#and Endgame is the worst (or at least one of them)
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becauseimanicequeen · 4 months ago
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Thank you Secret Relationships for entertaining the fuck out of me the past couple of weeks (except for the ending, they should've all died). It’s been a while since I got to laugh this much at ludicrous shenanigans and, at the same time, swear at outrageously bonkers characters I love so much. It was a wild and entertaining ride (except for the ending... Seriously, they should've 'til death do us part).
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shy9-29 · 3 months ago
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Love, Lies, and Sim Jake
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심재윤 x reader - enhypen campus series
You were the quiet girl with the not-so-quiet crush on Jake Sim—campus heartbreaker, smooth talker, and everything you should’ve stayed away from. But when a bet turns your name into a game, the rules change fast. He didn’t expect to fall for you… and you didn’t expect to find out. Now it’s your move—and this time, you’re not playing nice.
wc. 16.4k
a/n. This took me so long istg but lwk wanted then to be endgame @sheseung
masterlist | req open
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It wasn’t supposed to be obvious. You were careful—or at least you thought you were.
Sure, maybe you stared a little too long when Jake walked into class late, hair still damp from a rushed shower, backpack half-zipped like he couldn’t be bothered. Maybe you laughed a little too loud when he made a joke, even if it wasn’t that funny. Maybe your friends caught you scrolling through his Instagram more times than you could count—but you had never said it out loud.
But somehow… everybody knew.
It started small. You remember the moment it all began to slip. One afternoon in the library, your best friend nudged your arm and whispered, “You’re staring again,” followed by the most annoying smirk you’d ever seen. You blinked, cheeks warming, then looked away quickly as Jake leaned back in his chair, stretching in that way he had to know showed off his arms.
“It’s not like that,” you’d mumbled. Lie. Straight lie. But it was your go-to line.
Then came the whispers. The way people started looking at you just a little differently whenever Jake was around. In the dining hall, one of his teammates nudged him and said something under his breath, both of them turning your way right after. You pretended not to notice. But you felt it—the heat in your face, the tightening in your stomach. You hated it.
It was like high school all over again. Like a crush you couldn’t shake, no matter how much you tried to play it cool.
And the worst part? Jake noticed.
He started looking at you a little longer in the hallways. Smirking when you’d pass by. Saying “hey” like he hadn’t ignored you for two semesters straight. You weren’t sure if he was just being polite—or playing with you. Still, every time your name left his lips, something fluttered in your chest and you hated that you let it.
Then, one night at a party, it all came out.
You were standing by the kitchen, holding a red solo cup you barely sipped from, when you heard it—your name. Jake’s voice.
“She’s cute,” he said casually, too casually, and the room seemed to go quieter around you. “And I’m pretty sure she’s into me.”
Laughter. Someone said, “Bro, everyone knows she is.”
Another voice chimed in, “You’re the first thing on her mind when she walks into class.”
You felt the heat rush to your cheeks as your stomach flipped.
They were talking about you like you were an object, like your feelings didn’t matter.
You tried to shrink back into the corner of the room, hoping no one noticed your face burning hotter by the second. But Jake didn’t miss a beat.
He didn’t stop them. Didn’t correct them. Didn’t even seem surprised.
You were supposed to be doing your sociology reading. That was the whole plan. Laptop open, textbook to the side, highlighter in hand—every prop perfectly in place. But instead of notes, your screen was filled with him.
Jake Sim’s Instagram page.
His latest post? A blurry mirror selfie at the gym, captioned something dumb like “light work.” His abs were obnoxiously sharp, his hair pushed back by a sweatband, and there was a cocky little smirk tugging at the edge of his lips like he knew exactly what he was doing. You didn’t even like gym pics—and yet there you were, zooming in like a creep and biting your lip like an idiot.
You were halfway through stalking his tagged photos when Yuna burst into your room.
“Oh my god,” she said, before even setting her bag down. “Are you stalking him again?” You jumped, slamming your laptop shut like it was something illegal. “No.” She raised a brow. “You literally jumped like I caught you watching illegal shit.”
“I was doing research,” you muttered, trying to sound convincing.
“Research on what? His jawline?” Yuna flopped onto your bed, grinning. “Girl, you need help.”
You groaned and hid your face in your hands. “I know. It’s so bad. I can’t stop.”
“Yeah, no kidding. This is like… phase five of a full-blown Jake Sim spiral.” You peeked at her through your fingers. “Do you think he knows?” Yuna blinked at you. “Girl. Everyone knows.” You groaned again, louder this time, flopping back in your chair with a dramatic sigh. “I’m so pathetic.”
“Not pathetic,” Yuna said sweetly. “Just tragically whipped.” She laughed and tossed a pillow at you, and you couldn’t help but smile through the embarrassment. Because yeah—you were absolutely whipped.
And the worst part? You hadn’t even had a real conversation with him yet.
Yuna stayed sprawled on your bed, scrolling through her phone while you reopened your laptop—this time pretending you were actually going to study, even though your fingers hovered dangerously close to Jake’s profile again.
“I swear, he’s getting hotter by the day,” you muttered under your breath, more to yourself than to her.
“Don’t do it,” Yuna warned without even looking up. “Don’t go back to his highlights. You already watched his Europe trip twice last night.”
“I just like the aesthetic,” you defended weakly.
“You like his face.”
You sighed, resting your chin in your palm, eyes drifting back to his latest Story. Just a casual boomerang of him walking into a party, surrounded by people, drink in hand, that same effortless confidence radiating off of him. He looked like he belonged there—like the world bent to him just slightly wherever he went.
Meanwhile, you couldn’t even bend your willpower long enough to not stalk him for one damn night.
“He’s at that rooftop bar again,” you murmured. “That one near campus.”
Yuna glanced at your screen. “With the LED lights and overpriced drinks? Ugh. Of course he is. He’s always out. Does he even do homework?”
“He’s passing econ somehow.”
“Probably because he flirts with the TA.”
You snorted. “I wouldn’t even be mad.”
Yuna tossed her phone aside and sat up. “Okay, real question. What are you actually gonna do about this?”
“Do?”
“Yes, do. You’ve been drooling over him for months. Either shoot your shot or block his page and join a monastery. This in-between spiral is destroying you.”
You hesitated. The idea of talking to Jake—really talking to him—made your heart race in a way that was more panic than excitement. He was just so… untouchable. Like a poster boy for bad decisions wrapped in designer cologne and half-smiles. And you were just—you.
“I don’t even think he knows my name,” you said quietly.
Yuna gave you a look. “Oh, he knows.”
You blinked. “What?”
She just smirked, grabbing her bag. “I’m gonna leave that there. You think about it.”
And with that, she disappeared out the door, leaving your heart racing in the quiet. Because if Jake did know your name… what did that mean?
You sat frozen for a solid thirty seconds after Yuna left, her last words echoing in your head like a fire alarm.
“He knows.”
She had to be messing with you, right? Yuna loved a good dramatic exit. She lived for chaos. There was no way Jake Sim—resident heartbreaker, campus lenend, the guy with a rotation of girls longer than your Spotify playlist—actually knew who you were.
…Right?
You glanced back at your laptop. His story was still up.
Tap.
Next slide—him laughing at something, dimples on full display, head tilted back like life was just that easy for him. You paused on it, your stomach twisting in that way it always did when you saw him smile. It was gross. You hated how much you liked it.
You shut the laptop again. This was getting out of hand.
Grabbing your phone, you opened your group chat with Yuna and your other two friends.
You:
i hate you why would u say that
Yuna:
what did i do NOW
You:
“he knows” ??? why would u say that and then LEAVE like some cryptic little drama gremlin
Kazuha:
HELP what’d she do
Minju:
this is about jake isn’t it
Yuna:
ok first of all. i am a drama gremlin. second of all. i didn’t lie.
You:
YUNA.
Yuna:
look he asked about you once okay?? don’t freak out
You stared at the screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard, heart thudding so loud you almost didn’t hear the buzz of another message.
You:
he what.
Yuna:
like two weeks ago. after class. he was talking to beomgyu and i walked up and he was like “hey that girl you always hang with, she’s in my stats class right?”
and i said yeah. and he nodded.
that’s it.
Minju:
girl that’s not nothing
Kazuha:
he definitely knows. also why do i feel like he’s been looking at her lately???
You:
guys stop
i’m sweating wtf
this is too much
You dropped your phone on the bed and covered your face with your hands again, half-screaming into your palms. This couldn’t be real. Jake noticed you? He remembered you existed?
You thought about the times he held your gaze a second too long in class, the lazy way he said “hey” when passing you on campus, the smirk you always thought was meant for someone else.
You didn’t want to get your hopes up. That was dangerous. That was how people got hurt. But still…
Just maybe…
This crush wasn’t as one-sided as you thought.
Jake leaned back against the bench, legs stretched out and sunglasses pushed up into his hair as the late afternoon sun filtered through the trees. The quad buzzed with weekend energy—students lounging on the grass, music playing from someone’s speaker, that kind of lazy chaos that only ever happened when no one felt like doing real work.
Jay sat beside him, twirling a straw around in his iced coffee, eyes scanning the crowd like he was picking out a movie to watch.
“You know what I was thinking?” Jay said suddenly, eyes still tracking something in the distance.
Jake raised an eyebrow. “That’s always a terrifying sentence.”
Jay smirked. “We’ve never been in a real relationship. Like ever.”
Jake scoffed. “And your point?”
“My point is,” Jay said, sitting up, “we should see who can actually do it. Lock in. Longest relationship wins.”
Jake blinked, amused. “That’s the dumbest bet you’ve ever made—and you once bet Beomgyu fifty bucks you could throw a slice of pizza on the dorm ceiling and make it stick.”
“It did stick,” Jay pointed out.
“Yeah, and the RA made you clean it off.”
Sunghoon, who’d been quietly watching some random soccer game in the distance, sighed like he was already regretting his life choices. “This is so stupid. Why would you guys want to date someone just for the sake of it?”
“Because we suck at it,” Jay shrugged. “We’re trash at commitment. Might as well make it fun.”
Jake tilted his head, thinking for a second. “So what, we just pick someone and… date them?”
“Exactly,” Jay grinned. “No hookups, no games. Real dating. See who lasts longer.”
Sunghoon rolled his eyes. “You guys are hopeless. Seriously.”
Jake was about to respond when Sunghoon suddenly nodded toward a group of girls laughing across the lawn.
“What about her?” he said, jerking his chin in that direction.
Jake followed his gaze—and immediately shook his head, a tight, amused smile tugging at his lips. “Nah. Heeseung would kill me.”
Jay raised an eyebrow, but didn’t press it. Sunghoon just shrugged like it wasn’t his problem.
Jake leaned back again, lips pressing into a thin line. His thoughts drifted, uninvited, to you.
He didn’t know why, but your name floated to the surface, soft and unspoken. He pictured your face for a split second—how you always seemed to be laughing with that same small circle of friends, always just there on the edge of his world.
He said nothing.
Instead, Jake pushed himself off the bench, brushing imaginary dust off his jeans.
“Where you going?” Jay asked, glancing up.
Jake just smirked and threw a lazy wave over his shoulder.
“Nowhere. Just remembered something.”
Jake shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked off, head down just enough to avoid the glare of the sun but not enough to miss the way people turned to greet him as he passed. He gave the usual half-smile, a couple nods, but didn’t stop.
He wasn’t sure where he was going. He just didn’t feel like sitting there talking about bets and fake relationships when his mind was suddenly, annoyingly, stuck on you.
Not in a romantic way—God, no. Jake Sim didn’t catch feelings like that. Especially not for girls he barely talked to. That wasn’t how he operated. That wasn’t how this worked.
You weren’t the hottest girl on campus or the loudest or the one constantly throwing yourself into his orbit. If anything, you stayed out of it. And yet… you’d started showing up in his peripheral vision more often than he liked to admit.
Every time you passed by him in class, you did that little thing—tucking your hair behind your ear, eyes flicking to him for half a second before you looked away like you’d been caught doing something wrong. You weren’t subtle. And Jake wasn’t stupid. He’d noticed.
It was kind of… cute.
He kicked a rock off the sidewalk, watching it bounce onto the grass.
He didn’t know why you popped into his head when Sunghoon pointed out that girl. Maybe it was because you felt like the opposite of a challenge—someone easy to talk to, someone safe. Not messy. Not loud. Not tied up in anyone else’s drama.
And maybe, he thought, that wouldn’t be such a bad way to win a bet.
He stopped walking.
But then again… this was stupid. It was Jay’s idea. It wasn’t that deep. And you? You were just a thought. A maybe. An option.
Nothing more.
Jake smirked to himself and kept walking, brushing the idea off like it was dust on his sleeve.
No feelings. No strings.
Just a game.
Jake didn’t think about it again—at least, that’s what he told himself.
The next day, he walked into stats like he always did: five minutes late, iced americano in one hand, phone in the other, no apology in sight. He dropped into his seat near the back, legs stretched out under the desk, and immediately tuned out the professor’s monotone voice.
But then he saw you.
You were in your usual spot, two rows ahead and just slightly to the right. Laughing at something Kazuha whispered to you, pen twirling between your fingers, that same focused-but-not-really expression on your face.
Jake leaned back, tapping his pen against his lip.
You looked soft. Not in the cheesy romcom way—just… not sharp like most people. You weren’t trying to be noticed. You weren’t dressed to impress. You just were. And Jake had a strange moment of clarity where he realized: that might be why he’d thought of you in the first place.
Predictable. Low drama. Quiet.
Someone he could control the narrative with.
Jay’s dumb idea floated back into his head again: “Real dating. See who lasts longer.”
Jake exhaled slowly, like it would push the hesitation out of his lungs.
This wasn’t about feelings. He didn’t like you. He didn’t want to text you goodnight or hold your hand at parties or any of that romcom garbage. But maybe you were safe enough to play the part. Someone who wouldn’t make things messy. Someone who already had a soft spot for him.
He glanced at you again, just as you looked down to write something in your notebook, your brows furrowed in concentration.
He could do it. Just a few weeks, some dates, a little effort. Easy.
Jake grinned to himself, resting his chin on his hand.
He didn’t realize he was already watching you too closely.
Didn’t realize he was starting to wonder how you’d react if he actually said hi.
He just thought,
Yeah. This’ll be easy.
Jake caught himself watching you again.
It wasn’t even on purpose—at least, that’s what he told himself. You weren’t doing anything special. Just taking notes, occasionally glancing at the board, the corners of your mouth twitching every time Kazuha leaned over and whispered something dumb. But for some reason, he couldn’t look away for long.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, snapping him out of it.
Jay:
pick someone yet or u backing out?
Jake smirked, thumbs tapping quickly.
Jake:
working on it
Jay:
clock’s ticking
Jake rolled his eyes, tossing the phone facedown on the desk.
The truth was, he already knew. He’d made up his mind the second he walked into class and saw you laughing like you didn’t have a single clue how close you were to becoming part of something you didn’t sign up for.
But he wasn’t going to tell Jay yet. He wasn’t even sure why.
Maybe because part of him felt like once he said it out loud, it would make it real. More real than it needed to be. And despite how casual he was pretending to be, this wasn’t like hooking up with some girl from a party. This wasn’t sneaking out of someone’s dorm room at 2 a.m. before things got too serious.
This was… a role. A performance. One he’d have to keep up if he wanted to win.
He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, eyes drifting toward you again.
You didn’t even know he existed—at least, not really. Sure, you might’ve looked at him a few times, maybe had that little crush people liked to tease about, but you didn’t know him. Not the version he showed at parties, not the bored one in class, not the one who smiled when he needed something.
You were still clean.
Jake wondered how long that would last.
When class ended, he stood and slung his backpack over one shoulder, lingering by the exit just long enough to watch you gather your things. You laughed at something Kazuha said again, then turned to wave goodbye to Minju.
And for half a second, your eyes met his.
He gave you a slow, easy smile—one he’d used a thousand times before—and this time, you didn’t look away so quickly.
Jake walked out of the room, his smirk growing.
You couldn’t focus the rest of the day.
Jake Sim had smiled at you.
Not just a polite, passing one. Not the half-distracted, probably-at-someone-behind-you kind. No. It was at you—slow, smooth, like he knew something you didn’t. Like he meant it.
And stupidly, pathetically, you’d smiled back.
Your stomach was still fluttering from it hours later. Even as you sat at your usual café table with Yuna, Kazuha, and Minju, pretending to listen to their convo, all you could think about was that look. That damn smile. The way his eyes had lingered just long enough to make your brain short-circuit.
Yuna caught you zoning out and kicked your foot under the table. “Earth to lover girl.”
You blinked. “Huh?”
“You’ve been checked out since class,” Minju said, sipping her iced latte like she wasn’t stirring chaos.
“Let me guess,” Kazuha added, leaning forward with a smirk. “Jake smiled at you?”
You opened your mouth to deny it, but Yuna cut in with a dramatic gasp. “He did?! Wait—you smiled back?!”
You groaned and buried your face in your hands. “I don’t know what it was, okay? He looked at me and—ugh, I probably imagined the whole thing.”
“You didn’t,” Minju said casually. “He looked at you. I saw it.”
You peeked through your fingers. “Was it like… a weird look? Or just, like, a normal thing?”
Kazuha raised an eyebrow. “Does Jake Sim ever look at someone normally?”
Yuna leaned her chin on her palm, suddenly serious. “Okay, but real talk. If he did look at you, like, look at you… be careful.”
Your heart sank a little. “What do you mean?”
“He’s Jake,” Minju said. “He doesn’t date. He flirts, he parties, he makes girls fall for him and then disappears.”
“I’m not falling for him,” you said too quickly.
Three sets of eyebrows went up at once.
“I’m not!” you insisted, but your voice cracked halfway through, completely ruining your case. They all exchanged knowing looks, and Kazuha patted your hand like you were already a lost cause.
You sat back in your seat, sipping your drink in silence, trying to calm the chaos in your chest. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal. Maybe Jake smiled at a hundred girls a day.
But still, the way he’d looked at you…
It didn’t feel like nothing.
And somewhere not too far from that café, Jake Sim was leaning back against a wall outside the library, scrolling through his phone.
He hadn’t told Jay yet. He hadn’t told anyone.
But your name sat quietly in the back of his mind.
Like a string he’d just started tugging.
Like a move he hadn’t played yet.
And tomorrow? He planned to say hello.
The next day came quicker than you expected.
You tried not to overthink it. Tried not to pick out your outfit with him in mind. Tried not to rehearse fake scenarios in your head where Jake Sim actually acknowledged you again—maybe said hi, maybe made a joke, maybe even asked you a question. Nothing big. Just something. Anything.
But deep down, under the nervous energy and second-guessing, a small, traitorous part of you hoped.
You walked into stats early, which never happened, your notebook hugged to your chest like it might protect you from your own delusions. Kazuha and Minju were already there, chatting quietly, and you took your usual seat beside them, eyes scanning the door more times than you cared to admit.
You told yourself you weren’t checking for him. Just being aware. Just… existing in the same room.
And then he walked in.
Jake didn’t look at anyone at first. Just strolled in like always—relaxed, unbothered, his usual drink in hand. He scanned the room casually, his eyes drifting past people without really stopping.
Until they landed on you.
And this time, he didn’t look away.
A lazy, lopsided grin pulled at his lips as he met your gaze. Not rushed. Not accidental.
Intentional.
Your throat went dry.
And then—like it was the most normal thing in the world—Jake Sim nodded at you. A simple, subtle gesture.
But it felt like the whole room paused around it.
You blinked. Your lips parted, surprised, and then instinctively—you nodded back. Small. Shy. Like your heart hadn’t just punched through your ribcage.
Jake held your gaze for half a second longer, then turned and walked to his usual seat near the back like nothing had happened.
But something had happened.
Kazuha leaned in immediately. “Okay, no. That wasn’t normal. He totally looked at you.”
Minju blinked. “Did he just nod at you like you guys are friends or something?”
You couldn’t even answer. You were too busy trying to regulate your breathing, too focused on the way your hands suddenly didn’t know what to do.
Across the room, Jake sat down, stretched out, and didn’t say a word.
Jay nudged him. “You good?”
Jake didn’t look away from the front. “Yeah,” he said simply. “Just watching something.”
Jay raised a brow, confused, but let it go.
You felt it the second you walked out of class—like a magnet at your back.
You didn’t have to turn around to know he was behind you. His steps were slower than yours, but just close enough that you could hear the occasional scuff of his sneakers on the pavement. And even in the noise of campus—people laughing, bikes zipping by, someone blasting music from a speaker—you felt him.
Jake Sim. Still walking behind you. Still very much a mystery.
“Okay,” Kazuha whispered beside you, leaning in with the most obvious side-eye imaginable. “Do not freak out. But he’s right there.”
“I know,” you hissed, eyes forward.
“I mean right there, like five steps back.”
Minju, on your other side, kept her voice casual. “What do you think he wants?”
“Nothing,” you said quickly. Too quickly. “Probably just going the same way.”
“Oh, sure,” Kazuha drawled. “Because Jake Sim always just happens to walk behind girls he makes eye contact with for five seconds straight.”
Your face was hot. You hated how your brain had started keeping track of these things—every glance, every nod, every smile like it meant something.
You turned the corner with your friends, and for a second, it felt like maybe that was it. Maybe he was just walking the same direction.
“Hey.”
One word. Smooth. Easy.
Him.
You stopped. Your heart didn’t.
Jake slid into view beside you like he did this all the time, like you weren’t already halfway to spiraling.
He looked straight at you. “You’re in my stats class, right?”
You blinked. Your mouth opened slightly. “Uh… yeah.”
He smiled like he already knew the answer.
“I’ve seen you around,” he said casually, like this wasn’t the first time he’d thought about it. “What’s your name?”
You told him. Your voice barely above a whisper.
Jake nodded, like he was tucking it away. “Cool. I’m Jake.”
Like you didn’t already know.
“I know,” you said before you could stop yourself.
His grin widened slightly. Not cocky, not smug. Just… amused.
“Right,” he said, a little laugh in his voice. “Well, I’ll see you around.”
And with that, he was gone.
No flirting. No teasing. No over-the-top pickup line.
Just your name on his lips. Like he planned to use it again.
Your friends were staring at you with open mouths.
Kazuha grabbed your arm. “I am going to pass out.”
Minju fanned herself. “You talked. To Jake Sim.”
You stood there, blinking at the space where he used to be, your heart still racing.
You didn’t know what just happened.
But whatever it was, it wasn’t nothing.
Jake didn’t look back.
He didn’t need to. He knew you were still standing there, probably replaying the conversation in your head, maybe wondering if you’d said something weird or if he’d meant anything by it.
He hadn’t.
Not really.
(Kind of.)
He let his smirk fade the second he turned the corner, jaw tightening slightly as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He could feel Jay’s voice in his head already, mocking him—“So? Who’d you pick?”
He wasn’t going to tell him yet. Not until it was set in motion.
And it was now. Officially.
He’d spoken to you. Broke the fourth wall. You weren’t a background presence anymore—you were the option. The one he was going to test this theory out on.
Not because you were a challenge.
Not because you were hard to get.
But because you were… interested.
He’d seen the look on your face when he asked your name. That flicker of nervous excitement, like you’d been caught in the middle of something you didn’t want to end. He knew that look. He’d seen it before. Dozens of times.
But this time? He wasn’t here to break hearts. He was here to win.
That was the bet.
Longest relationship.
Play the part. Make it believable.
Easy.
Jake walked into the dining hall like nothing had happened, spotting Jay already sitting with a tray of fries and a bored expression.
“Yo,” Jay said. “You look like you just committed a crime.”
Jake slid into the seat across from him, swiping a fry. “Maybe I did.”
Jay narrowed his eyes. “You pick someone?”
Jake chewed slowly, then shrugged. “Thinking about it.”
“‘Thinking about it’ or already made up your mind?”
Jake leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms behind his head. “Let’s just say… I’ve got a good feeling.”
Jay laughed. “You’re gonna lose.”
Jake grinned back, calm and sure of himself. “We’ll see.”
Meanwhile, two buildings over, you were still stuck in place—your name echoing in your ears in his voice.
Jake Sim had talked to you. Asked your name. Smiled like he’d meant it.
And you?
You were already in trouble.
You just didn’t know it yet.
You floated through the rest of your day in a haze.
Jake Sim—campus heartbreaker, unintentional walking distraction, the guy you’d spent way too long overanalyzing from a distance—had not only spoken to you, but said your name. Like it belonged in his mouth. Like he planned to say it again.
You replayed it on loop.
“What’s your name?”
“I’ve seen you around.”
“Cool. I’m Jake.”
You. Were. Doomed.
Yuna nearly screamed when you told her.
“HE WHAT?” she shrieked in your dorm room, slamming her phone face down on your bed. “Okay, no. Wait. Start from the beginning. Word for word. Breath for breath. Blinking pattern. Everything.”
“I already told you everything!”
Yuna gave you a flat look. “You barely told me anything. You just stood there in a daze and whispered, ‘He talked to me’ like you were in some kind of Jake-induced coma.”
“I was in a Jake-induced coma,” you mumbled, falling back onto your pillow dramatically. “I think I still am.”
“Okay but why now?” she asked, sitting at the foot of your bed and stealing one of your chips. “Like, what changed? You guys have had stats together for weeks and he’s never even looked at you.”
You blinked at the ceiling. “Maybe he just… noticed me.”
Yuna gave you a look. “Guys like Jake don’t ‘just notice’ girls. It’s either because he’s bored, he’s interested, or he’s got some kind of motive.”
You sat up a little. “You think he has a motive? Like… what? What kind of motive?”
Yuna paused, chewing thoughtfully. “I don’t know. But Jake doesn’t make small talk unless he’s getting something out of it. Trust me. He’s hot, yeah, but there’s always something else going on in that beautiful, toxic little brain.”
You rolled your eyes, but a tiny part of you held onto her words. You didn’t want to believe that. You wanted to believe maybe he was just… curious. Maybe he thought you were cute. Maybe—by some miracle—he wasn’t playing a game.
But then again, Jake Sim was known for a lot of things.
Genuine interest wasn’t one of them.
Still, your heart refused to care.
He said your name.
He smiled.
He looked at you.
And for now, that was enough to keep you wide awake at 1:42 a.m., staring at your ceiling, whispering his name once just to hear how it sounded in the dark.
You told yourself it wasn’t for him.
You were just in the mood to look nice today—normal girl behavior. Nothing out of the ordinary. So what if you curled your hair instead of your usual half-tied bun? So what if you put on a little gloss and swapped your hoodie for a top that fit just a little better than usual? You weren’t going to see him anyway. Probably.
(But you left five minutes earlier than usual… just in case.)
You blamed Yuna for the way your nerves spiked as soon as you stepped onto campus. Her voice kept looping in your head like a warning bell.
“Guys like Jake don’t just notice girls out of nowhere.”
