#I didn’t think I was going to finish this before I mimi

[kubeesart]

Dr. Vanta Potrait

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✎ | I’m tired so I’m calling this finished- It’s a more rendered version of the Dr Vanta sketch I drew! I’m getting the hang of only using 3 brushes ٩( ᐛ )و

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Extra

✎ | And quick doodle of chibi Vanta and Xmas Protogon :]

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[pearlywritings]

A guide to motivate the General

synopsis: just a couple of messages and maybe a call from his loved ones is all Jing Yuan needs to find it in himself to finish his work and go home.

pairing: Jing Yuan x fem!reader

tw: fluff, domestic fluff, dad!Jing Yuan, Mimi being a huge spoiled baby

word count: 2.1k+ words

A loud yawn echoes in an empty space of The Seat of the Divine Foresight. The general squints, but immediately shakes his head - as much as he’d love to take a nap, there are still some urgent cases he has to attend to. It’s so quiet and lifeless with everyone being dismissed. Oh, what he would’ve given to be far far from here… 

He knows, however, that dwelling on such a matter is just a waste of his resources. Instead of feeling jealous of the guards and secretaries he let go home three hours ago, he opts to redirect the remnants of his energy to the last pile of papers he’s already halfway through.

But just as he reaches for another document his phone vibrates, screen lighting up momentarily, but even a second-long glance is enough to see who the message is from.

And he can’t make his wife wait, can he?

As he carefully puts the ink brush down the device makes a sound a couple of more times, indicating that there are three messages already. Quickly typing eight numbers of his passcode - two most important dates of his life - Jing Yuan swipes away all the spam that has gathered there this evening. His thumb lightly taps on the messenger and goes right to the chat with you, tired golden eyes gaining a bit of their usual shine.

Good evening, my love. I suppose you weren’t lying when you said you’d be quite busy. Didn’t want to disturb you before, but I hope Yanqing wasn’t covering you up, telling me that you ‘dutifully ate’ the dinner I asked him to bring you earlier.

Jing Yuan chuckles. Ah, isn’t it wonderful to have a loving doting spouse who cares so much for her husband. Of course he took a break and ate his dinner - how could he ever deny your home-cooked meals? It would be a crime against your marriage.

Ignoring for a moment your two next messages, the man starts typing an answer.

Good evening, beloved. Yes, I’ll be here for another hour it seems. But I am planning to return home tonight, don’t worry. Yes, the dinner was delicious, thank you. And you know that boy knows better than to lie to you.

Though he, personally, finds your infuriated face adorable, not scary. Sending the message, he skips to the next ones.

Look who’s been waiting for your return

And the video attached. Not thinking too long, he presses play.

He is quick to recognize your shared bedroom and from the angle you were filming you were clearly in bed. He can see the double doors of the entrance, some of the furniture and fine tapestries decorating the walls. But the main focus is obviously the big lion pacing back and forth in the space between the bed and the doors, occasionally stopping, glancing at the wooden obstacle, huffing and continuing its pacing. Then he hears you sweet melodic giggle and his heart melts and then immediately bursts when your voice enters the recording.

“She’s been like that for the last half an hour. She clearly misses papa.”

At the word ‘papa’ Mimi swiftly stops and looks at you and then at the door. Her tail slowly moves.

“No, Mimi, sorry, but papa isn’t home yet. Though I am sure he will soon.”

She seems to understand you, because another huff of dissatisfaction passes through her nose and she butts her head against the left door.

“Jing Yuan, you better hurry, before she figures out how to open the door and go bother ‘her cub’. I barely managed to separate the two.”

As the video stops, the general can’t help but snort, mouth covered with his palm. Eyes glance to the side, to the photo frame sitting snugly on his table - of him, you, held against his side with one arm, and a little girl perched comfortably in the crook of his other one. The smiles the three of you presenting are joyful and he can recall why - the day was brilliant, after all.

Not given an opportunity to wonder however, his attention is brought back by another vibration - looks like you still have something to say.

True, but it never hurts to make sure.

Want me to wait for you?

Oh, he’d love for you to be awake and welcome his exhausted body into your embrace, but at the same time he wants you to have a night of good sleep before tomorrow. Even so…he can allow himself to indulge just a little bit, right?

Warmth swirls in his chest when you pick his video call.

“Hi, pretty,” a lazy smile tugs on the corners of his lips when he sees your cozy form - hair let down, a pillow tucked behind your back and two thin straps of the chemise resting on your beautiful shoulders.

“Hey there, sleepyhead,” he sees your eyes taking into his own visage, noting his tired gaze, messy hair and a palm supporting his chin. “Are you calling me to answer my question?”

“Yes and no. Just wanted to see you before you go to sleep,” and that is enough of a response to you.

“How sweet of you, Yuan,” there is a guttural noise in the background and he sees your eyes dart behind the phone. “Ah, looks like Mimi heard your voice. She started running around the room. Searching for you, Mister,” even though there is a hint of reproach in your voice, the general knows you are simply joking. 

“My apologies. It seems I made all my girls wait. Speaking of my girls, how is-”

Suddenly you gasp and your body seems to jump and for a moment the phone tilts backwards and Jing Yuan has to stare at the ceiling.

“My dear? Everything is okay?”

“What-? Ah, yes, yes, it- Mimi, stop! Ouch, your paw is heavy!”

The ceiling is clearer now - you must’ve put the device down in an attempt to (what he can only guess) fight off the lion that jumped onto your bed, finally figuring out where the voice was coming from. Loud grunts and your noises of discontent with occasional complaints are the only things he can hear for a couple of minutes. Reasoning that it’s better if he stays silent for the time being, Jing Yuan sets the phone against the photo frame and returns to the paper he was about to review.

It’s almost three documents later - wow, a quick peak of his loved one is doing wonders to his worsened productivity - when the commotion settles down and you pick your phone back, heavily exhaling with an annoyed look on your face. Jing Yuan decides to simply turn to you, hand still skipping through the papers.

“I swear, this overgrown cat is the biggest baby I’ve ever dealt with. Here, look, papa is here,” and you practically shove the device into the animal’s muzzle. Big nose sniffs around, and, not finding the familiar scent of her caretaker, the lion gives you a side eye, which makes your husband choke on his laughter. The maned head whips to the left, keen hearing obviously picking a well-known voice.

“Who taught her that jumping onto the bed is okay?” You are in his sight again, fingers running through your hair, now no different from his own messy locks. “Right - you. I couldn’t get her off and barely managed to put this bulk down. You better pray she decides to leave on her own accord, or you are sleeping on the floor tonight.”

Yes, your annoyed expressions are truly marvelous. How he wished to be there with you and shower your puffy cheeks with dozens of kisses, cradling your face in his big warm palms. It would be so lovely.

“I’ll just go and sleep with my angel then. I am sure she won’t be against having dada by her side.”

He hears Mimi yawn loudly and you make an ‘oof’ sound, promptly lifting the phone.

“Everything is alright?”

“Yeah… She just dropped her head onto my lap. And is staring at me, quite offended.”

“Oooh, now you are stuck,” he can't help but smirk, relishing the roll of your eyes. He knows better than anyone how heavy his pet is. Even he feels a strain in his back whenever he picks her up. Or maybe he is just getting old.

“Wow, thanks, General Obviousness. Mimi, your papa is so-”

Abruptly you are interrupted again, but this time by a quiet, almost inaudible sound of the doors opening. He sees your body lean forward and by a warning “Mimi, stay” he knows you are pinning the animal down. Which can mean only one thing…

“Mom?” A sweet sleepy voice of his daughter proves his assumption right. Suddenly, hearing just one word from her, the man wants to abandon what little work he has left and rush home to envelope the little wonder into his arms, hear her giggle and call him “dad” or “dada” or “papa” - he'd take anything, really, as long as it’s from his little one.

“What is it, baby? Having trouble sleeping?” Oh, but your voice is so beautifully tender, he wants to have it directly caress his ears, while he is cuddled into your body, your fingers running through his thick hair. Aeons, he is losing focus.

“I heard Mimi running,” the little voice gets closer and Jing Yuan sees how your shoulder tenses - the arm is undoubtedly wrapped around the lion’s body. “I thought that daddy came home… has he not yet?”

Now, he really wants to get home as soon as possible.

“No, sweety. But guess what? I am talking to him right now. Want to say hi?”

As you are leaning back, your husband reaches for the phone, holding it properly in his hands, heart skipping a beat in anticipation, waiting for the girl to climb onto the bed and settle at your side.

Stars above, she is a carbon copy of him. Fluffy hair, tucked behind her ears not to obscure the vision, keeping the pretty liquid gold eyes on display, a beauty mark under her eye is charming, just as a lovely smile, stretching mouth when she finally catches the glimpse of her father.

“Papa hiii!” Her little hands wave happily at him, a toothy grin even wider than before. Pure excitement written all over her drowsy expression is adorable, so cute in fact, that Jing Yuan fists the shirt on his chest in a silent cry of his heart.

“Hi, my little sparrow,” he speaks softly, gazing at her with so much love, while his mind is screaming with joy. “I am going to be home very soon. But I want you, and mama, and Mimi all to go to sleep.”

“But whyyy,” she whines, pouting. He also hears the lion grunt, as if understanding what he is saying, and you just shake your head with a small chuckle.

“Because papa wants you to be well-rested. He promised us a walk tomorrow, right?” Your hand goes to rest on top of her head, patting. “It’ll be too bad if we are sleepy, don't you think?”

“Mama is right. I know you miss me, baby, and I miss you terribly too. But if we want to spend the whole day together, doing everything you, princess, want, I have to complete some of my cases. That's why I am going to say my good night’s and get back to work to finish it.”

The white-haired girl sighs, dropping her head, letting the heavy fringe escape and cover her eyes.

“Being an adult is awful,” he hears her murmur a complaint and can’t help but agree. Though, if he wasn’t an adult, would’ve he ever had you and her? “But I get it, daddy. I am a big girl!”

“That’s my girl,” he gives her an encouraging smile, when she lifts her eyes again to look at him from under the bangs. His smile is almost immediately mirrored.

“So…” Jing Yuan catches your gaze (you have been watching this whole exchange with a fond look in your eyes) and shares unspoken affection. “Good night, my love.”

“Have you soon in my arms, dear,” you blow a kiss and he makes a grabby motion with his hand, bringing it to his very heart.

“Baby,” the girl perks, wiggling in her place and tucking her hair away when his attention is focused on her once more, “sweet dreams. I promise to stop by and kiss you on the cheek.”

“I'll be waiting- I mean sleeping! Have fun with work, daddy.”

“I will. Rub Mimi’s tummy for me, will you?”

“Mhm!”

Giving the two of you one last glance before hanging up, Jing Yuan is filled with the new found motivation. At that moment he thinks that busying himself for the full duration of the day is absolutely worth it, if he gets to give his girls undivided attention tomorrow.

And he will be damned if he lets something ruin it.

[4wkjun]

✴ Kinktober, day eleven: nipple play with Yeonjun

✴ Word count: 0,8K ✴ Content warning: nipple play, nipple piercings, nipple orgasm. ✴ Taglist: starsareseen, lucid-sombra, enha13, karinashairdryer, kim2005bomi, hyunj00, lunathewritingcat, onima-chan ✴ Mimi's note: this one is quite short, however, I feel like no one really talks about the possibility of finishing just by this kind of stimulation so... yeah?

✴ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT! ✴

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴���✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

“Oh, my God, I missed you so much!” Yeonjun mumbled against your hair, holding you the closest he’d ever had.

You giggled, holding his neck tighter as well. Your boyfriend’s been out for three months, touring with his group mates. Unfortunately, you couldn’t leave your classes behind to go with him, so you had to wait for him.

His suitcases were thrown all over the living room floor, and he held you in his arms ‘cause you ran all the way from the bedroom when you heard the electronic doorknob. You missed him from the bottom of your heart.✴✴✴“You know what else I missed?”, Yeonjun asked, entering your shared bedroom, nothing but a towel hanging onto his hips and water drops down his torso. “Our shower head. And our bathroom. And our house. Gosh, staying in hotels is awful.”

You nodded, lying down on your bed. You couldn’t help but smirk and run your eyes across his toned body. He turned around to look for his clothes and you whistled when he dropped the towel to put on his underwear. Yeonjun let out a big laugh.

“Are you a perv or something?”

“Maybe. Or maybe I just really missed your tooshie.”

He laughed again, turning around to walk towards the bed. He hung the towel on the doorknob, and you decided to ignore it for a while; he’s been out for so long that you didn’t even feel like scolding him. Yeonjun laid down next to you, the body still a little wet, and you raised your hand to caress his hair.

“I did something thinking of you”, you said quietly, barely whispering. “You would’ve seen it earlier but you decided to skip showering with me.”

“First: I didn’t decide to skip it. I was on the phone with my manager”, he said, whining. “Second: if I would have only seen it in the shower, it means I’ll love it.”

You chuckled, sitting in the bed. His eyes followed you, but his body was still laid in a floppy way. With no words, whatsoever, you raised your baggy t-shirt, revealing not only your underwear but your bare tits. And your new piercings.

“Holy fuck”, he said almost in a groan, raising his body by his elbow. “Can I touch them?”

“Sure. They’re pretty much healed by now.”

With care, Yeonjun’s fingertip brushed against your nipple, which became so much more sensitive after getting pierced. He slowly dragged his fingertip towards the steel bar through your flesh, feeling the cold metal.

“You’re so hot, holy crap”, he mumbled, leaning in closer. You knew what he was about to do, so you leaned your body forward so he could finally attach his lips to your other nipple.

The two of you had sex for the last time the day he left for his tour, so both of your bodies were aching for each other. His lips circled your hard nipple as his hot tongue brushed against it slowly, along with the stimulation he provided with his hand on your right breast. You closed your eyes and grabbed a fistful of his hair, feeling it a lot stronger than you did before piercing them.

“You’re so good at this”, you said between two deep breaths, sounding ridiculously pornographic. Yeonjun could feel his dick hardening.

He left both of your nipples unattended for a second, only to bring you back to your original position: laid down. He placed his body glued to yours before flicking his tongue against your hard nub countless times.

“Jesus, Yeonjun”, you moaned, eyes closed.

“You did this for me, didn’t you?” he asked, his right hand rubbing your left nipple slowly.

Your face was a bright tone of red, your forehead became sweaty pretty quickly, and your panties were sticking. If you knew you’d be this sensitive just from getting piercings, you would’ve done it so much earlier!

“I did”, you nodded, breath uneven. “All for you.”

His mouth got attached to your right nipple again, this time sucking it. You felt such a strong wave down your core that you barely came.

“Oh, my God, don’t stop”, you moaned, hand back to his silky hair. Without noticing it, you grabbed it harder, making him moan and vibrate against your tit. “Don’t stop, please, please, please”, you mumbled between moans.

Yeonjun would never stop you from getting your pleasure, so he kept sucking one of your nipples and stimulating the other one. Within seconds, you came, seeing white.

Yeonjun let go of your breast with a pop, smirking. “Are you serious? You just came?”, he asked quietly, voice deeper than usual.

“Fuck, yes”, you said, breathless.

“Damn, I didn’t know you could do that”, he said almost musically. “Let’s see if you can do that again.”

Before you could stop him, Yeonjun’s body was diagonally over yours – and his lips now attached to your other nipple.

Your night would last forever (and unfortunately, your neighbors’ too).

[marlynnofmany]

Preferred Speed

(Related side project: Prank War!)

~~~

The cargo bay was full of people and packages. This was, they told me, how things used to be in the old days.

“Only four deliveries to the same location is simplistic,” Zhee declared with a flick of his antennae. “There were days when we had six or seven, and Sunlight or Mimi would be sent out too.” He flicked his antennae in a different direction at the missing honorific. “She wasn’t the captain then.”

“Sounds busy,” I said. “Was that Pockap’s idea?” I’d only spent a short time under the previous captain’s leadership, but I didn’t have much positive to say about it.

“Among other things,” Zhee agreed.

“Hey Zhee, we’ll get back to the ship first!” announced Blip with a wide grin on her fishy face. Blop did stretches behind her, next to a hovercart carrying a heavy-looking crate.

“You will not,” Zhee said with serene confidence. “I will be here well-rested long before you appear.”

“You say that now!” Blip bantered back. “But I think you’ll find us lounging on the ramp when you return.”

Blop finished his stretch and threw a mischievous glance at Paint. “We definitely won’t be the last to arrive.”

“No fair,” Paint complained, clutching her own small box to her chest like a scaly child. “You all have longer legs than me.”

I said, “I could give you a ride if you want. I have the hoverbike.” (I did. I was looking forward to it.)

Paint regarded the old-but-serviceable machine like an untamed horse. “Maybe?”

I brought up the map on the handlebar screen. “Your spot is along the main road, right? That’s an easy stop on the way to the observatory. And your package is small enough to carry while you hold on.”

“Isn’t there room in the storage compartment?” Paint asked hopefully.

I didn’t even have to look. “Nope. Mine barely fit. If we could get both in there, Captain Sunlight probably would have just had me deliver both.”

“Both what?” asked the captain from the doorway, hearing her name.

I explained, “I’m going to give Paint a ride to deliver that package, since she can carry it while it won’t fit in the bin.”

“I see,” said Captain Sunlight. “Very resourceful. And very brave of you, Paint.”

Paint sighed unhappily. “It sure is.”

Mur followed the captain in, chuckling. “Better you than me. Enjoy the speed.”

“I can drive slowly if you want,” I told Paint.

Paint stood as tall as she could, which wasn’t very. “No, I don’t want to hold you up. Regular speed is fine.”

“Great to hear,” said Captain Sunlight with a clap of her scaly hands. “Everyone take your places; we’re about to land.”

We all got ready. Blip and Blop maneuvered their hovercart to be near the front; Zhee shouldered in next to them with his bundle worn like a backpack; I got onto the hoverbike and Paint reluctantly climbed up behind me.

“Have fun!” Mur called with a wave of a blue-black tentacle. “I’ll be doing meal prep with Eggskin, thinking of you.”

I could hear the scowl in Paint’s voice. “I hope it’s something stinky.”

The intercom chimed with the landing tone, just in case we were distracted by bickering or something. A subtle change in engine tone, and we were there.

Captain Sunlight opened the bay door. Blip and Blop scrambled out, yelling cheerfully after Zhee when he used their hovercart like a springboard to jump ahead.

While they all ignored the captain’s reminders to be careful, I drove down the ramp at a sedate pace with Paint’s hands clutching my shirt, and we were out into the alien city.

This was a nice-looking one. Very sunny and clean. The spaceport was right next to a public thoroughfare, which felt weirdly trusting after the tight security at some other places we’d visited. Apparently all the screening for ne-er-do-wells was handled before landing here, or they just didn’t expect any trouble. Either way, it looked safe and pretty, with single-story architecture that reminded me of sandcastles made of porcelain. Everywhere were rounded walls with domed tops, tapering from the bottom like someone scooped the material together. Then turned it glossy white with lots of intricate patterns, and translucent bits where it got thin enough for the sun to show through. Most of the pedestrians were either Strongarms or Waterwills, and I wondered whose culture had come up with the design. Maybe both together.

I was maneuvering the hoverbike onto the convenient skyroad that passed over those pedestrians, and thinking idly about whether there was a different word for people who walked without proper feet, when I noticed how tight Paint’s grip had become.

“Should I slow down?” I asked over the wind. “Or would you rather walk after all? I can pull over.”

“I’m okay,” Paint said, a little tense. “Pretending we’re on the ground. I don’t have to look. Enjoy your crazy human death wish.”

I laughed and shook my head, but didn’t bother to argue. She wasn’t going to enjoy speed or heights no matter how eloquent I was about it.

So I did enjoy the ride, on the nice wide skyroad made of a transparent material that was probably a Waterwill design. Most of the single-person scooters and bigger buses hummed along slowly, though there was plenty of room to weave past them and admire the view of the city while I did. Those porcelain walls got really colorful farther out, and most of the walkways were tiled in colorful squares.

Much too soon, the map showed Paint’s destination up ahead, and I took an off-ramp down to a lovely little public park. There was even something like grass, though the vegetative lumps that passed for trees didn’t cast much shade.

“We’re here,” I told Paint. “Your location is right over there.”

After a pause that was probably Paint prying her eyes open and taking in the surroundings, she let go and said, “Oh good. Thank you.”

“Package okay?” I asked. Hopefully it hadn’t gotten squashed.

“Yes, it’s fine. I’ll meet you back here, right?” She slid shakily off.

“Sure thing,” I agreed. “Shouldn’t take me too long. Enjoy the sun after you drop that off!”

Paint smiled the honest smile of a cold-blooded lizardperson under a warm sun. “I will!” She trotted off with a wave, and I zoomed up the onramp back into the sky.

I drove much faster this time, and it was great. The road got even emptier as I reached the edge of the city, which, for our purposes, was conveniently close. The observatory rested on a hill outside of town. I wondered if the telescopes and whatnot inside had trouble with the city glow, but when I looked for streetlights, I only saw little downward-facing things that I’d taken for security cameras. Maybe this city didn’t glow much at night, at least not in an upward direction. Pity we were doing the delivery now and I wouldn’t get to see it. Though, I reflected, I’d likely enjoy this skyroad less in the dark.

The road sloped down to meet the ground when it ran out of buildings, and I zipped past more tree-lumps on the way up to the observatory. It was built out of porcelain too, looking extra thick and sturdy.

An Earth-style doorbell seemed very out of place, but it was at knee height on me, so that tracked. I rang it and got the package out of the storage bin.

A thick chunk of wall pulled inward then slid to the side with a thud. “Hello!” said the client, a Strongarm with vivid red coloring and a pointy squid head like Mur. I glimpsed another in the background that was a roundheaded coral pink, and much less chatty than this one. “Thank you so much for the delivery! I hope the drive went well? No traffic or accidents or whatnot?”

I handed her the box, which was large but lightweight. “No, it was nice and easy. Nothing to slow things down, and the view was lovely.” This delivery didn’t require a signature the way most of them did, so I wasn’t sure how much conversation I was in for now that my job was technically done.

“Good, good,” she said, juggling the box with a random assortment of tentacles. “Oh, is that one of those really fast vehicles? I could never! I hope they pay you enough for the risk.”

I smiled. “The pay’s just fine, and it goes at a good speed for me.”

“So bold and daring. Here! Take this for your troubles.” She set the box inside, then grabbed a little bag that looked like commercial snack food. “These are the best, and I just cannot stop eating them. You’ll do me a favor by taking a bagful.”

From inside the room, the other Strongarm yelled, “Give two.”

“Yes, quite right. Have two.” A second bag joined the first.

“Thank you,” I said, accepting them graciously. The label held a posing Strongarm that suggested I check with Eggskin’s species database before trying any. Their food was usually pretty compatible, but I wouldn’t want to be wrong.

“My pleasure! Have a lovely day, and a safe drive back!” She waved three tentacles and fairly pranced back inside before slapping the door close button. Even after it shut with a thud, I could make out her excited voice talking about the package.

I put the crunchy snack food into the now-empty storage bin, and sped off down the hill.

There was nobody out there, so I upped my speed from “reasonable” to “enjoyable,” and made it back to the park in no time flat.

“That was fast!” Paint said as she scampered over. She’d actually been lying on one of the lower tree-lumps like a fence lizard soaking up the sun, which was adorable and not something I was going to comment on.

“Yup, and I even got food as a tip.” I opened the bin and showed her a bag.

She grabbed it in delight. “These are the best! Pockap used to get them, and he’d never share!”

“Help yourself,” I said. “I got two.”

Paint made delighted noises and opened the bag to crunch a mouthful happily before folding it into the storage bin and settling into place.

I caught a whiff of seafood, like low tide during the peak of summer. Maybe I wouldn’t bother asking Eggskin if I could eat it.

“All set?” I asked.

“Yes,” Paint said decisively, getting a solid grip.

I scooted the bike gently toward the ramp. “You can have both bags. If Mur likes them too, you could bribe him to trade with you on the next delivery.”

“Ooh,” Paint said. “Thank you. I might do that. Or I might just eat them.”

“Your choice,” I said, then zoomed up onto the skyroad. I tried to go slowly, but I was pretty sure Paint closed her eyes anyway.

