#also my brain kept going 'taylor swift!' and that didn't help

[evmrellie]

Labyrinth | s.r x gn!reader

summary: You're scared about your feelings for Spencer. Insp by labyrinth from Taylor Swift.

genre: fluffly and hurt/comfort. pairing: spencer reid x gn!reader (I'm a girl so I wrote going on this way, but I think I didn't gave any descriptions abt being one, so it's totally safe for gn!readers <333 if I did, I'm sorry, I didn't notice.) words: 1,3K warnings: family issues, inexperienced!reader, reader never being in a relationship before, insecurity, anxiety, mention of toxic relationships (not between reader and anyone else) notes: hiii, this is my first oneshot so plss be nice 😭✋🏻 im not used to write like this, but I'm so obsessed with Spencer and I had this idea and I couldn't just let go. English it's not my first language, so forgive me if any mistakes or if u guys don't understand smth. not proofread. hope you guys like it !! <3

It only hurts this much right now

Was what I was thinking the whole time

You've never trusted relationships, not that you had experienced any, but what you saw growing up? What you were used to? Didn't make you want to get into one in the first place.

You never denied that you've dreamed about that; finding a true love and a nice, healthy relationship since you saw all your friends living it. That hurted you a little, but you learned how to live with it.

Breathe in, breathe through

Breathe deep, breathe out

I'll be getting over you my whole life

You tried to catch your breath, adjusting it as much as possible. You were used to unlearn the ability of breathing when you were around people who made you nervous, especially if you had a slightly crush on them. Actually, you unlearn every normal thing that humans do when they interact, it's like a part of your brain stops working and refused to turn it on again. He loved to make you embarrassed, especially in front of pretty nerd ish boys.

The first time you met Spencer it consumed all of your brain chemistry. Day and night making fantasies of how it would be meeting the boy again with the help of destiny, falling in love and maybe being obsessed with you the same way you were with him. But you knew that it was just a fantasy and it would never happen, it was just your brain trying to distract you from the real world and your real problems.

It was a nice escape though.

You know how scared I am of elevators

Never trust it if it rises fast

It can't last

Everything happened so fast in your time vision, it terrified you of how easy he was able to get through it. You were always scared of relationships because, yeah, it was nice and easy to fantasy about it, but to actually live it? That scared the shit out of you. All your Inexperience, insecurities and traumas couldn't be fixed from one day to another.

Everything that you learned from your parents was that if you dived in too quickly, it would be a mistake. Not only from your parents, but also from people you were close to, seeing their relationship rise too fast and going effortlessly and awfully down.

You never understood why they keept doing it, sinking into the same situation over and over again, sometimes with the same or a different guy. How they kept being pulled and compelled by it? You didn't understand because you never felt it.

It was so scary how relationships could rise so fast and sink at the same speed.

Uh oh, I'm falling in love

Oh no, I'm falling in love again

Oh, I'm falling in love

You understood why they kept like that in the worst — best— way possible.

When it first hit you that you were falling in love with Spencer felt like a harsh slap in your face, leaving red bruises and a terrible burning in. You didn't want to accept it, it was frightening to actually let it in.

Was getting hard with the passing time, he wasn't getting any easier and neither were his loving and caring acts. I mean, how could someone like him be so.. careful with you? You felt like a broken piece who would never be loved and receive this kinda of treatment, it was starting to confuse you.

You knew he wasn't the type of person who liked being touched or touching other ones, but with you? Every possibility of being close to you, hugging you, touching your hand and giving a sweet cuddle in that same spot was driving you insane. He made sure that any free time he had, he spent with you. Or even at work, in his free time that he used to call you.

Reid talked to you about his mom and his abandonment issues with his father so openly that made you open yourself with him too. You didn't want to scare him telling him about your family situation or make him think you're a weird, problematic person, but you couldn't let him vent to you and not say a thing. He hasn't change with you. In fact, it only bought you both closer.

You ended up accepting what you felt for him, you didn't want to fight against it, deep down was a comfort feeling. For the first time you felt what everyone around you always talked about. And oh god, it really was an amazing feeling. But no, you would never tell him that. The thought of how this could end so fast after telling him that because probably it wasn't reciprocal, hurted you so bad that keeping it to yourself was the best decision you could make.

I thought the plane was going down

How'd you turn it right around

“Why are you looking at me like that?” His voice called you off of your own thoughts, his Cheshire Cat smile growing as he saw your face turning into a shade of burgundy.

“Like what?” You asked.

“Like a deer lost in the headlights.” He snorted a laugh.

“What?! I'm not-“

He interrupted you, getting up from the chair where he was lost doing his usual puzzles. Spencer walked over to you, resting one of his hands on your face while the other one brushed away a few strands of hair that fell into your eyes. You automatically snuggled your face between Spencer's hands, smirking and closing your eyes, enjoying the gentle caress his fingers made on your cheeks.

“Tell me, please.” He begged you, you could easily hear the smile into his words. He was always so polite, it made you want to scream into a pillow and kick your feets in the air.

You sighed, tired to hide how you felt.

“Honestly? About you. I think I already fell for you.”

It only feels this raw right now

Lost in the labyrinth of my mind

You were scared of his reaction, to look at him and see his eyes falling in pity for you; About him suddenly telling you to go home because he didn't felt the same and saying that this wouldn't work between you two. But to be honest, you couldn't hide anymore, not for him and not for yourself. You needed to break free from this labyrinth you created on your mind, there's no way you could keep up with this and stay cool like it didn't made your chest burn everytime you looked at him.

He surprised you by just laughing softly.

Break up, break free, break through, break down

You would break your back to make me break a smile

“Well, i’m pretty sure i am terriefiedly in love with you.”

You swore that if this was a joke you would combust and turn into a million pieces of yourself, no one would ever find you again.

Your eyes caught up at his sparkling hazel irises that conveyed how much he begged for the same answer. You always felt something carving like a dagger inside your chest when he looked at you like that, like you could break him with any wrong do.

It was absolutely terrifying how easy he broke you to this, to this situation where you could never lie and deny that you felt the exactly same for him. You were head over heels for him. Not in a million of worlds you could imagine that Spencer Reid felt the same thing you did for him, but you were also pretty sure that you were the one who would end up with the heart completely shattered if this ever come to an end.

“I love you so much, Spence.” You said, and then his lips parted open and you were able to feel his sweet taste coming into yours.

[saythenametotheworld]

Invisible String [1] | njm

Genre: friends to lovers; slow burn; fluff Synopsis: Na Jaemin was an old friend who never became anything else other than that, a friend. But after a series of life decisions that led you to move from your small town to the big city, you slowly find out that maybe, after all these years, Jaemin was never just a friend. Pairings: Na Jaemin x Female Reader Warnings: slow slow burn, lots of denial, fluff Notes: 19.4k words, the song prompt was Invisible String by Taylor Swift

The building stood massively right in front of you, a thirty-story condominium apartment where you somehow managed to snag a good deal in a unit owned by your friend who opted to rent out the place when she moved overseas. It didn't matter to you that you were a renting tenant in this beautiful residential building, you were just glad to have found a home and moved in smoothly.

You made it on time inside before one of the elevators closed. You got in clutching your bag's handle, giddy and excited to get home and get ready for the housewarming party your friends organized. You almost didn't notice that you were inside with another guy because you were too busy being all giggly while chatting with your best friend on your phone. You looked over his appearance, tall and slightly muscular. The height difference made it impossible to get a good look at his face without being noticed so you didn't. You wondered if he was a resident or if he was visiting someone. Not that you were even interested in it, your mind just randomly went toward those thoughts.

It was when you shifted your focus in front of you that you realized you could clearly see your reflection on the elevator door. You moved your head slightly on one side to check your hair only to find the guy's face reflected in the mirror, smiling at you.

He looks like Na Jaemin, you thought and then the realization made you gasp. You turned to him, one hand over your mouth and your eyes wide in recognition. "Na Jaemin?!"

Jaemin laughed at your reaction and lifted one hand for a small wave. "Hello."

"Wow, it really is you," you blurted out, a smile slowly creeping on your lips.

"You seem happy to see me," he teased, wiggling his eyebrows and making you chuckle.

"Are you kidding me? Of course, I am. It's good to see you!" you said, gently nudging your elbow on his arm.

"You too," he beamed. "What brings you here? Judging how surprised you were to see me, I can't possibly be the reason why."

There's the Jaemin you know, playful and acts overconfident for the sake of being funny. He was one of your friends from high school with whom you shared the rest of your teenage life. You kept in touch through the years but you rarely met because of obvious reasons.

"I just moved here. Do you live here too?" you asked and he nodded. "That's amazing."

"I know. It's a small world."

You both laughed and for a moment you couldn't think of anything else to say. You were just baffled by the coincidence.

"How about some drinks later tonight? We can catch up or something. That is if you don't already have plans," he offered and it felt as though a switch was flicked in your brain when you remembered something.

"Ah, that reminds me. You should come to my housewarming. Donghyuck organized it. Didn't he tell you?"

Jaemin appeared to think before fishing his phone from his jeans pocket. "Actually, he did two days ago. I just haven't read it yet."

You rolled your eyes. "You still ignore his texts?"

"Only because he nags all the time. If it's important, he can call me."

You laughed fondly, realizing how little has changed. "So are you coming?"

"Of course. I'd love to. Hyuck would drag me there anyway if I don't go."

"Knowing you live in the same building, I figured he would," you quipped.

Jaemin not only agreed to come to your housewarming, he also offered to help you prepare. Although you said he doesn't have to because your friends would be bringing most of the food, you didn't argue when he insisted. Jaemin had always been the type to extend a helping hand any time, especially to his friends.

It was still early so you did a little cleaning even though there really isn't much to clean. Then you texted your best friend Heejin to let her know Jaemin was coming. She was excited to meet another friend of yours from high school and said they'd be over as soon as possible. Jaemin then arrived and you opened up the door to him holding stacked containers of side dishes.

"Oh, wow. That's a lot," you commented, opening the door wider for him to pass through. "Thank you."

"I haven't prepared an actual housewarming gift so I brought you side dishes instead," he explained as he set the container to the dining table where you led him. "They're new. My mom just brought them yesterday. And you can return the containers after you've finished everything."

"This is enough, Jaemin. You didn't have to bring anything, but thank you anyway. And I love your mom's cooking. I'm sure these will be great."

"I'm glad you like it," he said, leaning his waist against the countertop as he watched you arrange the dishes in your fridge.

"She talks about you all the time when I go there to eat," you added, smiling as you remembered having late-night drinks and barbecue at their restaurant back in your town. "Always telling everyone about her handsome chef of a son."

A fond smile flashed on his lips. "She does that a lot."

You glanced back at him, mirroring his smile. "I know. It's adorable.

There is not much to cook since your friends were bringing food too and there's not much to talk about either because you're not really detached from one another. You and Jaemin were in a close circle of friends so you would meet at least twice or thrice a year to catch up and share significant moments of your lives with each other. Not to mention Thanksgiving when you would all be in your hometown and you would make sure to meet up. As for Jaemin, the last time you saw each other was at your father's funeral five months ago, which was sad now that you were reminded of it.

"Have you been well?" he asked after a while. You had been sitting in your living room after you were done with the preparations, both focusing on your phones to pass the time. "How's home?"

"Well, as much as losing a loved one sucks, we went on with our lives. The first few weeks were difficult but we got by. Eventually, we got back on our feet."

"Good for you," he smiled, setting his phone face-down on his thigh. He stared at you for a while and you couldn't bring yourself to look away. No words were shared between the two of you, just a comforting smile from him and an acknowledging nod from you. And then your doorbell rang, signaling what you assumed was the arrival of your friends. You both made a move for the door, stopping halfway to look at each other.

"I'll do it. It would be weird if you did," you said, sheepish.

He laughed. "Yeah, I realized that."

You made your way to the foyer just in time for the doorbell to ring again. On the door monitor, you could see your friends' faces, waiting for you to open up.

"Welcome to my house," you beamed at them as soon as you opened the door. Hyuck pushed through your cheering girlfriends and raised the champagne bottle he was holding.

"Welcome to the big city!" With a soft pop, the bottle was opened and he shook it with so much force that it squirted champagne everywhere within your space. You and the girls shrieked, running back inside to escape Donghyuck's champagne shower.

You were all giggling as you wiped the alcohol on your skin while Seola found Jaemin looking comfortable sitting on the long sofa.

"Oh, Jaemin! I didn't know you were coming!" She waved a hand at him and received a nod and a smile as a response.

"Well, coincidentally, he actually lives in the same building. Isn't it amazing?" you told Seola, guiding them from the foyer into the living room. The boys soon followed, laughing and pushing each other into the house with Hyuck still carrying the half-empty champagne bottle.

"Hyuck, I'm not gonna clean after your mess, you should know that," you chided as you helped Seola bring the food to the dining table.

"It was for you!" said Hyuck, following you into the kitchen. He stood behind you and ducked to place his chin on your shoulder, nuzzling affectionately. Then he showed you a nice bouquet of flowers. "Here, I got another one."

"Well, thank you, but I still won't clean it so..." You spun to face him and took the bottle and bouquet from his hand. Then you pulled him to the part of the house where you kept your cleaning materials. You opened up the small cabinet and took out a mop. "Get started on it now. We'll eat once you're done."

"Aw man," he complained but he trudged back to the doorway anyway. "So much for being the best best friend in the world!"

You looked around to see which of your friends came. There's Jaemin and Hyuck. Seola was present with her boyfriend, Minho. Heejin came with them too and you wondered if anyone else was coming.

You rounded back to the kitchen and helped set the table. "Is this everyone?"

"Yes. Did you want more?" asked Heejin, tilting her head at you and smiling before swooping in to give you a quick peck on the cheek.

"Not really but I kinda imagined you bringing Jinyoung along," you replied, referring to her boyfriend. Heejin snorted.

"Nah, he's on the night shift." She did a double take. "You know what, I think he's on the 24-hour shift. He never gets a break. Let alone sleep."

"I don't think any first-year resident doctor gets any sleep," you noted.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I just feel really bad for him."

You felt an elbow brush your right arm so you glanced that way and saw Jaemin placing cold cans of beer on the table. Your gazes met and he gave you a quick smile before leaving your side.

Heejin nudged your elbow and whispered in your ear. "Handsome as ever."

You shrugged, glancing at him to make sure he wouldn't hear you. In a low voice, you said, "I know. He was already good-looking back then, now he's even more handsome."

"You mean hot?" Heejin wiggled her eyebrows so you giggled.

"Yeah, I guess he's hot now," you agreed, giggling quietly with your best friend.

"Who's hot?" Hyuck's head popped between yours and Heejin's.

"Not you," Heejin snorted, pushing his face before walking away. You laughed at her antics. Hyuck and Heejin have always had a love-hate relationship. Heejin was your friend in the city before you moved to permanently live in your father's hometown. She would occasionally visit you there and that was how she met your friends. You remembered how Hyuck treated her so well that she fell for him only for her to find out that Hyuck was in fact, just trying to be nice. That's how their Tom and Jerry relationship began.

"It's good that you're here now. And it's even better that Jaemin lives in the same building. That means we can get together more often," Hyuck said as you all started to get seated for dinner. Conversations and laughter filled the table, with Hyuck and Seola bringing most of the humor.

When you moved to your living room for drinks, you found out that they had each brought housewarming gifts to bless you for your new home. The conversations soon turned to random accounts of the past, when you were all teenagers living in the moment and enjoying your youth.

You were reminded of the time when you were all in your small town, a bunch of high school kids trying to survive school. You were the new kid at the time, a fresh face from Seoul. Seoul was not that far from the town, but it was still a small town and everyone at school was interested in the new face, especially Hyuck who befriended you first. Like Heejin, you mistook his warmth for affection, but luckily for you, you weren't really considering any romance in your first year of high school so you let it pass.

Your friendship would go on for the next few years and you celebrated everything with them, birthdays, competitions, festivals, and even something as small as getting through the exam week. Your circle wasn't big, mostly just you, Donghyuck, Jaemin, and Seola. As well as Jeno and Eunbi, both of whom you rarely see now because life has brought you apart.

"Honestly, if it wasn't for Jaemin telling Hyuck to invite you to lunch, you would be hanging out with a completely different set of friends throughout school," Seola said while you were talking about the time you first came to school.

"Jaemin did?" you questioned, genuinely surprised. It was news to you because you had always thought it was Hyuck who was adamant that you became a part of their circle.

"You didn't know that?" Hyuck asked, surprised.

"No," you replied shaking your head. "I had no idea."

"Jaemin is the goat of this friendship," Hyuck told Heejin, then turned to you. "Remember when you won the silver medal during the swimming competition in the third year and we brought you flowers that made you ugly cry?"

You exhaled, rolling your eyes when the embarrassing memory flashed in your mind.

"Jaemin bought those flowers," Seola confirmed. You glanced up at Jaemin, who was sitting right behind you on the couch while you were on the floor. He just flattened his lips together, embarrassed to admit or deny the fact.

"That's actually very sweet," Heejin sang, tilting her head to the side for effect.

"Jaemin took care of her so well that we had a secret bet in 11th grade on whether they'd start dating or not," Seola confessed and that was the one fact that made you gasp audibly.

"You did? Why am I only now hearing about this?"

Seola smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, it was kind of the point of the whole bet being a secret, sweetheart."

You glanced at Jaemin again to inquire if he knew about the bet. Jaemin shrugged and shook his head.

Heejin turned to Seola and asked, "Who won that bet?"

"Hyuck and Jeno," Seola replied, grinning at Heejin. "But technically they both cheated because we had no idea Jeno was making a move on her and Donghyuck knew about it."

"To be fair, even Jaemin knew Jeno was into her," Hyuck defended. "It's you girls' fault for thinking Jaemin had a thing for her."

"You still cheated and haven't paid us back."

You suddenly remembered Jeno, the only guy you dated in high school. It was a pretty long relationship that lasted from the beginning to the end of your senior year. But like most first loves, that one never came back. Not that you wished for it to come back, anyway. To you, being a teenager and falling in love was both an embarrassing and beautiful thing to reminisce about.

You hadn't planned on getting anyone drunk at this party, but it just happened after Donghyuck took out his secret stash of alcohol that he kept hidden from you and you couldn't do anything about it. After all, what kind of housewarming party would this be if they all went home sober? By midnight, you were tipsy and dizzy, leaning your back on the sofa while Jaemin's arm was stretched on the backrest. You were almost oblivious of the proximity because Hyuck was flush on your other side, drunkenly singing a super sad rendition of Day6's Beautiful. Heejin was passed out on the other sofa while Seola and her boyfriend were nowhere to be found.

"Gosh, I hope they're not doing it in my bedroom," you joked after you pointed out their absence by asking if they left without saying goodbye.

"Actually, they went that way." Jaemin pointed in the direction of your bathroom.

"Oh, that's so much worse. I hope they clean up after themselves."

You laughed about it for a bit, only to be silenced by Hyuck's out-of-tune, sharp-pitched, high note. Your eyes met Jaemin's and you stared at each other for a while before you both burst out laughing.

"How is he so out-of-tune when he can sing really well?" you asked, nudging Hyuck so he'd stop getting sandwiched between the two men.

"Yeah, he is a good singer. Remember when we went to a karaoke room after the swimming competition?"

"I do. There was a singing contest and he registered at the last minute. Wasn't it you who signed his parental consent form?"

Jaemin nodded with a grin. "And he won."

"He did. Talented bastard." You paused, looking at Hyuck who is now mumbling inaudibly while resting his head on the armrest of the sofa. "Ah, about that. Is it true you bought the flowers that day?"

Jaemin shrugged. "It's common practice to give someone flowers to congratulate them on something."

"Was it also your idea to give me flowers when I ranked third in the exams?" you asked and Jaemin nodded, reaching forward to grab a snack from the coffee table. "How about those other times?"

He chewed on some chips before answering. "Most times. But the guys picked up on it after some time. Until it became a habit."

You remembered how the boys would give each of you a flower for birthdays, contests, and graduation. You remembered how Seola broke down crying when her parents weren't present during her cello recital but the boys in your circle each had one bouquet of flowers for her so she felt a bit better. You went to a karaoke room after that and sang your hearts out until you were told to leave before 10pm because you were all minors.

"It's cute how you influenced the boys to do something nice," you chimed, glancing at the vase where you placed the flowers Donghyuck brought tonight.

"I didn't really intend to, but I'll take the credit," he grinned. At that moment, the bathroom door opened and a giggling couple came out looking equally breathless and euphoric.

"You guys look cozy," Seola said as she lunged into you, making Jaemin move aside. You grimaced at her, pushing Seola's face away from you when she tried to hug you. Her boyfriend, Minho gave you a sheepish smile. He had always been shy and you felt bad that he matched with a force like Seola. At the same time, you were happy for him because Seola is the most loyal person you know.

Seola pulled away from you just far enough to kneel on the carpeted floor. Her eyes were focusing on your clothes then on Jaemin's. "Hey, you're coupling again."

"What?" you asked, looking down on your clothes. When you glanced at Jaemin, you realized that your cream sweater matched his cream pants while his grey t-shirt was the same shade as your grey sweatpants.

Seola let out a pitchy laugh. "You guys look cute."

"Okay, alright, time to go," Minho chided softly, gently taking Seola by the arm to help her up. To you, he said, "I should take her home. She has work tomorrow."

You gasped, standing up at once to help Minho. "Why didn't she say that? Gosh, she shouldn't have drunk too much."

"I know," he chuckled as you handed him Seola's purse. "Thanks."

You walked them to the door and told them to take care before they left. When you went back to the living room, Donghyuck was lying on the couch, his head comfortably resting on Jaemin's lap.

"I'll take him back to my apartment. You should rest now," said Jaemin to which you responded with a nod.

As you helped Jaemin drag Hyuck out of your house, you gave the mumbling drunk man a peck on his cheek before bidding them goodbye. Cleaning followed after closing the door but it hadn't been five minutes yet since Jaemin left when he came back.

