#and his fondness for Two of Us (2000)

[keenbugg]

All Beatles biopics should be direct-to-tv movies that have terrible accent work, a budget of £3, homosexual (sub)text, and an obscure character from their past acting as an advisor.

[13lov]

tethered. | jjk

Love notes were slipped into your locker on a daily basis. Variations of messy, boyish handwriting on yellow sticky notes stacked upon themselves by the end of each school day. Every Friday night you were invited out with the promise of "You'll have fun, just give it a chance."

You could have any guy you wanted, no doubt about it. Yet somehow, the only one you do want is the tattooed, gothic one that lives a few doors down from your best friend.

✰ pairing. — emo!jk x reader

✰ genre. — early 2000s au, best friend's older brother, childhood friends to lovers, smut, light angst.

✰ word count. — 7k+

✰ warnings. — swearing, family issues, partying, mentions of drinking/drugs, friendship betrayel (?), smut [virginity loss, teasing, fingering, soft dom!jk, "i've waited so long for this" type shit], reader and jk are both 18+, minors dni.

✰ a/n. really love this pairings and would love to have drabbles with them in the future, so pls lmk if u guys would be interested in that! thanks for all the love on the teaser, hope u enjoy! <3

✰ taglist. @ahgasegotarmy116 @hellbornsworld @kissyfacekoo @littlestarstinyseven @skzthinker

Two monumental events had been etched into your brain for eternity, the first being sneaking out in the middle of the night to meet up with your friends at the community pool. The second is fifteen minutes upon arriving at the pool, seeing your best friend's older brother emerge from the chlorine-scented water as if he were Poseidon and realizing you were utterly infatuated by him. 

Jeon Somi isn't blind to this, immediately pulling you away from the crowd to question the longing gaze on your face. "Out of every fucking guy here with us, you're making eyes at my brother? You do know that Jungkook is completely gross, right?" She was so furious, you're surprised no steam was blowing from her ears.

Deny it all you want (and you certainly did within that fifteen-minute interrogation); Jungkook very clearly had a hold on you that lasted many years following that fateful night. He wasn't even your usual type; he wouldn't be caught dead around the guys you're typically drawn to. He had a rebellious side; maybe that's why getting him out of your head was nearly impossible. 

Of course, the eternal guilt of falling for your best friend's older, dumbass brother is also difficult to get out of your head.

It can't be helped, really. Anytime you'd visit their home, your eyes would automatically wander through the crack of his doorway as you'd pass by. Whether he was messily cutting his dark hair while blasting Pierce the Veil from his speakers or giving himself a new Stick-and-Poke tattoo as he waited for a CD to finish burning, you long to break away from Somi for a moment to speak to him. Ask him about his day or if his band had any upcoming gigs. You'd even talk to him about paint drying if it meant you'd get to be in the same space as him. 

So it's safe to say you were completely heartbroken when he left for college. Somi, however, is over the moon. Or so you think.

"… He's your brother, though. You don't think you're gonna miss him at all?" You ask, watching Somi delicately paint your fingernails a pretty shade of purple.

She shrugs, "I mean… it's definitely gonna be weird not seeing him around the house every day, but he'll still visit sometimes. Maybe."

Deep down, Somi knows Jungkook won't visit much. He'd been craving freedom and independence from their parents for ages, and moving away for college gave him the perfect opportunity to live as he pleased. They weren't fond of the clothes he wore or the friends he had, and absolutely couldn't bear the music his band makes. They criticized every little thing about him, and he'd finally be getting a break from them.

As you're about to ask Somi if she's okay, she stands from her bed, screwing the nail polish closed. "I'll be back. I have to let Bam out." Her voice is shaky, and she doesn't look at you as she exits the room.

You take the opportunity to make your way down the hall and to Jungkook's door, which he has conveniently left wide open as he scrolls on his desktop. His knees are pressed against his chest as he's heavily focused on editing his Facebook page. There's a rock song playing lightly from another tab that you can't quite identify; he uses his free hand to gently tap along to the beat of the music.

His room is covered in cardboard boxes, soon to be packed into his parents' minivan and making their way to the University of San Francisco dorms.

Your knuckles tap on his wooden door, your heart fluttering when he turns around, and you realize he's changed the ring on his lip from black to silver.

He nods at you, "What's up?"

"Nothing. I just know you're leaving in the morning, and I wanted to say bye. And wish you good luck, of course." You're not sure why you're so heartbroken. It's not like the two of you were ever a thing. It's not like this would be your last time seeing him. Why were you so upset?

"Cool, thanks." You assume that was his way of indirectly telling you to get out until he reaches into his desk drawer and says, "Catch," before tossing something towards you.

Careful not to mess up your manicure, you easily catch the item, unfolding what appears to be a purple bandanna. "What's this for?" You ask, inspecting the material in your palms.

"To remember me by, duh. Plus, it matches your nails.”

It'd be silly to tell him you genuinely don't need this because there was no way in hell you could ever forget about him. Instead, you clutch the bandana tightly in your fist and make a silent vow to keep it with you at all times; have a piece of him with you at all times.

You thank him and tell him it's nice, but all you can wonder is why he even wants you to remember him in the first place. Maybe you're overthinking. He probably just didn't care for the useless accessory anymore.

When you turn to leave, Jungkook stops you with a gentle call of your name. He turns his head in your direction, tugging his bottom lip between his teeth. "Can I tell you something?"

"Anything." You whisper back, praying you don't sound overly desperate for a more extended interaction with him.

A beat of silence passes, and just as he opens his mouth to respond, Somi is stomping up the stairs and belting out your name. You gaze away from Jungkook to glance behind you, listening as his sister shouts about doing each other's makeup.

"Never mind, actually. It's not important." Jungkook interrupts, and you physically feel your heart sink to the floor.

You're about to be annoying and pry a response out of him until your eyes dart to his floor, and you see it. What slipped out from his drawer when he tossed the bandana at you. 

A condom wrapper. An empty one, at that.

It's embarrassing how quickly your vision becomes glossy, salty tears threatening to release with each passing second. Of course, he's fucking someone. Of course, that person isn't you. Of fucking course.

You shouldn't be surprised; he's probably more into girls with a similar aesthetic. She's probably covered in tattoos and piercings, just like him. She's probably older than you and may even have her own car, unlike you, who still had to catch rides with your parents or older sister. 

It's odd, though. You're not entirely naive; you know Jungkook definitely flirts with you here and there, catching his eye when his gaze lingers on you for a second too long. There's a noticeable tension between the two of you that even your parents have teased about. And this whole time, he's been screwing someone else?

Jungkook hangs out with so many girls it'd be useless to even attempt to uncover who this mystery person is. It's none of your business, anyway. 

So you leave.

You tell Somi you'll get grounded if you're home past curfew, and with tear-stained cheeks, you run home.

The following day isn't any easier.

Somi posted a photo on FaceBook of herself and Jungkook posing together, arms wrapped around each other, with the caption "c u l8r alligator XD". The comments are already flooded with responses wishing Jungkook farewell, some from family members or friends of the siblings.

"Don't 4get abt me!!!!!! >:( "from a girl with red hair catches your eye because it's the only one Jungkook responded to. You can't bring yourself to read his full reply, fingers moving to quickly close the tab after seeing the word 'Never.'

It's probably her, you think to yourself, the one he's sleeping with.

Maybe it's for the best that Jungkook's moving away; it'll give you some time to get over him. 

And you most certainly did.

The only time he ever crosses your mind is when Somi brings him up (which she rarely does) or when you pass by his empty bedroom. Deep down, you know you'll always care for Jungkook on some level, but time away from him was just what you needed. You were too attached to him for no fathomable reason, rejecting any guy interested in you with the premise of being loyal to a guy who didn't even want you. He'd probably been sneaking girls in through his window, with you a few doors down doing magazine quizzes with his sister; blissfully unaware of what was happening down the hall.

You’re better off without him.

That's what you've been telling yourself daily until now. It's the start of summer vacation, and Jungkook's been summoned home to spend it with his family before Somi (and you) transfer to the University of San Francisco. 

Jungkook was hesitant about coming home, as he always is. In constant fear that his parents have some elaborate plan for him to change his major or set him up with someone they deem acceptable, nothing like the girls he hangs around and probably invites back to his dorm.

It took days of convincing until Jungkook finally agreed to come home, under the premise that his parents' intentions were pure and that they simply wanted one last summer together before Somi moved away for college. They also hoped he'd be able to house-sit and watch over Somi for a few days as they took their annual anniversary trip to San Diego. That, however, took some bribing and the promise of gas money on their end.

