#I love these idiots (/aff) why do they do the things that they do

[i-may-be-an-emu]

so excited for hot from the hip 😭 why are they doing this to themselves 😭 (/lh)

[elmuvahva]

let me talk about leo and donnie’s matching clothes pLEASE

plus a lil bit of mikey and raph near the end :>

so we all know the obvious ones like in ‘repairin’ the baron’ and in ‘man vs sewer’

but i want to talk about the little things hehe. starting with the two mentioned above anyways lmaooo

yes they’re matching but i love the little differences they add on. leo wears a blue undershirt, fully going ride or die with his blue theme, while donnie goes for a white undershirt for a more classic look.

i think that says a lil but about their characters and how they thought to present themselves to april’s mum (who they thought they were meeting). they both wanted to look good hence the stunning matching outfits, but leo also wanted to be himself (hence the blue undershirt), compared to donnie who wanted to appeal to april’s mother (hence the more classic look with the white).

in man vs sewer, they are both wearing the singlet and board short combo, however leo opts for simplicity and ‘laidbackness’ keeping the bare minimum and keeping his shirt loose and untucked. donnie on the other hand goes further and adds the extra decorative shirt to really hammer home the ‘i’m not a useful member of society’ and the holiday/break vibes he’s trying so hard to feel. he also chooses to tuck his shirt in, which i think is just a personal stylistic choice, one which extenuates and shows off the board shorts more and one which mirrors his belt that’s a part of his usual outfit.

now onto snow day :>

at a brief glance it doesn’t seem like they’re matching but you’d be wRONG! they’re wearing the same shoes, pants and scarf, however they choose different jackets and headgear according to their personal tastes (i also wanna point out how donnie’s pants are more boxy/puffy at the bottom to fit with his whole rectangle theme, while leo’s are tucked in firmly, providing a more angular/triangular look).

leo chose a sirius black looking leather jacket bc why wouldn’t he lmaooo. it very much screams leo in the sense of his faceman attitude and his ‘confidence.’ he also chose a beanie which provides a more hippie, laidback and cool vibe.

donnie, ever the nerd, matches his jacket and headwear, as they both have the light purple fluff. donnies jacket is also much more practical and feels like something you’d see skii-ers (how tf do you spell that), hikers and snow-bikers wear. he’s also wearing the ugliest fucking hat /lh that’s reminiscent of what those occupations also wear.

so what we can take away from this is that leo will look cool whatever the weather and donnie will dress for the practicality of the occasion.

now in the clothes dont make the turtle there are A LOT of matching outfits, not just from donnie and leo, for example, in the images above, all the boys are wearing classic black suits with white button downs, however they all style them differently.

i’d also like to note the slight differences on the collars of the suit jackets (leo and donnie’s are matching, mikey’s is more rounded with a lil point and raph’s mirrors his spikes).

they all style their suits differently by using different ties. leo goes for a black and blue striped tie, which i think showcases his sense of style and his playfulness in comparison to raph, who decides to play it safe with a classic one-toned tie.

mikey goes for a cute bowtie bc why wouldn’t he he’s adorable, and it also fits in with him being the youngest and ‘the baby’, as bowties are most commonly worn by kids.

donnie decides to completely forego the tie altogether bc he doesn’t need it, he’s already stunning 😩 lmao but i actually think he’s just really playing into his emotionally unavailable bad boy image.

there’s also these matching monstrosities for god knows what reason

and it’s not super matchy, but raph and leo also both rock the singlet under the open button down shirt (though the colours are swapped and leo pops the collar causes he’s an idiot /aff)

and lastly!! these outfits. now at first glance, you’re probably thinking ‘elva what the fuck are you going on about’ BUT just hear me out!!

they both have ripped aspects to their outfits, leo’s at the shoulders and donnie’s at the waist. it’s obviously not an intentional match but i think they just subconsciously did it :>

they’re also both wearing head accessories, though in totally different styles (leo with his backwards cap to look ‘cool’ while donnie adorns a beanie to complete his LA hipster vibe)

ugh i’ve met the image limit for this post so here’s the link to the post that continues my rambling lolol

[artisticxlly]

My thoughts while rereading chapter 351 (an unhinged post)

Spoilers and also ig dark themes?, nothing out of the ordinary though compared to the panels I'm discussing here.

I thought: You know what, since I'm growing increasingly attached to Sachirou and Kourai, might as well read the most bittersweet chapter again for shits and giggles. And I have some THOUGHTS for you all.

I'll come back to this later but just putting this here to acknowledge that Sachirou watched Kourai play for a little bit

this little guy is so important actually. Why is he so round. What is wrong with him. /aff

Moot also pointed this out but he's always alone in these panels??? Just him and volleyball against the world lol, which isn't all that different to Sachirou's behaviour now that I think about it.

Coming back to my first point. Both of them acknowledge each other, and both do it veeeery briefly. Like these two baaaarely know each other as far as we know, and yet this next scene is so crazy when you think about it from a vulnerability standpoint. What do you mean you stopped him from hurting himself and you immediately had a deep conversation about it??? Oh you two make me so ILL.

YOU MAKE ME SICKKK. SICK I TELL YOU. NO MOMENT OF HESITATION??? NONE??? I actually despise the addition of the other teens his age just casually walking home from school while he does that. Like this is, in his eyes, just a normal thing. This just made sense to him??? "I hate my hands, they're the reason I mess up" to "I'll just destroy them on the nearest wall". Fuck it, sure.

This is the most bittersweet thing ever. Gahhh...

Have we stopped to think about what this implies though. Because I am. The panel of just Sachirou is zoomed in but you can't see Kourai anywhere on it. And I'm just sitting here thinking "So he had to sprint there, right?" and ughhhh, Kourai you give so many fucks??? (/hj) I have this suspicion (or hc I guess?) that he watched Sachirou out of the corner of his eye a looot, just getting this feeling like there's something wrong/going on with him.

Throughout the chapter you just see Sachirou being constantly dissatisfied with his achievements and pouring himself into his training to try and fix it, make less and less mistakes. For over half the chapter his eyes are just this blacked out void. Why do I have a feeling that Kourai picked up on that and was just this teensy bit worried curious and spied on Sachirou? Very subtly, because he didn't care, nooo, not at all (/s). Idk just a thought, because he was crazy quick to stop Sachirou. Obviously he's a very blunt person but he also probably had no idea how to have a heartfelt conversation like that with someone (which ended up being the harsh reality check Sachirou needed).

Kourai Hoshiumi, the man who will read the fuck out of you and then in the same breath drops the gayest shit imaginable. I love this so fucking much though. Absolutely the last thing anyone expects someone to say after witnessing someone self harm and yet so unbelievably real. Asa taught him well, truly.

WOw, just... No thoughts in that brain, huh /j Bug-eyed mf (He's just a baby,,, ughhh)

Again... "tall, strong and super-tough body" WE GET IT. (/lh) Honestly though if I got props from Kourai like that I'd evaporate on the spot.

Gorgeous panel aside, I really like their matching haircuts LMFAO. I have a feeling both just hated dealing with their hair texture growing up.

Anywayyyy uhh long post over. All /lh btw, I do love these two idiots a lot.

[someverygaymoth]

what would NM’s brother think abt his OSDD, would he be upset he never knew and could’ve been making their life harder, use it against them in battle, or neutral like it doesn’t have anything do do with him anymore. What abt all three, he’s mad at himself for not noticing and making their harder, but the stars are in a rlly bad spot and need any advantage against them, besides the fact him feels disconnected from the years him and NM spent apart. And what does the gang think abt that????

-📖

There are so many ways that this could go and all of them are so interesting!

Dream having no idea until they make a truce, where Nightmare nervously comes clean. Dream is confused at first, "we were only made with one soul... I don't understand." Nightmare gives him some books on the subject, Dream thanks him and does his best to be understanding and promises to look at the books.

He does look at the books and cries for several hours straight when he reads over the causes, which Nightmare neglected to mention during their conversation. Dream's best equation to what's going on is that Nightmare's original soul was broken into pieces. This is a comparison that hurts him severely, but does help him to understand.

Dream ends up reading way way more than the books NM gave him. He feels like he has so much to make up for.

The gang would definitely be a little protective of Nightmare, careful to make sure that Dream is doing what he should to support him, but they back off a little once they see he does.

That's one silly option

Another (which I love) is:

Dream is totally plural too, and just hasn't realized. Which I think is super likely. They're twins, after all, same genetic thresholds, same horrible trauma in two different fonts, that's a recipe for two plural little guys.

Dream talked to Ink about the voices and feeling distant at one point, and massive holes in his memory and ink was like, "Oh dw that's normal, lol" so he never brought it up again, because why would he? It's normal. (Ink is an idiot, and also something is definitely wrong with that freak /aff)

Nightmare talks to dream about it after the truce and Dream is like "wait what? That's possible? That's a thing?"

And NM is sort of apprehensively like... "yeah?"

"I thought everyone heard the voice people!"

"The voice people???"

"Is that not... isn't that normal???"

"No that's not normal. How many do you hear??"

"Uh..." Dream squints a little and starts counting on his fingers.

"D- wait stop. Okay, you hear more than one?"

"Yeah... like three or four i think."

"Dream you're only supposed to hear one, at the most."

"Really?? No, you're playing a trick on me."

"I am not. I'm serious! You can ask anyone!"

"You're kidding!"

"I'm not! Call anyone, right now!"

Dream calls Blue, and they ask Killer, and Horror, and he calls a lust variant he knows— all of them answer the same.

"There's really a word for it?"

"Oh my stars."

"I didn't know!"

"How did you think that was normal!?"

"Ink told me it was!"

"You listened to that IDIOT!?!???"

"hey, that 'idiot' is my friend! ... sort of."

"Brother."

"Okay I see your point. How was I... how were... I don't know how I was supposed to know?"

"You're... you're not, really. I don't blame you. It's not bad."

"It isn't?"

"No."

"What do I do? What did you do?"

"I... we talked to the people that love us."

"Oh."

"We researched... we worked... we... just lived. Mostly."

"That.. doesn't sound too bad."

And the third evil option:

Dream finds out from one of the bad boys, accidentally, and uses it against them. He starts purposefully triggering switches/flashbacks in battle (it's not hard to figure out what'll get him the results when they've gone through the same trauma), doing mean things to get what he needs, just generally being awful.

I don't usually write Dream as such an opportunist as this might make him, but I can definitely see Dream finding out from one of the boys slipping up in battle, looking into it, crying his eyes out, talking to the stars because he doesn't realize it's not his secret to tell... Ink would 100% use this against him if given the opportunity. He knows enough about the things that have hurt Dream to know what'll hurt NM too.

[productofaritual]

Guess who's gonna yell about eh!Ranboo again THAT'S RIGHT IT'S ME

I wanted to send this as an ask to a moot but I sent it like a week ago and they haven't replied so I'm JUST YELLING HERE

Today on "Lar's thoughts about event horizon part three billion": Holy fuck does eh!Ranboo underestimate tf out of eh!Tubbo

(Rambling rambling rambling, the rest is under cut)

Well it's not just Tubbo, it's also Ozzi, but they're batshit fucking insane and if you can predict what they'll do you should get a diploma or some shit. We love them for it tho <3

Anyway BACK TO TUBBO.

Before we get to the why, let's make sure we all get the what.

Ranboo, the idiot /aff, assumes that Tubbo just. Does not know about the majority of his mental issues. And while he's not entirely wrong, he is still WRONG. Dude, that is the person who managed to 'read' you the fastest out of anyone. That is the person who actually looks at you because he cares. You're supposed to be good at knowing people, and yet. AND YET HE DOESN'T MAKE THE CONNECTION THAT TUBBO WOULD KNOW ANYTHING. But we know he does and Ranboo should know it too, because while reminiscing about the things that happened in Ad Astra he SPECIFICALLY POINTS OUT that it scared him how observant Tubbo was! And like?? Do you think he's gonna stop because you're friends now?

Now that we have the what. The why.

Obviously I don't know for sure, I didn't write the thing, but I HAVE THEORIES. And no, 'it's a plot hole' or 'suspension of disbelief' won't cut it, Matpat taught me better than that.

It's actually based on something my friend pointed out while reading, and that is the fact that Ranboo actually idealizes Tubbo. Because if you look at how Tubbo is described from his own POV versus from Ranboo's, you'll find that the difference is more than just being described by someone else. From Ranboo's POV, Tubbo can literally do no wrong. He is near perfect, even though we know he clearly fucking isn't. But to Ranboo he's basically the equivalent of Beatrice from the Divine Comedy (iykyk). But then what that leads to is Ranboo having this idealized version of Tubbo that he bases his assumptions on rather than the real one, similarly to the spectre, except he doesn't seem to be able to realize he's still wrong about the real Tubbo. And that's what trips him up, because for Ranboo, the ideal scenario is one where Tubbo doesn't find out anything. He literally says it in the goddamn book, he admits that he wasn't ever going to tell Tubbo anything, that he didn't want him to know. But the real Tubbo is one hell of a lot more observant.

And his idealized version gets absolutely fucking SHATTERED when Tubbo admits he knows something, when Tubbo lashes out or doesn't act the way Ranboo expects him to and Ranboo doesn't know how to handle that. And AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH yeah that's pretty much it I dunno I've read this fic way too many times can u tell

[abyssalgalaxy]

Ive been reading the reigen manga finally so have my live thoughts that i wrote while reading it

Spoilers to the REIGEN manga ofc, actual proper comments at the end of it

Tome

TOMEEE YAY

Tome witnessing the highshcool girl with a toast trope I love it, sending tropes out of the window like always <3

Tome has a UFO bag!!!

Oughhh she feels like an outcast, give this girl the chance to infodump

Hi reigen

REIGEN AND TOME ARE BOTH LIKE THAT LMAOO THE FREE TIME DUO

I get why hes trying to get her away, it is a dangerous job, but he def does kinda see her as a nuisance

Serizawa

Hii serizawa!!!! :DDDDD

Reigen fucked up lmfao

oh nvm Serizawa saves the day :D

Dimple

Tome's teacher kinda looks like the first guy from the first episode/chapter, Taro I think was his name, it would be funny if he were lol

"Giving her my powers" I SEE WHERE THIS IS GOING HEHEHE

The ghost actually does look kinda scary wow

DIMPLEEE LETS GOOOOOOO

Roshuuto

So she really just fuckin brough him to S&S

So this is the infamous Roshuuto

My fuckin god Reigen is so cringe sometimes/aff/, bro wtf do you mean by spiritual level????

HIS CONTACTS ARE ALL MIDDLESCHOOLERS HELP

HE FUCKING FELL FOR THE SPIRITUAL LEVEL THING

BOTH JODO AND ROSHUUTO FELL FOR IT HOLY SHIT

I thought Jodo was gonna cook, he didnt do shit

Ooh shit, things are starting to go down

Oooh fuck

YAAAY SERIZAWAAA unless...

ok <3 yay <3

Roshuuto is a diiiick

So Tome heard reigen cus she trusts him, and Hoshida heard Roshuuto cus he trusted him too, only to be left to die, damn

Also reigen heard tome beacuse he worries and actually cares about her

Tips

Ooo Serizawa flexing his powers, imagine that in anime, i see a lot of potential

Wagh Serizawa has learned a lot from Reigen and Mob, hes changed a lot from the first time we saw him

Its interesting how this is the first time we see the "Psychic powers are not special" on a non esper

IN THE SPANISH VERSION SHE CALLS HIM LIL DIMPLE BASICALLY LMAOO

So theyre trying to make her realize that psychic powers arent special and to see beyond other things that could interest her, its basically what mob does in the series, but this time it's Tome's turn to learn

I felt a little "I love my job beacuse I get to be around people i like" from reigen when he was gonna tell her about why he works but HE DIDNT

Oh imagine the salt panel in an anime adaptation he would look cool

Salt splash

Is it me or did the artstyle change, it looks a bit more like the anime

SO SHES BEEN THROWING SALT

GET SALTED IDIOT

Oh shit hes gonna say it

OH HE ACTUALLY DID SAY IT I didnt think he'd say the truth

Ow that did kinda hurt, but it makes sense, he does care about her, hes trying to protect her

Reigen

Oh hey its the anime girl again

Rip hoshida again lol

Oh they changed the lion joke here, in this translation it was translated as "Why dont lions like fast food? Beacuse they cant catch it" lol

OOOOH WE'RE SEEING THE GIRLS OTHER SIDES LETS GOOOOO

SHE MAKES YAOI

WEIRD GIRLIES I LOVE THEM SO MUCHHH AAAAAA

SHE GETS IT NOW YAAAAAY

What the fuck happened to roshuuto

SERI NOOO WTF IS HAPPENING

DIMPLE WASNT ABLE TO HELP EITHER???

ROSHUUTO UR A DIIIIIIIIIICK WTFFF I GET IT BUT WHYYY

FIUWHECOIQUEOCQIERGQOIERCHQOEWU9CHQOWEIFFQHE8FQ7HW9F8QU294F7QH28FQHWEJ

THE HUG OUGH

HE TOOK IT

HOOO NOOO

OH whats he gonna do

Oh fuck

Aw hes hugging it

OH OH I SEE

Oh it worked! I think

OH NO THAT CANT BE MOB IT CANT

I WAS TOLD HE DIDNT APPEAR HERE

Oh hes just grabbing his ass by the suit

LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO unless...

YAAAY, I didnt hink Mob would actually show up, I thought some other thing would appear but yayyyy

I wonder if he ever told mob what actually happened

N you can tell its mob cus the first thing he says its asking reigen again to not call him so suddenly also he sees mob cus reigen trusts mob

Aw they just go for ramen, ngl he deserves one, that mustve been stressful

LMAO ROSHUUTO

He doesnt even know math

NONE OF THEM KNOW MATH

Final thoughts: That was so fun to read omg, we really need an anime adaptation or a movie even that could work too Aside from that, I get why its called REIGEN and not TOME despite Tome being the protagonist, the spinoff it is about Reigen, its about what he taught to mob and others, the core message of the series "You arent special" Tome's arc here is understanding that. She feels lonely and bored beacuse she cant be herself in this new enviroment, shes an outsider, different from the other girls that are just interested in superficial things so she goes to s&s to be around things that she enjoys, ghosts, cursed places, psychic powers, etc. She isnt seeing that theres more things to see However she then realizes that the rest of the girls do have that problem of feeling like an outsider beacuse of their interests and when they realize that theyre all weird they start trusting each other and start to fully enjoy their company, she understands that her situation is not special, theres many more people that accept her as she is, she starts enjoying the connection she has with others, shes found a place where she fits in Thats what reigen did, he was able to find a place where he can be with the help of others, this ones about apreciating the connections we make with others

Ok my thoughts were kinda scrambled so I hope that makes sense, thanks for reading my shits <3

[emerson-jesper]

Good Omens S1 gardener headcanon

Okay so after the trauma of the finale, I have come to share something cute and fluffy to make us all forget about the pain the ending caused us. So I was thinking about why Crowley, who actually knows a fuck ton about plants, would decide to be the nanny instead of the gardener. And I do think part of that was just Crowley thinking 'Ohh, gender! Gimmie!' (and what a mood) and being so impulsive and not even considering that he could be a gardener.

But, I do think another part of it was his subtle way of spending even more time with Aziraphale. Because he knows Aziraphale knows basically nothing about plants and would probably ask him about it the whole time (especially because Azira would not only want to know everything he can about them to be believable as a gardener but also because he loves hearing Crowley talk and ramble about things that interest him) and Crowley would be begrudgingly (he is enjoying every second of it) teach him about it.

Because those idiots /aff don't know how to properly communicate and I could see Crowley doing something like this because he is whipped for Aziraphale.

[selfship-confession-box]

I have two F/O duos I polyship with separately who canonically hate each other in funny ways

The first duo have canonically never met, but they're on different sides of a situation and so they'd obviously hate one another if they ever do meet (not direct enemies but also not people who are keen on working together). Both characters are pretty popular though, so people draw them together a lot or mix their group environments. I have my S/I meet one of them off the job and another on the job so when they finally do a "meet the metamour" thing, I imagine they're completely surprised to see their enemy waiting there in casual attire for the same guy and my S/I just calmly explains it and they make it work for him

The second duo is more like two characters who have rough patches of hating one another, but also patches of getting along really well, so their relationship is a sort of mixed bag. My S/I kinda plays to both sides, typically siding with one more than the other but still valuing both. One of them tries to be more refined while the other is your average guy with a chaos streak, and since my character falls somewhere in the chaos-leaning middle, I like to think it was a "Oh no, why did it have to be these idiots (/aff)" sort of thing for the more put together one while me and the other guy form a QPR

Both are pretty funny to me considering they rely on enemies (/partial enemies, more accurately) to either deal with one another for the same guy or realize they've fallen for the two people they swore they hated. Pretty funny polyship dynamics to begin with, and I love that I get to be a pivotal part of them cause I really do love thinking of how I can get all the characters I love from the same sources together

- S Anon

.