~~~

Did I mention the Prank War?

~~~

These are the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book.

Shared early on Patreon! There’s even a free tier to get them on the same day as the rest of the world.

The sequel novel is in progress (and will include characters from these stories. I hadn’t thought all of them up when I wrote the first book, but they’re too much fun to leave out of the second).

[thegreatwizardelwin]

The Sea Hare: Birthday Special!

A Freminet x Gn! Reader

It’s September 24th, Freminet’s 18th birthday! Let’s show the little guy some appreciation.

“Freminet’s avoiding us until the party tonight. He says today is always too overwhelming.” Lynette announced as you finished helping her tie her ponytail.

“There’s a party tonight that I didn’t know about?” you cocked your head.

“It’s his birthday. Father is coming to visit tonight to celebrate with us.”

You froze.

“His birthday? Today? I-”

“Did you forget, Y/N?”

What? Forget? Hah, never!

You reassured yourself as you scrambled around the shopping district.

It’s just that September is a busy month! Yeah, and I hadn’t been watching my time. 

You stopped in multiple stores, collecting items here and there that you knew he’d like. You emerged with all sorts of things ranging from high class mechanic tools to a palm-sized paperweight featuring a little penguin on an iceberg.

Oh Archons, I don’t even know what kind of cake he likes!

You sat down and took a breath.

It’s fine. Just think. He doesn’t like foods that are too sweet, and he doesn’t like chocolate so…

You scanned the window of the nearest bakery. 

You noted the carrot cake, vanilla and toffee cake, and the blackberry purée filled cake as possible options before settling on the blackberry. Blackberry always added a wonderful tartness to counter the sugar of the frosting.

“Can I purchase two slices of the blackberry cake?”

+

You rushed back home, placing the gifts hastily in some tissue paper and a little bag. You then made your way to the Hotel Bouffes d'ete, knocking rapidly on the door.

An older child answered.

“Hello, is Freminet around?” you asked them nicely.

They squinted at you.

“What’s your name? I’ll go get him.”

“Y/N, and tell him to come down and meet me.”

You stood waiting for a few minutes before Freminet opened the door. It was obvious he had been either napping or curled in bed all day. He hadn’t bothered to brush his hair and his comportment was relaxed. He smiled with amusement at you, seeing how frazzled you seemed.

“Were you running laps around the fountain near Vasari Passage?” he crossed his arms.

“…Something like that.” you grabbed his arm and gave it a tug. “I hope you’re hungry! We’re going back to my place. I wanted to celebrate your birthday with you, but… I know how the Knave is about friends.”

Freminet followed you without a question.

“I was hoping you’d figure something out. You always do.” he said with a hint of admiration. You noticed, pride welling up in your chest.

“You know me. I get everything done at the last minute, but I always get it done.”

You led him back to the boarding house, setting up in the little breakfast parlor. You plopped him down in a chair and scurried over to the kitchen where the cake slices had been chilling. You stuck in a candle, lit it, and cautiously set before him the small plate and fork.

“Happy birthday!” you placed your hands on his shoulders and leaned down. “Make a wish.”

He shut his eyes and hummed for a minute before blowing the candle out. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders and hugged him.

“Yay! Was it a big wish or a little one?” you asked.

“It… depends. But to me, it’s a big wish.” he said quietly.

You gave his shoulders a clap and then flitted over to your own cake and sat.

“Well, birthday wishes always come true so if you’re going to make a big wish now’s the chance. Of course, you get another one later tonight. Lucky~”

He took the candle out and sat it on the side of the plate.

“Still, you didn’t have to buy cake for me, Y/N. I’ll be eating so much cake these next few days…” he trailed off with dread.

“What, you’ll never eat cake again or something?”

“I might turn into cake, is what I mean.” he took a bite of it nonetheless.

You both took a moment to savor it.

“So… you’re old now.”

He paused, looking up at you with confusion and mild concern.

“Old?”

“You’re 18 now, Mimi. That’s old.”

He blushed heavily at the use of “Mimi”. 

“If I’m ‘old’, then you aren’t doing much better. And what the heck kind of name is ‘Mimi.’”

“Your new nickname, as of today!” you raised a hand to your mouth as you laughed.

He decided not to protest, taking another bite to silence himself. You poked the dense cake with your fork.

“It’s a little dry, I’m going to pour some milk. Do you want some?” you stood again.

“That’d be great, if you will.” He nodded.

You returned shortly, carrying two glasses to the table.

“If you turned into cake, I think you’d become a blueberry muffin with those little sugar crystals on top.” you stated.

“W-What makes you say that?” he asked with a soft laugh.

“Well… blueberry muffins are small like your voice, sturdy like your strength, and sweet like your heart! Also, your eyes kind of look like blueberries anyway.”

Are you saying I’m a sweetheart? he pondered, blushing a little.

“I bought you some presents too.”

“You did? Thank you.”

“Psh, what kind of person would I be if I didn’t buy birthday presents for my favorite guy?”

Poor thing, now he’s even more red in the face.

“You spoil me sometimes.”

You chuckled and shook your head, finishing off the frosting on your fork.

“And I will continue to do so!”

He groaned as you went off to fetch the gifts. However, he would not be grumbling when he removed the tissue paper and revealed the high class mechanic tools.

“Y/N! These are crazy expensive!” he exclaimed, taking the screwdriver set out, his eyes sparkling as he inspected them. 

“Well, I heard you say you would love to have them. I wanted to buy you something you’d actually use.” you leaned against the table, watching him enthusiastically dig through the tissue paper, uncovering other items. There was a blubber-beast chain for his diving gear, a box of four raspberry tarts, and a pocket-sized sketchbook.

He took the little paperweight out and giggled at the penguin.

“Ok, this is pretty cute.” he set it on the table. “I can use it to keep my instruction manuals open!”

“That’s what I was thinking! It’s like it had your name on it.”

He looked up at you with a wide smile. 

“Thanks for this.” he said sincerely. “I know you’re busy with schoolwork and your work for the theater. I’m happy to celebrate with you.”

You crossed your arms with a modest expression.

“I can always find time for my close friends and such. You only have one birthday a year, after all, I have to be there.”

He put the gifts back in the bag and set it on the other side of the empty cake plate. 

“Hey, would you wanna go for a walk in the Dryas Woods with me?” he fiddled with some torn tissue paper. “I want to go somewhere peaceful before the excitement of the party.” 

You hummed in approval, taking the empty plates to the sink.

“I can’t deny you today of all days. We can go when you’re ready.” 

+

It was a cooler day, still a little damp from the hours of steady rain they received the day before. The leaves above created a pattern on the path below.

“This way, I want to show you something!” he beckoned you with his hand and veered off the path.

The breeze was more earthen here, further away from the sea. Sparrows flew away from the trees as they passed underneath them, chirping lightly. They came out into a small meadow between two pine hills.

Honeybees zipped through the wildflowers: sunflowers, cranesbills, and bushes of white peonies. 

You ran your hands over the knee-high blooms, careful not to disturb working bees.

Freminet sat down on a rock in the middle of the field, observing the closest flowers around him.

You sat down below him on the slight hill, the little meadow immediately giving you peace of mind.

“I come here a lot when I’m alone.” he explained. “The flowers growing tall, the wildlife that comes when you sit still long enough. I have a lot of places like this, but none just as perfect as this one. Even Pers likes it.” 

A little gust of wind blew by, some petals loosing into the air. His hair, damaged by an excess of saltwater, wisped around his face. He closed his eyes for a moment and then gave you a small smile.

“I wanted to share it with you. What do you think?”

“I love it here.” you replied, flopping back and laying in the flowers. “But I’m supposed to be the one giving you things today.”

He rolled his eyes.

“This is a gift for me- getting to be in my favorite spot with someone I trust.”

You closed your eyes.

“It is one of the best feelings to welcome someone into a space that is your own. I wish life could be more like this, slow and fragrant and thoughtful.”

He nodded and plucked a cranesbill bloom, twirling it in his hands. A handful of butterflies meandered about the colorful field.

You stayed until Freminet’s party neared, watching birds and sharing tales. You walked with him back to the boarding school to retrieve his birthday gifts and then escorted him to the Hotel Bouffes d'ete. 

“Have fun tonight!” you exclaimed, waving at him as you backed away.

He waved back.

“See you later!”

You turned and began to go home, the night growing chilly. The light from the Hotel was inviting, shining on the stone street as if to display its pride for the inhabitants. 

Freminet’s home, a place you could never know. 

A place where tonight, his found family would adore him and celebrate his life thus far. 

A place where he usually returned after a day of violence and isolation.

You had your opinions, but what mattered tonight was that Freminet was loved. 

And he would always be very much loved, even if the Hotel were to disappear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*neuvillette sniffles in the background (he had a rough day yesterday)*

ITS INTERNATIONAL POOKIE WOOKIE DAY GUYS! Scene 3 of the main fic is up!

the birthday art is PRECIOUS

Part 1 of the fanfic if you’re interested in reading from the beginning:

Part 3 of the fanfic if you been here before:

[eggluverz]

halloween with the hsr boys

pairing: dan heng; jing yuan; blade x reader

sof's note: guess who is in a halloweeny mood :> meee! and i'm sure a lot of y'all are as well so let's bask in these autumn vibes together LOL special shoutout to the anon who suggested dan heng would watch like 15 vids before he carves a pumpkin fhsjkghdf that is so accurate <3 pls enjoy and happy fall!!

dan heng

not big on the spooky parts of halloween, but he loves getting in the halloween/autumn spirit by watching twitches and halloween town with you

you host a pumpkin carving contest on halloween eve between the two of you and dan heng 100% takes it seriously

days of prep before the big night, hours of youtube videos in his history… he even reads up on the origins of pumpkin carving—just to be fully immersed and prepared

when the time comes, dan heng has his tools lined up in the most efficient order as he readies himself to make his design

he, of course, wanted to carve a tree with maple leaves falling in the night sky

you stare at his template with wide eyes, quickly scrapping your happy face idea to think of something more creative…

noticing this, dan heng chuckles in amusement. “you don’t have to change your design to match mine”

you shake your head. “and risk losing the competition? no way”

“then may the best carver win”

when the two of you are done, you take a photo and send to your friends to vote

it was a close call, but dan heng ends up winning by two votes

“maybe i should’ve joined your pumpkin carving research…” you pout, staring between your finished product and his

“there’s always next year,” dan heng soothes, giving you a hug. “besides, you’re always the winner in my eyes.”

jing yuan

he would make all the pies for you

pumpkin pie, pecan pie, apple pie, sweet potato pie, apple crumble pie…you name it 

he doesn’t even know how to make pie he just googled a bunch of recipes and winged it

you think something tastes off but you try to encourage him anyway 

of course, jing yuan sees right through it

“it‘s not that i don’t like your baking, i really do, but i may have some suggestions for the future…”

“there is no need to sugarcoat your distaste, y/n,” he says with a laugh. “we can redo them together.”

the pies turn out even better the next time

the two of you end up picking up pie making as your fall-time hobby this year and bake pie for all your friends

he tries to make a mimi-safe pie as well

mimi hates it (pumpkin spice is not good on the lion’s tongue) 

but you think the effort is cute :> 

he ends halloween night off by sharing a yummy slice of apple crumble pie with whipped cream on top with you

“so sweet!” you state happily as he feeds you the first bite. 

jing yuan leans forward and smiles. “not as sweet as you” 

blade

goes all in for halloween

is dead instead most of the year, comes to life for the halloween spirit

he likes to decorate the house with you, even making a mini “haunted maze” in the driveway for the trick-or-treaters

accidentally makes a kid cry in it…

really, he just went in the maze to do a quick maintenance check, but he looked so menacing in his costume that a kid saw him and started crying 

blade is too confused about what happened to feel bad 

you give the kid extra candy and apologize to their parents while stifling a laugh at blade’s blank expression

“i didn’t even say ‘boo’,” he murmurs curiously.

you just pat him on the head and give him a kiss on the cheek

after the trick-or-treat shenanigans, you and blade relax and unwind on the comfort of your couch

his definition of unwinding on halloween is watching old horror movies

[or, if you cannot handle horror like me: he watches the barbie movies with you to help you take your mind off the halloween scares and go to sleep :3]

you cuddle him as you doze off while eating leftover halloween candy 

blade carries you to bed and tucks you in for the night bc you deserve a good night’s rest <3

[personasintro]

Hi, its me the yapper!! Once again!! 👋👋

I just wanted to clarify something that both you and other commenters seem to have gotten wrong; Whatever I said was incase of the scenario that you’re not feeling the story like you used to, so writing it has taken longer bcs you do not enjoy it as much but you still want to appease the reader. Hence the unwanted suggestions I made.

In my point of view, it seemed that way so I thought it was inevitable that you one day drop the fic because yes we’re getting older and busier and we drift away from things we loved. Thats why I said “is it really that serious?” because you obviously seem willing to keep writing but the wait has gotten so long that it looks like you’re doing it out of obligation(?!).

Looks like I misjudged and I apologise if thats not the case. But it came out of genuine curiosity because I just cant comprehend such long wait. Thats a me problem ig🤷‍♀️

So what I got out of your response is that yes we might/will see the end of mh in like 1-2 years? (more or less)I get that I sound bitter but I promise I am NOT lmao its pure curiosity I promise!!!

Ps to people who said that that was uncalled for or that its serious to me otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered; As I said I am an avid reader of mh so after a reread I thought I could share my thoughts? Like its genuinely not that serious even to me, I didn’t think twice before sending the ask I did it just because the thought crossed my mind. And l believe the whole waiting thing is a fact, so people’s opinions on it are very much called for?

Is it any of our business how long mimi takes to write? No🙂‍↔️. Are we as readers entitled to an opinion as long as we’re respectful? I’d like to think yes🙂‍↕️

Anywayss have a good one yall

i understood what you meant in your previous ask. and i still stand by what i said many times before – i do not hold here anyone against their will and if anyone feels like they're getting older and lose an interest in any of my stories, that's okay and it's their decision to make. i can't be responsible for everyone's feelings of how they feel about this exact situation. that's beyond my control and you're all free to feel however you want. i do wish people would be more understanding and respectful and that's why i said that no one knows what someone goes through. just because i'm no longer totally open about what's going on in my life, doesn't mean i don't care about my stories.

i'm not writing out of obligation. sure, i do feel a certain responsibility to make mh my priority even more than ever, but it's not an obligation. and i wouldn't just drop the story. i said this too, i'll finish this story whether it's for myself or for everyone else as well.

i said this many times before too – i'm in a position where i write whenever i can and want. i do not have any schedule, actually i never had one – but readers were used to more frequent updates and now, of course it's harder to get used to less frequent updates. but that's just life. i apologized when i never had to. my plans was always to finish mh asap (still is) but sometimes things don't go as planned and there are things i don't even have control of.

i respect your opinion and i'm merely explaining myself on this, hope it can be taken with respect and understanding as well!

have a good day everyone ☀️

[bullet-prooflove]

This one feels kind of “post-breakup Douglas Hamilton”:

I don’t want to think about who she’s with, where she is or how bad I miss her now.

Tagging: @kmc1989 @lucymalfoy18 @ashrionest @mimi-8793 @glamourous-eloquence

Companion piece to:

Mississippi Meanders - Douglas doesn't expect to meet the love of his life.

Pedestal - Douglas puts you on a pedestal, much to his detriment.

The Prettiest Damn Thing - Douglas regrets having to leave the morning after.

Something Special - You decide to give Douglas something special after you notice how stressed he is.

Photo Finish - You confront Douglas when some personal pictures are used by the press.

It’s at a donor event that Douglas sees you again for the first time again. He doesn’t expect it, it’s not usually your kind of thing but there you are looking pretty as a peach, in a dress that once spent the night on his bedroom door. His heart aches because he knows you aren’t on the guest list, which means you’re here with someone else and Douglas, he doesn’t want to think about that.

He spends the night trying to avoid you and it works for a while, he forgets about you, about how much he misses you and he focuses on the goal, chatting up these people, separating them from their money.

It’s an hour later that he decides he needs a breather, he slips out of the main doors and into a quiet corridor and there you are reapplying your lipstick in an antique mirror fixed to the wall.

“I was hoping I would run into you.” You say as you use your fingertip to smooth out the line before you turn your attention towards him. “I have something I need to return to you.”

“Anything I gave you was a gift…”

But you’re already reaching into your purse and pulling out an envelope before you slap it against his chest.

“I knew you were politically motivated Douglas.” You say as he grasps it in his hand, the paper crumpling under his fingertips. “But I never thought you were cruel.”

You walk away then and he listens to the sound of your heels on the marble as he opens the envelope and pulls out the paperwork.

It’s a cheque for an exorbitant amount of money from the Mayor’s office. There’s a slip of paper attached to it, written on his letterhead. It’s the words that make his mouth dry, the neat block capitals etched into the paper.

For services rendered.

It feels like a knife in his heart, he knows it must have felt like a knife in yours because this, this just reduces your relationship to a transaction. Something to bolster his campaign.

The thing is… he didn’t write this.

It’s his signature but he certainly didn’t sign it.

He knows who did though, the same person who was always trying to steal his attention away from you, who told him you weren’t the right fit for a man of his calibre, who decided to use those pictures without his permission.

Martha.

Rage fills him as he tucks the envelope into his pocket and straightens his bow tie.

There’s going to be a reckoning, he’ll make sure of that.

Love Douglas? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Interested in supporting me? Join my Patreon for Bonus Content!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[loserlvrss]

.. 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐕𝐑𝐒𝐒 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 ( 슈퍼노바 )

𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐒 : no one but you 이민형 1739notes fight! 김동현 (mdni) 1674notes thirsty 김선우 (mdni) 1196notes locked door 정윤호 (mdni) 1147notes asking can i stay over? 엔씨티 드림 963notes

𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐂 : cupid & psyche 최승철 & 최한설 9.2k (mdni)

𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐂 : cherry chapstick 沈泉锐 0.2k (mdni)

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐎𝐅 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 : father (for) christmas 방찬 (mdni)

𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐈 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 : boynextdoor

𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐋 𝐈 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 : 김동현

𝐍𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐒 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐑 : 18

𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒 : Since I actually started this account a little over 2 months before 2024, pretty much everything I’ve done on here is a milestone. Im so thankful that you guys enjoy my work enough to read it and leave feedback (sometimes) THANK YOU. AND STARTING @kstrucknet WAS THE BEST DECISION IVE EVER MADE I LOVE YOU GUYS TIMES A MILLIONBILLIONTRILLION.

𝐆𝐎𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 : Nothing much, I just want to post more than I have been. Maybe even finish my Hyunjin and Ateez series 🙏 I also want to make a smau again (I haven’t since my wattpad days).

𝐅𝐀𝐕 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆(𝐒) 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 : @gluion I’m still not over the angst (and your ATTEMPTS /j at fluff) period best writer of the year. @neopuppy I think I’ve read everything on your damn account bruh top tier yummy yum yum. @jeongin-lvr kept me fed along with @blue-jisungs yall single handedly kept my sanity intact. ++more but it’s 3am.

𝐅𝐀𝐕 (𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐬) 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 : fic rec post

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐒 : couldn’t tag everyone but ilyall

@jooillusion : We fight and then flirt so much one would think we’ve been married for 60 years but, I honestly couldn’t love you more and wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re so much alike that even when we disappear for months it feels like we never stopped talking. Im so glad we met ‘cause now you’re locked in with me my fellow xdh stan 🤩 you can’t get rid of me now muahhahahaha.

@hursheys : I find comfort in knowing you, and I hope somewhere you do too. It’s really nice to know you’re around and to have you be so willing to help me out and support me. We’ve had deep conversations and conversations that don’t mean a thing. We argue and then thirst over random ass men. I love fighting and then flirting with you and then telling you about my situationship (which has just gotten worse dude ‘cause why’d she piss me off) and then asking for fic inspo. You are truly the most amazing and versatile person I’ve come across on here. Love you 5eva, Ves. You deserve the world 🤍

@heechwe : Oh my Lexi. Where do I even start? I haven’t known you for very long but it feels like I have. You are truly the person I can go to for everything. We always got each other backs and I loved beta reading your enhypen (mainly) fics. It is one of my fondest memories this year on here, and when I have more time I’d love to do it again. I appreciate you so so much you don’t understand. I hope you know that I’ll always be ur #1 supporter, on blr and for what you want to do irl. Truly, live laugh love Lexi ‘till I die 🫶

