#also hey hi I'm making another AU oops

[amanitacurses]

[hwaslayer]

wildfire (cs) | three.

—spotify playlist | series masterlist

—summary: assistant professor in bioengineering, incredibly attractive, lonely and divorced; that’s how most people describe san. but despite the events that have happened in his life, san has a lot going for himself. he’s a successful, sought out professor due to his brilliant contributions to science at just an early age of 32. he worked hard to get where he was now; head deep into his research, his publications, building his lab and creating a name for himself. everything was good and smooth sailing— until it wasn’t. because when he meets you, a bioengineering grad student interested in rotating in his lab, he finds himself ready to risk all the blood, sweat and tears he put in throughout the years just to keep you close— his need for you spiraling out of control like a wildfire.

—pairing: asst. professor!choi san x grad student!f. reader

—genre: (18+ - minors dni) strangers to lovers, grad school au | fluff, angst, eventual smut

—word count: 4.8k

—chapter content/warnings: cussing, mature language/sexually implied content, general bioengineering project descriptions/terms, very vague mention of mice research work, mentions of a lil cut (nothing graphic), a lil more oc x san!!, oc x san being subtle with their actions - they're def feeling each other/checking each other out tho lol, suave sexy san!!, jongho is onto him oop 🤨, it builds up from here i prawwwmise!

When Sunwoo said he needed help, he truly meant it. A few weeks into the new quarter, you find yourself hustling in the lab in between your class schedule. You do enjoy it though, and you find that you still have time to carve out for your friends and nights out. But, you do feel your workload slowly increasing just because Sunwoo is trying to make significant progress with his project— a project that you hope to build off if you were to fully join Professor Choi's lab. A project that would hopefully get your name on another published paper, too. And, you weren't gonna lie, you wanted to do your best and work extra hard because you needed Professor Choi to see that you fit perfectly in his lab. You needed to show him that this wasn't any ordinary research work to you and that you weren't just winging your time here, especially after he gave you that friendly but stern pep talk during your kick-off meeting with him, Belle and Sunwoo.

—FLASHBACK

"Hey." Professor Choi says while sitting in his chair. The three of you walk in, with Sunwoo plopping himself down on his couch, and you and Belle sitting at the two seats in front of his desk. "How's everyone doing?" He asks while typing away, huge Mac screen taking up the corner of his desk with his laptop connected on a laptop stand.

"Good!" You all say in your own ways.

"How about you, Professor Choi?" Sunwoo leans back onto the couch.

"Mm." He hums. "Good as can be, I guess. Can't complain." He chuckles, now fully shifting his attention to you three. "So! How'd the talk go?"

"Well, I think Y/N would work well with my project. There's so many avenues she could piggyback off of if she joins the lab afterwards that'll help contribute to a lot of the dynamic foraging, brain-wide neural dynamics work we've been doing." You watch as Professor Choi nods in agreement, now looking at you and Belle.

"She could also help with the lab-wide project I've been heading and some other 2-photon and KCR work." 

"Sounds good with me. What about you, Y/N?" He leans onto his desk, eyes glued on you while his hands are clasped together. You lick your lips and nod, nervous that all the attention is on you especially from Professor Choi. You feel like he's burning holes into you, and you can't help but feel incredibly intimidated. 

"Yeah, that sounds awesome. I'm on board with Sunwoo and Belle's plans. I'm excited to dive in." He smiles at you.

"Cool. I think we'll get some great work done during your rotation." He turns to Sunwoo. "Sunwoo, can I trust you to take care of Y/N's badge access and getting her set up with everything she needs?"

"For sure!"

"Thanks." Professor Choi stands. "And just cause I have to lay this out there, there are some expectations I hold for the people in my lab— regardless if you're a rotation student, postdoc, undergrad, staff. It doesn't matter. I expect the highest performance out of everybody, and I want my people to succeed no matter how long it takes. I expect my people to do nothing but the best and I need that to show in everything you do. Presentations. Data. Papers. Everything. I don't want anyone to settle for less than that, and you have my support every step of the way."

"Of course, noted."

"We have lab meetings every Monday at 9am up on the third floor of the south wing. I'll get you on the schedule so you can do your rotation update towards the end of the quarter."

"Journal club!" Sunwoo says, making Professor Choi laugh. "One of us!"

"Yeah, we'll get you to do a journal club presentation too." He tucks his hands in his pockets.

"Professor Choi gets us free hot breakfast for lab meetings." Belle puts her hand on your arm as you all stand and start to get ready to leave. "It's so good." You giggle.

