#THIS IS NOT A COINCIDENCE I TELL YOU THAT

[heavenlybodies333]

First Impressions Are a Bitch -S.R

Spencer Reid x Hotch’s daughter!reader

The moment you stepped into the BAU you felt eyes. They didn’t linger too long. You were used to being in the orbit of the most elite profilers in the country, after all—growing up with Aaron Hotchner for a father meant you learned early how to ignore the low hum of being constantly assessed.

Everything still feels eerily in order—except you. Four years away at Columbia had changed you. You were older now. Smarter. Less eager to please and more eager to challenge.

“Just a quick debrief,” he said earlier, as he led you into the BAU conference room. “Ten minutes, tops.”

Ten minutes, your ass. You’ve been sitting here for almost forty. “Paperwork. Then we’ll go,” Hotch tells you. The edge in his voice warns not to argue. You roll your eyes and sigh loudly on purpose.

“Fine.”

You push yourself to your feet and wander toward the murder board out of boredom.

You sat perched on the conference table now, bored as hell, flipping a pen between your fingers while your dad spoke to his team. You caught pieces—victimology, escalation pattern, geographic profile. Nothing you hadn’t heard a hundred times before over breakfast growing up. Still, you leaned back, letting your eyes wander over the crime scene photos on the board. Then something struck you.

All four victims—different backgrounds, different cities, different times—but their hands. They were posed identically.

Not randomly. Deliberately. You stood up, walking toward the board with your arms crossed, the gears turning.

You tilted your head. “These hand placements… that's the domestic violence signal, isn’t it? All four victims—same thing. The fingertips pressed into the opposite palm, hidden, subtle.”

Rossi, who’d been gathering his things, paused. His gaze followed yours to the board.

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered, stepping closer. “You’re right. That changes everything. It’s not just random targeting—this is symbolic. Personal.” He gave you smile—part impressed, part stunned—and disappeared out the door to find your father.

“Wait, wait, wait,” a voice cut in behind you, dry and irritatingly patronizing. “That’s a huge leap. You can’t just infer intent from coincidence.”

You turned, already annoyed before you fully faced him. Dr. Spencer Reid. Of course. He’d been recruited while you were away at college. Standing with arms crossed, brows furrowed like you’d just offended a stack of peer-reviewed journals.

You turn slowly, already annoyed. “Excuse me?”

“Correlation does not equal causation. Just because their hands are similar doesn’t mean the unsub has a domestic abuse background. That’s textbook confirmation bias. It’s a rookie assumption.”

You blink. “I didn’t realize I was talking to someone who’s never been wrong in his life.”

He doesn’t flinch. “Statistically, I’m wrong 8.7% of the time. But I prefer logic over emotionally driven guesses.”

“Oh my god,” you scoff turning, finally facing him. His mouth was already half open to speak, but you beat him to it.

“I mean, if we’re going to start off by insulting each other’s intelligence, at least let me get my turn.”

He looked stunned by your bluntness, blinking a few more times as he surveyed you. And then… you saw it. The moment it clicked. The slight parting of his lips, the tightening around his eyes as his gaze bounced from your features to the door your father had just exited through.

“You’re Hotch’s daughter,” he said, voice flat.

You gave a single, dry laugh. “Jesus Christ, this guy.”

His eyebrows climbed. “No offense, but I didn’t expect—”

“Oh, don’t say it. Don’t even finish that sentence,” you warn. “Do you have a PhD in mansplaining, or do they just hand those out with the degrees at Caltech?”

You stand your ground, arms folded across your chest, eyes narrowed like you’re sizing him up. You are.

He clears his throat, and the corner of his mouth twitches like he’s trying to decide whether to smile or keep frowning. “That’s not what I meant,” he mutters, voice slightly lower now. “I just didn’t think Hotch had kids who—”

“Had opinions?” you cut in again, voice razor-sharp.

“—talk like you,” he finishes carefully, eyes glinting with something unreadable.

You arch an eyebrow. “If you mean talk like I wasn’t raised in a Quantico textbook, you’re right. I was raised in a house, like a normal human.”

Spencer exhales through his nose, pinching the bridge of it like he’s in pain. “I’m not trying to fight with you.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“You’re inferring psychological trauma from a gesture.”

You fold your arms over your chest. “Didn’t realize profiling also meant talking down to every woman who noticed something before you did,” you muttered, walking past him to grab your phone from the table.

“Wait—I didn’t mean—” he started, following you.

You turned back toward him with an eye roll. “No, no, go ahead, Doc. Tell me again why I'm wrong, so you can walk it back in five minutes when my theory turns out to be right.”

He looked…frustrated. You couldn’t tell if it was with himself or you. Maybe both.

“And for the record,” you added, pausing in the doorway, “I’ve read your thesis on eidetic memory and its correlations to trauma. It was good. A little masturbatory, but good.”

His face wears shock so well, goddamn him. After a beat, he clears his throat awkwardly and extends a hand. “Dr. Spencer Reid.”

You glance at his hand but don’t take it.

“I think we’re past handshakes.”

Your dad rounded the corner, oblivious. “We’re heading out. Ready?”

You turned, swallowing your racing pulse. “Yep. Let’s go.” But as you walked out of the break room, you glanced back. Spencer was still watching you.

You don’t speak to him again until two days later.

You didn’t plan on seeing him again, but apparently, fate has a sick sense of humor.

Your dad is too buried in casework to drive you home, so he sends Spencer instead—without asking you.

He shows up in that old Volvo like a goddamn librarian who got lost on the way to the archive.

You stand outside the BAU parking lot with your arms crossed.

“Seriously?” you ask as he pulls up.

“Apparently, I’m your ride.”

You open the door with a groan and slide into the passenger seat. The tension between you is immediate and electric.

The car ride is mostly silent—except for the soft hum of NPR.

You glance at him. “Let me guess. You listen to public radio for fun.”

“It’s informative,” he replies without missing a beat.

“You know,” you say, leaning your head against the window, “you really don’t have to talk down to every woman who disagrees with you.”

“I don’t—”

“You do. And I’m not intimidated by your IQ, so maybe try not treating me like a child.”

The tension only gets worse after that.

You keep running into him—at the office, on the phone when he calls your dad, and finally one night when you’re curled up with a book in your dad’s living room. You couldn’t stop thinking about him. You wanted to wipe that smug look off his face.

Preferably with your thighs.

You groaned and buried your face in your hands. “Oh my god.”

He was so off-limits.

Not just because he was older. Not just because he was your dad’s literal subordinate.

But because he’d made you feel something you hadn’t felt in a long time: noticed. Challenged. Seen. Infuriated.

And the worst part? You couldn’t stop replaying it.

Well be careful what you wish for because a few seconds later he walks in, apparently dropping something off for work.

You look up. He freezes.

You're in short shorts and a loose sweater that dips off one shoulder. His eyes flicker there before snapping back up to your face.

“You can put it on the table,” you say, not bothering to move.

He sets the file down slowly, then clears his throat. “Tell your dad I dropped off the case notes.”

You smile. “Will do.”

He turns to go.

Then pauses.

Turns back.

“About the hand positioning,” he says quietly, “you were right.”

You raise an eyebrow. “That must’ve hurt.”

“It did,” he admits. “But I still think you’re incredibly stubborn.”

“Guess it runs in the family.”

There’s a silence thick enough to drown in.

You speak first.

“You always this annoying or is it just around me?”

He steps closer, just slightly.

“I think you bring it out in me.”

His eyes drop to your lips before flicking back up.

You smirk. “Careful, Dr. Reid. You almost sound like you’re flirting.”

He stares at you a second longer. Then turns and leaves without another word.

You should’ve ignored it. You should’ve walked away. But he’d left you with the notes and you weren’t anything but curious. Naturally, you looked. And it looks like Dr. Spence didn’t realize he’d slipped in his own journal accidentally.

You weren’t going to snoop. You really weren’t.

But the second you saw your name scribbled in Spencer Reid’s handwriting—small, neat, and underlined—you couldn’t help it.

Oh if only you’d minded your business. Instead, you skimmed. Then you stopped. Then you read the entire fucking thing.

Subject 18A – Observation Log: Behavioral Notes

Interpersonal behavior suggests innate confidence, possibly learned early via proximity to figures of authority. Uses sarcasm as a primary defense mechanism. Not submissive—challenges hierarchy intentionally. Habitual eye contact, even in conflict. Prone to intellectual baiting.

Unclear whether this is intentional seduction or simply a naturally provocative disposition.

Triggers observed: condescension, dismissal, over-explaining. Response includes lip twitch, physical proximity, and reactive statements.

Hypothesis: She likes to be challenged. She likes resistance. She likes to be overpowered—verbally. Wonder if it extends to other contexts.

Need to stop thinking about this.

Your hand is shaking.

You read that last line again. And again. The slanted scrawl is messier than the rest, like he wrote it fast—like he was already spiraling when he put the pen down.

Need to stop thinking about this.

Your thighs clench. You shouldn't be aroused by this. You shouldn’t.

But now… now you can’t stop thinking about him thinking about you. Not professionally. Not even academically. But… physically. Fantasizing about what you’d let him do.

You’re still standing there—practically vibrating with heat—when the door clicks behind you.

“I thought I left that in my—” Spencer’s voice dies in his throat.

Your back stiffens, but you don’t turn. You hear him step inside. The door closes behind him.

“I…” You swallow. “You wrote about me.”

He doesn’t respond. You turn your head slightly, enough to see him in your periphery. He looks furious. Embarrassed. Breathless.

“I was working through a theory,” he said through clenched teeth. “It wasn’t meant for you to see.”

“No,” you murmured, walking around the corner toward him. “But you wrote it anyway. You thought about it.”

“You’re Hotch’s daughter.”

You laughed under your breath. “That line gets so old.”

“I’m serious,” Spencer snapped, though his voice was barely above a whisper now. His eyes locked with yours, and you could practically feel the war behind them. “This isn’t a game. You reading that was a violation of privacy.”

“Oh, give me a break,” you said, stepping closer, your arms still crossed. “You accidentally left it in a file you handed me in my father’s house. That’s not a violation. You wanted me to see that.”

His jaw ticked. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Then enlighten me,” you breathed.

You didn’t mean to step so close. Or maybe you did.

Either way, now you were a breath away from him. The tension coiled between you like a live wire. Your dad was upstairs, probably on the phone with Strauss. But none of that mattered in this moment.

“You think I want to think about you?” he said, quietly. “You think I enjoy imagining the kinds of things I’ve written down, only to wake up disgusted with myself?”

You tilted your head. “You don’t seem very disgusted right now.”

He inhaled sharply through his nose, hands clenched into fists at his sides.

“I read the whole thing, you know,” you said, a little softer now. “The part where you weren’t sure if I was trying to seduce you… or just naturally provocative.”

His gaze snapped to yours, the heat in it unmistakable now. “And?” he asked tightly. “What’s your conclusion?”

You smiled, slow and unhurried. “I think you’re smarter than that. You already knew the answer.”

Spencer took a shaky breath, looking at the ceiling like it could anchor him.

“You’re off-limits,” he said, like he was trying to remind himself more than you.

You reached up and brushed a piece of hair behind your ear, deliberately slow. His eyes followed the movement like it was a crime scene detail.

“You wrote that I like being overpowered verbally,” you whispered, the faintest smirk tugging at your lips. “Ever wonder if it does extend to other contexts?”

His breath hitched.

“That’s what you wrote,” you added. “So go ahead, Dr. Reid. Test your theory.”

You didn’t have time to prepare for what happened next. His hands were on you—fast, firm, and desperate—pulling you in by the hips until your bodies collided. His mouth crashed into yours like a dam breaking. Everything was raw. Pent-up. Starved.

You moaned into the kiss, your fingers tangling in his curls, tugging hard enough to make him groan. He tasted like coffee and fury and something forbidden.

“I shouldn’t be doing this,” he rasped, voice hoarse and raw, his forehead pressed to yours.

“No,” you agreed, your hand already sliding down his chest, nails dragging lightly over his shirt. “But you are.”

His hands were still on your hips, trembling slightly. “Fuck.”

“You can stop,” you whispered, fingers ghosting over his belt. “Right now. Tell me to stop, and I will.”

His head dropped to your shoulder with a groan. You slid down to your knees without waiting for a response.

“Jesus Christ—” he muttered, his hands automatically finding the counter behind him, gripping the edge like it was the only thing keeping him from losing his mind.

You made quick work of his belt and zipper, eyes never leaving his face. His chest was rising and falling fast, pupils blown wide, jaw clenched so tightly it looked like it hurt.

You reached into his briefs and freed him, and he hissed through his teeth the moment you wrapped your hand around him.

“You okay, Doctor?” you teased, voice soft and mocking as you stroked him once, slowly. His eyes fluttered shut.

“This is so—fuck—wrong,” he breathed, already unraveling.

You licked a slow stripe up the underside of his cock, watching his knees buckle slightly. His hand flew to your hair but didn’t pull—just held, like he didn’t trust himself to move.

You moved slowly at first, savoring every reaction. Sucking harder with every strained noise he tried to swallow. His control—so absolute in every other part of his life—was fraying. You were undoing him in real time.

“Oh my god,” he groaned, his head tipping back. “You—fuck—you’re…”

He never finished the thought. You hummed around him, and his hips twitched forward just slightly, a low, broken sound escaping him before he could stop it.

And outside, the front door clicked open.

“Sweetheart?” your dad’s voice called from the hallway.

You both froze.

“Shit—” he whispered, pulling back, fast but gentle, tucking himself away with trembling hands while you wiped your mouth and scrambled upright.

Your dad’s voice rang out, muffled by the hall.

Spencer jumped up, grabbing his bag, running a hand through his hair to fix what couldn’t be fixed.

You wiped your mouth with the back of your hand, your mouth still tasting like him.

“Act natural,” you whispered, grinning like sin.

“Hotch’ll kill me,” Spencer muttered.

You stood, leaned in, and whispered in his ear, “Only if you give him a reason to.”

Hotch’s voice cut through the electric silence as he walked around the corner. “I didn’t expect you to still be here, Reid.”

You both turned like you’d been caught with your hands in the cookie jar—or rather, your hands down each other’s pants. You were standing a little too close, the air between you charged enough to short-circuit every wire in the house. Spencer stepped back so fast you thought he might trip.

Hotch raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. Instead, he crossed the room, briefcase slung over one shoulder, tie slightly loosened from the day. You offered a quick, guilty smile and stepped toward him just as he opened his arms. You melted into the familiar embrace, the kind of hug that still made you feel like his little girl, even after everything.

“Thanks for dropping off the files,” he said over your shoulder, looking at Spencer.

Spencer straightened, clearing his throat. “Of course. I was just—”

He pulls back, glancing between the two of you.

“You looked into the files, huh?” he says to you, noticing the folder in your hand. “Can’t help yourself.”

You smile. “Guilty.”

“I was thinking we could order something in,” he said casually. “Unless you’re in the mood to cook.”

You shrugged. “Takeout sounds good. Thai?”

His lips twitch like he wants to smile too, but he’s still trying to figure out why Spencer looks like he’s about to pass out. His eyes drift to Reid again. “You hungry?”

Spencer blinked. “What?”

“I said, do you want to stay for dinner?”

Spencer’s eyes met yours—briefly, sharply—and you could see his brain short-circuit behind them.

“Oh—I, uh, I should probably head out,” he said too fast. “We’ll be back in early tomorrow and I still need to—uh—review some geographic patterns on the Kansas case. But thank you. Really.”

You tried not to smirk. He couldn’t even look you in the eye now.

“Suit yourself,” Hotch said, turning back to the kitchen like he hadn’t just unknowingly invited a man to dinner who had written the words she likes to be overpowered in his personal journal about his daughter.

Spencer moved toward the door, quickly and silently. You followed, just enough to stop him as he reached for the handle.

You whispered, “Coward.”

He glanced at you, startled—then aroused, and somehow furious with himself for both.

“I’m not a coward,” he muttered.

“No?” You tilted your head. “Then why are you running away?”

He hesitated, visibly torn. You could see it in the way his jaw clenched, the way his hand hovered over the doorknob.

“My restraint isn’t cowardice,” he said finally, voice low and sharp like a promise. “It’s the only thing keeping me from making a very serious mistake.”

You stepped closer, heart pounding so hard it hurt. “Then maybe make it.”

“Good night,” he said, almost like it pained him. And as Spencer made his swift exit, he glanced back one last time—like he couldn’t believe what had just happened.

Neither could you. But god, you hoped it happened again.

a/n: btw my loves, ALL of my fics that have Hotch’s daughter!reader are not connected unless specified. They all are the same reader idea but not connected in a storyline💋

⋆•★⋆ MASTERLIST ⋆★•⋆

[writingmochi]

lissie: hello hello adeline! well i just wanna say thank you for reading laurel hell as a whole. glad my quiz entices you to do so. also i'm glad that my heeseung fics could capture you so much. i mean, the last hee fic you read has a pretty long name so i couldn't blame you for getting the name 100% correct. motion picture soundtrack is easy to remember for me because of the radiohead song it is based on (though i usually just refer it as motion picture). and it is pretty much the same with this fic because of the mitski album it is named after (it's a coincidence that you read two of my musician-based fics lol)

firstly, sorry if i go off tangent cause you caught onto things people haven't caught and i love you so much for that

spoilers for all parts of laurel hell (definitely read part 2 and epilogue), cause it is my chance to dissect :] also there might be some heavy topic discussed as well

"Starting off strong by listening to the playlist too (i tried my best to ignore the songs to feel the full surprise for part 2) Immediately i love that the first song is Valentine, Texas and the memory mc has with Heeseung has been on Valentines ugh..."

i would gladly recommend you to hear the playlist after reading the whole fic because you can actually pinpoint scenes based on the songs. it is pretty much my thing since my jay fic in 2022 that i make the playlist tells you the story of the fic implicitly + i put songs in the fic sometimes diegetically so that you can pinpoint that "oh, if this song is mentioned in the fic, then the previous songs must be talking about this scenes", etc)

valentine, texas, following the valentine prologue alongside mitski's old friend, which shows that these two are old friends

all of the laurel hell songs are being referenced as chapter names in the fic, so you can guess the transition as well.

chapter 1: i put mitski's why didn't you stop me? as it being the calling card between the two like "why didn't they actually stop each other from fucking?!" and then it is followed blackpink's playing with fire because their relationship is literally "playing with fire" lol

chapter 2: i bet on losing dogs and phoebe bridgers' saviour complex as the songs i imagine as the bgm for the basketball court scene in the park. i bet on losing dogs is when mc was telling heeseung her feelings and why she quit basketball; saviour complex is when they both decided to open up while lying down on the concrete floor beneath the stars. then it is followed by skipping stones (the song mc is playing when beomgyu found her) and tom petty's love is a long road that is playing in beomgyu's car radio but also relates to what mc is feeling towards beomgyu there

chapter 3: fleetwood mac's rhiannon (my favourite inclusion because of the *layers*) is when heeseung realises how mc is the glue of their blended friend group because the song itself is about rhiannon, a goddess from the mabinogion who is like a leader, signalling that mc is the one being the leader in the meshing group. mitski's class of 2013 is the aftermath after her being rejected by beomgyu. and why am i like this? by orla gartland is the bgm of when they reconcile after the gender reveal/baby shower

chapter 4: that thnks for the mmrs you say in the review of the second part is mentioned in the new year's scene of how heeseung was drunkenly singing along to a fall out boy song. now or never from high school musical 3 is for the final basketball match and how winter also mentioned hsm

chapter 5: anyone else but you from the juno soundtrack is, in a way, a homage entry because this whole trope of "rivals to lovers" thing is so juno lol and beabadoobee's glue song is the part where heeseung said that he will stay with mc "until the heat death of the fucking universe."

epilogue: the name isn't a laurel hell reference but it still is mitski and it referenced mc's favorite mitski song and the literal english translation of her instagram username + the mention of you'll be in my heart by phil collins as the song mc plays in the daycare recital

"Oh we are getting right into the pregnancy trope oh my god i wasnt mentally prepared."

i do think that's the only correct way to do it because i used to want to start the fic from the baby conception part (crazy to start a long fic in the middle of the fucking) but then i was thinking of all the logistical disaster it could do. i have to make it all make sense, such as the morning after pill doesn't work and mc not wanting abortion because of her affinity for children and the small implicit mention of her family medical history in the hospital scene. (i actually want to elaborate more in the early drafts of the fic that mc wasn't supposed to be an only child, but her mom got a miscarriage and i also want to mention how mc actually has PCOS but that's gonna be too much character exposition in an already complex story) hence, why i started the story in medias res where they have done the deed and they have to deal with the consequences

"Also seeing their rivalry throughout the years is p intense; they always do say love and hate are on opposite sides of the same coin, no? I know they dont like hate each other like that but you get what i mean~"

well hey! that's what their moms say in part 2

"“god, you’re so fucking hot when you’re under me.” Insane words for a rival to say Heeseung"

i mean, they were trying to make each other cum in their so-called game so dirty talk galore right there

"I also love how you incorporate the flashback in between their conversation, thats so cool"

that scene is part of the early draft when i mentioned how i wanted to tell the conception story. but making it a flashback makes it more intriguing because they are reminiscing state instead

"???? Heeseung sweetheart are you okay? Why does Hee so casually say hes gonna be a dad wtf 😭"

this is literally me when writing this part cause lol laurel hell!heeseung you are the bravest man i have ever known. but, in all serious and after the whole exposition of the rivalry, we know that: these two are competitive and petty as *fuck*

since we read this from mc's pov, we can't actually know his reasoning on why he is accepting. but, in my mind, he had an inner dialogue with himself when mc mentioned that he doesn't need to be involved. i think she saying that hurts heeseung's ego like "what does she mean 'i don't have to be involved'? is she saying that i can't take responsibility? is she saying that i'm not a fucking gentleman? oh fuck that. you know what?". so, in a way: heeseung agrees to being a dad is to spite mc at first lol

“i do you one better, seung.” jeongin said as heeseung lifted his eyebrows at him, tilting his head. “my mom is an ob-gyn doctor.” "I cant lie this caught me off guard and I laughed"

it is a romantic comedy after all!! glad that my comedic timing makes you laugh

“or another queen. i have two queens at home.” This is such a subtle but cute inclusion.

*writing this in june* happy pride!!

I also love how accommodating her friends are for her new diet. Also Hee seinding veggies :(((( like ikhes thinking of it as a rivalry but its so cute

i love the girls' friendship so much honestly (though i see myself in ryujin's position as the caretaker) and also the boys' friendship like i don't want it to be so stereotypical, so i added that domestic touches as well. it is a subtle notion that heeseung actually *cares* about mc's wellbeing O:

“you gotta have to let us meet this (y/n) noona. i bet she’s pret-“ “go back to your place, riki-kun. jake’s calling for you.” I giggled

riki, i am so sorry for making you the butt of the joke lol. but seriously he is so out of place cause he is younger than all of them (all of the enhypen members age difference are the same in real life + bonedo 03-04 being sophomores and freshmen respectively) so him being a freshmen but a year younger, i can just say he got freaking accelerated cause he is a prodigical son or something lol. i had to make him the butt of the joke

“TWINS?!” "Oh. my. God. I speculated from the way the mc referred to them but having it confirmed is insane."

i didn't catch that when i wrote that in because i used the they/them pronounce because we don't know the biological sex of the baby yet. so they/them = gender neutrality. it's good that you caught onto something i didn't catch

"I love that their families are just happy??😭thats comforting"

oh believe me. when the moms know that they are giving birth around the same time, they've been "arranging" mc and heeseung together in the hopes that they become in-laws. hence the playdate and stuff. the parents have actually been shipping these two together--the first heemc shipper in the story.

"Seeing cesarean scares me <//3"

as a cesarean baby, i freaking agree. but like twins are safer with cesarean delivery because of the risks, so i am flexing that knowledge as well (+ i was writing this after my cousin gave birth to my nephew with a cesarean delivery so that was also stuck in my mind)

(that basketball court scene between mc and heeseung and the kissing part) "SCREAMING LISSIE HELLO"

i love writing that basketball scene at night between mc and heeseung so much. other than exposing mc as a fellow basketball player and also flexing my knowledge (cause just like mc, i too have a parent who played basketball in their school years and also play basketball in elementary and middle school) but i like how that sequence is genuinely the first time where they talked without any hostility between them. how they can talk about something as far as their shared pasts. you can feel that their relationship changes there from "i can't stand you" to "maybe, being civil with you can work" but that kiss also makes everything blurry but we now know: these two are intrigued with each other even with how meesed up it started (it's that slow burn kicking in as i turn more of the heat)

will be replying to part 2's review after this. i genuinely have so much fun talking about this with you

part 1

cast: heeseung ✗ fem.reader (ft. the peeps, enhypen, and other idols)

synopsis: when you told your long-term rival and latest hook-up, heeseung, that you are pregnant with his child; you didn't expect said topic to be involved in your rivalry!

genre: romantic comedy, slice of life, coming-of-age, slow burn, drama, rivals since childhood to [redacted], college/university au, pregnancy au, future parents au, fluff, angst, mature content (explicit smut)

word count: 24198 (24.2k) out of 60550 (60.5k)

warning(s): pregnancy (what did you expect?), so many curse words!, description of explicit sex (in a flashback sense), rough sex, unprotected sex, multiple orgasms, manhandling, vomiting, mention of drugs (marijuana, alcohol), mention of blood, dark humor (if there is something that i forgot, let me know)

message of the moon: remember that this story is fiction and do be careful and read the warnings at the top. all the idols mentioned here are not what they are in real life.

first fic of 2024! i've ideated this since like 2022 and it's here what the heck!! this is part 1 of 2 of a 57k-58k word count one-shot (yes, this is supposed to be a one-shot) but tumblr hates me so i have to divide it into two. thanks for the 200+ notes on the teaser/character intro and i hope you enjoy it!

soundtrack (spoilers for part 2!) | part 2 | epilogue

prologue: a town called valentine

it was valentine 2002 when you and heeseung first met. well, if you consider babies who can’t even talk to each other will know of each other. you have to thank both of your moms for that—getting pregnant around the same time and giving birth in the same year as well.

but the earliest—vivid—memory you have of him was on valentine 2005. you hid behind your mama’s leg as she talked with someone: another adult. you glance around the outside space you’re in, the plants and pathway unknown to you as mama can see your eyes wander with your tiny mouth agape when you look past the other adult to recognize the widening door right beside them. you heard your mother giggling with the other person as they converse about something your 4-year-old mind wouldn’t be able to understand.

“(y/n) sweetie! say hi to auntie.” your mama caresses your hair with her hand as she guides you to stand beside her, her hands moving behind your small set of shoulders before you. the small hands reached for one of hers, holding it tight as you stood beside her.

