#also hey hi I'm making another AU oops

[amanitacurses]

[jamneuromain]

Stalker Lady pt. 2

Simon "Ghost" Riley x Reader (You)

Word Count: ~1.5k

Warning: Mean!Simon Riley, Voice (PORN) actor!Simon Riley, patron!reader, neighbor!AU, description of audio porn and stalking behavior. Non-con kissing, bad language word people we're talking about audio porn here

Summary: You meet Simon unexpectedly. Unfortunately, he thinks you are a stalker.

A/N: This fic is my rehab-going-back-into-writing fic. And it's the first time I'm writing for "Ghost" I've honestly never played COD. But here's my idea of the scary (not really lol) simon ghost riley :3

Truthfully, he totally forgot about the thing - the barbeque-backyard-thing.

He’s also not proud of himself for spending approximately fifteen minutes in the bathroom getting his junk to calm down after a particular porn session with his microphone, with which he recorded the next audio clip - ready to be posted on the site of Team 141 as soon as the editor (“Cap’n”, they call him, also happens to be the leading voice actor of 141) finishes with the extra background noises, such as the sound of a door slamming shut or the sound of a man’s fist punching the wall.

It’s male-for-female porn, he cursed, as he watched the cold shower numbing his penis, he shouldn’t get off on that. Then he cursed himself more for sneezing right after the shower, worrying about catching a cold in these minutes.

He shouldn’t promise that woman. Sherry? Sharon? For coming over to the barbeque-backyard-thing.

He regretted it profoundly. A cold beer in hand. Listening mindlessly over that woman’s husband and some others chatting about “fuuutballlll”.

It’s soccer, ye’ yank. He grumbles angrily under his breath while no one is noticing.

Yet, here he is. In the backyard of some neighbors. With pent-up steam nowhere to blow off and sexual tension in the back of his spine.

Fuck, he needs to get laid.

Soccer scores and star athletes send his mind elsewhere. Into his condition. He hadn’t slept with any woman for the past four? Five months? God, has it really been that long since his last deployment in Lebanon? He hooked up with a random woman in the pub right after his return, and then … nothing. Not that he intentionally keeping it that way, but between his early hours' mail job and the audio recording that could last for, what looks like for him, eons in the afternoon, he didn’t take the time – or notice it, really – to make it a mission of getting himself laid. And to be frankly honest, this whole M4F porn thing has got him a bit tired to think of anything related to sex outside of his recording room.

Not to mention the fact that in this past few weeks, he has recorded almost every type of role-play from swimming instructors and professors to CEOs and mobsters. In addition, he begins to discover the fact that, not to make himself a Pavlovian dog, per se, but his subconscious mind associates “sex” with his recording booth, which in turn makes him harder (oops), more like, difficult to “get it up” while he’s out of the presence of a microphone and his headsets, and even more difficult to get it down after recording.

Fuck. His. Life.

“Hey, honey, would you mind taking over at the grill for a bit?” The short brunette, Sharon or something, pops up beside him, beaming at her husband Will, who is the loudest in the soccer debate. “Uncle Matthews kinda needs a break. He’s asking if you want to help since he doesn’t want the rest of us to have charcoal for dinner.”

Sharon, Simon decides to call her that for now, brought another girl along. That girl fidgets with her ice coke – Simon could tell it’s on ice because of the water beads clinging to the glass bottle like unrelenting fog and she constantly switches hands to wipe the water on her hand with a neatly folded napkin. That girl has a beautiful blue cotton dress on her, hugging her curves like a second skin.

Will welcomes his wife Sharon with a kiss on her cheek, “Yeah, sure. Where’s the grill, babe?”

Simon smiles and nods as Will hastily says his apologies to his neighbors and makes his exit from the small circle of men. Nevertheless, Simon’s attention and curiosity lie on the girl who just came, the girl who looks familiar …

“Oh hi, Simon!” Sharon chirps up when she notices the silent bulk of muscle right next to her. She grabs the girl by her wrist, nearly risking spilling her drink, “I don’t know whether you’ve met yet,” the brunette's head spins like a whipped gyro, “but this is your new neighbor, living … right next to you, I presume?”

Simon observes the newcomer as she raises her neck to look him in the eyes. Nothing but nervousness and awkwardness.

You. The stalker-neighbor-lady.

Fuck.

His.

Life.

Sharon has to attend to her children running around when they start to wave their paper plates like pirate swords, leaving you two, Simon and you in the tree shade.

The silence hovers like a plague.

Before Simon decides to break it: “Thought I was clear about stalking.”

“It’s hardly stalking when we were both invited to the same party.” You huff.

“You are standing too close.”

“Well, I’m not leaving.” You mumble, carefully stepping away from this bear of a man.

Though stepping away from him means stepping out of the shadows and into the light, and the sun is practically scorching your skin.

You curse this narcissistic egoistic maniac in the depth of your heart, when you hear him ask out of the blue.

“Did you enjoy the latest audio?”

You nearly choke on your drink.

“No!” You hiss, “It was horrible. Horrendous. Hideous. Disgusting. Nothing about it intrigued me.” Despite the fact that it starred one of your favorite tropes, a.k.a semi-public, and made you came two times in a row on your wand. A record, you might say. But you are not supporting this asshole’s career, not when he’s so in over his head and thinks of you as a stalker.

No. You need to draw the line. “And knowing it’s you behind the voices tunes down my … enthusiasm.”

Daring little thing. He might grow fond of you in time. Simon thinks, bemused.

“Ah.” He simply shrugs the faintest disappointment off his shoulders, “So you enjoy the audios bett’r when I have the balaclava on?”

“Yes – No!”

The audio doesn’t reveal his face, never reveals his body either. But Team 141 made sure the audience knew clearly which one was starred in each of the audios. Hence, every audio’s background picture features a special sketch of the voice actor (or actors). While the team leader, “Captain”, has his special sketch as a curly stache, and “Soap’s” is a funny-looking mohawk, Simon chooses a black and white balaclava with his eyes staring right out of the picture. He also makes the balaclava look like the face of the skeleton, under the stage name, “Ghost”.

Truth is, you like the mask. Love the mask. Or balaclava, whatever that is. The mask makes his eyes more prominent. More piercing, as if they slash through your soul and lay you bare.

He could tear you alive with those eyes.

“So you do like the balaclava.” He sighs in phony remorse, before chucking in his low baritone, “Cute.”

Shoot. Did he just say that out loud?

“Perv.” Now it is your turn to grumble and feel annoyed.

He shakes his head lightly, lifting the cold beer to his lips, smirking, “Not sure if it’s the right word f’r me, Peach, it sounds better on ye’.”

“For the last time,” You glare at him angrily, though the death stare you sent his way could do little more than have a stream try to bring down a bridge, squeezing every word between your clenched teeth, “I’m not a stalker, you jerk.”

“Apology accepted.” He gloats.

“Wha- I’m – Ugh!” Your outbreak gives into your frustration of not being able to form a proper sentence out of the existing vocabulary, if any, remaining in your head. Your body acts faster than your brain could perceive – it stomps on his feet heavily. You, stomp on his feet angrily.

You hope he breaks a toenail. Or five.

“You should change your username to Firecracker. Or Firestomper, perhaps?”

You could have just broken all of his bones back there, and this? This is his reaction?

“You-” You stop mid-sentence as his presence draws closer, making you stammer, “You-”

A hot, wet kiss. All teeth and tongue. All sucking and biting. Demanding. Intruding.

Forcing a thumb on your chin so you would open up for him at the right time, the proper angle, the faint whimper. Clawing your waist so you would avoid the pain, and chest flush to his, arching your spine. A knee between your legs that somehow finds its way there, that could almost grind on your weeping core-

A kiss that melts you down. That shows you every bit of him you wanted, and still want when you listen to the porn he recorded. The softness. The roughness. All of it. The kiss you have been craving for, dreaming for, and cumming for in all those sleepless nights. The kiss that turns you into a different person. The kiss that has you longing for more. Far more than what he offers right now.

He lets go of you after a small whimper escapes your lips.

“Sweet as a peach, lovie. But aww, so needy. Practically feeling you grinding on my cock just now.”

“I did not-” The blood rushes to your cheeks, “How dare you -”

Simon quirks his brow: “I, on the one hand, recall you, stalker lady, trying to paw at me when you attack me with your -”

A loud slap rings his ears.

“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Simon’s tongue finds his canines, and the spot where you slapped him on the face, and grins. Sickeningly.

As he watches your silhouette storm out of the barbeque party and into the confines of your house, he feels a rush of blood pouring down below, lighting up a fire that could burn everything down.

Fuck, he just got hard. Without a script or a microphone.

Taglist (also tagging the ones who may be interested): @vnknowcrow @splaterparty0-0 @prettygirleli @ksa01 @laciaheavenm

@dungeonpuppykai @mrs-marc-spector

[ja3hwa]

Take Turns | Ot8 Ateez

「Synopsis」 : Part 2 of Whose First. Where you finally get to see who you picked to have first...

「Word count」 :  5.4k

-> Genre: Smut, Mafia Au, Poly Au

Paring: Ot8 Ateez x Fem!Reader

[Warnings] : Wall sex, mentions of blood, lots of pet names. Penetrated sex, unprotected sex [Don't do this!] Daddy kink. Multiple orgasms, heavy subspace. Some trauma issues. The reader is secretly a simp for the boys. Soft Dom Hongjoong. Rough Seonghwa. Monster cock, Mingi and Yunho. Sir Kink. Double penetration. Anal A lot of dirty talk. [Mingi and Yunho got a real filthy mouth] squirting. Cumming inside [don't do that] Aftercare. Wooyoung is a cheeky thing. Oral [M Receiving]. Wooyoung might be slightly high but who's asking. [HEHE] Spanking, cum eating, jerking off. Threesomes [Obviously] description of cum and bodily fluids. Spit play [Sorry not sorry]. Reader calls sex playtime. Dom and Sub dynamic. Squirting, shower sex, nipple play, fingering, hickeys, Some MxM, choking [I'm not even sorry for that] name calling [Slut, oop] lazy make out, cock warming cause I'm a sucker for it. And if I missed something let me know, other than that enjoy my Darlings!! 

Notes: IT'S FINALLY HERE! Weeks working on this and I can finally say I'm ready. I worked super hard on this to try and make all the suggestions I got fit! This is the most filthiest thing I've ever written so god look away. Enjoy! ♡ ALSO ITS 3AM AND I HAVEN'T PROF READ IT SO IF THERE IS ANY MISTAKES IGNORE THEM! Thank you...

Tears stained your red hot cheeks. Your nails digging into the back of your lover as yours was pressed against one of the cold walls in the meeting room. His cock so deep inside you, you couldn't hear anything else other then the slapping sounds of skin and his groans ringing in your ears.

"Seong!!" You moaned his name, drawing blood from your nails. His thrusts getting sloppy as he chased his high. Your head was so fuzzy and light, it left like you floating.

"Come on Bunny make a mess on my cock." He bites your earlobe making you squeal, tightening around him before coming undone. He removed you from the wall, still inside of you as he walked over to the large, long table. Placing you down on the cold wood, he thrusted in an inhuman speed finally finishing himself off inside you. The others watching intensely as Seonghwa's cum leaked out of you, dripping onto the floor. You layed panting with half lids.

"Our turn." You faintly hear a deep voice come closer towards you before another higher pitch on chuckling. "Don't break her before we get our turn."

You knew it was Wooyoung whining and as a large hand rubbed your calf's with so much care you knew the deep voice had to belong to Mingi. His hands moved up your body before holding the back of your neck, lifting your frame up.

"Hey Little one." He kissed your forehead nuzzling his nose in your hair, holding you close for a moment. "Colour." He always asks this, even if you could be having the time of your life in these situations. He seems to need to know the colour more than you.

"Green Sir. Green" You whisper, wrapping your hands around his bare waist, hugging him. You suddenly felt another pair of hands snake their way on your thighs from behind Mingi. You look up to see beautiful eyes that belonged to Yunho.

"Who you want in the front this time Tiny." And just like Mingi always asking about a colour, Yunho also seemed to ask this question, well after all it's their favourite position to do with you. You were unsure who to pick, mind still hazy. All you wanted was them, not caring about the details.

"I-I don't know...I want both of you." You small whimpers caught Hongjoong's attention. Normally in a group activity you are very much aware of yourself and what's around you. But for some reason tonight you fell into your sub space. Something you never do. The only time you are in sub space is with Seonghwa and Hongjoong. None of the others ever having that effect on you.

"Hey Angel. Where are we?" Hongjoong tugged Yunho by his dress shirt slightly, making both of the boys move out of the was for him. It's not that the others didn't know about your subbiness towards the two eldest but this was a new experience for all of you, so Hongjoong wanted to make sure you were absolutely okay first.

"We are..I...I don't know." What Hongjoong feared was happening. You were definitely not use to being in your space while outside the bedroom. He briefly explained to the others you can become like this in the past but seeing it happen, it was a new experience. "You are in Daddy's meeting room and you are going to play with your Sir's. Are you okay with that angel?"

"Yes... Please." You gave him the biggest doe eye your could muster tugging on his shirt with desperation. Hongjoong just giggled at your expression, moving away for the two giants to sandwich your body between them.

"Looks like I'll be in front tonight little one. Now hold on tight." Yunho and Mingi took it upon themselves to decide what the position was going to be. Yunho gripping the under of your thighs to hold you up in the air from behind while Mingi slotted himself in between your open legs. Your hands tangled in Mingi hair, pulling his body closer to yours. Your whimper echoed in the room as your tummy tingled in anticipation. You felt Yunho and Mingi's cocks slide along your lower half, making you moan out a strangled 'P-Please' over and over. A cold sensation lapped around your ass, making your shiver before some of it cold liquid slipped inside. You whimpered at the uncomfortable feeling but as time goes on the slight pain turned into pleasure.

"You are good for us Tiny. So beautiful, so―" Yunho slipped in your tight ass, feeling you squeeze him immediately. Mingi sank deep inside your pussy almost straight after, making your brain short circuit at the overwhelming feeling. They took a moment for you to get use to them but when your hips started to rut, they got the non-verbal response to go.

"Fuck you're so tight. Such a good baby for letting your Sir's stuff you full." Mingi growls holding your hips while Yunho keeps his strong grip on your under-thighs, making you completely rely on them keeping you up in the air.

"You like being fucked in front of everyone? Hmm? Want everyone to see how to take us so well?" Yunho's words making you choke out a wet whimper. You couldn't form any response with than cries and moans for them do not stop, which they were definitely not going to do. The tingle grew, and a tightness rumbled in your chest. You wanted, no, needed to cum and the pleading hooded eyes you gave Mingi and the way you squeezed them made then both know you were close. The two pick up the pace, chasing their own highs as well.

"S-Sir...So f-full aargh." You cry, leaning back into Yunho's chest, leaning on his shoulder so your mouth could latch onto his hot skin, biting a harsh mark on his neck. "Oh, mmy f-f―" your whimpers pool out through your clamped teeth. With one hard thrust from both males, you feel the knot in you stomach unwind and break, liquid rushing out of you. The boys both came along side you, slowing their thrusts until the high slowed down.

You cringed slightly at the feeling of them pulling out. Your body becoming overwhelmed with sensations and your mind still hazed with glossed over eyes. You felt Yunho's hands let go of your inner thighs as Mingi's hand that held your hip, moved to hold you up but your legs still dangle. He slowly lets your feet touch the cold floor, making you hum at the cooling sensation. You try to stand but your legs have become the same texture of jello, wobbling as you fell towards Mingi's broad chest. He just chuckled, slowly helping you walk toward your devilish boyfriend that sits with his legs spread on one of the big meeting chairs.

"Come here Princess. Rest for a little on my lap." San's words made you feel warm and fuzzy. Taking perch on his lap, draping your legs on either side of his. San's hand traced random shapes in your back as you breath slowly through your mouth. One thing you obsesses over when it comes to your lovers is San's ability to always give such soothing comfort and aftercare. Even if he wasn't the one to have sex with you, he would always cuddle and make sure you were okay. It wasn't that the others didn't provide aftercare, don't get them wrong, they love the idea of cuddles and check ups. But San likes to hog the affection.

"Here, drink this baby." He hands you a bottle of water that Seonghwa had went and fetched. Mingi and Yunho are now no where to be scene, most likely gone upstairs to shower and have some more fun with one another since those two are known for being able to go longer than one round. You swear they have the stamina of super soldiers. As you drank the water you finally took in your surroundings, noting you were in the meeting room. Your gloss and haze fading, feeling the cool air create goosebumps on your bare skin. You see Wooyoung sitting on the table next to you and San with a sly smirk on his lips. Yeosang and Jongho are across the room, looking at something front of them, most likely paper work while they wait for their turn. Hongjoong and Seonghwa were also next to them, fully dressed as if Hwa wasn't pounding you moments ago.

"Sannie, Woo." You felt you brain finally clear, breathing fresh air for the first time for the night.

"Hey there, Princess. Welcome to the party." His smirk paints his face perfectly, making the tingle in your tummy erupt again. "Wanna play?" He asks you softly, even if he and Woo are desperate to feel you and became hot from the show Mingi and Yunho put on. They would never do something you didn't want to do. You nodded in response making Wooyoung jump off the table in excitement.

"This calls for the carpet." Wooyoung walked over to the large door that connected the meeting room to a small room, lounging area. The room was originally Hongjoong's office but it's now just sits empty, with left over furniture and filing cabinets. And a soft fluffy black carpet that sits in the middle of the room. San carried you in his arms as you watch Wooyoung strip his jacket, tie and blouse while he walked. The others caught notice of what the two had planned, Yeosang whispering something to Hongjoong with a smirk but you were unable to hear it.

"Come on Doll, let's fun some fun." Wooyoung giggled falling onto the soft carpet, rubbing it through his fingers, his sensitivity enjoying the texture. San places you down next to Wooyoung before starting to strip himself. Wooyoung took this time to grab your waist, pulling you on top of him so he could lock his lips on yours. You straddle his bare hips, grinding down on his cock while his tongue slips inside your mouth. He has to gasp within the kiss as he speaks, "Have I ever told you, you taste like fresh strawberries, like all the time."

His words made you giggle, not knowing about this little detail about yourself in Wooyoung's point of you. Before you could even think about responding though, two hands snake around your waist, pulling the top half of your body up to a sitting position as another pair of lips slot on you.

"Sharing―Kiss―Is―Kiss―Caring"

"Awee Come one Sannie, don't hog." Wooyoung bucks his hips up, grinding up against your core making you gasp through San's hot and heavy kiss. Wooyoung let his tip slip against your hole, trying his best to sink inside but unless you sat up it was useless. So he whined, high pitched and needy.

"Come on Princess, ride Wooyoung's cock would you. He seems so eager to feel you." You give San one more peak before you rotated around so you sat backwards on Wooyoung and your back was on display for him. His finger tips glide along your spine before landing a smack on your ass. You lean forward towards San that now sat himself in front of you and Wooyoung. Your position finally gave Wooyoung what he needs. Finally feeling you around him. God he swears if he wasn't mentally wanting to see what you would do, he would of came right the moment he felt your soft velvet walls around his cock.

"Fuck." He swears, letting his hands fall back to the carpet, clinging to it as he watches you with half open eye lids, sink up and down on him. Your pace made him squirm, moving his hips along with your own. You couldn't help but moan leaning on your hands to keep yourself up. San tucks a piece of hair behind your ear watching you with amusement. Your mouth hung opened, staring at him with glossed eyes. He could tell you were waiting for him to give you the word, the green light to help him, but man did he enjoy watching you look desperate for him. Desperate to please.

"Well go ahead Princess. Takes what's yours." He spread his legs wider for you, letting his cock lean against his abs. You took a hold of his shaft in seconds, mouth meeting with his tip. He had to fight the urge to thrust into your mouth, instead he grabbed a fist full of your hair to make a makeshift ponytail. You breathed heavily through your nose, trying to concentrate on riding Wooyoung but being so full from both ends made it near impossible.

"Fuck, argh. Fuck. Please I'm aargh." Wooyoung become a whimpering mess, getting closer and closer to his release. San lent his head back, gasping for air, starting to thrust into your mouth making your gag. Spit drooling, eyes watering, and heavy panting. All three of you drew closer to your highs, pace picking up harsher and faster. Wooyoung was the first to cum, spilling into your tight hole, while you came with him. Your release mixing together. San pulled out of your mouth jerking himself off in front of you getting ready with your beautiful tongue as you flatten it out for him to cum in your mouth. Some spilling on your chin and chest. Your legs and arms gave out, falling flat on the plush carpet, feeling your body begin to shut down. You have lost count on how many orgasms you've experienced but your thoughts did wonder if all your lovers have mentally decided to go for a new record or not.

"God you are always so messy San." You hear a faint deep voice, feeling a cool hand run up your back making your shiver. "You think you'd at least clean up." He chuckles, squatting down to lift some of your hair out of your face. Your hazy eyes pull open to look up at your lover, Jongho. His smirk was wide and sadistic."Or you could just aim properly." You knew he was referencing the way San was messy with his orgasm, dripping it down your chin and chest. Jongho's fingers ran along your face, picking up some of the cum, before pressing them against your lips. "Suck." His deep velvet voice makes you clench around nothing, placing your lips around his thick fingers. You could taste San mixing on your tongue making your whimper for more, even though some may ways you've had more than enough. But then again you could never be satisfied, always needing one of them. To hold you, kiss you, touch you. Fuck you.

"God she just keeps going." Yeosang chuckled taking a seat down on the couch next to San, in front of where you now sat on your knees for Jongho. Your stare at Yeosang with doe eyes, wanting to know what they might have planned for you. Jongho pulled his fingers out, your saliva still connected from tip to tongue. He couldn't help but groan watching the saliva drip down your face, gripping your chin with enough strength that he could pull your face right up to his.

"Open up Honey. Let me have my fun." He dark voice sent tingles down your spine. Opening your mouth wide, flattening your tongue out for him. He chuckles spitting straight into your mouth making your shiver with a whine. He tilted his head licking his lips. He knew you were waiting for his command, for his word. But he needed to watch you wiggle in anticipation first. "Swallow." And so you did, closing your mouth.

"See San, you can still have fun without having to be so messy."

