#SOOO excited. Banging the walls and counting the days.

[minminambus]

cannot WAIT to leave home for pharmacy school

[sumsebien]

by design pt.6 // prince friedrich

series masterlist

summary: y/n and friedrich haven't seen each other in quite some time. despite it all, the ball is coming whether or not they are ready for it.

word count: 4.5k

warnings: like one German swear word?

a/n: Sooo excited for everyone to see this oneee. Thank you everyone for waiting so patiently 🥺There’s a lot of German in this one. Thank you forever to @milkbaer for checking them and for your suggestions. You know what scene I’m talking about ;) Anyways, expect more German in the future cuz I’m learning German now.

-Moin: a casual greeting, = hi/ hey

-Mein Schatzi: my sweetheart/ treasure (literal)

-Liebes: love/ honey

-Mein Herz: my dear/ heart (literal)

-Verdammt: (God)damn

-Christtag: Christmas

-Keine Bange! ...ist da!: No worries! … is here!

-Dankeschön. Wir dachten, wir hätten sie verloren: Thank you so much. We thought we had lost her.

-Bitte schön: Please/ You’re welcome

-Komm her. Mir geht es nicht gut: Come here. I don’t feel so well.

-Eine moment: one moment

...

Two weeks had passed since Frederica’s surprise arrival in Berlin. Within that gap of time, a lot had happened.

The entire city was revived. Everyone was excited to see their Queen out and about at the shops with you, their brand new princess. Everywhere you went, people spoke of her radiance and mercy. And while most of them —including you—had no clue as to who exactly brought Frederica here, no one was complaining.

You were afraid, though, the same could not be said for the King.

You noticed at dinner, where the ladies of the ton sat, there were whispers. Upfront, no one dared question the King’s authority. But when ears were plugged and lips were loose, the whispers said that it was not he who reigned but rather his mistress—Lady Bernadine Brandt.

Ever since Frederica’s arrival, Lady Brandt had been awfully silent. She rarely showed up these days, not even to perform her duties as your Chief Lady-in-waiting (not that you were complaining). Suspiciously enough, neither had the King showed up in court.

“People say he hates Her Majesty’s dog so much, he didn’t want to be outside, in fear of running into it,” said Ilse —the bigger gossip out of your two maids.

You glanced into the empty audience room, which had sat in silence for almost two weeks already. Originally, you’d thought they were all vicious rumours, something scandalous enough to tide the people over. However, it appeared there may be some truth to it after all.

“How ridiculous!” exclaimed Lea, who apparently was also converted into something of a gossip herself as of late. “I think it’s because Lady B doesn’t want to let him out.”

You carried on with the conversation in hushed tones, asking, “Why not? Is she afraid of the Queen?”

“The Queen is still the Queen,” Lea said. “No matter how much the King likes her, Lady Brandt will just be a mistress.”

“She’d be a fool not to be afraid of the Queen,” Ilse added.

It was hard for you to believe that the free-spirited person who had a soft spot for gardenias and one little ferocious dog was someone to be afraid of. But you knew they were right.

“Goodbye, your Highness,” your maids said once you reached the portrait gallery. Now that the distant relatives of the Royal family were here to help redecorate the ballroom, the entire corridors leading up to it were closed off to staff. The once bustling meeting point of Royal advisors and servants now stood alone, dust collecting on the carvings of the wall.

The sight reminded you terribly of your own chambers lately. When the Berlin skies went dark, your room felt much larger than it did. Tall shadows of velvet drapes painted on the hard wooden floors, flickering along with the candlelights. You were alone almost every night now that the family dinners were called off. Frederica resided in Charlottenburg, kilometres away while Friedrich seemed even further away.

Ever since that day in the courtyard, neither of you had come to see each other. It could easily be put down to your busy schedules. He had his daily princely engagements and you had a ball to plan in three weeks’ time.

But you would be lying if you said the gap between you two wasn’t partly deliberate. You sat in your room from sundown to sunset, unable to convince yourself to check on him in person. The best attempt you ever made of reaching out was to visit him through words passed between your staff.

Friedrich, on the other hand, hadn’t made any astounding efforts either. He was the Prince of Prussia. If he wanted to see you then he would have. It wasn’t like you lived in different cities.

The longer you let silence prevail, the more worried you were. What was going to become of your friendship? Something so breakable, so fragile already without the unnavigable ocean of unspoken words you have placed between each other.

You walked alone the rest of the way to the doors that once bewildered you. With a small nudge, they opened up, flooding your senses with a lovely floral scent. That was thanks to the remnants of the sachets of dried flowers you picked out yesterday as party favors. And also thanks to Frederica who always carried gardenias around with her.

“Moin!”

Frederica grinned, waving you in with a piece of parchment. “Moin, mein Schatzi! Come and sit down with me.“

You looked around, expecting Fifi to have already run out and tried to tackle you at this point. But it just felt too peaceful. “Is Fifi at Charlottenburg today?”

“No, she’s here. But I figured since we have the guest list to finish, I’d leave all distractions out.”

“Of course,” you said, taking your seat.

You had feared the guest list since the moment you suggested opening up the ball to people outside the family. You had said it to Friedrich on a whim, just as something to distract him from the meeting with the Duke. You didn’t actually think it was that good of an idea. Well, today you had to make decisions which would directly affect how well the outcome would be.

Inviting one wildcard may just set off all of yours and Frederica’s hard work. So no pressure there.

The Queen poured you a cup of tea. Chrysanthemum and honey, this morning. “How are you today? I hope your Chief Lady-in-waiting hasn’t given you much trouble?” she said, smiling knowingly.

You received the cup with both hands. “No, none at all.”

“Good. Do let me know if she does, darling. As well as any other thing that troubles you. Honestly, ever since Friedrich sent for me, I’ve been a bit worried for you. Lady Brandt is not an easy person.”

Hold on just one second. Friedrich sent for her?

Though you did not mean for it to happen at all, his name slipped your lips as a question. You were supposed to keep it inside, to wonder over and over about him until you ended up having dreams about it.

Instead, you let your surprise show and now Frederica was regarding you with curiosity. Curiosity that would not go away any time soon on its own. She narrowed her eyes, leaning back into her chair.

“Did Friedrich not tell you?”

You would have spoken, given some poor excuse which should make Frederica pity you enough to let the topic go. But you didn’t. You were too busy rethinking all the clues you must have missed. You had been thanking your luck this entire time for bringing Frederica here. When in reality, you should be thanking Friedrich - the person you had been avoiding.

Frederica lightly pat your arm, bringing you back to the conversation. “My son can be forgetful sometimes,” she said.

“No, no. I’m sure he has his reasons. It’s probably my fault. I haven’t gone to visit him very often so we haven’t had the chance to speak.”

The Queen was looking at you but it seemed she was seeing more than just your nervousness. Perhaps it was a mother’s instinct, one that your own mother never had. Instead of pressing on, she nodded and showed you the guest list already filled with the names of Prussian’s most powerful families.

“Here’s the list I had made in advance already. Now, all we need to do is make the choice, Liebes.”

…

Friedrich groaned, staring at the little dog at his feet. The more he looked at Fifi, the more she morphed into one of his old math tutors. Grumpy and greying. If it were up to him, she would be far far away in Potsdam, not barking at him to take her out for a walk.

Today, he was just going to sit in and finally do some of the paperwork Heinrich had been bugging him about when his mother came in and asked him to take Fifi for the day. He did owe her a huge favor, bringing her to this place so saying no wasn’t exactly an option there.

He had hoped he could halfass this by locking the both of them in his room but Fifi was loud and he could no longer afford to pretend as though she did not exist.

“What do you want?”

Fifi scratched at the door and then the floors, occasionally throwing him a look as though checking if he got the message.

“If we do this, will you shut up and let me work?”

That was how he ended up strolling about in the Palace‘s yards at midday, the sun glaring overhead.

Friedrich had been able to walk a considerable amount of distance without the help of his crutch for almost a week now. The doctors insisted that he kept on using it, lifting pressure off his poor ankle for as long as he could. But to be honest, he didn’t really feel like depending on it anymore.

He’d thought about visiting you. He told himself that after he got rid of his crutch, he would arrange something fun to do with you. After all, planning a ball must be exhausting. But every time he got close to doing it, the thought of him blabbering and then you fleeing afterwards was just too much to handle. How idiotic must he be, saying such a thing when you two were doing fine as friends.

Fifi was about six paces ahead of him, sniffing the flowers and then the grounds. Probably found another squirrel to chase up a tree. Poor squirrel. Maybe he should help spare the poor soul today from Fifi’s torture. It was about time they headed back anyway.

He whistled and called, “Fifi!”

The schnauzer’s ears perked up but not at his voice. He called again, this time clearly more annoyed. But that did absolutely nothing. The little dog’s attention was on something else, something within the trees. When he tried to get closer, she ran off, speeding past the little patch of greenery that was supposed to cover up the broken fences near the back.

The back of the Palace directly faced the rivers. And precisely because of that, the Palace was slow on fixing it, which was why they planted a couple of trees and bushes there to make it seem like nothing was wrong.

Shit.

If he lost her, his mother would have his head. So Friedrich followed, albeit grumbling underneath his breath in his mother tongue. Lucky for him, most people were inside having lunch right now so not many were there to witness the Prince about to hop the fence to catch his dog.

Never should have taken a walk in the first place. Had he plugged his ears, everything would have been just perfect. He would not be crouching under all these itchy branches, would not be sweating in the sweltering heat, would probably be having lunch in the peace and quiet of his chambers.

“Fifi!” he called again, hoping she might change her mind and come back. She didn’t.

Friedrich sighed, looking over the broken fences at the concrete beam which was the only thing that separated the Palace and the river right now.

He was really about to hop the fence, wasn’t he?

Friedrich angled his foot on the rails, ready to swing himself over.

“Where are you going?”

If he wasn’t quick to grab onto the fence, he would have toppled over, right into the river Spree. He looked up, frantic eyes meeting yours. You were standing by the fence. An umbrella and a notebook rested on the ledge. You wore a plain white gown, reminiscent of the one you wore to your wedding. Something Friedrich would always feel guilty about. And not for reasons one may suspect.

This entire time he had been dragging you along with him. The wedding, the detour to Sanssouci which left his father enraged and now, the ball. Perhaps you may have the worst luck of all, stuck here in Berlin with him. Yet, you seemed like you didn’t notice that at all.

“I was looking for her, actually.”

You smiled, perfectly content with Fifi in your arms. The little traitor barked once when she saw Friedrich. This was even more humiliating than that day in the courtyard.

“And you were going to jump in with her as well?”

“Only if I had to.”

You gave him a hand on his way down. “That’s certainly some dedication you’ve got there.”

Friedrich dusted off his trousers. “Mama would have my head if something happened to her on my watch.”

“You got that right.”

Friedrich held the umbrella and your notes for you while you hauled Fifi back to the Palace. The courtyard was still as deserted as ever.

“You are probably the only person in Berlin not having brunch inside right now,” you said.

Friedrich shrugged, “I could say the same about you.”

“I’m just here to think over the guest list. You’re here chaperoning Fifi, right?”

“She’s been killing me all day,” he said, noticing that the entrance to the Palace was nearing. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to you just yet. There were too many things he hadn’t said in the last two weeks. So when a brilliant idea came to him, he did not waste time beating around the bush. “Have you had lunch yet? I know a good spot just around the corner.”

…

Within moments of saying yes to Friedrich, he had you ducking by the side of a produce wagon to escape the guards. You had no idea he actually meant going out into the public by yourselves until he plucked off the embellishments off his uniform coat, eyeing all the different vehicles about to depart.

It wasn’t how you exactly imagined a Wednesday lunch would go. Not here and certainly not back at home. You could imagine the looks of horror on your parents’ faces knowing someone from the ton might catch you sneaking around. It would certainly be a scandalous headline - daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Clarence on a chaperone-less adventure. Still, it wouldn’t be half as disgraceful as Prince and Princess of Prussia caught escaping the Palace.

You weren’t exactly in a position to say no, either. The excitement of his hand in yours, his finger to his lips to keep you quiet. You missed the feeling you got when you were with him. So you held onto Fifi and blended into lively crowds.

“Is it always this easy to escape the guards or does the Palace just have really incompetent security?” you asked once the three of you were far enough down the street.

Friedrich laughed. “It’s not difficult to escape the guards. This is the hard part, fooling the people. Hold onto my arm,” he whispered with a cheeky wink.

Your arm and hand were stiff when you went to snake them around his. Barely hours ago, you were no better than strangers and two weeks ago, he said he could kiss you. You felt like you shouldn’t be standing so close to him, at least not close enough that you could smell his hair. (Coconut and eucalyptus, or something of that sort.) If only there was some kind of magic potion that might save you from turning into a stone statue when you two had to dance together at the ball.

“We’re supposed to be the boring married couple.”

“We’re boring?” you asked flatly.

“Well, at least, you’re not boring.”

“Hey, what does that mean?” you laughed, giving his arm a solid swat.

Friedrich placed his hand over yours. Your question forgotten as he announced, “Oh, here we are, mein Herz!”

He wasn’t paying attention as he said it and it may have been part of the act but you reacted to it all the same with blood rushing forth to your cheeks and your brain on pause.

You should really stop with all this nonsense at some point.

The establishment that Friedrich pulled you in wasn’t some small, well-hidden spot you had expected. It was on the corner of the main streets, with huge windows instead of walls and swarms of people coming in and out. But very quickly, you understood.

