#I reblogged to the wrong page 💀💀

[awrkive]

NEIGHBOR BLUNDER, pt. 3 — JJK

in hindsight, you should have seen it coming. had always known your luck – or lack of it, thereof – and the universe's meticulous plan of your downfall made it easy for you to get tangled up in a series of unfortunate events, which presents itself as the neighbor that lives across from you, jeon jungkook.

PAIRING jungkook x (fem) reader

GENRE r18+ (fluff, angst, smut) MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

CHAPTER WORD COUNT 18.7k

CHAPTER WARNINGS/MISC neighbor!jk, bsf!jimin, accountant!oc software engineer!jk, jk and jimin are chaebols lol, minjoon boyfriends <<<<3, mature language, lots of screaming into your pillow moments, litol bit of #domesticity, FLUFFY FLUFF FLUFFFFFFFFFFFFF, angst if you squint??????????, the x file spoiler lol, suits cameo (me inserting my niche interests into conversations), the biggest warning of this part is: naked jungkook 💀

NOTES sorry for being almost 3 hours late efhkjdhfd i overestimated my abilities a bit mb mb anyway, AGAIN, i want to thank you guys for the overwhelming support! i want to take this opportunity to announce that i'll be taking a break from nb for  around 2 weeks to work on my new jungkook one-shot fic that i will be posting for his birthday ❤️ if you are interested, i have posted the teaser on my tumblr page. LASTLY pls let me know your thoughts!! i LOVE LOOOVEEE reading every single one of your replies/reblogs/asks. i hope you enjoy this one and have a good weekend ahead!!!!!! 

NB!JK VISUALS | TAGLIST OPEN (REPLY IN THE COMMENT SECTION. PLS DO NOT SEND AN ASK ABOUT IT)

READ ON WATTPAD | AO3

PART ONE | TWO | THREE

You always wonder how a company this big seems to not have any budget lent for a copier that actually works – something that one doesn’t need to violently slap just for it to function perfectly.

You’ve been a victim not just once but five times to its inefficiency, the recent mishap being a month ago when the ink blots jumped right over the cuff of your shirt. 

With the way that you’ve been harassing the copier at the very moment, you’ll say it’s about to do you wrong for the sixth time and you absolutely can’t let it happen anymore – not when you’re currently wearing a white polo shirt that stupidly costs a little too much more than anything in your wardrobe (you decided to spend a little more than usual last New Year’s).

So, with a last unnecessary kick to the bottom of the machine (out of pure spite) you left the copier room of your floor and think, fuck it – go to the IT department and ask Taemu to back you up from his supervisor so you can use their copier instead – which is something you’re not so sure of. 

It’s embarrassing to go there just to ask him for help. Not with your history. But admittedly not that much of a history. After all, he seems to be cool with you and everything seems to be pretty chill. You can just go there; ask a little favor from a friend, and then hurry down to your floor.

There are some other options, though. Like, you can always ask the intern to do it for you. But the thing is, you kind of feel bad for those three. Your co-workers are doing a lot already; asking to fetch them things all around the building, buy them snacks, stuff like that. There’s another one but she’s way too quiet and didn’t really take shit from any of her seniors… which is kind of intimidating – but she's someone you wish you were when you were also an intern. You personally don’t want to help cultivate a somewhat toxic journey for the other three because you also started the same way as them. Beyond that, it would also be too rude to ask favors from Taemu indirectly.

You’re ultimately left with little and only one choice.

The elevator dings and the doors open after it does so. 

One of the people in it is a woman you’ve never met around before. Long, black hair; tailored suit, slender figure, and a posture that screams she’s never hunched her back in her entire life. 

Other people that entered at the same time as you start to bow their heads down slightly and greet a polite, “Good afternoon.” 

You mirror their gesture as well. 

As you step inside and settle on a spot, you wonder who she is. 

An executive, maybe? She looks very put-together, and there’s authority that hangs over her frame… but exceptionally young in the physical aspect. Jungkook is also young, though – and he’s an executive, so that’s entirely possible. Additionally, others seem to know her. Or they're just pretending to know her like you did. Did you miss a ceremony? A meeting? Or did you gloss over some HR email again? You’ll have to check later to find out if that’s the case. 

Anyway, your curiosity doesn’t last long when the elevator doors open once again, indicating the IT department floor. 

You already texted Taemu awhile ago that you were on your way so he should meet you on-time. 

As you walk down the hallway with your phone in your hand, your attention is caught by a familiar voice.

“Hey,”

You look up from your phone and see Taemu waving not too far away, heading towards your direction. It doesn’t take him long to get near you. When he does, you give him a smile.

“Taemu, hi.�� You say as a small greeting. Taemu lifts his hand and you thought he was going for a high-five, so you lift your hand as well to meet the gesture. But then he leans in closer, one arm about to enclose your waist, and that’s when you realize he was actually gearing up for a hug.

Taemu seems to register that you weren’t exactly going for the same thing, so he steps back. He seems shy when you look at him in confusion.

“Oh, okay, sorry,” He offers his hand again, but just when you’re already thinking about hugging him because that was what he originally meant to do, he speaks just as you lean in closer to hug him. “I thought we were high-five-ing?” 

Embarrassed, your hands retreat to yourself.

“I thought... you wanted to hug?” You chuckle. 

“Okay, let’s just—” Taemu steps closer again and this time, it’s more than clear to you what he wants to do.

You reciprocate the hug he gives.

“This is so stupid.” You say, chuckling against his neck. The contact is quick as you two simultaneously break apart.

Taemu laughs at your remark, nodding his head. Then he gestures ahead, pointing to the direction of the copy room.

“Your copier not working again?” He asks as you walk down the hallway together. 

You heave a sigh. “Yeah, they really need to change that one. Anyway, have you told Mr. Lee?” You ask, referring to his supervisor. 

Teamu nods his head, opening the door to the copy room for you. 

“Yeah, it’s fine with him. Just sign the logbook and stuff.” 

“Thanks, Taemu.” You say, quickly getting to work, feeling slightly delighted at how their machine smoothly does its job and not like the one at all in your department. “Hey, I’m really sorry for bothering you with this.” You lament as you wait for the paper to slide out.

Taemu waves his hand, shaking his head at you. “It’s fine.” 

You purse your lips into a thin line, giving him a somewhat apprehensive smile. The paper comes out and you get your thing. After a quick scan to see if the copier got everything right, you look back at Taemu to say, “Thanks again, Taemu. I really appreciate this.” 

“No worries. Anytime.”

When you announce that you’re done, Taemu calls your name.

“Hm?” You hum, looking at him and wait for his next words.

He looks coy when he rubs a hand on the back of his head.

“Can I take you out for lunch?” He says, and you still in your position. Taemu seems like he surprised himself with his own words. You open your mouth to speak but then he beats you to it quickly, “It’s not a date. I phrased that as a date – but it’s not – ah, this is all coming out wrong,” Taemu chuckles, interrupting himself. With his hands in his slacks' pockets, he leans to a random table inside the room and looks at you with a more confident stance this time, as if he just gave himself a quick internal pep talk after jumbling his words. “What I meant to say is, if we can go out for lunch together today?” 

You chuckle. You were just about to say yes. Contrary to his assumption, you didn’t really take his first question as an invitation for a date. Besides, he helped you with the copier today.

Nodding your head, you offer him a grin as you say, “Yeah. I’ll go to lunch with you.” 

Taemu walks you to the elevator even though you said he doesn’t need to. He's insistent but you let it, anyway.

Taemu puts his hands on both sides of the door before it closes. The ride is pretty much empty except for yourself.

“When are you off?” He asks.

You think about it for a moment. “Is 12:15 okay?”

Taemu nods. “Sure. See you at 12:15?” 

“Yeah. Later.” 

The elevator closes and you laugh to yourself when you catch Taemu awkwardly waving his hand at you goodbye.

“No, you didn’t, I kicked your ass at mini golf!” You say, laughing as Taemu looks at you with squinted eyes, obviously saying that was absolutely not what happened on your date a few months ago.

“Uh, you disregarded all the rules.” 

You roll your eyes. “Okay, fine. Rules do not matter, though. It’s just some stick and a ball and… fake grass.” 

Taemu laughs, surrendering his hands to the air, nodding when he says, “Fair, fair.” 

You’re currently at a restaurant not too far away from your company building. It took Taemu and you about five minutes to get here; just a quick waiting time to cross the pedestrian lane to get from one street to the other.

Looking around, you can actually see some people inside wearing your company lace. The restaurant’s sort of like a famous spot around the company, though, so it doesn't necessarily surprise you. You’ve also had a few company dinners here some time ago. 

Safe to say, lunch with Taemu is going… okay so far.

No – actually, it’s way better than you thought it would be.

You could have never, ever predicted that you’ll be out with him alone again after… you know, ghosting him. Your whole assessment of his character has also changed a bit after the whole fiasco.

See, some guys start feeling entitled over your permission and consent when you entertain them even just for a bit. When you go on dates and you break it to them that it’s just not working out between you two, they start to act weird. Like you’ve hurt them. Or that you lead them on – even though it’s absolutely not the case. 

But Taemu’s proving himself to be different. You honestly expected him to act like that guy because he seems the type after your first date. But he surprises you by acting the total, complete opposite.

He’s so… nice. So casual. Like nothing happened. You feel bad because right now, you've officially confirmed to yourself that you totally misjudged him. 

You can’t believe you’ll say this, but Taemu is not an asshole. Like at all.

Even now, you’re recalling what happened to your date and laughing about some of the memories of it, and it feels so long ago you’re starting to remember it differently.

“Anyway, this milkshake’s really good,” you say, taking your glass and looking at it curiously. 

“Yeah? I told you,” Taemu grins, eating from his own plate. 

“You always come here?” You ask out of curiosity since he seems to be familiar with the menu. 

“Sort of? I mean, I try to take in the city as much as I can.” You nod, recalling what he told you before. He came from Daegu, and it’s his first time in Seoul.

Before you can say anything to that, the waiter comes to your table and gives you your bill. 

Taemu and you simultaneously take out your wallets. When he sees you do it, though, he’s quick to shake his head, gesturing for you to not bother.

“No, no, it’s fine. I got it.” 

“I got it, too,” You say, smiling at him, already picking out your card, ready to put it inside the check presenter.

“__,” Taemu says your name while chuckling. “I swear, it’s fine. I was the one who invited you for lunch.” 

“Taemu,” You call him, using the same tone he used. Taemu grins at that. “I think we should split the bill.”

It’s only fair, you think. You ate pretty much the same thing.

You hold what felt like a minute staring competition until Taemu gives in and lets you stack your card on top of his in the booklet.

You’re about to resume eating – pick up on the conversation you left a few minutes ago – when your phone dings on the table, a message popping out on the notification center.

When you read the contact name, your eyes widen but you relax your face real quick lest Taemu asks questions. 

“Sorry,” you say, pointing to your phone. Taemu nods, understanding. You pick the device in your hands, turn to your other side to not be rude, and read the text from Jungkook. 

Jungkook (Unit 446) [12:47pm]: hey I bought you lunch Jungkook (Unit 446) [12:48pm]: i was gonnna ask you to go with me earlier but I got busy with some papers 

Shoot.

You’ve done a pretty good job of not thinking about Jungkook at all for the entirety of the day. You woke up so early this morning that you waited for twenty whole minutes for your bus just so you can avoid seeing Jungkook because everytime his name pops up in your thoughts, you remember what you did the night before and it just messes with your head so much.

Listen, you aren’t embarrassed about trying to get yourself off. It’s just masturbation. It’s a carnal need and it’s totally normal. What you are not proud of is the way you thought about him – out of all people – and how it actually made you feel… a little more motivated to get yourself there. 

But it’s a slip-up. A big mistake. 

How are you supposed to look him in the eyes after that and act like you didn’t do what you did? Granted, you did stop before it escalated. But still, the point is that you thought about him while you were pleasuring yourself. Even if it was for a tiny bit second, it still counts!

Stupid fucking ovulation, you think to yourself with bitterness. You’re a much better person without it, you swear. You don’t go around thinking about men when you try to get yourself off, not at all! Personally, your head is mostly blank when you go through it.   

But Jungkook left two texts. And he’s probably seen the read tag on his end already. 

You [12:49pm]: I just got lunch ): thank you for buying me one tho that’s really nice ofu

You turn your phone off after sending your reply, placing it on the empty space of your table. When you look at Taemu, he’s eyeing something behind you. With furrowed brows, the question about what he’s looking at is on the tip of your tongue when he suddenly says,

“Isn’t that Mr. Jeon?” 

“W-what?” You stammer, not sure if you heard him right.

The knots on Taemu’s forehead fades, and then he nods to himself. “I’m pretty sure that’s Mr. Jeon. He’s going this way.” 

“Wha—”

“Good afternoon, Mr. Jeon.” Taemu stands up from his seat and does a slight bow for greeting. 

Without thinking about it, you mirror Taemu’s action, bowing your head longer than necessary. 

“Good afternoon, M-mr. Jeon,”

It’s no use to avoid his gaze, though.

When you look at Jungkook, he seems pretty much just as surprised to see you. You look away, but your eyes fall to his hand, and you see that it carries a take-out paper bag from the restaurant. You think about his text. 

“Good afternoon.” Jungkook says with an easy-going smile. He goes from surprised to casual real quick and glosses over you as if he doesn’t know you. 

You don’t really know how that makes you feel. 

“I was just going, have fun with your lunch.” He says and politely bids his goodbye, going straight to the direction of the restaurant’s door. 

“He’s really cool, you know?” Taemu brings up when you both sit down again. 

“I— huh?”

“You must have heard about the new project they’re starting at the end of this month, right?” He asks curiously.

You sit there stunned. Stunned from earlier’s interaction with Jungkook but also because you don’t really know what the hell Taemu’s talking about.

“No… I didn’t get any memo���?” You say instead, trying not to act way too oblivious lest he thinks you’re lazy or something. Not that it matters! You’re not trying to impress him or anything. 

Taemu nods. “Well, you’ll probably know about it soon.”  

But your head's too far gone now, still stuck on what happened a minute ago.

You look over at your phone while Taemu speaks, hoping for it to light up with a new notification from the messaging app. 

A few minutes passed by and it doesn’t, even when you leave the restaurant.

You don’t really know why you’re here. 

It’s been three days since that night in Jungkook’s place where you tried to bake in his kitchen, so it’s also been three days since you started practicing during the nights after work to perfect your cookies. Tonight, it just so happens that the cookies finally taste edible and honestly, it’s more than okay. 

So, maybe that’s why you find yourself in front of Jungkook’s door with a plastic container in your hands, decently-baked cookies prettily arranged inside. 

Jungkook was with you when you made those pathetic excuses for cookies, so you thought it’s only fair for him to try these ones and tell you what he thinks. Brag a little. Maybe have a little chitchat if he’s free or whatever.

It’s also… sort of like a peace offering for something he doesn’t need to know about. You can’t tell him you’re sorry for thinking about him when you did the deed because that’s just plain weird. 

Speaking of weird, though, the interaction from yesterday left you feeling a little empty. There’s this gnawing feeling inside of you that something went wrong – but you can’t exactly point out why. Jungkook also hasn’t texted you after that – which isn’t out of the ordinary. You don’t text everyday and you don’t meet every single day, either – for the record. You’re both busy people. You can only imagine Jungkook’s schedule.

Anyway, if there’s anything that you learned about your friendship with Jungkook, it’s that you don’t need to lie to him. You just have to knock on his door and he’ll unintentionally clear your doubts by being the voice of reason because he’s nice like that. 

You do hope though that tonight clears any weird air between you. Maybe you’ll find out later on that there’s nothing weird going on at all and you’re just overthinking stuff as usual. 

You’re about to ring the doorbell twice when the door finally opens, showing you Jungkook still wearing his polo shirt. He looks like he’s just gotten home from work, red tie undone around his neckline and a few buttons popped open. 

“Hi.” You smile. 

“Hey,” Jungkook looks at you, obviously wondering what brought you to his door.

“I wanted to give you this,” you hand him the plastic container which he takes with a confused look. “Those are cookies. I baked them. I didn’t give you anything when I baked two nights ago because they were bad.”

“Ah,” Jungkook nods, looking down at the plastic. He smiles, then leans on his doorway. “So it’s good now?” 

You gesture a so-so with your hand. “Don’t set your expectations too high. It’s not exactly Poilâne. But it tastes like matcha cookies, I swear.” When Jungkook doesn’t say anything for a while, you decide to add, “You also won’t get food poisoning, if you’re worried about that.”

Jungkook gives you an amused look. “I wasn’t… worried about that.”

“It’s a simple disclaimer. Just in case, you know, you suddenly feel weird in the stomach…” Jungkook arches his brow while you trail off. You roll your eyes lightheartedly. “I’m kidding.” 

He lets out a chuckle and then stands upright. “Thank you for this.” 

“No worries,” you say. You shift your weight from one foot to another. “Uh, do you wanna grab dinner? Right now?” 

Jungkook looks at you apologetically.

“I really wish we could, but I have to finish something tonight. Work stuff.” 

“Oh,” You nod immediately. “Okay. Uhm, good luck with that.”

He smiles at you. Lifting the container up, he arches his brows, saying, “Thank you, again. It looks good.” 

“Yeah, I hope you like it,” You say. Realizing that there’s nothing more left to say, you turn on your heel ready to go. But before that, you look back at him one last time. “Bye.” 

Jungkook grins.

“I’ll text you what I think about them.” He says, pointing to the cookies. 

“Okay, Anton Ego.”  

You both laugh at that, and you enter your apartment with a small smile on your face.

You don’t want to admit it even to yourself, but you might have taken Jungkook’s words about reviewing your baked goods too seriously that you waited for it last night longer than necessary. Even when the night ended and you go to work the next day, which is today, none of his texts come, and you don’t think anything’s coming anytime soon. 

You try not to think about it too much because he did say he’s busy with work. You’re sure that’s the case, so you feel slightly bad for him. 

Right now, you’re looking for Ms. Seo to get her signature on a document. So you head to the elevator, rushing a bit to get inside the one that’s about to close. It’s a little urgent, so you cannot waste any more time.

As soon as you enter though, you notice who’s in it.

It’s Jungkook and the woman you saw in the elevator two days ago. 

You’re starting to think you need to start using the stairs from now on because your elevator trips are getting too ridiculous. 

It feels like you’re running on auto-pilot when you greet them both, walking to the side to make space for the other people entering. 

You wish you went beside the woman instead and not Jungkook’s side because you then have to try real hard not to look at him.

It proves to be an uneasy task when more people squeeze in as the elevator takes a few stops in between floors. You had to taut all the muscles in your body just to not get into any contact with Jungkook, but even with all the effort, it goes unsuccessful, as you brush his arm when you step back to move a little. 

Jungkook looks at you the same time you do.

“I’m sorry.” You utter, low enough to not cause any unnecessary attention.

A few do turn to stare, anyway. And you can’t help but notice the way the woman’s hand moves towards Jungkook’s to hold it as she takes a look at you. 

Jungkook, meanwhile, gives you that same professional smile he seems to have reserved for every employee that greets him around the building, warm voice saying, “It’s okay.” 

You’re thankful that the next floor is where your stop is.

As you go back to your cubicle, you wonder who the woman is. Again.

There's something about her that feels familiar. She looks familiar. Like you’ve seen her before. You can’t just figure out where exactly. 

“__,” Sol calls beside you. 

“Huh?”

“You’re not having lunch?” She asks.

“Oh…” Right. It’s currently your break time. “Are you guys going out?” You say, looking at Joonhwi who’s two cubicles away from you.

Sol shakes her head, taking her coat from the back of her chair. “No, just at the cafeteria.” 

You nod your head. “Okay, I’ll follow in a few minutes, just need to look over some stuff here,” You point to your computer. 

“Okay. Just text me.” 

You give Sol a smile and watch as she and Joonhwi head out of the office. 

Your gaze falls to the time on your computer.

12:10pm. 

Is Jungkook possibly having lunch right now? You remember him buying you one two days ago and feel a little sense of regret about not taking it even though it isn’t your fault and he should’ve told you first to give you a little heads-up.

You never really talked about it. You never really talked for the past three days.

But then again, he seems to be busy.

With a little hope in your heart, though, you pick up your phone and decide to send him a text. 

You [12:12pm]: hey do u want to go out for lunch? 

Or should you just buy him one like he did for you? It’s not like you’re trying to up him in a kindness competition. It can just be a small, thoughtful gesture from a friend to a friend. 

You receive a reply a few seconds after. 

Jungkook (Unit 446) [12:13pm]: hey __  I’d love to

Your lips curl down when you read the next one that comes in a second.

Jungkook (Unit 446) [12:13pm]: but I have a work meeting in 5mins

Oh. Okay. That tracks. 

You [12:14pm]: okii!! That’s totally cool! good luck with work 😊

You stand up from your chair and take out your wallet from your bag, going out of your office and sending a quick text to Sol that you’re coming to the cafeteria. 

When you get there, your peripheral vision catches a familiar figure. 

You look back, trying to see if it’s someone you know.

Turns out it is. Because it’s Jungkook.

You’ve seen him in the elevator this morning and he wore a grey pair of suit. You’d also recognize his stature anywhere, but just like how it was inside the elevator, he’s with the woman again; long hair down like it was yesterday, this time adorning a suit dress that hugs her figure really well, her stilettos making her legs look longer but somehow Jungkook still stands a little taller.

For the very brief moment that you laid your eyes on them, you saw how Jungkook had his hand placed on the low of her back, how she laughed at something he said, and how they looked good together from your point of view. It seemed like they were on their way somewhere.

You realize that was what Jungkook meant when he said he’s busy.

They say a silver lining comes in every worst situation possible, and you’re more of an optimist rather than a pessimist so usually, you believe in the concept of silver linings even though right now – it looks like it’s going to be winning the jackpot in the lottery or… free education for everybody across the world.

“The contractor estimates it would be a week-long repair.”

“One week?” Is your immediate response, disbelief coloring your tone. “I’m sorry—” You try to fix your tone, salvaging yourself from being seen as outright rude in front of your building manager. “You mean seven whole days?”

The building manager, Mr. Han, nods his head. He looks genuinely apologetic as he delivers the news, for the record.

“That’s… really long.” You say, albeit calmer now. But you still can’t imagine it.

“It’s just an estimate. Contractor said it might be faster than that, but they still need to do a full assessment of your unit tomorrow, together with the water damage restoration company. We’re doing all we can to respond to the situation. We’re also talking to your upstairs neighbor about the stipulation of his negligence.”

You nod along to his words.

Obviously, it’s his job to ensure everything’s taken care of, but still, you’re appreciative of the way they are going about the current situation. You’ve heard horror stories about tenants getting into arguments with their building managers or landlords when their apartments experience accidents.

“Can I ask about relocation?” You ask. You have to read your lease again to make sure.

“Unfortunately, it’s not indicated in your lease policy, but your renter’s insurance should cover it. You can also talk to your landlord about reducing your rent for this month due to the inconvenience.”

You nod, giving him a small smile. “Okay. Thank you.”

The plumber and some of the help the building manager employed to dry up your place from the accidental flood had already left a while ago, and soon, Mr. Han’s figure disappears entirely after a few seconds as you watch him walk down the flight of stairs and away from the building.

You can hear the loud whirring of the air movers placed inside your unit from where you stood on your porch. Your hair’s damp, including some spots on your work clothes from the water that trickled down your ceiling as you panicked earlier to pack some of your belongings in a medium-sized luggage you managed to grab in the timeframe.

It’s the state that Jungkook catches you in when you see him emerging from the stairs, looking like he also just got back from work.

“Hey, what happened?” Jungkook, with his brows furrowed, looks at you with worried eyes, sounding equally concerned.

You sigh. “Hey,” you greet weakly. “My apartment got flooded.”

“What?”

“It’s the upstairs neighbor. He apparently left his tub running while he went to work this afternoon,” You take a sharp breath, getting pissed again at the negligence. So goddamn stupid, really. “He flooded his own place and the water leaked to my ceiling, and when I got back home from work I was welcomed with two inches of water on my floor.”

“What the hell?” Jungkook says in disbelief. You nod at his reaction. That is exactly what you said when you heard the story from the property manager. “Are you okay?” He asks, and you appreciate it.

“Not sure about that.” You answer honestly.

Jungkook furrows his brows. “You called your landlord immediately?”

Letting out a sigh again, you nod and move to sit on your suitcase – the lonesome bag that you’re planning to bring with you to wherever the hell you’re going to stay tonight. You don’t even think you have enough clothes in it.

“My place is a complete wreck. Most of the water’s drained, though, and the building manager brought some help inside and they put air movers inside to dry the place right now.” You blow air to the strand of hair that escapes from your ponytail out of frustration. “It’s a shitshow, I know.”

“Good that they responded fast,” Jungkook comments, but concern is still etched on his face as he asks you, “Have you called your insurance company yet?”

“Yeah, we’re emailing right now.” You tell him, showing your phone. You hate sending email through such a small device but you left your laptop back at the office – which is kind of a good thing, now that you think about it – because it would’ve gotten flooded had you left it in your place.

“Did you document everything?”

Your response comes in a little curt.

“Yes, Jungkook. I did.” The onslaught questions just somehow seemed to prompt irritation in you, and you can’t help but add, “I know everything I have to do. I’m an adult.”

Predictably, you render Jungkook surprised.

“I— I didn’t mean it like that. I apologize.”

When you look up at him, you see his expression softening – and you feel bad for what you just did.

Chill, __. He’s just asking logical questions.

“No, I’m sorry,” You shake your head, feeling a little ashamed for bursting like that. You shouldn’t have talked to him like that, anyway. “I don’t know why I snapped, you’re just asking the important questions.”

Jungkook hesitantly hovers his hand on your shoulder, and the look he gives you seems to be asking for permission to touch you. You don’t even know if that’s his intention, but you give him a nod.

He smiles, tapping your shoulder for a brief second, saying, “It’s okay. You must be really stressed right now.”

“You think I can’t be calm in this situation?” You look at him with a blank expression. Jungkook’s taken aback and you witness the very split second his smile drops form his face, probably thinking he said something wrong. Then you can’t help it, you break. “I’m just fucking with you.”

Jungkook’s brows furrow as he sees you bursting into a gentle laugh, breaking your serious demeanor.

He shakes his head slowly, seemingly incredulous of the stunt you just pulled.

“You and your jokes…”

“You should’ve seen your face.”

“You got me.” Jungkook chuckles.

“I’m sorry… it’s just me trying to ignore the fact that my apartment literally got flooded and those loud and big ass fans they placed inside are about to tear my ears off.”

You see the way Jungkook’s face winces.

“Where are you staying for the night, then?” He asks.

“I don’t know,” you shrug, genuinely not sure about your options. “Probably gonna book a hotel or something.”

Of course you’ve thought about Jimin. He can probably easily help you find a place for the meantime but it’d probably be hard with him not being physically in the country just yet. Sol also crossed your mind, but you remember she has a roommate.

Getting a hotel to temporarily stay at is the most obvious option there is. It would be too much of a hassle, not to mention expensive, but—

“You can stay at mine for the night.”

You think you’re getting around to Jungkook offering you help without you even asking – but it doesn’t mean you still don’t get a little taken aback when he gives it so willingly and so quickly like this.

“No.” You shake your head.

“Seriously.” Jungkook stares at you.

You stare at him right back.

“I can’t.”

“Why?” He raised his brow.

“I can’t think of reasons right now.”

“You don’t need to think at all.”

You squint your eyes at him, he does the same.

Soon enough, Jungkook breaks first and laughs.

“Come on! You’re gonna freeze in here.”

Hesitantly, you say, “… Are you sure?”

“What are you worried about?” He cocks his head to the side, awaiting your response.

Well. There’s a lot to be worried about.

There’s the thing where you always just seem to be caught into some shit and then he catches you right exactly in it. It’s starting to get embarrassing.

But Jungkook just doesn’t really seem to mind it.

“Nothing, really.” Is what you weakly settled for.

“Okay…” He trails off, raising a brow, obviously a bit confused. “Then what’s the big deal? Do you really want to go through the hassle of picking out hotels and booking a room at this hour? You have to go to work tomorrow.”

You visibly wince at the mention of work.

He’s right and you kind of hate it.

“You’re right…” you say after a while.

“You’re staying at mine?” Jungkook asks again, in which you nod your head in confirmation.

You stand up from your suitcase and pull up the handle. Then you look at him sincerely to give him a smile. “Thank you. I think this is like the five hundredth time this kind of thing happened between you and I.”

“Not counting.” Jungkook shrugs. “Have you had dinner yet?”

You nod your head. “I went with a friend— a co-worker.”

Jungkook visibly stills.

“The guy from a few days ago at the restaurant around work?”

You perk up at that, surprised he still recalls that day.

“Yeah, that’s him. Taemu. From the IT dep.”

He nods. You don’t know if he’s interested or not.

