#I just feel so desperate for socialization

[monamipencil]

another long reblog cuz im crazy abt this story

omg, i LOVED this chap? and i loved all their dynamics?? the chapter was so intriguing. it's so good?? plot is plotting. mia you're so fucking talented to pull this off. my god, i love your writing so much. it's the perfect blend of angst, humor and fluff (and ofc smut). and the fact that you're writing this out of your comfort zone?? respect. srsly tho, i loved this chap!! im so ready for the next chapters hehe.

and ofc, fave parts below!!

it was privacy that was the real myth. 

asdghjkl, well being in a camp with 13 men is .... interesting

when Soonyoung and Seungkwan sat right next to you, loudly comparing their dick sizes.

and not the underwear boxing lmaoo. guys...*sigh*

1.Hell no you didn't want him or anyone in this camp to realise just how (as Jihoon called it) thirsty you were.

"thirsty you were" 😭😭😭

You couldn't just walk up to such a man and tell him, “hey, you're hella hot and I'm hella attracted to you, I wish you would ravage me.���???? 

honestly, i would. (only for cheol tho 😌)

you liked to take Natalie on a walk to visit the man she had a big fat crush on. 

AHHHHHHH, JUN LMAO. AND NATALIE ?!?! i miss natalie

Soonyoung was…….. A teenager stuck in a man’s body.

more true words have never been spoken

he was handsome, goofy, really good with his hands, really really good with his brain but the same didn’t extend to his mouth. 

"the same didn't extend to his mouth" im hollering

For now, you were to focus on building your core strength and basic self defense, in case the camp is ever attacked…. Yes, cause that is less scary, way to make one feel better. 

minghao needs social skills training cuz wtf man?

Hansol was well aware of your presence and chose to actively avoid you every time - if you remembered right, there were even instances when he had practically run away from you.

this is sofucking funny, lmao. they have never been in the vicinity of a woman

And consequently, you too naturally babied him and Chan too enjoyed it - the two of you were perfectly content with your dynamic. 

i would do it too, for lee chan.

Maybe if it was someone else you'd be offended but seeing his childlike face and full cheeks, you were only mildly amused. 

LMFAO i love how we're dragging soonyoung any chance given.

“I'm more of the ‘don't join the crowd, let it follow you’ kinds.”

i see, where you're going with this miss yn

“Okay Mr. Seung-I-am-the-son-of-Hera-and-marriage-is-the-way-of-life-Kwan” Soonyoung rolled his eyes. “Not every traditional relationship is healthy, and not everything unconventional is toxic.”

"marriage is the way of life kwan"😭😭 but soonyoung spitting facts here.

“Yes, except yours is both unconventional and toxic.” Seungkwan scoffed

lmaoo

Mingyu patted his shoulder, shooting you a wink. “Y/n has other plans with me today anyways.” 

another fool with no communication skills. im calling my mom if someone says this to me

Looking up, you saw Jihoon staring at you with a small smirk, his expression all knowing.

lmao, i love smug and teasing jihoon

And you wanted to do Cheol. 

so do all of us.

watching the shirtless man, doing sit ups in the middle of the living room

in the living room? he's just asking to be fucked atp

And there was you who was always desperately wishing for the smallest interaction with him.. What an idiot. 

... tch, hits home. and choi seungcheol, wth.

You tried not to hyperfixate on the inappropriate labeling of Horang in the off chance that an annoyed Soonyoung threw you back out.

she's way too patient. im just gonna hit his head at this point. poor "horang," being misperceived all the time. #justicefor"horang"

“and you could moan my name, say how good I'm making you feel.” 

this guy, *sigh*

“Fuck yes Soonyoung, that feels so good-” “Yeah, yeah I remember…..Oh no that was just…. our cow?…..Yes Daisy, she's just having a rough night…..”

LMAO, my stomach hurts

“Let me clarify. Yes I have used a dildo before-”  “Oh god.”  “- Although my girlfriend isn’t the biggest fan of it-”  “This wasn’t my question.”  “-I do occasionally enjoy it myself.”  “I don’t think I should be a part of this conversation.”  “But this dildo in particular, has never been used by either of us before.”  “That!” You pointed out. “That’s all I needed to know.” 

im so done with these idiots lmaooo. (and im genuinely intrigued)

“I haven’t even gotten to the story behind this.” He giggled. “This is my father’s.”  “Aaaand I’m done here.” 

😭😭😭 back to zero communication skills lmao

“This isn’t an ordinary dildo Y/n, no. This baby can take on the shape, size, dimensions and every single tiny detail” He gave a dramatic pause. “Of the person you are imagining while going at it.”

i need the amazon link (asking for a friend ofc)

Lord was Choi Seungcheol thick.

asdfghjkl ????

“No, no I don’t but why do I make you nervous?”  Seungcheol smiled softly. “Do you really not know?”  You suppressed the grin forming on your own face. Fucking finally.  “No.” You shook your head feigning innocence. “Tell me.”  “Can I show you?” 

AHHHHHHHHHHH, OMG. IT'S HAPPENING, FIN-

“Y/n I’m sorry, I forgot that it’s late and we have training at 4 tomorrow.” He muttered, drawing his hands away. “You should sleep. I can’t excuse your lateness everyday.” 

nevermind.

Camp Seventeen: Chapter 1

Pairing - Afab!reader x ot13 (Reader x Seungcheol, Reader x Soonyoung for this Ch)

Word count - 13K

Genre - Greek Demigod AU! We’ve got crack, smut (tags for the chapter are under the cut), fluff , angst, hurt, comfort, all of it in this series, buckle up!

Chapter summary - It's been a week since you stepped foot in Camp Seventeen - as you navigated the days trying to wrap your head around the 13 boys, one's touch and another's voice start to become a bit too bothersome....

A/n - And the series has finally kickstarted! Please read the prologue before this! Big thanks to @okiedokrie and @c-oupsie for helping beta read this, y'all are the sweetest <3

I do have a taglist so comment/DM/send an ask to be added! And if you enjoyed reading, please don't forget to leave feedback in the comments or tags - we've got lots of chapters to go and hearing thoughts really helps <3

Smut warnings - mutual masturbation, fingering, use of a very questionable dildo, is this considered cheating? Idk it's all blur here, jerking off, cum feeding, cum eating and I hope that's all?

“Fucking hell.” 

You mumbled, waking up the same way you had been for the last one week - startled and nearly jumping off your bed. 

While most people began their days to the ringing of alarm clocks (or roosters if they preferred the countryside), you regularly woke up to the sound of Seungcheol’s eagle screeching in your ear. 

Turning your head, you glanced at Zephyr perched on the window before it gave you a short nod of acknowledgement and flew off into the darkness. Yes darkness, because unlike most people, your day also began at 4 fucking am in the morning. 

Groaning and stretching, you sat up, holding back the large yawn that was threatening to pull you back to sleep. If Zephyr was here to wake you up, that meant you were late yet again and you hated that - you had done too many walks of shame to the training field and were in no mood to be conspicuously stared at by 13 boys as you stumbled over, carrying all your gear. 

Knowing you didn’t have enough time to drop by the washroom, you popped a mint and sprayed some deodorant before quickly grabbing your things and running out into the darkness. 

The sun was just starting to peek from between the mountains as the House Of Zeus became smaller and smaller behind you. Although you had a long list of concerns living with Seungcheol, an unbeatable advantage was how close his residence was to the training grounds. Still, you could somehow never manage to be punctual. By the time you reached, you were 15 minutes late and Seokmin had already begun the morning drills. 

“Two laps around the field newbie.” He muttered as you walked past him, habituated to receiving the same punishment everyday. 

While you begrudgingly jogged around the perimeter of the grounds, your mind wandered to everything and nothing that happened over the past few days. 

Life at camp so far had been…. strange. 

You would be lying if you said you were already accustomed to life here. You most certainly were not. And forget a week, not even a year could prepare you for what living in the wild was like. 

To begin with, there was no electricity here. That’s right, no lights, no air conditioning, no Internet, nothing. 

Member’s began their days at sunrise and ended it as sunset - after all nothing much could be done in the dim illuminance of the fire torches scattered all around the base. So of course for you, who functioned best from 1 to 3am, this archaic way of life was highly inconvenient. 

The only place that had even a trace of something technologically advanced was the Great Hall - some of the more brainy boys had managed to set up a small circuit for kitchen appliances, laundry machines, a small charging station and that was about it. Rumor was that Wonwoo's residence had its own circuit too, but no one could really confirm that intel - it was as though none of them had ever ventured into the House of Hades. 

And as though the lack of scientific inventions was not enough, showers…..were communal. Apparently it made more sense that water lines were directed to one common bath house rather than to each individual house. For them it was definitely more convenient to have the baths, jacuzzi and sauna all in one place, but for you that meant waiting everyday after training for the whole lot of them to be done washing up before you could do the same, with some privacy. 

Oh and speaking of privacy, in the last week you spent here, you had come to realize that in this all-boys-greek-mythology world, it was privacy that was the real myth. Obviously after years of living together the boys were close but sometimes, they were perhaps a tad bit too close - like the time you had walked in on Mingyu and Seokmin boxing in just their underwear or when Soonyoung and Seungkwan sat right next to you, loudly comparing their dick sizes. You usually drew the line at phallic discussions.

The one place on camp that perhaps gave you some alone time and space away from the mess that the boys were, was the library. Considering you had shifted the last year of your University to an online study, you had a shit ton of assignments to complete and that was the only place you were able to get anything done at all. It was like the boys didn’t even know the study building existed - no one cared enough to go there so yeah, maybe occasionally, you also allowed yourself to let down your hair, sing in your horribly off pitch voice and dance to beats from your walkman. Outside those four walls it was impossible for you to feel even a little peace and quiet. 

Surprisingly, not even the temple, which one would think would be a place of sanctity, was spared from the deviant actions of the boys. The altar was less a place of worship and more a place for bargains and exchange deals - it was the only way to connect to the gods, aka, the parents in Olympus. 

You had come to learn that just like the human world, not all God parents loved their kids the same - some members were regularly showered with gifts and goods, others would not receive so much as a response. You found yourself falling in the second half. Your father never cared for you in the human world and apparently, neither did your mother. 

Brushing off the thoughts of the woman you had thought was dead for the last 25 years, you wrapped up your punishment and joined the boys for morning exercises, ready to start yet another tiring day. 

“All done!” 

Joshua gave you a sweet smile as he stepped out of the bath house, rubbing the towel into his wet hair. Thanking him softly, you walked into the showers, stripped out of your clothes and turned on the hot water. The mud that Minghao had you rolling in today as part of combat training washed off as the heat worked to soothe your aching muscles. Lathering shampoo onto your scalp, you finally felt yourself relaxing, letting your favorite citrus smell take over your senses. Outside the bath house, you could hear Seungcheol raising his voice, instructing all the members to head for breakfast, loud footsteps following his words. 

Choi Seungcheol….. Living with him so far had been frustrating. 

When you first stepped into his residence, you told him that you’ve always lived alone so it might take you a while to adjust to living with someone and Seungcheol seemed to inwardly decide that giving you space was his life's purpose. After that, whenever you appeared before him, he politely greeted you and walked away. Whenever you stood as much as two feet near him he took a step back, like he didn't want to intrude on your personal space. Whenever you sat in his vicinity, he excused himself stating he'll give you some ‘me-time’. 

You wish he knew how much you were in fact craving for the exact opposite - You wanted Choi Seungcheol. God you so badly wanted him. 

It wasn't like you could just make a move on him because 

1.Hell no you didn't want him or anyone in this camp to realise just how (as Jihoon called it) thirsty you were and 

2. Seungcheol wasn’t just anybody, he was the leader. Members bowed to him when he walked by, even the companions, specially Patricia who listened to no one, obeyed him - anything and everything on this camp premises held him at the highest regard. You couldn't just walk up to such a man and tell him, “hey, you're hella hot and I'm hella attracted to you, I wish you would ravage me.”???? 

All you could hope was that Seungcheol somehow approached you on his own but that seemed questionable given the clear line he had drawn between the two of you. 

The one person you wished would actually draw a line was the first one to always cross it - Yoon Jeonghan. You knew he and Seungcheol were the same age and that they were close but you didn't understand just how close they had to be for Athena's son to barge into the leaders residence whenever he wanted? Even at times you were changing your clothes or lying casually on the bed in your night dresses that barely covered anything. 

The most infuriating part was Jeonghan did not ever apologize - he'd just laugh and walk away and you wanted to do nothing more than throw a shoe at him. For some reason he enjoyed getting on your nerves, he enjoyed making you angry and it wasn’t just you - in the last one week, it was evident that Jeonghan was a pain in everyone's ass but somehow they all adored him? You didn't get why they all seemed to love a man who always liked to pull their leg, never leaving any chance to fool them with his wit - you assumed they just preferred to be on his good side so all his harmless fun remained harmless. 

Even Joshua, who was one of the sweetest people you knew, seemed to have a soft spot for Jeonghan. 

When you asked him why he said before Jeonghan joined camp, Seungcheol was very uptight and ran the camp like a military barrack - it was the former’s pranks and carefree attitude that allowed members to be at ease. Though he was talking about Jeonghan, you knew what Joshua’s words truly reflected were his own good nature. He just seemed like the kind of guy who could do no wrong - like a pure, sweet soul. The days after you first arrived at camp it was Joshua who showed you around, guided you with everything and tried to make you feel at home. No one else really tried to get to know you as a person - they were all more interested about how and why you landed in their camp. 

It also helped that Joshua was extremely pleasant on the eyes - at times when you didn’t want to feel overburdened by thoughts, you loved to sit next to him and watch him work on his little craft for the day or write that new novel of his. Yes he was good looking and yes when he smiled, you felt dazzled, but it was his sweet disposition that made you choose his company over the other members.

On the days he would go off to the city for some work, the next best place you found yourself was on Jun’s farm. Not that he was particularly nice to you or anything, Jun was…. quiet. He seemed to always do his thing, not bothering anyone, only speaking when required. When the evenings rolled around, you liked to take Natalie on a walk to visit the man she had a big fat crush on. Honestly though, who wouldn’t have a crush on someone like Jun - though he was the one working in the fields, it was you who was sweating, just watching him. 

Although you did want to talk to him, try to get to know him a little bit, you chose not to - as someone who enjoyed the peace and quiet, you decided to let at least some member offer you that because guys like Soonyoung sure as hell could not. 

Soonyoung was…….. A teenager stuck in a man’s body. Oh yeah he was hot as hell - just the nice build with muscles popping in all the right places. He knew how to dress better than most people on camp too - if you had seen him somewhere else, you would have thought he was one of those cool kids you always saw on campus. 

But that image of him was destroyed the moment he sat on a Leopard and insisted it was a tiger. Over the last week, that was the predominant discussion between the two of you. That and his incessant flirting. Or rather, attempt to flirt. All he came across was cheesy, kinda humorous and loud. Extremely loud. 

Wonwoo on the other hand was as silent as the night. 

Most of the time you didn’t even know if and when he was around, it was like he was non-existent. The members too didn’t seem to bother much with what he did - you noticed he didn’t wash up with the others, often hitting the showers after you were done. He never came for any meals on time, he always stayed back, even after all the members dispersed for the day - he just seemed to function however he liked and no one questioned him. He never questioned you either - Not once did Wonwoo ever attempt to make conversation with you or even meet your eye. It was like he couldn’t care less and that wasn't very pleasant for you. 

Someone who seemed to care a lot though, was Jihoon. Oh Jihoo was quiet too, but somehow he had his eyes on everything. Everything you did, everything you saw, even everything you felt seemed to find its way into Jihoon’s radar - he just knew. It terrified you that he was able to see right through you but the good thing about Jihoon was that he generally kept his mouth shut and wasn’t too keen on discussing his observations. Regardless, his presence made you feel extremely conscious and a part of you often tried to not be alone with him, lest he could read your mind or something. 

As the last of the soap rinsed off you, you turned off the water and grabbed your towel, patting yourself down. Your body was sore and aching all over - Minghao said that was because you were not used to such combat routines and in a few months time you would get used to it but you weren’t really sure if you had it in you to tolerate all this for that long. 

You also still had no idea what exactly these skills were needed for but from the conversations you overheard, it sounded like some sort of competition? That was both unlikely and terrifying cause who really competed with swords and spears anymore but if it was true, then what the actual hell??? Minghao said he didn’t want to scare you with the details just yet and would explain everything when the time came. For now, you were to focus on building your core strength and basic self defense, in case the camp is ever attacked…. Yes, cause that is less scary, way to make one feel better. 

But that was the thing about Minghao - he did not have the habit of sugar coating things. He was honest with his feedback no matter how rude it sounded and though sometimes it did make you feel like shit, he also made sure to push you to do better. You knew if there was anyone you could approach for a real, unbiased opinion, it was him. 

