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rosanna-writer · 11 months ago

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Love at First Sight's for Suckers (1/5)

Summary: [A Feysand Newsies AU] Rhysand had a reputation. A big reputation. But fortunately for Feyre, a newsie selling papers on the streets of Velaris, tabloid gossip about the handsome, charismatic, hard-partying war-hero of a High Lord's heir means business is booming. That is, until the city's newspaper magnates get greedy, Feyre finds herself an unwitting labor leader at the center of a strike, and Rhys becomes an unexpected ally... Warnings: None

A gift for @the-lonelybarricade, for @acotargiftexchange! @lbs-secret-santa is me!

LB, creating this for you has been such a blast, and I am definitely the luckiest secret santa in the world to have such a gem of a giftee. It's rare for someone to have both a talent AND a heart as big as yours—you're truly the High Lady of Feysand, not just because your fics are incredible, but because of the way you make new writers (including me earlier this year) feel immediately welcome and how you handle fandom nonsense with such grace and tact. I'm so glad to call you a friend <3

And sorry for an author's note that reads like an annoying award show speech, but there are SO MANY people I want to thank. The event organizers did such a thoughtful job creating an event that brought so many people together across the fandom; not just secret santa/giftee pairs, but people reaching out to new betas, roping new friends into secrecy shenanigans, and getting hyped about other gifts! @iambutmortal, @thesistersarcheron, @itsthedoodle, @wilde-knight, and @ablogofsapphicpanic have been the best betas/saucy Rhys pun brainstormers/secret keepers/DM screaming session partners, and the daily headlines would not have happened without their beautiful brains. I had SO MUCH FUN watching the excitement and creative energy grow and grow in the lead up to this reveal. And also @reverie-tales, thanks for being my unwitting cover to throw LB off my trail!

Anyway, you can find the first chapter Here on AO3 or under the readmore. Happy Holidays!

One Heir to Share? Rhysand's Rita's Threesome

Baring it All at Starfall! Rhysand Stuns in Daring Deep-V Shirt

Rhysand's Baby Blues: Heir's Latest Fling Spotted Shopping for Baby Clothes

Future High Lord’s High: Witchberries, Fae Wine, and Wild Starfall Benders in the House of Wind?

Lady of the Night or FUTURE Lady of Night? Rhysand's Girlfriend Shocks Royal Family at Nynsar

Un-Rhys-onable: Night's Heir Refuses to Kneel to High Lord

Heir Head! Rhysand Forgets Alphabet During Library Community Service

Rhysand had a reputation.

A big reputation.

Perhaps that was why after selling him the newspaper every day for the better part of a year, Feyre Archeron had long since decided that he was far too full of himself to be ashamed of anything.

As he did every Saturday morning, Rhys appeared on her corner like clockwork, wearing last night's clothes and his trademark smirk. If Feyre wanted to know what lucky male or female had gone home on his arm, she'd only have to check tomorrow's society pages, which were always breathlessly detailing the exploits of the Night Court's handsome, charismatic, hard-partying war-hero of a High Lord's heir.

Not that Feyre cared. There were more important things to worry about than Rhysand's love life, like where her next meal was coming from. She only kept up with it because his scandals sold papers like nothing else.

And she definitely didn't feel a stab of envy every time she read about his latest fling. That would be pointless—a lesser fae shadow-wraith like Feyre would never be Lady of the Night Court. The stir Rhys's Illyrian mother had caused made that obvious enough, even if she was the High Lord's mate.

"Good morning, Feyre darling," Rhysand drawled, the way he always greeted her.

"It's noon, Rhys," Feyre said. The nickname might have been overly familiar, but Feyre had noticed his eyes glittered like stars whenever she used it with him. And besides, after being up since dawn, she wasn't inclined to fall over herself currying favor with someone who'd just rolled out of bed.

"Then let me be the first to tell you that you look delicious this afternoon."

Feyre rolled her eyes, positive she looked the farthest thing from delicious in her threadbare leggings and sweater. If it were anyone but Rhys, she would have been sure they were being cruel. But he had enough of her goodwill that he could pay her teasing compliments and not end up with his teeth bashed in for his trouble.

"Did you give them anything interesting to write about last night?" she said, leaning back against a streetlight and crossing her arms over her chest.

Rhys picked at an invisible piece of lint on his tunic, which almost had Feyre rolling her eyes a second time. Despite being in last night's clothes, he didn't look the least bit disheveled—probably some spell he'd cast to ensure he looked irritatingly perfect as always.

"Mor needed a wingman again," he said.

Feyre relaxed, relieved at his answer. Rhys's equally beautiful cousin was the subject of plenty of headlines of her own, and the two were frequently seen together. The people of Velaris were fascinated by the pretty blonde former Hewn City princess–when the Herald ran a story about her, Feyre just had to shout "Morrigan" to turn heads and make sales. If the lead story was about her, Feyre could probably afford to eat tomorrow.

It had been a while, though, since Rhys had been spotted with someone new on his arm. Or with anyone other than Morrigan, his sister, or the two Illyrians he called his brothers actually. Feyre had rolled her eyes at the rumors of a secret relationship or a hidden love child—if you asked her, the most likely explanation was that there were only so many attractive people in Velaris with a weakness for violet eyes. Rhys was bound to run out of people to fuck eventually.

"Is that the truth?" Feyre said, a teasing smile playing on her lips. "Or did you actually find someone to settle down with?"

She'd meant it as a joke, but Rhys didn't smile. There was something hungry, almost predatory, in the way his gaze slid over her. Feyre found herself flushing, even as she stared right back. "Would you care if I did?" he said.

It felt like a challenge; Feyre lifted her chin. "Of course I'd care if you stopped causing scandals. I'm a newsie, and gossip sells papers."

"Of course," Rhys said, something in his expression seeming to shutter. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a gold coin, handing it to her. The value was far more than a single paper was worth, but he'd always insisted she keep the change.

Feyre pulled a paper from the bag slung over her shoulder and handed it to him, longways so there was no chance their fingers would touch. She'd let that happen once, and his fingertips brushing hers had sent a crackle of electricity along her skin that she'd been thinking about ever since. Her mind replayed it almost daily—and frankly, Feyre found that embarrassing.

She pocketed the coin. "Pleasure doing business with you."

When Rhys spoke again, he dropped his voice to a low, sensual purr that sent shivers skittering down Feyre's spine, heat washing over her despite the autumn chill that cut through her tattered clothes. " Everything is a pleasure when it comes to you, Feyre."

He flashed her one last feline smile, and Feyre tipped her cap as he winnowed away, trying not to blush. With her other hand, she fingered the coin in her pocket. It would go under the floorboard with the rest of the ones she'd stashed away. Only a few more until she could afford the one-way ticket to the Continent that she'd been dreaming of.

Velaris was wonderful— if you could afford a big, strong door to lock out the hustle and bustle. Feyre certainly couldn't, and she was dying to get away.

A flash of auburn hair and a shout of "High Lady!" across the street pulled Feyre from her thoughts. Lucien was striding towards her, a half-empty satchel of newspapers slung over one shoulder and carrying another paper bag in his hand. She raised a hand in greeting—she'd stopped cringing at the nickname a long time ago.

"Is the new spot over by the docks working out for you?" she said when he got closer, even though she knew the answer. Lucien could sell papers anywhere; he didn't even need the eyepatch and the sob story about being an Autumn Court orphan who'd found his way to Night—just his brilliant smile was enough.

Lucien shrugged, the gesture far too elegant for someone who'd spent his morning selling newspapers to sailors and fishmongers. "I can make anything work."

"Then why did you come looking for me?" Feyre said. With unsold papers still in his bag, there had to be a reason. The newsies bought the papers from the distributor each morning, starting each day operating at a loss until they'd sold enough papers to recoup the cost. Lucien still had work to do if he wanted to turn a profit.

He pressed a hand to his chest in mock offense. "Isn't gazing upon your beautiful face reason enough?"

"You sound like Rhysand."

"And you're saying that like it's a bad thing. Trouble in paradise?"

Feyre resisted the urge to roll up one of the papers in her own bag and smack him with it. Lucien had overheard her speaking to Rhysand once and apparently decided the prince was in love with her. Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.

"Rhysand isn't—"

" By the Cauldron, he'd follow you around like a lost puppy if you'd let him."

"He's just a flirt," Feyre said, the edge to her voice making it clear she didn't want to talk about this anymore. "What did you need me for?"

"Someone needs to finish my pickles," Lucien said, pulling a sandwich out of the paper bag. He handed Feyre half, along with the entire side of pickles it had come with, then sat down on the curb to eat, stretching his long legs out in front of him.

Feyre nibbled on the pickle, the first thing she'd eaten all day, and thanked the Cauldron for a best friend who hated them and shared them with her. Putting her papers aside, she sat down next to him. "Thanks, Lucien," she said, unwrapping her half of the sandwich. Lunch would be on her next—that had been their unspoken agreement for years, even when meals were sporadic and infrequent.

They lapsed into silence, more intent on eating than talking. It was comfortable, a much needed rest after a morning spent shouting headlines at passersby. Feyre's feet already ached from standing all morning.

After a few minutes, Lucien balled up the now-empty wax paper. "Now that you're fed, I think it's safe to mention that you're needed over by the Rainbow."

"Again?" Feyre said with a sigh.

"Bron and Hart are fighting over the same spot. The High Lady should step in."

Feyre wasn't sure when exactly it had happened, but at some point, she'd found herself the unofficial leader of the newsies of Velaris. She'd always kept an eye out for newcomers and lended them a hand—advice on selling papers and navigating the city was all she had, but Feyre shared freely. When there was a problem, she was usually the one to resolve it.

At some point, "High Lady" had gone from an ironic nickname for a poor girl on the streets to a mark of respect for a young woman who took care of her own.

"I'll talk to them," Feyre said, finishing her food and standing up.

Lucien started to thank her, but Feyre had already called on her magic, her body becoming nothing but shadow. Incorporeal like this, she could slip through walls and travel unseen—and crucially, it was faster than walking. As a lesser fae, it was the only magic she had at her disposal.

Even in the brightest sun, Velaris was full of shadows. And for better or worse, Feyre had made them her home.

***

Rhysand had planned to give himself time to read the news before he was due for a meeting at the House of Wind. Yesterday, he'd told himself he'd be up early enough to look over the agenda ahead of time. He'd wanted to be prepared, and his father would have his head if Rhys was late for official court business again.

But somehow, the High Lord's ire seemed incredibly far away last night, when the Cauldron only knew how many drinks he'd had and Mor was dragging him back to the dance floor at Rita's again, and dawn had nearly broken when he'd finally stumbled home.

Late or not, though, he still had to see Feyre.

The most important part of his day had become buying the paper from her. It wasn't about the news and never had been—every day, Rhys hoped that would be the day she finally took an interest in him that went beyond trading a few teasing remarks and rolling her eyes. He'd never flirted so much, so painfully obviously before, just to have it all go ignored like water off a duck's back.

And that had already been going on for a few months before the mating bond snapped.

Their fingers had brushed as she'd handed him the paper. Perhaps that brief touch skin-to-skin had been all it had taken for the urge to claim and taste and scent his mate to hit him with all the force of a brick to the head. Before he'd done something stupid, Rhys had winnowed away without an explanation or a goodbye.

After that, Rhys had resolved not to tell her, at least not until she showed some sort of interest back. But in the months since, he hadn't gotten her to even blush. And even if by some miracle, she did want him that way and accepted the bond, there was no guarantee she wouldn't resent him after a few decades as future Lady of Night. Her indifference was painful enough—Rhys wasn't sure he could withstand her hating him.

For the short flight to the House of Wind, Rhys let the chill in the air clear his head of thoughts of Feyre. He was supposed to focus today. Some of the city's most powerful merchants had asked for a meeting with his father, and as the High Lord's heir, Rhys was expected to be in attendance too.

The meeting room was already full when Rhys walked in, brushing his windswept hair back into place. From the head of the table, his father glared daggers at him.

Rhys ignored it, dropping into the empty seat that had been left for him. "I hope I didn't miss anything interesting."

He kept the smirk plastered on his face, even as his father pushed past his shields to speak mind-to-mind. We'll discuss this later. For now, get through this meeting without embarrassing me further. That's an order.

Rhys made a mental note to let Mor know he'd likely have to cancel their plans to go to the theater that night.

One of the merchants—Rhys had met him before but had forgotten his name—gave him a cold smile and said, "We were just discussing economic policy."

"Carry on, then," Rhys said.

As the meeting droned on, Rhys forced himself to focus, even if the subject matter was painfully dry. One day, he'd be High Lord, and if he wanted to be the sort of ruler the Night Court deserved, one who made things better, he needed to be knowledgeable and willing to listen.

But even then, he wasn't immune to letting his mind wander. At some point, he'd found himself thinking about how the sunlight had brought out the gold in Feyre's hair, when the sound of his name brought him crashing back down to reality.

"…but you'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Rhysand?" one of the merchants was saying, the sneer in his voice obvious.

Rhys felt his father's eyes boring into him, and it was clear this was some sort of test. He was supposed to be handling something, and Rhys didn't want to think about what sort of punishment might be in store for him if he made it obvious he'd stopped paying attention.

"Would I?" Rhys said, arching a brow in a way that he hoped looked imperious.

"With how many headlines you've been the subject of? I think by now you'd know a thing or two about what sells papers. If it weren't for you, we'd have gone under after the War."

Rhys's hands curled into fists under the table as he recalled exactly who this merchant was—Pulitzer, a newspaper magnate, the one who'd been complaining that circulation was down since the Treaty had been signed. Peace, apparently, was boring.

Peace that Rhys had bled for, had nearly died for when he'd been captured by Amarantha's army. Not that any of that mattered when profits were down.

"Then a bit more gratitude is in order," Rhys said, his voice low and deadly and all command, sounding every inch the future High Lord he was. It was so brief that Rhys nearly missed it, but his father's lips quirked up in approval. "If you have a request, I suggest you word it carefully."

It quickly became clear that Pulitzer and the rest of the owners of Velaris's major newspapers had come to grovel. Even if Rhys couldn't bring himself to care, it was true that the Night Court's newspaper industry was bringing in less money since the end of the war. They'd come to petition his father for assistance.

And to Rhys's relief, the High Lord's answer had been a quick and resounding no.

Of course, Rhys knew his father's answer had been more about safeguarding the Night Court's wealth more than anything else. That much was obvious when so many of their citizens were struggling, even in Velaris. It was something that Rhys vowed to change one day.

But Rhys's relief didn't last much longer. His father had told the newspaper moguls to figure it out themselves, and they'd quickly agreed that to fix their bottom line, they'd raise the price for the newsies who bought the papers to distribute each morning.

Newsies who were barely getting by as it was. Newsies who were already going hungry and sleeping outdoors even as the weather got colder. Newsies who'd been orphaned or disabled after the war and couldn't find decent work.

Newsies like his mate, and Rhysand certainly wouldn't stand for that.

#feysand #acotar secret santa #Love at First Sight's For Suckers

111 notes · View notes

skzhua · 2 years ago

Note

omg, I just watched a funny video of a boyfriend and girlfriend playing a prank on their group of friends. The boyfriend asks the group of friends to help him propose to the girlfriend, when it was finally time to propose after organizing everything she declines (both are in on it, but the friends are not), and the prank continues with the gf leaving while the bf stays crying to their friends. Since April fools is coming up can I request something like that with any skz member proposing to their gf in front of the other members?? 😭 you can make it as fluffy funny or as “angsty” as you want, if you can!! 🤗 thank youuu

MASTERLIST

Pairing: Kim Seungmin x Female!Reader

Genre: Angst, fluff, idol!AU.

Word Count: 3,111

Warnings: Swearing. (not proofread yet!)

A/N: I'm a tad bit late, but I have essays due this week (school is literally killing me, smh..) so I'm not sorry, I just didn't have the time, haha. I hope you like it, I tried to follow what you requested, but it was kind of tricky for me.

"NO FUCKING WAY!"

"Gosh, Han!" Hyunjin exclaimed, blocking his ears with his hands from the sudden noise that is Jisung's scream.

"I fucking knew it! I could tell you were going to do it soon!" Jisung ignored his friend, still being noisy. "Am I the best man?" he smirked at Seungmin.

The latter pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers. He knew the boys would be reacting very strongly when he was going to announce he wanted to propose to you, but he still didn't expect them to be so stoked.

"I'm asking you to help me propose! Not to help me plan a wedding that I don't even know is going to happen," he shook his head in discouragement.

Chan frowned as he stood up. "I have one question." Seungmin turned to him, encouraging him to continue. "Are you sure about this? This is a huge commitment, you know?"

"I've been with her for years, it's not like I didn't think about it."

"What did you have in mind for the setting?" Jeongin asked. "Oh, can I plan that out?"

To this, Felix raised his hand. "I want to do that."

Shutting his eyes, Seungmin let himself drop back on the couch as the boys kept on bickering. Changbin insisted on a nice outside proposal, while Hyunjin and Felix were strongly defending the idea of an engagement at a restaurant. Seeing the man on the verge of killing himself internally from the mess he had created, Minho walked to Seungmin before sitting next to him. As expected, he hadn't said a word since the subject was brought up. Until now.

"Congratulations."

Seungmin shrugged. "I haven't asked her yet."

"She'll say yes. The girl would literally jump off a bridge if you tell her to do so," he chuckled. "If you want my opinion, go with something simple. No need to go over the top."

"Thanks, Minho."

"I have an idea!" Chan exclaimed, eyes wide open. "Remember when we all went to the aquarium and the two of you ran away from us because we were too loud?"

"Yeah..?" Seungmin said, briefly getting a picture of the memory.

"Propose to her there! It's a nice place, not too many people if you choose the day and time properly, and it brings you back to a nice moment you had together!"

Seungmin hummed. "Actually, this is an excellent idea."

"Good morning!" you beamed at your boyfriend upon seeing him half asleep.

He groaned, still tired, as he sat down at the table in your apartment. Rubbing his eyes, he sniffed in the air before frowning.

"Babe, since when do you actually make pancakes with eggs and bacon?"

You shurgged. "Am I not allowed to treat my boyfriend well? Especially if he's about to propose in the following week?" you said nonchalantly, but that's all it took for Seungmin to jump up on his feet and stare at you with eyes wide open.

"What did you just say?"

"That I want to treat my boyfr-"

"The other part."

You snickered at him, devilishly. "You want to propose to me in the following week."

In an instant, his face turned completely white. "Who told you that?" he huffed, trying to act as if this was nonsense.

"Jeongin. Then I asked Jisung to confirm. And just to be sure, I asked Changbin after." you smiled. "Either they are all lying, or you really wanted to take me to the aquarium to propose."

Seungmin had no words. He was barely processing what you had just said. Weeks of planning, buying the ring, asking the guys to organize a nice set up, making calls here and there to go to a nice restaurant beforehand... All of his hard work thrown in the trash because his friends couldn't keep their mouth shut.

"Do I kill them or do I kill them?" he ended up mumbling, smoke coming out of his nostrils.

You walked around the counter, not forgetting to turn off the stove, before coming right in front of Seungmin. "Babe, it's alright. We had already talked about it before and we both know that's what we want." you pecked his lips, but he pouted. "Seungmin..." you sighed.

"I was sure you were going to say yes, don't get me wrong, but the surprise is still ruined."

He held you closer in his arms, and you pat his back in a soothing way. Seungmin would usually be laughing at these kinds of situations, so you knew he was definitely crushed by how he couldn't do his proposal properly.

"If it makes you feel any better, we can still go to the aquarium? I've already indirectly told you yes, so might as well celebrate it?"

That seemed to do the trick as he nodded happily before bringing you into a sweet kiss. "I have a great idea." he smirked after the kiss.

Your smile fell. Seungmin never had good ideas when he'd say he has one.

"What are you thinking of?"

What you didn't expect was to see the whole gang assembled in front of the building. You got a déjà vu from the time you left the boys behind with Seungmin because they were being chaotic as per usual. Seungmin was holding tight onto your hand, giving you some reassurance. You hated participating in his bad decisions, but you had to admit that the guys kind of deserved it.

"Guys, what are you doing here?" Seungmin sighed as you joined the group.

"We came for some support!" Felix exclaimed.

Changbin hit him with his elbow, giving him a death stare. "Emotional support from fishes." he justified.

Good saving Changbin.

"Sure..." Seungmin sighed. "Shall we go, Y/N?"

He led you inside. As he had planned, there was barely any people inside. He bought the tickets as you started to explore the place. The first thing you spotted were jellyfishes. You let go of Seungmin and ran to the tank. You felt like a child really, but the fluorescence of the animals were only too beautiful to not react this way. Seungmin came behind you and placed his hand on your hip before putting his chin on your shoulder.

"It's pretty." he commented. "Just like you."

You laughed at his word. "Well, well... Aren't you being sweet today, Minnie?"

"I'm always sweet." he pecked your cheek.

Laughs interrupted your moment. With a sighed, you looked to where the noise was coming from only to see the seven boys look your way.

"I swear to God, I'll kill them." Seungmin huffed in a whisper. "But it's good they're watching. They kind of have to if we want this to work."

"You're so evil." you rolled your eyes.

"I know, that's why you love me."

You moved along along and got to the tank were you could touch the sea cucumbers and the starfishes. You dragged Seungmin behind and encouraged him to touch the animals with you. He wasn't in for it much, but he eventually thought it was rather funny. Anything for you, if it meant you were happy. Soon, you went through a tunnel were small sharks species were swimming around. Seeing your uneasiness, Seungmin pulled you closer to him to make you feel that you had some sort of protection.

"I feel like I'm underwater." you mumbled. "It's so weird."

Moving forward, you then arrived the place you were looking forward to the least: the tropical fishes tank. This was the spot the guys and Seungmin chose for the proposal. Oddly enough, he did prepare everything. There was a letter on the glass of the tank attached by some tape. Curious, you approached it slowly.

"Why is there my name on this?" you laughed nervously to Seungmin, who only gave you a small smile in return.

You took the piece of paper and unfolded it to see, in a beautiful handwriting, a love letter. You turned to your boyfriend, confused since he hadn't told you about this detail beforehand.

"Go ahead, read it."