He's not due to arrive until tomorrow morning, and you've convinced yourself there's no reason for you to see him right away. You'd be fine if the next time you saw him was in a few months as you're moving into your dorm. After years of longing, you've finally moved on from him.

Some of you have debated telling Somi about your past feelings for her brother, but there's no point. It was a one-sided relationship with absolutely zero depth, nothing worth discussing. So when she nudges your side and asks if you're interested in anyone, you reply with a shake of your head.

Somi has no reaction to this; she can't remember the last time you've been into anyone despite having the entire male population at your school practically throwing themselves at you. "Maybe you'll meet someone tonight."

She's referencing the house party you're going to, which she practically had to drag you out of your room to attend. Parties are different from your scene, especially on a day like today when you were hoping to have a girls' night with Somi. She had other plans, however.

"Maybe," you respond, sighing as the house you're attending is finally in your viewpoint. "We're not staying long, right? It looks packed."

Cars are parked throughout the street, one house, in particular, being the center of attention with loud music and drunk people decorating the front yard of a suburban-looking home. Somi looks as ecstatic as ever, looping her arm in yours and picking up her pace. She doesn't respond. It doesn't matter. Her response would've disregarded your concern.

One car catches your eye as you enter the unfamiliar house; it's parked towards the end of the street, and you swear you've been in it before. You're not able to dwell on it for too long, though, because Somi has to practically yank you through the front door.

Your nerves are at an all-time high. The music is entirely too loud, and there isn't a single sober person in sight. You're not sure how Somi even found out about this party, but you really wish she would've left you out of it. You'd go now if it were acceptable, but Somi would've stayed regardless, and you refuse to leave her alone. So, you push your feelings to the side and take her hand as she leads you towards the kitchen. 

"Thirsty?" Somi questions, forcing a red solo cup into your hand.

"Not at all," you respond, sighing as Somi pours something into your cup.

"It's just ginger ale," she reassures you, "I don't think either of us should get drunk here." For once, she's being reasonable.

Somi suggests you do a lap around the house in hopes of running into people you may have gone to school with. And to your surprise, a decent amount of your past classmates have decided to attend. You feel more at ease with them around, a bit more comfortable now that you're around recognizable people. Although you initially hesitated to show up, you're glad you did. 

"Anybody catch your eye yet? Or are you still breaking hearts?" Your old classmate, Yeoreum, questions.

You shake your head, about to explain that you're not interested in dating right now, until she gestures behind you. "That guy is pretty cute."

You shift on the couch, looking around until you spot who Yeoreum had been gesturing towards. You locate him finally, and she's right; he is cute. He just seems so familiar.

That's when it hits you.

"Oh my God," you whisper, eyes locked on him, and you slowly rise from the couch.

It's Jungkook. And the car you recognized was his. He's here. What is he doing here? He isn't due to be back until tomorrow morning.

You almost don't realize it's him until you spot the mole under his lip. He's grown his hair out and stopped dyeing it, the slew of tattoos that decorated his arm (God, did he start working out, too?) nicely connected, now creating a sleeve, and he's given himself an eyebrow piercing. Your feelings for him come rushing back in full force.

Panicked, you reach for Somi's hand, but she's nowhere to be found. Careful not to be seen by her brother, you bow your head slightly, passing through a crowd of sweaty bodies until you finally spot her kitty heels. She's leaned against a wall, swirling around her cup while flirting with some guy you'd seen around school a few times.

Creating some much-needed distance between the two, you tug Somi towards you. "I think I just saw your brother."

"What? No, he won't even be in the city until tomorrow morning." 

Frustrated, you quickly search the crowd until your eyes land on him again. You ignore the fact that he's now speaking to some girl with red hair and tattoos scattered across her arm and point in their direction, "Well, then that guy looks just like him."

Somi squints her eyes in disbelief at the boy in question until the doubt becomes confusion, and the confusion becomes realization. "Oh my God! The fuck is he doing here?" She turns towards you as if you're supposed to have the answer.

"The fuck should I know? You said he wouldn't be here until tomorrow morning!"

"Because that's what he told our parents! How was I supposed to know he was gonna be here? I never would've come if I knew!"

"What are you guys doing here?" A voice you haven't heard in so long interrupts. You don't even want to turn around.

"What are you doing here?" Somi throws back, and the two stare at each other in angry silence for a moment until Jungkook steps to the side. "Upstairs," he says, nodding towards the staircase.

"But—"

"Go."

Somi's clearly aggravated but makes her way towards the stairs. You remain in place with your arms crossed, raising a brow in confusion when Jungkook looks at you. "What?"

"You too."

"I'm not—"

"I'm not asking again," he says simply. You convince yourself that you only take his command because you don't feel like fighting. Definitely not because it's interesting to have him boss you around.

Trudging up the stairs behind Somi, you wait with her in the hallway until Jungkook arrives. "Come on," he says, entering a bathroom and turning the light on. Neither you nor Somi protest; there really isn't any point.

As soon as the door is shut, Somi is yelling at the top of her lungs. "What the fuck are you doing here?! You said you wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning! Mom and Dad had to push their trip back just to give you more time to arrive, and you're already fucking here?! The fuck is the matter with you?!"

"I'm not gonna respond if you're gonna be yelling like this." Jungkook says calmly, leaning against the sink, "Let me get my questions out first, then I'll answer any of yours, deal?"

Somi glances over at you, sitting on the bathtub's edge, and you nod. She returns her attention back to Jungkook, takes a deep breath, then agrees. 

"Now, what are you guys doing here?! How'd you even get invited?! And you're drinking?!" The calm demeanor from earlier slips away in a matter of seconds, clearly a hoax just to get Somi to calm down enough to let him speak.

"It's just ginger ale, and we've barely even had any! We were invited by our friends, okay? We have just as much right to be here as you do."

Jungkook scoffs, clearly unamused. "Right, and I'm assuming Mom and Dad know you're here then, huh?"

Somi nervously tucks a hair behind her ear. You wonder why you even have to be in here with them. It's not like Jungkook is your brother, anyway. 

"We told our parents that we were going to a birthday party at a friend's house." Somi mumbles, barely able to look Jungkook in the eye.

"And what did they say when they dropped you guys off?"

"They didn't drop us off," you interrupt, "we walked here."

"Well, I wasn't gonna tell him that." Somi glares at you, it takes every bone in your body to not to laugh at her.

You're so over this. You didn't want to attend this dumb party in the first place, and seeing Jungkook flirting with some girl who could've been his female counterpart was the icing on the cake. It doesn't matter if your feelings for him were gone before tonight; every little emotion you'd felt for him over the years had returned (as if they ever left).

"And how exactly did you two geniuses plan on getting home?"

"Same way we got here."

"Can you please just let me handle this? Jesus Christ…" Somi shoots another frustrated glare at you, and you can't help but roll your eyes at her. She turns back towards her brother, "Can you answer my questions now?"

Jungkook's eyes anxiously dart around the cramped bathroom, landing on you a few times before he's slowly nodding his head. "Alright, Mom and Dad basically forced me to spend the whole summer here, and I kept asking myself why they were so persistent about it. They finally told me they needed me to watch over you and the house for their stupid trip. I had plans too, you know? That I had to derail for them. My band could've spent this summer touring, making real money, and now we can't. So, they wanna inconvenience me? I'll inconvenience them right back."

"…Inconvenience them by doing what?" Somi asks the exact question you had.

Jungkook shrugs, "By telling them I'm gonna be arriving a day late, duh."

You and Somi exchange an awkward glance at one other before silently agreeing not to tease him about it. If this was his badass way of retaliating, who were you to rain on his parade?

"Are you gonna tell anyone you saw us here?" Somi questions, a noticible tremble in her voice.

"As long as you guys don't tell anyone you saw me."

It's a fair trade, you accept it. You're even more delighted when Jungkook says he's taking the two of you home. Somi, however, isn't too happy about this, claiming there were so many people she didn't get to speak to, and how'd this be the last time she'd get to see them before moving away for school. You're not sure if Somi is really good at getting what she wants, or if Jungkook was tired of hearing her complain, but he finally gives in and grants her ten more minutes to socialize before meeting him at his car.

"If you're not at my car in ten minutes, I swear to God I'm calling mom." Jungkook scolds, holding the bathroom door open as the three of you finally exit.