"Need help cleaning up?" He asked but didn't even let you reply when he pushed through the door and went straight to the living room to clear the table. He made himself comfortable too quickly that you didn't even have the chance to say you could do it all by yourself, so you decided to just leave him to it.

Heejin woke up when you shook her, helping her up into your bedroom and telling her to change first before going to sleep. When you went back out, Jaemin had just finished putting out the last dishes from the coffee table and was about to start washing them but you stopped him.

"I'll finish up here. You should get some rest too."

"Are you sure?" he asked but he was already taking off the gloves, covering a yawn with one hand. You nodded. "Alright, I'll take out the trash then."

"Thanks," you smiled as he grabbed the trash bag. He walked up to you and mumbled his thanks too.

"Thanks for having me. And you're welcome."

"No. I mean, really, thank you for helping me out. I'm pretty drowsy myself so, you're a lifesaver."

He just stood there, smiling as he examined your face. Then he touched your cheek with the back of his hand. "You're welcome. Good night."

The next morning, you woke up later than expected and found the space next to you empty. A text from Heejin told you that she had to leave early for work so you scolded her for getting drunk on a weekday. As for you, you just got accepted into your new work and will begin tomorrow but you need to drop by the office today to set up your desk. So after a quick bath, you took your car to the office, making sure to pass by the coffee shop right in front of the building to pick up some coffee for your colleagues in the PR team of the Marketing Department. Your team leader has briefed you about your team so you know how many cups to buy. Much to your surprise, you found Jaemin at the counter, taking your order. He smiled upon seeing the surprise on your face.

"Did you have a good sleep?" he asked jovially.

"I did, thanks for asking. How about you? You seem energetic and fresh, it makes me jealous," you grumbled.

"Nothing a cup of coffee can't fix," he replied, repeating your order to you before he passed it on to the barista.

You were looking around when Jaemin got back to you. Amazement is evident in your eyes as you take in the interior of the whole cafe. Jaemin couldn't help but smile.

"What do you think?" he asked, prompting your attention.

"I think it looks amazing. Is this yours?" you questioned with a proud smile.

Jaemin shrugged but he nodded his head. You uttered a 'wow' that made Jaemin smile even wider.

"That's why the name was familiar," you noted, remembering that Jaemin's parents had set up the same cafe in your town less than a year ago. "It suits you."

"Because I love coffee?" he asked, stepping out of the counter to join you.

"Yeah. You're crazy for it," you laughed mockingly. "I think addicted may be the right term."

Jaemin raised two hands. "Arrest me, officer." You laughed at his lame retort and he did too. "What brought you to the area?"

"Here?"

"Not me, I assume. You're surprised to see me again."

You laughed because it was true. "No, not you. Actually, I'll start working there tomorrow." You pointed at the building across the street.

"The Marketing Firm?" he asked and you nodded. "That's great. Some employees there are regulars."

"I would assume so."

"Congratulations," he chimed before going back to the counter. You watched him move around while you waited for your order. After less than two minutes, he brings out the cups of coffee you ordered and a slice of cheesecake. "It's on the house. For good luck."

"No, no. I can't just take this for free," you insisted, taking out your card to pay for the cheesecake. But Jaemin crossed his arms over his chest to refuse. Seeing he would never take it, you stuffed it back into your wallet. "Thank you. I guess I could use some good luck."

"Just come find me here. I'll give you more of it."

You felt happy hearing that. For some reason, your worries about moving here slowly dissipated. "Thanks. See you soon."

At the office, your desk had a few balloons on it and the team welcomed you with applause. You had a little time to get acquainted with them before they resumed their work and you started setting up. After about an hour, you bade them goodbye and your team leader even walked you out.

Early the next morning, you headed out for work. Since you arrived a bit early, you decided to drop by the cafe to get coffee and hopefully say 'Hi' to Jaemin. He wasn't there though, but you didn't think about it too much and just got yourself a nice cup of iced latte.

Work was work. It wasn't very tiring, but you had quite a lot of tasks on your first day. At your previous job, you would have complained about the workload, but since this was your first day, you were pretty energetic. PR management was quite difficult and your role is mainly on social media management. As a newbie, you were assigned with only one client first, a food brand. But other than handling their social media, you also had to prepare presentations on your online promotion approaches and techniques to be presented to the meeting by the afternoon of that day.

At lunch, you got ready to leave with your colleagues, Yunseo and Jaehee, but a delivery arrived for you and it was a packed lunch from Jaemin's cafe.

"It's from the boss, ma'am," said the delivery guy who was a service crew from the cafe.

"Thank you. I appreciate it," you replied before bidding him goodbye and going to your cubicle.

Yunseo called your name as she headed to your desk. "Are you still coming?"

"No, actually, I think I'll have my lunch here," you replied, looking up at her when she was by your desk.

"Oh, Nana's Cafe? That's where we're going for lunch," she said. "It's right across the street."

It came with a note saying he heard you were looking for him that morning and enclosed his number for you to contact.

"Is that a note?" Yunseo asked but you were quick to put it away and give her an awkward grin. Yunseo gave you a teasing look.

"Just come with us, eonnie," said Jaehee. "It would be lonely here by yourself."

There was no reason for you to decline and it was true it would be lonely to eat alone. Besides the fact that you want to get to know your co-workers better, you also don't want to seem like a loner. With the packed lunch in your hands, you joined them at the cafe for lunch where the four of you found a comfortable spot to sit in.

"The food is great here," Jaehee commented just as you all settled down after ordering.

"Yes, and the owner is handsome," Yunseo added, giggling as she brushed shoulders with you. "He's quite popular online too."

"You know what, I tried to get him to work with XO Foods but he declined. I guess he knows he's popular enough and won't need the exposure," Jaehee shared while you just nodded.

"How popular is he?" you asked, taking an interest in the subject.

Yunseo pulled up the cafe's IG and sure enough, they were tagged in plenty of posts, with most of these posts featuring Jaemin himself. Sure you've seen the tags and insights about the cafe, but you had no idea the popularity was mainly due to Jaemin's visuals.

"It helps that he had several branches in the city and systematically works in one branch every day," Jaehee added. "On Wednesdays, he's here."

"Yeah, doesn't he have like, six branches all over Seoul?" Yunseo asked and Jaehee nodded in response.

"How do you know so much?" asked Woojin, your male colleague.

"Because I tried to get him on with XO Foods! I did a bit of research about him."

Yeonsu expressed that she had a crush on Jaemin and dropped by regularly every Wednesday to spot him. You found out that this place was dubbed Wednesday Branch because Jaemin is here on Wednesdays. He had six branches in Seoul and scheduled days for each branch. Yeonsu said he would probably be at the Apgujeong branch today. Woojin, on the other hand, joked that Jaehee and Yeonsu are simps for the owner and he's just here because the food is top tier.

"He's a dreamboat, any girl would simp over him," Yunseo said dreamily. You looked down at the lunch that was delivered to you a while ago and hoped they wouldn't start asking where you got it from.

You realized just how much you didn't know about Jaemin. You knew he became a chef and had a restaurant, but not to this extent. And you cannot say it was because you weren't interested, rather it was because he speaks less about himself in a humble, reserved kind of manner. You realized you should have believed Hyuck when he went on about how Jaemin is the richest among your friend circles today. He was right, it seems. And as you all ate, you also realized that the food really was great.

Jaemin wasn't much of a cook as far as you remember, but he always cooked when you were hanging out at Jeno's place. It was his mom who made phenomenal food. His mother owned a small restaurant in your town that you frequented. You hung out there to eat after exams or games, and stuff. You even remember that you had your very first alcohol there when his father slipped soju disguised as a water bottle on your table when you all turned 19. You got caught of course, but since you've finished up the entire bottle, Jaemin's mom can only scold you.

The week passed quickly and you have fully adjusted to your new work and your new home. On your way to work, you passed by the cafe. It has become a habit since you didn't own a coffee maker and needed coffee in the morning. You would have gotten yourself one, but you sucked at making coffee. An instant capsule is what you can do at best, but your taste buds just don't like it. A female employee was on the counter when you went to order and she gave you a buzzer. You found a seat and waited there as you realized the considerable amount of people in the cafe. It was more packed than usual, mostly with girls. Then you realized today was Wednesday and Jaemin would be here.

Come to think of it, you haven't bumped into him all week, which you thought was weird considering you live in the same building and floor. Maybe your schedules don't match so you didn't think much about it. Later, there were quiet gasps from the customers, followed by murmurs. When you followed their line of sight, you saw Jaemin carrying a tray with a smile. You realized he was looking at you and felt conscious of the murmurs.

He placed the takeout cup in front of you along with a fold of tissue papers and your receipt.

"Here you are." His smile was beautiful today, well to be fair, you had always thought his smile was radiant. "How did you like the food?"

"Sorry?" you asked, puzzled for a second. "Oh, from last week. Yeah, it was great. Top tier, even. Thank you so much for that by the way. And I actually had most of my lunches here."

You felt a little bad for forgetting to thank him. He even gave you his number but it totally slipped your mind.

"I'm glad you liked it. Come back more often, maybe you'll catch me here and I'll give you a discount."

"Like, on Wednesdays?"

Jaemin gave you a teasing look. "You know my schedules?"

"My coworkers do."

"I see, well I'm here on Wednesdays. I'll be expecting you."

Your phone buzzed and you checked it to see a message from Jaehee. You hurriedly grabbed the coffee and found a complimentary cookie with it so you thanked Jaemin.

"You're welcome. Enjoy your coffee," he said as you handed him the buzzer. "Will I be seeing you for lunch?"

"Sorry?" you questioned. He asked that right when you were at the door, making everyone hear him. For a moment, you thought he was inviting you to have lunch with him.

"With your coworkers."

Your eyes widened in realization and shame. "Oh. With them, of course. I think so. They would hate to miss you today."

"Alright then. See you later."

But you didn't see him again that day, and for the rest of the week. A lunch meeting had been scheduled for your team to meet up with a certain client so you all skipped Nana's Cafe.

Days seemed to pass quickly in the city. You woke up one weekend to find your mother at your doorstep with shopping bags in her arms. You let her in and she went on and on about how it's late in the morning and you're just climbing out of bed.

"Mom, I'm not late. You're just early," you reasoned, sitting next to her on the sofa and leaning on her shoulder to get more sleep.

She shook her body to get you off of her. "Go get a bath first!"

"Later," you grumbled, locking her in your embrace. She eventually stopped squirming and just let you hug her. She even had you lay your head on her lap. "How are you these days?"

"Fine. I've done nothing but work, but it's not that hard," you confessed, closing your eyes as she caressed your head.

"How about food? Are you eating well?"

"If you're so worried, you should have brought me food instead of clothes," you complained, although you both knew you meant it as a joke.

Your mother looked at the shopping bags. "What's the point of raising you when you can't even say 'thank you'?"

You just laughed, the familiar warmth creeping in your heart upon hearing your mother's familiar nagging. While most moms can bring homemade food and side dishes for their children, your mom brings you clothes and accessories. She grew up in a wealthy family and was pampered for most of her life so she never really worried about cooking. Even after she married your father, you still lived in comfort and your father is a great cook. You had come to accept that about her because, like your mother, you are also an awful cook. It was safe to say you were both spoiled rotten by your late dad.

"Jaemin's mom said you two live in the same building," she asked. "Do you see him a lot?"

"Not really. But I always eat at his cafe."

Your mother chuckled. "How nice is that? Back home, we get most of our food from their restaurant. Here in the city, you eat at their son's cafe. We rely on their family's cooking too much, don't we?"

You sat up and looked at her with a smile. "If you put it like that, it does sound funny."

She flicked your forehead, making you scream in pain. "Be grateful. Neither you nor I can cook! You should have learned a thing or two from your father if you wanted to survive by yourself."

"Mom, there are restaurants for a reason!" you clapped back and she couldn't even respond because your doorbell rang.

You glanced at it and groaned. "Why are you people barging in so early?"

As you stood up, your mom angrily scolded you for calling her 'you people'. But your loud gasp quieted her. She followed right behind you asking what happened. "Who's there? Why are you so surprised?"

Jaemin's face is clearly registered on your door monitor. Your mother beamed happily. "Oh, it's Na Jaemin. Open up."

"You open up. I'm gonna go brush my teeth," you declared, bolting towards the bathroom to freshen up.

You also changed into more decent clothes, remembering to wear a bra. After a while, you came out to find your mom and Jaemin in the kitchen, arranging containers in your fridge.

"What's going on here?" you prompted, making your way to them and grabbing an apple from the fruit basket on your table.

"Good morning," Jaemin greeted passively, eyes focused on his task.

"Jaemin brought side dishes," your mom said happily and you glanced at Jaemin who smiled at you.

"Again? Thank you so much. That's so nice of you," you chimed, helping them by taking out the old ones he first gave you about a month ago. Most of them were already empty.

"Mom came over yesterday. She brought more this time because I told her I shared them with you," Jaemin told you. Then he turned to your mom. "She just left this morning, actually. It's a shame you missed her, Auntie."

"It is. We could have gone to a spa together or something. You know, to thank her for including my lazy daughter."

"Mom!" you chided while you got ready to wash the old containers.

But your mother ignored that. "Ah, how about we set a schedule for it? We could come to Seoul together and bond."

"She would love that," Jaemin affirmed and your mother seemed happy to hear that.

"It's the least I could do. Your mother helped me a lot. And I'm thankful for you helping my daughter out here. We owe so much to your family."

You let them chat away while you wash the dirty containers. After that, you wiped them clean and packed them so Jaemin could bring them back to his house. While you were at it, Jaemin and your mother moved to the living room so you decided to slice up some fruit for them.

"So I heard. I'd go over next time I'm here," your mom told Jaemin. They were talking about Jaemin's restaurants when you joined them.

"You can go over today, Mom. Why wait till next time?"

Your mom turned to you. "I won't be here for long. I have plans with your grandfather today and then I'll go back home."

You just nodded, taking a fork to get a slice of peach. Your mom did the same

"That's a shame. But I also have plans today, so I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to entertain you anyway," said Jaemin, standing up from his seat. "I actually have to go now. I just came to drop the sides."

"You're leaving already? I sliced fruits!" you told him but he just chuckled.

"I brought those fruits. I can have them at home."

"Ah, right," you giggled. "Thank you, by the way. And thank your mom for me. I really appreciate it."

"I will. It was nice seeing you again, Auntie. Come visit me anytime."

"I will. Thank you, Jaemin."

You both walked him to the door, uttering more thanks until he disappeared. After that, you went with your mother to meet your grandparents. It was a hearty lunch with them who fondly showered you with compliments and kept telling you to go see them when you're free. You realized yet again that it has been a month since you moved here but you haven't really gone out to meet anyone. You made a mental note to go see them next weekend.

Heejin called you while you were on your way home. You had just parted with your mother after lunch with your grandparents and you had actually ignored Heejin's messages during that.

"I just got home, what is it?" you asked.

"This is crazy news! Crazy!" she said, sounding ballistic. You thought she'd deliver some gossip or exclusives like she always does. However, during those other times, she didn't act this excited. Heejin is a journalist in a big paper and she writes mostly about celebrities.

You stood in front of the underground elevator and it had just closed when you pushed it again, hoping it would open just before it ascended.

"Spill it."

"Jeno just got engaged."

At that moment, the elevator door opened and you saw Jaemin and Jeno staring right back at you. You were surprised to see them, but Jeno was more surprised to see you. He might have tried to hide behind thick sunglasses and a bucket hat, but you recognized him anyway. You hung up on Heejin and awkwardly entered the elevator with the two guys behind you.

You heard Jeno call your name so you glanced back at him and smiled. "How long has it been?"

"I'm not so sure. But it's been a while," you replied, eyeing Jaemin curiously.

"It's good to see you again," Jeno added, smiling underneath his sunglasses. You can almost see the way his eyes were smiling at you too.

"You too, Jen," you replied, genuinely pleased.

You remembered the time you started going out with the ace student, Lee Jeno. How you were both in the same friend circle and you had a crush on him the moment you met him. He was nice to you but didn't express interest until late into junior year. You dated for a while, innocently navigating young love. He was wealthy and had a good background. When his father got married, you all attended the ceremony to comfort him because he disliked the whole thing. But right before graduation, you remembered breaking up with Jeno after he said they were moving permanently to Seoul where his stepmom was working as an actress. You would have been fine with LDR, but he wasn't, especially after he said he auditioned to be an idol trainee and got accepted. You remembered crying, like the dumb teen that you are. And it was in the restaurant of Jaemin's family, surrounded by your friends that you were comforted by spicy tteokbokki.

You had long made peace with your break up. It was long ago and you were both young then. Heck, you have even dated three other guys since then. You were happy for him and he seemed happy too. He didn't become an idol, but he made a name for himself as an actor. The last thing you remember reading about him was that he had quit acting and was teaching at an art school. Now, it seems he will soon get married.

"Would you like to join us for drinks? We're celebrating my engagement. Donghyuck will be there too," Jeno invited just as you all got off the same floor.

"Thanks but I have work tomorrow. Congratulations, though."

"Alright. It was nice to see you again."

They headed in the direction of Jaemin's unit and before leaving, Jaemin turned to you to say, "Goodnight."

"Have fun," you replied before punching in your passcode.

Heejin called you after the articles were posted and gushed about how you dated an actual celebrity.

"Well, he wasn't a celebrity then and we were literal teenagers," you blurted.

"Did you kiss at all?"

Your brows knitted, glancing at her face on the video call. "Yes. But that's as far as we went. Don't get weird ideas."

Heejin laughed. "Wouldn't it be nice if it was you?"

You rolled your eyes, pausing on the typing you were doing on your laptop. "Are you interviewing Jeno's ex-girlfriends for an article? Why are you asking ridiculous questions?"

"No, I'm not. I'm just curious."

You thought about her question and then shuddered. "No. Can't even imagine myself there. We were just kids when we dated, Heejin. And I pretty much never thought about marriage at that time. Good for him that he's settling down though."

"What about Hanbin? You talked about marrying him two years ago."

"Yes and we broke up right after that because he wasn't ready but he got married a month later."

"Geez, why is everyone getting married?" Heejin grimaced and shuddered.

"Just so you know, we're at the age where our friends are all getting married.

"Not me. I won't." Heejin laughed maniacally.

You were working late at night on some edits in your publication materials when you suddenly felt hungry and decided to go to the convenience store. There was one attached to the building, so you didn't have to go too far, but you were disappointed to see that there was barely any food left and the convenience store guy said the new stocks would come in tomorrow. You should have gone grocery shopping that weekend, so stupid.

When you went to pay for some chips, you saw the man in front of you putting two packs of ramen on the counter. Those were the last ones and you thought about buying them from the hooded man.

"Excuse me, do you really need two packs of ramen? That's pretty heavy. How about letting me buy the other one instead?" you asked and then realized it wasn't the right approach. When the man turned to you, you saw that it was Jaemin. "Oh, it's you."

Jaemin grinned. "Wanna eat ramen with me?"

"Yes!" you replied without missing a beat and the cashier girl made a loud gasp. Only then did you realize the situation and the reason for her reaction. "No. I mean... like actual ramen. Not whatever type of ramen. Hey!"

The girl was startled when you hollered at her. From the looks of her, she seemed a lot younger than you are, probably a part-timing student. "Yes, ma'am?"

"How old are you? Why are you thinking weird thoughts?" you scolded despite feeling embarrassed to the point of blushing.

"I didn't say anything, ma'am."

Jaemin grabbed the chips from your hand and slid them to the counter. "Ignore her. She's just shy. We'll pay for these."

You hit Jaemin's arm when you recognized the teasing in his tone. He just laughed and turned to the cashier. After paying, you ran out of the store first while Jaemin followed.

"Should we walk some more? There's a convenience store two blocks from here," he offered as you walked back to the building entrance.

"I thought you were gonna give me the other one?"

Jaemin glanced at you. "I would have, but one pack is not enough for me and Donghyuck."

"Hyuck again? He should just live with you at this point," you quipped. Donghyuck always went to hang out at Jaemin's place and often he would invite you guys in the group chat but most of you are busy.

"I thought you have work tomorrow?"

You nodded. "I'm making last-minute edits. Then I got hungry."

"How about joining us? There's fried chicken and this ramen too."

You sighed as you two stopped in front of the elevators. "I'd love to, but I can't hang out tonight."

"You don't have to. You can just eat and then leave right after. It'll take you only five or ten minutes max."

"Okay. Thanks," you replied. You were hungry anyway and you could use a break from staring at your computer.

You thought Jeno would still be there, but Jaemin said he had left an hour ago. Hyuck was playing video games while Jaemin worked on the food. There was beer next to Hyuck and he was screaming at the TV screen so you opted not to join him even though the sofa seemed inviting. You noted how Jaemin's home was clean and cozy, especially his kitchen.

He worked fast, all the while chatting you up on your day and teasing you about how your ex was about to get married.

"It's fine as long as I get an invite for being his first girlfriend ever," you joked, chopping up some spring onions that he surprisingly trusted you to help with.

Jaemin laughed. "That's funny because I actually need a plus one. You should come with me. We can laugh at their high society guests and meet celebrities."

"Laugh at their high society guests? I'm pretty sure my mom would be there too."

"Ah, right. She's friends with Jeno's Dad." Jaemin pointed the spoon at you. "And you're from high society."

You snorted and shook your head, taking the spoon from his hand. "Never lived that way. Not even once."

You tasted the broth and complimented its rich flavor. Jaemin laughed at you, "The flavor came with the pack."

"You're right. It wasn't from your talent," you quipped and you both laughed.

"Are you two dating? You seem in love and happy," said Donghyuck who popped out of nowhere.

"Shut it," you threatened, holding out the spoon as a weapon.

You and Hyuck basically inhaled the food as soon as it was served. It didn't wait long and Jaemin wasn't only a good cook, but a great chef. He had eggs with it and some leafy greens as well as delicious side dishes from his mom.

"This kimchi is great," Hyuck commented and you nodded in approval.