Still on your guards, your eyes went back to the writing. The moment you started to read, you actually wanted to cry.

My dear Y/N,

I know we haven't had the best moments together. It was mostly rough, filled with uncertainty as we explored our relationship. We've been together for a lot while, no? It still feels like yesterday when we went on our first date. I still can feel the blush you were putting on my cheeks that day.

Thank you for agreeing with my weird ideas. Thank you for keeping up with, not only me, but the boys too. Thank you for staying around although I know being away on tour can be hard for you. Most importantly, thank you for loving me.

I love you the most, and I wish us the best future together.

Your Minnie.

By then, Seungmin had wrapped his arms around you as you dropped a few tears. Along with your sniffs, you melted into his embrace lovingly as you murmured sweet words and thanks. He truly was your everything.

So when he put his knee down, you sobbed even more. How could you refuse to marry him like this, even while being aware this was all an act? The boys came closer, but still gave you some space, so they could watch from afar.

"Y/N, this is something we have been discussing for a while now. I love you so much and it would pain me if I never get to spend the rest of my days with you." Seungmin started, looking up at you.

You hoped the love and sincerity you saw in his eyes were raw and not faked for the show. You knew Seungmin better than this, and he was being genuine. If anything, he couldn't lie to you in your face. You were too precious for that.

"So..." he trailed off while taking out a small box from his pocket. "F/N, will you do me the pleasure of marrying me?"

As he opened the box, your gaze went straight to the ring. He picked the perfect one. Although it had a lot of small details, it remained simple with the small diamond on top of it. You didn't know you could cry more than this.

"I-" you started, but stopped yourself as you remembered what you needed to do. "I love you, Seungmin... But I can't..."

You heard gasps coming from the boys and quiet whispers, as they were clearly confused. Although you had planned of walking away, you did so only because you couldn't bear with Seungmin's face who had dropped instantly. Either he was an excellent actor, or you had truly hurt him. So you left, leaving his letter behind as you dropped it in front of him.

"I got you an ice cream." Jeongin said in a sad tone as he came back from the ice cream shop nearby.

The boys had left the aquarium not so long after you, and they moved to the park next to it. Jeongin had offered himself to get everyone a treat, but especially for the broken-hearted man

"Thank you, Innie." Seungmin said as he took the cone from him.

"I was sure she was going to say yes." Jisung muttered under his breath.

"We were all sure." Chan added. "She only refused the proposal, though, maybe she is simply not ready for such a commitment?"

Minho deadpanned at him. "They've been together for like, what, five years? She was already committed to him enough that there is no logic in her refusing, don't you think?"

"You can't be certain. What is she simply doesn't want to get married?"

"Nonsense." Felix joined in. "I've heard them talk about it before, and she told him about her dream wedding dress and shit."

"Alright, then. Did they fight?" Hyunjin questioned, but Changbin huffed in response.

"Did they look like they fought to you when they got here?" he rolled his eyes.

"Guys, it's alright." Seungmin stopped them. "Don't act like I'm not here."

They all quickly apologized, and then kept quiet. They weren't exactly sure what to say, they have never witnessed such a devastating moment before. They even less expected for it to happen to Seungmin.

"Are you doing alright?" Jeongin dared to ask.

Seungmin shrugged. "I don't feel good, for sure. It's like I haven't processed what happened yet."

Seungmin was rarely sad. Most of the boys didn't know how to react to this, especially when it was such a big turn of event that caused it. Changbin debated internally whether he should call you or not, at least to get an explanation out of you. Still, the main focus was on Seungmin.

"What are you going to do now?" Jisung, who had surprisingly remained rather quiet the entire time, asked.

"We can go back home, I guess. I don't know..."

"Wait for her call." Hyunjin said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "She'll call you for sure. In the meantime, try to get some rest."

He thanked his friends truthfully. He didn't expect this whole thing to actually hurt him. Still, he wanted to scare the shit out of the guys, and it all seemed to be working perfectly. But it became too much.

"It was a joke, guys." he finally admitted.

Hyunjin took his hand off him and stared widely at Chan. The others were as stunned, as they gave him a look of confusion.

"Care to explain, please?" Felix broke the awkward silence that was settling.

Seungmin sighed, a lump in his throat. "Y/N told me that Jeongin, Jisung and Changbin had ruined the surprise. I was so mad and disappointed that I had the stupid idea of pulling a prank on you. So basically, her refusing to marry me was the plan, but I'm starting to think it wasn't as funny as I originally anticipated it to be."

Changbin gave him an apologetic smile. "We're sorry for ruining it all. She said she would fake her surprise face, but it looks like you two got us." he laughed out.

"Seungmin, this is very wrong, you know that? We're sorry it didn't go as planned, but I don't think Y/N was faking her tears earlier." Chan sighed loudly.

"I know that." Seungmin groaned, putting his face in his hands, not holding back tears anymore. "And it actually hurt me when she said she couldn't, even though I was the one who told her to say this. I feel like shit."

Jeongin, who had dialed a number on his phone, put it away in his pocket as he shook his head. "She's not answering my calls."

"Go see her." Minho assured. "Talk it out with her, I'm sure you can figure this out."

Back in your apartment, you had changed into sweatpants and opened a pot of ice cream to eat in front of the television. This was so cliché, but you didn't care. You were genuinely hurting, and it seemed to be the only way to cope for now. Your phone rang again, signaling that one of the guys, most likely Changbin or Jeongin, had texted you yet again. Ignoring the calls, you simply increased the volume of your movie as tears were dripping out of your eyes. As the characters on the screen were in the middle of a dialogue, you heard a soft knock coming from the door.

"Busy." you yelled out, eyes still focused on the TV.

Another knock.

"Come back later."

One more.

You huffed as you put away your snack, getting up to look at the peephole. Seungmin... there he was. Standing at your front door, eyes swollen and a bit red. Though you were mad at him for the whole prank thing, he was still the love of your life, and seeing him like this pained you.

You unlocked the door and opened it, to his shock. He looked up at you and gave you a weak smile.

"Hey."

"Hi."

He took a deep breath. "Can I come in?"

"Baby, I'm so sorry for what happened." he mumbled.

You let him in and he walked upon your ice cream with your TV on. That's when he turned to you to take a better look at your appearance. You looked as much of a mess as him, maybe more, and it only made him feel worse.

You shrugged your shoulders, trying to play it cool. "All good. How did they react?"

"It doesn't matter."

You frowned. "Wasn't it the whole point of your idea?"

"Yes, but it was probably the worst idea I've ever had."

You cocked your head to the side, taken aback from his words. "You've had worse ideas than that, what do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, Y/N." he said, started to get frustrated. "I hurt you."

"I mean, yeah, a little. But it was all fake, no?"

"Everything I said was true. Everything in that damn letter." he said as he pulled it out of his pocket. "It was all true. Because, guess what? I am insanely obsessed with you. The mere thought of losing you over this stupid ass plan destroyed me. Just ask any of the guys, I was a mess after you left."

"Obviously, you were acting and-"

"Love, I wasn't faking that. I told them the truth right away."

"Oh." you nodded your head slowly. "Just so you know, it did break my hurt refusing to marry you."

He smiled warmly, coming closer to you. "I know, and I'm sorry baby."

Your tears came back in your eyes as you pulled him in your embrace. "Don't fucking make me do this again."

"I won't, I promise."

He pulled away from you and wiped your tears with the hem of his sleeve. "While we're at it." he breathed out.

You observed him as he did the same motion as earlier that day. Putting a knee down, he took out the same box as he stared right back at your teary eyes.

"This is all sincere, I promise. I can't express how much you mean to me and I can't imagine a life where you are not by my side." he said before opening the little box, exposing the shining ring. "Will you marry me?"

"Fuck yes." you sobbed out.

He got up instantly before crashing his lips onto yours. You wrapped your arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. It had a hint of saltiness because of your tears, but it only added to how meaningful it was.

"I love you too." you cried out while he put the ring around your finger. "But I hate you so fucking much."

"I know, baby."

#stray kids #stray kids x reader #stray kids fanfic #stray kids imagines #stray kids requests #stray kids seungmin #kim seungmin #kim seungmin x reader #kim seungmin imagines #kim seungmin fanfic

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howdoyouwhiskit · 7 months ago

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I’ve created a polycule with the help of the minds of @greghatecrimes and @vexedconfidant that exists within a Kutner lives and Amber lives AU and I want to share it all with you. The vibes are as follows:

"this is park and park's girlfriend chase, and his boyfriend foreman, and foreman's boyfriend taub, and taub's boyfriend kutner. and kutner is qpps with park! oh, kutner is also qpps with amber, who's sort of a thing but not a thing with thirteen, and thirteen is qpps with foreman."

No one is straight and barely anyone is cis and it’s lovely and nonsensical. Oh also Hilson is there!

Thank you for your time have a wonderful day.

#hate crimes md #house md #chi park #robert chase #eric foreman #chris taub #lawrence kutner #amber volakis #remy thirteen hadley #park/chase #chark #unfortunately that’s the ship name #choreman #foretaub #taubman #taubner #foreteen #hilson #ppth nonsensical polycule

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pluralfuture · 5 months ago

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Happy Pride! To (coincidentally) celebrate, here's the next part in my series inspired by @thisbelongsto-nohbodys 's AU. This time, with a focus on a soft moment between the two new girlfriends and the consequences of their actions when exploring that tomb. Also, please feel free to give constructive criticism.

CW: Just fluffy shipping nonsense in this one

The Consequences of Our Actions

Lily flopped backwards onto her bed, sighing softly. While Mae Anne had been more happy that Lily was alright than angry Lily had gone into an ancient unknown tomb in search of adventure, that hadn't meant Anne hadn't been angry at all. And so, after she and Azura had confessed their feelings for one another, Anne had come in and informed them that any dating would have to wait as Lily was grounded. And so, that led to Lily's current mood. Bored out of her mind.

A knock came from the door, and Lily heard her Mom Sasha's voice. “Lilypad? Mind if I come in?”

“Sure.” Lily said, counting whatever she could find on her ceiling.

Sasha entered the room and sat by her eldest daughter on the bed. “Hey. How are you holding up?”

Lily shrugged. “Fine.” It was a white lie. She had been having the occasional nightmare, but Lily didn't think it was that big a deal. So what if she woke up in a cold sweat, covering her mouth so she didn't scream in the middle of the night? To her, that was nothing compared to nearly dying. Sasha, however, knew something was bothering Lily, and didn't share her opinion.

“Lily,” Sasha spoke carefully, trying not to go full psychologist on her daughter, “look, I can tell something is bugging you. You might see it as minor, but believe me, it's not so minor that I can't notice.”

“Yeah, but it's your job to notice if little things are wrong.” Lily replied with a slight eye roll. “Look, if I think it's a big enough problem to tell you, I will, Mom. I promise.”

Sasha sighed slightly through her nose but nodded. She knew that she had to get Lily to open up, either to her or someone else, before it got that bad. But she also knew better than to push this. “Okay. Just remember, you're never alone.” Sasha gave her daughter a soft kiss on the forehead and got up, leaving the room and closing the door behind her

Taking a deep breath, she went to the kitchen, where Anne was currently deciding what to make for dinner. “Anne, we should invite Azura over.” She spoke bluntly. Anne turned around with a raised eyebrow.

“What? Sash, I get Lily may be bored, but she's grounded. That means no girlfriend. Either going out to see her or her coming over. If she really wants to speak to Azura, she's allowed to call.” Anne said, turning back to the fridge.

“Anne, Lily's going through something. Something bad. But she probably thinks it's not as bad as nearly dying, so she's bottling it. She won't open up to me, and I doubt she'll just open up over the phone.” Sasha sighed. “Look, I just… we need to get on this before it becomes something she tells us about.”

Anne turned around with a frown. “You think the encounter with that armour messed her up that bad?”

“I can tell when someone's not sleeping as much as they should.” Sasha said simply.

Anne sighed. “Alright. I'll invite Luz and Amity over, let them know to bring Azura.”

Sasha pulled her wife into a soft embrace. “Hey. Lily will be fine, okay?” She softly pecked Anne on the lips. “Trust me, it's not always good to be a stern parent.”

Anne nodded and kissed her wife back, stepping out of the embrace and pulling out her phone. “You have a degree in this stuff, so I'll trust your judgment.” She said with a soft smile, dialing Luz's number.

It was only about an hour before the Noceda-Blights arrived, their travel time helped thanks to Mr. X working with Amity to create more portals between dimensions, including more portals to the Isles. Anne answered the door. “Hey, thanks for coming on such short notice. I ordered some pizza, so that should be here soon.”

Luz smiled. “No problem. Always happy to visit.” She said, entering with Amity.

Azura followed behind them, more nervous than she usually was. This was her first time entering the Boonchuy household as Lily's girlfriend. When her Mama had told her they were headed over for dinner, Azura could only assume Lily's moms wanted to have the “You're dating our daughter” talk.

Sasha approached the witchling as Luz and Amity made their way to the living room. “Azura, thanks for coming with your folks.”

“N-No problem.” Azura stammered, now realizing how muscular Sasha was, hoping she would never anger the older woman enough to know what it felt like to feel how muscular she was.

Sasha placed a hand softly on Azura's shoulder. “Hey, no need to be nervous.” Sasha said softly, with a warm smile. “Trust me, you have nothing to worry about.” Sasha's smile faded. “Though, I did ask for you to come for a serious reason.”

Azura looked up, confused. “A serious reason?”

Sasha took a deep breath. “Something's bothering Lily. She's not sleeping enough, and I think it may be nightmares about that thing you two encountered the other day.”

Azura's eyes widened. “Wh-What? Is she okay?” Worry instantly took over her voice.

“She says she's fine, and she'll tell us if she stops feeling fine, but if she's the way she is right now, I'd rather she not get worse.” Sasha explained. “She won't talk to her moms, so… I figured her girlfriend might be able to help.”

Azura nodded, and went to head to Lily's room, but Sasha gave her a gentle pull. “Let her open up on her own. Don't force it. That could just end up causing you two to fight.” Sasha advised, before heading to the living room.

Azura took a deep breath and headed to Lily's room, knocking on the door. Aftering receiving verbal confirmation from Lily to enter, Azura did just that, closing the door behind her.

Lily shot up into a sitting position with wide eyes and a slight blush on her cheeks. “A-Azura?”

Azura smiled softly, a blush reaching her own cheeks as she sat by Lily. “Your moms invited us over for dinner.” She said, answering Lily's unasked question. Azura gently took Lily's hand in her own, interlocking their fingers.

The two sat there silently, blushes on their faces and barely able to make eye contact for more than a few seconds at a time. Lily was the first to break the silence.

“S-So how's school?” She asked awkwardly.

“Oh, um, good. Good. Keeping me busy.” Azura responded. “You?”

Lily sighed softly. “I'm passing, at least.”

Azura nodded. Another long stretch of silence followed.

“Um… so, this is… a lot different now that we're dating, huh?” Lily asked with an awkward chuckle.

Azura laughed softly. “Yeah. Yeah, it really is.”

“It just feels like-”

“-there's a lot that went unsaid for too long, and now-”

“-we have no idea how to say it all.”

The two looked at each other and laughed softly, falling backwards on the bed and looking at each other.

“Titan, we're just as much of gay disasters as our moms, huh?” Azura chuckled softly.

Lily let herself laugh too. “I guess we are.” Lily moved closer to Azura, closing her eyes and placing her head on Azura's shoulder, causing Azura to blush at the close physical contact. “I'm… I'm glad you're here.” Lily admitted in a whisper.

Azura looked at Lily and gently tilted her head so it was resting on Lily's. “I'll always be there when you need me. I promise.” Azura whispered back. She unwove her hand from Lily's, only to wrap her arm around Lily's torso, gently holding the blonde girl close.

Lily positioned herself so she could wrap her arms around Azura's waist, gently squeezing. “I… I keep having nightmares.” Lily admitted, tears forming at the corners of her eyes, even as they were closed. “That… that thing breaks out, but… but it always ignores me. It goes right for you. I… I try to help you, b-but my body won't move. And… and then… then it… it…” Lily's breaths were shaky, as she tried not to cry. She felt a gentle touch on her chin, and she opened her eyes and looked up, seeing Azura with tears in her own eyes.

“I… I can't promise I'll always be safe. But I promise you, Lily, that it'll never be your fault if I get hurt.” Azura gently touched her forehead to Lily's as the pair closed their eyes, taking comfort in each other's presence. While they couldn't say if they'd always be alright, they knew they could say that they'd always face anything life threw at them together.

On the Isles, the stone door to an ancient tomb was slowly pushed open by the tomb's sole inhabitant…

#azura noceda #lily boonchut #lizura #anne boonchuy #sasha waybright #sashannarcy #luz noceda #amity blight #lumity #the owl house #amphibia #thisbelongsto nohbodys #and if you want to know where marcy is #she's in the middle of a crunch for her webcomic

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ilikereadingthisiswhatilike · 1 year ago

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Abby Anderson

(X) = Smut

Anderson’s Anatomy @ourautumn86 Summary: You wake up next to the girl you’d met the night before. but what would happen once you get to your new job and discover you’d just fucked your boss? Warnings: Implied Sex Special Tag: Doctor

It's Tough To Be A Mom @sapphicsentbycyberlife Summary: Abby gets called to the office at your son Peter's school after he gets into a fight and she almost gets into a fight of her own. Warnings: Homophobia Specials Tags: Mom Abby

it’s all a game to me anyway @@xo-cori (X) Summary: it's a hot summer day and Ellie makes a quick stop at the loneliest of gas stations. When you think you'll melt under the heat, Ellie proves herself as a different alternative. Warnings: None Special Tag: Hocky

quick fix @atomicami (X) Summary: You’ve had to abide by your dad’s rule to stay away from Jerry’s daughter, Abby. you follow along at first, but when your TV stops working on the day you’re hosting a movie night, you might have to break that rule. Warnings: None Special Tag: Rival AU

New Gods @sweetercalypso (X) Summary: The first time Abby meets seraphite!reader, she shows her mercy. The second time they meet, reader repays her kindness Warnings: None Special Tag: Public Sex

𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 @loaksky (X) Summary: Abby’s recuperating from a rocky relationship. tending to you more than once has gotta be fate. Warnings: None Special Tag: Paramedic AU

Stains On Her Hoodie Sleeves @sapphicsentbycyberlife (X) Summary: Abby didn't know her roommate was a camgirl. But once she finds out, it becomes something of an obsession. Warnings: None Specials Tags: Cam Girl AU, Dirty

Secret @ownedbyfictionalwomen (X) Summary: When you're stressed out of your mind and turning into a little bit of a brat, your girlfriend puts you back in your place... Warnings: None Specials Tags: None

Surprise Visit @atomicami (X) Summary: After your first encounter with Abby, she’s all that��s on your mind Warnings: None Specials Tags: Muilti Chapter

46-58 @ourautumn86 (X) Summary: Abby loses her match, and when her frustration takes the best of her, she takes it out on you. Warnings: Rough Sex Specials Tags: Sports AU

Crystal champagne glasses @elsweetheart (X) Summary: When reader, the millionaires daughter can’t help but misbehave — Abby the no nonsense bodyguard is hired to live in the mansion. Warnings: None Specials Tags: Bodygaurd AU, Dirty

High Strung @hier--soir (X) Summary: Abby has seemed distracted in your sessions as of late. when you discover why, you help to ease some of her tension. Warnings: Homophobia Specials Tags: Airplane AU

Red Eye @pawnshopbleus (X) Summary: After a horrible encounter with a passenger, Abby helps you feel better. Warnings: Homophobia Specials Tags: Personal Trainer Au

The perfect fit @atomicami (X) Summary: It’s the start of your new job working for Armani as a fashion designer, and your first assignment is to design and create a suit for an upcoming runway event. despite the fact that you can’t stand your chosen model, you also can’t help but find her very attractive too. Warnings: None Specials Tags: Fashion Au

Burning Desire @prettyinsophie (X) Summary: With Abby away at some party and your body aching and asking for release, you can’t help but touch yourself while pretending it’s your roommate. Warnings: None Specials Tags: Roommate Au

Drunken Night @absdoll (X) Summary: Abby bouncing around a party, drunk off god knows how many vodka seltzers. She can’t help but notice how good you look dancing by yourself to the loud music. Warnings: None Specials Tags: College Au

comfort crowd @atomicami (X) Summary: you’ve been dating your boyfriend for 2 years now, until all of a sudden he starts to act differently around you. one night, you come over to his place to see him, only to discover that he’s out cheating on you with another girl. as a result, you receive comfort from the person you’d least expect—his mother. Warnings: Cheating Specials Tags: Milf Abby

Post workout pump @rottenblur (X) Summary: Your gym rat Tinder date isn’t one to not kiss on the first date, a coffee date is much more interesting with her. Warnings: None Specials Tags: Public Sex

Midnight Girls @vintagebbysworld (X) Summary: You meet Abby on the dance floor where you both completely devour each other, knowing you could never leave one another again. Warnings: Sexual Tension Specials Tags: None

vengeance @atomicami (X) Summary: You’re tired of dealing with your boyfriend’s awful habits. when he ends up crossing the line with you one day, you decide to get back at him, and your not-so-innocent roommate has the perfect way to do it. Warnings: Cheating Special Tag: Video Sex

Little lamb @mizukiramman (X) Summary: You need to let go of your sins and repent, but only reverend mother Abigail can help you with that. Warnings: Religion Special Tag: Cult Au, Dark, Dirty

Tripping Over @nyctophiliq (X) Summary: “a glass full of tension, tips over in time” Warnings: None Special Tag: Dom Reader

Meant to be yours @nyctophiliq (X) Summary: “YOU CARVED OPEN MY HEART, CAN’T JUST LEAVE ME TO BLEED.” Warnings: Toxic Relationship Special Tag: Jock Au, Dark

Watcher @consciousblogworld (X) Summary: You wanted to wait for her to get off patrol. Warnings: None Special Tag: Voyeurism

Hers @dungeonpuppykai (X) Summary: After trying to fight it for as long as you could remember, it was in the moment her life dangled between your fingers did you realize that Abby, your captor and perpetrator was also your savior. In her own ugly and twisted way. Warnings: Dub Con, Stockholm Syndrome Special Tag: Dark

