#and also the black rugby jersey

[ratatatastic]

hey! can I ask for your help for a friend? haha

do the cats have anything they give out to a player after a win? I really can't remember having seen anything (they should be doing this, man. or maybe what they give out is a bj and we don't get to see it 😔)

https://www.tumblr.com/nonametis/767031747969957888

unfortunately this season they dont! its possible they might find something later on or theyll wait until playoffs but this is a fun opportunity to remember all of their old player of the game awards in lieu of this

because the playoff bone of 23 is like the freakiest thing theyve done but also goofier things prevail and thusly presented without much comment of days past

[eeunoia]

ENHYPEN Imagines

limerence.

pairings: lee heeseung x reader

synopsis: you’ve been secretly admiring and slightly staking lee heeseung for a while now. the admiration you once thought to be harmless started to evolved and made you do something unexpected.

warnings: grammatical error, obsessive love, stalking (slight), yandere.

word count: 5k.

note: this took a while to be posted. i know, i’m so lazy to post it, i’m sorry lmao. anyway, enjoy! also this is connected to the other yandere fics of enhypen. i will probably put it into a masterlist together. replies and reblogs are highly encouraged! send me a message to my asks too! i love reading them. thank you so much, ily. stay safe!

eeunoia 2024 © all rights reserved

‘Have you ever liked someone?’

Probably, right? Okay, let me rephrase it...

‘Have you ever liked someone to the point that you feel obsessed? Like you watch him silently, dreamt of him being with you...’

“Hi Heeseung!” your eyes snapped open when you heard that name. With squinting eyes, you tried to scan the wide field of your school to look for him.

And there he is.

Lee Heeseung.

Standing confidently by the field, wearing his jersey like he was meant to play rugby even before he was born. His pitch black hair falls messily on top of his sinful beautiful face. He smiles softly as he waves at the girls by the end of the bench. They screamed loudly after managing to catch his attention.

The handsome man doesn’t seem to even be slightly bothered by it as he comes to receive such reactions from girls everyday. You knew. Because you always watch him from afar, admiring him.

He’s one of the popular kids in your school. Very handsome, plays sport, not so bad with his acads and from a wealthy family. Girl’s will fall on their knees for him and you cannot blame them. He is worth to be simped for. Mainly why you had fallen into this deep dark obsession you slowly grew addicted on.

It started normal. A girl catching attraction over his schoolmate. Somehow, you wanted to blame him for being so cool with everything. Whatever he does, he have this way of turning it into an attractive way. It was hard to properly explain, but its sums up to Lee Heeseung being overwhelmingly admirable.

“You should go for it, dude!” your steps halted from walking along the long hallway when you saw two familiar tall figures.

One was Park Jongseong, also known as Jay, and then the taller one is Lee Heeseung leaning over one of the lockers. They’re looking over somewhere— more like someone. You unconsciously followed his line of sight and saw Irish, one of the cheerleader of your school. Totally hot chick babe and almost everyone in the campus knows her.

You saw how Heeseung’s stares pierced right at her while she laughs with her friends, unaware of it. Something bitter slowly spreads your chest and made it harder for you to take further steps.

Heeseung didn’t say a word to his friend and just kept his stares over Irish. Like he’s watching her very closely, observing everything about her. Just like how you are to him. A part of your heart cracks at the thought of it, but you couldn’t really blame him. Irish are exactly the type of girl that fits him very well. For all you know, the whole school will rejoice.

You snapped back to reality when you saw them slowly facing your way. Panic consumes you when you saw them heading your way. You and Heeseung will walk across each other. As usual, you lowered your head trying to prevent any chances of eye contact.

While in a hurry, you unexpectly clash over someone and you turned right away to face them. The lace to your i.d slightly got tangled with the other person and because you faced them, it got off. Thankfully, neither of them got broken.

“I’m sorry fo—” your eyes grew wide at the sight of Lee Heeseung. His placid expression as he stared down right at you just sent shivers to your spine, stomach churns and legs wobbling.

Your heart bursts just by short eye contact so you bowed politely and run away. You probably look like a pathetic loser for him now because of how you reacted and the students around who witnessed the scene might think you are being crazy.

The thoughts and worries were forcedly shoved away by your consciousness. Finally snapping out of the embarrassing quick flashback. It’s not like he will remember you anyway. Nobody in your school does. For them, you’re invisible.

You have no friends. It’s totally fine for you. Its not so sad to the point you cry inside your bedroom every night just because you have nobody to walk with you along the school premises. You aren’t a loner because they isolated you purposely. It was your own choice.

Besides, how can you freely spy Lee Heeseung if you have a friend that goes around with you all the time? They will just think you are a creep or much worst, they might report you.

As you try to catch your breath and calm yourself, the vivid memory of Heeseung’s face up close flashes back to your mind. His pretty eyes, nose pointy and kissable lips. Not to mention his slightly tan complexion. Suddenly, your heart starts racing once again.

Bumping into him was so far your first true interaction with him and the distance a while ago was the closest you got. Due to his tall height and slim body proportions, he doesn’t seem like someone whose physically strong. But when you bump into him, he didn’t even moved. Like as if you hit a wall and not a person.

Just by thinking of it makes you blush hard. It feels illegal to feel so good about it. With a ghost of smile, you started heading to your next class.

It was break time already and so Heeseung and his friends gathered together as usual. When he arrived, he already saw some of his friends hanging out near the cafeteria, causing some traffic due to the girls who wants to stare at them.

“Let’s go. I’m starving.” he says that caught their attention. Jungwon whose on his phone nods, while Jake headlocks Ni-ki so they can go inside.

Jay waits for Heeseung to catch up on him before he lays his hand on him, asking for something. He smirks before fishing something from his pocket and handed it to him without a word.

Sunghoon and Sunoo follows behind them as they go inside the rowdy cafeteria. Eyes follows them shamelessly and they didn’t really put much care into it. As long as they don’t bother them, he’s cool with him.

His eyes roamed around and caught Irish' group of friends at the left corner. She’s talking with them while she fixes her hair from time to time. Heeseung snaps back to reality when someone claps their hand to his shoulder. It was Jake.

“Do you think it would work?” Heeseung unconsciously asked.

Jake follows his line of sight and he chuckles, “It will for sure. Don’t you trust me?”

Heeseung whips his head to face his friend and smirks at him. “I trust your plan. I’m just a little excited.”

His friends flashed him this teasing grin before nodding his head while smiling downwardly.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get her soon.”

He nods and the line moved so its their turn to buy food. They chose the table near the entrance so they can leave easily. Their heads looked over Jungwon when he sighs a little, resting his phone down the table. His food untouched.

“What’s wrong?” Jay asked the younger one, a little concerned.

Jungwon eyes them and shook his head once. “(jungwon’s girl)’s refusing to eat again. She said she wants to come out of the house.” his tone low, enough for them to only hear.

They seem unbothered by the fact that their friend, the kind Yang Jungwon, president of the student council, has been hiding one of their schoolmate. The one that has been missing for months now.

“Why? I thought she’s finally behaving already?”

Jungwon smiles a little, a sign of victory.

“She is. Well, she gets bored of waiting for me to come home everyday from school. She wants to go out and attend school again.”

Heeseung’s mind went blank before his head unconsciously darting at the left corner of the cafeteria. He saw her finally eating her food. He watches her silently while imagining being with her. Holding her by his arms, inhaling her scent, kissing her neck, cheeks, nose and lips.

He cut his own thoughts as he’s slowly falling deep into it. He can’t be submissive over his own greed and ends up messing everything. It can’t be good, specially that they need to follow.

“Oh, right...” Jungwon starts that caught his friends' attention.

“Did you manage to get the part time?” he asks his Sunoo hyung. The latter smiles brightly and raises his thumbs up, making them all smile as well.

“I bribed the manager to let me work there for a week or so. He didn’t even think twice.” he announced.

Ni-ki scoffs after taking a sip from his drink. “What about your parents? Did they ask why you suddenly want to work a part time job?”

“Mom got curious, but I told her I just really want to try working.”

“And she buys it?”

“Yes.” and Sunoo nods.

They resumed eating, talking from time to time. They enjoy their food while the other students enjoy watching them eat.

“Look who's here...” Jake whistles and nudge his chin over a direction, informing them of who just entered the cafeteria along with her best friend.

When their eyes saw who it was, Heeseung’s eyes flee over Sunghoon and he already has glaring eyes towards Jake.

“Don’t whistle like that. She ain’t a dog.” he seriously said that earns only playful giggles from Jake and Ni-ki.

“I heard she likes you very much Hoon.” Heeseung says.

The statement made the boiling anger in his friend’s eyes calm down as he licked his lips, ears burning red.

Jungwon chuckles, “You’re still after Heeseung hyung, remember that.”

“I fucking know. So hurry up so I can have mine.” he said directly at Heeseung that only made him smile. He badly wants to do it quickly as well.

Your obsession is getting worst. Before, you’re already contented just by looking at him, watching him. And now seeing him lurking around Irish makes you feel so mad. You have no rights to, but that’s what you’re feeling.

How can he show those sweet smiles towards her? Carry her bag? Stare at her eyes softly? Why can’t it be you?

It's been a week ever since you’ve seen Heeseung hanging out with Irish too often. News of the two of them dating surrounds the campus like a wild fire and its making you feel so... jealous. You know its bad. You know its wrong, but you’re starting to hate Irish. Even if she’s not doing anything to you.

No... Actually she did something. She stole Heeseung.

While studying one night and obviously having zero progress, you decided to cut some slack and lay down your bed. Scrolling over your tiktok and then switching it to naver, scanning some latest news. It was pretty boring, not until a popular search caught your eye.

‘How can you make someone like you back?’

You’ve never clicked so fast in your life. Feeling impatient for it to load completely, you nibbled on your lower lip, eyes fixed at the screen of your phone.

There are pretty decent suggestions, such as dressing up, having make overs, try to get their attention.. blah blah. Same bullshits that you can see on movies or tv series. Its actually annoying how they think that could work? For people who's naturally pretty or full of charms, maybe.

You cursed and was about to exit the damn article when something caught your attention once again. Its a comment probably left by someone in a joking way. A hundred replies were left beneath it and it gained almost a thousand likes.

‘Kidnap them and keep them in your house.’

Your heart beats so fast by the illegal and dark thoughts that occupies your mind. These are the things that can ruin everything in you, but this obsession seems to be feeding and growing nonstop inside you and now its unstoppable. All you can think of is that you have to get him. You’ve got to have Lee Heeseung for yourself.

A week later, with nervous hands fidgeting together and rigid breathing, you pull your face mask upper to make sure it covers the lower part of your face. A black hat tops your outfit. People won’t be suspicious of you as wearing face masks became pretty normal already.

You can almost hear your heart thumping loudly inside your chest when you felt a presence looming behind you.

“Coal?” one man muttered the code name you told him to use once he arrived so you’ll know its him.

You didn’t even glance at him and just try to hand him the paperbag containing your payment for the stuff you asked online. It was odd that you’re here at the vacant park near your apartment building but its much weirder that you can buy these type of serums on the internet. Although it requires a lot of secrecy, but still. Now this feels very illegal.

After he handed you your package, the man never said another word. It was impossible to tell who it was too since like you, he’s all covered. Well, if he’s going to illegally sell these meds he really needs to hide his identification.

He left afterwards. It was like as if he wasn’t even there. It makes you feel shivers down your spine and eyes dropped at the paperbag. Your heart thumps, remembering what it contains inside. You’re a little hesitant, makes you wonder if you should continue your plan or just back out.

But then Heeseung kept flashing inside your mind.

You decided to walk back to your apartment as it was late already and you shouldn’t encounter anyone. Nobody should know that you went out of your apartment at this time.

Once back inside, you went to the fridge and get your favorite drink. Thankfully, you stopped by the convenience store near your place before going home. You didn’t need to go there right now that can make you suspicious.

You have a simple plan. It’s not the best one you can come up with, but its better that way or not getting Heeseung at all.

First, you will wait for him at his usuall route back to his apartment. For some reasons, he take the shorter way near the park where you just got your package. He walks there whenever he doesn’t take his car because of practice.

They have rugby practice during tuesdays and thursdays. You’ll wait for him that day and quietly stalks behind him. That won’t be too hard because you’ve done it multiple times, he never caught on you. It’s either he's really dense or he’s just very tired from practice to even give a fuck.

While you stalk behind him, you will find the perfect timing to go close and point a knife on his side. You will threaten him to come with you or else you will hurt him.

A lot of contrasting thoughts occupies your mind, but you disregard all of them and stayed positive.

There’s just some minor problems. Sometimes, he walks with another friend. Another one is that since he’s very tall and obviously much well built than you, he’ll probably fight back, right? Will your plan even work? The last problem is that you have to make sure nobody will see it. His practice ends late, so he’ll probably walk home late as well.

The next day was wednesday and you’re planning to execute your plan tomorrow. They will have a practice and since the games are near, surely they will stay late. Mixed emotions while trying to prepare yourself for what's about to unfold.

“Ack!” your head unconsciously snaps over to the side after hearing someone shriek from the corner.

Three people are at the far side of it, making sure their presence will be unknown by any school officials. You kept staring and when you realized that Jay was one of the three, you let out a sigh. He’s probably bullying lower years once again.

He often loves playing pranks or occasionally makes fun of the lower batch. You slightly feel bad for them, but there’s really nothing you can do. Jay’s one of the most influential kids in your school. His family is very wealthy and have a lot of connections all over the town. It sure is a bad idea to go against him.

