#I know he sucks at skate hops. he’s practicing ���

[ssecond-hand-faith]

Some folks at a party were comparing fictional boyfriends and I didn’t have any drawings of mine to show off, how emBARRASSING! So here’s my favourite pizza rat 🥰

[mattsobvimyfav]

roommates (Matthew sturniolo)

a/n - first story in a while!!

I grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, and I've dreamed about college ever since I could remember. Going to Umass was my goal because my grades weren't excellent, but they weren't bad. I had gotten accepted halfway through my senior year, along with about four other people from my high school. Chris Sturniolo was the first one to get accepted, second was me, third was some girl from my statistics class, and lastly was Matthew Sturniolo. I didn't mind Chris or Nick much. I was never best friends with any of them, but those two were fabulous. Matthew, on the other hand, was a total dickface.

Matthew Sturniolo, captain of the hockey team, disliked me because I got their practices on the ice cut down to two days of the week so my ice skating league could have the ice the other two days of the week, and the boys had it a third day for the games. It wasn't my fault, but my team needed to practice for our meetings on the weekend. Ever since that day in our sophomore year, he has had something against me, giving me nasty looks and saying rude remarks; he even got me thrown out of a class and detention because the teacher wanted to suck him off once he had something against me.

Today was finally the move-in day for college, and my dad was driving down in his car to meet me at our dorms. After the two-hour drive, we finally arrived, and I hopped out of my car to grab my dorm keys. I was supposed to have a single this year, but they accepted too many students, and now I am placed with some random dude. I dont mind, though, because housing said it should all be sorted out within a week.

I walked up to my dorm, saw the door unlocked, and gave it a light knock before opening it.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I said, seeing who was sitting on the bed opposite to mine

"No way. No. This has to be some sick joke." Matthew Sturniolo said as he stood off the bed

"This is my dorm. Get out." I said, waving the key in his face

"Your dorm? Check again, princess. My name's already on the door." He pushed past me, pointing to his name tag outside the door

I march to the door and check the name tags. "No, no, no. This has to be a mistake. There's no way they'd stick us in the same room." I threw my bag down on the bed, holding my head. "I'll fix this." I pull out my phone to call housing

"Oh, please do. I'd love to see how fast they laugh at you. Housing is already maxed out." Matt said, leaning against his bed

'What are you talking about?" I looked back at him

"Everyone's been complaining about the overcrowding. I heard someone's living in a storage closet in South Hall. You're stuck with me." He smirked at me

"This can't be happening," I said before storming out of the dorm to find my father with my other stuff. I knew I could do nothing about this, considering I already knew housing was dead and gone to me. My father and I carried my things up to the second floor. My dad liked the sturniolos because he and his father worked together when they were younger.

"Matthew!" My dad said, opening up the door. I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "You gonna take care of my daughter this year!" He said as Matt got up to shake my father's hand

"Of course, Mr. y/l/n." They shook hands, and my dad turned back toward me.

"Do you want me to stay and help, or do you want to do this alone?" he asked, knowing I would much rather do things alone. Ever since my mom left, I've learned to be independent.

"I want to set it up; thank you so much, Dad," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. He hugged me back before kissing my forehead and turning towards Matt.

"I mean, it is safe, both of you," He pointed between us.

"I love you, Dad!" I yelled while he walked out

"Love you, honey." My dad closed the door behind him, and I turned toward all of my boxes, sighing

"Do you—" Matt started to talk before the door knocked; he turned and walked to open the door.

"Matt, you left your charger in my—" Chris walked in and stopped when he saw me. "Wait a second. What's she doing here?"

"I have the same question," I said, rolling my eyes as I opened one of my boxes.

"Chris. She's my roommate." Matt said in an annoyed voice

"No way. No freaking way." Chris said, bursting into laughter. I rolled my eyes again.

"This is perfect. You and Matt? Sharing a dorm? This is better than any sitcom." He continued laughing to himself

"Told you it's gold," Matt said, turning towards me.

"This isn't funny!" I said, looking up at them

"Oh, it's hilarious. You two can't even stand to be in the same room for five minutes, and now you're stuck here for a whole semester?"

"I'm calling housing," I say, grabbing my phone off the bed.

"Oh, sure. "Hi, housing? Can you please move me because I hate my roommate's face?" Yeah, good luck with that." Chris said

"Admit it. You're a little jealous you don't get to live here." Matt winked at Chris

"Hmm. Sharing a room with y/n and listening to you two argue 24/7? She's hot, but No, I'll stick with my roommate. He's chill." I rolled my eyes at him as he placed Matt's charger heading towards the door. "Well, this will be a fun semester—for me, anyway. I'm going to stop by every day to watch the chaos."

"Open invitation, bro," Matt said. I huffed and started unpacking my boxes, regretting not asking my dad to stay and help. "Do you want some help? I may not like you, but you'll need it." I contemplated for a minute before deciding it would be easier to accept.

"If you could please." He nodded, grabbed one of the boxes, and got to work.

After three hours, we finished decorating and unpacking all of my items. "Thank you for helping; I need to go shower," I said, grabbing a towel and heading towards our bathroom.

"Ya, there's a party tonight in the hockey house. You can go with Chris he said" Matt said, keeping his gaze on his phone.

"Send me Chris' number, and I'll talk to him." I said, walking towards the bathroom, "What's your number? We are living together anyways." I gave him my number and walked into the bathroom. I started the shower, turned on the Christmas lights, and provided the bathroom with more obedience. I took a half-hour shower and changed into some sweats and a tank top, walked out of the bathroom, and grabbed my phone to see a text from Matt and my best friend, Morgan. I quickly texted Chris, saying it was me, and texted Morgan back, telling her about the roommate situation.

"Wow, you've been standing in the same spot for seven minutes; you're zoned out on your phone," Matt said, interrupting my text conversation with Morgan.

"Sorry, I'm texting Morgan. Did you need something?" I asked, putting my phone on my desk, which I turned into a vanity.

"Morgans pretty hot. Is she ever going to come to visit?" He said, putting his arms behind his head

"If you ever even tried, I'd kill you," I said in a deadly serious tone; he threw his arms up in defense.

"I was just telling you I'm going to the hockey house, dont wait up," He said as he walked out the door.

I sat down in my vanity chair, contemplating the situation I was in when I heard my phone start buzzing.

"Hello?" I said, picking up Chris' phone call

"What are you doing?" He said

"I am going to start getting ready?" I told more of a question

"Great, I'll be there in a minute." He hung up the phone before I could object. After a literal minute, I heard a knock on my door. "Come in!" I yelled. Chris walked in, wearing a black Harley-Davidson shirt, baggy jeans, and a black beanie. "Hey," I said, returning to my mirror and brushing my hair.

"Are you going to the party with me tonight?" he asked as he lay on my bed; I nodded yes. I couldn't lie. He looked hot. "Great, we are leaving in an hour." I checked my clock, seeing it was already nine. I hadn't eaten all day, so if I even attempted to drink at this party, I would be hammered.

"That sounds good. Can you play some music?" I asked because I needed to charge my phone. I got up from my vanity as 'She' by Frank Ocean and Tyler, the creator, started playing; I was happy with Chris' choice of music. I walked to my dresser, grabbed my favorite pair of low-rise baggy jeans, and then went to my closet, pulling out a black-laced crop top. "I'm going to change," I told Chris, walking towards the bathroom.

Once I was finally changed, I left the bathroom, and Chris looked up from his phone. "I'll have to watch you around all those hockey players." I laughed at his remark and sat down at my vanity, doing my mascara. I never really learned how to do makeup properly, and after my mom left and was raised by my dad, I never got into it.

After 40 minutes of fixing myself, I was finally ready. "Alright, let go," I said, slipping on my Converse. Chris exited the bed, slipped on his shoes, and walked towards the door with me. "Do you want a coat? We are walking there; it's a ten-minute walk down the road, " he asked, looking me up and down.

"No, it's still seventy, but it'll be good." I grabbed my keys and walked out the door, holding it for Chris; I locked the door behind us and slipped my can of Zyns in my front pocket and my phone in my back pocket." Zyns, really?" he asked, looking down at me.

"Hey, I'm quitting vaping. They help when the nicotine craving gets bad." He shrugged, understanding where I was coming from

"So I know nothing about you; tell me something about yourself," Chris asked as we walked out of our building

"There's not much really; I grew up with just my dad, playing sports and lived like I didn't have some big interesting life. how about you?" He shrugged

"Same thing, I grew up with both my parents, though." I laughed at his remark, and we walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence

"Are you drinking tonight?" He asked, stopping me on the porch of the house

"I think so, why?" I was confused about why he was asking

"I'm just going to smoke then; better to be safe than sorry," I admired him, wanting to keep me safe. He opened the door, and I was immediately hit with the smell of weed and liquor. I huffed it in and started going through the house while Chris held onto my belt loop; I entered the kitchen, and Matt was talking to some blonde girl.

"Hey, Matty!" I said, putting my hands on his shoulders. He turned around to see Chris and me. He returned to the girl and told her he'd see her later. She seemed a little butt-hurt about it and stomped away.

"You actually look presentable," Matt said in a sarcastic tone, which caused me to take in his appearance. He was wearing a plain black tee showing off his sleeve of tattoos I'd never noticed before and a pair of jeans. He also looked pretty good.

"Not too bad yourself, Matthew," I crossed my arms. "Where are the drinks?" I asked, looking around

"Come on," he said, walking towards the fridge. "Twisted, ice, or a mixed drink?" he asked, looking back at me; I contemplated for a minute before seeing a bunch of people taking shots

"An ice, please. It's the best chaser," I said, grabbing it from his hand and walking towards the people taking shots. Matt and Chris followed behind.

"Everyone, this is my roommate, y/n." A group of guys who I guess are on the hockey team with Matt turned towards me and said some heys and hi's

"Can I get one, please?" I said, and one of them handed me a green kinky. "I, Steven," he said. "I y/n. Nice to meet you." I opened the nip and cheered it with his before taking it back and following it with my Smirnoff.

After an hour of taking shots and mingling with Matt and Chris' friends from the team, Matt and Chris decided it was time to smoke. I was already drunk, so I was ready to take a break. "This way," Matt said, leading Chris and me down the stairs. I guess this was more for me because Chris had been there before. I grabbed my Zyns and put one in to get a good headrush as we made our way to a toke circle. I sat next to Chris with Matt on his other side; he's been friendly with me tonight, so hopefully, it stays like that.

We sat in the basement talking nonsense for I dont even know how long, considering I was highly drunk as the time went on. "Can we go get food, please!" I said to the two boys, Matt looked down at his phone, and I saw it was already one am. "Yeah, let's go," Matt said, standing with Chris. I felt a little dizzy, so I grabbed Chris's belt loop as he did to me earlier, following them out of the house.

"Mcdonalds is the only thing open, so that's what you're getting," Matt said as we headed towards his car

"Fine by me, sir! " I said, climbing into the backseat. I decided it was easier to lie down, which caused me to fall asleep.

[mcytadventevent]

@thatapolloguy is creating for Day 10!

Prompt: Sports / Competition

Their piece is written, featuring Ren and Martyn!

Credit Links:

https://thatapolloguy.tumblr.com/

https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatapolloguy/pseuds/thatapolloguy

(Piece under the cut!)

The familiar sweaty cold air of the ice rink hits Martyn like a train as he drops off his bag on the bench with a thud. Of course, he takes better care of his skates than that—they're resting in his hands. The laces are a frayed mess from all the times he's had to pick the knots he ties in them apart, and he knows he'll have to replace them at some point, he just…can't be bothered at the moment. It's definitely not like there's a vending machine where the laces are…not good, but decent enough, and cheap about twenty feet from him, no sirree, why would anyone say that?

He hears a clunk beside him as he begins unzipping his jacket. No point in wearing it when he's well aware he'll just be working up a sweat. Christmas season is beginning, which means that the times for practice are more expensive, and few and far between. Martyn took half a year off of skating from a poorly-executed landing (on a warm-up jump, no less, which he's still mad about), which means for next year's set of competititons, he's going to need all the practices he can get.

Martyn turns as he hears muttering of frustration, and raises his eyebrows at the sight of the town's golden boy—well, that's only because he's a champion, and Martyn is left at being an amatuer—struggling with the zipper on his bag. "You skating today?" he asks.

"Planning on it," Ren grunts, finally freeing his beautiful set of black bedazzled skates from their prison. "Why?"

Martyn narrows his eyes. "Nothing," he says. Technically, he didn't reserve the rink, he just chose to come at the ungodly hour of five in the morning, when the rink's just open, and only at limited capacity.

Ren shrugs. "I got Montreal in March, dude," he says. "Ya gotta train for this stuff, man."

Martyn huffs a breath out, but still sits down, taking his shoes off to replace them with his own skates. They're not bedazzled, nor do they shine in the half-hearted flourescent lights above them. "Yeah, good luck with that," he says.

It sucks, really, being the only two figure skaters in a small town. One, since same-sex skaters aren't allowed in official competitions, they have to outsource pretty far to get a partner. Two, even if same-sex skaters were allowed, Martyn is way worse at skating, especially since the injury knocked him out for a few weeks, and it seems like Ren is finding every opportunity to prove that to him.

What's worse? He's just kind. It would be better if he was stuck up, instead of humble and down-to-earth, the kind of guy to help an old lady carry her groceries. It's impossible not to like him. Of course, he's got a wild imagination, judging by the costumes that apparently he designs himself for his act with False.

(Yes, Martyn's seen every single performance that has ever happened, even the ones from qualifying rounds way back when Ren was still in high school. He's not a fan, he promises.)

Martyn's still tugging on his right skate when Ren hobbles over to the door of the rink, unlatching it carefully. The iron heaves an angry noise at him. He looks like such a penguin on land, it's incredible to beleive that he could even make it to a world championship at all—but as soon as the blades fit against the ice, it's like he was born for this.

The time he takes to warm up goes to prove how good he is—careful, tiny hops at low speed, barely even launching off the picks. He looks intensely concentrated, even as his hair falls into his eyes. Martyn finds himself mesmerized, shifting his view to catch more of his path. Little rotations, abrupt turns, Ren picks up speed before finally launching into a couple simple toe loops. Easiest jumps in figure skating, base value—Martyn can't remember. If he's being honest, he's not a very good skater, not in the sense of he'll fall on his face trying to do it—although, that's true as well—but he's bad at calculating things, the ways that he should jump for maximum points.

And then there's Ren, who recently nearly landed a quad axel. Show-off.

False isn't here today, though, which is nice, because Martyn thinks he might actually lose his mind if he has to see Ren throwing her around. She's got a good bit of muscle on her, too—just makes Ren seem all the more strong.

Of course, being the male partner, Martyn shouldn't be surprised that nobody will throw him around, but sue him, it's the internal want to have someone else take care of something for him. Even if that something is the liftoff of a jump, or just a lift. He's never had much of an opportunity to try it, really.

Finally breaking himself out of his stupor, Martyn laces up his skate and stumbles over to the door with much less elegance than he intended. Ren doesn't even seem to notice, spinning in a tight circle. His face is twisted up in concentration.

As he emerges, he waves at Martyn. "Hey!" Martyn yells back. Ren perks up like a dog, quickly skating over to join him. His skates scrape the ice as he narrowly avoids crashing into the wall.

"What's up, my dude?" Ren replies, grinning.

"How do you do the lifts?" Martyn asks. "You know, I've never had a partner, and I just was wondering."

Ren brightens, his blue eyes catching light that beams off the smooth ice only broken by his own path. "Oh, sure, dude, it's easy," he says. He grabs Martyn by the waist and pulls him to go with him, Martyn barely managing to match pace. He's talking, and Martyn can barely hear him over the pounding in his ears.

It takes him a solid five minutes to realize he's been lifted into the air. The world is spinning around them—yes, Martyn, that's because he's spinning, get a grip—and Martyn grabs for his shoulders, lacking all the female elegance his role currently requires.

Ren laughs, setting him down on the ice again, and Martyn stumbles, barely catching himself on the man's shoulder. His face flushes, burning in the suddenly-much-warmer air.

"Again?" Ren asks.

"Yeah, sure," Martyn chokes out, and is surprised to find himself sounding only mildly strangled.

[cyberaxolotl]

Boombox Phucks Up!

Phighting! Romance/Drama (Boombox/Slingshot/Skateboard)

Warnings: Alcohol/drinking, brief (1) mention of substance abuse

Brief summary: Boombox falls in love with his best friends and it sucks… Maybe?

Words: 8.9k

Illustrations: 0 in fic, 1 cover art

See AO3 Version for detailed summary and tags

Fic below the cut.

If you were to ask Boombox who their two closest demons in Inpherno were, the answer would immediately be obvious; Skateboard and Slingshot. At any given time, if you were to look for one of the three of them, there was a high chance that one of the others would be there too. They were, on all fronts, very best friends.

Well… Boombox was best friends with Skateboard and Slingshot, at least. The other two, however, were much more than friends. Despite the assumption that the DJ would feel like a third wheel around the other two, their thoughts had always been much, much different.

”I was there when Sling and Skate became a thing, it was kinda funny!” They would recount happily, “One moment the three of us are at a party, I talk to Valk and Dom for a half hour, and then I come back and my best friends are telling me they’re a thing now. Happened so fast, but we were all drunk, and it was obvious that they liked each other, so it wasn’t really a surprise.”

And for quite a long while, that was that! Skateboard and Slingshot were a couple, and Boombox still hung out like they were one of them, given the dynamic had hardly changed. As far as they could tell, all that had changed were more pecks on the cheek, and happy recounts from one or the other (or both) about a date going extremely well.

…But it was only that way for a while.

”Get it, Skate!”

”You can do it!”

At the BOGIO Skatepark, two sat on the edge of the highway overpass, gazing down at the other. A hip-hop beat was playing, and below them, the shredding and skidding of a skateboard sounded up. Rails sparked from friction and velocity as Skateboard attempted trick after trick, leading up to one of the greatest ones he’d ever attempt…

”…SHIT!” And promptly fail. With a sharp screeching of wood on brick, the side of his board hit the edge of a wall, coming out from under him.

Slingshot leaned forward, “You alright, Skate?”

”I’m fine!” He picked himself up off of the cement, looking up at the two, “Almost had it that time.”

”Should I turn the music down?” Boombox tilted their head, “Seems like the extra speed is throwing you off.”

”Nah, gotta get used to it! I could take someone down with this trick if I’ve got all your speed.” Looking around, he found his board, dusting it off.

They smiled, “Alright!” Then turned to Slingshot, “He’s crazy, huh?”

”Hah, don’t have to tell me.” He laughed, “I just hope he doesn't slam into a wall again…”

”Yeowch, yeah…” Boombox grimaced, looking down. When their stomach growled, another thought came to mind, “Are you getting hungry, Sling?”

”Hm… I could eat. Hey, Skate?” He called for attention, “Are you gonna be ready for lunch soon?”

”Me? Yeah! Are you two?” He asked back, getting two nods, “Alright, lemme practice a little more, I’ve nearly got it!”

”Don’t hurt yourself too badly.” Slingshot leaned back, but still kept his eyes on his boyfriend. After a moment, he smiled, “He’s handsome when he's practicing.”

Despite knowing it wasn’t for them, and was an indirect statement, the DJ gazed down as well. Skateboard WAS an attractive guy, with short curly hair, and a heavy-set, muscular build. The confidence in his moves when he’d practice, the grin he had on the whole time… “…Yeah.” They muttered under their breath, “-!”

”Eh?” Seeing them flinch out of the corner of his eye, the baker glanced over, “You okay, Boom?”

“…Uh, yeah, I’m cool!” They put on a smile, laughing, “Bug landed on me, I think.” Having no reason not to believe them, he gave a small hum of acknowledgement, then turned away. They looked at him, ‘I just… I just called his boyfriend handsome and he didn’t notice.’ They thought, staring at him. Though, suddenly… At least under the warm sunlight, Slingshot’s eyes glowed, only slightly overshadowed by his long, black hair. He was just as handsome as his boyfriend.

They picked up their water bottle, quickly taking a drink. They had to be dehydrated to be thinking like that, surely! They’d never looked at either of them that way before, except… They did, occasionally, admire the two’s physical shape, but they were phighters! They were muscular and strong, how were they not supposed to admire that?

”Alright, check this out!” Snapping out of their thoughts, Boombox quickly leaned forward, scanning down for Skateboard. And just in time, too, “HEEELLLL YEAH! Did you two catch that?!”

”Saw it! That was INSANE, Skate!” Slingshot smiled, chuckling, “Guess they really do call you the pro skater of Playground.”

”Fuck yeah they do! Tell him, Boom!”

They grinned, “I think you’re the pro skater of Playground! Coil’s still out on that, though.”

”Ehhh, he’ll turn around eventually.” Skidding to a stop, he got off of his board, “Alright! Who’s got a lunch idea?”

“I was thinking, this place gets me in the mood for subs. Boom?” Slingshot prompted, standing up.

”Subs sound good!” They followed after him, “You gonna walk to the intersection, Skate?”

“Well, it's not like I can get up there. I’ll meet you two at the end, though!”

”Alright. Guess we’re going music against a board!” The baker smiled.

”You’re on!” Promptly re-boarding, Skateboard bounded off, leaving the two on the overpass.

”Snrk- aaand now he gets to wait for us.” Not even running, Slingshot turned, walking by Boombox’s side down the road, “That trick was pretty good though, huh?”

”Sure was!” Thinking back, their thoughts returned, a soft blush dusting their face, “I- uh, heh, knew he could pull it off!”

”…Is something up, Boom?”

”Whuh?”

”Eeeh, could be nothing, but, you don’t usually splutter like that. Got something on your mind?” Slingshot’s attention to detail struck them as another thing they admired, always able to notice the slightest shifts in mood.

Most of the time, the DJ felt validated by being read, but right then, “Oh its… Uh…” There hadn’t really ever been a time where they denied him their feelings, but now, it felt far too awkward to go any route BUT denying it, “It’s nothing, hah.”

That only made it worse. Stopping completely, he looked back at them, “Hey… You know you can tell me anything, right?” He put his hands in his jacket pockets, taking on a soft expression.

”Uh, I know.” They hoped their visor wasn’t showing as nervous an expression as they felt, “Just… Not right now, okay?”

”…Alright.” He smiled at them, then turned back around, “Just don’t feel the need to hide it.”

Slingshot… Such a wonderfully caring friend. Boombox could only imagine the affection of being not just his friend, but his lover, and… ‘This better just be a today mood…’ They thought, looking away.

Against all his wishes, Boombox’s sudden feelings did not go away when the day ended. The next morning, receiving a message from Slingshot, all that happened was that they came back.

”Sling:

Hey

Hope you’re doing alright. I know you cheered up a bit yesterday but you still seemed kinda nervous all afternoon

You wanna talk about it when we have the time?”

His care for them only made it worse. Of course Slingshot cared for them, they were best friends, and he always had, but now… It tugged at their heartstrings. They weren’t sure they could take the further reassurance of talking to him, and so, quickly,

”You:

that??

i dont even remember what i was worried about lol!!

sorry for worrying you though

Sling:

Ohh its fine

You got plans today? Skate and I were gonna go phighting

You:

maybe some other time! i just wanna chill today

Sling:

Sounds good

Talk to you later”

God, Boombox wasn’t sure he could handle a phight… The idea of seeing the two in action flustered him out of nowhere, especially now that he realized he admired their athletics in quite a different way. He DEFINITELY didn’t want to deal with the embarrassment of getting distracted by them either…

Suddenly, another text came through,

”Skate:

BOOMBOX

sling and i are going phighting you should come

NEVERMIND he just told me you said no i didnt know he texted you

You:

LOL you’re fine skate

have fun!!”

They didn’t realize what they were doing when they started rejecting invitations to go phight. All they were trying to do was avoid embarrassment, but in turn… They found themself spending less time with their best friends. It didn’t feel good, or right, to spend so much time away from them, but… What were they supposed to do? They just hoped they'd get over their feelings, one way or another.