So Pretty @hybridirl (X) Summary: your dad’s co-worker is sooo cute! you hadn’t seen her in so long! tonight, a dinner is happening with his team! you just have to hurry up and get dressed, because she just caught you nakeyyyy. Warnings: Cheating Special Tag: Age Gap

Baby I'm Yours @sweetcyberangel (X) Summary: When your friends leave you stranded at a club you find yourself in the helpful hands of the club's bouncer, who - by the way - is super hot and definitely your type Warnings: Drinking Special Tag: Muitly Part

Voyer @k3n-dyll (X) Summary: You catch Abby masturbation and decide to watch. Warnings: None Special Tag: Voyerism, Dom Reader

YOUR WOMAN @r3starttt (X) Summary: Abby is beyond exhausted and your needy. Warnings: None Special Tag: None

Baby, I'm yours @sweetcyberangel Summary: When your friends leave you stranded at a club you find yourself in the helpful hands of the club's bouncer, who - by the way - is super hot and definitely your type Warnings: None Special Tag: Mulity Chapter

Outback @catfernn (X) Summary: the night shift at a remote petrol station sounded like easy double pay. but nights get lonely. you've gotta find something to keep yourself entertained. Warnings: None Special Tag: Trucker Au

The Wolf and the Prophet @burnednotburied Summary: Abby goes looking for Owen and ends up on the wrong end of your knife. Warnings: Cult-like Ideas, Blood, Injury Special Tag: Slow Burn, Muilty Chapter

I hope your daddy doesn’t own a gun @tookthe-405 (X) Summary: Your dads friend enjoy spending time with you. Warnings: None Special Tag: Milf Abby

Million Dollar Baby @stars-for-circe Summary: Abby takes you shopping. Warnings: None Special Tag: Sugar Mommy

Cold @joliettes (X) Summary: it hits you after a couple of years being happily married to Abigail Anderson, the daughter of the most infamous man on the countryside. that maybe it wasn’t happiness, and that maybe she’s hiding something from you. Warnings: Violence, Guns, Cheating Special Tag: Cowboy AU

MilkOfTheSiren @skywalkerslvt Summary: Drink from the leche of sirens, Summon the sailors in town. Warnings: None Special Tag: Siren AU Abby Anderson

Good luck, babe! @starless-nightz (X) Summary: Your boyfriend has been cheating on you. when you confront the woman he’s been seeing, she offers you a proposition. Warnings: Cheating Special Tag: Collage AU

My dearest @cranberryjuice-posts Summary: Abby expressing her love for her new life with her wife and their soon to be child. Warnings: None Special Tag: Pregnancy

Ice Hockey @cranberryjuice-posts Summary: She’s the star player, hell practically the star of campus. And you are here girlfriend. Warnings: None Special Tag: None

Firefighter @andersonfilms Summary: You are in love with a Firefighter Warnings: None Special Tag: None

at the ranch @st4rrydr34ms (X) Summary: Save a horse ride a cowgirl Warnings: None Special Tag: None

I need you @sadslay(X) Summary: the first time you saw abby was when her and her people came to the seattle Warnings: None Special Tag: None

Tell your Girlfriend @juneberrie Summary: abby saves you from a creepy guy at the bar Warnings: None Special Tag: None

THE PAIN OF PRETENDING @obsessedwrhys Summary: Where your relationship with Abby is hidden because of your religious parents. Warnings: religious trauma, child abuse (emotional and physical, mental illness, Special Tag: Vampires AU

One That Got Away @xan-genius Summary: None Warnings: None Special Tag: None

Decisions @cxrdycxps Summary: None Warnings: None Special Tag: None

you told me your new man don’t make you nut, that’s a damn shame. @seraphicsentences (X) Summary: Abby is in denial Warnings: Cheating Special Tag: Mutli-Chapter

Slut @ch-4-eri (X) Summary: You and your best friend Abby were having a girls night of some sort Warnings: None Special Tag: None

don't fuck your coworkers @untitledgf-pdf (X) Summary: you're a server and abby is a line cook Warnings: None Special Tag: None

Fri(end)s @ch-4-eri (X) Summary: People say there's no such thing as a friendship between an alpha and an omega Warnings: None Special Tag: Omegaverse, Multi-chapter

Tolerate It —. @space-cowgirllll Summary: You sit alone at the table wondering how you ended up here. Warnings: Angst Special Tag: Muilt Part

Right where you left me @space-cowgirllll Summary: None Warnings: None Specials Tags: Major Angst

#x reader #reading fanfiction #reading list #reading recommendations #fanfic recommendation #abby anderson x reader #abby x reader #abby the last of us #abby anderson #abby tlou

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blondeboyfriend · 1 year ago

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𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐒

[ PAIRING ] (freckle) Ymir x f!reader [ AUTHOR'S NOTE ] Another repost, but I kinda "remastered" it in a sense. [ SYNOPSIS ] uhhh idk I just wanted to write a gay skateboard romance lol. [ WORD COUNT ] 2k [ CONTENT ] Modern AU, fluff with low stakes conflict, established relationship, drugs (marijuana), Ymir's skater friends are the worst, mild injuries.

The harsh sunlight shined behind Ymir, creating a halo around her body. She stood over you as you writhed on the concrete cradling your knee.

“I thought you said I wouldn’t need knee pads,” you groaned.

She bit her lip trying to hold back a deluge of laughter. You could tell she was struggling.

“I could not have rolled up here with my girlfriend in fuckin’ knee pads.” She gestured towards a pack of sweaty boys passing around a limp cigarette. “They’d never let me live it down.”

You rolled onto your back and stared at the sun. Those boys were the bane of your existence since you started dating Ymir. Everywhere she went they trailed after her, smelling like piss and malt liquor. She was the worst iteration of the pied piper.

“What if I really hurt myself?”

“Oh come on, you’re fine.”

“No I’m not! I’m bleeding! Look!”

You rolled up your jeans and revealed a huge strawberry scrape encompassing the entirety of your knee cap.

“That’s nothing. Check this out.”

Ymir unzipped her shorts and pulled them down revealing her bare ass which was engulfed with a purple bruise.

“Oh my god!”

“Cool, right?”

“What? No!”

“Oh my god. Relax.”

One of the boys wolf whistled at the sight of Ymir’s behind. You rolled your eyes, hoping she would call them out but she didn’t. Ymir never did. She was too preoccupied with coming off as legit among her skater friends. Anytime you mentioned how awful they were she brushed it off. That’s just how they were; there was no changing them. You knew she had a point but it seemed asinine to deal with their nonsense regardless.

“‘Mir, lemme get a piece of that.”

“Nah, I’ve been fuckin’ your mom. It’d be weird.”

You rolled your eyes again, a common occurrence on your behalf when she pandered to them. They brought out the worst in Ymir. Her playful teasing turned into cruelty, she was prone to ignore you in favor of entertaining them, and she rarely came to your defense. Often you wondered why you still pursued her, why you so desperately wanted her to be your girlfriend. But anytime you’d think about ending it moments of her kindness reared their heads.

“Bend your knees. No, like bend your knees.”

You lowered yourself into a deep squat on the board, grinning like doofus.

“Am I doing it right? I feel like I am. I played a lot of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3,” you said, knowing full well you were acting a fool.

Ymir ran her fingers through her chestnut brown locks and laughed. Her laughter was your drug. Nothing made you happier than getting her to crack up. Her whole body laughed. Tears welled up in her eyes. She was prone to wheezing. A snort tended to rear its ugly head when she was truly on the verge of going insane because of your buffoonery. Sometimes she’d even keel over.

You loved how she’d smack on the back and tell you, “You’re a real one, you know that?”

A real one. Words that only mattered when they fell from her lips. Ymir had that gift, that power. She was able to disarm you with her sincerity. You would’ve never expected someone as harsh as her could be so sweet.

You hoisted yourself off the board and kissed her cheek.

“Oh come on, kiss me for real,” she crooned.

She cupped your face and her soft lips met yours as her tongue parted your lips. You wrapped your arms around her neck and clung to her. Her breath was sweet and tasted like Arizona Peach Tea. Her hands wandered down your back and lingered on your ass. She squeezed hard enough that you yelped. Ymir laughed through the kiss.

“Too much?” she asked.

You looked down at your sneakers unsure what your answer was. You liked her a lot, more than any of the dumb boys you “dated” in high school. None of them could compare to Ymir. Ymir, who cared about your pleasure, who appreciated how spirited you were, who thought you were the smartest person in any given room. The two of you were enraptured with each other. It was as cliché as could be: time stopped, angels sang, the whole deal.

“If we weren’t in public, I’d say not enough,” you said, resting your head on her shoulder.

She tightened her hug and you melted in her arms. Ymir was safety personified. A beacon of light in a sea of melancholic boredom. Life had been so uneventful until the day she serendipitously rolled by you, giving you a wink as she faded into the distance.

“You’re so fuckin’ boring sometimes,” she mused. “Let’s go get high.”

“Can we get pizza and boba after?”

“No, we can’t,” she said bluntly.

“Ymir!”

You playfully punched her in the arm. While your hand was in reach she grabbed a hold of it and pulled you into her embrace. She peppered your face with kisses as you tried to figure out if you wanted pizza or boba first.

You sat on a metal bench, your feet resting on your board. Nursing your knee became your number one priority. It throbbed endlessly and you managed to bleed through multiple bandages and your jeans. Learning how to skate could wait. Having a moment to yourself, away from those idiots, Ymir included, was the only way you’d stay sane. To add insult to injury every last one of them made fun of you for holding your board by its trucks.

“Nice mall grab,” one of them bellowed. “Where you get your board from? Abercrombie and Fitch?”

“They got it at the Vans store,” one snickered.

“Nah! Macy’s, bro!”

“They’re mom gave them a gift certificate to the Hallmark Store.”

None of them were particularly clever. You looked around for Ymir, hoping for some backup but she was far away. Her little brown head disappeared as she dropped into the bowl.

“Fuck off! Go wash your asses,” you yelled.

The boys erupted into a cacophony of comments regarding how you carried your board. A deluge of “your mom” jokes rushed over you, leaving you drenched in male insecurity.

“Asshole. Mall grab?” you muttered to yourself. “The fuck does it matter?”

You wanted to ask Ymir if there was an actual reason for mall grabbing being maligned. Would the trucks loosen over time if you continuously held it like that? Or was it merely a status thing? Was there a way to indicate you weren’t some poser that decided they wanted to skate after seeing three seconds of Bob Burnquist do a fakie 900.

Ymir skated over and kicked her board into the grass. She sat down across from you with a thump and exhaled.

“You good?” she asked, her voice tinged with concern.

“Not really.”

“What ha—”

“What’s wrong with a mall grab?”

She snickered as she put her hair up in a messy ponytail.

“I mean, nothing. It’s credibility shit.”

You sighed.

“What?” Her tone was pointed.

“I hate those guys you hang out with,” you said under your breath.

Ymir turned her body towards yours. Her brow was sweaty and her cheeks were flushed. The sun brought out the freckles that danced along her cheeks and nose. She plucked at the grass while struggling to hold your gaze.

“They’re my best friends, my ride or dies.”

“Tell your mom to eat my fucking dick cheese, dude,” one yelled as he cracked his board in two.

You rolled your eyes and stared at the blue sky as little wisps of white clouds floated by.

“Why do you hang out with them?”

Ymir took out a joint and lit it. She passed it to you and continued to pull grass out of the ground.

“I’ve known them for, like, ever.”

“And?” you asked, growing slightly annoyed. You at least hoped she had a good reason to subject herself to their antics.

You took a hearty drag on the joint and held the smoke in your lungs.

“I don—I don’t know who I am without them.”

You coughed, spittle flying onto the sidewalk.

“What?” you asked, trying to fight off the urge to shriek your question.

You passed her the joint eager to get the smoke away from you. You felt like your lungs were on fire, like you had embers smoldering inside you. She took a hit and went to hand it back to you but you shook your head erratically, still struggling to breath.

“I—I just—I’ve been friends with them for so long. I’ve known Lil Tony since I was six.”

She pointed at one of the nicer boys. Lil Tony was actually cordial towards you and thought it was pretty cool you wanted to learn how to skate. However he still relished in poking fun at you just like the others.

“I was always so nervous around other girls so I kinda, I don’t know, fell in with these dumb asses because it felt… safe? Nah. Not safe, comfortable. I didn’t need to impress them.”

Ymir ended her sentence with a rather large puff off the joint. She held it to your face for you, beckoning you to take a drag.

“You felt like you had to impress girls?” you said, taking a hit.

“Shut up!” She tossed a handful of grass at you. “I was so fuckin’ closeted. I could not function around girls. I was either like ‘I’m in love with her’ or ‘oh god she’s gonna think I’m a weirdo that's in love with her’. I policed my shit so bad. I was so mean to girls because I didn’t want them to think I was some predator because I was being nice.”

Ymir brushed some of the grass off of you. She could be so fucking tender sometimes.

“I feel it. I’m always terrified of coming off as perv when I talk to girls,” you said, handing her the joint.

“Yeah?”

“Oh yeah. It’s even worse if I’m actually interested romantically.”

“Exactly,” she rasped after taking a hit.

The boys turned towards the both of you and hollered, “’Mir, come skate! Don’t be a nerd!”

“Eat shit,” she yelled, a huge grin on her face. She was practically glowing.

“I felt so weird chasing after you,” you confided.

“You woulda looked insane chasing after me down that hill even if you were a guy.”

“You winked at me!”

Ymir erupted into a fit of giggles.

“That’s all it took. A wink?”

You brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

“Yup.”

You leaned in and kissed her, your lips lingering on hers.

“You wanna ditch this fuckers?”

You pulled away from her, nearly jumping up as if you’d been electrocuted. Quickly you grabbed your board by the deck. You were so ready to ditch them.

“Let’s go, slow poke,” you rallied.

Ymir got up and rustled your hair.

“I love the way you’re holdin’ it, but we’re skating out of here.”

You gulped. “I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“C’mon. What’s the point of having a board if you don’t ride it?”

You groaned.

“I didn’t get you one to carry around,” she teased, her tone more flirtatious than ever.

“Fine,” you finally acquiesced.

“We’ll get to the taqueria faster this way.”

You both hopped on your boards and cautiously skated past Ymir’s friends.

“Ay,” Lil Tony called out, “good job ditching the mall grab. I actually mean that! I’m not bein’ a douche!”

Your face grew warm. You couldn’t care less about what they thought of you but the acknowledgment from Lil Tony was a nice surprise.

“See ya, Tone,” Ymir yelled.

Balance blessed you. Somehow you managed to stay upright on your board and you navigated curbs with ease. Ymir was blushing the whole time, clearly loving your confidence. You passed the joint back and forth as you skated through the city, keeping an eye out for cops.

“So who’s paying?” you asked as you rolled up to the taqueria.

“Me obviously,” Ymir mumbled as she dug through her fanny pack for her debit card. “I owe you.”

“For what?” you pondered, playing dumb.

“Making you hang around those dicks and not being the best girlfriend. I hope I can, I—I don’t know, redeem myself.”

You held open the door and smiled. The smell of freshly made corn tortillas overcame you.

“You’re well on your way, Ymir.”

#ymir x reader #ymir aot x reader #aot fluff #snk fluff #attack on titan fluff #shingeki no kyojin fluff #ymir aot fluff #x reader #reader insert #.fics #.aot #.ymir

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spinaroos-47 · 2 years ago

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It’s the kiddos!

These four are kingdings fankids me and @bernardo-draws-and-cries have had for a while (as in, Bethany and Lancer exist since 2016, Belle and Aster since 2017). I decided to do some small redesigns for them!

Or for their humanized forms, at least. It’s been 7 years and I don’t feel comfortable in delving on their more canon accurate versions (Bê has them)

They’re part of an au we have together, HCWT, they also appear on other aus that we’ve delved into in the many years of kingdings brainrot we had. But HCWT is their main place. That being said, there is a lot of stuff that is muddy/vague since it’s such an old au that we haven’t touched in a few years, and also we’ve done so many iterations of it that it’s hard to know what is canon now. I’m going to be kinda basing it on the original fanfic we had for it for a lot of the basic stuff. (it was written in portuguese so not super accessible for most people reading this)

More information on them below the read more

They all have font names, I’m still surprised that I managed to find fonts for Bethany and Belle after they were created (Bethany Script and La Belle Aurore respectively)

Also they all appear in different ages in the au(s), these are just the most seen ones. Bethany also is shown a lot when she’s five, and both Belle and Aster when they’re older. Sometimes also they are in different age order and stuff, but I’m just going to talk about the HCWT version on the ages shown here. There’s a lot of old stuff for a lot of the other aus in my artblog that i never shown here, This blog actually was originally an ask blog for an underfell au where only Aster and Belle existed.

- Bethany is the oldest, both in creation order and in universe. Her childhood is a bit of a muddy area since we haven’t touched that part of the au in a while, but for now, she was born a few years before the pacifist ending happens. In HCWT we have her being the next one in line for running human-monster deals after Asgore retires from that, I don’t really see Asriel or Chara being too excited to do that, but she’s pretty up for the task.

(Chara and Asriel are brought back in the au also)

She’s a pretty no nonsense kind of person, but she lets herself be a goof around her sibilings, friends and nibilings/cousins (thats a worm hole im not willing to deal with right now). She also has a best friend called Daniel, not pictured here, and she’s a bit of the voice of reason of the two, but she’s often part of the shenanigans. They end up living together a while after.

Very strong also, took it after Asgore, could lift all her sibilings + Gaster all at once.

- Lancer is a bit funny to share with people after Deltarune released, I’m still a bit shocked at this coincidence. Not a lot of what he does is set in stone, a pretty wild card in this sense. Nice, kind kid, helps a lot on Asgore’s flower shop after school and on weekends. He’s blind and got a guide dog named Jack, which does end up being how he meets his girlfriend Berry, who was working as a volunteer when he went to get Jack. I got a very soft spot for him, he’s just a little guy, sunshine impersonated.

- Belle is a big book worm since small, it came from a way to pass the time when she can’t do much physically demanding things, like Aster does. So she spends a lot of time with Gaster, becoming a bit of an assistant to him as she gets older. And while she does look and act pretty chill most of the time, she is an anger bomb, very short tempered. Scary angry little goat-skele. Years later she begins dating a human named Barbara.

- Aster! My baby boy! Liddle man! I love him so much. He’s a very athletic kid, loves sports, grows up to be a manlet, almost a himbo, but he’s pretty smart. They love each other, but he and Belle are the two most likely to butt heads around the house, being the two most hot headed ones in there. He also begins dating some years down the line, with a spider mosnter named Epaminondas (Epa for short).

This is just the tip of the iceberg of HCWT, there’s a lot more in it, but I wanted to focus on these four lil fellas :] Probably not going to share much more stuff about it, if at all here, but this was fun to revisit!

#kingings #kingdings fankid #undertale fankid #undertale #hcwt #bethany #lancer hcwt #belle #aster #i usually dont tag them with their full name but they all have dreemur-gaster as their last names #my art #seek the queue fear the brit #long post

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canniba1cl0wn · 2 years ago

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Do you have any Ravenous (1999) headcanons? 👀

YES I HAVE A FEW!!! Honestly I’m more the type of person who clings to all the actual facts of the characters but let’s see…

1. I think Boyd is more drawn to the consumption of human blood than actual human flesh. He was created by blood and only really seems to slip in his resolve to not become a cannibal when he is confronted with fresh blood. Not to say he’s a vampire but I could definitely see him being more partial to raw flesh like his fantasy with murdering Cleaves. (I did get this idea from a fanfic tho so you can’t give me credit for it but ITS SO SMART!!!)

2. Toffler is smart and calculated. He may have a speech impediment and have a good moral code but that makes him the target of a lot of ableism. When people make demeaning comments about him you can tell in his face he knows he’s being ridiculed but doesn’t fight back probably because in the past it never helped. He’s come to terms with people underestimating and looking down on him so he puts his dedication and resolve into his faith.

3. This comes from an Au I’m making rather than actual fact but I like to headcanon Reich as having albinism. I can see him putting on special sunscreen to protect his sensitive skin and having to wear strong reading glasses he might be a little insecure about due to his sensitive/diminished eyesight. (Also having to wear sunglasses whenever outside especially in the sun) but despite the challenges he faces he is STRONG!! Pushes himself to the limits in a way to maybe prove himself that he can do anything and everything he puts his mind to!

4. Cleaves and George are obviously a couple 🤨…. I do like Reich and Toffler too I think it’s cute.

5. MARTHA IS A GIRLBOSS LESBIAN!!! Every time I see the scene where cleaves and her go off for supplies and she makes her sly little joke of “no women” I can’t help but think she’s giggling to herself knowing she’s gonna woo some lady anyways. Also Martha deserves the best so why shouldn’t she get a girlfriend that treats her right after all this nonsense.

6. I think if Boyd actually gave in to Ives and the mystical cannibal ways he would absolutely NOT be shoved around be Ives anymore. Ives Will stay a devious little shit but Boyd is an immovable object to an unstoppable force. I think Boyd would keep Ives in line and be his under emotive autistic boyfriend to his ADHD high energy lover. (Coughs coughs ives is a power bottom/ Boyd is a gentle ish… top… idk I think Boyd gets a little revenge in the form of consensual intimacy cuz of his boyfriends crazy shenanigans in the beginning of their ‘relationship’)

OKAY… sorry that was long thats all I can think of for now. God I love these scrunklies<3

#ravenous 1999 #🩸🤡shitpost #ravenous #boyd/ives #captain john boyd #colonel ives #private toffler #private Reich #reich/toffler #I’m tagging cuz I want all the ravenous fans to see and gather so we can form our own cannibalism cult #George ravenous 1999 #private Cleaves #Martha ravenous 1999

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incorrectsibunaquotes · 2 years ago

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House of Anubis x Miraculous Ladybug AU

Okay hear me out because I’ve thought about this for a long time. It’s not a crossover fic so much as it’s what HOA would have been like if it were set in a Miraculous-like universe.

