#I think I bought this on cd when it was new

[wetblanket7]

art student!touya headcanons bc why not can you tell that i love artsy people? ᯓᡣ𐭩

tw: smoking and getting high, touya is a loser but we all already know that

──── ᡣ𐭩 ─────────────────

touya had no idea what to do with himself after high school. he chose studying art, because it seemed to be easy lmao he also really wanted to piss of endeavor

after college he wants to be a tattoo artist (who’s surprised?)

touya who’s working at your local record store and always trying to start a conversation with you about the albums you buy. in his head, he has a whole ass plan to make you swoon but, in reality, all he manages to do is asking you, if you like this band and recommending you some new music he thinks you might like

you giggle everytime he stumbles over his words and thank him, assuring you’ll check out his recommendations. and oh boyy he’s whipped. he even started thinking, that maybe you are trying to seduce him

he literally doesn’t know the difference between being simply friendly and flirting. he’s delusional, he’s stupid

(he rejected so many people, that were hitting on him, because he thought they were just being nice to him. but with you, oh that’s a different story)

you and touya met through keigo, who was done with listening touya talk about his pretty customer. you’ll probably never forget his face, when he realized his best friend is also friends with his crush

after that you two started talking more. he’s still so painfully awkward, because this man has no idea, how to talk with you

bold over text, super awkward in person. that’s it

before keigo introduced you to him, touya only annoyed takami with his constant monologue about you. but now? everyone falls his victim. his roommate? shigaraki got too many warnings about way too high volume on his headphones and he still can hear touyas yapping. his family? shouto and natsuo start throwing at touya every object, that just happens to be near them, whenever your name leaves their big brothers lips. fuyumi just asks him when he’s gonna ask you out and he shuts up as fast as he opened his mouth. and his coworkers? spinner daily fights the urge to get high before work but he doesn’t want to get fired, so he’s forced to keep up with touya sober. the only person that enjoys his yapping is toga, which isn’t very surprising, really. she forces touya to listen to her talk about ochako in exchange tho

and don’t even get me started on his drawings. his sketchbook is filled with you. every. single. page. he doodles you every time he gets ahold of something, that can write

“todoroki, for the love of god, could you stop drawing your girlfriend on my desk?” keigo showed you that doodle. at some point he also told you about touyas crush on you. he’ll complain about touyas constantly running mouth, but he’s a noisy bitch as well. a match made in hell

you often bump into touya at random parties keigo or rumi take you to. and everytime, that happens you two decide to leave your friends and go on a side quest. later you need to explain to your friends, why they can’t find you anywhere at the party. you should’ve informed them beforehand but in touyas presence it’s easy to forget about the surrounding you world

especially, when he finally gets comfortable with you. there’s so many topics he wants to discuss with you, he literally can’t shut his mouth. you might never get a chance to kiss him

takes you with him whenever he goes making graffiti. cmon he would do that

touya secretly wishes you would model for him. but he will never admit to that

deep late night talks, while sharing a cig or blunt? god please. all you have to do is text him, that you found this new spot with a cool view and he’s already under your window

he invites you over to listen to the new cd he bought. he collects cds argue with the wall. he’ll be also very offended if you don’t invite him over to listen to the album you bought

don’t worry he’ll get over it quickly, he’ll be very petty about it tho

at first, when you asked him if you could see his art he refused. he’s shy yk. especially, considering the fact, that most of his sketches are of you. touya eventually showed you his art, when you told him about that doodle on keigos desk. he ghosted you for hours after that, because he thought you’ll make fun of him </33

has like 5 different playlists made for you. all consisting different music genres and for different occasions. one is full of songs you recommended him. other is filled with songs, that remind him of you. you guys also share a playlist, which is a mix of your favorite songs and is a total chaos

touya doesn’t have a license nor his own car (duh), so when he asks you if you’re up for a ride it means that you’re going to drive and he’ll just sit there, looking pretty and play music

getting high with touya is… interesting. he gets really clingy and all philosophical. so many what if questions. rumi has a couple of videos of your conversation from the times you two got high at your place. she says she’s going to play them at your wedding

“hear me out on beetlejuice” high off his ass touya, after you came up with an genius idea of watching beetlejuice

touya keeps complaining about you spending more time at the store and distracting him but we all know he doesn’t mind. maybe expect those moments, when you talk shit about him with toga and spinner

you also have a bet, if those two teenagers, that keep having dates at the store will end up together. you think, that the blonde boy has a chance, while touya well… he says that the girl’s to cool for this guy

if you two can’t meet, he’ll just call instead. probably, on some ungodly hour, because his sleeping schedule is nonexistent. will insist on not hanging up, when you want to go to sleep. he promises, that he’ll end up the call, since he’s going to stay up a little bit longer. and he always forgets about that. one time, you got woken up by rei, trying to get touya out of bed

he definitely had planned the first kiss. the thing is — he never had a chance to use his plan. mostly because he was waiting for the perfect moment. you were the one, who kissed him. during one of your many late night rides, while you were sitting in your car in some empty parking lot. he was taking about something, you can’t remember what it was, his eyes shining as he was explaining, streetlamps light falling on his face and making him look even prettier then usual. if it was even possible, because it’s touya we’re talking about, the pretty boy cmon. you almost felt bad about interrupting him. but he didn’t seem to mind, when he practically crushed you between him and your cars door

after that he thanked you, like he didn’t took your breath away a second ago

so many handmade gifts !!!

art museum dates. holding hands, talking about your favorite artists and pieces, standing in front of the artwork and discussing its meaning, touya explaining you different techniques. either that or pointing at the weirdest medieval animals and saying “you”

i said that once and i’ll say it again. he’s your trained photographer

he’ll also gladly turn into your editor

will touch you on purpose if his hands are dirty from painting. annoying bastard

definitely will become your human canvas if you’ll get bored and want to draw on him. touya will try his best not to wash it down during shower. he might even skip shower, who knows

obviously, touya has piercings and tattoos because it’s touya

and yes, he lets you color his tattoos, duh

──── ᡣ𐭩 ─────────────────

no way i finally wrote sth (nobody gives a shit girl)

im working on sth a little bigger i promise

yes i sneaked a little togachako here can you blame me?

and yes thats jirou and denki, they have record store dates

projecting as always im trying to manifest a bf thru this silly posts

or a crush at least

btw touya and keigo definitely made out at some point im just sayin

[cherrylng]

My Chemical Romance - Gerard Way interview [INROCK (May 2006)]

“I'm using the word "love" for the first time. I can definitely say this is based on real experience.”

Gerard Way / My Chemical Romance INTERVIEW: AI ANAZAWA

My Chemical Romance have been laying low of late in order to work on a new album following "Sweet Revenge". If all had gone according to plan, recording would have started at some place in Los Angeles by now, but this time it is Rob Cavallo, who produced their heroes Green Day, who is in charge of production. According to Rob, the new album has "some dark stuff, some references to Queen and The Doors. There are also some experimental parts that are reminiscent of System of a Down." The working title of the new album is "The Rise and Fall of My Chemical Romance." It is significant that the album is about 'the rise and fall of My Chemical Romance', even though they have only released two albums so far. As we wait for the album to be released before the end of the year, we attempted an email interview with Gerard, who says he loves Japan.

How have you been? How are you doing these days? Gerard Way (vo.): Good question. I actually just got back from Japan the other day, can you believe it? The day we finished touring in Australia, I went to Japan for a holiday. I was so happy this time because I got to see the beautiful land of Japan without working. What else have I been doing recently? In six days I'll be heading to Los Angeles to prepare for the recording of the new album.

I heard you were visiting Japan. Where did you go and what did you do? Gerard: Hahaha, you already answered your own question. I went to a lot of places. Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Miyajima, Hiroshima and many other places. I also stayed at a ryokan across the sea by boat. I went hiking and visited a lot of temples. I had dinner with a geisha… I had so many wonderful experiences.

Were you alone? Or do you have friends in Japan you can rely on? Gerard: I went with my girlfriend. And her younger sister and her boyfriend, who are both artists by the way. My sister's boyfriend is from Kyoto, so he showed me around. If it wasn't for him, I would have been completely lost. So it's thanks to him that I've had such a great experience. Of course, meeting Kazu, the Japanese label manager, was another highlight of the trip. For me he's not just a label manager, he's a good friend. We got some great photos together.

"I feel like when I go to Japan, I come back a better person afterwards."

What did you buy in Japan? Gerard: I bought a lot of straps to put on my mobile phone, hahaha. I also bought a lot of souvenirs for my family and friends. Tea, Godzilla, and Studio Ghibli stuff.

Why Japan? Gerard: Because it's my favourite place in the world. It's beautiful and I like the way people take care of things. I feel like when I go to Japan, I come back a better person afterwards.

Is there anything you've learnt since you've been here? Gerard: Wow, well… I learnt about respect and the importance of thinking about what's good on a larger community level and not just about yourself.

Don't you think more Americans should travel more and see more of the world? Gerard: Everyone should, not just Americans. It's the only way to learn about the world.

I heard a rumour that you bought a CD of the Don Quixote theme song while you were in Japan. Gerard: Yeah, I liked it so much that Kazu helped me find the CD and buy it. I'm sure Matt Cortez, our guitar tech, will be thrilled when he hears it.

You once said that "I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love" (first album) was about finding yourself, and "Sweet Revenge" was about polishing yourself, so you want to make the next album the ultimate My Chemical Romance album. What exactly do you plan to do to make that happen? Gerard: I think some of the songs on the previous albums have inspired us to grow up and take more risks as a result. For example, "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison" on "Sweet Revenge" showed us that we could explore new and more diverse areas. It's like a warm-up before a boxing match knockout. Another thing I can say is that the new album will be more colourful. It will definitely have more depth and you'll see that we don't care about the outcome, we're just going to do what we want to do.

What can we expect from the new album? Are you planning any collaborations with anyone? Who will be your producer? Gerard: I'm looking forward to some intense stuff. Also, there will be a lot of wolves. I don't know about collaborations yet, but we're going to have Rob Cavallo as producer. I'm very happy about that. It's a huge honour.

You mentioned that the new album will have more songs based on real-life experiences. What are the themes of the lyrics? Gerard: Death is still a theme in the new album, but this time it's more humorous than before. There's also a lot of references to self-loathing, self-awareness and a lot of longing. I'm using the word "love" for the first time. I can definitely say that this is based on real experiences.

Looking back, what do you think of your work so far? Gerard: I'm very proud of it. At the same time, I feel that I could have done better. Especially my parts. But hey, I'm good at criticising myself.

"I've been sober for the last year and a half, and it's made my life a lot better."

I heard that "Sweet Revenge" was a concept album, and the makeup was based on that concept. Do you think it was good the way it was? Gerard: Of course. It was necessary for us to make an artistic statement and to get the idea across. It was specific to "Sweet Revenge", and we'll do something different next time.

With that album, you guys were accepted by many people, especially the MTV demographic. I think your popularity has exploded, especially over the past year, thanks in part to the elaborate promotional videos you've made. When we spoke at Summer Sonic two years ago, you said that you still had a strong New Jersey underdog mentality, which I remember fondly. Was it a slow and gradual process for you guys to become popular since then? Or was it a sudden, dramatic change? Gerard: Even though we'd been around for quite a while, it was a sudden change. We just couldn't keep up with the fame. I don't think anyone can ever be prepared for fame. And we didn't get along well with celebrities, so we never got over the underdog mentality. Celebrity pretence was never our forte.

How important is the visual aspect? What can we expect to see from you in the future? Gerard: The visual aspect of the album art and the stage is very important. The costumes we've worn in the past, they've just naturally taken shape to suit the stage. That's why I don't wear the old stage clothes for photo shoots these days.

You have been relatively open about your depression and alcoholism. How are things going for you there? You seem to be a lot happier these days. Gerard: I'm doing great. I've been sober for the last year and a half, and it's made my life a lot better.

Finally, I know you're of Italian descent, but what other bloodlines are you mixed with? Gerard: Italian and Scottish, as well as German and Swedish. My name comes from a Catholic saint. That's a very Italian way of giving a name.

Oh, at the end of the day, did I forget to ask you anything else? Gerard: Hahaha~ I think we covered it all. Thanks for today!

Translator's Note: Please do support me via ko-fi! ☕

[forgotn1]

The background on the soundtrack is really interesting too. Jonathon Davis (from Korn) and Richard Gibbs created the score for the entire movie and they wrote the songs Lestat would sing in the film. Jon provided vocals for them in the film, but his contract with Sony meant he couldn't appear on the soundtrack. So he went and asked his friends in the Nu Metal scene to come in and re-record the vocals for each of the songs. Which they ended up absolutely nailing.

There was meant to be a duet with Davis and Aaliyah on the soundtrack, but she passed away before it could be recorded.

not enough people talking about the queen of the damned soundtrack... Really really good stuff... should go down in history

[tellthemhowihopetheyshouted]

[fingertipsmp3]

The good news is I accomplished my mission of buying trousers, the bad news is my knee is SUPER unhappy about it

[luvsupa]

༉‧₊˚kinktober 2024 ༉‧₊˚.