"So, all good? We're all onboard?" You three turn to Professor Choi and nod. "Nice. Welcome to the lab, Y/N." He flashes you a smile that only you catch, a look that only you see. Like it was meant to be that way.

Your time in Professor Choi's lab will be an interesting one.

—END

"Hey." You pull out a seat and plop onto the chair, sipping on the drink you just ordered.

"Hey pretty!" Eunchae giggles, while Felix, Jiung and Jurin wave.

"Where have you been?" Felix asks, poking at your bicep.

"Shuffling between class and lab." You let out a breath, bottom lip poking out into a pout.

"She's rotating in Professor Choi's lab." Jiung looks at Jurin.

"San?" You nod. "Damn, goodluck!" Jurin chimes in and you shake your head. "He's a hottie."

"Here we go." Felix snorts.

"I mean, are we wrong?" She looks at him and playfully nudges his side, causing him to groan in response. 

"I never said you were wrong!" Eunchae giggles at his pained response. "That's just the hot topic on campus. Him and his friends."

"So hot. They deserve to be the talk on campus." Eunchae rests her chin on the palm of her hand. "How has it been in his lab?"

"It's been good! Just really fucking busy. Sunwoo is like.. at the peak of his project. He'll probably try to submit his paper within the year or something if all goes well."

"Fun times." Jiung looks at you while sipping on his smoothie. "You going back to lab after?"

"Yup!"

"I gotta head back, too." Felix says. 

"Same. I gotta run my gels." Eunchae adds.

"What about you?"

"Not today." Jiung responds. "I have a paper I need to start already for one of my classes. I've just been trying to troubleshoot some of the lasers in the lab for the other Professor Choi so I'm not entirely busy yet." You nod, checking your apple watch to peep the time. "Are you guys gonna be able to catch dinner later?"

"I should be."

"Yeah, same."

"Mm. I dunno." You tilt your head. "You can probably go without me and I'll catch up if I can."

"Sheesh, really putting you to work already."

"Yup." You sigh, finishing up your drink and your snack box full of cheese, grapes and crackers. "Anyway, I gotta get going. I told Sunwoo I'd try and fix our behavior rig today so we can start utilizing it soon."

"Text us if you'll be able to join dinner and we'll wait!" Jurin yells before you wave them off and start making your way back to the Harvey Center to finish up your tasks in lab. Part of you really wanted to stay with your friends and hang out for the rest of the afternoon, but you had promised Sunwoo you'd take the time to fix the behavior rig he had been working on for the past month. He just hasn't had the bandwidth to focus on it lately, so having you is tremendous help for him. 

When you get to the lab, there's still quite a few people lingering around in the office area in the basement, surprisingly. You pop over to their desks for small talk, getting to know the people in the lab and the projects they're working on. Most are situated at their desks, analyzing their data and coding between two monitor screens. Everyone's equally nice and passionate about what they do, it makes the environment less stressful knowing it's collaborative and engaging instead of being in a competitive nature. Belle pulls you aside to get your help just as Sunwoo is packing up for the day and thanking you for your help with the behavior rig. She takes about an hour or so of your time, giving you a quick rundown of the procedures she's working on and what you could help with in the next few weeks. It's after your time with Belle that you finally get to sit down at your desk and focus on the rig sitting on top of it. You don't think it'll take much time, and you feel like you'll actually be able to catch dinner with your friends.

Until you realize how difficult it is get everything situated on the breadboard properly. 

San hums as he walks through the cold air, pacing towards the Harvey Center to get to his office. He's just had a good workout at the faculty lounge, and he doesn't expect too many people [if any] to be lingering around in the open office space of the lab. He knows people are cooped up in their own laser or behavior rooms right now, and it's not even the first time he'll be strolling in casual clothes. He tries to keep himself clean and pressed down, but he too, has his days where he just wants to head to work in some jeans. A tshirt. Hoodie.

Right now, the cold is pricking his skin because he's in a black Nike dry fit shirt and sweats. He's running to the office to finish up a few last minute things before heading home and relaxing. As expected, the hallway feels eerily quiet. He assumes there could be one or two people locked away in the rooms, but he won't bother. When he gets into the office space, he doesn't see anyone in particular until he turns the corner towards his office and finds you sitting at your desk in the corner. The computer screen is pretty bright, and you've got your hands tied with a rig. 

He definitely wasn't expecting you to be here.