The same could not be said for Mingyu though - everything that came out of his mouth was saccharine sweet to the point it actually annoyed you. There was no doubt he was a nice guy - he was handsome, goofy, really good with his hands, really really good with his brain but the same didn’t extend to his mouth. His style of getting your attention was to ceaselessly seek validation and unfortunately for him, you weren’t really someone who was great with words of affirmation. When he was not trying so hard to please though, Mingyu was truly the biggest sweetheart with the fattest, most caring heart you had ever come across - the kind one wanted to wrap in bubble wrap and tuck away safely. 

Seokmin too fell in the same category - the type who was so precious, it was hard to believe people like him even existed. The only reason you were able to survive these few weeks of training despite coming late was because Seokmin had your back every time Seungcheol wasn’t watching - allowing you to take breathers, overlooking the fact that you were doing less sets than you were supposed to, things of that sort. He was always sweet and calm, giving you soft smiles and sweet eye crinkles. 

With his members though, Seokmin was a whole different person - he was unnaturally loud, extremely energetic and all over the place. The problem was, you didn’t know which of the two was the real him. You weren’t really sure why but something told you Seokmin wasn’t the man he seemed like and a strange curiosity coursed through you every time you interacted with him. 

Seungkwan on the other hand was the exact opposite, he was exactly what he seemed like - always annoyed, unabashedly honest and unnecessarily snarky. In a way, you understood him - Seungkwan had the habit of taking on many things at once and keeping him unbelievably busy. In university, you too were like this - you took extra modules, signed up for multiple clubs, worked an internship alongside a couple of part time jobs and more. You liked to be occupied, to not allow yourself the room to think about what your life could have been otherwise. Maybe that’s why you saw yourself in Mr. Busy Boo - always roaming around with that bluetooth in his ear, attending some meeting or the other, frequently heading to the city to get work done - ‘rest’ was just not a word in his dictionary.

But even amidst all this business and even though his automated response was to snap back at people, he still managed to bond really well with the members despite having joined the camp only a few months before you had. It was like they all needed him to be their constant reality check. 

The one who you thought required his presence more than anyone was Hansol. A man like him whose entire personality was avoidant needed someone like Seungkwan who would drag him into everything forcibly. Hansol wasn’t like Wonwoo, who was unbothered, couldn’t care less and pretended like you didn’t exist. Hansol was well aware of your presence and chose to actively avoid you every time - if you remembered right, there were even instances when he had practically run away from you. Something was just weird about that guy. 

Perhaps the most normal of them all was Chan - actually he was just as loud and consistently blabbering much like some of the others but something about him made you feel very fond of him. Sure he was the same age as you but he felt like a child, always babied by his members, always grinning like a cheshire cat. And consequently, you too naturally babied him and Chan too enjoyed it - the two of you were perfectly content with your dynamic. 

If only you got that same feeling with everyone else……

As you grabbed your things and stepped out of the bath house fully dressed, Wonwoo was standing outside with a towel slung on his shoulder, scrolling through his phone. Without so much as looking at you, he walked past you, into the shower room, loudly shutting the door behind him. 

“Can you ever be on time?” Jeonghan sighed, handing you a plate of pancakes as you looked around realizing everyone was nearly done with breakfast. “It’s not my job to wait your table every morning.” 

“Until you lot arrange for me to have my own shower,”  You grabbed an apple, taking a bite into it as you sat at the extra long dining table. “I’m afraid this is exactly how late I will be everyday.” 

“You know what they say sweetie,” Soonyoung whisked the apple from your hand, taking a bite of his own. “If you can’t beat the crowd, join the crowd.”

You looked at him exasperatedly, knowing that he was just talking out of his ass. Maybe if it was someone else you'd be offended but seeing his childlike face and full cheeks, you were only mildly amused. 

“I'm more of the ‘don't join the crowd, let it follow you’ kinds.”

“Oh I'd follow you anywhere Y/n.” He sighed dreamily as you laughed, taking a bite out of your pancakes that were still too hot. 

“How about you start following your own girlfriend instead Kwon?” Minghao walked around the kitchen island shooting Soonyoung an unimpressed look. “Rumour is that she was seen outside the Dreamboys Disco and we all know exactly what one goes there for.”

“She's not my girlfriend anymore.” Soonyoung muttered. “We broke up.”

“Weren't you just planning an anniversary trip two days ago?” Seokmin looked at him quizzically. 

“Yeah then we argued over a location and she said it was better we broke up for a while.” 

“This is what, your third breakup this month?”

“Fifth.” He whispered sadly in a way that made you want to pat his back. “Sixth actually, if you count the one that lasted for 3 hours.” 

“I'll never understand these on again off again kind of relationships.” Seungkwan clicked his tongue, hurriedly grabbing a banana, balancing all the files in his hand. “The only thing it screams to me is disrespect.” 

“Okay Mr. Seung-I-am-the-son-of-Hera-and-marriage-is-the-way-of-life-Kwan” Soonyoung rolled his eyes. “Not every traditional relationship is healthy, and not everything unconventional is toxic.”

“Yes, except yours is both unconventional and toxic.” Seungkwan scoffed, raising his hand before Soonyoung retaliated. “I can’t care enough right now, tiger boy, I’m already late. We can reschedule your relationship counseling session sometime later.” 

“How about never?” Soonyoung grumbled as Seungkwan rushed off, attending a call on his bluetooth. “Who’s idea was it for him to join the camp again?” 

“Mine.” Seungcheol slid onto the seat across you, raising an eyebrow. “Is there a problem?” 

“Nope.” Soonyoung shook his head fast. “Absolutely not.”

Smirking just a little, Seungcheol turned to you, sliding a couple pieces of chicken breast off his plate onto yours. “You need to eat more Y/n, that little won’t last you through the day.” 

“Same goes for you..” Jeonghan mumbled, placing a bottle of protein shake near Seungcheol who gave him a grateful smile. From the corner of your eye, you saw Jun increase the portion of chicken to buy on the huge shopping list scribbled on the white board.

If there was anything you absolutely loved about this camp, it was the brotherhood. No matter what each member was like individually, as a team, they loved and cared about each other immensely. You weren’t really sure if and when they could extend the same for you but having lived alone nearly all your life, a part of you craved to be one of them, to be cared for like that. 

“I won’t be able to make it for the meeting tonight.” Wonwoo, as usual, strolled in much later than you and no one, as usual, had any complaints with that. In fact rather uncharacteristically nicely, Jeonghan handed him breakfast, shooting him a worried look.

“Why, what’s wrong?” 

“I need to drop by the headquarters today.” He sighed, sitting a couple of seats away from you. “There’s an important official coming and apparently my presence is needed.” 

“Will you be back by nightfall?” Seungcheol asked, looking concerned. You knew why he was worried - if Wonwoo wasn’t there on camp grounds at night that meant all the members had to take their places on the perimeter to guard overnight. Sleep was not an option that night. 

“Yeah,” Wonwoo replied, not looking up. “I will just have to miss out on the meeting for the lawsuit.” 

Right that meeting. The one you, Jeonghan and Wonwoo, had been trying to have for days now to sort out the biggest mess of your life. 

“Shouldn’t be a problem, Nonu.” Mingyu patted his shoulder, shooting you a wink. “Y/n has other plans with me today anyways.” 

You frowned confused as Mingyu clarified. “You were going to finalise your house plan so I could start construction, remember?” 

Oh yeah, you had that too. 

“Awesome, then I can go to the city today.” Jeonghan clapped cheerily, taking his apron off. 

“You don’t work today though…..” Jun muttered, looking at the shortage in the lunch boxes he had packed. 

“Don’t worry about food, I got some friends to meet over lunch.” The older man shot him a two-fingered salute before jogging out of the dining hall, earning Seungcheol’s tired sigh. 

“I can never keep up with him-” 

“Cab leaves in five!” Chan shouted, poking his head through the window. 

The members around immediately stuffed the last of their breakfast, grabbing their things hurriedly, rushing out to get the front seat in Chan’s car. Afterall, the ones behind had to squeeze to fit themselves in and the one hour bumpy ride to the city was not fun. From their collective groans though you could tell Jeonghan had called shotgun - the asshole was lucky as usual. 

Seungcheol downed the last of his breakfast with a fond laugh before turning to you. 

“Have a nice day Y/n, I’ll see you later.” 

You tried not to smile back at him too widely as your eyes followed him leaving the premises. When you turned back to your meal, you could feel a set of eyes keenly looking at you. Looking up, you saw Jihoon staring at you with a small smirk, his expression all knowing. Gulping, you excused yourself from there. 

You stared at the blueprint before you, humming skeptically. 

“Are you still not happy with the design?” Mingyu sighed, crossing his arms. 

“I don’t know.” You drawled. “Something about it feels….off.” 

“Something about your own design that you made for your own house feels off?” 

“Gyu.” Joshua chastised, standing up from the couch and walking over to you. “Artists second guess their work all the time, have some patience.” 

“I am patient.” The bigger man pointed. “But she’s unbelievably indecisive.” 

“I know, I’m sorry.” You looked up at Mingyu guiltily. “It’s just, I’m wondering if having a bathroom in my residence is a good idea or if I should just have another small one built by the bath house? I mean think about it - my residence is so far from the training grounds and the dining hall, if I had to walk all this distance everyday, I’m only going to be more late-” 

“I get it.” Mingyu patted your back. “I get your concerns but the sooner we finalize this, the sooner I can get to building it and the sooner you can get out of Seungcheol’s house and into your own space.” 

Ahhh. 

Right. 

A part of you was thankful that Jihoon wasn’t a part of this discussion otherwise he would’ve seen right through your subtle attempts to delay this process. You didn’t want to be an inconvenience on purpose but….. You were just a girl and you wanted to get to know Cheol a little better. It didn’t help that he was barely ever at home, leaving at the crack of dawn for training and only returning very late at night, after he finished attending night school doing that stupid astronomy degree of his. The only time you ever got with him was on Sunday because members did not train on Sundays - everyone was free to do whatever they wanted. And you wanted to do Cheol. 

So far you only had the chance to spend one weekend alone with him and maybe just maybe if you pushed your house construction a little you’d have the chance for another weekend or two. Then perhaps, you’d be able to take this unresolved, unnecessary tension with him somewhere. 

“How about you take a few days and work on your plan again Y/n?” Joshua rolled up the large paper carefully, handing it to you. “Whenever you’re ready let me and Mingyu know - we’ll try and figure out the materials, budget, feasibility and all that.” 

“It’s times like this I miss Jeonghan’s brain.” Mingyu clicked his tongue, disappointed. “Where did he say he was off to again?” 

“When does he ever tell us?” Joshua mumbled. “He should be back by nightfall though. Jun said he needed help with the fertilizer composition and Han told him he would help.” 

“Wow, he’s capable of being useful.” You rolled your eyes, stashing the blueprint into your bag. Mingyu and Joshua laughed, amused.

“Jeonghan is always useful..” 

“We still haven’t managed to figure out a thing about my lawsuit and my hearing is in a few weeks-” 

“Han and Wonwoo will sort it out Y/n, don’t worry.” Joshua rubbed your arm comfortingly. “They’re the best one can ask for.” 

“Yeah except I can’t seem to ask Jeonghan for anything cause he’s a little bitch or ask Wonwoo anything because for that he would need to realise that I exist and I don’t think he does.” 

“Wonwoo hyung is….” Mingyu trailed off. “He’s a little hard to understand. Just give him some time. Once you figure him out, you’ll know why he’s like this.”

Exasperated, you shook your head and walked away. Time was the one thing you never seemed to have. 

Like always, as the sun began setting you glanced out of the window of the library catching sight of the varied hues in the sky. On the camp ground you could see Mingyu riding his big mechanical bull, lighting up the fire torches around for the night. Pulling out the lighter from your bag, you stared at the candles stacked in the middle of the table. 

Sighing you cast the lighter aside and snapped your fingers, watching the flames come to life in your hand, dancing across your palm. Stretching your fingers, and moving your hand around, you watched the orange yellow light just glide across your skin like it was a pretty accessory and not literal fire that should have obliterated your hand by now. 

Fire never did burn you - how could it when a mere thought could make it come alive in your hands. You first discovered this when you were 16 and accidentally dunking your hand in a pot full of boiling water did not leave so much as a scar. Even though you were unscathed you roamed around for a few days with a fully bandaged hand - the world would have thought you were some sort of freak otherwise. Over the years you tried to play with fire in many ways, just to test your limits, just to see how far you could go and each time, much to your own dismay, the limit didn’t exist. Each time proved just how much you didn’t fit in the world, just how much you deserved to be alone because you really were a freak. 

But that was until a few weeks ago. 

Until you discovered it wasn’t the inability to burn that was the true madness - it was your ability to create fire itself. 

From there things spiraled. You learnt you weren’t the anomaly but a part of a rather large group of such circus acts - a world completely hidden from your own. In a cascade of events you were thrown into camp seventeen out of no will of your own and now, this was your life, this was your world. 

Holding your flaming hand over your redrawn sketches you glanced at them. Thanks to the two boys yet again canceling the meeting with you, you found yourself working in the library earlier than usual, exhausted by the time the sun set. As you debated between working a little more or heading back, the door opening with a slow creak made the decision for you - if it was windy outside, it was most likely going to rain and you didn’t want to stay long enough to get drenched. Quickly dousing the flame and blowing out the candles, you grabbed all your things and saw your way out. 

In the darkness, the camp was quiet as usual. You figured most of the members must’ve retired to their residences for the night and when you reached the House of Zeus, surprisingly, so had Seungcheol. 

“Y-you’re home.” You stuttered, watching the shirtless man, doing sit ups in the middle of the living room in the dim golden light of the paraffin lamps. 

Evidently Seungcheol hadn’t expected your presence so soon either because at the sound of your voice, he got up with a jerk, pulling a muscle in his abdomen. 

“Cheol oh my god-” 

“You’re early.” He got up wincing, holding the side of his trunk. “I’m sorry I should have been doing this in my room-” 

“I mean, the whole house is yours-” 

“There’s a heavy rain forecast today, not really much astronomy I can do-” 

“Yeah I came back because of the rain too-” 

“Yeah me too….” Seungcheol trailed off realising how silly he sounded. 

Grabbing his shirt from the floor, he attempted to put it on, groaning miserably at the pain shooting up his abdomen. Watching him struggle, you quickly dropped your things and tried to reach for him to help out, but just as your finger barely grazed over his skin, he stumbled back like he was electrocuted, pushing your hand away. 

“Don’t touch me.” 

“Cheol…. “ You frowned, confused. “I was just trying to help-” 

 “Seungcheol.” He corrected. “And I don’t need your help Y/n. Please just…. stay away from me.” 

You blinked at a complete loss of words at his unwarranted behaviour. Unsure about how you felt, you grabbed your bag from the floor, turned on your heel and walked out silently, the same way you came in. 

As usual, bad luck had followed you on your way out. 

Not only was your life miserable, the weather too decided to be a pain in your ass and it started drizzling the moment you stepped out of Seungcheol’s house. 

Even though the water was cold and you were shivering, you took off in the rain. You needed to get as far away from here as you could. 

You were such a fool. You should have known that Seungcheol wasn’t being nice or giving you your space, on the contrary he was keeping his distance, putting you at an arm’s length. It was evident today - not only was he uninterested, but somehow it seemed like your very presence was disturbing him in some way. 

And there was you who was always desperately wishing for the smallest interaction with him.. What an idiot. 

Hugging yourself, you walked further down the cobbled path. Tomorrow you were going to finalise your house plan with Mingyu and get out of Cheol’s house as soon as possible. But as much as you wanted to avoid him and pull yourself away, a part of you was still aching at the loss of something that you believed had a lot of potential. Why did it have to be him of all people? Why couldn’t it have been someone like Mingyu - he was hot as hell and unlike his leader, he actively showed interest in you all the time. 

As you raised your head, Mingyu’s house loomed before you and your feet, as if they had a brain of their own, took you towards his mini mansion of a residence. That was until you saw Jihoon stepping out of the same place and instinctively took a swift u-turn. 

The last person who could see you right now was Jihoon - that man would read you like an open book and know exactly how fucking embarrased you were. Hoping to god he didn’t spot you, you quickly ran, entering the nearest gate for temporary refuge, till you got out of his sight. 

But in hindsight, perhaps falling in Jihoon’s line of vision was better than the situation you had landed yourself in….. You weren’t really sure who’s house you had trespassed until the low growling expressed just how much his companion disliked it. 

Horang. 

Realising you had quite literally thrown yourself into the den of a wild cat, you froze, praying that it didn’t notice you and you could slip out as easily as you slipped in. But before you could do anything, a hand grabbed you quickly, leading you into the neighbouring cottage, shutting the door behind you. 

“Are you insane?” Soonyoung looked at you confused, shaking the water off his hair. “Why would you enter Horang’s enclosure unless you wanted to be ripped apart.” 

“I didn’t know….” You rubbed your arms, generating heat. “I was just….trying to escape the rain.” 