@slytherinshua : Thanks for introducing me to verivery (ik you want credit😒). You truly are just like me fr, esp when I was seventeen. Stanning a billion groups, writing fanfics (I still do :/ N E WAYS), serving cunt, being the best humanly possible person ever. Okay, maybe I wasn’t doing the last two but you def are. I lerv you a lot, Zanna and I’m so glad we met on Onedoornet ‘cause I truly didn’t know what I was missing before. I swear you got a fic for everything and that’s what keeps me going tbh. The pookiest of pookies I love your trivia games and I need another soon 🤓

@hoonven : Paging Doctor Freak 🎀 Mimi my pookie dookie snukums vanilla ice cream with a cherry on top baby bear lovely chocolate muffin the color pink the wind in my hair I love you. My wife. I’ll support you until I’m in my grave. My 04 twin 😻 The Jake to my Sunghoon. My fav enhablr writer. Nobody else I’d rather write Jake hurt-comfort for. You’re one of my oldest moots and idk what I’d do not knowing you’re there (even if you’re always on an unannounced hiatus 🙄 /j). I reread your stuff for comfort. I love you so so so much, nobody else I’d rather send thirst trap edits to on insta.

and to all my other moots (and kstruck children) muah muah you’ll never understand what you mean to me I love you all so very much and I’m glad to be going into 2025 with you all.

psa. new year, new me…but worse :D

[kamii-2]

sarah strong fluff based after uconn won there first game

warning(s): none (i think)

genre: fluff

pairing(s): sarah strong x reader

==================================

when sarah walked in the door you ran to her and hugged her, “i’m so proud of you and your team.” you said as you hug her as tight as possible. “thank you so much, i wish you could’ve came.” she smiled while giving you a few kissed on your forehead. you didn’t go to her game because you had to work and had tons of homework to finish but at work you watched the game on the tv and when you were supposed to be doing homework, you were just watching the game. “yea, i’ll come next time.” you told her while pulling away.

a few minutes after sarah had got home and put all of her stuff away, she got in the shower and ready for bed. after her shower you both laid in bed and watched movies until the next day. you had planned to actually do something else for the teams first win but it was too late at night to do it so you planned on doing it the next day. you watched 3 movies before you both got tired and went to bed for the night.

you woke up before sarah and went to the store. last night before you went to bed you ordered a cake that says, “congratulations on the win guys 😛” with a bunch of pictures of the team and you planned on inviting the whole team over for a mimi celebration, eating the cake, maybe going live, and just overall having a good time. after you got the cake you bought a cool and a bag of ice and put the ice in the cooler, setting the cake in the color and hiding it in your car so sarah wouldn’t find it.

before you went back home you got coffee for you and sarah, trying to hide the fact that you were out for about an hour. when you got home sarah was sleep asleep so you woke her up as it was 10:21 and she told you to wake her up before 11, not wanting to sleep the whole day away. “sarah, baby wake up,” you said as you shook her awake, “i got you a iced coffee.” you told her as you shook her again, after a few more seconds of shaking her she woke up, “bro.” she said as she rolled over, “the ice in your coffee is gonna melt.” you told her as you shook her again. the moment you said that she got up snd went to the kitchen to find it.

“sarah i have a surprise for you and your whole team.” you told her as she drank her drink. she smiled at you, setting the drink down, “what is it?” she asked. “text them and tell them to come over and i’ll give you guys the surprise when they’re all here.” you answered. right after you said that, she texted them.

-

about an hour later, the whole team had showed up and were sitting in your bling room waiting for the surprise. “i know it’s not much but i hope you guys like it.” you said and you walked inside with the cooler, setting it on the coffee table and taking the cake box out. you moved the cooler off the table and opened the cake box. “oh my God.” ice said while looking at the cake, immediately taking a picture of the cake to post later. “this is so cute oh my lorddddd.” aubrey said with a big smile on her face. the rest of the night was filled with lots of laughter, playing games, and making tiktoks.

==================================

i hope you guys enjoyed and i hope you have a good day/night, love you 💋💋

[ggukkiedae]

COOK WITH ME, YEAH? || ep.1 my ride or die, my other half

uploaded on january 15, 2024 to the bangtantv youtube channel and weverse. dialogue in italics are spoken in english

content warning: mentions tannies’ enlistments and separation anxiety (please tell me if i missed something)

miya: “hi everyone! welcome to my new series: cook with me, yeah?”

she started clapping, even cheering a little bit before reality hit her

she sighed and looked off camera

miya: “you know, you could cheer for me”

jungkook: “you said you’d do the intro before introducing me!”

she got the folded cloth from next to her on her kitchen counter and threw it towards the direction of the voice

there was a yelp, laughter, then cut back to a smiling yoonmi

miya: “i’m very open about my friends, and armys like to see that, so i decided to start this series and introduce some of my friends to you guys while cooking with them! while cooking, we’ll be answering first few set questions i’m always asked on weverse or instagram when i post with my friends, then a few questions more specific to us as friends that i found on twitter by lurking”

while she was talking, a few pictures of her with her various friends were shown on screen

she held up her phone when mentioning the set questions

she lifted a small fish bowl with slips of paper holding questions when mentioning the more specific ones

miya: “this friend, well, i’ve known him since i was eleven. nine? we use international age now… anyway!”

she trailed off a little before laughing and waving her hand

miya: “we met as preteens, now we’re in our twenties. i literally can’t imagine life without him, he became my ride or die, and, because of how we were raised, he practically became my big emo-punk-looking soft boy other half. the oppas think we could have been twins in another life”

there’s soft thumps sounding from off camera

she looks over and starts laughing

miya: “he’s cringing and punching a pillow right now. everyone, welcome the person i’m sure you are all missing by the time this releases, jungkookie oppa!”

jungkook jogs in in his pastel pink apron cheering for himself while yoonmi clapped for him

jungkook did a little slide then a spin before bowing

yoonmi laughed at him, shoving him to the side

jungkook shoves her back then the video cuts to them standing together relatively calmly

jungkook: “i brought you chardonnay. i thought it would pair well with carbonara”

miya: “this looks good!”

jungkook passed her a two bottles of chardonnay, which she gratefully accepted

she pulled up two wine glasses and poured them some

they clinked their glasses together and finished their first glasses then she refilled them, setting them to a corner of the counter

miya: “like kookie oppa said, we’re making carbonara. want to explain why?”

jungkook: “namjoon hyung. he always talked about enjoying the carbonara in italy. mimi and i were talking about it when she was conceptializing these videos, so we decided to try”

miya: “shall we start, oppa?”

jungkook: “let’s go!”

the video cut to a clip of her filling a pot with water

there’s a clip of jungkook cutting up a slab of guanciale into cubes

when did you meet and what were your first impressions of each other?

miya: “contrary to popular belief, kookie oppa was very straightforward and blunt with me”

jungkook: “why? we became friends because of me”

miya: “i know! but people think we didn’t start talking until like weeks later”

jungkook snorted and looked at her while she added oil and salt into the pot over a flame

she looked at him

then she poked him with one of the uncooked noodles, which he swatted away

he turned on the other side of the stove and placed a pan on it, waiting for it to heat up

jungkook: “you were the only girl in the boys classes at the time. i thought you would be a vocal, but namjoon hyung said you were a rapper, so i was surprised. then i heard your satoori and got curious to find another busan kid in the company”

miya: “and you went straight up to me when you entered the training room. i was a little scared of you, but not really? i just didn’t know what to expect”

she brought out eggs and a bowl of pecorino romano cheese

jungkook started frying the guanciale

what are your names for each other in your cellphones?

miya: “kookie oppa? i have him saved as ‘ride or die’ with, like, the praise hands emoji”

jungkook: “i have mimi as ‘princess crazy’ with a crown”

she gave him a look, and he just gave her a smile

there’s a close up shot of the guanciale frying and a clip of jungkook trying it

there’s a clip of yoonmi trying it, too

there’s then a clip of her cracking the last of the eggs into the cheese, adding pepper, then starting to whisk everything together

describe each other in one word

jungkook: “yoonmi is music”

miya: “what?”

jungkook: “you literally live and breathe music. you're in your studio all the time, you always look for music to add to your playlists, and it seems like everything you do is very musical. the way you move in general has a rhythm, and the way you speak has a melody"

miya: "... you're nice to me today"

jungkook: "so i deserve a nice answer"

he took the pan off the heat and took the bowl and whisk from her

he gave her an expectant look while whisking while she just thought while fixing the pasta into the now boiling water

miya: "i think you're excellence. everything you do, you do it very well and to the best of your abilities. when you find something you struggle with, you work your hardest to become good at it. you're practically excellence as a person"

they met eyes then cringed before laughing

jungkook exaggerated his aggression with whisking the contents of the bowl while yoonmi walked off to the side

the video cuts to them clinking glasses and drinking their glasses of wine, now just waiting for the pasta to cook

what’s your favorite memory together?

jungkook: "that's hard to answer, mimi"

miya: "true, we've been friends for so long and together almost daily, so there's way too much to choose from"

jungkook sipped at his wine again

jungkook: “maybe when we wrote ‘stay’? do you remember that?”

miya: "when we slept in my studio for like three days?"

jungkook: "we cried, made jokes, watched movies, didn't namjoon hyung physically drag us to eat food that wasn't instant ramen?”

they laughed at the memory

yoonmi lit up at a thought

miya: "oppa, vegas!"

jungkook: "oh yeah! you weren't legal in america yet, so you couldn't go to the ptd parties in the bars"

miya: "but you took me around vegas for food and to look at all the different light and water shows! it may sound boring, but we had a lot of fun there"

there's a clip of yoonmi gently stirring the pasta then of jungkook pouring more wine for them

how often do you two have sleepovers?

jungkook hummed while thinking

jungkook: “a lot, actually. i slept over at mimi's a lot for a while to help her take care of yoonseollie and the puppies back before she graduated. nowadays, we sleepover in each other's house just whenever we feel like it"

miya: "yeah, but we still see each other almost everyday even without the sleepovers. oppa, the pan?"

there's a closeup of jungkook placing the guanciale from the pan onto a spare plate

what was it like working on jungkook’s solo album together?

jungkook: "oh, yoonmi wrote ‘yes or no’ back in 2018, if you all know what was going on then"

he wiggled his eyebrows at the camera, making shove him to the side

he pulled her into a noogie while she squeaked in surprise and started to hit his arm

jungkook: "she was falling in love! this kid! look at her, falling in love so young!"

miya: "oppa, let go!"

jungkook: "i still remember the first time you admitted you might have been in love"

miya: "oppa!"

she stomped on his foot, making him let go

she was fixing her hair while he laughed at her

miya: “in all seriousness, oppa told me right away when he started pulling golden together that he wanted to use ‘yes or no’ and to have me feature on a track he’d promote, so i edited ‘yes or no’ just a bit then i listened to ‘seven’ to start writing my verse.”

jungkook: "it was comfortable, you know? a sense of familiarity. then i wanted to make a song for army, and mimi actually translates my thoughts best, so we wrote please don't change together in a music style similar to one we've been listening to a lot. you know songs used for dancehall?"

miya: "I've been listening to a lot of latin and afro beat music"

there's a clip of yoonmi tasting one of the noodles

and there's a clip of jungkook throwing one at her wall (it stuck)

she looked at him then threw a noodle at his face, which he ate

does bam play with yoonmi’s pets?

yoonmi transferred the noodles into the pan where the guanciale was cooked, turning the heat on high

jungkook stepped back and gave a loud whistle

there were pitter patters of feet running, and you see bam and dipper running in

jungkook bent to pet the dogs

jungkook: "you don't see her, but nala is here, too"

miya: "our pets are siblings. they all go to stay with my brother or kookie oppa's brother when both of us are busy, so they bond a lot"

she turned the stove off then opened the freezer jungkook looked up and pointed at something yoonmi pulled out a small tray with frozen treats

they gave them to the dogs who all scattered away after receiving treats then they washed their hands

miya: "this next part needs extreme focus, so excuse us for being silent for a moment"

jungkook: "mimi, i think the pan is the right temperature"

there's a clip of jungkook pouring the sauce and adding the guanciale into the noodles while yoonmi mixed it

jungkook placed the bowl down

yoonmi looked at him, so he got a bit of the pasta water and added it into the pan

there's a close up of the pasta being stirred

there's a closeup of jungkook plating the pasta

the video cuts to them sitting on the floor in front of her couch, their plates of pasta and glasses of wine in front of them

but jimin is now with them

miya: “jiminie oppa is here!"

the three of them cheer while jimin waves

he puts his arm around the two maknaes, bringing them closer to him and rubbing his head with theirs

jimin: “my busan babies! my cute babies made me pasta”

jungkook: "hyung, let go!"

they're all speaking through laughs

yoonmi speaks up

miya: "jimin oppa is here to try our pasta, and he has the special honor of reading us the last question! but first, have a bite, oppa”

yoonmi handed him the third plate while jungkook handed him a fork

jimin twirls a bit of the pasta onto the fork, laughing a little about how awkward it was to do that while the two were watching him

he takes a bite, tilting his head before humming in approval

he swallowed and looked at the two

jimin: "this tastes really good, babies! i think it's a 100 out of 100!"

she grinned while jungkook handed him his glass of wine

yoonmi held up the fishbowl of questions for him while placing the plate back on the table

miya: "now the last question, oppa"

jimin stuck his hand into the bowl, swirling it around while giggling at the two maknaes

he pulls one out and reads it to himself first before chuckling and taking another sip of wine

jimin: "I'm curious, too, actually"

jungkook: "then read the question, hyung”

how does it feel knowing jungkook is about to enlist?

yoonmi visibly tensed while jungkook’s head snapped to the side to look at her

jimin put his free arm around her and rubbed her arm comfortingly

miya: “i’ve been seeing my therapist about this, and she said it would be a challenge for me. the oppas and i always talk and hangout, especially me and ggukoo oppa who talk to each other daily and see each other almost everyday. i’m honestly scared, but i’ll have to push through. i can do it. i think i can”

jungkook: “i’m honestly very sad about this. mimi and i are used to going to each other for almost any and everything we can think of, and we have gotten used to each other a lot. while i am worried about her given her separation anxiety, i’m also a little scared for myself, especially for the five weeks of basic training where i won't be able to talk to or be updated with her at all”

jimin: “don’t worry, babies. i have people to watch over our princess, i’ll be watching over jungkookie, and this will all pass by very quickly. just you wait”

jimin leaned his head on jungkook’s then turned to kiss the top of yoonmi’s head

the video cuts to them with finished plates and empty glasses, all smiling towards the camera

yoonmi, now seated in the middle, spoke

miya: “that brings an end to this first episode of cook with me, yeah? thank you to kookie oppa and jiminie oppa for coming to spend the day with me! if any one of you would like to try what we made at home, the recipe will be in the description! see you next episode!”

the three of them wave to the camera, then the video cuts to black

after a few seconds, jimin appears sitting in what looks like yoonmi’s home office with a question along the bottom of the screen

what do you think of miya and jungkook’s friendship?

jimin: “it’s a treasure. you don’t see friendships like theirs often where they’re raised together by the same group of people while experiencing the same things. our maknae and makdungie developed a connection over the years that us hyungs and oppas ourselves can’t understand, but they understand each other, they have fun, they keep each other in line, and they do love each other. i’m pretty sure they were twins in another life. but, yes, their friendship is like a rare treasure”

-end-

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[bwabys-scenarios]

Fixer Upper

Part 9

Perv!Kurapika x Fem!Reader

part 8

part 10

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(Name)’s friend had a small cabin near the beach she’d offered to loan her for a few days. From Tuesday to Thursday, they’d be staying in a few towns over to enjoy the beach.

When they arrived home, Leorio left to go and start packing his stuff. They had a few days before the cabin would be available, so they had plenty of time to plan.

“Everyone get to bed! We’re going to be having a down day tomorrow, and Monday we’re going shopping for beach supplies.”

Killua nodded as he rubbed at his eyes. “Yeah, okay. Come on, Gon.”

The two leave to their rooms.

(Name) sighs before crashing onto the couch, not even knowing the skirt of her dress was lifted just enough to expose the pink panties she’d worn to the Barbie movie.

Kurapika didn’t notice at first either, he was too busy pulling off his shirt. That was until her back arched and cracked a bit, causing her to groan and him to look over to make sure she was okay.

He didn’t think this day could get any better, but the view he saw certainly… did something for him.

Her butt was firmly in the air, her clothed pussy on full display. Her cute thigh highs squished her thighs perfectly, creating a sight he thought he could only see in heaven.

‘I want to…’

He stopped himself before he even finished that thought, moving away from the couch and towards his room.

“Going to bed, goodnight.”

“Night…”

He heard her whine slightly as she stretched before he rushed to his room. He barely got the door closed before he was slipping his hand into his pants, panting as he stroked his cock. The door was still slightly cracked open, and he realized if he peeked out, he could still see her cute butt poking up into the air.

‘This is… dirty.’

But he couldn’t stop looking. She just looked so perfect on display, all for him to enjoy.

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck…’

She whimpered out, rubbing her back lightly. It must if hurt from carrying around those big boobs all day.

“Kurapika…”

He stopped, eyes going wide. Did she happen to see him? That couldn’t be possible, she was facing in the opposite direction.

“Did he go to bed already?”

She pushed herself off of the couch, moving so her butt was pushed in his direction, her panties moving to the side ever so slightly.

It was enough to make him cum instantly, gasping as he painted the door.

“Kurapika?” she called out again, this time beginning to turn towards his door.

He slipped his hand from his pants and ran over to his desk, grabbing a tissue she’d supplied for him and moving to wipe off the door.

“Hey, are you asleep?”

She knocked on the cracked door, causing it to open up. Thankfully he’d wiped the door clean before she opened it, holding the tissue in his hand relived.

“No, I’m awake. Do you need something?”

His cheeks were still flushed and his limbs weak from his orgasm seconds before. Kurapika felt soft, his eyelashes fluttering when she bent slightly to smile at him.

“Can you unzip me? Leorio was going to, but he forgot and now he’s gone.”

Kurapika wanted to bang his head against the wall. “… yes, of course I can.”

He followed her up to her room, now noticing how easy it was to see her underwear when he was following right behind her.

“Ugh my back is killing me! I knew wearing a bra without any support was a bad idea… but this dress is strapless.”

Kurapika was not listening to a goddamn thing. He was too focused on her cute ass. “Uh huh.”

They walked into her room. She instantly kicked off her Mary Janes and lifted her leg onto the bed to pull off her thigh highs.

‘She’s going to kill me.’

He watched as she pulled the first one down before he had to turn to avoid getting hard again. He didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of her, especially after spying on her like a perv minutes before.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

She turned his way, her back to him. He stepped forward and stared down at her back.

‘It’s just her back. Don’t you DARE get hard over her back you fucking idiot.’

He pulled the zipper down.

‘God fucking damn it.’

The sight of her bra made him grow hard yet again, and there was no hiding it in these jeans. He pulled the zipper the rest of the way down before turning.

“You’re going so soon?”

He paused in the doorway, gritting his teeth. All Kurapika wanted to do was go to his room, jerk off, and pass out.

But the innocent tone in her voice made him sigh.

“Do you need me to stay?”

“Well, I was wondering if you’d like to watch a movie with me. Since it was… interrupted last time.”

Ouch. He’d forgotten he’d pretty much abandoned her a week or so ago to find a member of the phantom troupe. She’d stayed up all night waiting for him, and he couldn’t even call to ease her worries.

Usually, Kurapika would push these guilty feelings away and just sleep, but after his orgasm he was feeling… soft. Easily mailable by her hands.

“… sure. You get changed and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Kurapika internally groaned, looking down at himself with a sigh. ‘I’ll change into some baggy pajama pants. Should… hide it…’

———————

(Name) walked downstairs wearing a nightgown and a green face mask. He wanted to tease her for it, saying she looked silly, but knew if he did she’d have plenty of ammo to throw back at him.

“Imma pop some popcorn! We gotta eat quietly though. Just the smell is enough to wake up Gon…”

She sighed, and pulled the popcorn from the cabinet. Kurapika was curled up on the couch, a blanket covering his form. “Shouldn’t we just not eat it then?”

“Nah, if he wakes up I’ll just give him some horse tranquilizer.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s like a melatonin gummy for him.”

The blonde stared at the TV. ‘What the hell is wrong with that boy?’

Kurapika huffed when she sat the bowl of popcorn in his lap. “It’s hot! I’m gonna grab us some lemonade!”

He popped a few pieces into his mouth. ‘Mmm… I haven’t had popcorn in years.’

(Name) plopped down next to him, curling her legs against the side of the couch. She leaned until her head was comfortably against Kurapika’s shoulder.

Usually he would have pushed her off subtly or moved away, but right now he was feeling… cuddly.

Although he didn’t move to hold her close, he did allow her to stay.

“What do you want to watch? I’m thinking a ghibli movie.”

“I don’t care, you can pick.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, but picked a random ghibli movie.

It happened to be Howl’s Moving Castle.

“Oooh, this is a good one. I think you’ll like it!”

Kurapika only nodded, leaning his head against hers. It was the only contact he’d allow himself to make.