“hello…” you looked up to meet a beautiful woman. her eyes are wide as they remind you of the mother deer you last saw when you watched bambi with mama and papa. and you can feel a ticklish feeling inside you as you watch her eyes smiling softly at you. as she smiles at you softly.

“hello (y/n)! you’ve grown so much since i last met you.” her hands give a wave, making you raise your hand up as you mirror her while you pick up your mama’s chuckle. the lady moves back, extending her arm as you see a clean hallway full of photos on one side and a cabinet full of shoes on the other. some of them looking similar to your own shoe size.

“please come inside. i’ve set the toys so she can play with them if she wants.” the lady—well, auntie—said as your mama guided you inside with her trailing behind. sitting on the hidden seating area by the cabinet, she helps you take off your shoes before opening her hands to let you hold them. she lets you walk in front as both of you enter a big room with a sofa in front of a television. as per told by mama every time you enter someone’s home: sit down beside mama or papa as you waited for the homeowner to guide you next. the back of the sofa is too tall for your height now and you let your hand graze against the side of the soft sofa when you encounter a large mat laid in between the sofa and the screen.

your brain tingles when you find a few toys you can name—like the ones you own back home—while a few of them you don’t recognize at all. eyes on the toys, you throw away whatever your mama has told you and tug her hand to let her know the existence of them. looking up, she looks down at you, glance at the pile of toys left behind, and gives nods, making you grin as you both sit on the playmat. your eyes immediately look at blocks stacked shaping like a house; its triangle roof, square walls, four windows, and door makes you easily imagine it. you crawl towards it and the box beside it, finding the other blocks left behind as you pull some of them out to make your own little house. as you slowly stack up the blocks—hearing the sound of wood tapping against each other—you heard the sound of giggling coming from behind the sofa.

“sorry, he just finished taking a bath.” auntie said to your mom who was behind you, walking closer to the sofa as you turned your head to face her. that’s when you see another person walking into the room with a small pitter-patter heard behind them. the steps are getting louder and louder as you see a small figure enter the room, walking towards the person laughing. the person wipes his face with his small hand before pausing, turning his head to you.

“hi heeseung!” you heard your mama say as the boy’s laugh slows down and he looks at you and your mama. auntie, who now looks more like the bigger version of the boy, steps in to help him move and sit down beside you. you see him crouch down as you can see his face clearer. yet, his eyes wander on the house made of blocks—his house—and the house you’re making; wider by one block than his.

“that’s (y/n). you were too young to remember but auntie and i always bring you two to playdates since you’re not even one year old. she’s the same age as you.” you heard auntie say as you felt your mama help you to scoot closer. his hand reaches for the box of blocks as you place the final block on your house while he’s pulling out more blocks. you look at the boy’s action as you feel mama, with her larger hand, holding onto your smaller one. your palm is now open as you see heeseung was told to do the same by his mom, putting away the blocks on the mat. your hands meet each other as you say your name. mama helps in closing your fingers, wrapping your hand in his as he follows.

“my name is (y/n).” the boy’s hand also uses the same force when you shake it. both women let go of their children’s hands as both of your little hands are floating, connected, and shaking. your eyes meet his as he looks back at the two houses made of blocks.

“my name is heeseung.” he smiles.

-

1. stay soft, silly

the way the corner of his mouth twitches makes you think outside of the plan you are executing now, nearly done in telling him what he needs to know.

your hands rested on top of your stomach, feeling a little bulge that was not there a month ago. his ice americano contrasts with your hot jasmine tea as you sit across from each other. years upon years of history went on pause for this moment. for a truce that you are proposing.

“and they’re mine?” heeseung sounded. your eyebrows folded, looking down at the swollen part beneath your stomach as you pouted your lips, holding back your giggling as you glanced back at him.

“i haven’t had sex with anyone this past month besides you. so, yeah. the baby is yours.”

it’s funny, you see. with the amount of carefulness you and your friends have taught you of the college hook-up culture you got roped into, you never expected to hook up with your rival. yet tension does what tension does, and it snaps as you both stumbled to kiss each other.

when it comes to your “relationship” with heeseung, the closest to a positive one was when you were in kindergarten, as you’ve known him before by the amount of playdates both of your mothers set up.

little did they know that one time at a playground during one of those playdates, you were left alone to play with your sandcastles as heeseung ventured to play with the other boys, running around the sandpit playing tag and how you see the familiar little jeans pants walks in front of you, knocking the castle down and flying the specks of sand to your face with your slower reaction speed—because of your younger age—not making you close your eyelids quicker. your eyes watering as you wail out, getting the attention of your mama but not the jean-wearing boy’s attention as you hear his mom telling him to stop. apologizing is simple for your younger self, just a plain “sorry” is okay. but when lee heeseung—who you consider your friend at that time—said “sorry” with a grin on his face, you caught onto the impression that he was not sorry at all.

at age 7, you came back from the cafeteria to your class to find heeseung and his gang of boys pulling on a girl’s hair, the familiar sadness showing on her face as you caught her eyes. you’ve known that they’ve played “dirty” and have been teasing other girls in your class before—just not you, which is strange in itself. with a tense set of hands, you push the boys away with your might and stand in between them, helping the girl who cowers behind you. you look down to watch heeseung on the floor, teeth showing and face crunched as he sees the scratch from when you pushed him near his elbow.

“what was that for?”

“to stop you. she doesn’t like it.”

one of his boys helps to pick him up on his feet as you can see him limping. your arms still wide as you protect the girl as best as you can. he pushes his sweaty bangs off his face as you can define the same gaze he had given you when you were 5 at the playground, now fiery. and you exude the same thing with your glare as you see the other boys helping carry him out to the nurse's office, his eyes staying on yours as you feel the girl’s hand holding you back from not walking after him again.

stickers become score markers as you and he tried to compete to get the most out of them, which comes with being nice and clever during classes. you were 10 when you had the same class as him once again, having to compete to be the quickest when raising your hands. but also the lowly giggles you give each other as you both realize just how wrong each other’s answers that comes with the teasing annoyance. it also comes in gym class as the teacher divided you up into different teams during team games—basketball being the most competitive as you are familiar with it. heeseung doesn’t hesitate to run towards you if you have a ball and try to dribble it across the court, pulling it as you try to pass it to your teammate, resulting in a tug-of-war where you both just don’t want to let it go. even with the whistling from the teacher as one teammate gets a hold of it to continue the game, you instead continue to have a screaming match with him.

it continues through middle school as you remember him not hesitating with his power to slam his dodgeball at your stomach during another gym class, making you curl up on the floor as your friends help you to the nurse's office, hearing him screaming “that’s what you get from stealing my lunch” as you remembered the taste of the chocolate bread you pick up from his tray yesterday. at high school as you and him argue in front of the vice principal about each of your club’s fundings, him with his basketball club who is already so successful with their winnings money that they can’t seem to let go to help other clubs who are staying afloat. even with your school having pride in the basketball team and other sports club achievements—making it a staple for the students to watch at least one game during their high school years. you never went to one as you rather babysit your neighbor’s kid for money than watch heeseung’s smug smile as he won another mvp trophy for that tournament.

when college came and you got into hybe uni as a business major, you didn’t expect to see heeseung on campus. you’ve known that since he focuses more on basketball in middle school, you are winning when it comes to academics. but when his smirking face tells you he got into hybe with a full scholarship because of basketball, your heart plummets into the fathoms. you were glad that he’s not in the same faculty as you, but the college environment is so small that your acquaintances recognize each other. you can’t seem to stay away from him who still has his smart for balancing his gpa and non-academic activities.

so when your lips met his own as you sobered up after having the party busted by the police, your mind is telling you to out-better him in lust and pleasure.

“who can make each other cum the most? never thought of you as that filthy, (l/n)”

the grip of his hair on your hand tightens as he trails his own to get a grip of yours. both of your heads now straight as you can’t look away from each other even if you want to.

“i take that you’re saying that because you don’t know how to make girls cum with your dick, lee.” you chuckled. heeseung’s gaze is still meeting yours as he pushes your head forward, making your forehead touch his as he mumbles something only you can hear.

“i know i can make you cum on my dick just by the way you’re clenching your thighs, baby. how do we tally the score?”

“start a kiss on the lips when you know you can’t hold back?”

“deal.”

“by the way, who won?” heeseung asked, leaning his body forward on the table as you peer down at his position from you, holding yourself as you stretch your back to help with the pain.

“how many times did you cum? and don’t fucking lie.”

heeseung’s bed is rocking beneath you as he folds you up in half, your knees on either side of you as he pounds into you. gasps fall out of your mouth as you pull on his hair, something you realize he likes after the amount of groan coming out of him from when you tug him. praises come out of your mouth as you try every method you can to turn him on first; to make him cum first. but the way he is pushing down on your abdomen makes you clench harder.

“look at how you’re clenching onto me. you’re close, aren’t you?” he whispered as you felt the breeze blowing onto your saliva-stained neck you are certain had hickeys on it. heeseung had to remind himself that he couldn’t kiss your lips, no matter how delectable they were, changing to kissing your neck.

“n-“ you moan as heeseung’s hand traces down to grip your ribcage, pulling you closer to him so he could find another angle to reach you deeper, pleasuring you both in return. “no.”

“don’t lie to me, (y/n).” his head pulls back from your crook as you watch his bangs faltering from the hard pounding to his mattress. “god, you’re so fucking hot when you’re under me.”

“fuck, just like that.” you retaliate with your own dirty talk, hands holding his waist so he could stay longer in your cavern as you grip him. but when you sense his breath against your skin, nose upon nose touching, the grip on his waist trails up as you cup his face. nodding your head as you feel him getting faster, you pull his head down and make his lips meet yours. you bit your bottom lip as your muffled moans vibrated between the two of you. your body giving up for a moment as he continued to thrust into you, making you let go as you let out a silent scream when you felt the moist gushing against him inside you. heeseung’s lips are unhesitant to kiss between your eyebrows as your body calms down from shaking, eyes rolling back to their original place as you continue to caress his cheekbone before a surge of energy comes back to you. you push him to the side, placing him down on the mattress as your hands grab both of his wrists to rest beside his head.

“i can feel you twitching inside me, hee. i know you’re close,” you said as you bounce on his lap, feeling the way your essence fell out and how much slick is on his penis because of you. as you have the upper hand, you decide to tease him by falling on him slower than the pace you have familiarized, making his wrists flinched under your hold as you click your tongue.

“you like how my walls are sucking you?”

“fuck, yes,” he mumbled under his breath.

“yeah..?” you replied as you leaned forward, making heeseung reach up to kiss your areola as best as he could.

“come on. you don’t wanna cum again?” heeseung asked in such a whiny voice that makes you snicker at how needy he has become. you decide to continue your teasing when you trail your nose along his face as you give a tiny kiss underneath his earlobe where you see the hickey you made on his clavicle. you move your hips so slowly as you feel how he becomes more erect even when he’s inside you.

“you’re the one who denies it yourself. i’m currently helping you here.” you poke your tongue and trace down his adam’s apple to his chest, reaching his nipple and giving it a suck. heeseung’s hip shoots up into you as he wants to take control. your hand moving closer to his palm with the grip that is getting loose as he pushes both his arms to let go of your hold. yet, you pull them back up as you reposition your fingers to interlock with his, withholding what he wants to make you move faster as he thrusts up into you.

you stare at how his doe-like eyes are begging for you after the number of times you have hated and feared the same eyes. how it glistens with tears because of how uncooperative you are even with your pace getting faster. with that, you lean forward as you stretch his hands and place them on your moving hips, letting them go so he can grip it hard as he tries to chase that feeling once again. you drape yourself above him as his blown-out eyes stare right at yours, his orange fiery flame meeting your own blue.

leaning forward more as you sensed one of his hands resting on your back, you brush away his hair that is sticking on his forehead as you whispered the death blow.

“you can cum in me-“

he leans up to connect your lips with his as you understand the signal, making your hips help to stimulate him more. his tongue flicking out and even wetting the skin around your lips as he moans out your name, letting out an exhale as your forehead is on his.

“want to breed you…” he whispered as you nodded, knowing just how much you like cum staining your walls as you give him a peck.

“breed me then.”

as he spoke to you about when he cums in your walls cowgirl style, you couldn’t help but snicker at the memories of his newly known breeding kink and your own creampie kink makes the resulting bun in your oven, making him flick your hand as you stare at him.

“that’s one for you and one for me- what are you thinking?” the way his voice pitches up at the end of the question makes you giggle even more.

“i swear-“ you lean forward as you realize the stage you are in, “the way our kinks create them,” you point down to your stomach.

“with the way your body shivers when i cum in you,” he said as he also leans forward. “i knew you like it. but i didn’t realize how feral you got because of that.”

“how feral we got, heeseung. fucking correct that.”

“oh fuck!” you moaned out into the mattress as heeseung held your hips up when he thrusts back into you from behind. you can sense how every time he pounds into you, his release is coming out alongside him as the wet clapping noises penetrate even the sound of both the cricketing bed frame and both of your moans. his hand goes up to your head and pulls your hair as the other pushes against your stomach, making you bend back towards him as the moans you let out of your mouth are clearer. his lips sucking another hickey onto your shoulder as you lean your head back on him to widen his access. your hands gripping onto both of the hands that are now resting on your abdomen and one on your breast, respectively.

“who can make you feel like this?” the question triggering you right away.

“y-you.”

“say my name, baby,” he said as he kissed your cheeks, making you turn your head towards the side as you opened your eyes to meet his, continuing to pleasure you into oblivion.

“heeseung…”

“go on.” he squeezed your flesh and you bit your bottom lip.

“heeseung!”

the hand on your abdomen leaves to crawl to your nub as your free hand reaches up to his nape, letting you connect your lips with his as best as you can. your body doing gymnastics before it is overcome by your second wave of cum when heeseung stops and twist your upper body to connect both of your lips fully. with his hands enveloping you, you push both of your body down as you let him spoon you.

grinding your hips against him, you reached down to gather both your cums as you give it a lick, making heeseung groan as he helps you push against him. “fuck, (y/n), how are you still so tight?”

“only for you-“ you reply as you shift away, just wanting to kiss heeseung, but then you remember the rules. with your shoulder, you push heeseung so he lays back on the bed as you lie on top of him. your knees folding so you can put your heels on the mattress as you lift yourself up and down on his shaft. you push your hands against is so you can sit and let you see the messiness yourself: both of your thighs are now covered in whiteness as you continue, realizing how sticky your skins are against each other. instead of letting you observe the messiness, heeseung pulls your upper body back to his as he also folds his knees and pushes his heels to the bed, thrusting upwards and making the pace quicker.

both of your moans combine with each other as he rests his arms around your midriff so you can’t move away from him. your head tilts to look behind you at the way heeseung is closing his eyes. as the point of your nose touches his skin, he doesn’t hesitate to turn to you and brought your lips onto his as he gives a few sputtering thrusts before you felt him cumming in you once again, making you fuller than ever.

“and that’s another two for each of us,” you replied as heeseung let out a snicker.

“still a tie, huh?”

“yeah, but we decided on a tiebreaker, right?” he responded with a hum.

with how sweaty, sticky, and tired you both are, you decide to do a tiebreaker with you sitting on his lap in a lotus position. your breath meeting his as both of you work in tandem (with a little burst exerted once in a while) to make any of you cum first and declare to be the winner of this messed-up game you made. heeseung licks the skin below your neck and plays with your breasts as you let your fingers experiment with his nipples and the way your nails scratch against his back muscles. you know that both of you are exhausted because the only sound that comes out is the small moans and whines left over. you looked down to see the messy environment you made between both of your crotches, making you scoop it up as you lift your cum-covered forefinger to your mouth, sucking it in, before pulling heeseung’s head so you can let him taste both of you.

his wide eyes glance up at you as he puts on a show to make you turn on more, swirling his tongue around your middle finger as the hand that was holding your shoulder blade reaches to your face, making his thumb pressing against your bottom lip so you can suck it. your hips grind on him faster, bouncing a few times, as both of your moans are muffled by both of your fingers. pulling your finger back, a string of saliva connected it and his lips as you cup his cheek. heeseung bites his lip as he pulls the thumb out to see your swollen lips. as you stare at each other—thinking back to the past few hours that have gotten you here in this position—you sense something strange within you. something so unfamiliar when you stare at him than the other moments you blatantly glare towards him. with the way he glances around your face as he connects your forehead with his, you recognize he might have sensed the same things too.

you don’t remember who is the first one to reach out, but as both of your lips connect, you let yourself envelop him as he did you. both of you not stopping and helping each other out as both of you cum in quick succession. not letting go of each other’s lips as you both pull away slowly; looking at the string of saliva connecting both of you as you stare at each other.

“we don’t need to discuss that.”

“no, we don’t,”

both of you replied right after the other as you see heeseung looking away from you to glance at the window beside the table. you glance at the condensation forming on the glass of his americano before glimpsing towards the booth where he sat. a duffle bag beside his backpack; you guess it will be for his basketball practice, it is near the college basketball season after all. but as you glance up at the man himself—you notice how different he has been since you were children. the way he muscled up and the baby fat on his face sheds away from the amount of sports he has to consume weekly. but, with all the invisible scars you both inflicted on each other from then until now, you weigh in just how ridiculously complex your relationship is that you don’t know if he wants to agree with it or not.

“well, now that you know…” you started, rubbing your hand against your sweater paws, “you don’t have to contribute to their life.”

heeseung hums, turning back to look towards you with confusion written on his face.

“it’s okay if you don’t want to get involved in taking care of them. it’s hard enough to be a senior-year college student, let alone raising a baby. it’s my choice to keep them, so i have to take responsibility for that.” you grabbed the now lukewarm cup of tea as you take a sip from it, placing it gently on the small plate as you continued with, “especially knowing how complicated we are.” you use your forefinger to point between him and you.

the man’s face is hard to read. he jutted his lips, biting the inside of his cheek as you see him blink whilst looking towards you, trying to get a read on you as well. being 8 weeks pregnant, you just wanted the meeting to end because you have all the other things you need to organize: telling the girls about your pregnancy diets and symptoms, telling the university about them and maybe they could give you leeway with the tests and studies, setting up appointments for with the ob-gyn and the doula of your choice, and telling your parents.

your parents who knew heeseung’s parents.

this will be awkward as fuck to experience.

“and i wish we could have a truce for the next 40 weeks.” you said, already with an exasperated voice that seemed to even surprise heeseung. “with this lifelong rivalry going on and how both of us doesn’t even want it to stop, please just… give me a slack to take care of them as best as i could.”

when you expected heeseung to reply with an okay—knowing your status as an expecting mother to at least give you some slack—you were met with a piercing gaze instead. how he looks between your face and your hidden stomach behind the table. he rests his hand on the table when you watch him considering something, and you didn’t even fucking guess he will do what he does.

“no.”

“what?”

“no. there’s no truce.” he leans forward, recognizing the gaze in his eyes as you just want to punch it out of his face for even thinking about what he’s thinking.

“no fucking way you’re thinking about this.”

“why not, (y/n)? think you can’t take care of yourself enough for the baby?”

your palm is now against your forehead, brushing against your face as it trails down when you let out a groan, “you’re trying to make a rivalry on taking care of this baby…” you let out your guess as heeseung lets out his signature smirk and a voiceless ‘bingo’.

“how? they’re in me, heeseung.”

“by giving them good nutritious food, interacting with them, i don’t know. but i know from knowing you for years that you can’t take care of yourself, knowing you have three other roommates-“

“you also have three other fucking roommates. sheesh.” you shake your head as you lean back. “anything for the baby has to go through me first, you know? i can deny it if i want.”

“then we can argue who’s right. they’re my baby too and i have the right to be involved even if you don’t want to.” your phone vibrates after heeseung’s brash reply as you see the silent alarm of your next schedule of the day. you tug the strap of your bag to your shoulder and gulp the rest of your tea.

“whatever, i have another thing to do.”

“does it involve the baby?”

“no. unless you wanna join my research class.”

you stood up from the booth as you straightened your sweater down, making heeseung glance at your abdomen before looking back at your face. “just so you remember: i’m doing this for the baby, not you.”

rolling your eyes, you flip him the bird as you walk away from him to your only class of the day, making heeseung let out a strangled smile.

-

“what the- what do you mean?”

the game continues as the other three guys look towards heeseung who is obliterating them with his king dedede, the sound of the fighting comes from the tv of their living room apartment as his fingers nimbly move on the switch controller, making the other three characters fly from the platforms as the familiar “game!” announcement calls.

the boys are sitting in various ways; beomgyu and jeongin are on the floor and jimin is beside him. the soundtrack of the super smash bros ultimate is playing in the background as heeseung smiles.

“i’m gonna be a dad.”

jeongin, the closest to the main port of the switch, quits the game as beomgyu lets out another loud shout—outside of the game—and jimin, who is sitting besides him, shakes his body with outstretched arms.

“BROOO!” beomgyu rubs his hand across his long hair as he faces heeseung fully, who is regretting not recording the reaction of his best buddies about this.

“how does heeseung, who doesn’t even like hooking up, get someone pregnant?” jimin asks to himself but also to the others as jeongin now stands in front of him, shielding the tv from his sight.

“forget that. who did you knock up, lee heeseung?” jeongin cuts through as heeseung leans back against the headrest of the couch. a mix of expressions showing on his face cause he doesn’t know if he has to laugh, be angry, be sad, or what else. he lets out a sigh as he picks the right voice tone to tell them.

“it’s fucking (y/n).”

“okay, now hold on!”

jeongin jumps, shedding the stern aura that he just created a few seconds ago. heeseung glances down at beomgyu who has his jaw dropped with jimin gripping on heeseung’s shoulder very hard.

“SINCE WHEN DID YOU TWO HOOK U-“

“shush!” jimin stands up and covers his hand on jeongin’s mouth, not wanting another complaint from the neighbors both horizontally and vertically.

“when?” beomgyu asked jeongin’s questions concisely as heeseung glanced towards the sofa and the kitchen right beside the front door of their apartment.

“you remember the party that got busted by the police?”

“yoon keeho’s party?”

“yeah, that one.” jimin acknowledges beomgyu’s answer as heeseung continues.

“long story short, (y/n) was alone and i went past her, teasing her for seeing that her friends left her behind when the police showed. she was tipsy which she shows by how easily stumbles. so i dragged her with me to our apartment when we escaped. i don’t know where you guys were, but she’s gotten a bit too annoying so i have to sober her up. we talked, and the tension was just too…” heeseung remembers as he was the one reaching for your face, to tell you to shut the fuck up, but the tension melted away before both of you proposes the game that you did. “so, we did it. and she asked me to meet up this morning and told me the news.”

“and what are your thoughts?” jimin asks, making the high-stakes emotions lower as he lets his friend talk about what he is feeling.

well, for heeseung, shock was an understatement. when he heard you utter the three words to him as he asked you what makes you want to meet up, never did he expect that to come out. surely, he has a breeding kink, and he had expected that to happen. but you told him you’re leaving early to get a plan b pill. maybe it didn’t work, but he doesn’t want to assume much about your body. then, he can sense the hidden sheer happiness blossoming within him. he wanted to smile and give you a hug, but then he remembered that it was you. that outside of his bed that night, you didn’t see him as a friend.

for someone who doesn’t hook up with people, heeseung knows how the hook-up culture works. he had heard multiple women fucking his three roommates from within his room and he could use his noise-canceling headphones against them. people might presume he is picky—a basketball jock who stays hidden and doesn’t want to hook up with anyone unlike his younger teammates—but the level of comfort is different when he has to do it with someone he doesn’t know and that’s why he rather stayed away. you? well, you are an anomaly.

though close because of your upbringing, he doesn’t know you outside of what he knows. that you were the kid who broke his truck even after he said sorry for ruining your sandcastle at that playground. that you were the kid who pushed him to the floor back when you were 7. that you’re the girl who he competes with to get the most stickers and not letting go of the basketball even though he stole it from you correctly. that he saw you stealing the bread from his tray as he came back from the vending machine. that you were the one telling the vice principal his basketball club doesn’t need as much money as they do because of their successful run, not knowing that their assistant coach stole the winning money.

so when you decide to create walls from your words, try to spin it so he doesn’t have to care about his baby, he had to say no. it’s as if you’re trying to keep the baby to yourself and not letting him in even though it takes two to tango. so, he found the most relevant way: competing for who takes care of that baby the right way—even if they’re in you. he doesn’t even think far from that thought no matter how ridiculous it is as now he realizes what a logistical nightmare it’s going to be.

“you’re making a game out of taking care of your own child but not your baby mama?” jeongin questioned after hearing heeseung’s rambling about this.

“yup…” heeseung paused, a pregnant pause. “and i need all of your help.”

jimin’s face changes as he hears the way heeseung described his face, rubbing his palm against the creases forming on his forehead as he can’t comprehend how beomgyu easily accepts his role. jimin’s head perks up at heeseung calling his name.

“yo!” jimin replied.

“since you’re the only one out of us who has a direct connection to (y/n) through chaeryeong, you’ll be my eyes, okay? asked about (y/n), how she’s doing, and all that stuff.” heeseung nodded as he expectantly looked at the boy who stood beside jeongin.

“gotcha,” he replied, his eyes wide as heeseung turned towards jeongin.

“innie, you’re my source. find any article about pregnancy and what my role is gonna be as a dad. yadda yadda yadda. all that stu-“

“i do you one better, seung.” jeongin said as heeseung lifted his eyebrows at him, tilting his head.

“my mom is an ob-gyn doctor.”

-

“miss (y/n)!”

“wear this!”

there is sounds of pitter-patters all around you as you sense the weight getting heavier on your figure. a small cape hanging off your shoulders and a crooked crown on your head, you sit down cross-legged against a round table full of toy food and kitchen utensils. girls and boys alike sit on the chairs by the table with their own capes and crowns, playing around with their cups as they all have a tea party—with the other side of the room playing with legos.

“here is your tea and cake.” you see the girl beside you giving the plate of rubber cake and an empty tea cup.

“thank you, princess rami.” picking up the teacup into your hand, you let out a loud slurping noise to drink it, before flinching away as you fan your tongue.

“i’m so sorry. is it too hot?” rami asked as you shook your head.

“i’m okay. thank you for asking,” you replied as best as you could.

“you must be careful, princess rami.” the boy across from her spoke as you tilt your head to him.

“i’m alright. prince yujin. i will be more careful with the tea.” he gave out a smile as one girl called out.

“if we are all princes and princesses, how should we call miss (y/n)?” hyunseo asked across from you.

“well, miss (y/n) should be a queen!” woonhak replied enthusiastically.