Just like other students, you turned blind-eye and just went on walking back to your classroom. Being observant gave you the ability to adapt to your surrounding and to avoid any way to get into people’s bad side.

Specially to Heeseung’s group of friends' bad side. They’re the most dangerous kids here if you’ll be very honest.

Starting off with Yang Jungwon. His father is the Governor. Being the younger son, his parents always favor him. Next is Jay, his father owns a big travels agency. He’s their only child too so that only means his parents will do anything for him.

Follows up to him is Jake Sim. His parents are both doctors and they own multiple Hospitals. They also own one of the biggest pharmaceuticals in the country. And you know what it means when your source of income aligns with health, it reeks of money. Health is wealth, that’s what they said. Well, he at least he do well in school unlike some of them. You’ll give him that.

Park Sunghoon. The first child of the owners of the biggest and most famous Law firm in the country. His father won a lot of big cases local and international. It was no doubt that he have the ability to manipulate the law itself in any way he wants. He’s a snobby one too.

Kim Sunoo is the youngest child of business tycoons. His parents owns big and well known commercial establishment all over the country. He’s no joke. Very spoiled as well and have a rude attitude. His face speaks for him whenever he look over people that are not on his level.

Nishimura Riki, middle child of said to be owners of Engineering and Architectural companies that said to be incharge of building the biggest establishments and also the roads of the country.

Lee Heeseung is just the same with the six of them. His parents owns an airline and is currently one of the three biggest in the country. He’s the youngest of the two sons and sure is spoiled rotten.

Their families are considered the most powerful and influential families in the town. They basically rule this place. Nobody, as in no soul dares to mess with them. Their kids, which is the seven gorgeous boys you just mentioned, were the ones that rules the school like their own playground.

The thought made you halt your step. Are you really gonna do that? You’re probably losing your mind at the moment. Lee Heeseung is the son of one of the most influential people in your town. There’s no way you could execute this plan properly, right? This is probably the worst idea.

But as if like the fate is playing jokes on you, just in time Lee Heeseung walks ahead of you. His familiar manly scent made it to your nose that instantly drawn you into a spell. A dangerous one.

Your eyes follows him while he walks confidently over the hallway of your building. His wide back and long legs sure is eye-catching as you watch students almost breaking their necks just to get a good glimpse of the said boy.

Still under that dangerous spell, you ignored all those thoughts and your decision to do what you planned ruled over the fear.

The next day came and you’re currently at a near convenience store to buy your favorite drink. You mindlessly grabbed one from the big fridge then walk towards the counter. Your eyes settles to the cashier boy that focuses on scanning your order as the familiar beep sound errupts from it.

“That’ll be 2000 won.” he mumbled softly. Your eyes are glued to him for some reason.

“Miss?” he calls you again that snapped you back to reality. It somehow made you feel shy for spacing out.

“U-Uh, yeah. I’m sorry.” you lowered your gaze to fish something from your wallet. As you grab your money, you kind of felt off.

“Here.” you placed the correct amount of payment and watch as how he slid the drink near you.

His fair complexion grabs your attention and it made you tilt your head to the side. You’ve been in this convenience store a lot and not once have you seen this person yet. Well, you can’t really tell who it was since he’s wearing a cap and mask. But his built and all is very unfamiliar, far from the people who you saw working here.

In the end, you realized that maybe the fact that you’ll be doing something illegal tonight makes you overthink alot. It makes you overanalyze everything. So you disregarded all those thoughts and just go to where you need to be.

Just like how you planned you waited patiently at the usual route Lee Heeseung takes whenever he has practice. Just near a vending machine, you crouched to hide yourself from his sight.

Exactly how you expects him to arrive, he did. There he is. Wearing a plain white t-shirt and his sweats while his big duffel bag hangs loosely over his body. Both of his hands are inside his pocket.

His tall figure kind of intimidates you, but there’s no chance of backing out at the moment. It’s better to take action right away.

When you’re about to walk towards him, he stops that made you stoned to your position. You carefully watch his movements and somehow expects him to turn around.

He didn’t. Instead, he started rummaging over his bag making him totally unaware of his surroundings. He’s so busy looking for whatever that thing he’s trying to get inside his bag. You silently cheered and advances near him to execute your plan.

A few steps away from him and you can already smell his addicting manly scent. Once you’re near enough, you stood behind and placed one of your hand at his shoulder. Your other hand holding the knife points over to his side, making sure it won’t hurt or bruise him.

“Don’t move.” you tried to hard to sound so intimidating.

You felt Heeseung tensing up and stiffened in front of you. His tall figure almost covers you from the view of people in front him. He didn’t said anything right away.

“What the...” he mumbles.

You take a deep breath. “Don’t even think of doing something funny.” you threatened again, pressing the knife more. Just so he can feel it and be scared of it. His head craned to the side so you know he’s now aware of the weapon you have.

“What do you need? Money? I can give you all of mine.” he casually said. He doesn’t even sound scared. You gulped, nervous now.

“I d-don’t need your money!”

He turned his head and was about to face you, but you pushed him over the shoulder to prevent it. He sighed and tilt his head. His large figre in front of you makes you feel dizzy.

“Start walking! Do as I say or I will seriously burry this knife on your side.”

He was silent for a while, unresponsive. You’re already worrying that he’s about to fight back, but thankfully he started walking towards the direction you’re guiding him.

“Where?” he asks, still sounding calm.

“To that building.” you said seriously and started guiding him inside.

The guard on patrol are probably out on a break so he's not on his usual spot by the entrance of the apartment building. Heeseung stayed silent until you reached the elevator.

You stretched your arm to press the floor button and met eyes with him through his reflection on the elevator doors. It made your heart race insanely fast. You kept your composure and went back on standing behind him, knife pressed on his side.

His eyes looked blank while staring silently at you. It made you shiver, but there’s no backing out anymore. If you showed him that you’re scared it will backfire on you.

“You know you’ll get arrested for this, right?” he asks calmly.

You know that very well. But you alreay lost your mind for him. Obsession sure is a dangerous thing, toxicating.

You ignored what he said and pushed his back so he can start walking again once you arrived at your floor. Since its already pretty late, the hallway was empty as expected so it was easier for you.

“Don’t make a sound.” you reminded him, knife still pressed at his side while you hold his one arm.

“What? Do you think I will scream like a fucking pussy?” his tone was full of sarcasm that completely caught you off-guard.

You’ve always know that he is confident and brave. But how come he can still be this arrogant despite a knife being pressed over him? Is he really this fearless? Or maybe he just don’t take you seriously.

“Watch your tone.” you hissed at him.

He craned his neck at the side and stared down at you. It was cold and blank. You shivered once again, but you kept a glare on him.

“Punch my code in.” and you started to dictate your pincode for him.

He surprisingly obliged without giving you a hard time and noticed how natural he looked pressing those numbers in. The door made a sound and you kicked it open before pushing him once again.

He didn’t say anything and just struts inside. His head moves side to side, scanning the whole room. You felt your cheeks flushing by realizing that Lee Heeseung is inside. Just by standing behind him and watching him awkwardly standing in the middle of your small living room, makes you realize that he look out of place because he’s so big.

Your apartment never look so small before.

“Sit down at the couch.” you ordered after snapping out of your trance.

He turned around to face you and cooly slid his hands back inside his pockets. He stared at you with his intense blank eyes.

“I said sit down!” you shouted, feeling worried that he will really fight back already.

To your surprise, Heeseung obliged with no complain. He sat down, occupying a large space to your almost worn out sofa. He stared at you, still with no words coming out from his sexy lips.

You started walking closer, his eyes following your movements. You gulped and pursed your lips before grabbing the handkerchief that has a chloroform. His eyes darted at it but remained silent.

“You won’t be hurt as long as you behave yourself.” you mumble and walked closer to him.

His head tilts to the side, the side of his lips lifts. “You have the guts.” he whispered but enough for you to hear.

You gulped and acted quickly pushed forward and covering his mouth and nose with the handkerchief. His hand reaches out for you and it felt so warm over your skin. He was trying to resist but you pour everything to keep him in place.

After a while, his movements became weak and his eyes started batting slowly. You cheer inwardly and smiles when he finally fall over to the sofa, unconscious.

You heaved a heavy sigh watching him knocked out. Slowly standing up and staring down at his sleeping state, a victory smile spreads across your face. Both of your hands raises up.

“It actually works!” you cheered, very cheeky.

You leaned closer and softly poked his cheeks to check if he's awake. When he’s not responding, you quickly grabbed the rope and tape you bought. Carefully you tied him up, making sure it won’t him too much.

After making sure he’s all secured, a big smile makes it way to your lips once again. You leaned towards him and can hear his calm breathing.

You chest thumped loudly and you can feel your whole system almost comvulsing in so much thrill. You can feel your throat drying up just by staring at his pretty face. Not once did you imagine being this close to him. Dreams do really come true.

When your finger touches his soft face, you retrieve it like as if you got burn by it. You bit your lower lip trying to suppress the big, crazy grin on your face.

“You’re really here with me.” you utter and giggled as you stood up.

Deciding to kill some time to wait for him to wake up again, you went to get your favorite drink so you can drink it. It’s a pre-celebration for actually executing your plan.

You have a big smile on your face as you drink from it. After that, you sat at the other sofa and opened the television to entertain yourself. You glanced over to Heeseung and giggled once again, seeing him sleeping cutely.

While watching this show, you can feel your eyes losing focus, your lids feeling heavier. You’re starting to doze off. Suddenly you feel so sleepy, but its different. Like it feels heavier, your body weighing tons.

As you slowly falls back to the couch, dozing off, before your eyes fully close you can see a shadow from the corner of the room. You don’t know if its just your hallucination or what, but you have no time to confirm since your eyes fully closed.

A figure slowly loomes closer to Heeseung’s body at the coach. His arm stretches with a knife and then he freed his arm and legs from the ropes you just tied him with. Heeseung’s eyes cracks open and it quickly darted at your direction.

“How long will she be out?” He asks his friend after he took off the tape on his mouth.

“If Sunoo did inject the right dosage I told him, two to three hours.” Jake informs him and even glanced at the drink they just spiked.

Their head snaps at the door when it opened revealing Sunoo with Jungwon. Sunoo’s still on his uniform from the convenience store and Jungwon with his hoodie and sweatpants. Their brows furrowed hardly.

“How is he awake?” Sunoo wonders, referring to their friend.

Heeseung teared his eyes from them and struts closer to your position.

“He just pretended to pass out.” Jungwon concluded, putting two and two together. Sunoo nods and roams his eyes around the place.

Sunghoon, Jay and Ni-ki finally arrives and they’re all wearing their hoodies and sweatpants. Some of them wears caps.

“Did you handle the apartment manager?” Jake asks.

Jay nods his head, smirking. “That sum of money is enough for him to shut his mouth. Nobody will know we’ve been here.”

“I also made sure no one’s around the neighborhood saw.” Ni-ki mumbles while eyeing his eldest hyung crouching in front of your unconscious body. His hand carefully stretches to reach for you, gently brushing some hair away from your face.

“Irish won’t say a thing too. I returned her card pass for this building.” Sunghoon says and tilts his head. “What did you even do to her, hyung? You scared the shit out of her.” he chuckles lightly and roams around your small apartment.

“You don’t want to know.” Jake smirks and glanced at his hyung.

Heeseung is silent while staring at your unconscious body. A small evil smile spreads across his face before he slid his arms to carry you.

“You’re going to keep her here?” Jungwon asks then he knocks on the wall. “The wall’s too thin.”

Heeseung shakes his head side to side.

“I’m taking her home with me.” he heaved a sigh, calming himself down.

“I’m finally taking you home with me, baby.” he whispers down at your sleeping body.

permanent tag-list:

@rubyanne @map-of-border @hwangjangmi @love13tter @candewlsy @simpforniki @classicroyalty @hime98 @moonsclassyslore @ddeonubaby @yeoungie @acciomylove @mymeloem19 @jvngw0n @dreamjerky @minamoons @clar-iii @herasalvatore @nyfwyeonjun @rcveribin @yizhoutv @one16core @soobin-chois @kyutiepeachy @chareadingpurposes @hwalllllllelujah @solelyenha @90sni-ki @nourhan-8 @nikipedia07 @yangbreads @drunkjazed @axartia @all4haru @sta-rie @purplepuppychild @iceeee @wtfhyuck @tobiosbbyghorl @nikililmj @ayayiiie @aeyeree @heeseung-min @in-somnias-world @psh-pjh @hveanlyanqelic

[v1sexual]

always forever ; vi (arcane)

a collection of (modern) domestic life activities with vi ! college au , modern au , self indulgent

drabble one: historians will call them flatmates , drabble two (soon)

ꕀ you and flatmate vi actually got off on the wrong foot when you first met.

it was the night you moved in. after a long day of moving, carrying heavy suitcases around, building furnitures, and organizing your room, you’re more than ready to get some good night sleep.

after taking a quick shower, you put on an oversized band tee paired with black boxer shorts (that are new and never been worn) you stole from your brother. just as you were about to fall asleep, you heard the front door slam open. the sound of faint giggles filled the hallway to which you paid no mind to, assuming that it was one of your flatmates.

you’ve dozed off for a couple of minutes until you were woken up by a faint thumping on your wall. you sighed and placed a blanket over your head. just as you closed your eyes, you heard a loud moan. “what the actual fuck?” you hissed. more moans came from the room next to yours, followed by the faint sound of thumping. pissed off, you slammed your hand on the wall. “keep it down! some people are trying to sleep here!”

the moaning and thumping immediately stopped, you could hear two hushed female voices talk. “sorry!” a deep feminine voice called out. shrugging, you placed your earbuds on and blasted one of your bedtime playlists.

you fell asleep for what feels like a couple of hours when more thumping and louder moans came from your flatmate’s room. “how the hell are they still at it, jesus.” you muttered under your breath. sighing, you grabbed a pillow and a blanket then proceeded to make your way outside. you didn’t want to interrupt whatever the hell your flatmate and their guest are doing, so you decided to just spend the rest of the night in your car. besides, it’s already 6 in the morning. you didn’t have any classes yet, but you did want to drive around the neighbourhood and check out some of the cafes.

a faint thumping from your car window woke up you up. a girl, roughly your age, with pink hair waved at you. she wore a white wife beater and plaid boxers, you took note of the hickeys on her neck and chest. you narrowed your eyes at her, ‘the culprit’ you thought. she gave you a guilty smile and motioned for you to roll your windows down.

