#I probably shouldn’t have done this during class lol but I couldn’t wait

[an-eggs-quest]

@justabeewithapen’s au has me in a chokehold, so here’s a little comic based on text in the comments of this post

From the same post (the ask this time!) I got a little inspired

Uhh warnings for violence below

[mimi-cee-hq]

Laundry Days - Aran x f!reader

Summary: Three times you picked up his underwear and one time you missed doing it.

Genres, other tags: fluff, slice of life, humour, meet cute, domestic fluff, not suggestive lol, married under 25, neighbours to married lovers ;)

Words: 1.6k

Warnings: manga spoiler

This is for @neoheros & @coophi's 2021 Summer Haikyuu!! Writing contest. (Okay I'm pretty shy at first so it feels a little scary to tag you two but here's my piece.) I was going for the married under 25 prompt but ended up doing neighbours to lovers too. :D

Don't mind me spreading the underrated characters agenda as well. lol.

*****

A few articles of clothing spilled out of the dryer and onto your feet. Oops. Your neighbour must have forgotten them. You should've checked first.

Your own damp clothes sat inside the washing machine next to it, waiting for their turn to enter the dryer. It wasn't possible now.

You sighed, retrieving the phone from your pocket and scrolling until you saw the name of the neighbour who lived a floor below you.

Ojiro Aran.

You were sure this was the right person after a second look at your texting history. Who'd bring the garbage to the curb, where the lawnmower was kept, and keeping the duplex's stairway clear were some of the conversations you had with him.

You had yet to meet the guy, but he seemed amicable enough.

After shooting him a text, you thought to give him a call instead. Perhaps he'd think a phone call was strange. However, your clothes were damp and you shouldn't leave them for long. Was he even home?

You sighed. Crouched down, you returned the clothes on the floor back into the machine. A scarf, several socks, and a knit hat made their way back inside. But what was this?

Underwear. Men's underwear.

You scrunched your nose as you lifted it from the cold, tile floor. Was that a hole in it?

Click.

"Sorry I just saw your text!" a tall, dark-skinned man blurted out as soon as the door was unlocked.

"Oh! It's alright! I only texted you a few minutes ago!" you quickly explained, waving your hands in front of you.

You shouldn't have done that. The underwear was hanging from your hand.

"Ummm…" Aran scratched his cheek, eyes retreating from you.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" you spat out, tossing the incriminating object to him. "It just fell out of the dryer when I opened it so I went to pick it up!"

Once in his hands, he recognized it as the one with the seam coming undone. "I… umm… should probably have thrown this one out."

"Umm… yeah… you probably should." Those words slipped off your tongue before you could catch them.

"I- I guess I'll go now," Aran said hastily.

He shut the door.

You let out a breath. That was awkward. Heat continued to linger in your body and you weren't sure who was more embarrassed by the encounter.

Wait. His clothes were still in the dryer. Did you dare ask him back?

The door slowly creaked open and Aran peeked his head into the room.

"I forgot something, didn't I?" Aran sheepishly asked.

"Yeah." The corners of your mouth lifted into a smile. "Yeah, you did."

"I'm Aran by the way."

"Y/n."

You never thought this would be how you'd meet your future husband.

*****

The office chair in your apartment was a comfortable spot for folding clothes. The webcam caught your face as you chatted with Aran whose image filled the monitor.

You smiled. Your husband was winding down after a long day with the team and decided to check up on you.

"I'm alright," you told Aran. "I miss you though."

"I literally just saw you yesterday!" he said. "I miss you too."

After that fateful yet awkward encounter with him in that laundry room two years ago, you had run into each other more frequently at the front doors of your duplex. Your classes ended at similar times four out of your five school days. You were surprised he even started a conversation with you. You wouldn't have been able to bear the embarrassment. Fast forward to a confession, a kiss and a rock-embedded ring, and you got a small, snowy wedding during winter break.

It was back to the books for you now, and you dreaded it. Chores seemed much better, easier. Plus doing them for your newly-wedded husband? You got giddy about that.

You quirked your brow, lifting a familiar piece of clothing from the basket.

"Hey, I thought you threw this one out," you mentioned to Aran, dangling his underwear in front of the camera.

"I did! That's, uh, probably a different one."

"Just how old are these?"

"Hey! Wait a moment! Are you folding clothes?"

You avoided the eyes on the screen. "Maybe."

"You have your paper due in a few days! I told you I was going to do it after flying back home."

"I know…"

Aran's eyes narrowed at you, a trademark expression of his. "You're procrastinating again, aren't you?" His tone implied disapproval.

"But I'm still being productive!"

"Y/n…"

"Okay, okay. I'll stop." Your foot pushed the basket away, sliding it across the floor. Maybe you could fold them after you hung up.

Aran must have read your mind. "Show me what the laundry bin looks like."

You groaned. He saw right through you. Complying, you removed the clipped webcam off the monitor and directed it at the pile of unfolded clothes.

"It better be like that when I get home."

"Alright," you said with a pout.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Must he stop you from doing chores? They were a simple reminder you were married to him, as if the gold on your finger wasn't enough to show you.

You were his wife.

A smile snuck into your lips whenever that thought crossed your mind. The honeymoon phase was a peculiar, strange, lovely stage.

Yet it was fleeting.

*****

You groaned as you stood in the middle of the bathroom. Aran's white track pants hung off the counter, the red t-shirt he got for free from first year college laid on top, and of course his underwear, which likely went through hundreds of washes, remained on the floor.

Great.

You rubbed your temples, your headache getting worse by the minute. It was Saturday morning, and Aran, who was nowhere to be seen, had left his mess behind.

I'll clean it up later, he would tell you. You knew his mother had spoiled him, always picking up after him. You understood why he was like this, but why couldn't he just start doing it now?

"Do you have this problem?" you asked your friend through your wireless headset.

"What problem?" she asked.

"Does your husband always leave laundry around on the floor?" You pinched the bridge of your nose. "Aran never picks up after himself."

She laughed. You weren't sure if it was because you were a young, amateur wife or if she understood all too well.

Knowing her, probably a bit of both.

"Okay two things."

You listened.

"One, don't say always or never. That's lying."

"I'm not lying," you snapped back at her. You began to regret asking her.

"Are you sure he never picks it up and always leaves it on the floor?"

You left no comment.

"Exactly."

"Okay fine, but that still doesn't solve the problem. If only he just did it, it would solve everything–"

"Number two," she interrupted.

You groaned at her and she gave an amused snort in return.

"If you weren't picking up his underwear, it means he's dead."

You were aghast.

"You know I'm right."

Still aghast.

"What? No husband, no mess."

"I can't believe I asked you for advice."

"But it's true."

"Ugh," was all you could utter. She had several years more of marriage experience than you, yet you didn't want to acknowledge it.

You hung up the phone after you finished deciding today's outing with her, but you hadn't addressed the issue in front of you. Your head throbbed again.

Sighing, you picked up the underwear.

A few minutes later, the front door opened and you dipped your head into the hallway. Aran shuffled grocery bags through the door and into the kitchen. He yawned, placing the milk, eggs, and other items into the fridge.

A familiar coffee brand peeked out of a bag on the floor. Right. You didn't have your coffee yet because there wasn't any left.

You wrapped your arms around Aran and relaxed against his broad back.

"I can't put the food away like this," he said with a chuckle.

"You left your clothes in the bathroom again."

"Oh shoot!" He dropped a bag and started towards the bathroom but you tightened your grip on him.

"I put them away already," you told him. His body relaxed and he caressed your arm around his waist.

The honeymoon phase was a fleeting phase, novel tasks turned mundane, but your love for him grew deeper still.

*****

Aran was away again, this time at Tokyo in preparation for the Olympics. He eagerly called you during breaks, wishing to see his favourite person – although your hands were full as well.

"I miss you," he told you, his smile displayed on the screen.

"And I miss picking up your underwear," you told him with a smirk.

Like clockwork, he narrowed his eyes at you with a comeback. "Why don't you say you miss me like a normal person?"

"Because I'm your wife. I'm special," you told him as he rolled his eyes. "I wish I could be there though."

"You wouldn't be able to spend that much time with me anyway," he said. "Besides, one of us needs to stay home."

"I know." You smiled.

"I gotta go," he said as Atsumu yelled in the background. Aran blew a kiss at you.

You snorted. How cheesy. You returned the kiss anyway.

Hearing a mischievous squeal behind you, you told him, "I gotta go too."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

After you hung up, you turned around and sighed. A soggy wet diaper sagged on the floor and the little guy jumping in the crib giggled at you as if he did the funniest thing in the world.

You rolled your eyes and smiled before picking up the diaper.

"Alright kid. Let's put a diaper back on you and wash your sheets."

*****

I hope you liked it. This is a little different from what I usually write but I hope you still enjoyed it!

I blame Aran's current concern for giving me this idea along with the person who suggested I write Aran fluff. (As well as the seasoned wife I know who told her husband, "If I wasn't picking up your underwear, it means you're dead." lolll.)

I hope you stick around my blog to check out my other works! My current work in progress is a fake dating Suna series. I can't believe we're on chapter 10!

If anyone is interested, I have a Google form for my taglist.

[fairestwriting]

Wait a second! I absolutely adore that hcs where the boys helped mc get together with their vice dorm head. Then, what if its the other way around? 👀 may I request the vice dorm head's crush asking to set them up with their dorm heads now? You can exclude Ortho since well...he's a baby lol. Hehehehe. Thank you! Angst we go~

YEAHHH pain time lets go. im reusing the trey/riddle/reader childhood friend love triangle from that post btw because i liked that one so much. this is once again, So fucking long.

+ if you like my writing, you can buy me a ko-fi to support me!

Trey Clover

Trey was the one who introduced you to Riddle, all those years ago, when you were all just brats running around in the Country of Roses. Since then, the three of you had been pretty much inseparable.

Unlike Riddle, who was more on the reserved side when it came to affection, Trey was rather open with it. People just knew you were close, you spent most of your time off classes together, occasionally joined by Riddle. You all meant so much to each other, it felt like you'd just be together forever, just like this.

But things start to change when you find yourself wanting to be closer to Riddle. You saw him often, but it never felt like it was enough, he wouldn't leave your mind... you were starting to develop serious feelings for him, yet you didn't know what to do about it.

Riddle had become Heartslabyul's dorm leader recently, and he was taking his duties seriously, as seriously as he took everything else. He'd have less and less time for you and Trey, you didn't know how you could get your feelings through to him, who always had his head on his work. It just felt hopeless.

You couldn't handle all the pining anymore, so you decide to ask Trey for help. How could you communicate your feelings to Riddle when he felt so distant? You feel like the only person who could possibly know what to do would be Trey.

You come to him when he's baking by himself, lingering around the kitchen as you beat around the bush for a bit, but eventually spit out that you were in love with Riddle, and didn't know how to confess to him when things were like this. Trey stops his work for a second, surprised once he hears you had fallen for him... but then he looks at you with a smile in his face, and promises to help.

Of course, helping doesn't come without some teasing, but Trey does sincerely want to assist you. He'll ask you questions to understand the situation as well as he could, finding out how you two had been getting along lately.

So you spill all your worries to him, about how Riddle had barely been talking to you recently, how you were worried he’d reject you and it’d ruin your group’s chemistry. Trey takes in your words with an attentive stare, it somehow feels sour to hear them, like an unwanted change. Had he believed the three of you would have the same sort of relationship forever? That seemed so childish, but now that he had to think about this...

When you’re done venting, Trey ruffles your hair and declares you should bake him a tart, with his help of course -- Which is met with confusion, but as he begins getting the ingredients out, he explains how catching Riddle’s attention with something that would get the stress out of him would be a good way to start your confession.

You’re a bit overwhelmed by the idea of doing this now and today, but you go along with him. While you two are making the dessert, you go over what you should tell him. Trey guesses that Riddle’s distance did come from him not doing well lately, and he reassures that you three would still be friends no matter what, even if you got rejected. You were all mature enough to accept things as they are, weren’t you? You shouldn’t let your bond be shaken by something like this.

When you’re done, you have a tart in your arms and a plan in your head, feeling calm. Trey really did know how to help people, he’s such a good friend -- You make sure to tell him that as you hug him tight. Just a couple hours ago you had no idea what to do, now you knew the exact words to use when confessing your feelings to Riddle. You really did owe him one.

Trey just laughs it off as he hugs you back, wishing you good luck and saying he’ll be there for you no matter what. You pick the tart up and turn on your heel to leave, and his smile just dies immediately.

He feels like he’s missed an opportunity he never even really considered, but one might suppose you don’t know what you’ve lost until you’ve had it taken away -- Still, it’s you and Riddle, he can’t go against you. He just hopes you two are happy if you get together.

Jade Leech

Jade knows all of Azul’s friends, and you were no exception. Whether it was because Azul ordered him to keep an eye on you or because he was just curious, even though you didn’t talk much by yourselves, he did know who you were.

Being very observant, Jade’s already caught on to the fact that you liked Azul. It was funny watching you two dance around each other, he might have placed a bet with Floyd on when you’d get together -- But he definitely didn’t expect for you to come to him to ask for help on setting you two up.

That sparks Jade’s interest. You’d think he was suspicious, with how quickly he’s willing to help you, but the proposal just amuses him too much to deny it. He likes putting plans together, he’d been interested in your relationship with Azul, what more could he ask for?

You might not trust him that much initially, even if you came to him for help. It’s easy to be suspicious of Jade, after all, no one can tell what he’s thinking behind that poker faced smile after all. But he assures you that he had nothing to win if he messed up your relationship with Azul, and setting you two up seemed amusing, so he’d do it.

And so, Jade becomes your very own Azul teacher. Jade knows him as well as the palm of his hand, so he’ll explain some of his manneirisms to you, tell you about things he likes that he hides from the public, help you plot dates. He thinks it's cute how excited you get when you feel like you've gotten a new piece to your puzzle.

Early on, he doesn't see you as much more than someone to toy with, honestly. But your reactions are more interesting to watch than anyone else, you have this sparkle to you that sets you apart from other people. And he supposes that's the sort of person who would be good for Azul, yet...

He knows he's getting attached when it feels like the game grows stale. Soon, seeing Azul's rare flustered expressions and your determination paired together as you spent time with each other wasn't fun anymore. He was still helping, but even as he picked your outfit for this date, he can't help but feel jealous. He wants this to be for him.

Jade isn't nice enough that he'll play along until you feel like you've gotten close enough to Azul. No, whether they worked together or not, he wanted you to be his, he's more angry than anguished -- Painfully jealous.

One day, he simply declares that he won't be helping you anymore, cutting your long scheme short. You're shocked, asking why, and Jade tells you that from now on, you'd both be planning your own separate games. You could still try to win Azul's affections, but that would go on as he tried to win yours.

Rook Hunt

Everyone who knew about your crush on Vil had been telling you, he’s way out of everyone’s league, he probably gets thousands of confessions a day, he’s so popular and above this lowly world, one can’t just come up to him and ask him out.

Yet your feelings just don’t go away. You know it’s not some celebrity worship thing, that wasn’t why you got close to him -- Since you noticed how off he seemed to be during the VDC, you had wanted to know the real Vil, and from being a manager to the NRC performance, you two did end up close, and your curiosity was quickly turning into something else, as you caught more glimpses of his off-camera self...

But it all still felt so hopeless. As much as you didn’t want to believe others, you knew what they said held some truth to it, you couldn’t just walk up to Vil and confess your feelings, that wouldn’t work with someone who’s experienced that countless times. You needed to do something special, and you needed to get close to him properly.

You had spent some time thinking about this already, and came to the conclusion you just couldn’t do it alone, you needed help to go near Vil’s heart -- And what better helper than the one who seemed to be his best henchman, Rook Hunt himself? You weren’t all that close to him, but he seemed well intentioned enough, so he’d hopefully at least give you some tips...

You approach Rook at Pomefiore, embarrassed you were doing something like this, but you swallow down all your pride. When you tell him you have a problem you needed his help to solve, he’s already all ears, but when you tell him that it’s about you falling in love with Vil and not knowing what to do about it, it’s like something sparks inside of him.

There’s nothing more beautiful than love, Rook is immediately willing to help you win Vil’s heart. He’s dealt with Vil’s admirers before, but never like this, they just blurted out their feelings to him and didn’t seem capable of playing a longer game -- You, though, were different, and that told him you might just be the one for his oh-so-cold queen.

He’ll ask you about what you had in mind for the confession, what you knew about Vil already, all while taking you out for a walk near the dorm building. You two have a long conversation about Vil, and Rook doesn’t want you to spare a single detail about your feelings, he wants to know precisely and vividly why you’d fallen for him.

You two meet a couple times to talk about him. Rook tells you all the things he knows about Vil, so numerous you feel a little jealous, which he notices. He can’t get enough of all the expressions your emotions cause, you begin to look so radiant for him. A dedicated protagonist, working hard towards achieving the love of someone who seemed so far away from them... it just feels poetic, the thought of you shows up more and more often in his head.

Even though he’s teaching you the ways of a specific type of beauty, he learns that the one you have is even brighter than it. The one thing more beautiful than love is your yearning, it seems, your dedication and determination, the pure dreams you had of just making Vil happy. 

The two of you plot an elaborate confession, he’d make sure you’d have a table in the Pomefiore building’s garden just to yourselves, so you could have tea together as the sun sets. You’re counting the days until your date excitedly, confident that you’ll get your feelings through to Vil, and Rook realizes he’ll have to let you go soon.

Oh, he does not want that -- Even if the thought of you in love with Vil was so stunning, the light of it felt like it blinded him. He thinks of all your expressions of affection towards the queen, and he wishes these were towards him, but he knows he has to accept his fate.

When he’s dropping you off at the date location, he kisses your hand and wishes you luck, telling you he’s so happy for you, though he admits that, as shameful as that was, he wishes nothing more than to be Vil right now. Your eyes go wide at the confession, you’re about to apologize, but Rook dismisses it, saying that he really is happy for you, and hopes you’re happy, too. It’s all genuine, just like your wish to win Vil’s affections that made you come to him.

Lilia Vanrouge

You two don't really know each other, at first. Even though you'd been meeting up with Malleus near Ramshackle often for a couple months now, you didn't really have other friends in the Diasomnia dorm -- You didn't tell Malleus about it, but you did find them intimidating.

You were catching some serious feelings for Malleus, though, and he seemed completely blind to every hint you dropped, intentional and unintentional, and desperate times requer desperate measures. You go over all Diasomnia members you knew, and Lilia seems like the most approachable one. You swallow down your unease, and tell him you needed to talk about something.

Lilia, being the decently welcoming person, agrees to meet you away from prying eyes, where you admit that you had been crushing on Malleus for months now, but had no idea what to do about it because he seemed completely immune to any of your hints and flirting. Lilia listens to you attentively, up until the point where you say that you wanted his help on asking him out properly.

He’s honestly surprised at your actions. There’s a sincerity and boldness to them he rarely sees on anyone else, it leaves an impression in his mind. Plus, the idea of Malleus finally being with someone makes him happy, look at him, he grew up so fast! Yeah, he’s definitely up for helping you.

You two talk it out for a while, he asks about what you had been doing to try to catch Malleus’ attention. You explain all the implications you’d been slipping into your speech, all the compliments and the casual touching that made your heart explode everytime you engaged in, but you still did it because you wanted Malleus to know that hey, you liked him. When you’re done spilling your woes, Lilia chuckles, and asks you if you wanted to try doing this in a way he’d understand better.

You don’t know what he means at first, but before you can ask it, Lilia tells you he’d teach you how dragon fae court each other, that would surely get the message through to Malleus! Your eyes go wide at the suggestion, and you immediately agree to it. That’s a plan that wouldn’t fail, right?

And Lilia is nothing if not a good teacher. He takes you to the library to skim books, making sure you have some of the basics about fae culture down before getting to the real stuff. You turn out to be one of his best students, too, you two end up becoming quite the undefeatable pair -- And you become friends, too, your studying sessions are peppered with small conversations about unrelated things.

Lilia just gets fascinated with you. He finds you so interesting to be around, with your willingness to learn and diligence, but he really grows to love the idealistic, sort of hopeless romantic side of you, who was so in love with Malleus and willing to put all this work to make everything go well with him. You just seem so pure, not as in naive, but as in kind and genuine. People like that are surprisingly rare.

When you get to the gift giving portion, the most important one, you’re learning faster than ever, the excitement in your eyes never leaving. Lilia is happy and proud of you -- But when he starts seeing you wear Malleus’ jewelry gifts around, even though he instructed you to do so, he finds himself not liking to stare at it.

He knows himself enough to know what this means, and, really, how stupidly ironic it was. Lilia really did get attached to you while trying to set you up with someone else, this didn’t even feel like something that should happen in real life. It stings, but he goes on with his mission, he wouldn’t just leave things as they were.

Your confession would involve gifting him a gem Lilia got you, one meant specifically for love confessions like these, as he instructed. Your eyes glitter when he puts it in your hands, telling you that now you were ready to actually ask Malleus out -- And with how things looked like, it seemed he was trying to get his feeling through to you too. He’s sure you won’t be rejected, and makes sure you know that.

You thank Lilia, saying you wouldn’t forget how helpful he’d been to you. Lilia smiles and says you don’t have to thank him -- Just make sure Malleus and you are a happy couple, even if he hates to look at it. 

You don’t understand what he means with this, but when you’re about to ask, he disappears into thin air, leaving nothing but a glittering trail behind. He never mentions what he’d said again, even when you stay friends after the confession.

[spookybias]

ᝰ another favor | choi beomgyu ˎˊ˗

genre: fluff & angst

type: drabble / twoshot

word count: 3.8k

description: beomgyu has finally worked up the courage to ask you out. but after seeing you hang out with someone else, he's outraged.

contents: beomgyu taking advantage of the reader's feelings, and i think i wrote beomgyu as more of a brat lol

prompts ↓

"can you picture it? you and i together?"

"you're gorgeous."

read the first half here

𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐈 𝐁𝐄𝐎𝐌𝐆𝐘𝐔 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐎𝐔𝐒. His ears felt hot, which meant they had already turned red. His hands were sweaty, and he had to keep stopping on his way to your locker to wipe his hands on his pants, trying his best not to crush the rose he was holding. Beomgyu couldn’t believe that he hadn’t even approached you yet, but was already a nervous wreck. Hopefully you were at your locker and there were no interruptions because he didn’t think he’d have the courage to confront you at a later time.

The quivering boy peeked behind the corner, and spotted you, shoving books into your locker. You always arrived at school earlier than most, when the hallways were still scarce, to review your notes before class. Beomgyu had shown up forty minutes early, just for you. 

He let out a quiet laugh, and a small blush crept onto his cheeks, as he watched you struggle to wedge your science textbook between your other books.

They’re so adorable, he thought.

Beomgyu was then struck with an idea. He could walk on over and hand you the rose. Next he’d take the textbook from you, and fit it in your locker for you. Then make some sort of remark like, “You looked like you could use some help”, radiating confidence because he figured you liked that part of his personality. He’d ask you for a favor right after you hit him with a sassy reply, (he really hoped you’d tell him to kiss you again instead), and the favor would be for you to go out with him.

Beomgyu nodded to himself. He patted his fluffy, brown hair down to cover his tinted ears, adjusted the collar of his shirt, and flattened down his blazer. He was going in, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. And he shouldn’t have to worry about that, because you always said yes.

But before Beomgyu could even make it three feet away from where he was standing, someone else came up to you. They weren’t walking with a red rose, but they were walking with a dazzling persona and a smile so bright and lively that if the video game Super Mario Sunshine was a person, it would be this guy.

Beomgyu watched as Yang Jeongin took hold of your science textbook, and carefully inserted it into your locker. The book went in so smoothly that Beomgyu wondered if even inanimate objects could fall for Jeongin. Now he wondered if you could fall for Jeongin too. As he lowered his arm back down to his side, Beomgyu caught a glimpse of the shorter boy’s growing muscles. He looked down at his own arms, they were a little thinner than Jeongin’s. Did you prefer guys with bigger muscles? Would you be satisfied with his physique?

Why weren’t you telling Jeongin to get lost? You always rejected help from other guys with zero hesitation. You never even seemed interested in any of your male classmates, but you sure did look interested in Jeongin.

Beomgyu watched you hold your binder against your chest, and heard you laugh at some dumb joke Jeongin made. Since when were you and Jeongin so comfortable with each other? Laughing the way the two of you did meant that you had to have been friends for awhile now. Had you been spending your mornings with Jeongin this whole time? Did the kiss you shared with Beomgyu a couple days ago mean nothing? Was it just practice for when you kissed Jeongin?

They should be laughing with me, Beomgyu thought, turning green with envy. He stomped on over.

He stood right next to you and slapped a smile on his face, full wattage. He turned to you, wanting your full attention, but you just kept giggling with Jeongin who also hadn’t noticed him standing next to you. It was in that moment that Beomgyu was seething with jealousy. He swiftly opened up his backpack, managing to pull out his homework folder without bending the rose still in his hands. He took out Mr. Kim’s assignment, the one you had done for him, and shoved it in your face.

“____!” Beomgyu faked enthusiasm, “Thank you so much for helping me with the assignment. Look, Mr. Kim gave me an A!”

“That’s great, Beomgyu,” You said dryly, a fake smile plastered on your face. You couldn’t think of any reason why it was necessary to share the grade you got him while another person outside the loop was around.

“Good job,” Jeongin said with a cheery smile. Beomgyu couldn’t find any hints of sarcasm. “You’re an amazing tutor, ____. Can the three of us study for finals together at your place too?”

“We didn’t work on the assignment at my place.” You felt the need to clarify. You didn’t want anyone to think you were the kind of person who brought others over to your house for “one-on-one sessions”. Then you panicked. Jeongin might become suspicious. “We worked on it together after school in the library,” You quickly added in. “So, yeah, when the three of us study it’ll be in the library.”

Beomgyu didn’t like how fast you shut down the idea of him being at your house. That was the point of him thanking you with vague details right in front of Jeongin. He wanted him to be jealous. Out of absolute spite, Beomgyu threw you under the bus.

“Actually, we didn’t work on it together at all! They stayed at the library after school and did it for me.” Beomgyu wrapped his arms around your waist and gave you a great big hug. “You’re the best, ____!” There. Jeongin would take the hint that you and Beomgyu were more than friends, so much more that you, a top student known for rejecting homework help and male students, didn’t hesitate to do Beomgyu’s project for him. Or shy away from his hug, which was secretly causing Beomgyu’s heart to melt. If all else fails, at least Jeongin would think that you’re a compulsive liar and avoid you.

You, on the other hand, froze. Beomgyu was touching you! He was hugging you! And he had just thrown you under the bus!

Jeongin didn’t seem the least bit bothered, though. “You’re so smart and kind, ____. Beomgyu should treat you to dinner.”

Beomgyu wanted to tell Jeongin to shut up and wipe the silly smile off his face ‘cause it was giving him the creeps, but he liked the idea of treating you to dinner.

You didn’t, though. You figured the idea would make Beomgyu uncomfortable, especially since he had already repaid you in a kiss that he didn’t seem to care much about. So you shut it down almost immediately.

“No thanks.” You wiggled out of Beomgyu’s grasp. “Walk me to class, Jeongin.”

“Okay,” He followed you as you began to lead the way, but stopped and turned around. “Hey, Beomgyu, who’s the rose for?”

You stopped and looked over your shoulder at the single red rose in Gyu’s hand.

“This?” A much more sinister idea popped into Beomgyu’s mind. “No one really. Just gonna give it to Jangmi.”

Jeongin’s face fell and he turned towards you.

Jangmi. Streams of fury shot through you, but you hid them well, and continued down the hall with Jeongin in tow. Jangmi. The pretty popular girl in your class who happened to be very fond of Beomgyu. She showered him in adoration, but you figured that by doing Beomgyu’s bidding you could always keep her at bay. You must have been wrong.

Yep. That kiss meant nothing to him.

𝐁𝐄𝐎𝐌𝐆𝐘𝐔 𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐒𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐓𝐎𝐏. He was pissed off after an intense basketball game against Jeongin and his friends. Jeongin played happily, in it for the fun of the sport, but it meant so much more to Beomgyu. And despite his team having the advantage of their combined heights being taller, they still lost because Kai sucked at sports and kept falling over.

Beomgyu would deal with Kai later. Right now, he just wanted you to take care of him. That’s all he wanted. If you came over to him right now, everything would be okay. It wouldn’t matter that he lost to Jeongin of all people. He could give you the rose afterwards, too, and walk you to lunch. 

He looked around the court trying to find you. That was weird. Usually you were already waiting on the bleachers, and as soon as Beomgyu was done with his game during recess, you’d run up with a towel and a bottle of water.

Had he gone too far by saying that the rose was for Jangmi? The truth was that the rose was now inside his backpack. He could never give anything to Jangmi because she wasn’t you.

Beomgyu’s fangirls seemed to notice your absence as well, as they were always on standby ready for the day Beomgyu didn’t want your help anymore. They swarmed him, eager to do his bidding, but Beomgyu was more focused on trying to find your face amongst the crowd. And he did.

You stood a few feet away. With Jeongin.

Beomgyu couldn’t help the sad frown that formed on his face as he saw you hand Jeongin a bottle of water. He no longer felt envious. Just disappointed in himself. His personality must have not been attractive to you anymore. And his methods of gaining your attention were probably obnoxious. He was glad he hadn’t given the rose to you, because he was sure that you would have flat out rejected him.

𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐆𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑. But you had no idea. You continued about your day, heading to the vending machines to pick up Beomgyu’s snack.

You weren’t sure if Beomgyu still needed you to fetch his snacks, but you really really hoped he did. You weren’t ready for Beomgyu to ask others for favors. You’d miss the attention and his minor affection that came in the form of a genuine smile and a “thank you”. You knew it was pathetic, but you'd come to realize that the kiss made you like Beomgyu a whole lot more.

As you punched the buttons for the yellow bag of chips, you thought of Beomgyu and Jangmi. You had waited on the bleachers, ready to help Gyu cool off after such an aggressive match of basketball. But as the game was coming to a close, you noticed Jangmi also waiting nearby, staring hard at the boy.

You weren’t one to cockblock. After hearing Beomgyu say that he was going to give Jangmi a rose, you decided to help Jeongin out instead, and leave the lovebirds alone. You hoped she wasn’t too aggressive while wiping with the towel. Beomgyu had such soft, gentle skin. Hopefully she had brought cold water, but not iced cold water. Beomgyu’s teeth were quite sensitive.

He sat in the cafeteria with his friends, facing the entrance. You were bold, but were you bold enough to face him after the stunt you pulled during recess? He had to suffer. The others offering a helping hand were absolute perverts. They only offered so they could get close enough to touch him in ways he knew you’d never dream of.

You’d owe him a favor for tossing him to the side like that.

You walked right up to Beomgyu, awkwardly clutching the bag of chips. You could hear Jangmi who also happened to be sitting at the same table tell him, “You’re gorgeous, Gyu.” Did he like being complimented a lot? Maybe the reason why he didn’t give you the rose was because you never complimented him. You only ever insulted him and responded with sass.

“I brought you your snack,” You held the bag out to him.

He was in awe. You had approached him this time. He didn’t need to beckon you over and then wave you off to the vending machines. And you had his favorite chips ready at the go! This was it! He could thank you, move his backpack off the seat separating him from Jangmi, and offer it to you. The two of you could sit together somewhere for the first time. For a moment, the green little monster and the fiery red fury were gone. But both things came back in an instant. He believed that Jeongin was somewhere in the cafeteria with a seat reserved just for you, and you would choose that seat over this one any day.

“I don’t want them.”

“O-okay,” You pulled your arm back as if Beomgyu had struck you. You felt judgement coming from the stares of his two friends, Taehyun and Kai, and the girls surrounding them. “I’ll just put them in my bag and save them for-”

You’d save them for what? Who? Jeongin? Beomgyu cut you off, blood boiling. “Jangmi, can you please go to the vending machine and get me the green bag. That’s the one I want.”

Jangmi sprung up, “Of course!”

“Beomgyu, I spent $3 on these!”

“That sucks. Why don’t you put them in your bag and save them, like you said.”

He didn’t miss how your lip quivered. You were used to Beomgyu being a jerk, but not this much of a jerk. You felt humiliated. The first time you approach Beomgyu and he seems pissed about it. He really was done with you and your antics.

You retreated out of the cafeteria. 

Beomgyu suddenly felt bad. He had went too far again. He just wanted you to feel jealous, the way your relationship with Jeongin made him feel. $3 may not have been much to him or to others, but not everyone had the same financial situation. Beomgyu wasn’t sure what yours was like. Come to think of it, he didn’t know anything about your life at home. He felt that he was a terrible match for you.

If you were really upset about the $3, Beomgyu would pay you back in a heartbeat. Heck, he’d even shove the chips down his throat just to please you. He never meant to go this far and make you so unhappy.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃. Beomgyu’s words from just a few minutes before played over and over in your head like a broken record. That sucks. It did suck. The library was where you spent your lunch break. You hated the cafeteria. It was noisy, messy, and there were always annoying idiots running around. You only ever went in to bring Beomgyu his chips or cookies or whatever it is that he wanted.

