#Let’s hope no one else is eating bread nearby

[dailyshittymumbojumbodoodles]

Day 144: Mumbo Jumbo, he is eating bread, flourishing

[mamasfavourite]

Hi your axel fic was really good! I was wondering if you could write a fic about kwon and a Miyagi-Do reader.Enemies to lovers lots of tension.

thank you so much and thank you aswell for requesting, i had sm fun with writing this!! i hope you enjoy :)

locker room

pairing: kwon jae-sung x reader

summary: kwon and y/n hated eachother, because of a little incident on the first day.. and because of the karate thing. but kwon can’t help but flirt around a little bit.

warnings: stupid rivalry, enemies to lovers!, kissing, making out, kwon is sassy, flirting, swearing,

you were so excited to be on the miyagi-do team for the sekai takai! you weren’t captain, but you didn’t mind at all because you had your best friend, sam, there with you and you knew your capabilities under pressure.

it was practically your natural state at this point :)

you and sam decided to share a room in barcelona. which was probably for the better, considering neither of you wanted to share with the boys, except for maybe sam and miguel.

after an insanely long flight, you arrived at the hotel and immediately dropped your backpack to your bed and felt each tired muscle in your back start to decompress.

you went to shower, wanting to rinse off the dirt from travelling. after washing your hair and body, you stepped out and dried yourself off. you brushed through your knotted, wet hair and put on some baggy shorts and an off-shoulder tshirt.

it was around 5:30pm, which meant it was around 8am back home, most of your team wouldn’t even be awake yet. you went back into the main area of the room and saw sam laying on her bed, scrolling on her phone.

“i’m gonna go down to the buffet and see if i can grab something to eat, do you want anything?” you asked her and she wearily looked up from her phone and replied with a “no, thanks!”

you smiled and acknowledged her response before you put on some sneakers and grabbed your phone and room key from on top the dresser, and headed out. you made your way to the elevator and managed to find the open buffet nearby the reception.

the buffet was relatively empty, which wasn’t surprising due to the lack of people who typically had an appetite at 5:30pm. there was one or two people in the corner, eating something you couldn’t quite make out, and someone else on the right hand side of the room.

you grabbed two pieces of a brown bread at the back of the serving tray. once you did, you grabbed a selection of butter, avocado and some smoked salmon, putting it beside the bread on your plate. yum!

you grabbed some tissues, and a knife and fork and began to walk back towards the elevator. the elevator was empty, so your ride was quite peaceful. you held the plate with both hands, the knife and fork, and napkin were balanced in your right hand.

you were so focused on holding onto your plate and keeping it steady, that as soon as you heard the elevator doors open with a ding!, you stepped out and immediately collided with a tall figure infront of you.

you watched in horror as the slimier foods slid down the person’s body and your plate landed on the carpet with a soft thump. you tilted your head upwards to look at their reaction before you frantically apologised.

of course, he was fucking gorgeous. the first enemy you make for yourself in barcelona was one of the most handsome men you had ever seen. he glared down at you which such anger. “what the fuck?” he said, with a thick, korean accent.

damn even his voice was hot!

as you came back up again you began to apologise. “i’m so sorry, i didn’t mean to spill that on you, i can help you clean it or-“ you paused your rambling as you watched the guy continue to glare at you angrily through your speech.

his gaze was filled with nothing but fury. “don’t let it fucking happen again.” he bumped your shoulder as he walked past you, to the elevator. you knelt back down to the floor to clean up as much as you could, before you just went back to your room.

you saw him again the next day. the sekai takai had organised a field trip to the barcelona aquarium. there was a lot of different people there, but only one really stood out to you, and that was kwon.

well, clearly he stood out, i mean he was yelling at everyone, challenging all of the dojo captains to a kicking contest, and of course, robby couldn’t just step aside for once.

you were peacefully drinking your water, as the boys spoke, and it was safe to say you had zoned out completely. that was until you heard what they were betting. you coughed and spluttered, putting your water bottle into sam’s hands and struggling to speak for a second.

“sorry what?” you asked, with a mix of confusion and embarrassment. kwon’s head turns to you with his signature smirk, one you only noticed now, as before he had only thrown scowls your way.

“i said..” he paused and took one step closer to you. “if he wins, he gets my room, if i win, i get yours.” he delivered with a wink. you felt your cheeks heat up, confused as to why this was because you were enraged.

“what, how is that fair, i’m not even playing?” you answered, angry that your room was being gambled away without your consent. your weight shifted from one foot to the other.

“oh relax, sweetheart, i wouldn’t kick you out or anything.” he flirted with you once more before he turned his body back to robby and held out his hand

“deal.” robby answered, and they shook on it. you gasped, and pushed robby in the chest. but at the same time, you were confused because why would this hot guy from the elevator, who DESPISES you, want the key to your room?

despite his skills, robby somehow lost the competition and you find yourself face to face with kwon. “hand over the room key, princess.” you wanted nothing more than to wipe the stupid smirk off his face and tell him to leave you alone. your response was only a little bit nicer than that. “no.” you replied, your gaze shifting around the room, as you felt scared to look him in the eyes.

“if you’re gonna try to reject me, at least look in my eyes when you do it.” he spoke, his voice low and commanding. something about it made you wanna listen, and so you did.

you stared into his dark eyes and repeated yourself. “i don’t want to give you my room key.” he chuckled to himself, under his breath. you maintained eye contact, not wanting to pull away.

he rolled his eyes at your attitude. “okay, well i’m gonna talk to your captain over there, and sort this out because a deal is a deal.” he replied and started walking over to robby.

they argued back and forth for a while but in the end, you didn’t have to sleep in a room with kwon. much to his dismay, robby gave up him and miguel’s room and had to share with the other boys.

your next interaction happened on the day of the final. cobra kai had narrowly escaped elimination and were going to fight in the last round. the matches were 30 minutes from starting and you had only then realised that you wouldn’t have another opportunity to go back inside the locker rooms and you left your water bottle there.

you ran over to the shared locker rooms, one you coincidentally shared with cobra kai, as soon as you arrived, you found yourself stopped in the doorway watching as the very guy you had secretly hoped to see was there, packing up some of his gear.

the large metal door was propped open by a small wooden doorstop, a detail that you had missed in the midst of your staring. you took a step forward and knocked over the doorstop. you stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.

kwon turned around at this and let out a small laugh at your misfortune, but he shut up as soon as he realised the door was shut and could not be opened from the inside.

“do you have any idea what you just did.” he practically growled at you. he was absolutely enraged, but he didn’t seem as angry as he had been during the elevator incident. you apologised but he still seemed quite angry.

you sat down against the wall, and he sat on a bench across from you. there was quite a loud silence between you, except for the quiet whirring of the fan above you. you couldn’t seem to take your eyes off of kwon. he bothered you, and confused you and made you feel things and ugh.

you hated him, but most of all you hated his karate. wait.. maybe you could start a conversation about that! “what got you into cobra kai?” you asked him.

you looked up at him and he met your gaze. he swallowed, and left the silence there for a moment as he thought of what to say.

“well, i was in a dojang before, do you know what that is?” he replied and you nodded along, your interest piqued.

“so my kwanjang was incredibly conservative. she knew one style of teaching and disciplined anyone who didn’t feel comfortable with it. it was rough, it was such a fucked up environment, but then sensei kreese came and she never relaxed but he helped me seize my power, and i haven’t really looked back since then.”

he spoke with conviction and you were surprised by his sincerity. you thought for a moment, never taking your eyes off his and replied. “i get that.”

a beat passed. “but cobra kai is angry, it’s viscous, and there’s no ethics to it. no mercy is not how the real world works.”

he swallowed and nodded, accepting the weight of your words, and you were impressed that he was so considerate of you. he matched your behaviour, taking his time to think of what to say before he replied.

“well, look. at the end of the day, i have to look out for myself. i know who i am and no dojo can change it.”

you accepted his answer, truth be told, you fully agreed. and your impression of him completely shifted. you shivered slightly, the room had turned quite cold. kwon noticed and you watched as he removed the cobra kai hoodie he wore over his gi.

he offered it to you which you gladly accepted, and flushed a little. he scooted across the floor to hand it over to you.

he was really close and he brushed his fingers over your wrist as he handed it to you. you put it on, and he felt something inside him flutter as he saw you in his clothes.

you glanced at him and he was so close you couldn’t feel your legs anymore. you couldn’t feel your fingers or the emptiness of the room because all you paid attention to was his gaze, that was still never left you.

his expression turned vulnerable as he put a hand to your cheek. “please don’t hit me for this…” he whispered, as he leaned in close to you and kissed you.

his lips were soft and you couldn’t help but wrap your fingers around his collar to pull him closer to you. you kissed him with passion and at some point, you pulled back, out of breath.

he seemed even more vulnerable for a moment, thinking he was just rejected. “do you want me to stop?” he asked you, his voice laced with a worry that you found difficult to detect.

you panted for a second, your hands never leaving his collar and your eyes never leaving his. “just the opposite, please.” you mumbled breathily against his lips as you pulled him back in, reconnecting your lips.

[willowsnook]

Oblivious

hi hi hi!!! can I request pulled pork with bell peppers and wheat bread please??? thank youuuu! I adore your writing, and I hope you’re having a good week!!! <333

Charles leclerc x bsf!reader

I’d be insane not to love you

It was a gorgeous day in Belgium, and you were hanging out with your group of friends in Ferrari’s hospitality area.

“I’m bored; can we go walk around outside?” you asked Arthur, giving him your best puppy-dog eyes. He chuckled and held out a hand to pull you up. Together, you walked down to the paddock, breathing in the summer air and the lively atmosphere.

“Arthur!” a voice called from behind you. You turned to see an unfamiliar face waving at your friend—a guy with a youthful charm and a sun-kissed complexion that matched his dark hair. He was grinning, and you couldn’t shake the feeling that he looked at you as if he already knew you.

“What’s up, man?” Arthur said, pulling the guy into a hug. “Have you met Y/N?”

The guy shook his head and extended his hand. “I’m Gabriel.”

“Nice to meet you,” you replied with a smile, and his gaze lingered on you for a beat longer, like he was connecting some dots.

“You’re Charles’s friend, right?” he asked. You nodded, and he laughed. “Yeah, he told me to stay away from you.”

Arthur laughed, but you blinked in surprise. “He told you to stay away from me?”

Gabriel flashed a cheeky grin. “Probably afraid I’d sweep you off your feet.”

You felt a blush creep up your cheeks. “Why would he care?”

Gabriel shot Arthur an amused look, as if they knew something you didn’t.

Back at the garage, you couldn’t stop replaying the conversation, even as Charles caught up with you. “Are you okay?” he asked, scanning you with concerned eyes. “Did you get something to eat? Water?”

“Yes, Charlie, I’m fine,” you giggled, and he relaxed a bit.

“Are you staying down here or going up to the club?” he asked.

“Maybe upstairs with everyone else,” you replied.

A slight frown appeared on his face. “Unless... maybe stay down here? It’s more interesting down here, ya know?”

“Okay I’ll stay down here,” you agreed and he smiled. “I met someone new today.”

“Oh yeah, who?” He asked.

“Gabriel Bortoleto,” you replied and you watched him look away instantly, cheeks reddening. “And he said the funniest thing.” 

“He’s a funny guy,” Charles mumbled and you smirked. 

“Hilarious, especially the joke about how you told him to stay away from me,” you drawled out and Charles was looking anywhere but at you.

Before he could answer, Bryan called for him, and Charles looked relieved to escape the conversation. “Gotta go! And don’t wander, okay?”

You rolled your eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

“I mean it, mon cheri,” he said, giving you a quick hug before heading off.

Rebecca was already sitting by the screens, so you joined her, and the older woman gave you a wide smile. 

“Watching from down here today?” She asked and you nodded, fiddling with the headset. 

“Charles insisted,” you replied, and she smirked. You told her about the incident with Gabriel and she just laughed, shaking her head. 

“When are you going to realize that Charles is in love with you?” she asked playfully.

You laughed. “He’s not in love with me. I’m just his best friend.”

“You’re the only best friend down here, though,” she commented, but you brushed it off.

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

Summer break meant one thing: Charles bothering you nonstop to hang out. He couldn’t quite wrap his head around your 9-to-5, which is why you were now on a walking lunch with him, walking Leo through a nearby park.

“You should just quit your job,” Charles said for the millionth time.

“I need money, Charlie,” you reminded him as Leo sniffed the grass. “Not all of us get paid millions for working weekends.”

He ignored your comment. “Let me fund your lifestyle.”

“And be what—your maid?” you joked, rolling your eyes. “You’re asking me to be a stay-at-home wife without marrying me.”

He muttered something under his breath, and you looked at him. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” he said quickly, tugging Leo along.

You sighed. “I like my job, Charles.”

“I know. I just don’t like that I can’t see you whenever I want.”

“We see each other all the time.” 

“It’s not enough,” he mumbled and you grabbed his hand, forcing him to look at you. 

“You are my best friend Charles,” you told him. “It doesn’t matter if I see you everyday or just once a week, nothing is going to change that.” 

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

That night you were at the Leclerc’s family home, as they had invited you over for dinner along with the boys. After dinner, you, Charles, and Arthur stayed up drinking and while you paced yourself, Charles did not. 

You knew he was drunk because he had been so physically affectionate for the past hour. It started with him moving his arm behind you while you guys were seated on the back patio. Then, he ran his hand up and down your thigh. Now his head was lying in your lap, and you absentmindedly massaged your fingers through his hair.

You were telling Arthur about your latest work project when Charles chimed in. 

“I told her to just quit her job,” he complained to Arthur.

Arthur smirked. “And be your stay-at-home wife?”

“That’s what she said—and that I’d have to marry her,” he grumbled, as if you weren’t right there. “Which was already my plan.”

Arthur’s eyebrows shot up, and you froze. Charles hadn’t said anything like this before. But he was drunk. Just drunk thoughts... right?

“You know she can hear you Charles,” his brother said nervously. 

“It doesn’t matter, I could kiss her on the lips right now, and she’d probably just write it off as something ‘best friends do.”

Arthur didn’t say anything; you just sat there, mind-reeling. Your hand was frozen, and Charles reached up to grab it so that you could keep massaging his head. Arthur said goodnight to you, and you stayed out contemplating what had just happened. The Gabriel thing made sense to you now, but he had never said anything before. These were probably just drunk thoughts. Yeah, that made the most sense. 

“I’m tired,” Charles said, looking up at you. “Will you stay the night?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” you said softly, and he frowned. 

“Why? You always do,” he pushed back. 

“I just want to go home,” you whispered, moving off the couch after he sat up. Avoiding his stare, you grabbed your keys and headed towards the door. He called after you, but you kept walking; you just needed to breathe. You were supposed to leave with Charles tomorrow to fly to Spain to see Rebecca and Carlos, but now you were very stressed. 

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

The next morning, Charles acted like nothing had happened, which was somehow both comforting and frustrating. You both fell into your usual traveling routine, playing cards and chess to distract him on the flight to Spain, where Rebecca and Carlos were waiting at a coastal villa.

As you toured the villa, Rebecca shared a bit of news with a smirk. “There’s only two bedrooms.”

Your heart skipped, but Charles simply shrugged. “No problem. We’ve shared a room before.”

Smiling weakly you agreed and followed him to put the luggage away. 

“I’m going to change into my swim shorts and go down to the beach,” Charles told you as you unpacked your suitcase. 

“That’s a good idea, I’ll do the same.” 

You heard him go into the bathroom to change so you decided to change in the main room. Pulling out your favorite black bikini, you slipped the bottoms on but were struggling to tie it behind your back when you heard the bathroom door open. 

“Can you help me?” You called out to Charles and you heard him walking towards you. He didn’t say anything, and you felt his fingers brush against your bare back as he tied the strings. Turning around to thank him, the words caught in your throat when you saw the look on his face. He was flushed, his pupils blown wide as he glanced up and down at you, wearing basically nothing in front of him. 

“Thank you Charlie,” you whispered softly and he swallowed before murmuring a response. 

Thinking about what he had said last night, you felt the tension between the two of you even as you walked down to the beach. Charles went to join Carlos in the water, and you plopped down next to Rebecca. 

Filling her in on what happened last night she smiled knowingly at you.

“He basically confessed he’s in love with you, and here you are, making excuses.”

“He was drunk!”

“Oh my god,” she said laughing. “He was right, he literally could kiss you and you wouldn’t believe it. I just don’t understand.”

“I don’t know,” you said sighing. “I guess it’s insecurity; he lives in this world of glamour and flashing lights full of influencers and celebrities. I’m just me, a normal girl who has a normal job and a normal past.”

Rebecca squeezed your hand. “Have you ever thought maybe he likes you because of that? That maybe you make him feel like he can just be himself when he’s with you and not Charles Leclerc the Ferrari golden boy?”

“I guess,” you said thoughtfully. You had never really looked at your friendship with Charles that way, but it made sense. While yes Charles invited you to races and fancy trips with him, you often spent time doing mundane things together, like walking Leo or getting groceries. When you really thought about it, you realized that those were your favorite moments. You would take cooking dinner together on a random Monday night anytime over accompanying him to an event. 

Fuck, you were in love with your best friend and it scared the hell out of you. 

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

The next day, you avoided Charles at all costs, which was pretty difficult considering you were basically on a couples vacation. It also was incredibly noticeable how you insisted that Rebecca be your partner for everything and wanted to just have girl time in the afternoon. 

She didn’t bring him up, but she knew you were waging an internal war with yourself, so all she could do was be there if you wanted to talk it through. Your feelings were still at the forefront of your mind when dinner rolled around, and you were much quieter than usual. It was like Rebecca and Carlos were out for dinner because they were the only ones talking. You were eating silently, and Charles was just staring at you. 

Fed up with the situation, Carlos stood up, pushing his chair back, “I think I would like to spend some quality time with my girlfriend, so goodnight you too.” 

Rebecca smirked at her boyfriend, knowing he was impatient with the dance you and Charles were doing around each other, and got up to follow him. Gathering the plates, you walked back into the kitchen, and Charles followed you, helping dry as you washed the dishes. 

You were about to turn to go upstairs when he gently grabbed your elbow, causing you to look at him, “Can we take a walk? Please?”

Those dark blue eyes looked at you with such a pleading gaze that you nodded. 

Slipping off your shoes, you followed him down to the beach, and the walk was silent for a bit as you stuck in your head. 

“Mon cheri, please tell me what’s wrong,” Charles said, breaking the silence to look at you. He had stopped walking, and you turned to him, eyes already filling up with tears. 

“Tell me what to do to fix this,” he begged, and you felt like all your emotions were going to burst like a volcano. 

“I’m in love with you Charles!” You yelled, surprising even yourself. Charles’ eyes widened and a grin broke out on his face. 

He stepped closer, his hand reaching out to wipe a stray tear from your cheek. His touch was gentle, almost skittish as if he were afraid you might disappear if he moved too quickly. You felt a shiver run through you, not from the cool evening air but from the intensity of his gaze.

“Then why are you crying?” he asked softly, his voice filled with a warmth you’d only dared to imagine. You took a shaky breath, trying to gather the courage to say everything that had been locked in your heart.

“Because… because I’m afraid. Afraid of losing what we have, of things changing, of you finding someone who actually fits into your world,” you whispered, your eyes cast down.

Charles cupped your face gently, tilting it up so you had no choice but to look into his eyes. “Mon chéri, I don’t want anyone else. I don’t care about the parties, or the cameras, or the lights. When I’m with you, I can just be Charles. Not the driver, not the celebrity—just… me. I'd be insane not to love you,” he murmured, his voice filled with a sincerity that made your heart swell.

Before you could fully process his words, his lips brushed against yours, tentative at first, testing. But as you melted into him, all your worries slipped away, replaced by the overwhelming warmth of his kiss. He pulled you closer, his arms wrapping around you as if he never wanted to let you go.

When he pulled back, you could see the hint of a smile on his face, soft and full of promise. “I love you,” he whispered, his forehead resting against yours.

"I love you too, Charlie."

[hughes86-43]

“You look really good in my clothes” | N. Hischier

note - two anons sent in the same request so I just made it into this!

warnings - none! maybe some grammar errors!

You walked into your apartment, immediately closing the door and dropping your keys on the table nearby. You walked down the hallway and placed your several bags onto the dining table. You were so glad to be home from work, and you needed to get out of your work clothes as soon as possible.

You take a shower to get all the days work off of you, but you also just needed to get warm from how cold it was on your walk from work. You hop out of the shower and put on your robe and make your way to the walk-in closet you share with your boyfriend, Nico. However, you go to his side of the closet rather than yours.

You pick out one of your favorite hoodies of his, a cozy New Jersey devils one, and you grab a pair of sweatpants, they’re a bit loose on you but nothing a little tying up can’t fix. You place your robe back into the bathroom, finish getting ready for the night, and make your way to the kitchen to get dinner ready. Nico would be home soon enough from hanging out with some of his teammates.

Thirty minutes later, you’re standing facing the stove making some spaghetti, when you hear the front door open and close. Soon enough, you hear footsteps coming down the hallway. “Schatzi? Are you home?”

“In the kitchen, Neeks!” You call out to him.

You turn your attention back to the food on the stove and wait for him to come find you. After about two minutes, you feel a gaze on you, so you turn around. Nico is leaning against the doorway, running his eyes up and down your body. You know he has noticed that you’re wearing his clothes, even though you know he doesn’t mind, you turn a bit shy at his gaze.

