#Wow I was just feeling so stressed and then I suddenly saw the notification for today’s challenge

[shurisneakers]

harmless (xiii)

Summary: Bucky volunteers to go stop a small time villain, but nothing can prepare him for what exactly he has to deal with. (Bucky x villain!reader)

Warnings: cursing, frustrated bucky, dramatic reader, smidge of angst, guns, little bit of violence, obnoxious flirting, and kidnapping lol

Word count: 6.2k

A/N: welcome to chaos week >:) this is the first of three updates coming out this week (if i can finish the last one in time).  big thank you to my love @no-shit-sherl0ck for the kidnaped!reader idea, and that one anon who suggested the inator that’s used here. i know you wanted to see it in a zoo but i couldn’t really figure out a way to use that so i referenced it a bunch in previous chapters. oh and also @ginevranights​ for this specific imagery 

Previous Part  || Series Masterlist

Who the fuck kidnaps a villain in this day and age?

Saturday started normally enough.

Nat kicked Bucky’s ass in training, evening the score to 120 and 120. He blames it on the lack of sleep. She tells him that it’s his fault he stayed up late to binge watch 911 Lone Star.

He still thinks it was worth it.

The team’s sunshines and rainbows that morning. Someone had cooked up a batch of pancakes and fresh orange juice. Someone else burnt the bacon but left to feed his dog before anyone could complain.

Nat opened up the newspaper. Different sections went to different people until Bucky got stuck with the entertainment section. Fun, considering that he doesn’t even recognise half the names. He’d have to pretend to be interested until the next rotation.

He watches the orange juice levitate in front of him from the corner of his eye and just assumes that Wanda’s getting a refill even though she could have just asked him to pass it. He smells the next batch of bacon burning and figures that Clint is back.

Sam’s beside him, annoying him about how long it takes for him to read about which new celebrity relationship just ended and Bucky retaliates by reading even slower. Fuck you.

He’s on his second stack of pancakes absolutely drenched in maple syrup when the doors to the elevator open and Marie steps out, laptop in her hand.

An instant chorus of hello’s and invitations to have some charred bacon resound through the table. She politely declines them with a small smile, instead opening her laptop and placing it in front of Bucky without further ado. 

He looks at her questioningly, slowly swallowing whatever was in his mouth.

“An email for you.” She tuts her head towards it. “It has a video attachment of your friend.”

Bucky has plans to not watch the video in front of everyone, given that the content could range anywhere from you reading out fanfiction about him to a deep-fake of him singing a Whitney Houston song.

Both of which you have done before and would do again, without any hesitation.

“Aren’t you gonna watch it?” Wanda asks from across the table.

He slowly shakes his head no, cutting his stack into smaller pieces.

“If what’s in it is real, it’s important,” Marie stresses.

“What’s in it?” he inquires instead, hoping that the team would stop staring at him. If Marie was implying strongly that he needed to watch then something was wrong.

“Just watch it, man.” Sam’s statement has everyone agreeing with him. Bucky can’t refuse now, and if the team makes fun of him for the next month about how he looks good belting Greatest Love of All, he’s going to personally assassinate you.

He clicks on the email, noticing it came from a throwaway address. Probably untraceable, if the cards are played right. 

The video opens to grainy footage, which is stupid considering modern technological advancements. If this is one more of your stupid LARPing sessions, it could definitely wait till after lunch. 

But, he instantly recognises your silhouette strapped to a chair and suddenly the room feels very cold around him. His hand automatically clutches onto a bead from the bracelet you gave him that still remained tied to his left arm more often than not.

“Speak,” someone commands off camera.

“About what?” You sound annoyed, exasperated even.

“Why you’re here.”

“I’m here because you have unaddressed feelings of childhood insecurity.”

“I warned you to take this seriously.”

Bucky’s eyes widen slightly but his body relaxes the minute he reads the situation. 

The team’s crowded around him, he can feel it. His attention remains on the screen in front of him.

“Who even are you sending this to?” You don’t sound the least bit threatened. “My roommate’s not at home but my cat is and I don’t think she’d care.”

”You’ve made a complete joke out of villains everywhere. Fraternising with the enemies, the Avengers,” he spits the name with so much vitriol. “You’ve erased what it’s like to be truly evil. Turned us into a laughing stock.”

“If it takes one person to undermine your whole movement then maybe it wasn’t strong enough to begin with.” You look at someone outside the lens, face scrunching in distaste. “Also your costume’s ugly.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., can you trace this voice?” Bucky asks, receiving an immediate confirmation. “Figure out who it is.”

“On it.”

“Tell them. Tell them we are a serious threat and are to be feared.”

"No,” you say resolutely. “You’re an overgrown manchild. Go watch Teletubbies or something.”

“She does not give a shit,” Clint marvels at the situation, a piece of half eaten burnt toast between his fingers.

You didn’t. And if he knew you in the slightest, which he prided himself on at this point, you already had six different ways of getting out of there.

“She knows she’s going to be fine,” Bucky murmurs, returning back to take a bite of his pancakes. “She’s probably still there just to irritate him.”

He zeroes in on your wrist to see if the teleportation watch was still there but no, your wrists are bare. Guess you forgot.

“You have to.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s how a real villain does it.”

“A real villain- what are you, gatekeeping the villain community?” You scoff. “You sound like a fuckin’ incel.”

“Just send them a message,” the guy bellows, hitting a table.

“She’s going to frustrate them to death.” An accurate observation, Sam.

“Okay, jeez, fine.”

Bucky just knows that you rolled your eyes at that moment.

He had faith in you, or in your abilities at the very least. While every wisecrack could possibly inch you closer towards harm, you probably wouldn’t be making them unless you felt completely secure in your situation.

“Help, I’m totally kidnapped and in danger. Save me because I can’t do it myself. This man is too powerful and strong and sooo scary.”

“Do you think she has a strategy?”

“Definitely.”

“You’re not worried, James?” Wanda asks curiously. “I thought she was your friend.”

“She is my friend.” He reaches over to take the jug of orange from across the table. “That’s why I’m not worried.”

“Are you going to fight the Avengers?” you interrupt his endless tirade. “Because that’s a stupid plan. You get how that’s a stupid plan, right?”

“Let them come. I’m prepared.”

“With what? A stick you found outside? A Nerf gun? Man, you’ve tied my hands with fuckin’ zip ties, you can’t be serious-”

“Shut up,” he roared and the stand shakes slightly from where he stamps his feet. “Our army is enough.”

“Wow,” you exhale. “I wish I had your confidence, I really do. I want to study you under a microscope.”

“I have reinforcements.” It sounds like he turns to the camera to address it directly. “This is a warning. Your friends have an hour to find you or things are gonna turn ugly. This is what real evil looks like.”

“Evil dresses in a dollar store Speedo, apparently.” The man pays you no heed, instead picking up the camera. “Hey, sarge, if you’re watching this, don’t bother. I’m fine, it’s not even the real me-”

The camera cuts to black.

“When was this video sent?” Nat looks at Marie, eyebrows drawn together.

“About ten minutes ago.”

Bucky clicks out of the email, determined to get at least half his breakfast in him before he left to see what’s up with your situation. A notification pops up immediately.

evilkneival123@gmail.com just sent you an email.

A video attachment.

“We got another one,” Bucky informs the team, drawing their attention back to the screen from the informal conversation that had erupted between them about what they could do.

This time, there’s a subject line included.

Attack on the Clone.

"Ain’t that a Star Wars movie?" he asks, craning his neck to look at Clint.

"That's Attack of the Clones," Sam corrects. "Probably autocorrect."

Bucky narrowed his eyes in suspicion at him, jaw sliding outward before falling back into place. Enough times had Sam called him Fucky in the group chat and gotten away with it for him not to be wary.

“Or a code,” Wanda suggests, too many crime thrillers read and podcasts listened in her spare time. She occasionally brought them over to Self Care Saturday, introducing him to the world of true crime as a bit of light content while they snacked on chocolate chip cookies he baked. “Like the Zodiac.”

“For what?” Bucky peers over at her.

“All I remember from that movie is them rolling around a field together,” Clint mutters. “Maybe that’s how you’re supposed to save her.”

“I’m not saving anyone. Look at her, she’s fine.” Is he the only one who saw it?

When he’s met with skeptical looks and no other useful suggestions, he presses play on the video.

This time it's clearer footage. It hardly takes him a second to ascertain where it was.

"That's her lair." It showed the pathway leading up to the flat concrete building, exactly where the intercom should be.

There was a black Sedan parked haphazardly outside, engine still on judging by the sound of the radio blasting an AC/DC song. 

Within a few seconds, someone drags you from the entrance of the lair to the car, despite your very clear protests and opposition, shoving you inside before it takes off in full speed, tires screeching. 

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., track the car from that video. Check all the CCTV and surveillance footage from around the area that you can find," Bucky commands, taking a sip of orange juice.  

"Why would they send us that?" Clint pipes up. "They make their email untraceable but send us a video of the fuckin' abduction itself?"

"I don't know." Bucky shakes his head, setting his glass down. "She probably convinced them to."

It was an unusual scenario, he realised that. But his eyebrows lower in contemplation, his lip caged between his lip before a thought suddenly occurs to him. A laugh in disbelief almost escapes his throat ad he pushes it down with some freshly cut strawberries. 

"And they listened?"

"I don't think you realise how annoying she can be." He knows, though. He knows. "Bet they regret it, though. I should tell them to keep her for a little longer."

"Voice recognition registers voice to someone named Chad, better known by his alias Soul Crusher. Surveillance footage places the car about thirty minutes away. Exact location sent to your phone GPS."

Soul Crusher. That was worse than Dr. Strange.

"I can make that fifteen." Bucky shrugs, setting down his fork and knife. If his hunch is right, the team didn’t really have to get involved. “See you guys later.”

“Do you want any of us coming with you?” Wanda gestures to the crowd at hand.

“I got it.” He pushes away from the table, depositing his plate in the sink, dropping an extra piece of bacon on the ground for Clint’s dog. “She’ll be alright.”

They watch him trail out of the room briskly, heading up to his room to change.

“Is it just me or is he too casual about this?” Clint continues staring long after he leaves.

“Both of them are weirdos.” Nat pulls open the newspaper again, going back to the sport’s section. “Who knows what goes in their heads.”

“Can confirm that not a lot goes on in his.”

Without Bucky to retaliate or grumble, a Steve walking into the room, sweaty and shiny after training becomes the new subject of jokes that morning.

__

For the first time in months, he’s had to bring a weapon or two along with him. Two revolvers and a couple of knives kept out of plain view. He wouldn’t need more than that anyway.

True to his word, it takes only fifteen minutes to get there, thirteen if he didn’t stop for the chain of ducks that crossed the street.

He’s also dressed in a little more leather than he usually reserves for your meetings. A jacket that brings to act as a windbreaker and tightly laced up combat boots make him look like he either stepped off a runway, or more menacing than usual depending on who was looking.

The GPS points him to an old warehouse near a more subdued part of the city. It was abandoned by the looks of it, and had been for a while judging by the lack of upkeep. Prime real estate.

He pulls off his helmet, hanging it on the handlebar along with his backpack before kicking the stand into place. The bike’s a few metres away just in case they decide to blow something up.

Bucky looks up at the warehouse, assessing the most damage he could do to it if at all it was needed. That thing could barely stand on its own, a grenade would absolutely decimate it. That wasn’t good news for you.

He sighs once before putting on his death glare, straightening out his shoulders into a stature that screams stone-cold, and pushes the door open, gun raised.

A mini-army of people ranging from their early twenties to late thirties stood guard at the entrance, all with rifles pointed at him. He counts fifteen, maybe eighteen.

“Oh, hell no,” a voice erupts from the back, followed by the sound of his gun being thrown to the ground. “No one told me that he was coming.”

Bucky raises an eyebrow, his death glare not shifting and Glock not lowering.

“I’m out.” The same guy raises his hands up to show he meant no harm, slowly brushing past Bucky as he squeezed out of the building.

“You got five seconds to leave before I shut this door,” Bucky gives the rest of them an ultimatum. Not like there was a point anyway. SHIELD was sending down some people to account for the one day rise in new morons. 

They all looked at each other, swallowing thickly before raising their weapons.

“I hope he’s giving you good insurance.” The second he finishes his sentence they all cry out in what sounds like a fucking war chant, launching themselves at him. 

______

“They’re here.” Someone presses his ear to the door as if the gunshots and screaming weren’t enough. 

“Brilliant. We’re ready.” Chad picks up the knife, running his finger along the sharp end. You try to see if you can use your Twitter-ordained powers of manifestation for a paper cut.

“How much are you asking them for?” You put forth a query instead, when it disappointingly doesn’t work.

“Asking who for what?” Chad stops his dumb intimidation tactic for a second. 

“You know,” you insist like it was obvious, “my ransom. How much did you ask them to pay?”

“We didn’t-” He looks around at the other people in the room for confirmation. “-we didn’t ask for any.”

“Because I’m invaluable?” Your head droops to the side in mock flattery. “Aw, you guys.”

“We didn’t think of it,” someone from the corner behind you speaks up, coming to the aid of their boss.

“Now that’s just rude.” You tut, shifting maybe an inch or two in your bounds to try and get more comfortable. “Leaving aside your lack of preparation, let’s just assume he bursts in here, desperate and ready to bargain. How much would you ask for?”

“Three million,” Chad says confidently, gathering a nod and sounds of agreement from everyone else.

“Are you serious?” Your jaw drops, a scoff escaping you. “That’s all?”

His self-assurance falters a little bit, you can see it under his 5 Minutes Craft mask.

“Three mill-” You stop mid-sentence. “With this wiring? Ridiculous. Make it ten, I demand it.”

“We’ll ask for fifteen mil,” Chad proposes, his teammates agreeing again, a little more delighted than last time.

“Ask for thirty, you coward,” you argued. “Thirty million and a jet.”

“You’re not worth that much.” The dipshit diagonal to you pipes up with his unwanted and, frankly, useless opinion.

“And you are?” You whip around the best you can. “Henchman number four?”

“Megedagik,” he informs, standing up a little taller now that he was given some importance. “It means ‘killer of many’.”

“Did you just say your name was Mega Dick?” 

“Megedagik,” he corrects.

You stare at him hard before turning away. “Alright, other than Mega Dick here, does anyo-”

A knife lands right next to your feet, driven at least an inch into the ground. You look up at the guy you managed to piss off within four sentences, his face now a beet red. 

“These are brand new, asshole,” you barked, shaking your shoes around. “You’re gonna pay if there’s even a scratch on it.”

“Permission to kill her?” Meg growls, casting a side eye at Chad.

The boss man looks at you thoughtfully, assessing the repercussions of what might happen. You raise an eyebrow.

“Slow and painful,” he settles. 

A small smirk makes its way onto your face. 

“Title of your sex tape,” you quip as the man in the corner storms towards you.

_____

It’s all a flurry, really. A bunch of inexperienced newcomers versus one of the most skilled assassins the world had ever seen? Ten minutes tops.

Bucky doesn’t do any serious damage. A couple of broken bones but only out of necessity, a lot of concussions, and maybe a bullet wound, or three, here and there. 

Most of the time he spends thinking about things that have absolutely nothing to do with what was going on. He forgot to take his laundry out of the machine. There was a biscotti recipe he had been procrastinating on trying. His succulents needed watering but he could do that once he was back. Was he wearing his good combat pants or was it the pair that had a hole in the pocket?

His left hand thrust outwards to shove someone away while he stuck his right hand into his pocket to check if it had frayed away. The person he pushed slams into a wall with a loud groan and no, his pants didn’t have a hole in them. 

He stops to take a breather, assess what was going on. There are bodies scattered all around, mostly writhing in pain from minor injuries. Someone very bravely stands up, hands posed in front of him in a regular fighting stance.

“You sure about this?” Bucky asks, reaching for one of the concealed knives he hadn’t had a chance of using yet. It twirls rather nimbly between his fingers for something so dangerous, the hilt finally landing in his palm for a sturdy grip.

The man takes one look at the knife before sitting right back down on the ground. 

“Good choice,” his voice drops to an octave lower than his self-esteem. He’s tired of this old routine but it works like a neat little party trick, often getting him the result he wanted. “Where?”

A few fingers point down the hall to the only room whose door was closed.

He makes sure to step over everyone who was lying along the way, ears tuned in to even the smallest of noises just in case one of them decided to attack him from the back. It doesn’t come.

He doesn’t bother creeping down the hallway. With all the ruckus that just went on outside, he’s pretty sure it’s obvious that they had an intruder. 

Bucky kicks in the large steel door with ease, given that it was barely hanging on its hinges. His gun’s raised, muscles tight, and senses on high alert for any immediate threats. 

It lands with a large thud, reverberating through the room. He’s reminded of your first meeting with him.

There’s a chair in the middle of the room with a person tied to it by a mixture of rope and tape. Others found themselves slithering around on the floor in a similar fashion, trying to get out of their bondages.

“Hey, James,” you call out, drawing his attention to you. You were sitting atop a table, legs swinging back and forth without a care in the world, a blade in your hand. 

“You okay?” He tucks the gun into his waistband when he realises that none of the henchmen are going to be going anywhere soon.

“All good.” You hop off the table with a little spring in your step. “Did you bring your bike? I need a ride back to the lair. I think I left the TV on when I was, you know, getting kidnapped.”

“You coulda teleported back home before all of this even happened.” Bucky does a quick assessment of your body to make sure there weren’t any bruises or anything of the sort. “Avoided the whole thing.”

“Don’t have the watch with me.” Odd, since he knows you consider it one of your essentials but it just fuels his theory further. “Besides, if I just quit before we started, they’d keep messing with me over and over again.”

“Do you want me to punch someone’s face in?” He glances around the room at the ones wiggling about on the floor like fucking worms. “I’d be happy to.”

“Nah, I got a few in myself.” You rotate your wrist, other hand still holding onto the knife. “You know what, maybe I’ll have another go.”

He simply makes a noise in acknowledgement before he places a hand on the hem of your shirt, gently reeling you back. “I think you fixed ‘em up real good. That’s enough for today.”

“Fine but only ‘cause you said so.” You huff, looking past him and at the weirdos on the ground. “You hear that? This man just saved your life. Say ‘thank you’.”

A muffled chorus of what sounded like appreciation echoed through the room. Bucky awkwardly looks around.

“Damn right.” You walk over to the guy in charge of the whole event, bending down to his level. “If you ever try to fuck with us again...”

You stare straight into his eyes, unblinking. You hold up the knife to his Adam’s apple. Chad doesn’t dare to move other than the thick swallow.

You raise your finger and flick him in the forehead. “Get a better costume.”

The corner of Bucky’s lip quirks upward.

“Let’s go, sarge,” you announce, standing upright again and making a motion to follow you. “D’you have an extra helmet I could use?”

“Yeah.” He had brought one along in his bag, assuming that you’d need one once he noticed the watch was missing in the footage.  

“Yay.”

The only storage space on his bike was under his seat and it’s just enough for an extra revolver. Clint asked him if it was his way of flirting with someone, give ‘em a quick spin around the city and then show them his gun. If looks could kill, Clint would be 7 feet under. 

“You sure you wanna ride it, though?” He cringes immediately when he realises what it sounds like, waiting for you to smack the innuendo in his face. “We could wait for SHIELD.”

“Don’t really have another choice, Bucky,” you say absentmindedly, strolling out the room as you tossed the knife behind you.

He frowns at your indifference but turns around for a second to look at Chad. The man in question looks back viciously, his grandeur from that morning basically deflated and left to die along with his reputation.

“Might wanna reconsider the name,” Bucky remarks, doing a quick sweep of the area once more. “Soul Crusher.”

He waits until both of you are outside the cell and the door is shut on the ringleader and his circus clowns, handlebar twisted out of place so that they don’t escape for the time being.

“One second,” he calls, touch gently lingering on your forearm to stop you without even thinking twice about it. A famously uncharacteristic move for him.

"Hm?” You don’t even look like you notice his action.

“You sure you’re good?” he asks seriously, actual concern slipping through the question. “Do you need medical assistance?”

“They couldn’t hurt me anyway.” There’s something strange about the way you say it, almost assuredly. “I’m good.”

“Okay,” he concedes, his hand darting back when he realises it was still on your arm. His eyebrows furrow when he realises how instinctively he had reached out in the first place.  He didn’t touch anyone, ever.

“What are we gonna do about them?” you inquire, stepping over someone on the floor to get to the exit.

“Marie told Agent Hill. They’re sending someone over.”

“They’re sending SHIELD for these wannabes?” Someone groans in protest from somewhere and you elect to ignore them. “Ew.”

“Just to make sure confidential information isn’t compromised in any way.” There’s a large bang that comes from the room they just left. Maybe one of them shot their teammate by accident. They were more than capable of doing it.

“I would never,” you exacted a little more solemnly, pushing the door open with your elbow to let the sunlight flood in.

“I know.” He doesn’t realise how dark it was in the warehouse until he steps out into the noon sun. “I’m pretty sure this is more about the fact that you were abducted.”

“For me?” The smile doesn’t quite reach your eyes the way he kinda likes. Something definitely felt off. “I love being class favourite.”

He doesn’t reply, a small grunt as he twists the handle of the warehouse door upwards, effectively jamming it. 

“Can I drive?” You bat your eyelashes at him innocently, disregarding the loud screaming that came from inside as those less injured probably regrouped for a last ditch attempt. 

“No,” he doesn’t hesitate in replying, handing you a helmet and buckling his own securely.

“But I just got kidnapped,” you complained, watching him swing a leg over the bike and straddle it. Okay then. 

“All the more reason for you not to drive right now.” He mentions for you to get on, squinting at the warehouse a few feet away.

“Fine, but next time I’m driving,” you grumble, climbing on the back.

“Do you even know how to?” His head is tilted to look at you from the corner of his eye, voice heavier on account of the obstruction on his face.

The door starts shaking violently and he knows for a fact that it won’t hold up for much longer. Some of those who he had knocked out probably had been shaken awake again for manpower. 

“I can learn.” You take a pause, mischief seeping into your next words. “You can teach me.”

“No.” He didn’t exactly practice what was considered safe, law abiding driving. He just got from one point to another and that’s all he cared about.

“Then I’ll do it myself.” You sound determined. “I’m going to leave a note for us in the lair.”

“You do that.” He revs the engine when something solid hits the metal door. As guessed, their usage of props to push it down faster was coming into play. “Now, can you hold on to something? We need to go.”

If only those idiots just realised that the windows covered by newspapers were right there, ready to be broken.

“Only if you promise to let me drive next time,” you say defiantly, drawing this whole ordeal out.

“Whatever,” he urges. “I promise. Now can we go?”

“Wait for it...” There’s a devilish smile on your face. “One.”

There’s a loud creak as the door finally gives way.

“Two.” The same people you left tied up in the room burst out, almost stumbling over each other in the process.

“Three,” he completes it on his own, not waiting for you to finish because God knows how long you’d stretch it out just for the drama.

Your excited screech of laughter as he narrowly misses a rod that gets thrown at him like a fucking javelin temporarily distracts him from the brain freeze he gets when your arms wind around his waist to hold yourself in place. 

There’s angry screaming and bullets that whiz past in an attempt to get him to stop but a swift turn around a corner, pulling the both of you out of their sight is enough to get rid of them. 

“We should get a few weapons and go back,” you yell over the wind rushing by, barely audible.

“You do that in your own free time,” he shouts in response, yanking you through narrower lanes and less popular streets.

“Maybe I will, you bore.” 

Still, you shut up for the rest of the ride, only grumbling when he stops the bike to tell you that no, you cannot let go just because you want to throw your hands in the air like in the movies.

You hop off when he finally pulls up on the street outside your lair, adrenaline still pumping through your veins. He waits patiently as you unbuckle the helmet, switching off the engine. 

“You gonna drop me off at my door too, now?” You snicker, fingers pulling off the helmet.

He looks at you for a second before dropping the kickstand into place and dismounting from the motorcycle.

“I was kidding.” You laugh, handing him your headgear that he shoves into his backpack. 

“You’re pretty capable of gettin’ abducted along the way.” An absurd notion, considering it’s a short path from the road to the door. 

“Oh, how chivalrous.” You let him tag along anyway, for his peace of mind. 

“My ma didn’t expect any less.” A couple of sharp lessons from Winifred Barnes and Bucky was nothing short of a damn angel. 

You knock on the door three times, crossing your arms over your chest as you waited. 

“Aren’t you the one with the key?” Bucky questions, one hand on his waist. 

The door swung open in the middle of his sentence revealing... you.

Another you.

“Nah, she has it.” Ex-Kidnapped-You raises your head in acknowledgement at Doorway-You.

“Ah.” He fucking knew it. An unnatural sense of smugness blossoms in his chest. 

“Hey,” the both of you said at the same time.

Doorway-You looked way more relaxed, a little less grimy and dishevelled but exactly the same.

“Buck, I see you met my other half,” the you from the doorway greets him. “Or other whole, actually.”

“Sure did.” He sends a glance at Ex-Kidnapped-You.

“You can go on in. Big first day, huh?” Doorway-You refers to the you beside him.

“You wouldn’t believe,” Ex-Kidnaped-You mutters, pushing past the entrance and disappearing inside.

“She gonna be okay?” His gaze trails after your clone.

“Oh yeah, just needs to recharge.” You turn around to make sure she’s fine. “She’s made of some pretty strong carbon, technically almost indestructible.”

No wonder ‘you’ said they couldn’t hurt you.

“Heya, sarge.” You draw his attention back to you. “Always good to see you.”

“Can’t really say the same about you.” 

“Ever the emotional repressor, Mr Barnes. I like this little leather show you got going, did ya wear it just for me?”

He shifts his balance to his other foot, feet slightly wide apart. “Take it that the clone machine finally worked?”

“I was in the middle of celebrating.” You sigh, recalling the events of that morning. “Teleported home for a second to get some champagne and when I came back she was gone.”

“Irresponsible.” He tsks, head shaking in disappointment. 

“Sorry I didn’t take amateur kidnappers into account for my risk factor analysis, Bucky,” you shoot back, pressing on his name for added annoyance. “Anyway, I did the responsible thing. I sent all the evidence I had to you guys.”

“Real clever.” Bucky looks at you in dry amusement. “Attack on the clone? Really?”

“Hey, always make time for a good pun.” You finger gun, lopsided grin on your face. “Did the team like it?”

“They thought it was a typo.” Or a code. He really had Wanda to thank for his big revelation. “Your video didn’t help either.”

“Don’t tell me they couldn’t make out it was me.” You laugh, crossing your arms over your chest.

He doesn’t reply, pursing his lip inwards in sympathy, but more so to conceal a smile.

The happiness drops from your face slowly, horror taking its place. “Don’t tell me they couldn’t make out it was me.”

“Good job, your machine worked,” he adds helpfully.

“C’mon, there were so many differences,” you whine, the success of your endeavour the last thing on your mind. 

“That is your literal clone,” he points out, only to see you- clone you- walk into the giant box in the corner of the room, bright green light emanating from it like a xerox machine.

“How could they not tell the original apart from a copy?” You look genuinely offended. Insane. “Not even Sam?”

“Guess you’re not unique enough.” A rise and fall of his shoulders signify his attitude towards this whole thing. “Think I like your copy better, too, actually.”

“You’re so mean.” You puff in disbelief. “I’m a 100% original. How many mad scientist teachers do you know?”

“Two.” 

“I don’t mean now, that’s not even the-” You poke at his rock hard chest. “You are so much more annoying than when I first met you.”

He thinks it’s good relationship development.

“I have to deal with you every weekend.” He watches your finger drop from his chest. “Picked it up along the way.”

“Boo hoo, talking like you don’t have deep, deep feelings for me.” You roll your eyes. “I see right through you, Bucky Barnes.”

“Can you see the part that couldn’t give less of a shit?” He gestures to himself. “It’s all of it.”

“You think you’re such a comedian, huh?” You narrow your eyebrows. “How did you know she was a fake then, huh?”

