#a clean parting after a big disagreement — no strings attached

[bubble-you]

true bestiehood would be letting me make them watch mummy on the orient express with them and let me watch their reactions and listen to me talk about it and repeat this until they get the significance of every line

[seokjinsonlyone]

so i got on tiktok for more than five minutes for the first time in like a month the other day and i saw they was doing this trend where it’s sorta like fmk but like husband, boyfriend, or sneaky link and i just wanted to add my two cents

namjoon:

this is your boyfriend

i know you may be thinking ???? boyfriend???? not husband??????????

but yes boyfriend listen we all know this man is brilliant; big brained and big bodied; cognitive skills off the charts; he knows a thing or two about a thing or two

however, he just ain’t there yet 😭 he don’t even got his license y’all gon flub on the contraceptives once or twice and next thing you know you strapping your kid into the basket of his bike so he can drop them off to school 😩

and his cooking……….. like watching this man with a knife gives me anxiety

he has a bit of growth to do but that’s why you date before getting married 🥳🥳🥳

y’all would go on the beeeest dates i’m talking museums, picnics, hikes, and yes bike rides

and like he’s just so sweet and thoughtful and he tries his very best to be gentle despite his destructive nature so it would just be so cute and fun for him to be your boyfriend

seokjin:

it goes without saying that this is your husband

to be honest ion even really need to elaborate on this one like…

he cooks; he cleans; he’s thoughtful, supportive, silly, will do anything to make you happy…

everything you could ever want and need in a man is manifested in kim seokjin

so just lemme tell you what this ^^ gif is this is like three months after you’ve given birth to your second child

he got home from work way later than expected he was tired exhausted really but still helped you with your new baby taking turns tending to them on and off all night

you had just gotten into a really good sleep when your alarm went off signaling it was time to get child number 1 up and ready for school

you groaned sitting up but before you could even get out of bed he was wiping the sleep from his eyes and telling you he was going to take care of it

“but you got off late last night and you helped me too”

he reassured you that it was fine and that he had it he knew how hard you worked all day everyday and you never got the opportunity to clock out

it was his day off anyway so he kissed your forehead and told you to get back to sleep

which was a bit easier said than done bc those two were like bulls in a china cabinet there was whining and scuttling all around a few disagreements on which outfit your child should wear and what they should eat for breakfast

but soon enough you looked out the window and saw jin adjusting his shorts and a few seconds later your child bobbling out after him backpack a little too big for their body before they walked hand in hand to the car

that’s… what that is… that’s your husband

and when i say your i mean mine that’s my husband

you can keep scrolling 😗✌️

yoongi:

husband <33333

like jin this man is the total package

he cooks, cleans, is loving and supportive, will take care of you emotionally, and on top of that he’s handy! extensive knowledge about interior design!

like if you want some pictures hanged or a shelf built or something this is the man for you

your lil bob the builder <3

like idk what it is with this man but something about him is just so soft and makes me want to love and be loved by him

like if this is not your husband this is your long term boyfriend you are dating him for no less than five years and when you part way you ain’t gon know how to live without him

so don’t leave

bring the documents he already said so

hoseok:

boyfriend 100%

hobi just seems so partnerable

i look at him and i see movie nights and pillow talk

i see cuddles and late night facetime calls

your own personal hope on the streets when he wants to loosen up or practice or relieve stress😩

you go to a restaurant and each pick a dish and share it with each other like he’s very much giving one milkshake 2 straws

or you two cook together side by side he’s chopping vegetables and cleaning while you’re sautéing and stir frying and what not

you go shopping with him and critique his outfits when he tries them on and vice versa

i don’t even know man i just see hobi and i think he’s flawless i want to give him the world

and i think about that time when he said one of his personal goals was to become special to someone 😭😭😭

so like girl get your boyfriend and just give him all the love he’s searching for all the love he deserves

jimin:

….sneaky link

look at him smh caught in 4k sending a “you up?” text at the tender hour of 3am

idk what to tell ya man he just ain’t bout it rn

he ain’t looking for nothing but fun

atm it’s just him and his bros

every once in a while he’ll go searching for a connection for a night or two

there may be a few repeat offenders a string of flings if you will but never anything serious

i can see it in his eyes everyone can really bc he flirts with every living and nonliving thing in sight

taehyung:

husband

now you may be thinking… is he not on par with namjoon when it comes to practical skills???

and like yes perhaps but he definitely is not as much as a liability

like i think i can trust him to open a packet of barbecue sauce without risk of ruining my outfit and like i know i wouldn’t fear for my life if he was slicing a hard boiled egg

which is not to say that i wouldn’t mind getting stabbed by joon there are certainly worse ways to go but that’s not what we’re talking about

what we’re talking about is tae and how i just know with him you’d be safe physically mentally and emotionally 🥺🥺🥺

and idk if it’s bc i done seen him in slacks one too many times but something about him just screams commitment

like he’s giving 401k he’s giving life insurance he’s giving condo in florida where you spend the winter bc your bones get too cold where you normally live

but you know what he’s also giving passion like you will 100% spend the rest of your life in love with this man

like in that picture it’s giving you’ve been married for three years it’s wednesday and he’s off so he asked you on a date

it’s taking you longer than anticipated to get ready you wanted to look pretty for him bc truthfully you don’t get to go on dates often as much as he’d like to

your hair and makeup is finally done so you find him and tell him you’re almost done and you’ll be out as soon as you slip on your outfit

he lazily turns his head to you and tells you to take your time there’s no rush and he’s just looking at you with absolute hearts in his eyes

you’re not even fully ready and there’s hearts in his eyes 😭 it makes your heart race and you can’t keep the smile off your face as you get ready for your date, for the rest of your life together with him

jungkook:

i know y’all gon hate to hear this one but… sneaky link

^^ that may be your boyfriend but you ain’t his girlfriend 😭

that is the face of someone you called and told that you wanted to stop messing around bc you was getting attached but he convinced you that it didn’t have to be all that and acted cute until you changed your mind

listen this man is in his prime he ain’t tryna settle down

the moment you try to commit is the moment he jumps out the window

and this is not to say that he’s not a good boy but like i’ve known jungkooks i’ve been friends with jungkooks and the second you try to take things farther than what they want that’s when they stomp all over your heart

however i do firmly believe that jungkook ain’t like them others he’s more than a good boy he’s the best boy

and if he like idk heard bells when you walked by or was pulled by the red string of fate or like felt the yearning or whatever it is that he done conjured up in his head he’d be everything and more 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[falling-pages]

Losing Game: Hikaru x Reader

Inspired by Arcade by Duncan Laurence (please listen to it it’s so sad and really good)

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“All I know, loving you is a losing game.”

College/Young Professional Hikaru x female reader

Angst

Warnings: I’m not exactly sure what to write. It’s not NSFW, it’s not smut, but there are mentions of sleeping around. No details, nothing explicit, only some mentions of it for context. No description or anything like that. Basically Hikaru being a deadbeat. Lots of angst. One or two instances of language.

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Hikaru Hitachiin was an asshole.

You knew this before you started dating. His reputation had preceded him on your college campus, his bedroom the holy grail of frat houses. Seems like every time you walked through the academic lawn you could hear another story from another drooling student about another escapade he had put them through, another quest he had conquered. Rumor had it he collected rings from his lovers and wore them like notches in his belt, walking around in his sunglasses and leather jacket, hands out and swinging like an advertisement of his deeds. 

It was disgusting, how he considered it all a game. A game he would always win, and they would always lose.

You couldn’t judge those wide-eyed students. Despite your anger, you understood the fascination with him: a man set to inherit millions, a confident attitude, enough bad boy swagger to dominate every frat you knew. And he was gorgeous--that red hair flaming in the wind, cocky smile reaching up to hazel eyes even made you feel weak in the knees.