"Fuuuck." He hears you slightly whine when the small allen wrench in your hand slips and tumbles to the floor, followed by a few screws sitting on your desk.

"Hey Y/N, you okay?" San asks, dropping his duffle bag right in front of his office door before slowly walking over to you. You look up in surprise, eyes quickly scanning Professor Choi in his casual outfit. You're stunned at how good he looks in something so simple, how big and defined his arms are in that tight shirt; he looks so good you almost forget to respond.

He sure as hell catches on though, a tiny smirk growing at the corner of his lips.

"Oh, yeah. I'm trying to unscrew this but Sunwoo's got it in there tightly. I'm afraid I'm weak." He laughs and shakes his head.

"Nah. You're not weak." He picks up the allen wrench from the floor. "Which one?"

"This." You point. "And this too, while you're at it." He chuckles.

"You got it, boss." San angles himself closer to you, face only inches away from yours when he dips to get a better look. You watch as his arm muscles flex when he gets the wrench in there and starts undoing the screw, loosening it in a matter of seconds. "I'll let you do the rest." He moves onto the next and loosens it shortly after. When he finishes, his face is only inches away from yours and he keeps a hold there. He's looking at you again, really looking at you, and you feel the heat rise to your cheeks. You're not sure what else to do besides nibble on your bottom lip.

"Thank you." You manage to choke out. He gives you a soft smile before handing you the allen wrench and standing fully upright.

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" 

"Um, no. I didn't." San looks at your hand a little further and notices the fresh scratch near your pinky— probably due to your hand slipping from the force, scratching it against one of the mounts sitting on the board. 

"I didn't expect you to lie to me so quickly." He teases, slight whine in his tone while he clicks his teeth. "Can I see?" You show him your hand. "Come to my office, got some ointment for it." He nods towards his door and leads the way. San could damn well show you to the lab's first aid kit down the hall, but his office is much closer and he'd feel a bit better than just sending you off to fend for yourself. 

"Professor Choi, I can just find the—" Before you can finish your sentence, he's already swinging his door open and holding it open for you.

"It's much quicker than heading down the hall to the first aid kit." He laughs a bit. You give him a tiny smile as you brush past and walk into his office, feeling a bit awkward being in his private space for something as little as a cut. You fiddle with your fingers as he places his duffle bag down onto the couch before grabbing the first aid kit in one of the drawers near his desk. He grabs a small pack of ointment and a bandaid, approaching you in the middle of the room. "Mind if I..?"

"Not at all." You leave out your hand for Professor Choi to take and he gently tugs it closer. He applies the ointment on your scab, dabbing it lightly across the surface before grabbing the bandaid and placing it on top. 

"There."

"Thank you, Professor Choi."

"You're welcome. Be careful next time. Make sure Sunwoo does the heavy lifting."

"I know. He's good help. I just figured I'd help him get a head start." San gives you a small smile. "Mind if I ask? What're you doing here later in the evening?"

"Sometimes, I just stay to get my work done. Can't always rely on my home office to keep me productive." He chuckles. "Plus, I get my workouts in at the faculty lounge." You nod.

"I see."

"How long have you been in the lab today?"

"I've been in and out in between classes."

"You haven't eaten dinner?"

"Nope. Dining hall doesn't close until 9pm, though." San looks at the time on his computer.

"Which is getting pretty close. You should wrap it up." You look at him with a small pout and it feels too difficult having to keep his composure while you keep looking at him like that. His eyes quickly dip to the low cut shirt you're wearing before he manages to divert his attention back up to your eyes. The tension is palpable, but you don't say anything. Even if you caught it, even if you wanna tease him a little. You try to stick to your own lane in case all of this is pure delusion. 

You're so fucking pretty, though. It's bad for San. 

Unhealthy.

"I mean, don't get me wrong. It's nice knowing you're working hard in the lab." He follows up with a laugh. "But, you should also get some time in for yourself. Rest and eat well. You can always come back to the work tomorrow."

"What if I fall behind?"

"There's no such thing on falling behind if you're constantly working on so many different aspects, Y/N. Plus, it's not gonna be perfect. You'll have days that're slow, that'll feel like you aren't getting much out of your project. But, I promise it picks up again and things will come out of it regardless."

"Noted." You smile at him. "I appreciate that."

"How about I finish up in there and we head out together? I'd really hate to leave you here in the office alone, especially if I don't have to." You look at him and even though everything inside of you is fighting, pleading, to say no, you end up with—

"Okay." You softly respond. "I'm gonna go clean up."