[maggotpoolautism]

The idea that Aizawa mentally adopting his class is so so funny bc if you really think about it this emotional brick wall of a human being(/aff) just saw this rag-tag group of idiots tho either keep trying to kill each other, villains, or themselves in the event of trying to become the world's dumbest heroes(/aff) and he just went "Ah, Yes, my children"

yeah it IS funny i agree. and i think aizawa knows it and exploits it whenever possible. one of the students is teasing him about him mentally adopting them all? he hits them with the "yes i do love my idiot children." one of the teachers/his friends teasing him about it? he hits them with the "you're one of the people that influence them, so i assume you're the reason why they're all idiots."

but also aizawa is just like. a caretaker at heart. he sees things and wants to help or fix, and that extends to every part of his life. he's a hero because he wanted to help society and the people around him. he's a teacher because he wanted to help his friends. he STAYED a teacher because he wanted to help his students. peace and love on planet earth ‼️‼️‼️

i love aizawa's relationships with people and how he works/thinks, thank you for the ask!!!!!

[seoultrippins]

focus | pjm | 01

Summary: Park Jimin is an extremely accomplished con man who takes an amateur con artist under his wing. What he did not see coming was you and him being romantically involved and with Jimin’s profession of being a liar and a cheater for a living, he realizes that deception and love are things that don't go together. Or could it?

Pairing: Reader x Jimin

Genre: Crime, Conman!Jimin, Conartist!Reader, Smut, Fluff

Word Count: 2851

Warnings: Cussing, Slight groping

Status: 1/?

A/N: Hey! It feels nice to be writing on tumblr, I've always wanted to. I 've grown accustomed to publishing my writings on AFF but I thought it'd be pretty cool to start publishing here. I hope you enjoy reading and I am not too sure how many parts there would be but either way don't be a silent rider. The smut in the next chapter will be intense however, so bless me.

From the lazy spin of the fans, to the recumbent light of eventide that will soon be starlit black, the bar soaks in the ambiance of this good night. It's a bar, in a hotel that has a name you could barely pronounce but everyone is attempting to appear proper in their high end suits and attire, as you are. Fidgeting through the skin tight dress you had on, you rested your arm on the bar countertop as you analysed the surroundings. The bar is hundreds of conversations told in loud voices, all of them competing with the live jazz music that dominated the atmosphere. The crowd had a mixture of the young and the old and it was perfect. Perfect to source out for your very next victim. However, as you searched the throng, you felt a strong warmth around your waist and turned around as your eyes met with a desperate pair. Dressed in a suit two sizes bigger than required, the sloppy looking man insisted he had you in his arms. You wrinkled your brows as you realized where this was going, and it was destroying your good mood. Nervously, you removed the man’s hands away but his persistence remained. Whispering filthy nothings in your ears, your hands reached out to push the man away. Frustration boiled through your veins as you desperately thought of ways to remove yourself from the dreadful situation.

“Okay, you know what,” You chuckled nervously. “My boyfriend could be here any minute.” Your hands were busy pushing his persistent hands away as he laughed.

“Yea? I don’t see anyone. C’mon baby, no point lying..”

Rolling your eyes, you eyes scan through the crowd. Eyes evidently searching for someone you could confide in and that did it. Your eyes landed on the gentleman feasting on his dinner. Your eyes widened, handsome is a state of soul that carries through that man. He had that kind of face that stopped you in your tracks. He must get used to that, the sudden pause in a person’s natural expression when they looked his way followed by overcompensating with a nonchalant gaze and a weak smile. Lips curling into a soft smirk, you tug the annoying man harshly, eyes meeting his as he pulls away in shock.

“Look, he’s there.” Your index finger pointing to the handsome gentleman who caught your attention confidently. “Fuck off, really.”

Walking past the bewildered drunk man, you breathe your nerves away as you approach the gentleman. You watch the way he sits with such elegance - so poignant and dignified. His white suit was tailored to his frame, and his unbuttoned dress shirt allowed his flawless skin to breathe while his fingers were adorned with precise lines of metallic rings. Fingers wrapped delicately around his wine glass as you watch his eyes shift towards you when voluntarily slip into the seat in front of him. Placing your baguette bag to your lap, you watch him raise his eyebrow in question as you lean forward to explain yourself.

“Could you -” You stopped, turning around to look at the creep still standing by the bar countertop looking right back at you before whispering. “Do you mind being my boyfriend? Like just for a minute.”

Staring at the man in front of you, you watch him smirk behind his glass before gently placing the drink down as he leans back against the soft cushion of his chair. Extending his long, toned legs into a manspread, he leans his face against his fingers as he watches you. Growing confused, you began to fidget in your seat.

“You - you’re not a serial killer are you?” You asked.

He stares, fingers playing with his rings as he shrugs. “That depends. How many times does it take to get to “serial”?” He shoots back.

Your face contorted into a genuine thoughtful expression as you answer. “Uhm..five..?”

“Oh then, no we’re good.” He leans forward as he answers you with a straight face.

This man was something else. You thought to yourself as your lips curled into a smile upon hearing his response. Hand stretching out, you introduced yourself.

“Y/N”

“Jimin.” His fingers slip comfortably into yours as he shakes your hand. It was brief, friendly even - but the way his attractive gaze stayed on yours made it oddly intimate.

“Ha Ha, funny.” You mocked, as you took a sip of the red liquor swirling in the shiny glass. “I only came to you because you seemed awfully lonely. Eating your dinner like that, I just felt so so bad..”

“Yea?” He prodded you with an eyebrow raise. “Then that’s also the reason why you’re here alone, waiting for a non-existent boyfriend you can use to chase away creeps?”

Okay he had a point.

“Hey!” You frowned. “A girl needs time alone alright? Also, you started this unnecessary feud on how you were the best choice in this damn bar. I was just trying to avoid ending up in the newspapers as a missing person.” Your frustration is evident in your tone as he watches you intently.

Not long, the both of you were bursting into bits of laughter as you recount the trivial conversation. Your eyes shifted to your wrist, taking note of the 30 minutes you’ve spent conversing with this stranger and everything seemed oddly perfect. Too perfect even.

“Thank you,” You said as he rested comfortably on his chair. “Thank you for saving me.”

His lips curled up slightly as he nodded. “Yeah, yeah we definitely showed him.” He says as his head points to the creep. The only difference was that he was knocked up, completely unconscious on the countertop.

You laughed. “Damn, was that what I was missing out on?”

As he laughs along, you watch him shift, toned body leaning forward and you couldn’t help but take note of the way his necklace dangled over his neck as he stares at you. “Can I walk you somewhere?”

The air in your lungs became stuck in your throat. This guy was extremely beautiful. His voice sounded like melted honey and it took all you had not to lean forward and take his lips in yours.

“Um,” You began. “I’m actually staying here, upstairs.”

“Really?” He says but you watch the way he fidgets in his seat, hands adjusting his rings and he runs his fingers through his hair - throughout, his gaze is fixed on you.

“Let me walk you there then.”

"Fuck." Jimin was nestled under you, your hips grinding against the evident arousal between his thighs as you drag your lips down his neck.

You shivered, feeling the way his hands travelled down your frame to your ass, squeezing the thick flesh mercilessly as forcefully grinds you against his arousal.

"Fuck Jimin, fuck do that again.." You whimpered.

Lips intertwined, you heart drops to your stomach when you took sight of the way he smiles between the kiss. You nearly forgot why you brought him up here in the first place. Not until the loud sound of your hotel room door crashing open did you remind yourself that you had a task to perform. Rolling your eyes, you switched into character.

"Oh fuck! It's my husband." As you watched Kihoon enter the room, you sprang into the area next to Jimin. Kihoon's fingers gripped tightly on the rifle as he pointed it towards Jimin's face.

"Kihoon wait-"

"Shut the fuck up." Kihoon groaned, his eyes gleaming as he faced Jimin.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jimin voices, palms up as he surrenders himself to the situation but you couldn't ignore the slight tint of smile in the corner of his lips as he does so. Is this man a fucking psycho?

"Just let him go Kihoon."

"You fucking cheated. No way, he's fucking dead." Kihoon screams, lines of veins bulging out his reddening neck as he does so. You noted the sweat crowding his forehead. "Give me one fucking reason why I shouldn't do it."

At this moment, your heart was racing. You knew there was no intention of shooting Jimin, and it was aggravating to see the man next to you undisturbed by the scenario. His surrending palms were now resting comfortable under his head as he watches you. You sighed internally, coming up with a respond to Kihoon but Jimin cuts you off.

"I'm drawing a blank." He says, eyes shifting away from you to Kihoon.

"What?" Kihoon mutters, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I think you should shoot me." Jimin continues, smile creeping onto his handsome face. "Let's be honest, you've been aggrieved."

"Don't mess with him Jimin. He's done hard time." You tried to salvage the situation as you fidgeted in your spot.

"Yea man, I've done fucking hard time!"

Jimin chuckles, eyes lazily shifting as he stares at you. "Man, if you had any idea what I was about to do to her-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Kihoon yells, his rifle still pointing at Jimin's face, but this man remains unconcerned.

"Please, come on, shoot me." Jimin urges. "You're really doing me a favour. Cancer. Tumour, the size of a peach." He lifted his hand to offer a visual representation as he chuckles. "Shoot me, you'll see."

"Fuck!" You groaned, rolling your eyes as you aggravatedly run your fingers through your hair. "He's onto us, Kihoon. Wake the fuck up."

You watch Jimin sit up slowly as he rolled off the bed. His eyes fixed on you as he fixed his blazer. "Just give us the money Jimin."

"Or?" He challenges.

"He'll shoot you in the neck."

Kihoon falters, eyes shifting to you. "I can't shoot a guy with cancer. My grandma had cancer.."

"He does not have cancer, you idiot!" You groaned. "Get out man."

Your perked up when you hear Jimin laughing as watches the situation unfold. "You guys suck."

He leans forward, sinful hands slipping into his pants pockets. "First of all, you gotta wait till she gets my pants off." He says as he walks to rest against the wall nearest to the door. "Then you gotta give me a chance to run, that's how you get the money and you should never drop the con. You never break. Die with the lie."

"How did you figure this out?" You asked.

"When you stole that creep's wallet before you came to me."

You heave in wrath and fury, you feel your ego breaking through your spirit. Frowning, you questioned. "Then why'd you come up here with me then if you're so smart?"

Jimin shrugs. "Professional curiousity." He walks towards the door before turning around. "Also, I love ass so I figured it's a win-win."

You groaned. "Fuck off Jimin."

"You suck baby."

The cold night was all around as you stepped out of the hotel. Tugging onto your sweater, you hugged your shivering frame as you made your way home. You feel the chill in your blood, coldness bringing the synapses of your brain to a stand still. However, you were still perplexed by the failed operation, and your thoughts kept replaying the scene in your brain. You groaned internally. All you wanted was to get home and sulk on your own.

Until -

"You really should be more aware." You ears perked up at the familiar melted honey voice. Rolling your eyes, you caught sight of Jimin walking up to you from behind, his hands stuffed in his pants pockets. "I've been behind you for two blocks."

You stayed silent, footsteps hurrying but he prods you. "You didn't see me?"

"I don't have eyes at the back of my head." You responded.

"Well, if you're gonna play this game you might wanna grow a pair."

You turn to face him. He was the kind of handsome that got into your bones. He was handsome from the depth of his eyes to the gentle expressions of his voice. Nonetheless, you brushed the thoughts away as you rolled your eyes. "I can take care of myself Jimin."

Shaking his head, he stops you. "No, you're going to get hurt." and when you don't answer, he offers. "Let me buy you coffee."

"I don't drink coffee." Hoping that would make him piss off, you failed, yet again, as he stood across you - silently staring at you. Groaning, you walked away. "Fine.

As he grabbed for the glass door, the two of you strolled side by side, stumbling onto the nearest café. You looked up to see his eyes already locked on you as he reached out to guide you inside the café, and the warmth of it sent an electric chill down your spine. As you took your seat, you gazed out the window at the to watch the thick blanket of snow that had blanketed the grounds. An icy serenade, a coolness to bring out the warmth within. As promised, Jimin comes back to the table with coffee cups in his hands.

"Thank you." You muttered softly, hands reaching for the cup as you caught his staring eyes.

"So, what's your thing?" You began, curious eyes finding his intense ones. "Inside? Roper? You can tell me."

He smiles, taking a sip of his coffee. "Everything. Been in this game for so long."

"Your story. I wanna know all of it if that's okay with you."

He nods, placing the cup onto the wooden table before leaning against his seat. Your eyes lingered over the spread of his toned thighs but chastised yourself for getting distracted.

"My grandfather used to run a crooked game in Busan." Jimin began. "Eventually, my father started shilling for him. One day they get burned. Mobbed-guy catches them throwing signals. Everybody's guns come out. Standoff. No way out. Except one."

Your eyes glued to the man in front of you, completely focused. "The Toledo Panic Button."

Your frowned. "What the hell is that?"

Jimin's chuckles and you don't think you'd ever get used to the sound of that. "You shoot your partner. Proves you're not together."

Mouth agape, you internalize the way Jimin casually spills horrid, explicit details on the world he's associated with. "So your grandfather killed your father?"

"That's the world you're in. Dabblers get killed." He shrugs, raising an eyebrow as he sips on his coffee.

God, was he hot.

You sighed. "Look, I wasn't born into this like you. I was a dyslexic foster kid. No prospects, no future. I mean, it's a minor miracle I'm not a hooker right now."

Jimin smirks at that as he leans his elbow against the armrest. He can't deny that the picture of your delicate hands wrapped around a poll accompanied by the dimmed lighting indeed piqued his interest. Hands grazing his jaw gently as you catch the way his eyes scans your frame. Brushing that act off, you lean forward. "Tutor me, Jimin."

"No." He shakes his head.

"Why not?"

"Why should I?" Jimin shoots back.

Groaning, you reach for your bag as you pulled out a leather Birkin. "Well, look, I could pay you, if that helps ."

Jimin crosses his arms, lips curling into a smile before eventually transcending into a contagious laugh. "Y/N, whose wallet is that?"

"Um," You flipped the wallet open, tugging onto an identity card. "Dr Kim Wooshik?"

He does not reply immediately but stares at your hopeful face.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Jimin says before you could register. Head whipping up to the man in front of you, you watch the way his tongue swipe between his lips, wetting his lower lip as he awaits your response.

"I- are you serious? How do I contact you then?" You stood up when he did.

Your breath hitched in your throat as he closes up on you. Handsome face leaning towards yours as his supple lips lands on your right ear to whisper, "I'll call you."

As he leans back, your eyes catches sight on his hand lifting to your face with your watch in his hands. Eyes widening, you lifted your wrist to find it empty.

"How-"

"I'll see you tomorrow. Stay safe." He walks away, turning around briefly to flash a smile as you stood alone, baffled.

[welllpthisishappening]

And Take Your Hand Until the End

He shouldn’t have said it. 

It was stupid. Instinctual. Wishful thinking. Which is also pretty stupid, honestly. But Emma gave him the signal and Mary Margaret keeps trying to set Emma up and, well, Killian reacted. He told Graham Humbert they were dating. In secret. 

So. Now it’s time to talk about it. 

----

Rating: The lowest possible T but with kissing Word Count: 2.6K AN: waves Hi there, internet. It’s me, again, back at it because I asked for a bunch of prompts before Christmas and then...didn’t fill all of them. As I am apt to do. Since then, Justin and I went to Disney, got back, got the flu, worked a lot and I felt bad about not filling prompts or writing anything in, legitimately, the last month. So here is this, shaking off some cobwebs with trusty tropes, kissing and scenarios I’ve definitely written before. I’m going to try and write quick bits of fluff for all of these prompts in an attempt to get back into the swing of things again. 

So these prompts were: "do you believe in love at first sight?"// "i’d like it if you stayed. // "can i kiss you?" 

----

“She’s mad.”

“She’ll cope.”

“We weren’t very nice about it.”

“Did you want to be nice?”

Emma huffs, rolling her eyes towards the ceiling. Her apartment door creaks when she closes it behind her, toeing out of her shoes and tossing her keys on the counter nearby. They don’t land. They clatter to the floor instead, an impossibly loud noise that seems to rattle between Killian’s ears and in between every irregular heartbeat his body has sustained for the last few hours. 

He would like that to stop. 

He would also like Mary Margaret to stop setting up Emma. 

“I guess not,” Emma admits. “I mean—did you hear him? He kept talking about sustainable—what was that word he used?”

“I’m going to be honest, Swan, I was not listening to the woodsman.”

“Oh my God, what a nickname.”

Killian shakes his head deftly, dropping onto the edge of the couch if only because he knows it will get that one, specific look out of Emma. Passably amused and a little frustrated, a slight pinch between her eyebrows that only ever happens when she looks at him. 

His heart does that thing again. 

“Nickname implies fondness,” he says. 

“You weren’t fond?”

“Were you?”

“Mary Margaret thought she was doing the right thing. A good thing, even.”

Killian can’t help whatever noise bubbles in the back of his throat, eyes going thin when Emma scrunches her nose at the sound of her own lie. She clicks her teeth exactly four times. 

He shouldn’t know that. 

He shouldn’t be looking in the general vicinity of her teeth. 

But those same teeth have been chewing on her lower lip for the better part of the night — or as soon as Mary Margaret showed up at trivia with that guy and the promise that he and Emma have so much in common. It was a stupid idea. Graham goes camping. Regularly. 

Emma is allergic to pollen. 

And like…the outdoors. In general. They live in Red Hook. 

People don’t camp in Brooklyn. 

They shop at thrift stores and organic markets and Graham Humbert likes organic markets too. Obviously. And talks about it. Incessantly. All night. Killian isn’t sure David ever pulled his eyes away from his tangled fingers. 

They were horrible at trivia. 

Embarrassing, even. 

“Mary Margaret has a lot of thoughts and opinions about romance that the rest of the regular, human world does not share,” Killian says, Emma’s head lolling towards her shoulder in obvious defeat. “And,” he adds, “you used the signal. So—”

Killian shrugs, like that’s that. Which it almost is, but it’s also the first time they’ve ever used the signal and maybe they should have planned things better. Telling Graham that they were dating was not part of the deal.

Emma’s eyes had gotten very large as soon as the words were out of his mouth. 

Graham’s jaw went very tight. 

Seriously, Killian has got to stop thinking about the area around everyone’s mouths. It’s so goddamn weird. 

“That’s true,” Emma admits. “And he did leave after that.” “Quickly.” “Something that could almost qualify as a jog.” “Brisk, at least. Possibly a race-walk?”

“No, no, that requires far more hip movement.” “I’m not sure I appreciate my fake girlfriend discussing some other guys hip movement.” She scoffs, half a laugh and a hint of a smile, some of the tension falling off her shoulders when she steps into his space. And directly between his legs, an even more precarious position than rather rudely subverting Mary Margaret’s sixteenth set-up in the last four months. 

Not like Killian is counting. 

Much. 

David is definitely counting. 

So is Ruby. 

Killian stops thinking about their friends, or Mary Margaret, or that one Harry Potter question he still can’t believe they got wrong, as soon as Emma’s hands fall to his shoulders, the ends of her hair drifting dangerously close this cheeks and the only thing he can smell is strawberries. 

He takes a deep breath. 

He’s a psychopath.  

“Why’d you use the signal?”

Teeth click number five also includes something that sounds a bit like Emma’s tongue, but Killian can’t possibly be expected to think about that as well and—“He did ask me out, you know. Graham, I mean—not, like there were a ton of other guys there lining up to date me tonight, but…” “You’re selling yourself short, love.”

“Jeez.” “Tell me you’re still not upset we got that one Harry Potter question wrong..” “Oh my God, I can’t believe David got that wrong! It’s obviously the Deluminator. That’s just—that is basic knowledge and—” “—He was convinced it was put-outer. They use that at the start of the series.” “Yeah, but then they get Dumbledore’s will and they get a specific name for it and if you’ve got a name, you should use the name, right?” “I was the one agreeing with you. I defer to your Harry Potter expertise at all times.”

She makes another noise, half disbelief and something that he desperately wants to be charmed, but then her hair shifts and Killian refuses to be held accountable for what he does next, tugging Emma onto his left thigh until her arm is slung around his shoulders and her fingers dance across the back of his neck. He licks his lips. 

He’s ninety-six percent positive she doesn’t look. 

It is that four percent that will eventually make all the difference. 

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Emma grumbles. “I just—I don’t know...I guess—do you believe in love at first sight?”

��Are we still talking about Harry Potter?” “You’re an idiot.”

“There is no love at first sight in Harry Potter.” “Love potions.” “Which are pretty fundamentally bad. Like Voldemort bad.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Her fingers are moving again. It’s distracting. It’s impossibly grounding. Maybe a little magical.