“You should have knocked on my door then..” He muttered, disappearing for a split second, returning with a towel in his hand. “Horang isn’t used to you yet so please don’t venture near my tiger in my absence - he only listens to me.” 

You tried not to hyperfixate on the inappropriate labeling of Horang in the off chance that an annoyed Soonyoung threw you back out. Instead, you accepted his towel, patting yourself dry, still shivering a little. With his hands on your shoulder, Soonyoung led you to the fireplace, guiding you to sit on the couch across. As you did, you glanced around his residence.

This was the first time you were in Soonyoung’s place and in all honesty, it looked much like that designated room in college dorms where all the parties happened - he had party lights everywhere, streamers hanging from the ceiling and techno music softly playing over the speakers. 

When you turned back to him, Soonyoung held out a christmas mug, with a grin. “Mulled wine.”

“I can’t.” You shook your head although in the headspace you were in, you could really use some alcohol. “I won’t be able to wake up on time tomorrow.” 

“It’s not like you’ll be on time even if you were sober.” He chuckled, immediately regretting his words as you narrowed your eyes at him. “You’re in the House of Dionysus. This is literally the only hot drink I have to offer.” 

Sighing you took it from him, desperate to have something warm coursing through your body after all that coldness you experienced earlier. 

“So, why are you out and about in the rain?” Soonyoung sank into the couch beside you, sipping a drink of his own. 

“I….just needed to be away from that house for a while.” You mumbled, taking a sip. 

“Why? Has Seungcheol gotten overbearing already?” 

“It’s not him….” 

“It’s always him.” Soonyoung sighed. “But it’s not his fault. He just has a lot of pressure on him to be perfect as a leader, you know? That sort of thing gets to you.” 

“I know. It’s just….. “ You sighed, not knowing how to explain things to him. “Forget it, I don’t want to talk about it.” 

“No, tell me.” He whined making you turn to him, finally noticing he was fully dressed from head to toe like he was about to march right into a party. 

“Are you going somewhere?” 

“Work?” Soonyoung stated like it was obvious. “Don’t tell me you forgot what I do.” 

You looked at him sheepishly. “I’ve been here for just a week Kwon and there’s thirteen of you so I’m sorry if it’s taking me some time.” 

“Forgiven.” He nodded amused. “I own the Midnight club in the city centre.” 

“Right, that big Demigod rave place.” 

“No, the Midnight club is for humans. There’s another club hidden behind it, After Hours - That’s for Demigods exclusively.” 

You let out an oh of realization as Soonyoung continued. 

“Business usually runs fine on its own but I try to drop by from time to time to just remind everyone who the boss is.” 

“I heard there’s a life size portrait of you behind the DJ booth to do the same.” 

“Obituaries are portraits too.” He rolled his eyes. “I need to let them know I am alive, kicking and always in charge.” 

You shook your head laughing. “Well then aren’t you getting late? You should probably leave by now-” 

“I don’t think I’m going.” He mumbled, downing his drink in one shot, red slowly creeping on his face. “Not in the mood.” 

Glancing at him silently, you just blinked at him. You knew guys like Soonyoung could not keep a thing in them - he would share whatever was bothering him without you even asking in three, two, on-

“The intel is that my ex is going to be there tonight.” 

“Ahh.” You crossed your feet on his couch, settling in. “And you don’t want to see her?” 

“I don’t want to see her with other men.” He gripped his mug tight. “With the news out that she’s single, guys will be falling all over her and I know she’s going to play along just to make me jealous.” 

“Well two can play that game right? You can do the same?” 

“What makes you think there are girls fawning all over me?” 

“Do you just want to hear me say you’re hot and that you could pull if you wanted to?” You cocked your head at him. “Cause I can. I have a little wine in me so I can use it as an excuse.” 

Soonyoung laughed, throwing his head back. “No I know I’m hot, but do you know who she is?” 

You shook your head, drinking up more. 

“Aphrodite’s daughter, the femme fatales of the demigod world - boys want her and girls don’t want to mess with her. No one is going to so much as look at her ex, forget trying to hit on me.” 

“Huh.” You pondered, the cogwheels in your brain turning. “Well technically, no one in the human world knows her so I’m sure one of them will-” 

“There’s no point of that. She knows I won’t go for a human.” 

“Why is that?” 

Soonyoung stared back at you a little hard before a small smirk formed on his face. “Y/n, are you a virgin?” 

You blinked, breaking out into a laugh. “I sure am drunk cause I seem to have missed why this intrusive question is relevant now?” 

Taking your empty mug from you, Soonyoung filled it up again from the pot. “What I mean is, demigods don’t sleep with humans sweetie.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because we’re half gods, do you think humans can really satisfy us?” Soonyoung raised his eyebrows. “Mortals can’t keep up with our sex drive.” 

As you looked confused, the smirk returned back to Soonyoung’ face. “Which is why I asked. If you haven’t realised that a mortal man can’t pleasure you, then either you’ve never had sex……. or you’ve never had an orgasm.” 

“I don’t have to answer that.” 

“Come on, humor me.” 

“Maybe I’m starting to get why your girlfriend dumped your annoying ass.” 

Soonyoung pouted, feigning hurt as you rolled your eyes. 

“So now if you want to get her back, you won’t be hit on by another demigod and you can’t be hit on by a human which means your only chance of making her jealous is with……” You looked at him intently. “Kwon Soonyoung, why are your eyes glimmering with mischief?” 

“You.” He took the cup from your hands and set it on the table, much to your dismay. “You’re the only one who she doesn’t know about and the only one who doesn’t know her…..” 

“So?” 

“Oh you’d be the perfect bait.” Soonyoung clapped his hands. “One look at you next to me and she’s going to be quaking in her boots.” 

“If you think I’m about to stroll into a nightclub and pretend to hit on you to make your ex girlfriend jealous you’re sorely mistaken.” 

“Why?” He whined. “Why can’t you do me a small favour. I saved you from Horong-” 

“Number one. If you didn’t pull me into your house, I would have ran out of the gate and been safe anyways-” 

“Sure.” 

“Number two, I don’t know what the hell is in this wine. Normally it takes a whole bottle to knock me down but two glasses in and I’m already buzzed-” 

“It’s a special blend.” 

“And number three, unfortunately for you, women are really observative creatures. One look at me next to you and she’s going to know there’s absolutely nothing going on between us.” 

Soonyoung opened and closed his mouth like he was thinking about what to say. “It won’t work out Kwon.” 

“This always happens.” He sighed. “She breaks it off with me for any small thing, goes on to have her fun, pushes me till I have to beg for her forgiveness and then she accepts it whenever she feels like. Everything is always whenever she feels like it. We haven’t even had sex in like two years-” 

“Okay.” You cut him off before he went into details you didn’t need to know. “If you’re so aware of what she’s doing, why do you always give in to her? Do you really like her or… is she just a habit?” 

“I don’t know.” Soonyoung stared at the floor, lost in thought. “I just know that we’ve been together since we were 18. And I can’t throw that away.” 

“I never knew you were such a romantic Kwon.” 

He laughed, sinking further into the couch. 

“You really want her back huh?” 

“I do.” 

“And this time do you want her to make the effort?” 

“A man can hope.” 

“Well then.” You turned to him. “Point number three was relevant only if she saw me…do you have your phone?” 

Soonyoung nodded, patting his many pockets and finally finding it, holding it out. 

“You're going to call and tell her you're hitting on me?”

“No…. If you give her a missed call will she call back?”

“Not immediately.” He sighed. “She'll take her time to pretend like she didn't see and then get back to me-” 

“Do it.” He continued to look at you confused. “Call her and cut the call.” 

He followed through but the frown didn't leave him the whole time. “Y/n what exactly are you doing?” 

“This may be a bit diabolical but it should do the trick.” You took a deep breath glancing at Soonyoung. “When she calls you back, she's going to hear us having sex.”

“W-what?” 

“Before you get any ideas, I'm not going to have sex with you Soonyoung, we're just going to make her think that we are.”

“How exactly will we do that?”

“We'll fake it.” You shrugged. “Make a couple of wet skin smacking sounds-” 

“and you could moan my name, say how good I'm making you feel.” 

“Didn’t you get onboard this real fast.” You narrowed your eyes at him. “I'm going to make it really clear once again that this is for her not-” 

Ring! 

At the sound of the ringtone both of you glanced at his phone and in a split second, Soonyoung picked up the call, holding it against his ear. Thankful that you got the opportunity to execute your idea so soon and determined to put up the show you promised, you immediately got to it, clearing your throat.

“Fuck yes Soonyoung, that feels so good-” 

With widened eyes and a swift movement, Soonyoung shut your mouth with his hand, shaking his head. 

“Yeah, yeah I remember…..Oh no that was just…. our cow?…..Yes Daisy, she's just having a rough night….. Anyways thanks for the reminder Hyungwon.”

You stared at him mortified, all the wine threatening to exit your system. 

“Yeah sure, see you tomorrow bro.”

Soonyoung brought down both the phone and his hand at the same time. 

“Oh god I’m so sorry, I thought it was-” 

“That’s your idea of having sex??” He looked at you shocked. “Thank god it wasn’t Mina because there was no way in hell she would have believed that?” 

“Hey, I had no preparation time, you try faking it off the bat.” You mumbled. “Besides, it wasn’t so bad.” 

“Wasn’t so bad?” Soonyoung looked scandalised. “Do you even know what you sounded like? Fuck yes Soonyoung, that feels good-” 

You leaned back inching away from him. 

“What the…..what was that?” 

“That's what you said.” 

“I know but” You frowned unsure if you heard right or if you were starting to get too drunk. “You sounded exactly like me. Like your voice, it….it was mine.” 

“Oh.” Soonyoung scratched the back of his head. “Yeah well um being the son of the God of Theater comes with its own skill set. Imitation helps confuse opponents during war - it has actually saved us in quests many times.”

“You can imitate anyone?”

Soonyoung nodded.

“Any sound they make?”

He nodded again as you let out a low whistle. 

“Well that's brilliant, then you don't even need me. You can make your girlfriend jealous by simply impersonating me.” 

“The keyword is imitate. I can only repeat sounds I hear, I can't just make them up.” He shifted in his seat. “So if I should impersonate you, I need to hear what you actually sound like during sex.” 

You rolled your eyes. “Don't push your luck Kwon.”

“I'm kidding.” He laughed leaning back into the couch, his eyes fluttering shut. “But you really have to work on the faking.” 

“Yeah I've been told.” You muttered as Soonyoung sat up again.

“Aha, so you have never had an orgasm!” 

“Because of a man, no I've not.” You confessed. “But bold of you to assume that I'm not perfectly capable of my own.”

Soonyoung looked confused. 

“Ever heard of masturbation, genius?” 

Soonyoung's mouth formed an O of realisation. “Well I've been in a relationship for almost 10 years so I've never had to take care of myself.”

“Don't rub it on my face Kwon.” You scoffed but regretted immediately knowing some dirty joke was going to come out of the man. So shutting his mouth with your hand, you held a finger to your lips. “Not a word. You're going to shut up till your girlfriend calls back.”

“That could be a very very long time.” He mumbled against your hand making you press it harder against his mouth with a shush. 

5 minutes later you were on your fourth mug of wine and Mina still hadn't called. 

10 minutes later, you were nearly falling asleep and Soonyoung was already snoring away beside you. 

15 minutes later the sound of the rain began to get softer outside. 

And 20 minutes later was when you finally lost your patience, shaking Soonyoung awake. 

“It’s getting late, I should go….” 

Soonyoung looked up at you sleepily as you got off the couch, standing up. 

“You should.….. I’m sorry, I shouldn't have roped you into this” He glanced at the blank screen on his phone. “Clearly Mina is either too busy having fun on her own or she doesn’t care.” 

You smiled at him sadly, as he pulled his feet up, snuggling into the couch. 

“I'm so sorry.” You whispered. “Goodnight Kwon.” 

“Goodnight sweetie.”

Setting the mug down, you grabbed your bag and opened his front door, relieved that the rain seemed to have stopped. But something was also stopping you from stepping out. 

Giving it a thought and sighing, you turned around, looking at the half asleep man again. 

“You said you could imitate me right?” 

Soonyoung's eyes slowly fluttered open.  

“So if you listen to how I actually sound, if and when she calls back, you can execute the plan on your own right?”

Soonyoung looked at you in a mix of confusion, drunkenness and sleepiness.

“Are you saying that…”

“No, I'm not going to sleep with you Kwon Soonyoung.”

“But you're horrible at faking.” 

“Yet again I'm going to remind you about masturbation.” 

You sighed, looking at his eternally lost expression. Grabbing his hand, you pulled him off the couch, leading him to his room. 

Soonyoung's room was just how you expected it to be - a mess. There were things scattered everywhere, all kinds of band posters up on the wall, snack wrappers all over the floor. 

He quickly kicked the trash under his bed and looked at you pleadingly. “You cannot tell Mingyu how messy my room is. And you most definitely cannot tell Seungcheol I'm snacking - he does not understand post break up slump.”

You gritted your teeth annoyed to be reminded of him again. Of course he didn't understand anything remotely related to feelings.

“Don't worry, no one's gonna know anything because you too are going to keep your mouth shut about whatever happens tonight.” 

“I still don't know what's happening tonight.” He mumbled as you walked around his room, glancing at everything. 

“I'm going to get myself off and you're going to listen and take notes.” Soonyoung's eyes finally widened in realisation.“Do you have a towel?” 

He nodded, quickly going through the stack of clothes piled on the chair across his bed and pulled out a long white one. Taking it from him you laid it down on his bed, the two of you staring at it mindlessly. 

“Could you also close the curtains?” You fidgeted with your fingers, putting your bag down at the foot of his bed as Soonyoung nodded. “Also dim the lights please.”

Following through your requests he tried not to look at you as you stripped out of your jacket and threw it on the bed. But when you unclasped your bra and pulled it out from under your shirt, Soonyoung was quite literally gawking. 

“I’m hot.” You mumbled as he walked back, standing much closer to you than he was before. 

“Yeah you are…. I mean,” He cleared his throat when you raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah it's a little hot in here.” 

Both of you tried to ignore the sound of cold raining softly falling against the window. 

“On second thoughts,” You took a step back. “I don’t know if I can do this.” 

“W-why not?” 

“If you haven’t noticed I am buzzed as hell and I’m not sure I can do…. a great job on myself right now.” 

Lips slowly curling into a smile, Soonyoung cocked his head. “I can help.” 

“Yes and I can finally use all that combat training and kick your ass. Soonyoung I am not sleeping with-” 

“What? No, no I mean….. just wait here.” 

Your eyes followed him as he jogged out of his room, leaving you alone with your thoughts. You must be crazy to suggest this. Sure there was alcohol in your system and sure you were trying to get your mind off Seungcheol, avoiding going back to his house but this…..

“Here you go.” 

Soonyoung strolled back in with what you could only describe as a wooden looking, very phallic instrument. 

“That’s…” 

He nodded. “A dildo.” 

“I have so many questions.” 

“Let me clarify. Yes I have used a dildo before-” 

“Oh god.” 

“- Although my girlfriend isn’t the biggest fan of it-” 

“This wasn’t my question.” 

“-I do occasionally enjoy it myself.” 

“I don’t think I should be a part of this conversation.” 

“But this dildo in particular, has never been used by either of us before.” 

“That!” You pointed out. “That’s all I needed to know.” 

Soonyoung held it out to you, looking at you expectantly. You gulped. 

“You know, I don’t think I can do this. I’m actually more of a vibrator girl myself.” 

“Now who’s indulging in the TMI?” 

You rolled your eyes. “My point is, I don’t need this, I can just do it myself-” 

“I haven’t even gotten to the story behind this.” He giggled. “This is my father’s.” 

“Aaaand I’m done here.” 

“No what I mean is-” He shuffled closer to you like he was revealing a big secret. “My father may be the god of wine and ecstasy and madness and theatre and so many things but he is also…. the creator of the dildo.” You stared at him vacantly. What?? “I don’t think you wanna know the story behind it, it’s disturbing as fuck-” 

“More disturbing than everything so far?” 

“-but basically, a few years back, my father was temporarily exiled from Olympus and while he was in the human world, he had, what he calls, a magnificent business idea….sex toys. Dildo’s in particular. That’s when he made this.” He held it up and you wished he did it a little less proudly. “This isn’t an ordinary dildo Y/n, no. This baby can take on the shape, size, dimensions and every single tiny detail” He gave a dramatic pause. “Of the person you are imagining while going at it.”

“W-what?” You blinked at him stumped. “You mean to say it…. morphs into a replica of someone’s actual dick?” 

Soonyoung nodded fast. “This piece is a prototype that Dionysus made but when he brought the idea to Zeus it was shut down immediately because Gods aren’t supposed to interfere with human business and all that hoo ha, so he left it with me before he returned home.” With a small smile dancing on his lips, he held it out to you. “So if you want, it's all yours.” 