You’d rolled your eyes at the time, but it stuck. Still, when you caught your reflection in the hallway mirror outside class, a small smile tugged at your lips. You looked good. Confident. Not for Jake—but if he noticed? That wouldn’t be the worst thing.
He did.
You felt his gaze before you even stepped into the classroom. The weight of it. Heavy, warm, lazy like he wasn’t in a rush to look away. You didn’t dare meet his eyes—not right away—but your heart was already beating in your ears.
Kazuha whispered a teasing, “Oooh, someone came dressed to kill today,” as you sat down, and you tried to play it cool, brushing her off with a laugh. But you couldn’t ignore the glance Jake threw over his shoulder.
And the small nod. Again. Just like before. It was subtle. Barely there. But intentional. And that was enough to keep you smiling through half the lecture like an idiot.
Later that day, back at your dorm, you were practically humming as you kicked off your shoes. Yuna looked up from her laptop, narrowed her eyes, and said immediately, “Okay. Spill. What happened?”
You raised a brow, feigning innocence. “What do you mean?”
“You wore lip gloss,” she deadpanned. “You only do that for confidence or crushes. And knowing you? It’s both.” You flopped onto your bed with a dreamy sigh. “He looked at me again.” Yuna groaned. “Girl. You’re spiraling.”
“I’m fine,” you said, rolling onto your stomach.
“No, you’re in the delusional phase,” she said, sitting up. “Where you think he’s texting you with his eyes and secretly planning your wedding. I’m telling you, this is how he gets girls. He makes you feel seen.”
You stayed quiet, fiddling with the edge of your pillowcase.
“I’m not saying he’s evil,” Yuna went on. “I’m saying he’s not… safe. He’s not consistent. And I just don’t want you to be another story where he gets bored and leaves.”
You didn’t want to hear it. Not now. Not when your heart was still soaring.
“I get it,” you mumbled. “But it’s not that serious. It’s just a crush.”
Yuna stared at you for a long moment. “That’s exactly how it starts.”
But you didn’t answer. You just kept smiling to yourself. Because Jake Sim looked at you again. And in your head, that meant everything.
Jake saw you before you saw him.
You were sitting on the low stone wall outside the library, legs crossed at the ankles, earbuds in, flipping through your notes with a furrow between your brows like you actually cared about the quiz tomorrow. The afternoon sun hit your face just right, lighting up the gold in your lashes, and for a moment—just a second—he forgot this was supposed to be a thing.
A game. A bet. A joke between him and Jay.
He shook it off.
“Go say something,” Jay muttered from beside him, nudging Jake with his elbow.
Jake rolled his eyes. “Relax.”
“Relax? Bro, you were just talking about how easy this was gonna be,” Jay said. “You smiled at her, got her name. Step three is conversation.”
Jake didn’t answer right away. He just watched you.
You looked like the type who wrote in a journal at night. The type who doodled on worksheets, who had a playlist for every mood and a favorite pen that no one else was allowed to touch. You weren’t like the girls at parties who clung to him for the thrill of it, who liked the idea of Jake Sim more than Jake himself.
That made it interesting.
Or maybe risky. He hadn’t decided yet.
“I’m giving you three seconds,” Jay said. “Then I’m picking someone else for you.”
Jake scoffed and stepped off the path.
He took his time crossing the grass, casual but with purpose. You didn’t notice him at first, too caught up in whatever study playlist was pulsing through your ears. He tapped the back of the bench once with two fingers, and you startled slightly, pulling one earbud out as your eyes lifted to meet his.
There it was again—recognition. Surprise. That soft little tilt to your lips like you were trying not to smile too much.
“Hey,” he said, leaning slightly against the edge of the wall. “You always study out here?”
You blinked. “Only when it’s nice out.” He nodded, eyes flicking to your open notebook. “What’s the subject?”
“Stats,” you said, grimacing. “Trying to pretend I understand anything from today.” He laughed a little—easy, smooth, practiced. “Yeah, same. I zoned out after the first ten minutes.”
You smiled, and this time it reached your eyes. “You sit in the back. You always zone out. He raised a brow, impressed. “So you’ve been watching me?”
You opened your mouth to respond, then faltered, clearly realizing what you’d just admitted.
Jake grinned. Gotcha.
“I mean—not watching watching,” you rushed to say. “Just, you’re… kind of hard to miss.”
He let the moment hang between you, his smirk lingering before he glanced down at your notes again. “You want help?” he asked suddenly. You blinked. “With stats?”
“Sure. I mean, I don’t guarantee results,” he said, pushing off the wall and shoving his hands in his pockets. “But we could suffer through it together.”
Your eyes searched his face for something—for a sign he was messing with you. But he didn’t look away.
“Okay,” you said quietly. “Yeah. That’d be… cool.”
Jake nodded once, then stepped back. “Tomorrow. After class?”
You nodded.
He turned without another word, heading back toward Jay with that easy gait that made people move out of his way. Jay raised his brows at him like well?
Jake just said, “Locked in.” And didn’t explain further.
Didn’t mention how your voice had sounded a little shy when you said yes. Didn’t mention the part of him that liked that.
He told himself he wasn’t catching feelings. He was just playing the role. That’s all this was. Wasn’t it?
The next day, you didn’t know whether to dread or look forward to stats.
You’d barely slept. You kept rewriting yesterday in your head—Jake walking up to you, Jake talking to you, Jake offering to help you study like it was nothing. Like that wasn’t the most surreal part of your entire week.
You were half convinced it was a fluke. Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe it was some joke. Or maybe—maybe—you dreamed it and none of it actually happened.
But then he slid into the seat next to you like it was his usual spot.
Like it had always been his.
You looked up at him in surprise, your voice caught in your throat. “Oh. Hey.”
“Hey,” he said easily, tossing his phone on the desk and leaning back like he had all the time in the world. “You still down to study after this?”
You blinked. “Y-Yeah. Of course.”
He gave you a small, satisfied smile, then leaned in a little closer, voice low enough that only you could hear it. “What’s your Instagram?”
You froze.
You knew this moment was coming. Like, eventually. Hopefully. Maybe. But not this fast. Not like it was casual.
“Oh—um,” you fumbled with your phone, screen lighting up as your fingers clumsily opened the app. “It’s just—my username is kind of stupid, don’t laugh.”
Jake chuckled under his breath. “Now I have to see it.”
You turned your screen toward him, and he leaned in slightly, shoulder brushing yours for a second too long. His fingers grazed your phone as he typed it into his own, brows furrowed in concentration.
“There,” he said a moment later. “Followed.”
Your phone buzzed instantly, the notification lighting up like a siren:
simjyn started following you.
You tried to stay calm. Cool. Normal.
But Jake? Jake was already scrolling through your feed like he had nothing better to do. His eyes flicked up to yours briefly, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You’re cute in this one.”
You almost choked.
He was pointing to a picture Minju had taken of you a couple weeks ago—your hand resting on your cheek, smiling softly at something off-camera. You’d only posted it after three days of deliberation.
“You—what?” you said, breathless.
Jake didn’t miss a beat. “I said you’re cute. You don’t agree?”
Your mouth opened, then closed again.
He laughed under his breath, clearly enjoying the way he’d short-circuited your brain. Then he leaned back in his chair like he hadn’t just sent your pulse into orbit.
“Stats,” he said casually, flipping open his notebook. “Then coffee. That’s our deal, right?”
You nodded slowly, your cheeks on fire.
He didn’t say anything else.
But your phone buzzed again under the desk.
simjyn: looking forward to it
You didn’t know whether to smile or scream. So you did both. Internally.
You didn’t even have to type it in.
The second Jake said, “What’s your Instagram?” you already knew where this was going. You played it off so well—bit your lip like you were thinking, fumbled with your phone a little like you needed to search for his account too.
But you didn’t. You’d known it for months.
@simjyn.
No numbers. No punctuation. Just clean, simple, cool. Like him.
You’d visited it more times than you’d ever admit out loud.
You knew the exact photo he’d posted on New Year’s Eve—black button-up, rings on his fingers, drink in hand, smirk sharper than his jawline. You remembered how his captions were always short, effortless. Sometimes just a song lyric, sometimes a single word. Always just enough to keep people guessing.
You’d watched his stories religiously. Even the ones that weren’t interesting—clips of skateparks, random memes, grainy concert videos. You once spent an entire night reading through the comments on one of his old posts, heart dropping every time a girl left a flirty emoji and he liked it.
And now? That username lit up your phone for real.
@simjyn followed you.
@simjyn ❤️ your story.
@simjyn sent you a DM.
You nearly forgot how to breathe.
What made it worse—or maybe better—was how normal he made it all feel. Like he hadn’t just stepped out of the fantasy you’d kept locked behind your phone screen. Like this wasn’t your real life crashing into the version of Jake you only knew from filtered posts and captions.
You tried to keep your cool, acting like this wasn’t a big deal. Like you hadn’t already scrolled back to his 2019 posts at least once. Like you didn’t already have his account bookmarked under a folder labeled “Just Vibes” (because “Jake Sim” felt too on the nose).
Still, when the class ended and you stepped outside, your fingers twitched with the urge to check your notifications again. And there it was.
@simjyn: looking forward to it.
Like it was just the beginning.
And maybe, terrifyingly, it was.
The days that followed felt like they were moving in slow motion, each one dragging longer than the last as you waited for something to happen.
The moment you’d been hoping for—the one where Jake would finally make it real, where the playful back-and-forth would shift from flirtation to something else—wasn’t happening.
Instead, he kept it casual. Too casual.
Too normal.
He kept up the conversations. Stats class? He would lean over, whispering about the notes, joking about the professor’s monotone voice. He would always walk with you afterward, or grab coffee with you. Nothing over the top. Nothing overtly romantic.
But your heart still raced every time he smiled at you. Every time he leaned a little too close. Every time his fingers brushed against yours as he handed you your coffee or his shoulder bumped yours when you were walking together. You could tell he was making it seem easy. Comfortable. Like you were just friends.
But you were barely holding it together.
Your phone buzzed late one night while you were finishing up homework. You glanced at it, heart skipping when you saw his name pop up in your notifications.
@simjyn: Got a minute?
You stared at the message for a solid minute. Your thumb hovered over the screen, hesitation creeping in. Should you play it cool? Or be honest and show just how interested you were?
You took a breath, tapped the screen, and typed back:
You: Of course, what’s up?
It took a few seconds for him to respond, and when he did, you couldn’t help but feel the subtle excitement surge in your chest.
@simjyn: You free tomorrow after class? Thought we could grab lunch or something.
You stared at the message for a long second, rereading it just to be sure it wasn’t some joke. But no—he’d actually asked. He’d really asked.
And you, being entirely unable to contain the flutter in your stomach, replied without hesitation:
You: Sounds good. What time?
It didn’t take long for him to send the reply, casual as ever:
@simjyn: 1 p.m. sharp. See you then.
You couldn’t help but smile, even as you tried to play it off to yourself. You were going to lunch.
With Jake Sim.
Just lunch.
Still, as you set your phone down, the knot in your stomach didn’t loosen. It twisted, deepened, and tightened with something you couldn’t ignore.
This was different.
You weren’t just some girl caught up in the attention of a guy.
This time, it felt real.
The morning of the lunch, you barely made it through your classes. Every few minutes, your mind would wander back to the text. You tried to focus, to pay attention to the lecture, but all you could think about was what you were going to wear. You settled on something comfortable—nothing too dressed up, but something that still made you feel good. You didn’t want to seem like you were trying too hard, but you also didn’t want to look like you didn’t care.
When the bell rang, you gathered your things and tried to move quickly, but not too quickly. There was no way you were going to be that eager.
You got to the café a little early, scanning the tables, heart racing as you waited. And then, just as you began to think he might be late, you saw him walk through the door. Jake Sim, effortlessly cool in a black leather jacket and dark jeans. His hair was slightly messy in that way that made you want to run your fingers through it.
He glanced around and spotted you almost immediately. The moment your eyes met, he gave you that signature, crooked grin. The one that made your stomach flip.
“Hey,” he greeted as he slid into the seat across from you. “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”
You shook your head, trying not to act too flustered. “No, not at all. I just got here.”
He gave a nonchalant nod, then leaned back in his chair, eyes scanning the menu on the wall. “So, how’s the studying been going?”
You shrugged, trying to sound casual. “Same as usual. Lots of work, not a lot of results.”
Jake chuckled, glancing over at you. “I can relate. Stats is definitely not my strong suit. I’ve had to rely on the internet a lot.”
You laughed, genuinely this time. “I can’t believe you’re just now admitting that you’re using Google.”
“Hey, it works,” he said, raising his hands in mock defense. “Why make life harder?”
The conversation flowed easily after that, lighthearted banter about classes, the terrible food at the campus café, and random bits of gossip you both knew. Nothing serious. But somehow, it felt… different. He was relaxed around you. More relaxed than he’d ever seemed before, and it made you wonder if this was just another casual thing to him, or if something else was starting to shift.
Then, after a while, Jake’s tone softened. He tilted his head, studying you for a moment as if weighing his words. “You’ve been acting a little different lately. More… put together, you know?”
You blinked, unsure of how to respond to that. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged slightly, his eyes still focused on you, but there was a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “You’ve always been pretty chill, but you’re, like, shining now. What’s up with that?”
Your heart skipped, a small nervous laugh escaping your lips. “I’m just… I don’t know. Maybe I’m just getting better at balancing everything.”
Jake leaned in just slightly, his gaze narrowing with interest. “I think it’s more than that. You’re definitely pulling it off.”
You stared at him for a second, not sure what to make of the compliment. He said it so casually, like it was just an observation. But it felt different, like he was actually noticing you—really noticing you.
You swallowed, suddenly feeling exposed. “Well, thanks. That’s… sweet.”
There was a moment of silence between you, the air thick with something you couldn’t quite place. Then, to your surprise, Jake broke the tension with a grin. “You know, I’ve got a theory.”
You raised an eyebrow, curious despite yourself. “A theory?”
“Yeah,” he said, leaning back in his chair, looking like he was about to say something way too casually. “I think you might just be trying to impress me.”
The words hit you like a bolt of electricity, and for a moment, you weren’t sure if you were supposed to laugh, blush, or run away. “What? No—no,” you said quickly, shaking your head. “I mean, maybe a little bit, but… I don’t think I need to impress you.”
Jake smirked, clearly enjoying the effect he was having on you. “Oh? I’m not that impressive, huh?”
You bit your lip, not sure how to play this. “No, you are. I just—” You cut yourself off, suddenly realizing how much you’d revealed in a single sentence. But Jake didn’t press. He just chuckled, clearly having fun with this.
“You’re cute when you get nervous,” he said, his voice low and teasing.
Your cheeks burned at the comment, but you quickly composed yourself. “Well, it’s not like I’ve got anything to impress you with. I’m just… me.”
Jake leaned forward slightly, eyes locking with yours in that way that made your heart race. “That’s all I need to see.”
His words hung in the air between you like an unspoken promise, and for a moment, you thought you might actually fall for the idea that this wasn’t just a game.
But then, just as quickly, he sat back, picked up his coffee, and took a casual sip like nothing had happened.
You blinked, trying to clear the confusion in your head. Was he playing with you? Or was this real?
Before you could ask, Jake grinned, his eyes flicking to your phone. “Hey, I’ll hit you up later. I’ve got to go catch up with Jay about something.”
“Okay,” you said, your voice a little quieter than you meant it to be. “I’ll see you later, then.” He stood up, tossing a few bills onto the table before flashing that same carefree smile. “Yeah. See you around.”
As he walked away, you watched him go, your heart hammering in your chest. You couldn’t figure out if he was just being Jake, or if something else was going on. But one thing was clear. He had your attention, and it felt like you were already in this deeper than you wanted to admit.
The next few days were a blur of moments that felt too good to be true. Every time you saw Jake, you couldn’t shake the feeling that something was changing. He was suddenly everywhere, his presence more noticeable, more… intentional.
It started small—an unexpected text, just a random meme or a “How’s your day going?” message. It wasn’t the kind of thing friends usually exchanged, not unless they were really close. But he made it feel effortless. Like it was normal. Like you were supposed to be texting each other.
When you sat together in class, Jake would lean a little closer, whispering jokes in your ear, his breath warm against your skin. He’d brush your arm with his when reaching for a pen or hand you a piece of paper as if your hands weren’t already close enough to touch. And every time his gaze met yours, there was this flicker in his eyes—a hint of something that made you feel like you were both in on some secret that no one else knew.
“You’re wearing that sweater again,” he’d say, a grin pulling at his lips. “I like it.”
You’d laugh nervously, trying to act casual, but inside, your heart would race. Every time he called you out like that—whether it was for something you wore, the way your hair fell across your face, or the way you bit your lip when you were nervous—it felt like a compliment. A tease. And you couldn’t tell if you were supposed to be flattered or embarrassed.
But then, you’d notice the little things—like how his gaze lingered on you just a moment longer than usual, how his smile reached his eyes, and how he seemed to make every conversation feel like an inside joke. You could feel it. The playful flirty energy was unmistakable.
One afternoon, you were walking across campus together when Jake leaned in and said, “You know, you look really cute when you’re thinking.”
Your mind went blank. “What?”
He laughed softly, his voice low and teasing. “When you get all quiet, just staring at nothing. You’re cute, I can’t help it.”
You swallowed hard, trying to keep your voice steady. “Stop it.”
But his grin only widened. He didn’t stop. Not this time. His arm brushed yours as you walked, the skin-to-skin contact sending an electric jolt through your entire body. He kept close, just close enough that you could feel the warmth radiating off him, just close enough that it started to mess with your head.
“Really,” he continued, “You should smile more. Makes everything better.”
You couldn’t think straight. He was being so Jake about it—teasing and flirty, but there was something in the way he said it, something deeper, like he was trying to get closer to you than just casual flirtation. You tried to brush it off, but there was no denying it—he was turning up the charm.
The worst part? You liked it. You liked it too much.
But as much as you were getting drawn into the flirty energy with Jake, your friends noticed. Especially Yuna.
“Hey, you’re pulling away,” Yuna said one day as you walked with her across campus. “You’ve been hanging out with Jake a lot lately. Like… more than usual.”
You tried to brush it off, but the protective tone in her voice was obvious. “What are you talking about? We’re just hanging out.”
She raised an eyebrow, giving you a skeptical look. “I don’t know, YN. I mean, I’ve seen the way he’s been acting with you lately. Don’t let him mess with your head. He’s—”
“Stop,” you snapped, more sharply than you meant to. “I’m not stupid. I know what I’m doing.”
Yuna stopped walking, eyes wide as she stared at you. “I’m just trying to look out for you,” she said quietly. “Jake’s not exactly the type to take things seriously. You don’t want to end up hurt.”
The words hit you like a punch in the gut. But instead of feeling gratitude for her concern, you felt something else—a weird, unexpected irritation.
“I said stop,” you repeated, this time quieter but no less firm. “I don’t need you to remind me every five seconds that Jake’s a bad idea. I’m fine.”
Yuna opened her mouth to argue, but you held up your hand, cutting her off. “Really, Yuna, just drop it. I can handle myself.”
You could see the hurt flash across her face, but you didn’t care in the moment. You didn’t want to hear it. You didn’t want to hear about how Jake was playing you, how he was just a game to him, how everyone saw it coming except you. Because you didn’t want to see it. Not now. Not when things were just starting to feel… good.
You walked away from her then, your mind in a whirl. But even as you pushed away your concern for her words, you couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. Something was off, and it wasn’t just with Jake.
And as you thought about it more, as you thought about his flirty comments, the way he leaned in too close when you were talking, the way he looked at you like he knew something you didn’t, you wondered if maybe Yuna was right after all.
But then again… why would you care?
After all, he was giving you attention. He was talking to you. It felt good. And sometimes, that was all that mattered, right?
Later that week, you found yourself standing in front of Jake’s apartment door, the cold metal of the handle pressing against your palm. You didn’t know exactly how you’d gotten here, but somewhere along the way, you’d ended up accepting his invitation to hang out. It wasn’t even that late. You’d just had a weird day with your friends, and now, you were here.
Jake’s voice came through the door before he even opened it. “Hey, come on in!”
The door swung open, and he flashed you that familiar grin that you still weren’t used to, despite how many times you’d seen it. “You look like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders,” he said with a teasing raise of his eyebrows.
You didn’t even have it in you to give a smart remark back. Instead, you just walked in, kicking your shoes off as you stepped inside. The apartment was just as you remembered—lived in, a bit messy, but still comfortable. Jake had that careless confidence about him, the kind that made everything feel like it was in its rightful place, even when it wasn’t.
You plopped down on the couch, dropping your bag beside you, feeling suddenly exhausted. Your shoulders slumped, and Jake’s eyes followed the movement with a curious look before he sank onto the couch beside you, casually stretching his arms out along the backrest.
“What’s going on?” he asked, genuinely concerned, but his tone was light, trying to keep things casual, like everything was fine.
You took a deep breath, then sighed heavily, letting it all spill out in a way that surprised even you. “I don’t know what’s going on with me lately,” you said, your voice a little softer than you expected. “I mean, Yuna’s being… overprotective. She thinks you’re just playing with me. And I get it. She’s looking out for me. But it’s like, I can’t get her to understand that I’m fine. That I’m not… that stupid.”
You glanced at him for a moment, but he was just listening, his focus on you in a way that made your stomach flip. He didn’t interrupt, didn’t tell you you were overreacting. He just sat there, waiting for you to keep going.
“I feel like I’m stuck between two worlds. Like one side wants to just… enjoy it, you know? You’re fun, you’re everything I thought you were. But then, there’s this other side, where I can’t shake the feeling that maybe she’s right. Maybe you’re not looking for anything serious, and I’m just… falling for it. But I can’t stop myself,” you vented, your voice starting to tremble slightly.
Jake stayed quiet for a few seconds, his gaze shifting to the floor for a brief moment before looking back at you.
“You’re allowed to feel what you feel,” he said softly, the words coming out slower than usual. “Don’t let anyone make you doubt yourself. Yuna’s just trying to protect you, but you can handle it. If you’re not ready to hear what she has to say, then you don’t have to. That’s your decision.”
There was something in his tone that was different—something almost… comforting. It wasn’t the usual cocky Jake. This was the version of him that actually cared.
You let out a shaky laugh, unsure of whether it was from nerves or relief. “I don’t know if I can handle this… It’s all just so confusing. I don’t even know if I’m reading everything wrong, or if I’m just imagining things.”
His expression softened, and he leaned in just slightly, the casual distance between you both shrinking. “You don’t have to have all the answers right now, you know? You don’t have to be perfect. Not with me.”
And before you even realized it, you were leaning toward him. You didn’t even think about it, didn’t even second-guess it. Your body just reacted, your forehead resting against his shoulder, your exhaustion seeping out of you all at once.
Jake didn’t pull away, didn’t even flinch. He just stayed still, his body tense for only a second before relaxing, letting you lean on him, letting you take the weight off for just a little while. His arm slowly reached up, resting gently on your back, the warmth of his touch sending an unexpected shiver down your spine.
For a moment, the world outside disappeared. There was only the sound of your breathing and the steady, comforting presence of Jake beside you. And in that space, you didn’t feel confused or vulnerable. You just felt… safe.
But Jake? Jake felt something he wasn’t prepared for.
His chest tightened as your weight shifted against him, your head resting on his shoulder. Something in the pit of his stomach stirred in a way he wasn’t used to. The easy, flirtatious banter, the teasing touches, the smiles—it had always felt like a game, a light distraction. But now, with you leaning on him like this, he couldn’t help but wonder if he had crossed some invisible line.
Jake wasn’t the type to let his guard down easily, especially not with someone like you—someone who was already too easy to get attached to. He’d always prided himself on being able to keep things light, keep things easy. But now, as you sat there with your breath steady against his chest, he felt something shift in his chest. It was too strong, too real, too unfamiliar.
He knew he shouldn’t be feeling it. He knew he shouldn’t be letting himself get this close, this comfortable. But there was something about the way you were so trusting, so open, that made him rethink everything. Maybe he didn’t have to keep things light forever. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to let things get a little deeper.
But Jake didn’t say anything. He didn’t pull away, and he didn’t push forward. He just stayed there, letting the moment stretch out, wondering what it would mean if he allowed himself to feel whatever this was.
And for the first time in a long time, Jake Sim wasn’t quite sure what was happening to him.
The next day, you were walking with Minju and Kazuha when the conversation inevitably turned to the topic you were avoiding. Your friends had been whispering behind your back, but now, they were cornering you about it, and you knew exactly what was coming.
“YN,” Minju started, her voice soft but firm. “We know you’re close with Jake now, but Yuna’s just trying to look out for you. She cares about you.”
You tried to ignore the feeling of guilt that twisted inside you, but it was impossible to shake off. You had felt bad about snapping at Yuna, but right now, you just weren’t ready to deal with it. Not when everything with Jake was still so… new, so uncertain.
“I know, okay?” you said, your voice slightly more defensive than you intended. You slowed your pace, unwilling to keep walking any longer. You could feel their concerned gazes on you. “But I don’t need to hear it right now. I don’t want to think about it.”
Kazuha frowned, tilting her head as she studied your face. “We just don’t want you to get hurt, YN,” she said, her voice gentle but tinged with worry. “We know you like him, but… Jake doesn’t exactly have the best reputation when it comes to relationships.”
You clenched your jaw. Not this again.
“I don’t need anyone else telling me what I already know.” Your words were sharp, but it was hard to keep your cool. “I’m fine. I’m not an idiot. I know the risks.” You paused, your voice quieter now. “I just… I’m not ready to have that conversation with anyone, especially Yuna. So, can we just drop it?”
Minju gave you a sympathetic look, her eyes softening. “We’re just looking out for you, YN. It’s not about not trusting you. It’s about the fact that we’ve seen this kind of thing happen before.”
You shook your head, running a hand through your hair. “I get it, but… I’m not asking for advice right now. I just want to figure things out on my own. I don’t want to hear how this is going to end before it’s even really started.”
Kazuha took a step closer, her tone easing as she tried to lighten the mood. “We’re not trying to ruin the fun, YN. We just don’t want you to get hurt. That’s all.”
“I know you care. But please… not now,” you said, holding up a hand to stop any further discussion. You didn’t want to fight, didn’t want to let your friends down, but you just couldn’t handle it at that moment. You needed time to figure out where you stood with Jake before you could process any of their warnings.
Minju and Kazuha exchanged a glance, and even though they both wanted to say more, they stayed quiet, sensing that you weren’t in the right headspace.
“Okay,” Minju said finally, her voice softening. “But we’re here for you when you’re ready to talk. Just don’t shut us out completely, alright?”
You nodded, feeling a strange mix of frustration and relief. “I won’t. I promise.”
