#I was scrolling fondly like oh I remember all of these songs dropping

[biggetywitch]

THE JUMPSCARE THE CAPTION GAVE ME NO THANK YOU

MUSIC VIDEOS THAT TURN 20 in 2025

[a-world-in-grey]

Sola/Calling for Rain

@secret-engima and, months later, the snippet I promised!

.

Karin’s first memories are her mother’s grave and her sister’s sick bed.

She knows more than that of course. She knows how her mother died, forced to use their family’s healing ability until they’d drained her chakra dry. She knows her older sister nearly followed their mother that night, eight years old and already scarred across her arms and shoulders.

But that knowledge isn’t seared into her memory the way her mother’s gravestone is, the bamboo marker plain and unmarked, nothing like the stone markers bearing carved names for the village shinobi. That knowledge doesn’t paint itself across her closed eyelids like Kyoho’s frail form, skin too pale, breaths too shallow, wild hair tumbling across the pillows like a splash of blood.

Karin remembers when Kyoho first opened her eyes, how her sister had looked to find Karin first, and hadn’t settled until she could clearly see Karin was well.

.

Karin doesn’t know how much Kyoho’s near death changed her older sister. She can’t remember what Kyoho was like before, can’t remember a time when Kyoho didn’t braid their hair with little painted beads and thin cords of braided thread. Can’t remember a time when Kyoho didn’t hold her close at night and whisper bedtime stories in words that sound like thunder and rain.

Stories and Songs and meanings just for the two of them. Braids and beads hidden beneath hair and cloth, Clan secrets told in the dead of night in a tongue only they knew. Teaching Karin to dance, to fly.

Teaching Karin to survive. 

Kyoho trains with the determination not to learn, but master every skill she can. Taijutsu, weapons, healing, ninjutsu. She claws her way up the ranks of Kusa’s shinobi, genin at nine, chuunin at eleven, jounin at fifteen.

Kusa’s own little prodigy. A match for Konoha’s Uchiha Itachi or Hatake Kakashi. Or so Kusa likes to think.

There’s a lot Kusa doesn’t know.

They don’t know of the fuuinjutsu, of the basics learned from their mother that Kyoho took and reinvented on her own. The black tattoos spiraling across Kyoho’s skin hidden from sight under dark green clothing. 

They don’t know about the chakra chains Kyoho painstakingly learned to use. Chains Kyoho learned to modify, to shrink to the size of a fine gold chain, to enlarge to the size of the massive chains that once rose from the waves to close Uzushio’s ports.

They don’t know of Kyoho’s sensory abilities, so fine tuned she can pick out a shinobi’s specialization from the feel of their chakra alone. They don’t know of the weapons Kyoho can wield beyond her glaive and curved shortswords.

They don’t know Kyoho’s taught Karin everything she knows. They don’t know Karin isn’t the fumbling, lackluster genin overshadowed by her prodigal sister’s brilliance.

.

“My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I’m going to kick all of your asses!”

The room goes silent, every genin present turning to stare, and Karin feels her breath freeze in her lungs as the chakra signatures around her spike with anger and disbelief.

Karin buries her own chakra, smothers it down to a spark so small even Kyoho has difficulty detecting, hiding the surprise and recognition and the tangle of emotions she can keep off her face but not out of her chakra. And she knows she shouldn’t focus her attention solely on the loud Konoha genin as his teammates and comrades converge to scold him for his recklessness. There are others in the room far more dangerous than the rookie too dumb not to draw the ire of the rest of the competition before the Exams have even begun. And yet-

Uzumaki.

He doesn’t have the red hair. But that’s the mon on his shoulder, black and purple instead of the black and blue variant Kyoho’s stitched into their clothes, in places easily hidden because there’s Clan Pride but then there’s announcing to all the Elemental Nations that they’re female kekkai genkai bearers.

Karin lessens her hold on her chakra, reaching her senses past the thunderstorm-shadow-river feeling of the three genin standing beside him.

Warmth. Bright encompassing warmth, intense but not painful, the ocean breeze across her skin on a clear sunny day. Swirling reserves deeper than she’s ever sensed, even deeper than Kyoho’s hearth-fire chakra.

Karin suppresses her chakra the moment the blond’s thunderstorm teammate glances her way, glancing away and digging her fingernails into the back of her hand so hard she’s surprised she doesn’t break skin.

She swallows back a sob.

Uzumaki. He’s Clan.

But not Galahdian. Not a child of the Storm-Father, not someone who grew up with the Clan Laws and the certainty in their bones that even if the world fell apart, the Clan would always have your back.

The Uzumaki are a shinobi clan. Karin can’t… how can she know if she can trust this wayward Uzumaki? How can she know if he will hold that same fierce loyalty that blazes in her and Kyoho’s souls?

She shouldn’t. Oh, but by the Storm-Father, Karin wants to. This long lost kinsman who wears Freedom and Protection across his shoulders. Who looks at the world with Protection in his eyes and crowned with Love.

Karin knows the Colors don’t apply to the natural world. To things that are mere happenstance and genetic chance. But-

(‘Sometimes the Gods paint us with specific Colors,’ Karin remembers Kyoho telling her, ‘A message and a warning, for souls so strong the physical has no choice but to reflect it.’

Karin had looked into Blue eyes framed by Red hair, and never asked if Kyoho spoke from experience.)

For the first time in nearly ten years, Karin hopes.

She has to try.

And that means staying in Konoha long enough to get a measure of Uzumaki Naruto.

.

Karin is perfectly happy not knowing how something gets named the ‘Forest of Death.’

Unfortunately, as the location of the Second Exam, Karin’s not going to get a choice.

Kyoho would love it, Karin thinks as she miserably fills out the liability waiver. Kyoho had spoken of many places in her past life, but none so fondly as Galahd, deadly and wild and all the more beautiful for it.  

She lets her ‘teammates’ take the lead as they scout through the forest. Her head’s busy planning her next step. Should she focus on passing the Second Exam? Kyoho told her how the Third Exam was always an exhibition for clients, so she’d have plenty of time during the preparations to track down and try to get to know her kinsman. Perhaps with Kyoho’s help even - surely her mission would be finished by then?

But that assumes Karin and the two idiots she’s assigned to play chakra-battery for can pass at all. They aren’t the weakest team in the forest, even counting Karin’s careful pretense, but there are a lot of teams stronger than they are. Stronger, and all too willing to kill.

Karin could ditch the idiots. She’s kept track of where she last sensed Uzumaki Naruto’s chakra, so she could find him and get to know him in the time before the Second Exam ends. Maybe even steal the Earth scroll and bring it as a good faith gift. 

But she’d be on her own, carrying a high value target, and gambling on her kinsman caring enough about a cousin he didn’t know to trust and protect her.

Karin tugs on the loose ends of her hair in frustration. Why is this so hard?!

Kyoho would know what to do.

Kyoho’s not here, Karin firmly reminds herself. She has to figure this out on her own.

In the end, she chooses to stay with her teammates. There's too many unknowns for her to risk running now.

.

Two days later, staring up at the bear taller than her house, Karin's regretting her decision to stay.

They left me!

Stay and hide, they said. You'll be fine.

If they're still alive when Karin finds them, she's going to throttle them. Hiding her chakra doesn't matter when enemies can find her by her scent! The bear snarls, and Karin gives up any pretense of hiding her abilities. She's out of her depth, anything less than her full skill will only end up with her dead-

("Above all else," Kyoho had whispered the night before Karin left for Konoha, "survive.")

She reaches for her supply of explosive tags (way more than anyone thinks she has, way more than she probably needs, but they're the easiest seal to make and Kyoho always says there's no such thing as overkill) and prepares to turn the bear into a pile of charred meat and fur.

Only, there's movement above her, a blur of black and purple, a flash of silver-

Thunder. Lightning and rain and the howling storm as she huddles by the warmth of hearth, each flash of light in the sky accompanied by the rolling drums that echo in her chest; an invitation, a challenge, to face the storm and laugh in the embrace of the sky.

Uzumaki's dark haired teammate lunges from the trees like one of the jungle cats of Kyoho's stories, dropping down onto the bear with a spinning, flying kick, and Kyoho freezes.

Kyoho knows that kick.

(Karin stares wide-eyed as Kyoho all but flies through the air, leaping and spinning with the grace of a breeze through the prairie grasses. Kyoho's been teaching her how to dance, but those jumps have nothing on the ones Kyoho is doing!

"Will I learn to do that too?" Karin asks. Nerves flit in her gut like butterflies. She's trying to learn everything Kyoho can teach her, but those leaps are so high.

Blue eyes soften as Kyoho ruffles her hair. "You don't have to - it's not part of the Ostium Dance."

Karin blinks. "It's not?"

"It's Ulric, our sister Clan." Kyoho says. Her gaze grows distant. "Clan of Sky and Storm, Coeurl-kin, first of the Storm-Father's children."

Karin's touch on her arm brings her back to the present. "Were you Ulric first, before you were Ostium?"

Kyoho laughs. "I was Furia, Clan of Sea and Horizon, but I learned the Ulric Dance because I was Sky-born instead of Sea-born.")

She can't see a braid, but- Black and purple. A pair of well worn kukri at his back. The aerial combat she's never seen anyone but Kyoho use.

Her fingers tremble around the string of explosive tags as the genin checks to make sure the bear is dead. Then he turns to her with an easy grin. "You're an Uzumaki, right? Do you want to meet your cousin?"

And Karin has been so keyed up over possibly having Clan, over being in hostile territory with no one to watch her back, with desperate hope dogging her heels for the past three days of finding someone she can trust- 

(“You can always trust the Clans. Even the most bitter rivals will protect a Clan child, if they are threatened by Outsiders.”)

"Are you Ulric?" She blurts.

Dark eyes sharpen. "How do you know that name?" But his gaze flits to her temple, to the black braid joiner peeking out from her hair. Karin removes the grey hitai-ate and pulls her hair back to show him her braids. The Ostium Braid and the Mourning Braid for her mother, unlike Kyoho who also wears Marriage, Hero, and Revenge Braids. Braids Karin and Kyoho have never shown anyone but each other.

But the boy's eyes widen in shock and recognition, and pale fingers pull the Ulric Braid threaded with the purple ribbon of a Chief from its hiding place behind his ear.

("And if you get the chance, run. Before Kusa kills you too.")

Karin sobs.

This boy is Clan. He's safe.

[moxfirefly]

Maybe kink prompt 43 that ends with kink prompt 37 with Michelangelo? 😈

Oh boy I swear that lad is the most susceptible for a situation like that. Let’s see how we make this work.

Rated Explicit (18+ only)

Leonardo had often reprimanded him for staring because it could be considered rude.

For Mikey though he didn’t necessarily see it as a bad thing. He considered himself a visual person, Mikey simply just loved looking at things. He’d hang with Donnie in the lab because he liked watching his big brother create. He would spend countless hours in videos games merely exploring and finding every nook and cranny the game offered. That’s where art came into play, it was a means for him to loose himself visually, wether he looked it up or he created his own pieces.

Needless to say visual stimuli was always something he enjoyed in his more private moments.

He knows the staring becomes a problem when he meets you. Like April he harbors a crush on you, but then again Mikey had a crush on anything that breathed and he considered pretty. But secretly he considered you more than just pretty, he dare to use words like ‘beautiful’ and ‘brilliant’. Mikey tried to keep the staring at a minimal, quick glances that took in every detail he could in short burst.

He figured it was purely physical, the shape of you was something he’d find himself thinking about even after you left and took your wonderful scent with you. God, your scent, that had been a surprise. It reminded him of candy, sweetness that he was hooked on since the first time he took a bite when little. You radiated something he couldn’t fathom but he understood everything about at the same time.

The problem gets worse when he hugs you for the first time. Sure he had hugged plenty before, even April and that had been an experience, but this? The way you had pulled him tightly against your frame and the happy sigh that hit his neck. Mikey doesn’t remember a hug leaving him like he often felt after a good orgasm. Then, as if the situation needed to escalate even more, you had let go and look at him right in the eyes. He saw every swirl of color and he wanted those colors surrounded him. Your goodbye had been soft, words lingering against his skin like sweat.

Tonight he’s in his room, music playing softly in his headphones as he scrolls through Instagram. He had a ghost account he mostly used for gaming stuff and following some of his gaming friends. You and April had stayed over, crashing in the living room area. Mikey could smell that candy flavored scent all the way over to his room. He pictured you fast a sleep, your beautiful features in restful peace. Your lips parted, the curve of your body...

He groaned shutting his eyes. Even in his minds eye he still saw you, so perfect and soft.

So lovely and beautiful.

The sound of your voice, whenever your mouth took the shape of his name. Mikey looked at the curtain that provided some makeshift privacy, the empty bed above him (Raph had gotten his own space this year) His thumb moved across his phone.

He landed on your page.

He was instantly bombarded with all things you. There was a picture on there that he had memorized like some chant. It wasn’t even a scantily clad beach picture. It was so much more simple than that, it was you laughing. The lighting was just right, the crinkle in the corner of your eyes, that breathtaking smile. Mikey sighed, a heavy loving feeling spreading over his soul.

Man he was truly and utterly in love with you.

Fucking hell.

He left the phone on the bed, scooting up against the array of pillows. The song blended into one that naturally reminded him of you.

Mikey inhaled that scent, his hand rested on his plastron fingers drumming before they caressed a path down to the hem of his joggers. This had become almost ritualistic, he’d think you up or look at your pictures or simply have that scent stored in his memory. Mikey sighed as he pushed his hand into his pants, he felt himself drop out right into his awaiting hand.

He could live with this, if this is all he could have. Just thoughts and images and longing looks all having you at the center of it. He could live with the fantasy of what could be, especially when he grips his cock and slowly teases himself to madness. Every sense taken with you he hastily pushes his pants down, licked his palm and started pumping himself.

Mikey cursed under his breath, the image of you was doing this for him, lips at his jaw, body so close the heat of it felt real. With half lidded eyes he looks down at himself, the mess of precum staining his sheets and his hand. He spreads it, making his strokes so much more pleasing.

For whatever reason, he had looked to the side maybe his eyes wanted to fall on the picture still on his phone but instead he was met with a figure entering his room. He felt so close and figured his mind was playing tricks until he heard a familiar voice.

“Hey are you awa-oh” That caused him to come back to reality and throw the sheets on him. “Shit um...” Mikey couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact, he felt hot for all the opposite reasons. “It’s okay, I uh should’ve tapped on the curtain” You were blushing, this was certainly not how you planned to talking to him about something that had been circling you brain for months.

Mikey was about to make a joke when he noticed his phone was still open, and a picture of you was right between the two of you. Now he really wanted the floor to swallow him, you though remained pensive for a bit.

Much to his shock Mikey felt the bed dip, he saw you kneeling. “I’m going to ask you something and be honest, okay?” Impossibly blue eyes met your e/c, he nodded silently.

“Do you like me?” It was softly whispered.

“...Yeah, like a lot” Mikey fidgeted with his phone, locking it.

“Can I kiss you?” There was no hint of apprehension and that alone left Mikey speechless.

“You want to kiss me?” He asked, you nodded.

Then in something he could only think up in his most lustful musings he saw you crawl onto his lap. Before he could question if you sincerely wanted to do this your lips had found his.

Overwhelmingly beautiful, that’s the only way he could describe kissing you. Your hand cupped his cheek, the other behind his head. Mikey didn’t know why his hand landed at your forearm but the delicateness of that part gutted him. You were so delicate and breakable in his eyes and here touching a part of you it resonated so profoundly.

Mikey’s eyes were wide as saucers when you leaned back and pulled up your sleep shirt tossing it. “Is this okay?” Your hands lingered at the sports bra you still had on. Mikey licked his lips, his hands found the fabric. “It is.. are you okay with it too? Can I...?” You nodded and Mikey began to push up the garment over your head. There was a rush of emotions coursing through both of your bodies. This regardless of the rapid acelaration happening, felt right.

Mikey merely admired the flesh he would dream of. The warmth of your skin, the shyness in your gaze. “Beautiful, you’re so beautiful Y/n” His voice gave you goosebumps, you smiled fondly before crashing into his lips again. You teasingly pressed your tongue into him and he nearly melted against you with a shiver. You pressed your forehead against his, an openness to your gaze that said so much. Mikey swallowed, his throat felt so dry and his body was a live wire. You pushed the sheet that had been covering him, gaze never leaving his.

“Oh god” Mikey moaned when you gripped and stroked him slowly.

“Want you...” You mumbled against his jaw, the scales were so comforting.

“Me too, for months now” Mikey confesses with a groan. You smile against his cheek, a relieved sigh escaping you. For months he said, for months.

You moved your underwear to the side and descended onto his member. Mikey hissed and gripped your thighs, the heat felt like nothing he expected. That initial breach left him pulseless. He found your face and was knocked over with the way your skin flushed and how each inch that entered her made her moan.

When you were fully sat on him you wrapped yourself around Mikey and held him so close. That act alone was everything to him. He held you close, letting you take charge of the pace. “God you feel so good” You whispered against his neck, Mikey felt his stomach do a somersault at those words. This couldn’t be a dream now could it? He prayed he wasn’t about to wake up. With each upward and downward stroke of her walls it was positive that this was actually happening.