"If I went home with just the chips, I would have eaten the side dishes in my fridge," you said, taking more noodles from the pot.

"Is the restaurant still there?" Hyuck asked, referring to the restaurant owned by Jaemin's family.

"Yeah. The cafe was right next to it but their restaurant is more popular," you replied. "I still frequented the place when I was there. And I also got updates about Jaemin from his mom. She talks about him all the time."

"Were you so interested in Jaemin that his mom had no choice but to talk about him so much?" Hyuck snickered.

You slurped on the noodles and glared at Hyuck. "I'm not!" you insisted but somehow it came out a little too defensively even if you didn't mean to.

"She talks about you a lot too," Jaemin said to you. "When I go home, or when she comes over, she talks about you and what you're up to."

"Right, didn't she tell you about her and Hanbin going out?" Donghyuck laughed and Jaemin nodded, grinning playfully.

"She did. She also said Hanbin dumped you and got married one month later."

You rolled your eyes at them, taking their teasing in stride.

"It was a good riddance. Hanbin is a jerk," Hyuck spat.

"I agree," said Jaemin. "Remember when we graduated high school and he punched a classmate for taking a picture with her girlfriend at the time?"

Donghyuck scoffed. "Yeah, total garbage."

"How did you end up dating him, anyway?" Jaemin asked, his forehead creasing with how much his brows were knotting.

"To be fair, he stopped being a jerk. He wasn't a jerk even after we broke up. We talked about marriage and we agreed but he wanted to stay there. I don't. God knows I would never be content to stay in that town my whole life," you explained.

"Good for you. Our town was lovely, but you can't make a life of your own if you don't get out of there," Hyuck said and you were surprised that he was taking the conversation seriously.

It was ironic that you were the last to leave, considering you were the one who wasn't originally from that town in the first place. But you're happy now that you're out of there. It was a lovely town like Donghyuck said, but it hinders your endeavors. You know you are made for more than just a small-town marketing assistant. Heck, you even went to a big school just to make sure you find opportunities outside town. You ended back there and stayed for two years before you're finally out.

You remembered college graduation and realized even on that, you were with the same friends to celebrate. You came home after graduation and the town had a big party to congratulate you and the others who finished their studies. Jaemin was the one who handed you flowers at the time. And then you got drunk with your friends, singing your hearts out in a karaoke room like you always did when you were teens. You missed every second of it and loved looking back on it.

A few days later, you attended a meeting for the XO Foods' anniversary events. The main task was to hold a cooking competition and the winner will be an endorser for the brand. There was a long list of potential contestants and you weren't surprised to find Jaemin in that list. They picked the most popular, good-looking, and young candidates for the mini-show. Its main purpose was to promote after all so picking people with good visuals was vital.

After the meeting, you took it upon yourself to visit Jaemin's cafe to find him and talk to him about the competition. There was prize money and the feature can help his brand and help the company as well. It was a Friday, so naturally, he won't be at the cafe. Then you remembered you had his number so you texted him instead. But instead of replying, he just called you.

"I know you didn't wanna do it. My coworker has tried before, and you declined. But I just wanna know, maybe, if you changed your mind about working with XO Foods for a project?"

"XO Foods?"

"Yeah. They're the client I'm assigned to."

"Alright, sure," he replied without missing a beat.

That was quick and you haven't even explained the whole thing yet, so you did just that before accepting his answer.

"Yeah, I'll do it," he replied after your explanation. "I could use the exposure and the pay seemed decent."

You squealed. "Thank you! Oh, gosh. I thought it would be difficult to convince you."

Jaemin just chuckled heartily. "Anything for you really."

You gawked at nothing, confused by what he said but you kept quiet.

Jaemin added, "Just let me know when you'll need me for it."

"Yeah, I will."

"Alright, y/n" he smiled, followed by a proper enunciation of your name that seemed to roll perfectly on his tongue.

You weren't prepared for the random texts that you would get from him ever since he got your phone number. At first, it came the next morning, a picture of freshly made bread pulled out from the oven. It had a note that said, "Come try a piece before you get to work!" Then the next day at lunchtime, he asked if you had already eaten and whether you'd like to try the newest addition to their menu. The texts were mostly that and it almost felt like you subscribed to a food delivery service that sends notifications about food. You didn't think much of it but replied politely anyway. Sometimes you said the food looks good, sometimes you said you'd get a bite before work, other times you can only decline due to work. But it was fun so you just went with it.

The meeting with three competing chefs came and you felt proud of your team for a job well done. Everyone is engaging in your online campaigns and you managed to snag three competitive, handsome, and pretty, popular influencer chefs. It went smoothly and surely it did not slip your coworkers' notice when Jaemin approached you after for a quick chat. Nothing much was talked about between you. He just asked if you had lunch already and left after you said you did.

Jaehee and Yunseo started teasing you and asked how you two were so close.

"We're friends, that's all," you said concisely. It was the truth and there really isn't anything else to add.

"Why didn't you tell us? We've been to his cafe a lot of times! We even met him!" Yunseo asked, playfully hitting your arm several times.

"Well, it felt a bit obnoxious to say I know a popular person," you confessed which was true too.

"Is that why he always comes out to greet us?" Jaehee asked, bewildered. "And you got him to join the competition too!"

"Eonnie, if you guys aren't a thing, maybe you can introduce me," Yunseo suggested, batting her eyelashes at you and making you chuckle.

"We're not a thing and I'll introduce you for sure but how he reacts to it will be up to him," you told Yunseo who just squealed happily and said she'll be fine as long as Jaemin knew her name. "You're a cutie."

"Am I?" Yunseo asked cutely. "I hope Jaemin thinks so too."

Jaemin knocked on your door early that weekend and you opened up to see a box of pastry from him.

"What's this?"

"Oh, it's the cookie samplers I promised you last time," he said, referring to one of his texts.

You took it from his hand and noticed that he was dressed for jogging. "Thank you. Were you working out?"

"Yeah, I went for a jog then passed by the cafe for that," he replied, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Anyway, gotta go. I got work today. Enjoy your day off though!"

"Thanks again. Have fun at work!"

You didn't think you'd see him again that day, but you did. The brunch date Yunseo had set up with you and Jaehee happened to be at Nana's Cafe in a different branch.

Yunseo said Jaemin would be here today. She wasn't wrong because Jaemin was at the counter, taking orders. He noticed you and immediately switched with a staff to take your orders.

"These are my coworkers. You've met them before," you introduced. "Jaehee and Yunseo."

Yunseo stood up to shake hands with him. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," Jaemin beamed. "What can I get you started with?"

After taking your orders, you chatted amongst yourselves and waited for it to come. Jaemin was the one who brought it out too when they were ready, even going as far as giving three small slices of chocolate cake to each of you. He said it was on the house since he was glad to meet your friends.

"Thanks, Jae," you sang before he left.

"He likes you," Jaehee chimed as soon as Jaemin was out of earshot. You shushed her but Yunseo joined in on the teasing.

"He does."

You rolled your eyes and sighed. "Jaemin is an old friend and he'd always been nice to me since high school."

"Then he must have liked you for a long time now! You sync so perfectly, even your wristwatch was the same colors!" Yunseo pointed out enthusiastically.

"How did you even catch the color of his watch?" you questioned, genuinely bewildered by her attention to detail.

Jaemin liking you was a ridiculous idea that you refused to entertain. But it lingered in your mind. As you went home, you wondered if Jaemin had always been that sweet and friendly. The answer was no. He was more of a subtle kind of friend, coming up with clever ways to make people feel special despite acting aloof most of the time. He must have gotten over his inexpressiveness and is now being openly nice and sweet to his friends.

To you, you thought he had always been aloof too. But he did make you feel his friendly affection in some ways.

Participants had an interview at your company on Monday and it was broadcast live online. You were there as part of the PR team and closely monitored interactions with viewers. Sure enough, a lot of people watched the Live, proving just how popular the chefs were. After that stint, Jaemin approached you for a favor.

"Anything within my powers," you quipped.

"How about coming over to the cafe to test new recipes?"

You had no plans tonight so you decided to agree. "Sure, but I'm not a food critic so I'm not sure if I can help."

"Can we come too?" asked Jaehee and only then did you realize that they were listening in.

Jaemin nodded. "Of course! I'd be happy to cater to you. But I can only take the three of you since the food is limited and I already have other guests coming."

"Oh, no worries. We won't be bringing anyone else," Yunseo assured, pushing Woojin aside when he was passing by you.

They chatted for a bit while you quietly observed, a little embarrassed that Jaemin had to cater to extra guests when he already had other people coming. But you decided he was probably alright with it since he agreed.

The cafe across the street was closed when you arrived. Aside from the staff, there was no one else in the cafe and you found yourself asking Jaemin about his guests.

"Oh, they canceled. It was actually just a friend from culinary school and his girlfriend. They said it was an emergency and I knew better than to ask," Jaemin explained. "I'm gonna go finish up in the kitchen. I should join you in a bit."

"Yeah, go ahead," your coworkers said.

When Jaemin left, Jaehee said, "It would have been awkward if only you and Jaemin were here."

"Or romantic," Yunseo argued. "I bet he'd prefer that too."

"Right? He's so obvious! I can't even!" Jaehee gushed and you can only shake your head.

Obvious how? It's either you're blind to it or they're making a big deal out of nothing. Well, sure, there were times he would randomly say cheesy stuff but he never expounded on that and you assumed he had been joking each time. Other than that, you were sure Jaemin was just being his usual self. Jaehee and Yunseo wouldn't understand because they weren't the ones who had been friends with Jaemin for a long time.

"Should we just give them the space?" Yunseo giggled.

"We should."

"Don't you dare." you threatened just as Jaemin was coming out of the kitchen.

He had got rid of his apron and you assumed he'll be joining you for dinner now. "Is the wine good?"

"It's impeccable. Good taste, Jaemin," Jaehee complimented but her eyes were on you when Jaemin sat on the vacant seat right next to you and then grabbed your glass to drink from it.

He must have noticed how Yunseo and Jaehee were looking at him because he cleared his throat and put the glass down. "She doesn't like wine. She hasn't even touched it."

"Ah, I see," Yunseo said before shooting you a teasing look. "You seem to know a lot about her."

Jaemin shrugged and then smiled widely. "Well, she's an interesting person. Don't you think?"

Food came one by one and you thought the teasing would end there but Jaemin took it a notch when he would place food on your plate carefully each time. The knowing looks from your coworkers did not miss your eye but you just gestured for them to be quiet.

You started eating after thanking Jaemin and you noticed how he watched your faces for reactions before starting his own meal. Yunseo and Jaehee uttered alarmingly specific accounts about the food while you can only say it was great and flavorful.

"You're lucky we're here then. We're quite the food critic, you know," Yunseo joked.

"Yeah. Your interesting friend can literally offer nothing but an affirmative nod," Jaehee teased and you blushed because it was true.

"In my defense, you didn't tell me I need Michelin evaluator qualifications to be here," you ranted to Jaemin who just shook his head with a fond smile on his lips.

"No, not at all. I invited you here because I wanted you to try the food, not because I need you to criticize me like I'm in Masterchef."

Yeonsu and Jaehee let out 'ooohs' and even whistled. Jaemin seemed proud and even encouraged the two girls but you weren't having it.

"Like a test animal?"

Leave it up to you to ruin a cute moment. Thank you.

There were more comments on the food with a few of your innocently worded inputs. Jaemin takes out another bottle of wine that you shared with casual conversations before it was time to go. Yeonsu and Jaehee left after Jaemin explicitly said you two can go home together since you live in the same building. You can already imagine the teasing you'll get the next day, but you just sighed. Jaemin noticed your dilemma as he poured more wine for himself.

"Are you okay?" he asked before taking a swig from his glass.

"Yeah, it's just... My coworkers think you like me or something," you began, trailing off on your words but he caught them just fine. "It's ridiculous, I know. But it's just because they don't know the kind of person you are, that's why they're saying those."

He tilted his head curiously. "What kind of person do you think am I?"

You were a bit taken aback by his question so you cleared your throat and straightened your back before replying. "Well, I think you're sweet and nice. Very gentlemanly and thoughtful too."

"Really?" He cocked an eyebrow at you.

You laughed derisively. "I knew you've always been nice since we were younger and even now, you're still considerate as ever. To Yunseo and Jaehee, they might think you're going the extra mile because you like me, but we both know you've always been a really good friend to everyone."

Jaemin straightened up and rested his back on the chair before sighing your name and glancing at you. "I'm not all that, you know."

"And you're very humble too," you chuckled, clinking your glass on his before taking a sip of your juice.

"It's the truth," he insisted. "I'm pretty laid back and didn't care much unless it involves me. And I'm the most passive when it comes to friendly relations. I'd say I'm a considerate man, but mostly just for my friends."

"Well, maybe that's what you think. But me and all your other friends sure know you're a really great friend. I'd know because you were very considerate of me too," you affirmed, worried that he might think so lowly of himself when he is in fact a great guy.

Jaemin just chuckled. "You don't get it do you, y/n? I know myself better than anyone. And I'm pretty sure I tried going the extra mile just for you."

You fell quiet. He must have been drunk to be saying all of that. Or maybe you were and you're mind is playing tricks on you so you're hearing things in your head. But you wouldn't be able to confirm it because he fell asleep on the table all of a sudden and you realized he just emptied the wine bottle and now he's passed out drunk. And here you thought he had a high alcohol tolerance.

Luckily, a staff was still cleaning in the kitchen and he helped you take Jaemin to your car so you can drive him home. It wasn't your best idea, and you knew you wouldn't be able to carry him up the building, but you drove home anyway.

You tried waking Jaemin when you reached the parking lot and he stirred in his seat, blinking as he focused his gaze on his surroundings. He glanced sideways at you and flashed the biggest smile you have ever seen from him. "You're very pretty."

"Thanks, I know that. Now come on, let's get you to bed."

He was basically zombie-walking down the hallways but you're happy that he can still walk so you just held him in place. You could tell he was terribly sleepy by the way his head would fall suddenly.

"Here we are. Can you enter your passcode?" you asked slowly, making sure he could hear you. With a drunk smile he reached for the door and started entering his passcode but he couldn't hit the right keys.

"Damn, why are the numbers dodging," he laughed before trying again. He kept going at it but he just couldn't get it right even as he shook his head aggressively in his attempt to sober up.

After several annoyed huffs from you, he laughingly pressed his nose on the side of your head and whispered the passcode before falling limp on your hold.

You were dumbfounded for a second, cradling Jaemin while you processed your thoughts. You tried to brush off the heat that resulted from the sudden contact and hurriedly entered his passcode. You couldn't even remember where you got the strength to drag him to his sofa and leave him there, but you were glad that you finally did. He mumbled incoherently but you were so focused on the warmth in your ear that you just stormed out of his unit and then hid into yours.

Jaemin woke up in a daze, blinking as the sun shone through the open curtains of his big windows. He recognized his living room and wondered why he wasn't in his room. He massaged his aching temple and rose from his uncomfortable position on the sofa and then groaned in disgust upon realizing he had slept in his outside clothes. Struggling with a headache and feeling disgusted by his own smell, he dunked an Advil in the bathroom and took a shower.

He recalled being at the cafe with you and your coworkers. Then he remembered how he finished an entire bottle and blacked out. He had bits of memories scattered in place as well as one where he openly told you you were pretty. He smiled idiotically at the memory, drying his hair with a towel as he downed a whole bottle of hangover tonic. He now remembered that you took him home and feels sorry for the trouble but he just can't stop smiling, especially after the doorbell rang and he saw your face on the monitor.

He cleared his throat first and kept a straight face before opening the door to greet you. You handed a small bottle of hangover drink to him.

You weren't looking at him straight and he could tell you were annoyed by the way your brows were knitted together. "You must be hungover. You were so drunk last night."

Jaemin didn't have it in him to refuse even after he had just finished a bottle of the same tonic. Besides, he's just happy to see you this early. "Thank you. Oh, and I'm sorry about last night. I don't usually get drunk but that wine was a fairly new addition to the menu. I had no idea it would be that strong."

You glanced at him briefly before looking away again. You didn't even move your head. "You finished an entire bottle by yourself, Jaemin. Surely you figured you'd get drunk?"

"Yeah, I did but it wasn't my intention really. Thanks for taking me home."

"Don't mention it. You did cook some delicious food for us, and it was free so this is nothing."

"If I wasn't a businessman, I wouldn't charge you for anything at all," Jaemin grinned, eyes shifting to your clothes and he realized that you were already dressed for work. "Do you need a ride? I'm going over there today."

You narrowed your eyes at him. "You left your car in Apgujeong."

"Oh shit, I did, didn't I?"

You just scoffed. "I can give you a lift but I'm running late so..."

"There's no need. Thanks for the offer."

"Okay, bye," you turned to leave and Jaemin panicked so he called your name. When you glanced back, he was unsure of what to say. In his mind, he was trying to find a good reason to be alone with you again.

Should he invite you over to the cafe again? No, he already did that. Maybe dinner? Just the two of you? Wouldn't it be too forward? How about coffee? Nah, you get coffee everyday.

"What is it, Jaemin?"

Your voice pulled him out of his musings. "Nothing. Have fun at work."

You chuckled. "Thanks. You too."

You bade him goodbye and he reluctantly waved at you then watched your back disappear into the elevator. Maybe next time, after all, he agreed to take one step at a time.

You expected Yunseo and Jaehee to tease you at work and they didn't disappoint. So now you're explaining to them how you two happened to just live in the same building. Yunseo was gushing about destiny but you laughed at her absurdity, then you remembered the way he whispered in your ear and felt your face flare. You saw him that morning and he seemed perky like always so you thought he must have no recollection of it. The Jaemin you knew would apologize for behaving inappropriately, especially in a drunken state. You decided it was best to keep it to yourself rather than bring it up and make things awkward. It was an accident, you're sure of it. Jaemin doesn't even seem to remember that.

The fact that you didn't see Jaemin at all for the next three days didn't help erase the memory of his lips on the side of your head. Why? Because his pictures are in every pubmat you were making, it actually felt more like he was right there with you the whole time. You now share your team leader's wish that you had a different person for the layouts and pubmats. He might have wanted it for efficiency, but you wanted it just so you could stop staring at Jaemin's handsome face.

The competition broadcast came. You sat on a desk behind the filming crew, where you will be monitoring the comments and interactions on the live broadcast. The chefs arrived after a short trip to the styling room and you liked how Jaemin looked in his chef uniform and the apron that bore his cafe's logo on the chest. You knew this was a leap in his career since he only ever got photographed by customers instead of actually using his visuals to promote himself. If it was a PR stunt, then you'd think he was smart enough to have branded himself a humble, handsome chef who relies on talent rather than his looks. But knowing him, you knew it was all a spontaneous occurrence that just happened to go in his favor.

The mini-competition started and while you tried to be neutral as a staff member, you couldn't help rooting for Jaemin. Two of the chefs were influencers with a fanbase. Jaemin was the only one who didn't capitalize on his physical appearance and as a PR person, you'd say he was dumb for that but as his friend, you respected him for it. Then again, more people were drawn to the mysterious 'It boy' who appears on the regular but kept a low profile from the internet.

The broadcast would go on for more than an hour since the challenge was to whip up a gourmet dish in less than 45 minutes. After getting the judges to taste the dishes, Chef Jisook ended up winning the grand prize, with Jaemin trailing behind her after receiving praise for his fusion dish that 'redefined Korean cuisine'.

After the filming wrapped up, Jaemin found you in the pool of busy people and skipped over to you with a big smile. "The CEO offered to have me in one episode of the cooking show."

"That's great! Good for you!" you cheered, nudging his elbow with yours. "That's because you're so talented."

The cooking show was an online thing that the company regularly does. It has a steady following and does well to promote the brand and the guests that star in it are usually famous chefs and celebrities. Being on that show would surely catapult Jaemin's name and brand. You were telling Jaemin all that as he drove his car to one of his cafes.

You caught him smiling at you like he was staring at you rather than listening so you stopped talking.

"Why'd you stop?"

"Because you stopped," you replied, looking outside to see where you parked. Jaemin said there's no need to rush but you shrugged and got off the car first. He followed soon after and you immediately spotted your friends inside the building.

You ran inside to greet your friends and explicitly noted how Seola was still with Minho. You said he must be doing the right thing since he's still around.

"Excuse me, my man is not a cheat," Seola defended, wrapping an arm around Minho's waist. "As a matter of fact, we're getting married."

"You are?" you exclaimed, covering your mouth in surprise.

Seola was satisfied with your reaction. "Yes. Why do you think we're gathered today? It's because Minho proposed to me the other day."

"Oh my god," you said, pulling her into a hug.

Hyuck was chuckling on your side. "She's trying to race with Jeno."

"No, I'm not!" Seola insisted, glaring at the guy. "It was a spontaneous decision."

Everyone disagreed because you all know that if the opposite of spontaneous is a person, it would be Seola.

"It's not, but we had been talking about it after Seola said she wanted to get married before thirty," Minho confessed. "We wanted children and getting pregnant after thirty is risky so the sooner, the better. We are financially stable and in love, so what's stopping there to stop us?"

"Yeah, well, I hope you don't end up getting divorced," Heejin jeered and instantly received a glare from Seola.

"Why are you cursing us already? You're mean," Seola pouted, hiding behind Minho.

You understood where she was coming from, after all, you have thought about the same thing before. You planned to get married before thirty when you were younger. Even today, you're still considering it. You still have four years before that, but that too could be considered a short time. And of course, you are yet to find a match who is worth spending the rest of your life with. Divorce is never an option for you.

Your eyes found Jaemin's. He had been staring and you caught him, but instead of looking away, he held your gaze with reassurance and some kind of comfort that you didn't quite understand the purpose of but you still appreciated. For some reason, you thought maybe you could consider him. That is if he was serious about what he had been implying these past few days—that he liked you before and he likes you now.

Jeno soon arrived with his fiancee and you were all happy to meet her at last. The night continued and you even got to bring up how Jaemin almost won the cooking competition. Hyuck said he saw it and watched it from start to finish.