A loud, drunk voice suddenly shouts, "Woah, Jungkook! Two girls at the same time!? You fucking beast!"

"They're my sisters, you fucking pervert!" He shouts back.

You can't even dwell on how disgusting the original comment was, only being able to focus on the fact that Jungkook just reffered to you as his sister. As conceited as it may sound, you're not used to rejection or guys putting you in the friend-zone. Whatever little game Jungkook had been playing with you over the years was completely new territory. And right when you think things couldn't possibly get any worse, he calls you his sister.

What the actual fuck.

The next ten minutes go by in a blur; Somi has ditched you for a second time that night to talk to the guy from earlier. When it's finally time to leave, you find her Sat on his lap with her arm hung across his shoulder, laughing at an unfunny pickup line he'd used on her.

"It's time, Somi," you interrupt, helping her stand.

"Wait, wait, wait," she persists, directing her attention back to the boy, "tomorrow at five, right?"

"And not a second later." He sends her a disgusting wink that makes your skin crawl.

Somi is so love-struck you're surprised there isn't an arrow lodged in her back. She can barely form a proper sentence, erupting into a fit of giggles every few seconds as you make your way to Jungkook's car. "Wasn't he just gorgeous?"

You shrug, linking arms with her. "He was alright."

Stunned, Somi gasps at you, "Just alright? He was literally like a Greek God."

"I'm not saying he's unattractive; he's just...not really my type."

"And what is your type, Miss. Never-Has-Been-Interested-In-Anyone?"

Now, there's the question of the hour. You have to word your response very carefully; don't be too obvious about the fact that your ideal type is her older sibling. 

"I guess I prefer guys with an edgier look to them, you know? Tattoos, piercings..." Despite your attempt to sound as nonchalant as possible, your heart is beating out of your chest from the mild confession.

Somi snickers, then playfully groans. "It sounds like you're describing my brother."

Now, you really have to test the waters.

"Since you brought him up, would it be so bad if I did like Jungkook? Hypothetically speaking, of course." You're not sure what prompts you to even ask this. It's not like he's even interested in you; he literally just referred to you as his sister.

A beat of silence passes as Somi gathers her thoughts, then she says, "No."

"What?"

You've finally reached Jungkook's car at this point, beating him there. You sit atop the trunk, feet hovering above the ground as the cold, nighttime air swirls around you. Somi shakes her head, "Obviously, it wouldn't be the ideal situation, but I guess I wouldn't mind as long as you talked to me about it first."

"First?" You mimic.

"Like...assuming you'd wanna date him or something. Just so I'm not blindsided, you know?"

This is the last thing you would've expected your impulsive, hotheaded (yet oh-so-loveable) best friend to be reasonable about. Mainly because she lectured you for nearly twenty minutes when she first suspected you had a crush on Jungkook. 

You go to respond, but Jungkook, finally arriving at the car, captivates both of your attention. He finishes off his can of Pepsi before crushing the aluminum and tossing it to the ground. "Ready?" He questions.

There's no point in giving him a speech about littering; you're just ready to go home.

He fishes his keys from his pocket and unlocks the car door; Somi opens the backseat and jumps in before you have the chance, sprawling across the aged leather. "Move over," you nudge her foot with your knee; she pulls away from you.

Jungkook calls your name, "Just sit up front. She's not gonna move."

Now, this is new. You've ridden in the backseat of his car with Somi more times than you can count; he'd never allow either of you to sit shotgun with him; typical annoying older brother bullshit.

Don't make a big deal out of this, you say to yourself, climbing into the passenger seat of his car.

Somi and Jungkook bicker the entire ride to their parent's house, partially out of annoyance with each other, but you also get the feeling that neither of them were genuinely ready to leave the party. You're surprised Jungkook even enjoyed parties; he spent most of high school either working, hanging out at skate parks, or practicing with his band in their garage. College must've really changed him, and you're unsure how to feel about it. 

Jungkook parks a few houses down from their parent's house and unlocks the doors, "Get out," he says into the backseat.

"Where are you gonna spend the night?" Somi questions, stretching her arms outward.

"I checked into a motel this morning. I'll be back here tomorrow around noon. And, hey," Jungkook turns around, pointing a finger at his sister. "Don't tell them you saw me."

Mockingly, Somi points a finger right back at him. "Telling them I saw you would be exposing myself, cock-sucker. Leave me alone." She angrily begins to climb out of the car, annoyed at how little trust Jungkook had in her.

You turn to go, but Jungkook's cold hand on your bicep stops you, "Where you goin'?"

"I'm gonna walk home from here. It's only a few minutes away," you respond.

Jungkook shakes his head, "I'm dropping you off. You haven't moved since I left, right?"

"No, but it's fi—"

"Then your house is on the way to my motel. We're going in the same direction; might as well ride together."

It truly does make more sense to ride together, and rejecting his offer any further surely would raise suspicions. You don't want either of them to believe you'd feel uncomfortable being alone with Jungkook because that couldn't be farther from the truth. You're perplexed about your feelings now, and you don't want to do anything you'd regret just because of the confusion.

"Okay, then." You glance over your shoulder at Somi, "Will you need any help getting ready for your date tomorrow?"

Suddenly embarrassed, Somi shushes you, gesturing that Jungkook is literally right next to you and would prefer that he didn't hear about her dating life. Jungkook genuinely couldn't care less and is instead patiently waiting for his sister to get out.

She does finally, and Jungkook resumes his path to your house. He turns the radio on, switching between stations until he stops on one that's playing a song he's familiar with. You drive silently for a few minutes; the only sounds being heard are the distant noises from the car's motor and Jungkook humming along to the radio.

He breaks the silence by saying, "I was surprised to see you back there. You never really seemed like the type to enjoy parties."

You chuckle, "I could say the same for you; I don't remember you attending any in high school."

"That's 'cause house parties weren't my thing," he explains, "I went to raves or parties that would happen at the skate park. I don't really like being at someone else's house for too long; it feels too intimate."

Now that you think of it, skate park parties and raves seem much more like his scene.

"Well, I only went because Somi was going, and I didn't feel comfortable with her being there alone. Otherwise, I never would've gone." You admit, resting your head against the window.

"Thanks for looking after her, by the way. You're a good friend."

"I'd do anything for her." Your voice is barely a whisper now, getting quieter with every word you say.

Silence passes, and he says, "Did you know your guys' dorm room is gonna be right under ours?"

"Seriously?" You respond, genuinely curious.

"Mmm-hmm. My roommate, Mingyu, and I are gonna be the worst upstairs neighbors ever." He teases as you roll your eyes. Your mind can't decipher whether this banter is playful & platonic or romantic. Everything Jungkook does confuses you.

"If that's the case, I'll be sure to move to an entirely new building."

"What, so you can have your boyfriend protect you?"

Pause. Boyfriend?

You nearly give yourself whiplash from how hard you spun around to look at Jungkook. "Boyfriend?" You ask.

He shrugs nonchalantly, keeping his eyes on the road. "I just assumed you'd have one by now. Do you?"

There he is again with his mind games. What the fuck was he talking about?

After letting out a very frustrated sigh, you mumble, "No, Jungkook, I do not have a boyfriend."

"Good. Focus on school."

Now he's pissing you off. You wish he'd shut up for the rest of the car ride. "It's nice to see you again, by the way."

Holy shit, you feel like jumping out the window.

"Yeah, great seeing you too. Oh, there's my house. I can walk from here." You make quick work of undoing your seatbelt.

"You sure? I can drop you off at the door."

"No, no. It's best if my parents don't see you so they don't accidentally tell your parents that they saw you." You lie, racking your brain for any excuse imaginable.

He nods, deciding it's best to drop you off a little further from your house. "Then, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"What?" You stop dead in your tracks, one hand clutching the door handle.

"Aren't you coming over tomorrow to help Somi get ready for her…thing? I'll be back home by then."

He's right; you'd be back in his house, and he'll be there this time. It's no big deal. You'd only be there for an hour (at most) to help her prepare, and then you could go the whole summer without seeing him again.

"Yeah, I'll see you then."

The following day, Somi is back to her unreasonable self, expecting you to wait at her house for her to return from her date.

"Please? We're just going to get pizza; we won't even be gone that long." She pleads, adding the finishing touches to her makeup.

You'd already spent over an hour helping her prepare, and now she expects you to do nothing but await her return. You know her heart's in the right place; she just wants to be the first to hear all the exhilarating details about her date. Still, a phone call would suffice. 

"What am I supposed to do while I wait for you to come back?" You whine.