Seriously. Psychopathic. “Voldemort,” Killian repeats. “Was the byproduct of a love potion and the general consensus in fandom—” “—Say fandom again, please.” “Don’t act like you don’t know this theory.” She sticks her tongue out. Killian refuses to linger on that for too long either. “Anyway,” he says pointedly, “Tom Riddle existed because his mother gave Senior a love potion. That’s why he can’t feel love. There wasn’t any there when he was made.” “That’s gross.” “Again, I think that’s the point. And you’re deflecting from your own conversation.”

Emma sighs. “I know, I know, but—humor me. Please.” “About love at first sight?” Emma nods, and they’re usually much better conversationalists. They’re usually—better, full stop. But Killian is also fairly certain that both David and Ruby are only uncomfortable with Mary Margaret’s continued setups because they’re also painfully aware that he’s almost painfully in love with his best friend and he’s glad they went back to her apartment.

He’s not sure he’d be able to cope with the smell of her shampoo lingering in his space. 

Maybe Graham knows of some kind of environmentally friendly air freshener. 

“I do not think love at first sight is a thing,” Killian says, a quick shake of his head like that will help him regain some of his senses. Common or otherwise. “Partially because of the aforementioned love potion problems and partially because it sounds a little fairy tale, doesn’t it?” “You anti-fairytale, Jones?” “I like to see it more as a realist.” Emma hums in agreement and understanding and he can’t help but narrow his eyes at the sound. Because they’re frustratingly similar — near-matching backstories and overbearing friends who are determined to fix that and Mary Margaret has done her best to set Killian up too, promises of happily ever after that he’s not all that interested in with anyone except—

“Yeah, me too I guess,” Emma says, but it sounds like another admission and something in Killian’s stomach churns uncomfortably at the sound. “There’s got to be build up, right?” “To?” “The good stuff.” “Oddly unspecific.” She laughs softly, eyes flitting up towards his. “I probably shouldn’t have laughed when Graham started telling Ruby about that tracking thing he used to use in—whatever state he used to live.” “Montana.” “I thought you weren’t listening.” “I really didn’t think anyone ever lived in Montana. That was admittedly interesting.”

Another laugh, softer and decidedly his in a way that Killian will never admit to because that is a line he can’t possibly cross and—“What’s the matter, Swan?” “Why do you think something’s the matter?” There’s not enough space between them for him to move the way he wants to, but Killian still manages to level her with a very specific look and for one, insane moment he swears the air around them turns electric. 

Pulses. Waits. Desperately. For something that might not be there, may just be his own romantic wishful thinking, but then—

“Mary Margaret says that she knew David was the one from the get,” Emma continues, as if she’s reading from a script. She rushes over the words, eyes darting anywhere except Killian’s and his stomach feels like it’s determined to creep its way up his throat. It’s a disgusting thought. But she’s also still sitting on his thigh and maybe that’s just affecting the blood flow to his brain. “That...they looked at each other and it was like something snapped into place or turned on and—” “—Do you think she uses construction metaphors on purpose? You know, just to make it more relatable or something?” “You’re interrupting.” “I’m sorry.” Emma blinks. 

And Killian’s mouth goes dry.

He doesn’t mean to say anything else. He’s genuinely surprised he can, what with the desert-like state of his tongue and the way he can’t blink, far too distracted by the light in Emma’s eyes and neither one of them ever tried to pick up her keys. 

That seems important. 

“For—well, for interrupting, but also because I know we’ve always joked about the signal and that we’d use it in desperate need, but I just...we never really talked specifics and I couldn’t think of anything except what I told Graham and—”

He doesn’t get the rest of the words out. 

It one-hundred percent, absolutely positively does not matter. 

Because Emma Swan is kissing him. 

And it’s better than he thought it could be. 

He’s thought about this far too much. 

Kissing Emma is a bit like coming home and jumping off the top of the Empire State Building. All at the same time. It’s familiar and entirely unexpected, a free fall and perfect landing, the tilt of his head and swipe of her tongue, parted lips and shared breath. Her fingers move again, carding through his hair and pulling him closer, as if he’d ever be inclined to do anything else. 

She kisses like she is — a little determined, a hint of caution that quickly evaporates, turning into something almost stubborn, like she’s challenging him to object. He lets his arms circle her waist instead, tugging her up until they’re a twisted and precariously balanced mess of limbs. They don’t stop, a low hum in the back of Killian’s brain that may actually be oxygen deprivation, but he can’t be bothered with that right now. 

He wouldn’t mind if they continued to do exactly this for the rest of the night. 

The rest of the week. 

Until the end of goddamn time. 

His hand finds its way under her shirt, fingers on her skin and back arching slightly and his heels skidding across the floor and—

It was probably inevitable. 

They fall backwards, Killian’s head bouncing on couch cushions that should definitely be softer than they are, the whole of Emma’s weight crashing onto his chest until it’s almost impossible for him to breathe. 

His arms don’t move. 

He relishes it. 

“Oh shit,” Emma mumbles, mostly into his jacket because he’d never taken his jacket off and one of them starts laughing. It’s probably her. He’s having trouble catching his breath. 

Still not the worst thing in the world. 

Inching closer to the best, honestly, the longer she’s on top of him. 

“You really didn’t have anything to apologize for,” Emma says. “I just—” “—The good stuff, huh?”

She nods, hair in his face and it’s still easy to see the way her lips curl up. “It’s Mary Margaret’s fault, really.” “I think we’ve established that, yeah.” “No, no, that’s not what I mean. I—” Her eyes widen when Killian grunts, an elbow to his ribs and—”Oh, shit,” Emma repeats. “Can you breathe?” “No. Don’t move.” She tugs her lip between her teeth. It’s the greatest thing Killian has ever seen. “Mary Margaret kept talking,” Emma explains. “About this guy and another set up and then she was talking about love at first sight and it got me thinking.” “About?” “How stupid it is.” “I’m swooning, Swan.” “You are really good at kissing. Like even better than I thought you’d be.” It’s Killian’s turn to widen his eyes, a miraculous bit of oxygen flying out of his lungs again. “My point—if that’s what this even is...is that...well, Mary Margaret was talking and she kept saying how it felt and I was—well, that’s how I feel when I’m with you. And it wasn’t first sight, but it’s something better than that and—” “—Can I kiss you?”

“Are you serious?” “Are you swooning?” Emma nods slowly, letting her head fall into Killian’s palm when he pushes his fingers into her hair. “Yeah, obviously.”

“Good.” It’s slower that time — a little more measured, like they’re testing or memorizing each other, the hum turning into a buzz that inches its way through Killian’s arms, curls itself around the base of his spine until his heart finds its rhythm because it’s always been Emma and it will always be Emma and that thought alone is a little fairy tale. 

It’s entirely possible that Mary Margaret was working the long con here. 

Killian will probably have to apologize eventually. 

And thank her. 

“I like you,” Emma says, not bothering to move away from his mouth. “A lot and—you’re right, we never really came up with specifics for the signal, but it worked and then I couldn’t stop thinking about it and that’s a little insane.” “Romantic.” “Seriously, the flattery.” Killian hums, kisses to her chin and the curve of her jaw. It leaves her eyelashes fluttering, twisting on top of him in a way that is only slightly distracting. “We could probably work on that, you know.” “On what?” “The, uh—actual dating. If you want.” “Did I not make that blatantly obvious?” “Maybe not blatantly.” “Jeez,” she sighs, but he can still feel her smile when her lips catch his and that’s really the only thing he cares about. Except maybe that one trivia question. They’ve got a reputation to maintain, after all. “I’d...I’d like it if you stayed.” “Yeah?” “Blatantly.” “Improper sentence structure,” Killian chides. Emma clicks her teeth, nipping at his nose and it’s somewhere between impossibly cute and everything he’s ever wanted, so the only reasonable thing to do is—

“We’ll probably need a new signal,” he says. “You know, for when I’d like to kiss you.” She blushes. 

Magic. 

“Deal.” “Deal.”

And they don’t really have to use it, but Mary Margaret keeps staring and Ruby’s got that look and David refuses to back down on another wrong trivia answer. About Star Wars this time. 

So Emma raps her knuckles on the table and Killian doesn’t have to move that much, already sitting next to her, before his kisses her — quick and a little bruising and Mary Margaret knocks her chair over when she jumps. 

“Worth it,” Killian mumbles, Emma laughing into his mouth. 

[crazyrandomfucker]

Marichat May day 2: Bell

Summary:

Chat Noir, with all of his bravado, tries to do a flip and slips, getting his bell stuck in Marinette’s balcony.

-------------

Marinette could swear that she never had ever imagined that this could happen, that she couldn’t have ever foreseen this situation and that she did not snort when Chat realized that he was stuck. But she would only be telling lies. She had warned Chat Noir against it. She knew that due to the recent rain, her balcony’s floor would be slippery. And she definitely snorted like a pig when Chat couldn’t get his bell out of her balcony’s handrail. It really wasn’t her fault; she couldn’t help that Chat was an idiot and his luck wasn’t always the greatest.

Everything started when Chat went to visit her and it began to rain cats and dogs. She had offered him snacks and a dry space to stay while the downpour was going on and he gladly accepted, obviously worried about his health and not because of the cookies.

They played a few games and Marinette completely destroyed Chat’s honour. After losing too many times, Chat shows Marinette a funny video that he had recorded on his baton to show Lordbug. This led to Marinette showing Chat Noir some TikToks Alya had send her and a minor discussion about Chat Noir’s capabilities to do a flip or not.

When the rain finally stopped, Chat Noir insisted in going upstairs to prove Marinette that he could do a flip flawlessly, despite Marinette repeatedly telling him that it was a bad idea and that the floor would be all wet and slippery. And just like Marinette had told him, when Chat tried to jump to do the flip, he slipped and crashed into the handrail instead.

In her pettiest mood, Marinette rolled her eyes as she thought ‘I told you’ and then she went to check on Chat Noir, worried since he hadn’t gotten up yet. When she saw that it wasn’t that Chat hadn’t gotten up, but that he couldn’t get up because his bell was stuck on the handrail, Marinette snorted loudly and immediately covered her mouth to prevent herself from laughing out loud, which was a bit late since she already had snorted ad he had heard her perfectly if the grunt he had let out was any indication.

“What happens Chat? Are you trying to bell the cat or are you getting out of my handrail” says Marinette chuckling. “It seems that this time you didn’t had a cat chance in hell to do a flip”.

“Har har, you’re so funny” says Chat Noir pouting as he mentally laughs at Marinette puns.

“I mean, I’m not the cat’s mother, but I think I did warn you that doing a flip in wet floor would be like putting the cat among the pigeons” says Marinette now openly laughing.

“Marinette, can you please stop laughing at me and help me out of here?” asks Chat blushing mortified.

“Oh, but you’re such a cool cat, I’m sure you’ll be able to do it by yourself” says Marinette. “Or is it maybe that this cat doesn’t have nine lives?”

“Princess, please. Could you help me for the love of Lordbug?” asks Chat Noir wanting to die.

“This is what you get for not listening to me” says Marinette as she takes some pictures. “By the way, I’m totally sending these to Ladybug and Lordbug”.

“Princess don’t you dare send those photos! Princess! I’m warning you!” says Chat Noir as he repeatedly tries to get the bell out by force to no avail.

“Too late, I’ve already sent them and it seems that Lordbug has already receive it” says Marinette teasing him, because she hadn’t sent any photos to her other phone nor to Marin’s other phone.

“Let’s make a deal! Okey?” asks Chat Noir panicking. He was determined to prevent that Ladybug saw him in such a situation. “If you delete those pictures before they see them, I’ll be doing whatever you want! I could be your model! I could get you pricey fabrics!”

“Okay, I’ll accept the deal” says Marinette as she saves the photos on her cloud and deletes them from the mobile to show it to Chat. “See, I deleted them even from my phone”.

“Thank you Mari” says Chat relaxing a bit. “Now, could you please help me to get out of here?”

“Fine, I’ll help you” says Marinette rolling her eyes amused. She tries to pull him out, but she can’t. “Uh oh”.

“Please, don’t say it” says Chat anticipating Marinette’s next line.

“Fine, I won’t say it” agrees Marinette. “But we have to get you out of there before anyone notices you in my balcony”.

“I agree. Besides, this position is definitely not the most comfortable at all” says Chat.

“Oh! I know! What if I cover you with a blanket and you detransform? That way you’d be free” says Marinette. “Unless you also wear a bell as a civilian”.

“I don’t wear a bell as a civilian” says Chat quickly. “But wouldn’t your blanket get dirty and wet?”

“Chat, it’s a blanket, I can put it on the washing machine and let it dry” says Marinette rolling her eyes.

“Oh, you’re right”.

“I’ll go for the blanket then. What does your magical thingy eat?” asks Marinette feigning ignorance about Plagg’s massive passion for cheese.

“Plagg likes cheese, preferably camembert” says Chat remembering that Marinette is best friends with the bugs and has seen Tikki and Tekke multiple times.

“Got it” says Marinette before getting inside of her room. Minutes later, she returns with a plate of camembert and a bunch blankets that she puts over Chat Noir, also covering the handrail completely to ensure that no one sees him detransform. “Here you go catboy, you can already detransform safely”.

“Thank you Princess. Plagg, claws in!” chants Chat Noir and turns into Adrien.

“Pffft, I can believe you did that kid!” says Plagg bursting into laughs. “Way to embarrass yourself!”

Adrien glares at him, but doesn’t say anything just in case Marinette would recognise his voice

“Plagg? I have camembert here for you” says Marinette giggling.

“I’ve just met you and I already love you Princess” says Plagg winking at Marinette as he phases through the blankets and devours the camembert. “Fu fetter take car uf her kit, ur I’m cataclyfming fur aff”.

“You shouldn’t speak with your mouth full Plagg” admonishes Marinette as she scratches his head.

“Sorry Princess” says Plagg after engulfing the camembert completely. He purrs at Marinette as she pets him.

“It was nice to meet you Plagg, but I’m sure that Chat must want to get out of those blankets and dry his clothes” says Marinette.

“You’re right Pigtails, duty calls for this poor kwami” says Plagg dramatically as he phases into the blankets. “I hope that we’ll meet again”.

“We’ll see about that” says Marinette. “Maybe when Hawk Moth has been captured”.

“Plagg, claws out!” whispers Adrien and transforms into Chat Noir. “Ah, much better now”.

“Be careful not to get stuck again please, I’m not sure if I could resist the temptation to send it permanently twice” says Marinette giggling.

“I’m sorry for the mess I caused” says Chat plainly ignoring her teasing. “Let me help you to put these in the washer machine”.

“Oh! My hero!~” sasses Marinette.

“I am a gentlecat after all” says Chat and Marinette snorts. ”Hey!”

“If you say so kit-cat” says Marinette giggling. "Except for when you insist on ignoring the warnings of the girl you one-sidedly decided to blatantly call her Princess without concerning for said girl".

"Excuse me but this cata here has some honour you know?" says Chat indignant. "And I thought you liked that I call you Princess, it's a cute nickname!"

"Sure thing kit-cat" says Marinette flicking his bell. "I do like the nickname now, but don't take always things for granted".

"I should have asked" agrees Chat mumbling with a low voice, trying that Marinette doesn't hears his pettty confesion.

"You should" says Marinette. "Just like you should have listened to me when I told you that doing a flip on a wet balcony was a bad idea".

"You're not letting this go anytime soon, are you?" asks Chat Noit pouting.

"I don't know~ Maybe I'll let it go just like my balcony let your cute bell go" says Marinette flickin again Chat's bell. "Oh wait, it didn't".

"You're making very hard for me to keep considering you as a good girl miss" says Chat.

"Says the daredevil who stubbornly tried to prove his value" replies Marinette and Chat Noir pouts more. After seeing that Chat doesn't talks, Marinette smirks. "Did the cat got his own tongue?"

"Maybe I did" says pettily Chat.

"And you say that you're a gentlecat" says Mari giggling. She flicks Chat's bell again and Chat grabs his bell.

"Aren't you touching my bell too much now Princess?" says Chat Noir. "If you don't stop I'll report this as sexual harassement to the local authorities".

"I was simply checking it was all fine Chat" says Marinette rolling her eyes. "Maybe teasing you a bit, but it seems that the gentlecat can't take it".

"I'll have you know that the bell was always perfectly fine, thank you" says Chat.

"Pffft. You weren't saying the same when it was stuck on my balcony's handrail" says Marinette now snorting.

"Sometimes I wonder why I hang out with you" says Chat looking away annoyed.

"Ahh, must be because you like me" says Marinette laughing as she puts everything in the washing machine.

"Yes, I do" thinks Chat stealing a glance from Marinette with a faint blush on his cheeks. "Maybe more than I ever imagined".

[fairyscribbles]

Study Anxiety. (KAI.)

I found the gold mine of uposted study drabbles that were on AFF but not here, so enjoy my darlings! (I wrote this before I even started university and my anxiety was this bad? ohoho Nia just wait for the hellride that is your university career, you will think like this up to THIS DAY---)

-

You were a failure. You were such a failure. No wonder why you couldn’t study all day.

Stupid people shouldn’t go to university. So why are you trying? You should probably just give up and try to do something else with your life.

Why are you kidding yourself? You scoffed in your head, shutting your notebook and sliding away from the desk. You had enough for today. You could barely crunch in some of the things you wanted to learn and even then when you texted your friends, you found out you were far behind.

You’ll never make it. There’s no way you’ll pass your exams, you thought with a sob, leaving the living room and walking into the bedroom. Inside here, you had to quiet down, to stifle all the sad hiccups going up your throat, because on the bed slept Jongin.

He was resting, you weren’t even sure if from having practice or if he was just having a small time out. Either way, he was sprawled over the bed on his stomach, his broad back lifting up and down in calm, deep breaths. Just that sight made you crumble a little more.

How can you be good enough for him, if you can’t pass a stupid exam? You crawled up the bed, sliding underneath Jongin’s arm to curl into his heat.

Jongin’s hand stayed limp for a moment, before it twitched and curled around you to bring you closer.

“You done with studying?” he mumbled sleepily, kissing your forehead. You nodded shakily, the question falling from your lips before you could stop it.

“Will I be good enough for you even if I fail?” your voice cracked at the last work and Jongin’s sound of surprise was enough evidence that your question wasn’t expected.

Great. Not only stupid, but also annoying.

“W-what?” he leaned back to inspect your face, and the eyes glued shut from sleep opened wide when they saw the tears running down your face.

“___? What’s wrong?” Jongin’s voice was full of alarm as he cupped your face to wipe at the tears, but you were inconsolable at this point.

“I’ll fail. I’ll fail this exam and I won’t go to university and I’ll be the biggest failure my family had the displeasure to meet.” you cried out, your hands clenching and unclenching at your sides.

“You’ll end it with me, too, because who’d want to date an idiot who couldn’t even get to university.”

“Jesus, ___, w-what?” Jongin whispered in shock, still wiping at your tears with a shocked look.

“I tried to study t-today…b-but I just can’t get it into my head anymore a-and all of my classmates are already so ahead, I’ll…I’ll fail…and…” you buried your face in your hands, unable to look at the genuinely confused look of your boyfriend.

“I…I have no idea what you’re talking about, ___...” Jongin’s hands smoothed over your hair, down your sides. You hiccupped as he pulled your hands from your face and decided to wipe your tears away himself.

“What do you mean you won’t pass? You’re halfway through your material…” he murmured, still filled with confusion.

“B-but…I’m stupid…” you mumbled and Jongin shook his head.

“You’re not. You’re the smartest girl I know. And even if you won’t ace this, it doesn’t matter. I love you.” you looked up into the warm eyes of your partner, who smiled and kissed the tip of your nose.

“I love you because you’re you. And I don’t care if you’re super ultra-smart, or just smart, because I love you no matter what grade you get, okay?” you nodded shakily and Jongin cooed, bringing you closer.

“You silly girl…you need a break, because you think I would leave you because of a stupid test. Come on, 10 minute break with me. Then I’ll help you study.”

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Dabi, Kirishima, Tsuyu, Chisaki being saved by their S/O

Dabi

Now, since Dabi is an incredibly strong individual, he wouldn’t need the help of anyone, no matter how difficult or one-sided the fight might be, he always seems to win it with the help of his amazing blazing sapphire fire.

This time, however, he was to simply kill a low-rate Hero, but it was all a bait and he got attacked by Midnight, Myrko, the Hound dude and worst of all, the great All Might himself.

How could he escape now that he was surrounded by lots of high-ranking Pro-Heroes? Well, he had no idea, but he could only try his best to bluff his way out of there, as best as he could, knowing full-well that the League of Villains sent him on a suicide-mission. Frankly, he was pissed. This impediment made him miss his date with his S/O. They’re gonna be VERY angry.

Myrko: Any last words, villain? Dabi: *shrugs* My lover’s gonna kill me even if you don’t. Midnight: *confused* Huh? You have a lover? Dabi: Why, am I not allowed to?