"Sounds good. I'll be out in a minute." He gives you that look again and you hate that you don't know if he looks at everyone else like this or just you. You eye him once more even as he's turned towards his desk checking his phone before you head out of his office and to your desk. You did make good progress on the rig, which you know Sunwoo would be grateful about. The only thing he needs to do is add the part he created the other day, a tube where the mouse would be situated for lick behavior tests.

Meanwhile, San plops onto his computer chair and pulls up his emails, looping in the appropriate people to help fix certain issues. He's got a few emails regarding just-in-time information needed for the grants he's been re-applying for, making a mental note to hop on a quick meeting with the people involved so they can get their reports and data together and send it off in a timely manner.

It never ends, he thinks. 

All is his life consists of now is work. The lab. Collaborating in various projects across departments. Working out. Sometimes, San wishes there was something else he could look forward to. Something else that could take time out of his day, something that he could put his attention to. Something like—

jongho: still on campus?

He turns to his phone when the text tone goes off, seeing the message from Jongho. San quickly checks the time and finishes up the last email he was working on before he got distracted.

san: yeah, gonna head out tho. just working on some last min urgent emails that came in.

jongho: wanna grab something to eat? i'll meet you at your car

san: alright, give me like 10 mins. 

San sends off his last few emails before checking his calendar for tomorrow's meetings. He has a virtual talk after class that he needs to prep for, which he'll do later tonight. Plus, he'll need to gather that information for the grants. Just thinking about it makes San breathe out a heavy sigh, slightly feeling overwhelmed at his never-ending to-do list.

Yeah, a new hobby or distraction would be nice.

"Ready?" You turn to see Professor Choi locking up his office, duffle bag slung on his shoulder. When he's done, he turns and gives you a small smile; patiently waiting for you to be ready. You nod, locking your computer and grabbing your things before walking out behind him.

"So, do you always work out in the evenings?"

"I try to, yeah." You look up at him while he walks alongside of you. "Helps me release steam from all the stuff going on."

"I can only imagine." You tug on your bag strap. "I don't know how you do it with your busy schedule."

"I'm not too busy." He says in a playful tone. "Just enough."

"Sure." You laugh. "Everyone knows how busy and occupied you are, Professor Choi."

"What if everyone just hypes me up too much and has the wrong idea about me?"

"I doubt that."

"How would you know, hm?" He smiles when he presses the elevator door. 

"Oh, please. I never not see you in a meeting or talking to someone, or doing a talk somewhere." You slip into the elevator with him. He rests against the rail on the opposite side from where you stand, fully facing you. "You even did that episode not too long ago for Professor Young's podcast."

"Wow, you really keep up, don't you?"

"How could I not?" He chuckles.

"That's nice to know that you do." He means it. As much as he loves when people treat him like a regular person, he also loves it when people keep up with his projects. His papers. His talks. He's not gonna lie; it is an ego boost, and he likes knowing that people take time out of their day because they're interested in hearing what he has to say or what he's working on now.

It's definitely nice coming from you.

You quietly stand off to the side, watching as the elevator takes you from the basement to floor 1 of the building. San is subtly eyeing you from where he stands, noticing how you keep to yourself and shift your weight between your feet in some kind of anxious move to get off of the elevator. You can barely look him in the eye and he thinks it's cute.

"What're your plans after you get dinner, Y/N?" He breaks the silence as you step out of the elevator and out of the building. The night isn't too chilly— the stars are dotting the sky beautifully, crickets are beginning to chirp. There aren't too many people moving across campus anymore, which is the usual at this time. Most are huddled up in lab if they're the working night-owl type, or resting at their dorms or apartments to get ready for the next day.

"Finish my loads of homework and try to hang out with my friends for a bit if we all aren't too tired."

"That's nice, minus the homework part." You giggle.

"What about you? If you don't mind me asking." He smiles.

"I don't. I'm just gonna meet up with the other Professor Choi and grab dinner with him."

"You two are close, yeah?" He nods.

"Yup."

"That's cute." 

"Is it?" He asks in a playful, sing-song way that has you shifting your attention to your feet to bite back a huge smile.

"It is. Very." You finally look up at him and meet his eyes. "By the way, I hope I'm not making you walk extra steps tonight." You point at the dining hall just down the path. "I can take it from here if you need to get to your car or meet him somewhere else."

"It's alright, I parked right over here." He nods towards the parking garage coming up on the left. "Easiest garage to find parking at."