"Yeah, Yeah, you've proven your point." San groaned finally standing up to button his pants. "But..." He pulled your body up, so you are standing on your wobbly legs. "I know our baby likes it messy sometimes." He gave your one last peck before carefully throwing you onto Yeosang, legs falling on each side of his thighs.

"Well Hello there Darling." Yeosang kisses your cheek, rubbing your back softly. "Care to take me for a spin?" You gave him a small nod, kissing his neck while grinding yourself on his covered crotch. He hands gripped your hips, helping your small movements. The others around you watched carefully as they see how desperate you are with Yeosang. Hongjoong had to chuckle thinking about how this might be the first time you'll be able to take all of them in one night without resting. Normally in events that one of the boys are horny, they would either have one of their lovers to help or tease you into having some imitate time with them. You've tried to take them all in one night before, having gone over rules about safe words and even though you never had to use the said safe word. You have asked to stop 'play time' given it has gotten a little too much. But tonight you seemed determined.

"Y-Yeo." You choked humping his covered leg. Yeosang brushed over the thought of teasing you, but given you've been so good tonight he unbuckled his pants swiftly.

"You are such a good baby. My Darling. My love." He pulled his cock out tugging himself while staring deep into our eyes. He held your hips up, so he could angle himself at your entrance. He didn't even get to ask if you were ready before you sank down on him hard. His air escaped out of his lungs, moaning your name aloud. His arms wrapped around your waist pulling you flushed against his chest. The fabric of suit scratched against your skin making a burning sensation erupt on the surface. But you couldn't care less at the uncomfortable feeling, sensing your body going into over drive at Yeosang's cock pumping in and out at an monstrous pace.

"YEOSANG!!!" You couldn't help my claw at his neck, tangling your fingers in his hair. He was hitting the right stops at the right time.

"Come on Darling, be a good baby and cum. Put a show on for all of us." And it was like Yeosang's word were exactly what you needed as you high snapped, making you cry out. But something was different this time.

"Fuck well look at that." You could hear Jongho's voice faintly through the fuzzy buzzing in your ears. "She fucking squirted."

"Good Job Darling." Yeosang whispers in your ears, kissing along your temple. Your juices soaked Yeosang's work suit but he couldn't care less, he is more impressed that he was the one to get you to squirt tonight. Since it was usually Yunho or Seonghwa that had that magic touch on you.

"I think Hwa and Yun have some competition." Hongjoong chuckles, picking up a stray hair that fell in front of your face before tucking it behind your ear. You smiled weakly at him, content with just laying on Yeosang for a moment. But that moment fell short as Jongho comes to snake his arms around your waist pulling you up to stand on your almost useless legs. They wobble as you tried your best to stand, but without Jongho's board shoulder you would most certainly fall.

"Come on let's go upstairs. I think a hot shower will make you feel better." His voice was soft unlike how he spoke prior.

"But wh-what about you..." You look at him with doe eyes before looking over at Hongjoong "or you?" You felt guilt bubble inside, you were determined to have all of them but they are the ones now saying no? Did you do something wrong? Before your mind could begin to over think Joong stepped forward rubbing his palm on your cheek.

"Oh don't worry Angel, we have something special planned."

And just like that, you were being carried upstairs in Jongho's arms. He placed you so carefully on the bathroom counter as he gave you one last lingering but passionate kiss before walking for the door. You called for him to ask why he was going to leave, but all you got in return was a small smile with a wink before he retreats outside. The sound of the shower caught your attention, making you look over to see Hongjoong running his hands under the water, testing the temperature.

"You ready to hop in my love?" His voice was barely under a whisper, only just being able to hear him over the shower. You nodded grabbing his hand so you could carefully get off the counter. He leads you into the shower, letting your back hit the warm water. His eyes never left yours, watching you slowly relax, the knots in your body finally unwind. He had no intention in doing anything mischievous, well not right now anyways. He wanted to just be with you, hold you. Wash the day away and make sure you were safe. Their lives were filled with brutality and violence, so coming home to see you so ready to please them, and love them even if they had so much blood on their hands. All the boys loved you so much, and wanted nothing but to worship the ground you walked on. All they wanted to do was―

"What are you thinking about my love?" You voice woke him from his trance, his hand suddenly stopping from brushing your soft skin. The soap running down your flesh, washing off to the drain. He looked down to you, seeing you smile. Your eyes sparkling. God, he was so in love. Hongjoong didn't answer you straight away, instead he kissed you, softly, slowly first.

"I was thinking about how beautiful you are. How you did amazing tonight." He gave you another small kiss, "How you are always trying to look after us when we should be the ones to look after you." and another quick kiss. "How, no matter how bad any of our days get, you are always there to make us feel better."

He finally gave you a long, deep, passionate kiss. Pulling your body flush against his own as his hands snaked to grip your bare ass. You moan into the kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck. You had to try not slip and luckily Hongjoong caught onto your worry, grabbing a hold of your waist and slowly moving you towards the shower wall. He trails his mouth down your wet neck, brushing some of your hair away so he could lap over the past wounds his other lovers had inflicted on you. He sucked over the purple mark, making them a harsher redish colour.

"You did so well today Angel. But I got one last surprise for you, if you are up for it." His voice tickles your ear lob as his hand ran down your tummy until it lays right above where you want him.

"Yes Joongie. Please. I want it." You plea made him chuckle, whistling a quick tune, suddenly making you confused. But then you heard the lock of the door click, it made you aware you were no longer alone with Hongjoong.

"Is there room for one more?" Seonghwa's mellow voice cooed above the sound of the shower making your heart rate pick up. Even though you have been naked in front of Seong before, his stare always made you feel so exposed every time he looked at you. His smirk painted his face beautifully as he entered the large shower behind Hongjoong. He gave his lover a peck on the shoulder, neck, jaw and finally his lips. You grew hot watching your lovers kiss each other, rubbing your thighs together. Seonghwa took notice, chuckling in the kiss making Hongjoong breakaway.

"I think our baby wants to join in." Hongjoong laughed staring you up and down.

"Bunny just wants what hers." He switched places with Hongjoong, retching for your waist, to situate himself next to you. His charming gaze could make anyone weak in the knees and as he kept his eyes locked on yours, you swore your legs would buckle at any moment. He ran his finger along your clit, making you gasp. You didn't even notice Seonghwa's hands, being too focused on his eyes instead. He placed slow pressure on your bud making you gulp with light pants. You rolled your hips against his hand, quickly losing yourself in pleasure.

"That's it Bunny, So good for Daddy." He replaced his fingers with the tip of his dick, rubbing along your slit, you closed your eyes leaving your mouth agape. You whimpered please over and over, again and again. But he wouldn't let you have what you needed.

"Oh as much as I would love to feel this pussy again. I think Joongie needs a taste." He pulled you off the wall, rotating you around so you are in between him and Hongjoong. Your back hit Seong's bare chest, his breath pooling on your neck. "Wouldn't you agree Bunny? You want daddy to fill you up with his cock?" You stare at Hongjoong with pleading eyes, nodding before whimpering;

"Yes, please. Please." Seonghwa's hands snaked down your waist, and hips, moving slowly towards your thighs. He taps the flesh making you understand the silent command. First lifting up your left leg, then pushing up to place the other in Seonghwa's tight hold, he held them spread in the air for Hongjoong to have the best view of you.

"Fuck look what we have here." Hongjoong's chuckle makes your skin crawl in the best way possible, you lean against Hwa's shoulder, your breath tickling his neck. His fingers dig into the soft fat of your thigh, letting Hongjoong slip between them. Joong, wasted no time to line himself up with your entrance, thrusting into you with one deep, swift movement.

"D-daddy." You moan at the sensation, biting Seonghwa's neck to stop yourself from making so much noise as the bathroom tends to echo the sound of your voice. Hongjoong's hand landed on the wall, either side of you and Hwa, sinking inside of your dripping mess with such speed it almost winded you.

Hwa just relaxed himself, enjoying the show he was witnessing. Dropping one your legs, Hongjoong takes it from him without worry, continuing his assault with no thought of stopping. Seong's hand glided up your body, stopping at your chest to play with your nipples for a little bit before he placed his palm securely around your throat.

"You're so good for us baby. Such a slut for us." He squeezes, drawing your breathing short. The fuzziness went straight to your brain as you felt like you were on cloud nine. Hongjoong's hips snapped, buckling slightly. You both knew he was close, and Hwa was determined to get you to come before his other lover.

"Baby, be a dear and hold our Bunny's other leg for me." Hongjoong listened instantly, switching the wall for your thigh. Seonghwa had now both free hands, keeping his left hand on your throat he drew his right to your clit, moving in fast circular motions making you scream what little air you had in your lungs left.

You came so hard that you felt like you could have fallen from your mini spasm if it wasn't for the two men holding you still. You left Hongjoong's load, painting your insides, spilling out while he pulled away. Your mind was so hazy you could barely hear the two praise you, knowing they were from their soft kissing. You all washed off, Seonghwa helping you out of the shower onto the soft bathmat. He dressed you into some underwear, and a large shirt. But the cologne on the shirt wasn't Hongjoong or Seonghwa's, it was—

"Come of bunny, let's get you to bed." You gave Hongjoong one last kiss to Joong before Seonghwa walked you to a bedroom. Not your bedroom though, it was Jongho's room to be exact.

"Good night my love." Seonghwa pecks your cheek, leaving you in front of the cracked open door. You opened the door fully seeing a sleepy-looking Jongho in only boxers. His smile was still painted on his face even though his eyes showed exhaustion.

"Hey, honey."

"Bear..." You didn't even say hello to him, instead, you closed the door and walked over to the bed, falling on top of of the soft comforter. He hummed at your actions sensing the ache of sleep taking over your body. So, he gripped at the covers pulling them down so you both can get under. You faced him, watching him with stalker-ish eyes, as he switched off all the lights and lamps, except for one that resided on your bedside table. He knew you didn't like the dark, and always requested to leave at least one lamp on which he would gladly do every time.

"You comfy there baby?" He had to chuckle lightly, seeing you so soft and comfortable. You wiggled into the plush black and sage green blankets, making his point proven. He joined you laying down so his face was inches from yours―your nose just touching one another―.

"You didn't join in tonight..." You didn't mean for your words to come out so blunt, but you became curious why he hasn't asked to have his turn yet. His expression didn't change from your words though, instead, he lent closer to you, pecking your cheek, pouring his passion out with a single kiss.

"Who says I wasn't going to join in?" Your ears perked at his deep sensual voice, while his fingers rested on your hips now hooked under your underwear straps. He snaps the band sending a small amount of pleasurable pain up your spine. His lips latch on your neck, licking a strip with his hot tongue. He lifted your―well his shirt―off your body, keeping you on your side. You watch him while still under the covers, slip his boxers down his legs, letting them fall out of the bed on the nearby floor. His lips catch yours, tongue slipping inside your mouth. You couldn't help but moan into the kiss, shuffling closer to him so you're both layed chest to chest.

"Keep me warm honey. Can you do that?" His hot breath tickled your lips as he went back to kissing you without an answer. Your whimpers were enough for him to know you were more than happy to comply. Giving you one last peck on the lips and then a small kiss on your nose, you rotated to put your back against his chest. You pulled your panties off a little too eagerly but who was caring at this point? His cock hit your hot pussy, and he groaned, having to remember he couldn't just fuck you into the sheets the minute he was inside. He needed patients but it was slowly warring thin.

"You are so good. I don't deserve you. None of us do." He whispers in your ear while he slips inside, his ball hitting you as he bottoms out. "I'm going to keep you nice and stuffed while you rest my love. And then I will wake you up the best way possible." he gives your neck a few kisses before groaning out;

"I'll fuck you awake so good that you'll be begging me to stop."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" You simply giggled, eyes already heavy as your breathing slowed. The feeling of fullness sends a fuzzy and warm feeling to your gut, making you feel loved and safe next to Jongho.

"It's a promise." He whispered.

-

Ateez Masterlist

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[weekend-whip]

Ninjago Fic Rec Week (2024): Day 4

Prompts: AU/Movieverse/OCs! (Catching Up! I uh skipped Day 3 oop but I've got plenty to offer for this day! Which is...also late...don't look at meeee)

Aus WITH OCs (or as I like to call this list, my own personal indulgence corner. All the AUs/Movieverse stories I've read are ones that get recc'ed a lot already + I myself have already recc'ed them at one point or another, soooo let's throw some pure spotlight onto some OC stories! Even if a lot of it is connected to me to some degree that's irrelevant):

As The Years Pass By: A fic currently in the process of being rewritten/reworked but still chock full of next-gen Dragons Rising goodness! And it stars the one, the only, Jenna and Ethan from @rainofthetwilight!!!! This fic made me fall in love with her characters and I've loved reading/seeing/drawing these two adorable kids ever since!!!!

Dad!Jay AU by @taddymason: An AU so good I'm still catching up on reading it bit by bit to savor it for longer *-*)9 All the stories in this series are worth the read alone for the accumulation of taddy's character Kaida (a girl who needs no introduction–she's that awesome guys, trust me) but also the eventual father-daughter bond with amnesiac!Jay that is gripping and engaging aaaaall the wall through!!

I Carve This Poem From the Harshest of Storms: Another I'm not caught up with YET (a running theme for this Fic Week, it seems hgfhgfdfgds i'm sorry I'm slow and have a short-attention span). It follow two fascinating peeps in The Administration following The Merge, and without giving too much away, @theartsyswissapple ‘s voices for the characters just POP and make them feel SO real and it's been intriguing to read so far so yeah others should give it a try too!!!

What it Takes for You to See Me: A Spinjitzu bros story with added FSM and Mystake goodness too!!! This is one I've just started reading myself, but you know I love some throwbacks to Wu and Garmadon's past! And the OC here, @marhan-writes-n-draws's Amka, fits into the setting like a glove!!

Honeycomb: Gotta give a shoutout to @miqotepotatoe's Lucy while I'm here too!! Some short, sweet snippets of the Ninja Team's best (and most yellow) cheerleader!! I love her dynamic with everyone, and especially Cole <3

The Space Between Us: A very deep and heart-wrenching introspective into @k1ngtok's characters Lynda and Jamie, Master(s) of Space. It's story about siblings and bonds at its core, but also be mindful of tag of you're looking to dig deeper! (it also takes place in legacyverse technically but that's neither here or there I promise)

Flowery Language Another super funny and endearing story by King following Jesse (hey it's my boy!!) and Antonia on the case to discover who's been leaving flowers in Jesse's locker (spoiler: it's not Cole lmao). It's actually a semi-sequel to this old thing *I* wrote however long ago, but thaaaat's not required reading (though it does help). If you want more of a fix for the Jesse-Antonia duo + more of Jamie, this is the story to read!

Learning to Love (Again): Yet another King fic based in legacyverse (a coincidence), this one kiiiind of takes place during Season 2/Book 3 and follows Jamie on his quest to truly show his friends (Nya, Antonia, Harumi, Jesse, and...Olivia?!) just how much he cares about them through the power of love languages over the course of a week and it is AWESOOOOOOOOME!! Soooo many touching and feel-good moments, mostly soft slice-of-life with teenagers being teenagers, and is a great pick-me up when your soul is feeling sad ;w;)/ I advocate for this one just for the warm soft friendshippy-feelings it gives me alone!!! AAAAAA—

Something About Morning Glories: Jesse (oop there he is again) takes it upon to himself to comfort Jay after the latter finds himself concerned about something following obtaining his True Potential. A duo I desperately want to write more about but can't yet, so this little bit of foundation for their relationship will have to suffice for now ;w;)/

(and if you're still clamoring for more of a certain magic pink fool, there's plenty more where that came from; perhaps there may be a Jesse-Antonia friendship origin story on deck soon, along with maybe some DR stuff~! ...listen there will never be a good chance to self-advertise like this again!! BE YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!! SELF-LOVE BABY!!!! *-*)9 )

In the Company of the Stars: A tale as old as time—a Royal!AU where the fair groundskeeper of a palace's garden (that's the OC) falls head over heels for the prince far out of his league (that's Cole)—except, the prince absolutely likes him back...albeit only as his secret, suave alter-ego. But is that really true—and, more importantly, is there bigger problems to deal with right now???? There's romance, mystery, good food, royal drama, angst, fluff, sabotage, magic, a whole bunch of flowers, Harumi causing chaos on purpose, Skylor throws Chad across a room, Jay goes on a rampage a some point, Kai can't flirt to save his life—the author just needs some fresh motivation to post the darn next chapter already because the ending's gonna be really really good ;V

[loremaster]

BOBA AU - CHAPTER 1 EXTRAS

I had actually drawn a few more things than could fit within the 30-image-per-post limit. Here are the ones that didn't make the cut, with commentary!

(tw: mild animal abuse, n*zi mention, suggestive themes)

Zilch's animal companions. I named Carmina Burana and Tortellini, Gucci and Bosch were named by my friends - though Bosch was supposed to be called Hieronymus, it just didn't fit on the nametag lol

I wanted to illustrate some examples of Zilch casually mistreating/neglecting the animals but this was as far as I got. I don't think he would be a full on animal abuser, just... the type of person who likes having a bunch of pets to show off but doesn't really think about properly caring for them. He likes the aesthetics of animals much more than the logistics.

This was gonna be the chapter cover and I forgot. Oops.

This was just practice drawing the church characters from their sprites.

Zilch: I must say, it's an unexpected pleasure to run into another kindred spirit around here. I'm Zilch~

This scene was actually cut deliberately. I drew it before I decided exactly what the Nun's issue with Zilch would be and then once I did, I felt like it didn't fit anymore. Zilch is still excited to see someone else with ears and tail like him, but in the final version, he's a lot more derisive about it.

I imagine the Nun is, like, an actual animal-human hybrid whereas Zilch is a furry with a wallet that can afford bioengineered bodymods. (One day, my friends... one day...)

Zilch being flippant and Halara being dismissive/tsundere. Couldn't really find a place to put it but I still like the drawing - even if I did accidentally give Zilch human ears.

By the way, you might notice Zilch hasn't been wearing his cap. There are two reasons. One is to show off that his ears aren't actually connected to it. If I had the time to go back and redraw the prologue with him wearing it - so Halara's "holy fuck" reaction makes more sense here - I would. (Not really worth trying to fix though, not until the rest of the story is done.)

But the other reason is that upon looking closer at Zilch's original design, I thought it was a little too evocative of Nazi imagery and wasn't really comfortable with it. It's not really the same style of hat, sure, but combined with the swastikas in his eyes??? yeah no way is that not intentional. (I redesigned his eye symbols to be catlike slit pupils instead.)

I get he (or, the hitman, I guess) is supposed to be a villain, and a minor one, in the original game... but here I'm gonna flesh him out a bit more. So I guess in that sense the removal of the hat symbolizes his growth as a character beyond his terrible awful fascist upbringing lol (more on that in the Gumshoe Gabs soon)

If I were making this an actual game it would be fun to have Yuma get a fun little added gameplay element of using Zilch's Forte like he does with Halara's. He gets some little animal friends!!!

I imagined Zilch would ask to be carried, but Halara won't do it without getting paid an exorbitant amount. And then Zilch forks over the cash on the spot. Yuma screams internally. If he had that the whole time why were they even trying to negotiate over the coat???!? Why does he still have his own debt to pay if Zilch could just cover the whole thing up front????

Halara has to pretend not to be enthusiastic about this opportunity.

Shinigami is... there, I guess.

Martina my wife driving around her little parasite of a boyfriend. Ms Electro please call me

Was originally gonna have Seth say that out loud but then I remembered he doesn't want to lose his job. (It's okay, he loses it anyway.)

(Also yes this is pre-Vivia-DLC.)

And then the mystery is solved!

Zilch feels indebted to Halara for saving him from the Nail Man, and wants to follow their example, turn it around, treat his animals better... his act of goodwill here is extremely performative, though. But, hey, everyone's gotta start somewhere!

Ultimately I cut this scene after coming up with the cat bed idea. (Was very tempted to have Halara cruelly taking the coat from the boy, but just decided to skip it instead.)

So Zilch kinda idolizes Halara now... which is fine... but then the morning after he really lets his simp flag fly.

Congrats on your furry boyfriend, I guess?????

A doodle from the margins of this comic way back when.... which finally has a place to belong! \o/

Zilch's fursona. His "zursona," if you will.

Thanks again for reading! I love everyone's comments in the tags and I'm so glad you all like my version of Zilch especially. Excited to develop him some more in future chapters >:)

[minecraftbookshelf]

Adventures in Grian-Napping

Yakety Sax plays overhead.

Limited Life Session 3 Urban Fantasy AU not-quite-crack but definitely not serious either

Thanks to @crabbbage and @possiblyawesometmblr for the inspiration!

1.9k words

On AO3

-

"Grian's in a coma!"

Scott almost dropped his coffee when Martyn came flying through the front door, grinning like a madman.

"You know when Pearl moved out," he started, carefully re-balancing his armload of coffee and paperwork. "She left her key. Because she doesn't live here anymore. Because she has somewhere else to live. Just something to consider."

Martyn just looked at him like he was stupid. "Pearl doesn't use the front door, she comes in the window. You complain about it every time." He reached for the coffee pot on the bar and Scott batted his hands away.

"It's rude." He said defensively, taking a sip of his coffee to avoid having to answer any further. Martyn didn't say anything, just watched.

"You also have somewhere else to live. Somewhere you lived before, even."

Martyn tried for the coffee pot again.

Scott dropped his bag to grab it first. "Oh my GOD! Would you stop that‽ I made it, you should know better."

Martyn slunk back a step with an overly dramatic sulk. "You let Cleo eat your food."

"Cleo is undead and therefore immune to faerie food." Scott dumped the contents of the pot down the sink. "You, however, are not. You'd think twice would be enough."

"What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment." Martyn hopped back towards him. "Anyway, that's not what I'm here for. Grian is in a coma."

Scott left the coffee pot in the sink and gathered back up his work things before making another try for the front door. "That's so sad, I'll send a card to the hospital."

"Oh no no no," Martyn shook his head. "Not that kind of coma, he's not in the hospital. He's on Joel and Timmy's sofa." He clearly thought this meant something, looking at Scott expectantly.