You stared at it. 

A magic dildo that could take the shape of any dick you wanted? 

You would have to be insane to say no to that. 

Pretending to hesitate just so you didn’t come across completely deranged, you slowly took the toy off Soonyoung’s hand, feeling the weight of it in your own. As you tried to picture how exactly this night might go, Soonyoung took a few steps back, grabbed a fistful of the material behind his neck and pulled his shirt over his head. 

“What?” He smirked as your eyes ran down his chiseled body, mouth moving but no words leaving it. “Didn’t you say it was hot?” 

As Soonyoung moved all the clothes stacked on the chair to the floor and sat down, you watched as the minor oversights in your plan came into play. If he had to take notes,  then Kwon Soonyoung was going to watch you. 

Tongue in the cheek, you glanced around the room, thanking all the gods in Olympus when you spotted a lacy blindfold hanging on the headboard. Without questioning its existence in his room, you quickly grabbed it and threw it at him.

“The deal was for audio Kwon, no visuals.” 

In complete contrast to his hot as fuck appearance he pouted like a child as you shook your head and looked at the blindfold pointedly. Sighing, he reached for it and put it over his eyes, tying it behind his hand. Not trusting him entirely, you walked up to him, slotting yourself between his legs and pulled the knot. Soonyoung’s hands gripped your thighs in both surprise and pain. 

“Sorry.” He mumbled, fingers softly grazing your legs as he pulled his hands away. “I promise, I can’t see a thing.” 

You nodded, then realised he said he couldn’t see and cleared your throat. “Yeah, okay.” 

“Okay.” He breathed, leaning back, waiting expectantly. 

Taking a few seconds, you let out a deep determined breath, preparing yourself for what was coming. As you unbuttoned your jeans, shimmying both your shorts and underwear down your legs, your eyes finally took a good look at the man of the hour, Kwon Soonyoung. Yeah he was one of the members who often trained shirtless which meant you had seen this display many times before but this was perhaps the first time you were actually paying attention to it. Before this, you hadn’t quite realised just how beautifully tanned and toned he was or how much that undercut suited him or how hot he looked biting his lower lip. 

Kicking your garments away, you pried your eyes, reminding yourself that this man was taken. Or at least would be taken again pretty soon. You shouldn’t do this. You shouldn’t be looking at him, you shouldn’t be thinking about him and he sure as fuck cannot be the inspiration for your new magic sex toy. 

That unfortunately meant that there was only one other person in your mind who could be the muse - Choi Seungcheol. Despite his dismissal earlier and despite being someone who held herself as a very high level of self respect, it was evident that your body shamelessly still craved him - he was the only one running in your mind. Trying to block him out, you arranged the pillows on Soonyoung’s bed against the headboard, adjusted the towel and slowly climbed on. In all the time that you took leaning against it, spreading your legs and settling in, Soonyoung remained incredibly quiet. Patient. 

Although he couldn’t see you, watching him felt weird, given the man and the dick on your mind were not him. Sighing, you glanced at the object you were gripping - it had already taken shape of what you desired and the sight of it made you gulp. 

Lord was Choi Seungcheol thick.

Given his beefy exterior and broad build you had always assumed he was packed between his legs but this was nowhere near what you were imagining, not even close. Earlier, you were worried how you would get yourself off when you weren’t even wet enough but now you were practically dripping with the thought of that inside you. Still, you didn’t think it could fit, not without any prep. 

Slipping two fingers in your mouth you wet them messily before guiding them to your folds, smearing the spit with your very evident arousal. When you let out a soft sigh, Soonyoung shifted in his seat like he was alert and when your fingers teased your hole, slowly slipping in, an unintentional moan left you too, making him practically grip the armrests of his couch tight. 

“I'm going to need more than that Y/n.” He whispered. “What are you doing right now?” 

“I’m prepping myself, it’s…” You gulped. “It’s too big.” 

“Do you need lube?” He frowned. “Although I don’t know where it is….or if I even have any-” 

“That’s okay.” You shook your head. “I think I’m wet enough. Almost.” 

“Do you need any help?” 

You glanced at his tense body. “How can you help?” 

“Are you the kind that listens to instructions?”

“Occasionally.” 

“Then push your fingers further.” He exhaled. “Curl them up.” 

Although that was what was on your mind anyways, you obeyed. As your fingers brushed that spot, a soft fuck escaped your lips. 

“Feel good?” 

“Yeah.” You nodded. “Yeah that’s good.”

“Then move.” He cocked his head. “Slowly at first, then pick up speed.” 

Even before he finished his sentence you had followed through, fingers pumping faster, head falling back as the grip around the dildo in your hand tightened. 

“Add another finger.” 

“This feels good enough.” 

“This will feel better.” He urged. “Stretch yourself a little and add another finger.” 

Scissoring yourself open, you held back the moan that was threatening to tumble out, terrified Soonyoung would hear you. Belatedly you realised - Soonyoung was supposed to hear you. 

“Fuck that does feel better.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Are you ready for more?” 

“.......I think so.” 

“Then wet the dildo.” He shifted. “Put it in your mouth.” 

Hesitating just a bit you brought it up to your eye level, still taken aback by its sheer girth. In the dim light of the lamp on the nightstand you can see a stark vein running along his length, the sight of it nearly making your mouth water. Oh you wanted him to fill your mouth, you wanted him to fill you just about anywhere so bad but it was clear from earlier that Seungcheol didn’t want the same. So you were just going to take this chance and fuck him out of your brain. After tonight you were not going to think of Choi Seungcheol anymore. 

Determined, you wrapped your mouth around the tip, humming against the weight on your tongue before pulling it out with a wet pop. As Soonyoung’s breath hitched, you sunk your mouth down on it again, taking it further in, not far enough to let it hit the back of your throat, but enough to just slightly choke around it, drool running down the corner of your mouth. 

“Y/n,” Soonyoung’s voice sounded almost choked too. “Please….” 

You’ve never had a man beg for you like this before and it wasn’t enough to touch him but to touch yourself? Something in you swelled in pride, but something was also terrified about what things would be like once this was over - could you and Soonyoung really be the same again? And if things were going to change, how would they be? 

“Sweetie, you have to do something….” 

Knowing you needed something in you more than he did, you drove the thoughts away before aligning the tip at your dripping hole and slowly pushing Seungcheol’s girth in. 

“Holy shit..” You sighed as you thrusted his length further, the stretch serving a sting that slowly ebbed from pain to pleasure. 

“Is it all the way in?” Soonyoung groaned as you shook your head gulping.

“It’s not…” You panted, glancing down to see barely any length disappearing in you yet you were so full. “I can’t.”

“You can.” He licked his drying lips. “You can Y/n, come on - fuck yourself like you want to be fucked.” 

Yes you knew Soonyoung had a horrible habit of pointless flirting but you did not think his mouth was capable of spewing such filth too. 

“Tell me how you like it.” 

“Deep.” You whimpered, answering him as you shoved it in more, feeling it hit all the right places. “I like it deep.” 

“And fast?” 

“And fast.” 

“Then move.” 

And you did, pulling it out, pistoning it into you, sharp intakes of breath and curse words leaving you as you did. You felt your eyes roll back, threatening to shut but when they landed on Soonyoung they widened - he had slid down his chair, manspread now a lot wider and stark against his pants was the imprint of his uncomfortably trapped boner.

“Soonyoung….” You accidentally moaned, simply trying to get his attention. “Are you… hard?” 

“Unbearably.” He confessed immediately. “I’m s-sorry, it’s been a while-” 

“Do you want to touch yourself?”

You don’t know why exactly you asked him that but you wanted him to feel good too. Just as good as faux Seungcheol was making you feel. 

“I think I can cum without that.” He half laughed, half groaned. “But god yes I want to.”

“Do it.” You directed him, halting your own movements, watching him. “Touch yourself.” 

Without wasting a second, Soonyoung instantly unbuttoned his pants and stuck his hand down, wrapping it around his erection. As he shifted uncomfortably, you could tell he would’ve felt a lot better if he could completely free himself.

“Careful. Otherwise I’ll see you…I mean it…” 

“Do you mind?” He raised his eyebrows at you. “Would it bother you if I….” 

If you were being honest, since the moment you laid eyes on the outline of his dick you were curious…

“No.” You shook your head. “I don’t.” 

“Then I don’t give a flying fuck.” 

He raised his hips a little, just enough to pull down his pants as his erection sprung free, resting against his abs, pink and flushed. 

Oh he was long. 

Seungcheol might be thick but Soonyoung was long, like he could reach places no one else could. As he spat in his hand and smeared the pre cum along his length pumping it in his fist, you gulped, forgetting that you too were in the middle of doing the same thing, just staring. 

“Y/n,” He moaned your name, throwing his head back, setting off a strange fire in your groin. “Match my pace.” 

You nodded, thankful to not have to put your own brain to this which was threatening to shut off any moment now. Watching him half lidded, you let him set the pace for your movements, matching him almost perfectly. 

“Fuck this feels so good.” Soonyoung whimpered. 

“It does.” You agreed, with struggling breaths. “Soonyoung please…. Faster.” 

“Faster?” He smirked, but listened. “You really are one of us huh.” 

“I need more.” You whined, feeling yourself at an edge you were just not able to cross. “Soonyoung….” 

“I wish I could help, baby.” He sighed, “I really do wish…” 

“What would you have done?” 

“I’d have my mouth everywhere…marked your neck…. marked those pretty breasts….fuck Y/n, you’d have to beg me to stop.” 

“Don’t.” You moaned, pushing your shirt up with your free hand, grabbing a tit, squeezing it painfully hard. “Tell me more…” 

“I’d hold the toy for you, watch you fuck yourself on it….” He stroked himself faster, almost erratically. “Maybe give it to you from the back so I can see how your ass-” 

Groaning annoyed at the sound of music coming loudly from his pocket, your movements faltered, eyes widening. It was different from the ringtone earlier which probably meant-

“Is that Mina?” 

“Yeah.” 

“P-pick it up Soonyoung.” 

“Ignore it.” 

“Soon-” 

“Ignore it.” He emphasized. “Go on Y/n, I don’t know how long the effects of that toy are going to last.” 

And that’s what made you stop wondering why Soonyoung wouldn’t pick up the call when this was in fact the most ideal situation the two of you were meant to be caught in. You didn’t want to lose what you were pumping inside you, you didn’t want to lose the feeling of Seungcheol stretching you out. As you resumed the pace, Soonyoung’s voice left him like a croak. 

“Do you like the thought of this? Someone listening to you get off?” 

You didn’t want to answer that. Wasn’t the kind of things you liked evident by the fact that you were fucking yourself to one man while watching and listening to another? 

“Because I love that you’re watching.” He whispered. “It’s driving me insane.” 

“I wanna see you cum.” You pulled the toy out of you, tossing it onto the towel before your fingers found your clit rubbing circles hard.

“Fuck I'm close.” He pumped himself faster, losing rhythm, broken moans and whimpers leaving him. “So close.”

Words left your mouth too as incoherent babbles as you felt your back arch and insides tighten pleasurably. Eyes crossing and shut tight, you finally came, chest heaving, trying to catch a breath. As you slowly came around and ran your fingers down your folds realising just how much you came, Soonyoung continued to push himself over the edge, like he just needed a little more nudge to finally find his release. Gulping you swung your legs off the bed and silently walked up to him, standing between his manspread, leaning till your lips were right by his ear. 

“Cum for me Soonyoung.” 

Almost immediately, with a guttural moan, his head fell back, baring his neck as spurts of cum shot onto his hand and torso, painting them white. Once the sheer amount left him he finally slumped back into his chair, breathing again, like he had been holding it in for too long. The sight of his cum all over his abs against the sheen of sweat on it made you clench unwillingly and you ran two fingers over it, collecting it. You knew his lips parted to catch his breath but you took the chance to slip your digits into his mouth, letting him taste himself. Surprised but not unpleasantly, Soonyoung ran his tongue along them, licking it clean, pulling away with a pop.

“You taste as good as you sound.” 

It's only then that you realise your own arousal was coating your fingers too. 

Scoffing awkwardly, you shuffled back, picking up your shorts and panties from the floor, putting them on slowly.  

“I'm not dressed yet!” You shrieked, futilely trying to cover yourself as Soonyoung attempted to remove his blindfold. Holding his hand up, he allowed you to get dressed in the silence that followed. Silence that was too much to bear, silence that if he hadn’t broken, you would have. 

“I wasn't sure if I heard right but I thought…” He let out a deep breath as he tucked his flaccid self back in his pants. “I thought you took someone's name as you came.” 

You froze. 

You hadn't realised but now that you thought about it…. maybe, just maybe, you had taken Seungcheol’s name as your orgasm hit you. Yes you were incredibly turned on by Soonyoung and the sight of him and the sounds that left him but there was only one thing running at the back of your mind - cheol, cheol, cheol. 

“I'm not sure what you heard.” You brushed away his concerns, trying to sound casual. “I don't even know what I was saying, I was in some other zone entirely.” 

Soonyoung hummed in response and didn't push you for any further details. Grateful, you wiped your hands on the towel laid out before grabbing it, the bedsheet as well as the dildo and stuffed them all in your bag, throwing it over your shoulder - this was your mess to deal with.

“You done?” 

“Yeah just….put fresh sheets please.” 

“Oh don't worry about all that.” He got up, attempting to take his blindfold yet again. “I got it. If you want you could-” 

“Goodbye Soonyoung.” You stepped back, knowing he was offering for you to stay the night. Instead you headed for the door, hoping to leave before your eyes met his again. “I hope I was of help.” 

And as you left, you heard him sigh, revealing something he probably didn't mean for you to hear. 

“I don't think so Y/n.”

—

When you left Soonyoung’s house the rain had stopped but as you stood in the dining hall before the laundry machines the storm had returned yet again, much heavier this time. You glanced outside the windows at the obscurity sighing. It was like things just hated being in your favour. 

When the ding of the washer went off, you shifted the sheets into the dryer and decided to leave it there for the night considering you couldn't carry them back in the rain - you’d deal with them in the morning anyways, you weren’t ready to see Soonyoung just yet.

When you grabbed your bag from the floor, the weight had not reduced much - the dildo was still in it except it was back in its original popsicle-like shape, any trace of its resemblance to Seungcheol lost. You'd simply washed it and put it back in the bag, unsure what else to do with it. A part of you was annoyed that it had taken after Seungcheol of all people but the other was terrified that if you were to ever use it again, it would probably still model after him yet again. 

Disappointed with yourself you took a deep breath and shook your head. No. No more Choi Seungcheol. This ends here. 

Glancing at the machines one last time, you held onto your bag and ran out into the rain, hoping that Seungcheol had retired to his room by the time you reached. Instead, just as you approached the House of Zeus, you heard his voice. 

“Y/n!” 

He was drenched from head to toe, his blonde hair sticking to his face much like his shirt plastered against his pecs, like he had been soaked in the rain for hours. Letting out a struggled breath, you walked straight into his house, ignoring him. Seungcheol jogged over as fast as he could, putting himself in between you and the doors. 

“Y/n please listen to me-” 

“I don’t want to.” You attempted to go around him, only to be blocked by him again. 

“I just want to explain what happened earlier-” 

“I don’t care enough for an explanation.”

“I do!” 

You rolled your eyes as you pushed him away, a lot less gently than you intended to and Seungcheol immediately caught your hand, pulling you towards him.

“Seungcheol-” 

“You…. you can touch me.” He looked at his fingers wrapped around your wrist in awe, then at your palm flat against his chest.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t want me to-” 

“You shouldn’t be able to.” He muttered like he was amazed, unable to tear his eyes away. “How can you….” 

“Seungcheol, you're not making any sense.” 

He let out a deep breath. “Do you remember when you first came to camp we told you that every demigod has a certain set of offensive and defensive powers depending on their parentage?” 

You nodded, frowning.

“As the son of Zeus, my defensive power is….an electric field.” Oh. “At times like war, or in adrenaline driven situations, I become highly charged, rendering anyone who so much as comes two feet near me electrocuted. It's supposed to be a way to weaken enemies.” He sighed, “That’s why I was afraid of you touching me. I didn’t want you to get hurt.” 

“But…..Seungcheol I’m not an enemy and this isn’t a war-” 

“I get nervous around you.” He avoided your eye. “I don’t know, I just….. I can feel my skin prickling around you but……” He glanced at where your hands met his again. “You don’t feel anything?” 

“No, no I don’t but why do I make you nervous?” 

Seungcheol smiled softly. “Do you really not know?” 

You suppressed the grin forming on your own face. Fucking finally. 

“No.” You shook your head feigning innocence. “Tell me.” 

“Can I show you?” 

Maybe you nodded a bit too eagerly, because Seungcheol chuckled, pushing himself up against the door, pulling you along with him. As your body pressed against his, his hands found your waist, gaze darkening. He leaned in, lips hovering over yours, whispering your name softly, like he loved the sound of it. As your breaths mingled, lightning went off behind you, the silver light illuminating his gorgeous face and all its sharp angles. Just as you moved closer, eyes fluttering shut, Seungcheol cleared his throat. 