“but if miss (y/n) is a queen, should she have a king?” hyunseo continued.

“or another queen. i have two queens at home.” yujin filled in as you gave off a smile with the implication. but then the kids started to bicker with each other as you looked around the room once again.

as you entered high school, you were determined to beat heeseung in another way other than school-related activities. and what other way by being independent and richer than him at a young age? so you raked your head of a simple work that can help you gain more pocket money when one of your aunts asks you if you can babysit their daughter and how she will pay you. seizing the opportunity, you get to take care of your baby cousin as you go to your aunt’s home to help her with her food and stuff. hearing your enjoyment by the dining room table, your mom suggests more opportunities to babysit children of your family members from both sides—to your youngest uncle’s 4-year-old son and your oldest cousin’s 6-month-old baby—you have an array of skills gotten from doing childcare as your mom recommend you to babysit her juniors’ children at work, making you who wanted it for the money now wants it for the children.

it needs a certain level of charisma to charm a child so they can listen to you and with the array of children you had to babysit, you’ve met and adapted as best as you can to all of them. from being the calm tutor for a baby who is training his motor skills to help a child practice balancing on a bicycle, you understand what a child wants under their tantrums. that love you give and the love you accept makes you want to contribute more to childcare. so you started volunteering in non-formal schools and orphanages, helping to at least make their days a little better. and that’s why you worked part-time as a daycare attendant since you entered university as it is a more established institution where you can shuffle your study schedule alongside your work schedule, meeting kids who are being sent here that are still younger than school age. it reminded you of your own childhood and you’re hoping that your inner child could be happy and satisfied that you let her feel that feeling again.

“guys…” your spoken voice cuts their conversations, and they all turn to you. “a queen doesn’t have to have a king or another queen by their side. a queen can stand alone too.”

“but wouldn’t that make the queen lonely?” rami questioned, making you pout your lips as you still can’t comprehend just how blatantly honest children are that it pierces through each layer of your heart to find the right spot.

“yes, the queen will be lonely. but she also has her princes, princesses, knights, counselors, and more around her. love doesn’t always come from one person, it can also come from a group.” you replied, making the group rowdy up as they converse about love and being independent—well, ‘lonely’ as they called it—when you feel a light pat on your shoulder.

turning your head, you see a younger girl other than those around the table holding a paper, stretching it towards you.

“for you, miss (y/n)…”

you slowly pick the paper from her small hands as you observe the drawing. a simple figure made of circles and triangles with different colors. a pink filled-in shape on one side of the triangle with the circle-shaped and another taller one holding the figures hand, a yellow crown-shaped drawing on top of a circle with a smiling face inside.

she drew you.

“awww. this is so sweet and nice.” you return to look at the younger girl, a warm smile showing on your face, “thank you, hyein.” you rub your hand on her hair—something you remember she likes—as her smile widens before she runs away towards her table, where she has a few more papers scattered.

you glance at her before looking at your own stomach, unconsciously rubbing it as you can feel your own child inside you now growing along with time. then, it all came so suddenly when you felt yourself regurgitating, hand coming up to your mouth as you stood up as fast as you could towards the staff bathroom. knocking open the door of the open stall, you kneeled down as you puke out your lunch for today, feeling your gag reflexes kicking in. you sensed a hand soothing down your back as you reached for the flush to drain it down the toilet bowl.

“you okay, (y/n)?” you hear the familiar voice of your supervisor, yoonah, behind you. nodding your head, you reach for the toilet paper and tear it apart as you wipe the remains and saliva off your lips. reaching for the crown that fortunately doesn’t fall when you puke your inside, you hold on to it as you stand up and veer around to the sink to clean your mouth, gargling and spitting out as you wipe the droplets of water from your lips.

“how is it going with the pregnancy?” she asked as you watched her reflection behind yours in the mirror. you nodded your head and chuckled.

“didn’t vomit for the past three days and i thought that was enough, and well, here i am.” you stare at your face, seeing your eyes glistening with tears with the number of times you had to cough out until your phlegm came out. you turn your head to face your boss as she gives you a solemn smile.

“so, i have already talked to hr and we agree to have you reduce your work day to just one per week. you can enter anytime between the weekdays depending on your schedule because you have lots of things to juggle with your ob-gyn appointment. we don’t want to weigh you down more.”

you looked sideways when yoonah didn’t seem to see you being glad of it. though it helps with not exerting your body—as per doctor park’s request—it will definitely reduce your money because of the appointments and others. you haven’t told your parents yet and maybe you can ask them for more money after but with the way your friends have already helped ease your part of the rent so you have enough money for your own diet and consultations; you don’t want them to provide more for you.

“that’s great and all, but what about my pay? can it be adjusted? it doesn’t have to be 200%. like, do I only work one day for a pay of two like usual? or is it the regular one day pay? if it’s the latter, maybe a 25% increase will be great? for the consultations and others…” you said, not realizing that you had a few stray tears leaving out your eyes. nice fucking job, hormones.

yoonah picks up the crown from your head and she places it above your head, straightening it up as it rests right at the top of your head, “i will take about it to hr. you know that i’m on your side with this.” she pats your shoulder as you let out a faint “thank you” and see her walking away out of the bathroom. you brushed the tears away as you wet your hands to help unswollen them, even if it is for a bit. staring at yourself in the mirror, you pull your body up straight as you turn sideways, rubbing your abdomen as you can feel the life being put into you; piece by piece, cell by cell, forming into a human being.

as your feet enter the room one by one, tons of footsteps greet you as you look down to see the crown-wearing kids you are playing tea time with approaching you. their faces showing weariness so explicitly that you feel your heart tugging at them.

“are you ok, miss (y/n)?” hyein—the first one to be there—spoke as she was surrounded by kids taller and older than her. you notice someone holding onto your hand with their tiny one, seeing rami brushing the skin as you feel soothed.

“i am now. thank you, hyein,” you replied, letting your body fall as you kneeled before them, seeing the number of children you have taken care of for the years you had worked here. in your mind, it seemed ridiculous to think of your next move, but in a way that they have taught you so much about taking care of others, it’s proper to tell them yourself.

wiping the corner of your eyes as you feel your hormones acting up again, you speak, “what do you know about your moms?”

“mommy is very sweet to me,” hyunseo replies as she steps forward to stand next to hyein, their height difference looking so cute.

“mom is the one that picked me up from here.” woonhak also replied when you can see his mom’s smile on his own from the number of times she picked him up and showed that same smile.

“both of my mamas are the best in taking care of me and my brothers.” yujin added as there were more children rambling about their mothers, creating a wall of cacophony that seemed more like the background noise you heard each week as you worked. their voices dwindled as you looked expectantly at them one by one, a smile urging them to wait for something to come out of you.

“well, you see, i’m going to be just like your moms.”

yujin was the one that caught on first as he stepped closer and hugged you. while the others still looked confused, he turned around to looked at them and state it himself.

“MISS (Y/N) IS GOING TO BE A MOM!”

“miss (y/n)!”

“no wa-“

you heard the surge of children hugging you as you laughed out loud, seeing yoonah by the door as she also followed your laughter while you were surrounded by the children who were either hugging you or asking you questions.

“settle down, children. miss (y/n) needs a space to take a breather.” yoonah spoke up as she approached you who has a grin on your face.

“you said that you don’t have any king or queen?” yujin said as you felt your cheeks getting warmer, he now held onto the crown that slipped down your head from the number of kids that is surrounding you. while you could feel a hand on your stomach as you looked down to see hyein sitting down—remembering that she also has a pregnant mother with a little sibling on the way for her.

“it, it will be hard for me to explain it to you, but…” you felt yoonah’s hand on your shoulder as you glance at the closest clock in the room—finding the time for them to go home has come. “your moms are waiting for you to go home.”

you push yourself up to stand as yoonah guides the kids to pick their items up by the cabinets as you stand up straight, seeing the children walking around you when you see rami stepping beside you, arms wide open as you crouch down to give her a hug. you felt other sets of arms surrounding you as you giggled, pulling away your arms as the children noticed it.

“i’ll see you all next week!” you stated as yoonah brought all of them to the door of the daycare before opening them, seeing all of them going to their respective parents and guardians as a few of them acknowledged you. you turned around as you started your usual clean-up process, picking up the drawings that the children made and putting them in their own folders so you can give them to their guardians when they graduated, putting back the toys into the boxes, returning the costumes back to the wardrobe as you place the robe and crown you were also wearing, and you wanted to do one more thing, but you heard someone clearing their throat.

“i’ll clean the furniture and floor. you have done so much and you needed to eat and rest.” yoonah told you as you sighed, knowing that you seemed to be hungrier after you vomited out your food.

“thanks, boss.” you winked as she chuckled, bringing yourself to the staff room with the drawing that hyein gave to you—pinning in your mind to collect it with the drawings the kids you’ve taken care has made for you.

when collecting your things into your backpack, you glance at the paper that you printed out from your laptop as you scan the words, seeing your inked signature on the bottom as you see the blank space with the name right across from yours. heeseung’s name.

since he decided to be involved—you remembered while you talked to your faculty about your pregnancy and how they asked who the dad was, you decided to bring him up as a “student from another faculty.” it might make him think twice if he wants to be involved or not because he will get his name pin up on a note somewhere, which will be noted to his coach, lecturers, and more of his status. you are ready to be mentally burnt by the judgment your peers might give you, but is heeseung also ready?

you haven’t thought of the way you’re going to give heeseung the letter when you see minjeong’s name from your vibrating phone as you pick up the things you are bringing home and you hear yoonah talking as she sees you already leaving.

“carpool picking you up?”

“yeah, my roommate and her boyfriend.”

“okay, take care of yourself and i’ll follow up with your request.” you felt yoonah giving you a side hug as you gave a smile and wave when you pushed the door open. you breathed in the outside air to see the dark gray chevrolet camaro parked near the front of the building. walking to the back seats, you opened the door to be met with the music playing as minjeong greeted you.

“how’s work, (y/n)?” she instantly asked as sungchan lurched the car to a drive when you glanced at the bags of things beside you.

“freaking embarrassing. i vomited suddenly when i hadn’t vomited for the last 3 days but the kids reacted to it pretty okay. and i told them i’m gonna be a mom.”

“that’s so sweet!” she said, glancing back from her seat in front of you as she reached to touch you, making you sit in the middle with the console right in front of you as you see sungchan’s playing with the volume of bluetooth-connected car radio play the song that sounds so minjeong—which you can recognized right away.

“what did you guys do today?” you wiggled your eyebrows as you heard sungchan’s laugh from the way he looked at you from the rear-view mirror.

“you know what me and jeongie usually do, eat, shop, fuck, repeat-“

“no, we didn’t fuck today-“

“we did a quickie before we left to pick (y/n) up, winter.”

“okay! ughhh…” minjeong said, rubbing her face in embarrassment before replying, “i brought him to this cafe that has all these criterion collections that aren’t available on any of the streaming services we own. so i bought so many dvds for us to watch.”

“which are?”

“older movies, foreign movies. you did say that you enjoyed watching japanese movies, so i bought some of them for us to watch.”

“fuck, i love you so much for that, kim minjeong.” you replied as you heard sungchan’s little tsk, making you both giggle as his possessiveness is showing at the most ridiculous time.

“so, (y/n),” you hummed to sungchan’s starter words, “you haven’t told me who is your baby daddy.”

“guess!” you tugged yourself forward as your face was between their seats.

“how should i guess when i never see you hook up with people?” he replies as you glance at minjeong who is just watching him, an amused smile on her face.

“what if i say it’s song eunseok,” you mentioned his fellow frat bros.

“eunseok is dating that junior of his he has classes with. and he’s a loyal guy so i don’t think so.”

“what about park jisung? he’s hot in my eyes.”

“you don’t seem to be the kind to hook up with your junior,” he replied, making you squint your eyes.

“zhong chenle? he’s a fellow biz major like i do.”

“you’re definitely not his style.”

“now, that’s rude.” you hunch yourself back on the back seat as minjeong’s giggles compete with the music playing.

“you’re gonna be so shocked if we told you who he is.” she added as you nodded along, “two hints though: he’s our age and he’s a fellow jock-“

“that’s too much, jeong-ah.” you cover her mouth as her muffled nagging rings in the car. you can feel her lapping your palm, tickling your nerves and making you pull away as it’s now sungchan’s turn to have a giggling fit while watching his girlfriend and her roommate bickering. the trip was close between the daycare you work and the apartment tower you rented off-campus—but since you’ve mentioned to your roommates that you’ve been having back pain and vomiting sessions, they decided to help you out by being by your side as they drop you off or picking you up—just like what chaeryeong did as she drop you off to work before going to the dance studio.

so, when you stare out to see the small lobby of your apartment, you’re already with your backpack tucked to you as you open the door of the backseats. sungchan helped widen the door for you before going to the other side to help minjeong with the things she bought from their date. as you stood by the tiled floor of the lobby, minjeong gave sungchan one last kiss on the lips as you heard him say, “bye, babe! bye, (y/n) and hope you rest!”

“see you next week, baby.” the girl said as both you and her are waving your hands at the boy, who has entered the car driving off into the ending sunset of today. stepping inside the entrance of the apartment, you and she enter the empty elevator as you catch a glimpse at what other things minjeong had bought when you see a box from a chicken fast food brand, making your mouth water as you think about it, but you knew that you’ll be nag by dr. park for eating junk food.

pushing the handle after you put the pin on the keypad, you enter and instantly kick your shoes off as you are met with ryujin who is tying her hair up, walking towards you as she helps with minjeong’s bags. the apartment was left as you remembered this morning: a few scattered papers from either you or ryujin’s homework, the weighted blanket by the sofa now folded, and the smell of hot choco on the coffee table alongside ryujin’s laptop as you remembered that she only has online classes today.

“what did you bring?” ryujin wiggled her eyebrows as she rummaged open the bag that you’d seen when she instantly brought it to the kitchen counter when you saw her already cooking something. out of all four of you, you and ryujin are the ones talented in cooking so it’s not a surprise to see her cook for herself, but when you see the large plate that is places beside where the stove is, you know she has been making dinner for all four of you—as only chaeryeong’s the one who is not finished with her work today.

“why did you bring back fast food, minjeong? we promised to also have (y/n)’s diet.”

“that’s my leftover. chan said that the boys had too much stuff in their fridge so i brought it to us.” you then felt minjeong’s hand behind your lower back as she stood beside you, “hope you are okay with that.”

“of course, i’m okay.” you give minjeong a smile. “all of you aren’t obliged to follow my diet cause i know you love red meat, jinnie.”

“it feels wrong if i don’t follow you, though.” ryujin replied as you and minjeong go to your separate ways—she walked to her room while you stepped into the kitchen to see the food that minjeong brought. the chicken was a leftover but you also see her bringing back different meats and seafood.

“i almost forgot to ask you, but can you give me the list of the food that you can and can’t eat? just so i can help with the recipes and so we can pre-made food.” ryujin said as she put her arms behind your back, soothing you as you viewed her making japchae and beef on the pan.

“will do, ryu.” you give her a salute as she gives your cheek a squeeze before you let her be. taking your bag handle as you step towards the direction of your room, the bell of your apartment rings as ryujin turns towards you, making both of you tilt your head as you volunteer to get to the intercom.

when you press the button, the screen shows you someone you don’t expect to see as you can recognize the wolf cut hair you’ve seen while scrolling on your instagram. your footsteps immediately go to the door as you hear the ringing “hello”s from the intercom, opening it up to see the boy you’re trying your best to mask your feelings for with a box.

“heyya, (y/n)!” he replied as you widened the door to gaze at the box.

“h-hi beomgyu.” you give him a small smile as you try your best not to lock your eyes on him. to be having a crush on a boy like him is ridiculous, especially knowing that he is your RIVAL’s best friend. and the fact that you still have a crush on him since high school to then be found being in the same uni as him. if he doesn’t have heeseung by his side, you know you will brace yourself to approach him first. but now with his success as an indie musician, you know you are probably in a losing battle knowing just how spicy heeseung talks about you knowing that he has so many fans aiming at him and how you can’t compete with them—not as much as yeonjun though.

“wha, what’s this?”

“it’s for you.” he pushed the box towards you as you tried to peek inside when you felt a presence behind you.

“let me get that.” another pair of hands open by your side and you see the smirk on beomgyu’s face falter to see ryujin pulling the box against her.

“hi ryujin,” he said, a slight tremble in his voice as you finally be able to look at him with your heart eyes before back at ryujin.

“beomgyu,” she replied before leaving the door to put the box away. you eye the boy who is staring at the empty space for a few seconds too late before you are back in his attention, returning to the cheeky smile you adore.

“thank you for that!” you felt your palms getting sweatier than ever, rubbing one of them against the door to dry it.

“you gotta have to thank heeseung for that.”

the way beomgyu named he-who-shall-not-be-named shutters your fantasy as you were met with the reality. of course, it’s from heeseung, not from the boy you had a crush on—even if it means that the baby daddy trusts his best friend so much to tell him that he is having a baby with his rival. beomgyu seemed to be the nicer guy between the two. so, a girl can hope, right?

“oh yeah, wait for a minute!” you were so caught up in the way heeseung terrors you and slips back into your mind and how you wanted to slam the door when you heard his name when you remembered the paper that he had to sign. you pull the paper out of your folder as you pull one of your sticky notes and write a simple note to him. giving a smile to beomgyu, you handed him the paper as he stared at the words printed on it.

“give it to heeseung and send it back to me after that, or if he wants to submit it himself, then that’s fine. i have to give the contact person the info if he decides to send the paper to the administration himself.”

beomgyu nods as he chuckles at your note before giving a last “i will” before walking and waving away, making you close the door as you wonder how did he know where you lived. eh, that’s fine. you got to see what heeseung gave you as the box rested on top of the counter right beside ryujin who was pouring the japchae into the bowl.

slowly opening it—scared that he might have a jack-in-the-box mechanism inside it—you were met with plastics covering greens as you tugged a few of them out to be met with a bunch of fruits and vegetables still packed in their grocery’s packing. your shoulder meets ryujin’s as she took a glimpse at the new ingredient you picked out of the box.

“from beomgyu?”

shaking your head, you feel a piece of paper inside the box as you pinch it between your fingers. straighten the creases, you see the scribbles on the note as you read it in your mind.

eat them for the baby’s health and your own sanity - lhs

“heeseung,” you replied after you finish. ryujin gives a small hum as you catch the smirk on her face before you shove her with your shoulder. both of you open the plastics of the greens, vegetables, and fruits that heeseung bought for you, ryujin saying out loud the names of the greens as you and her bounce ideas of what kind of food she can make to cater to your diet.

“kale, cabbage, broccoli…” she picked another vegetable, carefully pulling away the plastics as the waft of the smell entered the kitchen. you knew of the vegetable, but being pregnant equals being sensitive to smells. and the way that you instantly wretch at the smell makes you scurry away from ryujin.

“hey, who rang the be-“

minjeong was pushed away as she saw you opening the door of their shared bathroom, making her turn around as she heard you wretch out the remaining food and saliva inside of you that is followed immediately by a flush from the toilet bowl. she walked to the kitchen to see ryujin holding stems of leaves on her hand.

“well, now we know she can’t eat arugula.”

the chime of the lock unlocked rings alongside the opening of the door of their apartment as ryujin and minjeong stare at it, seeing chaeryeong trying to breathe as she takes off her sneakers.

“WHY IS JIMIN PESTERING ME ABOUT (Y/N)?”

-

thumps and squeaks are what beomgyu heard as his eyes gazed at the lights coming out of the gymnasium. his feet working in tandem echoing through the night as he took another glance at the paper, another step away from the door as he pulled the handle to see a bunch of boys running around the wood-floored gym. beomgyu’s eyes searched for heeseung as he bit his lips, not wanting to be late for his own band practice with the boys.

turning towards the bleachers, he’s seen one of the boys that beomgyu remembered being on heeseung’s profile. his hands on top of his knees as he leans forward to see the 3 x 3 half court game beomgyu realized isn’t a part of training—but more of them having fun. he is taking a glimpse at heeseung who is muttering a curse word under his breath because the ball was stolen from his hold.

“hey, uh, sheep!”

the boy turns towards beomgyu with squinting feline-esque eyes before they widen, realizing who called him.

“your jersey has ‘yang’ on it. so i called you sheep.”

“nah, that’s okay. you’re beomgyu hyung, txt’s guitarist…” the boy stands up, their height almost the same as each other, but beomgyu knows that the kid can grow taller—from both basketball and his unfinished puberty phase, probably.

“i’m jungwon! i’m guessing you’re here for heeseung hyung?”

beomgyu glanced down at the paper as he nodded, “i couldn’t stay until he finished cause i have band practice. so, this document is for him to sign.” he told jungwon what you told him as his ghost patted himself on his shoulders for being right. beomgyu uses his thumbs to point behind him after jungwon picks up the paper that he pushed towards him and gives him a thumbs up before a loud "thank you" rings as the gymnasium door opens, leaving jungwon with a slight chuckle creeped out of his lips.

the boy couldn’t stop his curiosity as he turned the paper so he could read the writing, skimming it down as his eyebrows as he couldn’t stop his speech before it was too lat-

“HEESEUNG HYUNG IS A DAD?!”

jungwon’s shout makes movement screech to a halt as he looks up at his boys, also staring at heeseung, who is glaring at jungwon and the paper he is holding. but, his reaction speed was too slow to pull it off his grips as heeseung lost against the other five boys who had huddled towards jungwon.

“shut up!” sunoo exclaimed.

“it’s true, sun,” jongseong replied as he could hear jaeyun and riki screaming and laughing before they scurried to run around heeseung.

“who is this (y/n), hyung?” jaeyun speaks into his ear, making heeseung grimace as the three walk towards the crowd with sunghoon now holding onto the paper.

“isn’t (l/n)(y/n) your senior, jjong?” sunghoon calls out, making said boy read carefully the name with the signature on top.

“oh yeah! we had a marketing communication class together. didn’t know you knew her, hyung.”

heeseung steps in between them as he snatches the paper out of sunghoon’s grip in a quick frame. his eyes scan the paper that is written—the letter to the university administration about your status—and he can see his name printed on the side of the paper from yours. then, he finally read the note you have sticking onto the paper.

sign it and give it to the administration office. if you’re serious.

“won, it’s your turn to play,” he said as the boys stared at him. “i have things to do, plus i have a morning class tomorrow.”

“okay, hyung.” jungwon’s answer was followed by his offer to the older boys to continue the match as he felt another hand holding onto his forearm, turned to see the youngest boy with a small smile on his face.

“you gotta have to let us meet this (y/n) noona. i bet she’s pret-“

“go back to your place, riki-kun. jake’s calling for you.”

“hey, lanky. come on before i make you and jungwon switch.” jaeyun’s voice penetrates through the conversation at the correct moment as the smirk on heeseung’s face is growing. they’re leaving him alone as he walks towards his backpack and duffle bag—finally feeling the surging soreness from pushing himself hard while training and off-training. sure, it’s excessive. but the tournament is a month away from now, and he had to train for that, knowing that the matches would be back-to-back if he passed the quarter-finals.

the wood of the bleachers screeches beneath his body as he pulls out his pen, staring at the paper one last time—trembling breaths coming out from him. who knew that a single signature could hold so much power?

yet with how you are trying to deter him, to remind him that signing this will mean that the whole university will now know lee heeseung is a future father: that actually made him shake. he could feel the boiling anxiousness giving a few pumps of steam into his mind, clouding the plans he had already made in his mind from the information jeongin told him. he knows the future scenarios on both sides.

but fuck it, right? he’s not usually caring about what other people perceive. so what if he is known as a dad in nine months? but, he had to think about the parental leave you’re proposing—it might actually make him graduate late.

yet, the view is clear as he lets his pen glide on the paper.

the baby and your scowling face as you realize that his doing is the one that makes that baby so healthy.

tucking the paper in between his laptop and his wireless earbuds on his ears, he waves goodbye to the boys who are playing with sunoo giving a beautiful lay-up before he pushes the door to get out of the gym. the streetlights shining the pathways as he still can see students roaming around the campus at night—most are going to the library to maybe pull an all-nighter.

the screen illuminates his face as he scrolls down at the text jimin had sent him about you. but he had to do another victory lap first when he dialed the generic full name’s number.

“hello?”

“that will not work, (y/n).”

heeseung heard the grainy chuckle in his ear as he let his muscles’ memories take him home in the night's dark. eyes staring at the path that opens up onto the sidewalk where sparse vehicles are going about on the asphalt streets.

“so you sign it?” he caught the way you sigh against your phone while heeseung is focusing on both the conversation and what jimin texted about your condition.

“and i’ll be giving it to the office.”

“hmm, okay…” heeseung’s eyes scan through the words, letting his face contort and relax as he consumes it to his mind before it’s broken by a grainy sound of metal from your end.

“also, thanks, by the way. for the arugula. made me vomit my stomach out.” heeseung heard you reply as it slowly became more mumbled, hearing you eating your dinner’s food as the noises of the night came back into his cochlea, shaking his nerves as only white noises entertained him as he looked around—seeing his apartment building at the distance.

“and don’t make jimin ask chaeryeong about me again. she’s traumatized now and we have each other’s number saved.”

heeseung didn’t want to save your number at first. but when his mom brought him to her meeting with your mom, catching up after a long time and discussing that both of you have been accepted by the same university, they insisted that you both to have each other’s numbers saved. “for emergency sake, so you both have each other to rely on.” his mom explained, making him discreetly roll his eyes while you continue to listen to your music without giving a glance to him. yet, you’re the one that gave him your phone first so he can type his number, making a small “:p” the first thing you text to him.

“i’ll tell him.” he clicked his tongue as he caught the way you omit another information from him.

“but you’re not gonna tell me you have a doctor’s appointment next week?”

“how’d you kno-“

“jimin, from chaeryeong, and so, from you.” his smile gets bigger. “gotta have to thank jimin for that one.”

“so you want to join? what if you have a class?”

heeseung’s feet brought him to the lobby of his apartment building, his vision now on the elevator as he stated something so obvious to him.

“i have questions and i rather miss class than leave it unanswered.”