But you ignored it, storming past him in the halls and never responding to his advances. Despite being born into wealth and power, he was the kind of man who always wanted what he couldn’t have--you, especially. You knew that to him you were just another notch on his belt, a ring on his finger. You’d die before you gave him that satisfaction.

Eventually, though, human nature had its way. You don’t remember how it happened, but one day he smiled at you, a real, genuine, lovely smile, and your stomach dropped. All you knew was that you were in big, big trouble.

You were in love.

Suddenly, the hatred had turned into a desire for him to be better, the disgust into wanting. You weren’t proud of it, but you couldn’t stop it. The curling of your toes became involuntary, the fleeting glances more stable. You couldn’t deny that the way he smiled at you made you dream of more. As you two became friends, even finding somethings in common, enjoying time spent together, you thought that maybe this wasn’t a game to him.

And then, one night, the barrier was broken.

It wasn’t a mistake, per se, but it did upend your life--out of that night your child was conceived, and you felt your heart dissolve into a thousand pieces. Suddenly you were yanked from your small town into the spotlight of Tokyo, the woman bearing Hikaru Hitachiin’s love child. 

His first instinct was to run. Fresh out of college with a steady career path was in line for both of you, but now there was something else to account for, a little heartbeat intertwining both of yours. When he saw the positive stick, he experienced true fear for the first time. Fear that he would now have to give up his selfish ways, give up those games, give up his own reckless plans. 

Neither of you wanted that. 

And you--you were angry. Angry at him for doing this to you, despite being so careful. Angry for letting yourself fall for him into his chess board. Angry that you, and now your child, would be forever attached to him. You had done everything right so far, gotten into college, nabbed a great job, finally made something of yourself. And to have a child with him, of all people.

No matter how hard you tried, you would always lose his game.

The two of you broke up four months in, after tense weeks of disagreements and expectations. You wanted to keep the baby, but you had just gotten hired, and you couldn’t afford to waste all your college-earned credits in your first year of professional adulthood. So he pulled some strings and made your boss keep you, with generous maternity leave. For that you were the least bit thankful, but still hurting. 

Something you hadn’t expected was him publicly claiming the child as his. Rumors spread, and he still loved you enough to keep you away and hidden from the paparazzi. But when asked if he did have a baby on the way, he couldn’t lie--that earned him a shred of respect from you.

Claiming the baby as his guaranteed comfort and financial support for the rest of its life, and yours, as well. You hated touching his money, but what else could you do? It was part of the rules.

When it came time to give birth, you didn’t know if Hikaru would show. You didn’t know if you wanted him to. He had accompanied you on all prenatal visits and regularly checked in on you during the pregnancy, but actually seeing the baby was a barrier you didn’t know he would be willing to break.

And yet, he did. You crushed his hand throughout labor, until the nurse handed you your wailing son. Your first impression of him was that he was beautiful, a mirror image of his father. That was a fact you didn’t even hate--and when you placed him in Hikaru’s arms, seeing this intriguing man become selfless for the first time in his life, you felt some shred of love return. 

He stayed in your apartment for the first six weeks. It was lavished with everything a celebrity baby would need, but having him sleep beside you again was the real treat. You didn’t want to admit it, but feeling his arms and hearing him breathe in his sleep made you feel that heady, heart swelling way again. 

Maybe you could all be a little family after all. Maybe he did, in fact, love you in return.

You two were able to laugh again, mosey about doing chores and enjoy spending time together. You had forgotten how easy it was to talk to him. He had forgotten how quickly you could roast him. Somehow, you both were able to patch up the brokenness and feel love again. Perhaps having a baby had matured him, made him lose focus of his games.

Another barrier broken: he kissed you.