You think it’s a bit random that he brought that up, though, but you shake the thoughts away and call his name.

Jungkook looks at you.

“Thank you.” You say, hoping he hears the sincerity in your voice.

He chuckles. “You’re welcome,” Jungkook then gestures to the luggage you’re holding. “Let me.”

Jungkook doesn’t wait for you to say yes before he takes the handle from you and carries the luggage with him to the direction of his place just across from yours.

You consciously try to make your steps lighter as you walk out of the shower box, making your way towards your suitcase to check on the clothes you packed.

When you open it, you thank the heavens that there are underwear – and a lot of them, for the record – but as you rummage around some more, you find that other than your work clothes, you only have nightwear inside. And when you say nightwear, not the comfortable cotton pajama kind but the nightie one – and that basically means the baby blue silky set of tiny camisole and shorts that can pass as a pair of panties.

I can’t possibly wear these, you think to yourself, hastily burying the pieces of clothing in the bottom of your luggage.

It shouldn’t mean anything – those are nightwear after all! But it was already embarrassing to ask Jungkook earlier if you could use his shower and his towel. You can’t come out of the bathroom wearing clothes that Jimin once tagged as “slutty pjs”. Not when you’re in Jungkook’s place.

“__?”

You look over to the door when you hear Jungkook’s voice, a knock following.

“Yes?” You answer.

“Do you have clothes in there?”

At the question, your gaze automatically falls to the suitcase where the thin strap of the camisole peeks out in between some other clothes that are completely useless for the night.

With hesitance, you say, “Uhm… do you possibly have a shirt I can borrow? I promise to clean it and return it to you tomorrow, ASAP.”

You hear him chuckle from the other side. “I brought you some. There’s also a pair of sweatpants but I’m not sure if they’ll fit you.”

It’s hard to not celebrate silently when Jungkook says that – but you might have jumped a little at his words.

When you walk towards the door and open it, you give Jungkook a huge smile as you tell him, “Thanks!”

He stops. And then you stop.

You realize you’re only in your towel – his towel, to be exact.

You feel the blood rushing to your cheeks the moment it registers.

Before you can do or say anything, Jungkook moves on quickly and stretches his arm, thrusting the clothes he’s mentioned into your way.

“There.” He says simply, smiling at you.

You take them from his hand, giving him a smile too, albeit a bit awkward.

“T-thanks.”

Jungkook turns on his heel to leave, and you lock the door to the bathroom as soon as he walks away.

You settle his clothes on top of the flat surface of the lavatory, physically shaking your head as you look at yourself in the mirror to shake your thoughts away.

Thoughts of his slightly parted lips when you opened the door while you’re only in a towel.

But it happened in such a split second that you’re not sure if it even happened.

When you take his white shirt, it feels soft to the touch and there’s a scent of fresh laundry that wafts through your nose when you wear it on yourself.

It’s loose on you, the sleeves almost covering your whole arms and the hem stopping mid-thigh. But because of that, it feels comfortable – like the oversized shirts you wear to bed that you, unfortunately, weren’t able to pack with you in the heap of panic.

But the pants show a different case. It’s so big that it drags on the floor as you wear it.

You made do, though; drawing the strings tightly and and knotting them together, pulling up the gartered hems up to your calf.

When you come out of the bathroom, Jungkook welcomes you with nothing but a towel wrapped around his lower half.

���H-hey,” You stammer, eyes meeting his own to avoid looking at his naked torso.

“I was just going in. You done?” He casually says, as if he doesn’t mind being naked in front of you.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m done. Thanks for the clothes.” You say, gesturing across your body.

“Looks good.” Jungkook comments before entering the bathroom.

You think your cheeks just got impossibly hotter.

The sound of water running is heard before you scramble to the living room.

Why was he naked?!

Okay, he wasn’t actually naked naked but still, he had no clothes on. Why did he have no clothes on? You’re trying to erase the image of his torso, the lines that draw an obvious four-pack, his firm-looking chest, and the way the tattoos over his right arm apparently go way above his shoulder. It’s obvious that he goes to the gym and works out from the way those polo sleeves of his always hug his biceps a little too tight – and with a body like that, you completely understand why he wouldn’t mind parading it around.

The AC in his unit is turned on, but it suddenly feels way too hot from where you currently sit on his couch.

Shut up. Ugh. You tell yourself internally.

Completely wanting out of that headspace, you decide to take out your iPad to get in contact with your insurance company to discuss your current situation, and it does a good job of keeping your mind off Jungkook for a while.

You’re so deep in the activity that you don’t even notice a few minutes has already gone by, and with that, you don’t notice Jungkook coming out of the shower.

When you see him in your periphery, he’s now thankfully dressed in a shirt and some basketball shorts. He’s drying his hair as he walks over to your direction in the living room.

You look at him in surprise when you notice the pillow and comforter he has in his hands.

“Sorry. You should’ve called me, I could’ve helped,” you say, standing up from the couch, ready to help him with it, assuming that you’ll be on the couch tonight.

Jungkook looks at you with furrowed brows. “I’m taking the couch.”

You stare at him, ready to hear him say he’s kidding or something but he doesn’t look like he’s joking.

You shake your head vigorously.

“No, that’s ridiculous.”

“What’s ridiculous about it?” Jungkook says, putting the pillows on the couch, starting to make it all the while looking at you through the process to engage.

“It’s your place.” You reason.

“And you’re my guest.” He says as a matter of fact.

“But—”

Jungkook cuts you off before you can even finish your sentence.

“__, it’s fine, really. You can take my bed. I insist.”

“Jungkook…” you trail off, sounding more like a whine.

He laughs and then looks at you with a playful smile. “Okay, should we compromise? Like, what, share the bed or the couch?”

You ignore the way your cheeks heat up at the suggestion.

You honestly don’t know why Jungkook says these kinds of things. You know it’s just his usual teasing, but he’s about to confuse you one of these days…

“God, no.” You respond with a shake of your head.

He chuckles. “Oh, is sleeping with me that repulsive to you?”

You push a little at his shoulder and roll your eyes.

When Jungkook’s done fixing the couch, he gestures to the door by the far end of the room. “Come on, I'll take you to the bedroom.”

You both walk towards that direction and as much as you’ve been over his place for more than once now, you’ve actually never seen his room – and for the record, why would you?

But it looks nice. Just like the rest of his apartment’s interior, his room is also almost the same. Kind of bare, but there are some sleek furniture that add character to the whole place.

“Too cold?” Jungkook asks, and you look at him to see him holding the remote of his AC.

“The temp’s fine.”

He hums and puts down the remote.

“Alright, then. Just call me if you need something.” Jungkook says, gesturing to the door. He’s about to leave when you call him again.

“Good night, Jungkook. Thank you for your bed.”

“Good night, __. Uh… sweet dreams?”

You roll your eyes. Jungkook laughs.

When he leaves, you sit on his mattress covered by black duvets and sheets. It’s soft, and you let yourself bounce on the fluffy surface, delighting at the feel.

It’s about the same size as yours, and when you lay on it, you smell that usual scent that Jungkook always emanates. Clean, crisp, a little sweet. Like fresh apples. Or fresh laundry. He just always smells so… clean.

You feel a little sense of strangeness at the different environment you’re in, but the bed is too soft that you feel like you’re almost floating – and maybe it’s because you are tired from work and drained from the whole fiasco at your apartment, but you fall asleep fast and heavy within just a few minutes.

You almost jump from the bed when you open your eyes and see a different type of bedding, only to realize that you’re actually not in your apartment and in Jungkook’s instead.

After processing that, you begin to do a little stretching, finding that you slept quite well. As you do so, your eyes catch the digital clock on the bedside table, and you read 4:30 am.

It’s a bit too early to start getting ready for work, but maybe if you start prepping now, you’ll be ready to go out just as when Jungkook is waking up.

When you stand from the bed, you discover the absence of pants around your waist, the cold air sending goosebumps over your bare legs – and as expected, you see the sweats getting caught in between the heaps of dark sheets on the bed.

You must have taken it off in the middle of the night. It’s why you usually forgo pants when you sleep.

You decide against wearing it again, though, assuming that Jungkook is still sound asleep by now so he can’t possibly see you walking around his place naked from the waist down. Besides, the shirt’s big and almost serves as a dress.

Carrying the pants with you, you silently open the door to his bedroom to tiptoe on your way to the bathroom.

“Hey,”

“Jesus christ!” You clutch your heart at the sudden sound of Jungkook’s voice booming across the unit.

When you look at him, he’s… working out. Apparently.

Jungkook takes out the airpods from his ears and drink from his tumbler.

“What are you tiptoeing for?” He asks, brows furrowed.

From where you stand, you see droplets of sweat on the side of his forehead, his chest heaving from the push-ups you catch him doing a few seconds ago on the mat that he laid on the floor. There are small weights on the side, and Jungkook is still wearing his clothes from last night.

Did he possibly just… wake up and then choose to exercise? Is this his everyday routine?

“I didn’t want to wake you,” you make up an excuse that’s kind of partly true. He slept on the couch in the living room, after all. And from the sala, everything is pretty much visible to the eye as the unit has an open layout. So one single noise could’ve awakened him.

“Too late for that,” Jungkook chuckles. He looks at you longer than a second and you’re just about to get conscious when he asks, “You get ready for work at four?”

You purse your lips into a thin line. “Sort of. I also have to check my place.” Jungkook nods, understanding. “Uh, Jungkook?” He hums to acknowledge you. “Can I use your shower? Again?”

He laughs at the way you smile at him awkwardly. “Sure. Your towel’s just over the rack.”

“Thanks.” You smile at him and go straight to the bathroom.

You make quick work of washing yourself, and the shower, just like last night, isn’t your usual routine because of course, most of your stuff are still over at your place. Though Jungkook is kind enough to lend you some of his unused products – even giving you a spare toothbrush which now sits beside his own on the bathroom sink.

When you finish showering, you wear his shirt and his pants once again. As you go out of the bathroom, the sound of oil popping from the kitchen doesn’t escape your ears.

“I made breakfast.” Jungkook says as you make your way towards the kitchen island. He’s a few steps away, working around the stove, frying up some sausage. He takes some eggs and then turns to you. “How do you like your eggs?”

You’re sure he doesn’t mean anything by that, but then you both laugh at the realization anyway.

“Sunny side up.” You say after a while, seating yourself on one of the high stools. “Can I help you?”

“It’s okay, just sit there.”

You put your elbow on the island as you watch him work. “Wow, do you really treat all your guests like this?” You tease, deciding to poke a joke.

Jungkook laughs as he starts breaking eggs into the frying pan.

“You’re the first one.” He raises a brow your way, lips tilted into a playful smile.

“Awe.” You pretend to curtsy which makes Jungkook laugh.

It doesn’t take long before Jungkook serves you a plate of sausage and perfectly-made sunny side up. You say a delighted “thank you!” in which Jungkook returns an adorable smile for.

You thought he was going to eat with you, but he only ate the sausage and began to work on cutting up some bananas while you continued to eat.

“What did they say about your apartment? How long is the repair?” Jungkook asks while he takes out a mixer.

“Week-long,” He visibly winces at your answer. You purse your lips. “I’m trying to look for a place to stay for the remaining days.”

Jungkook furrows his brows. “Lease doesn’t cover relocation?”

“Talked to the building manager and the landlord last night and they said it doesn’t. I also read the policy again myself last night, though, just to be sure. Anyway, landlord’s cutting my rent this month for up to thirty, so that’s something.”

“Okay… how about your stuff?”

As you watch Jungkook during the whole conversation, you realize that he’s apparently making a protein shake, and when he finishes shaking the bottle, he gestures it towards you, silently asking if you want to try it.

You shake your head, also answering his question. “I already filed a claim on it with my insurance company, so they’re handling it for me. They’re probably going to seek reimbursement from my upstairs neighbor’s insurance if he has one,” You shrug. “And I’m also gonna have to ask him to pay for the deductible.”

Jungkook nods, consuming his drink. You watch as he leans back on the kitchen sink, putting his protein shake down and crossing his arms, looking right at you.

“Why don’t you stay here for a while?”

You look right back at him weird.

“You’re not serious.”

“When am I not serious?”

You hold a staring competition after that, but Jungkook’s eyes are way too intense so you break away first.

“I just can’t.” You say, interrupting the silence.

“It’s friend to a friend. I bet you’d do this for me too.” Jungkook shrugs.

He doesn’t understand, though. Staying at his place for the remaining six days would mean that you’d be both living under the same roof together, and while it’s true that you would probably do this for him if he was in your shoes, it’s just not the same.

But you don’t want to get into all that. It’s too complicated to explain, even to yourself.

So you decide to joke a little.

“Probably not.” You tease.

Jungkook chuckles. “Mean.” He comments, shaking his head at you and playfully clicking his tongue.

“I’m joking,” you smile apologetically. “It’s just for six more days, though. The manager told me it might take faster.”

“Where do plan to stay, anyway? A hotel would be really inconvenient. The nearest one around here is too far from work, not to mention it’d be expensive as well.”

“There’s loss of use coverage,” You say, even though you know the stipulation, and your apartment flooding because of your neighbor’s negligence might probably not be in the clauses.

It’s just to reason with Jungkook, but he’s quick to present another point.

“It’s gonna take a long while, no?”

You pout. Sighing, you say, “You’re right.”

“Okay, so why not stay here?” Jungkook asks curiously. “You know I don’t mind. I won’t mind.” He says and it sounds so convincing and genuine.

You decide to deflect a little because you feel like giving in any seconds now.

“You say that but wait until you find that I’m not very likeable as a roommate.”

Jungkook raises a brow. “Shoot. Hit me.”

Pursing your lips into a thin line, you try to think of your bad habits.

“I…” you trail off, but it stretches into seconds way longer than necessary.

Jungkook chuckles. “See, you can’t even list one.”

“I don’t cook.” You point out.

“I already know that.”

You frown. “So we can’t take turns cooking while I stay here.”

Jungkook only shrugs. “There’s take-out.”

“You’re gonna eat take-out for a week?”

“I can cook.” He chuckles.

“Okay… but sometimes, I get super cranky.”

He nods. “I’ll be out of your way, then. You won’t even notice I’m here.”

You sigh, out of reasons now.

“I’ll try to be helpful with you in the kitchen for the next six days. And I’ll also be nice.”

Jungkook’s brows perk up. “You’re saying you want to stay here?”

“Yeah,” you nod. “But… I wan to pay you.”

“__, the whole reason why I’m offering is because a hotel is gonna cost you,” Jungkook laughs.

That prompts you to put a frown on your face.

“Fair point. But I’m going to take your couch the entire time, okay? And that’s final.”

It takes a little longer for Jungkook to agree to that. But he nods his head, anyway, saying, “Sure.”

It sounds so non-committal. You think he's going to still try insisting taking the couch.

“Okay.” You say, ignoring that thought, smiling at him. “Thank you.”

“You know you’re always welcome, right?” Jungkook says.

You’re thankful he turns around after he says that to tend to the stuff he used a while ago in the sink, giving you a perfect leeway to avoid his gaze lest he takes notice of the way you can’t help a big smile.

“I’m gonna take a shower. Finish your breakfast.” He says, pointing to your unfinished plate. 

You give him a small salute.

Before he goes to the direction of the bathroom, Jungkook turns around to ask. "Do you want to go to work together?" He raises a brow, but then a second after his question, he puts a hand up, effectively stopping you from answering. "You're gonna say no. But I insist. Say yes, I made you breakfast." 

You laugh at his squinted eyes. 

"I was going to say yes, anyway."

"No, you weren't." Jungkook fires back. 

You shoo him away playfully before he finally leave for the shower.

All you can think about is that maybe silver linings are indeed true.

Sharing a space with somebody has always felt… weird.

You had a roommate back in college for the whole four years, and while it wasn’t the worst thing that ever happened to you – it was just an experience that didn’t really strike you as something memorable or fun. Min Heeji was a Bio major who was an extreme introvert, and past the casual hi’s and hello’s, you both just never hit it off.

After moving out of your dorm, you rented around Itaewon. You found the unit through a listing you saw on Facebook – some woman who was finding a roommate to split the rent with. You found out later that the reason why the previous people before you left was because she was quite an interesting lady… let’s just say – she was a person who dabbled on the arts of illegal drug trading. Jimin jokingly told you he wondered about how her weed tasted like. Sometimes, you want to smack him on the head.

You pretty much decided on being against roommates for the entirety of your life after that.

But Jeon Jungkook is thankfully not a total hermit, nor does he sell weed.

It’s been long since you lived with somebody, and being under the same roof as him is different – the good kind of different, to be clear.

He’s somewhat a clean freak so it’s almost embarrassing to do anything in his place because it’s always so spot clean.

One thing that you learned though is that he’s a busy man. You had an idea about a packed schedule and non-existent free time for an executive person like him – but the idea feels more real now that you’ve witnessed it.

On the first day of your stay, after your apartment got flooded, he drove you both to work just like he offered. During the night, though, he seemed to have come home late. You slept at around 10pm and never saw him entering the door, and when you woke up the next day, he’s gone, only a note on the fridge telling you that he’s prepared some breakfast you can heat up to eat.

Nonetheless, you feel into quite an easy routine with him.

After a great deal of insistence from your side, Jungkook is rightfully assigned in his bedroom while you lay on the couch. It’s a bit bigger than the one you have on your own, so there’s space for moving around. Even when you wake up with shitty back pains in the mornings, sleeping on his couch is better than sleeping in your current wreck of an apartment as the contractor is already repairing your place.

As of the third day since the incident, they’ve already changed your ceiling, the flooring coming next. It was starting to look good as per your visit.

That made it clearer to you, though, that you’re indeed staying at Jungkook’s for another four days.

Jungkook was so busy that he even worked on a Saturday – told you that it was a hectic week for his team over a shared dinner that you thought will happen only once during your stay with his packed schedule. On Sunday, you kind of assumed that Jungkook will still be at the office, but he surprised you when he came barging in the bathroom while you were in it.

You had your leg propped on the edge of the bathtub, squeezing the bottle of lotion in your palm and spreading the cream over the skin of your shin, adjusting the towel up your thighs so you can cover your entire leg with the product.

You did so mindlessly, part of your usual after-shower routine, completely unassuming of the sound of the doorknob clicking and Jungkook suddenly barging inside the room with a hamper in his hand.

Frozen in your position, your eyes locked into his own as he stepped a foot forward on the tiled floor. You realized the hamper is his laundry.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were here,” Jungkook apologized, and he looked genuinely bashful.

“I thought you were at work.” you said, adjusting the towel on the top of your head.

Jungkook raised a brow, but there’s a smile on his lips. “On a Sunday?”

You narrowed your eyes at him which prompted him to laugh. A beat of silence, and then you noticed Jungkook’s gaze. You felt his eyes to the direction of your raised leg on the porcelain tub – and if your own sight didn’t deceive you, you could’ve sworn he’d made a quick glance-over to the expanse of your bare leg before he snapped right back into looking at your face.

“Anyway, I was just gonna do my laundry,” Jungkook twisted himself away from the bathroom’s door. “I’ll wait for you to finish, though. I’m sorry again for barging in.”

At that, you quickly shook your head and planted both your feet on the tiles, standing upright.

“No, it’s fine. I’m done, anyway. Are you in a hurry? I just need to change into some… clothes.” You said, glancing at the heap of some pajama pants and a t-shirt on the bathroom sink.

“Not in a hurry. You can change here.” Jungkook gave you a small smile.

You nodded your head. “Yeah, yeah. Sorry. I’ll be super quick.”

Your lips curled into an apologetic smile, but Jungkook waved you off.

He took one last look at you before he locked the door – one thing that you forgot to do in the very first place.

You blamed it on your habit of not really being mindful about it since you were used to living alone.

The day after that – one fateful Monday – Jungkook once again was MIA at his own place. You woke around 6 am, and as you got ready for work, you noticed a note on his fridge that he went to work earlier than usual that day, and he’d also be working late so you should lock up at night.

At the company, you did not even catch a single glimpse of him.

You bought some food on your way to his place later that day, thinking that maybe you could share a meal together – nevermind the fact that he had told you he was going to be home late. But you did not expect his “late” would exceed past 11 pm, and since you were also pretty much tired from your own activities for that day, you fell asleep on the couch without making it, lying on the surface with no pillows and comforter over your body.

In your dreams that night, you felt like you were floating.

Somebody has tucked their arms under your knees and neck, taking you off the previous surface you were lying on. The unfamiliar man cradles your body against his, carrying you somewhere and putting you on a much softer place. A mattress. A big, soft, mattress. And you noted that the man smelled of green apples and laundry. An almost familiar scent.

Needless to say, your dream was quite vivid that night.

When you woke up the next morning, you were welcomed with the familiar grey paint of the walls – the white ceiling, and the dark sheets and pillows that surrounded you. A waft of fresh laundry smell. The Iron Man figurine on the top shelf of the cabinet in the corner of the room. The black slippers on the side of the door that are way too big to be yours.

Jungkook.

The strange man in your dreams was Jungkook. And it wasn’t a dream at all.

It was Jeon Jungkook who carried you all the way to his bedroom from the sofa so you could sleep comfortably on it.

When you went out of his room that morning, ready to thank him and tell him he didn’t have to do what he did, feeling bad at the thought of him sleeping on his couch at his own place, Jungkook was nowhere to be found.

But as if it was becoming tradition, there was a note on his fridge that told you: I hope you don’t mind that I brought you to my room. I found you uncomfortable on the couch last night. Didn’t cook us breakfast because I have to go to work early again today, but I’ll have food delivered at around 7. Good morning, __ :)

     — Jungkook.

That night, though, Jungkook miraculously came home early.

He arrived an hour after you, just in time as you finished doing the prep for the bibimbap you were planning to eat on your own, assuming Jungkook was going to be late again. When you saw him entering the door, you decided to make the portions of the ingredients bigger, thinking that it was the perfect opportunity to say thank you for the other night.

And you did not forget to say that either.

“Thank you for last night. You didn’t have to…” you trailed off, giving him a sheepish smile across the dining table as you both ate.

Jungkook, with his mouth full of rice – seemingly (thankfully) enjoying the meal you prepared for him – munched on it before he said, “You looked real tired. And uncomfortable, which reminds me, you should sleep in the bedroom as well tonight.”

You shook your head. “It’s fine, Jungkook. Last night was just – uh, I was waiting for you to come home because I didn’t want to just lounge around your living room while you aren’t around, but then I guessed you arrived a little late.”

Out of all the things you’d said, it seemed Jungkook only remembered one thing.

“You were waiting for me to come home?” He said, his hand reaching for the side dish pausing mid-air, eyes trained to you. Curious, his brow piqued in what seemed like genuine intrigue.

You stopped. You went over your words, not realizing those came out of your mouth.

Obviously, you didn’t mean for that to slip out.

So, you shook your head slowly. Hesitantly, you reasoned, “It’s just you’re always in your room first before I fix the couch for bedtime. So.” You shrugged, knowing your explanation didn’t suffice.

Jungkook gave you a nod with small a smile on his lips.

“I’m sorry for making you wait, then. It’s just extra busy at the company these days.”

Your brows furrowed in curiosity, “Yeah, I heard about the collaboration with Kang Tech.”

You found out about it at work that day. It’s in the accounts payable you’ve worked on the past few days, and when you asked Joonhwi and Sol about it, they confirmed the recent moves the company is recently making.

You also realized then that the reason why the mystery woman in the elevator was familiar to you was because you’ve seen pictures of her before.

Of course you’d know her. She’s the woman Jimin’s parents are trying to set him up with. The one and only Kang Heesu. She took over as CEO just very recently at Kang Tech.

Apparently, Blue Nexus and Kang Tech are collaborating on a product that will be announced later during the month – which explains her being at the company oftentimes, Jungkook being busy, drowned with work stuff – them working closely together.

Whatever you felt on that day you saw them together – you’d like to dismiss that as just a blip in the system. Your system, to be exact.

It isn’t any of your business whoever gets around with Jungkook. Whether he’s close with Kang Heesu outside work or not (like what you’ve pondered about ever since finding out about the information of their collaboration) – that’s their thing.

“Yeah, the team’s been working overtime because of it.” Jungkook added to your words from earlier.

“So, you’re more tired than I am,” You pointed out, noting the obvious. He went to work at the ass-crack of dawn, went home late, and whenever he was home – all he faced was his laptop.

You even doubt he was getting enough sleep. There were bags under his eyes that weren’t there the past month you first met him – and even though he carried them with a certain grace, you could still see that some of the shine in his eyes was becoming absent.

You were glad you were able to prepare something for him. Did something for him. You didn’t have to – but you did. Because you wanted to be a helpful roommate.

“Does it show?” Jungkook chuckled, leaning back on the chair, a bashful expression on his face.

You shook your head. “Nope. But yeah, you don’t need to give up your bedroom tonight. I’ll be fine here.”

“I actually bought something. Wait a minute,” Jungkook suddenly said. Your brows furrowed when you watched him saunter over the living room and in towards his bedroom. When he came back to the dining area, he was carrying a huge paper bag. You looked at him, visibly confused. Jungkook cleared his throat as he sat back down on his seat. “I was thinking you could use this. It’s a foldable cushion or whatever so you can sleep more comfortably on the couch.”

You gawked at the paper bag, and then at him.

“What?”

“I went to the mall yesterday and the lady told me this is one of their best sellers… I don’t know. Do you want to have a look at it?” Jungkook said, worry seeping in his tone.

“That’s a… cushion? For the couch?”

He nodded.

“Oh.” Was the only thing you could utter. You didn’t really know what to say. “I… this is really thoughtful. You didn’t have to, you know that, right?”

Jungkook shook his head and gave you a small smile.

“Thank you, Jungkook.” You told him sincerely.

“It’s nothing.” He waved you off. “I got that dry-cleaned already, by the way, so you can use it tonight if you really insist on sleeping on the couch.” Jungkook said with a teasing smile.

“That,” you point to the paper bag, “will single-handedly get me to want to live here for another three months.”

Jungkook raised his brow. “Really?”

You chuckled, leaving the conversation up on the air.

When you both finished your meal, you offered to do the dishes yourself, but Jungkook was insistent to do it, saying you’ve already done a lot for the day. You begged to differ, but you relented, anyway.

After you showered and made the couch, geeking internally at how soft the cushion he bought was, you couldn’t sleep right away, your mind finding it hard to focus on the lull of the crickets. So, at around 11 pm, you opened your laptop to pull up an X-Files episode, thinking it could condition you into being sleepy.

You promised yourself you were just going to finish one more episode, but the next episode button was too tempting and you found yourself binging the show into the wee hours of the night.

“__?” A voice coming from the far end of the room called, followed by the clicking sound of the lights turning on. With that, you found Jungkook standing on his door with his eyes half-lidded, hands rubbing his chest, seemingly having just woken up from his sleep.

“Jungkook,” you acknowledged him, straying your attention from your show. Jungkook started to trot towards the direction of the kitchen, and your eyes followed him as he stopped in front of his fridge, taking some water out and pouring it into a glass.

After he drank it, he looked at you to ask, “Can’t sleep?” You nodded your head. He made his way towards the couch, pointing at it. “Would you mind?”

“No, do you want to?” You adjusted the duvet you put all over your back to make room for him, and Jungkook placed himself beside you, peering over the screen on your laptop.

“What are you watching?” He asked, voice a little groggy.

“The X-Files. You know the show?”

“Heard about it a few times. Never gotten around to watch it, though,” Jungkook said, leaning on the back of the couch, eyes still glued to your laptop.

You smiled. “Maybe you can start it now.”

“What’s it about?”

“Uh… aliens,” you started off, feeling a little silly about it. Gauging his reaction, you waited for him to give you a judgmental look but he seemed to be intrigued when he looked at you, asking for more details. You perked up that, feeling suddenly excited. “Okay, so, the guy here – his name’s Mulder. He’s an FBI agent who’s tasked on cases that have, you know, unexplainable nature. Basically, he believes in aliens, all that ET stuff,” you explained. Right on time, Gillian Anderson appears on frame. Pointing at her, you looked at Jungkook as you introduced her to him, “And the woman – she’s so pretty – that’s Scully. She’s a skeptic. She’s an FBI agent who’s also a scientist and was assigned to be with him to debunk his work.”

“So, they investigate cases together?” Jungkook added.

You nodded your head. “Yeah, and it’s different for each episode. There’s the alien storyline which is like, the main plot of the show, but there’s the fun filler episodes. Monster of the week, they call it. I’m rewatching one of those right now ‘cause they’re fun and don’t have a backstory.”

“It sounds good,” Jungkook looked impressed, training his eyes back on the show.

You weren’t sure if he was just trying to make a conversation, but he seemed genuinely interested as you both watched the show, which tickled your excitement more. You’ve tried to get Jimin into it but he wasn’t really an avid fan of watching long shows, so you’ve given up on trying to convince him to be as obsessive of the show as you.

“Do they kiss?” Jungkook suddenly asked mid-episode, brows furrowed as he watched Mulder wiped something off the side of Scully’s lips. It’s the episode when Scully just got back from being abducted.