"Works out then." You give him a tiny, toothless smile.

"Your friends are able to join you for dinner, right?"

"Should be. I'll call them in a few." You pause in your steps when the garage is directly to the left now. "Thanks for walking me, Professor Choi."

"You sure you don't need me to walk you towards the end of the path?"

"All good. I'm a big girl." He laughs.

"Yeah." He's doing that thing again. That thing where he just looks at you with a certain glint in his eye— a certain glint that makes you overthink, makes you wonder if he does this with everyone he comes across, or if it's just you. 

"Goodnight, I hope you have a good dinner."

"You too." You give him one last smile and wave before you start walking towards the dining hall, creating more distance between you two. You don't catch the way he continues to watch you until you've managed to cross the street and approach the dining hall— phone pressed against your ear because he assumes you're calling up your friends to meet you.

When he feels comfortable to take his eyes off of you, he crosses the way to the garage and starts walking towards his car that's sitting on the current ground level, Jongho patiently leaning against the tail end of it.

"Uh." Jongho laughs. "The hell was that?"

"What was what?"

"I saw you from here, don't try and be slick on me now." 

"It was nothing?" San pops open his trunk and tosses his duffle bag in.

"Didn't look like it." Jongho snorts.

"Y/N was just in lab and I didn't want her to leave alone."

"Your rotation student?"

"Mhm."

"Okay. I'm all for being a gentleman but be careful." He gives him a look.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I've known you for years, bro. There's a certain look in your eyes and it doesn't exactly scream 'nothing.'" 

"Well, it is." Is all San says. He doesn't really have anything else to say because he doesn't wanna sound like he's defending himself way too much when he doesn't need to. He knows better. Maybe. Hopefully.

"Aye." Jongho shrugs. "Want you to be happy but just keep it safe, yeah? You've worked really hard for everything you have."

"I know." San lets out a breath. "Anyway, where do you wanna go for dinner?"

"Happy hour at the bar nearby? I can be passenger princess, or if you really want, we can drive separately to make it easier. I guess." He playfully huffs, making San chuckle.

"Just get in." 

On the way to the bar, Jongho gives San more details about the collaboration and that the group is incredibly interested in moving forward. San nods, agreeing that it would be good for them and everyone involved both funding-wise and opportunity-wise. Jongho then tells San about his recent grants that were finally accepted and re-awarded, giving him a little more leeway to purchase new equipment he's been having his eyes on for Jiung and a few other of his lab members to toy around with. There's a certain idea that's been floating in his head for awhile now, one that San honestly doesn't understand much about because electrical engineering is a whole other beast to him. He gets the gist, and he knows Jongho has only done incredibly work, continuing to one-up himself every single time he comes back around with a new idea.

"So, there's another thing I've been thinking about." Jongho says, as they finally arrive to the sports bar and follow the host to a table on the back patio. 

"Should I be scared?" San asks as they sit and immediately order their go-to beers and the karaage they love so much. 

"I was thinking of asking the dean for some real estate at the new campus building."

"Bartlett Hall? The one that just finished construction?" Jongho nods.

"Mhmmm." He responds in a sing-song tone. "I briefly mentioned it to him in passing and he told me we'd talk more, but was hoping to get you onboard, too."

"Why me?" San laughs, picking at a piece of karaage with a toothpick before popping it into his mouth. Before San can hear Jongho's reasoning, the server comes back to take their orders. They both order different burgers, planning to exchange a half for the other. 

"Was thinking we could open the joint department together, finally have a space for us to combine our work in electrical engineering and bioengineering." San pokes out his bottom lip and nods.

"Sooo, we'd have to write a whole pitch and sell it to the dean?"

"Yeah basically, but we can run it by Namjoon first and see what he says."

"I'm down. I dunno if the dean will budge without implementing certain requirements from our end, but, I'm down to try."

"Yeah?" Jongho laughs. "Glad to hear you're down. It'll be good! I've been thinking about it for awhile but I was always hesitant. Think it's probably just best to take the leap. Worst thing they can say is no."

"That's true. Yeah, I'm down. It'll be good for the students and the postdocs. They'll have a space for them to collaborate together. Pretty exciting to think about, actually."

"Thought so." Jongho sips his beer. "I'll start working on a proposal and send it to you for edits."

"Sounds good with me."

"How was that meeting with Zara, by the way? I never got around to asking."

"Oh, it was good." He shrugs. "We talked a lot about getting her lab situated and getting on more grants ASAP."