Quick overview for those who don’t know the mechanics of Miraculous Ladybug:

There are items of jewelry called Miraculouses, that grant whoever holds them powers to become heroes and/or villains. These powers come from the kwamis attached to the miraculouses.

Kwamis are like tiny, super-powerful immortal deities that take after animals in the world and who represent different abstract ideas about the universe (ie. creation, destruction, illusion, subjugation, etc.)

The Ladybug (creation) and Black Cat (destruction) miraculouses are the most powerful, and when combined together, grant the holder a wish. However, this wish comes with a disastrous consequence to keep the balance. So basically, only someone lacking a lot of empathy would ever want to commit such a selfish act.

The Butterfly Miraculous (transmission) is able to grant regular people powers to create temporary superheroes/supervillains through an “akumatized” object. However, in Miraculous Ladybug, this miraculous has been stolen and used for evil, preying on the negative emotions of the people of Paris to create destructive villains. Hawkmoth/Shadowmoth, the holder fo the butterfly, is using the miraculous to lure out the holders of the ladybug and black cat miraculouses so he can make the wish.

However, only the ladybug miraculous can purify an akuma and restore the damage caused by it.

Okay so now that we have the basics down, let’s get into the AU:

Nina Martin arrives at school to a pretty normal existence. Joy hasn’t disappeared, everyone’s either friendly or largely indifferent to her presence, but overall it’s pretty chill.

That is, until Nina runs into Sarah, who is spouting nonsense about a man who is about to attack the school and town at large to get the miraculouses. She rambles in about how the man with the butterflies mustn’t find her miraculous, and passes off the earrings of the ladybug to Nina.

Thinking she’s crazy, Nina accepts the earrings hesitantly and helps Sarah back to the nursing home. When she gets home, however, and actually looks at the earrings, a tiny kwami flies out and introduces herself as Tikki, the ladybug kwami. Once she calms Nina down, Nina accepts the miraculous and becomes a superhero. However, she must keep her identity a secret from everyone in the house.

Soon after this, a supervillain by the name of Metamorphosis akumatizes Mick Campbell into a villain after he gets angry with Alfie for making moves on his girlfriend.

Tikki explains her powers and also that she’s meant to have a partner in the black cat miraculous, but she senses it’s not active at the time. She assures Nina it’s okay though because the ladybug miraculous can cure any damage caused by the akumas.

So Nina transforms into the hero Ladybug and goes out to fight her akumatized housemate.

Understandably, everyone is freaking out because what the fuck is happening, why did Mick suddenly turn into a giant monster? However, Nina as Ladybug manages to defeat him and purify his akuma, restoring the damage done to the surrounding area and saving Mick.

Everyone is super in awe of Ladybug and she becomes a bit of a celebrity, but no one knows it’s secretly Nina.

Metamorphosis continues to terrorize the school and surrounding town, always sending his akumatized villains after the ladybug miraculous. He’s desperate to get his hands on the black cat too, but that miraculous remains at large.

A year passes, and Nina is growing closer with Fabian, and the two clearly like each other, but Nina can’t fully commit because she’s keeping such a massive secret.

Mara, Joy, and Patricia all run the school website that has become pretty much the Ladyblog, and it’s pretty well known around the world as the best source about Ladybug and the akumas, a site dedicated to theories, recaps, etc.

Up until now, we have no idea who Metamorphosis is, but Nina has a suspicion about Victor.

Eddie joins the school about a year after everything started going down, and is shocked when Victor calls him into his office and reluctantly hands him a box. Inside, is the black cat miraculous.

Victor explains that he knows Metamorphosis’ identity as Rufus Zeno, the former holder of the black cat miraculous. He confides that because the black cat and ladybug are two halves of the same whole, they’re meant to fight side by side.

When Eddie asks why him, Victor reveals that Rufus had once been the black cat, and Victor himself had been the holder of the butterfly and turtle miraculous. In Sarah-as-Ladybug’s final battle, Rufus turned on her and she was forced to defeat him in combat with Victor’s help. In the battle, Rufus managed to take Victor’s miraculous, but not before Sarah managed to take his. He escaped, though, and the black cat was given to Victor to take care of. For a while, Eric Sweet kept it safe, but eventually gave it back to Victor when he felt he wasn’t worthy.

Victor continues to use the Turtle miraculous which is why he hasn’t aged.

Now it falls to him, as he has all the makings of a true black cat. He explains he can’t tell anyone his identity, and he readily agrees.

“Who is Ladybug then? Do you know?”

“No. Sarah was forced to hide after her adopted brother turned on her. I have not spoken with her in many years. But she must have picked a worthy successor.”

Cue insane identity shenanigans bc Nina and Eddie are living under the same roof, are barely friends irl, trying to navigate their own relationships, while also having to avoid being sussed out by their housemates who run a blog dedicated to everything about their alter-ego, and also any time anyone in the area gets upset ever, there is a monster to fight.

There’s def more I could do with this AU, but here’s the barebones. Do with this what you will 🐞🐈‍⬛

#house of anubis #miraculous ladybug #tess rambles #house of anubis au #tess writes

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possumsandprose · 1 year ago

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🎄 it’s me again!!!! 🎄

so, to make sure me and my elves (I.e. my brain) can make you the most wonderful gift possible, I would absolutely love to know what you enjoy about elriel, and even what you’d like to see from them💜💙🖤

hello!!

oh gosh, what isn't to love. Personally, I'm all for forbidden romance, and above all, dark boyfriend/sunshine girlfriend. Those are the big two, but in terms of canon scenes they have together, I think my top 3 would be

the 'you came for me' scene in ACOWAR

Azriel giving Elain Truth Teller and the 'never in 500 years have I seen Azriel let someone else touch that knife' we love a man who breaks rules only for his girl

'can you truly fly' that whole dinner conversation in MAF. Not exactly an Elriel moment, more like just an interaction, but I still love it

In terms of what I'd like to see from them, I think that door is really wide open, both for canon texts and for fanfiction. I've read fics where Elain remains the quiet gardener she is in canon and she falls in love with Az anyway, and I've read some where Elain becomes a 'knife wife' as they are called and they do cool spy stuff together and defeat Koschei. And of course, I've seen the middle ground too. Personally I don't have a preference. The only big things for me are that I want to see more of Elain's powers described (this is assuming we're talking about a canon compliant fic that's more than just a one-shot, or ACOTAR 6), I don't want there to be a love triangle with Lucien or Gwyn (some angst and doubt is fine, heck it's even encouraged there's no pleasure without pain angst is very much fine by me but once one of them actually brings it up to the other, end of. None of this awkward "whom should I pick, whom do I love more" nonsense), and biggest of all, I don't want Elain changing her whole personality just for Azriel. If she stays as someone who prefers the finer things in life, and doesn't enjoy fighting like her sisters, great! If she does turn out to become a spy or a warrior or any of that, let it be because she wants to, not because of what a man (be it Az, Lucien, or literally anyone else) wants her to be.

Of course I'm kind of just rambling about what I want to happen in the next book, my range for fanfiction I'll read is open to pretty much everything. My favourite fics to read are the canon-compliant ones (or canon divergence, so like what if the bond snapped between them out of the cauldron, I have yet to find this but it's an interesting thought hehe), as well as any ancient or mythological AUs (as you can tell by what I've written). Not a huge fan of any modern AUs, including the high school/college ones or workplace.

Looking forward to whatever you create!

#possum answers #secret santa

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marshmallow--shark · 10 months ago

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.. I can't believe my girlfriend thought to pair these three together in a yan-harem.

#art of chrissie's twisted mind #Nonsensical girlfriend created au #Because this isn't actually them. This is Melty Candle Face. Dominic and Loppy #yandere #star trek

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gaybearwedding · 1 year ago

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OKAY SO. i made this post and then realized that i have no idea how to explain any of this in a way that makes sense to anyone other than me and my girlfriend BUT i am going to try <3 putting it under a readmore bc it got SO much longer than i anticipated

i think the most important things to know are:

1. i know they’re high schoolers in the show itself but i fully fleshed out their adult lives and i mostly think about them somewhere between the ages of 19 and 30. the actual show IS canon to me (and it means everything to me as an actual episode of an actual podcast) but as far as the world i’ve created it’s like. backstory. they are well and truly adults to me

2. my gf and i have come up with about five million timelines and AUs, many of which contradict each other. literally anything i can be canon if i want it to be. if it doesn’t fit into an established timeline i can just create a new one

3. matthew is NOT matthew to me. she is trans and she comes out in college and her name is em (short for emily but almost no one calls her that). she and alicia are lesbians #tome.

4. clark, spencer, and brian are in an absolutely insane love triangle that takes many different forms depending on the timeline. in the timelines that come after the actual show, spencer and clark go to college near each other and end up dating. sometimes they break up, sometimes they don’t, sometimes they break up and get back together. they’re usually pretty sweet and relatively well adjusted

5. brian and clark on the other hand? not well adjusted AT ALL. what i have done with these two is absolutely bonkers bc i always want more gay characters who are besties and don’t have feelings for each other. zach and jess gave me literally exactly that. and i said okay wait but hear me out. to me brian is catastrophically in love with clark and there are many different ways this could play out but if i started talking about that we’d be here all day

6. i didn’t really oc-ify xander and casey (the name i gave his friend) like i did with the other kids idk why. i love them in the actual show but they also make me a little sad so maybe i’m less inclined to think about them (not that i don’t think about the other characters in ways that make me sad. idk i contain multitudes or whatever)

also! here is some art i’ve done of what i think the characters look like :]

these were the initial designs that i did of what i think they look like in high school. as adults i think they all look relatively similar to this except that i think brian grows his hair out a little/is slightly less put together

i never got around to drawing a high school design for em and then i transed her gender so i didn’t really feel like drawing her as a “boy.” i do however have this drawing i did of her as an adult (i think she’s probably 25-26 here)

a couple of silly ones + the images that inspired them (first one is spencer and alicia, second is spencer clark and brian)

and some alicias bc she’s the one i’ve drawn the most :) i firmly believe she dresses up as miss frizzle for halloween at least once (the lizard is clark’s. her name is melon)

also here’s a few random details i came up with that are very dear to me:

-brian, em, and alicia are all autistic

-alicia gets a cat in college and names her poet, which is short for dead poets society 1989 dir. peter weir

-clark has some gender stuff going on and in most timelines i think he ends up using any pronouns

-em and alicia date in high school, break up, reconnect as adults, and become roommates post-college. they spend years pining and being stupid before eventually getting back together

-clark’s mom is a therapist (all of this nonsense is basically completely divorced from the actual podcast episode but i do think this one genuinely makes sense. i hear jess talk as clark and i’m like yeah that’s the child of a therapist for sure)

-alicia probably ends up converting to judaism as an adult (i am currently at the beginning stages of pursuing conversion so this is just blatant projection on my part)

this is so long and barely coherent and it’s still only the tip of the iceberg 😭 i love to be extremely normal about my interests <3 tysm for asking though it makes me happy

btw if anyone ever wants to hear about my insane oc-ified versions of the we object to fear characters PLEASE let me know i love to talk about them

#off book #wotf #this feels so vulnerable and embarrassing but i’m making myself post it anyway #i love to tell people about my interests. it’s a shame it requires actually telling people about my interests #i truly do not think this makes ANY sense if you’re not me or my gf #if you’ve seen the episode it actually probably makes less sense bc these are SO not the same characters #but y’know. i’m sharing lore about my ocs i suppose #anyone and everyone feel free to let me know if you want to know more

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alluringjae · 4 years ago

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until dawn - ljn

part I | part II

⤑ summary: basic number one rule of the museum is not to touch the art. but no one told jeno that falling for one of them isn’t allowed either.

⤑ pairing: jeno x female reader

⤑ word count: 14k

⤑ genre: fluff, humor, angst | broke architecture major!jeno, historical figure!reader, college!au

⤑ warnings: jaemin mentions onlyfans as a joke, references to actual historical figures (some try to flirt with jeno lol) and literature, explicit language

⤑ author’s note: wow, i’ve had this idea for almost two years! this one was inspired by one of my favorite childhood movies, night at the museum. it definitely required a lot of research and brainstorming, and finally i brought it to life! it was so fun to play around with the characters, and even if majority of them are real people, this is all still fiction.

i also wanna mention one of my moots, marge for enlightening me about her life as an architecture major.

⤑ taglist: @renjunniehome (dm me if you want to be added)

⤑ leave me some feedback, constructive criticism or hellos!

Dormitory rent was another thing to worry about aside from the inflated university tuition per semester. Although he’s lucky to have his parents backing him up already on it, paying the monthly rent for his dorm was the remaining objective on Jeno’s list.

Plus, money for food. The man was a heavy eater, following the whole “gym is life” mantra.

Splitting it already with two of his dorm mates turned best friends, Renjun and Jaemin, his plate felt lighter. But the question still lies: where on earth was he going to get the money?

He’s practically checked out every available part-timing job in university and anywhere near campus. Barista at the same café Jaemin works at, teaching assistant for an art school for kids, convenience store cashier, library assistant, all taken in a heartbeat. The burden of his friends paying his debt these past months took a toll on him, almost to the point he almost considered making an Onlyfans.

“Yah, just find something else! Part-timers are in demand right now!” Renjun intensely closed his laptop before his older friend gets any suggestive thoughts.

“I mean, you didn’t work out your body to look the way it is for nothing.” Jaemin pitched otherwise, lifting the front back up. “When do you want to start filming? Loads of chicks would dig a piece of you!”

The contradicting opinions of his friends were like the devil and angel debating on his shoulders. Useless, he gave this worry a rest and returned to drawing new plates. A common thing when you’re an architecture major. Those deadlines were nearing. Looks like he’ll pull another all-nighter again.

Good thing most of his classes were late in the morning until 6 pm.

As if someone from above heard his petition, Jeno saw a help wanted sign posted on the bulletin board outside of the university museum. He initially went there to document some artwork and architecture models from Greek and Roman times, further analyzing how they’re still apparent in modern buildings.

The sign explained the need for one part-timer from any college to cover the night shift of the museum due to the current night guard’s full semester absence. He only had to come in 3x a week, choosing his days since he was still a student. Even the pay was above average, considering that most part-timers never go beyond midnight. Jeno would, on the other hand, always staying for his projects or gaming with the boys. Drinking sometimes during late-night Fridays with his entire college crew.

The pay would leave him a load of extra cash for himself, thus he sent an application to the museum office right before he left. A week later, while he was out with the boys, he got a text from the office that they wanted to meet him again for a final interview first thing on Monday.

Perhaps it was having architecture as his course and a healthy physique that landed him the part-timer position. Mainly, the latter because guards required strong endurance and fighting skills when worse comes to worst. It would start at 9 pm until 6 am the following day, and there was a designated uniform of it too. Blue blazer with matching trousers, white dress top, and loafers.

Aside from the typical museum etiquette the head director instructed him about, there was an unofficial list of tips written on paper given from the night guard on leave when the director handed you over his box of office-related things.

Only read at the night guard office once you’re the remaining staff left.

He did as he was told like an obedient son, flipping the succeeding page.

To my temporary replacement,

This part-timing job is nothing regular than the other jobs. You’ll witness things as you’ve never imagined them to be, almost like witchcraft. You’ll be lost and maybe frightened, or that’s how I felt the first time because no one led me through it all those years ago. Lucky for you, I made this small guide on how to properly take care of the place that the other staff doesn’t know about.

Before you proceed, I request you take a 5-minute stroll around the lobby first to understand what I’m talking about. After such, go back to the office or somewhere quiet then browse through the guide as quickly as you could.

Art is timeless here, so they need to be taken care of.

Good luck!

Park Sanghoon

Night Guard on Leave

Nothing could’ve prepared Jeno for what’s to come once he unlocked the office door. They say that art brings so much color to our life, allowing us to feel all sorts of emotions in a glimpse. But no one ever interpreted art to be literally alive and walking in the halls.

Behold, random wax figures and marble sculptures that he’s seen in the past roamed the hallways, as well as the paintings were interacting with each other side by side. Even the standee of a puppy from the entrance played fetch with one of those sculptures. He swore he looked like Hermes the messenger god from his arrow headpiece and sandals.

It made more sense why the guard on leave explained his feelings during the first day because it resembled Jeno’s. But unlike that guard, Jeno sucked it up. No one ever does well on the first day, even if others say otherwise. The first day was a learning experience, so he collected his thoughts even though the goosebumps triggered his body during that one rotation.

There was an indoor garden, already locked by the day guard earlier. The only room without any art piece, where students lounge to study the plants or relax in nature.

The sculptures section ahead, showcasing various fictional figures specifically from Greek mythology, chattered away about family drama and beliefs. The sculptures of Hades and Zeus, according to their title plate, argued relentlessly about power while Athena always intervened by shouting or even throwing arrows or daggers to any of the lightbulbs there.

That was one rule in the guide, but Jeno didn’t know yet until he came inside the room and swerved the attention of the arguing duo.

“Well, what do we have here?” Zeus, in the center, straightened his posture on his throne to present himself in a more regal way. “Are you perhaps the temporary replacement of Sir Sanghoon?”

“Sir Sanghoon’s stand-in is rather good looking, don’t you think?” Hera mused, stepping down from her throne beside Zeus to take a closer look at the taller male. Her cold fingers trailed his jaw until his chest, where his heart was beating intensely. She even pinched his toned bicep, mouthing wow.

“Truly handsome you are, my dear. So full of life, please introduce yourself to us.”

While Jeno introduced himself to everyone in that room, he answered any sorts of questions they had for him too. From his age, educational background, hobbies, Aphrodite just had to ask him if he had a girlfriend because he was that handsome.

“Nope, I’m single. With my degree in architecture, the requirements are so heavy I can’t even try dating.”

Mentioning his degree excited the gods, telling him how their people created and designed all these temples to house them and perform rituals. They loved it so much. This was a copy-paste of what Jeno learned from his history classes, and for a first, he’s hearing the perspective of the Greek gods.

Mind-boggling that he hasn’t fully freaked out yet. That’s what Athena anticipated when Sanghoon told her about his short leave, putting her in charge of everyone for the meantime while the replacement settled down.

The college museum was built during the late 70s as a gift from one of the alumni. It was for the purpose to preserve history and educate college students outside the classroom. The Greek mythology exhibit was the oldest one, making Athena have more seniority. Over her stay, she’s seen every new guard lose their senses during the first night. Some not even returning for a second night. She got used to every outcome, and so far, only 8 people lasted after the first night. A couple of students in the 70s and 80s, Sanghoon in the 90s, and now Jeno was one of them.

“Jeno, aren’t you terrified by us? You just got a job in a museum that comes to life every night, and it’s not a normal thing.”

“Well, I’m still shaken up about it. But it’s my first night, and it’s when I learn everything about the place from head to toe. Plus, I really need the money.”

“Money for what? But you’re young, a student even!”

“Yes, I am. However, I do pay for the rent in my dorm. So, this job is like my first big responsibility, and I want to perform well.”

Athena commended his sense of authority, capable of leading himself. She noticed how well-spoken and poised he is, respecting and listening to everything the gods and goddesses said even if they were nonsense. She never liked to compromise with her power, taking a while to like Sanghoon back in the day. Though Jeno looked like a natural leader on his first night. If he could take care of himself well, he’s skilled to take care of the rest in the museum as well.

Plus she had full control on the nights he won’t be there, especially the weekend.

With his potential, Athena mentored him the entire night about the gist of the entire museum. Every upcoming leader needs an intelligent mentor, right? She was naturally gifted with worthy leadership skills, managing Jeno like her own child.

Athena explained how the museum came to life, which was through a royal golden plate from the Oriental room. It was a gift from a popular sorceress in China to an affluent family from the Han dynasty, who wished them a long life after she was saved from invaders due to them. The plate preserved over time, becoming an artifact. Its power remained immortal, mutating to bring life wherever it goes. In this case, the museum since its arrival in the late 70s as well.

“That’s why the Oriental room must be locked always so no one could touch or break the plate.”

After she ordered Jeno to lock the mentioned room, alongside the Foreign Art Exhibit Room which he checked out for his class, she led him to the best view of the entire museum. Center of the second floor, where stairs were on both sides. Jeno marveled at the vivacious atmosphere, witnessing actual art living, breathing, and enjoying themselves.

“Unreal, right?” She leaned in the railing, scanning through the chatty paintings.

Jeno also leaned down, deep in thought and wonder. “Absolutely, Athena. How come no one knows about this? Art coming to life? It’ll invite more students to the museum.”

“That goes against a golden rule as a night guard in this museum.” She replied bluntly. “The life that goes on inside this museum at night must remain a secret to the public.”

Jeno predicted this kind of response, having watched too many films where anything supernatural mustn’t be revealed. Although he liked the advantage of knowing something this powerful, he’d never abuse it.

Athena’s intellect was beyond the world, seamlessly reading Jeno’s expression and what he was thinking. He had good intentions even if he’s a bit mischievous. She needed to keep a keen eye on him, but for now, he needed to explore on his own.

“Anyways, Sanghoon still left out some other details. So if you have any questions, I’ll be at my exhibit trying to shut my father and my uncle up again.”

“Can you not use any weapons to do so?”

“Can’t make any promises, Jeno.” She slyly cracked her knuckles and neck as if she was fighting another battle.

Jeno was silently left with himself, finally browsing through Sanghoon’s guide while seated in one of the museum benches.

It consisted of 25 rules, wherein the first two rules consisted of locking up. One, for the doors and gates of the museum, so no art piece could escape. If they do, they will turn into dust when the sun is out according to Athena. Two, locking the Oriental and Foreign Art Rooms, which was already done.

Rule #5: Let Mochi the puppy from the lobby tag along with you; feed him treats if you have any.

On cue, the little guy barked from the corridor and raced to his side. Jeno carried him, babying him for a little and letting him lick his face a few times before putting him back down. He’s surely going to the pet store first thing in the morning with the museum allowance the director gave him.

Since he was on the second floor, he read and followed the rules that fit in before returning downstairs. On the other side of the floor were the wax figures exhibitions: one for prominent men in history while the other for prominent women. Well, more people to get acquainted with.

It’s the exchange of gasps and profanities he received when he chose the latter room. Seeing their faces, these were women he’s learned in school and online. Now in the (fake) flesh. Except for one girl he’s never heard of, unbothered in her corner sketching her life away in a sketchpad. But before he could check who she was, a suggestive touch on his arm distracted him.