“Please, please, please” Mikey knew he wasn’t going to last much longer, with how tight and perfect you felt the end was close. “It’s ok Mikey, do it, I want you to do it” You kissed up his neck, your hips quickening. A sound you weren’t even sure what could be left him, it was a deep vibrating and that along was something you wanted to hear again and again. Mikey held onto you for life, emptying himself in you in a way he’d never felt he could.

His brain felt like a gummy bear, he wasn’t even aware what was happening when you reached between the two of you and rubbed vigorolously. The tightness around his member was so overstimulating that he moaned weakly. You fell against him breathing hard, Mikey held you equally tired.

“Are you okay?” Mikey made an affirmative noise, hand rubbing lazy circles on your back. “Stay with me please” His voice was sleepy, you smokeless weakly and nodded.

Mikey fell a sleep with that candy scent surrounding him, your warmth a too him.

Completely engulfed in everything he loved about you.

[21burritoseavey]

Like Everybody Else - daniel seavey imagine

a/n: I hope you like this, i didn’t want to make it too sad lol. Also, kinda random but how many of you use :), :( or :/ in texts? cos I do. Let me know what you think.

Song: Lennon Stella, Like Everybody Else

Run fast, run away, run straight into the loneliness

It isn't only home I miss

 “How's tour?” Y/n asked excitedly, taking a seat on the cushioned floor next to Anna. 

 Daniel smiled gently, “It’s...great.” Daniel spoke gingerly. “It would be so much better if you were with me” He continued easily. 

 “Aww, Dani” Y/n’s cheeks flushed bright pink at his sweet words, and she giggled timidly. 

 “Aww, you two are just the cutest” Anna said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. Him and Y/n chuckled lightly on opposite ends of the FaceTime call. 

 “How are you two doing then?” Daniel asked with a tight smile. 

 “We’re doing great! Keri’s gonna take us snowboarding tomorrow with your family!” Y/n spoke positively. Daniel’s eyes lingered fondly on Y/n’s. He happily relished in the feeling of love that played in her toothy smile and soft gaze. 

 Daniel’s blurry, muddled mind cleared as memories of past family adventures emerged at the sight of innocent kids playing in the distant snow from out the window. The snow fell as gracefully as feathers. 

 Daniel turned back to his phone after what seemed like ages. “That’s great. I’m glad you’re having so much fun.” He said quietly. “I miss you guys so much.” He breathed, his voice slightly wavering. The girls didn’t notice the slight sadness etched in his voice. He rushed to end the call, not wanting to fall apart in front of them. “I gotta go. I love you guys!” He rushed out before hanging up. He tossed his phone to the edge of his bunk and set his face in his hands morosely. 

 Like the night all my friends got together

Heard about it afterwards

Didn't think was gunna hurt so much

Daniel trudged out of the interview room tiredly. His bandmates followed close behind with faces full of energy and voices dripping in excitement. The boys’ brand-new freedom allowed for tons of new adventures in the unexplored town and while the other guys almost sprinted out of the building, Daniel wanted nothing more than to be alone with his thoughts. He pulled out his phone from his back pocket and tapped Y/n’s name on messages nearly unknowingly, like it was muscle memory. “Daniel, come on, we’re waiting outside.” Jonah called gently from a few paces away. Daniel lifted his gaze and let a small smile play on his lips as he spoke. “Yeah, just a sec.”

 “Hi” He typed quickly, shuffling his feet slowly toward the elevator. His screen illuminated after a few seconds. 

 “Hey:)” Y/n responded. Daniel’s tense body relaxed at the simple message from his girlfriend, and he let the corners of his lips pull upwards to form a faint smile. 

 “What you up to?” He continued. A moment later he received a photo from Y/n and opened his hesitantly. The image loaded to reveal Y/n with a couple other friends of theirs. The dark atmosphere sparked his memory and he remembered Oscar’s birthday party. Their happy faces shone bright even in the nearly non-existent light of the club. Daniel’s smile faltered at the sight of them and he couldn’t help but feel a great amount of envy swallow his mood. He wanted them to be happy, but he wanted to be happy too. 

 “Daniel,” Jonah whispered sharply again. It was only at that moment that Daniel realised he had barely moved from his initial spot, and he chuckled lightly at his friend’s serious expression. He jogged over. “What’s got you so glum?” Jonah asked teasingly as they headed into the empty elevator. He turned back to see Daniel truthfully upset and his expression quickly broke. “What’s up, man?” He asked earnestly, setting a comforting hand on Daniel’s back. 

 “Y/n...and the others...” Daniel said simply, dropping his gaze to his pink sneakers. 

 Jonah looked a little bewildered. He narrowed his eyes, “What? What do you mean? Did they do something?” He rushed out. 

 “D-don’t worry about it.” Daniel dismissed with a gentle shrug. He averted his gaze to the sign above the door and watched it light up silently as they reached their floor. 

 Why if I'm doin' so well

Did I build a wall between me and the world?

Daniel was sitting up on his bunk bed, leaning against his single pillow with his legs stretched out and ankles crossed lightly. He was still dressed in his outfit - too tired of even changing into something comfier. He stared blankly at his Instagram timeline on his phone, scrolling mindlessly through photos etched with fun and adventure. The high, creaking noise of the door swinging open shot Daniel out of his faint trance, and he looked up expectantly. 

 “Hey, the guys and I are going out to dinner? Wanna come?” Zach asked, making his way further into the narrow hallway of the tour bus. Daniel shook his head lightly. 

“Nah it’s fine” He muttered as casually as he could. He felt a swell of emotion wash over him unexpectedly.

“You sure? You said no last week as well.” Zach asked, peeking a brow at the boy across from him. 

 “Yep” Daniel said quickly, swallowing back the lump in his throat. He pulled a tight smile, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling in his stomach. Zach nodded gently, turning away towards the door, but just before he came to it, he looked over his shoulder one last time to Daniel. He let his eyes linger on his downcast eyes lit up by the screen in front of him before walking forwards and shutting the door behind him. 

 Daniel sighed in relief and dragged his palm over his face tiredly. He kicked off his shoes and watched them drop carelessly on the floor. He tugged the throw blanket at the foot of his bed closer and pulled it right up to his chin tightly, letting his eyes linger to the dark night sky aglow with city lights. He glanced at his cheery bandmates sauntering out of the bus and onto the footpaths with nothing but joy in their step. Daniel wanted to feel like them too, more than they could ever comprehend. 

 Been drilled in my head forever, be better, turns out

I'm just like everybody else

 Daniel burnt the midnight oil often. He usually found daytime band rehearsals too overwhelming to focus. His gentle piano playing broke the serene silence of the night, coaxing a beautiful, soothing melody until it was interrupted by the wrong note, caused by the slip of his finger. Daniel huffed deeply, resting his head aggressively on the keys in annoyance. It produced a muddled sequence of notes and Daniel felt the vibrations buzz through his head. He lifted his head, slouching back on the bench. He finally felt a great swell of anxiety drown his mind. The previous, harsh critiques from Randy reverberated in his head continuously and he couldn’t get his mind to stop spinning with self-doubt. 

 Daniel sighed deeply. He bit his lip in an attempt to stop his frustrated tears from pouring down his face. He looked around the empty and gloomy rehearsal room and let it all go. He hid his face in his hands tiredly while he cried. The dull ache in his heart was all he could think about, but he merely let himself feel the pain he thought he deserved. A few long minutes later, when Daniel thought he’d cried all the tears left in him, Daniel lifted himself up stiffly from the piano. He rubbed his temples gently before flipping the sheet music to the next page and continuing. 

 Don't even go near a mirror, it’ll kill ya

Trust me, you don't wanna see yourself

“Guys” A crew member came back into the dressing room. “You’ve got three minutes.” He reminded before rushing out into the hallway again. Daniel turned back to the mirror as he adjusted the cuffs of his dress shirt again. 

“Does this look alright to you?” He turned to Jack, pointing to his black and white suit. 

“Yeah,” Jack laughed lightly. “It’s fire...for the five - hundredth time” He joked, “why?” 

“Oh, I don’t know.” Daniel started, glaring over his shoulder to Jack again. “Maybe it’s ‘cause we’re going to a red-carpet event.” He said nervously. 

“Don’t sweat it, dude. We’ll be fine.” Jack reassured. 

Daniel nodded. His gaze persisted on the smudged, full length mirror standing in front of him. In truth, it wasn’t just his appearance he was worried about. It was also his talent. The thought of being in the presence of A list celebrities and artists he greatly admired sent everlasting shivers down Daniel’s spine. 

Fuck the noise, It's too late, It's the choices

Now I don't even wanna be someone

 “Dani.” Jack called gently from across the table. “Daniel.” He said blankly after a moment. 

 “Daniel.” Zach’s hand slammed hard on the table causing a loud thump to echo through Daniel’s whirling mind and he looked up from his downcast gaze to his bandmates cluelessly. “It’s your turn” Zach said, gesturing to the Monopoly board set on the table. 

 The dim light of the lamp casted a warm glow to the lounge room. Daniel sat lazily with his legs tossed on the coffee table. Daniel’s face broke into a soft smile. “Oh right. Sorry.” He chuckled. He leaned over, picked up the dice in one hand and rolled it. 

 “You okay, man?” Corbyn inquired honestly, eyes flickering to Daniel.

 “Yeah...you haven’t really…been here tonight.” Jonah asked carefully. His face was brimming with concern. Daniel’s gentle smile faltered, and his eyes wandered nervously before landing on his bandmates again.

“Y-yeah, yeah. I’m just tired.” He shrugged hesitantly, “don’t worry,” he added. He dropped his gaze back to the board and rested his chin in his hands. 

 That's nice, champagne, what a shame, It doesn't work on me

So don't go wastin' your money

Everybody in this room is too hard, too pretty, I'm tired

I just wanna be nobody

Daniel sat awkwardly at a circular table in the fancy, high end restaurant. The cacophony of polite chatter and clattering of fine cutlery filled his ears and he could barely focus on his own table’s conversation. “Daniel.” The sound of his name being called had Daniel diverting his stare to the older man opposite him. His sharp, strong features only complemented his staid personality. 

“Yes.” Daniel spoke as elegantly as he could. He tried not to let his nervousness peak through his calm facade and he wiped his slightly dampened forehead with the back of his hand. 

“Your managers over here tell me you’re quite the song writer.” He stated the faintest hint of a smile present on his lips. Daniel’s face flushed with nervousness. He cleared his throat with a slight chuckle and dropped his fork onto his plate. 

“I try my best.” He grinned. “But yea...I really enjoy it.” He finished shyly. He washed down the tension flooding his body with a sip of his champagne. 

The older man glared at Daniel before honestly saying, “you know, this opportunity is extremely selective. We only pick one applicant a year.” Daniel glanced at him expectantly, trying to ignore the tightening twist of his stomach. “There are many artists that enjoy writing.” He finished. 

“I understand-” Daniel tried but he was interrupted. 

“He’s a great writer, take it from me” Randy intervened swiftly. He shot a glare to Daniel before leaning his elbows on the table to converse gravely with the other man. Daniel reluctantly focused back on his nearly full plate - he barely ate because of his anxiety. He shoved a forkful of food into his mouth. 

What made me think I was special? I'm not special

Turns out I'm like everybody else

This song sounds exactly like 5SOS

They are just a like 1D

Their music sounds the same

Daniel typically took criticism with grace and modestly, but this time was different. The rims of his eyes were red from glaring at Instagram comments under his music announcement post for almost one hour straight. His fingers readily hovered over the word ‘reply’, prepared to sincerely explain how different his band’s songs were and how much work went into producing them. 

In the back of his mind, Daniel couldn’t help but believe their hurtful words. He set down his phone on the floor to the side in an effort to stop his mind from whirling out of control. He drew up his knees in embarrassment and hid his face against them tiredly. He let his anxiety-stricken face relax and tears flowed gently down his face. 

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios University

“Good evening, Your Majesty.”

Roman bowed playfully to Ulyssa, and she laughed.

“That’s not even close to right, you idiot.” She punched his arm lightly. “You’re lucky that you brought Junior over, or I’d have you sent to the gallows for that.”

“A harsh, but fair punishment. I accept my fate.” Roman hugged Ulyssa in a warm embrace, and smiled. “It’s good to see you again before you join some stuffy, over privileged family and forget us lesser people.”

“Oh, I could never forget you,” she teased back. “I wish to the Watcher that I could sometimes, but you just keep popping up in my life.”

That wasn’t entirely true, since it had been Ulyssa who had texted him to drop by before dropping Theo off at Elaine’s for Abe’s weekend with him. Ulyssa was feeling overwhelmed by both school, and learning Twikki Island royal protocol and wanted to blow off some steam with a friend who was also alone on a Friday night. It was a tradition they had begun back in boarding school, where they had usually blown off steam with a lot less clothing involved. Ulyssa was getting engaged soon, and Roman was currently fending off potential suitors to pine for Abe, so as responsible young adults, they decided to drink and hang out instead of tearing each other’s clothing off like they might have done in the past.

Cindra had only recently become a teenager, but sometimes she felt like she was still a child. No one told her anything, and in a house as busy as theirs, she tended to be overlooked. She loved lions and cats, but she wasn’t allowed to have a pet until she was a little older, when her toddler sister wouldn’t bother it so much. Her older siblings were very insular, and private, making her feel like she would never understand them. She tried to ask why Roman was now close friends with his former enemy Ulyssa, or what the deal was with his son, but everyone either told her to ignore it, or that it was a story for another day.

Jorah was leaving for college soon, and would be leaving Cindra alone with their family. At least Jorah had some time to give his sister; her own father barely interacted with her, and her mother had been taken into Wanda’s new Zombie Care and Containment program to be monitored by scientists. No one was going to want to visit Arkhelios if there were potentially dangerous creatures wandering around, especially after the whole Dorhack incident. Her grandmother was still on a cruise with Emilia, so it felt like Jorah and Lauren were all Cindra had in her life at the moment.

Ulyssa’s head was a million miles away, concerned with learning protocol, and the proper use of utensils at a state dinner, and everything else she was expected to be an expert on in a few months. She sat at her drum kit, and half-heartedly began to play, while Roman tried to remember the piano lessons his parents had forced him to take as child.

“It’s all coming back now,” he exclaimed, hitting all the wrong notes to a song he half-remembered.

“Totally!”

There was a reason Jorah and Cindra were loitering outside, where they could barely hear the sounds coming from Ulyssa’s room.

Theo and Lauren were too young to have any musical appreciation and continued to play at the activity table, while Ulyssa and Roman made terrible music together.

Ulyssa felt her phone buzz beside her, and saw a notification for an unread text.

“Well, this is interesting,” she remarked, scrolling through the text with a bemused smile. “Lucy is somehow bored again. She’s barely even through the semester and she’s always bored out of her mind.”

“Probably because she shares a dorm with Abe and Pia,” Roman laughed. “I’d be bored too.”

Ulyssa shot him a skeptical look.

“Right, like you wouldn’t be back with Abe this second if he called you. I completely believe you.”

Roman folded his arms defensively.

“Looks like we both have a problem with the Helios siblings. I’m ignoring my Helios, what are you going to do about yours?”

Ulyssa looked at her phone fondly.

“How many weekends do I have left where I can just go completely crazy?” she said. “I think I may see where this goes for tonight, if you don’t mind cutting this visit short.”

Roman scoffed.

“It’s your funeral. I’d better get Theo dropped off at Elaine’s before the Helios I’m avoiding makes it home for the weekend. The last thing I need is another awkward conversation about the weather with him.”

Lucy cheered when Ulyssa arrived at her dorm in a beam of light. It was a sight she would never get tired of seeing.

“Yes, you made it!” she exclaimed. “We’re going to have a blast teaching Pia to have fun for the first time in her life!”

“That does sound fun,” Ulyssa said with a smile. “Let’s take it slow though; we don’t want her head to explode or anything crazy like that. Maybe we’ll just start out with a simple drink or two.”

Lucy nodded excitedly.

“Yeah, whatever you think is best. As long as we’re all together.”

[xianglingslesbian]

okay so since it’s izuki’s birthday let’s... analyse his character songs and what they say about him! i’ve been wanting to do this post for awhile, and what better day than today?

(shut up, i am not obsessed)

(okay maybe i’m a little obsessed but i mean LOOK AT HIM)

first up is kitakore which you can listen to here!! kitakore is really just a fun hammy song with tons of puns (literally. every line is a pun. it can feel like a punch to the gut. kitakore!). BUT there are still a couple of impactful lines!

