#The grad season is almost over

[cladinivcry]

"Yeah?" They examine the fish with thought then smile. "Good thing there's other things." If Sou wanted to just get by with coconut water, that should be fine. A person could survive without food for some time, but water was essential, wasn't it?

Placing what they caught down, Indigo starts working on building the fire underneath shelter. It doesn't take long and real quick there's a warm fire to keep the two warm. Indigo doesn't remove the fish from its makeshift spear and instead hooks the spear right above the fire at a SAFE distance to cook the fish at all angles.

"Man, this brings back memories." They say with a chuckle. Reaching over, they grab hold of the coconut and looks over at Sou, "Have you ever had coconut water before? It's delicious."

Sou really regretted not speaking up. He stared at the fish in front of him with trepidation. He wasn't certain he was ready to eat yet, though he knew he needed sustenance to survive. He tried to push all his thoughts aside and focus on that fact. "... I'll be honest... when I cook fish, it wrecks my stomach." He sat hugging his legs, not prim in the least. The mildness of his bearing betrayed no contrariness. Sou seemed willing to risk the impending meal, but was more concerned with the coconut.

"Though... I think I'd be okay with the coconut water..." He eyed the fruit with interest. Maybe if he was sweet enough, he could get by without the fish...

[emo-batboy]

Things Battinson Totally Did During His First Year of University

Using Unhinged or Odd Things I Also Did as a College Freshman :D

Note: for this list, let’s believe Bruce was living in an (admittedly expensive and swanky) dorm because it is required for first-years, especially those entering at a young age, and Alfred told him he needed to make friends. Also yes I did every single thing on this list. I never claimed to be a role model

Bruce, to his TA: I’m so sorry I’m late to class. I gave blood a few hours ago and almost fainted on the way here, but it won’t happen again.

Signs up for a class called “Age of Dinosaurs” despite it not being required whatsoever and proceeds to work his entire schedule around it

Bruce: Your mental health is super important. If you think you should see the on-campus therapist, go see them. Friend: Fine. I’ll sign up for therapy if you sign up for therapy too. Bruce: Hold on-

Finds a loophole in his housing contract that allows him to get a pet frog, calls him kermit :)

Gets a second frog because Kermit was lonely, names it Constantine after Muppets Most Wanted, then realizes that they’re gay for each other. Wonders if the rainbow-colored rocks he got them triggered anything

Swings dramatically between calling Alfred every single day and ghosting him for weeks, cries when he realizes what he did

“Accidentally�� joins the student body council, doesn’t know what he’s doing, gets re-elected anyway

Molds a dragon out of Laffy Taffy instead of doing his work

Bruce: *joins Honors, gets all A’s, takes the max amount of classes, has several minors, overachieves* Also Bruce: I’m a failure.

Breaks into a building after hours to study because NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO SHUT THE FUCK UP AT THE LIBRARY

Bruce: I will not get seasonal depression this year. Bruce: *gets real and seasonal depression that year*

Meticulously schedules his day with a color-coded planner because if he sits down for too long, the thoughts will consume him

Gives a presentation to his rhetoric class on how much he likes Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (it is 20 minutes long)

Successfully allocates funding from the student body council to pay for free feminine products in the dorms OUT OF SPITE because someone said it couldn't be done. fuck you, Andrew

Bruce: It is not an all-nighter if I go to sleep before my first class. Friend: It is 7:30am, the sun is in the sky, and your first class is at 12:30. Bruce: But I am getting sleep.

Refuses to go anywhere without his backpack because what if he needs three notebooks at once

Loses over 20 pounds because ✨stress✨ and scares the shit out of Alfred when he comes home for Thanksgiving

Argues with his TA over the one (1) question he got wrong on his Dinosaur exam

Bruce, calling Alfred: Hello father figure. How do I do taxes? Do I have to do them myself? Also, I think I’m having a panic attack.

Joins in on a charity arts-and-crafts project that gives kids books with matching activities made by volunteers, proceeds to commandeer the project because “it’s not color-blind friendly” and rewrites the instructions for everyone

Makes a murder wall

Goes to one (1) sports game and proceeds to leave in the first ten minutes because it’s way too loud wtf is wrong with people

Professor, addressing the lecture hall: I dare you to write an essay about these two sentences. Bruce: *writes an essay about six words, gets a 100, never even read the book*

Crawls into the ceiling for some alone time

Ghosts someone after a date because he’s too scared to tell them he didn’t know it was a date in the first place and now he feels bad

Classmate: How tf does he walk across campus that fast? I go in the same direction he does on my bike, and he’s always ahead of me. Bruce: *is gay sprinting to Dinosaur class*

Refuses to let others use his Favorite Pen TM

Constantly gets mistaken for a Grad Student because he is “so wise and mature” (bestie, that’s the autism)

Alfred: *casually mentions he got into a car accident through text* Bruce: *replies with a meme while hyperventilating because he doesn’t know what to do with that information??!*

Wears a suit to one of his finals

Regularly eats non-organic food for the first time in his life, proceeds to learn about several allergies Alfred forgot to mention he has

Writes “What is a Hot Pocket?” in calligraphy and proceeds to laugh his ass off alone in his dorm because he is so exhausted he’s reached the point of delusion

Locks himself out of his dorm right before class, frantically asks the floor group chat if someone can help, proceeds to tell the nice gay man on the floor who saved him “I love you” because his social skills have hit rock bottom

Makes a little music album display next to his desk for his favorite band (Nirvana) His friends call it a shrine, and they are technically correct

Has a blacklist of people he refuses to interact with because Reasons

Counselor: What do you want to do when you graduate? Bruce: *gestures vaguely*

Refuses to take the bus because there are people in there and he doesn’t like those

Loses one of his frogs, how tf did he do that, they’re fully aquatic, oh fuck, this is probably why they got rid of that loophole a year later because unbeknownst to Bruce, he accidentally started a frog revolution in the dorms, btw he SWEARS he did not mean to do that

Has two trash cans in his room: one for the Good Garbage, and one for the Bad Garbage. Only Bruce knows which is which

Bruce: *writes a creative piece about a ship’s final thoughts as it sinks, bringing its passengers down with it* TA: Absolutely lovely, Bruce, but are you okay?

Goes on Night Walks, keeps himself safe by maintaining a level 12 resting bitch face at all times

Earns the nickname “8th floor cryptid” after pacing the halls at 3am when it’s too cold for Night Walks (honestly tho how tf didn’t he get the nickname earlier?)

Bruce: Do you think a depressed person could do this? Bruce: *has a manic episode*

Okay that's all love you BYE

[mygnolia]

JUST ANOTHER LOVE SONG ୨୧ l. heeseung

୨୧ -› he's your high school sweetheart; something that was meant to be, written in the stars.

pair -› (student body) secretary!heeseung x vice pres! reader | wc -› 1k | cw -› just lots of kisses! | for @jlheon 's entopia event!! proud of u for 1k!

highschool is for growth, youth, and naivety. but highschool is where you meet lee heeseung, which makes all those other factors insignificant. 

highschool relationships aren’t easy; if everything in your lives is tumultuous and ever changing, how can you expect your love with lee heeseung to stay the same? it’s like a field of flowers- and as much as you wished its beauty to be forever, it wilts, and sprouts with the seasons. 

and things are never perfect, but you two make it work, through the good and bad, and that’s what makes it worth fighting for. and you love heeseung, enveloping him in all of those ‘disgusting, couply’ feelings that make life more memorable. 

you bump into student body secretary heeseung one time in the hallway, and he helps you carry one of the many bags you had prepared for decorations headed to the student body classroom. it’s tidy, as your president and friend jungwon likes the classroom to be, with one of your favorite kind-hearted teachers looking over your meetings every week. 

and you’ve known of lee heeseung. you’ve heard his singing as you pack up after long and tedious days full of planning. you’ve done student body bondings with him not quite by your side- but with you nonetheless. but this is the first time you’ve seen him in a more romantic light- and you like it more than you expect. 

as heeseung still carries your bags, you tell him about how stressful planning winter formal is, considering how the venue was secured with immense luck. usually, in october, there’s nothing left for schools who procrastinate, but your principal didn’t make it easy to be proactive in the first place. 

your love blossoms here, where he opens the door for you and laughs at your little jokes- where lee heeseung is in his element with park jongseong as treasurer and jungwon helping you all. it blossoms easily, when you two snicker in the back of the classroom and poke lighthearted fun at jay when he talks about his emails and responses. it’s fleeting- almost impossible to catch, but there’s a shift in the air after he really meets you. he helps you plan a bit more after hearing your struggles, and you make neat folders for his documents and reach out about government in hopes of starting conversations, even if it was about school. you two sit near each other, buy food for each other after stressful finals, and to be honest, it all goes by fast. it’s scary to know you’ve developed solid feelings by his birthday where you write him a sweet note with a meaningful gift, or by winter when you kiss him for the first time. 

your love is young, and full of recklessness- but you two work through all the problems that comes with being so hopelessly in love in a time like highschool. 

and within moments where you cry to him on the phone, or times where either of you mess up and have to apologize, there are moments that make your heart swell, too. like, when he tells you he loves you for the first time as perhaps a slip of the tongue, apologizing. “i always say it to my mom before i hang up.” he explains, picking at his nails from nervousness as he waits for your response on the other line. “but it’s not like i don’t mean it.” 

and you giggle before repeating the words, stuffing your face into your pillow before you hang up and dream of heeseung. 

or, that time where he blasted a song from his car and sang along to the lyrics as he asked you out for prom, his trunk propped open with flowers, and a huge smile on his face. and heeseung’s not afraid to love you in public, in a way that displays his grad gestures without the privacy of your intimacy behind closed doors. 

and you think about it; the kisses you two share when impossibly close, with lovesick grins and warm, sweaty palms as heeseung would reach out to tuck your hair behind your ear and scrunch your shirt in his other hand to pull you close. and you are assured by him that you are loved with how he looks at you, with his gentle gazes and warm embraces that calm your bubbling feelings. 

it is in the quiet moments where you two are most vulnerable. where you cry and tell him he’s hurt you (seldomly!), or when he kisses your temple and whispers his words of affirmation. 

even still, even three years later when your friends marvel at how your relationship still holds true despite the distance and longing, you’re at a loss of words as to how to explain it. heeseung loves and loves, like he was born to reassure your worries and comb his fingers through your hair. how do you explain a feeling so invigorating yet serene at the same time? and your friends tell you that heeseung would do anything for you, and they tell you he would turn back an entire train just to hold your face in his hands and seal your lips with his just once more before the end of the day. 

and your love with him continues to grow and change over time. like how flowers leave all of their fate to the sun and storm, you two try not to overthink the little things and let your relation run its path. and it’s been three years from highschool ever since junior year when you two got together, so you’re not the same snickering duo in the back of your classroom. but sometimes, heeseung presses a searing kiss to your lips after having not seen you for a while, and it makes you feel the very same as you did those days in october, hands intertwined under the desks with looks of longing. 

and with how easy it is to talk about how heeseung loves you wholly, you think, you could write one, or maybe even two lovesongs about him. 

REN SAYS... this was a little messy but full of love nonetheless. i heart lee heeseung

© all rights are reserved to mygnolia 2024. republished, translated, and/or heavily referenced work will be reported and removed immediately.

[jareaul0ver]

Thinking about Nika and reader getting into a big fight bc reader feels like Nika has been neglecting her and the relationship due to basketball and then Nika trying to get her back ….

wc: 2k warnings: angst to fluff, happy ending!!, nika being a bad, neglectful gf at first, basically all stated in the request pairings: nika muhl x fem!reader

Nika had always treated basketball like it was the only thing in her life that mattered. For the most part that was true. Sure, she had her family, but they were back in Croatia and there was only so much she could do with that situation.

Then you came into her life, flipping her world upside down. Sometimes basketball was pushed to the back of her mind when she was with you. She valued the way you could help her wind down after a tough practice, or if they lost a game you knew exactly how to make her forget about it.

But that was all in college. After she got drafted, things started to change. She wasn't getting the same playing time she used to, which greatly affected her mood.

You reassured her after each game that it was just because it was so early in the season, and that you were sure she'd get playing time as everything progressed.

She didn't listen, though. She was out for most hours of the day. At team practices, weight training, and dragging into her own personal time with extra workouts and practice drills.

Her mindset was that if her playing was perfect, she'd get time. But it still didn't help.

At this point, you barely saw her. Even with living in the same apartment, she'd pretty much only be there in the very early morning or very late night, mostly while you were asleep.

Not only was her being in the W affecting her, it was affect you and your relationship with her. She was pulling away from you, whether she realized it or not, and it was hurting you more than she knew.

It was a late night for you. You were working on the final touches of a paper for one of your summer grad school classes, sitting on yours and Nika's shared bed which had felt incredibly empty for the past few months.

She walked through the door, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise when she saw you still awake. "What're you doing up?" She said quietly before going over to grab clothes to change into from the dresser.

"Finishing up the paper I've been working on for class," you mumbled. You had mentioned it to her before, as she had caught you working on it in the late nights and early mornings, but it seemed to have slipped her mind.

"Oh," was all she managed before changing into clothes to sleep in.

You sighed and looked up at her. "I've mentioned it to you before, you've seen me working on it before," you said, frustration laced in your tone.

Her brow furrowed as she looked at you. "You don't need to get pissy with me, I just forgot."

"You've been forgetting a lot of things lately, Nika," you let out a shaky breath, pushing your laptop off of your lap and sliding out of bed. "Christ, you almost forgot our anniversary a few weeks ago."

"Sorry I've been busy, I've had a lot on my mind," she said firmly.

You pinched the bridge of your nose. "Nika, all you've been doing is basketball ten times over. Extra training, practice, whatever you can find. You're never home. You're never with me anymore."

She froze for a second before opening her mouth to speak, but you cut her off with the wave of a hand. "Don't even start," you started to raise your voice. "I- no, our relationship has been on the backburner ever since you got drafted! I get it, babe, it's important to you, and it takes a lot of time and effort but-"

Your voice cracked and tears welled in your eyes. "You've been gone, Nika. For months, I've felt like I've been on my own. Sometimes it just feels like I'm in a one sided relationship, like you don't want me anymore."

Nika's face fell at your words, and she felt a pit forming in her stomach. She stepped towards you, bringing her hands up to cup your face, wiping a tear with the pad of her thumb. "I- I'm sorry, bebo, I don't want you to feel that way, but-"

You scoffed and stepped back. "There's always a but, isn't there," you said flatly. With a shake of your head you turned towards the bedroom door. "I'm sleeping on the couch. Less room for it to feel so empty," you spat with a shaky voice before leaving the room.

The door shut and Nika looked down at the ground, her hands now on her hips as she stood there, letting every word you said sink in.

She realized now that she was losing you, that you were slipping away, and it was all her fault. She had been so absorbed by basketball that she forgot about you.

There had never been a day in her life where she felt worse. Not when she couldn't play because of her visa issues, not when she hurt her ankle for the first time, not even when she had to leave her family back in Croatia to play basketball.

No, this was the worst day of her life. Her coming to the realization that she might wake up tomorrow and you aren't in the apartment. All your things could be gone. You could block her number, her socials, erase her from your life completely, and it would be her fault.

Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of this. The idea of you leaving is her worst fear, and she would do damn near anything to make sure it wouldn't happen.

So the next morning she checked the couch, immensely relieved that you were still sleeping somewhat peacefully out there. Although she wasn't with you, she was glad she still had you.

Before she left for practice with the team, she wrote a small note for you and left it in your underwear drawer, where she was sure you would see it.

Eventually you woke up, immediately checking the bedroom to see if Nika was miraculously here. You knew she wouldn't be, but it still hurt to see an empty bed.

You had an interview with a possible employer in a few hours, so you got ready. You walked into the bedroom with only a towel covering your body, and opened your underwear drawer, and look of confusion first on your face when you saw the note.

You picked it up and read over it, "I'm so sorry baby, I promise I'm going to make it up to you. Don't make any plans for tonight, I'll be home after your interview. - Love you."

A sigh fell from your lips, but your face softened. You hoped and prayed that she would stay true to her word, this being a turning point in your flatlining relationship.

But you held back from fully believing it, part of you expecting a disappointing outcome.

You finished getting ready for the interview and left the apartment, your mind immediately cleared from everything going on with Nika the second you got into your car.

Nika sat on the couch as she anxiously waited for you to get home. She was wearing a black top with a matching black skirt that you had gotten her for her birthday this year. She had a pair of short black heels to match, and her hair and makeup was done.

You walked into the apartment, your back turned towards her at first as you closed the door, but once you turned around your eyes widened a little.

She stood up and took a deep breath, taking a step towards you. "Hey, how was your interview?"

You blinked a few times before responding. "Oh, um, it went well I think," you said softly.

Nika nodded slightly before turning to the direction of the coffee table and picking up a small bouquet of your favorite flowers. She turned back around and took a few more steps towards you, now leaving you guys only a few feet apart.

"Got these for you, as the beginning of an apology gift, I guess," she said, her voice barely above a whisper as she held them out.

You looked at her hesitantly before taking them. "Beginning?"

She nodded and stepped forward, almost closing the gap between the two of you. You reached over and placed them on the table near the entrance of your apartment, fully giving her your attention.

"God, bebo, I'm so sorry. For everything. For treating you the way I have been, not being there, forgetting important things. I can't even put it into words how sorry I am," she said with a long breath. "And I know sorry isn't gonna fix it, but I'm trying to, okay? I am."

You stared at her, your face softening a bit at her words. "It's gonna take a lot more than a bouquet of flowers to fix everything, Nika," you uttered, your voice soft but serious.

"I know. Of course it is, but that's not all I have planned for tonight, okay? I- I got us a reservation at that one Italian place you like that's not too far from here. The nice one." Her voice was tinged with desperation, longing to have you back with her, to belong to her again.

Nika told you it was in an hour, so you nodded and went to the bedroom to get ready. It didn't take you long, as all you had to do was touch up your makeup and change your outfit.

Once you came out of the bedroom, Nika was practically giving you heart eyes. It had been so long since she'd seen you like this, all dolled up in a pretty little dress, ready for date night.

She walked over to you, hesitantly grabbing your hands. You let her, and looked up into her soft brown eyes. "You look gorgeous, bebo," she whispered.

You couldn't help but blush a little, that feeling of before you and Nika drifted coming back to fill your senses. Her touch on your hands practically set you on fire. It had been so long since you two actually touched, not just in passing, or snuggling in the middle of the night.

But a long, snug grip that sent flutters throughout your chest.

"You do too," you said softly to her, squeezing her hands gently. She smiled a little and started pulling you towards the door, ready to leave for dinner.

You were returning home from dinner with her. It was almost perfect. You talked and laughed and everything felt like it should again. When you walked into the apartment, you gently tugged on Nika's hand. "We really should talk about everything more."

She faced you and nodded. "Yeah, of course, let's go talk," she gently dragged you over to the couch and sat down, waiting for you to do the same.

You sat down after her, barely leaving any space between the two of you. All it took was a deep breath from the both of you before you spoke, your voice soft. "Tonight was... amazing. It's everything I've been wanting for the past few months and more, but it doesn't fix everything."

She gazed at you intently, absorbing every word you said. "I know, and I don't expect everything to be fixed."

You nodded, appreciating her listening to you. "And I forgive you, because it's really hard not to," you said with a small laugh. "But it's gonna take a while for things to go back to normal. And it's gonna take effort."

Nika hummed softly her hands finding yours again as you spoke. "I don't want things to go back to how they were, you barely being home, pushing me away because you're so zoned in on basketball. I want you. I want my Nika back."

She thought she could cry at your words, seeing the hurt evident on your face, hearing it subtly in your tone as you spoke. "I'm back, baby. I'm back, and I'm not going anywhere, I promise. And I'm gonna work every day to prove that to you."

You pulled your hands away from hers to bring them up to her face, cupping her cheeks gently against your palms. "I love you," you whispered.

"I love you," she said immediately, "so much."

You leaned in slightly, gently pressing your lips to hers, igniting a much needed kiss between the two of you. "I'm not going anywhere ever again, promise," she mumbled against your lips.

wow im back hi sorry for not writing for so long, ive had bad writers block and since its the summer ive been doing a lotta stuff keeping me busy, but hopefully im back for good now <3

[peachhcs]

anywhere with you

hughes!sister x will smith au (samy + will)

somewhere in between samy's sophomore year of college and after will's rookie season, the two talk about what's next for them.

1.1k words

i'm back?? maybe?? hiii i've been on a small hiatus mainly because i didn't know what to write and didn't like everything i did write, but this little blurb may have gotten me out of the slump!! i wrote them sometime in the future..timeline a bit off, but it's okay we'll create our own timeline :)) also someone requested this awhile back and i finally got around to writing it

au masterlist

will made himself comfortable between samy's legs as they laid out on the couch together. the sun was warm��weirdly warm for an april afternoon in michigan, but neither of them were complaining getting to spend some time outside after being cooped up all winter. somewhere inside was luke and jack playing on the xbox and the couple could hear their voices from all the way outside on the back deck. the day felt perfect.

"ow, will," samy shoved her boyfriend's head when he was crushing a little too much of her leg.

"sorry, we don't really fit on this couch together," the blonde laughed a little.

"well, yeah. it's not made for me and a 6 foot hockey player. why are you sitting so close anyway?" she reached down to play with some of his messy curls.

"because. i haven't seen you since february and i leave in three days again," will said in a "duh" tone earning a small eye roll from the girl above him.

since playoffs were right around the corner, will didn't get much time off. he had exactly four days to do whatever he wanted and guess what he chose? spending all of it in michigan with samy while she was on spring break.

"right. guess you're telling me to be grateful you're here," she teased.

"i wasn't, but now i am," his lips turned up into a smirk. will disregarded his computer for a moment, flipping himself over so now his chin rested just below her belly button. samy couldn't help but smile seeing her boyfriend's big, goofy grin.

"nervous for the playoffs?" she wondered, hand wandering back down to toy with his curls again.

"a little. maybe i'm nervous i won't live up to everyone's expectations," will frowned.

"what do you mean? i feel like you met the expectations this season. everyone loved you," samy saw all the comments about the shark's new number 2. the fans went crazy for him and his talent was real.

"i know, i know. i'm just worried i'll blow it and they won't love me anymore," the blonde admitted. all the pressure was hard sometimes. will definitely thrived off of it to fuel him for his rookie season, but that didn't mean it didn't get to him.

samy's hand fell to his arm, giving it a tight squeeze out of love and comfort, "well, whatever happens, i'll be proud of you and i'll still love you."

will's face flushed, face heating up at his girlfriend's words. even if he's heard it a million times before, it still got him blushing like crazy whenever she said it. "i think your opinion's biased, but thank you. as long as i know you're watching i'm sure i'll be fine," now it was samy's turn to blush.

a comfortable silence fell around them as will's finger wandered and traced little shapes into the exposed skin on samy's stomach. he always got lost in his own world whenever they were together and he could never seem to think about anything other than her. (he also simply just never stopped thinking about her either, even on the ice.)

"i think because i'm almost done with sophomore year mom's started to pester me about what's next after graduation," samy changed the subject, breaking the silence.

"yeah?"

"yeah. nothing too annoying, but i know she wants me to think about it more than i have been. stuff like if i wanna go to grad school; what's my job gonna be; am i staying in michigan blah, blah, blah," the brunette mimicked ellen's voice pretty well making both her and will laugh.

"do you know what you wanna do?" will wondered, finger still tracing his little shapes which was as soothing for samy as it was for him.

"i mean..no. not really. maybe law school but i'm not 100% sure about that yet. i'm still gonna take the lsat, but i don't really know if that's my career path anymore," the younger hughes rambled a little.

"that's okay. you don't have to know. there's a lot you can do with a political science major. at least i know you can do a lot with it because you're so smart," will's words made the girl blush again.

"will"

"i'm being serious and i'm not just saying that. you're really smart, samy. you're gonna figure it out," he offered a half smile.

"i wish i was like you and jack and luke and quinn who just have their whole life already planned out because of hockey. like, they just knew from when we were kids that this was gonna be their life. i was always so..confused," samy frowned which will hated seeing.

"i think we just got lucky. you're gonna figure it out, i promise. if law school isn't for you, that's okay. you can do marketing, pr, analysis, literally anything. plus, there's always a home for you in san jose if you'd wanna like..i don't know..take a year to figure it out after you graduate," him and samy always talked about how she'd live with him wherever he ended up in the nhl once college was over, obviously joking —sometimes or sometimes it wasn't a joke—but right now will was being serious. samy could tell by the way he looked at her, his blue eyes so set and serious, yet so loving.

another blush rose to her cheeks, "i appreciate it. i'll definitely remember it."

"while we are on the topic though, whenever we decide to settle down..i wouldn't mind landing back here," the future, future wasn't a topic samy and will spoke a lot about together, but for some reason it seemed so close at the moment with how samy was going to graduate college in about two years.

"whenever we settle down? oh boy," but of course, she had to tease him about it first. will flushed, burying his head into samy's stomach. she giggled at his reaction, threading her fingers back through his hair—and will always wondered why his hair looked so messy after hanging out with her.