Busted.

“Probably ‘cause you didn’t talk as much today,” he dodges. “Actually had some peace of mind for a change.”

“You knew before you got there, you liar.” You push past his fabrications. “You figured it out before everyone else.”

“You literally put it in the title.”

“Yeah, but the rest of the team saw it too.”

“Rest of the team didn’t know you were building a goddamn clone machine for months.”

“You remembered that?” You pulled away, palm over your heart. “Oh, sarge, you paid attention to me.”

His nose twitches.

“You said it, like, eight hundred times.” He could use both his hands to count the number of references you had offhandedly made in the last three weeks alone.

“Why'd you go save me when you knew it wasn't real?” you continue to challenge relentlessly, knowing fully well that he was fibbing. 

“Because you fuckin’ peer pressured me. Had the whole team around me when you sent your little video during breakfast.”

“Just admit it,” you coo, ignoring all his justifications. “You noticed it was fake me right away but showed up anyway because you’re wildly in love with me.”

“No,” he says stiffly. 

“No as in you won’t admit it you have a crush on me, or no as in you didn’t know it was fake me?”

There was no winning this. 

“Good day to you.” He pulls the motorcycle helmet on to hide the expression that plain as day screamed the former of your two options.

“Also,” you bring up indignantly, “she even got to ride the fucking bike and I’ve been asking to drive it for months now!”

“We-” he chooses his words carefully. “-compromised.”

“Oh, you did?” Your voice lowers at the newfound information, interest piqued. “I’m gonna hold you to that then, whatever it is.”

“Doesn’t count.”

“Absolutely does,” you huff. “A promise is legally binding. Blue’s Clues taught me that.”

“Bye, Y/N.”

“You’re my knight in leathery armour,” you swoon, switching sides immediately, “Kinda.”

“See you next week,” he says in farewell, determined to leave before you made it worse. “Try not to get killed by then.”

“Why, so you can do it yourself? Protective much?” You pull him back when he starts walking away, laughing slightly. “Wait a second, you weirdo.”

He sighs, staying put anyway, arms crossed impatiently over his chest.

You pull out the pen tucked behind your ear and slowly tap him twice on each shoulder in a makeshift knighting ceremony. “For your sacrifice.”

He rolls his eyes at the ludicrousness, tongue clicking against the roof of his mouth.

You ignore his lack of enthusiasm, pressing your fingertips to your lips in a small kiss and then to his nose, given that it was the only part of his face you had access to.

“That was for your bravery.” You grin brightly at him and he sure as hell is glad he’s wearing the stupid helmet because he can feel his cheeks light up a bright crimson.

“Thanks.” His voice sounds gruffer than a second ago. He clears his throat.

“Now you’re my knight in leathery armour,” you fawn, nearly falling over yourself dramatically. “Let’s ride into the sunset together. I love you.”

“You’re ridiculous,” he calls out over his shoulder, turning away to return to his bike. “I despise you.”

“But you don’t.”

He really didn’t.

also i managed to fuck my phone up really bad so all proceeds from my ko-fi go towards getting it fixed

Next part

[byulsgrease]

if you arent too busy, can you write a idol!hwasa x idol!reader, wherein they both have to practice with each other for a special stage. However on the first meeting they become starstruck and cant believe somethings are real, but soon warm up to each other?

i'm not terribly busy but this still took a while anyway oops - sorry this took so long anon! here you go :D

if anyone has requests for the other members hmu cuz I've got 2 more hyejin reqs after this one (not that I'm complaining)

"who says we can't do something on our own?"

(hwasa x idol!reader, ~1.2k words)

cw: food + alcohol mention (y'all know how it is)

I named someone Minjeong - it's not Aespa's Winter, idk anything about 4th gen gg's - 민정 is my Korean name so it's just what came to mind

"Hey, wake up. You've gotta see this. GET UP," a voice piercing through the fog of your sleep.

What a rude awakening. Your shoulders being shaken vigorously by a pair of small hands meant they belonged to none other than Minjeong, your youngest group member. You rolled over to glare menacingly at her with one eye open, trying to pull your brain out of the slumber. All you could see was the bright light of her phone shining in your eyes - a video of some kind. But then you heard the audio:

"Have you seen the clip?" asked the interviewer.

"Yes, my members and many MooMoos made sure I saw it"— Moos? Oh, it's Hwasa. WAIT. Both your eyes flew open as you sat up and snatched Jeongie's phone out of her hand to stare at the video. Your mind immediately flashed back to the interview you did last week - they asked who you most wanted to collaborate with, if there were no limitations. Your ears started to heat up at the sheer thought of the flustered mess of an answer you gave - of course you said Hwasa. Both of you debuted relatively close to each other, within a year, but never interacted much over the years. Mamamoo as a group was a force to be reckoned with, but there was just something about Hwasa specifically. You mostly just admired her unique singing voice and undeniable stage presence, and her relentless drive to always be herself in an industry constantly trying to fit women into a box.

Finally snapping out of re-living that embarrassment, your attention turned back to the phone in your hand. The interviewer must've asked her to send a message in response to you, because you couldn't believe that she was waving and saying, "How haven't we gotten to know each other better over all these years? I'd love to work with you on something sometime," curtly dipping her head in a slight bow.

"SEE? You needed to see that," Minjeong rushed to say, full of energy. "And close your mouth, your jaw's on the floor," jokingly pointing.

You side-eyed her and shut your mouth. "Is this what Loco felt like when she called him during Hyena on the Keyboard?" you wondered aloud.

"At least she's not calling you while on camera," she commented, knowing full well that you'd probably embarrass yourself again if she did. "But hey, at least she noticed you! Can I have my phone back now?" It would be a dream come true to collaborate with her, but cross-company collabs... always a pain. that couldn't be helped. The fantasy abruptly ended with demands from your rumbling stomach. Done with your what-if's, you placed the phone back in your maknae's outstretched hand to get up and make breakfast.

~~~~

With award show season rolling around, the crazy scramble of rehearsing for special live stages without leaking sets and collabs began. Checking your email that morning showed a schedule to record the backing track for a special live stage, but that was it. With who? You texted your members a screenshot, but they all told you that block of time in their schedule was empty. A solo stage? The solo mini-album you released this cycle did relatively well, the title track got a music show win, but not a multi-week chart-topper by any means. Possibilities turning over in your mind, you stepped out from your place to head to the company, totally in the dark about what was in store.

The recording studio always smelled the same along with the couches, a comfort for all the insanely long nights and crack-of-dawn early mornings over the years. With a bit of time to kill, you plopped down on one and gingerly patted the worn cushions as some kind of symbolic thank-you for supporting you (literally).

A hesitant but loud knock sent your gaze directly to the door. Watching it slowly open, you leaned forward to see who it was. Needless to say, your jaw fell to the floor again as you clapped a hand over your gaping mouth, eyes widening. Like a soldier obeying a command, you immediately stood up as straight as possible and bowed profusely at Hwasa, sporting a very similar expression on her face (which you failed to notice, your mind running a million miles a minute).

After a series of frantic bows and miscellaneous utterances to each other, she spoke. "It's nice to finally meet you," she said with calm, surveying your frenzied state. "I guess we're granting that collab wish from your interview, huh?"

The red-hot embarrassment leapt to your face. "I...I definitely made a fool of myself answering that question. And our maknae showed me your interview clip too, which was cool, but never did I think it would actually happen," you stammered. I should probably stop talking.

"Well, here I am," she half-smiled coolly. "Let's get started, I'm really looking forward to finally work with you on this," a gleam in her eye and a hint of excitement in her voice.

The studio suddenly felt a lot smaller with her in it, despite there only being your managers, the producer, and the both of you - less people than you and your members alone. Both of you remained relatively quiet the whole time, rather unsure of what to say or talk about. You watched enough MMMTV to know that all the members on their own were shyer than together, and Hwasa knew the same was true for you. But the work basically took care of itself, seamlessly taking turns in the recording booth, witnessing each other's work style and process. The both of you knew your way in front of a mic, seasoned professionals by now. Upon wrapping up, you bowed politely to each other after a quick exchange of KaTalk info, a short and sweet goodbye.

That was... anticlimactic. I mean, it's finally happening - I can't believe it. But maybe I was too idealistic about maybe creating a meaningful relationship with her outside of work... What does she think of me?

~~~~

In the days leading up to the collab stage, you kept going back and forth on whether to reach out or not, despite now being in possession of her contact info. What would you even say? Thoughts of a witty one-liner or relatable meme came to mind, but maybe she'd assume the worst - that you were clout-chasing, or something. Anxieties abuzz, your phone vibrated in your pocket. The KaTalk notification sprawled across your screen. Speak of the devil, it's her.

"Hey, awards season has me stressed. I know you must pretty busy right now too, but I somehow get off early tomorrow if you wanna grab dinner after work?" You had to reread that one. Oh, what? She's inviting me?

Trying not to be weird about responding too quickly, you typed out, "Wow, yeah, that sounds great! ^^ wait, your company doesn't care about you going out to eat during award season?"

"nah, they stopped having that kind of control over us a while ago, we are the money-maker of the company, after all 😏"

"so I guess this means they don't check your phone either ㅋㅋㅋ"

"nope :)"

You proceeded to set a time and place to meet, someplace with meat.

In the process of feasting on an inordinate amount of gopchang imbued with a splash of beer, you learned a fair amount about each other. You talked career, professional aspirations, the weird habits of your members, and more. What surprised you most was the amount of things she already knew about you, having admitted to watching some of your behind-the-scenes content after seeing your interview clip.

"Ah... I'm sorry if I came across as distant during that first recording session," she confessed, pausing to sip her beer. "I honestly didn't know what to do with myself, I felt a little star-struck."

"Oh what?? I felt the exact same, so no worries - and sorry if I came off similarly distant," you rambled back. A bit of silence fell between you, acknowledging the mutual sentiment. You spoke up after a bit, "Thanks for inviting me out tonight, I didn't realize how much I needed this."