Uzagararete mo yamerarenai (English: Even if I get on your nerves, I can’t stop)

i honestly think that this line attests to izuki being neurodivergent in some way. as the amazing Timb @natureismynature​ expanded on in her fic (which you can read here), izuki’s puns could be a form of verbal stimming that helps calm him down. it’s one of my favourite headcanons that he’s autistic and/or ADHD (the latter being projection, tbh), because yay for neurodivergent characters~

kitakore is sung with a quick tempo and a peppy beat, which adds to the whole relaxed vibe of the song. this is something you could sit and listen to while chilling on the beach, or while scrolling through memes on your phone. it also showcases the VA’s ability to bring out the light edge that’s ever-present in dear izuki’s voice!! nojima’s voice is strong and clear throughout, never faltering as he rattles off pun after pun in time with the music. really perfect for izuki and his love of dajare!

next we have tatta hitotsu no hibi which you can listen to here and. oh. this song really hits you in the meow meow after the playful 2010s boy band sound of kitakore. GOD it just says so much about the kind of person izuki is???

Betsu ni fukan shitai wake ja nai sa / yoyuu mo nai Onaji kurai tomadou kedo / Aah~ (English: It’s not that I want a bird’s-eye view / I don’t have any time to spare But that means I might lose my way in equal measure / Aah~)

izuki’s eyes see too much, sometimes. but if he didn’t have them, he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the rest - even with how much he practices - and that HURTS. 

Hagayusa ha tokidoki / mawari mo makikonde Atarashii chikara wo umidasu (English: There were times I got everyone else caught up in my impatience As I tried to invent new strength in myself)

he’s constantly trying to find something, anything, just to stay on the others’ level. and sometimes he pushes too hard and goes too far but... to him, in the end, all that matters is flying to the top with seirin. he doesn’t want to be a burden - in izuki’s eyes, to be a burden to seirin is the worst imaginable thing.

Itsuka nanimokamo ga omoidebanashi ni natte Natsukashii oretachi ga iru ne Ureshikatta koto bakari ja naku tatte Hoka ni ha kangaerarenai / tatta hitotsu no hibi datta Sou omoeru ki ga suru / ima no zutto mirai de (English: Someday, all of this will be nothing but memories And there we’ll be, fondly reminiscing about them They might not all be happy memories But I can’t imagine them any other way / those irreplaceable days I have a feeling that’s what I’ll think, someday way off in the future)  

this. just... the sheer fucking wisdom of this...??? keep in mind this kid is literally 17. but these lines so highlight the aspects of izuki’s personality that i love most - his unerring resilience and his ability to look towards the future without wanting to be stuck in the past or present - something i struggle a LOT with. izuki’s always got his head raised, never down, and that’s gorgeous.

tatta hitotsu is very different from kitakore in terms of sound, tempo and range. it’s sung at a lower, softer tone, and is much slower. the background music, while itself soothing and beautiful, truly only serves to accentuate the VA’s voice as he guides you through izuki’s character. the song is smooth, and its more sober tone is perfect for the wisdom izuki’s dropping! nojima’s voice is low but firm; he effortlessly dances across every note, stringing together something that’s heartfelt and gorgeous. the lower pitch really brings out what izuki’s like when he gets serious - calm, but firm and unwavering.

last but not least, challenger spirit (the hyuuizu duet), which you can listen to here!! i love this song so much because tbh it reminds me of everything i love about hyuuizu. 

Dual: Oretachi ha chousensha datte / nando demo omoishirou Sonotabi tsuyoku natte kita kara (English: We are the challengers / Let’s never forget that Remembering that fact has helped us grow stronger)

both of them are always pushing each other. they remind each other what it is that they’ve come this far. they have a unique connection, and don’t need to say half the things that others would have to, in order to understand each other!

H: Kuyashisa nara norikoeta / senpai no iji darou I: Shimeshita ijou ni kurai tsuite kureta yo na (English: H: Our regrets? We’ve overcome them / That’s our will as senpai I: They’ve exceeded our expectations and risen to the challenge)

Yume mitaku tookatta yo na Demo naze ka shinjirareta n da Kono chiimu de miru mirai wo Okujou de chikatta mirai wo (English: Dual: Just like a dream, it seemed so distant But somehow, we could believe In the future we see with this team In the future we swore on the roof)

here we see how they both are consistently on the same wavelength. that’s why that final pass happened so perfectly - because it was hyuuga, who izuki had known for so long, loved for so long (read that however you want). because it was hyuuga, and their effortless chemistry made it possible. perhaps i’m overreaching, but... i love them so much.

coming to the song itself - it has a strong beat, but also melodic. like the perfect blend of kitakore and tatta hitotsu! the drum work in the background is truly fantastic. re: the singing, the gentleness within hosoya’s voice jumps out here, whereas nojima dominates the duet. nojima’s voice comes out firmer and stronger, and hosoya is more melodic and goes with the flow. i think their voices blend beautifully - the juxtaposition of izuki’s clear, powerful voice with hyuuga’s gentler, smoother one is just perfect! it also embodies their friendship: though hyuuga seems to be the overpowering presence, they share equal parts, and there are areas where izuki takes charge as seen in this song.

(okay maybe i’m reading too much into it but can you blame me i love them)

and with that we come to the end of this little rant!! hope it made sense haha

[sikebubs]

I’ll Never Love Again (Jungkook x reader) *Continuation of  Secret Love Song*

king-jiminie asked for part 2. So here is the story.

   It has been a year since the last time I saw her face to face. A year of guilt. Sadness. Despair. I continue my life normally but everything feel dull. I am at the backstage as BTS just comeback. I feel anxious all the time as this is the first time for our group to comeback at the same time after the break up.

“Kook, can you help me? I misplace my phone somewhere when I go to the toilet.” Namjoon says with an awkward smile. I just hum in agreement as it is a normal thing to happen to him. We decide to separate around the toilet.

“Why is he always clumsy?” I ask myself. I wear an earphone in my right ear to hear some songs.

Wish I could, I could've said goodbye I would've said what I wanted to Maybe even cried for you If I knew it would be the last time I would've broke my heart in two Tryin' to save a part of you

 I turn at the hallway corner and surprise at the scene in front of me. I see (y/n) with Mingyu... who is holding a ring. She has a surprise face while looking at him. What can I do when two of my best friends are...

‘Since when?’

“Jungkook, I found it. What-” Namjoon stands besides me and watch the scene unfolds. He looks at my face.

“I think it is better for you to clear off your mess. I’ll tell them you meet some friends.” Namjoon pats my shoulder before walking away.

‘What is left to say?’

“Jungkook?” I snap from my thought as I hear the angelic voice. I look at her and fake a smile.

‘Jungkook? We are back to full name stage?’

“Hey. I saw you and Mingyu.” She looks back at Mingyu and smiles.

“How are you?” She asks me. I observe her. A little pale. Slimmer.

‘What will you say if I say I want you back? I miss you. I still love you.’ She tilts her head waiting for my responses. 

“I think my members search for me.” I say as I turn around and walks away. If I know I’ll lose her to someone else, I’ll try to get her back sooner. I’ll make her happier. At least I’ll leave happy memories as a goodbye. Yet I prioritize my ego that I end up losing someone important. 

‘I lose my chance with you.’ I think as a tear fall from my eye.

***

Don't wanna feel another touch Don't wanna start another fire Don't wanna know another kiss No other name falling off my lips Don't wanna give my heart away To another stranger Or let another day begin Won't even let the sunlight in No, I'll never love again I'll never love again, oh, oh, oh, oh

These past days passed quickly. I just finish dance practice with the others. I sit down at a corner resting before going to the studio. I look at the pictures of me and (y/n). The happy ones. The silly ones. The sweet ones.

“Stop it, Jungkook. You’ll end up a wreck.” Hoseok says as he sees what am I doing. I ignore him and continue scrolling through her Instagram page. Suddenly, a hand take my phone roughly. I widen my eyes and stand defensively.

“Forget it. Let me introduce you to other people. You are Jeon Jungkook, the golden maknae. The international playboy. There are many people who want you.” Jin says with a smile. I glare at him before taking back my phone harshly.

“Do you think I want other people?” I shout as I storm out the room. I sigh and rub my face.

‘Why do he thinks like that? I don’t want other people. I want her!’ I think and crying. I walk in an empty changing room and sit on the couch.

“Kookie, you are here! I miss you!” (y/n) shouts as I walk into the apartment. I drop my things and run to her. We hug tightly before she grabs my face and kiss me.

“How are your tour?” She asks cutely.

“Not bad. Yours?”

“Amazing!” She says energetically. I look at her lovingly. She looks at the ground shyly as she realizes I watch her. She faces me again with a red face.

‘Wow, I’m so lucky.’ I think as I look at her eyes deeply.

“What are you thinking, Kookie?” She asks while hugging me.

“I love you.”

‘And I’ll do it forever.’ 

“I’ll make you my wife.” She punches me lightly while running to her room. I smile at her direction.

“I just broke my promise.” With that I cry harder.

***

When we first met I never thought that I would fall I never thought that I'd find myself Lying in your arms And I want to pretend that it's not true Oh baby, that you're gone 'Cause my world keeps turning, and turning, and turning And I'm not moving on

Don't wanna feel another touch Don't wanna start another fire Don't wanna know another kiss No other name falling off my lips Don't wanna give my heart away To another stranger Or let another day begin Won't even let the sunlight in No, I'll never love

I am hanging out with the ‘97 liners. Mingyu invites us to tell a news. They are chattering and joking around while I lost in my thought. Mingyu clears his throat.

“So, I want to tell all of you. I’m getting married!”

‘I’m not ready for this.’ The others congratulate him and push his body.

“Since when?”

“I don’t know you have a girl friend.”

“Congratulation.”

“Who is she?” Eunwoo asks excitedly. The question makes everyone look at him.

“A member from YUGEN. Her name --” I stand up abruptly. They look at me confusedly. I look around and rub the back of my head.

“Oh, sorry. I just remember I need to do something.” I say before excusing myself. I walk back to the company to avoid my member. I stand at the company’s garden. A memory runs through my mind.

“Oh sorry. I need to meet the CEO but it seems like I get lost.” A girl says after bumping onto me. I look at her before smiling.

“It’s okay. It’s my fault too. By the way I’m Jungkook.” I say while offering my hand. She looks my hand before holding it.

“I know you. I’m (y/n). Nice to meet you.”

“By the way, why are you looking for the CEO at the garden?” She sighs and puts off a smile.

“Well, I met Taehyung and he gave me the direction. He drew it on the paper. I guess I got prank.” She says while showing the paper. I look at her paper before looking back at her.

“Don’t judge me. I think maybe you guys are so rich to have an office in the garden.” She says with a pout.

“Oh, it’s right. He just drew the last turn wrong. You need to turn left from this corner.” She observes the paper to understand the new information. I look at her face for a brief.

“Yah Kim (y/n). Why are you here?” A girl with a blonde hair walks to our direction along with a smirking Taehyung.

“That’s why I told you to go to the toilet at the dorm.” She scolds (y/n) before looking at me.

“I’m sorry for her. I’m Jieun. We need to rush.” Jieun says while dragging (y/n) to the CEO room. I look at Taehyung.

“Why you do that to her?” I elbow him as we are watching them jogging away.

“She seems fun.” Taehyung says with his boxy smile. I shook my head at his mischievous behavior.

‘Well, she seems fun.’

I sigh as I look at the night scenery of the city.

“Jungkook?”

***

   My members and I attend the private wedding. We are at the guests’ seat before the intro of Can’t Help Falling In Love is played. We stand up for the entrance of the bride. I look at Mingyu who is in the verge of crying. He is smiling fondly. I look at the door entrance. There is (y/n) in her beautiful white dress smiling as she holds a bouquet of flowers. She walks down the aisle gracefully.

‘She is beautiful.’ I think as my eyes start to tear up. Jimin holds my shoulder and smile. I nod with a smile.

"Do you take Kim Mingyu as your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?" The priest asks.

“I do.” 

“You may now kiss the bride.” The priest says as the ring exchanged. The happy face she makes make my heart flutters.

The after party is one of the amazing ones. The guests enjoying themselves while the couple eat happily. My eyes meet (y/n)’s and I smile at her. She replies with a bright smile. Suddenly, a man approach me.

“Mingyu asks you to sing for their first dance. You can sing whatever song you want.” I look at Mingyu direction to see the smiling man. I nod and walk to the stage. I sing I’ll Never Love Again by Lady Gaga. The couple walk to the center of the hall and start dancing. As I am singing, my eyes lock with (y/n)’s again.

I don't wanna know this feeling Unless it's you and me I don't wanna waste a moment, ooh And I don't wanna give somebody else the better part of me I would rather wait for you, ooh

Don't wanna feel another touch Don't wanna start another fire Don't wanna know another kiss Baby, unless they are your lips

Don't wanna give my heart away To another stranger Don't let another day begin Won't let the sunlight in Oh, I'll never love again Never love again Never love again Oh, I'll never love again  

The crowd applause as I end the song. I walk off the stage to greet Mingyu.

“Congrats man.” I say as we hug.

“Thank you.” Mingyu says before greeting the others. I walk to (y/n) direction.

“Congrats Jieun.” I say to Jieun. She smiles brightly.

“Thank you, Jungkook.” I look at (y/n) who is standing besides her along with the other members. Jieun looks at us before signalling the others to left us.

“You look amazing.” I compliment her as we are alone. She smiles.

“Well, you are quite a look too.” She says teasingly. We stand in silence.

“I--” Both of us says simultaneously. We stare at each other for a moment but it is the only thing to make us understand our feelings. Suddenly, a party song fills the ballroom. I look at her and offering my hand.

“May I have this dance?” She nods before we walk to the dancing crowd.

*flashback*

“Jungkook?” I turn around and look at the woman in front of me.

“(y/n)? Why are you here?” She bites her bottom lip. 

“We need to talk.” 

“What left for us to talk? You’re getting married.” I says before looking away.

“What do you mean?” 

“I saw Mingyu gave you the ring. He just announced he is getting married---”

“With Jieun.” She interrupts my sentence. I look at her with a confused look.

“What? Your leader?” She nods.

“Mingyu told me you just rushed out while he wants to say her name. He told me I might be the reason.” She explains.

“So at the backstage?”

“He need my help and we just so busy to meet up. We bumped each other and suddenly I saw you. He told me to keep it as a secret.” My face turns red. She giggles softly.

“I miss you.” She looks taken aback as I say out of sudden.

“Lately I feel like I want to give up my life when I saw you and Mingyu. I just regretting everything and vow that if I have a chance to be with you back I’ll take it. And I think this is the time.” I says as I hold her hand. She looks at me with watery eyes before hugging me.

“I promise. This time we’ll be forever.” I whisper into her ears.

“Yes. Forever.” She whispers back.

[noctuascion]

Ooh I’ve got a cryptage prompt if you feel like writing c: I really love ur writing btw it’s so freaking good 💖: Mirage wants to try and impress and further understand his bf by learning some Korean, but he’s obviously not the best at it and is embarrassed by how bad he is. Crypto finds his efforts really endearing regardless, and falls even more in love with the old man 🥺

YESSSSS!!!!! This is so cute and reminds me of another one-shot I should write. *i rub my hands together like little fly* However!!! I'll focus on this ask first!!! And tysm!!!! That's so sweet of you!!!

--

Elliott isn't a linguist. He's never bothered to learn any other languages, despite being around so many people with foreign tongues. Hell, he's barely good at English—why would he want to work on learning an entirely new language?

Well, that was his mindset before he met Tae Joon Park (or, as he's better known, Hyeon Kim), the beautiful, enamoring, absolutely wonderful Korean-speaking man he's devoted every thought to, every moment to adoring and appreciating. Park had spoken a single word to him (well, technically two, but his statement still stands) and he had fallen for the language.

Every word was so effortlessly said, like Park's very tongue was graceful. At times, he'd hesitantly whisper some phrase in his mother tongue (something like "saran kayo," he thinks? He always says that phrase quickly and he can never quite get a read on what's exactly being said) and Elliott would ask him to say it again, receiving a fond roll of the eyes, before he gets a kiss to shut him up.

Park seemed to prefer speaking Korean at times. No one else on the drop ship spoke it, so he could mutter to himself in the language to avoid inquiry. It was where he was more comfortable speaking fondly to Elliott, too (and Elliott had to learn that by picking up the fondness in his voice and the softness in his eyes). Receiving compliments in that soft voice in that beautiful language was enough to brighten the man's day after any nightmarish event.

And now, concerning that pesky language barrier, Elliott was studying the language a bit. He couldn't learn it in a few days, but he'd definitely try to learn as much as he could and totally impress his boyfriend, make him swoon, as he usually does (because Park isn't the easiest to impress with his usual nonsense, but he's learned that showing off that beautiful brain of his was the way to his heart).

Plenty of research was put into this, hours spent on just learning little terms of endearment that could bring out those cute apple cheeks he adores so much.

At the moment, said boyfriend was seated in his lap, working on improving the performance of his drone, the little guy currently in sleep mode and plugged into his laptop. Elliott was scrolling through the page he was currently reading over. The hacker's intent focus on his programming eventually switched over to the trickster's screen, raising a brow as to what he was currently reading.

"Why are you looking up 'terms of endearment'?" he asked, relaxing against the other's chest. A "comfortable pillow," apparently. "I could have sworn you had a endless supply of pet names."

Elliott chuckled, pressing a kiss to the back of Park's head, nose buried in soft hair. "Mm. No reason… ae-in."