But before anyone else could say anything, someone magically appeared behind the villain and smacked their head hard, glaring at him.

S/O: So that’s how you play villain, huh? Maybe next time you’ll listen to me and not that idiotic man-child Shigaraki who just wants to kill you! Dabi: *scratches the back of his neck* I think I realised that by now. S/O: You are SUCH a jerk, Dabi! First, you tell me to cook something, ‘cause, y’know, you’re tired of always going out or getting take out, and I say ‘Yeah, sure, I can try’. But what do you do, instead? You hang out with your silly group of heroes! Dabi: Oh, come on, babe, it’s not like I am doing this on purpose, okay? S/O: See if I care.  All Might: Who are you, miss/mister? A villain too? me: Me? A villain? *snorts* Don’t kid yourself. I’m just me and I only care about myself. I like to live, thank you very much. All Might: Uhh...Okay? me: Now, if you don’t mind, I have to take my fiance home and eat dinner together before it gets cold. Y’know, dinner doesn’t eat itself and as much as I’d want to, I can’t eat everything by myself.  All Might: I don’t think- me: I don’t want to be alone on the day of our 1 year engagement anniversary, y’know? It would be so...Tragic. All Might: Look, miss/mister, we can’t afford to- me: Ah, by the way, can I get your autograph on my scarf? Big fan. All Might: Uh, of course- me: Thanks! Now, honestly, if it wasn’t for the date we’ve been planning, I wouldn’t have bothered to come over here, but unfortunate situations happen and...Yeah, you get the gist. See ya!

With that, S/O teleported back behind Dabi, grabbed him by the wrist and teleported themselves back home before any of the Heroes could do anything. In fact, no Hero could actually do anything, having been dumbstruck by Dabi’s S/O’s weird behaviour.

Back home, Dabi could only laugh awkwardly and look at his beloved with a guilty expression.

Dabi: Fiance, huh~? S/O: You shut your mouth, Dabi.You know what you did. Dabi: Still, fiance doesn’t sound so bad, does it~? S/O: I swear to God, Dabi, if you don’t shut up- Dabi: The food’s getting cold, isn’t it? S/O: You little shit! Go eat out, I’m not letting you eat what what I cooked! Dabi: Awww, come on, babe, don’t be like that. S/O: No. You were a jerk and you still cling to that League of Idiots. Dabi: And if I leave them, will you let me eat? S/O: I’ll...Consider it. Dabi: And if I give you a kiss? S/O: You are still a major asshole...But I might forgive you.

Chuckling at how lovely his S/O was and low-key grateful that their Quirk was so amazing, they brought them into a loving embrace and kissed them passionately, thanking them for the great save. They may not be a Hero, but that night they surely became his Hero.

Eijirou Kirishima

This sweet, manly cinnamon roll would do anything in his power to protect his S/O and the people who need him, since he is a HERO! One day, he thought it’d be nice for his paramour to meet his mentor, Fat Gum, and his senpai, Suneater, with which they hit off really well, so they were allowed to patrol the city together (Or, in other words, enjoy the city together as a sort of non-conventional date)

Everything was going well and they even managed to enjoy some ice-cream, before some threatening-looking villains started attacking the area, so Kirishima told his S/O to stay behind and tend to the citizens while he was to deal with the criminals.

Nodding at the red-head, they ran to take away the common folk to a safe place far away from the commotion, but when they returned, they saw Kiri in a horribly beaten up shape, despite being in his Ultimate Stage-Hardening, which meant that his Quirk was weak against theirs. This meant only one thing- Using their Quirk, she went into the mind of the buffest-looking villain and controlled him fight the other until everyone fell to the ground, unconscious. This kind of effort, however, was too much strain on their body so they fell on their knees coughing blood, completely drained of all energy.

S/O: Eiji, are you okay?! Kiri: Y-Yeah...I guess I took quite a beating there. How unmanly... S/O: Goodness, no, don’t say that! You helped me save all the innocents! You are their hero, the strong and manly Red Riot who saved everyone! Kiri: But I let you get hurt...And I got incapacitated. They beat me up real good there... S/O: No, don’t say that, sweetheart! If it weren’t for you, I couldn’t have saved them all by myself. Besides, that’s the reason why no hero goes out there alone, you know? There are times when your Quirk is weak against the enemy’s, just like Tokoyami’s is weak against Bakugo’s, you know? Kiri: Well...I guess you’re right, S/O... S/O: *winks* You’re my Hero, Red Riot! Kiri: You’re right! That sounds extra nice when you say it!

Saying that, Kirishima took his S/O’s hands in his own and dipped them down Tango-style, kissing them, not being able to stop himself from grinning or blushing lightly hearing his S/O acknowledging him.

The only amusing problem they faced the whole day after was how Fat Gum was always there to tease the heck out of Kirishima for having such a cute S/O and for being their Hero.

Tsuyu Asai

Despite being a strong water-type Hero, Tsuyu was made to help evacuate a burning building because every Hero should be able to save civilians no matter the environment, since they cannot always afford to work in a place that is environmentally their forte.

So here she was, together with her beloved, planning a strategy so they could use their Quirks to the maximum capacity even in such a bad place, all while having close to no casualties.

Since she was very much like a frog, going inside the burning building would actively kill her, so her S/O would be a much better fit for the rescuing, while Tsu was to stay outside and jump on the walls to jump and use her tongue to get the victims on the ground, at the safe place.

Things were going well, the synergy between the two was amazing, until a bunch of petty villains came to attack the safe-place where the victims stayed, so Tsuyu had to fight them all while still protecting those in need.

Her S/O saw what was happening so she quickly rescued the other victims, thanking whatever deity out there that there were only 3 more to save, so they easily managed to get them out to the safe-zone before they jumped into the fight, completely obliterating the enemies while Tsu was taking care of the injured victims.

Tsu: Thanks for the help, S/O-chan. We really make a great team. Ribbit. S/O: I couldn’t have done it without you and your great plan, Tsu-chan! It’s amazing how you can keep calm and level-headed even when things get out of control! You’re amazing, love! Tsu: I can stay like that because I know I have you to rely on when I need it. S/O: Aww, Tsu-chan, you’re so sweet! I’m glad I can work with you. I know you always have my back and I can focus on the task this way.

Grinning at her cute girlfriend, she hugged her, kissing her forehead and rubbed noses together, which was their way of saying how much they love and appreciate each other.

Froppy only stuck her tongue out and held her hand, going to the mentors and accepting all the praise and positive comments on their great performance and quick-wit.

Tsu: You know, S/O, I really love you, but next time, please, let’s choose the water-based rescue program, okay? S/O: Oh, yes, I definitely agree with you. Tsu: I love you. Ribbit. S/O: I love you too, Tsu-chan~.

Chisaki Kai

Normally, with a Quirk so amazingly powerful like his, there would be no way in hell this guy could ever get in any real danger, but who knows how the World’s ways work?

Somehow, he got into this huge mess with both the Heroes and the League of Villains, which got him captured and injured with no seeming way of escaping - Not by himself, that it.

Seconds before he got injured, he managed to send a farewell message to his S/O, saying his thank yous for sticking up with him for all that time, despite being a difficult person, but what he did not know is that they hacked into his phone once, making it easy to find out his location, if they wanted to.

Clearly, Chisaki wouldn’t just date anyone, but would choose someone worthy of dating the leader of the Gangsters, someone witty and intelligent who maaaaybe has more than one ace in their sleeve that makes Chisaki look at them in wonder and smugness at his great choice.

It was probably the most difficult and tricky thing they did in their life, especially since they weren’t actively involved in any of that petty Hero vs Villain ordeal, but somehow, managed to get on that bus before anyone else could and quickly unstrapped him, helping him get out of there, alive.

Chisaki: What are you doing here, S/O? S/O: Rescuing you, of course. Chisaki: How did you find me? S/O: *smirks* Let’s cherish the day you find out everything about me, okay? If that day will ever happen, that is. Chisaki: *amused breathe* Of course. Remind me never to rely on all those idiots and just plan everything with you. S/O: We’ll see about that, love.

When they put his arm around their shoulder to help carry him out of there and into a safe place - Their own home, a nice and quiet little piece of Heaven that they both knew was safe and out of everyone’s eyes.

There, they laid Chisaki on a bed and with their Quirk, started healing all his injuries, a light-green water covering his wounds and gently healing them, not letting place for any nasty scar to form.

Chisaki: You are a true wonder, you know that, S/O? S/O: And I love hearing you say it every time I save you from whatever problem you are facing. Chisaki: You somehow manage to be able to do just about everything and even more than I can think of.  S/O: Well...This Quirk of mine is about the most special thing about me. Chisaki: No. The fact that you exist is a wonder itself. S/O: You flatter me, Chisaki, it’s not quite like you. Chisaki: It’s not every day that I almost die and I get saved by such a beautiful soul like you.

After all his injuries were healed, Chisaki looked deep into his beloved’s eyes, making them get rosy-cheeked and look away, smiling in appreciation since it’s not often when they hear Chisaki compliment them, but what was even more out of the ordinary was... Chisaki aggressively taking off his mask and kissing his lover with much fire and passion.

Chisaki: What would I do without you, Hacker boy/girl? S/O: *amused breathe* Die in a bus, I guess.

[fuckyeahexofics]

fic search #171

1.

180130.  Hi! I'm looking for a fic where Sehun hit his head whilst on stage with the rest of EXO and I think he has to go off stage and to the ER. I also vaguely remember that it's hunhan (maybe sekai?) and that Luhan extremely worried. In the end of the fic I think Sehun died from the injury although I'm not 100% sure. Sorry if this was a messy and short explanation. If it helps, I think I read it on lj or aff, not A03 or tumblr. I appreciate your efforts!

2. 

180131.  I feel like an idiot bc I found the fic through here but I lost it but it's sutao and suho accidentally mentally connects to Tao and has to leave his dad and Sehun behind to travel with Tao. And Kris is a dragon I think? and Tao refuses to speak to suho in their minds or give him the affection he craves

3. you’re a perfect 10 by glossymop

180202.  hello!! i read a story about a year ago, and it was about kyungsoo/jongin. in this story kyungsoo would give jongin a rose every now and then, i believe kyungsoo was a tad (mentally) slow. i remember jongin never bullied him, but never stoped the bullies. then one day kyungsoo had a black eye and wouldn’t reveal his head, and the bullies had made him cut his hair. that’s when jongin stepped in. i was wondering if you have any idea what this story is!! thank you guys for your exceptional work

4. 

180203.  Hi! I was wondering if anyone had an idea of what this one exo fic was called. I read it so long ago i can't remember the name/pairing. But the plot was that people could inject their idol's dna and become more like them and they were all obsessed with this one idol who had a terminal illness and i think it might have been jongin or sehun who tried to prevent people from dying bc everyone would get the idol's terminal illness too??? i'm sorry this is really vague...

5.  To Touch A Daydream by WinterRobyn

180203.  hey i was wondering, do you know a fic abt chanbaek, chanyeol has amnesia, he forgot everything else, not even his bestfriend's name (sehun), he only remembers a name (byun baekhyun). they supposedly broken up before the accident bc chanyeol's father wanted a straight son, after that chanyeol started to act up and baekhyun couldn't take it anymore. but it has happy ending! i read it on AFF. thank you so much!

6. Stardust by astroblemish (Baekchen) and taken down

180203.  Hi, there is this baeksoo fic where some of the members have powers and kyungsoo is a scientist that tries to understand why they have them, then meets baekhyun in a bar when he is trying to flirt with him and discovers he has a light power and then tries to get him to help them with the experiments. Also Yixing is a psycologist. Do you guys know the name? Please help 😭

7.  please don't ask me how i've been getting off by constantcandy

180204.  Hi! I'm looking a chanbaek fics in which they have some kind of relationship but I'm not sure what it is called. It is almost similar to 50 shade of grey? I remember b went to cy's place after getting his msg and cy only fingered b bc that's the only thing he deserve for masturbing during his absent? There's two part. For second part cy use toy I think? And b have his bladder full. B end up peeing after he orgasm and cy said good job to him. it's being posted at here several times back at '13/14

8. 

180205.  hello ^^ thank you guys for all of your hard work, there's this baeksoo fic where baekhyun works as an escort to pay for his sister who has cancer and kyungsoo is a doctor who helps him i cant seem to remember the title >< so if you please can enlighten me thank you

9. 

180205.  Hi lovely admins! I’m trying to find this one fic but I’m sorry that I can’t be very specific considering I only glimpsed it once and I didnt even read the full description. All I remember was that it was an OT3/threesome fic where one of them was a priest. I don’t remember the specific pairing but it was on AFF and I think SeHun was part of the main pairing. Thanks so much and I’m sorry!

10. 

180205.  Hello lovely admins, i'm looking for this fic. its a oneshot hunhan with baby!kyungsoo. Luhan felt frustrated because he thought he was a bad parent. luhan tried to feed kyungsoo on his high/baby chair& kyungsoo accidentally hit the spoon, then luhan called sehun. turned out kyungsoo has fever. and sehun came home brings some ice cream (even tho it's winter / autumn) and then they were on bed, luhan felt bad and sehun said they were still learning. Kyungsoo said sorry and the end. Thank you~

11. 

180205. Hi! I’m looking for this fic and I believe it was mpreg also HunHan. Luhan went to the doctors and they found out he could carry children so his parents disowned him for being different. His parents had a daughter(?) and would ignore luhan. Then Sehun made a bet with his friends that he could sleep with luhan(?) and ends up falling in love with him and sleeping with him. But then someone exposes luhan and also tells luhan what Sehun was doing. And then luhan runs away and doesn’t tell Sehun.

12. 

180206. Hi, i have read the description of this exo fan fic and now i forget its name if anyone know then please help me to find this fiction. In this fiction the exo split into two teams with the members like the exok and exom they are like in a game where they have to make the other team members to fall in love with them and the other team has to resist falling in love and if they become unable to complete their task they must get the punishment. I'm really sorry i just dont remember much.

13. 

180207. a-r-m-y4life Welcome back admins! As always this blog is a gift from the celestial dieties. ♡ I'm sorry to interrupt your day but I've been trying to find this fic for literally a year. It's an OT12 A/B/O, I believe it's Chanyeol/Yixing. It's a highschool!au and Chanyeol's an omega who has a crush on Yixing who's apart pf the basketball team. I think Yifan was also on the team and he's friends with Chanyeol and knows about his crush. And they go to a party and Chanyeol goes into heat. Thanks in advance. ♡♡

14. These Golden Years of Mine by cabbages

180207.  monster-sus Hey! I was wondering if you could find this fic for me, I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find it. It’s a chatfic and it’s kyungsoo-centric, and chanyeol’s in love with kyungsoo but he’s going out with this girl (I think her name was yeseo or smth like that?), the girl had dated jongin before and jongin tried telling ksoo she was no good but he didn’t believe him. It was on ao3 and it was incomplete from what I remember. Thanks!

thank you anons, @lcmusic00 and kjkyungsoo for your help!

[derpinathebrave]

All’s Fae in Love and War

Read on AFF

Summary: Jae has three days to start and finish his oral presentation for university. Brian has three days to help Jae’s crush fall in love with him. Wonpil has three days to watch the pair flounder like idiots in the situation he put them in. After all: All’s Fae in Love and War.

Genre: fluff, myth, romance

Word count: 18,461

Note/warning: jaehyungparkian, tiny bit of side!dopil, cute and fluffy

Jae couldn’t quite remember how he had met Wonpil; it may have been at the cafe where he worked, or possibly in the university library, perhaps even just on the street one day. Jae really had no idea. All he knew was Wonpil was his best friend and had been for some time now. Jae didn’t have many friends other than Wonpil either. There was Dowoon, the guy he worked with at the cafe. They chatted and got along well, sometimes they even went out after work for a few drinks. He had come to watch Jae play one night in a bar, so he supposed they were friends. But Wonpil was definitely his best friend.

It was normal for them to just sit around in Jae’s bedroom on a Wednesday afternoon talking shit and taking the piss out of one another. Wonpil’s favourite thing to do was annoy Jae about his love life, or lack there of. So this particular Wednesday afternoon it was no surprise when Wonpil began his usual teasing.

“Why don’t you just talk to him?” Wonpil complained, hanging his head upside down over the end of the bed to stare at Jae.

“Shut up,” Jae threw a ball of paper at him, missing hopelessly.

“Seriously, next time you see him at the cafe, you just say ‘You’re cute, let’s date’.”

“Can we just not?” Jae complained, not looking up from his assignment notes.

“I could do it for you!” Wonpil rolled over, eyes alight with glee as he caught hold of the new idea.

“No! No way!” Jae shook his head, glasses skittering down to the end of his nose as he did. He pushed them higher, glaring at Wonpil. “Just drop it, I’m fine. I’m too busy for dating.”

“What do you mean too busy for dating?” Wonpil scoffed, throwing his legs over the end of the bed to come and sit across from Jae on the floor.

“Work and university and my guitar gigs are picking up. No time.”

“More like no guts,” Wonpil muttered, stealing a sheet of lined paper and a pen from Jae.

“I have plenty of guts,” Jae’s voice was dark as he continued to flick through textbooks and scrawl out notes. Wonpil only gave a grunt in reply, focused on his new distraction of drawing pink swirly symbols on the paper with the filched pen.

Wonpil was easily distracted; it was the reason Jae could handle all the teasing, it only ever lasted a couple of minutes before Wonpil would spot something more shiny and his brain would skip off after that instead. Jae also found it endearing when he would watch Wonpil hop from one topic to another in a heartbeat, leaving most other people confused and uncomfortable. On more than one occasion Jae had also dragged him away from danger, he maintained that Wonpil needed a friend like him to keep him safe at least. If Wonpil noticed something interesting across a busy street, he would simply begin to step out into traffic to go after it. Jae was rattled in the beginning, lecturing Wonpil at length about it, now he was so used to it he didn’t even look up from his phone while he caught Wonpil’s arm and dragged him back onto the sidewalk properly.

Jae sunk into his world of data and statistics as he researched his assignment, barely noticing Wonpil still scratching away, now at multiple sheets of paper. He had three days to finish his oral presentation and present it to a lecture theatre of his peers. He was barely even started. He had spent the first 2 weeks after receiving the assignment sour at the fact that he had to do an oral presentation. This was university, he thought he’d left that class participation crap back in high school. Now, he realised that this was university and any and all bitching he had would fall on deaf ears. This was a do-it-or-flunk situation.

Hours later, when his brain was sending his eyes an Error 404 - Brain Not Found code, Jae finally stretched his lanky arms above his head and set down his notebook and pen. Wonpil was long gone, having wandered off sometime in the afternoon. Jae was used to that as well, Wonpil appeared and disappeared on a mere whim. At times it felt as though he could literally materialise where ever Jae was.

Looking around his room he realised that while he had been busy so had Wonpil. His room was papered in the swirly drawings Wonpil had been intent on. They were stuck to his pinboard over his chaotic desk, stuck to the wall over his bed, even on the wooden divider of the window pane. The back of his door, the bookcase, Jae’s Maroon 5 poster (right on Adam Levine’s head), nowhere in the room had been spared from the Decoration of Wonpil. Jae sighed and rolled his eyes. It was pretty typical really, he would take them down when he found time. Right now he needed food and a shower, and maybe a nap.

Jae didn’t make it to his nap, he spent some time strumming out new tunes on his guitar before his parents got home and called him down for dinner. With that finished he returned to studying for a while; more notes scrawled out in his barely legible writing before he realised that it was no use if he couldn’t actually read them later. With an exhausted sigh, he left his studying things in a mess on the floor, turned out the light and climbed into bed.

Rolling over to find a comfortable position, Jae heard the tell-tale crackle of paper being crumpled. He squeezed his eyes shut, cursing Wonpil vehemently in his mind. As he sat up: more crackling of paper. He turned his lamp on to find that Wonpil had covered his mattress in the same swirly drawings, now with a distinct Jae-sized wrinkle in them.

“I get that you really like this pattern, but did you have to put it everywhere?” Jae grumbled, glaring down at his bed. As he bent to start sweeping the papers to the floor a different page caught his eye. “Tha mi a’guidhe ort Brian,” He read clumsily. Jae pursed his mouth in confusion, “Who’s Brian?”

Wondering just what was wrong with his best friend Jae proceeded to dump the papers off the bed. Wonpil had laid them three pages thick, Jae found two more copies of the weird nonsensical words. Each time he spotted them he wondered again who Brian was; Wonpil never really talked about anyone else and Jae would recognise a name like Brian. He shrugged, sing-songing the words aloud again. They had a funny ring to them, even though he was moderately sure he wasn’t saying it right.

“Tha mi” slight pause, “a’guidhe,” another pause, “ort Brian.”