"Donghyuck, why are you so interested in everybody's business?" Seola joked and only when she brought that up did you realize that Hyuck was indeed interested in everybody's business.

"It's because I love all of you, dumbasses," Hyuck announced, even standing up to raise his glass.

Everyone on the table cheered in agreement. Who's to say he was lying? None of you could ever because you all know it was Donghyuck who was always checking in on each of you, always making plans to meet, and keeping the friendship alive. Donghyuck is the foundation of this friend group.

You went out for some fresh air after hours of sitting there with your friends, laughing and going through bottles and bottles of alcohol. You were trying to sober up a bit and you were wondering if you should go home. Jeno joined you a little later, breathing in the cool air as he tucked his hands in his jacket.

"Hey," he greeted in a prolonged manner.

"Hey," you smiled back at him. "Congratulations again, by the way. She's such a lovely woman."

"I know," he chuckled. "I got lucky."

You just smiled, taking in more of the night air. The streets were bright but it wasn't as busy as it was earlier that night. You started thinking that going home would be smooth without any traffic.

"It's been so long since we last talked to each other," he pointed out and you nodded. Although he was present at your father's funeral several months ago, he didn't get the chance to say anything to you other than utter his condolences. "I wish I could hang out with all of you more often. On the rare times that I could, it's mostly just with Jaemin and Donghyuck."

"Well, you got busy and I had a lot of things going on in my life too, so..."

"Yeah, you're right," he chuckled. "At least we get to hang out like this. I'm sure I'll get more chances to meet everyone once I'm married. You know, I can worry less about being in public and live more like any ordinary person."

"Good for you, then," you chimed. "And I'm happy for you. We all are."

"Thank you. Will you come to my wedding? It's in three weeks and the invitations haven't been sent out yet but I'm inviting you in advance."

"I think I might," you said sheepishly. You were joking about going to his wedding with Jaemin, but now that he's inviting you, you feel shy all of a sudden. It would feel normal if you had kept in contact with him like the rest of your friends, but a long time has passed without any interaction between you. You were wondering if you should even be there at all.

"You know, I told Jaemin I'd invite you and he said you don't need a card because you can go as his plus one." You scowled at Jeno upon hearing that.

"He said that?"

Jeno just shrugged and nodded. You imagined being Jaemin's plus one and wondered how the two guys came to a conclusion that you would just agree on it. But then again, you had no reason to disagree or even refuse to go with Jaemin. It's not like you would hate to go with him. In fact, it would be fun to go with either Jaemin or Hyuck. "Is that why he brought it up before?"

"Maybe. You can go together, you know. You look great together. If I didn't know better, I'd assume you were dating because of the way your clothes don't match but kinda matched. Your vibes are just syncing effortlessly. It's adorable."

His implication was loud and clear but you just laughed it off. "I'll be there. Maybe as Jaemin's plus one, or maybe not. But I'll be there. You wouldn't let your first love miss the best day of your life, would you?"

Jeno laughed heartily and you felt proud about making a good joke. "Of course, my first love can't miss my wedding. You better prepare a hefty cash gift."

"Look at this chaebol ripping people off," you ridiculed.

"We're spending quite a lot on that wedding. Pay us back."

"Ugh, now I'm rethinking if I should go or not."

Jeno laughed, glancing back to the cafe when his fiancee called his name. "I'm kidding. You better be there, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," you said dismissively shooing him away but he was already running back to the cafe.

As you watched, you saw Jaemin make his way towards you. You were feeling drowsy, but you stayed standing as you waited for him to reach you. Then when he was within your reach, you said, "I heard you needed a date for the wedding and you picked me."

Jaemin chuckled, his cheeks were a bit flushed due to alcohol. "Nah, I'm pretty sure you're the one who's gonna do the picking because Hyuck is also dateless."

"Ah, so I still get to make the decision. Good to know."

"If you choose me, I'll pay for the wedding gift for you," Jaemin challenged and you nodded, showing an expression that told him you were considering it.

"Tempting. But I'll have to see what Hyuck is willing to wager."

"Probably a dress. I heard him say, but I'm pretty confident you'd like me more."

You scoffed. "Now I want to pick him just to spite you."

Jaemin fake heart attack and you just scoffed loudly as he pretended to fall over. He laughingly stood up. "Come on. Don't be mean to me."

"Stop copying my style! People are starting to think we're dating," you chided, but he just shrugged.

"It's either we both have good taste or stores are just selling the same colors everywhere."

You laughed as you both walked back to the cafe. Your friends soon left and as usual, you and Jaemin decided to go home together. The cafe was near the condo and you were both a little drunk so you decided to just walk there. You were clutching your bag clumsily as you staggered on the sidewalk so Jaemin offered his arm for you to hold on to and you latched on it like your life depended on it, uttering a soft 'thanks'. You felt steadier like that and warmer with his body close to yours. For a while, you just walked quietly before he started asking questions.

"How's your mom?" he asked, adding, "Mine told me they went to a spa last week."

You grinned. "Yeah, mine said the same thing. She's doing great. She still refused to leave town or sell the house, insisting that Dad's memory lived there. I'd love for the house to remain there too but I'm worried about her being alone."

"You can always visit her. It's not that far."

"Right. I should visit more often."

Jaemin sighed. "What about work? Anything new?"

"Not really. The anniversary events are what keep me busy these days. Other than the cooking show today, there's nothing noteworthy." You fished your phone from your bag when it started ringing. It was Heejin and you answered it right away. "Hi. Did you get home alright?"

"Yes, but this thing won't work," she grumbled and you couldn't see what was going on but you could hear her frustration in her voice.

"What is it?"

"My passcode. I forgot my passcode. My house is threatening to lock me out."

"It's 112799," you told her, rolling your eyes and silently judging her for forgetting it each time she gets drunk.

"Thanks," she muttered before hanging up. You just grimaced at the phone before chucking it back into your purse.

"Heejin?"

"Yeah, she forgot her passcode. It happens all the time."

Jaemin nodded. "It's amazing how you stayed close all these years."

"We literally grew up together. I'd say we don't have a choice," you said in faked indifference. It made Jaemin laugh. "I'm kidding. She's my sister from another mother. My apartment was actually her cousin's. She hooked me up with her and I was able to rent it for a good price."

"Isn't it amazing how out of all the apartments in Seoul, and all the floors in that building, we ended up being neighbors?" he asked and you nodded, unconsciously nuzzling closer to him when the wind blew.

"I know. It's a small world."

"No, it's actually a big world. A huge one. It's fate that brings things to cross paths at one point. Like an invisible string. In our case, our paths crossed so much that we became a part of each other's lives and by extension, a small part of each other."

You giggled. "It's beautiful how you worded things. You could be a poet." You saw him smile shyly at the compliment but then you added. "Yunseo has a nice way with words too. You two would get along well."

"We already get along."

"Yeah, but like, in a romantic way. She likes you and she actually asked me to set you up. You should go out sometime," you were blabbering so much and didn't even notice that Jaemin had stopped walking. You were holding on to him so you were forced to stop too. He took your arm off of his and took a few steps away. "What? It's true Yunseo likes you. She told me herself. I'm not just randomly making decisions for her."

"No, but you're making decisions for me," he said pointedly and the annoyed look on his face made you shy.

"Sorry. Alcohol unzipped my mouth."

"So you're saying it because you're drunk? You're not serious about setting me up with another girl?"

While you were confused about the purpose of the question, you still replied. "No, not really. I think I just said it because I have nothing else to say."

"Good because I'm not interested in anyone else."

His words confused you but you knew deep it inside that the message was clear. He is interested in you. Yet you told yourself that your drunk mind is giving you false signals. You saw that you'd stopped in front of your building so you pointed at it and started skipping to the entrance. Jaemin just followed you with an absent-minded smile.

You rarely bumped into Jaemin in the building because obviously, your schedules are different. When you do, it is often at the elevator which is still rare. Today just decided to be different. You stepped out of your unit at the same time and you had no excuse to avoid getting in the elevator with him. He didn't spare your conflicted feelings and you were sure it was because he had no idea you were even conflicted in the first place.

Especially after he said, "I finally caught you. Sometimes I try to leave earlier or a little later just to see if we'd bump into each other but we never did. It's been like four months since you moved here but we barely saw each other."

"We see each other a lot actually," you laughed after pointing that out.

"I know but I meant here in the building."

"You're right." You separate ways quickly, getting into your car as soon as you spot it in the parking lot and running off with a hurried goodbye.

To say you escaped was an understatement but you had to if you want to stop thinking about things that would make your friendship weird. Unbeknownst to you, Jaemin was in his own league of making sure you see each other at least once a day.

You walked into Nana's Cafe confidently on a Tuesday, knowing he wouldn't be there. But Jaemin's radiant smile welcomed you, accompanied by a nice piece of heart-shaped cookie. When you refused to go to the cafe on a Wednesday, he dropped by your office to hand-deliver lunch. You avoided going to the cafe at all but you found him outside your office building waiting for you to get off work. On the weekend, he knocked on your door early to give you a cup of warm coffee. It went on for days and you had gotten used to the teasing from your coworkers and the assumptions about him being your boyfriend. You wanted several times to confront him but you didn't want to be the first to bring it up, after all, you're still arguing with yourself that he is just being a nice friend like usual. But it doesn't help that the text messages that previously looked like a food promotion chatbox are now filled with selfies of him with updates on what he's doing that day.

"Oh my god. I knew it. He likes you," Heejin announced clapping her hands triumphantly. You had invited her and Seola over after days of taking unsolicited but appreciated advice from Yunseo and Jaehee. You never shared your part of the story with them because you don't think you're close enough for it. So you decided to seek Heejin and Seola and pour your heart out to them.

"But he didn't say that," you insisted.

"He was showing it. You know Jaemin. He prefers showing his feelings more than talking about them," Seola pointed out so you crossed your arms over your chest and turned to her.

"If he can say all these fancy things and subtle hints about liking me, I think he can very well say he likes me straight to my face," you retorted then Heejin and Seola comically nodded in unison.

"That makes sense. How about talking to him about it?"

You scowled. "What? Like, confront him?"

"Yeah."

"No. I can't. I don't want to. Confrontations scare me."

"Then maybe telling you he likes you straight to your face scares him too. You can't just think about yourself in this situation, y/n," Seola insinuated and it made sense so you slumped on your sofa, face first.

"Maybe he really likes you, you know. He could be in love with you too. It's not so strange to think about. You're a catch, don't you realize that?"

"Heejin's right. You're gorgeous. You're smart. You're cute too and you're very caring. Your sense of humor is not that great but you're fun to talk to. Also, although I know he doesn't care about money at all, you're rich and your family background is impressive. Any man would fall for you."

Maybe the idea wasn't so far-fetched. Despite your every attempt to deny it, Jaemin really did show you he liked you even before what happened on the day of Seola's dinner party. He would give you a compliment and a cookie with your coffee. He messaged you every day and would send you weather updates every morning. When you met outside the building, he always offered to give you a ride even when he knew you had your own car. He had always acted like that and only now are you seeing every sign, clear as day and you can't ignore them. He likes you enough to put in this much effort for you. It keeps repeating in your head. Jaemin likes you.

"What are you so worried about? Don't you like Jaemin?" Heejin asked.

Come to think about it, don't you? You liked his smile. You like how warm it makes you feel and how familiar he seems to you. You liked hanging out with him, laughing and fooling around, and secretly making fun of strangers. Ever since you got here, you shared all the good things that happened to you with Jaemin. Now looking back, it seems Jaemin had always been a part of everything that happened to you, good or bad. It's just like the invisible string he mentioned. Except that you have both become a part of each other's life; a piece of each other.

"Does Na Jaemin really like me? Like for real?" you mumbled to yourself, your mind drifting off to more thoughts of him. "Because if he does, don't you think he's too good for me? His smile is so pretty. He's very talented and he's a good cook. Damn, even his laughter is beautiful. His voice, the lines on his cheeks when he grins, the way he's always warm when I'm near him. The way he consistently took care of me and even went out of his way several times for me. He's too good to be true."

Seola and Heejin chuckled before clinking their shot glasses together and taking shots of soju. "She likes him."

You buried your face in your palms and let out a strained shriek. "I think I do."

[To be continued in Part 2]

[francesderwent]

I was tagged by @contagiousgrace and @theamiableanachronism.  thanks, Grace and Anna!!

here is a list of ten favorite characters from ten different things, in the order I thought of them:

Eugenides, from Megan Whalen Queen’s Thief series.  (whenever I’m asked for favorite characters, he is the very first to come to mind, and then there’s an hours-long struggle to think of people I like as much as I like him!) 

Damon Salvatore, from The Vampire Diaries. (if you ask me tomorrow, it might be Elena, but today it’s born-to-be-a-husband Damon who’s occupying my heart)

Captain Carrot, from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld City Watch series (my very favorite touched-by-destiny, fatefully-charismatic, triangle-shaped nerd)

Mary Lennox, from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (determinedly growing and blooming!!)

Aerin Dragon-Killer, from Robin McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown (something about Aerin’s conviction that she was the least of her family and her determination to be of help anyway always spoke to me when I was younger, and it still does now)

Elinor Dashwood, from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (maybe not my favorite Austen book, but certainly my favorite Austen heroine, because she is really so heroic)  

Sir Keladry of Mindelan, from The Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce (the brilliant combination of tactics and compassion which is so feminine! she’s good at managing and strategizing because she knows people and cares about them!! milady mother!!!)

Richard Merrill aka Mairelon the Magician, from the book by the same name by Patricia C. Wrede (my personal favorite chaotic gentleman) 

Bathsheba Everdene, from Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. (obviously I also love Gabriel, but he’s quite easy to love, and Hardy didn’t love Bathsheba enough so I am going to love her more to make up for it)

Theodore Laurence / Alyosha Karamozov / Bilbo Baggins / Edmund Pevensie / Beatrice / Michael Scofield / Frank Castle / Cordelia Chase

I’m not looking to see if y'all were tagged already, but I tag @mademoisellesarcasme @apesoformythoughts @shieldmaidenofsherwood @septembersung @motleysaint @ksfd89 @megsann13 @byjoveimbeinghumble @casa-anachar @soldier-poet-king and @ihaveonlymydreams

[bi-bard]

Lizzy McAlpine Songs That Would Describe Relationships with the Murder Husbands - Hannibal Preference (NBC's Hannibal)

Title: Lizzy McAlpine Songs That Would Describe Relationships with the Murder Husbands

Characters: Will Graham, Hannibal Lecter

Word Count: 2,429 words

Warning(s): (Will's) break-up, mentions of Will's mental struggles, (Hannibal's) cussing, mentions of murder

Author's Note: I cannot describe how much I love writing these. I'm thinking of doing a part two for the Taylor Swift one, a dodie one, and there's two more that I'm not going to announce yet because I don't quite know if I can pull them off.

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Will Graham:

all my ghosts

Oh, all my ghosts are with me I know you feel them too Oh, did you stand there while we were takin' shots of Brandy? They know all of my habits, but they don't know about you I hope that's true

I wasn't quite sure how I had fallen into the pattern of checking in on Will after cases. After a while, it didn't matter much, did it? I just wanted to be there for him in case he needed it. And I also knew he would never ask for help until it was too late. I had to go to him.

Most nights it would go just like this. I would show up, pet the dogs, and ask Will to talk to me over a drink. He was typically pretty closed off, but I found myself getting more and more information as time went on.

I was happy with that much.

"I haven't thanked you, have I," Will asked. I tilted my head. "You show up here after every case. You listen to me, help me, take care of me. And I've taken it for granted."

"Will, no, you really-"

"Thank you," he cut me off. "You have no reason to help me, but you do. Thank you."

I grinned, "You're welcome."

He stood up and took my empty glass, walking back over to where he kept his drinks. I studied his back as he filled the glasses. 'No reason'. If only he knew.

Will walked back over without the glasses. It looked like he had decided on something while he was pouring the drinks that was more important.

"I'm serious," he said. "You have no reason to help me. You have no reason to be good at it."

Will stepped closer to me.

"You've become a comfort to me," he continued.

"It's really no... problem," my words slowed down as Will leaned down, hands resting on the arms of the chair I was sitting in. "Will..."

"Can I...?"

I nodded. It was like my body had reacted long before my brain had truly caught up to what was happening.

Will closed the distance between us, kissing me softly. It was like his lips were barely touching mine. A way to test the waters. As I kissed him back, I held the sides of his face and moved forward on the chair. I wanted nothing more than to be closer to him. One of my hands moved to his shirt, pulling on the fabric in the hopes of getting him closer. He chuckled against my lips before slowly pulling away.

"Will," I mumbled.

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me again."

He chuckled again before leaning forward.

Angelina

Where did you go, Angelina? Why did you take my foolish heart? Oh I should've known, Angelina I was never right for that part

I think I truly noticed it after Hannibal had been arrested.

Will seemed different.

At first, I could excuse it as relief that Hannibal was caught. But after a while, I realized that there was something more to it. It took me ages to admit what I was clearly seeing.

Now, Will sat on the edge of our bed as I finished packing my bag. He was staring at the floor. His face showed more guilt than anything.

I looked over at him and sighed. He looked up at me.

"I don't want you to leave," he muttered.

I closed my eyes. I didn't want to leave either. But I knew it was the right choice. Staying here was only going to bring me pain.

"I love you."

I looked at him again.

With a deep breath, I walked over to him. I sat down and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"I believe that," I said. "But you aren't in love with me, Will. Not anymore."

His jaw clenched.

"You weren't meant for the 'normal' life," I continued. I hated that word. "And that's not a bad thing. It's just true."

His hand grabbed mine.

"It's okay," I promised. "This happening. It's okay."

"No, no it's not," he mumbled. "I... I'm losing you."

"I wouldn't be happy if I stayed," I replied. "You're in love with someone else, Will. That's fine. Hiding from that will just make it worse."

I stood up again and went to grab my bag, mumbling that I'll get the rest of my stuff on another day.

As I approached the front door, Will spoke up again.

"Who am I in love with then," he asked. "If it's not you?"

I sighed and looked at him, "Will."

"Tell me," he stood up to follow me. "If I'm not in love with you anymore, who is this person-"

"Hannibal. You fell in love with Hannibal."

"What?"

There was a pause.

"I... I got him arrested."

"You've been grieving him ever since."

He didn't respond to that. He just sighed. That was all the confirmation that I really needed. I turned back to the door, finally leaving the house.

"Goodbye, Will."

Apple Pie

I found you under an April sky And you feel like City life, apple pie baked just right Home is wherever you are tonight

--Third Person--

Will hadn't been expecting to wake up and find the other side of the bed empty. He jumped a little when he saw that (Y/n) hadn't been lying next to him.

He started looking around the room frantically but stopped when he heard a door open and shut. He stood up, walking over to the sound slowly.

When he rounded the corner from his room to the kitchen, he found (Y/n) standing by the kitchen table, a basket sitting next to them. They had started folding a load of clothes that Will definitely didn't remember starting.

He paused, watching them in silence.

There was something so strange about it. With what both of them had faced, Will hadn't quite allowed himself to picture the two of them in a situation that was so... domestic. But- regardless of how strange he saw it- Will felt this pang in his heart. Comfort and warmth.

He could get used to things like this.

His body moved before his brain had the chance to really catch up. He walked over to where (Y/n) was standing and wrapped his arms around their torso, hiding his face in their shoulder.

"Good morning," (Y/n) mumbled, realizing it was Will. One of their hands came up to run through Will's hair.

"Morning," he replied. "You didn't have to do this."

"It's fine. Some of it is my clothes too."

Will moved his head as (Y/n) turned around to face him. Their arms moved around his neck as they leaned in to kiss him gently. Will's arms tightened around (Y/n), pulling them as close as he could.

When (Y/n) leaned back, Will tried to follow their lips. (Y/n) chuckled at him, turning their face away as their face started warming up.

"I love you," they muttered as they looked at him again.

For the first time, he didn't hesitate.

"I love you too," he said. "I love this."

"'This?'"

"This... This normalcy," he explained. "It's nice. Comfortable. I love this. With you, specifically."

(Y/n) smiled, resting their forehead on his, "I love it too."

Hannibal Lecter:

hate to be lame

Hate to admit but it might be true Hate to admit but I think you knew Hate to be lame but I might love you

I tried not to overthink anything when Hannibal invited me to join him at a donor event. It was for a cause that was connected to my life, and he knew that. He was just being a kind person. That was it.

I had been watching the donors break up into groups. They were all talking and gossiping. Nice suits. Nice dresses. It was all so strange.

"I hope you aren't uncomfortable here," he said softly.

I jumped a little, not expecting his voice before chuckling at myself, "No, no. Just admiring."

"How so," he asked.

"It's all very... perfect," I tried to explain. "Like everyone has the steps to a dance memorized."

"Maybe you should join in."

"Oh, no," I shook my head. "I'm happy here. I have doubts that any of those conversations would be as interesting as a conversation with you."

He chuckled, looking down for a moment, "Sometimes I think you make it your goal to flatter me."

"Now, why would I do that," I asked before taking a sip of my drink.

"I have an educated guess, but I would much rather hear you admit it," he replied, mimicking my action.

"Educated guess," I repeated.

"Hypothesis felt like the wrong word," he explained with a shrug.

I nodded.

My eyes bounced around his face, memorizing every part of his expression. He seemed to catch onto this. He grinned at me.

"Can I say something stupid," I asked quietly, almost scared of the rest of the crowd finding out.

"Doubt you have the ability to do so," Hannibal replied. "Please, speak freely."

I paused for a moment. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"I... I have feelings for you, Hannibal," I said. It almost felt like a whisper.

His grin only seemed to grow.

"Thank you for confirming my educated guess."

I rolled my eyes and looked back out at the crowd.

"I have feelings for you too," he added. "Just so you know."