Park's eyes widened momentarily, pulling away from where he was resting against his chest and, instead, moving to look at the other incredulously, head tilted. "Did you just… You pronounced it wrong."

"I pronounce English wrong. You can't expect any better." Elliott chuckled, dropping his phone on his bed and arms moving to slip around Park's waist. "I'm trying to learn."

"Why?"

"'Cause I wanna know what you're saying whenever you say that one word—s-saran… saran-something."

"Saranghaeyo," Park corrected in that beautiful voice of his.

"Yeah! That! Reveal your secrets."

"Neoui kkum-e. You'll have to learn it yourself, old man."

"Oh? That so, kid?" Elliott's fingers were dancing along the smaller's hips now, slowly rising, nimble fingers sliding beneath the hoodie he wore. "Must I use other methods?"

And, easily, those hands were slapped away. "Do that and I'll break your hand."

"Mm. Charming." A chuckle left him before his arms returned to lazily wrapping around Park's waist, non-threateningly. "I'm sorry, my sweet, uh… yeo-bo."

Immediately, Park's cheeks colored, and a shy smile curled his lips. "Elliott, do you know what that means exactly?"

"I'd hope 'darling.' I didn't just call you fat, did I?"

Park snorted softly, shaking his head. "No. You're right. But… it's… usually meant for married couples." He paused momentarily, looking away, before smirking. "And you said it wrong."

"Worst. You're the worst. Only you'd drop an embarrassing bombshell and then insult me." Elliott huffed, sporting that famous pout he seemed to be trademarking—and he's not sure he's happy with that. "Uh… Sorry, though, if—if that's overwhelming—or bad."

"It's… nothing bad." Park shrugged, eyes unable to focus on Elliott now, simply browsing the merchandise held in the trickster's room. "I need to teach you how to pronounce it, though. Your attempts offend me."

"Ha ha. Worst boyfriend ever. I want a refund."

"The store I came from has a strict no return policy. Apologies."

"Here, I'll just give you to Renee. She'd like a buddy to bully."

"You're such a jerk."

"That may be so, but I'm also your pabo."

At that, Park snorted, falling into a laughing fit, a seldom occurrence for the other, and Elliott, frankly, nearly fell off the bed.

Park's laugh wasn't exactly the most listened to song Elliott's ever heard. His laughter always starts shy, quiet, and it usually stays that way. Park doesn't throw his head back and let loose, doesn't echo off the walls, and always has a hand covering his mouth, trying to hide that breathtaking smile of his. It was disheartening, seeing him hide something so unmistakably glorious, but he still got to see it, even if it was just harder to.

Everything about him was absolute perfection, smile included.

"You—You just called yourself an idiot," the hacker managed, voice a bit higher in pitch due to the laughter still shaking his frame.

"Oh! No! I didn't mean that! Shit! I take it back!"

"Ah. I think that's my new nickname for you. My dearest pabo."

"I finally get a pet name from you and it's an insult."

"And you still didn't pronounce it right."

"Oh, bite me, Kim."

The smaller released another bit of laughter before he returned to leaning against Elliott, feeling strong hands cup the back of his head and play with his hair. The action always helped relax him, and the smile painted upon his visage only widened.

Frankly, he thought it was sweet that Elliott had made such an effort to understand him when he spoke in his mother tongue. The man never ceased to make him fall in love all over again, make him remember why he called Elliott Witt his love, why he was willing to do everything in his power to keep that smile shining as bright as the sun.

"Thank you for trying, wang-ji-nim."

"Aw. You're welcome, tong-tong-hae."

"… And now you called me fat."

"FUCK!"

[softspiderling]

swanky fortune - part three | t.h.

Summary: you catch a glimpse of Tom’s private life and are torn between letting your guard down or keeping it up (being surrounded by four boys who have nothing but nonsense in their head certainly did not help your case).

Pairing: Tom Holland x reader

Song I listened to while writing: Heatwave by Robin Schulz feat Akon

Author’s Note: AAAHHHH this chapter turned out way longer than I intended, I hope you enjoy it anyways! BTW obviously the FFH premiere was ages ago and we all know the winners of the raffle did not get to spend as much time with Tom as I’ve been writing here, so pls remember this is all fiction!

Warnings: cursing, swearing, honestly it wouldn’t be a fic of mine without a good old ‘shit’

Word Count: 4,4k

Masterlist

Teaser | Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine | Part Ten 

After lounging around for a while you got changed, ready to hit town. You just spent nine hours on a plane and you were desperate for some exercise. Grabbing your purse and phone, you exited your room and rode down the elevator to the lobby.

With a wave to the receptionist, you walked out of the hotel and exhaled deeply, perching your sunglasses on your nose.

The sun rays hit your bare skin, leaving you warm and you were glad that the weather was so nice. You didn’t have a lot of time in Los Angeles, so you wanted to make use of all the time you got, plus you still were hoping to find the perfect dress for the premiere the next day.

A couple hours later you returned to the hotel, stomach filled with coffee, various baked sweets, shopping bags dangling from your arms. You got really lucky, too. You’ve been strolling through a few stores and smaller boutiques when a pale blue dress caught your eye.

The straps were thin with a classy V-neck, it was tight around the chest and falling in a loose skirt, just above your knees. You’ve immediately fallen in love with it.

Arriving back in your hotel room, you placed the shopping bags on the bed and you pulled out the dress, holding it against your body. Looking at yourself in the mirror, you sighed wistfully. You were really nervous because of the premiere, especially with all those celebrities that were going to attend. You knew you had nothing on them, considering they were styled professionally and you were going to style yourself, but you still wanted to look your best.

Grabbing a hanger out of the closet, you hung your dress on it and put it back in, mentally noting down to ask the hotel for a pressing iron. Plopping down on the bed, you kicked off your shoes and got comfortable, pulling your phone out.

You scrolled through Instagram, looking at different pictures on your feed. You probably should do something more exciting, but you felt awkward walking around by yourself or eating alone in a restaurant. You knew you shouldn’t, you were a grown woman, yet you couldn’t help yourself.

A sudden vibration of your phone startled you and caused you to almost drop the device on your face, but gripping it with your fingertips, you clicked on the notification that just got in.

Tom: We’re heading out to Griffith Park. Do you want to come along? 🤗

Sign me the hell up, you thought at first and then pulled a face while typing a reply to Tom. You really shouldn’t be acting like a crazy fan, that’d probably weird everyone out.

You: Yeah, that sounds cool! I don’t want to impose, tho🤔

Tom: Nah, you won’t impose, I’m inviting you. We’ll pick you up in twenty🤙🏼

You stilled, rereading the text. We? Oh no. Did this mean that you were going to meet his family now? Oh shit.

Jumping up, you went to the bathroom, frowning at the mirror. You hadn’t bothered putting any makeup on before you went shopping, knowing it was going be warm out. But meeting Tom Holland’s family? Your hand hovered over your makeup bag, before you decided against it.

Splashing some cold water on your face to calm yourself down, you shook out your hands and then dried your face off.

“You’re going to be fine, Y/N. They’re just normal people, like you are,” you mumbled under your breath, exiting the bathroom.

You stuffed your things in your backpack and slipped into your sneakers, grabbing the deodorant to prevent any embarrassing armpit stains of nervous sweat breakouts that you knew were coming.

Shaking your head, you grabbed your phone and headed out of your room. In hopes of walking off your nerves, you opted for the stairs instead of the elevator.

Slightly out of breath, you reached the lobby for the second time that day and went out to wait by the sidewalk. You squinted your eyes, looking down the street before taking a seat on the bench, glancing at the watch and putting your sunglasses on your nose.

As you sat on the bench, waiting, sweat started building up in the nape of your neck. You twisted your hair to the side, but after a while you got tired of it, so you bent over and combed through your hair with your fingers.

Your sunglasses perched dangerously close to the edge of your nose so you grabbed it, sticking the temples in your mouth.

While you gathered all your hair in one hand, you heard a car pulling up to the curb and a distinct:

“Is this her?”

Followed by some muffled voices and then a: “Oi, Y/N!”

Looking up with one hand around your hair and your sunglasses dangling from your lips, you saw Tom through an open car window, three eerily familiar looking boys squeezed in the backseat.

Tom lifted his sunglasses to look at you, a smirk gracing his lips. “You okay, love?”

“Just peachy,” you bristled, while the boys laughed and you tied your hair with an elastic, getting in the passenger seat after having put the sunglasses back on your nose.

“Y/N, this is my best mate Harrison and my brothers Harry and Sam,” Tom introduced you and you waved at the boys with a small smile.

“Hey, Y/N,” they chorused. “Nice to meet you,” Harrison added. Dude had crazy blue eyes. “Tom’s already told us a lot about you.”

“Shut up, Haz,” Tom hissed and you glanced at him, cheeks tinging. Tom told his best friend and brothers about a fan he just met and picked up from the airport? That straight up sounded like a scene from a bad fanfiction.

“So how come I get to sit in the front?” you asked as Tom pulled away from the curb. “I am pretty sure I am the shortest out of all four of us.”

“What, you want to be squeezed in with two boys in the backseat?” he asked back and Harrison jolted your car seat, which made your whole body shake. Jeez.

“I can sit up front if you don’t want to sit next to Tom, Y/N,” he said and you clicked your tongue dismissively.

“I told you, she doesn’t even like me,” Tom teased and you groaned, covering your face with your hands.

“Stop saying that! Everyone will think I am so ungrateful,” you complained and he laughed, glancing at you.

“Nah, you’re fine.” He gave you a soft smile and you heard suppressed laughter from the back.

“His game is so bad,” Sam whispered and Tom slammed on the breaks, causing the three boys to jolt forwards, hitting their heads.

“What the hell!”

“Fuck you, Tom.”

“You div, learn how to drive!” Harrison yelled, his hand reaching out to swat at the back of Tom’s head, but he dodged his friend’s hand with a snort.

“Should’ve put your seatbelts on, boys,” Tom said with a shrug, a shit eating grin on his face.

Hiding your laughter behind your hand, you turned away, before clearing your throat. “Don’t you have another brother though?”

“Yeah, Paddy. He’s with my parents. Why?”

You shrugged with your shoulders. “Just wondering. He’s the cutest out of all four of you.”

“WHAT!” the three brothers shouted indignantly and you bit back a grin.

“It’s true though. He has that kind of charm that none of you possess.”

“That’s the rudest thing I’ve ever heard,” Harry stated and Tom nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, you’re cancelled, Y/N.” 

“Don’t act like babies,” you snickered and shook your head at them.

“I can’t believe you’re so cool, most fans would die being in the same car with their favorite actor,” Sam said and you squinted an eye at him, pursing your lips.

“I never said that Tom is my favorite actor though,” you pointed out and the three boys in the back howled out in laughter.

With a chuckle you glanced at Tom and noticde his reddened cheeks, his gaze fixated on the street. “I’m just kidding, you’re my all-time favorite actor,” you assured him and he grimaced at you, shaking his head fondly.

After a drive filled with easy conversation, much to your luck, Tom pulled into the parking lot next to a black car, three people waving at you.

“Oh there’s Paddy!” you exclaimed and got out of the car, trailing behind Tom as he greeted his parents.

“Hey mum, dad, Paddy, this is Y/N,” Tom introduced you and you smiled, suddenly shy, the false bravado you’ve grown during the ride disappearing.

“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Holland. It’s so nice to meet you,” you said, reaching out to shake their hand.

“Oh please, call us Nikki and Dom,” Tom’s father insisted and shook your hand, his mother doing the same. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you so much for donating to the Brother’s Trust, Y/N it means the world to us. How has LA been treating you so far?” Nikki asked you and you shrugged with a smile.

“Oh no need to thank me, your family is the one being so amazing, helping out others and spreading more light on smaller charities. And LA has been great so far. It’s really nice of you to let me tag along with you. I’d probably waste away in the hotel room if it wasn’t for Tom inviting me,” you said and she laughed, putting her hand on Paddy’s shoulder.

“You must be Paddy,” you said with a big smile, shaking his hand too. “I am. Nice to meet you!” he said and Harry nudged him with a grin. “Y/N thinks you’re cute,” he told his youngest brother and Paddy’s eyes widened, blushing furiously.

“You’re embarrassing him,” you chastised Harry and Paddy ignored you, punching Harry on the shoulder.

“Guys, stop joking around, we don’t have all day,” Harrison called and you winked at Paddy before you were being dragged off by Tom.

“The poor guy’s going to have a heart attack,” he said and you grinned, walking in step with him.

“Aw, no, I don’t want that,” you laughed and Tom chuckled, stuffing his hands as he walked. “What Sam said about you being so cool is true though. It almost feels like we’re friends and met under normal circumstances and not this crazy one,” he told you and you smiled at him, ducking your head.

“Thanks?” you said, the word trailing into a question. He gave you an easy smile and before you could say anything else, the rest of the group joined you.

Everyone decided to take a hike up a trail in the park and when you’ve reached the top, you looked down the city with a big smile on your face.

“This is awesome,” you pressed out, still catching your breath from the hike up. Grabbing your phone, you snapped a few pictures of the view of the city.

“You want to take a picture together?” Tom asked you and you looked at him in surprise, before nodding with a grin.

“Yeah sure, that sounds nice.”

“Oi, Harry, come take a picture of us,” Tom yelled, waving his brother over. Meanwhile, you wiped the sweat off your forehead, hoping you looked decent.

“Come on here,” Tom urged you and placed an arm around your shoulders. You shuddered a bit and smiled up at Tom, when you heard a click of a camera.

“Hey! I wasn’t ready yet!” you protested, but Harry just smirked at his camera, before looking at you. “You ready now?” he asked teasingly, lifting his camera, ready to snap another picture.

You and Tom both smiled at the camera and Harry snapped a few pictures, before showing them to you.

“They look really cool, man,” Tom told his brother with a clasp on his shoulder, before he walked off to find his parents. As soon as he was out of earshot Harry looked up to you with a grin and showed you the first picture he’s taken:

Tom was facing the camera, his smile wide, while you were looking at him with a dopey expression on your face.

“Do not show him that picture!” you hissed, cheeks warm from embarrassment. If it weren’t for the situation you were in right now, you’d consider asking Harry for a copy of that picture. It did look pretty cute. But it was also very obvious that you had a fat crush on Tom. And asking Harry for a copy of that picture would be you admitting it. So, no. There’s no way that that’s happening

Harry laughed and shook his head. “Okay I get it now. You are totally in love with him, but you vehemently deny it.”

“Shut up, this isn’t funny. I am just another fan, don’t make it a bigger thing than it is.”

Harry tilted his head and hummed, glancing at Tom who was goofing off with Paddy and Harrison before looking back at you.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen him act like this around a fan before. There’s something about you, that makes Tom feel at ease.”

You swallowed thickly, what did this even mean? Clearing your throat, you shrug, hoping these stupid butterflies would disappear from your stomach. “I did put some sedative into his water.”

Harry slapped his hand on his forehead. “Oh yeah, I can see it now. You’re a dumbass, just like him,” he groaned and you laughed. “That must be it.”

>>> 

After taking a few more pictures on top of Griffith Park, you started heading back down the trail, stomachs grumbling.

“Oooohhh let’s get some ice cream!” Tom suggested, pointing to the ice cream cart a few feet away.

“But we’re having dinner soon,” Nikki pointed out and Tom threw an arm around his mother. “Aw, come on mum. You’re attending the movie premiere of your famous son tomorrow. Let’s celebrate with some pre-dinner ice cream!”

“Geez, when did you get so big headed?” She teased, though the tone in her voice was fond. “But fine, let’s go get some ice cream then.”

With a cheer, the group headed to the ice cream cart, everyone talking about what flavor they were going to pick.

Peeking into the cart, you eyed the different colored ice cream flavors, before deciding for one.

“What’re you gonna get, Y/N?” Harrison asked, leaning over your shoulder. “Vanilla?”

“Nah, I never really was a fan of vanilla,” you mused, ordering a scoop of chocolate ice cream and Tom snickered when you glanced at him.

“Duly noted, Y/N.”

“Oh you pig!” You scolded him with red cheeks, thanking the ice cream vendor when he handed you your ice cream.

“I just said, noted as in, I will not bring you vanilla ice cream because you don’t like it,” Tom argued with a laugh and you shook your head at him.

“Just- don’t, Tom,” you groaned and waved your hands at his face to stop him from talking.

Tom and Harrison laughed and you rolled your eyes at them, waiting for everyone to get their ice cream. When everyone was served, you all started walking back to the cars, talking about the restaurant you were going to have dinner at and what everyone was looking forward to eat, when you noticed a group of girls staring.

“Oh my god, it’s Tom Holland!” one of them exclaimed and you winced, when people started crowding around Tom.

“Hey guys,” he greeted them with a bright smile, cleaning his face off with a wipe. The people started talking, everyone vying for his attention.

“Can we take a picture with you?”

“Can I get an autograph?”

“Where’s Tessa?”

The crowd started getting bigger and your eyes flitted around, looking for an exit. You weren’t a big fan of growing crowds. Noticing your discomfort, Tom handed you the keys of his car, giving you a comforting smile.