Jae sung to himself as he worked, finally clearing the bed and climbing back in. With a content sigh, he flicked the light off. He would have to think of a prank to pay Wonpil back later, after his oral assignment was finished. Maybe he could wrap Wonpil’s room in tin foil, that would be apt.

He was slipping over the precipice of sleep when something dipped into the mattress by his feet. Jae muttered something and tried to kick the cat away. He didn’t own a cat though. With a yell and a vicious kick, Jae scooted all the way up to his headboard and tried to see through the thick darkness. It was a man. There was a person at the end of his bed! He screamed again, leaping from the covers and diving for the door. His feet tangled in the mess he had left strewn around from studying and he crashed hard against the carpet. Now he was dead, his only hope was that his parents had heard him and would come to save him from being axe murdered. He clenched his eyes shut and waited.

Nothing happened.

With shaky movements, slow and steady so as to not frighten his murderer into a homicidal rage, Jae turned. The man was still sitting on the end of the bed. Now that his eyes were fully adjusted to the dim Jae saw that the man was smirking a little, his face a beautiful symmetry with too-perfect eyes. His hair was dark and hanging on his forehead a little, his clothes plain and nondescript. He didn’t appear to have a weapon of any sort, no axe, no knife, no nothing.

“Are you ok?” He spoke, a quiet voice that actually gave Jae a slight shiver.

“Uh,” Jae floundered. What did one say to their potential stalker? Clearly he wasn’t there to murder Jae, but watching him in his sleep was definite creepy stalker action. He didn’t speak again, simply waiting for a reply. Jae’s brain came up with only one response and after an inordinate amount of time he gave up and said it. “What are you doing on my bed?”

“You summoned me,” The man shrugged, spreading his palms to the ceiling, “So here I am.”

Jae’s eyebrows rose, coming together in concern for the mental stability of this guy. He finally pulled himself into a sitting position, hugging his knees reflexively.

“Uh, what?” Yet again his brain couldn’t seem to find more eloquent or useful words.

“You summoned me. So, can we get on with it?”

“Get on with what? Summoned? What’s wrong with you?!” Jae cried, scooting back away from this clearly deranged person in his room. Finally his brain lit upon a reasonable idea. Call the police, there’s a man in your bedroom! His phone was on the bedside table, not two feet from his intruder.

“You summoned me, I’m here to help you with whatever the problem is. So if we could get a bit of hustle, because I’d prefer to go back to my interment if you’re going to treat me like something you’ve found on your shoe.”

Jae’s brain turned up blank once more. He simply gaped. This man was definitely off his rocker.

“What the heck are you talking about? Just… get out of my house before I call the police!” Jae struggled to his feet and backing towards the door.

“Why are you being so weird?” The man asked, looking around the dark room. “You’re the one with all the summoning runes on the walls, why would you summon me and then tell me to get out?”

“What?” The word was a squeak as Jae’s jaw fell slack.

Wonpil.

“The summoning runes, all forty thousand of them you’ve drawn up. In pink, for bonus points?” He cocked an eyebrow at Jae before continuing on. “Why would you put them all up and then sing the little song if you didn’t want me summoned?”

Jae’s mouth moved up and down, trying to make words come out. There were none.

“Uh, OK, now you’re starting to freak me out,” The guy said, pulling his legs up to sit in a tailor seat on the bed.

Jae thought that was a little much, coming from the mysterious intruder, but his brain was far more occupied with the fact that Wonpil had papered his room in pink summoning runes. That should sound insane, that should have Jae sprinting downstairs and hollering for the police, but it didn’t.

“Wh-” Jae stopped, he didn’t know what else to say or do but ask this question, “What’s your name?”

He was given an almost surprised look in return and then an answer.

“Brian, Fae of Love and Attraction; at your service.” He jumped up and swept a flourishing bow to Jae. Jae started at the sudden movement and then whined as his theory was confirmed.

“You’re Brian?” Jae pointed, his stomach clenching, “From the gibberish and Brian?”

Brian nodded, eyebrows high with alarm as Jae pointed at him like a zombie.

“What gibberish?” Brian asked, “Are you OK?”

“The… The words! The gibberish, the only part I understood was Brian,” Jae burst, throwing his pointing finger around in exasperation. He crossed the room and snatched up a piece of paper, turning it for Brian to read in the dark.

“That’s the summoning spell! What is wr-” Brian petered out, his mouth forming a little O as things seemed to click in place. “You didn’t write that, did you? Or draw these?”

Jae shook his head, lowering his now trembling hand.

“My… My friend did, Wonpil,” That elicited a reaction from Brian, he hissed like a cat and his shoulders arched. Jae was sure if he had fur it would all be on end.

“Of course!” Brian cried, throwing his hands up aggressively, “Of course it was him! That scheming…” Brain’s voice wandered off into a dark mutter as Jae shrunk away from him once more. His eyes flashed and he pinned Jae with them. “Where is he? Take me to him now.”

“I…” Jae’s huddled body fell limp, head tilting to one side slightly, “I don’t know where he is. I’ve never…”

Why hadn’t he ever noticed that he didn’t know where Wonpil lived? He hadn’t ever realised that they never went anywhere but Jae’s place?

“Of course you don’t,” Brian’s voice was not acerbic, as Jae expected, but resigned.

“What the hell is going on?” Jae mumbled weakly, crumpling onto the floor. He stared around in the dark, there was nothing but summoning runes scattered everywhere.

“I’m Brian, I’m a fae of love and affection. Wonpil is also a fae, he’s mostly just an ass though.” Brian crossed the short distance to sit on the floor across from Jae. “You’ve summoned me, albeit by accident, but it means that I’m here for the next three days to help you in you quest for love and affection.” His tone was soulless as he spoke. “I, a fae, will assist you magically in any way you require until your one true love has become yours.”

Jae managed a weak smile at Brian.

“Don’t sound so enthusiastic about helping me,” He joked before letting out a sigh. “Truth is, Brian, I don’t have a ‘one true love’. Wonpil just likes to give me shit about liking a customer from the cafe. I think he’s taken the joke a little too far though.”

“Wonpil doesn’t know how to do anything less than ‘too far’.”

Jae’s already tired brain gave up and he yawned for a long time before speaking again.

“OK, I can’t deal with this right now. Are you an axe murderer?” Jae asked, rubbing his tired eyes.

“No. I’m a fae.”

“Like a fairy?”

“I suppose,” Brain growled, Jae managed a smile.

“Prove it,” Jae shrugged. For a moment nothing happened and he began to panic again. Then the papers with the runes gathered themselves from the walls and floor, shifting into an orderly line in the air overhead. With a soft rustling that resembled trees stirring in the wind, the pages folded themselves until fifty paper cranes floated around. The cranes settled on every available surface except the bed as Jae watched in wonder.

“Ta da,” Brain muttered as the last crane came to rest on the bedside table.

“Wow,” Jae nodded, impressed. “OK, time for sleep. And when I wake up this weird dream will be finished. And I can kick Wonpil’s ass for giving me tripped out dreams with his prank.” Jae climbed to his feet and stepped past Brian. The fae’s face was amused as Jae climbed into the bed, pulled the cover over his back and rolled to face the wall. With a sad sigh he stretched his own self on the floor and tried to go to sleep. In the morning, when Jae realised he was really there, they would find Wonpil together and kick his ass.

Sunlight teased Jae’s eyes, prickling them until he was aware that he was no longer asleep. With a small groan he rolled his face into his pillow to hide from the light. As he moved he remembered his odd dreams. A fairy named Brian had come to help him find love. He snorted. What kind of a name was Brian for a fairy? All that studying must have affected his brain.

“Jae!” There was a hammering on his door, “Get up! You have class at 9!” His mother’s voice was loud through the door. Jae wanted to ignore her, pretend to go on sleeping. If he did that however, she would open the door and hassle him out of bed. She would discover the absolute state he had left his room in that night and then she would yell louder. It was too early for that much yelling.

“I’m up!” He called back, flopping over onto his back and staring at the ceiling.

“Good!” She moved on down the hall, footsteps fading down the stairs.

After another few minutes of procrastination, Jae sat up and rubbed his eyes. When he cleared the sleep away, he threw his legs over the side. On to something squishy. On to something that protested at being stepped on. On to Brian; the fairy of love and affection.

Jae knew he should be screaming, but his mind was yet again left blank with shock. Brian was scowling up at him from the floor, shoving Jae’s legs off and sitting up himself.

“Excuse me,” Brian snapped, “It’s bad enough I have to sleep on the floor. Could you please not step on me too?”

“You’re real?” Jae stammered, eyes wide as he took in Brian in the daylight. His hair was a plummy purple, the eyes less uncanny now Jae could see them in the light, his nose was strong and lips quite normal. But Jae got stuck on his cheekbones. He was a sucker for cheekbones, and Brian had them in spades.

“Real as you are,” Brian grouched, still scowling at Jae from the floor.

It was then Jae took in the rest of his room; every surface covered in small paper cranes, swirling pink lines covering each one haphazardly. The magic show from the night before was real too. Jae felt the blood drain from his head and his feet plonked back down into Brian’s lap.

There was a real, actual fairy sitting on his floor looking pissed. With purple hair and killer cheekbones.

“Do we have to go through all of this again?” Brian asked with a sigh, “Because if you don’t mind I might sleep through the pointless crisis part. Wake me up when you’re ready to put me to work on the one true love.” He stretched back out and closed his eyes once more. Jae spluttered, a million things whirling through his brain.

He had a fairy. How did one take care of a fairy? Also, why wasn’t he smaller with wings and a dress made of leaves? And was it just him, or was this fairy particularly cantankerous? Was that normal or was Jae’s fairy defective? And what ‘true love’? If he didn’t actually have a ‘true love’ would Brian be here forever? And what kind of a name for a fairy was Brian?

“Jae!” His mother’s voice cut through his thoughts. He jolted, stepping on Brian a third time.

“Ah, I have class first. Then I’ll work out how to feed and care for you,” Jae prattled, leaping over Brian and rushing to grab his towel from the back of the door. “Just stay here, don’t let anyone see you.” Jae told him before slipping out the smallest crack in the door he would fit through.

“I’m not an animal,” Brian’s voice called as Jae snapped the door shut on him.

Jae rushed through his morning routine, only pausing to stare at Brian for almost 2 minutes before he seemed to remember what he was doing. With a flurry of erratic movements Jae barrelled out the front door and headed for his bus stop. As his foot hit the sidewalk Brian caught his eye, leaning against the garden wall with a black fedora-style hat and dark glasses. Jae’s eyes narrowed behind his own glasses, that was his hat and sunglasses. Brian fell into step with him, face bored.

“Is that my shirt?” Jae had also noticed Brian had filched one of his shirts.

“Yup,” Brian’s voice was just as bored as his face.

“You know,” Jae said conversationally as they walked in the sunshine, “You’re pretty grouchy for a fairy.”

“I’m not a damn fairy!” Brian snapped, sneering at the ground.

“But-”

“I’m a fae. There’s a difference.”

“OK, my bad.” Jae nodded to show he understood. He was trying his best to be nice to the fairy… fae. He honestly felt kind of bad for Brian. The guy had been summoned in the middle of the night to someone that didn’t actually need them. It would have been mildly frustrating.

“So what kind of a name is Brian for a mystical being?” Jae tried again, swinging his arms childishly in the hopes to make Brian smile.

Instead he was given stoic silence and a particularly displeased stare. Jae heaved an internal sigh, so much for that idea. He moved on to his next problem instead, what was he going to do with Brian for three days. He had university lectures, work in the cafe and his hellish assignment to get finished; he did not have spare time for a fae. He didn’t even have a ‘one true love’ so he had no idea why Brian was even here, let alone what he would do for three days! Jae’s thoughts continued their tangled tracks until they alighted from the bus and headed for the university cafe. Coffee first and then cognitive thoughts.

The baristas at the uni cafe seemed to change weekly, Jae prattled off his usual order and stood with the other caffeine addicts to wait for his call. Brian pulled his glasses off and stared at Jae in amazement. Jae looked back, bemused by the offended look on the fae’s face.

“I’m sorry, did you want a coffee?” Jae asked, unsure what Brian ate or drank. For all he knew it could have been the nectar of daffodils on a Spring morning.

“Well, you could have at least offered,” Brain complained, rolling his eyes at Jae’s disregard.

“Sorry,” Jae searched his bag before handing Brian his wallet, “Get one for yourself.”

“I can’t,” Brian was seriously irritated now, Jae floundered once more. He couldn’t seem to get anything right with this guy!

“Why not?” Jae pushed the wallet at him again, taking a surreptitious glance around to see if people were staring at him. No one was paying any attention at all, everyone seemed to be zombified by their phone and lack of coffee.

“They can’t see me,” Brian muttered back, catching Jae’s flickering eyes.

“Wait, what?” Jae’s brows furrowed and he replayed their morning commute.

“No, people moved around you to get on and off the bus.”

“It’s complicated. Please, can you just buy me a coffee?” Brian’s voice was almost a whine, but there was definitely more of a command in there. Jae’s eyes narrowed and he sighed.

“Fine.” He moved to line up again, when he reached the server once more he ordered another coffee. Her heavy eyebrows rose and he gestured vaguely towards Brian, “It’s for my friend.” Her eyes found Brian and she nodded before they slid off him as though he had disappeared. Jae watched with fascination. With the order done and paid for he returned to Brian once more. The fae was gazing across the lawns with his arms crossed over his chest. He didn’t acknowledge Jae’s return.

“You’re welcome,” Jae sniped, he was already getting a little tired of the moodiness.

“Yeah, whatever.” Brian shrugged, still not looking at Jae.

“Why can they see you but not?” Jae asked, doing his best to shake off the attitude.

“It’s a glamour, I wear it when I’m on assignment. Added a few years to the whole shebang by having someone else’s ‘one true love’ fall for me by accident.”

It was an answer, but Jae ended up with more questions than he started with. What was a glamour? What assignment? And what exactly was the “shebang” that Brian had “added years to”? It sounded like a prison sentence. He had opened his mouth to begin a new tirade of questions when his name was called. After a slight hesitation he turned to retrieve his coffee. As he raised it to his lips, he paused. Brian was still standing with his arms crossed, face bored behind the sunglasses. Jae’s face pinched and he sighed.

“Here,” He handed the coffee to Brian, “Have this one, I just ordered the same thing twice.”

The fae offered him a new expression for the barest moment. Brows flattening out and his mouth losing the lines of tension that had been present since they woke up. Jae let himself smile; so the fae did have emotions other than bored and annoyed.

“Thanks, I guess.” Brian mumbled, sipping the coffee.

“You’re welcome,” Jae ducked his head and stared at the ground for a while. He wasn’t sure how to deal with the fact that Brian was drop-dead gorgeous, no one else could see him, and Jae didn’t have a ‘one true love’ to be smitten by. If the guy would just stop being so grouchy, Jae might actually develop a little crush. Jae’s other coffee was ready and he collected that too. The pair of them moved on to his lecture hall. “Can I ask why people can see you but not see you? Are you going to get called on by my lecturers or?” Jae left the question hanging, trying to find a way to not set Brian off into a mood.

“I told you, it’s a glamour.” He huffed, Jae’s face fell a little. “Oh, right, you didn’t summon me. Do you know anything about this stuff?”

“This stuff being?”

“Magic.”

“Oh, then no.”

“Geez,” Brian’s mouth twisted as he thought a while. “So, a magic charm I can do is called a glamour. I can change my appearance, sort of. Basically people know I’m there but then sort of forget they saw me right away. It just makes everything simpler.”

Jae nodded, absorbing the information before speaking again.

“So glamours make you kind of invisible,” He stated. Brian huffed and shook his head.

“No, glamours change my appearance.” He corrected as they pushed into the lecture hall and climbed to their seats. “This charm makes people forget me.”

“What else can you do?” Jae wondered aloud, sitting and pulling his notebook out. Brian fell into the seat beside him and arranged his limbs around him nonchalantly. Jae watched with fascination as people stepped over Brian’s protruding ankle without realising they were doing it.

“Regular fae stuff,” Brian shrugged, he was yet to remove his glasses and hat. “Wake me when we’re done, or your OTL arrives.” He mumbled before settling down for a nap in the lecture hall.

Jae spluttered, trying to protest that Brian couldn’t sleep in here and that he didn’t have a one true love at the same time. It was obvious that Brian was already asleep though, so he gave up and did his best to pay attention to the lecture instead.

Except Jae didn’t pay attention in his lecture. He spent the time wondering what the heck he was going to do and how he could get hold of Wonpil. In the past Wonpil had always just shown up when Jae thought about going to see him, Jae used to joke that they were psychically intune. Now he wondered if it was actually literal magic. He had a number in his phone for Wonpil, but he would bet anything that it would just ring out if he tried to call it. If he couldn’t find Wonpil and make him fix it, what could he do?

Maybe Brian knew what they could do? Surely something like this had happened before. Jae hoped it would be a case of waiting out the three days with a prickly fae before everything would go back to normal. If he was lucky he wouldn’t remember anything.

When the lecture was finished Jae checked his watch. He had an hour before his shift at the cafe started. They should get some lunch and then head off for work. Cautiously, he prodded Brian awake beside him. The fae made some adorable squeaking noises as he woke, stretching and sitting up in his seat. Jae watched with a fond look until Brian caught him and scowled fiercely.

“The lecture is over, we should get some food and then I have work,” Jae stood and waited for Brian to move. “What are you going to do while I work?”

“I stick around and wait for your one true love,” Brian shrugged and pulled himself out of his seat. “That’s basically it. Until they show up, I’m just tagging along on your day. No matter how boring it is.” He added the last part in a dark mutter.

Jae began to descend the stairs, watching closely so he didn’t fall. When they reached the door to the lecture hall he glanced back at Brian.

“I already told you though, I don’t have a one true love,” Jae told him as they entered the flow of people in the hallway. He was once again fascinated as people avoided Brian without really noticing they were.

“Yeah, that’s a problem,” Brian agreed.

“What happens after three days if I don’t have a one true love?”

Brian gave a snarky shrug. Jae’s shoulders slumped and he focused on crossing the campus instead. They didn’t speak for the entire walk, or the lunch that Jae bought for them both. Even as Jae led the way back to the bus to head downtown there was stony silence between the pair. Three days couldn’t pass quickly enough. Although, Jae still had a huge assignment hanging over his head, and three days needed to drag into a week for him to get all the work done.

The fae followed Jae like a puppy, pushing into the cafe and crossing the space to the counter a few steps behind him. After giving the brightly lit cafe a cursory glance he perched on the bench tucked against the right wall behind the counter. Jae frowned and put his hands on his hips.

“Get down from there,” He waved a hand at Brian, “You’re dirty.” He ducked down and grabbed a bottle of spray and a cloth. He thrust them both at Brian. “Clean,” He ordered, shaking the bottle of spray.

Brian’s deep eyes rolled but he took the bottle and cloth. Jae set about getting ready for his shift, a coffee coloured apron tied around his hips and a shot already pouring into a cup for himself. As Brian finished his cleaning another employee appeared from the back, giving Jae a high-five and cruising out the front door. Jae glanced up at the ornate clock on the wall, Dowoon was late again.

“Did you want a coffee?” Jae asked. Brian was now leaning against the coffee machine, watching Jae closely.

“Duh,” Brain replied, eyes wandering the cafe before returning to Jae. It was themed with an antique feel. An ornate clock on the wall, leather and brass couches, touches of dark wood as tables and chairs. The left wall was dominated with ceiling-high shelves, nick-knacks and books spread across them haphazardly. Brain begrudgingly admitted it was a pretty cool place.

“You could be nicer to me, you know,” Jae mumbled, finishing off Brian’s coffee and handing it over. He was given a scoff in reply. Jae’s eyes narrowed, his mouth opened to unload a tirade on Brian when the doorbell jangled.

“I’m here! Sorry I’m late!” The other employee scampered across the space, waving to Jae and a few regular customers sitting in the couches.

“It’s fine, Dowoon, it’s not exactly bustling in here.” Jae called back, glare still firmly on Brian.

Jae turned after another moment and retrieved an apron. He tossed it to the passing Dowoon easily. The younger guy tied the apron and glanced from Jae to Brian. Brian openly stared, unconcerned about being caught. The guy, almost still a boy, was a moderate height, with cute wavy hair, and overly kind eyes. Eyes that were lingering on Brian as he sipped his coffee.

“Who’s this guy?” He nodded at Brian. Directly at him.

Jae replied reflexively, “Brian.”

Then seemed to remember people couldn’t, shouldn’t, see him.

“Hi, Brian,” Dowoon gave a little smirk. “Your glamour needs work.”

Jae thought he might faint. He blinked several times, head slowly swivelling from Dowoon to Brian and back again. Was he still dreaming? Was he trapped in some weird alternate reality? What the hell was going on?

“Thanks,” Brian’s voice was acerbic, “But I don’t take tips from low-class witches.”