I smiled. I was happy to know.

doomsday

I'd like to plan out my part in this But you're such a narcissist You'll probably do it next week I don't get a choice in the matter Why would I? It's only the death of me

After the murder of Abigail and the attempted murders of my friends, the police kept me locked out of Hannibal and I's house for God knows how long before they let me collect my things.

I walked into our room and froze in the middle of the room.

How often did he walk into this room after chopping some poor victim and then kiss me goodnight?

How many times did he feed me a part of a person without me ever knowing?

I suddenly felt completely overwhelmed.

I sat on the edge of the bed as tears started falling. I placed my hand over my mouth. I started cussing Hannibal out as if he could hear me.

In a matter of minutes, my life and been completely turned upside down. What I thought I knew was a lie. Who I thought I could trust wasn't true. The man that I loved wasn't the man that I thought he was. My friends were in the hospital. The girl that I saw as some kind of daughter was dead.

And I didn't get control over any of it.

He did.

That man had a hold over every element of my life.

And he knew that.

Now, I had nothing while he got to run free doing God knows what with God knows who. I was entirely lost.

I looked over at the bedside table. There was supposed to be a framed photo sitting there. Of Hannibal and me cooking for Alana. She had taken it for us.

There was only an empty frame there.

My jaw clenched.

With a yell, I grabbed the frame and threw it against the wall.

I leaned down, hiding my face against my legs.

"Fuck you," I muttered through sobs. "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you."

I wanted nothing more than control again. I wanted to go back and feel like I had a hold over what was happening in my life.

I wanted nothing more than to take control back from Hannibal.

Headstones and Land Mines

They say pretty words And they hug from six feet But it doesn't help

After everything that had happened with Hannibal going on the run, I found myself lost. Stuck. I knew that I needed to move forward, but I just couldn't.

Some people were trying to be kind to me. Support me. But it all felt so backhanded. They'd look at me with more caution than sympathy. It was all just in the hopes of seeing if I was like him.

It just left me cold. Confused. Overall, lost.

I thought I was going to be stuck there forever. And then, I wasn't.

I walked into my dark house, placing my jacket and briefcase on the table. I could sense someone was there. And I knew exactly who it was.

"How was Italy," I asked.

"Would've been better with you there," Hannibal replied. He switched on the lamp in my living room. "How are you?"

"How would you be after finding out the man you loved was a cannibalistic serial killer?"

"You're angry," he noted. I hadn't turned to face him yet, but I'm certain he could feel me roll my eyes.

"No shit."

I heard his footsteps getting closer. I turned to face him as he approached.

"Why did you come here, Hannibal?"

"Isn't it obvious," he asked. "I'm here for you."

"If you cared that much about me, you would have told me what you were doing and not force me to find out when you went on a damn killing spree," I snapped.

"You would've accepted me if you found out through me?"

I froze for a moment, "I don't know."

He didn't say anything back.

"I just... I can't handle the sad fucking looks and the accusations and the questions and the worried calls from Alana and Freddie Lounds all but breaking into my house and... fuck," I trailed off, looking down and screwing my eyes shut as pinched the bridge of my nose.

"I know that I hurt you-"

"You throw me in a snake pit, you dick," I muttered. Hannibal paused. "I keep trying to believe that time will fix everything that has happened, but it fucking hurts. And all of the shit after. I just feel stuck where you left me. Time is going on but I am stuck. And the worst part is that I fucking miss you."

Hannibal stepped forward when tears filled my eyes. His hand cupped the side of my face, and- as if on instinct- I leaned into his touch.

"We can go," he said quietly. "If you have any desire to ever see me or be with me again, then we can go. Right now. Anywhere you'd like. No more sad looks."

I took a deep breath before reaching up to touch his hand.

I nodded, "No more sad looks."

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Author's Note: Damn, I didn't mean for Hannibal's to go in order.

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Masterlist (Includes links to All Writing Challenges)

What I Write For

Some Original Characters

[batarangsoundsdumb]

guess fucking what? my inbox is so fucking full right now i'm unloading all of this shit in one post.

For the 11th gotham memes: gothamites react to bruce being jacked in a tiktok he made with kids, like super yoked, ripped as hell

fucking hilarious thanks. i think i did it in one meme post, but i genuinely don't remember which one

i dunno which of the batfam would do this but one time i was sleeping over at a friends house and ended up on the floor bc the bed was so very small and i just stayed there because the rug was soft

that's a drunk jason move i don't know what to tell you

tim and jason are "i listen to pop punk" solidarity. whenever jason highjacks the batmobile theyll go on long ass car rides blaring mcr and paramore and then never talk about it again

as they should!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tim: no jason it's my turn using the aux cord i gotta put on my jams jason: don't you dare put on weird shit tim: don't worry, you're gonna love this *plays fearless (taylor's version)

hear me out hear me out, red hood stans 🤝 nightwing stans t h i g h s

holy shit yes.

SNL au: Bruce breaks character when pretending to superman and says something like "I'm not superman! You've seen his gps!! It's from 2001!!!" @sabeanybabe

superman flies past the snl building the next day just to say 'actually it's from 2005, i'm not a heathen'

does your back hurt from carrying the batfam fandom

it hurts more from the exotic rock collection i keep in my backpack, but thanks for the concern.

I love your posts by why would you always leave the best parts in the tags?

as a treat for the people that check the tags ;) (and also because i'm committed to the short post aesthetic)

somehow your playlist was everything i never knew i needed. i mean it. this is my new favorite playlist.

and don't you dare get a new favourite playlist!

babe ur stoner tim playlist is exactly too perfect, earth is literally blessed by ur existence

babe thanks so much! i love my stoner tim playlist because it's just my usual playlist but people think it's an artistic choice that i put taylor swift and britney spears in there, when it's just what i unironically like listening to

JANDKSKDK BILLY RAY CYRUS ON THE STONER TIM PLAYLIST I LOVE IT IT

again it's not even an ironic choice, i know every single word and i genuinely like the song

The last chapter of Fundamentals of Casework has me crying at work. Thanks I love it @dudelookitsalesbian

oh babe, i'm sorry, but also, not sorry i love chapter 4 so much it's my lovechild with the 'mental illness' tag

soooo....stumbled on your tumblr by some stroke of fate??? read your DC fanfic first. which is PHENOMENAL btw. then found all the batmemes; the funniest thing EVER bc everyone forgets about regular old gothamites. kept scrolling and your blog pops up as recommended. clicked on the ao3 for shits and giggles and waddaya know?!?!? it's YOU!!! you're LEGEND!!!! ever seen that meme? it's a video of a cat that got into a baseball field and the two announcers get really invested in his escape attempt and start giving a play by play of the cat instead of the game. memeable moment: "GREAT stuff from the Cat!!!"

i seriously think about this ask every single day and it's so fucking funny to me that i've never seen the meme you're referencing, but i still find myself going 'GREAT stuff from the Cat!!!' whenever i see something funny. but wow i'm glad you liked this steaming pile of garbage

Fav dc character overall? And fav batfamily character?

don't ask me to pick between the loves of my life, but i can tell you i've cried about every single batfamily member and also wally west (my beloved)

What's your opinion on fans having a problem with batfam being "too big"? And some even claim that batfam is just "Bruce Alfred Dick Damian" and the rest of them are just "friends and allies" (source: reddit) Personally, I like batfam because of this reason but idk

stupid. a family can never be too big. i'm not that big a fan of like huge batfam stuff with everybody from every single universe, because as much as it's funny for bruce to have like 30 kids, it just feels a little too OOC for me.

This is the best tag I've seen involving the batfam, thanks for thinking of it

This is canon now @nctxrejects

lmao yeah i think at that point alfred has had to sit through like at least a dozen coming out talks and just has a pride flag collection in the attic that he pulls out whenever a kid comes out

idk why batfam hits different as compared to any other superhero family

bc it's found family and usually the other superhero families are almost all genetically related in one way or another

I don't know if you watch the umbrella academy but I saw your last post about batcest and saw the similarities. But the thing is (although I think it's weird) in TUA, they addressed it by saying "they were raised as weapons, not siblings" or something along those lines, which is simply not the case with batfam.

yeah i watched tua but i also thought it was ridiculous and they still treated each other as siblings so i didn't like the luthor/allison thing, and am glad they stopped doing that shit bc it fucking sucked.

Hot take: Batcest shippers are the same people who believe adopted siblings are not actual siblings

smoking hot take: batcest shippers are the people who watch 'my sister got stuck in the washing machine' porn

Duke was adopted by Bruce?

not technically no, but do i, tumblr user batarangsoundsdumb, look like i care?

True story but I had to change my freaking name because it used to be "Damien" and most people would go "OH LIKE DAMIAN WAYNE" like please I'm just tryna live

true story, but i don't actually think of damian when i hear the name damian, literally the first thing that pops up is damian darkh like bruh what?

apparently dc comics company supported comic stores by giving out new titles and stuff during the beginning of the pandemic to help them run and I just think that's wholesome

ah yeah that's so fucking cool, still don't like dc, the company, because this world is a capitalist hellhole and we're all owned by warner brothers or disney with no in between.

ayo looking at tumblr head canons and finding out bruce is actually a terrible father is a punch in the gut

lmao yes, in like 50% of comics bruce is a terrible father and it gives me whiplash

oooh I just saw the jason todd vs winter soldier post and the real question is: batman vs iron man

while iron man has like hundreds of cases of armor, batman could throw out an emp and have the guy dropping out of the sky in 2 seconds.

dickfast = fastdick = quickdick = quickie

magnum hot take

hey bata(?) just thought I'd let you know I have copied the obnoxious emoji and Billy Ray post for use on simping men going forth

thank you 😘🌷 (@spacebarsidecar)

why would you do that to your followers???? i get why i did it, but why would you???

what is scarecrow made the nightwing funko pop himself, like those diy-ers that paint over other ones

oh god no, horrible take, horrible take, that's a disgusting thought oh no

I see your HC that Bruce and Oliver fucked and raise you this: Dick and Roy ALSO fucked

yes they did and it was a horrible moment for jason to find out dick has fucked both of his best friends

"at this rate bruce adds like 1 child to his family every decade or so" Duke is introduced in 2013, Damian as Damian, not as an unnamed child, in 2006. And he is already 14 years old, Robins rarely remain Robins after 16 😬 It looks like a new Robin and Batkid will appear in a couple of years

i mean i can't wait? but somebody will probably die first tho, we're due for another major character death. my money's on either cass or duke this time.

BRO you're so right all of your Bruce's ex headcanons are amazing but they aren't ships, that's kinda wild. Like I don't want any peeks into how their relationship was I just want to see everyone make fun of them

lmao YES it's just i love bruce being a slut, like good for him.

I am in love with your posts your honour thank you

omg thanks are we like,, gonna kiss now?

The justice league needs to have a meeting to discuss how many of their members/partners have slept with bruce. Because through a combination of cannon & fannon (if DC wasn’t homophobic) we have AT LEAST: 1) clark 2) lois 3) oliver 4) dinah 5) john

Thats not counting villains or random civilians @dudelookitsalesbian

yes yes yes, they'll have a yearly meeting about how many of their collective exes could be out for revenge and batman's list just keeps getting longer.

tim was like "i'm drake now" and everyone was like ahh so your fursona is a dragon and tim was like pffffft no. ducks.

and what about it?

when steph's fighting livewire and she zaps her with lighting and nothing happens and then they both just. stand there awkwardly for a second and talk. yeah i couldn't stop laughing at that batgirl steph is the BEST

oh yeah that was fucking hilarious and i think it would be so cool and sexy of dc to give steph a little comic series,,, as a treat

Hi I absolutely adore all of yours "Bruce and Oliver very badly pretending they didn't fuck each other" memes

lmao i do too

I need you to know that “Bruce Wayne had frosted tips” is one of my favorite Bruce takes of all time it’s so galaxy brained. you’re right and you should say it

he also painted his hair blonde once when he was travelling and in conclusion, this is why he's being blackmailed by the gotham gazette.

you know my thing about gordon being branded as the only good cop in gotham is its a load of shit like arguably he's a good person and not working to screw people over or anything but the fact that he also works w. batman makes him a shit cop. like yea batman is better than the mob but its still illegal its still an abuse of power he just not making bank

babe, all cops are bad cops. (but yeah youre absolutely right, working with vigilantes makes you a shit cop, but also working against vigilantes just makes you an asshole cop yanno?)

ruh roh i think i’m about to add “so not yeehaw” every time i don’t like something

that's a very good vocabulary upgrade

somehow i feel like steph already knew. like babs obviously knew but i feel like bruce got high/drunk in front of steph and started telling his boarding school stories and steph was just like “oh you fucked up i’m never gonna forget this”

steph and bruce have weird uncle/rebellious niece dynamic and they just hang out sometimes and bruce will be like 'i once broke my arm when i tripped over a hedge when i was drunk so oliver drove me to the hospital on an electric scooter' and steph will just have to sit there with that knowledge in her head.

Hello I just wanted to tell you you are So right in all your steph opinions bc she is, in fact amazing and I think that's very sexy of you. Ps. Your Bruce/Oliver fic is hilarious

babe, thank you so much and yes steph is amazing and i love her and she deserves the world and she's the best member of the batfam hands down. also thanks

In Supersons we see a couple of kids that are implied to be Damian and Jon's children and the boy has laser eyes and can fly, so I asume he's not adopted. The girl, who calls Bruce grandpa, can also fly, btw. So it's canon (probably by accident) that Jon can have kids and he must have married one of Bruce's kids. (I'm hoping for Damian, mostly because any other of his children would be waaaaaaaaaaaaay too old.) @artemisa97

lmao that was probably an accident seeing as jon is a 17 year old superhero in the year 3000 (by the jonas brothers)

You know, I'm a die hard fan of your memes, but I gotta say one thing: if Gothamites actually took gas mask everywhere with them, then the Scarecrow would just be a weird dude in a weird costume, and not a villain oh so scary. DC really should just takes notes from you.

bold of you to assume there's no gothamite anti-maskers

How does it feel being the funniest person on this app?

horrible, next question.

I can't listen to Green Day or Billy Joel without thinking of your post about how Bruce got arrested at a Billy Joel concert @nightwings-kid

yeah that's your mistake, i on the other hand can't enjoy billy joel without thinking about the glee rendition of 'uptown girl'

I've FINALLY been watching the Batman animated series and I gotta say, after watching "the gray ghost" I am CONVINCED that Batman is a closeted super hero geek who was 100% freaking out the first time he met Superman and is just REALLY good at hiding it.

superman: so what do you do in your free time? batman, thinking about the superman fanfiction he's writing on the batcomputer: i have no free time

bruce and oliver be like boyfriends to co-workers 401k (do the justice leagues get 401ks??? not that bruce and ollie would need them, but-)

lmao yes just 400 thousand words of bruce realising 'oh dip oliver is such a fucking dumbass' (also i don't know what a 401 k is but i assume they don't?)

Gothamites would totally boo superman as he saves Gotham while batman is out. @meenje

he's like 'okay think about that next time you want to be saved from an alien octopus'

I just took long break from dc comics and I come back to see ric grayson ??

i think it's very cool and sexy of dc to see dick and just think 'you know what? let's just give him a traumatic brain injury' and then didn't develop his character in any real way

SPEAKING OF RIC GRAYSON, gothamites making confused memes out of ric grayson is much needed

'dick grayson is my taxi driver? can anyone explain what the fuck happened he looks like an italian plumber?'

i hate to say it but batfam are def "marvel characters" in that sense they are characters who are human but become superheroes unlike most dc characters who are gods trying to be human maybe this is why I like batfam

fair enough

[spidernerdsblog]

Seven

A/N : Inspired by Taylor Swift’s song Seven from the album folklore. This can be read as a standalone as well as a continuation of the Homecoming fic.

Pairing : Peter Parker x Stark Reader

Summary : The first time you and Peter met each other but destiny pulled you apart.

Warnings : none just soft feel good vibes.

"Oh Peter! You're a lifesaver." You exclaimed.

"Thank you so much for letting me copy your chemistry assignment." You breezed into his room dropping your backpack on his bed.

"You should not keep things for last minute Y/N." Peter advises.

"Now you also don't start." You huff as Peter arched his brows shaking his head.

"I know, I know I shouldn't but with this whole hydra base infiltration mission it completely slipped out of my mind."

"Plus organic chemistry is not my cup of tea." You shrugged.

"Says the literal beauty with brains Y/N Stark that's quite hard to swallow." He looked at you skeptically.

"Oh now you think I'm beautiful huh?" You raised a sly brow smirking.

"Umm no - I mean yeah - not like the way you're thinking." He stuttered.

"Relax I was just messing with you." You chuckled.

"But believe me I hate that subject. What will I do if benzene has a constant problem with its electrons?" You complained dramatically.

"It's not that hard as you think, you just need to practice the structures daily." Peter began his lecture on organic chemistry.

"And once you understand the reaction mechanism it will be a piece of cake. Like for example during oxidation reaction.." You cut him off, unable to bear anymore of Prof Parker's lecture on organic chemistry.

"It's boring! Boring! Peter I'm giving you a boring alert!" You exclaimed.

"And If I had to learn about organic chemistry why would I come to you for help I would have straight away gone to uncle Bruce only."

"Okay sorry I just got carried away you know…"

"Yeah I know it’s your favourite subject which helped you make your web fluid blah,blah, blah but I don't have time for that right now so tell me where is your file?" You scrambled on his desk.

"I need to copy it fast!" Peter arched his brow questioningly at you. You gave your signature Stark eye roll that you obviously inherited from your dad.

"I mean take notes and write it down on my own." You clarified.

"In the right drawer of my desk."

"Okay I'll take it. You can now go for your patrolling or whatever spidermaning stuff you do." You waved your hand shooing him away.

You went near his desk and opened the drawer and rummaged around the things in it. You finally found the file and took it out when something caught your eye beneath it. You brushed away the junk stuff on it to find a cute little pink bow most probably it belonged to some little girl because it was quite old and dirty. You took your time to admire it and then turned to Peter who was about to change into his suit.

"Peter, why do you have this pink bow in your drawer?" His eyes went wide darting towards you.

"Give that to me!" He snatched it away from your hand.

"Hey!" You protested. Peter turned around clutching on to the bow.

"Whose is it Peter?" You nudged him.

"No-no one’s." He fumbled

"C'mon tell me about this special girl whose bow you have kept all these years, and we are best friends right? Best friends don't keep secrets. " You made a pouty face.

"It's actually a long time ago nothing interesting to tell Y/N." You went and sat on his bed resting your elbows on your knees and placing your chin on your knuckles. You blinked your eyes giving him your undivided attention. He understood that you wouldn't budge and shook his head in defeat smiling sitting beside you.

"I met this girl once at this park, Aunt May used to take me every afternoon to play. I was around seven that time so was she. She was like a ray of sunshine but the only thing was that her life was covered by dark gloomy clouds." Peter narrated you the story of this mysterious girl from his childhood.

Peter was a socially awkward kid since childhood so he never had that many friends. It was a lovely day Peter was strolling in the park on his own.He heard some noise it seemed as if someone was crying and it came from behind the tree. He walked around to find a girl sitting under the tree crying and went near her.

"Why are you crying?"

She didn't say a word and just looked at him teary eyed. Peter kneeled in front of her.

"Are you lost? I can call my aunt, she can help you.'' Peter asked her sweetly.

"No." she replied weakly.

"Then why are you crying?" fresh tears rolled down her cheeks again.

"Please don't cry." He wiped her tears with his small hands.

"I'm Peter. What is your name?"

"I can't say. Daddy will not like it."

"Okay." he tried to keep the conversation going.

"You come here everyday?"

"Yes. This is my playtime but I don't have anyone to play with."

"I can play with you." She smiled in return.

"What do you wanna play?"

"I don't know, you say." he was about to suggest something when a middle aged lady appeared from behind, most probably her nanny.

"It's time to go home, miss." she informed. And the little girl silently got up and held her hand as the lady took her back to the car parked in front of the park.

"Peter!" May called out as Peter looked back.

"There you are, I was looking for you everywhere." May said as she followed Peter’s gaze.

"Who's she?"

"My new friend, she was very sad as she doesn't have anyone to play with."

"Aww poor girl."

"I said I'll play with her."

"That's so nice of you Peter, you are such a good boy." May ruffled his hair.

Next day Peter was excited to go to the park to meet his new friend. She was sitting under the exact same tree like yesterday he went and sat beside her talking with her for hours. She finally started to open up to him. Both of them now always eager for afternoons a slight escape from their lonely lives. As they enjoyed each other's company laughing and running around the playground.

"Hi"

Her eyes sparkled seeing Peter as if she was waiting for him.

"Hi Petey!'' she exclaimed with joy.

"Can I know your name now?"

"I told you I can't Petey."

"Then what do I call you?"

"Whatever you want." She shrugged.

"Okay let me think." Peter frowned thinking hard when suddenly his eyes twinkled.

"How about Betty?" He asked, all excited.

"I like Betty." She smiled softly. He sat beside you as you talked about your day.

"Today aunt May took me to the cemetery to offer flowers to my mom and dad. I really miss them you know. You're so lucky that you have both your parents"

"My daddy doesn't love me." She sniffles.

"Why is that so?"

"He is always mad at me. He doesn’t like me."

"Hey don't be sad I will always love you to the moon and to saturn."

"When I collect enough pocket money we will move to India okay? I read in a book that it's a beautiful place."

"You pack your dolls and sweaters and I'll pack my Legos. Just you and me. You will never be sad again"

"Okay Petey." she gave a wide smile.

…….

"Hi Betty"

"Hi Peter!"

"I brought you something Betty."

"What Peter?" He handed her a yellow rose.

"May says yellow rose means friendship. And this will always remind you of our everlasting friendship, of me. "

"But I didn't bring anything for you Petey." she pouted sadly.

"It's okay Betty." Something went through her mind.

"Wait!" she pulled one of her pink bows from her braids and handed it to Peter.

"Here take this. This will always remind you of me."