Amused, you looked at him and let out a chuckle. Jungkook turned to look at you, confused at the reaction.

“Hm?”

You shook your head. “No, it’s just funny. So, there’s a thing in this show, right? Scully and Mulder are not supposed to be a couple, but they act like one.”

Jungkook let out a seemingly enlightened, “Ah.” Then he looked at your screen again, “I’m watching it right now out of context and I’m assuming they’re a couple.”

“Right? They have such insane chemistry. It’s why I love this show so much.”

“Wait. They never get together? Or kiss, romantically?” Jungkook asked curiously.

“They kiss on the seventh season. We’re on the second one.”

“Wow,” He breathed, genuinely surprised. “That’s a long wait.”

“I know,” you chuckled.

You both sat beside each other as the episode finished. Jungkook would have some questions, and you happily answered each one. It was also fun to share some lore about the show – and you didn’t know if you were coming off too geeky about it – you were just unbelievably excited that he seemed to genuinely like it.

Time passed without you both noticing, and it was 2:23 am when you became hesitant on clicking the next episode button.

“Do you still want to watch another one or…” You trailed off, eyes glued to the screen, waiting to hear Jungkook’s response. But then a few seconds passed, and you didn’t receive one. Turning your head to the side, your eyes widened when you see the state Jungkook was in.

He was leaning far back on the couch with his head resting on the backrest, arms crossed over his chest, lips slightly parted with his eyes shut closed. You could see his chest rising and falling from the way he breathed in and out of sleep, looking quite peaceful regardless of his seemingly uncomfortable position.

You shut your mouth and closed your laptop quietly, trying to be careful with your movements so as to not disturb him and accidentally wake him up. Stretching your back to lean down, your breath hitched as you tried to set the laptop down on the coffee table, not daring to graze any part of Jungkook’s body, especially when his thigh was so closed to your own.

When you successfully put away the device, you went back to sitting beside him, contemplating on your next move.

You ended up staring at him, noting the way his biceps are bulging out of the sleeves of his white shirt with a thin material from their crossed position. Your eyes trailed down to the veins on his forearms, and naturally, you focused in on the one with the swirls of ink around it. It was a body of art on the first look – but looking at it at that moment – close up and free, you took time to identify the drawings on his skin.

There was that snake that trailed down close to his hand, the skeletal rock n’ roll hand, and the script that says “rather be dead than cool”. It was a shame that you couldn’t see from your current view the flower tattoo you were always curious about, nevertheless, the entirety of his inked arm was just… breathtaking, to say the least.

You wanted to ask him what they meant – or if they even meant something. You knew by now he only got them in college – when he moved to the US – and you were just curious about how he decided to get them; about the backstory, anything… Would love to trace down your fingers on his skin as he tells you the exact moment.

And then you realized what you were doing and suddenly looked away.

You felt like a creep. What were you doing, staring at him while he was unaware, unconscious in his sleep? It was not right, and you were supposed to scoot over to the edge to give him plenty of space all for himself.

But as you looked at him again, your eyes stopped at his face, and you couldn’t help but stare at it.

Again.

His nose was something you weirdly have a liking to, and there’s a scar on his cheek that once again bubbled up another layer of curiosity within you.

“Stop it.” You mumbled out loud – not loud enough for Jungkook to hear – but just enough to snap yourself out of the trance you were in.

It was stupid. So stupid. To stare at a sleeping man and have those thoughts inside your head. Jungkook would never do anything like this to you, and at that sentiment, you stood up from the couch to get away.

You caught a sight of the duvet that you used a while ago. As you looked at Jungkook, he seemed to be in dire need of one, so you made quiet steps to put it over him, stopping your breathing in case you did it too loud and he wakes up.

As you carefully laid out the blanket on top of his body, Jungkook stirred, and your breath hitched as you stopped on your tracks.

He mumbled something incoherent, his neck craning to lay on his cheek. Regardless, he stayed on his position, arms still crossed, seemingly going back to his deep sleep instantly.

You stepped out in front of him, letting out a breath of relief.

Standing there for a few seconds, you wondered about where you were going to stay. Jungkook was on the couch and unlike him – you could not carry him to his room without him noticing.

Looking at the direction of said room, you thought about staying there for the night, but decide against it. You didn’t get his permission to do so, it’d be rude—

But the couch is only one, though. And you could feel a yawn ready to come out of your own mouth, sleep lurking at the back of your head.

You could try to wake Jungkook up to tell him to go to his room so he could sleep more comfortably, but you couldn’t do it. The past few days, he had been so busy with work and seemed like he wasn’t getting enough rest. What if you woke him up and he couldn’t go back to sleep anymore? That would just make you feel bad.

Getting the pillow strewn over the edge, you walked towards the direction and fixed it against the arm rest, sitting on the spot and making yourself comfortable on it. Of course, it wasn’t – you were craning your neck too far to the side to try to lay your head, and your body was sprawled in a weird sitting and lying position.

It was fine, though. Jungkook was about two feet away from you, and you felt like you could sleep in the state.

But it was a few long minutes before it completely overtook you.

There’s a feeling of a hard plane against your back when you feel yourself waking up.

You’re in a curled position, hands tucked under your cheeks. As much as you’re starting to slowly feel conscious, you’re still not a hundred percent aware of your surroundings just yet. It’s why you ignore the blow of hot air against the crook of your neck.

When you blearily open your eyes, you’re welcomed with the sight of the back of the grey couch you’ve accustomed yourself with over the past few days. The white foldable cushion you’re lying on. The familiar scent of Jungkook’s apartment.

It’s another usual morning, as far as you’re concerned.

So, you stretch an arm up as well as your leg, groggily mumbling something as you go back to closing your eyes again to hopefully sneak in a few more minutes of sleep.

“Hmm…”

At the sudden sound, your eyes snap open, surprised at the embodied voice that came out somewhere that’s definitely not from your own mouth. It was close, though – something close to your neck; you felt it so – and at that realization, your eyes trail down to your waist, and your breath catches in your throat when you see an arm wrapped around it.

Under your head is another arm that adorns a familiar sleeve tattoo.

When you crane your neck to look behind you, you’re welcomed by Jungkook’s locks of black and messy hair, his face apparently buried in the crook of your neck.

He must’ve felt you move because he stirs in his position, mumbling something, arm tightening around you.

You feel your heart starting to beat faster than usual as you feel the tips of Jungkook’s fingers resting on the bare skin of your stomach due to your camisole riding up, and your eyes continue to widen when you saw that the shirt he’s worn last night is now lying haphazardly across the coffee table where your laptop is.

When Jungkook pushes himself against you closer, that’s when you feel something hard against the cleft of your ass.

“Oh my god!”

“What the fuck!”

“I’m so sorry!” You immediately say, retreating your hands that just pushed him off the couch once everything registered in your head.

You just… slept with each other! You woke up with Jungkook spooning you! The hard plane against your back that you felt earlier was his chest and the hot air blowing in your ear was his breath! You both fell asleep together on the couch!

Jungkook – the poor man – visibly winces as he cradles the back of his head, adjusting himself on the floor after you forcefully yeeted him off the couch.

He didn’t expect that, of course he didn’t! He still looks like he’s half asleep when you kneel on the floor in front of him, grabbing his shoulders and craning your neck to check if you’ve done damage to his head.

“What the hell was that for?” Jungkook asks, still lost about what just happened.

You grimace as you hesitantly put your palm over the back of his head and rub to soothe the pain you’ve caused him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to push you. I was just surprised and shocked when I–”

You stopped speaking when you notice that Jungkook is looking up at you, eyes half-lidded from sleep. Stopping your ministration on the back of his head, you retreat your hands to yourself and look away.

“We slept together.”

“What?” Jungkook asks, his tone incredulous, but more like confused. When you train your eyes to him again, you see him looking down on his body and then yours.

Your cheeks heat up when you realize what you just said.

“Oh my god, no! Not slept slept with each other! I mean, we slept together. Like, literally.” You say, looking at him in panic.

Jungkook furrows his brows. And then after a beat of silence, he lets out a low, “Oh.”

“Oh?” You parrot back.

“Yeah, oh,” He says drily. Jungkook rubs his eyes with his fists and then looks at you again. “I’m sorry, I feel disoriented. I just woke up.”

You wince at that, feeling bad for pushing him again.

It was just a reflex thing, okay! Especially when you felt that certain something in your ass.

When Jungkook stands up from the floor, you notice the strings of his grey shorts getting undone, and your eyes betray you as they pay a look at the noticeable bulge on his crotch.

Jesus H. Fucking Christ.

You stand up quickly, following after him, feeling your heart hammer in your chest.

Okay, boo-fucking-hoo! Men get boners in the mornings. What’s the big deal about it?

“What time is it?” Jungkook asks, brushing his hair back, and you have to physically look away and try to busy yourself by looking for your phone so you can ignore his naked chest on display and his abs and stupid big arms.

You spot your phone nearby and turn it on.

“Six thirty.”

“Shit.” Jungkook hisses.

You’ve never heard him let out so many curses before.

“What? It’s still early.” you say, in case he was referring to work.

Jungkook shakes his head. “Yeah, no. I was supposed to get ready at five am sharp. Need to go there early.”

“Oh.”

He groans, and the sound makes your stomach feel a little weird.

“I have to go shower,” Jungkook says, picking up his shirt from the coffee table. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

“Huh?” You realize what he’s talking about and is then quick to shake your head. “No, not your fault. I, uh, you fell asleep on the couch last night and I didn’t want to wake you.”

He nods, more like to himself. “How did we…?” Jungkook points between you, eyeing the couch.

“I didn’t want to use your bed without your permission, so I slept on the couch as well,” But then you decide to add, “But I didn’t sleep beside you, I was like –” you point to the edge of the couch, “there.”

“Ah,” Jungkook follows your eyes, and then nods. “Okay.”

“Yeah.” you purse your lips into a thin line. “Sorry about that. I should’ve just woken you up, huh?”

“Nah, it’s fine.” He dismisses you with a wave of his hand. “Well, is it okay if I use the shower first?”

“Of course.”

Jungkook smiles before he saunters towards the bathroom. You try not to stare at the hard lines of his retreating back, taping down to his narrow waist.

You failed to do that, obviously.

Sighing out loud when you’re sure he can’t hear you, you busy yourself in the kitchen to make some toast.

After work, you paid a quick visit to your apartment to see how it’s going, since you’re supposed to be able to come back tomorrow.

Your building manager told you that you can pretty much move back already, but there’s no water yet, so you will still have to stay at Jungkook’s place for the last time. At least for another night.

Speaking of him, when you step out on your porch, you see him in front of his own unit, back turned to you, opening his door.

“Hey,” you call. Jungkook turns on his heel, and he smiles as he sees you.

“Hey,” He greets, his hand pausing on the door. Jungkook gives you his undivided attention as he looks at you. “Your apartment’s fine now?”

You nod happily, grinning widely. “Yeah. But I have no water yet. They’re turning it on tomorrow.” You saunter towards his direction and stop beside him. Pointing to the paper bags in his hands, you ask, “What’s that?”

Jungkook lifts them up. “Soju and Midday Miso take-out.” Then, hesitantly, he looks at you curiously. “Do you drink?”

That prompts you to laugh.

“Of course. Are you drinking tonight?”

He nods his head. “Yeah. I was gonna ask you to drink with me… but if you’re not up for it, I’ll just be in my room.”

You cock your head to the side.

“What’s the occasion?”

Jungkook chuckles. “Nothing. Just thought I could loosen up.”

You nod in understanding.

You think about asking him how work’s been, but decide against it, not wanting to pry in case he doesn’t want to talk about any of it.

As you both enter his apartment, it’s almost so domesticated how you take off your shoes and put them in the rack in the threshold. Jungkook wears his black sliders while you wear your baby blue ones. Following him into the living room, it’s almost wild to see yourself being so familiar with his place already.

“Where can we watch The X-Files?” Jungkook asks suddenly after he set the bags on the table, going for the remote and turning on the TV.

You look at him in surprise, not expecting him to ask that.

You answer nonetheless, and Jungkook clicks on the show once it shows up on the screen.

“Do you really want to start with the pilot episode?” You chuckle when he hovers over it.

Jungkook grins. “I enjoyed it last night. Maybe this could be a new favorite.”

“Woah,” you breathed, shaking your head. “Do you know how much I have to convince Jimin to watch this show?”

“Jimin doesn’t like shows. I wanted him to watch Suits but he said he couldn’t stand Harvey Specter – which is fair.”

“Oh my god, that’s also what he told me when I recommended Suits!” You say. You narrow your eyes at him, excited about the information. “So… you like Suits?”

Jungkook nods. “Sort of like a guilty pleasure? I used to watch it a lot in college. My roommate studied law and started telling me about how inaccurate it was, but it’s fun regardless,” He says with a shrug. “Sue me.”

“I know, right! People always wanna be smart about procedural dramas, but I think it’s just camp they can’t comprehend,” You shake your head, feeling a certain high bubble inside you. You lean your elbows on the coffee table. “Okay, okay, thoughts on Jessica Pearson?”

Jungkook grins. “A dream.”

You breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’m so glad you have the correct opinion.”

Jungkook laughs at that, and you begin to eat the take-out he bought, The X-Files playing on the big screen before you.

“You went home early today,” you comment as you take the shot glass he offers you.

A few minutes has passed already and you’re beginning to open the bottles of soju, Midday Miso take-out boxes all finished.

“Managed to finish early tonight. That’s probably why I wanted to drink,” Jungkook says, tipping his head back to drink from his own bottle. “Also, it’s your last day here.”

You nod. With a teasing smile, you jab, “Are you going to miss me?”

Jungkook looks at you briefly.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?” You ask incredulously, feigning hurt.

He chuckles. “I liked your little dance in the kitchen last Sunday.”

Your lips part, recalling that time when you reheated some pizza during the night. As far as you were concerned, Jungkook was in his bedroom at that time!

“You saw that?” You say, embarrassed.

Jungkook must’ve noticed, because he chuckles and begins to sound comforting when he says, “Some part of it, yeah. Megan Thee Stallion would love to perform with you, I think.”

“Oh my god, no,” You giggle, covering your face with your hands because if he caught you during that part, it means he saw you trying to throw it back. “Yeah, I think I’m packing my things right now.”

Jungkook laughs, and his eyes crinkle as he does so, overjoyed at your tactics.

“I thought you wanted to drink with me?”

You squint your eyes. “Just because I feel sorry for pushing you off the couch this morning.”

He shakes his head, still chuckling. “Yeah, that hurt. I think I have a bump on my head right now.”

You stop, eyes widening. “Seriously?”

Jungkook presses his lips together and nods. You grow concerned, ready to lean over the table to check the back of his head, but as you do so, Jungkook makes a sound of stifling his laugh and you realize he’s fucking with you.

“That’s so mean.” you say, going back to your side and pouting at him.

“Not meaner than you pushing me off the couch.” He wiggles his eyebrows.

“Ugh, I’m sorry. You just surprised me, 's all!”

Jungkook laughs and nods his head. “I know, I know. I’m sorry about that. I have a habit of being able to sleep anywhere.”

You scrunch your face. “Me too.”

And then a beat of silence.

Jungkook tips his head back for another sip of his alcohol. When he looks at you again, a gentle smile is playing on his lips.

“I had a good night sleep, though. Did you?”

He looks at you with something in his eyes – something soft and gentle – his gaze making the hair on your nape stand and your cheeks burn.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

The night continues to envelope your surroundings and as time passes by, the empty bottles of soju multiply.

You’ve always had a high tolerance for alcohol – and soju, in particular, is generally not too strong for you personally. With one bottle in, you don’t feel hammered just yet. There’s a daze at the back of your head that you’re starting to feel, though. One and a half is your limit, sometimes two – you’ve had that down since college.

Jungkook seems to share the same trait, it seems like. You noticed he’s on his second one, and even though his cheeks are starting to get painted red, he still speaks with you like he’s a hundred percent conscious and not like alcohol’s hit his system already.

“It’s so hot,” you say, popping open the first two buttons of your shirt. Jungkook’s coat has long been disposed on the couch, and his ties are loosened, with the long sleeves of his dress shirt pushed to his elbow, showing his tattoos.

“Should I adjust the AC?” Jungkook asks, looking at you as you gather your hair up in a ponytail.

You manage to secure it even without a tie and answer him, “No, it’s fine.”

When you feel like you can breathe again, you look at Jungkook. As you think about what to say next, you giggle lightly.

“Let’s have some fun with these,” You point to the empty bottle of soju. Jungkook quirks his brow, which prompts you to continue. “Let’s play spin the bottle. When it points at you, you have to answer some questions. If you don’t want to, then you’ll have to drink.”

Jungkook snorts. “Truth or dare? Really?”

You roll your eyes. “No, not truth or dare. Just truth because I’m sophisticated like that. Besides, are you going to entertain me if I dare you to wear a rainbow suit for work tomorrow?”

“This is your idea of fun?” Jungkook says, teasing you. Playful with a boyish grin.

You shrug. “I mean, it’s quite fun, actually. But I know about how thirty-year-olds get. If it’s past your bedtime, then…” you glance at the door to his bedroom.

Jungkook bursts out in laughter.

“You like making it sound like I’m sixty, don’t you?”

“Are you?” You pout.

Jungkook chuckles, although relenting to your game proposition.

“Alright…”

You do a little shoulder dance which makes Jungkook shake his head. As you spin the bottle, it stops and points at him. You let out a little sound of enthusiasm.

“Okay. What’s that mean?” You ask. Jungkook looks confused as he tries to see what you’re looking at. His arm. ��That flower tattoo – or if it even has a meaning.”

“Oh,” Jungkook utters, realizing. He lifts up his right arm and twists it so that the flower tattoo is within both your sight. There, you see a full view of the flower drawing tattooed in orange ink. You find yourself staring at it as Jungkook starts to speak, “It’s a tiger lily. My birth flower. It means…” You can see Jungkook hesitate for a little while, and you’re just about to take back your question when he continues to say, “It means please love me.”

“Wow.” You gasp. “That’s… so pretty.”

Jungkook caresses his forearm, staring quite lovingly at the art. “I know. My tattoo artist did a really good job.”

He takes it to himself to spin the bottle again, and this time, it points at you.

“Well… do you have a tattoo?” Jungkook asks, and it’s obvious he meant to tease.

You nod your head. His playful smile drops.

“Are you serious?”

You raise your brow at him. “Sorry. Only one question gets entertained.”

He clicks his tongue playfully but then begins to spin the bottle one more time. When it points at you again, he gives you a smirk.

“Can I see your tattoo if you’re saying you have one?”

You scrunch your face, cocking your head to the side.

“Hm. I don’t think so. It’s under my boob. So.”

Jungkook stills, and you watch as his eyes trail down from your face down to your collar – although he did it quite subtly.

“Oh.”

You grin. “Yeah, “oh”,” you chuckle. When he shakes his head, you tell him, “What?” You look at him weird, regardless of the smile on your lips. He stares right back at you, and you narrow your eyes at him. “Ohh, I see. You think I’m lying.”

“No, I’m not,” he scoffs. “I just thought…”

“You just thought what?”

“I just thought you wouldn’t have one. Or if you did, it’d be a like a small thing on the leg or something. I don’t know.” He shrugs, still smiling.

You grin. “Interesting insight.”

“Nevermind that.” Jungkook rolls his eyes, spinning the bottle again.

When the rotation stills at his direction, you clap a little and put your elbows on the coffee table.

Your next question sounds stupid in your head, but you let it out anyway.

“What’s your ideal type?” You ask.

“Oh, are we doing that?” Jungkook says, sounding intrigued. “Are you going to ask me about my first kiss next?”

You snort. “This feels so high school. But answer my question.”

“Yes, ma’am,” He playfully gives you a salute. You couldn’t help but giggle. “Okay, well, I like women who are smart and… funny,” Jungkook says, and when he looks at you, you move back a little. With a soft smile, he adds, “And pretty.”

You break the eye contact. Raising your brow, you nod your head. “Pretty women. Like Kang Heesu, right?”

Jungkook looks surprised when he hears the name.

“How do you know her?”

“How can I not? Jimin’s mother has been trying to set him up with her for months now.” You shrug.

Jungkook chuckles, as if he knows exactly what you’re talking about.

“Yeah. You’re right – not about the part that she’s my ideal type, though.”

You can’t help but let out a scoff.

“That’s such a cop-out answer, Jungkook.”

He looks at you incredulously, chuckling as he says, “What? It’s not a cop-out, it’s the truth.”

“You’re awfully close with her. I heard from my coworkers you’re both dating.” You raise a brow at him.

It’s true. Words are starting to get around the office that Jungkook and Heesu are more than just collaborators.

Of course, you know to ignore that. Not because you want to be in denial or anything – but because you just don’t think it is actually true.

But maybe poking fun at it will get you the confirmation. Or whatever. It doesn’t matter.

Jungkook laughs at your previous words, though, as if you just told him a big joke.

“God, no,” he shakes his head, as if he couldn’t believe it. “They’re really saying that?” You nod your head, your lips pressed into a thin line. “I ought to make everybody know we’re just working together. You know about the project the company has in collaboration with Kang Tech, right?”

“Yeah.”

“There you go,” Jungkook chuckles. “I’m not dating Kang Heesu.”

The words feel a bit different in your ears. Paired with the way he looked at you as he said it, he sounded as though he was… almost assuring you.

But of what?

You shake off the idea in your head.

“Okay. Next one.” you interrupt the silence to change the subject. You curse in your head when the bottle stops at you.

“Your turn. What’s your ideal type?” Jungkook asks as if his tongue is just itching to ask you that. You know he’s just excited to get back at you.

You think about it for a moment, though, and you find you don’t really know what to say.

It’s not a thought you ponder over a lot. The guys that you’ve been with were so… different from each other.

“I—I’m not sure,” you shake your head, genuine.

Jungkook points at the shot glass. “New rule. I’ll count to ten and if you don’t answer, you drink.”

You glare at him; he just gives you a grin.

“I really don’t know! I mean, my past relationships are so different from each other,” you say, pouting. “But— okay. I guess I like guys who are… confident,” You look at Jungkook and then let your mind float. “And I guess I also like somebody who’s…” You watch as he leans in closer to wait for your next words. Your feel blood rushing to your cheeks as you finish up with, “Attentive. I like good listeners. Yeah.”

“Ah,” Jungkook nods. And then, he adds, “Is Shin Taemu from the IT department a good listener, then?”

Your brows furrow. “Shin Taemu?” He nods. That earns a laugh from you. “No, we’re friends.”

“Friends?” Jungkook asks curiously.

“Well, we – uh – did date. Didn’t work out. So. We’re only friends now.”

“Date, as in, a long relationship?” His eyes are so full of genuine curiosity that you cower away from them.

You shake your head at his question. “No, no – not long relationship, it wasn’t like that. I meant date as in – dinner date. Once.” You look at the shot glass and down it because of the sudden nerves that enter you. “We’re doing this game wrong.”

Jungkoon chuckles at the way you drink another glass. He mirrors your action, though, and ask, “How so? We’re questioning each other.”

“Yeah, but it’s too many questions!” You complain, jutting your lips into a pout.

“You said you only wanted truth, so there goes your questions,” Jungkook says. You roll your eyes, which makes him laugh. “Okay, just so I can amuse you, I’ll do a dare if it points at me, and you’ll do one if it stops at you. Deal?”

When you nod, Jungkook spins the bottle. He did it quite forcefully that the bottle takes a longer time to stop. You both watch keenly as it begins to slow down. Nervous, you pray it doesn’t stop at you, and you let out a sigh of relief when it finally points to Jungkook.

Jungkook shakes his head when you let out a contained, “Yes!”

“I dare you to…” you trail off, watching as he looks at you curiously. “Let me pluck your brows.”

“What?” Jungkook asks incredulously.

“A promise is a promise.” You remind him.

“Like all of them?”

“What? Of course no!” You chuckle, seeing the genuine panic in his eyes.

“Oh.”

“You silly,” You say, laughing at him. “Not right now, though. I actually feel like I’m about to pass out. Oh my god, I have to tend to a hung-over tomorrow.” You let your face fall into your hands and stifle a groan.

“I’ll cook us some porridge or something, don’t worry.” Jungkook says. Curiously, he asks, “Why do you want to pluck my brows?”

You stare at him, and then focus your eyes onto his brows.

Pouting, you let your shoulders deflate as you sigh. “They’re so thick.”

“What?” Jungkook lets out, laughing incredulously. “I’m so confused.”

“You wouldn’t get it.”

“Okay… well, would you let me pluck your brows?”

You try to think about it.

“No,” you shake your head. You add, “Unless you’re flirting with me.”

Jungkook stops. And then raises a brow. “Unless I’m flirting with you…”

You snap your eyes to look at him. Mirroring his brow, you ask, “Are you flirting with me?”

“Maybe,” Jungkook looks at you, lips tilted into a barely-there smirk that suddenly makes your cheeks burn with heat. “Do you like it?”

It takes you a while to answer, processing his words. You don’t know if he’s joking or what. Is this just his usual teasing? It feels different this time.

But why are you denying it again to yourself, though? You may be stupid sometimes, but you know his teasing gets a little… borderline flirty. You’re scared to ask him about it outright, though – afraid to be faced with the possible truth that it’s just your head playing mind-tricks for you; that Jungkook, with his teasing, is not flirty at all and you’re just flattering yourself to think about it that way.

But right now, his question feels real.

If he is flirting with you… do you like it?

You pour a drink into the shotglass and down it quickly. You feel your vision starting to get a little hazy as you put it down the table.

Jungkook realizes what you just did, and then throw his head back to laugh.

“Now, that was a cop-out.” He says, pointing to the trick that you just did.

You give him a smirk. “No rules about not answering except down a drink.”

Jungkook chuckles. “Smart girl.”

He watches as you stand up, but when you trip over the carpet, he’s quick to follow and go over to your direction to hold your wrist, his arm going around your waist to guide you to stand upright.

“You okay?” He asks. When you look up, your faces are just a hair's breadth away.

“Hm.” You hum, blinking your eyes up at him. You find it’s because your lids are starting to get heavy.

“Be careful.” Jungkook says, but he doesn’t let go of your waist, nor your wrist.

You stand there in the middle of the living room with that position, and weirdly enough, you feel like you’re both glued on it.

You can’t move – or don’t want to. You wish you want to. But you don’t, and it’s why you let Jungkook’s fingers trail softly to your waist.

“You look real sleepy,” he comments – whispers, more like, his bated breath hitting your skin.

“I am a bit dazy.” You say, finding yourself indulging in his touch.

Somehow, Jungkook never makes a move to get away even when you’re already steady on both feet. You feel that fading away so soon though, your knees starting to feel like they’re about to buckle at the way Jungkook’s eyes bore deep into your own. You feel a sort of heightened sense within your body, his hand on your back making something in you tingle.

It’s so intimate – the position. Jungkook looms over you with his much bigger frame and with his support on your back, you can just let yourself fall back.

Can you, though? Are you sure he’s going to catch you?

“You do look a little dazy,” Jungkook comments, but his eyes have traveled down to your face, and you can see them stop at your lips.

That makes them part.

You see Jungkook’s adam’s apple bobbing at the action.

“I do feel dazy,” you say, parroting back his words. Maybe they’re coming off slurred. You don’t know. You find you don’t care.

Jungkook’s lips tilt into a gentle smile. Soft like his demeanor. Soft like his arm that somehow found a way to tighten its hold around you even though you don’t need it. But it’s Jungkook though, and as much as you deny it even to yourself – you do like his touch.

“Yeah, you told me so.” His voice becomes an octave lower. His hands start to rub your clothed waist, and the ministrations of his thumb distract you a bit.

You roam your eyes around his face – noting the scar on his cheek which story you want to know so bad. When you trail you eyes down to his lips, you see the mole under it. You don’t think you were being subtle at all – it’s quite obvious that you’re just staring.

And you know Jungkook notices.

“Jungkook,” you breathed out, calling him about nothing in particular.

His only response is a small, gentle hum.

A beat of silence, and you feel Jungkook’s face leaning closer to yours.

You don’t make a move away from him, just let your legs stay where they are, letting Jungkook slowly pull you to him. You can tell his movements are slower than usual – like he’s testing the waters, searching for something in your eyes, quietly asking if it’s okay – if what he’s about to do is okay.

It makes your heart hammer against your chest – his breathing becoming more audible in your own ears. His mouth reeks of the soju you both drank earlier, but you’ve always liked the smell of it, especially when it comes with a man as breathtaking as him.

You feel the tip of his nose touching yours, your chest pressing against his own, his hand travelling from your waist to the back of your head.

When Jungkook leans down to close the gap, you swerve your face just in time to have his lips press against your hair instead.

“I’m sleepy.” You say quietly, a nervous lilt to your voice. You duck your head a little lower, laying your face on his chest and bury it with his scent.