“Wizard,” Dowoon corrected, “And I never said I wasn’t low-class. Which means your glamour really does need work.” That shut Brian up. He simply sipped his coffee again and turned his eyes to the rest of the cafe.

“Wizard?” Jae finally asked, his voice a little wobbly.

“Yeah,” Dowoon nodded, he looked as though he was about to say more when the door jangled again and an actual customer entered.

As the shift rolled on Jae slowly teased the story from Dowoon. Brian stayed leaning against the coffee machine, looking bored and watching customers.

“My grandma was a witch, pretty powerful really. Mum and dad don’t believe any of this stuff though, so I’ve kind of had to work it out myself.” Dowoon explained between orders as they tidied. “My mentor reckons I’ve got heaps of potential but, I don’t know,” He shrugged in his cheerful way, “How much can you really do with this stuff?”

“So,” Jae nibbled his lower lip, “You’re magic?”

“A bit, I guess.”

“And you know about Brian?”

“Well,” Dowoon tilted his head at the fae, “I know he’s a fae. I guess he’s here to cause trouble. Did you annoy someone, Jae?”

Jae looked from Brian to Dowoon again.

“Uh, no more than usual?” Jae spread his hands to the ceiling in bemusement.

Brain gave a small huff of actual laughter. Jae smiled at him swiftly before turning to serve the newest customer.

“See, the problem is I don’t have a one true love,” Jae explained to Dowoon as he locked the door to the cafe. Dowoon’s brows furrowed as he thought about it. “So, I’m just wondering what Brian is supposed to do for three days. And what will happen after those three days are up?”

The three of them began wandering along the street, moving with the flow of workers heading for their homes. The sky was bruised with twilight and streetlights offered yellow splashes in the growing darkness. As they moved beneath one of the lights Dowoon spoke.

“I have no idea,” He said blithely. Jae groaned with frustration and Brian let out a dark chuckle. “But I know someone that might. If you have time we can go meet him now.”

Jae wavered, he had so much work to do. Surely keeping Brian around for three days would be easy, then he would go… wherever he went. Then Jae remembered that he wanted to call Wonpil and ask him about all this too. As he thought of Wonpil he realised something so painfully obvious that he almost groaned aloud again.

Dowoon had never met Wonpil. Jae hadn’t found it weird until this very moment. The two of them had remained conspicuously separate for the last however long he had known them. If Wonpil was indeed a fae as well, Dowoon would have told him straight away. But Dowoon had never met Wonpil. Clearly for just that reason.

Knowing it was futile, Jae produced his phone and called the elusive fae. It rang out until the message bank picked up.

“Hey there Jae!” Jae almost greeted it in return, he caught himself as Wonpil’s recorded voice carried on. “How did the summoning go? Did you get the Gaelic pronunciation ok? I’m going to be away for a little while, I’m not Brian’s favourite fairy. But you! I know he’ll love you! Have fun. I’ll see you in three days.” There was a click and then the beep. Jae knew it would be recorded but he let out a long string of curses anyway. When his vocabulary ran dry he hung up and faced a rather shocked Dowoon.

“Let’s go now,” Jae grumbled, hefting his bag a little higher on his back. Dowoon nodded, eyes still slightly wide.

Dowoon rattled the door to the shop. A cursive Closed sign was in the glass pane, right beneath more curling script that Jae made out to be Ash and Yew Ecclectica. His eyebrows were so high his blond fringe swallowed them. He hadn’t been to a magic shop before. A laminated page in the window advertised their tarot card readers and something called aura healing. Dowoon knocked loudly on the glass and stood back to wait a while. Jae continued his inspection through the darkened window.

There was a collection of large crystals, purple amethyst and sparkling citrine beneath lights. Either side of the large clusters were literal wands, quartz points on them and leather wrapping around their shafts. Further in the darkness Jae could see bookshelves and what he thought might be displays of herbs. He glanced at Brian, the fae had a strange light in his eyes.

From the back of the store a door opened and a rectangle of light was cast across the shop. A man shuffled through to the door. When he caught sight of his visitors he opened it with a paternal smile.

“Dowoon, it’s a little late for business calls.” His eyes locked onto Brian, the smile didn’t waver. “But when there’s fae involved time doesn’t seem to matter much at all. Come on in and tell me just what has happened here.”

“Thanks, Sungjin.” Dowoon followed the man through the door. Jae waved Brian along next and then moved through himself. They didn’t pause in the darkened shop but proceeded into the back. There were boxes of stock on tables and shelves and a skinny stairway. They trooped up the steps and into Sungjin’s apartment. Jae noticed the air in the apartment felt a little different. With a mental shake he dismissed the idea, this was all ridiculous.

“This is Jae, I work with him.” Dowoon introduced him as Sungjin filled the electric kettle to boil. “That’s Brian.”

Sungjin turned and leant against his bench, brown eyes roving over Jae and then Brian slowly. Jae was busy examining the wizard’s apartment. It was disarmingly normal. No runes on the wall in red paint, no magic wands or pentagrams to be seen; just a well-loved couch, a coffee table covered in novels and empty tea mugs. Brian perched himself on the small table against the wall. Jae was sure he could see a light in the fae’s eyes now. Like he was glowing a little, or was it a small sparkle? He turned his head this way and that to see if the shimmer would move with the light.

Sungjin’s smile widened.

“Brian, fae of love and attraction,” Sungjin spoke as the kettle began to rattle.

“At your service,” Brain’s voice was still flat and dead.

“What do you need my help for exactly? Brian only appears when summoned, or at least that’s what all the spells say.”

“Well,” Jae spoke up nervously, scratching the back of his neck. “I think I did summon him. But it was an accident.”

“An accidental summoning?” Sungjin’s voice was even, no derision or incredulity. He poured four cups of tea. “How did that happen?”

“Uh, I think… I mean, Brian said he was but I don’t know… I think my best friend is a fae too?” Jae’s voice trailed off, the longer he spoke the more ridiculous all of this felt.

“That sounds like a lot of trouble,” Dowoon commented, taking his tea and sitting on the couch to spectate.

“Indeed,” Sungjin agreed, giving Brian his tea with a smile. “What’s your version of events?” He asked the fae.

“I was called, I answered. I found a strange human trying to run away from me like I was an axe murderer, until he worked out it was his fault I was there. Now we’re waiting for his one true love to appear. I’ll do my thing and go back to interment.” Brian spoke in a long flat tone, like a man tired of his life. Sungjin nodded along, eyes turning to Jae for confirmation.

“Yeah, that’s what happened. Except I don’t have a one true love. So we were wondering what’s going to happen after three days passes.”

Sungjin turned back to Brian. The fae returned a deadpan expression.

“Well, I haven’t read the stories in a long time but Brian is supposed to help you. If he fails, he returns to interment with an extension to his sentence.” Sungjin spoke slowly, giving the feeling of his words tiptoeing out of his mouth.

“Sentence?” Jae asked, eyes locked to Brian. The fae’s eyes fell to the floor, the shimmer seeming to move viscously with an aura of sadness. When it was clear he wouldn’t answer, Sungjin spoke again.

“The legend says Brian was a prince, he spurned a rival fae and was tricked into 100 years of servitude for humans. He’s summoned and forced to help them find love. When he fails another 100 years is added to his sentence,” Sungjin’s voice was still tiptoeing over the fae’s obvious dejection.

“100 years?” Jae’s eyes flicked to Sungjin to make sure he had heard properly before moving back to Brian. His shoulders were slumped and he stared at the floor. “How old are you?” He breathed. Brian ignored him.

“So I imagine if you don’t have a one true love then Brian will go back to his interment with an extra 100 years,” Sungjin finished, sipping his tea and sighing.

“But…” Jae struggled, his brain was trying to catch up with his mouth when he spoke. “But that’s not fair. It’s not his fault I don’t have a one true love! Can’t I like, complain to them that he shouldn’t be punished just because I summoned him by accident?”

Sungjin smiled with amusement, he glanced at Brian before speaking.

“I don’t think they particularly care. In their eyes Brian is being punished and this will be justice.”

“That’s… not fair,” Jae’s voice shrank as Brian finally looked up from the floor. His shimmering eyes pinned the human, stopping his words instantly.

“Well, if it’s all settled. Let’s just go,” Brian launched himself off the table, moving for the door quickly. Jae pursed his lips reluctantly. Sungjin’s face seemed to be offering Jae one more piece of information, but he couldn’t seem to decipher it in time. With slow movements he resettled his bag on his shoulders and turned to follow Brian back out of the apartment.

“Come back anytime,” Sungjin called after them. Jae wasn’t sure he would ever have a particular need to, but he shot a smile over his shoulder anyway.

Brian was eerily quiet on the walk to the bus. It was properly dark now and the moon was yet to rise. The fae’s eyes seemed to be the same deep black of the sky, all hint of shine vanished. Jae wondered what he could do or say that would help the fae. The only thing he could really think of was trying his hardest to find an OTL in the next two days.

“I’m sorry,” Jae said softly as they sat together on the bus, the city sliding around them in the dark. Jae could see his own face reflected in the window as he looked across at Brian, his eyes had slight bags from his late night, and his hair was a little crazy, but in his own eyes he could see determination. “I’ll find someone to love tomorrow. We can blow off class and see if we can find that customer Wonpil was talking about when he started all this.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Brian sighed, he leant back into the uncomfortable bus seat and looked at Jae from the corner of his eye.

“I want to,” Jae replied quickly, “I want to help.”

“Th… thanks,” Brian mumbled, turning to peer out the window instead.

Jae had been intending to go to the library after work, but instead they just trudged home.

“Is that why you’re so angry all the time?” Jae asked, unable to focus on his schoolwork. Brian was casually leafing through a textbook nearby. He looked up from the pages with a blank expression. “The punishment? Is that why you’re so…” Jae searched for the least offensive word, “Unapproachable?”

Brian gave a smirk and stuck a fluro pink sticky note to the page before speaking.

“Yeah, I guess,” He shrugged, Jae could see he was trying to play it down.

“What did you do?” The silence was so long that Jae went back to work, forgetting that he had asked in the first place. When Brian’s reply came Jae found himself frozen in place, staring at the book and listening closely.

“It was more what I didn’t do,” Brian sighed, there was the crunchy noise of a page turning. “I didn’t marry the princess arranged for me. I refused her love and in retaliation her family cursed me. There wasn’t anything I could do about it. I knew when I refused her that something like that would happen. But,” another page of the textbook turned, “I think they overreacted just a little.”

Jae was inclined to agree, he gave a small subconscious nod. After a beat he spoke again.

“When did all that happen?”

“Somewhere in the 2nd century,” Brian’s voice was mild, he seemed preoccupied with the textbook once more. Jae spluttered.

“Excuse me? No, I’m sorry, the 2nd century? You’re telling me you’re over 1500 years old?”

“Your math is terrible,” Brian finally looked up at Jae, a real smile on his face. Jae smiled in reply without noticing he was. “I’m closer to 2000 these days.”

Jae squeaked, eyes raking over Brian closely. He looked like a 20-something-year-old, just like Jae.

“You look good for your age,” Jae commented weakly. Brain laughed, a wonderfully rich sound. Jae felt as though the laughter wrapped all around him, like a physical thing that made the lights glow a little warmer and his skin prickle slightly.

“Thanks,” Brian shook his head and marked the page with another pink sticky note. He passed the book to Jae with an insistent look. “Here, I marked the pages that matter for your assignment.”

“What?” Jae took the book and scanned the marked page. It was all completely relevant and useful information. “Thank you!” Jae looked up, a smile beaming straight at Brian. The fae gave another honest smile.

“What else am I going to do with my time?” Brian shrugged, trying to return to his prickly persona. Jae saw through it though, he wondered how many times in the last few summonings he had heard genuine gratitude. With a lingering look at the fae he returned to writing notes and studying the textbook Brian had given him.

Around midnight they called it quits, Brian was already dozing off as he leant against the bookcase. Jae stacked his books away and went to the bathroom. When he returned he shook Brian’s shoulder. As the fae’s eyes shuttered open Jae was greeted with the shimmer in them once more, it was like flecks of gold in deep water. He followed each little sparkle as it moved here and there in Brian’s deep eyes. It was hypnotising, calming; Jae felt his body relax completely and a goofy smile spread across his face.

Brian blinked and looked away.

Jae started, his exhaustion rushing back into his limbs suddenly.

“Uh, bed time,” Jae said dumbly, he couldn’t seem to stop thinking of Brian’s eyes.

“Can I have a pillow this time?” Brian asked, back to his usual snarkiness.

“Why don’t you sleep on the bed this time? It’s a double anyway,” Jae offered, moving over to the other side of the room. Brian didn’t reply. Jae changed into his pyjamas and turned to find Brian was still in the same spot, eyes deep and unreadable. “Brian?” Jae prompted, wanting an answer.

“Are you sure?”

“Well, yeah. I mean I can’t make you sleep on the floor after I got you into this mess, can I?”

“Uh,” Brian stood slowly, “Thanks then.”

Jae climbed into the bed and sighed, after a moment he felt Brian lay down beside him.

“Night then,” Jae mumbled, already beginning to drift off. Brian didn’t reply. He was too busy with his own thoughts.

It was bright when Jae woke the following morning. With no coherent thoughts he simply rolled over and stuffed his face into the nearest thing that would block the light out. It was made of soft cloth and warmth. It smelt of a forest after rain, earthy and calm. Jae snuggled himself a little deeper and drifted off to sleep once more.

Brain awoke to Jae snuggling his face into his chest. He was frozen in place as the human nuzzled against his body, letting out a cute little mew and a sigh as he fell back to sleep. Brian wondered if the erratic hammering of his heart would be enough to wake Jae or if he would have to do it himself. He raised a hand to prod Jae off him. His hesitation was definitely just indecision about where the best place was to both wake and annoy the human. He was certainly not enjoying the feeling of contact with another person. Especially this ditzy blond. Even if he looked so laughably cute with his hair all mussed from sleeping.

The hand was stuck in mid-air, seemingly unable to descend on Jae and wake him. Brian was saved by the alarm trilling behind him insistently. Jae gave a long groan of frustration and rolled back from Brian just slightly. His eyes opened reluctantly and he found Brian glaring down at him. The glitters were back and Jae smiled despite the fae’s thunderous look.

“Sometimes,” Jae’s voice was croaky from sleep and soft, “your eyes have glitter in them. Sparkly.” He gave a long yawning sigh.

Brian couldn’t seem to move or think. He was still posed with one hand reaching out to prod Jae away, but he was stock still. Jae stretched and sat up. He reached over Brian comfortably and turned the alarm off. Silence descended on the room and Brian seemed to come back to himself. The arm lowered to lie against his own chest. Jae flopped back onto the mattress with another sigh.

“Man, I’m so tired.” He clicked away on his phone, checking his SNS as he slowly woke. Brian watched his profile as the eyes flickered over the phone screen. He wondered what had just happened.

“Alright, so today we’ll head to work and hang out. The guy is a regular, he usually comes in around 11 for a coffee and food. I think he works in a building nearby.” Jae paused to yawn. “We’ll just take my assignment stuff and work on it there. I can kill two birds with one stone.”

He sat up and stretched again. Brain watched him, still lying in the same position. Without waiting or warning, Jae simply clambered over Brian’s body to get out of the bed.

“I’m going to shower, sleep as long as you want I guess,” Jae called with a smile before disappearing out of the room.

Brian rolled onto his back and stared at the blue sky in the window.

Jae and Brian took a table by the window, Jae facing the interior of the cafe while Brian sat across from him staring out the window. The fae was dressed in Jae’s clothes again but had left the hat and sunglasses at home. Books and papers were spread across the table, Jae’s laptop open before him as his fingers danced away on the keys. After a little while their breakfast and coffees arrived and everything was shuffled to make room.

Jae looked up from his work to find Brian’s eyes wide and a genuine smile on his face as he peered down at the food. A little skipping rhythm skittered through Jae’s chest as he watched the fae begin to eat. It was coupled with a small voice wondering just how often the summoners bothered to feed the fae.

“You have to eat it all,” Jae teased, sipping his coffee and continuing to type. “You’re costing me a fortune to keep.”

“Oh, I’m so terribly sorry,” Brain’s voice was catty but the effect was ruined by all the food in his mouth as he spoke. Jae laughed at him, eyes crinkling shut with happiness. Brian gave a huff of laughter as well and continued to eat.

They worked in silence for a long time, Jae’s fingers only pausing as he tried to find a word or phrase to use in his presentation. Around the two hour mark Jae pushed the laptop away and stretched. His brain was fried from the constant work and lack of sleep. His eyes fell on Brian naturally; he was so gorgeous. It made sense to Jae that Brian kept a glamour on to stop humans falling for him, he wondered how many more centuries he’d accrued from being that gorgeous.

“How do you know Wonpil?” Jae asked, turning his head this way and that to stretch his neck. Brian made a noise of irritation in reply.

“He and I were friends before I was punished,” Brain muttered, taking Jae’s laptop and reopening it before him. Jae wondered what the fae was doing but wanted to hear the story of Wonpil, so he didn’t say anything. “He is the reason I’m in this mess.”

“I am really sorry,” Jae replied, thinking Brian meant being here with Jae and his impossible task as “this mess”. “I shouldn’t have read those words aloud.”

“No,” Brian shook his head, eyes intent on the laptop screen. “Not that. This whole punishment is his fault.”

“What?” Jae’s eyes were wide with shock. One day, maybe, he would get used to the fact that Brian was almost 2000 years old, but Wonpil too? Daft Wonpil that occasionally almost walked into traffic? Uh uh, Jae couldn’t imagine it.

“Mm,” Brian mumbled, tapping at the keys for a moment before glancing at Jae. “He convinced me to refuse the marriage proposal. He also suggested my punishment be 100 years of using my magic to help others fall in love. I thought we were friends.” Brian gave a heavy sigh and fell silent. Jae pouted as he thought about the betrayal. He couldn’t imagine Wonpil doing that. Even with the fact that he had tricked Jae into thinking he was human and then into summoning Brian, Jae couldn’t imagine Wonpil doing something that hurtful on purpose. He opened his mouth to express that when the doorbell jangled and Jae caught sight of his customer-crush.

Brian’s head turned as though Jae had just shouted “There he is!”, his cat-like eyes sized up the crush quickly.

He was tall, without the lankiness that Jae had. His business pants were stretched tight across well-built thighs and his shirt strained a little over his chest and shoulders. Brian smirked at the choice of a lavender shirt with a purple tie. The man’s hair was swished back fashionably with gel and he had a little designer-stubble peppering his jaw. Something about him instantly irritated Brian. Perhaps it was the fact that his clothes looked intentionally half a size too small. Or it could have been the aura of arrogance and confidence that oozed from him. It definitely wasn’t the way that Jae was ogling him.

Brian’s lip curled as he thought of helping Jae catch this crush, it was actually the last thing he felt like doing. Jae was speaking to him again and Brian realised he should be listening for instructions.

“So, uh, that’s the guy,” Jae mumbled, staring down at the table nervously.

“Clearly,” Brian could hear the snarky tone, but couldn’t help it.

“Uh, yeah,” Jae’s eyes flickered to the man before darting back to the table like a frightened bunny.

“So, what should I do?” Brian asked, he couldn’t stop the nasty tone of voice, as much as he wanted to.

“I don’t know, isn’t this your, like job?” Jae looked across the table with panic.

“Ok, ok. I’ll help. He wont be able to see me or hear me, ok?” Brian stood, rolling his eyes in exasperation. After a moment of concentration he went sort of translucent in Jae’s vision. Jae stared, forgetting all about what they were actually doing as he watched Brian work some real magic. He almost fell out of his chair in fright when a voice spoke beside him.

“Hey there!” His crush said, standing by his table easily, “Working hard today?” He nodded to the books and papers spread around. Jae held his heart and floundered for words. “Sorry,” the guy continued, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Oh, uh, yes, no,” Jae thought he heard Brian laugh at him and straightened in his chair a little. “I was lost in thought. I’ve got a huge assignment due this week.” There we go, Jae found his brain and put it into gear properly.

“Ask him to sit down,” Brian mumbled, leaning against the window behind Jae. Jae wanted to turn and see if the sunlight would stream straight through the fae. He resisted.

“Did you want-” Jae spoke at the same time as the man.

“Can I sit?”

They laughed a little awkwardly and Jae nodded.

“Sure, I need a break anyway,” He waved a hand to the seat Brian had been sitting in all morning. The guy took it with a smile. Jae smiled too, it was a little strained but he couldn’t seem to work out why.

“I’m Alistair.”

“Jae. Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Alistair gave another megawatt smile. “I did actually know your name. I just didn’t want to be all creepy about it.”

Jae gave a polite laugh and nodded, behind him he heard Brian scoff.

“So, what do you do for work?” Jae asked, trying to find a safe topic to begin with. Alistair launched into a description of his job as a photocopier salesman. Jae tried his best to listen but couldn’t seem to forget the fact that Brian was standing right behind him. When Alistair was interrupted by a waitress bringing his coffee Brian leant down to whisper in Jae’s ear.