"Just hang out here! Watch a movie or something!" She suggests, trying her absolutely hardest to sound enthusiastic. Her phone buzzes in her hand before she has the chance to continue, eyes lighting up as they flicker across the bright screen.

Somi clutches her phone, locks eyes with you, then rushes towards the door. You're faster, though, quickly capturing her wrist before she's barely reached the hallway. "I'm going home."

"No! If you stay here, I'll bring you back pizza, and we can have a girls' night like we were supposed to yesterday! Come on, please?" She begs, pouting her lips.

You go to reply, but the bathroom door swings open, and Jungkook strides out. Just to your luck, he's shirtless; water droplets descend from his hair as he towel-dries it. As he enters his bedroom, he mocks his sister's high-pitched whine, earning a lethal glare and a slew of swears thrown at him.

Perhaps you should stay.

"Fine, but you're lending me your pajamas." You give in, earning an enthusiastic shriek from your best friend. 

Somi wraps you in a brief, yet tight, hug before shouting, "Be back soon!" Then she's rushing down the stairs and out the front door. It's not often that Somi makes you wait for her return, but you absolutely despise it whenever it does occur. She's never back by the time she promises and gets upset when you try to call and check up on her.

And speaking of calling, you're sure your phone is dead by now. You insisted Somi bring her's along just in case, so you're left with one option.

Jungkook's door is wide open (as usual) when you go to knock. He's fully clothed now, pairing his black sweatpants with a matching black t-shirt. His hair appears mostly dry now, chaotic as ever, but dry. You don't think he's ever looked this good before.

He's sat on his bed, flipping through the latest copy of Rolling Stone when you arrive. He glances over at you and lets out a dry chuckle.

"What's so funny?" You ask.

"You're dressed like Bella Swan." He responds casually, eyes raking up and down your body. 

"Who?"

"From Twilight. You know, that new movie that came out?" He seems genuinely surprised that you don't seem to know anything about this movie, not even the name of (who you suspect to be) the main character.

You lean against the doorframe, "Haven't seen it."

"It's a great movie, seriously. Some friends and I are seeing it in a few days if you and Somi wanna come." He suggests, flipping another page in the magazine.

You let him know you'll ask Somi if she's interested before remembering why you came to his room in the first place and ask if you can borrow his phone charger. Jungkook directs you to where it's plugged up by his desk, and you finally have the chance to stroll further into his room. You can't recall the last time you've been in here, but you know it looks much different than before. Many of the band posters that decorated the room were gone, his random trinkets and piles of clothes were gone, and not a single piece of his CD collection was in sight. It felt so lifeless, so unlike him. No wonder he always dreaded returning home; it probably didn't even feel like home to him.

"So," you say, attempting to break the silence, "you're here for the whole summer, huh?"

"Unfortunately." He mumbles, "Gonna try and go by sooner, convince my parents I have to sort out an issue with my dorm or something."

"It's nice to have you back, though." You admit, watching as Jungkook's gaze locks on yours.

"Yeah? It is?" He questions.

You shrug, "Of course. We practically grew up together; it was weird to not see you all the time."

He sits up now, closing the magazine and tossing it on his nightstand. There's something on his mind that he isn't saying; you can tell from the way his brows knit together and how he's anxiously tugging on his lip piercing. "It was weird to be gone," he mumbles and leaves it at that.

"By the way, I'm sorry about last night." He apologizes.

"For what? Calling me your sister?"

He laughs at this, shaking his head. "I didn't mean to do that on purpose, by the way. That guy was just...so weird, I kinda blurted out the first thing that would've made him feel weird for even thinking that."

Oh. That makes sense. You definitely overreacted. 

"I meant," he continues, "I'm sorry if the whole boyfriend assumption thing upset you."

"Oh," you dismissively wave a hand at him, "that was nothing."

Jungkook raises a brow at you, "Are you sure? 'Cause you seemed pretty upset afterward, you were practically running out of my car."

There's no point in lying now, considering you weren't even the slightest bit discrete the previous night.

"If I'm being completely honest, I just felt a little awkward. But that's it, I swear." You assure him, moving to lean against the bedside table.

"Awkward about what?"

God, this was so embarrassing. Is he really going to make you humiliate yourself like this?

"Because I've never actually had a boyfriend before."

Jungkook looks genuinely shocked at your confession, eyes nearly bulging out of his head as he examines yours for any sign of deception. "You don't believe me?"

"I'm not sure. I only assumed you had one just based on how crazy guys were about you in high school. Not to mention you're, like, fucking gorgeous."

What?

"I'm what?" You ask, not entirely sure if you heard him correctly.

He repeats himself again, and you make him do it a few more times until he's too embarrassed to say it again. You somehow manage to get back on the topic of never having a boyfriend before when Jungkook asks you another question. "Have you ever...?"

He doesn't need to finish the sentence. You know what he's asking.

You shake your head.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. It's none of my business." He berates himself, and you assure him it's no big deal and that it shouldn't even be a shocker to him.

After a half hour of talking about whatever comes to mind, you wind up sitting opposite Jungkook on his bed, legs perched up underneath your body as you go back and forth, questioning one another. 

"So, when are you gonna admit you had a crush on me?" His voice is barely a whisper.

"I never did." You lie.

"Really? That sucks?"

"Why?"

He shrugs, leaning his back against the headboard. "I just always thought that maybe you and I would've ended up together at some point."

You don't remember who leans in first; it doesn't matter; all that matters is after years of longing, your lips are finally intertwined with his. He must've smoked today; you can taste the nicotine on his breath. But it doesn't matter; you don't make the slightest move to pull away. Neither does he, placing his hands on the small of your back to guide you onto his lap. 

Your body is moving on autopilot, limbs moving to do whatever feels right as you silently pray not to ruin the moment. Jungkook can spot your nervousness from a mile away and stop you, "We don't have to do—"

"I want to," you pant, breathless, "I've wanted this for so long."

"Do you trust me?" He asks.

"More than anything."

He kisses you again before adjusting your current position, slowly twisting yourselves until you're lying flat on your back. He moves his lips down towards your neck, leaving a trail of kisses in his path as he settles between your legs.

You reach up to grab a handful of his hair, nearly jumping out of your skin as his delicate fingertips creep up your inner thigh, inching closer and closer until his ghosting over your clothed pussy. "This okay?" He mumbles.

You nod, unable to form a coherent sentence. "Cute," he replies, "you're already so wet." His fingertips stroke your clit through your damp underwear; you don't think to wonder how he managed to get to it so quickly, all thoughts leaving your brain as he makes small circles using his middle and index finger. 

"Jungkook…" You moan, pleading for him to do more.

"I know." He assures you, using a single finger to pull your panties to the side, making just enough room for him to slide a finger into your aching cunt. "Am I really your first time?"

You nod again out of fear that a moan would slip from your lips if you even tried to speak. His eyes are locked on yours, studying your expression as he coaxes a finger inside you. You're embarrassed at how quickly your wetness coated his finger, but Jungkook doesn't care. He likes it, makes him feel fucking amazing knowing the effect he had on you. 

"Take your shirt off." He says, and you do as told, pulling your top up and off your body and tossing it to the floor; making quick work of undoing your bra before he even has the chance to ask.

His lips are back on your neck instantly, trailing down to your collarbone until he reaches the curve on your breast. He halts his actions momentarily before your pitched nipple is caught between his teeth and your back arching off the bed from how overstimulating everything feels.

You curse under your breath, and Jungkook makes another comment about how cute you are, though you feel far from it. He apologizes by lapping his tongue around your nipple, easing the pain slowly as he inserts a second finger into your cunt.

You can feel his bulge against your thigh, though he doesn't even care about getting himself off. He moves over to your nipple, licking and sucking until it's completely hardened, leaving himself breathless. The two fingers that had been working your cunt had picked up the pace now, and there was an unfamiliar feeling in your gut that you couldn't identify.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…" You groan, legs trembling.

Jungkook is all too familiar with these actions and asks, "You're already close? I've barely done anything to you." He teases, chuckling to himself.

You know he's being lighthearted, but you can't help but feel embarrassed at the tears forming in your eyes from how good everything feels.

Suddenly, he's pulling his fingers out of you, and now you feel like crying for a different reason. You go to protest but stop to watch as he takes his shirt off. If you weren't sure then, it's obvious now he'd started attending the gym. 

He makes quick work of tugging his sweatpants down his legs, tossing them into the abyss before reaching into his bedside table and retrieving a condom. "You're okay?"