-

your hands are tugged inside your hoodie’s front pocket as you wait for your name to be called. the usual soreness is tamed as you let chaeryeong massage your back carefully, relaxing most of the tender muscles that are holding you up. you can see a little bump protruding out of your stomach that was not there when you discovered you were pregnant in week 8.

remembering the way you have to buy five pregnancy tests is ridiculous when your only symptoms are headaches and vomiting. but it quickly escalates to morning sickness and how you notice just how sensitive your senses have become—the way your fingers realize little grains of crayon as you pick up the kids’ drawing to how you’re triggered by little noises coming out off your room. it feels too strange for it to be food poisoning and with all five tests showing two blue stripes: all the problems you have faced for the past month—why your period is late, the morning sickness—all click inside your mind.

your girls were the first ones you spoke to, recalling how they waited in front of your shared bathroom as you flipped the tests around, hitting you one by one with the truth of your condition. then tears start to show as overwhelming emotions compete to show dominance and you hear chaeryeong’s voice from behind the knocks on the door. you open the door to feel them hugging you as you show them the tests, how they can’t wait to be your baby’s cool aunts from differing perspectives as they know of your history related to children, pregnancy, and motherhood from taking care of so many children, how your parents open up to you about why they couldn’t give you a younger sibling, and the responsibility you are willing to take care for them. at that moment they hugged, you’ve already fallen in love with your baby and you are determined to let them have a happy life.

the obstetrics and gynecology department’s walls were more pastel than the other parts of the hospital. maternity pack posters hanging as you read the words, planning your next steps as you waited by the door to your doctor. your fingers interlocked and thumbs twirling around each other as you attentively listen to the open door and your name being called. scouring your eyes around, you saw a little playground area for kids barren as you eyed the small set, mothers around you waiting also for their appointment—some with a sleeping baby in their hands, another with a large bump. the atmosphere is so serene that you can collect your thoughts and arrange them for the next seven months from your due date.

“hey, (y/n).”

your eyes blink as you turn around in your seat to face forward once again, looking up to find the familiar face you’ve been thinking about for the past few days.

heeseung wears a simple hoodie like you do, both of his hands tucked into the front pocket as the strap of his bag crosses his chest. a thin-lipped smile on his face as you didn’t see his usual resting bitch expression.

“heeseung…” you reply as you gnaw on the inside of cheek as he stands there, “i haven’t gotten the call from the doctor yet. so you can sit down.” your eyes glance quick at the vast space beside yours on the sofa you are also sitting down. he gave a quick nod before sitting on the space beside yours, a noticeable space between the two of you as you both lean more against each of the tables placed as the barriers between the sofas. even if you felt a piercing presence beside you, you tried your best not to look at him. the phone call when he called you was the last time you spoke with your voice to him—you having small talk with him as he found in the hospital doesn’t really count—yet he still gave you another box of ingredients for your unborn child this week, no arugula this time.

well, you are glad to see beomgyu more and you don’t mind seeing beomgyu every week if he’s the one that does heeseung’s errands for his child.

both of you stare forward at the doors and wall in front of you, nearing mirroring each other even by the slight twitch of both of you wanting to look at each other. but, also not really. the tension is stronger than when you told him you’re pregnant with his child. the fucking effects of the continued declaration of rivalry as you can calculate how far both of you are willing to push even for the past week and you can guess what you both will push more for the next 7 months.

“miss (l/n) (y/n)?” the door opened as the nurse spoke of your name making you jump up from your seat as heeseung followed behind you to enter the doctor’s room.

“(y/n)!” the young doctor said enthusiastically as you sat down on the chair in front of the desk.

“doctor park!” you answered, cadence matched hers.

“how have you- oh.” dr. park looks at the man entering behind you, looking between the three women in the room and the empty chair near the door before he hears her speak, “is this the dad?”

“yes, i’m the dad, lee heeseung,” he replied steadily as dr. park, who is standing up, shoots her hand out to him.

“i’m dr. park jihyo, (y/n)’s ob-gyn doctor. didn’t expect to meet you as (y/n) said that the dad might not be involved.”

heeseung’s eyebrows were raised, chortling as he realized what you implied, “after she told me, i decided to be involved.” his eyes peek from the side to see you giving a stare with no movements on your lips, sitting down on the chair beside of yours as you want to continue with your appointment.

“well, welcome to your tenth week of being pregnant. how are you feeling?” dr. park asks, looking at you with a warm smile as you see the nurse taking care of your document.

“the morning sickness kinda gets pretty worse and overflows out of the morning. definitely more sensitive towards scent, flavor, and texture. i also have already sensed growth on the bump since it is a bit more protruding than usual.” your hand unconsciously caresses the hoodie covered in your stomach, feeling the tenderness of the skin that is just muscles of your abdomen being pushed to cater to the baby.

“your stomach and intestines are being pushed by the uterus as the fetus grows and it’s very normal. since we already did the blood and urine test and went over your family history back in your first appointment, we can go to an ultrasound to check the growth of your baby.” dr. park replied as she nodded at the nurse who instantly walked to the bed and set things up for your scan.

“i’m sorry to bother you, doctor. but i have a question.”

your head shifts towards heeseung as he asks, the doctor just giving him a nod.

“(y/n) said to me she’ll get a plan b pill after our… time. yet, she still got pregnant, but isn’t that still supposed to work?” the way his voice pitches makes you hold on to a smile, recalling to when you asked the doctor the same question in your first appointment. you gave the doctor a big nod for her signal.

“well, (y/n) said to me she consumed a plan b pill less than 24 hours after your intercourse. but plan b pill, or levonorgestrel, works by delaying the release of the egg from the ovaries. she also said that her period, which started around a week or two weeks before she discovered she was positive, was late. so, we can assume that while you two have sex, (y/n) was already in her early stages of ovulation with the egg being released into the fallopian tube and the egg got fertilized.”

heeseung nods along with the doctor’s words as you remember the same explanation given to you in the previous meeting. you’ve tried using pills before but you know it will affect your hormone and physical health in the long run—you are not a serial fucker unlike a few people you recognize—so you rely on protection like condoms and morning-after pills right after that. heeseung not wearing one makes you want to laugh at how funny the scenario is and how you can just remain rivals for the rest of your life if you remind him to put on the rubber.

the nurse calls for as you follow her, stepping out of your shoes as you lay down on the bed. she gently brushes your hoodie up as your skin is exposed while she also pulls the band of your pants down below right above your underwear line. the chairs move as you glance at heeseung following dr. park as she takes the seat beside you to check on the machinery. the liquid is cold as it touches your skin as your eyes catch heeseung who is looking at the exposed stomach where his unborn child is.

as the transducer spread around the gel on the stomach when you feel it pressed down, you looked at the screen across from you hanging on the ceiling as the doctor moved around, marking the size of your uterus. you heard her gasp as you turned to look at her warm smile that widens into a grin.

“congratulations to you both!” she replied as she continued to move the transducer around, making you and heeseung realize that there’s a fetus inside you, but not just one.

“TWINS?!”

-

2. katana-like knife

heeseung gazes at the ultrasound he is holding with both hands, seeing the way the doctor has assigned twin 1 and twin 2 on the screen. the twins are in different sacs; he remembered what the doctor said, making them fraternal twins. she also says that not only you were ovulating when you two fuck, but you were releasing two different eggs around the same time and he got both of them pregnant.

he recalled both of you doing a hilarious staring contest as you couldn’t stop yourself from making funny faces as the doctor described the growth of your twins. fucking heck, he hadn’t told his friends that he was having twins. how his body trembles as the realization hits him while he’s looking at his babies—yes, plural—makes him even want to be more attentive, to now realize that he had two to take care of. and those two make him know you have to adjust your diet once again.

if it weren’t for him buying ingredients, he doesn’t think you would adapt easily to what the babies need. he’s won on this occasion. but what comes next?

his phone vibrates on the table as he takes a glimpse of the text message showing on the lit-up screen.

(l/n) (y/n): i’m heading home for the weekend. my parents will definitely see that i’ve been knocked up.

even he can see it as he had walked past you before on campus. you’re now wearing more oversized clothing pieces—t-shirts, hoodies, cardigans—as he realized the slight bump on the surface of them. it’s been over two weeks since that check-up appointment and the growth has been faster than he expected.

(l/n) (y/n): not asking you to join me.

(l/n) (y/n): if you aren’t brave enough to take the consequences, i’m fucking winning this :p

“that’s it” he shakes his head as he tugs the ultrasound picture into his wallet before putting it back in its place, hands opening the messages.

lee heeseung: threatening much. i’m in.

if you want to make this a competition, let’s make this a competition.

lee heeseung: hey mom. sorry for texting you randomly. but i’m going back home for the weekend.

all he had to do was wait, as he could hear the sound of his mom talking with your mom on the phone about how their children would be home together, asking to meet up.

and that moment goes exactly as he had expected as he drove the car with you in the passenger seat, leaning against the door as you both let the radio play boring-ass repeating pop songs from some random radio station. none of you seem to react, just to make each other annoyed enough to know who will concede and connect to bluetooth first—even not listening to good-ass music is a competition between you both.

you sighed extra loud as you listened to an old-ass pop song from the mid-2010s the radio seemed to have a lifetime contract for it to play for fucking ever. you wish you were the one driving now, but you didn’t bring your car for this semester because it needed maintenance and you were in a healthier mood for this year. you catch a look at your phone, seeing your mom asking where you are right now as auntie lee has arrived at your home—cooking up the food for all your family to enjoy.

“which one is your car’s bluetooth?” you gave up on hearing the radio station as you playfully checked every menu to find the bluetooth menu.

“the brand of the car, duh,” he answered, still focusing on the highway as you remembered that it’s nearly a few exits away from the side of the town you and he grew up in. he took a glance at the bluetooth speaker as he sees,

“‘mitski’s brainchild personified’? you liked her that much?” he actually snorted, making you see the name on your phone on the screen in the middle of the dashboard.

“shut the fuck up. she’s my comfort musician, just like kaede from slam dunk is your comfort character.” the way your fingers lightly tap against your phone, makes him chuckle as he can hear you holding onto your emotion from not spilling through your words, not commenting on how you mentioned his liking for slam dunk as if you remember it so well, even if it also stuns him.

you’re playing a playlist of yours that is just… instrumentals. a perfect playlist to hear whilst commuting as you let yourself take a breather from this world. eyes gazing to the window outside as you rested your phone on your lap. the scent of heeseung’s cologne accustomed your memories as you let the music speak while you both remained quiet. maybe, because it is an instrumental track that you both couldn’t comment on, that he can’t take a jab at your music taste unless you put on mitski or boygenius, that it gives a soundtrack so vague it resembles the way you perceived your relationship to each. sure, you still hate him for everything he has done to you in the name of winning. but, with two babies on the way, the concept of the rivalry between you both is there yet so blurry. which one is a concrete rivalry? which one is the softer one? why should you trust what he gave to you? why did he join in to take care of them?

the car zooms fast on the highway, yet you can see slower cars on the outside of the highway and faster cars zooming past you on the other lane. it’s like what your dad had said before—"you don’t feel how fast life is until you look at other people’s lives"—and to think that you will be home in overtly large clothing to hide your bump to know that he’s going to be a granddad just concretes the idea of that in your mind. you turn your head to glance at the backseat, seeing the shopping bag you had prepared besides what heeseung also has for his family, who he’ll meet at your house.

stepping out of the car, you stood at the carpool of your house filled with cars—other than yours and your parents inside the garage—when you watched your mom and heeseung’s mom walk out of the porch, barefooted, to greet you. the warmth of your mom’s hug felt so overwhelming that you had to sink your emotions as you blamed your hormones for making you too sensitive.

the interior of the house feels so lively from the last time you went home during the semester break. maybe it’s because of the way your mom has another guest in the form of the lee family and the smell of the delicious you know both of your moms had made together with their aprons still on as they guide you inside. even as they walked to the kitchen, you could hear them whisper.

“since when did (y/n) and heeseung arrive here together and in the same freaking car?” auntie lee asks.

“(y/n) didn’t bring her car this semester so i guess she doesn’t wanna waste any more money for transport.” mama answered.

both of your moms have always tried to make you close and you’ve always tried to tone down your rivalry in front of them, effortlessly acting in front of them as nice friends when you give him a snide look behind their backs any chance you can get. your bickering can escalate so much that you will have a shouting match in the arcade as heeseung doesn’t want to give up his time to play for you, making both of your moms force you to apologize to each other before that bickering returns at school’s classes where they’re not there for you two to mediate. maybe that’s why you don’t perceive heeseung as an enemy. merely a rival; because your mom never talked bad about heeseung no matter what happened between the two of you and it seems that heeseung’s mom has also done the same to him.

the two shopping bags sit on the coffee table as you watch both of your dads talking about dad stuff. heeseung’s attention is on his phone as he’s typing something on the screen while you unconsciously rub your stomach hidden beneath your top, waiting for all of them to settle down around the coffee table as they want to open the shopping bags together.

“what did you bring me?” mama asks in a sing-song manner as heeseung’s mom giggles beside her. you stood beside heeseung with your hands behind you as the husbands looked at the similar-looking gift boxes in each of their wives’ hands.

“don’t tell me. is it the jewelry i showed you those months ago, hee?”

“nah, it’s not. dad’s planning to buy that one for you.”

heeseung’s dad’s face turns into a scowl, seemingly angry as if his son has spoiled his plan while the boy just widens his smile before gazing back at his mom.

“well, together?” mama asked to his mom.

“yeah, 3, 2… 1!”

the box opens as you’re holding your breath, also holding back your smirk as you can view the way papa’s eyebrows crease as he can’t believe what he is saying. heeseung’s mom was the first one to openly express her shock by literally jumping from her seat and box thrown towards his dad’s as he took a good stare at it, making you glance at him you actually won the bidding on who would be shocked first between the two.

“NO, FUCK- WAIT?!” his mom stares between the two of you before your mom jumps from her space to also gaze at you, holding onto the paper. giving him a nudge with your elbow. you didn’t expect him to wrap his arm behind your shoulders.

“yeah… the babies are ours-“

“no fucking way!” your mom actually shouted as she hyperventilates while heeseung’s mom covers her mouth, contemplating on what to do when she felt her body being squished by her best friend, hugging her tight as they turn to hug each other while heeseung’s dad gives his box to your dad so he could see it clearly.

“since when are you two together?” papa asked as you tried to let heeseung’s grip from your shoulder.

“uncle, we aren’t together. we just hook up and-“

“WE’RE GOING TO BE IN-LAWS.” you can hear mama cheer as both of the women twirl around the small space, making you feel even more guilty for breaking the immersion as you stop budging away from heeseung’s hold. rolling your eyes, you stare at heeseung and lean in close to his ear, whispering.

“bad fucking idea…”

“at least they’re happy, right? well, i won because of that.”

mama interrupts both of you as she gives you both an enormous hug while heeseung’s mom comes from behind. you could see the tears coming out of mama’s eyes who rested her head against your shoulder.

“ughh, too tight.”

“stop it, honey! (y/n) looks so uncomfortable.” papa reminded.

“oops, sorry!” your mom lets go of her hold as heeseung’s mom slotted between the two of you as she pushes in on the excess fabric of your clothes, making you grip both sides of your top and pull it backward so she can see your bump already showing.

“hi, baby!”

“it’s babies.” heeseung’s dad cuts in as his wife follows with, “there’s two of them?”

“i swear to god.” heeseung’s old man brushes his face, unbelievable that his wife didn’t see the two sacs from the ultrasound as you give your mom a nod, her hands carefully holding onto your waist.

“fraternal twins,” you confirmed to her as you watched another batch of fresh tears coming out of her eyes.

“hello, you two. you’re going to have the best mom ever.”

“and dad too.” heeseung’s mom replied as she moved to stand in front of you two, seeing his grown son seemingly glowing as she spoke of him being the best dad to his two unborn children.

“okay. i gotta have to make the red meat well done then.” mama cuts out as she hastily moves to the kitchen to cook back her meat-based meal, letting auntie lee replace her place as she caresses the bump gently.

“how long has it been?” she asked as you opened your mouth to reply.

“we did the ultrasound two weeks ago. so it’s week 12 now.” heeseung cuts you off as she gazes back at her son.

“what have you two already prepared?”

“we gave a letter to the university for future parents and they agreed to let me take online classes entering 5 months because i only have three classes, one is that's doing a study case, and they let heeseung have parental leave if i give birth. i haven’t found the right doula yet but my supervisor at the daycare has a connection to one and i think it will be her. she has given me the number so i just have to text her,” you answered.

“is it near campus?” she replied.

“yeah, because i don’t want to graduate late. that’s why i decided to stay near campus during it.” you have thoughts on if you should just take a break this semester to focus on your pregnancy or not multiple times by now. but, of course, the rivalry comes back as you still want to keep pace with heeseung and your friends who will be graduating next semester.

“you should take a semester leave, (y/n).” heeseung cuts off your thought as you peek at him.

“i’ve already got what i wanted from the uni and it’s fine, heeseung. i can keep up.”

“well, you can, but what if you don’t take care of the babies?”

“of course, i can take care of the babies-“

“not by being stressed over college.”

“heeseung-“ you turn your body towards him as you grip both of his upper arms, firm hands holding him as you stare down at him. “i know what’s best for me. i know what my limits are. i’ve trusted you enough with the food but you should also trust me to know how to take care of myself outside of nutrition.”

your teeth are grinding against each other as your fiery gaze stays on him, even as you let go of the grip. it stays for a few more seconds as you turn back to head to the dads who seem to be forgotten by the sofa, seeing papa teary-eyed as he hugs and kisses your head before you let heeseung’s dad hug you.

his mom turns towards him, cupping his cheek. “she knows what she’s doing, heeseung.”

“but how should i know it’s right? cause that’s not right for me. my friend’s mom said that a pregnant woman should focus on preparing herself for her birth and doing college doesn’t seem to prepare her for that.” heeseung sighed as he looked at his mom, not expecting a slight hurt on her face.

“i was still doing my job when i was pregnant with you, heeseung. your dad trusted me for that cause he knows my limits, might be even more than i do. let her be and you might learn that she knows how to take care of herself, too.” her hand brushed away the fringe on his forehead, eyes glistening as she let out a small warm smile at him. the hurt falling away as heeseung sees her mom’s signature smile of knowing before she brought him in his arms, hugging him tight as he glances at you who is giving him a small look with a tight-lip smile before you turn away to the dining room.

-

heeseung stares at the glow-in-the-dark stars sticking on the ceiling. his back being stretched out on the floor as he laid on the comforter beside the single bed where you’re still playing with your phone. he remembered how he begged—trying to persuade—his parents to bring him home with them. but knowing that he’ll only be staying for one night and you two are “together”, they decide for him to stay with you instead. you can see how his fuming breath was held as you glanced at him with an unidentifiable look at the dining table, his parents believing you would let him stay in your bed.

but he insists on lying down on the floor, knowing the history between the two of you they don’t know, as you silently agree.

printed pictures still hang on one side of the room when he looks at them as long as the bedside lamp is still on. he remains silent, eyes tired from looking at his phone so much to distract him from his reality when he hears the rummaging movement on the mattress as you put the phone on the table.

“well, night, heeseung.” the click of the lamp is big in the white-noised room as darkness envelops the space, letting in the moon and streetlights outside beam their shine inside. your eyes easily adjust to the surroundings as you puff your one-less pillows on the bed to find the right position—knowing the ache of sleeping in the wrong position when you are carrying two fetuses inside you.

“since when did you work in a daycare?”

the man’s words overcome your action as you brush the cover of the pillow.

“why do you wanna know?” you put the pillows in the right position as you lay your head and back against it.

“since your mom proclaimed that you’ll be the mom ever.”

heeseung is reminded of the way you look when your mom says that, a look of pride coming out of your eyes as you unconsciously nod knowingly. even if you and him are close by proximity—by being your moms’ children, by being schoolmates, by having roommates who stay in proximity with each other—there’s still something that you don’t know about each other. because if the opposites know, they can use it as leverage to bring any of the two down.

“had a few babysitting gigs during high school days. i started to like it more and decided when i go to hybe, i’ve volunteered for a non-formal school for children and more. i decided to do a part-time job at a daycare and yeah…” you replied, laying down by your side as if you could see heeseung beside you when he is, in fact, below you.

“it doesn’t match with your major though.” heeseung gives a snide comment as you sigh loudly.

“so what if a business major can’t connect with my passion for childcare- fuck me.” you stopped to remind yourself to stop taking the bait from heeseung because you know he was making these comments to break your confidence within yourself. you could discuss how making and taking care of a business could resemble making and taking care of a child, but with the way he had pissed you off today in more ways than one, you rather stick that thought to yourself and instead, take offense towards him.

“why did you wrap your arm around my shoulders?”

heeseung glances towards the bed, seeing your silhouette on the top forming a dark shadow because of your comforter shielding it.

“i had to. so they know the babies are ours,” he replied with the thought that first came to mind after he already had his arm behind you—blaming his underlying consciousness for doing that.

“and it makes them believe we’re together when we’re not. look at us now.” both of your arms stretch out of the comforter to tell him just how big the situation you got yourself into cause how many white lies must you tell your parents to hide that this is because of a hookup, not because you are romantically linked?

your staggered giggles drop as you try to glance downwards at him, the arm nearest to the floor left hanging as heeseung didn’t comment on what you said. “well, this just got more complicated.”

“our situation is complicated since the start, (y/n).”

“well, i know who to blame for making our strings get more tangled with our parents cause fuck you, heeseung.”

he saw the lone middle finger standing tall from the silhouette of your figure before you picked yourself up and lay all your weight on the bed, turning the other side as heeseung followed; both of you staring at the opposites of the room, knowing that your bodies needed to rest so you can face each other again in the morning.

the time between that night and how you both lived after you went back to your own places near campus was a week when you texted him about the doula that you had told at your parent’s home. the car was left in neutral with the handbrake lifted as heeseung waited at the daycare where you work. his eyes gaze at the differing modes of transport each guardian is picking up the kids with before looking at the lobby as he sees you and another attendant saying goodbyes to the kids. he watches as a few of them hug you and even a few let their cheek rested against your growing bump before you take a glance forward at them who is going back to be with their parents, noticing his car for a few seconds before you return inside to take your items.

the backpack is hanging off your shoulders as you take another sliced fried potato from the container when you enter the passenger’s seat beside his driver’s one, resting your back against the seat with your bag there to support you. “hello! i’ve sent you the address, right?”

he stares at you with his squinting eyes, “you should not eat that.”

“it’s cravings, heeseung. it’s totally normal. the doula can count me on that.” you chew another fry as heeseung lets out a mumble under his breath as he moves the handbrake and puts the gear to drive, reeling the car forward as he drives you to the doula’s office. both of your moms have suggested several doulas for you to choose from, but you reminded them you’re having twins. so having a doula who specializes in taking care of moms birthing multiples will be helpful as it is also your first time.

playfully, you fly a french fry like an airplane towards heeseung as he drives, like the usual time you try to feed kids at the daycare. it nudges against his lips a few times before he bit it, pulling it off your fingers; making you let out a chuckle cause he can’t even resist it himself.

the parking lot was pretty barren as you only saw a few vehicles when you both walked out of the cars. you adjust the backpack once again on your back as the chime from the car tells you it is now locked as you enter the office building.

thanking the receptionist, you and he stood in front of the doula’s office as you knocked the door.

the door opens as a soft-spoken woman says from the inside, “miss (l/n)(y/n)?”

“yes, i am.”

“oh, come in. come in.” the door widened as heeseung could see the things inside the large office room. a desk in one corner and a cabinet stood behind it. accolades and certifications by the desk with a sofa on the corner beside the door. a box of what seems to be baby toys beside the sofa as posters are hanging on the wall. from the anatomical look of a baby inside their mom’s uterus to words of encouragement towards mothers.

“i’m haseul. nice to meet you.” the woman shook your hand as she then glanced at heeseung who was still wandering around.

“oh, uh, this is heeseung, the babies’ daddy.” you refer to his name as he looks at the lady, shaking her hand as she looks between the two of you.

“so, both of you aren’t married or dating-“

“no, we’re childhood friends and hooked up, and this happened.” heeseung blurts out as you raised your eyebrows, poking your tongue in the cheek. haseul nodded her head as she let both of you sit down in front of the desk.

“first, congratulations on the twins. you must be nervous to find that out.”

“of course, especially as a first-time mom. but, i’m feeling pretty okay.”

“that’s good, i’ve also sent you the questionnaire for you to fill on your plan for giving birth…” haseul’s voice traces out as heeseung glances at the portrait frame of her holding onto a baby with a mom, a glance at the book about post-partum, and a baby doll on top of the cabinet right in front of a corner window. he could only catch onto some words he recognized from jeongin telling him—birth, dilation, cramps, anesthesia, cesarean—as he sensed himself getting overwhelmed, especially when he had the second preliminary match in two days and his gig in being the documentation for a baseball match for hybe uni too.

his thumbs caressed his fingertips as he sensed the sweat forming on his palm, the same feeling he has every time he has to go to match. to then realize just how ready you seem by how eloquently you say the words for your requests to the doula like you’ve grown up much more than he is even though both of you are the same age. sure, he felt the leverage the first time when he sent you food and a few tips he makes beomgyu do; but his knowledge couldn’t compete with yours and it scares him to know he is losing his stance from above you. to know that you’re much more ready than him.

“heeseung…” he heard someone calling for him, before something wrapped around his wrist, taken aback to see you brought him back to the room he was in.

“sorry… what did you say?” heeseung replied as haseul gave him a warm smile.

“i’ve heard from (y/n) that you have known some knowledge of pregnancies but i could give you some sources to read because it is your first time as a dad as well.” the woman said to him calmly, looking at heeseung as if she can read his body language. your hold on his wrist stays as you rub the inside of his wrist with your thumb. “we have also discussed that (y/n) will try the normal route with water birth and if she can’t handle it, she’ll be going with cesarean. we could also do an appointment every two weeks as both of you are students now, but it is best if you come so you can understand each process as she is entering the second trimester.”

“i understand. i’ll try my best to set my schedule so i can join her.” heeseung glanced at you, who was giving a nod before you let go of your hold as he seemed to be anchored back in the room. the woman gives a small smile as she starts a lecture on the process of pregnancy, childhood, and parenthood. another class that heeseung doesn’t want to get in the first place, but knowing his determination to be the best dad ever—as what his mom believes him to be—he follows along with writing notes in his book as you have with your laptop. the class that he has to pass so he can take care of his children as best as he can.

-

even with the music booming from around his space, heeseung still felt like something was different. his eyes rested on the plastic-colored cup filled with a concoction of alcohol he didn’t know—he could taste the gin and what seemed to be fanta in it. the sigma mu’s frat house lits up in motion as he eyes the way the expensive big-ass speakers are scattered around the room, gazing at the familiar faces of his peers and juniors he has seen while walking around campus.

something stirs within him as he eyes his friends who are here—beomgyu who is by the speaker as he talks with the dj, jimin with his dance crew friends, jeongin with his class friend, while heeseung sits with sunoo and sunghoon on either side of him. that’s when he caught onto the silhouette of some familiar faces every time he comes across a certain person; every time he comes across you.