“Schatzi, you look really good in my clothes,” he says, never once taking his eyes off of you.

“I know right? I might just keep taking them!” You laugh out as he comes walking closer to you.

He pulls you closer to him by the waistband of your his sweatpants, tugging them a bit since they’re too loose on you. You laugh as he pulls them up on you. He says, “I don’t mind if you do, but they may just fall down a bit!” You give him a peck on the lips and squeeze him tighter before turning around back to the stove before the food you’re making burns.

“I’m making spaghetti, we don’t have much else, so I hope that’s okay,” you say turning your head to see him already eating a piece of bread. “Hey! Dinner isn’t done, yet! No taking food!”

“I’m hungry! The guys didn’t feed me because they all seemed to eat before we went to hang out, so I starved the whole time.” He gives you puppy dog eyes so that you’ll let him get another piece of bread.

“Fine, one piece and that’s it until food is done!” When he turns around, you playfully smack his butt with the spatula. He twirls around so fast with a grin on his face.

Pointing his finger at you, he says, “Watch it, or you’ll never get to wear my clothes again!”

You put the spatula behind your back, and nod your head playfully. “Fine, fine! But we both know you wouldn’t do that, you love seeing me in your clothes so much!”

Nico laughs, “Yeah, you’re right I wouldn’t, I do love seeing you in my clothes a lot.”

[tobiasdrake]

That's everyone. Time to check out the Favor Tree, then we're on to the Clocktower meetup.

So how's this work? Do I just tell the tree what I want? Do I yank off a leaf and then write my request on it?

I dunno. Given that the rules are lax enough that a Favor Tree is as simple as "the biggest tree nearby" I think there's probably some leeway here. There may not be any particular rules for how we're supposed to pray to it.

Then again, that is the kind of logic that leads to the Bystander Effect. If everybody thinks like that and then nobody wishes for Vaugarde's salvation, that's a whoopsy-doodle. So it's better to inconvenience myself, at the risk of redundancy, for the sake of locking in aid for people in crisis.

Of course, it's not impossible to have your cake and eat it when it comes to wish-granting. All of these potential wishes are things that my team wants to do once the King has been defeated. Granting a wish for these things necessarily requires that Vaugarde be saved.

Therefore, I can wish for something for myself that nonetheless adds the strength of my wish to whatever existing pool of wishes towards Vaugarde's salvation already exists! This is what we call "gaming the system".

And while I wish the best for everyone, there is one person whose desires matter more than anybody else's.

Odile, Maribelle, and Isabeau all have dreams and ambitions for the future. That's great. I'm happy for them. But Bonnie doesn't. Bonnie has trauma. If I'm going to spend a wish on anyone, it's going to be for Bonnie to be healed.

If only one of us can have what they want, it should be them. A lost child's wish to save their family is worth more than gold.

Okay PARTY TIME

Alright y'all, come clean. Who ripped the bread in half and just left it on the table like that?

Or. Wait. Is that the bread, of "breaking bread"? Did we literally break bread? And then not eat it?

Are... are you supposed to eat it? Is it rude to break the bread and then not eat it? Or is it sacrilegious to eat broken bread? I feel like the bread's just going to waste if you don't eat it. But maybe it's a holy gesture? Maybe the act of letting the bread go stale... symbolizes its Change from a state of freshness to a state of badness.

Or maybe one of us here is just a dipshit who doesn't understand the phrase. Looking at you, Isa. On the "Risk of Dipshit" Scale, you're Suspect #2.

Suspect #1 is me but I'm, like, 65% sure I didn't do it.

You made the entire feast all by yourself? I am simultaneously very impressed with you and also tremendously disappointed in the rest of us. Four grown-ass adults and not one of us pitched in to assist the child in the kitchen. I am ashamed of every single one of us.

SPEECH SPEECH SPEECH SPEECH

Uh. No. Appreciate the sentiment but you're wrong. I don't know if you have Pocket Notes on the stakes of this thing but "Everyone dies tomorrow" isn't something people get to opt out of.

I know you don't want to think of membership in this crew as compulsory but... it kind of is. Our options are "Roll the dice tomorrow" or "Find a nice place to die". The latter of which is something most of the town is actively preparing for.

People are capable of tremendous acts of selfless courage when they have no hope of survival. With that in mind, I intend to be very brave tomorrow. There's only one place to do that.

You know, I'm used to rousing campfire speeches having a lot more swearing, raging narcissism, and thematically inappropriate criminality. But this is nice too. All-a y'all are swell. I'm happy to be a part of this.

My dude, I was wide awake. I slept all day today. I was just trying to be politely still so everyone else can sleep, while quietly going over Rock Paper Scissors strategies in my head.

The trick is to not throw the wrong symbol. But to make them think you're going to throw the wrong symbol, so they play into your hands when you throw the right symbol. *sage wisdom*

I love you too, man. Still making sense of things too much to decide if that's romantic or platonic but one way or another we're tight.

Mm. Pillow beats Rock. Good to know. See, that is why I've been silently reviewing Rock Paper Scissors strategies.

Good night, Isa. We'll continue this talk on the day after tomorrow, so long as it comes to pass.

[lovelaurs]

could you perhaps write a he/him lesbian Laurance and aroace Aphmau fic with them in a queer platonic relationship?? set in diaries pretty please

MADE WITH LOVE

pairing : mcd laurance x aphmau (qpr specifically) synopsis : laurance and aphmau go back to their home after a long and tiring day of helping out the village. however, the two aren't just going to lay about and do nothing for the rest of the night! both of them begin messing with each other as they attempt to make their dinner for the evening! tags : pre-established relationship, cooking together, cuddling, platonic, romantic, both? yes, they are not friends nor are they dating (they are a secret third thing), he/him lesbian laurance, aroace aphmau, queer platonic relationship word count : 1.7k a/n : first off, this request is by far the best thing i have ever seen. it feels so catered towards me that it drives me crazy. this really is how i see them in my headcanons!!! i love them so much. - i'm going to write this based off my own experience from being in a qpr, so it may be different from someone else's experience! queer platonic relationships can be different in all sorts of way, as it is not a clear cut relationship in any form! in any case, i hope you enjoy!

MASTERLIST

It had been a long day of patrolling around Phoenix Drop.

As usual, Aphmau and Laurance had made their way across the whole village, making sure nothing troublesome was occurring while also helping out anyone who needed it.

From Nana baking far too many pastries, to Emmalyn fainting in the marketplace due to staying up for the past three days reading, and Logan missing a crate of his products? They for sure had their hands full for the day.

After delivering the abundance of sweets around the village, carrying Emmalyn to the nearest doctor, and scouring across the nearby forest to find the crate… the two were more than tired.

Laurance and Aphmau groaned as they slowly made their way to their shared home; their bones aching from all the work they went through over the course of the day.

As soon as they walked through the door, Aphmau spread herself out on the nearest chair, letting out a satisfied sigh at the soft cushion beneath her.

“Oh Irene, how I’ve missed you, chair.”

Laurance chuckled as he placed down his sword sheath and began rifling through the cabinets. “Is this your new version of the table?” He asked as he began setting down dough on the counter.

With her most dramatic gasp, she responded, “No! Nothing will ever replace that table.” Aphmau repositioned herself so she was leaning over the back of the chair, looking at Laurance. “What are you doing?”

He pulled open a drawer and began picking out utensils, giving Aphmau an amused look. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m making us dinner.”

“How can you even bring yourself to make something after today? I was just planning on passing out early.” As if to taunt her words, Aphmau’s stomach growled. She turned to her stomach, frowning. “Okay, that was uncalled for.” She poked her stomach before turning to Laurance with a grin. “What are we having?”

Laurance couldn’t help but scoff. “We? Well seeing as I’m making this all alone I was planning on making it for myself…”

She pouted at the idea of not eating tonight. “You’re cruel, Laur.”

“Maybe if you helped…” He began.

Aphmau practically threw herself off the chair, stumbling as she stood up and walked towards the brunette. “I’m doing this for the food, not because I like you in any way.” She dramatically pouted, grabbing the dough from Laurance’s hands playfully. “So, let me ask again, what are we having?”

Laurance grinned, as he had been cooking up this idea in his brain since they first woke up.

“Bread.”

A simple meal to most, sure, but to Aphmau? This was everything to her. That one word had her practically floating in the air.

Since the first day Laurance moved in with her and their curious relationship began, Aphmau had become obsessed with the way this woman cooks and bakes. Ever since they ran out of the bread he had made a week ago, Aphmau has been begging for him to make more. So now? Her wish was finally granted.

She started to jump up and down, before hugging her partner close. “I take back what I said about not liking you. I now tolerate you at a high level.”

Laurance giggled at the comment. “What does that even mean?”

“It means let’s start baking this bread!” Aphmau grabbed the bag of flour from one of the cabinets before slamming it onto the counter. “So, what do we do first, boss?”

“Well, first…” Laurance grabbed the flour Aphmau had not so graciously placed, moving it alongside the dough before walking behind Aphmau. He gestured to her with his eyebrows raised. “May I?”

Aphmau nodded, allowing him to grab her hands and began to knead the dough. “We need to knead the dough in order to help the dough’s gluten bond together to make sure it holds its shape and rises correctly when we’re baking it.” Laurance furrowed his eyebrows, focusing on the dough as he spoke.

Aphmau tilted her head up to look at her guard, smiling. “You really know your stuff, huh?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been baking my own bread since Joh took me in from the orphanage.” The comment made his mind start to wander back to the memories he shared as a kid, his hands releasing Aphmau’s subconsciously.

A sinister smile grew on her face as a plan came to fruition. “Oh? You’ve been baking for that long?”

A fond smile grew on his face. “Yep… He taught me everything I know-”

As Laurance was focused on talking; distracted by his memories, Aphmau took the chance to take a handful of flour and throw it in his face.

He began to cough, a cloud of dust appearing. His face was covered completely with the white powder, so that when he opened his eyes, the light blue stuck out amongst the snowy plain that was his face.

“You’re joking.”

“No, no, I take my job as a flour thrower very seriously.” 

Laurance coughed again, this time sending excess flour towards Aphmau’s head; lightly dusting her raven hair with white.

He moved to place his hands on Aphmau’s again, guiding them to the bag of flour.

“Laurance, what are you-”

Before she could finish, Laurance had used Aphmau’s own hands to throw flour in her own face. 

“There. Now we’re even.” Laurance chuckled.

Like clockwork, she began to cough at the powder as well.

She turned around to face him, her face the same powdery white landscape his own appearance shared. “Okay. I deserved that.”

Laurance took one look at her and…

He laughed.

He laughed hard.

The look of her powdered face in contrast to her dark hair just sent him into a giggling fit.

Laurance released her hands, falling back against the cabinets, holding his abdomen as he cried out laughing.

“Hey! Stop laughing at me!”

After a few moments, his laughter started to die down, before he took one more look at Aphmau and simply lost it once more.

Aphmau pouted, crossing her arms and sticking her head up in an act of defiance. “You know, you look exactly like I do right now, right?”

The thought of that seemed to make matters worse, as the woman Aphmau called her partner was now wheezing through the powder, almost seemingly in pain from how he gripped himself. “Oh my Irene-”

Aphmau raced around the kitchen, before her eyes landed on a cloth, quickly using it to wipe her face, before throwing it at the brunette. “Laurance, you are unbelievable, you know that?”

Laurance’s chuckles had died down as he caught the cloth, allowing him to take much needed breaths, his stomach aching from laughing so much. “Says the girl who started this in the first place!” He yelled as he used the other side of the fabric to clean his own face.

“Well excuse me for being joyous and whimsical!” She huffed. “Now come on, let’s go back to baking this bread!” Laurance rolled his eyes before the two went back to their earlier position; with Aphmau slowly applying the flour to the dough and Laurance helping her knead it.

Things went smoothly after that, as they had put the dough over the fire to let it rise.

They both sat on the chairs across the room, waiting for the bread to finish cooking while they sat on top of each other.

“Is it done yet? I’m bored.” She whined, lightly kicking Laurance as they were spread across the sofa.

He pushed her foot away with a grin. “Any minute now, my Lord.”

Aphmau groaned, rolling her eyes so far back that one would think they’d get trapped behind her head. She brought her hands up, doing quotation marks. “My lord.” She mocked, sticking her tongue out. “Laurance, I do hope you see me as more than just a lord. We are quite literally partners.”

Laurance gasped, bringing his hand to his mouth in a state of fake shock. “Really? I had no idea!” 

Aphmau kicked him slightly harder, with Laurance trying to shoo away her boot. After a silent playful fight between the two, Laurance pushed Aphmau off of him to get up and check on the bread.

As he approached the fireplace, he placed a knife in the bread, testing to see that no dough came out. He had to make sure it was baked through thoroughly. 

After taking the knife out and finding nothing, he smiled and grabbed a cloth, carefully pulling the tray of bread out.

With a sing-songy voice, he called, “Oh Aphmau…”

That was all she needed to hear to jump off the sofa and head straight towards the Shadow Knight.

Laurance held the bread out of reach as she made grabby hands at the hot tray. “My lady, please wait! It’s still hot!”

She groaned before stomping herself over to the table, sitting down with a pout. “How long do I have to wait now?”

Laurance placed the tray on the countertop, allowing it to cool down. He approached Aphmau, sitting himself on the table in front of her. “About five minutes.” He leaned in closer, a mischievous smile growing on his face. “And I know just how to preoccupy our time until then.”

A chill shot down Aphmau’s spine at those words. She knew what was coming.

Within seconds, Laurance pounced towards her, his hands immediately tickling her in all her sensitive spots. This was her one weakness… and that bastard was using it against her.

Aphmau could hardly breath, wheezing and coughing as her partner relentlessly attacked her with tickles. If Laurance wasn’t so aware of how to mess with her, maybe she would have won this battle long ago.

After a few pleas from Aphmau, Laurance finally moved back with a sigh, as if he was the one getting tickled in the first place.

What a drama queen.

Aphmau held her hand to her chest, feeling her own heartbeat as she let herself recover from Laurance’s tomfoolery.

“I… despise… you…” She panted.

Laurance smirked. “Oh really?” He jumped off the table and approached the counter, pointing at the now cooled off bread. “How about we see how you feel after we eat, okay?”

@lovelaurs, 2024. do not repost this work in any way!

[acommonloon]

Black hole sons - egos of men daren’t be eclipsed

My sister invited us to visit her new place in Kentucky on Saturday. Her Lawrenceburg address was an hour and a half drive to “nowhere close.” Even Frankfort was 45 minutes away. As it was their one year anniversary at the new house, it was going to be a big shindig. We felt we had to go.

TD, my sister’s husband (although they never use the term and I don’t think they ever officially married) is a Marine(ret) and a black man so…

We would get to visit with some black people! Yay! lol I spent 21 years in a diverse Air Force with many of those years in North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, and Europe so, after our last 22 years in white bread Indiana, I was looking forward to a gathering with some color.

We had a good time but this morning we discussed a thing we both noticed.

We arrived on time so we were early. It’s a military thing. My sister met us at the car as we unloaded lawn chairs, a cooler with beer (I would drink) and a bag with a bottle of bourbon, a gift for TD. I apologized as I handed it to my sister because we didn’t find anything we specifically wanted to gift her. Then I said, “Maybe you like bourbon too?”

“I do like bourbon but TD doesn’t like me drinking it.” She said.

What?

“Yeah, he says I get too mouthy when I drink bourbon.” She chuckled

We walked in silence for a few seconds.

“I do love bourbon though.” She sighed.

This morning, I recalled this to D and she asked, “Did you notice how the black women and the white women married to black men were cheerfully subservient to the men.” She went on, “I was really shocked when Jerry said to his wife, “Hey can I get some ice over here?”

His wife, Anita, responded of course honey and brought it right over.

That was some Mad Men level patriarchy right there.

Before we were given leave to eat, TD turned the prayer into his personal story of deliverance by God, the result being the property he now owned. It was his dream, granted to him because he always put God first. He acknowledged the prior owners who were on hand, recounting how it was his note, left under the humidor entreating the, then unknown, owner to always keep the Marine Corps flag flying that sealed the deal. I felt this conclusion somewhat undermined when he admitted the seller asked the two prior contract offers to perform within 48hours and only when they couldn’t, was his offer accepted. Inshallah. After the conclusion of the prayer, I walked over to the prior owners.

What a wonderful place I enthused, “How could you bear to leave it? I asked.

They smiled and I saw genuine sadness as they said they’d always dreamed to have such a place but couldn’t keep it up. They said they’d bought a smaller place nearby but, what I was seeing here now had always been their dream too.

Perhaps they hadn’t always put God first in their lives or maybe it was just his plan to let them toil for years before letting someone else buy the fruit of their labor.

Minutes later, God’s chosen was back on his soapbox. He introduced his son. His oldest son. He said he’d always hoped one of his sons, but especially this one, would follow him into the Marine Corps. He couldn’t be prouder. Oh and his other son, a football coach, would be here later. Yikes

Then he demanded to know where the cake was. He directed this query to my sister. She said it was in the house. Well get it he smiled. She turned and went.

I watched her walk away from the crowd. No one looked her way. I shouted, “Do you need any help?”

FUCK! I never heard a cross word or impolite remark during the event. It was the type of fellowship I remembered from church dinners during my youth. Everyone emoting delight at the company around them. Sunny smiles all around + alcohol.

Earlier as we were driving down, I’d called my sister to say we would be early if that was okay so we could have a bit of time to visit before the crowds arrived. I joked there’d probably be a hundred people. She said that was accurate with all the people TD had invited. “His problem is he’s too likeable!” I joked.

“You don’t have to live with him.” She responded.

These men love their wives like cherished possessions. They ply them with caring condescension giving all credit to godly provenance and their own wisdom for doing so.

[themonsterthing]

Sunrises and Solo Polyamory

Today I met god.

I don’t normally eat breakfast, but this sweet middle-aged Italian man pushed the freshly plated bread pudding at me. It was a faintly steaming, overwhelming pile of blueberries atop a moist cake layer. A stronger man than I would have crumbled. “Try it!”

I took a bite. I died.

I came back to life, and the Italian was beaming at me. “Yes? Yes!”

This morning I woke up obnoxiously early. I am hitting that old person stage of life (at the ancient age of 36) where you get up hours before everyone else, so by dawn, you’re cranky about no one else being ready to do anything. So I laid in bed, read a chapter of my book, and decided to go find the sunrise. I wandered a pre-dawn empty pier, stumbled upon some enthusiastic elder humans (see? my people) splashing into the freezing water in the fog, their little brightly coloured buoys bobbing after, the only signs they ever existed in this ethereal landscape, before I went to treat myself to sugary caffeine at a nearby bakery.

Bakers, swimmers, and photographers: sacrificing the comfort of a warm bed for our joy in life.

I left heaven clutching a to-go container of pure joy and one perfect hazelnut latte, and drove to the top of the mountain to eat it and watch the fog roll in.

And this, my friends, is why I identify as solo polyamorous.

Solo polyamory is an oft misunderstood branch of non-monogamy. It does not mean I am single but polyamorous — which is often how it is used, even by those who should know better. No, what it means is that, no matter what, I come first. Well, let’s be real, it’s my cat, my art, and then me. The definition of solo polyamory is that our first partner — our “primary” — is ourselves. Even when entangled, we come first.

This does not mean you’re not responsible for your emotions and how they affect others. To be a good human means community, and care. It does not mean I always prioritize my own needs. I am really good at empathy, at compromise. It just means that in considering how I interact with others, I negotiate from that framework.

What that looks like, in my life, is that I live without a partner, and while that may change eventually, I don’t want it to currently. And if I did, I would always need my own bedroom. Why?

Because I want the ability to wake up at 5am, read a chapter of my current book, then decide I want to go watch the sunrise — without worrying about someone in bed next to me. My cat may grumble, but he grumbles whenever I’m not in bed with him. (He’s pretty codependent.)

I want to prioritize sunrises, books, adventures, my cat.

Does it mean I don’t want to wake up next to my loved ones? Not at all. I do. I love it. But instead, I don’t want to take it for granted. I don’t want to get so comfortable, to expect their presence, that when they do choose to sleep over, my priority becomes cuddling up with them. I want my moments with them to be intentional, to be important. The trade off is not getting comfortable and lazy with a person because you know where they’ll be most nights. But that is a trade I find desirable.

I want the interactions in my relationships to be an active choice.

This is a choice I make because of trauma, I know that. Does it make it wrong? No. It is right — for me. Is it your choice? I have no idea, I’m not you. But I hope whatever you choose is healthy for you.

I want sunrises without worrying I’m disturbing my bed mate. I want to listen to music at midnight. I want to go alone to the museum, to wander undisturbed — unless I choose to do it with a companion. And then I get the joy of their presence being a choice, being intentional. I will never take it for granted, because I know it was not a given. I had to reach out, schedule, organize time with them.

It takes more effort, but that is an effort I want to give my humans. And if I need to have a quiet day with someone, where we just sit next to each other in comfortable silence, I can have that too — I just have to ask.

I am not saying it is not possible to find someone perfectly aligned, who would give you comfortable lazy mornings, and wild adventures. I just don’t want that. I don’t want just one. I want wildly different brains, different perspectives, different ideas, different backstories. And thus, polyamory.

