away from her deck, cards returned to it, just to stare at his by now familiar red boots. Green-blue followed the curve of them to his jeans, then further up to his wast, stomach, chest... And finally the warm smile he wore, hand extended to help her up. “That was a seriously sweet match! We've gotta do that again!”

This time, placing her hand in his lacked the usual awkwardness she normally felt, replacing itself with warmth. Warmth from a friend, from his smile, the easy and careful way he helped her up, having an opponent who respected her, knowing he meant every word of his praise – she couldn't find the source of it, but it was by far nicer than the wariness she'd always felt around others. “Y' want a rematch? M' charmers're n' match f' y' heroes, y'know.”

“You kidding? I thought you had me with Hiita! I just got lucky with Polymerazation-” He paused, his stomach growling just loud enough to interrupt him and make her fight to hold back laughter. “Maybe we can get that rematch after dinner.”

“I'd say y' thinkin' with y' stomach, b' t' b' honest, I am t'. Dueling really makes y' hungry, huh?” She gave his hand a little tug before releasing it, turning for the slope they'd taken earlier. As adorable as his pale pink tinted cheeks were, she didn't feel the need to comment on it, especially not when they were both clearly starving! “C'mon. Let's get some food in y'.”

In a heartbeat, the brunette was right beside her, sniffing at the air. Gods above, did he ever remind her of a puppy sometimes! “I think I smell soy sauce- And fish! There's always fish! Er.. No wait, it's pineapple- ...Peas?”

“...Fried rice?”

“Nah. Banner's specialty is fish. I think.”

“Right now I'd probably eat a horse.”

“Not alone you're not! I'm hungry too!”

“An' y' sniffin' th' air like a dog! I can tell y' are!”

Jaden laughed, nudging her side with an elbow. “Pigs don't do that?” he teased, running ahead to avoid the playful swat she aimed at his head. “Gotta try harder than that! C'mon, Aoi, we've gotta get our dinner on!”

She shook her head, pace picking up to a jog. He had a point, and dinner did smell good, so... “What're we bein' s' slow f'? Dinner waits f' n' puppy!”

#By The Pulse Of A Heartbeat #starisia #kiibx #blackthvnder #elementshipping #Part Six #I don't like writing out duels #They're too long and difficult to make interesting #But a longish part with one regardless!#And a bunch of cute dork friends #Because Aoi and Jay are adorkable seriously <3

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prouxvaire · 7 years ago

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Upstairs Bath: Finish Work and All The Swears

Progress on the upstairs bathroom is– and this is a phrase I haven’t used in conjunction with progress around the house in a long time– coming along nicely

I mean, to be honest, there is nothing nice about it… this bathroom is coming along like a gigantic pain in my ass, but it is coming along, and that’s the important part.

There have been some easy wins over the last week. I mean, I spent last Friday night inside the tub with a beer and caulk gun…

By the end of the night the tub was water-tight and I started giving some serious thought to having a working shower in this bathroom, which meant dealing with the unfinished plumbing.

Three years ago when I bought the tub (and, again, assumed this was going to be a 3 weekend project) I also bought the Delta Addison tub and shower trim kit. It came with a tub spout connector that needs to be soldered to the copper stub-out the plumbers left…

I’m mediocre at sweating pipes. Like, I can do it, but I don’t want to do it within an inch of the new surround tile with zero margin for error. Right? I’m crazy, but not I-want-to-accidentally-burn-my-house-down crazy.

Here’s how I know the idea of finishing this plumbing was stressing me out…

I woke up Saturday morning with plumbing parts in my bed.

Apparently I had a burning plumbing question at 3AM that had to be answered right then.

Also, Saturday morning I got an Amazon notification that a new coupling with a set-screw (that doesn’t need to be soldered on) had been shipped. Apparently 3AM me is very resourceful and good at problem solving.

The new coupling cost $7. So, two years ago when I had a working tub upstairs and thought I needed to bring the plumber back to install this coupling… turns out I just needed a small bout of insomnia, a $7 part, and to stop being such a wuss and start thinking about other ways to solve a problem.

Story of my life, guys.

Here’s how the install went…

I did a dry-fit first, and then cut the stub out down to size using a copper tube cutter (they’re fairly cheap, easy to use, and you can find them at most hardware stores.)

Then, put the coupling on, and tightened down the set screw…

And then screwed the tub spout on…

Yep. Took all of 3 minutes.

After the drywall patches were finished above the shower I also installed the shower head (which was just screwed in with a little Teflon tape.) And then, for the first time in 3 years, had a working shower upstairs….

And not just a working shower, but, an amazing shower. This house has mediocre water pressure, and I thought that until I fixed that (sometime in the next 20 years) it was just going to be mediocre showers from here on out, but turns out all I needed was a really good shower head.