No more, you told yourself. No more fetching his chips or cookies or whatever stupid snack he wants. No more wiping his sweat and bringing him water. No more cheating on homework assignments. And no more kisses. Or hugs. Or... jealousy.

You plopped down onto the hallway floor, right next to your locker. You had grown used to choking down bits of food behind a textbook, behind the librarian’s back. You had grown used to hiding there after giving Beomgyu what he wanted. You had grown used to Beomgyu.

What if things were different? What if you hadn’t been so bold and demanded Beomgyu to kiss you? Maybe he’d have more respect for you and the two of you would have a more stable friendship. Was it a friendship? What if things really were different? Maybe you’d be sitting in the lunchroom everyday with Beomgyu, and not escaping to the library to study when you didn’t really need it.

As all these questions and possibilities swarmed your brain, you didn’t notice the tall boy walking your way.

You looked upset when you left the cafeteria, and even though Gyu feared that he’d find you with Jeongin, he still wanted to make sure you were okay. He wanted to apologize. Kill the green monster, finally give you the rose.

“____.” You looked up from your spot on the floor to see Choi Beomgyu towering over you, just like he had on the day he asked you to do his homework. No more. “Where are the chips?” He just had to make sure Jeongin didn’t have them.

“They’re right here,” You said, patting the front pocket of your backpack. “I’m not handing them over. They’re mine now. You said you didn’t want them.” You’d be stingy from now on. “I can’t let $3 go to waste.”

“I know you don’t like those chips,” Beomgyu said crouching down to your level. “The first time I asked you to get them for me you called me gross and said you hated them.”

“Well, I guess I’ll force myself to eat them. And I’m gonna force myself to do a lot of other things.” You mumbled the last part.

“Are you okay?” Beomgyu asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Beomgyu stared at you blankly.

“Okay. I was jealous of Jangmi.” You were still bold. Beomgyu loved that about you.

“You have no reason to be.”

“I just feel like you don’t want or need me around you anymore.”

This was it. He was going to prove to you that he didn’t like Jangmi. He calmly dug through his backpack, but his hands turned up empty.

Oh crud. He had completely forgotten that he took the rose out of his backpack after recess and moved it to his locker so it wouldn’t get crushed.

“____, I need you to do me a favor. I have something for you. Please don’t leave. Even if the bell rings, stay here until I get back.”

“I would never arrive late to class to please you. Stop it with the requests.”

Beomgyu was already up and running down the other hallway to his locker.

You rolled your eyes.

“Hi, ____!” Jeongin beamed at you. “Ms. Park sent me to pick up the unity club’s notepad from you. She said you had it last and needs it asap.”

“Oh, right.” You got up from the floor to open your locker. “Your classroom is the room we use unity club for.”

Beomgyu was coming ‘round the corner when he saw you hand a notebook to Jeongin. That’s it. He was done. He was fuming. He crunched his fist and let the rose crumble. Then he stomped over to the two of you for the second time.

“Are you kidding me?!” Beomgyu practically screamed. “Why are you everywhere?!”

“I was just-”

“No! I know what you were doing. The only person who ____ does homework for is me!”

“Beomgyu, I’m just giving Jeongin-”

“What’s so special about him, huh? Is it his dorky smile? Are you actually interested in this cupcake?”

“Actually, I don’t like ____-”

Beomgyu just wouldn’t let anyone talk. “Why is it that he can get you to do his homework no questions asked, but when I asked, you gave me a hassle?”

“BEOMGYU!” You shouted in his face. “Will you shut up? This,” You said shoving the notepad at him, “Is the unity club notepad, okay? A NOTEPAD. FOR UNITY CLUB.”

“Speaking of unity club,” Jeongin spoke quickly. “I’m just going to take this and go to class. Bye!” Jeongin practically ran down the hall, hoping he didn’t make the angry couple more upset.

Beomgyu’s demeanor changed. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. You really are an idiot, you know that? No wonder you needed me to do your project.”

“I just didn’t want him to copy off of you.”

“Why? Because only you can?” You shook your head in disappointment. “Never again. I’m not letting you copy off of me ever again.” No more.

“I don’t wanna copy off of you, ____.” He tried to explain himself. “If you think he likes you, he doesn’t. He’s just taking advantage of you. He’s going to keep asking for more things, and before you know it-”

“He’s going to kiss me and then treat me like trash in front of his entire lunch table?”

Gyu pressed his lips into a thin line. Both of you shared a long look.

“I really am an idiot.” Beomgyu was so blind. How could he make you feel so worthless? So unimportant?

“Yep.” You shut your locker and began heading to class.

Beomgyu had this funny feeling. It was the feeling he had when he kissed you outside your classroom a couple days ago. A mix of courage and passion. “____, wait. I need to ask you for one more favor.”

“Screw your favors at this point, Beomgyu. I’m done with your silly games.”

“I need you to go on a date with me! So I can show you just how much I like you!”

You froze. Beomgyu froze. A few people who had left the lunchroom and were passing by on their way to class froze.

“Stop being loud,” You hissed. “You’re going to make a scene.”

“It’s okay.” Beomgyu assured you. “I think it was pretty obvious that I’ve liked you all this time.”

“It wasn’t that obvious,” You heard someone whisper to their friend.

“Can you picture it? You and I together?” Beomgyu questioned. He was pretty sure that if you rejected him right now he would roll on the floor and cry in frustration.

You gulped nervously. “What about Jangmi? You gave her the rose.”

“No I didn’t.” Beomgyu opened his still clenched fist to show you the rose. That was now destroyed. You stared at it contemplating.

“You’re giving me this?” You asked, as Beomgyu moved closer to you and placed the torn rose in your palm. He nodded, too scared to speak. You thought hard. No more. There couldn’t be any more favors. You wanted to be his partner, not his servant. You trusted that he had figured that out by now. “I’ll go on a date with you, but you have to do me a favor and buy me a whole bouquet.”

The two of you shared a smile. Beomgyu closed the space between you with a big hug, like the one he gave you this morning.

“So no more favors,” Beomgyu told you. “Except maybe a few more. Like I could use a kiss, some hand holding, maybe a hug... oh, and for Jeongin to go away.”

“Jeongin isn’t interested in me,” You looked up at Gyu and he blushed. “He likes Jangmi. We just know each other from unity club, which you would know I joined if you had been more engaged in my personal life.”

Beomgyu kissed your forehead. “I promise I will be. And you can ask for as many favors as you want. And you can have your $3 back. It’ll be a really good date. It’ll be so good that you have no choice but to let me be your boyfriend. Do me a favor and don’t say no.”

[suggiebabe]

Some MHA Boys Reacting to Seeing Their S/O With “Straight Hair” With Their Natural Hair

A/N: Hello everyone, my internet said “adios” for abt 3 days and not to be a screenager or anything, BUT EVERYTHING WAS SO BORING LOL! Couldn’t go outside cause it was always raining and I didn't really have anything else to kill time :(((, but I am back now, pls enjoy!

Pairing: Bakugou, Tamaki, Todoroki x Reader

Warnings: Swearing and Fluff (as always lol)

Downright mean about it, literally does not give a damn about your feelings lmao

“What the fuck? What’d you do to your hair? It looks like a mess” (he’s one to talk)

It was a weekend, and you decided that you didn’t have the energy to straighten your hair today. Bakugou was just coming over for a study session, so it shouldn’t be that big of a deal...

You looked up from your book with a frown on your face, “I just didn’t straighten my hair today. Didn’t think I needed to.”

Oh. Wait, wait what?

Confusion became apparent on his face so fast

“Wait. You didn’t straighten your hair today? I’ve never seen you without your straight hair, you telling me you straighten it EVERYDAY?”

“Yeah, it’s too much of a hassle to work with it during the day, so I just straighten it” you say, not giving it much thought. Its not that big of a deal, why is he like, freaking out about it?

He just straight up stares at you when walking to the desk you were sitting at, and while he pulls up a chair, so he can sit next to you

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” you say, kind of chuckling at your smart little jab

“Nah, I’d rather look at the real thing, it’s better that way”

???? Huh? Didn’t he just say you looked terrible a moment ago? Where’d that energy go?

You looked up at him, “You told me I looked like a mess not even 5 minutes ago, whats with the compliment?” you ask, bewildered

He grinned at you, “You look kinda hot actually, I take what I said before back You should wear your hair like that more often, looks good on you.”

Blush appeared on your cheeks SO FAST

“M-maybe I will...” you said while looking back down at your book, “lets just get on with the s-session”

He chuckled and put his hand on your hair, lightly playing with it. “Alright, so number 1...”

When he walks into your dorm, CONFUSION STRIKES

Who’s this person sitting at (Y/N)s desk, and what did they do with you??

As soon as you turn around, his nerves automatically relax

“What did you do with your hair bunny? It looks really different...” he asks kind of shyly

Your hair is a MESS since you just woke up, literally hair everywhere. He has no idea whether to compliment it, or to just not say anything about it

“Oh, I haven’t done anything yet, I still have to straighten it, then I’ll be ready to walk to class with you!” 

You have to go straighten it????? Its not naturally that straight???? Oh this poor boy is so shocked

“You straighten your hair everyday? Doesn’t that damage it a lot?” he asks, confused even more because why wake up everyday and straighten your hair? Isn’t that so much work?

“Yeah, I do it everyday! The heat protector I use works exceptionally well, so there’s very little damage being caused to my hair. I do it every morning cause so its easier to manage during the day.” you add, knowing that he’s probably wondering why you do it everyday

You start brushing through your hair, which though it makes it a little puffy, does calm it down a bit, and when Tamaki sees you with “calm” puffy hair, his heart pretty much explodes.

“You should wear it like that sometimes..” he tells you, looking down at the floor so you won’t be able to see his now pink cheeks

Though he tries to hide his blushing, hes not so good at it, your heart goes *sparkle sparkle* and you come up with an idea almost immediately

“How about you and I go on a date this weekend, and I’ll leave my hair the way it is!” You ask, excited that you’re to witness boyfriend hopefully be a cute blushing mess on the weekend

“O-ok, that sounds good!” He says, a fire like look in his eyes

When the weekend comes and you two are on your date, he has such a hard time looking at you, YOU’RE SO ATTRACTIVE!

Maybe you will start wearing your hair naturally during school sometimes just to see his side of him again...

The both of you decided to go out on the weekend, because lately, school has been taking up so much of yalls time :(

He agreed to meet you in the common room at about 5 pm so you both could get going to the park to have a picnic

You wanted to switch it up a bit with your look, so you decided to just leave it be for this date

Of course you made sure it wasn’t as puffy as a lions mane

After getting ready, you headed down to the common room, excited to have some alone time with your boyfriend!

When he sees you his eyes go wide

“Did you do something with your hair?” he asks, while stroking the side of your head

“Oh, well not really, I just didn’t straighten it today..” you respond, the blush on your cheeks becoming brighter as he continues to stare at you

He tilted his head to the side a little and he had a confused look on his face,”wait you mean you straighten your hair everyday? Why?”

“Yep I do! I do it because it makes it easier to handle during the day, y’know, with going through all of our classes, and then having to go to hero training, it can get kind of annoying”

He nodded his head understanding your situation

“Doesn’t it get tiring though?” he asked as you both started walking to the park

Intertwining your hands you explained to him that you’re willing to go through that struggle than have to deal with poofy hair the whole day

When you both got to the park, the conversation about your hair died down, and you both just decided to enjoy your time together talking about whats been going on in class during the week and stuff like that

On the walk back to the dorms, he brought it up again,”You look really beautiful with your hair like that, maybe you should wear it like that sometimes...”

“Hmm.. maybe I will, but only in exchange for some cuddles, I’m not going to go through all that trouble without a reward!”

He chuckled at your response, “Alright, I’ll give you as many cuddle sessions as you want.”

Another A/N: Hi! I hope you enjoyed this little thing I wrote. I personally have super wavy hair, and when I brush it, it goes BOOM! So I tend to straighten it most of the time just so its easier to manage during the day, but only when I’m going out to see people (not really recently thanks mrs. rona :((() No damaged hair here please!

[darling-i-read-it]

Ko No Mono

2x11 

Hannibal Lecter x reader x Will Graham 

Hannibal Re-Write Series Masterlist

Word Count: 2.9k 

Warnings: spoilers for hannibal, murder, dead bodies,, will being hot as fuck

Author’s Note: I’ve made my bed now i have to lie in it. I still haven’t actually seen your guys reaction to the last episode at the tiem of writing this so hopefully it blowed over okay lol. I love Will and Hannibal dudes. 

I used some direct quotes from the script so some things may seem familiar 

Official Episode Summary :Jack and his team discover the truth of Freddie Lounds' disappearance, Will tells Alana to arm herself; Mason suspects his sister intends to usurp him and Hannibal shows Will how much Abigail reminded him of his sister.

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director 

Tag List (is always open!) : @llperfectsymmetryll​ @ericacactus​ @vlightning95​

(not my gif) 

You woke up slowly this time, a nightmare less sleep. Unfortunately you felt Will beside you and you could hear how loud he was breathing. You turned around and grabbed his arm to ground him. You waited for a minute as he caught his breath and then he laid back down on the pillow before wrapping his arms around you, his head resting on your chest. 

You pet his hair and wordlessly, as though in tune, the two of you fell back asleep. Whatever dream he had was not worth talking about right now. 

-

You sat beside Will. Will sat directly across from Hannibal as he dished up your food. It was an interesting one this time around, confusing. Everything Hannibal made confused you but you were used to it at this point. 

“Among gourmands, the ortolan bunting is considered a rare-but-debauched delicacy. A rite of passage, if you will,” aHannibal said, sneaking a smile to both of you. “Preparation calls for the songbird to be drowned alive in Armagnac. It is then roasted and consumed whole in a single mouthful.” 

“Ortolans are endangered,” Will stated.

“He’s right,” you said. 

“Who amongst us is not?” Hannibal asked. You shook your head but you weren’t about to deny a Hannibal made dish. 

“I have been gorged, drowned, plucked and roasted. Not yet,” Will said simply. 

“Traditionally, during this meal, we’re to place shrouds over our heads, hiding our faces from God,” Hannibal said. “I don't hide from God.” You smiled a bit at his audacity. You picked up the bird and so did Will.

“Bones and all?” Will questioned. 

“Bones and all.” 

You and Will both ate it all in one bite. Your eyes locked with Hannibals as you did so. You swallowed after a moment. 

“After my first ortolan, I was euphoric. A stimulating reminder of our power over life and death,” Hannibal said. 

“I was euphoric when I killed Freddie Lounds,” you told him. Your mind wandered. Your hands around her neck. Will beside you.

“Did your heart race when you did it?” 

“No,” Will said. 

“Not a bit,” you retorted. 

Hannibal smiled at the two of you. You were growing in his mind, evolving. This was his design and he was liking the way it was threaded. 

-

You stood in the morgue, the charred body of Freddie Lounds in front of you. 

“Freddie Lounds ultimate failure was her inability to keep herself out of her own stories,” Jack said. 

You smiled. 

“Freddie had the longing need to be noticed,” you stated. 

“She was noticed,” Will finished. 

-

You were fuming. Absolutely fuming. You were in the room with Hannibal, Will and Margot Verger. She sat in the chair across from Hannibal but you and Will were standing. You didn’t even have the heart to sit on the desk like you usually did you were so pissed.

“There’s no baby. Isn’t even an embryo yet. I’ve got hormones in my pee. That’s the extent of it. But here I am, feeling maternal,” Margot said. 

“We’re discussing a small group of cells. Barely life, but immediately seen to be life-changing,” Hannibal said in his physiatrist voice. You had your arms crossed and despite the fact you were pissed, your face was in a careful poker face.

“I feel like everything that was done to me can almost be undone,” Margot said. 

“Through children we can disrupt our own sense of the past. We can protect them in ways we weren’t,” Hannibal inquired. You were pissed at him too. You weren’t sure why but you were sure it would come up eventually. 

“Life eventually bounces back Margot.”

“I could be good to a child. I’ll go to parenting classes,” she said like she was pleased with herself. 

“You’ve conspired with your unborn child to liberate yourself and you’ve made Will and Y/N an unknowing accomplice,” Hannibal said. 

“I got what I wanted from Will, but I didn’t understand what I was taking until the strip turned blue. Y/N was just a happy accident. I thought you were single, honestly and I’m not proud of myself,” she explained. You raised your finger to her and Will grabbed it before it slapped her in the face. 

“Nor should you be. You said-” Will started. 

“I lied,” she finished. 

You felt like you were mourning something that you figured was yours. You stared at Margot and saw the mother of your boyfriend's baby. You had one night of slippage and here was the result. Margot Verger. The Vergers. 

“You’re just as bad as your brother,” you hissed. “And did you know?” you asked Hannibal. 

“I was aware of Margot’s goal of having a child. I was not aware of the means to achieve it.”

“What do you want from us?” Will asked. Still using ‘us’. It was after he said that he realized this could ruin any relationship he had with you. He didn’t even know if you wanted kids but someone else having his child was surely a dent. He looked over at you and you couldn’t even look at him. In fact, the only person you could look at was Hannibal. 

“Little or nothing or as much as you’d like to give,” Margot said simply. You shook your head and left the room to your desk. 

You sat there and shut the door behind you. You knew you shouldn’t be mad at Will. You did it together and it was a joint decision, granted it was not really talked about. A spur of the moment, completely calculated thing. You stared at your computer, the blank black screen that reflected you back at you. 

Margot walked out and you stood up, refusing to show any emotion. 

“I hope you’re pleased,” you said simply. Will left the office but you didn’t look at him. 

“I’m sorry,” she said. You wanted to strangle the life out of her but instead you just walked past her and Hannibal to the office, shutting the door behind you. You walked over to the chair you promised yourself you would never sit at and you sat in it. Hannibal was still sitting at his chair. 

You stared at each other.

“You swear to me you didn’t know,” you muttered.

“I did not know,” he said. “I had no idea you were bisexual.” You shook your head but you had bigger problems.

“It was a spur of the moment thing. Will and I had just…” you trailed off. “I was in the wrong headspace for her to have conniving plans.” You stared at Hannibal and stood up. “I don’t like those chairs,” you whispered. You walked over and finally sat on the desk. Hannibal got up. 

“Has Will left?” 

“He’s presumably waiting for me in the car.” You looked up at Will and tears pricked your eyes. “It’s not his fault,” you promised. Hannibal leaned against the desk beside you. 

“But you believe that this will change things.” You whipped the few stray tears.

“Shouldn’t it? I mean come on, wouldn’t it be weird if I was having your child but you were with Alana?” Hannibal laughed dryly at the comparison. You took a deep breath. “I don't even know if I want kids but...that was supposed to be my kid,” you whispered. “Will and I were gonna have that family, the family that has now started between him and Margot Verger.” 

Hannibal wiped your tears away with his thumb. He was now standing directly in front of you, looking down at you as you sat. 

“Will loves you,” he promised. “And cares about you more than I would care about Alana in your analogy.” You nodded and he hugged you. You pressed your head against his chest. 

“I just have to talk to him,” you whispered. He nodded. 

“But your emotions are valid. Don’t forget that.” Hannibal pet your hair but he felt your emotions hitting a hard chord. 

This wasn’t good. 

-

The car ride home was interesting. Silence. Uncomfortable silence. That wasn’t something that you and Will were quite accustomed to. You got into the house and immediately locked yourself in the bathroom to catch your breath. You stared in the mirror and imagined how Will must be feeling. 

Excitement to be a father? Going through things you were supposed to feel together one day? 

You opened the door and Will sat on the bed. You walked over and sat beside him, looking at your hands. 

“What does this mean?” you asked.

“If we have any more threesomes I should probably wear protection.” 

“Good advice overall however I don't’ see many more threesomes in our future,” you whispered. He wasn’t sure what you meant by that. Did you mean just in general or that you wouldn’t be together at all?

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“I should be asking you how you’re feeling, father to be,” you said, voice breaking. You hid your emotions as best you could. 

“Y/N…”

“It was meant to be us,” you whispered. “The two of us. Not you and Margot Verger.” He nodded and looked over at you. “Do you want me here now that you’re having a kid with her?” The dreaded question.

“Of course I want you here,” he said quickly. “I’ll always want you here.” You looked over at him. “Do you want to be here?” You nodded even quicker. 

“I do.” 

He hugged you tightly and you wrapped your legs around his waist as you sat on the bed. You buried your face in his shoulder. The battle wasn’t over but at least you knew you had each other.

“After Abigail,” he whispered. “I dream about her. I dream about teaching her to fish,” he told you. You nodded. You felt maternal to Abigail as well.

“And Hannibal....” He nodded, pulling away from you a bit. “Robbed that from us.” 

“Yeah. He did.” 

-

Will grabbed your arm. He was sweating, it was even showing on your pajama shirt. There was a knock on the door that had woken him up from a nightmare.

“You okay?” you whispered. He nodded. 

“Who is that?”

“If it’s Margot Verger again I’ll drown her in the sink.” Will got up and walked to the door as you grabbed him a robe. You could hear from the back room that it was Alana.

“I guess I’m trying to convince myself of something. Or maybe I’m trying to convince you. Or maybe I don't know why I’m here,” she said. You walked up to the door. 

“I know why. You’re worried I killed Freddie Lounds.” 

“Did you?” Alana asked. She looked at you and you looked at her. Your friendship had unfortunately dissolved over time. She seemed so pensive now.

“What do you think?” Will asked. 

“I think that’s the wrong answer to tell somebody who is already wondering what you’re capable of,” Alana said. Will turned to you. 

“Can you make us some coffee?” 

“Two or three cups?”

“Two,” he said bluntly. You nodded and walked into the house but you could still be here. 

“I know you’re lying to me. You’ve slipped into some kind of skin and I think it fits you a little too well,” she said. 

“I told everyone Hannibal was a killer and no one believed me. Just like no one would believe you if you said I was a killer,” Will said and you smiled as you started to make coffee. 

“I'm afraid, Will. But not of you. I'm afraid for you. I don't think Hannibal is good for you. I think your relationship is destructive.” 

“Hannibal's good enough for you.” You almost clapped at that but you contend to pretend you weren’t listening. 

“You should be afraid. You’re right to be afraid.” 

-

Alana Bloom stood back at Freddie’s funeral. You were with Will but you wanted to talk to her first so you told him to wait back. You walked up to her and she let out a small sigh at your presence. 

“I’m here to mourn Freddie Lounds. Can’t imagine it’s why you’re here,” she muttered. 

“I’m here in support of my boyfriend. His psychiatrist recommended he come.” Alana looked over at you.

“They aren’t who you think they are. You may think that you know Hannibal Lecter but you don’t. I don’t think anyone does,” she said. Almost like a warning.

“Says the girl sleeping with him,” you whispered teasingly. “I know Hannibal better than you know him Alana. And I know Will better than that. You may think you’re right about every single thing Alana but I can assure you, you are not.” You whispered. She let out a huff. She can’t imagine herself being wrong. 

She walked away. 

-

You sat in the room with Will and Hannibal. You sat on the desk while they sat in the chairs, reminiscent of old times. 

“I’ve been so preoccupied with taking a life, I’m having trouble wrapping my head around making one,” he muttered.

“You and Y/N have never discussed it?” You shrugged.

“Not often. We’ve always had other things on our minds,” you admitted. “Just that if it happened it was in the future.” 

“When men become fathers, they undergo biochemical changes that affect the way they think,” Hannibal explained. 

“You said the same thing happens when men become killers,” Will inquired. 

“Fatherhood is not always a nurturing role. Fathers can be killers. In protecting a child, things trapped inside a man for years fly free, ready to explode in pain. And dangerous behavior. What sort of father would you be?” Hannibal questioned.

“He’d be a good father,” you said quietly, answering for him. 

“How quickly we form attachments to something that does not yet exist,'' Hannibal whispered. You and Hannibal shared a look.

-

You stood beside Will at a crime scene. This one was not yours. This was Hannibals. Freddie Lounds was put into a religious figure. 

“What connection do Freddie Lounds and Randall Tier have?” Jack asked. 

“The Grahams. Randall Tier was their suspect and Hannibal’s patient,” Alana said. She looked to be having a tough time. “Freddie was investigating his murder when she died.

“Freddie was investigating a lot of things when she died,” Will said. 

“This is a psychopath who has incubated fantasies of killing is translating them into action. He’s building himself up. Or somebody’s building him up,” Alana said. You and Will shared a look. 

Jack Crawford would be showing Alana Bloom Freddie tonight. Freddies body, alive, completely and utterly alive. You and Will did not kill her. Alana was breaking and Jack would show her that you and Will were not the murderers she thought you were. 

Technically.

“This is a courtship,” Alana whispered.

-

When you got word about Margot you were silent. You went with Will to the hospital silently. 

You stared at Margot Verger, without a child now, silently. 

Hannibal approached you and while Will immediately left you strayed for a moment. You looked over at him and you shared a look.

“Thank you,” you whispered. 

“I did nothing but suggest simple actions.” You nodded and grabbed his hand as you turned away. You held it for a moment. Then you followed Will.

-

Mason Verger watched his pigs. Will walked up to him and held him over the edge. You looked at him, waiting from behind. You had taken out the guard, per request. You didn’t want the child and you were relieved it was gone. That being said, you would likely back Will in anything he wanted to do. 

“You think it was Margot’s idea to have an heir? Think it was your idea to take it from her? My idea to come here and kill you? What you, your sister and I all have in common is the same psychiatrist,” Will said. He brought Mason back to the ground and you raised a gun to his head. 

“Aren’t you his secretary?” Mason questioned. “Oh you and baby daddy!” He paused. “Margot messed with the wrong throuple.” 

“If Hannibal had his dithers, you’d be wrapped around a bullet,” you said. You put the gun down. 

“He’s the one you should be feeding to your pigs,” Will finished.

2x12

[trashforhockeyguys]

Don’t Hold Me -6- Carter Hart

A/N: Hey guys, I’m still alive lol. AND DHM IS FINALLY BACK!!! Buckle up my loves, things are finally starting to happen. I’m super excited for where this story is going, and I can’t wait for yall to see it all unfold! 

As always, all previous parts are linked in my master list!

"Y/N, can I move yet?” Nolan asked you. 

“Hang on,” You started to chew on your lip as you continued to draw, “Move your head a little to the right? Yeah! Like that, the shadows are good like that.”

“Sorry Patty, I offered to be a nude model or whatever.”

“Travis shut up. No one wants to see that.”

Travis laughed from the kitchen. For one of your classes, you had to draw a portrait of someone, unfortunately for Nolan, he’d volunteered to sit for one. Although, you knew he didn’t exactly think that this was going to take this long. He thought it would take a few minutes at most, not over an hour.

“Nolan stop laughing! I’m almost done.”

You didn’t even notice that someone else had walked in until a cup of coffee from your favorite place down the road was put in front of you. You didn’t look over your shoulder, you already knew who it was, but you couldn’t help the simple smile that crept across your face. It was small, almost unnoticeable, but it was there. 

“Thank you.”

“Woah, she actually said two words to him,” Nolan said in sheer surprise. 

“And they were nice!” Travis added. 

“Shut up. Nolan I swear to god if you move one more time I will beat you with a stick.”

“That looks really good,” Carter said from behind you, ignoring what his teammates were saying. 

You hummed and began to drag your pencil across the page again. You tried not to think about the fact that he was still standing behind you, close enough that you could feel his presence. A small part of your brain started to wonder what it would be like if he just wrapped his arms around you. You almost wanted it. 

You tried to snap yourself out of it. But the longer he was there, the more you wanted to just be closer to him. You had no idea what was going on. This wasn’t like you. You didn’t do things like this. You didn’t need anyone else. 

“For your class?” Carter asked. 

“Yeah. Nolan was a better choice than Travis. At least he can sit still for more than five minutes, and be quiet.”

“Rude,” Travis mumbled.

Your body seemed to almost tingle from how close Carter was to you. You weren’t sure what was happening. You didn't do things like this. You could control everything. But this, this didn’t feel like something you could control. Your body seemed to be taking over from your head.  You didn’t know how to handle this anymore. Everything seemed to be cloudy and unclear now. 

You cleared your throat, “Yeah, okay, done.”

“Yeah? I can eat now?” Nolan asked. 

You weren’t done. You were far from done, but you needed to put space between you and Carter before you did something potentially stupid. All you could think of was getting his arms around you. You wanted to be close to him in a way that you knew was an awful idea. 

“Yeah, go do whatever Nols, I can do the finishing touches without you modeling for me,” You laughed, trying to sound normal again. 

He nodded and moved on. You wanted to go hide now. You wanted to get away from Carter. The buzzing tingly feeling was spreading throughout my whole body. You had no idea what was really going on. All you knew was that you were starting to feel things for Carter that you shouldn’t feel. 

Everything seemed to be blurred now. There were lines you weren’t meant to cross, you knew that, but where were they? What fell into the category of things not to do? Because strangely enough, all you wanted to do now was let yourself sink into Carter’s arms, and just stay there for the rest of the day, and that’s something you absolutely couldn’t do.  

You didn’t want to leave the boys behind, but you also knew that you needed to get some air before your body took over and made you do something you knew would lead to some serious trouble.

“I’m going to go get some food, does anyone want anything?”

“Just sit your little ass down, I’ll make lunch,” Travis told me, pointing to the couch. 

You huffed and plopped back down onto the couch.  Carter was on the other end. Too close for comfort, or maybe not close enough for your body to be comfortable. You couldn’t understand what was going on, how your body was reacting to this. You weren’t meant to like Carter Hart. You’d sworn off hockey players after the last time, that didn’t mean you could just drop everything for Carter. You wouldn’t drop everything for him. You’d figure out how to get yourself to stop feeling whatever you were feeling for him. You weren’t going to do this again. 

“When do you leave for that road trip?”

“Day after tomorrow,” Nolan replied, “We’ll try not to let you get beat to hell, Carter.”

You tried to laugh with them. But the idea of any of them potentially getting hurt made your stomach twist. You hated when they went on road trips because it meant that something might happen and you wouldn’t be there. You weren’t their protector, you knew that. But them being gone also meant they wouldn’t be here for you, should you need them.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Travis said, “We’ll be back before you know it.”

You forced a smile, “Maybe that’s what I’m worried about..”

“Liar,” Travis smiled sadly at you and pulled you in for a hug.

What you didn’t notice was how Carter was looking at you. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he should heed TK’s warning and stay away from you, all for your sake. But you had a way of drawing him in, and making him want to know more about you. He wanted to be a part of the close inner circle you’d built with TK and Patty. He couldn’t explain it, he had girls throwing themselves at him all of the time, but for some reason he wanted you. 

The shy girl who hid under baggy sweatshirts and didn’t seem to notice how amazing you could truly be. Everytime he was near you he thought about the night he had to bring you back to his apartment after that stupid party. 

You’d started screaming and crying in your sleep. He’d never tell you that, but he didn’t sleep on the floor of his bedroom because you were getting sick all night. It was because something was haunting you, causing you to wake up screaming. It’d scared the shit out of him. 

He’d automatically called TK and begged him to tell him what to do, or tell him what happened. But TK was quick to tell him that it was your story to share, and if you ever wanted Carter to know, you’d tell him. But that didn’t stop Carter from constantly worrying about the girl in front of him.

“You said you were going to make food,” You mumbled, poking Travis’s stomach. 

“So needy.”

“You’re the one who decided to call me when I moved here,” You pointed out, “Brought this on yourself.”

“Fine,” Travis sighed dramatically, “What do you guys want?”

“Pasta!” You were quick to say, “A big heaping plate of that buttered garlic pasta you make.”

Travis smacked Nolan on his way over to the kitchen, telling him that he needed help. That left you and Carter all alone. You felt uncomfortable, because you didn’t know what to do. You weren’t sure how you were meant to even talk to him. 

Everything just seemed too strange to you now.

“So, how’re classes going?” Carter asked you. 

You shrugged and brought your knees up to your chest, “They’re alright. I’ll be happy when the break rolls around.”

He laughed, “I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to the All Star break.”

You nodded. Travis and Nolan talked about how wonderful breaks were all the time. Their schedule was more than grueling, so you knew time off was more than precious for them. If they didn’t go off somewhere tropical to just relax, it was rare that they’d even leave their rooms. 

Even in lower level juniors, your brother always treasured whatever time off he could get. Some of the things all of you would do during breaks were honestly astounding, and probably borderline illegal, but that was years ago.

“I’m sure.”

“You don’t really like hockey, do you?” He suddenly asked you. 

“What? No! I love it.”

“Really? Sorry, you just don’t seem like it.”

You swallowed and tried to plan your reply, “No, I love it. I’ve grown up on it. It’s just my relationship with hockey is…..complicated.”

You felt like you might throw up. Having to explain it felt different. You could watch games just fine now, not that you always liked to watch in person, but you could watch them. You could talk about them, and give Travis shit for hours about things he’d done. But having to explain your reasonings for being why you were the way that you were...it seemed impossible. 

He already saw you differently, you could tell by the way he looked at you. You were sure that he saw you as someone wounded and broken. You didn’t want him to have another reason to see you differently. Carter was one of the few people that didn’t know, and he didn’t need to know. You could keep him in the dark, you would keep him in the dark. 