"Sounded like a productive talk. Have you met again afterwards?"

"Yeah, it was." San clears his throat. "We met a few more times just to talk a bit more on some finer details for her lab and plans. Hope it was helpful at least. I turned her to Namjoon most of the time cause who else would know more?" Jongho laughs.

"Yeah."

"She's cool, though. Really sweet." Jongho snorts. "What?"

"I see Mingi's plan isn't really working well." San rolls his eyes, stuffing a few fries into his mouth before taking a bite. 

"Yeah, no. It's not." San shakes his head. "Don't even think about instigating, either."

"It's kinda fun. Plus, she's obviously attracted to you."

"No." San shuts it down.

"Why not? Why don't you just continue seeing where it goes?"

"I am, and I'm still in the same position I was when I first met her."

"Which is?"

"I respect her as a colleague and a colleague only." San glares at him. "I'm not going to force anything that isn't meant to happen." 

"Okay, fine. You're right. I'll get behind that." Jongho dips his last fry into the ketchup before looking back up at his bestfriend. "But at least promise me you won't be entirely closed off to it if it does naturally develop into something?"

"Uh." San pauses. He pauses not because of Zara or whatever Jongho's saying right now; he meant to agree, but he finds his thoughts suddenly roaming to.. you.

His curiosity, the need to learn more about you.

"Hello?"

"Sorry." San shakes the thoughts from his head in case Jongho can hear it or something. "Yeah."

"Definitely not genuine. What's on your mind?"

"Nothing."

"I can hear you thinking."

"Can you? That's an invasion of privacy."

"It's her, isn't it?"

"I literally have no idea what you're talking about." Jongho stares and gives him a certain look, causing San to divert his attention away. Away from him, onto anything, anyone nearby.

"Yeah, okay. That's all I needed to know." Jongho quietly sips on the rest of his beer before pushing his plate aside and sitting back into the seat. "San, make your decisions wisely."

"I already told you it was nothing."

"Okay." Jongho says in defeat, leaving the topic alone. All he wants is for San to be genuinely happy, just like their other friends do. But, he's also hoping San is smart enough to make the right [and wise] decisions.

Not be blinded by anything, causing him to make irrational and impulsive decisions based on his feelings.

"Anyway, are you good to go?" San crumples the napkin and tosses it onto his plate before standing up and grabbing his keys, phone.

"Yeah, I am."

—taglist: @asjkdk @interweab @woojirang @svintsandghosts @cheolliehugs @persphonesorchid @mxnsxngie @jycas @cowboydk @vcutparis @chngbnwf @struggling101 @sanhwalvr @angelqueendom @barbielibra @brown88 @choisansplushie @yunhoswrldddd @hyukssunflower @vickykazuya @lucid-galaxys-world @jaytheatiny @pommelex @thespiffynerd

[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

[huh-1260]

So I some finished sketches of that yugioh card lore AU and I wanted to show you some of them, which some are finished and ready for a digital version some are half finished and half finished/non existent

Tetra is a unique case in this AU with her first appearing Hylia (human? Two legged?) As how it ties into Kraken Wind history, I'm going to make another post to explain/show who she's based off in this au. Also hey you guys meet the ungremlin version of this Sky

These are half finished, well quite obvious with the dragon (Tetra is getting her own post so I'll explain there) but Sun (yeah she died oops), Twilight and Time looked finished but it isn't I thought about adding more details to Time and Sun, plus I need to fully design Time's human for and Twilight. Oh boy Twilight, he's complete (ain't spoiling how he died but the legs to give it away) but it's Epona. Now the Shaddoll archetype is like dolls, mimicry of those who had died in the previous War in Duel Terminal. But, here's the thing I can't draw horses, and if I eventually bring back Twi and Legend,epona is going to come back and then I'm going to have to learn how to draw horses.