The movie started, Kurapika barely able to pay attention. He was too focused on (Name)’s soft scent and comforting warmth.

A few minutes in, he felt (Name) pull away slightly. She seemed excited, bouncing in her seat.

“Ahh, it’s Howl.”

Her eyes almost twinkled when a blonde man appeared on screen, offering a hand to the main female character. Kurapika hadn’t bothered to learn her name.

The man looked… awfully familiar. His blonde hair, soft feminine appearance, and pretty eyes made Kurapika tilt his head.

“Is that… your favorite character?”

She nodded, her eyes never leaving the blonde haired man.

“He’s been my favorite ghibli character for years.”

Kurapika smiled. “I see.”

‘She did say my butt was cute earlier… and that she likes my hair…’

The movie continued on, (Name) occasionally gasping or cooing at the screen. “Hehe, look! Aren’t they just the cutest?”

The girl on screen reminded him of her. She was a bit insecure, but to everyone else but her she was beautiful.

“Yes. They are.”

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She looked gorgeous, even in the low light of the living room.

She caught him staring, sending him a wink. “Pay attention to the movie, sweetheart.”

Kurapika blushed. She wasn’t usually the type to confront him about his staring, even though he was sure she could notice it. (Name) was a hunter after all, she couldn’t be that oblivious.

“Ah… it’s almost over.”

She seemed a little sad at this. Kurapika wasn’t sure if it was because she really liked the movie, or their time together would end soon.

He wasn’t stupid. He knew (Name) cared for him quite a bit, even being told by Leorio she had a crush on him during the Hunter Exam. Of course, at the time that made him beyond happy. Kurapika didn’t know why exactly, but knowing she liked him more than the others made his heart soar.

But now, that knowledge didn’t fill him with butterflies, it filled him with dread. Had he broken her heart with what he said during York New? Had he ruined any chances he’d had with her?

‘Ruined any… what am I thinking?’

He shook the thought from his head. Kurapika couldn’t dare to think like that. She was his dear friend, someone that needed to be protected.

Protected from the danger being around him could bring.

She sighed as the end credits rolled, looking up at him with sleepy eyes. “Did you like it?”

He wasn’t sure how to tell her he’d barely paid any attention to the movie on screen, much to busy thinking about her, so he just nodded.

“I’m glad. I’m… happy I got to spend this time with you.”

She held onto his hand, a sad smile on her lips. He wanted to cup her cheeks and wipe that sad smile away more than anything.

But did he really have the right to when he was the reason for her sadness?

Kurapika patted her head. “I did too. We should get going to bed, though.”

(Name) but her lip, staring down at her lap.

“Kurapika?”

He paused. She sounded soft, vulnerable. He didn’t often hear that in her voice.

“Yes?”

Her eyes met his, the beginnings of tears tucked away in the corners.

“Will I… will I ever seen you again after you leave?”

A stab in the chest would have been easier to handle than that question. Kurapika stuttered, his eyes looking away from hers.

“I…”

He couldn’t answer her, not when his answer would only make her cry. Kurapika hated seeing her tears.

“…”

(Name) pulled away from him, hugging herself tight. It hurt him to see her so small, like she could shrink into nothing at any second.

“You’re really important to me, you know? Even if… even if you hate me. I…”

Tears began to fall down her cheeks, collecting on the throw blanket they’d been sharing.

“(Name)…”

He reached out to wipe away her tears, but stopped midway.

“I don’t…”

“I can’t stand you! You’re weak, you can’t do anything right!”

Kurapika pulled his hand back and held it against his chest. ‘Do I have the right to comfort her when I said such awful things?’

“(Name)?”

Killua poked his head out of his bedroom door, his blue eyes scanning the room until they landed on (Name). He ran forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I heard you from my room…”

Killua sent a glare Kurapika’s way before pulling her off the couch and towards the bathroom. “You need to wash off that face mask before you break out.”

She only nodded, glancing back at Kurapika before the bathroom door closed behind her.

The blonde stared at the closed door, clutching the fabric of his shirt so tightly it ripped.

‘She thinks I hate her… maybe it’s for the best.’

Kurapika stood, walking towards the TV to turn it off. On a table by the TV was a framed photo, Kurapika’s eyes widening when he took a closer look.

It was a picture of the entire group chatting about their plan in the hotel during York New.

‘Did (Name) take this?’

She wasn’t in the picture, Kurapika feeling a little disappointed. But that was quickly changed when he saw there were several photos of various members of the group framed, some of just him alone.

‘She… she put these up even after what happened…’

Kurapika bit his lip so hard it bled. She wanted to remember him when he was smiling, looking at her with those soft eyes he always seemed to have when she was around.

“…”

Kurapika walked to his room and closed the door behind him.

———————

(Name) and Killua sat at the kitchen table, Gon fixing himself a bowl of cereal by the fridge.

“Remember boys, todays a rest day, so no getting into any trouble.”

She sipped on her coffee, looking around the house. It was a mess, meaning she’d need to clean before she even thought about leaving for the beach.

Kurapika left his room, wandering into the kitchen while rubbing his sleepy eyes.

“Good morning…”

He yawned into his hand as he made himself a cup of coffee then sat down at the table next to (Name). “Good morning, Kurapika.”

She gave him a smile, before standing up and taking her cup with her upstairs. “We’ll all be resting today, Kurapika. Of course, you can do what you want, but the rest of us are going to catch up on some sleep and indulge in our interests.”

He nodded, still waking up as she left for her room. Once she was out of earshot, Killua scoffed.

“You sure fucked up last night. Do you enjoy making (Name) cry?”

Oh, Kurapika and forgotten about last night’s events. And he’d just sat down next to her like nothing had happened.

“… I didn’t mean to make her cry.”

“You never do.”

Gon sat down with them at the table, munching on his cereal. “Hmm? What were y’all talking about?”

Killua sighed. “Nothing of importance to Kurapika, apparently.”

Kurapika finished his coffee in silence. ‘Less than a week I’ll be gone and out of her hair. She’ll… she’ll forget about me eventually.’

But the thought of her forgetting about him and moving on with a different man made him feel sick.

“Kurapika, you should come to the creek with us today! We’re releasing the fish we saved last week.”

Kurapika tilted his head. “You want me to come with you?”

Gon nodded. “Yeah, it would be fun! We could even have a picnic! (Name) always packs us lunches when we go out to the creek all day.”

Killua groaned. “But Gon, going to the creek is our thing!”

The blonde raised an eyebrow. “I have my own things to do today.”

“Like what?”

Kurapika scowled. “I have phone calls to make.”

“What kind of phone calls?”

“… important ones.”

Gon tilted his head, and Killua sighed. “There are no phone calls, are there?”

Kurapika stayed quiet.

“Alright, so he’s coming with us then!”

It seemed like Kurapika didn’t have much of a choice, so he downed his coffee and left to get dressed.

——————

(Name) began packing the three lunches in the kitchen. Gon and Killua had left to grab some buckets from the garage, leaving Kurapika and (Name) alone.

He lingered in the kitchen, watching her from a distance. She finished packing their lunches before turning to him with a shy smile.

“Hey um… about last night…”

Kurapika froze in his spot, nearly dropping his cup of coffee.

“I… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you those questions. You don’t have to tell me anything, and I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

Kurapika blinked. ‘Is she… is she apologizing? No…’

“Even if you… hate me… I won’t hold it against you, you’re still always welcome here.”

‘Stop. Don’t say those things. Don’t.’

“So… just forget about what I said. Let’s just enjoy whatever time we have together!”

She gave him a final smile before the front door opened. Killua and Gon walked in carrying buckets.

“It’s show time. Kurapika, I hope you know how to work a pole.”

“A what!?”

“A fishing pole.”

(Name) held a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Kurapika just sighed and followed them out the door, carrying their packed lunches with them.

“Make sure you keep up, we will leave you behind.”

“Killua! No we won’t, that isn’t nice.”

Kurapika didn’t respond, only focusing on memorizing the route to the creek. If Killua did end up leaving him behind, he’d have no trouble finding his way back.

They arrived at the creek, Gon and Killua instantly releasing the fish they’d saved last week.

“During a few weeks in the summer, the creek goes down and a lot of the fish die. Me and Killua will catch as many as we can then release them when the creek is full again.”

‘That sounds like eco-terrorism.’

Killua tossed Kurapika a fishing pole, the blonde catching it immediately. “Do you know how to fish?”

“Yes, Killua. I’ve had to fish to feed myself on numerous occasions.”

Killua scoffed. “Yeah, sure. We’re going to be surprising (Name) with fish for dinner tonight, so make sure to use your ‘skills’ and catch as much fish as you can.”

The two frowned at each other before Gon stepped in between them. “Hey, let’s save our energy for the fishing!”

Killua was the first to catch a fish, holding it up with a proud smile.

“Oh, I’ll get a picture for (Name)!”

He snapped a picture of Killua holding up his first catch.

‘Why does she need a picture of him holding a fish?’ Kurapika thought, before turning his attention back to his own fishing pole.

A few hours passed, Kurapika being the only one without a single catch.

“Didn’t you say you were good at fishing, blondie?”

The blonde huffed. “I didn’t say I was good, I said I knew how to fish.”

“Then do it?”

Kurapika dropped his pole to the ground and began to walk off.

“Killua, don’t anta… antony…”

“Antagonize him?”

“Yeah!”

Killua sighed. “Hey, blondie, get back here! Don’t you want to do something nice for (Name) after making her cry last night?”

The blonde stopped in his tracks. “… would bringing home fish… make her feel better?”

“She always gets happy when we bring home fish! Well, at least fish to eat.”

Kurapika walked back over and sat by the creek again, picking up his pole and inspecting it.

“Killua.”

The white haired boy walked over. “Yeees?”

“Why is there a gummy worm on my hook?”

“For good luck of course!”

Kurapika threw the gummy worm into the dirt. “I hate you.”

“Feelings mutual, blondie.”

————————

After placing an actual worm on his hook, Kurapika was able to catch several fish. Of course, it wasn’t very easy. He had to climb down into the creek with a net to catch them, slipping on the mud and falling in several times.

The walk back home was humiliating.

Kurapika’s hair was wet, with leaves and little sticks clinging to his blonde locks. His tabard and shirt were slung over his shoulder.

Killua and Gon didn’t look much better. The two looked like they’d been mud wrestling.

‘I mean technically Gon did wrestle that alligator… still don’t know how he won.’

Said boy was holding the buckets they brought, all full of fish of varying species.

Kurapika recognized most of them, besides the strange… sea urchin thing? Did it have eyes? Oh god it was looking at him.

The blonde faced forward. All he knew is he was NOT eating that.

“(Name) is going to be so happy! Oh Gon, I told you to throw that thing back.”

He pointed to the sea urchin thing. “Oh, I’m keeping this one as a pet. I’m naming him Hanzo!”

‘(Name) won’t like that. Her and Hanzo hated each other.’

Kurapika thought back to their time fixing the boat before the 4th phase. Hanzo and (Name) butted heads a lot, often because Hanzo didn’t know what personal space was.

He remembered when he fell and hit his head, and she stayed with him through the night, even though she herself was in pain.

‘She’s always been there for me…’

Kurapika was glad they’d reached (Name)’s house, because he didn’t want to think about how often she’d saved his ass and helped him through tough times.

Would he have done the same for her?

———————

“Oh wow, look at all this fish! You sure caught a lot, didn’t you?”

The two boys smiled wide as she cooed and gave them hugs, praising them. “Fried fish sound good to you two?”

“Mhm! With fries!”

(Name) giggled, patting Gon’s head. “Of course.”

Her face always took on a different form when she was looking at the two boys. While she was almost always soft and gentle, it was like her soft nature intensified tenfold when they were around.

Killua seemed pretty attached to her. Had he been that way when he’d last seen them in York New? Kurapika couldn’t remember him seeming so content in her presence.

“Kurapika, I heard you caught a lot too. You did a great job.”

Something about her praising him made his heart race. It almost made him feel giddy.

“Oh, um… it was no trouble.”

Killua scoffed next to him. ‘He’s awful at hiding how happy she makes him.’

Kurapika wasn’t surprised at how easily she was able to descale and gut the fish. During the Hunter Exam, she’d been the one feeding him and Leorio when they were stranded on that boat.

“Dinner will be ready in 30 minutes. You boys go wash up. You can use my bathroom, it’s bigger.”

The three trudged up the stairs, dropping their muddy clothes into her hamper.

(Name)’s bathroom was big, it had both a bath tub and shower. The two boys started the bath before jumping into the shower.

Kurapika raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you two getting too old to be bathing together?”

Killua raised an eyebrow. “We’re both guys, why does it matter? Plus Gon can’t wash his hair by himself. He always gets soap in his eyes.”

“Usually Aunt Mito or (Name) comes in and helps, but Killua does it when they can’t.”

They rinsed off a majority of the mud before jumping in the soapy bath. Kurapika sighed.

‘She babies them too much. He can’t wash the soap out of his hair? Isn’t he 14 already?’

Kurapika made sure that the two weren’t paying attention when he pulled his own clothes off and stepped into the shower.

There was a pink loofa, several soaps and body scrubs, and shampoo on the shelves.

‘Oh, I forgot to grab my shampoo…’

He shrugged and picked up her bottle, squirting some of the shampoo into his hand before rubbing it into his hair.

Kurapika would never get used to how his body reacted to anything that reminded him of her. Sometimes it was arousal, and sometimes a soothing feeling settled over him.

Like now.

He felt his tired muscles relax when he began to run her soap into his skin. He thought about using her loofa, the fluffy pink thing tempting, but he decided not to. Using her soap was one thing, using the object she rubbed all over her naked body was another.

Oh no, now he was thinking about her taking a shower. (Name) rubbing herself with the loofa, humming to herself as the suds washed away to reveal her breasts and bare p-

Kurapika’s eyes snapped open. He couldn’t think about that, not now. He tucked away those thoughts for later, when he could think about her in the privacy of his bedroom.

Kurapika let the suds rinse away, staring down at his naked body. He had a few new scars from recent missions, and he was still a bit underweight. (Name)’s meals were certainly helping him come back to his normal weight, but just a few weeks wouldn’t cause any major changes.

He wrapped a towel around his waist before stepping out.

‘Oh. I didn’t bring any clothes up either.’

Kurapika was about to sigh and take a walk of shame down the stairs when he spotted a pile of folded clothes on the counter.

On top was a pair of his pajamas. He picked up the shirt and sniffed it, sighing when he could smell the lingering scent of (Name)’s perfume.

‘She brought us a change of clothes?’

He put the clothes on and wrapped his towel around his neck. ‘Maybe she’ll dry my hair for me again…’

Kurapika allowed himself this small amount of happiness.

He glanced to where the boys were in the bathtub, nearly laughing when he saw them playing with random bath toys. It was a rare sight, Killua smiling and acting like the kid he really was.

Kurapika let them have their fun, walking out the bathroom door and closing it behind him. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, (Name) was waiting for him.

“Come on.”

She pulled him to the living room and had him sit on the floor as she dried his hair. “You know, your hair is looking a lot better. Maybe you should just start using my shampoo.”

He didn’t answer, his eyes closed and his head leaning against her knees as her fingers ran through his hair. It was relaxing, and Kurapika was realizing that he really liked his hair being played with.

“You’ve got such pretty hair, Kurapika. I’m glad you’re taking better care of it.”

She finished drying his hair, running her fingers through it one last time.

“… you’re too kind, (Name).”

She hummed. “So I’ve heard, but I don’t think anyone can be too kind.”

‘You can, (Name).’

He remembered the way her face dropped during one of their arguments in York New. Kurapika was so sure after that, he’d never see her smile at him again.

But here she was, letting him lean against her knees as she dried his hair. Him, the man who broke her heart and called her so many mean names. She was doing this for him.

And part of him hated her for it.

“I need to get back to cooking. Will you tell Killua and Gon dinner will be ready in five minutes?”

Kurapika stood. “Of course.”

——————

(Name) dried both of the two boy’s hair as Kurapika made his plate.

“Oh, I cut up some fruit too! It’s sitting in the fridge, could you take it out for me, sweetheart?”

He paused, but recovered quickly. “On it.”

He glanced to the group as he pulled the bowl out. Gon was waiting patiently at (Name)’s feet as Killua got his hair dried.

“All done, go and make your plate.”

Killua stood and Gon too his place.

“I got my hands full with all of you, ya know?”

She squeezed Gon’s cheek, who laughed. “Sorry, but you’re the best at drying hair!”

“Haha, I’m not sure how good of a skill that is to have, but thank you.”

Killua made his plate and sat at the table, farthest away from Kurapika.

“Alright, you’re done.”

Gon jumped up and ran to make his plate, (Name) following behind him. “I’m starving! I could eat all of this!”

(Name) giggled. “You can have as much as you want after I make my plate.”

The four ate dinner, Gon and Killua recounting the fun day they had. It didn’t take long for them to finish their food, the two yawning.

“I think it’s about time for bed. Why don’t you two watch some TV for a bit then get some sleep? I’m gonna go shower.”

She placed her plate in the dishwasher, closing it before sighing. “We’ve got to go shopping then leave for the cabin tomorrow evening. It’ll be a long day, so get plenty of rest.”

“Yes, (Name)!”

Gon gave her a hug before she went upstairs. Kurapika noticed Killua watching her go.

The white haired boy looked… anxious? He was playing with drawstring of his sleeveless hoodie and tapping his foot.

‘Did something happen?’

Kurapika decided not to pry, instead sitting on the far end of the couch and watching some cartoon movie with the two.

He enjoyed spending time with them as well, even if Killua was a bit rude. Kurapika didn’t hold it against him. Mostly.

“Killua, we should get going. It’s getting late.”

Gon pulled Killua to his feet and started to lead him to their shared room.

“… alright.”

The two left, Gon leaving the door cracked open behind him.

‘I should sleep as well. With them, there’s no telling how exhausting tomorrow may be.’

The blonde entered his room and closed the door behind him. If he wanted to sleep, he’d need to jerk off first. He didn’t want to have another wet dream, it made it hard to be around (Name) after.

Though, jerking off to the thought of her didn’t make him feel much better. Besides the overwhelming amount of pleasure, that is.

———————

Kurapika awoke to the sound of someone sneaking down the hallway. A normal person would have never noticed this, but the blonde was far from normal.

He tiptoed to his door and peeked out, spotting Killua running up the stairs.

Kurapika would have ignored it and gone back to bed, but the brief glance he’d gotten from Killua’s face made him worry.

He looked absolutely terrified, something Kurapika had never seen in Killua before.

The blonde concealed his aura, waiting a moment before walking upstairs as well. By then, Killua was long gone, the only indication of where he’d gone being (Name)’s door, left cracked open.

“Killua? Shh, it’s okay.”

Kurapika could hear (Name) talking in a low, soothing voice. He peeked through the crack in the door to see Killua holding onto her, his head on her shoulder. He was blubbering nonsense, his tears soaking into her tshirt.

“I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll never leave you alone again, promise.”

‘Leave him alone again? What is she talking about?’

“It… it happened again. Another nightmare about when you…”

(Name) shushed him and scooted over. “Come on, it’s late. You can just sleep with me tonight.”

Killua climbed in without a second thought, clinging onto her like a child would his mother.

“I thought this might happen. You were anxious tonight, right?”

Killua nodded slowly as she ran her fingers through his hair. “Yes… sometimes I remember that day and… can’t stop thinking about it.”

She sighed. “I really wish you would let me enroll you in some therapy. Could do you some good.”

Killua was silent, (Name) realizing he’d fallen asleep. She hummed softly and continued to play with his hair until she fell asleep too.

Kurapika watched the two with soft eyes. She was holding onto him so tenderly, even in her sleep. It was clear the two had bonded greatly between the time Kurapika had seen them last.

‘And… they’re hiding something from me. Something big enough to have traumatized Killua.’

He walked back down the stairs, spotting Gon standing in the hallway.

“Did Killua go to sleep with (Name)?” Gon asked. Kurapika nodded.

“Yes, they’re both asleep now.”

Gon sighed, pushing some hair out of his face. “Sometimes Killua wakes up from some awful nightmares, and the only one that can calm him down is (Name). Something… something happened. I’m not sure what, but Killua was really hurt by whatever it was, and he won’t tell me.”

Kurapika reached out a hand to pat Gon’s shoulder. “It’s not easy telling others about the things that have hurt you. It may take him a while, but I’m sure he’ll open up to you eventually.”

‘If I was around a little longer, maybe they would tell me too.’

He walked back to bed after saying goodnight to Gon. It was 1 am now, meaning he’d have to be up in four hours for a few phone calls before leaving to go shopping with the group.

——————

“Alright everyone, let’s split up to cover more ground. Killua, you’re coming with me. Kurapika, Gon is with you.”

The group were at a local grocery store. Killua had been quiet all morning, clinging to (Name)’s side sleepily.

“I’ll text you the grocery list, okay?”

Kurapika nodded. (Name) walked away hand in hand with Killua, laughing when he leaned against her. “Aww, still sleepy? You can take a nap when we get home.”

The two watched them leave before Kurapika sighed. “He sure is being clinging today.”

Gon nodded, placing a box of cereal into the shopping cart. “Yeah, he usually is after he’s had a nightmare. It’s like he’s scared she’ll disappear or something.”

Kurapika bit his lip. ‘Does his nightmare have something to do with (Name)?’

Kurapika jumped at the sound of his phone going off, realizing it was just the grocery list (Name) had sent them.

The two finished the list easily, meeting back up with the two at the cash register. They checked out, and drove home.

“Okay, I’m going to pick up Leorio, you boys start packing your bags. Killua, you go get a nap. I’ll pack your bag later.”

Killua shook his head and held onto her sleeve. “I’ll go with you.”

Kurapika blinked at the way (Name)’s eyes softened, her hand cupping his cheek. “Oh, of course. Come on.”

He followed her to the mom van, climbing into the front seat.

Kurapika and Gon watched them leave. “It must of been bad for him to still be so clingy.��� Gon said, a worried look on his face.

Kurapika nodded.

The two left to pack in their respective rooms. Kurapika packed using the small black suitcase gifted to him by (Name).