You nod.

"Use your words."

“I’m okay, Jungkook.”

"You're still okay with this?"

"Yes."

"You sure?"

Jesus fucking Christ, the saint this man is.

"I'm positive." You assure him.

You move to pull down your skirt and underwear, but Jungkook catches your wrist. "Leave them on," he says. There are so many things going on that you choose not to question.

He pulls off his boxers in the meantime, hardened cock slapping against his abdomen with precum leaking from the tip. Though you had nothing to compare it to, Jungkook was obviously slightly larger than average. You shouldn't be surprised; it's always the guys that you'd least expect.

He tears the condom wrapper with his teeth, retrieving the rubber inside before tossing the remains to his floor. Despite being fully erect, he fists his cock a few times before sliding the condom on.

He crawls over you, left arm at the side of his head, while he uses his dick to nudge your panties to the side. "This still okay?"

"I already told you—fuck!" He cuts you off, the tip of his cock slowly making its way inside you. You feel so stretched out from this alone you don't know how you'd manage to fit all of him into you.

Jungkook must be feeling the same, swearing under his breath and commenting about how tight you feel around him. Second by second, he coaxes himself into your pussy until you feel like you could split right open. "Are you all the way in?"

"No, can't take anymore?" He asks, leaning his head down against your ear.

You're embarrassed to admit he's too big to handle on your first time, but it's the truth. You don't want to overextend yourself just to please him and end up hurting yourself.

"You can move, just…not too much. Please."

Jungkook nods, "Whatever you want, angel."

He pulls his hips back and rocks himself back in, being sure to ask if you're okay with his pace. Once you confirm you feel fine and want him to keep going, he continues his movements; his eager hips snapping against yours and his cock hitting your G-spot with each deep stroke. You feel like you're on cloud nine, hands tangled in his hair as he swallows your moans.

That unfamiliar feeling from earlier returns; you feel it through your entire body this time. A moan of his name escaping your lips lets him know you're close. How he can always sense these things is beyond you; it's not worth overthinking. 

"Close?" He asks, and you nod frantically.

Jungkook picks up his speed slightly, careful not to overwhelm you, but just enough to reach your climax, until finally, the bundle of nerves in your abdomen snaps, and your back is arching off the mattress as you come around his cock.

He's only a few seconds behind with his orgasm, erupting in a loud grunt when he finally reaches it. The two of you lay in silence for a moment before Jungkook finally pulls out of you and slides the condom off, tying it in a knot and tossing it into his trash bin.

"Are you okay?" He asks for what feels like the millionth time.

"I'm fine." You respond, and it isn't a lie. Physically, you feel terrific; mentally, it was an entirely different story. "Are you?"

"I'm good, I'm good."

As much as you would love to lay naked with Jungkook in his bed for the rest of the night, you know Somi will be home anytime soon. "I think I'm gonna go wash up."

He nods, crawling under his covers once you stand from his bed, tugging your skirt to its proper length as you search for your remaining clothing. "Oh, it's um…your shirt, it's over there." Jungkook awkwardly gestures towards a pile of clothing by the end of his bed.

Almost as quickly as you shred yourself of them, you snatch your clothing and bundle them up against your chest. 

"Listen, I know right now isn't really ideal, but I meant what I said about liking you, and really think we should talk." He says nervously, barely even able to look at you.

You almost want to laugh at how cute he is; instead, you agree to talk to him about it soon. You're about to head out into the hallway when Jungkook reminds you about your charging phone over by his desk.

You retrieve it and scan the area again, ensuring you haven't left anything else behind. When everything seems clear, you stand upright, but your eyes fall toward the trash bin near his window with the discarded condom. You're embarrassed to even look at it until you realize something seems off. It looks…empty. 

Now, you're no sex expert, but imagine that if Jungkook had finished, there'd be something to show for it in the condom. Right?

Did he fake his orgasm? Was this another one of his fucked up mind games you'd been subjected to? 

You don't know what to think as you step into the bathroom; your emotions are all over the place, and all you really want to do is go home. But you promised Somi you'd be here when she returns, so you stay.

The next time a Jeon sibling asks if you're okay is twenty minutes later when Somi finally arrives and asks why your eyes are so watery.

"I'm fine." You respond, and you're lying for the first time that night.

[inbarfink]

Honestly, first time noticing the names in Simon's contact list I was just like 'haha cute references' and didn't pay it much mind. But looking at them again, and really thinking about them. The Implications here, like Most Things About Simon's Life Right Now, are pretty tragic....

Like, Abracadaniel and Lady Island and Gunter (and BMO if you take into consideration the comic's continuity) are not Simon Petrikov's friends, they were Ice King's friends.

You know, like, yeah, everyone except Marcy knew Ice King way way before they got to know Simon. But at least with folks like Finn, finding out about Simon is a huge reason why he started being kinder and friendlier to him. And Bubblegum probably is only fond of Simon know in spite of him being Ice King.

But Abracadaniel and Lady Island liked Ice King without having any frame-of-reference or concept of 'Simon Petrikov' in their heads. They were Ice King's friends.

And Simon's phone is pretty distinctly, like, a realistic early 2000's cellphone. A total contrast to all the magical/sci-fi/cobbled-together looking cellphones everyone else in Ooo uses

And Ice King himself, I'm pretty sure we've only ever seen him use either a normal-looking landline or the Bananaphone

Not this ordinary Nokia-looking flip-phone, definitely.

So I'm assuming this phone was maybe found buried somewhere in the Past Room, or maybe was unearthed while they were preparing for that '20th Century Man' exhibition and Simon also takes it along for personal use. But either way, Simon had to deliberately put those numbers of Friends of the Ice King in his contact list.

It might be something as simple as having transferred the data from some of Ice King's old communication devices and then just... despite it all Simon just doesn't have the heart to delete these names. The same way you or I might not have it in us to the delete the numbers of friends of ages past or increasingly-distant acquaintances or dead relatives.

Or maybe Simon did try and preserve their friendship at first. Or maybe the friends did. And obviously it didn't work out.

I mean, I can kinda see maybe Simon getting along fine with Lady Island because IK was relatively Grounded interacting with her so maybe the change to Simon won't be that much of a difference to her. ....But that can also create problems if she has a hard time seeing the difference between Simon Petrikov and Ice King, that would really make him uncomfortable.

But there really is zero chance Simon managed to keep things going normal with Abracadaniel. A Wizard who originally bonded with Ice King because he saw him as a cool Wizard. Not to mention Gunter is currently a living incarnation of the very Crown that cursed Simon in the first place and a manifestation of Gunter's love of Ice King

so... yeah, I think in Simon's current state any interaction he had with those two was unbearably awkward and just another thing that will make him miss being Ice King in a twisted way.

And yet... despite wanting so badly to define himself as distinctive and different from Ice King ("I didn't write those! Ice King wrote those!") and to not be reminded of him.... Simon still keeps all these people in his contact list.

[mythrilthread]

These past months I’ve not been dead, but rather multitasking (making author’s copies of books I’ve bound previously to send a box of them to the US, experiencing a severe depressive episode, and also, working on this!). And now: Behold, the best fucking thing I’ve made in my life so far! ✨

These two books are basically step-fanfiction, or maybe fanfiction times two, seeing as it's the story (co-athored by my darling spouse and I) featuring NPCs from our long and passionate TTRPG campaign (played in the setting of Tessa Gratton’s United States of Asgard). Do not be fooled by the books’ papery appearance, they are primarily made from my heart’s blood and tears.

🌟 The story takes place in 6 (ish) locations over the course of a year (and that year is 2000, which is why people are still into paper maps), with one of the protagonists being very fond of various maps and the other keeping his notes in a Pigpen-style cypher, which informed a lot of design decisions. The constellation (featured on the cover and on the title page) is formed of all the mentioned locations as marked on the road map (which I stitched from two pictures and painstakingly edited all the state names, some borders etc etc to replace the actual US names with the ones Tessa mentioned in her books and some that we came up with as the need arose). Every chapter starts with an additional map, marking the location and date, and with coded (and decoded) prompts from the Star-Crossed TTRPG that we used for inspiration.

🌟 It’s a bit of a tradition that spouse and I use different fonts when writing together, with their usual font being Arial and mine (surprising absolutely no one) Georgia, but for this I wanted a more matching pair of sans/serif fonts, so the body text fonts are DejaVu Condensed.