You had just finished nursing your son and were pumping when Hikaru came into the bedroom. He sat on the armchair in the corner, resting after deep cleaning the bathroom, but when he looked at you, he smiled. Too exhausted to say a word, you smiled back. 

He approached you, bent down to brush away your hair, and kissed you.

Surprised was a mild way to put it. Here you were, in the least attractive position possible, receiving a kiss from the man you weren’t sure you loved or hated. But the feeling of his lips was comforting, it was home, it was everything you needed to get through the night, no strings attached. It reawakened feelings you thought you killed. And the way he kissed--gently, with no sultry motivation, just to express his love--made you realize exactly what you were feeling.

I love you, you gasped when he pulled away. 

The declaration shocked you, but he only smiled. I love you, too, came the hushed whisper as he leaned back in.

And for the rest of the night, there was only your son, your noisy pump machine, and him.

But, as with everything with him, it was too good to be true. 

Just when everything had been going well, just when you felt your heart mend, he ripped it to shreds.

I think it’s best I leave, he had told you. You were nearly healed, and the baby wasn’t quite as fussy. He missed his family, he said. His real family.

Blindsided as you were, you felt it coming. The last two weeks had been too sweet to really be from his heart. You miss your family, you said, when your family was right in front of him?

He stood there and stared at the ground, coat already on and the collar already popped. You don’t miss your family, you spat. Tears burned behind your eyes, and your son felt heavy in your arms. You miss the old you.

I do love you, he said. I do. But we’re not a good match. I can’t be a good father--he deserves so much better than me.

You don’t want him to have a father who drinks and parties and doesn’t take responsibility for his actions? You said. You don’t want him to be like you when he grows up?

The venom was tattooed on your tongue as you felt the love wash away. It was wrong. He was wronging you and your child. That precious baby with his eyes, his hair, and his last name.

He just walked away, like he always did. 

You took the ring off your finger and threw it at him, watching as it bounced off the wall near his head and down to the floor. Here, you said. Another ring for your stupid collection. You win your little game yet again.

You should have known. Loving him was a losing game.

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If you enjoy what I write, please consider buying me a coffee :)

[antiquechampagne]

Antique Champagne - Chapter 35 - Reaction

The more time she spent in her new room, even with how small it was, the more comfortable and lived in it became. After a while, it started to feel like home.

“It’s still a waste of caps,” growled Fahr.

Payne had shown up for work, right in the middle of an argument between Hancock and Fahr.

“It doesn’t matter, I’ve already given the guy the go ahead.”

Fahrenheit gave a frustrated grunt while running her pointer finger roughly across her temple. Shifting her glare to Payne she pleaded, “Please talk some sense into this ghoul.”

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“You should appreciate this, Payne.” He turned to her with a look that landed somewhere between smug and cheeky. “I found a traveling engineer who says he can install a system that can supply hot water to the State House!” He gave a wide smile. “Then Diamond City won’t have the market cornered on hot showers anymore!”

Payne had a hard time hiding her surprise. Hot water on demand was incredibly rare. It had been such a long time since she even thought about a warm bath on demand or hot shower, she had forgotten how much she missed them.

“Well… if it works here, then maybe it would work at the Rexford too. It might bring some more business in.” Fahr fiery glared leveled itself full force at her. “What? You saying improving the average resident’s hygiene isn’t a good thing for the town?”

“This whole thing is a waste of time and caps!” Fahr nearly growled as she left the room, no doubt to go nurse her bruised ego.

Hancock gave Payne a playful jab on the shoulder. “I knew you’d have my back! Let’s celebrate!” Hancock grabbed a couple of bottles from the bar.

The evening progressed just as Payne had anticipated. She had ‘celebrated’ quite a few of Hancock and Fahr’s disagreements. She found it easier to curb his benders when he stayed in; thankfully, that appeared to be his intention for the night. As the moon was well overhead, Hancock had settled on the couch. Payne had leaned lazily against the bar. He had been talking about his plans for upgrading the neon signs just outside the walls when he circled back around to the day’s previous argument.