Killua and (Name) were back within 30 minutes, Leorio with them now. He seemed to be talking softly with (Name) and Killua, having that same soft look (Name) had when Killua had a nightmare.

‘Leorio must know as well.’ Kurapika thought, frowning.

He knew that they all had grown closer while he was gone, but they’d never been the types to keep secrets from him. Kurapika couldn’t be angry though, he kept plenty of secrets from them.

Leorio walked in, pulling a suitcase behind him. “I haven’t been to the beach since the Hunter Exam! I can’t wait!”

(Name) giggled, Killua following close behind her. He kept a hand on her shirt, and hadn’t said a word since he said he was coming with her earlier.

“I ordered some takeout for dinner. Let’s all do some cleaning up before we have to leave in a few hours. I’ll be folding laundry.”

She handed out brooms and gloves to everyone as she went and sat on the couch, beginning to fold the laundry she had recently washed.

Killua lied his head on her lap and slept as she folded. No one complained, it seemed everyone could tell he’d had a rough night.

“Are you excited, Gon? I know you come from an island but-“

“Yep, I’m very excited!! Last time (Name) took us to the beach, Killua got super sunburnt, it was pretty funny.”

Kurapika snickered. ‘So he gets sunburnt easily?’

“I don’t think you have any right to be laughing when you’re as pasty as Killua.”

Kurapika blinked at Leorio. “Oh. I guess you’re not wrong, I have been… inside more lately, I guess. No time to get a tan.”

He glanced at himself in the mirror again. Slowly fading dark circles under his eyes, a pale face. He didn’t find himself particularly attractive, he wandered why (Name) had called him pretty so many times.

“Well you’ll have plenty of time to soak in the sun when we’re at the beach!” Gon clapped him on the back, smiling.

“You always know how to cheer someone up, Gon.”

The blonde ruffled Gon’s hair as he laughed.

“Alright you two, get to work. I don’t want (Name) having to pick up your slack.”

Gon and Kurapika stuck their tongues out at Leorio before starting their work.

———————

After eating an early dinner, the group piled into the mom van. Leorio was driving, with Kurapika in the passenger seat. Although killua was doing better after his nap, he still requested that (Name) sit next to him in the car. She didn’t seem to mind at all, something that made Kurapika sigh softly.

“Wouldn’t it be more comfortable for you in the front seat? You get motion sickness, right?”

(Name) laughed. “I’m surprised you remembered that, Kurapika, but I’m fine! It’s not that long of a drive anyways.”

He didn’t argue with her, there was no point. When (Name) decided to do something for someone else, it was hard to convince her otherwise.

The group began their drive, Leorio watching the road and singing along to some random pop song on the radio. Kurapika didn’t want to admit it, but he was also excited to spend some time under the sun and in the waves.

It didn’t take long for them to reach their destination, just two hours.

The group left the mom van and began to unpack.

“Why did we bring groceries with us? Couldn’t we just shop here?” Gon asked as he carried the ice chest inside.

“Well this place probably has higher prices because of how many tourists there are, so it’s better to bring food from home.”

Kurapika nodded. “Yes, that makes sense. I’m glad you thought of that, (Name).”

She perked up from his compliment, happily strolling inside with Killua close behind.

The cabin was nice, with three bedrooms. The first was the master bedroom, with a queen sized bed, bathroom, and walk in closet.

“This one is mine!” (Name) said with a smile. No one argued.

The second room had two queen sized beds and a large dresser.

The third room had a bunk bed, a trunk full of beach toys, and a small bathroom,

“There’s also an extra bathroom down the hall, with a shower and bath.”

Of course, Killua and Gon claimed the bunk beds immediately, leaving Kurapika and Leorio with the second room.

“Everyone get unpacked and sleep. We’re getting up early tomorrow!”

[measuredingold]

to be in love and to be loved

chapter four: all i need

authors note: ...guess who finally came out of retirement ! the spark ( sort of ) has come back and i was finally able to finish this chapter. a loooong time coming. i'm happy to finally get something out, but i'm a bit bummed by this chapter because i don't think it's my best - however, i'm already working on chapter five and i'm very happy with it so far so... get ready for that :) another chapter in naomi's pov, and it's a doozy so hopefully that makes up for the time away ! as always please enjoy and feedback is appreciated !

pairing: noah sebastian x ofc x nicholas ruffilo

masterlist / cross-posted on ao3

word count: 10.2k

cw: ~kissing~, angst, suggestive content, feelings definitely being realized, alcohol, 18+ (minors do not interact.)

Naomi tries to go on like nothing happened that night on FaceTime. She kept her feelings and whatever she realized tucked deeply inside of her, putting on her best smile when the boys came home. They ended up not getting matching tattoos this time around. Whenever Nicholas wasn’t tattooing, and when Noah wasn’t doing something for the band, all three of them spent as much time together as they could.

It slipped their minds, which she was grateful for, because it made her focus on other things and not… that. It was pretty easy to forget about for the most part, just being happy that they were home for the first time in months. It felt like they had been gone longer than three months, and the weight that had been on her shoulders was lifted the very moment they stepped foot into Richmond.

That feeling, the realization, didn’t come back until the first night alone in her apartment. Noah had left two weeks ago, and Nicholas had left earlier that morning, and she felt… empty. Like something was missing – someone was missing. Her feelings consumed her then, so much so that she felt like she couldn’t breathe, eyes prickling with tears because how the hell did she get herself into this?

She feels guilty, keeping this from them but also knowing that she can never say anything. How the hell do you tell your boyfriend that you’re in love with him and your guys’ best friend? This isn’t some fairytale where every ending is a happy one, this is the real world, and the real world always has its consequences.

A part of her is glad that the boys have been busy the last week and a half, their talks being limited to maybe an hour every few days, and texts sent at the most random times. It's given her time to sit with herself and think, and then eventually bring in reinforcements. Someone she's known longer than Noah and Nicholas, someone who she can trust without a second thought. 

"Jesus, Mimi." Analise breathes out, and Naomi can already see the crease in her forehead. She sighs.

"I know."

There's a silence that follows that makes her feel uneasy. Analise has always been able to tell her how it is, never having trouble voicing her opinions and calling Naomi out on her shit. This time though... She feels like she's finally stunned the other girl into silence for the first time in her life.

"Does anyone else know?" 

"Lis," Naomi sighs again. "The only other people I'd tell would be Noah and Nicky... and I obviously can't fucking do that."

Analise laughs. "If it weren't for me, you'd go to the grave with this, huh?"

"Oh, for fucking sure." She tries to laugh but it fails, and she lets out another deep, aggravated sigh. She brings her hands up to dig her heels into her eyes, a headache already beginning to start at the back of her head. "What the hell do I do, Lissy?"

A beat passes. "Do you want my honest opinion?"

"Well, I didn't invite you over just to bullshit me."

"Girl, I have never bullshitted you once throughout our entire friendship."

"Exactly, and that's why I go to you for these types of things. You always tell me how it is." 

"And I always will.” Analise says matter of factly before her words are followed by a sigh. Naomi can see that fucking crease again. "Anyone under the fucking sun can see how much love you have for Noah. I don't think I've ever seen you love someone so hard before."

"I don't think I've ever loved someone like I do him." Naomi replies easily, without much thought. She knew it was true.

"Right," Analise starts before narrowing her gaze at Mimi, her full lips tugging down ever so slightly. "However, I'm not dumb."

Mimi raises a brow. "Huh?"

"Listen," Analise leans back against the couch, holding her hands up almost defensively. "I'm not sure if anything ever happened between you and Nick before you got with Noah, but I wouldn't be surprised. Your chemistry with each other is insane." Her gaze softens now. "And I can tell you care about him a lot, more than a friend should. I think you always have."

Naomi's cheeks flush at Analise's words and she bites down on her bottom lip, chewing on it nervously. Was it so obvious? She didn't think so, but Analise has never lied to her. Not once. 

"...What if I told you something almost happened?" 

"I'd call you a bitch - lovingly - for not telling me sooner," Analise says without hesitation. "And then I'd ask for you to elaborate on what you mean by almost."

"Almost as in," She drags her words, pulling her legs up onto the couch, "When he tattooed me for the first time, we were talking, and got pretty close. I wanted to kiss him and... and I think he wanted to kiss me, but then we didn't. He mentioned Noah and it kinda... ruined the moment."

Analise stares at her for a beat longer than needed before speaking up, "Did it ruin the moment because you knew that you liked Noah at the time, or did you think there was something going on between Noah and Nick?"

Naomi's eyes widen and Analise waves her off, scoffing softly.

"Girl. Don't give me that look. You know it's true." The girl sighs, as if this is the most taxing thing she's ever had to deal with and leans forward. "I've seen the way Nicholas looks at you… and the way he looks at Noah.” Analise gives her a smile, full lips stretched into a smile. "He's got it bad for the both of you."

"You're just making that up."

"I'm not making shit up. You," Analise points a finger at her and Mimi scoffs, turning her head the other way, "are just in denial at the fact Nicholas is in love with the both of you.”

"No, I'm not."

"Okay. Look me in the eyes and tell me you had no fucking idea Nicholas looks at both you and Noah like you two hung up the fucking stars."

Naomi's mouth opens to argue because that's just ridiculous, he doesn't do that, but nothing comes out. Not even a noise. Her brain then starts to finally catch up and thoughts of Nicholas invade her mind. Her throat tightens, skin heating up and feeling almost clammy, as the realization finally dawns on her. It's as if she's finally waking up after years of sleep, like she's opened her eyes and finally saw what was right in front of her the entire fucking time. 

Nicholas wasn't just in love with her, or with Noah... it was the both of them. 

"Oh my god." Was all she was able to get out, brown eyes widening as she finally looked back at Analise. 

Her friend's face softened, lips pressing together to try and suppress her own frown. "It's so obvious, Mimi."

"Yeah, I fucking know that now." She groans, leaning her elbows against the tops of her thighs, hands rubbing along her face. "Oh my god."

The tightening in her throat doesn't let up and there's a burning feeling behind her eyes, the tears threatening to push through. Her heart pounds against her chest, ringing through her ears. How did she not notice? 

The way he reacted to them being together, the way he's been acting ever since... It all makes fucking sense. She - they - are the reason behind Nicholas' continued sadness, the reason why he's been pulling away these last few months. The reason why he needed to suck it up and get over it. Her stomach turns in a way she fucking hates, the nausea coming back as it settles somewhere deep inside the pit of her stomach. 

How did she not fucking notice?

With tears stinging at her eyes, she finally looks up to find Analise staring at her, expression pained.

"What do I do?" She breathes out. 

"Well... what do you think you should do?" 

"I..." With a frustrated sigh she slumps her body back against the couch, hands coming up to rub at her face as the first tears fell. "I don't know."

She probably sounded pitiful, because that's exactly how she felt. What could she even do? It's not like she could call up Nicholas right now and tell him how she felt, how she knew, because there's a whole other person involved. She whines pathetically at the thought of her boyfriend. Yeah, maybe she and Nicholas had feelings for one another and Noah, but what about him?

She feels the couch beside her dip and her stomach turns at the thought of Noah. How would he feel about all of this? There's no telling how he'd react, finding out she was in love with their best friend and him, and said best friend was also in love with her and him. Does he even feel the same?

Her head pounds, a headache coming on immediately, and she curls herself into her friend's arms as she finally lets more tears fall.

"You need to tell them."

Analise's voice broke her out of her thoughts, and she shudders, head shaking against the girl's shoulder.

"I can't."

"Yes, you can." Analise pulls her back, hands coming up to cup her face to force Naomi to stare at her. "You need to tell them, Mimi."

She knows she should. She fucking knows that she should tell both Noah and Nicholas right now that she loves them so much that it makes her sick, makes her stomach twist and turn at the thought of ever being without either of them. A life without the two of them is a life she never wants to endure and... and she thinks that is what's stopping her. She would never be able to live with herself if this is what breaks them, if this is what pushes Noah from them.

She shakes her head in Analise's hold, "No. I can't."

Analise's hands drop from her face, lips pursed. "You're sostubborn sometimes, I can't stand it."

"You don't understand." She wipes at her face to rid herself of the tears that seem to still fall, tucking a few loose curls behind her ears. "This isn't me being stubborn, this is... I can't lose them. Sure, what if me and Nicholas feel the same? What about Noah? There's no telling how he even feels, if he'd even be okay with this." Naomi doesn't miss the way her voice wavers and she feels her bottom lip tremble, a fresh set of tears falling. "Lis, you know I can't fucking lose him."

"I know. I know, okay?" Analise gathers her in her arms again and she falls into it gratefully, face pressing against her shoulder. "I've never dealt with something like this, so I'm sure it's scary, right? The not knowing." Naomi feels her friend smooth down her hair, hugging her closer as she sighed out, "But I still think you need to tell them eventually. They deserve to know - especially Nick. I can't even imagine how he feels."

That makes Naomi's heart break in a whole new way, the realization of Nicholas having to deal with this on his own. Having to watch the two people he loves be together right in front of him and having to keep the way he feels hidden to keep things as normal as possible... because she knows he'd rather hurt himself by keeping them close than losing them for good. She chokes out a sob and Analise holds her closer, hands rubbing up and down her back to soothe her. 

"I can't." She rasps out after a few minutes, calming down slightly but the tears still burning her eyes. She pulls back to look at Analise, head shaking. "At least not yet. I just - I can't."

Analise stares at her, hard, lips pressing together before sighing in defeat. A weight on Naomi's shoulders lifts, knowing that her friend won't press her anymore on this. She pulls away, hands sliding from Naomi's back to her arms, rubbing them soothingly.

"God, you’re so... fucking stubborn and really annoying sometimes," Analise grumbles, but there's no malice in her voice, "but I'm also going to be here for you every step of the way. Even if I'm not happy about it."

For some reason this makes Naomi laugh, a bit wet and rough, but she feels more at ease. Her shoulders finally relax.

"Thank you." She mumbles, reaching up to wipe at her face, and she sucks in a deep breath. "I just need to think about it, okay? I know it's not fair to Nicky, I know, but I can't..." Her voice trails off, that same heavy weight against her chest returning. "I don't know how to fucking do it, so I need to weigh out my options, you know?"

"I know." Analise's voice is so soft, so gentle, and Naomi has to try and will away the remaining tears that threaten to fall. "I'm here, okay? I'm on your side. Don't forget that."

Naomi doesn't respond, instead gives her friend a tight smile before leaning back into her embrace. She sucks in another deep breath and buries her face against Analise's shoulder, letting her eyes slip shut.

How did everything get so complicated?

...

"Hey," She tries to keep her voice even, lips pressing together to suppress her smile. "What're you doing on the 17th?"

Noah caught her gaze through the screen, brows furrowing at her question. "Uh... probably practicing. Why?"

"Oh, nothing." She averts her gaze from the screen as her shoulders go up into a nonchalant shrug, the struggle to keep the smile off her face growing harder each second. "Just wanted to know if you were free and wanted to pick me up from the airport at… eight that night."

She looks back at Noah now, full lips pulled into a grin, and he blinks. Naomi can see the wheels in his head slowly turning, trying to catch up to what she just said to him. He blinks again, face scrunching in confusion before it falls to one in disbelief, eyes widening.

“What the fuck.”

Mimi laughs, letting her head fall back against the couch, and Noah says it again, louder this time.

“What the fuck.” She lifts her head to look at the screen again, seeing a wide smile spreading across his lips. “You’re not fucking with me, right? You’re serious?”

“As can be.” She hums sending him a gentle smile through the screen. “I’ve had the tickets for a while, I wanted to surprise you at the apartment but forgot how expensive Ubers are, so I kind of need you to pick me up.”

“I will. I’d never make you pay for that.” She swears his smile gets nugget, laughter slipping from him. “How long will you be here?”

“Just a week.” Her lips dip downward from the smile she once wore, sighing quietly. “I’m trying not to use too much time, but I really wanted to see you guys and be there for the album release. This is huge. I couldn’t miss it.”

She notices the twitch in his lips, the slight drop at the mention of only being there for a week, but he covers it up quickly.

"That's fine. I wouldn't even care if it were just a day," He murmurs, eyes softening. "Just as long as I get to see you."

It's crazy what he does to her, her stomach fluttering so much she truly believes there's butterflies roaming around in there. Her cheeks heat up and her frown turns back into a sheepish smile.

"Yeah?"

"Of course. I miss you."

"I miss you, too." 

"And so does Nick. Fuck, can I tell him? He's going to be so excited."

Naomi's heart drops at the mention of Nicholas' name and she has to swallow down the rush of feelings that come to her instantly.

"Yeah, you can tell him. I was gonna text him after I got off the phone with you." She says quietly, bringing her hand up to her mouth to chew at her thumb. 

Noah's lips twitch up into a smile and he hums in response, "It's going to be so nice having you here... fuck, Nick's seriously going to be so excited. He mentioned the other day that he missed you."

Oh. Her tummy does that thing again where it's flipping and turning in every which way, and she knows her cheeks are heating up. She swallows thickly, throat drying up, but she does her best to smile back at Noah.

"Did he?"

"Yeah." 

There's a short pause before Noah's changing the subject, obviously oblivious to Naomi's reactions. She nods along to whatever he says, trying to focus on her boyfriend and not the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach, her brain screaming at her every chance it could. 

She was going to have to tell them sooner rather than later.

Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the crowd around her, slight irritation bubbling inside of her. It was literally eight o'clock at night, a Wednesday night. Why the hell were there so many people? She huffs to herself as she continues to look for a familiar face, and her breath hitches once she finds Noah standing only a few feet away. He hadn't seen her yet, and she suspects he's wearing the same irritated expression that she is, eyes narrowed, and hands stuffed in his pockets as he looked through the sea of people.

Relief washes over his face when he finally spots her and her feet start moving before she even thinks about it, a smile spreading across her lips when he waves her over.

"Fucking finally." He groans out, barely giving her time to reply before he scoops her into his arms. "Felt like I was standing here forever."

She all but melts in his hold, the irritation she had been feeling just seconds before leaving her the moment Noah wrapped her up in his arms. This is what she was missing. The feeling of comfort she had so desperately been yearning for. Naomi sighs as she buries her face against his chest, fingers curling around the fabric of his shirt. She feels his lips brush against the side of her temple, and she can feel the smile spreading across his features.

"That flight felt like it was fucking forever." Naomi grumbles, the memory of the crying baby a few seats behind her filling her mind. "Didn't think I was gonna make it."

"Thank fuck you did." Noah chuckles as she pulls back but keeps her arms around him. Their eyes lock and his smile grows, leaning down to press their foreheads together. "Missed you."

"Missed you." She whispers, eyes fluttering shut. 

They stay like that for a beat before Noah's pulling back, looking around them as if he was waiting for someone else.

"Nicky should be on his way back..." Noah's voice trails off and Naomi's skin crawls at the mention of the other, stomach dropping. "Ah! There he is."

Her body turns as she follows Noah's gaze and in between the crowds of people emerges Nicholas, a wide grin stretching across his lips as their eyes meet. Her breath hitches in her throat, similar to how it had when she saw Noah, and her heart pounds against her chest. She stood still as Nicholas finally reached them, arms being thrown around her and her face pressing into his chest.

"There's our girl."

She sputters, the sound being muffled by Nicholas' shirt as he holds her closer, lips brushing against the side of her head.

Our girl.

In a perfect world that was true, she was theirs. She always had been, even when they were just friends. She feels her eyes burn. Knowing what she did now, how she felt for the both of them, what Nicholas felt... She squeezes her eyes shut and lets her arms wrap around his middle, hugging him tightly. She can hear Analise yelling at her in the back of her mind, chanting Tell them! Tell them! Tell them! but she can't. Not now, at least. Not right before the biggest day of their entire lives. 

The burning behind her eyes doesn't stop especially when she feels Noah behind her, pressing into her as his arms slip around her and Nicholas, joining the embrace. It feels so right to be wrapped up between the two of them, having just the two of them pick her up from the airport. It makes so much sense, and she lets her mind wander back to that perfect world where this is the norm. Where they meet her here and pick her up, exchanging hugs, I love you, I missed you, and then heading off their home. 

God. Naomi loves them so much that it physically hurts at this point.

Nicholas is the first to pull away, but Noah's still attached to her back, chin now resting against her shoulder.

"You're probably tired." Nicholas hums, eyes scanning over her face. She blinks away the tears, thankful none fall, but knows that he noticed the red rimming around her eyes. His brows furrow. "Everything alright?"

She nods, leaning back against Noah's chest. "Yeah. Just missed you guys."

His face softens and she feels Noah's arms squeeze around her gently.

"We missed you, too," Noah hums in response before finally untangling himself from her but leaves an arm around her shoulder. Nicholas reaches for her suitcase. "Nick’s right, you probably are tired and ready to get home.”

Home.