“Y/n I’m sorry, I forgot that it’s late and we have training at 4 tomorrow.” He muttered, drawing his hands away. “You should sleep. I can’t excuse your lateness everyday.” 

And yet again Choi Seungcheol left you completely baffled as he opened the door behind him and walked in, away from you. 

Next Chapter

a/n - please send me your thoughts - this kind of writing is waaaay out of my comfort zone, I need to know I'm not completely messing shit up and if I missed you in the taglist, please lmk!

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

Veilguard vaguing:

It's not automatically a good thing, actually, that the game de-emphasizes or even outright removes racism against elves, and bigotry against other groups, from the story

[levandright]

BEST FOR YOU ✦ P.SH

pairings : ex! sunghoon x fem reader ୨ৎ content / warning(s) : hurt with comfort, sunghoon gets closure ୨ৎ word count : 1.5k

synopsis. sunghoon reflects on his past relationship with you, feeling the weight of your breakup and the distance that has grown between you. as he sees you move on, he is reminded of your shared memories and the love you once had. coming to terms with the changes in your lives, sunghoon finds peace, wishing you well as he lets go of the past and the connection you once shared. lev notes : this is inspired by the song best for you by slchld <3 i actually cried when i first finished writing the draft which was shorter (around 700 words) and this is my first ever angst!! hopefully it doesn't dissapoint >.> i genuinely had such a hard time writing some parts but i pulled through with the power of friendship!!

sunghoon sat in his room, the dim light of his desk lamp casting shadows against the walls. the air conditioning hummed softly, the only sound filling the silence of the quiet evening. he leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair as his gaze drifted to the window. the stillness in the air matched the quiet that had settled within him—a feeling he couldn’t shake, no matter how many times he tried to distract himself.

there was something about the loneliness tonight that felt different. it wasn’t just the silence that made it seem so heavy, but the creeping ache in his chest that had been growing for months, ever since your breakup. sometimes, in the middle of a busy day, he would forget that the person who used to be at the center of his world was no longer there. but in moments like this, when it was just him and solitude, the reality of it all hit harder than he cared to admit.

the soft glow of his phone screen illuminated his face as he unlocked it, absentmindedly scrolling through his instagram feed. it wasn’t like he was looking for anything specific—just trying to fill the emptiness in the room with something, anything. his thumb paused when he saw your post. you were smiling brightly, laughing with your friends at some outdoor café. the image felt almost surreal to him.

he had never been the type to go through his ex’s social media, not anymore. but today, something had drawn him in. he couldn’t help but wonder how you were doing, how you were living your life without him. it had been a while since you breakup, and he had been trying his best to move on, to accept that things were over between you two. but seeing you this happy, living the life you’d always dreamed of—it hurt.

your smile was the same as it had always been, bright and effortless. but now it wasn’t for him. it wasn’t because of him. that realization hit harder than he expected. his heart clenched, and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe.

he continued scrolling through your feed, stopping at another post—a picture of you and him, taken months ago at the park. he remembered that day so clearly, the way the sunlight had filtered through the trees and made everything glow. it had been a perfect day, one that had felt like it would last forever. how naive he had been, thinking that nothing could tear you apart.

but everything had changed.

back then, you and sunghoon had been inseparable. high school sweethearts. you had shared everything with each other: dreams, laughter, and even the inevitable frustrations of growing up. you were each other’s safe haven. but life had a funny way of pushing people in different directions, of breaking apart the very things that once seemed unbreakable.

he remembered the late nights he’d stayed up studying, only to have you call him crying, talking about how much the distance between you two was weighing on your heart. and then there were the times he was too exhausted from his part-time job to really listen, too caught up in his own world to hear the desperation in your voice. he was juggling university, work, and trying to hold onto a relationship that was slowly slipping through his fingers.

sunghoon had never been good at balancing everything. he had never been great at handling the outbursts or the tantrums that sometimes came from the overwhelming pressure of your long-distance relationship. back then he had only been able to offer quick reassurances, tired words that meant little in the face of your pain. and when the break-up came, it felt like a punch to the gut.

the reason you drifted apart was simple, yet so complicated at the same time. you both had grown, and in that process, you had grown away from each other. the person he was back then, caught between uni and a part-time job, he had failed to truly see the depth of what you needed. and now looking back, he wished he could have done better.

"i should have tried harder," he whispered to himself. "i should have been there more."

but that didn’t change anything now. he couldn’t go back in time and fix his mistakes. all he had now were memories, and the reality that those memories would never become anything more.

the pain of that realization had hit hardest after the breakup, it felt like the ground had shifted beneath him. for so long, he had imagined his future with you. suddenly, he was adrift, lost in a world that no longer made sense. he remembers nights lying awake, replaying the last few months of your relationship, questioning what he could have done differently, feeling anger, confusion, and heartache twist together inside him.

eventually, he learned to let go of the resentment, to see things with a little more clarity. you both had grown, and sometimes people simply grow in different directions. even now, he knows that his feelings for you haven’t faded, that part of him will always love you in some quiet, unspoken way. but he’s come to accept that you’re better off without him, that he needs to let you go fully.

and then, one night, it happens. he’s scrolling again, mindlessly, when he sees it. a new photo—one that’s different from the rest. you’re standing next to someone, a guy with an easy smile and a warm, gentle presence. jay.

jay, sunghoon had heard about him from mutual friends. he was kind, thoughtful, everything sunghoon wished he could have been for you back then. and now, it was clear: you had found someone new. someone who made you happy. someone who could give you everything he couldn’t.

sunghoon sat back in his chair, feeling a lump rise in his throat. it felt like the final confirmation that you had truly moved on, that his place in your life was nothing more than a shadow now. he’d always imagined a future with you. he’d imagined growing old together, supporting each other through everything life threw at you. but now, all he had were his memories—and even those felt like they were fading, slowly but surely.

he looked at the photo again, your smile still as bright as ever, but this time, it wasn’t for him. it was for jay. and a strange peace settled over him. you had found love again. you were with someone who made you feel the way you deserved to feel.

sunghoon took a deep breath and opened your chat. he had been avoiding it for so long, unsure of what to say, but now he knew. he wanted to reach out one last time. he didn’t expect anything in return, but he needed to say what was in his heart. after all, he had never been good at letting go, but it was time.

his fingers hovered over the keyboard as he searched for the right words. they trembled slightly as he types:

“hey y/n… i saw your post. i just wanted to say, i’m really happy for you. you deserve all the happiness in the world, and i know jay will treat you the way you’ve always deserved to be treated. thank you for everything, for all the memories. i’ll always wish you the best.”

he paused, staring at the message for a moment before pressing “send.” a weight lifted off his shoulders as soon as he did, his heart heavy yet at peace. by saying goodbye in that simple message, he was letting go, wishing you well—even though he knew he’d never see your smile in person again.

sunghoon sat back in his chair, his eyes drifting back to the photo of you and jay, the one that had started all of this. for the first time in months, he wasn’t angry or sad. he wasn’t resentful. instead, he felt an odd sense of closure, a peaceful acceptance that the two of you were no longer meant to be.

his mind wandered back to the first time he saw you, in the school library. you had been sitting at a table, a pile of books in front of you, your head slightly down as you concentrated. when your eyes met his, you smiled shyly, and something in him had shifted. it was as if the world had slowed down just for that moment. that smile had been the first spark, the first flicker of something that would grow into an overwhelming love. that first smile had stayed with him, a memory he carried through every moment you shared.

“i fell for you right then,” sunghoon whispered to the empty room. “and i think, a part of me will always love you.”

he closed his eyes and leaned back, letting the memory of that smile wash over him. it was bittersweet, but in that moment, he finally understood. you had been his first love, and though that chapter had closed, it would always be a part of him. and that was enough.

he whispered a final goodbye to himself, letting the memory fade into the stillness of the night. with it, he carried a silent promise to move forward, even if it meant holding a small piece of you with him forever.

as he drifted off to sleep that night, he silently wished you well, hoping that wherever life took you, you would find everything you were looking for—and more.

perm taglist. @honeychocos @honeybelleee @manaah02 (open!)

©levandright

[afreakingdork]

You Are My Sunshine, My Only Moonshine - Chapter 20 - Finale

RotTMNT x Reader

And here we have @sheep-turtles-and-pizza with the final chapter art that pretty much encapsulates the fic, dont'cha think?

Rated: Teen and Up Audiences

Relationships: Michelangelo (TMNT)/Reader, Michelangelo (TMNT)/You, Donatello (TMNT)/Reader, Donatello (TMNT)/You

Warnings: POV Second Person, Gender Neutral Reader, Anxious Reader, Introverted Reader, Stuttering, Aged-Up Mutant Ninja Turtles, Romance, Love, Love Confessions, Falling In Love, Unrequited Love, Rejection, Aromantic Asexual Michelangelo (TMNT), Bisexual Donatello (TMNT), Pansexual Leonardo (TMNT), Lesbian Cassandra Jones | Foot Recruit, Demisexual April O'Neil (TMNT), Implied Cassandra Jones | Foot Recruit/April O'Neil/Sunita, Endgame Donatello (TMNT)/Reader, Romantic Love, Platonic Love, Panic Attacks, Sexuality Crisis, Agoraphobia, Social Anxiety, Happy Ending, Fluff

Synopsis:  You’ve lost most of your life to anxiety and fear. Now, in your late 20s, you are desperate to reclaim it and during one such outing you encounter the sun personified. With his and his similarly celestially inspired family, will you finally reach your goal or will you lose yourself along the way?

I want to take a moment and acknowledge what today has been like. For many of us, it has been unending hours of shock, rage, and terror. It feels weird, in a way, to post this now, but at the same time I can't help but want a bit of normalcy. I'm hoping a dash of light and hope might be a comfort and if not, I understand, but I still present the finale of the fic I've worked so hard on.

Also available on Ao3

First 💛 Previous

He could do this.

With his phone alarm blaring, Mikey fought his lids.

He had to get up. If it wasn’t for this alarm, then he needed to before the next. He had been the one to set them in order of growing and grating noises, but that didn’t make it any easier. With little thought he hung there in stasis and listened to the first chime time out. There was exactly five minutes to the next, but he didn’t care to count. Instead his mind slipped and brought him closer to a dream when the second blare scared his lids up.

With the curtain drawn that meant it was time to move.

It came with liquid limbs which he threw without mercy.

They weren’t asleep so when one banged the wall, he was forced to wilt in weary pain. He brought his wrist, the wounded soldier, back home, and held it to his chest. He allowed it to rest there for the duration of the war which he traveled in leagues to the bathroom.

A splash of ice water to the face took him the rest of the way to wakefulness.

He preened after that, washing up and fixing his hair. He’d need it out of his face for the day and secured for the antics that would ensue. That meant extra fixing and Raph soon wandered in where Mikey had left the door open. The larger acknowledged the challenge his little brother was facing and brushed his teeth off to the side, giving Mikey the full span of the mirror.

Spitting became the real issue and Mikey refused to give up real estate. With Raph’s size though, there would be no victory, so Mikey took to the air. It meant the older brother ducked down to drink from the tap and Mikey got his last lock in place just before the other came up. It perched the younger brother on his older’s shoulders and they rode together to the kitchen.

Donnie was there facing the coffee pot with shut eyes as it spat and churned bean juice.

Greetings were exchanged with grunts and Mikey floated down to his feet to take up meal duty. This was his moment of zen and his favorite part of his morning routine. His mind immediately shut off and he only moved through the memorized motions.

Preheat pan.

Eggs.

Butter.

Gently melt.

Crack as needed.

Whisk.

Season.

Cook.

Mikey could make omelets in his sleep.

He might have done so once or twice if he trusted his brother’s stories.

He still wasn’t sold.

Going for a classic and simple French-style today, he dished up four of a normal size and one enormous one.

Donnie picked the crispest fold.

Leo sauntered in and grabbed the one with the most chives sprinkled atop.

Raph got the behemoth choice.

Mikey divided his portion into bites first and allowed his dad’s to cool for storage until whenever he woke.

They ate with minimal conversation that mostly related to the day.

“They’re gonna be fighting.” Leo pointed with his fork.

“How can they be fighting about the same thing, again?” Raph pressed, still chewing.

“Give me the count, D.” Leo turned to his fellow middle child.

“The visor versus sunhat debacle has played out twelve times that we know of.”

“Today is the baker’s dozen!” Leo tried to fold Mikey in with a glance.

Mikey raised his hands off the matter.

“A baker’s dozen!” Leo didn’t seem deterred and tried with a different connotation towards Raph.

“That doesn’t mean it’s a pattern!” Raph rolled his eyes.

“‘That doesn’t mean it’s a-’” Leo mocked before turning toward Donnie. “Do the stats, stats man!”

“I both relish and resent that you use me for data.” Donnie quipped and rolled his eyes over to Leo. “As little as two events establish a pattern with more solidifying.”

“They don’t keep having the same fight!” Raph cleaned his plate first.

Leo threw his hands out to Raph and sent his disgust at Donnie.

Donnie commiserated with a tip of his head.

“What’s that!?” Raph banged his plate.

Leo took his last bite and hopped to his feet. “Nothing, brodeo.”

“That ain’t nothing!” Raph frowned with his hands on his hips.

Donnie scooped his last bite and Leo stole his plate before he got it to his mouth. “Excuse you!”

“It’s too early for this!” Leo chirped and rounded past the sink without depositing his load. “Michael?”

“Not done!” Mikey had been carefully sectioning off bites to make it last.

If he kept eating then he didn’t have to move again.

He wasn’t quite awake yet which he would admit was his fault. He knew today had been coming up for a few months now, but he neglected to get his sleep schedule in line. The night before he had been nagged about his movie’s start time, but it was hard to battle the urge when he was in the mood for a particular one. His attention was fleeting enough that he usually chose to listen.

Which was something he should have been doing then because he had missed quite a bit of the current conversation while he was ruminating about his mistakes.

“Right now! You’re doing it right now!” Leo was flapping a hand at Raph.

“I do not! Donnie, tell him!”

“Two dost make a pattern…” Donnie petered off.

“Dost nothing!” Raph bumped Donnie’s chair.

“Alright, alright…” Mikey left his last quarter of his omelet and got to his feet. “How about that coffee?”

“Almost…” Donnie held up a finger and everyone paused.

The last few drips fell and the pot registered as full with a blink of a light over to a warming plate.

“Done.” Donnie spun and lifted out of his seat in a perfect rotation.

“Coffee.” Mikey reiterated and moved past to pat both Raph and Leo’s shells.

There were relenting grunts and mugs were split.

Donnie took his to-go in a thermos of his own making and departed with words of packing.

Leo sipped a mug loudly on purpose which summoned a growl from Raph.

Mikey gestured for Raph to drink.

The oldest almost did before he remembered cream and sugar and went for that.

The moment he was gone, Mikey shot Leo an irritated look.

Leo raised his hands as if he held no blame.

Mikey narrowed his eyes.

Leo tried to exaggerate his pose, but his coffee sloshed and dripped onto him. “Dang it! Come on!”

“That’s what you get.” Mikey spoke proudly.

Leo sneered and repeated the line. “I didn’t like this shirt anyway!”

“Liar, you picked it out last week.” Raph rose with an oversized mug to his lips.

“For shame! Picking on your brother like that!” Leo scoffed with his entire form.

Raph cocked his brow ridge.

Leo fled immediately with excuses on his lips about needing to get a detergent pen.

“You good?” Mikey checked on the oldest.

Raph said nothing and only gurgled with a thickened honey as he drank down his coffee.

Mikey gave the oldest’s arm a squeeze before he went in search of his phone. The object had been left behind due to its relation with alarms. It sat dutifully still plugged in and Mikey allowed unplugging to wake the screen. There were already a litany of messages from you lined and he tabbed through them lazily.

He penned replies and hobbled back to the kitchen where he’d forgotten to put dad’s omelet up. Raph had left so it was a tug of plastic wrap before it was lovingly slammed into the fridge with a sweet orange note applied. The fridge door closed and Mikey puzzled over what he had forgotten. It took a full rotation of his body to find his coffee and that it was now lukewarm. His tongue lolled out at the temperature and he dumped it.

Microwaving such things was sacrilege and Mikey instead messaged you asking about beverages.

You had a list seemingly ready for him and he smiled at it while saying you should take your pick.

Your response bubble disappeared and he could see you dropping everything to scroll the presumably tiny menu on mobile.

He could see you struggling with the page’s optimization and he shook his head.

Mikey would say he couldn’t believe how much he loved you, but that was patently wrong.

He knew the exact lengths.

He walked them one step at a time while holding your hand.

He treasured those times.

They also felt like something from a million years ago even though it had at most been a year.

Or maybe more.