A black Mercedes pulled over near the gate of the park. Betty's eyes went to the car and Peter noticed her body stiffen as soon as she saw a black suited man in black sunglasses step out of the car. He was most probably her bodyguard.

"Hey what's wrong?"

"I need to go. Bye Peter!" She hastily got up from the ground and ran away towards the car. The man opened the door for her. She glanced at Peter as she got inside the car. Peter stood there at his place as he raised his hand to wave her goodbye she waved back too. The black glass windows rolled up blocking them from each other's sight.

"And then she left and never came back. I never got to see her again." Peter exhaled.

"Everyday I went to the park in the hope that I’ll get to see her again but she was gone." Peter took a deep breath sighing fiddling with the bow in his hand.

"I don't know where she is now but I hope she is happy in her life. And all her issues with her dad have been resolved."

"Yup indeed they have got resolved and they are in better terms now." You chuckled lowly as your heart felt heavy.

"Yeah hope so."

"I'm sorry." You murmured.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I'm sorry I didn't come to say goodbye to you."

"What? What do you mean?" Peter asked, confused.

"That bow is mine Peter." You said softly gazing at the bow in Peter’s hand. Peter went silent as a sudden realization dawned upon him his eyes went wide. How could he forget the most important thing about that day, the man who had come to pick up Betty was none other than Happy. That means you're Betty, his Betty.

"You know after all the feud between Stane and my dad. Dad didn't want me to stay in such a dangerous environment and decided to send me to a boarding school."

"The day I was being sent away I cried, begged him to let me to go and see you for one last time but he didn't let me. And I'm sorry Peter that I left like that."

You turned to grab your backpack and took out your diary from it. You opened a significant page of your diary and delicately took out a dried yellow rose.

"I kept this too in your memory." You hold it out in front of him. You both were trying to fight back your tears but finally broke down as tears trickled down your cheeks. Those weren't sad tears, those were tears of joy. Of finally meeting your long lost friend.

Peter couldn't believe that the always sad and scared girl he knew has grown up to be such a fearless, intelligent girl who speaks her mind without giving a damn what others think of her.

When you saw the bow in his drawer you instantly remembered everything that is why you nagged him on telling you the whole story. You wondered how can you both be so oblivious about the fact that you have known each other for years. How couldn't you recognize each other even when you promised each other to remember for lifetime. Maybe you were destined to cross paths and then forget each other to be reunited again for some reason which none of you understand.

"I missed you Betty." Peter sniffled, smiling.

"I missed you too Petey." You held his hand brushing your thumb on the top of his hand resting your head on his shoulder. You remained like that for a while cherishing the moment. Peter silently listened to your slow and steady heartbeat smiling with content.

"You still wanna go to India?" You looked up at him smiling.

"I have got a private jet now." You gave a half shrug, the corner of Peter’s eyes crinkled as he laughed softly.

[borathae]

Tequila Sunrise, Chapter 2: ok this one is a long one, I'm sorry lol

🖤Sunflower - Pauline Zoe Park

Simply for the hobi appreciaton, if he wasn't human he'd be a sunflower/the actual sun. Love that you kept this vibe for him even in your story, can't picture him any other way tbh.

🖤...Ready For It? - Taylor Swift

Honestly I don't know what it is with me, Taylor Swift & your story but it just works. Usually I don't listen to her a lot. I digress, this one perfectly explains the first impression oc has of jk, thinking he's a player: "knew he was a killer first time that I saw him, wonder how many girls he had loved and left haunted".

But also oc not wanting to give in to his games, not wanting to just be another night of fun for him & beating him with his own tricks: "but if he's a ghost, then I can be a phantom, holdin' him for ransom".

This is exactly the kinda guy I picture him to be like (also in real life but not the point rn): "some boys are tryin' too hard, he don't try at all, though".

This one: "in the middle of the night, in my dreams, you should see the things we do, baby (mmm). In the middle of the night, in my dreams, I know I'm gonna be with you." At this point in the story I see both of them dreaming of eachother when they go to sleep. It's like unconciously they already know that they like each other but their awake brain would never allow them to think or aknowledge that so early in the story. In short, they are just meant to be, their hearts know it, their brains wont aknowledge the message yet.

🖤End of the Day - One Direction

"I told her that I loved her, was not sure if she heard, roof was pretty windy and she didn't say a word. Party dying downstairs, had nothing left to do, just me, her and the moon" I mean he didn't tell her directly and 'love' would be a big word especially since they don't know eachother that long yet buuut him really opening up to her meant obviously a lot to him.

Because kook ist afraid of feelings, falling in love, loss & opening up & being vulnerable. And when he felt for oc it hit him like a lightning. "I said you're on fire babe then down came the lightning on me. Love can be frightening for sure.

Also I love this part "she said the night was over, I said it's forever. 20 minutes later, wound up in the hospital. The priest thinks it's the devil, my mum thinks it's the flu but girl it's only you" bc after the whole tae incident she's probably like 'ok nights over I wanna leave' & then oc & jk have this really nice moment on the rooftop which could go on forever but then jk is like 'oh oh nonono wtf is this warm feeling?' and pushes her away. And it once again has taken such a quick turn from a moment they had wished would never end to a moment of hurt & confusion.

🖤Remember me - Boy In Space

"It's a ghost town but I pass through" this, I don't think jk expected to find anything special in ocs town, just another stop on their way. But he did & since we've already found out he's clearly afraid of feelings & possible dissapointment. He rather pushes them away instead of exploring them: "wish I left you in the dust to spend your time so there's no chance to run into you down the line. But when I think about you, I just get so high. I've had these dreams about you but I know they won't come true". But at the same time he literally can't help it with oc, he's just so curious, it's like an automatic reaction of his body: "oh, stuck in my head like melodies, can't get you out, no remedy. Wish I could wipe my memory. And I'll burn like gasoline just light the match, I'll be your fiend". And I feel like the last part: "and when I'm gone, remember me, remember me" is like him knowing he's not gonna stay forever but he still wants her to remember him after that.

Plus once again I can just picture him laying in his motel bed, especially after this night, thinking about her & what could be but then again being too afraid but also feeling lonely. "Empty room at a motel, four walls for me and I in an endless night."

🖤when the party's over - Billie Eilish

Once again just all his fears & worrys in a song. "Don't you know I'm no good for you? I've learned to lose you, can't afford to. Tore my shirt to stop you bleedin' but nothin' ever stops you leavin." The first line ist really accurate & I think the rest just suits bc he's afraid of losing people he loves in general.

"Quiet when I'm comin' home and I'm on my own, I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that." This once again fitting the whole alone-at-night-in-an-empty-motel-room-scenario I've made up in my head.

These ones are also very obviously fitting: "don't you know too much already? I'll only hurt you if you let me" & "let's just let it go, let me let you go".

Also the songtitle, at this point the party is definitely over for both of them.

OMFG I almost missclicked and deleted your message brUH BYE I JUST HAD A MINI HEARTATTACK 😩😩 either way, let's get back to business

Sunflower - Pauline Zoe Park

hahahhah yes we stan Hobi appreciation. He is literally such a lovable cute bean in this story :(

...Ready For It? - Taylor Swift

okay first of all I really went o.O when you said that you imagine irl Jungkook to be a fuckboy, because he gives me the biggest "i am an introvert and hopeless romantic & therefore I am going to dream of my perfect lovestory while never really doing anything to find it because I don't wanna go outside or meet strangers" vibes 🤧

Also omfmgm this is such a good song to play when they are both grinding in the living room with the lights all dimmed and with the air filled with sexual tension. Like whenever the part with "in the middle of the night, in my dreams..." starts, it's him and OC noticing each other and for just a second time stands still & then the beat drops and reality sets in that he is still a fuckboy and she is not going to give in to him omfg 🥴

End of the Day - One Direction

Little fun fact about me and Tequila Sunrise? I mostly listened to 1D during my writing process and now I can't listen to their songs without thinking of the Cocktail Trilogy couple 😔 I'm not going to complain because those are such nice memories. Life was so much easier back then omfg 😔 also omfg I can imagine this song so well as it plays in the background when Kook teases and tickles OC on the rooftop and then for just a second they are staring at each others' lips and wonder if that feeling in their chests is just booze or their little soulmate strings intertwining 🥺

Remember me - Boy In Space

I don't even know what I should add because omfmgm you just painted such a perfect picture in my brain of Kook lying in his lonely motel room while imagining what he could have with OC if only he would get over his fears (ohohoho sweeet boy, do I have good news for you) 😔😔

when the party's over - Billie Eilish

NOT YOU HITTING ME WITH THOSE FEELS OMFGM 😭😭 like literally this is just Kook telling OC his fears. Just him being afraid of losing Taehyung to the drugs and OC to his own inability to commit to people. And he is so desperately trying to reach out for her and her comfort but when he feels it against his fingertips he flinches away, because that feeling still burns him unbearbly and holy fuck, he is so scared of the burn that he'd rather stay alone and cold than drown in her comforting warmth. 😔 this was like one of the most poetic things I have written in a while I- anonie you just did something to me omfg

Thank you so much for those amazing recs and for your insights!! I really love you so much hehe 🥺😭💜💜

[johnkrrasinski]

ℑ𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔚𝔬𝔬𝔡𝔰

Chapter 2: Dark Little Paradise 

full masterlist // series masterlist 

Pairings: dark!Steve Rogers x female!reader

Word count: 2,924 

Warnings: sexual themes, kidnapping, stalking, BDSM. (MUST BE 18+)

Summary: after the death of your mother, you decided that you were going to do something new to honor her. You chose a perfect camping spot somewhere down South. You thought it was going to be the life-changing vacation that you never had in your life, until Steve Rogers, a man existed in roughness and control all his life, found you.

a/n: here’s chapter two of into the woods folks! hope you like it. and yes, my titles are usually inspired by taylor swift lyrics so, get familiar with that. also, things are going to get more intense in the next chapters, so buckle in and enjoy the ride. please leave a like and comment. thank you for all the positive feedback on the first chapter! 

You retreated to your camp after your miserably failed escapade, later that afternoon. You were debilitated by the incident. You decided to chug down your water and laid yourself on the mattress inside the tent. Taking a brief nap sounds like a good idea right now. You closed your eyes and let the unconsciousness take you away.

A few hours later, you woke up, it was already dark out. You slept longer than you thought. You thought you were only going to rest for 1 to 2 hours, but as it turned out, you the day must've missed you away. Oh, what the hell, you thought. It's not like you were going to pack first thing tomorrow and leave anyway, you still have another day to relish in nature. Considering how early you woke up today and the hours you had spent on the road, you deserved that break.

You decided to grab a package of instant spaghetti you shopped at the gas station's convenience store. You ate with the companion of the sound of the waterfall and your mind started to shuffle its tricks on you again. Mom would've loved this. She also would've reprimanded you for eating 'such unhealthy food.' You chuckled bitterly. But you decided to let the thought of her sink in; it's nice to not feel so alone, even if it's only on your head.

You changed into an oversized, light blue hoodie and a pair of high-waisted sweatpants. You decided to call it a night and turned off the solar light sitting right next to you. You pulled on the duvet and tuck yourself in. Slowly, you waved the night goodbye.

Steve Rogers went back to his cabin later that day after his conducive treasure hunting. His thoughts couldn't stop roaming to her all day, after that. He walked around the house with a painfully hard cock and he was eager to do some seizing tonight. He counted the ticking hours on the clock. He couldn't wait for the day to turn dark.

By midnight, he was ready to return to her camp. He was clad in an all-black gear to meld himself into the obscurity. He put on a black baseball cap and he inserted a bottle of GHB and a handkerchief inside his jeans pocket. Now all he needs to do is visit her.

He was as quiet as a ninja, he stood a few feet away from her tent to ensure that things are in his favor. The light from her tent was switched off and there wasn't a single movement or sound from inside. She was fast asleep, good. Things are going as perfectly as planned.

He neared the tent and he kept his steps mute. He zipped down the tent's opening and there she was. Sleeping as soundly as a baby. Her face was half-tucked into the quilt but he could see the shadow of her features, illuminated by the faint radiance of the moon. She was even more stunning up close. He grew more impatient to bring her home.

He crawled inside, cautious to not wake her up. The tent couldn't contain his height so it was an awkward posture for him but he managed. She was still deep asleep despite his presence. She was really fatigued and it amused him.

He longingly gazed down at her beauty for a second, he didn't have much time, but he was absolutely starstruck by her. He squatted to pull out the bottle of GHB and handkerchief in his pocket. He poured a drop of GHB just enough to get the job done. Without any more delays, he pressed the cloth into her nose, and his other hand shoved the back of her head to keep her in place. In a matter of seconds, her eyes were wide awake.

She tried to scream, she was in a tightened state and her hands that were tucked under her the pillow, immediately went to pull his hands away but couldn't. She tried to wiggle her body rapidly to get out of his hold, but he overpowered her. He didn't even have to try to tame her down but she was drowsing fast.

She was paralyzed in his hands. The ethereal figure was now immobile. It's time to go home.

You woke up on a silk-covered mattress, the material was cold under your touch, you felt groggy like the room was spinning and you couldn't grasp on anything. There was a single bulb in the center of the ceiling, illumining the room but it was dimmed. After you collected yourself together and fluttering your eyes open, you attempted to sit up, only to realize that your hands were handcuffed to the bedpost, you were disoriented. What the hell is happening?

You tried to recall the last 24 hours. You wandered around the woods, you scuffed your thigh and retreated to your tent. Did you have dinner? Pretty sure you could remember consuming pasta, and then, what came next? Did you go to bed? Yes, you were certain that you called it a night and rested. But how did you wind up here? Where exactly is here? You began to feel agitated, you looked down only to realize that you had been stripped out of your clothes and underwear. You were plain nude and your legs were cuffed to the bedpost too.

You took a look at your surroundings, it looked more like a Roman fort. The walls were constructed on dark, burnt brown-colored logs. There were whips, chains, paddles, ropes, and all kinds of leather dangling across the wall, you saw a wooden pillory and other types of grotesque contraption you had never seen in your life.

You slightly turned your head to the right corner and you saw Parquet-tiled stairs that led you to God knows where. You could only count the first few bottom treads in the opaque of the room. Something about that staircase gave you the creeps. It was the conundrum of it. Like the haunting feeling of knowing something was lurking on the other side, but you weren't sure if you were ready to find out.

On the right corner of the room, you spotted a rustic oak handmade table, filled with what looked like miniaturized trinkets with various, intricate shapes, from the distance your eyesight could capture, some looked longer than the others, some modeled the shape of an egg, some others took the shape of a stick...? You couldn't paint yourself a clear description. There were too many foreign things that bewildered your hazy brain.

Shivers ran down your spine. You tried to scream for help, but your words were muzzled. You hadn't noticed the ball gag around your mouth. Your jaw was tense and you cried out but nothing was uttered. You lifted your head as high as you can go only to wiggle out of the bindings. Your wrist reddened due to your failed attempts of trying to release your hands out of them.

Your head fell back onto the pillow and caved in. Tears began brimming in your eyes. You were petrified and disoriented. Where the hell were you? Did someone kidnap you? But who would? You were absolutely positive that you were alone in the woods. No traces of any other human being might be lurking in the shadows or followed you here.

So... How exactly did you get here? Your mind was disarrayed. You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn't realize the sound of the approaching footsteps. You were awakened from your thoughts when the door was clanged opened and it reverberated upon the walls.

You cowered in terror. You thought this was it. The moment where whoever this person was behind that door, was going to torture you and after he was satisfied with his torment, he was going to murder you and discard your body somewhere people can't find you. You were going to vanish from the face of the earth forever. At least you were going to reunite with your mother, the idea emerged uninvited.

Your fallacious thoughts were quickly shaken away by the sight of a tall, muscular man standing in front of you. The lower part of his face was covered in a thick, perfectly trimmed beard. His hands were rigid on his either side. His electric blue eyes stared down at you with an unreadable expression on his face. The silence lingered around the room, for none of you had said a single word to fill in the void.

For what felt like minutes, both of you just froze in a staring contest. Obviously you weren't going to be the one to speak up first, you couldn't even if you wanted to. You were too appalled by this stranger, who looks like he could tear you apart by a single hand before you. He bent slightly forward and dropped his hands so that it was grasping the footboard top rail.

He was clad in a navy blue shirt and plaid shirt as an outer. His expression shifted from indecipherable to a smirk. The hell? Did this really just smirked at you? It was heinous. His gaze was as intense as the devil. His gravel voice echoed, "relax. I'm not gonna hurt you."

That didn't enlighten your mood. You were even more terrified than before. So what did he want? Why were you here? Where exactly are you? So many questions yet so little options.

He moved to the end of the bed where he sat by your foot. His gaze didn't quiver nor did the tension in the air. You flinched as if you were unrestrained. If anything, it only clanged the cuffs that shackled your wrists and your legs.  

You felt utterly exposed and uncomfortable. You've never been nude in front of anyone, let alone a strange man. He shamelessly drifted his eyes from yours to the length of your body. Your bare chest and your displayed pussy weren't left uninspected.

He spoke up again, "you are even more divine up-close." He moved onto the bed and caged you with his body. His hands were on either side of your head and his knees were on either side of your hips. You felt so small under his presence. The shadow loomed over his face and it made him even more intimidating.

"I know you're scared. But I can assure you that it's going to be alright. I'll take care of you." He consoled as if he was pacifying a child who just ran in horror because she had a bad dream.

He leaned down to press a kiss on your upper lip, and you jerked away. You turned your head to the left side to dodge his kiss. It upsets him and he grabbed your jaw to hold you in place so he could steal that kiss. You shrieked in disgust, hoping that it was loud enough to give him the signal. You didn't like it, you wanted to be released from the gagged. You wanted him to let you go.

As if he could read your mind, he spoke up, "alright, I'm going to take this gag off for now, but you have to promise me that you won't scream, understood?"

You didn't give away any reaction, you just stared at him in fear. You heard his words loud and clear but you refused to acknowledge him, under any circumstances. He asked you for the second time with a much firmer tone, as he glared into your eyes; "understood?"

Your only response was nodding. "Good girl. We've got a lot more to work on, but I know I can mold you into my perfect little plaything."

His world left you in utter shock. Perfect little plaything? What the hell was this man planning to do with you? Did you ever cross paths with him and perhaps wronged him? Most importantly, did you just make the biggest mistake in your life and basically handed yourself over to death by coming to these woods?

He untied the straps of the ball gag. You were able to breathe a little easier now. You wished to scream, but you weren't stupid enough to do the exact one thing this man just warned you not to. You weren't sure whether anyone could hear you anyway, the solid clapboard walls were bulky enough to deter any noises out.

You stared around the room once more, to make sure that you were living in reality instead of a terrible dream. You tried to look anywhere else but him, fearing his murderous eyes that saw right through you. That trapped your soul by a single glance.

"Speak, before I put this gag back on."

He's already thinking of putting the gag back on already?! You felt defenseless. You couldn't fight back or entreated this man to stop doing what he already made up in his mind.

"Wh- where am I...?"

"The same woods where you camped."

"It- it's not exactly like I remember..."

"Don't worry, you are safe with me. You don't have to worry about your old life anymore now."

"Wh- who are you?"

"Steve Rogers. But, you may call me sir, at certain times." His lips formed a smirk. There was a hint of lust in his eyes when he said those last three words.

"Why am I here...?"

"I saw you wandering around the woods, all alone. I immediately knew that you were the one I had been looking for. So I took you."

"Took me?"

"Yes. You are here, aren't you?"

The lightheadedness that you felt minutes ago came back. You were having a hard time processing all this information, coming from a strange man who claimed he wanted you.

"This is... This is crazy, I need to- I need to go home."

"Shh, hey, hey, it's alright. I know you are scared and confused, but I promise you, I'm not going to hurt you as long as you listen to me and do as I say."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Simple. All you have to do is just surrender to me and follow my orders. We will both receive pleasure if you choose to make it easy for yourself."

"And... What if I don't want to?"

He paused for a moment. "Then there will be punishment."

You gulped. You really had no way out and there was no way that you could overpower or trick this man into releasing you.

"Can you please untie me?"

"No, not now. You will gain a reward if you obey, we are going to go through every training and tests, and if you succeed in passing them, then you will earn your freedom."

"You mean... You will let me go?"

He chuckled darkly, he didn't have to say it, but the words were clear in his eyes "silly girl, you really think I'd ever release you?"

"No, sweetheart." He paused. His face inched to yours as he shifted in his seat. His body that was facing the wall instead of solemnly towards you, was imparting full attention on you now. The message in his eyes were clear; "listen to me carefully, little girl. For I will not repeat myself for the second time."

Then his lips manifested the words; "every night, I will tie you to this bed, and if you pass the test of the day, then I will unleash a part of you. if you don't, then, you're going to have to endure sleeping in the dark bound, until I see an improvement. When you have succeeded in becoming my perfect little doll, then we can start discussing you moving upstairs and your limits."

"Limits of what...?"

"Freedom. About you going outside, moving around the house, and other things."

"What kind of doll you want me to be?"

"My fuck doll."

His answer left you dumbfounded. You were overwhelmed by everything that had befallen on you. You were still vulnerable from your mother's death, and now the vacation that you thought was going to transform you into a stronger woman, conversely ambushed you at your weakest spot and delivered you at the feet of the devil himself.

You started crying for God knows how many times now. He tried to pacify you once more, "shh, it's okay, babygirl. Let's not inundate ourselves with too many questions, yeah? Tomorrow, we will start our training. It's late, you should get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day."

You saw the darkness in his dilated pupils when he stated the last sentence. Also, you didn't even realize that it was already late. There wasn't a single clock in sight, nor was there a single window that would apprise you the current juncture of the world. You couldn't tell whether it had been an hour, three days, or perhaps a week since you had been here.

Without uttering any more word, he lifted your head mindlessly and strapped the gag back on. He rose from the bed and left you in the exact same state that you were in when you woke up. He walked away to the door of where he came from. He took at one last glance at you before his steps took him out of your peripheral.