The conversation ended there, but the lingering tension between you and your friends stayed in the air. You couldn’t shake the feeling that they were worried about you, and that made your chest tighten. But as much as you knew they were just trying to protect you, a part of you didn’t want to listen. You just wanted to figure things out on your own.
And for now, that meant staying focused on Jake and whatever this thing was between you two. Even if it meant pushing everything else aside, at least for a little while.
Jake wasn’t one to let his guard down easily, but over the past few days, something about you had begun to chip away at it. The easy flirtation, the playful teasing—it was all still there, but there was something more now. Something deeper. He couldn’t help but notice how the little things seemed to matter more when you were around. The way you laughed at his jokes, even the ones that barely made sense. The way you smiled at him when no one else was watching. It felt too easy, too natural, like he’d always known how to make you smile. But lately, it didn’t feel like a game. It felt… real.
And that, in itself, was dangerous.
Jake found himself thinking about you even when he didn’t want to. His friends, Jay and Sunghoon, had made jokes about him getting “soft” or “whipped,” but it was hard to shake the feeling that they were right. He did feel something for you. Something he didn’t quite know how to name.
It wasn’t that you were different than the others—no, you were different in a way that made him uncomfortable. You made him want things he hadn’t thought about in a long time. Stability. Connection. More than just a fleeting encounter.
And it was killing him.
He didn’t know why he let himself get closer to you. Maybe it was the way you always seemed to understand him, like no matter how far he pushed, you’d still stick around. Or maybe it was the way you made him laugh even when he didn’t feel like smiling.
He found himself texting you more, asking if you wanted to hang out, even if he had no real reason to. He’d steal glances at you when you weren’t paying attention, noticing the way your eyes would light up when you spoke, the way you’d tilt your head when you were thinking. He even started texting you just to hear you laugh, just to see your name pop up on his screen. It was stupid. It was complicated. And, most of all, it made his stomach twist in ways that were both unsettling and addicting.
That night, things were different. You’d come over to his apartment again, this time without any of your usual defenses. You were quieter than usual, your eyes slightly more distant. He could tell something had been weighing on your mind, and despite all his usual nonchalance, he couldn’t help but want to comfort you.
You were sitting next to him on the couch, a slight distance between the two of you, but it felt like there was something pulling him toward you. He wasn’t sure what it was—maybe it was the way you looked tonight, or how vulnerable you seemed, or maybe it was just the growing ache in his chest that wouldn’t go away.
“So, what’s going on?” he asked, his voice quieter than usual, no teasing, no playfulness. Just concern.
You met his gaze, your lips forming a small smile, though it didn’t reach your eyes. “Nothing. Just… stuff with my friends. You know, the usual drama.”
Jake felt his heart sink at the emptiness in your voice, like something was off. But he didn’t press. Not yet. Instead, he leaned closer to you, watching as you pulled your knees up to your chest, clearly lost in your thoughts. Without thinking, his hand found its way to your shoulder, lightly resting there.
“You can talk to me, you know,” he said, his voice quieter, gentler than before.
You hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. “I don’t know if you want to hear it. It’s just… complicated.”
“Hey,” he said softly, his thumb rubbing along your shoulder. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. I’m listening.”
You met his gaze then, and for a moment, something passed between you. It was brief, almost imperceptible, but Jake felt it like a jolt of electricity between you. The weight of the silence was thick now, and the space between you felt too small.
Without thinking, Jake moved closer, his hand shifting from your shoulder to the side of your face, cupping it gently. Your breath hitched, but you didn’t pull away. You just stared at him, eyes wide, like you were waiting for him to make the next move.
Jake’s pulse quickened, his heart pounding in his chest. He had been here before—flirtation, attraction, all of it. But this time, something was different. This time, it wasn’t just about the thrill or the chase. It was about you.
You leaned toward him, your lips brushing against his, tentative at first, like neither of you quite knew what was happening. But then, something clicked. The kiss deepened, slow and steady, and Jake’s entire world seemed to narrow down to that single moment.
It was everything. And it was nothing like he expected.
When you finally pulled away, breathless and slightly dazed, you stayed close, your foreheads resting together as if you both were grounding each other.
Jake’s mind was racing, but his body felt weightless, like he was floating. He didn’t know what had just happened. Didn’t know if it was just a moment or if it meant something more. But for the first time in a long while, Jake Sim didn’t want to walk away from something. He didn’t want to pull back.
And he didn’t know how to explain it, but it scared him. More than he cared to admit.
The night of the party, you were already feeling a little on edge. Jake had invited you, and for the first time, it felt different than all the other times. There was a part of you that had been hesitating, unsure of how things were really between the two of you. His texts had been more frequent, his touches lingered a little longer, but you couldn’t shake that nagging feeling in the back of your mind.
You were getting ready when your phone buzzed—Jake had just texted to remind you about the party. He seemed excited about it, but something felt off in the way you were receiving it, like you were standing on the edge of a cliff and had no idea what would happen if you jumped.
As you walked into the party later that night, the music thumping in the background, you tried to shake off your nerves. People were scattered around, some dancing, others talking in smaller groups. You spotted Jake almost immediately—his usual confident grin, that cocky air about him, but tonight there was something different. He waved when he saw you, and his eyes lit up as you approached.
But before you could make your way over to him, you overheard Jay and Sunghoon talking in the corner, standing just out of earshot from where you were. You froze, hearing your name mentioned, and despite yourself, you couldn’t resist the urge to listen.
“Yo, Jake is really into this girl, huh?” Jay’s voice was low, but you caught every word.
“Yeah, no kidding,” Sunghoon replied, a laugh in his voice. “I mean, he’s been all over her. This bet’s got him acting like a different person.”
You felt your heart drop, but you didn’t move, too stunned to turn away. You tried to act casual, but everything inside you tensed. You could feel the blood rushing to your face, your stomach sinking.
“Are you sure he’s not faking it?” Jay asked, his voice skeptical. “I mean, it’s Jake we’re talking about. He doesn’t do ‘serious’—he’s just playing it for the win. He’ll probably drop her after.”
Sunghoon didn’t sound so sure, though. “I don’t know, man. I’ve seen the way he looks at her. It’s not like the other girls he’s been with. He actually seems invested.”
You wanted to walk away then. You wanted to ignore it, pretend you didn’t hear, but their words were like a knife twisting in your gut. The truth was, you weren’t stupid. You knew something was off. You had seen Jake be playful, you had felt the connection, but hearing his friends talk about it like it was a game… it made everything you had been feeling seem so much more meaningless.
“But it’s still a bet, right?” Jay said, the doubt lingering in his voice. “That’s what I don’t get. Is he really getting attached, or is he just playing the part? I’ve never seen him act like this with a girl. Not once.”
There was a long pause before Sunghoon replied, his voice lower now, more serious. “I don’t know. It’s Jake. Who can say for sure? But… I think he might actually care. Just a little bit.”
You didn’t stay to hear more. You didn’t need to. The damage had been done.
You took a breath, steadying yourself. You hadn’t expected this, not like this. But the pieces were starting to fall into place. Jake had been different with you—maybe more than he’d been with anyone else. The thought that this could be a game, a bet, was suddenly so clear. You couldn’t just ignore it anymore.
Your heart was pounding, but you forced your feet to move, walking over to where Jake was standing. You pasted on a smile, trying to keep your voice steady, but it felt harder than ever before.
“Hey,” you greeted him, your voice betraying none of the turmoil inside. He smiled, his usual confident grin appearing on his face. But you couldn’t shake the feeling that you were standing on the edge of something, teetering between what you thought was real and what you had just overheard.
“Hey, you made it!” Jake’s voice was light, happy, as if nothing was wrong. But something in his eyes made you pause.
Maybe it was time to figure out just how deep this bet really ran. And whether you were just part of it—or something more.
You stood there with a smile stretched across your face, but your heart was pounding so hard you swore Jake could hear it. His grin was easy, his eyes soft when they landed on you, like he had no idea you’d just overheard everything. Like you hadn’t just heard your name tossed around like a prize in a bet.
So, you smiled back.
You smiled even though your hands were trembling at your sides. You leaned in closer when he talked, nodded when he joked, even laughed—though it was a little too sharp, a little too forced. Because you weren’t about to fall apart in front of him. Not when everything finally made sense.
If this was a game to him, then fine. You’d play.
You could act too. You could flirt back, make him think he had you wrapped around his finger. You could give him exactly what he wanted—attention, affection, maybe even more—just to turn it around on him later. Just to prove you weren’t some stupid girl who didn’t know what she was getting into.
“I missed you,” Jake said, brushing your hair off your shoulder as he leaned closer to be heard over the music.
Your breath hitched slightly, just for a second. He didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he didn’t say anything. You looked up at him, eyes wide and soft—just how he liked them. “Yeah?” you replied, your voice light, teasing, even though it shook at the end. “You’re not just saying that because I finally came out tonight?”
He laughed, completely taken with you. “No. I mean it.”
You didn’t know whether to believe him or not. Maybe part of you still wanted to. That was the most pathetic part. But you just nodded, playing along like everything was normal. Like your heart wasn’t breaking and piecing itself back together all in the same breath.
Jake kept talking, leaning in like he couldn’t get enough of you, and all you could think about was the sound of Jay’s voice—He’s really into this bet. And then Sunghoon’s, Or maybe it’s real.
You hated how badly you wanted that second part to be true.
But you pushed the thoughts down, deeper than they’d ever gone, and played your part. You looked up at Jake like he was the only person in the room, like your voice hadn’t just betrayed you a few moments ago. Like you didn’t feel like the punchline of some cruel joke.
Because if he thought you were falling for him—then you were already winning.
You’d play along. Smile. Flirt. Fall—just enough to make him think he won.
But neither of you realized that somewhere along the way, Jake had already stopped pretending.
The party had started to blur around the edges—music thumping, people laughing, the usual chaos of a Friday night. But all Jake could focus on was you.
You were standing by the kitchen counter, half-listening to some conversation you clearly didn’t care about, your arms crossed and your head tilted like you were already somewhere else. Like maybe, you didn’t belong in this room full of noise and people pretending.
Jake found himself watching you a little too long. Again.
He ran a hand through his hair, trying to snap out of it, but the weight in his chest wouldn’t go away. The bet. The damn bet. It had been fun at first—a dumb challenge between him and Jay to see who could last longer in a relationship. A joke. Something to pass the time. But now, with you standing there looking like everything he didn’t know he needed, it didn’t feel like a joke anymore.
He pushed off the wall and walked toward you, slipping past the crowd.
“Hey,” he said, brushing his knuckles gently against your arm. You turned, a bit surprised, blinking up at him.
“Hey,” you replied, your voice still a little unsteady. You were trying to keep the act up—Jake could tell—but he didn’t know what it meant. Didn’t know that you had already heard the truth.
“You wanna get outta here?” he asked, eyes locked on yours.
You hesitated for a heartbeat, then nodded. “Yeah. Sure.”
Jake smiled, but something in his chest twisted.
“Cool. Just—go ahead to my car, I’ll be right there,” he said, jerking his thumb toward the front door.
You gave him a small nod and slipped away without another word, your steps a little faster than usual.
Jake exhaled, then turned around and made his way through the crowd until he found Jay and Sunghoon standing by the back patio, drinks in hand, mid-laugh.
“Yo,” he called out, stepping up to them.
Jay glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. “Leaving already?”
Jake rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. With YN.”
Jay smirked. “You’re really committed to this whole long-game thing, huh?”
But Jake didn’t laugh. His jaw clenched as he looked between the two of them.
“I’m ending it,” he said plainly.
Jay blinked. “What?”
“The bet,” Jake said again, firmer this time. “I’m done.”
Sunghoon straightened, exchanging a quick glance with Jay. “Seriously?”
Jake shrugged, but his voice was tight. “Yeah. It’s not fun anymore. I’m not… playing.”
Jay frowned, the smirk fading. “You caught feelings.”
Jake didn’t say anything.
Jay let out a low whistle. “Damn.”
Sunghoon just nodded slowly, like he’d been expecting this. “Good. About time.”
Jake didn’t wait for more. He turned and headed for the door, his heart beating fast for reasons he couldn’t explain—not even to himself. He just knew one thing:
He didn’t want to hurt you. Not anymore.
When Jake stepped out into the cool night air, his heart was beating fast—but not with excitement, not with adrenaline. It was something else. Something heavier. Something he wasn’t used to.
He spotted you leaning against his car, arms crossed, your gaze fixed on the night sky like you were looking for answers. You looked calm, but you weren’t. You were still hearing Jay’s voice in your head—He’s really into this bet—like it was playing on loop.
Jake walked up slowly, unlocking the car with a soft beep.
“Hey,” he said, his voice low, almost cautious.
You didn’t look at him right away. “Took you long enough.”
He let out a quiet laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “Jay wouldn’t shut up.”
You gave him a tight smile and slipped into the passenger seat, still playing your part.
The drive was quiet. The city lights passed in a blur outside the windows, but inside the car, the silence stretched. You were trying to act normal, casual, maybe even a little detached. But Jake felt it. The difference.
And maybe that’s what made him speak.
“Are you okay?” he asked, not looking away from the road.
You shrugged. “Yeah. Just… tired.”
He didn’t believe you. But he didn’t push.
A few more minutes passed before your voice broke the silence again. “Why’d you invite me tonight?”
Jake glanced at you. “Because I wanted to be with you.”
You turned to him, searching his face for any flicker of dishonesty. “Really?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I just… like being around you.”
You held his gaze for a second longer than you should have, but your heart ached. Because you didn’t know what was real anymore.
When the car pulled up in front of your place, you unbuckled your seatbelt, hand hovering near the door handle. But you didn’t open it.
“Thanks for the ride,” you said quietly.
Jake didn’t say anything at first. Then, “YN, wait.”
You looked over, and before you could ask what, he leaned in.
His hand gently found your cheek, his thumb brushing lightly against your skin. His touch was warm, careful. And then—he kissed you.
It wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t cocky or playful like you might’ve expected. It was slow. Almost unsure. Like he was feeling everything for the first time.
And for just that moment, the noise in your head stopped.
When he finally pulled away, he didn’t say anything. Neither did you.
You just stared at each other—confused, shaken, caught somewhere between a lie and a feeling that had started to feel too real.
You opened the door quietly, stepping out. Before you closed it, you leaned in just a little, voice softer than it had been all night.
“Goodnight, Jake.”
He watched you go, the echo of the kiss still warm on his lips.
And for the first time, Jake Sim wasn’t sure who was playing who anymore.
You lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, heart pounding with a mix of emotions you couldn’t even begin to untangle.
Jake had kissed you.
And worse?
You had kissed him back.
You touched your lips absentmindedly, remembering the way he held you like you were fragile. Like you meant something. Like you were real.
But you weren’t falling for it. Not again.
No, you told yourself, turning over in bed and squeezing your eyes shut. You are not doing this.
He played you. He made you feel seen, chosen, like maybe—just maybe—you were special. All the soft smiles, the subtle touches, the “accidental” run-ins, the way he said your name like it was his favorite word. All of it had been leading to this. The kiss. The final act in his perfect little performance.
You gritted your teeth and swallowed the lump rising in your throat.
Never again.
You weren’t going to be that girl—the one who got strung along, who ignored every red flag, who made excuses just because he looked at her like the sun rose in her eyes. No. That girl was gone. You buried her the moment you heard Jay’s voice echo in your head: Jake is really into this bet.
This was all a game to him.
So now? You were going to play too.
You’d play the part of the clueless, lovesick girl. You’d give him exactly what he wanted—until you flipped the whole damn game back on him.
And when the time came, when he was fully convinced he had you wrapped around his finger, when he couldn’t tell the difference between real and fake anymore—you’d confront him. You’d look him dead in the eyes and tear the mask right off his face.
And maybe, just maybe, you’d watch his heart shatter the way yours almost did.
But the worst part—the most frustrating, infuriating, confusing part—was how damn convincing he was. The way his eyes softened when they met yours. The way he smiled like he meant it. The way he touched you like he cared.
He seemed so in love with you, it made your chest ache. Like maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t all a lie.
And you hated that part more than anything.
Because for one small, dangerous second… you wanted it to be real.
It was one of those rare moments when everything felt almost normal again. You’d been home alone for a few hours, scrolling through your phone, when the text from Jake popped up.
@simjyn: Hey, I was thinking of coming over. You free?”
You stared at the message for a moment, a knot of nerves tightening in your stomach. You had been trying to keep things light with him—after everything that had happened, after hearing about the bet, you couldn’t let your guard down. But part of you still wanted to see him. Maybe part of you was still pretending things could be okay.
“Sure,” you replied, biting your lip. “I’m alone, so come on over.”
Not long after, the sound of the doorbell echoed through your apartment, and there he was, standing outside with that familiar smile. He wasn’t dressed any differently from the usual, but there was something in his eyes today. Something that made your heart skip in a way you hated.
Jake stepped inside, pulling you into a quick hug before you could even react. His hands lingered at your waist, warm and firm as he squeezed you close.
“You look good,” he said, his voice low and warm.
“Thanks,” you muttered, stepping back to break the hold, though you could already feel your heartbeat accelerating.
You led him into the living room, where he flopped down on the couch with a sigh of relief, like he’d been waiting for this moment all day.
“So, what’s up?” you asked, trying to sound casual, though your heart was beating a little faster than you’d like to admit.
He grinned up at you. “Just wanted to see you,” he said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
You nodded, though the words felt too heavy in your chest to speak. He wasn’t here just for a visit—he’d been clingier lately, texting you more than usual, wanting to be around you all the time.
It should have felt nice, but it felt suffocating. Every time he smiled at you, kissed your cheek, leaned in close like he couldn’t get enough—it made your stomach churn.
“You’ve been… kind of different lately,” you said, trying to sound nonchalant, but the words had more bite than you intended.
Jake furrowed his brow, his expression shifting to something more concerned. “What do you mean?”
You swallowed, frustrated by how easily he could shift his tone. “You’re being… clingy. All the time.”
He tilted his head, eyes widening in confusion. “Clingy? I just like being around you. Is that a bad thing?”
You took a deep breath, leaning against the counter to steady yourself. You could feel the tension rising in your chest, the frustration bubbling over.
“Jake,” you began, voice trembling just slightly. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I’m not some… some toy for you to mess with. I’m not a prize, and I’m definitely not some girl to play along with your little bet anymore. If you’re really into me—then fine, but if this is just some fucking joke, then get the hell out.”
His face faltered for a second, just a flash of confusion before his gaze softened, his hands reaching for you. “I—what? No, YN, I’m not playing any game—”
You took a step back, hands trembling at your sides, the anger, the hurt, and the disappointment threatening to spill out.
“I know about the bet, Jake,” you snapped, cutting him off. “I know exactly why you started all this. And I’m done pretending I don’t. I’m not going to be the one who falls for this, okay? Not when you don’t even know what you want.”
The silence that followed was suffocating, the words hanging heavy in the air between you. Jake didn’t move, his eyes wide, and for the first time, you saw something flicker in them—something that looked like regret.
But it was too late.
You turned your back on him, pacing toward the window, your heart pounding in your ears. “Just go,” you said, voice cold. “I don’t want you here. Not like this.”
“YN, wait—” he started, his voice softer, like he was trying to make you understand. “I’m not lying. I’m not playing games anymore. I—”
“Just go, Jake,” you snapped, spinning around to face him. “I don’t want to hear it.”
You could see the hesitation in his eyes, the uncertainty that had never been there before. But you couldn’t bring yourself to soften. Not when he had already crossed the line.
With one last look, Jake slowly stood up, like he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. Then, without a word, he walked toward the door, the weight of the moment sinking in with every step.
And just like that, he was gone.
You sank down onto the couch, your mind racing. You told yourself you wouldn’t trust him again, you reminded yourself. You wouldn’t fall for it.
But deep down, there was a part of you that still wished this wasn’t the end.
Still hoped, somehow, that Jake would come back. But you didn’t trust that part.
The next day at school was chaos.
You barely made it ten steps into the building before you heard your name—sharp, urgent.
“YN!”
You stopped, heart clenching as you turned to see Jake storming down the hall toward you. His eyes locked onto yours with a mixture of desperation and something dangerously close to hurt. You froze in place as he reached you, his voice already rising.
“You knew.” His words sliced through the tension in the air. “You knew this whole time and you were punishing me, weren’t you?”
Your breath caught.
Students slowed around you. Some stopped walking altogether. You could feel the shift—phones slipping out of pockets, eyes glinting with curiosity. You tried to step around him, but Jake moved with you.
“You acted like nothing was wrong,” he went on, voice getting louder. “You smiled, you kissed me, you looked at me like—like I meant something to you.”
You snapped. “Yeah? Well, welcome to my world.”
His expression twisted like you’d hit him.
“You were playing me from the start,” you hissed, trying to keep your voice steady, but it wavered with the weight of everything. “I heard Jay. I heard everything. And I kept going, Jake. I kept smiling, kept letting you in, because I wanted to see how far you’d go.”
He blinked like he couldn’t process it, like he hadn’t thought you’d actually know.
“You—” He shook his head. “You kissed me back.”
“You made me believe it was real.”
“I didn’t fake any of it!” he fired back, stepping closer. “You think this is just about a bet now? You think I haven’t lost sleep over this—over you?”
The hallway was dead silent except for your voices. Students were openly filming now, whispering like wildfire spreading through the air.
“Jake Sim and YN?”
“She’s actually yelling at him.”
“I heard it was a bet. Is that true?”
You glanced at them, your fists clenching at your sides, your chest rising and falling fast.
“Jake Sim chasing someone like her?” someone murmured nearby. It stung. It always did.
You turned back to Jake. “You had your fun, right? You got what you wanted. Just leave it alone.”
But Jake didn’t move. His jaw was clenched, his eyes locked on you like he couldn’t look away even if he tried.
“I didn’t fall for you because of a bet,” he said quietly, voice raw. “But I might’ve lost you because of it.”
That did something to your chest. You hated it.
You hated him for saying the one thing you weren’t ready to hear.
Without another word, you turned and walked away—past the stares, past the whispers, past Jake.
And for once, you didn’t look back.
The next day, you didn’t expect to run into Jay—especially not when you were still raw, still reeling, still angry. But there he was, leaning against the lockers near your homeroom, like he’d been waiting.
The second he saw you, he pushed off the wall and walked straight up, his expression unreadable.
“Why did you chew him out like that?” he asked, no greeting, no hesitation. His voice wasn’t angry, just confused—tired, maybe. “In front of everyone?”
You froze, blinking up at him. “You’re seriously asking me that?”
Jay crossed his arms. “Yeah. Because the guy’s been a mess since yesterday. You acted like he’d—what, humiliated you? Like he was still playing you or something.”
You laughed, sharp and bitter. “The audacity to ask that when this whole thing started as some game between you and him.”
Jay’s eyes narrowed, confusion flashing across his face. “Game?”
“Don’t play dumb, Jay,” you snapped. “I heard you and Sunghoon at the party. You literally said he was invested in the bet. What else was I supposed to think? That everything he said and did was real?”
Jay went quiet for a second, then shook his head, almost like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Wait—wait,” he said slowly. “You thought the bet was still on?”
You didn’t answer. You didn’t have to.
Jay exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck like the weight of it all had just hit him. “YN… Jake called it off. He called it off way before he asked you out. He told us it didn’t feel right anymore. That you weren’t just some challenge or a joke—he wanted something real.”
Your chest tightened painfully.
“No, he didn’t,” you muttered, barely audible.
“He did,” Jay said. “I swear on everything. He told us it stopped being about the bet a long time ago. That he wanted to be with you for real, no games. And honestly… we could all tell. He wasn’t faking anything.”
You looked away, suddenly cold all over. Your brain scrambled to make sense of it, replaying every interaction, every touch, every word. Had it all been real? Had he actually cared?
The guilt hit like a truck.
You chewed him out in front of everyone. You looked him in the eye and threw his feelings back at him because you thought he was still playing. Because you were scared.
Jay’s voice was quieter now. “He was falling for you, YN. He still is. But after yesterday… I don’t know if he’ll try again.”
You didn’t answer. You couldn’t.
You just stood there, heart cracked open, with nothing to say and everything to feel.
You didn’t go to class that morning.
Instead, you found yourself sitting alone behind the school gym, knees pulled to your chest, trying to breathe through the ache in your chest. Everything felt like it was collapsing in slow motion. You were the one who was supposed to have control now. You were the one playing him—so why did it feel like you were the one who lost?
He ended the bet.
He wanted something real.
And you… you’d shoved it all back in his face, right in front of everyone. You humiliated him for something he had already walked away from—because of you.
The worst part? He hadn’t even defended himself.
He just stood there, took it, because maybe he thought he deserved it. Or maybe… because he didn’t want to hurt you anymore.
You remembered the look in his eyes—the way they didn’t hold that smug glint anymore, the way they softened when he looked at you like you were something fragile, something he was afraid to break.
And you had shattered it first.
You rested your forehead on your knees, eyes burning. You’d promised yourself you wouldn’t fall for him. Promised you’d get even. And maybe you had.
But it didn’t feel like winning.
It felt like you’d pushed away the one person who had tried—really tried—to love you, in the only way he knew how.
Maybe he messed up. Maybe you both did.
But somewhere between the lies, the games, and the dares, something real had bloomed. And now?
Now it was buried under everything unsaid.
But feelings don’t just disappear. Not like that.
So maybe… maybe this wasn’t the end.
Maybe it was the part right before you decided what kind of story this was really going to be.
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here to be added to permanent tag list PART TWO OUT NOW
3K notes · View notes
ktownshizzle · 4 months ago
Text
Nerd & Nerdier | Finale
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✎ ˎˊ˗ Pairing: Min Yoongi x reader, Jeon Wonwoo x reader; endgame? x reader ✎ ˎˊ˗ Genre: Fluff, Attempt At Comedy, Roommates au, Love triangle
✎ ˎˊ˗ Summary: Moving in with two introverts should have been easy. Not when it’s Min Yoongi and Jeon Wonwoo, who decide they both want you. Unhinged, awkward, and nerdy as hell, they proceed to compete for your attention in the most unnecessarily dramatic fashion that culminates into a… rap battle.
✎ ˎˊ˗ Warnings: Wildly gratuitous, 100% chance you’ll fall in love with both of them so that’s a problem, no mxm dynamics to be expected (kinda)
✎ ˎˊ˗ Chapter Warnings: MDNI 18+, overuse of the word fuck, yoongi GOING THROUGH IT!, pop culture references (pokemon, inzoi), drunken shenanigans, second hand embarrassment, unprotected sex (be smarter tho), everybody gets a happy ending
✎ ˎˊ˗ Word count: 6k hooray! ✎ ˎˊ˗ Posting date: April 1, 2025
✎ ˎˊ˗ Notes: Not a joke! The finale is here!
Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist
Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6
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Yoongi yeets himself out of the apartment. Gets the fuck out of there and walks to the ends of the earth for all he cares.