Mikey wasn’t that great at dates outside of birthdays, but that was because he’d set reminders.

He should set another one and fiddled over to the calendar only to forget when he saw Piebald’s birthday coming up.

He already had a gift, but her party was one that split his attention.

You would be there too.

His best friend in the whole world.

Probably soon to be in-law with that recent geology expedition Donnie had gone on.

Rocks usually bored him to tears so the connection made sense.

You would say yes.

You would become family.

You would always be more.

You held a place in his heart that no one else dared get close to.

He had fallen in one love and then into another with you.

He was forever grateful and more so that you would always be by his side.

You responded back with your drink order and an updated file that Mikey didn’t bother opening. The last time he tried the text was so microscopic that it made a mockery of some online menu board. You would explain it to him when you met up anyway and he already knew the basics. You were overprepared and that was your normal song and dance. You would fret and he would find a way to make the day’s plans even better.

Assured, Mikey’s phone chirped with a new message and it was Leo’s final boarding call.

Realizing then that he had done nothing else to prepare, he made a literal hop, skip, and jump across the lair and back into his room. He placed himself in the dead center of it and took one deep breath before his ninpo charged. He was then off like a rocket, doing calculated slips through space to grab everything.

Comfy shorts for walking.

Cool vintage tank top he found to stay cool.

Fanny pack in a blinding color so he wouldn’t lose his belongings.

No hat because his hair was already done.

A lather of Donnie’s special sunscreen that was matched for his exact pigment.

A pair of sunglasses that he planned on losing.

He came to a halt and flicked off residual orange sparks totally ready to leave.

“How’s that for prep work!?”

The room didn’t respond.

“Exactly!” Mikey whooped and spun out of his room.

He continued to do twirls all the way until he reached the TV room where Splinter was groggily looking up at Donnie.

“There are thrill rides in New York!” His dad scoffed and flapped his hands.

“Not like these.” Donnie tried to reason with him.

Splinter made a disgruntled noise.

Mikey jumped over to him. “Omelette in the fridge, daddio!”

“Thank you, orange.” Splinter held his head up for a kiss.

Mikey obliged him. “Where’s Leo? Didn’t he say it was time to go?”

“I did.” Leo’s voice drifted in from the side. “And I perfectly timed how late you would be.”

“And didn’t bother to tell anyone else.” Donnie folded his arms.

“Pattern.” Raph grunted.

“Okay that was funny like an hour ago, but I’m over it being a whole day thing.” Leo cocked a hip.

“Another pattern!” Raph held out his arms in accusation.

“That was my point-!” Leo threw up his hands to stop himself. “Nope. Breaking the cycle!”

A beat of silence went through the room.

Raph didn’t take the bait and only looked over at Leo.

Leo shined him an honest smile.

Raph gave him a nod that said this version of apology was acceptable.

“Alright! Now that that’s over, choo-choo! Leo train is now boarding. Please line up single file. That’s hands and feet inside the line at all times. Some universal mishaps possible so try to keep within the portal’s boundary, please and thank you!” Leo moved to an open space and manifested a sword.

Donnie led the line behind him.

“Have fun wasting time with your loopsie loops! The premium entertainment is right here!” Splinter rubbed the remote against his cheek.

A few affectionate goodbyes were tossed and Mikey joined to be last in line.

“Three total stops, and here-!” Leo sliced a portal that went straight into April’s apartment.

Everyone stepped through in a continuous line as if they weren’t walking straight through miles of land and two people were added to the queue.

“We-!” The next portal cut through your apartment.

You joined in line with a wave.

“Go!” The last blue disk sent the now larger group to an amusement park’s gates. “Thank you for riding the Leo Express, we knew you had a great trip so do send over that five star review as soon as possible!”

Everyone warbled out of the rigid placement and reformed in a circle.

This was it.

Everything would devolve into that Hamato chaos from here.

Mikey smiled at the prospect.

Raph was the first to break with a barely withheld snort.

“Sing it, big guy!” April crooned.

“Don’t… you… dare…” Casey lowered her posture and prepared to launch herself if necessary.

The barest twitter emerged from Raph who had lifted to his full height and was fighting strain with all of it.

April bounced behind Casey’s back. “What’s it look like!? How about now!? You see it, you say it!”

“O’Neil…!” Casey threatened.

“You look like an old timey lamp in human form!” Raph blurted out.

April cackled and cut through the circle to laugh against the oldest brother. “I asked if she was going to share her poker chips!”

That garnered more giggles.

“Fools!!!” Casey hissed and threw up a defensive finger.

“Watch out, s-she’s gonna have to recount the m-money!” April barely managed.

Raph slapped April’s back so hard she fell over.

Casey stormed straight towards Mikey.

Mikey assumed the position and was immediately held up in display.

“Look at this one! Pathetic! He has no cranial protection at all and the covering for his eyes impedes his vision! My superior visor blocks UV, reduces eye strain, and will not be lost in our conquest of delights!!” Casey shook Mikey so hard his sunglasses came off.

He chuckled all the way in leaning down to pick them up. “I’m team sunscreen.”

“Sunscreen!?!” Casey threw him up into the air.

Mikey altered his trajectory with a kick of his foot and landed by Leo. “You put on sunscreen, right?”

“You cannot put sunscreen on your eyes!!” Casey seethed.

“Huh? Sure. Yeah.” Leo spoke dismissively with his gaze over his shoulder.

“This is a hat versus visor debate!!” Casey stomped at being ignored.

Mikey’s grin grew at the sign of more mischief.

Leo was up to something else entirely.

Mikey bet he stoked the debate fires this morning to throw others off his trail.

Today was shaping up to be extremely entertaining.

Donnie openly thought.

You tacked away with a flurry on your phone, no doubt looking up some park policy about the recommended sun protection.

“Goggles is team visors, don’t try to ‘hotdog is a sandwich’ your way outta this one!” April shouted.

“They are their own category!!” Donnie bristled.

Casey rushed Donnie. “Join me!! With your brain and my all around balanced skill chart, we shall make the hat wearers rue the day they trifled with secure headwear!”

“No. I’d rather not.” Donnie speed walked out the way.

Casey chased after him. “Give in!!”

Donnie went straight for Leo.

Leo had to double take before he realized Casey was now heading towards him. “Wait, no! I’m not part of this!”

In a speedy grapple, Donnie and Leo fought over Leo’s bag.

Donnie came out victorious with a pair of blue rimmed sunglasses that he slammed onto Leo’s beak.

“A turncoat!” Donnie exclaimed before sidestepping toward Mikey.

“You fiend!” Casey caught the loops of Leo’s tank top before he could run. “As leader you should be setting an example!”

“Of dork-i-tude? I think not!” Leo’s sunglasses slid down his beak and he looked at Casey dismissively over them.

She shook them straight off of him and yelled so loud her words became unintelligible.

Raph helped April back to her feet where the two were still snickering.

“Was the new sunscreen formulation tolerable?” Donnie leaned against a guard rail and regarded his youngest brother.

“Oh yeah, went on good! No lasting goopy feeling!” Mikey chirped.

“And a hotdog is a sandwich!” Leo clawed Casey off of him and threw her at Raph and April.

The pair squealed as Casey switched to a fighting stance in the air.

“That’s good, I analyzed new products on the market and found-” Donnie droned on.

Mikey pretended he understood anything his brother was saying.

“And meet up squabbles… Check…”

Mikey turned at the comparatively small voice.

It was obviously you and you smiled at your phone before looking up.

You met his eye and your gaze softened.

He returned it.

He needed to ask you about those drinks.

He was about to when you suddenly broke your gaze away.

He watched with a falling smile as you built up determination and took a single step forward.

Your body language read sturdy and your lips parted. “Alright… L-listen up!!!”

It took a bit of tapering, but as each person caught on to the owner of the voice, they all quieted in different forms of awe.

Your eyes didn’t leave your phone, but you didn’t look like you were reading from something. “I thank you all for coming today! It m-means a lot that you would join me! You p-probably already know about my, um… trouble with anxiety. I’ve been working really hard and today is a culmination of breaking that down. I… never thought I’d ever go to an amusement park, let alone leave New York, but I’m here now, t-thanks to each of y-you, so… thank you, truly…”

Your eyes rose in gratitude and everyone shifted with emotion.

April opened her mouth to respond, but your expression shifted to a threatening one.

Again, the group stiffened in surprise.

“That being said… This is my plan!” Phones started to ping around the group, but no one dared go for their device. “You’ve just been sent a copy of today’s itinerary. If you do not follow it, you will be left behind! T-that said, I did a ton of research and took as much into account as I possibly could! I t-think it’s doable…” You checked your phone. “My spiel is done, you now have 15 minutes to look and decide before the g-gates open…”

Hands flew for their phones.

“It really is 15 till…”

“How…?”

“Woah, what…?”

Mikey’s entire body tipped to the side.

He was only one of two people not acting on your instruction.

You had returned to checking something on your phone and swipes of your pupils said you were moving things around.

Mikey looked around.

“We’re being split up…?” April was sharing her phone between Raph and Casey. “Ride team and prize team…”

“How did pipsqueak know I was going to make the carnies cry?” Casey rubbed her chin.

“You’re not supposed to make them cry! You’re supposed to win cute prizes!” Raph tutted her. 

“Victory tastes sweeter when seasoned with tears.” Casey only nodded appropriately.

“I did only want to do coasters…” April remarked, still studying her device.

Leo chuffed and immediately tried to muffle it.

April caught wind and started scrolling on her phone with purpose before she lit with anger. “Hey! Now, hold on! What’s up with this!?”

Leo pointedly looked away.

“’Leo and April shenanigans!?’ Why do I get moved off the ride rotation?! What does that mean!?” She threw her phone out and walked it into Leo’s face.

“Oh, nothing!” He failed to conceal his laugh. “Y/N wrote it!”

April’s eyes narrowed.

“Leo’s meeting up with someone.”

A few pairs of eyes shot to you, but you were still working.

You gave a sly smile to mostly yourself. “He’s the only one I couldn’t figure out so I asked for his help.”

“Smart move. I would have gone rogue otherwise.” Leo shrugged.

“What’s that got to do with me!?” April rounded on Leo.

“Nothing!” Leo raised his voice and ducked around April in a smooth twirl that sent his mask tails twisting like a graceful pair of ribbons. “Just maybe I have a hot date with someone you just so happened to know and might not approve of…”

“What?! Who!?” April spun around with a low center of gravity to latch onto him if need be.

“Oh, is that the ticket guy!?” Leo skipped away.

“Leo! Leonardo Hamato, you get your ass back here right now! Who!?” April chased after him.

“I’m kinda glad…” Raph pressed his fingers together. “Takes the stress offa trying to get on the rides with the weight limit and all… Y/N even scheduled me tram time. How’d you know?”

You gave a slight wiggle at the praise, but didn’t respond.

“It is rigid, yet a lethal plan of attack.” Casey smacked her phone approvingly. “I may have to reevaluate your position in my ranking board of weakness if the outcome is favorable.”

Leo laughed loudly as he dodged April in the parking lot.

Mikey felt like he was out of his mind.

That was it?

You suddenly did something he would have never guessed in a million years and everyone only cared for a few minutes’ tops.

This was more than your progress.

This was something completely new.

It made no sense.

In a slow swivel, Mikey looked at the only other person who had yet to move.

Donnie was right next to him and lounging against the rail he was leaning on.

On his face was an expression that was nothing less than love struck.

“My nova…” Donnie mooned quietly. “Ever expanding destruction. Stunning.”

He then moved over to you and it was only for him that you parted your attention.

You shared your screen with him and he curled around, not quite touching you, to take it in with all his adoration.

Mikey was still leagues away.

His limbs felt clunky as he went for his phone.

There at the top of his notifications was your itinerary. It was clearly labeled and he clicked on it. The day was laid out before him in exact measure. There were blank fields ready to be filled in with approximate ride wait times. As soon as entry to the park was granted, the tables were divided into two clear columns for those who sought thrills and those who preferred less stomach churning activities. Along with scheduled drink and bathroom breaks, the snack segments were drop down lists that had food stand opening times along with full menus.

One of which was highlighted in orange and was sporting a coffee bar menu.

Mikey shook with a dry laugh.

“Time!” You clapped once and moved straight to the ticket counter with purpose.

You hadn’t purchased the tickets ahead of time, he knew this.

There had been something about an in-park discount. You were the first person in line and ended up buying for the lot with a quick card slip from Leo. Mikey identified that as the Hamato joint account. It had alleviated many petty squabbles. You dutifully went to each person and gave them a ticket like it was the most precious thing in the world.

Mikey accepted and the otherwise boring slip seemed like it glowed in his hand. He tucked it into a particularly safe pocket of his fanny pack as everyone moved inside. There were sounds of interest as soon as you entered the gate. The fracture split the group and there were no hard feelings.

You parted from Donnie with only one solidifying glance.

You two were always like that.

Donnie’s pet names were seemingly the only overtly romantic thing of note. Otherwise, the two of you displayed next to no PDA. It wasn’t just Mikey; Leo had questioned if you two were still dating more than once. It made Donnie furious every time and he declared your relationship was healthier than ever with each prompting. Mikey never saw it as a bad thing, but he could admit his bias. 

Mikey was also closer to you than anyone else. 

He knew your looks and the way you talked about Donnie. 

You were not left romantically wanting and Mikey would bet his existence that you two were in it for the long haul.

It felt like an odd rumination to end on as you left your boyfriend and headed straight towards him instead.

“Ready for that coffee?” You pointed in the direction of where it presumably was.

“Uh, yeah…” Mikey responded dully.

Casey yelled charge and jumped on Raph’s shoulders.

Raph pretended to rear before setting off.

April tugged ruthlessly on Leo’s mask tails and walked with Donnie towards growing metal pyres of rollercoasters.

“You okay…?” You tilted your head. “Need motion sickness meds?”

“No. I just didn’t… What… what team am I on…?” Mikey couldn’t remember where his phone was.

You tapped it where it was sticking out of his fanny pack. “Mine.”

“Yours… being…?”

You took a leading step and he followed after.

“Team duo!” You held up eager fists.

“Duo…?” Mikey pointed between him and you.

“We’re the only o-ones who want to do both!”

“Both…?”

You looked out fondly at the park. “Our special designation. I’m m-making the most of it… I… I’m n-not sure about the whole… coaster… adrenaline junkie thing. I think… I’ve had enough fight or flight for one lifetime, but… you can’t come h-here and not ride a coaster!”

Mikey nodded along.

“We’re d-doing two rides for sure…” You held up two fingers. “The f-fastest one and the o-one you were talking about…”

He thought and got himself a little straighter. “The one that free falls…?”

“Exactly!” You hopped a step.

“Huh…” The corner of his lips quirked.

“My heart’s already racing…!” You squeezed a hand to your chest. “Coffee w-won’t help, I think I’m gonna get something less caffeinated. Tea…? I was thinking tea…”

“Tea’s good.”

“Iced.” You agreed.

“I’m…” What was he doing?

Was he going to spend all day like this?

You were clearly over the moon with excitement.

You’d made this incredible list.

Everyone had split up, but seemed to be having a blast.

This was the final item on your mega list.

He was going to be your buddy for the day.

Was he going to miss that chance?

Never.

“I’m…” Mikey repeated and then jumped forward to block your path. “I’m going to get the most sugary thing and drop four shots of espresso in it!”

“M-Mikey!!” Your hands came up in a worried flurry.

“Try and stop me!” Mikey cheered and ran towards the only food stand that was open.

It was clearly the coffee station and you chased after shouting his name.

He placed his order before you reached him and you panted yours out when you got there.

The person moved to make them after taking payment and you scolded him for what would definitely happen. While the hyper-dose of caffeine would momentarily settle him, it would also eventually process along with the sugar. The resulting stimulation would send him bouncing off the walls until he eventually crashed. You added notes about forcing snacks on him to prevent that and he breezily accepted.

You got your drinks and headed out.

He found Casey by her voice alone and found her arguing with a worker in the carnival area. Raph stood by, unable to do much other than apologize and Mikey swooped in to get her away. The woman griped around having won and Mikey told her to get the next one. A huddle was had and there was discussion on how the games were rigged. It broke apart with an agreement that a little mysticism would go a long way and games were then chosen in a rotation.

It started with you picking a water gun game where you won nothing more than a bouncy ball.

Mikey and you played with it as Raph took his turn next and drove Casey up a wall because he had trouble deciding. You had a great time walking around and talking amongst it so when Raph finally picked it almost seemed like an interruption. His stall of choice came with ring toss and extra fuzzy looking plush prizes. You all took turns throwing, but no one got close enough to win anything.

Casey went next and immediately chose a stall that had balloons to pop. She forewent the weapon to throw kunai which spooked the employee. It took the manpower of the rest of the group to calm the man down before Mikey casted a small memory shifting spell. It had come in handy more than once for removing blame from his dad, but he kept the origins of the spell to himself. The mechanics of which he happily shared. The employee lost five minutes at most and Casey was removed from the stall kicking and screaming by Raph.