This one is like an effing massage. (And that’s not sponsored in any way, just the gods honest truth.)

Which is all to say, my mom was right. Having this bathroom mostly functional has drastically improved my quality of life.

But, as with all good things, it did not come without a fight. And in my case that fight was with every single one of the five– yes five– separate light fixtures in this bathroom.

There’s the one that used to be in the closet I tore out, and worked briefly 3 years ago before all of the sudden dying… (Currently I’m getting no power to the switch, and have no idea why.)

Then there’s the two can lights I tried to retrofit a few years ago, but the trim doesn’t fit quite right (because why would it?)

Oh, and this thing above the shower.

I can’t even.

But the worst of all of them is this fan over the toilet.

The light hasn’t worked for the entirety of the time I’ve lived here, and just about nothing could compel me to take the cover off that light because I’ve been traumatized by getting a facefull of desiccated japanese beetles one too many times while trying to change light fixtures in this house.

Note: They taste worse than they smell.

Ugh.

But there was no way I was going to have a fully remodeled bathroom and still have that ugly fan over the toilet, so I got to it… and, first of all? There was a (luckily abandoned) wasp nest in there…

Wasps nest notwithstanding, removing the old box from the ceiling was a maddening affair. I have access to the attic so I thought this would be no big deal, but that particular part of the attic had decking installed with nails. So instead of being able to un-screw the OSB to access the fan box I had to haul two saws up to the attic to cut a hole in it.

Then I realized that because of the large space between the floors of my house and the fact the that fan was in a soffit, the box was a solid 18″ below the floor of the attic (i.e. only accessible if I laid on the floor and reached down as far as I could while my face was smashed up against a pile of what was most likely mouse poop. I don’t want to talk about it.)

After maybe 30 minutes of trying to locate the screws and/or pry the box loose I realize it had actually been NAILED into the soffit framing. Nailed. Why.

It’s been a long time since I’ve truly lost my shit in the middle of a project, so I will just say this: I only managed to remove that fan box with the liberal use of my hammer and every single swear word I know.

And, of course, in the process, tore a nice big chunk of drywall out of the ceiling that I’d just finished patching and sanding BECAUSE THIS PROJECT WILL NEVER END.

All the swear words, you guys. All of them.

But finally, finally, I got the new box up, installed the fan and the light, Flipped the switch, aaaaaand…

The light didn’t come on.

You know how this goes… take it all apart, put it all back together again, remain convinced that there will never ever be a working light fixture in this bathroom, and then, after several hours and all the new and creative ways I could combine four-letter words, I finally got the fan AND the light to turn on.

Whew.

At this point I thought it would be smooth sailing… just replace the old fixture above the shower with a new LED retrofit can light. These things are super easy to install. You just screw an adapter into the light socket, push the light up into the can, and voila! New can light. It’s as easy as changing a light bulb.

Except in my house, of course. Because the “can” wasn’t a standard 4″ can OR a standard 5″ can. It’s 4.5″. Because why not?

After some finagling I figured out how to use a 5″ retrofit LED can light (which, yes, I happened to have on hand because I hoard house-parts, apparently) but it was a pretty tight fit, and I may have been less than gentle trying to get the trim to fit into the can, and the next thing I know…

Yeah, cut a wire, popped a breaker, and for the life of me could not get the power to turn back on to this room.

If you need me, I’ll just be sitting up here in the dark for the next eternity.

Ugh. Fine. I did not sit in the dark for all eternity. I eventually stopped whining, reset all the GFI outlets and the breaker, and eventually ended up here:

It’s like the skies parted, the heavens opened up, and angels started singing. Also, 4 of the 5 lights turned on.

So for about a week I had one of the most well-lit bathrooms in the history of modern electricity… and then we got hit with an early-March snowstorm.

Which knocked out the power to the house for the last 3 days.

I mean, I’m sure the universe isn’t actually out to get me, but you know it’s also definitely getting a few laughs at my expense right now.

Here’s the good news though (other than the fact that I own a generator, which is very, very good news after 72 hours without power) the progress may be a pain in the ass, but it is coming along:

Tear out closet and patch drywall

Re-face cabinets

Level, tile, and grout floor

Tile tub surround

Patch ceiling

Move outlets and patch all drywall

Replace plumbing and install toilet

Caulk tub and toilet

Paint radiator

Paint ceiling and touch-up walls

Install baseboard

Install new light fixtures and switches

Add cabinet “feet”

Finish tub plumbing for working shower

Get and hang mirrors

Get hutch for storage

Install shelving, towel racks, etc.

Paint and re-hang door with new hardware

Another couple of weekends and it might actually be finished.

from http://ift.tt/2FWfMqn

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sureyhny · 7 years ago