The long communal tables inside were filled with people lunching and laughing together in their own little worlds. The last thing on their mind would be to keep an eye out for some boring couple coming here for lunch. The two of you were hiding in plain sight, next to a very inconspicuous senior couple.

“So, how’s the planning going?” Friedrich asked, after mumbling a quick order to the waiter.

You scratched Fifi behind her ears, distracting the little dog from leaping forward and stealing food from other people. “We’re almost done. I just need to narrow down the guest list. Choose the right people to invite.”

“Is that what you were doing?”

You slid the list Frederica had given you across the table, only a couple names circled in red ink. His eyes scanned the page, an unreadable expression on his face. At least unreadable at that moment. He met your eyes again after a pause.

“We should invite the Grand Duke and Duchess of Bernhard.”

“Thanks. You’re very helpful, aren’t you?” you said, beckoning for him to give you back the list.

“Of course. All the best insights I have,” he winked. That damned wink, again. He didn’t show any sign of wanting to give the list back though, looking through it once more. “I would suggest inviting the Duke and Duchess of Württemberg. But maybe not the Prince of Bavaria. His kids are annoying.”

“Your mother said she already sent the invitation to the Prince of Bavaria and his kids.”

Friedrich stared back at you with a slack jaw and wide eyes. You raised an eyebrow, waiting for his reaction while he waited for you to say you were kidding. It was clear you weren’t kidding.

“Verdammt!” he sighed, mumbling to himself, “Was really looking forward to not having to meet them again. Not until Christtag, at least!”

You held back a chuckle. He did look quite cute when he was complaining. “It’s not just your problem anymore. It’s mine, too. We’ll deal with them. However annoying they may be.”

Your optimism was received with a low grumble, “You’ll see my point soon enough.”

By the time Friedrich was done giving you a briefing on the majority of the noble houses, the food arrived. Potato salads, Spätzle, Schnitzel and Pfannkuchen-

“Who told you these were Pfannkuchen?” Friedrich said loudly, almost screamed, interrupting you as you were naming the dishes out to him.

You stared at the fried pastries, dusted with sugar, probably filled with marmalade. You saw them once at breakfast with the King. “Your father…?”

Friedrich closed his eyes, taking in a calming breath as though he might break out into an aria right there. “Look, I don’t live to oppose my father but this is a matter of regional pride. Pfannkuchen are pancakes. These-” he hovered his fingers over the dish, presenting it almost “- are called Berliner.”

He stared at you, probably expecting you to be having some sort of revelation.

“Alright, then what do you call a person who lives in Berlin?”

“A Berliner,” he answered almost immediately.

You shook your head once, waiting for him to say something. But he was looking at you the same way, seeing absolutely nothing wrong with what he just said.

“So ‘A Berliner is eating a Berliner’ is a sentence that makes sense?”

“Yes.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier if we call this a Pfannkuchen?”

“No, no, no. You don’t understand. There’s a clear difference. You cannot call these … gifts from heaven: Pfannkuchen!”

“Alright, alright. I got it. I’m sorry,” you finalized, noting to yourself to never misname Berliner ever again, lest you want him to go on and on for hours. “Let’s just eat before Fifi eats us.”

Fifi barked once at the mention of her name.

“She’s thinking about it, no doubt,” Friedrich said from across the table. “Evil little thing.”

You gave Fifi her food, effectively putting off any naughty notions from her. The schnauzer was reduced to a quiet, obedient puppy in just mere seconds.

“Speaking of my father, you’ll never guess what he said to me today.” Friedrich waited for your eyes to float up to meet his before continuing cheerfully, “He said we should go see a physician.”

You shook your head, “What? Why?”

Friderich put some potato salads on your plate, “He thinks something must be wrong with us that we don’t have an heir on the way yet.”

Your heart stopped in your chest. “And what did you say?”

“I said he was nuts, of course. Do you want some more potatoes?”

You shook your head. But after that, you didn’t hear anything else. You only saw his lips moving. Friedrich was going on about his father, most likely. The thought of one day having to produce an heir and even worse, not producing one was not funny. None of this was funny.

“He was fine with that?”

“No. I added that you were busy with the planning and I am almost crippled. Don’t think he got any of that part though, was too distracted by his mistress.”

You sighed in relief. For now, you were alright. But you didn’t know what the King might do to you if he knew the both of you may never consummate your marriage. Ship you back to England with your parents? Kill you off so Friedrich could marry a new wife? The things men in power may do to women were unfathomable, especially coming from a man as ruthless as your father-in-law.

“Oh, no,” Friedrich groaned, earning your attention. You looked at him. Physically, there was nothing wrong with him.

It took you a second to realize why Friedrich was staring a hole through your bench. Fifi was gone.

She was just here moments ago, you swore. She was right by your side, eating some pork. Her food was all gone now, as was she. You stood up, scanning the room for any trace of her salt and pepper fur.

“Fifi? FIFI?” you called frantically.

Friedrich echoed your calls, getting out of his seat as well.

“Keine Bange! Fifi ist da!”

You looked at Friedrich, utterly confused because that was not his voice. And while you didn’t exactly understand everything, you could spot out her name. He gave you the same look. The both of you, then, saw who the owner of the voice was. The old man sitting right next to your table.

He waved at you while his wife gestured to their feet. Which was where you found Fifi munching on some food that you definitely did not give her.

“Dankeschön. Wir dachten, wir hätten sie verloren,” Friedrich said, coming over to their table to get Fifi.

You followed him, smiling nervously. Fifi wiggled like a caterpillar in Friedrich’s hold, digging her paws into his arms until she landed in yours.

“Danke,” you said with a nod of a foreigner who desperately wished to convey her gratitude in a language she did not know. These were one of those moments when you wished you had taken German instead of French at home.

“Bitte schön,” the man waved the two of you off. “She is very cute.”

“Thank you, sir. We’re so sorry for troubling you.”

“Please, no problem. We are fond of dogs,” he said, looking at Fifi lovingly. “We have four at home!”

Friedrich laughed, “It must be a lot of work.”

You two exchanged a look, both ready to go back to your table. That was when the lady placed her hand on your elbow, a shy smile on her lips.

“We overheard you talking,” she revealed. “I do hope you don’t mind some advice from an old couple.”

You grinned, placing your hand over hers. “Of course not.”

“You young people are always busy but remember to make time for family. You don’t know how lonely it gets when you are older. Not even four dogs can fill the space of a child.”

You were nervous around the topic still but you nodded, shaking their hands and smiling. The couple even pulled you in for some kisses on the cheek.

Friedrich watched as you thanked the couple once more for Fifi and for their advice. Though he was still annoyed, he must admit that Fifi looked much cuter laying in your arms. It was even possible for him to forget just how annoying she had been the entire day. And you. He was thinking of your future family, if you had children one day. How lucky they would be to have a mother like you.

…

“Dear Y/N,

As of now, it’s been two days since I was fired and was put in confinement down in the basement. I do not know whether or not this letter will make it out of England but I have asked Lady Winston to try her best to sneak it out to you as this is important.

There is something you must know about your family. They are broke. They don’t have much money left. That’s why they have been firing us one by one. And I suspect that’s also the reason why they wanted you to get married to Prince Friedrich so quickly. I am not certain but I believe they have made a deal on your behalf. Something in exchange for money.

I want you to look out for yourself. Trust no one. Especially not the woman named Bernadine. She seems to play a large role in this bid.

Your loyal companion always,

Olivia.”

Bernadine held the letter in her hand, a smirk playing on her ruby red lips. A feeble attempt at saving you. The maid should have known better than to try and sneak a letter past the King’s mistress. There was no such thing as privacy in this place. Neither was there any fair game here. Whoever was fastest, won. And no one was faster and better at underhanded plans than Bernadine Brandt.

“Bernadine, komm her. Mir geht es nicht gut,” the King said, his voice low and hoarse as it echoed from his bed into the study where Bernadine sat.

“Einen Moment!”

Bernadine placed the letter back down, holding up a different one. Also addressed to you. Looking back, she must admit she did a marvelous job at mimicking her sister’s handwriting.

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[atinydise]

Ateez reacting to Seonghwa being a “grown man”

❦ Genre: Suggestive.

❦ Pairing: OT8.

❦ Word count: 12k8.

❦ Requested: Yes, thank you! 🦋

❦ Masterlist.

HONGJOONG

You were dating Seonghwa for 3 months already. Hongjoong could remember well the first time Seonghwa introduced you to the group. You seemed really shy. You stuttered a lot and followed your boyfriend everywhere. Now, you were almost a part of the family. Hongjoong always thought that you and Seonghwa were made to be with each other. Your shyness was your main common point. And your clinginess as well. Seonghwa and you were always together. So much that everyone thought you would end arguing. But you never did. In conclusion, it was not a coincidence to see you everywhere. The leader didn’t tilt when he saw you exiting the KQ building, today. You simply waved at him. He noticed that your hair was bit messy and your lipstick faded away a bit. But he simply waved back at you. He headed to the vocal lesson room to help Seonghwa with his vocal part for the upcoming album. “Hi Hwa,” he greeted Seonghwa joyfully. “Wow it’s hot here.” Seonghwa blushed slightly at his remark, “not really.” Hongjoong stared few seconds at his friend. “Your hair is messy.” “Y-Yes. I didn’t have enough time this morning.” He stuttered, trying to give a good form at his hair. “Okay anyway! Are you-” the leader paused. “What?” Hongjoong pointed at Seonghwa’s shirt. “What?” At this moment Hongjoong tilted. “You! You & Y/N!” “What?” Repeated the eldest member, praying that Hongjoong didn’t understand the situation. “You have lipstick on your shirt! The same she was wearing when I saw her not even 5 minutes ago.” “Joong...” “Did you just? Here?” he asked, disgusted by the thought of Seonghwa’s naked butt sitting here. “Hongjoong calm down.” Ordered Seonghwa. “Sinner! You fucked at work!” He pointed at the couch. “That’s why it’s hot.” He mentioned. “It was not expected.” He facepalmed. “And this smell!” He grabbed his MacBook. “The smell?” “Yes! The sex smell!” He shouted before leaving. Seonghwa exhaled loudly, “I’m done…” When everyone will know about it, it’s going to be awkward.

YUNHO

Yunho woke up when he heard the entrance door slamming loudly. When he saw that San wasn’t on his bed anymore, he rushed outside, maybe the manager was there. But instead, he saw you removing your coat. “Hello Yunho!” “Hello Y/N!” He smiled at you. “Sorry for waking you up,” you apologized. “It’s okay. Now that I am awake, I’ll take my breakfast.” “Sure.” You smiled. “I think Seonghwa is till sleeping then I’m going to take a nap.” Yunho nodded, “rest well!” The tall boy went to the kitchen, but in the same time he grabbed his earphones on the coffee table. He liked to listen to music while enjoying his cereals. When he finally started to eat, he noticed that the bass on the song music was kind of offbeat. At first, he didn’t mind it. It was probably a lag from his phone or the music app itself. But 2 songs later, the problem wasn’t solved. Yunho threw his earphones on the table and focused back on his cereals. But these knocks were still present. He stood up and searched were it was coming from. As more he walked, more the noise leaded him to Seonghwa and Hongjoong’s room. Effectively, knocks were coming from there. Quickly, Yunho understood the situation. “Oh my god!” He whispered going back to the kitchen. He plugged his earphones as fast as possible, but the external noise was still there. To avoid the awkwardness, he rushed to his room but tripped on a slipper. He got back on his feet quickly and he grabbed his shoes. Seonghwa entered the living-room. “Yunho are you okay? I heard something falling?” The tall boy blushed furiously; he couldn’t say that he heard you banging like rabbits. “I just tripped.” He simply replied. “Oh okay… where are you going?” He asked. “I don’t know but not here!” He replied, leaving the dorm. “What’s going on with him?” You asked, coming behind your boyfriend. “No idea.” “Do you think he heard us? The bedhead was bumping really loudly.” “No... Impossible. He always listening to music when he takes his breakfast.” “I’m not really sure…” you crossed your arms on your chest. “But I hope so because I won’t be able to look at him ever again.”

YEOSANG

Yeosang was peacefully walking down the street. He needed to practice with Seonghwa for an upcoming special performance. At first, he was really excited about this whole opportunity but now, he was a bit confused. Seonghwa is a perfectionist, he needs to be perfect at everything. But it was before, Seonghwa’ve met you. When you started to date, all the members noticed that he was a lot more absent and busy. It wasn’t an issue at all, they were happy for him. But for Yeosang, it was a little bit more confusing. Anyway, with time, maybe he could understand why Seonghwa was so absent or in rush to see you. Yeosang entered KQ building and greeted politely the staff who were already present and called the elevator. Before leaving the dorm, he texted Seonghwa, just to say that he was coming but his Hyung hadn’t seen the message yet. “He’s probably already training.” Thought the blond boy. As fast as possible, he reached the third floor. When he stepped out of the elevator, he heard music bumping through the walls. For sure he was already practicing. Yeosang rushed there and opened the door loudly. “Hyung! I’m rea-” Everybody froze in the room. Yeosang was standing at the door frame, while Seonghwa stared at him, his hands were still cupping your butt. You immediately, tried to fix your dress, embarrassed. “My eyes! My eyes!” Shouted Yeosang covering his sight from this kinky view. “Shh! You are going to alarm the whole company!” “But why you needed to do it here?” He rubbed his eyes, trying to forget the terrible scene. “It was unexpected,” you claimed shyly. “That’s why you are always with her.” He stated. “You will understand later!” Added Seonghwa, unbothered. “I don’t care! Next time just take a room.” Shouted the boy finally entering the room. “I think I should go,” you whispered shyly. Seonghwa nodded and tried to pull you in a hug before leaving, but Yeosang interposed between you two. “Don’t touch each other anymore, especially when I’m here!” “This is going to be a nightmare.” Sighed the eldest member.