The beauty of polyamory, of the way I live my life in general, is that no one person fills all my slots. And so it means I have a lot of room for everyone to find their own niche. Some, it’s sitting quietly. Some, it’s laughing forever over stupid internet jokes. Others, it’s wild sex. Some fill a lot of slots — I often have partners who are sex, love, friendship, adventure — but maybe not art. Maybe not getting excited by plants. I want everyone to flourish in a way that feels best to them, and authentic to our relationship. I am a wildly varied human — I have lots of space for others. And so when I have a space I feel longing for, I reach out to a friend who might fill that need.

Conversely, my friends know the spaces I can take up; the spaces I avoid. I am not your bar friend, but I am your ocean friend. I am not your gossip friend, but I am here for deep conversations at 2am about the meaning of life.

So I choose scheduling over comfort, over ease. I choose to make a lot of effort, I choose to have a deep love affair with my calendar. I choose intention. I choose sunrises, and delicious blueberry bread, and delighted bakers.

(Originally published on Medium, this is the sunrise I found.)

[lozriftsintime]

A Wolf And His Wild Child: Chapter 17

To be honest, Link didn’t remember much about that first evening after defeating the Calamity. He knew they made it back to Hateno and to his and Twilight’s house. And that they managed to stay up and about long enough for all of them to wash up some before shutting down for the night. They ended up with Zelda on the bed while Link and Twilight curled up together on the floor. Link was pretty sure Zelda tried to protest taking the bed, but he didn’t really remember how they convinced her to do so. Just that he woke up the next morning curled up against Twilight on top of their bedrolls.

Zelda was still fast asleep when Link and Twilight woke up, so the two of them moved outside to let her continue to rest while they started on a large breakfast. Link wanted to be sure there would be plenty of food for all three of them, but he also wanted to be sure that there was food that Zelda could eat and he wasn’t sure if her time trapped in the castle would have affected what she could eat. So he made sure to make a variety of differen things, including a couple different options that should be easy on the stomach. Just in case.

It took some time to finish preparing the whole meal, but apparently it was just the right amount of time because at almost the exact moment Link finished passing the last bit of food to Twilight to place, the front door of their house slowly creaked open, revealing a still groggy-looking (ex?) princess wearing Link’s Champion’s tunic (which had been the only outfit Link had that was even remotely clean and would fit her. They’d really need to get her some clothes before they went anywhere else).

“That smells really good,” she told them, carefully making her way over to them. “I have to admit I’m excited. I’ve been able to watch you cook for others this whole time and I’ve been hoping to get to try something of yours. Everyone who ate it seemed to like it a lot.”

‘ I hope it lives up to what you expect, ’ Link told her with a small smile, gesturing at one of the nearby downed logs.

“I’m sure it will be,” Zelda reassured him, taking a seat on the log across from him. “But you didn’t have to make all of this, you know. We could have had something simple.”

“Maybe,” Twilight agreed, holding out a plate. “But we all had a busy day yesterday. And we were hungry. Besides. You deserve a nice meal after all this time. Just take it slow to start, alright. It’s been a long time since you’ve eaten.”

“True,” Zelda acknowledged, taking the plate with a small smile. “I’ll take it slow.”

Link let out a satisfied hum and placed a loaf of bread on her plate to start her off. Then he reached over to take the plate that Twilight had prepared for him while he finished cooking and settled down to eat.

The meal itself was quiet for the most part, all three of them taking the time to process and gather themselves in this new world they were living in. A world where the Calamity was gone and Zelda was free. A world where Link’s duty was complete and Twilight was still there in Hyrule, enjoying it with him. It was a good world, but a new one. For all of them.

Read the rest Here

[raccoonhearteyes]

Part I

July 8th 2018

Lexa has learned to find the events around the city. She knows where people store their spare key, and when they may be out of town. She knows the patterns of the local bakeries and when they toss their day-old bread. She’s surviving.

It’s easy to sneak into events when no one remembers you once you’ve walked past them. Lexa has taken advantage of this perk many times to get into clubs, concerts, and weddings. This rooftop party is no different. 

It’s a hot and muggy July evening in the city. The gallery below is hosting a party to celebrate new partnerships with artists. The rooftop is full of budding artists and wealthy patrons. There’s a low hum of music, chilled cocktails, and a few waiters wandering through with finger food. 

Lexa is content to stand off by the side, filling up on free snacks and drinks.

A blonde woman approaches the table, lays out a napkin and begins piling cocktail wieners on it. Then, as stealthily as she can, places the whole thing into her purse. Lexa watches her do this again with mini quiches. 

This time, the woman looks up and catches Lexa’s eyes. 

Lexa smirks. “Hungry?” 

The woman looks slightly embarrassed, but admits, “I’m an executive assistant at the gallery. I planned this whole thing, and everyone is too busy sucking up to the artists and patrons that they aren’t eating this delicious food that I spent hours on the phone with a caterer about.”

“Then by all means, let me help you.” Lexa grabs a napkin to start filling with mini crab cakes. 

The woman smiles and with renewed vigor, she fills her purse with as much as it can hold. When it’s too stuffed to hold anything else, she reaches out her hand and says, “I’m Clarke, by the way.” 

“Anna,” Lexa replies, taking her hand. 

Clarke is slow to let go, allowing her eyes to trace over every feature of Lexa’s face. It’s long enough that Lexa begins to feel like she’s under a microscope and she starts to fidget.

“Your eyes are like a forest.”

“Wow, what a line,” Lexa jokes, trying to laugh it off. 

But Clarke is still looking at her intently, focused on the green of her eyes and replies in complete seriousness, “It’s not a line. I’ve just never seen anyone with such deep verdant eyes.” 

This time Lexa flushes, and Clarke comments, “You’re cute when you blush,” which only makes the tips of Lexa’s ears turn even more red under the observation.

“Can we talk about something else?”

“We don’t have to talk at all,” and Lexa watches Clarke’s eyes dip to her lips.

Lexa stares back at Clarke’s, lost in the beauty mark above her top lip and asks, “Does that line usually work for you?” 

“Honestly, I’ve never tried it before. But stealing apps with you has been the most fun I've had all night, and I'm really ready to get out of here.” 

“Lead the way,” and Lexa offers her hand for Clarke to grab. 

-----------

They walk to a park nearby, where Clarke finds a picnic table and spreads out the spoils from her purse. “Dinner?” she offers. 

Lexa takes the seat across from her and pops a crab cake into her mouth. Stuffing it into one side of her cheek she asks, “So do you always leave parties early?” 

“My friends say that I need to learn how to have more fun.”

“And skipping the party complies with that?” 

“It was a work party, so yes. I did all the planning, I already know the patrons and the artists, so yeah. I didn’t want to be at work any more.  And you were beautiful, and helped me steal dinner for this wonderful date.”

“So it’s a date now?”

“I was hoping so, yeah,” and for the first time that night, Clarke seems unsure of herself. 

“Sounds like we need to get some first date questions out of the way then.” 

They talk about work. Their childhoods. Hopes and dreams. 

Clarke is honest. She’s an executive assistant for a gallery, but she’s an artist herself. Waiting for the right collection to break her way into the gallery scene with an exhibit of her own. She’s an only child. Her father died when she was young. Her mom has been somewhat overbearing ever since. She wants to be an artist, but feels stuck in her art. She’s currently working on a series of portraits of people as skies, but nothing is quite meeting her expectations. 

Lexa has to lie. Blatant honesty about being a homeless, jobless, ghost would probably scare her off. She pretends she’s a teacher, because if she could enroll in school, that’s what she would have wanted. She skips over the ugly foster care parts of her childhood. 

By the time they finish all of the stolen snacks, hours have passed and Lexa thinks she may know Clarke more than any one she’d talked to in the last ten years. She’s not ready for this to end. This is a rare experience for Lexa, getting beyond the initial getting to know you greetings. 

Clarke asks if she wants to walk around the park a bit, and she immediately agrees. They slow when they reach a fountain. Lexa isn’t sure how it happens, but she suddenly has a girl with pretty blue eyes who wants to kiss her, and she finds herself kissing her back.

Lexa finds herself being tugged down the street, fingers intertwined as they stumble through an apartment door.

“I don’t usually do this,” Clarke breaths as she pulls away.

“Me neither,” Lexa sighs, pinning her against the wall.

It was a race after that. A hot, sweaty, needy race that left both of them spent, and drifting off to sleep after giggling late into the night.

-----------

Lexa wakes up to sun pouring through a window, a mass of blonde hair in her mouth, and her arm trapped under Clarke’s neck. She knows she needs to leave before Clarke wakes up. But Clarke looks so peaceful and Lexa can’t bear to wake her up to extricate her arm. 

Clarke stirs in her arms, nuzzling further into Lexa’s body before she wakes with a start. 

She looks confused. Brow furrowed, trying to pull a name or a memory from last night. She settles for a soft, “Hi?”

“Hi,” Lexa whispers back. 

Clarke looks down at their bodies, clocking the fact that both she and Lexa are naked. “Well it seems we had a fun night.”

“We did,” Lexa smirks.

“I’m sorry… I don’t actually remember your name… I must’ve had too much to drink last night.”

“Oh, right. Anna,” Lexa lies again, holding out her hand to reintroduce herself. 

Clarke looks at it and shakes it again. “So what exactly happened last night?” 

“I was at your gallery event. Caught you stealing snacks, so I helped you fill your purse. We left, talked, and well…” Lexa glances down at the tangled sheets to let that do the talking. 

Clarke rubs at her temples where the hangover headache should be. Lexa knows she doesn’t have one-- they only had one drink each. But the mind convinces itself otherwise when you wake up to a stranger in your bed and have no idea how they got there.  

Eventually, Clarke says, “I have to shower and then get to work.”

“Of course, I’ll get out of your hair.” Lexa jumps out of bed and starts pulling her own clothes back on. 

Clarke watches her closely, and Lexa again feels like she’s under a microscope. No one has ever looked at her as intensely as Clarke does. “Do you need to shower?” She cocks her head to the side awaiting Lexa’s answer. 

“I can shower at home,” Lexa answers, lying through her teeth because she has no idea where she’s sleeping tonight. 

Clarke stands, letting the sheet slip down her body, and Lexa forces herself to look at the wall. 

“Can’t even look at me now?” 

“I’m trying to be respectful,” Lexa pleads. 

Clarke approaches her, hooks her fingers in Lexa’s belt loops and tugs. “A gentleman. But it seems only fair you join me so I have a new memory of the night I apparently missed.”

Lexa tries to argue, but her words pause in her mouth. She lets Clarke tug her shorts back down and lead her towards the bathroom. They’re kissing before the water is even hot and then Clarke pulls her into the shower and lets Lexa push her against the cold shower tiles. 

Lexa sinks to her knees, kissing a soft belly and inner thighs and earning a gasp from Clarke. Clarke’s hands root in her hair as she licks through her, head thudding against the tiles, and an endless stream of fuck. yes. there. tumbling from her mouth. Lexa steadies her as she arches into her mouth and coaxes her through the aftershocks, then stands to kiss her long and slow. 

Clarke seems barely coherent before saying, “Wow, that was… unforgettable” 

Lexa’s heart seizes at her word choice. She knows she’ll be forgotten once again as soon as she leaves this apartment, but decides to make the most of it before she goes. 

After they are dried, clothes, and caffeinated, Lexa sees Clarke glance at her watch and realize just how late she’s going to be for work, and rushes through the rest of her morning routine. She and Lexa step out of her apartment together when Clarke asks, “Will I see you again?”  

Lexa offers a smile in lieu of an answer. “Get going, Clarke, I don’t want you to be late for work.”

“This morning was fun. I’m sure last night was too if I could remember it,” Clarke laughs, kisses her on the cheek, and starts to power walk to the office.

[write-ur-wrongs]

The Death of Me

Pairing: Geralt x reader

Word count: almost 4K - big whoops!

A/N: This was totally meant to be a drabble / blurb, but the story got away from me! A huge thanks to the sweet anon who submitted this prompt - I was beyond inspired and chuckled warmly throughout the entire writing process. This baby isn’t proofread so thread lightly!! I sincerely hope y’all enjoy this one :’) 

Prompt:  Heya! I saw your post about wanting to practice writing short stories so I have a small prompt for Geralt! What about: the reader and Geralt have always had a difficult relationship, always running into each other at the most inconvenient moments and hence disliking each other. However, while Geralt is passing through a village the reader comes barging into his room bloody and near death, only getting a chance to say “I didn’t know where else to go” before collapsing. I would be honoured if the idea inspired you :3

____________________________________________________

You’d never considered yourself unlucky but lately life had a funny way of throwing you for a loop, or rather, throwing you to the wolves. One wolf, actually. A damn, irritating, and arrogant white wolf.

At first, it was all business. You’d arrive in a village itching for a contract, only to find that a “legendary witcher” had already come through and taken care of every monster within a two-days ride. Furious, hungry, and broke, you set out determined to get as far as you could and as quickly as possible. Your determination got you far enough that you’d managed a full three months of contract work, but not far enough it seemed.

You’d been on your way to collect payment from your latest contractor when you’d heard the buzz on the street; a witcher had come through asking about work, and had been told to wait and see as someone else (a woman! A human woman!) had already committed to the case. Apparently, he was either incensed or bemused at the idea – the brute was very hard to read, so say the town gossips – but it didn’t matter to you. You beat him to it and now you get to eat. When you finally met with the contractor to collect your coin, you couldn’t help but swell with pride as they thanked you, eyes wide, for taking care of a monster no human ought to be able to handle. You could have sworn your pride had given you wings as you floated out of the inn.

That is, until you heard them mumble under their breath, “Thank Gods that lass was able to handle it! Had it been the witcher, I would have had to pay triple!”

“Thank heavens for cheap labour!” whispered their partner, raising their glass to cheers their big victory.

Suddenly whatever weightlessness you felt transferred onto your coin purse. Biting hard on your cheek you pushed up your chin, determined to remain dignified. But then you saw him.

Impossibly broad chested, rippling muscles evident beneath his leather armour, with golden eyes that reflected back to you with a cruel playful nature that made bile rise in the back of your throat. He held your gaze and raised his own tankard to you as you walked past him. His deep voice rumbled through you as you pushed the door open.

“Cheers to cheap labour,” you heard him say, and swore you could hear the smirk on his full lips.

Groaning furiously, you pushed the door so hard it swung back and slammed shut behind you with such force a flock of birds took off somewhere in town. Undeterred, you stomped off towards your horse and set off at a gallop.

I’m going to make sure I never cross his fucking path ever again, you thought searingly.

You were wrong it turned out, but how were you supposed to know that?

You’d gone years without actually seeing him again, but that didn’t mean you were free of him. You’d alternated winning and losing contracts to each other, and the pressure of beating him to the next one stressed you so fiercely you developed ulcers. That alone would have been enough to push you to murder had you not heard from another witcher that their brother, the great white wolf, was losing sleep trying to keep up with you. Knowledge of this fact spurred you on; after all, if you couldn’t beat him, it’s best to be even, no?

The next time fate brought you two together, though, you could not have been farther from on top. What made matters worse, is that you weren’t even in battle when your paths crossed. Your literal paths just simply… crossed.

You’d been riding east for many days and just as many nights. You were tired, sore, and somehow still soaked to the bone despite the fact that the rain had stopped at least a day ago. You were so tired, your muscles seemed heavy in your limbs, and you had to keep blinking hard to bring the spinning world around you back to its axis. As you rode through an intersection on the trail, the sun peaked out from behind the thick curtain of clouds just long enough to pull you fully into sleep, and right off your still-moving-horse’s saddle.  

You honestly didn’t remember falling asleep, or off the saddle. You also had no memory of the moment another traveler, who was riding towards the intersection on the other trail, leapt off his mare just as you started your descent and caught you before you could split your skull open on one of the many rocks sprinkled throughout the street. You had no memory of the way he’d pulled you off the path, leading both horses behind him as he’d carried you over his shoulder. Zero recollection of him laying you down on a bed grass, tying your horse to a nearby tree, lighting you a campfire, or filling your pack with some bread and meat.

What you did remember, was the arrogant look on his face when you finally woke up. The condescending tone he took as he reminded you that you were ‘only human’ and had to take care of yourself accordingly was also seared into the annals of your memory.

You hated that he’d saved you almost as much as you hated the fact that you’d been asleep around him. Completely vulnerable for God knows how long and he’d been there to witness it all. Whenever the memory of the look on his face or the way he’d crossed his arms and tilted his stupid head as he condescended your humanity came to you, you couldn’t help but cringe even months after the fact.

***

Your saving grace came a full six months after your damned damsel in distress moment on the trail.

Well fed, well worked, and well travelled, you were taking your time enjoying the market in your town of the week. The work you did wasn’t glamourous, but it did allow you the means to afford a few luxuries every now and then. This time, it just so happened that your coin could buy you the sweetest gift of all: revenge.

The market was busy as ever, you could barely hear yourself think over the cacophony of voices and animal bleats bouncing around the square. Had it been anyone else, the conversation would have been lost among the noise around you, but when that voice came rumbling through the mess of shrieks and shouts, you couldn’t help but seek out the source. You didn’t know why you cared or why you were so surprised to find that the voice’s owner was none other than the White Wolf himself.

“You good?” you asked, making sure to tilt your head, hands on your hips, the same way he’d done the last time you’d met.

“Fine.” He practically barked, not even turning his head fully to address you directly.

The merchant, none-too-concerned with your arrival on the scene, continued as if uninterrupted. “I’m sorry Mr. Witcher, sir, but I can’t go any lower. This is the best I can offer.”

“I can’t pay that much,” he grumbled, hands closed into tight fists.

“I’m sorry-”

“Is this enough?” you interjected, knowingly offering forward far too many ducats.

“Y-yes!” breathed the merchant, looking quizzically at Geralt before picking three coins from your open palm, “thank you, madam...”

“Y/N,” you introduced yourself with a warm smile and a nod.

“Y/N!” Geralt hissed, at the same time, reaching out to push away your hand a fraction too late; the vendor was paid, and you’d won this round.

“What is it, Witcher?” you teased, as the vendor took his sword back for repairs, “been on vacation? Why so skint?”

“Been low on work lately,” he replied coolly, cat-like eyes boring into yours, “not as many contracts as there use to be.”

“Well, I’ll be,” you said, cocking your head to the side and pursing your lips in mock contemplation, “I can’t imagine why that’d be the case! Seems I keep running into monsters to kill.”

“Mmhm.” He hummed, narrowing his eyes at you.

Refusing to let him have the last word, you quickly turned on your heels and high-tailed it out of the market, shouting over your shoulder to the blacksmith to give any change back to Geralt before disappearing back into the crowd.

***

Being even should have brought peace between the two of you but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Your last interaction only fanned the flames of your rivalry. As the months turned to years without coming upon each other again, you still found yourself filled with unreasonable anger whenever you saw a mop of white hair cross you on your travels.

And not that you’d know it, but it turned out that Geralt wasn’t faring any better; finding himself frustrated and acting recklessly whenever he’d come upon anything that reminded him of you.

You were both completely obsessed with one another. Thoughts of the other constantly on the mind. Whether in waking or in dreams, you were both equally afflicted by an intense need to outperform, out run, and also, inexplicably, to impress the other.  

*

It was that need to impress each other that led you to accept a contract you should have never even considered taking. You honestly wouldn’t have even considered it had the circumstances been any different but you’d been hearing about this monster for weeks on your travels. Tales of the mighty griffin tearing people to shreds had been circulating far and wide on this side of the Yaruga, and honestly, with every retelling you’d expected to hear that a witcher had handled it, but that never happened. You’d somehow managed to arrive at the village at the source of these stories before him and had an opportunity to literally rob him of this victory.

Granted, you were the only one who’d been attributing him with this win, but that didn’t matter, not to you. The only thing you cared about when accepting this particular contract was the knowledge that by taking it, you were preventing him from having it, and that was more than enough.

The shock on the villagers faces when they saw you accept the contract only added to your already inflated confidence. The sheer size of the griffin’s wingspan humbled you a little, though, and whatever grand illusions of an easy victory you’d carried into the forest were squashed along with a couple rib bones only moments after engaging the beast. In short, you were fucked.

Some might say that coming out of it alive was enough of a win. Those people would be morons, you thought as you stumbled clumsily back towards the lights of the village, clutching your split abdomen with both hands and blinking back blood dripping from your forehead. Every step you took came with the stabbing pain of additional tearing around your wound. You could barely think, your ears were blocked and caked with dried blood and dirt, your tears stung as they fell across the gashes on your cheeks, and every breath in felt like it could be your last. You’d never admit this out loud, but a part of you wished the creature had finished the job.

Perhaps the only saving grace here was that in your condition, you couldn’t hear the villagers as they pointed and gossiped. You didn’t hear the “told you so’s” or the lewd shouts coming from the drunk men as you stumbled into the tavern. You could barely hear the disappointment in the inn owner’s voice as they reprimanded you for accepting a contract, they knew you couldn’t complete. Rolling your eyes, you pushed your way towards the stairs as quickly as possible – which, as it turned out, was not so quick, praying that someone would call you a healer.

“… and to think a witcher arrived only hours after she went off to kill herself! Tsk-tsk!”

You stopped dead in your tracks, drops of blood falling across your brow as you interrupted the momentum you’d been building. “W-what?” you croaked, turning towards them as much as possible to make sure you’d hear them correctly.