Oh, and I have a list of what everyone's role is along with the other Zeldas and other characters. Wild is going to have some redesign because I added some lore along with Flora, and I need to design someone else *cough cough* gannondork *cough cough* before I can design Hyrule (which in my brain is Chirule 2.0) but, I can design his before transformation so uh see you guys in a few minutes

[ruestheday]

Please expand on your Steph AUs??? I want to know everything????? From reading just those excerpts on that one post I already love your writing and I don’t even know anything about supernatural (we’re in this together Steph, Idk who Dean Winchester either) but I WILL read a crossover fic you write about it

i would love to!!!

this will be the death of me ( crime lord au )

this one was based off of a conversation i had with a friend about the various other ways steph could’ve stopped her dad instead of becoming a vigilante. i thought it was the most interesting.

in this au, steph is a little more morally gray. well, morally gray enough to decide to become a crime lord just to make her dad look stupid. basically one of those “you’ve been trying to be a batman rogue for years and it took me three months to do better”, and then it snowballs out from there. it gets to the point where she’s no longer looking at it as a way to get back at her dad, and an actual way of living.

it’s a crack treated seriously fic, because a lot of it you need to suspend your disbelief. it also has timsteph, because i think the idea of tim dating the girl who’s criminal empire he is trying to topple is funny.

she girl bosses so hard while committing several felonies.

also because she doesn’t have to worry about her secret identity she dyes her hair purple (also to symbolize her spoiler costume in another world). by the end of the fic she will have tried every purple hair dye i can find on google.

imagine being a goon and your boss is some sixteen-year-old girl also concerned about her english essay because she may be a crime lord but she’s a crime lord with an education!!!!

i see dead people ( clairvoyant au )

this one’s more serious but i can’t write just angst to save my life so it still gets silly.

stephanie has been able to see the dead for as long as she can remember, and she’s been helping them since she’d been able to. normally it was small things, like a ghost wanting to make sure her poor Mr. Fluffy was being well taken care of, until she meets the spirit of the once-was robin.

all jason wants is his dad to stop being so violent, but steph isn’t going to walk up to big man batman and tell him Hey, you’re upsetting the spirit of ur dead Robin, stop it, so instead she decides to just take his mind off of it.

they become besties. they hang out constantly. she teaches jason everything she knows about being a ghost. best six months of her life.

until he disappears!!!!

now, the fun thing about ghosts is they’re like little spies. they see everything and they can move faster and further than humans, so they see even more.

the ghosts tell her that jason isn’t just missing, he’s alive. and he’s been taken out of the country.

now normal people might’ve ran straight to the bat, but not steph, she’s got the power of ghost spies and spite, she’s hunting her undead bff down herself. with the help of a freaky little brainiac kid (aka tim drake).

and then she accidentally discovers the league of assassins … oops

the devil knows my name ( prophet au / supernatural crossover )

in supernatural, there are prophets of the lord. they all (seem, we have met two.. well.. it gets complicated) to have different purposes in being prophet. the first one, chuck, writes the "gospel of winchester" which is just the future of the main characters lives. the second prophet, kevin, is the person who translates the word of god.

there can only be one prophet at a time, which would suck for my au, but! but! in a fun plot twist (spoiler warning) chuck actually ends up being god in disguise.

so in the version, steph is the actual prophet that chuck replaced. chuck is still there because he is important, there's just two prophets because god committed identity theft.

this means the au takes place in season four of supernatural, which (spoiler warning) has dean winchester returning from the dead/hell because the biblical apocalypse is about to go down on earth. yeah, i'm throwing batman into the actual biblical apocalypse, where angels and demons are both the bad guys trying to have a grudge match that'll level the earth.

i'm so hyped for it.

[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 >:)

[sili-redwing]

songs that give MASM vibes because ive been Thinking

monster // dodie || sun and moon. guaranteed. like those two used to be SO close until moon fumbled so bad fr. this could be eithers pov tbh

So maybe I will talk to you The only way I know how to Mhm, I've said my speech Mhm, through sharpened teeth You break the rules and spikes grow from your skin Oh, I think it might be worth a try Oh, am I ready to let this die? Mhm, a monster's here Mhm, you plug your ears But hey, you might just listen to it sing Please let the devil in

touchy feely fool // AJR || also sun. if you look at the lyrics it makes Sense.

Well, I'm not too claustrophobic But I lose my breath sometimes Now I can't even talk to ya Now your lawyers talk to mine Could you teach me to be ruthless? Could I be unfeeling too? Maybe someday, when I'm older I'll be better off like you

afterall // beartooth || also sun. i have way too many sun songs. anyways.

I woke up with the same dark feeling Head on the ground and my thoughts on the ceiling Another dream where the light is burning out I don't know what to chase, my hope is erased I look at myself and I don't know my own face I just got fixed and I'm already breaking down (I just got fixed and I'm already breaking down)

you always knew best // the beholders || initially i was going to say sun and moon again but i can see this with sun and like. bonnie as well.