“I love hockey,” You said again, “I wouldn’t know Travis without it. I love hockey.”

“Okay,” His voice was calm, like he was trying to calm you, “Okay. I’m sorry I asked.”

You tried to blink away the burning feeling in your eyes. You weren’t going to cry. You weren’t going to show how much pain that simple question brought on. Your stomach churned and you couldn’t do a thing to stop it. 

“I have to go to the bathroom, I’ll be back in a minute.”

However, rather than going to the hall bathroom, like you normally would. You quickly made your way back into Travis’s bathroom, far enough away from the living room that you wouldn’t be heard. Especially over the sound of Travis and Nolan in the kitchen, and the music they’d put on. 

Without having a chance to try to stop it, you hunched over the toilet and threw up. You were shaking and crying. A simple question, one that no one else would’ve thought twice about. Any normal person would have a smile yes or no answer. You couldn’t answer simply though. Not without opening a door to something you liked to keep locked away.

You loved hockey….you just didn’t love what hockey had done to you.

[ddalgi-yong]

STARCROSSED NO. 1 || J.JK

pairing: jeon jungkook x reader

genre: angst, fluff-ish

word count: 4,6k 

synopsis: finding out that you were a half god and the half sister of the one and only aphrodite, you have to avoid getting killed, be the reason why the emotion love disappears from the world... and avoid jeon jungkook and try not to fall in love with him. 

part of the holiday treats event <3

if you want to be tagged to the series, please send me an ask ! series masterlist link will be added later !

DEAR VIO;

its me, your secret santa ! i really hope that you like the first part of my series ! i thought this was getting too long so i decided to cut it and make a series out of it ! making this a series, by the way, was the surprise i was talking about lol i didnt manage to interact with you a lot during the event as sometimes you didn’t see my asks and sometimes, i just disappeared. i’m sorry about that. maybe we could do better and text each other sometimes? you seem really sweet and nice and i really need someone who might get me back to stan bts properly :D anyways, i really hope you enjoyed this! merry early christmas, dear ! i hope you will have amazing days during this tough time !

xx nur

You hated him.

You didn’t even know why you hated him, but most important was that you hated him.

Who?

Jeon Jungkook.

His stupidly perfect face, his perfect and beautiful smile; you had so many things that people loved about him.

But at least you knew that you hated him, that was the most important part.

Until that one day you looked him straight into his eyes, suddenly felt this huge anger and you only wanted to kill him.

--

“You fucking bitch, I should have done this a long time ago”, he growled as he got closer to you. “I should have killed you before it was too late. But now… no one will save you from me.” His laugh was soft and sweet despite his angered tone and you had no idea why he spoke to you like this.

“What the hell did I do to you?”, you asked him, your voice was shaky as you really started to fear him. You hated him, yet you were scared of him in this one moment.

“You exist, that’s enough”, he said and then he was gone. You didn’t know what happened as Jungkook suddenly disappeared from in front of you; you didn’t even know where he was. Your body started shaking and you just sat down on the grass to breathe properly.

You had no idea what was going on or where Jungkook had disappeared to.

“Y/N? Are you alright?”, someone shouted over the huge field, you turned around to see your boyfriend Yugyeom coming towards you. He was dressed in his typical style, mostly black and the usual edgy boyfriend look he always had.

“Yeah, I am. What about you?”, you smiled up to him and he sat down next to you. Even though he always seemed like the tough man from campus but you knew better.

“Bored and tired. You wanna skip class?”, he asked you and you hit him laughing.

“You dumbass, why would you do that?”, you asked him and he only shrugged, pulling your head on his lap, softly stroking over your head.

“Because I’d rather spend my time with my beautiful and sweet girlfriend than be stuck in that disgusting classroom. Come on, please”, he was pouting and you laughed at the way he was trying to convince you. “We only have that one last class left anyway; it won’t hurt to skip once.”

“Alright, fine”, you laughed and closed your eyes as you enjoyed the sun shining down on your face.

“Come on, let’s go! I wanna go home”, he grinned and pulled you up to go out of campus. You shook your head to the exit of your university. As it was a warm spring day, you tried to convince your boyfriend not to go home but to one of your favorite spots in South Korea’s capital Seoul.

“Why do you wanna go there now? Can’t we just go home?”, he pouted.

“Because I haven’t been there for a while now! Also, don’t pretend like you don’t like it there”, you told him and grinned as he rolled his eyes, nodding.

“Alright, let’s go then”, he agreed and you put your hands on his cheeks, squeezing them before you planted a kiss on his pouty lips.

You went to the closest bus station that would lead you to the beautiful nature and calming space. You couldn’t understand why Yugyeom suddenly didn’t want to go there anymore since he always went there with you.

As your bus finally arrived, he took your hand and pulled you inside, taking out a facemask to cover up his face. You boyfriend was pretty known around as he was handsome and talented in his dance. Yugyeom loved to post some of his current projects on social media where he was known by a big fandom.

Obviously, he had to cover up his face and he handed you a mask over as well.

“Are you okay?”, you asked him and looked up on him. You kind of were worried that he really only wanted to go home because he wasn’t feeling well.

“Yes, I am. Why shouldn’t I be?”, he asked you and you shook your head as you smiled.

“No, it’s just… I didn’t want to force you to come with me. Don’t think that please, I thought it would be nice to get out of the busy city. We can go back if you don’t want to go”, you told him, slightly feeling bad that you forced him to go with you.

“You didn’t force me or anything, my love. Don’t worry, I’m okay. I just thought we would simply go home and watch a movie, order food or just sleep”, he explained and you sighed.

“Okay… but we’ll go home whenever you want to, yeah?”, you asked him and he hummed before he pulled you closer to himself, as you leaned your head on his shoulder, closing your eyes and trying to relax. Somehow your boyfriend’s presence couldn’t calm you down as you started to think about your random anger towards Jungkook. You still didn’t understand what happened or why it happened.

Once your bus finally arrived at Namsan, the place you two were heading to.

“If we’re already here, let’s take some pics”, he grinned and handed you his phone, making you laugh out happily. Yugyeom really knew how to distract you. Yugyeom really was a handsome man. He didn’t have to try much and was looking good.

“Come on, there is a small bistro and I’m hungry”, you told him as you handed him his phone back. Yugyeom kissed you on your forehead before taking your hand again and taking you there. You both ordered simple ramen and waited for the food to arrive.

“Well, well, well. If that isn’t sweet Y/N and your dearest boyfriend. What are you guys doing here instead of going to your classes?”, someone asked you two. You turned around and looked up to Jungkook and a few other people you knew from university.

“That’s none of your business”, Yugyeom literally growled and got up.

“Calm down Kim, not everything is about you. This time we’re here because of sweet Y/N”, one of Jungkook’s companions said, putting his fingers on Yugyeom’s forehead and the young man collapsed right into his arms. You let out a scream as Yugyeom lost his consciousness. Only a few seconds later, you also lost your consciousness as the boy put his fingers on your forehead.

--

You woke up in an unknown room. You felt scared for a second so you sat up and looked around. It seemed like a normal room, not a hospital or anything else.

“Why the hell are you awake already? You shouldn’t wake up before I make you wake up”, someone murmured making you jolt up. It was the same guy who made Yugyeom to lose his consciousness.

“Who are you? Where is Yugyeom? What did you do to him?”, you screamed, suddenly you were furious. The anger you felt towards a boy you never met was driving you crazy and you quickly got up. Then you just attacked him.

The boy quickly pinned you down on the ground, making your groan in pain but your hatred made you feel stronger and you quickly turned the guy around and punched him a right hook. He groaned in pain as he felt how strong you actually were.

“Fuck you, how can you be stronger than I am?”, the young man said before someone started laughing.

“I’m wondering that, too. How can be this little girl so much stronger than you, hyung?”, you looked up as Jungkook started talking again. “She really hit you that hard that you started bleeding.” He laughed again and shook his head, getting closer to pull you up. You started to fight against his strong grip on your arm but it was useless; compared to Jungkook, the other guy was weaker.

“Come on hyung, that was funny”, he laughed and softly patted the elder’s head as he still tried to hold you back from Jimin easily with only one hand. You slowly grew tired and stopped fighting.

“What the fuck is going on here?”

The small room started being filled with more and more guys and you looked around terrified at all the unknown faces.

“Our dearest Y/N is one of them”, Jungkook announced. “She probably didn’t know herself. Did you, Y/N?”

“W-what? I don’t k-know what you’re talking about”, you stuttered. You really had no idea what Jungkook was talking about.

“Cute. You really didn’t know that you are one of Aphrodite’s children?”, he asked you and you almost choked on your spit as he said that. Then you started laughing.

“Aphrodite’s children?”, you laughed and shook your head. “Good joke. Now tell me why the hell you brought me to wherever we are right now.”

“It wasn’t a joke, though. I’m dead serious. You are one of Aphrodite’s children. Just like we are Poseidon’s children. We all are practically half-gods. You, too”, he explained and you shook your head.

“You’re delusional. You’re… You’re fucking crazy. Let me fucking go, you asshole. I want to go home”, you told him and tried to get away from Jungkook’s tight grip on your arm. He was stubborn and didn’t let go, he was much stronger than the guy who you first saw when you woke up.

“It’s all the truth, Y/N. It’s your blood that made me understand who you are”, he explained. “When Jimin hyung made you lose your consciousness, you still were able to get your consciousness back rather quickly. No one besides Aphrodite’s children are able to do that. They are rare but the strongest. However, you really want to tell me, you don’t know anything about your true self?”

“I don’t! For god’s sake, I fucking don’t know!”, you yelled, you started to get furious again. You didn’t know why you suddenly grew more impatient and were so aggressive towards the guys in the room. None of them besides Jungkook and Jimin had talked before.

“That’s enough, Jungkook. Don’t pressure her anymore. She should rest and I will talk to her later”, one of the guys said, you immediately looked at him and your features softened at his calming voice.

“But hyung” – “No but’s, Jungkook. Everyone gets the hell out of this room and let her rest. Or I promise you, it will not end up well”, the guy said and pushed everyone out of the room. Before he left, he added a “Please, sleep a little more. Anger isn’t the best for you to feel as it puts us in danger. I will wake you up for dinner.”

“Can I maybe know your name?”, you asked him and he nodded as he introduced himself:

“I’m Seokjin. Sleep well, Y/N”, he said before he left and closed the door.

You sighed as you looked around the room before you sat down on the bed. You didn’t know where you were or how to get out. So, you just laid down and soon, you fell asleep.

As you woke up again, you weren’t alone. Someone was kneeling right next to you, you jolted up from the bed, covering your body up even though you knew you were still completely dressed.

“What’s going on?”, you asked the girl and scooted away when she tried to touch you.

“Nothing, I’m just checking up on you”, she answered. You backed away as she tried to touch your forehead again.

“Leave me alone. I don’t even know you”, your voice was shaky and you tried to get away from the girl as much as possible. But then of course the bed had an end. You had no space to escape anymore.

“Hey, don’t be scared. I won’t hurt you or make you lose your consciousness like Jimin that idiot did. I’m his twin sister, Areum. I only want to check up on you. Will you let me touch your forehead for a second? It won’t hurt, sweetie”, she said and smiled at you softly. You immediately found her comforting and felt safe around her.

“Okay”, you said, still a little unsure. She smiled a little brighter and quickly put her fingers on your forehead. A soft warmth went through your body and you felt happier for a moment. That feeling left you as Areum pulled her fingers away from your forehead.

“Good, you’re doing well. I’m glad about that. Also, I’m going to kick my brother’s ass for using his powers for something as useless as making you lose your consciousness. That’s just… wrong in any kind of way”, Areum started babbling and you laughed as she rather was talking to herself than to you.

“Anyway, what’s your name? My brother nor my dumb cousins didn’t tell me”, she pouted and you smiled as you introduced yourself.

“Can you tell me what is going on here? I only remember how Jimin made Yugyeom lose his consciousness… wait… Yugyeom! Is he okay?”, you asked panicked.

“Don’t worry. He is alright. I just came from his room. You got one handsome boyfriend over there”, Areum grinned. You blushed a little.

“Can I see him? Or am I not allowed to leave this room?”, you asked her and she nodded.

“You can go. I’ll keep my brother and cousins away from you two”, she gave you her approval and you immediately got up and started running before you confusedly had to stop. You didn’t even ask where Yugyeom’s room was.

“Right next to you”, you got scared as someone suddenly stood behind you and you turned around. You saw Jungkook standing there, chuckling at the way you flinched.

“You really need to train your senses. That way you will be able to know that someone is right behind you. I’m surprised that you survived until now without having the proper senses to know you have your enemy right behind your back”, he told you.

“Your sweet boyfriend is right there. But I would recommend you to find out, if you can really trust him”, Jungkook said and smiled then softly.

“What do you mean?”, you asked him confusedly but he didn’t answer you. He just disappeared and your eyes weren’t even able to follow him, he was that quick. You couldn’t comprehend how quick he was.

You didn’t think any more of it and only entered the room Jungkook told you your boyfriend was in.

“Hey, baby”, he smiled and put his phone away to open up his arms. “Come here, I missed you.”

You giggled and smiled, jumping up on the bed; he immediately hugged you tightly, inhaling your scent as if he was scared to lose you.

“I was so scared”, he mumbled. “I thought, I wouldn’t see you ever again. I was so, so scared.” Yugyeom didn’t let you go. He was holding you so tightly, that you were scared he would crush your bones.

“Yug… please, you’re holding me too tightly”, you said as you tried to breathe in properly.

“Sorry, I just missed you. I thought they did something to you and I was so worried”, you smiled brightly and turned around, pecking his lips over and over again. “I was so scared.”

“Don’t worry, I’m okay”, you reassured him. “They told me I would be one of Aphrodite’s children but… I don’t know what they mean. Do you have any idea?”

“W-what? No, I have no idea what they possibly could mean”, he stuttered but you didn’t notice it.

“Okay… I’ll just ask Areum later”, you smiled and put your head on his chest, trying to relax.

“No… we should get the hell out of here. I don’t trust Jungkook or his family so we need to get out of here”, he insisted, started talking to convince you of how much of a bad feeling he had about Jungkook and his family.

“Alright, let’s go”, you smiled and got up from the bed; he followed you quickly after.

“Where do you think you’re going?”, Jungkook suddenly appeared in front of you again, scaring you once again.

“Out of here? I have my own home”, you told him confused, chuckling at his dumb question. “You didn’t think I would stay here, right?”

“I didn’t think so, I decided it myself. You’re staying here”, Jungkook said, not caring a little about what you had just told him. You couldn’t believe him; you were so mad suddenly and you simply couldn’t control your anger.

“Hey, calm down. I don’t want to get another right hook from you. You might not have trained your senses yet but you’re still stronger than me. That’s exactly why you have to stay here. You can’t even control yourself when I say something that you don’t like. I don’t even want to imagine what happens if anyone hurts you in some way”, Jungkook explained and you understood what he meant. Slowly, you calmed a bit down.

“Good… now you can go, you lying ass”, Jungkook said, directed to Yugyeom.

“I’m not leaving her alone with you”, Yugyeom almost started fighting Jungkook as he was called a ‘lying ass’.

“What do you mean?”, you interrupted them, looking at Yugyeom first, then at Jungkook. “What are you trying to tell me? You told me to be careful if I can trust him, now you call him a liar?! What is your problem, Jungkook?!”

“He is my problem. You have no idea what he is. He is one of those assholes, he is one of Apollo’s sons and is only using you to survive! No one dares to lay a hand on you so he uses you as his protection!”, Jungkook’s voice was loud and he was definitely mad.

“What? Yugyeom… is that true?”, you asked your boyfriend as you couldn’t believe what you just heard. Was Yugyeom really using you for protection only?

“No! Of course, it isn’t true! Yes, I might be a son Apollo’s but I am nothing like my family!”, he defended himself and grabbed your hand. “It is definitely not true!”

“Don’t believe him, Y/N. He’s been lying all the time to you. Why do you think is he trying to get you out of here? He is trying to keep you away from us! But you have to believe me! I usually never am like this but I am fucking begging you to stay the fuck away from him!”

You had no idea why but suddenly you believed him. There was this warm feeling inside of you again, just the same feeling as Areum had put her fingers on your forehead, as you heard his words. They just seemed so right to you.

“Do you believe me?”, he asked you, he was desperate at this point. You smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yes, I believe you”, you answered him. “I believe you, Jeon Jungkook. I don’t know why, but your words… they just seem so right. It is just the best feeling I’ve had in my whole life. I don’t know what this is.”

“You’re a truthteller. You can sense lies. Focus a bit. Now, dear Yugyeom. Do you have something to tell your girlfriend?” Jungkook seemed confident, he knew exactly that Yugyeom was lying.

Suddenly, he was gone. It felt like less than a second where Yugyeom had disappeared but soon was brought back when you blinked once.

“You’re quick, but I’m faster, you asshole. Now tell your beautiful girlfriend what bullshit you pulled off with her”, Jungkook smiled. He was so sure of himself and the fact that you were used for Yugyeom’s protection.

“Fuck, okay, I used you for my own protection! Yes, I did that. But I never lied about how I felt about you, Y/N. I love you and this is the fucking truth!”, he was practically yelling and you felt the comforting warmth in your body as you heard those words.

“He is telling the truth”, you said and sighed. Jungkook scoffed only.

“But that means you knew who I was. You knew that I was one of… you. But still, you didn’t tell me. I was walking in the dark, not knowing my real identity. Why didn’t you tell me? Why?!”, you asked him desperately.

“I couldn’t tell you! My parents forbid me to talk to you about it!”, he tried to explain himself but this time, he forgot about the fact that you could feel it in your bones when someone lied to you.

“You’re lying. You could tell me. You could have told me. But you didn’t”, you couldn’t believe that he had the nerve to lie to you. That’s when you realized something else. “Did you just say your parents?”

“No… well, yes, I said my parents but I meant my uncle and aunt. Because… you know they took care of me when my parents- “

“Don’t fucking lie to me anymore!”, you screamed. “Stop lying!”

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, but I have to go”, Yugyeom said and disappeared again. This time, Jungkook didn’t move.

“I’m sorry that your boyfriend is a lying asshole”, he said and softly stroked over your cheek with his thumb. You couldn’t help but smile at his soft action.

“Why are you sorry? I’m all right, I’m just surprised that he actually did this whole thing but never said anything… he could’ve told me. I would’ve tried to kept it a secret, of course. Why would I say something like this to anyone else and put them in danger?”, you tried to understand Yugyeom but you had no argument that would make you understand his lies.

“I don’t know… you didn’t deserve this bullshit”, Jungkook just shrugged and sighed then. “We should get downstairs. Hoseok is probably already waiting for you.”

“Wait, who is waiting for me and why?”, you asked him confusedly, tried to hold him back when he had grabbed your hand and was leading you to some sort of studio.

“Hobi, one of my cousins. He will help you train your senses and powers. Believe me, he will get you to the point where you’ll be able to notice me from a mile away. He’s really good at what he does and he is a happy pill so you won’t get bored with him”, Jungkook explained and continued pulling you downstairs. He was leading you down to some kind of studio, at first glance, you thought it was a dance studio.

“Hello there, Y/N. I‘m Hoseok. It’s very nice to finally meet one of Aphrodite’s children”, he introduced himself. His words kind of offended you as you didn’t want to be reduced to your identity as one of the rare Aphrodite’s children.

“Don’t call me that. I’m more than just one of her children”, you fought back.

“Alright, dear. I didn’t want to offend you in any way. But as Jungkook probably already told you, I will be training your senses and powers.” He looked up to Jungkook. “What are you still doing here? Get the hell out of here”, Hoseok raised his hand and suddenly, Jungkook was moving backwards.

“H-hyung! Stop, alright, I’ll leave!”, Jungkook was already yelling at the older man and Hoseok only laughed. He lowered his hand and Jungkook stopped walking backwards. The younger boy disappeared within a single second.

“Damn, that was nice. Am I able to do that, too?”, you asked Hoseok, already feeling comfortable around the boy.

“Sadly, I don’t know that yet. I will have to find out but it might take a while. It could’ve been easier if your boyfriend didn’t run away because seems like, he can tell other’s powers”, Hoseok explained.

“What do you mean? Everyone has different powers? Why is that?”, you asked him confusedly.

“We don’t know why every single half-god has another power and different one, even if we’re from the same god. It just is a thing which happens by chance. But don’t worry, your powers will show themselves soon. You have to know that you can run faster, you’re stronger and that you’re healing quicker than normal humans. Maybe you have noticed that you never broke your arm or any other bone completely? Or the fact that your wounds closed quicker than those of other’s?“

“I didn’t know that”, you said. “I guess, I never noticed it.” Within the next second, you screamed out in pain as Hoseok cut your arm with a small knife. “What the fuck?!”

“Don’t get mad. Just watch”, he smiled and pointed at the now already closing wound. You were surprised as the wound was completely gone within the next few seconds. “See? This is just so normal. Your cells regenerate quicker than those of normal human, so your wounds close just as quick.”

“Tell me more, please. I don’t know anything about all this; it’s just so new for me”, you asked him.

“Alright then… I’m not much of the history guy, that’s Namjoon, so you’ll have to ask him later. I can tell you a little about the whole history and how the half-gods were created”, Hoseok smiled softly.

“Do you know the story of Helena and Paris?”, he asked you first. You shook your head, only knowing the names of those two persons in the Greek mythology but not their story.

“Summing up, Helena was the wife of Menelaos. But she fell in love with Paris. So, she ran away with him. Ran away with Paris and after her an army with Menelaos’ men. Helena was Zeus’ and Leda’s child, which made her Aphrodite’s sister. She ran away with him, not caring about the fact that she was putting a child in danger.

Later when she found out that she was pregnant, she was not accepted by the city she tried to hide as she was known as Menelaos’ wife and was expecting Paris’ child. She was protected and saved by her sister, Aphrodite. Aphrodite brought her to Paris, telling him about the child. To protect her niece, she gave Helena the Cestus, her necklace which would protect them both.

Helena gave birth to a beautiful girl. She was just as beautiful as her mother was and just as beautiful as her aunt was. Aphrodite made sure that all descendants of Helena would look just alike her and that it would be all girls. This is why you are rare. You have no one besides your mother and maybe your grandmother. You guys are so rare that I am surprised that Yugyeom managed to find you. But Jungkook was right with one thing: he only used you. Those who are descendants of Aphrodite are so special and important; you guys keep the emotion love alive. 

As the city Helena tried to find comfort at attacked her, Aphrodite cursed them that if anything would happen to any of you, love, affection, it would all disappear from this world. No one would dare to hurt you. And we don’t intend on doing that”, he explained everything briefly.

“And why was there this anger and hatred I felt towards Jungkook whenever I saw him and why don’t I attack you anymore like I did before?”

“Honestly, I don’t know either. The hatred and anger start off with the murders that happened during the war for Helena but Namjoon will tell you more about this, I promise. I’m not much into history”, he chuckled lightly.

“That’s… a lot to process”, you sighed and shook your head. “So, it’s important that I stay safe. How can I trust you all? I don’t even know you.”

“You have no other choice, dear. You need to trust us”, Hoseok simply said, as if trusting someone you used to hate was the easiest thing. It wasn’t. But did you have another chance? No. That was what Hoseok told you and you knew he was telling the truth. You felt it deep in your heart.

You had to trust him or there wouldn’t be something called ‘love’ in this world anymore.

@viopera​ 

[mimi-cee-hq]

His Sweater - Koganegawa x Reader

Pairing: Koganegawa x f!reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: none

Summary: Y/n tends to be attracted to quiet, calm, and caring guys. But she ends up falling for Koganegawa and it involves a soda, a mop and a sweater - and maybe a few laps around the track.

Words: 2,139

Additional Characters: Futakuchi, Aone, Moniwa, Sakunami, Obara, Kamasaki, Nametsu, Akaashi (mentioned) (how did he get there? lol. jk)

Author's notes: This is a matchup story for an anon. I hope you like it. The matchup description is at the end of the story. This is also for the HQC monthly prompt event, using the Sweater Weather prompt.

*****

"Wait for me, senpai!!!!" a tall boy with blond hair yelled out, dashing into the convenience store. Y/n felt a breeze as she heard the bell jingle from the entrance door.

Y/n shivered, having recently left the store. The sky was already getting dark when basketball practice finished but now it casted an orange hue over the neighbourhood. As she put on her green blazer for the first time in a while, she recalled a moment back when she lived in Tokyo.

“Do you want my sweater?” Akaashi asked her classmate in junior high. That was when Y/n learned how calm and caring he was - and unknowingly started to have a crush on him. But then she moved to Miyagi so her crush was short-lived. She didn’t mind though. She was hopeful there would be other guys like him.

“Y/N!!!” the same tall boy chased after her, leaving the convenience store. Y/n flinched at his loud voice and almost had an urge to run away. She felt that would be too mean. But it was a little scary to have a 6’3” male teenager running at full speed towards her. She didn’t know him, but his uniform indicated they went to the same school. “Do you play League of Legends?”

Y/n blinked a couple of times before she gave a slow nod. Was he from another class?

Koganegawa, she later learned his name, beamed with excitement as he waved down the other members of the volleyball team. “Sakunami! You’re right! She does play!”

Y/n froze as the crowd came towards her, carrying various drinks. She was able to make out a slushy and a carton of milk but wasn't sure about the rest. She tried her best to give a polite smile, hoping they didn’t notice how awkward she was acting. She didn't mix well with large crowds.

“Are you really good?” Koganegawa continued.

“I’m not that good,” she replied, playing with her fingers, “but I know my way around the game.”

“Guys!” he waved at his team, “Y/n’s really good!” Y/n giggled at how he decided to interpret her words. “When we play together, we keep losing,” Koganegawa said with a frown, “so could you carry us?!”

She stared at Koganegawa’s large frame, then at his teammates of equivalent stature. Although she knew he didn’t mean to literally carry them, she couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of trying to do so. It didn’t help that Koganegawa was so earnest in his request and was currently flustered as to why she was laughing so much.

“I can try my best to lead the team,” she replied. “Although, I don’t know if I’m good enough compared to the rest of you.”

Koganegawa got excited by her response - a little too excited. To the point where he forgot he was holding his drink when his arms shot up.

So his soda ended up on her blazer.

“ACKK!!!” Koganegawa panicked. “I’m so sorry!” He rummaged through his bag, but because he was too flustered, nothing useful came out. (His towel just happened to be with their manager for a wash.)

“It’s okay,” Y/n smiled. “Don’t worry about it. It was an accident.”

Koganegawa couldn’t believe how easily she forgave him. If it was someone like Futakuchi or Moniwa, he would have been scolded for sure. The two of them did end up nagging him anyway, witnessing the whole thing.

Y/n removed her wet blazer. It wouldn’t take long for her to get home to wash it. But she felt a shiver run up her back, forgetting how late it was getting.

“Do you want my sweater?” Koganegawa asked after receiving a bonk on the head from Moniwa.

Y/n stared at the sweater he held out to her. She smirked, not expecting that her memory of Akaashi would be replaced by a comedic introduction from Koganegawa.

*****

After a few months, because of various reasons like school, sports and conflicting schedules, Y/n was finally able to play League with Koganegawa and his friends. He still greeted her during those months whenever they saw each other in the hallway. It was a little jarring to hear him shout her name loud enough for the whole school to hear, but she eventually got used to it

It turned out that Koganegawa didn’t really know what “carry” meant. He just heard the term being used a lot to refer to someone who was experienced with the game.

“So there’s AP carry and there’s AD carry,” Y/n explained. Koganegawa eagerly nodded, showing he was paying attention. So Y/n started to continue but was interrupted by Futakuchi.

“Don’t let him fool you,” Futakuchi mentioned, his arm leaning on the door frame of the classroom. “Just because he’s listening, it doesn’t mean he actually understood.”

Y/n smiled. “I don’t mind teaching him. He’s eager to learn so why not?”

Aone, from behind Futakuchi, indicated they needed to head for practice. “You’d better hurry up,” Futakuchi told Koganegawa. “Otherwise you’ll be late.”

“Yes sir!” Koganegawa replied. “If I'm late, I'll run 100 laps around the track!”

“Uh… no,” Futakuchi sweatdropped. “You don’t have to do that.” But looking at Koganegawa’s face, he sighed. “Ugh, but if you do, at least limit it to twenty, okay?” Aone nodded in agreement.

“Yes sir!” Koganegawa dashed between the desks while pushing his mop.

Y/n and Koganegawa were assigned on clean up duty that day. He was happy to be paired up with someone he knew, not that he would have minded meeting a new person. He liked making friends, which was something Y/n admired about him.

Y/n wiped the chalkboard and looked around trying to recall what else needed to be done. She didn’t want Koganegawa to be late either. She liked volleyball as well as basketball so she understood his eagerness to play.

But as she went to pick up some papers that fell from the teacher’s desk, Koganegawa unintentionally swung the mop towards her and whacked her head. Slightly shaken from the hit, she covered her forehead with her hands, trying to hold back a groan.

“Y/n!!! I’m so sorry!!” Koganegawa yelled out his apology. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m alright,” she told him. Touching her forehead, the growing bump was a little tender but nothing too concerning for her. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be ok-” Suddenly, her eye level shifted. “What are you doing?” Y/n shrieked. Koganegawa picked her up and ran out of the classroom.

He didn't respond to her question but continued to mumble about the nurse's office as if it would help him get there faster.

"Nurse Joy!" he yelled, sliding the door open. It was empty.

"I'm okay," Y/n told him again. She didn't feel any dizziness from the mop but she might have from the run. She didn't want to worry him with that information though.

The two of them decided to wait for the nurse. They were hopeful she would come back soon. But she instead returned an hour later, which made Koganegawa miss his practice. He was a little sad, but prepared himself to run his laps around the track.

“Didn’t Futakuchi say you didn’t have to do it?” Y/n asked. "Besides, it was the nurse's fault that you were late. And you didn't have to wait with me."

"No," he was adamant. "I'm going to run! I need to be a man of my word!"

Y/n, a little stunned, didn't expect Koganegawa to be firm about something like that. From her previous impressions of him, she thought he was naive and clumsy. But to think under all of that, he was a guy of integrity, even for something as small as this. "If you can't be loyal with the little things, you can't be trusted with the big things," she repeated the thought in her head.

Y/n's hands moved to cover her cheeks as if they would help cool them down. She knew this feeling and smiled. She didn't mind if it was someone like Koganegawa, realizing how caring he was.

After leaving the nurse's office, he ran the track. She watched.

He didn't ask her to watch. He probably didn't even notice she was there, expecting her to have gone home by now. He lent her his sweater, saying he wouldn't need it anyway with all the running. But she stuck with him. She wanted to be there to support him when he got tired and to encourage him to keep going when he wanted to give up.

After twenty laps around the track, he panted with arms hanging. Y/n, wearing his sweater, handed a water bottle to him.

"Kogane," she said his nickname, cheeks heating up. "You did well."

*****

“Here, senpai! You can use my sweater!” Koganegawa told Nametsu.

Y/n started visiting their practice matches a few weeks ago. Koganegawa was always happy whenever someone came to watch. But she wondered if she held any significance to him. It seemed like it didn't matter whom he was with. He was always eager to be around anyone because he was a sweet and outgoing guy. So looking at the sweater Nametsu wore, she shouldn’t have been surprised by his gesture. But the knot in her stomach wasn’t there when Akaashi lent his sweater to her classmate. Why was this different? She sighed, knowing why.

It didn’t help that Koganegawa got shy around her recently. He was probably avoiding her but she tried to be optimistic by thinking he was just shy. But there was no reason for him to be shy. “Koganegawa” and “shy” didn’t go together. Shy was a word meant for her.

At first she tried to be very gentle and patient with him, but he would freeze up. It also didn’t help when she covered his hand with hers, trying to show she cared about him. That resulted in him avoiding her for the following 24 hours.

Who was she kidding? He was avoiding her and she didn’t know how to fix it. All she was stuck doing was to watch Koganegawa show kindness to his manager and having unpleasant feelings about it.

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous,” Futakuchi asked Y/n from behind.

Obara closed his water bottle and said, “If you wanted to cheer her up, you should have just told her Koganegawa likes her.”

Aone grunted to show his agreement.

��Why are you on his side?” Futakuchi asked Aone.

Moniwa placed his hand on Y/n shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he told her, “He definitely likes you.”

“Yeah, could he be more obvious?” laughed Kamasaki.

Y/n turned her head, her eyes finding Koganegawa’s. He quickly looked away, then stole a glance at Y/n before fixing his eyes on the ground. Y/n watched as the redness from his neck rose up to his cheeks.

“Why did you think he’s been so shy around you lately,” Sakunami added. So that was why. He really was just shy. Y/n felt silly for being so blind to it.

Koganegawa’s blush finally reached the top of his head. And then he ran. “Why did you tell her???” he cried out as he exited the gym.

Out of instinct, Y/n ran after him. She wanted to make sure he was okay after his teammates spilled out his feelings for her. She saw him at a distance down the hallway. Koganegawa came to a halt, causing Y/n to flinch and stop as well. Then he started rushing back towards her.

“I don’t hate you Y/n!” he cried out, once he was in front of her.

“What?”