“Yeah! And not just any witcher, lass, the Butcher of Blaviken no less! Checked in with us just as you head out. Had you waited half a day you could have saved yourself a world of – ‘ey! Now where’s she off to?”

As you registered this news, something inside you snapped. Before you knew what was happening, you’d made your way upstairs and started pushing your full weight onto every door you passed. The great White Wolf, the Butcher of Blaviken, was certainly arrogant enough to leave his door unlocked. You might have been wrong about the griffin, but you’d be damned if you were wrong about this.

Fortunate or not, you weren’t wrong about this. As you pushed your shoulder against the last door with whatever strength you had left, the door swung open with very little resistance. The heavy wooden door slammed loudly against the wall at the exact moment that your limp body crashed onto the floor.

“WHAT the fuck!” Geralt howled, leaping off the bed and onto his feet. His wild eyes assessed the situation in an instant, and he bound to you in barely two strides. “What the fuck did you do? What happened?” he asked as he flipped you over, so gently you were sure you’d already passed out and were now dreaming. Or maybe the blood loss was finally catching up to you and you were full-on hallucinating.

“I didn’t know where else to go,” you breathed, barely above a whisper, before losing consciousness in his arms.

*

Regaining consciousness was a slow, painful process. You’d come in and out of it a handful of times throughout the night, and flashes of what you’d seen before you lost it were coming to you in an almost dreamlike haze; terrifying images of the furious griffin, its blood-soaked talon shining in the setting sun as it reared back to strike you again, and warmer visions of Geralt, shirtless, running towards you with – could it be? – genuine concern in his eyes.

Now as the rising sun cast its glow across the room, you squinted painfully against the light. Your head felt as though it was full of cotton; heavy, and scratchy, and unnatural on top of your shoulders. Hesitantly, you ran your tongue over your teeth and were equal parts relieved to find them all there and disgusted at the acrid, mineral taste the blood left behind. Blinking slowly, you tried to bring up your hand to rub at your eyes, but stopped short as you felt the large bandage draped across your forehead.

Slowly, you started to register the other bandages, on your arms, your cheek, across your abdomen. Your eyes grew wide as you finally registered the man facing away from you in the far corner of the room. Geralt’s broad strong back was hunched away from you as he rifled through herbs and small glass vials looking for something. Inexplicably, you found yourself disappointed to see he’d put his thick black tunic back on. Horrified by that realization, you literally gagged, startling Geralt and pulling his attention squarely onto you.

His big dumb beautiful face was all hard lines as he looked you over, stern eyes flashing to meet yours before dropping back down to the vial in his hands. You couldn’t help be notice the way the muscles in in jaw rippled and tensed as he sighed. He was oozing disappointment and anger, and that infuriated you.

“Am I dead?” you ask, squinting at him a little theatrically as you squirmed and winced in your bed.

“No.” he practically growled, his body tense as he made his way towards you slowly.

“Oh,” you breathed, bringing your eyes up to his before adding, “this isn’t hell?”

To your immense satisfaction, his stern eyes widened into shock, but then something unrecognizable flashed across his features – wait, was he hurt?

“Why, because I’m here?” he shouted, as if in confirmation of your hunch, and slammed the damp cloth he’d been holding back into the basin.

“No, jackass,” you retorted, pleased that despite the position you were in, you still had some semblance of an upper-hand, “because a griffin fucking fileted me like a fish and some poor drunk is probably downstairs slipping in a pool of my blood right now.”

You’d kind of hoped that he’d laugh, or at least have a comeback geared up for you, but Geralt just stood there staring at you, his mouth in a tight line, nostrils flaring.

Uncomfortable by the intensity of his stare and the silence accompanying it, you decide to continue to poke the bear.

“Come on, what’s with the face, Geralt? Pissed I’m still alive? You know you could have just closed the door over my body, let nature finish the bloody job.”

“Fuck, no! Y/n!” he screamed, startling you out of the attitude you’d put on, “I’m pissed because you’re an impossibly difficult woman hellbent on killing herself! I’m pissed because you don’t seem to fucking care about what happens to you! You can’t keep doing this Y/N! Because one of these days you’re going to get hurt and you’ll be too far away from me and I won’t be able to fucking save you, again! I am pissed because I am losing my mind spending every god-awful day wondering if you’ve gone and gotten yourself killed! Fucking hell, woman! If you didn’t find me – I-if I wasn’t here, with these herbs – Damnit Y/N!”

You just sat there, mouth opening and closing like a fish. You couldn’t believe it. You didn’t know what to say. This man, your nemesis, was in front of you pacing back and forth, breathing heavily, looking like a maniac. His nostrils were flaring more than the monster that almost killed you just yesterday. Part of you wanted to correct him and demand he never address you as ‘woman’ again, but his wild earnest eyes kept you quiet. My god… was he crying?

Before you could say anything, Geralt sighed gruffly, ran his large hand over his face and stormed out, mumbling something about needing to get you more water.

Left alone with your thoughts, you couldn’t stop yourself from spiralling. You’d expected him to be angry – hell, you wanted him to be angry! You’d humiliated yourself twice over, enraging him would ease the blow – but this was… different. He seemed genuinely concerned about you. And what was with his whole speech? He spent every day thinking about you? Worrying about you? There’s no way.

Sure, you thought about him daily, but that was out of spite! You hated the man! Why else would your heart race whenever you thought you spotted him in a crowd? Why else would you actively seek out the most dangerous contracts? What, like you were hoping these contracts would draw him out, and therefore, closer to you? As if!

Your ridiculous inner monologue was interrupted by Geralt’s return. The horrible brute knocked gently on the door before stepping inside, and your heart had the audacity to skip a beat.

Oh, you thought, fuck.

“I need to change the dressing on your wounds,” he grumbled, not meeting your eyes. You nodded wordlessly as he settled onto the chair next to you. You watched him work in silence, praying he would attribute your insane heartrate and flushed skin to a pain response from his work.

“Geralt?” you tried, chewing nervously on your cheek, as was just finished up with the last of your dressing.

“Hm?” he hummed, keeping his eyes cast down as he fussed with the bandage on the gash across your abdomen.

“Thank you… for saving me.”

He finally brought his gaze up to meet yours, but said nothing in return. He merely grunted in acknowledgment. You didn’t know why, but his silence in combination with his inscrutable gaze encouraged you to keep talking.

“I honestly only took this contract because I didn’t want you to have it,” you admitted bashfully.

“What the fuck? No one was taking it because they weren’t paying nearly enough! Hell, and you’re just a human,” he fumed, throwing up air-quotes as he said it, “so what – they offered you a third of nothing?”

Laughing lightly, you shoved him with your elbow, “they offered me three whole ducats!”

“Oh, wow,” he laughed, low and rumbling, “so a big pay day for you, eh?”

“Shut up,” you gasped as pain rippled through you with each peal of laughter, “knowing I could screw you over was payment enough!”

“Well congratulations are in order, you did manage to screw someone over,” he chided.

“Me,” you stated dryly, gesturing widely at your busted up body.

“You,” he echoed with a sigh that seemed to deflate him.

He suddenly looked so small, sitting there next to you. You watched him as clenched and unclenched his jaw, rubbing his large hands up and down his thighs – was he anxious? You mind raced as you felt his eyes travel slowly up your body. You held your breath as he worked up the nerve to finally bring his eyes up to yours.

The moment his eyes landed on yours, something shifted. Whatever had been lodged uncomfortably between the two of you all these years had finally clicked into place. This change, albeit small, was palpable. His eyes dropped to your lips and lingered there. He was looking at you like he’d never seen you before. Like he was afraid he might never see you again.

Without speaking, Geralt inched himself closer to you and reached a tender hand to tuck your hair behind your ears before cradling your face.

“You’re not allowed to die, do you hear me?” he whispered, gently stroking your cheek with his thumb.

You gave him a quick nod and brought your hand up to his, nuzzling into the warmth of his palm before giving his hand a quick kiss.

“I need to hear you say it,” he begged, bringing himself even closer to you.

“I do,” you breathed, trying to sit up to bring your face closer to his. “I’m not going to die, not on your watch, but I’m also not quitting.”

“Y/N –”

“No! If I quit, you’d get lazy. Who’d push you? What would be your driving force?”

“Wow,” he scoffed, looking at you incredulously but fondly, “you’re so fucking arrogant.”

“And yet…” you said, quirking a brow flirtatiously as you pulled him closer by the collar.

“… and yet?” he murmured, letting himself be pulled closer to you. His eyes half-closed and his lips slightly parted.

“You love me.”

“I love you.”

And then he kissed you. His mouth claimed yours urgently but his hands were ever gentle, ghosting over your bandages and caressing your skin with a feather-light tenderness that would have brought you to your knees had you not already been bedridden. Any hesitation or doubt melted away under the heat of his touch as all those years of tension sprung apart catastrophically. The knot you had carried in your stomach unfurled into flittering fireflies, their heat traveling up your stomach to your chest as his hands worked their way into your hair.

You didn’t know when they’d fallen, but you let out a shaky laugh as Geralt kissed away the tears on your cheeks, his thumb swiping at the tears his soft lips failed to catch. Breathing heavily, he rested his forehead against yours; his hands cupping your face as yours captured his.

Gods – this man was going to be the death of you.  

[misspearly1]

Millers Retreat

Chapter Three

Chp1 || Chp2 || Chp3 || Chp4 || Chp 5 ||

Pairing: Joel Miller x Y/N (f!reader)

WC: 4k

Warnings: Not a whole lot for warnings. A little bit of Fluff. Definitely angsty vibes & dark themes surrounding the story to 'Bobby' which in turn makes the Miller's a little sad. There's not a whole lot mention Y/N in thus one peeps, more focus on The Miller brothers.

AN: Okay, in regards to the warnings above, this fic is practically a look into the work that Tommy and Joel are doing, it's not all doom and gloom, the angsty stuff is towards the end. I promise we will get to all of the fluffy/smutty parts in the next chapter. Hope you enjoy, my lovelies <33

It’s currently day three into Joel’s and Tommy’s ‘fishing trip’, their last day, and the work still continues, but let’s look back at what they’ve accomplished so far.

Day One

On the first day, it took the brothers a lot longer than they anticipated to get the thick green vines off the two stationary homes properly, even then, the dug well and the surrounding area was heavily covered too, so that took up even more of their time.

Tommy had come across an old newspaper clipping inside the overgrowth, dated back twenty years ago with the heading of ‘Evacuation Procedures Now Underway; death toll in the thousands.’

The brothers looked at that clipping and remembered that some towns and cities got a heads up before the virus hit, unfortunately most didn’t. And it seems as though the town nearby got that heads up and considering Bobby had the newspaper clipping here, Joel wondered if the man left with his family when it was advised.

This place certainly looked like someone had left in a hurry, or as if a storm of infected had blown through it. Pocketing that clipping along with the postcard that he found on the tree, Joel and Tommy shoved their thoughts aside for now and got back to work.

After they had hacked away at every possible blockage covering the caravans, the older Miller put on his garden gloves and began piling it all up to be discarded, grabbing handfuls in his hands and transporting it to a large pile just outside of camp.

As the area around the caravans started to become clearer, he noticed something else under one of them. It was a book, a journal. Pulling it out and reading the cover, Robert Kennedy, the diary belonged to none other than Bobby himself.

Joel didn’t bother opening it up to read the contents inside, but he didn’t throw it away either, instead, he left it to one side to maybe read later and got back to work again. Once his task at hand was dealt with, they both moved on to thoroughly searching all four caravans, to gather up everything that is useful.

One of the caravans that was under the ivy was locked tight and the brothers couldn’t get it open. It was nearing midnight and they left it for now, deciding that they would come back to it the next day.

They both felt accomplished for all the work they had done today, especially after seeing all the difference they have made. Today, they had found three artefacts of information about Bobby and this caravan site, cleared up all the ivy and rubbish in the camp, uncovered the water well, which was sealed, and the place was looking a hell of a lot better since this morning.

So, at eleven pm at night, Tommy and Joel finally sat down after tending to the horses.

Joel did end up getting that chair from Tommy. He sat on it, feet kicked up on the table with a smug smirk to his face and a small fire in the middle of camp. They were tired and hungry, exhausted after the day's activities but it could either only get worse or easier from this point onwards.

Tommy grabbed the bubbling pot from the fire over to where his brother was sitting, he had cooked some tinned meaty soups, quick and easy to whip up and eat along with a few cut up slices of bread that he brought from home.

They both ate in silence, underestimating how hungry they actually are and while soup can sometimes be boring, this soup tasted delicious. After they ate, Joel grabbed his walkie to have a quick goodnight call with his girl, Y/N.

“Baby, it’s me Joel. Are you awake?” He started off the conversation, standing up from his chair and patting his brother on the shoulder to say goodnight then headed into one of the only two habitable caravans in camp.

“Hey, love, yeah I am. Barely, but I’m awake,” her voice croaked through the walkie tiredly after a few moments. Joel didn’t mean to leave it so late at night, he and his brother got carried away with the work, wanting to get a huge chunk done on their first day.

“I’m sorry, girl, I didn’t wake you up did I?” He plopped down on the edge of the bed, kicking off his shoes and tossing himself back with a wide smile across his face. It was comfy and her voice was homey to his ears. Joel missed Y/N at that moment and he expressed that to her in between a yawn, “I’m laying down right now, wish you were here with me darlin.”

There was a couple seconds that passed before she came back through the walkie, giggling, “You made me yawn too, but no, you didn’t wake me,” Joel smiled on this side, waiting for her to reposition herself in bed after clearly hearing her shuffle around in the sheets, “I miss you too, handsome. How’s it going out there?”

Doing the same thing as Y/N, Joel repositioned himself in his bed and got under the covers, wishing that he could tell her exactly how things are going out here, but he lied again, “Really good. We caught some steelhead and ate it tonight for dinner. How’s things over there?” He tried to steer the topic of conversation.

Y/N, as well as Joel, was in a position of wanting to tell the truth, but she made a promise to Maria not to say anything yet about Tommy, and she lied too, “The usual, baby. Tea with Maria this morning, I cleared up some of the weeds from the garden and fed the plants,” Joel listened to her voice trailing off about all the things she has done today, making him miss home that much more.

Bringing his hand up behind his head, he rested the walkie on his chest with closed eyes, smiling whilst picturing her face telling him all of this. She finished off with a question, asking Joel if he is staying safe out here, to which he replied saying, “Always, babydoll.”

They chatted more over the radio, sinking further into the mattress and warming up under the covers, until Y/N yawned again and Joel looked at his watch, seeing as the time was nearing one am now, he suggested that they get themselves to sleep.

It took a further half hour for either of them to finish up the call, not wanting to be the last one to say goodnight and after setting the walkie down by his side, he thought that the conversation was over with, but his lady wanted to have the last say and her sweet voice crackled through, whispering, “I love you, Joel Miller.”

He chuckled to himself, mumbling into the covers that he loves her too and turned over to get some sleep. If he picked up that walkie, they wouldn’t ever get off the call, he knows that as well as her.

Day Two

On day two of their trip, Joel and Tommy started their day with bagging up all of the rubbish that was left in a pile at the side of camp and taking it far enough away. Just a quick fix for now, but they do need to find a solid way to rid the rubbish properly for future vacations.

It was roughly a fifteen minute walk outside of camp that they took, coming across a spot to lay out the piles of rubbish that they were dragging along, it was a large clearing inside the thick canopy of trees, and as the men came to a stop, they thought the wave-like sound was from the wind blowing, but it wasn’t. It was water.

Leaving the rubbish where they stood, Joel and Tommy followed the sounds until they came across a river but that wasn’t all they found. The brothers were overjoyed to also find a waterfall. They’ve uncovered another water source, a place to bathe and a place to have fun.

Making the most out of this discovery, the two of them decided to take a dip. They could only clean themselves with a rag and some bottled water yesterday, so today, they’re going to take a bath in the river and get themselves thoroughly cleaned.

After they were stripped down to just their underwear, they quickly headed inside the water and laughed when the other one hooted with the cool temperature.

It was cold at first and Tommy yowled boisterously, eliciting his older brother to laugh at him, but he too found it cold and he thought that the best option was to yell out childishly before throwing himself under completely.

With the sun at its peak in the sky above, it took seconds for either of them to feel the warmth and soon, the chill was gone. Joel popped up from the surface, looking up to the top of the waterfall and wondering if the water was deep enough below to jump in.

Swimming up the river and checking it out for himself, he dove back under the surface and swam below the riverbed. Joel couldn’t even see the bottom, he swam and swam until he finally felt the rocks, and he estimated it to be around fifteen to twenty foot deep.

Coming back up again, he could hear Tommy yelling for him and he hurriedly yelled back, “I’m ok. Just checking how deep.”

“Deep enough to jump off?” The younger man asked, to which his elder brother replied, “yeah, it’s deep enough.”

Swimming back down to his original position, Joel and Tommy indulged in the water for five more minutes, before getting back out and sitting on the side, using the heat and the light of the sun trickling through the trees to dry them off.

They should have brought towels, but they didn’t even contemplate on finding a river out here, either way, it didn’t take them long to dry off as they chatted together in the sunlight.

“This is great, isn’t it? Maria, Ellie and Y/N are gonna love it,” Tommy chirped, while shaking his head like a shaggy dog, droplets splashing everywhere from his blonde long hair.

He reminisced about all the times he used to do this stuff when he was younger with Joel. The memories that they made together. It makes Tommy giddy to make more with his wife, with his brother and his daughter, and maybe even some kids of his own one day.

Getting ahead of himself, he thought about some of the things he could add to this place too, some more tables and chairs, maybe built a little hut of some sort for his family to get dried and dressed properly and privately, with towels.

Joel smiled after seeing his brother clearly in a happy train of thought. He watched the water roll up the side of the riverbank in which he sat upon and nodded to Tommy, “yeah. They’re going to love this place.”

After a couple moments of silence, both brothers just enjoying the comforting peace of nature, Joel stood and grabbed his clothes that were draped over a branch, “They’re going to love it when it’s done, so let's get back to it, bro.”

Taking a mental note of this location and how to find it to himself, Joel began getting himself dressed and Tommy did the same. They headed back to camp and got back to work. Cutting down trees with the chainsaw and then cutting them into smaller pieces after that.

They are going to use this wood in the future for fires or crafting new tables and chairs, mostly for now it’s just clearing the place up and making it look new. That task alone took them well into the evening.

Those trees weren’t so little and the brothers had to be safe about it too of course. When he was satisfied that they had enough wood and had cut down enough trees, Joel started clearing away all of the remaining debris from the dug well.

Thankfully the cover was still placed over the top, otherwise it would be contaminated by now after twenty years. It needed to be cleaned off with water before they opened it, so Joel and his brother had to unravel the bucket from the rope and use it to collect water from the river.

They remembered finding a couple large empty canisters from searching the caravans yesterday, so they grabbed them as well. Finding two long sticks with some rope, they attached the canisters to each of them, along with the single bucket to make it easy when carrying back.

That took some time to do, Joel’s body aches with hard labour, he hasn’t worked this much since his younger days alongside Tommy on the construction site. He liked it. It felt productive and purposeful, but boy did he feel his age.

Secretly, he felt better knowing that Tommy was feeling his age too. He may be the eldest but he ain’t the only old guy here either. Just as if the young man knew what he was thinking about, Tommy shook his head and tutted, “I know. I gotta stay in shape.”

Joel, once again, found himself laughing and bonding some more over this project with his brother.

When they got back to camp, Tommy took half of the water they retrieved to the fire to boil while Joel grabbed some of the cleaning items. With a brush held in hand, he swept away all of the dirt and grime on the outside of the well.

The brick was stained green, which shouldn’t cause much of a problem, but still, he wanted to clean everything just to be sure. It was dusty as hell, covered in green soot that caused him to sneeze a couple times too.

When the water was boiled, Tommy brought it over and used the clean water to wipe everything down. Now that that was out of the way, the both of them started sliding the concrete top off halfway. Joel was thrilled and even a little surprised to see water inside.

Using the remaining water from the canisters that they collected, they used hot water, bleach and scrubbers to clean the caravans thoroughly. Leaving the one that was locked to last, which they still need to get round to opening.

By the time the two men came to that particular caravan to clean - after cleaning the outside and inside of the other three - dark skies had already rolled in but they wanted to try and get it open before calling it a night just yet.

Tommy climbed up on the side to reach the latch for the sunroof but as soon as he peered through the foggy window, the man slung himself back with a fright, “Joel, someone is in there!”

“What?!” Joel fretted. Climbing up the side of the caravan just like Tommy did, he came up beside him and wiped away the dust with a rag. Looking inside, he grimaced and held a hand onto his stomach, “he’s dead. Whoever it is, they’re dead.”

Turning around and looking at his brother, Joel shook his head, “Don’t open this thing up, I think that’s Bobby in there.” The older Miller didn’t want to disturb this caravan, as it is in fact, a tombstone.

Jumping back down to the ground below, Tommy had an inkling to look around for something, maybe another clue to tell them that the corpse lying in the bed inside, is in fact Robert Kennedy.

“Joel, c’mere,” He called out to his brother after walking around the back and holding a flashlight up to the writing that was written along the side.

Tommy felt sick with grief, almost too much grief when Joel came round and read the words out loud, “I’m sorry to whoever finds me like this, I couldn’t wait for their return any longer. To Jenny and my kids, I love you in this life and the next.”

That corpse inside the caravan is Bobby, and his family never made it to their six week vacation, probably didn’t even make it to the airport.