🌟 The title page illustration is by the fantastic @erebus0dora (my request was basically that I wanted it to look like one of the Bridgerton promo posters but less glossy, and oh, they delivered! The Major & I (referencing, of course, The Duke & I) is a joke name for the hypothetical crack version of this book where every chapter ends with “And then they fucked.”) When we finish the definitive edition (with many deleted scenes and other bonus content), it is also going to be on the dust jacket.

🌟 All additional illustrations are ephemera that I made for the story, added as extra-illustrations in my copy, and as scanned images in the spouse’s copy.

🌟 The bookmark charms are actual (plot relevant, of course) apricot pits, sanded, polished and waxed by hand.

[angelbellelc2]

I grew up with the original Fairly Oddparents back when it still aired in the 2000s and it has been a favorite show of mine when I was a kid. I have fond memories of watching it and currently I'm rewatching the first couple of seasons. Not too long ago I was watching Channel Chasers to hype me up for the season finale of FOPANW.

I have some thoughts about the finale like it was pretty great at the start but the ending to me felt.... lackluster. I don't hate the show as I think it's a fresh entry that the series needed after so many odd choices that made it loose the magic it once had. It was cool to see Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda again for one thing but at the same time they were only a cameo. I suppose I was expecting something different from what happened with Dev like Hazel using her free wish to let Dev have a second chance with Peri.

I know that others won't agree with my thoughts as they would see it as controversial but I was hoping to see Dev gain his redemption. He showed in the last few minutes that he deep down didn't want to hurt anyone with leaving the big wand microchip in the throne, giving the keys to Wanda to free the fairies, and how he knew that he didn't deserve to keep his memories of fairies and Peri. He came off as remorseful of his actions.

Dev acted out in the worst way possible to get his father's attention he so desperately wanted but in the end Dale's attention stayed else where afterwards. Peri himself still cared about Dev even though their godparent/godchild relationship wasn't the healthiest. Peri in his magical back up kept Dev in mind with remembering what Dev liked. If we get a season two I would love to see the two get a second chance together but I highly doubt that happening if that's it.

[mika-no-sekai-blog]

Word count: 2000+

Warnings: none

Part XXI | Part XXIII

It took a whole week until Tamlin regained his strength and was able to take a longer walk. He also gained some of the weight back and generally looked better now. However that was the only thing that changed. He still couldn't speak nor change back, his powers stayed locked as well.

You and Lucien stayed in the manor, taking care of him. Lucien was attentive and very helpful. Unfortunately, his relationship with Tamlin hadn't improved much. He growled at Lucien whenever he came closer or tried to talk with him, so Lucien mostly just kept an eye on you while keeping you company or went out to get you some vegetables and meat.

The closest they came to each other was at night as the three of you still slept together on connected mattresses. Even though Lucien tried to keep proper distance, as soon as he fell asleep he rolled over, his hand finding it's way to your waist he held you and warmed you up until the morning. It didn't take long and you got used to be surrounded or rather pressed in between these two.

As Tamlin got stronger and stronger, you could finally leave manor and take a walk in the gardens together, every day getting farther and farther, but never too far from the estate. You fell back into your routine of picking up herbs, berries and anything you could find on your outings.

Tamlin never said no to your tea, so you looked for as many medicals herbs that could help him, as possible. However, your options were quite limited and you had to settle for the little that you could find.

Even Lucien grew fond of the tea, often asking you for a cup. He liked to joke that you certainly enchanted it because no other tea could possibly compare with the taste of yours.

Rhysand came every day for a visit as he promised or sent you tons of messages at days he couldn't come. Tamlin grew restless every time he appeared, growling, but he gave you a space or disappeared somewhere together with Lucien, fuming and huffing even hours after Rhysand left. It was kind of cute.

Your days were peaceful and uneventful. Your old self would be grateful for that, but your new self would welcome any distraction that could keep your thoughts away.

When you came here, you tried to be cheerful and talkative with Tamlin. This side of you began to fade away with every day you spent in the destroyed manor. Tamlin couldn't speak and you didn't want to pull him down with your problems, anyway. He had enough of his own as you believed.

You tried so hard not to think about the past and memories that made you tremble and stole the air from your lungs. You were hiding it, but with every day it became harder. You lied to yourself and to Rhys, too, when you pretended to be okay, that you got over the past events. You knew your brother wouldn't have said no, if you wanted to talk about the things. Yet you didn't want to make him worried more than he already was. It was hard enough to get him agree with your stay here. If he knew, he would insist that you went back with him immediately.

You considered to talk even with Lucien who seemed to notice the change, but he didn't bring it out. Instead, he watched you with concern or brought some little thing only for you to cheer you up. He was kind and protective, and even though you got well with him, you didn't know him enough well to share your most vulnerable feelings.

And so you spent a lot of time pushing yourself into one-sided chitchat with Tamlin about such insignificant things as weather or butterflies in the garden, just to avoid the darkness of your mind.

One day you were standing by the window on the third floor of the mansion, looking out at the forest in the distance. Tamlin for a moment disappeared. When he returned, he halted few steps from you, watching you with narrowed eyes. Then he came closer, nuzzling to your hand. You thought he wanted just an attention, so smiling you turned to him, running your fingers through soft fur between the antlers.

He closed his eyes in pleasure, but soon he shook your hand off. He lay down on the floor, pointing snout to his back and grunting.

"Oh, you want me to scratch your back?"

He made a disagreeing noise, followed by another couple of sounds. Even though he couldn't speak he was still trying. He pointed to his back again.

Frowning you blinked in confusion. "You want me to straddle you?"

He huffed in agreement.

"No, I'm heavy. You are still weak. I can't," you blushed fiercely. Treating him like a pet was already bad enough, but use him as a horse? You definitely couldn't do that to him.

"Let's have some tea," you changed topic, heading for door. Tamlin got before you, blocking the door with his huge body. Offering you his back, he barked, growled and whimpered until you sighed. "You won't give that idea up until I agree, will you."

Corners of his mouth curled into wolfish grin, emerald eyes shone brightly. You sighed again heavily. Reluctantly you climbed on him careful not to hurt him or pull on the fur too much. As soon as you were seated, he slowly stood up and testing if you could hold onto him, he made few steps. He had to assume you would be fine because he subsequently took off, running through the mansion and the gardens and out to the meadows in full speed.

You clung to his strong back, holding onto him with all your strength, eyes shut, face hidden in the fur. His moves were so smooth you hardly felt any impact even of the jumps. However, this was different from riding a horse or flying and you had to admit you were scared.

After a moment or two you dared to crack one eye open just as you entered the forest. Trees turned into blurred colours of brown and green around you, Tamlin's pace too fast even for your fae eyes. You felt nauseous, so you again hid into his fur.

It took maybe five minutes and the beast finally slowed down. He made a noise as if telling you to take a look. You peeked out, but when you saw where he brought you, you sat up straight, looking around in awe.

Tamlin brought you to your cottage.

Your eyes pickled with tears and you slid down from his back. Your legs moved on their own bringing you to the doorstep. Fingertips slowly ran over the sturdy wood down to the handle. You were half afraid what you would find inside, but you opened the door nonetheless, yearning to enter to so well known room.

You expected to see a lot of debris, dust and mess. Instead, you found perfectly clean room. It looked as if you'd never left it.

Solstice decorations were gone, furniture that was destroyed when Rhys fought with Tamlin, was back on its place without a single scratch. Your heart swelled with love. Tamlin did this. He repaired your cottage and kept it clean while you were in Velaris.

You pivoted, tears rolling down your cheeks. Your friend stood on threshold peeking in shyly. You squeezed him in embrace so firm that the poor thing couldn't breathe. He tensed at first, then slowly melted into your touch. He made a strangled sound, teasing you.

"I'm sorry," you sobbed loosening the grip a little, still holding him firmly. He made chuckling sound, one of his huge paws wrapped around your waist, holding you lovingly.

This was what you needed, this was what you missed so much. It didn't make your dark thoughts disappear, but you felt way better here. And he knew it. Tamlin understood your heart and was willing to give you whatever you needed to feel better. There weren't words that could express your gratitude.

After a moment you moved to your armchair and Tamlin followed you. At first he laid his head in your lap, but he seemed to be unsatisfied with the position. Sitting on the floor next to your legs, he wrapped both of his front legs around you, resting his head on your shoulder. He let out a contented exhale and stayed still, his muscles loosening. He was quite heavy, but you didn't mind it. You were happy.

"Y-Y/N," Tamlin rasped, his voice raw from not speaking for a long time.