“excuse me, gang.” heeseung would like to thank himself for being able to stand up so stable even with the nearly empty cup, excusing himself from his basketball teammates to walk towards the frat boys of sigma mu to find the vp and his girlfriend by his side.

“winter…” he calls with the nickname he heard you and others call her before as said girl turns towards him with her boyfriend’s arm still behind the sofa.

“lee heeseung.” she spoke out with a grin on her face, “what makes you come in front of us?”

“i was wondering,” ‘fuck it’ heeseung drinks up the whole liquid that remains inside the cup, hoping that his alcohol tolerance still be able to support him to be stable, “has (y/n) ever talked to you about a doula check-up or some other thing?”

“she should’ve told me if there’s gonna be a checkup but i don’t think there is one nearest from now.” minjeong replies as she lets sungchan take care of her drink so she can comfortably talk to the boy in front of them.

“ah, really?”

“yeah!” minjeong replied before giving another smile. that’s when someone crashes to wrap their arms around minjeong and sungchan, making the two jump as they turn to see ryujin’s head between both of them before giving minjeong a peck on the temple.

“hey, (y/n)’s baby daddy. whatchu up to?”

heeseung chuckles as he looks between the two girls—”no wonder you have them as your friends, all of them are similar after all”—before he opens his mouth.

“just checking what’s (y/n) up to-“

“well, she’s not here. for your information.” ryujin lets out a smirk, “you must really wanna talk to her about something.”

“a doula appointment.” sungchan replied, “and you know how (y/n) is about…” the boy glances at, “him.”

heeseung’s teeth grit against each other as he senses they are hiding something from him. maybe because of your doing so you can prove to everyone that he isn’t as committed to his children as he spoke about.

“you and minjeong aren’t home, so i presume (y/n) is with chaer-“

“someone’s calling my name?”

heeseung sighs as he turns towards the voice of chaeryeong who is holding two cups of drinks as she gives one to ryujin.

“he’s asking about (y/n).” minjeong nods toward chaeryeong when she lets out a small ah before turning her head to stare at heeseung.

“since chan here invited all four of us at the frat party, she really wanted to be here but, of course, cause she’s preggo with YOUR children, she couldn’t. but all of us went out of the apartment together and she was holding a duffle bag of some sort.”

“where is she going?” heeseung doesn’t hesitate to ask, making your three friends look at each other and giggle.

“you seem desperate enough. she’s at the park near our apartment complex. she complained about needing a light workout because of how much her back is hurting.” ryujin said as heeseung could picture the park, knowing where you lived because he had picked you up for your trip back home for the weekend.

“okay, thanks all of you.” heeseung places the cup on the table beside the sofa where minjeong sits and turns away, letting the sense of fresh air flowing inside the frat house guide him to the nearest exit as he arrived on the pavement, feeling the stuffiness inside him getting lighter as he gave a text in his group chat he’ll be leaving early.

the walk there was pleasant, to say the least, because the suburban town the campus is in is pretty sparse compared to the city where heeseung and you live. there is enough place for it to be called a big town but not enough skyscrapers to be called a metropolis. and with the inconsiderable amount of apartment complexes available near campus, he already pinpointed the park where you might be.

crossing the black-and-white stripes, he arrived at one of the entrances of the park where he still could see a few people doing their activities inside—night jogging, playing chess under the streetlights, and a couple who was on a date. he was reminded of what ryujin said about how you might need exercise, but the duffle bag says to him you might stay in one place rather than walking around the park as the main event of your exercise time.

heeseung’s feet instantly brought him to the place that he had gone before in this park as it is the same park near where sunghoon, jay, and jake live—maybe they live in the same complex as you do—when he finds the silhouette lightly jog behind the trees from the path he is on. the sound of rubber meeting the concrete slaps across the night’s atmosphere as he sees you in the middle of the basketball court, wearing a sweatshirt where he could see the bump pushing against the fabric. the basketball bouncing between your palm and the ground creates the familiar sound as you jog toward the ring and shoot your shot. the ball hits the backboard enough that it bounces into the basket.

“fuck yes…” you exclaimed as you grabbed the bouncing ball into your hand, heaving as you brushed the sweat of your skin right underneath the spotlight shining on the court.

that’s when you pick up the scraping on the concrete and clap when you turn around to look at the last person you want to see tonight.

“you still got it,” heeseung commented, making you scoff as you took a few steps back so you stood adjacent to the free throw circle. holding up the basketball between your hands as you tried to remember the position before pushing towards the ring. the basketball curves as it hits the edge of the box instead.

“dammit!”

“you spun your ball,” heeseung replies as the ball flies into his arm, naturally guiding it into a dribble as he walks towards you.

“i didn’t.”

“your wrist was twisted and it makes your hand doesn’t flop straight towards the ring.” he walks towards your side as he shows you the way to hold it, making you glance at the arm muscles that form from holding the ball so much as he throws the ball, creating a perfect arch that it bounces on the back of the rim before it flies and the basket catches its fall. your body immediately reaches for it before heeseung can as you return to your spot whilst dribbling alternating between left and right.

“i know.” you lightly roll your eyes as you grab onto the basketball once again, wiping your sweat palm against your sweatshirt before you feel the right grip as you return to your position, reminding yourself to let the ball fly and not twist your ball before you threw it.

you heard a click of the tongue as you saw a pair of hands reaching to hold yours, making your hand move to the position as you picked up heeseung’s breath beside your ear. startled, your shoulder nudges against his chest as you hear a small “ack” before you throw the basketball, seeing it twirl in the air. you can hear heeseung saying “i told you so.” before it bounces against the backboard, but you are ready as you stride towards it to grab the ball before heeseung catches it and you quickly do a layup, gliding the ball as it bounces right at the small box above the rim as it bounces inside. you turn your body to face him, head tilted with a smug smile as the ball bounces before it rolls to heeseung’s feet.

but the smile falls as you see heeseung who is in his element, walking back to the three-point line and shooting his shot as the ball, once again, creates a perfect arc. the basket catches it into its net as heeseung walks towards the center of the court with a wide grin on his face. the ball bounces near you as you hold it and dribble once more, glancing at it, the court, and heeseung once again as you shake your head, scolding yourself to take things slow for your and your babies’ sake. the sudden epiphany makes your eyelids flutter as you dribble away at a steady walking pace around the court.

your footsteps are met with another as heeseung’s legs stride towards you, a smirk on his face showing as he replies, “that’s why you were put in the point guard position.”

“hmm…” your reply is small as you continue to dribble away the basketball, making you and he walk around the court together before he cuts through the silence.

“why did you stop playing basketball in high school?”

your body stood still as you let your muscle memory do your job of dribbling the ball, shifting your head towards his even if you look away.

“you were, well, it seems to be still are, good at it,” he added.

the memories of your first year in high school from the extracurricular showcase come back as you are already determined to stop playing basketball, focusing on doing something else that you were interested in.

“i got tired of it,” you replied, but heeseung seemed to notice that it was not all the truth.

“and…”

the ball stops bouncing as you hold it against you, wrapping your arm across your front along with the ball as you glare at him and reply, “you.”

“me?”

“yeah, you. i stopped playing because of you.” you turn around and set your eyes on the bench where your bag is. your water bottle calling for you so you can hydrate yourself as you give in.

“really, huh? wow, that was another victory i didn’t expect-“

“fucking hell, heeseung. that’s why- this-“ you gulped down your saliva, “what you become because of it is why i stop. i know our moms are outstanding basketball players at their time and we’ve gotten the signal to be like them but-“ you hold back as you throw the bottle inside the bag, holding yourself down as your hands form fists.

basketball has always been a large part of your life before you were even born. your mom and heeseung’s met because of their love of basketball as they became skilled players together. your mom and dad meet up because of basketball. you still remember the amount of pictures of your parents in their high school days in their basketball jerseys in the photo albums. even if they don’t pursue it professionally, it still becomes a large part of their life as it also spills onto you.

with the amount of time you have interacted with children—as it makes you see your own experience as a child in a different view—many of them like to mimic what their parents do before they form their own sense of self. you can see it with the way one child at the daycare is always playing doctor with dolls, figures, and plushies because one of their parents is a doctor. you were like that. you’ve heard and seen just how impactful basketball is to your mom that you want to be just like her, making you join the teams during your elementary and middle schools.

to see and feel the influence of your rival during practice and tournaments around you was overwhelming.

the tug-of-war between the basketball in between both of your hands is just the beginning of what kinds of rivalry you and him have during practice. even if your coaches assigned you to the same team, you or he, depending on who is first, will reach out to the coach to be put into the other team. even if you two had to practice together, hidden aggression is flying to the roof, which includes passing the ball so hard that it had even made your nose bleed. as time goes on and the many matches you and he have to compete in as you two have to watch each other to “encourage” each other’s team, you had notice the way you fell out of love of basketball because of how there are more bad memories associated with it even if you were being trusted as a captain for one season and scoring many buzzer beaters to let your team and school win the tournament.

“you’ve become so much better with it as i lost interest. i still remember when the coach brought me to the nurse’s office cause you passed the ball so hard that it hit my face. in the middle of practice for the last season in middle school, that’s when i knew…” you take steps closer as you now stand in front of him.

“i knew i’m in a losing battle against you.”

your muscles twitched as you wanted to let out a smirk when you noticed the hidden expression heeseung failed to hide, the little shock he had gotten to show. yet, the emotion that is enveloping you held it down, as you now had to tell him the truth. why your rivalry seemed to expand outside of the scope that both of you are in.

“that’s why i quit basketball. that’s why i decide to pursue my own path even with you tailing behind me to comment on my every move. because i am sick of you. yet, i held back. i had to retaliate, just like what i did on that fucking playground when we were 5. cause i’m not afraid of you even though i know i’ll lost in the end.” you chew the inside of your cheeks as heeseung seems to read your face while letting his brain figure out what you meant.

“that’s why i wanted a fucking truce.”

with the way your facial muscles contort, it hurts you more and more as you feel the tears of pain forming, harboring the feelings you have felt for nearly two decades now. with your hand raised, you wiped the small drop of tear as you let out a huge breath, feeling just a bit of the weight in your rivalry falls off—right along with you.

as you let your body sit on the concrete ground, you push yourself back slowly as you settle and lay on it. heeseung’s conflicted face peeking from your vision while you’re trying to blur it out by focusing on the night sky. though the light pollution is still around you, you can still see tiny specks of stars behind the shadow of clouds of the night. stretching your back on the ground as you let your backbone rest after trying to make you stand upright while carrying two growing fetuses.

eyelids close, you let nature take control in calming your emotions and let heeseung process the information himself. the first time you truly open up yourself behind the mask of your persona—maybe when he stays the night in your childhood room is one as you recall your feet resting against his sleeping figure, contemplating if you want to wake him up or not before gazing at the dusting basketball that you decide to bring back to your apartment after papa helps in blowing more air so it doesn’t sag too much.

the sound of rustling leaves seems to be louder as you rest still, hearing a muffled thump beside you as you open your eyes, looking at your feet to then find another pair lying down right beside yours.

“you’re the one that was throwing a fit and ruining my toy truck after i apologized.” you sighed as you took a peek to see heeseung’s head turning towards you, asserting dominance once again before looking back. you knew that if you replied with the same vibe to assert your own dominance, it would actually break you apart faster than the rate that you are now. however, you have one question that will be the right one to ask him about.

“did you mean that?”

“‘mean’ what?”

“the apology? did you mean that? cause i want you to look at it from my eyes, lee.”

heeseung traces back to that memory when he sees you teary-eyed face and his mom beside him, the boys he was playing with snickering on the side as they saw him getting in trouble with his then-friend. the “sorry” mumbled out of him with his eyes on you but mind on the boys, who seemed to not snicker at him, but at you for being a pissy fit. but, deep down, he knew…

“i meant it.” his reply makes you turn your head, mirroring his form as you let out a slight pout.

“with that smile you were giving? hell no-“ you rolled your eyes.

“i genuinely meant it. the boys that were there, they were behind you and they were laughing at us. i had to juggle facing you and them. i had to look fierce yet still can give you an apology. maybe that’s why you see the smirk that you see. i was a fucking child, (y/n). we’re not as good as we are not in hiding complicated emotions to only let out one.”

your chest rises and falls as you see the apology smirk in a different light. you don’t know if you should easily believe that or not, but after taking it into consideration, you could feel a small part of your inner child healing up before you realize the damage that you also have done to him.

“if it is genuine; i’m sorry, then. about the truck. you know how i felt now and why i did that.” you return to look at the sky once again as you hear the rustle beside you before peeking at heeseung who is also staring into the night, listening to him humming before you return to gaze back again.

“what would happen if i actually have the emotional intelligence to know that you were sincere that day?” your words cut off the silence as you felt the guilt pouring for it to be transformed into humor that was reciprocated well by heeseung’s chuckles.

“well, we wouldn’t have these two.” he playfully poked your belly, making you let out a small shriek before holding onto his wrist as you held his hand down between the two of you and you pivoted your head to see him.

“in all seriousness, i think we might have been the friends our moms see us to be because let me tell you, they see us differently than what we are having.” his words are replied with a hum as you added,

“i notice that too. glad we can be more civil in front of them.”

“we still could, you know.”

with the way you didn’t hold on to his wrist tightly, you felt the limb moving under your touch before his palm rested underneath your own. the wind blows against your sweaty top as it gives you shivers from the cold, hoping that your own temperature and a lifeline can help warm it up. and you can feel it warmer as you see heeseung pivot to mirror you. his fingers slid between yours as if he knew the little shivered breath you led out.

“have each other’s backs. emulate what they want.”

your eyes are galloping to the way the spotlight shines half of his as the other one is cast in shadows from facing the concrete. you could smell a faint scent of alcohol on him but with the life in his eyes, you knew he wasn’t drunk. the way his eyes are also peering with slight twitches as before connecting with your gaze.

pushing one side of your upper body, you cup onto heeseung’s cheek as he leans up to connect your lips. your shoulder is pushing down against the ground as heeseung’s grip on your hand tightens, making it steady as you can hear his muffled hum from your kiss. your fingers curl to hold yourself up better before you feel his other hand reach for your waist and push you down so you both lay on the side.

both of you take turns to take a breath as you sense the tip of his nose brushing against yours. every time you let out a breath, the other’s lips linger before connecting once. your legs curled as you felt the ticklish sensation surging through your nerves before heeseung pushed your lower back so it could stay for one last long kiss before he pulled away. your noses touch each other as you feel his hand on your waist trails to your bump, pressing it down gently as you lean back to see him looking down at the body he is holding. then, his eyes flick back to you as he can sense you slip away, turning yourself away from him as you push yourself up with your arms.

grabbing the lone basketball and putting it in the duffle bag, you zip it up and shift to find heeseung now upright, yet still with his legs stretched out on the ground.

“baby steps, heeseung.” you pull away before giving a small salute.

“baby steps.”

your voice echoes as heeseung watches you walk away, biting his bottom lip before a chuckle falls out of him as he knows he had to text you back his question about the appointment, knowing that you will reply to him.

-

beomgyu breathed out as the elevator opened up to the now familiar hallway, holding onto the box that he had still had to bring even if heeseung already told him he’ll do the next one himself because of what he told him. the box held fresh ingredients that jeongin also pinpoint—courtesy of his doctor mom—on what you should eat, considering now that there are two of them inside you. beomgyu couldn’t help but feel melancholic knowing that this was the last time he’d probably visit your apartment complex as… well…

but, other than bringing you today’s box, beomgyu is here to pick you up for the doula appointment as heeseung will follow suit after practice. even his bandmates are weirded out as to why he has to do the errands, but knowing that they’re in the process of rest mode whilst preparing to create new music and focusing on academics, he allows it, especially with how long he has been best friends with the guy.

he huffs as he positions the box again against his upper body, sliding his pointer finger to the bell as he picks up the familiar bell sounding in the room. but it seems like there’s no one inside. he’s glad that he remembers the pin ryujin has given him as he pushes inside the door to see the clean empty living room of the apartment he has been in countless times when he had to put the box in himself. pushing off his shoes, he walks to the kitchen and places the box on the island counter before rushing towards the intercom to turn off the bell.

that’s when he heard the noise of something familiar.

a guitar strumming sound of chords and the changes he recognized.

beomgyu took tiny steps towards one of the ajar doors in the hallway as the realization of the familiar sound widened his eyes. of course it was familiar to him, it was his song.

the nearly acoustic rendition of “skipping stones” with a familiar voice he had heard makes him peek through the door to find you sitting cross-legged on your bed, holding a nearly all-white guitar as you strum while having headphones on your head, singing the daylights out as your window lets the stream of lights in through the window. he lets you sing as he can see you glow—jeongin had mentioned to him that pregnant women have this whole glow on them. maybe that’s what he was seeing in you. the way your fingers glide against the fretboard with your eyes on it or close as you sing the lyrics makes beomgyu mesmerized.

the last ring of strings strummed is heard from your rumble speaker when you notice clapping from outside of your headphones, making you look up to find beomgyu behind your slightly open door. his clapping turns to hollering as lets out a wide thin smile before looking away; you don’t want him to see you flustered. that is when you realize why you’re here.

“oh fuck, the doula appointment.”

“yeah!” beomgyu replies outside as you quickly tidy the guitar up into your case and you step into your wardrobe to grab some more clothes that are much more appropriate for your appointment.

“sorry, about that. beom.”

“nah, no worries. i can wait.”

“thanks!” you close the door as you quickly change your clothes, deciding for a flowy blouse with a rubber-banded culotte, needing to remind yourself to buy maternity clothes because you are slowly running out of clothes that fit you. you wore a bit of sunscreen as you got a message from mama telling you to embrace the pregnancy glow your friends seemed to notice is exuding out of you as you’re in the second trimester. wearing the eau du toilette that doesn’t make you as dizzy—unlike perfume—you open the door to see beomgyu leaning against the wall where it hangs a frame of you and your roommates in photo booths.

“you ready?” he held his hand out as you nodded, you put your hands out before beomgyu grabbed the strap of the bag from your hold, startling you before you returned to your usual state. if your face isn’t warm enough, it’s now warmer from the embarrassment.

the walk down to his car is silent as he helps with buckling the seatbelt to the side. seeing how much your stomach is rested underneath the strap makes him giggle as you recognize the smell of pot from beomgyu’s very appropriate old sedan car.

“hopefully you aren’t high while driving me.” you give a cheeky grin.

“of course not. heeseung will actually kill me if he finds that i dui with you.”

beomgyu twists the key of the ignition as the car turns on—yes, that’s how old his car is—as the sound of a loud rock song plays from the rock fm you recognized. his hand reaches for the button as you react,

“no need. i’m okay with it.”

he hums as he reaches for the volume to turn the sound down, not letting the rattling of the sound in the interior startle you as he pulls the car out of the parking space and into the road.

“can you check the quickest route to the office?” beomgyu said as he brushed his wolf-cut hair.

“of course.” you lean back against the leather seat as you open the map app on your phone, telling beomgyu the roads to the doula’s office. the song has changed to a familiar song by tom petty playing as you notice how beomgyu glances at you.

“what?” you called out with a few chuckles.

“i didn’t expect you to like my song, well txt’s song.” his reply is met with your own giggle as you lean back.

“even if i hate heeseung. that doesn’t mean i have to hate his friends, you know?”

your eyebrow is raised as he gives another quick look before focusing on the road, “if you don’t believe me, i’ve been a fan of band your band since, like, sophomore year when you formed.”

“why? i really wanna hear from a fan's perspective.”

your giggle warms his heart as you answered, “i just relate to it, ya hear? a band that talks about the hardships of finding oneself and the struggle of growing but in a more intelligible way other, especially ‘skipping stones’ from your newest album.”

both of beomgyu’s hands are on the steering wheel as you feel the brake of the car before turning to the curb of where the office is, parking nearest to the entrance as the car stops and he pulls the hand brake. both of you sitting inside as you waited for heeseung to arrive in a few minutes from the last time he texted you.

“why ‘skipping stones’ specifically?”

“hmm…” you suppressed the grin that is threatening to go out before replying with, “interpreting self-struggle with the idea of skipping stone is… in it of itself, very poignant. to correlate the body of water with your own and the stones you’re throwing as the struggle you’re facing.” you let out a huge sigh, “i don’t know- it’s something i understand, especially if someone else is doing the skipping stone to you, feeling that emotion sinking into you, replacing the water’s place…”

you glanced at beomgyu who was definitely staring at you, his hands on his lap as he let out a solemn smile, agreeing with what you said. you quietly nod and take a sharp intake, trying to find the right words to cut the rising awkwardness between the two of you, “other than that, the freaking dissonance on the harmony is so good. it gives a sense of unbalanced buoyancy as if you’re a leaf floating on the water and the skipping stone makes it unstable. great job on that.”

“thanks!”

“of course.” you nearly slapped yourself for leaning closer to the middle console, but beomgyu seemed to not react as much when you felt a bit of your finger touching his. “can’t wait for the next release. no pressure.”

the corner of beomgyu’s lips rose as he giggled, a boyish grin on his face before his expression changed, “don’t worry, me and the band won’t let the fans down.” he replied as you leaned back, head nodding. that’s when you hear the rumbling of the car right beside yours as you see the appearance of heeseung’s newer model car.

“gotta go. thank you so much for bringing me here,” you said as beomgyu helped pick your bag up from the backseat.

“of course, (y/n). gotta have to thank heeseung for letting me do so, but hey…” you felt his hand reaching and now touching your wrist, making you turn your body while nearly opening the door.

“i've known you since high school but we never hang out together cause of heeseung. maybe we could hang out, with your girls and my guys? if heeseung is already melting his ice down then i think that’s okay for us and our friends to hang out. it’s up to you, though.”

you suppress an amused smile as you think about it. thinking about how long have you been crushing on the boy in front of you and how you wanna shake heeseung a thank you for letting him do the errands, maybe even to your noise-canceling headphones that make him notice just how much you like him- no, his band. yeah.

“i’ll think about it. heeseung and i don’t have a formal truce yet but based on what we talked about last time, maybe it could work.”

“sweet-“

you heard a knocking on the door before you turned around to catch heeseung’s silhouette behind the glass window.

“i’ll talk to the girls so we can arrange a time.”

“me too with the guys.”

“okay, bye beomgyu.” the car door unlocks as you nuzzle the door open while hearing beomgyu’s own “bye” from the driver’s seat. heeseung helps to hold the door as you step out.

“thanks for her ride, gyu.”

“don’t mention it, hee. we might even have to ride with her often.” beomgyu said right as the door that heeseung held closed. the engine turns on as the car drives off the parking. you stand right beside heeseung as he looks at you, who still has a lingering smile on your face.

“why are you smiling, (y/n)?”

he lightly nudges your palm with his as you turn your head to him.

“you’ll see, hee.” as you took off towards the office, leaving heeseung once again alone as he then followed you.

part 2

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[outtathisworld-imagines]

Thunder clatter

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Pairing: Bob Reynolds x F!Reader

Warning: Smut! +18 MDNI! Oral (fem!rec), intercourse, fluff, some sad Bob, he yearns so much, dirty talk, swearing, unprotected sex- pls wrap before you tap. Not proofread 🥲

A.N: Just something cutesy with our fav 🫶🏻

Inspired by this song ⚡️

Please let me know what else you guys would like! I do have a few other fics on the back-burner (for now!) that I'll start to post soon and just let me know if you'd liked to be tagged in further works too ✨

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Bob clutched onto his duvet tighter with each rumble of thunder. He had every single light on in his room with his eyes squeezed shut but with every flash of lightning and every crash of thunder the fear pooling inside was slowly drowning him.

His response was to flee.

He didn’t know where his legs were taking him he just had to get out and get away. His feet carried his body through the halls of the watchtower.

“You okay?” A voice caught his attention. “Only you’ve walked past five times already.”

He didn’t even realise he had.

He walked towards the door, the open crack allowing you to see his frantic pacing. Bob delicately opened it, seeing you sitting in the dark by the window watching the weather phenomenon with your arms wrapped around your knees, a flash of lightning brightening your body. He gripped onto the door and lightly jumped. “S-sorry,” he sniffled and you quickly stood up.

“What’s the matter Bob? Are you okay?” You approached him, the closer you got the more you could see the shine in his eyes that were filling with tears. When the thunder sounded again, a tear slipped down his cheek and he let out a broken sob.

He tried to run again but you held onto his arm “I really hate it,” he managed to say. “So much.” Before bursting and falling to his knees, he curled up on the floor in front of you.

You crouched down beside him “Hey, hey, it’s okay!” You rubbed his back soothingly. “I’m here, you can stay with me for as long as you need.” You sat down beside him and he crawled on to your pyjama clad lap, tears pouring like the rain outside. “Shhh, you’re okay.” You gently brushed your hand over his head.

“I wish it would stop,” he brokenly pleaded with Mother Nature, your heart speared with pain at the sight.

“Let’s move to the bed, huh? Will be more comfortable.” He timidly nodded and you scooped him up in your arms and gently placed him on the bed, his body framed by your sheets. You closed the door and turned on your bedside light, finally seeing the extent of his fear. His red blotchy cheeks, fresh and dried tears tattooed on his face and his eyes like the sea, now just as wet as it.

You knew the best way to take his mind from the outside elements would be to distract him.

“Did I tell you about the time I almost died?”

His features turned from tightly wound to confused. The tears momentarily stopped and he looked up to you looking more perplexed than fearful. You sat beside him as he remained lying down. “It’s true, coincidently, it’s also tied to thunder.” Now he was really intrigued. “Oh how we have very different experiences with thunder.”

He sat up, pulling the ends of his pyjama sleeves to wipe away his tears “W-what do you mean?”

“Well…it was stupid, so Thor-“

“Thor?!” Bob excitably yelped “You know Thor?!” He was acting like a kid at Christmas, it made you laugh.

“Yeah, I mean I still do so I’ll kick his ass for making you feel like this,” you said and Bob’s smile faltered, his eyes darting to the window again. “But to the fact I almost died.” You brought his attention back to you. “When I worked as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent I was on a task force to keep an eye on Thor when he came to Earth. I used to spend most of my time in this tower actually, so if you need a good hiding spot- I’ll show you them all. But I digress. Anyway, at this point I had never been struck by lightning before but I always thought it would be so cool to experience it so I could give people electric shocks.” Bob raised a brow, slowly nodding at your story. “So I said to Thor I bet I can get shocked first time without thunder, he took me outside saying that couldn’t be the case, that the two elements were ‘tied in unison’ or some crap, tried to show me, failed, I was essentially projected off the balcony by lightning and the god of thunder himself had to save before I hit the ground.”

“Holy shit!” Bobs tears had almost vanished, his mind completely distracted from the thunder clattering outside. “What happened after that?”