“My, oh my, Hera wasn’t lying when she said that the new night guard was a fine specimen.” By her dark blue eyeshadow and eyeliner with the snake-like crown, Cleopatra studied him like he was one of the most renowned art pieces. Even patting his chest, abdomen, and arms with both her hand, Jeno caught a suggestive glint in her eyes and a smirk across her red lips.

Rule #13: Reject Cleopatra’s seductive advances at all costs.

“Goodness, Cleopatra. It’s only his first night, and you’re scaring him.” With her accent, round eyes, and a chic formal outfit, she carried a posh aura while unhesitatingly scolding the Queen of the Nile.

“Come on now, Diana. He’s stunning, who wouldn’t go after him?” If no one knew her, you’re not reading up on your world history. She’s said to have been a lovely and intelligent woman, gone so soon. Jeno definitely understood why after she detached Cleopatra’s raging hands off him.

Rule #14: Treat Princess Diana and Hera like your own parent.

“Your highness.” Jeno nodded at her out of respect, only making her chuckle uncontrollably.

“No need to address me like that, love. Now, come here.” She widened her arms for Jeno, hugging him amiably. He sensed her motherly warmth, accepting such a gesture. “You remind me so much of my youngest son, Harry. Welcome to the night shift of the museum, love.”

Similar to the Greek mythology exhibit, he introduced himself and responded to any questions that the women wax figures may have. Good for him, they weren’t crossing any borders and kept him at ease.

“A student like you working at night to pay rent?” Katherine Johnson, an African-American NASA mathematician whose calculations led to the success of a lot of famous spaceflights, cannot believe her ears. Students must only focus on school, nothing else. “What about your studies, boy?”

Rule #15: Engage in academic discussions with Katherine Johnson whenever you can.

“Most of my classes are in the afternoon, Miss Katherine. So I’ll sleep in the entire morning later and study during my breaks.”

“Mr. Jeno, what do you like to do outside of work?” Anne Frank, a German-Dutch teenager whose revolutionary diary that documented her life in hiding from the Nazis gained popularity worldwide after publication dreamily asked from her section of the exhibit. Her life was robbed of greatness merely because of her religion and war.

Rule #16: Bring delicious food or gifts to Anne Frank.

“Well, I like to bike with my friends, exercise, and draw whatever comes into mind!”

Everyone he’s met so far acquired pleasure in knowing about who he was and his passion for architecture, ridding the “freaking out” phase Athena assumed he had. Yet not everyone in this exhibit bothered to give him a shot.

Jeno’s attention from Anne talking about her crush towards Peter van Daan, a teenage boy who lived with her, switched to the section beside her, where an unacquainted figure was zealously sketching as if something was due to the following day. It reflected how he’d look when he’s cramming one of his plates due to first thing in the morning. While he properly excused himself, he quietly gazed at the way this woman scrunched her eyebrows when she erased something then drew it again. She was someone he’s never seen or heard before, reading the information plate in front of him about her.

(Y/N) (Y/L/N), Explorer and Author. (1854-1900)

Wealthy women in the Victorian Era only served one purpose in society: marry a man from a prestigious family, have his children and join whatever interests they have. However, for (Y/N), she wasn’t going to conform to those standards.

Born into the affluent house of (Y/L/N), she was the youngest of 8 children. She was said to be the kindest and sweetest sibling out of everyone, not capable of hurting anyone or anything. She said it herself that she can’t throw away a dying flower because it’s too painful. While 5 of her older brothers were sent to school, she stayed at home with her 2 older sisters Cecilia and Amelia where she learned how to play the piano and take voice lessons from impressive teachers. Due to the huge age gaps between them (12 and 8 respectively), she never felt close with them. She was only closest to the 6th and 7th siblings, her twin brothers Benjamin and Liam whom she only had a 2-year gap. She was also best friends with one of the scullery maids her age, Lily, because she found her amusing that than the boring rich girls her mother forced to interact with.

The moment it bothered her that she wanted to live a more meaningful life was when Amelia got married. She was 12 years old at the time, and it left her as the last unwed daughter in the family. Badly did she want to revolt, which she gradually did. Instead of practicing piano, she’d sneak in to read every book in her father’s office. She secretly studied the notes of her older brothers from school and even dressed as a boy numerously thanks to Benjamin and Liam to join their classes or field trips.

This was her routine up until the age of 18 when she stomped her foot down and expressed to her parents that she wasn’t going to let Victorian society dictate her. The night before her parents were bound to send her to her great aunt’s home down South to sort her out, she successfully snuck out her house thanks to Lily, Benjamin, and Liam. It’s another good thing that she saved a lot of money for that moment.

Off she went across Europe first, then sailed to America and even parts of Asia. Initially under the name Lilibe, coined from picking the first two letters of her brothers and best friend, she documented her days and nights through her journals and sketches. Over time, she sent them to her brothers for publication. It started the franchise, “The Adventures of the Young and Free Lilibe”. There are 10 books under it.

She learned French, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean by herself as she made friends from those places. It was rare of someone like her to be fluent in Oriental languages, surprising locals every time she spoke to them. She was the only explorer to vividly describe life in different Asian lands in English, talking about their history and culture. With her accurate drawings of diverse citizens and their daily lives, it educated a lot of those living back home in Europe about them rather than speaking lowly of them.

In Seoul did she stayed the longest until her death from pneumonia at the young age of 46.

In her posthumous work, Finding Me, did she reveal her real identity, dedicating it to her parents whom she apologized and expressed her love for them despite everything that occurred between them. She talked about the last years of her life in Seoul, how locals were so nice and inviting to her, and how she adopted kids instead of having her own through the years.

“It’s not because I never found love in men. It’s more like I found love in doing things I’m passionate about. Traveling, learning new cultures, it outweighed the human need of romance.”

Due to her thrill in taking risks and embarking on wondrous adventures, it brought inspiration to a lot of young girls pressured to marry at that time to pursue what they really want.

A remarkable background you had, Jeno contemplated. How come no one discussed her in his classes?

You kept brushing the bangs of your hair back as it fell repeatedly. But you got irritated instantly because it sabotaged your drive, you brought out a hairpin from her desk and attached it on both sides. But when you shifted your angle of focus, the corner of your eye locked with Jeno’s attentive gaze.

He didn’t flinch, even he should’ve. He wasn’t one to linger his look on anyone’s physical appearances, but your story and the passion on your face as you sketched mesmerized him. He was charmed, to say the least.

“Uhm, hello there?” You broke the silence due to your uneasiness about it. What’s his deal?

Jeno bowed, reintroducing himself to you. As soon as his presence settled in the room when Cleopatra attempted to hit on him, you could’ve cared less. Though this man was a first for you, a first in a long time as all guards would feel intimidated by you during the first night. Even your sharp tongue didn’t faze him. “Staring is rude, sir. Didn’t your mother teach you manners?”

“She did,” He wandered through the exterior of your section, by the fence that separated you and him. Not breaking eye contact, his eyes turned into moon crescents as he smirked with trouble. “Though she also told me to appreciate the art too.”

Snorts noisily exhaled from Cleopatra, who took the center section of the exhibit, succeeded by Princess Diana’s whispered gasps and Katherine’s side-eyeing Anne beside her while she taught her math. That was an odd way a guard conversed with you, but Jeno was merely doing what the rules stated. Partly, he was impressed with his cheesy pick-up line, partly embarrassed because he’s never spoken like this to anyone.

Rule #17: Act playfully around (Y/N) (Y/L/N) to break the tension; she’s a harsh one.

There was irony between the information he read about your life versus the wax model. Even when you faced sexism and ran away according to your history, never were you impolite to anyone in your life. You couldn’t even kill a lurking fly when it roams around your food! It showed Jeno a possibility that as much as you’re just a wax version of someone famous in the past, maybe the external environment around you had a heavy influence too.

“You fool!” His confidence exasperated you, urging you to persistently throw balls of paper with your failed sketches at him. No one dared to talk to you like that, most especially a night guard. “Take that for your comment!”

If you thought he’d scram away and act repentant, you were proven wrong. His reflexes were parallel to a spider, capturing every single paper ball without fail. Up and down his body went, one arm held on to them and no more were left on your part. Never a single defeat during the first meeting in years, but that seemed to alter now.

“Give up already, Ms. (Y/L/N)?” Jeno remarked vibrantly as he discarded your mess in the trash bin behind him. If he managed to get everyone to like him tonight, he wanted to make sure to have you onboard too.

Whatever agenda he had, you weren’t up for it. You’d treat him the same way you usually treated Sanghoon for the past 20 something years: cold and ignorant. From your stool, you left your comfortable position to come face to face with this man. He better be grateful for that barrier in between you, or else you would’ve caused mayhem.

“Never in your wildest dreams, Mr. Lee.” Your mouth gave a half-smile, clenching on the bars to liberate your annoyance. Before you could fend back, that’s when Princess Diana intervened between your heated dialogue.

“Oh heavens, children!” She stood by the barrier, mostly to protect the newbie Jeno with her body. “(Y/N), he just wanted to know you. Must you be so cross?”

This Princess Diana embodied all the traits the real one had: soft-spoken, intelligent, and protective. She’s gotten so used to your gradual temper, staying on standby whenever anyone tried to mess with you. Even if it was harmless, you could get so mean!

“Diana, he was mocking me! Saying such a sleazy phrase as if to amuse me, ha! Not a chance, I hate people like that.”

“Not us women though; you just despise men in general.”

“And you’re absolutely right!” With a smug smile, you greedily rejoiced. “Anyways, escort this disgrace out. I’m not in the mood to get angry when I have a lot of inspiration on mind right now.”

While you resumed your sketching to let go of that extra steam, Jeno was left with Diana who apologized on your behalf. Your pride was too high to do that, and as the motherly figure among them, she always took care of things in your exhibit.

“I’m so sorry for that, Jeno. She’s not really like this, but I know how much you tried your best. It was quite a fresh spectacle honestly.”

Whatever was responsible for your abrasiveness, Jeno yearned to know. He couldn’t understand who you were yet even knowing your life story. All he wanted was to get along with everyone. It was the key to successfully maintain his job for the next 6 months.

“How can I make her come around then?”

A demanding question that no one had a solid answer to. Diana recalled how much Sanghoon didn’t let your dislike for him get to him, maintaining a respectful boundary in between each other after his past attempts. Though with Jeno, observing how he riled you up and your focus entirely on him, she hasn’t seen anything like it since the 80s.

There was something in Jeno that may just get you to warm up and return to your kind nature.

“Aside from acting playful, as Sanghoon recommended, I can think of two ways, love.” By the doors of her exhibit, where Jeno was already waltzing the corridor to visit other rooms, she suggested smartly. “One, argue back to her opinions. She hates whenever anyone tries to get her way, but boy, you’re just as wise as her. No one was brave enough to peeve on her until you came.”

“How about the second way?”

“Do your research, love. Aside from libraries, you have those small technology devices that allow you to search up anything.” She tousled Jeno’s brown locks as if it were her actual son’s. Some habits just don’t die when you do.

“Brush up on your history, Jeno. Not only will it help you with (Y/N), but it’ll serve purposefully with the other art pieces here.”

Boy, he was ready to crash in his bed for a few hours after all those interactions. His introverted nature required to be revitalized.

Towards the last hours of his shift, the art pieces who’ve strolled in the first floor lessened his plate by not leaving any major clutter behind. As if she listened to him, Athena didn’t break any lightbulbs too.

His main highlight would be meeting the men of the historical male section, who flaunted a more humorous ambiance. Freddie Mercury from Queen insisted he drink a glass of his wine and to bring more wine next time, which he denied since it would against Sanghoon’s rules. King Sejong the Great and Martin Luther King Jr. argued back and forth over the most random things (pineapple on pizza specifically), while Steve Jobs mediated whenever one crossed the line. Meanwhile, William Shakespeare was too preoccupied in his writing and speaking to himself about his books, wondering how to improve them.

During one of his breaks today, he multitasked drawing a new plate with his research on every art piece to know them better. He started with the exhibit of sculptures of the Greek gods and goddesses, which were Zeus, Hera, Hades, Athena, Hermes, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Artemis, Dionysus, and Circe. They weren’t the complete roster because the rest were in other museums across the globe, as said by Athena before sunrise. The majority of them he knew what they were in charge of, but the rest were foggy to his knowledge. Typing away and jotting notes down, he started downloading his favorite jazz songs too.

Rule # 4: Play jazz music to the paintings on the first floor so they can relax and dance within their frames.

Circe is a minor goddess, the daughter of the sun god Helios. She’s recognized for her versatility in incantations and herbs, capable of transforming people into animals. From Jeno’s perspective, she’s mostly within her space with her journals and magic wand, trying new spells or combinations of herbs. For the latter, he had to keep a closer eye on.

Rule #9: Don’t let Circe, god of potions, into the Oriental Room to get plants and herbs.

He discovered that Dionysus is the god of wine, happiness, and theatre. That’s why every god in the exhibit had full wine glasses during their gathering. It also added up why Freddie Mercury always comes to him when his bottles run empty, though he mustn’t go overboard.

Rule #18: Make sure Freddie Mercury doesn’t get too drunk from the wine of Dionysus; he might make numerous scenes if he does.

After his lone studying session, he took a short trip to the pet and convenience stores to buy food. He got a dumbfounded look from Jaemin back in the dorm room, who was studying for one of his quizzes in Biology in a couple of hours.

“Woah what’s with this stash? Is it for yourself or something?”

“The museum surprisingly has a lot of tasks needed to be done at night. And no, not from my wallet but the allowance they gave me before you get a heart attack.” Jeno plopped on his solo bed, covering his face with a pillow.

“Thank God.” A relaxed sigh escaped Jaemin’s lips, taking back his balled-up fists meant for his roommate. “I think I would’ve stormed that boring museum if they made your broke ass spend a cent.”

“Boring?” Jeno removed the cushion hastily, eyeing his busy and coffee-high roommate. The scent of black coffee from his mug spread in the room, assuming that this upcoming test was testing his roommate’s patience again.

Not even trying to look at Jeno while reviewing his handwritten notes, Jaemin continued giving his opinion. “Museum culture is dead, Jeno. Not everyone has the time to roam around one, plus people can always look up the artifacts online these days.”

People were entitled to their own opinions on numerous things, though Jeno begged to differ with his roommate’s. Especially after witnessing the magic of the night shift, you shouldn’t merely judge a book by its cover. In this case, you shouldn’t judge an artwork or art piece merely on its history and legacy.

Maybe because his roommate was in the science department, he thought this way. A lot of art students regularly visit the museum both for fun and for their classes, and Jeno was one of them. Though he was too sleepy to explain his side, he let it slide for now and snoozed throughout the late afternoon.

An hour before the start of his shift, Jeno promenaded the emptying museum to inspect anything else he might’ve missed out on from last night. There were two areas according to his rotation, both in the first floor.

One was the Diorama Room. Divided into 4 sections, highlighting some of the well-known ancient civilizations in world history. Ancient Egypt and Ancient China to your left, Ancient Rome and Ancient Maya to your right. They acted as if they were the actual people during those times, giving Jeno a laugh when they cracked jokes in between. Such tiny figures, yet the rule for them said otherwise.

Rule # 7: The small figurines in the Diorama Room are feisty, so make sure they don’t fight with one another again.

The remaining room left was the Theater Room. He’s never been here, though his art friends have for film festivals held by the university.

The interior of it was set to look like an actual cinema place you’d see in a mall. There was a mini lobby with a few posters of iconic films over the years. Singin’ in the Rain, Back to the Future, Titanic, those were some framed and hung on the wall. There were two other doors there: one leading to the chairs and the other where the movie projector was. The latter room was pretty riveting, wherein you can choose to watch old short films through an 88mm film projector or switch to a cd player for the newer releases.

Back to those posters, they weren’t an exception to the magic and a simple rule was left for Jeno to do.

Rule # 10: Chatter with the movie posters in the lobby of the Theater Room; they love meeting new faces.

Since there wasn’t anyone checking out the Art Rooms on the second floor, he closed them. Though as he was about to lock the Oriental Room, the ravishing plants around the royal plant appealed his interest. Said to hold magical properties from his research, Jeno was reminded of another rule to keep in mind for later.

Rule # 3: The fake flowers in the Oriental Room come to life too at night, so when no one is lurking, water it diligently.

Instead of lounging at Sanghoon’s office first, he brought his important items to the front desk of the lobby and continued sketching his plate. He wanted to watch the art come back alive with his two eyes. Usually, he’d have coffee when he does his work, but due to another crucial rule in the guide, he’d rather not take the risk.

Rule # 6: The lobby room can get rowdy, so keep any drinks away from important items.

On the dot, the cries and yawns from the art pieces around him reverberated. Closing his sketchpad, his night guard mode was on. Connecting his laptop on the aux cord of the museum speakers, he tapped play on his playlist of jazz music that’ll last for the entire shift duration. As the first notes flooded the entire vicinity, sounds of joy left the lips of each painting. Some were humming, dancing, and even singing along.

“You can never go wrong with Frank Sinatra!”

“This Jeno lad really did the heavens’ work quick!”

Having the sense of accomplishment on his sleeve, the small barks of his fluffy pal reached closer to him. As he kneeled to find him, he was only taken by surprise as Mochi excitedly jumped on him. Tumbling over, Jeno chuckled innocently as Mochi licked his face numerously. This puppy was friendly, easily liking everyone at first sight. He wasn’t as choosy like Daegal, the puppy of his friend Chenle studying Business Management.

Once he composed himself and cradling the dog like his own, he fed him a dog treat from the desk.

“Good boy, Mochi!” He rubbed his fur while the puppy happily munched on it, ready to fulfill more of his duties.

He skipped the Greek mythology exhibit since Athena was doing a good job not letting anyone go overboard with their powers, though he’ll check in again in a few hours. He met the posters of the theater room, who were celebrities he grew up watching on tv. Sanghoon was right; they were the kinder group in the entire museum because they were more laidback.

On to the second floor, all the female wax figures lounged by the male section due to another lecture from Shakespeare. Although the guide informed him that most of the time it could get boring, this lecture was more stimulating. On his platform, he elaborated with conviction the lines of one of his famous books, Romeo and Juliet. A must-read book back in his high school days, there’s no way Jeno could’ve missed that out.

From the looks of it, Jeno perceived that Shakespeare was performing spoken word poetry due to him reading only Romeo’s lines while Cleopatra read Juliet’s beside him. This kind of show was one of the sources of entertainment to these figures, so Jeno leaned by the side of the door to listen. After all, the famous author of it was a few feet away. Cleopatra channeled such a naïve character to her ability, absentmindedly saying as she clutched her chest.

“O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet.”

“Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?”

“'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose-”

The flow of an engaged Cleopatra was abrupted by the loud yell from Shakespeare in front, specifically to an amused Jeno. “Jeno, my boy! Welcome back!”

Such an announcement diverted everyone’s attention to the back, some running to Jeno to give their respective greetings. It’s rare for everyone to feel at ease with a new guard, taking them weeks to approach them due to the intimidation. Though Jeno’s bright presence felt welcoming, so they accepted it. Perhaps it’s because of his youth, it reminded them of theirs too.

Shakespeare highly requested (or forced) Jeno to take his part as Romeo, intrigued to watch someone younger read his lines. Since most of the male wax figures were aged, it never satisfied Shakespeare so he jumped on this opportunity as quickly as he could. With the roaring cheers from the other figures, Jeno might as well give it a try. It wasn’t like his friends were here to clown him like they usually would if he did something humiliating.

Jeno shockingly liked this activity as he wasn’t much of a performer on stage, but someone who does the behind-the-scenes of it. He realized as he read the lines from the book Shakespeare asked him to follow along with why people held university-wide spoken word shows a few times per semester. He was no actor, but it’s delightful to have tried it at least once in his life.

“O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?” As if the edge of the platform was the balcony of Juliet (or Cleopatra rather), he knelt as he ardently spoke his lines. He’s emphasizing this rush of uncontrollable desire for her, rambling whatever he would do to get the girl.

“What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?” Cleopatra questioned from her chair, inching closer to the young boy. Even outside character will she attempt to charm Jeno, but Jeno was quick to catch it and kept his distance.

“The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine.”

“I gave thee mine before thou didst request it, and yet I would it were to give again.”

“Wouldst thou withdraw it? For what purpose, love?”

“But to be frank, and give it thee again. And yet I wish but for the thing I have. My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.”

Everyone was condensed by their top-notch acting, as if this was the actual play unfolding before them. Jeno wasn’t so sure how he got himself in character without preparation, yet he felt what his character felt. He comprehended the material a lot better now than when he was still in high school.

However, there was always that one killjoy to ruin the heartfelt mood.

“How dumb is it to say that you’re in love after the first glance?” You opposed, putting the spotlight on you. This book was said to be a classic in literature, but as you matured physically and mentally, you could no longer agree with it. “Isn’t love the same thing that killed Romeo and Juliet in the end?”

Remembering what Princess Diana told him, he wasn’t going to let this pass. He wanted to give a piece of his mind too, caring less if the show must be paused. “Love is an emotion we don’t ask to feel. It’ll come to us when we least expect it, even when the timing of it can be crucial.”

“Of all the people Juliet could’ve gone for, it just had to be the enemy.” In all the years you’ve been brought to life, no one dared to test your opinions because they were aware of your intelligence, from the streets to the books. When someone bark, you’d bite back. Hard. “With all due respect, I love your works, Shakespeare. Yet the fate you’ve given these two at a young age was grave, could’ve you given them a better outcome or another character to love instead?”

“Giving them extra characters to love won’t address the horrific life fact that love can be dangerous. Regardless of what status you’re in, you can’t stop the attraction towards someone. The heart wants what it wants.” Jeno pressed his hand to his chest, pumping it a bit. Unknown to you and him, the audience found more entertainment in your argument. Anne, who was munching on the popcorn Jeno gave her earlier, passed the snack to Katherine who just couldn’t stop watching.

If this man wanted a challenge, you’re all ears. Who was he to compete with you? Was he not intelligent to know who you are?