"but yeah, i wouldn't mind coming back here. i'd go anywhere really. i've been kind of everywhere growing up. you don't wanna go back to boston?" it seemed hard to believe will didn't want to go back to where his roots lived.

"i mean, yeah but i'll go anywhere you go. i don't care where i end up," the blonde smiled and so did samy.

"wow, you're so corny, but i'd go anywhere you go too. california, boston, michigan, wherever," will pushed himself up more so him and samy were almost face to face and he was basically on top of her.

"i guess we'll just be corny together then," they connected their lips in a sweet kiss.

"i love you, will," samy hummed when they pulled apart.

"i love you too," he made himself comfortable again, but this time right on top of her. it was clear they weren't getting any work done anymore, the warm air slowly putting them to sleep and everything else fading out.

[ofstoriesandstardust]

but it's golden like daylight (k.c.)

a/n: kylie wrote fluff who is she?! this was my short and sweet treat to myself for grad school curb-stomping me. you don't need to read the can't take the home out of oklahoma series for this but it does pick up almost immediately after the fourth part. as always, comments and reblog fuel me :)

summary: You and Kate start the rest of your lives together.

warnings: swearing, engagement, buying a house, alcohol mentions

word count: 3k

You hum as Kate hands you your cup of coffee over the console before she turns the key in her truck. The sun is barely rising, your tour of the house scheduled for early morning. 

Kate hadn’t let you see the listing, suddenly apprehensive that you wouldn’t like the place and kept insisting that she wanted you to see her vision once you toured the physical space. 

The house is a short twelve minute drive from Cathy’s farm, eight in the opposite direction from Tyler’s small place. The country music is turned low as you sip the coffee, Kate’s hand on your thigh. “I’m excited.” You say softly and Kate chances a glance at you as she flicks her blinker on. 

She’s really pretty like this, in the early morning dawn, hair still slightly sleep-mussed, but eyes eager and bright. “I hope you like it.” She says softly as she turns down a gravel road. 

“I’m sure I will.”

The real estate agent for the sellers meets you at the front porch, an older lady with a warm demeanor, touring you through the space. 

From first glance, you could see how one could write this house off. The house, six bedrooms and three baths, sits on a 3,600 square foot lot that is mostly run down. The exterior of the house seems to be newer but instantly from stepping inside you can tell that the house is outdated. The carpet is dingy, the appliances old, bathrooms dark and dreary. Every bedroom wall is a different color with the same dreadful carpet, but every step takes you farther into what you can already sense Kate’s vision is. 

It’s the perfect off-season fixer-upper. 

The living room is vast, wide-open. The kitchen is spacey and you can already see your friends gathered around the kitchen island. The master bath desperately needs retiling and new wallpaper, but it’s huge and the master bedroom has two large doors that lead straight out into the backyard. The house all-around has massive windows, perfect to let in all the light. The lot behind the house is overgrown with weeds but nothing Cathy couldn’t help you with and you can already see a chicken coop and a stable Tyler could help you build and a place to keep cows and horses, your inner country gal really coming to life. 

At the end of the tour, the real estate agent lets you know that the owners, a daughter who inherited this place and her husband who currently live in Indiana, are willing to negotiate and she’ll sit out front for you guys to have time to talk it over, though she assures you both that you don’t have to make a decision today.

“So?” Kate asks, a hopeful look in her eyes as you turn around in the master bedroom downstairs, eyeing the space. 

“It’s definitely a fixer-upper.” Kate looks a little nervous as you grin at her. “But it could be our fixer-upper.” 

“Yeah?” She breathes out, a grin growing on her face. You nod. 

“Oh yeah, I think Boone will have a blast ripping the tiling up in the bathroom and I am dying to go pick out paint samples. It’s like our perfect little off-season project. Your Mom could help us build a chicken coop and I already know where Peaches will curl up to take her naps in the sun.” 

She steps closer, taking your hands. “We’re so redoing the backsplash in the kitchen.” 

“Oh fuck yeah.” You mutter, before pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “Talk sexy to me baby, I love it when you tell me about house renovations.” 

She lets out a loud laugh, hands finding your waist as she loops her fingers through the belt loops on your jeans. “I’m already thinking of the washer and dryer set we can go buy.” 

You snort. “We’re so adult. Like, the best adults. Like I can’t believe I’m excited to go shop for a stove.” 

“You wanna put our offer in today?” She asks softly after a minute. 

“Let’s buy a house baby.” 

-

You and Kate come home with a box of pastries and two smiles even a tornado couldn’t take from you. 

“Where’d you guys go?” Javi asks around a bite of eggs and Kate shakes the box of pastries at him.

“You are a saint.” Boone praises as he lifts the lid of the box open, already reaching for the bear claw. You snicker as he bites into it, not missing Cathy’s look from over her coffee mug. Truthfully, the pastries had been as much of a treat for you and Kate for putting in an offer as it had been a distraction from your absence for your friends. You and Kate had agreed to not say anything about the house until you had your keys in hand, afraid to jinx it or disappoint them.

That hadn’t stopped Cathy though, who finds the two of you on the second floor of the barn, tucked away as the two of you chat, making an extensive list of what you’ll need to get and what’s highest priority in remodeling the place. 

So much for not getting your hopes up.  

“It’s too damn hot for the two of you to be hiding out up here.” Cathy calls as she pulls herself up the last step. “So I’m going to take it that it either went really well or really bad.” Neither you nor Kate can hide your smiles, which only makes Cathy smile as she tugs a stool over. “Really well then?”

“I mean-” Kate cuts herself off, glancing at you. “It’s a total fixer-upper. The place doesn’t even have a stove. Or a microwave.” 

���But you like it?” Cathy asks, directing her look to you now. 

You nod. “I already have paint ideas. Do you want to come to Lowe’s with us?” 

Kate snorts, shaking her head. 

For as much as Cathy was Kate’s Mom, Cathy had also become your maternal figure, treating you as such long before you and Kate had started dating and she had been treating you as her daughter-in-law long before you and Kate ever got as serious as you were now. 

It wasn’t something you took for granted and not something you wouldn’t ever treasure, loving just how much of a role Cathy played in your lives like this. Which meant she was the perfect one to help you pick out flooring and paint and appliances for a new place, already knowing what you and Kate would both love and could afford. 

You pull your phone out, quietly explaining the vision for the home as you show her the pictures, Cathy listening thoughtfully. 

“What do you think Mom?” Kate asks quietly, eager for her Mom’s approval. 

She sighs. “I think the two of you better get real comfortable spending a lot of money.” 

“But?”

“But I can’t wait to see how this all turns out. You said there was space for a chicken coop?” 

-

In the end, you and Kate close on the house, keys in hand, two days after the Wranglers, Javi included, leave to spend two weeks in Arkansas. 

The owners had been willing to negotiate to an even five hundred thousand and between you and Kate’s savings and a loan, you and Kate had begun signing papers just three days after putting in the first offer. 

While you and Kate are both disappointed the Wranglers aren’t there to celebrate, you and Kate take Cathy by the house with a cheap bottle of champagne and solo cups you’d picked up from the store on the way over. You sipped warm bubbly as you took her through the house, Cathy watching with fond amusement as you and Kate talked over one another in excitement of what you’d do to the place. 

And then you guys get to work. 

Kate changes the locks on the door the next morning, the two of you spending far too long at the key copier at the hardware store, picking out special designs for each of your friends. 

The three of you drive out to what Cathy deems the good Lowe’s out in Tulsa and probably become the salesman, Rob’s, favorite customer of the year as you list out the new appliances you need. 

The husband of one of Cathy’s long-term co-workers at the hospital where she works as a nurse offers to install all of them for free in exchange for a night of Cathy’s barbecue, an exchange she makes happily with the assurance the two of you would help her. You set out with setting up the electricity and gas (and the wi-fi, Kate reminds you late one night after shooting up in bed in a panic, four days after you begin), calling all the appropriate places and scheduling installation visits. You and Kate make more trips to pick out paint than either of you care to admit, testing out different shades of greens and purples and blues. 

As exciting and fast-moving it is, it’s not easy either. Kate comments, a bit sadly, one night as the two of you sit on your kitchen floor with Chinese takeout that she wishes Addy had been here, because she loved to paint and would’ve done the most gorgeous artwork on the walls of the house. She says another night, atop your staircase, that she wishes Jeb could see how far she’s come. She mentions in the Lowe’s that Praveen would’ve probably been the best to take appliance shopping, since he would’ve just known what worked well in the space. 

It’s a sad bit of melancholy, a wound you can’t fix. You can’t bring her friends back and it’s all you can do to love Kate through it. Her grief is real, never-ending, no matter how much she grows with it. 

Before you know it, the two weeks (not even, Kate reminds you as she stocks the fridge) have flown by and the Wranglers are rolling down the dirt road, you and Kate awaiting them out in your front yard.

They’re only in town for three days this time, before Tyler flys back to Arkansas for a month and a half. Dexter is flying down to see his niece, one of his last pieces of family, for a few weeks in New Orleans and Javi and Boone would be in Miami for three and a half weeks to see Javi’s family. 

Dani and Lilly are all yours for the next month though before the four of you regroup with the rest of the crew in Arkansas for two weeks and it’s taken everything in you and Kate to not spill the news to them early, already eagerly awaiting their help and hands. 

“Okay, you two. What is this place?” Javi asks as he shuts the door to the van. Kate grins at him as he sticks his hands in his pockets, the rest of the Wranglers climbing out after him. 

Kate jerks her head back towards the house, letting them inside as they take the space in. The downstairs isn’t in too horrible of a state or chaos, save for the many boxes scattered throughout the place, and the two of you even have a vase of flowers sitting on the kitchen island. The upstairs… that’s a different story. 

“Kate…” Tyler trails off, eyebrows raised. 

“We bought a house.” You say finally and the group lights up. There’s various exclamations, all excited as they congratulate you and Kate. “Six bedrooms, three baths, and in need of serious work. I have specifically picked out keys for everyone and uh, Booney baby, you up for helping us pull the tile and carpet up?” 

“Oh fuck yeah!”

-

“A house, huh? All you need is a ring on that finger and you’re all set.” Dani teases you that night as the two of you drive back to Cathy’s with pizza for the whole crew. 

You take a deep breath as you climb out of the car after it rolls to a stop, crowding Dani by the drivers door. “Can you keep a secret?” Dani nods a bit, frowning as you thumb through your phone, knowing specifically what it is you’re looking for. You flip the phone around, showing her the snapshot and her eyes go wide. “Cathy helped me pick it out.”

“No fucking way.” She whispers. “You have a fucking ring?!” 

“Are y’all coming in with that pizza or what, man? I’m starved!” Boone shouts from the front porch. 

“Come get it yourself Boone!” You shout back and you can hear the man move towards the car even if you don’t see him. Dani giggles a bit, shaking you. 

“I am so happy for you guys. Oh my God, now you’re really stuck with us California. No running away from this one.”

-

You end up proposing to Kate a week later.

You’re driven a ways out from Sapulpa, an open field before you as the wind whips Kate’s hair around. An end of summer lightning storm thunders off in the distance, electric purples lighting up the sky as you and Kate watch on, laying on top of the hood of your car. 

Well, you were watching at one point but now you can’t help but watch Kate, the way her face lights up in awe, the way she squeezes your hand and asks did you see that one? 

Kate Carter loves storms, would follow them anywhere. Kate Carter was her own type of storm, blindly beautiful and ever-changing, magnetic and wild. And you loved that storm, would follow that storm anywhere. 

“You keep looking at me like that.” Kate says, turning her face to meet your eyes. A bashful smile tugs at her lips, a bit lopsided, like it always does whenever she catches you staring. Usually you tell her you can’t help it, that you’re just in awe that you get to be with someone as pretty or as kind or as wonderful as her, but today, the words tumble past your lips. 

“Kate, I want to get married.” 

She raises an eyebrow. “Are you- are you asking?” 

In lieu of answer, you slide off the hood, opening the passenger door to the back, digging around in the pocket on the back of the seat as Kate sits abruptly, curious eyes following you. You pull out a small box before climbing back onto the hood and Kate’s breath hitches as she catches sight of the velvet box. 

“I’m asking. Kate, I want to marry you more than anything else in this world. You gotta know, my love, there’s nowhere in this world I wouldn’t follow you.” 

“Yes, oh my- yes!” Kate exclaims, hands finding your face to pull you into a kiss. You narrowly dodge it, a laugh bubbling over. 

“But I didn’t ask yet!” You giggle, feeling a few raindrops splatter down on the top of your head. 

“Close enough.” She waves off, turning her attention to the box still clutched in your hand. You open the small box, slipping the ring on her left hand and she holds it out to examine as the rain picks up, her sweatshirt dampening. 

It’s gold, small and dainty, a small pearl set in the middle of a small cluster of diamonds but it slides on perfectly (thank you Cathy, you think silently). Kate wipes away tears (or rain, you aren’t sure) from her face as she looks down at it before glancing back up, hand resting on your knee. 

“I have a ring for you. It’s back at Mom’s. I hid it behind a bunch of fabric in that closet in the guest room.” She admits quietly. “I’ve- maybe I wasn’t always as sure about us, me, as you were but I love you just the same.”

-

Kate gets three minutes back in the house, darting up the stairs to dig out her own ring, sliding it on your finger with a chaste kiss, before she darts back down the stairs to show her Mom. 

Cathy cries, Lilly screams, Dani does a little dance, and the joyous feeling that burns bright in your chest threatens to never leave, not that you’d want it to. 

You spend a lot of time the next morning looking at it, the small diamond set in a row into the small golden band, twisting it this way and that way, admiring the way it looks on your hand, intertwined with Kate’s own hand. 

You and Kate elect to wait until you get to Arkansas in a few weeks to tell the boys, knowing this is something Tyler and Javi should learn in person. And then Dani suggests through laughter that you don’t mention it, seeing how long it takes for them to notice. You and Kate both laugh, the four of you setting a bet. 

Nine days. It takes nine days of the fifteen day trip for any of the boys to notice. 

You had gone from amused, to concerned, to amused again the longer it took and Kate was starting to threaten to just drive away, shouting the news out at them as she did. 

“What is that?” Boone asks abruptly, grabbing your hand as you pass Dani the pepper. Your ring glints in the orange glow of the setting sun, filtering in through Tyler’s kitchen. “What is that?”

“Oh man.” Kate says through a snort, her own left hand reaching up to cover her mouth. 

“What is that?” Boone demands, attention now sliding over to Kate. Javi and Tyler have both paused, Javi licking his lips as they stare Kate down. Dani lets out a loud laugh, turning to hide her face in Lilly’s shoulder as you give them a soft smile. 

“Kate- is that-” Javi starts. 

“Are you-” Tyler asks, before looking to you. “Are you really?” 

“Who asked first?” Boone demands, already tugging your hand closer to examine the ring. 

“I did.” You admit as Javi’s eyebrows shoot up. 

“Kate, you’ve only been sitting on that thing for seven months! She still beat you to it?” 

“Seven months?” You ask, eyes wide as you turn to Kate. 

“Hey man, when you know you know.” Boone says and your eyes flash over to Lilly and Dani, who are still giggling to themselves. You hear Tyler and Javi’s quiet congratulations, Tyler and Javi both standing up to give you hugs but all you can do is lock eyes with Lilly as she laughs, tears streaming down her face.

“I can’t believe it took you idiots so long to notice!” 

[honey-crypt]

KEEPER OF THE GLISTENING SEA — a merman!elliott x plus-sized!reader story

02. THE STORM RAGES ON

word count: 2k

warnings: mentions of drowning, natural disasters, and fatphobia

summary: you manage to find your footing in stardew valley and form a new life full of mundane tasks and relationships, new and old. yet, a ferocious storm puts your skills to the test and you're confronted with your past, as a lone figure is trapped beneath the raging waves.

author’s note: now that my write a thon is over, i'm able to work more on this series! gonna try my best to post at least twice a month but schedule will vary because i start grad school and my assistantship very soon. anywhoooo! enjoy!!!

You developed a pretty simple but good daily routine. Maintain the lighthouse, assist Willy in his shop, visit Benny, hang out with your friends, and so on. The days began to blend together, as festivals and birthdays passed by, and soon the valley transitioned from breezy spring to warm summer. To your surprise, living on a beach and the summer season didn’t mesh well, as your once quiet home was overrun by Pelican Town residents looking to play in the water or soak in some sun.

You left the lighthouse after a particularly labor intensive day of work, stuck repainting the peeling paint of the lighthouse’s lower half by the shoreline with Willy. Who knew painting could stay some much out of a person? You had your suit vest tied around your plump waist, your button down open and revealing your tight tank top underneath, not wanting to stain it with white paint. Your arms and legs ached, an ache you hadn’t experienced before. Oh, I would kill for a Joja Cola, right now.

You only made a few feet from the lighthouse when something leathery made contact with your face. A cry of pain forced its way out of your throat, as the force sent you falling back into the hot sand. You laid in the sand motionlessly, limbs sprawled out unceremoniously. The projectile that almost knocked your teeth fell from your face and into the sand next to you.

“Oh my Yoba! I’m sorry!” a voice called out to you. Your vision was blurry, but you could hear someone running up to you. Hovering above you, a handsome shirtless man with choppy brown hair and strong eyebrows stared down at you, “Do you need help up?”

“Yes… yes, please,” you groaned. He extended a hand to you and you grabbed it, allowing him to free you from your sandy doom with a single pull. Shit! He’s strong! The man then picked up the projectile, a gridball, from the sand, “I’m sorry about that. My hand split when I was practicing with a friend.

“Oh, it’s fine,” you answered, rubbing your forehead where the gridball hit you. Suddenly, the gridball bro replaced your hand with his, gently examining your face for any injuries, “Probably gonna have a bruise, you should get checked out by the doc later,” he frowned, “I hope I didn’t give you a concussion,” frowning didn’t quite suit his face well.

“Do you always examine the faces of strangers you accidentally pelt with your gridball?” you jested. You couldn’t tell if the heat you were feeling was from the sun or from the situation. The shirtless man cracked a smile, an oddly familiar smile, “Only the cute ones.”

Before you could speak up, a genuine Barbie Doll appeared beside the flirt, her long honey blonde styled as beach curls and sporting a pink bikini, “Alex! You totally missed a great photo-op!”

“Alex?” you asked. Alex looked back at you, “Yeah?”

“Are you,” your mind was going a thousand miles an hour, “Are you George and Evelyn’s grandson?”

“Oh, yeah, I am,” he answered nonchalantly, “And you’re the new lighthouse keeper, right?”

“Yes!” you involuntarily shouted. The beach Barbie and Alex’s eyes widened at your volume, you quickly cleared your throat and explained, “Yeah, I’m the keeper, but Alex, it’s me. It’s (Y/N). We used to spend every summer together as kids, I’m Benny’s cousin.”

“(Y/N)?” Alex stepped closer to you, scrutinizing your face before a light went off above his head, “Oh my Yoba! Apple!”

“Apple?” the blondie spoke up, eyes darting between you and Alex. Your cheeks heated up at that old childhood nickname. Alex nodded, “Yeah, Haley! Apple was my nickname for (Y/N) when we were kids!”

“But why Apple?” the girl, Haley, emphasized.

“You don’t have to- oh, it’s a funny story!” the gridball player cut you off, “It was the first summer they and Benny came to the valley, I was one of the few kids in town so we played together a lot. We had a group dinner on the first night and my granny baked us some apple pies for dessert,” if you could physically shrink, you absolutely would be doing so at this moment.

“I remember that we had to wait for the pies to cool down but little (Y/N) had other plans,” continued Alex, “You must’ve been so hungry, Apple! There were three pies in total, but by the time my grandpop caught you, half of them had been eaten!”

Haley stifled back a snicker and you felt as if you could drown yourself in the sea at any moment now. Alex, oblivious to the impact of his words, swung an arm around your shoulders and tousled up your hair, “Well, that’s the story! And besides, Apple fits you, with your cheeks and all.” Yoba. Kill. Me. NOW!!!

“I think so, too!” cooed Haley, as she scanned you from head to toe, “You certainly are… nourished,” that last word stung like a wasp, “Maybe a wardrobe update and you can really shine.”

“I just got off work,” you stated. Were you being teased? Bullied? Humiliated? You weren’t sure, but you already expended a good chunk of your energy and Malibu Barbie’s undercut commentary wasn’t helping, “I should get going.”

Alex frowned almost puppy-like, “Aw bummer…” he gave you one last smile, “Lemme know if you wanna hang out in the future! You know where I’m at.”

You bid Alex and Haley farewell and made a swift retreat to your cabin. Slamming the door behind you, you let out an annoyed huff and plopped onto your bed, “Fucking Alex. Fucking Malibu Barbie,” you grumbled to yourself. You felt a buzz in your short pocket and shoved your hand in it to get your phone. Your screen lit up with a few notifications, the first being a text from Sam.

yo (y/n)!! you on for pool tonight? :D

You chuckled at his use of emojis and typed out a response.

yeah ofc, man - wouldn’t miss it for the world but we def gotta tag team to kick seb’s ass

A few seconds later, you received another text from Sam.

obviously ^o^ see you then!!

You smiled at your phone and swiped out of the messaging app. You were about to switch to your music app when it buzzed with another notification.

@sulsulbean on Handnotes tagged you in a photo

You opened your Handnotes app and clicked on the notification. It directed you to the account of your old swim team friend, Lena. The photo in question was an official group shot of your high school varsity swim team. You swiped to the other photo on her post, this one being a shot of you and Lena showing off your medals from a regional swim meet.

Missing my old swim buds!! Look at me and @applebottomfurs with our medals from our first meet <3

You tossed your phone on your nightstand without a second thought and combed your fingers through your sweaty hair. You didn’t need another reminder of the past.

The time until your pool session with the gang was rapidly dwindling, but you couldn’t find the energy to move. Sure, pool night at the saloon was sacred, missing out on it would be committing a friendship sin. Yet, the pain in your limbs were telling a different story. I need a nap. You closed your eyes, it would only be for a second, you just needed the rest.

Yet, out of the blue, you were startled awake by the sound of heavy rain pelting the walls of your cabin. Confused, you poked your head outside to see the state of the weather.

The sun vanished, the sky full of dark angry clouds, as a terrible downpour encased the valley in rain. You rushed over to the lighthouse, no Willy in sight. He told you that he could handle emergency situations like this, but he wasn’t here. You had to man the helm.

You stormed into the lighthouse and rushed up the wet stairs into the lantern room. The bright light illuminated over the Gem Sea, as it swayed side to side. You peered out into the cloudy waters and noticed the erratic tide and ebb of the sea, the waves crashing against the lighthouse’s base like a drum. Not wanting to remain in the lighthouse a moment longer than necessary, you got to work adjusting the light to account for the weather change. Your fingers tingled while you tinkered with the settings and machinery.

“Oh thank Yoba,” a sigh of relief escaped your lips once the light was properly set. Even though few boats passed through the area at this hour, you wanted to be safe in case there was someone out on the sea.

Red suddenly flashed across your vision, as a flash of lightning echoed throughout the valley. Despite the distance from the lantern room and the sea, you could make out something red. It was almost fish-like, red scales shining under the brief periods of illumination from the lightning and the lighthouse. The rain picked up in insanity and forced you to wipe the droplets off your eyes. Yet, that was when you saw it.

A hand, a human hand poking out from under the chaotic waves.

“FUCK!” you cried out. Someone was trapped, someone was drowning. Your adrenaline spiked and your body tensed up, as you proceeded to make a stupid but noble decision. You hastedly discarded your clothes, minus your undergarments, on the catwalk and climbed on top of the safety railing. Steadying your breath, you peered down at the roaring sea and jumped.

Your body collided with the chilly sea water and you struggled to keep your eyes open, burning from the saltwater. You didn’t know how much time you had, but you knew that you had to act fast. Forcing your way through the angry waves, you scanned the murky waters for any sign of life and there it was, the faint outline of a person just a few feet away. You swam towards the drowning victim, their body still clouded by the darkness. Nonetheless, you managed to swing the person onto your back and swam until you reached the top of the water.

As the storm raged on, you gasped for air, your body bobbing up and down in tangent with the waves. A frecious wave nearly knocked you down, but you let on to your drowning victim strong. With all your might, you swam and swam against the mighty storm until you finally reached the shoreline. You, rather ungraciously, threw your drowning victim off your back and onto the sand before performing mouth to mouth resuscitation. Their lips were pleasantly sweet, as you forced air down their lungs. A groan vibrated against your lips, your rescued victim happily alive.

You pulled off of their mouth and flopped onto the firm sand, disorientated and exhausted. It had been years since you last swam, yet your muscle memory and the adrenaline of the need to rescue kicked into high gear. Nonetheless, your muscles ache and your heart was pounding hard like a bass drum.

The person you rescued hovered over you, piercing your vision with hypnotic emerald eyes. You were able to get a closer look at their face, noting the freckles that spattered across their hooked nose and how chiseled their jawline was. Their hair was surprisingly dry, an autumn red. Yoba, they were beautiful.