“you must be my new flatmate,” she said sleepily. “the name’s vi.” she held her hand out.

“charmed,” you muttered sarcastically while shaking her hand. “i’m (name).”

vi apologized profusely, to which you replied with a sigh and waved it off. after that very awkward encounter you avoided vi like the plague, and every time she had a girl over you would sleep over at your friend, ekko’s, place.

ꕀ flat mate vi ! who you got to know better when the power went out because of a citywide blackout. you learned that vi was a second year engineering major, she’s part of the university’s rugby and hockey team, and that she’s the oldest of four siblings.

ꕀ flat mate vi ! whose outfit consisted of a black wife beater, a couple oversized shirts, jerseys, sweats, plaid boxers & pjs, and her two sneakers. no matter what though she will always opt to wear her wife beaters, no bra btw (the faint outline of her nipple piercings visible), and her plaid boxers.

ꕀ flat mate vi ! who would sneak glances at you whenever you wore those tiny little biker shorts, appreciating the way your ass looks in the snug material. she’d also purposely place essential kitchenware on the top shelf, appreciating the way your oversized band tee would slip up to reveal your ass.

ꕀ flat mate vi ! who you noticed, stopped bringing nighttime guests over after a month you two became friends. you paid no mind to it, keeping your nose out of her business. you assumed it was out of respect, and that she didn’t want you sleeping in your car again. but one thing’s for sure though, the fact that vi stopped bringing home guests made you feel a whole lot better. and not just because you get a good night’s sleep. but also because you may or may not feel a small pang of jealousy whenever she did bring someone home.

ꕀ flat mate vi ! who fell silent when you excitedly told her that someone asked you out, and the fact that it was a guy made her mentally bang her head in a wall. she’s not one to assume a person’s sexuality, but you going out with a guy made her little lesbian heart deflate a bit. you never did open up about your dating preferences, and it’s not like she asked you either.

ꕀ flat mate vi ! who was overjoyed when you came home after you date, ranting to her how goddamn awful it was. if vi had a tail, it would 100% be wagging when you told her (and i quote;) “… this is why i prefer women, women would never!”

ꕀ flat mate vi ! who made subtle moves on you after that night. can’t reach something from the top shelf? next thing you know, she’s behind you. her chest pressed against you back as she grabbed whatever you needed. you could feel the faint outline of her nipple piercing, making your brain short circuit. had a rough day? vi’s got you covered. she’ll have your favorite movie/show on the tv for you, she’ll bring out the electronic heating blanket out, and she’ll have your favorite takeout on the table for you. period cramps? you sure as hell know she’ll grab you some pain killers and a warm compress. out of pads/tampons? vi will literally venture out at night to get you some.

ꕀ flat mate vi ! who may or may not have milked that one time she had a bad cold. you practically slept in her room. you’d keep watch on her temperature, remind her when to take her meds, place a cold cloth on her forehead when she gets too warm, and evens helped her get into her shower.

ꕀ flat mate vi ! who invited you to one of her hockey games during winter break. as much as you wanted to go, you needed to go home during winter break for your mom’s birthday. which vi understood of course, since she as well would never miss the chance to go home when when it’s the birthday of one of her siblings or her adoptive father.

ꕀ flat mate vi ! who felt that the flat became eerily quiet when you left for winter break. you’ve only been gone for a couple of days, but it felt like weeks. she missed your cooking, your nagging (whenever she left her dirty dishes in the sink), your late night laundry runs, the three a.m 7-11 trips. vi wanted to text you so bad, but she didn’t. she didn’t know what say, plus she assumed that your busy spending time with your family. you on the other hand, were 100% always checking your phone. every notification made you buzz with excitement, only to be disappointed when it wasn’t her.

ꕀ flatmate vi ! who was down in the dumps during the day of her game, the game she invited you too. little did she know, you left home a couple of days earlier than planned so you could watch her game. you contacted ekko who’s dating vi’s younger sister, powder, for a favour to save you a seat in exchange of bringing him some of your mom’s famous mango float (that you had to beg for her to make, but the moment you mentioned ekko she caved immediately. she loved your childhood friend, probably more than she loves you but oh well)

ꕀ flatmate vi ! who stared at the empty seat next to ekko and powder. she sighed, shaking her head. she knew that if you would have attended her game if you could. plus she could always invite you to her other ones. vi decided to look on the bright side, deciding that she would text you after the game. you arrived a couple minutes late to vi’s game. you squeezed past the tight walkway, texting ekko to ask where they were. ekko waved at you, he and powder were seated at the very front, the first row of seats right in front of the plexiglass preventing any pucks from flying outside the rink.

ꕀ flatmate vi ! who almost tripped on her own skates when she spotted you sitting next to her sister. you were wearing one of her spare jerseys (you 100% stole it from her clean laundry pile), her number painted on your cheek, and a huge smile plastered on your lips as your eyes met. vi gave you a wink and proceeded to show off for the next hour or so.

ꕀ flat mate vi ! who absolutely crushed the game. their team won 4-1, you were here, what else could she ask for. after a quick shower, she met you, ekko, and powder outside the locker room entrance.

you and powder bonded over how amazing the game was, while ekko listened to the both of you. when vi slipped out of the shower room, pink hair still damp, and a towel over her shoulders, you immediately ran towards her. she greeted you with a hug, her chin resting on top of your head. ekko and powder raised an eyebrow at each other, which vi ignored. she instead, shifted her focus on you.

“i thought you wouldn’t be able to make it?” she exclaimed when you broke the hug. you shrugged, smiling at her cheekily. “decided to come back early, i got bored at home.”

vi smiled. “what about your mom’s birthday?” you waved your hand and linked arms with her. “her birthday was two days ago, she practically jumped with joy when i said i was leaving early.”

ꕀ flat mate vi ! who was relieved when ekko and powder finally went home. as much as she loved their company, she just really wanted to be alone with you right now. as soon as you both got home, vi puts on a movie as you guys sat on the couch. you were on the opposite side of the couch, your legs propped on her lap, a nice soft blanket over the two of you.

“i almost forgot!” you exclaimed, shooting up from the couch and darted off to your room. when you came back, you had a small pink box in your hands. vi raised an eyebrow as you sat next to her, a grin etched on your lips.

you excitedly handed vi the box, and gestured for her to open it. a small gasp leaves vi. inside the box was a ring, it was a gold band with a small stone in the middle. the girl practically teared up, she puts the ring on her finger. it was a bit big for her ring finger but it did fit perfectly on her thumb. she could also always put it on the plain gold chain she always wore.

“sooo,” you started. “do you like it?” vi nodded happily, pulling you in for a hug. you sighed contently your chin resting on her shoulder as you wrap your arms around her waist.

“i’m sorry i didn’t get you anything shortcake,” vi whispered, her lips touched the shell of your ear. “don’t worry about, consider it a congratulatory gift and a christmas gift.” you squeaked, a faint blush washing over your cheeks. “plus, i thrifted it. my sister and i went thrifting, and the pink gem reminded me of your hair.”

ꕀ flat mate vi ! might as well have melted on the spot. she broke the hug and held your cheeks in her hands. she tilted your head up, making you look at her.

ꕀ flat mate vi ! who couldn’t resist but press a short kiss on your lips.

you gasped, feeling her soft chapped lips press against yours. the kiss ended as quickly as soon at it happened. vi opened her mouth to say something, you cut her off by gripping the. front of her hoodie. pulling her towards you, your lips landed on hers. vi’s eyes fluttered shut and so did yours, the movie you put on merely became a background noise as your lips danced against hers.

“i’ve waited so long to do that,” vi whispered. she rested her forehead against yours, your hot breath fanning over her lips. “took you long enough.”. you whispered back before pulling her in another kiss.

safe to say that by then the movie was long forgotten.

[capseycartwright]

ireland got knocked out of the rugby world cup, i am apoplectic with grief, i have channelled those big sads into a buddie rugby ficlet. yes buck plays for ireland and yes eddie is a irish coach no you don't need to know how they got there.

for my rugby girlies. i hate this sport and also i love it with every part of me. i also think this counts for seven sentence sunday so thank u for tagging me @fangkinkdiaz

The final whistle goes, and Buck knows it's over. He doesn’t need to look up at the scoreboard to know that they didn’t make it - the World Cup dream is over. 

Tears are dripping from the curve of his chin before he even realises he’s crying - but Buck isn’t surprised, really. He’s not sure he’s ever felt devastation quite like it - four points standing between them, and a World Cup semi final for the first time in history. 

Four points. 

This one was going to hurt for a long time yet, Buck knew.

Accepting the hand offered by a teammate, Buck allowed himself to be pulled up off the field where he’d been sitting, hot, frustrated tears streaming down his cheeks, only adding to the mess of blood, and dirt on his jersey. 

“I thought we had it,” Jack mumbled as he dragged Buck to his feet, his hand shaking in Buck’s grip. It was his first world cup, Jack one of the youngest of their squad. It was Buck’s second, but his first with a team he really thought could make it all the way: and the devastation was worse, when you went into a competition believing the win was yours. At least last time, he had been playing for fun.

Buck could only grimace in response. 

He thought they had it too. 

Four fucking points.

It’s a blur, as he walks around the field, shaking hands with players in black celebrating, exchanging tight hugs with his own teammates, his own devastation reflected in their expressions as they take a lap of the field, thousands of sad faces in bright green jerseys looking on as they clapped a congratulations Buck wasn’t sure they had quite earned this time. 

Buck watched, standing alone on the field as his teammates went to find their friends and family. He’d always been jealous of that. Maddie tried to come, when she could, but Buck played for a team thousands of miles away from her California home, and she had a kid now - it wasn’t as easy as it used to be for her to be in the stands. 

He was more jealous of the players who were seeking out their wives, and girlfriends, sympathetic faces pulling them in for hugs, and kisses, the kind of reassurance Buck himself was craving as the adrenaline started to leave his body, and the reality started to hit: the World Cup was over. Rugby was a funny career. Buck liked to think he’d still be fit, and playing, by the time the next World Cup came around, but he knew one bad hit was all it took to end a career.

It was what happened to Eddie, after all.

Buck had watched Eddie play on TV more times than he could count, had stared, astounded, as Eddie had played some of the best rugby Buck had ever seen. And then one day, it was over. 

It had been a warm-up test - not even a championship game. Buck had been watching it back home in California, and it was 3am, and his eyes had ached from the brightness of the TV as he’d watched Eddie line out, 10 emblazoned on his back and a familiar confident grin on his face. He had been the best in the world, and then one bad hit had broken his shoulder so badly, he’d never regained full fitness again.

Eddie had joined the coaching squad, after his career had been cut short, and Buck had sought out the familiarity of another American voice in the Irish camp the first day he had arrived, three long years finally making it so he qualified to play for the country he had adopted as his home after Munster had offered him a contract to play club rugby. It had been a rogue decision, from their coach - America wasn’t lauded for creating the most memorable rugby players - but they’d seen something in Buck. 

He was grateful for that. 

Something in Buck broke as he watched another teammate embrace his girlfriend, and he started to walk, his feet carrying him where his heart so desperately wanted to be.

Eddie was standing near the edge of the field, teeth worrying the corner of his lip as he watched the devastation unfold around him. One thing that people didn’t know about coaches, Buck felt at least, was that they felt the hurt as much as the players did: coaches just had the harder job of putting on a brave face sooner and making sure the squad got back on their feet. 

His lanyard was tucked under his arm, in that ridiculous way Eddie always wore his accreditation, and his hair was a mess: Buck knew if he watched back the match, every time the camera panned to the coaches, he’d see Eddie running his hands through his hair. 

“You fought like hell,” Eddie offered, and Buck knew he wasn’t wrong, but that wasn’t the comfort he wanted, there and then. 

The thing was - somewhere along the way, Eddie had stopped being that familiar American face, and he’d started to be Buck’s best friend, and then he’d become the love of Buck’s life - in that order, with a few stops in between. They’d talked about it - all the ways going public would affect Buck’s career, how it might make him a target, if he was ready for the snide remarks that would come with being an out rugby player in the peak of his career - and they’d agreed to keep it a secret until Buck retired. 

But they’d just gotten knocked out of the World Cup, and Buck wanted to kiss his goddamn boyfriend.

“There’s no going back, if you do,” Eddie whispered, and that was when Buck realised he’d said it out loud. Eddie had come out after his career had been cut short, never one to dream of being an advocate but suited to the role, all the same, rainbow laces in trainers and a pride flag pinned to his jacket a constant reminder to the world that he was here, and he was queer. 

“I don’t want to go back,” Buck shook his head. They had lost the World Cup - he would be a different rugby player for it, now. He was ready to be a different man, too. 