He stuffs his hands inside his pockets. It’s freezing but the wind feels like a welcome punishment against his face. He needed to be numb.
Shit. He’s already down to his last cigarette, and he’s barely halfway through the block when he lights it with shaking fingers.
The smoke burns. His throat burns.
And still, not as bad as what he saw. And in his own home no less.
Granted he shared it with you and Wonwoo. But that doesn’t give you fuckers the right to….
He stops and knocks his forehead against a lamp post. Twice. Thrice.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
He’s gonna kill Namjoon for forcing him to go to that songwriting retreat. And Hoseok for sending Namjoon that email invite.
The last 10 minutes stick in his brain like gum—right on the amygdala, where all the worst things like to linger.
The way you kiss Wonwoo like he was it. Like he was the one. Like the last few weeks meant nothing. Like your message yesterday meant nothing.
He doesn’t know why he stood there long enough to register the way Wonwoo touched your face, the way you let him.
The way you said you knew it was him from the beginning. He didn’t wait to hear the rest. 
Didn’t need to. Couldn’t bear to.
Fuck that shit, honestly. Wonwoo wasn’t the only gamer in that house. You played him, too.
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After walking around, picking up stuff (alcohol, cigarettes), Yoongi ends up at Genius Rkives.
The place is empty—blessedly, quietly empty as Namjoon is probably just getting settled in his own home. As he should.
The studio smells like incense and a bit like old wood. It’s comforting, in a way. At least this place hasn’t changed even if everything else fucking has.
He slumps onto their old leather couch and stares at nothing for a long, long time. Doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink (probably).
Just sits there, hoodie over his head, cigarette ashes still clinging to the smell of his skin, contemplating how the hell he got blindsided.
Before he blacks out he does one thing that he’ll regret in a few days. He blocks you.
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He spends the next few days in the studio, hunched over tracks he is unable to finish. Everything sounds hollow now. Like someone else made it. Like none of it fucking matters.
He doesn’t eat. Drinks more coffee than water. Doesn’t sleep unless he passes out from sheer exhaustion.
“You look like shit,” Namjoon says casually, tossing a banana on the table. “Eat something.”
Yoongi doesn’t even look up. He does take the banana, peels it, and scarfs down half in a single bite.
Namjoon studies him for a second. “Wanna talk about it?”
Mouthful of fruit, Yoongi exhales a humorless laugh. “Nah.”
And that’s that.
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On the fourth night, when the silence is too loud and even his own thoughts start sounding like white noise, he opens Instagram. You’ve posted something a few minutes ago.
Just a dim photo of the living room. One mug on the table.
The photo is accompanied by a single word: Empty
Yoongi stares at it and his throat dries up.
It’s his coffee mug. The same one he uses everyday because he is a creature of habit.
“Shit,” he mutters to no one.
Because he doesn’t know what it means. Doesn’t know if it’s about him. Doesn’t know if he wants it to be.
All he knows is that he hasn’t stopped thinking about you.
About how you said you missed him. (And the fact that he misses you, too. So damn much.)
About how he thought—really thought—he was the one you wanted.
But all he can picture is the way Wonwoo held you like he probably had every night he was gone. 
And now he’s feeling just like your caption.
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He hasn’t been getting your texts. But he has been getting Wonwoo’s.
Wonwoo: Hyung. Can we talk?
Yoongi stares at the notification.
Nah.
Talk?
Talk about what?
Talk about how he was standing there—hands on your waist, mouth on your lips—the girl Yoongi was in love with?
Yeah, no thanks.
He doesn’t answer. Just slips on his headphones and drowns himself in half-finished mixes until the sky turns pink and the ache in his chest numbs into something dull and half-dead.
The next morning, another message comes in.
Wonwoo: Unblock her
Yoongi scoffs, almost laughs. Who the fuck does he think he is, barking orders like that?
He’s ready to swipe and block his ass too when another message lands.
Wonwoo: She chose you Wonwoo: Not me
That one stops him cold.
He stares at the screen until it fades to black.
He doesn’t reply.
Not right away.
Not until five hours later, halfway through a bottle of Cass, a dull burn crawling up his throat, your voice echoing in the hollow of his skull like some stubborn loop he can’t mute.
He types.
Deletes.
Types again.
And finally hits send.
Yoongi: Didn't look like it
Then shuts his phone off completely.
Because if he sees one more message tonight, he might actually break.
He’s pissed. And hurt. And yeah, maybe Wonwoo doesn’t get to boss him around. But he followed the instruction anyway.
He unblocks you.
And then passes the fuck out.
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The moment he opens his phone. A barrage of pings irritates his eardrums. He’s mildly surprised it’s all from you.
You: Yoongi. Are you okay? You: Please come home You: I miss you You: It was a mistake
You: I’m sorry
He wishes he had it in him to hate you.
It would be easier. Cleaner. Simpler.
But all he feels is the ugly twist in his gut. That soft ache behind his ribs. That voice in his head that still wants to believe there’s a version of the story where you picked him first.
He throws the phone across the couch and covers his face with his hands.
His chest rises, falls. Rises, falls.
He breathes like it’s the only thing keeping him from falling apart.
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You’re drunk.
Not a little tipsy. Not that cute, flirty kind of drunk. You’re talking full-blown, slurred speech, bit of drool on your chin drunk.
And the worst part?
So is Wonwoo.
“Where the fuck is he?” you whine from the floor, your head tilted back dramatically against the couch as you shovel cold ramyeon into your mouth with chopsticks.
Wonwoo lets out a groan from where he’s collapsed half-on, half-off the bean bag. “You think he died?” 
You blink at him. “He viewed my Instagram story three days ago.”
Wonwoo nods solemnly. “So not dead. Just dramatic.”
You groan and roll onto your side. “God, he’s such a little bitch.”
“Agreed,” Wonwoo mutters, clinking his empty glass against your half-full one. “Still hot, though.”
Present-you accepts that as a drunken truth. But future-you would look back and wonder—Did Wonwoo just call Yoongi hot?
“Stupidly hot,” you mumble to your drink anyway.
There’s a beat of silence.
Then you both burst out laughing. Hysterical, ugly, half-sobbing laughter. You’re crying into your noodles. Wonwoo is hugging an empty soju bottle like it owes him money.
You sit up suddenly, noodles still hanging from your mouth.
“I’m texting him again.”
Wonwoo lifts his head. “Do it.”
You fish your phone from the couch cushions, squint at the screen, and thumb open your messages.
You don’t even think about your words before hitting send… multiple times. Afterwards, you throw the phone onto the couch like it’s on fire and collapse into a giggling mess.
“I did it,” you whisper, horrified and proud all at once.
Wonwoo lifts his fist for a drunk high five. “You’re so brave.”
The phone remains silent.
But somewhere in the dark, you hope Yoongi is reading those texts—and that maybe, just maybe, he’ll find it in his heart to give you a chance.
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Yoongi isn’t drunk, but he is a little buzzed.
The kind of buzzed that makes the edges of his thoughts feel a little cottony, blurry.
He’s sitting on the couch in Hoseok’s apartment—legs kicked up on the coffee table, one hand holding a beer, the other lazily scrolling through his phone, until your name pops up. And it’s not one text. It’s… a flood.
You: yo You: yoongi You: yoooooooongiiiiiii You: you crusty sexy neckless bastard You: why did you ghost me You: your flowers are DEAD You: i’m DEAD You: wonwoo’s crying You: not really You: but i am You: pls COME HOME You: i can explain You: im sorry You: IDIOT You: i miss youu 
He groans.
Hoseok in the kitchen calls out, “What’s going on, hyung?”
Yoongi just grunts, because what the fuck.
He reads the messages again. And again. He scrolls up and down like the words might rearrange themselves into something easier to process.
His thumb hovers over the keyboard.
Then pulls back.
Then hovers again.
He should ignore it. It’s drunk nonsense. He can hear your voice in the excess vowels.
But it’s the last one that fucks him up.
He swipes a hand over his face and exhales sharply, the sound catching somewhere in his throat.
Yoongi doesn’t melt easily. He’s not the type. He gets pissed before he gets soft. Gets silent before he gets sentimental. But goddamn you. Goddamn the way your words still manage to punch through the walls he’s put up.
He opens your text thread and coincidentally another message slips through.
It’s a gif. A Pokemon gif of all things. Of Ash throwing a poke ball saying: Pikachu I choose you.
God you are so fucking WEIRD. But saying that did not endear him to you further would be a vicious lie.
He groans. Stares at the blank message and finally types..
Yoongi: you idiot Yoongi: i’m coming home
Then he grabs his coat, slides on his headphones, and steps into the night.
He misses you too. Bad. But he doesn’t say it back. At least not through text.
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Yoongi doesn’t expect a grand homecoming when he pushes the door open. But a little groveling wouldn’t have hurt.
Instead, he’s greeted by the sight of you passed out on the couch, limbs tangled in a blanket, lips parted in the softest little snore. Wonwoo’s slumped nearby, equally unconscious, an empty soju bottle balanced dangerously on his knee.
A cornucopia of soju and ramen, and chips lie in the center like it was The Hunger Games and these two lost.
He shakes his head, sighs. He should be angry. But all he feels is that he missed you. Both of you. Being here and being home.
First order of business: get Wonwoo to his room. Yoongi somehow manages it, half-dragging, half-guiding the much taller man down the hall. Tucks him in, even takes off his glasses and sets them gently on the bedside table so he doesn’t roll over them in his sleep.
Then there’s you.
Still curled up on the couch, one sock half off, hair a mess, hugging an unopened bag of shrimp chips like it’s a stuffed animal.
Yoongi runs a hand through his hair and exhales before crouching down beside the couch.
You’re drooling a little. And your shirt is halfway riding up your stomach. 
He mutters a curse under his breath, hooks one arm beneath your knees, another around your shoulders, and lifts you up—bridal style. You’re actually heavy and your limbs flop like you’re some tranquilized wild animal (in some ways you are), but he grunts and tries his best not to drop you.
You stir slightly as he wobbles toward your room.
Then you blink. And blink again. Before your eyes go wide. “Oh my God.”
Yoongi pauses. “…What?”
“Are you—are you real?” you whisper, voice raspy and full of awe. “Is this really you, Yoongi?”
He blinks. “Yeah?”
“You look so gooood in person.”
Yoongi huffs a laugh. “Shut up.”
“Your arms are so toned, oh my god. Did you work out when you were away?”
“You’re drunk.”
“You’re hot.” You grin. “I’d totally hit that.”
He mutters a very pained “Jesus Christ” as he kicks your door open.
But he’s smiling. He can’t help it. He’s so fond.
You look up at him with those glassy eyes, and your voice softens, barely a whisper now. “I love you, you know. Like, a lot. I cried every night you were gone.”
Something in his chest squeezes. Almost painfully. Before mild annoyance settles with it. This is not how we thought he would hear those words for the first time. Why are you like this?! But fuck, you love him.
“You’re drunk,” he says again, but this time his voice is lower, shakier.
You nod solemnly. “And honest.”
He lays you down gently on your bed, pulling the covers over you with the same care he gave Wonwoo earlier. 
He disappears into the bathroom for a second, comes back with a warm washcloth, and kneels by your bed to wipe the sheen of soju from your cheeks and the corner of your mouth.
You hum under your breath. “Stay.”
Yoongi pauses mid swipe.
“Stay forever,” you add, breath catching. “Please, Yoongi?”
He looks at you. Really looks at you.
And maybe it’s the way your voice broke when you said his name, or the way your fingers weakly reach for the sleeve of his hoodie, or the way you look so impossibly small and soft in the dim light—but he knows he’s not going anywhere.
Not tonight.
Not if he can help it.
“Okay,” he whispers.
He climbs in beside you, lets you curl into him without hesitation. Big spoon to little spoon, arms wrapped around your middle like he’s willing to protect you from all kinds of harm.
You sigh. Melt into him like you were made to fit there.
And finally—finally—Yoongi sleeps.
Not the restless kind. The kind he can only get when he’s home.
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The first thing you register is the headache.
The second is the unfamiliar weight around your waist.
You blink blearily at the soft morning light spilling through your curtains, your mouth dry as sandpaper and your brain moving at the speed of a buffering livestream. Everything hurts. Your body, your stomach, your eyeballs.
You shift slightly—just enough to turn your head.
Shit.
Yoongi. Yoongi is in your bed.
Your erstwhile missing roommate, Yoongi.
Your potential boyfriend but you fucked it up by getting caught making out with another man, Yoongi.
Yoongi, whose legs are tangled with yours beneath the blanket, one arm snug around your waist like it belongs there.
Mild heart attack. Bile threatening to rise up. You need to get out of bed.
But before you can do that, a deep, groggy voice rumbles behind you. “Stop squirming.”
You freeze like an Inzoi character on pause. You don’t even breathe so you're starting to get lightheaded.
Yoongi inhales deeply against your hair, retracts his arm.
“Drink your aspirin,” he murmurs. “It’s on the table.”
Your eyes flick to the nightstand. Sure enough, a glass of water and a single pill sit waiting. Your hand trembles slightly as you reach for it, trying not to disturb him, which is hard because the bed is tiny and he’s very much in your space.
You wash it down in one gulp. Set the glass back.
“You’re awake,” you whisper.
“No shit,” he grumbles, still not opening his eyes. “You elbowed me in the ribs three times.”
You wince. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” he exhales, the air warm against your nape. “Was worth it.”
Your heart stutters.
And then—
“Holy shit,” you whisper, panic climbing in your throat as some memories start to flood back in–lots of junk food and soju with Wonwoo, laughing and then crying, Yoongi’s face close to yours, telling him you love him. “Did I—what did I say last night?”
Yoongi’s silence is a little too smug, and he shifts to roll away from you.
“Yoongi,” you hiss, trying to turn him, but he is immovable.
“You were drunk.”
“I know. I mean, did I—” You bite your lip. “Just tell me what I said.”
A beat passes.
“You said I was hot.”
You groan, burying your face in the pillow. “Please tell me that was it.”
“You also said you’d totally hit that.”
“Oh god.”
“And,” Yoongi continues, drawling now, “you confessed your undying love.”
You shut your eyes. “Kill me.”
He chuckles. “Nah.”
He shifts to face you back and this time you’re the one to pull away but the weight of his arm around you sinks in. You’re both lying there, warm, drowsy, tangled up in the morning haze.
“…You stayed,” you whisper.
He hums. “You asked me to.”
Your fingers curl into the edge of the blanket. “Thank you.”
He doesn’t answer right away. Just presses a gentle kiss against your clothed shoulder, his breath slow, steady.
“Go back to sleep,” he murmurs. “We’ll talk later.”
You want to ask what later means. Want to know where this is going. But for now, your head is pounding and Yoongi’s body is warm against yours and it feels like the safest place on earth.
So you let him hold you.
And you close your eyes.
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You must’ve dozed off again because the next time you wake, Yoongi’s no longer spooning you (sad)—he’s sitting on the edge of your bed, elbows on his knees, face in his hands.
He looks like he’s been sitting there for a while.
“Yoongi?”
He doesn’t look at you immediately, just rubs a palm down his face. When he does glance your way, his expression is hard to read—tired, maybe. A little wrecked around the edges.
“We should talk,” he says quietly.
You sit up, pulling the blanket around you like armor. “Yeah.”
Silence stretches for a few seconds.
Yoongi looks down at his hands.
“I saw you,” he says. “The night I came back.”
Fuck. You knew this fact, but shame pricks at you anyways as he says it.
“Wonwoo.” His jaw clenches. “You. In the living room. You were saying things to him.”
Your stomach sinks.
He exhales through his nose, sharp and fast. “You said you loved me. But what was that?”
You bite your lip. Hard. “Yoongi…” You move forward, reaching out—slowly—until your fingers graze his wrist. “I didn’t pick him.”
His eyes flick to you, guarded.
“I know.” You nod, guilt curling tight around your ribs. “I know what it looked like. And I don’t blame you for leaving.”
You swallow hard, gathering the words you’ve been holding back.
“He asked me to pretend. Just for a second. Just to know what it felt like to be loved back. And I—I should’ve said no. But he looked so hurt, so I just… I should have said no.”
Yoongi doesn’t respond, but he doesn’t pull away either.
“It was wrong,” you continue. “It wasn’t fair to you. Or him. But I swear, that night, and even before that, I already knew it was you. I was just waiting for you to come home to tell you. But yeah, that happened, and, fuck, I’m so sorry.”
Yoongi is quiet. Too quiet. His face was unreadable. God you royally fucked this up.
You shift closer, your voice softer now. “I love you, Min Yoongi. It’s not a drunk confession, it’s not a mistake. I wanted you from the start. I still want you. And I’m so sorry I hurt you.”
You hold your breath. Wait.
Then—
“Fuck,” Yoongi mutters, running both hands through his hair. “How do you say shit like that and expect me to stay mad?”
You let out a breathy laugh, relief washing over you.
He turns to face you fully now, his gaze softer—still raw, but softer. “You’re lucky I’m obsessed with you.”
You blink. “Obsessed?”
“Biblically,” he deadpans, lips forming a straight line.
Your laugh bubbles out before you can stop it.
Yoongi leans in, pressing his forehead to yours. “Don’t do that again.”
You shake your head.
Then he kisses you, just lightly, before pulling you back into the cushions with a grumble, “if Wonwoo ever asks to roleplay as me again, you tell me and I’m gonna kick his ass.”
You snort, settling into his arms. “That feels fair.”
“Damn right it is.”
And with that, Yoongi wraps you up like he’s never letting go again.
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It takes a couple days.
Yoongi doesn’t go out of his way to avoid Wonwoo—but he doesn’t go out of his way to talk to him either. They move around the apartment like polite strangers. It’s getting super awkward and depressing. You almost wanted to start scheduling the bathroom in shifts.
But you give them space. Let them figure it out. Because before you came into their lives, they were good friends, almost brothers even. And you know they’re both good men whose love for each other runs deep despite their stoic facades.
Sometimes you’d leave Yoongi’s favorite album quietly in the background whenever you’re in the living room, because you know Wonwoo still lingers near the door when it’s on. You know he misses him too.
The truce finally comes on a Wednesday.
You’re out grocery shopping—on purpose—when it happens.
Yoongi’s in the kitchen, a mug of black coffee in hand, when Wonwoo walks in wearing a hoodie two sizes too big and the face of someone who’s been up editing for twelve hours straight.
They stand in silence for a second.
Then Yoongi gestures to his mug. “You need this more than I do.”
Wonwoo blinks. “Hyung...”
“Yeah, yeah, just take it.” Yoongi waves his hand dismissively.
Wonwoo’s fingers finally close in on the mug, bringing it towards his lips. “…Thanks, hyung.”
Yoongi hums, looking out the window.
Wonwoo hesitates. “I’m sorry. For… all of it.”
Yoongi doesn’t look at him. Just stares into space. “I know.”
Wonwoo exhales. “Shoulda taken the L like I promised. But I just—liked her. I thought maybe I had a shot. Thought I could handle it. But I didn’t expect to care about you both this much.”
Yoongi finally glances over, eyes tired but not unkind. “Big mad I had to see that shit, though.”
Wonwoo cringes. “Yeah. I know.”
“You kiss sloppy.”
“I was crying, hyung.”
Yoongi smirks. “I’m just saying.”
They stare at each other for another beat.
“We good.” Yoongi tells him, and the stress on Wonwoo’s shoulder eases tenfold. 
Wonwoo grins, “good.”
And just like that, the tension breaks—fragile but real. Not erased. Not forgotten. But healing in the way only true friends can.
When you get home an hour later, you find the two of them huddled over Yoongi’s laptop, arguing about which 8-bit sound effect is better for Wonwoo’s Youtube channel’s opening beat.
Yoongi looks up briefly when you step in, bags at hand. “Why do you take forever in Olive Young?”
“You two are talking again.”
Wonwoo motions you to be quiet. “Shhh. Don’t jinx it, noona.”
Yoongi just shakes his head, clicking away.
“Chimaek, tonight?”
Two thumbs ups.
Ah. It feels good to be finally home.
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One month later…
Wonwoo’s already at the table, sipping his coffee. His hair is still damp from a shower, glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose as he scrolls through something on his phone.
Yoongi’s plating up some eggs, bacon already looking crunchy and so good on another plate on the counter.
You glance between them, heart tugging at the sight.
It feels almost like the early days again—before all the mess and the pining and the rap battles and the ghosting. Just three roommates, slightly chaotic, mostly functioning.
Wonwoo clears his throat. “So… I have some news.”
You and Yoongi both look up.
“I, uh—so my channel’s been blowing up.”
You smile. “I know…”
Wonwoo nods, lips twitching into a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah. One of my compilation clips hit a million views. Then two. It’s a little crazy that I’m getting millions of people watching my streams. And now this creator house in Osaka, they’ve reached out. They want me to join them full-time.”
Silence.
You blink once. Twice.
Yoongi’s egg slides off his chopsticks and hits the table with a soft splat.
“You’re moving?” you ask quietly.
“In two weeks.”
The words hang heavy in the air, like steam that won’t quite dissipate.
You swallow. “Wow. That’s… amazing, Wonwoo. Really.”
He chuckles softly. “Yeah. I’m still trying to process it. But I think—I think I want to go. It’s a big opportunity. They’ve got a deal with Netflix and everything. It’s wild.”
Yoongi doesn’t speak. Just stares down at his bowl, jaw set.
Wonwoo looks at both of you, his expression soft. “Also… I think it’s for the better.”
You frown. “What do you mean?”
He shrugs lightly, but there’s nothing careless about his words. “You two need space. Real space. I’ve seen how careful you’ve been around me—like you’re always tiptoeing, trying not to… like, I get it. But it’s okay.” He smiles then, genuine and a little bittersweet. “I don’t want to be the third wheel anymore. I want to see you guys figure this out for real.”
You open your mouth to disagree, but nothing comes out. Because he’s right. You have been walking on eggshells around him.
Yes, you and Yoongi have had the talk, have shared the quiet moments and the whispered promises—but living with Wonwoo meant holding back. Kisses stolen in the hallway. Frantic touches under the covers. Making out like teenagers afraid to get caught by their parents. You haven’t even fucked—not properly—because you don’t trust yourself to stay quiet. And the last thing you want is to make things more uncomfortable than they already are for Wonwoo.
You sigh, reach for his hand, squeezing it. “We’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you both, too. But we’ll still game. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
“Thank god,” you say. “I need someone to carry me in Valo, ‘cause this one’s useless.”
Yoongi still hasn’t said a word even as you maligned him. But when you glance at him, his head tilted toward his bowl, you notice the way he lifts a hand—just briefly—to brush beneath his eye. Subtle. Almost imperceptible.
You don’t call him out for it.
Instead, you quietly nudge your foot against his under the table.
He looks up, finally, and you offer a soft smile.
He exhales, then lifts his head, trying to school his expression. “Congrats. You deserve it.”
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Two weeks later, Wonwoo’s bags are packed. Two suitcases by the door, gaming headset carefully wrapped in a hoodie and tucked into his carry-on. His favorite mug is still in the drying rack. You hope he forgot it, just so you can have something to hold onto.
He’s still coming back in a month’s time to wrap up everything else he wasn’t able to box or sell before he flies out. Some equipment he won’t need because they’re giving him a new system, plus a couple of odd items here and there. There’s still his bed, some clothes, old games, some extra cameras—it honestly still feels like he lives here and has just gone away for college.
You walk him to the door.
He turns to face you, lifting his brows like he’s expecting a lecture.
You step closer, fixing the strap on his backpack. “Keep up your Duolingo streak. Get that English sharp. The fans are gonna eat it up.”
“‘What’s up, guys, it’s your boy, Wonwoo, welcome back to the stream,’” he deadpans in a flat accent.
You snort. “Exactly.”
For a moment, you both just stand there, silence pressing in around the edges.
“I know hyung will take care of you. Probably even better than I could.”
You reach for his hand, squeezing it once. “You’ve taken care of me more than you know.”
He smiles—small, sad, but grateful. “Don’t be a stranger.”
“Oh I am sure you’ll forget me what with all your new fangirls… what do you call ‘em? Your baby chocolats?”
He laughs, a short, bright sound that makes your throat sting a little. Then he leans in, pressing a quick kiss to your temple.
“I’ll text you when I land.”
“You better.”
And with that, you step back and let him go.
You go towards the window where you see him meet up with Yoongi on the street, helping the driver lug his boxes on the compartment of the SUV.
You don’t hear what’s said. Don’t try to.
But you do see them stare at each other for a second too long, then—awkwardly, almost reluctantly—move into a hug. A real one.
Two introverts. Two non-huggers. And still, there they are, arms around each other, no jokes, no snark.
Just something soft. Something understood.
Damn. You never thought you’d see the day.
When the car finally drives off, Yoongi looks up and your eyes meet. There’s sadness in it but there’s also something else.
Like something new is finally about to begin.
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Roommate Rule #5: Always check for blinking lights… you’ll know why…
It was weird at first when Wonwoo left.
It was the lack of him being there between you and Yoongi. Because no matter how close you and Yoongi had gotten, the space between you was always padded with caution.
Too careful.
Too considerate of the younger one in the house. You loved Wonwoo, and Yoongi loved him too—in the gruff, brotherly, could-murder-you-but-won’t kind of way. But the care you had for him, the quiet hesitance of not wanting to hurt him, made everything feel just a little restrained.
Now, with just the two of you, it’s different.
Better.
There’s a fluffy kind of freedom in being able to kiss Yoongi whenever you want. To drape yourself across his lap on the couch and whisper the dumbest shit just to hear him chuckle against your neck. To argue about which records to play, who left the light on, how many mugs he’s used and not washed. You fight more. You make up more. You say what you feel. You say it often.
And tonight? Tonight, you finally said you wanted him. 
Really wanted him. 
Like inside you. 
Bad.
So now here you are, stumbling into the apartment after a romantic dinner, laughing between messy kisses, giddy and tipsy and so stupidly in love it’s honestly embarrassing.
You yank his silly leopard hat off somewhere near the entryway.
“Wait,” you murmur breathlessly, lips brushing his jaw. “Where?”
Yoongi, already halfway out of his shirt, pants, and possibly his mind, blinks at you.
“My room?” he offers.
You hesitate. “Your bed’s too far from the wall. I can’t brace myself if we’re—”
He stares at you, smirking. “You’ve thought about this.”
You don’t deny it. You also don’t even justify why your feet take you to Wonwoo’s room.
“Neutral ground?” Yoongi says, tilting his head.
You shrug. “Yeah. Feels… fair.”
You don’t talk much after that. Because Yoongi, goddamn him, is rendering you speechless. The way his mouth trails kisses along your neck, breathing softly against your skin. You arch into him, fingers curling into his hair, his shoulders, wherever you can touch and pull and hold. 