“So are you insinuating that we just go with the flow? Be a slave to our emotions too and let them dictate our next motives?”

“Slave is such a strong word to use, (Y/N). But it’s not like we can’t choose who want to love because we actually can. In this case, Romeo chose Juliet and vice versa.”

“But what happens if the person you choose doesn’t choose you in return?”

“At least you tried your best, right? It’ll hurt like hell though, but it won’t last forever.” From his kneeling position, Jeno strutted his way with confidence. Trying not to let it mess with you, your extreme stare at him as if they’ll shoot lasers. Inches away from you, Jeno declared. “Love always has risks, that’s a given. Romeo and Juliet still tried and followed their hearts despite the downfall. But it was a needed downfall to get the message across.”

“No one would be that foolish to risk their lives for love though, right? Life is so precious, why would they do such a thing?”

“Even if they knew what their lives were without each other, they still preferred living a life where they were both in the picture. Therefore, they tried all they could that time because the regret of not doing anything at all carries a heavier burden.”

Whenever anyone argued with you, their debating points they spat back would further piss you off because most of the time, it never made sense. Back when this rude man told you to go home and be a wife in your earlier years of exploring, you civilly told him to fuck off, kicking his balls because he cornered you in an alley. For the first time, a man who tried to challenge you actually made sense. Was it because he lived in a modern time, where minds were more open? Because of the amount of sexism you faced in the past, you’ve turned a blind eye to the current period.

But your high pride maintained, not submitting into anything he said. “I still think it’s stupid to risk your life for love. There’s no such thing as having only one true love anyways, and you have to be alive to see it.”

“Fair point, but again, the feeling of regret and carrying it your entire life doesn’t fade easily. It’ll make you reflect on the what-ifs, and it’s heart-wrenching.” Jeno digressed, walking around you in circles. He’s intentionally trying to drive you mad, but he could care less. He wanted someone to put you in your place and open your mindset. “The question stands: would you rather try and go for it even knowing its risks or regret not even trying for the rest of your existence? Quite ironic for me to ask you that, don’t you think?”

Past the information board, Jeno researched more of your life history online. Your whole life was grounded on risks, from breaking the standards of your society, leaving your family and home country, to fending yourself from disrespectful men. Rather than living the original life expected from you, you chose not to because it didn’t make you happy. Such a risktaker he knew you are, but with the topic of love, he wondered why you were on a fence with it. Though some records stated you’ve had rendezvouses with a few men in your journeys, love was never in the equation. The single life was what you chose and you were more than satisfied, plus your adopted kids filled that supposed void anyways.

This man may have studied your history, but so much he still doesn’t know. Information that never made the books because you chose not to write or tell anyone about it. Aside from the discomfort growing in your chest, everyone else felt the awkward tension when you were lost for words.

Never been defeated in an argument, until tonight. Your mind lost its drive and willpower.

“Touché, Lee Jeno.” Indeed, his name you’re acquainted with. Numerously passed around in your exhibit, mostly from the lips of Cleopatra, who’d fantasize all the graphic things she would do to him. Too much information, least of your interest. “Please excuse me. I’d like to work on my sketches to ease my mind.”

As you quietly exited the room, an all too familiar sculpture leaned against the railings overseeing one side of the museum. Just like you, she hated accepting defeat or compromises. She always rooted for you to win. With a faint chuckle, “Facing a loss for the first time, I see.”

“Don’t even lecture me about it, Athena. I’m still fired up, and I need to relax.”

“Jeno is a different breed, isn’t he?” She stuck to your side, strolling wherever your feet led you.

“Different as in he’s a man? Yes. What else is there to it?”

“Men these days aren’t as trashy as those back in the day though. Shouldn’t you give him a chance?”

“Last time I did, it destroyed my heart. I’m not allowing myself to let men in even as a friend, Athena.”

She knew exactly what you were referring to, not touching on it further. No way will you let heartbreak or disappointment from men bother you. Even Sanghoon’s sweet company took a while to tolerate. You really needed to sketch this out on your pad right now, excusing yourself from Athena’s presence. Isolation wasn’t new to you; it’s what’s protecting your entire being. Immortal as you are, you had to recover from the past pain so the next decades won’t feel as brash.

You hoped to return to your old self when you were a fresh new figure in the 70s. So naïve, only proud of your accomplishments, and purely happy.

While Jeno continued to finish his scene in respect to Shakespeare, he received a standing ovation for his mini-show. Cleopatra didn’t expect such talent from him, growing fonder of the younger male. Whether she seduces him or not, he was never afraid to try new things and she liked that about him.

“Bravo, love!” Princess Diana praised, clapping at him.

Although Jeno appreciated all this positive attention, his thoughts bounced back to your and your stance on love. The debate earlier was just out of being playful, interested to hear your opinions. Though, he’s worried that he might’ve offended you. It may have been time to finally witness something like that, but then again, he was sure he touched something personal to you. No matter how you tried to fight it off, your eyes can’t lie. Staring down at him, there was pain beneath it. Your eyebrows scrunched to the center, thinking deeply yet remained utterly speechless.

A win he didn’t feel good about.

“It’s time she encountered something new in the years she’s been here. Give her some space tonight, then try again to reach out to her. Kindly this time; I’m not in the mood for another brawl that could end up like the Greek gods’ past fights downstairs.”

These clever words shared by Katherine loitered his mind for the rest of the night, eventually going back to finishing his current plate since everyone was behaving well. As great it is to get the approval of the majority, he tried brainstorming ways to make you like him too.

He understood the whole “men are trash” concept in today’s modern society, but if he could prove it wrong to at least one person, it would be you. Whatever is holding you back, he only hoped that you’d let it go. Questionably unsure as to why he was so persevering, he concluded that it was so he could perform his job better as the night guard. Set higher standards than Sanghoon even.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Weeks passed, and his attempts continued to be unsuccessful.

The capability for you to ignore his efforts remained strong, whether he was pestering you over small things or debating with you again about anything. Life, books, morals, the two of you always head butt each other. Anything good he did, you searched for a flaw in it. Whatever acts he’s tried and continued trying, not one flinch from you ever.

Even if that’s his state with you, his job no longer felt stressful nor strenuous. He’d try to sleep more on days he was off-duty. Although the fatigue of staying beyond his usual sleeping time was inevitable, he compromised to take a nap lasting an hour or two when the art pieces weren’t acting frisky.

Plus, there have been multiple times they adapted to any alterations so his physical well-being wouldn’t fall sick. Per order of Princess Diana and Hera, who by instinct became his motherly figures here, only wanting what’s best for the kids.

He became accustomed to everything that went on at night, discovering things on his own without Sanghoon’s guide. Anne talked about how much she missed biking in her neighborhood, so one night, Jeno snuck his bike inside and let her use it around the first floor. With proper monitoring so none of the paintings would be unbothered or pieces wouldn’t tumble.

Hermes the messenger god was fluent in every language possible, so every so often, Jeno would freely speak to him in Korean because sometimes he felt he could explode by the amount of English he used every night. Bilingual things, you know. He knew you were multilingual too, but for obvious reasons, he couldn’t converse with you.

Because Jeno was heavily favored, that should’ve been enough to push through his night shifts before the end of the semester. In addition to that, the hourly rate was above the average of whatever Jaemin or Renjun was earning. For the past 2 months, Jeno paid upfront first, even paying back all his debts. It almost made Renjun want to switch jobs with him.

“Trust me, Renjun. You don’t want it, being the lowkey scaredy cat you are.”

Work no longer felt like work, and that’s what everyone aspired to feel. Nevertheless, he tended to worry over you mid-shift, glancing at you from his side view. Sketching, reading, and writing were your default actions. No matter how many times he said to himself not to let your dislike for him affect him, it’d always backfire.

Why were you so cold?

What made you lose your fire from all the research he did about your lively personality?

When morning arrived and he gathered his stuff, you’d be the last thing he’ll check on. Frozen in your standing pose, smiling as you held a book and a pencil, he detected how fake it was. Bystanders would only assume your happiness was from your achievements, though Jeno’s gut firmly pried that something grand overpowered that happiness. And definitely, not in a good way.

Out of all the art pieces, he investigated on you the most. Skimming through every material in the library, endless searching on the net, even asking professors from the History department thanks to Renjun, he did whatever he could. People may already think he was obsessed with who you are, but only little did they know.

Another plate was done and submitted, and he promised himself to look you up one last time before surrendering. For someone who’s rarely given up on a challenge, this one was really out of his control. Maybe he should follow Sanghoon’s footsteps now.

You lived centuries before him, and there’s limited material of you left. Rather than learning of your adventures again, he dug through what things you liked over your life. Maybe by giving one of them, it’ll lessen the tension from a 100 to 99. Maybe you preferred gifts over words, he’ll never know until he tried.

Boom.

According to one of your journal entries, there’s a fond liking you’ve acquired for lavender roses from Benjamin and Liam when they visited you in Paris in secret because of how much you missed them. It went both ways, praying your family ties could be recovered.

It’s a good thing he needed to refill his stock of items for the art pieces so he could pass by the flower store a few blocks away from his dorm. That night, without further words, he graciously offered you a fresh lavender rose in between your new sketching session.

“I may not know exactly why you’re spiritless around me, but with this rose, I hope we could work something out.”

Your frigid face of disdain, keeping your chin high and squinting your eyes with judgment, began to crumble down. Of all things as a peace offering, he gave you that? Then again, it’s not like he knew that an item you liked so much became something you’ve grown to hate and why so. No history books could teach him that.

Vulnerability was a normal thing, yet feared by many. Once one uncovered your weak spot, they could harm you. You still couldn’t trust Jeno fully, not willing to show your helplessness nor were you ever going to tell him. Hidden from his knowledge, everyone else including Sanghoon were familiarized as to why this kind of flower tormented you.

You sprinted like thunder out the exhibit room to wherever it’s private to control your senses. You may not have a physical heart, but your emotions were just as actual as a human’s. You needed to regulate your panting breath. In the past decades, you’ve not shed a singular tear but the cycle broke when they streamed out your miserable eyes like a flowing river. Quiet sobs, an empty corner near the fire exit was where your wobbly legs faltered, the painful memories of the past replayed in your head. Once beautiful, but now an agonizing reminder of what could’ve been.

Katherine, Cleopatra, and Anne were swift on their feet to hunt you down, anxious of what you may do next. Seeing or the mention of these flowers still affected you despairingly. Sanghoon must’ve forgotten to write them down, or perhaps he didn’t know either about this fact during all the years he’s worked there.

It’s one of the biggest secrets of his museum. By the clueless face Jeno had with his eyebrows raised, mouth, and small eyes slightly open, he repeatedly asked what he did wrong and adding that he never meant to harm you. Indeed, they knew that yet what occurred involved a secret in the list of museum secrets. Confidential only between art pieces according to Athena, none of the male wax figures spoke a word, only pitying the boy.

“I wasn’t here yet that time, but they said that it was once beautiful, but now it’s a rough period.” With hesitation, Princess Diana chose to reveal it to rid Jeno’s misery. She didn’t mind having to argue about it with Athena later on, as this may further affect the two of you later on.

“A long time ago in the early ‘80s, there was a night guard around your age named Junmyeon. Also, a college student, trying to make ends meet. He did it for 3 years until he graduated. Though within his stay, not only was he such a delight to everyone, he broke a golden rule in the guide. I believe you do know the guide much more now, Jeno?”

“Yes, I do, Princess Diana. Memorized it even, but which one specifically?” Jeno’s desperate eyes pleaded, only hoping for the best and to fix what he messed up.

“You can form friendships with the art pieces, but nothing more.” Princess Diana replied bitterly. “Junmyeon was an aspiring painter, a different path from his business-oriented family. He was seen as the black sheep. She resonated with him, sharing the burden and lifting it by doing whatever fun they could in the museum. In time, they both fell in love with each other; they were each other’s first loves.”

“Why must something beautiful like love be broken? It’s not like you can control it. That golden rule makes no sense.”

“It does, unfortunately. Wax figures like me cannot age, while humans like you can. None of them could accept the reality, always pushing it away. Until Junmyeon’s last week in university, he broke it off with her unexpectedly. From there, (Y/N) was heartbroken for decades. With heartbreak, giving the cold shoulder and bitterness followed. Then with the lavender rose you gave that she used to love became a flower that she associated with Junmyeon too because he gave her one almost every night for those past 3 years.”

Things finally added up, and the guilt in Jeno’s gut expanded. His major lightbulb moment was a major failure.

“Has Junmyeon ever returned to try and win her back?”

“Well, there was one time he did come back for an art exhibition for his paintings in the 2000s. I was already here, then he had a woman around his shoulder with an adolescent boy holding his hand. He roamed around our exhibit and kept gawking at (Y/N). We may be asleep, but we remember the conversations exchanged in the room. So, his son then asked him if he knew who she was.”

“What did he respond?” Jeno attentively listened, on the edge of such a hurtful tale.

“He knew her name, praising her for historical achievements. However, nothing as a former friend or lover. From what I predict, he ingested one of Circe’s potions.”

“But I thought Circe isn’t allowed to make potions for actual consumption. She’s not even allowed to enter the Oriental Art Room.” Jeno pointed out, overwhelmed at the puzzling past. Princess Diana was mindful that she had to stop spreading too much information, so she had to end her discussion with the lost boy.

“There are a lot of secrets about this museum, Jeno. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal to you to protect our peace.”

With due respect, Jeno quit his follow-up questions and concerns. The only thing he wished to do was mend his relationship with you. As vague as to where you even stood in the first place, he unintentionally crossed a line due to his selfish intention to befriend you.

“What can I do now, Princess Diana? You know I’d never push her buttons like that, even if I’m a whimsical person.”

“Oh, my boy.” Princess Diana soothed, holding both her hand on his sweaty palm and cupping his cheek. “For the meantime, give her space. No taunting for a while, and just observe her from a distance. Though do not fret the slightest; I’m sure she’ll be okay again.”

During that interval, you were hunched on the wall, bawling and weeping like the wound was brand new again. While Katherine and Anne stood by your side, on the lookout for anyone who’d be spying on you, Cleopatra knelt in front of you as your infinite tears gushed down.

“My dear,” She tried to wipe some of them while holding your hand. “It’s been years, and Jeno didn’t know a single thing. He didn’t mean to do it.”

“I don’t care, Cleopatra! He should’ve stopped trying to socialize with me because I won’t ever live down my experience with Junmyeon.”

“As if crying like this will bring Junmyeon back to your life,” Cleopatra exclaimed, holding in her temper. Acquainted with heartbreak, it’s awful that it changed you entirely, but you should’ve found a way to heal. Throughout your attitude change, it’s mostly you in pain, not those you inflict it to. “My dear, I love you a lot. But this Jeno boy is different, and you know it.”

“He’s still a nightguard, for Christ’s sake, Cleopatra.”

“You shouldn’t generalize that all night guards are bad just because of one encounter that occurred at the wrong time.” Brushing some strands stuck by your wet visage, she professed to you bluntly. “You’re never going to know how good Jeno is unless you slowly open up again, (Y/N). Not forcing you the slightest, but healing started once you’ve acknowledged the past and move on from it.”

“But I’m scared, Cleopatra.” You restlessly admitted, hunching even more against the wall. Your poor, metaphorical heart could only take so much. You barely expressed sorrow towards others as you always held a strong exterior, only letting it out alone. Not holding back anymore, Cleopatra brought you in for a hug. The last time she did that was the first night after Junmyeon left, calming your intensified emotions so you wouldn’t do anything dumb that night. No violence, just pure sorrow.

“My dear, it’s alright.” She whispered while stroking your back upwards. “But you’re a risktaker; that’s how people remember you. Now, you must challenge yourself to move on from things that didn’t work out. Because once you do, it’ll put your heart and mind at ease.”

“Do you think I’ll be okay again?”

“Yes, you will be, my dear. You are not alone, and never will be.”

Acting like the dutiful son he always was, Jeno distanced from you.

He still cracked jokes, chatted with the art pieces, and followed the rules, yet never did he utter anything to you. You’ve proudly anticipated it since day one, not wanting him up in your business or teasing you ever. But this time, it felt odd.

On nights he didn’t report, you’ve unconsciously wondered what he may have been up to. A job like this at his age was just as Sanghoon once said: nothing in the regular.

Was he with his friends?

Was he resting well?

From the moment you chose to let go of your limitations and old thoughts, it included your grudge against past guards. Asking for forgiveness to Sanghoon when he returns was on the top of your list, however, that’ll take a while to happen. In the start, you’re baffled as to why he no longer picked on you like every night he’s been present. Somehow, it became a habit you’ve gotten used to, having so many comebacks planned to fend yourself. But you didn’t want to concede to it, maintaining what was left of your pride since that breakdown.

While on the subject, you suspected if anyone told him anything that night because that also indicated the last time he reached out to you. By anything, it would be your unwritten past with Junmyeon. A part of yourself in the museum that you didn’t want to disperse like rapid-fire again. It would be the last thing you wanted Jeno to know.

To your misfortune, Princess Diana came clean due to your growing concern over it. Although your attitude changed and people got used to it, you could only blame yourself that you were responsible for Jeno’s change.

“All he wanted was to understand and enlighten us with his likable presence. Then with you, you were his challenge because of your high walls. Out of everyone, he tried to learn everything about you. From my observation, whenever he has a goal, he’s determined to achieve it.”

“But I’m trying to be better now, Diana. Why did he stop?”

“He may have determination, but he knows where the boundaries lie.” Princess Diana patted the side of your arm, giving you a half-grin. “It hurt him when he hurt you, even if it was accidental. So he opted to give you space; that way, you could catch a breather and he wouldn’t harm you anymore. It was what you wanted from the start anyways, right?”

A hard pill to swallow, though it was a fact. It’s just that now, you’re slowly willing to release yourself from the dark. It’s been decades, and more to come. Nothing can move on unless you do.

“Where is he, Princess Diana?”

Just as she predicted right on the edge, Diana completed the grin on her face and led you to the entrance of your exhibit. She may be younger than you, but you’re reverted in your twenties while she remained in her mid-thirties. Gaping the wide museum from the railing, starting from the painting exhibit in the lobby to across the other side of the museum, Diana spotted the black hair of the boy in the Foreign Art Room.

“Over there.”

Observing where her eyes focused, you caught a glimpse of a recognizable side profile. The owner’s eyes were completely taken by whatever he was drawing on the fold-up desk he brought out from the storage room. By the tedious action of his right hand going up and down, you’ve gotten so used to his part-time identity as the night guard to entirely dismiss his current status as a university student.

Architecture specifically as he first introduced himself to you. The same path your oldest brother, Christopher, worked in. The look of tenacity Jeno presented as his eyebrows continuously scrunched, his crescent orbs hastily spied his work for any unnecessary details and his veiny hands brushed his already messy hair, you were profoundly reminded of Christopher when he was designing his possible future house. You were 8 years old, and he was 22, who just got married. He explained how many floors it’ll have, what rooms to put and what extra furniture he’ll place to make it feel more at home.

Seeing how exceptional his art skills were, you started to sketch like him. With flowers first, it turned into bedrooms and sceneries of your neighborhood. You felt your shoulders rise in accomplishment when you were able to accurately draw people. As much as you credited Benjamin and Liam the most in your works, it’ll only be within yourself to know that you also held a soft spot for Christopher.

Excusing yourself to Princess Diana, you bravely yet quietly ventured into the Foreign Art Room. Hiding first from one of the cement columns, you resumed watching him sketch. Instead of a pencil, he used a black pen with a tip as thin as a pencil. Your assumptions would be it was for a class, basing it on him informing everybody earlier that he’ll be inactive for the remaining hours of his shift to focus on his midterm requirements. That must be difficult to balance, yet he still does everything expected from him. Maybe the second cup of iced coffee beside him stimulated his bones and mind, letting his imagination free.

Through the limited space, you tiptoed whilst holding the side of the column to make up his work. There were 2 and a half rectangular shapes stacked on top of each other, the third one he was still tracing. A sign encrypted with tiny written words you couldn’t decipher, the beauty and modernity of Jeno’s plate cannot go unappreciated.

“That’s absolutely beautiful.”

Sweet words you didn’t think would bounce back in the room, Jeno’s pace ceased whilst you hid again. Art pieces capable of walking weren’t allowed here, he locked the door even beforehand! Or he thought as he was rushing to get his work done because one of his terror professors moved up the deadline to tomorrow morning. Not even 25% finished, he petitioned for everyone’s cooperation just for tonight.

He used up his 2 days of not having the night shift for other projects, and not wanting to ruin his perfect attendance, he proceeded to show up.

The voices from the foreign paintings around him hushed for him out of respect. So possibly someone snuck in, his head looking around for intruders. But only did he quit it when he saw your blurry reflection leaning against the column. The glass windows slightly mirror back what it sees, without you knowing that.

Not to mention, the small bit of your lilac dress was left out. Of all people, it was you?

“Do my eyes deceive me or is Miss (Y/N) (Y/L/N) inside when she’s not allowed so?”

To break the killing tension, he tested the waves with an innocent taunt. Never did you reach out to him, so least to say he was entertained whilst keeping his distance.

Fixing your proud stance, you responded in a low baritone voice you used to persuade numerous men in her adventures. “Uhm no, I don’t know who she is.”

As intelligent as you were, Jeno was a few steps farther than you this time. Educated about the risky ways you’d get around and one of them was changing the pitch of your voice, he heartily laughed at your unsuccessful attempt.

“Okay don’t lie, (Y/N). I can see a trail of your dress and your cloak. Oh, your reflection too.”

Damn, you peeked a little to realize that he was correct. Hauling your dress back in to readjust your outfit, you pushed your hair back before appearing to him. Though when you did such, you didn’t suppose that he was practically beside you the entire time. Bumping into his towering stance of 5’10 while the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up, your proud posture loosened up. He even discarded his blazer. A few more inches, he could’ve cornered you on the column if you didn’t take another step back.

Has he always been this tall or were you so used to your boots having high heels under? Oh wait, maybe because you wore flats this time because it’s making your toes sore. Your head bowed from struggling to maintain eye contact with him, your palms caressing your cheeks that suddenly heated up. Clearing your throat, you straightened your back again like nothing happened.