“I didn’t want you to think I ran away because I hate you.”

“I knew that already,” Y/n laughed.

Koganegawa gave a sigh of relief. “Okay. Because I definitely don’t hate you. I-,” he started getting red again, “I actually like you.”

Even though Y/n heard it from his teammates, it was different hearing it from his own mouth. This just made it all the more real. She nodded, showing that she liked him too.

“C- can I kiss you?”

Y/n’s eyes shot open at his sudden request. His confession was already a lot to take in. But with hope filled in his eyes, she didn’t have the heart to say no.

It was wet and sloppy, which she found kind of funny, but she didn’t care because it was from him.

He looked at her expectantly, wondering if he did a good job. She didn't know how to react. So all she was able to say was, “I don’t know what to do with you,” burying her face in her hands.

“I’m sorry! I’ll do better next time!”

*****

I hope you liked it. I actually cringed at this fic but didn't want to change it. LOL. If you liked this one, you'll probably like my Shibayama x reader one-shot because it has a similar feel to this one. :) Or maybe my Kyoutani x reader one-shot, which is my latest one before this fic.

Taglist: @dorkyama @the-black-birb @hqprotectionsquad @nagichi-kenma @moonaaluna @muffins-puffins & @kingkags (for this fic) (let me know if you want to be added or removed)

*****

Matchup description from Anonymous:

hello! may i request a matchup? i’m a 5’7 & heterosexual female who is very introverted and bashful. i have dark skin with black eyes and long, black hair that i normally wear in a ponytail. i also wear glasses. i have an infj-t personality type. i tend to avoid large crowds a lot since i can be quite awkward when talking to people sometimes. but, i’m a pretty happy & kind person that cares about others & tries to cheer people up if they’re feeling sad. (part 1) 🦑🦑

i’m also a pretty smart & hardworking person that is optimistic about the future. my zodiac sign is pisces & my hogwarts house is hufflepuff, which is accurate for a friendly & forgiving person like me. i enjoy playing video games & rhythm games, writing, reading, watching anime & memes, sleeping, & eating food in my free time. i also enjoy playing basketball and volleyball in my free time too. however, i mainly play video games like splatoon & league of legends since games are fun. (pt 2) 🦑🦑

i tend to be attracted to people who are quiet, calm, caring, & aren’t afraid to stand up for what they believe in. i’m also attracted to people who are taller than me and have similar interests as me. but, i’m fine with being with anyone since opposites can attract! in a relationship, i would be very loyal to my lover and would never leave them for someone else. i would be very gentle and patient with giving affection just in case my lover is just as shy as me. thank you! (pt 3) 🦑🦑

[embeanwrites]

Finding Home Gavin Reed x Reader

Chapter 11

Masterlist

The week went by slowly. I met up with my dad and Connor for dinner a couple times, but I mainly sat in my office grinding out my lesson plans. Nines stopped visiting during lunch and I hadn’t heard from Gavin either. Connor had messaged me a few times to ask to hang out and I felt bad blowing him off, but I just wasn’t in the mood.

I was sitting at my desk with my feet up scrolling through social media. It was Friday and I’d been killing myself getting everything done for my class. I still had a week left before class started and I desperately needed the distraction. My work phone started ringing.

“Hello, this is Dr. (L/n). How can I help you?”

“Hello, (Y/n). This is Nines.”

“Oh! Hi Nines, what can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if you had plans for dinner tonight. I haven’t been able to get away for lunch, but I wanted to continue our conversations.”

“Sure, where should I meet you?”

“Wine & Bread, in about an hour?”

“Sounds good. See you then.” I hung up the phone. I looked up the menu. This place looked fairly fancy. Had Nines asked me on a date? I sighed and closed the menu. I leaned my head back and decided to text Tina.

 How’s work been?

 Ask what you really wanna ask (Y/n) lol

 I think Nines just asked me out and I’m very confused lol

 Eh, he probably just didn’t understand the context. I wouldn’t worry about it.

Oh hey! Before I forget I have something important to ask you…

 Oh no I’m nervous, Tina

 Well, I told you before you moved back that me and Valerie are getting married in October…I was hoping you’d be my maid of honor…I know it’s a little close to the wedding to ask, but I wanted to make sure you were moving back for real before asking.

 Tina! Of course! I’m so touched you’d even ask me! You’re gonna make me cry!

 Yay!!! Are you busy on Sunday??? I was gonna go try on suits by myself, but it’ll be more fun if you came!!

 I’d love to! Text me the deets and I’ll be there!

Wait! Tina! What do I do about tonight?!?!

 Go and have fun! Nines and Connor both get paid and don’t have to eat so take advantage of the free expensive food!

 Wow, you should quit being a police officer and become a philosopher

 Hardy har har, (Y/n). I’ve got to run, but I’ll see you Sunday! (Text me what happens tonight!)

 See ya! (Depends on how horrible it goes!)

 I smiled and stood up and stretched. There was still a decent chunk of time before I would need to leave for the restaurant. I decided to move some of my decorations around, mainly focusing on the mess that was my bookshelf. I had made the decision to hang up my degrees on the wall across from the door, so it would be the first thing people would see. It made me feel a bit like an asshole, but after what happened at the precinct, I wanted to prove to anyone who walked into my office that I did know what I was talking about.

Again, my office phone went off.

“Hello, this is Dr. (L/n).” I answered, sitting on my desk instead of my chair.

“Well, Dr. (L/n), tell me why I had to learn from someone else that you had moved back to Detroit.” I laughed.

“Hello to you too, Elijah! I’ve been busy trying to get my class ready. I was going to reach out eventually.”

“For your research, of course.” He said with a chuckle.

“Oh, come on, don’t be like that! Obviously, I was going to take advantage of the fact you have your own pool!” I giggled.

“Hmm of course. Are you busy tonight? I was wondering if we could catch up.”

“I am, sorry. I have a…” What do I even call what was going to happen tonight? “meeting tonight with one of dad’s colleagues. Are you busy tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow, works. Come by around 1? I can send you my address.”

“That sounds great, see you then Elijah!” I hung up the phone and laughed to myself. Elijah had always been a huge flirt. We had met while I was in grad school, I had been too tenacious in trying to find information for my research thesis at Cyberlife. I had caught his attention, apparently in more ways than one, as I had turned him down a couple times, citing the ethical restrictions on our relationship because of my research. But I wasn’t in grad school anmore. Smiling, I finished working on my office and headed to the restaurant.

 “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I heard as the hostess led me to a table. Instead of Nines waiting on me, it was Gavin. The hostess looked back at me and I gave her a shaky smile as I sat across from him.

“Where’s Nines?” I asked him, looking around, not wanting to cause a scene. 

“I could ask you the same thing, pipsqueak. I’m going to call him.” Gavin grumbled. I nodded. I looked down at the menu, realizing we probably weren’t going to eat here. I dug through my bag looking for a ten-dollar bill I could give the waitress for taking one of her tables. “Nines what did you do?” I couldn’t hear Nines through the phone, but Gavin looked pissed. “I have not been moping! Whatever, don’t do this again.” He hung up and sighed. “Him and Connor planned this. Said they were both sick of us moping around.” He pitched his voice up, mocking his android partner, and air quoting ‘moping around.’

“What! I haven’t been moping!” Connor didn’t seem like the meddling type, and he knows I’m still pissed at Gavin. 

“Yeah, neither have I.” I sighed, setting the money on the table and getting up. “Sorry for wasting both of our time.”

“Wait! I mean…” He looked down at his empty place setting. “We’re already here and I’m starving.” He glanced up at me. I nodded curtly and sat back down. He picked up the money and handed it back to me. I took it back and put it in my purse. If I wanted to get through this night in one piece, I knew I was going to have to swallow my pride and apologize to Gavin first. 

“Hey, Detective Reed…I’m sorry for last week. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”

“What happened to ‘Gavin,’ pipsqueak?” He asked with a smirk.

“I…I just figured you were angry with me still so being more formal would be better.” I started flipping through the menu, noting how expensive everything seemed to be. “Wow, this place is so fancy. Why were you meeting Nines here?”

“He told me one of our suspects was going to be here and it would be easier to listen in on them in the restaurant instead of outside with mics. How did he trick you, miss professor?”

“He told me he wanted to have another conversation about sociology.” Gavin laughed loudly.

“And you didn’t think anything strange about meeting an android at a restaurant?” My face immediately felt like it was on fire.

“Look, it’s been a long week. I just figured…” I started laughing, which seemed to startle Gavin. “I don’t know what I was thinking! I even told Tina how weird it seemed. Oh my god, I can’t believe I thought he’d asked me on a date.” 

Before Gavin could comment, the waitress returned with a bottle of prosecco. 

"Here’s the bottle requested when you made your reservation, sir.” She informed Gavin, neither of us bothered to correct her while she poured each of us a glass and then nestled the bottle into the ice bucket on the side of the table. We gave her our orders, I wanted the pan seared scallops and asparagus, Gavin was a little more simple - a ribeye steak medium rare with garlic rosemary mashed potatoes.

“Wait, did you want to go on a date with the Tin Can?” Gavin raised his eyebrows as he took a drink of the prosecco and made a sour face.

“No, I was just really confused! I haven’t seen him in like a week.”

“Yes, you have. He’s been going to your office like every day.”

“Ah no, he hasn’t. I think I would know if he had been in my office.” Gavin covered his face with his hands and groaned, before he dragged them down he rested his elbows on the table, staring down at his hands as he brought them together. 

“Him and Connor must have been planning this for a while.” An awkward silence fell over both of us.

“Is the prosecco good?” I took a sip and immediately started coughing. Gavin started laughing.

“It’s shit.” He waved over the waitress. “Can we get a couple glasses of Jameson on the rocks?” She nodded and walked away. Gavin sighed and looked away from me, he ran his hand through his hair nervously. “Hey, I also owe you an apology for being all pissy in that meeting.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“I would’ve gone with ‘asshole,’ but pissy works too.” We both chuckle.

“Your laugh is cute.” Gavin said softly, making me blush and look down nervously. The waitress dropped off the two glasses of Jameson and our food. “Well, here’s to nosey androids.” He held up his glass.

“To nosey androids.” I raised my glass with him.

 Dinner went surprisingly well, Gavin could be funny when he wasn’t making fun of androids. He also insisted on paying for dinner and driving me home. We started walking to his car which was parked a block away. He lit a cigarette while we were walking.

“You know, smoking kills.” I said bumping my shoulder into his arm.

“Did you get your PhD just so you could tell badass detectives what they should and shouldn’t do?” He joked, but he flicked the cigarette away.

“My dad didn’t tell you? That’s literally the only reason. I’m just here to order you all around.” He stared straight faced at me for a moment, before he loosed a loud 'Ha!' his eyes crinkling around a toothy grin that lit up his whole face. He looked really handsome when he wasn’t scowling or being rude. “Hey, I had fun tonight. Even if it was a trap.”

“Yeah I had fun too, pipsqueak.” We both got in his jeep. He started the car but stayed parked.

“Oh! Here’s my address, I forgot you haven’t been there, yet.”

“Do you want to come over and see the cats again?” I smiled and looked at my phone, it was getting pretty late.

“I’d love to, but I have plans tomorrow and I have some work I need to get done beforehand.” He nodded and started backing up.

“What are you doing tomorrow that’s more important than hanging out with the best detective in Detroit and his three awesome cats?” I laughed as he drove.

“First off, I’m pretty sure Connor could give you a run for your money. One of my contacts from my grad school research lives just outside Detroit and he invited me over to catch up. He would flirt with me more than he’d give me actual information I could use. He’s ridiculous.” I said while laughing. Gavin’s lips were in a tight line.

“Who is it? Or is that like some ethics thing?”

“He’s not active in my research anymore, so I think it’s fine to talk about it. It’s Elijah Kamski, the old CEO of Cyberlife.” I looked over at Gavin with a smile, which quickly faded. Just like last Friday, he was clenching his jaw and he was gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were turning white.

“That’s crazy.” He said through his teeth. Fuck, this is just like back in my office. He does have some kind of problem with either Cyberlife or Eli.

“Yeah…I never took him seriously. Eli’s…ridiculous.”

“Eli.”

“Yeah, that’s his name Elijah Kamski. Eli is short for Elijah.” I said jokingly. Gavin didn’t respond. I kept glancing at him and back at the road. We were only a few minutes away from my apartment, if I didn’t fix this soon, it would be another bad interaction between us. I wanted to fix this because I wanted to stay friends with Nines and Tina thinks there could be something between us. Gavin looked really handsome tonight and was actually pretty nice up until now. “Gavin, I- “

“You should take him up on it. You two probably have a lot in common. Both of you just love androids.” He snapped, pulling into the parking lot.

“I don’t like him like that.” I said softly as he pulled into a spot. “Gavin, I don’t know what I keep doing wrong and I’m going to keep making the same mistakes if you don’t talk to me.”

“Why don’t you ask Eli in between him trying to impress you?” He glared at me.

“Fine Gavin. Maybe I will.” I stepped out of his car. “Gavin, I had fun tonight, before this mess. I wish you weren’t holding something that I don’t even understand against me. Yeah, I think androids deserve equal rights, but you keep acting like you like me and I think I like you too.” I took a deep breath. “But I can’t be with someone who won’t talk to me and won’t tell me what’s going on. So, I guess if you ever get over whatever this is, you know where to find me.” I slammed the car door and hurried towards the lobby, willing myself to not cry until I was in my apartment.

 It was a trick. Nines and Connor set me and Gavin up. Wasn’t good. I’ll see you Sunday.

 I texted Tina on the way up to my apartment. I fumbled with my keys for a moment, before pushing the door open, kicking it shut with my foot and immediately plopping onto the couch. I absentmindedly brought my hand to mouth and bit my nails and worried at the skin around them, an anxious tic, while I tried to think up a firm but appreciative text to send to Connor.

 Connor, I appreciate you trying to help Gavin with me. It’s not going to work, and I really need you and Nines to stop pushing us together. I’m not mad I promise, but tonight didn’t end well.

 I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. I looked back at my phone and bit my lip. I wanted to call someone, anyone to talk to. Tina was probably busy, and Connor wouldn’t really understand. I also didn’t want my dad to get mad at Connor or Gavin. I leaned back on my couch but sat back up as my phone vibrated. For a second, my heart believed it may be Gavin explaining or apologizing, but it was just Connor.

 I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. Do you want to come over?

 Maybe some other time. I think I’m just going to go to bed.

 I stood up and walked to my bedroom. Throwing my phone onto my pillow I got ready to take a shower. Today just needed to be over.

[inyournightmares97]

Chocolate Eyes

You return home to find that the man you once loved has become a violent criminal, your mother is sick and your beloved little brother hates you. It’s hard to decide what is right and wrong. But at the end of day, we’re all just trying to protect the people we love. 

Word Count: 19.5k 

Warnings: Language, angst, dark topics. The reader has dark brown eyes since this is a birthday gift for Aia, but as always there are no other physical descriptions. (This is a revamp/continuation of a fic I abandoned for another group long ago. That one was barely 8k though lol.) 

Note: Happy Birthday, Aia! This is a birthday present for @ijustwantacue although I don’t know how appropriate it is since it’s filled to the brim with angst lol. I still hope that you enjoy it and have a great day! 

“Homework?” you asked cheerfully, tapping on Jaebum’s desk.

The handsome boy had a large pair of headphones over his ears and his eyes were closed as he bounced his head to the music. He hadn’t noticed you tapping on the desk. It was only when you poked Jaebum’s shoulder that he opened his eyes and reluctantly pulled the headphones down to rest around his neck.

“Huh?” he asked.

You smiled at him playfully. “Homework, genius. I’ve called you five times now. Please tell me you did it.”

Jaebum raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“Why? Want to copy off me?”

“Fat chance. I did my own homework. I just wanted to cross check my answers because Mrs. Lee said she’s grading the assignment. But if you haven’t even done it…” you trailed off, giving him a smug look.

You couldn’t wait to hear Jaebum admit that he hadn’t done his homework.  The two of you were the smartest students in the class. Admittedly, Jaebum’s intelligence was of a more natural and God-given nature while you worked much harder for your own grades. Both of you still maintained a friendly competition.

“I did do it,” Jaebum replied. He pulled out a slightly crumpled folder from his bag and handed it to you. Then he leaned forward to watch while your sharp eyes flitted across his homework. “Noticed what you did wrong, yet?” he teased.

You stuck your tongue out at him. “We have the same answers, idiot. Although… wait, what’s this?”

Jaebum cleared his throat and covered a page filled with messy scribbles. “Ah- sorry, that’s not part of the homework. I was just writing down ideas for some music I’m trying to compose. There’s an underground dance battle behind the railway tracks. Jackson Wang keeps challenging me. I’m planning to whoop his ass.”

You handed the homework file back to him. “Well, I don’t know much about dance but you should probably write your ideas down more neatly so that you can actually make sense of them later. Besides. What does it matter? Hip-hop music all sounds the same.”

You knew that Jaebum was an amazing dancer and b-boy. He often performed during school talent shows and other events. He was incredibly talented, the entire school knew this, but you’d never really seen him in his element at the underground battles.

Jaebum rolled his eyes. “You just don’t understand hip-hop music.”

“Maybe I don’t.”

“It’s really amazing. The beats, the music and the dance all come together like magic. You should come watch one of the underground battles. Do you want to come with me today? It’ll be a great time.���

You hesitated. Part of you really wanted to go with Jaebum. He was interesting and funny so you loved spending time with him. As much as you hated to admit it, you had a huge crush on your handsome classmate. But you had never been to anything like an underground rap battle before and the idea scared you a little.

“I don’t know…” you trailed off.

“You don’t have to,” Jaebum reassured you.

“It just sounds kind of scary.”

He chuckled. “It’s not. I mean, it’s technically illegal but… the guys there are friendly and everything. It’s not the mess of drunken rowdiness you’re probably imagining. Most of those guys are really talented; and there are girls too. You should see this girl called Momo, they say she’s the queen-“

“I wasn’t imagining drunk rowdiness!” you protested, flushing.

Jaebum grinned, his rare and handsome smile leaving you speechless. “Yeah, right. Come on. One time? I promise I’ll stay beside you the entire time.”

You bit your lip and then nodded. “Okay.”

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

You hitched your backpack up on your shoulder as you approached the house.

It had only been two years since you’d last been home. Somehow, the rickety house looked older and more dilapidated than ever. Paint was peeling off the outer walls and there was dirt everywhere. Your throat clenched uncomfortably.

What happened to this place? It looked almost uninhabited. Your hands trembled as you pushed open the slightly rusting gate and stepped onto the front porch.

“Mom? Are you here?” you called out. The front door was unlocked and you entered the messy and silent house. The living room had a stale and dusty smell. You hurried further inside to find your mother in her bedroom. The older woman was lying back in bed with the covers tucked firmly around her chest.

You breathed a sigh of relief. “Mom! I’m home!” you announced with a teary-eyed laugh.

Your mother smiled at you weakly. “Ah, darling. I was waiting for you. I’m sorry I can’t get up. I have a bit of a fever…” she apologized while she hugged you back gently. Her arms felt surprisingly frail and her grip around you was weak. “How are you, darling? How’s college going for you?”

You smiled. “It’s going fine.”

“You’re not struggling too much, are you?” she pressed.

“I’m fine,” you reassured her. You glanced around the room. It wasn’t very clean and you wondered how your ordinarily picky mother had allowed the house to fall into such a condition. You looked down at your sunken-eyed mother and gave her a small smile. Never mind. It wasn’t the time to get into such things. You could do a little bit of cleaning around the house if your mother was ill. 

“Have you eaten? Should I make dinner?” you offered.

“No, darling, you don’t have to cook-“

“I don’t mind. You rest. I’ll get started on dinner.”

You dropped your bags on the bedroom floor and then hurried into the kitchen. The refrigerator was making an odd noise but you pulled it open anyway and frowned. There wasn’t much in here for you to work with. You managed to lay your hands on some meat in the freezer rack and flipped it over to check an expiration date.

“Mom, where’s Yugyeom?” you called out loudly. “Is he still at school? Shouldn’t he have a holiday today?”

Your mother’s weak voice replied from the bedroom. “I don’t know darling. He’s usually not home at this time.”

“I messaged the idiot to pick me up at the station but he never came. I had to take the bus all the way back here with my luggage,” you complained.

You pulled your cell-phone out of your pocket and dialed your younger brother’s number, waiting as the phone rang repeatedly. There was no response. You put the phone back while you set the frozen meat on the counter.

Idiot. Where could Yugyeom have gone when he knew I was coming home today?   

You finished making dinner and called Yugyeom a few more times while you unpacked in your old bedroom. There was a lot of dust everywhere. You ended up having to clean most of the first floor in the process. How had your mother and brother allowed the house to get so messy? You collected an enormous pile of dirty laundry that you would have to do before you went to bed tonight. They were so careless.

It was slowly getting dark and Yugyeom still wasn’t home. Your mother didn’t seem worried so you decided not to comment on your brother’s absence. All the same, you couldn’t help but feel a little bit hurt. What was more important to Yugyeom than his sister who hadn’t been home in about two years? Couldn’t he even come and say hello to you?

“Was it tasty?” you asked your mother as you watched her eat the soup. “My roommate is from Busan and she taught me the recipe. You can make it with almost no ingredients. It’s nice, right?”

Your mother smiled gently. “It’s wonderful, dear.”

“Does Yugyeom not turn up for dinner often? I made enough for him. He used to love my cooking.”

“He stays out late with some friends of his,” your mother replied with a light hum as she spooned more soup into her mouth. She gave you a weak smile. “He’ll be fine. They’re nice boys.”

You nodded, resisting the urge to yawn. It had been a long day and you had been travelling for most of the morning, not to mention you’d cleaned the entire house and cooked. You were dying to go to bed. On your way upstairs you glanced at the clock.

It was almost 11 pm. Surely Yugyeom wouldn’t come home at this time? Maybe he was going to spend the night with a friend.

You hesitated for a short moment before locking up the house and going to bed.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

You found yourself sticking close to Jaebum as you both  approached the old, abandoned railway tracks. The underground dance battles apparently weren’t physically underground (you had honestly imagined a dilapidated old subway station or something along those lines) but they were actually held out in the open behind the old railway tracks that had long been out of service.

There were a lot of people around. some of them looked perfectly normal like you and Jaebum, while others were a little more intimidating.

“See?” Jaebum asked, leaning down to speak to you. He let you hold on to his arm without commenting on how tight your grip was. “Not scary, right?”

“I guess not,” you admitted as you watched some dude set up speakers and microphones on the makeshift stage. The dance battles were often followed by hip-hop music and rap battles. “You don’t have permission to use this space, right?””

“Of course we don’t. It’s trespassing.”

“So what if the police come? Then what do we do?”

Jaebum gave you a cheeky grin and leaned down to whisper in your ear.

“...We run for it.”

His husky whisper sent a shiver down your spine. You had to try not to blush. Instead, you reached out and smacked his shoulder. Jaebum only laughed playfully and dodged your hit before reaching for your hand and pulling you further into the crowd.

“Come on, we should go find some friendly faces. My friends are over there, I’ll introduce you; Jackson Wang! Park Jinyoung!” he yelled out loudly.

A pair of guys waved at him and you followed Jaebum silently. You hadn’t been sure what his friends would be like, but they both appeared to be perfectly normal. Well, perhaps not completely. Jinyoung looked normal. Jackson Wang was extremely muscular and had a slightly stupid grin on his face as soon as he spotted you and Jaebum.

“JB! Hey, what took you so long? I told you some of the older guys were performing today, you totally missed them!”

Jaebum chuckled. “Sorry, man.”

“JB?” you wondered quietly. Jaebum turned to glance at you and his cheeks turned slightly pink at the way your head tilted curiously. “Who’s JB?”

“Uh, it’s my b-boy name,” he muttered. “Short for Jaebum, you know.”

You couldn’t help but let out a snigger. You had never heard anything less creative.

“JB?” you demanded. “Who’s genius idea was that? Couldn’t you have come up with something more unique?”

Jinyoung smiled and reached out to shake your hand in a friendly manner. “Hey, I like her. She has the right attitude for this place. Nice to meet you, I’m Jinyoung and this is Jackson but he likes to go by J-Flawless around here. Are you a dancer too?” he asked curiously.

You flushed. “What? Oh no, I can’t dance at all. I’m just here to watch.”

“She’s my classmate,” Jaebum explained lightly. He suddenly remembered that he was holding your hand and tried to drop it casually, but Jinyoung’s sharp eyes missed nothing. The man blinked in a slightly confused manner before narrowing down on your face. You felt almost naked as Jinyoung's sharp eyes scanned you.  After a few seconds, he let out a small cackle of laughter.

“Oh my God! Jaebum, you can’t be serious!” Jinyoung cried. “This is Chocolate Eyes, isn’t it?”

Jaebum flushed. “Shut up.”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t performed it for her!” Jackson pressed with a cheerful grin. You blinked at Jackson when he turned to you firmly. “Haven’t you heard Jaebum’s Chocolate Eyes song?” he demanded.

You glanced at Jaebum uncertainly. “Uh…. I haven’t heard a lot of his songs to be honest… what’s so special about Chocolate Eyes?”

“It’s probably the cheesiest shit he’s ever written. Which is a lot because most of his lyrics are ‘fuck the society’ or innuendos about the size of his dick. Except you see, this one is about a girl with chocolate-colored eyes and the lyrics are literally twenty or so lines about how pretty the color of this girl’s eyes are so it’s some embarrassing shit.” He turned and grinned at Jaebum. “I would have thought you would-“

“Hey! Would you look at that? Someone is going on stage!” Jaebum cut him off quickly.

You had to admit that the dance battles were a lot of fun. It was loud and the crowd went wild with each dazzling move, especially when the more experienced dancers went up on stage. You had been waiting for Jaebum to go up as well, but he shyly admitted to you that he wasn’t really prepared to go on stage that day and that he’d perform some other time.

You also found that Jinyoung and Jackson (or J-Flawless, as he requested you call him during dance battles) were a lot of fun. Jinyoung was a little cheeky and kept addressing you  as Chocolate Eyes which left you a little flustered, but Jackson was extremely nice and friendly and kept talking to you. By the time you realized that it was past your curfew, you almost didn’t want to leave.

“It wasn’t as scary as you thought, right?” Jaebum asked as you both walked back after the event.

It was past your curfew but you’d called your little brother and told him to cover for you with your parents. Yugyeom had whined about being asked to do such a thing. Still, he eventually agreed to lie on your behalf.

It was dark as you walked back, and the street was relatively quiet.

“It was really interesting,” you admitted shyly. “I never knew hip-hop and dance could be so cool. And your friends were really fun. I don’t get why Jinyoung kept calling me Chocolate Eyes, though… and whatever he said about a song you wrote…” you trailed off, hoping he would explain it to you.

Jaebum flushed and he shoved his hands in his pockets as he stared down at the ground. “I-uh- it’s just a stupid song that I wrote. I wanted to try writing something romantic for once to challenge myself, so… I guess I just looked for inspiration wherever I could find it.”

“Will you show it to me?” you asked.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

He took a deep breath and turned to look at you with a sudden intensity that made your spine tingle.

”Because Jinyoung is right. Chocolate Eyes is about you.”

There was a brief pause before you both stopped walking and turned to look at each other. Jaebum was looking down at you so gently. He lifted a hand and gently stroked the side of your face with a rough thumb as his lips curved into a shy smile.

“Your eyes really are the color of dark chocolate,” he explained quietly. “And I kept thinking about how beautiful they are and how much I like when you look at me like that.”

Your breath hitched. “Like what?” you whispered.

“That.” He leaned down and kissed you, your lips pressing together sweetly and hesitantly. You wrapped your arms around his neck to pull him down closer so you could kiss him harder. Something about the sudden embrace was both exciting and still safe. Jaebum always made you feel safe.

The two of you pulled away breathlessly after a few moments, foreheads still pressed together.

“But the lyrics are complete shit because I couldn’t find the right words for them. I couldn’t find the right words for you,” Jaebum whispered against your lips.  

“Words are overrated anyway.”

He chuckled. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Kiss me again.”

When you finally managed to pull yourself away from Jaebum and climb into your room through the window, your head was spinning giddily. You had never been as crazy about a guy as you were about Jaebum. You were so busy smiling to yourself stupidly that you almost didn’t notice the boy sitting on your bed.

Yugyeom, had been waiting up for you while clutching his stuffed animal. Really, he was in middle school. He was too old for stuffed animals but Yugyeom had always been a child.

“Noona!” he greeted happily.

You jumped at the sound of his voice. “Hey. You scared me. What are you still doing up? Go to bed.”

“Noona, I covered for you with mom and dad. Aren’t you grateful?” Yugyeom pouted. His mouth spread into a cheeky and lopsided grin as he beamed up at you. “Where did you go, noona? Were you on a date with your boyfriend?” he teased.

You blushed. “Shut up.”

“You were?”

“Nope.” You lowered your voice and shut the bedroom door before beaming at your little brother. “You’ll never guess where noona was today. I went to go see an underground dance battle!”

Yugyeom’s eyes shimmered with excitement. “Wow! What’s that?”

“Go brush your teeth, get under the covers, and I’ll tell you all about it…”

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Somebody started pounding on the door at 2 am.

You awoke suddenly from a deep sleep to the banging noise and your eyes shot open. Who was at the door at this time of night? Heartbeat thudding and adrenaline pumping through you, you paused to grab a knife from the kitchen before slowly approaching the shaking door. You took a deep breath and forced yourself to think straight.

“Who is it?” you yelled over the banging.

The banging stopped.

“Noona?” Yugyeom’s voice demanded through the door. It was much deeper than you remembered but it was still unmistakably your little brother. Relieved, you let the kitchen knife fall to your side. Yugyeom sounded annoyed and banged a couple more times. “Fuck, noona, why did you lock the door? Open up!”  

You hurried to remove the deadbolts and swung the door open. Part of you was positive that Yugyeom must be drunk; he probably went out drinking with his friends, why else would he come back home at this absurd hour and make such a scene? You couldn’t believe that your innocent little brother was drinking underage. You were just getting ready to scold him when your eyes adjusted to the darkness and you saw what was in front of you properly.

There were two men on the porch. Both were tall but Yugyeom was more so. Your brother was clutching onto the shorter man as if he couldn’t stand properly, half bent over while bruises littered his pale skin. Yugyeom’s lip was bleeding and swollen and there was a large graze on his forehead that was dripping blood down the side of his face. He looked like he’d been in a fight.

Your heart dropped into your stomach.

“Oh my God-“ you could barely form words on your lips as Yugyeom silently limped into the front hall and turned on the light. There was blood on his clothes. He dropped a tattered backpack in the hallway as he sat down to take off his shoes. “Yugyeom-“

Yugyeom barely looked at you. “Welcome home, noona. Don’t lock the door at night next time.”

Your felt nauseous as you whirled around to look at the other man that was waiting in the doorway. It had been two years since you had last seen him, but you recognized Lim Jaebum immediately. He looked almost the same. Tall, broad shoulders and a sharp angular face. His dark eyes were as intense as ever.

Your blood ran cold.

“Lim Jaebum,” you greeted quietly.

Jaebum looked equally surprised to see you and his mouth fell open for a brief moment before he quickly closed it. You could see his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down his throat as he whispered a gruff response.

“Uh-hi. Welcome back.”

“What the fuck did you do to my brother?” you demanded, feeling your heartbeat race at the sight of a bloodied and bruised Yugyeom sitting on the floor and taking off his dirty sneakers. You whirled around and glared at Jaebum. “How dare you lay your hands on my brother-“

Yugyeom scoffed from his place on the floor. “Don’t be stupid, noona, Jaebum-hyung didn’t beat me up. He brought me back here safely.”

“You shut your mouth, Kim Yugyeom, I’ll deal with you later,” you hissed. Your insides were twisting and turning. What had been happening here while you were gone? Your worst nightmares were coming true and as you looked up at Lim Jaebum, you felt nothing but pure and adulterated anger. He was to blame. He was the one who’d gotten your brother involved in something ugly, you just knew it.

“Get out of my house,” you told Jaebum firmly.

Yugyeom glared at you. “Don’t talk to hyung like that-“

“Get out of my house, Lim Jaebum, and stay the hell away from my family.”

“Hyung, you don’t have to leave-“

Jaebum cut Yugyeom off and gave you a small, polite bow. “It’s fine. I should go. Clean yourself up properly, Yugyeom. I’ll be leaving now.”

He turned around and walked away, not even flinching when you slammed the door shut after him. You locked the deadbolts to be safe and then ran your fingers through your hair as you tried to calm your racing heartbeat. Then you turned to look at Yugyeom.

He was getting up from the floor while glaring at you. Your head spun. Where was your adorable younger brother with the cheeky grin? You didn’t know this strange man standing in front of you and that scared you.

“You shouldn’t have talked to Jaebum-hyung like that,” Yugyeom said coldly.

You stiffened. “Since when is Lim Jaebum your hyung?”

“Since you left.”

“I went to college,” you hissed.