“Ask him if his shirt shrank in the wash or if he paid for it like that,” His breath actually tickled Jae’s ear and he had to put all his will power into not shivering violently. Jae pressed his lips together and swung a hand backwards to hit Brian on the leg. The fae let out a chuckle.

By the end of their hour long conversation, Jae was conflicted. He had promised Brian to try and fall in love with his crush, he didn’t want to earn the fae another century of imprisonment. But Alistair was the most boring person he had ever met in his life.

He smiled and waved awkwardly as Alistair pushed out the door and onto the street. When he turned back, Brian was fully visible once more and sitting across from him. He laughed as Jae’s smile turned strained and his eyes pleaded with the fae.

“Oh my God,” Jae groaned through his terrifying smile.

“So? Are you head over heels yet?” Brain teased, eyes dancing with barely contained satisfaction.

“Brian, I know I said I’d try and help but,” Jae’s face was mortified, “Oh my God, he’s so boring.”

“Really? You’re not into going to the gym and selling photocopiers?” Brian teased a little more, laughing as Jae put his head on the table and gave a long groan.

“Aren’t you supposed to help?” He asked as the fae leant back comfortably.

“Hey, I help them fall in love with you, not the other way around,” Brian held up his hands in surrender.

“I’m sorry, Brian,” Jae sighed, pulling his head back from the table and giving Brian a sad look. Brian’s laughter petered out and he waved a hand at Jae.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. It is what it is,” He sighed heavily. The glee he had felt drained out of him as he thought of another 100 years in this slavery.

“Did you want to go anywhere? Do anything? It’s the least I can do,` seeing as…” Jae faded away sadly.

“No, it’s fine,” Brian shook his head and pushed Jae’s laptop back over to him. “You should keep working on this at least.”

Jae took the computer and nodded, a heavy weight in his heart. He reread his work from that morning, making it halfway through before realising it had been edited already. He looked over at Brian.

“Did you proof-read this?” He asked, eyebrows hiding in his hair again.

“Well, yeah,” Brian shrugged.

“Thank you,” Jae gave him a wide smile. “You’ve paid off the breakfast I bought.”

Brian scoffed and rolled his eyes. He looked away from Jae, trying to figure out why for the first time in 2000 years his heart was acting up.

Jae and Brian were stowing away all of the books and laptop when Jae’s phone rang. It was an unknown number and he answered it with the hope that Wonpil had reemerged. It was Sungjin instead.

“Hi, Jae? It’s Sungjin, we met last night.”

“Yes?” Jae shot Brian a questioning look, the fae shrugged noncommittally.

“I dug out the old legend of Brian. I was wondering if you wanted to come and have a look at it.” Sungjin’s voice implied that if Jae didn’t come he would regret it.

“Oh, uh,” Jae hesitated, he didn’t really think there was much more to be said on the matter. Something in the way Sungjin spoke gave him pause.

“I think it would be a good idea,” Sungjin said quietly.

“Ok, we’ll come now.” Jae nodded, not looking at Brian’s reaction.

“Great. See you soon.” The line disconnected.

“We’re going to head over to Sungjin’s magic shop.” Jae told Brian cautiously.

“Whatever,” Brain shrugged, turning away from Jae.

Ash and Yew Ecclectica was full of warm wood and glass; crystals and dream-catchers hung from the ceiling in no particular pattern. There were shelves of card decks, new-age books and an entire wall dedicated to bagged herbs. It smelt oddly familiar to Jae, an incense that was so common he knew it but had no idea what it actually was. The window display was still crystals and wands, but beside it was another glass cabinet of crystals. The less expensive ones were laid out on a table in the centre of the shop in baskets.

Jae had been expecting Enya to be playing but instead it was an indie rock band. Sungjin was standing behind the counter, labelling items and singing along. He smiled at the pair as they came in. Brian immediately gravitated to the crystals in the cabinets, staring intently at each one. Jae approached the counter.

“Hey Jae,” Sungjin smiled shrewdly, his eyes flickering to Brian for a moment. “I found this for you. I think it’s the truest version of the legend. But you could always ask Brian what he thinks.” Sungjin reached beneath the wooden counter and produced an old hardback book. The cover-art was a watercolour painting of a pointy-eared little man hiding in the hollow of a tree, a look of pure mischief on his face. Jae pursed his lips sceptically but took the book. He opened it to the marked page to find another watercolour. This one was a man with cat-eyes and violet hair. Jae felt himself smile, it actually looked like a cartoon of Brian.

The story on the opposite page was long and meandering, written in simple language for children. Sungjin pointed to the second last paragraph and Jae skipped ahead to read it.

Brian is kept in limbo when he isn’t helping humans fall in love. This is the meanest part of the punishment of all. Humans only call on him to help them capture their love, he can never find one for himself when his job is to help others.

Jae nibbled his lip as he thought about that. He glanced at Sungjin to find the shopkeeper was ignoring him, labelling his products and humming away. He set the book down on the counter and turned to speak to Brian.

The fae was gazing at a necklace in the cabinet, his face was open and wanting as he stared. Jae smiled to himself and crossed to stand by Brian. If he couldn’t help him, the least he could do was buy him the necklace. It was a weirdly clear crystal with flecks and specks of rusty red through it. Jae thought it looked a little morbid, like dried blood in glass, but Brian’s eyes were shimmering with glitter again so Jae caved easily.

“Can we have this one?” He called to Sungjin. The shopkeeper came over with a jangle of keys.

“Ah ha, Harlequin quartz,” He grinned knowingly and opened the cabinet. “Go on,” He invited Brian to take it himself.

As the fae touched the stone it gave a little flare of light and Jae thought he saw a snap of light pop over Brain’s far shoulder.

“How much is that one?” Jae asked, tearing his eyes from Brain’s radiance.

“On the house,” Sungjin shrugged, “It’s bad luck to charge fae for what they already own.”

Brian smiled at Sungjin and slipped the necklace on. The stone fell just below the neck of his shirt, only the silver chain was visible.

“Thanks,” Jae was completely distracted by Brian.

“Welcome,” Sungjin’s eyes moved from one to the other before he turned and went back to the counter.

Brian seemed to remember Jae was there and looked up into his eyes. The shifting glimmers were brighter than ever and Jae couldn’t help but smile as they stared at each other. He wasn’t sure how long they stayed that way but Jae definitely jumped as a new customer called a greeting to Sungjin. The pair waved to the owner and scuttled back into the street.

They had walked a few blocks in the warm sunlight when Jae finally spoke.

“Sometimes your eyes glitter,” He commented, face turned up to absorb the sunlight like a flower. “Is that normal?”

“I’m a fae,” Brian replied, his voice dry but devoid of the nastiness he had started with. “We do like things that glitter.”

“There was a picture of you in that book too. Does that mean the story is true?”

“What story?” Brian was looking down at his Harlequin quartz again, turning it this way and that. Making it shine and prism with his magic as they walked.

“That you can never fall in love?” The words fell out of Jae’s mouth so easily, perhaps it was the warmth of the sun making him so dozy and happy.

“Ah,” Brian gave a huff but stayed silent.

“Sorry,” Jae turned to glance at Brian. “Do you think it’s true though?”

“It’s not high on my priorities really,” Brian’s voice was flat and he dropped the stone back under his shirt.

“Oh.” For some reason that hurt more than Jae was expecting.

“1800 years of captivity leaves you feeling pretty hopeless,” Brian added in a voice so quiet Jae thought he hadn’t really spoken at all.

“Call me a hopeless romantic but,” Jae smiled at Brian as they strolled down a hill towards the riverside. “You’re never too old to fall in love.”

Brian’s face broke into a reluctant smile.

“Did you just call me old?”

“2000 years and you think you aren’t classified as old yet?” Jae teased, “You’re technically ancient, Brian. And what kind of a name for a fairy is Brian?” He added, grinning like a Cheshire.

“I’m not a fairy! I’m not old! And shut up, it was stylish when I was a free fae!” Brian cried making Jae cackle with laughter.

“So what do you want to do? We have one more day of freedom for you. What do you want to do with it?”

“We should really finish your assignment,” Brain replied. “I’m already doomed to extra time. You have a chance to get the project done and pass.”

Jae strolled along beside Brian, considering his words. It was true, he should finish the assignment but all he wanted to do was spend time with the fae. He wanted to hear about what the last 2000 years had been like, he wanted to know what Brian’s favourite food was, he wanted to see Brian smile so wide his cheekbones popped out of his face and his eyes glittered with flecks of gold.

With Brian lording over him Jae got almost all of his assignment done. Crawling into bed again at around midnight he curled up to sleep facing the window. Only to find sleep wouldn’t come. As exhausted as he had been only moments ago, it seemed to fade now he was actually ready to sleep. Instead he stared out the window. You couldn’t see the stars, the city lights drowned them out too much, but the moon hung just at the lip of his window frame, misty clouds scudding over it every now and then. Jae found his mind wandering to the fae sleeping peacefully behind him.

The customer, Alister, Jae mentally corrected, had been a bust. He was nice enough to look at, but that was all for Jae. The rest of the time in the cafe had been so much more enjoyable. It wasn’t like they had done that much, said that much to one another, but Jae felt even sitting in silence with Brian was so much more comfortable than anything else. He gave a light sigh and rolled onto his back, a cloud shifted out of the moon’s path. He may have developed a little crush of the fae, as grumpy and unapproachable as he was.

It was certainly problematic, they had approximately 24 hours left with each other and then Jae would probably never see him again. Ever. For eternity. He covered his eyes with a hand and tried to stifle another sigh. It would be painful to know that Brian was out there, somewhere, and Jae wouldn’t even see him if he walked by. It was depressing that Brian would go on helping humans fall in love and be left loveless himself.

At least he had the gemstone necklace, something to remember Jae by. With a swirl of hope and depression in his stomach, Jae eventually slipped into a light sleep.

Jae passed Brian his coffee and nodded down the crowded street. Brian followed, still confused about what they were doing and where they were going. Jae had refused to tell him anything as they left the house that morning. He carried the laptop and notebook but other than that, nothing. He wore a cap on his fluffy blond hair for once too, which might mean they were staying outside. Aside from that, Brian could glean nothing about where they were going or what they were doing.

They had stopped for coffee in the heart of the city, scowling business people passing endlessly and tourists meandering into their path. Inoffensive architecture loomed over them and weird street sculptures stood in the centre of the chic street of shops. Brian watched the crowds and felt a weird sense of deja-vu; it was true the technology had progressed and the fashion seemed to have shrunk in size, but essentially he felt the same as the last time he had stood here, almost 200 years earlier. As the thought wandered through his brain the Harlequin quartz around his neck gave him a little tickle. He gave a sighing smile. Ok, not exactly the same.

“Come on,” Jae called, hiking his backpack and leading Brian up the slight hill. Brian followed silently, he actually wanted to ask what they were doing and where they were going, but he couldn’t bring himself to show that he was interested. Almost 1000 years ago he had decided to give up on getting too invested in the humans he helped. He had given up on pretty much everything. They moved through the city, following the mall for some time before they came to the river that wound through the city centre. Brian expected Jae to cross the footbridge over to the fashionable waterfront cafes and parks on the other side. Instead, he turned away from the bridge and descended a set of stairs that had seen better days. The railing was half-hanging off the edge, the concrete steps were crumbling and broken in places. Someone had laid yellow lines of spray paint over the broken edges but that seemed to be it. The sunshine faded into a light gloom as they reached the crude path below. It was alongside the river, rocks cemented into the edge of the path were the only barrier separating them from the muddy water.

“Did you bring me down here to murder me?” Brian asked as he tried to identify the smell. Rivers never smelt normal in cities.

“Ah, you’re onto me. I better not then,” Jae joked back, he waved a hand and continued walking. “Come on, it’s not too much further.”

They moved down the path, the endless noise of cars rushing overhead and a slight slap of water against the rocks as ferries and catamarans passed on the river. The hulking wall beside them, where the city sat all but ignoring the river, was covered in artworks. They began small at first, silly tags and stickers. Posters for underground bands and anti-government propaganda. Slowly, the chaos began to morph into large murals; the artist had taken the time to use the posters, stickers and tags and make them into something else within his painting. Brian smiled as he walked, eyes glued to the wall.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Jae called back, trying to get over the traffic noise above.

“Yeah,” Brain smiled broadly, eyes still on the art as they continued walking.

Slowly the light began to filter down more and more, and Brian realised they were standing on level ground again. The wall receded and opened out into a weird couldersac. There was a line of bicycles all chained to a bikestand, beyond that were two huge shrubs that flanked a path. Jae headed straight for it and Brian tagged along, feeling a glowing excitement as he realised where they might be headed.

As they passed the shrubs a sign could be seen, shiny silver letters across a piece of sandstone: City Gardens. Brian could feel himself glowing slightly but he couldn’t stop it, the rich sensation of nature all around him was divine. Jae led them further and further in, past the duck ponds and artwork gardens and over to the sprawling lawns. He took a place beneath a simply giant tree and drew his laptop out of his backpack. He smiled up at Brian sweetly.

“I thought we could work here today,” Jae smiled, tilting his head a little as he waited for Brain to sit. Brian beamed back and sprawled out on the grass, rolling over to face the sky he closed his eyes and seemed to fall asleep instantly. Jae thought he saw a small glow coming from the fae but the sunlight in the park was too bright to tell properly. He set his mind to the task of writing up the last bits of his presentation. It was slow going with a gorgeous fae snoozing next to him, practically oozing satisfaction and happiness.

It was around the time Jae was painstakingly entering his references that he felt his neck prickle. He could swear he was being watched from somewhere. He looked up and cast around. There, hiding just behind a dense bush in a garden was someone. Jae lay his laptop aside and stared harder, they looked familiar. As he crammed the computer into his bag again, he realised.

Wonpil!

He looked up to find the garden empty. He woke Brian and dragged him to his feet. Jae was sure it had been the other fae. They could get some answers. Brain protested as Jae tugged him over to the garden bed. A small path was trodden between tropical ferns and jungle undergrowth. It was thick and crowded by hanging leaves and draping branches. Jae pushed into the foliage, still holding Brian’s hand tightly. There! The flicker of a person pushing through that fern ahead of him! It had to be Wonpil! He gripped Brain’s hand tighter and pushed past the hanging leaves. The air seemed to thicken for a moment, seemed to grow more viscous around them as Jae pushed forward. Then the resistance was gone and he passed out the other side of the plants.

They were greeted with a panorama; wide green hills, rolling and huddling off into the distance. Beyond them were snowcapped mountains and a sky that was so blue it made his eyes ache to look at. Jae stumbled to a stop, completely confused. They were certainly not in the city anymore. He turned to Brian, still holding his hand in his own.

Jae’s eyes went round as he stared at Brian.

Long, filmy wings hung behind the fae, the edges just peeking out from behind his legs and throwing prisms of sunlight around. Dragonfly wings but so much prettier. His mouth dropped open and he was about to ask what was going on when Brian’s soft purple hair began to stir as if in a breeze. Small flower buds peeked out from the locks and sprang open all along the crown of Brian’s head. Vivid purple morning glory settled into place as a flower crown, a few curling sprigs of ivy winding around them. His eyes were now impossibly deep and the flakes of gold floated here and there in the liquid blackness. His skin was certainly throwing off a glow, as well as the gemstone necklace.

Jae thrust two hands into his hair and almost groaned. He was unbelievably, inhumanly beautiful. He was so beautiful it hurt to look at him. The only thing cutting through Jae’s pain at Brian’s beauty was wondering where they were and what was happening. He tried to ask again when Brian smiled. It was like watching the sun appear from behind a cloud, his eyes sparkled and his face split with joy. Even when Jae noticed his teeth were not square and perfect, but sharp and pointed like a predators, the beauty wasn’t diminished.

“We’re in the Realm of the Fae,” Brain said, his voice warm and joyful.

“You have wings,” Jae said dumbly, still holding his own head.

The wings flickered and spread wide giving the crackle of a bug’s wings, they glittered with the sunlight. With a rush of air the wings beat and Brain rose a few inches from the lush grass.

“You can fly,” Jae’s voice was weak and he was rapidly feeling the need to sit down and place his head between his knees.

“Well, they aren’t just for show,” Brian replied archly, eyes bright with fun. He dropped back onto the grass with a thud, the wings folded back behind him easily.

Jae stayed silent for a long moment, eyes on Brian as his brain tried to catch up.

“Can- can I touch them?” Jae asked, knowing Brian was probably about to snap at him for being impossibly human.

Instead the fae shrugged, wings spreading out with a snap once more.

Jae moved, finally releasing his head from his hands. The hand hesitateded over a wing. He gave the hardened edge a light touch.

“Ahh!” Brian cried, making Jae jump and squeak in alarm. The fae crumpled a little with his laughter as Jae glared at him fiercely. “Sorry,” Brian gasped, “They aren’t fragile. You can touch them.” Jae scowled and laid a hand on Brian’s wing properly. It was smooth beneath his fingers but also tough, like rubber stretched over bone. Each section was a polygon and threw small rainbows onto Jae’s hand as it moved past them. He smiled, marvelling at the impossible display.

He moved to look at Brian from the back. Beneath the open edges of his singlet strong joints and muscles morphed seamlessly into his bug-like wings. Jae ran a hand down the wing to where it burrowed beneath a joint of skin. He traced the edge with a light finger. The wings shivered and Jae watched with fascination as Brian folded them back into place behind him; skin and muscle shifting in a strange way before settling into place. Jae touched the place between the joints, Brain gave a small contented sigh.

“Sorry,” Jae stepped back, “I didn’t mean to just feel you up.”

Brain laughed in reply, turning to face Jae.

“No, no,” Brain shook his head, still smiling in that achingly beautiful way, “I just haven’t had someone do that for a long time. I haven’t had wings for a long time.”

“Don’t you like, live here though?” Jae asked, now entranced by the flowers wreathing the purple hair. He reached up to touch one of the trumpets.

Brian jumped back and gave a feral snarl, his pointed teeth fully bared at Jae. Jae shrank away, pulling his hand in as though Brian had bitten him.

“Sorry!” Jae yelled, stumbling slightly.

“Sorry!” Brain replied, holding his hands up in a calming gesture and hiding his teeth behind his lips again.

“You should never touch a prince’s crown,” Came a new voice, mischievous and lilting. The pair turned to find Wonpil watching them from the tall grass, his dark haired head just peeking over the stalks.

“You!” The pair yelled, pointing at Wonpil as he sprung to his feet. Jae’s irritation screeched to a halt as he took in Wonpil’s strange appearance. His wings were long and moth-like, a moonlight sheen to them. His skin seemed to have mist rising off it, like a lake at predawn. Jae came a little closer, Wonpil’s eyes were swirling galaxies of stars.

“You!” Brian cried again; he sprung across the meadow, arms outstretched to take Wonpil around the neck. The fae took flight hastily, letting Brian skid across the grass beneath him.

“Predictable,” Wonpil smiled widely and set down on the grass beside Jae. Jae immediately began inspecting the soft looking wings. “If you’re finished acting like an animal, I have something important to say. It’s why I brought you here.”

“Something else to ruin my life with?” Brain snapped, crouching in a predatory stance again.

Without warning there were three Wonpil’s standing in a row, smiling at Brian in a satisfied way. Brian’s scowl deepened but he didn’t pounce.

The three Wonpil’s turned to Jae, star-filled eyes boring into his own human ones.

“In every magic there is a loophole,” Wonpil said, his voice throbbing like a bell. “You have to find the loophole.”

Jae wanted to ask questions, he had a thousand racing through his mind but his jaw wouldn’t unclench. Wonpil grabbed both his hands and his mind was dominated by the swirling galaxies of Wonpil’s eyes.

“Find the loophole.” The voice pressed in on him from all directions and Jae felt a strange rushing in his head.

He woke on the grass in the park, his backpack beneath his head and Brian sitting beside him frowning deeply. Jae cast around for Wonpil only to find they were sitting in the city gardens, the sun edging close to the horizon.

“Was-” Jae began, looking over at Brian. The sun was catching in his purple hair, sliding over his beautiful cheekbones and giving a slight glow to his black eyes.

“Yeah, it was real,” Brain said quietly, his face was soft with sadness. “He sent us back here right after he spoke to you.”

Find the loophole. Jae heard the echo in his ears and bit his top lip in thought. What loophole?

“What do you think the loophole is?” Jae asked Brain, hoping he might have an idea.

“Is that what he said to you?” Brian snorted, rolling his eyes and turning to stare across the lawns. “It’s ridiculous.”

“What is it though?” Jae pressed, his heart ached to hear the answer. He needed to know. He needed to set Brian free. To see him in his fae form again, to let him fly and live free like he should.

“Nothing. There is no loophole,” Brain stood and waited for Jae to get up too.