Yoongi lays you down on Wonwoo’s bed gently. His mouth never leaves yours, just soft kisses turning messier and dirtier as the tension finally, finally unravels between you. 
“You’re so beautiful,” he rasps into your neck, trailing his tongue towards your earlobe. “Been thinking about this for so fuckin’ long.”
Your hands tangle in his dark strands, tugging lightly, and he groans—rough, needy. The sound of it punches heat straight through your core.
More clothes come off in a haze of giggles and curses, until you’re naked, flushed, and sprawled beneath him. Completely exposed. Completely his. But you don’t feel shy. You feel… safe. Because that’s how he has always made you feel.
Especially when Yoongi looks like he’s staring at the fucking Mona Lisa. His eyes rake over your nude form, before he exhales a soft “fuck,” and lowers himself to mouth at a taut nipple. He swirls his tongue over the bud before giving it a long suck, encasing it between his teeth with a slight tug.
“Shit,” you arch your back, electricity surging from your chest.
When his hands slide between your thighs and his fingers slip inside, your head falls back with a gasp.
“Yoongi—”
“I got you, baby,” he whispers, voice hoarse.
And he does. 
You’re already shaking when he finally slips it in, filling you inch by inch as he whispers praise against your ear.
“Fuck,” he mutters, warm breath seeping into your moist skin. “You feel—God.”
He moves like he’s laying down the beat of his life. Every roll of his hips perfectly in sync with your ragged breaths, every soft moan you make dragging curses from his throat.
Your nails make crescents into his milky skin. Your legs wrap tight around his waist like a vice grip.
And when you come, it hits you so hard you think you’ve gone blind. He groans your name desperately and follows right after, buried deep, falling apart against you with one final buck.
You lay there after, chest to chest, sticky and hot, your heart pounding..
He brushes your hair back from your forehead and plants kisses all over your face. Butterfly kisses that leave you emotional at how gentle he is. 
“I love you,” he murmurs, pressing his lips against yours.
You smile, boneless. “I love you, too.”
He hums low. “So we’re doing that again. Obviously.”
“I can’t feel my legs,” you confess.
He smirks. “That’s how you know it was good.”
You swat at his chest. “You’re the worst.”
“And you’re… welcome.”
You both fall into a comfortable silence, staring up at the ceiling, smiling at nothing.
Until—a soft blinking red light catches your eye on the corner of the room.
You frown. “Yoongi.”
“Hm?”
“…Is that—?”
You both sit up, squinting at the CCTV camera that’s starting you down like an evil eye.
Your stomach drops. “No. No fucking way.”
Yoongi squints. “That better be off. That better be—”
Your phone vibrates. Then Yoongi’s.
Both of you freeze. You already know what it is. Actually, you already know who it is.
And there goes the single message in the “Roomies” group chat to confirm your suspicions.
Wonwoo: Thanks for the nudes 😉
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The End (Or is it?)
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A/N: And another K series done and dusted. I am gonna miss these 3 honestly. They’ve been such a joy to work on. I loved being in their world and writing this unhinged and chaotic plot line that all started because I wanted to write a silly little rap battle.
Thank you so much for reading, you lovely, beautiful human! Xo
Serve safe and serve well, Wonwoo my baby chocolat! <3
Let me know in the notes what you thought! A reblog would be an amazing gift if you enjoyed reading :) Love you, guys!
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Permanent Taglist: (the rest to follow in a reblog)
@wonh0oe @woozuzu @glossdebut @kiki-zb @kookiewithluv
@agustblog @maryhopemei @perfectiondazesworld @kimsaerom @kam9404
@00-sleepdontweep-00 @tea4sykes @mggv97 @marnz1990
@whydoeyecare @pastelmin @tarahardcore @minjenna @chimmchimmm
@aaclariww @mar-lo-pap @tinytan-gerine @vesperbells @butterymin
@eve1633455 @baechugff @lilkittenjenjen @wobblewobble822 @coffeedepressionsoup
@futuristicenemychaos @jadestonedaeho7 @granataepfelchen @whoa-jo @annyeongbitch7
@chimmisbae @sexytholland @idkjustlovingbts @kpophosblog @tinyelfperson
@yoongicatagenda @codeinebelle @parapiop7 @diame93 @janeelizabeth1216
@withmuchluv-tannie @abadiimm @angellekookie
Divider by: @cafekitsune (thank you!)
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"anything" - emily prentiss x liaison!fem!reader
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summary: you take an unnecessary risk out in the field
wc: 1.4k
cw: flangst? typical cm violence, but mostly just mentions, pre-establish relationship!
this is my first emily fic plz lmk if u like it!
A steady beeping slowly drags you awake. Your eyes flutter open and you take in the hospital room around you. The first thing you notice is the source of the beeping, from the patient monitor beside your bed. Then the pain hits you like a muffled train wreck, crashing into you but hitting a wall, so it doesn’t hurt quite so bad. They must have you on some strong medication, because it doesn’t hurt nearly as much as you thought it would. The worst feeling of all, though, comes from your abdomen, and when you shift in the bed, it aches and this weak little whimper uncontrollably escapes you. 
“Don’t move,” the velvet voice beside you warns. You didn’t even realize Emily was in here, that’s how knocked out you feel. When you turn your head, you see she’s got the chair pulled up as close to your bed as it can go, her elbows connected to her knees in a C-shaped hunch. “You’ll pop your stitches, and it still wouldn’t be the stupidest thing you’ve done today.”
You hear the sternness in your girlfriend’s voice and feel the color drain from your face. She always said you could never control your face, at least not around the people you love. In family interviews, or talking to the press? You could be stone-cold, unreadable. But once you’re comfortable around someone, your visage has a mind of its own. 
“I’m-”
“I know, you’re sorry,” Emily scoffs. Her voice reminds you of bitter, dark chocolate right now. She’s clearly irritated, but remains by your side loyally. That’s how you know she loves you. “That doesn’t change the fact that you made a thoughtless, reckless decision.” 
“I was actually going to say that I’m not sorry,” you huff, groaning softly as you move your rear back to sit up a little. Emily leans back in her seat and her jaw hardens. “Maybe I did act on impulse, but you would have done the same thing.” 
“You disobeyed Hotch’s direct order to stay put,” Emily’s chocolate eyes darken, and she rises from her seat, towering over you with her arms crossed over her chest. “And it got you shot.”
“I thought you were in trouble,” you grumble, your voice just barely above a whisper. 
“Excuse me?” 
“You and Hotch and Morgan all went in different directions, and I heard a scream and a gunshot from where you had gone,” you rattle off, your words all stringing together from the drowsiness. 
You recalled the vast farmland property where Garcia had nailed down the Unsub, how Hotchner didn’t want to wait on SWAT to show up because the guy’s endgame was so close to playing out. He killed at exactly noon with every single one of his victims, so the team had three minutes to find this missing girl. 
“And I couldn’t just stay put, Emily, not when I thought you’d been hurt,” you wring your hands over the top of the scratchy hospital blanket, your knuckles going stark white. “I couldn’t just wait to see what had happened. I couldn’t be helpless like that, not when I thought you might be hurt.” 
Emily’s got her eyes closed and she’s breathing in and out sharply, like she’s forcing herself to calm down, to filter through her initial thoughts so as to not say anything irreversible. “But Hotch told you to stay put,” she repeats in a defeated murmur, lifting one arm to run her hand through her hair. Her fringe is all over the place, and you’re just now noticing the dirt on her milky white cheek. She’s not rested since the farm, you realize, not even taken a second to wipe the dirt off her face. 
Guilt pours over you like a rainstorm, and you feel angry, frustrated, self-reproaching tears well up in your eyes, but you refuse to let them fall. “I didn’t do it to scare you,” you whisper. “I’m sorry, Em. I’m sorry that you had to worry about me like that. But I’d do it again in a heartbeat if it meant knowing that you were okay.” 
“Don’t Em me,” her voice cracks and you see tears start to fall from her eyes. She must be so tired. You don’t know how long you’ve been out, but you can tell from her posture, from her expression, that she’s not had a moment of respite since she saw the bullet take you down. 
You recall the look on her face - horrified, when she hovered over you, lying in the dirt. She shot the Unsub directly after he shot you. Hotch and Morgan made it in time to help the victim out of her ties, so she ran over to you the second the Unsub was down. 
“What were you thinking?!” she shrieked, lifting your shirt only to find blood oozing from the hole in your stomach. 
“I thought…” you murmured breathlessly, your eyes immediately feeling heavy. 
“Someone get a medic over here now!” she shouted, holstering her gun and pressing her hands onto your stomach. You woke up in the ambulance a little bit after that, but were too hazy to say anything. 
All you remember is Emily crushing your hand between both of yours and muttering something under her breath repeatedly. "Stay with me, baby." You hear it now. "Please don't go."
You reach gingerly for her hand as she stands over you now, unable to stretch your arm out too far for fear of popping a stitch. She helps you out and shuffles forward a step, sitting back down in her chair and pulling it next to the bed. Your fingers grasp hers, and then your palms are flush together. “I’m still really pissed at you,” Emily says. “So is Hotch. Says he has half a mind to take you off active duty altogether.” 
You purse your lips. Surely that’s not totally true. “Well, then he’d have to deal with the press on his own, and he’d want to rip his hair out,” you say. Emily squeezes your hand and you squeeze back. 
“I think he’d do it if it mitigates the risk of you getting shot,” Emily admits seriously. 
“It’s just a graze,” you grumble. Emily’s glowering at you again, and you concede. “A graze that required emergency surgery, but still a graze.” 
“Baby, I don’t think you know what a graze is,” Emily says. “They had to remove a bullet from your stomach. That’s not a graze.” 
You feel your cheeks tingle as they turn pink and you shrug your shoulders, pretending to be none the wiser. “Tomato, tomahto,” you wave your free hand nonchalantly. 
“You feel okay right now? D’you need any more pain meds?” Emily asks, the caretaker in her taking over, despite her frustration towards you getting into this situation in the first place. 
“I’m alright,” you say quietly. Emily’s eyes, beautiful orbs of brown so dark they’re almost black, float down to where your wound is. “Em, hey,” you insist, and those eyes snap back up to yours. “I’m alright. Promise.”
“You’re an idiot, is what you are,” Emily chastises with a sigh. 
“How long are they keeping me here?” you ask in a feeble attempt to change the subject. 
“Probably just a couple of days,” she says, lifting your knuckles to her lips and kissing them gently, like you’re made of fine china, like you could shatter at any moment. “Everyone wants to see you. I told them you probably wouldn’t be up for visitors until tomorrow,” she says. 
“That’s fine,” you agree, leaning your head back against the pillow. Whatever medications flowing through the IV in your wrist has you feeling very low-energy. “And how long are you gonna be mad at me?” you ask, sticking your bottom lip out a little in an attempt to earn some sympathy points. 
Emily shakes her head a little, but you see the faint uptick of her mouth that gives her away. “At the very least, however long it takes you to recover,” she jokes halfheartedly. 
“Does my punishment come with a ban on kisses?” you ask, tugging her hand with your own. 
Emily leans forward in her seat, her lips mere centimeters from your own. “That would be a punishment for me, too, and I didn’t do anything wrong,” she teases, then pecks your lips briefly. 
Your eyes are feeling heavy, and you heave a small sigh. “Love you, Em,” you say softly as the room goes dark. “Do anything for you, Em.” 
“I know you would, baby,” Emily sighs as well, but you feel her thumb swiping over the back of your hand. “That’s the problem.”
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napforalifetime · 1 month ago
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Trust Turned Instinct
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Sylus x GN!Reader
Just me adoring the progression and slowburn of Sylus.
Seriously, he’s such a complicated character and i simply tried to put some of my thoughts into words. There are many more small moments in his memories and stories that show just how much Sylus and his partner in crime relearn how to trust each other.
Learning to trust someone is hard and takes time but it is oh so rewarding. Any bad first impressions may have made it worse but he’s more than ready to put in the extra work to prove himself to you.
~1200 words
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Yours and Sylus’s first meeting was … less than fortunate. Both didn’t expect the person they were presented with. Driven by recent grief of losing loved ones and desperation of losing a lover both were at their worst. Accusations were thrown in his face while you were mistreated.
He was hurt. You were hurt. And you hurt each other. 
You weren’t exactly just strangers needing to get to know each other. There was history, a forgotten one. He used his evol to place you on his chair or drag you on his bike. Then he forced you in a chair to get experimented on and later fight a wanderer. 
You were supposed to be his other half. You owned half his soul and yet didn’t recognise him. Even more, you weren’t even unfamiliar with him but also antagonised him, shut him out before he had a chance. And it hurt. 
Any base level trust was out the window.
With time, space, regiven autonomy and gentle care as well with a side of teasing did those feelings loosen. Hesitance accompanied a conscious choice to somewhat trust his word. But a small shift was made. Repairs were being made through consistency.
You blocked him, but didn’t shut him out completely. Calls and text were answered instead of ignored. As small of a step that was, you didn’t shut him out entirely, even accepting some invitations and tolerated his presence even after his first missteps.
Accusations turned into questions about his suspicious actions. 
As odd as seeing the tall silverhaired on your missions was, you tolerated his presence and heard him out about his reasons to call for Hunters Assistance from a wanderer attack even if you both knew that he could handle himself perfectly well. You began entertaining his antics when clearing out protocore dealers before you managed to get to the scene or hijacking a plane.
The process was steady but slow. He missed his other half, waiting years for them to return to his side and fill that empty hole not just left in his heart but his entire existence. He craved any bit of care he would be given. Like a traveler in the desert starving for any droplets of water. So he may have gotten reckless when close to at least be provided medical care by you. You wanted him alive. He took anything you would give while he waited as long as you wanted.
Contempt turned into playful banter.
With time some form of trust was even established. While you weren’t sure what he was planning or what his endgame was, you did know that you were physically safe with him. As annoying as it was when he intercepted in your missions whether through spying and knowing an ambush before you or coincidentally being in the area when you got overwhelmed by wanderer, he was there to help out. Whether taking the hit for you, patching you up after or simply providing you with a list of his save houses free for your use. You got used to his presence and knowingly got into his car or sat behind him on one of his bikes by your own accord, putting your life in his hands.
By accepting Sylus’s help you accepted parts of him. Everyday you grew a little closer and more honest. Being able to see you in your entirety without you hiding any of your enchanting expressions from him filled him with joy. You let Sylus carry you in his arms, or see you at your weakest when patching up a wound. You didn’t push him away but allowed yourself to depend on him to an extent.
Trust turned into choice.
You kept pushing him and pushing him, parts of you expecting for him to snap, to have had enough of your antics, for his patience to run out. But he never did. Sylus was always a steady calm you could rely on. It was still hard to openly show this so you two played games. Would it be Sylus or you first to admit you wanted to see the other, that you cared, that you wanted to be vulnerable with him. In reality both of you did. Through your actions. Words could always be superficial. But his actions proved his words true and in a way that was terrefying. He scared you differently than he used to. From being forceful and not listening he became safe. And safety was hard to find and usually would betray you. Yet he never gave a reason for doubting him. He never snapped. He always indulged you. He even encouraged you to take more from him. He always followed through with what he said. Be it winning a boxing match, wrestling match or even taking care of a bird.
Sylus is not a patient man. If a deal went on too long it would usually be sped up via bullets or a bomb. But when it’s about you? If it’s for you he has all the time in the world. Sylus would rebuild every brick of your relationship again and again any day if it means he gets to see you smile. He knew that with consistency and honesty he would make progress one day. He adores you. There is no world where he would give up on you. He would go through hell and back if it meant seeing you smile. And he showed it everyday, keeping all his promises to you. Honesty was his tool. And it tore down your walls.
Terror turned to security.
Sylus lives a dangerous lifestyle and he knows it. And unless it involved you, he controlled the situation. If it did involve you? He didn’t need all those plans. The way you two thought was like a well oiled machine. If you said duck, he’d duck. If he told you to jump, you jumped. In fights there was no time to spare or think. You learned to depend on each other and cooperate without question. Your work was smooth and efficient, keeping each other's backs clear. This trust was Sylus’s pride, and as much as it flattered him, it almost brought him multiple heartattacks. You were at times feeling too safe with him and doing all kinds of reckless things where you would have gotten injured if not for his fast reflexes. You would bring him into an early grave, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
After a hard day when dealing with people and missions became too much your first thought was to call him. When your body ached or you needed a break he was the person you still wanted to spend time with. When meeting him on a mission you stopped questioning why he was there. You simply began accepting him. Weirdly enough he was always there to help out for the most part. And after fighting wanderers you let exhaustion overtake you and fall asleep in his presence. When you entered his room while he was sleeping, he stayed asleep. Each of you felt at ease with the other. Honesty was shown and any hesitation when reaching for his hand vanished. You know Sylus will always catch you when you fall.
Trust turned into instinct.
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gingerbread-in-july · 7 months ago
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Under the cut lies my personal ranking of all of Spencer Reid's love interests, both actual and potential, from best all the way down to worst, plus a whole lot of unfiltered sassy commentary that nobody asked for. Then again, nobody asked for any of this, but my brain was just on one of its neurodivergent tangents. There's 11 total. Some of this- probably a lot of this- will piss some people off and I am truly sorry. I hope there's at least some other people out there who share my strong ass opinions.
1. Dorian Loker- I will never forgive these bitch ass writers for never following up on that storyline. He asked her out in Russian, for Christ's sake! One of the only times in the entire series he actually initiates a date with somebody. He complimented her coffee! For him, that may as well be a pickup line. He was finally moving on from Maeve. That was a huge fucking step. He was shy and unsure of himself, but he was clearly into her, he was flirting the best he could, and he fucking asked her out. Don't even get me started on him being into her enough to set aside his germophobia and touch her hand by the end of the episode. Or his gutted little expression when he realized he spoiled the book she was reading. They were adorable and they could have been everything. Of all the one-episode love interests, she's the one I'm most pissed at them for never fucking following up on. 
2. Ethan- They were not just friends. I read somewhere that Spencer was initially supposed to be bisexual. They might have scrapped that, but bi Spence still found a way. They for sure hooked up. For. Sure. The chemistry was just there. And I am not one of those weirdo bitches who are overly fetishistic toward m/m pairings. I'm too fucking gay myself to get off on two men together. But those two men for sure were a thing- and good for them. 
3. Austin the bartender- She was hot. They had chemistry. More chemistry than he did with his actual girlfriends. End of. 
4. Ashley Seaver- I know y'all hate her and that she wasn't technically a love interest. However, I guarantee that she would have been if they'd kept her around. They were definitely setting it up to be that way. And, you know what? They'd have been a damn cute couple. I'd have loved to see it. And no, the "sorry for asking" moment was not grounds to disqualify it. Everyone else said as bad or worse to him at some point. If you can ship him with a psychopath who drugged him, framed him for murder, got him falsely imprisoned and nearly killed, kidnapped and tried to kill his mother, and lied about r*ping him and getting pregnant? You can ship him with Ashley fucking Seaver. If you can ship him with his fucking doctor who used her own loneliness as an excuse to violate all kinds of professional and ethical codes? You can ship him with Ashley fucking Seaver. If you can, perhaps worst of all, ship J*id? You can ship him with Ashley fucking Seaver.
5. Lila Archer- I think their worlds were ultimately too different for them to work long-term, but I do think they would have made a sweet couple for a while. They would each give the other things that their worlds were lacking. They wouldn't have been endgame, but they'd have stayed good friends. Also, "bUt aMbEr hEARD" isn't the dunk you think it is. Johnny Depp is a rich, 60-something year old white man who is problematic as fuck in his own right- and he's never going to fuck you. 
6. Cat Adams- Do I want them to actually be together? No. Does she deserve him? Hell no. Would the people further down this list technically be better for him than her? Probably. But......the chemistry, y'all. The chemistry was there. Matthew and Aubrey just play far too well off of each other. 
7. Maeve Donovan- I didn't hate her, but she was just a vehicle to give Spencer more trauma. I don't think she was "the one," "the love of his life," or any of that other stuff some say. I don't think they'd have lasted if she'd lived. They didn't really know each other. She lied to him about having a whole ass fiancé she never told him about. God only knows what else he didn't know. He started out as her fucking patient, for God's sake. The ethical violations were out the ass. I don't think she'd have crossed those lines if she weren't feeling so vulnerable and isolated from having to hide from her stalker. At least, not if she's as smart as everyone claims she is. Everyone- including Spencer- only puts her on a pedestal because of the tragedy of her death and not knowing what could have been. What would have been had she lived......probably wouldn't have been all that great in the long run. 
8. Linda Kimura- I'll be honest, I don't recall a single damn thing about this woman. I forgot she even existed until I saw her pictured on a potential love interest compilation. While I don't recall them having any chemistry whatsoever, I'll still include her for the sole purpose of ranking her higher than the rest of these shit bombs. And speaking of bombs, that brings us to......
9. Dylan Einstein- For the life of me, I just don't understand why people go so hard for this pairing. It's like she was generated in a Mary Sue factory to fit some stereotype of what AI might imagine Spencer's ideal woman to be. Her last name is Einstein, for fuck's sake. I'd probably respect it more if they did just name her Mary Sue. They were trying too hard to present her as Girl Spencer. The bitch even wore a purple scarf! She also just came across as annoying and overly eager and seemed like she didn't really understand when to fuck off. She butted in too much while Derek and Spencer were trying to work. Some poster here said that the actress who played her shipped the character with Spencer. That is more than obvious in the way she plays her. It's like she read a bunch of Wattpad fic and decided to use the character to try for her Y/N moment. Can't blame a girl for trying, but that is one "love interest" I am glad was a one-off. 
10. JJ- What could I say that hasn't already been said? The J*id plot was painfully forced. Spencer has more chemistry with a fucking paperweight than he does with JJ. Do I love their friendship? Yes. Do I love watching Spencer interact with her kids? God, yes. But, he's Uncle Spencer, not Stepdaddy Spencer. The only way Spencer and JJ are more than friends is that they're found family. Will is an absolute saint of a husband. Fuck them writers for doing him dirty like that. Even pre-Will, Spencer and JJ just didn't have the chemistry like that. I'm glad they scrapped that bullshit early crush storyline after just one episode. Also, am I the only one who remembers Spencer being totally unaffected and not even giving half a shit when JJ finally came out to the team about being with Will? He said something along the lines of "We all knew already." He was so unbothered. No way in hell has he been "waiting for JJ" this whole time or whatever these clowns pulled out of their asses toward the end. Such a waste of a plot. Literally any other pairing would have made more sense. 
11. Maxine bitch ass Brenner- Here we are. Last and least. Even J*id was better than this shit. What the fuck even was the goddamn point of this bitch besides having an excuse to have Rachael Leigh Cook guest star? Too bad this is who she had to play. She was just rude as hell with her snark, her bitchy little expressions and the way she mocked the kids- elementary school aged kids- she taught. As if it was beneath her grandiose idea of herself. How could they for one second think that somebody like Spencer- somebody who loves kids, loves to teach and to learn and values education as much as Spencer- could ever like somebody like her? They were already having to cram way too much into too little space that last season. It was already a shit show. What the fuck was the point of adding her only to never bring her back? I mean, good call there at least because she sucked. I can only assume Spence realized how much she sucked and ditched her ass. She was just a pointless waste of time and never should have been a thing. I'm glad Spence made out with Cat in front of her and I hope it chapped her ass that he never kissed her that way. Glad her family didn't die, but she and they can all fuck all the way off down the road.
Thanks for sticking this one out if you did.
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wild-fleurs · 2 months ago
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My unpopular Psych opinions:
Shawn & Juliet aren’t a compelling couple to me I don’t dislike them, I enjoy them just fine but I also wouldn’t have carney if they ended up in the won’t end of will they won’t they
I don’t like Shawn’s mother as a mother or character (the actress is great at portraying her I just don’t enjoy Madeline Spencer)
I enjoyed Shawn/Abigail while clearly they were never going to be endgame they were a good match & I think well suited to each other & in theory could have lasted longer/been the couple if it wasn’t a show with the goal of getting Shawn/Juliet together
I don’t like Lassiter/Marlowe I just don’t think it’s funny or cute or in character that Lassiter would fall for her it feels very late season arc which it was
I don’t hate Henry or think he was the worst dad I actually like him, I see his lessons as exaggerated because it s a sitcom but at least he was there, he cared about Shawn & Gus & was the one doing the majority of the parenting in the 70s/80s essentially as a single dad while working a difficult/taxing full time job, he’s not perfect but I don’t think he’s the worst like I see some fans do
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theoversky · 7 months ago
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Why Kittyuri should be endgame?
So let’s see Kitty’s options until now:
1.Dae Heon Kim: a reason
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Dae was literally 1/2 main reasons why Kitty applied to KISS. They spend majority of S1 figuring out how to be together and when they’re finally dating Kitty found out she’s actually in love with Yuri.
It’s sad or funny the fact Dae was too perfect for Kitty and maybe for that, no one ships Dae/Kitty.
2.Min Ho: a season
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S1 was for Dae/Kitty, S2 will be for Min Ho/Kitty.
I actually shipped 50% Kitty with Min Ho and 50% Kitty with Yuri, but after so many bifobic fanbase I really wish Kittyuri is endgame at the end of the series.
Min Ho fanbase is terrible, they use weak excuses to not validate that fact Kitty is in love with Yuri, even her sexuality. That’s so real that the one and only Jenny Han had to reply a comment on instagram validating Kitty’s bisexuality and her love for Yuri. Also Jenny had to close some comments on instagram because of Min Ho’s fanbase spamming every single “XO Kitty” photo asking for their couple.
Arguments like
A)“but Juliana and Yuri fought so hard to be together” when Juliana did absolutely NOTHING to be with Yuri, but KITTY was the one to give Yuri her girlfriend back
B) “Kittyuri happened because of a dream” bitch didn’t Min Ho/Kitty started the same way?
C) “You guys can’t ship Kittyuri because you don’t support when bisexual people date opposite gender”
D) “Kittyuri isn’t healthy because you don’t want Yuri to be with her black girlfriend, that’s racism”
E) “Kittyuri doesn’t have chemistry and Gia Kim is too old to kiss Anna”
Are some examples of this fandom behaviour and that’s why I am now 100% team Kittyuri. I don’t think Min Ho is the worst but I also don’t think he is the best. And I don’t even mentioned he’s Dae’s best friend but people send hate to Kitty and Yuri as couple or separated in order to prop Min Ho excusing ALL his toxic behaviours.
3.Yuri Han: Lifetime
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Yuri Han is the series main villain in S1, she’s responsible for Kitty’s unhapiness and the fact that her and Dae can’t be together. Kittyuri are the real enemies to lovers from this tv show. Min Ho was an asshole to Kitty for nothing, Yuri had a reason the whole time.