“Well, I hope you had a nice time there,” Yugyeom scoffed before turning around to limp away. He was headed towards the stairs and you called after him angrily.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going? I’m not done with you yet. Sit down here so I can clean you up and we can talk about whatever the hell is going on,” you ordered firmly. There was no way you could let Yugyeom get away with this sort of behaviour. This wasn’t how either of you had been raised. “Do you come home like this often? Do you let our mother see you this way? Does she know that you’re buddies with Lim Jaebum?”

Yugyeom turned and gave you a cold, empty look.

“I can clean up after myself,” he replied dully. “I’ve been doing it for the past year. And as for our mother…In case you haven’t noticed yet, she’s dying.”

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

It was the beginning of your senior year when your father died.

Your mother spent an entire week at home without food, sobbing her eyes out and completely cut off from the world. Yugyeom was too innocent to understand what was going on and he would sit in his mother’s lap and cry along with her, clutching his stuffed animals. You had been left alone; alone to manage the household, alone to comfort your remaining family members, alone to finish your studies.

“My dear,” you teacher said to you quietly, when you turned up to school a mere three days after your father’s death. “You don’t need to come into school yet. Stay with your family. Take a year off if you need to. It’s all right.”

You had stiffened. “I’m fine,” you replied quietly. “I want to graduate this year.”

The only person you allowed yourself to cry in front of was Jaebum. He would come find you every day and you would let yourself break down in front of him, clutching his shirt as you sobbed into his chest and let out all your frustrations. Your father hadn’t just left your family; he had left behind debt and the moneylenders had started sending you messages. You had no idea how to repay them. One of the moneylenders in particular had been sending threatening messages and had even sent goons to your door to frighten you.

“I’m scared,” you sobbed into Jaebum’s chest as he wrapped his arms around you tightly. It was the only place you ever felt safe anymore. “I-I can barely make ends meet with my part time job. Yugyeom had to start working too. How am I going to pay back that money, Jaebum? How am I going to protect my family?”

Jaebum rubbed your back gently as he pressed his face against your hair. “I’ll take care of it,” he promised you quietly. “Baby, I’ll make sure they don’t hurt you. Listen to me. You are going to be fine.”

“I can’t- I can’t handle this, I can’t do it alone-“ you whimpered.

“You’re not alone. I’m here.”

“What are you going to do, Jaebum? What can you possibly do?”

“I’ll do everything I can.”

You fended off the moneylenders with vague promises of paying them back in a few years with interest, although you had no idea how you were going to manage it all. Instead, you dove into your academics. The only way you could ever pay that sort of money back was if you finished her education and got a proper job.

Part-time employment in the local restaurant wouldn’t cut it. You would be in debt for the rest of her life, if you went down that path. You needed to graduate, take out a student loan to go to college and earn a salary figure with a lot of zeros in it. That was the only way you would ever be able to take care of your family.

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

You couldn’t sleep.

You kept tossing and turning in bed, nightmares from the past plaguing you and causing you to wake up in a cold sweat. You finally forced yourself out of bed at dawn and stumbled around the house sleepily. You carefully approached Yugyeom’s room. He had left his door slightly ajar and the sound of his deep snoring drifted out.

You stood there silently for a moment before slowly walking in. Yugyeom was spread across his bed in a clumsy manner, one long leg hanging off the single bed that was now too small for him. He hadn’t cleaned himself up. Dried blood crusted around his lips and forehead. You quietly grabbed a blanket and spread it over your brother before stepping out of the room.

What happened to him? Yugyeom had never been like this. He had been a little innocent and sometimes stupid, but he was always a cheerful boy who found life exciting in general. How had he gotten involved with Lim Jaebum? Why was he coming home at unnatural hours with wounds all over him?

You entered the kitchen before remembering that there was hardly any food in the fridge. You paused and let your head rest in your hands for a few moments as you tried to make sense of what was happening around you. Why was everything such a mess? How had things gone so far downhill just because you’d gone off to college for a few months?

“Darling?” you mother called out weakly from her room. “Darling, are you awake?”

You straightened up and entered your mother’s room quickly, only to find that the older woman was sitting up in bed and coughing. You remembered Yugyeom’s piercing words from last night. As for eomma… she’s dying. You looked at your mother and blinked back the tears that sprang into your eyes. Why hadn’t you noticed her frail body and sunken face before? She didn’t merely have a fever. She was seriously ill.

“Mom,” you whispered softly. You went and sat next to you mother carefully. “Are you hungry? I’ll go down to the grocery store and get some things so I can make breakfast-“

Your mother groaned and sat up. “No, darling, you shouldn’t have to do all the cooking when you’ve just come home. I’ll make something for you-“

“No, lie down. I want to make breakfast. You should rest.”

Your mother sank back into the bed. “Did Yugyeom-ie come home last night?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” she replied, looking relieved. The older woman closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the pillow. “He’s a good kid. He really is. Sometimes he makes mistakes, but he’s a good kid. That Jaebum boy takes care of him  well. He comes and says hi to me sometimes as well. Polite boy.”

Your spine shuddered. “Lim Jaebum comes here often?”

“Hmmm.”

You took a deep breath and pressed a kiss to your mother’s forehead before grabbing your wallet and heading out of the front door to buy groceries. Your head was still spinning. What is Lim Jaebum getting at? Was he really trying to take care of your family or was he planning to drag Yugyeom down with him into a messy life of crime and self-destruction?

You couldn’t believe anything. You didn’t trust Jaebum. You wanted him far away from your family and you were going to make it happen.

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

You bit your lip and twirled the pen absentmindedly between your fingers.

“I can’t figure this one out,” you complained as you scratched out the last few lines of calculations that you had made in the notebook. “I thought I was applying the formulae right but I keep getting this weird number in recurring decimal points when the answer should be a whole number…”

Jaebum leaned towards you, pushing his glasses higher up his nose as he read over your work. You watched his eyes skim over the page. You thought Jaebum was extremely attractive when he wore glasses. He was handsome in general, of course, but you couldn’t take her eyes off him when he took his reading glasses out. It was a pity that he only wore them when the two of you were studying alone.  

“Yup. Wrong formula,” he said after a few seconds, pointing at a particular step in your calculations. “You’re supposed to apply the other one, genius.”

“Ahhh…” you bit her lip and hurried to scribble down the correct formula. “What would I do without you, Jaebum?”

“Don’t kid yourself. You would have wasted five more minutes to figure out your own mistake at worst.”

You smiled at him sweetly. “Well, then, thank you for saving five minutes of my time.”

Jaebum leaned close to you, stroking your cheek with the back of his fingers as he pressed his forehead against yours.

“Since I saved you so much time,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to the corner of your mouth softly. “I think it should be mine, don’t you? Those five minutes belong to me.”

You glanced back at the homework doubtfully. “Jaebum…”

“Shh. It’s just five minutes.” He slanted his mouth over yours delicately, tongue dancing with yours as his strong arms wrapped around you. You whimpered into the kiss. Jaebum’s kisses were addictive; slow and gentle, yet at the same time extremely passionate. You could feel the heat from his lips and the eagerness with which he was kissing you And yet somehow they made you feel safe. Jaebum would pull you into his arms and wrap them around you tightly until you were cocooned into his chest. You loved that more than anything.

“Noona? Noona!”

You both pulled apart rapidly.

“Can you get under the bed?” you hissed as Yugyeom’s loud footsteps came up the stairs. Jaebum sighed but dove under the bed and managed to fit broad shoulders underneath it just as Yugyeom opened the door. You  smiled at your brother sweetly.

“Yugyeom. You’re home.”

Yugyeom smiled back half-heartedly. “Yeah. Work was hard. I hate this part-time job,” he admitted quietly. He gave you a small grin. “Is there anything to eat, noona? I’m starving.”

“Half of my paycheck goes in feeding you,” she joked. It wasn’t Yugyeom’s fault. He had recently hit puberty and seemed to be gaining inches in height with each passing day. He ate a lot and you could do nothing but playfully scold him while you made enough food. “Mom made soup before she left for her night shift. Go switch the rice cooker on before you wash up. We’ll eat in twenty minutes.”

“Fine,” Yugyeom agreed, shutting the door behind him as he left. Jaebum crawled out from under the bed and gave you a  resentful frown as he brushed dust off his shoulders.

“Do I have to hide whenever your brother is around?” he grumbled.

You pouted. “Sorry. It’s just really embarrassing. If he found you in the bedroom once then the idiot would keep trying to catch us at it and we wouldn’t have a second of privacy here. It’s just easier if he doesn’t know.”

Jaebum pouted. “Fine,” he mumbled. “I’ll get going then.”

“Wait.”

You dug into your backpack and pulled out a flyer, placing it on the table. “They were handing these out outside school earlier today. It’s a college exam prep center in the next town. They have demo classes on weekends and you can sit in on the classes and decide whether you want to join.”

Jaebum glanced down at the flyer. “Oh.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Well? Do you want to go? The classes aren’t that expensive. We should give it a shot, right? How else are we going to get through college entrance exams? They might cover stuff we don’t do at school.”

“It’s just…” Jaebum bit his lip and gave you a tentative look. “I’ll come with you if you want. But I’m not sure I want to go to college.”

You laughed. “What? Don’t be stupid. You’d be a shoo-in for the top colleges.”

“I don’t want to go,” he replied with a shrug. He sat next to you and ran his fingers through his messy hair. His thin lips were pressed together tightly. “Honestly, I kind of wanted to drop-out of high school because it makes me that miserable. I’m only sticking around to graduate. But I don’t want to go to college and get a degree that I won’t know what to do with. I think there are other things I want to pursue. Other ways of making money.”

You stared at him. You knew that Jaebum was a little unconventional and that he probably wouldn’t want to do something boring with his life. But you hadn’t thought that he wouldn’t even want to go to college. You glanced down at the flyer quietly.

“What are you going to do if you don’t go to college?” you whispered.

“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out. Maybe I’ll get into dancing professionally. I could audition for some dance teams.”

“But how will you earn money in the meantime-“

Jaebum leaned down and kissed your forehead sweetly. “Baby, don’t worry about me. I’ll take care of myself. I have ways of making money that don’t need a college degree, okay? Let’s go visit that prep class place on Saturday.”

You stared at him. “What ways? Jaebum, you’re not doing anything illegal, are you?”

Jaebum chuckled. “Babe, relax.”

“Promise me you’re not doing something shady like dealing drugs or whatever,” you insisted. You trusted that Jaebum was a good an honest person. But truth be told, there were all sorts of people at those dance battles. You were terrified that he might be dragged into a life of crime. “Don’t join a gang or something. You won’t, right? You’ll stay safe?”

Jaebum cupped your cheek and smiled. “You’re adorable when you’re worried about me.”

“I’m not kidding, Jaebum. I’ll never forgive you if you get yourself arrested-”

“I won’t. Trust me.”

Jaebum’s dark eyes were shining softly. You knew that you could trust the man in front of you but you were worried. Too many things had gone wrong in your life too quickly. You couldn’t afford to lose Jaebum too. You needed him to stay with you. You needed him to be the smart and reliable person that you always trusted.  

“Okay,” you whispered.

Jaebum chuckled as he moved towards your open window. “I can’t believe I have to sneak out because of your little brother…”

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

You bought groceries early in the morning and were busy making pancakes in the kitchen when Yugyeom finally came downstairs. He blinked sleepily and absent-mindedly for a moment before moving past you and heading towards the living room.

You called after him.

“Yugyeom, where are you going? I made pancakes!” you offered kindly. You had begun to wonder if you’d been too harsh with him last night. Yugyeom was your brother after all. You loved him. The two of you could sit and talk about whatever he was going through. You peeked out of the kitchen and waved him over eagerly. “You like my pancakes, right? Come on. I even bought the tasty syrup from the store.”

Yugyeom hesitated in the hallway. “I’m going out.”

“Where?”

He turned and frowned at you. “I don’t have to tell you where I’m going,” he snapped. “You’ve been gone for two years. What, you think you can suddenly come in here and order me around and demand to know about my life? That’s not how it works, noona.”

Your throat felt constricted. “Why are you acting like this?”

“Like what?”

“Like you hate me,” you replied quietly. Yugyeom was glaring at you and you felt like you were going to cry. Why was he behaving this way? What had you done to deserve this? “Yugyeom, I came home after two years. I want to spend time with my family. I’ve missed you and I’ve missed Mom but she’s lying sick on her bed and you’re acting like a completely different person, I…” you trailed off, your voice cracking. “I don’t know what to do.”

Yugyeom turned away from you. “You should have thought of that before you left home.”

“You’re acting like I ran away! I went to college, Yugyeom! Things haven’t been easy for me either!” you replied heatedly. You were on the verge of tears. “I need to keep on top of my studies to maintain my scholarship and get a job so I can repay my student loans and our father’s debt.”

“You don’t have to worry about our father’s debt,” Yugyeom informed you dully as he sat down in the hallway to put on his shoes. He tugged at the shoelaces. “I’ve started paying them off already.”

“How? Are you still working part-time at the restaurant?”

“No, I quit that job. It didn’t pay shit. I’m working for Jaebum-hyung now,” Yugyeom replied. He finished tying his shoelaces and stood up. His backpack was lying beside the doorway and he picked it up and slung it over his shoulders. “I have to go to work now. Bye.”

You closed her eyes to blink back your tears.

“Did Jaebum do this?” you asked quietly.

“What?”

“Did Jaebum turn you against me?” you demanded, voice rising. You had tried to keep calm but your head was spinning and you felt like you were going to lose control of yourself any moment. The unfamiliar man standing in front of you was still your brother and he wouldn’t have become like this without an explanation. “Did he make you hate me? Is he getting you to do illegal things for money? Is he blackmailing you or hurting you in some way?”

Yugyeom stiffened. “I’ve said this before. Don’t talk about Jaebum-hyung that way.”

“Are you scared of him?”

“No! How many times do I have to say this to get it through your thick head?” he yelled. “Jaebum-hyung was there for me. He stayed by me no matter what. He’s taking care of me, noona, in a way that you haven’t for the past two years.”

You opened your mouth. “I-“

“Don’t press me on this any further,” he cut you off and turned away from you. “Because Jaebum-hyung is an amazing person and I would pick him over you any day. Don’t push me to make that choice. Go eat your stupid pancakes yourself. And make sure Mom takes her medicines on time. It’s the least you can do at this point.”

He stormed past you and slammed the front door shut behind him.

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

You closed your eyes, holding back tears as your hands trembled. You couldn’t speak. Your entire body was shivering from fear and you felt like you were going to faint.

The moneylenders had been getting more impatient. Admittedly, it wasn’t all of them. Some were more willing to wait. But there was one man in particular who didn’t trust that you would ever pay him back, who wouldn’t shy away from using whatever means he could to recover his money.

You had been returning from the library late in the evening when the two men had grabbed you. When they held a knife to her throat and told you to pay the money back immediately, you were sure that you were going to die. They wouldn’t believe that you didn’t have it. They would get it out of you somehow, they said, and their boss wasn’t going to wait much longer.

By the time they left you alone you were terrified and sobbing in the alleyway. You barely managed to call Jaebum and tell him where you were.

Jaebum’s face had gone dark when he found you, bruises littering your arms from the men’s rough handling and crying so hard that you could only blubber out incomprehensible words. He had held you silently as you cried. You weren’t scared for herself; surely the moneylender knew that he would never get the money if he killed you.

“What about my mother and Yugyeom?” you had whispered. Your fingers clutched onto Jaebum’s shirt as you sobbed the last of your remaining tears into it. “How can I go off to college? What if he hurts them while I’m gone, Jaebum? What if he does something to them, I could never…”

Jaebum had pressed you to his chest. “This will never happen again.”

“How can you be sure-“

“It won’t,” he said firmly. His own shoulders were shaking in anger and his eyes had gone dark. You had never seen Jaebum so angry. He was normally a straight-faced and calm person but he looked almost murderous as he held you that night. “That man will never touch you again. And once you go to college, he will never touch your family.”

You shook your head. ‘How can you-“

“Baby, do you trust me?”

His fingers held your chin gently and he tilted your face up so that you were looking into his eyes. You didn’t recognize the look on his face. It was different and strange. Suddenly, he didn’t seem like Jaebum anymore. When you failed to respond, he pressed his forehead to yours so that you had nowhere else to look.

“Have I ever lied to you?” Jaebum asked softly. “Have I ever let you down?”

“N-no-“

“Then believe me. I will not let him touch you. And if he wants to get to your family once you go to college, he’ll have to get through me. That is a promise.” Jaebum’s thumb gently brushed away one of the tears that had spilt out of your red eyes. “Come on, take a deep breath and wipe away those tears. You don’t want Yugyeom to see you like this.”

You nodded, wiping away your tears and then pressing a hard kiss to Jaebum’s mouth. You didn’t know whether he could do anything to help you, but he had stayed with you through the hardest times of your life. You knew that you would have gone mad without him.

“I love you,” you told him firmly.

Jaebum smiled down at you. “I love you too,” he whispered.

You pulled away from him and rolled down your shirt sleeves to hide the bruises as you entered your house. Yugyeom was too busy watching television to notice your entrance so you managed to slip upstairs before your mother could suspect anything had happened.

Once you reached your bedroom, you peeked out of the window and saw that Jaebum was still standing in the street in front of your house. He was walking up and down the street agitatedly while he talked on the phone, running his fingers through his already tousled hair. You heard him curse loudly once. After about ten minutes, he hung up and walked away. Jaebum’s tall figure slowly disappeared down the road and out of sight of your window.

If only you had known in that moment, how much Lim Jaebum was willing to sacrifice for you.

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“I need to talk to Lim Jaebum.”

The handsome man behind the counter had put on a dazzling smile when you first walked into the bakery, but it immediately faltered upon recognition. Mark Tuan’s large eyes blinked at you for a long moment before he responded.

“That’s a nice way to greet someone you haven’t seen in over a year,” Mark mused. “And here I thought you wanted some cake.”

“I wouldn’t mind some cake,” you admitted, feeling a little ashamed of your rude behavior. It was true that you were furious and frustrated but it wasn’t fair to take that out on Mark. He was one of the sweetest people you knew and had been slipping you and your brother free treats ever since he started the bakery. “But right now, I need to talk to Lim Jaebum.”

“Well, you’re not going to find him here.”

“Where is he?”

Mark sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Oppa, please. I know you’re the one that took care of him while he was in prison,” you pointed out. You might not have been here when it happened but you weren’t entirely cut off from this town. Rumors had reached you even back in college. Mark had always taken care of the younger boys in town. “If anyone would know where he is, it’s you. Or Jackson and Jinyoung, but I don’t know how to find them either.”

Mark ran a hand over his face. “Jaebum’s had it hard.”

“He killed a man while trying to steal from him.”

“And he only went to prison for eight months, which shows that a judge in a court of law didn’t think he was completely to blame. So if you’re going to hold that against him-“

“What if I told you that I think he’s about to take my little brother down the same path?”

Mark was quiet. He stared at you for a long moment, eyes unblinking. Then he took a deep breath and then nodded. “Maybe it’s better you talk to him yourself. He and Jinyoung bought out the old mechanics’ place; do you remember it? They run the car repair shed. You should find him somewhere around there.”

You nodded. “Thank you.”

“Anyone could have told you that,” Mark replied dismissively. He turned and looked at you with a firm gaze. “Listen to me. Jaebum is a good man. You know that more than anyone. Don’t forget that, okay? He doesn’t deserve a lot of the things that are happening to him.”

You closed your eyes. “Don’t try to pull that with me. You might be used to dealing with boys who go down the wrong path so it’s nothing in your eyes, Mark, but what Jaebum did is unforgivable. He’s a criminal.”

“No, you don’t-“

“You’re going to tell me that he did it because he was having a hard time. I know. Money was hard to come by. He probably wanted to help me pay my debts back so he and his gang tried to steal from that man. I don’t care. I never asked him to commit a crime for me and I most definitely never asked him to kill someone,” you snapped. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about what happened and no matter which way I look at it, what Jaebum did is unforgivable. He’s not the man I used to know. He’d been dealing with these sort of criminals long before he told me the truth. He lied to me.”

Mark was quiet.

“I know,” he reassured you softly. “Just go talk to him.”

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

You took a deep breath before you entered the shed-like mechanic’s store. You had gone to the gas station nearby first, but a rather handsome young boy with a cheerful smile had been manning the counter and stammered out that Jaebum was in the garage. His nametag read Youngjae and he had gaped at you in a rather obvious manner as you left the store. You wasn’t sure whether he was just a hormonal teenage boy, or if he somehow knew who you were.

The mechanic’s was a dirty place. You found yourself coughing as you were hit with the pungent smell of oil and petrol. To nobody’s surprise, you spotted Park Jinyoung settled comfortably behind a table with some ledgers open in front of him, nodding off. No wonder. He had never been one to get his hands dirty, Jinyoung was probably managing the finances of this place. You tapped the table in front of him to get his attention.

“Ahem.”

Jinyoung jolted upright. “Huh? What-who- oh.” His eyes widened as he saw you and he blinked. “Well. I heard you were back in town, Chocolate Eyes, but I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Where’s Jaebum?”

He smiled a gummy smile. “What, no pleasantries-“

“Where’s Jaebum?”

His smile dropped when he noticed the serious expression on you face. He cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter, yelling out Jaebum’s name loudly. There was a shuffling noise from the back of the shed. A few clanks could be heard before Jaebum appeared from behind a car. He was wiping the oil off his hands as he approached the front, and he stopped short when his eyes landed on you.

“Hey,” he greeted softly.

“Can we talk?” you asked him.

He nodded silently, leading you towards a door in the side of the shop that led into a smaller office. It had a small table that was stacked with more ledgers, and paperwork that had evidently been left unfiled. Jaebum didn’t speak but you could see that he was tense; years of knowing him had left you able to recognize when the seemingly cool man was actually flustered. Jaebum’s jaw was clenched tightly and his eyes looked worried as he pointed towards a chair.

“Uh- you can have a seat-“

“Where’s Yugyeom? He told me he was coming to work with you today,” you said, ignoring the chair.

Jaebum was silent for a moment. His eyes drank you in slowly and quietly. He hadn’t had a chance to look at you properly the previous night, considering how dark it was and how upset you had been over Yugyeom being covered in blood. But he saw you now. You looked the same as you had looked two years ago. Your cheeks had filled out more and you looked healthier than when you had been here.

Jaebum could see the hard exterior that you were trying to display but there was vulnerability in your eyes. Your chocolate-colored orbs were red and puffy even as they glared at him. Jaebum could tell that you had been crying so he took a deep breath and tried to focus on his words.

“I sent Yugyeom on some errands.”

You didn’t like that answer. “Errands?” you demanded. “Is he going to come back beaten up and half dead from those errands again?”

“I sent him to the post office. He’s mailing some orders to our suppliers.”

“Suppliers? Suppliers of what?”

“Car parts,” he said firmly. Jaebum sighed and gestured towards the ledgers behind him. “I don’t know what you’re thinking but I’m not doing anything illegal here. This is a genuine business. You can check my accounts if you want to. It’s transparent.”

You folded your arms across your chest and stared back at Jaebum. You hated the gentle way in which he looked at you, the softness in his gaze even while you glared at him. It reminded you of all the stolen nights spent in your bedroom when you would look up from your homework and find Jaebum looking at you with that same gentle gaze, eyes full of adoration.

But you weren’t going to let silly feelings from the past overwhelm you. There was something going on, and the Lim Jaebum standing in front of you had too many secrets.

“Yugyeom says he’s started paying back my father’s debts. He claims he’s doing it from the salary you’re paying him for working here,” you informed him stiffly. “I’m supposed to believe you can afford to pay him so much money just from your profits here? How long have you been out of prison, Jaebum? I highly doubt that business is booming right now.”

Jaebum was silent.

“Can you honestly tell me you don’t have some other source of income on the side?”

He lowered his eyes, unable to meet you piercing gaze. “It’s not what you think,” he whispered.

“What is it, then? Tell me.”

“You don’t understand. You’ve been gone for a long time. Things here have changed a lot, especially your brother. I know you love him, but he’s not the same kid he used to be-“

“Of course he isn’t, you’ve been ruining him,” you hissed.

Jaebum looked bewildered. “Ruining him? What does that even mean, what exactly do you think-“

“Yugyeom told me,” you explained shakily, “that he would choose you over me any day. He seems to think I abandoned him. My little brother looked at me with more hatred than I’ve ever seen in his eyes in the past 17 years, Jaebum; tell me you didn’t do that to him.”

“He shouldn’t be treating you that way,” Jaebum mumbled. He ran a hand over his face and sighed. “I’ll talk to him about his behavior and teach him to be more respectful-“

You scoffed. “How? Are you going to beat it into him again?”

Jaebum looked shocked. “I have never laid a finger on your brother. Do you really think I’m capable of that? Do you really think I’m such a monster that I would hit Yugyeom?” he asked, his voice cracking. His eyes were piercing into yours as he searched for some reassurance. “You know me better than anyone. How could you think I would do that?”

There was a brief silence.

“I didn’t think you were capable of robbery or murder either, but here we are.”

Jaebum looked defeated. He closed his eyes for a moment and the two of you stood in a long, painful silence. You could feel your heartbeat thudding. Jaebum wasn’t denying it. He looked up at you calmly after a few moments, his eyes filled with pain.

“You must really hate me,” he whispered. He let out a small, choked laugh. “I probably deserve it, I don’t know. But believe me when I say that I never had any intention of hurting you or your brother. That’s the last thing I would want to do.”

You closed your eyes in an attempt to blink back the tears that were threatening to spill down your cheeks.. “I don’t care. I don’t care what you wanted. If you had known anything about me then you would have known that I never wanted you to do any of those things. I hate that you did them. I hate you. You’re a monster.”

Before Jaebum could say anything else, the door to the small office room burst open. Yugyeom entered with a cheerful grin on his face.

“Hyung! I posted those letters, like you asked. I met Bambam on the way too, his arm is almost healed so he might come into work tomorrow.” He finished speaking, before he suddenly noticed you standing there. His smile dropped suddenly. “Noona?”

Jaebum gave the younger boy a forced smile. “Your sister has been looking for you. Why don’t you go home with her?”

Yugyeom frowned at you. “Why do you have to come into my workplace?” he sounded annoyed. “Anyway, my shift isn’t over yet. I’m supposed to be working until 9 today so-“

“I’ll let you off early,” Jaebum replied. “Go home and have dinner with your sister.”

“I don’t want to,” Yugyeom replied defiantly. He turned and glared at you. “Why should I have dinner with her? Why should I care when she never cared about me?”

Your chest felt tight. “Yugyeom…”

Jaebum’s eyes flashed with a hint of anger as he saw the broken-hearted expression on your face. He knew how much you loved Yugyeom. He knew that you had done so much in order to protect your little brother and that you couldn’t bear the way he was treating you now. Jaebum placed a hand on Yugyeom’s shoulder and then turned to look at you.

“You should go home. I’ll send Yugyeom back home before dinnertime,” he told you calmly.

You swallowed. “But-”

“I promise.”

“If he’s not back home in two hours then I’m calling the police,” you told Jaebum shakily. Then you turned once more to meet Yugyeom’s angry eyes and felt the sharp stab of pain in your chest. Taking a deep breath, you slowly walked out of the mechanic’s shed.

You suddenly felt incredibly alone in this world.

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

“Noona, can’t I come to these dance battles too?”

You sighed. Yugyeom was growing more alert and intelligent as time passed, which meant that he had a knack for figuring out when you were about to sneak out of the house to meet Jaebum. The young boy burst into your bedroom just as you were putting on your jacket and climbing out of the window.

“No, Yugyeom,” you told him patiently.

Yugyeom frowned. “Why not?”

“Because they’re not for little kids.”

“But I want to learn how to dance too! I’m really good at dancing!” he insisted with a pout. Yugyeom immediately started doing a rather poor imitation of breakdance moves in the middle of your bedroom to prove his passion. You couldn’t help but laugh; Yugyeom was growing taller and lankier each day and puberty had left him with dangling limbs and shoulders that he didn’t know what to do with. You giggled when he tried to imitate a robot-like dance move.

“Yugyeom, stop,” you laughed.

Yugyeom stopped dancing  and frowned. “It’s not fair. I’m a better dancer than you. Why can’t I go? Noona, I want to meet your boyfriend. Maybe he can teach me how to dance.”

You shook your head “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Yugyeom folded his arms across his chest with a pout. “Yes, you do. Don’t lie. I heard his voice in your bedroom last night. I know he’s the person you keep going to these dance battles with. Why won’t you take me with you? I promise I’ll be totally quiet and I won’t annoy him at all. I’ll even call him hyung and he can teach me how to breakdance!”

You smiled and placed your hands on your brother’s chubby cheeks to squish them. “You don’t want to come to those underground dance battles. How about you join some dance classes? Noona will find a way to pay for them. Just wait a year or two, okay?”

“Really?”

“I promise. If Yugyeom-mie wants to learn how to dance then he can learn it properly, not from my boyfriend.”

Yugyeom’s face broke into a shit-eating grin. “Ha! So you admit you have a boyfriend?”

You flushed. “What?”

“You admitted it, you admitted it! I didn’t really want to learn how to dance I just wanted you to admit that you had a boyfriend!” Yugyeom sang happily. He held his palm out to you in a smug manner. “Noona, give me money to buy a new game or I’m going to tell Mom about your boyfriend.”

You glared at him. “You little shit.”

Yugyeom beamed.

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

Your mother was having trouble breathing when you got home.

“Are you sure we don’t need to go to the hospital, Mom?” you asked. There was a small medicine bag on the bedside table and you helped her find the asthma inhaler and use it to help calm her breathing. There were a surprisingly large number of medicines in the bag. You didn’t know who had paid for all of these medications and you didn’t really want to ask.

You had a feeling that you wouldn’t like the answer.

“I’m fine,” she croaked dismissively. She let out a dry cough. “This happens all the time. It’s fine. I’ll be perfectly fine in a few minutes.”

You bit your lip. “Mom…”

“It’s really all right. Why don’t you let me get up and make you some dinner-”

“I’ve already started on dinner,” you told her firmly before making sure that she lay back on the bed. You didn’t want her to strain herself in this delicate condition. “I bought chicken and potatoes to make Yugyeom’s favorite dinner and they’re cooking. I’m going to bring you some soup in bed.”

She glanced up at you. “Are you all right, dear?”

No, you thought to yourself. No, I’m not fine. Everything is falling apart, I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I don’t know how sick you are. I don’t know how much trouble Yugyeom’s in.

I don’t know anything.

You had finished making dinner and served the meal into plates when the front door opened. Yugyeom trudged into the house with his lips pressed together tightly. He gave you a surly look and then sat down at the dining table. He blinked in surprise at how clean it was; you’d spent all afternoon cleaning the kitchen and the living room.

“I made chicken,” you informed him gently. You set the plate down in front of Yugyeom but he didn’t even look at it. He simply stared at you in stony silence. You sat across from him and clenched your fists. You hate the emptiness you saw in Yugyeom’s eyes as he stared at you. You hated how you could no longer see the spark of innocence, the happiness in his eyes as he called you noona.

You hated how your little brother had disappeared.

“Aren’t you hungry?” you wondered.

Yugyeom folded his arms across his chest and frowned. “Jaebum-hyung says I have to apologize to you. He thinks that I shouldn’t have been so rude and that I should treat my older sister better. Funny, isn’t it? How he seems to think that you’re deserving of respect even though you evidently think that he’s trash.”

You took a deep breath. “Yugyeom, Lim Jaebum is a criminal-”

“He served the time the court asked him to.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that he’s guilty of murder and robbery,” you explained as you tried to stay calm. Your voice was trembling and you tried to make your brother understand. “He plead guilty to killing a man and robbing him. I know that you seem to think that Jaebum is some kind of role model and I understand why you trust him because he can seem like a very kind and understanding person but that doesn’t change the fact that-”

“You don’t even know him,” Yugyeom snapped.

You stared at him. “What?”

“You don’t even know him. You’re just like all the other people in this town, noona, you judge Jaebum-hyung based on rumours and stories. He’s a good person. He was there for me when nobody else was there and he took care of me. He treated me like his own brother. You were gone. When’s the last time you called me, noona? You haven’t been home in two years. Did you ever even answer my calls while you were at uni? Did you ever bother to come home during break?”

Your stomach churned. “Yugyeom, I was busy-”

He scoffed. “The usual story.”

“I was!” you cried. You couldn’t take this anymore. You couldn’t take Yugyeom treating you like you’d done something wrong when all your struggles and suffering had been for him. “Do you think it’s been easy to get my accounting degree while working multiple jobs at the same time? I was exhausted! I’ve been working day and night in order to put myself through university and keep up with my studies to maintain my scholarship! Do you know why I do these things? Do you you know why I struggle so much? Because I want a better life for our family. I want to get a good job, to earn enough to pay off our debt and take you and Mom away from this stupid town! I want to earn enough for you to go to college!”

Yugyeom stared at you in disbelief. “Really? Is that what you tell yourself every night? That you left me here to rot for my benefit?”

Your hands trembled. “I didn’t leave you here to rot-”

Yugyeom laughed, a cold and empty laugh that sent a shiver down your spine. His eyes were harsh when he stared at you. “I don’t know, noona. I don’t think you can have it both ways. You don’t get to leave me behind here and go off to your fancy university and live your life while claiming that you did it because you love me and care about me.”