“Why don’t you go ahead and wait in the car?”

“Yeah, that sounds splendid,” You muttered, taking the keys and headed to the car with quick strides. You noticed a few girls looking at you and you ducked your head, not wanting to deal with so many people.

“Tom! Who was that?” a girl asked and Tom waved her off with a laugh.

“Just a fan. She’s the one who won the brothers’ trust competition,” he replied and you grimaced, feeling like a bucket of ice water has been dumped over you.

Tom joking around with you and Harry telling you, Tom was at ease around you, was a stark contrast to what he’s just told the girl. Even though you knew you were merely a face in the mass, it still hurt to hear it out loud like that.

Clicking the button of the car keys, you opened the car door and got in, groaning into your hands. This was the worst.

You went into this with no expectations, but Tom’s behavior around you was confusing you so much. You didn’t know what to think.

Playing on your phone, you waited until the boys got back into the car. You exited out of Homescapes when the car doors opened and the boys tumbled in, talking loudly.

“I can’t believe that girl wanted you to sign her boobs!” Harry giggled and you gave them a look.

“Sorry love, couldn’t get away,” Tom told you with red cheeks and you snorted. “Don’t worry about it,” you said as he started the car, driving back into the city.

The excitement of being recognized soon died down and exhaustion took over the car, the music on the radio being the only sound, with the boys in the back dozing and you and Tom driving in silence.

“Hey, so how about I drop the boys off at my place and come with you to the hotel? I’ll wait for you to get changed and then we drive back to my place so I can get dressed and we don’t have to drive twice,” Tom suggested and you turned to look at him, puzzled.

“You sure you want to come with me instead of chilling at home?” you asked him and he shrugged, before nodding.

“Yeah I’m sure. You’re cool,” he replied and you narrowed your eyes at him, a smile spreading on your face.

“Fine. Have it your way, movie star.”

You saw the corners of his lips quirk up and your heart warmed, hoping that that sight will ingrain itself in your brain. A few minutes later, Tom pulled up in front of a luxurious looking apartment complex.

As the car skidded to a stop, the sleeping boys lurched forward and Harrison rubbed his eyes sleepily, looking around in a daze.

“Wha- Is Y/N not getting changed for dinner?” he asked while Sam and Harry climbed out of the car.

“Yeah, I am taking her to the hotel and then we’ll be back to pick you guys up,” Tom said and his friend yawned, shaking his head.

“Why don’t you just get changed now and then drive her to the hotel afterwards? The boys and I can squeeze into the car with your parents or take a taxi,” Harrison suggested and Tom glanced at you. “You mind?”

“Why in god’s name would I turn down the opportunity to see your apartment?” You asked, already unbuckling your seat belt.

“Alright, alright tiger. You go ahead with Harrison, I’ll go park the car,” he told you and you gave him a thumbs up, getting out of the car.

“Let’s go in,” Harrison said and gestured for you to follow him. You briefly watched Tom drive off in his car before you followed Harrison inside the building.

The door was already open and Harrison pressed the button for the elevator. While you waited, you looked around the building.

“So what exactly is the deal with this apartment? Does Tom actually live here or does he live in London?” you asked, stepping into the elevator when the doors open.

“Marvel provided him with this apartment in LA. But he actually lives back in London,” Harrison told you, winking. “He actually lives pretty close to his parents’ place.”

He pressed the button of the penthouse (figured Tom Holland was living in the penthouse) and the elevator doors closed, riding up.

“And you’re all staying with him at his apartment?”

Harrison nodded, leaning against the wall of the elevator. “Yeah. We wanted to get a hotel, but Tom insisted. Was saying that he barely sees us and wants us to stay with him, so we did.”

“Makes sense.”

You headed out of the elevator when it reached the penthouse, looking around in wonder. It looked modern and sleek, a few clothes scattered around the living room, but it didn’t really look like someone actually lived here permanently. You guessed that Tom didn’t stay at this apartment very often, considering he spent most of his time on working and at his actual home. It was still nice to see how he spent his downtime.

“You feel at home, I gotta go grab a shower,” Harrison told you and you sat down, dicking around on your phone while everyone else got ready.

A few minutes later, Tom trickled in, tossing his wallet on the kitchen counter.

“I don’t need long, just want to freshen up and get a change of clothes.”

“You take your time,” you said, waving your hands offhandedly, watching as he disappeared into the hallway. You checked the time on your phone and pulled a face. You wished you hadn’t just told him to take his time; you were told that the reservation at the restaurant was at seven thirty and it was already past five. You still had to drive back to the hotel and get ready there.

Leaning your head back on the headrest, you stared at the ceiling.

You heard steps coming closer and when you turned your head, you saw Nikki walk in the living room, toweling her damp hair.

“Oh Y/N,” she said when she noticed you. “I didn’t know you came here with us.”

“Nikki, oh, hi!”

You quickly sat up straight and gave her a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, I’m just waiting for Tom and then we’ll drive back to the hotel,” you told her and she hummed, disposing of her towel before she joined you on the couch.

“I’m sure he’ll be right out. So… Tell me a bit more about yourself. Are you in school right now?” she asked you and you nodded.

“Yeah, I’m in university for my business major right now. It’s really interesting but so much work. I had to do a lot of assignments to be able to come here, or else I wouldn’t be able to catch up with the amount of work I have to do when I go back home.”

Nikki grimaced good naturedly and clasped her hands over her knees. “Geez, that sounds tiring. I hope you’ll get everything done in time. What about your personal life though? Any significant other? We did offer you to bring someone along, right?”

You snorted out a laugh and leaned forward a bit, your hair covering your heated cheeks. “I know yeah, uh. My friends were busy and I don’t have a boyfriend- or girlfriend, for that matter. With school, and my job on the side, I just don’t have the time to look for someone I like.”

She smiled at you and shook her head. “You’re not supposed to look for someone actively, Y/N. If it’s supposed to happen, it’ll happen.”

“I guess I never thought about it like that,” you admitted, tucking your hair back. With tinder, bumble and Instagram DM’s, you’ve never actually thought about just waiting and seeing where things would take you. Even though you weren’t a big fan of online dating, you’ve downloaded tinder one time.

It lasted about a week before you got sick of the unsolicited nudes and the weird pick up lines. Though you weren’t sure if you could fit a relationship into your life right now, you barely were able to squeeze in the two days for the premiere.

“Just keep your eyes open, how does that sound?” Nikki suggested as Tom walked in, a pair of glasses perched on his nose. His hair was still a little bit damp and instead of some shorts and a shirt, he was dressed in a striped polo shirt paired with some dark pants.

“Hey, Y/N, you ready to go?” he called out to you, before giving a look to his mother, a look you couldn’t quite decipher. Nikki only smiled innocently at her son and you eyed them while you got up.

“Yeah, I am ready to go.”

“I’ll see you kids at the restaurant, drive safe!” She gave you and Tom a hug before you two headed out of the penthouse, taking the stairs to the ground level.

“What’s the deal with those glasses? Too lazy to put your contacts in?” you asked him when you exited the building.

“Oh no, I don’t actually need glasses,” Tom told you with a grin. “They’re a fashion statement.”

You snorted and rolled your eyes at him. “Geez, movie stars are so vain. Having to wear glasses is such a bother, I don’t understand why you would willingly put up with that.”

“Because I look great with them,” he pointed out and laughed, getting into the car after he’s unlocked it.

“It’s true though, admit it,” Tom teased you and you narrowed your eyes at him, huffing with a blush.

“Whatever.”

Tom snickered and started the car, wiggling with his shoulders. “You totally think I am handsome.”

You didn’t bother with a reply and he’s left grinning to himself as he drove back to your hotel. When you’ve reached the hotel, you made your way up to your floor, chattering about idle things. Entering your hotel room, you kicked your shoes off and tossed your backpack on the bed while Tom took a seat on the couch.

“So I’ll just take a quick shower and get changed, it won’t take long,” you told him, gesturing to the bathroom.

“Sure, I’ll wait here!”

He gave you a thumbs up and turned back to his phone while you disappeared into the bathroom, locking the door behind you.

You quickly stripped off your clothes and stepped into the shower, not wanting to waste any time. You didn’t want to make anyone wait at the restaurant for you. After washing the sweat and grime from the hike off, you turned off the shower, shaking off the remaining water. Drying yourself off, you wrapped your hair in a towel, stilling when you looked into the mirror and saw your naked body. Something was wrong. You felt like you were missing something important. Your cheeks grew red when you realized your mistake.

“Fuck.”

You had forgotten to bring a change of clothes into the bathroom.

to be continued...

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[soulspideys]

l o v e - tom holland

summary: tom and y/n are so in love. from the way he looks at her to being the only one he truly adores. love was made for them. this is the ups and downs of being in love with tom holland.

notes: gif not mine based off the song by nat king cole. this was supposed to be something cute and small i wrote in an evening but here we are a week later with the longest fic i’ve ever written. please leave me your thoughts, i worked really hard on this!!

word count: 3542

“L” is for the way you look at me

You smiled to yourself as Tom slipped his gaze past the cameras, allowing it to settle on your face. The interviewer continued to ask, and he replied promptly, but his eyes stayed on you the whole time.

You stuck your tongue out at him. A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. He was temporarily distracted.

“Tom?”

“Sorry, what?” Tearing his gaze from you, he returned his attention to the interviewer. There was a huge grin on his face. “Sorry, Harrison was making faces at me behind the camera.”

The interviewer laughed cordially. Harrison made a choking noise and you bit your knuckles to keep from laughing too hard. Tom waggled his eyebrows at you, his eyes soft and full of humor. Your heart thudded as it always did when you remembered he was yours.

“You guys are gross,” Harrison muttered. You snorted, shoving his shoulder gently.

Tom watched you two fondly. His best mate and his girlfriend got along wonderfully; it was all he had ever wanted. And as the interviewer droned on about Infinity War, he found himself unable to keep his eyes off your banters with Harrison.

As for you, his gaze left you in pieces. It was so gentle, so warm; so loving. Tom Holland loved you. You pinched yourself, glad to feel the sting.

“O” is for the only one i see

“Tom! Tom, look over here! Over here, Tom!”

The paps clamored obnoxiously. You smiled at a few of them, feeling a bit odd having your photo taken like a celebrity. You were just there as Tom’s plus one, but everyone treated you like Zendaya.

“Tom! Tom!”

You glanced up at your boyfriend, surprised to find his eyes trained on you, a dreamy smile playing on his lips. He blinked shyly when you widened your eyes at him. “Is there something on my face?”

“No, love. You’re beautiful as always.”

He tilted his neck, capturing your lips in a swift kiss. It was quick, but the reaction from the paparazzi was thunderous. Cameras clicked a million times a second and you nearly went blind from the flashes.

“TOM!” they screamed. “TOM, OVER HERE!”

“Shouldn’t you pose or something?” you asked out of the side of your mouth. “After all, this is press for your movie.”

“Hm?”

You glanced back at him. His eyes hadn’t moved from your face. With a smile, you leaned in, letting the paparazzi lose their minds all over again.

“V” is very, very extraordinary

“So, Tom, I have to ask,” Nikki said to her son as they stood in the kitchen together. “What’s it like being a teen heartthrob?”

You tilted your head to hear Tom’s answer from around the corner. You lay on your stomach on the couch in his parents’ living room, with the kitchen residing on the other side of the wall. You’d tried to ask Tom similar questions, but he always dodged them. Surely he wouldn’t refuse his own mother?

“Oh, you know,” mumbled Tom, trailing off. Your stomach dropped in irritation.

“I mean, there are so many girls after you,” Nikki pushed. “Aren’t they all the same?”

There was a pause. Then Tom said with a smile in his voice, “No, mum. They’re not.”

“Oh?”

“Well, I wouldn’t be with y/n if she was like all the other girls, would I?”

“I suppose not.” Nikki sounded thoughtful and curious. Tom wasn’t deaf to her unasked question.

“She’s wonderful. I’m in love with her. She never ceases to amaze me.”

“Does she know?”

“I hope so, mum.”

Smiling to yourself, you caught your lip between your teeth. After a moment of silence, the topic changed and you pushed yourself to your feet. You rounded the corner to a polite greeting from Nikki and a bright smile from Tom.

You intertwined your hand with his and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. When you pulled away, he blinked in surprise. “What’sat for?”

“I love you.”

He smiled and kissed your temple. “I love you too.”

“E” is even more than anyone that you adore

You watched the boys through your sunglasses, a small smile on your face. Harrison gave a warbling yell, launching himself into the pool and on top of Jacob. They both went down. Zendaya sighed, turning a page in her script.

“Come on, y/n!” It was Tom. “Get in! The game is so much fun!”

“It’s a little too barbaric for me,” you called back as Jacob and Harrison floundered to the surface.

“No way, this is just the warm up!” insisted Harry.

“Yeah, the actual game is very civilized,” Tom told you earnestly.

You glanced to your left. Zendaya was watching you with a small smile. She nodded encouragingly when your eyes met, and you swung your legs over the recliner. “Alright, fine. I’m in.”

“Yes -- wuaaargh!” Harrison’s cheer was interrupted by Tony tackling him back into the water.

You pulled off your top, ignoring Tom’s cheeky whistle. You made your way over to the pool, standing at the edge and looking at the rowdy boys below.

“Get in!” Harry shouted, tossing the ball and catching it.

“Alright, alright,” you muttered, dipping your toe in. Tom was treading water, watching you. Some boys were muttering to each other, and you smiled to yourself. Glancing at Tom, you realized he was the only one you hadn’t fooled. You winked at him before shouting, “Cowabunga!” and launching yourself into the pool.

Boys shrieked and scrambled to avoid your wave. When you resurfaced, Tom paddled strongly over to you and kissed you hard. When you both nearly went under, you laughed. “Tom, stop! We’re gonna drown!”

“Okay, pick teams!” shouted Jacob before Tom could reply.

“Tom, you’re with me, right?” Harrison asked.

“No way, mate,” chuckled Tom, shaking his locks out of his eyes. “I’ve got my girl.”

“But we’re always on the same team! I’m your favorite!” Harrison pretended to pout.

Tom shrugged, and Harrison swam away. He turned to you with a smile. “Nah, he’s not,” he whispered, kissing you again. You were smiling too much to kiss him back, and anyways, Zendaya blew the whistle and the game began.

and love is all that i can give to you

“Yeah, I know. I just miss you.”

“I know, baby, I miss you too. You got my gift?”

You bit your lip, fiddling with the blanket you were laying on. “Yeah, I got it.”

“Did you like it?” You could hear Tom’s uncertainty through the phone and exhaled gently, glancing at the giant teddy bear resting against your bed.

“Yeah, Tom, I loved it. I love stuffed animals.”

“No, not that gift.”

Your brow furrowed, disappointed that he had brought it up. The fancy piece of jewelry was resting on your headboard; he knew you’d never wear it, but it held sentimental value. It had your names intertwined in gorgeous lettering, but you were scared to touch it in case you broke it.

“Yeah. It’s beautiful, Tom.” You swallowed around the uncomfortable lump in your throat. “Must have cost a fortune, though.”

“Yeah, well, you’re worth it, darling.”

“Don’t.”

You instantly regretted your words, especially when Tom mumbled, “You don’t like it.”

“That’s not true, Tom,” you sighed, rubbing your forehead and rolling onto your back. “I just... it’s wonderful, but it’s a constant reminder of how much more money you have than me.”

“You know that doesn’t matter to me, love.”

“I know it doesn’t, but it matters to me. I feel like I have to work twice as hard to show you I appreciate you, and sometimes all I can buy you is like a box of your favorite candy. All I have to give you is my love.”

“That’s all I need.”

It was quiet, but it was enough. Your eyes stung, and you smiled to yourself. Tom didn’t say anything, and you tried to hold in a sniffle. It didn’t work.

“D-did I say anything wrong? I’m so sorry, I was trying to make things better, I didn’t mean to--”

“No,” you choked out through the tears. “No, you said the perfect thing. God, I love you so much, Tom.”

“O-oh. I love you too, darling. I hope you know that. I can’t put a price on how much I love you.”

“Neither can I.”

love is more than just a game for two

Upon hearing an irritated sigh from Tom, you looked up at him. He was scrolling through instagram, and you knew that those two things combined never meant anything good.

He had just posted your first “couple” photo. He had his arm around you, his lips pressed to your cheek. The caption was “happy six months babe” with picture credits to Harrison (bless his heart).

“What’s the matter, babe?” you crawled across the bed, coming to lay on your stomach next to him. He shrugged, but his frown remained the same.

“Just dumb comments.” He shut his phone off, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you close before nuzzling into the crook of your neck. He pretended to fall asleep, but you knew better.

“Tom,” you mumbled. “I love you, but you can’t just ignore this.”

“Sure I can,” he said into your neck. “I’ve done it before.”

“Mmmm, but this time it involves me, so....” 