SAN

“Seonghwa and Y/N kissing on a tree! Smooch smooch!” Sang San. Seonghwa growled, “stop San...” “Never,” he stuck his tongue out. It’s been 2 days that San was singing this cheesy song non-stop. It started when he spotted a kiss Seonghwa and you kissing in the living-room, thinking that nobody was there. You always made sure to show affection to each other in private. You were simply holding hands or hugging sometimes but in 4 months of relationship, none of the members saw you kissing. Unfortunately for both of you, San woke up thirsty. He got up and looked for a bottle of water. Right when he entered the living-room, he saw you and his Hyung kissing shyly on the couch. It was a pure and cute kiss. “Ooooh,” giggled San. “So cute!” “Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Asked Seonghwa a bit mad and shy at the sudden San’s comment. “I was thirsty,” he winked going in the kitchen. “Seonghwa and Y/N kissing on a tree. Smooch Smooch!” “I’m going to kill him...” whispered Seonghwa, laying his head on your laps. You thought that San would stop the next morning, but he didn’t, and your boyfriend was losing his patience. It was a bit awkward for him. He was used to be a shy boy. Seeing San evoking a private moment made him really shy. You called Seonghwa the night just to talk about his day, but you were cut by San singing through the phone. “Seonghwa and Y/N kissing on a tree! Smooch smooch!” “AAH STOP STOP!” Yelled Seonghwa completely done. “You know what? Kissing isn’t the only thing we did.” “Seonghwa,” you tried to get his attention. “Sometimes we are cuddling! But not the simply hug. The special you do when nobody is around a.k.a SEX.” “Park Seonghwa!” You tried to stop him. “And you know what? It’s sooo so so good! Y/N is better at sex than kissing.” “PARK SEONGHWA!” You yelled enough louder for him to hear it. At the way you shouted his name through the phone, Seonghwa realized what he just said out loud. San’s mouth was open widely, not believing what he just heard. “YAH PARK SEONGHWA!” He yelled again. “Are you crazy?!” “I- I- San!” He stuttered. “I need to erase this thought of you and Y/N...” he said, faking to throw up. This was unexpected.

MINGI

The group was practicing peacefully. The upcoming comeback needed all their attention and skills. They had been practicing for almost 4 hours in raw, without taking break. “Hyung why don’t you remove your turtleneck? It’s hot here!” Asked Mingi a bit worried about Seonghwa’s health. “No, it’s good.” “Are you sure? We don’t want you to faint!” He insisted. “I’m okay Mingi.” He patted his shoulder. The tall boy shrugged, not believing this since the choreography was intense. Few minutes later, they decided to stop the practice for today. They all went to the locker’s room, except Seonghwa. He simply said that he would take a shower at the dorm. Mingi found his behavior really strange. They were used to take a shower together since they’re trainee. Why was he suddenly so distant? Seonghwa needed to persuade Mingi once again that everything was okay. In vain, but at least now, he was alone in the practice room. Seonghwa made sure they were all gone before removing his turtleneck, he was suffocating inside. He stepped in front of the mirror and stared at the not one, but at the 3 hickeys you’ve left all over his neck. “Ah... Y/N...” he sighed. “Hyung, have you seen my-” started Mingi, entering the room. “My... my- HICKEYS.” He shouted pointing at Seonghwa. “Don’t yell!” Rushed his friend closing the door before someone else see it. “It’s not a big deal...” he focused back at his reflection on the mirror. “Did- Y/N made these big hickeys?” Seonghwa smirked, “she did. And this is not the only one thing she does.” Mingi hid his ears behind his hands, “I don’t want to hear! LALALALALA!” Seonghwa sneered at the shy member. “This is why you were late this morning?” Asked Mingi outraged. “I think you don’t want to know.” He winked back, putting his shirt back. Mingi was about to reply when Yunho entered. “You are not coming Mingi?” “Guess what!” He turned around to face his best friend. Seonghwa pinched Mingi’s arm discreetly. Making him understand that he needed to stay quiet and that only him should know about this. “Hey!” Mingi glanced at his Hyung, who faked that nothing happened. “So? Guess what?” Insisted Yunho. “Finally... nothing important. Let’s take a shower.” He claimed running away from the eldest member.

WOOYOUNG

Wooyoung went back to the dorm earlier than expected. He met his friend around a cool and fun dinner. He loved to spend time with his friends that he can’t meet often. The boy was in a really good mood tonight. When he unlocked the dorm’s door. He spotted your sneakers next to the entrance door. He concluded that you were spending the night here. Quietly, because it was already 3AM, he went to his room to sleep, not even bothering to wear his pajama. Instead of slipping under the sheet, he sniffed at his shirt. He could smell the strong Soju smell on it. “Maybe I should take a shower...” he whispered disgusted by his own scent. Going back to the hallway, he headed to the bathroom. He was so absorbed by the scent, and the sleepiness didn’t help neither, that he didn’t notice the light coming through the door, signaling that everyone was already inside. His brain froze, along with his body when he opened the door. Why? Because he wasn’t expecting to see Seonghwa head resting against the mirror and you in front of him, on your knees. “Wooyoung?” You gasped in horror. “Woo- why are you talking ab-” Seonghwa who didn’t spot his friend yet, was confused. But when you pointed at the door, he understood what was going on. “Shit!” The eldest member put his sweatpants correctly while you were trying to hide behind your boyfriend. “Sorry!” Apologized Wooyoung closing the door. So shocked and embarrassed he rushed back to his bedroom and tried to fall asleep as fast as possible. The next morning, all the members were already awake when Wooyoung got up. Just when he left his room, you exited Seonghwa’s room. You blushed furiously, avoiding his stare, but still bowing to greet him. To tense the atmosphere a lot more, Seonghwa appeared behind you. Wooyoung just ran away to the kitchen before his Hyung could say anything. You both joined the rest of the group, trying to act normal as possible. “How was your diner Wooyoung?” Asked San. “You were so happy yesterday when you left.” “Good. It was fun.” “Fun only?” Added San. “I thought you would say something juicier.” Wooyoung gulped. He was interiorely struggling to keep the sin he saw yesterday for himself. “You know what is juicy?!” He stood up, giving up. “Wooyoung no!” Yelled Seonghwa. “Sorry I can’t keep that for me!” “What are you taking about?” Questioned Hongjoong. “While you were all sleeping... these 2 were banging in the bathroom!” “Oh god...” you sighed, hiding your face behind your hands. Everyone was shocked. Of course, they understood that sex was one of the important things in a relationship. But they never expected Seonghwa to be sexually active. He always seemed so shy.

JONGHO

“And don’t forget to clean the living-room!” Shouted Seonghwa heading to the bathroom. It was Jongho’s turn to clean the dorm with his eldest Hyung. And honestly, he hated that. Seonghwa was like a tyrant when it comes to housework. Today, the maknae was assigned to his bedroom, the kitchen and the living-room. It was almost 4PM and the living-room was so messy that he thought it would take at least 3 hours to clean entirely. Before ending procrastinating and argue with Seonghwa, Jongho rushed to clean all the surfaces possible. He made sure to not see any dust. While he was tidying the magazine on the coffee table, he saw one of your earrings there. How he knew it was yours? Because Seonghwa was always talking about this. It was the first gift he gave you and every time you wore it, he couldn’t help but to be soft and ask all the members to say how gorgeous you look with these earrings. The maknae just put in on a side and focused back on his task. Now, he was tidying all the cushions and blankets on the couch spread out everywhere on the sofa. Jongho lifted the biggest one. He was clearly not expecting to see an empty condom pack here. He needed to know who left it here. If the manager had saw it, they would all get scolded so bad. “Hyung!” Yelled Jongho enough louder for his friend to hear it. “What?” He replied, coming in the room. Jongho pointed at the empty pack on the couch. Seonghwa gasped, completely panicked. “Forget about this okay?” “Wait... it’s yours?” Asked Jongho. Jongho never imagined that Seonghwa was sexually active and the type of man to do it on the couch. Where other people sit every day. And by “other people”, it includes himself. “Just forget about that.” He repeated. “You never saw it okay?” “Okay...” he replied. “Good.” At this awkward moment, the maknae saw a good opportunity to stop this cleaning session earlier than expected. “I won’t say it... only if you finish to clean the living-room. I’m tired.” He said sitting on the couch, but his expression changed from pride to disgust, when he remembered what you did there. “What? No, it’s your turn.” “Okay... I guess that Hongjoong would like to know that you and Y/N-.” “Okay! I’ll do it!” He changed his mind, not wanting the leader to know about this privacy. Jongho knew that sex was good but using it to manipulate people was better than sex itself.

[anti-the-glitch-bitch]

Into the Void

*This is my Dark/Anti horror story. There is no shipping of them or any Septiplier. There is such themes as blood, gore, torture, abuse and other things. If that’s not your thing then please move along. If it is your thing then I hope you enjoy. Please leave a comment on what you thing of it. I love comments.*

Word count: 2,480

"Mark Fischbach! You get your ass down here right now!" I yell at the top of my lungs, slamming the front door open at the same time. Mark was supposed to pick me up at the airport an hour ago, but he never showed up. I'm sure he probably got caught up in recording a video for his channel. I had texted and called him multiple times, but I never got a reply back. At times, being a Youtuber's friend can be frustrating. With a sigh, I turned to go back outside and start the arduous task of bringing my bags in. Before I can put even a foot out the door, I hear a loud thunk from upstairs and then barking.

A door slowly opens, and the barking gets significantly louder. I chuckle as a fluffy golden retriever runs down the stairs, straight at me, tail wagging a mile a minute.

"CHICA! How is the beautiful fluffy puppers?" I coo as I kneel down, so I can give her all the love she deserves. This is my first time ever meeting her, but Mark was always sending me pics and videos of her. So I'm pretty excited to get to love on her.

"Sorry, Bri. I..um..lost track of time." Mark's guilty voice comes from the stairs.

I look up and glare at him as he walks over to me. He scratches the back of his head as he gives me a sheepish grin. "You're lucky that Chica is sooo adorable. Otherwise, you would be in so much trouble! All you had to do was say you got held up. I would have understood, you ass!" I huff at him and go to grab my bags.

"So, are you saying I'm not adorable?" he gives me a fake pout as he throws his arm around my shoulder." Not when you leave me hanging at the airport with not even a call." I laugh as I hip bump him, causing him to stumble. I never could stay mad at him for long. His antics made me laugh too much for that.

"Well, since I'm off to such a bad start as a host. I'll get your bags." He grabs my two suitcases while I grab the smaller duffel bag.

Mark and I have been best friends since we were kids. We were neighbors when he lived in Ohio and became inseparable. We stayed super close until he moved to LA, and I stayed in Ohio. We texted and video chatted all the time, but it was never the same as being in person. When my boyfriend of 3 years broke up with me, I was absolutely devastated.

We were a month away from getting married. I had come home from a work meeting and realized all his stuff was gone. No note. Nothing. I locked myself in my apartment for over a week, just lay in bed. I didn't eat. I barely slept. I cut contact with everyone. I was numb to everything, and I did nothing to stop myself from spiraling faster and faster down into the abyss of nothingness.

I guess Mark and his girlfriend, Amy, got worried because the next thing I know, Mark is banging on my door early one morning, hollering at me to open my damn door. I'm not sure who was more shocked. Me, at their sudden appearance or them, at my disastrous looks.

Two hours later, and I've had my first shower and meal in who knows how long. They sat with me and let me cry on their shoulder for as long as I needed. Well, Amy did. Mark just sat on the couch, looking super uncomfortable and trying super hard to cheer me up. After awhile, Mark's joking nature started to cheer me up, and Amy joined in, talking about all the antics their friends had gotten up to. It was almost midnight when I finally had them convinced that I was feeling tons better. Before they left, Amy had managed to get a promise out of me that I would come to LA and stay for an undefined amount of time.

I was hoping I could get away with only a few days, but Amy wouldn't hear anything of it and told me to pack for at least two weeks. Guess I really worried them if they wanted to keep me for that long. That was the reason why one short month later, I was hauling my things into their house.

I follow Mark upstairs to the guest bedroom and throw my bag on the bed. Next thing I know, Mark has me in a giant hug. I tense at first but quickly relax into it. "I'm so glad you came, Bri. I've been worried about you. I was afraid you might bail on me last minute." His voice is thick with emotions as he puts his chin on my head.

I shrug as I fight not to cry. "I thought about it a million times, but in the, end I knew it would do me some good. Plus, I just plain missed you. Your videos just don't do the real you justice." I pull myself out of the hug and look around as I realize someone is missing. "Where is Amy at? I thought she was gonna be here."

"Oh, she went on a girl's trip with Sean's girlfriend. They wanted some time to bond over girl things. They didn't say how long they would be gone, but I'm sure they'll be back before you leave." He gives me a mischievous grin. "That means you’re stuck with me for who knows how long."

I start laughing like a maniac as I think of all the pranks I can pull on Mark without retribution from both of them. "OH no. That means you'll be stuck with ME. Now, what's a girl gotta do to get some food around this joint?" I rub my hands together and lick my lips as I think about eating real food.

He grumbles jokingly about not signing up to be my personal chef as he makes his way to the kitchen. I'm just about to follow when I notice a weird, flickering shadow flit across the doorframe. I look around the room to see what might have caused it but don't see anything.

I must be really tired, I think as I shake my head and continue on my way to the kitchen.