Day 3

That brings us to now. On their third and final day of their restoration project.

After they found Bobby in the caravan last night, both of the men felt too unsettled to carry on with their work at that moment. They needed to take care of him, respectfully.

Taking themselves to bed, Joel only had a quick chat with his lady compared to the night before and after he said goodnight, and that he loves her, he turned over to get some shut eye. Their sleep in the caravan last night was emotionally uncomfortable.

The silence was relaxing, just an occasional bird here or there making its call but the notion of knowing what is sitting beside them just a couple feet away was eerie and depressing. Joel needed to move that caravan away from camp, but he wanted to be respectful to Bobby.

Today is their last day to get as much done as they possibly can before making their way home in the early hours of the morning tomorrow. Three nights is all they could buy themselves and it’s time to get back home to their families.

Waking up extra early today at five am, Joel left Tommy in bed for a little bit longer while he went outside to see what was left to do for the day, but instead, he took a seat at the table after making himself a cup of coffee and decided to read Bobby’s journal, to better understand the fellow.

He smiled and even laughed at some points from what the man wrote. Telling the tale of the happiest events in life with his wife and children. There were pictures too. Joel saw what Bobby looked like and he could feel the joy he held through a simple photograph.

Dark haired, dark beard, small and stocky, the man wore the biggest smile Joel has ever seen. He was standing beside his wife, presumably Jenny, and two young kids. One girl and one boy.

Jenny had red hair, fair skin tone with visible freckles, her smile just as big as her husbands, the kids just the same. All of them looked like your typical happy family and Joel could feel the love they had when looking at each of their faces.

Flicking over to the next page, he came across Bobby’s entries days before the outbreak.

~ 09.15.13 - I've just got here, at the campsite and I’m so excited. I can’t wait for the kids to arrive and see it too. I miss my Jenny a lot but she’s up in Colorado at the moment to bring her parents down here too. Let’s get this place set up for them.

Joel’s eyebrows rose with surprise when reading the first passage, poor Bobby only wanted to rent this place out for the summer for his family and decided to come out early to get it prepared while his wife retrieved her parents.

The man wouldn’t have imagined that the world would come to an end not even then days after. Curiosity pulled on Joel to read more, to learn how Bobby’s fate came to be.

~ 09.20.13 - This place is amazing, there's a waterfall nearby and the kids are coming out in six days, so that’s the first place I’m taking them. I got a postcard from Jenny today, the date is set, the 26th is when they fly out here. I paid for the deluxe package, not realizing that it comes with four caravans. Maybe I’ll let the kids have one each. Maybe.

There’s an ache in Joel’s chest while reading. He envisions Bobby through his words. The man sounded like a great father, a great husband and great son in law who only wanted the best for his family.

~ 09.21.13 - I went into town today, more and more people seem to be leaving because of this virus that’s hit the eastern seaboard of America. Hm weird. I should call Jenny and see if her flight is still good to go just in case.

~ 09.21.13 - Update, I called her, flights are all good.

Joel takes the newspaper clipping out of his pocket and looks at the date written on the bottom, it states, 09.23.13. Two days after this passage Bobby had put into his journal, which has a sizable gap until his next. He flicked over to the next page and the date that was written, surprised Joel. Bobby hadn’t written in almost two years.

~ 09.26.15 - I haven’t seen this journal since I last wrote in it, two years ago, and what a two years it has been. My family never arrived. The day of their flight, was the day the world ended, the day my world ended. I left camp as soon as I heard on the radio that people were being evacuated and I went straight for the airport, to try and get home. Everything was locked down. Jenny wasn’t picking up her phone. So I drove. I drove home, but my home wasn’t there anymore - my family wasn't there. Now two years on, I still can’t find them. I have been searching everyday and found my way back to this place. I don’t know why but I just kinda feel them here with me.

Joel had found himself hunched over, head practically in the book reading Bobby’s words. This is someone's life, yet it feels like a novel, like it simply cannot be real, but it is. Joel has seen these things in his life and he has lived through this man's loss.

His heart aches for Bobby, and for himself, but he must read on, to find out what had happened to him.

~ 12.25.15 - It’s Christmas today and I got stumbling down drunk before the sun came up. Why the fuck not? It’s not that I give a shit about what happens to me anymore. So fuck it. Let’s get drunk.

-

I’ve been staying in one of the caravans, trying to live I guess but I can’t go into the others, they were for my family. I can't handle the pain so I’m going to have a drink instead.

-

Where are they?

-

Why can’t I find them?

-

I can’t do this anymore.

-

Joel read every entry, each without dates, and slowly saw this man losing his mind. Totally overwhelmed with the loss of his family, which he understands. The next entry that Joel read from Bobby, was his last.

~ 09.26.16 - It’s been three years since I last saw my family alive, since I last kissed my wife and kids on the forehead. Three years marks the day that the world ended and took the people that I love most with it. If this journal finds anyone then this is my last message. I want to be with my family. Is it wrong for a father to want to be with his kids? A husband to be with his wife?

This camp was meant for a family and there is none here. Goodbye.

Joel stared down at the words on the page, a gut wrenching ache sitting in his stomach, transporting him back to those days that he lost Sarah. Bobby lost his whole world, and Joel feels that.

He didn’t know at what point his breathing became erratic during his daze, but a hand clamping down onto his shoulder pulled him from it.

Tommy took the book from him and pulled Joel in for a hug. Clasping his hand to the back of his head and holding him tight, the young man hugged his elder brother and assured him without words.

It was raw, emotional and needed. Very much needed, Joel appreciated the embrace - more than Tommy would ever know.

Tagging

Permanent Taglist (All story Updates): @marydjarin @kirsteng42 @supernaturalgirl @supernaturalgirl20

All Joel Content: @extraneous-trip @readsalot73 @luvmeijii @pale-gingerale @joelsflannel @something-tofightfor @dinsangelx @ponyofmilfmom @hb8301 @squidwell @spideysimpossiblegirl @mooraakath @michele131 @chxpsi @joelmillerscoffee @zeida @wordsfromshona @joelsrifle @swtaura

[ohheyitsokay]

Oh my god congrats Elle!! 💖✨ So excited for you and your follower milestone, that is amazing!

I love the Soulmate AU idea (I am such a sucker for that trope)! I was wondering if I could request a Din x F!Reader? I was thinking something like you dream about what each other did during the day, and maybe you end up in the same place and recognize some surroundings (and maybe meet??)

Ahh I can’t wait to read what everyone requests!

hello hello, thank you, Jess! fluff is just so fun :) and Din is... not exactly fun, but he's certainly something. dare I say dreamy?

wordcount: none of my business....

warnings: lots of mentions of the space spiders, nightmares, yearning, fluff

<<

soulmate requests / follower celebration

>>

A nightmare.

There was so many... spiders.

Nearby, you were vaguely aware of a maternal presence, someone - two someone's? A dozen? - in danger. So many spiders.

It was cold, snow like ash, clumps of it, slickening hurried footsteps. Steam in the distance, but not getting closer. The chaos was muffled - your brain couldnt come up with the noises of such a horror story. So many spiders. You wished you could tell what your soulmate was thinking, feeling. Was he brave?

They wanted to... eat you.

Of course he was brave. Even in your dreams, you wouldve been blind not to notice his reckless habit of protecting everyone who crossed his path. There were so many... spiders.

It was so unlike the other things he had faced, the other storybook adventures youd witnessed. Was his heart beating as fast as yours? Did he know, somewhere in the universe, you were worried for him?

So. Many. Spiders

It was just a nightmare.

A quick shower, an extra run of a comb through your hair, a glass of very, very cold water, and you would be fine.

You kissed the halfmoon at the base your thumbnail, for luck. In your mind, you asked the universe to keep him safe.

-

Din had never gotten such restful sleep, since he started dreaming about you.

It was a stark contrast to his life, how... nonviolent your life seemed to be. Your hands seemed soft, not nearly as scarred as his, as you gently slice, slice, sliced the fruit in front of his mind's eye.

The moment was domestic, comforting. Like you had a world that someday you would let him join, and you could... provide for each other.

And yet, there was a distinct feeling in the air, floating through the images in place of the sounds he wished he could hear. Loneliness and something else? Din searched for it, his conciousness slow, like he was wading through water with his full armor. Ah. Worry.

Moving on to cut through the crust of a puffy loaf of bread, Din swore he could feel you sigh.

You were worried... for him.

He woke, remembering the brokenness of his ship, a bit of drool pooling at the corner of his mouth. And he sighed, hoping the universe would keep him safe.

For you.

-

The child was gone.

He left heavy footprints in the sand, daring someone to follow him - no one did. The planet was a clash of sand so hot it was nearly glass, and heavy rainfall. You're soulmate was wondering a place you almost recognized, like he had no where to go, no where to be.

Like there was no one waiting for him.

I am! I'm waiting for you!

The picture was jostled, and blurred and he whipped around. A hunched figure was already half gone, seeking shelter from the downpour like it wasnt normal. You felt for them and so did he - it wasn't normal. The jostle knocked something around in your mind, a thought of familiarity rolling just out of reach.

Sluggish and sharp at the same time, he tossed the head of a creature onto a counter that looked like your friend's uncle's bar. Handfuls of credits were exchanged, and you felt stabs of longing. Not for the money, that's not what he needed, not what he wanted - he wanted - oh. You.

Power, and loss. Urgency. Helplessness.

Sand. Rain.

You woke with every nerve on your body tingling. Standing, you donned the clothes you had planned to face the heat of your desert world. And froze.

Outside, there was a pitter patter, the first noise you'd really heard since you closed your eyes.

And thunder.

-

Something was in the air - electric, like ozone, sharp, in the way that made the brown hairs on the back of his neck stand against the weight of his cowl. Lightning.

The sun hadn't rose - and he hadn't slept. Grumbling to himself, his meager excuse was that it was to help him adjust to the sun rotations of this planet, but truly, he had been avoiding you. The sweetness of you, the softness had begun to feel unbearable.

How ruthless of the universe to hold you just out of reach.

Payment heavy in his pocket, Din dragged his feet, not wanting to leave the modest bar, the quiet cleaning of the man as he prepared a worker's breakfast. He didn't want to return... to go anywhere.

The sound of summer rain and sloshing swelled as the heavy curtain door was pushed aside.

In stepped... the feet he had seen, walking dutifully through your day. Up, past skirts hastily tied, he saw wringing hands, the very same that he was sure would fit in his. Up, past a heaving, desperate chest, past hunched shoulders, and the ends of hair that twirled in the corners of his heart. You.

Wide eyes, seeing him for the very first time.

He was seeing you for the very first time.

Two long strides, and a hug so tight it hurt.

<<

taglist:

@fangirl-316 @scribbledghost @writeforfandoms @beautyagegoodnesssize @princess76179 @mrsbentallmadge @pbeatriz @saradika @zinzinina

[celeste-clearwater-06]

Hello! I was wondering if you could please write something about how the Fellowship (+ Thorin?) Would help a s/o who's Disabled and Chronically ill. Like she has a lot of symptoms like chronic pain, chronic fatigue, difficulty sleeping, difficulty breathing at times, difficulty walking at times, higher sensitivity to the cold, difficulty talking at times, and anxiety, depression and executive dysfunction?

I've been really struggling with my chronic illnesses lately, namely my Autism, Anxiety, Sleep Apnea, a really bad Overbite, Raynaud's Syndrome, Asthma, etc, so I'd really appreciate an Imagine like this. I have a really weird disorder where one of my legs is longer than the other, and it's been causing me a lot of pain and difficulty walking lately, and people have been bullying me for it a lot too, so I could really use a Comfort Imagine right now. Thanks so much hun!!

It's no problem! I'm glad I can provide some comfort!! For each character, I'll use a specific struggling area, to make it a bit easier!! I hope I got these accurate enough, and of there are any mistakes, feel free to point them out!! You are strong, beautiful and so, so amazing!! Keep being you!! ❤❤

Help (The Fellowship// Thorin x Fem!Reader)

Aragorn (Autism)

Aragorn has known you for a long time, so helping with your autism is not new for him

He's particularly experienced in reading your emotions and meeting your needs, whether it's helping you out of stressful situations or calming you down, he's there 🥺

If there are large and boisterous gatherings in Rivendell, its almost guaranteed that you can become over-stimulated quickly, and Aragorn immediately senses this (spidey senses õoõ)

He's fast to find your hand and give it a gentle squeeze of reassurance

If that doesn't seem to help, he'll instantly stop what he's doing and take you out of the room

If you're someone who prefers lots of space and little physical contact, he is 100% respectful of this and asks if you'll let him touch or hug you (very much gentleman 😌)

If ever you're confronted by someone of importance, Aragorn is right by your side to ease some of the tension

Sometimes there are things you find difficult to say or get out of your system

The king seems to know exactly what it is and will help you out by saying it or asking you simple questions that you can easily answer

And he always reminds you, no matter WHAT

YOU ARE NOT STUPID 😤😡

You may struggle with some parts of your life, but every day, he's constantly telling you that you're very intelligent and kind

His patience is unending and he'll never let you think down on yourself

Overall, Aragorn is always someone and reminding you that it's all going to be okay ❤❤

Legolas (Anxiety)

Most nights, Legolas keeps watch (since elves don't require much sleep) and notices that you jolt awake out of the random

Now, most of the Fellowship notices that you're usually awake and ready to go before anyone else

But Legolas is really the one to address you first

You were a bit nervous to explain, since you didn't want to worry him or the great of the fellowship, amount the other disadvantages you have

He gently encouraged you, and finally, you explained to him your sleep apnea

Yeah, he was very concerned

I mean, his blue eyes widened with terror when you told him that you could basically die in your sleep if you weren't attentive enough 🙃

Legolas, from now on, sleeps directly next to you, or keeps extra careful watch over you at night

Because he could NEVER see his precious mortal friend become injured... Or worse 🥺🥺❤

The other members had noticed a change in his behaviors towards you as well...

Gimli teased him whenever he caught Legolas giving you some extra lembas bread or offered to carry you 👉👈

You really tried to assure Legolas that it wasn't a big deal when you were awake, since you're aware of your breathing situation

But still 😤

Legolas will always bring you comfort and take great care of you, and that will NEVER CHANGE

Because he loves you very much ❤🦋

Frodo (Anxiety)

Frodo is familiar with the feeling of great anxiety, seeing he had a stress-free life while living in the Shire and suddenly was forced to carry a piece of jewelry all the way to giant ass volcano

It's easy for you two to comfort each other and seek refuge in thoughts and feelings ❤

He's not super comfortable with the thought of you having a panic attack though...

Only because he's never had one

It starts to give him a panic attack whenever you have one around him the first time 😳-

Any time you begin to breathe heavy or hyperventilate, halfling boy is hot at your heels, rubbing your back and reminding you to breathe gently

(So many hugs, if you're up for it)

After you calm down, he's constantly checking on you, asking if you need anything etc.

Really, he just wants to know if he can help 🥺

And even with the weight and stress of carrying the ring, Frodo manages to cheer you up somehow

Samwise (Asthma)

Sam has never had to deal with asthma once in his life

He's very nervous when the subject is brought, afraid it might trigger something inside of you 🥺👉👈

But you just chuckle, assure him that it's alright, and you have ways of keeping it under control

And now, he wants to know everything about it, just to have the awareness in case something happens

Sam just wants to protect you forever, and this was a great way for him to start

He constantly reminds Aragorn that you'll need breathing breaks and will convince Gandalf to let you ride on his horse

He'll scold Pip and Merry if they are trying to drag you around and be silly, because as he says

"You'll rouse him/her/them up! We can't have Y/N gettin injured!" 🤨😠

Sam is MOM

As always, he's very kind and always makes sure your needs are met ❤🥺

Pippin and Merry (Raynaud's Syndrome)

Very confused halfings 🤔

Also extremely concerned!

You were eating one of the lesser pleasurable nights

It was cold and rainy, and a fire couldn't be started, not to mention the quiet arguments of Aragorn and Gandalf in the nearby woods

And Pip's eyes widened when he saw the tips of your petite fingers begin to pale upon hearing Aragorn mention Orcs

"What's wrong with your hands?!" He squeaked, pointing towards your now white-colored fingertips

You hadn't even noticed, nor felt, considering they were numb anyways

Merry looked over his cousin's shoulder and his eyes also widened, not with fright, but wonder

They were both fascinated with your condition, convinced that you were casting some spell Gandalf showed you

Although you reassured them it was just an extremely frustrating inconvenience that you had, among other things

So from then on, the disastrobus duo did their best to keep you out of the cold (and stressful situations!!)

As a distraction, the pair will tell you great stories of the shire, doing little dances and skits that always cheer you up 🥴

Sometimes, they can be a little rambunctious though...

Merry will pick up on this fact quickly, and nudge Pippin to get him to calm down

Even though it may not feel the best

They find your syndrome absolutely fascinating!! 🤔🤔

All in all, these two are always up for keeping your beautiful smile on your face and your spirits high!! ❤🌺

Boromir (Depression)

Throughout the journey, Boromir has always found an easy way to make you smile

After all, he himself has a fascinating way of brightening anyone's spirits

Yours included ❤

Boromir may not have great stories from The Shire, like Pip and Merry, but he sure has a lot of positive things to say

He'll often suggest sparring with the two troublemaking halflings, just so you can see him goof up and get knocked over 🥺

If the nights become cold and weary, he'll give you a warm hug or a nudge on the shoulder

And a few words of helpful encouragement along the lines of;

"Don't fret Y/N. You have more strength than you'll ever know."

"Let our spirits never dampen! We've come this far!" 😊

He's also an incredible listener

Boromir wants to hear what you have to say if you ever need to rant or get something off of your chest

And don't think for a second that he would ever judge you 😤

Son of Gondor sees past all of your insecurities and knows you for your beautiful, amazing self ❤❤

Gimli (Walking disadvantages)

As you travel across great plains and mountains, your limp doesn't go unnoticed by Gimli

It may take him a while to open up about it, since he's afraid he might offend you in some way

And once he asks you, you inform him that it's a difficulty that unfortunately cannot be changed any time soon

And where you come from, lots of people tease and bully you about it

He did NOT handle it well 😳

"wHAT BLUBBERING DULL-MINDED PIGNUTS-" 🤬

Although this Dwarf is short and a bit slow at times

He's fascinatingly strong 😳

And so, he makes it his duty to be your designated carrier 🥺

At first, your a tad skeptical...

I mean, he's only around 4 feet tall...

BUT HAVE YOU SEEN HIM THROW THAT HUGE AX AROUND?!

Gimli will happily carry you great distances when you need a break, and even longer

(Sometimes it's just to show off around the others-)

"Gimli, are you sure you don't want a break?"

"Aye lass! The strength of Dwarves is unending!" 😌

*struggling to breathe*

11/10, fantastic dwarf, will never let you down!!

Thorin (Executive Dysfunction)

Another Dwarf??

Absolutely

Thorin himself has trouble keeping composure with his time management (and sense of direction 🙄)

This means that he'll have an undying amount of patience for you and you only

There's just something about you that he fond of, and it fills in that little sassy, brooding place in his heart

Can also relate to you whenever you grow frustrated at the setback of your journey or lack of sleep

Is 100% willing to help you find your lost belongings (and once again, ONLY YOU)

Thorin will literally make the whole traveling party stop so that you can put something in your bag and make sure that you put it somewhere you'll remember

Always happy to give you extra gentle reminders of keeping your pack closed

The company is utterly SHOCKED with how he treats you

I mean, this man has always been extremely stubborn and hard headed

But when you show up, it's another person he can easily relate and share frustrations with

Also a master at organization?!? 🤔

The one thing he could do successfully was organizing the damn journey and traveling company, so ofc he's gonna be good at that 😂

Yeah, Thorin definitely has a soft spot for you

King under the mountain will never run out of patience and kindness for you 😌💙

Sorry these took so long!! I hope you like them!! ❤❤

[shemarmooresfedora]

Collision Course

Summary: You and Spencer were just bound to collide. Only fate could plan a first meeting that unique.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Content/Warnings: fluff, minor car crash (no serious injuries), swearing, sexual harassment (specifically cat-calling from a stranger), mentions of eating a lot of food, implied allusion to sex (not specifically stated)

Word Count: 2.3k

A/N: this is my one-shot entry for @ellesgreenaway ‘s 1k follower celebration! congratulations! <3 i’ve had this fic in my drive for a while but i never got around to finishing it until now

Masterlist

The metro was down for scheduled repairs today. JJ offered to bring Spencer in but he politely declined. He figured he should drive his car at least every once and a while so it doesn’t just collect rust in his parking spot.

Leaving his apartment 15 minutes earlier than he normally would to account for his rather slow driving, Spencer cautiously reversed out of his space.

He sighed in relief that he had not hit the neighboring cars. Spencer began to pull out of the parking garage. Unfortunately, he was so relieved from his little victory that he forgot to check both ways when he drove out of the parking garage.

Spencer slammed on the brakes but it was too late. He hit a young woman jogging and knocked her to the ground. Luckily, his average speed was that of a snail so he hoped her injuries were not too bad.

Spencer put the car in park and got out, “Oh god, oh god, oh god. Are you okay, miss?”

“I think so,” you were on the ground, assessing your body for any damage.

“Can you stand?” Spencer extended his hand to help you up.

You carefully stood, wincing a little when you put pressure on your left ankle.