You can feel Jungkook freeze in his position, taken aback by the sudden turn of events. You hope he doesn’t feel the way your heart goes abnormal in your chest with such proximity – but right now, all you want to do is hide. Hide your face away from him because if he sees you, he’ll know exactly what you’re thinking.

He’ll know exactly the effect he has on you.

It takes a few seconds of silence before Jungkook comes back to you.

“Hm,” He hums, and you feel his hand letting go of your wrist to wrap around your waist, squeezing for a brief moment. Jungkook’s other hand cradles your head to his chest, swiping his hand against your hair in a repeated manner, and with the way he rests his chin on the crown of your head, you feel comfort in the whole thing. “We should sleep.”

“Yeah…” you trail off, and you can just feel your lids getting heavier at the remark.

“Yeah?”

“Hm.”

“I’ll take the couch. Do you want to shower first?” You shake your head against his chest. You feel it vibrating when he chuckles. “Okay.”

“My body feels like jelly.” You say, and you feel that to be actually true.

“Is that code for “carry me to your bed, Jungkook”?”

You’re thankful your face is buried in his chest as you smile widely.

“Do you want it to be?”

“I don’t mind.”

You nod. “Good. I think I’ll get alcohol poisoning tomorrow.”

You feel Jungkook lifting his chin off your head as he sounds scold-y when he says, “Don’t joke like that.”

You giggle against his chest.

“Carry me before I pass out.”

Jungkook snorts. “Ohh. Bossy.”

“It’s my last day here. I deserve some slack.” You grumble.

“Fine.”

TAGLIST: @mortal-body-timelesssoul @variety-is-the-joy-of-life @lachimolalajeon @miniesjams32 @parkinglot-nights @peterstarkchrishiddleston @aznstoner @chuberry22 @tae-hibiscus @jungkooksmytype

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all right reserved © awrkive, 2024. no reposts, modification, and copying allowed. if you enjoy my work/s and have the extra means, please consider supporting me on ko-fi <3

[19burstraat]

ketterdam dashboard simulator 2 (electric boogaloo)

(first one here)

❌ urkerchfaveisproblematic follow

Who submitted Kaz Brekker. don't take the piss he's literally wanted every other Wednesday

🍃 squallertales follow

Wait what did Brekker do

🌊 boekcanaling

Girl what DIDN'T he do

🦁 dimelionsofficial follow

Ghezen's Day Piss Up starts TONIGHT at the Kaelish Prince! Come down before four bells and get ten kruge off your first drinks purchase and an extra spin on Makker's Wheel!

👤 dregsofficial

545.06.7.9

🦁 dimelionsofficial follow

HOW DID YOU GET PAST THE FUCKING VPN. FUCK YOU KAZ BREKKER. FUCK YOU SO MUCH. YOU DO THIS EVERY TIME. WE'RE NOT EVEN DOING ANYTHING TO YOU. WE'RE ALL JUST PEOPLE WITH JOBS. TRYING TO GET BY. MOST OF US NEVER EVEN SPOKE TO ROLLINS. THIS IS SO TWISTED. YOUR ACTUALLY WRONG IN THE HEAD. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU. I ACTUALLY CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS ANYMORE. I'M SICK.

👤 dregsofficial

*you're

❓lidandstavessuggestions

#234: build mickey's dick smasher between east and west stave

🍷dregsconfessions

So I've been a dregs member for a long time (I'm in my 30s now) and back when I was a new grunt I was especially trolleyed at the Crow Club, and I ended up spilling like half my pint on the head of one of Haskell's feral little runners, yk one of the little kids?? I just kind of mopped him with my sleeve and said sorry and figured that it was the end of it... however it has occurred to me lately that it actually might have been Kaz. Honestly I never could tell the difference between all the kids, and I didn't look properly at him, but now I've been waking up in a cold sweat several times a week thinking about it. Is it time for me to retire from the gang life

#submisson #admin comment: lately all of these have just been ppl embarrassing themselves in front of kaz

🧇 stroopwafels

There's definitely blogs on here that are undercover advertising for the Dregs btw. I accuse that one that thirstposts abt Dirtyhands

🧤 dirtyhandsy follow

:( no I'm a Razorgull actually

🧇 stroopwafels

WHAT???????

🧤 dirtyhandsy follow

I have eyes :/

🧇 stroopwafels

You won't for much longer if your boss finds out omfg

🃏 makkerswheelies follow

you guys are cowards for not wanting to fuck Brekker. Out of my way ghezenboy I'm bout to get it

🃏 makkerswheelies follow

My wallet is Gone

💀 dregsundrained follow

Kaz Brekker isn't violent. Dirtyhands is. Get it right

🏵️ cillasfryup

Gonna rob a bank tomorrow and when the stadwatch come I'm gonna tell them it was my alter ego Countess Boochie Flagrante

🙏🏻 thumbofghezen follow

sooooo sick of seeing people say that the council of tides shouldn't have complete control over kerch shipping. they stop the island from sinking??? every day?? have some respect

⛲ sanktvladimirs

idk about you guys but I'd be popping the BIGGEST bottles if kerch started sinking

🏵️ cillasfryup

me and the girls when kerch starts sinking

🌊 boekcanaling

staff please let me reblog ads please please please please

💪🏻 lionsroar12 follow

guys you have 24 hours to unfollow sanktvladimirs not only are they impersonating and mocking real etherealki and real saints (they are NOT a member of the second army) they're a dregs member, and I bet they're a fucking ka/nej too

⛲ sanktvladimirs

@ dregsofficial

💪🏻 lionsroar12 follow

I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT

💪🏻 lionsroar12 follow

WHO SENT ME AN ANON ASK WITH MY ADDRESS

🍷dregsundrained

guys I was looking at the wiki contributions who the fuck added a jesper fahey page to the dregs wiki... from inside the stadhall???

🥳 pearlhandledrevolvers

you know what. don't even worry about it

liked by dregsofficial

🍃 squallertales follow

the wraith was only seventeen when she started hunting slavers???? she should have been at the club

#DON'T crawl out of the woodwork and say 'oh the crow club-' #the REAL CLUB. for FUN

🎨 dekappelfan follow

🎨 dekappelfan follow

it's so nice to know no one agrees on this

[undercover-smutlover]

Lieutenant Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley…💀

main masterlist📌

*·˚Don’t forget to reblog, follow, like, and comment on the authors’ or artists’ pages. Show them some love!

*·˚Broken link or @? Pop a note in the comments or my ask box.

Works by @ghostsareeverywhereblah2

Guard Dogs Pt.1: “He’s even cuter in person”

Guard Dogs Pt.2: “She’s always listened, just not to you”

The Progeny Series: “Shit, Lt. Looks like you actually have a real admirer”

Grumpy x Sunshine: Who in the world can be in a relationship with Simon?

Works by @lethalchiralium

Delicate + König: You were glad you had them both, satisfying your needs

Raindrops: He’s trying to remember every moment

Works by @ghosts-cyphera

Bloodied Bullets, Soft Confessions: “I guess I’d been lucky so far.”

Pornstar Ghost:  All genuine, from both of you

Works by @peachesofteal

Dead Disco: The one that’s always left behind

Light On: Simon has a new neighbor

Through Me (The Flood): Still, even in this moment, you leave him breathless

Works by @lvrxly

Singledad!Ghost: "Eh, I kinda like your son more than you, he's less broody," You tease

An Odd Feeling:

Works by @chaosandmarigolds

Among the Bullets Ch.1 Pt.1, Ch.1 Pt.2, Ch.2 Pt.1 , Ch.2 Pt.2: “Adrenaline makes the body do some pretty insane things, sir.”

Pre-K Universe

Works by @tojisun

My Baby Swinging: Simon and his pretty little sweetheart’s adventures

The Apple that rolled over to The Tree

It Takes A Rampage (to be a dad)

HockeyPlayer!Simon

Works by @bi-writes

Final Girl

Pregnant!Reader Snapping at Simon

Clean Up Call

Works by @writersdrug

Training For Two

Tea and Cigarettes

Works by @halcyone-of-the-sea

Sole Survivor: “Who’s the guy with the mohawk?”

Digging Gaze: But he was afraid, as well. Terrified

Three Is A Crowd by @xyziiix: Well your Captain always like proving you wrong

Cherry by @barefoothighlander: Ghost finds out about your side gig

The Captain by @as-is-above-so-below: Ghost’s wife joins the team on an op agaisnt his wishes

Bleeding Out Pt.1, Bleeding Out Pt.2 and Bleeding Out Pt.3 by @constantcrisis19: A bomb almost levels the entire town. Ghost extracts you.

Oneshots & Multichapter and Price’s Birthday by @rileyslibrary: An entire collection of Simon Riley oneshots

The Things I Never Said Pt.1 and The Things I Never Said Pt.2 by @lvlyghost: When the inevitable happens, you run

Ghost in the Austrian Asylum by @prazinos: The two of you want him as well

Painless Bruises by @tacticaldiary: Avoiding Simon’s gaze is harder than it’s ever been

The Experiments by @diaryofanidiot: Forced to fight and claw her way to live

The Accused by @amoristt: You fucking ran. What choice did you have?

Badges of Honor by @clairdelunelove: Ghost always recieves the biggest stickers

King!Ghost x Princess!Reader by @hyperactively-me: Stubborn Princess who warms up to the King

Ghost x Civillian Masterlist by @sim0nril3y: How he met his civillian and fell in love

The Twins by @princessdimondheart: He saw his own eyes

How many fingers am I holding up by @sprout-fics: “Don’t hate me for this, Si.” You think weakly

Lime-Sized by @imperihoe-writes: Sighing happily, she wiggled a bit deeper into his embrace

Bodyguard!Simon x Popstar!Reader by @xo-cod: Simon looks on in pride

Phantom Frost Line by @diejager: You’re a new face, unknown to Ghost and he isn’t too keen about the news

Nothing’s New by @thewriterg: He held you like he always will and as he always had

Unmasked Love by @springtyme: she turns her head to look over at you with an excited expression on her little face

Welcome Home by @babygirl-riley: but when she was around wow, he would make sure everyone knew who she was

Odds On by @bits-and-babs: The smirk that had been threatening to break finally cracks across your lips at the confirmation of your victory

His Heart, His Light, His World by @thexsilentxwordsmith: "You deserve it all, Simon. Every once of it."

Unexpected by @dammn-dean: Simon felt a pang of something up his spine, similar to jealousy but close to disappointment in himself.

If Only You Would Have Trusted Me by @ltghosty: That was the only thing that helped you come to peace with the things you were forced to do in order to protect your family.

Husband!Simon by @ahqkas: he didn’t hesitate to scoop the smiling baby up into his arms

Glory Days by @sstormyskyesss: If you weren't focused on calculating the best strategy out of this particular setback, you’d be able to see the stars in Simon’s eyes

Simon Riley Collection by @starstruckmiraclekitty:

Cure For Me [zombie!ghost] by @groguspicklejar:

Who Wants to Live Forever by @writeforfandoms: Then his lips twitched. “Took you long enough.” 

Vegas Wedding by @ceilidho: When he stretches an arm up to scratch his upper back, you almost whimper at the way his arm bulges. 

Secret Haven by @lightwing-s: and the moment his eyes caught yours you could clearly understand his message.

Lovely by @daisies-daydreams: “Even though this isn’t on my finger while I’m at work, I’ll always act like it is,” you reassured him

Homeward Bound AU by @writeforfandoms: You spared a brief thought of thanks that your mother had taught you everything about this job. 

Firefighter!Simon Riley by @thelaisydazy: He loves the ones handed over the counter by the cute worker that smiles at him and fusses over the dog every morning.

Simon’s Favorite Hair by @lovifie: And in that moment, with your hair still in his hand, he knew he was in trouble.

Coffee Shop by @sinkovia: His life was good, and he couldn't ask for more

The Next of Kin by @soapybutt17: Many eyes had lingered on you when they heard your last name

Nurse by @jayybugg: Ghost stayed silent. His eyes stay trained on you, no words or sounds coming from him.

Gold Rush by @midnightarcheress

Soft Spot by @cordeliawhohung

Hatred For You Pt.1, Pt.2, Pt.3, Pt.4, Pt.5 by @mangowafflesss

Dad!Simon by @tacticalgirlboss

Accidental Sugar Baby Pt.1, Pt.2, Pt.3 by @brainoutofstock

Special Eye on Singlemom!Reader by @bi-writes

Meeting Single-mom!Reader by @zvdvdlvr

Russian Roulette by @writingangst

No More by @mayflysdie

Footballer Simon by @dante-mightdie

Transferrable Skills by @dragonnarrative-writes

implied fat!reader x bluecollar!simon riley by @drgnflyteabox

Was Warm by @eevee-of-eternity

Ghosting Series Pt.1, Pt.2 by @bittersw33t-lotus

Weird by @fivechapters

Beaded Bracelet by @manicrouge

The Poor Decision by @ceilidho

Dividers by @cafekitsune

[vanessaedp]

Sweetheart |•| Simon Riley x Fem Reader

fluff, angst if you use a magnifying glass 🔎, Ghost being a cutie patootie, sexual innuendo once, 141 meets ghost's s/o for the first time, soap ans gaz love cats, i hc gaz has celiac disease

not proof-read bc i cant be arsed soz lmfao 💀

also reblog pookies and i'll give you a free foot massage

~~~~

Three months without your boyfriend.

Your eyes scanned the new book you bought, 'Psycho by Robert Bloch'. It was a good book. 'I think everybody goes a little crazy sometimes' Norman bates said in the book. It was a line you related to heavily, especially when Simon went out on his missions. You were left all alone with your cat, Eleanor. Although, she was an adorable, orange tabby cat she reminded you of Simon since he bought her for you. Everything in this house reminded you of Simon. Half of the stuff in the living room he had bought because he'd rather gift you something than hug which you understood because he had opened up a tiny bit about his past and it seemed traumatic. Simon gifted you the most lavish things to equal the amount of times he wanted to hug you but couldn't due to his past. It was sad to think he had to buy your hugs but you appriciated the gesture.

~~~

"Right, I haven't had the chance to tell her that you lot are coming so if she freaks out don't worry." Simon grumbles.

The rest of the group nodded. Price was sitting in the drivers seat with Gaz beside him, they were both chatting about how the mission went while Simon and Soap were sitting at the back. For once, Simon showed some emotion. Nervousness. His leg was bouncing and his fist kept clenching and unclenching.

"You alright L.T?" Soap piped up, looking at his obviously anxious supervisor. Simon nodded.

"I hope she's doing alright." Simon stared at Soap with that stoic expression. Price and Gaz stopped talking and Price turned his head a little, keeping his eyes on the road.

"I'm sure she's fine. From what you've told us she can put up a fight so if something was to happen she'd be cool as a cucumber." Price smiled, trying to lighten the mood. Simon grimaced at the last part of his sentence but Price wasn't wrong. You knew Taekwando and you were flexible. Simon was shocked the first time you showed him how to do a backbend and that beautiful arch your back made that caused him to feel-

"Yeah, Ghost. She seems really nice. I've heard her while you two were on call. It's funny really. She sounds so sweet and bubbly and you-" Gaz stopped himself. "Well..." He trailed off when he saw Price shaking his head at him.

"He means that you two are polar opposites." Soap chimes in. "But you know what they say." He nudged Simon as if he already knew what he was going to say. "Opposites attract."

"Fucking hell." Simon let out a deep sigh. "Are we almost there?" He sounded impatient.

"Just around the corner, mate." Price reassured.

~~~

There was a knock at the door.

You poked your head from your book, folding the page over and stepping off the couch. You sighed. It could be Simon, then again it could be your SHEIN order that was due to arrive yesterday. You walked over to the door and opened it, gasping when you see your boyfriend, Simon.

"Simon!" You smile, stepping forward. Simons breath hitches and you notice this so you take a step back. He feels guilty. He had just been gone for three months and he's too scared to embrace his own girlfriend of 4 years? No. He won't let his fears get to him. Not when he's just left you for so long. Simon steps forward, pulling you close to him and hugging you. His arms stretched around your waist and he rested his face in the crook of your neck, you heard him inhale your perfume.

You were too distracted about the fact that Simon is hugging you that you don't realise his friends were here. You lifted your head to see them awkwardly looking away. "Simon, you never told me you brought your friends." You laughed when he pulled away, you could see the embarrassment in his eyes when he realised he had dived into your arms infront of his boss and co-workers.

"Yeah." He shuffled to the side and they all met your eyes. You smiled and waved and they did the same, mumbling some "hi's" and "hello's". "This is Soap."

"I believe he prefers-." Gaz speaks.

"Pipe down." Soap interrupts him.

Simon gave Soap a harsh pat on the back and Soap gave him a dirty look. He points to Price and Gaz. "Thats Price, my captain and Gaz."

"Oh, its so nice to meet you all. Come in, i'll get you all something to drink if you'd like.

"Um.. alright then." Price smiled back and entered, Gaz and Soap followed close behind and Ghost shut the door.

"I'm gluten free, by the way." Gaz says, looking around your massive living room. It has cat toys everywhere and Gaz nudges Soap. "They have a cat." He whispers and Soap looks thrilled, his head darts around in search for the feline.

While your in the kitchen making the men something to drink, they all settle down on the couch. Eleanor walks in and nuzzles against Ghost's leg. He leans over and pets her, scratching behind her ear. Soap looks in awe. "You never told us you have a cat." He scolds Ghost.

"You never asked." Ghost mumbled, picking Eleanor up and stroking her soft fur. "I missed you, Ellie." He whispers and holds the cat like a baby, loud purrs from Eleanor filled the room.

"Can I hold her?" Gaz asked, peeking over Soap's shoulder to look at the tabby cat.

"Me too, please." Soap asked, feeling his heart melt when Ghost placed Eleanor on Soap's lap. "Oh my god, who's a good kitty?" He says in a baby voice as Eleanor stretched across him and Gaz's lap. Their hands eagerly petting the cats fur.

You return with a tray of coca colas in bottles. "I made sure it was gluten free." You laugh and take a seat in an armchair. "I see Ellie has taken a liking to you both."

"Is that her name?" Gaz asked, looking up at you for a moment before sipping his cola and petting the kitten.

"Well, she's actually called Eleanor but me and Simon just call her Ellie." You smile.

"How old is she?" Price asked, scratching Eleanor's chin, smiling down at her. She purred away peacefully.

"Um.." You glanced at Simon who held up 3 fingers. "She's 3. She's a tabby cat so i'm just glad they don't grow too big."

Price nodded. "She's adorable. Be careful though, Soap and Gaz might want to steal her from you. They love animals." Gaz and Soap didn't even look up from the cat but they nodded. Eleanor let out a meow and they both went 'Aww'. "How long have you two lived together?"

"2 years I think. My dad left most of the inheritance to me so I asked Simon if he wanted to move in with me. And now we're here." You shrugged and Price nodded.

~~~

After about 2 hours of talking and joking Price checked his watch. "We should go now. Gaz and Soap have training tomorrow." He lifted up Eleanor from his lap and placed her on the couch. "Thank's for having us." Price smiled.

"Thanks." Gaz said with a smile before giving Eleanor a scratch on the chin. Soap did the same and nodded.

"Bye, you'll have to come over again!" You waved them off, shutting the door when they drive off. You re-enter the living room and sit beside Simon. "They seem lovely." You look up at him.

"You haven't known them as long as I have." Simon chuckled darkly, his arm hesitantly reaching over your shoulder and hooking around to pull you close to him. He looked down at you.

"So.. do you want to order a take-away or do you want to go out?" You nestled your cheek against the side of his chest.

"Can we stay here?" He asked, sinking into the couch. "Like how we are now. I don't want to let you go."