"Goodnight." He turned off the single light bulb that radiated through the center room. Then he was gone. You closed your eyes, hoping when the morning greets you, you would wake up from this God-awful lifelike nightmare.

[doc-pickles]

this love is worth the fight

Fun Fact: I had such a hard time choosing a song from Lover, mainly because there are so many good songs on the list. (I feel like I’m gonna say that about every single day so don’t mind me) I almost went with Cruel Summer or Paper Rings because they are SUCH Jolex songs, but I kind of wanted to push myself this week. 

I ended up going with Afterglow because I knew it would be perfect for a fluffy fix it fic (my favorite type of Jolex fics hehe) and I really love how it came out. So without further ado, here’s my Afterglow, angst to fluff inspired fix it fic!

(Also, technically this *could* be a part two to my Red/I Almost Do fic. I didn’t write it that way but reading it back it could be interpreted that way since I use some of the same plot lines)

-

I lived like an island, punished you with silence

Went off like sirens, just crying

Why'd I have to break what I love so much?

It's on your face, don't walk away, I need to say…

The world, for what it’s worth, did not stop spinning when Alex Karev disappeared off the face of it. For a moment, it did feel like everything might come to a grinding halt and Jo Karev’s world would never be the same again. But the nagging feeling, the pressure in her chest that kept her up at night, began to ease the longer and longer Alex refused to answer his wife’s calls. 

Jo finds herself working late nights at the hospital, the lonely hallways a better companion than the quiet loft that she shared with Alex. No one questions her motives, if they do they don’t do it to her face, and for that Jo is grateful. The reprieve from the never ending questions about her well being were getting old, she thinks that Link might’ve yelled at everyone they know to leave her alone. Either way, the quiet moments she spends at night with herself help Jo get her mind into a stable space.

She had come to terms with the realities of her new life, that someday someone would call her and tell her Alex was dead or that he had sent divorce papers or he was in a coma, lying somewhere unable to reach her. It didn’t matter what scenario Jo drummed up, the pain of Alex leaving had come and gone sometime in the past month that she had failed to hear from her husband. 

Her feet are walking across the first floor reception on her way to the ER when Jo hears it. She only pauses for a second at first, because she is absolutely certain that she’s hallucinating things. But she hears it again, her heart and feet stopping in tandem as she listens to the voice that she now knows is really there, really speaking to her.

“Jo!”

Jo’s eyes find Alex standing behind her, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans like he does when he’s forced to confront something he doesn’t want to. His beard is thick and scruffy, Jo almost thinks he must not have shaved since the last morning they spent together. Alex’s eyes are tired, his face holds an exhausted expression, and Jo can’t will her feet to move towards the man she had presumed dead. 

“We need to talk,” Alex speaks. Jo hears him, she really does, but she can’t comprehend what he’s saying. “Jo? Are you listening to me?”

Her brain catches up finally, a hand coming to cover her mouth as Jo lets a sob break through the tension of her and Alex’s reunion. Her feet are the next to recover, moving towards Alex at a frenzied pace. Her hands are around his neck, pulling him close to her as she cries. Jo can feel the breath that Alex releases when her hands make contact with him, relief flooding both of them as they touch for the first time in four and half weeks.

“Jo, I’m so sorry,” the words are a whisper, Alex’s breath hitting Jo’s cheek as he continues to hold her just a little tighter than usual. “I… I’m sorry. I’m just sorry.”

“You came back,” her words are quiet, muffled as she buries her face in Alex’s shoulder. “You're here. You came back.”

Despite telling herself for weeks on end that Alex had left her or was dead somewhere, Jo can’t help the tears that are flowing down her face. In all of the scenarios she had gone through, Alex coming home wasn’t one that she had let herself entertain. The hope would surely break her heart if he did end up being dead or gone somewhere. 

“Of course I came back, I love you Jo,” Alex pulled back to look into Jo’s eyes, fingers coming up to brush her hair out of her eyes. “I love you and I swear I’m not leaving again unless you’re by my side. I just… we have a lot to talk about.”

“I don’t care, I thought you were dead,” Jo cried, eyes welling up with tears again as she grasped Alex’s face desperately. “I don’t care Alex because you came home and that’s all I wanted and-”

“I was with Izzie,” the words freeze Jo, her hands stopping where they were on his cheeks. “Like I said… a lot to talk about”

+

Jo finds herself sitting across from Alex an hour later, fingers nervously pulling at the edge of their sofa. She hadn’t said more than three words since Alex had told her where he had been, too scared of what the next words to come out of his mouth would be. Jo had handled a lot of rejection and pain in her life, but this blow might be the one that undid her well and truly.

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer your calls or texts. I was… busy, distracted and I... ,” Alex sighed, Jo’s eyes finally flitting up to look at him. “When I was calling people for Mer’s trial, Izzie was on my list. And she… she has twins, I could hear them in the background when I talked to her. She told me she used the embryos we had frozen, that the twins were mine. So I went to Kansas, I had to go to Kansas and see them. They’re my kids, Jo.”

The world does seem to stop spinning for a moment, Jo taking in what Alex was telling her. Her stomach dropped, panic welling up inside of her as she realized that Alex had come back to leave her, to build a new life with Izzie and their kids. Jo couldn’t stop the tears that began to silently roll down her face as her heart began to beat out of time.

“Jo? Jo, baby please,” Alex was kneeling in front of her now, hands holding hers in a desperate attempt to get her to listen to him. “Babe, you gotta let me finish. I told you I’m not leaving you, let me finish.”

“You have kids! Somewhere outside of Seattle you have kids and in no universe are you going to know that and stay here with me, Alex,” Jo’s voice was shaking, but the words rolled off her tongue so easily that she knew this was a fear she had held too tightly for too many years. “I meant what I said, you’re a good man. Good men don’t leave their kids thousands of miles away to be with their wife, we both know that all too well.”

Her and Alex hold each other's stares for a moment and Jo wants to scream and kick and beg him not to go. She can see that look on his face, the one that means his mind is far far away and she knows deep down that he’s counting down the seconds until he can leave her and get back to whatever perfect life he had already started to build in Kansas. Of all the people to leave her in her life, she had never anticipated losing Alex, especially not like this. 

“Izzie is remarried, to this great guy named Vince. He… the kids love him and she loves him and…,” Alex let out a small chuckle, tears welling up in his eyes as well. “It’s exactly the life I had pictured for her. She’s happy and she’s alive, she’s got some great kids and I don’t… I don’t feel the need to stay there and be a dad to those kids because that perfect life Izzie has? I want that, I want a big house and kids running around like crazy and I want it all with you, Jo Karev. I can’t picture that with anyone but you. And I’m sorry that it took weeks of me laying alone in a hotel room in freakin’ Kansas to realize that, but I love you so much, Jo. I don’t ever wanna not see you again.”

Jo stared at Alex for a moment longer before reaching a hand up and slapping his shoulder. The worry she had been holding onto, the fear that he was going to leave for this new life, slipped away and Jo almost cried at the relief she felt. She wasn’t shocked that he had wanted to see his kids, see the two little people who were half him. And if you had asked her, Jo would’ve bet money on Alex insisting that he needed to help raise them. But he didn't… he came back home to her. 

“Fucking asshole! Maybe you should’ve started with the ‘I’m staying in Seattle’ part so I didn’t start spiraling out,” Jo exclaimed, her hands coming up to hold Alex’s face, just as he had done for her. She met his nervous eyes with a smile, leaning down to kiss him chastely. “I’m glad you aren’t left wondering about what could’ve been, about them. But maybe call me next time? Please?”

Alex nodded, Jo’s fingers running over the thick beard on his cheek as she kissed him once more. She knew that he would need time, that despite him coming back home to her seeing his kids was a huge shock. Alex had stood by her side more times than she deserved though, walking him through this was nothing compared to the psycho ex husband and the biological mom trauma that she had saddled him with. 

“I want it all with you too, you crazy man. White picket fences and a dog and kids and everything we didn’t get growing up,” Jo let a chuckle slip from her as she rested her forehead against Alex’s. “I missed you so much, I’m gonna keep you in bed for a few days just to make sure you remember what you’d be missing if you left me.”

Alex’s deep laugh sounds then, the sound that Jo had been so desperately craving to hear. She kisses him again, hungrily brushing her tongue against his lips and pulling him onto the couch without a second thought.

“I promise you Jo,” Alex’s breath is hot against Jo as his fingers trail under her shirt. She fights off the urge to close her eyes in pleasure and meets his eyes again. “I’m always gonna come back home to you.”

“I promise you Jo,” Alex’s breath is hot against Jo as his fingers trail under her shirt. She fights off the urge to close her eyes in pleasure and meets his eyes again. “I’m always gonna come back home to you.”

[hecohansen31]

Hello! I don't know if you are taking requests but, if you are, could you maybe do some fluffy stuff about Bill calming someone from a anxiety attack?Just making them feel that everything it's ok and that she's not alone... I'm having a pretty bad day and I didn't started my treatment yet, so everything it's just so... loud and scary, you know? But if you're not it's ok, really. I also wanted to say that I love your work and that these stories really help go through most of my days. Take care

(A/N): Hey sweetie!

I just wanted to say that I am tremendously sad to hear that you had an anxiety attack and I hope that you are feeling slightly better or will soon and that your treatment will work out for you!

Just take a deep breath (although I know that it is difficult to say this) and just enjoy a bit of this reading!

I also wnated to apologize in advance if this sucks, I am not very good at writing for real people, since I am a bit uneasy about it, but I hope that you’ll like what I wrote, I honestly have to say that I tear up when you said that you love my work and that these stories help you go through you days, because if there is something that I want to do with these silly stories is helping you lovelies!

So I hope for the best and have a nice reading!

WARNINGS: Mention of Anxiety, Anxiety Attack, Awkwardness (also the first part is basically something that my therapist taught me to relax which is couting the parts of your body which touch, which is very helpful for me).

One, your lids.

Two, your lips.

Three, your…

A sob escaped your lips making them part immediately as you moved forward.

Your lungs on fire from the long tiring session you had been having, unable to properly breath as you felt the choking sound of your throat gasping for air.

And for a moment, you thought you couldn’t have made it.

For a moment everything closed around you and your arms moved around you to shield you properly from the reality crashing down onto you.

It had been all too much: the small change in the program, the acid comment of your boss and Bill’s text about how he’d be stuck on set for another week, after he had already been gone for three months to film his newest project.

And you had been left without a slight sniff of your tall boyfriend, with his gentle hands.

He had never witnessed an anxiety attack of yours, because as cheesy as it was you were always calmer with Bill.

It had always been this way, since he had first noticed how uncomfortable you looked in that small party your friend had dragged you to.

Everybody would have been glad that they had been invited to an Hollywoodian party, but you were just worried of dropping your glass of expensive champagne against somebody.

You had stood in your angle and suddenly this handsome man was in front of you, something similar in his eyes and you swore you had seen him somewhere… you just couldn’t remember when or where.

… and then all your knowledge of the net had made you realize that in front of you there was Bill Skarsgard and obviously your first reaction had been.

“… wait you are Bill Skarsgard!” because it was obviously the best thing to shout at a celebrity, even more to one as private as him, but he had simply replied gently.

‘Ah yeah that’s me’ he had seemed at unease and a myriad of thoughts had gone through your head, each one wanting to make you run away, but he had gently offered you an hand ‘… well since you already know my name, why don’t you tell me yours?’.

You had hesitated, more out of surprise than uneasy with the beautiful man, who had simply blushed and shaken his head as he had mumbled.

‘Gosh that was… moronic of me… I shouldn’t… Alex says that they work, but …’.

‘I am (Y/N)… (Y/N) (L/N)…’ you had shot back, breathing out your answer as you stumbled through the world, holding out your hand to grip his, as his face immediately went from nervousness to shock to a sweeter smile ‘… I am just surprised that a god like you wants to speak with a mere mortal like me’.

And then you had just felt awful, but he had just laughed it off embarrassed.

‘I actually think that you are the prettiest girl in the room, so…’.

And then you had blushed softly, biting your lips as Bill led you away from the crowd on the small front porch of the house, as you sat there, talking about how awkward you both felt at this kind of things.

‘… I don’t want to make you feel bad, but I was worried you’d crush the glass in your hands…’ he had joked as you blushed, softly punching him on the shoulder, your glass now empty, helping you with a bit of liquid courage.

‘You literally used the worst pick-up line after “did it hurt when you fell from heaven”?’ you had shot back and his cheeks had also turned a pinkish shade, as you both avoided each other’s eyes, too shy to confront the other.

For a kiss you had needed a bit more of wine, but it had been worth it.

And every moment with him had been worth it.

But three months without him were already too much, although you saw him through the skype calls.

But it wasn’t simply enough.

It wasn’t enough anymore when you had just the shittiest day and everything felt like it was too much to handle for you.

Your mind rushed through the most horrible thoughts as you tried to think what Bill would say to you.

His deep voice always helping you, even more when he did that cute giggle he owned, scrunching his nose in a way that was so so adorable that you had just promised to yourself to kiss it every time it happened.

But then a shocking thought hit you.

He’d think that you were a mess if he saw you like this.

Make-up all ruined form your tears and sweat and each time you had mindlessly touched your eyes to dry the tears and rub them, meanwhile your light lipstick was smashed all over your cheeks, since as soon as you had seen a reflection of yourself you had hated the color and wanted desperately to delete it.

He wouldn’t have stayed if he had seen you like that.

Maybe it was for the better that he wouldn’t be…

“Sweetheart, I am home!”.

For a moment you had thought that your brain had finally moved its endorphins and it was starting to work to distract you from the horrible feeling of tightness in your chest.

And then you heard the door closing.

And understood that Bill was for sure at home.

You shifted closer to yourself almost wanting to hide as you moved closer to the part under the sink, thinking that if you focused enough, you’d match the bathroom floor tiles.

Enough to hide yourself from Bill.

“Sweetheart?” he seemed almost sad that you didn’t answer him, and as a loud breath escaped your mouth, you slapped an hand over your mouth, as you tried to understand if it was all an hallucination or Bill had come home, before.

You didn’t know which one would have been worse.

“… shit maybe I should have told her…she hates surprises” your heart couldn’t help but awake at his serious concern for you “… maybe she is over at Christine’s”.

You hoped desperately that he’d just convince himself of it and maybe go away, because if there was one thing you were sure, hallucination or not, was that you wouldn’t have let him see you like that.

He’d have broken up with you, for sure.

“… I’ll call her” and before you could rush in to switch off your phone, the awful first notes of ‘Daylight’ by Taylor Swift started playing.

This brought you back when Bill had mocked your music tastes and you had pretended to be hurt, but you hadn’t cared in the slightest, singing offkey as he kept on preparing your dinner, and although he wouldn’t admit it, you had heard him sing the first few lines as he was getting ready for bed.

“… babe?” he asked, curiously and again a sob left your mouth, revealing further where you were, and as fast as you could you tried your best to hide yourself turning around a you tried to reach for your phone “…hey, lovely, is anything wrong?”.

Thankfully he hadn’t opened the doors, and gently knocked scaring you as you tried to calm your heavy breathing in order for you to appear as normal as you could with ruined make-up and a face that seemed the same someone would have after their pet died.

“… ahem I was just…” ‘please don’t say anything stupid’ “… pooping”.

“Oh” you could already picture Bill’s blushing face “… sorry sorry, sweetie, I’ll wait for you in the dining room, ok?”.

“Bill, what are you doing here?” you asked as you slowly got up, knowing that confrontation wasn’t avoidable and trying to make up whether hat awful voice that told you that Bill had just come back to you to break up was true or not “… aren’t you supposed to be filming the new movie?”.

“Ahem… yeah and no” his voice always wavered as it always did when he told you an half-truth “… we wrapped up a few days ago, but I wanted to make you a surprise, because today is our anniversary”.

Shit of a fucking shit.

You weren’t worried for the gift.

You had had that ready for a month.

Sometime anxiety had its perks.

But what worried you was the fact that you had literally looked at the day and hadn’t remembered it was your anniversary.

It was also the deadline of your project, which your boss had partially rejected.

The part that you had worked on desperately and almost on your own, which had resulted in the product being a bit imprecise but… it hadn’t seemed so bad.

You couldn’t help but hate the fact that you had been so stressed to have forgotten about it all.

“… sweetie, are you still there?” asked Bill from the other side “…or did the toilet seat swallow you?”

“Ahem no” although you felt that awful feeling of dreadful tightness in your lungs, you still let out a soft laugh “… I just… I don’t think that we should go out, you must be jetlagged…”.

“Actually, I got a bit of sleep on the plain… so… I am ready to dance all night” he mumbled softly, as he shifted closer to the door and you couldn’t help but be almost worried that he’d open it, but he stopped “… but if you aren’t feeling well… we could stay inside, order Greek food and watch whatever awful Netflix comedy you chose”.

He was trying to make you relax, he always used that deep soothing tone and tried his best to make you laugh.

‘You always look prettier when you laugh’ he smirked as he stole a kiss from your cheerful lips ‘…you also taste sweeter’.

“Yeah, I’d like that…” you commented softly “… work has just been crazy hectic and I just… ugh… don’t think that I could celebrate properly, but… we could go out tomorrow I swear that I’ll make it up to you”.

“Of course, sweetie” his tone was so soothing that it only made you feel guilty for having forgotten about it all.

If he broke up with you, you low key deserved it.

“… do you want to talk about work?”.

‘No, I want to set my boss on fire’ you would have wanted to mumble, but simply uttered:

“… wouldn’t want to annoy you, sweetie, you probably already had a hard…”.

“I have had a hard time not having you with me” he gently replied “… I don’t think that anything would be hard enough for me, if you stand by my side”.

A moment of silence made him waver and you felt him pushing himself back, doubting whether he had done the right thing or not.

“… if you feel like talking obviously”.

“The project…” you choked out “… it didn’t go well”.

“Oh sweetie” he almost seemed ready to rush in through the door, but he stopped himself, realizing that you needed this barrier, for a bit more “… you worked so hard for it”.

“Yeah… but Tara said that it had too much imprecisions, and I mean she is right… I should have worked on it a bit more! Gosh I just…”.

And then you were stopped as Bill pushed the door open, revealing your disheveled appearance and you immediately tried to hide yourself, but it was of no use, as Bill went through any resistance you had cradling you in his strong arms, raising you as if you weighted nothing more than a flower.

Touch usually made it all worst for you, but with Bill it felt like some kind of desperately nice sweater, the one that you wore on the rainy days as you cuddled a good book and a cup of hot cocoa.

It soothed you and made you cry even more, as you let all your tension ease through him, and he cuddled you closer gently adjusting you onto the counter of the sink.

He kissed your forehead tenderly releasing your hold onto him, as you instead brought him closer, needing to feel him.

In an almost desperate way.

He was such a grounding force to you right now that you just let yourself reveal to him your deepest side, the one that turned away everyone.

Except him.

He just cooed at you softly, as he kept you in his arms, pushing aside a few strands of drenched hair, as he kissed your neck, softly, a gentle touch.

“… whatever it is, you are not at work anymore, you are in our lovely home, the one that smells of those overpriced shit candles you like so so much” it made you snort a laugh “… you are safe, you don’t have to think about it”.

“The fact is…” and you could already picture his eyes having this shade of ‘what kind of psycho are you’ “… I can’t, I am just too anxious, and it makes me overthink everything”.

But instead Bill’s eyes scanned over your face before understanding settled in them.

“… you had an anxiety attack, didn’t you?”.

“I….” you breathed out all the air in your lungs “… how did you know?”.

“I have lived with you enough to know that you are a little anxious beastie” he commented softly “… you arrive always early, you always act so so stressed with deadlines, you panic badly if I leave you out to a party… I know that some things make you like that…”.

“And it doesn’t bother you?”.

“No” his breath was soft, and it hit your face in a way that warmed your cheeks “… I just… I just want to help you if I can”.

Everybody at this point always left you, no matter how much you promised to keep it under control or to change.

Nobody had ever asked to know how to make you feel better.

“Can… can you get my make-up remover…?” he stood a minute trying to internalize your phrase “… it is making my skin itch…”.

“Of course” and he turned, before sending you a quick look “…wait where is it?”.

And there it was your dorky boyfriend.

You just let out a laugh and told him where he could find it.

A few minutes and a Bill’s shirt later, you were indeed waiting for Greek food as you browsed through Netflix, and Bill joked about you rewatching ‘Hemlock Grove’.

‘… babe you can’t use your celebrity status to impress me, I have seen you in boxers with pigeons’.

‘Pigeons are cute’ he had mumbled as he had set beside you, pushing your head on his chest.

You had told him that his faint heartbeat was the perfect cure for your overworked body ‘… and I know that you are just nervous because you blush so so fucking much when Roman is on’.

‘… just because he is a dork’.

‘A sexy dork’.

‘Didn’t know you were a narcissist’.

And like that you quickly discarded your little banter in a more silent contemplation as you finally felt… at peace, calm, although you were mostly sweeping all your worry under your mug.

But with Bill you felt better, as he softly handled you, kissing you with the gentlest of touches, but not treating you as frail doll or looking at you like he was worried, he just had this natural nurturing way that made him so damnably sexy.

It made you bite your lips.

And it didn’t pass unobserved by him.

“… you, big cutie” he mumbled, a laughter making his chest raise softly “…stop being the most beautiful girl on Earth”.

As much as you loved silly Billy, you felt the need to set a few things straight.

“I am sorry for hiding it… all from you” you lowered your eyes, this time biting your lower lip for nervousness “… it is just…”.

“It’s ok” he spoke as if it was the most natural of things, as if you hadn’t just broken down as a mess in front of him “… I knew it… I mean I had my thoughts, but these are personal things, I wanted to wait for you to feel comfortable”:

“I didn’t want to hide it! It isn’t because I don’t trust you…”.

“I know” again that soothing tone, it made everything better, you swore it could cure world’s hunger “… I know that people didn’t make it easy for you, so I’ll make it as easy as I can”.