And then, a fateful night came.

~~~~~~

”I’ll be our designated driver.”

Pulling up to a bright, retro bar, Dom slipped the car keys into his pocket, turning to the other two.

”Aaalright! I heard there’s karaoke tonight, you gonna sing, Boom?” Valk excitedly put her arm over their shoulder, walking up to the glass entryway with them.

”Maybe!” They smiled, “Nah, that's definitely, actually.”

”Hell yeah! We gotta do a duet.” Stepping inside, “I think one of my friends is here, can you get me a drink while I save us seats in the lounge?” She turned to her brother, holding out a few bux.

”What dr-“ Dom started, but his sister was already walking off, “…Are you gonna get one too?”

”Yeah, but I don’t wanna drink for long. I don’t think anyone I know is gonna be here, do you mind if I hang around you?” Boombox looked up at him.

”Nope. Valk is gonna be the only one running off doing her own thing.” Going up to the bar as a duo, they got up onto the stools.

Relaxing, the DJ nodded their head to the music. Club music was exactly their style, loud, hard bass, putting them perfectly in the mood to dance and drink. They felt very in-their-element there.

”Welcome to Club Dance, what can I get you today?” The barkeep walked up to them, turning to Dom first.

”Evening, can I get a shirley temple and a…” He paused, trying to think of something for Valk, “…Screwball cocktail?” He shrugged, “Boom?”

”Can I get a mintini?”

”Of course, can I get an ID from the green one?”

Boombox couldn’t say they were surprised, pulling up their bag and reaching for their wallet. They also saw that they received a text message and hadn’t heard it, making a mental note to check it after. They held their ID up, getting a nod from the barkeep.

”Alright, that’ll be five minutes, and seven bux.”

”You’re lucky. When Valk gets her ID checked, they REALLY check it over.” Dom laughed, handing his sister’s given bux and some of his own over, and getting a chuckle back.

”Can’t say I blame them, she looks just like a teenager trying to sneak a drink in!” Putting their ID back, they picked their phone out, “Hopefully she won’t get picked on when she gets her…” Their voice trailed off.

”Skate:

boom can we talk for like a minute”

”…Uhh, when she gets her drink.” They lowered their phone, putting on a half-smile.

”Jeez. I might get arrested for providing alcohol to a minor.” He completely didn’t notice their demeanor shifting, which they both relished, and disliked. He turned, looking around the room, “…I should probably find out where she's sitting before I try carrying two drinks around. Can you stall for a minute?”

Boombox did NOT want to be left alone, “Go ahead!” But they waved him off, feeling their phone buzz in their hand. They turned it over,

”Sling:

Just to check up, we’re not upset or something

Skate:

yeah we needa know if youre doing alright”

Gulping, they opened up their messages,

”You:

huh?? im fine

did something happen?”

Surely, if they played it cool, it would be resolved easier-

“Sling:

Boombox you haven’t really talked to either of us that much this week.

We haven’t seen you in person at all and every time we text you’re busy”

…Uh oh.

“Skate:

and nobody has seen you phighting in a while either, you usually come out at least a few times a week

we’re worried about you dude”

They were worried about him. That simple phrase put his stomach in a twist, every time they noticed his feelings, it was hard to put a name to how he felt. He didn’t want them to worry, but he appreciated… Being noticed, the attention of it. It felt weird to think about liking being worried about, but it meant they cared about him, didn’t it?

Part of them wanted to continue to act like nothing was wrong, the other… Wasn’t sure what to do. He couldn’t just tell his two best friends, who were ALREADY DATING, that he suddenly really liked both of them. That just wasn’t how it worked… Right?

”You:

sorry that i worried you two, i”

”Alright, sorry about that.”

”Gah-!” Startled, Boombox turned over their shoulder, quickly putting their phone away, “Uh- where’s Valk?”

”In the lounge, I just had to find what seat she was in.” Dom got back next to them, and they put their casual smile back on, trying to ignore the heavy feeling in their chest, “Didn’t mean to scare you while coming back.”

”Nah, it’s fine.” They chuckled, “I was just thinking about something.”

”Yeah?”

”Yeah.”

”…Are you gonna tell me?”

”What? Oh,” They realized how awkward they sounded, “Uh, I just… I’m just thinking about Slingshot and Skateboard.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised. Did you three hang out this week?”

”…No.” They looked away, sighing, “Dom, I know you don’t really like any demons like this, but, have you ever felt like you’re… Like you can’t… Ugh.”

”Think before you talk, it’s fine.”

Boombox paused, taking a deep breath. They turned back to him, “You know how Sling and Skate are a thing and there’s kinda this joke that I’m their third wheel or like, some honorary part of them because of how close we are?”

”I think I know where you’re going, and if this is about romance I’m not really your guy, but, continue.”

They huffed, “I realized that I’m into them. Both of them. More than like friends.” Leaning onto the bar, they put their cheek in their hand, “I have ONE passing thought about Skateboard being kinda handsome and then suddenly I think BOTH of them are really handsome, and muscular… And care about me…”

“…” Awkwardly, Dom shrugged, “Well, it’s rough, but, what are you supposed to do about it?”

“That’s what I’m stuck on!” They sat up, “I used to be so chill around them and now I just- keep stressing myself out when I think about them! And I don’t want to embarrass myself by freaking out around them but… Now I haven’t seen them in a while. It’s-“

“Here we are, a shirley temple, mintini, and a screwball cocktail.”

Boombox stopped and took their drink, “Thank you, sir.” While Dom thanked the bartender, “I think, maybe you should just… Not worry about it tonight? You’re out, you’re with us, we’re here to sing and dance, and not to mention, drink. There isn’t much else you can do about it.”

“You’re probably right but… Yeah. You’re just right.” They got down from their stool, “Let’s go find Valk and her friend.” With their phone left back in their bag, they followed behind him, carefully holding their drink.

Entering a room that was only slightly quieter, but less bright, he took them both to a set of lounge couches. Valk saw them quickly, smiling over at them, “Hey! What’d you get me?” She held her hand out.

“Screwball cocktail.” He handed it to her, sitting down. There was another demon there who the DJ didn’t recognize, with darker green horns that framed their face, but they were giving him a friendly smile.

“Sweeet. Oh yeah, Boom, this is my friend Poison Picnic.” The musician noticed their unfamiliarity, pointing them out to each other, “Poison, this is Boombox, he’s one of our music friends.”

“Good to meetcha!” They said happily, getting a greeting nod back.

“Nice to meet you too. Valk and I were just talking about majors.” Their voice was raspy, but quiet, the same way they imagined a snake would sound. Looking closer, they had their snake-like tail wrapped around their legs, curled comfortably on the side of the couch. That explained it.

“I am SO impressed by everyone who takes up science majors. Seriously!” Valk grinned, “I’m an arts gal and that’s it.”

“What’s your major?” Dom asked, taking a sip of his drink.

“Clinical and counseling psychology. I’ve been working on a thesis about the clusters of personality disorders as well as how we need to change the way we treat demons with them.”

“The… What now?” Boombox’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Personality disorders. They’re three clusters of disorders that, well, can often define or change a demon’s personality. Some demons won’t even realize that they have one and, unfortunately, that’s partially due to how they’re treated and stigmatized socially.” Poison started, then stopped, “…Sorry. I shouldn’t ramble about it.”

“No, you’re good.” Dom said, “Valk and I have a cousin who’s a narcissist. It probably helps that we’re related, but he's not a bad guy when you get to know him.”

“As are most people with narcissistic personality disorder, what you have to remember if you’re someone who doesn’t have a PD is simply… To treat them with kindness and respect, and if they’re a friend or family member, to lend them your support, as you would any other friend.” They smiled softly, then sat back, “I’m really trying not to ramble here, but it’s been all that’s on my mind lately.”

“Huh. I know, uh, nothing about any of this.” Boombox chuckled, “But, I’ve always tried to treat everybody well!”

“That’s good! Keep doing that!” They took a sip of their drink, flapping their hand, “It’s a worthy topic to do research on in your own time. You’ll learn a lot of new things, and if something clicks, you might even go down the road of finding something new out about yourself. Remember to do research, in all cases.”

“Dom and I have already gotten screened by professionals a couple times for a couple things, it comes with our lifestyles. The only result?” Valk started,

“Autism.” Dom finished, “Both of us.”

“It’s a genetic thing, so, it makes sense for it to be in both of you.” Poison looked at Boombox, “Do you have any two cents?”

“I’ve got ADHD, and that’s it! I think.” He shrugged, “Haven’t really had a reason to look into anything else!”

They flapped their hand again, “ADHD and autism have a high comorbidity rate with each other as well as with other disorders, but there’s also no cause for concern if you don’t think there’s anything extra impeding your life. If anything does come up, though, looking into comorbidities with a disorder you DO have can make it easier to find if there’s something else you’re dealing with.”

“Hm…” Looking away, he thought about it for a moment. He didn’t think anything was really troubling him, aside from, well… But that wasn’t a disorder problem. But it did sound like it’d be interesting to look into, “Maybe I’ll look into it later! Nice to learn about something new, though.”

“Speaking of learning!” Valk suddenly leaned in, “Are you gonna sing with us, Poison?”

“Um… No.” They shook their head, “I think I’ll stick to dancing.”

“I can join you there. My throat is shot.” Dom said, then took a sip of his drink, “We had a full-announcements round of phights earlier and it was… Loud.”

“Aww, Dom!” His sister pouted, “Guess it’s just you and me, BB.”

“That’s fine by me! Do you wanna hit the stage once we finish our drinks?”

She grinned, “Sounds like a plan!”

Able to easily sink into the world around them, Boombox didn’t realize that there was a question they had, very much, left unanswered…

A couple hours passed of drinking, singing, dancing, and talking, and nobody seemed to watch or pace themself as the night went on. It was only Dom, staying sober, that paid attention to anything.

And eventually, “Uh, Boombox?”

“Hhuuuh?” They were slouched on the couch, previously having their eyes on the stage, until he got their attention. Their visor was showing swirls for eyes, their reddened face translating the screen color to a pinker hue.

“You don’t look good.” He sat next to them, “How much have you had to drink?”

“I’ve beeen drinkinnn’ at the same pace as Vvaalk and Poison havve..!” They smiled in a derpy manner, “Exceeept for like… a couple shots! But onlyyyyy a couple~!”

“Right. Poison?” He looked past them, looking for a different answer from Poison Picnic.

They shrugged, “They’re right, they’ve only had a couple extra, but… I’m gonna guess that they don’t have as good of an alcohol tolerance.”

“Whaaaat? Snrk-“ They laughed at nothing, “Valk and I have the saaame tolerance for this stufff~!”

“…Have you been drinking any water?” Dom raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Their eyes on their visor turned from swirls to dots.

“Yup. That’s the ticket, Valk has a glass of water after every song she does. Says it’s better for her throat.”

“What about me and a glass of water?” Just as her name was uttered, she came up to the couch.

“Boombox hasn’t been drinking any. Look at him.” He motioned.

“I’m fffffiine!”

“…Yeah, no, you’re not.” Joining them on the couch, she picked her phone out of her pocket, “Maybe we should think about leaving soon, it’s getting late… Or, well, it’s only eleven PM. Maybe we should think about getting YOU home.”

“I sssaid I was fine!” They laughed, “You don’t gotta worry about me, I can- hah- I could even sssing another song like this!”

“Please don’t embarrass yourself like that…” Poison muttered.

“Maybe you should see if Skateboard can come pick you up and take you back to Playground. He’s one of your best guys, ain’t he?” Valk proposed.

“He is THEE best guy, actually!” Not caring for what they said in their drunken state, their face got redder, “Neext to Slingshot, they’re bothh… They’re BOTH best guys~!” With that, they picked their phone out, their worries not appearing in their daze, “…Oh FFFFUCK.”

The last thing Boombox had texted anyone was sent in an unfinished state, and as to be expected from the conversation they were supposed to be having, it was met with immediate concern.

”You:

sorry that i worried you two, i”

A couple minutes passed as just that,

“Skate:

boombox???

Sling:

You what? Boombox? Are you okay?”

When thirty minutes had passed with no reply,

“Sling:

Boombox you’re scaring us

Can you tell us what’s happening”

Over the next hour and a half that they had spent at the club getting drunk out of their mind, they’d missed several attempts at calling them to check in, all of which they hadn’t heard over the music and through their bag.

But in that ditzy of a state, they couldn’t find a way to respond seriously. Every part of them just wanted to laugh it off and be picked up. They had to look kinda dumb right there, didn’t they? Wasted, slumped over the back of a couch?

“You:

Sorey im with clak and dom itght now

weere at the club

IM DRUNK AS FUCKJ but valk wasnts to stay

i needa be pcked up

can soemone pcikk me up”

It didn’t even cross Boombox’s mind how awful that response was to all of their concerns. If he was sober, he’d be horrified, but that was future him’s problem. Anyone would be frustrated to get that as a response after hours of silence, but…

“Skate:

holy FUCK dude glad you’re alright

Sling:

We’re gonna come get you. Which club?”

A dorky smile crossed their face, “My frieeendss are gonna come get meee, my bessst friendss, heehehehe…” They said to nobody, only gathering odd looks from the friends that sat around them.

“You:

clcub dnace

it’s ontnhe outskirrts of Blackrock

youllnk know it whenya see it

Sling:

We’ll be there soon.”

“Mmhhhh… I love my friendss so muchhhhh…” They whimpered slightly as they said it, a heavy feeling in their heart.

“Are they… Usually like this when they’re drunk?” Poison quietly asked.

“Kind of, but he also told me he was having a hard time with his friends lately, so it could be that too.” Dom shrugged, “One of us should stay with them until their friends arrive.”

“I’ve got it.” The psychologist got up, holding their hand out to Boombox, “We should wait at the door, friend.”

He took their hand without a second thought, using their assistance to get off of the couch. He smiled clumsily at the siblings, “Byeee~!” And with Poison’s support, they made their way out of the lounge.

Quickly, they reached and stepped out of the glass doors, staying beneath the awning. He turned to them, “Ssso, what’s the psychology behind being drunk?”

“Um… There’s not exactly a psychology to it, but, drunkenness is the effect of ethanol, or alcohol, on primarily the cerebellum part of the brain.” They explained.

“Coool~! Is it any different if you’ve got liiike… Disorders?”

“It can be, actually. Though, unfortunately, the most common link is that those with ADHD or autism are more likely to experience substance abuse at some point in their life.”

“Awh… Bummerrrr…” They hung their head, looking away, “Drinking is fun, but, sssinging is more fun, so I do a LOT more of one thaaan the otherrrr~!”

“I… Can tell. Did you meet Valk and Dom through music?”

“YESSS I did! They fffound me online firssst, how did YOUU meet them?”

“I’m only really Valk’s friend, but we met at a concert. Not one of Flipside’s, another artist’s, and we bonded over, uh… Band merch.”

“That’s sssick! I don’t remember the lasst time I went to a concert.” They looked up, thinking about it, “Ohhh, maybe I should go with my friendsss… Hehe… That ssounds nice.”

“The same friends who are picking you up?”

“Yeaaah, hehe~”

“That’s good. It’s very nice to have reliable and trustworthy friends.”

“Heh…” Staring at nothing for a few seconds, their smile went derpy again, “I wisshh we were more than friendss, but they’re already a thing with eaachotherr, soo, can’t really do thaaat.”

“Oh.” Poison looked away, “That must be difficult, but who knows, your friends could always turn up polyamorous.”

“…OHH FUCK.” His eyes widened, “I FORGOT THAAAT WASS A THING. I’ve jussst been moping this whooole time!”

“Save any actions until you’re not wasted, please…” Putting their hand on his shoulder, they looked down the street, a pair of headlights coming over, “Do you know what car your friends are in?”

“Probably Sling’s, heeee’s got this REALLY nice one, looks…” He looked at the car coming down, “Jussst like that one, actually… Heeey! My friendsss are here~!” Stepping out from under the awning, he waved at the car.

It slowed to a stop, “Boombox!” And Slingshot immediately got out of the driver's seat, “Is everything- uh-?”

To his surprise, he was immediately taken into an affectionate hug, “Sliing~! I’m sooOOO glad you’re heeere, I would’ve had to wait hoursss to get home if you didn’t come!”

“…Yeah. Yeah, I know, dude.” His concerned expression quickly softening, he put a hand on their back, looking over his shoulder, “Skate, can you sit in the back with them? Bring back the water bottle from the front.”

“Got it.”

“Skaaate’s here too?” Boombox asked, letting him go, “Why’d you both come?”

“Because we were both worried about you. Come on, let’s get in the car.” Putting his hand around them, he took them to the backseat, opening the door.

Skateboard had just gotten into the middle seat, holding an open bottle of water, “Hey, Boom, how ya feelin’?”

“I’m gooood~!” They got in, letting Slingshot shut the door, “I had a gooood night, till I drank too much, buuuut, I’m fiiine!”

“Fine enough to drink this, hopefully.” Carefully, he held the bottle up to them, “You're gonna want this.”

“Thaaanks~!” Taking it, they took a hefty drink, then slouched in their seat, “Wooow, after a whole night of martinis, water is SOOO much better than usuaaal…”

“Glad you think so, keep drinking it.” Buckling in, the baker glanced into the car mirror, “What were you up to tonight?”

“I was with Valk and Dom, duhhh~! We were sssinging and dancing and drinking together, except Dom, he was sssupposed to drive ALL of uss home, now look where I am!” They laughed, “I’m with… Uh… You two.” Suddenly, they slowed down.

“…Yeah?” Skateboard tilted his head, “You asked us to come get ya, of course we came and got ya.”

“…” A wave of guilt came over them. They spent a whole week without them, and now, without a second thought, the two came to their rescue. Hell, they had worried them both about their safety for hours, “I… I should’ve ssstayed with Valk and Dom until they were ready to leaave…”

“What? Boombox,” Not having started driving yet, Slingshot looked over the side of his seat, “By how you sound, you would’ve drunk yourself into a hospital bed if you stayed. I’m glad you called for us.”

“Buuut, all I did was worry you twooo! For hoursss! For daaays, maybe!” They leaned against the car door, “Aaand now I come back, jusssst… Wasteeed, really wasted.”

“Dude.” Skateboard leaned closer to them, “We’re just glad you’re OKAY, at all. Doesn’t matter that we had to come get you, now that we know you’re safe.”

“Skate’s right. Everything we were worried about can wait until you’re home and you’re sober.” Slingshot turned back to the front, “We’re gonna take you back to your apartment complex, alright?”

“…My keeeys are at Vaalk and Dom’s place.” They realized, “I lefftt them there becaussse we were gonna go baack.”

“…Then we’re gonna take you back to one of our places.” He shrugged it off.

“We can do mine.” Skateboard offered, “It’s closer to your home.”

“What about Coooiiil..?”

“What about him? If he complains aboutcha sleepin’ on the couch, I’m gonna call him a jackass. That simple.” He chuckled slightly, “It’ll just be a sudden sleepover! Not a big deal.”

“…” Staring at him, Boombox felt their chest well up, their face reddening again. They were ready to cry. Without a care, “Mmh…” They whimpered and wrapped their arms around another one of their best friends, leaning onto his shoulder.

“Woah.” He was surprised for a moment, and then, “…Glad you’re alright, Boom.” Putting a hand on their back, he let them lean in, then glanced up at Slingshot. He motioned for him to not start the car yet.

“Mmhmh…” They continued to whimper sadly, comforted by the feeling of arms around them, “Hmmh… You’re really waarm, Skaaate… And strong… And fuckinnnn… Fat.” They said drunkenly, “It makesss you nice to hold…”

“…You know what, I’m gonna take pride in that.” He smiled, “Take your time.”

“They aren’t wrong.” Slingshot tried to lighten up, looking back.

“Ssshhhh, this is our moment…”

“Ohh, come on, I’d be back there too if I wasn’t about to drive.”

“…Can you come backkk here..?” Boombox perked up, looking over, “I like the… The thought of both of you holdingghh me right now… Makes me feel like you both caree, a lottt…”

“…Yeah, hold on.” Disregarding that they were still in front of the nightclub, the baker unbuckled, carefully picking himself out of the seat. Easily, he vaulted into the back, and the two made room for him.

With Boombox sandwiched in the middle, both Slingshot and Skateboard put their arms around them, and they let their arms fall limp. A dorky smile came over their face, “Thaaanks guys…” They leaned against the seat, letting the other two close in on them.

“Hmmh… We both care a lot about you, Boom. Don’t forget it.” Slingshot reassured them, leaning into the back of their head.

Letting them lean onto his shoulder, “Ya got that, right? We ain’t gonna let you go if ya don’t!” Skateboard added on.

“Hehe~” They chuckled, “I got it, I got it… Sliing, um, you shoould move the car before you get ffffined for parking here…”

“Ohh, right.” Holding them tightly for another moment, he paused, “…You’re gonna be alright if I start driving?”

“Mmmhhhmm.”

“Alright. Open the window if you might throw up, okay?” Letting them go, albeit hesitantly, he got back into the front, “Keep drinking water.”

“Youuu got it~!” Taking another sip right then, Skateboard let go of them as well, and they leaned the other way, slouching onto the door. When the car started moving, they shut their eyes, quickly nauseated from looking out of the window.

All of their worries had simply… Disappeared, as quickly as they had returned. They felt very comfortable in that car, knowing that they’d soon be home, or… Not home. Skateboard’s home.

…Nah. They still felt like it’d be home.

~~~~~~

The next time they woke up, Boombox heard the soft sound of walking around, and of hushed voices. With a heavy fog over their mind, they came-to without movement, able to tune into the conversation before actually really being conscious.

“-gonna come phighting?”

“Nah. I’m waiting for him to wake up, don’t wanna leave him alone.”

“Eh, if you say so, but they’ve been asleep for a while.”

“They were wasted, obviously they’re gonna sleep till noon, everyone does.”

“I don’t.”

“You’re not old enough to drink.”

“Which means I don’t sleep until noon when I drink.”

“Dude… Go phight.”

“Yeah, yeah, got it. Seeya.”

Boombox heard the sound of a door opening and then shutting, and turned over, facing the other way. Part of them wanted to act like they were still asleep, but the other wanted to get out of Skateboard’s hair.

“…Mmh.” With a low groan, they turned over again, opening their eyes slightly.

“Boom?”

Looking over the room, they saw Skateboard standing a bit away, looking back at them. Blinking, they moved their hand, “Hey.”

“Hey. Did Coil and I wake you up?” He walked over, taking another seat next to the couch that they were on.

“Noooo, you’re good… Ow.” Pushing themself to lean against the couch arm, they reached for their head, “I feel awful. Do you have my visor?”

“It’s right here.” Picking the accessory off of the coffee table, he held it out to them, and they clicked it into the mechanical bases of their horns. Taking a moment, they blinked a few times, and then it turned on.

“That’s better… Ughh…” Sitting up, they groaned again.

“You need some water?” He asked, getting a nod, “You’ve got it. Do you… Remember what happened last night?”

“Um..?” Did they? Trying to think, “I remember… Doing a lot of drinking and singing, and then… You and Sling came and got me. Thanks.”

“…Aaaanything else?” He came back with a cup of water, putting it down in front of them.

What was he trying to get them to remember? They took a sip, their head aching while they tried to think, “Um… I left you two on read for hours and then almost broke down in the car?” After they said it, they felt a tug at their heart, “S… Sorry for that…”

“Oh, don’t- don’t apologize for that again, dude. It’s alright.” His face shifted empathetically, “Any last thing you remember?”

“We… Both of you held me for a little bit, and then I fell asleep.” They shrugged, “That’s all that happened, wasn’t it?”

“…Yeah.” Glancing away, he put on a smile, “Don’t worry about it, I just wanted to see.”

“…Hey,” Boombox smiled softly, “I’m sorry for worrying you two last night, and I’m sorry for not spending as much time with you guys. I’ve just… There's been a lot on my mind.”

“We could tell, dude. We don’t want you to stress out about it, but… Kinda hurts when your best friend suddenly stops showin’ up, y’know?”

“I know. I’m sorry.” They held their arms, an ache in their head and a sickness in their stomach, “I… I’ll tell you two about it eventually, alright?”

“I hope you will. It feels better knowing that something’s actually happening rather than you suddenly hating us, heh… Eh.”

“…What’s wrong?” Despite his usual smile, they noticed a hanging discomfort in the air, and how much his tail hung low.

Skateboard looked at them again, a pensive look on his face. His eyebrows furrowed, “You REALLY don’t remember anything else last night?”

“Not with you two.” Boombox suddenly felt a strike of guilt, “Did I do something-?”

After a pause, he sighed, digging through his pocket, “Hold on, it… It was caught on my door camera.”

“Uh oh.” Their eyes widened, “Is- is Sling okay?”

“Everyone’s fine! You didn’t do anything terrible, you just…” He held his phone out, “Here.”

It was camera footage from the previous night. It started as Slingshot’s car pulled in, and with him quickly getting out, going to the back. He opened the door, “Boom? You gotta wake up now, we’re here.”

“Hhuuuhh? Ohh!” After a moment of silence, Boombox stepped out of the car, immediately leaning on their friend for support, “Thaaanks~!”

Skateboard got out behind them, putting a hand on their shoulder, “Careful, walk with us.”

“Hehehe… You’re both sooo nice to me, I’m so… snrk, heh, I’m so glad you two are here~”

“I’m glad we’re here too. Come on.” The baker helped the most as they got closer to the front door, “Do we have to be quiet, is Coil asleep?”

He got a shrug in return, “Probably? It’s hard to tell with him.”

“Hehe…” Still drunkenly giggling, the DJ turned to their friend, “Skate?”

“Hm?” He paused while getting out his house keys, “Wh-“ And quickly, a small kiss was put on his cheek.

“Thaaanks~” They slurred.

“Woah. Keep it together, Boom.” Not looking upset, but more perplexed, Slingshot nudged them a little.

“Ohhh, sorry,” But instead of focusing, they leaned over and kissed him on the cheek too, “Isss that better?”