"Here's the thing. I've been so busy trying to get videos done, so I can spend time with you, that I forgot to make a trip to the store. I've got stuff to make sandwiches, or we can order out?" He is definitely not guilty as he tells me this. I'm pretty sure he is using me as an excuse to get fast food by the smile on his face.

"Damn, Mark. You act like I showed up out of the blue instead of planning this visit for a month. Sandwiches will be just fine with me." I laugh as I push past him towards the fridge. Mark is helping me get all the stuff together when there is a knock at the door. Chica instantly starts barking and makes a beeline for the door. Mark looks at me very quickly with a super not guilty look. The look on his face has me instantly on guard.

"Bri, please don't be mad, but I might have told Sean that you are gonna be staying with me and that you are a huge fan of his. I talk about you all the time to him, and he wanted to meet you. His girlfriend is on that trip with Amy so he is also gonna be staying here for a bit." That shithead was dead. His fans are going to be so pissed cause I am about to murder this man.

I don't know how my body did it, but it felt like all the blood in my face went straight to my cheeks. I'm a very shy person when it comes to anyone that might even be remotely famous. My anxiety goes into overdrive, especially since I might have a small celebrity crush on the Youtuber known as Jacksepticeye.

"YOU FUCKING DID WHAT?!" I'm sure if my voice was an octave higher, I could have shattered glass. Mark is laughing his ass off at my reaction and starts walking towards the door. "DON'T YOU DARE OPEN THAT FUCKING DOOR!" I shriek in absolute panic.

That asshat is laughing so hard at this point that he has to lean against the wall to steady himself. Sean is apparently tired of waiting for Mark and decides to let himself in. "OI! Ya gobshyte going ta let me stand outside all day?" Sean makes eye contact with me as he says this before an unopened loaf of bread hits him directly in the face.

In my panic, my fight instincts kicked in, and I threw the 1st thing my hands came across. Luckily for Sean, it just happened to be bread. Then my flight instincts kick in. I give a horrified shriek, and I hightail it into my room with Mark's laughter following me the entire way. I close the door shut and rip the blanket off the bed. I then proceed to go to the closet, open the door, wrap the blanket around me and hide in the closet with the door shut.

I will become one with the Darkness if it's the last thing I do.

I'm only in the closet for about 10 minutes before Mark finds me. I'm no longer freaking out, but now the embarrassment is kicking into overdrive. "I live in this closet now. I can never leave. It is my home." I groan into the blanket.

"That was the funniest shit I've ever seen. My only regret is that I wasn't recording it." He chuckles as he pulls the blanket off my head. "You planning on hiding in here forever? I mean, it wasn't as bad as the time you met Daniel Cudmore." I groan even harder before I look up at him. " The difference between then and now is that Daniel didn't get A FACE FULL OF BREAD! This is the most embarrassing thing ever. I can never face him now. I hate you so much right now. This entire thing is your fault." I can only facepalm as my cheeks start heating up again. Mark chuckles as he shakes his head.

He briefly glances at the doorway and then back at me. He flops onto the floor just outside the closet door. "Sean thought it was funny...Well, once he got over the shock, that is. Come onnnnn. He came all this way from England just to meet one of my best friends. He can't do that if you hide away in here. He's just a regular dude that also happens to be a Youtuber. You'll never get over that weird celebrity shyness you have if you don't talk to him." he starts trying to yank the blanket off me.

"Ugh. Why do you have to bring logic into this? I can't help it if my stupid brain has to spazz out. Give me a few minutes to gather my courage. If I'm not downstairs in 15 minutes, then you can come get me like the barbarian you are." I laugh and try to yank the blanket back.

"You are such a chicken shit, I swear." He smiles and stands up. Before I can do anything else, he yanks the blanket super hard. It jerks me partially out of the closet, and I fall out, laying on my side. There is a familiar laugh close to the bedroom door that is neither mine nor Mark's. I immediately tense up and look at the doorway. Those blue eyes are the first thing I see. I overlook many other details except that cute Irish boi smile. Then I realize that Sean is standing in the doorway. Looking at me. I dive back into the closet while simultaneously yanking the blanket back in with me. I slam the closet door shut, and not even a second later, Sean and Mark are laughing hysterically.

Yuck it up, you assholes. I don't respond as I am now busy trying to make the floor more comfortable with the blanket. "You have to come out eventually, Bri. You can't stay in there all day." His voice gets farther away as he talks.

" I just need some time! Go play some video games or whatever shit you guys do together! I yell back at him.

There was no way in hell I was ever leaving this closet while Sean was here. I guess it's a good thing my phone is fully charged cause I'm going to need something to do in here. I get on YouTube and start watching my Darkiplier/Antisepticeye playlist.

I love Mark like a brother and would never be able to think of him any other way, but when he made that first video going full Darkiplier….I wasn't able to FaceTime him for two weeks because I would instantly think of Dark and start blushing. The first time I saw Anti's full appearance I completely fangirled. I must have watched the video on repeat a million times. What can I say? I love my bad boys.

I'm not sure how long I stay in the closet watching the videos but I feel myself start to get tired. I'm fighting sleep and losing badly. I'm just about to conk out when I feel a hand gently caress my cheek.

"You'll do just fine." a voice whispers to me as I fall unconscious.

[teddystrap]

Drama CD: [幽幻ロマンチカ・破天荒] 第弐の謎 獏 ウタシロ

First post of 2020!!!! Happy New Year, and a special treat for all my lovelies - here is a bonus audio track from Yuugen Romantica's Utashiro (cv. Kimura Ryouhei). Remember, whenever you are feeling sad or down, he is always by your side. Just call out to him in your dream and he will be here...

This time the subtitle is hatenkou, which refers to a major feat that has never been accomplished before. The common theme seems to be that your demon boyfriend goes back in time to rewrite a tragic past event into a happier one using his magical powers and the strength of your love.

Oh wow, looks like I just spoiled the whole story? End of review. Bye bye (*^-^)/

...

(No srsly let's get started.)

This disc starts with three glass explosions [[#VOLUMEWARNING]] to make sure I was listening I guess... #RIPeardrums... ;_;

Anyway, you have a nightmare that you are in a creepy dark room. The ceiling is lined with needles and coming down on you, and Utashiro tells you that you have to escape before the candle burns out. He counts down to zero seconds and the ceiling collapses with a BANG,... but he tells you that the game is not over. It will just infinite-loop back to the beginning, until you are able to escape...

You wake up drenched in sweat, in your own bed/room with U-kun sleeping beside you. He comforts you and figures you must be nervous about the school camping trip tomorrow.

*

Next morning, ya'll head off on the trip. He disguises himself as a student and comes along to protect you, ofc. He's complaining about everything from the choice of location (deep in the woods), to the amount of food+cooking materials ya'll have to carry, blah blah. Better shut him up by sticking my tongue down his throat ;)

Apparently there's the rumours of the Seven Supernaturals nearby. He wonders whether to *make those rumours a reality* and scare the shit out of your classmates. This prompts you to throw food (and utensils?) at him, so he possesses you and touches you in a few non-erotic places, and you totally freeze and blush because apparently you are some kind of virginal Victorian maiden whose momma never told you how babies are made. Orz

At night you go to the bathroom and find him waiting outside for you. Turns out he has been sensing some *demonic energy* in this place. He possesses your body and rushes you back to the bungalow for some sexy fun times.

Back in the room, the girls are excited and stay up chatting late into the night. They ask you what you like most about your boyfriend, and to U-kun's horror, you happily tell them about the time he waited for you at the station with an umbrella when it was raining :3. He's sooo mortally embarrassed that he puts everyone to sleep with his demon powers. #useful #powersIwishIhad

With everyone down, however, you can't sleep because of the nightmare from last night. You tell U-kun about it, but he doesn't sense any 'nightmare vibes' from your dream. He thinks it's either: (1) a premonition, or (2) someone hacking into your dream with their evil plan. Then he changes into chibi form to comfort you, and ya'll fall asleep...

*

...And enter the 'nightmare'. The setting is an old house. There's Japanese dolls rolling around, paper amulets and blood bags lining the walls. U-kun still doesn't feel any 'nightmarish vibes' from it, and he tries to get you both out of there with his demon powers but guess what - IT'S NOT WORKING!! Dozen of lit candles appear, and bloody writing on the wall says: 「ここから出られるかな」 ('Can you get out of here?')

U-kun is all like: 'CHALLENGE ACCEPTED >:)' and yells at the dream-maker to leave you alone. Suddenly, the candles blow out. A timer starts, and you notice that the ceiling - which is gradually lowering - is lined with needles. U-kun tries and fails to blast through the locked door, and, panicking, he finally blows up the ceiling just in time. The two of you narrowly escape, by hiding in a corner where the fallen needles cannot reached.

You wake up in the bungalow, and U-kun notices that your hand has been scraped by the needles from the dream (i.e. if you had died in the dream, you would have died for real). U-kun kisses you wound and apologises for not being able to protect you with his powers. Then he tells you to keep awake for the next few hours, to avoid any bad 'after-effects' of the dream.

*

In the daytime, your class go hiking, and the two of you drop rank and stumble upon an open space in the woods. U-kun *generously* offers his knees for you to lay your head and make up your sleep from last night. Awwww~~~ (dies from kyun).

As you fall asleep, he kisses your lips to taste what kind of dream you are having. Just then, he senses a strong demonic force nearby...

That night, the two of you once again enter the recurrent 'nightmare'. U-kun asks the dream-maker why it's doing this to you, and the bloody writing on the wall appears again: 「ここから出られるかな」 ...Ya'll start running, but find that every room in the house is the exact same. Cloth appears and tie up both your bodies, and U-kun cuts them off with his powers, causing everything to return to peace and quiet.

U-kun immediately possesses your body to comfort you. He remembers back when the entire baku race died before his eyes, and vows to protect his loved ones and never let that happen again. Just then, he senses some uncertainty coming from the dream-maker, as you have remained unafraid despite repeated threats. Insert *inspirational speech* about how you are a fearless #sassygirl and u gonna get to the bottom of dis shit.

...You wake up back in the bungalow. U-kun is wondering if you have successfully escaped, and if your next 'nightmare' will be fatal, when he notices that you are actually holding a f-ing candle from the 'dream'. It's impossible to take objects out of a dream, which means that... OMG that is no f-ing dream!!! The horror house exists in reality. Dun-dun-DUN.

*

*

The two of you trek back to the open space from the previous day. There is an info sign that you missed before, of a hospital that was torn down around 100 years ago. The lingering spirits from this place must be kidnapping people in the dead of night and making it look like a 'nightmare'.

Over a century ago, a natural disaster caused many people to be admitted to this hospital. However, the treatment did not seem to be working, and their moans of pain could be heard every night. After the hospital was demolished, word spread of people living nearby being trapped in nightmares of this hospital: the rumours of the 'Escape Game', one of the Seven Wonders.

So, the mystery is finally revealed. The 'nightmare' is the work of the demon which has been spawned by the pain and anguish of the patients of this hospital. Demons are formed from the strong emotions of people, and this demon takes the shape of the hospital building.

To stop the threat to any more innocent lives, U-kun decides to destroy this demon... by himself. He reveals that he has felt known from the beginning that a love between a baku and a human would experience untraversable obstacles, and he would undertake all the pain to give you happiness.

*Of course* you could never be happy if anything happened to him, so you insist to tag along. He warns that he could be wrong and you might both die. But your reply gives him strength, he thanks you and apologises for trying to be the lone hero. And with that, you are off into the belly of the shark--!!!

*

Once again, you land in the horror house after falling asleep. U-kun announces to the demon that he knows its true form - that the knife attacks were actually surgical knives, the needles were for injection, and the cloths were bandages. His correct predictions send the demon into a state of panic once again. It sends out more surgical knives, which U-kun shields you from.

Turns out, the bloody writing on the wall is not an escape challenge, but rather an honest question: 「ここから出られるかな」 ('Can WE get out of here?'). The demon is not an embodiment of pain and anguish, but rather born out of hope, continually searching for someone who can reassure the patients that they will recover and be discharged from this place.

In the climax, he tells the demon that it can cut the two of you with a gajillion medical instruments, but it will never break your spirits. That the demon can be saved, and that is why you are here: to save it.

...

You are transported back in time to when the hospital was still running: patients lying in their beds, their faces distorted from the frightening dreams they are having every night. U-kun decides to help them by eating all their nightmares - to restore their happiness in the midst of despair, just like you did for him when he thought he had lost it all.

After eating all the patients' nightmares, their fears become soothed, and the dream-demon can be laid to rest eternally. The two of you wake up back in the open space, and it looks exactly the same as before. U-kun asks you if he actually managed to change anything, and you tell him: regardless of whether he did, the most important thing is to have faith.

Soon, it will be dawn. Cherry blossoms fall like snow from the surrounding trees, as if the patients are waving goodbye.

*

[Epilogue] The legend of the 'Escape Room Game' has changed: When the casualties of the disaster were moaning in the hospital at night, a baku came and saved them from their nightmares and soothed their fears. But whether all of them recovered and made it out of the hospital is anyone's guess.

At the end, U-kun thanks you for wishing for his happiness, and he now believes that he can find happiness too - together with you, of course!! *KISS*

[until-theend-oftheline]

When They Had Nothing - Part 2: Boys and Their Fathers

Pairing: Stucky (Eventually)

Warnings: Alcohol Abuse, Child Abuse, Domestic Abuse, Distant father, Character Death, Implied PTSD, Kids arguing a bit.