“Are you sure?” Eddie inclined his head slightly. “Buck, you’re not thinking straight right now - you’ve just played a crazy eighty minutes, and -” 

Buck kissed him. He was gross, and sweaty, and disgusting, and there was blood pouring down his face, escaping the plaster the medical team has hastily put on his head 47 minutes in, but Eddie kissed him back with a familiarity and certainty that Buck would never get used to as long as he lived. Eddie was home. This team was home, and Eddie was home - and he’d figure out the rest. 

The noise of the stadium hadn’t lessened - it hadn’t gone silent, in shock. No, the noise was still roaring, and the world had kept turning, and Buck was pretty sure that was an ITV camera that was recording the way Eddie kept a tight hold of the hem of Buck’s jersey and -

“You’ll take the heat off us losing, with that one,” Patrick grinned, and Buck let out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding as his teammate teased him. 

“I was just doing it for the team,” Buck retorted, and despite everything, despite the hurt and the loss and the way it would take weeks to find his love of rugby again after coming so close - but not quite close enough - he looked at Eddie and couldn’t help but smile, his boyfriend returning the grin.

Yeah.

Everything was going to be okay, actually.

[scotianostra]

The rugby player and commentator Gordon Lamont Brown was born on the 1st November 1947.

Known quite simply as Broon fae Troon, Brown was from a sporting family, his elder brother Peter also played for and captained the Scottish side. His father, John played goalkeeper for the Scottish football side and also appeared in the Scottish Open at Royal Troon alongside golfing greats such as Arnold Palmer. He is also the nephew of footballers Tom and Jim Brown.

Broon was a legendary Scotland second row and a fully-paid up component of the Mean Machine; a triple Lion and fierce competitor in the Battle of Boet Erasmus; a ruthless assassin on the pitch and a true gentleman off the field of play.

early interest was in the round rather than the oval ball. His conversion was reportedly the result of a particularly heated football tie, after which he reckoned ‘rugby would be safer’! He emerged on to the international stage in December 1969, from West of Scotland, having just turned 22.

After a winning debut against South Africa, he retained his place for the Five Nations opener against France. Dropped for the subsequent Wales match, he was replaced by brother Peter who revelled in breaking the news to Gordon. Peter was then injured in the match – and replaced at half-time by his younger sibling; the first occasion where a brother had replaced a brother in an international. When the Browns joined forces against England in 1970, it was the first time brothers had played together for Scotland since Angus and Donald Cameron in 1902.

Immovable in the scrum yet dynamic in the loose, Gordon went onto cement his place in Scotland’s front five of the early 1970s, the formidable Mean Machine that also featured Ian McLauchlan, Frank Laidlaw, Sandy Carmichael and Alastair McHarg. Between 1971 and 1976, Scotland lost just once at home, a narrow defeat to the All Blacks.

A giant of a man, both physically and figuratively, he formed a key partnership in the blue jersey with McHarg, winning 30 caps; in a Lions shirt, he was one of the world’s most ruthless competitors. Not only could he move but his outstanding handling skills resulted in eight tries on the Lions’ 1974 venture – including the brutal Battle of Boet Erasmus – a record for a forward. He played in eight Lions’ Tests between 1971 and 1977, playing a major part in the 1971 and 1974 victories. A string of injuries ended his career, but not before an infamous incident in a match between Glasgow and the North-Midlands, he was suspended for three months after getting into a fight with Allan Hardie, in which Brown chased Hardie, threw him to the ground and kicked him. Prior to this, Hardie had kneed Brown in the face and proceed to stamp on the open wound on Brown's brow after the initial attack went unnoticed by the referee. The suspension meant that he missed three internationals and was banned from training at any rugby club.

The hardest battle came two decades later, with the diagnosis of non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma. A battler to the end, he died in 2001, aged just 53.

[swoopswrites]

shoulder to shoulder hc's

Remus

is a really good cook from looking after Gracie but refuses to look after himself properly so only ever makes pesto pasta or noodles at uni, but when he's home and in a good mood he whips up the turkish dishes of his childhood for his sister

had a lightning bolt shaved into his short back and sides as a kid because he thought it'd make him faster on the field

originally played nine because he was a mouthy motherfucker at age twelve but when he hit puberty he grew too tall and his coach moved him to fifteen, but he ended up loving it

is actually still on good terms with his secondary school girlfriend, who sometimes takes Gracie on day trips with her and her little sister

he still has all his old jerseys in a box under his bed, saving them for if he ever has kids.

was filmed shirtless for a promotional video for his first world cup and overnight became a figurehead for body positivity and had instagram accounts dedicated to his abs. Sirius finds the latter hilarious and encourages to post thirst traps to his own professional account to give them new content. Remus begins working with charities on campaigns that help children feel comfortable with their visible differences, publicly talking about his scars in a way he thought he never would.

used to tell people Gracie was his daughter when he was eighteen for a laugh and to see the horror on their faces.

moves into a flat in Bristol with Sirius after graduating; equal distance from Remus' training and James' parents house. Gracie moves in with them after four years, after another accident forces Lyall into rehab.

Sirius

joined rugby in year seven because his first proper friend James said it was really cool and he knew it'd piss off his mum

got his tattoo's with a fake ID at seventeen the week after he moved in with the Potter's because he couldn't think of a better way to retake ownership of his body

a prolific vinted seller, makes bank by upcycling the cast-offs of his friends and re-selling them. in his final year, it gets featured in Teen Vogue and the exposure gets him fashion internships for post graduation.

(follow on) can sew. Effie taught him on the long nights he couldn't sleep post-running away, and so many of his clothes he's made himself

aside from his one night stand in first year, Remus is the first person Sirius has done bits at uni with because he was always too scared Peter would find out

swore himself off rugby boys and was so rude to Remus at first because he couldn't bear to admit his attraction

ends up working with NGO's to help queer youth, pioneering for the inclusion of queer kids in sport, helped by Remus' professional connections

Lily

had a weeny crush on remus when she first met him, and spent the first two weeks of uni gushing to her school friends about 'the cute welsh guy in my lectures' until she realised he really needed a friend, and she did her best to be that for him

likes her sleepovers with remus bc as a kid her and petunia used to share a bed but petunia stopped when they were fifteen and Lily always sleeps better next to someone else

used to hate being Ginger but her year 10 crush once told her it made her 'unique' and now she loves her hair

always wearing black winged eyeliner, even just to make a tesco run

has a tiny butterfly tattoo on her ankle that she got matching with her sister before her sister went to uni, back when they were on better terms. she hates it now, and tries to always wear socks

lowkey such a daddy's girl. watches the rugby with him and they have matching Ulster jersey's and scarves

James

had initially wanted to be a cricketer like his dad but his primary school had had a rugby club, and it was love at first training session

was genuinely shocked to be voted captain, doesn't realise how widely loved he is

obsessed with pickled onion monster munch

favourite song is unironically the rockerfeller skank by fatboy slim

his mum insisted he also take bollywood dancing lessons as a kid because she was scared private boarding school would make him lose his connection to his culture

was the main love interest in his year eleven school play after auditioning for a joke with Sirius and now has a genuine love of theatre and can still rattle off his lines

went to primary school with Peter and didn't know how to say no to him when he asked to join their second year house

gets invited to join the England team at the end of his final year of uni, and is genuinely more excited at the prospect of playing against Remus than he is to play for nationally.

he and Remus become known as a 'dynamic duo' amongst rugby fans, and create a fake twitter rivalry as a laugh, before staging a huge 'reconciliation' in the form of running their own summer training camps for underprivileged and disabled children. Gracie is the first to sign up.

[fayythe]

Divine Love: Prologue

Henry Cavill X OFC Summary: Rhylan Daines property of the United States Government, the training she took on, the beating, and pain was all manipulating her to loose her body autonomy, they tell her to eat a certain way, talk, walk, act. Nothing is hers, how can she escape the torture her life has become? Now an semi-active black ops Navy Seal working for the CIA struggled to make peace with her past.  She was always told that every life she took, every person she tortured, and every soul she crushed was for the greater good, but how is more violence supposed to help the world?  How can acting help her stop being forced to kill?  How can finding love help her find herself? Only time will tell...

Trigger warnings: Slight Alcoholism, Assault, Kidnapping, Blood, Skin Branding, Heavy Depression, Drugs, Undiagnosed eating disorder, Forced Eugenics, Talk of Genocide, talk of war, talk of gore, Hospitalizations for medical reasons, Mental Health issues, Hitman/murder unrecognized by law, Profanity, Military Brutality, torture, terrorism, violence, scars, seizures.

Rhylan's Tattoos

Rhylan's Body Scars Diagram

“Trust is like blood pressure. It’s silent, vital to good health, and if abused it can be deadly.” —Frank Sonnenberg

Prologue

  I watched the snowfall on the iced sidewalk; the sky was so dark only a few stars peaked so far away. I sighed, blowing out the smoke from the cigarette I inhaled. The nicotine filled my lungs with a slight burn, then the smell engulfed me as it slowly disbursed through the air as I exhaled. I rarely smoke, only when I’m stressed and today is one of those days.

My arms were visible, my coat tied tight around my waste protecting me from the wet wood bench. I didn’t know what I was doing here, in front of this little diner in the small city of Saint Heller Jersey, I should be back at the safe house trying to find another way to complete my mission.

Part of me knew that I should, but another part of me didn’t want to move. I was constantly moving, always traveling, always finding a lead no matter where it takes me. I just want to sit down, even if it’s for a few minutes.

I flicked my cigarette, “You know those are terrible for you” I looked over from hearing a rough raspy British accent and saw a tall guy with curly brown hair bundled up in a winter coat, boots, and a green rugby hat. I rolled my eyes, I don’t do very well with the people from the countries I’m stationed at, it’s not like I’m trying to be mean, I just don’t want to say too much and ruin my cover.

The cigarette still burning between my pointer finger and middle finger was halfway finished, in looking at the man once more before throwing the smoking white filtered stick to the ground and crushing it with my foot. I made sure to pick it back up and tuck it into my jean pocket. I’m probably going to accidentally wash the cigarette bud with my jeans, I thought.

The man smiled, “See that wasn’t that hard” I chuckled, his smile was nice, endearing, but also curious in a way. Since I didn’t say anything he spoke again, “What are you doing out here so late at night, especially without a jacket on?” He questioned, I thought about giving the honest answer and thinking whatever, never going to see this guy, again right? “I spend a few months in Russia off and on, this is nothing to me” I wasn’t lying, not exactly, of course, there are more details but there’s only so much I can tell him. He started walking towards me and gestured to the open seat of the bench next to me, I nodded. “American? What are you doing here, not many Americans I know who would vacation in Saint Heller?” His tone sounded curious, but you could also hear the slight rattle of his teeth as he shivered from the cold. 

I chuckled, this poor guy sitting out in the cold to speak to me on the frozen bench. “I’m on business, and you’re right this isn’t my first option for vacation.” My eyes wandered to my hands as I twisted my thumb. “Then what would be your first option for vacation?” I looked at him confused his piercing blue eyes almost carved into my soul, “You don’t even know my name and you’re trying to get to know me?” I asked as my southern draw poked through my words.

I had no problem with him trying to talk to me, I’m a better person to speak to at night anyway: it seems as if I’m more of a night person than a morning person. Trust me after being woken up at four in the morning every day for nearly three years, you’d learn to hate the morning—his voice interrupted my thoughts swirling, “Oh right! Name, I’m Henry, and you are?” Henry held out his right hand for me to shake, Fuck it, “I’m Rhylan”

“Well, Rhylan, what do you say we go somewhere to warm up, there’s a good diner down the road.” I looked at the blue-eyed man sitting next to me. I smiled, “Will you let me frisk you first?” I joked.

Nobody I knew liked that joked, yet he smiled. Maybe he is different.

--

The diner was small, quaint but cute. It was quiet in the booth we sat at in the back of the diner, that I got to get to know him more.

I smiled as I watched him slowly walk to the booth with two cups of hot liquid in his hands, one with a large whip cream swirl on top. I smiled at his cute hitchhiker walk trying his best to not let the cups spill, “One large hot chocolate for the pretty lady” He spoke in a more elaborated British accent while setting the hot glass in front of me and then setting his coffee across then sitting down.

“You should’ve let me pay, I feel bad now” I stared at the large hot chocolate, debating on whether to drink it. It just looks so pretty, with the whip cream and cinnamon, I caved once the whipped cream started melting into the dark chocolate, “Don’t worry about it, also do you even have any British pounds?” He questions.

To be completely honest, I didn’t even really think about the negative consequences to answer this question, I just felt so open around Henry like I’ve known him all my life. “Only about ten thousand” my face was still in the mug of hot chocolate as I said it, to cover what I said and make it seem like I joke I smiled, when I put down my mug he was smiling as well.

“Well pretty lady, did you rob a bank?” He asked, I saw the slight rise in his eyebrow as a curious gleam spread across his face—yet I could still see that charming slight smile. I decide to just go with it again, “No I infiltrated a drug terrorist rink down at some abandon docks” I laughed again, maybe if I place the truth in plain sight it will make me feel less guilt about lying to him. This time it didn’t play through as I wanted, “I’m joking, I swear” I covered nervously, thank gosh he changed the subject.

“So where are you actually from” He took another large sip of his hot coffee, I still don’t understand how he can drink this so late at night and still be able to sleep. “What do you mean?” He smiled, “You’re American, yes, but from what state?” “Texas” I didn’t even think about the consequences of telling him where I am from, my captain would be so angry with me. “That makes since, the funny accent really stands out” “My funny accent you should hear yours” I said in shock, “Would you like some tea or a crumpet?” I tried my best to imitate his accent and we both burst out laughing, “Oh really--- you want a beer with your fried chicken” We laugh harder, “Hey don’t judge you’ll never understand the love of fried chicken.” I spoke as we both started to catch our breath.