Scott just rolled his eyes up at the ceiling. "When will my husband return from the war and take you back off my hands?" He paused. "And by husband I mean Ren and by war I mean his communing with the moon and the wilderness werewolf thing."

"It's a two month retreat," Martyn said immediately. "He'll be gone for three more weeks."

A deep sigh and he looked back down. "Alright, I'll bite. What is going on with Grian and why do we care?"

"Wow, that's cold. Grian is in a coma because, according to Timmy," and Martyn made the most dramatic air quotes Scott had seen in awhile. "Grian said 'Oops, just a second, the gods are trying to take me back.' And then flopped over into his breakfast."

Scott mentally filed that away in his What the Actual Fuck is Up With Grian folder. "Okay, so again, why do we care?"

"We should steal him."

Scott should have kept the rest of the coffee, risk to Martyn be damned.

"We need to hurry though, Cleo, Scar, and Bdubs are already trying for it."

Of course they are.

-

It took them nearly half an hour to get to Joel and Jimmy's place because Martyn couldn't fly and Scott refused to carry him. No matter how many times he almost got run over jaywalking. Pearl was perched in the window by the door when they got there, her wings twitching behind her occasionally to balance. Scott stopped at the threshold and exchanged a look with her that only felt a little bit awkward. (They were doing better, even if they weren't quite back to the level of friendship they'd had before the soulmates debacle.)

"What's happened so far?"

Pearl grinned. "Scar has been baby-talking him, Cleo is hovering ominously, and-"

"STOP TRYING TO TAKE OUR GRIAN!"

"-And Joel is working himself towards an aneurysm."

Scott peeked through the door that Martyn so thoughtfully left open. He couldn't quite see into the living room from there but he could see Bdubs standing in the hallway and Jimmy fluttering back and forth, wings fluffed up indignantly while he argued with someone out of sight.

Oh, he might just be distracted enough that...

"Hey, Jimmy? May I come in?"

Pearl stifled a giggle next to him, her antenna bobbing in front of her face.

"Huh, yeah? Wait, no-"

Too late.

Scott strolled across the threshold, hands shoved in his pockets and smirk firmly pasted on. Jimmy threw his hands up in the air and stomped away, further into the sitting room.

"He never learns."

"He let me and Scar in too," Bdubs confirmed as he walked up beside him, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Though I don't think he'd realized that was a bad idea yet."

Scott just hummed in amusement. Invitations at this house were good one-time only, courtesy of Lizzie and the copious amounts of wards she'd thrown at the house first when Joel and then later Jimmy moved in. And if he focused hard enough, Joel would be able to throw them out, invited or no. They'd just have to make sure he was too distracted then. 

Though Cleo and Scar and Martyn seemed to have that well in hand, circling like vampires at a seedy nightclub. Joel was standing in front of the sofa, his hands on his hips, staring Cleo down, which looked pretty comical from the height difference alone. Scar and Martyn were flanking, trying their best to get at Grian (wrapped in a blanket, sitting on the sofa, staring blankly into space) while Joel body-blocked them without breaking eye contact with Cleo, who looked more amused than anything else. Jimmy was hovering anxiously in the back.

"Awwwww, who's a widdle Gwian," Scar was cooing, practically radiating mildly malicious delight. "Lookit the widdle Gwian!" 

"Stop that!" Joel blindly flailed a hand in Scar's direction and managed to smack him across the face, more out of luck than intention. Scar wheeled backwards a bit but wasn't deterred for long, rolling right back up to the sofa, turning his chair so that it was partially shielding him.

"Does the widdle Gwian want to go for walkies?"

"NO!" That actually got Joel to look away from Cleo, clear alarm on his face. "NO HE DOES NOT!"

"Are you so sure," Martyn inched closer. "It's got to be a bit dull, just staring at the wall like that. What kind of friends would we be if we left him to suffer boredom while he does..." he waved a hand vaguely in the air. "whatever he's doing."

Jimmy's wings fluffed up further. Pearl appeared in the living room window with a bag of popcorn as if she'd always been there. 

"You're not stealing our Grian!" Joel insisted. It was a good thing there were privacy wards. Who knows what the neighbors would have done by now otherwise.

"Do you think if we threw him across your lap you'd be able to carry him out?" Cleo asked Scar directly, leaning in a bit closer to Joel in a way that would have intimidated probably anybody else, but Joel's sense of danger was skewed and he didn't even flinch.

Scar looked genuinely thoughtful, tapping one finger on his knee as he considered. "Maybe. We'd have to tuck the blanket in tightly to make sure it didn't get caught in my wheels and kept his wings folded up."

Joel looked about ready to explode and was sputtering incoherently. Jimmy was squawking like an offended chicken. Pearl absolutely had the right idea with the popcorn.  

"You could at least turn the television on for him," Scott decided to throw his two cents in. "He's already in here."

Everyone quieted for a moment and considered that.

"Mario Kart?" Pearl suggested through a mouthful of popcorn. Jimmy perked up at the suggestion and Martyn looked like it had genuinely distracted him.

"We should do that!"

-

Two hours later everyone was firmly focused on the television, controllers being passed around and insults even more so. Cleo and Martyn and Scar and Pearl were fighting their way through Bowser's Castle and Scott leaned back against the sofa, closed his eyes and took a soft, deep breath.

Jimmy was easy, Scott's magic familiar and nonthreatening to him. He slumped over almost immediately, sound asleep.

Joel was harder. He had an innate resistance to magic in general that was very annoying, and an extra buffer from Lizzie's claim, but he was fairly relaxed and unsuspecting and he wasn't that far behind Jimmy.  Scott stifled a yawn and sat back up. Sleep charms always made him sleepy too. 

None of the others except BDubs had even noticed, too focused on the game.

"If you still want to steal Grian," Scott said, right as Martyn crossed the finish line with a cheer and shouts of disgust from the others. "Now would be the time."

Bdubs hopped to his feet. "Right, c'mon, Mom!"

Cleo looked somehow both exhausted and entertained at the same time. "Don't call me mom." Regardless, they got to their feet and gave the room a quick look-around. "Right."

Without further ado, she strode over to the sofa, threw Grian, blanket burrito and all over her shoulder and looked back at the rest of them. "Are you coming or what?"

There was a mad scramble, full of giggling and loud shushing and one close call (Jimmy rolled over in his sleep and almost hit Scar with his wing) before they were all out in the hallway looking at each other.

"Where to?" Martyn poked the Grian burrito. No reaction.

Pearl looked up from her phone. "I texted BigB, he'll meet us at the corner with the car."

"We should take him to Dad," Bdubs said emphatically. 

Cleo sighed. "Fine, we'll go see Etho."

Scar and Bdubs cheered. Martyn hushed them and they cheered again, quieter this time.

"We should hurry, the sleep charm won't last much longer," Scott jumped a bit when Pearl linked her arm with his.

They were out the front door and on the sidewalk, BigB's sedan pulling into view before the jig was up.

"WHERE IS GRIAN!"

Scott exchanged glances with Pearl and Martyn and as one the three of them bolted for the corner, giggling all the way, the others hot on their tail.

The trunk popped as they got close and Cleo yanked it open and tossed Grian inside without hesitation. Scar swung himself out of his chair and leaned up against Scott, who had to scramble a bit to catch him, scooting his chair at Cleo. They folded it up in record speed and shoved it in the trunk as well, right on top of Grian, before slamming the doorclosed and immediately pulling Bdubs out of the passenger seat so they could sit there themself.

Scott somehow ended up squished in one corner of the back, with Scar in the middle, Pearl on the other side with her knees pulled up, Martyn in his lap, and Bdubs squished down in the footwell in front of Pearl. Just in time too, as Joel came dashing down the sidewalk, Jimmy on his heels and fury on his face.

"GO! GO! GO!" At least three people screamed and BigB screamed wordlessly back as he peeled away from the curb. Scott managed to twist enough in his seat he could look out the back window. Joel was red in the face and looked genuinely distressed enough that he almost felt bad. Behind Joel, Jimmy took to the air.

"Jimmy's following," he informed the car at large. "He'll watch us from the air but he won't be too hard to lose."

Martyn leaned back, his elbow making forceful contact with Scott's diaphragm as he tried to look out the window. "He forgot to glamour before he took off, didn't he."

Scott wheezed, Pearl laughed, and Scar cackled like the madman he was.

"Etho is going to hate this," Bdubs announced from the floor. 

"Only one way to find out," Cleo said cheerfully and turned on the radio. "To Etho's house!"

[torchickentacos]

Is there anything you dislike about the pokemon anime?

OH BOY, ANON. Short answer: yes. Long answer, sort of no? Or, rather, nothing that I dislike outside of a petty, mildly annoyed sense OR nothing I care quite enough about to share my discourse take on. I don't have any genuine criticisms, because ultimately any I would have, I kind of signed up for by being a pokeani fan. Like, I know I'm not here for intricate plotlines or incredible character arcs. I'm mostly here for shitposting about the same four characters from 2007. I was the harley's ass blog for a while, after all. But for a more in-depth answer (mostly AG focused since I have to fact-check myself on it the least, though I'm sure I could bring stuff up for each gen)...

...Something that DOES bug me about pokeani is the concept of lost potential, or plots and ideas that lead nowhere. Like, in early early AG, May seems to be avoiding her dad and Petalburg city and then absolutely nothing is done with it. (Projection loss: character does not, in fact, have canon father issues for me to pay attention to instead of my own. Sad.) Another example? Drew being from a movie-only location, only for us to NOT SEE HIM IN THE ACTUAL MOVIE. SURE. But I've made like four posts about that by now, and I'll make another if someone asks me to. Another example??? Solidad as, like, an entire character. That deserves its own post. ily Solidad (Also Chloe- someone in the RBs, feel free to take that and go off about it!!!). Another? The People of the Water apparently being SUPER IMPORTANT TO MAY AND MAX'S HERITAGE, AND IT COMES WITH SOME DEEP INTERNAL CONNECTION TO MANAPHY/THE TEMPLE OF THE SEA but oops nope they only exist in that one movie, dw about it ever again. Brock's issues growing up with too much responsibility? You might get one or two mentions of it per generation but don't count on it actually being important to his character.

I would call this the GS Ball Problem, but at least we got some form of explanation for that one. Sigh. Good news is, here in optimist land, we can take all of this as fic/au opportunities and explore the foundation canon haphazardly laid!!! So, I wouldn't call this something I dislike about the anime per se as much as just something I don't GET, but hey, people take those gaps and do incredibly fun, interesting things with them, so I can't complain too much. Lapses in canon and a barebones foundation set the scene for fandom creativity and interpretation, which I honestly value more than anything canon would have thrown at us anyways.

And again, it's the pokemon anime. I KNOW I signed up for this, so I'm not writing a long post because I'm big mad about it, I'm writing a long post because I can't shut up and I like run-on sentences lmao.

EDIT and a reboot of pokemon chronicles would fix all of this, in this essay I will-

[mrswhozeewhatsis]

Hey :) does anyone have a lpmg spn series fic to binge that you recommend?

Could be a Sam or Dean or Cas fic I don't mind

That could happen in the world of spn but it isn't a show rewrite

Thanks <3

I'm gonna make some assumptions, and if I'm wrong, you're gonna have to send me another ask to clarify. First, I'm guessing that lmpg is a typo and is meant to be long. Second, I'm assuming you're looking for reader inserts and not ship fics. Third, I'm going to assume that you are okay with poly fics, because I hate to choose just one member of TFW, and poly fics are all the bee's erogenous zones, not just the bee's knees. Finally, I'm pretty sure you want canon-compliant fics, not AUs. If any of these assumptions are wrong, send me another ask and I'll change my answers!

Looking for canon-compliant (or at least, world-compliant) epic tales with awesome reader-insert characters who fall in bed (and sometimes in love) with various members of Team Free Will, sometimes all of them. I'll start with my own masterlist because it's what I'm most familiar with. 🤣

Cracker Jack Prize - 87k words - My first ever piece of fiction, and it shows. Not a reader insert, but it reads like one (2nd person POV). Myka gets with everyone in this one! It's very Mary Sue, and it's formatted poorly on AO3, but it has my favorite Cas smut scene I ever wrote.

Oasis - 46k words - My answer to the question, "After Cas freaks out the hooker at the den of iniquity, how would YOU get him to relax and seduce him?" No Sam lovin' in this one, but some super hot Dean, and a threesome scene! (A little dubcon in one scene.)

A Woman of Letters (Getting a Feel For Sam Winchester) - 70k words - After Oasis, I needed some Sam lovin'. And some angst, apparently.

Third Wheel - 64k words - This comes closest to a series rewrite, as it closely follows season 6. I challenged myself to write a fuck ton of fucking. Soulless Sam helped. And then Dean got involved.

Those are all of my epic TFW fics. If you also like John, I've got two more epic tales involving him. Except for one AU fic (Priest!Cas with some Sam on the side - another long fic)), everything else in my masterlist is also canon-compliant, just shorter. 🤣

I tried to search my blog for fics, but discovered that I don't have a tag for series, sadly. So, I went through my AO3 bookmarks. Here are a couple fics from other folks:

Toil and Trouble by @littlegreenplasticsoldier - 70k words - Dean x Reader - It's Cat!Dean and a psychic connection. Need I say more? So much angst and pining and silly Dean as a cat. He knows how to weaponize his ability to lick his own butt. 🤣 (Honestly, just binge-read all of Ally's stuff. It's SO WORTH IT!!)

From The Wreckage by @sp-oops - 22k words - Destiel x reader - I love all of Sp-oops's Destiel x Reader stuff, and I wish there was more of it!!! Set in episode 12x01, with flashbacks to 11x23 and Dean going off to kill Amara.

Collared by @spnexploration - 40 chapters, so it's a long one - Dean x reader - A witch turned you into a mindless slave. Dean and Sam save you.

Tattered by @stusbunker - 11 chapters - Dean x reader, Sam x reader, A/B/O - So much angst!!! Adding the A/B/O world to canon stuff just makes it all so angsty!! And smutty!

I just went looking for Not Unless Sam Says by @spectaculacularsammy and discovered that both the writer and the fic are completely gone and I'm crushed. I'm off to go cry about how the world is a much worse place because of this loss. 😭😭😭

If I think of any others, I'll come back and add them, In the meantime, maybe someone else can add some? I know I'm forgetting some that are here on Tumblr because my brain is Swiss cheese.

[thegoldfishkid13]

Revenge part 1

Iceman x female reader

Warnings:Blood, fighting, swearing, drinking, smoking, guns , violence ect

Au: Mafia

Authors note: I will be posting a list of characters I will write for soon but if people wanna send in requests I will gladly write them if I know who it is. Also thank you for all the support you have given me on other posts. This is also going to be pretty short because I'm tired and don't feel like putting this in my drafts. I also ran out of ideas oops!

Masterlist

Standing in the bathroom connected to your room you flatten the dress you are wearing again. A knock on the bathroom door startles you, you have been on edge since you got Intel that the person who killed your father is in town again. The door opens and your husband's Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and Tom "Iceman" kaczynski are standing there.

"well don't you look stunning"Maverick was the first one to speak, he was the one sending you on this mission. He knew you wanted the revenge on the person who had taken your father's life far too early.

" Thank you mav."you spoke as you pick up your makeup brush to finish doing your makeup. Needing to leave soon for the party you and slider another co-worker of yours who is also in the mafia. He was accompanying you to this dance because he was the only one who you trusted with your life besides Iceman and Maverick. Cyclone the person who had killed your father would be attending this party and he knows that Iceman and Maverick want him dead. The last time you saw him you sat next to your father's dead body laying in the middle of the street.

"slider will be here soon. Be careful I don't want anything to happen to you. "Iceman smiles and leans in to kiss your cheek. You hear the front door open and shut and slider call out to see if anyone was home or where you guys were. The dress you were wearing was black silk with a slit on the right side that goes up to your mid thigh. With a deep v-neckline.

Grabbing your clutch you give a quick kiss to Maverick and ice and head out the door with slider. The ride was silent there was nothing to talk about you had all been in the meeting about it earlier. Nick Bradshaw AKA goose would be at this event helping you spy. He worked at the same law firm that you used for a cover story. He was with you the day your father died and he wanted revenge as much as you did. Your father was like a father to him.

"you look nice today Y/n"slider finally broke the silence. You opened up the glove compartment to grab the gun and slipped it into the holster that was attached to your thigh by a garter belt. Thanking him you get out of the car and wait for goose to get there. Goose showed up with his wife Carol. His son Bradley nowhere in sight thankfully. Walking into the building this event would be held at you spot cyclone and his partner warlock. Trying to keep a safe distance so they don't notice you staring you begin to interact with the others. Something's bugging you so you had to pay phone that was a little bit away.

"hey."he spoken to the payphone.

"Y/n is that you?"

"yes. I have a bad feeling about this."

" has her been doing anything out of the ordinary?" The person on the other line asks.

" he keeps scanning the room like he's looking for somebody. He has also been slowly making his way towards where we are but we keep shifting and turning so he doesn't catch on to us. He also has part of his gang with him. I just have a really bad feeling about this." You speak into the phone.

The man on the other side didn't answer. Just a clicking sound like he hung up. You hear a gun click behind you. You realize who you had just been talking on the phone with, he knew what you were up to this would be the end of you or so you thought.

[virgils-screams]

Me And You | Dukexiety

Virgil may seem ooc, so may Remus! I wrote this like a month ago-

Remus is too tired to be disturbing- lol

There are no TW! - Wow  am I right?

High school au, Janus is deaf, cause I could.

Could be read as platonic, not proof read.

____________________________________________

Virgil pulls out his phone to text Remus for his whereabouts, they had promised to go to the park after school but for some reason Remus had disappeared.

Sighing he scrolls through his contacts selecting Remus, when a grunt took his attention, he looked up and saw the gym doors open, with light pouring through, and like a cheesy chick-flic moment he peaked in.

In the center of the room Remus was wrestling another classmate. Ah, he forgot about his practice. He scanned the area quickly to see the other wrestlers watching intently as Remus had put a hold on his opponent, the coach signalling he had won moments later. The loser got up and glared at him as he rounded Remus to sit with who Virgil now assumed were other unlucky losers.

Virgil debated leaving and waiting for him out side so he wouldn't seem like a perv, and he was about to walk away too if it weren't for the coach calling up Janus.

Janus had a grin on his face as he stood opposite of Remus, he signed something to him before getting in position. Remus chuckled out "you wish" before also getting set.

Virgil saw Remus' eyes drift to him for a second, and Virgil ducked out from the door way immediately hearing an 'oof' and cheering shortly after.

"Great job, Janus!" One of the bystanders shouted.

... Oops, did he cause that?

Virgil scurried out of the school and opted to wait at his car and play on his phone.

"Slut."

"And hello to you too, Rem."

Remus rolled his eyes at him pushing him out of the way of the passenger door. "You cost me a perfect practice."

He hummed in acknowledgement going around to the drivers seat.

"One could argue you were fated to lose anyway, Janus almost always beats your ass."

He could almost feel the eye roll from Remus.

"Yeah, Almost! I had a chance if it wasn't for this strangely attractive pervert watching us fight."

Virgil pulled out of the parking lot only offering an amused smirk.

The drive to the park was relatively quiet besides the low hum from the radio as Remus switched from staring at his phone and looking out the window. His eyelids getting heavier by the minute.

"Hey, you dozing off there?" Virgil pushed his shoulder lightly.

"Mmh- hey!" The car swerved a bit when Remus shoved back.

"Alright, calm down," he sighed looking briefly at Remus, taking in his appearance. "You sure you don't wanna just head to your place? You seem pretty tired."

Remus shook his head sitting up in an effort to make himself more awake. "No, no, I wanna go to the park, I promised I would-" he was cut short with a yawn, glaring at Virgil when he laughed.

"C'mon, Rem, we can go to the park tomorrow,"

Remus watched in annoyance as Virgil turned down a road that lead the opposite direction of the park, momentarily contemplating grabbing the wheel.

"It's not like I'm gonna get any sleep anyway. My brothers are bringing friends over." He huffed.

"Well, then we'll go to my place, it's not like you haven't stayed over before."

Remus hummed distractedly, looking back out the window.

"Aight, we're here."

Remus all but drug himself into Virgils room, ignoring the snickers from Virgil.

"The twins will freak when they find you here." He commented setting his stuff on his desk then collapsing onto his bed.

Remus smiled fondly at the mention of them and got onto the bed with him.

"Your brothers are so sweet, I can't wait to be charged enough to play with them." He sighed closing his eyes when he got settled.

"Hm" the tv turned on to a show he couldn't give a rats ass about, but it lulled him to sleep nonetheless, along with the quick taps on Virgils laptop next to him.

Virgil was so focused on his work as he typed away for an assignment that was due Monday that he didn't register the snores coming from beside him and only realized Remus was asleep when he turned and threw an arm into his laptop, which, not that anyone would know, scared the bejesus out if Virgil.

"Holy shit-" his right hand clutching his chest where his heart would be, turning to Remus' sleeping form.

"If you broke it, youre paying."

He muttered turning back to his laptop, he carefully pulled it from under Romans arm and surveyed the damage. "Oh, that's not so bad you only," his voice raised slightly in a panic as he continued, "erased half of my work!? Dammit!" He sighed carding his hand through his hair, he set his laptop to the side and just laid back watching the tv as he conveniently forgot about his work. Soon after falling asleep.

His phone alarm woke him up, he tried to sit up but when he couldn't he started to panic, even more so when the grip tightened around him tried to move again.

A tired groaning noise caused him to look to his side, a sleeping Remus hugging onto him like a koala bear.

"Ah.. That explains the- yeah" a sigh of relief escaped his lips as he carefully reached for his phone trying to not wake Remus.

When he finally managed to turn off his alarm he relaxed back into the bed, Remus now snuggling closer into him.

The warmth and the comfortability of it all quickly made him fall asleep again, damn, Remus was like a heater.

"REMUS IS HERE!!" The twins, Patton and Thomas yelled in unison, promptly jumping onto them.

"He-hey you guys-"

They squealed bouncing on the bed slowly but surely pushing Virgil off. Rude.

"Boys! Boys do you want ice cream?" Virgil hissed out trying to get the boys to quiet down.

They stopped immediately, turning to him with a gasp. "I'll get you some if you beat me down stairs."