Word Count: 3200ish

A/N: This is my new Stucky series. It starts with the boys as kids in Brooklyn and follows CAFA but from Bucky’s POV rather than Steve’s. I am sooo excited about this series which I have been working on for about 6 months as it’s written for @cabigbang

Art Inspired by WTHN by: @ischa-posts - thank you so much for taking the time to create art for my series! - Ischa also made the amazing drawing below

Betaed by: @blacktithe7 @emilyevanston and @ifyougetkilled-walk-it-off - Thank you so much for all your help!

***My fics are not to be saved nor posted on any other sites without my express written permission.***

MASTERLIST - CABIGBANG MASTERLIST + AO3 LINK

November 2nd, 1930

Over the passing two years, the boys had grown closer. At first, Bucky’s wrestling buddies had made fun of Steve, but Bucky wouldn’t have any of that. He put a solid stop to their remarks and cruel behavior within the first few months. Bucky had never abandoned his old friends, but they had never really become friends with Steve either. They accepted him hanging around just like they accepted that Rebecca did. She on the other hand quickly became fond of Steve, keeping him company whenever Bucky was busy with wrestling or when his other friends dragged him off. Bucky ignored the comments they would make when he excused himself to return to his sister and best friend’s side. All they saw when they saw Steve was a sickly, odd boy that their friend had taken pity on.

What they didn’t understand was that the relationship between the two boys had nothing to do with pity. It was everything but. The two of them seemed to raise each other up and make each other stronger. Steve brought out the righteous, brave side in Bucky that was always there but that he had often hidden away out of fear of getting in trouble with his old man. Granted, Steve’s do right attitude had earned him a few whippings over the years, but he had held his head high through all of them. Somehow Bucky suspected his dad respected him a bit more for it.

Bucky, on the other hand, was able to bring out the slightly more adventurous side in Steve, and even if many of their shenanigans and mischief were done under great protest from Bucky’s younger friend, it always ended with both of them laughing and having a great time. Together they were both at their best, and together they faced everything, including when the stock market crashed and the word they had known started to crumble around them.

Bucky’s family had never been rich, but they had been well off. His dad losing his job when the bank he worked security for closed meant they had to move out of their house and into an apartment building. Still, they weren’t poor. They had his mother’s monthly paychecks, and his dad, a decorated ex us lieutenant, didn’t have trouble finding security jobs to work from time to time. So even if their income wasn’t as high or as stable as it once was, they were still doing better than Steve’s family.

Joseph, Steve’s father, couldn’t hold down a job, and the work at the harbor became further and further in between. Even living in the small apartment they always had and keeping the light and heat on was becoming harder and harder on only a nurse’s paycheck. Bucky always suspected there was more to their troubles than just that judging by the smell of Joseph when he passed him on his way out the door when he was coming home. He had always been drinking. Bucky knew that even if Steve had never told him. He also knew he slapped Sarah around, and there was no doubt in Bucky’s mind that Steve’s slower movements at times didn’t have anything to do with his health.  

Bucky had hated Joseph from the first moment he had laid eyes on him as a five-year-old boy, and that hatred didn’t ease as he grew older and got to know Sarah and Steve better.

Steve didn’t hate. He always chose to see the best in people, even when Bucky was sure there was none. He didn’t push it though. There was nothing Bucky could do but keep his eyes open and be there to catch Steve if he needed him too. Just like he always had and always would.

It was a promise Bucky would live to keep on the evening of November 2nd, 1930. The short November day had long ended, and 13-year-old Bucky was sitting on the living room floor reading when Rebecca’s voice called to his attention.

“Steve’s outside.”

Bucky instantly looked up at his sister, seeing the snow fall outside the window behind her and hoping with everything he had she was wrong. It was freezing outside, and Steve, as small as he was, had grown out of his winter jacket. He had no business being outside in the cold like this. Most people would get a cold while Steve being Steve would most likely end up with pneumonia if he stayed out in weather like this for too long.

“Where?” Bucky dropped his book and jumped from the floor to stand next to his sister sitting in the window case. She pointed, and Bucky’s heart dropped when he saw him. He was sitting against the wall curled into a ball, trying to keep himself warm. A part of Bucky wanted to open the window and yell at him, ask him what the hell he was thinking. He wanted to scold him for being out in the cold in the first place or for not knocking on their door the instant he got there, but a greater part of him was just concerned. Bucky ran across the apartment. He grabbed his jacket from the hallway but didn’t put it on. Instead, he kept it in his hands as he ran outside and along the building until he reached Steve. Without a word, Bucky knelt down, wrapping the jacket around his best friend, rubbing his arms up and down to try and get some warmth into him.

“Let’s get you inside punk.”

Bucky gently guided Steve, who still hadn’t looked up at him, onto his feet. Steve didn’t have to meet his eyes for Bucky to see the wince of pain his movement caused him. He was hurt but still trying his best for Bucky not to see. A silent war raised inside Bucky. He wanted to let go of his friend and run back to his house, shove Joseph’s drunk ass against the wall, and beat the crap out of him until he knew what it felt like.

It wasn’t what Steve wanted. Hell, Steve didn’t even want Bucky to know what his dad was really like, otherwise he would have told him already. So instead, Bucky rained in his anger and wrapped his arm around Steve leading him towards the door.

“You’re staying here tonight,” Bucky promised him, knowing that it would take some convincing with his mom, given Steve had come here on his own so late in the evening, but he also knew she trusted Bucky’s judgment when it came to the Rogers.

His family liked Steve and Sarah. They always did whatever they could to help them out with food or clothes. They never handed them money though. Bucky suspected it had more to do with them knowing those would end up in the hands of a bootlegger than it was them not being able to accept the handout.

It hadn’t taken Bucky as much convincing as he thought it would for his mom to call Steve’s mom at the hospital to let her know her son was spending the night at their house. Bucky had however been convinced Steve would need a trip to the hospital himself after George had handed the frail boy the brandy glass and told him to drink. Steve had been coughing and Bucky banging his back with a flat hand before rubbing gentle circles while Winifred had scolded her husband loudly for his stupidity.

After having gotten a bit of warm soup into Steve, with all the Barnes fussing around him for the better part of an hour,  the apartment had gone quiet. Rebecca had been dragged to her own room by their mother while Bucky had grabbed the sofa cushions and arranged them on the floor next to his bed for Steve to sleep on.

The boys weren’t sleeping though. They were arguing about who was going to the baseball World Series and if the Dodgers were actually going to win that season. The conversation took a turn when Bucky asked Steve if he ever thought about moving away from Brooklyn. While Steve didn’t want to leave his home for good, he did dream with Bucky about places in the world they would wanna see. Like two explorers, they laughed and mapped out the adventurous they would go on together when they grew up.

Eventually, they both quieted down, but neither of them seemed to be able to sleep, so Bucky turned to his side looking down at Steve. He felt a pain to his heart when he thought about Steve suffering outside in the cold instead of knocking on their door. Bucky hated there was a part of Steve’s life that he felt the need to keep secret from him. They were best friends, and there shouldn’t be anything that Steve couldn’t talk to him about.

“Steve, why did you come here tonight?” Bucky asked and Steve froze staring into the ceiling without saying a word. Most other days Bucky would have backed off, but the image of Steve sitting frozen against the wall of the apartment building haunted him. Without giving it a second thought, Bucky slid off the bed and down next to his friend. Steve looked up at him in surprise which quickly turned into horror when Bucky started tugging at his shirt.

“What are you doing? Stop!” Steve fought back but was no match for Bucky’s strength. It wasn’t much of a struggle before Bucky managed to lift up Steve’s shirt to reveal the rainbow of bruises covering his chest and ribcage. The second Bucky saw, he let go of Steve, letting him pull down his shirt and scatter backward against the wall. Steve pulled his legs up under him, wrapping his arms around his knees, staring at Bucky with a look of utter betrayal on his face, and instantly Bucky regretted his actions.

“Steve, I’m sorry pal. I… I know he beats you and your mom okay? I know he drinks,” Bucky tried to explain himself. He couldn’t look into the painfilled blue eyes any longer, so he hung his head. “I just wanted to see how bad it was. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry,” Bucky pleaded with Steve without looking at him but meaning every single word. He had been frustrated with the secrets Steve had been keeping from him, but he had never meant to hurt him or betray his trust.

“I just needed to get out of there,” Steve sniffled, and Bucky looked up.

The betrayal was gone from his face and left was only pain. Bucky didn’t hesitate as he scurried towards his best friend, wrapping his arms around him, embracing him as tightly as he dared in fear of hurting him. It didn’t take long for Steve to return the hug, and the boys stayed quietly in each other’s arms, allowing the safety and reassurance that the two of them were okay wash over them. When they released each other, Bucky didn’t crawl back into bed. He stayed on the cushions on the floor next to Steve, promising him he would always have a place to stay whenever he needed it. He stayed awake listening to Steve’s breathing as he fell asleep next to him. He told himself he didn’t move back to the bed because he wanted to make sure Steve was alright. He wanted to keep him safe through the night, which was the truth, but it wasn’t the entire truth. He needed to be close to his friend just as much as Steve needed to be close to him. They were too old to sleep so tightly against each other, but it didn’t feel wrong to either of them and when Bucky finally fell asleep, he felt more at ease with himself than he had in a long time.

December 20th, 1931

Bucky’s room had become Steve’s hideout after that. He never left his place if his mom was home. He took the beatings to spare her, but whenever she was working evenings and nights, Steve was in Bucky’s room, hiding from the wrath of his drunken father. Over a year passed like that, and the two boys friendship grew stronger.

Bucky never questioned or pushed Steve again, but once in a while, he opened up to his best friend anyway. He told him about the times he had hidden in the back of the closet when his dad roamed the house with a baseball bat. He told Bucky of the times he had stepped between his parents to save his mother. With every story he heard, Bucky hated Joseph a little more. The hate within him built and built. So much so that the day the news of Joseph’s early demise reached the Barnes household, Bucky didn’t grieve. He smiled, relieved and happy that the bully had gotten what he had coming. Fallen into the East River and succumbing to hyperthermia seemed like a just end in Bucky’s eyes. He knew it was wrong, but picturing Joseph die a slow painful death brought him immense satisfaction. Bucky was a kid. He could protect Steve against the bullies at school, but he had never been able to protect him against the one at Steve’s own house. Knowing Steve would never suffer at the hands of his father again eased Bucky’s mind. Which was the reason Bucky was a little confused to see Steve and Sarah’s tears at the funeral a few days later. How could they grieve for someone that had only ever caused them harm? Bucky didn’t push the matter though. He stayed by Steve’s side. Close enough to touch without actually touching.

That entire day Steve didn’t leave Sarah’s side. He stayed close to his mom, making sure she had everything she needed, while Bucky stayed were Steve could always see him. Their eyes met every now and again. With every encouraging nod and smile Bucky mustered to send Steve, he got a relieved grateful one in return.

Even after everyone else had left and Steve helped his mom to bed, Bucky stayed that day. He knew that Steve was holding himself together. He was being strong for his mom and for everyone around him, but Bucky also wanted him to know that he didn’t have to be. Steve didn’t have to hold back a single emotion when it was just the two of them. He didn’t care if Steve wanted to grieve the man that Bucky hated. He just wanted to be there for him and for Steve to know he didn’t have to be the strong one for a little while.

No words were uttered between the two boys as Bucky followed Steve out the door, sitting down next to him on the front stairs. He just took the two sodas Steve handed him. Bucky opened them both, handing one back to Steve without a word. He wanted to ask a million questions, but he didn’t. He just waited for Steve to be ready to speak on his own accord.

“He wasn’t always like that,” Steve said quietly. “Not according to mom anyway. I don’t remember anything else.”

Bucky’s eyes rested on Steve as he moved a little closer, letting Steve feel him against his side. Bucky didn’t ask. He just waited. Steve wanted to talk to him, but he needed a minute. Bucky knew that as much as Steve always saw the good in people, trusting didn’t always come easy. Bucky was his only friend, and truthfully, Steve was Bucky’s only friend too. Yes, he surrounded himself with a lot of boys at school. Girls were starting to take an interest, which was very much returned, but Steve was different. He knew Bucky in a way that no one else did. Steve knew what Bucky was thinking even before he opened his mouth. No one else understood him or even tried to understand him the way that Steve always seemed to. Honestly, Bucky wasn’t sure he wanted anyone else to anyway.

“Mom said he smiled a lot before the war. He took her dancing and made her laugh. He never hurt anyone, especially not her.” Steve didn’t look at Bucky. He just stared down at the bottle in his hands. “He lost everyone in the war. He saw things I guess…”

“My dad went to war to Steve. He’s not exactly easy to live with, but he never broke my bones,” Bucky spoke in a low voice.

He did his best to mask his disdain for the dead man, but it was hard after having seen the array of colors on Steve’s body or having supported him when he walked around on a broken leg. Steve was always sick. He was frail. The man that was supposed to look out for him had been the one that had done him the most harm while Bucky had been powerless to do anything about it. He could protect Steve from the bullies their own age or even older, but how was he supposed to have kept him safe from a parent that decided Steve and Sarah were as good a punching bag as any?

“I know Buck. I’m not saying that what he did isn’t on him. I’m just saying that there is a reason for it,” Steve’s voice was more firm now, and he looked up, meeting Bucky’s eyes. They looked at each other for a while, before Bucky nodded, accepting that maybe war had done something to Joseph neither of the boys could understand.

Bucky took a gulp of the soda, staring out into the cool afternoon air, wondering what his father might have been like before the war. George wasn’t abusive like Joseph. He didn’t drink, but he was dominant and bossy. It was his rules all the time and no matter what Bucky did, he never felt as if it was good enough in the eyes of his father.