A lump rises into the base of her throat and she blinks away that burning feeling in her eyes, and leaned into Noah’s side, trying to relax in his embrace. She flicked her eyes towards Nicholas who was already looking at her, eyes narrowed slightly, but lips tugged into a small smile. He knew something was up with her, more than just being tired, but she knew he wouldn't press.

Naomi gives him her own smile, small but a smile nonetheless, and nuzzles herself further into Noah's side.

“I should’ve picked an earlier flight.” She says, a yawn soon following after. She was tired, and later flights always leaves her exhausted. It was about eight at night California time, so even later than the East Coast time she was used to. “I‘m exhausted.”

"Well, let’s get you home and into bed, hm?" Noah squeezed her shoulder, and she felt the brush of his lips against the side of her head, eyes fluttering shut at the comforting feeling. 

"Yeah." Her eyes open again to stare at Nicholas beside her and then tilting her head up to stare at Noah, chest aching only slightly, the burn behind her eyes slowly leaving. "Let's go home."

…

There had been a lot more people there than she had anticipated, and as she eyed the crowd from the merch table she was currently guarding, her chest swelled with pride. She had noticed the rise of Bad Omens in these last few months, their follower count growing steadily, online forums talking about them and their upcoming debut release more and more. It was almost fulfilling to see it all finally come to light, years of blood, sweat, and tears finally leading them to this very moment.

Naomi knows how hard they had worked for this - how hard Noah had worked for this. She has to swallow down her pride, willed away the burning tears at her eyes as she watched Noah work the crowd. It had to be exhilarating, she thinks, getting the crowd hyped up, hearing them sing back those very lyrics you spent hours on. She can't even imagine what Noah must be feeling right now. Not even just him, but Nicholas, Folio, and Jolly as well. They all look like they're meant to be up there. 

She’s so fucking proud.

Her focus on the stage was broken by someone coming up to the table, giving her a timid smile as they pointed to a shirt behind her. She shook herself out of her thoughts and smiled gently at them before reaching for the shirt that they had wanted. They looked young, probably around Folio’s age, and she watched as they handed over the cash for the shirt. She's going by memory now, sorting through money to give them their change and she looks up briefly at the stage. 

She freezes, the dollar bills almost slipping from her grasp. Noah had moved from the center of the stage over to the left, where Nicholas had stood, and the sight had something igniting inside Naomi – like there was a fire in the pit of her stomach. Noah moves with a purpose, slinging an arm over Nicholas' shoulder and presses into his side. This shouldn't be doing something for her, because they've always done this, but it's Noah's next move that has her breath hitching ever so slightly.

Noah's twisting Nicholas towards him, leaning forward so their foreheads can press together. She swallows thickly and watches as Noah's hand goes to move to the back of Nicholas' neck, gripping. Nicholas' eyes flutter shut in that exact moment, and she has to press her lips together in hopes for her mouth to not fucking drop open, especially when Noah presses forward again, their noses barely brushing together as he sang into the mic.

Naomi forced her gaze away from the two, heart pounding against her chest and that fiery pit in her stomach not letting up once. She tried to rid herself of those thoughts, lips straining into a smile as she finally handed the change back to the fan who wasn't even phased. They smiled warmly, and if they noticed the slight flush to her cheeks, they didn't comment on it, instead thanking her and walking off. 

She let out a breath she had been holding, eyes gazing back towards the stage and felt the relief flow through her body when she noticed that Noah was on the other side now. Thank God, she thinks, letting out another long breath before helping out another fan. She’s not sure she could handle seeing them that close again.

As their set went on, she lost count of the times her mind drifted back to Noah leaning into Nicholas' space, his hand placed on the back of the other's neck to hold him there as their foreheads pressed together. She pushed it as far back as she could while doing her job for the night, but it was always there, unmoving in a small portion of her mind. They looked good together, faces far too close to not be taken as intimate, eyes shut in almost ecstasy... Naomi shakes her head.

Girl, get a grip, she thinks.

She can't get too lost in that thought, doesn't let herself cling on to the what if? of the situation. She hadn't let herself think of the maybe, the mere possibility of Noah feeling the same for Nicholas. She doesn't have to think twice on how her boyfriend feels for her because she knows - Noah never gave her a reason to think otherwise. It's Noah's feelings for Nicholas that she's confused about. 

They grew up together. Where Nicholas went, Noah seemed to follow, even long after Naomi had come into the picture and became their friend. She thinks back to long nights spent at their apartment, staying up way too late and passing around a bottle of wine as they talked about their dreams, the future. She remembers how Noah was always staring at her, at the time not knowing the look in his eyes was filled with pure adoration. But she also remembers Noah staring at Nicholas, when he thought no one was paying attention. Not as often as he did her, but he still would. With that same look. 

She didn't know it then, but she knows it now, and her stomach turns all the same as it had with Analise a few weeks ago.  

"Holy fucking shit."

Folio's voice breaks her out of her thoughts and Naomi turns away from the box she's working on to face her friend, giving him a wide smile. 

"Dude!" She all but shouts as Folio bounds his way to the merch table, throwing her arms around him. "That was so fucking sick!"

He slips an arm around her waist, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You think?"

"Think?" Naomi pulls back to stare at him, giving him the most ridiculous look. "Did you not see that crowd? You fucking killed it. They all loved it!”

Folio smiles, big and full of pride, and she can't help but wrap her arms around him again, pulling him back into another hug.

"So proud of you." Naomi remembers the very beginnings of this band, and to think back to where they started up to this very moment makes her a little misty eyed. "Only up from here."

Folio's eyes roll playfully when he pulls away. "Please. The album just came out."

"And?" She laughs now, pinching his arm. "Just watch - in a few years everyone's going to know who Bad Omens are."

"...I hope so." He smiles sheepishly now, head dipping down to hide the hint of flush on his cheeks. 

"I hope so too."

Their conversation is cut short when she hears a few loud voices come closer to them, turning her head to spot the rest of the band coming their way. Her stomach drops the second she sees Noah, and she can't help but stare as both he and Nicholas make their way over to the merch table. Memories of them on stage flash through her mind and she has to look away from them, trying to shake whatever thoughts that seemed to float through her mind. She cannot be thinking about that.

But it's so hard, especially with how good they looked together. Noah's hand wrapped around the back of Nicholas' neck; Nicholas' eyes fluttering shut as Noah pressed himself closer... She physically shakes her head this time, trying to will away those thoughts as Noah comes up to her. She tries to do her best to act like a normal human being and not someone who was just thinking about her boyfriend doing God knows what with their best friend.

"So?" Noah's grin is so wide, she's sure his cheeks hurt, and she doesn't stop herself from throwing her arms around him.

"That was fucking amazing!" Naomi all but squeals. "Y'all have always been good but shit... this show was top tier."

Noah pulls away from her just enough for them to lock eyes, his grin falling to something much softer - timider. "You think so?"

She nods, standing slightly on her tiptoes to press her lips to his cheek gently. "Well duh. Of course, I do."

"You're just saying that because you like me." Noah grumbles playfully and she can't help but pinch at his side, laughing when he yelps.

"Oh, shut up." Their eyes meet again, and her gaze softens, arms slipping back around his waist. "You've worked really fucking hard for this and it showed up there tonight. I'm so proud of you."

She smiles up at Noah gently before turning to face Jolly and Nicholas who have finally joined the group, catching their gazes.

"You guys, too. I don't think I've ever been prouder of anyone in my entire life."

Nicholas blushes, face red and looks away from her, mumbling a quiet "Thank you" and busying himself with folding the rest of the shirts she had laying out. Cute, she thinks to herself before she looks at Jolly, who's waving her off.

"Oh, please. Don't go soft on me." But from the faint color on his cheeks as well, she knows he appreciated it. 

"So, what's the plan?" Folio speaks up, looking around the group. "Celebratory drinks?"

"You're not even legal yet, dude." Noah teases, resting his arm around Naomi's shoulder.

"Neither are you?" Her, Nicholas, and Jolly say in unison before breaking out in laughter, especially at the pouty face Noah gives them.

"Almost!"

"Yeah, two months." Nicholas snorts, casting both her and Noah a look before focusing back on the shirts. "But I'm down to drink."

"Me too." Jolly agrees. "Nick, Mimi - you guys get this all packed up. The rest of the crew will get everything else. Sound good?"

She meets Nicholas' eyes and nods, giving him a gentle smile before focusing back on Jolly, throwing him a thumbs up. "Sounds good to me."

"The quicker we finish, the quicker we can get out of here." Noah says happily, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before pulling away from her. "Let's get this shit done. I'm ready for a drink." 

The three of them walk over to the rest of the crew, beginning to take down their equipment, leaving her and Nicholas alone. This was the first time she had been alone with him since he had been home weeks ago, and her stomach swirls in excitement as she slips into the space next to him, folding the rest of the shirts scattered across the table.

"You did good tonight." She hummed, bumping her hip into his. 

"Yeah?" He keeps his voice low, and she steals a quick glance at him to see the sides of his mouth quirking up into a smile. She nods. "Thank you. I had fun."

"You looked like you did." The words fall from her mouth without much thought, and immediately the image of him and Noah on stage plague her mind. She clears her throat. "You guys are really getting the hang of this."

"It's gotten easier." He says with a shrug, closing up a box he had finished. "Still weird having people like... come and see us? Like. Singing our songs and shit. It's weird but nice."

"It's amazing, that's what it is." She pauses her actions to lean her hip against the table, crossing her arms over her chest. "I sound like a broken record but I just... I'm so proud of you guys. You've been busting your asses for years and it's finally paying off."

Nicholas reaches for the shirts she had folded, and her eyes watch his movements, watching as he placed them into another empty box. Most of the shirts have been tucked away nicely and the only things left are some CDs and a few vinyl variants, and a few posters she thinks. 

"Thank you for coming and helping out." Their eyes meet again, and she holds in a breath, but doesn't look away. "I was scared shitless for tonight, but it was uh, easier. Knowing you were in the crowd." He reaches up to rub at the back of his neck. "Made it easier for Noah, too."

His words pull at her heart, chest tightening. She made it easier for them. Having her there made the biggest night of their lives easier in some shape or form and she has to blink away the burning in her eyes, lips tugging into a smile.

"I'm glad I was able to make it easier."

They stare at each other for a beat longer than needed and Nicholas' eyes drop, going back to packing up their stuff. 

"Ready to haul this shit out to the van?"

She eyes the filled boxes around them, and then the things that still need to be packed up, and internally groans to herself. She wishes they had at least one more set of hands to help out, but everyone else is handling all the heavy duty that she definitely doesn't want to deal with and nods. 

"As ready as I'll ever be."

And on the back-and-forth trips she and Nicholas make from the venue to the van, she can't shake away the feeling in the back of her mind telling her that it's going to be a long night. 

…

Naomi feels warm all over.

The alcohol courses through her veins as she and Noah throw back their third shot of the night. She makes a face, her chest burning from the contents, and chases the after taste with her mixed drink. Noah laughs from beside her.

"Oh, come on! It wasn't that bad."

She groans and leans into his side, her forehead pressing against his shoulder. "You know how much I hate tequila." 

His arm wraps around her, pulling her closer, and she shivers at the feeling of his fingers dancing along her hip and up under her shirt, rubbing the skin there gently. He dips his head down to brush his lips against her cheek, another laugh escaping him. Another shiver ran through her. She's forgotten just how touchy Noah can get whenever he drinks, and after weeks of not seeing him, she's realizing just how much she's missed his hands against her.

"You're being such a baby."

"Fuck you." She jokes, pulling her head up to look at him. He's already staring at her, eyes glazed over and a dopey grin on his lips. 

"Didn't peg you as an exhibitionist, babe."

Naomi sputters at Noah's words and the grin on his lips only grows, and she shoves at his chest playfully. 

"You're terrible." She grumbles, but there's no heat behind her words, the edges of her lips tugging in a smile as her eyes roll. 

Noah laughs, loud and bright, and she lets that very smile on her lips grow. 

"But you looove me." Noah all but sings, pressing a very over dramatic kiss to her cheek. 

She laughs, half-heartedly shoving at his chest. "Hush."

He pulls back to stare at her, and she almost misses the playful glint in his gaze before his eyes drop to her lips. Her tummy flips and she found herself leaning in, wanting nothing more than to have Noah's lips against hers, but stops midway when she sees movement behind the boy. 

Nicholas slips into the spot next to Noah and Naomi can't help but stare, eyes roaming over his alcohol flushed face. Noah feels him right away, a smile stretching across his lips as he turns to look back at him. Her eyes gaze down to his hand coming to rest on Nicholas' thigh and he drops his head on his shoulder, eyes fluttering shut.

"Hi Nicky." 

His tone was sweet and something about it made Naomi’s chest twist. She tries to not think about that right now, not with her hazy, alcohol induced mind, but she can't help but pull her bottom lip in between her teeth at the sight of Noah in between both her and Nicholas. Her mind goes back to Noah’s arm wrapped around Nicholas, against her own will, and remembers him leaning his head against the others as he sang into the microphone. She squirms in her seat.

She isn’t sure why it got her so riled up, but she quite literally couldn’t stop thinking about it. The way Nicholas’ eyes fluttered shut, fingers working along his bass as Noah pressed against him… she has to press her thighs together to try and relieve some of the heat building up inside of her.

With a shake of her head, she reaches forward to brush some of Noah's hair from his face and she doesn't miss the way Nicholas' tenses at Noah's affection, a strained smile forming on his lips.

"Hi Noah." 

"Where'd you wander off to?" Noah's words were slurred, and his eyes open now, lifting his head up to rest his chin on Nicholas' shoulder now. "I've been waiting for you to come take a shot with me, Mimi's being a wimp about it."

Naomi notices the shift in Nicholas' eyes and the way his throat bobs at the close proximity. Her hand drops from Noah's hair to his thigh, gently rubbing, and the boy reaches absentmindedly with his free hand to lace their fingers together.

"I am not." She argues and can't help but huff, eyes rolling. "He gave me tequila when he knows I fucking hate it."

"Oh, man." Nicholas laughs, eyes scrunching. "You know how she feels about tequila, dude. She can't handle it like us - she’s a baby.”

Her mouth drops open, offended.

“Hey!” But it goes ignored.

"Well, I was waiting for you! Then I couldn't find you so," Noah shrugs and lifts his head to look at her. "Mimi was my victim for the night."

"I'm here now." She notices the way Nicholas' shoulders relax, leaning into Noah. His smile isn't strained anymore. "Do you think you can handle another one?"

The mischievous grin Noah gives Nicholas is answer enough and before she realizes it, there's more shots on the table for them - tequila still, much to Naomi's dismay. Jolly joins them at some point, and so does Folio, but they both come and go as they work their way around the bar to talk to everyone. The three of them stay put in their booth, throwing back shots.

As the night goes on, her mind grows hazier and hazier with each shot she takes. She should've stopped, she knows this, especially when they stopped tasting like alcohol and more like water, but it was the only way to calm her nerves. Even in her drunk haze she was able to notice how handsy Noah was tonight.

Perhaps it was the tequila making him this way, and maybe it was because they hadn't seen each other in so long that he needed to touch her in any way that he could, but it was driving her crazy. His hand would inch higher every few minutes, fingers dipping into the exposed flesh of her thigh. Every time she'd feel his nails dig into her skin she'd squirm, pressing her thighs together to relieve some of the pressure building up. 

She moved her focus from the hand on her thigh, to try and regain some kind of normalcy in that brain of hers, and found Nicholas staring at her. Well, not exactly staring at her but... at Noah's hand on her thigh, inching upward every few seconds. His tongue darts out to swipe over his bottom lip and then his eyes flick up towards hers, widening for a second when he realized he had been caught. 

Her breath hitches and she just can't seem to look away, and neither could Nicholas, and it wasn't until another squeeze on her thigh from Noah pulled her away from those hypnotizing eyes.

"-huh?" She says dumbly, looking over at Noah. He had said something, but she didn't quite catch it, too preoccupied. Noah laughs. If he had noticed her staring at Nicholas, he didn't comment on it.

"Just said I don't think I've drank this much in... forever." He hums, head leaning on her shoulder. She relaxes and leans into him, head turning to brush her lips against the side of his head.

"Same." She groans, eyes fluttering shut. "Don't think I've ever drank so much tequila in my life. You two are evil."

She hears both Nicholas and Noah chuckle at that and she smiles, opening her eyes again to look between the two. It was nice to be there with them, reminding her of the days spent in their apartment with their cheap, shitty wine. Her stomach turns, chest squeezing at the memory, and she feels herself almost yearning for that. Back when things didn't have to make sense and she just loved being around them.

If only things could be so simple.

"Yeah, it's been a minute since I've drank this much." Nicholas says while scratching at his neck, a light flush covering his cheeks. "Think I need to slow down."

"Fuck. Same." Noah's quiet for a moment before he laughs, picking his head up to look at Nicholas. "Remember that one night? Like... two years ago?"

Nicholas raises a brow at him. "You're gonna have to be more specific there, man."

"Davis' birthday? We almost drank damn near everything by ourselves."

Naomi sees something shift in Nicholas' eyes, the redness on his cheeks becoming more and more apparent as time passes.

"Oh yeah." His voice is clipped, jaw twitching. "I remember."

Her eyes narrow between the two boys, not understanding the exchange. He seemed... she wasn't sure what he seemed like, but the only thing she could describe it as is tense. Just like he'd been for weeks. She doesn't remember the last time she'd seen Nicholas relaxed for more than an hour; doesn't even remember the last time she didn't notice the lingering sadness that floated around in his eyes. She frowns at him, and he shifts his gaze, looking back at Noah.

"That was fucking crazy." Noah slurs, then turns his head to look at Naomi. "Have I ever told you about that night?"

She shakes her head. "Nah. All I remember is that you guys were miserable the next day. Kind of glad I had to miss it for work."

"You should be glad. Davis almost killed us." Nicholas grumbled and Noah laughed beside her.

"I only remember bits from that night, if I'm being honest." He starts, and then turns his focus back on Nicholas. "Didn't I kiss you?"

"Pardon?" She feels like her eyes are about to jump right out of her fucking head, heart pounding against her chest. Noah looks at her again, head tilted. "Back track. You guys kissed?!"

"Almost." Nicholas' eyes are just as wide as hers and he's quick to answer, head shaking. "Almost kissed. I think I stopped him. Or… maybe Davis did? Actually, I think he ended up tripping and stopping himself.”

Noah's laughing again, all happy and calm as if he didn't just drop the biggest bomb in the history of ever. Naomi's heart slows down, only slightly though, because they didn't actually kiss. For some reason she finds herself being a tad bit disappointed by that. 

This is not helping her earlier thoughts one fucking bit.

"Oh yeah! I did trip, but I think Davis was going to stop us, anyways."

Naomi's eyes flick between them in silence as her mind goes into overdrive, every possible scenario running through it. Noah and Nicholas almost kissed. Touching and kissing and the sweet, sweet noises Noah would be making because she knows how much the boy loves kissing and... 

The tequila is working overtime tonight because her mouth moves before her mind can even catch up.

"Me and Nicky almost kissed once, too."

It was Noah's turn to look at her like she was crazy, brown eyes wide in surprise. Nicholas looks... terrified. All the color has drained from his face and part of her feels bad, like she should have asked him if it was okay to bring it up, but Noah had brought up their almost kiss. Why couldn't she? It's not like they actually did kiss, just like them.

Even if she wishes they had.

"When?!" Noah practically shrieks, and if it weren't for the music and other conversations going on in the bar, she's sure everyone else would've heard them. 

She shrugs. "Uh. When he tattooed me. The first time. Forever ago."

Noah's mouth parts and looks at her, and then at Nicholas, then back to her again.

"Wow..."

Her stomach swirls with nerves and she's sure he's just shocked and not

angry, especially when the way his grip has not loosened on her thigh one bit. She's more nervous about Nicholas, gazing up at him but he's already looking at her. She feels hot under his gaze, and there's something behind the look that she can't fucking read and it's driving her crazy.

"That's..." Noah starts again but stops, throat moving as he swallows, blinking between the both of them again. 

"It was forever ago. Before you guys were even a thing." Nicholas says quickly, placing a reassuring hand on Noah's thigh.

Noah just nods, dazed, and maybe it was the alcohol catching up making his reaction this way - whatever this way is - but the way he's looking at them... Naomi chews on her bottom lip, her hand finding Noah's that was still placed on her thigh. 

"Are you upset?" She questions, fear rising inside of her.

"No." He's quick with his response, turning his full attention to her. "I'm just... thinking."

"...About what?" 

"I..." Noah pauses, tongue darting out to swipe across his bottom lip, eyes shifting between both her and Nicholas. "I think you guys should kiss."

She freezes, the hand she had on Noah's thigh digging into the fabric of his jeans. Her eyes dart to Nicholas' and she's sure they have the same exact look on their faces - eyes blown wide, lips parted, staring at Noah like he had three fucking heads because... what the fuck? 