“Yugyeom, I wanted you to be happy-”

“But I was unhappy!” he yelled at you suddenly. His face had turned red and you could see that his eyes had glazed over. He had evidently been holding this in for a long time. “I was unhappy when my sister left me behind in this stupid town, I was unhappy when she barely answered my calls or cared about my life. I was unhappy and I wanted you and you weren’t there for me, noona, so it doesn’t matter how much you sat there and wanted me to be happy because I wasn’t!”

You stared at him in shock. You suddenly realized how much pain Yugyeom was in. You realized how sheltered and adored and loved he had been until you left him behind to deal with his own life. How could you have been so stupid? How could you have thought that Yugyeom would be okay with you leaving him or that he would understand your reasons? He had been used to his older sister always being there for him and suddenly she had left. You wanted to reach out and hug your brother.

“I… I’m sorry.”

He bit his lip and shook his head. “Forget it.”

“Yugyeom, I really-”

“I don’t want to hear it, noona. I wanted to talk to you so many times but you never listened to me. You were always too busy. I don’t care if you wanted to earn money or pay off Dad’s debts or send me to college. We could have figured out ways to do that together. We could have worked as a team like we always did. You didn’t have to leave me here.”

Your voice cracked. “But-”

“You abandoned me and you seriously expect me to believe that you did it for my benefit,” Yugyeom reminded you shakily. His dark eyes were filled with pain. “Well, here’s the sad thing about your life, noona. I don’t believe that you really care about me and I’m not grateful. So you can do whatever you want now”

Yugyeom pushed the plate of chicken away and stormed upstairs.

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

Yugyeom was bleeding.

They had taken him behind the alleyway and beaten him up, the same way they had been doing every day since he had tried to leave the gang. He had imagined that joining the gang would be cool and that he would make some friends. He hadn’t expected to be handed a knife and ordered him to mug somebody on the street at night. He couldn’t do it. Yugyeom had never hurt anybody and he couldn’t start now. He had refused.

But there was no leaving the gang. Once you entered it was for life.

Lying the alleyway while his arm bled out and his legs screamed in pain, Yugyeom wondered if he had much of life left.

He limped into a corner behind the alleyway and managed to find a place to sit while he clutched his heavily bleeding arm. His teeth were gritted in pain. Yugyeom was growing used to it; the physical pain wasn’t as unbearable as the intense loneliness that he felt once the gang was done beating him up. Yugyeom had never felt so alone in his life. He couldn’t go home and tell his mother; she was already so weak and frail, what if she tried to help him and the gang hurt her as well? All of his friends at school had started to avoid him. All the teachers had labelled him a problematic student and given up on him.

And you. His noona, the one person who had always taken care of him and solved all his problems for him, was gone.

He missed you.

Yugyeom reached into his pocket and carefully pulled out the cellphone that you had given him. Your last goodbye present before you left him here in this horrible place. Your cellphone number was the only number saved in the contacts and he tentatively pressed call before holding it up to his phone.

It rang four times before you answered.

“Yugyeom?” your voice answered. Yugyeom wanted to cry upon hearing your gentle voice. He wanted to hug you and tell you how horrible things were, he wanted to beg you to come back. He wanted to tell you that he didn’t know what to do anymore. He couldn’t do this alone. He needed you.

“Noona,” he croaked out.

“Yugyeom, I’m at work. Can I call you back tomorrow? I have to finish my shift and then go write a paper by midnight,” your voice said hurriedly. You sounded busy, as though talking to him was a bother. You sounded tired. Yugyeom felt his heart sink.

He bit his lip. “O-okay.”

“Just text me if it’s something urgent, okay? I can’t let my boss catch me my on my phone. Good night!”

Yugyeom let the phone fall to his side and sniffled back the tears that had begun to form in his eyes. You were always busy. You were always tired. He had been trying to tell you how bad things were for weeks but you never seemed to want to listen. He held the phone loosely in his hand and then opened a new text message.

‘Noona,’ he typed slowly. ‘I don’t want to live anymore.’

Yugyeom stared at the message for a few moments. Then he deleted it and let his head fall back against the wall. The phone clattered to the ground and he closed his eyes. There was no escape. You wouldn’t come to save him.

This was his life now.

Yugyeom wasn’t sure how long he’d been lying there bleeding. It was only when a soft hand gently shook him awake that he opened his eyes. He looked up blearily and saw an unfamiliar face; a broad-shouldered man with a sharp set jawline and kind eyes was helping him to his feet.

“Hey kid,” the man said quietly. “Stay with me, okay? Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

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

You stumbled out of the house, feeling numb.

You felt like somebody had turned your world upside down. It was as if you had been walking along a path only to find that you’d been going backwards, that you were further away from your destination than when you started. Like you were tired, worn-out and had exhausted all your energy only to find that you’d been going the wrong way.

Now you didn’t have any energy left.

It was too late.

Yugyeom hated you.

Your feet carried you slowly down the dusty street. This town had always been small but you suddenly realized how dead it looked. It was a miserable place full of miserable people. It had always been. You had never been happy here. There were only two people in this entire world that had ever made you happy and you had somehow lost them both.

Jaebum had betrayed you and you had betrayed Yugyeom.

You passed by Mark’s bakery- it was closed, he always closed early in the evenings- and found yourself slowly walking towards the old gas station and Jaebum’s mechanic store. It had belonged to a friendly old man back when you were in high school. The old man must have died if Jaebum owned it now.

Jaebum.

Why had you blamed him? You were filled with a sudden intense, disgust for yourself as you looked at the old mechanic’s shed and saw the flickering light on in the back. Jaebum was evidently still working. He had been the one to take care of Yugyeom and give him a job while you were gone. He had taken responsibility for your young and innocent brother while you had been off in your own little world.

Jaebum was like that. Even when you had been together he had always done everything in his power to make you happy. His presence was magnetic. He was responsible and affectionate and had a heart of gold. He cared.

You missed Jaebum like crazy.

Your knees felt weak so you sat down on the sidewalk and pulled your knees up to your chest. You buried your head in your arms and held back the sobs that racked your body. You felt alone. You understood how Yugyeom must have felt now, dealing with your sick mother and having nobody to turn to when he was weak. You had failed him.

You had failed him terribly.

You heard the sound of footsteps approaching and slowly lifted your head. Jaebum had just stepped out of the shop and was walking towards you. He looked hesitant; his eyes were filled with concern but when they met yours, he finished the journey.

“Hey,” he greeted you quietly. “Didn’t Yugyeom come home?”

“He did,” you mumbled.

“Are you all right?”

“No.”

“Do you want to come inside?” Jaebum gently held his hand out to you. You saw his hand; it was rougher than it had been back in high school. There were calluses on his fingers and smudges of oil on his thumb. He had evidently been working hard. You looked up at Jaebum as the tears slid down your cheeks. You felt small and weak. Jaebum had always been there for you when you felt weak. He had been your only source of strength during the most difficult time of your life.

You missed him.

“Okay,” you whispered as you slowly reached for his hand. “Okay.”

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

“Hey, you. Tall kid. Get under the car and clean up that grease for me,” Jinyoung ordered.

Yugyeom pouted.

Everyone working at the mechanics’ shed had almost instantly started to welcome him; some because they were fond of how sweet and easy-going Yugyeom was and others because they were scared of Jaebum and what he might do if they didn’t treat Yugyeom well.

Park Jinyoung was fond of Yugyeom because he liked to make him do all his dirty work.

“Hyung, isn’t that your car?” Yugyeom wondered.

Jinyoung narrowed his eyes. “Are you talking back to me? Are you forgetting who the boss is here?”

Yugyeom opened his mouth to respond cheekily but he was cut off by the appearance of Jaebum himself, wiping his hands on a dirty rag. Jaebum chuckled as he tossed the rag on a table nearby.

“The boss is me, Jinyoung. I put the money into this place. And I say that it’s your car so you need to clean up the grease yourself. Don’t keep bullying the kid.”

Jinyoung looked offended. “I’d like to remind you that I’m the one who manages the customers around here. Nobody would be sending their cars to us if my pretty face wasn’t sitting at the front desk. I bring some life to this place and you should be grateful.”

“I am grateful,” Jaebum replied simply. “Now clean your own car.”

Jinyoung made a face behind Jaebum’s back as the latter walked out of the mechanic’s shop. Yugyeom sniggered gleefully, but fell silent as soon as Jinyoung turned his sharp glare towards him.

“Don’t be so quick to laugh at me, kid. You’re lucky Jaebum puts up with you. He’s usually pretty hard on new people but for some reason he thinks you're cute. There’s something fishy about this whole situation. I’m still trying to figure it out.”

Jackson lifted his head from behind one of the car engines with a grin. “Isn’t it obvious? It’s because he looks a little bit like Chocolate Eyes.”

Yugyeom perked up. “Chocolate Eyes? What’s that?”

“Shhh, we don’t talk about Chocolate Eyes in front of Jaebum anymore. Not since she left, anyway.”

“But who is Chocolate Eyes?” Yugyeom demanded.

Jackson checked the door furtively to make sure that Jaebum had really left the shed before he turned back to Yugyeom. “Chocolate Eyes is our nickname for this girl that Jaebum was in love with before he went to prison. He used to write all these sweet love songs about her. Jaebum is usually a calm and logical person but when it came to her, he always threw all logic out of the window. I think he would have cut off his own hand for her if she’d just asked.”

Yugyeom gaped. “Wow. I can’t imagine how awesome she must have been for Jaebum-hyung to fall in love with her.”

Jinyoung tsk-ed. “Yeah, but what’s the point? She left him.”

“Why?”

“Sometimes love makes you do crazy things,” Jackson mused with a frown. “You forget all reason and rationality. That was what happened to Jaebum. He killed a man for her and she never forgave him. She came to the courtroom and watched him plead guilty, then she told him that she never wanted to see him again and left.”

Yugyeom’s eyes widened. “But why did he kill the man-”

“Okay, that’s enough gossiping about Jaebum’s life!” Jinyoung decided with a frown. “There is grease under my car and someone needs to clean it! Kim Yugyeom. We don’t pay you to sit around. Until the day you start bearing a resemblance to MY long lost lover, you’re going to have to pull your weight around here.”

Yugyeom pouted. “Yes, hyung...”

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

The mechanic’s shed was empty because everyone had already gone home for the night.

Jaebum turned on a few lights so that the room was brighter and pulled up a chair next to Jinyoung’s desk for you. You sat down on it shakily and watched Jaebum go into a small pantry off to the side of the shed. He returned with two mugs of hot tea and pressed one into your hands. The warmth of the mug returned some feeling to your fingers and you stared up at Jaebum helplessly.

What am I doing? you wondered briefly.

“Did Yugyeom apologize to you?” Jaebum asked quietly.

You closed your eyes in shame. “He hates me.”

“No, he doesn’t. He’s been through a lot and he’s upset that you weren’t around to help him deal with his problems. He joined a gang and they wouldn’t let him leave. You know how dangerous those things are. He was being beaten up by them regularly when I found him. Yugyeom is an innocent kid, and he didn’t know how to handle the situation.”

You felt sick. “Oh god.”

“It happens to a lot of kids in this town.”

“Yeah, but Yugyeom’s my brother,” you whispered.

Your hands trembled and Jaebum carefully took the tea mug away from you. You looked up at him and suddenly realized that, in this moment, you hated yourself so much more than you hated Jaebum. You were the one person Yugyeom had trusted and you'd left him behind and tried to blame Jaebum for your mistakes.

“How could I have let this happen to him? Why didn’t I just make the time to call every now and then? How did- how did I not even know that things had gotten this bad?”

“You were busy. It can’t have been easy to put yourself through college and work so hard.”

“It wasn’t,” you whispered. You squeezed your eyes shut and a tear escaped. “It was hell. It is hell. I barely slept three hours a night because I’d work night shifts and have to go to class the next morning. I would have given up long ago if I didn’t keep thinking that I couldn’t let down Yugyeom and my mother. I went through all of this for them but I destroyed them in the process. I didn't… I didn't mean to leave him!”

“He doesn’t know that. He just missed you.”

“I miss him too,” you choked out.

You couldn’t hold back the sobs that were rising up in your throat. Your heart felt like it was going to rip out of your chest and you pressed your hands to your face while you sobbed. How could you have been so ignorant? Jaebum sat silently while you cried your eyes out. There was nothing he could say to help; you had bottled up your emotions and you needed to release them. He simply watched you quietly and wondered why the world had dealt someone as soft-hearted as you such a bad deal.

Once the sobs subsided, Jaebum handed you a tissue. You took it reluctantly and then looked up at Jaebum. He was watching you with a pained expression on his face.

“Why was he all bloody last night?” you managed to ask finally. “It really wasn’t you who hurt him?”

Jaebum sighed. “We paid off the gang to stop attacking him but sometimes they still rough him up when they catch him alone. Last night was one of those nights. Yugyeom’s gotten a lot better at defending himself, though, and he has my number on speed dial. He calls when he’s in trouble so we can go get him. You don’t need to worry. It doesn’t happen too often.”

You glared at him.

“Once is too often.”

“He’ll be fine,” Jaebum promised you. His voice was gentle. It shouldn't have been and you hated how much it comforted you. “Yugyeom might not be the little kid you remember anymore, but sometimes life throws circumstances at people and it changes them. We all have to toughen up. Yugyeom happened to learn that the hard way, just like you and I did."

You stared at Jaebum. There was a kindness in his eyes that you had missed, a kindness that you found so difficult to trust because you had been betrayed by it before. Jaebum had always been soft at heart. But you had also seen this soft-hearted man handcuffed and taken to prison. You had watched him stand in front of a judge and plead guilty to murder in order to get a lighter sentence.

Somewhere behind that soft heart  was a monster.

“Why are you doing this?” you asked quietly. “Helping Yugyeom? Why did you take him in and pay off the gang to leave him alone?”

Jaebum blinked at you calmly. “You know why I did it.”

“Out of kindness?”

“No.” Jaebum’s lips twisted into a reluctant smile. “Do you really want to hear me say it?”

"Yeah."

"I did it because I love you," he told you quietly. "I did it because I promised you once that I would never let anything happen to your family and I wanted to keep my promise."

You stared at him. Even after all this time, it made your heart leap to hear Jaebum say so confidently that he loved you. His voice was gentle and it sounded so honest and sincere. Jaebum had always been honest.

Until the day he wasn't.

"I figured our promises went down the drain when you were convicted for murder and robbery," you told him bluntly. It was true. No matter how kind Jaebum's eyes were or how sincere his words, nobody could ever erase the memory of watching the man you loved be taken away in handcuffs as a violent criminal. That would stay with you forever.

Jaebum leaned back and nodded. His eyes were dull and unsurprised, like he had already resigned himself to the truth.

"I thought you would say that. I don't expect you to trust me. But I'm still the man you loved," he whispered. He took a deep breath. "I understand if you hate that I'm a criminal but I have only ever wanted you to be happy."

"Did you really go there to rob that man?" you asked shakily. You wondered if Jaebum would ever tell you the truth, or if there was even any truth left to tell. "I saw the victim's face in the papers. He used to come to your dance battles sometimes. Did you find out that he had that money and go there to rob him?"

Jaebum's jaw tightened. "No."

"Then why did you go there?"

"You don't want to know," he replied darkly. "Trust me. You're better off not knowing what happened that night. Hate me all you want, since it's true that I killed him."

"Don't you feel any remorse?" you whispered.

Jaebum shook his head. "No. I would do it again."

You stared at Jaebum. Despite all that had happened, some part of you desperately wanted to believe him. You wanted to think that the man you had loved had had a justified reason for robbing a man and murdering him in cold-blood.

You wanted to know if he had really done it for you.

"Then tell me. How bad can it be? Tell me what happened."

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

"Are you sure about this, Jaebum?” Jinyoung asked nervously.

“I need the money. She needs the money or those goons will never leave her alone,” Jaebum said firmly. His jaw was clenched. He had made up his mind and there was nothing anybody could do to change it. Seeing you cry after you’d been threatened by the moneylender’s cronies had terrified Jaebum.

He wasn’t going to wait to lose you.  

“But Jaebum, it’s your music. They’re going to pass it off as their own and they won’t give you a share in the copyrights. You wanted to start your own career. How are you going to do that if you sell everything you’ve worked on to that fake-ass musician? Do you really need to get involved with people like that?” Jinyoung demanded. He could see how emotional Jaebum was and he felt like it was his responsibility to stop his friend from making an irrational decision.

Jaebum took a deep breath and frowned. “I appreciate your concern, Jinyoung, but I need you to shut up right now.”

“You’re even going to sell him Chocolate Eyes?”

“Yes.”

“There’s something extremely shady about this. What if he’s not willing to leave it as a one-time transaction? What if he wants you to keep working for him and he keeps stealing your music? There’s something fishy about these people. Jaebum, let’s sit down and think about this and do some research before you walk into their den and hand over all of your work to them-”

“I don’t have the time to sit down, those goons could hurt her any moment-”

Jaebum was interrupted by Jackson. The normally loud and talkative boy had been silent ever since Jaebum announced his intention to hand over all of his music in the form of ghostwriting for some money. Jackson reached into his pocket and pressed something into Jaebum’s hand; it was a knife.

“Be careful,” Jackson whispered. “These guys can be dangerous.”

Jaebum nodded.

His backpack felt heavy as he went to the address written on the slip of paper. This strange man had approached him at one of the dance battles; he had repeatedly asked Jaebum to sell him all of his music but Jaebum had refused. He had imagined that he could start his own producing career once he graduated and selling all of his work hadn’t seemed like the best way to start.

But now your life was more important.

The building was dark and dimly lit. Jaebum had to walk through alleyways and ask a few unpleasant people for directions before he finally managed to find the apartment number. It was dirty. He knocked on the door hesitantly.

“Who is it?” a voice asked gruffly from the other side.

“It’s-it’s Jaebum. We talked on the phone? About the music?” he called out.

The door swung open. The man was standing on the other side and he had a huge smile on his face; he welcomed Jaebum into the apartment and clapped him on the back heartily. “Jaebum! Come on in. I heard about your situation. Don’t worry, I’ve got the money ready for you. Here’s my assistant. Hey! Bring the kid the money. Do you have all the music?”

Jaebum swallowed and nodded. “Yeah.”

A large and well-built man came out of the adjoining room with a bag. He unzipped it and showed Jaebum that it was filled with currency; Jaebum had never seen so much money in his life. His hands were shaking as he reached into his own backpack and pulled out his music notebooks.

“I-I put everything together here,” Jaebum explained quietly.

“All of it?”

“Yeah, everything I’ve ever written.”

The man nodded sympathetically as he took the notebook and then handed Jaebum the bag of cash. “You’re doing a good thing, kid. I’m sure your girlfriend will be happy about you helping her. You said that the moneylenders are threatening her because of her father’s debt? Poor girl. She must have been so terrified.”

Jaebum swallowed. “Uh-yeah.”

“Okay, kid. You stay in touch and let me know if you ever write some more stuff that you want to sell me, yeah? Shut the door behind you when you leave.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Jaebum’s hands closed around the bag filled with money and he quickly transferred it into his own backpack. Then he hurried out of the apartment. He was about to shut the front door when he suddenly wondered if he should have counted the money out in front of them or even checked to see if it was legitimate. What if they were cheating him because he was just a teenager? Jaebum turned around to go back when he heard voices drifting out of the next room.

“.... stupid kid. I bet he doesn’t even realize how much quality music like this is worth. I’m almost wondering if we should let him live so he can write more stuff for us.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Do you think that pretty little girlfriend of his inspired all these songs? I’m kind of curious about her too. Maybe you should go find her. We’ll have some fun with her once you’ve gotten the money back from the kid. Once he’s dead I guess there won’t be anyone left for her to turn to. I love helpless girls, they’re the best kind.”

Jaebum’s heart clenched with fear.

Fuck. What had he gotten himself into? Fuck.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Don’t let the kid get too far with our money. Finish him and bring me my cash back.”

Jaebum heard the sound of footsteps and ran; he sprinted to the end of the corridor where a supply closet was half open and thrust himself inside. His heartbeat raced and he held his breath as the watched the large bodyguard walk past him through the crack of the door.

Once he was gone, Jaebum  slumped back against the wall and sank to the floor. Fuck. What was he going to do? This man was out to kill him and he was going to hurt you too. What had he gotten himself into? How was he going to escape this? Even if he managed to survive the bodyguard and make off with the money, there was no way to stop them from hurting you. Jaebum banged his fists against the wall in desperation. Something fell out of his pocket and clattered to the floor.

The knife.

Jaebum’s fingers closed around it.

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

“The lawyer said that if I plead guilty and show remorse, the judge would consider my young age and I could get away with a lighter sentence,” Jaebum explained quietly. “Otherwise I would have been locked up for years. There was no way to prove that the cash had been given to me by the man so they presumed I must have stolen it. I really wanted to tell people the truth about what happened. But it wasn’t worth spending a decade in prison.”

You had no words to say. As you looked up at Jaebum, you finally saw him for what he really was. Not a monster or a criminal, but a scared boy who had done something foolish in a moment of fear. No matter how much life hardened Jaebum or how brave he was, that part of him was still there on the inside.

You felt sick.

“You must have been so scared,” you whispered.

He bit his lip. “It’s okay. I was an idiot. I should never have trusted that man in the first place. It was my own desperation and foolishness that got me into that situation.”

“But-”

“Please don’t pity me,” Jaebum told you firmly. “That’s the last thing I want to hear from you.”

Your head was spinning and you had to press your fingers to your temple in order to collect your thoughts. How could you have misunderstood Jaebum so much? How could you have been so quick to turn on a man who loved you and who had put himself in danger for you? You felt pathetic. You had abandoned Yugyeom and misunderstood him the same way.

Were you capable of doing anything right? Or were you bound to keep hurting the people you loved because of your foolishness?

“I-I never even… I never even came to see you when you were in prison,” you remembered miserably. “Because I thought you really went there to rob that man, I thought you had lied to me about not getting involved in anything illegal and because you’d been acting so shady about the whole thing after those goons threatened me-”

“I know,” he replied.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t say that. I know you were scared and I know you felt betrayed,” Jaebum said. He carefully reached out and placed his hand over yours. His warm fingers felt familiar as his thumb gently stroked your palm. Jaebum’s touch had always been comforting. “Life thrusts a lot of things at us and we react how we feel we need to at the time. It’s okay. I’m fine. You’re fine. Yugyeom is fine too, and that’s all that matters.”

You bit your lip. “How can you be so optimistic?”

“Because I want to be happy.”

“Are you?”

Jaebum shrugged. “Sometimes I am, sometimes I’m not. But right now with you in front of me, I think I’m the happiest I’ve been in a while.”

"I want to be happy too," you mumbled.

Jaebum nodded.

"Don't worry. You will be."

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

Jaebum insisted on taking you home.

As you walked down the street with him quietly, his hand loosely holding yours, you were reminded of all the times you had done this before. You were reminded of how loved and safe you had always felt with Jaebum. How difficult it had been to say goodbye to him at the end of each day.

You missed that feeling.

"Don't worry about Yugyeom too much," Jaebum reassured you quietly. "He was angry and he needed to let it all out but now that he has, I'm sure he'll remember how much he misses you. He used to talk about you all the time. He can’t possibly forget how much he loves you.”

“He seems to love you more.”

Jaebum bit his lip. “He’s just a loving kid. That’s how he is.”

You glanced up at Jaebum and for a brief moment, you wondered what might have happened to your family and Yugyeom if he hadn’t been there to take care of them. If Jaebum hadn’t rescued Yugyeom from the gang and been an older brother to him, if he hadn’t been around to pay for your mother’s medication. Jaebum had fixed all the problems that were yours to handle and you couldn’t understand why he did all these things while you had written him off as a criminal and a monster.

“You should get some sleep,” Jaebum told you as you both approached your house. “You need to relax. Everything will be fine.”

You glanced down at your intertwined hands.

“Everything’s only fine because you take care of it,” you mumbled. It was slowly sinking in exactly how much you owed Jaebum, how much he had done with the sole purpose of making your life happier. How was anyone capable of such selfless love? Why had he chosen you of all people to care for? You looked up at him and frowned. “Why do you keep taking care of everything?”

Jaebum looked down at you quietly. “I don’t know.”

“I hate how much I need you,” you told him.

He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to, because you both knew the truth in that statement. No matter how much you denied it, the fact was was right there in front of your eyes.

You needed Jaebum.

You weren’t sure which one of you moved first, but it was probably you who wrapped your arms around Jaebum and wove your fingers tightly onto the fabric of his jacket. You needed to feel him close to you. You needed him to reassure you that everything would be okay, that even if you couldn’t handle life he would be there to help you through it. You needed to feel safe and the only time you felt that way was when you were in Lim Jaebum’s arms.

Jaebum had never imagined that he would get to hold you again. When you buried your face into his chest he was reminded of the cold nights in prison thinking about you, wondering where you were and how much you hated him. He remembered thinking that he would never get to hold you like this again, that he would never get to feel you in his arms once more. He would never get to see your beautiful eyes smiling back at him sweetly.

“I love you,” he whispered.

You leaned up and kissed him. It was a soft kiss; filled with hesitation and relief and gratitude and trust, and all the other wild mixture of emotions that were spinning through your mind at the moment. Jaebum’s lips captured yours tentatively. He didn’t want to lose you. He didn’t want to push you so far when you were so overwhelmed. He pecked your lips softly and brought his hands up to capture your face in them as he looked down at you.

“We don’t have to do this now,” he told you softly. “We can take this slow and talk about-”

“Noona?”

You ripped yourself away from Jaebum at the sound of Yugyeom’s voice. Your younger brother was standing on the front porch and staring at the both of you with wide eyes. You felt a sudden shiver down your spine.

Jaebum spoke first. “Yugyeom-”

“I’ve been trying to call you for over an hour, hyung,” Yugyeom said. His voice sounded thick and hoarse; like he had been crying. His ears were flushed red. “But you weren’t answering your phone. I thought you must have been working. You were fucking around with my sister?”

You flinched. “Yugyeom,I can explain-”

“Yeah, please do,” he snapped. His voice was trembling as he stepped closer to the both of you. He sounded angry. “Because barely twenty-four hours ago you were calling Jaebum-hyung a criminal and now you’re messing around with him? What sort of fucked up logic is that, noona? What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I-”

“It’s not what you’re thinking, Yugyeom. We’ve known each other for a long time now,” Jaebum explained calmly. He took a deep breath. “I knew your noona long before I met you. We used to date in high school.”

Yugyeom’s eyebrows furrowed. “What?”

“I’m sorry I never said anything,” Jaebum replied. “But they were painful and personal memories to me so I didn’t like talking about them.”

“Oh my god.”

“Yugyeom…”

Yugyeom’s dark eyes had widened in horror. “Oh my god, noona, you’re Chocolate Eyes. You’re the girl Jaebum-hyung used to be in love with who left him after he got arrested. But that means…” he turned and looked at Jaebum. Something behind his eyes seemed to break. “That means you knew that I was her brother.”

Jaebum hesitated. “I-yes…”

“So all this time,” Yugyeom began slowly. “All this time, when you rescued me from the gang and when you gave me a job and all those times you told me that I could trust you and count on you, you weren’t doing those things for me. You didn’t do any of that for me. You took me in and cared for me because you used to fuck around with my sister. I thought the world of you but you just looked at me and saw her, didn’t you?” he cried. Tears were brimming in his eyes.

“What? Yugyeom, no-”

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. His dark gaze suddenly looked ashamed. “I guess I’m always the burden.”

Your heart broke. “No-”

You reached out to wrap your arms around Yugyeom, to hold your little brother tightly and reassure him that he was not a burden and that you would always love him more than anything in the world.

But Yugyeom shoved your arms away roughly and gave you one last heartbroken look before he ran down the street. You started to run after him but Jaebum silently held you back. He wrapped his arms around you and held you tightly to his chest.

“Don’t,” he whispered. “Give him some space. He’ll come back.”

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

“Noona,” Yugyeom asked suddenly. “Noona, am I annoying?”

You barely glanced up from your homework. Yugyeom was always asking you stupid questions while you were trying to study and you were too busy struggling to find the right formula for the algebra problem.

“Yes, you’re very annoying,” you told him simply.

Yugyeom bit his lip.

“Oh. Okay.”

You lifted your head and turned around to look at him, immediately sensing something wrong. That wasn’t Yugyeom’s usual curious tone. He sounded upset. You saw him sitting in the middle of your bed while picking at the loose strings of the sheets miserably. You sighed and closed your books. You sat next to him and patted his mushroom-shaped hair.

“Did somebody call our Yugyeom-ie annoying?” you asked.

He pouted. “No.”

“You can’t lie to me. Noona knows everything.”

“... Yes,” he admitted. His lower lip stuck out in a small pout. “This girl at school said I was annoying. She told me I was being too loud and to shut up.”

You frowned. How dare some stupid girl tell your adorable brother that he was annoying? Kids were meant to be loud anyway. “You should have told her to shut up too.”

Yugyeom smiled sheepishly. “Really?”

“Sure. Who isn’t loud during playtime? She was being a…” you cleared your throat before you used an unpleasant word in front of him. “Well. Not a nice person.”

“But you didn’t answer my question. Do I annoy you?”

“Sure you do,” you told him lightly. “You annoy me all the time. But that’s okay, because family are the people who you can annoy but they’ll still love you. You might be annoyed by what they DO, but you’ll still love THEM, you, know? I’ll always love you no matter how much you annoy me. Because you’re my brother and that’s how things are.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“But the girl at school won’t, right?”

You chuckled. “Yugyeom, do you have a crush on this girl?”

His ears turned red. “What? No!”

“Ooooooh, Yugyeom had a crush on a girl,” you sang playfully, poking him in the shoulder. Yugyeom’s face slowly blushed red and he shoved at you before hurrying out of your bedroom and slamming the door shut behind him. You smiled and turned back to your homework.

You would always love Yugyeom.

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

Yugyeom didn’t come home that night.

You had to go back to university in two days but you couldn’t bring yourself to even think about packing. You spent most of the night awake and terrified that Yugyeom was roaming around on the streets somewhere alone, that the gang who was after his life would find him and hurt him. He wasn’t answering your phone calls or Jaebum’s.

In the early hours of the morning, Jaebum got a call from Bambam saying that Yugyeom had arrived at his place and that he was upset, but safe. He didn’t want to talk to either of you.

“It’s time to take your medicines,” you told your mother quietly as you entered her bedroom. The old woman was still lying in bed and looking as frail as ever. She had become a shell of the person that she used to be and you could see that something in her eyes was broken. You didn’t want to ask her why. You squeezed her hands. “Are you okay, Mom?”

She took a deep breath and looked at you calmly. “I’m sorry I’m such a burden.”

Your throat felt tight. “Mom…”

“I should have taken better care of you both but I can barely get out of bed. I know that the only reason Yugyeom has been able to afford my medicines is because Jaebum gives him money. I know that you’ve been having such a hard time at university because you need to work so much. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to do better. I’m sorry.”

You squeezed her hand as tears blurred your vision. “Mom, you did fine.”

“I don’t know how much longer I’ll last.”

“Don’t say things like that.”

“You know I love you, right? And Yugyeom too. I’m so proud of him. I’m proud of you both.”

“I know. He knows and I know, it’s okay. You’re going to be fine,” you promised her, although you weren’t sure. You weren’t sure if she would be fine or if Yugyeom would be fine or if you would be fine. You weren’t sure of anything.

You just wanted it all to end.

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

“I don’t know if I can go back,” you admitted shakily.

Jaebum sat on your bed quietly as he watched you pack. You had already overstayed your vacation and there were classes, assignments and papers you had to write in order to finish your graduation. Everything was waiting there but your heart wouldn’t let you leave.

“You have to graduate,” Jaebum reminded you quietly.

“I-I could take a semester off,” you mumbled as you placed a t-shirt half-heartedly in the suitcase. You swallowed and looked up at him with a frown. “But that would delay my graduation and it might mean that I would lose my scholarship. I don’t think I could afford to pay tuition. What should I do, Jaebum?”

He bit his lip. “You should go finish your degree.”

“Still? Even though things have gotten this bad in my absence?” you wondered. You pressed your fingers to your temples. “Then Yugyeom will never forgive me. And Mom… she keeps talking about how she might die soon and it’s scaring me, Jaebum.”

“She’ll be fine. I’ll make sure she gets the medical treatment she needs.”

“But-”

“You can’t abandon your education now. What will become of the last two years of your hard work?” Jaebum asked you with a frown. He placed an arm around your shoulder and squeezed you comfortingly. “It’ll be fine. Don’t worry so much. It’s all okay.”

“You keep saying that but things only keep getting worse, Jaebum-”

The doorbell rang. Your eyes widened in surprise and Jaebum gestured for you to stay put while he went to check out who it was. You sat down and pressed your fingers to your temples again. It was too much to hope that Yugyeom had come back. He had been staying at Bambam’s and had refused to talk to either you or Jaebum for days. Your felt nauseous as you continued to toss clothes into your suitcase. Jaebum was taking a long time to return.

There was a sharp knock on the bedroom door.