He shakes his head, a smile spread across his lips, “I’ll never understand the need for America to fry everything” “Because it tastes better” I shrugged.

It wasn’t very long after when we both left the café together; it was late nearly two in the morning. But we continued to talk and walk through the snowy park.

“Alright! Bad habits?” He questions.

I cringe, “Only one?”

Henry stops in his tracks and looks at me, “How many do you have?” I sighed and smiled “Too many,” we started to walk again. “Cigarettes, uhm- you saw that. I don’t smoke often, once, or twice a year. It’s complicated.” I continued, “All types of junk food, straight vodka—not the shit stuff that tastes like acetone, but like the good shit.” I paused, damn I have a lot of bad habits I thought, “I can’t think of anymore.” I shrugged, we continued to walk again the snow picking back up this time I put on my jacket, not that it does much.

Henry laughs, “I admire you can eat junk food and stay in shape.” I shook my head, “I don’t, heredity obesity actually runs in my family I just end up working out two to three times a day, it’s my go-to when I’m stressed, and so is alcohol, but working out is my first option.”  I explained, checking the blocky waterproof watch on my wrist at two-forty-five a.m. “Jeez, I thought my job is stressing.” I continued without even thinking about what he said, “What do you do—wait, how do you know it’s my job that’s stressing me, I could be a single mom with five kids.” I chuckled, I’m not, but how could he know that. “You’re not, you look about nineteen,” Henry put his gloved hands in his coat pockets and looked down at me on the side of him. “Quadruplets?” I questioned, seeing if he would believe it, he just shook his head and smiled, “Fine you’re right.” I frowned, “But hey! You didn’t answer my question, what do you do?”

This is the time Henry lit up, it seemed like he enjoyed talking about this topic. “Aspiring Actor” He smiled wide. “Really?” My words were longed in a shocked tone, “In anything good yet? I question, my eyes wondering to his brown hair, snow in the soft curls. He shrugged, “I’m getting there I hope…” He smiled at me, I looked at my watch to avoid the melting feeling his eyes give me. Nearly a quarter past three in the morning, I need to get back to my post.

I paused walking, and smiled at him as he turned to face me, “It’s getting late, we both need some sleep” “Fine---when can I see you again?” I shook my head my eyes following to my hands as my fingers tangled into themselves.

“One day, if fate is working on our sides” I smiled. Henry looked a little disappointed, but he didn’t push on it any farther.

“Well, it was great talking to you, Rhylan” He smiled, I could still see the disappointment in his eyes though.

I smiled and nodded, “Thank you for the hot chocolate”

“Don’t worry about it”

I checked my watch again and then looked back at Henry. “Now listen to me carefully, I wasn’t here, you don’t know my name or any information I’ve told you. You’ll tell nobody of me, it’s up to your safety.” I spoke with no emotion in my voice, I couldn’t show him that I felt anything for him, I just met this man.

“Rhylan—what are you talking about?”

I took Henrys hands into mine, “Just trust me”

“Close your eyes” I spoke my voice softer.

Just like that I was gone, that was the last time I saw Henry.

Little did I know fate was working with us.

Looking back at that day, I didn’t know much about love, life and hope. I didn’t know meeting Henry my change my entire life, with one mission, one moment, and one spark of life in my hardship. Then the thought of finding love was absurd to me. The thought of sticking together with one person for life never even crossed my mind.

But it was the moment I wouldn’t change ever again. Other than the savior of America, Henry was my purpose in life other than to become the drunk I was headed onto.

Instead I had something to look forward to, something to think about when I was down, or my many hospital visits, when I was on leave, I could only let my mind ponder about what could’ve been, what could’ve been made. I once thought, love, life, and happiness wasn’t in store for me. Little did I know.

[sc0tters]

I realised I’ve never actually done one of these before, so here it is!

hi lovelies! I’m amber ꕥ she/her

here are some things to get to know me better…

massive sports fan!

some of my favourite teams include: Detriot Tigers, Chelsea FC, New Jersey Devils, the All Blacks, the Springboks, and Redbull Racing (F1)

I’m from South Africa and New Zealand making rugby very complicated

I’m a scorpio

my favourite colour is blue

I play rugby as a lock if you know what that is I love you

I also play softball as a short stop

I’m 5ft10!

[spacecapybara]

The Starters...Part 3: Grass

Continuing my nonsense posting of ireland inspired pokemon, let's finish off the starter lines with the grass line inspired by leprechauns (and its relatives), deer, and movement in their names. Which in time will make sense. (Leaprefawn -> Falldeerig -> Churastagger) First up is Leaprefawn, a small fawn with a fur coating made of mixed leaves with the spots a fawn normally has being done by autumnal orange leaves amongst the mainly green coat. It would have a gold coin hanging from either ear like tags and orange markings around its mouth forming the shape of where a beard might grow. The shiny variant switching the orange to blue and the green on its coat to a lighter shade. It would have the hidden ability "Harvest." Second we have Falldeerig based off the name of the mischievous relative of the leprechaun, the Fear Dearg (or far darrig). It would be based on an adolescent red deer (the species not the colour) wearing a old fashioned, three-legged, black metal kettle on its head as a helmet with the nub legs of the kettle being replaced with holes for its snout and small antler nubs. Much of its green coat would be fading to orange and browns making the spots far less noticeable. It's shiny turning the kettle on its head a bright red (like the hats of Fear Dearg) and the leaves would be fading to blue instead of orange. Faldeerig's hidden ability would be "Prankster" but its main ability would be one called "Ferment" which means contact moves cause it to eat any berry the opponent is holding, destroying the berry and granting Falldeerig an increase by two steps to its attack but also making it confused. Finally, Cluristagger which is a Grass/Fighting type based off the Clúrachán (or Clurichaun) the rather drunken cousin of the leprechaun. It would be a large orange stag with trims of fresh green, a collar around its neck made from the ruins of the kettle, a pair of large branch-like antlers with fermented apples dangling from them and a golden celtic torc being used as a nose ring. In its animations it would often sway like its slightly intoxicated from eating its fermented apples. It's shiny variant would replace the orange in its coat with blue and the fresh green with gold colours, as well as the antlers turning gold, to represent the munster stag while having the kettle collar turning red like the munster rugby jersey. It's main ability would be "Bad Apple" which makes its contact moves have a chance to cause confusion.

[dailyrugbytoday]

Rieko Ioane in action for Blues against Fijian Drua during Super Rugby season

New Post has been published on https://thedailyrugby.com/blues-against-the-fijian-drua/

The Daily Rugby

https://thedailyrugby.com/blues-against-the-fijian-drua/

Rieko Ioane in action for Blues against Fijian Drua during Super Rugby season

2024 Super Rugby For the Crusaders game on Blues Saturday in Christchurch, the All Blacks Rugby‘ backline combo of Rieko Ioane and Stephen Perofeta have recovered from injury, which is a boost for the Blues.

After missing the previous two weeks of play due to a concussion, Ioane makes his comeback to the run-on side at outside centre. Meanwhile, Perofeta, who has been sidelined since March due to a shoulder ailment, will start at full back.

Prior to the Blues’ triumph against the Highlanders in Auckland last Saturday, Perofeta was listed on the bench; however, he left the team just before the game began.

Super Rugby match info

Event: Blues vs Crusaders

Date: Saturday, May 25

Venue: Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch

Kick-off: 19:05 local (08:05 BST, 07:05 GMT)

Blues team to face Crusaders

Blues: 15 Stephen Perofeta, 14 Mark Tele’a, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Corey Evans, 11 AJ Lam, 10 Harry Plummer, 9 Taufa Funaki, 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 7 Adrian Choat, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Kurt Eklund, 1 Ofa Tu’ungafasi

Replacements: 16 Ricky Riccitelli, 17 Joshua Fusitu’a, 18 PJ Sheck, 19 Josh Beehre, 20 Cameron Suafoa, 21 Sam Nock, 22 Cole Forbes, 23 Caleb Tangitau

Read more about Super Rugby Pacific How to Watch

After being rested for the Highlanders game, Blu captain Patrick Tuipulotu also makes a comeback to the match-day squad, lining up in the second row with Sam Darry.

Mark Tele’a and Hoskins Sotutu, who are positioned on the right wing and number eight, respectively, are among the other players who are rejoining head coach Vern Cotter’s significantly altered starting lineup.

Due to Sotutu’s comeback, Adrian Choat, who played in the number six jersey the previous week, packs down on the openside while Akira Ioane moves from the base of the scrum to the blindside flank.

We’re fortunate to have a variety of high-quality looseies available, Cotter remarked. This week is Choaty, Aki, and Hoskins’ turn, and I’m sure they’ll give it their all in their performance.

Two other changes have been made to the back-line: Taufa Funaki has taken Sam Nock’s place at scrum-half, while AJ Lam has moved from outside center to left wing.

Blues make a daring attempt to get Beau-den Barrett back to Super Rugby Pacific as soon as possible.

The last change comes up front, where Marcel Renata is replaced by Angus Ta’avao as the starting tight head prop. He packs down in the front row with loose head prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi, who signed a contract extension with the Blu earlier this week, and Kurt Blunder, the hooker.

For their journey to Christchurch this week, the Blu have decided to rest All Blacks studs Dalton Papali’i and Caleb Clarke.

The Blues are leading the standings in Super Rugby Pacific with just two matches remaining in the regular season, and Cotter stated that nothing changes for them when they play their fiercest opponents.

[bestshirtcanbuy]

Nrl North Queensland Cowboys Specialized Anzac Jersey 3D Hoodie

The NRL North Queensland Cowboys Specialized Anzac Jersey 3D Hoodie is not just an ordinary piece of clothing, but a symbol of pride, honor, and remembrance. This unique hoodie pays tribute to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) and commemorates the sacrifices made by the brave men and women who served their country. The hoodie is specifically designed for both men and women, making it a versatile gift option for everyone. It comes in a range of sizes, ensuring a perfect fit for all individuals. The jersey is made from high-quality materials, ensuring comfort and durability. The 3D design adds a stylish and modern touch to the traditional concept of a hoodie. What sets this hoodie apart is the ANZAC-inspired design on the front. A beautifully embroidered ANZAC logo is prominently displayed, surrounded by the words "Lest We Forget." This serves as a constant reminder of the bravery and sacrifices of those who fought for freedom and peace. The back of the hoodie features the North Queensland Cowboys logo, showcasing support for the NRL team. This combination of ANZAC and Cowboys symbolism makes the hoodie a perfect gift for rugby league enthusiasts, as well as those who appreciate the historical significance of ANZAC Day. ANZAC Day, observed on April 25th each year, is a day to honor the ANZAC soldiers who fought at Gallipoli during World War I, as well as all Australians and New Zealanders who have served and continue to serve their countries in times of war and conflict. Wearing this hoodie on ANZAC Day and throughout the year is a way to show respect and gratitude for their service. Not only does this hoodie have a symbolic meaning, but it also serves as a practical and fashionable clothing item. The hoodie is perfect for cooler weather, providing warmth and comfort. The design includes a hood with adjustable drawstrings, a front zipper closure, and two front pockets for added convenience. The NRL North Queensland Cowboys Specialized Anzac Jersey 3D Hoodie is a versatile gift option that appeals to a wide range of individuals. It can be worn as casual attire, during outdoor activities, or to NRL games to show support for the Cowboys. The hoodie can also be paired with other clothing items to create stylish and trendy outfits. In conclusion, the NRL North Queensland Cowboys Specialized Anzac Jersey 3D Hoodie is a meaningful gift that pays tribute to the ANZAC legacy while showcasing support for the North Queensland Cowboys. Its versatile design and high-quality construction make it suitable for both men and women. Whether worn on ANZAC Day or throughout the year, this hoodie serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by the brave men and women who have served their countries.

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[natreidess]

[goalofthecentury]

on the off chance anyone was actually curious about the rugby thing in boy. heres my best explanation (it’s relevant beyond provincial rugby trivia i promise)

ok so. first of all i have to say that all of this is the product of a few hours of me looking stuff up and clicking around on various websites & therefore maybe im completely wrong! because finding this stuff out with only a kit to go on is harder than it sounds. & that maybe all of this is obvious to an audience in aotearoa with any sort of passing knowledge/familiarity with the nations most beloved sport but. anyway

the first thing to point out is that the jersey alamein wears is not actually affiliated with a rugby club at all. i mean it might be but in this context its lifted directly from one of the photos of alamein that we see in the film (see below) - i’ll come back to this later

the next thing is something that i can’t believe i didn’t notice sooner - i assumed (or at least reasoned) that ‘the’ rugby team boy claims alamein captains was the bay of plenty (on the grounds of it being an impressive level of play but not completely unattainable/divorced from the local/familial context that boy constantly links alamein to), but i only noticed today that alamein is wearing bay of plenty coloured socks. or at least bay of plenty is my best guess - the colour scheme is right and its surprisingly hard to find stuff online about teams below the sort of regional level ergo it could be a smaller & more local team but hey. im trying my best

the blue & yellow being the kit of bay of plenty still stands considering the kit of the opposing team - they’re in black & white which on a regional level would suggest the team is supposed to be a stand in for hawkes bay, especially interesting considering the fact that bay of plenty won the inaugural national provincial championship in 1976, with their last game played and won against hawkes bay in sept 76 (also making it the last npc that finished before joanie died, and everything that entails).

i hear you asking eloise why do we care. WELL. we care for many reasons. firstly, i kind of explained this earlier in the post but the blue & yellow tells us a lot about boy - he imagines alamein as successful but not so successful that it takes him away from where he’s from. it wouldn’t make narrative sense for boy to imagine alamein as an all black because even though he wants him to be successful he also deeply deeply wants him to come home. secondly, we care because the inclusion of the black & white kit on the opposing team links this fantasy to a specific match that happened months before rocky was born - whether or not alamein is still around at this point is debatable but its important that this fixture, a victory that saw the team win the championship and a match that boy [maybe] remembers watching, is the one he projects this fantasy on to.

all of this being said, the MOST important part is the jersey hes wearing. like i said, it might be affiliated with a team or it might not but the thing to focus on is that its taken directly from a photo of alamein thats hanging up in the house. as we’ve seen, boys fantasies are based on real life (both memories/‘memories’ and other points of reference such as pop culture), but despite this the jersey from the old photograph takes precedent. to put it plainly, the overriding visual influence is a shirt he remembers from a photograph of alamein with his friends; he does place alamein within the real world but he always always links him back to their family first.