Naomi notices the way Nicholas shifts uncomfortably in his seat, lips pressed in a line as his eyes dart between her and Noah. She catches his gaze and holds it steadily, trying to ask him quietly what the hell do we do? without actually saying anything. His jaw twitches, and then he swallows, and tears his gaze from hers to look at Noah.

"Isn't that... weird?" He starts, voice rough. He clears his throat. "You're dating."

Noah doesn't say anything at first, his blown-out eyes staring at the two of them sitting either side of him. Naomi's eyes drop to Nicholas' hand that's still placed on Noah's thigh, and then to her own hand that's wrapped in between her boyfriend's. Her stomach swirls, heat builds up inside of her just at the very image of Noah pressed against the two of them, and she's reminded of their interaction on stage. She bites down on her bottom lip and squeezes Noah's hand, causing the boy to look at her.

"I wanna see it." Noah's words are slurred together, and she's reminded that the boy is very much drunk, as are her and Nicholas. 

"Noah, babe, I don't know-"

"Please." He cuts her off and his words are desperate, voice edging on a whine as he stares at her with wide eyes. "It's okay. I... I wanna see it."

Both her and Nicholas share a look across Noah, and she's sure they're both filled with uncertainty, but she can't help but want to do it so badly. Especially now that Noah is asking for it - practically begging. He wants them to kiss. He wants to see it. Why? She's not sure, but God does she want it. 

And with the way Nicholas is staring at her, it's safe to assume he wants it too.

"Okay." She says slowly, peeling her eyes away from Nicholas to look at her boyfriend. "As long as you're okay with it... and Nicky is, too."

Noah looks at Nicholas expectantly and she sees the older male swallow, eyes bouncing between the two of them before he nods slowly.

"Yeah." He clears his throat. "Yeah, I'm okay with it."

Great. Cool. Fantastic.

She swallows the lump in her throat, anxiety climbing its way through her as the two of them shift around to get into a much more comfortable position. Noah stays between them, watching with eager eyes, and Naomi doesn't dare take her hand away from his, his touch keeping her grounded.

What the fuck is happening? He has to realize how crazy this is, right? He's just drunk. He would never let this happen if he was sober, thinking more clearly. Though, her mind drifts to the saying of drunk words being your sober thoughts, and her body heats up just at the mere thought of Noah thinking about this before. 

She sucks in a shaky breath as Nicholas leans towards her, his forehead pressing against her own. Noah's hand squeezes hers, his thumb sliding against her skin reassuringly, but the nerves in her stomach won't quit. 

Her eyes flutter shut the second their lips meet, and she can't stop the gasp that seems to leave her. His lips were soft, not as soft as Noah's, but much softer than she ever expected. They both don't move at first, just sit there with their lips pressed together, until she feels Noah's hands squeeze hers again. She moves first, lips dragging across Nicholas' and she physically shakes at the noise he makes, a groan from deep inside his chest. He reaches up with a shaky hand to cup the side of her face and she wraps her free hand around his wrist, keeping it there as their lips move together.

Naomi swears her heart is about to burst out of her chest when she pulls away from Nicholas. Silence surrounds them as their eyes open and her breath catches in her throat, lips still buzzing from the kiss, and she so desperately wants to lean back in. She doesn't though, instead her tongue darts out to swipe across her bottom lip and her entire body heats up as Nicholas' eyes follows it, before dragging his eyes back up her face.

"My turn." Noah's voice pulled Naomi's gaze away from Nicholas, looking into her boyfriend's wide, brown eyes. He looked just about as dazed as she felt, his skin flushed pink from the alcohol and possibly something else. He purses his lips into a pout. "Please?"

She smiles easily, her hand that was resting against his thigh coming up to cup the side of his face. Noah melts into the touch instantly, turning his head to nose at the palm of her hand. "Of course, baby."

They fall into each other naturally, Naomi's lips finding home against Noah's. It felt right - like it always had. Even in her drunken state it still felt as if this was where she was supposed to be, and with Nicholas being so close, her heart nearly jumped its way out of her chest at just how perfect everything felt. Like he was always meant to be there, with them. 

Noah's kisses are desperate, a bit sloppy, something that tends to happen when he drinks, and Naomi's hand falls from his cheek to the back of his neck, fingers working through his hair. She tugs gently, a silent way of telling him to relax, breathe, and the whimper he lets out against her lips goes straight to her core.

Fuck.

They pull a part and Noah already looks wrecked, lips red, shiny, and swollen. His flushed face even darker now, eyes dilated like crazy. He looks like she could tell him to do anything, and he’d do it, simply only to please her. She smiles sweetly at him, gently scratching at his scalp and leaning back in to press a kiss to the side of his mouth.

"Was that good enough for you?" She teases in a gentle voice when she pulls back.

Noah nods but doesn't say a word, staring at her for a moment before he glances off to the side. Nicholas sits beside them quietly, patiently, but with the same blown-out, flustered gaze Noah has. She's sure she looks similar to them, a slight twinge of color to her cheeks, eyes wild. She swallows.

"Nicky," Noah hums from beside her, shifting his body towards Nicholas'. Her hand falls from his hair and back to his thigh. "Can I kiss you too?"

He says it so gently, with so much care, that Naomi's heart clenches beneath her chest. Noah looks back at her for a moment, eyes wide now with a bit of fear, silently asking permission and she nods. Of course, she does, because why would she ever deny him of this? She sees it now, sees what Analise had been trying to tell her just mere weeks ago. 

If these boys haven't noticed it yet, they will soon.

She looks at Nicholas now, seeing the hesitancy behind his eyes and she gives him a nod as well. She watches his throat bob as he swallows before his gaze lands on Noah's again, giving him a timid smile.

"Is that what you want?"

Noah nods, a little too enthusiastically that Naomi has to hold back a laugh. "Yes. I want it." 

Another glance is shared between Naomi and Nicholas and the older boy nods to himself, as if preparing for what's about to happen. 

"Okay."

At first no one moves, and Naomi watches the two boys expectantly as they stare at each other. Noah's gaze falls to Nicholas' lips and his tongue darts out to swipe over his own before a whine pulls itself from his chest and he's reaching out, fingers curling around Nicholas' shirt to bring him closer. Nicholas lets him do it, eyes shutting as their lips finally meet and Naomi freezes. She doesn't move, doesn't even fucking breathe, but watches both boys kiss in front of her.

Noah whines against Nicholas' lips, desperate and borderline pitiful, and Naomi's thighs press together. The noise travels straight to her core and her fingers dip into Noah's thigh, her grip tightening. She watches carefully as Nicholas brings a hand up to Noah's cheek, cupping his cheek like had done hers moments ago while the younger trying to deepen the kiss. Their lips slide together messily, hungry for more, and the only thing she can think of right now is how good they look together and how she desperately wants to be between them.

She has to push the thought of her lips sliding across Noah's, Nicholas behind her and his lips attached to her neck, so far to the back of her mind or else... she's not sure what she would do. But whatever it is she can't do it, especially here. In a very public place. Her heart rate picks up just at the thought of someone catching them and almost as if they could feel her distress, the two boys finally part.

Nicholas looks at her first, eyes darting between her and Noah. She swallows at the sight of his hand still placed against Noah's cheek, thumb brushing against his skin.

"Happy?"

Noah nods in his hold, dazed, and at a loss for words. Nicholas smiles, small, but soft, and it's the smile she knows that he's saved for only them, and the quick pace of her heart slows down for just a moment. This feels right. The thought doesn't scare her as much.

Noah finally looks at her, hooded eyes and a dazed smile settling on his lips, and she can't help but reach forward, pushing some hair out of his face and tucking it loosely behind his ear. He turns his head slightly, pressing another kiss against the base of his palm and her heart squeezes beneath her chest. She feels Nicholas' eyes on her, and she turns to look at him.

Two things happened at that moment. 

She notices the exact moment of realization flash through Nicholas' eyes when they finally meet hers, and she watches them widen. She's not sure what exactly he's realizing, because she thinks he's known about his own feelings for some time now, but perhaps... Perhaps he's realizing that he's not the only one in this. That he’s not alone.

She can only hope, though.

The soft realization is soon overtaken by another, eyes widening even more, and her skin runs cold. The softness is gone and now replaced by fear, and his face drains from any color. His hand drops from Noah's cheek and scoots away from him, trying to put some distance between the three of them. 

He's panicking. 

"Nicky..." She starts, sobering up quickly. 

"I'm okay." He sounds anything but and pushes himself up and out of the booth. "I'm okay. I just - I need air."

Noah stirs beside her, and he scoots closer to the edge of the booth, trying to reach out for Nicholas. "Where are you going?"

Nicholas looks down at him, and then her, and his expression is pained, like he's battling with himself internally. Naomi's heart drops.

"I'll be back, okay?" He rushes out, giving Noah a quick and very strained smile. "I just. Need air. It's hot. I'm drunk. Not a good mix."

And then he's gone, pushing his way through the crowd to get as far away from them as he could. Naomi feels like she could cry, the moment sobering her up too fucking much because the moment was finally catching up to her.

What the fuck did they do?

"Is he okay?" Noah's voice breaks her out of her thoughts, and she blinks away the tears she hadn't realized were building up, looking towards her boyfriend.

"Yeah." She says, but she feels like it’s a lie, and reaches forward to smooth some of his hair back. "Just needed some air. He'll be back."

That seems to be enough for Noah, his shoulders dropping in relief and a satisfied smile stretches across his lips. Naomi tries to smile back, but she knows it doesn't reach her eyes and she leans forward, pressing a kiss to his cheek. 

"Let's get some water, yeah? I don't think we need any more shots."

He agrees easily, letting her drag him through the crowd to try and find some water, and they eventually bump into Jolly and Folio on the way. She tries to act normal, even when Jolly asks where Nicholas ran off to, but he seems to be satisfied when she tells him that he just went outside for a breather, he'll be back. No one questioned it again, even when they didn't see him for the rest of the night. 

[heeheesang]

ʂƚɾαɳɠҽɾ ∂αɳɠҽɾ ₊˚⊹ ᰔ

nineteen -> officially together.

“so.. what do you both have to say to me?” bang pd asked as he stared at both of us. i swallowed a lump of saliva, about to answer when jungwon cleared his throat. i looked up at him and he just gave me a small smile and held my hand under the desk.

“actually sir… if you may have mot known, yn and i have dated in the past. and we ended things on a bad way and we decided to talk again to sort it all out but sir, i caught feelings for her again. i didn’t think i would because i promised myself to not make yn feel worthless in any way possible anymore but i failed. in the end, i confessed and found out that yn also felt the same way. we’re just kids in love sir, this isn’t puppy love but we actually, like each other—“ jungwon stopped and turned to look at me.

“— and i like yn, alot.” jungwon continued as he smiled at me, i felt warmth everytime he smiled at me. i like him too, alot.

“sir before you say anything, yes yn and i have thought about the consequences and this was one of them. next was our fans, how they would react. that’s why we’ve been posting similar posts to see how fans would react, and so far all the responses were good… if there’s anythimg wrong with us being together, take it out on me. not yn, not enhypen, not newjeans, but me. i’m the cause of this.” jungwon said as he sighed and looked down.

i frowned slightly and nudged him, “this isn’t your fault…?! stop blaming yourself jungwon, you’re always blaming yourself when it’s not your fault. sir, if anything, take it out on me. just me, not my group, not his group, not him. they have a long way to go in the future and i barely have any. so please sir.”

“ynnie—“

“no jungwon.”

“but yn—“

“stop arguing love birds. i’ve heard enough. i must say, you’re bold enough to say all these, even acting all lovey dovey in front of me, your ceo. you have both thought it through and… i have nothimg against it. i know how young love feels like.” bang pd said as jungwon’s and i’s mouth hung open.

“wait so you’re saying—“

“yes, yn. do whatever you’d like. i know your fans love both of you so inhave nothing against it really… take this as ‘i accept your relationship’, i’ll do everything i can in my will to help both of you.” we all smiled and cheered as the ceo hugged us and wished us all the best.

masterlist | back | next

taglist! @rosas-in-the-garden @ilikekpop-c @aloloveswonie @jwonistic @drunkhee @h4918ymc @huieeee @xiaoderrrr @ilovejungwonandhaechan @yourssincerely-mimi @n1k1mura @nnana2 @moond1or @gornoi

hhs’ notes! sorry for the long update😭😭😭 i’m finally finished with intern!! i’m so happy oh lord but being a nurse is NOT for the weal😆😆😂😂 I’LL KMS IF I EVER BE A NURSE😭😭 anyway! i hope you guys have having a day/had a good day🫶🏻 i love you all so much thank you supporting this smau😭😭😭 last chapter after this🥹

[marlynnofmany]

The Right Time and Place

I was just sitting down for lunch alongside most of the crew when Captain Sunlight joined us with an announcement. She tapped her claws against the doorframe for attention.

“Minor detour before we reach the station,” she said when everyone quieted. “We’re taking a different wormhole, and doing a job on the way. This is a weird one. The client was cagey with the details. He said not to tell anyone else, so of course I’m telling all of you. Because you deserve to know what you’re getting into. Even if we’re not entirely sure what we’re getting into.” She shook her lizardy head in exasperation.

Zhee spoke up. “What’s the task, and why are we doing it?”

“We’re parking the ship briefly,” said the captain, waving vaguely in what I assumed was the direction of the wormhole. “In the middle of nowhere, at a precise location and time, staying there for at least fifteen minutes. Then we go get paid.”

“Huh,” said Paint. “That is weird.”

“Before anyone asks, I did press the client for specifics. He promises there are no hazards of any kind, and willingly signed every form I threw at him. He paid half up front. He paid extra! This is clearly very important, and he didn’t want to say why. But we’re covered if anything untoward happens, which it shouldn’t.”

Mur waved a tentacle. “He’s probably a spy. That’s my vote.”

Eggskin took a lid off a food dish with the air of someone deliberately not paying attention. “Spies are generally more subtle. In my experience.”

I made a mental note to ask Eggskin about that later. Zhee was talking now.

“What type of person was this client?” he asked. “As far as you know.”

Captain Sunlight recited a list, counting on her knuckles as she did. “Wealthy, planet-based, human, young adult…”

“Aw, human?” I said. “I would have liked to be there for that conversation, see if I could pick up any clues from body language. Did he seem calm, or twitchy like he knew it was a bad idea?”

Captain Sunlight spread her hands. “I’m sure I don’t know. But you’re free to speculate. It will be a while before we arrive at the designated location; you all may as well finish lunch. I just wanted to keep everyone informed.”

Nobody else had questions, so she left to tell the others who hadn’t heard yet. Mimi was still in the engine room, and Trrili was finishing a translation with Coals. Aside from Wio in the cockpit, that was all of us here.

And we were ready to talk about it.

“Maybe it’s a sport!” suggested Blip. “One we haven’t heard of yet!”

“Like what?” asked Blop. “He would have said if a ball was going to hit our ship, or something like that.”

“No, I mean like a strategy game, with pieces scattered around the galaxy. Maybe light has to reflect off our ship or something.”

“I still think he’s a spy,” insisted Mur.

Zhee turned back to his food. “I expect he’s an imbecile. Perhaps he lost something drifting in space, and wanted our ship to intercept it ‘accidentally.’”

Paint shook her head. “No, he would have said if something was on a collision course, even something soft.”

“I think it’s science,” Kavlae said, popping open a can of something. “No idea what the experiment is, or what we’re helping to accomplish, but something.”

I’d been thinking up other possibilities, and a new one occurred to me. “I wonder,” I said, “If he’s doing a really complicated marriage proposal.”

“A what?” Zhee asked, cleaning his mandibles in the bug-alien equivalent of licking his lips. “Oh, a mating offer. Aren’t those always complicated for your species?”

“They can be,” I said. “Some people like to make grand gestures, like pay to have it written in the sky, or something else visible and dramatic. I could see our ship being a last-minute replacement for one that couldn’t make it to the lineup in time.”

“Hm,” Zhee said noncommitally. “How embarrassing.” Then he stuck his face back in the bowl of intestines or whatever, and I looked somewhere else.

“That would be exciting,” Paint said. “I wonder if the captain asked about any other ships in the region.”

“Guess we’ll find out,” said Mur as he cracked a walnut with one tentacle. (Walnut-ish, at any rate. It looked kind of purple.)

“I hope we find out!” I said. “If the client manages to keep it a secret, I think we’ll all be disappointed.” The others agreed, and I turned my attention back to my own lunch. It was a peanut butter and honey sandwich, with apple slices and a fruit-and-veg smoothie. All tasty stuff. Not a soul onboard aside from me was going to touch the honey, because apparently they didn’t grow up on planets where “insect spit and nectar” was a popular food item. Their loss.

Lunch passed without incident, and so did the time until we arrived at the super-secret rendezvous point. Everybody who didn’t have something more important to do loitered in the hallway outside the cockpit, hoping for clues. Apparently this patch of space was empty as we approached, which ruled out a couple theories.

Paint clicked her claws together nervously. “Are we sure we’re not bait for something? I know he signed the forms…”

Wio called from the pilot’s seat, “There is absolutely nothing on the scanners, and I’ve got them set to max. Short of another space worm adventure, nothing’s going to sneak up on us.”

Kavlae made a considering sound. “That would be some interesting science.”

I had to laugh. “Interesting is one word for it!” The time we’d seen a new wormhole being created — courtesy of the space worms being chased by something larger and worse — there had been far more panic than scientific curiosity. “I’m pretty sure no one’s figured out how to track space worms, much less predict where they’re going to be with this kind of accuracy.”

“Has the timing started yet?” Zhee asked.

Captain Sunlight said over her shoulder, “We’re here early. I wanted to give us time to take our position with absolute certainty.”

There was some grumbling (mostly from Zhee), and we settled in to wait.

Finally Captain Sunlight announced the beginning of the timer, and we waited some more. Not a thing stirred. Wio kept a constant eye on all the scanners and sensors, while the rest of us watched the screens as best we could without crowding in there and getting in the way. Nothing happened.

“And we’re done,” said the captain. “Anticlimactic is better than crisis. Wio, take us in to the station.”

Wio did, aiming for the nearest wormhole and making the trip with more disappointing uneventfulness.

Thankfully for everyone’s curiosity, the client was within hailing distance when we exited into the space station’s territory.

Mur whispered, “I thought he was based on a planet?” while the captain set up the call.

Zhe clicked a pincher quietly. “Either he left it, or he’s a liar.”

Paint shushed him as the client appeared on screen. He really was a human: about college age, naturally tan skin, artificially blonde hair. A fashion sense that I would tactfully describe as “rich person nonsense.” So much metallic embroidery; sheesh.

He was polite enough, and all I was getting from his body language was that he was anxious about whether we’d done the weird job correctly. It was probably a good thing the camera didn’t reach into the hallway where all of us were staring at him.

Captain Sunlight went over the details calmly, and convinced the guy that we’d fulfilled our end of the bargain. He authorized the money transfer and looked relieved, muscles relaxing visibly.

I was pretty sure these weren’t the mannerisms of someone setting up a marriage proposal. He’d still be nervous about that. What was it?

On behalf of all of us, Captain Sunlight asked again. “What sort of sensitive nature is this task we’ve just done for you? I hope we won’t face repercussions down the line for obstructing some lawmaker’s telescopic view of a crime, or playing unwitting decoy.”

Apparently the good captain had also been thinking up possible scenarios. Those hadn’t even occurred to me.

“No, no, nothing like that,” he said, waving both hands. “Well, almost— No, it’s nothing like that.”

“No?” asked Captain Sunlight with a lift of her chin. “Which one is almost? Might we be a suspect in some criminal case now?”

“No, no!” He was getting really flustered now. “It’s the telescope one.”

“So a lawmaker was watching us sitting there suspiciously?”

“No!” He threw his hands in the air. “I tripped on the steps, all right? In public, boarding my ship, I fell all the way down the stairs and it was terrible. I had to bribe everybody who was there in person to keep it to themselves, but I’m going to go visit someone and—” He bit off the rest of the sentence. “That someone likes to borrow their planet’s largest telescope to watch me leave when I do. Your ship blocked the view. Thanks to wormholes and my top-notch computing formula, I was able to arrange it all before the light traveled that many light years away from home.” He ran his fingers through his hair, messing up completely. “Now please, don’t tell anybody!”

Captain Sunlight assured him that she wouldn’t spread it around, and bid him a regal goodbye. The screen clicked off.

The snickering in the hallway turned into full-blown laughter.

Trrili stalked up to join us, with Coals walking just outside of accidental pincher-poke range. “What was it?” she demanded. “Was the client an imbecile?”

“Yes,” Zhee told her. “But not in a way we expected.”

Paint was still laughing. “He didn’t want somebody to see that he fell down the stairs!”

Mur filled her in on the other details, but Trrili’s antennae angled into a frown. “Why go to all that trouble? Why not simply threaten witnesses and be done with it?”

“I suspect,” I said, “That the person watching was someone he has a crush on. He doesn’t want them to think badly of him.”

Trrili looked at Zhee. “Human mating rituals?”

“Looks that way.”

Trrili turned her faceted glare towards me. “Why do your people make things so complicated?”

I laughed. “Hey, this was overkill as far as I’m concerned too! If the person you want to date can’t handle a little pratfall like that, then they’re clearly not a good choice.”

Trrili was quiet for a moment, then said, “Two legs. Right. This must come up often for you.”

“It really doesn’t!”

She shook her head and turned away.

Paint spoke up helpfully: “You should hear about the mating proposals that they write in the sky!”

“Very no thank you.”

As Trrili walked away and the rest of the crew found other things to do, Paint told me, “I do want to hear about those. How do they write them? Does the answer go in the sky too?”

“Not for the proposals I’ve seen,” I said. “But there’s always a first.”