Plus we can’t forget Kittyuri is the one and only main LGBT ship from Jenny Han’s universe. It was a real plot twist in a very straight universe and as a bisexual girl I really felt the representativeness’ of Kitty falling in love with a girl without even having a relationship with her. Even as friends.
For this season, I expect Yuri in deny to believe Kitty really likes her until find out Kitty is bi and hanging out with other girls. A very jealous Juliana chasing Yuri’s relationship with Kitty and every step about Yuri’s reaction founding out Kitty is bi. The trailer (and S1) was pretty clear that Juliana is jealous of Kitty, even when Kitty was the person to reconnect them again.
Before everything, analyzing the trailer it seems Kitty will write letters to the person she loves (it’s a Covey’s thing apparently) and Yuri’s friends will find them and tell everybody about this. I don’t think she addresses Yuri’s name since Yuri is rolling eyes when Jealous Juliana passes throught the door and Kitty acts like she had been exposed. I don’t think Yuri would react like that because she doesn’t figure Kitty could like her, but Juliana suspects for the whole S1.
Also I guess Peter Kavinsky will be Kitty’s bisexuality’s cheerleader and be the person to push Kitty to explore her sexuality with both genders. Peter and Min Ho promotional is pretty like a straightbait to me, since the fandom is majority Team Min Ho and I can bet Jenny Han will fight for Kittyuri. I’m afraid for Netflix wanting fanservice for Team Min Ho, but I guess Kitty will try to like Min Ho back in S2 and they can work until Yuri finds out Kitty likes her at some point and break up with Juliana.
So S3 will be with about Min Ho/Kitty break up and Kittyuri finally connecting. I HOPE at least.
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shaunamilfman · 1 year ago
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never saw you coming
Summary: "You knew when you started dating Jackie that Shauna came along with the territory, but you hadn't quite realized how present she was going to be. Most people would get annoyed at the constant third wheeling, but you aren't most people. You weren't sure when your relationship with Jackie had crossed the line into a relationship with Jackie and Shauna, but you thought it might have something to do with first time you fucked Jackie in front of her."
A/N: jackieshauna x r endgame obviously. theres smut but definitely a lot more plot than you'd think.
The first time Jackie had brought Shauna along to your date you figured that you’d just gotten your wires crossed somewhere; Hell, she’d even had Shauna drive her to your house to pick you up. You’d paid for all three of your tickets, as strange as it was you did invite her out, which seemed to please Jackie. She’d held on tightly to your arm the whole time, quickly lacing your fingers together, but you were constantly aware of Shauna glaring a hole in the side of your head. 
As if dealing with Shauna's glares during the movie wasn't enough you had to put up with Shauna's snickering as you climbed in the back of her stupid two-door car. Jackie slapped lightly at Shauna's arm as she told her off for laughing, but Shauna didn't seem all that deterred. Shauna held her hands out placatingly as she gave Jackie an innocent look, but she couldn't stop the way her lips twitched as she tried to keep from smiling. 
Despite the way you flushed at Shauna's laughter you couldn't help but enjoy their bickering as Shauna drove. Shauna caught your eye in the rearview mirror to share a fond look as Jackie gave one of the worst takes on a movie you've ever heard, completely missing the point of it all. 
Shauna has a nice voice, You thought. She was much prettier when she didn't look like she was contemplating your imminent death. 
You'd taken the chance to switch to the front seat as Jackie insisted on being dropped off first. It would leave you in the uncomfortable predicament of sitting next to Shauna, but she'd at least stopped glaring at you since the movie ended. Jackie had given you a fond smile when you stumbled out of the car after her, placing a hand on your arm to steady you. 
It seemed unlikely, you thought you had been very clear when asking her out, but maybe she just hadn’t realized that it was a date. You figured you’d just talk to her about it the next time you saw her. You were quickly disavowed of that notion when she pulled you down by the collar of your shirt to kiss you goodbye. She pulled away and sauntered up to her front door leaving you star-struck in Shauna’s car. You sat in complete silence the entire way home, staring out the window as Shauna watched you contemplatively. Shauna had even seemed surprisingly sincere when she'd told you to have a good night as she dropped you off at home. 
The second time Jackie brought Shauna you figured she just didn’t feel comfortable alone with you. After all, you didn’t know each other all that well. The third, fourth, and fifth times Jackie brought Shauna along you finally just assumed she was a part of the package and started accommodating for a third person in your outings.
You knew it was strange that Jackie insisted on bringing her best friend along– she'd been quite insistent that best friends was the extent of their relationship when you had asked in one of your rare moments alone– but there were very few things you wouldn't put up with for the opportunity to date Jackie Taylor. 
The way her smile had lit up her entire face when you accommodated Shauna's food allergy when you'd made them dinner was payment enough. That had even garnered you a soft smile from Shauna herself, just a hint of the affection she usually reserved for Jackie shining in her eyes. 
That was another thing you had noticed, all those loving glances the two of them shared. You don’t think you’ve ever seen two people seem more in love, and yet they didn’t even seem to know about it. You wondered idly what Shauna even thought she was so angry at you for if not for dating Jackie. You also knew that Jackie honestly loved you separate from her feelings for Shauna. You were conflicted for a while as you mulled over the information, but ultimately you decided that the only thing better than one hot girlfriend was two. You were practically dating both of them already even if you only got to fool around with Jackie. It was a win-win for everyone involved.
You knew you had to tread very lightly with this decision: it was better to make Jackie think it was her idea. You’d just have to lead the horse to water.
Shauna glares over at you as you sip the last of your drink through your straw, purposely sucking noisily at the air knowing how much it annoys her. Your lips quirk up in a smile even as Jackie lightly taps you on the arm. “I’m gonna get another drink,” You tell Jackie, lightly pushing against her leg. She shakes her head, giving you a flirty smile as she shifts further into your lap to cement her seat. God, she was so good at being annoying when she wanted to. You glance up at the movie she’s made the three of you watch, making sure nothing important is happening as you sit your drink down on the end table. 
You slide your arms under Jackie, lifting her up as you move her over to Shauna’s lap instead. She scoffs with an offended look on her face, but Shauna just shrugs and moves her head to peer around Jackie’s shoulder. You can feel Jackie’s eyes on you as you pick your drink back up, following you all the way to the kitchen where you finally disappear from view. You pop open another can and quickly pour it, not wanting to miss anything. You’d shout from the rooftops about how much you hate Jackie’s dumb romcoms, and yet every time you found yourself glued to the TV.
You take your seat on the couch back, Jackie’s pout still firmly in place as she pretends not to look at you. You hold your arm out for her but she huffs and shakes her head. Shauna rolls her eyes and moves Jackie off her lap to sit between you. Jackie looks back at Shauna with a betrayed look. Shauna, for her part, just shrugs. 
“You can have her if you want,” You offer Shauna, playfully pressing against Jackie’s shoulder to lean her against Shauna. Shauna grins as she shakes her head, pushing her back against you. 
“No, really,” You insist, pushing Jackie back. Jackie’s gone limp as you pass her back and forth between you, eyes blown wide as you bargain with each other to take her as if she isn’t there. 
You put an end to the manhandling when Jackie starts to get whiney about it, pulling her back into your lap as if nothing ever happened as you turn back to the movie. Jackie’s arm wraps tightly around you, and the shaky feeling of her quick breaths against your neck tells you that Jackie might have enjoyed that in ways you weren’t expecting. You give her a questioning glance and she flushes before burying her face in your neck to hide. You rub your hand against her back absentmindedly as you give a curious-looking Shauna a shrug. Jackie’s weird sometimes, you suppose. 
… 
Despite your thoughts about opening up your relationship, you couldn’t help but quietly seethe in anger as Shauna cock-blocks you yet again. You wouldn’t mind that she was sleeping over in Jackie's bed, again, and spooning Jackie, again, if it wasn’t for how fucking smug she looks doing it. You weren’t sure why Shauna was suddenly deciding to fuck with you like this, you honestly wouldn’t have thought anything of it if she didn’t purposely try to provoke you about it. You so desperately want to know what she’s thinking in moments like these if she truly feels like she needs to compete with you for Jackie.
You’ve seen her act the same way with Jackie more and more as she tries to compete with her for your attention, but Jackie never seems to notice what Shauna’s doing. Shauna drapes herself over your lap before Jackie has the chance to and Jackie just gives her a wide smile as she sits next to you instead, leaning her head against your shoulder as she talks about her day. 
Shauna laces your fingers together and Jackie just grabs your other hand, completely unaware of the look of frustration on Shauna’s face. You’d almost find it funny that Shauna doesn’t realize that Jackie could never be jealous of her if only it wasn’t so sad. You’ve made an effort to include Shauna more in an attempt to put the idea in Jackie’s mind, but it only seems to heighten Shauna’s need for attention from both of you.
You know this is something you’re going to need to address soon or Shauna was going to do something desperate, but you didn’t really know how to have that kind of conversation. They both seem so oblivious to their feelings for each other that you’re not even sure they’d understand your concerns if you brought them up. It would just have to wait till the morning, You thought sleepily. Your eyes slip shut as the exhaustion of the day finally catches up to you.
You’re woken up by gentle shaking a few hours later, eyes blinking open blearily to see Jackie’s flushed face staring at you. She’s slipped away from Shauna at some point, shifting closer to you in her sleep. You smile sleepily at the thought, eyes slipping shut again. “Y/N.” Jackie whispers insistently. You groan quietly as you grieve the idea of getting a full eight hours of sleep, eyes opening again as you give her your full attention.
Now that you're wide awake you find yourself far more interested in what Jackie has to tell you, recognizing the look on her face. “Jackie,” You draw out, a faint look of amusement crossing your face.
“Shut up,” She mutters, but you’re overcome with fondness at the way she squirms in embarrassment. “Had a dream.”
“Mhm. I can see that,” You murmur teasingly. “What was your dream about then?”
“It was about you… and me… and we were… you know,” She trails off, flushing as she looks at you expectantly. 
“I'm afraid I don't know.”
Jackie sighs, giving you a look as if to say are you really going to make me say it? and you just grin in response. 
“You were touching me and someone was watching,” She says so quietly that you can barely make it out. 
“Someone?” You ask, already having an idea of just who this someone was.
“No one in particular, just someone,” Jackie murmurs quickly, not able to meet your eyes. You roll your eyes at the denial. Whatever. 
“Did they like watching you?” You ask, pushing gently against her shoulder to lay her on her back. You slip your fingers up her shirt, fingertips running lightly against her stomach. 
“Yeah,” She breathes out quietly, sighing at your touch. “Sha- she liked it. She kept talking to me, asking questions.” You hum in understanding, glancing over at Shauna to make sure she's still asleep. She's lying on her side facing you, which is a little nerve-wracking, but her eyes are closed and her breathing is even enough to reassure you as you slip your fingers beneath the waistband of Jackie's panties. 
Jackie inhales sharply as she glances over at Shauna, her thighs clenching shut reflexively around your hand. “Don't look at her. Look at me,” You murmur. Jackie slowly turns her head back, but you know she's resisting the urge to check back on Shauna again. There’s something about the look on her face that intrigues you, but you have things you’d much rather be doing.
You trail your fingertips through her wetness, rubbing a teasing circle around her clit only to choke back your laugh as her hips jump into your hand. The both of you hold still, looking carefully over at Shauna. Reassuring yourself that Shauna’s still asleep you slide your hand down to slip a finger inside of her. You're met by Jackie’s surprised squeak as she clenches around you.
“Quiet, Jackie,” You tease. “Don't want to wake Shauna up do you?” Jackie whines at the comment, hips jumping up. You laugh softly. “Like that idea, do you?” Jackie worries her lip between her teeth as she shakes her head, but she shifts closer to bury her head in your shoulder nonetheless. 
You weren't sure what you were going to say after that, probably another teasing comment that you knew she’d enjoy, but you're left speechless as you meet Shauna's eyes over Jackie's shoulder. Normally you'd apologize profusely for doing something like that in front of her, but you hesitate at the desperate look on Shauna's face as she watches how tightly Jackie's thighs squeeze around your hand. You knew Jackie well enough to know she wouldn't mind sharing this moment with Shauna– knew that she wouldn't mind sharing anything with Shauna–and Shauna herself was certainly not opposed to the idea, which left it up to you. Shauna has been such a brat all afternoon that the idea of wiping that smug grin off her face gives you a heady rush. 
You’d stilled long enough in shock that Jackie began to whine in protest as she clenched her hand in your shirt. You laugh softly in her ear, pressing an apologetic kiss against the side of her head as you resume the movement. You catch Shauna’s eyes, a smile slowly lifting the corners of your mouth as she finds herself unable to look away from you. You touch Jackie the same way you always do, just the way she likes, but you find yourself doing it more and more for Shauna’s benefit. You savor the way her eyes keep darting down Jackie’s body, a hungry look on her face as she watches the way your hand flexes against the fabric of Jackie’s panties. 
Shauna inevitably meets your eyes again, unable to keep herself away for too long at a time. 
You’d give anything in this moment to know what she’s thinking as she watches Jackie get fucked right in front of her. You certainly had an idea of what Shauna was feeling, her eyes blown wide with arousal as her thighs ever so subtly clenched together. She’s so careful not to let Jackie know she’s awake, so afraid that Jackie will take it from her.
You break eye contact to look down at Jackie as you slip a second finger in on an outstroke. Jackie releases a muffled moan in approval, biting down on your shirt as she tries and fails to keep herself quiet. You truly had no idea how Jackie was convincing herself that Shauna was still asleep as loud as she was, but you didn’t dwell on it for long. Normally you would take your time with her, enjoying the frustrated sounds she’d make as you worked her up far too slowly for her tastes, but you knew you could only keep Jackie from realizing Shauna was watching for so long. You grind the palm of your hand against her clit, enjoying the quiet noise of surprise as her body jerks.
You can practically feel the weight of Shauna’s gaze but you pay her no mind as you focus on your girlfriend, knowing from experience that she’s getting close as she starts actively rolling her hips. She’s practically balled your shirt up in her hands with how tightly she’s holding it, trying to pull you even closer as if any distance between the two of you was unbearable to her. “That’s it, Jackie. You’re being so good for me,” You murmur against her ear. She shivers at the heat of your breath, nodding her head against your shoulder.
“Tell me,” She pleads. You smile knowingly. 
“Come for me, Jackie?”
Jackie falls over the edge with a muffled whine, biting hard at your shirt as she tries to keep herself quiet. You slow your hand down as she finally catches her breath, hips stilling as she pulls her head away from your shoulder to look at you. Her legs shake around your hand, her whole body shuddering as you pull your hand back and let her waistband snap against her. Jackie exhales shakily, face red from where she buried it in your shoulder. 
Jackie relaxes against the bed long enough that you think that she’s probably fallen asleep till she starts sitting up. You watch her curiously as she climbs over you to get off the bed, losing interest as she murmurs the word bathroom on her way out. 
You’d almost forgotten about Shauna as you focused on Jackie, but her sudden shifting reminds you of her presence. You laugh softly as her thighs press tightly together, almost desperate for the friction. “Jackie will be back soon,” You remind her, not looking very sorry about it. Shauna gives you a weak glare, but she still seems a little too affected by everything that’s happened to put any real heat into it. 
You shift closer towards her, raising your fingers to her mouth in offering. Shauna immediately stills as her eyes focus on them; They’re still wet from Jackie, nearly glistening in the light from the street. Shauna hesitates for just a moment, glancing up at you to see what you’re thinking. 
You smile softly and that seems to be all it takes as Shauna immediately envelops them in her mouth. She moans at the taste, tongue immediately circling your fingers as she cleans Jackie completely off you. You gasp as she digs her tongue into the web of your fingers, taking them so deep into her mouth that you’re nearly overwhelmed by the warmth.
Your eyes narrow as the smug look comes back on her face. Shauna makes a shocked noise as your hand moves, palm resting against her chin as you press your fingers down against her tongue. She seems surprised, but certainly not averse to it. She opens her mouth wider as you start exploring it, fingertips rubbing against the top of her teeth as you pull out completely to cup her face with your hand. You’re not sure what was going to happen next, but as the sound of a door opening down the hallway sounds you know you need to stop.
Jackie quietly walks into the room, climbing back over you and collapsing a bit too roughly on the bed was Shauna is actually still asleep. Jackie reaches blindly for your hand to lace your fingers together, but jerks her hand away as she pulls your hand closer to her face to examine it.
“Ew,” Jackie whines disgustedly as she wipes your spit-covered fingers off on your shirt. “You got it on me.”
You scoff. “You don’t complain when-” You start, but Jackie clamps her hand over your mouth. She shakes her head, glancing nervously at Shauna.
Jackie giggles suddenly, turning back to face you with a wide grin on her face. “Did you know Shauna drools?” She asks. You look up, and sure enough, her face is still wet with her own saliva. You shake with silent laughter, burying your head in Jackie’s shoulder as you desperately try to keep in. Shauna was going to be so mad at you in the morning for this. 
You catch your breath after a while, pulling your head back to look at a slightly confused Jackie. 
You just shake your head, smile still splitting your face. “We good to sleep now, Jackie?” You ask softly. 
“Love you,” Jackie murmurs sleepily, the both of you tensing in surprise as the words leave her mouth. She opens her mouth, probably to walk it back before you interrupt.
“I love you too.”
“Yeah?” Jackie asks softly, eyes cracking open to look up at you. You’re nearly breathless at the look of affection she gives you, a gentle smile despite the look of exhaustion on her face. You're not quite sure what she’s tired for, considering she didn’t really do much of anything, but you nod before leaning down and kissing her. You pull away after a moment as you let Jackie adjust the both of you until she finds a comfortable position to sleep in, pulling your arm firmly over her body. You can hear Shauna’s shaky exhale, making Jackie tense in anxiety before slowly relaxing as Shauna stays quiet.
You close your eyes, holding Jackie tightly as the gentle movements of her breathing lull you back to sleep once again.
“Y/N,” Jackie says with a hint of frustration. You glance up suddenly as she pulls you out of your thoughts. She’s standing by the side of the couch and doesn’t seem too pleased with you.
“Yeah?” You ask guiltily, realizing that she's probably been trying to talk to you for a while. You’d been pretty distracted thinking about last night and she’s obviously been trying to get your attention.
“You weren’t listening,” She accuses, glancing over at Shauna to back her up. Shauna, for her part, is sitting on the far side of the couch fidgeting as she can’t seem to find a comfortable position to sit in. She looks up but can’t meet your eye, instead looking at Jackie. Shauna shrugs at Jackie’s question, fiddling with the cuff of her flannel. Shauna’s been thinking about last night too, leaving Jackie oblivious to the tension. As Shauna shifts in her seat again, you suddenly notice the way she’s been rubbing her thighs together.
“I’m sorry, Jackie,” You murmur, pressing a kiss against her fingertips. Jackie pouts down at you, but you can tell she was pleased by the kiss. She always loves it when you make her feel like a princess. You press a kiss against each of her knuckles, ignoring Shauna’s scoff as you make your way up her hand. Jackie’s grin splits her face by the time 
“I asked when you wanted to leave for our date. We’ve got to drop Shauna off, remember?” She asks. You look over at Shauna who almost seems relieved at the answer. You’re sure there are a lot of things she’d like to be doing with the memory of last night so fresh on her mind.
You hum in consideration, as if deep in thought before suggesting “How about we take Shauna with us?” Jackie’s face immediately lights up, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement as she looks over at a slightly dismayed Shauna. 
Shauna laughs nervously, knowing more than anyone how difficult it is to tell Jackie no. “I mean I’d love to bu-”
“Great!” Jackie says, clapping her hands together. “It’s a date then!” Shauna gives you a sour look as she slumps back against the couch.
“Why don’t you tell her what we’re doing today while I go get ready?” Jackie presses a quick kiss against your head as she passes by and climbs into Shauna’s lap like usual. Jackie was always very touchy, not that either of you ever complained, but it seems to be biting Shauna in the ass as of this moment. Shauna squirms beneath her, the weight of Jackie sitting on top of her far too much with her mind still on the last day's events. Shauna glares at you over Jackie’s head as Jackie goes on about all the shops you were heading to today. You wink at Shauna as you head out of the room.
You'd put a lot of the blame for the lack of communication on Jackie and Shauna, yet you've found yourself to be a huge part of the problem recently. You promised yourself you would finally talk to Jackie and Shauna about the state of your relationship, frankly it was getting ridiculous at this point, but the moment just never seems right. There was no shortage of moments when you should have spoken up, but something always seemed to get in the way. You'd think it was funny if it wasn't getting so irritating. 
The first time you considered saying something was when you caught Shauna writing in her journal. You wouldn't normally consider that anything of note, but she kept glancing over at the hand you'd used on Jackie and flushing slightly as she quickly glanced away. You watched in vague amusement as she filled pages and pages with whatever she was writing about. You opened your mouth to comment on it, but Jackie flopped down in the seat across from you ranting about her math teacher before you could. You nodded along to Jackie's rant, deciding to bring it up another time.
The next time you considered saying something was when you caught Jackie and Shauna whispering and giggling as they leaned against each other in the locker room, both of them in various states of undress. You watched as Jackie's hand trailed the side of Shauna's stomach in a decidedly non-platonic manner as Shauna stuttered over her sentence. They sprang apart guiltily the second they saw you, both of them hurriedly getting changed. That definitely would have been a good time to speak up, but as the rest of the team started filing into the locker room you let the moment pass by. 
You considered saying something as you caught the jealous look on Shauna's face as you kissed Jackie goodbye in her doorway, Shauna's eyes following the way your fingers traced the side of Jackie's face. Maybe you should have said something at Jackie's shuddering breath as she noticed Shauna had been watching. But then Jackie pressed a quick kiss against lips and walked inside with a rushed “I love you.”
Maybe you should have spoken up as Jackie sat in your lap watching someone flirt with Shauna with an unreadable look on her face, but you were too busy glaring at him to realize Jackie was focused on it too. Shauna seemed almost surprised when she caught the two of you looking at her. She didn't seem all that interested in what he was saying, you don't even think she was listening to him, but her lips quirked up with a hint of a smirk at the twin looks of jealousy on your and Jackie's faces. 
You were definitely ready to talk about it then, on the verge of moving Jackie off your lap and storming across the room. Jackie snaps out of it at the look on Shauna's face and gently cups your chin as she turns your face to kiss you in full view of Shauna. It was petty bullshit, you were more than aware, but there was a reason you got along so well with the two of them. 
You rested your hands against Jackie's hips as she shifted to straddling you, catching Shauna's eyes over her shoulder as Jackie attached her lips to your neck. Shauna watched intently as she held her drink up to her mouth to hide her expression, no longer even pretending to listen to that man talk. You should have spoken about it then, but then Jackie bit gently at your neck and you were much more preoccupied with other things. 
Needless to say, you were growing more and more annoyed by the situation, but you couldn't even be that mad anymore knowing that you were now part of the problem. You groan in frustration, burying your head in your hands. Shauna looks up in shock from her notebook, pen hovering above the page as she looks you over. She caps her pen as she shuts her journal, sliding both of them into her bag. She puts a hand on your arm as she asks, “Y/N?
You're startled by the interruption of your thoughts, slowly lowering your arms from your face. She laces your fingers together after a moment of hesitation, squeezing gently in a comforting motion. “What's wrong?” She asks gently. You're almost in awe as you look at her. You knew she was more than capable of being sweet, but you've never had this kind of attention from her. It was usually directed at Jackie.
You want to put everything on the table immediately, but you know her well enough to know that she wouldn't react well to this conversation on her own. “Nothing, Shauna. Just a bad test grade,” You lie. 
Her eyes narrow slightly but she seems to let it go. “It's not about…” She trails off awkwardly. 
You shake your head, quick to assure her. “No, no. It's not about that night,” You promise. Shauna flushes at the reminder but looks down at the table as she nods. She opens her mouth to say something else, but Jackie slides into the seat next to her. 
“What are we talking about?” Jackie asks in feigned excitement, not sparing your linked hands a second glance. You knew the look on her face well enough to know she had a headache coming on. Obviously so did Shauna, who pulled her hand away from you to rummage through her bag for some Tylenol. 
“Coach again?” You ask. Jackie groans, shaking her head. 
“Don't even say his name,” She mutters, dry swallowing the Tylenol and pressing a kiss against Shauna's cheek in thanks. Shauna glances over at you to see your reaction, but you don't seem to have noticed as you continue to talk to Jackie about her meeting with coach. 
Shauna sighs. 
You're getting ready for bed after Shauna had left, a rare night in which her mother insisted on her being home for once. When you catch Jackie staring at you and quickly looking away at her nails for the third time in the last five minutes you sigh loudly enough that she glances back up. 
You give her a knowing look that she seems surprised at as if she thought she was being really subtle with her glances. “Is there something you want to talk about Jackie?” You prompt, looking expectant as you climb onto the bed to sit next to her.
Jackie pouts as she asks, “How did you know?” You flop back on the bed with a groan, lifting your hands up to cover your face. “Was it that obvious?” She gently tugs your hand away from your face, lacing your fingers together. You make a dramatic showing of looking at her, and then looking away, and repeat it a few times until she lightly smacks you on the arm and giggles. 
“Maybe it was a little obvious,” She admits. You laugh. A little?
“Fine! It was very obvious. Kick a girl while she’s down,” Jackie complains, but her voice betrays her happiness. “It was just… Lately, Shauna’s been around a lot more,” She pauses as she considers what to say.
“Not that she hasn’t always been around,” She rushes to add, closely watching you as if trying to read your mind. “It’s been different lately, don’t you think?”
“Different?” You ask slowly, a hint of excitement entering your voice. Was she finally going to admit it? Thank god.
“What we did at the party,” Jackie says, “I didn’t know why I was so jealous. I mean I was there with my girlfriend so why would I care if Shauna had someone? Thought I could prove to myself that I just wanted attention but it didn’t work.” She looks frustrated at herself as she speaks, and you gently squeeze her hand to bring her back to the moment.
She squeezes back before letting go of your hand entirely, shifting so that she can lay on top of you instead. She buries her head in your shoulder, voice muffled and barely comprehensible as she asks, “I didn’t realize it then, but you were looking at her too weren’t you?” 
You start gently rubbing your fingertips against her scalp, making Jackie melt against you as you consider your response. “I was jealous too,” You say finally, “I didn’t like it when she was talking to someone else, even if it wasn’t fair of me.”
“Was she watching?” Jackie asks slowly. “When we were…”
“She was,” You say carefully. “She looked jealous too.”
“Do you… Do you think that maybe she would– I mean if you also want,” Jackie says quickly, stumbling over her words in a bit of a panic.
“Relax, Jackie,” You say softly. “I know she would, and so do I.”
“You can’t know for sure,” Jackie says. Your hand stills guiltily in her hair as you clear your throat nervously. Jackie quickly pulls away from you, rising up to her knees to straddle you as she looks down at you with a suspicious expression. “Do you know something I don’t?” She says, sickly sweet and on the verge of a threat.