“What a peculiar human,” their voice hummed, a soft baritone. Your eyes began to flutter, as exhaustion overwhelmed your mind, “Rest, little one, you deserve it,” you shut your eyes and succumbed to slumber.

The storm settled down, as the dark clouds parted and revealed a twinkling night sky. Elliott remained still on the beach, the waves crashing against the shoreline rhythmically. He watched over your sleeping form like a guardian angel, enraptured by your facial features and body. Elliott had never seen someone so beautiful, much less a human, up close. He laid his head against the sand and whispered, “What a peculiar human, indeed.”

[emeryhiro]

My thoughts on TBOC 206 script & Caryl canon.

Before I get into my thought I want to clarify a few things, and this may come across as blunt, however, I feel that bluntness is nessary in this instance.

Firstly, I wasn't planning on adressing the leaked script pages, however, after reading some of the positive and negative posts about it, I feel like I should also share my thoughts and clarify some things that may be misunderstood about me as well.

Secondly, (and this may not sound relevant right now but bear with me for a second) I'm an engineer who works in the construction industry, I'm also a post grad architecture student, both of which are roles that require at the very least a competent level of critical thinking as a baseline skill. Why I'm sharing this information is becasue those skills are what I use to develop the thoughts and opinions that I share. I also want to say that I'm in no way familiar with the way things are run in the entertainment industry, whether that's production companies, directors, producers, or actors, I'm just a fan of the arts who loves delving deep into lore-rich stories and sharing my thoughts with others who also love the same things.

So now that you have my cridentials😅 you can come to your own decisions on how you approach and what you take away from the thoughts I share.

Where I stand on Carol and Daryl's relationship.

Over the past few months, I've had several messages saying that my opinion may be biased or that I'm just being overly optimistic because I'm a Caryl fan. So the first thing that i want to say is that this fandom is very dear to me. And even though I have only in the past year begun to be more vocal on these tags, I have been on this platform and a part of the fandom for a very long time.

As someone who had the opportunity to see episode one early, I feel that I have a responsibility to be honest with everyone who's relying on my opinion. I would never want to give false hope to those who (similar to me) love Caryl and are excited about canon, only for them to be even more disappointed in the end.

I respect and understand that everyone has their own reasons for watching/not watching and loving/hating a show. However, I myself will 100% still be watching season 2 and all the seasons to come, even if we never get canon. I love Carol and Daryl as individual characters, and I watched twd because I loved the show and it's premise. Daryl and Carol are a massive part of why I loved the show, they also happen to be my favourite characters in fiction, and Caryl canon is what I've always wanted for them, BUT I'm not, never have, and never will be watching for Caryl canon alone. Will I be disappointed if it never happens? Yes, definitely! But I'll still be watching because of everything else that I love about the show and the characters.

Even if the show was just about Daryl, or just about Carol I'd still be watching every single episode and loving it. So to summarise what I'm trying to say, the thoughts and opinions that I share publicly are not biased (at least not consciously) by my love for the idea of Caryl unless I specifically say that I'm "fangirling" which you may have notice me clarifiying in some of my posts.

SPOILER WARNING - Thoughts on the leaked ep 206 script below the line.

TBOC 206 Script

Implications on Caryl canon:

I don't see anything in these pages that implies whether or not canon has or hasn't happened, the whole scene that it describes can't be more than 5-10 minutes long, which is why there is no point assuming either way.

If canon has happened, I don't expect them to be mentioning it in a scene where they're seperated for the most of it, with one of them getting almost beat/shot to death, the other fighting several walkers and collapsing, and both of them most probably inhaling poisonous gas. Not exactly the type of scene where you can create the perfect romantic Caryl moments. And not so different from the TOWL finale scene between Rick and Michonne as they escape the walkers/gas.

~~~

The Parallel:

One thing I haven't seen anyone talk about is the parrallel of the scene between Daryl and his hallucination of Isabelle, and the scene between Carol and her hallucination of Alpha from S10 EP14.

Firstly, I don't think Isabelle is meant to represent an angel to Daryl in this moment, just like how Alpha didn't represent a demon to Carol. Neither actually represents the characters themselves, and both are just personification of the conflicts that's going on in each of their minds, and perhaps another similarity is that they're both personifications of people who they believe got them to the situation they're in.

Secondly, In both scenes Daryl and Carol seem completely overwhlmed by guilt and ready to let go and give up. The scene from S10EP14 didn't mean that Carol didn't love Daryl, on the contrary a reminder of him was what snapped her out of the physical and mental trap she was in and gave her the motivation and drive to fight again.

I think the same can be said about Daryl in the TBOC EP06 scene, he's "ready to let go" and this isn't becasue he doesn't love Carol but it's becasue he feels as though he's constantly failing everyone who relies on him, including Merle, Beth, Glenn, Isabelle and in his mind Carol could be next. But what gets him to fight again? Isabelle saying:

"Not like him."

refering to his grandfather. In season 1 we learnt exactly what Daryl didn't want to do and in what way's he didn't want to be like his grandfather. The main one being that his granfather left his family behind, which resulted in generational trauma that he couldn't protect his family from, only becasue he went to fight someone else's war.

What I've taken away from this is that in that moment he believes it's too late, he failed the ones he was supposed to protect from the Nest, and now by losing and dying the fight in that moment it would mean that he also failed his real family and won't be able to protect them. Like everything he did was in vain.

This is exactly what "Isabelle" reminds him of, that yes maybe he did fail to protect her and the people from his past, but unlike his grandfather who died "bloody and bullet riddled" Daryl is still breathing and as long as he's alive there's still the possibility and "hope" of protecting his family. He becomes determined and starts to fight back becasue he's reminded to "Bet on hope".

~~~

The fight scenes:

It appears that Carol and Daryl are in a tunnel with Cordon, and two new characters named Angus and Fiona. I want to point out that it looks like the fight between Codron and Daryl is once again becasue Codron blames Daryl for killing his brother, however, I find it hard to believe that we're in episode 206 and that issue hasn't been resolved yet, which leads me to believe that perhaps there's something paticular about the gas in the tunnel that's causing helusination and all at the same time making:

Codron see his dead brother and run after him like he's hipnotised

Carol seeing, speaking and interacting with Sofia

Daryl seeing and speaking with Isabelle

The pages also show that the fight between Angus, Fiona, and Daryl was about gas masks. It sounds to me like Angus and Fiona perhaps used Daryl to help them get the masks and when finding that there's only two masks, they try to knock him out and have to kill him so that they can take the masks for themselves, gas masks that Carol and him need to get through the tunnel to get home.

I can't wait to see how that fight scene plays on screen! I have a weakness for the way Daryl and Carol become so brutal when fighting to protect each other. Because Angus and Fiona don't sound like antagonists when they're speaking with Daryl, and saying:

"Sorry, friend, ain't enough masks for the lot of us." "Got people waiting back home."

They just sounds like two people who, like Carol and Daryl, are trying to get back to the people waiting for them.

This is more of a personal guess than a proper thought: after the fight as Daryl hands one of the masks to Carol he says "It was us or them." and what I think he really meant was "it was you or them" because he was ready to die moments earlier until he was reminded of her, emphasising my earlier points on how they fight for eachother and live for each other.

~~~

The Tunnel:

Lastly, and probably most importantly, these script pages don't tell us how Daryl and Carol ended up in that situation or which part of the episode this is in, without that context there's no way to know what anything really means.

Some of the questions that I think are important and thoughts that I have:

What events lead up to the fight?

We know that Carol is outside the "camp" as described in the script, and that Carol faught at least 3 walkers and collapsed on the ground, but did Daryl know where she was or if she was okay before he saw her after his fight?

Why would his first thought/guess be of Carol when he saw a "blurry figure approaching."

Would they really end the episode like this, leaving Codrons fate as a huge questions mark? (I don't think they would, seems harsh and like they're throwing away such an interesting character)

As seen in the trailer, the tunnel that they're in is the Channel Tunnel which connects France and England, BUT, we also know as it has been offically announced that season 3 is set in Spain not England, so logcially Carol and Daryl aren't gonna be going all the way through the tunnel only to turn all the way back, which leads me to believe that either they don't end up going through, the season ends as they're walking further into the tunnel, and season 3 will explain how/when they turned around, OR, this isn't actually the final scene 🤷‍♀️

LITTLE (hopefully interesting) HINT ABOUT THE OPENING CREDITS: There's a scene that's described in one of these script pages that's also included in the opening credits.

~~~

Some additional thoughts:

The fireflies that appear as Isabelle walks away. I have a few different ideas on what this could mean but it's impossible to tell without the visual context. Also Dary's "wtf?" reaction to the fireflies had me laughing out loud! That right there reads like some good comedic timing.

We're getting another "You okay?" moment!! Those moments are some of my favourite and most tender/affectionate moments between Carol and Daryl. I can't wait to see how they play this one 😭💖

Sorry but I can sense more tension between Codron and Daryl in their fight scene than all the Isabelle and Daryl scenes combined... 🤣

~~~

To Summarise:

These scripts don't cover enough for any level of resonable doubt or concern. How something reads on a script can turn out sooo different on screen, and what I know from all the other season of twd, is that Norman and Melissa can turn something that may come across as basic, misleading or confusing on script into something incredibly magical on screen which also often turns into some of our favourite scenes between the two of them.

I completely trust Norman and Melissa with the story, and if the story never goes to canon and we end up getting something different I know that it's still gonna be an incredible story.

Although, I do still stand by my thoughts that we're heading towards canon. If Carol and Daryl need season 2 to finally heal and then approach canon on more solid ground in season 3 than so be it, because that would make sense and it would be a fair way to begin a canon relationship between the two. However I can also see the beginnings of a conversation about canon, or even actual canon happening in season 2.

It all seems possible to me and it's now all up to how Norman and Melissa want to tell the story, which I'll be anxiously waiting for and respect no matter what.

~~~

Thank you @celtic-crossbow for giving me the push I needed to share my thoughts on these matters🩵🩵

And thank you to all of you who read through this extensive post. I appreciate all of you who read my thoughts, engage with it, share your thoughts in return, ask me questions. I'm sorry for my bluntness in some areas within this post, I think it was important for me to address and clarify some things in order to avoid further confusion.

I'm so excited that we are now only 8 weeks away from the offical premiere of season 2!!! After a long wait we're finally gonna have our favourite characters sharing a frame on our screen again, and if that in itself isn't a reason to celebrate than I don't know what is.

[mothdruid]

The Physics of Love - Part Three

series masterlist | part one | part two | part four

pairing.

robert ‘bob’ floyd x afab!reader (nickname Nova)

word count.

3.2k

warnings.

this content is meant for those who are 18 and older, fluff, kissing, alcohol consumption, lots of science talk in this part

authors note.

ahhhhhh!!! they kissed!!! fianlly!! i was smilling like a silly goose the entire time i was writing this chapter. it made me so freaking happy. also, Cranbrook is a real place and you totally check it out if you're ever in that area of Michigan! also no, this story is not based in Michigan, i just needed to think of a cool museum i like to go to.

starboy: I’m at the front of the Institute.

A smile grew on your face as you drew closer to the Institute. Bob had texted you only a few minutes ago. No matter how many times you had been here, Cranbrook never ceased to amaze you. Whether it be the seasonal display, the new mineral added to the collection, or even the ice age display they had, it was all fun and captivating.

You slipped your phone into your coat pocket, making your way to the front of the building. There wasn’t many people around, seeming how it was the middle of the day during the week. The two of you had decided to skip out on one of your tutoring session this week to make it work. Between Bob’s grad experiments and your full time schedule, it was hard to find time.

You had suggested doing it during the weekend, but Bob explained that he didn’t want many people around. It left you confused, curious as to why he didn’t want others around. There were only two things that you had thought of. One, he has social anxiety, and two, he disliked kids. And maybe even a third possibility of kids just plain out making him nervous. No matter what the reason, it didn’t bother you.

All morning you couldn’t stop daydreaming about your date today, which both of you were hesitant to call it that. Excitement was bubbling in you, the promising thought of being able to captivate him. Being able to explain all of the minerals to him, breaking down all of the make ups off them, what element made them appear a certain color, all of the things you loved about mineralogy. But some of that excitement was wrapped around the idea of him explaining the stars to you.

As you were coming around the almost barren fountain you saw him. You put a hand up high, waving to get his attention. He was wearing a denim jacket, burnt orange beanie covering most of his hair, a soft gray sweater underneath the jacket, and all of it complimented with black jeans and basic vans. It was all so him that your heart started to flutter. He smiled and gave you a small wave back.

“Hey,” he said once you got a little closer.

“Hey, I hope you didn’t have to wait too long,” you pushed your hands into the pockets of your long wool blended coat.

“Oh no, not at all,” Bob shook his head no.

The both of you sat there for a second, smiling a little awkwardly. Bob eventually broke the silence.

“Ready to check it out?” He asked, nodding up towards the front doors.

“Yeah,” you said with a smile.

The two of you headed up the small bit of stairs to the front doors. Bob quickly made his way up the steps, opening the door for you when he got to them. After thanking him, you both stepped inside the foyer. Bob held the next door open for you, his hand gracing the small of your back. A heat crept into your cheeks, nervousness pooling in your stomach. Even though you were excited, you could barely believe this was happening.

Bob went to the counter, talking with the employee behind the desk. You waited for him only a few steps away, just looking around. It wasn’t anything new, but you still loved the presence this place had. When you looked back over at Bob he making small talk with the employee, accepting one of the maps of the institute before heading back over to you. He adjusted his glasses a little before flashing the map.

“I got this just in case,” Bob smiled at you.

“Do you think we really need that?” You asked as the two of you headed across the lobby like area to a small set of stairs.

“Probably not, but it never hurts.”

The two of you stepped up the stairs, headed to the first section of the museum. Your favorite section. The mineral gallery.

Glass cases adorned every wall with more glass cases jutting out to create sections. Glimmers of light bounced off the minerals already. There were a few benches placed around in the clear areas. Two specimens were placed in the center walk way. The first specimen that was out in the open was a massive fossil, one that was still embedded into the rock it was found in. The second specimen was an enormous rock, half of it broken to display the clusters of amethyst crystals inside.

Bob felt a flutter in his chest when he watched your eyes light up, lips turning upward. You immediately headed down the center walk way, rounding the corner of a glass case into a small section. Bob took his time getting over to you, making sure to look at a few of the cases on his way over. He knew all of the minerals existed, but seeing them all in person was still astounding. All the colors and different types of crystalline structures they came in. Even though he was a space nerd, this always made him appreciate the earth a little more.

“What did you find?”

Bob turned away from the intriguing silvery gray mineral to see you peering around the corner of a glass case. It made his heart warm seeing you so comfortable. He was always so used to seeing you in a school setting. This was a nice change of pace, something he could get used to.

“I was looking at this,” he beckoned you over with a nod of his head.

You took a look at the mineral he was pointing at. A smile grew on your face as you took a few steps towards him.

“Muscovite,” you said while looking at him, “it a really weak mineral, flakes off in layers.”

“It looks pretty,” Bob looked back at it, taking in the layered effect of the mineral.

“Wanna hear something crazy?”

“Hmm?” Bob looked at you, ready for the fact you were about to tell him.

“Muscovite is used in a lot of make ups, especially the shimmery ones. They bust it up into a fine powder and boom, shiny glittery like substance.”

“Minerals are everywhere in our lives, even when you don’t think about it,” Bob looked at you we a small smile.

“Science is everywhere,” you replied.

“The essence of life is science,” Bob added.

The two of you continued your exploration around the mineral gallery. Bob learned about your favorite mineral, and you urged him to pick a favorite mineral. The both of you took pictures of each other with your mineral, setting them as your contact pictures. Bob couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled this much. There was just this infectious passion that flowed through you about every mineral. Even when you told him that ‘gold was overrated’, it felt only half-hearted like you didn’t want to actually say it.

All of it made Bob’s heart flutter and do back flips. He had met people who were passionate about science, but you were a lot cuter than most of them. The way your eyes lit up when you looked at one you loved. How sometimes a look of focus would consume your face while looking at one. It made him feel warm and fuzzy.

Once you two had looked over every mineral, you moved to the next section of the institute. It was now time for Bob to explain everything to you. Well, almost. The first section was meteorites and space rocks. Bob could tell you weren’t as excited about these minerals as the previous. But it was different.

“I mean, obviously space is going to make neat things. It just seems more exciting when it’s from earth,” you explained.

“How so?”

The two of you were standing close, shoulders almost touching as you two looked down at the collection of meteorites in a glass case. It took almost everything inside of Bob to not brush his shoulder against yours. Little did he know, you were hoping he would.

“I don’t know. I’ve been on earth my whole life, so seeing the cool minerals it can produce. Things that are so rare. It feels almost impossible that they came from the same place I’ve lived my whole life,” you paused for a moment, “space is so unknown, it’s like obviously something neat would come from it. Space has nebula’s for fuck sake.”

Bob couldn’t help but chuckle at that. He looked over at you and smiled, your gaze still focused on the meteorites.

“Yeah, nebula’s are pretty cool,” Bob said.

You broke your gaze for the little black rocks, meeting his eyes. There was this look in his eyes, one full of adoration. Those blue eyes always made your heart melt. They were like beautiful orbs of kyanite, deep but yet light at the same time. A hypnotizing shimmer drawing you in.

The two of you stood there staring at each other for a moment. The world around you starting to fade, both of you only focused on each other. Both of you had been waiting for weeks for a moment like this. Every soft brush of hands while passing an assignment back and forth, late night texts that elicited giggles and smiles, all the early morning coffees he started buying you. You could stay here forever in this moment.

There was a door off to the side, one that led to the constellation room. Without warning the door burst open, two young kids running out. It broke the two of you out of your moment. The kids came running around, coming close behind you two. Bob put his hand around your back, pulling you close to him and keeping the kids from running into you. Two parents followed out the door, trying to catch up to the kids.

One of your hands moved to his chest, steadying yourself against him. The fabric of his sweater was soft against your fingers, almost distracting you from how close you were. All you could do was stare forward, afraid of what might happen if you looked at him. Something soft touched your cheek then moved to touch your jaw slightly. His hand was softer than you imagined. It was guiding you to look at him.

“You okay?”

Your brain went blank, forgetting every word you had ever learned. All you could do was study his face. You had never been this close to him. It felt like you were looking at someone completely new. You were starting to wonder if he could feel the heat in your cheeks or the intense thumping against your rib cage. Eventually you nodded, letting him know you were okay.

A smile pulled at Bob’s lips, eye crinkling a little bit. His thumb brushed over the skin of your cheek lightly. He was assuming that this was all okay, especially if you weren’t pulling away from him. It felt like a good sign at least.

“Do you want to check out the constellation room?”

“Sure,” you said, finally being able to speak. “Are you gonna speak all space like when we get in there?”

Bob chuckled, leaning a little closer to you in the process. There was this boyish grin on his face, eyes twinkling with excitement. “Only if you want me to.”

Your faces were only mere inches away from each other. Someone could simply bump into one of you and the inevitable would happen. The fateful kiss that the both of you were secretly hoping would happen by the end of this date. Was it a date? Neither of you had officially called it that, or at least to each others faces. Mickey had definitely heard Bob gush about you accepting his invite, to which he only called it a date twice.

“I’d be more than happy to hear you talk space to me.”

Bob’s hand loosened from around your body, grabbing your hand instead. He guided you over to the door, opening it for you. But you didn’t let go of his hand, instead turning around and walking in backwards so you could watch him. Bob couldn’t get rid of the smile on his face, nor did he want to. He happily followed you through the short hallway, watching as you remained backwards and walked through the blackout curtains.

The room was almost pitch black. Little projected constellations covered the walls and ceiling. All of them were labeled, tiny projections of their names near them. You had barely any idea of what all of them were. The constellations you had learned during your freshman astronomy class had faded. Only the Big Dipper and Ursa Major stood out to you. But you were more than excited to have Bob tell you about them. After all, he did let you tell him about Muscovite being in makeup.

You tugged at his hand, pulling him a little closer to you. Bob happily stepped closer to you. The two of you had slowly wandered towards the middle of the room. Bob squeezed your hand, his free hand coming up to adjust his glasses lightly. Neither of you could make out the others eye color. All that was there was little glints reflecting in your eyes.

“Which one is your favorite?” You asked.

“Favorite constellation or star?” He replied, earning a barely visible eye roll from you.

“Both,” you said playfully.

Bob paused for a moment, looking around the room for his specific favorites. It wasn’t too hard for him to find them, his trained eyes knowing the exact shape of the constellation and exact brightness of the star. The constellation was the first one he found.

“There,” Bob turned your body the right way to see the constellation.

His chest was practically flush with your back. His left hand grabbed your left shoulder, pointing at the constellation with the other one. Sudden;y you felt hot breath on your neck and ear.

“Do you see it?” He whispered.

It was hard to focus on the constellations with Bob this close. But you found it, with the help of his pointing. You turned your head barely, eyes flicking down to where his lips should be for a second.

“Yeah,” the word almost came out as a whisper.

“It’s called Delphinus,” Bob’s eyes were trained on your face now, “it’s the shape of a dolphin, representing Poseidon’s messenger Delphini.”

“Is your favorite star in that constellation?”

“No,” Bob started to turn your body with his. Once he found it he stopped the two of you. “There.”

You saw the star immediately. It was a bright star, brighter than some of the other projections. The name attached to the constellation it was a part of was Lyra. The dusty old astronomy cogs in your brain started to turn.

“The swan,” the words passed your lips before you could think.

“Yeah, but the star is Vega,” Bob’s hand drifted down from your shoulder to your back, “the fifth brightest star in the sky. A lot of people over look it cause it isn’t the brightest, but it’s two point one times as massive as the sun. The sun just happens to be older. Plus, I like the bluish white light it gives off.”

Even though it was still dark in the room, it felt like Vega had brightened it up since Bob had explained it. You turned to him, who was still impossibly close to you. There were only a few layers of clothing separating your bodies, but nothing separating your lips. His lips were soft as they moved against yours. It wasn’t anything intense, but it was everything you had been hoping for in a first kiss with him.

Little fireworks were going off in your mind. His hand was resting at the small of your back, applying just enough pressure to keep you pressed into him. Your hands came up to rest on his chest, the denim of his jacket and wool from his sweater rubbing your palms. The wire frame of his glasses was bumping into your nose as the kiss continued. Lips melding together, two beings that were destined to be together finally connecting. It was a perfect science.

“I’ve been waiting to do that,” Bob whispered while resting his forehead against yours.

“Me too,” you replied, biting your lip with a smile.

The rest of the date went just as perfect. It was full of hand holding and giggles, the occasional photo being taken by one of you. Bob happily took a picture of you squaring up with the taxidermied grizzly bear, which became your contact photo. You took one of Bob with his hands up and fake yelling in front of the T-Rex, earning contact photo status as well. You had a hard time deciding on his contact photo, torn between that one and one of him in the black light space room. The goofy one just seemed more him to you.

Neither of you had planned on going to dinner afterwards, but it happened anyways. Since it was last minute it wasn’t anything too nice. A simple bra that was full of people having fun. It helped relieve the small bit of anxiety about it all for the two of you. Bob nursed a draft Blue Moon while you sipped on a draft papaya Cider Boys. You shared a tray of loaded nachos, order of soft pretzels, and plate of deep fried green beans.

“Wait, wait, wait,” you laughed, “you stole a street sign sophomore year?”

“I was really drunk,” Bob replied, “but it wasn’t only me. Without Mickey and Jake it wouldn’t have happened, I don’t think I would have even gone out that night if not for them.”

“Do you still have it?” You asked, then shoveled a heavily covered nacho into your mouth.

“Jake does,” Bob smiled at you before taking a swig of his beer.

“Your friends sound fun,” you held your hand in front of your face, not wanting to flash him the food you were chewing.

“They are,” Bob looked at his beer for a moment, “they are a lot of things, but without them I wouldn’t be here. Here in this very bar with you.”

“Oh really?” A playfully questioning look covered your features while you drank from your cider.

“Really,” Bob adjusted his glasses, “Mickey was the one who encouraged me to, well,” Bob gestured between the two of you and around the table.

Your face lit up, smiling brightly then biting your lip. It was something truly special, hearing that Bob had talked about you with such close friends. Your roommates were the only people that knew of him, but they were your closest friends, so it made sense. Thoughts of meeting his friends and introducing him to yours started to fill your mind. Were Bob’s friends like him? They didn’t sound to be like him. But it made you wonder.

“I’ll have to thank him if I meet him,” you replied.

Bob smiled and nodded, taking a drink of his beer. Him not saying anything worried you a tiny bit. Was what you said too much? Was it assuming something this wasn’t?

Bob noticed your worry immediately, even if it wasn’t that obvious. He set his glass down and reached across the table. The warmth of his hand encapsulated yours. You met his gaze, finding something soft and welcoming in it.

“They are, they’re a lot sometimes,” Bob told you.