“It’s a real maze out there, especially if you’re new to downtown. I think maybe a few more signs could help out with that.” He twirled an empty jet container in his palm. “But that new water tank, I think it could really elevate the town… take some of the stuffing out of the Great Green Jewel.” His words dripped with sarcasm. He let out a little huff. “I do kinda miss them, ya know? I never appreciated that warm and clean feeling until it was just out of reach.” Hancock turned to her. “Anything you miss?”

“Miss? Miss about what?”

“About out west. Maybe something that isn’t around anymore.” He stared absentmindedly at the cracked ceiling. “I dunno.”

Payne leaned back, shuffling through her memories. After a moment, all she could do was shrug. “Guess if I could, I would bring back proper ice cream. I could kill for a half way decent float.”

“Float?”

“Yeah. If you can find some half-decent vanilla ice cream, put a big scoop into a chilled glass. Fill it with an ice-cold Nuka-Cola. A lot of people preferred Sunset Sarsaparilla, but I never liked that stuff. Oh man, on a summer day it just hits the spot…or hit the spot.”

Hancock started tossing the Jet canister idly in the air, repeatedly catching it one handed. “What do you think you’d be doing if the world didn’t go to shit?”

“Easy,” Payne smirked. “I’d be dead.”

“Bah, that’s not what I meant, and you know it.” He playful tossed the canister at her. “I mean… did you have plans for the whole white picket fence, husband, 2.5 kids, apple pies… that pre-apocalypse whole shtick?”

She snorted. “Are you kidding me? No guy in their right mind would try and get hitched to me! I was the daughter of an ex-call girl-turned-independent brothel owner. The only men burning down my door were the ‘get the milk for free’ kind.” She pushed her hair back from her face. “Beside, that whole scene wasn’t really my style. Too much commitment for my taste.” She smiled. “Not that marriage vows meant a whole lot to the people frequenting our establishment. Many were men in loveless marriages trying to relive their glory bachelor days. No thanks.”

Hancock raised an imaginary glass and toasted her. “But you surely must have had your eye on someone!”

What was with this sudden interest in her prewar love life? “I had a few exes over the years, but nothing stuck. I’ve got a pretty open with the whole relationship thing. Most people don’t know how to handle that, even if they say their okay with it.” She shrugged.

“Amen, sister!”

Before she could start needling Hancock over his own proclivities, Fahrenheit appeared in the doorway.

“Turn on the radio,” she ordered.

Perplexed, Payne walked over to the relic sitting on an end table and turned the knob. The sounds of gun shots and a struggle.

“Oh my god, what’s happening?” Kent’s voice shook with fright.

A woman’s voice cut in. “On your knees, dirt bag!”

“Wha..What are you doing?” Kent let out a pained grunt.

“Sinjin, all clear.”

Another voice came over the radio. Sinjin. “This is the Shroud’s headquarters… so you must be the Silver Shroud’s little friend”

Kent stammered a muffled “Yes” in reply.

“If you want to see your friend alive, Shroud, meet me at Milton General Hospital.”

“Don’t do it, Shroud!” Kent yelled. “It’s a trap! Save yourself!”

BANG!

Kent cried out in agony. “Oh my god! Do it, Shroud! Do it! Oh, my knee!”

“Tick tock, Shroud,” Sinjin warned. “don’t keep me waiting. We’ve got business that needs finishing.”

“It just keeps repeating,” Fahr said.

Numb, Payne turned off the radio. The shock hit her like a 2 by 4 to the forehead. “What the fuck?” Payne turned to Hancock, who was now bolted upright.

“That gangster-wannabe asshole. Sinjin is going to pay for this with his blood.”

Recovering Payne asked Hancock, “How did Sinjin get Kent out of town? Did anyone see anything?” She turned to Fahrenheit.