"Thank you for making the time, I had fun getting to know you better," she articulated with a smile. "Maybe it'll make the collab stage better," she added on jokingly. You responded with a nod and expression of mutual affirmation.

~~~~

After that, messaging each other became a regular occurrence, that gopchang outing having broken the ice. Honestly, you tried your best to talk about anything besides work, but the baseline of shared understanding connected you in a way that came more naturally than it did with your non idol friends.

You stood across the way from her at the sound check for the final stage, dressed in joggers and slides. Funny to think that you'd be recording this for real in a couple hours, making eyes with the blinking red light on the cameras surrounding you. It sucks that fans wouldn't get to experience the energy and atmosphere of the performance - Hyejin alone is one thing, but adding someone else into her stage presence? Unmatched. There's nothing quite like a live performance - and while you knew everyone in the industry dealt with the consequences of the pandemic, it certainly took a toll to perform and not feel the energy from fans. But realistically, nothing you could do about it. The sound check went over smooth like butter. The stage chemistry came flowing naturally between you both, even when bare-faced and dressed in just sweats.

And when the time came for the actual filming, you both absolutely killed it, an upbeat mash-up of TWIT and your title track. At the very end came a sliver of hesitation before throwing your arms around each other with a big smile for the ending fairy, proud of the work you accomplished together, and a mental fist-pump to yourself for making friends with one of the industry's finest.

Once again walking to a restaurant that served mostly meat to celebrate, you playfully proposed, "We... should do that again sometime." A little puff of air came out her nose in amusement.

"Yeah, we should. Too bad we're gonna have to wait a whole cycle before we can release anything else together again," she sighed longingly.

"Who says we can't do something on our own?"

[hyuckssunchip]

Blooming Pt. 1

Pairings: Jisung x Reader, ft. nct dream, lucas (honorary member of dream)

Words: 7.5K

Warnings: Language (there is almost always language in my writings), angst, fluff

Synopsis:

Love isn’t as easy as it seems, Park Jisung is an advocate of that. A blooming relationship that has prematurely ceased can be re-sparked years later, or can it? Will Jisung be able to overcome his fears in order to succeed in what he deems love?

Part 1 | Part 2 

Freshman Yr.

Hey Jisung,

I know that this is kinda random and I only have the guts to do this now because I probably won’t see you again but here goes. I think you are a really sweet and cool guy and I wish I had gotten to know you better, probably because I had a big crush on you... I just thought I would send this to you because I know it’s nice to know and it’s probably a little bit of a confidence booster. (I also kinda wanted to get this off my chest). Sorry for the essay and you don’t have to respond to this if it’s awkward … I hope you stay safe especially with what’s going on right now 

You held your breath, panicking at the loading sign on your phone. Welp, it was too late now.

You were pacing back and forth in your living room, nail very much in your mouth as you bit them anxiously.

“I just sent it.” You breathed out, “Oh my god, I just sent it.” At this point you were nearly in tears you were so nervous.

“That’s good. It’s like one a.m. though, so don’t be too worried if he doesn’t answer right away.” You nodded into the receiver, and although your best friend couldn’t see you, she still understood your silence.

You had called your best friend earlier to ask for her advice about the guy you had told her about months ago. It was the last quarter of school for this year and you finally had the courage to confess to him. 

Your best friend Megan was a little bit more experienced than you and she laughed when you had told her you wrote drafts, and you promptly sent it to her.

“He’s not writing back.” You told her, staring intently at the screen, refreshing it every few seconds as if that would make him answer. 

“Well of course not, you literally sent it ten seconds ago. Besides I told you, it’s late, he might just reply in the morning.” She sighed at your panicked state.

“Oh my god! He read it.” You bit your lip, staring at the numbers below your text.

“Oh.” She giggled, “Cute, he has read receipts on like you.” 

You barely had time to comprehend what she had said when you gasped out, “Oh my god. He’s typing, he’s typing! There’s bubbles.”

She laughed, “Wow, that was fast.”

You weren’t exactly paying attention to her, focused very much on the bubbles that were still there. Then suddenly they stopped.

“They stopped.” You felt the need to relay everything to her.

“That’s fine, he’s probably just reading over it.” You nodded, trying to convince yourself. But you couldn’t because nothing ever came. It was almost 25 minutes later that you heard the familiar ding of your phone.

Hey Y/N! thanks for letting me know, it really is not easy but rip coronavirus really is kinda messing with everything. i think you’re a really nice person and if circumstances would have allowed, i would have wanted to get to know you more too. everything is kinda hectic rn and i wish you the besttt and stay safe too!!

Immediately you called Megan again. “It doesn’t look good…Listen to what he said.” You read the text, heart dropping with every word you read.

“What are you talking about? That’s a good thing. Y/N he said he wants to get to know you better too. That’s sweet. I think he’s just keeping it open though, cause there’s not much you guys can do anyways.”

“Yeah.” You tried to not let out how dejected you were, but it was clear to her.

“Hey don’t worry about it. If he doesn’t like you then he’s not worth worrying over.”

“Right.” You pouted despite what she said making sense. “Look I’ll call you later, I’ve got to go now.”

“Okay, Y/N, don’t stress too much about it, okay?”

You hummed back, mumbling out your goodbyes.

The moment you hung up, you threw your phone on the bed, falling next to it. You sighed, trying not to overthink everything.

That’s why you confessed now, so that if you were so badly rejected, you wouldn’t have to see him again. Right?

You groaned, closing your eyes, hoping that sleep would make you feel better. Or perhaps you would wake up and find that this was all a dream. 

You woke up and of course with habit, the first thing you did was look over at your phone. You rubbed the sleep out of your eyes, grinning at the screen. 

You weren’t thrilled that it was in reality a dream, but on the other hand things had become very real very fast.

NOTIFICATION

Park Jisung            5:18 a.m.

oh, are you still going back to school next year?

You smiled at the text, heart immediately choosing to beat faster than you would’ve liked. With a glance at the clock you realized it was 8:07 a.m. and you couldn’t stop yourself from replying the moment you saw it.

yeah, i’m planning on living off campus tho… are you gonna live off campus too?

You panicked, staring at the screen, knowing damn well that he wasn’t about to reply at 8 in the morning. You had to restrain yourself from calling your best friend that very moment, you were in a happy mood and waking her up would not keep that.

The entire day you were buzzing, constantly checking your phone for new notifications. For the first time you understood what phantom texts felt like. Every couple of minutes you were sure that you felt a text, but alas it was your imagination. 

It wasn’t until 4 p.m. when a real text came through, ringing loud and clear. You had turned your ringer on and off, making sure that it was working just in case.

yup! I’ll be living by the shopping complex in downtown. how about you?

Restraint was not easy for you, and you replied after a few moments passed. Megan had constantly told you to let at least a few minutes pass, but you couldn’t help it. Besides, read receipts were not in your favor.

Conversation seemed to come really easy to you, and after an hour of texting non stop he said he had one more final to take.

You understood and immediately felt bad, realizing that you had taken up precious study time for him. You wished him good luck and spent the rest of the night relaying every detail to Megan over the phone.

Little did you know that that conversation would be the last for a long time.

3 months later

It was time for a break. And what better way was there than a small kickback with your best friends after midterms?

“I brought the good stuff.” You were startled, laying on the daybed of your other friend, Camille’s room. It was the perfect spot for a kickback. A couple hundred feet from the main house, and completely stocked with all that you needed. 

You sat up glancing at the armfuls of alcohol Megan had snagged, don’t ask how she got it.

You giggled at the thought, watching as Camille helped unload. “Let the games begin.”

“Truth or Dare Y/N?” You groaned, turning away from the both of them. 

“You know I hate this game.”

Megan didn’t let up. “Camille has a pond.” 

That was enough information for you. You took a glance out the window, noting that it was freezing outside. You were not taking a chance on her intentions. “Truth.”

“Boring.” She sang, but nevertheless had a question set. “Have you talked to that boy since the last time you called me about him?”

You grumbled to yourself, taking a shot and grimacing. “No.” 

“Why not?” Camille asked, reaching for the bottle still in your hand.

You rolled your eyes. “I don’t know, I’m too much of a coward to text him now. But he could text me first too you know. Especially cause I took the first jump. It’s probably because he doesn’t like me.”

You sighed, staring at the bottle again, tempted to take another shot.

“I’m sure that’s not the case.” You missed the look Megan shot Camille, already coming up with a new idea.

In the end you caved, choosing that perhaps another shot could bring you happiness. But it just burned your throat.

“Megan truth or dare?”

“Dare, duh.” You watched the proud look on her face.

“I dare you to… snapchat that dude that sent dick pics to fuck off.” Camille said, watching Megan’s face contort into delight.

“Hell yeah! It would be my pleasure.” She giggled, and you noticed that she was feeling the alcohol as well.

You felt the need to roll your eyes again.

“Done. And blocked.” She tossed her phone in the middle of the group with satisfaction.

“I don’t know why you just didn’t block him right after he sent them.” You commented, chewing on a gummy worm. 

She just shrugged, “I don’t know, it was kind of fun I guess. Anyways. Camille, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Do you really only see Carson as a friend?” Camille sputtered at the question, spitting out a bit of juice.

“No, I see him as a brother. That’s disgusting, besides he’s dating Bailee.” She shook her head, working to clean up the mess.

“Doesn’t mean you can’t like him.” Megan muttered, before dropping it and turning back to you.

“Y/N truth or dare?”

“Truth.” You mumbled out, not really paying attention.

“Come on, do at least one dare. It’s not fun if you only answer truth.” She whined, pushing another cup of jungle juice towards you.

You hesitantly sniffed the cup before taking a sip. A moment of silence passed as they waited for you. You let out a deep sigh, “Fine, dare. What do you want?”

“I dare you to text him.”

You froze, you knew that’s what she was going to say, but you were so out of it that you let it slide.

“You know I can’t do that.” You answered, wide eyed.

“It’s a dare.” Megan nodded at the window, insinuating the punishment.

“No, I really can’t. I’ll give you my phone though, but I can’t do it.” You dug the phone out of your backpack and tossed it next to hers, which she grabbed immediately typing in your password that she had memorized.

“Deal. I’ll just start it, then you can keep the conversation going.” You waved her off, choosing to drown yourself in as much alcohol as you could in hopes of forgetting that this happened tomorrow morning.

“Done. I just sent hey, with like three y’s and a smiley face. Not the emoji though.” Your mouth dropped at her.

“That’s so not me though. You know I use emojis, and I don’t do the all, heyyyy thing. He’s gonna know.” She just shrugged, sliding the phone back to you.

You sighed, staring at the empty screen, the other two returning to the game.

But it was three minutes later when your phone dinged, a text from Jisung lighting up your screen.

“Is that him?” Camille asked, peeking over at the screen.

“Yeah. I don’t wanna read it though, you do it.” You pushed it away, pulling your knees into your chest.

“I got you.” Megan paused. “See. Guys like the hey thing. He did it back, I don’t know what you were talking about, he’s totally into you.”

You grinned, crawling forward to see for yourself. The phone dinged again seconds later.

“Ooh, that’s hot. I like it when a guy texts in multiple bubbles, it shows they just text you what they think. They’re not planning it out or anything.” Megan commented, already typing in a response for you.

You watched over her shoulder, glancing at Camille who was doing the same. 

“Is this good?” You just nodded back, sitting back on your heels to take a break.

“Oh, wow. That was fast. He texted back.” Although she sounded impressed, she frowned at the text.

“What? What is it?” You asked, panicking at her expression.

“Nothing. He’s just… dry. Was he always a dry texter?” She asked, handing the phone back to you.

“No? I don’t know, I didn’t think he was dry, we texted for like an hour straight that one time.” You mumbled, looking at the phone disappointed.

“Well he seems pretty dry to me. Maybe you should text him, maybe you were right, my texting was too different from yours.” You bit your lip and nodded, trying to come up with a response to him.

You didn’t know if it was because you were drunk, or that he could tell you were drunk, but while the conversation did get slightly better, he seemed dry to you as well. It was after twenty minutes of texting that you couldn’t keep the conversation any longer. You became frustrated at the dwindling conversation.

You had chosen to contact him again after three months of ghosting each other, and now he was making it difficult to carry a conversation. Maybe he really doesn’t like you. You felt your face heat up in embarrassment. Fine, you thought, you weren’t reaching out anymore. You didn’t want to be seen as pathetic, you could catch a hint. He just didn’t like you and was being nice. If he did actually like you, he could reach out to you.

This didn’t stop you from thinking about him for the month following the drunken incident. 

2 years later  Junior Yr.

“I swear if you’re late for this one too, I’m not setting you up on anymore blind dates!” You winced at the sound of your roommate cursing at you.

“I’m going!” You yelled back, slipping out the front door before she had a chance to attack you again. 

You managed to close door without hearing what ever else she had in store for you. 

Your keys jangled as you quickly tried to lock the bright red door, giving it one last tug of reassurance when you turned on your heel to find your car.

“Oof!” A body collided with yours, you were partially, well mostly at fault. 

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I should’ve paid more attention. It’s just, I was in a bit of a rush…” You trailed off, finally getting a good look at the other person’s face. “Jisung?”

He simply stared back with a blank look on his face, mouth hung slightly open. “Y/N?”

You hated how your heart quickened at the sound of your name from his lips. 

“I-I… wow…” You stuttered out, not quite able to act as natural as you had hoped. “Do you live here?”

“Uh… yeah, I live next door.” He pointed to your left, and when you followed his finger sure enough it was right next to your apartment. You missed the way that he looked you up and down, gulping at the sight of you in years. 

“Oh. Wow, what a coincidence, I guess.” You laughed out nervously, hands playing with your lanyard.

“Yeah.” He nodded back, not really making eye contact. Not that you were trying either.

“Well…”

“Yeah.”

There was an awkward silence between you two, and you cleared your throat to break some tension.

“I was actually on my way out, so… I’ve got to get going. But I’ll see you around.” You put on a fake smile that didn’t really reach your eyes, and shot him a wave before rushing off to your car. Once under the safety of your car, you sighed and tried to discreetly glance at the boy you hadn’t seen or thought of in years.

You shook your head, starting the ignition. It’s time to forget him, you told yourself, besides I’ve got a date waiting for me right now.

It wasn’t until Jisung was positive you could no longer see him, having driven off minutes ago, that he threw his head back and let out the deep breath he didn’t know he was holding. The blush he had been so desperately holding out finally came over his face, as he felt the heat burn his ears.

He had just begun to forget about you, from time to time, pausing over your conversation stream. Although it was torture, every once in a while he would read back all the texts, hating the way that they abruptly stopped. On occasion, mostly when he was drunk, but there were times when he was sober, he would even type out a text but fail to send it.

Jisung was never the outgoing type, he envied those who were. Those that could just strike up a conversation and carry on like it was second nature. But it was hard for Jisung. It took work and energy, and sometimes he didn’t have that. It was stressful and scary to Jisung.

It was a godsend when you reached out to him years ago, claiming so boldly your feelings for him. He wasn’t going to admit it, but then he had asked for his friends help in responding. It was Mark’s wishy-washy personality that had unbeknowingly sent your mind in circles that night.

It was Haechan’s straight-forward nature that had forced him to text you at 5 a.m. the next morning. He was tired of hearing about Jisung’s concerns as to why you didn’t reply earlier, complaining that if he was that worried just text her.

So he did.

And it worked. 

It worked so well. That hour he had spent texting you had butterflies dancing in his belly. He had never felt happier or more connected than at that moment. It wasn’t until his alarm rang, notifying him that he had five minutes until his last final did he stop smiling.

He was more than disappointed when nothing came out of the conversation. Of course he knew that it wasn’t just your fault, after all he had a phone, he could text you too.

And he tried, he really did. Multiple times. But every text he drafted was soon deleted and so the conversation ran dry. That was until three months later, May 16th.

But you always seemed to catch him at a bad time. It was Saturday, but his professor had given him an extension on his paper and it was due at midnight.

Your first text came at 10:58 p.m. 

It took all he had not to answer the text, and eventually he did cave. But as much as he wanted to focus on you he couldn’t, after all he had begged his professor to extend his deadline, he had to finish this. 

Maybe that’s why this time you didn’t seem so responsive. Maybe that’s why this time it only took twenty minutes for the conversation to end.

Maybe that’s why, after it took him forty-five minutes to respond to your last text, you left him on read.

“What’s with the long face dude?” His best friend, and housemate asked, slapping his back passive-aggressively.

“Nothing. And I don’t have a long face.” He pushed back, shoving him softly out of the way.

“Who was that? At the front door?” Jaemin asked, shoving a cookie into his mouth. 

“No one, just someone I knew.” Jisung muttered back, reaching out to steal one from the jar.

“Just someone I knew.” Chenle mocked back, leaning against the wall of the kitchen. “Right. We all could see the look on your face, that’s not just someone you knew.”

Jisung shrugged. “She was a girl I was texting.” He tried to pull it off nonchalantly, but it was evident to his housemates that it wasn’t nothing.

“Shit. Was that that girl you were talking to freshman year? The one you were head over heels for?” Jeno asked, grabbing a seat on a barstool, his laptop tightly in his grip. It was obvious he was working on something.

“Y/N?”Jaemin asked around the crumbs that filled his mouth.

“Ew. Gross. Have some manners dude.” Renjun said shoving Jaemin off the counter where he was perched, “And how many times do I have to tell you not to sit on the counter, that’s not sanitary. We have chairs for a reason.”

Jaemin made a face, but still moved to take a seat next to Jeno.

“Yeah.” Jisung frowned at the rest of the guys. “Did I make it that obvious?”

Renjun laughed, pulling a plate out of the cabinet. “You just talked about her everyday for a month. But no, not that obvious.”

“You should talk to her again, does she live close by?” Jeno asked, typing away at his computer.

“Yeah, she’s… uh… she’s our neighbor.” He rushed the last bit out, knowing that they would take advantage of the situation.

“Ooh! Our Jisung’s little girlfriend lives next door guys!” Chenle cackled out, “Guys, this is fate. And it’s our job to help out.”

Jisung scowled at him, knowing that Chenle meant what he said, “No. Guys leave her alone. Don’t make things weird. We’re going to be neighbors for the rest of the year, I don’t want to have to avoid her.”

“Avoid who?” 

“Haechan, how many times did I tell you to give me that key back?” Renjun asked, narrowing his eyes at the boy.

“Too many.” Haechan shrugged, letting Mark close the door behind him. “You can have this one back though, I’ve got two more copies at my apartment.”

Renjun threw his hands in the air, “I give up.” He picked up his plate of leftovers, opting to sit at the bar next to Jaemin.

“Who are we avoiding though?” Mark asked, settling against the wall next to Chenle.

“Y/N.” Chenle said, giving Mark a knowing grin.

“Y/N? Wait isn’t that...?” Mark furrowed his eyebrows, sporting his signature confused face.

“Uh-huh.” 

“Why are we avoiding her?” He asked, turning to Jisung, who had been awfully quiet.

“We’re not.” Jeno spoke up, finally shutting his laptop. “We just found out she’s our neighbor and Jisung doesn’t want us to do anything about it, cause he doesn’t want to avoid her.”

Haechan grinned, pulling out a glass and filling it up with water from the fridge. “So you still like her?”

“No.” There was an empty silence. “Yes.” 

Jisung sighed at the commotion his confession caused. 

“Well, don’t you think it’s our duty, as your friend, to help you out? After all, I feel like I am very invested in this budding relationship. I did help send the text that set things in motion.” Haechan boasted animatedly, accidently spilling some of his water, which he wiped up with this sock.

“No. I don’t think that it’s your duty. And please stay out of it?” He all but begged the rest of the boys. Much to his dismay, none of them looked like they were swayed. 

Jaemin clapped his hands together standing up, “Okay, how about some neighborly cookies? Everyone likes cookies.” 

Jeno rolled his eyes with a smile, but stood up anyways. “Sure I’m down, but no more of those peanut butter ones, those are shitty. Can’t we just do chocolate chip?”

Jaemin frowned, digging through the pantry cabinet. “You’re lucky we’re out of those. Chocolate chip it is.”

Haechan strolled towards Jisung, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, “How about we get drafting then?” He snorted, “I think a nice love letter should do it.”

Jisung shoved him away with more force than necessary, “Get off me. And no. Stop it with the love letter thing, I was drunk and sad okay?”

Mark butted in before the two of them would really start fighting, “Actually I don’t think that’s a bad idea. I think she’d like that, like, slip it in with the cookies or something. Just say you’d like to see her again, and hang out.”

Renjun stood up, placing his dishes in the sink, “Dude this is why Jisung sent mixed signals in the first place, ‘i’d like to see you again’, ‘let’s hang out’. Can you get any more confusing than that?”

Mark frowned and cocked his head, opening his mouth to retort, but Haechan beat him to it.  “Then what would you say Renjun? ‘Oh how beautiful your eyes compare to a midsummer’s eve. May I court you this evening?’”

Renjun glared at him. “You’re not funny. And no. I was going to say, just tell her it was a missed opportunity. That you’d like to take her out on a date now that you can.”

Jisung shook his head violently at the sound of that. “How am I supposed to do that? That’s way too straight forward, what if she says no?”

“Dude, she likes you. Remember? She sent you that text. And if her feelings aren’t there anymore then… well… I don’t know. But the chances are low.” Jeno tried to reassure him, not doing a very good job of it.

Jisung sucked a breath in, ultimately letting out a hissing noise. 

“Trust me on this one Jisung. I make a mean cookie, we’ll just head over there later today and rekindle whatever you two have.” Jaemin cooed at the boy with a big smile.

“Right. Like I can trust all of you.” He muttered to himself, choosing to escape to the confines of his room.

“So… how was it?” Your roommate asked expectantly, a far change from the way she was speaking to you earlier.

You shrugged, “I dunno, he was nice I guess.” You shook your head. “I don’t know why you guys are all pushy on this stuff. Like I get it, but it’s weird trying to date someone that I’ve just met you know?”

Your roommate Alex just shook her head, waving you off. “Whatever, so did you like him or not? Is there gonna be a second date?”

You laughed at her, she was way too invested in your non-existent love life. “I don’t know, I think so. He was sweet and stuff, but like I said it’s weird.”

“Well, that’s the furthest you’ve gotten so far.” You sent her a glare. “I’m just saying. You always either end up leaving the date, or never seeing them again.”

“Shut up, I don’t-”

You were cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Alex and you exchanged glances, you weren’t expecting anybody.

She stood up, grabbing the bat next to the door, that your mother insisted you bring, ‘just in case’.

You huffed, moving past her, “You know, you could just look through the peephole.” You leaned forward squinting into the door, only to find a group of boys that seemed your age.

“Who is it?”

You pulled back, tilting your head, “I don’t know, just a group of guys.”

You unlocked the door, peeking out through the crack slightly, and you were greeted very enthusiastically by the boy in front.

“Hi!” He grinned, showing off a perfect set of pearly whites. He was waving very aggressively with his free hand, the other seemed to be holding a plate of cookies. “I’m Jaemin! We’re neighbors.”

After his quick introduction he shoved the plate towards you, never letting the smile leave his face.

“Uh… hi?” You weren’t quite sure what to say. 

Luckily Alex did, “Hi, I’m Alex and this is Y/N. That’s so sweet of you.” She smiled back, taking the plate from you. “Do you guys want to come in? We can crack them open right now.”

You stepped back, watching the trail of six- no seven guys just stroll into your apartment. 

“What the hell?” You muttered to yourself, closing the door softly behind the last boy.

“Hi Y/N.”

You looked up to see Jisung again, and you took a slight step back, startled at the sight.

“Jisung. Oh.” You barely let out.

“Sorry, we didn’t mean to overstep or anything. The guys just wanted to meet you… all. They wanted to meet all of you… cause you’re our neighbors, and all…”

You blushed realizing that he had heard you comment, completely ignoring the way that Jisung was stumbling all over his words.

Haechan took no time in introducing himself, and taking the honor of introducing everyone else as well.

“I’m Haechan, this is Mark, Jeno, Chenle, and Renjun. You already know Jaemin, and I’m aware that you already know Jisung.” He grinned proudly after gesturing to each of the respective boys.

“Jisung?” Alex asked, eyebrows raised. You hadn’t told her about him. For one, it never came up, and secondly, it’s not like it was anything important now. That was years ago, you didn’t feel the need to inform her of every detail of your life, like him.

Haechan cocked his head, “Yeah. You didn’t know they knew each other?”

You furrowed your brows at him. “And how do you know that?”

Jisung shyly raised his hand next to you, embarrassed that he was outed for spilling the details to his friends. “Sorry, that would be my fault.”

You turned slightly, mouth dropping at his face, “Oh. I didn’t mean it like that. I..I- That came out wrong. I’m not mad or anything, I was just shocked.”

You bit your lip feeling guilty about the way he responded.

“Anyways.” Jaemin interrupted the awkward silence. “We just wanted to say hi and stop by. Maybe we can all hang out and stuff and be neighborly.”

He grinned, looking around at the group.

“Right.” You nodded slowly, “Thanks for the cookies, and it was nice meeting you all.” There was a forced smile on your face, but none of the boys seemed to notice or care.

Eventually the boys filtered out one by one, and you closed the door, sighing against it.

“They were nice.” Alex said, taking a bite in a cookie. “Oooh, and these are hella good.”

“Yeah.” You mumbled, moving to sit on the couch.

“Why do you look like that? You don’t like them?” She asked, grabbing a glass for milk. “You and Jisung already know each other though. By the way, how do you know him?”

You rubbed your hand over his face. “It’s a long story.”

“Well, I have the rest of the day.” She sang back, taking a seat on the cushion next to you.

And so, now that Jisung was back in your life, you were left no choice to fill her in.

“Damn! That’s awkward as hell.” Her eyes were widened to the max.

“Yeah, I know. But I didn’t want them to feel super weird, cause you know, neighbors right? I just can’t believe my luck though.” You sighed leaning back, slouching down.

“Yeah, but do you like him though?” She asked, to which you whipped your head towards her.

“What?”

“Do you like him? I mean this could be really good for you. Actually it’s a win-win for everyone here. I can stop forcing you on blind dates and you can date the boy you’ve been pining after for years.” She shrugged like it was obvious.

“Okay, I have not been pining after him for years, and we’re not going to date just because I liked him two years ago. I mean, didn’t you get it from what I told you? He doesn’t like me.” You tried to shut her down.

“What are you talking about? Did you see him today? He couldn’t tear his eyes away from you.” You frowned at her observation. You didn’t remember it the way she did, every time you looked at him, which wasn’t that often, he was desperately trying to avoid eye contact.

“No he wasn’t.” You nevertheless blushed at the idea. 

“Ooh, you’re blushing! Someone has a cru-ush!” She raised her voice, and you slapper her.

“Shut up, they’re right next door remember? They’re our neighbors.” She simply winked at you. 

“And no I don’t.” You added as an afterthought.

The small restaurant was bustling with energy, something the boys loved.

“Dude, why haven’t we been here before?” Mark asked, eyes wide with excitement, smacking Haechan’s shoulder unnecessarily hard.

Haechan tried to move away from him, but to no avail.

“I told you, Jeno always said this place was pricey.” He muttered back, giving in when he realised Mark’s habit wasn’t disappearing anytime soon.

“We shouldn’t have trusted Jeno’s cheap ass.” Renjun snorted, “The prices here look decent.”

“Hey!” Jeno tried to defend himself. “I’m a college student, everything is expensive.”

Jaemin threw an arm over Jeno’s shoulder, trying to comfort him. “Let’s just grab a booth.”

As they trudged down the busy pathway, Jeno spotted a familiar face.

“Hey isn’t that Y/N?” Jeno asked, elbowing Jisung in the side. But Jisung was already aware of your presence, he had been the moment they stepped into the restaurant.

“Don’t point.” Renjun slapped the boy’s hand down.

“I wasn’t-”

“Shut up.” 

“Wait… who’s that with her?” Jaemin asked the obvious, slurring his words at the end, as if just understanding the situation.

It seemed as if you were on a date, and Jisung’s heart dropped. It felt like his entire world came crashing down, like any and all hope he had in you went out the window.

Of course you would have a boyfriend, it’s been two years since you last talked, and it’s not like you were even an item. You texted for an hour. 

Jisung closed his eyes for a second, but the picture was still searing in his brain. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if he told you that he liked you.

“I guess we didn’t think about that. That she could have a boyfriend.” 

“Yeah, I mean it has been two years.” Mark nodded, agreeing with Jaemin.

“Guys, not helping.” Renjun said between gritted teeth.

Jisung bit his lip, silently running over the image of you. 

Is that your boyfriend? How long had you been dating? Was it after he ran into you? If he asked you out then, would that be him? 

He had so many questions he wanted answered, but he would never get them.

Chenle pulled his arm roughly, trying to drag him into the booth. “Jisung you’re staring. Try not to make it so obvious.” He teased.

Jisung quickly averted his eyes, choosing to sit where he could watch you from his seat. His stomach felt queasy, maybe that was a bad idea. Suddenly he lost his appetite at the sight of you smiling so widely at something funny your date had said.

Mark glanced up from his menu, staring at Jisung who was now downing his water. He elbowed Haechan who was concentrating on the menu. 

“Dude, say something.” He hissed at him, trying to get Haechan to lift the mood. But for some reason, today of all days, he wasn’t having it.

Haechan just shrugged, shaking his head, “What do you want me to do?” Then he went back to his menu.

Mark bit his lip nervously, feeling uncomfortable at the sight of Jisung so anxious. He shot a look at Renjun who understood and at least tried to spark up conversation.

“So Jeno, who’d you come here with again?” He asked, an attempt at diverting attention from the elephant in the room.

“Uhh… some girl…” Jeno mumbled back, blushing furiously.

“Jeno’s blushing!” Chenle shouted out, his loud voice carrying across the restaurant. 

This had Jisung cracking a smile. 

“Dude, not so loud.” Jeno groaned out, sinking into his seat. He turned to glare at Renjun, “Did you have to bring that up?”

Renjun shrugged, but sent a small apologetic smile. ‘Sorry’ he mouthed at the embarrassed boy.

You had Chenle to thank for alerting you of the group’s presence. You pulled away from your conversation with Lucas and craned your head to get a glimpse of your neighbors.

“Do you know them?” Lucas asked, following your gaze.

“Oh, yeah, they’re my neighbors.” You said back, tearing your eyes from their booth.

“Yikes, they’re kind of loud.” He chuckled, “That must be rough on you.”

You gave him a smile, accompanied by your own giggle. “Lucas, in case you didn’t notice, you’re loud.”

He let out a fake gasp, holding his hand against his chest, “Me?”

You laughed, “Lucas, on our first date you thought we had so many complaints about the ‘loud dude in the booth’ that they asked us to leave.”