The boyfriends gave each other a glance, both frozen from what they were doing. Neither of them looked upset at all, just kind of… Confused. In the camera footage, it was impossible to tell if they could’ve been blushing, or paled in displeasure. Silently, except for the DJ’s drunken giggles, they went inside.

“…” In the present time, Boombox was HORRIFIED, turning completely red in the face, “I- I did- I don’t remember doing that?! I’m sorry!” They looked away, biting at their knuckle.

“Hey- hey, chill!” Putting his phone down, Skateboard put a hand on their shoulder, “You’re cool! I just wanted you to know that that happened.”

“But I- gah!” They covered their eyes, “I sounded like an idiot last night, and then I did that. Sling’s probably horrified that it happened.”

“Dude- calm down, hey.” Carefully, he grabbed their wrists, moving their arms, “It’s probably a dumb as hell idea, but he wanted me to do this when you woke up.”

“Whuh- -!!” Just as quickly as they had last night, a kiss was put on their cheek, their face igniting with red again.

“There, now we’re even until Sling gets to ya.” He leaned back, “Told ya, it doesn’t matter! We’re chill, I… Boom?”

They had their hand on their cheek, looking away. Being fully conscious of it, they felt the heat in their face and the warmth in their chest, and part of them desired it again. They wished Slingshot was there too, giving them the same. It sounded wonderful.

“Fuck- god, damnit, I knew it was a dumb idea.” Boombox was snapped out of their flustered haze, looking over. Skateboard looked frustrated, “Sorry, shouldn’t have done that.”

“What- no! No, no, no-“ They turned to him, “No, that was- I-“ How were they supposed to explain it? They didn’t know what to do, when it was far too obvious that it affected them deeply, how could they pass it off as a positive without revealing how they felt? They spluttered, “I- it wasn’t- I’m- oh, screw it,” And their mouth moved before their mind, “I’m- I have feelings for you and Sling!”

“Ah-“

“I realized a little while ago that I admired both of you more than I thought I did, and it wasn’t admiration for my best friends, it was ATTRACTION, but you two are already a thing, so I didn’t WANT to tell you two, but I’m bad at hiding my emotions when I’m around you, so I stopped being around you, but that just made it worse-“ They held their head, “And to know that it ended up with me kissing you two while DRUNK when I shouldn’t have- gah- this is the worst-!” Their head was pounding, stomach aching from how long they’d gone without eating, it made them feel weak. And now, they really had broken down.

A sob coming out after their rant, they folded over, everything falling crushingly quiet as they whimpered. When they heard the sound of Skateboard getting up, they only felt more worry overtake them, but- “Hey.” A hand was gently placed on their back, “Calm down, dude. There’s nothing to worry about.”

They sniffled, feeling him move his hand up to the back of their head, running his fingers through their hair. They felt so horrible, and yet… His touch had never been more comforting. They picked their head up, looking over.

“Sling n’ I realized last night, from when we held you between both of us and then the kisses… We didn’t really feel any differently about ya than we did each other. It prolly helps that we were all best friends before, but, all of that just felt kinda normal. Like it was supposed to happen, y’know?” He continued scratching their head as they sat up, looking at him with wide eyes, “If something changes and you don’t actually really like us like that, it’ll be fine and we’ll still just be best friends, but… If all three of us can talk about it, and we decide we want to, we can…” His voice trailing off, he shrugged, “I like the sound of it.”

“What..?” Boombox stared at him, blinking slowly, their sniffles slowing to a stop. After a moment, “…And- and Sling knows about it too-?”

“It was Sling who told me first.” Skateboard smiled.

“…Thank you.” Dropping themself over, they leaned onto him, falling onto his shoulder, “I was… I was really… I was scared.”

“It’s alright, Boom. I’m just glad you said it instead of goin’ ahead and stayin’ away from us again.” Putting his arm around them, he held them close, “Sling’s workin’ today, but… I’ll let him know to come by when he’s off. You can hang out here till you can getcha keys from Valk.”

“Thanks. My body is still killing me…” Carefully, they reached over, picking up the cup of water. He moved slightly to let them get a drink, but didn’t let them go yet.

“Are ya hungry? I can microwave some pizza.”

They smiled softly, “Pizza sounds great.” They leaned back, and he let go of them, getting up. They watched him walk away, “Thanks, Skate! I…” They started, then paused, “…I love you.” They said quietly, barely loud enough to be heard.