In a moments notice they scrambled of the bed racing down stairs. Virgil chuckled lightly getting up to follow them, only turning back at the doorway to make sure Remus was still asleep.

Sure enough he was sprawled out on Virgils bed snoring away. Virgil rolled his eyes closing the door behind him, only Remus could sleep through such an attack, "weirdo." Virgil whispered fondly before the soft click of the door shutting was heard, leaving Remus to rest peacefully.

____________________________________________

Hope you enjoyed💜

Words: 1070

A/N: yes, I know Janus is deaf and cannot hear Remus say 'you wish', but, I wrote it with lip reading in mind. Thank you.

Tag list {you can ask to be added or removed}:

@reiney-weather @helloidkwhatimdoing-0 @hedgiehoggles @autumnpleaves @from-the-gall0ws @skylar-pansexualnerd19 @emo-sunshine42

[nativestarwrites]

wip ask meme!! 📄, 📝, and 👻

Thanks for the ask!

📄 What’s a WIP you never finished that you would like to go back and revisit?

I have a WIP that I haven't touched in 18 months, but has 16k words written which I feel like I should revisit. It's affectionately titled 'coffee shop AU' even though its not really either of those things. I wanted to answer the question 'what if the Phoenix was really a think tank and none of them were secret agents'. It started out as a straight AU but I ended up flipping it and its a canon fic where all is not as it seems. It has some really nice scenes in it and thinking back over how much my writing has developed since I started it, I should really take another look at it and see if I can finish it now.

📝Share a snippet of an unposted WIP, with or without context.

Seems appropriate to share a bit from the coffee shop AU now! But the snippet got a little long… oops. So I'm gonna put it under a cut with the last question.

Mac headed out onto the decking and sure enough he didn’t have to wait long before Jack followed.

“Hey, you alright?”

“Yeah.”

“You sure? Your head’s not bothering you, is it?” Mac rolled his eyes, he’d admire Jack’s persistence if it wasn’t so… persistent.

“I’m fine. I promise.”

Jack nodded and sat on the wooden railing, looking back at the house while Mac looked out at the LA night.

“I believe you about your head, but you’re not fine. I know that much, something’s bugging you.”

Mac sighed, it was the curse and the blessing of having a friend like Jack Dalton. Jack wouldn’t stop until Mac spilled what was wrong, but if he needed more time he’d give it to him. He’d never admit it, but sometimes it felt like Jack knew him better than he knew himself.

“I’ve just been thinking.”

“About what?”

“About the choices we make, how one decision can impact our lives in ways we could never have imagined.” Mac shrugged. “Like if I’d decided to graduate from MIT instead of joining the army. Or if you’d decided not to re-up in Afghanistan.”

“I can’t imagine my life would be any better without you in it, pal.” Jack said, nudging Mac with his shoulder.

“Thanks. It might have been a little bit safer though.”

“Can’t argue with that, but where’s the fun in that?”

“Oh, so you were having fun when I was diffusing that pressure plate bomb you’d stood on?”

“Not exactly. But that wasn’t the worst mission we ever went on.”

“We don’t talk about Cairo.” Mac muttered.

“Kabul.” Jack corrected.

“What?”

“We don’t talk about Kabul.” Jack said, all lightness vanished from his voice. Mac frowned, he had said Kabul, hadn’t he? “And I don’t know why you’d bring that up. What is going on in that head of yours?”

👻Is there a scene that you find intimidating that you have yet to write?

Not a scene exactly, but I've got a WIP that deals with a long term medical condition that I'm finding a little intimidating to tackle because I want to make sure its accurate and respectful. I think I've done a good job so far, but I also want to do some more research and maybe run it past another set of eyes before I post.

[lemony-snickers]

17 & 18 🧡

hey there, my friend. thanks so much; i hope you're having a great day! <3

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

ahhhhh. hm. you know. it's funny because i don't currently have a fic wip for naruto. and that's the first time i can say that in more than four years, which is wild & also very weird.

i do have a fic in another fandom i'm trying to finally wrap up and i can tell you that the Big Non-Reveal of this paranormal au is that the evil spirit which has attached itself to one of the characters was placed there by her uncle, that her entire family knew of its existence before she was given the house by her grandfather, moved in, and became possessed. the characters don't really need to know that her uncle is responsible. all that matters is that there is evil and they are going to save this girl from it, but i know (and now so do you) and it's important to me only because she was very close with her uncle and thought she could trust him but it turns out he's even more evil than the evil she's discovered in the house.

that's probably very confusing and i apologize but i don't think giving more detail about the fic matters too much, since no one has or will read it, ahaha. <3

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end.

(gonna put a read more here because the answer got long oops)

since i didn't answer the last question with anything about kakashi or naruto, i will do so for this one:

Your blades clash together—the abrasive song of metal on metal ringing out against the trees; you can feel the reverberation of it through your forearms.  You both press forward, digging your heels into the soft moss beneath your feet, leaning with all your weight.  Water leaks up from the ground into your shoes.  Your faces press close enough together that your nose touches the cool ceramic of his mask, your blades just barely biting into one another’s shoulders.

It happens when you first spill each other’s blood.

Both of you spring apart, screams tearing from your throats in unison as you clutch at your chests.  When you open your eyes, you see your opponent across from you, the front of his cloak hanging open to reveal the new, twisted scar over his breastbone.  One you know will mirror the knot of flesh over your own heart.  You can feel it through your shirt, even if you can’t see it, yet, and the implication of its appearance punctures your soul.

You look at the man in front of you with panicked eyes, pulse racing furiously against your thoughts.  “It’s you?”

i am still very enamored of the idea behind the strength of vines. this concept of soulmates that is rather ugly and painful instead of sweet or lovely. idk i think i was certainly driven to create this idea because (a) it's hard to come with new & different soulmate tropes and (b) love is fucking hard, y'all. there's nothing easy about it a;dfjsaf even if the universe somehow designated your perfect match for you, it would still take determination and strength and work. and i wanted to embody that concept the best i could.

the idea really only changed in that i expanded on the original, much smaller concept, making the scars sort of increasingly invasive as i developed the fic (which began as an original fantasy idea that i molded into a kakashi/reader because wtf else was i gonna do with it, ahaha). the scars became more gruesome, the way you got them more perilous (i don't remember when i decided oh they have to try and kill one another first! but i'm glad i did). the idea of this vine twisting itself through your body without your consent reminds me of love in lots of ways, the part of it that isn't always so romantic or rose-colored; the way it can take you over without you meaning to let it.

actually, it probably stems from the first thing i ever wrote about real actual love in my life (after my heart was broken) which was, in part:

... it crawled inside my chest, found my heart, and planted you there. it watered you, cared for you, until you grew too large for my chest and you spread. into my bones, up my spine to my brain where you took root in my thoughts and drowned out everything else until my body was no longer my own, just a vessel for you.

so i guess actually the idea of the bonded mark being a scar over your sternum makes a lot of sense; all the people we love leaves scars on our hearts. some are uglier, more twisted than others. but they're all there. and i like the idea that even if its ugly on the outside, what it represents--with enough time and care and nurturing--can be very beautiful.

i hope that makes at least a little bit of sense, ahaha. <3

weird questions for writers (because writers are weird)

[miyu-writings]

Fic Master post and Writing Plan for 2024

Hi.

As this is my writing blog it only makes sense for me to try to publicize my work. I'm not good at being hip and with the times, as compared to all the others (I'm more of the sit in a corner and play with the bunnies) but I decided that, hey, I'll just put this out here and we'll see how it goes. It's not like Fairy Tail is going to be as vibrant and a world full of potential and fun. And no, 100 Years Quest is not canon for me. I kind of stopped after Mashima's run. And from what I read about what they did to my guy, Gray then... whew, doesn't make me want to go ahead and read. Unless things have changed but given Mashima's writing... doubtful.

Anyway, I'm quite lazy but do like a good master post. It's just very pleasing to have things organized and with easy access.

So here we go. Hope you have a good time. (OK, still working on this so the links are dead atm)

Completed works

Oneshots

WiPs

Ideas that will become fics (because I can't help myself!)

oOoOo

Also...

At the beginning of yet another year, I have a lot of projects I want to work on. And WiPs to finish.

So here's a list that I hope to be able to complete by the end of the year!

/////

The Hobbit/Bagginshield

Accidental Marriage AU

kink meme prompts

Fairy Tail/Gratsu

Ice Cream AU 1/Wondrous Flavour + Sequel(?)

Searching

The Ice Court

Games

Mystique Voyage

Land of Dragons

Cinderella

Den of Iniquity

Baker!Gray AU

Blood-letting (although I'm wondering about it because of the ending being a bit OoC but fuck that)

Rose Red

Roommates

Moon

Like Stars Aligned

Crystal

Inter Sol et Luna

White Feathers

The Sandman/Dreamling

kink meme prompts

consort!Hob fic

This is the plan, at least.

Feel free to say something or ask about the crazy stories - love to do that.

(If you think you've seen this before, yes, I only changed the date because I didn't end up doing any of the things I had planned. Oops...)

[browneyesandhair]

Hey! It's ya girl! April Edition

I got no chill and a large obsession with a lot of things. So this year, I'm tracking it! Okay, so this year, is the year of recs! (you may have seen some of my posts, but I also have an extensive queue, so maybe not (check out the #recs on my page)). Running a little behind (it's already June, oops!)

Anyways, I've created a collection for this year overall and then also for each month! Let's check out April's stats -

Works read (&finished): 112

Fandoms (top 8):

1 - Bridgerton: 33

2 - Harry Potter: 28

3 - The Vampire Diaries: 16

4 - Young Justice: 15

5 - Les Miserables: 13

6 - Criminal Minds: 2

7 - Percy Jackson and the Olympians: 1

8- Merlin: 1

The rest didn't make the first drop down section of AO3, so oh well! Let's check in on relationships (top 8):

1 - Polin: 33

2 - Klaroline: 16

3 - Spitfire: 14

4- Enjolras/Eponine: 13

5 - Harmony: 9

6 - Hinny: 5

7 - Roy Harper/Jade Nguyen: 4

8 - Dick Grayson/Zatanna Zatara: 2

Quite a few recs that were reread/added to the list this month:

Harry Potter:

The Changeling by Annerb

Summary:

Ginny is sorted into Slytherin. It takes her seven years to figure out why.

Sequels also read: pick it up, pick it all up and start again, we can still be, who we said we were, and in my head we do everything right

Six Pomegranate Seeds by Seselt

Summary:

At the end, something happened. Hermione clutches at one fraying thread, uncertain whether she is Arachne or Persephone. What she does know is that she will keep fighting to protect her friends even if she must walk a dark path.

Sequels also read: Bouquet of Asphodels

Forever Means Forever by cocoartist

Summary:

If she ever saw Unspeakable Number 37 again she would kill him with her bare hands: Hermione's research into the Veil has an unexpected side-effect. COMPLETE.

Les Mis:

It Is Not a Word Spoken by CrazyAce_n_PokerFace

Summary:

*…I don't understand. You can't possibly be suggesting you were seriously trying to sext me.* She stares at his words and exhales slowly before typing, *And if I was…?* É/E Modern AU. The long-awaited sexting fic. Very NSFW. Dedicated to the wonderful samthenardier as a birthday gift. Title taken from the lovely poem "It Is Not a Word" by Sara Teasdale.

Merlin:

Radioman by Footloose

Summary:

The reason SAS Captain Arthur Pendragon can't keep a communications specialist in Team Excalibur because none of them are good enough. And then Lieutenant Merlin Emrys gets assigned to his squad, and Arthur does everything he can to prove that Merlin isn't good enough, either. Except he is.

Atla:

Returned for a Better Try (to Make a Better Time) by atypicalhypocrite

Summary:

The Fire Lord’s blast is sharp and thorough. Still on his knees before his father, a thirteen year old dies instantly. Another Zuko, once teacher to the avatar and a Fire Lord himself, jolts into being in his place, and deals with the consequences. Timeline preservation nothing, he’s going to be a better Fire Lord this time, and start sooner.

Star Trek:

Ten Degrees Below Zero by kianspo

Summary:

After a serious incident aboard a starship, Commander Spock is demoted and transferred to a remote base where he must now serve with other "undesirables." He adjusts to his new rank and duties, and, while the future does look bleak, he is not ready to give up on himself or Starfleet yet. There is work to be done and hope to be found, especially as he begins to get to know his new colleagues, particularly one intriguing engineering officer James Kirk...

The Vampire Diaries:

At Horizon's Edge by Cupcakemolotov

Summary:

Sometimes when a girl goes on a shopping trip to pick up a new pair of boots at the local, and somewhat hostile, human space station, she accidentally aids and abets a prison break instead. What happens in the black really doesn't stay in the black.

The Umbrella Academy:

broken still you breathe (breathe, breathe, just breathe) by Eternal_Peace_is_Overrated

Summary:

“He’s not coming,” Luther says impatiently. “Let's just get this over with.” “Who’s not coming?” The voice sounds behind them suddenly, and all of them startle and whip around in synchronization. “Klaus,” Luther hears himself say distantly. “You’re…here.” Four tilts his head, bringing his hand to his lips and inhaling deeply around the cigarette dangling between his fingers. When he exhales, the smoke curls around his head like a halo before drifting into the air. “Yeah, well, I would’ve gotten here sooner,” Four says around the cigarette. “But I just really didn’t want to.” *** Number Four shows up to the funeral three hours late with an iced latte in one hand and a cigarette dangling from the other. Or; Klaus fled the Academy the day they turned eighteen. He never looked back. Ten years later, their father dies. Number Four returns. And none of them quite know what to do with this new version of their black sheep brother. AKA: Klaus single-handedly stops the apocalypse. It really wasn't that hard, so if everyone could stop looking at him like that, that would be great, thanks.

Bridgerton:

Plenty Far To Fall by useyourtelescope

Summary:

When financial troubles mean third-son Colin Bridgerton must cease his yearly travels and find employment instead, he has difficulty finding something suitable. Until he learns of a unique position being offered by the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown.

Alright, that's all folks (mostly), for fun, here are the top 8 additional tags from the stories that I read in April:

AU - Modern Setting: 24

AU: 16

Smut: 14

Fluff: 10

Friends to Lovers: 10

AU - Canon Divergence: 9

Angst: 8

Explicit Sexual Content: 7

And, that's all folks (for real this time)!

[xiaojunsmintchoco]

Bear with each other - huang renjun

a/n: hey everyone! this fic is 1/6 of my four paws, two hearts collection- do go check it out if you wish! remaining 4 fics in the making~

pairing: huang renjun x fem reader

genre: fluff, romance, enemies to lovers, colleagues to lovers; zookeeper au

synopsis: being a zookeeper comes with many perks, such as being able to get up close and personal with the wild animals you've ogled at from behind zoo enclosures as a child. This is especially true for you, a new zookeeper starting her career. However, something happens on the first day of work, causing you to take an immediate dislike to another zookeeper, Renjun. That's fine, the feeling's mutual - he doesn't like you either. But soon, you're forced to work together every single day. Will you guys be able to bear with each other, or will something more happen?

warnings: mentions of food, y/n and Renjun are immature idiots - I mean REALLY immature, swearing and cursing

word count: 17.2k (overshot again oops)

a/n: i'm sorry that this was pretty bad! i really have no idea how a zoo works, and this is also my first time writing e2l. However, that aside, I wanna say a huge thank you to all my moots who gave feedback on the banner!

tagging: @moonsclover @hyukaseggtarts @renjuns-grillfreind @bangchan-fairy @softforqiankun

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

Sailing in through the entrance of the zoo, you make your way to the staffroom, stifling a yawn. Checking your watch, you realise that it's currently 6 in the morning. Way too early for your brain to be functioning.

"Hello, are you the new zookeeper, y/n?" Looking up, you see a tall young male with blond bangs coming just past his brows. He looks at you with his doe eyes, which hold a kind glow to match his equally kind, yet shy tone.

"Yes, I am!" you reply, smiling. 

"Okay, you can put your bag down here, and then you can get changed before I show you around the area!" Jisung continues, gesturing to a cupboard. Opening up the door, you see only a few other bags inside. "Most of the zookeepers aren't here yet," he explains. "They mostly come around 6: 30 am, but we're here earlier so that we can tour around the area before work. Oh and, your uniform should be inside too".

You nod, tossing your bag inside and getting a sip of water before seeing your uniform hanging from the rack above you, a name tag pinned on it. Locating the staff restrooms, you quickly make your way into the ladies' and change.

When you get back out, Jisung is in the staff area waiting for you. "Alright, let's go!" He leads you on a tour around the zoo, showing you the different sections of the staff area, secret passages meant only for staff and other areas that were meant only for authorised personnel that you'd need to know existed. Some of the animals are already up and about, while others stay in their dreamland.

When you guys get back to the staff area, you're just in time for the daily team meeting, held by the head zookeeper, Sicheng. "Alright, good morning team, thank you all for being on time this morning," he begins as everyone gathers around him. "First of all, I'd like to begin today by introducing a new zookeeper, who will be joining us starting today. Please welcome y/n! She will be shadowing Jisung, our koala keeper".

Around you, the zookeepers burst into applause, and you even hear a few cheers. You can't help but feel your cheeks heat up in slight embarrassment. 

Sicheng continues after the applause dies down. "Next, our veterinarians have some updates for us," he says, gesturing to a few people standing at the side of the circle, dressed in white lab coats. One of them, whom you presume is the head veterinarian, steps up. 

"Good morning team. Alright, first up, this is for the parrots. After conducting a check-up on Ringo last week, we have decided to increase the dosage of his medicine to 2 mg. Kun, please take note of this".

"Got it, thanks Taeil," a man wearing round-rimmed glasses speaks up from across you and Jisung.

"And for the snow leopards, how's Snowstar doing?" Taeil continues asking and typing on his phone.

"She's doing a lot better now. She's regained her appetite and energy, and isn't vomiting anymore," a male speaks, giving updates on said animal.

"Alright, that's good. We’ll come and check on her, and if all is well, you can take her off medication and resume feeding as per normal," Taeil recites, typing more notes into his phone. "Thanks Jeno. That's all the updates for today, any of you have any concerns about your animals?" Taeil continues to ask, sweeping a quick glance around the circle of zookeepers. "Then that's all I have, thank you Sicheng," he concludes, and his team steps to the side to make room for Sicheng.

The head zookeeper takes his place in the middle of the circle again. "Alright, then that's about all. Any new information will be disseminated through the group chat we have. All zookeepers, please come get your walkie-talkies. Thank you team, meeting dismissed," he concludes.

After picking up your walkie-talkie, you follow Jisung and another dark-haired male to a communal kitchen. "Hi y/n! I'm Jaemin," the latter introduces himself to you, offering you a handshake while grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"So the first thing we usually do in the morning is prepare breakfast for the animals," Jisung says as you make your way to the area set aside for the koala keepers. "We pick out fresh eucalyptus branches for four of our koalas. The fifth one's still a baby, so he'll just nurse from his mom. After that, if we still have time, we go help other zookeepers in preparing their animals' food".

That being said, three of you proceed to scour the stored pile of eucalyptus branches and pick out the freshest ones. When you're done with that, you each pluck a few leaves out and put them into feeder toys. "Same routine for their lunch and dinner, yeah?" Jaemin prompts, and you and Jisung nod.

You're done preparing the koalas' food fairly quickly, so you and Jisung go help the manatee keepers, Jaehyun, stash fresh vegetables and water plants into special floats, while Jaemin opts to help the birds-of-prey keepers gut the prey their birds will feed on. "Thanks for your help," he says as he gives you and Jisung a grateful smile. 

"Now we go ahead and feed these to the koalas,” Jisung instructs. "After they've eaten, check on them and ensure none of them are sick, injured or exhibiting strange behaviour. If any of them seem unwell, do flag it up, I’ll get the vets”. You make your way out to the koala enclosures with the two other zookeepers. He shows you specialised platforms where you can put the branches, and you set the branches down into the holes. Jaemin then leaves the feeder toys around the enclosure. 

Looking up, you spot the koalas making their way down from the eucalyptus trees to feed, and three of you go about checking on the animals. Jisung and Jaemin are so familiar with the koalas, they can tell each koala apart just by looking at them. It helped that each koala was able to respond when called by name, or else you’d have a hell of a time trying to tell them all apart. You notice a tiny koala head peering out of one koala's pouch, inquisitive eyes looking left and right. “Oh my gosh, so cute!” you can’t help but exclaim.

“Oh, that’s Kendra and her joey Max! She gave birth a while back,” Jaemin informs. 

Meanwhile, Kendra crawls along the length of the tree branch and sidles up next to Jisung, who giggles and lets her clamber onto him. “Go on, pat her! She’s very friendly,” Jisung encourages, and you do so, relishing the feeling of the koala’s fuzzy head leaning against your hand, and the texture of the fluffy koala fur. Another koala, Kyle, clings on to Jaemin, refusing to let go.

After feeding the koalas and ensuring their well-being, it’s cleaning time. You follow Jisung and Jaemin back to the staffroom to get the cleaning supplies, and enter the enclosure with them. Shovelling koala poop into buckets soon gets monotonous though, so you guys engage in conversation again. 

“If you guys want, you can go help other keepers out with their cleaning,” Jaemin says when you finish cleaning the area. “But I’ll stay behind to train the koalas. Keep your walkie-talkies with you, yeah".

“Let’s go help the monkey keepers,” Jisung suggests, and you follow him to find the monkey keepers. "Shotaro, do you need any help?" he asks as you pass by a male with small eyes and dark brown hair.

"I'm fine, thanks!" Shotaro answers. "But I think Renjun needs help with the spider monkey exhibit. Oh and, welcome to the team y/n!" he adds, showing you a bright eye smile. 

"Thank you!" you reply, and you're soon on your way with Jisung to the spider monkey exhibit. 

"Renjun, do you need some help cleaning up here?" Jisung asks the black-haired man, currently using a shovel to dig in the ground, a metal bucket beside him.

"Yes, please!" says Renjun, not looking up. 

"Hmm, maybe you can clean out the moat? I'll help clean other areas," Jisung suggests, and you agree. You return to the staff area to get a net, another shovel and two more buckets. Using the net, you fish out pollutants like trash and dead leaves from the moat, and then put it into the bucket, careful not to accidentally scoop up the fish inside. You continue doing your job, scrutinising each area you pass by thoroughly to make sure it is absolutely clean before moving on. 