That left Mikey, who stopped at the sight of a giant spinning drill bit. It was an oddity amongst the other dime a dozen games and he felt compelled to ask. A kind man offered him a metal rod with a hole in it and explained that the game was one like Operation. If Mikey could get the hole all the way down the twisting and turning piece of metal without making contact with it then he would get a prize.

Raph was staring straight at a teddy bear the size of him and of a much higher quality than any other stand.

Mikey pretended to push up his non-existent sleeves before he claimed this was the game.

The buzzer of failure rang within 15 seconds.

Casey shoved him out of the way and screamed about how she would be the successful one amongst them all.

Her alarm came in seven seconds.

She spit about cheating and Mikey held her back so Raph could go.

Raph was sweating bullets as his giant hands meant it was more difficult to hold the rod.

He maneuvered the hole as far down as he could before his mass impeded him twisting along with the moving drill and he was outed around the 25 second mark.

That left you where you hopelessly grabbed the rod.

Without a drop of faith on your face, you studied how to best approach it and threaded your rod against the drill.

Moving slowly and methodically, you worked down the corkscrew that had taken out both Mikey and Casey.

You then rounded a looping arch that had removed Raph.

Down into a rectangular area that had you making snap gestures with your wrists, you then cleared it for a final flight straight down until the rod sat flush with the base of the game.

There was a beat of silence.

You then looked up at the employee.

“T-there was a mistake…” The man uttered. “The top there. You touched it, but the machine glitched and didn’t go off.”

This time Casey wasn’t the only one who fought back.

Mikey shot forward with the other two to bowl the mean man over with complaints.

Your praises were sung.

The man was bitter in gesturing to the wall, giving up on the matter and letting you pick a prize.

“Raph… which was it…?” You checked with him.

“You sure?!” Raph’s eyes watered.

“Very.” You nodded for him to choose.

He hugged the bear so tight there were waning stitches.

It was Casey who urged him to back off and with that you were off for your first snack break.

The sugar and caffeine were commingling in Mikey’s stomach so he launched himself forward with purpose. He ended up getting too far ahead and bet a random employee about guessing his weight. The man ended up being wrong and gave him a superhero cape for his troubles. It was a far cry from his cloak, but Mikey ran around making it soar nonetheless. You eventually caught up and purchased a variety of popcorns. They had a ridiculous amount of flavors and the pot was shared amongst the group. One selection was tossed while another was fought over and after you forced Mikey to down a bottle of water, you were on your way to the ride of his choosing.

The freefall ride was immediately selected and you were soon led to a shaky basket. It sat ready to be lifted up a set of tracks. Raph bowed out as there were three seats and he couldn’t fit in any of them. He seemed more than pleased to watch with his stuffed animal cradled tight and you were moved into the middle position. Casey complained about not needing shackles which the park attendant ignored as he made sure everyone was strapped in. Mikey looked all around in obvious excitement while your anxieties heavily contrasted him. You politely asked the man to double check your safety bar. He did so without complaint, but tacked on that you should be ready because the ride dropped at a rate of 30 feet per second which did nothing to quell your concerns.

As the man moved away to start the ride, Mikey caught a glimpse of teeth. 

It unnerved him and he continued to stare long after the guy manned a control panel. As far as Mikey could tell, he didn’t do anything else out of the ordinary which left him wondering if he had been mistaken. The ride began to ascend the tower and you clung to your safety bars with white knuckles. Mikey switched to soothing you by wondering if you’d been able to see the ride team when you achieved your maximum height. You stunted out a question about what coaster they were on and the ride clinked to a halt at the very top while Mikey tried to guess.

The entire park was laid out in front of you.

Mikey watched over it with a huge smile before turning it to you and finding the same awe inspired twinkle in your eyes.

“These are the best seats…” Casey mumbled.

You nodded in agreement.

“Nice pick, orange peel.” Casey tipped her chin to Mikey.

“Thank you!” Mikey beamed.

The moment lingered on.

A little too long. 

Casey squirmed and grunted about the wait. 

Mikey’s eye wandered before he peeked over the carriage to see what was going on below. 

From this angle, he couldn’t quite see the ride operator. 

You mustered up the courage to wonder, “Isn’t it… s-supposed to fa-?”

The beams holding the cart released with a chunk and whatever was left of your question went up into an outright scream as you rocketed down the ride. The basket then tipped and flipped over at the end, cutting off the intense inertia and churned the contents of everyone’s stomachs. Casey belched loudly and Mikey weakly thanked you for the water. You only shivered in your seat and didn’t move a muscle until the cart was righted and you were allowed to exit. There you made it a few feet before you wilted into Raph. “I-I l-lifted!”

“Lifted?” Raph offered you his stuffed animal.

You grabbed it with a might that rivaled its owners. “I-In m-my s-seat…! I-it w-wasn’t t-tight t-to m-my b-body. I l-lifted up i-into t-the a-air!”

Mikey spun around to glare at the employee, but he was strapping new guests in.

“Let’s go!” Mikey grumbled and ushered the group along.

You nodded shakily and it took walking halfway across the park before you steadied a little. It was there that you met up with the ride crew fresh off their coaster and oozing adrenaline. April was hollering about going a third time and tackled Casey. The former recruit hoisted her up and paraded April around. Mikey passed you off to Donnie who animatedly regaled you about the ride they’d just been on. He had the history of it and listening to him seemed to take your final edge off.

It was only to be built back up as this reunion was so you could hit your coaster.

The park capacity had grown as time wore on. It meant a lengthy wait in the line which was happily filled with conversation. Catching up on everything that had been missed, you updated the schedule before it was your turn. This time it was four in a row and Mikey high fived Leo to signal he’d ride with him. The couples took the first car and Donnie had words about how being in the front had its advantages.

You didn’t seem to agree, but you were soothed when this park attendant didn’t have the same odd edge. She secured you into place with a heavy click and pulled so hard on your seat belt that you appeared to have the air squeezed out of you. Donnie prattled on about how you would achieve 50 miles per hour and an employee joked about you losing your shoes. Mikey used his last free motion to zip his fanny pack up tightly and there was a ticking counter for takeoff.

The entire train shot like a bullet out of the station. Without a single building momentum, it instead bounced with turns and rotations that mimicked a balloon caught in a wind tunnel. Mikey screeched with excitement as he saw ground, then sky, then ground again, in a seemingly endless loop. His body was rocked violently side to side, but little of him went anywhere with the safety equipment.

With its hurtling speeds, the ride appeared over as fast as it began and Mikey was giggling his head off.

Donnie disengaged first, but you didn’t move.

He immediately rounded back on you and the employee came along with alarm on her face that immediately shifted to outright laughter. “Omigosh! Look at your hands! You made indents with your f-fingers! I’ve never seen that!!”

“Let go, nova dearest…” Donnie urged you.

You made a weary noise and didn’t seem to know you were safely docked.

“You’re alright. You can let go now.” The attendant joined in.

“You’re all good! Still got your zapatos on!” Leo cheered from where he was already back on solid ground.

Mikey followed after him. “The schedule, Y/N!”

That got you and you disengaged your fingers.

The attendant and Donnie helped you to the platform.

Your hands were out and stuck in a claw-like positioning.

“This is when you-!” Casey caught a finger and pulled hard.

It popped the joint and you squeaked in pain.

April immediately went on both attack and defense.

She kicked Casey down a short flight of stairs and helped you check your finger. “It’s not out of socket… You good?”

You nodded, teary eyed.

“Alright, alright…” April shushed you and slung an arm around your shoulders. “Where’s Raph? I bet he wants to do tea cups!”

“Tea cups! Spin off, bro!?” Leo whooped and turned toward Donnie.

You murmured out Raph’s location.

Donnie shoved Leo away and moved into yours and April’s shadow.

Casey butted up to Mikey’s side. “Was that… a grave mistake…?”

“No…” Mikey turned to her with sympathy. “Too much at the wrong time? Yes, but you’ll be forgiven, I guarantee it.”

Casey didn’t seem convinced.

“How about this…?” Mikey ducked his head down to share a secret.

Casey came with severe attention.

“When we have souvenir time, pay close attention to what Y/N looks at. If they pass on something, but look back at it, you know they actually want it. Get them that and say sorry then. It’ll be perfect.”

“You are sure?”

“I…” Mikey softened. “… know Y/N better than anyone. Yeah, I’m sure.”

“I see… Understood.” Casey gave a nod and broke the walking huddle.

Raph was back with the gang and had a churro that was almost as long as him. Apparently a cart man had taken his size on as a challenge and made this one special. Raph was unfazed at having not ridden any rides yet and munched happily. Your spirits raised and by the time you were at the tea cups, you asked to sit out. April offered to join you, but you urged her to go as you wanted to watch and take pictures.

That was enough of a go ahead and everyone smashed themselves into a single cup even though there wasn’t enough room. The attendant at this ride didn’t seem to care as no one else was on and started up the cups. All six cup members grabbed the center wheel and began to turn it with reckless abandon. The cup immediately exceeded some upper limit and the resulting g-forces forced Mikey to let go first.

He slammed, carapace first, into the wall and found he couldn’t pull his limbs back to return to spinning. Leo’s lips flapped as he challenged Casey who was directly across from him. She took him on with a wild expression and April was the next to hit the wall. She seemed to suffocate on the oxygen being spun away from her and Raph’s clambering claws slipped.

He had little space to fly and only seemed to open up more room for the final three. Donnie held out as long as he could, but he too was knocked out by the rotations. That left Leo and Casey who, to Mikey’s eyes, were never going to stop. The ride continued to spin longer than Mikey thought possible. Though it was only in millisecond clips, he sort of caught the vision of you talking to the employee. You pointed towards them and he thought maybe it was to stop you, but Mikey also caught a clip of the employee laughing.

The ride wasn’t going to stop until someone won, he realized then.

“Gonna… be… sick…!!” Donnie retched.

“I’ve been puked on before!” Leo cackled, not backing down.

“Try cleaning up frosting vomit!” Casey matched him.

“Been there, done that!” Leo seethed.

Raph’s eyes spun and his head lolled.

“We lost Raph!” April screamed.

Donnie and April latched onto the arms of the largest half-conscious brother to keep him from flying out of the ride.

The tea cup began to wobble.

“U-uh… G-guys!?” Mikey squeaked.

“Give it up!” Leo’s words slurred.

“Never!!!” Casey screamed.

A bit of spit exited her mouth.

As if caught in the middle of a vortex, it seemed to slow around the tornado.

Mikey watched as it hung before choosing a direction.

It hit Leo directly in the eye.

The slider let go and flew back with enough force that there was an audible bang against the metal cup.

A song played that signaled the end of the ride and no amount of gentle slowing could adjust everyone’s equilibrium.

“I… win!!!” Casey managed before collapsing right out of the cup.

The others similarly fell to the floor and half crawled their way in different directions, unable to tell which way they were going. You rushed into the ride and helped the best you could. It meant you flew from April almost hitting a guardrail to Raph who regained consciousness, but could barely speak. Donnie dry heaved and the attendant had to use a crowbar to remove Leo from the cup. There was light conversation about paying for damages which was turned into an elaborate lie instead so the park employee wouldn’t get in trouble for his various infractions.

Something convincing was agreed upon and half the group took a break.

Leo said he was fine otherwise and said he’d be hitting the restroom. April checked her phone as he was walking away and screamed at him about the time. He immediately took off running and she pursued him all while asking why he felt the need to flee. Raph said something about needing to move since his ear drums thought he was and he gravitated towards a nearby slide. Mikey watched after, nursing a new water. He glanced at his companions and found you soothingly rubbing the back of Donnie’s neck while Casey lay in a limp pile.

“It’s two to a carpet…” You told Mikey without looking.

“Isn’t Raph the two?” Mikey chuckled.

You smiled and flicked your eyes to give him permission to go.

He returned the grip and tipped his water in gratitude before chasing after the oldest. This line moved swiftly and Mikey and Raph butted together to walk the straight line between the bars. They were soon sitting on a soft rug and then pushed down an enormous snake. Black, red, and yellow flew by and it was oddly grounding as they slithered through twists and turns. By the time they were off, the vertigo had lapsed and Mikey ran back to you with the good news.

You had moved over by a trash can where you were patting Casey’s face with a wet towel.

“She get sick?” Mikey asked.

You opened your mouth to respond but the women in question cut you off.

“N-nev-!” Casey belched wetly. “-er… yes…”

“Don’t worry… Even warriors throw up sometimes…” You passed Casey the towel.

“Thank you…” Casey showed a moment of vulnerability and leaned into you.

You helped her up and back over to where Donnie was still sat.

“Lunch is next…” Raph spoke nervously and his stomach growled.

“How!?” Donnie threw out a limp wrist.

Raph chuckled sheepishly.

“Food can help… Something light?” You asked Casey.

She only groaned and moved to walk herself towards the larger food court.

“How are you fine?” Donnie asked Mikey.

“Hmm…” Mikey wondered aloud. “Y/N has been pumping me full of dry food and water so I guess I’m hydrated and the food ate up my stomach acid kinda thing?”

Donnie thought it over before stopping at the next closest cart to get a water.

Mikey watched him sip on it and the group eventually gathered at an outdoor dining room flagging a congregation of food stalls. Mikey took orders and Raph offered to carry the trays while everyone else rested. You darted away for napkins and condiments and there was soon a spread on a large wooden table. April joined back up just as food was served and when asked who Leo was with she would only grumble out that she didn’t want to talk about it. No one pushed and she left to momentarily get her own food.

Eating slowly recuperated everyone and there was talk of how to proceed. The tram ride was technically next and Raph was full and eager to ride the train around the park. You urged the others that this was a good thing and there was a stuffed trudge over to the platform. It was an agonizing staircase up, but once inside, the AC pumped through the cabin. Each person laid out on their own bench and slipped into a dreamy daze as the tram made routine pit stops.

For several cycles, the transport was yours. Mikey sat across the alley from you and watched you stare at the way the sunbeams sparkled through the rides. They seemed to be the only light penetrating the calm and darkened car. It added to the mood and it was only when another person finally got on that you all moved to disembark.

You were on the far side of the park and there was a divide on what to do next. A certain coaster was here that could apparently fit Raph and he seemed eager to try it. Meanwhile, April and Casey had their eyes set on a log ride on the other side of the park. Raph looked on expectantly at the rest of you and Donnie agreed to go. You and Mikey said you’d wait in line, but not ride and everyone separated. The queue was shorter here for the distance from the other rides and the line curled through the trees. It offered a delightful flush of shade and conversation was pleasant.

Raph was allowed on after some adjustments to his seat and Donnie bid you and Mikey adieu.

You showed Mikey the tea cup pictures you had taken and Mikey couldn’t stop laughing at all the ugly wind blown faces. You regaled him on how you asked the ride attendant to keep spinning and how the man thought it was a hilarious contest. He apparently had a speed gun and caught a top speed of 89 miles per hour which seemed absurd, but you had evidence of that too. You then readied yourself and snapped a photo as the coaster shot by with Donnie and Raph. You shared that shot with Mikey too and it painted Raph the picture of terror and Donnie something a little more lighthearted than neutral.

You were both laughing and turning the images into memes when the other two brothers joined you.

Donnie appeared in good health, but walked a small distance from the group to slouch against a bench instead of sitting on it.

Raph got his phone out, laughed at the first meme in the group chat, and then was obvious about getting the itinerary up. “Oh, there’s a break in the schedule here. We can either rest, go to a show, or shop!”

“What kind of show?” Mikey perked up.

“Uh…” Raph fiddled with the drop down and his large fingers. “Dance show!”

Mikey debated openly.

You were looking at Donnie.

Donnie didn’t seem to notice.

Donnie looked like he was sulking. 

You turned to Mikey with a sort of expectant look.

Mikey tilted his head and wondered if he should prod his brother.

You instead moved closer to him and gestured for him to lower his head.

He brought it down to listen. “Mind shopping with me? I don’t think he’s had enough protein…”

“Sure!” Mikey bobbed. “Raph, you going to the show? We’re hitting the vendors!”

“Think I’ll be good alone…?” Raph weighed his options with a swing of his head.

“I think you’ll run into Leo and his mystery date.” Mikey wagged his brow ridge. “What’s more romantic than dancing?” 

Raph lit up. “Dance show it is!”

You waved Raph and his stuffed animal goodbye and went to flank Donnie with Mikey.

He moved listlessly with you and Mikey thought you were spot on in your guess.

He hadn’t seen Donnie eat anything other than a plain baked potato at the concession so it was highly likely that his brother hadn’t had anything with protein in it since his morning omelet. With all the walking and excitement, that meant he had little more than carbs to work off of and it was the likely culprit for his dip in mood.

You rounded in and out of several open air shops where Mikey clocked a keychain for Casey to get you later.