[bluefuckboy]

Pencils and Pining

Day 1 Prompt of sfw DabiHawks Week: college au. Also up on ao3

WC: 4574

CW: none. Mentions of sex talk.

A/N: this is fluffy I don’t know where it came from. Unedited cos I ain’t got that kinda time

Keigo Takami had always gotten what he wanted. It was effortless. His natural charm and refusal to ever back down from a challenge meant there was little he couldn’t do. He’d gotten into a prestigious school full ride on just a sports scholarship, and he wasn’t even all that good. Sure he could get the ball from point A to point B. But it wasn’t like he was some sort of rugby god. He knew it was thanks to his personality that he got in.

He was the perfect poster child for the college’s team, The Raptors. Their mascot was a bird of prey that could have been a hawk or possibly an eagle. No one really knew, which is why they generalized it into Raptor. Their school colors were red and gold, which complimented Keigo’s flaxen hair perfectly.

There was little that didn’t compliment him to be honest. The royal red jersey made his aureate eyes pop as he gave winks to fans during matches. His scrum shorts hugged his ass just right. His cleats were even custom made. Gold aside from the trimming, laces and studs. He strutted around the field like a bird of paradise.

Girls had been falling at his feet since first of semester and half the guys on the team had asked him for advice on how to get girls to like them. He liked being the center of attention and was more than happy to give pointers on how to be suave and charismatic. But at the end of the day, no one measured up to his innate charm and carefree personality.

He knew he was the whole package, and yet, one student was never impressed by him. Touya Todoroki, a senior art student who spent most of his time holed up in the art building. Keigo had no reason to be by that part of the campus aside from it being a shortcut to the rugby pitch, which is how he met Touya. Or rather nearly took him out by crashing into him.

He’d been late for practice and decided to sprint from his dorm to get his heart rate up and make up time, two birds with one stone as they say. Practice was after classes but before dinner, so most students studied or got in another nap during that time. That assumption was what landed Keigo on his ass after smacking into the lanky art major.

He’d ran square into the chest of Touya, knocking the wind out of him as Keigo was knocked to the ground.

“Shit! My bad!”

Keigo was on his feet again in the bat of an eye, hovering by Touya, who was doubled over wheezing as he tried to regain his breath. Keigo never paid attention to students that didn’t want his attention, so it was the first time he’d seen this art major, or rather the top of his head as he inhaled raggedly.

He was dressed in mostly black aside from an old and slightly oversized sweatshirt which was zipped halfway over a band tshirt from which Keigo could see the letters ”ED ZEP” in red. Touya’s charcoal jeans were torn at the knees, cuffed at the bottoms to sit above the all black Chuck Taylors he wore.

As he stood up Keigo could see his face, which was set in a scowl. If he weren’t looking at Keigo so murderously, Touya would probably be handsome, if not a little rough around the edges. His hair was an ashen white, sweeping in front of intense turquoise eyes narrowed at Keigo. He had enough piercings to set off a metal detector. Most were on his ears aside from a triple nose stud in his right nostril, snake bites and a bridge piercing which Keigo couldn’t decide if it looked painful or not.

A pair of black painted fingernails snapped in front of Keigo’s face. “Hey birdbrain! The fuck do you think you’re doing?”

Keigo blinked. “Uh. Going to practice?”

“And trying to kill people in the process?”

“No. Sorry I just didn’t see you there man.”

Keigo put on one of his signature smiles, getting a scowl from Touya in return. Keigo put his hands up in a placating gesture.

“Really it was an accident.”

Touya stooped down between them, picking up a pencil that was snapped in half. He held it in front of Keigo’s face.

“You owe me a new pencil.”

Keigo pushed the pencil out of the way with a finger. “Oh come on. It’s just a pencil bro.”

“I’m not your bro and I don’t care.” Touya pressed the broken pencil against Keigo’s chest. “Don’t you dare get me one of those soft tips. 3B or higher, got it?”

Keigo nodded despite having no clue what 3B meant. Touya pressed the pencil harder against Keigo, who brought a hand up to catch it when Touya’s long fingers drew back. The art student gave Keigo another murderous scowl before trudging off towards the dorms, leaving Keigo with a broken pencil and a blush on his cheeks.

Touya was his type and then some. An artsy “bad boy” with blue eyes and gorgeous hands. It was like one of his fantasies had come to life. Except Touya had made it very clear he loathed Keigo. Keigo didn’t blame him as he had knocked the air out of him pretty bad. But all the fuss over a broken pencil? It seemed a tad excessive.

Keigo held onto the pencil, tucking it in his drawstring bag and forgetting about it until he tossed the bag onto his bed later that night. Practice had been a doozie and he was sore as fuck. He flopped down on his bed, pulling the pencil out and turning it over in his fingers.

The tip of the pencil was rounded and worn down, the eraser merely a nub. It was clear it was a well used tool. Keigo’s fingers brushed over teeth marks on the end of the pencil. Of course Touya chewed on his pencils, how could he not. He probably let them hang out the side of his mouth absentmindedly.

Keigo shook his head as his mind began to wander. He hadn’t anticipated being hit in the face with well, a crush? And especially literally. His ass was still sore from hitting the pavement.

He sighed and let the pencil drop to his chest. At least his assignment to replace the pencil meant Touya would have to see him again. But first he needed to figure out what the fuck 3B meant.

.

It didn’t take Keigo long to find another pencil. The campus bookstore sold them by the pack so he just grabbed the one that had 3B on it. He tapped the pack against his chin in thought as he made his way to the art building. A couple of freshmen in the lobby gave him odd looks. He supposed he didn’t look like an art student.

He was wearing his varsity jacket and his favorite pair of jeans, which were crisp and a deep denim. He pushed his aviator sunglasses up over his messy golden locks.

“You guys know… uh.”Shit. He had no idea what the guy’s name was. He cleared his throat, “I’m looking for a guy, bout this tall, white hair, blue eyes, looks like he’s trying to bring punk back from the dead?”

One of the freshmen rolled their eyes. “Todoroki. He’s probably on the top floor.”

Keigo thanked the freshman and made his way to the stairwell. His sneakers squeaked on the tile as he rounded the stairs, jogging his way up to the top floor. He pushed the door open, poking his head out into the hall.

It was quiet. He let the door shut, regretting it as it slammed loudly. No one came to chastise him so he made his way down the hall. He peered into the rooms as he passed. They were empty, probably for the best as he knew it would be odd to see someone with their nose pressed up to the glass window in the door.

When he reached the last door he noticed it was open a crack. He slipped inside, taking care to shove the doorstop back in place so the heavy door didn’t shut. The room was full of easels, some with canvases and some without. Keigo peered at the canvases as he made his way further into the classroom.

The canvases that were there each depicted the classic bowl of fruit he’d seen in so many artsy movies. Each piece was a different style. Some were messy, others crisp and clean. One was merely colors where each fruit should be. An easel on the far side caught his eye.

The piece sitting on it was black and white, like an old photograph. Eerily like a photograph. The lines and shading were so precise it looked like someone had just taken a picture and placed it on the canvas. Keigo stepped closer, peering at the differences in shading.

There was an area that was very dark. It looked almost raised due to the amount of layers that made up the shading. Ever curious and obvious Keigo put a hand out, tracing it with his finger and regretting it imminently. The charcoal smudged messily as he heard a voice behind him suddenly.

“Wow you are good at fucking things up.”

Keigo spun around. Touya was standing a few feet from him. He was dressed in the same outfit aside from a fresh tshirt. Keigo put his hands up as though he’d been caught, which technically he had.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t think it was gonna smudge like that.”

Touya sighed. He made his way over to the canvas, producing what looked like gray play dough from his pocket. He took the object and rolled it between his palms a bit, forming it into more of a oval. He put it against he canvas, using it like an eraser to get rid of the smudge Keigo had made.

Keigo’s eyes boggled and he pointed excitedly to the gray lump as Touya pulled it back, “What is that thing?”

Touya raised an eyebrow, but let Keigo inspect the blob and he answered, “It’s a kneaded eraser. Makes it easier to fix mistakes.”

He emphasized ‘mistakes’ and Keigo knew it was a jab at him. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Oh. Right. Uh..” He remembered the pencils. “Check it out! I got you backup ones even.”

Keigo presented the pencils to Touya like they were the greatest gift in the world. Touya took the packet from his hand, inspecting it before handing it back with a tsk of his tongue. Keigo’s excitement vanished and he gave Touya a confused look.

“Those are a shitty brand,” Touya said dismissively.

Keigo put his hands in the air. “A shitty- what? How am I supposed to know who makes good pencils?”

Touya shrugged, and put a hand in one of the deep pockets of his jeans. He fished out his phone, ignoring Keigo as he pulled the bulky headphones round his neck over his head. Keigo stared at him dumbfounded for a moment as Touya started to walk away. Touya made it halfway to the door before Keigo was in front of him again, his arms out as though he were somehow capable of blocking his path.

Touya didn’t take his headphones off as he asked, “Did you need something else? I got another class to get to.”

Keigo bristled with indignation. “What the hell dude? You’re just gonna blow me off like that?”

“Yeah. Bye.”

Touya pushed past him, leaving Keigo gaping like a fish. He’d never been so annoyed and intrigued at the same time. Touya was an enigma and Keigo desperately wanted to know more about it. But it would have to wait till after practice, and maybe some research on what the best brands of pencils were.

.

Keigo’s next encounter with Touya was much sooner than he expected. It was only a half hour later, on the rugby field where he noticed none other than Touya sitting in the bleachers. He was sprawled out, one leg resting on the bench in front of him while his arms draped over the one behind him. Despite it being hot as hell, he was still in that blue hoodie.

Touya caught Keigo’s eye as the latter trotted onto the field for practice. He gave a wry smile followed by flipping him the bird. Keigo’s fists clenched angrily. Touya was taunting him now, clearly already aware of how to push his buttons. It was working a bit too well.

Touya’s presence on the bleachers turned out to be a huge distraction for Keigo. What made things worse was that Touya was now ignoring him. He was scrolling his phone, paying zero attention to the practice or to Keigo who kept glancing over to him.

Keigo missed a couple passes, then a few goals, and finally the massive senior in his peripheral. The guy slammed into him like a brick wall, knocking him face first into the turf as the ball rolled from his arms into the hands of the other team.

As he painfully propped himself up, spitting dirt from his mouth, he noticed Touya had finally looked his way. Just in time to see him eat shit and cause his team to lose the practice. Keigo’s cheeks were red from more than just skidding against the pitch as he limped off field.

He wasn’t seriously injured, aside from his pride. His teammates were pissed at him, rightfully so. But he didn’t want them to know the real reason for his distractedness. A hot guy wasn’t an accepted excuse for throwing a game. In the end he faked a headache, excusing himself with numerous apologies.

Keigo skipped dinner at the cafeteria. He didn’t want to have to answer why he was limping and why his face looked like someone had scrubbed it with the rough side of a sponge. His cheeks were ruddy and stung a bit from the astroturf, so he decided to swing by the campus nurse to get some salve.

His stomach growled as he walked out of the office, prompting him to make a beeline for the campus café. It had coffee, snacks to grab, and quick meals for students who had to skip the cafeteria in favor of studying. Keigo rarely went to the café, preferring to visit with his entourage of buddies in the cafeteria at mealtimes.

He tucked his hands into his varsity jacket as he sauntered into the café. There was one other student aside from the barista behind the counter next to the coffee machine. Keigo gave a nod to the student waiting for food as he made his way to the register.

He leaned an arm on the counter, turning on his charm as he asked, “So what’s good here, huh?”

The smile faded from his face as the student turned around. It was Touya, who gave Keigo a small smirk.

“Oh look who it is.” Touya’s tone was mocking as he crossed his arms and leaned on the counter with a hip, “That was some fall, champ.”

He popped the ‘p’ and gave Keigo a shit eating grin. Keigo’s face went redder. He tried to keep his cool, crossing his arms and tilting his chin up aloofly.’

“And who’s fault was that?” he chided.

Touya let out a chuckle. “I take full credit. It was spectacular, and red’s a good color on you.”

Touya gave him a wink as Keigo flushed all the way down to his neck. Of course Touya was also a barista. As if he wasn’t hot enough already. Keigo was losing a game he didn’t know he was playing. Touya had the upper hand and seemed to be a step ahead. It wouldn’t surprise Keigo if he had swapped places with the actual barista just to mess with Keigo further.

Touya leaned forward, his long fingers tapping on the countertop, black painted nails clicking.