He looked over his shoulder, and they saw clearly as his dog-like tail started to wag. He grinned, “Love you too, Boom!”

~~~~~~

Left unattended while they both waited for Slingshot to come over, Boombox was on their phone, checking their social media. As to be expected, Valk had shared pictures of the previous night, including several of her with Boombox and Poison Picnic. They felt a little bit of guilt, but they pushed it off, “Ah, I never said goodbye to Poison… Hm.”

He thought back on what he’d learned from the psychologist, a lot of things that hadn’t even crossed his mind before. Disorders, and how demons with them were treated… Closing social media, his curiosity won, opening it up and searching just “ADHD comorbidities.”

“Hm… I don’t have an anxiety disorder, I’m not depressed… Eh?” Personality disorders was one of the listed comorbidities. Poison Picnic had mentioned those, right? They were studying them, so… Maybe it’d be interesting to look into. Either way, he didn’t have much else to do.

Going through the list with broad definitions of cluster A, none of them particularly stood out to him, but he made a mental note to learn more later. Starting on cluster B, he was uninterested again, until…

“Histrionic?” They raised an eyebrow. While they’d heard the terms for some before, they’d never heard of that one at all. Opening another tab, they searched for just what that one was.

“Histrionic personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by theatrical or dramatic behavior and attention seeking.

A demon with HPD may:

Always seek to be the center of attention and feel underappreciated or depressed if they are not, have rapidly shifting or shallow emotions, be dramatic and extremely emotionally expressive, speak dramatically and express strong opinions without any backing, be gullible and easily influenced or suggestible, think relationships with others are closer than they actually are...”

Boombox sat up, staring blankly at the traits. Their eyebrows furrowed, “Doesn’t… Everyone feel that way?” They muttered. Admittedly, yes, they liked being the center of attention, but that was only on stage, wasn’t it? Or, no… They also enjoyed being their loud and upbeat self to Valk and Dom, and especially to their best friends. But they weren’t distressed if it WASN’T on them.

“…” They thought about that idea. They did get kinda twitchy last night, and other nights, when Valk would be on stage and everyone focused on her… They tended to try and get back up there right after she was. But, it was fine- they weren’t dramatic or overly expressive! They wear a visor that hides their eyes, for goodness sake, “…A visor that’s programmed to change with my mood.” They realized. There wasn’t really anything MORE flashy than a screen that changed shape and color to how they felt.

They went over every point in their head. They DID tend to not be sad for long, or really happy, it was pretty easy for them to feel better or feel worse out of nowhere. Being suggestible was something all of their friends had pointed out to them, they’d agree to almost everything… And BELIEVE almost everything… And they had gotten pretty buddy-buddy with Poison Picnic, just last night, pretty fast…

“What’s up?”

Boombox had almost forgotten that they were at Skateboard’s house. They looked up at him, “Nothin’ much.” And put on a smile.

“Y’sure? You looked kinda confused just a second ago.”

“I was just looking something up. Valk had a friend at the club last night who was a psychologist, and they made me wonder about that stuff, so I was doing some searching.” They put their phone down.

“Ohhh, that makes sense. So what had ya all…” He motioned at his face, his eyebrows furrowing, “Your visor was showin’ swirls.”

“Was it? I must’ve been thinking harder than I thought!” They looked away, “Um… Hm. Maybe you could help me, Skate!” They weren’t sure how well they could figure it out alone.

“Whatcha need?”

“Would you say I’m… Hm,” They checked their phone, looking at the list, “Do you think I have a “larger than life presence?””

“Oh, definitely.” Skateboard didn’t even hesitate, laughing, “Not in a bad way! But you put yourself out there pretty wildly. There’s a reason you’re always the life of the party.”

They smiled, glancing down again. They read over some words that concerned them a little, “I… Is that ever embarrassing to you?”

“Huh? No?” He tilted his head, “Hell, it’s a lot easier to be as crazy outgoing as you are when you’re there.”

Their smile returned, “Good, thanks!” Trying to talk while typing, they opened up their messages with Valk, “I’m not super concerned about it, just saw something I related to a little.”

“You:

hey girl!! i still need my keys from your place but i’ll deal with that later

do you know any doctors who will screen for personality disorders?”

“Whatcha lookin’ at, anyway?” Skateboard prompted.

“…” Boombox looked at him, and then a sly grin crossed their face, “It’s a surprise.”

“What? Ohh, come on!” He smiled playfully, “Now I’m gonna be thinkin’ about it!”

“Surprise~!” They sang, “You’ll find-“

They both turned over as a car pulled in front of the house, able to hear it coming in. They both perked up, “Sling’s here!” And the skater got up, heading over to the front door.

Staying back on the couch, they watched the front door as it opened, “Hey, babe!” And Slingshot and Skateboard shared a hug, before the former stared out into the room, “And, Boombox!”

“Heeey!” They waved, waiting for the other two to come in, “So… Did Skateboard tell you? The thing?” They blushed softly.

“He did,” The baker slouched comfortably into a chair, looking at them, “So like… You’re really sure you’re into both of us?”

They nodded, “I want to try it, if both of you are into me.”

He smiled, “I felt like making sure. Oh, and also,” He got up, walking over to the couch. Holding one of Boombox’s cheeks, he kissed the other, “Payback.”

“Heheh~!” They couldn’t resist a delighted giggle, their visor turning pink, “Jeez, to think I was scared shitless about this a week ago!”

“Not gonna lie, even if you had told us about this a week ago, when we hadn’t realized that we were into you, I probably would’ve been like… Woah. Boombox is kinda cookin’, Sling.” Skateboard joked, a grin crossing his face.

“I am SO GLAD I’m the one who brought it up first.” Putting his head in his hands, Slingshot sat back down, “But, yeah. We’re up for trying out a polyamorous relationship if you are.”

Boombox smiled, “I’d love to be in a polygon with you two!” They chuckled, then winked.

“…So close! That’s a shape.” He laughed back.

“Nope, we’re a polygon now. Accept the triangle life or forever hold ya peace.” Skateboard added, still grinning.

“Ohhh, no, I just realized.” The baker said, getting two concerned stares, “Double the partners means double the flirtatious jokes that Skate gets to make. How will we manage?”

“Oh, no, that IS scary!” The DJ played along.

“Ooh! I can make the Tennessee joke.” The skater proposed,

“Do NOT make the Tennessee joke, it’s not even a real place.”

“Hey Boombox-“

“No-“

“Are you from Tennessee?”

“The pun is stupid-“

“Because you’re the- snrk-“

“Stop-“

“The only ten I see.”

“GOD.” Slingshot leaned back, “He said that to me on our first date after getting together.”

“Wonderful. I loved that.” Boombox was blushing brightly, “Hey Slingshot?”

“Boombox.” He stared at them, “Is this a punny one-liner?”

“If you were a fruit you’d be a fine-apple.”

“Nevermind. It’s torture.” He leaned back as Skateboard laughed, “I’m changing the topic before you two kill me, I had a long day at work. Mind if I crash here until later?” He turned to the skater.

“No problem! Boom is hanging out until Valk can come give them their keys, so you’re fine. It’ll be our first hangout as a polygon.” He winked at them when he said it.

“Snrrk-! Oh, you guys,” They started flapping their hands, “I know we just got together but I love you two sooo much~!”

“We love you too!” He said back, his tail wagging quickly. He got up and then down onto the couch, “C’mere!”

“Ah-!” Boombox was pulled into a hug, a kiss being put on their chin, They laughed, squirming, “Heeey-!”

“Didn’t miss it last night, not gonna miss this now.” Getting up, Slingshot threw himself over, and once again, they were sandwiched between their now-boyfriends. Held and peppered with kisses from both sides, they did their best to give kisses back through laughter, overwhelmed by the immediate surge of love in their heart.

“You gu-u-uys-!”

“Oh, great,” A new voice entered, stopping all of them in their tracks, “I get home and the whole zest fest is on the couch.”

“Coil!” Skateboard looked at the front door, “Uh… Welcome home, fuck off.”

“Fuck you.” Coil gave him a middle finger, but turned away, heading over to the door in the basement, “I kicked ass in my phights today, by the way.”

“If I was there I would’ve been able to beat your ass.”

“I’d love to see you try!”

With that, he went down to the basement, “Wow. You and Coil talk to each other waaay differently than me and my housemates.” Slingshot remarked, looking over.

“We’re bros, it’s a bro thing.” He smiled.

“…Can we keep cuddling?” Boombox asked.

“Hell yeah!”

The End

[turmoilcity]

Bellutch

Butch heavily inspired from mth x Bella AU

Title: Class shenanigans

Rating: T for swearing

Bella was sitting on the edge of an empty pipe. Skate park was empty. She rolled the joint in her hand between her fingers. 

It was pretty bold for her to be smoking out in public, but at the moment she didn’t care. The area almost seemed desolate.

She was tempted to call Mitch up and ask him what he was doing but she remembers the band has practice, so she refrained from bothering any of them.

That was probably the worst part about making friends with an entire band. They were busy every other day.

She took a big inhale, thinking to her friends back at home as the air gently breezed by her. 

Not being a hero sucked. She thinks back to the first attack she saw on Townsville and how Jenna expected her, of all people, to sit behind. She hated every instance of that encounter. 

It was stupid that GAME was sending them to another universe, stripping them of their power usage, hero identities and not telling them why. Felt more like a punishment than a mission. 

That and all her real friends were gone. Obviously she had Jenna and Lillian, but that wasn’t enough. With the entirety of the group, they worked like peanut butter and Jelly, but alone like this, they were like water and oil. 

Jenna’s way too bossy. Lillian’s way too ditzy. THis new old lady they were mooching off of was way too rich, nothing was just right for Bella. She felt like she was constantly having to containin herself. 

That new training room would have been so cool to try out. If Jenna hadn’t ruined it.

…Sort of made her hate Jenna little bit. She scoffed and kicked her legs.

Hate Jenna.

That takes her back to a time where she would be an immature brat to her just because. 

Bella takes another drag of her joint, staring at her skateboard at the bottom of the pipe line. She braces her hand against the cement with one hand, and stands up.

Something tingles her.

She swifts around.

“Butch?” She says discovering him mid tip toe.

He first looks taken aback, then defeated, “How the fuck did you know I was sneaking up on you? I wanted to scare you.”

Alarms immediately go off in her head, because Butch is the last person she wants to suspect that she has specail abilities.

“I just… I was getting up anyway, I didn’t know you were there.” she fanned off.

He grunted and put his hands in his pockets as he began walking to join her, “You know if you get caught smoking that shit in public, you could get in a lot of trouble.” he sneers.

She looks at the joint between her lips, “Nobody’s around here, dude,” she mumbles, joint in her mouth.

“You’re right about,” that he says walking to the pipe edge. “But it’s late so ofcourse no one’s out here. Why are you still out?” he smirks back at her as he sits, “Aren’t your parents worried?”

She flicked him off, “I do whatever I want.”

“Ah, so you’re a big girl-”

“Dude,” she scoffs over him.

“I’m just saying. Most teenagers are at home right now. Unless there a lot of trouble.”

Bella joins him, smelling little wafts of whatever scent he’s wearing like the day she hugged him on the motorcycle. “I guess I’m just out here… thinking.”

Butch was quiet. 

She leaned back stretching her abdomen, than lifted the joint from her mouth, “Been a long week.” She exhales as the joint is plucked from her hand. “Hey!”

“What are you gonna do about it?” he remarks taking a hit himself, face callous. 

Bella frowns, “That is not a good way to make a friend.”

“You think I’m your friend?” Butch scoffs in disbelief.

“Duh,” Bella says before hopping into the cement half pipe. She didn’t catch the shocked expression Butch gave her at her response. “I mean I gave you my number didn’t I?”

“Thought that was just for a booty call.” 

She walked to her board, “Thought I told you it wasn’t.”

“Pretty sure you’re the one who brought up booty calling.”

“Yeah, yeah. How long are you going to joke about that?” She began pushing off. “It’s already old.”

“Until it happens.” Butch replied, reclining on the perched edged.

Bella chuckled to herself, “It’ll never happen.”

“Never say never,” Butch clammored aloud in a taunting tone. 

Bella scoffed skating along the length, “What are you even doing out here? It’s late for you too isn’t it?”

“Bored,” Butch mumbles. 

“It’s like 8, why don’t you just go to bed?”

“You think I’m a toddler or something? I barely start drifting off by the time it’s 11.”

Bella chuckles again, “Alright big boy. Sorry to offend you over your bed time.”

“Your damn right your sorry,” Butch begans shuffling to join Bella. He clambers down the half pipe. 

“Watch out,” she warns, drifting around him, hair and clothes pulling the opposite direction of her skating path. She’s picked up significant speed.

He cheers and claps, “Impressive.” She hears him say as she turns the board. She starts skating back the other direction, but he’s in the way.

“Move,” she shouts at him, loud enough to hear. He stands, unbothered. She begins to steer away from him but he walks in this path too. She grunts and tries to swivel around, but he simply takes a step back, exhaling smoke.

She’s getting really closse, and moving too fast to stop immediately. Butch stops her board with his foot and catches her off balance in his arm. 

He kicks the board underneath himself and runs off, skating on it himself.

Bella’s impressed but also mildly annoyed, “Hey!”

“Come and get it,” he taunts her skating away. She chases after him.

--Delete this--

shoulder.

He ruffled her hair with a hand, “Sleep well, cutie?”

“Ha! You just called me cute.” Bella scrunched her nose at him. His eyes are drawn to the action.

“What have you been up to lately?” he asks flatly.

She blinks a bit off guard and then regains normalcy with a grin, “Dude, i’ve just been bus-y.”

“Tch. You don’t say.” He looks to the front of the class as the second bell rings.

“What, you gonna execute me for having a life? God, I didn’t know you were my boyfriend.” She taunted behind him. He feels her pencil poke his arm, “No wonder you called me ‘cute’.” She said in a low voice.

He laughs spinning back to her, “You ain’t my type.”

“Didn’t seem it, five seconds ago,” she sneers back

Butch takes in her dark, playful expression. Her brown eyes electric and smoldering just a bit.

His own eyes got husky as he encouraged this banter leaning into her, “You’ve really got eyes for me, don’t ya?” he teases her.

He can see the bit of brief confusion flicker across her face and revels in it. She puts up an annoyed front, “Dude, you were the one hitting on me.”

“Bet it really gets you kicking, right?” He carried on, voice getting even huskier. He could see her start to fluster. “You can’t keep me out of your mind. I bet you really want me, yeah? You couldn’t stop thinking about me if you tried-”

She groaned loudly, face a miserable light flush, only visible to the super eye. “God you’re so humiliating-”

“But you looooooove it,” he sung, getting close to her ear. He can feel the heat radiating from her face. She suddenly twists to get her back pack.

“Nope.” She mutters gathering her stuff.

He leans back confused, “What?”

She goes to find another seat just as the bell rings. Butchs eyes trails her, slightly jostled.

“It’s a good thing she moved herself before I could,” the teacher noted walking by him giving him the days assignment.

Bella plops at her seat, blowing her bangs out of her face, exposing her tinted cheeks. She finally spares Butch a look,

“I’m gonna kill you” Butch mouths, holding up the paperwork. She flicks him off.

[chasingpj]

𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤

pairing: percy jackson x child of aphrodite! gn reader

requested?: yup!

warnings: mentions of underage drinking, one curse word, and mentions of sexual tension

category: fluff, shy boy x obviously interested girl trope

a/n: don't mind me I'm just projecting and I got carried away

you’re not sure what gravitated you to percy more

the crystal green eyes, the freckles over his nose, the disheveled dark curls, or his clumsiness

the first time you laid eyes on him, he was walking back to his cabin after sword-fighting practice

his tan skin gleamed in the sunlight as a hand came up to swipe away the damp hair sticking on his forehead

for an action so mundane, it made your stomach flutter like crazy

and then the beauty of the moment was ruined right when he trips over the steps of his cabin

you heard stories of the kid killing the minotaur, blowing up a volcano, and rumors of being the suspected child of a huge prophecy

yet, he was not immune from tripping over his feet

and you’re sure the dorky charm of that moment made you think, he’s mine

for the next few days, you were determined to approach him

but you didn’t just want to come up to him and introduce yourself; that would be too plain and forgettable

you ended up finding your opportunity during a capture the flag game

silena gave you instructions to distract percy, and you headed over strong, ready to make your first impression while also taking him down for your team

sure, he had water powers and done a bunch of cool things, but your father made sure you were well trained in sword fighting and martial arts even before you knew about the camp

you planned to take him by surprise, and luckily it worked

with ruthless attacks, it didn’t take long for you to sweep him off his feet and knock his sword out of his hand

by pressing the flat of your sword under his chin, you forced him to look up at you, and you peered into those clear green eyes

gods, he’s cute, you thought

“hey,” you said

percy was stunned, not sure if it was because you effortlessly took him down or if it was because you were one of the prettiest girls he’s ever seen

“... hi,” he sputtered, gawking for a moment as you offered your hand

you swore you felt sparks when his fingers brush across your palm... even though the contact was a little sweaty

in the distance, you heard the satyrs blow the horn and the roars of celebration from your team

“i should go back to the others. catch you later, ocean eyes,” you flirted

percy’s shoulders tensed up when you blew him a kiss; awkwardly frozen in his place as you waited

“well, are you going to catch it? you can’t just let my kiss fly away.”

percy shifted on his feet, not sure if you were serious or not, but when you held your ground with arms folded over your chest, it was clear that’s what you were waiting for

and so with a flushed face, percy awkwardly grabbed the air in the front of him, and you couldn’t help but giggle

“good, i wouldn’t want it flying to a stranger,” you commented playfully. “you know, i don’t really like this whole outdoor camp life thing, but seeing your pretty face around here makes it a lot better”

“uh… oh, thanks?” he stammered, not having the words to respond

you winked at him before walking off, more than satisfied with your first impression

after that, you were contemplating your next move

children of aphrodite can see all the possibilities in a potential relationship

you were able to see you and percy eating ice cream in central park, holding hands at camp, a shy kiss on your first date

you wanted all of it, and you going to make sure you get it

of course, silena and your siblings were your wing women

if percy was in the strawberry fields, you were picking strawberries beside him

in the fields, you got to know him and his sarcastic humor, which made your crush flourish

you even took sword fighting classes at the same time as him and made sure he was your partner most of the time

whenever you had a chance, you’d affectionately fix his hair or his armor just to hear his shy thank you’s

he’s never had a girl show this much interest in him, so you definitely made him a little nervous, but despite that, he opened up to you pretty quick

sometimes he’d help you out in the stables, and you noticed how he’d fumble with the harnesses or knock things over when you would flirt with him

you loved his reactions so much that you always took it up a notch just to see how he’d react

you suppose the pegasi didn’t make percy’s shyness any better

there were times where he’d shush them, or the tips of his ears would grow even more flushed at a neigh or huff from one of the pegasuses

as the summer came to an end, you gave percy your email and made sure you stayed in touch

you didn’t live very far from one another, but you didn’t dare ask to hangout

you wanted to be asked first!

and you were disappointed when the invitation never came despite the two of you being consistent with sending emails

the year flew by fast, though, and you were excited to return to camp for an array of reasons; percy being one of those reasons, of course

when you saw him for the first time that summer, you were in awe at how different he looked after a year

he was taller, broader, and just more handsome overall

your stomach went into a frenzy when he greeted you with a boyish smile while his hand rubbed the back of his neck nervously because he didn’t fail to notice how, somehow, you were even prettier than he remembered

unfortunately, having the prepare for the war meant you guys were too busy to hang out as often as you did the previous summer

but when you did have time to see each other, it was still fun

there was an unspoken rule between you and percy that any talk about the war wasn’t allowed

it allowed you guys to just bask in the nights where you would watch the sunset while joking around and sharing funny stories

those nights were calm and still; they brought a sense of normalcy amongst the chaos and growing tensions

because of this, percy had sought out your company whenever he could get it

being with you made him feel like time slowed down

inevitably, the battle of manhattan occurred and passed, causing the summer to end with the grief of losing your siblings

while campers arranged the ceremonies to honor their siblings, percy hopped around to help

losing silena as a counselor meant it was time to pick a new one, and to your surprise, your siblings nominated you

you were silena’s right-hand person, the oldest in the group after her, and the strongest fighter, so your siblings felt it was fair that you took the role

but it didn’t feel right to you; the pressure of being a newly elected councilor while still grieving silena weighed hard on your shoulders

after the nomination, you needed time to get away and sit with your thoughts, and you were only there for a moment alone until percy had found you

his eyes studied your somber expression, and he was quick to ask what was wrong

as you poured out all your worries, percy was quiet and attentive

you cuddled up to his side for comfort, and even in your sorrow, you didn’t fail to notice the way he tensed up

finally, when you let everything out, he chimed in to soothe your worries

your expression was a little lovestruck as he said everything you needed to hear, and well, his strong arm around your shoulders definitely helped too

you were so elated that you couldn't help but press a kiss on his cheek to thank him

his flushed face was enough to lift your spirits for good that day

by the time the summer officially came to an end, you could feel that percy’s feelings for you were becoming stronger

the romantic possibilities you envisioned became more apparent, but percy hadn’t asked you out yet

and like, you guessed you could have asked him out, but that wasn't fair in your book

you were already making the first moves; it was his turn to do something about it

then you were sure your mother pitied you because finally, after a few more months of emailing, percy asked if you to go ice skating with him, and of course, you agreed

but then, you concluded that it was more like a cruel joke from your mom because percy never showed up

you waited hours for him before you trudged home in defeat

heartbroken wasn’t even enough to describe how you were feeling

being stood up with no follow up from him made you conclude that he just wasn’t interested and you just needed to move on

it wasn’t until you went to CHB for christmas break did you find out percy was missing

you were crazy worried about him and helped as much as you could to try and find him

when it was confirmed that he was still alive, you were more than relieved

from that day on, you were itching to see him again, and finally, after the giant war, you were able to speak to him

you only said a hello before you got sucked into a game of truth or dare with your friends

the game was self-explanatory; spin the bottle and the person who’s chosen is submissive to the person who spun it

you made up some lousy dares for the first few people until you spun the bottle in percy’s direction

“truth or dare?” your voice was challenging, and a little flirty

percy shifts in his place, “truth.”

“do you want to kiss me?”

“dare.”

“kiss me.”

the instigating coos of your friends made you smile, which contrasted percy’s stunned expression

“never have i ever-”

“that’s not even the game, percy!”

your friends laughed at your interaction, but you were honestly a little annoyed

he liked you; you could feel it, so what was he even waiting for?

“it’s fine. you don’t have to kiss me if you don’t want to,” you say with a playful smile in an attempt to hide your disappointment

“shit, i’d kiss you,” leo joked, and you suddenly perked up at the request

a new idea came to your mind

“so kiss me,” you snapped your gaze to leo, a smirk on your face

leo gasped so hard; he choked on his own saliva

while he coughed erratically, showcasing all his shock on his face, you announced, “new rule! you can only give up a dare if someone else in the group offers to take it for you.”

your gaze fixed on leo, “so, are you going to kiss me or what?”

“uh, only if you want to,” he stammered, and you smiled, moving to lean over in his direction

suddenly, percy cut in, “i didn’t give up the dare.”

your attention shifted to him, and you didn’t fail to pick up the jealousy radiating off of him

your stomach flipped with anticipation at the success of your idea

if percy needed a push, you were going to push him

“you’ve given leo false hope then,” you joked, and playfully leo sighed.

“man, so close,” he mumbled.

you bit your lip as you leaned in percy’s direction

you felt his attraction to you; his eyes told you everything you needed to know and more

and before you knew it, your lips were against his

the kiss was short, but for a moment, the world around you was drowned out; you barely heard the coos and cheers of your friends around you

with a satisfied smirk, you pulled away, settling back in your spot as percy’s eyes averted elsewhere, too shy to look at you

you and your friends played the game until you grew bored and found something else to do

because the festivities kept pulling you in one direction to another, the only interaction you had with percy was the occasional longing glance and nothing else

as you escorted a few of your sisters who drank a little too much back to your cabin, you were sure you’d have to wait another day to talk to him

lost in your dismay, you automatically denied piper’s offer to finish the task

it wasn’t until she scoffed did you pull out of your thoughts

“are you kidding? go. i’ll get them back. you find percy.”

“oh yeah. you guys need to do something about that sexual tension. are you gonna date him or what?” another one of your sisters slurred

before you could even protest, you were shooed away by not only piper but by the rest of your siblings too

you stayed in your spot, making sure they had at least made it to the steps of the cabin before you pranced up to percy’s cabin

you figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask if he wanted to go on a walk with you

your knock is followed by a few moments of shuffling before he opened the door

and, whew, you were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a shirtless percy

“hey." you leaned on the door frame, your eyes trailing down to admire his toned torso

“eyes up here," percy playfully demanded

you were almost hesitant to avert your eyes, but you obliged.

"i wanted to ask if you wanted to take a walk. you know, i just haven’t been sleeping well."

percy leaned against the door frame, amused at the dramatic pout on your face.

“sure, let me put on a shirt firs-”

“oh, you don’t have to. i don’t mind,” you cut him off, and his head tilts back just a little as he laughs

“i’m putting on a shirt,” he declares playfully, and you whine in fake disappointment

on your walk, he told you all the crazy things that happened while he was missing, and even though his stories were a lot more interesting than what you had to say, he was eager to hear about what you've been up to

your conversation persisted as you walked around the camp and as you arrived at the docks, another idea came to mind

suddenly, you cut yourself off mid-sentence, your gaze fixed on the water

“perce, you know, i can’t swim,” you mention, stepping on the wooden dock

“really?”

“really.”

it was quiet for a moment, and percy's expression was laced with confusion as you kicked off your shoes

you didn’t even care that you were wearing designer clothes, running straight off the dock and into the deep lake water

you heard percy yell your name right as your body completely submerges in the water

and it wasn't even more than 3 seconds before percy jumped in, one arm immediately wrapping around your waist to swim up to the surface with you

his baffled expression sent you into a fit of laughter

“what? why did you do that?!”

“cause i knew you’d come and get me.”

percy’s lips curved up into a smile, and you took the time to admire his features in the moonlight

you swore you saw his eyes flicker to your lips for a second, and the action made you hyper-aware of how close your noses were

"kiss me!" you thought in your head as you circled your arms around his neck, pulling him even closer

you could feel his admiration, the accelerated thump of his heart, the fluttering in his stomach that mimicked yours

the kiss you shared earlier was far too short for your liking, and you were already looking forward to the next opportunity to kiss him again

“i haven’t forgotten that i owe you a date.”

you smiled at his words, half-distracted at the proximity of his lips

“so it was a date all along?” you asked, and percy nods, amused

“you know, i was thinking now that there isn’t another big prophecy and the chances of me disappearing again aren’t likely, that, maybe, you and i could-”

“yes! gods, yes.” you cut him off, and percy laughs at your eagerness

you waited too long for the question that you couldn’t even let him finish asking

he isn’t able to say anything else as you pull him into a passionate kiss

it was as if the years of anticipation were being poured into the movement of your mouths

the kiss was long, growing in eagerness until the harpies had ruined your fun and the two of you had to run back to your cabins

a part of you had wished that all of this would have happened sooner

you had plenty of nights where you were stared at the ceiling with conflicted thoughts, wondering if you guys just weren't meant to be, if you somehow made up his attraction to you in your head, or if you should ask him out first and save yourself the potential regret

but when you returned to your cabin full of enthusiastic siblings asking why you were soaking wet and why your lipstick was smudged, you realized you wouldn’t have changed a single thing

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if your username is bolded that means i can’t tag you ! you probably have your visibility settings on !

[strawwritesfic]

Danny Rand x Reader: Ice Skating

Summary: If nothing else, you’ll always have each other.

Rating/Warnings/Tags: All

Challenge:  "25 days of Christmas" Challenge by Sweet-n-Chaotic on Lunaescence Archives.

Tag List: @imaginesfire

Notes: I have never seen or read a single thing with Iron Fist in it.

Ice Skating

New York City always seemed its best during the Christmas season. Sure, the tourists were aggravating and the weather could get bitterly cold, but why complain about little issues like that when everything seemed so…something? All you knew was that there was a sort of freshness in the atmosphere. Nowhere was that more obvious than at Rockefeller Center.

The tree rose into view long before your eager legs could get you to the ice rink. Your hand wrapped tighter around the hand it was holding: that of your boyfriend, Danny Rand, who at least was game enough to pick up his pace along with yours. You pushed your way through the crowded sidewalks until you stood just before the giant twinkling structure.

“[Name], what are you doing?” Danny asked, a laugh in his voice.

His cheeks held high color beneath the thick wool hat you’d stuffed over his curly hair. He looked so cute that you could have kissed him, which was exactly what you did. Afterward, you kept his hand locked firmly in yours