“Is there anyone I can call? Do you want me to drive you to the ER?” Spencer frantically asked.

Your eyes widened, “No!” you stated a little too loudly, “Um I mean no thank you. I should finish my run anyways. I have a 5k for Alzheimer’s research coming up and I need to run or else I don’t raise any money,” you politely waved and took off again, much slower this time.

Spencer cringed as he watched you limp slightly every time you stepped on your left ankle, knowing it was his fault you were in pain. He sighed and pulled out his phone.

“Hey JJ, have you left yet? I need a ride, I’ll explain in the car.”

-

“Pretty Boy, how was your drive in?” Derek asked as soon as Spencer stepped off the elevator with JJ.

“I got about 20 feet and then hit someone with my car and had to call JJ so not great,” he admitted.

“Boy Wonder, you did WHAT? Are they okay?” Penelope gasped.

“She insisted she was fine but then she was limping away. I offered her a ride but she didn’t seem too keen on getting in a car with me,” Spencer explained.

“I wonder why,” Emily chuckled.

-

So there Spencer was. In the park in his only pair of short athletic shorts and a hoodie.

He had asked Penelope to sign him up for the 5k as a way to sort of make it up to the woman he hit. Plus, obviously it was for a good cause that was near and dear to his heart because of his mother.

Spencer had to take a lot of water breaks, periodically stopping to walk for a bit.

In the distance, he saw you on a bench and he suddenly felt the energy again to continue running to you. As he approached, he saw you tightening an ankle brace around your left foot and to make matters worse, you had a wrist brace as well.

Spencer considered just leaving you alone but he felt the need to apologize.

“H-Hello,” he awkwardly sputtered.

“Oh, hi,” you replied.

“I am so so sorry. Please let me pay your medical bills and any other expenses that I caused,” Spencer apologized.

“Unless you meant to hit me then it’s fine,” you stood from the bench.

“I definitely didn’t and I wasn’t on my phone or anything like that. I just barely ever drive but the metro was down today,” Spencer explained.

“You don’t have to pay my medical bills. I’m friends with a nurse so she did this for free. However, I would allow you to sponsor me for the 5k,” you answered.

“Absolutely,” Spencer nodded, “And funny story, you inspired me to register as well. I got everyone in my office to sponsor me.”

“That’s so great! The money is certainly going to a good cause.”

Spencer saw you smile for the first time since he met you.

“I’ve never been much of an athlete though. I barely passed my fitness test for work,” Spencer admitted.

“What kind of job has a fitness test?” you asked.

“I work for the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI,” Spencer stated.

“Oh shit, you’re a federal agent? Maybe I will sue you and make bank,” you grinned.

Spencer’s face reddened.

“It was just a joke. You can laugh, then that means the incident is in the past and no hard feelings,” you smiled, “I’m Y/N.”

“Spencer.”

“Well, Spencer, if you ever need a running buddy, I’m more than happy to come along seeing as we both are training for the same thing. But I do have to warn you, this brace is kind of a bitch so I’m a little slower than normal.”

“I can assure you that you will probably still be faster than me with the brace on so maybe it was a good thing for me that I hit you with my car so you won’t be miles ahead,” Spencer grinned.

You laughed wholeheartedly, “See, Spencer! I’m laughing about it so no hard feelings, all is forgiven.”

“I’m just finishing up for the day but I was planning on being here again on Wednesday at the same time if you want to meet at this bench,” you offered.

“Yeah, I can do that,” Spencer nodded.

“See you around, Spencer. Hopefully not in your car though,” you winked and waved.

-

“Oh god, you’ve fallen in love with the chick you almost killed,” Derek groaned.

“Not love...well, yet anyways. She’s so pretty and easy to talk to and isn’t mean to me after everything that has happened and her laugh is like honey,” Spencer smiled softly, recalling the sound in his mind.

“Okay, lover boy,” Penelope giggled, “Did you get her number?”

“No but we’re meeting for a run tomorrow. We actually met at the park when I was training,” Spencer said.

“So she’s seen you in those short shorts and agreed to another meeting? Maybe you do have a chance, kid, cause you really put it all out there,” Derek smirked.

“Speaking of, I actually need to get more of them,” Spencer sipped his coffee.

“Just go all the way and get spandex. Leave nothing to the imagination,” Derek chuckled as Spencer rolled his eyes.

-

“Jesus, I’m going to have to hit your right leg this time if I’m going to have any chance of keeping up with you,” Spencer huffed as he bent over his knees to catch his breath.

“Well good news is that was four miles so you definitely will be able to run a 5k because it’s only 3.1 miles,” you encouraged him.

“Technically, it’s 3.10686 miles but I see your point,” Spencer heaved.

“I know a really good smoothie place nearby. Come on, it’s on me,” you grabbed his hand.

Luckily, Spencer’s face was already red from exercising so you weren’t able to see the blush that formed on his cheeks.

“No, it’s definitely on me. I know you said we’re fine but I am forever going to be indebted to you because of the incident.”

“Spencer, really just forget about it,” you assured him.

“I can’t, I have an eidetic memory,” he grinned.

“Ah, I see. Fine, you buy me one smoothie but then we’re even,” you conceded.

You were walking down the street to the cafe when you heard a whistle come from one of the cars driving by.

“Damn, your ass is looking sexy in those leggings,” a man hollered from his passing truck.

You flipped him off and tried to pull your shirt down as much as possible, crossing your arms tightly around your front.

Spencer unzipped his hoodie and extended it towards you, “Sorry, it’s a little sweaty but if you want to wear it, you can.”

You smiled softly and accepted the sweatshirt, feeling more comfortable now.

“I’ve got his license plate number memorized and I intend to file a police report. Unfortunately, reports like these usually don’t go very far but I’ll keep pushing it through. I’ll also call the company that was printed on the side of the truck and ask to speak to his supervisor,” Spencer spoke softly after a few minutes.

“Thanks, Spencer,” you leaned your head on his shoulder and sighed.

“You don’t have to thank me for that. I’m just doing what’s right. He had no right to make comments about your body,” Spencer said, wrapping a gentle arm around your upper waist.

-

“Welcome to Y/N’s carbo-loading extravaganza!” you opened the door of your apartment to let Spencer in.

“I brought dessert as requested,” Spencer held up a chocolate cake.

“I like how you think, Spencer. Dinner’s all ready,” you smiled.

“Spaghetti, meatballs, and crispy buttery garlic bread,” you pulled the bread out of the oven.

“Looks absolutely delicious,” he complimented.

“Eating carbohydrates before a race boosts the glycogen storage in your muscles allowing you to work out longer,” Spencer informed you.

“Interesting, I never knew the science behind it but I’m never going to complain about eating tons of pasta and bread,” you twirled some pasta on to your fork.

Halfway through the meal, Spencer accidentally got a sauce stain on his pale pink shirt.

“Oh no,” you said as he tried to dab it away.

“That needs to soak right away. I don’t want any casualties at the carbo-loading extravaganza. Give it to me to scrub and I’ll get you another shirt.”

Spencer unbuttoned his shirt and peeled it off. You gulped at the sight of him shirtless, grabbing the shirt and heading to your bathroom sink to scrub it with laundry detergent.

“You can just grab any t-shirt from my room that you think will fit,” you called out to him.

Spencer settled on a light gray shirt with a golden retriever on the front.

“Okay, the stain is out! It’s just soaking now-“ you immediately stopped talking as soon as you saw the shirt Spencer was wearing.

He noticed your eyes were beginning to glisten with tears, “I’m so sorry. I can pick a different shirt,” Spencer was already beginning to pull it over the top of his head.

“No it’s fine, Spencer. That’s just my grandma’s t-shirt. I forgot I even had it.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” he spoke guiltily.

“You didn’t know, besides it looks good on you anyways,” you smiled, “My grandma is the whole reason I’m running the 5k.”

“My mom has Alzheimer’s too so I understand that it’s extremely hard to watch a loved one go through that,” Spencer pulled you in for a hug.

You cried into his chest as he rubbed soothing circles on your back.

After Spencer hadn’t heard any sniffles in a while, he whispered, “Do you have any tea I can make you?”

You nodded and Spencer guided you to the couch, wrapping you in a blanket before turning the kettle on.

-

Spencer answered the cheerful knocking at his front door early in the morning.

“Race day! Are you ready?” you exclaimed.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess,” Spencer smiled.

“I promise we are sticking together the whole time because it doesn’t matter how long it takes us as long as we finish,” you held up your pinky.

“Together,” Spencer affirmed, locking his pinky with yours.

The starting line in the park was only a short distance away from Spencer’s apartment so you and Spencer decided to walk there as a little warm-up.

You and Spencer were doing quad stretches when you saw his eyes wander to something behind you and then widen. His face immediately reddening.

“What?” you asked, turning around to see a group of people with a sign that read ‘Go Spencer and his girlfriend!’

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t expect them to do that,” Spencer stammered.

The poor boy was so flustered so you decided to take it easy on him.

“I don’t mind,” you shrugged with a slight smile.

“You don’t?” Spencer clarified, “I’m not very good with words or flirting in general but I would like to see you again after the race is over. Maybe I could take you out to dinner?”

“Yes but my only condition is...I’m driving,” you smirked.

“Oh, you’ll pay for that,” Spencer grinned.

An air horn sounded, signaling the start of the race.

“I think you’re going to have to catch me first, Dr. Reid,” you giggled as you sprinted ahead.

-

“It’s in sight, Spencer! We can do this!” you pointed to the finish line in the distance.

“Y/N, you’re going to have to carry me. I can’t,” Spencer heaved.

“If you finish this race, I will…” you cupped your hand to his ear and whispered something.

Spencer immediately perked up and started running again.

“Hey, wait up!” you laughed.

You and Spencer crossed the finish line at the same time. Spencer’s legs immediately gave out which caused you to fall too, collapsing on top of him.

“I know I’m really sweaty and gross right now but can I please kiss you?” Spencer whispered.

Your lips were pressed on his as soon as he finished his sentence. You honestly didn’t know how long you had been kissing for but you didn’t look up until you heard one of the race officials shout, “Hey lovebirds! That’s very sweet but other people are trying to cross the finish line.”

“Sorry!” you and Spencer apologized, scrambling to your feet.

“Not really,” Spencer whispered to you and you jabbed him in the side with your elbow playfully, stifling a laugh.

what slightly inspired this fic is one time @samuel-de-champagne-problems commented on one of my posts “i could never stay mad at spencer” and then i thought to myself “same. i couldn’t stay mad at him even if he hit me with his car” and now here we are... 🚙

taglist: (just ask to be added or removed!): @samuel-de-champagne-problems @g0lden-cth @spencerreid9 @averyhotchner @coldlilheart @k-k0129 @ickleronniekinsemotionalrange @harrystylesandthegoobs @cmily @jswessie187 @rem-ariiana @hoodpankow @mochionly

[closedafterdark]

First Love

LOOΠΔ Park Gowon x Male Reader

11538 words

categories: fluff, smut, oral, light! bdsm, holy water required

notes: @mintwithchoco​ 👀

Read on AFF

There’s a popular saying that you find love when you least expect it.

For some, it’s about timing. What may not work out now can in the future. For others - it’s finding the courage to tell the other person how you feel. Perhaps it may also be the person was right next to you all along; just waiting patiently. Whatever the case, the roads to one another will be connected so long as both people are willing to meet halfway.

--

The new school year is always an exciting time. New classes. Teachers. Classmates. Getting to wear a freshly ironed uniform after having had a restless night due to excitement. A blonde haired girl walks down a heavily populated hallway. The sounds of students greeting each other after an extended summer break. Girls chattering away about the concert they went to or the latest gossip about who is dating who. Others run down the hallway as one student throws a crumpled up piece of paper and attempts to make a fadeaway, failing miserably and earning laughter from his friends nearby and especially the person recording with his phone. She walks past several classrooms with a piece of paper in hand before finally stopping in front of a row of lockers. Looking down, she finds the locker assigned to her as well as the combination to open it. Turning the metallic dial left, right and counterclockwise left once more, the locker door unlocks.

She places her notebook and several textbooks inside the locker, letting out a sigh of a relief as the weight has been removed from her backpack. Taking a sticker from the inside pocket of the notebook, she puts it on the door of the locker. The bell above the locker area suddenly rings, startling her. It was now time for homeroom class. Having barely closed her locker, she is almost blown away by a sudden gust of wind as various students run through the hall and try to find their homeroom.

--

“Listen up everyone, we have a new student joining us. Introduce yourself.” the homeroom teacher said, staring at you. You approached the front of the classroom with heavy steps and slumped shoulders. All eyes were on you which simultaneously caused you to close yours. Some watching intently, others having facial expressions unable to be read. Breathing deeply, you opened your eyes and addressed everyone.

“Hello, I just moved here yesterday.”

“That’s it?” the teacher asked. You nodded, not wanting to say anything else.

“Well, okay then. It seems our class is pretty full.. Do we have any open seats?” She scanned the room. Most were already taken. As her eyes reach the final two rows near the windows, she finds an opening at the very back of the room.

“Ah, you can sit there.” she said, pointing to a seat next to a girl who was the only person to not look at you. 

“Park Chaewon, raise your hand.”

You noticed a small hand being raised as the blonde girl who it belonged to refused to look you in the eye. With the teacher motioning you to your newly assigned seat, you heard the murmurs of students after each step you took. Most were girls giggling and having genuine interest in the new person in their class, while others looked like they could burn your skin from their intense stares.

“Good luck.” one student said to you as you approached the back of the classroom.

Removing your backpack and placing the straps on either side of the backrest, you looked to your right and saw the girl known as Chaewon. Your first impression of her was that she possessed an intimidating aura, seemingly not wanting to be bothered by anyone else in the classroom. Her large, round eyes remained focused at the whiteboard in front. Catching yourself staring at her for a bit too long, you were slightly concerned as she still had not blinked once. She was diligent, taking notes earnestly using a cute pink mechanical pencil with a bunny design on it. Her side profile was further enhanced by the sunlight coming from the windows next to you.

--

Lunchtime was something Park Chaewon looked forward to. Besides replenishing her energy and filling up her stomach, it provided relief from the awkward looks and gossip of other students. She was a loner at school by choice. Many referred to Chaewon as the blonde ice princess - mainly due to her cold expressions and staring at people eye to eye.

Today was a special day at the cafeteria: bulgogi, rice and various other side dishes. Despite having many desserts and pastries to offer most students sought out one - the coveted pillowy soft bread filled with chocolate hazelnut spread. Only offered twice a month, it is always made in limited quantities; no more than ten at a time.

Chaewon had the unfortunate misfortune of missing out on the delicious bread as something always prevented her from seizing one: whether it be a teacher in the hall stopping her to discuss how she felt about the latest test to being bumped by students running by and dropping all of her things. Just a few weeks ago, Chaewon was late to the cafeteria due to having to retake a missed exam.

But this time was different. She calculated down to the second all the events leading up to lunch. For two weeks, Chaewon made sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep, do homework in the library or immediately when she got home. She studied the material right after class ended in order to ensure it was drilled into her mind. Being an introvert and considered “antisocial” and “uncool” by the other students meant she didn’t have to worry about offending anyone’s feelings or waiting up for them. The restless tapping of her foot increased in volume and speed with each passing second in the classroom. She kept a hand clutching her stomach, hoping it would not make loud noises of hunger like it usually did at home. A slight sweat formed on her body as the teacher’s lecture about the different types of Japanese architecture fell on deaf ears.

“... and that is why the legendary Pokemon known as Ho-Oh left Ecruteak City and the Bell Tower after the Brass Tower was burned down. Make sure to do your assigned homework.”

The moment the teacher left the room, Chaewon ran out of the classroom’s back entrance. Taking a look at her wristwatch, her eyes watched the number of seconds constantly cycle through as she timed the distance between where she currently was and the cafeteria. Stepping out of the way of two students helping another gather their belongings and almost running into another student who emerged from a blind spot to the left of her, Chaewon continued running down the hall and each step of the staircase. Placing her hands on her knees, she was mere feet from the entrance to the cafeteria. Gathering the last bit of energy she could muster, she quickly walked inside.

Getting a tray, she grabbed a pair of chopsticks and a spoon. Thankfully with no one nearby, they weren’t able to hear her stomach growled in hunger. She took the metal container of rice and a large amount of bulgogi in stride. Continuing on with the radish soup and a small amount of seaweed and kimchi, it was now time for Chaewon to arrive at the final area before the cashier. With her eyes scanning all the delicious smelling baked goods, she found what she was finally looking for.

Only to find out the last one was just sold to the person in front of her. With a heavy heart, Chaewon sighed deeply and grabbed a similar looking bread filled with vanilla cream and placed it on her tray. After paying for her meal, she found a completely empty table on the corner most part of the cafeteria. Placing her tray down, she tosses the bulgogi around with her chopsticks before eating a spoonful of rice. She tried her best to not be discouraged, reassuring herself that at least there would be something to look forward to two weeks from now. As her eyes wandered and looked at other students laughing and having a good time with friends, she can’t help but feel sad at seeing the chocolate filled bread. Chaewon being deep in thought meant she wasn’t able to hear someone place their tray next to her. She looked down at her meal until her view was replaced with a still packaged bread. With her eyes widening slightly, she turned to her right and saw you extending out your arm. You nudge your hand holding the bread towards her once more, telling her to take it. Despite her hesitance, the excitement and slight amount of drool coming out of Chaewon’s mouth has reassured you that the right choice was made giving up the still warm pastry.

The two of you make eye contact and you give her a small, comforting smile. This causes her to smile back in return and gently take the bread. You and Chaewon eat in silence - with the occasional eye contact and smiles continuing to be exchanged.

--

You and Park Chaewon quickly became friends - a fact that neither of you knew was that you were now each other’s first friend. The two of you talking to each other earned a lot of stolen glances and whispers amongst classmates, but that too subsided over time. It became commonplace for the two of you to share meals together during school and after studying at the nearby food stands outside the front gates.

You helped bring the best out in each other: you learned the importance of being patient and to not let your emotions get the better of you. Chaewon gained self-confidence to stand up for herself and to properly voice her concerns should they arise. Both of you became well known in your classroom and the neighboring ones; mainly due to the occasional people who tried to bully or tease her soon learning why they shouldn’t mess with her - or anyone else for that matter. Chaewon gradually was able to overcome her shyness and make more friends, expanding both of your social outreach in the school.

Just as quickly as the school year began, it ended. For the most part it was largely uneventful. Except for the one older student who was able to go home early when he was chased by a swarm of angry bees which caused him to jump into the fountain in the middle of the campus courtyard. You and Chaewon continued to grow close as friends, becoming almost as inseparable as Ash and Pikachu.

Summer was a different story. You weren’t able to see Chaewon much due to a rather long family vacation that included a month overseas. While you were disappointed, Chaewon was even moreso. She didn’t tell you, but she spent the first week of summer break planning out a list of places and things to do with you.

“Hey I’m sorry Gwonnie, this came so unexpectedly. They never want to go anywhere, but I guess there’s a first time for everything. With how things are looking, I probably won’t be back until about a week before the new school year begins.” you said during a phone conversation with Chaewon.

“Oh no it’s fine…” Chaewon replied, trying and being unsuccessful with hiding the sadness in her voice. You didn’t want to disappoint her - she had spent the last few months excited about summer vacation and would ask you questions about your interests and what you would be willing to try.

“I’ll make sure to bring back some snacks and other souvenir goodies. How does that sound, best friend?”

The two of you warmed up to calling each other that - something Chaewon took very seriously. She brought up the term when you were both at a bubble tea cafe stating she never had a friend she could open up to and be herself. Until now.

“Tch, yeah okay.” she replied nonchalantly. “... and maybe some bread?”

--

The sounds of the opening bell and students running across the grassy football field and outside area signifies the beginning of another school year. Park Chaewon held onto the straps of her new mint green colored backpack, happily humming along to the song her headphones were currently playing. Being an upperclassman meant she finally got her own locker - something she has been looking forward to since she woke up. Removing one of the earbuds, she was able to hear what a few passing students were saying.

“Did you hear? She’s going to confess to the handsome oppa.”

“No way, are you serious? Let’s go check it out!”

Tilting her head in confusion, Chaewon shrugged her shoulders and continued walking down the long hallway. Distracted by the thought of something else, she passed by a small gathering of people without so much as a glance.

Various clusters of students watched as two people stood near the steps and between two rows of lockers. The familiar sounds of murmurs, whispers and a few students taking out their phones to record what was happening added to the anticipation. The girl shyly moved her foot back and forth as she looked down, unable to make eye contact with the person she was standing across from. With her left hand appearing to hold something behind her back, she used her right to tuck several bangs behind her ear. She was able to use that to muster up the courage and tilt her head up.

She is the epitome of a beautiful person: long luscious brown hair, bright big eyes, fair skin that almost represented the color of a block of tofu, and proportions that would make even a supermodel envious. Her nametag rested neatly above her coat’s pocket. Word spread quickly of the new junior’s beauty - with many waiting outside her classroom holding notes and various gifts. It was then known that she rejected them all kindly. At least, that’s what the rumor mill around the school said. So it comes as a surprise that she suddenly showed interest in someone, an upperclassman at that.

“I… I’ve liked you for a long time now, oppa.” she timidly said, presenting what she was holding behind her - a bouquet of red and white roses. Her cheeks blushed as she gathered up confidence and continued. “Will you go out with me?”