“Trust me, mine are too.”

tags:

@wkndwlff

@thedroneranger

@callsign-sprout

@redbarn1995

[hurt-care]

It's allergy season and I was looking back through my old writings and found this short allergy-centric fic I wrote several years ago in response to a request. I don't know that I ever posted it here on Tumblr, but even if I did, there's a lot more people here than back in 2019 when I wrote it.

It's OCs, modern day setting, takes place in Egypt. Thom is a grad student in Archeology doing a practicum placement in Egypt. Turns out, there's still pollen and allergens in the desert... enjoy :)

---

The jingle of a cell phone ring broke through the cloud of white noise coming from the air purifier and the AC unit. Thom rolled over and reached for the phone, almost knocking it off the bedside table as he fumbled sleepily.

He squinted at the display and toggled the slider to answer.

“Mhm? Hello?”

“I'm out front. It's ten past.”

Thom sat up with a start and blinked at the clock across the room.

“Oh fuck. I'm sorry Asha, I overslept. Give me a few and I'll be right down.”

He kicked off the sheets and tore through his closet in the small flat for a fresh pair of khakis and a thin linen shirt. He splashed some water on his face and ate a banana quickly while he refilled his water bottle and searched for his baseball cap. Thankfully, his backpack was still stocked from the previous day of work, so he slung it over his shoulder, grabbed his keys, and raced down the two flights of stairs out into the busy Luxor street.

Though it was barely seven, the sun was already blazingly hot. Asha sat, idling her motorcycle and chatting with a street vendor.

“Sorry, sorry,” Thom said as he approached. 

“Doctor Rutledge is gonna kill us,” she said, pushing her helmet back down and handing the spare one to Thom. “Let's go.”

Thom sided onto the bike, put on the heavy face-shielded helmet, and took hold of Asha's waist. The bike roared to life and they sped off towards the dig site.

He'd first met Asha two months ago when he'd come to Egypt for his practical experience under the tutelage of renowned Egyptologist, Doctor Emila Rutledge. Asha was a daughter of Luxor, born and raised in the city and her knowledge of its winding streets and the surrounding archeological sights had proved very useful. She was a local assistant on the dig, helping with some of the more tedious sorting and packing of artifacts. And her motorbike was a much faster way to reach the desert than taking a bus and then walking.

They turned down a street leading out of the city and towards the Theban Necropolis dig site. The bike slowed as they turned down the side road and came to a halt where the road turned to sand.

They tugged off their helmets, the sweat dripping down their faces drying instantly in the arid climate. With Asha pushing the bike, they walked the last bit down the sandy path to the tents that marked the research areas. 

Thom blinked in the dry air and rubbed at his left eye, turning it a little pink. As they ducked under the canopy of the first tent, he cleared his throat and took a deep swig of his water bottle. 

“Sorry, sorry,” he said, capping the bottle and putting it back in his pack. “It's my fault. I didn't set a proper alarm.”

Doctor Rutledge looked up from her table of equipment and glared at him.

“There's limited time out here during the storm season,” she warned him. “Don't waste it being late.”

March and April in the desert meant sandstorms and sometimes they struck unexpectedly, plunging the camp into a fog of dust and undoing weeks of excavation work. Thankfully, none had hit the site thus far in the season.

Thom set down his things and turned to his work, Asha at his side, cataloguing a tray of rocks that had eroded off a nearby statue. 

“You alright?” she asked, looking at him critically. “Your eyes are kinda pink.”

He blinked and rubbed at his left one again. They did feel a bit gritty.

“Still half asleep,” he said. “Didn't have time for coffee.”

She laughed.

“You'll have to suffer until break then.”

Thom nodded and made a mark in his notebook about one of the artifacts. He rubbed the back of his hand to his nose distractedly, pawing away an itch.

In the distance, the air was growing murky and dim as a far-off storm kicked up sand into the air, turning the sky an unworldly red. 

His throat felt drier than usual out in the heat of the open desert. Putting his notebook down, he reached again for his water bottle.

“You sure you're fine?” Asha asked suspiciously. “Your eyes look awful.”

Thom pushed his water bottle cap shut and opened his mouth to answer her, but he was distracted by a sudden, very urgent itch. He wrinkled his nose and turned away, cupping his hands to his face.

Hurh-TSGHT!

“Blessings to you,” she offered. 

Thom sniffled and wiped at his nose. He could feel the familiar burning of an allergic reaction growing in his respiratory system and suddenly his stomach sank. In the haste of his departure that morning, he'd neglected to take his allergy medication.

He'd always been someone who struggled with allergies, to everything from cats to pollen to mold and dust. His youth had been full of inhalers on the sidelines of the soccer pitch, extra allergy pills packed for sleepovers, and his own air purifier for his college dorm room. Adulthood had not improved things as much as he'd hoped. He'd expected that the dry air of Egypt would be a relief to his hayfever, but he'd been warned about dust-storm season and the large amounts of pollen and mold and dust kicked up by the strong winds. The local pharmacy had put out a display of face masks only a week prior.

“Oh shit,” he groaned, digging through his backpack. Maybe he had some spare pills stowed away.

“What?” Asha asked.

“Ugh, my allergies,” he said, sniffling again. “I forgot my medicine this morning.”

“Wow, you really did fuck up the start of your day,” she teased. “You have allergies? Bad ones?”

“Yes, bad ones,” he said, reaching to the bottom of an outside pocket and feeling his rescue inhaler. At least that was some relief. “Bad enough to need a prescription daily.”

“And it's storm season,” she said. “The worst for that.”

“I've been told,” he said miserably. He could feel his eyes beginning to water and he ran his tongue along the top of his mouth and back towards his throat, trying to settle an itch.

Hhrr-TSGHHT!

He sneezed roughly into his shoulder.

“Well,” he said, pulling a bandanna out of his pack. “This might help a little.”

He tied the triangle of cloth over his nose and mouth, tucking the excess into the top of his shirt.

“Very mysterious,” Asha teased. “My work partner, Zorro.”

Thom went back to his notes, but concentrating was extremely difficult. He wrinkled his nose under the bandanna and tried to focus on his work, but the itching was too strong. 

Hehh-ehh-GSHTT!

A damp spot blossomed on the bandanna under his nose.

He clamped a hand over the fabric and pinched his nose, turning away from Asha.

NghT! Hehh...eh-TSGHT! Tsh'GXHT!

Three rapid stifles tumbled forward, held in by his fingers. 

Tsgh! Ehh-TSGH!

“Wow,” Asha said, watching. “You were not kidding.”

“No,” he said miserably, letting go of his nose. “This is pretty mild, actually. Usually I...I..hehhh...heh-TSGHT!”

He sneezed once again into the bandanna and tugged it free from his face, using it as a proper handkerchief. 

“I'll ask around to see if anyone else has some medicine,” Asha offered. “Sit down a minute.”

He sunk into a camp chair with the bandanna over his nose.

Hehh-ehhhh-GSHTT!

By the time she returned, his breath was growing wheezy and his eyes were swollen. He coughed hoarsely into his fist and swallowed hard.

“No luck,” she said.

“What going on over here?”

Doctor Rutledge was standing behind them, looking expectantly at them both.

“Thom is having an allergic reaction, Doctor,” Asha explained. “I was looking around to see if anyone had any medication.”

“And?”

“No one does,” she said. “I'm sorry, Thom.”

“That's okay,” he croaked. “I just need a minute. I—heh-SGHHT!”

He sneezed thickly into the bandana and pinched his nose before giving it a sharp blow.

“It's storm season, Thom,” Doctor Rutledge said. “The longer you're out here, the worse it'll get.”

Ehhh-GSXHTT!

He was starting to feel the strain in his lungs and he fished in his bag, curling his fingers around his rescue inhaler just in case.

“I think you should go back home, Thom,” Doctor Rutledge said. “It looks like the winds are headed this way.”

He could barely see her through his watering eyes.

“Are you sure, doctor? I could go work in one of those more covered tents across the way.”

“No, that isn't necessary. Asha, will you get him home?”

“Yes, I'll do that.”

Doctor Rutledge turned to head back to her work as Thom launched into another fit.

Ehh-tsxSHTT! Ngh'GSHT!

Thom curled in on himself, sneezing rapidly.

Tsgh-GSHT Tsh'GHT! TXGHT!

He blew his nose hard into bandana and surfaced from the fit with a wheezy gasp.

“Hold on,” he croaked, raising the inhaler. “I need this first.”

He took a puff and breathed in the medication, holding it in as long as he could before he started to cough and exhaled nosily.

Asha sighed sympathetically and held out her water bottle. He took a deep swig from it and thanked her.

“Let's go before you get worse,” she said.

They returned to the motorcycle, going slowly along the path because of Thom's swollen eyes. He shoved the helmet over his leaky face and climbed on the bike behind Asha.

The ride back into Luxor was a blur of exhausted sniffling and two very unpleasant sneezes inside the helmet before they pulled up in front of Thom's apartment.

“C'mon,” Asha said gently, taking his arm and leading him inside. He started to climb the two flights of stairs but on the first landing he was forced to pause as another fit took over, wrenching him forward with several forceful sneezes that tore out of him rapid-fire.

Hurhhh-TSGHHH! Ngh-TSGHHT! Hehh....ehh-TSCHHH!

They staggered up the next flight and into Thom's flat. He swallowed two of his prescription pills from the medicine cabinet before slouching down into his sofa and taking another puff of his inhaler.

“I thought leaving England would be the end of all this mess,” he said miserably.

“Oh no, we've got all our own special allergens here too. Storm season is infamous. I'm sure you've been told.”

“I have,” he said. “I probably would still be a bit of mess with my prescription, but I can't believe I managed to forgot taking it at all!”

“I guess we'll see,” Asha said. “There's two months of this dust. Maybe invest in a mask. Lots of people wear them this time of year.”

Eh-TSCHH!

Asha shoved a box of tissues across the coffee table towards Thom.

“And maybe invest in a few more of those too. Sounds like you might need them.”

[crazylittlejester]

Daily brainrot and today I've got a load of headcanons I've been mulling over because they won't leave me alone.

I know we've all done a college AU at some point in our lives, but I was up at like 3 am last night debating over which academia aesthetic each Link embodies because I may have spent way too much time on the aesthetics wiki recently. Did I procrastinate for an hour to work on this? Yes. I have no regrets. YOLO and all that.

Sky -- Definitely has light academia vibes. The man does not own a single dark piece of clothing, and everything in his closet is very soft and cozy. He double majored in aviation and environmental science, but he's debating transferring over to the biology department to pursue grad studies in ornithology.

Time -- He is not in charge of his own wardrobe, okay? Malon picks out his outfits. They match. It's always something tasteful and neutral with a little bit of color, but nothing that marks him as belonging to academia. He's part of the philosophy department and a strict teacher, but the students all love him because he genuinely wants them to do well and lets them know. Most of his work is writing for philosophy journals when he isn't teaching.

Legend -- Has more of a general/miscellaneous aesthetic that leans hard into gender non-conformity. He takes his work with him everywhere and whenever someone asks about it, it goes completely over their heads because they have no idea what he's talking about. There's an ongoing bet about whether his dissertation is about linguistics, sociology, or both.

Hyrule -- I don't think there's a word for his aesthetic, he just gives off "outdoors creature" vibes so hard. He's a cryptid and rarely in the classroom because he's always out doing field work. The most human contact he has is outreach programs with the environmental science and biology departments. No one knows exactly what his grad work is supposed to be because it's incomprehensible combinations of wildlife photos half the time and the other half the time he's off the grid.

Twilight -- This is what happens when cowboys and gothic academia have a kid. It's really freaking weird, but somehow he makes it work, so nobody questions it. He technically works for the agricultural department doing research and outreach programs, but he also haunts the English department and occasionally teaches 100 level literature classes online. The freshmen like him because he rounds grades up.

Four -- An unholy combination of academia and his unique color coding system. You don't know what you're getting until he shows up. He generally wears neutral stuff, but his socks and ties are color coded, much to everyone's chagrin. He's got multiple projects going at any given time and helps out the other departments when they get stuck on details. He's really cagey about his dissertation, but he practically lives in the science & engineering building, so he can't exactly deny that he's doing something in STEM.

Wind -- He tried being fashionable, but as soon as he decided to major in oceanography he was swept away by ocean academia. The amount of blue clothing he has is frankly horrifying, and Warriors is trying to get him to branch out into less garish shades of gray and stop wearing almost exclusively rubber boots as footwear. It's a work in progress.

Warriors -- I think he'd fall under general or queer academia because he'd be fashionable in a mostly-normal-but-also-queer sort of way. Stylish, and fruity. Definitely prefers autumn/winter because that's peak scarf season. He's the kind of guy who manages to casually slip representation into any curriculum you hand him and makes it look natural. He got an assistantship with the history department because the professors love him.

Wild -- 100% chaotic academia and doesn't even have to try. Everything is a mess, but it's his mess, he knows exactly where everything is, and to be honest it's not a safety hazard, so it's fine. Besides, he dresses appropriately for department events, and he's the only grad student that Flora hasn't scared off. No one actually knows which department he belongs to, but he knows something about everything.

IM SO FUCKING OBSESSED WITH THIS YOU HAVE NO IDEA

THESE ARE SO PERFECT AND YOU’RE SO RIGHT ABOUT THEM ALL I LOVE THESE SO MUCH IM SHAKIN EM AROUND LIKE A JAR OF MARBLES

[missjomarch]

I’m here to request Nico. Of course 🤭 Imagine Nico surprising his girlfriend at an event she thought he couldn’t attend. Either during the season or off-season. Like he has to basically move mountains to get there. But he knows how badly she wants him to be there so he does it because she is worth it.

( I am such a sucker for these types of sceneries 🥰) k love you, bye!

I'll never complain about Nico requests. I expected nothing less, he's our man. I love him. I'm equally a sucker for these situations because it just shows so much love & care, y'know?

I'm thinking reader has just finished her masters degree at a university that is no where near Jersey. Maybe even all the way back in Switzerland. She's graduating on May 12th, but the devils are in the heat of their series with the Canes. Obviously she wants him there, but she knows that this is likely the most important game of Nico's career and that he needs to focus on that. So she doesn't expect to see him at all until after the Devil's playoff run.

Little does she know that Nico Hischier has a plan. He's not even sure that he will make it. It's unwise for him to miss practice, with his captaincy and all. However, in the event that the Devils lose to the Canes in game 5, Nico has a plane waiting to fly him to Switzerland immediately. He was definitely not happy with the way the game went, but he was excited to be able to support her during such a big moment. He took a few minutes after the game to do media, but then it was straight to the airport to board the flight.

By the time the game is over, it's like 5 am in Switzerland and she's dead asleep. She would usually have stayed up to watch, but she knew she needed the sleep for the busy day ahead. When she woke up and checked the score, her heart broke. Mostly for Nico and the disappoint she knew he was feeling, but also slightly because he had to miss her graduation for something that ended up being so futile. She wasn't upset with him, just the circumstances. She sent him a sweet text letting him know how proud she was of everything he accomplished this season and promising to fly to NJ to see him as soon as the graduation brouhaha was over. He sent her back an equally ooey gooey text thanking her for always supporting him and profusely apologizing for having to miss her graduation. Liar.

She appreciated the text, but it was also just another reminder that he wouldn't be with her today. She mourned his absence for a few minutes before forcing herself out of bed to start getting ready, entirely unaware that Nico was on his way to her.

With all the grad festivities, she didn't have any time to talk to Nico throughout the day. Which actually worked out for the best because he had no service on the plane.

Her parents did a great job distracting her throughout the day, hosting a small party and taking a million pictures. Nico's plane arrives around 2:30, giving him about 4 hours to get ready and grab flowers before the 6 pm ceremony.

He sent her an inconspicuous video from his hotel bathroom wishing her luck and telling her not to fall on stage before he headed to the arena. The selfie she sent back stopped him in his tracks for a solid 2 minutes, causing him to almost be late. But everyone was getting seated when he arrived. Perfect timing. Her parents had saved him a seat, and immediately pointed out where she was sitting.

She didn't notice him until she was standing beside the stage, waiting for her name to be called. As she climbed the stairs, her eyes found her parent's thus subsequently finding Nico. She stumbled over her feet ever so slightly when she spotted him, tears instantly lining her eyes at the sight of his bright smile. Her nerves diminished significantly with the knowledge of his presence, and she had to refrain from bounding up the stadium seats to reach him. She barely registered the rest of the ceremony, anxious to get to Nico.

When the ceremony had finally ended and the graduates had processed out, she all but sprinted to the lobby. She found Nico standing there with a wide grin and a bouquet of flowers. She nearly knocked him over as she jumped into his arms, flinging her own around his neck and letting out a dry sob.

"You're here," she mumbled into his neck. He chuckled lightly at her disbelief.

"I'm here, baby." He squeezed her, pressing a light kiss to her head. She pulled away slightly to press her forehead to his, tear tracks clear on her face.

"How're you here? You're supposed to be in Jersey."

"Got on a flight right after the game. I wanted to be here for my girl," Nico mumbled back. This brought her back to reality. The game, shit.

"Oh my god. Have you even slept? I'm so sorry about the game, but you did everything you-"

Nico cut her off with a kiss, "Today is all about you. We can talk about the game later."

"Okay but-"

"Yes, baby. I slept on the plane. Stop worrying about me. Look," he presented the flower bouquet in front of her face, "for you."

She took them, a soft smile gracing her face before she pressed her lips to his.

"I love you, Hischier. You surprise me every damn time."

He smiled against her lips, "I love you more."

They broke away to acknowledge her parents, who had begun making polite conversation with a nearby family. They took a billion pictures and had all the emotional hugs before deciding on a place for dinner. Nico's treat, of course. He wrapped an arm around her waist as the exited the building, comfortingly rubbing his hand along her hip.

"Hey, question."

Nico turned to look at her, waiting for her question, "Hmm?"

She leaned up to whisper in his ear, "Can tonight be all about me too?"

His eyes darkened at her suggestive tone, not missing the coy smile playing on her lips. He didn't respond, just slid his hand to grab lightly at her ass. Oh yeah, tonight was all about her.

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

I was half tempted to write an actual fic for this, but there has been sorority girls screaming outside my dorm all day so this is all I can give. :') So I present you: my (unedited, un-proofread) thoughts. Super cute idea though. anyways, love you :33

[the-draconic-summit]

•Many greetings! The next draconic summit, the new years summit, is happening in a month! The Draconic Summit, also called Draconicon at times, is a seasonal online event hosted on discord catered towards the draconic and dragonkind communities. Anyone can attend this online event however, regardless of whether they identify as otherkin or not! If you are interested in the winter summit this season, please refer to the writings below detailing what is happening at the draconic summit this winter!

<•>

•Meet our staff members!

<•>

•Luunaathh (They/Them)-Many greetings! My name is Luunaathh and I'm a lycodraconic werewolf with a deep spiritual connection to a divine draconian entity by the same name. I've been hanging around the otherkind and therian communities for over a decade now, creating literary resources for the community as well as creating positive community spaces and events for individuals to make meaningful connections and learn more about themselves! I'm also indigenous Mesoamerican upon this earth and part of Kalpulli Ehekatl Papalotzin. It is a pleasure to meet you all! @luunaathh

•Kiera Ember (It/Its)-Hey all, I'm Kiera, a western dragon theriomyth! I love cooking, and in my free time, one of my favorite ways to explore my alterhumanity is through food. I'm also a grad student studying birds and the creator (and occasional updater) of beyondhumanity.net. @obligatorycoffee

•Khena (Ze/Zim/Zir)-Hi hi! My name is Khéna, I’m a spiritual dragonkin and horsekin of psychological origins! I’ve been in the community for almost a decade. I am an artist and I spend most of my time in the community either drawing or helping moderate events and dragonkin servers. I’m looking forward to meeting you all and wish you a fun Draconic Summit! @mxsweetix

•Zepris (She/Her)-I am a Fire dragon, I've been in the dragonkin community since 2009. I've always kind of known who I am or what I am, and I've long been around the online dragonkin forums and chats. Most of the time now I am pretty solitary hanging in my own circles and focusing on hobbies and career aspirations. @jerseyfiredragon

•Heart of Frost (She/They)-Hi everyone! Name's Heart of Frost! I have a few past lives that have led me to discover my otherkinnity over the past 3 years. My ice dragon past self (Heart of Frost) is the life I feel most closely connected to, but I also have a therian timber wolf (Aster) and a not-as-deeply explored life as a snake (presumably a cobra). I very predictably love the outdoors a lot, especially during winter time when it's cold and snowing. I have a few hobbies (such as writing, medieval re-enactment and tech related stuffs) but am currently deeply entrenched in my last year at university and trying to become a designer. Regardless, it's really nice to meet you all and be part of the draconic summit this year! :3 @astertimberwolf

<•>

Draconic Summit Winter 2023-2024 Panel Schedule

•New Years Draconic Summit Opening Ceremonies---Friday December 29th 2023, 6:00 AM CST

*We will be opening up the draconic summit this season with an opening ceremony welcoming all new and returning attendees to the event! These opening ceremonies will be introducing our staff members, discussing the upcoming events and presentations being shown this season, speaking about our upcoming dragonkind podcast, close encounters of the dragonkind, and elaborating more on our first ever physical draconic summit meetup, which is taking place October of next year in the Pacific Northwest region!

<•>

•Draconic Discussion Panel-Detailing the Uniqueness of Draconity---Friday December 29th 2034, 8:00 AM CST

*As is the tradition with the draconic summit, our first panel will be hosted by Luunaathh, detailing her experiences being a lycodraconic werewolf and a celestial draconian entity, whilst elaborating on the great amount of uniqueness that is shown within the entire dragonkind community! The draconic summit is an event that wants to encourage the beautiful diversity of dragons within the draconic community and discourage draconic elitism in every way possible. Individuals who want to share their unique experiences with draconity will be allowed to come up and speak at the end of the panel to give themselves a chance to shine at the summit this season!

<•>

•Draconic Summit D&D-Character Creation and Session Zero---Friday December 29th 2023, 7:00 PM CST

*Have you always wanted to engage in a dungeons and dragons session hosted by dragons? Well, this summit you'll be getting lucky in that regard! One of our returning attendees, Drakmanka, will be hosting a one-shot Dungeons and Dragons session that is exclusively for the draconic summit this new years! This part of the session will be the character creation part of the dungeon and dragons session, which will be premiering the Saturday of the summit this season. Create your unique character in preparation for the dragon-histed dungeons and dragons session!

<•>

•Close Encounters of the Dragonkind Podcast First Episode---Timeslot TBA

*Close encounters of the dragonkind is a new otherkin podcast centering around the experiences many of us experience in the draconic community! This podcast is meant to start productive discussions surrounding the topic of draconity, the varied experiences that many in the dragonkind community experience, and the tough topic of elitism in the community, which needs to be fought agaisnst. This podcast is meant to have episodes premier every two weeks with a new topic surrounding draconity or dragons each new episode. Our first episode is premiering at this season's draconic summit.

<•>

•Bind Your Truth: How to Bind Your Own Books and Journals---Saturday December 30th 2023 12:00 PM CST

*Have you always wanted to create something that's more personal and physical to your draconity and unique experiences? Something individual and unique to yourself to document your experiences with being a dragon or experiencing draconity? Orbit @orbitsdesk will be teaching us how to create our own books and journals to write down our personal experiences with draconity and general nonhuman experiences! This is a presentation you don't want to miss!

<•>

•The Essence of Draconity: Everything One Needs to Know Regarding the Dragonkind Experience---Saturday December 30th 2023 2:00 PM CST

*The draconic summit's main admin, Luunaathh, will be detailing how to discover one's draconity, the many aspects of the draconic experience, and some general history surrounding the dragonkind community. If you are questioning certain aspects of your draconity or are questioning whether or not you are draconic, this is the panel this season to experience! This presentation is an extension of Luunaathh's journal on everything related to draconity, posted on their dreamwidth page.

*https://luunaathh.dreamwidth.org/10403.html

<•>

•Mapping Outer Space: An Update on Lucid Dreaming---Saturday December 30th 2023 4:00 PM CST

*One of our returning panelists, Amber Azurescale, is detailing more valuable information on the astral plane and lucid dreaming, and an update on their autumn summit panel, "My Universe is a Dragon: Reviewing a Spiritual Self Discovery" and their spring summit panels on lucid dreaming! If you have always wanted to know more about lucid dreaming and the astral plane, attend Amber's panel this season! It is certain to be an interesting and thought provoking session of knowledge sharing!

*https://youtu.be/i4hdcS1IMNE?si=w-whrCcmxAxHgTv7

*https://youtu.be/7kP2ftzEFWU?si=rBI-HVUKsL9q78rk

*https://youtu.be/UcLPNrkCd8g?si=xpGhw57PtPBZt72d

<•>

•Draithconic and Draconic Spiritual Paths---Saturday December 30th 2023, 6:00 PM CST

*The draconic summit's main admin, Luunaathh, will be presenting information on draconic/draithconic spiritual paths, explaining how to be connected with one's spirituality, what kinds of materials to use, and specific techniques one can use to contact draconic guardians. They will also be elaborating on what sources and books to avoid when engaging in a draconic spiritual path, such as DJ Conway's books on draconic spirituality. This presentation is partly an extension of Luunaathh's resource debunking the misinformation described in DJ Conway's books on draconic magic.