When you picked up your own phone, he reluctantly withdrew. You scrolled through some of the comments, your eyebrows raising in surprise. They weren’t mean or hateful necessarily, but there were definitely ignorant and inconsiderate comments.

omg who’s next??

z and now y/n....... who’s gonna be his next “best friend”?

can’t believe it’s been six months!! that’s so long!!!

it’s a no from me

“Okay, that’s enough,” grumbled Tom, taking your phone and shutting it off before setting it down on the bed. He picked up his own, opening up instagram and going to the story capture screen.

“Tom, what are you doing?” you asked.

“I’m gonna address something,” he told you simply. Then he began to record.

“Hey guys, just wanted to thank those of you who are being incredibly sweet and supportive! As for the rest of you, I have a little something to say.”

You sat up, unsure if he wanted you in the video or not. 

He went on, “I didn’t need to show you my healthy relationship with this wonderful girl I love. But I did, because I respect and like you guys. But a relationship isn’t just two people seeking to entertain spectators. This relationship is about the two of us loving and working well together.”

You shuffled closer, and he wrapped his arm around you. “I love y/n, and I’m not planning a ‘next one.’ She’s gonna be here awhile -- if she’ll have me. I’d hope that’s okay with you guys.”

He kissed you on the cheek as the video ended. Then he pulled a face. “I should end it on a high note.” A devilish grin grew over his face. “Go get the cling film?”

As you two sat on the bed ten minutes later, you began to shout. Tom hit record.

“Harrison! Harrison, come quick! Tom won’t wake up!”

“What!?”

“I don’t know what’s wrong, get in here!”

Harrison came pounding down the hall, the cling film catching him squarely in the face. He went down like a rock, and you and Tom nearly cried from laughing so hard. 

two in love can make it

“H-how long?”

Tom sounded as though he might cry as he whispered back, “Six months. Possibly more.”

“And there’s no way for me to come visit or for you to come back?”

“No. Even Harrison can’t come.”

You chewed your thumb, a nervous habit. Tom was running his hands through his hair, obviously beyond distressed. You were used to press tours and the like, but this was something you had never anticipated. A month, two months, fine. But anything more than that... they were crossing into long-distant relationship territory.

“God, I’m so sorry,” Tom choked out. “I feel like such a fucking prick, a selfish twat. All this for a stupid move....”

“Tom, you know how I feel about that. Your career is your life. Always put it first.”

“Yeah, but this is....”

“Different.”

“Completely.”

“I know.”

He looked at you, his eyes red from lack of sleep due and stress. Running a hand over his face once, he took yours in his own. “What are we going to do?”

You knew what he meant. “I don’t know, Tom. This is... a lot.”

“Yeah.” His voice broke and he looked away in shame. 

You lifted your hand, bringing it up to cup his face. A tear slipped out of his eye, and you swiped your thumb along his cheek to catch it. When he brought his own hand up to cup your face, you realized you were also crying. The both of you cracked broken smiles, laughing weakly as tears fell.

“I feel I know where this is going,” Tom breathed.

“I do, too.”

“Fuck,” he muttered, shaking his head slightly. “We’re so... good, though. We are so good that we know and agree on what needs to happen.”

“I won’t be able to stand it,” you admitted. “and neither will you.”

“Right.”

“But what other choice do we have?”

He looked at you, deep brown meeting y/e/c, and suddenly you saw every hope and wish and ounce of guilt reflected back at you. 

“We could get engaged.”

“Wh-what?” You gasped, so stunned you pulled your hand back. 

Tom winced, taking your hand back in his. “I didn’t mean for it to come off so ugly and rushed. I’ve thought about this for a long time. I’ve put a lot of thought into it. I want to get engaged, y/n. I want to marry you. But if we need to put us on hold until I get back, I’m willing to wait.”

“Oh, Tom....”

You were crying, but he still cupped your face oh-so-gently and brought his lips to yours. You could taste your tears in the kiss, but you forced yourself to embrace it; to remember the feel and the taste and feeling of belonging that his kisses gave you. Six months was a long time to go without that feeling.

Tom was first to pull away. He wiped your tears away, smiling weakly. You knew he was just trying to put on a brave face. He felt just as destroyed as you did.

“When do you leave?” you asked him softly.

“Tomorrow.”

“Best make tonight count, then, if there will be no us for six months.”

He nodded, but there was no cheekiness. You pushed him back on the bed, straddling his waist and kissing him tenderly. This was no fevered, passionate fuck. You were going to make love.

“We’ll be okay,” Tom whispered when you paused in your kisses. “I love you so much. We will make it.”

take my heart and please don’t break it

Tears poured down your face. You ignored Harrison’s shout to wait, you tore your arm free of his grasp and sprinted forward. He was here, he was right there, he was home. 

“y/n! Stop!”

But Harrison couldn’t pretend. As you pounded through the airport, shoving past families in fanny packs, Harrison was hot on your heels. The security guards shouted after you, but you both ignored them.

You could hear camera shutters ahead. The familiar buzz of excited fans. The calls of his security: “step back, back up, back--”

Then he was there, and your feet stopped in their tracks. Harrison collided painfully with your back, but you barely moved. Tom Holland was making his way through the airport, and holy shit, he was real.

“Tom! Oh my god, Tom! Sign this, please! Can I have a picture, Tom?”

He hadn’t noticed you or Harrison. Eight long months, all he wanted was a nap. He should have been home already, but fuck it, he was home now.

“Go on, y/n,” muttered Harrison as the security guards caught up to you two.

You glanced at him. He nodded, and you turned back to face the coming crowd. Tom lifted his head, and his eyes widened. “y/n?”

It broke the spell. You sprinted forward; Tom shoved the items back towards the fans, running towards you. The paps grew louder, pushing the fans out of the way; the fans gave squeals of alarm and indignation; and then everything fell silent as your lips crashed together.

His arms were wrapped tight around you, and your hands were in his hair, holding his head close. You broke apart, both breathing hard. Tears splashed down your front, and Tom’s eyes were rimmed with red.

“Holy shit,” he breathed.

You felt the same way. Leaning in close, you kissed him again. This was slower, gentler. You were forced to pull away when the security guard tapped Tom on the shoulder.

“We gotta go. Can’t stick around longer. But you’ve certainly given the media some good content.”

“Let’s give them a little more,” Tom said with a cheeky grin, pressing a quick kiss to your lips before pulling away. He walked past you. You turned, confused, and then realized what was happening.

Tom paused in front of Harrison. His best friend’s eyes were red.

“Hey,” Tom said weakly.

Then Harrison was crying and laughing at the same time, and the two were gripping each other close, their fingers scrunched in the back of each other’s shirts.

Camera shutters flashed, and you began to cry again. Then you walked over to the boys, prepared to leave the hustle and bustle. But Tom grabbed your hand, signalling for you to stop.

“Tom, we gotta go,” you said with a smile.

“I know,” he breathed. “But I made a promise eight months ago. We were technically on a break, but the thought of clubbing made me feel sick to my stomach. I’m still helplessly in love with you, y/n. And I hope the feeling is at least a little mutual. Please...”

He dropped down on one knee, and the fans lost their minds. You placed a hand over your mouth, hardly daring to believe.

“Marry me, y/n?”

“Yes! Oh my god, yes.”

He stood up, wrapping you in a tight embrace. Harrison was crying too, but he tried to pretend he wasn’t. You knew that paparazzi photos would come out of him wiping away his tears, and you smiled at the thought of the three of you laughing over them.

“Now come on,” Tom whispered. “Let’s get home.”

He took your hand, leading you out of the airport, and you didn’t have the heart to tell him that you had been home from the moment you saw him for the first time.

love was made for me and you

“Teen girls everywhere are both saddened and touched as pictures of Tom Holland and his wife at their wedding are released.”

“How does that even happen?” you laughed to your husband. “The wedding literally isn’t over.”

Tom shrugged. “I’ve stopped questioning it.”

“Now, will the bride and groom please make their way to the floor for their first dance as newlyweds?”

Tom stood, holding out his hand. You took it, Harrison reaching over to help you with your dress. You thanked him with a tiny wave and a whisper as the two of you made your way to the floor. Your song started to play through the speakers.

You took Tom’s hand, placing your other on his shoulder. He linked one around your waist, and the two of you swayed slowly on the spot.

“God, this is so right,” you breathed.

“About fucking time,” he agreed.

“Have I mentioned I’m love with you?” You asked him with a small smile tugging on your lips, gazing into his eyes.

“Just a few times,” he answered, his eyes flickering to your lips.

You closed the distance, kissing your husband as the meaningful song filtered through the speakers. Harrison was watching you guys a little wistfully. Harry and Sam had their phones out, filming the wedding.

You sighed contentedly, resting your head against his chest. “I cannot wait for five years from now.”

“What?” Tom sounded beyond confused. 

“When we’ll be super rich, living in a beautiful mansion,” you explained. “And we can wake up at ten and that’s okay or we can wake up at four in the evening and that’s okay too. And we’ll make food together and invite Harrison over every other day and your brothers will call us lame because they’re secretly jealous.”

You lifted your head, looking Tom in the eyes as you went on.

“You’ll probably have an oscar by then, so I can say I’m married to an oscar-winning actor. Even if not, I’ll say I’m married to the best actor in the world, because I am. We’ll be silly but also really sexy and who knows...” You grinned shyly. “Maybe there will be a little one on the way by then.”

Tom blinked hard, trying to hide the tears glistening in his eyes. His smile was huge as he croaked, “I think that sounds perfect.”

You leaned in to kiss him again. “So do I.”

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[failaise]

like real people do | jungkook

summary: the feelings for your friends with benefits are changing. months pass, and you feel your gut telling you that you want more. you’re just not sure if he feels the same. 

piece 1, piece 2, piece 3

college student!reader, friends with benefits!jungkook

based off hozier’s song ‘like real people do’

One lazy arm was strewn over your stomach. It rose and fell with each soft snore and mumbled sleepy words. You could feel the warm of the sun streamed through the window landing on your cheek, stirring you from your dream. Torn from a fantasy dealing with a brown-haired boy, your tongue wet your dry lips and your eyes fluttered open. 

The first thing you saw were piles of clothes in the corner of the room, any of which would become your outfit for that day’s lecture. Sunlight landed on any surface it could, illuminating the room with a soft, gold glow. For a moment you felt you were alone in that room by yourself, listening to your steady breaths and the soft hum of the radio on the nightstand, before you realized that your bed was occupied. 

Lately, it seemed it always was. 

Eyes trailing down the expanse of your body, you found an arm thrown across your waist, hugging you close against a warm chest. A soft inhale proved that it was Jeon Jungkook, snugly asleep behind you. His usual scent of cotton and laundry enveloped you. The tiniest hint of a smile crept up on your lips, twitching up the corners. You caught yourself before your teeth could show, and slowly turned to look at him. 

Jungkook, of course, was sound asleep. His jaw was agape, his snores rumbling low against his makeshift pillow. You fondly brushed a strand of his light hair out of his eyes, and sighed. 

Your situation was getting worse. You promised yourself those feelings you felt were just because of the things the two of you had done together. They had to be. 

Jungkook’s mouth moved and he pressed his lips together with a tiny sigh, “Are you watching me sleep?” 

Your gaze darted up to his eyes, which were slowly peeling apart to look up at you. Those long, feather-like eyelashes brushed the bone of his structured cheek. Warm and sleepy, Jungkook stared at you through the tops of his eyes, lips curving into a smile. 

You coughed and looked away, face burning. “What? Pffffffft,” you scoffed, immediately pulling back from him, “no, that’s, like, so weird.” 

Jungkook’s grip tightened around your waist. “Yeah?” He laughed, a deep, rumbling noise that matched his morning voice. Leaning upwards, he caught your cheek with his lips, softly planting kisses along your burning face. You felt your heart expanding, your chest tightening with whatever feeling this was. You’d never felt it before- this curdling, suffocating feeling. 

Jungkook’s lips captured yours in one long, savored kiss. Instinctively you reached up to caress his jaw, but caught yourself. That was too much. He wasn’t your boyfriend, you reminded yourself. You couldn’t hold him like that, not in the way other girls were. 

“I, uh,” you pulled back, clearing your throat awkwardly, “I have class in thirty minutes.” 

He pushed himself up so that he was above you, his height an advantage that allowed you to look up at him through your lashes. You couldn’t have possibly known what he was feeling in that moment- if his heart was tight like yours, if his breath was caught in his throat like yours. 

“So?” Jungkook pursed his lips in rejection. “You don’t have to get dressed nice or anything.” He leaned forward to kiss you again, but you swiftly turned to grab your phone, acting as if you hadn’t seen his move. He hesitated inches away from your face. “What’s wrong?” 

Your mind flashed back to the tiniest hint of a hickey you’d found on his throat. It wasn’t yours, and you knew it. Your stomach clenched and fell between your legs, though you fought to keep this bit of information out of your expression. You forced your best smile and looked sideways at him, as if he were the one acting odd. “Nothing, weirdo.” 

Jungkook pouted and placed his hands on either of your thighs. “Can I have a kiss then?” 

You imagined, for a split second, what this could be. If he was your boyfriend. If he’d bring you lunch to work, if he’d send you cute messages or comment nice things on pictures you posted, if he’d show you off on his social media- or to his friends. Jungkook would be an amazing boyfriend, and you were sure of it. 

He just wouldn’t be yours. 

Your gaze faltered. “I really… I should really go take a shower.” 

On the nightstand, Jungkook’s phone buzzed. You glanced over, saw the message, and looked away. He watched you as you pushed yourself off the bed and brushed your hair behind your ears, hurrying towards the restroom. Jungkook pressed his hands to his face and groaned, falling sideways onto the bed. 

He always messed things up. Did he say something wrong? Was he coming on too strong? Did he have morning breath? 

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” he muttered to himself as he snatched his phone off the nightstand, angrily checking what message had sent you running away. 

+70291739472: heyyyy cutie, wyd tonight? (;

Who even was this? Jungkook couldn’t remember which girl it was texting him, but after scrolling up he suddenly recalled who she was- some girl in his environmental science class that he used to mess around with that was way too clingy and horny. But, he knew it was dumb to drop all the girls he ever talked to for one girl, for you, and in doing so he would get hurt. It had happened too many times before- where he gives  up everything for someone who doesn’t feel the same. 

He couldn’t have you. He couldn’t have the obnoxious snores you made during psych when you fell asleep, or the drool that you would readily wipe away upon returning to consciousness. He couldn’t have your awkward jokes mumbled under your breath to keep your spirits up, or the jovial smile you gave to every customer you tended to. He’d ruin you. 

Right? 

jungkook: nothing, wbu? (;

“That’s not even true,” you laughed, shaking your head as you scribbled down a definition into your notebook. Across from you, a black-haired girl threw her head back and snorted, nearly spitting her coffee all over your book. 

“Is, too,” Somi persisted. “On my life, I swear she watches horse porn.” 

An onlooker in the aisle beside your study space looked over at the two of you. You laughed into your hand and fought your instinct to slam your hand on the desk in amusement. By far, you and Somi were the two loudest people in the library, even amongst the subtle hum of chatter that buzzed around the entrance. Hidden in the back corner, you were propped up in a comfortable reclining chair, legs crossed and textbook in your lap. A pop-up table allowed you to copy vocab into your notebook. Across from you, Somi laid on her stomach on the floor, giggling uncontrollably into her hoodie. 

“Hey,” Somi suddenly said, looking up at you with red cheeks. “So how about J?” 

J was the codeword the two of you used for Jungkook. Your eyes darted towards her at the mention of him. Pursing your lips, you huffed and scribbled down the definition for ‘manifest content’. “What about him?” 

“When’re you going to ask him on, like, a real date?” Somi questioned. She pushed herself up so that she was sitting cross-legged, gazing up at you speculatively. 

“Um, like, never,” you mocked, rolling your eyes. 

“Why not?” Somi demanded with a large and heavy sigh. “If it’s some bullshit reason like ‘he’s the guy so he has to do it’ I will shove my foot up your 19th-century ass hole.” 

You scrunched up your face. Before you could shoot back with some pithy remark, your words died on your tongue, and your stomach dropped. 

From your seat, you could clearly see the entrance, and Jungkook sauntering in. He had to be dressed casually- of course he did. His white v-neck and sweatpants would most certainly be the death of you. You watched as he paused at the entrance, looking around as you hid underneath the hood of your sweater. His lips curled into a frown and he pulled his phone from his back pocket, typing a quick message. 

jungkook: hey, you working? 

Your phone buzzed on your lap. Carefully glancing at it, you looked up to make sure he didn’t see you, and shot back a quick response: 

you: yup. 

“Look at him,” Somi whispered, dragging herself closer to your chair. “He looks totally conflicted.” 

“Somi,” you sighed, “no one uses that word in a real conversation.” 

“Shut up.” 

But he did, or at least you thought so. You watched him stare at his phone, fingers lingering over the keys and typing messages. The little bubble formed at the bottom of your screen, disappearing and reappearing in unison with Jungkook’s thumbs. You thought, maybe, he’d shoot you a response- or, the hopeful part of you did. 