Her sudden confession earned cheers and applause from the audience. Several commented on how they didn’t expect her to be so bold on the first day of the school year. Some of the people who tried asking her out looked away in disappointment. But eventually all eyes were on you, awaiting your response.

Looking around - being the center of attention was something you actively tried to avoid. Your brain began processing the new information you were given and actively trying to find the best outcome to get yourself out of the current situation. You’d like to imagine that inside your mind were miniature versions of yourself working on a desk, stacks of paper on either side of your computer as you were busily typing away. Another version of yourself wearing a golf visor suddenly approaches.

“Just got an order from the boss. Dump everything that isn’t about how to reject someone!”

“Everything?” you asked yourself in confusion.

“Everything! Come on, let’s move it!”

With your visor self putting his hands on his hips, the entire department is thrown into chaos as the regular employee versions of yourself begin to run around frantically. Announcements of asking where the nearest shredder is could be heard as you held a giant stack of papers and began to run it through. Papers labeled as spice garden tips, top 5 bubble tea flavors, and what bread Park Chaewon liked were seen being destroyed.

“Come on, let’s get moving!” Visor you yelled as he approached another version of you who was standing in front of an open cabinet. “Hurry up, what do you think I’m paying you for?”

“You don’t pay me. We don’t even exist. We’re just a clever visual metaphor used to personify the abstract concept of thought.”

“One more crack like that and you’re out of here!” Visor you said as his momentary surprise turned into a frown of disappointment.

“No, please! I have three kids!” you begged.

A trashcan is then filled with a box labeled math while yet another version of you is shoveling piles of paper on the ground into an industrial furnace. You were slightly squeamish watching paper being slowly flushed down the toilet. The once well-oiled machine of your mind became a chaotic office full of flying paper and employees losing their sanity. Having the appearance of nothingness in your eyes and with your mouth slightly open, the girl brings you back to your senses.

“Well oppa, how do you feel?” she asked.

Thankfully for your mental well-being, your knight in shining armor appears in the form of a girl carrying a guitar with one strap and a chocolate-dipped peppero in another. Closing the locker door, she gathers the attention of you both.

“Wow, you’re outright flirting with him.”

“What?”

Using the peppero as a pointer she continued. “You’re wearing makeup even though it’s against school rules to do so. Your eyeliner isn’t even winged properly. Your hair is dyed which is again, also against the rules. You got him a bouquet of roses without even taking into consideration if he is allergic to them or not. And finally you’re wearing mint green colored socks. I just felt like bringing that up because I hate the color mint green.”

“Son Hyejoo…” the girl said, squinting as she reads the name tag. “Aren’t you from class 2? You guys are from game development so you wouldn’t understand how to have any social or relationship skills.” she smugly replied.

Hyejoo took the peppero out of her mouth and kept her neutral, slightly intimidating look. “What does being in game development have to do with social skills? Would you even approach him if he was just a normal guy?”

The girl smiled while grimacing and ignored her, looking at you instead. “So oppa, what do you say? Will you go out with me?”

“I thought about it and I don’t think I’ll have time to date you.” you said, putting your arm around Hyejoo’s shoulder. Hyejoo cheekily smiled as she twisted her lips to the right side of her face. “I’ll be busy with Hyejoo.”

The two of you looked at each other and smiled. 

“I just look at her face and time flies.”

“Not in front of her.” Hyejoo pretends to be embarrassed and hits your shoulder slightly. You wrap your arm around her back and bring her closer to you. At this point, both of your faces are mere centimeters apart. Hyejoo becomes more bold and continues to lessen the distance until both of your noses are touching. She tilts her head and looks at the girl once more.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Do you want to watch us kiss?”

“Don’t mind her. Just focus on me.” you said, tucking strands of hair behind her ear. The two of you tilt your faces and are about to kiss as you hear the girl scoff and turn away. Both of you see her walking away before turning back once more and letting out another sigh of disapproval. With her leaving meant the crowd of people began to disperse - some disappointed she was rejected and many wondering who the person named Son Hyejoo is.

Once everyone was gone, Hyejoo hit your chest and pushed you away from her while you began to laugh. “Did you see that? I told you she was jealous. She only liked you because it would increase her popularity! That’s so gross.”

“Thanks for saving me though, I really appreciate it.” you said to Hyejoo, pinching her cheek. This causes her to rub the newly sensitive area before she crosses her arms.

“What are you going to do about all her fanboys coming after you?” Hyejoo asked. The thought never occurred to you that she was the most popular girl at school. Whether you accepted or rejected her confession, there was bound to be trouble headed your way. You weren’t given very long to ponder as you noticed someone walking through the now empty area.

“Park Chaewon!”

She turned her head and removed her left earbud. Chaewon was excited to finally see you after being apart the entire summer. Tossing and turning the entire night due to excitement, she began to approach you but stopped when she noticed Hyejoo standing next to you. The intimidating and chic aura she exuded could be felt as Chaewon rubbed her arms and shuddered. This was further supported by her being a few inches taller and the way the sunlight from the windows shined on her hair and created a ray of light surrounding Hyejoo.

“H-Hey.”

“How’s my best friend doing? Sorry I wasn’t able to hang out with you all summer. I promise I’ll make up for it starting today.” you said, bringing her in for a hug. Chaewon is caught off guard when her face suddenly meets your chest. She discreetly inhales your scent - lavender with a hint of jasmine. Not expecting feminine aromas to be lingering on you, Chaewon grabs onto your coat and releases what you could only describe as the cutest sneeze you have ever heard. Despite Hyejoo’s facial expression looking the same, you were certain she was surprised at what just happened. You laughed and patted Chaewon on her back.

“Oh by the way, I forgot to introduce you two. Chaewon, this is Son Hyejoo. A family friend and someone who has a very big staring problem.”

“I do not.” Hyejoo said, hitting your arm. “It’s nice to meet you. Oppa’s told me all about you, unnie.”

“Unnie?” Chaewon said, looking at you.

“Did I not mention that? Yeah, Hyejoo’s younger than you by a year.” you said, fixing Chaewon’s ribbon and straightening out her jacket. Satisfied with your work, you reach into your pocket and take out a hairpin before putting it on the side of her head.

“Hyejoo and I were planning on hanging out and playing video games after school. Do you want to join us?”

“Y-Yeah, sure.” Chaewon quietly replied.

“Great! We’ll all meet at the statue outside the front gate. See you at lunch, best friend.” you said to Chaewon before putting your arm around Hyejoo’s shoulders. You raised your hand and flashed a peace sign, showing a homemade bracelet on your wrist. Chaewon looked down at a similar one of her own - the two of you having made it in art class with your initials and the date you first met. She wasn’t sure how she felt other than disappointed seeing you be close with someone else. Chaewon continued to look on as you and Hyejoo walked away; able to faintly hear you asking Hyejoo what she wanted for lunch and her nudging your ribs with her elbow as she unsuccessfully tried to remove herself from your embrace while the two of you started laughing until you were no longer audible.

--

The walk from school to your house was awkward to say the least. Chaewon had her head down the entire time and simply responded with a few words whenever you tried beginning a conversation. Hyejoo on the other hand stared at Chaewon’s backpack the entire time - the only reason it being a mint green color. She has been very outspoken about her strong dislike for bubble tea and mint chocolate.

Entering the passcode triggers a catchy jingle, signaling the door being unlocked. As the three of you remove your shoes, you are the first to step foot inside the apartment. You place your backpack on a chair before turning around and see Chaewon appear uneasy.

“My parents are always busy working so I have the whole place to myself. Make yourselves at home.”

Chaewon looks at Hyejoo who quickly went to the kitchen before timidly taking her first steps - Hyejoo was a curious individual; scanning the entire inside of your refrigerator with a 360-like view while Chaewon bowed and apologized for intruding, despite no one else being home. The apartment was sleek and modern due to having been recently built. Your parents liked to consider themselves in the upper middle class of the income spectrum. While their principles were built upon the motto that hard work and being humble are essential to a successful person - it’s also nice to treat yourself once in a while.

“Seriously, you guys are out of banana milk?” Hyejoo asked you as she closed the refrigerator door shut and carried a bowl of cut up watermelon to the sofa.

“How could we not be when you drink two almost everyday. You really should cut down on it.” You said, sitting next to her and stealing a piece that was pierced with her fork. Hyejoo shot you a death glare while you smirked and pretended not to acknowledge her.

“It seems like you know your way around here.” Chaewon quietly said to Hyejoo.

“She lives next door so she’s been here everyday. Like a sister I never asked for.” you replied, rolling your eyes as you were met with a punch to the shoulder by Hyejoo.

“Are we going to keep talking or are we going to finally play some games?” Hyejoo asked as she held a controller. You grabbed the remote and instantly changed the television settings, all the while looking at her.

“Prepare to be destroyed, Son Hyejoo.”

You gave Chaewon a controller of her own before powering up the gaming console. It was white in design with a gray base on the bottom. The familiar light blue elongated oval began to glow as Hyejoo went through a cabinet and found the perfect game for you all to play.

“What did you choose?” you asked.

“Mario Kart. Didn’t really feel like playing Smash or Battle Revolution.”

“Are you sure? You always lost at the last leg of the course.”

Hyejoo looked at you as if you insulted her entire family lineage. Furrowing her eyebrows, she pouted before composing herself and stuck her tongue out slightly as her expression changed.

“I will defeat you and shred your cart all the way down to its last atom.”

While the two of you were going back and forth over who was the better gamer, Chaewon remained quiet. She felt out of place - she considered you her best friend and yet it seemed you had better chemistry with someone she just met. She wasn’t sure what to do until your question shook her out of her thoughts.

“What character do you want to play, best friend?”

“A-Anything is fine.”

“You should be Toad then. I think it really suits you. What about you, Professor Watermelon?”

“I told you I hate that nickname.” Hyejoo said. “It’s almost as bad as when you call me Olivia Hye.”

“Why? I think it’s great! Did you know that Olivia is a common English name that has its origin from the 13th century meaning olive? You agree with me right, best friend?” you asked as both you and Hyejoo turned to Chaewon.

“I-I think calling her Hyejoo is fine.”

“Man, you guys are no fun. Olivia Hye would make a perfect stage name!”

“Enough. I want to play already. I choose Yoshi.” Hyejoo said.

“I choose Metal Mario. What map are we going on?”

“Coconut Mall is the best one.”

The game is getting ready to begin and all three of you are getting into position. As the timer counts down on screen, you wipe the sweat from your hands onto your pants in anticipation. Hyejoo wastes no time and takes an early lead when the announcer states you can go. She navigates the course with ease, choosing the upper elevator. You are in pursuit using several Boost Pads to gain speed. The two of you are constantly taking the lead over one another, something that frustrates Hyejoo as she bites down on the lower part of her tongue.

While Hyejoo is busy collecting coins and several more Boost Pads, Chaewon is having difficulty navigating through the course. Her character Toad is a cute humanoid mushroom with a white cap and red polka dots. Currently in 12th place, the odds of Chaewon winning seem grim. She is a full four seconds behind the two of you. The race continues on and a Hyejoo victory is all but inevitable. With the last leg of the race being in the parking lot mall, she continues her commanding lead. Seeing Chaewon not having fun, you toss your controller and take hers, startling her. You begin the ascent from last place, passing your own vehicle and all others as Chaewon looks at you before focusing her attention on the television screen. Hyejoo smirks before realizing you were helping Chaewon catch up. Fourth place became third and pretty soon it was back to where it started - you and Hyejoo neck and neck as the finish line was in sight.

“I’m sorry, oppa.” is all Hyejoo says to you before you see a bright yellow banana peel being thrown on the road. With the momentum being built up and rendering you unable to stop, you run over it, causing your cart to spin out of control and crash. Hyejoo cheers while you hang your head in disappointment. Chaewon comforts you, patting your back softly as you look to her and smile.

“You’re buying dinner.” Hyejoo teased as she stuck her tongue out at you. Glaring your eyes at her in unapproval, you raised your hands up and admitted defeat.

“You chose that map because you knew you’d win!” you protested as Hyejoo crossed her arms and smirked in satisfaction. You turned to Chaewon who was grabbing your controllers and organizing them into one neat pile.

“What do you want to eat?” you asked.

“I… actually have to get going.” Chaewon replied.

“Already? But it’s a Friday night, there’s no school tomorrow.”

“I told my mom I would be home early. Thanks for having me over. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Wait, hold up. Let me get my jacket really quick and then I’ll walk you home.”

“No, it’s fine. I can get home by myself.” Chaewon quickly said as put on her shoes and bowed to you and Hyejoo before leaving.

“O-Okay.” you softly said as the tone of the door being locked rang through the apartment. You looked to Hyejoo who was busy scrolling through her phone.

“She’ll be okay, right?” you asked.

“She’ll be fine. She’s a big girl, she can take care of herself. What do you want to eat? I’m in the mood for some grilled bbq and kimchi, yum.” Hyejoo said, her eyes remaining glued to the phone screen.

“Seriously? When aren’t you hungry? Just get me whatever you’re having.”

Still worried about Chaewon, you pondered calling her and staying on the line until she got home. Your phone then started ringing.

“Hey, are you home already? That was quick.” you cheerfully said.

“O-Oppa…”

“Chaewon, what’s wrong?”

“C-Can you stay on the phone with me? I think someone’s following me.”

You quickly got up, startling Hyejoo. Your face became serious as you began to process what Chaewon was saying.

“Where are you?”

“I-I don’t know. There’s a-an alley and the light looks like it’s about to die out. Please hurry oppa, I’m really scared.”

“Just use your phone’s flashlight and talk to me like you’re talking to a parent. I’ll be there soon.”

You went to your room to put on a jacket and mask as Hyejoo peeked her head from above the sofa.

“Where are you going?”

“Watch the place while I’m gone. And order some extra food while you’re at it.” you said, stumbling as you struggled to put on your shoes and leave the apartment. Once out on the sidewalk, you looked everywhere frantically about where to begin looking for Chaewon.

“What route did you take from my place?”

“Yeah mom, we go down to Jeju every year. You like seeing the waterfall and cave, remember?”

South. With a clear direction in mind, you set off to find her. The early evening as some would call it meant a busy night scene. Restaurants open until the middle of the night, bright neon fluorescent signs that are like a signal to summon rowdy patrons to gather and exchange in alcohol and grilled meats. You passed by various couples enjoying a date or a group of friends looking to unwind after a stressful work week. Unsure of where to go next, you continued questioning Chaewon.

“What do you see near you?”

“Mom, do you remember when you got me those cute stickers from the vending machine and I used to put them on everything. Or how we used to buy Cheetos from the convenience store and walk home together? I miss those days.”

You were determined to find her, even if your legs gave out. Taking a sharp left turn and a subsequent right while almost getting hit by a car who honked their horn at you, you finally found her. Looking around nearby to find the suspicious person, there wasn’t anyone else in sight as you brought Chaewon into a hug. You took off your mask, watching as the chilly night air gave form to your heavy breathing. Chaewon’s eyes began to water as she started crying into your clothes. You brought her closer to you and gently stroked the back of her head.

“Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe now.”

The two of you help calm each other down before you release her from your embrace. Chaewon looks up and sees you smile before your expression changes.

“Why did you go home by yourself? I told you I’d walk you home!” you yelled, scaring her.

“Our places aren’t that far apart. I thought it would be fine.” she said quietly.

“Next time, Hyejoo or I are going to walk you home and that’s that.” you said, crossing your arms and regaining your composure.

“Why? You spent the entire day talking to Hyejoo more than me.”

“Why? Because I care about you, that’s why!”

--

8:02 AM. It’s a morning unlike any other as Detective-in-training Park Chaewon takes her seat in the briefing room. Having spent three years as a beat cop, she was excited to finally get hands on experience and advance up the promotional ladder.

“Happy Tactical Village Day!” a woman said to each person in the room, high fiving them in the process. She was extremely bright and cheerful, possessing a smile that could melt away anyone’s troubles. She turned to Chaewon and raised her hand, earning a soft hi-touch in response.

“Jung Jinsol, I’m surprised to see you so excited about departmentally mandated training exercises.” Captain Jo Haseul said, simultaneously addressing the woman along with the rest of the people in the briefing room.

“It’s the most fun day of the year!” Jinsol said, beaming. “Something you wouldn’t understand because you’re not programmed to feel joy.”

“Yes… But, my software is due for an exuberance upgrade.”

Jinsol folded her lips into her mouth and covered it with her hand. Others nearby tried their best to suppress their snickers as the captain continued.

“Pick a partner and stick with them. This is a team building exercise - I don’t mind you all having fun, but be responsible. Make sure to be on your best behavior and show everyone why Blockberry Precinct is the best precinct in our area. Dismissed.”

“Want to be partners?” Jinsol said, turning to Chaewon and batting her eyes repeatedly.

“I guess…” she replied. “But I too am due for an exuberance upgrade.”

--

One extremely long bus ride later, the squad arrived at the site of the training exercise. Various other precincts were also in attendance as Chaewon admired the building. It was rather dated and had seen better days, but she didn’t care. She was thankful to finally be given a chance to prove herself.

“I can’t wait for this to be over.” Jinsol whined.

“What? You were going on and on about how excited you were to be here. What happened?”

“I don’t actually look forward to being here. I enjoy getting the free souvenir bags and food they serve after. The meat melts in your mouth.” Jinsol explained as a small amount of drool began to seep out of the corner of her lips.

Shaking her head, Chaewon opened a duffel bag given to her by the event organizers and began going through the checklist to make sure everything was accounted for. As she fixes her safety glasses, she hears a familiar voice.

“Park Chaewon?”

 It was a voice she knew all too well. But she didn’t want to believe it was real. Someone who was once an important part of her life. Sighing, she turned around - a slight hope that her premonition wouldn’t be true. But her instincts never failed her before, so why would they now.

“H-Hi, oppa.”

“It’s been a long time.” you cheerfully said as you awkwardly pulled her in for a hug. Chaewon raised her hands to reciprocate but stopped halfway. The two of you stayed like that for several seconds before separating.

“Hyejoo, you’re here too.” Chaewon said.

“You don’t sound excited to see me.” Hyejoo coolly replied before tilting her head sideways and also giving Chaewon a hug. This time, Chaewon really did not know what to do and repeated the same lifeless motion she did with you.

“Small world, I really didn’t expect to see you here.” you said.

“Me neither…” Chaewon said as her voice still remained at its extremely low volume.

“Happy Tactical Village Day!” Jinsol announced to you and Hyejoo, her warm and inviting smile breaking the tension.

“I’ve heard of you, Jung Jinsol right? The famous rookie who managed to talk down the Treble Clef robber by doing a duet and singing in the rain?” you said, extending out your hand to shake Jinsol’s, only to be met with her high fiving you.

“That’s me! He wanted to send a love letter to his dearly beloved by writing, err, more like carving musical notes onto his victims. I didn’t know other precincts knew about me!” She said excitedly.

“I guess you guys are competing in the tag team free for all? Good luck.” you said, focusing your attention back to Chaewon. Her eyes briefly met yours, causing her to look away. With a slight tint of red on her cheeks, she felt the temperature in the room drop slightly only to see Hyejoo pass by.

“ Son Hyejoo, wait up! I’ll see you guys out on the field!” you said, waving to Chaewon and Jinsol as you ran to catch up to your dark haired partner.

--

“Everyone, listen up. There are ten hostages and thirty perps. Your mission is to safely rescue the hostages while eliminating the perps. Be careful as some of them could be disguised as civilians. The training exercise ends in two hours. Begin.”

Park Chaewon points her modified paintball gun at an empty room as her specialized glasses relay create a personal heads-up display displaying all of the information needed. She scanned the room for any clues but was disappointed to find out it was simply empty.

“Clear.” she relayed through an in-ear piece.

“I’m hungry. I knew we should’ve eaten more before this. I'm hungry, don’t want to gain weight.” Jinsol whined as Chaewon slowly walked through a hallway and entered another room.

“Seriously, unnie? It hasn’t even been thirty minutes since we last ate.”

“You call three pieces of carrot and some cashews eating? I can’t believe it took you twenty minutes to eat those by the way.”

“Focus. Is there anything on your end?”

“No, room two is clear also. What do you think about getting crepes?”

“You talk about not wanting to gain weight but want to eat crepes?” Chaewon asked.

“But have you tried Nutella crepes with banana slices? They are to die for.”

“I’m not going to cook them for you, unnie.” “I wasn’t expecting you to. Especially since the last time you were in the kitchen, the precinct almost got burnt down. I mean really, who puts a cake from the bakery with the metal tin still attached and reheats it for forty minutes? We had to air out every floor and it still wasn’t enough.”

“Not to mention the Captain calling me Chaewon Ramsay.” Chaewon whined.

“I remember that.” Jinsol said, laughing loudly into Chaewon’s ear, causing her to flinch. “You want to talk about where the lamb sauce is, it surely wasn’t in the Blockberry Precinct’s now defunct microwave.”

“One last room.” Chaewon replied, focusing her attention back onto the mission. “I’ll see you there.” Navigating through the almost endless hallway, Chaewon makes a left and looks up to see sets of stairs that could almost reach the sky. With a deep breath, she begins to climb. The first ten sets provided little difficulty, but as she continued on, Chaewon felt herself growing fatigued. The sign indicating what floor she was currently on began to increase in number. She was certain she climbed 99 floors - but in actuality it was probably twenty. Dragging herself up the final ten steps, she leaned against the wall only to see another pair of shoes standing next to her. Looking up she finds Jinsol, still possessing her patented warm smile.