“I wonder how my dad was before the war?” Bucky muttered, feeling guilty the moment the words had left his lips. He should be comforting Steve right now, and no matter how difficult George was, it was nothing compared to the things Joseph had done to Steve.

Steve didn’t judge Bucky though. Of course, he didn’t. He didn’t even ask what he meant, because despite Bucky not talking about how he felt pressured by his father, Steve seemed to know. Instead of saying anything, Steve just reached out, taking Bucky’s hand, giving it a squeeze, causing Bucky to look down at their hands. This should feel weird. They were most certainly too old for this kind of thing, and they were guys, not chicks. Guys weren’t supposed to hold hands like that, but Steve didn’t seem to care. The warmth rushing from their joined hands throughout Bucky’s body, causing his heart to beat a little faster as he squeezed Steve’s hand back.

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[capsicletho]

I Can’t Make You Love Me

…if you don’t. You can’t make your heart feel something that it won’t.

a Tony Stark series; author: @stvrktony​ | chapter 08

trigger: none.

word count: 3.4k

summary: Reader and Tony found comfort in each other while they were trying to mend their own broken hearts.

a/n: To make up for taking sooo long to update the last chapter. Here’s chapter 8! There’s a huge time jump here because I need the plot to move further, but I hope you still find things easy enough to follow! I’ve already planned something or the next chapter, and it’s so exciting so stay tuned for that!

masterlist | ICMYLM masterlist | previous chapter

You woke up the next morning with a mild headache and a sense of gratitude to yourself for not drinking too much until you were drunk last night. You were never really much of a drinker, but every time you hung out with Tony for more than an hour, it would almost definitely involve liquor. You gulped an entire glass of water and headed to the shower to start the day. You got ready in just under an hour and then you were out of your bedroom door, opting for a breakfast at Starbucks instead of cooking; that’s when you spotted a leather wallet resting next to the bottle of bourbon.

Sighing, you pulled out your phone and scrolled through your contacts and pressed dial after you found Tony’s name on your screen. The dial tone rung twice before he picked up.

“Hey you,” he greeted just as you fetched the wallet from your coffee table.

“Hey. You know, you left your wallet here,” you told him, opening the wallet. He didn’t carry around that much cash–only a couple hundred–and there were only a few cards, which included his ID, driver’s license, and the sterling Black Card. You raised your eyebrow and slid the black card out of its slot in the wallet to peek at it.

“Yeah?” Tony asked, seeming distracted.

“Mhm,” you hummed in confirmation. “What would happen if I go on a shopping spree with it?” You asked playfully, ending your sentence with a light chuckle.

“I would…lose a couple thousand bucks and gain in back in a minute,” he said, which caused you to laugh. “Why don’t you come over? Drop it off,” Tony said again.

“I can’t, I have work. And besides, I can’t hangout with you anymore; you’re a bad influence,” you said while you placed the wallet on the sofa and pinched phone between your shoulder and your ear so you can put on your heels.

“How so?” He asked; you can hear a metal clanging, and you knew he was in his lab.

“We finished half a bottle of bourbon last night!” You gestured towards the bottle that was sitting on the table.

“That was mostly me!” He retaliated.

“Still, I’ve never drank more than the occasional glass of wine on a work night,” you defended yourself.

“In my defence, you could’ve just said no,” he returned and you could feel that he was smiling over the phone.

“Alright, well. I gotta go to work, maybe I’ll have someone deliver it over to you from there, because I think I might be working late anyway,” you said.

“Alright. Don’t have fun without me,” Tony chuckled.

“There’s no such thing as fun without you,” you chuckled too, slipping the wallet into your handbag.

Your day went on normally. A meeting with your newest pro bono case client, a preliminary hearing for your another new case, lunch, a meeting with your boss, and the rest of the day spent glossing over evidences and your newest case that just had a preliminary hearing this morning. The New York sky was growing darker; you could feel your stomach growling and when you looked at the time, the clock showed that it was almost nine. You debated over getting sushi at the office or something else, but then decided that you should just go home and cook something up.

Packing up your things, that was when you realised you had forgotten to ask the mail room clerk to send Tony’s wallet to him, so you decided to drop it off yourself. You were a bit nervous; you haven’t been back to the Avengers Tower since your break up with Steve and also Ultron. You were somehow afraid to bump into Steve there. But you mentally punched yourself in the face for it and finally braved yourself to go there.

Pulling up at the entrance of the tower, you exited whilst looking up at the majestic tower. Your heart was beating twice faster; even so, you walked up to the automatic doors. You expected it to run a body scan of you since you have already moved out, or you had to ring a doorbell or something–which is not something you used to do because you once had clearance. But instead, FRIDAY greeted you, which meant your clearance was not yet terminated. You were a bit taken aback, because you were so used to JARVIS’ voice, you forgot that ever since Ultron, Tony replaced JARVIS with FRIDAY.

“Hello, Miss (Y/L/N). It’s good to see you again, ” the AI greeted you.

“Hello, FRIDAY. Good to see you too,” you smiled, finding your reply funny because you can’t actually physically see him. “Tony here?” You asked as you made your way into the elevator.

“He’s in his lab,” she replied. “Although, you might want to be careful. He’s not exactly…in the right mood.”

“I just want to drop his wallet off,” you said. You were also slightly curious and worried, because FRIDAY–like JARVIS–is an incredibly intelligent AI; they actually seem almost like a human who sits in a hidden room somewhere with CCTV monitors and a microphone instead of just a software programmed throughout the facility.

You walked across the foyer and heard a loud banging and crashing from Tony’s lab before you even arrived. Knowing that you don’t have clearance to it, even before, you requested FRIDAY to open the doors for you because you didn’t see Tony anywhere through the glass walls.

“Tony?” You called out, hoping he’d say hi or poke his head out from somewhere. He didn’t, so you tried again while still walking in deeper into the lab.

That’s when you saw his shoe behind a table. You approached him with a smile, but your expression was completely upside down the moment you realise the state he was in.

“Oh my God, Tony, what happened to you?” You asked, squatting down next to him. He was sweating–or maybe crying, because his eyes were glistening. You saw a bottle of liquor (surprise, surprise) next to him and his work scattered on the floor as he looked to you.

“Thought you were just gonna mail my wallet to me,” he said quietly.

“I forgot. Jesus Christ, are you okay?” You asked, extremely worried about him. You’ve never seen him like this.

“Yep,” he grunted, trying to get up while you helped, but failing to find his balance, so he had to hold on to you.

“Come on,” you said, putting his arm around your shoulder and yours around his waist and helped him exit the lab. “Where can we sit?” You asked.

“Upstairs, Miss,” FRIDAY answered for you.

You led the him into the elevator and when it closed, FRIDAY immediately sent the elevator a floor above where you both were and the door opened up to a spacious living room. Again, a different layout to what you once knew. Were they renovating all this much? You knew that there were damages after Ultron and when Vision broke out of the lab, but you didn’t think they’d renovate this much.

You plopped Tony down on the sofa and placed your bag next to him, walking over to the kitchen to grab a glass of water for the billionaire. You sat next to him and handed him the glass, which he took, sipped from it a little bit and placed on the coffee table across the two of you.

“What happened?” You asked him. He just looked at you–meaningfully, but still refusing to answer.

You sighed. “FRIDAY, when did he last eat?” You asked.

“Last night, Miss,” the AI replied.

“Can you please order us a pepperoni pizza with extra cheese?” You asked the AI.

“Right away, Miss,” she said.

“I’m not hungry,” he said to you.

“Well, I am,” you shrugged. “So, where’s everyone?” You asked, thinking that if you change the subject, maybe he’d want to answer you.

“They moved,” Tony simply said. “To the new facility,” he added.

You felt yourself relaxing a little bit, knowing that you won’t bump into Steve here, but you were also a bit disappointed of that fact.  “And why didn’t you?” You asked, while bending over to take off your heels and splayed your knees out to your side, wanting to sit comfortably but still minding the way you sit because you’re wearing a pencil skirt.

“You wouldn’t be able to find me if I had.” If Tony was in a better mood, that would’ve sounded like the joke he usually plays with you, but his tone was flat and it made it seem as though he wasn’t in the mood to answer the question.

Pizza arrived quickly and the two of you ate, leaving only one slice out of the eight slices, Tony eating a slice more than you.

“That’s your slice,” he said.

“I know. I’m saving it for later,” you said, feeling a bit full since FRIDAY ordered a thick one for you two. “Or you can just have it,” you shrugged.

“Alright,” he said lightly and grabbed the last piece to eat, making you smile. He was much in a better state than before, and you were relieved–although still slightly curious as to what happened to him. You glanced at your watch for a little bit for a little bit and then back at Tony who was munching on the pizza contently and just stared at him.

“Stop staring,” he commented with a mouthful of pizza, glancing at you and you laughed a little.

After he was done with the pizza, he stood up, grabbed the empty box and shuffled towards the trash can, putting the box there and grabbed a bottle of wine. It continued to amaze you how many bottles are hidden around the compound.

“No. I need to stop drinking every time we hangout,” you said when he offered you a glass.

“Suit yourself,” he shrugged and took a sip of the beverage. The two of you were quiet for a bit.

“Tony, tell me what’s going on,” you persuaded him. You know that he wasn’t the type to open up to people. Tony had a huge ego, and it’s time he put that aside instead of always hurting yourself because he was afraid to admit his feelings to anyone.

He sighed, looking ahead into nothing as he pondered on what to say. “Everybody leaves,” Tony said. He slumped in his seat and rested his head on the sofa’s head rest. “They just keep on leaving, and I-” he just sighed. He couldn’t bear to finish his sentence, but you had a good guess on what he was going to say.

You were quiet for a bit, biting your lower lip. You didn’t know what to say to help make him feel better. You knew he must have heard a lot of people tell him that they’d stay but end up leaving.

“You can’t do that, Tony,” you said. “You can’t depend your happiness on someone else, it’s only going to hurt because eventually, everybody disappoints you. You should feel happy being by yourself first, then you can find someone who would actually stick with you through thick and thin and they won’t leave just because you’re being difficult; but even if they do, you’d be okay. Because you’re content with yourself. There are so many people who wished they could be like you, but why aren’t you happy with yourself?” you said. It was a piece of advice you had from your grandmother.

Tony smiled a little bit. He knew that’s what he had to do, but it’s easier said than done.

You just smiled a little bit and said, “But for what it’s worth, I’m right here. I’m not leaving any time soon.”

He smiled back at you, but you could see just a glint of doubt in his eyes. Like he’s heard that before. Well, you just have to prove him wrong. You actually grew fond of hanging out with Tony, and you knew there was a great friendship in the making–more than what the two of you thought possible.

“On that note, I have to go. It’s late,” you broke the silence between the two of you with a lighthearted joke. But you truly had to leave. The clock showed that it’s almost eleven o’clock, and you still have almost half-an-hour’s worth of journey back to your apartment. 

“Stay. There’s a guest bedroom, you know,” he suggested.

“I can’t. I don’t have my clothes, my toothbrush, and everything else here,” you said. You were never a fan of staying over without your essentials with you, because you still had to brush your teeth, wash your face, and you’re not a fan of reusing yesterday’s outfit if you can help it.

“You know I can get Happy to buy those for you in the morning. I can’t let you drive this late,” Tony negotiated. “Besides, it’s Saturday tomorrow. You don’t have work on Saturday, right?”

“I don’t, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be working from home,” you said.

“You literally just said you wouldn’t leave,” Tony exclaimed.

“Well not in this context!” You exclaimed in return, laughing at the end.

You finally caved and decided to stay the night in the bedroom next to Tony’s. You walked into the room, knowing it once belonged to Bruce. But it has turned into a plain guest bedroom, looking more like a hotel than what used to belong to a scientist. You went to freshen up and wash your face, changing out of your work clothes into Tony’s long-sleeved shirt that ends just in the middle of your bare thighs. Since you wanted to go back to the living room to hang with him, you took the white robe folded on the bed and wore it so that you wouldn’t go out half-dressed.

The two of you talked the entire night again. If any of the Avengers could see the two of you now, no one would’ve believed that (Y/N) and Tony could ever have late night conversations about so many things.

The staying over and late night conversations had become a regular thing between the two of you. It had become so frequent that you kept some of your clothes at the tower just in case you stayed over. Tony never kept anything in your apartment because even if he stayed over, he had no problem exiting the apartment with yesterday’s clothes rumpled in every place and his hair dishevelled.

“Where are you?” Tony asked over the phone.

“In my apartment, wrapping gifts,” you said.

It was the twenty-third of December, and Christmas is right around the corner. Your parents lived in Washington D.C. and you had FedEx-ed your gifts over to their house because you were planning to celebrate Christmas there. The ones you’re wrapping were just the last minute ones.

“Open the door,” He said. You stood up from where you sat on the floor in the middle of the living room and unlocked the door to find him there. A black trench coat over his clothes and his red-tinted sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose. You walked back inside, leaving him to close the door behind him.

“That’s all you’re buying for your family?” He asked, seeing the small pile of gifts on the floor next to where you sat back down. He expected a huge pile considering how extra you can be sometimes.

“No, these are just for those cousins I don’t really talk to. They’re coming over because my grandparents moved into my parents’ house. The rest I’ve shipped to D.C. because there’s no way I can carry them all tonight,” you said.

“You’re going to D.C. tonight?” Tony asked, a tinge of disappointment in his voice. But in reality, he was actually very disappointed, but even he didn’t know why. Maybe now that you’ve started to spend so much time together, you leaving for a few days was turning into a strange thing for him.