"Okay, Simon." You nod and smile. And he didn't let you go. He made sure you fell asleep and woke up in his arms.

~~~

eat up guys

[hajim3]

You want requests? Hmmmm who (out of all characters you right for) likes a plump soft reader? Who looks at thicc ppl and just can't help themselves? And what's their first fantasy about chubby reader?

If you don't do chubby reader requests then plz ignore me. Thank you for your time ✌️🤗

𝚆𝚑𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎'𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚊 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚌 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚎?

꒷꒦꒷‧˚.‧꒦꒷꒦ ꒷꒦‧˚.‧꒷꒦꒷‧˚꒦꒷꒦꒷‧˚.‧꒦꒷꒦ ꒷꒦‧˚.‧꒷꒷꒦꒷‧˚.‧꒦꒷

cw: gn!reader, mentions of titties but it can be ignored if it doesn’t apply, suggestive (I think??) I’m not good at warnings so lmk if I missed anything

a/n: HI GUYS!!! I’VE MISSED YOU!!! It’s been over a year! I know this is very short but this took me two days to write cuz I had to get my brain turning again. 😭 Also I had to stop myself from writing cuz I still had a bit more to say but imma save it for another time. I feel pretty good about this one so I hope you guys enjoy it as well.

word count: 478

꒷꒦꒷‧˚.‧꒦꒷꒦ ꒷꒦‧˚.‧꒷꒦꒷‧˚꒦꒷꒦꒷‧˚.‧꒦꒷꒦ ꒷꒦‧˚.‧꒷꒷꒦꒷‧˚.‧꒦꒷

⇾ Tbh I have a whole arsenal of characters that I think would die for a cute chubby person

⇾ But if i absolutely had to pick one person, I say Bokuto (oh and Osamu but imma save that for another time) and i will die on the hill that he would go through hell and back to just get a sprinkle of attention from a chubby person and if you disagree then you’re wrong 🤷🏽‍♀️

⇾ And if I’m not mistaken this is canon right???

⇾ My mans is going feral for some big thighs and titties bro

⇾ Bruh cant keep his hands off you man

⇾ Always expect your thighs to be squeezed, checks to be pinched, ass to be slapped, and tits to be caressed at any given moment

⇾ Cuddles are so nice with him especially in the winter

⇾ Cuddles can either be calm and relaxing or chaotic and loud (no in between)

⇾ But honestly he’s such an affectionate person in the first place so his favorite thing to do with you is cuddle because you’re both so warm and it just feels heavenly (I was always the person that someone would hug/touch to warm up because I’m naturally very warm so this resonates deep with me 😭)

⇾ He’s so proud to show you off in public

⇾ He’s the boyfriend that’ll let you wear whatever you want in public cuz he’s secure in the fact that you’re his and he’s yours so there’s no reason for him not to 🤷🏽‍♀️

⇾ In fact, he would jump at any opportunity to take pictures of you because he’s just so obsessed with your beauty he just can’t help it

⇾ Bro turns into a professional photographer when it comes to you

⇾ Like he’s getting all the angles and lighting to make sure it’s perfect

⇾ If someone was to open his social media they would think it’s ran by you from the amount of pictures and videos of you he has on there

⇾ He’ll post a pic of you and it’ll have some corny ass caption like “just in case you forgot what they look like 🤭🥰” even all his other recent posts (within the last couple days) were of you

⇾ He will spam your comments with emojis and stupid pick up lines whenever you post on you own page

⇾ His one and only wish is to be between your thighs at all times

⇾ Like if he could die between your thighs, oh trust me he most certainly will, with a smile on his face too

⇾ Oh yea he has a very bad habit of slapping your ass, so hard if hurts

⇾ But being the sweet boy he is, he immediately apologizes and rubs it

⇾ If I keep going any longer this is gonna be super fucking long so imma cut it here and maybe make a Pt2 and answer that last part in it💀

FIN

 ⌜ •   °    +   °   •   ⌝

© original work of hajim3, do not modify or repost without permission.

Like, replies,reblogs, and feedback are greatly appreciated 😁💖

[stupidsagestars]

could i request some kuroo smut drabbles pls :3

𝐡𝐢!! 𝐓𝐲𝐬𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 :𝐃

---★---★---★

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜! 𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐨 𝐱 𝐟! 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

(there is a tiny bit of plot you have to get through but I can't live without context 😭😭)

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜! 𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐨 who for some reason cannot stop working, he hates it, he gets alot of money but he has no time for anything, he can't even remember the last time he fucked. He's always coming back to his apartment with a headache and he can't cook for his life so his fridge is filled with pot noodles, microwavable pizza, yogurt and some left over takeaway.

There is one perk though, his lovely co-worker, the girl he's been in love with ever since he talked to you. His intelligent, sexy y/n. In the last few months his innocent crush on you has turned into something a tiny bit more perverted but that's only because he's so desperate for you and has no idea on how to act on it, plus there's nothing wrong with staring at your ass when you bend down to pick a pen, right???

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜! 𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐨 who can spot you through the glass windows of his office getting ready for lunch, he checks his watch and decides it's a good time to have lunch too, it's such a coincidence you're both on the way to the same café right?

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜! 𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐨 who completely turns off his phone so he can completely focus on you. Your voice is so soothing to him, it scratches all the right parts of his brain and your face, your beautiful face, he tries not to seem obvious when he steals glances at you whilst your working at the office across him. Sometimes you catch him in the act and give him a small smile and a wave to which he returns the gesture with a blush creeping up his face

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜! 𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐨 who immediately feels the lustful part of his brain wake up when you tell him that you've left an important document at your apartment and you need to rush back to get it.

"I can come with you." He says quickly grabbing your hand stopping in your tracks.

"Are you sure, I-"

"Y/n. I insist." He says giving you a small smile.

«★»

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜! 𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐨 who's gonna have to review every single email and piece of work he's read in the last month because the only thing he can focus on is the moans you make as he pounds to you at a record speed scientists would have to examine. He's got you pressed against your living room wall with your legs wrapped around him and your hands loosely placed on his shoulders.

"I haven't felt this alive in ages." He groans, forcing himself to pull out with his orgasm seconds away. He slowly watches your cum drip from your pussy and his boner reappears like it never left. He considers going for a round 2 but decides against it when he notices your sleepy expression. He carries you into your bedroom and softly places you onto the bed before rushing to the bathroom for a towel and then to the kitchen for a glass of water.

When 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜! 𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐨 comes back to your bedroom ( btw his boxers are back on dw 💀) he's absolutely smitten with the expression you're giving him.

He sits beside you and caresses your check with his thumb.

"It's been a while for you too?" He asks, pouring the water into your mouth for you.

"Yep but to be honest, no-one compares to you." You say and he blushes.

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜! 𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐨 who has a feeling this will definitely lead to something more.

[ Part 2??

I hope you liked this, it's very rushed since I've been working on my series which kuroo will also be appearing in!! but I'm happy to do a part 2, feel free to read my request page if you're interested in submitting one, reblogs,likes and follows are appreciated!! ★★

[randybutternubber]

Heyyyyyyy do you have any funny head canons on the children :-9 if they squabble and stuff in your opinion. Give me the sillies !!!!! (I do too but I wanna hear urs)

YOU HAVE OPENED THE GATES OF HELL PREPARE FOR MY BORDERLINE SEVEN PAGE ESSAY ON THESE RANDOM FUCKING CHILDREN

I decided to do the ones that get less attention in general, especially since I have the most thoughts on them

HCs under cut because I may have gone overboard with the length

Ghost kid

Best friends with a batmin ball that had a very poorly drawn face on it from the age of six to eight.

Sebbo (spoon girl) buried the batmin ball using a spoon as a shovel after it got neutered by the barber (he thought it was a bug and shat his pants)

Not a native of the nowhere and was taken to the nowhere on Halloween, hence the ghost costume

Lost their arm pretty quickly after being taken to the Nowhere. he’s quite a friendly child and is very compassionate towards animals, but unfortunately, this has its downsides as not all animals in the Nowhere want help.

Friends with Sebbo

Has been squatting in houses since day 1 of living in the Nowhere and has no plans to stop

Would go CRAZY for squishmallows

Doesn’t have well formed empathy/sympathy for humans but is super compassionate towards animals

Zero concept of gender and doesn’t care what you call them, he just want to pet your dog

Nonverbal but has very expressive body language

Spoon girl

Her name is sebbo (based off of game files)

She sneezes like a middle aged divorced golf dad and due to her nose bleed these sneezes are NOT victimless

LEGENDARY rage tantrums

Literally only wants to watch gen 1 my little pony, Formula One, or a very specific documentary about some random Swedish sheep wool factory

Swedish

If you compare her to pippy longstockings you will end up needing to go to urgent care for a rabies shot

Calls ghost kid Ande (sounds like Andeh) which means spirit in Swedish. (His file name is actually spöke for anyone wondering, which also means ghost/spirit in Swedish. The only reason I’m not giving him the Sebbo naming treatment is that spöke absolutely does not sound like it’s spelled (sounds like Spurkeh) and Ande actually sounds like a name. I’m a quarter swedish and have a very Swedish family on my white side so I got the most incomprehensible Swedish lessons in the car ever, so please don’t roast me in the reblogs if I got this wrong, I remember like five words and this is one of them, same thing with Korean😭

Living embodiment of “ANDE WE’RE 10 NOW, WE SAY CRAP, NOT POOP”

Broke one of her legs at some point in the Nowhere and ended up in the hospital (HC based off of concept art where she was in a wheelchair and using crutches)

Has severe trauma revolving around doctors and medical stuff

Has never seen another ginger in her entire life but will fight to be the alpha

Warrior cats kid

Expert at digging and climbing out of holes, THE CHILDREN YEARN FOR THE MINES!!!

Rusty

Has a cleft lip

This isn’t a HC but something that not a lot of people realize; he has a lisp

Only reason I’m not drawing him as ginger because of his name is because I also designed Noone as ginger and he lost in a 1v1 to a rabid cabbage patch kid. He’s been through enough

He’s around 14

Very lithe

Despite being a trapeze and tightrope performer, he is TERRIFIED of heights, making his experience at the circus even worse

The dummy has been malding over Rusty for a ridiculously long period of timeand bro had no fucking idea and nobody even knows the reason why 💀

Also a warrior cats kid but kept in on the downlow. Yes he did name himself Rusty after firestar but if you tell anyone he will cry

Noone

A nice kid but will deadass ask some of the most insensitive questions and has NO idea. Also verbally cooked a middle aged man and spent like a whole episode sassing him so she can definitely be mean if she wants to

Also has really severe medical trauma along with trauma from being paraded around on TV because she was the first person to be cured of whatever the shit water sickness is

Her real name was Ruth, but once she started forgetting her parents (they basically ditched her anyways 😭) she started just using Noone as her real name

Master of inappropriately prolonged periods of intense eye contact

Really dislikes/is afraid of dolls/dummies because of what happened to Rusty/in JuJubee’s toyshop

Very untrusting of people post Nowhere abduction because of how Otto treated her and because of the ferryman. Plus basically every kid she met in TSON was met with a terrible fate (Goo kid is probably alive but she doesn’t know that)

Autism (all these children got some sort of neurodivergence though, I mean just look at them)

WORST BACKSEAT DRIVER EVER (ASKED TO LEAVE THE ROWBOAT)

Has a few scars on her face from her right before she had a seizure when getting clockwork oranged. She tried to take the mri suction thingies off her head but she ended up scratching up her face in her panic

[theineated]

Me correcting you isn’t me debating you💀 If you wanna actually look under those tags on her page, that was the only post where she used those tags. But keep ignoring women’s safety.

True, I'm wrong and as far as I've seen it was only one post, this post (below) which furthers the point I was trying to make in that reblog honestly, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt because it was made in the heat of the moment. At least I've scrolled far enough that I've finally understood what she means when she talks about gender. Also I'm tagging @vexingwoman because I think publicly discussing someone's views behind their back isn't nice (and I have reason to suspect you're actually vexingwoman but with anon turned on)

[lightlycareless]

First, it hurts— [side story]: Y/N's first kiss.

Depictions of a brief succession mentioned on one of my asks! Which you can find both here and here. About the main fic over... here! (Would recommend reading that one just to get the general idea of what's going on—it's a Naoya x reader fic)

Chapter warnings: none :> except and overprotective father, an annoying Satoru and a very curious yet... puzzling Y/N. (slight gojo x geto at the end) maybe even y/n x gojo if you squint your eyes.

A/N: If you've been following me these past few days, you'll notice that this was supposed to be posted on Sunday. I may have done a few miscalculations when it comes to the editing part, and when I finally wanted to post this the lights went out 💀💀 For a moment I truly believed fate was like nope, you ain't gonna post that. But we're finally here :>

And as expected, this idea turned out somewhat different than what I planed, but still satisfying. I really love writing Minako and Eiichi, and young Y/N, Hinata and Ren—guess I'm trying to heal something from my personal life LMAO. Well, anyways, I hope you enjoy this small (not so small) side story :>

As always, reblogs, likes and comments are always appreciated ❤❤ Happy reading!

Ao3 link.

It is within undeniable reasons that there are many subjects that a young mind wouldn’t care to register for simply because it doesn’t really impact their life.

Body aches? Sleeping in the wrong position? No worries, your body will find a way around it. These things are nothing but a myth.

Worrying about having clean clothes for the next day? Who cares! They’re going to get dirty anyway.

Taxes? Work? What even is that?

Sure, children were expected to have certain responsibilities at the end of the day, part of the nurturing process of molding them into capable, working adults of society.

But things worked a bit differently for those that held onto tradition, and sorcerers were no different.

Marriage, an adult term, struck your reality for the first time when your sister became engaged to the Gojo heir, both at the young age of 5 years old, just after their techniques became apparent before the jujutsu community—you were only 3.

However, just as Hinata and your now future brother-in-law were too young to oppose or consent to this arrangement, you were on the same page when it came to understanding its definition. Which would come years later, precisely after reaching 6 years of age.

It wasn’t meant to be a secret, of course, being related to one the biggest figures in the modern era of jujutsu meant that you’d be presented with situations that most civilians would either experience later in life, or never at all. 

Situations that two people in particular, your parents if they must be named, fought hard to postpone for as long as they could in order to give their children a sense of normality, a childhood. 

But with your natural inquisitiveness, as well as your determination, this would be their hardest foe yet.

It all started one day after school.

You were running through one of the many halls of your extensive home —carefully avoiding clashing into the working staff members who greeted you as the pitter patter of your small feet against the wooden floor alerted them of your passing, to which you’d return with the same enthusiasm with a cheeky grin and a breathy hello!— with seemingly no purpose, that is, outside of enjoying your spare time by doing whatever a  carefree child your age would be doing after finishing all their homework.

And that seemed to be your intent for the next few minutes, had you not heard the familiar voices of your parents coming out from one of the nearby rooms: low and tight, as if they were discussing something that was solely intended for those in the premises, but with much annoyance nonetheless—the perfect combination to arouse anyone’s intrigue.

Had you been a few years older, you would’ve come to the appropriate conclusion that your presence was to be unessential, swiftly turning onto the opposite direction and moving on with your day.

However, because you have yet to understand what certain boundaries looked like, as well as wanting to bask in your parent’s attention (without adding that their secrecy issued you with great fascination) you’d soon find yourself scurrying into their direction and to the door you’d figured to be harboring your parents.

The desire of wanting to see your parents deprives you from basic etiquette by going straight to sliding the door open and scampering inside, which immediately earns you the abrupt silence and widening eyes of your bewildered parents.

“What are you doing here, little one?” Minako is the first to speak, voice tremulous as she manages to squeeze one, two quick glances at her husband whilst keeping her attention on you, worried eyes asking him if there was a possibility you might've heard their conversation—to which he incredulously reacts with a subtle shook of his head. “All done with homework?” she asks, now moving closer to you.

“Yep!” You nod, stretching your arms towards your mother, motioning the need of an embrace. Minako, although still surprised by your sudden appearance, doesn’t put up much of a fight when it comes to accepting your affectionate ministrations. It takes less than a second after that for your parents' shock to blend into adoration—the consistent effect the presence of your siblings, and you sequentially, have on them  “Too easy”

“Oh, is that so?” Your mother chuckles—your newfound confidence is a trait that she finds partially amusing yet concerning, for she knows that without limits, might lead to impudence…

A fact that Eiichi condemns as soon as it travels past your lips, for he doesn’t appreciate the notion of you growing up to be rude. However, just as your mother, he can’t stop himself from doting on you while feeling slightly proud, because who doesn’t like seeing their children thrive against any obstacle?

“Be mindful of your words, pumpkin. It’s good to be confident, but not too much to be considered arrogant—always remember to be humble”

You’re too young to understand what he means by arrogant in this context, but you don’t need to look beyond your father’s tone to understand it’s not something good. 

So as a response, you nod and chirp a short ok! Giving him a thumbs up to further cement your understanding, before glancing back at your mom to resume her torment with the following question “What are you doing?”

Eiichi and Minako go pale. 

Sweat begins to slide from the sides of their faces, like teenagers caught in a compromising position as you now intently stare at them: wide-eyed, head slightly tilted to your side with slight pout on your lips.

You didn’t need to speak for them to understand that you weren’t about to let them go, that is, until getting the answer you were looking for—just exactly what they wanted to avoid, what pushed them to have their previous discussion in a secluded room in the first place.

In the briefest moments of your distraction, your parents sought out for each other’s gazes, tension swirling in their eyes as they telepathically asked each other for support: were they ready to take this step with you and reveal the topic they kept hidden from you until now…  or continue feigning ignorance?

They would be lying if they didn’t believe that this day would eventually come, sooner than later, whether by their terms or those of an external force. 

In a way, they were lucky to have kept this a secret from you for as long as they had, for the elders weren’t known for being prudent with their own family. As well as grateful for your siblings dutifully playing their part… although their willingness could easily be defined as obliviousness more than anything.

Well, taking this into consideration… they’d much rather tell you themselves what has been plaguing their mind in a controlled environment, than forcibly delegating that role to someone else with the possibility of bursting everything they stood for in flames.

So, wanting to take advantage of the situation while still having the upper hand, your parents decide it’s finally time to tell you what is going on between your sister and Satoru.

“We were talking…” Eiichi begins, slowly, but surely. Playing the kind of parent that knew how to break the ice when it came to assessing long overdue conversations with their children. 

While Minako would be the parent to follow up on his lead by offering support in the form of explanations and comfort, ones that were inevitably needed once the cat was finally out of the bag. Just as they foresaw this situation to unfold.

 “About your sister” Minako added and you blink.

“Hina-chan?” you mumble. The way your soft voice fills with concern for your older sister has your parents silently doting on you for a few seconds, before snapping back to reality and composing themselves.

“Yes” Your father agrees “The one and only”

“Is she ok?” you caution, and Eiichi physically struggles to stop himself from rushing towards your mother and plucking you out of her arms —which you were already resting comfortably and warmly on— and accepting you into his to kiss your worries away.

But there's always a place and time for everything, so instead, he focuses back on the task at hand.

“She’s fine” Minako reassures you “Don’t worry”

“Then why are you talking about her?” you frowned, confused even further by their well-intended yet cryptic words.

“I wish we wouldn’t have to speak about this” Eiichi whispers at his wife, and Minako silently looks up to him, ironically to warn him to be mindful of his words. 

Once he declared her message to be understood by the way he breathed an apology back to her, she continued.

“You remember Satoru-kun, right?” Minako says and you nod. “And how he sometimes visits us, or how we visit him?”

You nod once more, yet, clueless as ever as to where she’s heading with all this.

“There’s a reason why Satoru is close to our family” Eiichi adds. 

The prospect of walking alarmingly close to the point of no return has both parents filling up with anxiety, with your mother inadvertently holding her breath as your father attempts to swallow down his nerves.

But they’ve already made the decision, there’s no turning back now. And just as they had to face difficulties before, they’d do so once more, together.

“That’s because he’s going to marry Hinata-chan” Minako is the one to land the final blow, and your parents prepare themselves for the inevitable impact.

“Marry?” you repeat, confused being an understatement.

Now that’s a word you haven’t heard before—foreign to your dictionary, naturally leading your brain to scatter through its memories to find a possible definition… to no avail.

All you could really think of is customary greeting people would tell each other during the holidays, so if you were to place the pieces together, it meant that…

“Is Hina-nee Santa claus?!” is what you conclude, and it’s at this point that your parents feel they might’ve miscalculated your innocence towards this situation, at least for now.

Minako is far more experience with the art of subtlety when it comes to holding back a chuckle, but your father isn’t, and when he unwillingly lets out a snort, you’re quick to make him regret it by giving him a frown of disapproval, offended by his obvious mockery.

“Um, no! I mean—Sorry, little one” He spluttered, quick to jump into action to save the fondness you held for him. He hopes that his small slip up wasn’t enough to make you angry towards him for the rest of the day, or worse… “I… had something in my nose, that’s all”

You continue to stare holes, clearly not buying his excuse. 

«Oh, if you only knew how much power you had over your father…» Minako muses out of amusement before you eventually sigh, abdicating your embarrassment for your father’s reaction in favor of your still prevalent confusion.

You soon realize that not even your mother’s tone was enough to give you a hint of what she meant by that word, and judging by the way your father reacted, merry and marry weren’t interchangeable words.

So, pushing your eyebrows together and looking back to your mother, you plead yet again for an answer “What is marry?”

«This is where the fun begins» Eiichi nervously glances at his wife, silently cheering her on.

“Marry… well” Minako takes a deep breath, mind scrambling from the best words to create a direct yet… calming definition she knows the elders of the L/N clan do not deserve. “Marriage is something people that love each other do” she’d begin.

“Hina-chan loves Satoru-kun?” you ask innocently, and your father’s emotions spiral out of control once more.

“NO!” He cries and Minako’s head snaps in his direction faster than he can sputter more nonsense. 

Her right eye twitches as she sinks deeper into disbelief—his inconsideration could lead to the crumbling of the explanation she was starting to build up. She knew it was difficult as it was, but he had to get it together if they wanted to make this work!

Eiichi considers himself lucky to have you here, because had it been the contrary, he knew he’d be getting an earful from her.

“I—I mean, yeah…? Who… knows?” It seems that he now has to worry about not earning the ire of his beloved wife this time. Trying to cover his mistake by muttering a quiet apology before signaling her to continue. 

“They care for each other, is what your papa meant to say” Minako doubles down on his intentions by circling back your attention to her with a soft pat on your back “And sometimes, that care takes us to make certain commitments. Such as with Hina-chan and Satoru-kun”

Commitment—she was being undeservingly nice by using that word to label the intrusive arrangement the L/N and Gojo clan contrived for the children. 

Perhaps it was better to skip formalities and go straight to the point by telling you that this decision was made purely out of benefit in hopes of begetting strong sorcerers out of their union…

But even with the constant reminder of how terrible life is set to be for most, if not all, sorcerers… your parents still wanted their kids to have a happy life, regardless of what path they chose, marriage included.

Minako and Eiichi had a relatively good and healthy marriage for a couple living in the jujutsu community, thus, it was only natural that they wanted the same for them, away from growing up fearing marriage. 

However it was possible, your parents wanted their kids to marry because they met someone that saw them for who they are, and not because their family pushed them to, or because they had a responsibility to the community. In other words, because they loved you, and you loved them.

It pains your parents to consider the possibility that both Hinata and Satoru might not grow to be happy in this union, after all, it’s something they were forced to accept from a very young age, without a chance to escape—the parents having no alternative but to agree.

But even if they couldn’t stop their respective families from doing so, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t go to great lengths to at least ensure their happiness, however that might come to be, while devotedly hoping that their efforts will be recognized as inspiration for the next generation, encouraging them to pick up from where they left off and do what they never could for those that follow.

Minako knows this to be a bit too diplomatic for your short age, but maybe it’ll stick with you until you’re mature enough to fight for what you want in life.

A seed of encouragement that she’ll plant in your young mind, starting with a child-appropriate version of this engagement.

“Hinata and Satoru are set to… live together in the future” Minako begins to explain what getting married essentially means “They’re going to have a ceremony, a party, to unite our clans. After that, your sister will move out of the house and… they’ll have a family—just like ours” Your mother looks at Eiichi to warn him away from saying anything that might just replicate his small incident from earlier.

It’s no secret that he’s the overprotective parent out of the two, and processing the fact that their kids will eventually grow up, work, probably get married and subsequently leave the house… was very difficult for him. 

But even with his protective nature, he was still capable enough to assertively understand the issue and what bothered him the most: Hinata was regrettably robbed of these choices.

And it’s his responsibility to do whatever he can to support them.

“And we were simply talking about the preparations for their wedding” Eiichi states, which wasn’t really that far of a stretch when reflecting back on their conversation. 

They were indeed talking about their wedding, but in terms of delaying it, instead of encouraging it. Hoping to stall it long enough to when either of them assumed their respective positions of leaders of the clan, the only moment in their life they’d be able to interfere in this previously taken decision and put a halt to it… or continue forward—but by then, it’ll be by their own volition… not because the elders wanted; if they haven’t brainwashed them, of course.

“Wedding?” you repeat, another foreign word, since you have never been to a wedding before.

“It’s a celebration…. Kind of like going to the shrine to pray ” Eiichi went on “There’s a priest, who will pray to the gods for their well-being, he’ll then purify them and the couple will exchange vows… promises of being loving and faithful to one another, and then, they’ll give each other rings”

“Like this one” Minako gestures at her thin silver wedding band and your eyes glisten with admiration for the shiny jewelry.

“Once everything is done… they kiss and they’re officially married” Your father concludes, quickly skimming over his words for the mental image of his sweet daughter kissing the insufferable white haired boy is enough to fill him with disgust. Had it been to him, no boy or girl would be allowed in near proximity to their children!

“Then there’s a party, a reception. With friends and family, with all kinds of food and desserts to choose from! ” Minako hypes, intentionally emphasizing the last part, which she knew you’d be more interested in, to push you away from the boring and tedious interpretation your father was unknowingly portraying—all for the sake of keeping this path open for you to choose, if you ever decide to do so.

“I see” you nod along, and by the following silence, that seems to be the end of the conversation.

Your parents, noting the absence of your questioning, take it to be the result of a satisfied curiosity by a well formulated answer, completely unaware of the reasoning behind it, far from being one of fulfillment, it was one of deep thought.

Leagues away from quenching your thirst, you now found yourself in a bigger hole of intrigue, starting by wondering why your sister was the one to get married, and not you, or your older brother for that matter—as if talking about the ownership of a toy, and not a life changing experience— just to show that Minako and Eiichi still decided to postpone the chapter of arranged marriages for a later date (hopefully never, your parents think, still processing the awkwardness from this conversation). 

And by the way their conversation moves onto Ren’s upcoming school festival, a topic that bored you enough to prompt your departure in hopes of finding better entertainment, you’d come to the natural conclusion that they were no longer interested in going back to weddings and receptions, meaning, they were no longer of help to your cause.

A realization that leads you to assume that the second best way to obtain information of what you needed was by asking your older sister, Hinata, directly. She was the one getting married after all, wouldn’t she know the most?

And that’s what you did… much to your sister’s disappointment, who thought you were approaching her with the intention of playing or basking in the fountain of knowledge she proclaims herself to be.

But no, of all things that you could’ve asked of her, you wanted to know her relation with the boy she found very, very annoying.

“Why do you want to know that?!” she cries, hurt evident in her voice and eyes as she theatrically waves her hands in the air “Don’t you want to see me use my technique instead?”

“No! I want to know why you’re getting married instead of me” 

“Do you want to get married?” Hinata retaliates, and you frown. Even from a young age, you were never fan of answering questions with other questions.

“No” you pout “...Just tell me Hina-nee!! Do you love him?”

“Ew, no!” She squirms and shivers out of disgust, and her reaction twists the definition your mother gave you earlier, leaving you more confused than you were when arriving.

“Then why?” you insist once more, and your sister ponders…

“I don’t know” She eventually shrugs, answering nothing if not truthfully “But it’s not because he’s pretty, that’s for sure”

“Ok, bye!” and without time to waste, you hastily turn around and exit the room, leaving behind a distraught Hinata who can’t do much but call you back to her as she regrets the way she brushed you off so coldly as she did—she throws promises of playing your favorite game, training with you, even doing your homework! But none of these things caught your attention.

Not to undermine how tempted you were to turn around and take her up on her offer, but right now, all that you could really care about was obtaining more information to quench your drowning thrist, and by process of elimination, that was to be with your brother: the oldest, the wisest, the one you knew that wouldn’t put much of a fight with you when answering your demands, when presented with puppy eyes.

And fold he did, just as you expected.

However, his response was a bit… underwhelming. 

Himself being too young to have been in some kind of meaningful relationship that would eventually lead to marriage, his only references were those of cartoonish movies and shows he’d seen throughout his life that briefly touched the subject—somewhat still oblivious as to why Hinata was to be the one to marry, instead of him or you, although with a better understanding that power played a role here. 

And if Ren had to be honest, marriage was something that had no space in his mind; adult talk, he’d say, too boring.

Yet, he still felt liable to give you some kind of resolution, so by doing the most with what he had, Ren redirected you to watch movies as well.

Movies that he considered the most appropriate to give you an answer in the whole marriage debacle. Princess movies, as he’d call them, the ones where the and they lived happily ever after plotline was to be found. Not knowing that this, far from helping you understand the kind of relationship Hinata and Satoru had, only brought you another wave of seemingly answerless questions.

But Ren wasn’t to blame, he too was young to assume any better, and if he knew that by putting you to do this would lead to all that followed next, he wouldn’t have done so. 

You no longer wanted to know what marriage was—at least not by definition. This time, you wanted to experience it.

Well, it’s only natural. With movies finishing in a happy ending which promised unconditional love and prosperity… wasn’t it programmed inside human nature to long for that as well?

And without any more obstacles to overcome, your young mind decided that marriage, your first kiss specifically, was to be the epitome of your needs—a desire that set off the internal alarms of your parents, specifically, your father, once interrogated about it.

“Where—where did you get that idea?” Eiichi tensely queried, a dreadful moment he never thought he’d be experiencing from you, and at only 6 years old, unnerved him to the point of perspiring.

“From a movie” you respond nonchalantly “Have you gotten a true love’s kiss?”

“I… guess?” he responds, upset and confused as ever as to where you could’ve gotten these terms from. Or more likely… Why did you become hyper focused on this? Just a few days ago you were more than enamored with a certain frog plushie they got for you on their last holiday… but now, that seems to be nothing more than a distant memory—perhaps someone from school was behind it all? 