He frowned, “It’s not my fault my voice carries. And I have a very pleasant laugh, they should’ve been happy to hear it.” He pouted, “But we got ice cream to make up for it.”

You bit your lip, holding back your grin at the memory. “Yeah and it was freezing out.” You paused watching his expression, “But it’s never too cold for ice cream, besides, I wouldn’t have gotten your jacket out of it. And by the way, I’m keeping it. It’s soft.”

He smiled widely, immediately agreeing with you. “I’m just gonna use that excuse to see you again.”

You returned his sentiment, it wouldn’t be all that bad to meet Lucas again. You seemed to enjoy yourself every time you met.

“Oh. Jisung, hey.” You let out surprised.

“Hi.” He smiled at you shyly, staring back at you.

“Hi.” You blushed at the awkward tension between the two of you.

You turned and locked the door quietly before facing your neighbor again. “I was just heading out.”

“Right.” He mumbled, retreating back towards his apartment.

“I was going to the bookstore to pick up some things…” You trailed off, watching his expression, “If you’d like to come…?”

You immediately regretted your offer, ducking your head to hide your embarrassment. “You don’t have to, that was-”

“Sure.”

You froze, quickly snapping your head to meet his gaze.

“I uhh… have some things to take care of too.” He stumbled over his words to accept your offer.

“Oh, okay.” You smiled shyly at your feet, a strange feeling in your stomach turning.

You nodded in the direction of campus, trudging forward slowly at first to let him catch up. Soon enough the two of you were keeping pace.

A few minutes passed before Jisung cleared his throat, “So what are you getting from the bookstore?”

You nodded to yourself, “I have a textbook I ordered. It’s ridiculous isn’t it? How insanely overpriced it is, and it’s not like it’s even possible to pass the class without it. I mean I’m paying enough for college, now I have to pay on top of that.” You took a breath and chuckled nervously, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to rant on you.”

Jisung grinned at the way you were so worked up, “No not at all. I totally agree. It’s a rip off, I mean why not just make it part of tuition, we’re paying enough as it is.”

You nodded, “Right? It’s not right to make it required, like I could totally pirate it online, but if the professors make our homework using the online site to turn it in, that’s not even an option.”

You sighed exasperated, and missed the look on Jisung’s face. He seemed to enjoy the way you raved on about something as simple as a textbook.

You paused at the sound of his laughter from beside you, and you turned to look at him with a smile, enjoying the sound. 

It was a fifteen minute walk to campus, and another five to the bookstore. And before you knew it the building was looming over your heads.

Jisung jogged a few paces before you, reaching for the door. You paused, watching as he stood aside, holding the door for you.

You blushed, perhaps, as they say, chivalry isn’t dead. “Thank you.”

You reached your hand up, pressing your cold fingers against your burning cheeks, an attempt to chase away the color.

“So which class is it for?” He asked, looking around, and thankfully not noticing your heated face.

“Economics.” You replied, lifting your head in search of your department.

The two of you wandered around for a few more moments, not searching particularly hard for the book in question.

“Look, introduction to Korean Pop Music.” He laughed, pointing at the textbook. “Can you believe there’s a whole course on that?”

You smiled, looking. “I dunno, it seems interesting. Besides, there’s classes for classical music, and pop music, why not K-pop?” 

He nodded back, giving you a glance.

“Here, economics.” You mumbled out, walking down the long corridor. You ran your fingers along the spines of all the books, stopping at the familiar title. “Jesus, 98 dollars.”

He frowned, sidling up next to you. 

Sighing you reluctantly pulled the book off the shelf. “Ready?”

Jisung looked at you under heavy brows.

“You’re going to get it?”

“It comes with the online version. I mean I have to get the online portion, might as well get the hardcopy for free with it.” You nodded towards the check out, stepping towards the staircase.

He followed in suit, stuffing his hands in his pocket. He ran into your back after you stopped abruptly, suddenly remembering something.

“Oh, didn’t you have to get a book?”

Jisung’s eyes widened, “Oh yeah.” At that moment he reached out and grabbed what seemed to be a random book from the closest table, but you chose to ignore it.

He raised the book, and gave you a smile.

Your eyebrows shot up, “Introduction to the female reproductive system?”

Jisung suddenly turned very pale, as he tried to play it off. “Yeah, ummm… for my biology class.”

You grinned, nodding like you believed him. But you chose to continue up the stairs, unable to watch as his face contorted. While you weren’t looking he quickly flipped over the cover, gulping at the sight of the price.

“80 dollars?” But he shook it off, trudging after you.

“Anything else for you?” A boy around the same age as you was checking you out.

“Nope, that should be it.” You smiled, fumbling around with your purse to find your wallet.

“Economics huh? Are you a ManEcon major?” He asked, leaning towards you slightly, ignoring Jisung who had arrived nearby.

You looked up from your bag, “Huh? Oh, yeah ManEcon. You?”

Your hand was still deep in your back when he replied. “Same, I’m a Junior, I managed to switch in last year.”

“Really?” You raised your eyebrows, “Was it difficult?”

“No, I mean I knew I wanted to switch early on, so I already was taking the classes I needed.”

You nodded back, “That makes sense. Have you taken macro yet? I’m signed up this quarter but I’m a little nervous.”

“I had Zeggert last quarter, she was pretty good.” He smiled, nodding, “She likes it when people go into office hours, really tries to help.”

You cracked a smile of your own, “No way, I have Zeggert. Thank goodness, I’m definitely going to use her office hours a lot then.”

You took a moment to successfully dig out your wallet, sliding him your card.

“That’s good, well, I’m here basically all the time. So if you ever need help, you know where to find me.” He winked at you, returning the card.

You murmured out a quick thanks, and stepped aside to let Jisung pay for his books.

Jisung didn’t take long, and you noticed that he was particularly cold with the cashier, who in turn wasn’t nearly as friendly with him as he was with you.

“He was kind of flirting with you.” Jisung mumbled out, picking at the brand new spine of his unneeded textbook.

You glanced at him, stepping through the door that he once again held open, not knowing how to respond to him.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend?” He asked under his breath as you caught up beside him.

“What?” You shot him a puzzled look.

Jisung raised his eyebrows, “Your boy...friend?” He slowed his words, questioning them himself.

“I don’t have a boyfriend.” You let out, not pausing in your steps. The same couldn’t be said for Jisung.

He jogged slightly to catch up. “But your date…?”

“My date?” You asked, now choosing to stop and face him. You shook your head, confused, “What date?”

“The- the guy you were with at the restaurant Wednesday.” He studied the sidewalk intently, flustered at his confession.

“You saw me?” You leaned down slightly, trying to catch his gaze.

“I-uh… I mean I didn’t mean to watch you. But we just happened to go to that restaurant.” He mumbled, choosing to walk forward and escape the situation, but you quickly caught up.

“He’s not my boyfriend, I mean, we were on a date, but he’s not my boyfriend.” You felt the need to defend yourself, or at least clear things up. Although you didn’t know why you felt the need.

“Oh. A date.” He mumbled. He was overjoyed at the fact that you weren’t dating anyone, but couldn’t help but be disappointed at the mention of a date. From what he remembered, you seemed to be enjoying yourself then.

The silence grew until you reached your doorstep. It had taken Jisung fifteen minutes to decide, fifteen minutes to pluck up the courage he needed.

“How about a date with me?” Although he refused to meet your eyes, you felt the genuinity.

Part 2

© Copyright 2021. hyuckssunchip. All rights reserved.

[doubledgesword-2]

Can I get Vil Schoenheit x Rival Celebrity? They shoot insults at each other but end up flirting? Take it as far as you want! Any gender reader is fine lol

Oh, ma Gooosh!! This is the first Matcha Tea I've gotten, and I'm all for this. I had so much fun with this one, and I want to show you lil' sugar cubes the difference between characters I know and the ones that I don't. I do my research before writing a character that I'm unfamiliar with, but I will be sincere: I butchered the last request (Shalnark's). I will try to rewrite it, but other characters apart from the stated ones are a bit hard for me ( ˘︹˘ ).

I will always try my best for ya'll! Enjoy this steaming Matcha (❛‿❛✿)

“What a shameless potato,” nimble fingers scrolled down on their phone, looking at the menagerie of pictures from one single account: yours.

You and Vil were from the same industry, just not the same department per se. While he was a model and actor, you were a j pop star and actress. Your popularity and his were on the same level, but he was slightly higher if you asked him or his fans. Ever since the two of you met on set for a fantasy-like movie, you repelled each other’s presence like oil and water.

Amethyst eyes glared at your smiling picture, and a thousand critiques passed through his mind. Your make-up did not complement your features; what was your make-up artist thinking? That nail polish didn’t match with your skin, and your haircut didn’t go with your face and countless other thoughts. But that wasn’t his place to tell, and besides, you living in his head rent-free wasn’t good for his skin. Stress kills, and thinking about you was very stressful.

The subway doors opened, and Vil gripped his side bag, adjusting his beret and sunglasses and walking out with the amount of confidence and power it took to walk down the runway. The sea of people diligently coming and going parted for him without a cue. They just did like mindless fish around a predator. It was in their nature to give in, in the presence of something so regal.

Vil had a photoshoot to go, and he couldn’t miss a beat. His agenda was full and complicated; anyone who tried to follow it would surely lose their minds after the first three days of the same arduous pace. But he could handle it with the grace of a swan. He was the great Vil Shoenheit. He wondered if you could handle a week in his shoes. You probably would drop exhausted and disheveled, complaining about the hard work. The thought made him smirk smugly, and passerby fans who recognized him couldn’t even keep up to ask for an autograph.

He just couldn’t fathom how you had such a fan base with your attitude and manners. Sure, in front of the cameras, you were a sweetheart, stealing everyone’s hearts, singing like an empowered angel, and making them think you were as far from the villain he knew you truly were. Vil knew your kind and recognized it the moment he met you on set. Heck, you couldn’t even contain your disdain in interviews when the two of you had to sit side by side. It was uncomfortable, to say the least; the poor reporter was so painfully awkward trying to alleviate the tenseness in the room.

“So (Y/N), how do you feel being an actress in a big-budget movie while also singing and performing the next week? Is it exhausting?”

You sided glared at Vil, and gave the reporter a smug grin. “Well, I think I can handle a little bit of work. It’s not in me to sit around and look pretty, you know. But then again, I guess that’s what some people are into, so we can’t judge them. They might not understand hard work.”

Vil smiled with closed eyes. You were such an amateur. If it weren’t for the fact that you were actively throwing shade on him and being so annoying at it, too, he might think you were cute.

Of course, Vil wouldn’t back down; that’s not what he was taught. The crown was his, and he would take it with hard work and determination. Which means potatoes like you don’t really matter in the long run of things.

“Vil-senpai, how do you manage your modeling gig and your acting? I mean, it must be hard to run from one event to the next since they’re so close behind each other?”

“Well, dear, we models are more than just a pretty face. We represent big companies and events that many couldn’t even fathom getting into. My schedule might be a bit tight, but I was born into this lifestyle, and I have learned many skills to help me move and work in these types of environments. I can say one thing for sure not a lot of people can handle my agenda, one day in my heels, and they might slip if you know what I mean, darling.”

You scoffed under your breath, and it made Vil’s smile grow wider.

“Ahh, Vil-senpai is a hard worker for sure. Perhaps one day I could do an interview that can provide insight to one day of your agenda.”

“Anytime you want, darling, it would be lovely,” he knew with every word that came out of his mouth; you simmered even more.

“Are there any hobbies or activities that can fit into your schedules?

Vil was about to open his mouth when you beat him to it.

“Well, I don’t think he’s allowed to have any, you know, with his busy schedule. But I do love partaking in (hobby). I think it is a nice way to unwind and take my mind off of everything. Since stress it’s not good for your vocals, you know. I try to keep myself in top shape for my lovely fans.”

Vil was raging. How dare you interrupt him when he was clearly about to talk. Didn’t your parent taught you any manners, or are you so much of a spoiled brat to care for?

“Ahh, interesting. Does Vil Sendai have any hobbies in particular?

“As a matter of fact, I do” you were looking at him with an expectant smirk. You were genuinely curious to hear what he had to say. “I like to make beauty and make-up tutorials that are beneficial for a lot of my fans. I like to show them how to use brushes correctly what and what not to do with concealer. Those are bonding moments for me and my fans. I think they are important.”

At the end of that interview, a single question brought the anger and tense meter to burst. Now the tensions and dislikes weren’t palpable. They were visible.

“Oh, I’ve had some partners, but I like to focus more on my work, unlike some other artists who like to jump around; my projects come first, and I don’t want to ruin my partner’s and I relationship by not spending enough time with them.”

“Wow, he really doesn’t like to have fun.”

“I do just not with the likes of you.”

“Come on, pretty boy, you couldn’t handle me even if you were begging pretty on your knees.”

“Dream on, potato, you might be prettier than most potatoes, but you’re still that a potato with some potential. I bet if push came to shove, you wouldn’t last seconds with me.

“I bet you wouldn’t make it into the second round without having to retouch your make-up with me. Besides, it’s not like you’ll last long enough to even sweat that much.”

“Well, that’s a relief to know I wouldn’t have to put much effort into pleasing someone like you.”

The reporter was utterly flushed, and that was cut from the interview recording. Good thing that it was, or people might’ve gotten the wrong impression. That you liked each other or something.

Or something.

After that interview, rumors spread like they always do, and fans started gossiping about the two of you secretly together but having to hate each other in public to save face since it’s a big rumor that singers and models don’t actually go well together in the industry.

Such wild imagination and machinations fans have. It brought out a small chuckle.

Vil passed through the automatic doors telling the receptionist his name and guiding him to the set. Once there, he settled his stuff over the make-up table and sat back to look once more through his phone.

“Have you seen this?” A text notification annoying appeared on the screen.

Vil tch and opened the message to reveal a very well photoshopped photo of him and you sitting and drinking at some café. You were smiling like he just told you you were beautiful, and it was a good look on you.

This was outrageous. Who would go to such lengths? Suddenly a bag dropped right on the table next to him. He looked up to meet your eyes as you took off your sunglasses, slowly realizing who was sitting beside you.

“Oh no,” you faintly muttered underneath your breath but not faintly enough that Vil couldn’t hear you.

He scoffed and went back to look at the stupid picture, texting his manager as mad as he was.

“Oh, you saw it too,” you commented, sitting down and looking at your own phone.

Vil didn’t answer. He really didn’t care about your opinion on this; his credibility was on the line. He was supposed to hate you, and that’s how things should go.

“Well, at least they got a good angle of my face, not to mention I’m actually smiling for once.”

“Actually, smil- what are you talking about potato? All you do is smile in all of your pictures. That’s why you have to hide your wrinkles with make-up,” he said as if it was the most obvious thing.

“Well, as presumptuous as that was, proud little peacock, I actually never smile genuinely for the cameras. My genuine smile is reserved for good moments. I guess not anymore.”

At that, Vil felt like the two of you clicked. He knew the feeling, the invasive nature of fame, and the lack of privacy was very real in the industry. It’s the first thing you have to get through. But listening to you say made him realize you’re just like him.

“Well, if you behave during the shoot, I might feel inclined to reward you for good behavior” he grinned at you.

“Mmm, you make it sound as if you don’t like the way I make you crumble in front of everyone. It’s like you’re denying yourself the pleasure, and here I thought you liked the masochism.”

“Hahahaha, I’ll step on you once we’re done here. Maybe that and a little bit of discipline will put you in your place. However, your lack of manners and running mouth might be a problem; perhaps all you need is a nice pacifier. I can help with that.”

You both were so close to each other muttering salacious threats that you didn’t realize how flustered everyone else was in the room.

It was going to be another one of those shoots.

[lovelysugawara]

Love me Again

Kuroo X Reader Fanfiction// 

**y/a = Kuroo Hinari **grammatical errors ahead, sorry guys** plot: you and Kuroo are married, but your husband turns cold over you, because of an incident a year ago. Will he once again love you back???

Cont...

Part 4

*Hina’s POV*

As I finally exit the building, I no longer need to hide my hurt feelings. As I don’t want to remember it, my mind keeps on rewinding that scene. Tetsu talking to a girl so closely. How i would like to be mad and slap the girl. But that’s not me. I can’t bring myself to do it.

I’m just scared. What if Tetsu thinks I’m so easy to get jealous and I’m not mature enough? I don’t want that to happen.

But what about my feelings? 

I'm trying to hold on but why is he making this so hard?

I’m sitting outside a cafe, looking at the bento I made. I even sighed and decided to open it. I felt happy because it really looks good on my standard. I did try my best and Kenma approves of it too. It would be a waste if I’m not gonna eat it.

“Can I eat that? I’m hungry.” to my surprise, it’s Kenma who is standing behind me.

“Kenma, what are you doing here? I thought you’re talking to Tetsu?” 

He sat down in the chair in front of me. And started to dig in.

He’s eating my cooking. I smiled at him.

“Kuro won’t eat so I decided to go after i gave him the paper.” He continued to eat.

“Wait, is it okay for me to eat this? You won’t get mad right?” He asked me worriedly.

I nodded, “Of Course i won't.” I smiled.

I watched him eat the foods I cooked.

“Would you mind accompanying me for awhile, Kenma?” I suddenly want to visit her.

“Sure, but where?” he said while chewing.

We are now standing in front of a graveyard. I put a flower in the head stone with the name Baby Kuroo.

“If only you said to me earlier, I would gladly accompany you here first.” Kenma said as we both stared at the headstone.

I smiled at him, “It’s okay Kenma. I just suddenly want to visit my baby.” I sat down a little and put the flowers I made for “her”.

“You know I had a dream that “she” like tulips. So if she’s alive and grew up, I think she would like tulips like I do.” I can’t help but imagine my baby.

“I know she would be so much like you, Hina.” Kenma smiled at me.

I can only laugh at his comment, another version of me would be a disaster I guess.

“Have Kuro come here with you?” he suddenly asked.

I shake my head.

“After the funeral, he never set foot to visit “her”. I know he’s still hurting too.” 

I really do understand Tetsu about it, I too, have been so hurt. I nearly lost my mind. But I have to deal with everything thinking I shouldn't let my husband feel abandoned, but as of the moment I’m dealing with it alone. Without him, supporting me.

“I know you came here for your peace of mind. You still think of what we saw a while ago.” Kenma said as he sat beside me.

“Why didn’t you ask him? Are you afraid?” I flinched as he said those words.

“You know me well. You know I would rather not ask him anything about it. Or I might hurt myself if he answers something I don't want to hear.” I said it while holding my chest. 

“What’s happening? You and Kuro, seem different.” So he knew. He must have felt it. He even stops little before saying the last two words.

“Kenma, you think if it’s me who died, Kuroo would be fine?” 

I’m so heartless about myself. Kenma stared at me so intently.

“What are you saying? Did he say something to you?” I heard anger in his voice, I hated myself because I felt like crying. And Kenma might be angry at Tetsu because I’m saying this.

But I can’t take it, I’m hurting. So much.

“It’s like I’m being punished, Kenma. But I did everything for the baby. But I still failed to protect her. And now, I'm even losing my husband.” I put my face on my palms, trying to hide my miserable face while I cry.

“You did your best, Hina-chan. It’s Kuro who doesn't understand that it’s not only him who lost the baby. It is harder for you the most, because you are the mother. Maybe he thought, as you live your usual self and act normal, that you’re not hurting. Maybe you need to at least let him know what's on your mind and what you feel. To talk things out, yeah?” Kenma pats my shoulder giving me a wake up call that I should be more brave.

Maybe confronting Tetsu isn’t a bad thing to do?

I look at Kenma, and as expected he’s looking at me with those eyes. “Thank you Kenma. I’m sorry for making you stress once again.”

He rolled his eyes and looked away. “Just tell me if that bastard didn’t clear his mind after you talk to him. I’ll make sure to help you.”

I laughed a little as he said those words. I feel kind of happy.

I once again look at the headstone and smile.

Don’t worry baby, me and your daddy will be fine soon. 

That afternoon, I got a text from Yaku.

‘I hope you don't forget about the get together tonight. Make sure your husband will attend it or I’ll let him eat lots of meat!” 

I almost laugh at his message. Yaku is still like that towards Tetsu. I also miss how they fight over trivial matters.

I look back at my hair, I still keep it long, since Tetsu likes women with long hair. Then I saw myself in the mirror. Did my look change? I just noticed how my lips are dry now. It’s been awhile since I wore lipstick or even put on some make up. Should I at least put something tonight? 

*Kenma’s POV*

6PM, that night.

At Yaku Morisuke’s mansion. 

I sighed, I don’t want to do this. I want to stay up to my room and play. I’m already tired. I’m just glad I charge my phone fully so I can play until later.

I look at my surroundings to see my former teammates. 

…

Sighed, they are still the same.

“Kenma-san!!! How are you?”

I looked up to see Lev standing in front of me.

“Ah, hmm.” I actually don’t know what to say to him, and since he’s a model now, he looks like a bright tower standing in front of me.

“Kenma-san, you didn’t change. Haha! I also watched your streams when I got time, and I really enjoyed it. Teach me some games sometimes.” Lev is still as loud as ever. 

Sighed. “You need to learn a lot Lev, you know.”

“Eh?! But I work hard on my LoL rank!!!” Lev continues.

“Ha ha, don’t be so harsh on him, Kenma. Yo!” Kai-san and Yaku-san walk towards us, together with their wives. 

“Wahhh, I can’t believe you are already married!” Lev still can’t hide his amazement on the two senpais.

“Haiba-kun, isn't it time for you to marry too?” Kai asked him.

Lev put his hand on his chin, as if he’s thinking hard.

“Hmmm, maybe. But I’m still busy.”

“Maybe you won’t marry Haiba!” Yaku told him as he assisted his wife to sit beside us.

Lev blushed, “B-but rather, it should be Kenma’s time to marry too right?” Now he put the spotlight on me. Sighed. Tired.

“Kenma, won’t marry either.” Yaku said.

“He’s married to his games and company.” Kai added.

“E-EHHH?!” Lev’s can’t stop himself.

  And the two just laugh how simple minded Lev is.

I just shake my head and once again look at the entrance, waiting for Kuro and Hina.

Then Kuro appeared at the door, was he alone? Where is Hina?

I stand up and walk towards him.

“Kuro!” I called him out.

“Kenma! Yo!” He simply waves at me.

“Wow, Kenma you are quite early at this kind of event, I’m surprised.” He commented.

I almost rolled my eyes hearing him say this.

“And I see you come here alone, where is Hina? You didn’t pick her up?” 

Based on his facial expression, he’s guilty for not picking her up or texting her that he’s here.Seriously, I don’t know what to do to this guy.

“Kuro, will you stop being a jerk? You’re going too far.”

“K-kenma,”

Shocked I guess. I don’t know the problem, but Hina is starting to drift away. 

Kuro looks away, “S-she’s on her way, probably.”

Tsk!

“Probably? You’re not even sure?” Look at how jerk he is.I’m trying not to be disappointed with him but I guess my self-restraint won’t be enough for tonight. 

“You know, she’s waiting for you. I told her that I should pick her up since you’ll be an ass to not come home and directly come here, but she refused and said she will wait for you.”

He suddenly gets his phone in his pocket and switches it open. 

What? Did he intentionally switch it off?

After a few seconds, lots of notifications ring. 

Seeing his face, I know it’s Hina. 

I should have picked her up myself. 

“I-I’ll call her then.” Kuro said.

Sighed. And then I saw her at the door.

“No need Kuro, she’s already here.” I walked past Kuro to go straight to his wife.

Somehow, she looks different and the way she dresses tonight. 

She wears a dress and puts on a mild makeup that highlights her young face, like she goes back to our high school days. Since long ago, I knew very well that she’s a pretty woman to begin with. She always smiles and is happy every time I see her.

I just hope Kuro knows it too. And realized that she’s drifting away.

“Wow Hina, you’re way different tonight.” I told her.

She blushed. “R-really? I just put on some makeup for a change.”

“Wow! Hina-senpai! So pretty! More prettier than my sister!” Lev is already towering us as he complimented Hina.

“L-lev eh?! To be compared to Alisa-chan’s beauty, you must be joking!” She can’t hide her embarrassment from us

Kai and Yaku also joined us on this side, and they also complimented Hina about her look. And where the hell is her husband?

I look at Kuroo who is standing a bit far away from us. He’s looking at her with an awe expression. He should be. She dressed up to impress him after all.

“Kuro, what are you doing there far away from you wife? You should escort her.” Kai speaks what I have in mind.

Kuroo walks towards us, I look at Hina who looks nervous as he approaches her. 

“What’s the fuss all about, she looks the same guys, come on.”  

WHAT THE HELL?

Did he actually say that? Not even complimenting her?

Kuroo suddenly smudges her lipstick, causing it to ruin her looks.

“KUROO!” I shouted!

I saw everyone flinch as he did that. They are looking at Hina who is trying to fix her lipstick and ends up wiping it with her handkerchief. 

Hina is so shocked to even react to what he did.

“What the hell did you do?!” Yaku says in horror.

“Don’t be so rude Kuroo, she obviously dressed up for tonight.” Yaku explained.

“Then who is she dressing for?” he looks at her in an irritated way.

Hina’s facial expression became somehow afraid and conscious. 

“Are you stupid?” Yaku being yaku to Kuro. “Of course it’s for you dumbass! You’re her husband! You know sometimes I think you’re the one who lacks docosahexaenoic acid!” Yaku walks away, not giving Kuroo the chance to fight back with their verbal battle.

Hina just smiled at us, “Come on guys, let’s enjoy the night okay?” She did smile but after we walked to sit down, I saw how her smile fades away.

**A/N updates every FRIDAY..**

[agustdomain]

October Ink | #3

Fall isn’t all fun and games. With your chemistry class weighing down on you, Chan knows just the right remedies to lift your spirits.

“So Coraline and pumpkin spice lattes. That’s our Saturday date?” Chan asked, ignoring his friends chattering in the background. It was funny how you could hear Felix’s screeches and Jisung’s swearing through two devices. 

Changing into more comfortable clothes, you confirmed his words. “Yup. It’s tradition. I usually do it myself, just to get into fall spirit. But now that you’re around,” You teased, smiling when he laughed in response.

“Yeah, I guess I can be pencilled in,” You could hear the humor in his voice, easing the nerves rattling your breathing since you’d checked your phone around twenty minutes ago. With that thought, you crawled onto your bed and opened your laptop.

“Okay. I’m logging in,” You let your voice drag out as you typed in your password, neck aching with the strain of holding up your phone. “Ugh, hold on. I’m going to put you on speaker.”

“Okay, baby,” You smiled at Chan’s stuffy voice, familiar with the way he sounded with a full mouth (trail mix was your guess). Jisung was always yelling at him to stop doing it through his headset, but you found it kinda cute. “Just breathe, okay?”

You clenched and unclenched your fist as the screen loaded, letting you into your school website. Specifically, for your grades. On your way home from work, you’d gotten an email letting you know your professor had posted your grades for your chem midterm. If it was any other class, you wouldn’t have been struck with a wave of nausea like you did when you saw it. 

This chemistry class, in short, had been kicking your ass since day one. 

The only person who knew the extent of your stress was your boyfriend, Chan. Loving, supportive, always cheering you on. He had his own worries, so you tried your best not to dump your concerns all over him. However, he knew how freaked out you were over this. Your skin flushed at the memory of a few nights ago, calling him and crying about your fear of failing. 

No matter what you did or how hard you tried, you just couldn’t do well in this class. He constantly reassured you, tried to give you pep talks, but at this point there was nothing you could do but hope for the best. 

As you hovered over the class name, the sound of Chan talking to his friends on his game faded away. If you bombed this test, you weren’t sure if you’d be able to recover. Gnawing at your lip, you clicked the class, your breath hitching at the little notification on the grades tab. 

“You alright, baby?” Chan whispered. His voice released the breath you were holding, eased the tension in your shoulders. As long as you’ve known him, he tended to everyone. Everyday, you worked to make sure he was seen and loved. 

“I’m- I’m about to see.”

“Whatever happens, I’m here.”

“Thank you.” You clicked on the tab, waited for it to load. It loaded too quickly, so you purposefully scrolled down as slow as possible. Chris wasn’t talking to his friends anymore, but you could hear his fingers tapping away at his PC. 

When your eyes found the number, you wondered if your heart actually cracked. Pushing your laptop away, you fell back on your bed, covering your eyes with your hands. You breathed out, tried to tell yourself not to cry but only made the urge worse. Like a sudden storm that you should’ve known was coming, the tears fell. 

“Y/N? Baby, you there?” His voice was coated in concern, as if he sensed the shift in your silence. Swallowing thickly, you raised your tone, tried to come off nonchalant.

“I’m here. I’m fine... Don’t worry.”

There was a brief moment of silence, and you squeezed your eyes shut as you prayed that you fooled him. 

“Hey guys, I gotta go,” You heaved a sigh, hearing him say his goodbyes to his friends somehow making things worse. You were such a failure. “No, no everything’s fine. I’ll just catch up with you guys later.” 

He waited, and even without saying anything, you knew he meant it. There was a purpose to his silence, patient like he was reaching through the phone and holding you. 

You couldn’t take it, not right now. 

“I gotta go,” You whispered, eyes trailing to your laptop as you reached over and shut it. 

“Y/N…”

“I just need some time, baby. Just play with your friends okay? I’ll call you back in a while.”

“Okay,” You moved to hang up, distracted, but he called your name again.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

                                                              ~

A few hours later, you were feeling a little better. You had The Office and Chan’s sweater to thank for that. Cozying up on the couch, you forced yourself not to think as you let the episodes start and end, not touching the remote and turning off your mind. If you didn’t, you were sure you’d cry again. 

You didn’t feel good about being so short with Chan, but the two of you learned healthy communication over time. He was aware of how you got sometimes, and gave you space when he knew you needed it. You still felt guilty, because you knew he was worried. 

The doorbell rang. With a sigh, you got off the couch and dragged your feet to the door. Furrowing your eyebrows, you stared out the peephole, wondering why no one was there. 

Nervous, you unlocked the door and opened it a crack, peeking out. Eyes trailing down, your heart warmed at the latte on your welcome mat, a sticky note pasted on the lid. Looking out into the hall, searching for Chan, you picked up the drink and read the note.

I’m here when you’re ready. Pumpkin spice doesn’t need to wait until Saturday. Love, C.

Sipping at the drink, the sweetness filled your tongue, the tension in your body faded away- just like it did when Chan was near. 

He knew how to make you feel better even when he wasn’t here. 

Running your fingers over his handwriting, you closed the front door, a smile poking at your lips. 

                                                             ~

The next morning, you woke up to your phone going off. Blinking away your drowsiness, you tapped at your phone, seeing a new text from Chan. 

New surprise at your door. Hint: it’s not me. 