“It’s not what I’m doing, Danny,” you said. “It’s what we’re doing.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Remember how you promised to let me take you out today?”

“Yes.”

“And remember how you said we could do anything I wanted?”

“Vaguely.”

You hopped, gesturing at the ice skating rink built around the tree. “Well, today you and I are going ice skating! Ta-dah!”

His eyes moved from your face to the rink and back again. You felt his fingers stiffen around yours, but otherwise he didn’t try to get away. He easily could have if he wanted to, so you took his staying put as a good sign. Less so what he said next:

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

“It’s a perfect idea, and I’m going to tell you why. One, something’s been eating you for the past couple of weeks. You don’t have to tell me what, but you need a change of scenery. Two, you’ve been back for ages now, and you still haven’t done this. It’s practically a requirement for all official New Yorkers. And three, you’ve finally adjusted to wearing shoes, so now is the perfect opportunity!”

Danny shot you a look at your mention of his preference for going barefoot. “I don’t know. I haven’t been ice skating since before the accident. I don’t expect I’ll be any good.”

“Ice skating is like riding a bike. You never forget,” you said, shoving him toward the entrance.

“Bikes don’t have blades on the bottom of them!”

“Okay, so they’re bladed shoes. Isn’t that one of the coolest things ever?”

“Actually, that is pretty cool,” he said.

“So you’ll do it?”

“I’ll do it. Just don’t laugh when I fall flat on my face.”

“Never.”

It was an easy promise to make. Danny excelled at just about everything physical, and you didn’t doubt that he’d be an instant expert at ice skating, too. The plan was not to embarrass the man you loved. He just needed some TLC and was often too busy doing nine million different things for you offer it to him. Hiding it inside a date was just the ticket.

Of course, he didn’t suck. No sooner had the two of you slid onto the ice than did he start doing leaps and spins that appeared to defy gravity. The only reason you could keep up was because of how long your parents had pinned their hopes of getting a gold medal for figure skating on you. Those around you didn’t seem too thrilled by your and Danny’s antics, but you didn’t care. At least he was having fun for the first time in nearly a month.

Only when you (not Danny, never Danny) had gone all out for so long that you could hardly catch your breath did you stop. For a guy that hadn’t been in ice skates since kindergarten, he sure knew how to use them. He took both your hands without breaking stride, then guided you backwards toward a bench. You collapsed onto it with a laugh.

“You really know how to show a guy a good time,” Danny said, as he took a seat next to you.

“Good grief!” Your forehead might have been pressed to your knees, but the world continued to spin around you. “You sure you weren’t taking skating classes in K'un-Lun?”

“No, we were pretty busy with other matters. Listen, [Name]…”

You forced yourself to look up at him due to the seriousness of his tone.

“About what you said earlier…I have been a little down lately. You’re right. But you know it’s got nothing to do with you, right?”

“I hoped. Do you mind telling me what it is about?”

Danny wasn’t a private man. He talked a lot about K'un-Lun and his training as Iron Fist. All that talk about it had quite nearly driven you away from the man before you’d fallen for him. But he’d clammed up over that, too, as of late. Something had happened—but if he didn’t want to tell you, you weren’t about to push.

To your surprise, however, he gave you an answer: “I just don’t really know where to go from here. Everything I do winds up blowing up in my face. I don’t know if I even want to stay in New York much longer.”

His face fell into an uncharacteristic frown as he went on. When he went quiet, you distracted him by slipping your hand once more into his and tipping your head onto his shoulder.

“None of that really matters, Danny.”

“Why do you say that?” he asked.

“Because no matter where you go from here, I’ll always be with you. We’re in this together.”

“Well, when you put it like that…” He kissed the top of your head.

You closed your eyes. Maybe the fresh, electric feeling in the air wasn’t just Christmas that year. Maybe it was the approaching of something grander still.

[kozubaby]

Date Night

Keishin Ukai x Reader

Also posted Here

“Wait, but don’t you have practice with the kids tonight?” You asked as Ukai pulled you along to his car.

“Eh, Takeda can handle it just this once. Come on, let me take you out. It’s been too long.”

You nodded and smiled softly at him before sliding in and putting your seatbelt on. He jogged over to the driver’s side after closing the door for you and climbed in. After turning the car on, he let the top down and pulled on a pair of sunglasses. 

“Shall we, sweet thing?” 

He drove you into the city where you grabbed some delicious street food and ate in the car, watching the sun go down from a prime spot in an empty parking lot. You hadn’t allowed yourself to admit it until now, but you really missed him. He spent so much time coaching those amazing kids, and they were thriving with his help, but that meant lots of evenings and weekends alone at home. It was worth it, though. You’d never seen Ukai so motivated or generally fulfilled.

“Sweet thing, you’re staring at me.” Ukai smirked, pointing it out in that gravelly tone from years of smoking you’d only recently convinced him to stop doing. Of course you wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of admitting your blatant staring, so you rolled your eyes, sucking your teeth and turned away. He could see the playful color in your gestures, though and wasn’t even remotely offended.

“You know I love a headstrong woman, sweet thing, don’t tempt me.” He leaned over and kissed your cheek, lingering close to your ear. “I can always pull the top back up, and we can handle business in the backseat.” The way you gasped and covered your mouth was damn near embarrassing, but a series of flashing lights served as a much needed distraction as cars started to pull into the parking lot. You could hear music blaring from sound systems and people whooping and hollering excitedly.

“Babe, what is this parking lot for?” You wondered aloud as more and more people parked and started climbing out of their cars.

“Ah that would be the second half of our date. Come on, let’s get in early and find a spot.” He reached into the back seat and grabbed a duffle bag before hopping out of the car. You hurriedly followed him, hearing the alarm beep behind you and merging with the rest of the forming crowd. 

Once close enough, you could hear music bumping loudly from inside, mid-2000s hip hop you hadn’t heard in ages. The neon flashing lights and chaotic-patterned carpet were what really gave it away for you.

“A roller rink? Keishin, I haven’t been in a pair of skates in years.” You explained as the nostalgia of your young adult years flooded your brain.

“I know. I saw those pictures of you from a decade ago and thought I had to see you in action.” He paid and led you past the skate-rental desk to a carpeted bench just like the ones at your old rink.

“Hey, don’t we need skates?”

“Gotcha covered, sweet thing.” He dropped the dufflebag to the floor and unzipped it, pulling out two large shoe boxes and handing one to you. “Hope they’re the right size.”

You scrambled to open your box as excitement took over your senses, and inside, you found a pair of custom skates, black and hand-painted with sunflowers, just like the pair you’d worn all those years again.

“...Kei…” You didn’t know what to say as you ran for fingers over the details. Ukai only smirked at you and pulled his own skates on before bending down to help you into yours, tying the laces around the back like you used to do to stop them from catching in the wheels. 

“Ready?” He stood, reaching a hand out to you.

“Wait, I haven’t skated in so long I-”

“It’s like riding a bike, baby. You never really forget. Anyways, I’ll keep you on your feet.” Ukai could be so damn smooth, and he knew what that did to you. You rolled your eyes as you took his hands, and immediately he started skating backwards, pulling you onto the polished, lacquered wood of the rink where other patrons were already speeding by.

And he didn’t let you falter once as you got reacquainted to the skates and the flow. At some point, he let go of you and skated circles around you, playful but also making sure that you were completely steady until you were completely comfortable. You turned to skate backwards, and he complimented your skills, although you were definitely more impressed with his.

When the music changed and the DJ announced adult couples only for the next few minutes, you recognized the old RnB song, even remembering the choreography the old couples at the rink used to do. Ukai approached you, taking your hand and spinning you around until your back was to his chest. 

“I know you know the choreo, sweet thing, so show me whatchu got.” He spoke low and rich in your ear before swaying back and forth, signaling the start of the sequence. He matched your every move, sliding his hand along your stomach or tapping your hip as you glided around the rink so effortlessly, skates in sync and never clashing, bodies feeling the beat of the music and the heat of each other. You spun and broke apart for a footwork section and came back together toe-to-toe before the sequence started over until the DJ announced ‘free skate’ was back on.

You skated together until the last song, Keishin whispering sweet nothings in your ear and making you feel like the only ones on the rink, until finally it was time to pack up and go home. You carefully placed your skates back in the box and then in the duffle for Ukai to carry out.

“Did you have fun, sweet thing?” He asked, grabbing your swinging hand as you made it across the parking lot and to his convertible. 

“Yeah, that was amazing. I didn’t realize how much I missed it.” You climbed into the passenger seat and settled in for the ride home.

“Good, because you and I have a standing date every other week at the rink. No matter what, I’m making time for us from now on.” He leaned over to kiss you lovingly before giving you a dazzling smile, starting the car.

[justoneday-namjoonii]

Quarters. | 9

���1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 

prompt: “I don’t know why I’m crying, I just-...I really love you, like, just staring at you really fucks me up.” — soul-gazing

pairing: Jungkook x reader

warnings/au: please keep warnings in mind—dysfunctional relationship with a capital D, toxic relationship themes, but they’re attempting to get better, probably inaccurate therapy but i tried, m-ish, humor(i try), mentions of drug usage, cheater cheater pumpkin eater?, fluff, angst, boxer!au, iceskater!au. 

authors note: Hello!!💖it’s been a while since the last update but here we are. ✨This chapter is pretty long✨. Unlike some of the other parts, it is following the timeline of the previous part(pt. 8) so just keep that in mind. See m.list for other parts. Enjoy!🥰

“Do it again, you need to stop relying on your right leg so much!”

Your coach yells for the third time in the last hour, she’s being a tyrant today. Your poor ankles are about to break off, your legs are straining and the cold air is starting to feel like vengeful needles. It’s been about two months since the incident with your leg and the doctor at your last check up granted you freedom to skate again. You’re glad it did to because you were about to go crazy. After the scandal came out about you and your ex-coach judge, she asked you if you wanted to get back into pairs. She went on about how Lucas was open to joining pairs again and that maybe you could get back with him—tempting offer. You’ve thought about it, though you still haven’t made a decision. It has been months since your injury, you can no longer use it as an excuse to take things easy. 

Determined to get it right, you skate back to your starting point and try it again. You skate forward, bending your knees just slightly to gain more momentum and once you turn, you take off into a triple salchow. Perfect.

”Finally,” You mutter, skating over to the edge of the rink where your coach is just getting off a phone call.

“Okay, Lucas will be here on Thursday to practice with you,” She smiles, tucking her phone in her pocket, “there’s a competition in two months and I think you two should sign up for it.”

“Coach, I haven’t decided if I want to get back into that,” You put on your blade guards and walk over to the lockers, “I just don’t know yet.”

“Think about it,” She leans against the lockers as you untie your skates and put them in your bag, “if you’re seriously pursuing this career, you have to be flexible. You’re not getting any younger. I hate it just as much as you do but you’ll get positive exposure with him and maybe even pick up a sponsor for the season.”

“Fine,” You zip up your duffel bag and slip your hoodie on, deciding to leave the yoga pants on, “but I need a break. I worked a night shift last night so I’m only standing because I took three espresso shots and I’m about to take another one, I’m exhausted.”

“I know you are, try to get some rest this weekend. You’ll be at the ballet studio for half of next week so you won’t be on the ice,” She says that, hoping it’ll give you some relief, “just don’t forget to soak your feet tonight.”

You gather your stuff and walk out of the center, waving at Carrie the desk clerk like a zombie. It’s only 8 o’clock but you’ve been here for two hours, you feel like you’re in a time loop. An eternal warp created to keep you totally spent. When you hop in your car, you crank it up and turn the heat on. Not long after, your eyelids begin to feel heavy so you drive over to the closest coffee shop. When you look down at your phone, you see a missed call from Jeon Jungkook. All prior emojis have been removed from his contact.

His call will stay missed, just like the other five. You’re not in the mood for his sob story. About two weeks ago, you decided that you two needed to take a break but he took it hard. You remember sitting on your couch with crossed arms and staring at him as he twisted and squirmed uncomfortably.

“What kind of break?”

Are there different kinds?

“The kind where we stop seeing each other all the time, I don’t know what kind that is, Jungkook. But I can’t deal with this right now, it’s causing me major stress and anxiety...”

“You can’t deal with me?” He sounds hurt.

“Not with you Jungkook, with your crap. I have a ice skating career to try to work out, a job, school, the last thing I need to worry about is whether you can control yourself,” You frown, “you were just at my house with my niece and next thing I know you’re out getting high and fooling around with other girls.”

“You’re still upset about the photo,” He concludes, “baby, I told you, it didn’t go anywhere with that girl, I pushed her off. I wasn’t completely sober but I know I didn’t let her-”

“That’s exactly my point, you were doing drugs. And for what? You don’t need it. I understand a little bit of smoking every now and then but I can’t handle when you do that other stuff. That night was a disaster. I got stabbed, how does that even happen? But of course, it would happen to me,” You massage the sides of your temples. “I’m just over it, I’m tired.”

“You want to give up on us? Just like that? I’ve apologized a thousand times, I don’t know how to prove to you that I’m sorry,” He twiddles his fingers and bites at his bottom lip, “I don’t know what else to do.”

“I’m not giving up,” You defend, “we need some space to work on our selves.”

“Why can’t we work on ourselves together?”

“We’ve been doing that and it doesn’t work.”

The conversation continued on until you two ended up arguing for a good hour before you lied, saying you had to go to class. He left and you haven’t heard from him since, not a a call, a text, a call, not even a like on any of your recent posts. He’s taking this well.

*

“Why did you do that!? She’s gonna think I called her,” Jungkook snatches the phone from Jimin, “fuck, are you trying to get me killed?”

“Come on,” Jimin roles his eyes with a grin, putting his boxing gloves back on, “you guys can’t stay away from each other, you expect me to believe you two aren’t talking-”

“I’m serious, we haven’t talked for weeks,” Jungkook locks his phone with a frown, tucking it in his gym bag, “she’s done with me.”

“Oh, aw man,” He is serious, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you guys broke up.” 

He had been by you and Jungkook for the entirety of the relationship, it always seemed like you preferred things to be spontaneous. Admittedly, he knew Jungkook would do something that pushed you over the edge one day but he didn’t think it would be so soon. 

“We didn’t break up,” Jungkook mumbles, tying his hair back with a head band, “we’re just taking a break, that’s what she told me at least.”

“Aw, that sucks,” Jimin has to contain his amusement, it’s not funny but the fact that Jungkook is giving you full control over the relationship is unusual to him.

“Every time I think about trying to talk to her, I just remember that face she makes and that tone she uses. That’s when I know she does not give a single fuck, it’s scary.” 

“Is there a reason she’s being so hard on you? Don’t get me wrong, you were in the wrong. You shouldn’t have been there but it’s been weeks.”

“Her past relationship was rough on her mentally and emotionally. When she was young she had some things happen to her that causes her to have a hard time trusting others.”

“If you knew that then why did you do what you did?”

“I don’t know, okay? Everyone's been beating me up about it but I just don’t have an answer for you. I said I was sorry,” Jungkook shakes his head, fists making brunt contact with the punching bag, “I just I miss her,”

“It’ll be alright, she’ll come around,” Jimin holds the bag, keeping it still for the lovesick boy, “just give it some time. Hey, I’m taking my niece to the ice-skating rink in town, you should come!”

Jungkook, dramatically collapses to the ground, laying back on the ground with his boxing gloves on his face. “Ice-skating, why would you suggest ice-skating!?” He whines. “That’s literally what she does, it’s just going to remind me of her...”

“Aw Kook, I know,” Jimin can’t help but giggle at Jungkook’s overreaction, “that’s okay, you’ll be fine, and besides,” He pulls him up from the ground and pushes his shaggy hair back, “you can’t stay away from each other forever..”

“What about this one?” You step out of the dressing room, turning from side-to-side to let her see, “I like the color.”

“That’s the one,” Harmony scrolls through her phone, eyes going between you and the screen, “perfect.”

“Harmony, you’re just saying that!” You whine, turning to look into the mirror again with a frown.

“Y/n, this is the 11th dress you’ve tried on, it looks great. I’m serious.”

“Okay, I’ll go with this one then,” You smile, going back in the dressing room to change back into your clothes. Yuna’s having a party for the charity she works with. All of the money donated goes to buying toys and clothes for kids in foster care and orphanages, you attend every year. 

“You know, I heard Jungkook might come with Taehyung,”

Ugh, you forgot that your groups of friends are also friends. Jeon Jungkook, you still consider him your boyfriend in some aspects, but you don’t want to face him right now. Maybe you’re dragging this out too far but honestly, you don’t care. You love him but right now, you’re doing too well to let him crawl himself back into your life. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t creeping on his social media every now and then, you do care enough to see how he’s doing on there. 

“Hm,” 

“That’s all you have to say?” She giggles.

“Yup.”

“Did you officially dump his ass yet?”

You step out of the dressing room, rolling your eyes harder than necessary.

“Look, what happened to you was terrible. You couldn’t skate because of him. You caught him with another girl and you still let him take you home,” She was still bitter about Jungkook taking you away the way he did, she still thinks she should have insisted more.

You clear your throat, “I rather not talk about it.” 

It’s been admittedly awkward every time one of your friends bring that night up. On one hand, you understand why they bash him so hard but on the other hand, it’s hard to hear. You two leave the mall and grab lunch to eat in the comfort of your car..

During this break, you’ve decided to try and take things slow, relax. Admittedly, it would be nice to have Jungkook around again, to run errands with, to cuddle with. It’s hard not to miss him, you knew it would be. 

“We should go to the pop-up ice-skating rink on campus today, it’s a family thing I think,” Harmony squeezes ketchup onto her fries with a thoughtful him, “it sounds fun.”

“It’s funny you say that, Lucas invited me to go ther. He was going to go with his family, I told him I probably wouldn’t be able to.” You sigh.

“Oh, that’s right! The prince is back in town,” Harmony always had a thing for Lucas, even in high school. When you two were partners years ago, she still had a crush on him, “then we definitely should go. Are you getting back into pairs with him?

“Yeah, we’ll do one season together next year.” You have to admit, you are excited to get back into the practice with one of your best friends. 

“I’ll definitely have to brush up on my ballet lessons and I was always a bit too shaky during lifts. Our instructions used to say if I don’t look comfortable during lifts on the stable ground, I can’t expect to look good while I’m being lifted and Lucas is still skating. I trust Lucas a lot more now so I think it’ll go well,”

“Jungkook will love that.”

You take a bite of your chicken sandwich with a heavy sigh, “He’ll live...”

“Uncle,” Yona sits with her little brother in the back seat while they wait for Jungkook to finish pumping the gas, “why does your friend look so grumpy? Doesn’t he want to go skating with us?”

Jimin glances back at Yona and smiles, thinking of how he should explain Jungkook’s situation. “He’s just upset, he’s fine.”

“What is he upset about?” Jimin hesitates for a moment but Jungkook signals that he’s running inside for something.

“Well,” He turns to face her, “can you keep a secret?” She eagerly nods. “Kookie is a little sad because he misses his girlfriend.”

“Oh, what happened to her?” Yona frowns, fearing what Jimin might say.

“Nothing happened to her, he’s okay, they just haven’t seen each other in a long time,” He rakes his brain, trying not to say too much about Jungkook’s love life, “but it’s okay, he’s alright. Just try to understand, he’s not trying to be a grump, he’s just a big teddy bear who pretends to be tough when he’s sad,” He grins, “but don’t tell him I said that.”

“Oh,” She nods adorably, pitying Jungkook, “I won’t,”

in the nick of time, Jungkook comes back with a receipt and mumbles something about the poor management in the convenience store. Jimin notices how Yona looks at him with sympathetic eyes but Jungkook doesn’t seem to notice. He’s too wrapped up in his phone to see that a 9-year-old is pitying his dysfunctional love-life.

It doesn’t take long before the four of them arrive at the skating rink and Jimin is helping, Juda, Yona’s sleepy 5-year-old brother out of the car. Yona takes the liberty of escorting her self out and walking over to Jungkook.

“Hi,” She looks up at him, not even a little intimidated by his towering stature over herself.

Jungkook looks around, as if she’s talking to someone else. “Hi,” He gives her a small wave, “it’s Yona, right?”

“Yes,” She nods, walking by his side, “uncle said your girlfriend skates, do you skate too?” 

Jungkook mentally cringes, bracing himself for whatever Jimin told this little girl about his personal life. “No, I’m a boxer, she’s the skater.”

“Ahh, ice skating is prettier than boxing, you should ice skate too,” She looks back at Jimin and Juda walking side by side, wondering if she should walk with them or stay with Jungkook. Just when she was about to further judge Jungkook’s life choices, Jimin and Juda catch up. Jimin leads the four of them to the skate rental booth where Jungkook avoids eye contact with the girls behind the counter. It’s hard enough to be in your environment, let alone be surrounded by couples and families skating to their hearts content. It’s not the same without you, it doesn’t feel like he should even be trying to enjoy himself after what he did to you.

Jimin and the kids get their skates on, but Jungkook tells them to go ahead without him. The more he sits here, the less he wants to be here.

*

“We decided to come and skate for a little bit, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to take your invitation, I didn’t think I’d be able to come.” You and Harmony skate out onto the ice.

Lucas stands at the edge of the rink, smiling. “It’s okay, I’m here with my family so don’t sweat it, hey! You wanna practice a routine, for old time sake?”

“There are way too many people to be practicing a routine. Besides, I’m already sore from practice yesterday.”

“Where’s your boyfriend? I thought you told me he skates with you sometimes,” He skates a circle around you, a toothy grin on his face, “I want to meet him.”

“He was busy,” You lie. You don’t know where Jungkook is or what he’s doing, “It’s just us.″

Somehow, he believes you and skates off with his family while you breathe.

“You lie,” Harmony shakes her head as if to say shame on you.

“What was I supposed to say? I’m not gonna burden him with my personal problems.”

You two go back and forth until she surrenders, claiming she’ll leave you a Jungkook’s relationship out of her mouth for the rest of the day. You highly doubt she can but you appreciate the effort. 

Nononononono—why is he here? And blonde. Your eyes widen, your palms get sweaty, just seeing him affects you. You’ve missed him. Judging by the way he’s sitting on the bench with his skates beside him, he looks sad. Who is he here with? 

”Y/n, Harmony, hey!” Jimin skates over to you with two little kids by his side, they’re so cute. “What’re you two doing here?”

”Jimin? Hi, fancy meeting you here, we decided to come last minute,” You’ve connect the dots now, “who are these two cuties?”

“I’m babysitting my niece and nephew,” He holds both of your hands and the both of them say a shy little greeting, “say hello guys,”

“Hi,” Yona waves at you two and you greet her with a bright smile.

Jimin glances back at Jungkook who has yet to notice you. “Y/n, can I talk to you for a minute?” You nod.

“Harmony can you please watch them for a second?”  “Me? Um, I guess but-”

You skate to the edge of the rink and Jimin follows, you already anticipating what this conversation is about.

“Jungkook is here.”

“I know, I saw him,” You deadpan.

“Look, I know what happened between you guys and he probably doesn’t want me to say this, but he’s been the biggest bitch since you two split, I’ve never seen him so at odds with himself.”

“What am I supposed to do about that? That’s not my fault.” You frown.

“I’m not saying that you need to do anything,” Now he understands what Jungkook meant about your infamous tone. “I just wanted to let you know, I figured you haven’t talked.”

“I’m sorry,” You hold your face in your hands, “I’m not trying to be mean, I just have a lot on my mind and I wasn’t expecting to have to deal with him today.”

“Maybe you two can talk, I’m not saying you should get back together but maybe talking face to face will help you find common ground?”

That’s advice that you know you should take but the thought of talking to him makes your stomach uneasy. It’s easier to ignore him, erase him from your life while you figure out what you want. You’re very childish in the aspect of talking things out, he is too.

“Here he comes,” Jimin looks over at Jungkook who is slowly approaching you two, “I’ll give you two some space-”

“Jimin, I swear, if you did this on purpose!-” Your threat is cut short when he skates away and Jungkook skates up to you. As if you don’t even see him, you quickly skate away, uninterested in anything he might have to say.

Jungkook knows he can’t possibly out-skate you. He mumbles a few curses before skating over to Jimin and the kids as frustrated as ever. For a moment, he almost changed course because Harmony, his biggest hater, is with them and she is one of the last people he wants to see.

“Jungkook, hey,” Jimin sighs, dreading the angry frown in Jungkook’s brows, “I’m glad you decided to-”

“Did you know she was here?” Jungkook cuts straight to the punch, not paying any mind to Harmony whose staring at him as if he’s a mass murderer.

“No,” Jimin shrugs, voice low in order not to alarm the kids who are skating near by, “you know I would have told you.”

“I’ll be in the car.” He skates off, anxious to get off the ice but he’s stopped when another skater bumps into his shoulder.

“Sorry!-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jungkook shrugs, but just when Jungkook was about to leave the guy gives him a weird look. 

“Wait, what’s your name? You look so familiar,”

“Jungkook,” He responds with a bit of impatience, “I don’t think I know you from anywhere, sorry-”

“You’re Y/n’s boyfriend! She showed me some of her pictures pictures,” Lucas smiles but Jungkook’s eyes darken, “I’m Lucas, we’re competing in pairs again next season, I’m sure she’s told you.”

“Oh, I didn’t know, probably slipped her mind,” You haven’t mentioned it on purpose. Then again, how could you? You haven’t talked in weeks.

Just when he thought this day couldn’t get any worse, he meets your partner, and he’s not ugly,

“She said you couldn’t come because you were busy, did you come to surprise her?”

“Something like that- I’m sorry, I gotta go.”

“Okay, well...nice to meet you,” Lucas waves him off but Jungkook doesn’t pay him any mind. 

He thought this might go differently, why did he think that? As soon as he saw you, that tug in his heart came back, that desire to be around you came back. When you walked away, it made him feel like crap, you didn’t even want to look at him.

While he’s skating off to the side to leave the rink, he sees you taking off your personal skates and putting them in their bag. Of course, your caddie is right next to where his heavy black boots are. He enters the room opens the caddie with the little pass-code they gave him when he rented the skates. You spare him a glance as you tie your sneakers and he sits to get his shoes on.

“Did you have to ignore me like that?” He decides to speak up.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” You frown, “I don’t even know why you’re here.”

“Since when did you start caring where I go?” He bites back. “You’ve been ghosting me for fucking weeks and suddenly I’m not allowed to go out?”

“I didn’t want to see you...I was doing so good, I was forgetting about you.” You lean back, not giving him eye contact.

”Wow, just what I wanted to hear,” He thought you would say something like that but he didn’t expect you to be so blunt. 

“You can’t say you’re surprised, can you?”

“No, but the least you can do is talk to me.”

”Fine, that’s fair. What do you have to say?” You stand to your feet, your bag tight in your hand/

”Believe it or not,” He gets up to lean on the wall behind him, “I love you, so I'm letting you drag me along and make all of the rules but I’m just asking that you communicate with me, I need to know what you want,” He tends to ask this question when he’s most desperate for your good side to emerge.

“Why don’t you tell me what you want? I’m not the one going around making decisions that hurt our relationship, not recently anyway.” You throw a jab at him, you couldn’t contain it anymore.

“If you’re trying to make me feel like shit, you’ve succeeded. You’ve been succeeding for weeks now, it’s actually starting to get to me, mentally.” As he says that, an unsuspecting few individuals come in to get there things.

“Can-” You pause and walk over to him to eliminate the awkward distance, “Can we talk about this somewhere else?”

His spirits brighten a little because at least you’re interested in continuing the conversation, you haven’t even attempted to do that until now. So when he stutters out an “okay”, his feet move as soon as yours do. He’s walking right next to you and you find yourself keeping your arms crossed, away from his hands that you would normally be holding. By the time you walk out to the rink, Jimin is still with the kids and Harmony is gone, probably in the restroom. You find a secluded area near the concession area and take a seat, he does the same right across from you. 

“Do you want to break up?” 

He puts it out there. He’s never been the one to hesitate, especially when his heart is on the line.

“What do you mean?” You swallow, not expecting to be confronted with that question.

He almost scoffs because you’re having a similar reaction to his reaction to you telling him you wanted to take a break.

“Do you not want to be in a relationship anymore? If this isn’t something you’re willing to do anymore, I need you to tell me so I can grieve in peace...I feel really lost right now.”

“Grieve? I’m not going to die if we break up, Jungkook, and I never said I wanted to break up—I never said I didn’t love you either. That’s not what this is about, it’s not about whether we love each anymore, it’s about trust.” 

“How can I gain your trust?”

You look around, making sure no one is listening in on you two before mumbling out your answer. “I don’t know...I just don’t trust you, I can’t tell you how to make it up to me because people who screw me over, I normally stay as far away from them as I can.”

All you can think about is the lies from your birth-mother, the betrayal and humiliation that came over you when you found out about your ex. Situations like that always come to mind when the subject of trust is mentioned. You’ve been hurt and Jungkook knows that, he knows when you feel like you can’t trust someone, you shut down. You want nothing to do with that person, your pain blinds you—its your character flaw.