“I would say I feel bad, but I don’t. What do they say? An eye for an eye? Guess we can say a pencil for a wipeout, hmm? Lucky you didn’t break your face though. That would have been a real shame.”

Keigo rolled his eyes. “Great. Now we’re even.”

“Not quite,” Touya quipped.

“Ugh. Don’t tell me I have to buy you more pencils.”

Touya waved his hand. “Nah. Just buy me dinner instead.”

“Dinner?”

“Wow you really don’t have anything going on in that pretty head of yours, do you?”

Keigo stood there stupidly until Touya sighed heavily. “I’m asking you out, birdbrain.”

Keigo’s eyes went wide. “Huh?? Really? Wait I thought you didn’t like me?”

“I don’t. But that doesn’t mean you can’t try to change my mind.”

He grinned and Keigo felt a flutter in his stomach. He quickly put his golden boy façade back on, leaning on the counter.

“Joke’s on you. Everyone likes me, eventually?” He gave Touya a smile and put a hand out for him to shake. “Keigo.”

The pads of Touya’s fingers were rough as they brushed against the back of Keigo’s hand. His grip was firm.

“Touya.”

They shook hands like they were making some sort of business transaction. Touya’s pointer finger brushed against the inside of Keigo’s wrist as he let go. Whether intentional or not, it made Keigo’s heart beat faster. He was going to win over Touya one way or another. Even if it meant he had to eat shit on the pitch again.

.

Wooing Touya was much more difficult than Keigo anticipated. The other student was hard to read and rarely laughed at Keigo’s quick witted jokes. He’d just raise an eyebrow or let out a dismissive snort which Keigo took as a laugh.

As far as conversation went, Touya never started any. They’d sat in silence for a good half hour the first time they went on a “date.” It was a little coffee shop down the street from the campus. Keigo insisted on paying for the drinks, practically preening as he brought Touya’s coffee over.

When Keigo had finally broken the awkward silence they fell into a conversation with no real direction. Keigo asked the typical questions to which Touya would give one worded replies.

Siblings? Three. Favorite food? Hot soba. Favorite drink? Black coffee. Alcohol preference? Whiskey. Favorite season? None. Favorite sex position? Next.

Keigo was a little disappointed Touya hadn’t answered his last question. But he rambled off his own answers for the questions. No siblings. Fried chicken. Condensed coffee. Beer. Spring. And reverse cowgirl.

Touya had rolled his eyes, but then surprised Keigo with the question, “So bottom then?”

Keigo had choked on his iced coffee a bit, coughing before finally saying, “Uh. Yeah. Usually.”

Touya had nodded and then leaned forward with a vulpine grin to say, “Sounds like we’re a good match. Oh, and it’s doggy style.”

Keigo had spent the rest of the outing trying to fend off seriously dirty thoughts. A good match? Doggy style? Touya just kept getting sexier, and Keigo kept getting klutzier. In his defense, Touya was very distracting. He had a couple habits Keigo had noticed during their dates that always caught Keigo’s attention.

Touya never sat fully still. He was always tapping his foot or fingers, seemingly restless all the time. Even standing he would shift his wight back and forth from one foot to the other. It was endearing for some reason. Touya’s habit of running his tongue along his bottom lip however, was not at all endearing.

Keigo would have to stop himself from staring when the tip of Touya’s tongue would start to poke out of his mouth. It happened when he was deeply focused on something, like his art. He’d let Keigo chill with him a few times while he completed assignments in the top floor of the art building. When Touya got really into a piece, his tongue would occasionally poke out the corner of his mouth, swiping along his lip as he’d walk back to get a better view of things. It seemed like it was subconscious, but it drove Keigo crazy.

Though Touya in general drove Keigo crazy. He found himself wanting to spend more and more time with Touya, even ditching practice a few times to go sit in the quiet art room and watch him work. There was something extremely calming about how Touya sketched. He was very detail oriented and used a ridiculous amount of different pencils to create pieces that Keigo could stare at for hours.

While Touya’s drawings were already beautiful to Keigo, Touya would always tell him these were just practice. Keigo didn’t understand what he meant and kept asking Touya what the finished product could possibly be since he felt the sketches were too good to be merely practice. Touya always told him he’d show him at some point, but Keigo got the feeling he wasn’t quite at that point in their friendship, relationship?

They’d been on established dates and were gradually spending more and more time together but had yet to define what they were. There was definitely flirting, especially on Keigo’s end. Touya would respond though, usually with an eye roll and a bump of his shoulder agains’t Keigo’s or by pulling Keigo’s baseball cap down over his eyes playfully. It was a nice dynamic and part of Keigo was nervous to try and make it something more.

He finally decided to shoot his shot one evening while they hung out in the art building after dinner, almost a usual routine at this point for Tuesday nights. Touya was working on a mid semester assignment that was a big portion of his grade, so Keigo had taken on the role of cheerleader and sustenance runner. It was coffee he was currently trying not to spill as he sprinted lightly up the stairs to the top floor.

He handed Touya his coffee as he took his usual seat near Touya’s feet as he worked. Touya was already immersed in the project as evidenced by the tip of his tongue poking out the right corner of his mouth. Keigo glanced up at the canvas, watching Touya add more charcoal to the depiction of a flame which covered the canvas.

It was a study in values, meaning the light and dark of the piece was the focus from what Keigo had gathered. There were no lines anywhere, just meticulous shading that somehow made a black and white representation of flames licking at the canvas. It was impressive and seeing the process from concept to final product was fascinating.

Touya downed his coffee in nearly one sip, holding the empty cup out for Keigo to take and toss into the trash can by the door. He gave himself a self five as the paper cup banked off the wall into the bin. He’d learned it was best if he was quiet while Touya worked. Distractions tended to throw him off and make him have to get into the right headspace all over again.

Nearly another hour passed and then finally Touya clapped his hands together, shaking off some of the charcoal on them, a telltale sign he was done. As some point Keigo had taken to leaning against Touya’s chair form his spot on the floor. It put his head level with Touya’s waist and in the perfect spot for Touya to drop his arm down and rest his hand atop Keigo’s head.

Keigo perked up at the touch. Touya had used him as an armrest a few times before, but it was the first time those long fingers were touching Keigo’s scalp. His heart nearly burst out of him as Touya’s fingers worked their way into Keigo’s messy locks. It wasn’t exactly a head massage, but it was intimate in a way Touya hadn’t touched him before.

Touya twirled a strand of Keigo’s hair between his fingers as he said, “Guess this is a good as it’s gonna get.”

Keigo tilted his head up slowly to look at the canvas, trying not to move Touya’s hand out of his hair. The piece was gorgeous. A white hot flame that looked as though it would burn if you were to touch it.

“You’re full of shit,” Keigo retorted, “This is amazing.”

Touya chuckled. His fingers slipped lower, lightly caressing the back of Keigo’s neck for a moment. It sent chills down Keigo’s spine and he decided it was now or never. He reluctantly stood up, causing Touya’s hand to leave the top of his head. Touya looked up at him, ever so slightly shorter from being perched on the chair.

“Hey, uh,” Keigo felt anxiety blooming in his chest, but he pressed on, “Now that your project’s done would you want to, uh. I mean we’ve been kinda skirting around, uh, you know, and I, uh…”

The words died in his throat as Touya laughed suddenly. It was a heavenly sound, an actual laugh that echoed through the small art studio. It was the first full laugh Keigo had ever gotten out of Touya. While he wanted to fist pump in triumph, the laugh had been at his attempt to have a romantic relationship with Touya.

His cheeks burned and he stuttered, “What’s so funny?”

Touya wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and stood up. Keigo crossed his arms moodily, waiting for an answer and purposefully not looking at Touya. Touya sighed and his fingers carded through Keigo’s hair again, coming to rest his hand at the back of Keigo’s neck. His other hand moved to cup Keigo’s face, moving it so

Touya could look at him properly.

Touya’s eyes were soft as he said, “You really are a birdbrain, Kei.”

Keigo’s stomach clenched. Touya had called him a nickname. He could feel his cheeks getting hot but then Touya’s lips were against his and it felt like time was standing still.

Touya’s lips were soft and warm. Keigo wanted to melt into the floor as Touya swiped his thumb over his cheek as he kissed him. There were little fireworks going off in Keigo’s mind, making it hard for him to reciprocate. Touya separated their lips for a moment and Keigo quickly grabbed Touya’s hoodie, yanking him back into a near bruising kiss.

They were both breathing a little harder when they finally separated. Keigo’s hair was messier than usual and there was the hint of a blush on Touya’s cheeks. Keigo felt drunk, floating on a cloud as he stayed pressed against Touya.

When they parted a bit another small laugh came from Touya. “Shit. I got charcoal on your face.”

“Huh?”

Keigo reached up to his cheek, pulling his fingers back to see gray smeared over them. He snorted, but didn’t make a move to wipe the smudge away.

“Maybe I should be your next art project…” he teased, smiling with his tongue between his teeth.

Touya smirked and tucked a strand of hair behind Keigo’s ear and Keigo continued, “You’re gonna draw me like one of your French girls, right?”

Touya laughed again, a sound that was quickly becoming Keigo’s favorite.

“Maybe,” Touya mused before picking up a charcoal pencil that was almost a nub, “But first you gotta buy me a new pencil.”

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

Do not under any circumstances think about the first time you run across Calum watching a rugby game. You’re familiar enough with the sport to know what it is however, you haven’t fully set down to watch a match. But today, you’re paddling about and you walk into the music room to find Calum sitting at his desk, but he’s curled up in the seat, knees hugged to his chest, eyes intently following the screen. 

“Whatcha watching?”

“Rugby game,” he answers, flicking his gaze up with a smile. 

“All Blacks playin’?” you asks, leaning into the molding of the door. He gives a nod, attention diving back to the screen as screams erupt from the speakers. You join in for a few minutes, standing behind the desk chair, arms winding around his chest and neck. 

He drops his head back into your chest/stomach. Your eyes are taking in the scene, the piling, spins, hand offs. Calum tenses for a moment, quietly chanting, “C’mon, c’mon. Your break is right there.”

You chuckle, playing every so lightly at the hair on his head. After a few minutes you kiss his forehead. “Won’t disturb you for too much longer. Let me know how the game goes, yeah?”

At the feeling of your arms slipping from around him, he reaches up to grab your wrist. “You can stay. You’re not disturbing me.”

“Okay.” So you settle down on the couch. Calum pulls one of the side desk out from the wall a little and sets the laptop down before joining you, resting his head on your shoulder and chest. 

Slowly it becomes tradition to watch games together. You ask some questions about the rules, how to play and Calum’s happy to explain it to you. You surprise him, randomly, with an All Blacks singlet and the immense joy that radiates from his face is palpable. “You didn’t have to,” he whispers, sure if he speaks too much louder his voice will give out on him. Or worse the fabric of reality will unravel and reveal to him it’s just a dream. 

You shrug. “Wanted too.” 

There are recordings he has where you’re more into the match than he is, also dressed in an All Blacks jersey. He’s posted once a short clip of you leaping off the couch. “C’mon! How do you not call that?” 

And it’s just the back of you, shouting and pointing at the TV. But Calum’s giggle is evident in the background. You don’t even know you’re being recorded. 

When the season gets delayed thanks to the pandemic, you miss it but understand. There are a lot of rewatches of highlights on YouTube. You and Calum reenact the plays with fits of laughter. But soon the first international match of the season gets underway, you and Calum both make sure to break out the jersey’s and singlets and stock up on snacks. Even if you can’t have a giant party like you’d want, you’re definitely going to celebrate.

At the haka, you wind up watching Calum more than the team. You’ve always loved watching the spark of pride that lights up his face and you can see his fingers twitching and itching, as if the voices on the screen are pulling invisible strings over him. 

“Ready?” you ask as the teams leave the field to start the match. 

His arms winds around your shoulders, squeezing you closer to him. His lips brush over your temple. “Born ready.”

[keanureevesisbae]

Coach Cavill - Chapter 7

Summary: Amelia is about to go on her first date with coach Cavill

Coach!Henry Cavill x Amelia Jung (Asian ofc)

Wordcount: 3.3k

Warnings: None

A/N: To celebrate the fact that I am done with school for a while, I thought I’d post (part one of) their date with you! I hope you like it 💕 please let me know if you want to be on the taglist!

Masterlist // Previous chapter // Next chapter

Within an hour I had to dress up to look splendid that Friday, because I didn’t want Dean to see how beautiful I was going to look. Maybe the stress dressing up under sixty minutes also had to do with the poor state of my planning today, but we are simply going to ignore that.

The entire week I have been looking forward to this. During the training yesterday, Henry kept stealing glances from me, after he made me a wonderful cup of cappuccino. It’s weird really, how head over heels I’m becoming, in just a matter of a little more than a week.

While everything Dean was exciting and somehow terrifying, since he was mysterious and a little hard to get, this instant connection I have with Henry feels so safe and familiar. I can’t stop thinking about him, to a point where Ricky, Annabelle and the rest of the little ones in my class kept asking me if I was doing okay. However, they figured out pretty soon I was a bit in love and now they continue to make kissy sounds during the day.

‘You look fucking hot,’ Eve says, as she brushes through my hair. ‘Lucky mister Henry Cavill.’

‘Is it too much?’ I ask, as I smooth down my tight dark blue dress, that Isabella insisted on me wearing and it’s a good fit: I mean, it accentuates the few curves I have. I look down at the matching high heels and sigh deeply. ‘It’s too much,’ I conclude.

‘No, honey, it’s not too much. You look beautiful and I know that Henry will think so too. Besides, he is already smitten with you, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about.’