Circling back to your question, if he really had to answer… kissing Minako was something he always considered to be the highlight of his day. Whether to begin or finish it, there's nothing he'd rather look forward to than her sweet gestures…

What?

No! 

He shouldn’t deviate from the problem at hand through his adoring wife! This is something different, alarming, and certainly not something for you to demand as if talking about a toy! And most of all, not entertaining you!

Why couldn’t you just ask him for something like most kids would normally do at your age? Like sweets, toys, or even skipping school?!

Well, at least it’s not that infamous where do babies come from? question that he already had the misfortune of suffering through with your siblings that’s bothering him today…

“But that’s not the point, Y/N! You shouldn’t go around asking that…”

“Is mama your true love?”

Eiichi blushes, and his immeasurable love for your mother prompts him to respond “Yes, she is”

“Will I have true love too?” you follow up, still ignorant to the tight spot you’re cornering your father into.

“I… think… I hope so” he hesitates, that’s a question that he wants to respond positively and without hesitation, but there are things that not even an all-knowing person like him (ever since you called him that one, he just can’t let go) could know.

Regretfully, his indecision is something that you’re quick to catch on.

“Does that mean I won’t?” you frown. You feel as if, yet again, you’re being glossed over compared to others. A sensation that’s quick to push you down into the familiar desperation that always came after by twisting your face into one of sorrow.

And Eiichi, upon noticing this abrupt change in your tone, regrets yet again how he approached you with this topic—mentally berating him for not being as sensitive as his wife was when it came to comforting their children.

“That’s not what I—” Your father frets, kneeling down to your level. Oh, the dilemma you’ve put your father in…

“Will no one… love me?” you wrongfully conclude and your father’s eyes jolt wide open.

“What?! I mean, you don’t need someone else to love you, Y/N!” Eiichi points out, mind frantically wondering how you even got to this outrageous conclusion?! “You have me, your mom, your siblings, Sumire, the whole staff! Isn’t that enough?”

“But you’re married to mama” you counter, almost matter-of-factly, and a bit too fast for your father’s liking. He’s barely able to sprout justifications to end your unnecessary torment before you’re already barraging him with more questions. “And Hina-nee will marry Satoru-kun. The only one that will love me is Ren-nii…”

Eiichi feels himself physically sinking deeper and deeper into the pit that your endless questions seem to be turning into. He never expected that you, the adorable baby daughter everyone loved and cherished, would be the one to worry about these silly things! And he thought the other question was the worst one out of the two…

Oh, how he wishes Minako was here to reassure you, for he thought you needed to remember that your parents' love was unconditional and unwavering. She always knew what to say to calm your continuous curiosity… and if you didn’t believe him, you’d surely believe her.

But she wasn’t there, and he needed to calm you down before you spiraled down even further…

And he knew just how to do so.

A sweet ally he knew he could always count on—although one that he and his wife were slowly starting to disapprove, for it was only a temporary solution. But drastic measures were needed for drastic situations. 

He’d beg for Minako’s forgiveness when she’s back, but for now…

“If I give you mochi… will you promise me to stop asking these questions?” …«at least until you’re older?» he wishes to add, but he doesn’t want to push his luck. For what older means for a kid has a vastly different definition for an adult. He can already see this situation unfolding if he doesn't take the necessary precautions; as soon as a week passes, you’re going to run back at him and tell him you’re older, technically just a week, but older nonetheless to bombard him with questions yet again.

No, not a chance.

And the bait seems to work, although with less excitement and giddy he expected from you, but still good enough because you’re soon pulling and tugging at his sleeve to rush him into retrieving the sweets he’s bribing you with.

Not the reward you were searching for, but still a welcomed one. And as your father guides you to the kitchen and onto the cabinet he was hiding these sweet treats, he takes it as his cue to retake this upsetting matter.

“Y/N” Eiichi would call as he looked down to you, munching on the box of taro mochi he’d intended to surprise you with one day after school. 

You’d look up to him, half of a mochi still in your mouth, as you hum in response.

“We’ll never stop loving you” he reassures you, slightly alleviating the pain that settled in his heart after hearing his daughter doubt herself in such a cruel way “No matter what happens, regardless if you, or your siblings, get married or not. We’ll always be here for you, for one another, because that’s what families do, ok?”

And you accept his answer, sealed by a hug and kiss from him, alongside the box of mochi he allowed you to eat even before dinner. 

You snuggle into his embrace for a few seconds longer before pulling away, promising to not bother him with the questions that seemed to upset him anymore.

You never intended to sadden him, of course, all you ever wanted was answers. So, wanting to see your father smile, you indulged in the mochi as an alternative to ease your curiosity.

Something you were all too happy to oblige… that is, until weeks passed and you were inevitably pushed back to square one after falling into the blanket of security your father’s heedlessness provided you.

It had been a while since your dad decided to bring the topic back, although he and your mother had been a bit more affectionate with you after that day.

But if you thought about it, you were the only one that didn’t get what you wanted. You were just as clueless as ever when it came to what marriage, true love, and a kiss, felt like. And determined as ever, you were out to pursue answers.

Did you worry about your father? Yes, but you comforted yourself by remembering that the promise you made only entailed asking him, not anybody else… right? You assumed that if you didn’t tell him, he wouldn’t get sad! 

Besides, if he wanted to completely stop you, he should’ve made you promise to not ask questions to anyone!

Taking that into consideration, you were set once again, on your journey of knowledge.

… 

…

With more frustration than you ever expected to feel in your life.

Why is that? 

Well, that’s easy to answer: the people that you decided to approach for answers began to push you away from the topic, justifying themselves by saying you’re too young to be worried about that, or why don’t you go play with your siblings instead? If not straight up ignoring you, not willing to entertain you as your father did, thus, not giving you a chance to retaliate. 

Unfortunately for them, putting this subject under a strict lockdown only grasped  more of your attention, as well as ignited you with determination. A feeling that pushes you into making a radical decision.

If you’re not able to obtain what you’re asking for, then you’ll have to find a way to force them out of them. A demand they won’t be able to refuse…

Gambling.

Gambling, by some strange reason—equally cryptic as attempting to explain how the mind of a young child worked—turned out to be your solution.

Although mostly illegal in Japan, you’ve still seen it happen before: The first occasion being through your staff whenever they wanted to kill some time in between chores.

The second instance, through the kids in your school. Of far lesser occurrence, solely present whenever one of your classmates found a shiny Pokémon card in their newest deck and wanted to either brag about it, or exchange it for something better. And lastly, but not least, when your family went out to the city and would inadvertently pass by a group of lottery enthusiasts gathered around the nearest ticket vendor as they waited for the lucky numbers to be announced—one of the limited, if not only, ways to partake in a legal form of gambling inside the country.

Whatever the reasons, they all maintained a single principle: if you wanted to gain something, you had to offer something.

And the bigger the fish, the bigger the bait.

But how would you manage to obtain a big fish, which was the kiss you so desperately sought after for the past few days, if everyone seems to avoid you like the plague?

Another solution runs through your mind.

A game, of course! By involving a game, you’d be inviting others to participate, in other words, a trap! And to make matters easier on you, you settled down for the classic bag of marbles that could never fail when looking for quick and cheap entertainment.

But just as you’re quick to overcome all obstacles thrown in your direction, you’re quicker to stumble onto more. 

This time, the hardest one yet: who will be naïve enough to not alert the adults of your schemes, but sufficient enough to fall in your trap?

Everyone at school was out of the question since it’s currently spring break, and it’s going to be at least a week before you see anyone again so… you’re not going to wait that long.

Your family is another scratched out possibility. You’re not going to ask for their help after they’ve been constantly avoiding you with no good reason (or so you believe) —completely oblivious to their reasoning, that being of how annoying you’ve become from repeating the same subject over and over again. 

That’s without considering your parents, who have explicitly stated they didn’t want you to worry about this, whom one could only assume would be rightfully angry if they caught you scheming around their warnings.

Once again, it seems you’d unknowingly bumped into a road with no end. An endless field of drought with no possible victim to choose from—all efforts for naught. 

No one could understand your frustration. Not your sister, your brother, or your best friend Sumire. Not even that recognizable patch of white hair, walking in the distance, belonging to another friend of yours, the Gojo Heir, could bring you solace…

Wait.

Wait.

Just like that, you were doused with another realization. 

You’ve gone ahead to cut your losses without even considering the slight possibility of a last alternative: one in the shape of someone you considered heavily involved (a fact truthful only in your mind) and in more ways than one, the perfect candidate.

Your answer was always right there, right before you.

Satoru was to be the one that will help you get out of this triviality!

Oh, it’s perfect!! How come you didn’t think of this before?

What better way to understand and experience what marriage was, if it wasn’t through Satoru, the boy that was set to be your sister’s husband? 

He’s bound to know a thing or two about this arrangement, probably even more than your sister since you’ve noticed him to be esteemed in a higher regard compared to her, and more likely than not, he might’ve already had his true love’s first kiss with her, right?

You certainly don’t expect to get the whole know-how from him, but it's still good enough to give you an idea of what to expect. One that will lead you to know when your true love finally comes into your life!

You mentally pat yourself on the back as you bashfully make way towards Satoru, prideful for having resolved this issue without the help of anyone! 

And some even dared to say you were too young to do most things by yourself! Ah, if only they could see you now!

So, with this regained confidence, you enter Satoru’s presence, who was amused by your initiative, as equally concerned upon noticing your sister's absence from your side—the two of you always seemed to be virtually inseparable… were you perhaps baiting him for something worse?

Sensations that would be tossed out the window and replaced with confusion when you finally spoke up your mind.

“A what?” Satoru cynically blurts out while chewing on the bubblegum one of your staff gave him after he obnoxiously let them know he was missing something. 

Growing accustomed to a life of silver spoons, it was only natural that he’d grow expecting everyone to fold at his command without second thoughts. Whatever he wanted, he got it. A very unwarranted outlook for his age, but expected due to his position in the jujutsu community. Taking that into consideration, no one dared say no to him, leading him to be the spoiled kid he is today.

The very reason why he’s not too keen when others attempt to demand stuff from him, just as you’re doing at this very moment.

“A game, marbles!” you repeat, waving the bag in which your recently acquired marbles were—all thanks to your best friend’s mother, the one you often sought after since she rarely questioned your requests— showing just how unaffected you were by his connotation “Play with me, Satoru-kun”

“And why would I do that with a twerp like you?” he smirks, maliciously pinching your nose. Judging the way your eyebrows push together and your lips purse into a pout, he seems to finally get under your skin.

He couldn’t be more wrong though, for your annoyance wasn’t because he insulted you (although the sharp pain you felt for his pinch was not one you could easily ignore), but rather because he was unnecessarily hindering your plans.

“I’m not a twerp” you justify, powering through the pain on your nose “Just play with me pleaseeee” you’d plead with long annoying whines and big round puppy eyes that looked nowhere else but straight into his celestial ones. All foul tactics to highlight your cuteness and have him fold onto your demands “Please please please pleeeeeaaaaaaseeeee”

And if that wasn’t enough, you’d then grab his arm, swinging and tugging at it harshly to emphasize your need for a game companion—the cherry on top to finally irritate Satoru into compliance. 

“Fine, fine!” he huffed, abruptly pulling away from you and retrieving his arm to his side as he begrudgingly agreed to your request, no, demand. 

As if he wasn’t secretly hoping he’d stumble onto someone from your family to distract him from the uneventful afternoon he was fated to have if you hadn’t come to his rescue, but we’re not going to talk about that. “What am I getting in return?”

Satisfaction settles in your core with a smile, as you’ve previously prepared for all kinds of questions. It seems that Satoru is not as smart as he believes himself to think, for he’d unknowingly fallen into your trap.

“I got a gun…a gund—gunda…” Where you once began with great confidence, you were now left to me a stuttering mess at the unprecedented difficulty of the word, much to your disappointment, and to his delight.

You didn’t have to look up to Satoru to sense the devilish smirk on his lips, one that was enough to have you flame up in embarrassment and subsequent reddening, but even then, you knew that your upcoming achievement was worth this small setback.

Always the generous one, you’d let him have this win.

“You mean a mobile Gundam toy?” he chuckles whilst raising an eyebrow. If you didn’t know any better, you’d dare assume he’s attempting to make fun of your stammer by saying the complete name of the toy, without errors and in one take. 

And while one of his main motivations was to take a jab at you, he was far more interested in this sudden turn of events—starting by confirming the existence of this highly sought after toy in your estate.

How did you even manage to get one? Not even he, the great Gojo Satoru, managed to lay his hands on one because… well, because the stupid elders from his clan attempted to punish him for slacking in the last term’s exams. 

It’s not his fault everything came so easily to him and his teacher is too dumb to realize that, wanting him to do things by the book instead of the better, easier way he offered, but whatever, that misstep will soon fall into irrelevance once he beats you and hand him over the toy you got.

Ah, if only he knew you never intended to give him said prize, for you weren’t planning on losing in the first place!

You’d essentially practiced everyday, from dawn to dusk, with your best friend, Sumire. From the moment you woke up, to when it was time to sleep—there was not an hour you didn’t intend to spend it through practice, to the point where she actually began to run away from you as soon as she heard you singing out her name, as if it were some kind of war fanfare, while running towards her with the set of shiny marbles in your hands, signaling the beginning of another session of torture.

Sumire forced herself to be the faster of the two, even with your training in jujutsu, just so she could outrun you. It let you down the first few times that happened, but you eventually learned to take this as your unofficial graduation from training. 

You’ve learned all that you could from her, and it was now time to show the fruits of your efforts.

“Yeah, papa got it for Ren-nii a while ago but he didn’t want it, so I got it” you explain “But I don’t want it”

“Sounds like you want something in return, Y/N-chan” Satoru guessed correctly, and you nod. “Oh, what do you want then? What do you need, that your parents haven’t given you already, spoiled brat?”

“I’ll tell you later” you say, finding his nickname to be a bit ironic, but you don’t give it much thought after that in favor of keeping your eyes on the goal “When I win”

“Hah!” He laughs “We’ll see about that, twerp—Let’s play, then. And maybe this way you can also tell me what if feels like to lose”

You ignore him once more and begin to guide him towards the nearest garden you’ve anticipatedly prepared for this occasion. The one with the small pagoda, away from where the staff usually were, for the two of you to play in privacy’s comfort. Because there’s no way in hell you’d let the moment you’ve been waiting for to be ruined by others!!

The two sit down on wooden floor and you begin to unfold all preparations by taking out the small roll of green string you stole from your mom’s sewing kit and mark a circle on the ground, the designated space where all marbles would have to be pushed out from but without leading the shooter—the marble used by the player— outside. 

An easy instruction to follow, for an even easier game to play, that is, if you took into account the accuracy and precision you required to do so.

In other words, an easy task for you to accomplish thanks to how your cursed technique worked.

Once everything is set and ready to go, you proceed to offer Gojo two of your biggest glass marbles to choose from, one of a transparent color, and the other one a bright aqua. 

Satoru ends up choosing the first, citing his reason for rejection as “It’s like using my eyes, so, no”

You nose wrinkles at the nasty comparison, thinking your life would be infinitely better without this information, before pushing that thought to the deepest part of your mind and grabbing the leftover marble.

“Ladies first” Satoru says, palms against the ground as he rests back into his arms. His eyes aimlessly wandering into the garden, attempting to radiate an aura of indifference towards whatever move you were to make, for he believed he was going to win anyways.

You don’t pay attention to his demeanor, in fact, from this moment forward, you don’t care a single bit about what he’s going to do. Your sole focus is on winning this game and obtaining what you fought hard to obtain, which was your first kiss. You wanted to see what was so great about this gesture, why it was so romanticized in movies, and how that tied with marriage.

You literally won’t be able to sleep until you finally know what it feels like!

So, knuckling down on the ground, you adjust your sights to the shiny red marble that caught your interest moments earlier by seemingly being the best one to push out first, and align your hand into its direction as you close your right eye to get a better look at it.

Pressing your lips together while holding your breath, your thumb grazes over the marble one, two, three times, testing the strength and grip you’ll need to push the marble out of the line but without faulting yourself.

And after you’ve done all the required calculations, you finally take the shot. 

The aqua marble steadily rolls through the ground, passing the rest and bumping into the red marble with a soft clink but with enough force to send it towards the green limit. 

Your chest tightens upon seeing the aqua marble moving alongside the red one, fearing you might’ve shot it a bit harder than necessary, and consequently, pushing it out of the limit.

But your worries vanish into nothing once you see the red marble go over the bump of thread and the shooter stopping just before it can go past the limit. 

You eventually release an exhale of relief, deflating your shoulders to comfortably  relish on the gains of your training via your first victory.

An unexpected result that has Satoru’s attention circling back to you almost immediately upon realizing he might’ve just miscalculated the efforts of a 6 year old.

“Ok” Satoru says once you gestured his turn, readjusting himself into a more appropriate stance before laying his knuckles down to the ground, just as you’ve done, and preparing to take the decisive shot.

It’s easy, he thinks. It’s just like when he’s about to shoot one of his techniques onto the targets before him, this time however, far easier because it’s nothing more than a glass marble, right? An easy task for the talented, powerful, rich and handsome heir of the Gojo clan..

Wrong.

Satoru forgets how different it is to control objects that are out of his authorship.

It’s one thing to create energy and another to control energy.

There’s too many things to consider in the last scenario, too many influences that could easily shift the trajectory of his intentions, just like how the glass projectile was doing so.

And Satoru would’ve known all that, had he put attention on class instead of relying on his natural talent or bragging personality. It wouldn’t take much for him to realize he’d grossly undermined this entire game, as well as your determination to win, as he sees his marble dart past the limit due to exorbitant impulse, and plunging onto one of the bushes near the pagoda’s steps, causing you to silently cheer, once again, for another victory.

The heir of the Gojo clan can’t stop himself from sulking as he stands up to retrieve the marble from inside the bush, gently brushing it against his sweater to dust off any lingering dirt once out and getting back to his previous position.

He lowers himself once more in what seems an attempt to take another shot, but once you catch wind of his intentions, you vehemently object.  

“Hey!” You cry, placing your hand over his to stop him “Not fair! You lost!”

“Nu-uh, that was clearly a mistake” he poorly justifies, moving to the side in hopes to keep you off of him, to no avail for you simply stick to him like glue. “I wasn’t ready! Move!”

“No! The rules say you—you can’t” you stand your ground, slightly raising your voice to present yourself to him as intimidating, authoritarian—things that seemed to catch Satoru off his guard, for you’ve never done so in the past. “Don’t cheat!!”

And not wanting to continue seeing you act so weirdly, he concedes.

“Fine, whatever, have it your way!” He groans, tucking the marble away into one of his pockets and going back to his previous relaxed stance “You’ll lose anyway, I’m just going easy on you”

You don’t indulge him with an answer and the game continues on… with shocking instances.

Each and every turn that you take, you win. In fact, there’s not a single moment where you seem to falter in your winning streak, only adding to Satoru’s rising anxiety—he still can’t believe it! He barely managed to get less than 5 marbles in all the rounds he’s played against you and you… you have more!

Is he really going to lose against a wimpy girl like you?! Has hell frozen over already?!

It has, for at the end of the game, you were holding the largest number of marbles under your name: you won. And Satoru, with irrefutable evidence, is the sore loser.

“Hey, you cheated!” Satoru's first instinct to react upon an unwanted scenario is through defensiveness, damning the situation as much as his vocabulary permits him, as he continues to point fingers at you. “You didn’t play fair and square!”

“No!” You shake your head “I won!”

“Yeah, by cheating!” Satoru goes at it again “I demand a rematch! And with my own marbles, because these were tampered with!”

You tilt your head, brows furrowing as the word tampered bounces back from your vocabulary. But even if he’s spouting words that you don’t seem to understand, it doesn’t affect your feelings of gratification for having won, he can go on forever if he wants, and you’d still be a step closer to your objective.

“Ugh, whatever” Satoru groans as he puts down 6 marbles, the ones he managed to win in the 20-marble match + the one he borrowed from you. He still couldn’t believe that you actually managed to get 18 in a row, without faltering even once, where you possessed or something? Considering that,  could you really blame him for thinking you were cheating?

If there’s one thing that Satoru was glad of, however, was the end of this fiasco. 

Sure, he was a bit sore from losing, and knowing how dramatic he was it would probably take him a while to get over it, but that’s something he’ll manage. 

What he was looking forward to the most was knowing what you wanted from him—and so desperately to actually go beyond your usual behavior to approach him in the first place, for you are always stuck at the side of your family or friends, and win this match with flying colors. 

«You must be really desperate, Y/N-chan» he assumes.

“Well, spit it out” Satoru hurries you upon seeing your lingering gaze on him. “What do you want as a reward?”

“A kiss!”

Satoru chokes.

“What the—”

“No bad words!” you reprimand him mid sentence “I want a kiss”

Ok. Now that… is something he didn’t expect.

Of all things that a kid could ask for… why that? Couldn’t you settle down for a plushie, or toy, like any other kid? Is life at the L/N estate really that boring?

“Why do you want that? Doesn’t your dad dote on you too much already?” Puzzled Satoru, raising an eyebrow.

You don’t answer, for that is something you feel he doesn’t need to know—as well as wanting to avoid the barrage of jokes you know would follow suit.

“Alright” Satoru whispers at your unnerving silence «Y/N must really want that kiss, weird» “Um… now?”

“Yes!” You nod “Please”

So, without much to ask any further, or time to waste, Satoru fixes the collar of his hoodie as he moves closer to you to lean his face closer to yours. He’d usually push you around to do what he wanted, but considering he was the loser in this situation, he’d agreed to give you this consideration, extra recognition for your efforts.

But not without kicking you down a notch.

“Did you brush your teeth?” He asks, and you raise your eyebrows out of surprise.

“Oh I— I didn’t know” you faltered, a red streak crossing your cheeks “Did… I have to?”

The heir of the Gojo clan chuckles “Ah, don’t worry about it, it’s just that you had something on your teeth and I wanted to be sure”

You scrunch your face out of embarrassment, and fulfillment washes over Satoru’s features at the temporary gain of the upper hand.

Yet to complete his side of the bargain, and having enough fun out of your reaction, Satoru decides to move on by closing his eyes and starting to inch closer to your face.

At the notion of being just a few seconds away from experiencing the magical moment you’ve longed for as long as you can remember, you begin to mentally prepare for what’s to happen.

You never knew just how nerve wracking it would be to have someone so close to you as Satoru was at this very moment. You’ve had other people be close to you, your sister, your brother, your parents… and yet, it feels different coming from him.

It’s an overwhelming sensation that has you spontaneously shutting your eyes as your cheeks begin to warm up, followed by the harsh pounding of your heart, culminating in the subtle ring of your ears, giving you the impression that the world is spinning around you—and yet, seems to freeze just for the two of you.

Upon feeling his warmth graze over your lips, you quietly yelp. Testing your shoulders as you prepare yourself to ask what it was, but before you’re able to grimace out of confusion, he kisses you, and now, the world stops.

It’s inundating, suffocating, pulling all of your attention and energy onto the young boy before you, and yet, you felt as if there was no other place you belonged in.

It was warm, like a hug during a cold winter night, but much more personal, intimate, with a tenderness that made you believe he was afraid of hurting you, touching you. And yet, he couldn’t help himself from being pulled into your presence.

You never thought you’d receive this kind of attention from someone else, or ever in your life. But now that you have, you fear you won’t be able to let it go, because it’s a sweet, blossoming feeling that you’re slowly becoming addicted to, one that you wish you could hold on to forever. Is this… true love…?

…

…

…

Or that’s what you imagined how your first kiss would feel, according to the information gathered. Because as soon as his lips landed, no, crashed onto yours, you were abruptly back to reality by replacing your sensation of anticipation with that of  disappointment.

Your heart dropped down to your stomach upon realizing that a first kiss was nothing more than an awkward, rough (and a bit disgusting) peck of two mouths against each other, far away from the endearing picture cinema attempted to sell you. 

You naively even tried to give this gesture a few more seconds, believing that maybe you just needed to wait a bit longer to start feeling all those good things you were promised. But nothing came, and that’s when regret begins to settle in the void where your heart was once you realize that you went through so much, for absolutely nothing. 

Your first kiss turned out to be very, very mediocre, to say the least, a realization that prompts you to pity both yourself, for all of the sacrifices you committed to arrive at this point, and your sister, for she’s the one that has to look forward to being kissed dejectedly –by him no less!— for the rest of her life.

To think you wasted the perfect opportunity to get something far infinitely better out of Satoru, like immeasurable amounts of mochi or perhaps even a new toy, for this… well, this will serve as a lesson to be learned. Parents know best for a reason…

Satoru, completely oblivious to the inner workings of your mind, eventually peels himself away from you, gaze instinctively falling down to yours and onto a sight that has him… flabbergasted.

He really didn’t know what to expect from you, more so after he was surprised by your need for a kiss.

But he certainly did not anticipate to see your face twisted in such a way that he can't define it as nothing else but potent disgust.

"What is up with that face?!" He asks, hoping that by calling you out you'd have the decency to remove that… insulting reaction to his efforts, but far from achieving what he wanted you just twist your lips even more.

"I didn't like it…" you cringed.

"What do you mean you didn't like it?! You're the one who asked for it!"

And you wished he wouldn't remind you of that. But what's done is done, and all that's left is to confront reality.

"Is true love this… bad?" You ask him, and he's taken aback, yet again, by your unforeseen bluntness.

"Huh????" He seethed "True love?? What are you even talking about? That doesn't even exist!"

"Yes it does! Papa said mama is her true love!" You cry back, jumping to defend your parents "... but you kiss bad so I don't think you'll have a true love"

"What?? How would you even know that?!"  Satoru feels himself incapable of keeping up with your weird questions, and your even weirder statements. But two can play this game, and if your intent is to hurt him, then he knows exactly how to do that "You're ugly, and ugly people don't get true love" he'd start, enunciating the last part in a cheerful yet silly matter, as if to mock your naivety.

"I'm not ugly!" You'd retaliate "you're ugly! Nee-san deserves better"

Satoru's eye twitches.

"I let you win!"

"No, you didn't! I won fairly!" You say, showing off your gained marbles. "You're a bad loser!"

"Digimon is better than Pokémon!"

“No it's not!" You stick your tongue out "Silly!"

"Annoying!"

"Silly!!"

"Annoying!"

"Silly!!"

"Y/N-chaaaan!!" 

The two go immediately quiet upon hearing the foreign feminine voice sounding at the distance.

"Y/N-chaaaan!!” she calls again, this time, closer “Where are you? It's time for lunch!!"

Both heads now turn towards the directions of the voice, curiously attempting to figure out who was the one responsible before your calling.

"Y/N-chan!" Another voice yelled, much younger and much shriller compared to the other. Factors that pass undetected for Satoru, but all too recognizable for you.

It was Sumire, alongside her mother, looking for you by scanning through every passing room, in hopes of catching a glimpse of you. 

Too enthralled in your own schemes, you'd unknowingly lost track of time. You didn't even notice it was already past 3 PM, half an hour later than the time you usually have lunch, leading your absence to be worried and subsequently concerned for, because if they weren’t, why would they be looking for you?

"I have to go" you  mutter quickly, turning around to pick up your things from the ground and stash them into your pockets "Goodbye Sato-kun!!"

"Wait, Y/N!" He'd shout while attempting to reach for you, for he felt there was still so much to discuss before you left! 

But before he's able to stretch his arm and grasp you into place, you're already making your way towards the relieved mother—daughter duo, chirping on how hungry you suddenly realized to be, before fading into the many halls and rooms of the estate

And all that Satoru can do is continue to stare at your general direction, way more astonished than he was at the beginning of all this… deception, leaving him with an ocean with answerless questions and a turmoil of emotions that's bound to torment him for the rest of the day—and with time, you.

It’s often said that time is the greatest healer when it comes to matters of the heart, and fortunately you, this statement couldn’t be any more truthful.

As days went by, this small kissing incident began to hold little to no relevance in your life. Whether because you were back in school, hanging out with your friends, or partaking in the training you were obliged to perform once your technique was discovered—the truth was that you rarely found yourself pondering back on this icky situation. 

Well, why would you? It’s not something that you liked. At all. You even began to watch romantic movies with slight skepticism. 

The only couple that preserved part of your admiration were your parents, because they were different of course, considering they were always loving and caring towards you and your siblings, as well as with one another, so you deemed it unnecessary to worry about them suffering the same dullness you did when they kissed—a decision that was greatly influenced by your love for them as well, and your mind wasn’t about to break that beautiful bond.

But Satoru was… complicated. You tried to reason as to why he’d been so bad at what he did, but a quick trip down memory lane would help you obtain the answers you needed: there’s a reason as to why your siblings didn’t like him that much, and why your father seemed to be uneasy whenever he had to go to the Gojo estate. You didn’t really get any of these signs at first, but now that you experienced it first hand, you understood everything.

Did you hold the same dislike towards him as your siblings did? No, you still liked having him around from time to time. When he wasn’t annoying, he could be quite entertaining. 

Did you think that maybe, your outcome would’ve been different if it was someone they liked? Probably so. 

Will you seek out another kiss? Hell no. That’s something you wished to never experience again—it was icky, awkward, and a bit rough if you were being completely honest. 

So with that conclusion, you decide to put matters to rest once and for all.

But just as you were more than ready to place your attention on more important matters, move on from this situation onto something better… there was someone that couldn’t force himself to do so: Satoru.

To him, the other party involved in your unexpected schemes, things were barely starting.

While you were getting ready to receive what tomorrow brought, either through your family or friends, Satoru found himself in a tighter spot than you cared to ponder. 

To him, time didn’t serve as a cure to his problems, if anything, it only highlighted them.

There was a burning sensation settling deep inside of his core, something that… irked him, irritated him, whenever he saw you carefree towards your surroundings—towards him. 

The oath you and Satoru silently took to avoid speaking of this matter wasn’t what bothered him, if anything, he was in full agreement to carry it out, for he didn’t want to deal with the gossip that might come with it, less your father’s anger: he already had enough of it with Hinata, he didn’t need more added on his plate through you.

But it was never stipulated that you’d ignore him too!

It seemed that his narcissistic need to have all attention on him was starting to rebel against your actions and his emotions. He just… wasn’t used to being used like this, people getting things out of him, and then being discarded!

It was always the other way around, and that’s how it’s going to be, for the rest of his life until he dies!

Oh, how cruel you’d been to just neglect him like that.

So, with his mind set onto a new course of action, he decided to make his move one day hew knew you to be alone and stored away in one of the studio's your parents had set up for you and your siblings to do homework after school, intending to remind you of the crimes you’ve committed against him.