And with that he pulled you to look at him in the eyes, something that was difficult for you in that moment, overwhelmed by your senses.

But you pushed through, because you knew that whenever he needed to tell you something important, he needed to have your eyes in his, to make you know that he wasn’t lying to you.

“… when you need me, I don’t care if I am busy with shooting a movie or in the bathroom, pooping…” you smirked lightly “… you come to me and tell me what is happening and when you feel a bit better we can discuss what helps you and what I can do…”.

“Bill… I am sorry but I don’t want to bother you…”.

That was the wrong thing to say, because although Bill didn’t attack you, he stiffened lightly and grabbed your hands gently, turning them and bringing one and then the other to kiss your inner wrists.

“… you, little one, are never ever a bother” he spoke each word dauntingly meaningful “… you are the most precious things I have ever had in my life, anxiety included”.

“We are kind of package deal” you mumbled an awkward smile on your face.

“Then I got lucky, two for one” he joked, and you finally let out a soft laugh, punching him on his shoulder.

“You are a fucking idiot, my friend”.

“Don’t hit me, it’ll cost you, I am a miracle of nature”.

“Whatever you say Pennywise, the dancing clown”.

“Oh, don’t get me started”.

And as the tickling war started, the glimmering ring in Bill’s jacket just waited the right time.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow would have been a better day.

[bi-bard]

I'll Let You In - Castiel Imagine (Supernatural)

Title: I'll Let You In

Pairing: Castiel X Reader

Based On: That's When

Word Count: 2,490 words

Warning(s): mentions of death

Summary: (Season 7 + 9) After gaining his memory back, Castiel has to leave to go help the Winchesters. (Y/n) promises to leave the door open to him. They weren’t expecting him to actually come back.

Author's Note: This was the first imagine I thought of when I was getting this writing challenge arranged.

Also, the Netflix captions and the Supernatural Wiki have different spellings for Emmanuel, so... I'm following the wiki.

Masterlist for From the Vault - Taylor Swift Writing Challenge

Hey! I did a rewrite of the ending of Supernatural. It took a really long time to complete, so it would mean a lot to me if you check it out. Here’s a link! (it’s on my personal account)

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

I was trying to adjust to my new surroundings.

Moving had sent my brain into overdrive. I just became hyper-aware of everything going on around me. It sounds great, but after a while, it just felt like nagging anxiety.

I tried to find ways to relieve those feelings. To ground myself in my new surroundings.

So, I started spending my mornings on my new porch with my coffee. I would sit in my chair with a blanket over my legs. I would just try to relax.

It had been working pretty well.

I found myself being calmer throughout the day. It was nice.

One day, it didn't work all that well.

I was sitting and relaxing... and then I saw someone walking out of the lake. It genuinely looked like a naked man was walking out of the lake.

I blinked a couple of times, thinking that I had to have seen something.

I wasn't.

"What the fuck," I muttered.

I stood up and grabbed my blanket before walking down the front steps. The man had already been walking toward my house anyway.

"Hey," I called.

The man looked at me. He looked completely out of it. Confused and overwhelmed.

"Are... Are you okay," I asked.

He furrowed his eyebrows before looking down at himself, like he was checking on himself for the first time. He looked back at me after a minute.

"I-I don't know," he mumbled.

His next step was a stumble.

"Hey, hey, hey," I stepped forward and helped him stay standing. I quickly wrapped the blanket around him, trying to cover him as well as possible. "Okay, okay. Come on."

I guided him to the house. We got to the living room before I let him lay on the couch. He only blinked a few times before losing consciousness. I adjusted the blanket on him and checked his pulse.

Still had a pulse. Still breathing. He was okay.

I slowly turned his head. That's what you do so you know someone won't choke on their vomit while they're unconscious... right?

"Great idea," I muttered to myself. "Bring in some random naked stranger. That's a great idea. Shit."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and stepped away. I took a deep breath before looking at my couch. What do I do now?

I kind of just followed my gut after that.

I snagged some of the very baggy clothes I owned and laid them on the table. I scribbled a note saying that I would be in my office. I was just hoping that he would wake up and feel... okay, at least.

"Please don't die on my couch, I don't know how to explain that one," I muttered before walking to my office.

I managed to work for a few hours in silence.

"Hello!"

My head popped up when I heard a voice from the living room. The man.

I walked out to see him dressed and was clearly concerned.

"Hi," I said. "Are you okay? Are you feeling alright?"

He nodded.

"Is there anyone I can call?"

He paused before shaking his head and shrugging. I sighed. Of course, why would it be that easy?

"Are you hungry," I asked. "I could make you something."

"Okay," he replied.

He followed me into the kitchen and sat at the table. I just put together a sandwich. I kept an eye on the man in the corner of my eye.

"So... what's your name," I asked.

"I... I don't know," he muttered. "I don't know my name."

I saw him starting to worry.

I walked over and sat in the chair next to him, "Hey, hey. It's alright. We'll get this figured out, okay?"

He took a breath before nodding. I smiled and walked back to the counter. I grabbed a knife to cut the sandwich, not paying enough attention.

"Crap," I muttered as the knife slid on my finger.

"What happened," the man stood up. I waved him off. "Let me help."

"I'm okay," I promised. "Just a small cut."

He grabbed my hand, looking down at the cut for a moment. He then held his hand a few inches above it. I watched as his hand started to glow and my cut healed.

"What the hell," I mumbled. "What are you?"

He shrugged, "I don't know."

--time skip--

After that, the man and I fell into a bit of a rhythm. We had gotten him clothes. He decided to dedicate himself to helping others. I was still doing my normal work while simultaneously helping him with his work.

He still didn't have his memories back. Sometimes I would see him sit and try to figure things out. It was like there was a wall in his head that he couldn't break through.

He decided on a name for the time being. Emmanuel.

I thought it was nice.

I thought he was nice.

One night, I came downstairs to see the kitchen light on.

Emmanuel was sitting at the table, head in his hands with a mug sitting in front of him. I tried to take slow steps. I didn't want to overwhelm him.

"Hey," I said, leaning on the doorway.

He looked up quickly.

"Sorry."

"You're... It's fine," he replied quietly.

I walked over and sat next to him, "What's wrong?"

"I just... I want to remember so bad," he muttered. He paused for a moment to dig the heels of his hands into his eyes. They fell back onto the table. "I can feel it. It's all right there. I just... can't get to it."

I reached over and grabbed his hand. His other hand rested on top of mine.

"It's okay," I said. "I understand you want to feel whole, but this pushing... it's going to hurt you. You aren't solving anything. You're just causing more pain."

He sighed.

"I want to help you... and I'm trying... I just won't stand by and watch you hurt yourself. I can't."

Emmanuel nodded.

There was a long pause, "Why did you take me in?"

"What," I asked.

"You didn't have to take me in," he continued. "I was naked and confused and dirty... and you still took me in."

"It...," I paused. I hadn't even thought about it. "It just seemed right. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I let you just wander off."

He grinned. I grinned back.

"Thank you," he said. "I don't think I ever said that."

"It was implied," I shrugged, smiling a little wider when he chuckled.

We sat at the table for a minute in silence. I was about to lean back when he leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. My eyes went wide for a moment before the shock wore off and I slowly kissed him back.

I slowly pulled back and smiled at him.

This was all worth it. I could tell.

--time skip--

We continued on as normal.

We helped people when they needed it. Found a way to be somewhat normal without needing to hide who Emmanuel was.

I was just getting to the point where I was used to it all when I got a phone call. I didn't know it at the time, but it would be one of the most important phone calls I would ever receive.

"Hello," I said.

"(Y/n), it's Mackey."

"Hey," I greeted. "How's your eye?"

"Better than ever," he replied. "I have a buddy that needs Emmanuel's help. A hunter. His brother had some kind of mental break. Think he can help?"

"Maybe," I shrugged. "He hasn't really gone beyond physical injury. Go ahead and give him the address. We'll see what happens."

"Alright, thank you."

"You're welcome," I said before saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. "Emmanuel!"

"Yeah," we met each other in the living room.

"We have a hunter coming out here," I explained. "Brother had a mental break. I don't know if you can help, but I offered to try."

He nodded, "Okay."

"Do you think you'll be able to help," I asked.

"I might," he replied. "I soothe your nightmares, so there's a definite chance-"

"I'm sorry, you do what?"

"I soothe your nightmares."

I paused for a moment. Oh my God, I hadn't had a nightmare since he got here.

"You didn't know that?"

"Not in the slightest," I muttered before chuckling. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied before pulling me close to him. He kissed my head. "(Y/n)."

I hummed.

"I... I love you," he confessed quietly.

I smiled, "I love you too."

About a day later, there was a knock on the door. Emmanuel was upstairs, so I walked over and looked through the small side window. I pulled open the door when I saw a guy that looked... like a hunter.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi," he replied. "Mackey called you about me."

"The hunter," I guessed.

"Dean," he introduced.

I nodded, "Come on in. Emmanuel's upstairs. You can wait in the living room for him."

"Thanks," he walked into the living room while I jogged up the steps.

Emmanuel was just walking out of our room.

"The hunter is here," I said, pointing backward over my shoulder.

"Okay," he replied. He grabbed my hand and walked downstairs with me.

Dean stood up when he heard our footsteps. He froze when he saw Emmanuel. I tilted my head.

"Hi, I'm Emmanuel," he held his hand out to the hunter. The hunter paused for a moment before shaking it. "You came concerning your brother."

"Umm, yeah," Dean cleared his throat, still clearly confused about something. "He's... sick. Hallucinations of the devil. He's being tortured. Like some wall suddenly gave way."

"Where is he," Emmanuel asked.

"In a mental institution," Dean explained. "Checked himself in."

"I'm so sorry," I added. They both looked over at me. I stammered for a moment.

"It's okay," Dean nodded. "You two are... together?"

"We have been for a while," Emmanuel looked at me with a grin before looking back at the hunter. "I'll go with you. See what I can do. Wait here. I'll get a bag together."

Emmanuel went back upstairs for a moment. I looked at Dean.

"Would you like some water," I offered. He shook his head. There was a moment of silence. "You know him, don't you? The version of him that has his memories."

Dean blinked at me.

"I saw it when you walked in."

"Yeah, I do," he nodded.

"I want him to help you," I said, stepping forward. "I want him to have his memories back. But don't push him. I... I don't want him to get hurt. I care for him... I... I love him."

"I'll... I'll do my best," he promised.

I nodded and waited for Emmanuel to come back down the stairs. He pulled me into a soft kiss before kissing my forehead.

"I'll be back soon," Emmanuel said.

"Be careful," I mumbled. He nodded.

The two of them left the house soon after. I let out a sigh. I never realized how big this house was.

It didn't feel right without him here.

I got a phone call that night.

"Hello," I said, barely glancing at the caller ID.

"(Y/n)."

"Emmanuel," I sat up a little bit straighter. "How... How are you? How's the case?"

"We... I have my memories back," he explained immediately. "All of them."

I let out a shocked laugh and smiled, "That's amazing. Gosh... what do I ask first? Start with your name."

"Castiel," he replied.

I repeated the name, "I like it."

"I'm an angel," he continued. "That's why I'm able to do what I can."

"Wow," I mumbled. "That's... That's... I don't know how to feel about that one."

He chuckled through the phone, "I still love you."

"That's nice to hear," I chuckled. "I love you too."

"But I can't come back," he added. My heart and smile dropped. "What happened to Dean's brother... it's my fault. I've done awful things, (Y/n)."

I blinked away some tears, "Oh."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"I need to help him," he explained. "I need to be here to help him."

"That's okay," I repeated, a little louder.

There was a long pause, "Will I be able to come back? Or do you never wanna see me again?"

"Emman- Castiel," I corrected. "As long as I am alive and own this house, you will have a place here. I still love you. The door will be open for you when you're ready."

I heard a relieved sigh through the phone. I smiled.

"Goodbye, (Y/n)."

"Goodbye, Castiel," I replied as the tears finally started falling. "It was nice to finally meet you."

"You too."

I listened to the call end before I let a sob out. I placed my hand over my mouth. That was it. I got all the answers I wanted... and lost him in the same breath. What a cruel trick of fate.

--time skip (Season 9)--

I let out a groan when there was a knock on my door. I stormed over. I hadn't been able to get any work done that day, so I was ready to hit anyone that interrupted me the moment I got into work mode.

I yanked the door open, ready to snap at whoever was there.

"Hi," I froze.

"Castiel," I replied in a questioning tone.

He nodded, "I know I've been gone for a long time-"

I stepped forward and hugged him. He slowly wrapped his arms around me, hiding his face in the crook of my neck.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbled. "I shouldn't have abandoned you like that."

"It's okay," I hugged him a little tighter. "I'm just happy you're back."

I stepped back, taking a moment to study him.

"Come on," I grabbed his arm and dragged him inside. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

He shook his head. He placed his backpack on the floor and settled on the couch. I sat down next to him.

"What happened," I asked. "Why did you come back?"

"I needed a place to stay," he replied. "I tried to stay with Dean, but he turned me away."

I reached over and grabbed his hand.

"I'm not surprised," he muttered. "I messed up."

"That doesn't mean you should be abandoned," I said. "You... You still deserve to be helped, Castiel."

He gave me a forced grin.

"I'll help you see that," I muttered, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. "No matter what."

"I don't deserve your kindness."

"Yes, you do," I replied. "Thank you for coming back."

His grin was more genuine that time.

I hesitated for a moment before leaning over and pressing my lips to his. He kissed me back gently. I let out a sigh against his lips. I had missed him so much.

I was just so happy to have him back... no matter what condition he came back in.

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[bi-bard]

Red - Team Free Will 2.0 Song Preference (Supernatural)

Title: Red

Characters: Sam, Dean, Castiel, Jack

Song: Red by Taylor Swift

Requested: Nope

Word Count: 1,777 words

Warning(s): mentions of character death, arguing, cussing

Author's Note: PLEASE SEND IN SONG PREFERENCE REQUESTS!

ALSO! Hey! I did a rewrite of the ending of Supernatural. It took a really long time to complete, so it would mean a lot to me if you check it out. Here’s a link! (it’s on my personal account)

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Sam Winchester (Between Season 5 & 6):

Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes Tell myself it's time now gotta let go But moving on from him is impossible When I still see it all in my head

After Sam and Adam were dragged into the cage, I moved in with Bobby. Dean had gone to live a normal life with Lisa and I told him I would find my own place.

Bobby was great.

He took me in, gave me food, gave me a job to do, and let me help him with the lore and hunting.

It was a few months later that I could've sworn I saw Sam through my window. I ran over but... he was gone as soon as I had gotten there.

At the start, I was convinced it was grief. My brain playing tricks on me in some futile attempt to feel comforted. So, I didn't tell Bobby.

It kept happening.

I would see Sam for a second but he would be gone before I could do anything about it. Through the kitchen window, on my way through Bobby's salvage yard, when I went into town to do the grocery shopping. It was like Sam was haunting me.

I knew that I needed to move on but I couldn't. He was always there.

One day, it all came to a head.

I was in the kitchen. I had made a meal for Bobby and me that was a little fancier than usual. It was a thank you of sorts. I was putting plates down as Bobby sat in his seat. I looked out the small window and I saw him... Sam... just watching.

I was set on not letting him get away.

"Hey," I yelled, going to run outside.

I sprinted into the maze of cars.

"Sam," I yelled. "I saw you!"

I stopped where I knew he had been. There were footprints there but not walking to or away from the spot.

"I... I saw you!"

Bobby followed close behind me.

"I... I saw you," my yelling had turned into a soft voice. I looked at Bobby, who looked concerned and confused. "I saw him."

"Come here," Bobby held his arms out, letting me hug him as tight as possible. "You're going to be okay, kid."

"He was here," I mumbled. "I can't be hallucinating. Sam was right there."

"Let's go inside," Bobby stepped back enough to lead me back to the house. It was silent until we got back inside. "I'm gonna give Dean a call."

"No, no, don't call Dean," I shook my head. "He's happy. He's safe."

"(Y/n)-"

"Please, Bobby, don't call Dean," I begged. Bobby finally nodded.

"Go get some rest, okay? I'll bring you some food in a bit."

"Am... Am I crazy?"

"No, not at all," he promised. "Go rest. We'll talk in the morning."

I walked to my room and curled up under my blanket. I didn't know if what I saw was real... I just knew that I wanted it to be. I didn't want to let go of Sam yet.

Dean Winchester (Season 13):

Fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword And realizing there's no right answer Regretting him was like wishing you never found out That love could be that strong

We had just gotten back to the bunker with the adult-looking Jack. They were confused, clearly scared, and Dean's anger didn't help them at all. Listening to Dean and Sam yell back and forth made my head pound.

Sam walked out and Dean wasn't done. He continued trying to rant at me about how the kid was going to be evil.

"Stop it," I finally snapped. "You are blaming a child who's not even a week old! They didn't kill anyone!"

"They tricked Cas! They manipulated him," Dean screamed.

"They were a fucking fetus," I yelled back. "They didn't kill Cas! Lucifer did! They didn't get Mary stuck in that other world! Lucifer did! They are not the reason Crowley felt the need to sacrifice himself! Lucifer was! Don't blame Jack for something their father caused!"

I stormed away, wanting nothing more than space from Dean.

"They-"

"Dean, I swear to fucking God," I stopped and turned around. "If we punished people for what their parents did, I would've shot you and Sam down years ago! Stop being so fucking dense!"

"Don't compare my dad to Lucifer!"

"I'm comparing you to Jack!"

He walked over but I held my hands up, going to leave the room.

"You can't just walk away from this," he snapped.

"I can when there's no point in talking," I said. "You're fixated on blaming someone but you're aiming at the wrong target."

We were both silent. We weren't going to get anywhere with conversation tonight.

"I'm gonna... I'm gonna sleep on the couch in the Dean Cave tonight," I mumbled. "We both need a chance to calm down."

"(Y/n)," I looked at him as I walked out. "I love you."

I smiled, "You too."

I just needed a night without the tension that was obviously there. Hopefully, we could talk tomorrow because we were not going to solve anything tonight.

Castiel (Season 7):

Losing him was blue, like I'd never known Missing him was dark gray, all alone Forgetting him was like trying to know Somebody you never met But loving him was red

I remember being little and dreaming of my future. I was convinced I would have a fun job and I'd live a nice life.

Now, I was curled up on a couch in Bobby's hidden cabin, crying as quietly as possible over the angel that I had fallen in love with.

Nothing goes to plan.

After Castiel died, things got too crazy for me to properly handle what had happened. I was just along for the ride that the Winchesters had dragged me on.

Now, I had no other distractions. We were in hiding so I didn't have anything else to focus on other than the loss. I was shaking and trying to keep myself from sobbing loudly as I finally let the weight of losing Cas hit me.

"(Y/n)," I looked over to see Sam looking at me. I wiped my eyes. He walked over, sitting next to me. "Come here."

I scooted over and let him hug me to his side.

"I've got you," he promised.

Sam could relate to this moment better than anyone. Not only had he been through the same thing with Jess, but he was also the brother that had an easier time getting in touch with his emotions.

I stayed in that position, sobbing into his shoulder until I couldn't cry anymore.

I slowly sat up, wiping my leftover tears and letting out a deep breath.

"Do you wanna talk about it," Sam asked.

I shook my head. I didn't wanna talk about Cas's death. I wanted to talk about anything else.

"Do you wanna talk about him," he corrected.

"Umm," I trailed off for a moment. "Yeah."

"Okay," Sam nodded. He waited for me to talk.

"Cas never slept, he never needed to," I said after a few moments of silence. "I always considered the sweetest thing is when he'd lay with me through the night while I slept."

Sam chuckled.

I continued talking about Cas for... hours, probably. I had told countless stories. At some point, Dean walked out and sat down with the two of us.

"I don't... I don't want to forget anything," I muttered. "His voice, his face... I don't... I just want him back."

Dean moved to sit next to me as I started shaking again.

The brothers held me in a tight hug as I grieved. I was terrified of saying goodbye and I was terrified of forgetting.

"He adored you," Dean mumbled. "I saw it. Before you two were even together, he would focus on you whenever you walked into the room. We could've been face-to-face with the most dangerous thing in the universe but you would've been the center of his attention."

"He was the center of mine," I replied. "And he was the love of my life. I'm not going to let him go. Ever."

It was a promise I was prepared to always keep.

Jack Kline (Season 14):

Loving him is like trying to change your mind Once you're already flying through the free fall Like the colors in autumn, so bright, just before they lose it all

Love could be a lot of things. Brilliant, terrifying, memorable, crazy... so many things.

I liked to describe love as one thing, "not for me."

I spent years thinking that my life in hunting would cut me off from any potential romantic relationships.

Then, I met Jack.

I didn't even know them very long before I found myself behaving like a lovesick teenager. I was blushing when they got too close, getting nervous when they looked at me silently, staring too often, and just being an absolute mess. It all happened so fast. I fell before I had even seen the edge of the cliff.

It all happened too fast and I couldn't stop it.

"Just tell them," Sam said. I looked away from Jack, who was at the other table, talking with Cas.

"Am I that obvious," I asked.

"Oh yeah," he nodded. "Almost obnoxiously."

Cas walked away from Jack and Sam smirked at me before standing and following him. I glared at him as he left.

"Hey," I said awkwardly as I walked over and sat next to Jack.

"Hi," they smiled.

I almost froze. Imagine being able to fight demons and angels, but not being able to ask someone out on a date. This is what my life had turned into.

"Did you need something," they asked.

"Yeah, kind of," I took a moment to close my eyes and take a deep breath. "Jack. I really like you. This life had convinced me that I wasn't going to ever feel this way for someone. Then, I met you and I think I fell before I even realized it. I just... I really, really like you."

Jack blinked at me for a moment. I was about to apologize and walk away when they smiled at me.

"I really like you too," they replied. I let out a deep breath and smiled again.

It was a moment of light. We didn't get many in the bunker. We've faced so many dark moments in this place but this moment was so different. It was a small moment of lovely light when I was convinced I would never get that.

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