“Hey,” Jaebum peeked into your room with a small smile. “Look who’s here.”

He stepped aside to reveal Yugyeom standing behind him. Your eyes widened in relief at the sight of your little brother safe and unhurt. “Yugyeom!” you cried. He looked a little thin and his fists were clenched at his side. He was staring at the floor but you hurried over to him and cupped his cheeks. “Yugyeom, are you okay? I’ve been so worried about you! How could you not even answer our calls?”

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“You know you’re not a burden, right? You’ve never been a burden to me,” you blurted out rapidly. You had to blink back your tears.  “You’re my family. How could you be a burden? I love you so much. There’s nobody in the world I care about more and I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you, noona made a mistake, I’m so sorry.”

Yugyeom didn’t say anything. He merely stood there silently, staring at the floor. Jaebum gave you a soft smile and then squeezed Yugyeom’s shoulder.

“I’m going downstairs so that you both can talk,” he told you.

Jaebum left and to your surprise, Yugyeom quietly entered your room and sat on your bed. His dark eyes looked around at your suitcase and clothes laid out everywhere silently. His hands were clasped in his lap tightly. You didn’t know what to say to him.

“Are you leaving for university?” Yugyeom asked you after a long and painful silence.

You bit your lip and looked down at the suitcase. It was only half-packed. You sat next to Yugyeom and quickly took both of his hands in yours.

“Do you want me to stay?” you demanded. “I can stay. Just say the word and I’ll stay, Yugyeom.”

He shook his head. “No, you should go.”

“O-okay.”

He took a deep breath. “Noona?”

“Yeah?”

Yugyeom turned to look at you and you saw tears in his dark eyes. For a moment, he suddenly looked like your adorable little brother again. There was pain and hurt in his eyes but there was also a tiny bit of hope. Something inside of him had given up.

“Noona, can you take me with you?” he choked out.

Your eyes widened and you nodded instantly. You threw your arms around Yugyeom and hugged him tightly, leaving him breathless. “Of course,” you said without missing a beat. “Of course I’ll take you with me. Let’s all go together. We’ll-we’ll find a better hospital for Mom and you can go to a better school. It might be hard for a while because I have to finish university but we’ll find some way to make money until I get a regular job-”

His arms slowly and carefully wrapped around you. “We can… we can sell this house, right?” he asked timidly.

You paused and then nodded. “Yeah, we can do that.”

“I don’t really care if we sell the house as long as the three of us are together,” he admitted quietly.

You laughed and nodded. Of course. Of course. What did the house matter? What was important that your family was all in one place. You decided that anything would be fine as long as your family was happy. Tears slipped out of your eyes as you fondly stroked Yugyeom’s hair and felt his own racking sobs.

“We’ll be fine,” you promised. And for the first time, you actually believed what you were saying. “We’ll be fine.”

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

Epilogue (Five Years Later)

“Noona, she threw up on me again,” Yugyeom complained.

He entered the kitchen holding your crying one-year old daughter at arm’s length while the front of his t-shirt was covered in baby puke. You turned off the stove and groaned. This was the third time this week. You took the crying child from him and gently rocked her in order to console her while you cleaned the puke off her face at the sink.

“I told you not to toss her in the air!” you scolded your brother.

“But she likes it. She always giggles,” Yugyeom defended himself.

“And then she throws up on you and since you are a complete man-child incapable of doing your own laundry, I have to wash both your clothes and hers and whatever else the puke got on. What are you going to do when you have your own children, Yugyeom? Are you going to be this careless?” you scolded him angrily while the baby wailed. You held to your chest and rocked her. “Shhh, it’s okay. It’s okay, sweetie, Uncle Yugyeom is just bad. It’s okay.”

Yugyeom pouted sadly. “I’ll go change.”

You frowned. “Go on, then.”

He was just about to step out of the kitchen when the sound of the front door opening caused him to stop in his tracks. Jaebum entered the kitchen calmly, taking off his jacket while frowning at you all.

“Why is the house always so noisy?” he complained.

You rolled your eyes. “Ask Yugyeom.”

Yugyeom merely pouted and slouched out of the kitchen in order to go and clean himself off. You sighed and glanced at the dinner cooking on the stove before realizing that it was about to overcook. You quickly handed the crying child to your husband. “Can you hold her for a second? Dinner is about to burn.”

Jaebum blinked. “Uh-sure-”

“God, I have to do everything around here.”

“Actually, I have something to tell you. Can we talk for a minute?” Jaebum asked you hopefully. He was looking at you eagerly but you were too busy stirring at the dinner on the stove. You had a lot to do; you had to finish dinner and then take a shower and then free yourself for a conference call in the evening with some work colleagues-

“Can it wait?” you asked. “I’m busy.”

“This is kind of big, actually.”

“I know but I’ve been so overwhelmed all day and now stupid Yugyeom had to go and get puke all over himself again so I’ll have to do a round of laundry before bed.”

“I’ll do the laundry. Just listen.”

You turned around and raised an eyebrow. He was holding your baby in one arm (she had miraculously stopped crying) and the other hand was holding something book-shaped. You squinted at it more closely and realized that it was a music album. You stared at him and your eyes widened.

“Oh my god. It was today? The album release?” you asked in shock. You felt terrible. “Jaebum, I completely forgot-”

Jaebum smiled and opened the album to show you. It had taken a lot of time for people to accept him in the city; his prison record didn’t do him any favours but he hadn’t given up on his dream. One month ago, Jaebum had signed a contract with a large music company who had hired him as a producer for some famous hip-hop artists. He flipped open the track list and right there at the top, with the lyrics and production credited to Lim Jaebum was the song.

Chocolate Eyes.

You beamed at your husband. Jaebum’s own eyes were shining and he chuckled when your daughter squealed in delight and reached for the album with her tiny little fists. He put her down on the floor and gave her the album to sit down and play with before turning to you.

“What do you think?” Jaebum asked you hopefully.

You kissed him softly.

“I think I love you,” you told him with a smile.

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

[thathpheadcanongirl]

Why the Weasley’s are “Blood Traitors”

((I recommend treating this like a little chapter of the Black Family History Book. It coincides with the Bellatrix headcanon I posted a while ago. You don’t have to read it if you haven’t already, but it’s good to know some backstory before we get into another backstory. Anyway, below the “Keep Reading” tab, is a VERY in-depth speculation of why and how the Weasley family became “Blood Traitors”. Enjoy!))

Here’s the Black Family Tree for reference:

This is all speculation and guessing, but I believe that the Weasley family was a respected family in the Wizarding Community from the beginning of the 19th century until 1959. They had a good hundred years under their belt. Humble folk, the Weasley Family earned their keep by owning many successful farms and being the main agricultural resource for the Wizarding World. Their produce and livestock were always top-notch; they created many magical techniques and spells for the perfect product.

They were not “rich”, but respected. And respect, at the time, was all that was needed to be part of the “Sacred” families. That’s not to say they were poor; on the contrary, they were well-off. But of course, there were some shallow people in the exclusive group that were not very keen to share the same title as farmers. Still, the first generation of Weasleys would attend many a party, feeling a little out of place, but always courteous.

Their views on Muggles were more or less the same as everyone around them: Muggles did not have the advantage of magic; therefore, Wizards were superior. Did they seek out Muggles to trick them or cause them harm? No. I don’t think the first generation went too close to Muggleborns, but then again, there weren’t many Muggleborns revealing themselves at the time. If the Weasleys came across a Muggleborn, I believe they’d be a bit ignorant, but never intentionally.

Fast-forwarding to maybe the third generation of Weasley (assuming we’re following the Black Family Tree)… Cedrella Black was born between 1916-1918. Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, Cedrella was born 1917. We could speculate that Septimus Weasley was around the same age.

To give a brief summary of what we think the Black Family was like during that time… Arcturus (Cedrella’s father), Sirius II (Cedrella’s uncle) and Regulus (Cedrella’s first cousin from her Uncle Sirius) must’ve been very big advocates for blood purity (probably active Grindelwald supporters) and had to have done extraordinary things in the name of the Black Family to inspire Orion and Walburga to name their sons after them. Keeping that in mind, I believe the three of them were insanely bigoted and sadistic, quite like Bellatrix or what we could imagine Walburga was like.

To the Black family, the Weasley family was not extravagant enough to be accepted into the family easily. Besides the abundant success the Weasleys had with magical agriculture, they were “plain” and “simple”. (They were also almost all Gryffindors, which was received with big eye rolls from every Black.) But listen, Cedrella was quiet, so she was often put in the “plain” category too. I like to think Cedrella met Septimus in their mid-twenties, so in the 1930s. Despite their “plain” and “simple” stereotypes, Cedrella and Septimus end up hitting it off and remembered as the “life of the party”.

It wasn’t long before Septimus asked Arcturus for Cedrella’s hand. Arcturus initially said no because Cedrella was betrothed to her cousin, Regulus. (Oh, yeah! Regulus is, like, too gross-looking and too pro-Grindelwald for any outside suitor and Cedrella is too passive to say anything against her father’s wishes.) He also passive aggressively said that he didn’t think Septimus could take care of his daughter with the “little fortune” he has inherited. And he was also pretty sure that Septimus was only asking just so he could have a ration of the Black family inheritance. So, being the Gryffindor he was, he said “I’d rather be a poor man and in love than rich and heartless.” And that mere ripple started a very spiteful rivalry.

Septimus refused any and all of Cedrella’s inheritance for his personal gain. He encouraged Cedrella to keep it and use it when she wanted to, but he never touched it. He wanted to show Arcturus that he can make his own fortune.

He had inherited a portion of the Weasley farms (assuming he had other siblings before and/or after him). It wasn’t much, but he used creative means to make his portion flourish above the other portions. Only then did Arcturus give his daughter to Septimus (and yes, being the Weasley man he was, he damn-well waited for Arcturus’s approval).

Very shortly after getting married, Septimus and Cedrella had their first son out of maybe three. (The youngest of which was none other than Arthur Weasley.) They lived a “plain” and “simple” life with their successful farm.

At some point, possibly in the mid-1940s, times were getting a bit harder economically. Grindelwald’s infamy fragmented the socio-economic system, leaving the Wizarding World divided by class. That meant more “rich and influential” had the notion that they were so superior to Muggles and Muggleborns that anyone with magical blood who associated with them were just as inferior. And after Obscuri became public knowledge, there were task forces in every country centered on locating any magical activity coming from any household. This lead to many more Muggleborns being exposed and accepted into magical schools. ((I think I accidentally explained the whole FB epic plot lol!))

 After Muggleborns left school, most of them were forced to go back into the Muggle World because the segregation was REAL. No one wanted to hire them and it was really sad that most of them were super talented. Septimus’s business needed workers, and work was work regardless of “blood status”. This earned much hate from his in-laws and other people in the “Sacred” families. His fellow Weasley clan didn’t seem to mind, but it was tough on business for them to sell their goods as well. Nevertheless, his Muggleborn workers were friendly, happy to work and, dare he say it, better than he would have done. He paid all of his workers equally.

Business was bad on the Weasley farm in the mid to late 1940’s. Septimus was baffled to see such a decline in produce quality and quantity. Cedrella offered to help out with her inheritance, and, with that Gryffindor stubbornness, Septimus refused to touch it still. Cedrella tried to reason with him; they had another child on the way, and they had workers to pay. They couldn’t afford to do both. Septimus studied day and night on how to regrow his produce in time for harvest season. Just as he found a way, he woke up to all of his livestock dead in his fields. One of his Muggleborn workers was said to have poisoned them with the wrong food. (Some of the workers of “Wizard Decent” were passive blood purists and didn’t want to share the same place with “Mudbloods”. So, they “framed” the Muggleborns.) Septimus had no choice but to fire the men that were framed because of all the evidence pointing them to the crime. In doing so, Arcturus welcomed him with open arms. It was strange to be on his father-in-law’s good graces, especially now. And quite honestly, he wasn’t going to ruin it.

Cedrella was the one that thought it was wrong. She explained that her father liked him because he thought he had picked a side. She, for one, didn’t like sides and would have rather stayed in the grey area.

Septimus was okay with it until Arcturus invited him to the ritzy parties. And these parties were all full of influential people that supported Grindelwald’s hierarchy. Tom Riddle was a welcomed guest as well, with his few intimidating followers. Septimus felt uneasy sitting in on these dinners; they were full of bigots and loud elitists, and he wanted no part of it.

At some point, Septimus found a good time to start fighting back. Arcturus gloated about how his son-in-law fired all of his “Mudblood” employees, and Septimus boldly fires back that he had to clean house entirely.

 “Unfortunately, I had to let go the men who had falsely accused my good workers. But, luckily, I have those workers back. Bless them, for being so forgiving.”

 The whole hall went silent. Arcturus laughed to cut the tension.

 “Oh, Septimus,” barked Arcturus. “Always the kidder of the family. My daughter sought you humor, surely.”

 “She suggested it.”

 Arcturus’s laughter dwindled down to a low chuckle, then stopped completely. They had an awkward spat. Then, it came down to that line, whether he was on their side or the other. Septimus tried to reason that taking sides was a waste of time…

 “We teach Muggleborns for what reason? To make sure they don’t kill us with their power? What rubbish!”

 “We shouldn’t be teaching Muggleborns anything! Magic should be kept within the families it has been in for genereations.”

 “Magic had to have started somewhere. What if they are the first in their family?”

 “Bah…”

 “Frankly, Arcturus, I think your belief in preserving the Black family line is as outdated as the wig you wear to keep people from seeing your bald spot. There are potion remedies for that, or have you tried that already?”

Thoroughly insulted, Arcturus kicks Septimus out of the party until he was ready to apologize for embarrassing him. But that’s the thing: Septimus never planned on apologizing. He was forced to pick a side, so he chose not to pick sides. In not choosing a side, the Weasley side was chosen for. They were now against the regime, unless they renounced their name in favor of elitism.

 The Weasley farms were targeted by many extreme followers. Their crops were scarce and their employees were quitting left and right. Some were quitting to keep their families safe and some were quitting because they were prejudice. Either way, it was bad business for the farm. Pretty soon, the farm consisted of a huge garden, protected against any spells that might poison or harm it. He had a few faithful workers, most of whom he promised to keep safe from terrorists. Pretty soon, he was basically harboring Muggleborns in his home.

 Around this time, Arthur was born. While growing up, he was exposed to a few Muggle things here and there because of the “visitors” living in his home. Cedrella was okay with this; she had no issues with the people living in her home… Until she started getting threats from extreme followers.

 Don’t get me wrong, there were extremists on both sides. Septimus and Cedrella would kick anyone out who came home talking about how they were going to start an uprising in the other direction. At one point, one of the Muggleborns in hiding confessed to being part of a resistance group (there were many small ones at the time) and saw one of his group members kill Sirius Black. Septimus shouted at the man to leave, asking why he thought it was appropriate to come back to his home with this knowledge. He and his family could be targets. They already were, but now they would be targets to kill.

 After Cedrella’s uncle died, her father told her that she had a few chances to leave Septimus and marry her cousin, Regulus, like she was intended to in the first place as penance for Sirius’s death. He even promised that she could keep her youngest son, since he was too young to actually obtain anything Muggle related yet. Cedrella didn’t reply to any of the pleas. She loved her family; she wasn’t going to give them up for anything in the world. Besides, being with Septimus had given her more of a voice and she wasn’t afraid to spout her opinions anymore. This only gave Arcturus more incentive to “erase” her off of the family tree, but there wasn’t real evidence to them being absolute blood traitors, since the Weasley farm was essentially out of commission from terrorism.

 It was 1959. The Weasleys’ whereabouts were hidden, but the oldest sons were in Hogwarts already. I believe they were in Fourth Year and First Year respectively. Arthur was nine. Septimus’s business went belly-up by this point. Any crops or livestock he produced was for his family’s use only. Ironically, the family used Cedrella’s portion of the Black family fortune to survive for a while.

 Around wintertime, Cedrella and Septimus received a letter from the Deputy Head Master, Albus Dumbledore, that their sons have been part of a huge duel between some Slytherins and they were very badly injured. Some of them were part of the Black family in some way or another. Probably a Crabbe or Rosier. (If it was a Crabbe, it would have been Cedrella’s Uncle Cygnus’s first son’s wife’s relative. If it was a Rosier, it would have been Cedrella’s Uncle Cygnus’s first son’s third son’s future wife’s relative, aka Druella Rosier’s relative. As I’m typing this, I like the idea of connecting their stories in some way. Like, around this time, Druella has had Narcissa, but is still making up for her “mistakes”. Her family makes a statement by being super supporters and terrorizing anyone they were taught were not on their side. Yup… that’s what happened.)

 Cedrella and Septimus are forced to sit in with the Rosier’s (and, fuck it, the Crabbe’s are there too). The Rosier’s and Crabbe’s look at Cedrella and Septimus like they are scum. They argue that “boys will be boys” and it’s left at that. Dumbledore gives his two cents, fully aware that the divide is REAL.

 “Here’s to a better world in which fighting is a thing of the past. And may your sons learn from your mistakes.” There was an uneasiness in the air after that meeting.

 Cedrella and Septimus, along with Arthur, I guess, visit their oldest two in the Hospital Wing. They look terrible; they almost looked like they were beat with fists instead of wands.

 (I have now named Arthur’s brothers Walter and Bilius because those are also simple Medieval names and one is confirmed.) Walter was known for being a spitfire and Bilius liked excitement. That combination with their secret made for a recipe for disaster. Cedrella was SO cross with them for fighting, and Septimus was about ready to give them even more bruises for spilling their secret. However, they couldn’t help but be proud of them for sticking up for “what was right”.

Because of them telling the secret, Cedrella and Septimus did their best to protect the small fortune and property they had left. It was only a matter of time before Tom Riddle’s supporters came knocking again. This time, they were in masks. They came in the middle of the night, ready to murder the Muggleborns and the Weasley family in their sleep. Luckily, Cedrella had basically become an insomniac at that point; she wasn’t able to sleep, afraid that something bad would happen to her family.

 They came bursting through the door, masks and all. Cedrella was at the ready and flew spells in every direction, killing nearly half of the masked intruders. Some Muggleborns were too late and perished. Septimus helped Cedrella fight off some more masked intruders. They heard a scream come from Arthur’s bedroom. As quick as lightning, Cedrella burst through Arthur’s room and didn’t hesitate to kill the hooded figure about to take her son away.

 As the man thudded to the floor, she grabbed Arthur into her arms and said no harm would ever come to him. Septimus ran to Arthur’s door with another masked figure chasing him. Cedrella immediately cast a shield charm on the door (and idk, some of Arthur’s untapped magic solidified some walls too). Septimus stepped through it, but the masked figure halted in his tracks.

 “Uncle…” said the masked figure.

 Cedrella’s heart stopped. The hooded figure was her father, Arcturus. She had killed her father without hesitation to save her son.

 The man on the other side of the door unmasked himself to reveal her betrothed cousin, Regulus. His yellow teeth and cold, black eyes burned into her very soul. “Traitor!” he declared shrilly. “Blood traitor, Weasley! Blood trai-”

 And some Muggleborn killed Regulus from behind. The rest of the masked figures still alive Disapparated, and it was forever known that the Weasleys were blood traitors. No one knew that Cedrella had killed her own father; as far as anyone knew, the Weasleys harbored Muggleborns that were in for questioning and those Muggleborns had killed Arcturus and Regulus in a raid. In the Black family (and among Tom Riddle’s supporters), Arcturus and Regulus were honored like heroes to their cause. They had managed to kill nearly three whole families that night. Cedrella had lost all of her fortune from the Black family, as she was officially disowned from the family.

 The Weasleys were humble folk, forced to take a side. And they chose love over duty, pride over prejudice, if you will, whether they meant to or not. They were known as Blood Traitors and Cedrella had chosen to stay with a Blood Traitor family, which is why she is marked off of the Black family tree for marrying Septimus Weasley. Septimus was always on thin ice, and this event was the proof they needed.

 I think Arcturus’s intent was to kidnap Arthur and teach him the Black family way of thinking, just like the Rosier’s did to Bellatrix, which seemed “successful enough”.  Arthur was old enough to remember the Muggle stuff, too young to be able to process what had happened that fateful night. Walter and Bilius protected Arthur through their time at Hogwarts, not to say that he couldn’t stick up for himself. He has only known that he was part of a Blood Traitor family and they were proud. They encourage Arthur’s Muggle fascination; if anything, they think it’s endearing. Walter turns out to be a bit of a drunk, because he was old enough to remember too much (tying in the Weasley Uncle who almost thought Polyjuiced Harry was “one of his” at Bill and Fleur’s wedding), and Bilius was also old enough to remember some dark stuff, but ultimately uses physical comedy as a coping mechanism (as per what Fred and George had said was their muse for pranks).

So, that’s it! I didn’t have much of a narrative ending to the explanation. But we now have one more chapter completed in the Black Family History Book. More to come soon!

[heizerux]

Oni-Chan (the longer post)

(I’d add a keep reading but mobile doesn’t work like that :( )

“Lila is dangerous, and it’s only getting clearer and clearer.”

Once again, production order literally means nothing. It doesn’t. I already talked about in a previous post how certain episodes go way before/after the other regarding the Kagami storyline (just by looking at a few details), and I’ll most likely come back and revise that post when Ikari Gozen is out, but for now we’ll move on.

So let’s dive. Last time we saw ourselves in such a situation . . . It was Chameleon

(Wait! PLEASE DONT THROW THE ROCKS YET.)

Previously on “Lila is an ballistic bomb”, Lila had threatened Marinette, almost akumatized her and in the process actually cornered Adrien while still having the class under control. We ended with Adrienette fully knowing she’s a liar but agreeing, that if she IS called out, they would only be dealing with another akuma (who only gets stronger and smarter by the transformation in case this hasn’t been picked up yet).

Several salt posts and new episodes later, we now have Oni-Chan!

Let me start off with the small stuff and giving you a basic summary of what’s going down.

Lila makes up needing help with her school work and Nino being the pure boy he is said Adrien could probably help, to which Lila managed to lie her way in by bringing up “oh, but if you don’t let me in he will fail cause we can help each other and that would be bad, now wouldn’t it?” To Nathalie and alas, she enters. (Marinette is still a little past the Gigantitan stage of her love stage but hasn’t reached the point of SW2 yet, in case you wanted that to make sense of her behavior)

Lila keeps noticing that Adrien only DEEPLY cares for Ladybug (Marinette) and Kagami while being in his room and can’t stand it. . .

So she instead fakes a “couple picture” and makes it viral to all of his contacts so she can “clean house”. It’s disgusting.

Even Plagg questions his actions, and he still just thinks she wants friends and needs to be handled with kindness. Anyways back to the photo

Marinette of course knows Lila and Adrien and is no fool. . . But who doesn’t know this. . . Is my poor Kagami.

I’ll start tearing things apart in more detail here.

Kagami started crying because that rose meant so much to her. Seeing the life she lives similar to Adrien, that was probably the first person she ever really grew feelings for. Then to see him snatched by another girl?

It REALLY hurts. I feel for her.

Kagami becomes Oni-Chan and an entire fight basically breaks out over “I will fight for Adrien!” “Okay you can have him (jk no you won’t, he’s mine)”. . .

(I’ll come back to why I feel this shouldn’t have been included at the end of the post)

Real quick I love how her having the horn works on people calling out her lies. It was actually good lol.

ANYWHOOSIES

Attempts to get Lila to change keep being made until she pulls a classic “Lila move” and lured him away for Oni-Chan to take Ladybug down.

I did say there’s a reason you don’t want an akuma within her proximity, right?

(Also why Adrienette decided that even though they know she is a liar, they can’t call her out because she’s only find ways to hurt them as heroes, but also as civilians.)

Chat (Adrien) FINALLY realizes that Lila lied to lure him away from Ladybug so she could have her miraculous taken (she’s still team Hawkmoth).

Plagg was right to mention that she was looking for things, and those things are to hurt people close to him.

Now that the dots are connected for him officially, he is DONE playing smiles with her, and makes a plan to save both Ladybug, akuma Kagami and (even Lila).

That realization is what we’ve all been waiting for and what was wanted in Chameleon. For him to notice just how serious Lila is about bringing down Ladybug.

Chat Noir (Adrien) is disgusted.

How Chat actually handles KNOWING this is so cleansing. He realizes Lila hurt Kagami, so he makes sure she’s safe and well taken care of.

My heart did break a lil knowing that Ladybug didn’t get her fist bump. . . But he prioritized someone’s who was actually hurt.

That’s OUR Adrien.

Now we can conclude with Adrien not only simply knowing Lila is a snake, but also knowing that she could and WILL bring harm to the people he cares deeply for.

Which is why he CAN NOT OUT HER BECAUSE SHE’S THAT DANGEROUS.

Instead he gives her the cold shoulder and that takes a LOT. If someone tried hurt the person I love/care for, I couldn’t even look that person in the face.

It takes a lot to be able to stay “humble” against someone you dislike.

Adrien treats Kagami how he treated Marinette when she “confessed to Chat” by spending time with her and asserting that she IS important to him. (He did that too with the hug for Mari in Weredad).

His feelings may still be all about the “mysterious” Ladybug, but he won’t let Lila break down two important and valid girls.

.

.

.

Of course though. . .

Hawkmoth still needs those miraculous, and seeing as Lila can cause akumatizations and even lure LB and CN as a victim during that, Gabriel decides to “hire her” on as an “inside man”.

This means things can only get worse . . . But that’s yet to be seen.

So that was a summary with main focus on the important parts, now let’s talk about how the whole “girls vs girls all for one boy” thing should have been left out.

I’m genuinely upset about this that I don’t have much to say about other than why the hell was this in here?

These girls shouldn’t go all “yandere” over one dude who just genuinely misses his mom and hopes his dad would be decent.

How the actual development is going (when you dig through the episodes in a specific order so far), you do faintly see that this thankfully isn’t a permanent thing (SW2 was a bust but it wasn’t all for nothing), but it just shouldn’t have been in there to begin with.

Sorry this was long.

[siodymph]

“The Gift to Keep on Giving”

Hey there @the-ill-doctor ! I’m sorry this is getting to you so late but at long last here’s your gift! I had a lot of fun working on your prompt. It was so sweet, it got me right into the holiday spirit lol I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! And Happy New Year!

Feel free to read your story under the cut or over on my AO3!

There were a few subjects Stanford didn’t think about when moving to Backupsmore. Or at least things he tried not to think about. The holidays was one of those subjects.

While everyone was packing up their dorms for the semester Stanford honestly didn’t know what he was going to do. He hadn’t gone home during Hanukah. The most he’d done was send the Pine’s family a few cards and some presents to give to Shermie. He knew he wasn’t in hot water with his parents, at least not as much as Stanley, but since he hadn’t made it into his dream school things still felt weird between him and his father. If he were to go back to New Jersey for his holiday break he’d be happy to see his mom and Shermie, but he’d be stuck under the same roof as his dad again.

And if he was honest with himself, Stanford didn’t even want to go home for Christmas. Having it just be him, his parents, the baby, all stuck in a quiet house...

He tried to rationalize his decision with extra evidence. He could better optimize his work if he didn’t waste the time and money going back to New Jersey. He could use the break to study for next semester. Perhaps get a head start with the research program he got into. Maybe even begin writing a paper on theoretical physics for the Backupsmore Science Journal.

But he knew the bigger reason why he didn’t want to go back home. Even if he never said it out loud.

He told himself he was fine, therefor he was fine. He’d spend the winter break at school. Doing work. Doing important work. And he’d be fine.

So when Fiddleford McGucket practically demanded he pack a suitcase and come to Tennessee with him it practically ripped apart his original plans.

“No way I’m letting you stay out here in California by your lonesome!” He’d called out as he shoved the last of his coats and shoes into a duffel bag. “You’re my friend!”

“But I don’t even know your family!” Stanford groaned from his bed. Watching Fiddleford race around their dorm like a headless chicken. “Hell, I’ve only known you for four months! Isn’t that weird?”

Fiddleford actually had the gall to laugh and looked over his shoulder. “Stanford Pines! A friend’s a friend, no matter how long you’ve known’em! Besides, if you knew my folks you’d know they love having guests. They’ll take any excuse they can get to throw a party.”

“And you don’t think they’ll find me… Odd?”

Pausing, Fiddleford turned back from his bags to give Stanford a sincere look. “Trust me, you’ll hardly be out of place. I’m sure they’ll love ya!”

“You really think so?” Stanford asked.

“I know so!” Fiddleford declared.

“I don’t even celebrate Christmas, I’m Jewish.”

“Still no excuse to leave you all alone here. Especially since break goes through all of December and New Year’s.” Fiddleford called back. But he stopped for a moment, talking a little slower. And sighing “Ok wait, hold on. If you don’t wanna go, I shouldn’t be forcing ya like this…”

“What? You seemed so keen on me going with you just moments ago.”

“I know, and I want you to. I mean, I don’t want you feeling left out is all. But if you wanna come or not, it’s entirely your choice.” Fiddleford replied.

As he went back to packing Stanford found himself faced with a difficult choice. Continue with his original plan of staying at Backupsmore? Or go with Fidds?

It was true that he’d only known the other man for four month now. But he was also one of the only friends he’d made at school besides one girl and guy in his history class, and his roommate… Kinda. But of everyone he’d come to know it felt like only Fiddleford ever had the patience to actually talk with him. To talk about the things they liked, and with so much in common between them they hardly ever sat in awkward silence.

And despite not knowing one another long Stanford found that he really enjoyed Fiddleford’s company. Together they felt like this unstoppable duo, that they could do anything if they only set their minds to it. And no matter what they’d always have one another to support their endeavors and have each other’s backs.

Stanford hadn’t had a person like that in his life since he and Stanley were kids…

But would it be worth it to leave school, abandon all the plans he’d made, just to spend more time with Fidds?

Fiddleford actually jumped with a tiny squeak when a duffle bag was suddenly dropped next to his.

“Alright buddy, count me in!”

Fiddleford’s eyes lit up. “You mean it?”

Stanford shrugged “Eh, might as well do some traveling. I’ve never been to Tennessee after all!”

Before he could back up, Fiddleford tackled him in a hug. “Aw, thanks for doing this! You’re gonna love it! And just wait until you meet my family!”

“I hope so…” Stanford said with a sigh. He wasn’t completely sure he made the right choice but at least now Fiddleford was happier once again.

“Let me just call my Ma so she knows I’m not dead and I’ll start packing!”

A few days later Stanford found himself on a cross-country bus alongside his best friend. The ride might have been dull had he been traveling alone. But with Fiddleford there trip was much more enjoyable. It didn’t feel any shorter, but at least there was banjo music, talks of science, stories and plenty of good books to keep both of them busy.

And as soon as they left the station after two days of near non-stop traveling, the McGucket family clan was there to greet them with open arms.

After that the next few days became a blur. The McGuckets treated every Christmas like a family reunion so the old farmhouse was packed to the gills. It was a little claustrophobic at times but in some strange sort of way Stanford found himself almost enjoying the chaos of it all.

True to his word, Fiddleford’s family seemed genuinely interested in him. In such a crowded house people seldom even noticed his hands. And even when he did most of the McGucket’s seemed more interested in his hands than disgusted or disturbed. Though sometimes he did find himself uncomfortable around Fiddleford’s grandmother when she started commenting that perhaps he had been marked by a devil. But Fiddleford could shoo her off easily enough.

When Christmas Eve finally came Stanford honestly didn’t know what to expect. In his house they’d barely cared about the christian holiday. The most interest Stanford and his brothers had in it had been all the presents and the candy and the comfort food. But he’d always seen it on television and advertisings. From what he’d gathered as a kid the rest of America seemed to care about Christmas a lot.

And sure enough Christmas Eve proved to be the big red and white party he’d always seen in movies. Funny enough though Stanford expected Fiddleford’s family to be even wilder than the ones he saw on TV, seeing how excited they’d been already. But come Christmas Eve Stanford swore the McGucket clan actually seemed slightly more subdued than they had every day leading up to it.

They did insist on doing a lot of baking though. All day it seemed like there were people working in the kitchen. Roasts, pies, casseroles, cakes, salads, unique recipes Stanford didn’t even know how to categories! And it seemed like everyone was contributing to a massive dinner platter over-flowing with cookies by the end of the night. All for Santa supposedly. It seemed rather excessive but let the family continue doing it, not wanting to spoil all their fun.

Fun… that was probably the biggest feeling he’d gotten from the McGucket’s Christmas Eve. Everything seemed to be so much fun to them. And when he saw the joy that seemed to radiate off Fiddleford he couldn’t help but agree and smile back.

And later as he got ready to go to bed he couldn’t help but think about it still.

“I know that look.” Fiddleford said with a smirk. “Wha’cha thinking about, pal?”

“Not much, buddy.” Stanford answered back, keeping his voice low. With such close quarters not only was Stanford rooming with Fiddleford, but also three of his other cousins as well and they were already fast asleep.

“I guess it’s just… you and your family are a lot different from my own.”

“You think so?”

“My family is nothing like this, I’ve only seen some of my relatives once or twice. And never all at once like this. They just tolerated each other. But you, you and your family, you all seem so close.”