“H-How did you get here…” Chaewon blurted out, swallowing her own saliva as she felt her mouth be dehydrated.

“You know there was an elevator, right?”

The two women point their guns in the air, looking at each other before entering the open final room. Their glasses showed no signs of life - but as the two go deeper inside, Chaewon finds the outline of a woman on the ground. Using two fingers, she looks to Jinsol and tells her for both of them to go straight ahead. Entering another room, they find Son Hyejoo on the ground with her hands tied behind her back and a bandana around her mouth.

Chaewon quickly rushes to her and helps her up while Jinsol removes the pieces of cloth. Hyejoo looks at her before pulling her in for a tight hug. Chaewon pats her back as the two embrace each other.

“Unnie’s here. It’s okay, Hyejoo.”

“Thank goodness you’re here. One of the civilians went off script and decided they wanted to be a perp.”

“Really? That’s pretty strange. I thought most of the people labeled as civilians don’t really care what role they got.” Jinsol said.

“I guess not.” Hyejoo replied. “I was trailing them but got caught here.”

“Let’s go find them then and win this thing.” Chaewon said, standing up and extending her hand out to help Hyejoo. As she is about to take it, someone else enters the room.

“Hey Hyejoo, why did you ask that guy if you two could trade-”

A whirl of blue paint passes by Chaewon followed by a grunt as she and Jinsol turn around to see you, having been shot by your own partner. You looked down at the giant blue stain on your vest as the pain began to gather at where you were targeted. With everyone still in a state of shock, Jinsol reaches for her gun but is shot too. Chaewon’s gun is still in her hand but knows she is unable to do anything.

“I’m sorry, unnie.” Son Hyejoo said as Chaewon herself is eliminated, thus ending the training exercise. It felt eerily similar to when the three of you played Mario Kart and Hyejoo betrayed you both. The same mischievousness seems to have not been lost with time.

--

After a fresh change of clothes, the four of you gathered outside the training facility. Chaewon was no longer a blonde, though a fair amount of it could still be seen through her now darker color. She wore a slightly see through black dress with various jewels that adorned it, showing the faintest amount of cleavage. It was a blend of tasteful and awe inspiring. Her grey colored contacts and bright red lipstick were the key points that stood out to you.

“You guys want to grab a drink? I know a pretty cozy spot nearby here.” you said to the group.

“I uh… just realized I can’t. I… gotta go meet my boyfriend.” Jinsol said, winking at Chaewon before bowing to you and Hyejoo. Chaewon tried preventing her from leaving but was unsuccessful at stopping her.

“What do you say? We’re one person down, but that doesn't mean we can’t catch up like old times.”

Chaewon looked at you both and smiled nervously.

--

The bar you brought up had seen better days. The decor was dated with wooden tables and various sized bar stools spread out. Various neon signs were burned out, with a sign that said ‘Quality Drinks Here’ having been reduced to ‘Quality Drinks Her’. Despite all this, it seemed to still have regular customers as well as a wall adorned with alcohol bottles.

“This place is such a dump, why did you choose it?” Hyejoo asked.

The reason why presented itself. An attractive woman tending the bar was always a sure fire way to get customers to come in, and you were no different. Her long light brown hair with blonde highlights ended past her stomach. Saying she was easy on the eyes was an understatement. The mole on her right cheek and near her left eye were accentuated by her winged eyeliner and pink eyeshadow. Her fair skin only helped in bringing out her beauty even more.

“Hey there.” she said, her deep voice unexpected compared to her appearance. “Haven’t seen you in awhile.”

“Work’s been keeping me busy. How are things?”

“Same old. Drunk old guys drinking away their problems and ignoring their wives calling them. Creeps trying to hit on me and ask for my number. So you know. The usual. I see you’ve brought company.” She said as she wiped down the counter and placed coasters in front of the three of you.

“Yeah. They’re old friends of mine. This is Park Chaewon.” you said, introducing her to your left. “While the creature on the right here is called Son Hyejoo.” This introduction earned you a punch to the arm from Hyejoo as the bartender laughed softly.

“You two are certainly pretty.” she said as she grabbed a few bottles from the wall to replace the ones in front of her. She then grabbed a packet of straws and placed them under her side of the bar.

“What can I get you guys tonight?”

“I’ll take a beer. Something smooth. And dark. What about you guys?”

As Chaewon pondered what to order, Hyejoo instantly knew what she wanted.

“I’ll take sex on the beach. Make it really dirty.”

“A fine choice. We don’t really get requests for that much.” the bartender said with a smile. “And for you?”

“A virgin Cuba libre…”

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that one more time? I couldn’t hear you.” she said, placing her index finger behind her ear and leaning closer.

“I wanted a virgin Cuba libre…”

“Isn’t that just a cup of cola with ice and a lemon wedge?” you asked.

“Nothing wrong with that at all.” the bartender said, scolding you. “Don’t mind him. Your drinks are coming right up.

The bartender quickly got to work, making a show of tossing bottles into the air and grabbing them successfully while pouring exact measurements into a metal container and making sure they were shaken, not stirred. She finished Hyejoo’s drink in record time, placing it on the coaster with a paper umbrella as a decoration. Reaching into the mini fridge behind her, she grabbed a dark amber colored bottle of beer and popped open the cap for you. With Chaewon’s drink, she placed a rocks glass on the coaster; using a pair of plastic tongs to put three ice cubes and adding the carbonated beverage. Slicing a lime wedge, she wiped the rim of the glass with it before squeezing several drops into the drink.

“Hope you all enjoy it.” she said before tending to other customers.

Hyejoo wafted the scent of her drink into her mouth before taking a sip. The liquid was slightly bitter, but not something she couldn’t handle. She bit on the lime wedge and puckered her lips.

“Not bad… I see why you come here. She’s cute.”

“That’s not the only reason why I come here, Hyejoo.”

“Why else would any other guy be here if there wasn’t a smoking hot bartender?”

“The quality of the drinks has improved ever since she started working.”

Hyejoo rolled her eyes as she removed the paper umbrella and continued to drink. You turned to Chaewon who swirled her drink around.

“How’s yours?” you asked.

“It’s fine.” she quietly replied.

“So, how have you been? Hyejoo and I lost contact with you after you dropped out a month before graduation.”

“I’ve been okay.. Hoping I finally get promoted to detective.” Chaewon said.

“I believe in you. You were always great at whatever you did.” you said, smiling softly at her. “And hey look at this.”

Chaewon turned her attention from her drink to you to see your wrist still adorning the bracelet the two of you made all those years ago. A sudden wave of emotions washed over her. She knew she had to excuse herself immediately.

“I… gotta go.” Chaewon said as she suddenly left the bar.

“You know she likes you, right?” Hyejoo said, getting your attention.

“What? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I could see it in her eyes from the moment I met her. She’s liked you as more than just a friend. And you are too dense to admit the same.”

“I like Chaewon as a friend, Hyejoo.”

“Friends don’t make bracelets together with their initials and the date they met unless they’re girls or a couple. They certainly don’t drop everything and try to find someone in the middle of the night. Plus, while your actions make it seem like all your attention is on me, I know Chaewon is in your heart. The question is, are you going to stop lying to yourself and chase the one who got away?”

Your entire past with Chaewon is replayed in your mind as you think about her smile and the way she made you feel.

“I think I just figured something out. I gotta go.” you said to Hyejoo.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Uhh…” you looked around and approached Hyejoo slowly before kissing her forehead and exiting the bar.

“No… pay your bill! Who raised you?” she said to herself as she swirled her drink around and took another sip.

“Why didn’t you tell him how you feel?” the bartender suddenly asked as she approached Hyejoo.

“He only sees her. I missed my chance years ago.”

--

You stood outside the bar and found Chaewon sitting on a nearby bench. It was rather high, causing her feet to not touch the ground. She kicked the air repeatedly, unaware of your presence. You crossed your arms and admired her for a bit before sitting down.

“I’m not dating Hyejoo. I never did.”

“I didn’t say anything…” she said quietly.

“But you were thinking about it. Hyejoo’s just a close friend. Something you used to be as well.”

The two of you sat in silence and admired the night sky. Even through a busy metropolitan city, the stars were still able to be seen.

“I can’t live without you.”

Chaewon looked at you to see you still watching the stars, pointing at a few of them as you smiled.

“Without you, whether it be a month or a day, the time I spend becomes meaningless to me. This was the conclusion I came to when I saw you again at the training exercise today. I’m sure you don’t understand what I’m talking about, though…”

Chaewon continued to look at you, not saying anything. You were embarrassed at what you just said and began to look away. She however, held your face and stared into your eyes before bringing you closer to her and planting a tender kiss on the lips. You opened your eyes and saw the same smile she had when you shared the special bread with her in the cafeteria.

--

One quick taxi ride later, Chaewon was about to enter your apartment for the very first time. The two of you stumbled into your apartment, laughing the entire time. From an outsider point of view, they probably would’ve thought you were both drunk. And to an extent, they were right. You two were drunk off each other.

Only your coats made it onto the couch as a discarded pile of clothes traced your steps into the bedroom. She led you to your bed, with you reduced to only wearing your boxers. Chaewon looked nervous, something you picked up on right away.

“We don’t have to do this if you’re not comfortable with it.”

“N-No. I want this. I want you, oppa.”

Chaewon gave you a quick peck before sinking onto her knees in front of you. She was met with your boxers pitching a tent. Grabbing the top hem, she slowly pulled them down. Your cock throbbed once newly exposed to the cool air, almost hitting her in the face.

She looked at your cock curiously. You felt her slim fingers wrap themselves around your base into a fist. She gave a slightly firm squeeze, causing you to moan. She began with slow strokes, seemingly preparing you for what was to come. She noticed you beginning to leak, running her thumb through it and earning herself a breathless gasp from you in the process. She brought it close to her nose and sniffed it. You laughed as she continued. The juxtaposition of Chaewon’s large eyes and innocent features contrasting her sinful action was a sight to behold.

“I’ve never done this before, oppa. Is it supposed to take this long?”

“For what? For me to cum?” you asked. Chaewon nodded.

“I… actually released a load in the shower after the training exercise.” you embarrassingly admitted.

Chaewon nodded in genuine interest as she continued pumping your shaft in her small hand. You threw your head back in satisfaction as you weren’t aware you were using her fist as a sort of fleshlight. Her grip increased as she began to stroke you faster.

“M-Maybe you could put it in your mouth?” you asked, scared Chaewon would say no.

“I just… have never done it before.”

“That’s okay. I’ll help guide you. I guess you could start with licking the precum that’s leaking out.”

Chaewon did as she was told, flattening her tongue and swiping the colorless liquid from you. She repeated this several times, causing the head of your cock to be wet. You didn’t tell her, but she spit on your dick and began to spread it all over with her hand and also by puckering her lips. It surprised you that she knew how to do that for claiming to have never given a blowjob before. But then again, it wouldn’t be difficult to know given everything is one simple internet click away. Your cock was beginning to be covered in Chaewon’s saliva as she meticulously applied it all over.

“Maybe you could massage my balls too? They’re sensitive so you have to be really careful.”

With her right hand stroking and lathering you, her left fondled your balls. The stimulation from both of your hands felt amazing, it caused the baby hairs on your body to stand erect while sending electric jolts of pleasure to your spine.

Chaewon seemed to be getting the hang of things, but now was the real test. She gave the underside of your shaft one smooth continuous lick until she found her way to your tip. Wetting her own lips, she grabbed onto both of your thighs and finally took you inside your mouth. You held your breath as you felt her wrapping her lips around the tip of your cock. A moan of satisfaction was released as her soft lips began to work their magic.

While you were sure she was telling the truth about not having done it before, it seemed Chaewon had been practicing somehow as she was constantly trying to keep her teeth out of the way and hurting you.

“Fuck... princess, that feels so good…”

Chaewon began extending past your tip, adding an inch into her mouth as she hollowed her cheeks. Her soft lips felt like heaven as she slowly became a soft ball of hair taking more and more of your length. It was moot at this point to continue instructing her - Chaewon flattened her tongue again and you felt it coating the underside of your shaft, sending even more pleasure coursing through your body. You closed your eyes and savored the wonderful sounds of Chaewon slurping on your dick, thoroughly covering you in her saliva. You felt her nose reach your base a few times, with her releasing you from the warm confines of her mouth after she gagged and was unable to continue. Your cock glistened as a saliva bubble formed just below where the tip and shaft connected. Thin strands of saliva connected you and Chaewon together as she sliced through them and giggled.

“That was amazing.” you said. As much as you loved having her in between your legs, you were ready for the main event. You helped her off her knees and gently pushed her onto the bed.

It seemed the years were kind to Chaewon - she was the perfect mix of toned, while possessed a hint of curviness. Her thighs were deceptively thick; and soft to the touch as you spread them open. You began by feeling how smooth they were before planting several kisses on them. You made a trail that slowly ascended, doing so on both of them before kissing the inner creases of the apex of her thighs. She was already sensitive, her body reacting to every contact from your lips. Like you, Chaewon also began to leak out as you stuck your tongue out to consume it. The taste was like sweet nectar, something you were happy she was releasing for you.

“F-Fuck, that feels so good…”

It was the first time you heard Chaewon curse, and with what was next, you knew it was only the beginning. You parted her damp folds with your thumbs and lowered your head to begin exploring her moist cavern. Chaewon’s body bucked upwards from the pleasure as your tongue continued to excavate the sweet nectar she possessed. You gently bit on her clit, causing her to scream in arousal as her thighs wrapped themselves around your head and pushed you deeper.

Her eyes became half-lidded and consumed by desire as you continuously lapped up her juices while stimulating her folds.

“O-Oppa, keep going. Please… don’t stop!”

It was beginning to be a bit difficult to breathe, but you were happy knowing Chaewon was on the receiving end of pleasure. You traced two fingers against her inner folds before sinking them inside her. She was extremely tight - her walls immediately latching onto and squeezing you. Your thumb remained outside, rubbing her clit as you repeatedly moved your fingers in and out of her pussy. It didn’t take long for Chaewon to achieve her euphoric bliss.

“Oppa!” she screamed loudly as it finally arrived. Removing your fingers just in time, you parted your lips and stuck your tongue out as her hips frantically raised upwards while thighs squeezed your head even harder. You could feel her toes curl as Chaewon’s orgasm caused her entire body to react. Her sweet essence coated your mouth and cheeks as she drowned you in pleasure.

You tried your best to consume it all but it proved to be too much as Chaewon continuously released her lovely juices. Violent aftershocks continued on as you helped her begin to descend from her orgasmic high. You rubbed her sensitive clit and stimulated her until you could feel her thighs hold on your head begin to weaken.

“You did so well, princess.” you said, smiling. Her juices stained your lips and chin as you planted tender kisses in between her legs.

“I-I... fuck… intens- fuck…”

She was still drunk from the orgasm you gave her. You continued praising her and kissing her thighs as she gradually began to recover and return to normal. Once she does, you embrace her and place her sweat-kissed body on top of yours.

Chaewon ran her hands through your hair as your lips found their way to her nipples, gently sucking on them as she moaned out in pleasure. Your hands did not remain idle - roaming every inch of her skin until resting on her soft bottom.

“C-Can you fuck me now? Please, oppa?”

“How do you want it, princess?” you asked.

“Can… can I ride you?” she shyly asked.

“I’d love that.”

“Wait.” she said, kissing your lips as she got off you and went to her nightstand. You turned to your side and saw her rummaging inside a drawer looking for something. Most of its contents were various night creams and lip gloss, and what appeared to be a phallic-shaped device. You were about to ask if you could help when she closed it and held something behind her back.

“What is it?” you asked.

“Something for me, but also something for you.” she said, biting her lower lip seductively. She grabbed your wrists and wrapped a thin black lace material around them before tying them together. She repeated the process to your eyes. You didn’t expect this side of her, but then again, you didn’t expect to currently be in bed with her either.

“They say sensory deprivation provides an even better experience for both partners.” Chaewon said.

She rubbed her splayed lips against your length several times before reaching below herself and guiding you inside for the very first time. The two of you let out a loud sigh of relief as your tip parted her. She was warm, wet, and dangerously tight. Her body refused to let you go, sinking your cock deeper.

“Oh fuck…” she exhaled loudly as she firmly planted her hands on your chest. She raised her hips until only your tip was inside her before slamming herself back down. She did this several times to warm the both of you up. Eventually, she placed her hands on either side of your head as her lips met yours. The two of you explored each other’s mouths as your tongues danced an elegant tango. It was as if your cock explored a newer part of her pussy with each deep entrance.

Being unable to move your hands or see Chaewon heightened your other senses even more. You were able to feel how tight she was bouncing up and down on your cock. The sounds of her moans that were like music to your ears. The smell of sweat and sex releasing natural pheromones making you want this moment to never end. But as the tightness in your abdomen continued to grow, you knew it wouldn’t be possible.

She bounced herself softly up and down five more times until she felt you raise your hips to match hers. There was nothing else either of you could have done - it was inevitable. Your cock began to throb as a warning before you finally exploded inside her. You moaned in satisfaction as you released shot after shot of thick, hot semen into her waiting pussy. Chaewon’s walls clenched against your shaft, suffocating it, which only caused you to unload more.

Her lower body felt flushed as she could feel it beginning to leak out and stain her thighs. Both of you were exhausted, but fully satisfied. She gathered her remaining strength and raised her hips from yours, removing the blindfold and laced restraint on your wrists. The two of you savored the feeling of each inch being withdrawn from her slowly. As you both struggled to catch your breath, you held each other tightly as you poked her nose and kissed the top of her forehead. Chaewon traced her name on your chest and fixed your damp, out of place hair.

The plan was originally intended to be you and Chaewon taking a shower together and getting clean. Which the two of you managed to do until you didn’t. Due to the simple nature of being in the shower with a naked woman, your cock grew hard in her hand as she was cleaning you. Making sure to go to the area where the water wasn’t at, Chaewon lathered your cock in soapy suds while you used a loofah and did the same to her thighs. It seemed both of you were thinking the same thing as she turned around and faced away from you.

Grabbing onto her surprisingly wide hips, her thighs squeezed your pulsing shaft in between them. With both of you soaped up, there was minimal effort required as your cock slid through with relative ease. Your hands held onto her as you remained patient and were awarded with savoring the feeling of her heavenly soft thighs and how the top of your cock rubbed against the bottom of her pussy lips.

You kissed Chaewon’s beautiful shoulders and the back of her neck as you continued your suffocatingly slow thrusts. Her warm thighs continued to hug your cock until you erupted. Although it was much weaker and a smaller amount, it was no less pleasurable. You continued to fuck her thighs as she made sure to milk you for all you had left. Your initial two ropes of semen splattered on the glass door loudly. Gradually decreasing the already slow speed of your thrusts while riding out your orgasm, Chaewon softly rubbed her cute butt against your crotch until you stopped.

The two of you properly washed off this time before stepping out of the shower and wrapping yourselves together with one towel. You held Chaewon tightly as the two of you gave each other steamy kisses that mirrored the hot shower just now. Not even bothering to put on clothes, the two of you plopped onto the bed. With one final tender kiss, you savored being in each other’s embrace and quickly drifted off to sleep.

--

“... and that’s how oppa and I started off our morning.” Kim Jungeun could be heard saying.

Park Chaewon opened up her eyes, rubbing the sleep and exhaustion out of them. She blinked several times before her vision readjusted and was greeted with a disapproving frown from Jungeun.

“Seriously…” she complained. “You asked me to tell you why oppa and I were late and you fell asleep during my story.”

“I’m sorry.” Chaewon said. “Been having problems sleeping at home lately.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah… just got a lot on my mind I guess.”

“Things will get better. They always do.”

“Thanks.”

The break room door opens and you enter, greeting Chaewon and Jungeun. You give Chaewon a fist bump before approaching Jungeun who puckers her lips, asking for a kiss. You smiled and honored her request. The loud smack of your lips connecting and disconnecting causes her to smirk in satisfaction.

“I thought you hated kissing at work?” you asked.

“How could I when your lips always taste so yummy… I mean, it’s not like I l-like you or anything. Pig.” Jungeun said, quickly switching from disgustingly sweet to the tsundere, chic woman she was well known as. This earned soft claps from Chaewon, causing Jungeun to groan.

“As expected of the supreme leader.”

The three of you were beginning to discuss where to go for lunch when the break room door is opened once again.

“Oppa. Lieutenant’s looking for you. Says she has some helpful information about a case you’re working on?”

“Got it. Thanks, Hyejoo. Guess we’ll have to take a raincheck on lunch together.” you said, getting up out of your seat. You waved to Chaewon who raised her eyebrows and smiled while kissing Jungeun’s forehead, who didn’t bother to get out of her seat and instead tilted her head up towards you. You flashed them both a peace sign.

“Wait, oppa. What is this?” Jungeun asked, grabbing your wrist which was adorned with a beaded bracelet.

“Oh this?” you said, holding it up. “I found it while cleaning through my things. Hadn’t worn it in years but decided today would be a good day to start. I’ll see you guys later.”

“I’ll call you.” you mouthed to Jungeun before exiting the break room with Hyejoo. Jungeun blushed and couldn’t contain her smile as she happily sipped on her iced americano. She turned to Chaewon who lost all color on her face.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“That bracelet…”