And you said you wished I died Oh, how I wish I died too Then it seemed as time had stopped The knife in your hands seemed hot As it plunged deep in my chest You had always said you knew what's best

wouldn't you like // epic || eclipse trying to get sun to do Crimes in his dramatic ass cartoon villain way. he is lucky sun is fond of pretty idiots. anywyas.

Wouldn't you like a taste of the power? Wouldn't you like to use more than words? Deep in the night, the fight lasts for hours You can be hurt or you can beat her Wouldn't you like to have some of the magic? Wouldn't you like your outcome preferred? Deep in the night, the fight can be tragic I'll help you conquer her

under the weather // derivakat || sun and eclipse!!! hear me out!!! in an au that sun chose to run away from the pizzaplex and stay with eclipse and like live with him or something,,

This winter's got me out of my mind (Out my mind) Out of my mind (Out of my mind) Feels like I'm losing all of my time (All my time) All of my time (All of my time) Casting shadows on my walls (Woah, oh-oh) Everything is falling around me so hold onto me tonight (Woah, oh-oh) When I got nothing, you'll still be mine (Woah, oh-oh) (Oh, will you still be mine?) You'll still be mine

...why are like 98% of these depressing. oops. feel free to add your own songs. might as well make a thread /silly

[killerlookz]

Hey, little late to the party, just wanted to say It Can’t Be That Easy was such a banger!  It really made it clear to me how much guilt Joost has. Like, you were telling us this whole time, especially in No Going Back, but now I really gEt it. Legit didn’t know I could read bro comforting reader about hickies he got from another girl and still be like awwww he cares about them so much🥺

Can’t stop thinking about how Joost is so sweet and caring for drunk reader while Michael is such a dick about them drinking at all. 

When he says stuff like "You deserve this. And more, just sorry I'm showing you that so late." it makes me think him and reader could be less toxic if they got back together. Idk maybe I’m crazy. It’s written that both of them contributed to their problems but that Joost seemingly did so a little bit more. Are you hinting that he’s learning? That he wants to do better? That the process of breaking up and the messy extended ensuing events of the series are all a learning process?? The process they need to learn they want to be better to each other (and that there is no one else they want to be better for 👀)???  Or am I delulu and it’s all just about guilt? 😂

Praying that Joost learns to communicate exactly what he’s actually thinking🙏

If you cant tell, I’m one of those people who always wants happy endings so perhaps just ignore me. Only you know what the vision is. I just want the best for these hoes. Maybe they can find a less toxic way to be around each other if they really can’t stay away😩😂

Also, I’m guessing Lina wasn’t so happy he took reader home😂 Is he seeing Lina and/or other people during the rest of the series too? Curious 🤔 (even if he was making out with her in the bathroom he did nOt want to meet her friends and did nOt want to leave the couch to go dance with her later so I wonder how much she is just a distraction from how crushed he is and it doesn’t last)

Man, I keep thinking even if reader’s relationship with Joost was toxic Michael is so much worse wth. The cuck chair in every hotel room was designed specifically for Michael.

This was long. No need to respond. Just needed to flail at you. Heartbeat! au has me by the throat.

P.S. If a mf talked about me like I wasn’t there like Lina did about reader on the couch there would be a physical altercation. Reader is strong.

P.S.S. ‘You peek your head from the room, then step out, feeling like a child walking to your parents bedroom to tell them you just threw up.’ Is hiLARious 😂

P.S.S.S. ‘“Not worth crying over. Wasting tears." The idea of wasting tears had never made much sense to you, what were you meant to save them for? Something important? This was important, Joost was important, your relationship was important- and you had ruined it. That was worth crying over.’      You are KILLING me dude

P.S.S.S.S. ‘You had thought things were supposed to get better after breaking off a toxic relationship, not worse.’ Is DEVASTATING WTFFFF this could be the tag line for the entire series I swear

thank you so much for your inbox this is so sweet 😭 thank you for taking the time out of your day to write all this omfg i love reading everyone’s thought so <333

yes joost is SAURRR guilty thru this whole series … like …. sooo guilty …. so so guilty … poor little guy :-( or not poor guy … maybe he shouldn’t have fucked up the first time … oops

- as for joost seeing other girls throughout the series … well this does take place in his “fuckboy” era so…… 😇

- THE CUCK CHAIR IN EVERY HOTEL ROOM WAS DESIGNED FOR MICHAEL??? im fucking dead plssss 😭

- hmmm…. altercation between lina and reader… much to think about!

anyways thank you for your kind words <333 mwa

[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.

[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.

[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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[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.

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