“Well after a hospital visit, Thor and I remained close friends, I even attempted to wield Mjölnir.” You reminisced.

Bob laughed “What the hell is Me-mil-mal- what?” He continued laughing, holding his head in his hands “What even is that name?!” He fell further into your bed in a fit of giggles, fearful tears turning into ones of joy.

“His hammer!” You caught his contagious laughter “His hammer, Bob.” You fell back beside him “I could never move it an inch, was never as worthy as the mighty Thor.” You clasped your hands over your stomach with a sigh, thinking about all the memories this tower held for you- the good and the bad.

“Were you looking out for him?”

Bobs voice tore you away from your thoughts. “For who? For Thor?” You chuckled “No! Not always, why would you think that?” You turned and faced him, he looked flustered.

And not just from the crying.

“I dunno, guess you guys would maybe be more than friends now with everything you faced?” He shrugged, making his assumptions known.

“Oh c’mon Bob he is a literal god and I’m just…me.” You rationalised. “Besides, we aren’t like that, we are just friends, he’s like a brother to me actually. A weird hammer wielding, very much older, completely opposite brother.”

Bob was looking in your eyes, rain battering off the window louder as a silence filled your room. “Why do you say that?” You sent him a questioning look. “That you’re ‘just you’. That’s the best, you’re the best, you’re wonderful.” You rolled your eyes and chortled at the comment, rather than accepting it you waved it away. “You would make quite an attractive couple…” he muttered, almost bitterly at the thought, under his breath.

Without missing a beat your lips spilled your internal thoughts. “And we wouldn’t?”

Your room turned just as heavy and as thick with pressure as outside. Except it wasn’t the weather that had seeped through the cracks of your window frame, it was something that was always there making itself suddenly known.

You always had a soft spot for Bob. His timid nature meant you always were in inclined to protect him. You both formed a close bond between your past struggles and hatred of doing dishes. Bob was able to strike you even more intense than that bolt of lightning.

As for Bob, he fell and was falling even harder by the day. Your laugh brought him back from even the most unhappy days, your smile lit up the whole tower. He never believed a person could truly help him heal until he crashed into you that day in the underground warehouse.

But your words that so effortlessly slipped off your tongue still hung proudly in the air.

You saw the faintest tinge of pink on Bobs cheeks. He saw your eyes widen at the admission.

A faint smile danced across his lips as he reached out trying to find your hand. “Val once said I was a god, but it’s different for me, I guess.” He began. “But god or not, I would have searched every universe, every shame room and every good hiding spot in this tower for you.”

“Bob…” you whispered under your breath, competing against the thunder that he now couldn’t hear, his attention still dedicated to you.

“And you’re right.” He said with conviction, confidence suddenly surging through him like he had been struck by lightning too, the space between you both now vanishing. “We would make an attractive couple.” Your soft laugh was cut short as his lips met yours, he felt an unmissable spark, he wondered if it was from the bolt of lightning that once struck you all those years ago from the contact of your lips against his. The kisses were soft at first but then turned into just as much conviction as moments ago when he spoke from his whole chest. You let out a strained moan as he wrapped himself around you, lips not parting for one second as you sunk into the bed.

Your hand found his head, fingers intertwining with his locks of slightly disheveled hair. “I can’t even tell you how long I’ve felt like this,” you admitted between his now sporadic kisses, his eyes wanting to gaze at every part of you as his hands familiarised themselves with every curve of your torso.

Bob widely smiled “I promise you it’s just as long as I have, if not me feeling like this a lot longer,” he bashfully told you. You leaned into him this time, passionately kissing him and rolling him over, his back to your bed and your chest pressed against his, his legs moving to accommodate yours. The thunder clatter and lightning strikes continuing as the rain battered against the window, the thunder was moving on now, he remained intertwined with you.

“Please,” you gently tugged at his pyjama top “Please put me out of my misery, Bob.” You pleaded and he smirked.

“Oh? Just how can I do that?” His tone was a teasing one, fully knowing that it was the same way he would be put out of his own misery too.

After months of yearning, both of you knew making out wasn’t going to cut it.

His arms tightly snaked around your waist as your hands cupped this face, Bob’s hips involuntarily rising at the action and making you moan between kisses. He rolled you over, his kisses becoming as frantic as yours before he sat up a little and peeled off his pyjama top, you gasped at the sight of his muscular torso. “I’m one lucky girl…” you said before biting down on your lip, your fingertips tracing over every ridge of his toned abdomen.

Bob was bashful at your words, he skilfully removed his pyjama bottoms and remained in his boxers. “I’m the lucky one,” he said between kisses “You’re so beautiful. So caring, you care so much for me…” his head dipped slightly and your lips pressed against his forehead.

“You deserve so much, so much more than you realise.” He looked up to you, eyes slightly glossy. “I’m just as lucky having you in my life.” You returned the favour and you took the hem of your pyjama top between your fingers and pulled it off. Bob made no attempts to hide his sheer awe of you, eyes wide, jaw virtually hitting your bed and a gasp of air leaving his lungs at the sight of you. You playfully pushed his shoulder in jest at his reaction “Oh stop it you.”

“Oh never ever,” he said so quietly it sounded like he was exhaling a breath. “God, you’re so perfect. So utterly perfect.” He placed soft. opened mouthed kisses down your neck and trailed his lips down your chest, his lips grazing almost teasingly over your nipples before you whined and he kissed over one while groping the other. His tongue swirling over your sensitive skin as your fingers threaded through his hair.

His hand slowly reached down to the band of your pyjama bottoms, almost as if he was asking a silent permission to go further, with your ever loudening moans he took that as a yes. Your eyes met his, his mouth still kissing your bare chest as his hand moved further down until it reached your hot, wet core. “Please…” you softly whined and you could feel Bob smirk against your skin. He stopped kissing your chest and moved to your lips, his against your own as he let his fingers rub your warm pussy. You gasped at the contact and he moaned into your mouth feeling how wet you were already. “Bob…” you breathlessly mewed as he increased his place, you gripped onto his bicep as your legs started to tense. He sunk a finger into you, you allowed a soft swear to slip from your lips before moaning out a louder one at the sensation of both his fingers inside your tight pussy.

“You like that baby? So fucking wet for me already.” He growled, his mask slipping and showing that his other side was a far cry from the weeping, curled up figure lying on your lap earlier. Now you were the one on the verge of weeping tears of sheer pleasure and your body curling as the coil inside you started to tightly wind. “I need to feel you, wanna feel how warm and wet and tight you are.” He softly begged as he continued to pump his fingers in and out of you. “Please tell me I can do that, Y/N, please tell me…”

“Yes! God yes!” You burst, not even worrying if anyone in the tower heard, your pleads competing with the clashes of thunder that had virtually disappeared. “I want you, Bob! God…I need you!” You groaned feeling his hand moving out and away, you watched as he brought his fingers to his mouth and slowly licked you from them, his eyes dark as his tongue tasted you for the first time.

“Fuck…” he groaned and then ripped off your pyjama bottoms in desperation. You gasped at the sharp sound of tearing fabric. “I’ll get you a new pair,” he mumbled “I need to taste you properly.” Before you could say anything your mouth gaped open feeling his mouth against your pussy, the wet slick sounds of the frantic lapping with his tongue filling the room louder than the heavy rain against the windows. You gripped onto Bob’s hair and rolled your hips to push his face in deeper, making him moan and leaving him desperate for air.

But he was more desperate for you.

“You taste so fucking sweet, like goddamn honey,” he moved his head to kiss your inner thighs and catch his breath. “Fuck, need you now. I can’t wait anymore.” Bob made quick work of his boxers and then aligned himself with you, his hands being either side of your head allowed you to hold onto his wrists, you could feel his pulse under your fingertips, as quick as fast-rolling thunder. He leaned down and let his lips crash against yours again, allowing you to taste yourself as he thrust his hips forward and his cock into you. His fingers tightly gripped onto your sheets as yours dug into his skin, moaning in unison feeling him stretch you and fill you perfectly. “Shit, were you made for me?” He strained, not quite finding the strength to move yet because if he did, he was convinced he’d instantly cum. “You were made for me.” He admitted in a whisper across your lips before he kissed them again.

He moved his hips just a fraction before finding a steady rhythm, one that drew the most glorious moans from your throat and gasps of air from your lungs. “Yes! Oh, fuck Bob, so good. So. Fucking. Good!” That ever tightening coil being wound even more with each thrust. Bobs lips haphazardly kissed points on your face every so often between grunts and growls.

“Fuck, I gotta…gotta see you take me…” his words were practically tossed from his mouth as he raised himself up onto his knees and watched his cock being swallowed whole by your pussy. “Fuck, fuck, fuck! You take my cock so fucking good!” He shuddered out, the sight sending him to an edge he was going to fall from. You gripped into his hips, desperately moving them faster as you reached your climax “Yes! That’s it Y/N, cum for me, you need to cum on my cock, please, god, YES!” He screamed when you couldn’t, your mouth gaping open and a sound so high leaving it that under normal frequency couldn’t be heard.

Watching you cum under him, Bob barely lasted a few seconds longer, with a loud moan as broken as the clatter of thunder he came inside you, the sensation surging a new wave of admiration for you.

He softly collapsed onto you and you held him tightly, soft kisses grazing one this sweat laced forehead as you stoked his hair. “That was…wow…” you tiredly chuckled while catching your breath, barely finding strength inside you to speak. “You’re…wow.”

Bob smiled, looking up to you as he rested his chin on your thumping chest. “Thank you so much,” he said.

Your brow creased slightly “For what?”

“Everything,” his smile was getting wider. “For what happened just now, for always being you,” he began to list off points that, even if he lived to be a two hundred years old, would never get through them all. “For taking care of me,” his hand caressed your cheek and his thumb gently brushed over your skin. “For finding me in the middle of a thunderstorm and taking all my fear away.”

You softly smiled, tears welling in your eyes at sweet words. The rumbling thunder had stopped, so had the lightning and the rain had subsided. Neither of you had noticed until now.

—•—

You paced the balcony, waiting for an arrival.

It had been four months since you and Bob first faced his fear of thunder, ending with him waking up the next morning beside you and asking if you’d like to be his girlfriend.

You of course said yes.

You looked up to the sky “Always late…” you tutted to yourself, trying to make this moment a surprise for Bob. Suddenly your arms felt a wave of static running down them and a shiver ran up your neck. You could sense it since being struck by lightning. You could sense his arrival.

A rumble surrounded you and then a flash blinded you, in the midsts of that, a figure.

“The mighty agent Y/N Y/L/N!” A voice boomed and engulfed you in a hug so tight your feet left the ground and you heard your back crack.

“It’s good to see you too Thor,” he placed you down “Thanks for coming, he’s going to be so happy to finally meet you.”

The god of thunder let out an amused grunt, twirling Mjölnir. “And I him too, a man who has captured your heart is surely to be a great and worthy one.” You led him through the watchtower, he took in how different it looked. He took in the people he loved and cherished missing from spots they once stood.

“I know it’s strange being here again,” you noticed his lingering looks in hallways “I appreciate you visiting.”

Thor brushed it off “Anytime and most importantly anything for you.” He placed down Mjölnir by the side of the sofa and waited as you called for Bob, the system notifying him to meet you in the living room.

“He’s such fan of yours. He’s going implode with excitement,” you bit down on your lip as a grin formed around it. “I can’t wait to see his reaction.”

Thor couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of happiness for you. “You must really like this Robert,” he said “I’m glad to see you so happy.” You thanked him with a nod.

Bob made his way to you, the doors opened to reveal not just you to him but also Thor. “O-oh! Oh my god!” He yelped and jumped on the spot “Holy shit! Y-y-you’re him!” He rushed forward “You’re Thor!”

His full body was practically shaking at the sight of the god and you couldn’t help but laugh. “He is!” You watched him bounce around like an excitable puppy. “Thor, this is Bob, Bob this is Thor.” You formally introduced them both.

“Dude!” Bob placed his head in his hands “This is such an honour!”

Thor heartily chuckled “The pleasure is mine, especially to meet someone who makes my dearest friend so happy.” He held out his arms and Bob practically jumped into them, Thor giving him a tight squeeze.

You watched from the sofa as they both interacted, laughed, shared stories, embarrassed you with said stories to the point you cut them off by offering more lemonade.

“I’ll get it, Y/N,” Bob offered with a smile and headed to the kitchen.

You watched him with your lips curved upwards as he vanished. “He is a kind man, Y/N. I am glad you have him.”

You liked at Thor and bashfully grinned “Yeah, I’m glad I have him too.”

Bob returned and placed the lemonade on the table in front of you both. You and Thor both grabbed a glass, Bob raised a brow at the odd item by the sofa and bent down to pick it up.

“Did you drop this Thor?”

Your glass fell to the floor while Thor’s shocked grip shattered his own at the sight before you both.

Bob was standing with Mjölnir in his hand.

[crystallizedday]

SO

I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE NEW DELTARUNE CHAPTERS OR I WILL EXPLODE

I wanna primarily talk about my take on the knight’s identity, but I’ll sprinkle a few other thoughts of mine in if I can, cause HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Anyway

MASSIVE spoilers for Deltarune chapters 3 & 4.

DO NOT CLICK READ MORE IF YOU DO NOT WANNA GET SPOILED!!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!

So

To me, it’s down to Dess & Carol Holiday.

Like

Look at this design.

Those are DEFINITELY antlers.

Toby knows his audience.

He’s poked fun of it in the game before (ie the theorist rant about Mike)

To me, he wouldn’t just include a design detail like that & NOT expect us all to think about the Holiday’s

So either he intentionally made them look like horns

Or it’s a red herring

& I highly doubt it’s the latter.

I DO think there’s a potential red herring, but it’s not in the knight’s design.

SPEAKING OF TOBY KNOWING HIS AUDIENCE & LIKELY HAVING THESE SPRITES HAVE SPECIFIC DETAILS

THOSE HAND HOLES ARE NOT A COINCIDENCE, & I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL!!

However, I don’t think it’s as mind blowing as it may seem at first.

Most of the fandom already agrees that Gaster has SOMETHING to do with the plot of Deltarune.

The hand holes don’t feel like something that indicates that Gaster is the knight.

Instead, it feels like it merely connects the knight TO Gaster.

Either the knight serves the former scientist (since there is no knight without a leader they follow)

OR

They BOTH are of equal power, people who were once of the light now prisoners of the dark.

Whether they have the same goal is… not clear.

However, the very fact that we now have solid (even if unspoken & rather interpretive) confirmation that the knight and Gaster ARE related

Is a big deal

Even if we all kinda knew that already.

NOW

Back to the Holiday’s.

I actually played through chapter 3 & 4 myself without looking anything up beforehand.

Yes, I missed some things, but from what I DID see, I first came to the conclusion that Carol, Noelle’s mother, was the knight.

In chapter 4, Kris talks to someone on the phone.

Kris seems to be working with someone who wants the dark worlds to spread & grow, hence why they stop the player from reading the bunker code written inside Dess’ guitar (keep that last fact in mind).

We don’t know for certain who this voice belongs to.

Is it the knight?

Gaster?

The same person Spamton spoke with back before his fall from fame?

It all seemed ambiguous

Until this happened.

Kris tells the person on the phone that they failed to stop Susie from getting the guitar.

The person then says they’ll be “right there…”

Which leads to

You cannot tell me with a straight face that this is a coincidence.

Noelle KNOWS her mom’s work hours.

Why would Carol suddenly come home so early?

If Carol was not the one on the phone, then someone or something HAD to come over to Noelle’s.

The voice specifically says “I’ll be right there.”

Not “I’ll stop her”

Or “I’ll send someone.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Carol is the ONLY person who arrives at the house before Susie’s kicked out & Kris follows her.

Not to mention

Like

Toby didn’t highlight “you” in RED merely to create emphasis.

He doesn’t do that.

We see him highlight stuff in YELLOW in this chapter

But NOT red.

I highly doubt Carol’s talking to Kris, or at least, not JUST Kris.

I think she’s talking to the player.

The “you.”

We know from chapter 2’s Snowgrave route (specifically when you are about to defeat Spamton) that “you” refers to the player, not Kris.

Carol’s line here feels intentional.

ANOTHER INTERESTING THING

This COULD be seen as like

A metaphorical thing

(ie to show how “cold” Carol is toward others)

But considering Noelle’s whole thing in chapter 2

& the background ambiance when she arrives

& how Susie comments on FEELING the ACTUAL temperature drop…

It just feels

Too odd to be purely metaphorical.

Do I think this confirms she is the knight?

No.

To me, it merely shows that Carol is a PART of whatever this whole thing is.

Carol COULD be the knight

But to me, it doesn’t feel as thematically fitting as Dess being the knight.

Cause like

Dess is MISSING.

We don’t know HOW she went missing.

No one hasn’t seen her in quite a long time.

It makes sense that Dess, either willingly or forcefully, became the knight.

& when I say “became”

I mean like

MORPHED into it.

She IS the knight.

It is no suit of armor she can take off.

It is no dark world form she can shed if she were to enter the light world (assuming she ever could).

She IS the knight, & the knight is HER.

She is forever warped by a past event we have yet to see.

Plus

Carol feels like she has a few intentional red herrings that would make fans point to HER as the knight

Mainly the kitchen katana that she apparently uses to cut fruitcake with.

THAT feels like a straightforward red herring

Cause it’s TOO obvious.

Besides

The knight doesn’t wield a katana.

If Carol were the knight, I feel like the knight’s sword would be a lot more elegant looking, more katana-like.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see Carol KNOW about her eldest daughter’s fate & actively be working with her.

…

Also WHY IS THERE A NOTE IN DESS’ GUITAR??

Who put that there?

WHEN did they put that there?

I doubt it was Carol. That feels like a weird place to put a code. She feels like the character to have the code on HER at all times.

The code was likely from Dess herself.

Why was it put there?

To remind Dess how to open it (likely causing her to explore the shelter & later go “missing)?

Or perhaps

Somehow

It was written after her disappearance

As a quiet call for help

For SOMEONE to open the bunker & end the nightmare.

Carol could still know about the code without being the one to write it.

If Kris can spot the note so easily after only looking through the guitar ONCE

We can wager that Dess’ MOTHER, who LIVES in that house, likely found out about it at some point, ESPECIALLY if she truly is a part of the madness somehow.

Assuming this is all true, I wonder if Carol never plucked the note out because doing that would require breaking the guitar in some way, & she does not have the heart to do it.

That idea’s more headcanon-y than anything

Cause I’d just love to have a scene like that play out

Where she mumbled to herself about just getting rid of the damn note

But can’t without hurting the strings

Showing that she DOES still care. She DOES have humanity.

It’s just buried in the freezing cold.

…

… so while this seems like a good ending spot

I wanna say one last thing.

Fellas.

F e l l a s.

The later chapters don’t HAVE to abide by a set formula.

I keep seeing people argue whether this or that was the secret boss

& I’m just like

Fellas

It doesn’t have to match chapter 1 & 2’s format.

Hell, chapter 2 diverted from chapter 1’s format by making IT’s secret boss someone you encounter in game no matter how you play, a stark contrast from Jevil, who you can play the entire game without ever seeing a LICK of dialogue about him.

I think, out of everything, we shouldn’t worry about “who the secret boss is.”

No.

We should be more concerned about the shadow crystals & where they end up.

Cause APPARENTLY

DEFEATING THE KNIGHT IN CHAPTER 3 LEADS TO SUSIE CHIPPING OFF A PIECE OF THEIR SWORD

& WHEN YOU GO TO PICK UP THE SHARD

YOU ADDITIONALLY GET A SHADOW CRYSTAL!!

At first, I assumed the shadow crystal came FROM the sword, but that may not be entirely right.

Even still, I think the crystals either come FROM the knight

Or the knight & the crystals come from the same place.

Now, how specific characters get a hold of it

Is… up in the air.

We see Gerson hand one to Susie in chapter 4.

He tells her that someone likely wanted him to use it, but he didn’t find it interesting, so he never really did anything with it.

Perhaps someone (the knight, Carol, Gaster, who knows) is giving certain Darkeners shadow crystals for some unknown reason.

Whatever the reason is, considering the bosses to get these shadow crystals all tie to EXTREMELY hard boss fights, it’s likely a source of power the corrupts the user, just as it did with Jevil & Spamton.

So

By that logic

I suppose the knight IS the secret boss

But more so that the secret to the boss is that it’s winnable

Which feels

Very hilarious & overall Toby-ish to me, not gonna lie. IWNWODMWOCKSOMXOSMXODCM

But uh

Seriously.

We gotta look at how these bosses connect on a far less shallow level. We can’t be too occupied with interpretive patterns in the chapters’ varying story beats

Cause those story beats aren’t always gonna be repeated.

After all, repeating story beats make the rest of the potential chapters predictable

& I doubt Toby’s gonna be doing that…

Anyway uh

That’s all for now.

…

Ya know

Aside from how we finally got concrete confirmation that monsters bleed (so the whole “when you kill sans, you cut through some ketchup he had hidden away to make it look like blood” debate no longer matters)

Ralsai directly addressing how there MUST be another ending to their story (& suggesting that Toby’s “one ending” claim may be tied to the prophecy specifically)

Dead monsters having the capacity to be “revived” in the dark world, even if we can never be sure if it’s really “them”

THE FUCKING SNOWGRAVE CONTINUATION SCENE IN CHAPTER 4

LIKE HOLY SHIT

But that last one’s for another time

… probably.

For now, imma just

Close off my ramblings here before I spend another 2 hours of my day talking about how these two chapters absolutely DESTROYED my brain.

[nebulations]

[ID: An excerpt from Volume 5 of TGCF. It reads:

“San Lang, just how did you offend them?” Xie Lian whispered. Before Hua Cheng could answer, someone else had already asked in Xie Lian’s place. “That’s right, I never asked, but what brings all of you here to catch that ghost king? What’s the story?” With that, their condemnation meeting began. “Just talking about it brings fury to my heart! Twenty years ago, there was a pig spirit who went crazy and uprooted the village master’s household. The building collapsed and the whole family was killed, and the pig fled to Ghost City. I’d only just entered the trade at the time. I chased after the creature, but I was beaten to a pulp by a bunch of ghosts. What humiliation! He also sent one of his lackeys to tell me that if you eat a whole family of pigs, it’s only fair for a pig to slaughter your whole family in revenge. It’s your lucky day if the pig doesn’t seek revenge; if it does, then you deserved it. Now tell me, what is that rotten logic?!” “What a coincidence! Our sect experienced something similar, but it was in regards to a rooster spirit!” “Our story’s simple. The heavenly official we worshipped in our sect had his name on his hit list, so no matter how many temples we built, he’d always burn them down. What an outrage! Absolutely unreasonable!” “Hear, hear. You all know of my shixiong, right? He was talented and had an infinite future! He only had one tiny vice: he loved to dally with women. Decades ago, a prostitute ghost seduced my shixiong and sucked him dry—turned him into human jerky. That Hua…Hua…that ghost king dared shelter her.” The criticism was flaming down below, but above it, Hua Cheng looked bored out of his mind, not even bothering to give a taunting smirk. “I think I’ve heard of your shixiong before,” Heaven’s Eye said. “Wasn’t he the guy who would force himself on married women under the pretense of conducting rituals and ceremonies? The one who got locked up for three months?” End ID]

thinking about all of the Featured™️ ghost city citizens - the pig, the rooster, and presumably(?) jian lan - who were hunted by cultivators after taking revenge (or even just defending themselves) against awful people who had hurt them or their loved ones….and then came to ghost city and were protected and defended by hua cheng.

this isn’t the first time the idea of hua cheng being a defender of the downtrodden and abused is mentioned either - at the very beginning of black water arc, when they’re going through the fake list of people that the reverend of empty words has killed, hua cheng jumps in to say “no, that’s wrong, because i killed those people.” and xie lian makes sure to note that all of the people whose deaths he claimed were awful, vicious tyrants and evil people.

and like. of course. in the kiln. the forging of e’ming. the humans he saved. but my point is that is not a one-off moment - it goes to the core of who hua cheng is.

like not only does that say so much about why the ghost city residents love hua cheng so much and are so loyal to him, it shows that he has the kind of reputation where, if you’re being persecuted, you can go to ghost city and hua chengzhu will shelter you. ghost city isn’t a scary place, unless you’re a piece of shit. it’s a safe haven for the victims of the world because hua cheng makes it that way.

[bewitched-hours]

https://www.tumblr.com/bewitched-hours/785457462606184448/okay-zo-hello-could-you-maybe-make-a-fic-about?source=share

Hii, zame anon here!! :33 could you maybe make another fic about thiz one:3? Like a zecond chapter or zomething (idk what to call it DX)

Alzo, if you don't wanna do it, feel free to ignore thiz!! No prezzure at all!!<3

Reminder to take care of yourzelf, drink water and eat!! Or I'll be in your ventz tonight!!

I'd love to but I'm gonna call you Zanon from now on

So, Zanon, enjoy yourself a part 2 to our lovely tale!

Like before, the reader's pronouns are they/them!

"Look, I know this is a lot to take in-"

"What did you expect to happen?!" You were irritated. How long was Shedletsky planning to hide 1x1's existence from you? How long did he expect this to work??

Shed knew he fucked up. He knew you wanted answers and although it was uncomfortable to him, he was willing to tell you everything.

Not like he had a choice-

"Is that why you were always relieved when we were up against other killers???" You asked in desperation, searching for answers you already had.

Shedletsky could only sit beside you on his bed, running his hand up and down your back in an effort to comfort you.

The other survivors were already told what happened and advised to let him handle this on his own.

"What- I was just- supposed to forgive and forget???"

"No- of course not! I just... Didn't know how to tell you without making you want to see her..."

"Of course I'd want to see my sibling! Family is supposed to love each other- You said that yourself!"

You were a mess...

But when Shedletsky was done explaining, he offered to let you talk with 1x1 next time he was in a round with you. That sounded reasonable enough in your mind.

And by plot convenience pure coincidence, that would be this very next round!

As planned, you were left as LMS with 1x1, who was menacingly staring up at you with a smirk.

"I can see it on your face... You know the truth now, don't you?" Her voice felt almost mocking, especially when you could only nod.

"And so opposites meet as family... even though we aren't connected through an even decent parent-"

"Shut up." Your voice was demanding again. 1x1 was definitely annoyed at how insistent you were on not letting anyone talk badly about your creator.

She just scoffed, trying not to kill you since he knew you wanted to talk.

"Why are you so insistent on killing papa?"

"I'm an embodiment of hatred, what do you think?"

"And yet I can feel other things than love..."

"Is that meant to mean anything to me?"

"No but you're acting childish."