Jeno thought otherwise, shrugging his shoulders as he chuckled. He’s never seen you get shy, not that it was a bad thing either. The temptation to play around it more was there, but he was running out of time for his assignment.

“Come in. I’ll let you off the hook this time.” His arms opened up, allowing you access to such a wonderful exhibit. Paintings from different European periods, miniature versions of famous infrastructures inside glass containers, and replicas of Greek columns in the front entrance, no wonder it’s important to protect them all.

“Are you sure?” Watching him return to his spot, which was a bench in the center of the exhibit with a table in front, it didn’t process that you were gawking at his toned back. His broad shoulders and the evident muscles in his arms while he stretched, your eyes were speedy to look away when he tried to take a glance at you.

“I don’t think the paintings here and I mind.” Sitting down again, he tapped the vacant space beside him. “Feel free to watch me draw if you want to.”

Settling by his side, he recommenced where he left off. Now with a closer view of his piece, it did look like a building as you thought. He was sketching the remaining outline of the 3rd floor of this hypothetical place, continuously checking his ruler to monitor if the lines were consistent. Able to pick up on the words of the sign beside the building, you wowed with one hand on your lips.

“You’re redrawing Seoul National University Museum of Art?”

“One of my plate assignments was to visualize a renovation of a certain place, so I chose the museum.”

“Why so?”

“Well,” Jeno shook his pen so the ink could come out. “This entire place comes to life with the royal plate, so I think we should expand the space and bring in more art pieces to life if we add another extra floor. A rooftop area for visitors and events would be fun. And definitely, we should modernize the exterior and interior a bit because it looks outdated personally. That’s also what my friends think too.”

Noticing the minor details of his plate whilst removing any unnecessary pens so it wouldn’t smudge, “Huh, I quite agree with you.”

For the first time since his night shift, you, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), came into an agreement with him. He became so accustomed to clashing opinions that now, you had no contrasting points to make at all. A good change perhaps was what he’s witnessing.

“Woah, who are you agreeing with me and where’s (Y/N)?” He creased his brows whilst locking eye contact with you. This time, you didn’t wince away and just nudged him on his shoulder to get back to work.

“Hush, Jeno. Isn’t that due later? Get to work, I’ll roam around here for the meantime.”

After decades in this museum, you’re enlightened with the foreign paintings in which some you’ve heard of in your younger years and some that were created beyond your time. The Birth of Venus, Liberty Leading the People, Girl with a Pearl Earring, there’s an advantage of learning about their stories that humans couldn’t interpret. Logical that this section must be off-limits because these pieces were extra special, yet there’s so much more than what meets the eye.

There’s peace in silence while you wandered around, though it doesn’t hinder only at the art. Jeno hasn’t uttered a word since he got back to drawing, and once you asked him what’s doing now, still no answer back. Odd, he’s constantly awa-

Oh, my. You must’ve jinxed it.

Your eyes laid on Jeno leaning forward on his desk with his arms serving as his pillow, resting his head sideways. Soft snores and minimal movement in his upper body to shake the growing cold temperature of the room, he was sleeping like a log.

Putting into perspective, he hasn’t acquired enough rest specifically this past 2 weeks. The endless number of plates due making him work extra during his shift rather than sleeping in the slightest, exhaustion must be an understatement. Coffee no longer pushed him to his maximum for this week even.

But this was the path he chose, and it’ll have its challenges. Still, if you could relieve the stress in any way, you would. This would be one of the ways to repay for all the rudeness you’ve passed on him. Scurrying to his side, placing the plate on the side with his other things. You returned the caps of his open pens so they don’t spill. They must be expensive, recalling how Jeno shared the cons of being an architecture major to Princess Diana. One was the pens needed for sketching, and any tiny damages to them meant buying them again.

With his watch on clear display, he only had 2 hours left until his shift was done. Then, 4 hours until his plate assignment was done, and his current plate was far from done.

The blunt impulse to wake him up slithered your mind, though his calm state deflected your duty. As if you were on board a ship again for your explorations, you paid attention to the view with a relaxed mindset.

Lee Jeno specifically was the view.

His coffee-stained lips were parted and his sharp nose breathing in and out at a relaxing pace, he must be dreaming a happy moment the way half his lips curved into a smile. If he’s resting well, then you too would be calm.

Because of your past disinterest in him, only at this moment did you observe how sharp his jawline was and the cuts on his arms he sought refuge in. No matter how many times you tried to deny Hera’s compliments of him on the side, you couldn’t.

Lee Jeno embodied attractive features; both physical and emotional.

Back to his plate, it’ll put him at a disadvantage if he submitted the way it looked before he passed out. But you remembered all those extra details he mentioned and wanted to add to this project. Being an explorer, you documented all your ventures through words or drawings. You’re fast to adjust to anything new too.

For all the good he’s done for everyone, he only deserved some help in return.

Your version of help was sketching the remaining details of this plate, using other pens for more emphasis. It’s a risk also, but no way could you turn a blind eye on Jeno this time.

Around 5:30 am, Jeno’s eyes blinked open due to a brightening light from the outside. Stretching his limbs, he finds a velvet cloak wrapped around him like a blanket. But before he could question it, he pulled his arm in to see the time on his watch.

“Fuck!” He cursed, realizing that his so-called 10-minute snooze break aborted.

“Oh my, you’re awake!” From his frazzled state, there you were. So put together yet active, some strands of your hair falling down your face even with your hair up in a ponytail. “How was your sleep?”

This whole time he could’ve been woken up, yet you chose not to. You’re aware of his deadline, yet you let him rest entirely. He could’ve burst out in stress, yet he didn’t. You and he may have started on the wrong foot, yet it’s impossible of you to do such an evil thing. He’ll just have to tolerate the outcome later today.

“Refreshing. I really needed it.” Packing his things in his bag and closing the table, you trailed along as he exited with you. Locking up, he has 30 minutes left to accomplish the cleaning. A long good morning indeed.

But his worry of that vanished when you admitted that you had it all covered.

“Everyone helped out in cleaning, plus there are no damages made either.” From your hand, you returned one of his keys that was on his guard blazer. “I double-checked the Oriental Room and locked the doors again.”

“Why are you suddenly so nice to me, (Y/N)?” He questioned with confusion, wearing his blazer again and patting away any creases. He placed your cloak over you again like a true gentleman.

Without a word, you simply invited him to walk you back to your exhibit as parts of the sun began to rise. As you returned to your section, your fellow figures readying themselves to pose again,

“It’s my way to apologize for my very rude first impression and the succeeding moments after. I was too cooped up in my past that I was too afraid to let humans in again, night guards in particular.” You admitted, removing your cloak and placing behind your chair like always. “I’m so sorry, Jeno. Everyone was right about you and your kind heart.”

“About time.” Cleopatra’s sultry voice cut in, laying on her day bed.

Before you had the chance to flip off, Jeno mediated swiftly. With a gentle smile, “No worries about it. I’m just happy you’re okay, after all you’ve been through.”

“Can we start over then?”

“Absolutely.” With his free hand, he brought it out. No matter what kind of introductions, shaking one’s hand was the best way to start a friendship. “Good evening. I’m Lee Jeno, the new museum night guard.”

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N), explorer and author.” Sighing at his humor, you still replied by shaking his hand. “And I believe you’re mistaken, Lee Jeno. It’s a good morning.”

Seconds after, you imitated your typical pose and smile. Only now, the latter was more genuine. Finally, a fresh start to end your agony.

Once the sun fully revealed itself, every figure including yourself froze back to sleep. Something Jeno wished to catch up on if it weren’t for his damn plate. He was so screwed, already contemplating his next steps if he does fail this class. The possibility of getting delayed in all aspects, he dreaded it already.

Heading back to his dorm, where both his roommates completely passed out from soju on the couch, he sat by his work desk and turned on his night lamp for more light since the sun wasn’t strong enough yet.

With another cup of coffee, he cracked the joints of his knuckles and laid out his pens. He had 2 hours left to submit this plate, and at most he should accomplish 50% of his initial plan. However, he didn’t anticipate such a gorgeous outcome when he brought out his plate.

Picture perfect of every detail he desired, even adding a rooftop area with that he’d love to have if ever the museum does go under renovation one day. Rather than setting the plate during the day, it was at night as the skies were dark and bright specks of yellow inside the building symbolized light.

So much for wasting coffee, he’ll just give it to Jaemin when he wakes up later. Below the final product, a note written in cursive was stuck on it.

I knew you wanted to get this specific plate done, but you mustn’t compromise your sleep for it. It’s your inhumane professor’s fault!

To make up for my faults, I wanted to help you out. I paid extra attention to the details you spoke highly about, so I only hoped that I interpreted it correctly. It’s risky, but as someone who researched so much about me, would you be surprised that I did such a thing?

PS: Get back to sleep. I’m quite sure your desk is laid out the same way in the Foreign Art Room.

Respectfully,

(Y/N)

Turning off his lamp, Jeno jumped the covers of his bed to continue his lost sleep. Without an ounce of care that he hasn’t changed into cleaner clothes, he’s relieved that he won’t flunk his class.

Most of all, he’s relieved that you’ve melted the ice in you and allowed kindness to come in. Jeno may never understand how hard that must’ve been for you, yet he raved you for it.

“Oh, (Y/N) (Y/L/N). Surprise is an understatement when it comes to you.”

780 notes · View notes

kpopfanfictrash · 4 years ago

Text

Raise the Barre (Ch. 10)

Author: kpopfanfictrash

Pairing: Jimin / Reader

Rating: 18+ (Eventual Smut)

Genre: Enemies to Lovers / Dance Academy!AU

Warnings: the angst continues, but this time there are glimmers of progress

Word Count: 7,221

Summary: You and Park Jimin have been rivals for as long as you’ve known one another; ever since he tripped you in the front row of your first dance convention. When you graduate from high school and enter Russet Ballet Academy, you tell yourself you’re leaving all past quarrels behind. The main problem with this though, is that your past seems determined not to leave you alone.

Worse still, the obstacles you face while out in the real world might prove more challenging than anything your enemy has to offer.

For the first time all year, Jimin didn’t show up at class the next day.

You’d been dreading seeing him, unable to sleep all night as the kiss replayed itself in your mind. You’d told Jimin you needed to think and now, one day later, you still had no idea what to say.

You’d fucked up – big time.

Cheater had never been a label you would’ve applied to yourself; but here you were, scarlet letter on your chest. Yesterday seemed fuzzy whenever you remembered it, as though it had happened to you, as opposed to being something you’d done. Each time you recalled the moment, the kiss, your heart threatened to burst in your chest. You weren’t sure if this was because of Jimin or Finn.

Finn still hadn’t texted or called you since the fight. Maybe fight wasn’t the right word to describe the knock-down, blowout match you’d had in the library. You and Finn had never fought like that before. You’d had disagreements of course but had always managed to work things out. This was the first time you’d left an argument and found yourself at a loss.

Finn wanted a more available girlfriend and you wanted to dance.

Deep down, you knew this was an unsolvable problem, but the idea just seemed so unfathomable. The idea that this would be the thing to break you up. It hadn’t been a problem back in high school. Maybe Finn hadn’t always come to your dance competitions, but he’d attended recitals and brought you flowers at nearby performances. He’d always seemed to enjoy your dancing, even if he hadn’t fully understood it.

It made your heart ache to imagine that deep down, Finn thought your decisions were foolish. When you awoke Thursday morning, you saw Finn hadn’t called and nearly dialed his number, but then you looked at the clock and swore. Ballet began in an hour.

This conversation wasn’t one to do over the phone. Talking to Finn would have to wait, so you scrambled out of bed and threw on your clothes. Noelle had comforted you the best she could the night prior, but she still didn’t know the extent of what’d happened. All you’d said was you had a fight with Finn.

Saying it out loud felt like admitting defeat. Admitting what you’d done meant you’d have to see Noelle’s expression when you explained – when you told her you’d kissed Jimin while still dating Finn. You didn’t want to see her face when she learned the truth; you were having enough difficulty confronting it yourself.

Pushing this from mind, you focused on today as you entered the classroom. You would be forced to see Jimin this morning. You’d been so worried about talking to Finn, you’d nearly forgotten about the other piece of the equation.

You had kissed Jimin, and then you’d run away.

As you entered, you scanned the room and frowned when you didn’t immediately see him. Jimin usually arrived before you and Noelle. Setting your bag down, you began to warm up and continued to glance at the clock. At one minute until the hour, you began to grow nervous. If Jimin didn’t arrive in the next thirty seconds, the door to the room would shut and that would be that.

Watching the second hand tick, your stomach twisted as the unthinkable happened. Jimin didn’t show up. Ballet on Thursdays was taught by Mr. Vlad, who was notoriously punctual and at exactly 9:00 AM, he shut the door.

You had the sudden urge to check your phone for missed texts, but there was no time. Instead, you were forced to stand at the barre as you began pliés. You knew the second you started today would be a lost cause but could do nothing about it. Your relationship with Finn was in shambles, Jimin was clearly avoiding you but still, you needed to dance.

After class, you called Finn and went again to voicemail. Standing alone in your dorm room, you swallowed and tossed your phone on the bed. Fine – if he wouldn’t answer, you’d go and see him.

Stripping out of your leotard, you tossed this in the laundry to pull on new clothes. Jeans, sweater, coat – slamming a hat on your head, you shoved both hands in mittens and threw your bag over your shoulder. You were halfway out the door when you came to a stop.

You had no idea what to say to Finn.

Shutting your eyes, you slowly exhaled. You were angry, that much was true. Furious, even – his words had been biting, you were still hurting but you also still loved him, as insane as that sounded. Opening your eyes, you glanced at your trembling hands.

You hated feeling this way – weak, irrational. You hated wanting Finn, loving him and being so hurt all at the same time. Worse still, you hated the guilt clouding your judgement and lessening some of your anger. Finn had been wrong to say what he’d said, but you’d also been wrong to kiss Jimin.

For weeks now, you’d felt something for Jimin. Maybe months if you were being totally honest with yourself. Jimin had always consumed a larger amount of your waking hours than could be considered entirely normal for a supposed enemy.

Slowly, you turned and set down your keys. Removing your hat from your head, you stared at the door. Before you could talk yourself out of it, you sat at your desk and dialed Finn’s number.

It rang several times and then went to voicemail. This time, you didn’t hang up.

“Hey. It’s me.” You paused. “Finn, listen, I… we need to talk. Things have gotten so messed up lately. So… fucked up, right? I’m pissed, Finn. I’m really mad at you, but that’s not the only reason we need to talk. I – just call me back. Okay?”

You hesitated, wanting to tell him I love you, but forced yourself to hang up instead. Lowering your phone to your lap, you released a sigh. You supposed for all your avoidance of Finn, you deserved to give him a little more time to think.

Even though sitting here not doing anything was killing you.

As stupid as it sounded, you couldn’t bring yourself to break up over the phone. That would be considered the lowest of low. If you even wanted to break up, that is. It had been less than a week since you’d first had the thought in the cab – maybe you and Finn didn’t belong together. It seemed like a foreign concept still, as nonsense to you as chopping off your own hand.

But you couldn’t ignore things any longer. Something was obviously wrong between you. You needed to talk, you needed to lay all cards on the table and decide where you’d go next.

Closing your eyes, you leaned back in the chair. Without quite meaning to, your thoughts wandered to Jimin.

This seemed to happen more and more lately. You weren’t sure when he started vying for Finn’s place in your mind. The shift had been subtle, a change you’d barely noticed at first. But no – that wasn’t entirely true. It wasn’t as though Jimin had taken Finn’s place, but rather forged an entirely new one.

What you felt for Jimin was different from how you felt for Finn. With Finn, things between you were comfortable, things – had – felt supportive and strong. Now, Finn was none of those things to you, but he still didn’t compare to how you felt for Jimin.

Jimin was like a breath of fresh air after being inside for too long. He was something you hadn’t even realized you missed until you went out. You wouldn’t feel like this for Jimin unless something were wrong with the room you were currently in.

Suddenly, you felt very tired.

You’d always prided yourself on your ability to persevere, on your talent for overcoming by simply pushing on. This though wasn’t something you could solve through sheer force of will. The mess you’d created was only made worse by your infernal stubbornness.

Opening your phone, you flipped to the thread between you and Jimin. The last text he’d sent you had been a TikTok before the night of the kiss. True to his word, Jimin had pretended to forget all about the club and instead, simply returned to being your friend. Rereading your texts, you felt your chest tighten.

It wasn’t as though Jimin had been entirely innocent.

He’d known you had a boyfriend, but you’d never done anything to push him away. You’d been the one to move closer in the club. You had been the one to kiss him first. Jimin didn’t deserve to be treated this way and slowly, you lowered your head to your hands.

It was too much. By all rights, several people should hate you right now and you had no idea how to fix any of it.

Looking up, you set your jaw and sent Jimin a text.

Y/N: you weren’t in ballet class today. Is everything okay? [3:14 PM]

It took Jimin a while to respond. While you waited, you stared at the ceiling, then the floor until you saw ellipses typing. Jimin paused, then stopped and started again. After several long minutes, you got a new text.

Jimin: was sick, sorry [3:22 PM]

Y/N: that sucks :/ [3:22 PM]

Jimin: Y/N. What do you want? [3:23 PM]

Swallowing hard, you sat back. You had no idea what you wanted, and therein lay the problem. Belatedly, you realized you couldn’t have this conversation before you talked to Finn. You couldn’t know what you were apologizing for until you knew where you stood with your current relationship.

You needed more time, which was what you had told Jimin yesterday – and then proceeded to ignore, texting him now.

Y/N: nothing. I’m sorry. I just… wanted to make sure you were okay [3:25 PM]

He started typing again, then stopped. This happened a few more times and you imagined Jimin rewriting whatever it was he wanted to tell you. Finally, he sent his text and you felt your heart sink.

Jimin: yeah. I’m fine. [3:27 PM]

Y/N: okay [3:28 PM]

Placing your phone to the side, you fought back the tears which now threatened to fall.

You’d never imagined yourself an emotional person, so you couldn’t imagine where all this was coming from. Some long-lost, pent-up part of yourself which throbbed and whispered how stupid you were. Stupid to have fought with Finn, stupid to have pushed Jimin away, stupid to have kissed him and hurt everyone in the process.

Climbing into your bed, you curled into a ball and let the tears fall until you had nothing left.

The next morning, you walked into ballet class with red-rimmed eyes. Noelle had returned yesterday afternoon, taken one look at your face and transitioned to mom mode. She thought your breakdown was all about Finn and you hadn’t bothered to correct her. In a way, it all was.

He still hadn’t called. When you woke, you battled again whether to go to Redfield and confront him in person. That hadn’t worked out so well the last time, but it was driving you crazy to exist in this state of not knowing.

When you entered class Friday morning, you saw an unfamiliar woman at the front and felt your heart sink. In the chaos of this past week, you’d nearly forgotten about today’s master class.

Maisie Vern was a renowned choreographer of classical ballet. She’d choreographed for some of the most well-known ballets all over the world, with her pas de deux choreography receiving comparisons to Balanchine originals.

You’d completely forgotten she was teaching today. Starting to panic, you forced yourself to stay calm. Just because your private life was falling to pieces didn’t mean this needed to manifest in your dancing. You could do this.

And then Jimin walked into the room and you realized you couldn’t.

He looked as tired as you felt, dark circles shadowed beneath his eyes. He hardly glanced your way as he entered, crossing to the other side to set down his things. Following him with your gaze, you watched Jimin begin to stretch at the barre. Dark hair fell over his forehead, hiding his face from view.

Forcing yourself not to look, you noticed Seokjin standing at the front. Seeing him beside Miss Vern made your stomach sink. Seokjin was in high demand as a teacher’s assistant; the only reason he’d be here was if he were assisting Miss Vern. And if he were assisting Miss Vern, this meant today’s combination must be a pas de deux.

Confirming your growing dread, Miss Vern clapped both her hands. She was dressed in a slouchy sweater, wispy bun and flat canvas ballet shoes. Effortlessly standing in first position, she glanced around the room.

“Hello,” she said. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Maisie Vern. We have a long class today, so make sure your water bottles are full. For the first hour we’ll warm up at the barre, then we’ll move to center and learn some choreography. I will warn you,” she said, raising her brow. “This pas de deux is from a ballet I’m choreographing for the San Francisco ballet, so it has never been performed live before. Therefore! A certain amount of professionalism and confidentiality is expected.”

Whispers swept the room, everyone eager for the opportunity to prove their worth. Even you found yourself awed by the moment – it was a privilege to dance in the same room as Maisie Vern, let alone learn choreography she’d yet to reveal to the public.

“Now.” Miss Vern gestured to Seokjin. “Some of you might know Kim Seokjin, my assistant for the day. He comes to me highly recommended and will help demonstrate some of the more complicated lifts. Today’s pas de deux is less about the choreography though, and more about the emotion.”

Hearing this, you froze at the barre.

“The ballet is a modern-day retelling of the Odyssey epic. Our hero, Odysseus, has just returned home and is reunited with his love, Penelope. He suspects her of cheating in his absence, so he disguises himself as someone else to test her. Penelope realizes who he is and is furious at her husband for his lack of faith.”

Your gaze darted to Jimin. He stared ahead at Miss Vern, but you could see his jaw tense from all the way across the room.

“This pas de deux is all about tension! Two people in love but pushed beyond their limits. Time and distrust have come between them. This,” Miss Vern announced, “will be the goal of you ballerinas and danseurs to convey.”

All around, a few people nodded, but most of the class seemed unnerved by the prospect. Thus far, your classes at Russet had mainly focused on technique. Even in weekly variations class, the emphasis had been on learning the choreography, rather than on how to tell a story.

This was the hallmark of a great dancer, though. Being able to act as you moved, telling a story which the audience could understand.

“It will be a challenge,” Miss Vern said. “However, I think you will find it to be enjoyable. With that said, let’s start at the barre. Pliés!”

Everyone scrambled to stand, including you and Noelle. Pressing play on the music, Miss Vern demonstrated the combination before you began. Barre passed quickly, possibly because you were dreading center so much. All too soon, the hour was up, and Miss Vern instructed the class to find their partners.