༉‧₊˚summary: welcome to my first ever kinktober! for the month of october my stories will be halloween themed such as: blood, vampires, ghostface (my fave), etc. i will also try my hardest to keep up with this schedule !! | mdni, and ageless blogs please don’t interact thank you!

+ link to the artist!

[completed fics!]

༉‧₊˚want to be added to the taglist? comment below!

+ there’s no late time to be added to the taglist!

༉‧₊˚FIRST WEEK: VAMPIRE!CHOSO

summary: during halloween day, you’re babysitting your neighbour’s kid, yuji, and planning spooky activities. unexpectedly, yuji’s older brother, choso, shows up to help. when you cut yourself while preparing food, choso’s uneasy reaction to your blood reveals a darker, more unsettling side to him.

༉‧₊˚SECOND WEEK: GHOSTFACE!GETO

summary: you end up having to work a late night shift at the CD shop— a closing shift.. great. but things start to get strange once one of your coworker leaves for the night, all by yourself with- ghostface?!

༉‧₊˚THIRD WEEK: GHOST!GOJO

summary: after entering a haunted house at a halloween theme park with your friends, you discover the ghost of gojo satoru has trapped you inside. he thrives on your fear, turning the experience into a twisted game where each room presents chilling challenges that blend terror and desire.

༉‧₊˚FOURTH WEEK: STALKER!TOJI

summary: you and your husband invite your new neighbour’s, the fushiguros, over for thanksgiving dinner. after that night, toji starts helping around the house—way more than your husband. at first it seems harmless, but soon things get unsettling, with him showing up unannounced and watching you a little too closely.

༉‧₊˚HALLOWEEN DAY: TRICK-WHORE-TREAT | NEW!

summary: you and your friends were having a sleepover, playing with cursed objects that you randomly bought off someone thinking nothing of it, only up until you realize you’ve summoned the king of curses- ryomen sukuna.

[abbysbunny]

short random ellie hc's<3

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ she's so touchy but soo scared to touch you:( she gets nervous just to put her hand on your thigh

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ she loves showing you off to people>3< she's always got her arm around your waist,,,,

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ she brings you up in every conversation ever, she just loves talking about you . she also wears a shirt that says 'i ❤️ my girlfriend'

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ she lovesloves pda, she will kiss and hug you in public with no hesitation!!!:3

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ she likes to buy things with you without telling you, she adoress surprising you with little gifts, sometimes it'll be like a batman keychain or sometimes it's a new pair of shoes

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ she also loves when you surprise her ! like one time you bought her a weezer cd and she freaked outtt, she kissed you all over your face cuz she was so happy^_^

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ she draws little spiderwebs on her converse!! she thinks of it as a spiderman reference

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ she loves baking with you, if your baking you betcha she's just lingering around the kitchen listening to music

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ she would literally do anything for you, she's sooo down bad:(<33

[seonghrtz]

𝑛ew 𝑠cenario. 𐙚 両面宿儺 ( streamer!au ) fluff 849 words + warnings. occ sukuna | sukuna helps you set up a new scenario for your streams.

As Sukuna opened the door to your apartment, he felt a wave of comfort sweep over his chest. He secretly (maybe not so secretly) loved it when you invited him over ⸻ not that he needed an invitation to visit you. Spending time with you, in the comfort of your apartment (which was more like an extension of yours), was all Sukuna needed to feel the tension in his muscles melt away and a good feeling rise in his chest.

Still at the entrance, he took off his sneakers, put on the Kuromi slippers you had bought especially for him, and left his backpack and coat on the rack.

But any peace he felt was gone when he heard a scream from the back of the apartment.

With hurried steps, Sukuna reached the bedroom and was surprised to see so many boxes scattered around the room and you sitting in the middle of the mess.

"What the hell happened here?" he asked, getting your attention.

"‘Kuna! You arrived at just the right moment." You got up from the floor and went to hug your boyfriend, who returned the hug without a second thought. "I was trying to tidy up the new room, but I slipped," you laughed, embarrassed at how clumsy you were, and the boy just stared at you, getting drunk on every feature of your face.

And then a light appeared in the back of Sukuna's mind. You had recently told Sukuna that you wanted to change the location of your streams. You wanted to move your computer out of your bedroom and use the empty room in your apartment.

"Why didn't you call me? I could have helped you move things around." He said, looking at the mess in the room.

"You were at work, 'Kuna." You replied, "But since you're here, you could help me, couldn't you?"

"Just tell me what you need." Sukuna held your face and kissed your lips.

You smiled excitedly and hugged Sukuna once more before starting to tell him what to do.

While Sukuna was busy putting a shelf on the wall (following the sketch you had made of how you wanted the room to look) and then a perforated panel, you were trying to understand the instructions on how to assemble the bookshelf you had bought to put your stuffed animals, DVDs, and books in to decorate the room.

"Sweetheart, why don't you finish arranging your stuffed animals and decorations and let me do the rest?" Sukuna walked up to you, grabbed you by the waist, and took the manual from your hand.

"It's not fair; you get to do all the hard work!"

"Let me do it for you, huh?" He reached for your lips and stole a kiss.

"All right..." You sighed in defeat, "Are you already done?" You asked in surprise as you looked at the shelf on the wall, the perforated panel hanging, and the table set up in the exact position you had placed it on the sketch.

Sukuna just smiled sideways and stole another kiss before starting to read the instructions on how to assemble the bookshelf.

Meanwhile, you took the opportunity to sweep the room and clean the newly installed desk and shelf. Carefully, you set up your ultrawide monitor, keyboard, and mouse, a DSLR camera on a tripod above the monitor, and your pink microphone on an articulated arm. On the small shelf above the desk, you placed a heart-shaped clock and a picture frame containing a photo of you and Sukuna, and placed a My Melody stuffed animal between the clock and the picture frame. On the perforated panel hanging on the wall next to it, you placed your headphones and hung some Polaroids for decoration.

When it got dark, Sukuna had already finished assembling the bookshelf, and you started decorating it, putting up some stuffed animals, CDs, DVDs, books, etc.

"Do you think I should buy a big puff to put here?" You asked as soon as you'd finished decorating.

"It's easier to buy a two-seater sofa."

"I think I'll make a list of things to buy to decorate the room; I think it's still a bit empty." You looked around. "I think a cabinet would be nice too, to store my Xbox and PS."

"We'll think about it later. I think I deserve a reward now, don't you?" He pulled you by your waist.

"Reward?" You tilted your head to the side in doubt.

"Uh huh," he murmured in affirmation as he moved his face closer to yours, brushing his lips gently against yours. "Maybe watch a movie," he suggested.

"I don't know; the last time you suggested it, we didn't finish the movie."

"As far as I remember, you didn't complain," Sukuna smiled mischievously.

"'KUNA!" You said it in a suppressed tone, making your boyfriend just laugh at your reaction.

"I promise we'll just watch the movie this time." He kissed you calmly.

"You don't seem to have any intention of keeping that promise…" You murmured against his lips, and Sukuna smiled, confirming your words.

"Maybe…”

© seonghrtz, 2024. all rights reserved, please do not copy / steal / translate / modify any of my works !

[rotthepoet]

GIRL the way I was re-reading your Enzo fics (and literally everything else lol) and ugh pathetic men!!!!! Like all men are pathetic but when they're so pathetic that they can't hide it ughh so fucking delicious!!

So I have a question in what ways do you think each of our boys would be pathetic?

We already know how Enzo is basically. And I do think all of them would get on their knees for us but like what other ways?????

LITERALLY HAVE ME GIGGLING AT WORK BRAINSTORMING FOR THIS

Because the boys being simps?? Omfg yes please.

So we’ve already covered Lorenzo but lets recap. He’s downright the definition of a simp. Won’t stop trying to do everything for you. Major acts of service bro. Carry your bag, do your homework, being you tea in the morning. He will literally tail you all day if he isn’t interrupted. Change his schedule so all his classes line up with yours? Absolutely. He just wants to spend all of his time with you making you love him like he loves you.

Draco will spoil you, naturally. But so extremely that it can become kinda… overbearing. I mean its back to back gifts, receiving a brand new pair of diamond earrings at breakfast only for him to present a matching necklace at dinner. And hes so smug about it because he knows no one else can spoil you like he does. Anytime you mention a certain interest, gifts ensue. He overheard you talking about your favorite band? He just bought you every one of their CD’s and a CD player along with it, because he didn’t know if you had one.

As always, being one of the most levelheaded(and most prideful) of the group, Blaise wouldn’t do anything grand or extravagant. He keeps his patheticness to himself, until he’s on substances, then he’s yapping to anyone who will listen. Blaise will compliment the shit out of uou. He loves to see you blush, and what better way than to constantly remind you how attractive, clever, and funny you are?! He saves this grin just for you, cracks it whenever you laugh, he thinks its just the cutest thing. Shots hate to see Blaise coming, because the second they hit, he will not shut up about how this minuscule thing you did one time 4 months ago was just to silly and cute to not tell someone about.

Theodore, another somewhat levelheaded boy, is not as subtle though. He’s very… openly romantic. Similar to Lorenzo, he wants to spend all day with you, and will try to do any task for you. Say the word and its done. Except, it feels like he’s straight up courting you. Flowers on the regular, so the kind of guy who keeps one just to know when he needs to replace your latest bouquet. Little gifts and romantic gestures. He lowkey tells everyone youre his and eventually everyone starts to assume youre an item, and its just easier to agree than not right??

Dear god Mattheo needs to take a chill pill. Second he has a crush who doesnt want him back?? Fuck. Just decides your his, and will violently beat the daylights out of anyone who dares attempt to flirt with you. Also will get onto you if you flirt with anyone else. Because obviously you cant be cheating on him? The fuck?? Wraps his arm around uou in the hallways, completely ignoring your protests. Little kiss on the forehead when he finally leaves you be, and he relishes the blush you cant hide. So many pictures of you, and im gonna be so reall. So so real with y’all. Hes a fuckin dog. Horny 24/7 if you wear your skirt an inch higher than usual he will notice and he will COMMENT about it. Good intentions, bad execution.

[fobarchiveteam]

The Fall Out Boy 2001 Demo... and the fact that there's actually two of them!

A few years ago, the wonderful Dave Hofer, who owns the DuPage County Hardcore Archive, uploaded the first Fall Out Boy demo from 2001 onto his archive, revealing its existence to the world. Dave was able to locate both a copy of the CD and the cassette versions of this demo, finding out that limited amounts of CDrs and around 100 cassettes were ever made. The CDr has uncut and unmastered versions of the recordings that later appear on the Project Rocket split, but the cassette contains completely different recordings for the first two songs, while an original song that is found nowhere else called “A Nice Myth” replaces Moving Pictures. The truth is that these are actually two separate demos: the cassette recordings came first. These demos were both made in 2001. For the first demo, the band consisted of Patrick on vocals, Pete on bass, Joe on guitar, and two other members who only lasted for a short time in the band: Ben Rose on drums, and John Flamadan on rhythm guitar. It was recorded on an 8-track in Ben’s basement. That 8-track was later turned into the cassette, of course. Both Ben and John left shortly after, and Jared Logan and TJ Kunasch replaced them on the CDr recordings respectively. What you may not know is there was an even rarer version of the CDr demo made: two types of lathe cuts.

These lathe cuts were posted on Discogs as pictures years before Dave’s discovery, so they sat dormant and undiscovered by FOB fans for a long time. After researching the cassettes and CDs for our archive, we stumbled upon these pictures and were perplexed that nobody has mentioned this version elsewhere before. Although this was not really a “new” discovery, we were still intrigued. We contacted the uploader of the picture, and this is what he had to say:

Hey!! Yeah it's honestly a crazy story on how I acquired it, but I believe it's legit. Basically, a few years back (I think 2018 or 19? The listing on the page for the clear version that sold for $0.50 or something crazy was from me, that's how I bought it). I messaged a guy on here that had the CD added in his collection if he would be willing to send me the mp3s/WAV files for his copy, and he did. We talked for a bit about the band and he said I seemed knowledgeable about the band and asked if I wanted his second copy of the lathe (he had two, one clear, one black). I obviously was like "hell yeah dude" and he said he would ship it to me. Fast forward a few weeks (he lived in Australia or some shit) and low & behold, I actually got the damn thing in the mail, plus two promo trading cards from the TTTYG album cycle, one with Andy & one with Joe. A few years later he messaged me that he got in touch with the dude that made the lathes for the band (he was based in Chicago which makes sense). Apparently 26 copies were cut & only 20 got labels thrown on them, members of the band slapped them on themselves. They were only in white paper sleeves, not any picture sleeves unfortunately. The sound quality on them is actually pretty decent for a lathe made in 2001, which is what leads me to believe it's legit. Also, like you had mentioned, the songs didn't leak until a few years back, when I got it I had never heard these versions (it's just the Project Rocket split versions uncut & unmastered essentially, same versions as the ones that leaked from the CD version. That is pretty much all the info I have on it, I hoped that helped some!!