Suddenly awake, you threw your blanket off of you as you raced to the door, throwing it open. The smile bloomed on your face as you crouched down, picked up the pumpkin spice latte and stuffed black cat. 

You sipped at your drink, double checked to see if Chan wasn’t hiding around the corner. The note said, I figured you’d want your own Charlie. Three days until Coraline! <3

Snapping a picture of the cat snuggled up against the drink, you sent it to Chan. 

You’re the best, you know that?

Second best. 

No.

Yes.

I love you…

I love you too, Y/N.

                                                             ~

When you woke up the next day to the doorbell ringing, you were prepared. Jumping out of bed, you slid on your slippers and raced to the door. Throwing it open, your heart jumped, Chan nowhere in sight. Was he really that fast? Scooping up his gifts for the day (your favorite candies and another latte), you ran down the hallway, ignoring the elevator as you headed for the stairs. 

Just as you started heading down, you heard the door on the first floor slam closed. He was close!

You ran, pretty sure you looked terrifying as the smile on your lips grow bigger. Bursting out of the door, you headed to the front of the complex, looking both ways before racing down the sidewalk toward where he usually parked. 

When you made it around the corner, your heart jumped in your chest, ever excited whenever you spotted its owner. 

Chan hadn’t noticed you yet, and you sighed when his long strides relaxed into his normal pace, his hands in his pockets. His hair was messy like he just rolled out of bed himself, sporting his favorite red hoodie and sweatpants. 

Running up behind him, you yelled his name as your arms went around him. He jumped, reeling to look at you with wide and scared eyes. It only took a split second before a laugh broke out of his lips, his arms going around you. Looking at you with raised eyebrows, he said, “You ruined my surprise.”

“I was ready for you today.”

He hummed, trying to bite back a smile. “Were you now?”

“Mhm.” He pressed a kiss onto your lips, distracting you as his hands reached and snatched the drink out of your hands. “Chan!”

“Well, since you ruined my surprise, I might as well take this,” He twisted his body as you tried grabbing it back from him, crying out as he guzzled the latte. He stopped, exaggerating a sound of praise before handing it over.

Cradling the drink, you narrowed your eyes at him. “Latte thief.”

“Surprise ruiner.”

Dropping the act, you intertwined your fingers with his, swinging them between you two. His face softened, and it made you shy because… well, everyone said it. You could feel his love for you whenever he looked at you like that. The dimples helped.

“Thank you, Chan. I… I know I’ve been really down and not really as enthusiastic as I’ve always been.”

He shook his head. “You don’t have to worry about that. You can’t be happy all the time. None of us can. I just wanted to make sure you had something to lift your spirits, even when you need your space.”

“I loved it. These lattes? I need to learn to make them because wow. And Charlie? You almost made me cry.”

“Lattes huh?” You saw the idea forming in his face, knowing that he was concocting some plan to probably learn how to make them himself. Patting his chest, you leaned forward and pecked his cheek. 

“You are an angel.”

“Just like you, love. And I hope you know that this class? The one that’s making my girl so unhappy? It’s temporary. You are going to go on and do incredible things. You just don’t know it yet.”

Even with the doubt and disappointment squeezing your heart, the conviction in his voice broke apart those vines, planted a precious seed called hope. One that you knew he’d help in guarding.

“Well,” You looked off to the side, acting casual, “I’m kinda free today. I decided to call in to work. I feel like I deserved a day off. If someone isn’t busy… maybe we can watch Coraline?”

Chan tilted his head, humming as he feigned consideration. A big smile broke out as he wrapped his arms around you, picking you up and then setting you down. “Sounds perfect.”

“Like you?”

“Ohhhh,” He pointed at you as you both started heading back to the complex, “That was smooth.”

Throwing his arm across your shoulder, pulling you close, there was no negative thought that could creep into the oasis that you and him had worked so hard to build. 

Chemistry? You’re important, necessary for your major. But with Chan by your side, you’re not so scary anymore.

[peachithings]

Fix You

title: fix you

pairing: jackson wang x reader

genre: angst, fluff

warning/s: mentions of heartbreak, cheating, depressing thoughts in reader’s mind

word count: 2.3k

prompt: what happens when a certain jackson wang comes crashing into your life amidst your darkest days? will his bright personality be enough to pull you out from the dark?

a/n: italicized sentences, phrases, words are y/n’s thoughts.

twenty-twenty is coming to an end yet it only brought you pain and misery.

why? why did twenty-twenty only bring me all of these stuff? the stuff that only made me crawl deeper into my dark world. have i done wrong things in my past life that it had suddenly caught up with me and decided to haunt me in this life?

you had all these thoughts. thoughts that did not seem to have an end. thoughts that has gotten to you and has put you in your own misery on loop.

it all started as soon as twenty-twenty arrived.

-

it was the annual new year’s eve party with your friends and you decided to invite your boyfriend at the time to the party. in the early hours of the party, everything was going great. you were happy with  both your friends and with the love of your life, or so you thought.

midnight was fast approaching and you were trying to find your so-called boyfriend; looking everywhere while the clock struck twelve and everyone around you shouting “Happy New Year” and jumping for joy, your world seemed to suddenly stop when you saw your boyfriend making out with another girl who is obviously not you. you slowly walk through the sea of people hoping and praying that it was the alcohol in your system that led you to this illusion. but unfortunately, it was not. heck! you were not even close to being drunk. when you were close enough to the two bodies intimately intertwined, your eyes tearing up and mind was definitely not deceiving you.

“in yeop?!” you shouted while tears threaten to spill from your eyes.

he looked at you and was stunned to see you. 

“babe? I can explain...” He replied in panic. 

not needing to hear anything from him, you stormed out of the party with tears streaming down your face. he was quick to leave the woman he was with earlier and rushed to follow you.

he caught up with you and held you on your wrist. “babe...” he said.

cringing to his word, you quickly freed your wrist from his touch. “don’t you dare ‘babe’ me.” you said angrily. “you have no right anymore.” you added.

“____, please. don’t do this. i’m sorry.” 

“sorry?!” you snapped. “do you think your ‘sorry’ could fix anything?” you added. 

“let’s end this, in yeop.” you sighed.

he sighed. without a word he turned around and left.

wow?! really? just like that? he left. he didn’t even put up a fight. he didn’t even fight for me and our relationship?

what’s wrong with me? am i not enough?

am i not worth the fight? was i ever worth it?

and that moment was the start. it was the start of your negative and toxic thoughts creeping to your head.

-

a few days after that incident, your friends had urged you to join them for lunch out. at first, you were hesitant to go out with them since it had only been days since you broke up with your ex. but knowing your friends, they won’t take no for an answer from you so instead, you decided to go without a fight.

your friends had messaged you for the location of the restaurant and when you arrived you spotted your group of friends already at the table but there was one person who you are unfamiliar with. 

when you got to the table, you greeted everyone with a smile, “hi, everyone!” 

They all turned their attention to you and greeted you back.

“oh, ____! this is jackson.” yugyeom said. “jackson, ______.” he added.

you gave him a warm smile and said, “nice to meet you.”

“nice to meet you too.” jackson replied and returned your warm smile.

you then proceeded to the seat unoccupied just next to jackson. and the lunch began. they caught up with each other and with each passing minute, you got to know jackson and got along with him too.

truth be told, you’ve never welcomed just anyone to be in your circle. it had always been yugyeom, jinyoung, mark, jaebeom, youngjae, bambam and you. sure you’ve had your fair share of boyfriends but you knew very well that they don’t last long. but with your ex boyfriend, in yeop, it was different at least it was for you. you’ve never fell that fast and that hard for any of your past lovers. 

it must have been jackson’s bright personality that made you welcome him smoothly into your little circle. or maybe the way he smiled all throughout lunch. or maybe because he kept mood of the lunch so light and happy making all those funny remarks and stories that he shared here and there. 

deep down you knew it was all of those traits that made you welcome him. you were drawn to his bright personality like it was your lighthouse guiding you to the right path in your dark world.

at the end of your lunch out with friends, you and jackson exchanged numbers.

this jackson guy looks like he’s a good guy. 

he made me laugh every chance he got. 

his personality is so bright that he’s like a lighthouse that suddenly went in my world to guide me out of my dark world.

but will he be able to handle all my demons?

what if he doesn’t want a friend that could be a burden to him?

what if he ran away too just like everyone else before him?

that night, your mind had started yet another turmoil in your little head. thoughts have started to run through your head again.

jackson is just a new addition to your circle and yet your mind had already started to overthink every little thing.

just like any other times, you couldn’t stop your thoughts from making all these unnecessary assumptions. so you just laid there on your bed until you fell asleep.

-

the next few months were like hell since it was peak season. working as a front desk manager at a five star hotel has been very demanding lately with welcome amenities for the hotel’s VIPs arriving the next week were getting rushed to be finalized by your department so that it could be evaluated by the kitchen department before week ends and it was stressing the hell out of you but you still continued to do your job until you heard your phone’s notification bell indicating that you have new messages that came through. you smiled when you read that the messages were from jackson.

jackson: hey

jackson: how are you?

jackson:  just wandering of you’d want to hang on fri?

you checked the notifications and thought it was cute that he’s checking up on you and asking to hang out. you thought he was cute. you quickly replied to his messages and put your phone inside your coat’s inside pocket and went back to work.

me: hey

me: i’m doing good, just packed with work rn and u?

me: fri? sounds good, send me the deets

you heard your phone dinged yet again and thought it was jackson texting you the details for friday and thought that you’ll just read them once you’re out from work.

-

the last few hours of work were excruciating and drained you. but nonetheless, you were so happy work’s over!

you quickly whipped out your phone from your bag to read the messages that you thought were from jackson but you were shocked when you saw who it was from.

it was from your ex, the ex that cheated on you during new year’s eve. and you immediately had a pang in your chest like the pain you felt a few months ago were back again and you’re to square one.

in yeop: hey y/n

in yeop: are you home?

in yeop: i’m in front of your building

for you, the thing with in yeop is that you just can’t seem to let him go thus, why you can’t get over him. that even after the incident you still missed him.

i was doing just fine without you. i mean i do miss you from time to time but it’s only normal to miss someone you loved right?

why can’t i move on from you and be happy?

why do you have to come back and haunt me?

the thoughts were starting yet again. you decided it was best to go home since you were so tired from work and replied to in yeop.

me: hey

me: just got out from work, i’ll be home in a few

me: why?

you locked back your phone and headed home. your body wanted nothing more that to hit the hay and call it a night.

in yeop: nothing

in yeop: i just missed you

in yeop: i miss you y/n

and just like that, you were coming back to him.

-

the days went by far too fast for your liking and it was suddenly thursday night.

after that night with in yeop, he never called or messaged you back. he ghosted you and as soon as you realized it, thoughts flooded through your head again. and just like any other days, it wouldn’t stop.

i’m so disgusting.

i let him use me. i let him use me like a slut that i am.

why? why did i even caved in?

i’m so stupid.

i feel so dirty.

i just want everything to stop.

i want it to end, i want the pain to end.

it also didn’t help that you just lurked on in yeop’s instagram and saw that he already has a girlfriend. it made you sick.

you decided it would be best to file in a sick leave for tomorrow.

your thoughts didn’t let you sleep. you cried every pain you felt but it still didn’t get better. you cried like there was no tomorrow.

the morning came, the sun was rising and that’s when you felt all the exhaustion from crying your eyes out. you passed out.

-

you woke up in an unfamiliar place.

you hear some kind of a monitor and you slowly opened up your eyes.

“hey, how are you?” he said. 

the voice you recognized to be jackson’s.

when your eyes were fully adjusted, you recognized the room to be at a hospital.

“why am i here?” you questioned. “aren’t we supposed to hang out later?” you added.

“yeah, about that.” jackson started. 

“i know we were supposed to meet up at the arcade but i really wanted to pick you up from your apartment so i went there earlier to surprise you.” he added.

“but i continuously ringing your doorbell and your phone. you weren’t picking up so phoned gyeom asking if anyone knew your whereabouts. but gyeom didn’t know either and told me you filed a sick leave at work.” he continued.

“so basically, he just gave me the passcode to your apartment so that i could check if you were in and i saw you on your couch.”

“i tried to wake you up but you weren’t waking up. checked your pulse and it was faint so i called an ambulance.”

“the doctor’s said that you were over-fatigued.” he frowned.

“don’t frown at me, jackson.” you pouted.

“how can i not? i was so worried.” he responded.

“you..” you started. “you were worried? about me?” you asked.

“i was hella worried. you didn’t wake up for a full day.” he pouted.

“and i know this is not a great situation to say this.” he started. “i initially intended to say this to you after our hang out. but for some obvious reason, it was postponed. and i really need this to get it off my chest already.” he rambled.

he took a deep breath and said, “y/n, i like you. like, i like like you.”

“like, i want to date you kind of ‘i like you’. y’know?”

you smiled at him. you thought it was really cute. you thought he was cute for getting nervous confessing to you.

“really? you like me in that way?” you intrigued.

“yes, i do.” he smiled. “as cheesy as it may sound, that day, during our lunch. the first time we met, i was already drawn to you.”

you felt a sudden surge of heat on cheeks.

“you’re cute when you blush.” jackson complimented.

-

jackson took care of you that day at the hospital. he listened to your needs.

you didn’t realize it at first but it was the first time in a long time that your mind did not think of any negative thoughts.

for the first time in a long time, you were smiling and laughing genuinely.

jackson noticed.

“wow, that smile and laugh was different.” he said.

“it was a lot different from the first time we met.”

you didn’t know how but he noticed. he noticed something that no one has ever noticed before.

“i...” you started.

“you can tell me when you’re ready.” jackson interrupted.

“for now, i’ll do my very best to be here for you. to make you feel safe.” he added.

“i will never leave. i’ll stay for as long as you want and need me to.”

“i’ll be here to listen to you, i can be your human diary if you need me to.”

“and i will try to fix you.”

it made you tear up. your heart was fluttering. your heart was full and it felt great.

twenty-twenty was only half way through and jackson was the one thing that you were grateful to have come crashing into your life.

“i know you said that i can tell you when i’m ready.” you said. “and i’m ready now.”

“i don’t want to hide anything from you.”

“i want you to stay with me, while i fix myself.”

and from that moment forward, it was start of something new.

-

A/N: Thank you for reading! If you happen to like my work, you can support me by buying me coffee hehe

Also, you can send me requests, your thoughts and opinions here

[imanativeofswlondondahling]

Becoming A Stark (7)- Peter Parker x Stark!femReader

Word Count: 2317

Warnings: Swearing

Author’s Note: This chapter does utilize some dialog from Captain America Civil War. The scene does have added dialog though so I wouldn’t skip over it.

Normally you don’t check Twitter notifications during class, however one of the three that pop up caught your eye. 

EXPLOSION IN VIENNA HALTS SOKOVIA ACCORDS

WAKANDA KING T’CHAKA AMONG DEAD

NATASHA ROMONAFF ALIVE AFTER SOKOVIA ACCORDS BOMBING

Your phone is in your hand instantly and you're standing from your seat. Your English teacher, Mrs. Leighton is shocked to see you disregarding the fact that you’re supposed to be doing a timed writing. “Miss Stark, take your seat please.”

“I have a… medical emergency. I need to go get more insulin from the nurse.”

“Alright, I’ll write you a pass.” You want to run out the door, but not everything can be fixed by the fact that you’re a Stark now. Once you have the pass in hand, you walk out into the hallway and turn into the stairwell before punching Natasha’s number into your phone. 

“Y/N, I’m fine.”

“I had to find out from Twitter?”

“I was going to text you later. There was no reason to freak you out over nothing.”

“Was my dad there?” You ask, after not seeing last night and this morning.

“No. He was at the compound last I saw him. Planning on heading back to the tower in the morning.”

“What is going on?” You ask.

“Y/N, there’s a lot I can’t tell you right now. Focus on school and I’ll see you as soon as I’m Stateside again.”

“Nat-” The phone hangs up before you can get another word out. “Ugh. Fucking superheroes.” You swear under your breath before shoving your phone back into your pocket.

“Y/N, right?” You look up to find brown eyes looking back at you in concern.

“Yeah. Parker right?” He nods. He’s holding a clipboard that’s painted to say hall pass in bright letters.

“Peter,” he reminds you, like you have forgotten. “Everything alright?” He asks looking at you with concern.

“Not really, but I’ll manage.”

“You wanna talk about it, because according to my friend Ned, I’m really great at listening?”

“How much time are you allowed to be out on that hall pass?” 

“I’m in wood shop. Mr. Wallman didn’t even notice I took it. What about you?”

“I’m supposed to be at the nurse getting more insulin, so I have as much time as I need.” You say with a smirk. But Peter’s face falls.

“Do you need to get to the nurse? I can walk you there.” You shake your head.

“I don’t actually need to go. There’s an issue when your family is all superheroes that you tend to worry when their name pops up alongside building explosions and stuff.”

“Is your dad ok?”

“It wasn’t my dad this time. One of the other Avengers. She’s fine. But I wasn’t going to believe it until I heard it for myself. So I used a medical excuse to get out of class so I could call her. I feel like ever since I gained all the Avengers as family, all I do is worry I’m going to lose them. Like they’re superheroes they can protect themselves and stuff-”

“But you worry. I completely understand.” Peter says and you look at him in disbelief. “I mean, I would completely understand if I was in your shoes but I’m not. I’m just saying I empathize with you.”

“I appreciate it.” You can’t help but smile at his rambling. It’s cute.

“Can I ask you something I wonder about you?”

“I’ve never used the Iron Man suit if that’s the question.” It wouldn’t be the first time someone asked about the suit you’ve never even seen.

“No, it’s… it wasn’t that. Is it like the best living with two of the greatest scientists alive?”

“Bruce and my dad?” You clarify and he nods. “I mean, I’ve only lived with them for a while and Bruce is off world right now maybe? That’s our guess at least. But my dad….” You pause and think how to explain your dad to someone who doesn’t know him and you realize you don’t even know him that well. “He’s a tinkerer. He spends a lot of time in his lab. But science is like my least favorite subject so anything he does is pretty much lost on me. Goes over my head for the most part.”

“Your dad is Tony Stark and science is your least favorite subject?” Peter asks in shock. 

“The apple falls far from the tree I guess.” You shrug and glance at your phone. “I should probably get back before Leighton thinks I left to google the timed writing.”

“You’ll do fine.”

“It’s English. Of course I will.” You flash a smile at him. “Thanks for listening though.”

“Any time.” You really hope he means that. Because you could spend so much time talking with Peter Parker.

Peter watches as the only Stark he’ll probably ever meet walks away. There’s something about this girl that is different. Even though you had been freaking out moments before he stopped to talk to you, he wasn’t going to tell you he had heard you muttering ‘Ugh. Fucking superheroes’, but you definitely weren’t the person people thought you were supposed to be. When it was announced the week before school started that not only did Tony Stark have a daughter but that you were going to be attending MSST, he kind of expected an outspoken, over the top personality like the Tony Stark he had seen on TV many times before. But you weren’t like that. You are different from the personality that TV Tony Stark had. You are down to earth, you are open, and Peter wants to know more about you. However when Tony Stark appears in his apartment later that day, Peter isn’t planning on voicing any of his thoughts about said daughter. 

“I definitely did not apply for your grant...”

“Ah-Ah! Me first. Okay! Quick question of the rhetorical variety.” He pulls up a video on his Stark Phone that plays it out. “That’s you right?”

“Um, no. What- what do you mean?”

“Yeah, look at you go. Wow! Nice catch. 3,000 pounds, 40 miles an hour. That’s not easy. You got mad skills.”

“That’s all on YouTube though, right? That’s where you found that?”

“That’s where someone found it.” Tony mumbles, not revealing who actually found it.

“Because you know that’s all fake. It’s all done on the computer.” Peter walks towards his computer and other tech as Tony walks back towards the main part of the bedroom.

“Mmm-hmm.” Tony reaches for a stick.

“It’s like that video. What is it?”

“Yeah. Oh, you mean like those UFOs over Phoenix?” Tony asks as he pushes up on the attic hatch.

“Exactly.”

“What do we have here?” Tony asks as the Spider-Man suit comes down. Peter snatches it and hides it in his closet.

“Uh…”Peter tries a different distraction tactic. “I know your daughter.”

“Excuse me.” For a second, with the bruise on his face, Tony Stark’s face becomes sinister. “You know my daughter?”

“Y/N? She goes to my school. She’s a grade below me. At least I think she is since she said this morning she was in Leighton’s class and Leighton only teaches ninth grade.”

“You spoke to my daughter this morning?” The overprotective father comes out in his voice.

“Yeah she was… not important. Anyway-” Tony cuts him off.

“No, no. Correction to that statement. She is very important. Especially to me. So enlighten me. What did you talk to my daughter about?” 

“Uh, it really wasn’t that important.” Peter crosses his arms. He feels like he’s being interrogated by the father of a date he isn’t having. 

“Tell me anyway.”

“She was worried about someone. A female. One of the Avengers.” There’s a hint of recognition on Mr. Stark’s face, but he says nothing. “I caught her after she got off the phone. She looked stressed out. I asked if she needed someone to talk to. She mentioned she had used an excuse to get out of class to make a call. She mentioned something about explosions and people’s names being on Twitter. I thought she was worried about you. She said it was someone else.” Peter pauses, but Tony motions for him to continue. “She talked about how she worries a lot about you guys. She worries about losing her, well her new family I guess. Like she knows that you all can protect yourselves but she worries. So then I tried to distract her.”

“Distract her how.” Tony’s words came out as a demand as he stares at the teenager in front of him. “What did you do to my daughter.”

“I talked to her. Only talked! Promise sir!” Peter says quickly. “Asked her questions about living with two of the greatest scientists of all times. Although when I asked her if I could ask her something I had wondered about her first reaction was to tell me she’s never used the Iron Man suit.”

“What did she say about that?” Tony is suddenly curious to hear what Y/N had to say about living with him since it’s been over a month.

“She said that you’re a tinkerer. But she did go on to say that anything you do science wise is lost on her, since science is her least favorite subject. Something about the apple falling far from the tree or something.”

“I don’t believe that. But science being her least favorite subject has been mentioned a few times.” Tony pulls his phone out of his pocket and glances at the picture on his lock screen before sliding it back into his pocket. “But to be honest, I didn’t come here to talk to you about my daughter, as much as I’d love to talk about her all night. You’re the Spider-ling. Crime fighting Spider. Spider-Boy”

“Spider-Man.”

“Not in that onesie you’re not.”

“It’s not a onesie. I don’t believe this. I was actually having a really good day today Mr. Stark. I talked with Y/N without doing anything stupid, didn’t miss my train, this perfectly good DVD player was just sitting there and this Algebra test, nailed it.”

“Who else knows? Anybody?”

“Nobody.”

“Not even your unusually attractive aunt?”

“No. No. No! If she knew she would freak out. And when she freaks out, I freak out.”

“You know what I think is really cool? This webbing.” He tosses it at Peter. “That tensile strength is off the charts. Who manufactured that?”

“I did.” Peter throws it in his closet to hide it again.

“Climbing walls, how you doing that? Adhesive gloves?”

“It’s a long story. I was…”

“Lordy! Can you even see in these?”

“Yes! Yes! I can!”

“I’m blind!” Tony jokes as Peter pulls away the suit and throws it back in the closet. 

“I can see in those! It’s just that when whatever happened, happened it’s like my sense have been dialed to eleven. There’s way too much input, so they just kinda help me focus.”

“You’re in dire need of an upgrade. Systemic, top to bottom, hundred- point restoration. That’s why I’m here.” Peter sits on his bed as he listens to Tony talk. “Why you doing this? I gotta know, what’s your MO? What gets you outta that twin bed in the morning? But I swear to god if you say my daughter’s name, you won’t swing another day in your life.”

“I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve spoken to your daughter-”

“I’ve also been a teenage boy. That means nothing to me.” Tony says, staring him down. “But seriously, what makes you go out and fight crime on the day to day?”

“Because… because I’ve been me my whole life, and I’ve had these powers for six months.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I read books, I build computers. And yeah I would love to play football, but I couldn’t then so I shouldn’t now.”

“Sure, because you’re different.”

“Exactly. But I can’t tell anybody that, so I’m not. When you can do the things that I can, but you don’t and then the bad things happen… they happen because of you.”

“So you wanna look out for the little guy, you wanna do your part? Make the world a better place and all of that, right?”

“Yeah, just looking out for the little guy. That’s what it is.” Tony stands up and walks over towards Peter.

“I’m going to sit here so you move the leg.” He claps a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “You got a passport?”

“No, I don’t even have a driver’s license.”

“You ever been to Germany?”

“No.”

“Oh, you’ll love it.”

“I can’t go to Germany.”

“Why?”

“I got homework.”

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that.”

“No I’m being serious. I can’t just drop out of school.”

“Might be a little dangerous. Better tell Aunt Hottie I’m taking you on a field trip.” Tony reaches for the door and Peter webs him to the door before he can even turn the handle.

“Don’t tell Aunt May.”

“Alright Spider-Man. Get me out of this.”

“Sorry, I’ll get the dissolvent.”

“Oh and don’t even think about dating my daughter. Don’t think I missed the talking to my daughter being the good part of your day.” Peter looks over at Tony, who if looks could kill would have killed him already. “Now Happy will pick you up tomorrow morning to take you to Germany on one of my private jets after he drops Y/N off at school.”

“Who’s Happy?”

“My Head of Security. He will take you everywhere you need to be.”

“Why aren’t we leaving tonight for Germany?”

“Because I haven’t seen my daughter in over 48 hours and she might kill me if I don’t stop at home before leaving to go back overseas.”

“Oh. Right.”

“I will see you in Germany Mr. Parker.”

Permanent tag list: @wormonastringonastick

Becoming A Stark Tag list: @persephonehemingway  @iamaunicorn4704  @furiouspockettoad  @daughter-of-stark  @eternalharry  @huntective-kyeo @riiis-stuff @sunnyoongles @cosmicqueenieb @sovereignparker 

[atinydise]

Ateez trying to make up to their s/o (1/2)

❦ Genre: Light angst/Fluff.

❦ Pairing: OT8.

❦ Word count: Around 2k.

❦ Masterlist.

Part 2

HONGJOONG - “Why do you always need to be behind my back? I’m a grown man! So, go anywhere I’m not for once!” 

Hongjoong couldn’t focus on his work anymore. You were the only thing in his mind. He could imagine you yelling at your own tears because you hated to cry. He sighed. The members came back from their meal and entered the studio.

“Yo Hyung! You really missed the best meal of your life!” Shouted San. Hongjoong hummed and sighed again. San stared at Wooyoung, asking if he knew what was happening. “Hyung are you okay?” Asked the eldest member. “I just got an argument with Y/N” he revealed. The boys stayed quiet. None of them was surprised, they knew something happened when Yeosang said that you weren’t coming anymore. Hongjoong was always working hard. They knew you were here to support or help him no matter what. Even if you couldn’t, you’ve stayed on the studio’s couch and wait that your boyfriend shout “Finally!” like every time he produced a good song. “Ya- Hyung” said Mingi patting his leader shoulder, “it’s just a little argue, it’s going to be fine, don’t be sad.” “No, I messed up, I said horrible things to her.” Said the tiny boy, face on his hands. The boys felt bad for him. He needed to do so many things as the leader and the main producer between all of them. Even if they’re writing their own lyrics, he’s always supervising. “Ya-Kim Hongjoong!” shouted Wooyoung informally. The boy lifted his head, confused. “Hey! Don’t talk like that to me-“. “You should tell her that you wrote the song for her?” Hongjoong blinked. For their new album, he wanted to surprise you. In their 10ths tracks, he wrote Sunrise for you. As you always motivate him when he’s having hard time, he wanted to help you too. You could listen this song when you want and think about him. He grabbed his laptop and ran out of the studio. “Wow, Wooyoung, you did a great job.” Said Yeosang. He smiled, “yes I know!”. But Yeosang added before leaving, “but he’s going to kill you since you called him informally.” Wooyoung freaked out “Yes, I know! I’m so scared Hyung!”.

Hongjoong went in a quiet room. His hands were shaking. He knew that you wouldn’t accept his calls, so he tried something else.

You just arrived at your apartment, still feeling down. You threw yourself on your couch and turn on your phone to watch Netflix. That’s the only thing that could help right now. Few minutes later, you saw a notification. It was an audio from Hongjoong. It grabbed your attention. He’s always calling you when you have an argument. You opened his message. The audio was called “Y/N Sunrise” and was 5 minutes long. The first thing you heard was Hongjoong voice, “Hi Y/N, it’s me Hongjoong. I want to apologize. I didn’t think what I said earlier, it was really mean. I’m so sorry. I will understand if you don’t want to talk to me. Like never again.” He took a break in his speech. “But I really want you to know why I was so stressful.” You heard his voice getting quieter, like when he’s embarrassed. “You know I was writing few songs for our new album, right? When you came to the studio earlier, I was writing the last one, and it’s for you. I wrote a song for you, Y/N.” Your phone almost slipped of your hand. You couldn’t help but blush. “I was so scared when you removed one of my earphones.” He laughed lightly. “Anyway, here’s a snippet. I hope you will enjoy it. I love you.” Your heart felt so much lighter. You just wanted to yell back at your phone “I LOVE YOU TOO” but it would a bit be weird. The song started to play. The background music was so soft in your ears, the lyrics was fitting well the melody. You were a bit surprise when the mood lifted in the chorus. You couldn’t help to answer him while the song was jamming. “I love you too, the song is only at 1:30 but I love it. You are talented. Thank you so much Hongjoong!”. Three dots appeared on your screen. “I’m coming in 20 minutes.” Everything is good again. All you could do now, it’s just to “keep it up”.

SEONGHWA - “We have a comeback in 2 days! Can you stop bothering us with your dishes and let us practice in peace?”

When you left the room after what Seonghwa said, the boys were yelling at his behavior toward you.