Warily, you crossed the room and came to a stop beside Jimin. He looked up as you approached but kept his face carefully neutral. You couldn’t tell what he was thinking and for a moment, felt a glimmer of resentment.

It had taken two people to kiss in that practice room.

Jimin had known you were taken, just as much as you’d known you were dating Finn. Even if you’d started the kiss, Jimin hadn’t stopped it – if anything, he’d kissed you back.

The moment you thought this, some of your anger drained away. Jimin had wanted to talk, but you hadn’t let him. Maybe you’d realized you felt something for him since then, but Jimin had never said anything similar to you.

For all you knew, he’d simply been caught in the moment. It wasn’t as though Jimin had ever said anything about wanting to be more than friends.

“Alright!” Miss Vern clapped her hands. “Ballerinas, you’ll start offstage. We begin at the end of the male solo. By this point in the choreography, Penelope and Odysseus have reunited. In her solo, we realize she knows who he is. In his solo, he’s angry to hear she’s entertained other suitors. They reunite for the coda!”

Glancing again at Jimin, he immediately looked down. The kernel of anger returned and this time, it grew larger. Although yes, you’d initially run away, you had at least tried to reach out to him yesterday. Jimin had been the one to skip class and shut you down.

It wasn’t fair for him to expect you to have all the answers. You had a boyfriend and you’d kissed. Clearly, you had a few things to work through.

Jaw tense, you separated from Jimin and went to stand on the sidelines. Miss Vern began teaching the danseurs the end of their solo, instructing the men to spread out on the floor. Unscrewing the cap of your water bottle, you took a large, angry sip.

As the music began, the male dancers followed suit while you watched from the side.

“Y/N?”

Turning your head, you found Sabrina before you.

She was dressed in her usual ballet clothes, but there was something about her which seemed different today. Maybe it was the hesitancy in her expression.

Looking at her in surprise, you wondered what she had to say. The fight you’d had on Halloween night seemed so far away but had barely been a week ago.

“Yeah?” you said as you set down your water.

Sabrina hesitated, seeming at war with herself. “Hey. So, I was wondering…”

Miss Vern yelled a correction at the group. Gaze darting sideways, you attempted to see who it had been directed to. After a moment, you returned to Sabrina.

“Wondering what?” you said, arching a brow.

“I was just… wondering if we could talk,” Sabrina finished lamely.

You blinked and stared at her in surprise. Out of everything, this was quite possibly the last thing you’d suspected would happen today. Before you could respond though, Miss Vern called for ballerinas to enter.

“Ballerinas!” She motioned you forward. “Your entrance will come from the top right wing. Run through the center and find your partner.”

“I – okay,” you said, realizing Sabrina waited for an answer. “Later.”

Sabrina frowned, about to respond but Miss Vern clapped her hands again, forcing you to move. Hurrying past, you hastily positioned yourself in the back of the room. With everything else that was happening, you didn’t really have time to worry about another enemy.

Speaking of whom – Jimin’s gaze hardened when you approached and in response to this, anger flared in your belly.

You’d asked him to give you time and he had agreed. It seemed this was no longer the case.

Woodenly, Jimin held out his hand. Staying carefully neutral, you took this as Miss Vern began to teach you the steps. She hadn’t been lying when she’d called the pas de deux difficult. By necessity, some of your anger disappeared as you focused on learning.

Jimin seemed equally concentrated, barely looking your way while he practiced. It took nearly forty-five minutes to learn the entire coda, with Miss Vern stopping partway for a water break. By the time you knew the choreography, both of you were sweating.

Miss Vern had also been right to call the pas de deux one about tension. At the start, Jimin’s character was testing Penelope. This involved him pulling you towards him, turning you and making you chase him – until halfway through the coda, when Penelope snapped. Choreography shifting, you began to chase him, revealing you knew who he was.

The choreography was intricate, necessitating trust between partners. Despite everything, you were relieved to find this still existed between you. When you jumped, you knew Jimin would catch you. When you fell, you knew his hands would find your waist.

Still, this didn’t mean things had returned normal. As you practiced a fouetté, turning quickly to face him, Jimin gripped your wrist harder than usual. Wincing, you pushed on towards the next jump.

The combination involved several lifts, one of which was the most psychologically taxing. It involved Jimin lifting you overhead with your front leg extended, holding only your waist. While not the most difficult move technically, it required a certain fortitude of mind to dangle, upside-down from his arms.

This certainly wasn’t helped by the fact that Jimin kept grunting.

“Will you stop doing that?” you hissed as he set you back down.

A muscle in Jimin’s jaw ticked.

“Stop doing what?”

“Grunting. I keep thinking you’re about to drop me.”

Jimin gave you a look, chest heaving for breath. “Well, it’s hard.”

“Our job is to make it look easy.”

“Yeah, look easy,” he argued. “That doesn’t mean it actually is.”

“Well –”

“Let’s just try it again,” Jimin said, cutting you off.

After a moment, you nodded and returned to your position. As you began to practice with music, you felt a familiar sinking feeling in your stomach. It seemed you’d taken several steps backwards since the start of the year. Instead of continuing to grow as partners, you and Jimin had returned to the start.

As you repeated the steps, you felt his grip on you tighten, but Jimin lifted you overhead with nary a grunt. He set you back down, your leg extended in arabesque.

“Good!” said Miss Vern as she walked past. “Try to support her lower back more, though, Jimin. She shouldn’t be falling that far behind.”

As she walked away, Jimin nodded and exhaled a breath. Once she was gone, he turned sideways to face you. Again, his gaze was unfamiliar and cold.

“Alright,” Jimin said. “Again?”

“From where?”

“Middle of the partner section?”

You nodded, taking a step backwards to catch your breath. The break in the partner section began with you running towards him, Jimin catching you around the waist to sweep you into a fish lift.

As you ran through the steps, you tried to concentrate on the choreography. Not on your partner, nor on the uncertainties which roared through your mind. Jimin certainly didn’t seem to have the same qualms you did. By all accounts, Jimin was a sharp, perfunctory, and timely dance partner.

You found this to be maddening.

Just when you’d forgotten how strained things had become, he’d grip your hand a little too tightly, or turn you a little too sharply and your eyes would narrow. After another ten minutes of practice, Miss Vern called your attention by the stereo.

“Let’s try it full out,” she suggested. “I won’t hold the first time against you, but please do your best to execute every lift.”

The class grunted in agreement; wiping sweat from their brows, they retreated to their starting positions.

Glancing at Jimin, you said, “Full out?”

He nodded. “If you want.”

Turning on his heel, he walked across the room. You watched him go, your blood beginning to reach a boiling point. Jimin was acting like a petulant child. This was how he used to be in high school, back when he was your enemy and everything had been simpler, but you didn’t want that anymore.

Now that you knew who Jimin was, you couldn’t possibly go back to hating him. The very idea made your heart hurt.

Possibly you were being unfair, or naïve. Clearly, you’d hurt Jimin, but there wasn’t time to fix things between you before the end of class. You needed to be professional, you needed to pull your shit together and you needed Jimin to do the same. Turning around, you crossed the room and reached your starting spot.

Taking a deep breath, you waited for your cue.

When Miss Vern signaled the ballerinas to enter, you ran – and felt Jimin catch you by the wrist. He wasn’t gentle, pivoting you to a penché and waiting for you to rise. When you did, he crushed you to his chest and caught your knee in posse.

Teeth gritted, you kept your gaze on him while extending á la second. Hand finding your calf, Jimin raised your leg higher. His grip was rougher than usual, making you shiver as his hand slid to your ankle.

Gaze lidded, Jimin bent you in cambré. When he pulled you upwards to face him, your noses practically touched. Your frustration, previously under control, began to unwind.

“Why weren’t you in class yesterday?” you whispered.

Jimin’s eyes flashed, as though in warning. When you turned around, he caught you deftly around the waist. Pulling you to him, Jimin’s breath ghosted your neck.

“I told you,” he murmured. “I was sick.”

“Bullshit,” you said, breaking free of his hold.

Jimin followed close behind, his feet skimming the floor. As you piqued to arabesque, he caught up and pulled you against him.

“You’re avoiding me,” you accused.

“I’m not. And it’s not bullshit,” he added. Turning you around, Jimin dipped you, only to catch you before you hit the floor. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

The next part required more footwork, both of you circling the other. Your breathing was heavier the next time you were close enough to speak.

“You’ve barely spoken to me today,” you hissed.

A mirthless laugh left his lips. Spinning you sideways, Jimin caught you against his chest, your bodies pressed together in heated silence.

“I thought you told me not to say anything?” he said sweetly.

The next move tore you apart, your feet skimming the floor before Jimin caught up and lifted you high overhead. You saw the ground for a moment, heartbeat hammering your ribs before he set you back down. Chasséing forward, you battemented and were again caught by Jimin at the ankle.

Dragging you closer, his hand found your waist.

Stubbornly, you met his gaze. “I needed time to think.”

“Oh, did you?”

Releasing your leg, he lowered you to a penché. As you rose, you managed to say, “I did. And now, I think we should talk.”

Jimin snorted. “What’s there to talk about?”

Your next battement nearly hit him in the head. Jimin’s eyes widened, but it was all part of the choreography. Timed to a change in tempo, the choreography shifted to you as the pursuer.

On pointe, you ran forward, leaping into his arms at the last second. Fish dives were difficult, since they required complete trust of your partner, but Jimin caught you easily, cradling you close to his chest.

Lips brushing your ear, he set you back down. “Are you still with him?” he asked, chest heaving behind you. “Your boyfriend?”

Meeting his gaze in the mirror, you hesitated. “Yes.”

His gaze hardened. “Then, there’s nothing to talk about.”

There was no time to respond since the next sequence involved Jimin chasséing away into a tour jeté. You followed with chainés, head whipping around to spot him every time. As soon as you were within speaking distance, you caught him by the arm again.

“I say there is,” you insisted. “Why are you making this so difficult?”

“Me?” Jimin barked a laugh as he turned. “You’re the one driving me crazy. Like you always do.”

“What the hell does that mean?” you said to him, baffled.

Jimin’s gaze cut to yours.

For the briefest of moments, you saw his façade break. All of his pain, all of his hurt and frustration shone through and you felt yourself falter. Staring at him, you couldn’t form a response.

Not that there was time. The dance hadn’t ended and class hadn’t stopped. Taking a slow step towards you, Jimin tenderly caught your attitude effacé and extended your leg. Dragging you forward, he pulled you across the floor.

As he came to a stop, Jimin swept your body to his as your fingers curled in his hair. In the choreography, the moment was one of near reconciliation between Penelope and Odysseus, a breather before their intense ending sequence. Jimin’s chest was concave with your breath, his gaze dark and lidded when he pulled back to see you.

You swallowed, disentangling yourself as you bourreéd away.

Heart pounding, you skimmed the floor with glissades, crossing the room with Jimin close behind. The final sequence was the grand reveal, with Penelope exposing Odysseus for who he is and forgiving his mistrust.

You could relate to the sequence.

Not all of it – had you been Penelope, you might have cheated while Odysseus had been away. You might have fallen for someone else; one of the suitors, perhaps. When you looked at Jimin now, you saw that clearly. There were feelings here which extended beyond a normal crush.

Still, you could relate to the dance. You could relate to Penelope’s frustration at Odysseus for being gone for so long. For leaving in the first place, for forcing her to withstand all her burdens alone. She’d been faithful to him and all he’d done was accuse her of cheating. You remembered Finn’s words to you in the library and felt your heart sink, since you’d ended up proving him right after all.

You’d also hurt Jimin though, which you hadn’t intended. Of course, he was angry – you’d repeatedly led him on, not pushing him away when you should have. And when things between you had finally snapped, you hadn’t let him speak. You’d run away.

Executing a double pirouette, you extended in attitude for a quick promenade. Shutting down your mind, you allowed yourself to be swept away by the music. Swept away by the characters, the dance and its emotions. The choreography became less important as the story came alive. Jimin’s hands were as familiar to you as your own, lifting you easily and setting you back on the ground.

Your heart ached with each step, wanting to be closer, wanting to be nearer to him than you were. As the steps slowed, you found yourself softening. Jimin’s hand slid to your thigh, settling you against his chest in a move reminiscent of the first time you’d felt a spark. Locking gazes with him, you inhaled and lifted your hand to rest on his cheek.

Time seemed to slow; you both felt and saw a muscle tick in his jaw. Jimin roughly exhaled, his chest pressed to yours as his gaze dropped to your lips.

“Bravo! Brava!”

Startled, both of you looked up.

Dazedly, you remembered you weren’t alone. You were in Miss Vern’s ballet class, most of whom had stopped dancing midway to watch. Placing you down on the ground, Jimin took a step backwards. Lacing both hands before him, he refused to meet your gaze, choosing instead to focus on Miss Vern.

“Beautifully done!” Crossing the floor, Miss Vern stopped before you. “The passion you showed! Such emotion, such artistry. My own principals couldn’t have done any better.”

Eyes widening, your lips parted. A flutter of incredulity went through you. It was unthinkable to receive such a high compliment from a teacher at Russet, let alone a choreographer as famed as Maisie Vern.

If you’d been looking for a sign to continue, this had to be it. One of the top choreographers in the world, commending your talent and somehow, her words didn’t feel nearly as good as when Jimin had said them.

Glancing at him, you found Jimin looking as stunned as you felt. The ache within you sharpened to a point, realizing how much he meant to you. How much you wanted his success, regardless of your own.

In that moment, you knew it had never been about anyone else’s perception of you as a dancer.

You knew you could do this. You knew you could make it at Russet, could make it as a dancer. Deep down, you’d always known this, despite your moments of doubt. Jimin had been right. You wanted to dance, you loved to dance and you would continue down this path regardless of what anyone else said.

That hadn’t been what crushed you about Finn’s words.

It had crushed you that after all this time, he still didn’t seem to know who you were. The fact that he could throw out those words so casually, as though you might simply stop dancing meant he didn’t see you. He might as well have asked you to stop breathing.

Jimin, though – Jimin understood. Jimin knew who you were. He’d been a part of your life for so long, he got what made you tick. He’d seen you at your worst, as your most bitter enemy and then again, as your most trusted partner.

It was part of why he meant so much to you.

You understood all this in the blink of an eye, then realized you hadn’t responded to Miss Vern’s praise.

“Oh,” you said, fighting to catch your breath. “I – thank you so much, Miss Vern. I honestly don’t know what to say.”

Miss Vern nodded, as though she were used to such a response. Beside you, Jimin was still breathing hard, but he nodded.

“Yes,” he said. “Thank you so much.”

She nodded, not choosing to linger as she faced the room. “Use them as an example!” she said, striding towards the stereo. “Seokjin and I will demonstrate, but that is the level of performance you should aim for. Again!”

The rest of the class passed in a blur, some of the fight dissipated between you and Jimin. He was still quiet, but you didn’t push him again to speak. You’d done enough for now.

As the class came to an end, Miss Vern gathered you round to give a short speech. She thanked everyone for the pleasure of teaching and, once you were dismissed, turned towards the barre.

Jimin left before you could, throwing his things in his bag as he rushed from the room. You followed him with your eyes, knowing he was avoiding you, but not blaming him in the slightest.

Sabrina wasn’t far behind and your gaze lingered on her, remembering the attempted conversation during class. You still had no idea what she’d wanted to say but honestly, Sabrina was the least of your problems right now.

Exhaling, you stood from the ground and checked your phone. Still no word from Finn.

You were trying desperately to understand, trying to give him time to think, but after your fight on Wednesday, you honestly weren’t sure if you still had a boyfriend. Finn’s radio silence didn’t seem to indicate anything positive, but you refused to let this be the way things ended between you. He owed you that much, at least.

Returning to your dorm, the knot tightened further as you imagined what he might say. Both of you had said hurtful things and now, you needed to tell him something which would change your relationship forever.

You needed advice. You needed to talk to Fin. You needed to apologize, you needed–

Plopping down on your bed, you dialed the only number you could think of to call. Noelle had graciously left to stay at Irene’s, giving you the room to yourself.

Your mom answered on the first ring.

“Y/N? Hello?”

“Mom?” you said, your voice suddenly tight.

“Oh, honey” she said, hearing your shift. You heard a soft click, as though she’d entered the next room. “What’s going on?”

“I – nothing.”

Closing your eyes, you fought to control your breathing.

“Nothing, hm?” Your mom made a gentle noise. “You’re still coming home for the holidays, aren’t you? That’s not what this is about? Your dad won’t stop talking about plans for when you get here. He just goes on and on! You’d think he didn’t have a wife.”

“No, no,” you said, opening your eyes. “I just… missed you. That’s all.”

“Well, then call more!”

When you tried to laugh, the sound came out weaker than usual.

Your mom fell quiet for a moment. “That’s not all, is it?”

“… No.”

“Tell me,” she prodded.

So, you did.

Once you started talking, you found you couldn’t stop. Everything came pouring out. The difficulties you’d had at Russet, the need for private lessons, the injury to your ankle and everything going on with Finn. The time he missed brunch, the gradual growing apart, the night he left you at the club – your mom had some choice words at this point – and your growing feelings for Jimin.

Everything had changed when you’d gone to Russet, and you’d always assumed Finn would stay the same but now, even he was crumbling into pieces.

When you were done, your mom was silent a moment, then sighed. You could picture her so clearly in your mind’s eye, seated in your dad’s office chair. This was likely where she’d gone when you heard the door click. The image made you so homesick, it physically pained you.

“Life isn’t ever as neat as we wish it would be,” your mom said at last. “People make mistakes, Y/N. People change. Sometimes the things we thought were permanent turn out not to be.”

“I know. And I know Finn and I are young, but –”

“It’s not that,” your mom said, cutting you off. “Some people meet the person they want to be with early on. That happens. Some people know who they are from the minute they’re born, but other people change and want different things.”

“I – I know. Objectively, I know but… it’s so hard to do something I don’t want to do. And I… I don’t want to break up with Finn.”

“Why not?” your mom said gently.

Biting down on your lower lip, you felt tears fill your eyes. Your answer was stupid – you knew it was. Partly, this was why you kept running away. You knew the answer wasn’t enough, which was why you didn’t want to say it.

“We’ve just been together so long,” you said, closing your eyes. “We’ve gone through rough patches before. Why is now any different?”

“I don’t know. Why is it?”

Swallowing hard, you whispered, “Because this time, I have no idea how to fix things. I think we’ve hurt each other too much, mom. I don’t know… I don’t see a way back to how we were.”

Hearing the words said out loud, you opened your eyes.

There it was. The thing you’d known for weeks but had been unwilling to say. So long as you kept it bottled in, pushed down, you didn’t have to acknowledge its presence or pain.

In truth, your fights with Finn had become so commonplace, you could no longer point to ‘the big one.’ The fight about spending time together had mutated, becoming a multi-headed dragon of differing life goals, de-prioritization and feelings for others.

Whenever you and Finn were happy these days, you found yourself holding your breath. You were waiting for said happiness to dissolve into pain. You had no clue when a relationship was supposed to end but had to imagine this wasn’t a good sign.

“I don’t think there are any easy answers, Y/N,” said your mom. “This is something you need to decide for yourself.”

“Shouldn’t it be easy, though?” you demanded, grip tightening on your phone. “When I list out everything that’s happened, I know things are bad. I haven’t been telling you things because deep down, I don’t want you saying what I already know.”

“Which is?”

“We… that we should break up.”

Your mom was quiet a moment. “It’s never easy to give up something you love.”

You wanted to respond but found you couldn’t, simply nodding even though she couldn’t see. On some level, she was your mom and she understood.

“What about the other boy you mentioned?” she said, sounding curious. “The one you’re having feelings for. Is this the same Jimin as high school?”

“Yes,” you whispered, the white-hot shame of your kiss burning you from the inside.

That was something you couldn’t tell your mom. Not now, at least. Maybe sometime in the future but for now, you couldn’t bear the shame of admitting what you’d done. You never should have let things get to this point.

“Hm.” She made a thoughtful sound. “You know, I’m not surprised to hear you’re getting along. He always seemed like a nice boy, despite how you treated him.”

“Mom!” you blurted. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“I am, honey.”

“Jimin used to bet I’d lose against him in competitions.”

“Mhm. And who started those bets?”

Although you huffed, you didn’t respond because your mom was right. Your bet senior year had been Jimin’s idea, but you’d been the one to start them before.

“It’s not even about Jimin,” you said, quieting somewhat. “It’s more… nothing in my life is solid anymore. I had a plan, mom. I knew exactly what I wanted and now that I’m here, nothing’s how I imagined.”

Softly, your mom chuckled. “Welcome to your twenties.”

“Mom!”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. Welcome to adulthood.”

“You’re not helping.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Her voice grew softer. “I wish I was there, so I could give you a hug. You’ve always been the type of person who needed a plan. But there’s more than one way to be happy, Y/N. What is it you really want?”

Her words were so reminiscent of Jimin that for a moment, you could only pause. What you wanted was dance, but you knew acknowledging this meant giving up Finn.

“I don’t know,” you whispered.

“Well, then. That’s probably the first thing you should figure out.”

Closing your eyes, you nodded. You stayed on the phone with her a while longer, talking about nothing and slowly calming down. When you finally hung up, you promised to call more and confirmed your plans to come home for the holidays.

Lowering your phone to the bed, heavy realization settled over you. You’d reached your lowest moment. If you sunk any further, there’d be no salvaging anything.

What else could happen? You barely had a relationship with Finn to speak of, had hurt Jimin’s friendship in the process and were so distracted, so tired, you were in danger of jeopardizing your future at Russet.

Somewhere along the line, everything had become twisted. You had too many problems to ignore any longer. Sitting up straighter in bed, you wiped tears away with your palm. All you could do was move forward – starting with Finn.

Satisfied by this, you rolled over in bed and closed your eyes. It had been a long time since you’d slept; you figured you could try and nap before you called. Finn wouldn’t be out of his classes for a few hours yet.

For the first time in a week, you managed to fall asleep before your mind could talk yourself out of rest.

Author’s Note: Thank you for reading 😊 ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT! (and then the epilogue, but you know) New chapters of Raise the Barre will be posted weekly; dates are listed on the series Master List. Requests for updates will be deleted.

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