“Irma’s beside herself with regret. She tried to stop them, but there were too many. I’ll find out who let this happen, how they got in.”

“Good. Fahr, send out runners, too.” A deadly kind of determination suffused Hancock’s words. “Find Nate. Make sure he is here as fast as possible.”

Fahr turned on her heels, already barking orders to the Watchmen nearby.

Payne could see dread seep into Hancock’s steely expression as the gravity of the situation hit her as well. Both of them feared for their dear friend’s life.

By early morning, every Watchman had been severely interrogated by not only Fahrenheit, but Hancock as well. The only thing anyone noticed was hearing a commotion in one of the alleys in town. When the guard went to investigate, no one was there.

The trio quickly converged on the alley with a gaggle of haggard looking Watchmen. They combed through the cluttered dirty back street.

They were nearly to the dead end when Hancock stooped down. He picked something up from a pile of rotting rags that had been pushed aside by what had been Bobbi No-Nose’s secret door. He rubbed his fingers over it, cleaning the grime of the small enamel pin.

Payne recognized it immediately. “That’s Kent’s. I gave it to him the first time we met.”

Hancock’s eyes narrowed.

They all turned as the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps echoed off brick walls of the alley. An out of breath runner quickly turned the corner.

“The Shroud…” she huffed, “was about a half an hour north. He’s on his way.”

With a nod and wave, Hancock dismissed her. Turning back to Fahr he issued an order. “Check the warehouse and move all supplies still housed there to the backup storeroom. Brick this whole building up. Look for any other exploitable gaps in the security of our walls. Plug everything.”

Payne followed Hancock out of the alley, leaving Fahr organize the Watch and start securing the town.

Back in the Old State House, Hancock and Payne shoved extra ammo and meds into their pockets and pouches. In her room, she happened upon the veil she had worn the night she danced with Kent dressed as the Mistress of Mystery. Carefully, she pulled her hair back and tied it with securely with the veil’s strings before fitting her helmet over her head. Dread started to build up in the back of Payne’s mind like a backed-up pipe, looming on the edge of her thoughts. As she returned upstairs, Nate burst through the doors followed by a hovering rusted white robot.

“Hancock!” He called.

The mayor motioned him in. “We need to leave now, Nate, and we need to travel fast.” He looked to the Vault Dweller’s new companion. “Find an upgrade while you were out scavving?”

“Hancock, this is Curie. She’s quite the special Miss Nanny robot.”

“This must be Monsieur Hancock, I presume.” The robot wave one of its three arms in his direction. “Monsieur Nate has told me so much about you. It is a pleasure to meet such a fascinating specimen at last.”

Hancock seemed a bit taken by surprise by her flowery speech. “Um, thank you.” He shook his head. “As much as I would love to make your acquaintance, we really need to get going.” He turned to Nate. “I think it might be best if you leave your robot here.”

Curie’s arms whirled in annoyance. “I am the top of the line of RobCo technology. I assure you I am capable of this.”

“No offense, but if Milton General is like the rest of the hospitals around, there are a lot of tight corridors, dead ends and bottlenecks just screaming for traps full of Psycho-filled raiders. In my experience, your model’s jet engine a bit conspicuous and,” he pointed to the large circular sawblade attached to the end of one of her three arms. “I don’t fancy my coat, or any body part, getting on the wrong arm of that accidentally.”

Nate put a hand on Curie’s floating round chassis. “He has a point, Curie. I think I am going to ask you to stay here while we take care of this.”

Curie’s arms drooped as she sagged a bit closer to the floor in disappointment. “But there is so much left for me to see in this new world…”

“I know.” Nate gave her a little pat. “When I come back, we can head back out on the road. In the meantime, why don’t you see if you and Dr. Amari in the Memory Den have any research you can share. I’m sure the two of you can find some common ground.”

“As you wish.” Her eyestalks focused on Nate. “Please be careful out there, Monsieur. Until we meet again.”