~~~

The ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. More to come! And I am currently drafting a sequel!

[muzaktomyears]

Mimi's views on Cynthia:

(...) [Mimi] told me how strict John was with Julian, especially at meals. If he didn’t behave, or refused to eat something on his plate, John would have none of it and would pick him up and put him to bed in the back bedroom. Just for the record, Mimi thought it all a bit harsh but John refused to put up with bad manners. She, of course, blamed any bad manners that Julian had on Cyn, since she was with the boy 99% of the time. Mimi said his eating habits were atrocious, all sodas and candy. Not surprising, also Cyn’s fault.

---

Mimi had never really been fond of Cynthia. She felt she had chased John throughout the years, and had purposely gotten herself pregnant in order to “trick him” into marrying her. But more than Cynthia, she disliked Cynthia’s mother. Mrs. Powell was “pushy” and had to be involved in everything, according to Mimi. Even the last time we discussed the subject, she insisted that the marriage might have lasted if John and Cyn could have lived alone without her mother constantly being there. John eventually had enough and purchased a small cottage for her not far from Kenwood but Mrs. Powell insisted on spending her time at the house where she could better enjoy John’s money.

---

She told of the Art School days and the many times Cynthia would walk by the house in Woolton, hoping to see John while he would be upstairs hiding. She insisted Cyn had chased after him and had even asked Mimi for permission to marry him, when John was just 20 and would need a parent or guardian to sign for him. Mimi refused. When John did finally admit to her that Cynthia was pregnant and they would be marrying, Mimi gave it to him with both barrels. How could Cynthia know she was pregnant to soon? She would hardly be a month along. Where did they expect to live? How did he think he could support a family? On and on it went until John stormed out.

Mimi had no intention of attending the wedding and neither did anyone else in the family. The night before the wedding, John came to her in tears. He didn’t want to get married. He was too young. He had to find a way out. But even then she had no sympathy for him. He’d laid in his bed and now he had to make it.

---

(...) She did actually feel sorry for Cynthia living in the big house, more or less alone, she said. And when John wasn’t touring, he’d be working in the studio and come home exhausted. Cyn, on the other hand, wanted to go out and Mimi said she would often come downstairs dressed to the nines, looking quite lovely, and hoping for an evening on the town but John would be too tired.

Mimi warned him that he had to be more attentive to his wife.

---

[1975:]

She’d received a letter from a fan who had been visiting Cyn. “Well, she [the fan] indicated that Cyn didn’t want her address known. [She] knew but couldn’t tell me as, more or less, it was private. It irritated me. There’s no need for anyone connected with the Beatles to hide; one never hears of them, only an occasional mention. So she is quite safe. What an irritating letter to write. She could see Cyn had had her share of worry, etc. And [she] feels so bad that I don’t see Julian and no wonder Cyn wants seclusion in this world. Really such rubbish! It’s entirely Cyn’s own fault. Seclusion! Bah!”

---

[a letter dated 19th June, 1981:]

“7p.m. last night the phone went, I was half expecting an American voice, but no – It was definitely a L’pool voice. Slightly, but L’pool anyway. I knew it was not my family, we all have the similar voice. I kept saying who? Who? Who are you? Then I nearly dropped dead (kidding). The voice said ‘It’s Cyn’. I could hardly believe it. She started to tell me about Twist, marriage finished, he’d had 3 affairs, one after another. Apart from that I don’t know what the call was for. So taken aback that ME, Mimi, didn’t say anything. She would come down, see me, etc. etc. and – I’m not much wiser. Since then I’ve been so puzzled, wondering why she phoned me. I didn’t even get her phone no., or address, and no idea how to get it unless I try enquiries. She may not be under Twist… I wouldn’t put it past her to use Lennon. Think I’ll try. I want to ask her why she phoned, any reason especially. Can there be any motive? She’s determined to keep in the news one way or another. It’s puzzling, but I would not be any use to her.

“I know Cyn says she wants to hide away. God knows why. All the time she gets in touch with the press…I know she does not like [fans] and until I picked all the fan letters out of the dustbin and answered them, every fan letter was destroyed. So I answered which infuriated her, but I didn’t care. The girls got an answer. John knew nothing about it.”

(...)“Just talking to Anne [Mimi's sister]. She said ‘don’t bother finding where Cyn is. There’s some motive why she phoned after all these years. She could have phoned in Dec. And why these undying declarations of great love for John.’ If that was so, why chase the Italian, who by the way is totally ignored. She’s had 2 husbands since John. Anne feels there is money in it. Some funny business going on. I’m not interested in any money. It’s bad enough he’s gone.

“It’s not a good example to Julian to encourage him to go into pubs. He does not impress me at all. Seems lazy and aimless trying to cash in on his father’s image. John said he had no brain. Sounds as though he was right. Cyn should direct him to doing something instead of hanging around doing absolutely nothing. She trying to be the same age in outlook. It can’t be done. She’s to blame for him being aimless, but there’s no time for children when you’re looking for new husbands, and looking for a good time.”

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We got into one of our first disagreements that night [during her 1981 visit to Mimi's house]. Talking about John and his divorce from Cynthia, she mentioned that Cyn hadn’t deserved the money he’d been forced to give her as a settlement. I believe the figure we were discussing was £150,000 and she thought that was far too much. I tried to explain that considering she’d been there from the beginning and through the lion’s share of Beatlemania, she deserved a far greater portion of his income than that. Nope. Cyn had cheated on John first, Mimi reasoned, so it wasn’t as if she’d won the pools. That was a familiar argument and I realized she was using John’s argument, almost word for word.

That’s the night she told me how John had come down to see her, and “sitting right in that chair” had told her that he had found out that Cynthia had been cheating on him with “the Italian” and he had literally cried when he said he was getting a divorce. To this day, I have no idea who cheated on whom first, but I eventually held my tongue and the £150,000 settlement dispute was eventually forgotten; at least for the time being.

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Marie had been to Beatlefest in New York. She had phoned me while there to inform me that Cynthia was there selling copies of her art from her first book. I think this might have been the first of several trips to Beatlefest for Cyn. (…)

The only thing I remember is she called to tell me that she told Cyn that she knew the former president of the Cyn Lennon Beatle Club and did Cyn think she might ever go to Minnesota?

As I recall it, Cyn replied “Why would I ever go to Minnesota?” Well, why, indeed. Unless, of course, she wanted to continue to sell copies of old lithographs at $30 a pop.

Needless to say, Mimi didn’t take the news well at all.

“[Marie] nearly fell over herself telling me about Cyn selling at a Beatlefest or whatever you call those things. I couldn’t believe it! Whatever is she thinking?!!... It’s incredible, undignified, and degrading, to me anyway but then I’m not trying to cash in or seeking publicity. If I had been a cast off wife or mistress I think I would have kept quiet and out of sight especially with two husbands still hanging around somewhere. I’d laugh my head off if they decided to cash in as well. Heaven knows there’s no knowing what people will do for money. And they have a story as well….. Kathy, I’m half sorry for Cyn. I wonder how and what prompted her to leave herself open to criticism and remarks by people. I phoned my sister and Liela… they say she’s desperate for notice, and what’s more likely looking for another—er—husband over there. That’s the most likely place .What do you bet? Altho I hope she won’t be so silly. I don’t think she can help it. We’ll see. She could not have sold all those drawings at the exhibition, or perhaps she did more for the Beatlefest…I never saw anything arty she ever did, so have no idea…”

[A letter dated 26th October, 81:]

“I was sorry to hear Cyn was renting a table to sell things. How could she do such a thing! Joining that jamboree. It’s bound to cause some unfavourable comments. As to why, apart from the obvious. Here’s the latest rolling in millions and the first, 14 years almost after the divorce, and two further husbands (still about somewhere) renting a table to sell things – I really am sorry she did it. She was a very wealthy woman. I hope she’s still got some of it left. It makes one think she’s cashing in on the Lennon name for money. Perhaps I’m too old fashioned. Your note may have cheered her up for I can’t think she was very happy standing there, money or no money. It makes me cringe… Whatever Cyn may say I think she’s lonely and realises she was a fool… to be photographed with May Pang and I hear staying with her (if it’s true) well, it’s rock bottom. I hope she made some money to compensate her for what I think was an undignified escapade. Of course it’s only my opinion. I may be entirely wrong altogether. Better if I am wrong.”

The Guitar’s All Right as a Hobby, John, Kathy Burns (2014)