“You’re lucky I’m even talking to you right now,” You mumble, nibbling at your bottom lip.

“Yeah, I know.” He scoffs, a look of disbelief that turns into an understandable shrug of his shoulders. 

“I’ve always thought of you as someone I didn’t deserve, you know that,” He glances down at his twiddling fingers, “when we got together, you changed me and I’m so grateful for that...I was such a shitty person before I met you- I mean, I’m sure you think I’m shitty now but I was way worse.” It surprises you when you see tears welling at his eyes that he quickly wipes away, tattooed fingers getting a bit wet.

“Jungkook,” You lay a hand over his with sympathetic eyes, “I still love you.”

“Seriously?” He glances up at you, surprised. 

“Yes...You hurt me, you made me feel stupid and I’m not over it...But I never forget those times where I made life difficult for you, you never made me feel irredeemable. No matter how awful I acted, you never made me feel like a burden. That’s more than I can say about a lot of people in my life.”

The more you talk this out with him, the more you realize how harshly you’ve been treating him. It doesn’t change how you feel about your relationship, but it does open your eyes to the standard you’ve been holding him to. You don’t know if you’re ready to start again.

“Well, I have to be honest with you,” He looks at you through his dirty blonde locks, “it still hurts like hell to have you treat me like a stranger. That shit is painful, even for me.”

“I’m sorry,” You murmur out an apology before you can really think about it, “I’m just upset at you is all...” Slowly, you take your hand off of his and your eyes wander back to his dear-like eyes. 

“Everyone’s telling me I should let you go but I don’t want to. I just need to know that you’re willing to wait for me, and to work on yourself...”

“I’ll do anything, I’ll do whatever it takes for us,”

Shortly after that day, you found yourself thinking more and more about your future. It made you cringe at one point, what were you planning to do with the rest of your life? Whatever you planned to do, you always imagined Jungkook would be by your side. Now, you’re coming to terms with the fact that things may not go as planned.

“Y/n, are you ready?” Lucas calls your name from outside of the dressing room.

”What are you doing in here? This is the woman’s locker room,” You open the door, now fully dressed in your new leotard.

”We’re the only ones here,” Lucas stands with a matching outfit, far less sparkly as yours.

”Why does she always pick these leotards for me? You always get the toned down looks-” You walk over to the mirror, furrowing your brows, “Oh, actually, this one is kinda nice.”

“She knows you’re the most dramatic out of the two of us, maybe that’s why,” He shrugs his shoulders before quickly running back out into the ballet studio. Your least favorite part of your career is the ballet lessons, it’s the most grueling.

“Come on out, Y/n, we only have the studio for the morning so we need to use our time wisely.”

“Sorry,” You walk out with an urgency, “the costume fits okay, a little snug but it’s doable.”

Coach gives you a knowing look, she’s been floating the idea of a diet around. As committed as you are to your craft, dieting is one thing you don’t think you need to do well. You try to stay fit but sometimes you’re more concerned about your dwindling love life than you dress size. The ballet instructor emerges from around the corner and you cringe, the next few hours are about to be painful. 

Yet, as the class progresses, your thoughts drift farther from the positions and you find yourself zoning out completely.

*

*

At one point in time, you couldn’t imagine being without Jungkook. Out of all of the people who’ve come and gone out of your life, he stayed. He became your best friend and your first love.

“I don’t want to be here anymore, please, just let me go home,” You sat on the hotel room floor, hair pin in your hands and a painfully cold ice bag on your ankle, “...I can’t go back out there.”

She stands with crossed arms, her unchanging expression not doing anything for your emotional state.”Y/n, you are a professional, and do you know what professionals do?”

”No.”

“They finish the competition, no matter what. You need to stay for the judging, “

“Why? I fell on my biggest jump on live television. Cindy. I look like an amateur...There’s no way in hell they’ll even consider placing me. That means I’m done for, I might as well kiss nationals goodbye.”

”That was the last program, you still have a chance-“

”Not after Charlotte’s routine! You said it yourself, I had to be flawless or Charlotte would take my spot in the qualifying team, there was no room for error. This is the one time it had to be perfect...” You use the bed to help you up and you sit down n the edge of it.

”It won’t be perfect every time. You work harder than any girl I know, and not just in this sport, you work hard at whatever you do and you support yourself, you’re the only girl I know who’s parents aren’t paying for you to be here. You deserve to be here, you made one mistake, one. It’s not the end of the world, sweetheart,” Cindy takes a seat beside you, a comforting hand going to your shoulder, “these things happen.”

You take a deep breath, trying to calm down and think rationally. Cindy is trying her best to talk you off of the ledge but you’re very much still there. She says you work so hard, but what do you have to show for it? You’re doing this alone a majority of the time. Your family only comes to support you sometimes, they don’t have a lot of free time to spend on your hobby. Your iceskating is a glorified hobby to them, they won’t say it but it’s true. After they told you to pick a major and find a good paying 9-5, they stopped paying for your iceskating. They’re paying for school but that’s it, you’re supporting yourself in every other aspect. That gave you all the reason to try to prove to them that you were an exceptional athlete. To prove to them that you did it all on your own, that’s your only goal. Yet, the more you reach for that, the farther you get from it.

”Listen, I need to check on the other girls, alright? I hope you reconsider.” She pecks your forehead, a motherly affection that you’ve come to appreciate from her. She is like a mom in some ways. She cares for the entire team, and she would never say it, but she has a particular soft spot for you. She can see how much you want this, how the ice can take you to a different place.

You were meant to do this, she always tells you that. She saw the fire in you as soon as she accepted you on her team. Your passion attracted her to you, you never stopped, you had so much drive. Some people are meant to fight tooth and nail for what they want, sometimes you have to ask yourself, why do I have be one of those people?

Ignoring your better judgment, you packed your bags and took the 2-hour drive back to your apartment. All while you were fleeing the city to seek refuge at home, you received multiple phone calls from Jungkook but you couldn’t bring yourself to call him back. When you got home, you took off your tracksuit and sank face first into your coach. 

As much as you wanted Jungkook to come to the competition, you insisted that he stay and take that job. He hasn’t been boxing as much so any extra art job he can take, you encourage him to take it. He told you he’d streamed the competition while working on the mural at a nearby bar. His heart sank when you took that fall.  You put hours of practice into that routine and perfected it, he had seen you do it flawlessly several times. 

All he wanted to do was hug you and tell you that you did well but all he could do was hope that you weren’t beating yourself up. He could only imagine how devastated you were and to not be able to be there for you, he couldn’t stand it. He finished up the mural and you had finally texted him saying, ‘I came home early.’ He went straight to your apartment with the big pink bunny he bought for you, you need it even more now.

”Hey, it’s me,” He opened the front door and announced himself softly and walks further inside. 

The television barely illuminates the living room but he sees you laying on the couch. He sits the bunny down behind the couch so you can’t see them before walking around to greet you in your depressing state.

“I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow, baby,” He rests a hand on thigh and kisses your cheek, “you must’ve known how much I was missing you,” His attempt to make you smile goes painfully unnoticed. 

He bites at his bottom lip in thought. “Did something happen?...”

You swallow the lump in your throat and finally look him in the eyes, “Did you watch my second program?” 

“I did, you looked beautiful-”

“I’m quitting.”

He turns his whole body to you, brows deeply furrowed like a cartoon character. “What?”

You cover your face with a pillow, successfully hiding your tears, “I’m calling Cindy to tell her I don’t want to do it anymore, I quit.”

“Woah, wait, why?” He takes the pillow from you to see your face, “Y/n, calm down, what’s going on? Tell me what happened.”

“I- I didn’t make the national team, that was my only chance until next year. All my hard work went down the drain and everyone saw me screw up..” You wipe your tears with your sleeve.

“Hey, it’s okay, you cry if you need to,” He pulls you into a hug, cradling your head to his chest, “I know this is tough for you but it’s not the end of the world, it’ll get better.”

You pull away from him as if he were suddenly hot to the touch and bury your face into the arm of the couch. “You wouldn’t understand, the pique of my career was riding on this, and I blew it. It feels like the end of my world, okay?” 

You know your words are muffled by the couch, that’s probably for the better anyway. “T- that’s just how I feel...” 

He doesn’t pry any further after that. He knows there’s not much he can say to change your mind right now. Instead, he scoots closer to your side and places a comforting hand on your back, rubbing soothing circles as he waits for you to continue.

“I have nothing if I lose this, there’s all this pressure on my shoulders and its tearing me apart...” You turn to wipe your face and sit up. “I love skating, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do...if I stop, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.”

You’ll never forget that night. 

He lifted you into his lap and kept his arms tight around you. “You’re so much more than just your skating. You’re so good at but it’s not all that you are.” Jungkook has a way of talking you off of the edge but that night, you were especially down on yourself.

“Yes it is...” 

“No it’s not,” He sighs, “look, I know what it feels like to find your identity in something and then all of a sudden, that something is gone...When my portfolio got rejected, I felt like a failure. My family never got behind the boxing thing, so I’ve always tried to find another way to support myself just in case for whatever reason it doesn’t work out...I didn’t start realizing that until recently. I’m constantly torn between giving up one dream for the other but I want to do both, you actually inspire me to do both.” You furrow your brows, briefly abandoning your own issues to listen to him. 

“You work so hard and you’re showing your family that you can do this, you just have to believe in yourself, and you know what? You’re doing amazing. Tonight was just a bad night, it happens.” He squeezes you tight and you do the same, arms fastened around his neck as if it would kill you to let go.

You didn’t need to say anything after that. You settled your mind and you were no longer at the edge, you were still close, but not there. With your head resting over his shoulder, you try to peek over the couch to see what he dropped back there when he walked in.

“Hey, what’d you think you’re doing?” Jungkook leans forward and your grip around him is loosened so you can no longer look back there. “You think I got something for you?”

You look down a bit embarrassed that he caught you, “Well, yeah...you did,  didn’t you?” You smile for the first time tonight and he breathes a sigh of relief. Finally.

He was going to tease you for wanting your gifts even though you just had a meltdown. But how could he? He wants to keep this smile on your face for as long as possible.

“Sit,” He lifts you off his lip and back to your previous seat on the couch, “no peeking.”

You hold your hands over your eyes, excited even thought have no idea what it might be.

“Okay, open.”

When you move your hands to see you squeal in excitement. “Oh, Jungkook! It’s so cute!” You stand up to take the pink bunny that’s almost more than half your size. “Thank you,” You lean into him with the bunny between you two, “it’s so big and soft, like you.”

“Yeah I know,” He sways from side-to-side with you in his arms, “you feeling better?”

You muffle your sigh into the stuffed animal, “I still wanna quit.”

“Oh stop,” He pulls the from your grip and tosses it onto the couch, “you’re just being bratty now,”

“No I’m not,” You whine, the issue still very fresh, “I’m still sad...I just really like my gift and I’m happy to see you...But I am still upset.”

“Aw, I’m sorry,” He lays on the couch and beckons you into his arms to lay on his chest, “let’s cuddle you until you feel better then, will that help?” 

“Maybe...”  

You’d be lying if you said you could live without that side of him.

*

A few days later, you’re surprised you hadn’t heard from him. But when you get back from the gym with a missed call from him and a solemn text to  ‘call back when you can’, you actually call him back.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, nothings wrong. Thank you for calling me back.” 

His voice sounds relaxed but a bit anxious.

“Did you need something?” You sigh, pouring your boiling water in your mug.

“Are you free to go with me somewhere at 11? And then maybe, we could grab dinner? Just-...Don’t be mad, please.”

Anxiety bubbles in your chest.

“What’re you talking about?”

“I signed us up for couples therapy.”

“You did what?” Somewhere in your mind, you had wanted him to bring this up—you never imagined that he actually would.

”You said we don’t know how to work on ourselves together, I read that therapy helps with that. Will you go with me? If you don’t like it, you never have to do it again I swear.”

“Jungkook...I appreciate the effort, I really do, but how did you find this therapist? Do you trust them?”

”Of course. He has great reviews online and my-...Well, my mom found him actually.”

You pause, a bit taken aback. He talked to his mom about your relationship and he took her advice about seeing a therapist? He must have really taken your words to heart about getting help.

“Can you pick me up?”

“Sure, I’ll be there in 20.”

When he picked you up, you were reminded just how well he could clean up. Sure, he always dresses so well and smells amazing, but he’s different today—you can tell he put in a lot of effort. You’re glad you decided to do your makeup and where a nice sundress, you would have felt terribly under-dressed.

“Hi, how can I help you?

“Hi, we have an appointment for Jeon at 5, with Seojoon.”

You stand next to Jungkook at the front desk, your hands tightly clutching your purse. It’s hard to not think the woman is judging you and Jungkook for being here. She’s probably seen hundreds of people come into this office but something in you can’t shake the feeling. She directs you two to the waiting room and says he’ll come get you two in a few minutes.

“So,” You begin, glancing at Jungkook, “I’m nervous...” 

“Me too.” This is new for the both of you. In only a few seconds, who you assume to be Seojoon emerges from the hallway and you look at him a bit wide-eyed. 

“Hi, Jungkook, Y/n, are you two ready?” 

“Oh, um, yes.” You stand up in sync with Jungkook, already wanting to run out of here but you resist.

You have to admit that the office is really nice, not stiff and sterile looking, the energy is very calming. Seojoon opens the door to a cozy-looking room with tons of natural sun light. There’s warm-rose colored couch that you assume is for ‘the couple.’

“Alright, you can take a seat right there, make yourselves comfortable.” He smiles, taking a seat and you two do the same.

“So let’s get right into it. What brought you two here today? If you could both tell me your separate answers, that would be great.” Despite Seojoon looking at you directly to presumably go first, you divert your eyes and look at Jungkook to say something first.

“Well, we’re- I think we’re going through a lot right now and I just want to save our relationship.” Jungkook sits back, resting against the arm of the couch as he gazes at you to give your answer.

“What about you, Y/n?”

You glance down at your lap, feeling very out of your comfort zone and not confident enough to verbalize what you would like to say. Alas, you try.

“I feel the same way, we’re not in a good place and I’m confused about what to do-...I just want what we used to have.” You confess a bit of your true feelings but ignore the longing look Jungkook gives you.

“When did you start feeling like the relationship was changing?”

“Fairly recently. We were fine, at least I thought we were until I saw him with another girl back in an old lifestyle that I thought he gave up...”

Seojoon diverts his attention away from you and to Jungkook. “Jungkook, do you want to share a little bit about that?”

“Not really,” He answers honestly at least.

“Why not?”

“To be honest, I don’t know why she keeps throwing the same jab at me. I’ve told her the truth but she doesn’t want to hear it. I went out that night,” He almost glares at you, “I didn’t plan to. I ran into an old friend and I just-...I thought it was harmless and I got caught up...” 

Seojoon scribbles something down. “Okay, so can you fill me in a little bit. Are we talking about unfaithfulness? Addiction?”

“Unfaithfulness,” You interject. “he said he didn’t cheat on me but...” You mumble, your confidence faltering for some reason. “It’s hard to believe that.”

“But you think he did so you have some distrust. Were you unfaithful, Jungkook?”

“It doesn’t matter if I say I did or I didn’t, she thinks I did.” He shrugs.

”Y/n,” Seojoon puts an end to the death stare you had on Jungkook, “can you tell Jungkook what cheating looks like to you?”

”Not sleeping with her doesn’t mean you didn’t cheat on me. Letting her put her hands on you- And I don’t care if it was just a kiss! You shouldn’t have been in that situation, and for me to have to see it on social media? I could have killed you I was so mad. You should ask Jungkook what cheating is to him. We obviously have different standards for defining it...”

”What does cheating look like to you, Jungkook?” He heeds your suggestion without any push-back.

”To me,” He hesitates, feeling a bit scrutinized, “it’s when a person violates the intimacy of the relationship by giving it to someone else.”

“What kind of intimacy?”

“Emotional, physical, every kind,” He turns to you, “I wouldn’t do thingst that I do with Y/n with anyone else, not by choice-”

“Yes you would! You did...Are you trying to tell me that you were assaulted? That she forced her way on you?”

“I was blitzed! I don’t fucking know. All I do know is that she got on top of me and I pushed her off. That’s it. I swear, if anything else happened, I don’t remember it.”

“I don’t care. You know what I’ve been through, to even allow another girl to even get close to touching you like that...It was a slap in the face.”

Seojoon’s ears perk up at the mention of your past. “Did you have to go through a similar situation in a previous relationship?” 

“Yes and he knows this. I was being cheated on before and the guy had a literal baby on the way throughout our entire relationship...It was traumatizing.” It stings his ears to hear you say that. But it’s true, he knows your past and he didn’t let it stop him. 

“What happened must have triggered you,” You nod to yourself, “but you’re here to try to work through forgiveness and build trust. If you two are comfortable with it, I’d like you do do two exercises; one here and one when you’re alone. The first one that you’ll do here, I need you to face each other, preferably close, and I have some questions for you two to ask each other.”

“Like this?” Jungkook answers instantly and turns to you, getting closer to you than he has in weeks. You face him slowly, eyes wavering a bit. His face has always been a soft-spot for you, staring at him makes you feel weak.

“Actually,” Seojoon stands up, gesturing for you to do the same, “two chairs might be more comfortable, yeah? Let’s go to my other room.”

You follow Seojoon to a small room with three chairs a small table in front of them. Jungkooks pulls seat out so they’re facing each other. When you look up to acknowledge him with deliberate eye-contact, for a moment he thinks you might be softening. 

“I want you all to start with ‘I’ statements, tell your partner how you feel or how you felt in this case. Try to maintain eye-contact and truly listen to each other.”

“I’ll go first,” You volunteer because you want to get this over with.

“I feel alone and helpless when you go back to your old habits, I feel like you’re hiding things from me...” You find a way to keep your eyes-locked to his. 

“I’m not asking you to be perfect but I just want you to make me feel special to you...Like you wouldn’t dream of being with someone else. Because I don’t think of loving anyone else, and trust me I’ve tried to imagine it but I can’t,” You bite your cheek to keep from crying, “you make it so hard to trust you. You don’t listen and you don’t change until it’s too late.” 

Being emotionally inept is something you are both too good at. It’s difficult for you to share your true feelings with a clear mind, but when you do, you can never guess what will happen next. 

“I feel trapped by you. I know I fucked everything up, okay? You don’t have to keep reminding me.” His tone is harsher than you anticipated. 

“I’m trying to put in the fucking effort to help us, and I’m giving you time. But when you tell me you still want me but you won’t even let me come around, it’s confusing. You’re confusing, that’s just how I feel.” His brows furrow and you notice Seojoon watches the exchange intently.

“But I miss you and I want you back, I don’t want to take a break,” He leans forward with his hands firmly gripping your knees over your dress, “I know you think I’m an asshole but I try to change, I’m trying, you know I wouldn't bring you to this if I could think of any other way to prove that to you.” The strain in his voice only stirs more emotions inside of you. 

“Jungkook,” Seojoon calls his name softly and Jungkook looks over as if he forgot he was there, “try not to engage in any physical, okay? It can be overwhelming.”

“Sorry,” He takes his hands from you and sits back, “that’s all I want to say.” 

“Alright, well, um,” Seojoon clears his throat, eager to break the tension up a little bit, “unfortunately our session is up but I want to give you two a list of exercises and talking points. I know this was a consultation appointment but I want to give you some things to work on at home. I’ll have Kelly type up your homework, alright?”

“Okay, thank you,” you both thank the therapist but you get up with an urgency and leave the room before Jungkook can follow you. When you make it out to the waiting room, you spot the bathroom and you bolt to it. Before you have to spend a car ride with him, you need to get your emotions together. 

“Mr. Jeon,” The receptionist calls him from the hall, “this is for you, you can bring it back to the next appointment for a discount.” Jungkook halfheartedly thanks her before going to the car. He doesn’t even know if there will be another session. He needs to smoke before you come out and you’ll freak if he smokes while you’re in the car. 

“Why did I come here...” You look at the mirror and frown, you look so rough. It was nice to get everything out in the open but you knew he’d get intense eventually. Only when the toilet flushed did you remember that there were multiple stalls in here. When you look away from the mirror to fumble through your purse, just trying to avoid talking to her. 

”Hi, how are you?”

“I’m okay, how are you?”

“Oh god, nervous, I’m nervous. Me and my husband, we’re newly weds, our appointment is in five minutes and I really don’t know what to expect. Did you have an appointment with your partner?”

“I did,” You sigh, “it was-...It was fine, don’t be nervous.” In your attempt to comfort her, you find your self in a highly hypocritical position. “Me and my boyfriend, we’re different so ours was a little- A little chaotic but I think it helped a little,” You hesitate, “I don’t know.”

“That makes me feel a little better, hopefully my husband behaves himself,” She tosses her wavy brown hair over her shoulder and smiles, “well, it was nice meeting you.”

It takes you a moment but you gather the strength to wave goodbye and go face your boyfriend.

”Excuse me, Miss, I think your husband forgot to grab this.” The receptionist waves you over and hands you a little folder.

”Oh,” You try to hide the blush forming on your cheeks.  he’s not my- We’re not married.” 

”Oh, I’m sorry! He only put his last name on the appointment so I thought it was your name as well. Sorry about that, have a great rest of your day.” She bids you farewell with a flustered smile.

When you walk outside, you see Jungkook leaning against the car. You thought he might’ve been smoking but you can’t detect any small. That’s a relief.

”You feeling okay?” He questions gently. 

You nod, hopping in the car with the desire to be home already. He gets in the car and glances at you from the corner of his eye, he worries that this might have been too much for you. 

“Where do you want to eat?” 

“There’s a ramen place down the street, that’s fine with me.” You suggest, eyes trained on your phone.

The air in the car isn’t tense or stiff, its just quiet. There’s a lot to unpack from the session and you figured Jungkook was thinking through it too. That’s why when you two arrived at the ramen shop, took your seats, and placed your orders, the silence was getting to be a bit too awkward for you.

“I like the new hair, you’ve never gone this blonde before,” You glance up at him, trying to start a conversation, “it looks good.”

“Thanks, it was an impulsive thing. I heard you decided to get back into pairs,” He brings the coke to his lips, “I was surprised to hear that.”

“Oh, yeah,” You figured he would find out soon, “I’m back with Lucas for the season.”

“Good for you,” That’s not a reaction you were expecting from anti-pairs-skating Jungkook. Then again, you know him well enough to know that he’s probably keeping his true opinion to himself.

“The receptionist gave this to me,” You pull the paper out of your purse and show it to him, “I think it has additional information.”

“Let me see,” You hand it to him, “hm, soul-gazing? What the hell is that...” He reads over the description and it makes him giggle. “Nonverbal communication between lovers, allows couples to explore intimate places in the relationship. We do this already, but it’s a little more than eye contact,” He recalls those dreamy moments that he used to share with you so often, gazing at you with a smile.

“We can try that later maybe,” You avoid his smile with a glance out the window.

“Okay. So, about the session today, I hope you understood where I was coming from...I didn’t expect to say all that, I’m sorry if it was too much.”

“Don’t apologize, I wanted to hear how you felt.”

“I’m sorry,” He extends a hand out on the table, hoping you’ll take it, “I’ve thought about what I’ve done and I’ve tried to repent for it. But at the end of the day, it’s up to you. But just tell this once, you miss us, don’t you?”

“I do, Jungkook...It’s just, I’m in a tough spot and I don’t- I don’t want to disappoint anyone or myself.”

“You’re talking about your friends or your family?” He frowns at the thought of either party trying to discourage you.

“My family doesn’t know anything about this, it’s my friends who are concerned for me. They saw me get hurt and they don’t want to see it happen again, they want me to be happy.”

“Don’t listen to them, all they do is talk shit about me and try to tell you what you need. The only people who have a say in this relationship is you and me. We choose what makes us happy, not them.”

“But I’m not happy,” And it doesn’t change the fact that you’re still being judged, “I’ve actually been depressed when I think about us, when I think about what we used to have and what we have now, how did this happen?”

“I’m sorry I did this to you,” He sighs when you finally reach out to take his hand, “I never mean to hurt you,”

“I want you back so bad sometimes,” You break, letting your true feelings out to him, “but just because I want it doesn’t mean I should, it’s always been hard for me to separate the two.”

“That never stopped you before,” He flashes that smile, the one you fell so hard for on the roof of his car. 

“Now look where I’m at,” You take your hand back, “going to therapy with you.”

*

*

Jungkook took you home and sunset had passed, it was already dark. You found yourself inviting him in, hugging him longer than you should have when he was on his way out. Why were you holding on to him so tight? His bomber jacket lands on the floor and you relish in his arms, you haven’t felt like this in a long time. Maybe it won’t hurt to let him in, indulge. It doesn’t take long before you let him kiss you for the first time in weeks. It feels new, it can happen a thousand times and it’ll always feel new. 

But then your phone begins to ring and reality washes over you like a cold shower.

“Wait,” You pull away from the kiss and slide off of the counter to his dismay, “I need to get that-”

“Ignore it,” Jungkook cups your jaw, trying to persuade you with longing eyes, “please ignore it-”

“I can’t, it’s my mom, something might be wrong,” You quickly answer the phone and walk into the living room. “Hello?”

“Where are you?”

“I’m at home, is something wrong?”

“You forgot, didn’t you? Your brother Leo, you were supposed to pick him up so he could stay with you for the night. me and your dad had to take Milo to his Taekwondo tournament for the weekend.” Your mother stresses over the phone.

“I’m so sorry! Mom, seriously, I totally forgot,” This is the worst possible timing, “doesn’t Leo have his license, he can drive here, can’t he?”

“We have the car. Don’t worry about it, it’s handled now, his friend came by and he’s staying with him.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know how that crossed my mind,” You can’t help but feel as if you’ve disappointed her by forgetting such a simple thing, “I’ve been busy, I’m prepping for the next season, I’m working and in school, it’s a lot right now-”

The conversation  ends with a cold lecture from her and a solemn goodbye when she hangs up. You massage your temples, and look at Jungkook who’s coping with the best part of his day being ruined by a phone call.

“Everything okay?”

“I forgot to pick up my brother, my mom asked if he could crash here but I forgot all about it..”

“When have any of your siblings actually visited you? Except for your sister when she needs a babysitter.” Jungkook always sports a defensive tone when your family comes into the conversation.

“He’s only come over a few times. But he has friends who live over here so that’s normally why,” You take a deep breath. “She sounded frustrated so I know she’s upset.”

”Don’t stress about that,” He comes in close, wrapping his arms around your waist. “your mom shouldn’t beat you up about that, especially since she knows how much you have on your plate.” He smooths down your hair and kisses your forehead gently. That innocent forehead kiss quickly migrated down to your neck and you bite your tongue.

”Jungkook, please,” You get out of his embrace and leave him longing.

"Why do you keep pushing me away? I know you, this isn’t like you. You push me away but never for this long,” He follows you to your bedroom where you kick off your shoes and take off you cardigan. ”If you’re serious about making this work again, you’ve gotta help me out a little here.” 

You feel him looming behind you, so close that you feel the warmth of him on your lower-back, or is that his hand?

“You’re here, aren’t you? I’m being really nice right now,” You step away from him, “but you need to stop.”

“Stop what?” He feigns ignorance.

“If that’s what you were hoping for you should just go,” You pick up his jacket and hand it to him, “it’s not happening.”

“Ok, but do you mind if I stay the night?” 

You stare at him in disbelief for a moment, debating whether or not that’s a good idea.

“Why? It’s not even that late yet.”

“I don’t want to make the drive home, I’ll leave first thing in the morning.” He pleads, those big round eyes helping his case immensely.

“Fine. But you’re on the couch,” He looks a bit disappointed but he was expecting that, “I’m gonna shower, you can wait for me or use the guest bathroom if you want.”

With that, you walk off into your bedroom to get your clothes and then into the bathroom in the hall. Though you hesitated to let him stay, it’s really not a big deal now that you think of it. He’s stayed over more times than you can count so you feel no need to punish him by saying no.

Baby steps. 

Jungkook falls into the couch, relieved and anxious—but mostly relieved. He was sure you were going to throw him out. When he hears the shower turn on, he begins to wonder what you might be thinking about, do you want him the way he wants you right now? If so, you’re hiding it pretty well. Just being in your home makes him feel comfortable and happy, that and your presence. You’ll be a while in the shower so he figures a few moments of relaxation on the balcony won’t hurt. 

*

When you step out of the steamy bathroom, you hug your robe tightly to your body. Curious to see what he’s doing you peek out of the hall and see him on the balcony, shirt nowhere to be seen and smoke wafting from the little stick in his finger. Jungkook has always been a temptation, a forbidden fruit so to speak. You had one bite, and that’s all it took. 