“I think that’s all thanks to my Dad and all his siblings.” Fiddleford said, looking over to a few of his cousins. “They always believed that family owed it to one another stick together through thick and thin. And if it weren’t for them sticking like that, I doubt I’d see these guys nearly as often. If ever.”

“What family owes?”

Fiddleford shrugged. “You know. Looking out for one another? Caring about everyone? My Granny was sure to hammer that int’a everyone’s skulls.”

“It’s a bit ironic,” Stanford realized. Trying to ignore the bubbling guilt in his gut the more he thought about his family and his brother. “Despite being people with such similar interests our home lives couldn’t be any different. I… don’t really like being around my family that much. I didn’t even go home for Hanukah this year just because I didn’t want to see them so soon.”

“Well next year put it on the calendar! Whether we go to New Jersey or not I wanna celebrate Hanukah with you!” Fiddleford declared. Quickly putting his hand over his mouth when one of his cousins grumbled in their sleep.

“You would?” Stanford whispered in disbelief.

“Of course!” Fiddleford declared, trying hard to keep his voice still a whisper. “It’s been so nice havin’ you here. It’s the least I can do after dragging your butt out of sunny California here in the dead of winter! And I’d love to celebrate more things with you. It could become like a little tradition if you wanted.”

“I think I’d like that very much.” Stanford agreed. “And you know there’s more than just Hanukah… I could show you all our other holidays if you like.”

“I’d like that very much.” Fiddleford said warmly. Then he stood up out of his bed and went to put back on his shoes.

“You aren’t going to bed yet?” Stanford asked, stifling a yawn. Usually when they’d slept over in one another’s dorm Fiddleford had always been the first to fall asleep.

“Oh, I was just gonna go help my Pa out in the stables. Apparently the horses are givin’ him trouble settling down.” Fiddleford rushed to say.

Stanford could hardly hear any commotion outside, not to mention hadn’t seen Fiddleford talk to his father once, but he didn’t think much of it. Yawning he snuggled deeper into his blankets. “Alright then, goodnight whenever you do go to sleep.”

“Night buddy.” Fiddleford said before padding quietly out of the room. “And merry Christmas.”

Wondering what would happen the next day, and already dreaming of what it’d be like the celebrate Hanukah with Fidds, Stanford let himself drift off…

If Christmas Eve had felt like an ordeal at the McGucket household, Christmas day completely blew him away.

When he got up the next day it was like he’d stumbled into a completely different house. There was even more decorations placed along the walls and in every nook and cranny of the house. There were so many gifts placed under the tree they took up an entire half of the living room floor. And somehow during the four hours he’d actually slept someone had managed to eat the entire platter of cookies left out by the chimney. And when Stanford tried to ask who did it, he got the same answer the adults gave the kids.

“It was Santa silly! He sure loves his cookies!” Fiddleford declared.

“But I mean who really ate them all?” Stanford tried again. Keeping his voice low just in case any of the children there heard.

Fiddleford looked at him blankly. “… Santa!”

“Ok fine keep your secrets!” Stanford said. “I just wanted to know who could eat all those cookies. And I doubt they just threw them all out, that’d be a waste!”

“You really have no idea how Santa did it?”

“No and this is going to drive me crazy for the rest of the day. You’d have to be in diabetic shock after eating so many cookies at once!”

“Fine! I’ll let you in on a secret.” Looking around to make sure there weren’t any kids, Fiddleford pulled him aside back to his room and pulled out a cookie from his coat pocket. Letting it fall into Stanford’s hands. He couldn’t believe it.

“Wait, you did-”

“It’s a team effort.” Fiddleford replied in a hushed whisper. “Most the grown-up’s stay up to go decorate the house and along the way we clean off the plate.”

Stanford immediately blushed. “I uh-”

The longer he stayed quiet the more Fiddleford’s face fell. “Did you- Did you think only one person was allowed to eat those?”

“I… I hadn’t considered it.” Stanford replied in a quiet voice. He really hadn’t thought of that.

He could tell Fiddleford wanted to laugh really badly, but the man just clapped him on the shoulder, struggling not to fall over and cackle. “Stanford Pines! You’re a genius but I swear you got the perception of a- of a… I don’t even know!”

While Fiddleford found the situation hilarious, Stanford wanted to crawl away somewhere and hide. How had he not figured that out? He was on track to finish his bachelor’s in two years and yet he couldn’t figure out that more than one person could eat the cookies. Fiddleford thankfully didn’t mock him for long before taking him by the elbow and dragging him back towards the dining room.

“Don’t worry though, your secret’s safe with me!”

“I hope so.” Stanford grumbled. “A mistake like that could ruin my reputation…”

Fiddleford shook his head, “Aw don’t be so hard on yourself it happens to everyone! You look too close at the details and you’ll forget what the big picture’s supposed to be!”

Even with Fiddleford’s reassurance he still couldn’t help but feel foolish. Hopefully this was something he’d keep in mind once he went back to school…

He was pulled from his thoughts when someone called out “PRESENT TIME!” and they were all dragged down to the living room where the tree and all the gifts were. It was quite a scene to watch. There were children all over the floor and adults began handing out presents one by one. Everyone seemed to just buzz with anticipation as the kids began ripping into their presents.

Stanford got so caught up watching everyone else he almost jumped when a present was dropped into his own lap.

Fiddleford was quick to apologize, laughing nervously. “Oh dear! I wanted to surprise you. Not startle you.”

When Ford looked over the package he wasn’t quite sure what to say at first. “Fiddleford I- Well, thank you, but I couldn’t possibly-”

“Aw, don’t you worry none. I already got plenty of gifts from all my folks.” Fiddleford said quickly. “I know you don’t celebrate… but I wanted you to feel included.”

“But I wasn’t able to get anything for you. Not to mention the rest of your family.”

“Hey, that ain’t what the holidays are about.” Fiddleford replied. “I got you a gift cause I wanted to give you one, not cause I expected you to do anything in return.”

Stanford still looked unsure, but he decided to let it go for now. And instead went about unwrapping the gift. For all of Fiddleford’s talent and skills, wrapping was not one and Stanford found himself navigating a strange puzzle of weird folds and a ridiculous amount of tape. He was pretty sure it was a book of sometime. Probably a textbook. It was certainly heavy enough. And he could feel a hard cover of some kind under his fingers.

When he finally pulled back all the paper and could read the cover. It was all navy blue with golden trim with a strange looking beast on the front that seemed almost unreal.

 “Anomalous Phenomena”

 “I thought you might like it. Since you always seem so interested in genetic anomalies. Plus when you mentioned trying to find the Jersey Devil as a kid...” Fiddleford said quietly.

“Fiddleford…” Stanford breathed. “I… I love it! Where did you even find a book like this?”

“Saw at school when they started discontinuing a bunch of books. It seemed like something right up your alley. Thought it’d be a shame if such’a interesting book like that disappeared off the face of the earth.”

Stanford remembered hearing about the library being clear out, but that was weeks ago. Fiddleford had been holding onto this the whole time? Just waiting for the holidays to come, waiting until now to give this book to him. He really thought that much of Stanford Pines?

Ford felt his cheeks start burning the more he thought about it.

“Thank you Fiddleford. I mean it… Truly. For everything.” Stanford said slowly, running over the book cover with his hand. Letting all six of his fingers brush over the golden trim “I think you may be one of my dearest friends.”

“Aw shucks.” Fiddleford said with a light chuckle. “It’s nothing really.”

“Not to me it isn’t.” Stanford replied. He could still feel himself blushing and hoped no one noticed. “No one’s ever done something like this for me Fidds. You, you probably don’t realize what this means to me. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Well once or twice is good enough for me.” Fiddleford said back with a smirk.

Stanford wanted to say more but one of the McGucket youngsters ran up to them and started pulling Fiddleford away for more presents.

“Sorry Stanford, but duty calls!” He said, pretending he was heavier than he was while his younger cousin dragged him back over to the tree to open more gifts. All around him a few more of his siblings and cousins laughed at his antics before they all settled down back under the tree and Fiddleford began passing out more gifts to the rest of his family.

For those few moments it all seemed so perfect. The whole family there. Together. Happy. And Fiddleford near the center of it all, practically glowing with a beautiful smile, golden brown hair and sharp blue eyes that never missed a thing.

Stanford had always thought Fiddleford was a handsome-looking fella. Sure, he’d never said it to the man’s face but he’d always thought it. But in those few moments as he watched him, practically brimming with Christmas spirit, Stanford thought he was absolutely beautiful.

A soft smile fell onto Stanford’s face as he started trying to formulate the perfect gift to get Fiddleford once they went back to school. Part of him still felt obligated, he had to return the favor. But Ford also found himself holding onto Fiddleford’s words. He wanted to give Fidds a gift because he wanted to give him something nice. But what could he possibly give the other man? A man who was quickly becoming one of the most important people in his life currently.

A book? Perhaps something about robots? He was certainly an admirable engineer…

Stanford also made sure to get a couple extra jars of Mrs. McGucket’s fruit preserves and save them for whenever he noticed Fiddleford getting homesick once they were back in school.

[cheeseeatingtrashmonster]

Who Said That Every Wish Chapter 17: Take Me Home

The last chapter! Surprise! I’m posting it a day early because I think there’s a new episode tomorrow and I hate posting the same day as an episode lol For anyone who wants more of this universe, I'm working on the sequel(s) now, but I don't know when they'll be done. Thank you all for reading and supporting me. This project means so much to me and sharing it was a big step. So thank you, and please enjoy :)

The twins face Gabriel.

<< First | < Previous | Sequel (Work in Progress!) >

Read on AO3 

Nathalie sighed. "Your father. I still don't want you to see him, but he's being childish. He found a loophole with his lawyer to compel you to visit. Childish.”

"Just me?"

"No, Adrien's in the car. I'm sorry, I wasn’t given the time to fight this. I will be with you the whole time, and the meeting will not last more than thirty minutes. Fewer if he upsets either of you. Or me."

"Maybe this is good," Felix said as he slid into the back seat with Adrien. "Maybe confronting Gabriel will be good."

"I just want to know why," Adrien said. He was shrinking in on himself, arms crossed and shoulders hunched as he stared out the window. "There has to be a reason."

"I wouldn't look for one," Plagg said. (It had come out in the past few days that the Gorilla had known all along that the twins were Chat Noir, so Plagg had no reservations about talking in front of him.) "Even if he has a reason, that doesn't make up for what he did just to the two of you, much less the rest of the city. You shouldn't look for something to justify what he did, because you won't find it. You're too good, Adrien, to understand him."

"I don't think I am," he said in a quiet voice.

The rest of the ride was quiet. Felix zoned out for the check in to the prison and before he knew it, he, Adrien, and Nathalie were on one side of a table, and Gabriel Agreste was on the other. He looked a decade older.

“Hello, Adrien. Hello, Felix.”

Felix tried to harden his heart further, put up yet another wall around himself. This was the monster who destroyed things, possessed people, caused chaos and panic for an entire city, all for more power. This was the person responsible for trapping Felix in the role of child soldier, fighting victim-enemies with even less choice in joining the fight than he had. This wasn't his father anymore. This wasn't the man who raised him, the man who had lost so much, the man who used to read to him, record his dance recitals, wipe his tears. This wasn't the father everyone said Felix resembled in manner and disposition. This was Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth who hurt Nino.

Nino.

Nino who had had to help him pull down his walls, brick by brick.

Felix couldn't sit here and build another, only to have to tear it down again.

Nino deserved a break on that front.

"Father," Felix greeted with a nod.

"Say your piece, Gabriel, so the boys can leave," Nathalie said. "You know my conditions."

Gabriel took a deep breath, looked Adrien and then Felix in the eye, and said, "I'm sorry. I won't ask for your forgiveness, because it's clear even to me that I don't deserve it. But you deserve an apology, and it wouldn't mean as much over the phone."

"I wouldn't have let you call them, either," Nathalie muttered.

"Why did you do it?" Adrien asked. He ignored Natalie's small sigh and Felix putting a hand on his arm. "I want to know what justification you could possibly have for what you did."

"I thought I could combine the miraculous to reset time and keep your mother from disappearing. Nothing I did to accomplish my goal would matter because it wouldn't happen."

"I was Chat Noir," Felix said. Mostly to derail Adrien, but if anything could make it obvious to his father that what he did mattered even in the face of time travel, this would be it. His voice shook, his heart beat too quickly, and everything felt too hot, but he said it.

Gabriel's hand rose to cover his mouth, shaking. His eyes closed for a moment before he forced them back open.

"I became Chat Noir before Hawkmoth arrived, you were right about that," Felix said.

“No,” Gabriel said, shaking his head, clenching his fists.

"You should know that Ladybug is a dear friend of mine. And all of the heroes. What you did to us was unforgivable. But I can't stay mad at you because all that will do is eat me alive."

"No, Felix- no." Fear and anger warred on Gabriel's face. Adrien could feel Nathalie shift on one side of him, preparing to end the meeting. He could feel Felix take a breath on the other.

"How many times did you almost lose me? Even if I was a stranger, what would Mom think about this?" Felix rubbed at his temple, trying to ignore the headache growing. Without his walls, his body was trying desperately to protect his heart for him. "I know you've thought of what Mom would want. And I'm sure that your remorse now is mostly because you have no chance of 'fixing' everything with the miraculouses. So don't try to explain anymore, please. Don't justify. You were wrong."

Gabriel tried to speak. He reached across the table to Felix, stopping short of touching him. Felix took his hand for just a moment before pulling away.

"I'll work on forgiving you. Give me some time." He looked at Adrien, then back at his father. "Is there anything else?"

Adrien shook his head. "I don't think I can forgive you," he said. "Don't expect me to be at the trial."

Adrien stood up and left. Nathalie looked torn.

"I'm almost done, then we can go," Felix said. She nodded. “Does he know you're-” Felix pointed to his shirt where he knew Nathalie kept her miraculous hidden on her own.

Nathalie nodded. “I may have informed him of who ensured his power was taken away.”

Felix turned to his father once more. "You should thank Nathalie for taking you down when she did. I know I will never stop thanking her for saving me from that confrontation." Felix paused here, trying to decide just how far he could put his anger aside at the moment. He gave a determined nod and said, "I'm seeing someone. Nino Lahiffe, Adrien's friend."

Gabriel's eyebrows rose. "I didn't know- I always expected you and the Kurtzberg boy. Or Ms. Bourgeois. Thank you. Thank you for telling me. I hope he makes you happy."

Felix gave a nod again and stood. Nathalie rose with him, waiting on his move.

"I'll be busy during school, and traveling for a while after graduation, but I'll try to visit some when I've returned."

They were to the door when Gabriel called, "Felix?"

He turned around, starting to get what Marinette meant by "Agreste Male Drama" with his father’s timing. "Yes?"

"You have more of your mother in you than you realize."

/*****/

"You saw your father?" Nino said the moment Felix stepped through the door to his room. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you text me? You said nothing! Are you okay?"

"I didn't want to text about it," Felix said, setting down a pile of boxes on the rolling table that extended over Nino's bed. "I don't want to talk about it, either. I'm processing it, I'm taking my time. I'm sure you'll get more than your fair share of helping Adrien and me through our family drama. And quite frankly, I'm sick of crying on your shoulder. Now, how does a game of Battleship sound? Or Checkers? Everyone thinks I'm the type to like Chess, but I actually hate it, so I didn't bring it. I also did not bring Twister, because Adrien cataclysm'd the spinner after the last time I won seven games in a row. Plus you have broken bones and casts and generally shouldn’t move that much."

The pair played board games and card games for as long as Nino could keep his eyes open. Felix was surprisingly good at Battleship and surprisingly bad at Checkers. They were both horrible at Go Fish. Adrien showed up for the last couple hands of Go Fish and marveled that two people could be so bad at such a simple game.

"You staying?" Nino asked Felix while burrowing into his blanket.

"Not tonight. I'll be back in the morning."

"Okay. Take care of each other," Nino said with a lazy wave as his eyes stopped fluttering open.

"Think the Dupain-Chengs will take me for the night?" Felix asked, letting Adrien put an arm around his shoulders as they walked.

"Someone needs to temper Marinette's angry-levels," Adrien said. "She's even madder that we saw Father than I am. I ended up having to talk her down, which didn't do much for how mad I still am."

"We'll send her out for a patrol," Felix said. "A quick run around the city, beat up a few muggers or bicycle thieves, she'll calm down and realize she's not helping."

"I don't know how you did it," Adrien said as they walked the now-familiar path back to the bakery. "How did you just... you saw Father through Hawkmoth. I can't do that. I just see Hawkmoth, and the man who betrayed us."

"I don't know. Probably Nino's influence. He shouldn't have to force me to deal with this, so I'll force myself to. Does that make sense?"

"The part where Nino's the reason, sure," Adrien said.

Felix suppressed a smirk and an eye roll. "Let's just kick your girlfriend out of her own house and take advantage of Tom's cooking."

"Nathalie not much of a cook?" Adrien asked as they climbed the stairs behind the bakery.

"She has the phone number and menu of six separate takeout places memorized."

/*****/

"All right, Nino," Karen said at the end of a PT session. "You're heading home tomorrow. I'm signing the paperwork now."

"Good, because the twins already started back at school and I can only do so much to keep up with classes when I'm here."

"I noticed the lack of Felix the past couple days. But you aren't going straight back to school. You'll spend a week or two doing outpatient PT and getting used to getting around on your own before you start up school. Hopefully, you'll have more time for catching up on those lessons you missed though."

"Good enough. I miss my bed. I miss my computer. I miss my shower." He got himself into his wheelchair and pointed towards the door. "We good? I'm free to go? Last in-patient PT session over?"

"Yeah," Karen said with a smile. "I'll leave your outpatient PT schedule with your discharge papers. Tell Felix hi for me."

Nino had to wait until he was back in his room to text the team that he was getting out in the morning because texting and wheelchairing was not the smartest plan.

"You hear that, Wayzz? We're going home."

"That will be nice. I enjoy my aquarium tank. And now I don't have to pretend to be a turtle all the time. Does Chris know?"

"No, but Mel does. I want to wait a little longer with Chris. One major life event at a time, y'know?"

The next morning Felix skipped school to help Mrs. Lahiffe get Nino home. He wasn't strictly needed, but Mrs. Lahiffe had invited him, and as scary as Nino's family was to him still, he wanted to show he was making an effort. He carried the box of Nino's things that had ended up at the hospital with him and trailed behind the nurse wheeling him to the car without a word.

"It'll be a while before I'm allowed back at school, so maybe you should come to tutor me," Nino said. He was very carefully not looking at Felix and fidgeting with the headphones that were around his neck again.

"Of course," Felix said.

"And I'll be bored with only my family for company, so maybe you should visit even when there's no school related things to work on."

"If you like," Felix said, feeling a ghost of a smile on his face.

"And you've started up dance lessons again, so you need to keep your strength up, and I'm betting we make better food than whatever Nathalie manages to order each night, so you should stay for dinner as often as you can."

"I don't think I'd ever complain about a home-cooked meal. I'd love to learn how to cook, too, so maybe I can also help in the kitchen."

"Just ask him on a proper date and put us all out of our misery," Mrs. Lahiffe said. "My own son, dancing around the point. Thought I raised you better than this..."

Nino rolled his eyes. They had arrived at the car. They got Nino into his seat, then Felix climbed in behind him with the box.

"Hey, Felix?"

"Yes, Nino?"

"Wanna get dinner and get lost in a bookstore some time?" Nino worried he would break his headphones from how hard he was gripping them.

Felix reached over and took Nino’s hat, placing it on his own head. "Sounds like a perfect date.”

Mrs. Lahiffe was talking to the nurse outside the car, very obviously giving them a minute before she joined them.

"How are you doing?" Felix asked, reaching out to touch the cast on Nino's arm. "Need anything?"

"I'm good. Just take me home. That's all I need."

/*****/

“Who said that every wish

Would be heard and answered

When wished on the morning star?

Somebody thought of that

And someone believed it

And look what it's done so far.”

- “Rainbow Connection”

[staytheb]

Polaroids

Pairing: TBZ’s Sunwoo x OC [Seul] Genre: slice of life, slight fluff Word Count: 2,658 Summary: Seul feels bad about yelling at Sunwoo after learning he wasn’t being lazy and disobedient during the preparations for the school festival.

Warning: the mentions of a curse word, twice. lol

i’m really bad with summary, so sorry if it doesn’t appeal to you. lol also i again didn’t know how to title this and just went with what’s been mentioned a lot of the polaroids. lol other than that i’m just happy to have written another story with a TBZ member. so happy reading and kthxbai, Admin Lia~

"What's wrong with you?" Yeon asked her younger sister upon noticing Seul going through a bunch of polaroids while mumbling to herself as Yeon had walked passed her sister's bedroom.

"Huh?" Seul asked while glancing up.

Yeon entered Seul's room and took a seat at the desk chair while watching her sister sift through more photographs on her bed. Yeon waited for Seul to talk.

"You remember that one guy in my class I usually rant about?"

"The Sunwoo kid, right?"

"Yeah."

"What about him?"

"Well, he took a bunch of photos of us while we were prepping for our school's festival that's happening tomorrow and and I ended up yelling at him out of frustration and annoyance because I thought he wasn't doing anything."

"So you thought he wasn't doing anything, but he actually was?" Yeon asked with a curious look.

"Yeah. Like he was supposed to help build and decorate the stand, but he kept wandering around and bothering the others. I mean, everyone was doing their part and actually participating, but from my point of view he wasn't doing anything and just kept looking over people's shoulders."

"So you basically told him off for not doing anything."

"Yes."

"But?"

"He was the one that took all of these and wanted to do a collage of sort for the other classes to see how we were mingling and what not, but I didn't know that and now I feel bad for yelling at him for not doing anything when he was doing something that I didn't assign him for."

Seul groaned as she fell back against her bed with eyes close. Yeon lightly chuckled as she sat on her knees by her sister's bed to skim through the photos.

"And because you have pride issues, you don't know how to apologize even though in a way it doesn't seem like your fault or his, but still some fault elsewhere."

"Yeah, something like that."

"Did he tell you about the polaroids after you yelled at him?"

"No. Eunbin showed them to me after school once I made sure everything was all set for tomorrow."

"Oh. How come he didn't?"

"He had soccer practice."

"So, what you gonna do then?"

"Dunno."

Seul continued lying on her back with closed eyelids as Yeon finished going through the polaroids.

"Hey, how come there's none of you?"

"Hmm?" Seul asked while rising to an upright position. "What do you mean?"

"I don't see any of you in any of these." Yeon stated while picking up several images. "There's like fifty of these yet I see none of you in them."

"Maybe he hates me because I yelled at him."

"That's kinda dumb if he did."

"Who knows."

At that moment Seul's phone dinged indicating she got a Kakao message. Her eyebrows furrowed upon seeing it was from Sunwoo.

"He messaged me." Seul told Yeon as her older sister smiled. "Okay. And?"

"He never messages me."

"Maybe he wants an apology."

"Or maybe he wants me to return the polaroids to him."

"Then opened it and you'll find out. Let me know what happens." Yeon said to her sister while standing back up.

"Where are you going?"

"I gotta get ready for my date with Sangyeon. He's gonna teach me how to make fried rice balls."

Seul cast her older sister a look.

"Don't you know how to make those?"

"I do, but that doesn't mean I can't let my boyfriend try to teach me things he likes to do."

"Isn't it just like how you always let him win in Jenga?"

"Yeah, but he found out how good I'm actually am after witnessing me beat Changmin and Chanhee the other day."

"Then why don't you actually have him teach you how to play the guitar since you suck."

"Hahaha, you're so funny, but nah. Musical instruments aren't my thing. Anyways, reply back to that Sunwoo kid or you guys are gonna graduate on bad terms."

"We won't graduate on bad terms. Go away and enjoy your date."

Yeon bid her sister a goodbye as she left Seul's room. Seul returned her attention onto the Kakao notification that she still hadn't opened yet.

Seul was back in her class of 3-B of Creker High School as Sunwoo wanted to talk to her after soccer practice. She was going to wait outside the school's gates, but his practice was running longer than expected and so Seul told him that she'll be in their classroom re-checking the things for the festival tomorrow. Seul passed the time by actually using Sunwoo's photos and putting them to use as she was going to return them back to him.

Some time later Seul didn't notice Sunwoo entering the classroom as she was too focused on the project before her. Sunwoo quietly watched Seul tying loops within the string she was using and hooking paper clips within them before attaching a polaroid in-between the paper clips. After completing the set she was working on she held it up and admired her work. She had to admit that Sunwoo knew how to take pictures and that the memories could be seen within them.

"I wondered where these should go." Seul mumbled to herself as she looked about the classroom before setting her sight on Sunwoo. "Oh. Hi."

"Hi." Sunwoo greeted and smiled at her. "I see Eunbin told you about the polaroids."

"Oh, yeah, she did."

Seul picked up the other finished sets she had done and offered them towards Sunwoo.

"I dunno if this was what you were planning to do, but I couldn't help myself and started to do them already."

"Oh, no, no. They're fine. I didn't know what to do with them either. I actually was going to ask you about them."

"Ah, okay, well here you go." Seul said as she set them the items onto the desk. "I'm sure you'll find a good spot for them to hang tomorrow."

"Hmm, I'm sure I would."

Silence fell between and Seul waited for Sunwoo to tell her what he wanted to talk about, but he didn't say anything. He just played with the ends of his bag.

"Um, you do remember that it was you who asked me to talk to you after your practice, right?" Seul reminded.

"Ahh, yeah, yeah, I did." Sunwoo said as he recalled. "Right, right. I did."

"I mean, I understand if it was to get back at me and all, but this is such a waste of time to do so. Don't you think, Sunwoo?"

"Nah, Seul, nah. It's not what you think. It's not like that." Sunwoo dismissed with a laugh. "I'm sorry, but I was just surprised by you doing that whole string thing that I totallly forgot what I wanted to say."

"Really? Okay, sure, whatever, Sunwoo." Seul responded sarcastically while picking up her bag with a roll of her eyes. "I was gonna give you these juice extracts as an apology, but I change my mind."

"Juice extracts? What flavor?" Sunwoo moved closer to see the flavors that Seul had, but she backed away from him.

"No, no, no. I don't think so."

"Aww, c'mon. Be nice to me at least this one time."

"What are you talking about?"

"To other people you're nice, but not to me."

Seul shot Sunwoo a judging look while the male slightly pouted and casually sat on the edge of a desk with his back towards her.

"I'm whatever to people, Sunwoo. Don't get all salty or whatever."

"I'm not."

"Sure. Anyways, good job on the photos. You did well. I'm sure the others will love it when they see it during the festival." Seul told him while coming up to him and then placing two juice extract pouches on the desk in front of him. "See you tomorrow morning, Sunwoo."

Seul cast him a small smile before making her way towards the door and leaving the classroom. She hadn't gone far until she heard the door opened from behind her and Sunwoo calling out her name.

"Hey, Seul, wait."

Seul turned around to face him with a curious expression.

"Hmm?"

"How come you didn't ask?"

"Ask what?"

"About there not being any photos of you."

"Does it really matter?"

Sunwoo didn't answer her right away not thinking Seul would respond that way. Seul spoke again not wanting the silence to fall upon them again.

"It's fine, Sunwoo. I know I can be a bit of a bitch a majority of the time and nag a lot so it's fine if there's no polaroids of me." Seul sincerely told him. "As long as you guys had fun is what really matters in the end."

"Although that's highly true, Seul, you're really not a bad class representative." Sunwoo admitted. "If it wasn't for you who knows if we would've gotten anything done this whole school year."

"Yeah, I guess and thanks. Anyways, hope you like the flavors because I don't know what you like. I just took whatever my sister had in the fridge." She admitted with a laugh before speaking again. "Anyways, Sunwoo, have a good evening. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Let me walk you home." Sunwoo offered as he exited the classroom with his bag slung over his shoulder and making his way towards Seul.

"Um, I can walk home by myself, thank you very much." Seul stated as she turned away from him and began walking on ahead.

"Don't be so hard-headed." Sunwoo said as he matched her strides. "Besides, it's gonna get late soon and girls shouldn't be walking late at night by themselves."

"I mean I wouldn't have if someone didn't asked me to talk to them after soccer practice."

"Well, you could have declined."

"Yeah, but that would've made me a bigger bitch if I didn't come visit you after yelling at you earlier today."

"I would have let you slide since you worked so hard as class representative."

Seul glanced over at Sunwoo while walking and talking at the same time.

"Is this just an excuse for you to walk me home and see where I live and probably ask for more juice extracts?"

Sunwoo also glanced at her while walking and talking at the same time.

"Do you really think of me like that?"

"I have no idea what to think of you since we're not that close."

"We've been in the same class for the past three years."

"Doesn't mean we're actually friends."

"Wow. I was gonna give you this, but I guess I won't."

Sunwoo held up a small book for Seul to see, but he held it back at his side from her view a second later.

"What is it?" Seul asked as she tried to peek at it, but Sunwoo hid it well.

"I'm not telling you. You're being mean to me."

Seul rolled her eyes as she pushed open the door to exit the building.

"Okay then. Bye."

Seul shot Sunwoo a half-wave before walking ahead faster. Sunwoo hurried to match her pace.

"Are you mad?" He asked curiously.

"No."

"I'm sure you're mad."

"I'm not mad."

"Are you sure?"

"No. I'm not sure that I'm mad." Seul answered sarcastically as Sunwoo eyed her a bit annoyed. "I was just asking."

"Mmhmm. Why are you still here?"

"I'm walking you home, remember?"

"Not that I recall, so no."

Sunwoo let out a sigh.

"Do you really hate me?"

"Mmhmm." Seul answered in a nonchalant manner causing Sunwoo to stared at her in shock.

"You do?"

"Sure."

Sunwoo cast her a suspicious look.

"Are you just answering without really responding to my questions?"

"Uh huh."

Sunwoo frown upon her response as Seul just continued on nonchalantly. Somehow this made Sunwoo want to test something out and so he decided to admit his feelings wondering what her response will be.

"I like you."

"Yeah." Came Seul's response with the same neutral tone and nonchalant manner.

"Did you hear what I actually said?"

"Nope."

"That hurts."

"Don't care."

"You're lying. You heard me then."

"So what?"

Seul said casting him a neutral look as the duo exited the school's gates with her making the opposite turn from home.

"Don't you live this way?"

"I do."

"So where are you going?"

"Away from you."

She answered him while casting him a wave as she continued to walk on even if in the opposite direction of home. Sunwoo debated if he should follow or not as he was unsure of her actual personality since they've only been in school together. Still he had a feeling that there was more to her, but she just chose to separate her school and home life. And Sunwoo wanted to get to know them both. He ran after Seul and matched her strides.

"You don't give up, do you?" Seul asked once she heard Sunwoo's footsteps alongside hers and glanced in his direction.

Sunwoo flashed her his signature smile in response.

"You must really like me, huh?" Seul said in a nonchalant manner yet there was a teasing smile gracing her lips.

Sunwoo's face turned to one of shock.

"I thought you didn't hear me?"

"Oh, I heard you, but I just didn't really care to respond to you."

"Wow. Here then."

Sunwoo handed her the book she had briefly saw earlier.

"What's this?"

"Open it and you'll find out."

"Obviously."

Seul casually opened the cover and turned to the first page to see a polaroid photo of herself. It was when she was handing out their assignments for the festival. She flipped a few more pages and saw that they were all images with the focus being on her. Seul glanced up and over at Sunwoo, but he kept his attention ahead of him while drinking the pear juice extract she had given him.

"Don't tell me you're a stalker now?" Seul teased as Sunwoo whipped his head towards her with an annoyed look.

"Is that all you can say?"

Seul laughed at his response and reaction.

"I mean, thanks, but you didn't have to make a little album."

"Then give it back."

Sunwoo tried to reach for the photo album, but Seul moved it out from his grasp.

"No. It's mine. You gave it to me. Besides, I thought you liked me."

"Clearly it's one-sided."

"How do you know?"

"You haven't said anything about if you like me or not. Plus, you've been mean to me."

"You're kinda easy to teased that's why. Also, Eric was right."

"Right about what?"

"You liking me because I didn't think you'll actually like me since you never listened to me."

"Because you always ordered me around."

"It's only because you either kept sleeping in class or showing up late. It's not my fault that I had to be the class representative and do my job."

"Fine, fine, Seul. I'll do better."

"You better or I'll make you clean the classroom all by yourself."

"Can you at least help me out?"

"I like you, Sunwoo, but I dunno if I like you that much."

"But you still like me, right?"

Seul didn't answer as Sunwoo looked over at her.

"Right, right?"

Seul cast him a teasing smile before turning around and running away in the other direction not giving him a confirmation.

"Yah! Lee Seul!" Sunwoo yelled after her giving chase. "LEE SEUL! ANSWER ME!"

Seul shook her head as she let out laughs causing Sunwoo to call out to her again.

"C'MON! DON'T BE MEAN TO ME!"

Seul giggled to herself as she picked up pace upon hearing him draw nearer although she knew full well that he would catch up to her eventually, but she wanted to tease him a bit longer before then. Also Seul needed another reason for her racing heartbeats that kept thumping loudly against her chest due to the polaroids that Sunwoo had captured of her unexpectedly the last few days.