However, what happens next makes you realise - it's probably wise to keep your eyes ahead of you as well.

You move a bit too quickly, colliding with someone else. Next thing you register is a startled yell, someone grabbing your arm, and your head going under water. Fortunately, the moat isn't very deep, and you find your way back up to the surface, spitting out mouthfuls of water that you'd accidentally gulped. Turning to your right, you see Renjun in the moat, coughing and spluttering up water as well.

"What happened?" Jisung splutters, running up to you and Renjun and pulling both of you out. You both looked a very sorry sight at the moment, dripping with moat water. 

"Y/n pushed me into the moat!" Renjun huffs, indignance clear in his voice.

"HEY! You pulled me in!" you retort.

"I panicked, ok? You knocked into me, I lost my balance, and I just tried grabbing something to steady myself! It's not my fault that I ended up grabbing your arm!" He argues, not willing to back down.

"Hey, hey, what's happening here?" another voice cuts your ensuing argument with Renjun off. From behind you comes another zookeeper, sporting chin-length brown hair, and following behind him is Shotaro. 

"They fell into the moat, Yuta," Jisung hurriedly tries to explain the situation before him – two grumpy-looking zookeepers, completely drenched from head to toe.

"I see. It's alright, go get changed, you'll be fine," Yuta says as Shotaro passes you and Renjun a towel and a spare set of clothes each. "Don't worry about it! Accidents happen," Yuta reassures. 

Thanking them, you hurry off in the direction of the female washroom, barely registering Jisung's instructions to look for him at the koala exhibit after you’re done. That idiot, pulling me into the moat and then blaming everything on me! You think as you dry yourself and change quickly.

You hurry to find Jisung back at the koala enclosure. "What happened?" Jaemin asks, seeing you come back with soggy hair and the biggest scowl engraved in your features.

"Long story," you mutter, throwing your damp hair into a bun. No time to tell them now, the zoo was nearing opening time, meaning visitors would soon start streaming in. Plastering a smile onto your face, you turn towards the entrance of the koala exhibit, preparing to receive the first visitors of the day.

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

"Thank you for coming! Enjoy the rest of your visit!" you repeat the same words to yet another batch of guests leaving the koala exhibit. 

"Good afternoon everyone. The zoo exhibits will be closing in fifteen minutes for the staff lunch break. In the meantime, you may stop by the nearby eateries for lunch, and come back again at 1 pm. Thank you very much". An announcement comes over the PA system. 

"Oh finally!" you sigh in relief. You’d spent about three hours ushering guests in, answering their questions, and stopping children from disturbing the koalas - and you were starving. 

"All good?" you hear Sicheng’s kind voice from beside you. As the head zookeeper, Sicheng wasn't in charge of one particular exhibit. Some days, he would station himself at one exhibit and assist the zookeepers there. Other days, like today, he would just supervise all the zookeepers, going from one exhibit to another to check on them.

"We're good!" Jaemin replies.

"That's great! There shouldn't be any more visitors for now, so you can go ahead and close up for lunch," Sicheng informs, and walks off again. 

Three of you head back to the staff area. There wouldn't be time to eat out, so you'd buy takeout and return to the staff area to eat.

"I'm gonna get macs, does anyone want anything?" one of the zookeepers asks. 

"Yes please!" Jaemin pipes up and gives the other zookeeper his order, Jisung doing the same.

"You want anything, y/n?" the zookeeper directs his question to you. 

“Yes, I’d like a cheeseburger meal! Thank you so much, I’ll pay you back later,” you reply, shooting the zookeeper a grateful look as he nods.

"Let's go prepare lunch for our koalas," Jaemin says, and you go back to the kitchen, repeating the same routine you followed in the morning to prepare the koalas' meal.

Not long after you're finished, lunch arrives. “Join us, y/n!” Jisung extends a friendly invitation to you as his usual group of friends sits down around a table. 

You accept their invitation, and join them at the table, ready to tuck in. “Let’s do a self-introduction, since y/n probably doesn’t know us yet,” one of them suggests. “I’m Mark, and I’m a pudu keeper,” he adds.

The introductions go on round the circle. Jeno the snow leopard keeper, Haechan the hippo keeper, Sungchan the tapir keeper, Shotaro the tamarin keeper who helped you after you fell into the moat, Chenle the meerkat keeper who so kindly bought lunch for all the zookeepers, but uh oh…who was that at the end of the circle?

“I’m Renjun. I’m usually at the monkey exhibits as well, but I’m mainly in charge of the spider monkey exhibit,” the last zookeeper says, and you don’t miss the unmistakable glare he shoots you. 

“Of course Sicheng made you work with monkeys. You’re as troublesome as a monkey, so you'd definitely do well there. I mean, it takes one to know one, right?” You can’t resist the opportunity, and shoot him a sarcastic comment.

"At least monkeys are smart, unlike you!” Renjun retorts, making no attempt to hide his irritation. 

“Woah, you guys just met, be nice!” Mark gently chides, although he’s laughing. Embarrassment heats up your cheeks as you feel like a kindergartener being scolded by her teacher. 

“Not really. We met this morning. How memorable,” Renjun says, tone dripping with sarcasm. 

“What happened?” Jeno asks, and the others lean forward to listen, all curious about what happened.

“I so nicely volunteered to help him clean the spider monkey exhibit, and in return for that, he pulled me into the moat and got me drenched,” you snort, summing up the events of the morning. Well, not the full truth, because it was kind of your fault too - but you weren’t gonna embarrass yourself by saying that in front of your new friends.

“Well what about the part where you pushed me in?” Renjun cuts in.

“It was an accident!”

“I pulled you in by accident too!”

“Enough bickering, y’all. Let’s forgive each other and move on, shall we? Accidents do happen, just be careful next time,” Shotaro’s soft voice cuts the argument off.

You shoot one last dirty look at Renjun, and then focus your attention on the conversation, listening with amusement as Haechan launches into a story of how one of the pudus chewed a hole in his hat that morning.

About forty minutes later, Sicheng interrupts the zookeepers' chatter by announcing that zookeepers should begin preparing for visitors to arrive again.

Following his instructions, three of you do a quick cleanup of the koala exhibit, just to make sure it's presentable for when guests arrive.

"Round two, let's go," Jaemin mutters as his watch strikes one, and you prepare for the next influx of visitors.

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

"Good evening everyone. The zoo will be closing in fifteen minutes, please vacate our premises by 8 pm. Thank you very much". The announcement finally comes over the PA system. Last batch of visitors, and you could go get dinner and then head home!

"Thank you for visiting! Do come again," you repeat again and again like a broken radio, waving all the guests out.

When all the guests have left, three of you bring down fresh eucalyptus leaves for the koalas' dinner, and the fluffy grey creatures approach you three to claim their treasures. 

"Guys, smile!" Jaemin says, and you turn around just as he raises his handphone and takes a wefie with you and Jisung. "Nice! I'm uploading this". You guess that he's uploading the pictures onto the zoo's social media platforms. 

It's only fifteen more minutes, but it feels like eternity after you finish cleaning up the exhibits and ensuring the animals are safe for the night. Bidding goodbye to your fluffy grey friends, three of you head back to the staff area to claim your bags. "Wanna come with us for dinner?" Jaemin asks you, and you agree, assuming that he was referring to the same group of colleagues you'd met at lunch. "You might have to wait a bit, though".

"That's alright," you reply, turning on your phone.

The group comes back one by one, until only Shotaro is left. He finally arrives twenty minutes later, rushing into the staff area. "I'm sorry! Tamarins make such a mess," he says, panting. It's clear that he's been running, from the sweat on his forehead and his heavy breathing.

"Dude, chill. We understand, we're not gonna leave without you," Mark laughs, giving the other time to catch his breath. "Anyway, where do you guys wanna eat?"

"Wanna eat at Subway? I'm craving that," Haechan suggests.

"Fine by me," Chenle says, shrugging.

"No violent objections? Subway it is then," Mark decides, leading the rest of you out of the zoo. It's then that you catch sight of Renjun in the group, chatting with Chenle, and you roll your eyes in disdain as you recall the events of the morning. God, why’s he everywhere?

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

"So, y/n, how was your first day of work?" Mark inquires once the whole group is settled down with their food.

You take a moment, quickly running over the events of the day in your head. "It was really eventful! I think I'll love it here," you reply, smiling from ear to ear. You weren't lying, you'd enjoyed your first day of work as a zookeeper thoroughly.

"What's your favourite part of the job?" Jaemin asks as he takes a bite of his sandwich. 

"Definitely the animals! They're so lovable!" your answer comes naturally, without you needing to think much of it. They were the reason you'd chosen this job, despite being offered others that most would perceive as more attractive. 

"Glad to hear you're settling in well," Jeno remarks, his smile radiating a kind glow. 

"Any interesting working experiences you guys have had that you'd like to share with our dear y/n?" Haechan poses the question to the guys sitting around the table. 

"Oh- yes actually. You know the free-roaming peacocks you see around the zoo?" Jisung says, turning to you, and you nod. You'd chanced upon some of them while getting around the zoo. "They have a knack for bothering visitors. I've lost count of all the times I've had to help visitors reclaim items that were snatched by peacocks, shoo them away when they blocked visitors' paths, or even stop them from randomly attacking visitors". That didn't surprise you. Earlier in the day, you'd watched as Sicheng struggled to pry a peacock's beak open to help a family get their entrance tickets back. 

"They might look pretty, but they can be such troublemakers," Sungchan adds, earning emphatic nods and mutters of agreement from the other guys. "Also, they’re terribly dumb. Some wander into the big cat enclosures and get torn up," he finishes.

Okay, that one got you. You're left gawking at Sungchan.

"For real! I witnessed it happen a long time ago," Jeno pipes up from across the table. "I was talking to this huge group of visitors, when one of the peacocks somehow got in - I dunno how either, maybe it got in when one of us opened the gate, and stayed there unnoticed. And then you know Baymax, our adolescent male? He stalked it, and then went in for the kill".

This time, it's Shotaro's jaw that drops. "In front of all the visitors?"

Jeno nods. "Tore it apart in front of the shocked adults and screaming children. Kinda feel bad that so many people saw it happen, but circle of life, y'know".

You feel yourself shudder after hearing Jeno's story. "Gosh, unlucky you. I hope I never witness that in my life".

"Oh! I've got another one. When you clean the parrots' perches, don't look up," Chenle says, bringing in his own story. "They wait for you to look up before taking a dump. That's how you get poop in your mouth. I speak from experience, since I used to be a parrot keeper before the meerkat exhibit opened”.

While you almost choke on your drink, the others guffaw at him. "Seriously? Wasn't that one of the first things Kun warned you about when you came?" Jaemin laughs.

"It was! But I never believed him, until I learnt the hard way. Regrets much," Chenle sighs.

"That's your problem," Renjun says with a smirk.

"Shut up!" Chenle exclaims, punching him on the shoulder. Somehow, you find yourself laughing at the interaction between him and Renjun, despite your dislike for the latter.

"Oh, I've got one too!" Sungchan exclaims. "Don't ever let tapirs turn their backs on you because-"

Before he can finish, he's cut off by exclamations of "that’s disgusting!" and "ew not now!" from the guys. 

“It’s not that bad, I swear!” Sungchan protests, trying to get everyone to calm down, while you’re left confused as to what was the story they were so desperately trying to get him to keep quiet about, and whether it was really that bad. 

“No, I don’t believe you. I’ve heard it before,” Shotaro disagrees, making a face. 

“If you really want to tell y/n, can you not do so while we’re all eating?” Jisung adds, making the same disgusted face as Shotaro. “Plus, it’s her first day working here! Don’t gross her out now!”

“Okay, fine, fine!” Sungchan laughs, raising his hands in surrender. 

The rest of dinner goes on well, with the boys telling you all sorts of hilarious stories of the animals they worked with, and lots of laughter. As you engage in conversation with them, you realise that it’s not only the animals that would make this job memorable, it was also the company you meet. 

With the exception of one guy, who’d been glaring daggers at you since dinner began. But if hanging out with your newfound friends meant putting up with him, you would gladly do so.

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

It's been about two months since you first stepped foot into the zoo as a new zookeeper. You'd grown from a clumsy, bumbling zookeeper who would ask for clarifications or google for every piece of information, to a confident, assured zookeeper who knows her animals inside and out. 

You'd also come to grow close to all of your koalas - Kendra, Max, Kyle, Jackie and Jo, and also the vets and other zookeepers outside of your usual friend group. 

Your relationship with Renjun though? Still sour as ever - if not worse. Almost every day over the past two months, if you both weren't avoiding each other, you'd both get into spats over trivial matters - even down to where to eat dinner.

Which brings us to this moment. The two of you stand across each other, boring holes into the other’s soul with piercing glares. Arms akimbo and scowls on your faces, you both looked like roosters gearing up for a fight. 

“We already had that last week! I’m not eating there again,” Renjun insists, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Then? What else do you want?” You fire back, equally riled up. 

“I already told you, Chinese takeout is the most practical option! Then we could head over to Chenle’s house and eat there or something! Everything else is closed at this hour, and as I’ve stated many times, I’m not gonna be eating fast food again!” Renjun argues, trying to make you see things from his point of view. 

However, you weren’t so willing to budge. “First of all-” you begin, but you’re cut off by a voice. 

“With both of you arguing like crazed aunties at a market, there is no way I’m letting you into my house,” Chenle interjects, holding up his hand. 

“Wise choice,” Mark quips, watching the argument from his place on one of the armchairs. "What's up with you both? You keep stirring arguments up between yourselves for no reason-"

"It's okay, Mark. You know what they say – couples fight," Haechan interrupts with a mischievous grin, which you so wished to wipe off his face. 

"We are NOT a couple," you hiss, giving Haechan the best death stare you could. "And never will be".

"I meant a work couple! Like work husband and wife, you know," Haechan whines, feeling like your fierce response was uncalled for.

"You-"

Mark sighs, rubbing his temples in frustration. “Okay but seriously, can you guys just be civil with each other for once? You don’t have to like each other, but you’ve gotta stop exchanging blows in every conversation you guys have,” he adds, an imploring look on his face.

“Yeah, it’d be nice to all hang out together peacefully,” Jisung says, voice mousy-quiet. 

This causes you and Renjun to stop dead in your tracks. It was evident that your whole friend group was getting tired of all the back-and-forth squabbling between the both of you within work and outside of work. However, part of you still stood resolute, not wishing to apologise.

“Alright, I’m sorry you guys,” Renjun finally says, after what seems like an eternity of silence.

Well, you have to give credit where credit is due – your sworn nemesis was able to be the bigger person and apologise to the whole friend group, which meant that there was no reason you shouldn’t do so too. “Yeah, I’m sorry too,” you half-heartedly manage an apology. 

“All’s good. Now, if that’s all, can we go settle dinner now? I’m starving!” Jaemin whines. 

“I was gonna say the same,” Mark laughs. “Let’s go! We can eat at my house after we order food”.

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

“Hey y/n, could you come to the staff area for a bit? Over".

It’s just another day at the zoo when Sicheng calls for you out of nowhere through the walkie-talkie. “Yeah, what is it? Over,” you call back into your own walkie-talkie and excuse yourself from Jaemin and Jisung, racing towards the staff area as fast as your legs could carry you, being careful not to bump into any visitors. 

“Great! You’re here, thanks for coming so quickly,” Sicheng greets you with his trademark sweet smile, before gesturing for you to take a seat so he could explain. “So another overseas zoo has a rescue giant panda family, and a few red pandas as well. We need a couple of zookeepers to take care of them and help them to settle in. We see that you've grown a lot in your time as a zookeeper, and we think you’d be a good fit for the job. Are you alright with that?” He confirms with you. 

Your heart jumps at the thought of being able to work with new animals. What’s more, pandas were your favourite animals! When you were a child, your family would take frequent trips to the zoo, and you’d never fail to ooh and ahh at the giant pandas in the enclosure. There was just something about them that made you take an instant liking to them. You’d never seen red pandas in real life before, but you’d seen images and videos of them online, and you found them absolutely adorable. “Yes, of course!” you squeal, unable to contain your excitement.

Sicheng chuckles at the sight of how thrilled you are, and hands you a form. “Okay. It’ll take a while for them to arrive, but do fill out this form first,” he says, passing you a pen. You oblige, and begin penning your details onto the form.

“Sicheng, you called me?” A shiver runs down your spine as a dreadingly familiar voice sounds from the doorway. Hesitantly, you turn around, and you’re instantly met with a head of black hair and piercing black eyes, which sharpened their gaze as soon as they landed on you. Lo and behold, it was Renjun. 

“Ah yes, I was looking for you!” Sicheng answers, jogging over to Renjun, oblivious to the tension between the both of you. A sense of foreboding rises up in you. Please, please, let the other zookeeper not be him, you silently pray. 

However, to your dismay, you listen as Sicheng repeats the information he told you earlier to Renjun, and hands him a form as well. Meanwhile, you hear sounds of “okay,” “I see,” “that’s alright,” and “I understand” from Renjun. Gosh, I never thought this day would come. Having to work so closely with my worst enemy. 

“Thank you both for your time! More details will be given in the future. I’ll be helping both of you through the process, so don’t worry,” Sicheng reassures, giving both of you a smile and turning to exit the area. "Also! Don't tell anyone else yet, I'll make an announcement when the time is right," he adds quickly with a wink, before walking off. Both you and Renjun turn to him, giving him a pleasant smile and saying goodbye.

Once Sicheng leaves, the friendly vibe in the room dissipates, and is replaced with an atmosphere so icy-cold that even the penguins in Doyoung’s care would have frozen to death. “So, we’re gonna be seeing a lot more of each other from now on, huh,” you say, icicles in your tone as you glower at him.

“I guess. Not that I’m celebrating that fact, though,” Renjun replies equally coldly, returning your hostile gaze. 

“Neither am I. I only accepted the job because I love pandas. Never thought I’d have to work with you of all people,” you hiss, making your disgruntlement clear.

“Same here. If I’d known, maybe I’d have thought twice, but I wouldn’t throw away the chance to work with one of my favourite animals, so you better not mess this up for me,” Renjun warns, a haughty glint in his eye. 

“Bold of you to assume I’d screw things up. It’d be my own career I’m ruining. I should be the one giving you that warning,” you shoot. Turning on your heel, you flick your hair and walk out of the room, going back to the koala exhibit to find Jisung and Jaemin. Although there was some time before you’d actually have to take over the new exhibit with him, the mere thought of working with your sworn enemy filled you with so much dread. At least I get to work with some of my favourite animals, you think to yourself, trying to comfort yourself with that thought.

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

A few weeks later, you're preparing the koalas' breakfast again. Because you'd become more well-versed with the process of preparing their food, the three of you finish fairly quickly, so you guys decide to assist other zookeepers with breakfast preparations.

"y/n! thanks for coming to help," Hendery exclaims as soon as you reach the section of the kitchen intended for the nyalas.

"No problem," you answer, giving him the most reassuring smile you could muster. "How can I help?"

Hendery proceeds to explain the process of preparing food for nyalas to you, since you'd never done so before. It was quite a simple process, so you caught on quickly.

You've just finished setting aside yet another giant metal bowl of fruits, grass and flowers when Sicheng comes over to your side of the kitchen. "Sicheng! What's up!" Hendery greets with his usual exuberance.

"Hey," Sicheng greets back, giving Hendery a side hug. "I need to steal y/n, hope that's fine with you".

Your ears prick up at the mention of your name, and you instinctively swivel your head in the direction of where the duo are standing. Hendery clutches his chest, letting out a dramatic gasp and pretending to pass out. "So you only came for y/n? What about me?" he whines.

Sicheng rolls his eyes, and flicks Hendery's forehead. "Don't be dramatic. I need to talk to her and Renjun," he explains. 

"I'm joking," Hendery chuckles. "Of course you can''. He waves you off, and you follow Sicheng as he heads to the spider monkey exhibit to look for Renjun.

"Hey! I've been looking for you. Let Yuta and Shotaro know that you're with me," Sicheng shouts to Renjun, but you barely take notice. That is, until said boy emerges from the enclosure, and you both exchange glares as a very friendly form of greeting.

"The animals just arrived. They're here!" Sicheng breaks the unfriendly eye contact between you and Renjun with a snap of his fingers, and gestures for both of you to follow behind him. He leads you both behind the staff area, and opens up a door. You'd taken notice of that door before, but never entered. You wouldn't have been allowed to normally, anyway. That door is the veterinary clinic. 

"Before we take another step in, we've gotta put these on," Sicheng stops you and Renjun from walking further into the vet clinic as he slathers hand sanitiser over his hands, and passes a surgical cap, a mask, a special gown and a pair of surgical gloves to you. He hands a similar set to Renjun. "Don't forget to sanitise your hands too," he reminds before any of you put the gloves on.

Having been used to donning your usual work uniform, consisting of just a polo shirt and a pair of khaki shorts, you felt quite strange in the unfamiliar veterinary garb. However, you don’t complain, and make your way into the clinic, curiosity already gnawing at you like a hardworking beaver building a lodge.

The sight you're met with is enough to melt your heart on the spot - two giant pandas in their crates, sporting their characteristic black eye patches. One chews languidly on a stick of bamboo as Taeyong and Xiaojun examine its eyes with an otoscope, while the other lays down with its eyes closed. Beside them are four more sizable crates, each of them containing a red panda. They turn to you, regarding you with bright eyes that remind you of black marbles, curiosity reflecting in their gazes. "Oh my gosh! They're so cute!" before you can control yourself, a squeal escapes your lips as you set eyes on the animals before you. 

It seems like Renjun shares your sentiments, because his quiet whisper of "aww" sounds just beside your ear. Whipping your head around, you're surprised to see that his eyes reflect pure adoration and love as he gazes at the animals. Who knew that all that was needed to melt his icy exterior was two panda bears and four red pandas, you think as you chuckle to yourself.

Taeil spots all of you at the door, and he scrambles to lead you all in. "Hi! You're here to meet the pandas, right?" he confirms as he shuts the door, and is met with grunts of confirmation and head nods. "Okay! Right this way!"