You blinked in surprise, not sure if you really heard him speak or it just seemed to you. "Did you just..?"

"Y/N," he rasped more clearly this time.

"Tamlin, you can speak," you gasped, running your hands up and down his back as new tears filled your eyes. He made some incoherent noises. "It's okay. Take your time. No need to hurry."

The knock sounded on the front door. You were so happy being back home that you completely forgot about Lucien who went on hunt. You stood up to answer the door, finding the mentioned redhead standing on your doorstep, hands crossed on his chest, eyes narrowed in irritation. His brows shot up when he saw your state.

"Do you know how worried I was when I returned and you two were nowhere to be found? You could have at least left me a note."

Tamlin growled behind you.

"I'm sorry," you couldn't suppress wide smile.

"Right, you seem to be so sorry about that," Lucien grumbled, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"The thing is I didn't know about this. Tamlin decided to bring me here."

"Did he?" Lucien frowned at the beast behind you.

"Yes," Tamlin rasped.

Lucien blinked, his mouth opening and shutting closed again. He pointed at Tamlin. "Did he just answer? Or do I just imagine that?"

You smiled even wider. Tamlin sighed and returned back to the room, lying down in front of fireplace. Lucien gaped after him.

"He's slowly improving," you said. "He spoke for the first time just before you came."

"Oh."

"Do you want to come in?" He winced at your sudden offer.

"Oh uhm. I'm not sure.."

"It's fine." You opened the door wider, stepping aside to let him come in. You pointed him to the chair.

You turned to the kitchen, grabbing a kettle to boil water. Just when you took out mugs, you realised you didn't have herbs nor any food in here. You paused for a single heartbeat. You could feel both Lucien's and Tamlin's eyes on your back, watching you amused.

You took a deep breath and flicked your wrist. Herbs from manor appeared on counter.

Tamlin stood up, coming closer. "How-?"

"A lot happened while I was away," you said with sad smile.

"Rhysand helped her to cure the memory loss," Lucien explained for you.

Hair on the beast's back stood on end. That was the only visible reaction of his. However, his bright emerald eyes clouded, undoubtedly with dark thoughts. You reached out, giving him a gentle pat on head.

"Thank you," you whispered to his ear as you leaned closer to kiss the crown of his head. His eyes snapped up, meeting yours. They shone with what you hoped was an understanding.

You brewed a tea for everyone. Lucien brought in some wood and lit up the fire in fireplace. He also winnowed to the manor and brought food from there because Tamlin didn't seem to want to return back. After that he helped you to prepare supper.

The day turned into a peaceful evening. Lucien who obliviously felt more comfortable here than in the manor, even came up with some funny stories of him and Spring Court's High Lord. Mentioned High Lord ignored him mostly, occasionally grumbling or even chuckling. You couldn't stop laughing.

When time to go to sleep came, Lucien bid you a farewell. For the night he had to return to the manor. There was no other room or bed except yours in the cottage. Tamlin, of course, didn't move, already peacefully sleeping in front of the fireplace on thick rug, where he used to sleep before. And so you turned off the lights and went to your room. It was the first time you slept alone since coming back.

Taglist:

@impossibelle @sevikas-whore @b0xerdancer @ladylizzieofdarbyshire @tele86 @mybestfriendmademe @nocasdatsgay @yunloyal @nebarious @isabiss @st0rmyt @lilah-asteria @ubigaia @paleidiot @acourtofimagines

[picturejasper20]

Lets talk about how Danny Phantom loves to push the idea of ¨these two characters must be together because destiny said so¨ and the implications of it!

Okay, for starters there is quite a lot of fans that agree how Danny and Sam gets forced into the show, specially in Season 3. They don't have much development in their relationship around the show because it was a 2000's Butch Hartman show and things have to keep the *status quo*

We know that Marmel wanted for more Valerie and Danny development but he couldn't for continuity issues and probably because Hartman wasn't fond of the ship. It took around 20 episodes for Valerie to have another episode about her since breaking up with Danny in ¨Flirting With Disaster¨.

I say that it makes a lot of sense of why Valerie and Danny's relationship didn't last long in this context because Danny was still keeping secrets from Valerie and still involved a lot of lying- not exactly the best condition to be dating with someone. So the best solution is for Valerie to learn who Danny is, and then after things get better, they probably can start getting into dating again, right?

Well, sorry, you can't see any of that because this happens in the very last episode of the series, we don't get to see how Valerie reacts to it and it doesn't matter because now Sam x Danny is canon!

Lets talk about that ring:

What bothers me is how, while this episode is about Danny being into Valerie and dating her, the ring that Jack gives to Danny has the name ¨Sam¨ on it. It is like the universe in show is screaming at Danny and the audience ¨See these two are the endgame! Haven't you realized it yet? Well, we are leaving you 100% clear with this¨.

Sarcastic Chorus made a video talking about the show keeps hammering you again and again that Danny and Sam are ¨meant to be together¨ by having characters commenting how everyone can see that except Danny and Sam, who it isn't clear why they don't tell what they feel to each other. He talks about how it gets really frustrating because nothing is exactly happening, people are just waiting for something to happen.

Let's move to ¨Double Cross my Heart¨ we have Gregor/Elliot and Sam falling in love with each other. They seem to share a lot in common, being into similar things. Danny keeps thinking that Elliot is an spy from the GIW and he is after him. I could get into the implications of Danny stalking Sam in this episode, but the one thing i want to focus on is that by the end of the episode it does get revealed that Elliot had been faking to share similar interests to Sam and was lying to her about who he really was. Was it because he was a spy from GIW? Nope! It was because he was tricking her into falling in love with him.

What frustrates me about this is the implications this episode gives: ¨If anybody else that likes Sam that isn't Danny, then that means that they are faking it! Danny is the only one who can love Sam and everybody else is trying to trick her¨. It is such a bad message and it sucks a lot for Sam to find someone that is a lot like her and then the writing go ¨sorry, they are a faker¨.

At least for Danny and Valerie made sense because it wasn't intended to work in that context, in ¨Double Cross my Heart¨ it just does dirty to Sam by spitting back in her face any chance of liking someone else that isn't Danny.

And episode that leaves a similar bad taste in mouth to me is Masters of All Time.

I have talked about this before, that in the alternative timeline Vlad and Maddie end up getting married together. Because they didn't want the kids in the audience to think about the implications about how Vlad might have been happier and not turned out evil from the proto lab accident, they had to make human! Vlad go against most of his previous established characterization of his regular self (like not allowing Maddie to use ghost gadgets for some reason) and be an abusive caricature of himself.

It couldn't be that maybe Vlad and Maddie didn't work together well, they have to leave obvious that no, Vlad is the terrible option and that Maddie and Jack are meant to be together. So much so that it said by the characters in the episode!

See, the writers made human! Vlad a piece of shit to leave clear that Maddie can only marry Jack. Because destiny told it so! It isn't like Jack and Maddie are their own people and they can choose whoever they want.

Yeah, Jack and Maddie have to get back together so Danny and Jazz don't become non-existent, but it find it so dumb that they made human! Vlad a weird ass copy of Disney Gaston instead of just writing it in a way that maybe these two clash being a couple. It could be that Maddie finds Vlad nice but Vlad is too busy always working or he isn't as fun as Jack was. Then Maddie realizes that she wants to be with Jack instead.

While having some fun elements, Masters of All Time is an episode that gets dumber and with more weird implications the more you think about it. And telling us that Jack and Maddie have to be together not matter what is one of the reasons.

I just dislike how weird this series is about how ¨destiny told these two characters have to be together¨ and not treating the characters as something they choose to do. It is also weird how this seems to apply to the female characters, in how Sam and Maddie, the moment they like someone else that isn't Danny nor Jack, then it turns out that person has to be abusive or be faking it. Itis like the show says they ¨belong¨ to Jack and Danny and they can't be with anyone else because then it would be bad. It is as a whole pretty frustrating

[writeplace-wrongtime]

Before the Bet

First of all, thank you to everyone who interacted with The Bet. Seeing reblogs, likes and comments literally made my week, I appreciate all of you!

It also boosted my motivation, so I'm back with a 5+1 prequel to the bet - It can be read standalone as well, but if you haven't read The Bet, check it out here!