I let out a sigh again. ‘It’s just that I’m nervous. How long has it been since I had my last first date?’

‘When you were nineteen,’ Eve answers my rhetorical question. ‘I know that, but that went well too and since Henry is an absolute angel, this date will go without a hitch, I can guarentee. And besides, you have done things much more terrifying than this. You went to South Korea, debuted in a girl group. A full one eighty in career choices when you got here, went on a date with the mysterious hottie Dean, somehow made that work. Plus, you were a total bad ass and gave birth to Isabella on your own, who was breeched.’

I roll my eyes. ‘I highly doubt you can compare giving birth to a first date.’

‘What I want to make clear to you, is that you are fierce and awesome and Henry knows that too.’ Eve and I both yelp when the doorbell rings. ‘Your future husband is here.’

‘Shut up,’ I say, as we walk down the stairs. She stuffs something in my clutch and hands it to me. ‘What on earth did you put in here?’ I hiss, as I grab my coat from the rack.

‘A condom.’

I halt all my movements. ‘You did what?’

‘Better to be safe than sorry.’

Before I can tell her off and that I’m really not going to have sex with Henry on the first date, she pushes me to the door and I quickly put on my coat, before I open the door.

I’m hit with the realization that I’m going on a date with the most beautiful man on this planet. He looks illegally handsome, with his nice suit jacket hanging open, that matches with his black pants. He is wearing a white blouse, nicely tucked into his pants and the tease has the two top buttons open and the sight of his chest (and the chest hair) is making my mouth dry.

‘Wow,’ he says with a beautiful smile, ‘you look beautiful, Amelia.’

This is going to kill me. How am I supposed to survive this entire night? ‘It’s not too much?’ I ask, just to be sure and first date jitters taking the upper hand.

He shakes his head. ‘This is exactly right.’

I turn to Eve, who is holding in a squeal. After being friends with her for so long, I know every facial expression. ‘Only call me if it is a matter of life or death,’ I tell her.

‘Have I ever called you when it was not important?’ I cock an eyebrow and she nods. ‘Right, I have done that before. I’m sorry. Won’t do it tonight, promise.’

‘Very good. Please, don’t wait up and don’t sit on the front porch with the twins, because I know you three want to do that.’

Eve slaps me on my ass, before I step out of the house and I sincerely hope that Henry hasn’t seen that. From the looks of it seems like he hasn’t seen that, but maybe he is just polite and doesn’t show me he has seen it. ‘Don’t look back,’ I tell Henry, as we walk towards his truck. ‘She’ll embarrass either one of us if we do so.’

Henry can’t help but laugh and he opens the door of his truck. ‘Do I have to give you a boost or can you manage?’

‘Oh shut up,’ I chuckle as I get in the car, after I took his hand. ‘Because I’m short, I have developed cat woman like skills. You should see me in the classroom, when I have to grab something from the top shelf.’

‘I’ll believe that right away.’ He closes the door and I wave to Eve, who nods approvingly and gestures something about how firm his butt looks. I mean, I can only agree to that, but once again, sure as hell hope he hasn’t seen any of that.

Henry gets in the truck and before he puts the key in the ignition, he looks to the side, meeting my eyes. ‘What?’ I ask him.

‘You look breathtaking,’ he whispers, almost as if he doesn’t want me to hear this compliment.

I’m at a loss for words. ‘Oh,’ I manage to choke out. ‘Thanks…’

He clears his throat. ‘I’m just a little nervous.’

‘What? Why? If someone should be nervous, it’s me. One, I’m going on a date with you and two, my last first date was sixteen years ago.’

He chuckles, but he sounds really nervous. ‘Well, mine might’ve not been that long ago… But I have never been on a date with someone like you.’

‘Do you mean that in a good way or…?’

Henry’s eyes widen. ‘In a good way, of course,’ he hastily says. ‘It’s more that you are way out of my league.’

What? ‘I think I was hallucinating. What?’

‘I mean, have you even seen yourself? You are admirable, in any way.’

Is this how it feels when your heart not only is figuratively melting, but also literally? ‘Oh.’

‘You are truly one of a kind, Amelia and I sure hope I meet up to what you deserve.’

Okay, I’m officially blanking. What are words?

Henry smiles and starts the car. ‘I hope you like the place I booked. I heard some pretty good things about it.’

✰ ✰ ✰

Leave it to Henry fucking Cavill to not only book a spot at my favorite restaurant here in town, but also to have a secluded spot that I didn’t know was here. We sit on the patio, a heater pointed at us to keep us warm, as we look over the lake. We are surrounded by romantic Christmas lights, as we sit next to each other on the soft couch. His arm is resting on the back, his thumb softly drawing circles on my shoulder.

He hands me a glass of wine and I can’t help but melt a bit against his frame. ‘You did amazing,’ I say. ‘I really like this spot. I never even knew it was here. How did you discover this?’

‘I might’ve had some help from Greg.’

‘Convenient store Greg?’ I ask. ‘You two becoming friends?’

‘Yeah, I’m there quite a lot. He sometimes watches Kal when I’m not home for too long of a time. Annabelle constantly tells him that she loves Kal, so that’s a plus.’

‘Annabelle is in my class,’ I say. ‘A true angel. A cheeky one, but she is such a delight to have in class.’

Henry smiles, taking a sip of his wine. We’re still waiting for our food to arrive, but the wine will do just fine for now. ‘It’s quite the one eighty, to go from a K-Pop idol to a kindergarten teacher.’

‘Oh, you have no idea,’ I chuckle. ‘It was so weird, to go from that hectic world, fans screaming your name, photoshoot here, there, dance practice and just never not busy, back to Luna Meadows, where every second seems to tick at least three times. I had to spend three months in the barn in the back of my parents yard, to simply talk with Eve and Johnny, getting used to this pace again. It was nice to be back here though, since this will always be my home.’

He nods. ‘So, you come back to Luna Meadows when you were eighteen, go back to college and…’

‘And I met Dean, when I was nineteen, was twenty one when I had Benji, somehow got my degree and after I graduated, I married Dean.’

‘Wow,’ he says. ‘That is top tier multitasking.’

‘That’s what I thought so,’ I chuckle, taking a sip of my wine. ‘It was really important for me to finish college, because, I wanted to be able to provide for myself and even after I graduated, I worked three days a week. I’m not equipped to be a full-time house wife. I tried that for two months and then I became mad.’

Henry laughs. ‘And now you work full-time.’

‘I do, indeed. It’s the only way I can continue to pay for the house. I don’t want to move away from Eve and her baby sit service.’

He nods in agreement. ‘You are very lucky to have friends that care so much and do so much for you.’

‘I sure am,’ I say with a smile. I take another sip, before I ask: ‘What about you? Why did you leave Jersey to move here?’

‘I was a judo coach there and worked in a cafe. However, some family stuff happened and I had to get out of there.’ Henry clears his throat and shakes his head. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘No, no, you don’t want to talk about it, I totally understand it. Just, tell me how you got into judo then.’ I turn a bit to the side and oh my, I can feel his strong body against mine, but weirdly enough it doesn’t make me nervous anymore.

‘Oh, that was something me and my grandpa had together. All of my brothers were into team sports, like lacrosse, football and rugby.’

My eyes widen. ‘You have brothers?’

‘Mhm, four,’ he says.

‘Your mom had five kids?’ I ask him.

He can’t stop his laugh. ‘She did.’

‘Mad respect,’ I say. ‘I don’t want to be too TMI, but I had to recover six years after I had Benji before I even thought about adding another one. Not the point, Amelia,’ I quickly realize letting out a soft chuckle. ‘Your brothers were into team sports.’

Henry nods, a smile evident on his lips. ‘My entire family was obsessed with everything team sport related, including us as a family. I liked to do things solo, just like my granddad and that’s how judo became our thing. My family supported me and judo, of course, but… I knew they didn’t really like the sport as much as my granddad and I liked it. When I was twenty, I was actually doing pretty well. Competing in national tournaments, even some international ones.’

I frown. ‘Why do I feel a however coming up?’ I ask him.

He snickers. ‘However, I broke my leg in three places when I was in the gym.’

‘Oh no,’ I say, as I shiver.

‘Yeah, it was pretty bad,’ he chuckles. ‘But judo was my life and I couldn’t just let it go, so I started to work as a trainer and coach, but I didn’t make enough money to provide for myself, so I also worked in a cafe.’

I nod. ‘And why did you choose Luna Meadows?’

He shrugs. ‘It just felt right. And that’s where I met the most amazing judoka I have ever seen. Benji is miles ahead of not only everyone here, but also to everyone I have ever encountered.’

‘Including you?’

‘Including me,’ he laughs. ‘He is amazing.’

‘That’s because he has some judo genes from his amazing mother,’ I chuckle, as I throw my hair over my shoulder. ‘I was quite something back in the days.’

He chuckles. ‘So, what does Isabella do?’

‘She is in a drama club. When she was younger, she would force Benji, Yara, Jake and Lola to be side characters in a play she made up, where she was the main character. She is overly dramatic and I figured that I would do the other kids a favor if I would put her in a drama club. Yara and she go every Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday after school with Eve.’

‘It must be amazing to have a friend this close living to you.’

‘It does,’ I say, as I stare at my wine. ‘Made the whole divorce thing a whole lot better to handle.’

‘I imagine. Divorce is never easy.’

‘Experience or…?’ I carefully ask.

‘I was married,’ he says, ‘but the second we said ‘I do’, it was already a lost cause, really. Actually, we never really fit together.’

I take a sip of my wine, but I place my other hand on his strong leg. Normally I wouldn’t be this forward, but it feels so warm and comfortable. ‘Is she part of the reason that you had to leave Jersey?’

He shakes his head. ‘No, we were married from my twenty fifth to my twenty seventh.’

Okay, he doesn’t want to continue to talk about it and for some reason I can’t stop the words from coming out of my mouth. ‘You know, I never thought I’d go on a date again.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because everyone in this town knows that I got divorced and everyone had an opinion about it,’ I whisper. ‘You know, I wasn’t exactly the most loved. A lot of them thought it was my fault that Dean started to see someone else. I wasn’t a good enough wife, who didn’t love her husband enough.’

When I look up, I see that Henry has clenched his jaw, before taking a sip of his wine. ‘That’s bullshit.’

‘I know,’ I say mostly out of disbelieve. ‘But good things happen to good people and now I met you.’

‘Moving to Luna Meadows was a good move on my behalf.’

Our pasta arrives and I sit up a bit straighter. ‘This looks delicious,’ I say, twirling around my fork, to twist the spaghetti around it. ‘Henry Cavill, you sure know how to swoop a woman off her feet.’

Henry smiles, taking a bite of his pasta. It’s different than mine, but it looks delicious. I can see him ogling my plate as well and I guess the grass is indeed greener on the other side. ‘Here,’ I say, with a fork full of pasta. I hold it above my other hand, so I won’t spill something on any of us. I now realize that it might be weird to feed a grown man on our first date, but I can’t go back now.

‘You’re a natural,’ he chuckles, before taking a bite. ‘Oh, yours is really good. Want a bite of mine?’

‘Sure,’ I say with a blush creeping up on my cheeks. He is a little clumsy, but somehow manages to bring the fork to my lips, without it spilling on my dress. With his thumb he wipes the corner of my mouth clean. ‘Am I tasting some cinnamon?’

‘That was what I was thinking,’ he says. ‘I would never put cinnamon in my pasta, but it is really tasty and it actually works.’

‘I once accidentally added honey to the chicken and somehow it turned out to be pretty okay.’

‘Yeah, Benji told me you weren’t a great cook.’

I hide my face in my hands. ‘I may have burned quite a few meals in my kitchen. One time, for Thanksgiving, I attempted to cook for Eve and Johnny, because they were having a bit of a rough time, with Lola being admitted into the hospital and all. However, I burned the entire meal, the kitchen was filled with smoke and I had a complete meltdown. Isabella called my parents and somehow my mom saved the day.’

Henry’s shoulder shake as he laughs. ‘That would be quite the sight.’

‘Oh, it was terrible. Can you imagine if I was a full time housewife? I think I’d have the fire department on speed dial.’

I want to add something to this (believe me, I have tons of stories of me nearly burning down my place), but my phone starts to ring and I quickly open my clutch to check the screen.

It’s Eve.

Part of me doesn’t want to take it, but I know that she took her promise serious. ‘I’m so sorry,’ I say.

‘Please, take it,’ Henry encourages me, when he sees me hesitating.

I pick up and say: ‘Eve, this better be very important.’ However I don’t hear her voice, but I hear Benji yelling in the background and that is something I barely understand. ‘What’s wrong? Is everything okay?’

‘I have no idea,’ Eve manages to say. ‘Isabella is just sitting in the corner of your living room, not speaking at all.’ That can’t be good. ‘Benji is on the edge of losing it, but I feel like he is too much in a rage to listen to any of us and Dean is outside, trying to let himself in, but we locked the door. I’m really sorry to interrupt your date, but I feel like both of your kids need you right now.’

My heart sinks. ‘Oh no,’ I mumble. ‘I’m coming back.’

‘I hate dad,’ I hear Benji yell in the background. ‘I fucking hate him.’

‘Benji, please stop it!’ Lola pleads.

‘This is not working, man,’ Jake adds.

‘Mom, Isabella is crying,’ Yara says.

I hang up, shaking my head. ‘I’m so sorry, Henry, I have to get back. Something is really wrong and according to Eve, Benji is really close to losing it completely and Isabella is not talking, Dean is outside of my house…’

‘I heard it,’ he says, already standing up, holding up my coat. ‘Let me get you home.’