*https://luunaathh.dreamwidth.org/10106.html

<•>

•Draconic Summit D&D---First Session-Sunday December 30th 2023, 3:00 PM CST

*During the winter summit this season, one of our returning attendees, Drakmanka, will be hosting a dungeons and dragons one shot that is exclusive to this season's draconic summit! If you have always wanted to engage in a dungeons and dragons session hosted by dragons, for dragons, then you'll certainly want to attend the winter summit this season for an exciting session of D&D!

<•>

•18+ Draconic Discussion Panel---The Unique Forms of Draconic Courtship, Love, and Relationships-Sunday December 31st 2023, 6:00 PM CST

*One of Luunaathh's draconian guardians and one of our summit administrators, Vuulluunnthhaaiiill, also known as Madara, will be elaborating on the many different kinds of draconic love, courtship, and aspects of relationships experienced by dragons in this adult only panel at the winter summit. Have you always been curious about the secret lives of dragons, or curious about exploring your own draconic sexuality? A very romantic draconian being will be teaching us all on the risqué aspects of dragons no one else sees!

<•>

•Ring in the New Year Draconic Style!---Time TBA December 31st 2023-January 1st 2024

*Do you want to ring in a brand new year with your fellow dragons and nonhumans? The summit event server's voice chat will be open so attendees can celebrate the new year in their time zone alongside their fellow community members!

<•>

•Registration for the draconic summit never closes! Even if the event had already started, you can still gain entry into the event by private messaging one of our staff members, asking for entry into the event!

•Panel and presentation submissions are also still open for the summit this season! If you want to do a panel this summit, please private message one of our staff members with your panel idea!

•Panelists and presenters will be receiving their invites to the official winter summit event server two weeks from now. Regular attendees will be receiving their invites to the summit event server a day before the event starts (December 28th 2023) so be on the lookout for the invite in the celestial spire and draconic basin!

•If you want to sign up for the draconic summit, please join either the celestial spire discord server (18+ draconic server), the draconic basin discord server (sign up server for the summit), or sign up for the summit via our member sign-up google form. If you have any questions about the draconic summit as an event or other miscellaneous questions, feel free to message any of the official draconic summit social media accounts or message @luunaathh with your inquiries. Thank you for your interest in the draconic summit this season, and we hope to see you pop in this season!! 🐉

<•>

• https://discord.gg/ZGQmq9fuf4 (Celestial Spire)

• https://discord.gg/9YqTUC5Avj (Draconic Basin)

• https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf5xN7mKc-7ECSLCuw_7AMNwTviY90JYf_HvliAcM1nTQyxrQ/viewform

[icedmatchatae]

Glimpse of Us | KTH Chapter IV: Everything We Didn't Say

Pairing: Problematic Idol Taehyung x Grad Student Reader

Genre: Idol AU, Ex-Childhood Best Friends into—, Angst (Hello, welcome to my angst central), Fluff (mainly in the flashbacks), Slow Burn, Eventual Smut

Summary: BTS’s V has been living a lavished and successful lifestyle, but underneath all of that, Kim Taehyung is far from the perfect image the media and fans made him out to be. All he wants is to relive the feelings of happiness and purpose in his life, but how can he when he left behind those memories years ago? The same memories, he hopes to see a glimpse of.

Warning: This is a big one lol, heavy ANGST, flashbacks (including fighting you’re about to see how their friendship ended and guess who fucks up, crying, insecurities (self and relationship), mentions of the deceased, minor character death in the past), unhealthy life habits (a/n: pls don’t do this to yourself! Take care of your body/self-care)

Word Count: 17.5k

A/N: I would also like to point out that the story's first half is about understanding their relationship and gradually their individual lives. It goes back and forth between the past and present. Specific timeframes (like Taehyung as a trainee) will be mentioned but not all. As time goes on, things will start to unravel. BTW: when I say football, I mean soccer lol

Chapter IV: Everything We Didn't Say || Series Masterlist

You paced back and forth on the front porch as you played with your fingers to calm yourself. The clouds covered the cerulean sky and bright heating sun on a cooling fall weekend afternoon. Leaves shifted to their rustic tones, hardening to a crisp. Some tried their best to stick onto the trees while others fell elegantly, being done for the season.

As for you, you dressed extra special today and saved up some money for it as well. A brown oversized sweater over a muted green linen maxi dress paired with your old dirty pair of black shoes. You saved enough for the outfit but not the shoes. Your hair was half up, held by a scrunch that was the same color as your dress.

Though in one of your best attires yet, you waited anxiously for your grandparents to be ready. Well, they were already ready to go for the day but what was missing was Taehyung.

You’ve been waiting for almost an hour and called and texted him countless times, but he had yet to answer you. You told him months in advance, weeks, days, and literally hours before, and he still wasn’t here.

“Sweets, we have to go. We’re gonna be late.” Your grandmother informed as she saw your distressed state. Your lips were in between your teeth, not wanting to give up faith in your best friend. You blinked towards your grandmother as she could only smile empathetically.

“We have a long drive, ___.” Your grandfather came out of the house and locked the door.

You checked the time on your phone, an hour over the scheduled time. You sighed as you glanced over at the Kim residence, seeing no one was home. You frowned as you felt the tears attempting to come out. He was supposed to be there with you.

You nodded to your grandparents as you all walked towards the car. You and your grandfather loaded the back with baskets of food, a picnic blanket, flowers, and candles. Once you closed the trunk, you called Taehyung once more to which no avail so you ultimately accepted that he wasn’t coming.

Your family drove off the property and left Geochang for the time being as your destination was the Daegu City Cemetery where you spent almost the entire day there.

By the time you were back home in Geochang, it was already late in the night, ten at night to be exact and that was past your grandparents’ bedtime. All of you were tired from the day trip, more so you. You kept crying the ride too when you were at the cemetery and the ride from. It was a miracle you didn’t cry during dinner, but you showed you were upset.

Your grandparents—blessed their hearts—tried their best to cheer you up but it was rather difficult with a day like today and your best friend not being there with you. So they let you be and comforted you here and there.

As you unloaded the car, you heard footsteps pressing into the gravel and coming your way. You didn’t bother looking since you knew who it was and finally decided to show up.

“Blue!” Taehyung greeted you with a hug and a kiss on your head. Though this behavior was typical, it left a sour taste right now and you didn’t like it. Instead of hugging back, you pushed him away which surprised the boy. You glared at him before heading to your front door with the basket in your hands.

Your grandfather opened the door for you to come inside but Taehyung gripped your armand held you back. You tried tugging your limb, but he wasn’t budging. “Blue, what’s wrong?” He questioned. Confusion grew in his expression, not aware of why you were being like this to him.

“Nothing’s wrong, Taehyung.”

“Okay, something’s definitely wrong.” He disagreed, shaking his head. “You always call me Hyungie. Tae, when you’re annoyed or irritated. Taehyung, when you’re pissed at me.” You loved how much he knew you, but hated how much he knew you. 

You huffed as you gripped the basket. Your grandfather came next to you and took what you held in his hands. “I’ll bring these in, ___. Talk to Tae, okay?”

You scrunched your nose in displeasing, seeing how your grandfather had a soft spot for your best friend. He wanted you to talk it out, and you will but you’re just angry with Taehyung.

When your grandfather went inside and closed the door, you crossed your arms and leaned into one leg. “Where were you today?” You snapped, interrogating him right off the bat.

“No need for the attitude, Blue.” He mumbled, hating how you scolded him. “I went to the beach party!”

Your eyes widened in disbelief. “W-what?”

“Yeah, you know the second-year Lee Jungjae, our sunbae?” Your best friend mentioned. You didn’t know who he was, because you couldn’t keep up with Taehyung’s gazillion friends. “Well, he personally invited me to his birthday beach party. I had to sleep over at his house because we had to take the bus all the way to Pohang. It was tiring but so fun, like—”

“So you just went without me? Without me knowing?” You grilled him, your temper slowly thinning the more he spoke.

“I mentioned it to you the other day…” He reasoned, trying to defend himself. “But Jungjae Hyung didn’t say to bring guests because of the trip. I’m sorry—”

“I don’t care about the stupid beach party, Taehyung!” You yelled. Your cheeks burned hot with the frustration that built up and was ready to explode. “I don’t care about your sunbae, or the fucking trip, or how much you had fun!”

“___, why are you so mad? It’s not like you were sitting at home doing nothing. When I came back, Halmeoni said your family was gon—”

“Taehyung, we went to the cemetery in Daegu.” You interjected, your voice softened at the end of your sentence. “It was my parents’ tenth death anniversary.”

Then Taehyung’s confused and offended face morphed into the eye-opening realization that he fucked up. “That was today? Blue, I for—”

“I’m upset with you.” You told him. “You knew how important it was for you to be there.”

Due to the distance, time, and financial obligations, it was difficult to schedule a time to go visit your parents every year. Your grandparents had their shop and farm to manage and you were still in school as well as your grandmother had health concerns from time to time. The only thing you could do was put up a photo frame of your parents on the top of your dresser. 

As it was close to their ten years, you begged your grandparents to go to Daegu where they were buried. Reason being that it has been a long time and you would love to see them. Though they grew older and weaker by the second, of course, they did their part in making it happen. While doing so, you asked Taehyung to be there for you.

Since they died when you were so young, you had little memories of them. But with all you could remember, you told the stories to your best friend. You knew your parents would have loved Taehyung and he would love them. That’s why you asked Taehyung to come, not only for you and your support but for him to meet your parents for the first time and talk to them as if they were here.

Taehyung was stoked about the days coming to today, so it disappointed you when he said he has forgotten. But what hurts the most was that he chose his other friends over you.

Over time, this has been an issue between you two that was rather conflicting on your end. Though you knew how sociable Taehyung was from the second you met him, it made you jealous to see him hanging out with others. Of course, he always included you, but you knew at times, that you weren’t as welcomed.

You overheard peers whispering and murmuring why someone like Taehyung hung out with someone like you, quiet, awkward, and nervous. Some girls even tried to be your friend to get closer to Taehyung. That led to you confronting him about it and letting him have fun with his friends by himself. You reassured him that it was okay with you as you had his siblings to hang out with. It was a chance for Taehyung to reach his social butterfly status while you thrived with being a hermit. You certainly didn’t mind, but you envy those around Taehyung who were able to interact so easily.

Recently, he has been spending more time with older students after joining the football team. He has gotten popular when he went into high school. You were still in your last year of middle school as you were the same age as his sister. You loved how well he fitted into the crowd, but it felt like he left you behind and didn’t want to hang out with a recluse like you. You were considered a “kid.” You gradually became insecure about your friendship with him, worrying if you were meant to be his true best friend. You were so sensitive about it, so this stung way more than anticipated. That was something you never told him.

“I’m sorry, ___. I really am, I…” He apologized, but it didn’t work when he saw your eyes swell into tears and your chest bounce once you cried. “Blue, nooo.” He was utterly guilty, he wanted to embrace you and give you comfort but you rejected his touch.

“I-I w-wanted you there!” You wept with your palms covering your face. “I called you, texted you, and you didn’t answer.”

“Blue, please let me make it up.” He pleaded, making the chance to clutch onto your wrists and pull them away to see your teary face. He felt so ashamed that he was the reason you were crying. “Please, don’t cry. I’m sorry.” He replicated the tears you produced.

You shook your head as you wiped your face with your sweater. You brought back your wrists to your frame, gesturing that you didn’t want him to touch you. “I don’t want to see you right now. You hurt me today, I can’t.”

“___, no, please. I’m sorry.” He refused, not wanting your demand. You’ve never said that to him. Though he bugged the shit out of you almost every day, you always wanted to see him. He couldn’t live without seeing you or being with you. He didn’t want to leave you hurt by him like this, he never meant to harm you. “Don’t do this, Blue.”

“I just need some time away from you.” You responded briefly.

“But—”

“Don’t make me madder than I already am!” You shouted crudely. “Now back to your fucking friends that you love oh so much and just forget about me!” Word vomit spewed out your mouth without intention. There was so much that angered, saddened, and overall tired you, you couldn’t help it.

Both of your eyes grew at what you said. You merely inhaled sharply while Taehyung shook his head in denial. There was no way he could forget about you.

“Blue, I’ll neve—”

You didn’t let him finish his sentence as you scurried to the entrance and closed and locked the door from behind. You heard Taehyung trying to follow you in, but he was too late to catch you.

He knocked constantly on the door. “Blue, ___, please. Don’t do this. I’m sorry! I fucked up, but I’ll never forget you. You’re my best friend, my Blue! Please I’m sorry. I’ll make it up!” He sobbed through behind the doorway. You stayed silent, crying and waiting for him to leave first but he kept pounding and professing his apologies and regrets. But they still weren’t enough for you.

This was the biggest fight yet.

“Tae!” Hoseok snapped his fingers in front of his younger member. Taehyung shook his head and blinked hard before scanning his eyes at his alarmed members.

After being separated for some time, Jimin and Namjoon thought it was a good idea to have a little lunch get-together to catch up with each of us. Hoseok released his solo album in the past month, striking many records. Yoongi has been busy with collaborations with other artists. Namjoon got back from a European trip. Jungkook has been going back and forth to the United States for recordings. Seokjin made appearances on various cooking shows. Finally, Jimin came back from Busan after resting with his family before going back into the studio. 

All in all, the guys were doing well with the pause and shift in career focus. Well, not all. Though Taehyung looked forward to the lunch, he knew that his updates were mainly him and his therapy because right off the bat, Yoongi insisted on knowing the progress.

Taehyung was lucky enough that the set-up happened the day after his session, so he bullshited whatever was said that time and nothing more. This week wasn’t any better, unlike the previous ones. The idol refused to speak out as much and stayed in silence with Dr. Im until the time was over. It was unsettling with improvements because Taehyung couldn’t care less right now.

Both his members and his therapist meant no harm in his life, but couldn’t help but feel bothered. They cared enough to help the idol, but was it really enough for him to live by? Almost every question asked patronized him and his actions rather than explaining why or how it is.

Like yesterday, maybe it was all in Taehyung’s head, Dr. Im wondered what has been happening with him in the past two weeks to have a sudden shift in his behavior in therapy. While the idol said nothing, Dr. Im claimed further if someone or something occurred that changed your life. Perhaps it was because the professional knew what was happening even without context, and it ticked the idol off and decided to end the session twenty minutes early. Again, Dr. Im was just doing his job.

However, his members… were a piece of work with him. They wanted every detail and what he did after, then they would comment on it and tell him what he should do. That was how the cycle went and suddenly Taehyung wished he never came to the lunch and never seen them a little longer. 

“Are you good, bud?” Hoseok asked once more. “You seem out of it.”

“Something happened?” Yoongi questioned. “If something did and you’re not tel—”

“No, I can’t say if I’m good when I’m going to therapy now, isn’t it?” Taehyung interjected passive-aggressively. 

The slight comment shifted the aura of the lunch. Things were still rocky from the last time, being the same members talking—Taehyung, Yoongi, and Namjoon, but the older members thought to live passed that and be grateful to see their younger again. But by the look on the older’s face, Yoongi was about to call him out.

“What Tae means is that…” Jimin intervened to ease the tension before it erupted. “You’ve been awfully quiet since we’ve sat. You barely even ate.”

It was always Jimin coming to the rescue to protect his friend. Couldn’t blame the dude, that was his ride or die. He was the most patient when it came to Taehyung and his actions, was always there for him, gentle towards him, and was an overall caring best friend.

Taehyung was appreciative, but there were times when it was a bit overbearing like he couldn’t take care of or defend himself. It made Taehyung feel useless and pitiful, which irked him.

“Umm,” Taehyung sighed, poking his chopsticks and the cold cooked meat sitting on his plate. “It’s nothing bad, but just in my mind.”

“Something happened between you and Clara?” Seokjin asked, which brought a disturbingly positive shift into the group’s mood apart from Taehyung. “Haven’t heard about her in a while. You two doing good?”

Taehyung deathly wanted to scowl in revulsion at how much the boys loved her. After all, they were the ones who talked him into asking her out on a date in the first place. They endeared her so much that they thought that she was really a pillar in Taehyung’s life and helping him better himself.

Taehyung hummed noncommittally and shrugged, “Same old. She’s just been busy with work and online presence while I’m…not. She understands though, I guess.”

“Tell her we said hi!” Namjoon smiled. “Hope we can see her again soon.”

“Yeah, I’ll make sure to tell her.” Taehyung was most likely sure that he wouldn’t send back the thanks. She recently was getting on his nerves for being so quiet these past weeks and not texting right away. The idol reassured her that he was tired and focused on his solo project, but he knew that there was more to it.

“Then what’s the matter, Hyung?” Jungkook cocked an eyebrow as he chewed.

Taehyung had to think about how to approach this. He didn’t necessarily tell anyone what happened between you two, recently that is. Before they debuted, Taehyung was sure that they remembered you or some bits. They also knew what happened that ended your friendship since it happened weeks before their debut and Taehyung was somewhat of a mess. They haven’t met you, but they knew how much you meant to him.

But that was before.

His therapist had speculations but came out empty-handed so far. Seojoon and Wooshik tried to get some information out of the idol on you, but Taehyung was a hard shell to crack. They needed the electric saw or metal-cutting machine to know exactly who you were.

So no one knew you were back, physically, in his mind, thoughts, memories, and emotions.

But then he pondered for a while. He has been sulking and distraught over this alone, yet he had much support around him asking what was going on. It was truly the work of his stubbornness. The reason was unknown, or difficult for his brain to comprehend.

Maybe because he simply wanted to have you back on his own. Maybe his selfishness to know you and no one else does. Maybe his overthinking thoughts of anxiousness about how others would react to finding out who you were and what happened. Maybe all?

At this point, reasonably the best thing to do was tell someone. After what you said to him a couple of weeks ago that led him into his emotional downward spiral, he hated feeling hopeless and scared. He didn’t want you to see him in that light, fearful of the stinging burn that could keep you away forever. The words he spoke to you may have not been the best way to say—you were always scolding him on stuff like that—you knew deep down he meant well.

But you were rather difficult, another trait he remembered when you got mad or upset. You tended to say things you don’t mean while also distancing yourself.

Ypu can say Taehyung needed some help with you?

“Do you remember ___?” Taehyung began, which lead to many confused expressions around the table.

“Who?” Hoseok questioned, nothing popping up in his head as he sipped his drink.

“Uhhh, the name sounds familiar?” Namjoon responded while in his thoughts. “Can you explain more?”

“___ ___, my best friend back home,” Taehyung mentioned, but yet there was no ringing in their minds. “I’m sure you all remember her. I used to call her every single night ever since I came to Seoul.”

Jimin’s face lit up as he snapped his fingers in his realization. “Ahh, ___! It was so hard to remember her name because you always called her Bl—”

“You can’t say that name, only I can.” Taehyung squinted his eyes at his best friend. Though Jimin smirked cheekily, for a second, he questioned Taehyung’s reaction.

“Ohhh, ___! Yeah, I remember now.” Seokjin gasped, and the gears in his brain started moving. “I used to get pissed off at the both of you for keeping me awake.”

“Oh, yeah! With all the calls.” Hoseok nodded, remembering as well. “Your giggling and whining still haunt my sleep.” He joked with a playful glare at Taehyung, making the younger shrug.

“Yeah…name with no face. It’s been a while since we heard her name.” Jungkook stated. “Why’d you bring her up?”

Taehyung tapped his fingers on the table, picturing the first time he saw you again. “I met her again couple weeks back. She’s in Seoul now.”

Seokjin hummed in response, “Really? Interesting. Who knew?”

“Not me,” Taehyung muttered with a light forced chuckle.

“Yeah, didn’t you tell us you had a falling out before? I remembered it pre-debut.” Hoseok heard Taehyung’s comment and spoke up about it. “I assume the reunion wasn’t all on purpose.”

Taehyung licked his lips and nodded, “It was random. She works at a small restaurant in a sketchy part of Seoul, but it’s really good. I went with Seojoon Hyung and Wooshik Hyung. We should go sometimes.” When he said, he hoped they took that suggestion lightly but he knew Jimin and Jungkook would be down. “I found out she’s going to school in the city, she’s in a grad program, she didn’t tell me what though. Actually, these were her responses to my Hyungs. The whole time she didn’t even talk to me, practically never looked my way no matter how much I tried.”

It was at that moment, everyone knew they couldn’t blame you. The rest of the members didn’t know who you were deeply, but they felt for you and you seemed nice, judging by the very few interactions you had with them over the phone. What Taehyung did was hurtful and cruel even from an outsider’s perspective. They all knew it from experience. 

“Can’t blame her…” Namjoon said what everyone thought about.

Taehyung’s eye twitched. He didn’t need to say it out loud. “Yeah, I went back again, but alone that time, and she basically told me to go fuck myself.”

“Sorry, Tae.” Jimin frowned, patting his best friend’s back.

“Well, did she even want you there in the first place?” Yoongi inquired, but that made Seokjin glare at his younger for being harsh. “What? I’m being honest after what happ—”

“Please, don’t mention it, Hyung.” His words damaged Taehyung’s emotions, and he scrunched his face as the brutal memory replayed in his mind. Yoongi did not apologize, but he managed to shut up. “It was just nice seeing her again, an old face—a familiar face, a good memory.” You were always the best memory.

“I’m sure it was. It’s been a while since you’ve seen her.” Hoseok acknowledged.

“But then again, you should know the feeling isn’t mutual, Tae.” Namjoon pointed out, trying to get Taehyung to think realistically. “It seems she’s not over it and you know what you did.”

“I know, but…” Taehyung didn’t know how to express his thoughts in words. He was blanking out despite his mind running 200 km per hour. “With how shitty my life’s been going, even if she hates my fucking guts, I actually enjoy her presence. She’s my best friend! I’d want to rekindle what we had.”

The way Taehyung explained it made Jungkook have concerning thoughts. He seemed more expressive with you than his own girlfriend. “You should probably be careful, Hyung.” Taehyung cocked his head to the side to face the youngest. “I—I’m not saying Clara’s the jealous type, but….”

“What does she have to do with ___?” Scoffing at the youngest member, he eyed him out with hostility. Taehyung felt a sudden sense of protection over you.

“Don’t be like that, please?” Jungkook frowned, not wanting to get on his older friend’s bad side. “What I’m saying is that it sounds like you’re over here talking about some other chick and wanting her back when you clearly have a girlfriend.”

“She’s not some girl. She’s been my best friend for literally twenty years! More than all of you!”

“Not really, if you didn’t see each other in years…” Namjoon commented which made Taehyung clench his jaw but say nothing.

Taehyung closed his eyes and controlled his breathing while balling his anger into his fist. “What was your point, Jungkook?”

“Well, does Clara know about ___?” Jungkook asked sincerely. “If ___ meant something to you, then you should have told your girlfriend about her.”

Taehyung bit his lip while processing the question. He then shook his head before drinking his soda. “No, because I met Clara way after my falling out with ___. I didn’t think it mattered.” There was no way in hell, he’d tell Clara about you. There was more to the explanation, but Taehyung was currently unaware of why it was like that. 

“It kinda does matter now, especially when you want ___ back in your life.” Jimin reasoned as he stared at his best friend. “We can support you, but just be cautious.”

“It’s just…I—let’s not talk about that right now. I should have never told you guys.” Taehyung regretted his decision in revealing you. He knew that nothing went the way he wanted it to and didn’t like what was said. 

Hoseok pouted, reaching out to squeeze Taehyung’s hand. “No, don’t say that. We appreciate you telling us! We’re just worried about you and Clara. If ___ comes back, then you’d obviously have to tell her.”

“Just don’t fuck up with it,” Yoongi concluded bluntly. “You’ve been with Clara for five years and still going strong. If ___ isn’t back, then leave it. It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s not worth losing your relationship.”

What did Yoongi know about relationships? He was severely single. And what did he know about Taehyung’s relationship? Nothing, that’s what. None of them knew yet pulled shit out of their ass and spoke highly of his girlfriend. However, when it came to you, they treated you like some side character reprising an insignificant role. But you were never like that. You will never be.

“The point I’m telling you is that I met ___,” Taehyung replied, wanting this discussion to be over immediately. “And for the record, I’ve decided something.”

“Which is?” Seokjin asked.

Taehyung looked down at his plate, mindlessly glazing at the untouched noodles. He smirked as a memory came up. “There’s a reason why we were best friends.”

-

“Yes, I understand. I’ll pay the other half at the end of the month, please.” You nodded as you spoke into your phone. “I just need time.”

“___, you know you don’t need to do this all on your own. I’m sure your other relatives can help,” The nurse on the other side replied. “I’ve talked to your cousin and she sa—”

“It’s fine, I promise.” You quickly denied. “This responsibility landed on me and I fully accept it.”