“Do you remember when you had that dream and we–” You start but are quickly interrupted by Jackie.
“Yes,” She says slowly, a look of dawning realization on her face. 
“Shauna was awake,” You say quickly, just wanting to rip the bandage off.
Jackie pauses, suddenly looking a little embarrassed. “You knew about that?”
You gasp. “You knew about that?”
“She breathes differently when she’s asleep,” Jackie says dismissively as if that's a normal thing that normal people know. Right.
“If you knew she was watching, why didn’t you say anything?”
Jackie shrugs and she offers. “She’s Shauna, and we talked about it later. Why didn’t you say anything?”
You grin. “She’s Shauna.”
Jackie laughs softly, hand resting against the bed next to your head as she leans closer to your face. “She liked it?” She asks finally.
“She did,” You confirm quickly, nearly rolling your eyes at the pleased look that immediately crosses Jackie’s face. “I let her taste you,”
Jackie makes a squeaking noise, facing flushing a bright red as she sputters above you. “Is that– Is that why her face was wet?” She asks dumbfoundedly. She pauses, her embarrassment slowly turning into something else the longer she thinks about it. 
She stumbles over her words as she manages to get out, “She… her mouth… your fingers?”
“Is that what you want to focus on?” You ask patiently, resting your hands affectionately against Jackie’s hips.
“Yes. No. Later,” Jackie decides quickly, looking a little unsure as she continues. “I like Shauna, Shauna likes us, and you like Shauna?”
You laugh, giving her an amused grin. Leave it to Jackie Taylor to ask the obvious. “I like Shuana, yes.” 
“Don’t laugh at me,” She whines, leaning down to place a kiss against your lips. She giggles as you try to chase her as she pulls away, gently pressing you down with a hand against your shoulder.
“I’ll talk to Shauna.” Jackie nods decisively, squeezing gently at your shoulder. “She’d take it better coming from me don’t you think?” Jackie pauses. “Or maybe we don’t tell her just yet.”
You groan in frustration but Jackie quickly shushes you and continues, “Hear me out, hear me out. Shauna knew that both of us knew and didn’t tell either of us. Maybe we leave out some information for once?” You laugh softly, rolling your eyes.
She’s so petty. You nod. Jackie smiles affectionately as she leans down to kiss you again.
You reach a hand out as Shauna walks up to take a seat on the couch next to you and lightly grasp at her arm, tugging her towards you like you would if she was Jackie. She stumbles back into your lap as you wrap your arms around her waist and rest your head on her shoulder. 
“Y/N?” She asks softly, seeming confused.
“I missed you last night,” You say quietly against her ear. She shudders at the feeling, shifting uncomfortably in your lap.
“Jackie was there,” She refutes. She seems surprised at the position but doesn’t make any move to get up. She tentatively relaxes the longer you go without commenting, letting you hold her tighter as she leans further against you.
“You know,” You say. “You’re looking really hot today.” Shauna glances around as if looking for Jackie before she finally realizes you’re talking to her.
“I… I do?” She asks, an equal mixture of pleased and confused. 
“Not that you don’t always look hot, but this is really working for you,” You murmur, gently running a finger across the sliver of her stomach that her shirt exposes. Shauna gasps softly, almost arching into your hand before her embarrassment catches up to her. She stills immediately and you can feel her blush against the side of your face.
“Don’t be embarrassed, Shauna. Jackie and I are always talking about how good you look in this shirt,” You say, quickly stopping the grin that threatens to expose you as Shauna inhales sharply.
“You do? You and Jackie talk about me?” She asks, pretending like she isn’t interested in the answer. 
You shrug as if the answer doesn’t matter, changing the conversation to something else. You can practically feel Shauna’s irritation at this topic change, but she doesn’t acknowledge it as she reluctantly allows it. Shauna tenses at the sound of the door opening, scrambling to try to get off your lap but you just hold her tighter. 
She watches Jackie wearily, grunting in surprise when Jackie happily wraps her arms around the both of you as she effectively squeezes Shauna in between your bodies. Shauna's practically squirming in your lap at this, springing up the second Jackie pulls away. She stumbles to her feet with her hair messy, her face flushed, and her expression unreadable. 
Jackie sits down on the far side of the couch as she talks aimlessly about her day, leaving a disgruntled-looking Shauna to sit between you. You and Jackie share an amused look behind Shauna's head. Jackie gently tugs on Shauna’s shoulder, trying to get her to lay her head down on her lap. Shauna glances at you suspiciously before quickly shaking her head. You’ve seen Jackie and Shauna lay all over each other in far more intimate positions, so you know she suspects something is up. Shauna has always been a smart girl, quick on the draw, so you knew you wouldn’t be able to get one over on her for long.
“Shauna,” Jackie whines, pouting at her. “Please?” Shauna may be a smart girl, but even smart girls are not immune to the whims of Jackie Taylor. Shauna holds out for an admirable 30 seconds before she sighs, shifting to lay her head in Jackie’s lap. She shuffles awkwardly trying to find a comfortable position for the rest of her body before you pull her legs up and into your lap. Shauna lies stiffly across the both of you, arms resting against her chest as she takes the position in.
You can’t help but snicker at the uneasy way she watches you as if any moment you’ll tell her off for the way Jackie gently strokes her head. Shauna gives you a weak glare, more for the sake of it than any actual heat. With the way she has to look up to see you, you can’t help but notice one of her best features.
“You have such pretty eyes, Shauna,” You say. Jackie laughs softly, thumb resting under Shauna’s chin as she tips her head back to see them.
“Y/N is right. They’re very distracting,” Jackie says, nodding sagely. “You can really get lost in them.” Jackie’s hand rests against Shauna’s face as she gently strokes it with her thumb. Shauna shivers at the touch, eyes wide with a mixture of emotions you can’t quite place. You start to get a little nervous, exchanging an unsure glance with Jackie as you wonder if you’re taking it a bit too far. Shauna was… fragile. Quick to make assumptions, to fly off the handle. It was best to end it while it was still fun, and you can tell Jackie agrees.
“What the fuck are you guys doing?” Shauna snaps, trying to sit up. Jackie’s arm presses against her chest, forcing her to choose between sitting up and possibly hurting Jackie. Shauna grumbles as she lets Jackie lay her back down, looking extremely displeased about it.
“We’ve decided that you’re our girlfriend now,” You say amusedly, arm resting on top of Shauna’s legs to keep her down in case she tries to escape. “Congrats!”
Shauna sputters a protest, looking annoyed at the clear amusement on both of your faces. “You can’t just– You can’t just make that decision without me,”
“Oh? Do you not like it when people leave out important information and don’t communicate?” Jackie asks, smiling down at her.
“What?” Shauna asks. You note that despite her clear irritation with the situation, she still seems pretty pleased with the results. You can see just a hint of a grin peeking out even as she tries to stifle it.
“Jackie told me about that little conversation you had,” You say wryly, giving her a knowing look.
Shauna nods shamefacedly, “You uh, found out about that huh?” She fiddles with the cuff of her flannel as she awkwardly clears her throat. She squirms in both of your grasps but quickly realizes she can’t get away without a fight. She’s flushed with embarrassment and can’t seem to make eye contact with either of you as she stares up at a particularly interesting spot on the ceiling.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” You ask.
Shauna sighs uncomfortably, closing her eyes as she relaxes against the two of you. “I just… It was the first time I felt like I was… that we were… an us.” She admits. “What if I told you that both of you wanted me there? What if you decided that you didn’t want to risk that?” She looks suddenly unsure as if she still thinks you could change your mind. “Did you mean it? About wanting me to be your girlfriend?”
You and Jackie exchange a look, a little sad over Shauna’s admission. The immediate wave of guilt that rushes over you at the realization of Shauna’s loneliness is a little overwhelming. You, of course, had known about the extent of their feelings for a while but you hadn’t realized Shauna was feeling alienated from the two of you. Not anymore.
“Of course we meant it silly,” Jackie says. Jackie’s grip on Shauna’s face tightens, gently pulling her up to meet her for a kiss. Shauna gasps, hands flailing awkwardly before finally resting her weight on her elbows as she eagerly reciprocates Jackie’s kiss. You watch the two of them for a few moments, assuring yourself that you don’t feel any sort of jealousy at the action. You felt something at the sight, but it certainly wasn’t jealousy.
“Don’t hog her,” You complain, having waited far too long in your opinion to kiss Shauna Shipman. Jackie pulls away with a breathy laugh, letting go of Shauna’s face to push gently at her back. Shauna sits up with her eyes blown wide, watching you hungrily as you draw her into a kiss of your own. You're lost in the feeling of her lips against yours, soft and exploratory, as her arms come up to wrap around your shoulders. Jackie, not quick to be forgotten, presses herself against Shauna's back as she attaches her lips to her neck. Shauna gasps, quickly overwhelmed by the attention but greedily accepting it as the two of you share her between you. 
Maybe there were some benefits in talking about your feelings. Who knew?
The next time you go on a date Shauna plans it, you and Jackie giggling and nudging each other as you follow behind her. Shauna sighs as she glances back, she really can't take either of you anywhere. Maybe she hadn’t picked the best date idea ever, as Jackie quietly lamented later when Shauna’s in the bathroom, but she’d never done it before. You were sure her next date would be better. You hoped. Maybe she should leave the date planning to you and Jackie, actually. 
The next time you fake yawn and stretch your arm over Jackie's shoulder– a move you only used because you knew how much Jackie loved the classics– you find yourself with an arm around both your girls instead. Shauna scoffs but notably makes no actual protest, shifting closer to lay her head against your shoulder as they both cuddle closer. Jackie watches on fondly, lacing her and Shauna's fingers together across your lap. 
You're surprised to find that the general dynamic doesn't seem to change all that much now that you're officially dating Shauna. You were practically dating her before, but you really figured there would be more of an adjustment period. It feels like she was always here– maybe she always was, even if it wasn't acknowledged. No longer was she awkwardly trailing behind you and Jackie on your dates, but a much more active participant. She no longer had to pretend to gag when she caught the two of you kissing, instead, she’d happily make her way over to join.
The biggest point of contention in your relationship always seems to be who got to be in the middle. You quickly gave up on that fight, knowing better than to get in the middle of a spat between those two, no matter how light-hearted it was. Those traitors would turn on a dime to band together against you. You learned your lesson a long time ago on that one. You instead chose to watch fondly as they bicker about who gets to be the little spoon for so long that you've fallen asleep before the decision was made. You find out in the morning that Shauna won, but Jackie still managed to weasel her way between you after Shauna fell asleep. Leave it to Jackie to play the long game. 
Shauna herself seems to be the most hesitant with the new dynamic, eyeing the two of you wearily whenever she finds you together without her. It wasn’t exactly jealousy, though it looked similar at first glance. Rather, it was an insecurity she couldn’t quite shake that the two of you would realize that you didn’t need her in your relationship. Jackie was quick to nip that in the bud, knowing from experience how much Shauna could get in her own head. 
The two of you make a concerted effort to include Shauna in everything, to shower her with so much affection that she seems to get overwhelmed with it at times. As much as Shauna likes to pretend that she doesn’t need that level of attention, it’s undeniable the way she’s flourished under it. Shauna seems happier than you’ve ever seen her, and you can’t deny that you feel the same way.
As for Jackie, she is more than satisfied with the arrangement. She confesses to you quietly one night after Shauna falls asleep that she thinks she might have always had a crush on Shauna and just didn’t know it. The urge to laugh was strong, but you managed to power through it anyway as you reassured her that you weren’t angry with her for it. Even if she didn’t know, you certainly did.
… 
Jackie gasps, her grip on your arm bordering on painful as she arches her back and digs her head into your stomach. “She’s that good, Jackie?” You ask teasingly, feeling more than seeing the way she nodded desperately against you. You were far too focused on the sight that lay before you: Jackie’s legs thrown over an incredibly eager-looking Shauna’s shoulders. Between the arm you’ve got wrapped across her hips and Shauna’s grip on her thighs, Jackie’s got nowhere to go. Utterly overpowered in just the way she likes. You knew from experience how enthusiastic Shauna got in moments like this, knew how quickly her grip would turn bruising. You can't deny how appealing the thought is, already anticipating the way Jackie would moan and squirm when you pressed down against them.
Jackie’s hips twitch as her movement is stalled once again, quickly forcing you out of your thoughts as Jackie mumbles absentmindedly in agreement “Good, so good.” Shauna moans loud enough that you can hear her even over Jackie. You’re surprised Shauna can even hear her with how tightly she’s got her thighs wrapped around her ears, but you can tell that the comment spurs Shauna on as she pulls Jackie impossibly closer to her mouth.
You reach a hand down to run your fingers through Shauna’s hair, gently brushing a few stray strands out of her face. Shauna nudges her head into your hand at the action, momentarily forgetting about Jackie as you push her hair behind her ears. Jackie whines in protest, quickly taking advantage of Shauna’s lax grip on her thighs to buck her hips up as she pointedly digs her heels into Shauna’s back. It backfires on her in the best way as Shauna makes a shuddering noise at the hint of pain, arching up in search of more pressure.
You tighten your fingers in her hair, tugging Shauna gently back towards Jackie. Shauna whines at the sting, quickly focusing back on Jackie as she tightens her grip on her thighs once more to stop her hips from jumping up at the touch. Your free hand moves up to cup her breast, rolling her nipple between your fingers. “Brat,” You chide, grinning fondly as you admonish Jackie. Jackie’s breathy laugh quickly turns into a moan as Shauna’s mouth finally makes its way up to her clit, her body jerking at the way Shauna moans against her when she reflexively digs her heels in deeper.
“Kiss,” Jackie whines, head thrown back to give you her most pathetic look as she stares up at you. You’re not one to deny her anything, especially looking as desperate as she does right now, so you quickly lean down to meet her. She moans the second your lips touch, the effort being made almost exclusively on your part as Jackie’s far more focused on whatever Shauna’s doing.
You pull back as you give up on kissing her, smiling gently at the pout that crossed her face at the action. Jackie quickly gets distracted, her body writhing as her eyes slam shut. Her hand reaches up to pull your hand away from her breast, lacing your fingers together in a desperate need for a grounding touch. As much as she loves to have both of you focus on her she’s still quick to shy away, becoming overwhelmed at the sheer amount of attention she receives. You squeeze her hand gently, prompting Jackie to latch on as her grip quickly tightens. 
Jackie throws her head back with a silent cry, the calm before the storm as she comes with a loud needy cry. Her body shakes with the force of it, thighs trembling violently over Shauna’s shoulders as she works her down. You revel in the feeling of her muscles tensing and untensing as she tries and fails to move away from Shauna’s insistent movements, captive to the feeling as she thrashes and moans.
Jackie collapses back against you the second she’s finished, shuddering wordlessly as she tries to catch her breath. Jackie lets go of your hand to throw her arm over her eyes, breath still coming out in harsh pants. Your eyes trail down her body, lingering on the faint discoloration her heels have left on Shauna’s back. You can already imagine the way they’re going to look when they bruise, can already imagine the way Shauna’s going to come crawling into your lap the second she catches sight of them in the mirror till they heal.
Jackie groans quietly in protest as Shauna pulls her legs off her shoulders, letting them fall limply to the bed as Shauna shifts onto her knees between them. Shauna’s face shines with the evidence of Jackie’s orgasm, licking at her lips absentmindedly and giving you a smug look when she catches you staring. You reach your newly freed hand out to rest on the back of her neck as you pull her up for a deep kiss, groaning quietly into her mouth as you share the taste of Jackie between you. You can feel the slickness of Shauna’s face as it transfers to yours, lips moving insistently against each other in search of every last drop.
You pull away with Shauna’s bottom lip still trapped between your teeth, Shauna whining in pain as she tries to chase your mouth only to be stopped by Jackie’s firm hand on her shoulder. 
Shauna’s lip finally slips from your teeth as Jackie, who’s looking awfully miffed at being pressed between the two of you the whole time, keeps her from following you. Shauna’s hand slowly reaches for her mouth, body shuddering at her fingertip comes back with just the slightest amount of blood. Shauna relishes the sting, eyes dropping back to your mouth as if unable to look away.
Jackie groans as she wiggles her way out from between you, nearly kicking Shauna in the stomach as she flops uselessly on her stomach next to you. You and Shauna turn to look at her in concern, but Jackie lazily waves you off as she props her head bonelessly on her arm to watch the two of you. “Weren’t looking for another?” Shauna asks wryly, pointedly massaging her jaw. Jackie gives her a tired smirk as she shakes her head.
“Mm, no. Three was enough, thanks.”
Shauna scoffs, rolling her eyes fondly as she gently shoves at her shoulder. Jackie’s body rocks with the motion, but it does nothing to dislodge her or remove the smug look from her face. “Shauna doesn’t understand how hard it is to lay there and look pretty, huh?” You tease. Jackie nods enthusiastically, the two of you sharing an amused look as Shauna groans irritably. 
You scoot backward up the bed so that your back rests against the headboard, patting invitingly at your lap as you grin at Shauna. Shauna makes a big show of being irritated, but still quickly shuffles up on her knees to straddle you. You run your hands over her bare thighs, settling them to rest on her hips as you draw her into another kiss, tongue immediately seeking out the small cut on her lip. Shauna gasps as you tease her with the faint sting, her hands wrapping around your shoulders so you can’t pull back as she surges forward in a harsh kiss.
She's pressed your bodies closer together than you’d previously thought possible, every inch of your torsos touching as her thighs bracketed your hips. Shauna makes a loud noise of protest as you pull away to catch your breath, quickly closing the distance as if it pained her to be separated for even a moment. 
Her hands slide up to tangle in your hair, clenching her fingers in a gentle tug– she never could fully resist the urge to cause a little pain. She quickly slips her way into your mouth as she takes your sharp gasp at the tug for what it was: an opportunity. Your grip on Shauna’s hips tightens as she experimentally rocks her hips down, quickly matching her rhythm as you pull her forward. 
Shauna pulls away with a breathy gasp– apparently the distance is acceptable when she's the one creating it, go figure– and rests her head against your shoulder as she revels in the pleasure she’s given herself. She mouths absentmindedly at your neck, far too invested in maintaining her rhythm to put any actual effort into it.
With the lack of other distractions, you quickly focus on the insistent rolling of Shauna’s hips as she grinds down against you. Shauna bites petulantly at your neck at your breathy laugh, moaning against you as your fingertips dig into her hips in response. You squeeze her hip firmly once more, hand sliding between her legs as Shauna apologetically soothes the mark with her tongue.
You slip inside of her with two fingers, knowing how much Shauna enjoys the stretch as she cries out against your neck. She rocks jerkily against you as she adjusts to the feeling, strong thighs tensing as she starts riding your fingers in earnest. The headboard slams against the wall with the force of Shauna’s movements, insistently chasing her high with her usual violent intensity. 
The harsh breaths and muffled moans she's releasing against your neck lull you into a state of awe as you watch Shauna move. Shauna nips pointedly at your neck, not much appreciative of your distractedness. You start grinding your palm up against her, curling your fingers insistently. Shauna gasps as she grinds down hard, momentarily losing her rhythm as your palm touches her just right.
You glance absentmindedly at Jackie who’s watching the two of you closely. She waves her fingers lazily in greeting, looking exhausted and on the verge of falling asleep. She gives you a small smile as she mimics eating popcorn, her eyes focused on the way Shauna’s breasts bounce as she rides you.
Shauna’s thighs start to shake as she gets close, forcing you to take control as Shauna’s movements get more and more out of rhythm. You brace your arm as you start thrusting up into her in earnest, Shauna’s eyes slipping shut as her head slumps against you.
Shauna comes with a loud moan of your name, thighs trembling in a mixture of pleasure and exertion as she rides out her orgasm. Jackie rubs her hand comfortingly against Shauna’s thigh, happy to remind everyone of her presence once the work is finished as always. Shauna blindly reaches for Jackie’s hand as she laces their fingers together, still shaking against you as she catches her breath. “That was good,” Shauna murmurs, pressing a gentle kiss against your neck as you start running your fingers through her hair
You were right. Shauna does have a nice voice.
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calisverse · 2 months ago
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WHERE IN THE WORLD: SENTENCES AND DIALOGUE ABOUT ESPIONAGE. All these sentences are taken from media related to espionage, spies, assassins and the like. Note some of this are inspired by the MCU and marvel, and mention agencies like the red room, shield and hydra. You can change names, locations and pronouns as you seee fit.
“Women of the Gallagher Academy, who comes here?"
"To learn her skills. Honor her sword. And keep her secrets."
“Tell me or I'll yell for Mr. and Mrs. Baxter, and you can find out how bex became bex”
“Waiting. Like it or not, it's a skill all spies have to master eventually.”
“I didn’t know what was more disturbing—the fact that something was obviously wrong, or that three faculty members of the world’s premiere spy school had forgotten to lock the door.”
"It's amazing how much red tape gets cut when everyone's rooting for one man to survive.”
“He was a secret agent, and still alive thanks to his exact attention to the detail of his profession.”
“This is a war, It's graphic and unpleasant because it's fought on a tiny scale, at close range; fought with a wastage of innocent life sometimes, I admit. But it's nothing, nothing at all besides other wars - the last or the next.”
“Treason is very much a matter of habit.”
“Spy' is such a short ugly word. I prefer 'espionage.' Those extra three syllables really say something.”
“Then why haven’t you noticed I’m not your only tail?”
“Shadows were both a man’s best friend and his worst enemy.”
“If Ashlynn was trained in seduction, lesson one must be how to not punch your target in the face when you really want to.”
“I’m not your dog.”
“A spy for a spy just makes for another lie.”
“There is rarely anything clean about killing”
“Let this be my first lesson to you: words matter. Use them carefully, like bullets.”
“Remmich’s subconscious mind is controlled by us. He will get what we want.”
“If one attempt in fifty is successful, your efforts won't have been wasted.”
'I trust no one, and I suspect everything,'
“I also send you on this mission, In the hope that if he is, in fact, responsible for all this. That you'll keep your head and not let it get personal.'
“One of the hardest things to do as a spy, a strategist, or even just as a person, is wait.”
“Security cameras turn on when there is a movement. The main focus being on its leader.”
“Brava, my dear. Once a spy always a spy.”
“Fortune favors the bold. If necessary, it eavesdrops on them.”
“These are our special reconnaissance troops. Hand-picked. Disciplined. Smart. We call them the Gatherers.”
“If we were lucky, none of them would realise that Rhys's lapdog was actually a bloodhound.
“Me? Scrubbing blood from carpets? It would be like asking Nureyev to do the conga.”
“Sev couldn’t tell the truth—but as any good liar will tell you, it’s best to stick as close to the truth as possible.”
“One may spy on every subject, but cannot spy other's mind.”
“Just be cool, calm, and collected.”
“He was born into it, in the same way stars were born from midnight.”
“Spies are, by nature and necessity, pathological liars who strive to make their endgames justify their meanness.”
“Ead knew the scent of a secret. She wore it like a perfume.”
“Never trust a spy you cannot see. 
“Once is a stranger; twice is a coincidence; three times is a tail.”
“Lesson: Never underestimate a woman. Or a chef.”
“Congratulations. A title so classified you can’t even list it on your resumé when they fire you.”
“Espionage is not a cricket game”
“All defectors have a complex relationship with truth.”
“Do I want to know why you're so informed about spyware?"
“If you live your life in fear and had the opportunity to change. . .could you muster the strength?”
“He didn’t save women. He damned them.”
“Please don't trouble yourself with my scars. At least not right now, OK?”
“Ordinary people can do extraordinary things that can change the course of history.”
“That's for me to know, and for you to find out.”
“You’ll have to do better than that chaps, if you want to kill me!”
"He’s not just off the grid—he burned the grid to the ground.
"Do you know what it costs to disappear? Everything. And then some.
"Trust is a weapon. In the wrong hands, it’s lethal."
"I never lose sleep over collateral. Only over loose ends."
"I wasn’t recruited. I was broken and rebuilt."
"Codes can be cracked. People, too."
"You don’t need a gun when everyone believes you already pulled the trigger."
"The mission is simple: in and out, no names, no shadows."
"She smiled like a lover and stabbed like a ghost."
"You weren’t trained to feel. You were trained to finish."
"I know who you are, and that’s why I’ll never turn my back."
"One fingerprint, one mistake, and you're a memory on someone else's file."
"You hear the word ‘asset’—I hear ‘liability waiting to snap.’"
"They said the world needed saving. So they built monsters to protect it."
"He's a legend. But only because the dead don't tell stories."
"Your cover's blown. And so is the building in five minutes."
"She’s been ten people in the last six years—and none of them were herself."
"You weren't supposed to wake up. That was the whole point."
"HYDRA taught me control. The Red Room taught me obedience. I chose neither."
"You don’t need to outrun them. You just need to vanish first."
"He left a trail of bodies and burned IDs. The perfect calling card."
"They erased your name. Now erase theirs."
"You’re looking at the knife. You should’ve looked at my hand."
"The safe word was betrayal. How poetic."
"Some of us never had a choice. We just made it look like we did."
"You don’t kill the target. You erase the reason they ever existed."
"He walked into the gala with a smile and a cyanide tooth."
"Everyone thinks the briefcase holds state secrets. It’s just leverage."
"My loyalty isn't for sale. But it can be rented."
"She didn’t need a disguise. Her face was already classified."
"The safest lies are the ones wrapped in half-truths."
"Your heart's beating too loud. They'll hear it before the alarm goes off."
"You were my mission. And I failed — on purpose."
"We don’t do apologies in this line of work. Just clean exits."
"He trained with ghosts. Now he haunts the people who made him."
"This isn’t chess. In our game, the pawns bleed."
"You were compromised the moment you hesitated."
"She wasn’t after the codes. She wanted a reaction."
"One photograph. One mistake. And it all unravels."
"They say there’s no honor among thieves. They’ve never met spies."
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vanilla-bean-buttercream · 1 year ago
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Something I wish the "speak English we're in America" crowd would understand is how difficult it is to actually communicate in your second language all the time.
Like I know I'm talking about ignorant people at best and bigots at worst but take a walk with me if your interest is piqued.
I've been learning Spanish both in a classroom for 4 years and casually for the past 15 years. I'm by no means perfectly fluent, but it is something I try to do every day for at least 15 minutes and not just because there's a scary owl in my notifications ordering me to at gunpoint [wink]
I moved to a area with a heavy Spanish speaking community, as opposed to the mainly white area I grew up in as a child. This was always endgame for me, so I wanted to learn Spanish as soon as I could. As a child, despite hearing all around me and even believing at the time that "Everyone in America should speak English™" I wanted to bridge a gap and do something about people not knowing English instead of just complaining about it by becoming an ESL teacher.