Cheers from Florida - Jake

He later followed up with:

If I'm not mistaken, I believe the guy I got it from got both the clear and black copies verified to be legit by the guy that made them. Also small detail I forgot to include before, he obtained both copies through a lot of FOB merch from eBay. He was looking to get a complete set of TTTYG trading cards, which is why he bought it. But I know in the lot he also got the two lathes & a demo CD, I forget what else he had mentioned. It's odd that the band hasn't spoken of their existence, maybe they forgot? The lathes were probably more of a novelty item than anything, considering that vinyl wasn't very popular in 2001 & they weren't packaged as "properly" as the CDs & tapes, plus they made a lot less of them. I'm assuming they just kinda got tossed around between friends of the band or got sold at random at their early shows. Either way, it's been one of my prized possessions since I've acquired it, let me know if hou have any other questions on it haha

Currently we have no idea who this elusive Chicago lathe maker is, but maybe we may find out one day. These lathe cuts may possibly be the rarest FOB merch in existence.

Side note: The fact that the top title on the cassette specific insert says "Fallout Boy - Growing Up" and then later lists Growing Up as a song below, it may have been intended to be the title of the cassette, and the song was a title track. This is unconfirmed though.

[magewritesstories]

[ ɢɪʟᴍᴏʀᴇ ɢɪʀʟꜱ ] ᴅᴀᴛɪɴɢ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ

ᴊᴇꜱꜱ ᴍᴀʀɪᴀɴᴏ — ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ᴄᴀᴛ ʙᴏʏꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ

♠  Jess is the black cat boyfriend no debate

♠  his favourite activities are browsing bookstores in New York to find the most ridiculous books and having movie nights at with home-made pizza

♠  his gifts are usually consist of annotated books and/or CD’s he’s burned for you

♠  so touch starved, like so touch starved, his love language is definitely physical touch

♠  would do just about anything if you just bat your eyelashes at him

ᴘᴀʀɪꜱ ɢᴇʟʟᴇʀ — ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪᴇʀᴄᴇ ɢɪʀʟꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ

♦  study dates, study dates, study dates

♦  probably mistook your flirting for picking a fight until Rory told her that you were flirting with her or you just straight up told her you wanted to kiss

♦  loves to do things for you just because, carrying your bags, making you coffee/tea when you working, because you deserve to be pampered, her love language is acts of service no doubt in my mind

♦  when it comes to gift giving it’s usually offhanded like, “Yeah I saw it in the store and bought it, no big deal.”

♦  she’s pretty stubborn so getting her to do things is hard but she ends up doing them because it’s you, and she would do anything for even if she complains 70% of the time

ʟᴏɢᴀɴ ʜᴜɴᴛᴢʙᴇʀɢᴇʀ — ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴅᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀᴏᴜꜱ ʙᴏʏꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ

♣  he takes you to so many places, sometimes it’s places he’s been other times he spotted a new restaurant on his way and he decides to take you there next time the two of you go out.

♣  his favourite thing to do is go shopping for you, particularly enjoys buying you clothes and accessories and then seeing you wear them

♣  Logan’s love language is definitely gif giving, and more often than not the gift are expensive (read: birkin bag.)

♣  whenever he plans dates it’s the out there stuff he thinks you’ll enjoy doing, but he doesn’t mind having dinner at home with a good movie or some music either

♣ he would also do anything for you, even the things you ask him to do halfheartedly or jokingly

ʀᴏʀʏ ɢɪʟᴍᴏʀᴇ — ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪɴᴅ ɢɪʀʟꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ

♥  her favourite kinds of dates are the calm ones, like browsing bookstores and going to museums

♥  she loves to sit with you on the couch until ungodly hours just talking about random things or having deep conversations, although the ones about the future are her favourites

♥  love language is words of affirmation, mainly because growing up Lorelai thought her how important communication is in all her relationships

♥   Rory doesn’t really like dates in crowded places, she enjoys the occasional concert or outing to a busy place, but low-key dates will always be superior in her opinion

♥ getting her to do something she doesn’t want to is impossible, she’s very stubborn and when she doesn’t want to do something it’s very hard to convince her to do it

[hhoneylemon]

𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘴

warnings: bad writing perhaps

How Does He Act With A Crush?

he’s so cute when he has a crush. he finds excuses to hang out with you, he’s nicer to you than he is to anyone. he does his best to charm you with his ‘bad boy’ persona and then drops it to just be that soft funny guy. he’ll let you borrow his books and he’ll read any you recommend, he lets you borrow his cds, sneaks you free stuff from luke’s, probably steals something of yours to remember you by when he’s sitting alone.

Love Languages

i think jess is an acts of services and gift giving kind of guy. he’ll annotate books for you, give you books, drive you around, carry things for you. he’ll let you drag him places as long as it makes you happy too. he keeps your best interests in his heart. he struggles with voicing his feelings. he’s physically affectionate, but it’s mostly hand holding and kissing.

Gifts

he definitely listens to you when you talk. he learns what your favorite candy is to randomly give to you when you’re hanging out. he gives you books based off your taste and he expects you to tell him what it was about and if you liked it or not. he buys you cds and records of your favorite artists and does his best to find collectors items too. has bought you little antique trinkets that are genuinely adorable.

Dates

like i said, he takes mental notes on what you talk about, he’s a great listener. if you mention having seen a new restaurant open he’ll take you there for dinner. he enjoys taking you out for ice cream (there’s ice cream at the diner, but no cones), taking you book shopping, record shopping, seeing a bad movie to make fun of it (at home or in theatre), going to concerts or small gigs. he loves just walking around with you and talking too. keeps a hand in your back pocket or an arm around your waist. if you ask him to a town event he’ll complain about it and say no for a while but if you keep asking he’ll probably say yes, or he’ll come up with an alternative date.

Kisses

when you first start dating he genuinely cannot stop kissing you. stops you mid conversation to kiss you and then goes back in his same position to listen to you continue talking. kisses your cheek when he really wants to kiss you but you’re ranting. kisses you to shut you up. of you want him to shut up, it's effective on him as well. kiss him and you can get you whatever you want. he’d give you the world if you asked, anyways.

Random

he does magic tricks for you!! sometimes your brain hurts from reading so much or you’re studying and you want a break so he busts out his cards and just does some tricks for you. sometimes he’ll take you to the lake and you two sit on the bridge and sit in silence, holding hands and looking at the water while thinking about whatever. whenever he’s upset, this is his favorite thing to do with you. he honestly doesn’t peg me as the jealous type. unless you outright hang out with an ex or a guy who clearly has a crush on you, he won’t care. he trusts you. he’ll ho to parties with you, but he makes sure both of you steer clear from drinking. while yes, he would normally drink at a party, you’re here and he doesn’t want to worry you and he certainly doesn’t want you drinking. he would stop smoking for you if you asking him to!! sometimes you to sit in the park/town square and he’ll be reading on the grass while you’re sitting on a bench and his head is between your knees so you can play with his hair. it calms him down, and also it’s fun to mess up his hair without his knowing. he offers his jacket to you when it’s cold and then you get to watch him start shivering before he wraps an arm around your waist to keep you close to him for a bit of warmth. he takes care if you before himself!! if you say you need help he’s immediately coming to your rescue. stuck on a homework question? he’ll figure it out, don’t worry. your car won’t run? he’ll figure it out, don’t worry. your sink won’t stop dripping? he’s no plumber, but it shouldn’t be too hard. pet names are weird to him, but a small ‘babe’ or ‘baby’ will leave his lips inbetween kisses or when he’s about to softly correct you on something. whenever you talk he’s looking at you with the softest eyes, a small smile on his lips. he seriously doesn’t understand what he did to interest you in him. sometimes he’s mean bc he’s mean to everyone and it’s his defense mechanism against the world. blows you off when he’s upset but the longer you’re together the better he gets at communicating he’s upset and letting you try to improve his mood. please hug him and let him hold you and kiss your hair it’ll do wonders for him. he’s half hopeless romantic half asshole. he’s such a loser boyfriend. the beginning of the relationship is puppylove and then it leads to real love and he doesn’t know how to handle it. it’s amazing but scary.

he loves you, he just doesn’t know how to tell you because he’s never been loved back before.

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Commonly asked questions

How do I submit songs? Submissions are currently closed. When it opens up again, I'll post a message here stating rules and which specific info I require. If you don't supply that info along with the song, your message will be deleted.

I submitted a song when we were allowed. When will it appear? :) There's waaay over two thousand songs in my askbox. 😅 And I'm very slow at posting submitted songs because it takes an oddly more amount of time and energy than you'd think, that's why it's easier for me to go with the songs I already have. Please have a bit more patience, hopefully it'll be posted soon enough! 💖

I don't like the genres posted recently. 🤷‍♀️ I mean, you can tell me what genres there's a lack of and I'll try put more effort into adding more of them.

I don't like the poll options. 🤷‍♀️

Will there be an "Indifferent" option? No. People bitched and very rudely demanded it when the blog was new and it left a very sour taste. Also we're 250+ songs in, it's kinda meh to add it now, but I definitely understand why you want it because some songs are really hard to define if you feel anything at all about them. (also you know people would just click indifferent to see the results instead of listening to the song lol) If I were to ever add more options, it would be love/hate.

How do I vote on a song if I feel indifferent about it? Indifferent = don't like it ig. 🤷‍♀️ Remember, I'm not asking you if you LOVE!!!!!! the song, or if you want to buy it. Liking can be as good as only a "meh, it's ok / decent enough to run in the background". Disliking can be being indifferent instead of outright hating it, when it's so neutral to you that it doesn't give you any positive feelings. It is only a minute long clip that I'm asking you to form an opinion about after all; you can change your mind either way when you hear the full version. Sometimes songs have to grow on you!

How do you pick the songs used in the polls? Mostly like this:

I have a huge mp3 hoarding archive so the submitted songs are easier for me to pick if they're already in my possession. 😅 Songs that aren't in my collection (tagged as #new to admin :D lol. sometimes i search out songs specifically for the poll that are tagged this as well) requires a bit more effort to download/listen to/edit but i have discovered a couple of great new gems so don't think i don't appreciate them!

How do I search for a specific artist/song that you've posted? All artists are tagged a day or so after the song reveal. Don't forget to use the hashtag symbol when searching or tumblr will give you all sorts of odd results!!!! (or none at all, lol) Please also remember that tumblr finds simple easy tasks extremely difficult, so only search for an artist with the easiest type of spelling, like #beyonce instead of #beyoncé. All artists and songs are added to the Complete Song List once their showdown poll is finished, for a quick search of what's been posted.

The audio quality is too poor for my taste!! 😡 sad </3

This is just for you. 💖

Why are all the songs of such vast variating quality? ....i mean, you didn't think I've bought all the tens of thousands of songs in my music library, did you...? Pirating songs gives you variations of quality, hell even my own cd rips have variations. It's easier to get better quality files now than it was back in the days, kiddos, so yeah some songs in the archives needs to be updated with new files. I have some very ancient mp3's that are in really low sound, that i've instead downloaded newer versions of in better quality for the polls but y'all still give me shit about it because the artist have remastered the track to unrecognition or whatever so there's just no pleasing some people i guess lmao. 😂

Do you like all the songs you've posted? No, lol. All the songs that are in my archive are songs I've at least liked enough once upon a time to save them, even if I'm not actively listening to them much anymore. Everything tagged as #new to admin :D are new songs to me that I may or may not like, regardless if they're submitted or if I've scouted them out myself only for the polls. :) Songs that I hate so much that I can't stand them are very few, and I won't waste time on adding them!

Did you change the song in the poll?? No. Maybe you clicked on the wrong one if I posted them too close together or maybe (most likely) tumblr has screwed something up for you. Some songs don't even show at times because it's tumblr being tumblr, just wait it out for a few minutes and tumblr will eventually remember to play the audio. So far there's only one song that I had to re-upload because tumblr killed the file. I can change the clip to better audio or to another part of the same song, but I never replace it to a different one once it's out there for you to vote on, I don't see the point of doing that.

Why are some polls audio files and other video files? Again: tumblr being tumblr. They won't allow some songs to be uploaded as audio, but using them in videos is ok. I hate the audio-as-video format and it requires even more effort from me so I'm not doing it on purpose. :)

I don't remember if I've heard this song before or not. If you know you've heard it, like if you're a fan or a hater or the song has been constantly played on the radio, you know it. (this is why the phrasing has been changed again in the latest polls) If you don't remember it, or just vaguely, or just a specific tiny part used in a meme/tiktok video, choose first time. The only thing that matters is the yes or no, knowing it or not is just an added fun but don't take it too seriously. :) Look at it sort of like "old fan/casual listener/hater vs new listener".

The part of the song that you posted SUCKS!!!! You should have just posted this one specific famous part for people to vote yes! "don't post the actual song in this song poll" ...................................like, no. not gonna post just the meme-bits or the drops or the whatever. Yeah i saw all the comments how you all clicked dislike on "Out of Touch" because you voted before you got to the chorus 😂 That's an honest opinion about the song lol, because a song is more than just a catchy chorus or a big drop. But yeah, sometimes one verse of a song would've maybe been better to post instead of that other verse, I'm with you on that.