“What is happening to you?” asked Hongjoong as the leader. “You never yelled at Y/N so bad!” added San. Seonghwa was staring at his feet. His heart aches. You meant a world to him and he just threw you away. “It’s not your type to be this stressed Seonghwa-Hyung. You can talk with us about everything.” Yunho patted his back, when he saw how his friends was down. The room went quieter. The guys were waiting an explanation. San was tempted to run after you for fix this situation fast as possible. But it was none of his business, sadly. “It’s just… we’re getting more and more fans everyd-day” stuttered Seonghwa, “I don’t want to disappoint anyone. I need to practice more and show the best of me. You guys are doing good and I’m always… late.” He explained. Seonghwa was being insecure. It happened sometimes but all he need is you. But you couldn’t help him this time. “What if I disappoint so many Atinys that we lose everything we built this year.” “Atinys are always here for us and vice-versa.” said the maknae with a smile. “Hyung, I know that you are getting pressured, like everyone here. But don’t lose the only person who can help you to feel better.” Said Yeosang as he ate quietly another piece of the chicken you brought. Seonghwa bite his lips. What he said to you was really mean. He didn’t know how to fix this situation. He sat on the couch, trying to find a solution. But nothing was coming into his mind. “Let’s take a break for today guys,” ordered Hongjoong. “Let’s go sleep, it’s late.” Seonghwa couldn’t sleep well. Every night you were talking about your day, even if it was boring or sad. Just to talk with you, was lifting his mood. But this time all he could do was turning in his bed or watch his phone, to check if you answered or at least saw his message. His sent you apologizing texts. He didn’t want to call maybe you were sleeping. Suddenly, he got an idea. He’s going to discuss with the boys tomorrow. 

It was a sad Friday for you. Your boss gave you a free day as a reward of your hard work. Seonghwa planned to go to the amusement parc with you, but it won’t happen. You were scrolling on Twitter when someone knocked at your door. “Y/N! It’s time to have fun with us!” yelled Wooyoung through the door. Your heart missed a beat. “Wooyoung? What are you doing he-“ the scene in the hallway, cut you off. All the members were here. Dressed casually. Your “boyfriend” included. He seemed embarrassed. “What are you doing here guys?” you asked, arms crossed on your chest. “W-We want to go to the amusement park.” You stared at Seonghwa confused. “Then okay, have fun.” You almost close the door to them when Seonghwa yelled at you! “Listen Y/N! I’m sorry! I was so stressed that you were like my punching bag…” The other boys escaped to let your intimacy. “Listen Seonghwa, I know that you didn’t mean it, but it still hurts.” “I know! And I will do everything to fix it Y/N!” offered your boyfriend. “You know how much I love you and how I need you in my life.” That was a good deal, “everything-huh?” You grabbed your jacket and phone, before closing the door. “Guys! Let’s go to the amusement park! Seonghwa wants to go in the haunted house!” you yelled at them while you were exiting the building. “What??” shouted Mingi. Everyone knows that Seonghwa hates the haunted house, not because it’s scary, but because it’s untidy. A real nightmare for him and a good revenge for you.

YUNHO - “I know what I can do and what I cannot do! Stop babying me! You are being annoying!“

Yunho couldn’t understand why you were so afraid of being exposed. Atinys were always supportive and good with ATEEZ. Of course, few people would be angry, but he didn’t care. Being in a relationship and an idol is a big thing. But you were doing really good till now. He always thought that you wanted to break up with him when you talk about this. It’s been a week since you talked to each other. Yunho talked about your issue with Mingi. The tall boy tried to help him as much as he could, but nothing was really working. Ateez would celebrate their first-year anniversary after their debut, tonight. He hoped to see you there, crowded with Atinys. Cheering him like always. Yunho didn’t know how he could apologize for his behavior, and the fact that he left you alone on your date was torturing him. 

The little fan meeting started, his eyes were all over the hall, trying to recognize your pretty face among all the Atinys. But you were not there. He sighed and tried to keep his figure for his fans. Mingi patted his back to comfort him when he was sadness on his face. After 20 long minutes of mental breakdown, he saw your small figure trying to reach your seat quietly. Your taxi was stuck in the traffic. You apologize for interrupting their ment. You sat on your numbered seat and finally looked at your boyfriend. He was gorgeous, his suit was fitting his tall figure perfectly. You noticed that he was smiling so hard that it could hurt his jaw. The boys too, were happy to see you there since they like your presence.

Near the ending of the fan meeting, Yunho asked, “Atiny! I have a question for you!”. He stepped back and looked at Mingi, waiting for his signal. His friend nodded and whispered, “do it Hyung!”. Yunho stepped forward the stage and breathed. “What if someday you find that one of us or even all of the members… are dating?”

Silence.

Your heart raced as you saw few Atiny’s face getting confused at his question. Mingi felt the awkward atmosphere and added, “are you going to be mad and leave us?”. All the fans shouted “No! Never!”. The comment section of their Vlive was going crazy, few internationals Atinys wrote “Hell no! We will support ATEEZ no matter what!”. You smiled. He tried to confort you and threw away your insecurities. “Okay! I knew we could trust our Atinys!” added Yunho with a smile. You just wanted to run on the stage and hug him. “I want to take this opportunity to apologize.” Everyone in the room was confused, even the staff. “I had a bad and mean behavior toward someone, few days ago. I didn’t realize that the advice Y/-“ he stopped, almost messed up. “I mean, this person… gave me was for my good and was worried about what would happen to me. He looked in your direction, “I’m so sorry and I hope you will forgive me, if you listen me right now!” He bowed and let Hongjoong close the event. You wanted to apologize to him, for being insecure. When all the fans left the hall, you almost run backstage to hug your boyfriend and never let him go away again.

YEOSANG - “Why do you always need to be funny? Can you be serious sometimes? You need to grow up!”

Yeosang was turning around in the living-room. He was trying to call you but the only voice he heard was the voice mail. How could he fix this? Do you even want to talk with him again? You brought him so much happy moments that he couldn’t count and remember all of them. Few memories came to his mind. Some when you were acting weird but cute with him or when you said countless jokes in a day. For example, one day you couldn’t stop to say kitschy things to him. “Hey, angel,” you said with a flirty look,” did it hurts?” He raised a brow at you, “what?”. “Did it hurts?” you repeated. “I don’t get it Y/N.” “Did it hurts… when you fell from the sky?” He choked with his piece of chicken this day and you were so proud of you. “That was a good one huh?” “No that was terrible!” he said. “Oh, come-on Yeosang-ie… I know you liked it!”. He was trying to stay still with his poker face, but you could see his little smile.

He sighed, he missed you. He started to walk again on the living-room, biting his lips. Another one came to his mind. “Babe, you have 2 seconds to answer… Chicken or me?” “Chicken.” He said instantly. You stared at him in shook. “How dare you?” “Oh sorry. I will change my answer. I prefer fried chicken, that’s the best one.” He added looking his phone. “Okay… then, can your chicken do that?” you kissed his cheek. “And that?”, you hugged him. He giggled, “no chicken can’t do that!” “So, think about it again!” you challenged him. “Then… I choose yo- Chicken!” You threw at him a pillow while he was trying to escape from your angriness. “Comeback here Kang Yeosang! If I catch you, you will need Hongjoong’s hair extensions!”

Something tilted in his mind. “Hongjoong-hyung! I need your help! Right now!”

You were on your bed, reading a book with a cup of tea. Like a grandma, you thought. Suddenly, you heard your front door being slammed. Only Yeosang has a spare key. You walked quietly to the corridor to check if it was your boyfriend and not a thief or someone else. “Yeosang, what are you doing here?”. He stared back at you. “I’m here to apologize.” “For what? Telling me that I needed to grow up or that I needed to leave?” you put your hands on your hips, angrily. “Listen Y/N, I’m really sorry. I never saw manager-nim this mad to us. I thought, we were really bad when he explained what happened at Mcountdown.” He walked toward you. “But you were right…” You sighed. “That wasn’t a reason to throw me out of the practice room Kang Yeosang.” His heart missed a beat. When you call him with his last name it mean that you are really angry, or you want to kill him. He hoped for the first option though. “I know Y/N, but!” he removed his beanie. You puffed when you saw Hongjoong’s braids and mullet clipped on his hair. “What is that Yeosang?” you laughed at him. He smiled at you, “remember when you said that if you caught me, I will need to wear this?” You nodded. “I thought it would be the good moment to do it.” You laughed at him, seeing his braids moving while he’s scratching his head from embarrassment. “If you want that I forgive you I’ll need more than that Yeosang.” You said to him seriously. He stared at you, trying to do everything to get your trust back. “Give me one braid, I always wanted to try it oh my god!” The love of his life is back.

Part 2

[dawniebb]

We Need to Talk About Evie

but do we though?

OKAY SO.

To the anon who asked if we were making more content, this is it :)

Let’s just say that this was another sort of marathon about the canon divergence universe I share with @healing-winston-pratt ! And this one included two lists, a drawing and a fic :) which is this one. Basically, a “Maggie is Evie” reveal bc I love to hurt myself and other people. I wrote this MONTHS ago :) but still, I hope you like it! <3

For background:

Why is Winston alive and why do Nova and him live with Leroy?

And some other things related to the canon divergence universe, but NOT to this fic:

About Evander’s family

Their portrait: https://healing-winston-pratt.tumblr.com/post/626983013669044224/sandra-obrien-wade-and-arthur-evander-wade

We absolutely don’t need to talk about Evie right now bc we’re having a hard time already, but here we go :)

@novadreamer95438 , @idkimbadwithusernamesandstuff there you go! (And @obsidianfr3sk bc I saw your tags about the fics jsjsjs and @jacihayle, but, in both your cases, you haven’t asked to be tagged and we’re doing it in case you wanted to get the notification, hence, if you want to be removed from the tag list, just notify us, that’s totally fine <3 )

They were sitting across the table, and it was super uncomfortable.

Nova thought about a married couple who was about to tell their grown ass child they were getting a divorce, even though the idea of an universe where for some reason Winston and Leroy were the same age and decided to get married absolutely repulsed her.

However, as disgusting as that sounded, that was what they looked like. They were even sitting next to each other, and while Winston tried to smile a bit, Leroy looked dead inside.

Not that he were physically able to look in some other way.

Damn.

She was used to all of this. These situations. These types of scenes.

And yet, she wanted it to be over once and for all. These had been the longest 5 minutes of her life. So long she even had to look at her clock to check how many minutes had passed, because she was almost sure they had been sitting there for at least 15.

But no. 5 minutes.

5 suffocating and eternal minutes.

Finally, Winston sensed and acknowledged this was getting kind of weird and, while straightening his back, he spoke in a fake upbeat voice.

“So… “He said.

Then his tone felt flat and his voice turned into nothing, because it disappeared. Like that. After his first word, he was out of courage again. And he stayed there, with his mouth half-open.

But Nova couldn’t tolerate this any longer, so this time she took (or at least tried to) the lead.

“So?” She asked with a determinate, almost demanding tone. “I was kinda in the middle of something, so… if you guys could…you know, tell me what did you call me for?”

Technically, she wasn’t lying. She was in the middle of something. It wasn’t work-related, but still it was something.

Nova tended to take her inventions, her personal projects, pretty seriously and Winston and Leroy were more than aware of that, and since she knew that, she found it very rude of them to interrupt her; to take her out of her zone so they could all sit around the table in an awkward and tense silence, listening to the sound of their own breaths. That is, she wasn’t usually this this harsh towards them, but they had managed to put her in a bad mood.

“Yeah. Sure. Of course you wanna know what is it that we called you for.” Winston sniffed, lacing his fingers together on the table. He looked…no, he acted nervous.

Nova didn’t know what he was about to say or what they were trying to tell her, but she was sure as hell that, after this, Winston would have to talk to his therapist, as he was continuously clearing his throat to stop his fake high-pitched tone from coming out instead of his real voice.

“We need to talk.” He concluded.

Nova snorted, while Leroy rubbed his face so hard she could see the trace of his hand on his own skin…As if he were helping much to the situa…

“Goddamn. Don’t do that. It’s not like you’re being too helpful.”

Thank you.

“I know.” Leroy said in a monotonous tone. “However…”

“No. Please. Just stop. I’m shaking and you’re just making it worse. If you’re not gonna do anything to help then stop grimacing at me or get the fuck out.”

“Man.”

“You act like an old, adult-sized, grumpy toddler. Grow up.”

Nova bit her lip, trying to convince herself this wasn’t funny, even though it was. In the past, being aware Winston was mad would’ve been extremely scary (The fact he was kind to her didn’t mean he could be underestimated. Winston had easily been the most dangerous Anarchist after Ace and Ingrid) but right now it was just…this. He could have a bad temper if he put his mind into it, though he would move on after like 30 minutes or so.

And Leroy knew that too, so he didn’t get offended.

That, and the fact that it was extremely hard to make Leroy feel offended.

Winston closed his eyes and massaged his temples, trying to get his chill back and align his freaking chakras.

Nova hissed. She had had this idea for a couple of minutes now, but she decided that it was the time to spit it out because, besides being eager to go back to the basement, she could feel the stress levels were getting out of control and they were at the point where they soon would start killing each other.

“If this is about The Talk.” Nova said, and once their attention was back at her, she repeated, air quoting:

“The Talk.”

“We know what you’re referring to.” Leroy nodded.

“Yeah. So…there’s no need for that.” She assured. “I already know about that stuff. Honey gave me a really graphic lecture back in the day and, not to offend you guys, but I’m not sure I want to go through that again. I appreciate the intention, but…”

“It’s not about that.” Leroy said. Cold, almost like he wanted her to shut up. Nova knew there was no use in feeling attacked or bad because that was the way Leroy usually spoke to everyone. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge in her stomach. In Leroy’s mind, from what she had heard, seen and experienced, she didn’t fit in the everyone category.

“Oh.” She gulped. “What is it, then?”

Leroy stared at her, Nova stared at Winston when Leroy’s stare was too heavy, and Winston stared at Leroy too.

So good ol’ Cyanide had no other option but to open his mouth again.

“We need to talk about Evie.”

And the world went numb. Her world. Her entire, little, shattered world.

And even though everything around it was in flames, Nova’s body, which held her little world, felt frozen. She was made of ice.

And she felt extremely cold.

She looked at both Winston and Leroy with all the hatred she was yet to dispose; all the resentment she still carried within; all the pain that still ate from her insides from now and then; until she realized she had skipped at least 5 seconds breath, and her legs responded, helping her up from the chair almost against her will.

They had no right.

They weren’t allowed to mention that. Not yet.

Not when they knew she was yet to heal.

Not when they knew they were ripping open an old, painful scar.

“No, we don’t.” She stated directly. “The only person I’ll talk to about that at the moment is my therapist and if you don’t like it it’s not my obligation to apologize. You’ll have to deal with that. You’re grown ass men.”

This time it was Winston’s turn to rub his face until there has a hand-shaped red line all the way through it.

“Wow, you fucking genius.” He barked at Leroy. “So sensitive and subtle, as al—“

“YOU’RE GROWN ASS MEN!” Nova slammed the table, feeling so furious she didn’t even find the time to cry.

Mostly because didn’t feel like crying.

Instead, she felt like screaming in a pillow until her throat bled.

“HEY! FINE, FINE! CALM DOWN!” Winston reached for her hand, grabbing her by the wrists. “CALM DOWN, YOU’LL HURT YOUR HANDS!”

She stopped. Not because she was more calm, but because Winston looked genuinely worried and she couldn’t help but feel…something.

Nova breathed like an enraged bull until her lungs ached and Winston’s gaze felt bigger than her, along with his hold.

Just like when she was little, during stormy nights.

Winston and Leroy were always the best at calming her down. And even now, no matter how hard she tried, every time they did stuff like this she went numb. A weird type of numb.

A good type of numb.

“Good.” Winston sighed. “Would you mind to sit down?”

She did it, as her body suddenly felt heavy as a rock; her body touched the chair again, and she shivered but tried to act normal.

“I’m sorry.” Leroy said in a hoarse voice. And even if she expected something more, that something never came, but Nova understood anyways.

Still, she didn’t find the strength to answer.

Winston rubbed his hands against each other and gently pushed his glass of water across the table towards her, but although her throat was dry, she refused to drink from it. She still had something called pride.

“What do you want?” She asked coldly.

“Nova, look…”

“What do you want?” She asked again, annoyed. “Do you want to know about how I left her to die?”

Winston shut his eyes closed as if he had received a really painful punch, and he scratched his forehead.

“What do you want from me? What do you want to know?” Nova begged from them to answer. “Please. I don’t know what do you want or why do you want it but let’s just…get this over with.”

“We don’t want anything from you.” Leroy started, this time in a less hurtful and soulless tone. “We’ve already caused you too much harm all over the years and we’re trying to make it up to you. Hence, I apologize for broaching the subject in such a sudden and violent way.”

Nova’s lips trembled, just like her hands.

“Fine.” She said.

Just…fine.

Nothing else to say.

Not at the moment, at least.

“And I apologize in advance for having to bring this up in the first place.” Winston licked his lips and cleared his throat. Again. “We even consulted your doctor and everything and, needless to say, we were advised not to act like asses about it. But somebody did anyway so…”

“You’ve thrown so many bricks at me I could build a wall with them, Winston. Thanks for your cooperation.”

“You’re welcome, you insensitive piece of shit.”

As fast as he directed his attention to Leroy, he directed it to Nova again, who just sniffed, blinded by rage.

“You talked to my doctor.” She said. Not as a question, but rather as a statement.

Because that’s what it was, and she wasn’t going to apologize for that either.

“We did.” Winston nodded. “Remember that she provided us with her contact and stuff, in case you…”

“I know.” Nova massaged her temples. “I know.”

“She didn’t provide any confidential information, nor did she give us any type of sensitive details about your sessions.” Leroy assured. “So there’s no need for you to be…worried about that.”

She wasn’t worried about that. She trusted them enough, even if sometimes she wasn’t willing to admit it. At least, she trusted them enough to know that, if someday her therapist saw herself in the necessity to tell them something, anything about what happened during the appointments, she wouldn’t be mad.

Not too much, at least.

But this was just too out of character even for them. And, not to sound harsh, but she would’ve expected it from someone like Hugh. Not them. Not Winston and Leroy.

“I’m not.” She said, trying to remain in a neutral tone. “So…please, please just tell me what’s this issue that’s so delicate you had to talk to my therapist before talking to me.”

They stared to each other for a second, before Leroy handed the folder he’d been keeping under his arm to Winston; the one she hadn’t paid too much attention to, as she thought it was…normal paperwork stuff.

Winston didn’t hand it to Nova. Instead, he put it on the table and placed both his hands on top of it.

“So. You’ve been told about and even helped with the updates to the Renegades system.” Winston said. High-pitched.

“Correct.” Nova’s eyelid was twitching.

“And…well, you know, since you are…a Renegade.” Winston coughed. “They had to take DNA samples from you to…”

“Upload it to the system. Let’s skip that part. I know it.” Nova rolled her eyes. She had no idea why they were going around the topic so much. “I’m the one they took samples from. I had to sign for permission. There’s no need to explain something I did. “

“Okay, okay. I’m…I’m sorry. You’re right.” Winston sniffed. “But…we need to mention it because…well…”

“They took samples from all the current Renegade recruits:  Members of the Council, patrol units, the janitorial team, the Headquarters staff…” Leroy took a deep breath. “….Winston and I had been suspicious about this for a while but still…”

“Still, we didn’t know.” Winston nodded. “….Gosh. This is going to be fucking hard.”

Nova crossed her arms over her chest.

“What’s going to be hard?” She laughed sarcastically. “And what does Evie even have to do with this? What is this all about?”

When they just looked at her, she thought she might have been missing something. Or failing to catch something in that case. Not that she cared at this point.

“Nova. The thing is that…” Winston took a deep breath. “We…”

A nervous laugh escaped his mouth, while Leroy played with the fabric of the tablecloth, absently.

“We…uhm…” He gulped. “We got…a match.”

She heard and comprehended the structure of the sentence, but it didn’t make sense at all in her head. So, the best answer she could think of was:

“A match of what?” in a harsh tone, arching her eyebrow as she tilted her head to the side.

“What the fuck are you two talking about?”

Winston hissed, and Leroy cleared his throat.

“A match, Nova.” Leroy clarified.

And after remaining in silence for at least three seconds, he spoke again, just because Winston refused to do it.

“A DNA that matches yours. And that, comparing it to the samples they took from Evie when she was born…it…uhm….also matches hers.”

She heard the words through a blank noise that invaded her ears. Deafening.

She felt the hot tears creating a vessel through her vision, as her arms tightened around her chest. And somehow, the answer was still clear as water.

“That’s bullshit.” She declared. “Those tests are wrong because the Renegades are still negligent as fuck. So that’s pure bullshit. That’s pure and utter…”

“Nova…”

“I was there the day she died and I could��ve saved her but I didn’t so she fucking died.” She stated, calm. “That’s the way things are. That’s what happened. That’s what…”

“Nova.”

“Nova. Listen.” Leroy stared directly at her eyes.

And this time he looked absolutely destroyed, so she listened.

For once.

“Her name’s Margaret White.” He said, slowly. “That’s Evie. That’s your sister.”

Her heartbeat turned into a drum, beating so fast it made her whole body ache. She turned into a car about to crash against a fence. A rollercoaster. A train wreck. A hurricane about to happen. And above all that noise, all she could hear were the bullets; all she could touch was Evie’s soft baby skin; all she could feel was the apartment’s floor beneath her bare feet; all she could smell was her mother’s blood above her brow; all she could remember was Magpie’s face.

All she could recognize was the bullet she carried around in her pocket.

All she could remember was how that kid had stolen her bracelet. Twice.

How she stared at her so full of disdain, directing a different type of sneer at her every single time; so resented with everyone, even with herself people she didn’t know.

Magpie, that Magpie, was the little baby Nova had mourned for more than half of the years she had been alive.

Magpie, who hated her and everyone else.

“Oh, Nova…” Winston tried to reach for her hand, but Nova slapped his’ away as hard as she could, careful not to release her power on him, just because she wanted to confront both of them.

“That’s bullshit.” She repeated, frantic. “It can’t be true.”

All she’d done.

“It can’t be true. Those papers are wrong.”

All she’d suffered.

“It’s not true.”

All she’d risked to avenge her sister.

“You’re lying.” She said, tears streaming down her face, begging they were lying.

All she’d done and risked…just for her beloved little sister to be alive.

Her chest went up and down, violently, as she covered her ears to avoid hearing their voices.

“NO!” She screeched, getting up from her chair. “YOU’RE LYING! YOU’RE LYING! YOU ALL ARE NOTHING BUT…!”

“NOVA, PLEASE, CALM DOWN!”

She slammed her fist on the table once again, as she felt her whole body losing control. Shaking. Shivering. Trembling.

Crumbling apart along with her life.

Her lie of a life.

Her little sad world full of lies and grief.

And now grief was also a lie.

“YOU’RE FUCKING LYING!”

Couldn’t it had been, at least, somebody that loved her?

-.-

By the time the healer was gone, Simon finally noticed the little wounds in Winston’s hands. He also had bitten his nails until he reached his skin and it started to bleed.

And his face was soaked.

And that, even if it was odd to admit it, broke his heart. He was absolutely distraught, just like Leroy, even though Leroy was handling it way better.

If Simon hadn’t been through this many times, he probably would’ve reacted the same as Winston.

“Is she…?”

“Yeah. She’ll be fine.” Hugh cleared his throat.

It had happened so fast they didn’t even have time to put on their uniforms. They were here, with regular clothes, just because Leroy and Winston hadn’t figured who else to call.

“The healer gave her some sedatives. It’ll take a couple of minutes, but she’ll…she’ll be fine.” Hugh said, to which Winston hiccupped and nodded, even if he wasn’t crying anymore.

Leroy showed no reaction. He was staring at a blank space in the nearest wall.

“We figured …maybe you don’t consider it adequate that Adrian spends the night here, so…he already notified the rest of the team members and Tucker volunteered. You…know her, right?”

“We do.” Winston said in a hoarse voice. “The…girl with this… grappling hook, right? Ruby.”

“Err… not quite a grappling hook but yeah. That’s her.”

Oh my god, Hugh.

Later Simon would lecture him about how it was non polite to be this dense.

Right now, it didn’t matter.

All that mattered was the scene that could be seen through the ajar bedroom door.

Nova was kneeling on the carpet while Adrian hugged her from the back, covering her body with his’.

You’re lying.

You’re lying.

You’re lying.

That’s what she said. On loop.

And Stars, Simon wished they were.

[teacherimagines]

Social Distancing

Male tc x Female reader

T/C/N = teacher crush’s name

Y/N = your name

Masterlist

Enjoy!

——————

This quarantine has been driving you crazy. Not only mentally, but also emotionally, physically, and sexually. Going from seeing T/C/N everyday to suddenly not put you in shock. You see him once in a while, on Zoom calls with multiple students. You can’t get his sole attention anymore. You can’t have those innocent glances. You can’t smell his cologne. The cute outfits you wear don’t matter. This was your senior year, and it was all just horrible timing. You’ve probably seen T/C/N for the last time already.

Today was finals, and you finished writing your last essay. As soon as you hit submit, you closed your laptop and laid back on your bed. Another school year for the books. You took a deep breath as you felt the stress roll off of your shoulders. But then a notification went off on your laptop. You felt all the stress creep back, but then you saw that it was an email from T/C/N.

Good Afternoon Y/N,

I hope you have been making it steady through these stressful times. I’ve missed having class with you, you’re a student who reminds me why I teach. Anyways, it’s been an honor getting to know you. I wanted to offer to keep in touch after you graduate, which is why I sent this through my personal email. I want to see how amazing you will do in college and continue our always wonderful conversations.

Best,

T/C/N

You felt butterflies as you read the email. You couldn’t believe your eyes. You replied to his email, taking him up on his offer. He was delighted to hear this, as expected, and the two of you were off to a new chapter in your lives.

The two of you emailed a few times a week, talking about whatever is on your mind and keeping the conversations entertaining. You suggested the idea of meeting in person one day to hang out, but T/C/N seemed unsure about it. You reassured him that you’d be wearing a mask and staying six feet of distance from him. You also said that you could go to a nearby cafe, which has outdoor seating. Sure enough, you were able to convince him to meet up with you.

When the day finally came, you suddenly felt anxious. What were you going to wear? What if today is a fluke and the outfit you wear today is the one he remembers you by? After all the emails, does he still think of you the same? Or has some new sort of fondness developed? What were you going to talk about? How will you keep conversations interesting? What were you going to order? Who’s going to pay? All of these questions flooded your busy mind as you sat on your bed, surrounded by a mountain of clothes.

You ended up choosing one of your favorite outfits, reviewing the emails, reading the news and internet for conversation topics, looking at the cafe menu online, and borrowing $20 from your mom. These tasks answered all of your questions except one: how does he feel about you now?

You drove to the cafe, where T/C/N met you promptly. As soon as you saw him, you felt that familiar, butterfly feeling you would feel when you saw him in the halls at school. When his eyes met yours, he smiled and walked over. “Hi Y/N. Lovely to see you again.” You smiled under your mask. “Hello, T/C/N, good to see you. Now, let’s get coffee.” You jumped to the chase because your mind went blank. You had a million and one things to tell him but being in his presence seemed to clear them all away for you.

You ordered your coffees without hassle, and then sat outside at a table. “Well, Y/N I have to say I am impressed with how well you’re doing. Most kids your age are having a rough time right now.” You nod. “I think it’s because the people in my life are so amazing, it just takes all the stress away.” And when you said people, you actually just meant one person, T/C/N.

The two of you spent a whole hour discussing politics, mental health, and art. It was intellectual, yet personal at the same time. You got to know each other better through the conversation. You forgot how much time had passed until T/C/N realized he had an appointment. “Listen, Y/N. I had a really great time today. Can we make this a thing? Every Friday at 2:00 we meet here?” You agreed. You were so excited that this meeting went well, and that he initiated more.

About a month passed, and each meeting became better and better as the two of you became more comfortable with each other. Somehow, one of the recent conversations turned to dating, and both of you admitted you were single. It didn’t go any further than there, but you realized that either of you could make a move at this point.

At your next meeting, T/C/N suggested a change of scenery, which caught you by surprise. “Like where?” You asked, confused. “Possibly a resturant, or a park or something. Just so we can have new experiences together or something. I don’t know. It’s totally up to you Y/N. Whatever you are comfortable with.” You nodded. “Okay, how about we go out to eat? We could go to applebees.” T/C/N smiled as he sipped a cup of coffee. “It’s a date.” The phrase made your stomach do somersaults. It’s a date. You went home that night in the best mood. You kept repeating the sound of his voice in your head.

When your ‘date’ finally arrived, you were a bit of a nervous wreck. You tried to keep as calm, cool, and collected as possible. You just tried to be the normal Y/N that T/C/N knows. However, T/C/N was not being normal, he was being flirty. You think your nervousness showed a bit. T/C/N probably picked up on this, but didn’t say anything. However, he did offer to take you out on another date, which you gladly accepted. The second one wasn’t as bad, it felt normal like at the cafe. You got used to the flirting, and what responses sounded best.

For your third date, you went mini golfing, where you totally crushed him. It was a good day of laughter and genuine fun. When you were at the last hole, you felt T/C/N’s eyes on you. You couldn’t concentrate on hitting the ball. “What is it?” You look up from the ball to T/C/N’s kind eyes. “Just taking in the beautiful view.” He said simply. “Want to see something more beautiful?” You asked him. “I’d like to see you try.” You couldn’t tell if he was smirking under his mask or not. You bit your lip in concentration as you hit the golf ball and made a hole in one. You jumped out of excitement. “Yes!” T/C/N laughed. “Yes, the view of you in pure joy was more beautiful.” He admitted. You both got quiet for a moment. “Y/N, I’m sorry I just can’t take it anymore.” He took off his mask. He walked towards you slowly. “May I remove your mask?” He asked quietly. You nodded. He gently brought his hands up to pull off your mask. His fingertips gently brushed your ears, leaving a slight tingly sensation. You took a breath of fresh air and smiled. “That’s better.” He said. “Y/N, can I do one more thing? Can I kiss you?” You nodded again. “Yes.” He slowly closed the gap between the two of you and cupped your cheeks with his hands. You closed your eyes and parted your lips. You felt his breath hover over your lips, leaving you in anticipation. Just kiss me already. You said in your head as if you hadn’t been saying it for a few weeks, or months rather. His lips finally touched yours, and you took in their plump sweetness. It was pure bliss kissing him. Your hands rested on the sides of his torso, and he kept pulling your face towards his. He even slipped a little tongue near the end of the kiss, which left you taken by surprise.

“Um, wow.” You said, and you both chuckled. “Yeah, screw this whole distancing thing.” T/C/N said as he pulled you in for another breathtaking kiss.

————

Thank you for reading! My inbox is open for requests!

[sapphosclown]

Snowball Fights - A Tyrus Oneshot

Cyrus loves winter and TJ Kippen.

———

———

Beams of sunlight poured through Cyrus’ blinds, causing his room to be lined with streaks of orange light. His eyes fluttered open slowly as the rays of light were lined up directly to where his eyes were. He softly grunted to himself and tossed himself onto his other side, facing away from the light. He grabbed his phone that was sitting on his bedside table with a charger hanging out of it and looked at the time.