You scurry to the crates as Taeil begins introducing the pandas one by one. "The sleeping giant panda is Liang Liang, and the one being examined by Xiaojun and Taeyong is Jing Jing. You can tell them apart by looking at their heads - Liang Liang has a tuft of fur on his head, so he kinda looks like an onion". At that moment, Liang Liang stirs and lifts his head, and that's when all three of you burst into laughter as you see his uncanny resemblance to the pungent vegetable. 

"Now the red pandas! This is Tao Tao, Mei Mei, Jun Jun, and Li Li. It might take a while to tell them apart, but don't worry, take your time to learn their personalities. Plus, they're able to respond to their names," Taeil continues, gesturing to each red panda's crate as he speaks.

"So adorable," Sicheng croons, lowering his head to get a good look at the animals, and you notice with amusement that Tao Tao pricks his ears forward and studies Sicheng as well. "How are they? All good and healthy?" Sicheng asks, directing his attention to Taeil as he whips out his phone to take notes.

"So far, we've examined all of them and given them a clean bill of health, except Jing Jing, who is being examined by Taeyong and Xiaojun now," Taeil responds. He casts a glance at the corner, where said vets are hard at work, before lowering his voice and adding, "There is something concerning, though. Her previous vet told me that she's been eating less, sleeping more, and becoming more sensitive to light and sound – all signs that she might be pregnant". 

The head zookeeper's expression morphs into one of shock. "Pregnant? No zoo should be sending pregnant animals out on flights!" he whisper-yells, eyes darting to cast a worried glance at Jing Jing.

"Nothing's confirmed yet. It could be a pseudo pregnancy," Taeil answers, putting a hand on Sicheng’s shoulder to calm him down since he’s visibly worried for the panda. "We'll perform an ultrasound scan on her, just to make sure, but other than that she seems healthy. In the meantime, since the others are healthy, you can go and settle them into their new enclosures first. We'll get back to you about Jing Jing as soon as possible," he promises.

Sicheng rests his head on his hand, clearly still concerned, as he lets out a quiet sigh. "Alright then. Thank you so much Taeil," he says, and motions to us. "Come, let's show them their new home," he says, and you and Renjun follow him again.

You'd already seen the panda enclosure once - it was absolutely stunning, with stalks of bamboo growing out from the ground, overhanging branches of bamboo leaves. A few other bushes growing with flowers of every colour a child's mind could conceive sat snugly in corners of the enclosure. Wooden platforms provided spaces for the pandas to lounge on, and a pond at the side proved useful for cooling off on a hot day. To top it all off, the air conditioner made the environment a cool, comfortable place, and you were sure all the animals would love their new living space.

"What we're gonna do now is load one crate onto a trolley, which I'll go get for you guys in a moment, push it to the new enclosure, and then try to get the panda to move in, okay?" Sicheng gives you and Renjun a run-down of the process of moving the animals into the enclosure, and you both nod. "We'll repeat this process for every single one of the pandas, so this might take a while. Wait right here while I fetch the trolley".

Just as Sicheng turns to go to the staff area, a crackling noise emits from his walkie-talkie. He freezes, listening to whatever the other zookeeper is saying on the other end of the device. "Oh no! I'm on my way. Get Kun and ask him to bring the first aid kit. Over," Sicheng hurriedly finishes the conversation, worry evident in his tone. "There's been an emergency at the snow leopard enclosure, I've got to go. Do you both think you can handle the pandas yourself?" He explains the situation and asks, gazing at you both imploringly.

You and Renjun exchange glances, before shrugging and turning back to Sicheng. "We can try," Renjun answers, and Sicheng nods. 

"Okay, good. If you need anything, call for one of your other friends, because I'll likely be away for a while. But I'll be as quick as I can," he hurriedly explains, and then rushes off. 

Renjun pushes past you, running in the direction of the staff area, before turning abruptly and stopping to look at you. "Well? What are you waiting for? Hurry up!" he bosses, before running off again.

"Be more patient!" you shout in annoyance, before rolling your eyes and hurrying off after him.

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

“Push harder, will you? Ugh, damn it!” 

It’s been about fifteen minutes since you and Renjun began. You’d successfully moved the red pandas into the enclosure, and they’d immediately begun exploring their new habitat, curiously sniffing here and there. Li Li even jumped into the small pond of water the moment she noticed. 

However, the same could not be said about Liang Liang. You and Renjun had huffed and puffed, and tried to move the trolley, but it still wouldn’t budge, and both of you were growing more and more impatient by the minute.

“I’m trying, okay? Just shut up and push!” you snap at Renjun, unable to keep all the pent-up frustration in you any longer. The both of you make another attempt to push the trolley, but to no avail.

“You’re not even putting in any effort!” Renjun scolds, slumping against the trolley after giving one last heave.

“Who’s the one leaning on the trolley huh?” you spit, shooting laser beams at him with your eyes.

“What’s going on?” a familiar voice interrupts, and you turn to see Chenle running up to you, with Johnny, Haechan and Jungwoo in tow. “Sicheng isn’t free now, so he sent us to help you guys out, and we arrive to find you guys bickering like Kun’s noisy parrots”.

"The couple is fighting again, I see," Haechan says with a smirk, which you ignore.

“We can’t move the panda ourselves,” you admit, heat blooming in your cheeks as the embarrassment of being caught in another argument sinks in.

“You know you could have asked us for help earlier, right?” Johnny chuckles, eyes sparkling with amusement. “It’s alright, we’re here to help now. Let’s get to it!”

With four other people helping to move the giant panda, it gets a lot easier and you're finally able to heave the trolley along. Finally, Liang Liang's crate arrives safely in the enclosure.

"There's one more panda right?" Jungwoo  inquires, and Renjun nods. 

"She's still in the vet clinic though," he adds.

"Alright, call us again if you guys need more help," Jungwoo says, walking away with the other three zookeepers. "See you guys later!"

Bidding them goodbye, you both turn your attention back to the panda, still chewing on a bamboo stalk lazily. "Liang Liang, hello," you croon gently, squatting down in front of the cage. "Time to explore your new home".

To your chagrin, the panda lifts his head and regards you briefly, only to return to chewing the bamboo stalk, stretching out nonchalantly. "Hey, don't you want to come out? Your friends are here, you know". You try again to get the panda to come out of the crate, but this time he blatantly ignores you, attention still fixated on the stalk of bamboo.

"You've got to move, you know. You can't live in this plastic crate forever," you try once more to convince the panda to come out, but to no avail. At this point, your patience was already worn thin from previous multiple failed attempts to push the crate, and also from trading verbal blows with Renjun. 

You're so wrapped up in your cloud of thoughts that you fail to see Renjun approach you slowly. He comes up from behind you, stepping up to where the panda was. Slowly, he crouches down in front of it, speaking to it in what sounds like Mandarin. As you listened, you secretly marvelled at how fluent his Mandarin was. Though you learnt the language too, you'd never come close to even scoring a B in all your school life, and even now when you spoke it, it came out in broken bits and pieces, and you'd stutter and stammer like a broken engine. 

To your amazement, the panda lifts its head and looks at Renjun, seemingly paying attention to what he was saying. Slowly, it rises from the ground, and lumbers out of the crate, sniffing the air. 

You have to admit, Renjun had used a smart move – speaking Chinese, the panda's "native language", to get it to cooperate.

Renjun turns to you, only to see you with your mouth open so wide you could catch flies. His lips curve into a smug smirk, sending your blood boiling. "Watch and learn," he sniggers. 

"I…I-" you attempt to garble out an intelligent insult to fire back at him, but your mind draws a blank. Luckily, the crackling of your walkie-talkie saves you. 

"Y/n, can you come to the vet clinic now, please? Bring Renjun with you. Over," Sicheng's voice emits from the earpiece sitting snugly in your ear.

"On our way. Over," you reply, putting the walkie-talkie back into your pocket. "Sicheng's waiting for us at the vet clinic. Hurry up!" you snap at Renjun, before quickening your steps and heading in the direction of the vet clinic.

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

"We've just run an ultrasound on Jing Jing, and…she's pregnant". Taeil drops a bombshell the moment you guys arrive at the clinic.

At this statement, you gasp in shock, unable to believe your ears. The zoo sent a pregnant panda on a long flight? 

Renjun's mouth hangs agape, while Sicheng's eyes glaze over with worry. "How's the baby? And how is Jing Jing? A pregnant panda might not be able to withstand the stress of a long flight all the way from China!" he rambles, words tumbling over each other.

"She's alright," Xiaojun steps in, trying to reassure all of you (mainly Sicheng, though). 

"The foetus looks fine too, so don't worry too much," Taeyong adds with a soft smile.

Hearing this, Sicheng's shoulders relax as he breathes a sigh of relief. You let out one too, after realising that you'd unconsciously held your breath as you nervously waited for the three vets to deliver news, whether good or bad.

Taeil sits down at his computer, makes a few clicks with a mouse, and then turns the screen to you. "These are pictures from the ultrasound scan," he says, drawing up the first picture. "See? This is the foetus," he says and points out a tiny, jelly bean shaped lump on the screen. He continues to show you the pictures one by one, and you look on, awed by what you see. You'd only ever seen pictures of human ultrasound scans, but never ones of a panda's. "Both mama panda and the baby are healthy right now, but keep a close eye on them in the meantime. I'd also like to prescribe her some supplements," Taeil informs three of you, gesturing for you to follow him to a shelf stocked with medicines. He scans the rows of medicines, before picking out two bottles of tablets. After he explains the procedure for administering the medicine, three of you say your thanks and leave.

"I'm kind of concerned for Jing Jing," Sicheng admits as he heads back to the enclosure with both of you. "No – that's an understatement, I'm really concerned".

Sensing that Sicheng was quite tense and anxious, you look up at him and reassure him, "don't worry. The vets have given both of them a clean bill of health, and I'll definitely do my best to look after her well". 

Renjun pats Sicheng on the shoulder, trying to comfort him. "I'll do my best too. We all want Jing Jing and her baby to be strong and healthy," he says gently.

For once, you actually agreed with him.

Sicheng smiles back at both of you. "Thanks guys," he says, before a slight frown appears on his face again. "I still want to have a word with the zoo that sent them over, though. It's very dangerous to send a pregnant animal on a flight!" he exclaims.

Renjun nods, humming in agreement. "Wise choice. I'd do the same if I were you," he muses.

Sicheng nods. "Anyway, we'll just let them settle into their new environment for today. They've surely been through a lot," he laughs. "I mean, imagine a trip all the way from China in a plastic crate".

That statement draws giggles from you and Renjun. "So today, both of you just stay here and take care of the pandas, okay? You guys can always call me if you need any help," he instructs, and both of you agree. "Alright, I'll be off now then. See you guys around!"

You and Renjun wave goodbye to him, before sitting down outside the enclosure, maintaining a gap as wide as the Pacific Ocean between both of you. Letting out a huff, you turn away from him and rivet your eyes on the animals in the enclosure. You observe Li Li and Mei Mei frolicking in a tree, Liang Liang attempting to climb a tree, Jun Jun making himself comfy on a wooden platform…

You register a sharp pain as your head hits the glass panel in front of you with a loud thump, and wake with a start. "Ow!" Rubbing your forehead, you whip your head from left to right, trying to figure out where you are. Oh right, you were in the panda enclosure.

To your chagrin, Renjun is looking right at you, biting back a laugh. "Shhh," he hisses, holding a finger to his lips. "Don't knock on the glass," he sneers, still smirking at you as he points at the sign on the glass. His tone was so patronising, it made your blood boil. You were not a child, and would not stand to be treated as such.

"It was an accident!" you return, defensiveness creeping into your tone. 

"But you're still not supposed to knock on the glass," Renjun reasons, with the same snobbish tone you detested with all your life.

"I already said it was an accident! For fuck's sake!" you're unable to contain your frustration any longer, and snap at him.

"You can't keep getting into accidents if you want our pandas to grow strong and healthy," he argues. You find your eyes rolling back so far, you swear you can see your brain.

"Accidents happen, and you need to learn to accept that, Huang Renjun. Next time you get into an accident I'm gonna laugh at you too," you huff, exasperation increasing by the second.

"I'm only trying to help! Take a damn comment, y/n!" his voice increases in volume as he says. Arrows seem to shoot from his eyes as he shoots you a vexed glare.

A growl emits from the enclosure, seeming to express displeasure. Jing Jing is now wide awake, looking in Renjun's direction, and you swore that her round, ebony-black eyes held the slightest tinge of vexation as she gazed straight at him.

A snicker emits from your throat, and you seize the opportunity to have a go at him as revenge. "Shhh". Turning to him, you imitate his earlier actions, putting your finger over your lips and sending him the same condescending look he'd eyed you with just minutes ago. "Don't wanna wake Jing Jing up from her beauty sleep, do you?" Your heart swells with glee as his features twist into a disgruntled scowl. “See, you’ve made her upset”.

“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Renjun mutters, turning away in a huff and crossing his arms. “At least I’m not the one who failed miserably at getting Liang Liang to come out of his crate!”

You don’t say anything, but merely stick your tongue out at him. For once, you had the last laugh in your face-off with Renjun. 

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

Even though you were an argumentative person by nature, you had to admit that all the bickering was taking its toll on your sanity. You were beginning to go nuts – to the point that you'd begun conversing with your own charges. 

Especially Jing Jing, the one you'd grown the closest to.

"Oh, Jing Jing, I'm so frustrated," you complain to the panda in front of you as you caress her head, while she munches on a bamboo shoot, making contented noises from time to time. 

Jing Jing looks at you and tilts her head to the side, seemingly confused about what you were saying. 

"Your other caretaker gives me so much trouble. So nice to you, yet so nasty to me," you continue to lament as Jing Jing looks on, as if she were listening to your every word. "What do I do? Working with him is awful. Yet, I love you all so much, I don't wanna stop working here".

Jing Jing gives a low rumble, and nudges you slightly with her nose. Peeking in the direction of where she was pointing, you spy Renjun sitting on one of the wooden platforms cross-legged with Tao Tao in his lap.  Xiaojun was there to check on the red panda, who'd taken a tumble off a low branch.

"You want me to get along with him–? No, Jing Jing, I can't – he's so difficult," you shake your head in immediate protest, only earning another encouraging rumble from the panda.

Another sigh leaves you. "He's terrible, I swear. There's no way we'll ever be able to get along," you whine, picking at a shoot of bamboo. Then a thought hits you, and you perk up a bit. "But if working with you means I have to bear with him, I'll gladly do so. Get it? Bear with him? Because you're a bear," you giggle quietly at the joke you cracked

Jing Jing takes no heed to your lame joke, returning her attention to the pile of bamboo in front of her. Meanwhile, out of concern for the poor animal, you look back in Renjun's direction.

"He's not hurt, except for that cut. I'll come by to disinfect it every day, so that there's a lower chance of it getting infected," Xiaojun states, preparing his veterinary kit as Renjun nods. 

Tao Tao's squeals and whimpers of pain as Xiaojun applies antiseptic to the wound shoot right to your heart, making you want to give him a warm hug and assure him that it'd be over soon. Xiaojun winces at every one of Tao Tao's pitiful cries, and his repeated whispers of "sorry, sorry" drift into your ears. 

"Hey, relax, okay?" you catch Renjun saying to Tao Tao in a soothing, pleasant voice, a stark contrast to the jarring, harsh tone you heard so often during your all too frequent squabbles. "I know it hurts, but it's to help you become strong and healthy again so you can go play with your didis and jiejies, okay? It's gonna be over soon. Hang in there". He continues to whisper comforting words to the red panda, all while stroking his head gently. It seems to help, because Tao Tao begins to calm down, only letting out occasional whines from time to time.

Witnessing this tender side of Renjun made your heart melt, and – though you didn't want to admit it, dissolve at least a tiny bit of the hatred you felt towards him. Seeing him treat Tao Tao so lovingly somehow gave you this warm, fuzzy feeling inside, like a cup of peppermint tea on a stormy day.

Xiaojun finishes cleaning the wound as quickly as he started, and is now bandaging it carefully. "He's good to go," Xiaojun confirms, gently placing one more piece of tape over the plaster to hold it in place.

Renjun shoots Xiaojun a look of gratitude, and then returns his attention to Tao Tao. "There. All done. See, no more pain!" he says to Tao Tao, using the same tone one would use to cheer up a young child. 

Unknowingly, while watching the whole scene before you, a sliver of a smile had formed on your lips, gradually growing as the sweet scene unfolded before you. Just then, he looks in your direction, and you hastily swivel your head back to Jing Jing, avoiding eye contact with him. Maybe, just maybe, you'd be able to get along with him. 

Or would you?

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

The next few weeks spent preparing the panda enclosure for official opening were well…chaotic. Renjun and you got along just as well as a bear and wolf in the same enclosure, and every interaction both of you had seemed to drive a bigger wedge between both of you. Working with him wasn't getting any more pleasurable. The only thing keeping you going was, well, the pandas. Today, things are unusually heated, even for the both of you.

"Y/n! Pass me another shoot of bamboo!" Renjun bellows from one end of the kitchen.

"Get it yourself! Can't you see I'm busy?" you scream in response, busily washing the bamboo leaves in a big basin.

"You're closer to it than I am. Go get it for me!"

"Is it that hard for you to take a few steps and come get it yourself?"

"Is it that hard for you to take one and pass it to me?"

"Ugh! Whatever, here". You finally relent, albeit grudgingly. Picking up a few more bamboo shoots from the nearby pile, you storm over to Renjun's side of the kitchen and unceremoniously plonk them onto his table, earning you a glare of fury.

"Renjun! What are you even doing! There's still a smudge here!" you holler, blood pressure rising at the sight of a smudge of grime on the glass panel of the enclosure while cleaning up the place.

"I know, I know! I'm coming! So fucking impatient," the irked response comes from the other end of the enclosure, the last part purposely being said softer. 

"I heard that!" you snap, burning a hole into him with your infuriated glare, which he simply returns.

The rest of the morning goes by with more scuffles between both of you. You'd both cool down in the presence of guests, only to return to fighting like elephant seals as soon as they left. As usual, Sicheng was an unfortunate witness to most of them, but he simply raised an eyebrow at the both of you and didn't scold any of you at any point.

"Oi Renjun! We're having a class of kindergarten children over later, better not fuck up!" you bark, in a sullen mood from earlier events.

"I know what I'm doing! Mind your own business and make sure you don't fuck up," Renjun says brusquely. "Now you better shape up, because they're coming!"

Your eyes slowly make a 180° flip upwards, but you still manage to hastily turn the corners of your mouth upwards as you turn towards the entrance, preparing to receive the class of students. It was your last batch of guests for the day, and you wanted to quickly get it over and done with so you could go get dinner. 

"Hi everyone! Welcome to the panda exhibit!" you begin, waving your hands in exuberance and greeting them cheerfully. From the corner of your eye, Sicheng gives you a thumbs up, a smile of approval on his face.

Assurance settles in your chest, and you continue. "I'm y/n, and beside me is Renjun. We're the zookeepers in charge of this exhibit, and we'll be showing you around today. Follow us!"

You lead them around to the other side of the exhibit, where two fluffy, black and white heads soon come into view. 

"Aww, so cute!"

"Panda!"

"Which is Liang Liang and which is Jing Jing?"

A hoard of squeals of adoration, along with some questions arises from the crowd of kindergarteners before the both of you, and both of you hurry to calm them down. "Alright, questions one by one!" Renjun yells over the noise. "Raise your hand to ask".

A boy with dark hair puts his hand up. "Who is who?" he asks, head tilted to the side with a quizzical expression.

Renjun looks out into the enclosure, squinting his eyes slightly to make out the pandas. "Oh! The one munching on bamboo is Liang Liang, while the one sleeping next to him is Jing Jing. Liang Liang's head looks a bit like an onion. See? There's a tuft of fur sticking out from the top of his head," Renjun explains to the children. A chorus of "oohs" and "ahhs" come from the children as they continue staring at the pandas, agog with curiosity. 

"Did you know that pandas used to be all white?" Renjun quips, distracting the children momentarily.

"Really?" They chorus, and Renjun just gives them a nod. 

"This is a legend, from a long, long time ago". From there, he tells them the story of how pandas got their black colouration from – a legend of a shepherdess who'd given her life to save a panda cub from a leopard. The heartbroken pandas attended her funeral, and wore black armbands as a sign of respect. Unable to contain their grief, they hugged each other and sobbed piteously. The cries got so loud that they covered their ears to block out the noise. The black colouration rubbed off onto wherever they touched themselves, and from then on, all pandas carried the black marks. 

Your curiosity was piqued, as you'd never heard of such a legend in your entire life. As Renjun continued telling the tale, your heart seemed to shatter into pieces slowly. He told the story as if he had lived to witness the whole thing, and told the story in such a poignant manner that he made you feel as if you were at the shepherdess's funeral yourself.

"And that's how the panda got its black-coloured markings," Renjun concludes with a small smile.

Most of the kindergarteners seem to be fascinated by the story, some even showing mild sadness on their faces. However, a piercing cry comes from one child, startling everyone present.

"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry, don't cry! It's just a legend, it's all pretend," Renjun exclaims, flying into a panic. "It didn't actually happen. It's just a story," he adds, attempting to calm the child down. 

The awe you felt over Renjun's storytelling skills quickly becomes converted to rage, and the child's piteous cries only serve to fan the flames of fury in your heart, and you have to hold yourself back from giving Renjun a tight slap. "What the hell, you dumbass! You made a child cry!" you burst.

"How would I have known?" Renjun lashes out at you in defence. "It's literally a story told to kids!"

"You should have thought twice before telling them!" you argue back, not wishing to back down. 

"I already apologised, for fuck's sake!"

"So what? You still upset the kid, you dou-"

"Alright, everyone!" Your altercation is broken up by Sicheng, who gently pushes both of you aside, and makes his way in between the both of you while clapping his hands to get everyone's attention. The child has already stopped crying, thanks to the teacher who soothed her, and everyone's attention is now riveted on Sicheng. "Let's do something happier – hopefully this will cheer you all up! Who wants to see the red pandas?" He asks, eyes sparkling as he addresses the children. "Me! Me!" Exhilarated cries resound in the exhibit, and soon they're all jumping up and down in delight.

"Okay, come, This way!" Sicheng says, beaming as he gestures for the kindergarteners to follow him. They follow behind him, still whispering and giggling as they're unable to contain their excitement. Meanwhile, you trail behind, amazed by his expertise with the children. 