I queued this song to see what it is but it's still stated as being Anonymous for me! Reblogs, drafts and queues will only show you what's there at the time, like a screenshot. It won't update automatically. All your reblogs, drafts and queued posts from when the poll is active will only show up as Anonymous songs. Always go back to the original post to see the song reveal. If the info isn't there, then give me a day or two to update the post because most likely things are too busy irl. 💖

I voted wrong/voted before I recognized the song! Will you change my vote? No, I'm not recounting anything wth. 😅

I'm embarrassed. I like the song but I don't want others to know that I do. I promise you that nobody but you can see how you've voted. Not me or your mutuals. Only you see what you've voted on. It's ok to like bad songs, and it's ok to like good songs by bad people. Don't let others shame you for that.

How do I vote on this cover/remix that was posted instead of the original? If you feel like this version is close to the original that you like, vote yes. If you don't feel like this version does the original song justice, vote no, even if it hurts.

This song that I don't know samples another song that I do know. How do I vote? I don't consider samples being used as being the same song, so pick first time. Unlike covers/remixes, the original song that has been sampled might show up at a later time, if it hasn't already been on here before.

How does so many people not know this song!!? Everyone is not your age/not from your country and your experience is not universal. 🤷‍♀️ That being said, I too get wtf-moments sometimes because some songs really do get wacky results, so, yeah 😂

Have you ever thought about-- Yes.

I demand you give me a rickroll!!!!!! Ask things nicely instead of demanding things from me. (This is the most common demand I've gotten, sigh. Thanks to those of you who have at least asked nicely and/or with a sense of humour!)

Please do a rickroll? It's already been posted in a bonus poll. It might show up in a "real" poll in years from now if this poll blog is still active but as of now it was added to a tumblr meme post where it was better suited.

I'm gonna ignore that submissions are closed and send you song suggestions anyway!!!! They will be deleted because they're not asked for atm. Unless you're the artist. Exceptions can be made in that case. :)

This poll blog doesn't respect my requirement to know who the artists are before I listen to their songs because of my need - that is very important that everyone else needs to acknowledge and follow - to know if a person is of a good moral standing according to my own views!! 😡 There's other poll blogs better suited for you. Not everything online has to be adjusted to fit *your* particular needs. 🤷‍♀️ (YES i've actually gotten this demand way too often. Sigh.)

Why was my reblog hidden from the notes where I spew hatred over an artist?! You are censoring me!!!! Did you mention the artist by name, or other obvious spoilers? Don't post spoilers. 🤷‍♀️

You hid this other comment I made with no spoilers!!!!! Sometimes comments show in dashboard mode but not in app mode and vice versa, or not even in the notifications. Haven't we already established that tumblr finds easy stuff extremely difficult? Also, sometimes you and I don't share an opinion of what a spoiler means. To all of you who have claimed an artist's name isn't a spoiler, yeah it's kind of a big one. As for the artist mentioning their own name or the song title in the song, you only hear that once you listen to the clip. Knowing it before even clicking to play the music is a spoiler.

Why have you turned off replies? I want to say things without reblogging!! I mean 🤷‍♀️ I'm sure you know why. Replies and anons have been turned off from the very beginning. The few times replies actually have been turned on, it's been stated as such and been very temporarily, like when we've discussed music in some post.

Turn on anon!!! I'm to shy to say thing off-anon! I mostly reply to things privately, or this blog would be nothing but q&a. Anons are off for a reason. Abuse and death threats are to be associated with the sender's account for all to see. I'm always nice to nice people so there's no need to worry about sending me questions or tagging me in things. :) 💖

I demand you to-- Pay me. :)

Shut up and take the abuse thrown at you personally because you're just a poll blog! You are aware that the poll blogs on tumblr aren't actually run by bots, right? Don't be an obnoxious twat. (and ughh yes, this too has been said to me several times. Sigh.)

I want you to add this song I want RIGHT NOW and/or i WANT these other options added now! Rich people can always break all the rules, just like irl. Just give me the $$$$ 😘

I don't like this song because I don't understand the language. Please only post English songs. Ok well, I mean, you can always learn other languages. 🤷‍♀️ Just like how I learned English.

If anyone feels targeted by these last questions without me meaning to, I'm sorry. These actually are the most common questions and comments and demands I've gotten in my askbox. Especially when the blog was new and people Demanded Their Rights to have me adjust everything to suit them. Don't feel like you can't state your thoughts in reblogs or in messages because as long as you're not being rude to me, my attitude on some answers isn't targeted at you, only at them. 💖 Remember to just have fun with the polls and hopefully you and/or your mutuals discover new music!

[argumentl]

2024/05/26 Androgynos talk notes

Toshiya has a long history with Aiji, living very close to each other as kids. 

Toshiya approached Pierrot to ask if he could be their roadie, and helped them out a lot, sometimes stayed at their hangout/Pierrot house(?) 

Toshiya remembers telling Aiji how he was apparently sleeping with Aiji's girlfriend. He actually wasn't, it was a rumour fans had made up due to the crazy fan rivalry. 

Kaoru remembers going to see Pierrot at Namba Rockets, it was a Pierrot/Lareine taiban. Aiji was suprised to hear Kaoru actually bought a ticket and went, instead of being invited. Kaoru says its just cause he was really curious to check out new bands whenever he could, to find out for himself what was up. 

Kaoru remembers meeting Aiji and not liking him at first, because he had responded indifferently when Kaoru tried to greet him.

The first Androgynos was suggested by Dynamite Tommy after he had heard that 'unnamed third parties were trying to do something similar with Pierrot'(?), but Kaoru and Aiji had talked about doing something like this hypothetically a number of times in the past.  

Toshiya was skeptical that Pierrot would want to do it when he first heard the idea. 

Toshiya remembers trying to go and say hi to Kirito on the day of the first Androgynos, but Pierrot's manager wouldn't let him see him (Kirito swears its only because he was asleep at the time)

Joe asks what songs of each others the members want to hear in October. Kirito says Zan, and Aiji says The Devil in Me. Kaoru says there is a high chance they will play new material. Toshiya says he wants to hear Dracula or Mangetsu. Kirito replies that they have recently said on twitter that they won't play Dracula anymore. The others laugh at the coldness of this response. Kaoru is adamant that he wants to hear Sepia, simply because he likes that song. Kirito is surprised that a member of Dir en grey would like such a song. 

They then talk about the sub-title 'Censors kill the word. Hypocrites spread morphine from the stage'. Kaoru says he never considers censorship when he makes anything, if it gets censored, so be it. He gives an example of how a severed head got censored from one of their cd covers once. 

Kirito thinks censorship is actually important so artists can challenge themselves more as they try to counter/get around it. 

Kirito mentioned throughout the broadcast that his butt was hurting (I guess cause the chair was too hard), so Kaoru later tweeted about having Androgynos cushions.

[ilyasorokinn]

“HOLDING HANDS UNDER THE TABLE” prompt with jess mariano please and thank u 🫶

SPOIL

this is the first thing i've ever written for jess, so i you enjoy besties <3 also, i am a lorelei and rory stan, so if you aren't or want to say anything mean, say it to a wall.

"holding hands under the table." (from this prompt list)

when you and jess got together, you wanted to keep it on the dl. well, he wanted to keep it on the dl. although you weren’t best friends with rory gilmore, you were kind of friends and he didn’t want to create any animosity between you, so you decided to not tell anyone about it.

before school, you would meet in the back parking lot where no one ever was. jess brought a surprise pastry to share and a cup of hot chocolate while you brought a new book.

"on the menu today, vanilla scones with lemon icing."

"ooh, luke's getting fancy." you teased.

"i'm pretty sure he bought them."

"then disregard what i said."

"and what book did you bring today?"

"kirk told me i had amazing taste when i bought the book."

"kirk told you that? why would kirk be working at the bookstore?"

"who knows? i've learned to stop questioning kirk." you handed it over to him.

"really?" you shrugged, "i am not reading this."

"oh, you're boring. come on, it's a good book." you insisted. he opened his mouth to argue when the bell rang, "are you actually going to come to class today?"

"i don't know, i kind of like hearing you recite everything back to me." you playfully shoved his head and grabbed your stuff, "i'm kidding. we'll see. i have some stuff to do before."

"what could you possibly be doing right now?"

"stuff." he responded, "i'll see you later. promise i'll be there."

"you better." he leaned down and kissed your forehead before he was on his way, "i'm holding you to it, mariano." he gave you a thumbs up.

true to his word, jess walked into class as if he hadn't missed the majority if the day, "you know, when you said you had some stuff to do, i didn't think it would take all day."

"you'll be happy to know i got you something." he produced a flower he had definitely picked from the garden on the way to school.

"awh, that's sweet." you cooed, "how much do we owe taylor for it?"

"he won't even know it's missing." jess rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair then grabbing your hand and holding it in his lap under the table, "i got you something else too, but that'll have to wait till later."

"ooh."

"not like that." he rolled his eyes, "a cd."

"cd? jess mariano, you are spoiling me." you smiled.

"anything to see you smile." he gave you a sarcastic smile.

taylor's 2.5k celly!

[yoongiseesawmp3]

get you, pt2 - seungcheol (m)

summary: neighbor!seungcheol. after your first date with cheol, you just keep falling harder. you start sharing more and more of your life with him, opening up your heart and home to the prince charming from across the hall. 

word count: 12.2k (part two/?) part one

warnings: afab reader (some gendered terms), nsfr (not safe for ramadan), cussing, smut!!!! fingering, oral (f receiving), protected sappy lovey dovey sex

of course your first date with cheol was perfect. he was a complete gentleman, buying your dinner and waiting patiently at the record store after while you searched through all the new and old releases. he even carried all of your picks just for you to give up half of them because you decided “i don’t need all these albums” right before you checked out. 

even though that was your first date with cheol, it didn’t seem like a first date at all. usually you’re on edge trying to make a good impression while deciding whether you like the guy or not, but this was the easiest date you’ve ever been on. the hard part was ending it. cheol came back to your apartment after, helping you organize your vinyls and cds by your meticulous standards. after teasing you endlessly for your filing system that makes no sense (it’s based on vibes) cheol asked if you had anything to drink, and once again you find yourselves sitting entirely too close and sharing a glass. you put on one of the vinyls you just bought before you sat down, and you sit together in comfortable silence as it plays softly. when it’s time to flip, cheol gets up and does it for you, coming back to sit even closer than he was before with his arm around your shoulders. you’re snug in the corner of your couch, but you shift to try and give cheol more room. instead he just lifts your legs in one arm and drapes them over his lap, comfortably resting his hand on your thigh after.

“this ok?” he asks, looking at you to confirm.

“it’s nice,” you tell him, and he squeezes your thigh in agreement. “what do you think of the album?”

“it’s good,” he nods. “now i understand why you wanted this on your chill shelf and not the funk shelf.”

“it’s chill funk,” you joke, “and that’s too niche for it’s own shelf. but it’s more chill than anything else so it makes sense.”

“or you could just do it by, i don’t know, the alphabet?” cheol asks, holding back a smile.

“that’s boring,” you pout. 

“oh, baby thinks being logical is boring?” cheol pouts back, and you admire his lips for a moment before it clicks: you could just kiss him. you’ve done it before, and you did just go on a date with the man. instead of daydreaming about a kiss, you could just...lean forward and press your lips to his. you sigh into his mouth when your lips connect, and he holds you by the thighs tighter. your hands drape over his broad shoulders, angling him more towards you so it’s easier for you to run your lips over his. you pull back slightly to catch your breath, but cheol’s lips chase yours, still perfectly pouted and an even brighter shade of cherry red than before. you knock your forehead into his, giggling, and he laughs too, asking, “what’s wrong with you? that wasn’t funny.”

“no,” you say, calming your laughs. “i just..can’t really believe i did that. can’t believe we went on a date.”

“neither can i, honestly,” cheol says, and you pull back completely to look at him fully. “well, i mean, i knew it would happen eventually,” he continues. “because i knew i wanted to ask you out. i just didn’t expect you to make the first move.”

“hey!”

“sorry babe,” he shrugs. “but really, next time you wanna go out, just ask me, no need for an elaborate story-”

“that’s it, i’m calling vernon,” you say as you reach for your phone, “i need him to clear my name.” 

“did you tell him we went out anyway?” cheol asks casually, and you stop. “you didn’t, did you?”

“no,” you shake your head sheepishly, and cheol smiles at you. “honestly i didn’t want to be distracted by him teasing me while we were on our date.”

“understandable,” cheol nods. “when i told mingyu we were finally going out i actually had to put my phone on dnd. otherwise gyu would’ve blown it up.”

“god, he’s gonna feel like he made this happen,” you groan, head falling into the crook of cheol’s neck. he smiles at the ticklish feeling of your breath hitting his skin, but he doesn’t ask you to move. “you know, now that i think about it, we have really annoying friends.”

“yeah,” cheol sighs. “but they mean well.”

“whatever,” you reply, closing your eyes to enjoy this moment. the warmth of cheol around you, his scent encasing you with every breath, and the music...it had turned off. when did that happen? you pick your head up and look at your record player and, yep, totally still. 

seungcheol watches your eyes and picks up on your train of thought, saying, “it turned off a while ago. guess we didn’t really notice.”