8:53

Without a thought he put his phone back down and curled back up into his sheets. His comfort didn’t last very long though as he suddenly bolted straight up, wide awake.

8:53??

He had overslept. He was supposed to have been at school half an hour ago, why hadn’t his alarm gone off? Why didn’t his mom wake him up? The panic was starting to settle in as he scrolled though his notifications hurriedly. Just as he was about to abandon his phone and throw on the closest combination of clothes most readily available to him, he saw a text from his mom.

Mom: Snow Day!!! No school, I’ll be in my office if you need me! <3

He let out a breath of relief and continued to look at his notifications in a much calmer manor. He had texts from every one of his friends rejoicing about their day off. Cyrus jumped out of bed and ran over to his window like a little kid, pulling down on his blinds so only his eyes were peaking through. Sure enough, the ground had been coated with a thick layer of snow.

It was honestly kind of magical. The untouched snow glistening in the light of the rising sun, snowflakes falling delicately from the sky, tree branches covered in snow hanging above the roads, mimicking a tunnel of sorts. Cyrus loved it.

Frankly, Cyrus loved pretty much everything about winter. Well, he wasn’t too fond of the below freezing temperatures or midterms but other than those things, he loved winter. He loved the seasonal drinks, the holiday season, winter break, snow days. The overall energy surrounding winter never failed to put Cyrus in a good mood. 

A smile crept onto his face as he let out a small yelp of glee and pounced back onto his bed, phone in hand, messages already pulled up.

GHC + JB

Cyrus: be at the park at noon if you enjoy snow filled activities

The Buff ™: Slightly ominous, but I’m there!

Andi oop: count me in

JB: sounds fun :)

Cyrus smiled at his phone and bounced on his bed joyfully. He felt like a little kid again, it was a nice refresher from all the stress that had been swarming his brain as midterms approached.

His phone buzzed again.

Andi oop: is it ok if i invite amber?

The Buff ™: and Marty?

Cyrus: as long as they love snow filled activities

That reminded him, he closed the group chat and clicked on TJ’s contact.

Cyrus: happy snow day!! everyone is going to the park later for Snow Filled Activities™, you should come :)

Cyrus set down his phone and went to get ready for the day. He went downstairs and looked in one of the closets to make sure he still had all of his snow gear. He did, although he wasn’t totally sure how well it would fit considering he had grown since he last wore it, so he decided he’d be sure to wear extra layers. When he got back to his phone, he saw a message waiting for him.

Teej: sounds good underdog :)

Today was going to be a good day.

***

The cold air bit Cyrus’s cheeks as he slid down the hill again with Buffy and Marty following close behind. He had gotten a head start, kind of. Cyrus was just sledding down the hill on his own terms, his friends however appeared to be starting up yet another competition. Cyrus heard Buffy and Marty count to three in unison before they sped down the hill. He walked over to the swing set and laughed to himself as Marty accused Buffy of cheating. He took a seat on a snow covered swing and looked out at the park.

It really had snowed a lot that night, there was plenty to do. While Marty and Buffy continued to race each other down the hill, Andi, Amber, and Jonah were attempting to build a snowman. Well, Jonah was attempting to build a snowman, Andi and Amber were just wondering aimlessly around the park, occasionally picking up random items that could be used to decorate said snowman. Cyrus smiled sweetly at the sight of all of his friends enjoying themselves.

“Whatchya smilin’ bout there?”

Cyrus’s train of thought was interrupted as he swiveled his head to see TJ walking up to him, hands behind his back and an innocent smile on his face. Almost too innocent…

“Just enjoying the show,” Cyrus answered suspiciously, a giggle slipping through his words. “What about you?”

“Oh, no reason.” TJ answered, his innocent smile turning into one of mischief.

“Something tells me that’s not true.” Cyrus teased as he slowly rose from his swing.

TJ replied with a mere shrug and lowered his eyes to the ground, his grin still plastered on his face. Suddenly he looked up again. “Hey what’s that?” he pointed up past Cyrus’ head. The brown haired boy turned to where he was pointing, regretting it a moment later when he felt a thud against his arm.

He turned back towards TJ who was now sporting a large toothy grin, his gloved hands in front of him, dusting off snow.

“TJ Kippen, did you just throw a snowball at me?” Cyrus laughed.

“Maybe…” He shrugged, eyes pointed to the sky and a cheeky smile on his lips.

Cyrus felt a sudden warmth in his cheeks, despite the icy breeze, as he bent down and grabbed a fist full of snow, wearing a smirk of his own. He quickly hurled the snowball at TJ and by some miracle, landed him right in the chest.

The blondes face turned to one of playful shock whilst Cyrus plastered on his own innocent facade.

“Oh it’s on, Goodman.” TJ laughed as he bent down to grab another handful of snow, sending Cyrus running.

They chased each other around the park for a few minutes before finding their way to a clearing with no one around and nothing but a few trees and large rocks. Cyrus ducked behind an oddly large boulder and slapped his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” TJ sang as he crept through the field, snowball in hand.

Cyrus let out an involuntary squeak to which he cursed himself and prayed that TJ hadn’t heard him. When he thought the coast was clear, he sneaked a peak from behind the rock, but TJ was no where to be found. Cyrus stood up straight and looked around in confusion for a moment. His confusion turned quickly into fear as he felt a pair of arms being wrapped around him. The suddenness caused the both of them to loose their balance, a small yelp emitting from Cyrus as they fell to the ground. Before he could process what had just happened, TJ was laying on top of him.

They looked at each other for a moment before bursting out into hysterical laughter, tears forming in the corners of their eyes. Their amusement dyed down and they looked at each other again, smiles turning soft.

“Looks like I found you.” TJ hummed. 

“Looks like it.” 

And then Cyrus noticed how close they were. They were like, really close. Their noses were only a few inches away from touching. The smiles melted off of their faces, scanning every detail about each other.

TJ’s eyes look really pretty in this light. Cyrus observed. His eyes usually looked pretty, but the way the sun hit them today made them look glossy and gentle. Faint freckles popped up along the bridge of TJ’s nose and his cheeks were blotchy and red from being out in the cold. 

TJ looks really pretty.

He broke eye contact with Cyrus, his eyes flickering down to the brunettes lips for not even a second. Cyrus didn’t even realize he did the exact same thing. 

“I really want to kiss you right now.” TJ mumbled.

Cyrus couldn’t help the sheepish grin forming on his face. Feeling uncharacteristically bold, he whispered. “So kiss me.”

And he did. As if that day could not have gotten more magical, here he was, in the middle of the park, kissing TJ Kippen. Cliché as it sounds, Cyrus swore he saw fireworks. The kiss lasted for only a few seconds before they pulled away from each other and broke out into the dorkiest grins imaginable.

Just then, the cogs in Cyrus’ brain began to turn and an idea popped into his head. 

“Wait, what’s that?” He said, looking past TJ’s head.

The other boys face contorted slightly with confusion as he turned to face where Cyrus was looking, finding himself regretting that decision as he felt cold, damp snow pressed into his ear.

He turned back to Cyrus, who was biting back a prideful smile at his prank. A look of mock betrayal took over TJ’s face.

“I thought we were having a moment!” He pouted, only half serious.

“Oh, we were,” Cyrus deadpanned, “but before that we were in the middle of a war.” he smiled.

TJ smiled back despite himself. “Fine. You win.”

“Wow, I didn’t think you would give in so easily.”

“Well, if I’m chasing you around with snowballs I can’t do this,” He leaned down and once again connected their lips. Cyrus giggled when the pulled apart for the second time.

“Who would have guessed that TJ Kippen is such a sap.”

“What can I say, I enjoy a good rom com.” TJ shrugged, provoking a smile from each of the boys.

TJ clamored off of Cyrus and extended a hand to help him up, to which he gladly accepted. Once they were both upright, Cyrus kept his hand attached to TJ’s and they began to walk back towards their friends.

Today was a good day.

———

———

here’s some snowy fluff for this dreadful lovely winter season, you’re welcome.  winter tyrus is a mood i’m here for. full disclosure i wrote this story like back in august and then just now rewrote it bc i didn’t really like most of the first one. also i got this idea from a scene in Until Dawn but i made it soft and gay.

anywho i hope the 5 people still active in these tags enjoyed lmao. happy holidays :)

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Dragon Dancer IV: Christmas Eve

I rocked back and forth in a glider chair, eyes scanning the wall murals around me. Cute images of foxes, owls and deer peeked behind tree trunks and bushes. Little raccoons hung out in the branches. A bear reached for a hive of bees for the small bead of honey dripping out the bottom. Each image was painted in loving detail and in good humor.

I shifted my vision to the corner of the room where a small artificial tree twinkled with simple white lights. Gifts were piled under it, mostly for the baby. Each toy had marked on it a name and a brief description. 

“Ru’yi’s duckling.” 

“Ru’yi’s bear” 

“Ru’yi’s Hello Kitty”

On the door hung a simple plaque. 

“Ru’yi’s room.”

I checked my phone. It was getting close to midnight Oslo time. My eyes shifted to the table next to the rocking chair. A white unopened envelope from Comemnus Corp lay waiting. I turned it over face down, next to a box of tissues.

 I didn’t want to open that envelope alone. 

My phone buzzed. I exclaimed with delighted surprise. It was Johann and he wanted to video chat!

I immediately accepted and his face filled my phone screen. I grinned. “Heeeey!” My smile faded when I noticed the dark rings around his golden eyes and his pale complexion. “Wow you look sleepy...”

“Jet lag..." He shook his head. “The mission itself was simple. No problems.”

His expression softened, looking into my eyes. “How are you feeling?”

“Oh, it’s definitely getting harder.” I rested my hand on my round, distended belly. “She’s sitting really low on me right now so I waddle like a fat penguin...” I rolled my eyes. “...and yeah going to the bathroom every half hour is no fun at all.”

“That’s disturbing your sleep.” He observed.

“Yes, but I sleep a lot during the day. I’m trying to get as much as I can, while I can get it. At least, I can breathe now that her head isn’t under my chest.”

“Any contractions?” 

I shook my head.

“Bleeding? Pain?”

“I’m fine. I promise.” I raised my arms, flexing the muscles I’d managed to cultivate over a year of training. “We made sure I’d be strong for this. Remember?”

He nodded. “I remember.”

“So... I have a bit of a surprise.” I reached over to the envelope. “I got this last week but... I haven’t opened it yet.” I held it to the phone camera.

“Is that the prenatal dragon blood purity assessment?”

“Yep. It’s either good news or bad news...” I turned it over in my hands. “I didn’t want to open it without you here... just in case... you know.” My eyes shifted downward, voice trailing off.

“No matter what the news, I know we’ll be able to handle it. Go ahead and open it.”

“Okay... drumroll please?”

Johann obliged, lightly drumming his fingers on the desk. My words were light hearted, but I bit my lip as I tore open the envelope.

I unfolded the letter. “Thank you for choosing Comemnus for your genetic testing needs... we take pride in the accuracy of the results...blah blah...” My eyes scanned down the page. “...keep in mind that prenatal checks are just a marker to establish a history and not entirely predictive of the future...” I took a breath. “It’s recommended to do continual testing to monitor fluctuations.”

“We regret to inform you that Ru’yi’s dragon blood purity is 48.5%... putting her at... high risk...”

I set the letter in my lap. Disappointment welled up in my eyes. Warm tears slipped down my face. “I knew it... I knew it... I knew this was going to happen...”

“Meixiu.” Johann’s voice was gentle.  “You know you have a stabilizing effect...”

“Yes but after she’s born? When she’s separate from my blood?” I reached over to the tissues and wiped my face. “If she tests over 50 percent they’re going to take her.”

“No one’s going to take her. At most they’ll have to monitor her for a while.” He reached out to his screen. “No one’s going to take her. I won’t let them.”

I wished he could reach through the screen. I rested against the back of the rocking chair, willing the tears to stop.

He brought the camera a bit closer. “She’ll be fine. Your Soul Skill can help her. She’s not going to end up constantly dying like Erii. And even if that were the case, you’re in a unique position to help her live out a long healthy life. But I don’t think she’ll be like Erii.”

I put the letter back on the night stand. “What do you think is going to happen?”

A small smile played on his lips. “I think she’ll be born beautiful... and very strong. We’ll have to train her early and often. We’ll have to protect her and watch her very closely. Our lives won’t be our own for quite some time. But... that’s alright.”

“Will we be shipped to the quarantine island...?” I asked him.

“She’s a baby, she’s not that dangerous. Meixiu, relax. Take a deep breath. Please.”

I took a deep breath, held it, and let it out. 

Johann’s eyes didn’t shift away from me.  He breathed with me, helping me calm down. He stared, intent and serious, holding my gaze like an anchor. “Don’t let this stress you out, not in these final days. Make sure you’re getting enough rest. If you feel your mind racing, just remember it’s going to be fine. Alright?”

“Okay...” Relief flooded me. 

“Everything else is okay with her, right?” He asked, his soft voice guiding me through my panic.

“Yeah. She’s otherwise normal.”

“Good. Meixiu... Now... there’s something else.” He hesitated.

I detected a shift in mood from the way his brow creased when he glanced away. “I finished the mission a bit early. I should have called you earlier, but I was thinking about a lot of things... and I couldn’t sleep.” 

He ran his hand along the back of his neck. “I met someone who... was doing all this work for a woman who was stuck in a coma in a hospital. And I thought... he should be by her side. And it hit me... that I was not at your side.”

I hurried to reassure him. “I said it was alright...”

He held up a hand. “Please... hear me out.”

I bit my lip. “Okay.”

He sat for a bit, eyes distant. “To be honest... I forgot it was Christmas until I saw the decorations here. I’ve been that busy. Right now in Norway the sun doesn’t come up. It just flashes below the horizon. People have to work for their bodies to function normally. They spend a lot of time together to pass the time. I... I was alone.”

“A year ago. I would have been fine with nothing but my sword and a suitcase. But now... I’m not so sure.”

“The whole reason I joined Cassell was out of my own desire for revenge over something that happened to me when I was younger. I obsessed about it every day. I didn’t care what I did, so long as it kept me getting closer to my ultimate goal.”

“But I have gotten no closer.” He rested his forehead against his hand. “And I’ve left you alone. I’m sorry, Meixiu.”

He looked at me again. “I’ve been getting offers for where I will be stationed as official commissioner with the Executive Department. I haven’t answered any of them.”

“I’d just keep doing what I’m doing now, rising through the ranks of commissioner, to special commissioner, to senior... until I’m given a desk job when I’m too old or injured to take on missions any more.”

“I might never find what I’m looking for. And what’s more... I... I’m not sure if I want it as bad as I used to. When I fall asleep all I do is miss you.” He looked away suddenly.

Did he not mean to say that? I wondered. Was he ashamed?  I tilted my head in confusion. This way of thinking was nothing like the man I knew.    I held my breath, following his line of reasoning. I had kept my silence before such an unusually long speech, stunned at what I was hearing. Was he thinking of ending his dragonslaying career? 

“You want to quit?” I asked quietly, gently.

“I’m not sure... this is the first time I’ve felt like this. I don’t know how to tell Schneider.”

“You’re tired...”

“Yes...”

“Come home... get some sleep. Give it some time.”

He looked at me through the camera. The desperate, frustrated look to his eyes began to fade. “I just know that so long as that...” His jaw clenched. “... thing is out there, there’s a risk it might come after you.”

We sat silently a few seconds. “I’m strong, Johann.”

He shook his head.

“Then why don’t you tell me what we’re dealing with?” I asked. “You’ve been hiding this from me for years!”

I watched as the thoughts ran across his expression, his eyes shifting, weighing the pros and cons. His breath became shallower, his lips pressed together. Was what happened to his father really that hard for him to talk about?

“Please...” I said.

His voice was halting and soft. “I was... in the car with my father. It was raining so hard, we could hardly see the road...” He suddenly stopped.

I leaned forward. “Yes... and?”

He didn’t move or speak. A notification popped up. “Connection Lost.”

I sighed. “Are you kidding me!” I checked my wireless signal. “Johann? Are you there? Can you hear me?”

The screen went black. I clucked my tongue. I sat waiting and waiting for the connection to re-establish, trying again and again to call him.

“Unable to Connect with Chu Zihang.”

I sighed loudly and growled to myself. It was so rare for him to open up like this. Maybe he’ll get back online. I propped the phone up on the table and watched for his call, rocking back and forth. In an attempt to keep myself awake, I  sang to myself. Johann’s song, a very familiar tune.

The trees, they grow high, and the leaves, they do grow green Many is the time my true love I've seen Many an hour I watched him all alone He's young but he's daily growing...

I patted my stomach as I sang. I got to the end of the song, but there was no sign of him.

I got up to go to the bathroom. I turned out the lights to the rest of the house, showered and changed into my night robe, checking back after each activity for a return call. Thirty more minutes had passed but there was none. The connection was truly out.

“Come on... Johann...” I whispered, sitting back down in the rocking chair.

I picked up the phone to dial again.

“Relax Meixiu... what time is it?” I checked phone time. I hadn’t heard back for nearly an hour. I continued to rock myself and wait. I told myself to give him a few more minutes. He was clever. He was working on it.

 My eyes suddenly grew heavy but I forced them open. I had to stay awake in case he called.

The lights in the apartment flickered. My vision blurred and my eyes shut. I tried to force myself to open them. Twisted images swirled behind my eyelids for a moment before they opened again. 

I hadn’t moved from the room, but it wasn’t the room I’d just been in. The walls were different. They were just plain pink. The paintings were gone. The toys were different toys. The tree lights were multicolored!

Confused and frightened, I reached for my phone. I looked at it but it wasn’t the same color or the same model as I’d just been using! I dropped it.

“Johann!” 

A cold chill ran through me from top to bottom, followed by a profound numbness. There was no response from Johann through my soulbond any more. His presence in my mind and heart had been as large as a mountain. Now it as snatched away, leaving an agonizing vacuum. In desperation, I reached out to him again and again. “Johann! Johann!”

I grabbed the unfamiliar phone and flipped through my recent contacts. I couldn’t find his name. I threw it across the room.

“Where is my phone?! Where’s my phone?!” My words blended together until I was just screaming, crawling on the floor, knocking things over trying to find it.

My howling was like a wounded beast and a crying baby blended together. The unearthly wailing and crashing furniture carried through the walls, the ceiling, the floor and window. 

I lay my back against the wall, one arm over my eyes. My sorrowful pleas squeezed my lungs until my voice thinned to silence. Only for them to billow open again for me to cry out. “My love! Oh, my love! My love! My love!”

My love was gone. 

Johann, my beautiful Johann, was gone.

[renlimotroll]

Call It What You Want To (part 1)

Warnings: BL/ Personification/ Imagination/ EXTREMELY OUT OF CHARACTER

Tags: LimoSiruMin Neighbor AU, toddler Ichihachi, Baby Jiraichan and Baby Quartet

Summary: Siruko has two new neighbors, and he does the only thing he can’t do. He falls in love with them.

A/N: For the sake of the story, it’s a world where boys’ love is accepted, but polyamory isn’t quite the norm. Of course anything in the story wouldn’t reflect reality in any way, are you kidding me. Please don’t take it too seriously, it’s just my imagination. I just wanted to stress-write. Don’t read if it will only make you cringe. Thank you. You have been warned. 🍋🐶🤖

Chapter 1

Siruko held the tiny hands with his fingers, and his heart just swells up everytime he looks at them. He was finally able to put down Quartetchi and Jiraichan to sleep, and Siruko’s not being biased here, but they’re the cutest babies in the world. At thirteen months old, both babies show signs of intelligence and good motor skills, but Siruko doesn’t care about that. All he wants is for them to grow up healthy and happy.

Something tugs his shirt, and Siruko looks down to see the other reason for his living. Three-year-old Ichihachi timidly hands him the book they’ve been reading the night before. Sometimes he can’t believe how fast Ichihachi is growing and wants time to stop just for a little while, just so his little boy can still stay little for a short while.

The years haven’t been easy for Siruko. Three years ago, his ex-girlfriend left Ichihachi to him and ran away with the guy she’s been cheating on him with, which happens to be Ichihachi’s father. Siruko doesn’t really care; frankly, the girl only used him for his money, and he can’t say he loved her that much. It was really hard taking care of a baby all by himself, but Ichihachi was the best thing that ever happened to him. He had always wanted kids, and though it was a little bit early, it was fine. As far as the world knows, Ichihachi is his child, and he loves him so much he’ll give him the world and more.

Then, two years later, he found two babies in an abandoned basket behind the garbage dump. He would have missed it; the babies weren’t crying or anything. It was Ichihachi who led him to them, when Siruko for a moment took his eyes off of him to tie his own shoe lace. Ichihachi liked cats, and he followed one on his own, to the best his small toddler legs can take him. Siruko almost had a panic attack when he looked up and didn’t see him, until he saw the brown scarf he wrapped him with trailing on the ground. He snagged the small boy immediately and hugged him; his heart rapidly beating within his ribcage, afraid to lose his son. Ichihachi, of course, oblivious to Siruko’s worry, just patted his cheek to get his attention and mumbled, “Touchan, touchan.” He followed the direction where Ichihachi’s small finger was pointing, to find two small babies wrapped in gray and pink blankets. His chest hurt seeing them abandoned like this, how could anyone just abandon their children? Siruko sighed to himself; if he didn’t get any answer to that from Ichihachi’s mother, then he sure won’t get it here in the garbage dump. After checking that the babies were not hurt or anything, he called the authorities. The babies cooed at him adorably and even grinned gummily at him. Siruko knew there and then that he had to adopt them, no matter what it takes. His heart was already captivated, and with a few favors and pulling strings and money throwing here and there, in six months he was able to take them home. He learned that the two babies were not related, and Siruko promised to give them a home and a family.

Sure it was tough, but it was also rewarding. Siruko was really happy. It would be nice to have a companion, a partner, but that seems impossible now that he doesn’t have time for dating, and no one really wants a man with three kids as a baggage. He’s content with his children though, and sometimes his friends, brother and parents come to help him. He’s really at a good place in his life, in a nice apartment building in a small, old city.

Apparently, said apartment building has new occupancy. Both his neighbors to the left and right of his unit were leaving, and Siruko was a bit sad because they were really nice people. He just hoped the new neighbors would be understanding of the noises his children make, not that they make a ruckus though. Ichihachi is an angel, and both Quartet and Jiraichan rarely cry, except when other people hold them. His children are the best, no bias there. Plus, the units have pretty thick walls anyway.

One evening, when the babies have finally settled down and he has read Ichihachi’s bedtime story, after spending a little time watching his kids sleep (so cute), Siruko stretched and yawned. He still has some work to do, so, after taking the baby monitor and turning on Ichihachi’s cat night lamp, he went to his work space so he can open his laptop and check his notifications.

Or he would, had there not been a knock on the door. Siruko glanced at the clock and wondered who in the world would knock on his door at midnight.

Groaning internally and checking quickly to look if he’s wearing something decent (a red shirt and really short black shorts, oops), he trudged his way to the door, hoping his irritation didn’t show in his face.

Opening the door revealed a tall man with glasses, short green hair and emerald eyes. Really striking emerald eyes. Oh. Wow.

Said man smiled a little and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “Hi. Sorry we had to meet this way, I’m Mintosu.” He bowed slightly and Siruko came back to senses and remembered, right, manners, and mirrored the bow a bit lower.

“I’m your new neighbor, just came in two days ago. Hadn’t had the chance to greet anyone yet because I was busy unpacking. Sorry about that.”

“Sure, don’t worry about it.” Siruko replied, clearing his throat afterwards. He sounded so hoarse and tired, yikes. Wait, since when did he care about his voice? “I’m Siruko. I have three kids, so I’m apologizing in advance for any racket.”

“Oh! Of course, it’s no big deal. Kids are cute.” Mintosu grinned again, and Siruko blinked. That’s… really distracting.

“Anyway, I was wondering if you’ve got any coffee left? I really need to finish some work and it’s my unlucky day coz I ran out and it’s midnight, I forgot to check out where the supermarkets are in the area and I wasn’t sure where the convenience stores are too.” The man spoke really fast and slurred his words together, so it took a second for Siruko to process what his new neighbor was saying, but really, his voice sounds really nice. Siruko won’t mind listening to it again and again.

“Ah! Coffee! Right!” Siruko startled out of his thoughts and went to the kitchen, fetching the extra bag he had. He handed it to his new neighbor, fingers brushing accidentally. 

Mintosu’s beam grew wider. “Thanks! Appreciate it! I owe u one!”

“No problem!”

“It was really nice to meet you.” The man said earnestly before he left. “Hope I can see you and the kids around soon.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Siruko smiled pleasantly. He watched Mintosu go back to his own apartment to the right, bowing slightly as they caught gazes again. His new neighbor seems really nice, he thought, as he closed the door and went back to work.

Two weeks later, Siruko bumped into his second new neighbor in the elevator. His brother Hakotaro was watching the kids as he ran a few errands and picked up the groceries. He couldn’t really see anything from the huge paper bag he was hugging and the several plastic bags hanging from his arms, so it was more of a feeling that he hit someone.

“I’m sorry!”

“Need any help there?” A deep, frankly quite sexy voice asked. Siruko wasn’t even able to respond when the paper bag he was clutching tightly was gently pulled by someone, and the weight disappeared. As his view cleared, a man with gorgeous light blue locks appeared in front of him. He was wearing piercings, but he was also wearing a suit. What.. what is it with meganes lately? Why does Siruko find them attractive so suddenly? Where are they all coming from?

“T-thank you.” Siruko bowed as deeply as he could.

“Don’t mention it. I’m Limone, by the way. My friends call me ‘Sensei’. You can call me that too.” The man chuckled. His eyes were a beautiful shade of cerulean and it was really captivating.

“I’m Siruko. I haven’t seen you here before, are you visiting someone?”

“Oh, actually I’m new here! I just arrived yesterday, and today my moving-in gifts just arrived so I’ll drop them by your place tomorrow. Sorry I can’t personally give them, I have a meeting tomorrow.”

“That’s fine. Welcome to the building.”

The elevator dinged open, and they both tried to step out, surprising each other, their arms brushing. Limone-sensei stepped back to let Siruko through first, and Siruko thought, wow he’s a gentleman too.

“Umm… by the way, are you the Siruko? The youtuber?”

“Ahh…” Siruko sighed deeply, forcing a smile. “Yep, that’s me.”

Limone-sensei turned serious. “Hey, I won’t tell anyone, I promise, don’t worry.” He seemed sincere enough, so Siruko smiles genuinely this time. “I watched some of your videos and I thought I recognized your voice. But say… what are you doing in a simple apartment building like this?”

“Ah, well… Used to share it with ex-gf until she ran away with someone else, the usual story.” Shiruko shrugged.

Sensei shook his head lightly. “Tsk. That’s the worst. She doesn’t deserve you anyway.” Siruko had to chuckle at that. They arrived at his apartment, and he fished for his keys.

“Oh, Um… looks like we’re neighbors. I live to your left.”

“Really? That’s a nice coincidence. By the way, I’m apologizing in advance for the noise. I have three kids, 2 babies and a toddler.”

“Oh yeah?” Sensei looked excited. “I like babies. They’re so cute.”

Siruko was finally able to unlock the door, so Sensei gave him back the paper bag. “It was nice to meet you, Siruko-san!”

“Likewise! Thanks for carrying my groceries, Sensei!” The man waved as he strolled back to his own apartment. Okay, Siruko now has two hot, really nice neighbors. What in the world is happening?

“I saw your landlord Oshin-san a while ago. He said you have new neighbors?” His friend Gzira asked while helping Ichihachi change into his outdoor clothes. For some reason, the toddler really likes wearing scarves, so Gzira wrapped the young boy in a yellow one today.

“Un! I talked to them, they’re really nice!” Siruko commented while double-checking the diaper bag. The two babies were in the stroller, babbling at each other in baby language.

Gzira had to do a double-take. “Wait, you talked to people not me and your brother?”

Siruko frowned. “Hey, I’m perfectly capable of talking to other people!”

“Yeah, your subscribers, two babies who can’t even form words, and a toddler who knows maybe about 20 words do count as an engaging conversation.”

“Why am I friends with you?” The purple head sulked.

Gzira laughed that really contagious laugh of him. “Didn’t we establish that it’s because you don’t really talk to other people?”

Siruko stuck out his tongue at his friend, not that it really helped him prove his point. Ichihachi giggled adorably at his otouchan. “To my left is Limone-sensei. He helped me with groceries and he has piercings but he wears suits. He’s really nice. To my right, his name is Mintosu but he said I can call him Minben-san, and he gave me back really delicious coffee when he ran out and I gave him my extra. They’re both meganes and really handsome.”

Gzira blinked and stared at him strangely. “What?” Siruko paused his rambling.

“Handsome?” Gzira asked, laughter in his voice. He even waggled his eyebrows to tease.

“Oh, shut up.” Siruko glared at his friend. “Yeah yeah, my two new nice neighbors are hot, but they wouldn’t want to do anything with me, the lonely guy with 3 kids to raise.”

Gzira sighed. “Siruko-san, don’t talk about yourself like that. Any guy or girl would be lucky to have you! You’re smart, attractive, and really kind.”

Siruko smiled sadly. “Thanks, Gzira-kun.” He made one last final check. “Okay, who’s ready to go to the park?”

“Look, Quartetchi, the airplane is coming!” Siruko made engine noises and tried to feed the baby the mashed sweet potato, but the gray baby stubbornly turned his head away. “C'mon, Quartetchi! Jiraichan ate it just fine! Look, it’s delicious!” Siruko made the show of eating it, gagging slightly at the texture. Quartetchi pounded the table with his chubby fist and cackled at that.

Siruko mock-glared. “Sometimes I think you’re just messing with me on purpose, my cute yankee baby.” Quartetchi just blew him raspberries and laughed at his own spit flying. Jiraichan gurgled.

He heard a knock on the door and sighed. The babies look at him curiously. “This battle isn’t over.”

He opened the door to see a smiling Mintosu. “Oh, hi Minben-san!” Siruko greeted.

“Hey,” the green-haired man greeted back. “Some of your mail was dropped in my mailbox, so I thought I’d give it back. Here you go.”

“Thanks.” Their fingers brushed again, and Siruko felt the electricity. Just then, peals of laughter came from the kitchen, and Siruko smiled fondly despite himself.

“Were those the babies?” Mintosu asked curiously, reflecting Siruko’s smile. “Ah, your wife must be there too.”

“Oh nonono, I don’t have a wife. Just the single dad, I guess.” He shrugged.

“Hmm..” Mintosu nodded, considering. He seemed to perk up at Siruko’s words, though the purplehead doesn’t have any idea why.

Just then, they heard the sound of a door opening and they both looked. “Oh hey, Siruko-san!” Sensei greeted cheerfully, then frowned upon seeing the guy in front of purplehead. “Mintosu-san.”

Mintosu seemed to deflate a little too, glaring slightly. “Sensei.”

Siruko blinked at the sudden hostility and cold atmosphere between the two guys.“What’s up, Sensei?”

“I’m fine, thanks for asking. And you? The kids?”

“My eldest currently hates me because I tried to bathe him, and I’m negotiating with the babies over mashed vegetables, but everything’s fine! Thanks!”

Both meganes chuckled at him, and Siruko blinked. He wasn’t that funny.

“Listen, I gotta go to work, but it was lovely seeing you, Siruko-san.” Sensei smiled at him, then grunted to the other. “See ya pal.”