You never knew what his message said. His thumbs stopped when someone called out his name, drawing his attention and jerking his head up. Someone was jogging towards him, weaving their way through the crowd of sleep-deprived college students. Not even the scent of your coffee by your lap could calm you, not when some blonde haired girl was hurrying towards him. You watched, stomach tight, as she threw her skinny arms over his  shoulders  and pulled him close. You knew this proximity, the way she guided herself over his height so easily. She’d left the hickey. 

“Oh,” Somi’s eyebrows fell in disappointment. She quickly glanced towards you, placing a hand on your knee comfortingly, “He’s an asshole.” 

“No,” you smiled tightly at her, shrugging it off, “he’s just a friend with benefits. He can do whatever, whoever, he wants.” 

Somi chewed her lip. “_____-” 

“Seriously, Somi,” you shook your head and looked down at your book. You didn’t think you could bare to see the way Jungkook and that girl would look at one another. Maybe he looked at her in all the ways he never would with you. Maybe he sent her text messages saying “thinking of you” throughout the day. “It’s fine.” 

“It’s not-”

“I should get ready for work,” you closed your book with the notes inside it. 

Somi stared at you, lips parted. “You don’t have to pretend it doesn’t bother you,” she announced, chin lifted high and eyes soft. “Not with me.” 

You smiled slyly and shoved your book into the bag sitting on the floor. “Somi,” you sighed, shaking your head as if she couldn’t possibly understand. “I knew what I was getting myself into. He doesn’t feel that way about me.” 

Somi jumped to her feet the second you rose to yours. Her eyes bore into yours, concerned and urgent, begging you to stop and talk to her. Your gaze darted from her back to the entrance, watching Jungkook and that girl head to the back corner you and Somi were stationed at. Your breath caught and you slung your bag over your chest. 

“I’ll text you,” you told her in a hushed voice. Somi called out for you as you hurried towards the exit, fingers cold and practically shaking at your sides. You kept your head down, eyes averting his as you pushed past. 

Jungkook saw your hoodie and he knew it was you, even though you tucked all your hair away and forced a shadow across your face. His stomach sank when he realized you were avoiding him- you weren’t at work, and your texts were short. 

As you practically ran past him, Jungkook was tempted to grab your wrist, to ask why you were acting weird, to demand an explanation. He wanted to badly to feel the comfort of your warm smile aimed at him, or to at least know you still wanted him. His feet moved on their own and swiveled around to look at you, watching your hooded figure shuffle out the sliding doors. 

“Who’s that?” Minjoo wondered, staring at your back disappearing down the  street. 

Jungkook caught the word on his tongue before he said it. “Uh.. a girl in my intro to psych class.” 

Minjoo nodded, as if she could possibly understand. 

The other part of Jungkook whispered in his ear the word his heart ached to claim. 

girlfriend. 

p.2

a/n: super short but i haven’t written in months and a lot of things have happened to me since… sorry if this sucks omfg 

[wantedladybug]

Things on Earth

"But I know the rage that drives you. That impossible anger strangling the grief, until the memory of your loved one is just poison in your veins. And one day, you catch yourself wishing the person you loved had never existed so you'd be spared your pain.."

-Ra's Al Ghul (Batman Begins)

Alya scrolled through her blog at the list of questions that had been piling up for a while now. Ever since story broke about how Ladybug stopped a bus jacking and then dropped the criminal responsible off a roof, her blog had been overwhelmed with people asking the same thing: why? And she wished she could answer their questions. She was the girl who'd gotten to personally interview Ladybug more than once, including taking photos of her activities around Paris.

But she couldn't get Ladybug on demand. And Ladybug had practically disappeared afterwards. No one had seen her since. People had sighted Chat Noir, but always without Ladybug. And if he was asked, he could only say that she wasn't answering his calls. All of her journalistic instincts told her to look into it more. But how could she focus on this when her best friend was in need? Especially today? After all, today was her mother's funeral.

...

"Marinette? It's almost time to go. Please...get ready," her father called from beneath the hatch into her room. She reached for her phone from under the covers to find messages from her friends saying they'd be there soon. She'd been dreading this moment. Today was the day of the funeral. Time seemed to just be passing her by and she hardly noticed. Her father added, "I'll be waiting in the living room. I'll check back on you in a few minutes."

"You really should go Marinette!" Tikki said.

She didn't want to go. She had to. This would be the last time she'd see her mom. Ever. She had to be there. It took a moment for her to find the energy to get out of bed. It took a moment longer to find the will to get some clothes together and head for the shower. All through her shower and getting dressed, she felt nothing but drained. It was only with help from Tikki that she was able to make herself look presentable. Once she joined her father in the living room, she found her friends there waiting: Nino, Alya, Alix, Rose, Juleka, Myléne, and...Adrien?

She was surprised by his presence, but was barely able to get a smile out for them. There was an awkward silence between them as they helped her outside.

The funeral was quiet - only a few family members and close friends. Even though it was supposed to be a sad day, the sky was bright and clear. In movies and TV shows, they usually set funerals as somber against the rain or cloudy skies. But this was a day like any other. Bright, sunny, birds singing in the air playfully. It was like the world was mocking her by being happy on this day of all days. If it weren't for Alya there beside her, she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle it.

Then came the time to see her mom's body one last time before they closed the casket. She seemed so peaceful, so calm. But seeing her brought back memories of her mom's horrible, painful death. Then the gunshot, the loud bang, echoed in her mind. Again and again, followed by memories of her mom laying at the bottom of the stairs. Her heart raced and tears swelled. She couldn't do this. She couldn't be here.

She had to be here. For her dad. To say goodbye to her mom.

It took all she had to keep from running away. If Alya didn't take her hand and squeeze it, she was sure she would've. When the time came to finally bury her mom, she buried herself into Alya's shoulder. It was becoming too much. Her mom was gone now.

...

After the funeral, all of Marinette's friends accompanied her and her dad back to the bakery. She still couldn't bring herself to talk to them or to say anything to them. Remembering her mom died reminded her that she'd thrown a man off a roof. And she still had his phone in her room. What was she going to do with a phone number?

Her friends spent the afternoon to make sure she was okay, and she could hear them quietly wondering if either of them would be the next Akuma. That thought drowned out anything else they said. Part of her wondered if being Akumatized would make this hurt stop. She still couldn't bring herself to talk to them. In fact, by the time she heard what they were saying, it was because she realized Alya had been hugging her from behind, "Marinette, you know you can talk to us. We're your friends. We're here for you."

It was only now that she realized her Adrien was kneeling in front of her with a hand on her knee. The look he was giving her was pitying. It was ironic. She'd always wanted Adrien's attention and now that she had it, it seemed like it was only because he felt sorry for her. And meeting his gaze hurt. What would he think if he knew what she did?

Her eyes went down again to avoid their gaze. Then she heard music - a happy beat. It was her favorite song. Nino had brought over some speakers and was playing her favorite song on them. He pumped his arm in the air, "Aw yeah. Here we go. You've been so down lately, Mari. Thought you'd need something to cheer you up!"

"What, like a dance party? Hardly the time," Alix answered.

"That's not a bad idea, though," Alya said, approaching the console and starting it up, "How about a round of Ultimate Mecha Strike III?"

She nodded. Alya passed a controller her way and they started playing. At first, she felt nothing - mindlessly pressing the buttons as her character fought on screen. Normally, winning would've come naturally but this time she was out in the first thirty seconds. Alya cheered, "Alright! My win!"

Marinette looked from her cheering friend to the tv and smiled, "Rematch."

"Oh, it's on girl!" Alya said. They played a few more rounds while the boys cheered them on. With each round, Marinette got a little bit more of her confidence back until she was playing on at least even ground with Alya. Alya still beat her but Marinette was at least lasting longer than she normally would. And, for the first time since in a while, she found herself laughing and giggling with her friends. She felt happy, in a way she hadn't felt in a while.

...

That night, Marinette lay in bed - thinking of the day her friends gave her and quietly wishing it didn't have to end. Even Tikki noticed, "You're smiling again, Marinette."

Was she? She looked at the mirror and hardly noticed a difference. Then again, she was feeling more motivated after the day she had with her friends. Despite the sad beginning. Then her attention turned to the mountain of school work piling up because she couldn't bring herself to do it. The longer she ignored it, the bigger it would get. It wasn't due to laziness but a lack of any motivation to actually do it. Or anything.

But how long could she just sit around feeling sorry? She couldn't do it forever, could she? What would her mom say if she were here? She'd encourage to get up and do it. Maybe now was the time to do just that. She sat at her desk and began her work while Tikki asked, "Marinette? Are you thinking of going back to school?"

"Tomorrow…or maybe the next day," she said quietly, beginning to go through the papers. She noticed Tikki smiling at her fondly, "What?"

"I'm just happy you're not moping in bed any more," Tikki said cheerily, "I'll help! Here! Let's start with this one. I think it says history?"

History…is that all that happened was? History? Something so long ago that she could just forget? Then the fire returned. The bitter resentment.

"Or maybe not."

She noticed Tikki hanging sadly and took a deep breath to calm herself down, putting on her biggest smile, "No, I'm sorry Tikki. Let's get started."

...

Marinette left early to finally go to school and be on time for once. She felt nervous going back, and the school never seemed so far and so big before now. When she finally arrived at the steps, the sight of it daunted her out of walking through. She'd been coming to school here for years but she felt like a stranger standing outside the school.

"It'll be okay," Tikki said from her purse, "Don't run. I'm right here."

Marinette nodded. She could do this. She was Ladybug, after all. So why couldn't she take that first step. And why were the steps so high? Just as she was about to break out into panicked sweats, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder and a soft voice, "Marinette?"

She jumped, not expecting to encounter Adrien first thing in the morning, "Welcome back."

"Hi," she smiled nervously, now feeling more anxious than she had been before. But the fear that would normally have compelled her to stammer her words and run in a panic instead froze her where she stood. Adrien offered her a calm smile, "Here, let me walk you inside. Everyone's going to be so happy to see you back."

Before she could say anything, Adrien took her hand and pulled her up the stairs and through the school entry way. Her heart started to race as all of her senses focused on the warmth of Adrien's hand, the smoothness of skin, the gentle way he held her hand.

"MARINETTE!"

She broke away from warm thoughts of Adrien's touch to see Alya throwing her arms around her in a big hug, "Welcome back!"

She hugged Alya back, relieved to see her and feeling calm now that she had her there. It only lasted a moment when she saw the rest of her class coming to see her: Nino, Rose, Juleka, Mylène, Max, Ivan, Nathaniel, Kim, and Alix. Even Sabrina and Chloé approached although they kept their distance. Then there was Lila - she was saying something about being sorry and how she could talk to her if she needed to. She wasn't sure exactly what but she could tell it was a front for the others. And whatever it was suddenly got lost in a sea of noise.

They all started talking to her and it made her heart race. Her head spun. There were too many people talking at once. Too much noise. There was too much going on. Breathing started to hurt. She was suffocating. There were too many people. She wanted to go away. She would make them go away. She only snapped out of it when Adrien and Nino pulled her back, "Whoa dudes! Give her space!"

"Come on. I'll walk you to your locker," Alya offered, helping to push her out of the crowd. She was glad she had them. She would've had no idea what she would've done if she stayed there.

...

Adrien watched Marinette ascend the stairs with Alya to the lockers, wondering aloud, "Do you think she came back too soon?"

"Yeah, bro," Nino adjusted his hat to better glimpse them as they disappeared. She hardly stumbled or tripped as she made her way to her classroom. She was not okay. Marinette had always been…awkward around him. But the way she'd been the last few days…especially now, freezing up in front of the school and now having a panic attack around her own friends. That cemented it in his mind. She was not okay, "Maybe someone should talk to her?"

"I can do it," Lila offered. Adrien wasn't sure she was the best choice - she and Marinette didn't really get along. Having Lila of all people talk to her, especially now, might make it worse. He pocketed his hands, "I was thinking I should."

"Don't waste your time Adrikins," Chloé said, tapping her foot impatiently. That remark took them all of guard and even Sabrina had to call her on it, "Chloé, that was mean."

"It wasn't mean. It's the truth," she stated matter of factly, becoming annoyed at the dirty looks she was getting. She rolled her eyes, "Look. Her mom was killed in front of her. She's not okay. What she should do is get her stuff and head back home. It's for her own good. And before any of you get mad at me, Sabrina and I weren't the ones who smothered her. Maybe you should all think about how you're acting before you get mad at me. Maybe you all should be more considerate! Hmph!"

She crossed her arms and turned to walk away, stopping only to wait for Sabrina to catch up. It was a rare thing for Chloe's snobbish and rude remarks to be so on the nose. There was a still calm among them until Alix grunted, "She's such a brat."

Max adjusted and added, "She's correct, though. Marinette has experienced a traumatic and life changing event. And she's still recovering mentally. We may want to shower her with affection to placate her distress but recovery comes at its own pace. It would be best to give her space until she's ready to be approached by us."

Adrien glanced towards the lockers one last time before sighing and making his way up there. There he found Alya helping Marinette sort out the things she would need for class that day. He did the same, trying to avoid bothering her as he sorted through his own stuff when there was a loud slam behind them. Marinette gasped and jumped, locking up in place as her breathing got heavy. Alya tried talking to her to calm her down while Adrien looked towards the offending noise to see Kim shrugging apologetically, "Sorry."

He'd closed his locker too hard. Adrien could only imagine what must've been racing through her mind. Max was already trying to drag him out of there despite his protests so that he could apologize but it wasn't helping. Adrien finished grabbing his things and gently closed his locker, making sure not to startle her before helping to push Kim out, "Let's go."

"Come on! I said I was sorry!"

...

The noise echoed inside her head over and over, bringing back the memory of that night. It just seemed to get louder with each shot, the image of her mother lying in a pool of her own blood coming back to her. It only stopped when she felt someone's arms around her and she heard Alya's voice saying, "Marinette! It's okay. It's okay! Everything's okay!"

It took her a moment longer to become aware of her surroundings and she realized she squeezing her locker door so hard that her knuckles were white. As white as the phone she squeezed in anger. She let the locker go and Alya said calmly, "I'm right here. Everyone's safe."

She nodded her understanding, closing her eyes and taking another moment to calm her thoughts, "I'm okay."

"Girl, you're not okay," Alya said, "School hasn't even started yet and you've locked up twice! You should head home!"

"I'm fine!" she insisted, closing her locker slowly, "Let's just get to class."

She was fine. She would be fine.

They made it to class before the bell rang and she noticed right away that everyone seemed to be trying their hardest to pretend she didn't just freak out in the main area. Trying because everyone kept glancing at her, if only briefly. Whether it was out of concern or morbid fascination, she wasn't sure. She wanted to ignore it, but the staring just made her more uncomfortable. It was like trying to ignore a blinding light staring her straight in the face. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe she shouldn't have come. It was obviously too soon and she wasn't well enough to come back.

"It can trace a phone number backwards and find the point of origin of the call!" Max said ecstatically, "It's still in early beta but Markov and I think it's very promising. Of course, the only reason we're researching this is for phone number masking. You know, stop those annoying robocalls that come from one person. After all, you can only do it so much if they can all get traced."

Marinette looked over her shoulder at Max. He could trace phone numbers? She could feel the wheels turning in her head as she gave it a lot of thought. She knew what she wanted to do…but should she? Would she? No, she needed to let it go. And she needed to get after them. Was this right? No, of course not. But what if she did nothing and someone else died? Could she live with that? No! Of course not. She assured herself that this wasn't revenge. This wasn't payback. It was taking action to prevent more death. She was Ladybug. That was what a hero would do.

[brian-enthusiast]

and it’s enough just to make you go crazy.

the title of this fic is a lana del rey lyric because it’s my fic fuck you. here’s around 2000 words of dadsona being in denial about being in love with brian.

contains an angery twink named harper and a soft boy named brian being in love with eachother.

1. everything he does is endearing.

Harper doesn’t think he’s ever really going to fall in love with Brian. It’ll be more of a slow dip into those familiar waters. Love is a term that was very much reserved for Alex―and therefore, a little bit of a bittersweet thing to return to.

So he figures it’ll be a bit like going to the pool when the water is too cool―only the brave and foolish jump straight in, so Harper figures he’ll dip a toe in before slowly submerging himself in the water. Except instead of water it’s romantic commitment and love, or something like that.

Or, maybe he’ll just be grateful that he’s finally back in the dating game and stop coming up with dumb metaphors to explain to himself why he’s so hesitant to use the word “love” in situations where it might be fitting. Whatever, he’s happy with Brian, and as far as he knows, Brian is happy with him. It’s a symbiotic relationship, though Harper supposes all romantic relationships should be.

Harper snaps out of his thoughts when he comes across a post on Dadbook. There’s a picture of Daisy receiving a badge from an older, sinewy girl, supposedly her scout troop leader. In the caption, Brian has written sentence upon sentence about how proud he is of her. A smile crosses Harper’s face as he reads through it.

“What’s got you all happy?” Amanda is standing in front of Harper, and he comes to realize that he’s kind of just been sitting on the couch, scrolling through his phone with a dopey expression while an episode of Long Haul Paranormal Ice Road Ghost Truckers played in the background. “You’ve been smiling at your phone for, like, a full minute.”