It’s a warm night, that’s probably why he’s showing all of the neighbors his tattooed glory, you giggle to your self at the thought. You run to your room to slip a t-shirt and shorts on so you can join him, you can indulge him in conversation at least.

“Hey, I was going to get a snack,” You open the sliding door and he looks back at you as he exhales a a cloud, “are you hungry?”

“I’m okay,” He puts it out in the ashtray, “thanks,” 

“You didn’t have to put it out for me,” You step onto the patio and close the door behind you.

“I was done anyway,” He says that but he clearly wasn’t, he’s just being sweet, “how was your shower?”

“Good,” You sit beside him, “you can go ahead and shower if you want to, you know where your clothes are.”

“I will in a minute,” He looks out, enjoying the view of the city, “it’s beautiful out here...”

“Yeah,” You smile, reminiscing on the many moments you two have shared together on the balcony.

“So,” Jungkook sighs, probably reminiscing on the same thing, “do you want to do that exercise?...”

“Exercise?- Oh, the eye-contact thing, we can...” You turn to him and he does the same, “so, do we-”

“Shh,” He holds a finger to his lips, “we’re not supposed to talk,” 

You swallow, eyes locked on his and his on yours. His eyes are so dreamy and mesmerizing, they always have been. This eye-contact is giving you a great excuse to analyze his face. The little mole under his lip, his cute nose and cheeks—you’re trying not to look at his body but it’s hard to do that right now. 

He’s doing the same thing to you. Your eyes, nose, lips, he’s just taking it all in as if your a sculpture at a museum. Looking at each other like this reminds you both to see each other, to really see the human you both decided to love.

“Jungkook,” You know you’re not supposed to talk, “don’t cry...” You thumb the tears away from his cheeks, your motherly habits kicking in.

“Shit,” He wipes his cheeks, “I don’t know why I’m crying, I just-...I really love you, like, just staring at you really fucks me up.” He’s so emotional, it’s more endearing than anything.

You cup his jaw and kiss the apple of his cheek, then his lips. His hands are almost shaky when he reaches up to hold your face, you lead his hand to your face to let him know that you don’t mind.

“I love you too,” You breath, your head in the nape of his neck, “but I can’t do this, I shouldn’t...”

Once you realize you’re no longer in your own chair but in his, it’s too late to pretend you’re not equally as desperate. It escalates and the best and worst happens. 

[junhuiste]

twice twice baby (preview)

pairing: jake x gn reader x sunghoon

word count: 2200

tags/warnings: fluff, slight angst, college!au, hockey player!jake, ice skater!sunghoon, sports med assistant!reader, slowburn, mutual pining, cursing, slightly suggestive scenes

a/n: this is just a preview of the bigger piece i plan to publish much later, so it pretty much only has jake, sorry hoonists! also gonna address it here while we’re at it, but i wanna apologize to everyone who sent requests in! i have them all plotted, most drafted and written, but i didn’t realize when i moved back home how busy i would be with work, summer classes, and looking for an apartment! i will have them published before the end of summer though! this piece is coming out before only because i wrote it well before finals week lol

taglist: please let me know if you wanna be part of the taglist!

Being in a parallelogram (or was it a dodecagon? A triangle? whatever) with the two notorious ‘Ice Hotties’ at your college, Jake Sim, the captain of the hockey team, and Park Sunghoon, the world class figure skater, is easy. Geometry isn’t that complicated...right?

As you entered into the arena, a cold blast of air struck, prompting you to jump slightly in your tracks, cursing that it was men’s hockey season and not basketball anymore. Albeit arms shivering, knees wobbling, and barely being able to make any strides at all, you weren’t distraught and to some extent trembling because of the ice rink or the ice packs inside the pouch seemingly glued to your waist, or hell, even the unnecessary air conditioner giving its all. Really, did they need to keep that fucking thing on when it was already polar-arctic-adjacent inside the arena? Probably to keep the rink from oozing into water and having Atlantis actually come to fruition...whatever, fuck the cold!

“Y/N, let’s get on it. We’re a bit late.” The head athletic trainer indicated, speed-walking a little too quickly for your liking, but what were you to do when your chest was heaving upon arrival at the ice center? Suck it up? Collapse and crawl into a ball?

Nodding, even though she was practically scurrying and leaving your curtailing ass in the dust, you heightened your pace despite the fact that your legs were about to give out at any second. Weren’t cold spaces supposed to make a solid more rigid, not turn your legs to jelly?

The both of you finally reached the area where the players were situated to greet the head and assistant hockey coaches.

“This is Y/N,” your trainer (whom insisted you just skip the formalities and call her Mina) motioned to you, slightly yet noticeably panting, “a first year, but they’ve done men’s basketball, women’s soccer and some gymnastics last semester. They know their stuff!”

“Wouldn’t doubt it.” The head coach reaches out to grip your hand firmly.

“Pleasure to meet y—“ once more today you jump, this time not shaken by the frozen tundra or by the vehemently boisterous buzzer, though it was much more thundering than the buzzer at the basketball court for some reason, but by the announcers cheering, “first year, number three, co-Captain, Jake Sim!”

And the crowd? They didn’t just go wild, no, they were literally cacophonous, the ground beneath and the arena stands rumbling, practically rivaling the San Andreas fault. Craning your neck to look around the oval shaped space and just how many students from your school, clad in university regalia, were present to see guys battle it out with plastic sticks on frozen water, even that, the entire scene wasn’t what had your heart nearly palpitating out of your chest.

First year, number three, co-Captain, Jake Sim. Now that was enough to warrant a blood pressure monitor...and possibly a defibrillator.

Almost giving yourself whiplash from turning around too quickly, it was hard not to gape at the boy coasting across the ice, waving at the all too excited crowd. And even through his helmet and from across the rink, you could make out his dark, glimmering irises, like how the sun’s edges would peak through from behind during an eclipse. It was kind of charmingly sickening actually, that someone could be as radiant as he was, under all the bulky gear, even despite the temperature. It wasn’t convenient actually that it had to be men’s hockey this time, that you, as the athletic trainer’s sports medicine intern had to attend the games for. Yeah, it was for credits. Sure, it was for intern experience...but what was the point if you only expected to make a fool out of yourself trying to tend to Jake and his teammates’ possible injuries?

It wasn’t fair, actually, that you were hopelessly in like with Jake Sim and that he didn’t even know your name when you were in the same physics class. To be fair though, it was a class of about 400, an infamous weeder course that crushed the poor souls of innocent underclassmen, so to have him direct any sort of attention your way, even a mere glimpse, would be laughable. That was what happened when you sat in the back, though.

Of course it just had to be Jake Sim that completely bewitched you, and he didn’t have to twirl any fingers or fixate any potions to have you just so damn spellbound. All he had to do was show up to freshman orientation with that stupid inviting grin of his, and that dumb glint in his eye that no one else seemed to possess. No, of course he just had to show up and be almost too cordial to everyone in your orientation group, even though all the other students, including you, could not give a single damn about the campus tour. And yes, of course, he just had to have the masses absolutely enamored with him, both upper and underclassmen alike.

Consider all of that, with Jake’s insane schedule, not that you knew anything specific, just that he had games on Tuesdays and Thursdays, coupled with daily practices, but you were only privy to that information because Mina always gave you the athletic teams’ agendas for the month. So yes, trying to garner any attention from Jake was like floating right smack in the middle of the Pacific, sending some sort of signal through a marine radio, and getting no response back. Not a hint that anyone was coming. No helicopters whirring above, no boats sent out ashore. What would he want to do with the first-aid kid, the person that sat in the back, the person that was paying attention to something else at the moment, and not the fact that they had to observe players carefully for potential injuries?

Well, sorry to Jake’s teammates and Mina, but you just couldn’t pry your eyes off of number three. How he skated in such an agile manner while simultaneously defending assertively was certainly an image now seared into your mind. The way he commanded the court was just so—“You paying attention? Are you okay today?” Mina snapped you out of your nonsensical trance.

“Yeah, yeah of course! Always on my toes like you said...” your eyes told a different story, and deceived you at that.

“And there’s number three, Sim, with the first goal!”

Jake skated backwards to high five his teammates and to prepare to defend, and it was definitely a sight to see him so animated, feeling right where he should be in his domain.

“Ah, I see. Number three is it? I heard he’s a beast on the ice,” Mina nudged and winked slyly at you, “anyway, pay attention ‘cause if your little ice boy gets hurt you know we gotta move quickly.”

It was already enough to have your friends taunt you about your silly adolescent infatuation with Jake, now to have your mentor in on it too? Mina was right though, you were here to wrap ankles and tend to bruised hips, not ogle at the team captain.

“Gotcha. On my toes!” you winked back at her, semi-ready to do your job. If you could predict injuries before they even happened during the basketball and soccer games you should be more than capable of caring for the hockey players. Whipping your head around to finally and legitimately focus on the members, you really wished you hadn’t.

There he was, number three, adept and dodging the defensive players, with the puck sliding in tandem with his stick. Then, it happened all too quickly, in a tenth of a second, too much for everyone spectating to comprehend.

BAM.

Suddenly, Jake was on his back after he and the opposing player too combatively collided into each other. You blinked once and now he was supine on ice, clutching a leg to his chest. His teammates and the referees hastily surrounded him, but you could not watch anymore, you had to do what you were here for.

Running past both the coaches, lamenting what the hells and go go go! at Mina, you dashed to the edge of the rink, about to enter and slip on the ice, but stopped yourself, because you didn’t have skates on. Fuck. Mina and you always ran to the scene of the injury, and you’d only dealt with hardwood floors and grass fields, but never ice. There was no reason for you to just stand around though, as Jake was being lifted by the referees. As much as you wanted to glue your eyes to the catastrophe, you sprinted to the locker room to fetch the cooler.

“Everyone, move!” You shouted at the towering players standing in your way. Setting the cooler on the floor, you directed some of them to assemble a few of the chairs they were sitting on for a makeshift cot for Jake to rest his leg on. Nervously yet rapidly, you dug into your backpack for a splint, pre-wrap, and medical tape.

When you stood back up, Jake and the referees were at the rink’s entrance, with Mina extending her arms to steady him once he transitioned from ice to linoleum. And through all this he maintained the same tender-hearted curve on his face, beaming at Mina and thanking the referees.

One of Jake’s coaches and Mina propped Jake around their shoulders as he hopped on one foot to your nearby station. Assisting them in getting Jake to sit down, you were shaking slightly out of feverishness and hormones, even though it was the perfect temperature for snowfall, but forming a resistance to doing that was almost impossible.

Christ, you weren’t like this when Taehyun tore his ligament last semester at the basketball semi-finals, or when Yuna sprained her toe out on the field, yet it was due to that certain someone that you just could not find it within you to operate as you usually did. It was imperative that you got out of your own head; Jake was merely another athlete you had to tend to and someone you, quite frankly, had to get over, like now.

Once Jake was seated with his right leg propped up on the opposite chair, he took his helmet off and handed it to his coach standing guard next to him.

“Mina, you guys got this?” The coach hesitantly asked your trainer.

“Absolutely nothing to worry about, Coach Kim! We’ve seen worse than this; we’re good, right Y/N?”

You gave Coach Kim a measly thumbs up and he rushed to get back to the rest of the team to continue with the game, deliberating who would substitute in now that their best player was on the sidelines.

While Mina undid Jake’s skates and kneepads, you assessed him before you could get started, asking him what kind of pain he had in his leg, how much it hurt on a scale of 1-10, and if he could wiggle his toes.

Sharp and kind of aching, I think. 8.5-ish, actually maybe just 8. Toes wiggling.

“Um, okay. Good that your toes are still intact, which means you’re gonna be okay, but is there any other part of your body that hurts?” You tried not to sound like a complete buffoon, trying to enunciate your words properly like you did with several other injured athletes; Jake shouldn’t have been any different. He was, though.

“Yeah, I feel like there’s a bruise on the right side of my body somewhere,” he said, motioning to his abdomen.

“Okay...I’m gonna take your shoulder pads off and you have to take your jersey off so we can ice it, is that cool with you?” Your brain was bouncing off the walls at the mention of “take” and “off”. Come on, this wasn’t fucking NASA, although it might as well have been, as he was a universe and a half to you (in a melodramatic way of sorts).

“Yeah, yeah—for sure. Thanks.” Jake flashed an acknowledging smile, to which your cheeks heated up at. There was an injured boy in front of you—no time for shits and giggles and teenage elation.

As you aided Jake in removing his shoulder pads and jersey, he winced a bit, while trying to hide it at the same time. 

“Are you good? I’ll get some ice on that soon, I promise.” You gradually eased into your ‘medic’ mode, trying to expel as much of your nerves as humanly possible.

“Yeah I’m okay, just hurts a bit. Thanks again,” he could not stop giving you that demure yet brazen demeanor, and to be around a smiling Jake meant a tense you, regardless if your subconscious plan to initiate Nerves Exodus was kind of working.

When Mina stood up, all finished with undoing his skates and knee pads, she asked Jake to repeat what he stated about his pain earlier to you back to her. Before walking to where the coaches and other players were, she chaffed at you, with a mischievous lilt to her words, “you can handle it from here right? The star player’s in your hands.”

Audibly, you ‘mhmmed’ her, and when you were out of Jake’s sight, rolled your eyes, making sure she noticed that. You were glad though, that Mina was your trainer and not some old, stern fart like she had when she interned in your same position; it made for much more “effective” mentoring and communication, especially because she left you alone with the athletes, so you were able to think of what to do next for yourself, and if there were ever any mistakes—which there were none of to date—she would help you work through them.

Holy shit, Mina left. It was just you and Jake.

[so-writing]

Sugar, Honey, Ice and Tea - Matthew Tkachuk (2)

All parts in the master list

Matthew didn’t come back to the room the two of you were supposed to be sharing to get any of his things before practice started. You got dressed and slowly made your way to the rink, expecting him to be as much of a handful that evening as he was during the morning skate. 

“You really like to start shit, huh?”

“What?” 

The same assistant you’d shit on Matt with the day before laughed before shaking his head and patting you on the shoulder, “Tkachuk basically demanded a room reassignment. Sutter pretty much told him to grow a pair and get the fuck over it. He’s not happy and it is showing.”

He waved his hand toward the ice and you looked up just in time to see Matthew shoot a puck directly into the glass, causing it to explode in a million shards and cover both the seats positioned near it and the ice. 

“Tkachuk!”

You winced at how harsh the sound of his name came out of the coach’s mouth, “get off the ice! Cool down! Now!”

Matthew skated quickly toward the bench and hurried down the tunnel, not bothering to give either of you a glance. 

“You’re going to have to fix whatever is going on between the two of you. He can’t do this tomorrow during the game.”

You knew he was right. You knew that despite how shitty Matthew acted toward you, you needed to be the bigger person and talk—apologize—to him for whatever he needed. He needed to get out of his head and you unfortunately had to be the one to help him. 

“I know,” you whined, “but I don’t want to!” 

“What even is the problem with you guys? I know I haven’t been here long but I’ve picked up on the disconnect that you have with him alone.”

“He’s never liked me. I don’t know what I did.” 

“That sucks, but you better figure it out and squash it. This is bleak but if it comes down to your or him, your ass is out and you know it.”

The thought hadn’t even occurred to you. You’d been uncool with Matthew for such a long time that you thought it was something that would just exist in the background but not actually matter. 

It was naive and quite frankly stupid of you to not consider what might happen if the tension between yourself and Matthew escalated. You were a casual, easily replaceable assistant to the coaching staff and he was the heart and the future leader of the team. He wasn’t going anywhere. 

But, if you didn’t get it together, you were going somewhere and that was right out the fucking door and into the unemployment line. 

*

You got back to the room first, showering quickly and settling yourself into the corner of the room with your laptop on your knees so that you could catch up on some work. The goal was to stay completely out of Matthew’s way. 

The plan was to start slow. You would tuck yourself away until he was willing to tolerate you and then, slowly, you’d apologize and try to create a relationship between you that was civil and wouldn’t cost you your job. 

The door opened about an hour after you returned. 

“Fuck,” you watched from where you sat as Matthew ran both hands over his face and through his curls, “this is going to fucking suck.”

You said nothing and he didn’t notice you sitting in the corner on your laptop. He must have assumed you weren’t back yet, because he stripped his shirt off in the middle of the room and tossed it to the floor. 

His joggers and boxers followed suit. It was obvious that he had no idea you were in the room and you should have looked away as soon as he removed his shirt but he was a man getting naked in front of you and you were a woman with needs and as much as you hated him, you couldn’t deny that he was fucking hot.

“Holy shit!” 

Matthew turned to make his way to the bathroom to shower and just happened to meet your eyes on the way.

“What the fuck?! You’re here, why didn’t you fucking say something?!”

Your cheeks burned red as you watched him stumble around the hotel room, trying and failing to cover his body. 

“Sorry, sorry,” you rushed out, “I didn’t want to bother you. I wanted to leave you alone, I didn’t know you would-”

“So you’re a bitch and a fucking creep! Lucky me!”

He cut you off before hurrying to the bathroom, slamming the door hard behind him. 

Shutting off your laptop, you ignored your nightly skincare routine and desire to brush your teeth as you hauled your ass into bed. You definitely weren’t planning to be awake when he came out of the shower. 

*

The clock on the side table read 2:46AM. Rolling over, you realized the other side of the bed was vacant and your stomach shot up into your throat. Matthew was going to talk to the guys about what happened and you were definitely getting fired. 

Soft snores pulled you out of your thoughts and you leaned over the side of the bed to see Matthew Tkachuk passed out on the floor with a blanket far too small for his body covering him. 

He hated you that much that he would rather sleep on the cold, hard, nasty hotel room floor than in a bed with you. You didn’t blame him, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt your feelings just a little bit. 

“Matt,” you gently nudged his shoulder, “Matt, wake up.” 

“Hmm?”

He rolled around a little bit before finally waking up and the neutral expression on his face turned sour as soon as he recognized you. 

“Fucking, what?” 

“Get in bed. You can’t sleep on this floor, it’s going to fuck with your back. You can’t do it.” 

“I’m not getting into bed with you.” 

Fine. Fucking fine. You suppress the urge to roll your eyes and think about how much you like your job and the benefits and the salary.

“I’ll sleep on the floor, I don’t mind. You need to get all the rest you can.” 

“Fine,” he huffed and waited for you to get out of bed before taking his place opposite the one you’d been in.

The floor was cold and Matthew took the blanket he’d been using to bed with him so you were left with nothing but what you were wearing and an entirely too flat to be any kind of comfortable pillow. 

Sleep never came and when his alarm went off in the morning, you closed your eyes and pretended as he stepped around you, making more noise than necessary and slamming the door closed too hard as he headed down to team breakfast. 

You immediately jumped up as soon as Matthew was gone and headed for a shower. As soon as the water heated up, you hopped in and hauled your ass to the ground. Pulling your knees up to your chin, you began to cry. 

Fuck, you hated crying, especially at work but last night had been awful. It was obvious now that you and Matthew would never strike up a civil relationship and maybe it was for the best that you find another job. 

[tetsunormous]

Skateboards and ice cream trucks

pairing: Connie Springer x gn!reader

genre: crack? fluff? SFW

warning: mentions of edibles.

A/N: this is for @odmlevis's Summer Solstice event. Honestly, this was really fun to write cause it doesn't really make any sense but I think it's funky fresh and fun so that's what matters. Also, who wouldn't wanna do this with Connie on a hot summer day, yk?

The sun shines onto the heated driveway where you and Connie lay. Both of your legs sprawled out as you watch him roll his skateboard towards you again. The plan was to teach you some new tricks since he bought you your own board, but the heat is actively sucking the energy out of you both. It’s honestly kind of pathetic that after practicing for two weeks straight, the only trick you know is an ollie. Luckily, Connie is a very patient man when it comes to you, and each time you show him how fast you can go in a straight line, he hollers like Gwen Stefani. But now you’re both laying down, feeling how the pavement is basically cooking the back of your thighs.

Connie looks over at you and pouts a little, his eyes squinting even behind his sunglasses, “why’s it so hot?”

With a confused scowl, you reach over and kick his shin, “The earth is flat, you idiot. The sun is directly facing us.”

Replying with a “tch,” he sits up to take his muscle tank off, looping it through his belt loop before tying it securely. Turning his head towards you, he smirks and reaches over to tug at your crop top, “I think it’ll help if you take your top off too. You know, it’s less restricting.”

“Stupid,” you mumble with another kick to his leg.

Before Connie can reply, you both freeze when you hear a familiar tune. The ice cream truck in your area is slightly different from most because they don’t just sell ice cream. They also sell edibles. A weird combo that Erwin, the blond stonk that owns the truck, believes is the best way to make money when a bunch of young adults live in a neighbourhood together. One might say Erwin is really smart for this, but at the same time, Connie has been coming to the truck every week, and every week he convinces Erwin to give him his signature brownie sundae for free. He’s playing Doja Cat through the speakers, and the two of you look at each other before getting up and hopping on your boards to find him.

Connie is exponentially better than you at skating, so he yanks your arm towards him before lacing your fingers together. With a kiss on the knuckles, he speeds off down the hill with you screaming in his ear about going too fast. Frankly, he doesn’t care right now because he’s about to scam Erwin for another free sundae.

As you two zip through the residential streets, you spot the truck at the bottom of the hill, but it’s a steep hill that’s probably even too steep for Connie to skate, but of course, he doesn’t care. Right as you’re about to get dragged down this extremely dangerous hill, Erwin’s voice booms through the speaker. “You’re not getting free food today, Connie. You’ve been putting it on my tab, but I don’t wanna pay for you anymore,” he says in an apologetic tone.

Your boyfriend was not having any of this. He turns back to you and scoffs, “this guy, who does he think he is? We’re getting fucking zooted off his triple chocolate, chunky mama, rich boy, gooey, artery-blocking, brownie.”

Looking down at the truck, you see it transform into a monster truck as it speeds off, this time driving much faster than before. Was it even legal to have a transforming truck like that drive-through street with a speed limit of 40 km/hr?

It didn’t matter to Conman cause he takes his phone out and presses a few buttons before his skateboard grows two engines, and yours turns into a desk chair with a seatbelt for safety. You slowly turn to him, and he’s giving you a pointed look, “we got a truck to chase, babe, strap in.”

Wearily sitting down and buckling the seatbelt, you feel Connie grab the chair before his engines rev up. Your whole life flashes before your eyes when you two start rolling down the hill, his board now travelling double the speed limit. The wind in your face starts to make your eyes water, but your boyfriend is determined to chase after the truck cause he starts yelling.

“GET BACK HERE! HOW DO YOU KNOW I DON’T PLAN ON PAYING TODAY? I’M TRYNA GET MY BABY TO TRY YOUR SHIT, YOU STONKER!”

The truck is in sight, but it’s serving someone right now and Connie screams, watching him hand his brownie off to someone else. Feeling you two slow down, you notice his engines are gone, but you’re still in your chair. He looks down at you and whispers something before gaining more speed.

Connie yells, and as the two of you zip through the area, he pushes your chair between the truck and the person who had just bought the brownie. You and your greedy raccoon hands snatch that bitch from them and ride off. The two of you laugh and ride towards the sunset, ready to enjoy your brownie sundae that just so happened to be free of charge.

Tag list: @1252291 @kirsteiiins @plutowrites @6oldie @matsusimp @strawbari21 @arte-misa @kvrooschibichan @arumiee @rinsangel @awilddreamerwrites

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© tetsunormous 2021

[bitch-out]

OKAY i know you didn’t ask for a full length fic but... i couldnt help myself. here it is: 

Four times Alex saw signs that the world was changing to become more accepting of people like him, and the one time he actually realized it.

1. TV SHOW

After finishing practice for the night, the band walked into Julie’s house. Luke immediately walked into the kitchen, wanting to see what meal her dad was whipping up. His obsession with watching lifers eat was starting to get a little concerning. Reggie followed after him, wanting to hang out with Julie’s dad. That was also a little concerning.

Julie plopped down on the couch next to her little brother, Carlos, who was watching a TV show that she didn’t recognize. Alex hopped over the couch and took a seat next to her, looking at the screen intently.

“What is he watching?” Alex asked, reclining into the couch.

Julie shrugged in response. “I’m not sure…”

Carlos looked over to her with a questioning expression. “Huh?” Oh crap. She needed to stop talking to the boys while other people were around. It made her look absolutely bonkers.  

“…what you’re watching! I’m not sure what you’re watching.” She said quickly, trying to avoid any awkwardness. “What is it?”

He seemed to buy it, letting her weirdness go. “Oh, I’m watching this new show. I forget what it’s called. It’s about this girl who accidentally gets musical superpowers after getting stuck by lightning.”

“Cool,” she answered, settling into the couch. She and Alex watched for a few minutes before looking at each other in confusion. They had absolutely no idea what was going on in the show. They looked at the screen as the main character sighed dramatically, slamming her door while running out of her house. “I’m lost. What’s happening? Why is she so mad?” Julie asked.

Carlos rolled his eyes. “She’s in a fight with her dads right now because they won’t let her go to this big party. Now shhh! It’s getting juicy!”

Luke’s eyes went wide as the scene switched to the main characters dads, who were sharing a tender moment while discussing their child. Two dads? On television? Without it being played off as a joke? He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the screen.

Julie looked at him inquisitively, noticing his surprised expression. She raised an eyebrow.

“I see.” A soft smile settled on his face. “Cool.” He bit his lip and leaned back.

“Cool.” She agreed. She almost said something, but then decided it would be better for her to wait for him to tell her.

2. PUBLIC DISPLAY OF AFFECTION

“People watching in 2020 is way better than people watching in the 90’s.” Reggie stated as they walked through downtown LA. They were killing time while Julie was at school. They passed a man in a superhero costume who was taking pictures with tourists.

“I know right?” Luke agreed. “I love looking over people’s shoulder and watching what they’re doing on those… high tech cellphone things.”

“Smartphones,” Alex offered.

“Smartphones, right.”

Reggie ran over to a middle aged guy in a suit sitting on a bench who was looking intently at his phone. “Look at this guy! He’s looking at an article called ‘How to tell if you have foot fungus’.” He wrinkled his nose. “Gross. You might wanna get that checked out, buddy,” patting his shoulder, his hand passing right through.

Luke looked around for someone else to observe. “Okay see the one over there in the blue striped shirt eating a chili dog?” He pointed over to his left to a man walking away from a hot dog stand.  

The man went to take a bite out of his chili dog but dripped it all down the front of his shirt. “Oooooh…. Missed his mouth on that one,” Luke said, cringing.

“That’s nasty,” Alex chimed in.

A guy who looked to be around their age speed walked past them, looking down. He brushed his shaggy blonde hair out of his face as he grinned down at his phone. He was obviously walking with a purpose.

“This guy is hustling! Cmon!” Reggie grinned, jogging after him. Luke and Alex ran over to catch up, all three of them following in pursuit. They all looked over his shoulder to read his text messages. He was texting someone he had named “babe <3” in his contacts.

Can’t wait to see u, his text read, im right around the corner

Reggie whistled. “His girlfriend’s probably a complete hottie if he’s that excited to see her-”

As they turned the corner, the blonde stranger they were following put his phone away as he caught sight of someone. He broke into a run and bear hugged the person, wrapping his arms around them and lifting them off the ground. As he pulled away, it was revealed that the person he was hugging was a brunette guy around the same age as them.

The brunette murmured something, his lips quirking into a smirk. The blonde teen let out a laugh, then pulled him into a kiss.

Alex nearly gasped in surprise, looking around to notice that… not a singular person was looking over. Everyone was just going about their day as normal. No glares, no sneers, not even a scoff.

It felt like the breath was sucked out of his lungs. Was this… normal? The couple broke apart and joined hands, continuing down the street. Alex couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. No one had even batted an eyelash at the public display of affection.

To him, it hadn’t been that long ago since 1995. When even looking at someone for too long would get you called a slur. When his own father would call him a-

“Alex? You good?” He was broken out of his thoughts by Luke looking over at him concernedly.

Alex opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by someone else.

“There you guys are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

They turned around in tandem to see Julie standing there, her eyes sparkling. And they continued with their day, moment forgotten.

3. MUSIC

Alex found himself once again alone with Julie, hanging out with her in her room. He was the only member of the band she would let hang out with her in here, which filled him with an odd sort of pride.

They were currently listening to one of her Spotify playlists. Julie was doing homework on her bed and Alex was tapping his drumsticks on his knee, following the beat of the song they were listening to. He was getting into the groove of the song “This song has a good beat!” he exclaimed. “What is this?”