“oh.”

“yeah.”

the unspoken issue between you now is: who’s going to make the first move to get up? and what happens then? usually cheol just goes home once it’s too late, but you’re dating now, right? so, should you ask him to stay? as always, it’s like he was reading your mind, and he says, “i guess i should go.”

“really?” you ask, your head back on his shoulder looking at him with pleading eyes. “but i’m comfy.”

“yeah, but i’m about to fall asleep,” he laughs, “and you don’t want to be stuck under me when that happens.”

“or do i?” you counter, and a flicker of something crosses his eyes that you can’t read. “i wouldn’t make you sleep on the couch though.”

“noted,” he says quietly, holding your gaze for a moment longer. he squeezes your thigh again, but this time moves you off his lap carefully. “but i should really go back.”

“o-ok,” you say, holding back a yawn as you watch cheol grab his things. “want me to walk you so you don’t get lost?”

“no,” he laughs, “but cmere.”

“what?” you ask, a small smile on your face as you get up and meet him at the door. he wraps an arm around your waist, bringing you close to him as he dips down to kiss you one more time. your eyes flutter closed, and you stay like that long after he pulls away.

“night darling,” he whispers, placing a kiss on your cheek. you open the door for him and watch him cross the hall, leaning on your door with a hand on your cheek where he kissed you. cheol looks back and gives a small wave before he disappears behind his door, and you close your own and smile happily to yourself, realizing that warm feeling in your chest might be here to stay. 

- 

everything about cheol is easy. going on a date with him was easy. kissing him was easy. finding little things that make you realize you’re falling in love with him, that was easy too. 

while your feelings for cheol have been brewing since you met him, the first time you thought this might be love was a couple days after your first date. you were coming home from work, tired and stressed, and you had the scare of your life when you opened the door to your apartment. laid out on your couch, asleep with a book held tightly to his chest, was seungcheol. you yelped a little when you saw the surprise waiting for you, and fred stirs first from his spot by cheol’s feet. his movement wakes your visitor, and he sits up slowly to find you staring at him with confusion and a little fear in your eyes.

“what’s wrong?” he asks, still out of it.

“um? what are you doing here? how’d you get inside?” you ask nervously. “your couch isn’t doing it for you, had to come in here and use mine?”

“oh,” he yawns, sitting up slowly and messing with his mussed hair. if you weren’t so startled you’d be cooing over how cute he looks, but your heart is still slowing from the fright he gave you. “sorry, i should’ve texted you but i didn’t want to worry you at work.”

“what happened?” you ask as you join him on the couch, and his arm wraps around you out of habit. “did someone break in?”

“no, but they could have,” cheol eyes you with a hint of annoyance. “i came back from my run right after you left for work, and i guess fred heard me thinking you were back home so he was whining pretty loud. i almost texted you then, asking if i could come get your keys so i could check on him, but i tried your door and somebody-” a light flick to your forehead “-forgot to lock up before they left.”

“oops?” you try, and when cheol continues looking at you with a hint of disappointment you try rubbing the spot he flicked. “also ouch.”

“oh you’re fine,” he says quickly, kissing the spot on your forehead he flicked. “anyway, i opened the door and fred had gotten sick in the kitchen. i took him out and he was sick again, so i just stayed over here to keep an eye on him. he’s been fine since. did he eat anything weird last night?”

“not that i know of,” you reply, watching cheol closely. “i can’t believe you risked breaking and entering charges for me.”

“it was for fred.”

“well he’s basically my son, so,” you say, trying to hide your smile. “thank you baby, i’m glad he’s got you looking out for him.”

“baby?” cheol smiles. “i don’t think you’ve called me that before.” 

“thought i’d give it a try,” you explain. “figure i’ll have to work my way up to calling you sweetcheeks.” 

“you can call me sweetcheeks now,” he says with a smirk, pushing his cheeks up as he continues, “i mean i am pretty sweet.”

“those aren’t the cheeks i’m talkin about,” you joke, pulling his hands from his face as you wiggle your eyebrows at him. cheol falls back into the couch with a loud laugh, and you kick your feet up onto the couch so you can lean back with him and rest your head on his shoulder. 

“never mind, never call me that please.”

“too bad sweetcheeks, already changed your contact in my phone to it.”

-

even though that wasn’t the first time cheol had shown you he cared for you deeply, it was the first time it made you feel safe with him. protected. looked after. knowing you had cheol, and he had you, that meant the world. so seeing first hand what lengths he was willing to go for you planted that seed telling you this might just be love. for cheol, it was a different story. 

a few days after cheol’s breaking and entering, he had told you he might be a little busier than usual because of school, so you agreed to have a week to yourselves. mostly. just because you didn’t have time for each other doesn’t mean you won’t find ways to sneak over to his to have coffee with him in the morning, or he won’t stop by once he hears you get home from work just for a quick kiss and to hear how your day was. this week was hard though, cheol had his own school stuff to handle with assignments and ta work, but he also had a bunch of music lessons to prepare for because of end of year concerts. he was out of his apartment from sun up to sun down it seemed, and you knew he wouldn’t have time to take care of himself.

all week you tried to figure out the pattern of when cheol would get back home so that you could surprise him on friday. once it got close, you kept the noise in your apartment to a minimum so you could hear cheol as soon as he got to his door. you had spent the night cooking for him, making sure he’d have a nice meal to help him refresh and get ready for what was probably going to be a stressful weekend too. the minute you heard his keys, you threw your door open, making him jump slightly. 

“y/n, hi,” he says, confused. “what are you doing up so late?”

“i’m a night owl, you should know this by now, baby,” you tell him. you almost get distracted by the way he’s dressed, obviously coming back from his ta job since’s in one of his nice button ups and another pair of slacks that highlight his juicy thighs. cheol watches as you practically drool over him, and he clears his throat to get your attention. 

“i feel like this is deja vu from the last time you saw me dressed like this,” he teases, bringing a blush to your cheeks. “what’s up my love?” 

not missing his new nickname for you, you tell him to wait there as you disappear to your kitchen to grab the food you’d made for him. while you were gone, fred sauntered up to the door and cheol crosses the hall to baby talk with him and scratch his ears, further endearing him for you when you return. 

“here,” you say, forcing the two dishes in your arms upon him. “the purple dish can go in the microwave, but heat the green one up in the oven for a few minutes.” you put your hand on his shoulder, using it as leverage to stand on your toes and kiss his cheek. “see you later, sweetcheeks. get some rest.”

“what?” cheol laughs slightly, looking down at the delicious food in his hands. “what is this?” 

“your dinner,” you respond. “i figured you haven’t eaten a healthy meal this week, so i made you one. there should be enough for you to have leftovers, unless you’re hungrier than i expected. anyway, it should take care of you for tonight at least.” 

“but,” he sputters, “you? did you eat?” 

“yes,” you nod, “those of us who finish work at a normal time tend to eat soon after.”

“smart ass,” he smiles, cocking his head toward his door. “come over and watch me eat then. i’ll give you a play by play of how amazing it is.” cheol crosses back to his door, looking back at you still standing at yours. “oh, unless you’re tired?”

“no,” you hesitate. “i just don’t want to bother you, you must be exhausted.”

“baby, come over,” cheol whines, his signature pout coming out. “i miss you, and we’re both gonna be up for a while anyway.” 

“well if you insist,” you say, about to close your door and join him.

“lock your door or so help me,” he laughs, pointing an accusing finger at you from underneath one of your dishes. you groan and say you’ll be over in a second, diving back into your apartment to find your god forsaken keys. 

“so you’re not tired?” you ask as you enter seungcheol’s apartment, closing (and locking) his door behind you. 

“hm, i was,” he starts from the kitchen, and when you walk in your find him with a spoon already stuffed in his mouth. “but i don’t know, some crazy person forced me to take food from them and now i feel fine.” 

“i can go back home-”

“no!” cheol shouts, grabbing you by the waist before you can make a move. “stay. for just a little bit. i’m making you a plate whether you like it or not.” 

“i already ate,” you assure him. 

“then i’ll just take what you don’t want,” he solves the problem easily, and you wrap your arms around him and lean into his chest as you wait for the food to finish.

“i missed you,” you mumble into his shirt, appreciating how it still smells like him even after a long day. “you shouldn’t work so much, because it wears you out, obviously, but i don’t think it’s fair for us to spend so much time apart all in the same week.” then, looking up at him with your chin still on his chest, “what if i forget what you look like?”

“then take a picture, darling,” he teases, booping your nose just before the microwave beeps. he pulls you off of him so he can take the food out, putting a healthy amount on both plates he’s got on the counter. you peek into the oven and check on the rest of the food, and you feel a hand graze your ass as seungcheol moves quietly behind you.

“hey!” you shout, “you touched my butt!” 

“huh?” he plays innocent. “wasn’t me, promise. i must have a ghost.”

“tell your ghost i’m taken,” you reply, looking for oven mitts. cheol reads your mind and hands you one from the drawer behind him, and you remove the second dish from the oven.

“about that,” cheol starts off, watching you give his plate more food than you put on yours. you turn around, handing him his plate, while you wait for him to go on. “can i start calling you my girlfriend?”

“yeah, i’ve been calling you my boyfriend,” you say simply, walking past him to hop up into one of the chairs at the bar on the other side of the kitchen. you watch him as you take a couple bites, hiding a smile as he opens his mouth in shock.

“who have you told?!”

“mostly vernon,” you reply. “but tahi and jen have asked, so i assume some of the guys have heard it too. wonwoo at least, not sure about gyu.” 

“so am i the last one to know about this?” he asks as he takes the empty seat next to you. 

“guess so, boyfriend,” you tell him, nudging his arm before you say, “now eat.”

in between bites, and telling you how great the food is, cheol tells you about his week. school was hard, being a ta was harder, but the highlights were his music lessons. he mostly does piano, which is easy for him he claims, but there’s a couple violin lessons he looks forward to more. there’s one kid though, a family friend he tells you, who wants to learn how to rap and produce. cheol lights up as he talks about him, and you watch fondly as he gets so excited over his little prodigy learning how to layer tracks or discovering what an 808 is. you’re interested in what he’s saying, really, but the late hour and your own hard work catches up to you and makes you yawn.

“you should go to sleep,” cheol says, finishing the last bite of food off your plate. “thank you for the food, my love. this made my week.”

“you’re welcome,” you reply with another yawn. “are you gonna head to bed too?”

“honestly, i’m not tired anymore,” cheol laughs, and you groan as you lean into his side. he uses his leg to bring your chair closer to his, finding your hands so he can play with your fingers. “guess all i needed was some time with my baby and i feel back to 100 percent.”

“while i think that’s very precious,” you start, “i’m upset i did this now because i know you probably won’t go to sleep for a while.”

“eh, it’s fine,” cheol shrugs. “it was worth it. i can always take a sleeping pill too, that’ll knock me out.” 

“you stay stocked up?” you joke, surprised that’s such a casual option for him but he nods before he explains. 

“i’ve got insomnia, so i use them every once in a while. i can’t go straight to sleep unless my body and mind are exhausted.” 

“so you haven’t used them this week i assume?” 

“no, i haven’t,” he laughs. “but it’s not a big deal if i use one tonight. i don’t feel like wearing myself out before bed so this is fine.” 

“what do you usually do?” you ask. “if you don’t wanna take a pill, i mean. how do you get yourself tired enough to go to sleep?”

“i’ll do a workout, or if it’s not too late i’ll go for a run,” he explains. “but mostly i work out. or uh, exhaust myself another way.” he clears his throat at that, grabbing your empty plates to take them to the sink. you watch as he washes them diligently, and you say something that gets drowned out by the water. “what was that babe?”

“if you ever need help, uh, wearing yourself out,” you say delicately, cheol smirking at you trying to be subtle about it. “if you ever need help i’m probably up. you could just, um, you could just call me. next time.”

“next time,” cheol says, almost like a question, and you nod. 

“yeah, next time.” 

“alright baby,” he smiles at you softly, his heart thudding in his chest as it hits him: he’s in love with you. he realizes he’s just been staring at you this whole time, and he clears his head by wiping the newly clean dishes off. “um, do you want your dishes back? i can-”

“keep em,” you shrug. “it’s not like i won’t be back over here soon.” 

“right,” he smiles, his heart pitter pattering softly. “want me to walk you home?”

“oh, so you can walk me home but i can’t walk you?” you scoff, and he just glides around the counter to grab your wrist and pull you toward the door anyway. he takes you back across the hall, tucking some hair behind your ear before he cups your face and kisses you goodnight. 

“night darling,” he says, sugar dripping from his voice. “and thank you, i loved this little surprise.”

“i’ll do it more often then,” you smile back at him, unlocking your door and waving before it closes behind you. 

-

that weekend, tahi and jen come over for a girls night, insisting you need it knowing how much you’ve worked lately. you neglect to tell seungcheol though, so when he finishes with his music lessons for the day he crosses the hall and knocks on your door as usual just to be met with screams to go away.

laughing, you answer the door, clad in what cheol notices is a brand new keroppi pajama set. as his eyes rake up your body, he smiles and you can see the beginnings of a joke forming on his lips when he notices the curlers in your hair.