“Nothing.” Harper presses the power button on the side of his phone, “Daisy got a new Girl Scout badge, and I was reading the post Brian made about it.” Simple question, simple explanation.

“I thought you hated it when Brian bragged about Daisy.” Amanda says, raising an eyebrow, “Something about him being your mortal enemy and a reminder that you aren’t as great a dad, despite the fact that you’re both great dads?”

Harper waves a dismissive hand. “Amanda! That was the me of the past. Now, after our time at the carnival, inevitable team-up for the benefit of our children, and my overwhelming guilt for being a competitive asshole, Brian and I are unlikely friends.” And unlikely people who are dating, but whatever.

“Uh-huh. Well, you have me and Daisy to thank for that.” She says, a sly smile on her face, like she knows something. “And Brian the Goldfish. May he rest in peace.”

“Why did we go through all that trouble for a carnival goldfish, anyway?” Harper asks, “Just so we could be that much more attached when we inevitably flushed him?”

“That, and because we’re ridiculous and over the top.” Amanda shrugs, taking a seat beside Harper. “I’m glad you could get over your petty rivalry, though. And, as an unexpected bonus, you got over your fear of rollercoasters.”

“‘Got over’ is a strong way to put it. I’m still horrified of roller coasters, and now I have that memory to prove to myself that they are just as horrifying as I thought they were.” Just thinking about heights, and dropping down from heights, and dropping down from heights at a fast speed is making him a bit queasy.

“Still, progress.” Amanda says.

Harper rolls his eyes and turns on his phone again, immediately being greeted by another Dadbook post with a picture of Maxwell wearing a trucker hat, and if that wasn’t adorable enough, Harper remembers being in the mall when Brian bought that stupid hat, and he smiles fondly upon thinking about it.

Then he scrolls down and sees another picture from Brian, one where standing by his car, smiling brightly at the camera and celebrating his new proud parent of an honors student bumper sticker.

Okay, maybe Harper’s just a little bit in love with Brian. Just a touch in love.

2. you see him in everything.

Lately, Harper’s been exhibiting worrisome behavior for someone who’s just a little bit in love.

It’s just little things. Recognizing things like “oh, this is Brian’s favorite song!” when a certain Jimmy Buffett song plays over the radio or, “this picture of a dog is so cute! I should send it to Brian!” when faced with… really any picture of any dog. Damien’s Dadbook page is full of pictures of dogs.

It’s starting to get bad when it becomes subconscious, because Harper is sure that he’s never heard what Brian’s usual Coffee Spoon order is, but he definitely knew it when he was standing at the counter, asking for an Iced T with extra sweetener by default.

(“How’d you know I love these?” Brian said when presented with the sweetened ice tea, “You’re so sweet. Kind of like this tea.” At that point he was laughing and Harper was laughing and everything was fine―except that Harper was internally panicking because how did he know Brian loved those.)

Of course, none of that is a really big deal. Harper is a chronic overreactor and has a tendency to exaggerate problems in order to fit his own narrative, but he’s still kind of panicking because even his friends are starting to pick up on his infatuated behavior.

He’d been hanging out with Robert and Mary a few weeks ago. The usual stuff, a couple drinks before Harper inevitably went home to cuddle with his pillow and have dreams about his life with far more money and far less back pain.

“I’ll get a whiskey.” Robert said, and Neil turned to Harper.

“Oh. Uh. I’ll just get a beer, thanks.” To be honest, whenever Harper hangs out with Robert and Mary he feels severely outclassed. He’s not exactly a lightweight―ok, that’s a lie, he’s the lightest weight. The last time he got drunk he was found crying about how the Skammunist Manifesto was never as appreciated as it should have been―but Robert and Mary literally bring glasses of whiskey and wine almost everywhere. And they’re also much more attractive and much better friends than Harper could hope to be, and hanging out with them sort of digs up some deeply repressed inferiority issues that Harper struggles with on a daily basis, but whatever. One time he got drunk and explained this to them and they gave him a pat on the shoulder and told him that if they didn’t like him they wouldn’t hang out with him.

“So.” Harper said, swirling the beer in his cup. “You know, I was―”

“Hanging out with Brian?” Robert said, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

“Uh… yes, actually. How did you know?”

“Wild guess. Also you talk about him a lot.” Robert shrugged, “Not that that’s a bad thing. He is the closest you’ll get to dating Mario Batali, after all―”

“Ok, one, when did I tell you about my celebrity crush on Mario Batali?”

“Same day you told me about your repressed issues with your dad, and your repressed memories of killing a man in cold blood.” Robert waited a few seconds before adding, “Kidding, of course.”

“And two, I don’t talk about Brian a lot. I talk about him a reasonable amount. Because we’re friends.” Harper said.

“Friends who have sex with each other?” Robert raised an eyebrow. “Not to say I’m against that kind of arrangement, though I have to say Brian isn’t exactly the friends with benefits type. I don’t really know him well enough to say that, but you know. I just kinda see it in his face. Kinda like I see the empty eyes of a killer in yours, you know?”

“Every time you  make these jokes about me being a murderer I get more and more convinced that I am, you know that? Anyway,” Harper said, “Okay, so Brian and I are dating, but I’m not always talking about him or anything.”

“Of course not. I’d say Brian takes up a good eighty percent of subjects that you talk about, the other twenty percent being your own emotional issues and talks you’ve had with your daughter about how cool she is.” Robert said, “But it’s fine, no one’s blaming you. You’re practically in love with the guy, so―”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that―” Harper interjected, before Mary walked up from behind them, draping her arms over their shoulders.

“You guys talking about Brian?”

So, yeah, Harper’s a little on edge about… everything. He still doesn’t think he talks about Brian that much, but sometimes in idle moments he thinks about Brian’s stupid smile and it’s kind of a really nice thought so it is a topic that’s often on the brain.

He considers all of this while walking down the street, and then he sees a colorful Hawaiian shirt in the window of a store that he knows Brian would love, and he doesn’t really think about how he’s doing it again until after he buys the shirt for him.

(For the record, Brian does love the shirt. Harper is fucking reeling at how absolutely transparent he is even to himself, and also at how nice Brian looks in that shirt.)

3. you’re in denial about it. sweet, sweet denial.

It’s hard to convince himself he isn’t in love when he looks at Brian.

Because there’s just so many feelings―there’s giddiness and admiration and something very genuine that Harper can’t quite put a finger on―that it’s hard to pinpoint all of them, and he’s not sure love is a part of any of them.

(Because love is complicated and love is weird and love is so far away from him at this point that the idea of being faced with it now is kind of scary.

But it’s hard to deny that looking at Brian now―at his smiling face while he regales Harper with some story about fishing for rainbow trout or some shit―makes Harper feel a certain lightness in his chest.

“What’re you smiling about?” Brian says, “I know I’m not that entertaining.”

“Nothin.” Harper is still smiling dreamily, like he’s in fucking love, but he isn’t. Not yet. “Just listening to you talk.” Listening to him talk and thinking about how cute he is and being just steps away from falling in love with him.

“You’re adorable.” Brian says, and then he continues. And Harper listens, and maybe (just maybe) gets a little more comfortable with the idea of being in love with Brian. “I love you.” Brian says.

Oh, shit.

4. you accept it.

Harper doesn’t say I love you to Brian that night―but he does stand on his toes to press a kiss to Brian’s lips when they’re standing by the front door of his house.

Harper doesn’t say I love you to Brian that night―but he giggles like a child when they make their way to Brian’s room. He doesn’t say I love you―but he feels giddy beyond belief when tangled in Brian’s sheets.

Harper doesn’t say I love you to Brian that night―but in the morning, when he’s looking at Brian through sleepy eyes, he has a sort of lopsided smile on his face and this feeling like his heart is caught in his throat.

“Okay, fuck it.” He says, to a Brian who is clearly still unconscious on this fine morning. This’ll be a practice round, he supposes. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Brian says, eyes still closed, and Harper realizes with little uncertainty that he professed his aggressively denied feelings to a Brian who was pretending to be asleep, and he’s not sure if the red on his face is from embarrassment or frustration.

“Aw, babe. ‘S nothing to be embarrassed about. I love you, too.” Brian says, and Harper squints.

“I said it first.” He says.

“Actually, I said it first. About a day before you did, so.” Brian stretches and yawns. “But nice try.” He grins, playfully.

“Goddamit. Okay. You win this time, I guess.” Harper rolls his eyes, “But listen, I think we can both agree that I―” Harper loses track of what he was arguing about when he catches sight of Brian and his stupid, soft, adorable face. “Oh, fuck it. I love you.”

They kiss and normally Harper would have a billion gripes about their morning breath, but this is a nice moment and he doesn’t wanna ruin it.

Okay. He’s in love with Brian. And that’s fine, and good, and fun, and Harper doesn’t exactly know what that means for them or the future, but he’s willing to find out.

[stardust-squish-blog]

the beginning ♡

member: vernon / hansol

genre: fluff

this wasn’t originally planned for vernon’s birthday it was just sitting around in my drafts but since it was feb 18 yesterday ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

her tolerance was really low.

a few drinks, whatever it was that her friend gave her, and that was all it took.

vernon rested his chin in his palm. it was so different, so so different of her. a small smile ghosted his lips as he remembered his first drink.

ah, it was good.

he played with his sweater paws and looked to his right. seungkwan’s breath tickled his cheek, head resting on his shoulder as he lay peacefully. vernon smiled, almost fondly. the blonde boy had had one too many to drink.

truthfully speaking, all vernon had come to do tonight was drink water, play games on his phone and convert oxygen into carbon dioxide. oh, and to supervise seungkwan, who was known for his rather, well, wild antics when drunk.

today, it seemed calm. 

so, he turned back to her.

her being here tonight was a stroke of luck. he’d heard through the grapevine that she hadn’t intended to come. he was thankful she had come, though—she was way more interesting than crossy road or scrolling through twitter.

she turned to her friend. i’m going outside, he read. pushing herself up, she staggered to the door and carelessly slipped her feet into her shoes.

wait.

was she going to the backyard?

wasn’t there a pool in the backyard?

his eyes widened with alarm as the memory came flooding back. abruptly, he stood up, oblivious to the way seungkwan’s head dropped and flopped onto the sofa seat.

a puff of air escaped his lips. “i should follow her,” he mumbled, and then cringed. “ew no, not in a stalker kind of way, i just—oh man, i just really hope what happened last year doesn’t happen again.”

”vernon.”

nothing.

”vernonnn.”

still nothing.

“vernon!”

silence. absolutely no response whatsoever. 

“vernonieeeeeeeee!”

the boy in question groaned and smushed his head into a pillow. he really did not feel like doing anything right now. why had he agree to come? he was an under-aged child; he could’ve stayed with chan, and they could’ve been at the arcade and he could’ve been having fun. now he was just sleepy and itching to go back home.

to his dismay, the high-pitched shrill continued, followed by a weak slap on his head.

“let’s go outsideeeeee,” seungkwan trilled as he continued his relentless assault.

vernon sometimes wondered: why didn’t the words ‘stop’ and ‘shut up’ exist in seungkwan’s vocabulary?

in the end, he begrudgingly assented. the jeju boy shot up from his seat, his earlier lethargy gone. eyes as bright as stars, he (surprisingly) pulled the grumpy 18-year-old off the couch and dragged him to the door.

outside, the hyungs were gathered around a table. amused, they watched as a hyper seungkwan skipped out the back door towards the pool with a grumpy vernon in tow.

“well, someone’s enjoying their first drink,” jeonghan remarked.

soonyoung laughed in agreement. “seungkwan suits this kind of stuff.”

the only one who didn’t share the joy was joshua. “guys? don’t you think we should watch out for them? they are young and something might go wrong.”

however, his soft voice was drowned out by boisterous chatter and laughter of the other boys. joshua sighed as he wrung his hands together. “i have a really bad feeling about this…”

needless to say, joshua was right.

seungkwan had been running laps around the perimeter of the backyard when he suddenly decided that vernon, who hadn’t moved from his original position beside the pool, was an object of interest, and that the best way to get to him was to run across the pool.

he didn’t get very far.

long story short, the hyungs had to fish him out of the pool and give him mouth-to-mouth. that responsibility fell on seungcheol as the oldest hyung, who did not exactly enjoy the experience.

“i wanted my first kiss to be romantic! with the person i love! not like this!” seungcheol cried in anguish.

“hyung, don’t you love me?”

it was safe to say that vernon was scarred, traumatised even, by the incident. for the following 7 months or so, he couldn’t see seungcheol in the same light as he did before.

i’ll just go and make sure nothing happens, he told himself. i’m doing a good deed. yeah. i’m doing the right thing. 

but if something were to happen, then she would be his first kiss, wouldn’t she? and vernon knew he wouldn’t mind that.

the angel on his shoulder disagreed. how can you leave seungkwan here? alone? you’re supposed to make sure he doesn’t do anything crazy! 

his lip got caught between his teeth as he realised his dilemma. that’s true as well…

after giving it a bit of thought and giving the sleeping boy a few slaps, vernon decided that it would be alright.

he found her sitting on the steps, arms propped onto her knees and chin resting in her palm. exhaling breathily, he uncrossed his fingers as a wave of relief washed over him. at least she wasn’t running around squawking like a headless chicken. 

she looks so nice, he smiled to himself. so ethereal, like a mermaid. or an angel. yeah, an angel. she looks different from jeonghan-hyung though…

“hey, vernon right?”

“hmm?” she’s looking at me! and talking to me! omg omg stay cool vernon stay cool!

“yeah, that’s me. how’d you know?”

a smile graced her features, and oh how vernon wished that he could be the reason why the corners of her pretty lips turned up.

“chan talks about you sometimes.”

“oh, uh, same.”

she looked up at him, confused. “come again?”

profanities swam through his head as he realised how badly he screwed up. “same”? that was the dumbest thing he could’ve ever said! sucking in a breath, vernon hurriedly made the attempt to salvage his image.

“i-i mean, chan talks about you too, so like ‘same’. and so i kinda know you. like, chan’s a mutual friend.” laughing nervously, he carded a hand through his hair. did his brain have to shut down every time he conversed with someone attractive?

humming in agreement, she patted the spot next to her. bravely, he took the two steps down and settled beside her.

boy, she was so much prettier up close.

millions of thoughts raced through his mind as he tried (really hard) not to stare. should he start a conversation? would that seem too forward? what if she thought he did that to every girl he met? or should he just keep quiet?

but the atmosphere was so awkward with neither of knowing what to say or do. maybe he should just say something…

then he had an epiphany.

wasn’t she drunk?

huh. she’s surprisingly calm.

“what do you mean?”

shit. shitshitshitshitshit. did i just say that out loud?

“umm, i mean, aren’t you, y'know, drunk? i saw you inside and you looked pretty… drunk. but uh, now you seem quite sober?”

in response she laughed, an absolutely adorable laugh that reminded him of fairies from childhood tales sprinkling fairy dust on flowers. and right there and then, vernon decided that hotling bling wasn’t his favourite song anymore.

i could listen to her laugh forever.

“yeah, about that.” her words brought him back to reality from his lovesick trance. with a nonchalant shrug, she continued, “i was just, uh, faking. my friends were trying to get me to drink more but alcohol really isn’t my thing.”

vernon felt his heart jump. he didn’t particularly enjoy alcohol either. and it meant something considering how nearly everyone around him loved to drink.

maybe this is fate. i gotta find some more things i have in common with her!

“sa–i mean, me too. i don’t drink a lot. not that i hate drinking, i actually don’t mind it! just once in a while, y'know, to de-stress and stuff. not every friday at a social gathering. it’s a bit too much for me. most of the time i end up vomiting all over the bathroom—”

oh no. i’m rambling again.

vernon stopped abruptly and resisted the urge to slap himself. curse that wretched rambling habit of his! did he bore her? had he said too much? she wouldn’t think he was weird right?

ohmygosh you can’t just stop in the middle of a sentence! say something you nuthead!

awkwardly, he cleared his throat and sputtered out an apology. “sorry, i was rambling.”

to his relief, she smiled. a real, sincere, genuine smile. the thought that she smiled because of what he said made his heart blossom and his cheeks pink.

“no, it’s alright. i ramble sometimes too. i suppose it’s the excitement of finding someone who understands.” toying with the ends of her hair, she stared wistfully into the sky. “nowadays everyone just thinks i’m weird or weak or whatever. it gets annoying sometimes.”

“yeah. i know how that feels.”

they sat in comfortable silence, looking out to the stars. the minute hand on his watch ticked closer to 12. it was supposed to be a pleasant night, but with the loud party music booming in the background, it wasn’t exactly all peace and quiet.

both of them could feel it, too. tonight was the kind of night where you could stay up with your best friend and talk about anyone and anything. the kind of night where couples would go on late night drives to the beach to stargaze. the kind of night where the bed was extra fluffy, the soft toys on your bed were extra cuddly, the temperature was just right and perfect to dream in.

it was the kind of night where people could fall in love.

and so vernon summed up his courage for the second time that night.

“hey, wanna go for fro-yo?”

a/n: hoho i might have a second part for this :>