Fortunately, the remaining segment of their tour goes well, and the whole class leaves the panda exhibit all smiles. You usher them out, uttering the standard phrases. 

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

As soon as the last child is out of the enclosure, Sicheng turns to you and your colleague, arms folded across his chest. The once pleasant expression he wore morphs into a livid one, and you could literally feel the anger radiating off him. If looks could kill, both you and Renjun would have died a thousand deaths on the spot. For the first time in your life, you feared your boss – who was usually so mild-tempered and sweet. "We apparently need to talk about how to behave at work," he snarls, voice an octave deeper than usual which drives fear deeper into the crevices of your heart. You watch apprehensively as he draws in a deep breath, before slowly breathing out again. "Arguing on the job? Pushing blame instead of helping one another out? Swearing in front of visitors? Was any of that professional?" He fires question after question like bullets at the two of you, eyeing both of you expectantly. "Well?" 

"...no, it wasn't," you reply with a quivering voice, hesitation creeping into your voice. Your heart judders like a jackhammer in your heart as he nods curtly, acknowledging your reply.

"I thought so," he responds. "Then what should you guys have done?"

"...stayed calm, helped each other". This time, the soft, shaky reply comes from Renjun. It drilled the realisation of how terrifying Sicheng could be when angry – so scary that he could even zap the confidence of your arrogant colleague and reduce him to a stuttering bundle of nerves – further into your mind.

Sicheng responds with a grunt of acknowledgement, and then takes a deep breath before saying his piece. "Y/n, it's good that you were concerned about the child, but what wasn't good was your response. You could've helped Renjun to calm the child down as well, instead of lashing out at him".

You nod, unable to speak due to how cowed you felt in his presence. Directing his attention to Renjun, Sicheng begins another admonishment. "Renjun, it's not your fault that the child cried. I didn't expect that reaction from her either. But you should have stayed calm and continued comforting her, instead of blowing up at y/n's comments there and then. In doing so, you upset the child more".

"Yes sir, I understand," Renjun replies meekly, head bowed. 

Sicheng sighs heavily again, bringing up his fingers to rub his temple as he speaks. "It's not just today. I've lost count of the number of times you've both started fights between yourselves at work, and it needs to stop. I've said it once, and I'll say it again; quarrelling at work is awfully unprofessional. You're expected to settle your differences amicably, not lash out at each other like that. You guys constantly being at each other's throats is gonna stress the animals out too – and it's not gonna be good for any of them, especially Jing Jing".

Your heart does a nosedive as soon as he mentions Jing Jing. You'd never considered the negative impact the constant arguing would have on her! Your mind flashes back to that "conversation" you'd had with her, and you realised why she wanted so badly for you and Renjun to work peacefully together.

"I'm not saying that both of you have to like each other, but that both of you need to work on getting along better at work, because good communication is key. Is that clear?" Sicheng concludes, shooting both of you with an expectant glare.

"Yes, sir," you echo after Renjun, mind still in a blur.

Sicheng nods, satisfied with the response. "Good. Go on and pack up, after this you can go off for dinner".

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

The clean-up session is muted, a stark contrast to the usual intense squabbling between both of you as you sorted out things in the enclosure. As you wipe down the glass walls, you reflect on your earlier actions, shame and guilt finally settling in like ink on white cloth. You honestly had no idea what drove your unprofessional behaviour back at the guided tour.

And in the first place, you couldn't put your finger on why you hated Renjun so much to begin with.

Caught up in your thoughts, you fail to notice the presence of your colleague beside you. "Hey, I'm sorry," a soft voice comes from beside you, making you jump in shock. It's Renjun who's beside you, averting his gaze from you as he mumbles his apology. "I shouldn't have reacted so aggressively earlier".

His words hit you like a bolt from the blue, leaving you stunned. In that moment, your hatred for Renjun gives way to admiration for him, as you realise how humble he really is at heart. Sure, he was in the wrong too, but you should have been the one to step up and say sorry first, considering that it was you who'd initiated the whole incident.

"No worries," you whisper, giving him a small smile. "I should be apologising. I lashed out at you first and started the whole thing".

"We both were in the wrong," Renjun concedes as he picks up another mop and begins to help with cleaning the glass walls as well, and you hum in agreement.

Another period of silence between both of you follows, only this time, it carries an air of comfort and peace about it and not the usual thick tension. You don't know what drove you to do such a thing, but in the moment that follows, you say something you never dreamed that you'd ever say. "Hey Renjun, I realise that it's not gonna benefit anyone if we stay stuck in this endless volley of arguments. It wouldn't allow us to get things done efficiently, and it'd also stress the pandas out. From now on, can we put our bad blood behind us and get along? At least just at work," you suggest, sticking your hand out to offer him a truce. 

Renjun's eyes glaze over thoughtfully as he looks at your outstretched hand, contemplating your offer. It doesn't take him long though, because before you know it, he's taking your hand and shaking it firmly. "Truce. I'm honestly tired of arguing with you all the time, and I hope we can get along better from now on," he replies, beaming wider than you'd ever seen from him before.

Wow. His smile is kinda adorable.

You dismiss the fleeting thought from your head, praying that you weren't blushing as you turn away from him,  smiling from ear to ear. "Shall we go look for the rest to have dinner?" he suggests as you pick up your tote bag.

As if on cue, your stomach lets out an embarrassingly loud growl. You had forgotten to bring your wallet, ao you didn't eat lunch, only telling your friends that you weren't hungry. However, the painful hunger pangs seemed to be growing minute by minute, and you found yourself in desperate need of some sustenance. "I didn't bring my wallet," you admit, still in disbelief at your absentmindedness. "I'll tag along, but I won't get any food," you decide, choosing to use the time to socialise with your friends. 

"You need to eat something. I'll pay for your meal," Renjun offers kindly. "I have more than enough money for myself, so don't worry".

Hearing this, your heart swells with gratitude. "Thank you so much! I'll pay you back tomorrow," you promise, folding your hands together in gratitude.

Renjun waves his hand, dismissing you. "It's alright. My treat," he insists, making his stubbornness clear through his tone.

"I can't accept that, Renjun – just allow me to pay you back," you attempt to reject his offer again, but to no avail.

"It's fine! Take this as my way of making up for being such an asshole to you for so long," he laughs, once again showing his pearly whites. 

"Fine then. Thanks so much, Renjun," you stutter, cheeks lighting up red again. "I'll repay your kindness next time".

"It's no problem," Renjun says quietly, the soft, sweet smile still on his face.

You had to admit, it felt nice – refreshing even, to hang around your enemy without the usual atmosphere of animosity, and in your heart of hearts you hoped that your interactions would be more like this from now on. 

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

"Y/n, don't forget to add Jing Jing's supplements into her breakfast," Renjun reminds you as you both go about the bustling kitchen, rushing to prepare food for the pandas. 

"I'm on it!" you answer, swiping the jar from a shelf in the corner. "Two tablets, right?"

"Yep!" Renjun's distant reply sounds out as he rummages through a cupboard on the far end of the room.

"Alright, thanks!" You proceed to dish out the amount that you had to give her, then crush up the pills and mix them into her food.

It's been about a month since you and Renjun decided to call a truce with each other, and things were going much better than before. Initially, there were some minor scuffles, but you'd both managed to talk things out instead of yelling at each other again. Now, you were both able to have a peaceful working relationship with almost no disagreements. Occasionally, your heart would choose to beat a tad bit faster, or your face would heat up just by the slightest bit as you talked to him, even if it was something just as simple as asking if he would be joining you guys for dinner, or how Tao Tao was doing. Yet, you could never quite pin the reason why down. However, slowly but steadily, you found your friendship with him growing stronger, like a newly-budded flower in the springtime. But as the friendship blossomed…so did those other feelings, which you just brushed aside the best you could.

"The vets are coming later, right?" you fact check with Renjun, who bobs his head in reply.

"Yep, they are. Gonna do another ultrasound on Jing Jing and update us on how she's doing," Renjun says, summarising what you'd heard. 

"I'm excited for the arrival of her baby," you comment as you bring the food out. 

"Me too!" Renjun agrees. "New animal births are always exciting! I remember when Sarah was pregnant with Cedrick – all of the zookeepers couldn't stop talking about it for weeks," he gushes as he recalls the time a new baby tapir was born. "When Sarah was due, Sungchan stayed overnight with Sicheng and the vets to ensure their well-being". 

"Wow, he’s so dedicated," you gasp, feeling a sense of admiration towards your friend, while making a mental note to treat his behaviour as something you should model.

Renjun nods emphatically. "He really is. That's what I admire about him, and I hope to have the same level of commitment towards our pandas," he comments, smiling as he thought of his colleague and friend who'd shown such high levels of dedication to their work.

At that moment, Taeil arrives. After a quick chat, he sets up his equipment and gets to work on Jing Jing. "Her progesterone levels have peaked and are now on a downward trend. This is a sign that she's likely within weeks of giving birth," Taeil informs both you and Renjun, who are waiting anxiously at the side.

Upon hearing the news, you both let out a unanimous gasp, following with a flurry of questions coming from both of you. "How's the baby?" "When's the due date?" "Is Jing Jing healthy too?" "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Taeil chortles and then gets you and Renjun to calm down. "Both Jing Jing and her baby are okay. She seems to be about 3 months pregnant, so the projected due date would be between 28 May to 6 June. As for its gender, we won't be able to tell until about six weeks after it's born". Taeil slowly addresses all the questions you and Renjun bombard him with, patiently explaining everything that you wanted to know. 

"Right now, continue to ensure that she eats healthy and gets sufficient sleep. I'll also prescribe her another supplement – she'll have to continue taking this one until a few weeks after her pregnancy, but after she's given birth she can stop the other one".

Taeil leaves after handing you the bottle, and both you and Renjun fly into a frenzy, jumping around the enclosure like excited toddlers who'd just gotten new toys. "She's gonna give birth soon! I can't wait for the cub to arrive!" you squeal, excitement already overflowing out of you.

"Me too! It's gonna be so adorable!" Renjun gushes, eyes sparkling with delight. But while you're both in your state of euphoria, a grumpy, guttural noise emits from the other end of the enclosure.

"Oops. We woke Liang Liang up," you realise, softening your voice.

"Oh yeah. Sorry boss," Renjun turns to face Liang Liang, doing a small bow while apologising. Amused by his actions, you burst into guffaws, and get the same reaction from Liang Liang again. "Shhh!" Renjun quickly quiets you down, while chortling softly to himself. 

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

The bunch of you were out at dinner together. Having grown bored of eating the same things over and over again, you all decided to find a different place to eat. A few google searches and a mini-poll had led you guys to a cafe in a nearby shopping mall that sold all sorts of Singaporean dishes. 

Throughout the meal, you and Renjun periodically giggled and chatted quietly, just between both of you as you sat next to each other at lunch. You both hadn’t been talking about anything much, mostly about Jing Jing and her cub since the news about her cub had sent you both over the moon.

“Y/n and Renjun, you guys seem to be very thrilled about something today. Care to enlighten us?” Jeno questions, looking up from his chye tau kueh staring in you and Renjun’s direction when you nudge him for the umpteenth time. 

Uh oh. Your friends' curiosity had been piqued. You exchange glances with Renjun, his panicked look matching your own. “Should we tell them?” you whisper to Renjun. He takes a moment to think, before responding with a soft smile and a nod.

“What, are both of you dating?” Haechan asks, a teasing smirk forming on his face. 

“What the hell, no!” a unanimous exclamation comes from both you and Renjun. “There’s nothing between us!” you add, desperation in your voice. “Anyway…you remember the pandas me and Renjun got assigned to take care of? The female, Jing Jing, has been pregnant for a while, and she’s gonna have her baby soon,” you reveal.

A stunned hush falls over the table. Right after, the excited chatter starts up again, even more intense than earlier. "Wait what? No way! When's the baby due?" Mark asks, his jaw dropping to the floor. 

"In about a few weeks," Renjun answers.

"We're gonna welcome a new baby panda soon!" Haechan exclaims, eyes shining with glee.

"I can't wait to see it," Jisung enthuses.

Amidst the mini celebration, Jeno's brow furrows with worry. "Wait, but doesn't that mean that the zoo flew her over while she was pregnant?" he questions.

"Yeah, pregnant animals shouldn't be on flights. Wouldn't they be stressed?" Shotaro adds, sharing his friend's concerns.

"Yeah, it was so irresponsible of them!" Renjun says, incensed. 

"Sicheng called the other zoo to talk to them about the panda. I heard they're facing charges for their irresponsibility," you say, putting all their concerns to rest.

"Phew, that's good," Jisung responds. "Also, Jaemin, you good? You’ve been so quiet, I thought you’d be more excited over the baby panda," he asks, turning to his colleague.

“Yeah, it’s just…Haechan has a point,” Jaemin says, the sudden change of topic stunning everyone. Noticing the quizzical expressions on everyone’s face, he explains himself. “I mean c’mon, don’t Renjun and y/n act like work husband and wife to you?” 

Hearing that makes you nearly spit out the sip of iced milo you had in your mouth. “Care to explain?” you ask, statement coming out harsher than intended.

That doesn’t faze Jaemin though, and he takes a bite of his chicken rice before continuing. “I mean, they’re so close now, close to the point where they’re having conversations without us? Even at work you guys keep teasing each other and laughing at everything the other says. Kinda sus, is it not?” he explains, glancing around the table. To your shock, a few heads nod, agreeing with the koala keeper. 

“But they used to fight all the time!” Shotaro points out, and you nod and point at him in agreement.

“See? There’s no way we could be a couple ever, with the amount of fighting we did in the past," you say, attempting to justify yourself.

Sungchan rolls his eyes, sighing dramatically and taking a sip of his teh ping. “Come on, guys. It’s all in the past, is it not? Besides, don’t act like you guys don’t go looking for each other first thing after morning team meeting! ‘Renjun! You ready?’ ‘Give me a while, y/n!’ ‘Alright, take your time!’ ” Sungchan does his best to reenact what a conversation between both of you usually went like, using a sickly-sweet tone to mock both of you as uproarious laughter goes up around the table.

“Yeah and besides, hasn’t everyone heard the saying ‘couples fight’? Maybe all your fights in the past were just foreshadowing, you know,” Haechan looks up from his nasi lemak, a shit-eating grin on his face. 

Renjun rolls his eyes at the hippo keeper, adding a long, exasperated sigh. “There’s really nothing, guys. Just ask y/n,” he replies coolly, glancing over at you as you nod emphatically.

“Renjun, you’re blushing,” Jisung pipes up. Though his tone was quiet as usual, it carried a teasing lilt to it. 

“I’m not!” Renjun protests as his hands fly to his cheeks. 

“Dude, it’s okay! You’re not alone. Y/n’s cheeks are pink too,” Mark says, doubled over in laughter. 

Your own hands come up to your cheeks, and to your horror, there’s heat radiating from them. “It’s because the laksa is too spicy!” you fib, making up a lame excuse. 

Chenle’s hand shoots up faster than a rocket. “I call bullshit!” he exclaims, finger pointing at you. “You haven’t taken a sip of iced milo from the moment we arrived here, and plus, it’s well known that you have the best spice tolerance among all the zookeepers!”

You sigh for the umpteenth time again. For once, you wished that you could have dinner alone just so you could enjoy your food in peace. “Really, guys. There’s nothing,” you reply calmly, reiterating your point from earlier. 

“Denial is the first stage of acceptance,” Jaemin reminds you with a smirk, and you respond by punching him hard in the shoulder. “Renjun! Your girlfriend hit me!” He says, fake crying and clutching his shoulder. 

Renjun shakes his head, totally unimpressed by Jaemin’s performance. “Not gonna help you there. Serves you right,” he replies coolly before going back to his roti prata.

Shotaro’s giggles sound from the other end of the table. “Renjun, you didn’t deny the ‘girlfriend’ part. Is this your way of admitting that you and y/n do have something there?” he teases, eyes turning into half-moons.

This time, Renjun throws his hands up with an even louder sigh. “Oh come on!” he yells, exasperation showing through more. 

Just like that, the rest of dinner goes on, with the others teasing you and Renjun while both of you repeatedly denied the “allegations”. Despite your vehement denial of it, your heart fluttered and pounded in your chest like there was no tomorrow, and you somehow didn’t mind the teasing as much as you seemed to. 

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

The long-awaited day finally arrived – the day of the panda cub’s birth! Excitement coursed through your veins as you packed your things as fast as you could – including a sleeping bag, a set of pyjamas, and a towel. Yep, you and Renjun had agreed to stay overnight at the zoo to await the birth of the cub. A spring in your step, you make your way through the green metal gates of the zoo entrance. 

“Y/n! Ready to welcome Jing Jing’s new child?”  Renjun’s voice is the first sound to reach your ears as soon as you enter the staff area. 

“YES!” you squeal, bouncing up and down as you toss your bag into the cupboard. “I can barely wait!”

“Me too!” Renjun exclaims, holding your hands and jumping up and down. You feel your heart pause as he takes your hands in his, only for it to resume pounding several times faster than previously as a wave of heat makes its way up your cheeks. However, you pay no heed to the feeling and continue to giggle with him like excited schoolgirls. “You brought your stuff?” he asks, and you nod in earnest. “Sweet! We’re all set!”

An unimpressed sigh resounds in the staff lounge. “Couple’s going on a date huh,” Haechan says, glancing at you and Renjun.

“Goodness sakes, Haechan, it’s not a date! We’re just here to ensure the well-being of Jing Jing and her baby,” you attempt to reason with the brown-haired boy. It’d been a few weeks since your friends began teasing you, and slowly other zookeepers and even vets had joined in, much to your frustration. 

“It’s alright, Haechan. Let them deny for as long as they want to. They’ll accept it soon, I’m sure,” Sicheng’s voice sounds from the entrance as he reappears, grinning at the both of you. He makes his way to Haechan and whispers something to him, and the latter erupts into giggles as Sicheng quietly sniggers. “Y/n, Renjun, don’t worry! I’ll help the both of you make an announcement during our team meeting next time,” he says teasingly, earning groans from both of you. 

Gosh damn, even your boss had joined in the teasing. 

That aside, the rest of the day progresses smoothly, save for teasing from a few other zookeepers. You went about your usual activities – preparing food for the pandas, playing with them and training them, showing guests around, until the day was about to draw to a close and the vets came to check up on Jing Jing again. 

“Okay! Looks like the baby’s due tonight as expected, hopefully all goes well tonight!” Taeil chirps, wrapping up his examination of Jing Jing. “You’re both staying behind tonight to check up on her, right?” he inquires, packing up his vet kit. 

“Yes, we are! We’ll be around to assist you guys if we can,” Renjun replies, an adorable smile on his face. Wait, did you just call him adorable again- 

“Sweet! See you both around later then, enjoy your date,” Taeil finishes off with a grin, then rushes off. 

“Gosh, how many times have people joked about us dating already?” Renjun groans, rubbing his temple.

“I don’t know – I can’t even count anymore,” you admit, attempting to count in your head. “Whatever. Let’s go back to the staff room and get our stuff. Do you wanna go out with the others for dinner?” you ask, opening the door and leading him out.

You shake your head. “I’m feeling really lazy tonight, let’s order in. Since the vets are staying as well, we can order for them too,” Renjun suggests. 

“Alright then,” you reply, getting out your phone to order. “Can we order from that Singaporean cafe we ate at the last time? It was so good, I swear. I can still taste that sumptuous laksa on my tongue,” you say, dreamily gazing into space and licking your lips as you think about the delicious bowl of noodles.

Renjun watches, laughing at you. “If that’s what the vets want too, sure thing,” he replies. “I thought the food there was really good too”.

You take orders from the vets, and soon the food arrives. Everyone gathers in a circle on the floor to have dinner together, and the bunch of you chat away happily. Surprisingly, there’s no teasing from anyone – just talk about Jing Jing and her panda cub. 

“Hey y/n, how much was my ban mian? I’m the only person that hasn’t paid you back,” Renjun asks, opening the banking app on his phone after dinner to transfer you money.

“It’s alright. My treat,” you say, winking at him as you gently bring his phone down. “You treated me to dinner last time, let me do the same today”.

“But-”

You shush him. “No buts,” you declare, giving him a look that says “this conversation is over”.

A small sigh leaves him. “Thank you so much,” he whispers. 

Just then, Taeyong walks back into the room. “Hey, you guys can chill in here until we call you guys, alright?” he informs. 

“Okay, thank you!” Renjun responds back, and Taeyong makes his exit. 

Since there was quite a lot of time left, you and Renjun decide to bathe, then meet back in the staff lounge. He’s done before you are, so by the time you emerge, towelling your wet hair, he’s already in his sleeping bag, scrolling through his phone. However, he looks up the moment you walk in. “You look pretty in that,” he says, and you realise that he’s complimenting your pink and white pyjamas set. 

“Thank you,” you respond, and you’re sure your cheeks are just as pink as the pyjama blouse you’re donning. “What are you looking at?”  you ask, rolling out your own sleeping bag and settling down next to him. 

Renjun shrugs. “Just photos of our friend group,” he answers. “You can come take a look too”.

He tilts his phone towards you, and continues swiping through photos on his phone. You’re surprised to see that you were in quite a number of the photos. Though two of you had been in the same friend group for all the time you’d been working at the zoo, you thought that Renjun would have zero photos of you as he’d delete them all. Knowing that he didn’t detest you to the point of erasing all of your photos from his photo album warmed your heart a little, as petty as that would sound. 

“Wait, oh my gosh, this one’s hilarious!” Renjun laughs, finger stopping over a particular photo, and you sit up a little straighter to have a better view of the photo. It showed a person in a tiger onesie, curled up on the ground. A net was thrown over the figure, while the vets and several zookeepers – you recognised them to be Sicheng, Kun, Mark, and Jeno – poked and prodded at the figure on the ground with a stick. 