"CHILDISH?!?!?!?! I'LL SHOW YOU CHILDISH-"

And you were back at the survivor cabin... The round ended before 1x1 could take a swing at you.

Although a relief, you still had many more questions and wanted to find a way to break through the hatred.

To show that what you embody isn't all you're meant to be.

But would 1x1 understand that?

Yeah, it was pretty short but I hope it was sufficient...

Anything you'd like to request/ask? Check out my pinned post first and I'll be happy to write up whatever you want!

[suugarbabe]

remus lupin x reader

summary: its been a year since you’ve seen everyone, but fate seems to have brought you back

warnings: smoking, drinking, fluff

an: Daeges is a traditional spelling of the name Daisy 😌; cariad is welsh for love/lover/beloved one

Time is a funny thing. The way experiences and events shape and reshape who you are as a person was always something you found fascinating. How a person could be one way for so many years and then one seemingly little event in the grand scheme of life turns everything upside down.

Your life after secondary school seemed so far away. It was the end of second term in your first year at university, yet it felt like two lifetimes had happened since leaving what you once knew. You had new interests, new motivations, new friends. Not for any horrible or traumatic reason; you just..grew apart from everything. Everyone.

At least that’s what you had thought. Daeges, your roommate, had been persistently pestering you to go out with her. “Just one pub, please. I want you to meet the girl I've been talking to. I need to know if you approve, please, please, please,” signature pout was on overtime, puppy dog eyes in attendance as well; and how could you say no to her when she’d done so much for you.

“Fine,” you huffed, agreeing to just one pub. One drink even, but that was it. It was only on the walk from your flat to said pub did Daeges inform you that this girl she had been falling for was bringing a few friends of her own. For the life of you, you couldn’t remember the girl's name either. Mar something? Marissa? Martha?

“Marlene!” Daeges shouted above the crowd after you entered through the heavy wooden pub door. Goosebumps flushed over your arms at her exclamation, thankfully hidden by the cropped leather jacket you opted for on the cool summer night. You hadn’t heard that name in a while, it had to be coincidence.

Daeges pulled you through the crowd, your nerves rising as you waited to meet the guest of honor for the night. Once broken through the crowd, Daeges quickly wrapped her arms around Marlene. It wasn’t a coincidence.

Her hair was a little longer now, a shaggy cut with a color streak or two. Very little guessing on your part of who contributed to that if the group was any bit the same as you left them.

You chose to stare at your feet while they greeted each other. Marlene’s voice carrying that same excited tone you’ve heard so many times before. When they finally pulled away you heard your name falling in shocked tones from Marlene’s lips, “Holy shit, is it really you?”

Shy eyes meet her stunned expression before you give a timid smile, “It’s really me. Long time no see, huh, Marls?” In an instant you’re in a bone crushing embrace, “I’ll bloody fucking say so, babes.”

Daeges was thoroughly, and rightfully, confused, “Sozz, I’m playing catch up here. You two know each other? From where? How long? How did I miss this?”

You scratched the back of your neck, your tell of bashfulness, “We went to secondary together.”

“And primary!” Marlene interrupted, “Known’em since we were eleven! Little tots, us and the rest. Oh they’re going to freak when they see you. I was just picking up drinks for us all now.”

Your roommate crossed her arms, “Why did you not tell me sooner?” You huffed with a shrug, “You call her Mar! That could be short for anything. We haven’t talked since we graduated, went to different Unis before I transferred. We lost touch and I just..”

“Just never reached out is what you did, you fucker. Siri thought he saw you across the lawn one day but James was certain he was just hallucinating. The shit he’s gonna give knowing he was right..” Marlene grabbed the tray of drinks, you and Daeges following close behind with your own.

You’d had hoped your falling behind would go unnoticed, maybe the excitement of meeting Marlene’s new girl would be a distraction. Daeges, however, caught on, “Oh, no you don’t,” she hooked her elbow with yours, “I’m officially the only stranger in the group.”

“I’m basically a stranger,” you scoffed, “It’s been over a year since I’ve spoken to any of them. Didn’t even tell them I transferred here…fuggin’ hell they’re gonna murder me. This’ll be a breeze for you.” That made Daeges smile..smirk more like it.

The drinks were a good enough distraction that you went unnoticed. That and the fawning over Marlene’s new love interest made it easy for you to blend into the background. But like a dog to a bone, you swear Sirius could smell you, “Is that who I think it is?”

Like a treacherous traitor, Daeges stepped aside, pushing you in front of her, “Oh you mean your apparent long lost friend? Please, have at’em.” A quietly mumbled (and playful) I hate you slipped from the side of your mouth as a chorus of cheerful calls of your nickname peppered the air.

As history would attest, Sirius was still the loudest of the bunch, “See, Prongs! I fucking told you I saw them…I deserve a shot or something.”

James rolled his eyes with broadway exaggeration, “Oh please, Pads. Don’t use that as a bloody excuse just go get a round.” Sirius gave a dazzling smile, placing a kiss to your temple in greeting before heading to the bar.

Attention turned back to you, James arms open wide, “Alright, c’mere…I don’t care how long it’s been I'm still a hugger.” Daeges watched in amusement as James gave you a squeeze. You allowed yourself to be squeezed, too, knowing all too well the repercussions of resistance when it came to your old curly haired friend.

“You know they’re hating this,” Daeges whispered to Marlene, sinking further into her side. Marlene only smiled, “You haven’t seen the best part.”

Once finally released from his hold, James stepped aside and you felt immediate heat spread over your cheeks. You hoped and prayed the dim lights of the pub made it less noticeable. He somehow looked even better than you remembered, sharp cheekbones and soft lips; a new scar ran over the left side of his top lip.

“Still getting into trouble, Moony?” Your tone was light, cautious with your teasing. Remus’s smile grew, “You know me, cariad..” Your heart raced at the old pet name you’d nearly forgotten.

Thankfully, Sirius came back with a tray of shots; a welcome distraction from your racing thoughts. Daeges fit in perfectly, you had no doubt that she would. She and Marlene were cute together.

The group started sharing stories, mostly old pranks and other shenanigans you all used to get up to while at school.

“Gods, you should’ve seen these two in action, Daise,” James slung an arm over your and Marlene’s shoulders, “Moony and Padfoot would start chasing each other in an argument and no one was quicker at rounding them up and putting them in their place. It was impressive work.”

Daeges turned to look at you, eyebrows raised. You simply shrugged your shoulders before downing your gin and tonic, feigning ignorance. A few more stories were told from this past year, ones that didn’t involve you. It made you happy to hear they were all nearly the same people, but somewhat sad at the same time.

Emotion must have been written on your face, Remus tapping your shoulder. You looked over, seeing him motion his first two fingers to his lips. You nodded immediately, following Remus to the back patio of the pub.

He found you both a quiet corner before pulling two cigarettes from his shirt pocket. He lit his own first, ignoring your open hand asking for his lighter. Instead he grabbed either side of your face, leaning forward to touch the tip of his cigarette to yours.

You inhaled to help it light and once it did, Remus leaned back, blowing smoke into the air, “Atta, babe. Was worried you might’ve forgotten that trick.”

Ignoring the obvious blush rushing down your neck you shook your head, “Don’t, Rem.”

Remus chucked slightly, “Don’t what? Praise you? I thought you liked that.” He crossed his arms before taking another drag and playfully wiggling his eyebrows.

You bit your lip to hide your smirk, “You don’t..you don’t know me. Not anymore. I’m not the same person that left school with you guys.”

Remus shrugged, “That’s okay. I’ll just get to know you again.”

You scoffed, “Oh really?” Your arms were the ones crossed now, “It’s just that simple for you?”

He laughed lightly with a shake of his head, “I’m no fool, cariad. I know nothing is simple with you.” You gave him a playful shove, causing a boyish giggle to leave his lips, “Hey, okay, I just meant you’re stubborn!”

You pushed him again, “That’s not any better, Rem!”

The sound of the pub’s back door signaled the appearance of both Sirius and Marlene. When given a questioned look, Marlene shook her head, speaking around the cigarette she was currently lighting, “Don’t worry I didn’t leave her alone with James.”

“Lilly showed up,” Sirius added. You nodded in understanding, knowing your friend had the perfect buffer for James’s positively joyful rambling.

After a long drag, Sirius spoke again, “Bit cross we haven’t properly ran into each other since your transfer. Been far too long since I’ve seen that dopey smile on our Moony’s face but fifteen alone with you..”

“Padfoot..” Remus warned, and dark and broody in both tone and posture.

Classically, Sirius ignored him, “Woof.. back and dopier than ever.” With that, Remus lunged for Sirius, the shorter boy yelping, taking a long drag, then throwing his cigarette into the night before hustling into the pub, Remus hot on his tail.

“We would’ve smoked that, you know!” Marlene called after them before settling back against the wall next to you, shaking her head. “He’s talked about you a few times, actually. Siri’s not just fucking with you.”

Warmth spread in your chest, “Yeah?”

She nodded, “Comes out more when he’s a little buzzed, those protective barriers of his a little easier to push through…but yeah. We all miss you.”

The back door swung open once more, this time revealing a mop of curls and a slightly out of breath James, “Marls, we need ya..Moony and Pads there..” Marlene waved her hand in his general direction.

She threw the stub or her cigarette to the ground before crushing it with the toe of her boot. She turned to you with a grin, nodding towards the door, “You wanna team up? For old times sake?”

You gave a playful huff of a sigh, “Fine…I’ll take Remus.”

Marlene snorted, “Yeah, I bet you will.”

[jikooklove9795]

Speaking of the White Day, Silver Day, Valentines posts made by Jikook, discussion. Did you notice Jimin posted this very "BF" looking picture of him and JK on Sept 18th, before their flight, which happens to be First Love Day.

https://x.com/BTS_twt/status/1439177327053660163

I'm not saying Jimin knew what the date actually was when he posted it, of course. Then again, Jimin is super smart. I'm just saying I just find it funny how the stars seem to align when it comes to Jikook, cause that is one heck of a cute coincidence and that boyfriend shot pose, is the icing on the cake. And it being on first love day, is just wild. All of these special/couple day posts and it seems to always be Jikook at the crime scene. IDK, I'm starting to think maybe the universe is trying to tell Jikook something lol.

Hi 😊

I don't know for sure if Jimin posted this pic because it was First Love Day, but he’s clever and the type to notice things like that. Maybe he checked the date, saw what day it was and wanted to quietly mark it with a pic of him and his bf, who is also his first love. Let's be real, that was unmistakably a romantic couple pic. And just in case anyone forgot, they arrived at the airport together too.

Since we are on the topic of selcas, this feels like the perfect time to share a few Jikook selcas that are iconic due to the context behind them. (I'm posting only those which I haven't talked about before).

1) Let’s start with the most legendary one

Jikook posting these selcas when “hickey” was trending. This came right after their BTB episode aired, where we got a bold little reveal: Jimin gave Jungkook a hickey, and Jungkook? He proudly flaunted it, zero effort to hide it. Then, as the fandom spiraled and “hickey” trended, they dropped selcas like it was no big deal. The timing? Impeccable. The attitude? Wild. Unbothered. Completely unapologetic. Jikook said, “We see you and we’re feeding the fire.”

2) This one’s extra special. It's an anniversary selca!

Their very first selca together was posted on April 19 2013. Fast forward to 2022, and the first Jikook selca of that year was shared on the same date: April 19. From their very first moment captured together to this gentle, full-circle echo—it's subtle, sweet, and undeniably romantic. Some things are really written in the stars.

3) Next up, the holy trinity of selcas—you know the ones 🤭

The “we just had a make-out session and felt cute so we took pics” energy is off the charts. Their faces? Soft. Glowy. The chemistry? Screaming. Bold of them to drop these like it’s just another day, as if we wouldn’t notice the post-kiss daze written all over their faces. Honestly, it’s giving lovers caught in the moment and they knew exactly what they were doing. Romantic with a wink. Classic Jikook 💛💜

4) A selca which holds a lot of backstory

This selca was posted on 4th June 2023 at 9:01, Jungkook time. This was the same day JJK1 was officially announced.

Does it end here?

No. There's more unfolding to be done here.

June 4 is special. Its the day Jungkook's Still With You was released in 2020. And 3 years later, on the 3rd anniversary of Still With You, JJK1 was announced and Jimin posted 3 selcas at Jungkook time on his IG.

A few hours later Jungkook went live, watched Jimin videos and talked about their rainy day fight. And those who have noticed know that a lot of the emotions Jungkook captured in Still With You was born out of Jikook's rainy day fight.

5) The selca which brought out Jungkook's fanboy moment

Jungkook popped into a jikook fan cafe gc and this was his reaction when Jimin's selca dropped. Totally real, totally extra and totally adorable.

6) Birthday posts for members? More like soft launch season for Jikook

7) Just out of frame but never far

Jimin first shared this selca where part of Jungkook’s shirt seemed to be peeking through, sparking curiosity among jkkrs about whether Jungkook was right next to him or not. Not long after, Jimin posted the full picture confirming the suspicions and sending fans into a frenzy.

These selcas tell a similar story too. Jimin posted these in late August 2020

Then later posted these selcas for Jungkook's birthday

It was his subtle way of reminding us that he's always with Jungkook whether its seen or just felt.

Ending this post with this beautiful video

Credits to the owner of the videos

[longingforrotkehlchen]

Since our lovely friend @kavohh707 has asked, I'll try to explain what the situation was, since it's a bit complex in principle.

I was enjoying my birding business as usual when I arrived at the pond, and a senior gentleman approached me and asked me if I knew which bird that was while pointing at a girl sitting with her boyfriend - and there I saw she was holding a tiny little grebe baby. (!)

I was really amazed and I asked what happened. They told me it was on the shore all alone, and that attempts to return it to the water resulted in the coots pecking at it (they have babies too). In that little map you can make out what the situation looked like. We were at the X.

So I just assessed the situation. I saw the little grebe adult already as I was coming from the path, but they dive and disappear quite easily. I realised the chick was really tiny and barely mobile, and that it must have just hatched – the first to do so clearly. And what must have happened is that somehow it got separated from the parent, got too close to the coots, got attacked, had to flee, and the parent must have lost sight. And once birds lose sight and earshot of their babies, they stop existing for them. Also, a little grebe is not going to get to the shore.

Anyway, I tried to locate the adult with the baby, but the parent was just foraging in the middle of the pond, minding its own business. It was impossible to get closer to it, and leaving the chick in the water so far away was very tricky – I was very sceptical a reunion could happen without other beasts interfering first.

I told the girl that in these situations, you can try to contact the local wildlife rescue, but that I wouldn't hold much hope given my past experiences with them. She did it anyway, and they hung up as she was explaining the reason for her call. Then she called the emergency number, and the dispatcher politely told her she should call the wildlife rescue service. I'll reserve further comments about how there's virtually no help for these cases in such a big city.

Given there were no other options, I had to try to access the fenced side of the pond, which is protected because that's where the birds build their nests (luckily the cygnets hatched a couple of weeks ago). I was hopeful that I could locate the nest, or at least an adult nearby.

The boy gave me impulse to climb the fence and of course I had to get all scratched with the barbed wire, but it was just superficial. At least I was able to land fine. They handed me the chick again and I tried to find the nest where the other adult must have been incubating, but it was impossible. I could hear the little grebe occasionally calling and got a glimpse of it, but still far – obviously they weren't going to approach me.

Finally, I realised all I could do was leave the chick there and hope for the best. As I thought of this, a crow perched over my head and I thought "of *** course", but it then left as my human presence was undesirable.

I laid the chick in the water, but it swam back and tried to climb to the shore in vain, so I put it on the shore, in the area under the trees, and left. It was so vulnerable and I was really not very optimistic.

Then I managed to climb back, the couple left, and I had to go too, but before I was gone, like not even 5 minutes later, I could see the chick climbing on the adult's back and my joy was so big that I had to run to tell the gentleman. Then both could be seen swimming together and it just seemed so simple, yet when I was holding that chick, I had barely any hope for it – I've had too many bad experiences, but now I've come to realise good things can happen too.

So yeah, once you see it in hindsight, it wasn't that difficult (apart from the trespassing). I'm so glad these youngsters rescued the chick and that it can have a second chance. Such a big coincidence, because that baby would have been easy prey for a crow without intervention.

Hopefully it does well in the future.

tl;dr: Some youngfolks found the chick on the shore and didn't know what to do, so I climbed up a fence to access the area where the adult was swimming and they got reunited.

Bird Log #051

Today birding was worth it because…

...We managed to save the babiest little grebe hatchling.

[tinyraptorhands]

Glasses

Your eyes? They hurt. Your contacts? Done.

As a pro hero in training, contacts were a must-at least, that's the excuse you gave your parents.

Lets be real.

You wanted contacts so you didn't have to wear those stupid chunky frames constantly, so you could easily put on make up and of course...

So you didn't look like a huge-ass nerd.

But today was a Sunday, and your prescription wasnt coming in until the next day. And your eyes needed the break.

You woke up, slipping on your glasses, blinking at the adjustment. You sat up slowly, looking to the side at your vanity mirror.

Ugh.

It was like you regressed in age, back to your old middle school self.

You hopped out of bed, getting ready for the day with your daily routine.

Hopefully no one would make too much of a fuss...

As you stepped off the elevator, you walked over to the kitchenette near the common room.

"Woah."

You heard a voice behind you, and you turned.

Kirishima stared at you, mid bite into his banana. His face was a light red. "(L/n)? You look..." he trailed off. You frowned.

"Like a nerd, I know." You said quietly. He shook his head violently.

"N-no way! The opposite!" He swallowed. He was quiet for a moment, as if to gather his thoughts. "You're actually...really pretty." He avoided your gaze, rubbing the back of his neck.

You blinked. A blush creeped over the apple of your cheeks and across the bridge of your nose. His eyes flicked up. "N-not that you aren't pretty as usual! Its like...a-a different kind of pretty! I can't explain it but..." he dug his hands in his basketball shorts, smiling bashfully. "Yeah..." He trailed off.

His words settle in your gut like hot lava. "You...think so?" You unconsciously adjusted your glasses, the fluorescent lighting winking off the glass. He nodded.

"Yeah, I...I wouldn't lie about that." He gave a shy smile. You gave him one back.

It felt like your friendship with the sharp toothed teen shifted.

You didn't mind that in the slightest. "Thanks, Kirishima. That...means alot to me." You looked down, a soft smile forming on your face, your blush deepening. He looked suprised for a moment, then broke out into a grin.

"'Course! It wouldn't be manly of me to not say something, y'know?" His hands shifted to his hips, and he looked proud; "Cause Red Riot wouldn't let the prettiest girl in class not know-"

"Prettiest?" Your face turned redder. He suddenly blinked, realizing what he had just admitted.

"U-uh..." he flushed, and soon his face really fit his hero name. "I...I mean....yeah, I-I do. Think that, I mean." You heard him audibly gulp, his confident demeanor suddenly taking a back seat. "...Should I shut up before I admit something even crazier?" He rubbed his neck again.

"...I mean. I think any girl would like being complimented like this." You grinned, leaning on the kitchen island. "But I would love to hear what else is going on in that head of yours."

He looked down, and took a few breaths.

You cocked your head.

Jeez. Whatever he has to say, it must be bi-

"I like you." His expression looked like he had snipped the wrong wire to a bomb, waiting for it to detonate.

You blinked.

He continued, "Like, romantically. I...I really, really like you. And I hope I didn't screw up anything by revealing that." He took a breath. "You can tell me to shut up and screw off, or call me a creep, I don't mi-"

He was cut off by your lips pressing against his own. He made a small grunt of suprise, and before he could enjoy it, you pulled away. Your face was red as a tomato.

"...Does...that answer any doubts?" You asked softly. He nodded, his brain static and tongue cotton. You giggled. "Good. Now...glasses on or off?"

Kirishima's gobsmacked face turned into the biggest grin you ever saw, cheeks ruddy. "Why not try both?" His hands slipped to your hips, and yours draped around his shoulders.

"I can do that." And you leaned in once more, lips connecting.

It wasn't too much of a coincidence that you wore your frames a little more often-because a certain crimson hero certainly wasn't complaining.

((Wanted to try writing for my second favorite character. Hope I did him justice!))

[lovelivision]

★‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ❝ GET YOU BACK! ❞

･ ⟢ ⋮ summary. . . toji is your ex-husband and he deeply regrets ever having let the marriage fall apart, he doesn't plan on giving up after the divorce though, determined to get you back. . .

.pairing﹒ꕀ. fushiguro toji / reader ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎wc.⁀⊹ 3.4k

warnings.ᐟ.ᐟ 18+ only, smut, mdni, swearing, porn with some (?) plot, biting, dirty talk, cunnilingus, fingering, p in v sex, unprotected sex (don't be silly, wrap your willy), creampie, f!reader, toji is a little obsessed maybe

Toji is still so desperately in love with you – his ex-wife – and he’s refusing to let you forget just how much you mean to him. Always showing up whenever you need him and if he’s being honest, maybe scaring away potential future relationships. He swears he has good reasons for each of them though, that first guy was definitely taking advantage of you because you were sad from the divorce and the other guy… well, he had a creepy vibe.

Maybe he’d feel worse about it if he thought any of them deserved you, hell he thinks he barely deserves you, let alone these fucking losers. You’re far too special to him and he regrets ever letting the marriage get to the point where you left but he’ll spend every day he has left trying to get you back.

Every time you call him for something – or to tell him off for something – his heart stammers in his chest. Your voice like music to his ears, stupid smile on his face even when you’re mad at him, far too adorable for him to be annoyed.

You’re frustrated and huffing down the line at him, “Toji, are you even listening to me?”

“Of course I am,” he snickers, “I love listening to you.”

“This is exactly what I mean, Toji… you need to move on,” sigh more sad than anything else.

Countering with, “Can you honestly tell me you’ve moved on?”

There’s a heavy silence from your end of the line, pausing for slightly too long before dodging his question, “…Stop meddling in my life and find someone else.”

“I don’t want anyone else.”

“Maybe you should’ve been this communicative during our marriage then.

He imagines your lower lip pulling up like how it often did when you were at your wits end with him, his heart pulling at the thought, he misses you so damn much. “I’ve never wanted anyone else, doll. I–”

“–Could’ve fooled me,” before he can interrupt, you add, “I’m hanging up now and I don’t plan on reaching out to you again… bye, Toji.”

The line dead just as he opens his mouth to reply, soft groan leaving him, frustrated with himself for going a tad too far this time. For now, he’ll give you space, just for now, he’s hoping that you’ll cave and call him again, hoping you miss him just as much as he misses you.

He has so many regrets from the relationship, he should’ve been more attentive, he should’ve been more emotionally available for you. He’s always loved you, loved you so much that he could barely breathe, it’s his mistake that he didn’t show that to you enough while you were his. If he could go back, he would’ve never stopped doing the little things, he wouldn’t have let himself take you for granted…

A few weeks go by after that call and you haven’t reached out to him at all, he’s growing impatient, missing the sound of your voice. It’s a complete coincidence when he runs into you, you’re on the side of the street with some guy. You don’t notice Toji but he definitely notices you, how could he not?

You’re all dressed up and looking so pretty and just as he’s about to leave so he can avoid whatever is about to happen, you slap the man. The smile on Toji’s face appears suddenly and with little control on his part, though he doesn’t deny that he enjoys the way you’re clearly cursing the guy out. Only watching for a moment and then quickly moving to your side because the guy is getting angrier, his fists balling at his sides as his jaw clenches.

Toji places his hand on the small of your back, towering over the man in front of you both. Though he’s mostly ignoring him, addressing you instead, “You look real pretty tonight, doll.”

You’re clearly surprised, having tensed at his touch until you heard his voice, “Toji? What are you doing here?”

“Just passing by when I happened across an interesting scene,” he’s feeling some type of way at the fact you visibly relaxed when it was him next to you, smug maybe? Maybe just pure happiness that you’re still comfortable around him.

“Try not to look so pleased,” your eyes roll at him and he can’t help but notice how pretty the particular shade of them is under the lights tonight.

“Uhh, hello?” your presumed date makes himself known, “Who the fuck is this and can you tell me what the fuck I did to deserve being slapped?”

You snap back, not in the mood to deal with his attitude right now, “You’re a fucking creep is what you did and who this is, is none of your business.”

His tone is all matter-of-fact when he talks again, “This is a date, the third one actually and–”

“I’m telling you right now that you don’t want to finish your sentence,” you’re trying to warn him, not for your benefit but his, “just leave and block my number.”

He goes to argue with you some more but Toji finally pulls his gaze away from you to look at him and if looks could kill, this guy would be dead and no one would know where to find his body. Apparently thinking better of it, your date turns tail and leaves, stomping angrily away from the two of you.

“What’d he do to deserve a slap like that, doll?”

“I’m not in the mood to entertain you, Toji…” you rub at your temples, a habit you’ve had for as long as he can remember, “but thank you… for your help.”

“I’m always here for you,” he frowns, hurt to think you don’t know that, don’t know that he’s always, always here for you. “I don’t want you thinking–”

You raise a hand, interrupting his sentence, “Stop… stop saying the things I wish you’d said while we were married.”

“Can we go somewhere to talk?” you’re clearly hesitant at his ask but he needs to tell you how he feels, tell you so that you understand, “Please.”

Tentative expression on your face but a low sigh letting him know you’re about to cave, “Fine but after this… you need to really try to move on, we can’t keep doing this song and dance.”

He doesn’t answer, not willing to agree to something he couldn’t possibly do. Your eyes close for a moment before blinking back open, head shaking at him but you don’t push him.

Toji’s place is closer but he doesn’t want you in such a shitty neighbourhood at night so you both go back to your house, the house you once shared. While inside, he can’t help himself and he’s snooping, looking for changes to the place and aside from all the things he took with him when he left, it’s much the same.

Walking down the hall only to get caught on your wedding photo, still on the wall. The hope he has at the sight of it doesn’t feel fair, doesn’t feel fair because he doesn’t know if it’s false hope or not.

Your voice from behind him pulls him from his thoughts, “Do you want some tea or something?”

“No,” he pats the top of your head a couple times like he used to do so often, “no, I’m alright.”

“…Then let’s go to the living room,” head nodding in the direction.

It’s quiet for a few moments, neither of you knowing where to start or who should speak first. Toji supposes he should since he’s the one who basically begged to be able to talk to you.

“I know I let you down during our marriage but I need you to know that I always loved you – I still love you, so much.”

Your gaze avoids his and he knows it’s because you’re emotional, eyes looking upwards as you fight to stop yourself from crying, “Is that all?”

“Not even close,” he moves closer to you on the couch, his hands reaching for you and cradling your face, forcing eye contact, “I neglected you and for that I’m so fucking sorry.” Thumb wiping away a stray tear, “I love you.”