“Yeah, it’s a last minute change of plans. I planned on arriving tomorrow on Christmas Eve instead of tonight, but my mother insisted. But I’m flying back here on the 26th, maybe in the morning or in the afternoon,” you explained to him, putting tape over the decorative paper you use to wrap the tie you bought for your cousin, Daniel, who had just landed his first job and is starting in January.

“Huh,” he said, and sat down on the floor next to you after he took off his coat and his sunglasses.

“Don’t sound so disappointed, I’ll be back before you know it,” you chuckled at him.

“I’m not disappointed,” he defended himself. “I just thought your family’s here in New York,” Tony said.

“Nope. My dad is the United States Ambassador for the United Nations. His work is in D.C., so he has to live there,” you said.

“What?” He emphasised the word with a look of disbelief.

You looked at him with a look of innocence on your face. “I thought you knew! You had a background check on me. Remember when I said I know someone from the government?” You asked.

“I didn’t think that person would mean your dad!” He said. He did remember JARVIS mentioning your parents’ name but he didn’t really listen.

“Yeah, well, he’s been asking me to move into politics instead of law,” you said. “But, I don’t know,” you shrugged. You tied a bow to the twine string and stuck the wishing card on the last gift and finally, you were done. You piled the five gifts and saw that they would easily fit into an extra carry-on bag.

“I’m sorry I didn’t have the chance to call you to let you know. I guess you’ll have to order pizza with DUM-E instead of me,” you pouted apologetically.

“I’ll be fine. Come on, I’ll drop you off to the airport,” he offered.

“Okay. Let me get changed,” you said.

After landing in Washington D.C., you sent Tony a quick text to let him know you’ve arrived safely and is on the way to your parents house. Your mother had already been waiting for you at the door and the minute you exited the car, she practically ran towards you and squeezed the living hell out of you.

“Oh, baby girl, I’ve missed you!” She exclaimed.

“I miss you too, Mom,” you said whilst still being squished by your mother.

“Is that my little girl?” a booming voice came from the hall and your dad, still strapping and healthy immediately enveloped you in his arms.

“Hi, Daddy,” you hugged him back. No matter how old you get, you would always be a little girl to them, and over the past few years, you’ve just learned to roll with it because if there’s one thing your parents will never do, is stop calling you ‘baby girl’ or ‘little girl’.

You were welcomed with even more warmth when you saw your paternal grandparents inside and your siblings and your nephews and nieces. It was not even Christmas yet, but the big house already felt like it. Christmas lights were everywhere and all the decorations have been put up; it felt as though your worries and stress over work had vanished into thin air.

Meanwhile, in New York, Tony stood in his floor with his hands stuck into his pocket. He stood there overlooking Manhattan’s skyline. He had never felt so lonely in the middle of one of the most crowded city ever. But there was one person in mind who brought him comfort, and with that person in mind, he smiled a little bit and padded back to his lab.

He grabbed the small, red, Santa-decorated party hat and stuck it on top of DUM-E’s so-called head.

“Looks like it’s just gonna be you and me,” he said, and DUM-E whirred in response, putting a small yet sad smile on his face. He walked over to his bench and started working again.

TAG LIST

@thevanishedillusion @welcometomyworldwithoutrules  @plan3tmadison

[bundeslihaha]

Chapter 11: Under the Spotlight

The Media Days have started! Join the Bundesliga boys and girls as they prepare for the part of the season they wished they could skip!

Whoever’s documenting us, SV Darmstadt 98 thought as she reread the address on her phone, must be lazy as fuck…

Somehow, she wasn’t surprised at her vocabulary – hanging out (well, arguing) with Karlsruhe, Kaiserslautern and Braunschweig would do that to anyone…

Hmm, speaking of those three, it was unfortunate for such big clubs with rich history to not get promoted, wasn’t it? But naaaah, Darmstadt grinned mischievously. She was definitely looking forward to filling the next page of her football fairytale!

FC Ingolstadt 04 looked up at his coach slowly. “Papa?” he called, tugging the sleeve of Ralph Hasenhüttl’s shirt.

“Yes, Ingolstadt?” Papa asked. His face looked sooo bored, but Ingolstadt knew anyone would be, like really! It seemed like they’d been on this train for years! “Papa, are we there yet?” he whined, secretly hoping that asking would make the trip faster.

“Not yet, Ingolstadt,” Papa replied, messing his hair. “No, Papa, don’t do that!” he protested, swatting his large hand off his head, “I’m not a kid anymore!” He was already eleven years old, okay? He didn’t need a Papa. He wanted to live alone like RB Leipzig, to do whatever and whenever he wanted! Why did the bosses still force him to live with a “father figure”? He’s a personification, not a normal kid! Why should he go to a boring school? Why should he be watched while eating? Everyone knew he hated vegetables! Why?!

“Ingolstadt,” Papa said, touching his cheek instead, “I’m sorry, okay? You know I like your hair when it’s neatly trimmed like this.” He chuckled a little. Ingolstadt pouted. “Of course you like it, Papa, you trimmed it yourself!” the boy playfully punched his caretaker, “Why can’t I have long hair like Bochum?”

“Bochum?” Papa asked, raising an eyebrow, “His hair is awful. Especially with that hairclip.”

The little Bavarian groaned. “But- but I want my hair to touch my shoulders! It’s so cool, Papa!” He patted Papa’s shoulder for good measure, but all he got was an unconvinced glare. “Fine,” he grumbled, “at least I can grow bangs? Like Karlsruhe?”

Papa’s eyes were unfocused. Maybe he was picturing his (old, haha!) bully, with his shaggy brown hair.

“He looks like he doesn’t have a comb,” Papa finally said. Ingolstadt decided to change tactics. In a second, he was staring at his coach with dark eyes as big as saucers, causing Hasenhüttl to wince and changed the topic himself. “Anyway, are you excited for the Media Days?”

Ingolstadt’s face brightened that instant. “Of course, Papa! I can’t wait to meet the others!” He was jumping on his seat now, earning him annoyed looks from other passengers. “Especially Bayern. She’s so… so badass!”

When Ingolstadt realized what he’d just said, his hands comically flew to cover his mouth. “Sorry, Papa,” he squeaked.

Now, Ralph Hasenhüttl couldn’t bring himself to be harsh to the spoiled, irritating boy that was the physical embodiment of FC Ingolstadt, but he couldn’t the child grow up with no manners, either.

“Ingolstadt,” Hasenhüttl said, a patronizing hand on the 11-year-old’s shoulder, “what did I tell you about bad words?”

The personification sighed, head hung in shame. “I must not say them, Papa,”

“Good,” the manager nodded. Let’s all pray the first division clubs wouldn’t undo everything he’d taught his ‘son’…

Elsewhere…

 As usual, Europe-bound clubs gather on a corner of whatever meeting place they were in (in this case, studio), FC Augsburg looking out of place.

The UEL club was sandwiched between 25-time-German champions, FC Bayern München, and her chaser, VfL Wolfsburg, his lean body a stark contrast from the fanservice muscles of the two. It didn’t trouble Augsburg much, though. What troubled him was how… casually the six other clubs spoke of trebles, Spanish giants and the like, and though he was an expert at poker faces, intimidation froze him in place.

“Earth to Augsburg,” Bayern called with a hard pat on his back, “you still there?”

He blinked before meeting her gaze. “Yeah.”

“Don’t be so shy, mate,” Gladbach added, flashing the ginger a toothy grin. “It’s my first time in Champions League, too. Ish."

“But you’ve been in Europa,” Augsburg said matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, but you’ll make it!” Dortmund cheered from opposite his seat, a fist punching the air. “Sure, I’ll be your rival later on, but I’m rooting for you! You’re too good to go down…” He trailed off. Must be remembering Freiburg, Augsburg mused, feeling a pang of sympathy for the relegated club and the friend she’d left behind. Would he have to sacrifice Europe for domestic survival, like she had?

“Tch. No one’s ‘too good’ to go down,” Gladbach spat as if forcing everyone to recall his recent brushes with relegation.

“But I think you’ll do well, FCA,” Schalke piped up, a grudging note in his deep voice. “You’re more consistent than Lüdenscheid over here,” he poked his fellow Ruhr club right on his ‘BVB 09, Echte Liebe’ tattoo.

“Oh, shut up, Scheiße,” Dortmund snapped, “just because you consistently suck, doesn’t mean you can bully those who don’t.” A sneer twisted Die Schwarzgelben’s handsome face, practically begging the Royal Blues to punch it. And so, Schalke did.

“Ouch,” Gladbach snickered. That was one hell of a punch. Leverkusen hid his snicker behind his hands.

“You…” Dortmund growled, rubbing his aching nose.

With Schalke sneering back, they left the group for a more physical Revierderby.

A chuckle escaped Bayern at her enemies’ antics. “Oi, Augsburg!” she called again. The ginger beside her responded with a ‘hmm’. “How does it feel to watch the two up close?”

Wolfsburg and the Rhine boys stared hard at the younger Bavarian, trying to coax an answer out of the stoic man.

“Funny?” Augsburg answered, with a tone that made it sound like a question. Wolfsburg laughed. “You don’t sound like you mean it!”

The Fuggerstädter shrugged. “I guess I’m used to it.” He really was used to seeing clubs fight. Nürnberg and Fürth's drunken Oktoberfest brawls weren't much different from the Ruhr Valley rivals', really. He hoped he could be used to being in the company of these giants, too…

There were confident people, and then there was Hamburger SV.

Six-time German champion, playoff specialist (Fürth and Karlsruhe could stay in 2. Bundesliga forever, he didn’t care) and especially beater of “oh-so-great” Gladbach, Augsburg and Bayern was entering the studio with a swagger unseen in him before.

Unfortunately, his swag didn't impressed anyone, except if you count Hannover’s friendly ‘hi’ as an expression of awe. Even worse, Mainz and Frankfurt didn’t even try to hide their laughter (or in the case of Hoffenheim, his derisive remarks). Ugh. He should find Werder lest he died of boredom here. He opened his mouth to ask his boyfriend where the shit is, but when he saw Hertha’s suspicious glances, an imaginary light bulb appeared over his head.

“Yo, Karlsruhe’s whore!”

At her death glare, he couldn’t help but think: This photoshoot won’t be so boring after all.

“Welcome to the Bundesliga!” Eintracht Frankfurt exclaimed, snaking a hand around Darmstadt's shoulders with a less-than-friendly laugh. At the physical contact, she tensed, but took it in stride a moment later. “Thank you, Frankfurt. How are you?”

“Great,” the Eagles replied. “And you, Darmstadt?”

She looked up at him with a beam. “Never better!”

“How can you not?” Frankfurt’s hearty laugh rang in the hallway, “really, I can congratulate you all day.” There was a strangely comfortable silence as they walked inside the studio. “Anyway,” the taller man continued, “Ready for the derby?” Challenge sparkled in his red eyes, dangerous yet inviting.

“Of course,” Darmstadt accepted, her blue eyes echoing his. “And I’m gonna win them all!”

If there was one thing every club preferred their archenemy over, that thing would be a makeover.

Bayern was insisting “Hertha’s kind of makeup” didn’t suit her, demanding the poor makeup artist to 'fix her up' the way she did the male personifications.

Stuttgart had had his dark brown dye forcefully removed, leaving his hair very, very blond. “It will bring out your eyes,” the makeup artist had said, his green eyes glinting with evil.

Even Hertha almost cried when they said she had to take off her bow (a parting gift from her lover years ago) despite accepting her new, layered hairstyle.

So when 1. FC Köln came in to a horde of dissatisfied clubs, he feared for himself as he took his seat on the torture chair.

“Hi, Köln,” his makeup artist, a young woman whose build reminded him of Nuernberg. “Don’t be afraid, ‘kay?”

“Uh…” Köln said, “do I have to take this off?” He indicated at the thin hair tie holding his ponytail.

“Of course,” she smirked.

And then, the torture began.

“Afternoon, everyone!”

Seventeen Bundesliga clubs gathered in the middle of the spacious studio, prepped and pumped for the so-called ‘BL Media Days’. Or for it to be over, but that didn’t really matter. A DFL official welcomed them in their headquarters. The greetings/bullshit was followed by Darmstadt’s introduction, and of course: “But most importantly, have fun!”

The first photoshoot was standard – they’d be photographed head to waist with hands on their hips, a plain white wall their background.

To make things simpler, the officials would call the impatient personifications in alphabetical order, because of which, Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg decided to treat themselves (and the others, on the officials’ insistence) lunch.

“FC Augsburg!” came the first call, and true to his no-nonsense personality, it only took him a minute or two, even with the touch-ups.

“Bayer 04 Leverkusen!”

The Retortenclub rolled his eyes. “Later, okay” he told Bayern, who gave him a thumb up in reply. As a true PR man, Leverkusen stepped up to the stage with confidence, a charming smile set to melt fangirls and fanboys’ hearts on his face.

“Hello, cutie,” the makeup artist teased, applying a dash of bronzer on Leverkusen’s cheek. He responded accordingly – with a wink and “Hello to you too!”

Then crash! The door to the studio slammed open, causing almost everyone to jump in surprise, and came in Ralph Hasenhüttl, red-faced and panting as he helped his charge up from his face-down fall. “We… apologize for our lateness,” the coach said. Beside him, FC Ingolstadt 04 stood with a broken nose and tearful eyes. A laugh could be heard from his fellow Aufsteiger, but she disguised it as a cough before Hasenhüttl could do anything.