“Yeah.”

When Sensei left, Siruko asked tentatively. “So… you and Sensei are not… fond of each other?”

Mintosu sighed. “We’ve been really good friends for a long time actually. We just have an… ongoing disagreement.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah…” The green guy pursed his lips in thought. “Both of us… want the same thing. Classic jealousy trope, you can say. It’s hard to explain.”

“Ah,” Siruko nodded, understanding. “I hope you two figure it out!”

Mintosu eyed him thoughtfully. “Me too.”

The next day, there was another knock on his door. Siruko has never gotten this many knocks on his door before.

“Hey, sorry to disturb you. I just… I think I baked too many cookies so I thought I’d share some.” Sensei smiled sheepishly, holding out a bag of cookies which looked really delicious.

Before Siruko could answer, Ichihachi appeared out of nowhere and clutched his legs. The boy must have heard cookies and came as quickly as he could.

“Is this Ichihachi-kun?” Sensei crouched so he could talk to the toddler. “Hey buddy, my name is Limone-sensei, nice to meet you! You want some cookies?” The blue guy handed him the bag gently. Ichihachi looked up to Siruko first for approval, then shyly took the bag. “Fank you tente~”, he tiptoed to peck the cheek of the teacher. Sensei broke out a large smile at that and patted the boy’s head. “Sure buddy!”

When Ichihachi ran back to the living room, Sensei stood up. “He’s so cute, Siruko-san. He must have you wrapped around his finger.”

“Yeah, you have no idea.” Suddenly, a cry rang out within the room, and Siruko panicked. “Matte yo, Sensei!” And he dashed to the nursery.

Jiraichan was crying because he just woke up, and Siruko sighed in relief. Lately, the baby was fussy because he was teething. He quickly tried to snatch Jiraichan up so that Quartetchi won’t wake up, but it was too late. Quartetchi started crying when he saw his brother crying.

“Right, good morning everyone. Hai hai, I’ll go get some milk.”

“Sorry, Ichihachi dragged me in. Are those babies?” Sensei said, making Siruko jump a little. He had honestly forgotten he was talking to Sensei earlier. “Ah, do you need some help? I can carry one of them, I know how to hold and everything.”

“Aaah, jyaa, can you hold Jiraichan for a second? I’ll just go get the bottles.” Siruko handed him the pink baby, who stopped crying when he saw Sensei. Siruko was actually nervous inside, anticipating the reaction of the baby while he got Quartetchi out of the crib and calmed him down.

Sensei bounced the baby twice in his arms, cooing a little. Jiraichan suddenly broke into a toothless smile and babbled happily. “Dada!”

Both Siruko and Sensei lifted their eyebrows in surprise and their eyes widened. “W-was that his first word?” Sensei whispered in awe.

“Y-yeah. I usually call myself ‘Otouchan’ so I don’t know where he got that. Actually, I’m a bit jealous.”

“Wow.” Sensei mouthed. The baby poked Sensei’s cheek to get his attention, and Siruko could see Sensei swooning for the baby. Actually, he also might be swooning for Sensei right now. Oh no.

“This is awesome! Thanks for letting me hold him, Siruko-san. And yes, it’s nice to meet you too Jiraichan.” Sensei kissed the baby’s forehead, and yep, that does butterflies to Siruko’s stomach.

This isn’t good.

A week later, at around 8:30 in the evening, there was another knock to his door. Seriously, was the doorbell not working?

“Hey, I’m really sorry about this. I got locked out of my apartment, and I really need a place to crash. I’ll get my keys tomorrow morning, don’t worry.” Mintosu greeted with his usual ramble and Siruko just chuckled.

“Of course, you’re welcome here!” He opened the door and led him to the sofa. “Sorry if the babies cry or anything.”

“I don’t really mind, I’m just glad I don’t have to sleep on my doorstep tonight.”

Just then, Ichihachi, who just finished dinner, came to the living room. “Can I watch Pokemon now Touchan?”

“Oh sure, kitten, come here.”

“Hey lil guy! I’m Minben-san, nice to meet you! You like Pokemon?” Ichihachi nodded, and Mintosu fished something out of his bag.

“Tada! Do you wanna play together?” He held up his Switch, and Siruko snickered. He totally expected that the guy was a gamer. He had that aura.

Ichihachi glanced at Siruko again, and when Siruko nodded, he shyly trodded over Mintosu, climbing up his lap. Minben-san maneuvered him perfectly, then loaded the game. Ichihachi’s eyes widened like two plates and looked so excited.

“Oh no, he might erase your progress Minben-san.”

“No worries, it’s okay.” He chuckled. Siruko decides it’s not weird to like that. “Jyaa, is it ok to get some work done? I’ll leave the two of you there.”

“Sure.” Minben-san said. Ichihachi didn’t even look at him, too engrossed at the game already. The picture they made, his toddler, eyes fixated on the screen, sitting on the lap of his neighbor who was trying to entertain him with funny voices and teaching him how to control the character even though Ichihachi doesn’t understand a thing, is really cute and makes Siruko’s heart swell.

Wow, Siruko was able to actually get a lot of work done, and when he checks the clock, it’s already bedtime for Ichihachi. He arrives at the living room and stands there quietly for a while, observing them. Ichihachi was trying so hard to stay awake, but he was yawning and nodding off. The way he rubs his eyes was so cute, no bias. Minben-san was talking a lot as usual, but his tone was softer and gentler. Siruko really wants to capture a picture of this.

“Okay, time to sleep, kitten. Say good night to Minben-san and we’ll brush your teeth and drink milk.”

“G’nite Minben-san.” Ichihachi said, then pecked the guy’s cheek. Mintosu.exe stopped working and Siruko totally laughed out loud. He could see the exact moment Mintosu’s brain short-circuited.

Mintosu recovered though, and he kissed the boy’s hair as he let him down the sofa. “Good night, baby boy. Sweet dreams.”

“Sorry, I’ll just help him get ready, then I’ll go get your blankets and stuff. If you’re thirsty or anything, just raid the kitchen, I don’t mind.”

“Thanks, I’m fine.”

When he got Ichihachi all settled down and read him the bed night story, Siruko sighed in contentment. The young toddler usually doesn’t like people, and is very shy and withdrawn around them. Seeing him being very affectionate and attached to Sensei and Minben-san makes Siruko’s heart fill with warmth. Anymore of this cuteness and he might need to have his heart checked.

The baby monitor picked up some sounds of hiccuping and whimpering. Siruko hurried towards the nursery and turned on the lights to see Jiraichan having a bunch of Quartetchi’s hair in his fists. How Quartetchi didn’t wail out loud in pain and just whimpered, Siruko-san will never know. Poor baby, his mewls were heart-breaking.

“Hey hey, Jiraichan let go of your brother!!” Siruko scolded, prying the pink baby’s hands open. “You naughty kid, tsk tsk.” He immediately lifted the gray baby up and rubbed his back, trying to stop the poor baby’s sniffles. “Mou Jiraichan, we don’t hit anyone here!” The pink baby just pouted at him.

Siruko suddenly realized that Minben-san was waiting in the living room, and face-palmed himself internally. “Okay guys, since you’re awake, let’s go meet Minben-san. Be nice, okay? And no hair-pulling, Jiraichan.” He warned.

Minben-san was standing in the living room looking at the family pictures, and he almost dropped one when he heard Siruko-san, thank goodness he has quick reflexes and caught it before it shattered to a million pieces. He muttered a quick “gomen” before his eyes widened in delight. “Are these the babies?”

“Yeah. Do you mind holding Quartetchi? He’s crying because the little fairy psychopath pulled his hair.”

“Aww champ, it’s okay. Yosh yosh.” Minben-san took Quartet from his arm, and the gray baby stopped crying immediately and blinked at the new guy. They stared at each other, one with blank surprise, and the other one making silly faces. Siruko tensed, waiting for Quartetchi to cry.

“Papa!” Both men startled and stared at the gray baby in shock.

“T-that’s Quartetchi first word… and Jiraichan said his last week, he called Sensei ‘Dada’. Mouuu, why do my own kids not call their own father ‘Touchan’??” Siruko pouted jealously.

Minben-san blinked his shock out and chuckled, not breaking eye contact with the baby. He swayed him lightly, sitting down on the sofa. “Nice to meet you too, Quartet-san. I’m honored.” He held the baby’s little hand with his finger and shook it.

A few minutes later, as Siruko fed Jiraichan with a bottle on the sofa while Mintosu was playing upsy daisy with a squealing Quartetchi, Siruko couldn’t help himself and asked. “So um… are you and Sensei…?

“Yeah… still in a fight.”

“Oof. Still? That’s why you came here and not there, huh.”

“Yeah. It’s… It’s probably our biggest fight ever, but both of us won’t back down, and the thing we want… it means the world to us both. It’s complicated.”

Siruko’s brows furrowed in contemplation. “What in the world could be so important to fight your friend with for months??”

Mintosu shrugged, and Siruko knew to drop the conversation. Both babies yawned loudly at the same time, melting both Siruko and Mintosu’s heart.

“Do you mind helping me put them back in the crib?”

“Let’s go.”

Later, when Minben-san put them down and kissed both their foreheads and wished them goodnight, does Siruko realize he’s screwed. His heart clenched painfully in his chest, suddenly longing.

Oh no, he’s in trouble.

“I have a question.”

Hakotaro was helping Ichihachi color his book on the floor, while Gzira was letting Jiraichan climb all over him on the sofa. Siruko was on the other couch, handing Quartet the big soft blocks for his tower. It was more of a tetris game at this point than making a tower, but Siruko encouraged the baby and clapped the whole time.

“Is it possible to fall in love with two guys at the same time?”

Hakotaro coughed out loud several times, earning a worried look from his nephew. Gzira opened his mouth in a perfect O.

“Are… are these the two megane hot neighbors?”

“Who?!” Hakotaro asked in his disbelief.

Siruko answered in a tiny voice. “ I… may have accidentally fallen in love with both my neighbors at the same time.”

“What?!”

“It… just happened?” Siruko offered.

“Why?!”

“Are you just gonna ask one-word questions, Hakotaro?”

“Ok ok, let me handle this Hakotaro-san.” Gzira placated. “Umm… I think it’s possible. Polyamory is not unheard of. You should talk it with them, if they agree.”

“What? No!” Siruko drew his eyebrow together. “I’m not gonna confess or anything like that. Are you insane?”

“You’re the one who said you loved them, Niisan!”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna do anything about it! Look at me, who’s going to date a sad loser like me with more issues than kids?”

Hakotaro and Gzira looked at each other in silent understanding. His friend sighed sadly. “Siruko-san, stop that. I told you before, anyone would be lucky to have you!”

“Yes, do tell your insecurities to shut up, Niisan. I don’t really like talking about your dating life, but all I know is that it’s not that hard to love you. You take care of the people important to you really well, and you’re wrong, because many people love you because of who you are.”

Siruko was really touched, but as usual, he covers up his self-depreciation with humor. “Awww Hakotaro, do you wanna marry me instead?”

“Ew. I do love you Niisan, but getting married to you would be the definition of hell.”

“Awww I love you too.”

Hakotaro face-palmed. “Of all the times to focus on the positive, of course you only heard the word ‘love’.”

Gzira-kun laughed and it was really contagious.

After that, Siruko-san tried to avoid his neighbors. He still greeted them, but if he suddenly had something to do or forgot something at home, his neighbors would never know. He avoided too much interaction, just casually talked and smiled. He even used the kids as an excuse sometimes. If Sensei and Minben-san looked confused and hurt, he pretended not to see. All to protect his heart from falling further.

After all, it was for the best.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Click this for Part 2~ Drop by my Twitter too! Have a nice day!!🌻

[nullvoid868]

Homestuck rosemary vore

Note that the formatting here is rather poor. will be uploading it to ao3 tomorrow, with better formatting. a cute rosemary vore fanfic. soft, safe.

if you don’t like vore i suggest you turn back now.

Rose awoke to a world of blinding light compared to the dark labratory she had teleported from. Giant flowers surrounded her, their colors absolutely dazzling. The dew on the huge grass showed that it was early morning. It began to occur to Rose that she must be very small compared to the local flora and fauna. She also heard the not so distant drizzle of a watering can and a horrific thought struck her. Where there is a garden, there is also a gardener.There must be a gardener not too far away from where she was hiding. A giant gardener that would probably kill her with no effort whatsoever, like any other unwelcome pest that one might find in a garden. Rose quickly hid between the stalks of a vibrant bouquet of flowers.

Kanaya maryam had been spending her morning watering her plants when she heard an odd sound. It reminded her of the noise made by the older models of transportilizrers that had been fazed out years ago, but she soon brushed it off as her mind playing tricks. It was when kanaya came to a group of beautiful purple flowers that she noticed something odd. It seemed that something was crouched between their stalks, as if hiding. She scooped it up into the palm of her hand to get a better look and was shocked. A person the size of her index finger was sitting in her palm. Even stranger, they had no horns, lacked grey skin, and there was no symbol printed on their shirt. The tiny being was trembling in fear.

Rose feared for her life as she sat in the giant botanists hand, shaking and curled up into a ball. She had barely even been able to see what the giant looked like before being scooped up, but she had noted that they were most certainly not human. The gardener possessed orange horns and had grey skin. Rose also thought she saw her… glowing?

“Relax, I'm Not Going To Hurt You, Your Safe” 

The giantess spoke to rose in a surprisingly calm manner, and rose sat up a bit and got a look at her face. She was glowing alright, but she also looked calm and almost… caring? Her expression was far from the angry, murderous alien rose had expected.

“That's It, Just Relax. My Name Is Kanaya, What's Yours?”

Rose paused for a minute before timidly saying that her name was rose lalonde and that she got here due to malfunctioning lab equipment. She also explained that she was from a planet called earth and asked where she was now.

“This planet is called alternia, and my people are called trolls. We are the only intelligent species native to this planet apart from a few carapacians. You must have come from very far, I didn't even think transportalizers worked across such distances”

Rose’s fear of Kanaya was starting to melt away and she had ceased shaking. The two of them chatted for quite some time about what life was like on their respective planets. After a while Rose noticed a structure nearby, not unlike her friend jade’s house. Two huge white towers with bulb like rooms on top, but these had been draped in large and ornate pieces of fabric.

Rose: Is that your house?

Kanaya: House? Sorry I Am Not Familiar With That Terminology.

Rose: You know, where you live.

Kanaya: Oh, You Mean My Hive. Yes, I Live Up There.

Rose: I like those fabric sails you've tied to it, they are beautiful.

Kanaya: Why Thank You! I Made Them Myself…

Suddenly, what appeared to be a gigantic white moth flew out from behind a tree in the distance and began rapidly approaching. Rose, never having seen a creature like this before, began screaming. Kanaya held her close to her body to comfort her and tried to explain. “That's my lusus, she is like a sort of caretaker. She won't hurt you, so don't be scared”. Rose calmed down and took another look at the creature. The Lusus had horns the same shape as Kanaya’s, and had huge fluttering bug wings. It was tilting her head at her to get a good look and had a gentle smile on its face. It turned to Kanaya and it seemed to Rose that there was some wordless communication between the two.

Satisfied with Kanaya’s choice of friends, the lusus flew off.

Rose relaxed and realized how tired she was. Getting zapped halfway across the universe must have taken the wind out of her. 

Rose:Mind if I take a nap here?

Kanaya: Of Course Not, Rose. All Of This Must Have You Worn Out, Get Some Sleep.

Rose laid down on Kanaya's palm and stretched. It was soft and gave off a gentle warmth, as well as a soft glow. It was only a few seconds before she was fast asleep

Kanaya headed back into her house and plopped onto the couch to watch tv. It wasn't long before she was asleep as well.

YOU HAVE 1 NEW TROLLIAN MESSAGE!

Kanaya: Just 5 More Minutes Please…

YOU HAVE 23 NEW TROLLIAN MESSAGES

Rose: Grumble… It's Saturday, I can sleep all I want, mom.

YOU HAVE 187 NEW TROLLIAN MESSAGES

Kanaya: Fine, Who Is It This Time

Despite their best efforts to sleep through the endless stream of notifications, kanaya and rose eventually got up to check the messages on kanaya’s palmhusk.

Lunchbox computer: You have 753 new trollian messages!

arachnidsGrip logged on:

arachnidsGrip: kanaya

arachnidsGrip: kanaya

arachnidsGrip: kanaya answer me

GrimAuxiliatrix: What Is It Vriska

arachnidsGrip: I need to pick up that creepy doll you stitched 8ack together

GrimAuxiliatrix: Oh THAT Thing. As Much As I Want To Be Rid Of It As Soon As Possible, Could You Pick It Up Later?

arachnidsGrip: i'm heading over to your house now.

GrimAuxiliatrix: Not A Good Time, Vriska

arachnidsGrip: I don't care, fussyfangs. See you in a few minutes!  ::::)

Rose, acute as ever, realized that Kanaya looked quite worried, and asked her what was wrong.

“Vriska Is Quite Violent, And Has Injured Some Of My Friends. I Shudder To Think About What She Might Do To You. I Need To Find A Way To Hide You Before She Gets Here. Trouble Is She's Got Incredible Sight And Even More Incredible Luck”

Kanaya began tearing apart her hive, looking for a place to hide rose. She opened drawers, checked wall compartments, and threw clothes to the ground. The result was a huge mess and no new ideas for hiding spaces… well, Kanaya did have one idea, but didn't like it very much and knew Rose wouldn't either. 

Kanaya: I Do Have One Idea, But Your Not Going To Like It, And Neither Do I 

Rose: What is it?

Kanaya: Trolls Have A Storage Sack Like Organ In Their Bodies Called A Crop That They Can Put Things They've Swallowed In And Cough Them Up Later. There's No Acid In The Organ, So You'd Be Perfectly Safe In There. But I Understand Completely If You Don't Feel Comfortable With It.

Rose:...

Kanaya: sorry I just… it was all I could think of and…

Rose: kanaya, that would be the ultimate trust exercise…

Kanaya:...

Rose: But, despite only knowing you for a few hours, I trust you that much. I… just get this feeling that you mean well and will keep me safe. So I'm fine with this plan.

Kanaya blushed dark green, and held rose closer to her face.

“Alright, let's get this over with before Vriska gets here”

Kanaya held rose in front of her lips and opened wide. Rose was hit with a blast of her warm breath as she started to climb inside. The gigantic troll had glistening sharp fangs and her innards were grey like her skin. Rose stepped onto kanaya's grey tongue and slipped, landing face first on the squishy organ. She could feel it shifting under her, keeping her away from the teeth. The tongue began gently sliding Rose around the mouth and soon she was covered in Kanaya’s saliva. As jarring as it was, Rose knew that it would be impossible to swallow her without this, and she could tell that kanaya was trying her best to be gentle. Once this stopped,  Rose crawled farther into kanaya's mouth, and slipped her feet and then legs into the throat. She rested her head on the back of the tongue as she slipped down further into the throat, her head brushing up against the uvula. Strangely enough, something about it was so relaxing that she felt sleepy. The sloshing of the green saliva, the softness of the tongue and throat, kanaya's warm breath. 

“Okay, I'm... ready to be swallowed”

Rose could feel the throat’s muscles tensing around her as Kanaya closed her mouth. Now in complete darkness, the tongue lifted itself up and began to push Rose deeper into Kanaya’s throat. The huge, powerful muscle pushed her down the rest of the way with a loud gulp.

Traveling down Kanaya's throat, Rose realized it wasn't that bad at all. Being swallowed was just like getting a massage, all the muscles pushing her along gently. It was comfy in a way, nice and warm. Rose relaxed and let all the stress she held melt away. After a short time rose plopped into the storage sack kanaya had mentioned. A bit slimy, but safe and warm. Rose stretched and laid down for another nap.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kanaya felt incredibly nervous as Rose climbed into her mouth. She couldn't believe she was about to swallow her newfound friend. She could feel every movement Rose made, from falling face first onto her tongue to stepping into her throat. She used her tongue to gently slosh Rose around in her mouth, making sure to coat her with saliva to make swallowing her easier. As she did this, Kanaya thought to herself that rose tasted like a brand of purple candy she often ate when she had the boondollars to buy them, both minty and sweet, and immediately pushed this thought out of her head. It felt wrong to taste Rose, she was her friend! She could hear Rose tell that she was ready from inside her mouth, and swallowed her as carefully as possible. A few moments later she could feel Rose slide into her crop and curl up for another nap.

“Wow fussyfangs this place is a real mess”

Kanaya: I Told You It Was A Bad Time

Vriska: This is really unlike you, you're usually the one with the cleanest hive

Kanaya: I Was Looking For Something

Vriska: Your hiding something from me, 8ut I bet that whatever it is is lame and stupid.

Kanaya: Let's Just Get That Creepy Puppet Out Of Here

Vriska: It didn't seem that 8ad when Aradia found it.

Kanaya: Ever Since I Repaired It I Get Chills When It’s Nearby And It Has Appeared In My Dreams

Vriska: Very funny fussyfangs, now hurry up and get that puppet!

Kanaya headed up to her room and closed the door. Putting her hand on her chest she asked rose if she was okay

“Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz”

Kanaya took it as a yes and grabbed the creepy puppet that she regretted sewing back together. It's red cheeks and eerie smile had given her the creeps since the day it was brought to her for repairs, and the green suit she had given it somehow made it even more unsettling. She would be more than happy to get it out of her hive. She returned to the living room and handed it to Vriska 

Vriska: ok now I kind of see what you were saying about this thing being creepy as fuck.

Kanaya: Told You So

Vriska: Do I really have to take this… you can keep it if you want

Kanaya: Nope Its Yours Now

Vriska: Crap. And I still think you're hiding something around here. What would you possibly have been looking for?

Kanaya: None Of Your Business 

Vriska: Whatever. See you later.

With Vriska gone, Kanaya could safely converse with Rose again. She pressed her hand into her chest to wake her up.

“Are You Ready To Come Out Of There Now”

“No, it's actually quite cozy in here”

“Okay. I'm Going To Finish That Nap, Wake Me Up When You're Ready To Get Out”

With Rose safe and fast asleep in her crop, Kanaya laid back onto the couch and went to sleep. She was glad to have made such a nice friend, and was glad that Rose trusted her so much. Kanaya felt an intense need to protect Rose, but it wasn't her normal motherly instincts speaking. She struggled to put her feelings for Rose into a quadrant.

Was she feeling… flushed? 

[sherlollydramoine]

I Hate U, I Love U

Warnings: 18+ only, strong language, fighting/name calling/sorta bullying, mentions of cheating, alcohol consumption, and smutty mcsmut smut -- unprotected (wrap it before you tap it, it’s the responsible thing to do)

This is just a piece of fiction and don’t necessarily believe that Rami is truly like this, but we’ll never really know. I got a request, so I wrote it. That is all.

This is combining two requests that I’ve had, one for a while, the other just came in. This is for @lablanchett (sorry darling, that it took me so long to get this one out for you. I had another piece that I’d been working on and I just couldn’t make it work the way I wanted, and then I accidentally drunkenly deleted it- I hope this makes up for it) and @aulile for their requests: Rami and gf fight and have steamy makeup sex, and Rami and gf have a fight and Rami says some mean shit. Hope this fits in with the idea of whatever it was that you both were looking for. 

Word Count: 1890, again this is actually just a reallllllly long HC.

“I don’t fucking believe you!!” you yelled.

“Seriously, how fucking stupid are you to not believe it?” he questioned.

“Obviously verrrry stupid, because you can’t make me believe any of it! You’ve lied to me before, how is this any different?” you countered, trying to prove your point.

“When did I lie to you?”

“When you were in London. You fed me some ‘oh we’re just friends’ bullshit.”

“That was different than this.

“How? How is this different? You cheated on me once, why should I believe you now?”

“Goddddd… YN you are such a fucking bitch. I don’t have the fucking time to deal with your temper tantrums today.”

“Then don’t. I’m gone. You’ve lied, lied, lied, and I’m fucking done!”

“Fine! But you’ll regret this if you walk out that door!”

“I don’t give a fuck anymore Rami, I don’t! I’m tired of being the faithful, loyal servant to you… or shall I say to you, your fucking royal highness. That Oscar win did sure go straight to your fucking head. You’ve become the ‘I can do whatever I want because I’m rich and famous’ type that you always said you hated.

“YN, seriously?”

You stormed off in the direction of your bedroom. You refuse to put up with this shit any longer, you need to escape, to get away and start fresh somewhere.

He followed you into your shared bedroom where you were grabbing a suitcase out of the closet and began chucking random items into it.

“So you’re really leaving me, is that it?”

“What the fuck does it look like. I told you that I’m done, so I’m fucking done.”

His demeanor completely changed, his body stiffened, his mouth set in a hard line, when he turned on his heel and stormed out of the bedroom, slamming the bedroom door in his wake. You watched a picture fall off the wall and shatter into a million pieces on the hardwood. 

You could hear the garage door open, followed shortly by the sounds of his car tires squealing out of the driveway.

You almost broke down in tears, but you had to stick to your guns. You weren’t actually entirely sure that he had done what you had accused him of, but you couldn’t handle the stress that being with him entailed anymore. And you couldn’t take back any of the hurtful words that you spat out.

You love him, very deeply, but sometimes he makes your blood boil.

Throwing whatever other random shit you think you might need, you slam the suitcase shut and zip it closed, you take off to the garage, get in your car and you certainly don’t look back

It took you a solid twelve weeks to stop crying, but eventually the hurt turned into more of a constant dull ache. It had been over seven months now since you’d seen him, and since then you’d flourished at work, gotten the promotion that you’d been working towards, and had made a bunch of new friends. 

You still talk to some of your old friends, the shared friends, but most of the communication with them died the moment you shut down all of your social media accounts.

Life was great for you, even though the hurt was still there, and despite the fact that you were living in a tiny ass shithole apartment in a shit part of LA, you were happy. You told yourself you didn’t need him, and you believed it

You had closed all your social media accounts, and turned off any and all notifications that came up with his name on your phone. You’d changed your number, and blocked his  just for good measure. You did this for your sanity. 

Your boyfriend was famous and you didn’t want to see all the shit that was being said about you online. You two had plenty of naysayers online and it would have dealt a crippling blow to your mental health.

So you honestly avoid using the internet at all, unless it’s necessary.

It was when you were nearing the eight month mark in your breakup that you saw him for the first time since you’d left. 

You were out for drinks with some of your friends, who were at that moment in time giving you shit for not being on any social media, when you saw him. 

You fought the urge to run and you kept your head down, not allowing yourself to openly stare like some of the others around you. Though you couldn’t help but notice that he looked kind of like shit. He seems as if he’d aged dramatically in nearly eight months, he looked too thin, and very worn down.

It was your turn to buy the round of shots so you made your way to the bar, standing on the opposite side from where he was sitting, occupying one of the stools.

You thought you’d remained out of sight until you heard a familiar voice behind you say your name.

You sighed audibly and turned around, ready to fight if necessary. You’ve done well without him, not sure you could say the same for him though.

“Yes?” you snipped, turning around to face the one person that you really didn’t want to deal with.

“I thought that was you. Wow, you uhhh… you look good.” You knew you did, but you couldn’t say the same for him. 

“Looks like I can’t say the same about.” you replied.

“Wow. You still are that same feisty woman that I knew and loved.”

“What the fuck do you want Rami? How can I help you tonight? I’m out with some friends and it’s just my turn to get the drinks.”

“I don’t want anything. I just wanted to tell you that I miss you is all.”

“Rami, I miss you too, every day. It took me three months to stop crying, and I really wanted to apologize for everything I said that day, but I can’t take it back and I’m not sure I want to.”

“I wanted to apologize to you too, and to tell you that you weren’t wrong. The things you accused me of doing. I did cheat, and I got caught. I tried to lie, but I should have known better.”

You suddenly felt as if you’d been hit in the stomach and all you wanted to do was cry. 

“Thank you for finally admitting to the truth. I appreciate it. Look…. Oh God.. I’m going to regret this, but I’ve changed my number and I’ve blocked your old one. Is your number stilll the same?”

“No.”

“Give me your phone.” you demanded.

He doesn’t hesitate as he hands you his phone, you still remember his unlock pattern, so you swiped it and went into his ‘CONTACTS’ section. You entered your name and new number.

“Please Rami, don’t make me regret this.”

He smiled, a genuine toothy smile, the same one that he was famous for as he took his phone back.

“Can I give you a hug?” he asks.

“Sure I guess, why the hell not.”

He wraps his arms around you and squeezes tight, probably tighter than he should have, but you breath him in and a flood of memories came rushing back. The good, the bad, the truly ugly; you just wanted him back.

“Thank you” he says, with a smile.

He didn’t make you regret your decision to give you his number and over the next five months you’ve slowly allowed him back into your life. You’ve not been intimate but you’ve remained good friends. He slowly started to look healthier again, less gaunt and looking much more like he used to before you had left him. 

One day mid-September you suddenly started to feel really sad, and then you remembered. Your anniversary. You two would have been celebrating five years together.

You randomly call Rami and to see if he was available to come over, in which he stated that he was. You were nervous as he’d never actually been to your place before. It certainly wasn’t what he had become accustomed to over the past few years. This place was a dump. 

When he finally showed up, he just slowly walked around your apartment, not really commenting unless it’s a casual,”I like what you’ve done with your space. It feels so homey and so very you.”

He appeared oblivious to the reason for your sudden need to see him, and with an urgency you didn’t expect you pounced on him.

He was caught off guard by your sudden grip on his collar as you pulled him to you which resulted in him nearly tripping over the rug you had on the floor in your living room, your lips crashing into his with a force that almost made your teeth clash together.

Lips locked in a heated kiss, that had you whimpering with need in no time. You could feel him erection straining against his pants.

Moving towards your bedroom and wasting no time in shedding clothing, both of your hands going everywhere before his find out core, his fingers working their magic on you as you bucked your hips furiously against his hand. Your moans filling the small room. 

You came around his fingers with a cry of his name.

Looking up at him, silently begging, you felt him line himself up with your entrance as he slide into you roughly.

His hips pounding into yours, fucking into you with an animalistic urgency.

“OOOOHHHH GODDDDD YESSSSSSSS RAMIIIIIIIIII RAMIIIIII” you screamed

The bed rocking violently, headboard banging into the wall, like a beating drum

Your hands clawed at his back, and your hips moving in time to each others thrusts

“YESSS YN...THATS MY GIRL… CUM BABY… CUM FOR ME” he moaned 

His hands on your hips holding you steady as your walls began clenching around him for the second time that night, 

With another scream of his name, you came undone, body quaking, as you felt his cock twitch and he followed shortly with a shout of your name as he spilled his warm essence into you.

He collapsed on top of you, both of you just tangled together a sweaty panting mess

“That was the best possible makeup sex ever” he laughed into your hair.

“Yeah, like thirteen months later.” you pointed out, before somehow dissolving into a fit of giggles.

“So, what brought this on?”

“It would have been our five year anniversary in a few days, and I was sad. I decided that I wanted you back. You’ve proven to me that you’ve changed, and I still love you. So… can we almost pretend that these last thirteen month never happened? Do you really want me back Rami?”

He never said yes or no, instead he captured your lips in another kiss before he mumbled,”Give me a few minutes, and then we can really piss off your neighbors.”

You just giggle again, snuggle into his chest and tell him that you are happy to oblige, as you hate your neighbors. Because at least three times a week they have really loud fights, intense fights followed by what sounds like really intense makeup sex themselves. So that can’t even begin to judge you for getting laid in the year that you’ve lived here.

@txmel @xmxisxforxmaybe @itsme690 @mrhoemazzello @ramimedley @free-rami @r-ahh-mi