That dream faded as I fell in love with being a preschool teacher, but it was in the back of my mind. White ignorance and saviorism aside, my ultimate goal was to help others communicate with each other. Was being the key word. I don't anymore, but it came from a point in time that I now... cringe on that I'm older.
Fast forward to me moving to an area with a heavy Spanish speaking population, this time with just the goal to live there instead of teach people English, and y'all, when I tell you learning Spanish for years did not prepare me for it, I mean it.
It's a ton of brain work.
There's grammar structure to think about. There's words that sound similar but mean two different things. There's accent differences. There's terminology differences. And don't even get me started on the slang.
My brain was exhausted just going to the grocery store. And to think, there are people expecting other Americans to speak in their second language 24/7, myself included when I was an ignorant teen with limited access to the internet.
To someone who has spoken English all their life, it sounds easy. You just... do it. But really, what they're discounting is the years they spent from infancy being engulfed in that language, having the tools as a child to pick up on language faster than an adult brain, not having conflicting grammar structure to think about, knowing which words to use and when, and the grace to make mistakes and be corrected without feeling stupid.
I still think about this speech from Gloria from Modern family.
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At the time it just meant my passion to help people communicate in English intensified, but now, looking back, I realize the message I should've taken from it is how alienating it is to speak a language others don't understand, how frustrating it is to want to communicate and never know how to express it, and how dehumanizing it is to constantly have other people tell you that, even though you're trying to step up to their level, you're the unintelligent one.
I hate to say I had to empathize with her to get the point, but sometimes the best teacher is experience.
And you know what? I hear the pro-English first crowd argue "my grandparents had to do it when they immigrated to America", but I can tell you for a fact the reason my grandmother knew Polish despite being an American born citizen is because her Polish-American grandmother didn't speak English and learned it from her children. They didn't speak English 24/7 either. That's why PA Dutch still exists.
I guess what I want out of this post is just... have patience with people who don't speak English. Give them some grace. They may speak English and don't know how to convey what they want to say. They may not speak English well at all and are trying to better themselves at their own pace. They may just be talking to a relative visiting who doesn't know English at all. Really, it's none of my or anyone else's business why someone isn't speaking English. So what if I have to press 1 for English. That second option isn't for me. It's for people who breathe a sigh of relief because at least they'll be understood.
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aristaspark · 2 months ago
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Why Brooklynn ending up with Darius feels so unsatisfactory from a writing standpoint : Darius' arc.
Chaos Theory Season 3: Part 9
Everyone seems surprised when I say that I think Kenlynn being endgame makes the most sense, but to me the fact that people want Brooklynn to end up with Darius is what is surprising. A big part of that (apart from my obvious love for Kenlynn), is because to me, from a writing standpoint, Darius and Brooklynn ending up together would be the worst pay off to what the writers have set up.
I'll try to explain it solely from a writing standpoint, as someone who loves writing, but OF COURSE it is biased, it will never not be.
To me, good writing is when characters get character devloppment, when their experiences teaches them something. The character starts with something they need to overcome, stuff happens and in the end, the experiences they go through changes them, hopefully for the better.
And with a story like jwct that was written all at once with a clear ending in mind (the writers have repeatedly stated how they had clear arcs for the characters and how the show was written all at once then divised into seasons), I don't see what we had in the 3 first seasons setting up dinostar ever getting together.
Take a look at Dinostar's story in jwct:
Darius and Brooklynn have been best friends for many years, with Brooklynn dating his adopted brother, which basically makes them in laws, which should make the very idea of a romantic relationship between them... disturbing, at the very least.
They've always been fusional, so close that even the fandom think they are "better" than Brooklynn and her boyfriend almost as if... Darius was entitled to end up with Brooklynn because of how good of a friend he is to her.
Then one day, boom, Brooklynn gets dumped, and suddenly Darius' feelings for Brooklynn change, until one day he accidentally spills the beans.
In this scene, Darius is the one who puts the burden of his feelings on Brooklynn. She was speaking of her relationship with Kenji, looking foward to receiving her best friend's support and advise, but instead she got his confession.
You can choose to think that she likes him, but you can't argue against the fact that his confession wasn't what she wanted from him in this moment.
And because she did not give Darius the answer he would have wanted, he didn't show up when she needed him to, and in the end she was the only one who suffered the consequences of Darius' feelings for her : he didn't show up, she was alone and unfocused in these woods, she lost her arm and was left traumatized.
Don't get me wrong, Darius emotionally suffered because of this decision, because Brooklynn died, but Brooklynn was the one who was directly impacted.
It happened to her.
Narratively speaking, Darius is in the wrong. Because she failed to respond to his feelings, he wasn't a friend to Brooklynn when she needed him to be, which was all she had ever asked of him. They always said they survived because they were together, but he chose not to be with her.
This moment he let his selfish feelings drive his actions is at the core of his story in jwct, it's what caused his creepling feeling of guilt as well as his entire conflict with Kenji, this is the moment that sparked his entire character arc.
The thing that sparked his arc was his incapability to take Brooklynn's rejection, it appears as the weakness he has to overcome to become the better version of himself.
Some might argue that the ending of season 3 was the end of that arc, that Darius finally showed up for her, that now everything is good and that they can be together. But this is not the end of the story, and "not showing up" wasn't the wrong he had to correct. Not showing up was merely the manifestation of his incapability to accept her rejection.
By showing up for Brooklynn this time around he only makes it up to her for the fact that he hadn't shown up the first time around, but it doesn't make up for the fact that SHE was the one who had suffered the consequences of HIS inability to take her rejection.
That's why I think the writers backtracking on her rejection would be cheap and wouldn't make sense. It would basically magically remove the very thing Darius has to learn to accept to grow as a person.
Think of it like that.
You're a parent at the mall and your child wants a toy, but you don't have enough money for it, you have to buy food. But the child throws a tantrum, he starts throwing things at you, you get hit in the eye, and he even hurts himself in the process. Now not only do you need to buy food, but you need to buy stuff to treat your eye, and you need to make him feel better on top of that. You eventually manage to calm him down, to make him understand that you can't buy him the toy and in the end he finally learns to accept it, he shows growth and helps you clean up his mess. And then in the end... instead of buying what you came here to buy, you use the money to buy the toy.
That would make the whole thing meaningless. Because in the end, the entire weight of his actions would have befallen on you.
You're the one who was wronged and in the end you're the one who ends up having to go back on your stance to catter to the child's entitled desire. The child wouldn't have learnt any lesson, because in the end he would have gotten what he wanted despite behaving badly. Sure, he made it up to you by helping you clean up afterwards, but it doesn't mean he should get the toy. On the contrary, him not getting the toy and learning to be okay with that would do him more good in the long run.
This is a stupid scenario purely made to demonstrate how unsatisfactory Brooklynn returning Darius' feelings would be on a writing level, and why I don't believe the writers wrote that because, duh, they're writers, not shippers. If Darius gets the girl, then the entire burden of his feelings would have befallen on Brooklynn and his arc would have led nowhere.
All that happened during the 3 seasons we have might as well have not happened since the very thing that sparked the story would be rendered insignificant if she was to return his feelings (actually nevermind, Darius abandonned Brooklynn based on something that wasn't even true, so her "death" could have been avoided had she told Darius her real feelings, too bad for HER. Oh, and even if she wasn't in love with him in this moment, she was always going to realize her feelings later, too bad for HER she hadn't realized them in this moment).
Not only does she get her arm eaten, but on top of that she is the one who would have to backtrack on her rejection, while Darius wouldn't suffer any direct consequence and magically get the thing he wanted in the end without the opportunity to come out of all this as a better person.
Now that's where Kenji enters into the mix, because they are 3 in that triangle.
I don't know if you noticed, but Darius had to make it up not only to Brooklynn, but also to Kenji. Without even thinking about it on a shipping basis but purely on a "Kenji is Darius' adopted brother" basis, the way Darius threw Kenji under the bus when he confessed was horrible, and the clear manifestation of another character flaw.
There must have been a reason the writers had Darius sound so immature and petty during his confession, a reason they had him belittle Kenji's bond with Brooklynn to make his bond with her seem more "legit". If they wanted Darius to end up with Brooklynn then why would they make his confession to her, this pivotal moment, about Kenji? All it does is tarnish it.
And we know Darius was wrong, Kenji didn't break up with Brook because of a lack of love, but because Brooklynn had pushed him to his limit. Darius was basically victim blaming Kenji, putting the blame of the break up on the supposed frivolity of Kenji's feelings rather than on Brooklynn's actions.
To me not only does he has to prove that he's willing to be a friend to Brooklynn even if she never returns her feelings, but he also has to prove that he has come to aknowledge that he was wrong about Kenji, which is why I'm so sure his redemption with the both of them will come with him doing his best to get Kenji to forgive Brooklynn and repair their relationship.
Bottom line is: Darius ending up with Brooklynn would be the contrary of character developpment.
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bennie-jerry · 8 months ago
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My Beef with Wanda Maximoff - An MCU Rant
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Sorry not sorry, I will ride the Wanda-ain't-shiitake train till the wheels are worn out. I do not care what her fangirls say. And if you're legitimately going to be so overly offended just from me disliking a FICTIONAL character, I highly suggest you click off, make some tea, and watch a Ghibli movie.
How many times does it need to be said? Just because someone suffers from some form of (small or big) trauma, IT DOESN’T GIVE THEM A PASS TO DO EVIL SH—
I really REALLY sincerely hope there's lore or bits I'm missing here (and if so, PLEASE tell me because I WANT to be wrong so BAD). But from what I know and remember, I feel as though I have every right to be disgusted with who Wanda is as a person.
It frustrates me so much how this carmine-colored narcissist will whine about people being scared of her, but she does stuff only a scary person WOULD do.
Purposefully setting the Hulk off so you could use him as a wrecking ball on innocent civilians in Johannesburg during Age of Ultron? Seems scary as heck.
Literally warping the universe itself to hunt and kill a teenager who did nothing to you during Multiverse of Madness? Seems scary as heck.
Brainwashing an ENTIRE town JUST so you can live in delusion about your man not being dead during Wandavision? Seems DOUBLE scary as heck.
Don't even try to defend what she did in Age of Ultron. Even if she supposedly didn't INTEND to have civilians killed, she sure as HECK didn't seem all too sorry that it happened. She wasn't ‘regretful’ that she did it. She was only ‘regretful' when Bruce confronted her on it. She has the nerve (the utter AUDACITY) to hate Tony Stark for the same CRAP that she does (if not worse, which let's be honest—it’s worse).
At least Tony Stark DIED out of an effort to save everyone, whereas Wanda usually tends to only help others when it benefits HER.
Wanda is nothing more than a Multiversal brat with a god-complex and no one can tell me otherwise. If something does not go 100% her way, she completely acts out and throws a reality-warping tantrum.
“Oh, but she tried to fix everything in Wandavision!”
Yeah, only after finding out she was BRAINWASHING people!
How the FREAK do you reality warp an ENTIRE town (especially at the large radius she used her magic) and expect NO one to be under mind control? Would you NOT try to fly around the premises to see if ANYONE else was there?
Once again, even if this was an example where she didn't INTEND for it to happen, then that proves another great flaw that she has.
Wanda hardly (if ever) thinks through her actions. And then when her actions bite her in the butt, she has the nerve to be surprised. Wanda almost never (and I'm being generous here) considers how her actions harm or affect others until it turns around and affects HER.
She did not deserve Vision, he was too good of a man for her, sorry not sorry.
Just the stuff she did BEFORE Multiverse of Madness ALONE is enough to not like her.
Let's not even get into the fact she never ACTUALLY apologized to Bruce Banner for everything she put him through. All she said at most when he confronted her is, “I know you're angry…”
Oh wow, REALLY? I couldn't POSSIBLY understand why Banner would EVER be angry at you for essentially brain-raping him (going into his mind and memories without his CONSENT) and using his worst fears against him to trigger Hulk so you could use him like a personal killing machine, further lessening the very few support systems he already HAD. She should feel grateful Banner didn't immediately throw her through a wall upon seeing her.
“But she became an avenger and helped them in Endgame!”
I could not give less of a DOOKIE about the fact she did that. Wanda fighting Thanos was literally the ONLY option she possibly had if she didn't wanna turn into dust along with the other half of the population. Sure, she also did it because she was forced to kill her boo BECAUSE of Thanos, but let's be honest—she would've had to fight him regardless. Her handing Thanos’ butt to him (while a very cool scene) doesn't prove JACK about her character.
The fact she ever BECAME an avenger after effectively traumatizing the MAJORITY of them is mind-boggling to me.
“Oh, I'm sorry I weaponized all of your traumas against you for my own personal gain because I wanted to work with a genocidal robot, can I join you guys?”
“Sure, Wanda! Come into the team and we'll pretend like you didn't do a darn thing!”
(The fact this isn't even ALL that she's done is absurd, I can still keep going—)
Don't even get me STARTED on Multiverse of Madness. And before anyone tries to say, “She did it so she could have a reality with her children!”
BRO, HER KIDS WEREN'T EVEN FREAKING REAL—
Wanda Freaking Maximoff wanted to murder a TEENAGER all for some children that were not even ACTUAL people. And when she did have them, didn't she make them FIGHT against the military in Wandavision or am I mistaken (which I VERY MUCH hope I am because what the he---)?
I do not care whatsoever what her reason is or what trauma she went through. Attempted murder of a minor (ESPECIALLY in this case, a minor who didn't even do anything) is inexcusable to me.
There is no way in frog fingers you guys are ACTUALLY trying to justify and/or downplay a grown ADULT trying to murder a CHILD (because that's what America was—a CHILD).
(Her and Miguel O'Hara would get along GREAT, when's the collab--)
And by then, she had ALREADY brutally murdered a whole bunch of people and probably corrupted the multiverse even FURTHER than she already had.
It wasn't until an ALTERNATE version of her (who ACTUALLY had her kids) told her to sit the [BLEEP] down (I'm paraphrasing here, but you get my drift).
Wanda is NOT a victim. Is she a good villain? Yes. But this witch isn't a victim. Not anymore at least. She doesn't apologize for her actions. She doesn't take responsibility. She doesn't reflect on what she does.
And even when she DOES finally do ANY of those things in ANY capacity, the damage is already done. In fact, it's not JUST done, it's also BURNT inside the oven causing smoke to go everywhere.
There is no rhyme or reason you could pull out that will convince me to be anything short of angry with this character and I'm so tired of her fans trying to defend her just because she was a lab rat and lost her man.
Once again, it's not bad to like a character that does awful stuff. But please, for sanity sake, STOP acting like they're a lost little angel BECAUSE you like them. I know they say "hurt people hurt people" but that still doesn't justify doing bad stuff just because bad things happened to YOU.
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dreamwreaver · 5 months ago
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ngl it's surprising to see how many parallels from canon ships Charlastor has with. lucilith, stolitz, Millie x Moxxie (have no clue what their ship name is) and Huskerdust(not canon yet but there's definitely a few similar traits charlastor shares with it)
For a non-canon ship, it sure is similar to a lot of canon relationships
If hazbin was made by literally any other person charlastor would be endgame canon. Viv has made a couple of comparisons about what chaggie is "allegedly" like that I simply don't see. They're like Jack and Sally, no because Sally never told Jack stop being the person you are to please others she actually told him to stop being something your not to try and fill an emotional void.
Oh, they made chaggie canon because the boarders were working on scenes where Charlie is talking to her partner and they just kept drawing vaggie in there because there was so much chemistry. Like, can we see this fucking amazeballs script that had the boarders sticking vaggie in all those moments because from where I'm standing show vaggie doesn't even pass the sexy lamp test. We already know chaggie wasn't originally supposed to be canon because Proto Vaggie was paired with angel dust! So what exactly is so captivating about Charlie and Vaggie's dynamic that they're established canon and yet don't feel like it? And before anyone says "well they've been together a while so it's dumb to expect them to be as passionate as the beginning"
Fizzmodeus. I don't care that Ozzie's the embodiment of lust. Half the time we saw those two together the point of their dynamic was demonstrating how stupidly in love they were while trying to disguise it as simple sexual attraction. And just based off simple math; fizz met Ozzie after becoming mammon's heir right? That clown competition has been held every year since fizz first won it right? And by the time he quits he's been doing it for nearly 10 years. Even being generous and figuring fizz and Ozzie didn't immediately get together I would still wager based on Ozzie's protectiveness, the detailed portrait in his office, the fact that he has a first aid kit with ready to go robotic limb placements it's been at least 5 years they've been together. So in that 5-10 year range they are still so in love it's sickening and obvious enough to everyone that the general reaction to the public finding out was "I knew it!"
And before we say that it was constrained for time, fizzmodeus before season 2 had a song, and Ozzie comforting fizz after he'd been knocked out. And the entire fandom clocked them as a ship. Even if they weren't originally intended to be, like chaggie, like huskerdust too, we can see them as a pre-established couple that STILL has chemistry despite having their own lives and having been together for a while.
Ozzie flat out refused to give stolas a crystal because fizz hated blitz, was trusted enough to be given the details of the worst day of fizz's life, could clock immediately once fizz and blitz had reconciled that this was the person who had his most important person's back and could be counted on. And even though Ozzie didn't like that fizz felt obligated to continue on with the clown thing for mammon, communicated that he didn't like how so many people saw fizz as a product to be bought and enjoyed, didn't like having to be the one in charge of MAKING that product, he never stopped fizz from making his own choices, he supported his partner in MEANINGFUL ways that do not change the essence of who fizz is. He listens and offers support if not solutions, encouragement that their partner can handle themselves and they will be there if needed.
Who does that for Charlie? Who refuses to leave her alone while she falls into a pit of self loathing? Really look Charlie and alastor's screen time in hello Rosie. Alastor is very calculating, and when he chooses to speak is exactly as important as what he chooses to say.
1. He doesn't like seeing Charlie wallow in self pity, as condescending as it likely comes across we already know he loves seeing Vox with his tail between his legs and doesn't believe in Charlie's goals so why wouldn't he take the opportunity to gloat about being right?
2. While he may like to prey on overconfidence in his victims we already know Charlie would have been more than willing to sell her soul for a chance at protecting her people. She was at her lowest point and rather than striking when she was in her darkest most defeated place he chose to wait until she was good and pissed and STILL didn't ask for her soul.
I fully believe he intended to make her mad because being mad means you're more than likely to do something about it. He antagonizes her on purpose so her fire comes back. When they go to Rosie's (which, again, we know he chose because cannibal town caters to Charlie's natural communication style) he only does enough to make sure Charlie's needs are clearly communicated to the overlord and provides a tangible benefit catered to their sensibilities. And when she's fully ready to be herself he does the equivalent of putting his actual heart in her hands. He had every confidence she could convince the other cannibals to join her cause. And then again the night before they could all die; he gives her his mic AGAIN. Charlie and Alastor might as well be pre-established canon because he does all the emotional work of a partner and they work together so seamlessly even when he's doing things she doesn't particularly like she knows why he does business the way he does.
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lavaringx · 6 months ago
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My thoughts on Palestine
I haven't made a post about Palestine yet on Tumblr, but I feel I need to speak up on all my social media because things can't go on like this anymore. Israel's goal, or at least the goal of the governing far-right, is to deport all Palestinians to Jordan. That's why they don't see West Bank settlement expansion as a demographic threat to their country. If you've ever seen any memes by pro-Israel people that say "Jordan is Palestine," that's what they mean. Currently Palestinians live in segregated West Bank islands with no rights in Israel and no state of their own. Yes, I'm aware that there are Palestinian citizens of Israel, but there are also 3 million West Bank Palestinians and 2 million Gazans who are not. Israel cannot annex the West Bank unless it either a). Gives up its Jewish majority, b). maintains the current system of segregation with Palestinians as second class citizens or c). Orders a mass expulsion of Palestinians, which is the goal.
The only solution to this that doesn't involve the destruction of Israel is the two-state solution, which I support, but the U.S. government does not. With the exception of a few brave souls on the left end of the democratic party, most U.S. politicians are perfectly content to allow the status quo to continue, with some Republicans even openly calling for Israel to just annex the West Bank, destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque and build the third temple, Palestinians be damned. I haven't forgotten how Biden disgustingly vetoed a U.N. resolution that would have granted the Palestinians full U.N. membership, and we all know that Trump is going to be even worse. The U.S. wants a one-state Israel, regardless of what the politicians lie through their teeth.
I understand the Israeli position, I really do. You are afraid that, if given the chance, Palestinians will launch another, even bigger October 7th against your people. But you must understand that Palestinians have human rights too, and those human rights are currently being violated by Israel. I have no love for Hamas or Hezbollah. They are backed by Iran's tyrannical theocracy, which, because I am consistent in my belief in human rights, I too oppose. But Palestinian human rights are routinely violated on the dime of the U.S. taxpayer, and that's the difference. The Palestinian situation represents a moral failure on the part of the West, much like the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, that makes it hard for the rest of the world to take us seriously when we (rightfully) call out the human rights abuses of Iran, Russia or North Korea.
Things look pretty bleak right now. The only way to make Israel accept a two-state solution is to deny them aid unless they end West Bank settlement expansion, but neither party has the moral fiber necessary to make such an ultimatum. Even if we get lucky and a progressive is elected President at some point, a future Republican or Centrist Democrat could undo it four years later. It is entirely possible that under Trump, the Israeli far-right plan to expel the Palestinians in the West Bank will come to fruition, snuffing out the Palestinian cause forever. But somebody has to take a stand. Perhaps it's the Irish blood in me, but I can't just sit by and watch my country commit a gross injustice. My conscience wouldn't be able to take it if I remained silent. If the worst comes to pass, at least I tried.
Edit: I want to make it crystal clear that I do not support Hamas. The October 7th massacre was evil and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. The I'm a two-state solution believer through and through. Even many Palestinians in Gaza are rising up against Hamas. I made this post because I am frustrated with people saying that all the Palestinians should be deported to Jordan every time I ask what the endgame is for the West Bank. Deporting all Palestinians to Jordan would destabilize Jordan's Hashemite monarchy and turn Jordan into Iran 2.0.- a former pro-western absolute monarchy replaced by a terror state.
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hollowed-theory-hall · 9 months ago
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Thoughts on Ron x Hermione? Were they a good pairing or should they not have been endgame
I think it makes sense that they're endgame, and I like them as a pairing. I'm not passionate about them, so you won't catch me reading/writing fic where they're the main couple, but as a side couple while Harry's having the main romantic drama, sure.
My problem with Romione is how they were written a bit. Like, in my current reread, I noticed I actually kinda shipped them in books 3, 4, and 5 but like, Romione in books 6 and 7 really doesn't do it for me.
I'll try to organize my thoughts. Like, I do like Hermione and Ron's banter, I honestly think a lot of the petty arguments Harry tunes out are just fun to them. They are both very verbose people and they enjoy bantering and arguing over petty bullshit (bar a few exceptions like 3rd year). I mean, there is a reason these two are bantering and Harry just tones them out:
“Well done, Ron,” snapped Hermione. “What?” said Ron indignantly, having managed, finally, to swallow his food. “I’m not allowed to ask a simple question?” “Oh forget it,” said Hermione irritably, and the pair of them spent the rest of the meal in huffy silence. Harry was too used to their bickering to bother trying to reconcile them; he felt it was a better use of his time to eat his way steadily through his steak-and-kidney pie, then a large plateful of his favorite treacle tart.
(OotP, 210)
“That was really, really good, Harry,” said Hermione, when finally it was just her, Harry, and Ron left. “Yeah, it was!” said Ron enthusiastically, as they slipped out of the door and watched it melt back into stone behind them. “Did you see me disarm Hermione, Harry?” “Only once,” said Hermione, stung. “I got you loads more than you got me —” “I did not only get you once, I got you at least three times —” “Well, if you’re counting the one where you tripped over your own feet and knocked the wand out of my hand —” They argued all the way back to the common room, but Harry was not listening to them.
(OotP, 596)
It makes sense they are like this. Hermione is argumentative in general and Ron grew up in a large family with a lot of siblings. He spent all his childhood arguing with people he loves — arguing over petty shit is a love language. I think, as a couple, they'd just continue doing this.
I mentioned in my Harmony post that I think Ron is closer to Hermione than Harry is. Ron is protective of both Harry and Hermione and stands up to Snape and Malfoy multiple times on behalf of both his friends (as I mentioned in the past, Ron is the friendship glue here, in my opinion) even when Harry and Hermione don't stand up to each other. And yes, Ron had his faults in books 4 and 7 (book 4 is the worst one in my opinion since in book 7 he tried to return immediately, he just removed himself from a volatile situation that can actually be super healthy as a means to calm down) but I do think he's a good friend to Harry and Hermione and knows how to connect to both of them.
Like, I kinda hate that the fandom just ran with Ron having the emotional range of a teaspoon. I mean, he's often the most emotionally intelligent person in the Golden Trio, and he should be given more credit. He is the only one of them who knows to change how he talks depending on who he's talking to on a somewhat conscious level. Hermione is too rigid in her views and doesn't really do social chameleon-ing. Harry does do it, but through mirroring and he does it differently than Ron.
And I think Romione's personalities do work really well together. They complete each other in a nice way. Hermione is all book smarts and memorization, and Ron is strategy and plans (street smarts). They are both brave in different ways and have a different temperament. Like, they get emotional under different circumstances, so one of them would usually end up being cool-headed.
Like, they both require a similar level of attention in a relationship so they work well on that front. Ron knows how to be supportive of Hermione's pursuits, even when he doesn't fully get them, and Hermione (at least in the early books) is aware of Ron's cleverness and appreciates it and his sense of humor. They are good to each other in how they push the other's worldview. Hermione pushes Ron out to rethink things he always considered fine (House Elfs). And Ron pushes Hermione to have more fun and relax a little.
The reason I have a problem with how they are written is that I hate how Hermione's crush on Ron is treated in HBP. Like, that shit was painful to read. I would've loved for them to get together without Hermione being the bitterest, meanest girl out there. Like, I don't mind Hermione being mean, she can be mean on occasion, it's part of her character. Like, I have no qualms about her using that Confundus Charm on McLaggen, that's in character. My problem is how she treated Ron when he was dating Lavender.
Like, I didn't mind the insults towards Lavender too much, that's in character (she is a bit of a pick-me girl like Ginny too, especially in book 6, but even before), but attacking Ron with birds when he never dated Hermione was overkill. Ron's shit towards Hermione and Krum in the fourth year was less extreme than this, I mean, he would never attack Hermione physically. Ron would argue with her, sure, he does so plenty, but he never did and never will attack her and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth to see Hermione willing to attack him quite violently over kissing Lavender when Ron wasn't dating Hermione, it wasn't fucking cheating, Hermione!
Like, I hate it.
In general, I like Ron more than I like Hermione, and this means it's never going to be a pairing I'm invested in, but, it makes sense and could've been done way better than it was in the books. I think Romione had potential and was done dirty.
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