The human took a long moment, remembering everything about the Realm of the Fae. He wasn’t convinced, Wonpil had imprinted the idea in his mind and it wouldn’t shift. There was a loophole, and he had hours to find it.

Instead of going home they began wandering, Jae led the fae to the edge of the river, a different path to earlier that day. They followed the meandering water all the way out of the city and to the trendy suburbs full of bars and cafes. They didn’t stop to eat or drink though, simply wandering together and chatting. Jae found himself telling Brian about his childhood, his aspirations for the future and his family members. As the sky melted into a purple twilight Brain began to talk just as much. He told Jae random history points from the last 1800 years. They talked about the Realm of the Fae, the royal family Brian belonged to, and the history of changelings.

“You couldn’t live in the Realm of the Fae,” Brian informed Jae as they stopped to sit on a bench by the water. Jae had no idea what suburb they were in, but he didn’t care.

“Why not?”

“Only changelings can. Children stolen at birth and replaced by fae children.”

“There are fae living in the human world?” Jae asked, eyes wide with amazement.

“Mm-hmm,” Brian gave a wry smile, “It’s not common anymore, too much technology. But there are still old bloodlines of half-fae. Some fae still come to the human realms to, uh… breed with the half-fae and restore the bloodlines.”

“Seriously? So I could be half-fae?” Jae wondered, staring at his hands as though they would give him the answer.

“Nope,” Brian smiled and stretched his long legs out. “You’re all human. Plus you know both your parents.”

“Oh. Right.”

There was a comfortable silence. The streetlights winked on overhead and Jae sighed, they should go home soon. He didn’t feel any closer to finding the loophole, despite being more desperate than ever.

“Brain?” Jae wondered as they stood to walk once more. “Why… What was… The flowers in your hair…” Jae couldn’t seem to frame the question properly.

“Uh, sorry about that,” Brian gave a slight laugh, Jae couldn’t help but smile. “It’s my crown. I’m a prince after all.”

Jae nodded, not really understanding.

“To be given the flower from a royal’s crown is a high honour. It’s a sign that the royal is in your debt. It gives you a special, unbreakable connection to that fae. They aren’t to be touched unless offered.”

Their steps were synchronised as they wandered in silence. Finally Jae spoke.

“Have you ever given a flower to anyone?”

“No,” Brian’s voice was so soft that it sounded like just another wave in the riverwater. Jae stared at the lights playing on the surface, a strange longing deep in his heart. Was it for the loophole? Or for a flower offered from a fae prince?

When they had returned home the silence was heavy, a physical thing sitting between them as Jae polished off the end of the assignment and cleaned his room. Brian sat and watched, steeping in a haze of gloom. He did not want to return to his limbo. It was pitch black and cold between the fabrics of the worlds. The thing he hated most was the silence, the complete lack of noise bearing down on his ears like pressure. As Brian was beginning to lose sight of the physical world around him something broke through his depression.

Jae was sitting on the floor strumming a guitar. Brian let a smile wander over his lips as Jae began to sing along quietly to himself. The weight of silence in the room vanished and Brian felt he could breathe again. He scoffed with amusement at the human. How had he known what he was thinking? How had he known what Brian needed the most?

The slightly fluffy blond hair, the bespectacled face, eyes closed with emotion as he sung along to the guitar, Brian wanted to take it all with him when he went. He wanted to remember forever the way Jae looked now, the way Jae looked standing beneath a streetlight by the water. The subtle feeling of Jae’s fingers on the film of his wings, and the strange scent that seemed to linger around the humans clothes and hair. Brian held back a deep sigh and toyed with the Harlequin quartz.

When Jae had run out of songs he set the guitar against the desk and heaved a sigh. With no words they had both just crawled into bed.

“Brian,” Jae’s voice was barely a whisper in the dark as they lay in bed waiting for the hour to tick over and Brian would be gone again.

“Mm?” Brian’s voice was as deep as the darkness. Jae took a shaking breath, trying to steady his heart and sort out exactly what he wanted to say.

“I’m really going to miss you,” Jae mumbled. No, that wasn’t it. That wasn’t what he wanted to say.

“Well, I guess I’ll miss you too.”

Jae could tell it was a lie. Half a lie. Jae tried again.

“Brain?” He could do it, he could say it.

“What?” There was a laugh bubbling through Brian’s voice.

“I think… I love you?”

There was a tinkling noise in the distance, like a wind-chime swaying in a Spring breeze. Jae thought his eyes were playing tricks as a white glow rose from the darkness. He panicked, fearing that it was already time for Brian to go. There were snaps and small sparks, lighting and disappearing almost instantly all over the room. Jae watched as Brian came into view before the room went dark again. The two eyes that captivated Jae so often were glowing, shimmers in their liquid depths.

“Jae,” Brian’s voice was so full of emotion it didn’t even sound like him.

“What’s happening?” Jae asked, reaching out in the darkness to grab Brian’s arm. “Don’t go,” He cried desperately.

“Jae,” Brian tried again, hands coming to cover Jae’s. “I… You… You did it.”

More sparks crackled through the room, in the bright white flashes Jae could see Brian gazing at him. This time the sparks didn’t fade away, more and more snapped and lit the room. Jae was reminded of fireworks. Flowers were growing in Brian’s hair. He leapt out of the bed, tearing the shirt away so his wings could spring free. The sparks were still snapping and cracking all around him, the Harlequin quartz glowing brightly against his neck. With a final bright crackle of light everything stopped.

Jae took a moment to adjust to the sudden darkness. The room was empty. Brain was gone.

His heart shattered and he fell to the mattress with a horrible weight in his body.

A soft glow brought Jae around, there seemed to be moonlight in his room. It was strange moonlight though, moonlight shaped like the wings of a moth. Starry eyes forced themselves into Jae’s view and he moaned sadly.

“Wonpil!” He threw himself at the fae, wrapping his long arms over Wonpil’s neck and clinging to him. Wonpil froze, unaccustomed to such open affection from Jae.

“You did it,” Wonpil smiled, patting Jae’s back lightly. “I knew you could do it.”

“But he’s gone,” Jae cried, unaware that there were tears streaming from his eyes. “He just… left. I said I love you and he left.”

“Yeah, well, he’s always been an idiot with things like that,” Wonpil rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Come on, I’ll take you to him.”

With no time for Jae to protest, Wonpil had brought the almost familiar pressure back onto Jae’s body and they moved through to the Realm of the Fae. They appeared on the same rolling hills as that morning, but now it was night. The sky overhead was impossibly full, stars winked and shone from horizon to horizon. The knee high grass shone in the moonlight, extra bright where Wonpil stood. Jae felt he had lost the ability to see colour, everything was varying shades of pale and black.

Across the meadow movement caught Jae’s eye. Brian was walking towards them, one hand trailing through the grass tops. Jae felt fresh tears spring into his eyes, these ones were full of aching pain at Brian’s fae beauty. He was to die for. The extra light from Wonpil’s wings flickered and with a rush of air he took off from the ground and floated away in the distance, soon becoming just a glow among the stars.

Jae was stuck in place, waiting for Brian to reach him. He was a swirl of emotion, heady and confusing. Brian was still shirtless and had a definite regal air about him. He came to a slow stop in front of Jae, a slight smirk on his face. Jae stared back, dumbfounded.

Brian reached up slowly, hand shifting through his purple hair and plucking a flower. Another bud immediately grew and bloomed in it’s place. The fae twirled the trumpet flower between his fingers, still smirking at Jae. He offered the flower to the human with a flourishing bow.

Jae stared at the flower. Then at Brian’s doubled over form. And back to the flower. He didn’t move. A cool breeze rippled through the grass but all else in the meadow remained still.

“Uh,” Brian mumbled, trying to peek up at Jae. “Are you gonna?” He left the question hanging. Jae’s lips pressed together. “Jae?” Brian prompted again, confusion colouring his tone.

“I don’t want it,” Jae mumbled, putting his hands behind his back like a child.

“Excuse me?” Brian’s head snapped up and he stared at Jae in wonder.

“I don’t want it.” Jae’s voice was firmer now.

“I’m trying to do something nice for you here,” Brian straightened and glared at Jae. “Just take the damn flower.”

“I don’t want the damn flower!” Jae yelled back.

Brian floundered, spluttering with offence and incredulity.

“Now send me back, I…” Jae faltered, his throat beginning to burn with emotion, “I don’t want to be here anymore.” Tears prickled his eyes and he huffed, trying to will the tears back into his eyelids. Brian’s glittery eyes were wide, his mouth slightly slack as he watched Jae fight with his own emotions.

“Jae?” Brian asked, stepping forward slightly.

“Don’t!” Jae stepped away, raising a hand at Brian.

“What? What’s wrong?” Brian was still trying to offer the flower to Jae. Jae made to bat it to the ground but Brian moved faster, grabbing his hand and pressing the flower into his fingers. He clasped his fingers over Jae’s to keep him from dropping it.

The petals tickled against his hand, sending an electric shock up his arm as Brian closed the hand over the flower securely. Jae gave a startled cry, the tears slipping over his lids.

“You just left!” Jae cried, trying to wrestle out of Brian’s grasp weakly.

“I had something to take care of first,” Brian explained rapidly, “That’s why I sent Wonpil to get you. I needed you to come here and,” Brian gave a small laugh and pulled Jae closer, “Will you just listen, you silly human! I needed you to take the flower so I can do this!” The hand that wasn’t holding Jae’s cupped the back of his head and brought their lips together.

If Jae thought the flower gave him a shock, it was nothing compared to the sensation of kissing Brian. The flares of light were back, static lifting his messy hair away from his head and a crackling between their lips. Jae melted into the kiss, free hand coming up to cling to Brian’s neck. There was a slight snap as Brian’s wings spread and he lifted them a few inches from the meadow. Jae clung harder, breaking the kiss to squeak in alarm. Brian gave a soft chuckle, eyes dancing with flakes of gold in the moonlight.

“I offer you this flower, as a symbol of my station, I am forever in your debt and bonded to you for eternity.” Brain mumbled, pressing his forehead to Jae’s as he spoke. Jae felt a wave of delight crash through his stomach. “With this flower you are given haven in the Realm of the Fae and my household.”

Jae let a smile creep over his lips as they continued to hover over the grass. He closed his eyes and huffed.

“Don’t think it’s just that easy,” He grumbled, keeping his eyes shut so he could hold out against Brian’s beauty.

“What more do you want from me?” Brian was chuckling again, the sound wrapped around Jae like a blanket.

“You have to say it,” Jae whispered, eyes opening to stare into Brian’s deeply.

“I love you too,” Brian whispered in reply.

Jae’s lips twisted as he tried to suppress his joy. Brian moved to hold him around the waist, pulling their bodies flush together. The tone of wingbeats changed and they began to rise into the sky properly. Jae flung his other arm around Brian’s neck, still gripping the small purple flower tightly. Jae laughed as he realised they were flying. Brian’s own face was split with a smile, his cheekbones catching the moonlight and his purple hair dancing in the air.

“You know,” Jae started, laughing with his own giddiness, “You could have explained the flower thing a bit better!”

“I did!” Brian protested.

“You did not!” Jae argued back, leaning away slightly to scowl at Brian.

“I’m sure I did,” Brian nuzzled against Jae’s cheek, “You probably forgot, silly human.”

“You forgot! Old man!” Jae teased back, snuggling into Brian despite his antagonistic tone.

They flew in silence for a little while; Jae felt his heart might explode out his mouth if he opened it to speak again. He was convinced Brian could feel it hammering against his bare chest. The stars whirled overhead as Jae floated on his delight. His feet touched down on the ground and Jae cast around, completely disoriented. They were standing at the top of a waterfall, water rushing over the 100 metre drop barely a metre from where they stood on a rock. Brian’s arms didn’t loosen now they were on the ground once more but his wings folded away behind him easily.

“We should go home,” Brian mumbled, resting his forehead against Jae’s once more.

“Isn’t this your home?” Jae replied, fingers wandering along Brian’s bare back and tracing the edges of the wings. Brian hummed with happiness.

“No, your home. You have the presentation tomorrow,” Brian replied, wings flickering a little.

“Oh,” Jae’s hand stopped and his voice lost it’s wonder. “Right.”

“You can’t fail now, we worked so hard on that,” Brain reasoned, twitching slightly to try and coax Jae to resume his patting. It worked and Jae returned to running his finger tips over the wing joints as he thought.

“But, are you coming back home with me?”

“Sure, it doesn’t matter now you have a flower,” Brian nestled into Jae’s neck with a content sigh.

“Well, then I guess we should go back. If the time zones match, I need to go to sleep.”

Brain gave a small laugh and pulled his face from its hiding place. There was a push of the air around them and then they were back in Jae’s bedroom. Brian was a regular human again, still shirtless however. Jae looked around in wonder and then brought his hands to the front. He gazed at the perfect purple flower in his hand. It should have been crumpled and ruined by his tight grip but it looked as though Brian had just removed it from his crown.

“It’ll stay like that,” Brian told him. “Just like you will stay like this.”

“Pardon?” Jae’s head snapped up, eyes wide.

“Mmm, immortality comes with the bond,” Brian shrugged, “With this specific bond anyway.”

Jae gave a long yawn, eyes scrunching closed as his jaw cracked.

“Ok, I can’t deal with that right now,” Jae shook his head a little, with a cheeky grin he spoke again. “Are you an axe murderer?”

“Not the last few centuries,” Brian replied, smiling back with sparkles in his eyes.

“Great, you can sleep with me then,” Jae grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the bed. They snuggled down together, Jae automatically pressing his face into Brian’s chest and sighing. Brian’s heart was galloping, tripping over every other beat as Jae slung an arm over his waist. After a moment the human grabbed Brian’s arm and placed it over his own body  in reply. “You’ll get used to it,” Jae mumbled into his chest, “Tomorrow night I’ll show you spooning.”

Brian gave a tsk and closed his eyes, unable to fight the smile on his face. The smile of a free fae. When the clock ticked past the time he was supposed to return to his limbo, Brian was already asleep.

Brian sat in the cafe, arguing with Sungjin over the benefits of wild-grown herbs vs farmed herbs. Jae watched from the counter beside Dowoon.

“He was pretty excited to hear that the fae was staying in town,” Dowoon was saying to Jae between customers. “He tells me that it’s a great resource for information and magic.”

“I still can’t believe you’re a wizard.” Jae sighed, his life was extra strange these days with wizards and a fae boyfriend, but he couldn’t help but miss his best friend. Wonpil had been completely absent since the night he had broken the curse. That had been two weeks ago. Jae found himself sort of longing to see his friend again.

“I really can’t do much with it,” Dowoon shrugged, playing down the amazing things Jae had already witnessed him do. One of them being that Dowoon seemed to be able to stop difficult customers in their tracks, their anger and foul moods just dried right up and they became pleasant when Dowoon fixed his large brown eyes on them. Jae was convinced it was magic, Dowoon reasoned it was just his personality.

Jae sighed wistfully, causing the three others to stare at him in confusion. He waved them away. He honestly just missed Wonpil. The door jangled and he didn’t bother to look up from where he was cleaning. A weird hush had fallen over the cafe though and when Jae realised his head snapped up. In the door frame, a bit of a goofy grin on his face, was Wonpil. Except he wasn’t staring at Jae, or Brian. His eyes were fixed to Dowoon and Dowoon was staring right back.

Jae’s eyes met Brian’s and they pursed their lips in amusement. After a long moment, Jae cleared his throat and waved a little.

“Hello! Best friend here! Waiting to be greeted and apologised to!” He called, rounding the counter to stand in front of Wonpil.

“Hey Jae,” Wonpil tore his eyes from Dowoon finally, “Sorry, I guess. You can stop calling for me now. I’m here” A smile spread over his face and his gaze flicked back to Dowoon briefly.

Jae tried really hard to be angry, he worked to stoke the fire of agitation in his chest. But it was snuffed out easily by Wonpil smiling at him in the easy way he always had.

“Introduce me to the cute wizard,” Wonpil muttered, eyes showing a small sparkle of stars within them. Jae shook his head, eyes rolling with exasperation. Typical fae. Typical Wonpil.

“How about you explain yourself first?” Jae muttered back. “You know they whole, extreme blind date thing you put me through.”

Wonpil laughed, eyes crinkling closed and nose scrunching slightly.

“Oh! I suppose! Can I meet the cute wizard first?” Wonpil cried happily.

“No! No cute boys for you until you explain yourself!” Jae almost yelled back, bringing one hand down into the other with finality. Wonpil let out peals of laughter before holding his hands up in surrender. He moved to sit beside Brian at a table, clasping the other fae around the shoulder affectionately for a moment. Brian gave a small growl.

“Oh, come on, Highness,” Wonpil batted Brian’s purple hair lightly, “Get over it. I fixed it, didn’t I?”

“You caused it,” Brian argued back. Sungjin watched, face somewhere between amused and amazed. Jae moved over to the table, opting for Brian’s lap rather than the free chair. Dowoon checked the clock, 5 minutes until close. With a shrug and a weird tingle in his body he moved to take the last chair and listen to Wonpil.

“That’s true. I suppose,” Wonpil shrugged slightly.

“You suppose?” Brian scoffed, looking up at Jae with incredulity. “You told me not to do it and then suggested my punishment!”

“What really happened?” Sungjin asked unobtrusively. Wonpil smiled at him and then at Dowoon.

“Once upon a time there was a fae prince named Brian, he was arranged to marry a beautiful princess.” Wonpil began with flair. “He’s not really into that. Wasn’t sold on the eternity thing, or the princess thing. So I told him to just refuse.”

“Uh, you badgered me night and day until I agreed to refuse,” Brian interjected.

“Shut up, I’m telling the Myth of Brian,” Wonpil spoke without bothering to look, he seemed to have eyes only for Dowoon.

“Don’t call it that,” Brian grumbled quietly. Wonpil continued with his story.

“So, Brian refuses the princess. She gets mad. Her parents get mad. They want to go to war. War in the Realm of the Fae is such a waste of time. I suggested a little curse instead.”

“Little?” Jae interjected this time, “100 years is little?”

“It is when you live forever,” Wonpil shrugged, “Right Brian?”

“Shut up, it wasn’t 100 years,” Brian snapped back.

“You both need to calm down and let me tell the story,” Wonpil’s voice was full of laughter. Brian gave a loud tsk in reply.

“I wasn’t planning for the clause that they added, the extra punishments for every fail. I didn’t realise they were that angry. Although, I suppose if they were ready to go for war it made sense they were that angry,” Wonpil hummed thoughtfully, as though that realisation had just hit him. Jae shook his head and poked the side of Wonpil’s face to prompt him to continue. “Anyway, when I found that out I started looking. Every piece of fae magic has a loophole,” He told the two wizards.

“It took you this long?” Jae was amazed, not only by the fact that Wonpil had spent the last 1800 years looking but that he had spent the last 1800 years on one project alone without getting distracted.

“You’re just that special,” Wonpil’s voice was smarmy and he grinned at Jae.

Jae pushed his face away with one hand, giving a noise of disgust in response.

“So I fixed it. Eventually.” Wonpil shrugged as though that was all there was to it.

“Yeah, only 1800 years late,” Brian grumbled.

“Are you not happy with the human I chose for you? I combed through literally thousands to find this one!” Wonpil argued, joy in his voice.

“I’m not happy I had to choose one at all!” Brian replied in a rush of irritation. Jae protested, laying a firm whack on Brian’s head. “Of course, I am happy with you though, I love you.” Brian backtracked quickly.

Wonpil let out a long peal of laughter, getting up and turning a small jig in his joy. He extended his hand to Dowoon, a smile full of mischief.

“Would you like to see the Realm of the Fae?” Wonpil asked, eyes full of galaxies.

“We have to clean and close the cafe,” Jae tutted, climbing back out of Brian’s lap. “You can date Dowoon later.”

Jae shooed them all out of the cafe and locked the door. In comfortable silence they cleaned, balanced the till and reset everything for the next day. With their work done the two humans stepped into the darkening street and locked the cafe door. Brian and Wonpil waited on the sidewalk for them. They leant against the bricks side by side, a peaceful air between them. Jae felt a little ball of tension fade, clearly Brian had forgiven his old friend. Seems it was literally impossible to stay mad at the mischievous fae. Both fae turned, smiling expectantly as Jae and Dowoon turned from the door. With a shake of his head Jae hopped down the steps to take Brian’s hand. After a moment Dowoon took Wonpil’s and they vanished from the sidewalk.

“This is really my life now, isn’t it?” Jae commented as they strolled along together. Brian remained silent, swinging Jae’s hand slightly between them. Jae looked up from the cracked pavement to find Brian looking at him with pleading eyes. “Oh, fine.” Jae huffed, a smile spreading across his face. “But we are not flying around all night! I need to sleep at least a little bit!”

With a smile like a sunrise Brian pulled Jae to his chest and they disappeared from the human realm too.