He covertly snapped a pic and sent it off along with a location and received back a flurry of emojis.

Mikey rolled his eyes affectionately and followed you into a shop with jerky.

Donnie turned his nose up at the stuff, but the employee there was a proud one. They went on and on about how tender it was which Donnie openly scoffed at. Samples were passed out to prove him otherwise, but he refused to partake. You and Mikey clinked paper cups before downing yours and Mikey drilled the employee on how they’d done it all while his mouth was still full. It was far too tender for what it was and the employee laughed haughtily and only agreed.

Donnie tentatively took a corner shred as a bite as if there was a chance it was poisoned and was struck by how easily the meat tore away from the piece. He then ate his fill and picked up several bags which he snacked on while you and Mikey debated flavors. The employee threw in a discount and you exited with several bags and a much happier Donnie.

A piece of jerky stuck out of the corner of his brother’s mouth and you pulled the group aside to look at the park map. There was clear conversation of where to head next and Mikey’s attention wandered. He was no longer wearing his cape which meant he had lost it at some point. Instead of wondering where, Mikey accepted the disappearance and fiddled with the zipper of his fanny pack. You and Donnie were still talking and he was about to interject in case you had gotten off topic when a man walked by. 

Mikey stared after him for a long moment and placed him as the man from the freefall ride. 

A small spark of resentment flicked in Mikey’s chest and he decided this walk by had occurred for a reason. 

“I’m… I’m gonna be right back! Do whatever… yeah, whatever…!” Mikey ran in the direction the employee went.

You shouted out questions behind him, but didn’t pursue.

It took a bit of winding as Mikey lost track, but around a curve of fence, there was an obvious park worker entrance that said ‘KEEP OUT.’ It was also very obviously wide open and Mikey popped his head in to check. There was a long hallway of built up fence that disappeared around a bend. He walked cautiously down the path until a sliver of an open area became visible. Stopping there and hunkering down in learned scouting, Mikey saw the park employee walk into frame with another following him and yanking his hat off.

The offensive man slapped his coworker and the other man complained that he almost dropped his headwear.

Mikey chewed his lip at the first bubbles of anger.

The mean man laughed. “Aw, did I scare you?! Careful now, don’t wanna shit yourself!”

“Get lost, Zach.” The second man waved him away.

“Don’t be like that, Nevan. Whatcha doing?”

“Taking five, beat it.”

“Aw, come on! We’re both hiding out” The jerk who was now dubbed Zach leaned on the wall beside the other man.

“No, dude. I just need a second and I’m not getting written up for you again.” The nicer guy who was apparently named Nevan sneered. 

“Jerry’s a jackass! He hands out write up slips like parking tickets!”

“No, you’re always breaking code.” Nevan waved Zach off to leave.

“Come on! You’re already here! I just wanna tell you about this nutcase on the free fall!”

Nevan put his fingers in his ears and sang.

Zach tackled him and bumped a nearby trash can that buzzed with the jostling. 

Mikey caught his fingers in a wood plank to keep from interfering. 

Zach soon had Nevan in a headlock. 

“What the fuck is your problem!? Get off!!” Nevan struggled. 

“Listen and I’ll let go!” Zach cooed. 

“Screw you!”

Zach squeezed.

Mikey seethed, ready to step in.

“Fine! You know what?! Fine! Just let go!!”

Zach threw his hands up.

The other man rubbed his collar. “You fucking suck. I hate you so much…”

“Nah, you love me!”

“Just say your stupid shit so I can go, man!”

“Stupid…?” Zach burst out ugly laughing.

Nevan used the cover to inch toward his escape.

“This morning, you shoulda seen it!”

Nevan knew to pause when Zach looked.

“There was this grade A scaredy cat with these inhuman freaks. I’m telling you, we need to round them all up so we don’t gotta look at ‘em!”

Mikey slid his foot forward.

“Dude!” Nevan shoved Zach. “No! Fuck you! I’m not listening to that! My sister is dating a Labrador dude and he’s the best! That’s it. I’m out! I’m reporting you!”

“No! Come on!” Zach tried to pursue.

In a flick of his hand, Mikey manifested a chain in front of Zach’s foot.

Zach tripped, but Mikey pulled hard on the mystic energy.

It snapped tight and momentum pulled the man in the other direction.

He stumbled the other way with flailing arms and Mikey was careful in manifesting individual links under his feet so he wouldn’t be able to catch a grip on the ground.

Zach slammed into the trash can and it fell over alongside him.

There was a dull thrum before bees burst from their hive inside.

Nevan scrambled away as Zach was immediately attacked by the swarm.

Zach screeched and Nevan puffed with one shock of worry before he straightened. “You know what?! Serves you right!!”

Nevan turned and Mikey bolted back down the path and out into the park proper. He made a few sharp strides to make it look like he was walking by and he glimpsed Nevan emerge. The employee slammed the ‘KEEP OUT’ door behind him and the distant sounds of Zach’s attack melded in with screams from coasters. 

Nevan disappeared and Mikey was left relatively alone to cheer. He pumped a few happy fists before skipping back to where he’d left you and Donnie. The pair of you weren’t there and Mikey knew he could check his phone to find your location, but instead chose to wander. Misters had been turned on for the heat and he slowed by the spray to let it douse him. When his shirt was thoroughly soaked, he continued to meander.

It took him past happy families that were making memories, couples who tittered cutely to one another, and friends who snapped photo after photo. He felt honored to be privy to all these people’s special moments. This all came about because of you. You and your determination brought him here and he couldn’t be happier. You would have each other for the rest of your lives and it was with that vision of you old and grey that Mikey heard your laughter.

Donnie’s voice predictably followed and Mikey moved forward at a leisurely pace. He came upon a small unused pavilion behind some trees that he bet was great for kid’s shows. Now, it was currently empty and on the closest row to the top, Donnie was seated and you were hovering over him. Your hands were placed on either side of his head and you leaned forward to dot the tip of his beak with your nose.

Donnie reached up and steadied himself by grabbing your arm. “Y/N…”

You hummed curious in response and pulled away to run your thumbs soothingly over his cheeks.

 “Y/N, my beloved Nova. My darling . My luminous explosion of which all other ceases to be in light of you…” Donnie spoke again, sounding a little dopey.

“What is it?” You giggled and curled your fingers under his chin. 

“I need you.” He turned inward to nose and kiss one of your palms.

“You have me.” You kissed his forehead. 

“That’s not near enough. Do you know how long it’s been?” Donnie grouched lightly. 

You shushed him and shuffled until you were between his knees. “You’re having fun today.”

“I suppose that’s true...” He tested light brushes of his fingers against your waist. 

“You’d do it again, I bet.” You nodded to him and, in a happy trill, he pulled you flush to him. 

“Yes, well…!” His head dove into your shoulder as you settled in his arms. “How can you use my equally adored logic against so callously?”

“Callous, huh?” You still had his head and thumbed one of his cheeks.

“Yes.” He puffed them out so you had more to press.

“When you didn’t have to ask…?” You led him.

He peered at you curiously. “Ask what?”

“For my attention.”

He thought for only a moment before his expression went especially gooey.

“I could tell. You missed me. I missed you… It’d been a little too long, but I’m here now.”

“And you’ll… stay…?” He appeared anxious and quickly tried to mop it up with haughtiness. “I’ve yet to have my fill and my Y/N battery can be quite large so who knows how long it will take the receptacle to refill when-!”

You nuzzled down into his cheek.

His lips stalled out at the affection and gave up to lounge against you.

“Of course, I’ll stay. Maybe I’m not as exciting as those coasters, but we’ll have just as much fun together. We always do.”

“True, you aren’t enjoyable as a thrill ride…”

You were unmoved.

“You’re a far greater excitement.” He nudged for your full attention. “I can’t wait to see what you’ll do next.”

You gave it with a flush of your lids. 

He somehow turned up his affections. “I love you.” 

“I love you.” You responded immediately and moved your head to meet his lips. 

Mikey stood quietly for the exchange before he lowered his gaze. It didn’t exactly feel like a revelation that you and Donnie were indeed some form of hopeless romantics, but it had been interesting to see it play out. You were a specific type of bold for your boyfriend and Mikey reached up to press a fist to his plastron. He wasn’t sure when, but at some point the cat in his chest had leapt away. It left warmth in its place and Mikey found that no matter how much time had passed, that heat lingered. There was perspective there and Mikey was glad he had stumbled upon this display. It was a signal that all was right in the world and, after giving you love birds a few more moments, he moved to make his presence known.

You squeaked out apologies for modesty, but didn’t flee from your partner.

Mikey waved you off and called himself a creeper before he tacked on that he could make that twofold.  

The specification caught Donnie’s attention where he loosened his grip on you to press what Mikey meant.

Mikey openly regaled the pair about the nefarious employee Zach.  

Donnie rose gravely and paused to break his character to ask you something with his eyes. 

You were still clearly processing Mikey’s story and only blinked at him blankly. 

Donnie’s lids dripped with adoration and he pecked your cheek before stepping free of the bench. 

It took two steps for him to shift into rage and announce that he was heading to an information desk. 

A formal complaint was about to be logged whether either of you liked it or not.

You and Mikey barely kept up with Donnie who tore a path towards his destination.

You shared a hopeless look with Mikey about how your boyfriend couldn’t be stopped.

Mikey responded in kind as he knew his brother.

You both laughed and highly contrasted the darkened aura of his sibling.  

It was a joyous light. 

It was one he shared with you that you had made all your own.

💛 THE END 💛

My greatest gratitude to my betas @tmntxthings and @thepinkpanther83 for joining me in the completion of another work.

[itneverendshere]

hii! just wanted to drop by this message to say I’m currently obsessed with the series of ‘loved you at your worst’. It has dragged me to pull out all folklore songs again 🥲 I just loooove your writing style and it amazes me how you can redact so amazingly <3 can’t wait for more chapters to see what’s next. Quick curious question: can you give us some more context on how invested was Rafe in the relationship with y/n? I’m curious how their dynamic was when both were stable lol. (I’m sorry if there’s misspelling, English is not my first language hehe).

your english is perfect don't worry, it's not my first language either!

im gonna try to summarize their relationship pre-big break up: rafe was SO obsessed with her, like genuinely all-in on this relationship. when things were good, they were perfect, they just clicked in this undeniable way—emotionally, physically, spiritually, they were just meant to fit. he wasn’t just invested; he was borderline consumed.

but it wasn’t just love, it was also their shared trauma. both of them had been through so much, and that’s partly why they felt so seen by each other. she got him in a way no one else did, and he craved that understanding (that's why shit hit the fan when she didn't coddle him when ward died). when they were stable, he actually put in effort to be open with her (his version of it), and she was his safe place and vise-versa. you’d look at them and think, “they're meant to be" yk??

but when things went wrong...it was a shitshow.

neither of them knew how to communicate their needs properly, so they’d just explode instead.

they’d go on those “breaks,” but they were still obsessing over each other, stalking socials, making each other jealous with a little flirting, just overall trying to be mean and hurtful but also checking in, very much toxic.

if they want any chance at real happiness together, they’re both gonna have to do some serious inner work, “heal your childhood traumas” level of work.

therapy? mandatory.

individual and couples counseling. they’d both need to face all that baggage, which is a LOT, honestly, given their history. 

i know everyone’s mad at rafe for dumping her just because she called out his father—even if she wasn’t wrong—but remember, he was not in his right mind. he was drowning in grief, numbing himself with alcohol, desperate for any sense of validation, so yeah, he filled her space with someone else just to feel needed. it's messy as fuck and desrespectful, but it wasn't a calculated choice.

and here’s the thing: it’s been from reader's POV so far, so we haven’t seen everything. yes, she’s hurting, but she’s not entirely blameless either. there were so many situations she could’ve handled better, and you’ll get to see those moments from a different angle soon.

honestly, both of them need to grow up. while i love my baby reader to pieces, part of why she feels so isolated now is because she put all her energy into rafe and rafe alone. she never took the time to build friendships or let others in, assuming he’d always be there and she’d never need anyone else. so yeah, she’s alone while he still has people around him, but that’s not entirely his fault, either. they both need to work on themselves if they want to heal.

[silverwings22]

How to survive hell, from an old redneck.

I'm a 30 something liberal pagan living in a red state, so I'm somewhat accustomed to social hostility. With the election results being as they are, here's the little bit of wisdom I have to share.

1) Get to know your neighbors. When people know you and like you, it's much harder for them to "other" you and dehumanize you. "The damn queers" hits different when you're Bob from 3 doors down who brought them a casserole when their uncle died.

2) Community. Find people like you, and hold on tight. It's a lot easier to crush the spirit of people who feel alone and helpless.

3) Do not isolate, or try to hide. They'll find you one way or the other, and as my grandfather once said "If you run, you'll just die tired. If you fight, you might stand a chance."

4) Check on your friends. Some people get quietly desperate and disappear like a dying barn cat. Once one person gives up, there's a waterfall effect so hold each other up.

5) Walk your fences. If you have property, make your presence known. It's a lot harder to take things that are obviously defended.

6) Remember that most of these fuckers are cowards. They go after what they think of weaker than them. Operate on the Red Panda principle and make yourself bigger than you are. At least half the time they'll think you're not worth the effort.

7) Learn some survival skills. If you suddenly need to take an extended camping trip, uproot and roll out, or go off grid it's good to have already picked up those skills. Learning on the fly is much harder. Mending clothes, growing food, huhting/butchery, basic shelter construction, firestarting, first aid, and how to purify water. If you can't do it all, pick a thing and diversify with your community.

I hope it helps, and if anyone needs somebody to talk to my DMs are open. I'm a perpetual big sister/ mom friend and I take it seriously.

[manasurge]

Back to work

[dailyloopdeloop]

DAY 71: shy

[halfhumanhalfasleep]

anakin: why doesn’t anyone want to sit with me? :((

how anakin thinks he looks:

how he looks to the other padawans:

[milfygerard]

but fr outside of my contracted madness i absolutely refuse to give joe alwyn gold rush like how is that song at all related to their relationship the lyrics clearly spell out a relationship that either never existed or only existed in implication and fantasies and maybe-maybe nots and its so bitter and yet desperately soft in the bridge where it almost projects a sense of envy, of wanting to be them as much as you want them. It continues an interesting oft ignored lyrical trend of taylor wanting just as much to be her lover as to have them, envying their easy charisma (you were flush with the currency of cool/i was always turning out my pockets) or quiet dignity (your integrity makes me seem small) dating back to her earliest songs (the kind of flawless i wish i could be). Theres a projected self hatred and yearning to be better that twists itself into both romantic and sexual lust for her partners thats so fascinating and speaks to how all of her songs regardless of who theyre about are also an act of self reflection on who she is and who she wishes to be.

[inblackwoods]

I know it's incredibly late, but at last! My piece for the Yeehawgust prompt "Yee-caw."

Additionally, I have no justification for making Jack Seward cool and capable of befriending corvids. I just thought that in a high fantasy western au, purely for the aesthetics, he could be a suspicious surgeon type.

Close up because I'm trying new brushes

[witheredbouquet]

drawn for the dragonyule gift exchange on twt, so glad that i could join this year! thank you for hosting, saint starfall ♥

i hope that everyone has a wonderful dragonyule & a happy new year!

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

Thank god Sasha was confirmed bisexual, otherwise people would hc her as lesbian solely and exclusively because she's kind of a bitch.

[didnt-hear-cold-as-you-live]

.

[basuralindo]

Hey do you think Jamil has trouble seeing people his age as peers?

Like, growing up having to be a caretaker to a guy literally a few months older than him, always expected to act like the adult in the situation, expected to work with adults and adopt their perspectives and pick up their slack. Do you think he just, forgets sometimes?

I mean we've seen him go into caretaker mode with other sophomores, and the only people I've seen him take seriously are juniors like Vil who also act much older than they should have to (his reactions to Leona look more like a trauma response and I don't wanna get into it here). People like Malleus and Cater still somewhat get the caretaker treatment. Like I just highly doubt that he subconsciously realizes he's actually part of his age group

Aaand that inevitably brings up Azul, who also acts like he thinks he's older than he is. Whether you're looking at it from a shipping angle or not, he reacts to Azul like an actual peer. With older students, he seems more in his element but there's still a status hierarchy which he compulsively reacts to. With Azul he doesn't acknowledge any status worth respecting or see him as someone who needs to be looked after. He just bickers like an equal, in a way that implies he actually does see Azul as a real peer, like subconsciously he's categorized this guy into the same group as himself, who was previously alone on that level (he gets like this more with the twins too, over time, but it seems to start with Azul).

And my favorite part about this is, while that response stems from them both acting more like adults in general, they elicit a pettiness from each other which drags them both down to actually acting their own age, and I just love that. Their characters are perfect foils for each other and it seems to make them both less isolated in a way.

[tamagotchikgs]

sometimes i think of the ppl who have so many others in their life n how rich that must b and how it affects everything u do and i yearn for it so hard