He sighed into the microphone, “So strong as always, ___. It’s okay to rely on others.”

“Maybe.” You said, brushing what was said off. “I need to go now, I’m off my break soon. But don’t tell him, okay?”

“I’m sure he knows—”

“Please, Moobin.” You begged, feeling slightly uneasy. You didn’t want him to be worrying about you, especially with this.

“Okay, fine. I won’t.” Moobin answered, succumbing to your request. “Lucky for you, telling him would only worsen the condition.”

“It’s still not good either way, but thank you.” Appreciating his efforts, you nodded as you looked at the time. “Okay, I have to go but keep me updated.” You said before bidding goodbye to the nurse and hanging up.

You exhaled in distress, but surely, it wasn’t enough for you. You calculated what had to be done and now you needed to work at least ten more hours this cycle. Though the weekends were your day offs to catch up on school work, you might have to work them to get by without any burden. Ugh, your migraine was coming back up.

You swiftly grabbed a can of Coca-Cola and opened it before chugging the liquid down. Hopefully, it would help lessen the pain. So much to do with very little time.

“You know you have to pay for that.” You turned your head to see Kenji coming by to use the cash register. You nodded as you sipped more of the content. As he punched in the order, he glanced over and inspected the drink. “___, you okay? You never have coke unless something happens.”

“The way you know that sure is expected of you.” You huffed, not bothering to care any further. “Just had another chat with the nurse back home.”

“Is he alright?” Your coworker asked.

You hummed as a reply, “For now, but it was about the payments…do you think Halmeoni be okay if I work the weekends too?”

“___, if you need the money, I’ll be happy to lend yo—”

“No.” You interrupted him. “I can’t ask you to do that, I just want to work a little more.”

Kenji frowned as the register door opened before ripping the receipt. “You’re already working more than usual and you drinking coke to reduce your headache means you’re overworking yourself.”

“Ken, I’m fine.” You scoffed. You gulped down all of what was left in the can before recycling it into a bin. “I just needed a boost. But I do wanna work more.”

“___…” He looked at you and you had a face of determination. There was no way in reasoning with you. “Ask her. She won’t be too pleased, but if you tell her about it, maybe she’ll accept…or give you a bon—”

“No, I need to work for it.”

Kenji rolled his eyes and shook his head, “Sometimes just get the free opportunities.”

“Sometimes every opportunity is a blow to your fucking face.” You sighed as you grabbed a tray.

You then spotted Halmeoni coming down the hallway with a box of napkins. Gripping the tray in your fingers, you went towards her and grabbed the box from her. “I’ll get that for you.” You offered. You settled them behind the counter and under the table where all the extra supplies stayed. 

“Sweetie, you don’t need to carry it. I’m still strong!” Your boss laughed but appreciated your kindness.

“Just trying to make your day easier.” You said authentically before clearing your throat. “Ummm, Halmeoni?”

“Yes, dear?”

“I—Is it possible if I can work the weekends?”

Halmeoni sulked, “Why is it? Something ha—”

“Uhh, no, no, well…I have some more time on my hands. I don’t have projects coming up, so I’m not really doing much at home.” She knew your situation, but if you told her, she wouldn’t want you to work as much either.

She squinted her eyes with suspicion. “Everything going on back in Geochang?”

You nodded, “Nurse said he’s doing well for now, but I just want to work a little bit.”

She knew you were headstrong, not wanting to say anything. She would have to ask Kenji, but even so, she wouldn’t acknowledge it and play dumb with you. “Sure, okay, sweetie. Just tell me what hours later.”

You sighed in relief and nodded excitedly. “Thank you, I appreciate you and Harabeoji. I guess Kenji too.”

“I heard that!” Kenji whined, making you and your boss chuckle. 

“Just…don’t stress too much, okay? We’re here if you need anything.” She meant it with sincerity in her expression. She cared for you like you were her own, and it twisted your heart from the thought. You knew she meant well, but it was all too much to offer for someone like you. You only nodded as she patted your head.

Right after, the tarp entrance flicked open, catching the attention of your boss with widened pupils and a gasp. “Ahh, Taehyung, you’re back! And you brought newcomers.”

You groaned softly, closing your eyes as if it would relax you but it doesn’t. You desperately wanted to dropkick someone and that someone was the very individual who entered the restaurant. You directed your eyes to his stature as you watched him wave and greet your boss, coworker, and then you. Though he greeted you back, you said nothing. 

Of course, he didn’t listen. That was why you were best friends in the past. You can’t deny that the both of you had a lot in common yet still different. But one of the biggest commonalities was being stubborn as fuck and not listening to what anyone had to say. With that being said, it was inevitable that Taehyung would not give up even after you shunned him away.

As you scowled, you became aware of the two men. One on each side of the idol. Their eyes wandered around your workplace, somewhat fascinated by how clean it was in contrast to the dirty outside. As you looked at them, you immediately knew who they were—two of his bandmates, specifically Jimin and Jungkook.

Though your friendship with Taehyung was a bust weeks before his debut, you couldn’t help but support or somewhat follow what the group did. You knew the amount of work that had been made and you appreciated it. You pushed your thoughts and feelings away from that certain member and enjoyed the band and its schedule. You guess you can say you were a fan, but not fully. At least there were six other members to distract you from your ex-best friend. Plus, you didn’t need to tell Taehyung that.

“Ahh, Hyung-nim!” Kenji yelled, earning a smile from the idol. Since when did he get close to Taehyung?

“Halmeoni, it’s nice to see you again!” Taehyung spoke out. “These are some of my friends, Jimin and Jungkook.” The two with him waved at your boss.

“My, my. You always bring handsome friends.” Your boss clapped. “Please sit!” She motioned them to take any seat as it was a slow weekday night. As they settled down, she nudged you and said, “Go help them. They’re handsome.”

“No, please. Let Kenji help them.” You suggested.

Kenji gasped and shook his head, “Why do I have to serve them?”

You gloomed at your coworker’s audacity, “What, isn’t it fine since he’s your Hyung-nim?” He saw how serious you were and didn’t want to experience your wrath, so he puffed and walked toward the well-known idols. Kenji eased his way into the men’s conversation, seeing that their laughter echoed throughout the restaurant.

“___, you should date one of them.” Your boss prompted which made you blink at her. “Maybe Taehyung, he seems to have an e—”

“Halmeoni, I’m busy, remember?” You recalled. “I got all these projects, work—”

“I thought you said you had more time now?” She interrogated you as your jaw dropped faintly but closed it back up.

“Yes, I do…but I’m not thinking about dating right now.’ You peeked over to the side and spoke quietly, “No one wants me.”

Your boss hated what you said about yourself. “Don’t say that, sweetie. You’re gorgeous, a true beauty. Anyone could fall for you. If I could, you’d be dating Kenji by now.”

“Ew, don’t say that. That’s setting me up for ultimate failure.” You grimaced, shivers down your spine. She laughed before walking back to the kitchen. 

Eventually, Kenji came back to the both of you with a fresh set of orders, but he said, “___, please ring these up.” He handed you the sheet of orders.

You retrieved them to read but you asked, “Why do I have to do your orders?”

“It’s not my orders, it’s yours.” He shrugged casually and you shot your head back to give him your death stare.

“What the fuck, why?” You complained. “Ken, you know—”

“No, I don’t know, and you don’t tell me shit.” He refused before sticking his tongue out to you. “They requested for you to serve them.”

“They can’t re—”

“So what? Just do it.” He shrugged. You scrutinized your coworker, trying to declare why he was being so adamant then you realized.

“That fucker paid you to make me serve them.”

“Well, I can’t deny the allegations being brought upon me,” Kenji admitted wholeheartedly. “See, when there’s a 100,000 won thrown at you, you take the chances.”

Your eyes grew at the sound of the heavy stipend for a small ask. “You little shit sold me of—”

“___, it’s not a big deal.” Your coworker reassured you, but you weren’t having it.

“Kenji, it is!” You told him, frowning at him. “I don’t like Taehyung nor do I want to see him.”

“Kinda harsh for him to be your best friend.”

“He’s not.” You clarified. “We haven’t been for ages, and I refused him weeks ago to be back into my life.”

Kenji looked in the distance as if his peanut brain worked like magic, “You tell me this or that but not explain to me why. So unless you do, I’m feeding you off to them.”

You let out a whining sound, “You’re being irrational…”

“Better hurry up. Your table’s waiting for their drinks.”

You wished to never speak about it again, but you were actually being desperate right now. Kenji always begged to know what happened between you and the idol to cause this one-sided hatred, but you never let him have his way until now. You’d rather tell him than serve Taehyung again.

“Ugh, fine.” You surrendered, letting your shoulders droop. But Kenji looked back at you with success on his stupid face. “I’ll tell you more about it later, but I’ll tell you in a quick summary.” You spoke briefly about your past with Taehyung. When you told him, it saddened your mood a little, remembering the emotions and insecurities you had about it. It was damaging for you to say the least, but you pushed it aside to not let it get to you in the middle of your shift.

Once you finished, Kenji nodded as he processed what you said. “So you don’t want to deal with him?” You nodded. “And you don’t care?” You nodded again. “___, it sounds like you do.”

You were baffled and offended. “Really? After what I said??”

“Hey, if you don’t care, then you would have been indifferent toward him.” He argued nonchalantly. “Look at you being riled up by even the thought of him.”

Your eye twitched. Maybe it was your pride, or how the younger provoked you. Maybe both. But either way, you wanted to prove him wrong. “I am indifferent to him.”

“Prove it.” He threw more gas into the fire.

“Fine, you’re fucking annoying and lazy as fuck anyway. I’ll prove you wrong.” You crumpled the paper before opening it back up and punching in the order. But while you were doing so, you realized what he did. You frowned as you stared at a shit-grinning Kenji before you. “You’re full of shit, you know that.”

“Shit that molded into a mastermind.” He winked before parting ways, knowing you lost while he gained.

-

Eventually, you sucked it up and served them. There was no point when your coworker executed some type of reverse psychology on you. You gave him props for that.

However, he did emphasize something. Were you really indifferent toward Taehyung? What was the meaning behind all of that anger and hatred in you? Of course, the way he spoke to you in the past caused you pain, but shouldn’t it be gone by now? People get over it so you should too. It has been almost a decade. You say you don’t care, but why were there so many emotions in you when you see him? What was there to be said? What does being cruel to him lead to? 

You didn’t understand yourself, you couldn’t, especially with all that was going on. Throwing this into your bowl of responsibilities and issues made everything a lot more stressful. There was literally no time for you to be thinking about Taehyung, yet, it was prominent in your mind.

You settled the drinks down, calling out who got what. As you were doing so, Taehyung grinned proudly at you before announcing, “Guys, this is ___, my best friend from Geochang. The one I talked to all the time.”

You so badly wanted to yell that you weren’t his best friend, but you remembered—you needed to be apathetic, so you said nothing. But the heavy scrutiny of gazes from his friends brought agitation and shyness. You couldn’t understand why, but they indeed were handsome in person. You assumed it was because they technically haven’t seen you before. Sure, there were a few greets here and there but that was it. A picture, who knows? You and Taehyung stopped contact before you were able to formally introduce yourself.

Their pupils widened and blinked like goldfish. Jungkook had his mouth slightly apart while Jimin covered his with his fist. You furrowed your eyebrows, questioning if this was a good sign.

Nevertheless, you smiled bashfully. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you too. Uhh, Jungkook and Jimin.” You pointed at the respective person. “I know you both from BTS so…”

Jungkook gulped and cleared his throat. “A—ah, yes. It’s nice to finally meet yo—you’re ___?” He asked for verification. “You’re Bl—”

“JK, I told you not to say it. Only I can.” Taehyung chided, refusing for anyone to call you that other than him. Also, why were his friends looking at you like that? It was like they’d never seen a person before.

You rolled your eyes at what he said and you mentally scolded yourself, but fortunately, no one caught it. “Yes, I’m ___.”

“The person behind the calls? The late-night calls at two in the morning.” Jimin included. You grew puzzled at these oddly specific memories, but they were valid. You hesitantly nodded while keeping your gaze on the two.

“You’re pretty, like really beautiful.” Jungkook threw it out in the open. You were taken aback, even stepping back to look at them in disbelief.

Even Taehyung snapped his head back towards his members and was about to say something but Jimin butted in. “Tae, you didn’t tell us she was gorgeous.”

Taehyung opened his mouth, “I—I mean, I—”

“That’s fine, Hyung.” Jungkook interrupted before smiling widely at you. “I mean you do have a girlfriend anyway.”

“Jung—”

“Yup, of five years too,” Jimin smirked, showcasing his award-winning slit eyes in your direction.

Okay, you wanted to walk away from this table immediately. These sentences were uncalled for but somewhat curious. First, two jaw-dropping idols that everyone wanted, called you pretty, though you assumed they were just being nice. You weren’t very lucky in the dating world and you somewhat refused to dip your toes, let alone with idols. Mainly due to bad experiences and being too busy.

The second was that Taehyung had a girlfriend and seemed steady too, considering how long they’ve been together. You knew idols hid things regarding their dating life, BTS included despite their weird rumors between each other which were entertaining as is. So evidently, of course, Taehyung would be one with a secret partner. People always thought he was a handsome charmer back in Geochang and did have many confessions and admirers.

You said nothing and nodded, not knowing how to add to the conversation. “Well, thank you for that. Ummm, I’ll get your orders right after this so please excuse me.” With your chance, you escaped quickly and headed back into the kitchen.

It was a weird encounter, but not that bad. Though your body felt defeated and emotionally drained, you pushed meaningless thoughts away from your brain to focus on your work.

Meanwhile, Taehyung glowered at his starstruck members as they watch you walk away. He didn’t like what they said one bit. How dare they mentioned his relationship to you and also why are they shouting to the world how pretty you were?

“Stop staring at her like that, you perverts!” Taehyung scoffed. “Can you both be any more obvious?”

“We’re not touching, we’re respectfully looking.” Jimin reasoned before meeting his best friend’s upset eyes. “She’s pretty! Can’t blame us.”

“You never showed us a picture of her, nothing on her.” Jungkook pouted.

“I did! Years back!” Taehyung refuted as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“It was a baby picture!” Jimin replied. “And it was only because it was your Lock Screen before. This is different.”

“Whatever,” Taehyung rolled his eyes. “Well, there she is and because of her status as my best friend, there’s no way in hell I’m letting you two get it with her. I know those looks…” Jungkook and Jimin were definitely not dating as they were in their eras. They’ve dated here and there, but nothing was serious and Taehyung will not let you be “nothing.”

“Taehyung, she’s a grown woman!”

“Does it look like I care? No, you can’t.”

“How can you even say that?” Jungkook frowned incredulously. “No offense, but will your opinion even matter to her?”

Taehyung’s frown then turned neutral as he heard what Jungkook said. It was insulting, to say the least, but he had a point. He came here trying to gain a friendship with you, nothing else. But right now, his friends sparked interest in you and he hated the thought. Why? He didn’t want to explain or else it’ll confuse his head. But he knew you hated him more. It didn’t help that he came back after telling him off weeks ago. So whatever you did, you wouldn’t care about him and what Jungkook said right?

He wanted to change your mind, so maybe he had to be on your good side and reminisce all of your memories together. He shouldn’t think about his members, it was all about you.

You came back with the first set of plates, placing them down on the table. Jungkook assisted you by moving it further back for more space in front of you. You thanked him for his gesture.

Taehyung bit inside his cheek before looking up at you, “Blue, do you think you can get me another bottle of soju?” That showed the affection you had for each other.

Indifference, indifference, indifference, you chanted in your head. But you wanted to punch him in the throat as he rejected your wishes to not call you that nickname. “Sure.”

“Make that two, please.” Jimin raised his finger as a gesture. “I would like grape, doll.”

“Of course, I’ll get that for you.” You grinned before walking away.

As you left, Jimin smiled proudly, getting more of a response from you than Taehyung. Taehyung’s jaw clenched, ticked off at everything.

Needless to say, he wasn’t bringing them again.

-

Over the month, Taehyung has been visiting and eating at the restaurant almost every other day. This past week, he came every day. Sometimes, he was alone, in other instances, he had Seojoon, Wooshik, or both. Once in a while, it was Jungkook and Jimin who flirted with you—yes, you knew and it made you a little less attracted to them but that wasn’t the point. And each time, he tried talking to you while you said very little and kept quiet. He only spoke about your good memories, nothing more. Not once did you hear him speak on what he did, almost like what he did was nonexistent. But it wasn’t, at least for you.

Interestingly enough, when he was alone, he called you Blue. But with his friends, he called your name. You weren’t sure why, but you let it be. However, it was so hard to be.

You didn’t want to talk to him, you didn’t want to serve him, you didn’t want him to call you Blue but look where you were. You did all of that and you let him. You tried to be detached from everything, the past, the present, him, but the rage in you kept fueling up every single time.

Yet you were ashamed that even with refusal, he somehow meshed into your schedule. When he talked to you, he mentioned the past. The good past, the laughter, the adventures, the obliviousness to a now broken bond. You couldn’t decide if they were painful or nothing to you, you refused to say no to either. It was all triggering that it hurt your mind.

You hated that you were distracted by him, you shouldn’t. You weren’t in his life anymore, and neither was he. You had other priorities to think about like your school, your job, and your family back home. None of your priorities should be Taehyung because you knew that you weren’t anything to him anymore, you knew that way before. He got his other friends, his fans, his members, and his girlfriend. You were nothing and that was permanent in your mind.

Still, you grew exhausted by his persistence. Sure, he told you he wasn’t all that well but that wasn’t enough. But looking at the situation you were in, you didn’t know how to approach it without breaking. You thought you could continue like that, but how much longer? 

It was five in the morning. The sun slowly rose from the horizon, looking into your tiny one-bedroom apartment. The light cascaded into darkness, gradually revealing the sunny dawn. You enjoyed the view from your broken window you had yet to call the supervisor of the building.

You pulled an all-nighter, trying to finish this education plan as an assignment that was due today. You had no time as you were focused on other projects, so you had to just work tirelessly until the end of this one. After submitting your paper, you had one hour left before you were actually supposed to wake up.

Though with darkened bags under your eyes and a drained body from working last night, you glanced at your three cans of coke, knowing you weren’t going to sleep anytime soon. You tried your best to at least rest your eyes before doing another repeat of yesterday and the days before. At least it was Friday, then after that, the weekend. But you agonizingly realized that you began working weekends as well.

-

“You’re going out again?”

Taehyung stared at his girlfriend through the full-length mirror in their shared bedroom as he viewed his outfit for tonight. Her expression was dumbfounded by the fact that it would be another night without her boyfriend. He never explained any further of his doings, only that they were with his friends which she knew very well.

“Yeah, with Seojoon Hyung.” He confirmed as he threw on a watch.

“Tae, you’ve been going out a lot recently.” Clara pointed out as she sat on the bed.

“And what about it?” The idol shrugged. “I know you’re busy doing your job and stuff, so think of these times as self-care or me time.”

“True, but I also want time with my boyfriend.” She replied as she leaned into her palms resting on the mattress. “But I haven’t gotten that lately.”

Taehyung’s face twisted before biting his lip. He took a glance at his pouting girlfriend. It was true though. Ever since he found you and wanted your friendship, it was all he has been spending his time doing. He was never home, only to sleep, eat breakfast, and feed Yeontan. Half of the time at home, Clara wasn’t even home as she had her schedule. He barely saw her but didn’t mind it at all. But with her being sad in front of his eyes, he felt a sudden guilt that he hated. 

He sighed before clicking his tongue, “I’m sorry. I’ve been busy and a lot has been going on.”

“I thought you would have been less busy, especially with the pause on your group schedule?” She reasoned.

“Nothing really to do with the scheduling.” He mumbled.

The socialite peered at her boyfriend, “Are you really hanging out with Seojoon Oppa?”

He met her piercing eyes, knowing the implications she made. “Yes, I am. I’ve been hanging out with them. We go out to eat every time.”

“That’s a lot of downtimes Seojoon Oppa has, especially for a busy actor like him.”

Taehyung pitched the bridge of his nose, getting bothered by her interrogations. “I’m not cheating if that’s what you’re saying.”

“I’m not saying you are.”

“Yes, you are!” He opposed. “You do that fucking thing. “Are you really?” “Are you sure?” I’m sure I’m not.”

“But you’re always out!”

“Because I don’t like being home!” He explained before grabbing his wallet and shoving it in his back pocket. He did not want to deal with this right now.

“Tae, but I want to spend time with you!” Clara ordered as she stood up, trying to find her boyfriend’s eyes. “I thought the pause would have given you more downtime to spend with me. I’ve been clearing my schedule for you, but it seems for nothing if I’m at home alone. Can’t even go out because no one knows…”

There it was, the regret coming back up. Taehyung didn’t like yelling at her, or even fighting, especially something stupid like this. But sometimes, it was inevitable. You would think that after being together for five years would be easier to manage but it was wrong. So, so, so wrong.

“I’m sorry.” He said before turning his body to look at her. She was really stunning, even in low light, her beauty was emphasized by the shadows cast over her face.

“If you’re busy, I get that but it hurts when you don’t make time for me.” Clara approached frankly. “It was really bad when you were touring and always at the studio 24/7. I really thought this time would give us time together.”

“You do realize that the band’s not disbanding, I’m still busy with other things. These times are for me to feel freer.” Taehyung communicated clearly.

“Yes, I know. Spending time with your Hyungs and members, but I would want to be prioritized too.”

Another blow to his chest as the shame consumed him again. “I do—I—I’m sorry.”

“I know you’re sorry, but actions speak louder than words.” She specified. “Spend time with me, I don’t wanna ask again.” He nodded hopelessly as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “Are you busy tomorrow?”

He opened his mouth but closed it shut. All he had was going to the studio and then having dinner at your work, which was “busy” to him. But the longer he stared at Clara’s pleading eyes, he didn’t want to let her down again. “No, I’m not. We can go to the park early in the morning and walk Tan?”

“Then have breakfast?” Her eyes lit up.

Taehyung scrunched his nose before ultimately nodding, “Yes, I’ll spend the whole day with you. I promise.” It was a big promise, but he had to do it. He had no choice but to.

-

“I’m sorry I’m late!” You ran into the restaurant restlessly. Your shift started at noon, but now it was close to two in the afternoon. You stopped before Halmeoni looked at you worriedly. “I overslept!”

“How can someone oversleep? It’s 2 PM??” Kenji commented as he grabbed empty cups to fill them with ice.

“Dear, you look paler,” Halmeoni informed, noticing your sunken features. She held your cheeks with her frail callous hands. “You’re even skinnier and I saw you yesterday. When’s the last time you ate?”

“Halmeoni, I’m fine.” You reassured with a tired smile. “I had to finish something last night and the night before, so I slept late, but it’s alright!”

“Sweetie, I think you should go rest for the day. I’ll pay you for the day.” Your sweet boss recommended it, but you denied it as fast as you could.

“No, it’s fine. I also know how busy weekends get for the restaurant and I wanna help.”

She sighed as she squeezed your arms, “If you insist.” You affirmed before getting your apron and tying it over you. While you were distracted, Halmeoni went to Kenji and whispered in his ear. “Keep an eye on her.”

Kenji assured his grandmother before she walked back into the kitchen. As he was about to go to a table, he spotted you grabbing another coke and gulping it down in a hurry. The younger boy pursed his lips, fearing for your health.

-

You didn’t know how, but you worked tirelessly through rush hour without any breaks. After drinking that can, you had a boost of energy that you haven’t had in a while. It felt so good to feel like you were on top of the world, even if it was temporary. Hopefully, this rush can last the whole night since you had to read an important article for a course.

Once you finished with your last table, for now, you stretched your limbs behind the counter, letting out a yawn. As you opened your mouth, a spring roll was shoved into it, leaving you bewildered as you spotted Kenji biting on another one. 

“You need to eat something.” He spoke with a full mouth. “I’ve had more breaks today than you ever did this past week.”

You bit into the roll and munched on it. “That’s because I don’t abuse my grandmother’s leniency like you.”

“But she’ll be more pissed if I don’t rest. Something you should do.” He voiced out, but you responded by rolling your eyes as you finished what was left of the roll. “Don’t overwork yourself.”

“I’m not!” You groaned before wiping your mouth with a napkin. “And I can rest at home.”

“You’re doing the most for no reason.”

“There’s always a reason for what I do.” You pushed forth as you passed by him.

The tarp opened and you looked in that direction, not surprised to see a smiling Taehyung with a Seojoon behind. You were unsure how to feel when you saw the idol’s face, but you can’t help but think about how it was when you were younger. No matter what you did, you’d see that ebony-haired boy with that boxy smile plastered on him every single day. It made your day before, but now…

“Hi, ___!” Taehyung smiled as he walked towards you. Though you stared at him, your mind was elsewhere. He observed your face, you looked weaker despite seeing you yesterday. Cheeks were hollow, the color in your eyes dimmed, and lips were chapped. As gentle as possible, he couldn’t help but raise his hand and pat your head. He grew concerned, especially while he was touching you and you didn’t even flinch, not even tense up once. “Blue, are you okay?” He whispered.