“No problem, Sir!” one of the officials said amicably. After a grateful nod from the manager (and a three-minute chiding to Germany’s youngest club), he left. “Use Darmstadt’s phone to call me when I’m done, okay?”

Darmstadt’s fists clenched - she couldn’t make a bad impression in front of the Bundesligists, but everyone was laughing at her! Not to mention Inge’s annoying ‘okay, Papa! See you later!’

Like she hadn’t had enough of that squirt in the second division…

Desperate to stop the laughter directed at him, the club nicknamed Die Schanzer turned to face his new ‘friends’. “Hi, guys!” he shouted, waving his hands in the air. “I’m FC Ingolstadt! And you?” He jumped to a bench where two clubs, one in green and the other blue, sat. “What’s your name?”

The guy in green stood up, and damn he was huge! Ingolstadt had to stand on his toes just to see his beard! Fortunately, he could see his arms, his legs, and woah he had so much hair… how cool! I wish I had a body like that, the little boy thought, hand almost touching his muscular calf… almost… almost…

“Wolfsburg,” the huge man answered, snatching Ingolstadt’s hand to shake it. “And this is Hoffenheim,” he gestured to the man in blue, who was black-haired, blue-eyed and sulking.

(The introductions, unnecessary as they were, continued, much to the officials’ annoyance – to make it worse, everyone was either too amused or too mesmerized by the pint-sized Bavarian’s “cuteness” to stop him.

Seven minutes and thirty-one seconds later – “THANK GOD!” one of the officials whooped – Ingolstadt had made himself known to every club but Die Werkself, who had just finished posing for the cameras.)

When Leverkusen stepped off the stage with another stranger’s (well, at least she wasn’t a Scheißbock fan) phone number, a red-haired boy – promoted Ingolstadt, Leverkusen read his club crest – approached him, confusion narrowing his dark eyes.

“What’s wrong, Ingolstadt?” he asked, letting his persona do the job.

“I’m confused, Sir,” the boy replied, scratching his head with a pudgy finger. “This thing is for… personifications only, right?”

He’s more stupid than I thought, Leverkusen made a mental groan, but outwardly, he kneeled to the Audi-backed club’s eye level, his hands on his small shoulders. “Yes, it is,” he said, his voice as soft as the gaze he sent the Bavarian, “you may be young, Ingolstadt dear… but you are one of us.”

To Leverkusen’s surprise, Ingolstadt didn’t jump up and down with renewed self-esteem, but gave him a blank stare instead. “’Us’? Who are you?!” the boy shrieked, as if Leverkusen was some kind of intruder. He resisted the urge to kick the newbie in the groin by offering him a hand to shake. “Bayer Leverkusen,” he introduced himself, grinning eye-to-eye, “nice to meet you!”

“You’re Bayer Leverkusen?!” the boy echoed, dumbstruck as he squinted at the cross and lions on his chest. “I thought… I thought you were a player!”

He could hear Gladbach and Köln’s too-loud whispers of ‘The guy looks like Kießling and he doesn't even admit it'.

"Fuck you," Leverkusen muttered, turning on his heel to leave the baby boy. He'd give those two assholes a lesson... but first, he needed a plastic surgery.

[drabblemesilly]

Alex Galchenyuk #4

Requested by Anon:  Hey! I love your writting! You’re the best imagine blog on tumblr. Take your time, but can I have an imagine where the reader is dating Alex Galchenyuk, but prefers gally’s burger in McDonald’s duel gallagher vs galchenyuk? Something funny where the boys chirp eachothers about it. Thank you ❤️

*Hiii! Thank you so so much! Here it is. I hope you like it. :) Funny and sweet! Enjoy!:)*

Word count: 838

The door to the dressing room banged open and you almost jumped from shock. A grinning – very widely, by the way – Brendan Gallagher led the pack of exiting athletes. His grin spread even wider when he saw you leaning against the wall at your usual spot, a little farther from where the fans gather – so they can have their time with the athletes and not for any other reasons.

“Sooo,” he drawled, walking over to you, “I heard you went to McDonald’s,” he wiggled his eyebrows.

You snorted, “news travels fast, eh?”

At some point two days ago, you managed to drag a visiting Anna Galchenyuk to the nearest McDonalds. You ordered the very talked-about Gally versus Gally burgers and happily taste tested both of them.

In a shocking turn of events, you loved B Gally’s burger best.

Of course Anna proceeded to squeal on you and told her brother the moment the phrase ‘gosh, Brendan’s burger tastes like heaven’ left your mouth.

Brendan placed a dramatic hand on his chest, “when you prefer me more than your boyfriend,” he laughed, “then yes, news does travel fast.”

A thick hand slapped him playfully behind the head, “she prefers your burger, not you dum-dum,” your boyfriend corrected his team mate, “she’s still very much in love with me.”

“Like they say,” Brendan rolled his eyes, “the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach.”

You chuckled, “I think it’s the way to a man’s heart but who am I to argue, eh?”

Brendan laughed, “that’s right so,” he asked, “when are you leaving him for me?”

Chucky groaned, “over my dead body.”

Gally nudged Alex’s shoulder, “maybe she’s not into Russians after all,” he teased, “maybe she’s into North American hockey players.”

Your boyfriend shoved him gingerly, “I am a North American hockey player,” he grumbled, “Get your facts straight.”

“Meh,” Gally shrugged, “who needs facts when it’s clear, I have the better taste.”

“I don’t know man,” your boyfriend answered, “I have her for a girlfriend,” he smiled, leaning over to kiss you on the forehead, “which means, I have the one with better taste here.”

“But she likes my burger,” he reminded.

Alex almost stomped his foot, “it’s just a fucking burger.”

“I bet,” Gally teased, “she’d like more than my burger.”

Before your boyfriend can even answer that, you interrupted their conversation, “I’m pretty sure I like the burger,” you told Alex, “but I love you,” you grinned, “settled?”

“Awww,” Gally pouted, “how can my burger compete with love?” he whined, “that’s unfair.”

Alex, finally happy with what you said, grinned, “deal with it,” he said before pulling you over to him, throwing one arm on your shoulder, “ready?”

You nodded, waiving a goodbye to Brendan before you and Alex started to walk towards the players’ exit.

“You know,” he started just as soon as the cold air hit your face, “I’m still not happy that you like his burger.”

You stood on your tiptoes and kissed his jaw, “I hate onions,” you told him, scrunching your nose.

“Well,” he shrugged, “they’re healthy.”

“I love the crazy amount of bacon on his burger,” you counted off, “and the sesame seed buns.”

Alex sighed, “okay, okay,” he conceded, “you’ve made your point.”

You encircled his waist with your arm, going under his open coat, “if it’s any consolation,” you offered, “I like the cheese in your burger,” you smiled, “and I like that Russian thing you do at home.”

“Which one?”

You elbowed him playfully, “you only ever do that one,” you laughed, “the lamb kebab thing.”

Realization hit his face and he nodded, “you only like that because my шашлы́к is the only шашлы́к you have ever tasted in your life.”

“Shashlik,” you nodded, “that’s it. I like your shashlik and I bet if I ever eat one of those in Russia, I’d still prefer yours.”

“Ha,” he snorted, “you say that now but you’re the person who preferred another man’s burger.”

“Only because of the onions.”

“And the buns.”

You sniggered, “and the bacon.”

“Oh,” he chuckled, “never forget the bacon.”

You tightened your hold on him, “but don’t worry,” you said, “I can eat a hundred of those burgers but there is only one Alex Galchenyuk,” you winked, “and I like my Alex Galchenyuk better.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Of course,” you laughed, tapping his side, “the American and the Russian side,” you kissed his jaw again, “it makes for something far exciting than a fast food burger.”

“Fact,” he agreed, “dinners with me are filled with both Russian, American, and Canadian food, that’s fucking exciting.”

“Just dinners with you are exciting enough,” you smiled.

“You know what?” he looked down on you, a wistful smile on his face.

“What?”

“Dinners with you are exciting too,” he said before correcting himself, “actually, every moment with you is exciting,” he moved his arm until he was gripping your hand, “so I’m fine if you eat his burger, as long as you’re eating it with me.”

[grin-and-fox-it]

yoo I got tagged by @neurofish thank you so much bud!!!

name:

Too many names? At this point I don’t really have a single name anymore. It’s weird but I don’t mind it? Fits my flip floppy identity well enough.

nicknames:

lmfao wowee there’s a bunch [stars counting on fingers] Nar, Narz, Lost, Casey, Salt, Spiral, Forest, Grin, Echo (and that’s not even all of them)

gender:

mmmmm masculine nonbinary sums it up well enough

starsign:

pisces I’m pretty sure

height:

5′7 last I checked but I still wish I was taller

orientation:

quoiromantic / demiromantic / omnisexual / really gay?????

Meaning, I have next to no idea if I’m romantically attached to someone or not. The entire attachment thing is very confusing for me, personally. I can only be romantically or sexually interested in incredibly close people I’ve known for actual years. Would bang any gender and just about anything, even (fantasy wise) non-human entities. Sadly though, sexual arousal almost entirely attached to fiction exploration and has next to no reaction in real life sexual scenarios unless I’m doing something to hurt myself by taking sexual risks. Would all around prefer to just not have sex majority of the time. Can only really derive pleasure from BDSM acts but even then cumming isn’t really something that occurs for me even in those extreme scenarios. Sexually stunted?

hogwarts house:

Ravenclaw, I believe

favorite color:

I adore purples, especially red shade mixed purples. A huge fan of brown tones, oranges, greens, and silver color shades. Dusty golds are a lovely aesthetic too when mixed with reds, browns, and blacks.

favorite color to paint the walls

usually light shades of green the brighter wall colors help the room feel sunnier since the tones of my living spaces quickly impact my mood swings, the brighter the room the easier it is for me to stay in an upbeat mindset

favorite color of lipstick:

eeehhhhhhh I don’t wear lipstick but I do sparkle lip-gloss sometimes

favorite animal

if we’re talkin’ about non-extinct, non-fantasy animals then I’d say.. hm

jeeze there’s a lot of these but........ foxes, fossas, genets, horses, tapirs, jellyfish, skunks, porcupines, crocodiles, leopard seals, cheetahs, tigers, german shepherds, greater kudu, elephants, sea turtles

time right now:

7:23am

cat or dog person

I used to say dog person but..??? I have this thing with smells because I can be fairly cleaning intense? Dogs always seem to be smelly. I’m almost tempted to say cats? But I love the excitable companionship dogs can give you

favorite fictional character

Almost the entire Hunter X Hunter, I’m not even exaggerating either, ha. (Gon, Killua, Alluka, Kurapika, Netero, Komugi, Meruem, Kite, Morel, Knuckle, Knov, Hisoka, Neferpitou, Bisky, Melody, Colt, Welfin, Palm, Canary, Gotoh, Tsubone, Squala, Ikalgo, and the entire Phantom Troupe.) 

The whole One Piece Strawhat crew plus Whitebeard / Edward Newgate, Smoker, Law, both of Luffy’s brothers, and Caesar Clown.

The whole main cast of Gravity Falls? Both the older Stan brothers, Mabel, Dipper, Bill Cipher, Soos, and Wendy.

There’s more but I’d go on rambling for ages about shows I’m not as hyper about at this current point in time. v__v;;

number of blankets I sleep with

around three but I roll around so much everything gets tossed off lol

favorite singer/band:

Shinedown (ever since I was a kid; they hold a special place in my heart)

dream trip:

I’m so unenthusiastic about the real world uuuhhh...... Traveling in general? A trip to Italy might be nice?

dream job

well, my gal and I are discussing starting up a game program with her brother Joe so we’ll see how that turns out

Dream job would likely be something in the botany field, a marine biologist, working with animal rehabilitation, or a groomer job??

when this blog was created:

oof I really do not remember I could guess two years but that’s very likely way off base

when did your blog reach its peak:

[insert shrug emote here]

what made you decide to get a tumblr:

you know.... I don’t really remember actually uuhh...... huh

wow I literally have no idea why I started an account to begin with

why did you pick your url:

It’s a play on the phrase “grin and bear it”. Especially with the tie in for the fox known in legends for putting up a smiling front to fool. Basically because I often feel my life can be summed up in the whole thought of: Well, okay. That sucks. This sucks too. Huh. Oh well. People need you to be happy. You have to function or else. Grin and bear it or else you might as well give up already.

last movie you watched

I watched The Raid with Andi recently and I watched Mirrormask with Quinn a few days ago. o:

last song you listened to:

I’ll be honest, I’ve been switching back and forth from this Meruem “Hail To The King” AMV and back to this Killua “The Legend of Godspeed” False Flag AMV since 2am so................ I remind you it’s almost 8am now as I type this lol

last book you read:

Err, does fanfiction count? >_>;;; [cough]

last thing you ate:

an almond joy candy bar

if you could be anywhere right now where would you be:

..... Probably far away somewhere spending time with Quinn maybe. Right now that feels like a comfort thought. [shrugs] It’s been a crappy night. Unless we’re counting fantasy insert escapism? Then I’d be in sooo maanny places.

what time would you travel to:

I’m not really sure what this question is asking?? You mean, if I could go back in time? Eh, probably not.

what fictional character would you hang out with for a day:

I....................... Huh. Just one.... Uh. Um......... Maybe the 9th Doctor?

@blackenedmoss  @witchlockmonsterfox  @freepudn  @nlhil  @bpdzoldyck  @patch-of-shore @grovyle  @paradoxsys  @northernmockingbird  @altairrr  @akaia  @hyposensitivity

Tagging majority of the peeps who pop to mind. Anyone else who’s interested is free to pick this up if they want to~!