“hey sexy,” he smiles wider, hand reaching up to play with a poor strand of neglected hair hanging by itself. “you missed a spot.”

“do not mock me,” you warn him, finger not so threateningly pressed into his chest. “i can never reach the back of my head so the girls are helping me.”

“you know i could help you?” cheol laughs. “i’m your boyfriend, i think that’s within my official capacity.”

“yeah, but if i let you see me getting ready like this then it ruins the movie magic.”

“baby if you were a movie i’d be watching the extended cut and all the behind the scenes,” cheol jokes, and he hears boos from your living room. that’s when he peeks inside and notices jen on the couch, also wearing a pajama set of her government assigned sanrio character (cinnamoroll). “hey jen.”

“tahi’s here too,” you tell him, and he looks around but you say, “in the kitchen. i think she’s making tea.”

“ooo, tea sounds great,” cheol says as he tries to walk into your apartment, and you do your best to use your smaller frame to stop him. “baby, what are you doing?”

“girls night,” you say sternly. “no boys allowed.”

“no boys?” he pouts, and you can hear tahi telling you to be strong. 

“no boys,” you confirm with a nod, and cheol pinches your cheek.

“fine. where’s fred then?” 

“what?”

“if you’re having girls night then me and fred are gonna have boys night,” cheol says. “gimme his toys, he’s sleeping at my house.”

“NO,” jen shouts, “you can’t take him, he’s the only reason i came over!”

“hey!” you and tahi whine, and with the distraction cheol is able to grab fred’s leash from the wall and call for his partner in crime. fred happily gets up from beneath jen’s feet to meet cheol at the door, going along with whatever happens. you sigh as you notice how excited fred looks, so you trudge through your apartment grabbing whatever fred may need to spend the night with your annoying boyfriend. 

“here,” you grumble, shoving a bag into cheol’s eager hands. he looks just as excited as fred, so that softens the blow a little bit. “you two have fun. don’t stay up too late, don’t talk to strangers, and please don’t lose my dog.”

“i would never,” cheol scoffs, leaning in to give you a kiss. “i know you’d break up with me if anything happened to him and i won’t allow that.”

“hm, whatever you say. just come back in one piece tomorrow morning,” you tell him and he nods. 

“that i can do,” and then to fred, “let’s go buddy! boys night boys night!” chanting all the way across the hall to his door. you watch them with an idiotic grin on your face, and when you close your door you hear someone clearing their throat. you turn around to see tahi and jen both staring at you expectantly, and confused you simply ask, “what?”

“you know you’re in love with him, right?” jen asks, and you balk.

“i am not,” you reply quickly, and then you backtrack, “i mean, i like him, obviously, he’s my boyfriend. i should like him. i do. a lot. but love? i don’t love him. yet. maybe. do i?”

“yeah, you’re definitely in love with him,” tahi says as she hands you your mug of tea before she kicks off her my melody slippers and takes what’s usually cheol’s spot on the couch. “anyone can see it.”

“do you think cheol knows?” you ask, nervous. 

“maybe,” jen shrugs. “if you were oblivious about it then maybe he is too.”

“nah, he’s been in love with her since day one,” tahi says. “you know that saying, if he wanted to he would? cheol has been the embodiment of that for y/n. i don’t know any other man that would move furniture for me after not even knowing me for five minutes.”

“cheol’s just really nice,” you mumble, and your friends nod. 

“i think he’s a jerk,” jen says, and you turn to look at her just for her to say, “i can’t believe he stole fred from me.”

“oh just go over there if you miss him so much,” you groan. jen thinks about it for a second, you can see the gears turning in her head. “oh my god you’re not really gonna ditch us for my dog are you?”

“no,” she says finally. “but i’m staying for lunch tomorrow. i need to get my fred time in.”

“fine, weirdo. what movie are we gonna watch?”

-

after your night of being annoying with your friends, you wake up the next day shockingly early and a feeling hits you deep in the chest: you miss cheol. or fred. or both. you lay in your bed for a moment trying to decipher which one it is when you remember that you can just go over there and see them. cheol isn’t usually an early riser, but you know fred has probably needed to go out already, so you slide into your robe and slippers hoping that cheol will let you in when you knock. 

you quietly make it through the living room, hopefully not disturbing your friends (because they would ridicule you for what you’re about to do). once you’re at cheol’s door, subconsciously you just reach out to open it, still a little sleep clouding your brain. but it opens. his door was unlocked, and for a second your heart drops to your ass thinking something is wrong. you step into cheol’s apartment worried, searching for your boys and any missing valuables. nothing looks wrong in the living room, so you keep going until you find his bedroom door ajar. you push it open, and let out a quiet “awww” at the sight before you.

fred is laying on cheol’s chest, a situation you’re familiar with, because he obviously wants to get up and play but cheol is to tired for that. both their heads turn at the sound of your voice, and fred’s tail starts wagging as cheol tries his best to sit up and look at you better.

“baby?” he asks, reaching out for you. “what’s wrong?”

“oh nothing,” you say nonchalantly, shuffling over to his bed to join them. “i just missed you.” cheol’s heart jumps into his throat at your words, but then you try to recover. “i mean fred. i missed fred.”

“sure,” he smiles, grabbing your hands once you’re close enough and pulling you down into his bed. “cmere. we missed you too.”

“that’s sweet,” you coo, letting him pull you against him, his arms wrapping around you as fred situates himself at your feet. “but you wanna hear something shocking?”

“what?” cheol asks, confused. “you missed me so much it hurt?” 

blushing, because that was totally true, you reply, “no?”

“what then?”

“how do you think i got in here, sweetcheeks?” you ask, and the realization dawns on his face. “mister why-don’t-you-ever-lock-your-door forgot his own number one rule.”

“guess i’ve been spending too much time with you, your bad habits are rubbing off on me,” cheol mumbles into your hair, placing a kiss at the top of your head when he’s done.

“too much time?” you ask, sitting up, “i can leave then-”

“don’t you dare,” cheol growls, basically koala-grabbing you with his arms and legs so you have to lay back down. “can’t leave. ‘m comfy.”

“i have to though,” you grumble, struggling to get out of his strong hold. “i left my friends alone in my apartment. they could be stealing.”

“they’re probably still asleep.”

“but i promised i would make waffles-”

“waffles?” cheol asks, suddenly interested. “i like waffles.”

“hm.”

“let me come with you and i’ll let you go.”

“they’re gonna make fun of us.”

“whatever, we can just make out to make them uncomfortable,” cheol jokes, a shit eating grin on his face that you know is at least half serious.

“promise you won’t be weird around my friends and you can come,” you warn him, and he gives you his best puppy dog eyes, pout and all. “fine, let’s go.”

back at your apartment, you and cheol do your best to get into the kitchen without waking your guests but fred ruins it by booping noses with them just to say hey. jen is thrilled that he’s back so she stays in the living room, but tahi wanders into the kitchen and watches with a smile on her face as you and cheol work on the waffles together.

“what happened to girls night?” tahi teases, and you glare at her while cheol responds.

“this one just missed me too much,” he sighs, earning a slap to the arm. “but it’s not night anymore. it’s-” checking the oven clock “-ten in the morning, so girls night is over. do you want chocolate chips in your waffles?”

“please,” tahi nods, and cheol reaches around you, hand on your waist, to grab the bag of sweets. cheol adds some chocolate to the bowl he’s working on as tahi goes back out to join jen, and while cheol waits for the waffle iron to heat up he comes back to your side. 

he dips his finger into the batter you’re working on and almost moans at the taste, asking, “what did you put in here to make it so good??”

“cinnamon? i don’t know really, i just started adding stuff,” you reply. “is it that good?”

“mhm, taste it,” he says, dipping his finger back in and presenting it to you. nervously, you lean forward and wrap your lips around his finger, licking the batter off as you hold eye contact with him. there’s electricity in the air around you as you pull back, and with a new deepness to his voice, cheol asks, “what do you think?”

“i think it needs more vanilla,” you squeak out, and cheol holds your gaze for a second longer before he nods. 

“i think you’re right,” he says, finding the bottle of extract and taking over the work for you. you just watch on, heart beating quickly in your chest, as you try to calm down from whatever that was. 

-

cheol’s bold move in the kitchen changed things. obviously you’ve thought about the physical side of your relationship, but so far it hasn’t naturally gone further than making out a little bit or grabbing each other’s butts. now though? you can’t stop thinking about what could’ve happened if you and cheol had gone further. you catch yourself daydreaming about his hands and what they could do, and that leads you down a deep dark hole. you’re not sure how to bring it up to cheol though.

but you really should bring it up, because he’s thinking the same things. the way your lips wrapped around his finger has been bouncing around in his mind ever since. his brain reminds him of it at the worst times, and if he lets his mind wander he starts thinking about what else you could wrap your lips around. he wants so badly to say something, but doesn’t want to rush you into anything. so in silence you both wait for the other person to make a move.

that is, until the following friday when you get invited to a party at mingyu’s house. he’s known to find the most random reasons to throw parties, so you’re not even sure what the occasion is this time. you do know that cheol is excited about going as a couple, so you can’t say no. since you don’t totally understand the theme, you need reinforcements, so you stalk across the hall and bang on your boyfriend’s door.

“how exactly am i supposed to dress for a ‘spring equinox’ party?” you ask cheol as soon as he opens his door. 

“um, warmly?” he guesses, toweling off his wet hair. that’s when you notice he’s just wearing his boxers, his broad chest still glistening with the remains of his shower. your mind starts to wander again, and you physically shake your head to help you focus. “at least that’s what mingyu’s text said.”

“but it’s still cold outside,” you counter, then pause. “do you answer the door for strangers in your boxers?”

“no?” he laughs. “you’re the only person who knocks on my door, so i knew it was you. in case you were jealous of the world getting to see this,” he explains, doing a little shimmy at the end. 

“you’re not helping,” you groan. “what are you wearing?”

“shorts and a t shirt?” he guesses. “maybe a jacket just on the way there. but mingyu is very serious about his themes, babe, so i don’t think you can get out of this one.”

“fine,” you sigh, turning back to your door. “i’ll wear something hot.”

that you did! when cheol finishes up at his, he grabs his things and tries your door, shocked that it’s locked for once. he texts you that he’s outside, let him in pretty please, and when you open the door it takes his breath away. he’s never seen you so scantily clad before, and he finds himself staring with his mouth open. trying his best not to have the same reaction as a high school boy, he just checks you out calmly and jokes, “when you said you were dressing hot i didn’t think you meant sexy.”

“please,” you roll your eyes, “this is not sexy.”

“beg to differ,” cheol replies, looking you up and down once again. you’re wearing shorts, which he realizes now he’s never seen you in before, and he’s admiring your thighs and your ass, but the tight tank top you paired with the shorts accentuates your chest just the right way. he’s trying not to imagine what it would be like to bury his face in between-

“i’m ready,” you say finally, and cheol whines when he turns to look at you. 

“why’d you put more clothes on?” he complains, openly hating the large button up you’ve added on top.

“it’s cold outside!” you whine, and he tsks. “you’re so weird. most guys would want their girlfriend to hide the goods.”

“not me,” he shakes his head. “i want everyone to be jealous of what they can’t have, so i vote no shirt.”

“i’ll take it off at the party, deal?” you ask. “i don’t wanna be cold on the way.”

“i could keep you warm,” cheol offers, and there’s that tension again. he holds your gaze, challenging you to take up on his offer. you’re about to cave when your phone buzzes with a text from tahi, asking when you’d be there. 

“um, we should go,” you say as you clear your throat. “sounds like we might be late.” 

“hm, shame,” cheol sighs, opening your door for you. “go ahead. i’ll lock up.”

“you just wanna stare at my ass while i walk, don’t you?”

“you know me well, darling.”

-

at the party, you’re greeted by a shirtless mingyu at the door. he pulls you in quickly, dragging you to the kitchen to meet his new “friend” ali. she smiles politely, happy to meet more of the posse mingyu talks about so much. 

“she makes the best drinks, what’s that weird donkey drink you like y/n?” mingyu asks, and you laugh.

“a mule?” you reply, and he nods. 

“yeah, she can make you one!” you look to mingyu’s special lady and she nods, getting to work.

“are you a bartender?” you ask, finding cheol over by wonwoo. he smiles at you sweetly, and you smile back.

“no,” ali replies, “i just got really into making cocktails after the pandemic. got a whole mixology kit and thought i’d try it out. now it’s my party trick, i guess.” as she finishes, she hands you your “donkey drink” and you take a sip.

“oh, this is perfect,” you say happily. “i’ll be seeing you again later, my friend.”

“sure thing,” ali smiles, and you leave her with mingyu, who literally has puppy dog eyes as he looks at her in amazement. you laugh to yourself, happy that your friends will have someone new to tease for being in love. you walk over to join cheol and wonwoo in the living room, linking your arm with cheol’s as you listen to their conversation. 

“i’m just saying, he’s weird, man,” cheol starts. “who throws a party practically in the middle of winter and makes us wear summer clothes?” 

“i think he just wanted an excuse to be shirtless in front of that girl,” you point out, and the guys nod.