“Ahem, Y/N-chan” Satoru would begin, clearing his throat as he leaned against the frame of the door, to catch your attention. It’s made through such a discernible way that leads you to lift your head away from the notebooks before you and up to him, confusedly staring back at him as you wondered why he was there, instead of training with your sister.

Was he perhaps… sick?

“Hi… Satoru-kun” you respond, a subtle pout on your lips as you make out the frown on his face. “Are you ok?”

Your question, although innocent, only serves to ignite another wave of irritation towards your apparent obliviousness.

“What do you mean if I’m ok?” He chided “You really don’t know what you’ve done, do you?”

You blink, if you were somewhat confused, you were now undeniably puzzled.

“What do you mean?” You say, instinctively looking back down at your homework “Did I do something wrong?” Kanji has never been your strength, but you didn’t really think you were doing that bad, less for him to identify as soon as he entered the room!

“What?! No!” he snapped “I’m not talking about that!”

“Then… what?” you tilt your head, and he rolls his eyes. Guess he needs to spell it out for you, after all.

“Don’t act dumb! Why are you ignoring me after kissing me?? Do you know how irresponsible it is for you to act that way?” He’d revealed, but your mind stopped listening to his words after he apparently insulted you.

“I’m not dumb” You frown “No bad words!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, language—whatever ” He rolled his eyes. The no bad words policy in your house was somewhat annoying, more so when he didn’t have that restriction back at his estate, but it’s something he’s able to digest if it meant getting what he wanted from you. “Still not good enough, Y/N. You can’t go around doing bad things and not being responsible about them!”

“What did I do wrong??” you fretted, his words pushing you to fear the worst “I’m not ignoring you…”

“You kissed me! And you then acted as if nothing ever happened!” He repeats, feeling fulfilled for finally cornering you where he wanted… only to see your face twist into confusion, yet again, for his nonsensical banter.

“But I didn’t like it” you carefully remind him “You kiss badly”

“That’s not—we’re not going to discuss that!” Satoru exclaims, surprisingly…. Offended for someone who didn’t want to kiss you in the first place. “Do you know how bad it would look if I told your elders you were being irresponsible with me? Hina-chan would be very disappointed…”

He attempts to coerce you, but having known Hinata way better than him, it doesn’t work.

“No, she won’t” you dismiss his claim almost immediately “Nee-san always tells me she’s proud of me!”

Satoru rolls his eyes, again. He clearly misunderstood the kind of relationship you had with her, he should’ve expected it though, you were always stuck to her side like some kind of leech…

“Then nii-chan will” he attempted to avow, but you didn’t react.

“Nii-chan doesn’t like you” you add nonchalantly and Satoru feels personally attacked by this sudden revelation. He was aware that Ren avoided him more than not, but he never thought he actually disliked him!

“You don’t know what you’re saying!” He says, attempting to protect whatever dignity he has left. Gosh, have you always been this oblivious?? “Then your dad will! Because dads don’t like when their daughters hurt other people! And you don’t want to see him sad, do you?”

At the notion of facing the dreadful scenario you have undergone in the past, you finally succumb to his trap.

“No… I don’t” you murmur, briefly looking down to the floor before glancing up to him “I don’t want papa to be sad at me…”

“Then do as I say and you’ll be out of trouble” Satoru advises, holding back a grin from parting his lips at his newfound victory in the shape of your saddening eyes and pout “Now, don’t be sad Y/N-chan! I’ll forgive you for avoiding me” he attempts to console you by patting your head, all with a deceiving nature of course. “That way, otou-san won’t be sad either!”

“But I’m not—” you proceed to explain by moving away from his hand, but your efforts are for naught for he overpowers you by keeping you put.

“I knew you’d come around!” he says, proceeding to roughly shuffle the top of your head until your hair looks something like a bird’s nest, much to your annoyance.

You thread your fingers in your hair in an attempt to place them back into place, but just as you’re about to speak out against his unwanted gesture, the distant voice of your sister snaps both your attention and his onto the hallway.

Satoru, already envisioning the type of fractious reaction Hinata is going to have once she sees you with him, decides to run away.

“Uh, see you around Y/N! Keep doing your homework, you’re doing great by the way!” He bids farewell and makes his way back out through the door, fast enough to stop you from responding, but not enough to avoid bumping into Hinata, who had gotten there earlier than he anticipated thanks to the eagerness she had for showing you the all new things she learned while training, which prompted her to run towards you as soon as she was dismissed.

An enthusiasm that disappeared as soon as she laid eyes on Satoru, replacing her cheerful features with a nasty scowl once realizing what went on.

“Why were you there, furby?!” she yelps, stomping her way to Satoru. It is almost amusing to see how the boy that considered himself to be a god amongst mortals fell to your sister's intimidation within seconds of seeing her.

“Gee, I wasn’t doing anything!” He whines, darting away from your sister before she’s able to land her hand against his arm “Ha! You missed!”

“What was that?” Hinata retorted, and Satoru chuckled.

“No! Nothing of course! Maybe you should be more concerned about taking a shower, you stink!” He’d proceed to snicker, pinching his nose to theatrically annoy her even more.

“I just finished training!” she argued back “You’d know if you took your job seriously”

Satoru groans. Hinata had always been stuck up that way—job, work, responsibility, those were her usual catchphrases. Why couldn’t she let loose once in a while and enjoy her life?

“Yeah whatever, smelly” he waves his hand, dismissing her “Anyways, goodbye! See you later, Hinata! Oh, and Y/N… be sure to remind your sister to take a shower!”

Hinata sees him off while shooting a barrage of mocking nicknames at his back until he’s finally out of his sight. It’s only until then that she decides to turn around and see you, the frown on her features disappearing as soon as she sees your focused intent to the homework in front.

“Are you almost done, imouto-chan?” she says, making her way to your side and sitting besides you. “I hope Satoru didn’t distract you that much”

“No, he didn’t” you say, somewhat truthfully, as your eyes remain glued to the papers on the table.

Hinata sighs “You can tell me if he bothers you! He’s always so annoying, he thinks that because he doesn’t have anything to do everyone else is the same! He’s the most irresponsible boy I have ever met! Luckily, Ren-nii is not like that”

“Yeah… he’s not”

“... Are you sure Satoru didn’t say anything to you?”

He did.

However… you weren’t about to tell her that, not when Satoru basically blackmailed you into doing whatever he wanted if you didn’t want to make your dad sad. And keeping this conversation between the two was one of those requirements.

So, holding your word, you shake your head.

“No” you say “He just wanted to play with someone since you weren’t here”

“Oh, really?” Hinata tilts her head to the side, somewhat… confused, because the instructor had told her that Satoru was to skip practice because he was sick. Just to show what a deceitful little boy he is. “Well, if you say so”

And with that situation appropriately dealt with, Hinata can finally move onto another subject that has her equally concerned.

“...Do you… think I smell?” she asked, discreetly moving her head towards her armpits and sniffing them.

Satoru might’ve forced you to keep silent about their conversation, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t be truthful on everything that happened afterwards.

And thus, with a toothy grin, you chortled.

“Yes!”

Had you known that striking that deal with Satoru corresponded to making a deal with the devil itself, you would’ve fought harder to reject him.

Because from that very day forward, he started treating you as some kind of errand girl. Wherever he went, you were expected to follow suit. If he wanted something, like a drink or a snack, you were also the one to bring it to him. But if you attempted to sneak away from his requests, he was quick to remind you just how improper you’ve been towards him and how disappointed your father would be if he ever got word of it.

So, you were quickly put back in your place, much to your regret and Sumire’s, who had begun to miss your presence.

Oh, if you could only go back in time and listen to your parents…

But even then, having to work for him wasn’t as insufferable as he was when speaking of the rest.

Because forcing you to tag along behind him wasn’t enough, he also had to have fun out of your reactions.

He’d start by scaring you with what currently was your biggest ick, himself.

“You know, if you want to get better at kissing we just have to continue practicing!”

You’d grimace your face in a combination of fear and disgust—Satoru, having overcome the offense your reaction initially gave him, only laughed.

He’d later move on to another one of your fears, facing the elders themselves.

“The elders wouldn’t like to hear you kiss me when I’m going to be your sister’s husband!”

“...What do you mean?” you dared to ask.

“We have to get married, Y/N! It’s only fair to cover the adultery we committed”

You didn’t even want to know what he meant by that—it sounded bad by itself, you don’t want to traumatize yourself even further.

“No, I don’t want to marry you” you huffed, finding the idea ludicrous, while Satoru is having the time of his life at your expense.

And that had basically been the conditions of your existence, that is, until he began to approach your limit.

You were capable of tolerating his tedious requests, his annoying insistences, even the secrecy you hated to have with your siblings, all to keep your family content—to a certain point.

But there had to be a limit to his villainy, and if he didn’t have one, you certainly did.

And that limit took the form of a bad joke, one that cut a bit too close to your heart, and the one that pushed you to break all inhibitions and let him have it.

“Now that I think about it, Y/N-chan, I don’t think anyone else will have you once they know you kissed me. I mean, you basically kissed me knowing I was engaged to your sister, and that’s a crime in many districts! But I’ll marry you, so don’t worr—”

The sound of glass crashing against the floor cuts him abruptly.

“What was that?” he asks, lifting his gaze from the comic book he was reading and onto your direction, leading him to eventually find glass shards gathering near your feet. “Oh, silly Y/N, you gotta be careful with—”

“Why are you being so annoying, Satoru?!” you say, turning around to face him without care if you hurt your feet with one of the sharp glass shards on the floor “That was going too far!”

“Gee, that was only a joke!” He frets, lifting up from his seat and making his way towards you. He hopes to move you away from the lingering danger on your feet by placing his hands over your shoulders, but you,  who had reached your limit and past it, could only see red as you shoved him away “Hey!”

“I’m done with you!” you raged, no longer wanting to entertain his idiocy. “I did everything you wanted, heard you say stupid things every day… but I won’t let you say that!”

He blinks, he’s never seen this kind of anger coming from you, or anyone for that matter. Not even Hinata, who he considered to be the most hot-blooded woman he’s ever met in his life, reached your parameters.

And it’s safe to say, he doesn’t like it. Not one bit

���Ok, I may have messed up a bit there” Satoru says, feeling somewhat guilty by the way you reacted. “But you don’t have to get all—”

“I don’t care!” you cry, stomping your feet against the wooden floor “You’re too rude towards me! Why?? What did I even do to you??”

And Satoru flinches at the introspective question thrown at him.

That was a good question. Why did Satoru start this spectacle to begin with? Why did he have a hard time moving on from this, compared to you? Why did he seem to latch onto this, more than anyone else would’ve probably done?

Well, that’s easy.

Because just like you, that was also his first kiss.

It’s something that he always envisioned to be somewhat… mundane, having long accepted that it would happen with your sister at one point in his life, just how all things seemed to be with him through the jujutsu community.

But when you came along with that outrageous proposal, a ray of hope for something different began to part the gray clouds of his horizon, thus, he was quick to accept it.

To see you discard it so easily and without consideration as to how he felt, however, it pained him. It gave him the impression that, just as the other people around him, you simply used him to get what you wanted and nothing more

He had yet to understand you were nothing more than a child, things like taking advantage of him, or discarding him with malicious intent, were out of your possibilities. 

But being forced to see the world differently from a very young age, he’d forgotten what it is to be a child. So, he attempts to seek comfort in the only way he’s ever known how to: gaining control over the situation, by all means necessary.

Which leads him to resort to his last option upon seeing you slipping through his fingers, an attack that has proven to be hurtful to you in the past, and would undoubtedly set you back on track:

“I’ll tell your dad if you—”

“I don’t care!” you bite back, no longer afraid once your patience ran out, much to his unwanted surprise. “Tell him, papa doesn’t like you anyways!”

And for the second time in his life, you manage to freeze him on the spot.

He couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe those words came from your mouth. Did you really mean that? Did you really mean to renounce the promise you made with him and… walk away? And most of all… did you really not care for him?

Yes. Yes you didn’t. Doubling down on that statement when you essentially disappeared from his sights.

You were no longer entertaining him, not interested in playing his stupid games and he had to face this new reality. Less when he hurt you. That was now his problem, not yours.

Satoru no longer had a place in your mind, not when you needed to worry about him telling your dad about what you did with him—the mere thought of seeing your overprotective father fretting about your mistakes was enough to ignite terror within you, but even then, that worries were to be for naught, for the Gojo heir wasn’t stupid enough to actually telling him—nor would he actually believe him.

He already knew how scary Eiichi could be when prompted. And while he had yet to see your mother angry, he didn’t want to risk it either, so he’ll keep quiet.

But that isn’t the end of his problems, if anything, they just got worse. 

He’d gone too far up his own head, that he failed to realize he was starting to lose self control when treating you: from asking you to do things for him, to mocking you, he now pushed you so far away from him, that you might never come back.

It’s a regretful outcome, but yet… perhaps out of comfort to himself and previous experiences, still be salvageable. He couldn’t… Well, he couldn’t lose his errand girl!!

That’s it. 

He’ll wait… he’ll be patient for you to cool down as well, and you’ll eventually come around to him, right? You can’t possibly ignore him for the rest of his life, more so when he’s bound to marry your sister…

But as the days passed, far from obtaining what he wanted, it only seemed to give you what you wanted instead: which was his complete absence, as well as time with your friends.

It wouldn’t take long for him to notice that you were now, truly, ignoring him completely. You didn’t even bother to greet him when he came to visit the estate, or vice versa, only doing so whenever your parents were present because they asked you!!

Oh, he had truly messed up, big time. And how is he going to fix all this? By the only way he knows, of course—through meek and confusing attempts! 

Because it was hard for the holder of the six-eyes, who had never been expected to be kind or prudent to others, to open up his heart and truthfully admit how sorry he was for having treating you as badly as he did, as well as hoping to regain his friendship with you, after all, you were the only one that seemed genuinely happy to see him whenever he was around.

So, wanting to make things better, the first thing that he would do to grab your attention was hide away your favorite cup, the one the staff would always use to serve your drinks during lunch.

He’d committed the deed one moment the servants focused on completing other tasks. He took advantage of the slightest window provided by their distraction and swooped in to kidnap your cup, silently and without anyone to notice him.

Your reaction was of no surprise: you were rightfully upset upon noticing the absence of the Pikachu cup —a gift from your brother— growing more and more concerned after one of the staff members tells you they can’t find it. 

It was also unusual, to say the least, because they were meticulous enough to place it back in the same spot, just besides your siblings and parent’s cups, every day after use. They virtually turned the whole state around in efforts to find it, and yet, it was nowhere to be found!

Did you perhaps take it to your room and forgot to bring it back? Or did you take it to school and you just didn’t remember?

Well, it was somewhere. Just not under your domain, more precisely, under Satoru’s… in his room back at the Gojo estate.

But even with his careful strategy, you still failed to connect two and two together. Well, it’s not like he signed the crime scene for you to figure out, thus, after seeing no results, he moved onto the next step of his plan.

The second thing he would do, and the one that finally got you to place your sights on him, was another kidnapping. This time, a higher value target: your favorite plushie.

The small green colored frog previously noted by your father to be the focus of your infatuation, the same one your parents gave you after going on holiday.

He repeated the same steps to attack, waiting patiently for the right window to open, this time of your unawareness, to sneak into your room and get the plush out from your bed and hide it away.

After that was done, it was only a matter of hours for you to come back home from school to see the atrocious act committed in the crime scene that was your bedroom. 

When your cries became apparent throughout the whole estate, he knew his plan to effectively be in motion

“Mamaaaa!!” You’d wail, frenziedly running to your mother and crashing into her arms as soon as you found her “Maamaaaaa” you’d continue to sob, pressing your face against her legs as she quickly lowered down to your level and cupped your face.

“What’s wrong, Y/N?! Why are you crying??”

“My—my frog…. It’s gone…!”

“Frog…?” Minako carefully repeats, trying to point out which plushie you were referring to specifically since you had a mountain of them.

“The green one mama!” you’d remind her, tugging at her sleeve “The one you and papa got for me on… on….”

“The green…—Oh!” She gasps, enlightenment filling her mind “The one we got when we went to visit grandma and grandpa?”

You hum in response.

“Oh, did you search well? It must be in your room… unless there’s a chance you took it to school?”

“I didn’t take it!” You cry back while rubbing your tears away. Minako softly intertwines her fingers with yours upon seeing your motions becoming a bit too rough against your skin, taking the task of wiping your sadness away for herself. “It was in my room, but I came back and it wasn’t there….”

“Have you asked the staff? They sometimes confuse your toys with those of your siblings…” She attempts to reassure you, but too deep in the sorrow of your froggy’s absence, you can’t help but yelp in despair yet again.

“No! Hina-nee doesn’t have it, or Ren-nii! ” You diminish her suggestion, having already gone through this trial beforehand. Your siblings were just as baffled as you were upon hearing the sudden disappearance of your sudden toy, but still remained oblivious to the culprit behind it.

“That’s odd… are you sure you checked everywhere in your room? Or how about Sumire-chan? Maybe she borrowed it!”

“No, she doesn’t have it either…” Sumire would’ve let you know the moment she saw it if that was the case. Or her mother for that matter.

“Ah, well, I’ll ask around the staff if they haven’t seen it, but if we can’t find it we can always buy another one…”

And yet, the solution of getting another one didn’t feel as comforting as Minako would’ve wanted. The mere thought of having to replace froggy, your beloved green amphibian which you were virtually inseparable from, brought you such excruciating pain that you just had to let her know you weren’t about to give up on this search.

“Little one, please don’t cry… Maybe the reason you haven’t found froggy is because he went back to his family, you know there’s not a lot of frogs here, maybe he was feeling lonely” Minako’s slight desperation and concern prompted her to create a rather… fictitious alternative. And while this was something she didn’t actively prompt… What parent hasn’t told a little white lie to their kids?

And you do seem to consider her explanation, even if for a quick second, somewhat agreeing with your mother now that you remember you didn’t didn’t have any other frogs outside of froggy himself, so it was only natural that he felt lonely and went to search his—

No! That never seemed to be a problem for you before! Froggy was always happy to tag along in your adventures, it’s only after things started to get weird around you that this happened!

Meaning… someone was intentionally messing with you, and if you consider past successions, there’s only one person that could fit that category!

“No, Mama! Someone took froggy away! And I know who did it!”

“That’s quite the accusation, little one, why don’t we start by aski—”

“Is this the frog you were looking for?” A voice suddenly cuts through your mother’s words. Soft, indicating the young age of the speaker, but direct and confident, enough to snap your and your mom’s attention onto its direction.

Low and behold, standing just by the door frame, appeared the familiar figure of the white haired boy famously known as the strongest sorcerer, the heir of the Gojo clan. 

Hands behind his back, and the sunset glowing from right behind him, it made him look like some kind of saint coming down from the heavens to your rescue, as if he weren’t the one responsible for all your hardships.

“Satoru-kun!” Your mother would greet, a smile on her face as she waved at him “How are you? I wasn’t expecting you to be here after school, hoping to stay the night? If so, let me get a room ready”

You were more than ready to voice your aversion, but he won you at it.

“Oh, no, thank you. I just wanted to visit, okaa-san” Satoru explains as he begins to move closer to the pair while diligently keeping his arms behind him. His commitment to remain in such a pose inadvertently raises your assumptions to a never seen before level, one that makes you feel indescribably rage towards him. “But on my way here, I found this at the gardens''

He proceeds to reveal the object behind his back, and when the sight of his “surprise” stepped into your view, your beliefs were finally set in stone.

“Oh look, pumpkin!” Minako exclaimed, gesturing towards the plushie. She hoped that by hyping the return of your plushie your sorrow would disappear, letting your cheerful nature take over and ultimately, celebrate its reunion. 

She knew you well enough to assume so, and you’d probably would’ve as she anticipated, down to the smallest details, had you not known all that transpired beforehand “It’s froggy! I knew it couldn’t be lost”

Satoru hands you over the stuffed frog, and with that, his intentions to communicate with you. But far from interpreting it as a symbolic white flag to put a stop to this senseless conflict between the two, you took it as another declaration of war.

“What do we say, baby?” Minako says after seeing you reach out for the frog and pulling it close to you—all while in complete silence. 

You wanted to beg her not to force you to do so and reveal that he’d been the one responsible for froggy’s disappearance (and your cup as well). But knowing your mother to be completely charmed by Satoru’s deceitful act, and probably giving you a slight scolding for accusing him without evidence, you begrudgingly relent to doing as she asked.

“...Thank you, Satoru” you grumbled, carefully to not earn your mother’s discontent, but seemingly clear enough for him to get the idea—removing all honorifics to enunciate just how upset you remained with him.

And get the idea he does, and while it slightly annoys him, it’s not enough to have him give up on you.

“You’re welcome!” Satoru bows, and you hold back the nauseating urge to stick your tongue out. “I’m going to stick around for a while if you want to play! Probably not too long since my parents don’t like me staying out too late” It’s his way to tell you I want to talk, but you’re not buying it. Not one bit.

“Oh, well, if you end up wanting to stay, I can call your parents” your mom suggested, but he simply shook his head.

“Nah, it’s fine. Thank you though” He smiles, bidding farewell with another nod “See you around, Y/N-chan! 

And he kept his word, mainly through your mother’s insistence of appreciation, but this time, you weren’t going to be careless. The days of ignoring Satoru were officially gone.

This time, you were going to act.

Knowing well that you had to be careful in who you trusted, and to keep your ideas to yourself if you were to maintain the element of surprise, you sought out the only person you considered to be trustworthy enough to reveal your plans.

The one that has stuck with you through highs and lows, and the one you’d give your life for! (quite dramatic for a 6 year old)

Away from the blood ties of your family, you referred to your best friend: Sumire. 

Having virtually grown alongside you, the kind of relationship that grew between the two was of complete trust—no secrets. Meaning that as soon as she knew of your intentions, she was more than willing to sacrifice whatever was necessary to achieve your goal.

Her decision was partially influenced by her own emotions, for she too was angry at him: he’d essentially plucked you away from her when he coerced you into obeying all of his commands, and it was indisputable that you were absolutely miserable for it!

Sumire could never forget the sorrowful look on your face as you followed him around—and he’ll never forgive him!

So, during one late Friday night, underneath the covers of your futon and through hushed whispers, planning began.

“Chumi-chan, we need to do something about Satoru!” You’d begin, laying down on your futon and besides Sumire.

“Count me in!” She replied, mirroring the fiery determination in your eyes as she turned around to rest on her stomach and inch closer to you “Should we dye his hair black??”

“No, that’s too much!” you chuckle, shaking your head. It was tempting, but too radical. “Maybe another time”

“Hmmm… then what? Can you steal something from him?”

“...Like what?”

“His toys! All of them! And then he’ll know not to mess with us!”

“No, Chumi… How am I going to do that? He’s going to know it’s me if I do the same…” you needed to be extra careful, not taking chances this time. “I want something different!”

“Then what?” Sumire ponders defeatedly, who would’ve known plotting revenge could be so hard?

“I don’t know…” you groan, plunging your head against the pillow beneath you. “He’s so dumb! And all for a stupid kiss!!”

“Poor Hina-chan…” Sumire sighs, pitying your sister, who’s bound to spend the rest of his life with him, as she pats your back. “Why don’t you tell your parents? He’ll listen to them!”

“No… papa is going to get angry at me…” you remind her—this all started because you disobeyed them… and you don’t want to deal with their disappointment on top of Satoru’s insane antics. Oh, and if this made way to the elders… you shivered at the thought.

“How about your nii-san? Or Hina-chan instead!” your friend continued to suggest, but they were equally fruitless solutions. 

“No! I can’t tell nee-chan or nii-san! They’re going to tell everyone after being angry with me! You’re the only one I trust, Chumi” you yelp as you lift your head from the pillow and stare right into her eyes “Promise me you’ll keep this a secret! No one must know what we’re planning!”

“I promise” Sumire nods, extending her little finger to you and intertwining them “But… then… what are we going to do?”

“Oh, I don’t know” you sigh, stopping mid-way as a yawn escapes your lips, serving as a reflection of how tired this prolonged ordeal had you. “I hate this”

Sumire frowns. She certainly doesn’t like seeing Satoru being insufferable towards you and the hold he seemingly has over you, but if there’s something that she dislikes the most, it’s the absence of the fun and funny side of her best friend.

So, wanting to indulge in the good ol’ days, she proposes a temporary distraction.

“How about we watch a movie?” She’d say, pushing herself up from the futon and running towards her bag, the one her mother had filled with clothes and a few extra things to aid her stay at the L/N estate, amongst them, entertainment. After a few seconds of scrambling through her belongings, she pulls out a box “Mama got me this one!”

It’s a brand new VHS, the cover art revealing it to be Disney’s Peter Pan.

“Oooh, I haven’t seen that one!” You marvel, excitement in your eyes as you cheer on “Let’s watch it!!”

She agrees by moving towards the TV, already plugged to a VHS player, and sticks the cassette into the entry slot. Sumire grabs the controller and heads back to your side.

You adjusted the pillows in a specific way so you can both laydown comfortably on the futon, but still be able to see the movie. 

And so, after a few commercials and a title card the movie starts. 

However, the girls are unable to finish the movie, for drowsiness begins to settle in their small eyes when the protagonists travel for the first time to Neverland, skipping the entirety of the sequence when the lost boys shoot Wendy down from the sky, only to open them at the mermaid scene.

Sumire briefly regains consciousness when this sequence appears on screen, arising to her as some kind of inspiration for your Gojo problem, but just before she’s able to turn around and tell you that she’s found a cure to all your illnesses, she falls asleep again.

Wanting to obtain a solution as quickly and secretly as possible, you and Sumire began to drill each other with all kinds of options to enact revenge on the wrongdoer Satoru. 

From the very moment you’d wake up by the sun hitting your eyes, she’d search for you to tell you just about any new idea that crossed her mind—which were many, but unfortunately, none of them were good enough to fill the necessary requirements. 

It was just… not enigmatic enough, not impactful enough, not… good enough.

Being as young as the girls were, it often meant there were little to no tools to use in to their advantage without getting in trouble themselves: and while sitting down with Satoru and talk would be the easiest, most efficient way to put and end to this struggle, you were still grieving by his betraying words. 

No 6 year old deserved to be told that no one would care for them just because of a simple mistake they made out of curiosity—what were his intentions anyways? Did he find joy in making you sad? Making you feel less? Well, whatever his reasoning, you refused to forgive him so easily.

Both girls were really at the disadvantage here. No matter where they looked, no matter what they said, they just continued to bump into dead ends. 

A predicament that began to take a toll on both, but more so on Sumire, who upon feeling the continuing weight of your sorrow on her shoulders, made her feel that she wasn’t doing good enough.

And so, she began to get more and more frustrated by each passing day, starting to exert such feelings through her chores, her mood, and inadvertently… to her concerned mother.

“How was school today?” Ayaka, Sumire’s mother, would ask her daughter, just as she always did, as soon as she crossed the gates of the L/N estate and made her way to her.

From there, the two would exchange hugs and kisses, before she’d lead her towards her bedroom, intending to change her into more comfortable clothes before sending her off to get dinner.

Her mother labeled these moments as her favorite part of the day—the simplicity of spending time with her daughter, who wouldn't take much longer to start rambling about all the fun things she did at school once she asked that question, brought her pure happiness.

Unfortunately, it had been a while since Sumire had the energy to partake in the recollections of the day, too focused on helping you out and the frustration her powerlessness brought her—instead, she remained silent.

Ayaka had noticed this change of behavior from her for a while now, but she didn’t really think much of it at first. She believed Sumire to be having a bad day, and once she slept it off, she’d be back to the usual  cheery demeanor she always carried.

However, it had become alarmingly clear that there was something far deeper than Sumire let on, and Ayaka, unable to see her daughter acting tepidly any longer, decided to finally act.

“Chumi, what’s wrong?” She’d ask, helping her daughter out of her school uniform by lifting her arms, with her obliging rather… half-heartedly. “Did you get in trouble?”

“No, never mama” Sumire responded, lowering her arms once the shirt was off.

“Then what is it?” She tries again “Are you upset with Y/N?”

Ayaka can’t think of anything else that could’ve affected her as much as that. It’s something of an uncommon occurrence, oh, but when it happens… It's as if the world were ending for both girls.

“No!” Her daughter cries, and by judging her daughter's tone, Ayaka feels like you were indeed the reason behind her concern.

“Is it something about Y/N?”

“...No”

Bingo.

“Sumire, you know you can trust me with anything” the mother coos as she dresses her daughter with another shirt and a warm sweater “I've noticed for a while that you seem rather… aloof, quiet. And as your mother, I can’t help but worry…”

“I’m sorry mama” She sighs, leaning into her mother’s chest for an embrace, which she all too happily obligated “I didn’t mean to worry you! But I promised not to tell Y/N and I want to help her get revenge!”

“Revenge?” Ayaka blinks, and Sumire mentally chastises herself for talking too much.

“Nothing!” The young child yelps, attempting to diffuse the situation by moving onto the removal of her skirt.

“Sumire…” she warns, and the girl concedes soon after.

“...Ok mama! I’ll tell you, but don’t tell anyone ok?!” And without suppression, Sumire reveals your intentions “It all started because Y/N-chan wanted to know why Hinata-chan was getting married and not her! But nobody wanted to tell her so she went with Ren-kun, but he didn’t know either so he put her to see movies, and then Y/N-chan saw that maybe if she got kissed she would know about it! And because nobody wanted to help her, she started to plan how to get a kiss, but her otou-san wasn’t going to let her, so she kept it a secret, but not from me because I’m her best friend in the whole wide world! So she decided to—”

“Wait, wait, waitwaitwaitwait, hold on there, Chumi” Ayaka weakly chuckles, gesturing her to slow down by raising her hands “Kiss? Y/N wanted a kiss?”

“Yes!” Sumire whines, slightly frustrated that her mom wouldn’t understand the clearness of it all. But could anyone blame Ayaka? “Can I continue…?”

“Oh, yes, of course” Her mother nods, wanting to hear more about this… curious revelation. She was effectively amused the same way she was intrigued—who knew Eiichi’s and Minako’s kids would turn out to be so… witty? “What happened after that?”

“Y/N-chan got a kiss from Satoru, but she didn’t like it so he told him, so he decided to make her his errand girl! But he was really mean to her… so Y/N-chan left him and now he wont stop being annoying!”

“Wait, Sumire!” Ayaka gasps, amusement out the window upon realizing your determination pushed you to actually obtain what you wanted, and from someone important no less, the heir of the Gojo clan, your sister’s future husband!. 

It’s only now that the woman realizes just the kind of trouble both girls got themselves in, specifically, if Eiichi got to hear about this… “Satoru? Gojo-sama??”

“You’re not listening to me!” She pouts, crossing her arms “And he doesn’t deserve to be called sama, he’s a jerk!”

“Sumire, don’t say that” Ayaka corrects and the girl sheepishly apologizes. “So… that’s the reason why you want to help Y/N? To get back at him because he won’t stop… annoying her?”

“Yes mama! And now that I told you, you can help us too!” Sumire concludes “Y/N-chan says that I shouldn’t tell the adults because they’re going to tell on her” 

«And with good reason…» Ayaka ponders.

“But you’re different, because you’re my mama and I can trust you!”

“I… think you should sit this one out, baby” She carefully advises “Why not let her parents handle it? It shouldn’t have been a secret to begin with…”

“No! You have to promise not to tell them!” Sumire cries “Or they’ll get angry with Y/N-chan, and she’ll know it was me, and then she’ll get angry with me!!”

Ayaka wishes to comfort her daughter by two easy steps:

Firstly, she doubts you’ll ever be angry with her, at least in the way she’s imagining. Or at all…

Secondly, by telling her that your parents—Eiichi specifically—will be far angrier with Satoru than you, at least from what she’s been able to assume, because he’s the oldest and therefore, he should’ve known better. However, she doesn’t consider it appropriate to rattle whatever little authority he has before the kids left after these revelations 

So, she bites the bullet—but not without setting her daughter back on the right track.

“Ok, alright, baby. I promise I won’t tell. But in turn, promise me that you’ll tell Y/N to talk with her parents—It’s not good to keep secrets from parents, communication is always the best solution”

An advice Sumire has yet to comprehend in its entirety, but one she’s willing to try. More so after the following praise.

“You’re a good friend, Sumire. And I’m sure Y/N appreciates it… But… take it easy, you’re just a kid. Have fun!” she says, kissing the top of her head “Now, how does baking a pie sound like, hm?”

Sumire’s eyes glisten with excitement, mouth watering as she begins to envision the soft yet crunchy texture of the warm crust against her lips alongside a tall glass of milk.

“Can it be an apple pie??? Or a pecan pie!! Oh… I don’t know” Sumire pouts “I like all of them…”

“Only if you accompany to the market to get the ingredients” Ayaka winks and the child squeals in response, an adorable sight that has her heart squeezing with admiration—her daughter finally back to the usual cheerful, carefree self she loves so much.

“Oh, oh! And can we give some to Y/N-chan and her siblings??? Not Satoru though…”

“We have to be nice, Chumi, even if you don’t like them”

“...I guess…”

So, once the child was out of her uniform and into her everyday clothes, the mother grabbed her small hand and led her onto the common path towards the nearby village, where the weekly farmer’s market was to be found.

She initially planned for Sumire to stay back at the estate and have her finish whatever homework she had for the day, but after this small yet shocking revelation, Ayaka found it in her responsibilities to offer her some kind of distraction, a break from all the fuzziness.

And maybe, for herself too. 

Ayaka couldn’t believe the things that were happening with her kid when she wasn’t looking—it almost made her feel like she couldn’t get her eyes off them without them plunging into trouble. 

Well, in your and Sumire’s defense, both girls were relatively good girls who occasionally got into mischief, so a prank or misconduct once in a while was to be expected, and certainly, not something to reprimand them so harshly on. 

But Satoru… well, from what little she’s been able to observe from him whenever he was around, he’d always leaned more into evil than good. Ren didn’t entertain him, so no complaints from his side. Hinata… even if she liked him, or not, he was stuck with him—they still got along though, when they had a similar goal in mind, that is— 

And then you. Who kept a relatively good relationship with him, but because you were somewhat oblivious to his nature. However, as soon as you began to grow and began to observe your surroundings… that’s when things began to change.

It makes sense why everything started to happen the way it did when Ayaka balances it like that.

Did it mean it was right? Of course not, your curiosity could surely be dealt with in a more appropriate manner…

Was she the one to call this out? Act like a metaphorical whistleblower and tell Eiichi and Minako what was going on? She’s unsure; she’s not the L/N’s kids parent… but she is in charge of overseeing part of the successions in the estate… oh, but if she went ahead, she’d probably ignite Eiichi’s overprotectiveness to the point it might overwhelm you, but on the other hand, she would certainly expect to be told of what’s happening behind her back if Sumire were in your shoes…

It was a bit ironic for Ayaka to consider Sumire’s tendency of keeping to herself when something bothered her— her thoughts only becoming apparent through subtle traces in her face— as unprecedented, when she behaved the exact same way.

Children were sponges when it came to learning about their surroundings, yet such a statement would remain oblivious to her, even when a fellow staff member noted her to be distraught while working.

“Is everything alright, Ayaka-san? You seem rather… distracted” the servant asks, pulling her attention to them. “Oh, it’s nothing” She responds, blinking rapidly as if to sweep away whatever it was that had her in a trance and focus on both the person besides her and the task at hand ”I’m just… focused, that’s all”

“I couldn’t possibly imagine that preparing today’s food could be so interesting.” she jokes, and Ayako laughs in agreement.

“Alright, fine” she concedes, laying down the apples she was cutting for the promised pie before glancing at her coworker “I’m thinking, about something my daughter told me”

“Everything alright?” The woman, whose name was Yui, pondered.

“Yeah, it’s fine, don’t worry. Just something… silly, you know? Kids stuff”

“Well, whatever it was, it sure does seem to worry you… are you sure it’s nothing bad?”

“Ah, far from it… I mean, Sumire was a bit upset for a while, but I finally got her to tell me what it was that bothered her. Looks like Y/N-chan placed a bet with the Gojo heir and now she regrets it. And you won’t believe what she wanted”

“What was it?”

“She wanted a kiss!” Ayaka blurted out, still unable to believe the veracity of it all “Now that I think about it… I do remember Tomoko-sama telling me something about Y/N-chan relentlessly following her and Eiichi-sama around trying to make sense about something… to think it would be about first kisses and marriage—worst of all, that she’d actually go against their wishes and do what she did… so young, and she’s already promising to be quite the troublemaker”

“I wouldn’t worry too much—that’s what kids do, eh? She was just curious, that’s all” Yui shrugs.

“And now, that curiosity won’t leave her or my daughter alone! Apparently Gojo-sama wasn’t too fond of his negative reviews, to the point where the girls want to plot their revenge against him”

“Wow, that bad?” Yui snickered. “Well, can’t say I didn’t expect it, he’s always been known to be the sneaky one, compared to Ren-sama and Hinata-sama, although they can be quite sly if they set their minds to it”

“Well, you’re right about that—at least from what I’ve been able to assume” Ayaka sighs. “I was just wondering if I should tell our masters about what happened, I’m sure everything will cool down in time but still… wouldn’t you like to be told if something was going on with your kids?”

“Oh, definitely, but you have to consider how Eiichi-sama would react if he’s informed about this” Yui emphasized, slightly shivering at the visage of one of their always-kind masters becoming heated out of protectiveness.

“Is it even in our duties to let them know?” Ayaka ponders.

“Gah, they’re just children at the end of the day! It doesn’t really matter” The woman responds, playfully patting Ayaka’s back “Weren’t you naughty when younger?”

“Can’t say I wasn’t” she shrugs, and without anything else to say, the conversation rightfully ends: with Ayaka going back to preparing the pie she promised her daughter, and Yui helping her by preheating the oven. 

After this exchange with Yui, the mother of your best friend found herself somewhat agreeing with the woman’s words. It had been something a bit… shocking, sure, but nothing dangerous for either of the kids involved at the end of the day—you got curious about a simple peck on the lips, and Satoru reacted according to his nature, nothing that needs to be taken to the next level, such as involving your parents.

Besides, she still trusted her daughter to continue being the good friend she was with you by reminding you that there are certain things that are better dealt with directly, instead of going around circles attempting to get back at someone.

She’d further cement this teaching through a slice of pie of course, practice what she was preaching, but outside of that, Ayaka effectively concluded that all parties involved were nothing more than young kids.

Thus, the topic is virtually buried in the confines of her memory. A funny, temporarily concerning situation, that Ayaka would probably look back at one day when she didn’t know what to do.

And that would’ve been the case, of course, if she hadn’t told Yui about it.

Oh, but Ayaka could’ve never known, for it wasn’t in her nature to assume malicious intentions from others.

It was never in her plans to start rambling about what her daughter confined her with to others, but stranded in the island of her indecision, she couldn’t help but inquire for advice on what she should do.

It wasn’t her fault that the person she confided this secret to couldn't stop herself from finding this whole situation comical, worthy enough to be shared with everyone else, who in turn, found it equally hilarious to keep on passing the anecdote onto others, and so on and so forth. 

It was an innocent mistake, really, a funny story from the master’s kids!

…

One that stopped being funny the day your father was inevitably made aware of it.

Disaster ensued in one uneventful weekday afternoon, when Eiichi got back home from work.

As soon as he stepped foot in the L/N estate, he zeroed in onto the rooms the staff informed him they could find you and the Gojo heir in.

They didn’t need to look beyond his reddening face to know that he’d finally heard the rumor surrounding you and the white haired boy, to which they could only pray he wouldn’t chew up alive.

It’s a free for all at this point.

“Satoru, Y/N, follow me, now!” Eiichi ordered the moment he barged through the doors. His voice was loud and commanding, an unfamiliar tone from the often sweet and doting father you recognized. A contrasting difference that had both you and Satoru freezing on the spot. “I won’t repeat myself twice, stand up now”

You clench the edges of your sleeves as you quietly follow behind your father, with Satoru trailing just behind you.

It had been the only day you finally allowed him to be in the same room with you, allowing him the opportunity to finally speak his truth and maybe sneak an apology, but it seems that fate wasn’t to be on his side, yet again—and what a way to show him so.

Once the infuriated Eiichi cornered you and Satoru into another room, away from the prying eyes and ears of the surrounding servants, confrontation begins.

“What is this rumor that I’m hearing from the staff, Gojo?”

Satoru blinks, confused. He doesn’t know what your father is referring to, for the servants had done an exceptional job of keeping to themselves when spreading said rumor. 

The Gojo heir reflects on his past actions, attempting to find the possible cause of your father’s anger—it could be anything really, which doesn’t speak very well of his character.

Unable to find a cause, he glances at you; with a look that asks if you perhaps knew what he was talking about. It was only for the briefest of seconds, and solely to seek an explanation, but your father, who was far too gone in his anger, doesn’t let it slide so easily.

“Eyes on me, boy” Eiichi warns and Satoru recoils again.

“I—W-what rumor… L/N-sa—”

“Don’t act ignorant, Satoru! The one where you kissed my daughter? Quite the story that has been going around, I must add” Eiichi accused, and at this revelation, it’s now your time to pale.

“I—I don’t know what you…. You’re talking about L/N-san…” Gojo stammers, his face drained of all color to the point it’s almost hard to distinguish where his skin ends and his hair begins. “I didn’t do…”

“Y/N” Eiichi, not willing to entertain the seemingly foolish act the boy was putting on, refers to you. No nicknames or endearments, just your birth name—reflecting how serious he is about this.

To see your father so… different from the caring, protective and a bit silly man he presented himself to be with his family… It was terrifying. A sight so ghastly, that naturally has your heart jumping to your throat, rendering you speechless to what was perhaps the biggest miscalculation you could’ve considered when placing that bet.

You can’t even begin to ponder how it is that he learned about this as he continues to stare back at you, or if there’s even a way to get out of this situation.

“Y/N” he calls you again, urging you to an answer, which you miraculously perform after gathering all the courage you can find to look up to him and muster a quiet: yes, papa? before looking down to the ground.

“Did you kiss Satoru?”

You know it’s not good to lie, you were taught by your parents to not do so. It’s foul, deceiving, and hurtful. But seeing Satoru’s startled eyes and trembling lips, you find yourself doubting if that theoretical pain can be any worse than his current predicament.

It was never supposed to go this far, to the point of tarnishing your relationship with Satoru and your father.

Even with Satoru’s distressing behavior… you never wished to cause him any genuine harm. 

Guess there really is a first time for everything.

“No” you decide to lie for Satoru’s sake, shaking your head and clutching at your sleeves even tighter than before, to the point where your fingers turn completely white. 

You hoped that by keeping your answers limited he would concede to believe you and subsequently bring this situation to an end, but your father, having gone through similar ordeals with your siblings, finds it hard to accept your response without slight skepticism. 

“You know better than to lie to me, Y/N”

“I’m not!” you cry, now furiously shaking your head—whether to emphasize your words, or to sway the tears forming at the corners of your eyes away, you didn’t know.

“Then why is the staff going around saying that?” Eiichi wondered “It means that someone is lying, and it’s either you, or my staff”

“I don’t know papa….” you quietly sniveled, feeling yourself to be shrinking before him more and more the longer you remained underneath his gaze. His presence is so taxing on your conscience, that prompts unspoken guilt to erupt from inside in the shape of bewailing regrets “I’m sorry!”

And with that, you prove the rumors to be true.

You’d sob loudly enough for Eiichi to finally snap out from the unadulterated rampage he’d enacted on the two kids before him, and focus on the lamenting reality of his weeping daughter and startled boy.

This is one of the things he hated from being a father: having to confront his kids.

He wanted nothing more than for them to be perpetually happy, without a single worry for the world, give them everything they’ll ever need so they never have to suffer—while defending them from those that wanted to hurt them.

But life isn’t as black and white as Eiichi wanted it to be. It was wistful thinking to believe that he could forever protect them from the world. 

And he’d soon learn that being a good father isn’t just about having fun with his kids and giving them what they needed, it was also about letting them live their own experiences, let them stumble and fall, but being there to help them up—teach them how to deal with difficult situations so they can do so themselves when the time is right.

Kindly and calmly, like any good parent was expected to do—how he should’ve acted in this situation.

“No, no, it’s ok, pumpkin” he says, kneeling down to your level and softly cupping your face “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare both of you… I just… well, I was worried—I didn’t know how to answer your questions, or more like I didn’t want to, when I should’ve tried harder to help you understand. And instead of worrying that you could’ve done something to hurt yourself, I got angry at you for disobeying me”

“I’m—I’m sorry papa…. I—I d—didn’t mean t—to…” you continue to wail, gaze blurry and eyes warm as you look back to your father’s comforting soft gaze. “Please.. No angry with me”

“Oh, baby I’m not angry with you” he says, hugging you “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have spoken to you, or Satoru like that…”

Eiichi lifts his gaze to Satoru, who, unsure of what to expect from such a radical change from your father, keeps a distant yet tense stance.

Your father, while not agreeing with the way Satoru often acts, knows well to look after his actions when he’s messed up, as well as reminding himself to be patient with him—he’s just a kid, born with a technique and responsibilities he never asked for. Wouldn’t that make him a reflection of his own daughter?

“Think you two can forgive me over ice cream?” He’d ask the pair.

“...chocolate?” you murmur against his chest, and he smiles.

“Consider it done, what about you… Satoru?”

“... Only if you get strawberry” he says, and Eiichi chuckles—that’s his favorite flavor too.

“Done” your father says, standing up and making way to the white haired boy and carefully shuffling his hair “Sorry, kid. Just… keep out of trouble, alright?”

And thus, with ice cream and a slight warning from your father, reminding you to approach him whenever you have questions (so as to avoid this situation from happening again…), the situation ends without further precedent.

Days would pass, and you and Satoru would eventually move past this occurrence, which both labeled as silly, and rekindle the friendship they initially had; all while promising to continue keeping this a secret from your sister and brother, whom by mysterious reasons, never knew about it.

You never figured out why that rumor sparked inside the estate in the first place, and as years passed, you honestly stopped caring. Even if you eventually determined it had been Sumire, it did nothing to affect your friendship with her, if anything, it grew stronger.

And so, it all remained in the past. A nostalgic-yet-cringeworthy memory grouped up with those of your childhood that took little to no weight in your mind, except of course, when gossiping with his friends, Shoko and Geto, when you wanted to kick him down a notch or two whenever he began to act a bit too arrogant for your liking.

Shoko would take your experience as evidence that he was always irritating, even from a young age.

While Geto would take it with a grain of salt, for in his own account, Satoru never struck him as a bad kisser.

A statement that had you and Shoko immediately glancing at each other, wondering just how he could possibly know that.

[roleshirked]

see this is what i don't understand

is when a genderist makes a post, and gets called out for their completely ridiculous take, and then it has like 200-300 notes and allegedly 31 replies, but if you tab onto the replies or the reblogs it is a barren wasteland of "some content has been blocked or removed"

and if you peep their page it's likely the og post is deleted and there's droves of "terfs are the fucking worst terfs DNI i hate them all dumb fucking cunts i'm not bothered i can just increase my blocklists 💀💀"

like there's a difference between curating your online experience and... this. right? this is echo chamber. this is entitlement. this is "i have never been told i am wrong ever in my life" and "any disagreement with my worldview is a direct affront to my identity, therefore making all and any dissent a personal attack"

in stark contrast i have seen long reblog chains of some moots getting into the thick of it with some people, learning something new or straight up conceding they were wrong, and the conversation ending amicably. no tantrums, no 10-15 untagged posts about how they hate tras, no vaguebragging about a block list

this isn't new either. this performative outage i see whenever a genderist is corrected on something, or if someone points out a discrepancy in their argument. i saw it constantly when i was knee-deep in those circles - it reminds me a lot of when christians throw a tantrum whenever something isn't catered to them. or when men throw tantrums when they don't get their way . or when a baby is told no

isn't it exhausting to live like that? constantly digging your heels in, huffing and puffing your chest out so hard?

[garoujo]

hey emmie! Ok so I hope this isn’t too long and boring and like wtf but you’re my favourite author on the app so I think I’ll just ask you though anon. im not entirely new to tumblr, been on it for slightly over a year but all I do I read fics, like I don’t interact with people (kinda scared to in a way💀). Anyways, so id been reading without an account for a long time and recently made one to simply keep a tally of my fav fics and follow people I like, so my page is like... blank?? Yea. Then I commented on someone’s post for the first time ever recently, asking, along with other people, for a part 2 of what they posted. tell me why they literally blasted me in their next post because my page is blank?? And a lot of people have been saying the same stuff about blank blogs so like long story short, is there some kind of beef with blank blogs or something? Like my age and gender and pronouns and all the important stuff are in my bio so like what am I doing wrong??😭 I felt so sad when they posted that like I was showing appreciation to their content then got slapped in the face man😭 so like yea, I hope what I’m saying is making sense? You’re Literally so bbg and kind so I rly want to know your take on this. much love and I hope I’m not to late to say happy 1 year anniversary for your account <33

hiiii nonnie !!! to put it in as short an explanation as i can there’s always been a sort of ‘problem’ with the ratio of likes vs reblogs when it comes to fanfiction ! a lot if not all writers always urge writers to reblog their work because it helps to boost it, it lets us know you enjoyed it, you can leave tags letting us know you enjoyed it & all that other good stuff !

so alot of writers when they see a blank blog in their notifs (having an age in ur bio aside) it can be disheartening esp if you’re asking for things like “part 2?” for example because if you’re not reblogging, it can come across like ‘i didn’t like this enough to reblog but i’m also not satisfied with just this so can you write more?’ which is why a lot of people can get upset about it even if you’ve not meant it in a malicious sort of way !

it’s been a long standing sort of discussion / fight because writers put a lot of time into their craft etc. and all we really want is just someone to tell us it was worth it yk? esp when like you said you just want to have a way to bookmark your favourite pieces, that is when reblogging can come in handy so i can understand where that writer is coming from because it does upset alot of people to be sort of seen like a ‘content machine’ of sorts !

i hope this makes sense because it is sort of like an ongoing problem in the fandom i guess you could say, a lot of writers just want to know you enjoyed their stuff because it motivates them to write more ! as much as most write for themselves, we post for the readers so it just makes us feel a lot better if we know it’s not just a waste of time yk? <3

[captainaikus]

Ohhh okay that’s a relief. No worries I’m not going anywhere!!! 😊😊 Just don’t forget to take breaks between all the hectic and busy stuff too okay?? I’m sure you’ll do great on your test 😤😤. AND YES YOURE TAKING BREAKS THATS AWESOME YOU ABSOLUTELY DESERVE THEM!!!! Ooooo which psychological horror movies if I may ask? Oh? 👀 Yandere Nagi you say?? 👀👀👀

I’ve been working on that surprise for you!!! I wanna edit it a bunch and make sure it’s as perfect as I can get it to be. Because half the time I either post my works at 4 am in the morning after speed writing after inspiration hit me or I look over it once and get tired halfway through the second time and just hit post adhjgfjjhhgfgghh 💀💀.

Thank youuuuu!!!! I was debating on which to pick of the thousand screenshots from my camera roll 😭😭. Very hard decision he looks gorgeous in literally every angle and lighting and scene like SIR??? I also changed the theme of my blog in honor of the first episode of the second season finally being released!! Tell me what you think 🥰. Surprisingly I haven’t made a single post abt the first episode yet because I’ve just been on a rebloging spree since it first came out. LET ME TELL YOU RN BELLE THE ROLLERCOASTER OF EMOTIONS I WENT THROUGH YESTERDAY AND LAST WEEK IT FELT LIKE MY BRAIN WAS ETERNALLY VIBRATING WITH EXCITEMENT ADHJHFGJHVCKK. Anyways ✨. I’m gonna be making sooooo many TR posts soon just you wait as soon as my energy goes down a bit enough for me to type abt it my entire page is gonna be full of TR ashkjfgkkfffjkgf you’ve been warned 😭😭💀. Remember to take breaks and drink water and eat snacks love!!! *sends many virtual*

- ✨ anon

*sigh of relief* my test was alright T.T Its news to everyone that I'm taking a break — and its also giving off the impression that i am a workaholic which isn't wrong... So i watched psycho and vertigo by alfred hitchcock... yes. i am THAT old (the shower scene in psycho is so iconic not to mention everyone was on a bates motel high) And yes. Yandere Nagi — based on another movie I watched (this one is pretty old too) but. the more i think about it... the more hotter the story is getting in my head. This might be a mini series tho — cause the storyline is damn complicated and i wanna take my time with it, write it well and then post it on my ao3. Ooohh I know that feeling !! Half the time I'm looking like a maniac typing away at 3 in the morning cause that's when my inspo kicks in and then i land up with less sleep. smh— You have me on the edge of my seat *wipes of sweat* but please take your time and don't rush !! And honestly? same with me too. I write things, don't feel like beta reading it. *reads it later* How do people even like this? o.o AND. I. ADORE. YOUR BLOG THEME!! Ahh !! Sunflowers!! And i lowkey think that everyone is starting to like kazutora but at the same time with the kind of character development he has? 100% deserves the thirst and I think i just got struck with an idea for him... *notes down*

Look at me creating work for myself — *sending hugs back*

[hustlerose]

I posted 6,392 times in 2022

2,107 posts created (33%)

4,285 posts reblogged (67%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@hustlerose

@iamoutofideas

@telltaletypist

@hotvampireadjacent

@caenus

I tagged 998 of my posts in 2022

#hs - 163 posts

#legendary - 13 posts

#&lt;3 - 8 posts

#horror - 6 posts

#weh - 6 posts

#bark bark bark - 6 posts

#so true - 6 posts

#:) - 5 posts

#long post - 4 posts

#this is always happening to me - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 103 characters

#🤣😂🤣🤣💀👏👏👏👏🤣👏🤣👏🤣🤣🤣👏🤣🤣🤣👏🤣🤣🤣🤣👏🤣🤣👏💀💀💀🤣👏🤣💀💀🤣👏1️⃣💀😂🤣😂😂💀👏👏👏👏👏

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

if you don't use bandcamp, i'd really encourage you to spend some time there. there's millions of artists on there putting out great material, a lot of which never even makes 1 sale, or breaks 10 plays

if you're new to the site, the front page is a good place to start. you can pick a genre and scroll thru it. by default it puts popular stuff up front, but i'd suggest looking at new releases

most albums have a "music you'll also love" section at the bottom of the page, so you can start from one thing and go down a rabbit hole. you can find whole scenes this way

or look at the genre tags that don't show up on the front page! find a sub-subgenre and explore something you've definitely never heard before. what's furrycore? dreamcore? post-hyperpop? progressive extreme metal? melodic juke?

bandcamp also tags music by location. what are ppl in your city making?

going out of your way to find new music can make an artist's day, or turn you on to something you wouldn't normally go for. think about it

40,639 notes - Posted April 5, 2022

#4

i’m not getting enough fucking enrichment. in my enclosure

42,602 notes - Posted April 24, 2022

#3

idk what joyless geek decided it was sinful to enjoy food and sex and earthly pleasure, but that guy was dead wrong

53,233 notes - Posted April 15, 2022

#2

so, to sum up the last couple weeks:

the NFT fad ended and several tokens that were supposed to be worth millions were sold for peanuts

terra luna tanked and dragged terra’s stablecoin off its peg. terra was the 3rd largest stablecoin at the time

meanwhile, people are starting to face legal consequences for stuff like fraud and money laundering

terra freezes their blockchain to prevent a run on the bank stablecoin

tether and dei also lose their pegs and tank

a court is forcing tether to reveal its reserve records to the public, which will definitely show that they’re backed by significantly less money than they claim

etherium and bitcoin both crash hard at the same time

tether’s market cap has dropped by several billion in the past few days, which might mean that some of the people at the top of the pyramid scheme are cashing out in dollars. just scooping up handfuls of money from tether’s reserves and running for the hills

crypto is fucking dying lol

56,764 notes - Posted May 19, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

i love you cumin i love you chili powder i love you ginger i lovr you soy sauce i love you garlic

85,735 notes - Posted February 28, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[nancylou444]

The John hating HELLER reblogged this: 

Bro called me a heller. If I’m not being called ‘dude’, I’m being called ‘bro’ BUT Amara forbid, we call THEM the wrong fucking pronoun. Double standard much? 

Bitch I don’t fucking label myself based on shit I ship. I’m glad they admit that destiel is shit. 😁

Plus, I didn’t even mention Dean being bi in my post about John because I know it’s not canon lol Oh, so because it wasn’t mentioned in THAT post, it negates the post where the HELLER actually does say that Dean is bi?  John being abusive ISN’T canon either, but never mind. 

I’m done being sorry for stuff I post on here, if you don’t like it just leave you big baby💀💀 Well, if you tagged your hate properly, we wouldn’t have to see your posts. 

#literally though I can’t stand John defenders#but mind ur business#when I see something I don’t like on here you know what I do?#I scroll#so stfu

Like I said many times, what is the purpose of the ANTI John tag, if HELLERS assholes like OP are also going to add the actual tag? 

#HAHA LMAO THEY’RE A WINCESTIE#I JUST CHECKED THE ACCOUNT#I ACTUALLY CANT 😂😂#I’m laughing the more I scroll through the account#btw I’m a generally chill person and if you had just simply stated that you disagreed then I would think that you’re a pretty chill person#but scrolling through your blog?#all you do is attack people because of what they like#so stfu lmao

I’m a wincestie????? No shit sherlock. What was your first clue? My avatar? My title?  Let me tell you, HELLERs are fucking geniuses.  You had to get pretty far in my blog because the first few pages are mostly about episode 3.08 and the weather. 

[alwaysalreadyangry]

I posted 965 times in 2022

210 posts created (22%)

755 posts reblogged (78%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@nostalgebraist-autoresponder

@alwaysalreadyangry

@raedear

@aphroditestummyrolls

@haremask

I tagged 921 of my posts in 2022

Only 5% of my posts had no tags

#film - 136 posts

#lit - 100 posts

#gifs - 93 posts

#poetry - 92 posts

#art - 71 posts

#talking to the bot - 70 posts

#old guard - 37 posts

#fanart - 25 posts

#photographs - 23 posts

#music - 21 posts

Longest Tag: 127 characters

#started going out and about in skirts with hairy legs and it's like. how did it take me so long to get up the courage for this?

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

@babygirlcarmy so i feel like it would be a… i guess twist on all the fics where nicky has homophobic family. if like, so he’s becoming friends with Joe and Joe sees him declining a phone call from his grandmother with a grimace and he’s like, gently sympathetic and Nicky’s just like — no you don’t understand she’s found out I’ve never had a boyfriend and now she won’t stop giving me DATING TIPS BECAUSE SHE THINKS I’M A LOST CAUSE. “I’ll call her back later when she’s about to eat dinner. that way she can’t trap me for half an hour by reading out a list of gay bars she found on yell.com.”

and Joe is like ok 💀 well then 💀

149 notes - Posted September 8, 2022

#4

anyway going around a lot of art galleries this week has reminded me that i really want to write the joe/nicky fic where joe is a new tour guide at the art museum with an aspiration to end up as a curator once he’s done with grad school, and one day at the end of his shift he meets the hot security guard who sometimes does nights.

and then he hears rumours from his colleagues that this guy has… crackpot theories about the art??? joe is like uh ok but also he doesn’t like their tone or the fact that security guards are banned from talking to museum patrons about the art. he’s like, note that down as things to discuss once we finally get this union recognised.

anyway of course it turns out that the security guard, nicky, has three quarters of a PhD in religious art history and he’s been communing with the art a lot and chilling out with it at night. “art speaks in many different voices,” he likes to say, mysteriously. joe is like, wtf, please marry me.

yes it’s very loosely based on the article at the paris review blog about the unicorn tapestries, but can you blame me???

175 notes - Posted October 29, 2022

#3

Seeing a lot of Goncharov content but only real 70s movie heads will know that Spanish director Pere Portabella was meant to be making a behind-the-scenes documentary of the film which turned into a whole other thing. It's called GOMORRA CALLS.

Scorsese is in it and so are his parents, for some reason. At first you're just like oh this is cute, they're bringing food to the set, taking an interest in what's going on. But it becomes this quite... Creepy reality-bending thing? His mother keeps cryptically referring to weird telephone calls they've been getting at home, and his dad keeps moving things on the set, you can only see what he's doing if you spend a lot of time watching him at the edge of the frame while someone else is talking. And sometimes they'll get to the set in the morning and find things left in the wrong place, there's a weird smear on a camera lenses, one of the actors has lost half the pages from the copy of the script they've been learning from.

I think the idea was meant to be that they're being hounded by the realfe mafia for making the movie. But it almost seems like they're being haunted by the ghosts of mafia members at times. Like, Scorsese's hotel room will be freezing cold, and he's being sent anonymous messages at the front desk in a way that just doesn't make sense. He says, "I'm not sure if someone is trying to stop this movie... Or if they just want to be part of it. If they want to look at a prop in the wrong place and just say, hey, that was me."

At the time of its limited run in the US, Scorsese said he didn't really know what Portabella was making, fueling theories that the film was true documentary and not fictionalised. But it's listed as fiction on Portabella's Wikipedia page now, and the prevaing theory is that it must be made up. It's not been included on any of the Goncharov DVD or Blu-Ray packages but it was supposed to be a Criterion Channel exclusive last year... It never showed up, and there are rumours it's to do with audio licensing issues. But there's a VHS rip floating around out there if you know where to look.

182 notes - Posted November 21, 2022

#2

See the full post

359 notes - Posted November 18, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

incredible book I found yesterday… English Field Names: A Dictionary, by John Field

707 notes - Posted April 9, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[kaitropoli]

A Little Note : A.I. vs the Human Running This Page

* If you've read all of my last post, this is basically a word-for-word copy, so there's no need to follow this! *

EVERYTHING ON MY POSTS, besides the obvious quotes, ARE WRITTEN BY ME, MYSELF, and I.

I've been seeing too many posts with added history written by A.I., which is really stupid, considering that those types of technologies are wrong and don't list the specific data they utilize to get their information. Because I'm very wordy or know certain things doesn't mean I use a bot... you'd probably know if I did because I'd be posting every day💀 Instead, I bestow upon you real human text, an info-dump on a random thing I find online and think is pretty and/or interest asf, promises I can't deliver (aka I severely forget about or am too busy to do *rip March's posts lmfao*), and horrifically inconsistent posts.

I may make grammar mistakes here and there because I am also writing a book in my free time (that's why I'm usually too stressed to make posts—trust me, you should see my drafts—they're there, but I love to add info, yet it's time-consuming). My Grammarly hates me, and the feeling is as mutual as glass. I felt the need to get that out of the way, too.

I'm now adding all my sources so nobody mistakes this as A.I. garbage. It's not! I should've done this from the get-go, but it didn't feel necessary at first, as I barely did info posts. But if you do see something off, or you just enjoy this post and want to add to the conversation, please feel free to comment!! :)

...

I'm just a twenty-year-old girl who loves art of all kinds, history, and science. More than that, I am HUMAN, and I believe that willpower over a machine (rage against the machine💀) is the greatest form of intelligence anybody can possess. Let me explode all the knowledge I know to y'all without your fear that this is some bot typing everything you see. You can trust my page, and I welcome any type of comment if you see something off.

...

Thank you all for tuning in to my posts. I should have a better explanation for my absences, which I will concoct at some point. I appreciate feedback and the support on my posts!! I do this for fun, so don't expect me to ever turn to the dark side! That's primarily why I stray from reblogging art+history posts, but you can count on this page staying squeaky clean!

Much love;

Kaiti (@kaitropoli) <xx