“I don’t want to forgive you,” lower lip wobbling, “if I forgive you, you might do it again or you might actually stop loving me and then what? And then I have to go through all of this again?”

He pulls you into his arms, hugging you firmly, “I won’t stop loving you,” face pressing into the top of your head, nuzzling you, “won’t ever fuck up like that again, let me love you properly this time.”

You’re sniffling against his shirt, calming yourself first before answering him. Only doing so when you’ve collected yourself, parting from him enough to look into his eyes when you say, “Fine but I’m not marrying you again until you earn it.”

He can’t help himself, lips on yours and kissing you deeply, so elated at another chance that he couldn’t hold back. His tongue licking into your mouth and savouring the taste of you, he’d missed this so bad; the little noises you make, the way you nearly go limp in his arms, so weak for his kisses.

It’s rushed because of how desperate he is, hands moving to feel you up, groping your body needily. A huffed whine leaving you makes him groan, lips trailing down to your neck, nipping and sucking at your skin.

“Doll, I need you,” he’s basically pleading, he’s missed you so much though, borderline touch starved.

“Okay–” gasping when he bites at your shoulder, “the room, Toji–”

He grunts back at you, annoyed that he has to stop but picking you up and walking down the hall to your room all the same, you’ve got him wrapped around your pretty little fingers right now.

Dropping you unceremoniously onto the bed, causing you to bounce with the weight of it. Toji takes a moment to eye you up, trying to decide what he wants to do first, ultimately choosing to undress you.

“Toji, slow down–”

“–No,” it’s growled back, hands tugging your clothes off until you’re naked, “I’ll do you slow another time.”

So quick he drops to his knees, mouthing up the insides of your thighs. Normally he’d tease you, make you shaky and desperate for it but he’s in no position to play with you, already so desperate himself. Blowing gently onto your cunt just once before licking obscenely up the length of it, his spine shuddering at how sweet you taste, delighting in how you jolt and whine under his mouth.

You’re already so wet and leaking so insistently for him, he’s all too happy to lap at you. Chuckling darkly when your fingers tug at his hair and you whine frustratedly, wanting so much more from him.

“What do you want?”

Pouting back at him, “You know what I want”

Feigning ignorance just so he can hear you say it, so he can hear you ask for it, “Sorry, doll. It’s been a while; you have to remind me.”

“Inside,” you murmur out, all timid.

“Hmm?” he hums, like he didn’t hear you perfectly clearly. Going back to licking and sucking on your pussy, tongue flicking at your clit so cruelly.

“Toji~” you mewl, “inside– hah– I want you inside.”

His cock is aching, twitching in his pants at how pathetic you sound for him – for your ex-husbands dick. Feeling a little evil, he slides his tongue inside you, lewd slurping sounds leaving him as he fucks your hole with his tongue. Giving you what you wanted, filling you, just not with what you wanted.

Your back arching pitifully, moans tumbling from your lips so sinfully sweet that his hips jerk upwards, searching for some way to relieve himself. Hard dick rubbing against the zipper of his jeans, no doubt a wet spot forming through the material where the tip of him rests. Nuzzling into your cunt more, swallowing down the honeyed taste of you and moaning unashamed at it.

He feels insane just about now, in love with you, in love with your sweet pussy. Eyes heavy on you as he watches all of your little reactions, just knowing you’re close, your thighs fighting to close. His hands keep you spread wide, always getting a little extra joy and arousal out of your embarrassment.

Tongue leaving your tight heat only to be replaced with two of his thick fingers, opening you up so indecently. Mouth latching onto your clit, tongue flicking at it over and over, digits rubbing against your walls just how he knows you like. He wants you to cum before he fucks you, always so much wetter and hotter around him once you do. He wants it so bad, the memory enough to make him salivate, drooling onto your cunt.

Broken whines leaving you, “Hah– Toji– hnn– I’m close– I– ah!–”

Your walls flutter so delicate and enticing around his fingers, pulling him in deeper, clinging to him. Soft hum leaving him, acknowledging your words, it’s just his luck that the vibrations add to your pleasure. Legs kicking out as you come undone for him, all shaky and blissed out as your pussy tries to milk his fingers, wishing for something else entirely.

Toji’s brain feels like it’s melting, all gooey and obsessed with you when you’re like this. Helping you through your orgasm and trying his best to ignore the way his cock feels so heavy and hard in his pants.

When you whimper and push at his head lightly, he pulls back. His fingers withdrawing from your snug cunt, all coated in your cum. Without really thinking, like a man possessed, he shoves his fingers into his mouth. It’s filthy how he licks and sucks on them, cleaning them of your essence.

“Toji, stop being a pervert,” your words hold little weight when you still look so turned on and ready to be fucked by him.

He grins at you, standing to his full height, “You ready to remember the shape of me?”

You’re so gorgeous, all splayed out and blinking soft up at him, eyes dazed and twinkling from your orgasm, “Please?”

“Anything for my pretty, little wife,” he undresses for you.

Your eyes track him as he does but you also correct him, “Ex-wife.”

“Fine,” he rolls his eyes, crawling onto the bed over top of you, “Anything for my pretty, little, ex-wife.”

“I missed you a lot,” leaning up to him so your lips brush against his skin.

The words and your gentle touch send a shiver through him, precum dripping from the tip of his cock onto your skin. “I missed you too, doll, so much.”

Lips capturing yours in a heated kiss, all messy and tangled tongues. Kissing you properly, like he may never get to again, cause he almost didn’t get to. Not even parting when he positions himself at your entrance, slowly splitting you open with his cock. Damn near whining into your mouth, pushing the pathetic sound down, trying to keep control.

Eventually pulling away from the kiss just so he can watch you suck in his dick, biting his lip in what looks like a snarl as he slides inside. Appreciating how your pussy bulges around him so lewdly, barely halfway and looking so fucking stuffed.

He’s taken by surprise when your legs wrap around him and pull him in until his hips are flush to you, balls deep inside you all at once making him moan. Walls clingy and so fucking creamy soft, his cock swallowed up so greedily by your loving cunt. Brain fuzzy as he focuses on not cumming too soon.

It’s hard to keep that focus when you’re grinding up into him, pulsing hot and snug around him. Apparently just as touch starved as he’d been, a desperation in your need that he finds himself loving and understanding.

“Calm down,” his hand trails up your leg, from your hip to your knee, “I’ll fuck you good and proper.”

Gritting back at him, “Then do it.”

“Anything you say, doll.”

Hauling your legs up from under your knees, folding you in half and using his weight to hold you there. His laugh is a little cruel when you whinge up at him, brows pulled together as your mouth drops open.

His head right by yours with how he’s pressing into you, nipping the tip of your ear before he asks, “You ready for it?”

A little shaky under him but so certain when you nod back, “Give– hnn– it to me.”

“Yes ma’am,” he chuckles slightly, hips pulling back, cock dragging from your walls and then fucking back inside you so quick that the air leaves your lungs.

Toji’s head is spinning, your pussy really fucking missed him, hugging him so tight. So perfectly wet and needy that he’s going insane, having you writhing under him while he fucks you stupid.

“Are ya’ enjoying this?” he asks, angled thrusts hitting against your cervix, “You like getting fucked by your ex-husband?”

“Mhm,” nodding deliriously at him, too out of your mind with pleasure to bite back at him.

It’s cute, how you’re falling apart from just a few heavy thrusts, already fucked dumb and he’s just getting started.

“I can tell,” The sloppy wet sounds of your pussy filling the room making him so smug, “pretty cunt sounds so fucking happy to take me.”

“Don’t– ah!– don’t talk like that– hnn–”

Your protests mean absolutely nothing when your pussy betrays just how much you enjoyed his words, grin wicked on his face at how meek it sounded. “Aw I’m sorry, doll. Want me to be sweeter? Nicer maybe?”

“Yes– hng–” nails clawing into his back, the pleasure too overwhelming.

“Your pussy was made for me– hah–” he groans softly, “wrapped so warm and inviting around my cock.”

“That’s not– hnn–” moans shaky on your breath, “that’s not what I meant.”

He presses a kiss to the side of your head, “Was what I meant though.”

Opening your mouth to argue a little more only to be stopped when his thrusts get suddenly much more precise, hitting the same spot over and over and over, entirely on purpose. He knows what it does to you, he loves what it does to you. Relishing in the pitiful and broken moans leaving you, your cunt that much tighter around him, almost milking him.

Oh, you’re falling apart so perfectly under him, he’s not even sure you realise you’re cumming. Pulsing around him and whining desperately, it’s depraved and turning him on so much more. He fucks you through it, not daring to slow his pace, helping you enjoy and ride out your high.

Toji plans on playing with you for longer, have you cumming for him again, holding off on his own orgasm. At least that was his plan before you – in your cock drunk state – started muttering out, “I– hnn– missed you so so much, Toji. Love you– hng– love you, I love you, I l– ah!–”

He genuinely can’t help the effect your words have on him, cock jerking deep inside your cunt before he’s cumming. Rope after rope of his seed filling you so completely that it’s leaking out around the base of him. Deep moans vibrating his chest, eyes shut tight as he steadily rocks his hips into you.

Unable to stop himself, still grinding and rocking into you over and over. His cum making a mess out of the both of you and the bed, something you’ll chew him out for once you’ve exited your stupor.

When he does eventually stop, he keeps your legs folded up to your chest while he pulls out. A depraved and perverted desire to watch how his cock leaves your cunt, hole looking lonely while not stuffed full of him. His semen dribbling from you and down your ass, it’s turning him on again but you’re too out of it for another round right now.

Careful with how he lowers your legs back onto the mattress, moving to your side and pulling you to him. Both your chests pressed together, his fingers delicately trailing up and down your arm.

You’re drifting in and out of sleep when he promises you, “I’ll treat you so much better this time,” he doesn’t mind if you heard it or not because he’s going to prove it to you every day with his actions.

��.𝒏. i was in the middle of writing a drabble and did that thing where i accidentally added too much plot and then it turned into a mini fic... I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE IT THOUGH❕🤍 it's a little different from my usual stuff teehee

[⚠︎] — 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈.ᐟ do not reupload / repost / translate / plagiarise my works © all works are the intellectual property of lovelivision

[puprdou]

Being sandwiched between Kazutora and Baji would be an actual drdam come true oh lord 😩🫦

cw; mentioned piercings. suggestive. real.. i would die on the spot ngl.

“woah, not so fast, princess.” baji spun you around by your wrist, his usual frightening cocky grin spread across his face. you knew you shouldn’t have done it, shouldn’t have been so careless. teasing them so much was already dangerous, but going as far as to flirt and cozy up with other boys at a huge frat in college was a whole different level.

giggling awkwardly, you raised your hands in defense and backed up from the long haired boy, only to bump back into anothers’ chest. coincidently, that boy happened to be the kazutora, the one other boy you were hoping not to run into on your running away time for being such a cheeky little brat.

and baji was in front of you.

and suddenly you were cornered.

cornered between the two hottest guys you knew.

“b-baji, tora.. y-you guys know i was just fucking around right?-” “we know.” they muttered in unison as kazutora’s arms found themselves wrapping tightly around your waist. his iron grip was so tight that you could barely even breathe, but you couldn’t tell whether or not it was from the lack of air or the predictament you’d gotten yourself into as to why your face was burning such a bright shade of crimson.

“that doesn’t excuse you acting like a little attention whore though, does it, kazutora?” baji chided, an eyebrow raised. he lifted your chin up with his index finger, lazy eyes running along your form in the flashing lights of this damned party. “nah, i don’t think it does..” kazutora smirked, licking a long stripe up from the side of your neck to your ear, pierced tongue ending shivers down your spine.

“running around, cozyin’ up with all these guys, practically offerin’ ’em your pussy as if you don’t know that it’s ours.” baji scoffed, placing his thumb against your pouty bottom lip. he thought you looked cute like this, but that doesn’t mean they’re just gonna rid your punishment.

“guess we just have to show her again how much of ours she is, huh?” kazutora chuckled, earning a smirk out of baji. “yeah, guess we will.”

SORRY i cooked this up in a few minutes have this emm..

[pansy-picnics]

BRO IS ABSOLUTELY JSUT TORMENTED BY THESE CHICKENS and varians like “arent they cute theyre my babies ☺️💞”

hugo the first time: Ok well maybe they just hate everyone except var and his dad. That would make sense i guess

(rapunzel comes over one day and they allow her to pick them up w ease and snuggle and pet them)

hugo: …Okay well every animal likes rapunzel i saw her befriend a wolf once that doesn’t mean anything

(kiera and catalina come over and are also chill w them)

hugo: . Maybe its just a coincidence i cant be the ONLY one they hate

cue her slowly watching EVERYONE come over and have absolutely no issues w these chickens (even like nuru and yong they were hesitant about but not to the point of Violence like they were w hugo) and she eventually determines they literally Only Hate Her

He tells quirin (who actually does believe him) and hes like “Ohh they weren’t super fond of lance and the girls at first either I’m sure they’ll get used to you” which reassures him a bit so he just keeps trying to be nice to them hoping theyll change their minds eventually. They don’t. He finally gives up after like two years

I dont think quirin rlly has any animals on his farm cuz like hes a crop farmer and not a rancher but i do think they have a little flock of chickens and i need this to be a more widespread hc so bad. Not really any huge reason as to why i just like chickens and i think the idea of varian being a chicken dad is rlly cute. They all HATE hugo btw. He is Terrified of them

People are always asking them like. What about the raccoon??? aren’t you scared of him eating them??? and varians like. Ruddiger would die if i didnt give him apple slices every day. he doesn’t even technically live here he can go wherever he wants but the most he does in terms of finding his own food is eating a few bugs sometimes. I don’t think he remembers how to hunt or forage at all

[arminthada]

what are your thoughts on the mysterious gentleman thada? do you think he has memories from the previous timeline too or not?

hi nonnie (❁´◡`❁)

ooooh my first reset theory ask. okayyyyyyyy disclaimer first. although i'm a novel reader, i haven't finished reading and the series so far is pretty much unlike what i've read so i'm disregarding all information from the source material and this answer is based SOLELY on what we've seen in the first ep.

PERSONALLY I'm a very simple watcher so i'm not the type that has even contemplated a third timeline or anything. From what we've gotten so far in EP 1, my theory is that:

In the original/first timeline where Armin is receiving his award, I think Thada has an exclusively fan-idol relationship with Armin where TD/Thada is his first fan ever who's always been silently supporting Armin since the start of his career and refuses to meet Armin at all as a fan.

I have no clue on how Thada first met Armin but for now I'm just guessing that Armin being the nice guy that he is, has helped/met Thada at some point (I'm thinking something like a chance encounter like Jin/Akin in Top Form where one partner is shaken by the act of kindness and the other person doesn't even remember it at all) and Thada began looking up information about Armin and realised that Armin is also in the entertainment industry that he's in so he just silently supports/sends gifts to Armin all along, without asking for anything in return because he knows that he as the top CEO of a media enterprise couldn't possibly be with famous actor Armin.

And when Armin dies, I think Thada will also be in serious grief and his grief will somehow powered the "reset" for Armin to travel back in time to live his life differently so it could be a chance for both of them to get what they deserve.

So if we go by my theory that Thada has been Armin's FC since Day 1, I would guess that when Armin's "reset" happened and he got sent back in time to this second timeline, Armin's death + Thada's grief in the first timeline also triggered something in Thada, telling him to stop silently support Armin from now on and take a more active approach with Armin (I also think Thada has also gained some kind of telepathic powers of sensing dangers around Armin after the "reset") from now on.

This would mean that in timeline where Armin has traveled back to, up until this point Thada has still been silently supporting him Armin all along (sending him gifts like that recorder) but this time because Armin has been "resetted" which means Armin is going to act differently before hence Thada in this second timeline also feels compelled to act differently (be more proactive) from what he's always been doing in the past.

Therefore in this moment for example, I think this is the first time that Armin meets AND remembers Thada but not for Thada. Perhaps for Thada, it might be more apt to call it the first time he actively approaches Armin?

Therefore I'm positing that in this moment, Thada was supressing his inner fanboy TD to pretend as if he doesn't know his no.1 idol actor Armin.

because CLEARLY this CANNOT just be a COINCIDENCE. one does not COINCIDENTALLY meet the person they saved their life the other day IN THE MIDDLE OF A PARK =))))))))))))

Armin is so obviously clocking Thada's lie but Thada definitely makes up a compelling lie to cover it up.

A lie that fanboy Thada obviously has to follow up on so he orders his secretary to buy him flat at Armin's place like it's grocery shopping to him =)))))))

In conclusion, this "second" encounter cannot have been a coincidence.

So all that would also explain why Armin still has that recorder from TD aka Thada aka his first fan ever who's already been sending him gifts since Day 1 regardless whether it's the first or the second timeline.

I think veteran actor Armin travelling back in time and giving acting performances that are way more above his capability at that time also gave Thada a stronger conviction to actively pursue and protect him. Like after talking with Armin at the park and then seeing this footage, I think fanboy Thada feels even more determined to get closer to Armin. In kpop terms, he would be a full on delulu y/n fanboy but we're watching a BL series so this is just your average simping ceo male lead.

My answer is also heavily influenced by other brilliant theories like this post by @my-rose-tinted-glasses and this post by @doyou000me and this post by @cirphu so check out their posts also \(￣︶￣*\))

thank you for reading all of this and i really hope that made sense ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ

[lune-moon-nuit]

Hello! I apologize in advance if there are any mistakes, as English is my native language. I have seen many breakdowns and analyses of music, cinematography, and parallels supporting the Byler canon. However, I haven't come across much analysis of scene sequences. For example, I noticed that in episode 4x04, there’s a scene with Hopper and Enzo discussing Joyce. Hopper says Joyce isn’t his woman, and Enzo responds with something like, "Of course. She saved your life as a friend." Immediately after this scene, there's a conversation between Mike and Will. They first talk about Eleven and their last fight, then Will recalls being saved from the MindFlayer. He says the line: "It's you're saved me, guys. It was YOU." And he looks at Mike. This scene is quite ambiguous if we remember the earlier one about "the woman who saved Hopper as a friend," transitioning into a scene where Will talks to his "friend" Mike and recalls being saved at the end of season 2.Additionally, I remembered that in episode 4x02, right after the awkward hug between Mike and Will at the airport and Mike's strange behavior, there’s a scene where Robin tells Steve how she can't bring herself to talk to Vickie because she starts babbling nonsense in her presence—words flying out faster than she can process them. This sequence might also be important; it connects these scenes because the creators want the audience to draw parallels between Mike and Robin, who act awkwardly around the person they’re in love with

I had never realized the order of the scenes with key lines that highlight the characters, but you do make a point — it’s too many signs for it to be a coincidence !

[jessesluvr]

heyyy can you write jesse just completely smitten pinning over reader? i dont have any specific scenario though

jesse scenarios about him falling in love with you

author's note : okay ! soo i know you didn't have a specific scenario so i was like, "oh this is absolutely perfect because i can just write multiple". anyways, i hope you enjoy and thank you for requesting ! jesse my lover boy, i wish you were real. ps. i had to make 10 longer for a reason.

word count : 1.6k

1. patrol partner perks

jesse leans against the stables, trying not to look too eager as your name is read off the next patrol list. when his own name gets paired with yours, he tries to act cool—just a little nod and a quiet "sounds good." but the second you look away, he's grinning like an idiot. he tells himself it’s just coincidence, that he’s “pulling his weight.” but deep down? he knows exactly what he's doing.

he loves the quiet moments most—those stretches of trail where your horse trots beside his and you're both just… there. breathing the same winter air, sharing dumb jokes, talking about nothing. when you laugh at something he says, even if it’s barely funny, he swears he feels it all the way in his chest. like he's twelve again and this is his first real crush.

jesse doesn’t say anything. not yet. it’s enough for now, just riding beside you, memorizing your voice in the snow-covered silence, pretending it’s all just part of the job.

__

2. her laugh

it’s a dumb joke—something about infected tripping over a rake—but you laugh anyway, that breathy, real kind of laugh that makes you squint your eyes and toss your head back. jesse forgets the punchline halfway through just watching you react to it. his heart skips a beat, and he doesn’t even try to hide his smile.

he thinks about that laugh too much. like, way too much. when he’s alone in his room, or when the lodge gets too quiet, he hears it in his head and swears it warms him more than the fireplace ever could. he tells dina about it once, offhandedly, and she just snorts and says, “god, you’ve got it bad.”

maybe he does. but can you blame him? the world’s pretty dark these days, and your laugh—your real, open, no-holding-back laugh—is the one sound he’d risk anything to keep hearing.

__

3. small favors

you mentioned it once, offhandedly, while trying to zip up your jacket: “stupid thing always gets stuck.” you didn’t think anything of it. jesse, on the other hand, made a mental note. the next morning, your jacket is hanging on the hook outside your door with a fixed zipper—and a second jacket folded beside it. a better one.

you step outside, holding the note he left: “figured you deserved a jacket that actually works. don’t freeze out there. -j” your chest tightens just a little. it’s small, simple, but the thought behind it runs deep. you don’t even remember telling him that. he listened.

jesse pretends he didn’t do anything big. just shrugs when you thank him, gives you a crooked smile, and says, “can’t have my patrol partner freezing to death, right?” but the way he watches your hands test the zipper—how he lingers just a second longer than necessary—you know it meant more than that.

__

4. watching her from across the room

jesse sips his drink slowly, leaning back against the bar wall as his eyes find you across the crowded room. you’re laughing with dina and ellie, half-lit by the soft yellow glow of the hanging lights. your head is tilted back, your hands moving as you talk. he couldn’t hear what you’re saying even if he wanted to. doesn’t matter. he’s memorizing you like it’s the last time he’ll get to see you like this.

he catches himself staring and quickly looks away, cheeks burning, like some kid in high school. he tries to focus on his drink, makes small talk with seth from the gate shift, but every couple of minutes, his eyes drift back to you like he doesn’t have a choice. you don’t even notice. or maybe you do, but you don’t say anything.

he wonders if you ever think about him the way he thinks about you. probably not. you’re so full of light, and he feels like he’s just orbiting it—close, but never close enough.

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5. first aid excuse

you trip during a run—nothing serious, just a scrape on your hand. the kind that stings more than it bleeds. you're brushing it off when jesse sees it, his expression tightening instantly. "hold still," he says, pulling his bag around. "you should let the medic—" you start, but he cuts you off with a firm, “i’ve got it.”

he works with gentle fingers, more careful than he probably needs to be. the bandaid is crooked. the antiseptic stings. but it’s the way he’s looking at your hand—like it’s precious—that makes your throat tighten. he keeps glancing up at you, checking if you're okay, like that tiny wound meant the world.

jesse doesn't say why he insisted. doesn’t explain the slight tremble in his hands or the way his jaw clenches when he sees you flinch. but it’s written all over him: the fear of losing you, even to something small.

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6. that moment of silence

you brush snow off his shoulder after a long, cold patrol. just a quick, casual gesture—barely even thinking about it. but jesse freezes. his breath catches mid-laugh, and you don’t notice at first because you’re already walking ahead. his heart’s thudding, fast and loud in his ears.

your hand had been warm through his coat. gentle. like it belonged there. it was such a small thing, but to jesse, it felt like the earth shifted. he stands there for a second longer, staring at your retreating form with that look on his face again. like he’s stuck between wonder and heartbreak.

he jogs to catch up, cracking a joke to break the tension. you smile. he grins back. but he can still feel where you touched him—and he doesn’t want to brush it off.

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7. protective much?

you’re talking to some new guy at the bar, nothing flirty, just conversation. but jesse sees it from across the room and his stomach twists. he’s across the floor before he can stop himself, sliding in beside you with a hand on the back of your chair and a way-too-casual, “hey, didn’t know you were out tonight.”

the guy picks up on it immediately and drifts off after a minute. you raise an eyebrow at jesse. “everything okay?” “yeah,” he says, too quickly. “just… keeping an eye out.”

jesse doesn’t admit it, but he hates the idea of anyone else getting close to you. he knows it’s selfish. he knows he doesn’t have any right. but it doesn’t stop his heart from racing every time someone tries.

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8. birthday

you didn’t tell anyone it was your birthday. didn’t think it mattered. but when you step outside your cabin that morning, there’s a little wooden wolf carved from pine sitting on your step, with a note: “don’t forget you matter. -j”

your breath catches. it’s small, worn, clearly hand-carved. you trace the lines of it with your thumb and suddenly the world feels a little less cold. jesse didn’t say anything in person. he didn’t make a big deal. but that quiet gift, that little reminder—it’s exactly what you needed.

you find him later and just hug him, no words. jesse tenses for a moment, surprised, then melts into it. he presses his chin lightly to the top of your head and doesn’t let go for a long time.

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9. snowball war

you hit him square in the back with a snowball mid-patrol, grinning like a maniac. jesse turns around slowly, fake-offended. “oh, it’s on.”

what starts as one snowball turns into a full-on war. you’re both laughing, ducking behind trees, slipping on ice, shouting through the trees like you’re kids again. jesse loses a glove, gets snow down his back, but he doesn’t care. not when you’re smiling like that.

when he finally tackles you into the snow, pinning you playfully, his face hovers just inches from yours. and for a second, everything’s quiet. the laughter fades. just you and him, breathless in the snow. his heart hammers. he almost kisses you. almost.

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10. confession

you’re both sitting near the fire after a close call—breathing hard, clothes torn, blood drying on your hands. neither of you speaks for a while, the silence stretching long and heavy, the kind that only follows real fear. jesse stares at the flames, jaw tight, eyes distant. you glance over, trying to read him, but he’s somewhere else. somewhere scared.

“you okay?” you ask softly.

he doesn’t look at you when he says it. “if you’d died back there, i don’t know what i would've done.”

you blink, caught off guard. “jesse…”

“no,” he interrupts, finally turning to face you. “just let me say it. i’m tired of pretending like you’re just a friend. tired of acting like i’m not completely in love with you.” his voice shakes, like the words cost him something. “every time we go out there, i think about what it’d do to me if you didn’t come back.”

you don’t respond with words. you just reach forward, take his face in your hands, and kiss him.

he reacts instantly—like he’s been holding back for years. his hands settle on your hips, pulling you closer, and it’s not frantic, not rushed. it’s relief. it’s soft, lingering, full of things neither of you had said until now. his lips are warm, familiar, a little desperate. when you finally pull back for air, your foreheads rest together.

“i’m right here,” you whisper. “i’ve been waiting for you to say that.”

jesse smiles, all breathless and stunned, and leans in to kiss you again—slower this time, like he doesn’t want to forget a single second of it.