“or, crazy thought, there’s a whole season in between winter and summer,” wonwoo says, looking back at cheol. “and it’s about to start. maybe that’s why he’s having a spring equinox party.”

“that’s my point,” cheol whines, lips forming his signature pout. “who does that! what does equinox even mean!”

“it happens when the sun crosses-” wonwoo starts, and cheol whines again, head falling to your shoulder.

“baby make him stop, i don’t want a science lesson,” he says, arms wrapping around your waist as he turns into your neck. you and wonwoo share a look, yours trying to apologize for cheol’s behavior and wonwoo’s just amused by the sight before him. he says something about going to find tahi, and you’re left alone with your clingy boyfriend.

“what is your problem,” you laugh, trying and failing to push cheol off of you.

“you are,” he pouts again. “you look too good and there’s too many people here for me to make out with you without being self conscious.”

“outside?” you suggest, and cheol looks at you mischievously. 

“thought you said it was cold out.”

“i thought you said you could keep me warm?”

-

while it’s not the balcony that you and cheol shared your first kiss on, you find yourself in a similar situation a few seconds later. you easily snuck out without anyone noticing, cheol even managing to grab a bottle of soju for you to share as you passed by the kitchen. it’s neglected at first, because the second you slide the door closed, cheol’s hands are gripping your cheeks and pulling your lips to his. you sigh into the kiss, instantly warming at the contact. you kiss him until you need a breather, and you pull back with a dopey smile on your face as you admire the man before you. 

“hey, you’re cute,” you whisper, laughing when he blushes.

“you’re cuter,” he counters, leaning down to grab the soju he placed by the door before he takes a swig and hands it to you. “i didn’t bring cups, hope that’s okay.” 

“we just swapped spit, we can share a bottle,” you reply, taking it from him and having a healthy drink yourself. you keep passing it back and forth between you, cheol asking for a kiss every once in a while in exchange for the bottle. when it’s finally empty, he moves like he’s going back into the party, but you stop him. “wait, let’s stay out here for a minute.”

“okay,” cheol nods. “you’re not cold?”

“a little,” you shrug, placing your hands on the cool railing. “but i’m a little drunk so that’s helping.” cheol is quiet for a second and you’re comfortable just admiring the night sky like this, but his strong arms wrap around you and pull you into his chest.

“warm now?” he checks, and you nod. you relax in his arms, one of your hands reaching up to hold onto his. cheol places a kiss to the top of your head, and in that moment you feel yourself wanting to say that you love him. you don’t though, afraid to break the silence surrounding you and risk ruining the moment. so instead, you just nod and take a deep breath. 

you’re not sure how much time passes with you standing like this, cheol eventually swaying you back and forth to the beat of whatever playlist mingyu has going inside. eventually, the music gets louder, and you realize together that someone must have opened the door to the balcony. looking back you see a smug vernon there, ready to crack a joke, but you beat him to it. 

“what’s up, champ?” you ask and he smiles. 

“your favorite person is here,” he replies, and you gasp, unraveling yourself from cheol’s grasp. you follow vernon back inside, eyes searching for one of his friends that you always love seeing. when your eyes land on seungkwan you almost scream, rushing forward to pull him into a hug. you both start talking a mile a minute, trying to catch up over the past few months all in a few seconds. 

cheol comes in from the balcony, empty bottle in his hand, and he stops next to vernon. he notices cheol’s rigid posture as he watches you and seungkwan, making vernon laugh.

“don’t be jealous, dude,” vernon assures him. “me, y/n and seungkwan were all really close in college, but he’s not interested. it’s just been a while since he’s visited so you can understand why she’s so excited.”

“yeah, i get it,” cheol nods. 

he stands for another moment, watching you closely, before turning away and mumbling about finding a recycling bin. in the kitchen he makes you both new drinks, taking yours over so he can meet your friend. he’s not jealous that you’re talking to a guy, really. he’s just jealous that vernon called this dude your favorite person. wasn’t that supposed to be cheol? he makes it back to the couch where you’re listening intently to seungkwan telling a story, and he perches on the arm of the couch behind you as he hands you a drink. you reach back and grab his hand, kissing his palm, and the gesture makes seungkwan stop cold.

“you’re joking,” he says, looking between you and cheol. “don’t tell me this is the boyfriend you mentioned.”

“he is,” you say proudly. “kwan, meet cheol, cheol meet seungkwan.”

“hey,” cheol nods. 

“hi,” he says quickly. “can i be blunt?”

“sure?” cheol says, unsure of what’s coming next.

“what does someone like you see in someone like y/n?” he asks in disbelief, and you push him so hard he falls back into a sleeping hoshi. jen left him for a few minutes, hopefully to go grab him some water, so when he notices his girlfriend is gone his bottom lip starts to quiver. you push seungkwan again and say, “look what you did, you made the baby cry.”

“he’ll get over it,” he waves it off. “i’m sorry. but come on. this is a joke right?”

“no,” you whine. “cheol is my boyfriend, get over it.”

“you’ve changed, y/n,” seungkwan shakes his head. “this is the first time i’ve met one of your boyfriends and haven’t immediately wanted to talk shit about him with vernon.”

“i hate you,” you say, trying to stand up, but cheol lightly pushes you back down.

“no, let the man speak,” he smirks, and you groan as you fall back into the couch. you down your drink as seungkwan tells cheol embarrassing stories about your past, and cheol plays with your hair as he listens at full attention.

“i’m getting another drink,” you mumble, standing up and allowing cheol to take your place. he’s listening to seungkwan describe a date that he and vernon had to save you from, because the guy was an hour late to a movie and you didn’t want to watch it by yourself nor waste the ticket that you already paid for. you mentally curse vernon for inadvertently bringing the two together, and when you get back into the kitchen you find mingyu and his friend making out. “oh, sorry.”

“y/n, my bad,” mingyu says, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

“you’re good, pretend i’m not here,” you reply as you grab things randomly and pour them into your cup. you take a sip, satisfied with the sweet taste, and you walk back out to find cheol in the same place. his face lights up when he sees you, smiling all the way up to his eyes as you get closer. there’s not much room on the couch, so you try to sit on the arm like cheol did earlier, but he’s not having that. he pulls you down by the waist to sit in his lap, and you shriek when your drink spills. 

“shit,” cheol grumbles, “i’m sorry baby, here let me help-”

“it’s fine,” you say, holding your drink out to him. he takes it and you slip your button up off, tossing it over the back of the couch. “it was just the sleeve, i’m good now i think.”

“you look great,” cheol says, complete with a sneaky smile. he pulls you closer, his arm wrapping around you easily as he says lowly, “been waitin all night for you to take that off.”

something about his words and the tight hold he has on you all sends a wave of goosebumps over your skin. you shift in his lap, trying to create some space, but the friction of your ass rubbing over his crotch just has the beginnings of a boner poking through cheol’s shorts. you look at him in shock, and he’s staring back at you darkly. 

“are you alright?” you ask, and he nods. 

“great, you?” 

“mhm,” you agree, taking a sip of your drink. cheol watches you like he’s trying to ingrain this moment in his memory, closely staring at the way your lips meet the cup and how your tongue pokes out to lick your lips when you’re done. you offer the cup to him, wanting his attention off of you for a moment, and as he takes a sip you lay your head down on his shoulder, just trying to get a moment to breathe. 

the next thing you know, cheol is waking you up, saying that it’s probably time for you to leave. you only dozed off for a little while, he explains, but the party was slowly dying out and cheol wanted to get you home. your shirt is still soaked though, so at the door cheol slides off the tacky hawaiian shirt he’s been wearing all night and wraps it around your shoulders. you say your goodbyes and head back to the car, cheol’s arm wrapped around your shoulders. 

“sorry i got tired at the end,” you yawn. “we could’ve stayed longer.” 

“no, it’s ok,” cheol assures you. “i think mingyu was ready to kick us all out anyway.” 

“yeah, i noticed we’re not the hot new couple anymore,” you joke, and cheol smiles. “are you tired though? you wanna do something-” yawn “-before we go home?”

“no baby,” he says fondly, “you need to go to bed. and wonwoo finally found me and explained what an equinox is so i think my brain is tapped out for the night too.”

“ok, because we could go get food or-”

“no baby,” he repeats, kissing your cheek. “i’m good, really. let’s go home.”

in the car you dozed off again, and cheol quietly admired you as he tried to calm himself down. he had definitely popped a boner with you sitting in his lap, and his skin was still on fire from the feeling of your ass grinding against him, even if the movement was completely innocent. he uses the ride home to get his heartbeat back to normal, and when he opens your door to walk you home you never would’ve known all the nasty thoughts running through his head. he takes you to your door, kissing you goodnight before he disappears into his apartment. you take care of fred and then work on yourself, wanting to sober up a little before you go to bed. so you take a shower and start a load of laundry, hoping your shirt didn’t stain at the party. once you’re done and laying in bed finally, you can’t seem to close your eyes for long. your mind keeps trailing back to cheol, and his big arms wrapped around you, and how it felt being so close to him with his breath fanning over your neck, and-

there’s a knock at your door. 

you lay still for a moment, but when the knock comes again you relax, knowing it must be cheol. maybe he forgot something, you think as you trudge to your door. or did he not kiss you goodnight? you thought he did but maybe not. you open the door finally, and he’s standing there in what you assume are his sleep clothes, hair a mess and a darkly inviting look in his eyes.

“i can’t sleep,” he says simply. “can you help me?”

“hm, and how would i do that?” you play coy, leaning against your door frame. smirking, you look up at cheol who’s taken a step closer to you, hands coming up to hold you by the waist. 

“take me to your room and i’ll show you?” he smiles back, already walking with you back into your apartment. he kicks the door closed behind him, locking it swiftly while you watch him and let him lead you wherever. “tell me baby, what do you like?”

“cheol,” you blush, bringing your hands up to push him away but he pulls you closer and basically growls into your ear.

“you want this, right?” he confirms. “you want me?”

“of course i do,” you nod, and you can feel him smiling against your neck.

“then tell me what i should do to drive you crazy,” he starts, starting at your collarbone and trailing kisses up your neck. “tell me what you love, tell me what you hate, i wanna know it all.”

“i’ll give you a study guide,” you tease.

“you joke but i would take that seriously.”

“i know.”

“i’d make flashcards,” he smiles, “carry em around. practice when i get bored.”

“i get it,” you laugh, realizing that you’re at the doorway to your room. “you gonna take me to bed or what?”

“kiss me first,” he whispers, looking up at you sweetly. you lean in, your hands cupping his cheeks as your lips meet. as you make out you pull cheol back to your bed until the backs of your knees collide with your mattress. you sit down, pulling cheol with you. he eagerly crawls on top of you, caging you in. he pulls away as he hovers above you, admiring the way you look laying beneath him. “hey.”

“hello,” you wave, and his head falls into your neck as he laughs.

“you’re beautiful, do i tell you that enough?” he mumbles into your skin, and you’re glad he’s not watching you blush the deepest shade of red.

“you tell me plenty, love.”

“i’m gonna start saying it more,” he tells you, sitting up again so he’s hovering above you. “because you are.”

“every time you do i’m just gonna remind you of your dreaminess,” you reply, and he nods. 

“deal,” he agrees, dipping back down to capture your lips again. he lowers himself on top of you so he can use one arm to support himself while the other grabs the hem of your shirt. “take this off baby.”

“bossy,” you tease. “i like it.”

“noted,” cheol says, catching your eye again. “i can be bossier.”

“show me.”

“ok,” he says as he sits up completely, thick thighs straddling your legs. “take your shirt off and then keep your hands above your head. don’t move or i’ll stop.”

you do as he says, pulling your sleep shirt off before you toss it somewhere in your room. as you lay back down you notice cheol’s taken his shirt off, and you admire him while he does the same. you’re not wearing a bra so cheol watches intently, tracing every curve of your chest with his eyes.

“can’t believe this is the first time i’ve seen your tits,” he whispers, hands reaching up carefully to caress them. his thumbs rub delicately over your nipples, earning a breathy moan from you. “come on baby, gonna have to be louder for me.”

“then you’re gonna have to work for it,” you tell him, staring at him above you. you watch as his eyes shift, getting darker, and he dives in to kiss you again. this one is hungrier, full teeth nipping at your lips and cheol’s eager hands tweaking your nipples. you’re squirming beneath him, and he moans into your mouth when you brush up against the bulge in his boxers. 

“careful baby,” he mumbles, “don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“but,” you gently push him away, “i thought this was for you? you’re the one that needs help, right?”

“yeah, but,” he stops to kiss you again, “i think we’re both enjoying this.”

“duh, but i want to help you,” you say, “wanna make you feel good. let me get on top.”

“no,” he says sternly, grabbing your wrists and placing your hands above your head again. “i’m in charge tonight. that’s how you can help me, yeah? just do as i say. and don’t move your hands again, baby, want you to be good for me.”

“or what, i’ll get punished?” you dramatically pout, and cheol pinches both your nipples in response. you buck up, a low whine coming from deep within your chest. 