She grinned at him. “It’s called ‘Girls like Girls’ by Hayley Kiyoko!” She stood up on her bed, dropping her homework and singing into an imaginary microphone as the chorus hit. She belted at the top of her lungs, “Girls like girls like boys do, nothing new~” She laughed as she flopped back onto her bed.

He gaped at her, surprised that she was treating it with such nonchalance. In the 90’s, this would have been music you listened to at 2 am when your parents were asleep. “Is this a… popular song?” he asked.

“Yeah, I mean it’s from like 2015 so it’s basically ancient but it’s still pretty popular.” She turned back to her homework and picked up her pen. “I think the music video has like over 100 million hits on YouTube or something like that.”

His jaw dropped even further “100 million?”

The timer on her phone went off. The words BAND PRACTICE blared across the screen with the chime of her ringtone. “I’ll show it to you later! But we have to go to rehearsal right now.”

He shook his head and followed her out of the room.

4. COVINGTON

As both his friends were pulled away by girls saucily dancing in feathered blue outfits, Alex stood awkwardly like a fish out of water. Covington slid up to him with a sly smirk on his face. “Come now. You can’t be the only one not dancing.”

“No, I… I know.” Alex sputtered. “I’m just…” Not into dancing with girls? No, he couldn’t just say that. He didn’t want to cause a scene. He pointed over his shoulder. “I’m looking for Willie,” he finished lamely.

Covington seemed to read him like an open book. He smiled and gestured with open palms. “Dante! Fuego!” Two handsome men slid up to either side of him. “Meet Alex.” The linked arms with him.

Alex looked at them, surprised. How did he know? Is this like a theater thing? Or… “You’re welcome,” Covington smirked, ducking down. Is this normal here…?

His thoughts were cut off as he was lifted up over Covington’s head and pulled into a fast-paced dance.

5. PRIDE

“Slow down Willie!” Alex shouted, running after his brunette friend as he skated through lifers and tore down the street.

Willie laughed and hopped off his board, picking it up off the ground. He waited for Alex to catch up with him “Relax, we’re almost here…”

Alex was too busy catching his breath to realize they were in the middle of a giant crowd. Lifers walked through them every few seconds like it was nothing “Wh-What is this?” Alex asked, looking around. Everyone was wearing colorful clothing and most were wearing some kind of glitter.

The skater laughed and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the street. “We’re skating the floats, dude.” He pointed at the bright floats that were parading down the street.

Was this some kind of festival or something? Alex wondered. “Why is everything so… colorful?”

Willie looked at him like he was missing something obvious. “It’s June. Pride month.” Alex didn’t know what that was. He looked around, trying to figure it out. “You’ve never seen a pride parade before?” Willie questioned. Then, he realized. “Right. Right, you’re a 90’s ghost. I keep forgetting about that.” He slapped his forehead.

Then, he realized what this was. Alex turned to his right and saw two women kissing. A couple of guys his age were holding hands right next to him. Signs as far as the eye could see read ‘here and queer’ and ‘all you need is love’ and ‘love is love’ and countless other sayings. His breath stuttered in his chest “This is…”

“I know. Pretty cool, right?” Willie asked, sounding pretty nonchalant. He was scouting out the floats, focused on his task.

“And this is all for…” Alex hesitated, “For gay people?”

“All LGBTQ+ people, technically, but yeah dude.” Willie clarified. He grinned, his eyes set on a float just down the road. He found the perfect route.

“So it really is different now, huh?” Alex asked, his voice cracking slightly. Willie looked back in alarm, not realizing how much this was impacting the drummer beside him. A tear rolled down his cheek, but his smile could not be bigger. Alex continued, “Like I had hoped it was, and there’s been some signs, but this is…” He covered his mouth to hide a sob.

Willie walked over to his side, dropping his skateboard and taking his hand gently. “Yeah, Alex. It’s different. Better. Not perfect, but... a lot better.” He squeezed his hand.

“It’s amazing.” Alex said, wiping the tears from his eyes with his sleeve and grinning. He let out a laugh as a drag queen passed by and waved at the crowd, blowing kisses.

The skater couldn’t take his eyes off of Alex. He was absolutely glowing, basking in the atmosphere of the parade. “You know what? Let’s forget the skating.” Willie decided, taking his skateboard from the side of the street and tucking it in an alley.

“Huh?” Alex was confused. Willie wanted to... not go skating?

“It’s time to get your pride on, Alex.”

Together, they spent the rest of the day exploring every area of pride, ducking through crowds and sneaking onto floats. There was even one point where they ran through a huge glitter cannon, getting absolutely covered in glitter.

After it was all done, Willie teleported back to Julie’s house with him to drop him off.

“That was the most fun I’ve ever had.” Alex admitted, his smile seemed to be permanently glued to his face.

“Me too. I’ve been to tons of pride parades, but none of them were as fun as this one.” Willie admitted.

“Really? What was different about this one? Was it the glitter cannon? It was probably the glitter cannon-”

“It was you, Alex.” The skater said quietly, brushing a couple stray pieces of glitter off of the taller boy’s cheek.

“Oh,” Alex breathed, looking down at Willie. His heart was racing a mile a minute. He hadn’t realized they were standing so close together.

Willie hesitated for a moment. Was this the moment? He didn’t want to rush Alex. He was probably overwhelmed enough after experiencing his first pride. He smiled up at the blonde and patted him on the shoulder. “Goodnight, Alex.” He stepped away and turned to leave.

He was just about to teleport when he heard “Wait!”

Willie turned around Alex kissed him.

He stiffened at first, surprised. Before he could respond, Alex pulled away and looked at him in panic.

“I’m so sorry, I thought-”

Willie grabbed him by the lapels and dragged him down, kissing him heatedly. Alex responded with enthusiasm, wrapping his arms around his waist.

“ABOUT TIME!” someone hollered from behind him.

They broke away to see Luke and Reggie beaming. They both ran over and hugged them both in a group hug. “We thought you two would never figure it out.” Luke said, causing Reggie to laugh. 

“Happy pride, Alex”. Willie murmured, squished up against his side. And Alex couldn’t have been happier.

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 1 - Ribbit

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, THE meetcute of meetcutes. 2.1k

Edit: thank you so much @trevor-wilson-covington for the pretty edit!! I'm in love with it!

Alex drummed his fingers on the armrest of his seat in the van. The drive from Los Angeles to Vegas was just short of four hours, but it had been an early morning and it was going to be a long day. He was feeling the carsickness sit just under the threshold of dangerous and rolled down the window.

“Whoo! Twenty miles boys!” Luke called out as they passed a sign on the freeway, clapping Bobby on the shoulder from behind.

“Woohoo!” Bobby responded in excitement.

“Think you’re gonna make it, buddy?” Reggie looked over at Alex. Alex turned only a fraction of the way toward his friend and gave a half-hearted nod.

“Hey man, let us know if we gotta pull over,” Luke said.

He simply nodded. Next time he wasn’t going to sit in the back.

The other three were jamming to whatever Luke was riffing on his guitar. Bobby thankfully drove at a slower pace as they approached the final stretch toward their destination. The ache in his stomach didn’t get better, but it also didn’t get worse so he was banking on it calming down once they stopped.

“Hey, guys, we wanna stop somewhere and get breakfast first?” Bobby called out to the rest of them.

“Oh yeah!” Reggie said. “I think I could go for some pancakes.”

“Oh, pancakes sound real good right now.” Luke echoed.

“Alex?” Bobby peeked into the rearview mirror at him.

Looking up from the view outside, he just shrugged. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t sure he could handle food no matter what it was.

Eventually they pulled off the freeway and kept their eyes peeled for an open restaurant.

“I see pancakes!” Reggie cried, pointing at his target.

“They’ve got an arcade next door, I second that vote!” Bobby said.

As they parked and clambered out of the van, the boys stretched and shook their limbs. They entered the diner and found a booth, practically collapsing together on the table. Alex placed his face in his hands and tried taking in deep breaths to calm his stomach. A sudden voice was heard beside the table.

“Good morning starshines, the earth says hello! How are we doing today?” Sounded like a waiter. Alex felt rude, but didn’t bother to look up. He felt Luke nudge a menu under his elbow.

“Oh, we’re hungry!” Reggie responded.

“Awesome, guys,” the waiter said. “Anything I can get started for you?”

“We’ll go with water,” Luke spoke for everyone at the table. “And, sorry about him, he’s not feeling good.” Alex assumed this was about him and sighed.

“Okay, so water for everybody? Alright, I’ll just grab those for you while you prepare your orders.”

As the waiter left, Luke tapped Alex’s shoulder.

“How you doin’, Alex?”

“Not blowing chunks, I guess,” he groaned.

“Hey, guys,” Bobby started saying. “How about we pick what we wanna eat, and then I want to check out the arcade while we wait for our food.”

“That’s a good idea,” Reggie said, perking up. “I hope they have Galaga.”

“I’m down,” Luke said. “Alex, you wanna wait here for us? You can give the guy our orders and then just chill.”

“Maybe that stomach will settle down,” Reggie added.

Alex lowered his hands and rested them on the table.

“Yeah,” he replied. “I need the space anyway. Thanks.”

“Cool,” Luke hopped up from his seat. “Uh, I’ll just do the buttermilk pancakes.”

“Make that two buttermilk pancakes!” Reggie said, holding up his fingers.

“Eggs and sausage,” Bobby told him. “And buttermilk pancakes.” He patted Alex on the back as the three of them ventured next door.

At least they were easy to remember. Alex looked around the restaurant as he kept breathing in and out slowly. He was the only person there. That was surprising for a diner just outside of Vegas around ten in the morning. He didn’t mind the quiet, though. Having all this space to himself was already helping him feel better.

A guy with long dark hair approached him with a tray carrying glasses of water. Alex gulped as he watched, his breath catching in his throat. He took in the tie-dye shirt, the ripped jeans, and puka shell necklace and guessed he was probably from California as well.

“Whoa, where’d they all go?” the waiter asked, smiling a little in confusion.

Alex blinked.

“They, uh, they went to the arcade,” he managed to get out. He couldn’t help it, this guy had a nice smile.

“Ah,” the guy raised his eyebrows and began placing the water on the table. “And they left you behind? That sucks.”

“I’m okay,” Alex said. “We’ve just been on the road for a bit and I got kinda carsick, so I needed some space anyway.”

“I’m sorry, man,” the waiter said. “Did they decide what to eat before they bailed?”

“Uh, yeah,” Alex shifted to face him better. “They all want buttermilk pancakes and then one guy also wants eggs and sausage.”

“Three buttermilks…” the guy muttered as he wrote them down. “Eggs and sausage. And do you know what you want?”

He looked directly into Alex’s eyes as he rested the tray under his arm and it took everything Alex had not to melt right there. Don’t look at his lips, he thought. He was pretty sure his eyes had betrayed him but he forced his gaze downward as a cover.

“I’m sorry,” he said, flustered. “I actually forgot to look at the menu.”

“Right, ‘cuz you were carsick, sorry” the waiter chuckled, running a hand through his hair. Alex bit his tongue.

“I should probably get some food still,” he managed to say. “We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

“Right on. I could recommend some toast - that’s always easy on the stomach. That comes with eggs, and I could add in some banana for you.”

“That actually sounds great,” Alex told him. “I’ll just do that, then.”

The waiter smiled and bit his lip.

“‘Kay!” He lifted the tray from under his arm and headed back toward the kitchen, doing a little skip before disappearing inside.

Alex felt his hands shaking and he sat on them for a minute. Looking around the empty diner, a thought occurred that somehow with just him and the waiter it had seemed full. The strange feeling crept all over him, like a new exhilarating energy, and he moved his hands back up. The waiter popped back out of the kitchen and came back toward Alex in a cavalier fashion.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked. “I don’t exactly have other people to help and I feel bad leaving you all by yourself in here.”

“Make yourself at home,” Alex said, gesturing to the seat across from him. Make yourself at home? What is that? he berated himself.

The guy extended a hand for him to shake. “I’m Willie, by the way.”

“Alex.” As he took it, Alex returned the firm grip he received and they both chuckled a bit at noticing each other’s strength. Willie sat down and immediately grabbed a napkin from the dispenser.

“So you said you and your friends have a long day ahead of you?” he asked.

“Oh right,” Alex couldn’t believe he had forgotten about the guys for a minute. “We’re a band, so we’ve got a gig opening for Julie Molina tonight.”

“Wicked,” Willie smiled and nodded, folding the napkin into something Alex wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be. “Who’s Julie Molina?”

“Oh, she’s just a good solo artist - does a little bit of everything. My buddy Luke is really into her.”

Willie nodded some more, continuing to fold the napkin.

“And who are you guys?”

“We’re Sunset Curve,” Alex said. “I’m the drummer.”

“Right on! You guys just becoming a thing?” Willie raised his eyebrows.

“I mean, I guess so,” Alex hadn’t exactly thought about it. “Opening for Julie is a big step for us.”

He watched Willie’s hands work until he finished. It turned out to be an origami frog.

“Ribbit,” Willie said, pressing on the top to make it look like it was moving. The napkin material didn’t exactly lend to bouncing up and down, which made them both giggle. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be distracting.”

“I don’t mind,” Alex said. “It’s entertaining.”

He realized how widely he was smiling and laughed to himself.

“What about you?” he asked.

Willie straightened his posture and ran a hand through his hair again. He flailed his arms and blew out his cheeks before holding one arm with the other and leaning on the table.

“Making it on my own for now. I just do whatever feels good, you know? Make a few bucks, get out and enjoy what I find. Don’t need a whole lot to be happy.”

Wow, Alex wanted that kind of chill. He picked up the origami frog.

“What do you do when you’re not here? Besides these, of course.”

Willie shrugged.

“Skate. Be free.” He smiled, but sighed heavily. Alex saw a distant look in his eyes, but knew now wasn’t a time to address it. “I see Vegas in all its glory. You should see the lights at night.”

“Won’t I see them tonight?”

Willie shook his head.

“Not the right way,” he told him. “Not at the right angle. I would show you, but you’ve got your gig and everything.”

Alex opened his mouth to reply, but a head stuck out of the kitchen door. A man with dark hair and chiseled features looked at Willie and all he did was glare authoritatively.

“I’m - coming,” Willie stammered, rising from his seat.

Alex realized his mouth was still open and he shut it, unhappily swallowing what he’d wanted to say.

“That was my boss,” Willie said, already in a hurry. “I’m sorry, I’ll be back when your food’s ready.” He rushed off and the diner felt empty and cold again.

As if on cue, Luke, Bobby and Reggie burst back through the door. Luke and Reggie were celebrating while Bobby seemed a little less enthusiastic.

“Dun-geon slay-er!” Reggie proclaimed in a mock deep voice. “Too bad we can’t stay longer and go for that tournament today; I would have whooped everyone.”

They all sat and immediately gulped down their waters. Bobby remained quiet.

“How was the arcade?” Alex asked.

“It was sweet,” Luke reported. “Bobby’s mad because Reggie mopped the floor with him.”

“The joystick wasn’t working right, it wasn’t a fair outcome,” Bobby defended.

“Oooohhh,” Reggie made a silly face and wiggled his fingers. “Bobby only loses when the game doesn’t work, ooohhh!”

Alex shook his head and laughed mildly. He only noticed then that his stomach had stopped bothering him completely. He hadn’t even felt it when he’d been talking with Willie. He finished his own water, and was happy not to feel anything as it went down. The origami frog was still on the table.

“Hey, Alex,” Reggie said, picking it up. “Did you make this?”

“Oh, no, Willie did,” he told him.

“Who’s Willie?” Luke asked.

Speak of the devil - the kitchen door opened and Willie came out carrying their plates.

“Alright, we got pancakes, pancakes, more pancakes,” he said, placing them where they belonged. He glanced at Alex quickly, but it was too quick to read. “Who had the eggs and sausage?”

“That was me,” Bobby said, raising his hand.

“Okay,” Willie passed it over to him. “And toast and eggs with a banana.” He smiled as he set it down before Alex. “And it looks like you all need more water, I’ll be right back!” He was gone too quickly again.

The change in his mood unsettled Alex, but maybe it was because Willie was working. As he saw Willie returning with the water pitcher he had an idea.

“Hey Luke,” he said. Luke turned to him expectantly as Willie silently poured water in their glasses.

“Where are we playing again?”

Luke looked confused. Willie was listening intently.

“The Pearl, why? How could you forget?”

“And what time do we play?”

“Eight o’ clock. You sure you’re feeling better?”

“Yeah. I was… I was just testing you, cuz sometimes you don’t remember.”

Luke looked around the table defensively.

Reggie shrugged. “He’s right. But you remembered this time!”

Alex felt bad about starting Luke in an argument as he listened to them continue, but he knew it would blow over quickly. He caught Willie looking back at him and nodding as he walked away. As he returned to his food, Bobby smirked at him and shook his head. Heat rose in his cheeks and he focused on his toast.

[sunnypogue]

hockey rafe gets jealous & fights (blurb)

alright babes - there were quite a few requests for coho!rafe to get into a fight during a game. 

fyi, it is v not allowed in college hockey, and results in a suspension. obviously rafe has already been in a couple fights this season, so getting in another one would be #bad. 

also, pls disregard the rude things asshole mark says about the south - we do not like him.

(warnings: cursing, fighting, etc.)

 you were the nicest girlfriend in the world. ever. in history.

you were sitting in a booth at your favorite mexican place, head resting in your palm as you sucked down your third margarita, straw never leaving your mouth.

meanwhile, your boyfriend, rafe was chatting away, oblivious to your boredom.

across from y’all were two visiting hockey players from ferris state - one was rafe’s good friend from bantam named wyatt, the other was wyatt’s teammate, mark.

it was a tradition for rafe & wyatt to grab dinner the night before their teams played, the hosting friend taking them to their favorite local hang. typically, this wasn’t a night you’d join in on, but rafe had been excited to introduce you to his childhood friend - you couldn’t say no.

you imagine it would have been fine if mark hadn’t tagged along.

mark was a lot from the jump. he was a transfer from a small minnesota college, and had never been south of the mason-dixon line. he had a loud personality and an even louder mouth, making small digs at anything related to the south - huntsville, the weather, the outfits, the men - you, being from the south, were over it. shockingly, your (normally) combative boyfriend hadn’t said anything about it, apparently too engrossed in his reunion with wyatt.

“hey babe,” you were jolted from your thoughts, as rafe nudged you with his shoulder. “wyatt and I are grabbing another drink - you want one?”

you looked down at your empty margarita glass, before looking back up towards him, nodding. “no salt this time, please.”

he smiled as he leaned down to kiss you, quick and chaste, before turning towards the crowded bar.

“what is that, your fourth one?” you heard mark scoff as soon as rafe was out of earshot.

you turned, crossing your arms as you faced the older boy. “is that a problem?”

he shrugged, sipping his beer. “just an observation.”

you rolled your eyes, leaning back into the booth. “you know, you don’t have to be here. you could go back to the hotel or wherever the hell you’re staying.”

he laughed, short and sharp. “and miss out on all this culture? I would hate to not get the full huntsville experience.”

you turned your head towards the bar, not wanting to engage with him. out of your peripherals, you watched him knock back the remainder of his beer (his fifth one, you bitterly noted) before he spoke,

“you know, I don’t think I’ve actually gotten the full huntsville experience.”

you angled your body towards him slightly, not responding, but intrigued in what he had to say next.

he leaned in, a smirk on his face, “I figure I might as well fuck a southern belle while I’m down here. seems like it’s all you people have to offer.”

you stared at him, mouth agape. “you’re a fucking pig, you know that?”

he laughed, sliding over to sit right across from you. “you’re a fuckin’ pig,” he repeated, mocking your drawl. “shit, honey, maybe you’ll do. you’ve kinda got that sloppy drunk southern thing going on - I can work with that.”

you were on your feet in a second, head reeling. “what the FUCK did you just say?”

he smirked, shrugging his shoulders, before you barreled on, yelling, “I can’t believe you’d fucking say that to a stranger, you little bastard! what the fuck do you think you’re doing, fucking hitting on me with my boyfriend literally 30 feet away,” your face was bright red, part embarrassed, part pissed, hands clutching your purse. “you’re a fucking pervert, fetishizing women like that!”

“what the hell is going on?”

you turned to see rafe and wyatt, both holding drinks, taking in the scene. mark was unfazed in his chair, an amused smile on his face. you were breathless, cheeks red, knuckles white.

“nothin’ man, thanks for the drink.” mark leaned forward to grab his beer from wyatt.

rafe moved towards you. “it doesn’t really look like nothing. my girlfriend usually doesn’t call strangers fucking perverts unless they deserve it.”

mark shrugged, “I don’t know man, she’s a little drunk - just started yelling. can’t understand much though, with that accent.”

you scoffed, anger flaring up again, “yeah right, you fucking insulted me and hit on me all the same breath. don’t turn this shit around on me.”

“whatever bitch, you’re drunk.” mark rolled his eyes, sipping on his beer.

rafe snapped, lunging forward -you and wyatt moved simultaneously, you grabbing at rafe’s arm, wyatt blocking him from getting any closer to mark.

“shut the fuck up, you little bitch.” rafe seethed, pointing his finger down at a smirking mark. “I’ll wipe that fucking smirk off your face - don’t fucking talk to her like that.”

you tugged on his arm, hard - he was trying to pry it free to swing over wyatt at mark. “babe, just forget it. let’s go.”

“no! this little fucking bitch thinks he can say shit like that, and then has the fucking balls to sit there and lie about it to my face? I’ll kill him!” rafe was still pushing against wyatt, who was fruitlessly trying to talk him down, while a small crowd started to form.

“rafe!” you snapped, leaning forward to grab his shoulder. “look at me!”

he glanced back, eyes wild. “let me go.”

“no. you can’t do this, not right now. you won’t be able to play tomorrow night - let’s just go.” you spoke, firm and even, feet planted as you tugged on his arm again.

rafe huffed, stepping back from wyatt with his hands up. “fuck you. I’ll see you on the ice, you fucking pussy.”

mark grinned, all teeth, as he stood up noisily from his chair. “bye y’all!” he hollered in a put-on accent, wiggling his fingers in a taunt.

you practically had to drag rafe out of there, lugging him to car.

“I’ll fucking go in there and kill him. I’ll do it.” rafe was seething, looking back towards the restaurant.

you grabbed his face, palms on both cheeks, forcing him to look you in the eye. “baby, you gotta breathe. he’s not fucking worth shit - not worth fighting, not worth being mad about, and certainly not worth getting scratched.”

rafe took a few ragged breaths, his hand clutching your wrist as he tried to calm down. you murmured words of encouragement, as he slowly started to relax.

when his breathing was even, you handed him his keys from your purse, squeezing his hand twice, before watching him slide into the drivers seat.

he was silent most of the ride home, hand tense on your upper thigh. you moved your hand to rest behind his neck, softly playing with the hair at his nape.

he broke the silence at a stop light, turning to look towards you as he mumbled, “you okay?”

you nodded. “yeah, he’s a grade-a prick, but nothing to write home about. just caught me off guard.”

rafe grunted, looking back at the road as the light turned green. “I could kill him for talking to you like that. who the fuck does that shit?”

you shrugged, fingers interlaced with his hair, grown out for the season. “he’s just trying to get in your head - classic instigator.”

“I’ll fucking kill him tomorrow. I will.” rafe growled under his breath, turning into his driveway.

“rafe,” you started, giving him a look as he parked the car. “you can NOT fight him - you’ll get ejected and be out for the next three games - coach is already mad about the last two fights.”

rafe rolled his eyes, tugging his hat down. “I don’t fucking care.”

you scrambled out of the car, chasing him to the door, grabbing the house key out of his hand before pushing him against the wall, your forearm solid against his chest. “look at me - you are NOT fighting some prick tomorrow because he drunkenly said some stupid shit. you’re not going to ruin your season and your relationship with your coach because of me. you got it?”

rafe’s look of shock quickly morphed into a grin, as he registered the fact that you had pinned him to the wall, growling like a feral kitten. “shit, baby, maybe I should have just let you fight him.”

you leaned off of him, preening a bit at the compliment as you unlocked the door with the key you jacked from him, “damn straight baby, I can handle myself.”

you yelped as he spanked you, hard.

the next day, you were perched in the stands with your friends, entire body tense as you watched the puck drop. rafe had promised he wouldn’t fight, but you had a feeling that promise wouldn’t keep if mark decided to mouth off about last night.

thankfully, they weren’t on the ice together, as rafe’s d-pair was rolled out against the top line (you couldn’t help but giggle at mark grinding it out on the fourth line). after two periods, you allowed yourself to relax a bit, sipping the lukewarm beer you had been clutching since the first intermission.

of course, that’s when rafe got stuck on a long shift, not able to change before his d-partner iced the puck, allowing the other team to change lines.

you audibly groaned as mark’s line hopped onto the ice, putting your beer down so you could cover your face.

through your fingers, you watched as mark barked something in rafe’s direction from outside of the face-off circle.

“oh fuck me.” you whispered, biting your lip.

“what’s up?” your friend asked, leaning down to check on you.

you couldn’t even respond, because as soon as the puck dropped, rafe was skating up the ice as if he was shot out of a cannon, boarding the ever living fuck out of mark.

“oh.” your friend mumbled, leaning back as y’all took in the chaos on the ice, watching as it devolved into an entire line brawl, refs getting knocked around in the action.

you waited for rafe after the game in your normal spot, down the hall from the dressing room, looking unimpressed as he emerged with wet hair and a shiner.

“you promised me you weren’t going to fight.” you pouted, leaning up to wrap your arms around his neck.

he shrugged, pushing his hair back, “I promised you I wasn’t going to ruin my season - and I didn’t. refs called me for 2 minute interference, that’s it.” he grinned.

you frowned, “yeah, well don’t get any ideas. you got lucky - you would have been out for the next month otherwise.”

rafe rolled his eyes, kissing you quick, before wrapping his arm around your shoulder as y’all headed out, “yeah, well, even so, it would have been worth it. little prick deserved it.”

you laughed, bumping your hip into rafe’s as y’all exited the arena, “my hero.”

[prepnursey]

@omgcpanniversaryweek Day Two, Friendship(s)

aka some Louis-centered homesickness emotional hurt/comfort (alt title: in which Bully and Hops are really really good friends)

“Hey, Louis?” Hops says, looking like he’s been repeating it for a while.

“Huh, vad?” Lukas says, then immediately realises what just came out of his mouth. “Uhh, sorry. What’s up?”

“No- it’s okay, me and Riv were just wondering if everything’s okay?” Hops looks really concerned now, and Lukas just wants the earth to swallow him. Yeah, they’re friends, but he knows that he can be a lot, and he shouldn’t be dumping all of this on Hops when there’s nothing anyone can do about his homesickness. Hops is always so happy, Louis doesn’t want to bring him down.

“You’re always either talking with us or playing music on the bus, but you’ve been just staring out of the window since we left Boston,” Bully says when it becomes clear that Lukas doesn’t know how to respond or is just too lost in his thoughts. He doesn’t know which one it is, either. “It’s okay to have bad days, but we just wanted to see if there was anything we could do to help.”

“Uh, thanks guys.” Lukas tries to create a convincing smile. “Really, I’ll be fine. It’s just that my birthday’s next week and it’ll be the first time I’m not spending it with my family.” He’d tried listening to the bands his parents like to make the bus trip feel more like when they drove to see his grandparents, but it just made him miss all of his family even more.

Hops and Bully both get sympathetic looks on their faces, but they’re eying each other trying to think of something to say.

Louis sighs. “Hey guys, I really appreciate you asking, but I think I want to just try to take a nap”, he says and turns towards the window. He knows he’s being a dick, but there just isn’t anything they can do.

_X_

Louis’s birthday is a Saturday. At morning practice the team sings to him until the coaches tell them to get skating, but afterwards Hall and Murray clap him on the back and wish him a good birthday. He has a genuine smile on his face this time, the team isn’t quite his family, but they are his friends and hey, how could he not laugh happily at seeing the whole team sing with varying levels of talent but with unbridled enthusiasm.

Afterwards, as they’re drifting towards the Haus for what Lukas was promised would be a ‘swawesome birthday brunch, Bully taps him on the elbow. “Hey, Lukas. Hops wanted to go get something ready at the Haus, but I just wanted to say happy birthday again.”

Lukas startles a bit, not used to hearing his real name pronounced with Bully’s American accent. He looks at Bully, having to tilt up his head just a little, and says: “Thanks. It’s-” he hesitates for a moment “-different being here, but I really appreciate it.”

Bully hums in agreement. “Do you want to call your family before we go to the Haus?” Lukas’s smile dims. “I’ll call them later. My mum’s at work and dad’s wrangling a bunch of kids for my little sisters’ football tournament.” Bully’s expression and his awkward response of “Oh. Well, that sucks.” draws a huff of laughter from Lukas, and Bully quickly gathers himself: “If you need to slip away from the team to call them later just let me know, ok?”

_X_

It seems that Lukas and Bully are the last ones to get to the Haus. He can hear laughing from the living room, but most of the action seems to be centered in the kitchen. Hops comes to the door. “Hey, Louis!” he says, gesturing for him and Bully to come to the kitchen.

The table is laden with brunch food. There’s eggs and bacon (pork and turkey on separate plates), toast with anything you could think of to put on it, but also -

Lukas turns to Bitty who’s nervously hovering near the oven. “Is that - where did you find actual rye bread?”

Bitty smiles. “It was all Bully and Hops. They messaged your parents for advice and recipes. I’ve been baking samples of Swedish rye bread all week, so I hope it tastes good.” “Thanks, really, thank you so much,” Lukas finds himself saying, blinking to keep away the tears that threaten to blur his eyes as he hugs first Bully and Hops and then Bitty.

The bread isn’t quite what he remembers from home, but there’s still something so achingly familiar about eating salted salmon on rye bread. And that’s when Bully and Hops start singing in Swedish.

They’ve messed up the pronouns so they’re singing about a woman, and especially when some of the team joins in, Bitty is absolutely butchering the pronunciation, but Lukas wouldn’t trade it for the world.

When they end, Lukas is openly wiping away tears but smiling so so wide. Bully and Hops bury him in a hug and say in a careful, clearly practiced attempt at Swedish: “Glad födelsedag, Lukas.”

He misses his family, but he’s found another one on the other side of the ocean.