Your daydreaming came to an end when a dull ache pierced through your head. You hissed at the pain, resting your head in your palms and bending forward. You didn’t even realize someone was near you until you felt a hand on your back.

“___, are you in pain? How are you feeling?” The voice was sensed right away. You wanted to move away but you couldn’t. He rubbed your back and you hated that it soothed you.

“I’m fine.” You kneed your face before straightening your posture and stepping away from Taehyung. “Don’t worry about me.”

“But I a—”

“I’m not worried about you, so don’t worry about me.” You mumbled. The pain was still there but you tried repressing it. “Now go to your seat and don’t touch me again.”

Taehyung wanted to say something but he stopped and accepted it. He turned to his Hyung who also looked at you empathically before they went to a vacant table. You walked over to the counter to retrieve menus and a notepad. As you did so, you instantly felt lightheaded. 

You probably didn’t drink some water, so for a speedy recovery, you filled a glass of water for yourself and downed it in one go. You inhaled then exhaled, pacing your breathing. You felt a little better, but the headache was still there. You thought you’d be fine for now. But as you took a step, your vision got blurry even having three sets of Kenji walking by. You shook your head, trying to clear your head. You were fine, you were fine.

But you had to walk step by step instead of at your usual speed. You felt getting lighter, but at least your sight was still clear. Once you got to Taehyung’s table, you didn’t notice the concerned look on him as you asked them for their drink order. Seojoon talked for them, but for some reason, his voice muffled like he was underwater while a ringing pinched into your eardrums. You squirmed softly, catching Taehyung’s attention once more.

“___, you don’t look so good.” The idol frowned but you were quick to ignore him.

Not even getting their order, you hummed. “I’ll get them right away.” As you turned your back and walked methodically, Taehyung watched at a distance with growing panic.

“She doesn’t look right.” The idol informed and turned his head at his rather calm Hyung.

“Maybe she has an off day.” Seojoon simply said. “It’s concerning though, but I know she’ll be okay.”

“You don’t know her like I do though.” The idol spoke tensely. “I don’t buy anything she’s saying right now.”

“I guess so,” The older man snorted, shaking his head. “By the way, what’s up with you and her? I know you said she was your friend. Don’t tell me you’re trying to get with her.”

“I’m not cheating,” Taehyung emphasized. “___’s my friend, I grew up with her. Just trying to spend time with her.”

“At her working place?” Seojoon questioned, cocking his head to the side in wonder. “Can’t you just ask to hang out outside?”

“Well, the thing is…she doesn’t like me.”

“I can see that. It’s like you’re torturing her with your presence.” The actor brutally replied. “Why are you making so much effort if she doesn’t want you in her life?”

Taehyung sighed as he tapped his fingers on the table. ”It’s hard to explain, but…she was a big part of my life and I hate that we ended things.”

Seojoon nodded, understanding his youngest friend. “So she was only your friend?”

“Yeah.”

“Really? That’s all?”

“Yes? What do you mean ‘that’s all’?”

The older man was intrigued, only because Taehyung was the type to give up on things so easily, like how he did with playing the trumpet, film photography, working out, and the list went on. So for him to do the most, Seojoon wanted to dig deeper into who exactly you were and if there was more to what Taehyung was letting out.

You finally made it to the counter. That was so hard for no reason at all. You feebly gripped the edge of the table, trying to pull yourself together. You lifted your pounding head and blinked rapidly. Your eyes got hazy and felt a whole lot better and you cheered mentally. Maybe you needed more water.

You shifted your body and reached for a cup when unexpectedly, your legs gave out. Your headache stabbed your mind, your vision fogged up your surroundings, and your head leaned back as your eyes rolled back. You crashed onto the cold hard floor, your body curling in immense pain.

The last thing you saw was Taehyung running towards your body, calling your name before blacking out.

-

The second you opened your eyes, you gasped and snapped up. But the dulling pain in your cranium continued its presence, making you fold and hold your head. You winced at how badly it hurt, even feeling the tears forming in your eyes.

“Blue!” You weakly opened your eyes once you felt arms and a whole broad chest around your body. You felt him nosing into your hair while his thumbs rubbed circles on your back. “Thank goodness, you’re awake. You had me worried.”

You frowned and ripped him off of you. He was taken aback by your action, but he continued to stare at you with a worrisome look. You glared with a disturbed pout before scanning through your vicinity. The window showed the twilight of the firmament. Judging by the beeping monitor on the other side, a needle inserted into your skin, the bed, and the white cooling room, you were sent to the hospital. 

The last thing you remembered was getting a glass of water for yourself and nothing else. Your stress levels were through the roof. Your vision was blurry, you couldn’t move your body, and your mouth was dry. But as if he knew, on cue, Taehyung handed you a glass of water. You looked at the cup and then back to him. Without saying anything, you raised your hands to grasp it but you were trembling excessively which made the idol notice.

He took the effort to lift the brim of the glass to your lips. You weren’t in a position to complain about the gesture so you accepted it. You went forward as he tilted the cup, helping your drink. He didn’t stop until you finished the whole thing, which you did since you were very much dehydrated.

You respired, sitting properly on the hospital bed. Your irises watched Taehyung put the glass down on the bedside table, then sat down back at the table. Though you said nothing, you wanted answers to everything like why was he here.

Again as if he knew, he began speaking, “It’s currently three in the morning. We rushed you here and you were out for more than seven hours.” He scooted his chair toward you until you were within his reach. You could only gaze at him with tired eyes. He too looked like he didn’t sleep. “The doctor said you fainted from dehydration, starvation, and overworking your body. What led you to do that? We were so scared, Blue. I was worried sick.”

You blinked dizzily, not by your condition but by what he said. He was worried sick? Were you hearing that correctly? How fucking bold of him to tell that to you. What was he doing to you? Why was he being kind and sweet like the Taehyung you once knew? This was the same person who hurt you. Why did he do all of this? Why does he even fucking care for you at all?

Mindlessly, you slapped his shoulder to the best you can since you weren’t in the best shape. The smack made him jolt, gawking at you bug-eyed. But it wasn’t enough for you. Smack! He needed to feel pain. Smack! He needed to be hurt. Smack! He needed to feel what you felt all the years before. Smack! During those years. Smack! Now. Smack! Smack! Smack!

“Owww, Bl—Fuck!” Taehyung whined, trying to force your hands away from him. Your lips quaked as you slapped him again and again. “Blue, that hurts!”

“You asshole! Stop it!” You shouted, your skin heating up and your tear ducts swelling up. “No, stop! Stop calling me Blue! Stop coming to the shop. Stop telling people about our past! Stop begging! Stop, stop, stop! Just stop it already!” You hit him once more, but it came out helplessly when the walls in you broke down and the dam exploded. You let sobs as your stature shook, having no control anymore.

Taehyung saw you, shaking his head. He absolutely hated seeing you cry. He innately hugged your weeping form and nuzzled into your hair again. Only this time you gave up pushing him away and took it. “___, please. I’m sorry, I just really wanted you ba—”

“Why would you even? You hurt me, Taehyung!” You punched tiny fists onto his chest that made no real damage before shoving your dampened face to his front. His touch soothed you so familiarly that it pained you at the same time.

“I’m sorry, Blue. I’m sorry.” His body trembled around you. Your hair felt wet, finally being aware that he too was crying.

 “You called me a needy little bitch who had no other friends!” The throbbing memory was so vivid you remembered it like it was yesterday.

It has been over a year since Taehyung left Geochang for Seoul to pursue his dream of becoming an idol. His departure was a bittersweet “see you later.” This was the first time you and he would be physically apart, being kilometers and hours away from him.

If you had the chance to, you’d tag along and stay with him, but you had no money and you weren’t as talented as he was. So a simple choking hug, many farewells, reassurance of how much you’d miss and love one another, and a kiss on your temple would suffice.

Every night he’d called to update you on the process and ask how you were with school, which was tough considering your best friend in the whole world wasn’t there for support but you knew he was there for you in spirit. 

You astonishedly made a genuine friend to be your buddy throughout high school and you told him. He got jealous. He told you who his members were, even sending you a picture of who’s who and what were they like. Jimin seemed sweet especially since Taehyung talked about him all the time. You got envious, but the both of you knew no one can replace either of you.

However, recently the contact was stagnant. Of course, while he was busy with training and preparing for your debut, you were busy with school and helping your grandparents out. They were getting older, so you tried your best to help around the house and farm. You would call him every night, but it would go straight to voicemail. You texted him, but he wouldn’t reply until days later and the response would be ‘Sorry, been busy.’

You tried your best to understand he has been working hard on this and you were proud of him, but you worried if he was okay. You wanted to know how he was doing or what was happening in his personal life. You just wanted to know. But now texts were rare and phone calls were miracles yet short and under two minutes.

Maybe you were being too much but quickly remembered what Taehyung told you before. It was after that big fight you had. He told you honestly and with solace. Regardless, you decided to give him a little space to avoid being overbearing.

But that only lasted two days because the unexpected happened.

After finding out, you naturally ran to your safe haven—your room—and cried your heart out. This wasn’t supposed to happen. The guilt consumed you, never even saying goodbye because you were at school and no one told you until after. You held onto your soaked pillow tightly. You felt vulnerable, and cold, and searched for comfort.

Then you remembered Taehyung.

You grabbed your phone and dialed his number. There was a ringing, but it went to voicemail. You dialed again. Voicemail. Again. Voicemail. Again. Voicemail. Again. Voicemail. Again. Voi—

“What?!” Taehyung snarled. “Why are you calling me so much?”

“Hyun—Hyungie!” You cried. “I nee—”

“Blue, I’m so tired. I can’t right now.” He groaned and you can imagine him scratching his cranium.

“B—but, it’s import—important.”

“Can’t it wait?”

“Hyungie ple—”

“___, call tomorrow!”

“No, you’re not un—”

“Ugh, seriously. Why are you being a needy little bitch?” He spat through the phone. “I know you have no friends and all, but I’m busy!”

This was the first time Taehyung yelled at you, the first time he was mad at you. He never was like that with you. Those words were hurting you, but you pushed them aside to reason. Your lower lips shuddered in denial, “No, no, Hyungie—”

“I swear, can’t you think about my needs for once other than yourself! Fuck.”

“I do and I’m sorry I upset you, but I need you ri—”

“___, I have to go. Namjoon Hyung is calling us to the living room. It’s important.”

“Hyungie, please. I nee—”

The call ended.

You tried calling back again and again, but he wasn’t answering so you left a voicemail. “Please, Hyungie. I’m sorry I made you mad, I’m sorry. I need you right now. I’m scared and lonely and I want my best friend. Please answer back. I love you. I miss you so much.”

Once you finished your message, you sat in the dark contemplating what he told you. Were you smothering him too much? Were you that needy? But Taehyung reassured you. He always has. But why was he saying it now? Did it finally get to him? No, no. Of course, not. He was your best friend of all time.

Every single day for the next week, you called him as much as possible. But there was no avail. You sent texts and phone calls until you found out that he blocked you. You stared at the screen for a good hour with the little pop-up saying a message cannot be sent.

It hurt so much for him to say that, to do that. It really was how he thought of you. You only ever had him, the person with so many friends, and he was gone. You were too needy, too much to handle. You caved into your body and pulled your knees to your chest as you bawled. His words always meant tremendously to you, and you didn’t realize you looked at yourself in that new light he showed you.

You came to a realization that you didn’t have a best friend. You lost him.

You lost your grandmother and him.

“___, I’m so sorry. They were lies, I never meant it!” Taehyung explained, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “I never thought of you like that ever!”

Your reddened puffy eyes lifted to meet his equally swollen ones. “Taehyung, my grandma died that day.” You swore his face and heart dropped at the information. “She went into a cardiac arrest while picking crops and dropped dead.” You sobbed as more tears ran down your cheeks. “I found out after school because no one didn’t want to tell me while I was in.”

Taehyung cupped your cheeks with his hands, wiping the streaks away but it was pointless. “I’m so so—”

You grabbed onto his forearms, so he could look directly into your eyes. “When my grandma died, I needed my best friend. I needed you, Taehyung!” You screamed and squeezed him with your might. You observed him as he had his lips between his teeth and looked down in shame and remorse eating him alive. “You ignored my text and calls when I needed you the most. But I didn’t have that anymore. There was no one.” You whispered the last sentence, knowing the loneliness you felt for years.

“Blue, I’m sorry. I didn’t know!” His shaky voice was filled with regret and sorrow, not realizing what you’d gone through until now. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know!”

“I tried telling you! But you pushed me away!! You didn’t give me a chance!” You slapped his chest faintly hard but it still wasn’t enough to break him. He lets you do so because he deserved it. He deserved every hit, every scream from you. He was a shitty best friend to you and he didn’t know the severity of it. “I lost you and grandma that day. It hurts, it hurts so much.”

Thinking you’d hit him again, you surprisingly encircled your arms around his torso and pulled him closer. On instinct, he did the same, tightening his hold. “I lost you. I needed you, Hyungie.” 

Streaks went down his face at how weak you sounded and it was all because of him. He hated himself for it, he hated the way he acted at you, you never deserved any of that, but he was an asshole. An asshole to his innocent and sweet best friend.

“You didn’t lose me, Blue. I’m here. I won’t leave, I promise. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He promised, then whispered all the apologies in the world to you. A critical promise that he will keep in his heart until the day he died.

-

You don’t know how long you were in this position, but dawn was soon arriving. The tiny peak of the tangerine shined among the skyline. You watched in tranquility with inflamed irises and dried stains on your features. Somewhere along the line, Taehyung climbed himself onto the elevated top bed and had you in his arms. 

At this point, you don’t bother because he wasn’t going to listen and you had to admit that the feeling of him alleviated you like how you recollected. You missed it so much and you maneuvered into his chest.

Taehyung wasn’t asleep. He was weary, but couldn’t sleep. In the meantime, he watched you while you stared out the window. He enjoyed it, acknowledging the yearning to have you back near him. He thought about it before but now, he wanted to beat himself up for ever letting you go. Though the crying stopped with a few sniffles here and there, the pounding in his heart didn’t stop. There was so much to be said, so much for him to ask and beg, all he hoped was that you accepted them.

“Blue—”

“Don’t call me that right now.” You muttered without even looking back.

“Sorry. Uhh, ___.” He called and you hummed in response. “I know I fucked up and hurt your feelings and I regret them. I swear, the last thing I ever wanted was to hurt you.”

“But you did.”

“Yes, I’m aware.” He gulped and exhaled unevenly. “I said the most fucked up things to you and took you for granted. You aren’t needy, you did nothing wrong. You’re innocent. It’s all my fault. I was a dumbass, obnoxious, and selfish. But I want you to know that you never lost me and I’m gonna keep reminding you of that. I promise I’ll never leave you again. I wanna make things right and rekindle our friendship. I wanna ask you for your forgiveness, please?”

Your irises shifted from the view outside to his nervous face. You sighed, then sat up. He followed you and waited patiently yet anxiously for your answer. “I forgave you a long time ago, Taehyung.”

His pupils dilated while his mouth parted, “You did?”

You nodded with pure honesty. “It took me three years, but I did.” You knew he was about to question it, so you quickly added. “I saw that BTS documentary and you talked about the struggles and adversity you all had to face, even with the early termination you avoided and personal life.”

He was shocked to find out that you followed him and the group, which melted his heart, and wanted to know more but now wasn’t the time. So he nodded. 

“I forgave, but I won’t forget it.” You stated. “Because, Kim Taehyung, you’ve hurt me so badly that it got me traumatized to opening back up to people.”

It was true. After your friendship broke, you shut down and avoided peers other than group projects. People tried but didn’t get very far. There was no effort due to your lingering fear of disappointment and your insecurity about being clingy. You went to school and then home, sometimes helping your grandfather out. You did have Taehyung’s siblings, but once his family moved, you really had no one.

Other relatives visited you and your grandfather, but that was basically it. It went like this from there until the end of your undergraduate years.

“You took our friendship for granted. Yes, we’ve changed and we’re strangers now…” You spoke like this was nothing but it tore Taehyung on the inside. He never wanted this to happen. “But there’s a scar in me, it’s still here and it’s a reminder.”

“___, you shouldn’t do that. It’s not good for you.” He approached. “The loneliness will continue.”

“But how can I not?” You whimpered with glossy eyes. “I’m afraid, because of you!”

Your words punched him in the gut, wincing at the emotional sting. “S-scars can heal over time, but it takes a while unless you get help.” You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. “Let me help you heal your scars.”

You leaned back as you fidget your fingers, hesitantly shaking your head. “N-n—I don’t know if I can.”

“I’ll help you! I’ll help you like I always did when we were together.”

“The past—”

“Please. You said it yourself, even if I hate it, but we’re strangers now. It’ll be different this time. We can start fresh, or back to where we left off before I moved to Seoul, I don’t care as long as I have you and our friendship back in my life. I’ll be eternally grateful.”

“You know it’s really hard to start fresh when I think about how we were years back.” You pronounced, still uneasy about the tempting recommendation. 

“Then let’s go back where we left off!”

“Can’t help but also think about what you did.”

Taehyung was desperate and felt defeated by your hard and impenetrable stance. But he didn’t want to give it up when he was so close. “Please, ___. I miss you so much. Back then, you were the only person who understood me. You probably still are and I hope that.”

“Please you have your friends and members, your girlfriend, who know you much more than me.” You retorted at his ridiculousness.

“Never, and I know that deep in me.” He said in no laughing matter. You pursed your lips, remembering how serious he can get.

Your pupils moved away to look back at the rising sun. “It’s been years though…”

“Then there’s a lot of time to be made up.”

You sighed, “Taehyu—“

“Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Ple—”

“Fine, fuck! Jesus Christ, you’re annoying.” You burst out, making him flinch. “We’ll do it.“

The angels answered his prayers. The broken pieces of the bond twitched as they’re attempting to find their way back to each other. The flames were about to ablaze with hazard protection the second you agreed.

“R-really?” He asked dumbfoundedly.

You gave a swift nod, “But I will remind you.” You grasped his tendrils firmly and tugged him to you, causing him to squirm painfully. You glared daggers at him with pupils enlarged. “You fucking broke my trust and heart, and this is something you’ll have to earn back.” Your hold tightened harshly, letting him yelp. “I don’t care how many pouts, expressions, begs and pleas you give me. You earn it. Understood?”

“Ye—yes, ma’am.” He replied without missing a beat.

You released your grip and removed your hand away. He groaned at the blunt ache. He knew you were harsh when you wanted to but damn. He was about to touch it, but you yanked his head towards your chest.

You wrapped your arms around his neck before your fingers gently brushed through his raven locks. He flinched, but only because it stung. However, your digits carded through and lightly scratched his scalp. “Did I hurt you?”

The sides of his lips curved, absorbing the tenderness he knew you had even if it was only a small piece. He rested peacefully into you and shook his head. “You could never hurt me.”

Though he never saw that smile on you at that moment, it was going to be okay. Hopefully, there will be more with the reconnection. It was complicated and conflicting, there may be holes. If people found out, they may question it, but they would never fully understand unless they were in your shoes.

The bond was yet in the dark due to lost time. But the reminder of that gravitational pull between you two was consistently there and progressing to its liking. Maybe little by little or jumping through barrels, who knew? All that mattered was that you were separated for almost a decade—

You’d always find yourselves back to one another.

-

It has been over a week since you and Taehyung had that fight. It really disappointed you that he forgot your parents’ death anniversary, but it bothered you even more that this was your biggest fight yet. You’ve done so much for your best friend and always tried to do what he asked you despite it being uncomfortable sometimes. He knew, he knew you knew. Yet he would still ask.

Asking him this one thing, this one important thing and he forgot it like it was nothing. It wasn’t something you could let off easily with Taehyung’s apologies and his intricate pouts. You had to be a little more stubborn than usual, so here you were—in your room alone on a sunny Saturday morning.

Since then, you haven’t spoken to Taehyung no matter how much he tried. If he did, you’d ignore him like the wind. When he tried hugging you, you pushed him off of you even going as far as throwing him on the grass. It was one of the hardest things to do especially when he lived next door and invited himself over at all times. You hated the distance. You missed him and his presence, but it had to be done for your voice to be heard. An apology wasn’t going to cut it. 

He was an insistent pest, calling your name and begging for your forgiveness from every angle you could think of. If only he knew you already forgave him, your heart couldn’t reject your best friend like that.

Today was not like the rest. After your fight—well, even before—Taehyung was your human alarm clock. Right on the dot of six in the morning. But it was the weekend, so it would be nine o’clock. However, there were no sounds or sight of your social butterfly anywhere. It was too quiet for your liking.

It frightened you.

Nonetheless, you went about through your morning. After washing up, you went out on the porch to water the plants. While hosing the pots down, you spotted someone coming out next door in your peripheral vision. You didn’t think anything else of it as it could have been anyone from Taehyung’s family, but then you saw the hue of bold red from his big-ass backpack stuffed as usual.

You shook your head, wondering what he was up to before paying attention back to your foliages and flora. Once you were done, you turned the hose off. You were about to turn away and go back into your house until a certain person came into your vicinity and closed the door when you tried opening it.

“Good morning, my lovely Blue.” He sounded radiant and energized.

For the first time since the fight, you finally acknowledged your best friend by staring at him right in the eyes with your tired and hurt once. The smile on his face grew the second the contact was mutual.

Before either of you could say anything, you pried open your front door. You made it in, but you couldn’t slam it shut as he ducked down and his arms wrapped around your waist then lifting you in the air. You yelped at the sudden action and unfortunately, it came naturally to encircle yours around his nape for support.

You felt him letting go, slipping in his hold which made you grip tighter. But then you noticed him maneuvering his hands under your thighs, putting you in a comfortable position.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you go,” Taehyung reassured as he kicked the door closed. Though you were secured, you realized the position you were in and what he was doing. Suspicious of him, you wiggled to get out of his hold but he only gripped firmer. “Nuh uh, I got you now, so deal with it.”

You blew out of your nose and pulled a face of disgust. You glared at him intently, but he paid no attention as he walked you toward your room. His face remained smiley, but deep down, he was actually deathly afraid. He wanted you back and hated himself for what he did. He needed to truly make it up after he was a shitty best friend to his sweet true best friend in the whole universe.

Once in your room, he propped you down on your bed. You crossed your arms, avoiding his eyes by staring forward at the wall. There was no way he’d get to you this easily. You had to continue your stance.

You heard him sigh before walking towards you and kneeling in front. He laid his hands on your lap before gazing up, “Blue, please talk to me. I miss you.” You stayed silent, ignoring him. “I’m sorry for forgetting your parents’ anniversary. It wasn’t my intention to, but I did for some stupid party for friends who are no way near important compared to you.”

Your heart stung a little—friends. The same friends he’d go to have lunch with. The same ones who were in football with him. The same ones who invited him to parties and hangouts. The same ones he managed to forget your time with him.

You looked away and batted your eyes to keep the tears away. You didn’t want him to see you cry just yet. It was way too early in the morning for that.

“Blue, I know I can’t apologize enough for it. I’m stupid.” You really wanted to say “you are,” but bit your tongue to keep quiet. “So what I’m trying to say is…” He got up and reached out to hold your cheeks in his palms. “Let’s go have an adventure.”

His sentence threw you off to the point where you snorted and spoke for the first time. “I’m not going anywhere with you right now.” You retorted, slapping him away from you. “If you fucking think that a da—”

“Please, there’s a reason for it! But it’s a surprise.” He quickly countered. His eyes rapidly tried to find your agreement, but there was none…yet.

“Do you even deserve my time?” You spat back, making him internally bruise at your cruel words. You felt guilt roaming in you when you saw how hurt he looked, but you repressed it. “You should hang out with your other friends. I’m sure they’d want to hang out with your surprise. I’ll be fine alone.”

“___,” He spoke quietly. “Please, I miss you. I want my best friend back.”

“But do you even want me back?” His expression grew perplexed and had no response back. “Just forget what I said.” You shook your head. “Leav—”

“I’m not leaving you.” He protested. “This adventure is important, the reason is important, you are important, ___. Please.”

Your jaw clenched as you glared fiercely at Taehyung. He looked back with fear in his eyes. You were always the one in your friendship to get annoyed or angry very easily while Taehyung never did anything back. He was patient and usually the idiot to blame for his antics. He never was mad at you…at all.

Though you were still wary of him, you were curious about what exactly this adventure was. When he said these things, he would have reasons behind them and they were usually mindfully good. He knew he fucked up, so he should know not to do anything that would upset you even more.

“So what should I wear for this adventure?” You asked. Though you didn’t explicitly yes, he knew you were on board with this.

He smiled widely, forming his boxy structure at you that you missed so much. He grabbed your hands into his before sliding his nose on the back of them, just wanting to feel your skin. “Just change and be yourself.”

You nodded before kicking him out of your room. Sure, he has seen you bare (kinda) and vice versa but he was still on thin ice with you. By the time you were done, you had a small bag, fresh pair of going-out clothes on, and an unenthusiastic smile written on your face.