“wasn’t planning on it, but hey, if you deserve it,” cheol smirks, kissing you one more time before he trails his lips down your jawline and to your neck. he starts marking your neck, and you let out a shaky breath as you feel his hand trail to your panties. he looks up at you, silently asking for permission and you tell him it’s okay. his fingers dip into your panties, gasping when he’s met with the arousal seeping out of you. “you’re so wet darlin, this all for me?”

“mhm,” you whine, wiggling your hips to try and get more friction. “need more cheol.”

he listens, swiping some of your slick on his fingers before finding your clit. he rubs it in light circles, giving you some relief but not enough. you blubber out another whine, and then cheol dips his hand down to your core. he tests the waters, slowly easing one finger into you, and your hands fly down to his head so they can grab onto something. you pull his hair, earning a moan as he bites into your neck harder, and then you feel him slip a second finger between your walls. you moan softly as he works you closer to your high, getting louder as he strokes just the right spot inside you. 

“cheol, baby, feels so good,” you moan, lifting your hips to get him deeper.

“stay still,” he growls, grabbing one of your hands from the back of his head and pinning it beside you. he keeps working at your core but he lowers himself further, puckering his plump lips around one of your nipples. he kisses and licks your hardened bud until he gets bored and moves onto the next one, moaning at the taste and feeling of your soft skin on his tongue. you use your free hand to play with your neglected nipple, breathing faster as you get closer to your orgasm. cheol picks up on it quickly, staring up at you like the finest piece of art as he whispers, “are you close baby?” all you can do is nod, already at a loss for words, so he asks, “think you can come for me like this?” you whine and stare down at him, shaking your head, so he lets go of your hand and brings his your lips. he presents you with two fingers, asking you to suck. you welcome them into your mouth, groaning as he picks up speed with his other hand. when cheol’s satisfied with your work, he brings his saliva coated fingers down to your clit to rub tight circles on top of it. the whole time he watches you closely, memorizing the way you breathe, the way your eyes roll into the back of your head, and committing every sound you make to memory. he can feel you clenching around his fingers as you come, and with a toe curling orgasm you reach your high. cheol slowly works you through it, calming his movements until your breathing settles again. you look down at him and smile, hands carding through his hair.

“sorry i couldn’t keep my hands to myself,” you whisper out. “but that was amazing.”

“yeah?” cheol asks, and you nod. “you think you can give me another?” 

“cheol, let me do something for you-”

“you are,” he insists, crawling down your body until his face is level with your soaked panties. “let me eat you out and come for me again, that’s what you can do for me. alright princess?”

“princess?” you smile, and cheol hums in agreement. “i guess i can do that.”

cheol pulls your panties down then, groaning at the sight of your puffy pussy lips covered in your release. he can’t wait to devour you, but he needs one more thing before he can get started. he reaches for your hands and plants them in his hair, earning a confused noise from you. he looks up between your legs before he explains, “want you to pull my hair. i don’t know what i was thinking telling you not to touch me. don’t think i can keep going without your hands on me somehow.”

“needy,” you tease, and he hums as he lowers himself back down to your core. 

“you’re dripping for me so who’s really the needy one?” he asks, swiping a finger through your folds before he pops it into his mouth, moaning at the taste. “ready baby?” 

“please,” you whine, using your hands threaded through his hair to push his face into your core. his nose bumps at your clit and your hips rise farther into his touch. delicately, he swipes his tongue from your clit to your entrance, his own hips trying to find some sort of attention as he grinds into the bed. he goes top to bottom once again, this time dipping his tongue into your entrance. you moan his name breathlessly as you feel his tongue at your core, one of his hands coming up to play with your clit. “cheol...”

“mm?”

“too much,” you warn, loving the way his tongue is devouring you but worried that the extra attention to your clit might make you come too soon. “gonna come.”

“isn’t that the point?” cheol smiles at you evilly, his lips and chin coated in your arousal. 

“i mean, yeah,” you squeak out as he dives back in. “b-but i should make you feel g-good. you-ah, you needed the help.”

“baby,” he says seriously, looking up at you once again. “please. i’m enjoying the hell out of myself. you can help me out soon, yeah?” you nod, and he’s satisfied. “alright then. tell me when you’re gonna come.”

he goes back to his original position, thumb carefully stroking your clit and sending electricity straight through you while his tongue teases your entrance, obscenely slurping at your lips as he plays with you like a toy. you’re so caught up in the way he’s making you feel you almost don’t notice the extra attention, cheol’s free hand slipping down to join his tongue at your entrance. he fucks into you with his tongue, a finger slowly joining him, and then he pulls his mouth from you completely as he goes back to stroking that one spot inside you. he backs off of your clit too, and you sigh thinking you’ve gotten a chance to catch your breath. that’s short lived, because you feel his tongue flicking over your clit instead, playing with it just the right way that you feel the coil in your stomach starting to come undone. he puckers his lips around your clit, sucking lightly, and your hands tighten in his hair, encouraging him to suck at your clit again, adding another finger while he’s at it. you’re coming again, cheol making out with your pussy as you come, chanting his name over and over again. 

“fuck,” cheol groans, wiping your release from his face with the back of his hand. “you’re so warm baby. and sweet. can’t get enough of you.”

“fuck me then,” you say boldly, opening your legs wider to welcome his hips. cheol leans over you and grabs you by the knees, bringing them up to your chest.

“hold these outta the way for me princess,” he growls, watching the way your pussy clenches, waiting to take him. he pulls his boxers down, stroking himself as he asks, “shit, do you have a condom?” you nod. “where?”

“bedside table, in the drawer,” you answer simply. you watch as cheol hops out of bed and slides his boxers down his legs, biting your lip at the sight of his ass on display. he finds the condoms and chuckles, making you ask, “what’s so funny?”

“i genuinely don’t know if these will fit, honey,” he replies, shaking the foil packet above you. 

“well can you try?” you ask suspiciously, looking down at his cock as he rolls the condom over it and your eyes bulge when you see it fully for the first time. “whoa.”

“whoa?” cheol laughs, sliding the condom down his length. “that’s not reassuring. you still want me to fuck you?”

“even more so,” you nod, opening your legs wider to accommodate cheol’s hips. he slots himself over you, slapping his cock over your pussy as your hips chase his. “stop teasing.”

“stop complaining,” he counters, sliding his cock up to rub your clit, earning a choked moan from you. “you sure i prepped you enough? need me to go back down there and check?”

“cheol,” you whine loudly, bucking your hips up so his tip will bump into your clit again. “fuck me please. wanna feel you.”

“since you said please,” he smiles, taking his cock by the base and guiding it into your core. he thrusts into you slowly, hissing at the feeling of your walls swallowing his cock. you’re left speechless, not used to someone so big. you catch yourself holding you breath and take a deep inhale, core flexing even more around cheol. “fuck, do that again.” you obey, clenching around him a few times before he finally tears his eyes away from where your bodies meet. “can i move?”

“please.”

“good girl,” he hisses, pulling out and thrusting all the way back in deeply. “taking me so good.”

“you feel amazing cheol,” you sigh. “never been fucked so deep.”

“good,” he says, holding onto your hips so he can angle you how he wants. “don’t want you to ever forget this. or me.”

“impossible,” you smile up at him, and he leans down to capture your lips. your kiss is as frantic as the feeling of cheol thrusting into you, lips breaking apart every so often from the force of his hips. you let go of your legs, letting them fall open around cheol so your hands can wrap around his broad shoulders, grabbing onto him so your lips stay locked. he moans into your mouth when he feels your nails grazing his skin, and his hands take up your place on your knees, holding your legs up and apart. he starts thrusting faster, getting you close to your third orgasm of the night. you still feel bad that he hasn’t come at all, so you clench around him to get him closer. his hips sputter and he stops, breath fanning over your face as he takes a second. 

“fuck,” he groans, thrusting into you lazily as he speaks. “you have the tightest pussy. feels like you were made for me.”

“and what if i was?” you ask, your hands playing with the hair on the back of his head. cheol’s cheeks warm at your words, but his hips pick up speed again as he tries to convey just how he feels about you into the pleasure he wants you to feel. he wants it to be overwhelming, he wants it to be the only thing you can think about, so he dips his head down to your chest and captures a nipple in his mouth as his hips drill into you relentlessly. you’re back to chanting his name and he knows you’re close, letting go of one leg so he can trace circles over your clit again. your legs start shaking as he fucks you into your final release of the night, and you feel his thrusts falter as he spills into the condom. 

you breathe heavily, trying to understand why your body suddenly feels like it’s on fire. in your post-orgasm bliss you missed cheol going to the bathroom to toss the condom and grab a wet washcloth to clean you up, but when he’s back in your bed you roll over to face him and you’re overcome with that fiery feeling again. you both lay there, staring at each other, and it hits you: that fiery feeling is love. you love cheol, you have for a while, but you’re sure of it now. you feel safe with him. you feel loved with him. 

as these thoughts run through your head, cheol pulls you into his chest so your head is laying just above his heart. you listen as the rapid beating slows, comforted by his presence and warm all over. you look up, ready to tell him what you just discovered, but you let out a silent laugh when you see his pouty lips parted in the beginnings of a snore. you lean up to peck his perfect lips before settling back in his hold, content to sit with your revelation a little longer. 

-

in the morning, you wake up before seungcheol. you’re usually a late sleeper, but you weren’t used to having someone in your bed and cheol’s vice grip on you all night has made you too hot. you try to unwrap yourself from his hold, but he just pulls you into him even tighter despite his eyes staying closed. 

“cheol,” you whisper, and nothing. you brush some of his hair out of his hair out of his eyes and try again. “seungcheol.” still nothing. louder, you try one final time, “choi seungcheol, wake up.”

“don’t call me that,” he mumbles, pulling your head down to his chest so he can nuzzle into your hair. “go back to sleep darling.” 

“no, i’m hot.”

“yeah you are.”

“cheol,” you groan, wiggling in his grasp. “let me go. i’m gonna make breakfast.”

“waffles?” he asks, peeking up at you hopefully.

“sure,” you nod, and he hesitantly lets you go. “don’t stick my finger in your mouth this time.”

“killjoy!” he shouts accusingly, watching happily as you get up and start pulling your clothes back on. “no naked breakfast either?”

“i can ask you to leave,” you threaten. “you live across the hall, i could push you there if i really wanted.”

“you wouldn’t dare,” he teases right back. “need my help in the kitchen?”

“eh, no,” you shrug, looking back at him as you pull on a sweater. “you stay here and get your beauty sleep.”

“do you mind if i use your shower?” he asks before you leave your room, and you tell him it’s ok. he slides out of bed and he catches you staring as you explain where the towels are. 

“and i should have a new bottle of body wash under the sink,” you explain, “just in case the one in the shower is empty.” 

“got it sweetcheeks,” cheol says as he meets you at the door, snaking a hand around your waist before kissing you. 

“hey, that’s my name for you,” you pout. “you can’t take it.”

“i’ll come up with my own then,” he says as his hand slides down to squeeze your ass. he’s staring at you intently, making you blush, and you’re tempted to tell him what you were thinking about last night when he interrupts your thoughts. “can i say something?”

“sure,” you nod, and he wraps his arms around you completely. 

“it was pretty nice waking up next to you,” he says as he drops his forehead to yours. “think we should do that more often.”

“but you snore,” you complain lightly, and he smiles.

“you’ll get over it.” 

when cheol gets out of the shower, he goes back to your room to find the clothes he was wearing last night. he gets dressed quickly, eager to get back to you and this slice of domestic life. it really did something to cheol to have you wake up in his arms, and he can’t shake that feeling from his head. it also has him thinking about how he’s been trying to tell you he loves you for several days now, and he always backs out at the last minute. but today? today he’ll do it. he’ll ask you to dinner, he’ll take you to that fancy place you’ve been dying to try, and he’ll tell you surrounded by candles. 

except, all of that goes out the window when he walks into your kitchen. his heart almost beats out of his chest at the sight of you dancing with fred, singing him a song off of that playlist cheol made for you so long ago. you look so happy, and beautiful, and just..perfect. cheol can’t help it, he coos and seemingly ruins the moment, pulling your attention and fred’s. he jumps down and meets cheol at the door for pets, but you invite him over, your arms wrapping around each other as soon as you’re close enough. you sway to the music together, gazing at each other like two idiots in love. because you are. 

“baby?” you whisper, afraid that speaking too loud will ruin the moment. 

“yeah?” cheol responds, worried by the look on your face. you study him for a second longer and decide to go for it.

“i think i’m in love with you.”

“you do?” cheol asks, a smile threatening to overtake his features. 

“i do,” you nod. “i love you, cheol.”

“hm, how interesting,” cheol says, relishing in this moment, letting the words fall out of his mouth like he’s never been so excited to say something before. “because i’m in love with you too.”

“you love me?” you smile, your face lighting up at the relief you feel.

“i love you,” cheol confirms. “do you love me?”

“i love you,” you nod, cupping his face before giving him a kiss. you don’t pull away completely, but you lean back enough to whisper into his lips, “say it again.”

“i love you,” cheol repeats, punctuating his words with a kiss that makes you feel like you’re soaring. “i love you, and i plan on loving you for a very long time.”