Recognising the photo, you burst into laughter as well. The photo had been taken during the emergency response drill Sicheng had put all the staff through one day without warning, designed to prepare everyone for dangerous animal escapes. The drill consisted of a zookeeper – you remember that it was Yangyang – running around in a tiger costume, pretending to hurt other staff. Meanwhile, the staff on the emergency response team pretended to tranquilise the “tiger” and check that he was completely out before wrapping Yangyang in a net. The rest of you had been tasked with rounding up visitors and evacuating them to either the cafeteria, visitor information centre or one of the activity centres to hide while the emergency response team neutralised the threat. You’d been lucky enough to get a front seat view of the whole thing, having brought the visitors to the visitor information centre, where all of you watched the whole thing from behind the transparent glass doors, agog with curiosity. 

“I remember this! Everyone thought it was so funny. Shotaro was in the visitor information centre with me, and he couldn’t stop giggling!” You recall, remembering the number of times you’d had to shush both him and yourself, since you were trying very hard not to burst into laughter yourself.

“Same. Chenle was in the cafeteria with me, and gosh, he wouldn’t stop laughing,” Renjun recounts, looking at you with an expression of disbelief on his face. “I was so done with him”.

As you both continue looking through the photos, you continue to talk about the various memories behind all of them – some happy, others wholesome, and others plain hilarious and nonsensical. 

“Honestly, how did we end up hating each other so much in the first place?" Renjun suddenly asks, stopping you in your tracks as you turn to look at him with a stunned expression. “No, I’m serious. What drove us so far apart in the first place?”

The question he’d just asked was a loaded one – one that could possibly bring up many sour memories, and ruin the good relationship between both of you if not answered tactfully. You hesitated, not sure if you wanted to talk about it now. 

However, you also knew that if you both didn’t sort out whatever had driven a wedge between both of you in the first place, you’d both never truly be able to be friends. Plus, this was pretty much the only time both of you would be alone together. Bracing yourself for the uncomfortable conversation that was to follow, you suck in a deep breath and answer him. "It was the moat incident, wasn't it? The one that happened the first day I arrived?"

"Oh yeah!" A look of realisation comes onto Renjun’s face at your answer. “That one where we both fell in. Now that I think about it, that was so terribly ridiculous,” he chuckles. 

"Can't believe we ended up hating each other just because of one fall into the moat," you answer, giggling yourself. What Renjun had said was right – it truly was absurd and silly how you’d both allowed one small incident to ruin what could possibly have been many months of a positive, memorable relationship between you both. 

A hush falls over Renjun, and he stops laughing. "Actually…there's more to it,” he whispers, so quiet that you almost don’t hear him. 

"What do you mean?" you ask, genuinely curious now. What else could there be to it?

"It's just…oh my gosh, this is so embarrassing to admit. It's my fault that we hated each other,” Renjun groans, burying his face behind his hands. 

"I'm sorry what?" You ask gently, totally bemused now. “Could you explain further? I really don’t get what you mean”. 

“Alright, here goes,” Renjun groans, removing his palms from his face and taking a huge breath. “When you first joined, I saw you and thought you were really beautiful. Like, not just outside, inside too. I saw how sweet you were with every other zookeeper, being so willing to help all of them although you'd just joined, and it really amazed me. Honest! I began reflecting on myself when I saw how you gladly assisted all of the staff that needed help to the best of your abilities.  Then when you came to help me clean the spider monkey exhibit, I was thinking of how to make conversation with you. I got terribly nervous, and didn't look ahead of me. Then we collided, and I fell in” he explains, recounting the events of that fateful day.  

"Oh yeah, I remember! You pulled me in too,” you reply, patiently waiting for Renjun to continue. 

"Yeah, I panicked! I was already feeling embarrassed after falling into the moat in front of you, and the realisation that I'd pulled you in by accident as well only served to increase it. I should have just recovered, apologised, helped you and then introduced myself properly, but I lashed out. I guess ever since then, we've just been horrible to each other. I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have lashed out at you like that," he concludes sheepishly, scratching his head. 

The memories of that day came rushing back to you again, and you tried to put yourself in his shoes. Imagine tripping in front of your crush and taking a huge splash into a pool of water – yep, definitely mortifying. Your heart began to ache with sympathy for the boy beside you, realising how humiliated he must have felt then. "No, it's alright. That happened so long ago! I'm sorry for pushing you in and snapping at you too,” you reassure, adding in the apology that he deserved too. 

"If only we didn't let something so trivial drive such a wedge in between us. Maybe we wouldn't have had such a sour relationship for so long,” Renjun sighs, staring at the ceiling with a wistful look in his eyes. 

"Yeah…to be honest, I was really nervous to talk to you too. When preparing the koalas’ breakfast, Jaemin and Jisung couldn’t stop talking about you! They kept talking about how you were such a great friend to be around, and how they admired your sense of responsibility, and how funny the jokes you told were – Jaemin even thought we’d get along great!” You felt that Renjun deserved to know your side of the story as well, so you spilled the beans. 

“That didn’t turn out too well, did it?” Renjun replies, chuckling in response. “We literally acted like bears with sore heads around each other after we met. 

“Also…I thought you were striking too. My heart stopped when I walked into the spider monkey enclosure for the first time that day!" you exclaim. “It was quite a shock when you pulled me into the moat, and then proceeded to yell at me. To have such things happen on the first day of work was really embarrassing, and I took my frustration out on you too,” you practically rap out your explanation and look away, feeling your cheeks heat up again. 

Renjun chortles in response to what you said, but the faraway look in his eyes told you that there was something more he had to say. You pause, looking at him, waiting for him to say his piece. A few moments later, he breathes in deeply, and opens his mouth to speak again. "...this is really awkward to admit, but I think even during the time we supposedly hated each other, I'd been harbouring a crush on you. I just thought that too much damage had been done to fix anything, so it would be pointless to try,” he sighs, and you hear the regret in his voice. 

You pause, taking what Renjun had just told you in disbelief. It had definitely taken him lots of bravery to say that to you, and you decided that since he’d been brave, you should be too. You take a while to consider your next words carefully.  “It’s not, Renjun. I do believe part of me has always liked you more than I wanted to admit,” you respond softly, smiling as said boy turns to face you, mouth agape. “It just became way more obvious to me after we began getting along much better, you know?"

A sliver of a smile forms on Renjun’s lips, and it gradually grows, until he’s smiling from ear to ear. "If that's the case, let's go on a date some time…?” he suggests, his tone slightly timid. “I mean, we shouldn’t rush things due to how we used to have so much bad blood between us, but if you want to give things a try, we could”. 

You were now smiling so widely that your cheeks ached, but the euphoria that blossomed in your heart outweighed the mild ache in your cheeks. "Of course!" you exclaim, taking his hands in yours and looking at him, taking in the way his eyes sparkled with jubilance, and the adorable snaggletooth peeking out from between his lips as he smiled. “Gosh, they’re gonna tease us so much when they find out about this,” you chuckle. 

Renjun shrugs, way too elated to think about it. “Who cares. We’ve got each other,” he says, drawing circles on the back of your hand with his thumb. 

Just then, Taeil steps into the room. “Hey, Jing Jing’s going into labour,” he announces, excitement spreading over his features. “Come quick!” 

Both you and Renjun let out a collective gasp, then hurriedly hop out of the sleeping bags and put on your shoes. 

»»————----- ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ -----————-««

It takes about two more hours, but soon you’re looking adoringly at a newborn panda cub. The vets get busy monitoring Jing Jing’s vitals, and checking on the cub. 

“So, any name suggestions?” Xiaojun asks, smiling at the both of you. 

Renjun and you look at each other. “What’s the gender of it?” you ask. That was a key piece of information to know before choosing a name for any animal.

“We won’t be able to check until about six weeks later,” Xiaojun informs both of you, laughing at the way your faces fell. “It’s alright! You can think of potential names, and then name the panda when we find out its gender,” he says, consoling both of you. 

As quick as your eyes held this downcast expression, they lit up again. “Renjun! Let’s go think of names for the cub!” you exclaim, tugging on his sleeve. 

Renjun laughs, seeing the thrill on your face. “Maybe a bit later? I want to stay here a bit longer. The cub’s so cute,” he says, unable to take his eyes off the tiny cub. It’s now suckling from its mother, as Jing Jing licks it between the ears. 

You couldn’t deny it – the cub was absolutely adorable, and you wouldn’t mind staying to observe it a little longer. “Sure thing!” you agree, plopping down beside him to observe the mother and child. 

Renjun turns to you, an affectionate smile on his face. “I’m so glad we got to take care of this bunch of animals together. I couldn’t have done it without you,” he whispers. 

Who knew that all it’d take to find true love was to bear with the one you’d once swore was your worst enemy – and a family of black and white bears and some red pandas. You return his loving smile, knowing that what he said was completely true. “Me too,” you whisper, holding on to his hand as you both sit beside each other hand in hand, watching the pandas fondly. 

[ackerfics]

on impulse — a bonus chapter for the parent trap au ft. levi.

— levi ackerman x female reader (modern au | the parent trap au)

— summary: there's a new addition to the family.

— word count: 2.7k

— notes: i wrote this while taking a break from stressing over my finals yey me !! i took the time to unwind and wrote a scenario that's heavy in my mind rn dhwjhd this is definitely the kind of break that i need from doing my finals for one of my classes whew. btw, this happened after the epilogue to clear some confusion 😚 have fun reading !! hope you're happy with this little surprise bc hey i'm not dead !! (i am not inspired by our own pregnant cat at all oop)

reblogs are greatly appreciated !! <3 my masterlist is here if you want to check out the previous chapters uwu

This was long overdue.

It has been years since Captain was just a puppy hoarding all of the house slippers and munching on furniture. Now that Altair thought about it, their family dog was the same age as him — his first memory playing and rolling around the matted living room with a puppy Captain. It was quite sad to say that Altair’s best friend was a dog that grew up with him before Caelum came into the picture. The question of having another pet when their golden retriever perfectly filled the role never surfaced from Altair’s mind until he came across a schoolmate of his shouting about visiting their stall during their annual school festival.

Being the ever-curious child he was, Altair made sure to tell Caelum beforehand that he'd be exploring something first, to which the younger twin said yes before going into the direction of the stall selling handmade trinkets. Watching his younger twin bounce off to his own devices, Altair smiled a little. There was a warmth in his chest every time he witnessed that childlike wonder on his brother’s face. Knowing that Caelum was safe while buying whatever caught his eye, Altair walked to the stall with the banner Give Them Homes fluttering against the breeze. His hands were snug inside the pockets of his uniform pants, eyebrows furrowing in curiosity as he craned his neck to fully see what was inside the box. There was also a girl with twin braids over her shoulders talking to some students in his grade, the only person coming between him and his goal.

“Altair?”

He looked at the girl and wondered where he saw her. “... I’m sorry?”

The girl made a noise of surprise. “Are you his twin? The one that transferred at the start of the school year? I’m sorry I mistook you as Altair.”

Altair shook his head. Of course, nobody could tell him and his twin apart now. “Uh, I’m Altair. My twin is at the Arts and Crafts stall. You are?” Again, he didn’t mean for his question to sound snobbish but he couldn’t help it. He only heard of this girl today. Plus, he really wanted to see what was inside the box. His curiosity was growing because there were scratching sounds coming from it. Did the boxes house tarantulas? Bugs that he could keep as pets? He hoped his dad wouldn’t find out if he came home with a cage with a tarantula in it. He would do anything to make sure that even Petra, Oluo, and Hange wouldn’t discover his little secret.

“Oh, I’m Naomi, I’m actually in your class,” she sheepishly provided for the onyx-haired boy.

“Huh,” Altair muttered, nodding to let the girl know he was paying attention but his gaze was still set on the box.

Naomi followed his eyes and raised her eyebrows in understanding. “You want to adopt?”

Now, she had Altair’s attention. “Adopt?”

“Yeah! Our club partnered with the pet shop down the street. A lot of their animals gave birth to many babies. We reached out to them, hoping that they’d extend some of the animals’ offspring for the school event. I know some students want to adopt some animals. We also keep track of who chooses to adopt them. We have a record that they should fill in and a bunch of paperwork that they should give to their parents. If we don’t get a response after a day, we’ll have to ask for the student to give back the animal. A parent’s consent is important, so they say!”

Altair stared at the girl with dispassionate eyes, blinking ever so slowly, which made her shrink back until her back bumped into the table. To others, Naomi’s yelp pulled him from his trance but in reality, it was a light tug in his unbuttoned blazer. Altair calmly turned around to face the smiling face of his twin, who was holding a bag of trinkets he managed to buy from the Arts and Crafts stall.

“I finished buying some stuff that we can give to Mum and Dad,” Caelum informed his brother. He turned to the girl, “Oh, hi, Naomi.” The girl waved in greeting, along with the mention of his name. At the blank look harbored by his twin, Caelum leaned back in apprehension. The glint in Altair’s eyes could never be mistaken. It was the same look like the time of the Parent Trap plan or that time where he pulled him to the forest in search of Pokemon. Any ingenious thing he came up with, Caelum always remembered his twin having this intense stare. “What are you planning now?”

“Cae, let’s adopt an animal,” Altair rushed out.

Caelum could only utter a, “What?” His jaw was slack as he watched Altair’s face light up upon seeing the animals inside the box. When he saw the ball of black in his vision, Caelum sharply inhaled. “I agree. Let’s adopt him.” He pointed at the furball in his brother’s hands, holding the animal up as if it was Simba from The Lion King.

Altair’s wicked grin said it all — their father would never agree to this. It was a whisper but Caelum heard it.

“Let’s not tell Dad or any adult about this, okay?”

Levi was an observant man.

He effortlessly pointed out the littlest of things like how you had this franticness in you that you carefully hid, concluding to you juggling too many clients again. He noticed the mannerisms of his workers, seeing as somebody ordered their tea from overseas, also offering to open a new branch out of America. He was always the first one to mention that Captain was feeling under the weather ever since they got him as a family dog. His mother liked to joke that he was innate and was born an empath. Knowing Levi, he brushed it off with a remark that had Kuchel laughing, something along the lines of blaming her for this unnecessary behavior of his. So, it wasn’t that hard when he noted that Altair’s bag was too heavy or that Caelum entered the kitchen way too many times to count in a day.

One thing was for sure; the twins were acting weird and it gave Levi a sense of deja vu.

So, he followed Caelum during one weekend when his youngest son did his kitchen rounds. He had to be as quiet as possible. Then, he was face to face with Altair’s room. Levi heard the lock click in place. It was hard for him to listen in because he respected the boundaries of his family. He never once entered Altair’s room without the boy’s permission. But this time, what his sons were doing, it was suspicious as it is. Of course, it would be. Altair was acting like he was in a spy movie while hiding something behind his back after playing in the backyard. It was pretty comical to watch in the corner of his eyes how the little boy looked at him while walking past the living room or how his back always pressed against the wall.

“You think he noticed?”

Levi narrowed his eyes.

“Who? Dad?”

“Yeah. It’s been a week now and he never said a word yet.”

“Maybe we’re just too good at keeping secrets, Cae. No worries.” The voice kept moving closer to the door. “Dad will never know about this one. It will be the only plan we have that he won’t discover—”

The door opened and Altair bumped into his father’s front.

“Ow! Who the hell stands in front of my door…” Altair’s face betrayed no emotion as he blinked at Levi. Then, he gasped and closed the door. Only for Levi to prevent him from doing so. “Dad!” He nervously laughed, a high-pitched sound that only came out of Altair when he’s lying, or worse, hiding something. “What a coincidence seeing you here! Why are you here? Do you need anything? Food? Uhm, water? We have those here! We will gladly give you whatever you need. Just please let me close this door.”

“Bloody hell,” Caelum’s voice echoed from the inside of Altair’s room. “Not again.”

“Altair Kenneth Ackerman.”

Said boy gulped. Caelum gasped.

Levi glared through the opening of the door that showed Altair’s face. “What have you been hiding?”

“Dad, I swear, I’m not doing anything illegal! I’m only eleven!”

“I know.” The calmness in Levi’s voice sent a chill down the twins’ spines. “So, let me in, Altair.”

“No!”

“Altair.”

“Dad, please.”

“I swear to God.”

“I promise I’d stop playing games during the weekdays. I promise I’d eat more vegetables. I promise you anything that you want me to do, Dad! Just don’t come into my room!”

“No, Rascal, get back!”

“What?” Levi was taken aback. Suddenly, a blur of black sped through the hallway and into the stairs. The door was then opened wide, revealing a disheveled Caelum, who pointed to the hallway with his brother stepping out of the room. Levi shifted his gaze from Altair to Caelum. “What is going on—?”

“Catch that black rascal!”

Altair turned to his younger brother in exasperation. “Was that him?!”

“Yes. Chase him, Al! He’s fast and jumpy and terrified!”

Like nothing happened, Levi was left standing in front of his son’s room, still not comprehending what transpired at the last minute. The thuds of his sons’ footsteps on the floor panels shook him out of his reverie. “Altair! Caelum! Get back here, you brats!”

Your day in the studio finally came to an end. It was a successful gown fitting for a new bride. This deserved a celebration. You were thinking of asking for some help from Petra in making dinner that exuded your happiness in completing the clients’ wishes because you also managed to deliver the three gowns overseas without any hitch. The swish of your day dress and the click of your heels on the floor signified your arrival. “I’m home!” You announced to the first living room. Taking off your heels almost immediately and with them dangling from your fingers, you went inside the homelier part of the mansion and waited for the patter of steps that always wrapped you in hugs. What welcomed you, though, was a soft ball of fur climbing the bottom of your dress. You looked down and to your surprise, it was the cutest little thing of nostalgia looking at you with standing fur.

“Oh, my, where did you come from, little fella?”

You picked up the black Persian kitten and cradled it in your arms. It was stiff and shaking. With a hum, you ran your fingers to help the little guy calm down. It did until the patter of steps you anticipated (along with aggravated shouts) came from the stairs and echoed throughout the house. The kitten stiffened again, squirming in your hold. You had no choice but to let it nuzzle into your neck. You looked up at the staircase with a concerned countenance, wondering if that was really Levi you heard.

“Mum!”

“Mommy!

Then, two voices mixed together. “You found him!”

“Come back here, you two!”

“Him?” you parroted, looking down at the kitten staring at you with big blue eyes. Then, two pairs of arms wrapped around your middle in a welcoming embrace. You laughed while you maintained your balance, thanking yourself for taking off the heels earlier. You felt Altair hide behind you, grumbling along the lines of a crazy old man. You saw your husband stop in front of you, glare murderous enough to make a person sweat in nervousness. You, however, placed a hand on Caelum’s head, ruffling the wavy hair between your fingers. “Love,” you greeted with an amused smile before raising your hand to fix Levi’s hair. At your touch, he felt like he could instantly relax. His eyes softened yet they still held a warning for the two boys using you as a shield. “Do you remember the cat we had during university?”

Levi continued staring at the twins, lips curling when Altair peeked around you to stick out his tongue at him. “Yeah, of course, beautiful, I remember that soulless creature.”

“Don’t you think this little guy here looks like Lele?”

The kitten really looked like the one you two adopted out of impulse. Well, it was because you looked at him with those eyes of yours that he always compared to a puppy. He would never find the strength in him to refuse you if you pull that out. Right now, it wasn’t only you who sported that look, it tripled because of the two boys still hanging onto you. Great, now he’d feel terribly guilty if he said no to this. It took Levi two whole minutes of weighing the pros and cons of adopting another pet. The twins gradually deflated when the silence prolonged even more. It looked like they were going to call Naomi and her club so that the kitten would be returned.

“... What’s his name?”

The twins glowed like heavenly bodies at that.

Altair jovially pulled you to the couch while Caelum pushed Levi until the four of you sat side by side, with the twins in the middle. The kitten is now on Caelum’s lap, having calmed down and slept.

“Rascal,” Altair answered.

“Rascal?” Levi echoed.

“That’s a fitting name, isn’t it?” you laughed.

Caelum trailed his finger on the kitten’s fluffy face, making the pet’s nose twitch. “Yeah, he gave us a hard time the entire week. He was always jumping around our rooms and breaking stuff. We adopted him during that school event.”

Levi narrowed his eyes. “Oh? What about the consent forms?”

Altair nervously laughed again. “... We kinda forged your signature, Dad.”

“... You did what?”

“Boys,” you started, catching their attention, “you know you can ask for our permission, right?”

“But Dad said that he doesn’t want to have another pet after Captain,” Altair reasoned.

You cupped your older son’s face, rubbing your thumb on the apple of his cheek. Your free hand held Caelum’s wrist, your eyes going regarding both of your sons. “Yes, he said that but it wouldn’t hurt if you asked first. If your dad doesn’t agree when you ask for permission, you can always prove that you’re mature enough to care for a new pet. It will take some time but your efforts will pay off. But seeing as Rascal is here, turn this opportunity to show that you two can care for him. Be gentle with him and give him his needs like you would a fragile thing. Judging from his size, he looks like he was only born for a couple of weeks.”

“We understand, Mum,” Caelum smiled, his head turning to the sleeping kitten.

“Al,” came Levi’s voice.”

“I’m kinda prepared already,” the said boy replied with bright eyes.

“Don’t tell me that’s why your bag was too heavy.”

Altair scratched his undercut. “Yeah,” he sheepishly admitted. “Cae and I bought toys and some kitten milk replacer from the pet store. It was no big deal, it came mostly from our savings.”

Despite the near scare he had with Altair, Levi couldn’t help but feel that his boys were constantly reminding him that they’re getting older. Caring for the kitten as their pet would be a huge step for them to develop a sense of responsibility. Levi already had experience caring for a cat and he prayed that he wouldn’t have a repeat of that because your previous feline didn’t like him at all. At least this time, Rascal purred whenever he joined Caelum in trailing his fingers on the fluffy furball. The man’s lips turned into a smile, feeling the urge to show some affection to his sons. He placed a kiss on the crown of Caelum’s head, earning a giggle from the boy, before leaning forward to reward Altair with a kiss on his forehead, to which the older twin whined a Dad at (also rubbing where his father kissed him with red cheeks). He heard your low amused laughs and flashed a beautiful smile at you, lidded eyes painted with all the adoration and love he could muster.

“Bollocks, he peed on me.”

Cackles from Altair rang through.

“Al, you made him drink so much!”

“Sucks to be you right now! But, hey, good thing it wasn’t kitten crap.”

“Okay, okay, why don’t you clean up, Cae. Let me and Levi help prepare his space here in the living room.”

Yeah, Levi wished he could preserve this moment for eternity.

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