When you both went out of the house and down the front porch, he stopped you. You glanced at him, wondering what did he want. “Before we go, I want you to keep these on.” He grabbed something out of his bright backpack and presented it to you.

It was a blindfold.

You furrowed your brows, a bit disturbed and very confused. You opened your mouth to refuse, but closed it up when you reminded yourself that he wasn’t gonna give you a clear answer. With that, you nodded to let him put it on you. You were too nice to him for your own good.

“So am I just gonna walk blindly the entire time?” You asked once he tightened the fabric around your eyes.

“No, I’ll be your eyes,” Taehyung reassured. “As long as you trust me.” You gulped, staying quiet yet your face twisted at his words. That caused him to frown immediately before intertwining his fingers with yours. “Blue, you trust me right?”

“Of course.” There was no hesitation in your voice. “I always did, but…” You looked down despite seeing black in your vision. You knew he stayed right back at you, you could feel his eyes lingering. 

“I’ll make it up, I swear.” He promised, squeezing your hand. You could only hum, but it still wasn’t enough to convince you yet. “Just follow me, I’ll protect you.”

Somehow he managed to keep the blindfold on you for almost two and a half hours despite your begging and complaining. He told you to watch out and helped you step exactly where you should walk in and out of places.

Your other senses were heightened, eventually noticing how you went on a subway and then a bus ride through the sounds of the transportation. Yet you still didn’t know where you were exactly going. Halfway through you gave up and slept through the bus ride with the darkness around you, even cuddling to Taehyung’s side to which he accepted and laid his head on yours.

He woke you up to get off the stop. You were still in a daze, but you let him help you walk down the steps. But to your misfortune, there was still a long walk more to go and you were so tired and hungry. Taehyung linked his arm with yours, careful not to get you hurt. The distance felt so much longer with your eyes covered, you were getting annoyed again. 

“Taehyung, how much longer?” You whined, basically dragged yourself.

You heard him laugh, “Just this hill. I promise.”

You were about to complain again, but stop when you wafted the aroma of flowers near. Did he go through all this trouble for fucking flowers? Sure, you loved them but you didn’t think they were enough.

The environment was a soothing stillness though. You haven’t heard others around you for quite some time. Even the bus ride here felt empty. Where was he taking you?

It felt like climbing the hill was over because he finally lets go of you. He told you again to keep the fabric on, so you just waited. You heard rumbling and rummaging through his backpack and other things you couldn’t quite specify. 

You took a deep sigh, then you felt his presence near you, in front of you. You felt his hands going behind your head to loosen the blindfold off of you. He slowly removed them to help you adjust your eyes back to the light. You blinked rapidly, taking in a slightly blurred Taehyung before rubbing your pupils.

“You okay now, Blue?” He questioned, searching for any troubles. You nodded as you looked back at him, then turned your head to figure out where you were. In an instant, your irises widened with your mouth slightly apart.

You’ve been here before, exactly a week ago but this time, it was with your best friend instead of your grandparents. Right before your eyes rested the tombstones of your parents side by side. There was a green gingham picnic blanket placed down adjacent to the graves with packed meals and fruits laying on top of the fabric. Two glass bottles of flowers sat perfectly on each side of your parents.

You were completely mesmerized by the sight before you. Your tear ducts couldn’t be saved as tears fell down your cheeks and the sniffles started inflating your nose. Your body throbbed, releasing all the emotions you’ve bottled up until this point.

Taehyung wrapped his body around yours, immediately relaxing you and leaning into him. He kissed your hair as he swayed you both. He knew this would happen, feeling your emotions that he too cried with you as he finally was able to see your parents.

After what felt like forever, the two of you finally settled down and ate your lunch and snacks. You spent the entire afternoon with your parents, talking and reminiscing memories on your part. You explained to them who Taehyung was in your life and how much he meant to you. While you blabbered onto the tombstones, Taehyung’s eyes were only on you smiling at your teary smiles and giggles, enjoying every second of it.

“Thank you, Hyungie.” You told him with a loving smile and a warm hug to the side. “Thank you so much.”

He pulled you closer, bringing you to sit on his lap as he encircled his arms around your waist. You rested your hands over his, tilting your head back. “No need to thank me. I’ve been an idiot for letting you go through that.” He rested his chin on your shoulder as he gazed at the graves. “You’re my Blue; I’ll do anything for you.”

You sucked your lips into your mouth, wondering if it was time to tell him the truth. Maybe he’ll understand you much more, and be aware of how much you felt. “Taehyung…”

You never said his name unless you were serious or mad. He closed his eyes and scrunched his face in fear. “Am I in trouble again?”

You lightly chuckled and shook your head, “No.” You paused for a moment and let it out. “A-are-are you—do you even like that I’m your best friend?”

You turned back to face him, faces a few centimeters away but you didn’t care to dig deeper into that. His attention focused on you. You saw his hesitation, but it wasn’t because of what you expected. It wasn’t of regret or denial. It was something else that you couldn’t quite pinpoint. You’ve seen it before, but you could never figure it out.

“O—of course, why is that even a question, ___?” He finally replied.

You finally faced away from him and viewed your parents. “You’re a social butterfly, Hyungie. You’ve always been. You’re kind and sociable, and you put your heart into every single one of your friendships.” You began, but your eyes were reddening by the second. “You could have anyone as your best friend, but…you chose me.” The salty water flooded your tear ducts and your chest grew tighter.

Concern wasn’t enough to express how Taehyung felt when he saw you crying again. He never wanted to let go. He turned you around so that way you sat sideways as he made you lean yourself into his chest and neck, rubbing your back and letting you sob again.

“Why?” You wept softly, the whimpering breaking Taehyung’s heart. His face creased in puzzlement, still not understanding you. “Why did you choose me? I’m nothing like you. I’m quiet, it’s so hard for me to start a conversation! You’re so popular and fit into every group, and I feel like I’m so far behind you…and…I don’t deserve you!”

Taehyung lets out a sob, stubbornly shaking his head in denial. He pecked your forehead as he joined another crying session. “Never say that again. You deserve all of me as I do with you.” Words injected with sorrow and disappointment. The only disappointment in him was seeing another skin of you insecure about your ten-year friendship that he knew nothing about. He understood what others thought and did to you, but you never mentioned how you truly felt. “Why didn’t you tell me this is how you felt?”

“I never wanted you to feel bad about something you couldn’t control. You’re outgoing, Hyungie; I’m not. I didn’t want you to pity me just because I only rely on you.”

“I would only want you to rely on me.”

“And I’m also younger than you. It may be only by a year but it does make a difference since I don’t see you throughout the school day. Plus you have your football team.”

“I don’t care about that because right after school and practice, I’m excited to come back to you.”

“I’m a fucking hermit crab who likes to stay in and you love partying and enjoying the outside!”

“I love being with my little crab more than being outside.”

“Hyungie—”

“___, listen.” He hushed you, gently patting your hair as he watched you with teary warmness. Leaning into you, he rested his forehead onto yours. The both of you closed your eyes, breathing yourselves into one another. Muted weeping spilled out of you when you listened to him. “It was never, and I mean never my intention to let you hurt like that. I didn’t know how you felt about it. Other than forgetting, was that also why you were so angry and hurt?” 

You pouted and nodded. “I feel like I’m losing you as we get older. We’re getting our own values and interests apart from one another you’d want someone who fits more into you instead of this awkward needy recluse. I worry if I’m even a good best friend for you.”

He pulled back, making you open your puffy eyes. This was the most serious he presented himself to you. He breathed in and out before speaking, “You’re never going to lose me. If I do, which won’t happen, I’ll come back with a sword fight to have you again.” You grinned at how absurd he sounded but it all meant earnestly. “We’re getting older, sure, but I don���t want anyone like me. Have you met me?” You chuckled and moved into his chest. “I never thought about having another besides you. You’re more than a good best friend, ___. You’re my Blue and that will never change.”

Your lips quivered at his soft reassurance to you. You were so fearful and nervous about growing apart from him that all that was said overwhelmed you but in the best way possible.

“I’m sorry for forgetting again. Please forgive me.” Taehyung told you again.

“I will always forgive you.” You nodded before you laced your fingers with his. “Even if I’m mad or upset or hurt at you, I’ll always forgive you.”

He diverted his pupils toward the stones. “I’m sorry, auntie and uncle. I didn’t mean to miss meeting you. You have the most loving and tolerant daughter in the universe for being friends with this annoying bug.”

“You’re not a bug.” You cooed.

“Hey!”

You giggled then faded when you had to let something out, “I’m sorry for being so needy. It must be a lot for you.” 

“I love you being needy for me too.” He smiled pridefully. “It just means you want me all to yourself.”

You smacked his shoulder, blushing brightly. “That’s not what it means.”

“Yeah, sure, Blue.” Taehyung rolled his eyes as he wiped your stained features with his thumbs. “You better not be needy for anyone else.”

It was your turn to smile cockily. “Why, doesn’t seem a bit much? Maybe I should do it to someone else to take the load off.”

“It’s never too much for me. Give it to only me.” He pouted, tightening his hold to which you laughed. “Remember Blue, no one can replace you. Whether or not I have millions of friends, you’ll be my best friend, my Blue, the only one I want. No one else, I don’t care what others think. My Blue, okay?”

Your mouth curved shyly, then nodded sincerely. “Then you’re my Hyungie, okay?”

“That shouldn’t be a question. I’m the only Hyungie in your life.” He scoffed, baffled at your ask, letting you feel more at ease. “I love you, Blue.” He kissed your temple numerous times.

“I love you too, Hyungie.” 

You continued your time there in each other’s embrace, having so much weight lifted off. Solace and comfort remained, feeling alive once again in each other’s eyes. A promise being held so high and mighty to reassure the other that they were the only one in the world for one another.

A promise that may seem broken years later, yet still kept so eminent that no one could even see. Not even you and him.

Tagged: @manuosorioh @kaal-ee @thvxstf

[sopheronipepperoni]

Clichés and the Sun Hat Savior

Summary: Theo finally meets Starlet Town's new farmer. Properly this time, all thanks to some wind and a sun hat.

A/N: SO weird to think that this is the first original thing writing since grad school started (and is almost over!!!). I'm just getting into Coral Island, but what can I say: cozy farming games set in the tropics with romance potentials are my JAM, okay, especially in stressful seasons. Also, Theo is great and needs more love. Be the change you want to see in the world, people.

The sun beat down from above. Even though it was still spring, the rays reflecting up from the cool blue water were surprisingly merciless. Today’s temperature was a sign that summer was right around the corner. It was looking like he would get a pretty solid head start on this year’s tan.

Theo twisted around to rest his fishing pole in the boat bobbing next to him, and grabbed a bottle of water from the small cooler he kept stashed in the bow. Taking a deep swig, he wiped his other hand cold with condensation across the back of his neck. A flash of color drew his attention to his right. Shading his eyes, he saw someone wading out across the shallow channel to the heart-shaped sandbar.

Creamy skin that would surely burn with too much sun exposure, long legs, arms toned from hard work…ah. That would be Essy Lyrien, the new farmer. He’d caught glimpses of her here and there since she came to town earlier in the month, between running back and forth from Sam’s or the beach. But he’d never seen her like this. He’d never even formally met her.

A peachy tie-front bikini top and matching bottoms hugged her curves in ways her farm clothes certainly did not. She wore a large floppy and carried a small blue pail in one hand, the other shading her eyes as she gazed towards the horizon. A large part of him sincerely hoped she had put on buckets of sunscreen before coming out here; a smaller but surprisingly forefront part of him had become incapable of coherent thought upon seeing her in a bikini. He felt his neck heat, and tore his gaze away from Essy.

What would his dad and sister say about his lapse and momentary ogling of Starlet Town’s new farmer?

Giving himself a shake, Theo put his water back in the boat. Maybe a quick dip would help him focus again? He’d certainly need it if he hoped to get a decent haul; the fish were in a fighting mood today. Before he could think too much more, he dove into the turquoise waters.

The reprieve was immediate. He had always loved everything about the ocean: the soothing embrace of the water, the gentle rocking of the waves, the way sounds were dampened under the waves. A part of him always felt like he was coming home whenever he was out on or in the surf.

He broke surface with a few strong strokes of his arms, taking in a measured breath and slicking his hair out of his eyes. He studiously kept his eyes on his boat as he kicked his way back to his fishing spot. No sooner had he retrieved his fishing pole, his body dripping water, than a gust of wind raked over him.

“Are you serious!?”

Theo looked up just in time to see Essy’s sun hat get whisked off of her head, copper locks blowing wildly around her face as she struggled to locate her wayward hat. The wind oh-so-nicely deposited it not too far from him. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the situation. Talk about a meet-cute, huh?

Essy sloshed her way over to him through the shallows out past the sandbar. She made decent time with those strong legs of hers, but he was still closer. Her hat was dripping when he scooped it up from where it floated benignly on the water. He tried shaking it out, with mixed success.

“Oh gosh, I am so sorry about that!” Essy had reached him, finally; dimly he wondered why she could possibly be apologizing for the wind, but his thoughts were effectively derailed when he looked up and looked at her. Properly, from up close, this time.

Her copper curls were snarled around her face from the gust, a few strands of gold and red dancing across her cheeks. She had wide eyes somewhere between celadon and the small aquamarine sea-glass he sometimes found washed up along the shore. Up close he could even see a smattering of freckles dusted across her nose and cheeks. He didn’t miss the way her eyes jumped from her hat in his hand, to his face, to…well, the rest of him, before jumping away again. Was it the sun playing tricks on his eyes, or was she actually blushing?

He could still feel rivulets of water running down his torso. He was dripping; what a cliche.

He felt himself color slightly; he also couldn’t help the feeling of smug pride that welled up inside him. He straightened and very minimally puffed out his chest. “No worries. The wind likes to play tricks out here.” He made to hand her hat back to her. “You must be Essy?”

“Yeah, I am—" She stepped forward to take it, but lost her footing on the rocks at the last second. Without thinking he reached out to steady her, one hand lightly on her waist and the other grasping her forearm. He registered contact with warm skin. Warm and soft…

“I gotcha. The reef’s tricky, too. Gotta watch your step. You okay?” If he let his hands linger a beat longer than was strictly necessary, well, what was wrong with making absolutely sure she was steady on her feet again?

“You know, I’m just going to own that this was not the most graceful way to actually introduce myself.” She gathered her hair to one side of her neck with a laugh. “You must be Theo? Fisherman extraordinaire, up-and-coming singer-songwriter, and savior of sun hats?”

It was cute how she didn’t take herself too seriously. His lips curved into a lopsided grin. “At your service.”

“Well, truly, I’m charmed.” She colored again, before plopping the still-wet hat back onto her head. “Thanks to you, I won’t have a terribly burned scalp. Have any favorite spring fruits or veggies? I could try and get some seeds to grow you something as a ‘thank you.’”

He shook his hands in front of him. “Like I said, no worries. What kind of sun hat savior would I be if I let you suffer from a peeling scalp because I couldn’t catch your hat?” What was he even saying? Essy let out a peal of laughter, and part of him felt like it unlocked. So weird. Who was he?

“Anyway, thanks. Really. I’ll let you get back to your fish wrangling—that’s what it looked like back from the beach, at least—" she broke off, her cheeks somehow managing to darken even more. Her words settled like a slowly sinking pebble in his mind. “I’ll see you around, yeah?”

“Yeah, of course.” Before he could gather any more thoughts than that, Essy shot him a warm yet bashful smile and turned to pick her way carefully back to the sandbar and surer footing. He refused to let his eyes linger as she walked away from him. The palms of his hands felt faintly burned, but he knew it wasn’t from the sunlight reflecting off of the waves. He took up his pole again, and readied himself to return to wrangling, like Essy had called it.

He wondered if she’d watch him again.

As he cast the line in front of him, the gentle whirring as the reel spun out reaching his ear, he also caught a distant, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Sure enough, he glanced back at the sandbar where Essy was fishing her pail and small sand shovel from the greedy tide currently sucking her tools out to sea. One hand was firmly clapped on her hat.

Theo couldn’t help letting out a wide smile as he felt a fish bite. What a meet-cute indeed. Maybe he’d write a song about it later.

[theseshipsshallsail]

Alrighty, Peaches, lets get these two lovesick idiots back together 🍑❤️

Summary:

He’s no longer the clueless grad-student pretending to know himself, but a tenured college educator proclaiming his truth. The pageantry of normalcy is over. Reconciliation: more than wishful thinking. So with his children’s permission - and a go get him, tiger from Micol - he’s torn up the script. Followed the siren song of redemption to its source. Spanned oceans and continents for the man who’s got him glued to his mobile like a lovesick innamorato.

Chapter 1

Hope, it has been said, is a waking dream, but of the countless scenarios Oliver’s envisioned in his parallel life, this, first and foremost, exceeds even his wildest expectations. 

There were times he’d considered himself cursed. Chronically addicted to whimsy. He could never begrudge his traviamento. Not when it led to a family he adores. Success in his chosen field. A happiness his martyr complex once deemed inconsequential. Yet fulfilment, he’s learned, exists not in doing what he ought, but in having the autonomy to do what he needs, and as the northbound regionale hurtles through Lombardy’s rustic foothills, he can’t help marvelling that his decades long odyssey is almost at an end.

No more hypotheticals.

No more conjecture.

No more fearing the nuclear fallout. 

August is peak tourist season, as the packed Trenitalia carriage can attest. Floral perfumes vie with the sour musk of travel. Coal, oil, and the bitter hint of espresso combine under the burnt-tyre haze of Gauloises. He hasn’t smoked since the cows came home - as his beloved bubbe used to say - so Oliver relishes the guilty pleasure whilst scowling at his cryptic crossword; unable to recollect the third moon of Pluto even if you paid him.

Initially, Elio’d insisted on meeting his flight at Côte d'Azur, but numerous factors have seen Annella’s condition deteriorate in recent weeks. The progressively smudged line between son and caregiver has him reeling - loath as he is to admit it - yet Oliver’s qualms about an overnight road trip on top of yesterday’s hospital appointment were sufficient to swing the debate. Old habits die hard - his protector gene is dominant - only now he’s stuck willing the powerful engine to speed up as the relentless carping from the couple behind wreaks havoc on his budding migraine. 

He’d emptied his inbox en route to Genoa. Transferred trains at Milano Centrale, and exited his solitaire program not thirty minutes later. His snacks have dwindled. His research analysis is clear as mud. Even his audiobooks fell victim to his inability to focus, and Oliver balls a fist under his jaw as he ponders the poetic vagaries of opportunities lost and found.

Of the meteoric shift that set him on this tack.

Of a voice - breathless as his own - that interrupted his jog one overcast Sunday.

“Elio…” it said.

One word. 

Just one word. 

Three honeyed syllables that pulled him up short as every barricade, every coping strategy, everything he’d told himself to justify the silence came crashing down around him. In one fell swoop the arena had changed, yet middle-age and a teenage journal brought with them a unique perspective on the past, and together, they’ve dispensed of the sword of Damocles poised so ominously above.

He’s no longer the clueless grad-student pretending to know himself, but a tenured college educator proclaiming his truth. The pageantry of normalcy is over. Reconciliation: more than wishful thinking. So with his children’s permission - and a go get him, tiger from Micol - he’s torn up the script. Followed the siren song of redemption to its source. Spanned oceans and continents for the man who’s got him glued to his mobile like a lovesick innamorato.

Pining like the Britton Forest.

Even more doe-eyed than Bambi’s mother.

And yes, alright, he’s raised a pair of weisenheimers in Noah and Jesse, but they’re not wrong. He and Elio have been in regular contact since that pivotal weekend. Emails. Texts. Meandering conversations when the disparate time zones allow. He’ll ask after his day as he sips his pre-dawn coffee. Fight a ubiquitous yawn whilst tending to the household chores. It’s a work in progress - balancing the see-saw of little things that add up to the whole - yet they’re getting better at spilling their innermost secrets. Redefining their boundaries. Upending Pandora’s box.

As a result, they’ve gone over it all these past two months. 

Michel, Micol, his kids; their careers.

Their lives apart, versus the one they aim to build together. 

Elio’s mother, and her Sisyphean struggle to stay present.

Oliver’s, and her farcical ultimatums when she learned of his forthcoming divorce. 

Each discussion was inherently painful - though there’s no denying they’re richer for them - and it’s humbling, quite frankly, to be trusted with all Elio is. Moreso on account of his transgressions. All human beings have things they regret - things that aren’t often forgivable by those who’ve felt the effects - but avoidance and supposition have cost them enough already, and come what may they’ve mapped a course through their personal minefields; triggering just a few minor explosions in their wake.

That said, some wounds slice deep - for all that the mind strives to cover them over - and the character limit of their SMS history is a palliative cure at best. To make matters worse, jet lag in his forties is a total crapshoot - not at all remedied by the piecemeal catnaps he’d caught on the plane - and thwarted by the blurry letters, Oliver soon turns to his iPod instead; selecting the dynamic strains of Elio’s back catalogue to muffle the grizzly toddler four rows along.  

It was the winter of ‘88 he last had the privilege of seeing him play in person. Juilliard's lauded Christmas recital: a selfish, one-sided affair by which he’d skulked in the shadows of the Lincoln Center’s mezzanine. That Elio forgave his audacity is a mystery in itself. That he's kindly suggested a repeat performance is a testament to how far they’ve come. A number of mornings were spent in such Spartan luxury their halcyon summer, and drumming his fingers in idle counterpoint Oliver pictures the give of that leather easy-chair in the villa’s spacious living room. 

The dizzy dance of dust motes towards the vaulted ceiling.

Elio - brow furrowed in concentration - resplendent in the saffron sunlight that pools through the wide, unshuttered windows. 

It’s a slightly static announcement on the tannoy that stirs him from his stupor, yet Oliver has no issue discerning la stazione di Clusone amidst the liquid notes of Gershwin pouring through his headphones. 

The griping Brit’s are still going at it: running an asinine gamut from Bergamo’s high humidity to the dearth of sandy beaches surrounding Lake Como. Oliver snickers when they denounce the price of an Aperol Spritz, and maybe it's an omen - one of Mafalda’s legendary signs - because right on cue a droning rhythm vibrates the laminate tabletop; Elio’s name lighting up his phone screen as he hits the green accept button like his life depends upon it.

“Suppose I were to meet you at the station?” he hears in greeting, a verbal ambrosia for his pilgrim soul. “Suppose I’ve been on pins and needles since you landed in Nice, and if one more meddling kibitzer extols the virtues of patience, I’m going to tell them exactly where to stick their conseils d'ingérence! Self-restraint was never my forte, mon ami.”

Nor his suppressor, Oliver thinks, admiring the fragrant lavender that flourishes about the bay. “God bless Annella for passing on that stubborn streak.”

“Fingers crossed that’s all I inherit,” Elio mutters glumly, inured to the savagery of his mother’s disease in a way that occasionally knocks him for six. “But suppose I’m waiting here,” he forges onwards, easing the Gordian knot in Oliver’s midsection. “On the same rotting bench I sat on at seventeen. Trying not to worry that you’ve missed a connection. Or the signals at Albino failed like they did in the spring. Or your train arrived ahead of schedule, and I’ve just driven eighty kilometres in Miranda’s Cinquecento -”

“- for a head-full of what-ifs and an ass-full of splinters?”

“Esattamente.” A pause. “So, am I?” Elio asks, sounding as exhausted as Oliver feels. “Fretting over nothing? Or has the universe devised yet another way to -”  

A piercing whistle cuts him off mid-flow.

The pneumatic judder of brakes ensues straight after.

“I guess that answers my question,” he murmurs, and if Oliver weren’t sitting on shpilkes himself, perhaps he’d refrain. As it is though… 

“A wise man once argued the way up and the way down are one and the same,” he answers primly, and when Elio barks something resembling a laugh and a snort he prides himself on lifting the mood. “Do you have any idea?” he asks then, scooting over to lean his forehead against the dingy glass. “How glad I am you came?” 

Compliments are risky business. Especially coming from him. But nonetheless -

“How could I not?” Elio replies: a vast improvement on his obsolete I don’t know. “The pullman might be less extortionate than a cab, but that old bus takes forever, and I just…” His vulnerability is audible. “I’m sick of being on edge,” he continues with no small amount of chagrin. “I needed to see you. To be sure this is real.”

To be sure you want me, hangs unsaid, which is ironic, when it's Elio himself who carries all the cards. 

“Do you remember the crux of my next column?” Oliver asks then, blood pounding in his ears. “That it’s not happenstance that determines destiny? But individual choice?” 

Elio’s pensive hum rumbles through the handset. 

“Well, there’s a difference, by and large, in walking a path blindly, and opting to walk it with hindsight,” Oliver explains, the simple fact resonating like a call to arms. “We can’t let our track-record hinder who we’ll become, but my path, Elio Perlman, was always destined for your door. And mark my words. To find you? To keep you?” The anticipation is glorious. “I’ll walk it to the ends of the earth…”