This was meant to be like 2000 words max but here we are.

masterlist coming soon

Word Count: 5k~

CW// mentions of blood/fainting, stabbing, arrest, hospitals, mentions of child kidnapping/death, use of y/n, not beta'd

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5 times reader and Hotch hid their relationship + 1 time they didn't need to

5

The BAU rarely had quiet days. Whenever they cropped up, it meant hours of catching up on paperwork and emails, and even more so it meant getting to goof around the office without the usual level of urgency. In short, quiet days were nice.

You had spent the morning sorting through all the files in, on, or around your desk, hoping to clear up some space for the files that would surely start piling up again in the coming weeks. Old case files were sorted into one file to be moved to the proper storage rooms, while newer files were sorted according to date and case number, until you had an oldest-newest pile to work through in the afternoon.

Occasionally on quiet days, Aaron would offer to buy everyone coffee, and Emily and Derek would fight over who got to go pick it up. Today, was not one of those days. JJ and Henry had brought little Henry in for a visit, and with them came fresh muffins and cakes from the bakery near their house. A little after noon, you decided it was the perfect time for a cheap office-coffee refill, and a quiet time to sneak an extra muffin back to your desk.

The kitchen was quiet, with most of the office either holding off until lunch, or already sorted after their coffee break a couple hours earlier. You had just topped up the instant coffee when the door creaked open. You didn’t look up until a hand ghosted your lower back, and the sleeve of Aaron’s suit reached your peripheral vision. He leaned against the countertop, somewhere between beside and behind you, and you turned to face him. There was a smile on his lips, but a crinkle on his forehead where he’d previously been frowning at paperwork.

‘Coffee?’ He just nodded as you reached past him to grab his usual “no.1 Dad” mug Spencer and JJ had bought him one Christmas as a gag gift. You filled the two mugs, enjoying the closeness you often missed out on during work hours.

‘Dinner,’ He spoke suddenly, catching your attention, ‘Us, we should get dinner.’

You had had many dates over the 2 months since your relationship with Aaron had started, but every time he directly asked you out, whether to dinner or a movie, he always seemed unsure of himself.

‘You asking me on a date, sir?’ You teased, leaning against the counter in a perfect mirror of his position. He laughed, a quiet breathy sound that sent butterflies to your stomach.

‘Trying to, yes.’ Your smile grew.

‘Dinner sounds lovely, Aaron,’ Your voice had become quieter, but no less audible to him as you leaned fractionally closer. ‘Jack was telling me about the restaurant you went to last week, the one that had the dinosaur colouring sheets?’

He nodded thoughtfully as you slid his coffee towards him. He took a sip, before leaving the mug back down on the counter. ‘They had a great selection of colours,’ He said with a fond smile. You loved hearing him speak about Jack; the obvious pride displayed across his face whenever his son came into the conversation.

You were just about to ask if he’d kept the coloured sheet when the door’s squeaky hinges creaked loudly, and you jumped apart. Emily stood at the door’s entrance, eyebrows raised at the scene before her. Aaron looked between you and her, moving another step back as subtly as he could.

‘Thanks, uh, that eyelash has been bothering me all morning!’ You blurted out, voice just slightly too loud. You brought your hand to your face, wiping at the phantom eyelash as if to remove it. With a little more distance now between you, you were able to steady your beating heart. When Aaron made no move to leave, you picked up your own coffee, added a touch of cold water, and made a beeline for the door. You rolled your eyes at Emily as you passed, pointedly not looking at the kissy face she made when Aaron had turned back to the sink. Emily moved further into the kitchen then, but Aaron was already heading for the door, eyes following you as you sat back down at your desk with a muffin he hadn't even seen you grab.

‘Hey Hotch?’ He paused at the door, turning to see Emily with his coffee mug in hand, holding it out as if to offer it to him, ‘You forget something?’ There was an obvious teasing lilt to her tone, but he chose to ignore it, hoping he would be back in his office before the scarlet tint reached his cheeks. He wasn’t. He opted to instead hide his face behind the rim of the mug, taking a sip of the hot coffee. With one last glance towards your desk, he disappeared back into his office, and if anyone noticed the door shut a little faster than normal, no one mentioned it.

4

The knock on his office door alerted Aaron to your early morning arrival. He was used to being the first to the office, especially when the cases were stacking up like they were now. Since your relationship had started 4 months ago, you had taken to bringing him coffee on such days. He appreciated it.

‘Morning, handsome.’ You had a sleepy smile on your face as you stepped into the office. In your hands you carried two coffee cups. While you hadn’t spent the night at Aaron’s apartment, you knew he would be up early and in the office at a ridiculous hour. Where there was work to be done, he was always nearby. His shoulders visibly relaxed as you placed the coffees in front of him.

‘I don’t know what I’d do without you,’ He sighed, an equally tired smile on his own face. The hands of his watch ticked loudly in the otherwise quiet office, and a quick glance showed it was nearly half seven. You weren’t due in until 9. Hands now free, you pulled a chair closer, settling into it before picking back up your own coffee. You reached out and plucked a file from the desk.

‘A problem shared is a problem halved!’ You argued when he raised his eyebrows at you. The usual accompanying frown was absent, so you knew he wasn’t really annoyed at the intrusion, nor the cheesy proverb.  

‘Not when half of the problems are confidential.’ You rolled your eyes but conceded. The file was returned to the pile, and you moved to stand. ‘But the company would be appreciated.’

Your attempt to hide your smile was terrible. You blamed your tiredness. Aaron appreciated this time with you. Early enough that there was no worry about anyone seeing the fondness in his expression while you told him about your adventures in cooking the evening before, or the lovestruck smile on your face when he took your hand in his, pressing a kiss to your knuckles before returning to the file in front of him, fingers still intertwined with yours.

Well, no one except David Rossi. David who had come into work early to enjoy the peace of organising himself for the day before everyone else arrived. David who quietly closed his office door to allow you what little time together you could get at the office.

3

Weekends off were rare. So, when they came around, everyone celebrated. Team-bonding nights out had become more regular since Emily’s return from “death”. Friday nights before a weekend off were almost always spent together at a bar, club, or occasionally Rossi’s house for impromptu cooking lessons. Penelope and Emily often took turns trying to wing-man for you, and even JJ joined in after a couple drinks. Usually, you used the excuse of wanting to enjoy their company, but occasionally you called an early night to get a break from their incessant need to insert themselves into your sex-life. If you’d been single, you probably would’ve appreciated it. But you weren’t.

The previous night had been one of those early nights. Aaron hadn’t come out with everyone, insisting he needed to finish up some reports and to go on without him. As much as you’d enjoyed the few hours out with your team, you’d decided early in the night that once you’d had three drinks, you were going to go back to Aaron’s apartment and enjoy the rest of the evening with him. It wasn’t often that you had the apartment to yourselves on a Friday night, but Jessica had offered to have Jack for a sleepover. You wanted to make the most of it.

To wake up naturally, no blaring alarm clock or ringing phone, was a blessing. The room was lit by dim light behind closed curtains, and the only sounds were that of birds outside and the quiet snoring of Aaron behind you. His arm was draped over your waist, keeping you warm where his bare skin touched yours. Slow mornings were good mornings. You rolled in his arms until you were facing him, tracing the outline of his face with your eyes. He really was the most handsome man you’d ever seen. It was something you reminded him often.

‘Morning,’ His voice, though usually deep, was always deeper in the mornings, sending shivers down your spine. Your eyes met his half-open ones, and you leaned in to press a kiss to his lips. The only thing you loved more than spending the night with Aaron, was waking up to him the next morning. He chased your lips as you leaned back, swallowing your laugh as he caught them with his. Large hands encircled your waist, pulling you impossibly closer.

Swinging a leg over his waist, you manoeuvred yourself over him without breaking the kiss, earning a groan as you rolled your hips languidly down on his. His lips broke away from yours, only to reattach further down your neck, wandering hands moving up and under your pyjama top in their search for skin. You buried your fingers in his hair, tugging gently as his hips rose to meet yours. Moving one hand to the back of your neck, the other around your back, Aaron flipped you, positioning himself on top of you. He kept his weight off you with one arm, which lay next to your head while the other resumed its journey up your side towards your chest. He took a moment to look down at you, appreciating the view below him before he returned his lips to the expanse of untouched skin below your collarbone.

Your hands were half-way to tugging at his shirt when the loud ring of his phone broke you apart. Your eyes stayed closed, a sigh leaving you as he rolled over and off you to grab the device off the side table.

‘Hello?’ His voice was still breathy as he picked up the call, but you could tell instantly it was a work call as his voice became stern and serious. He was on the call for barely thirty seconds before you realised what a work call at 9am on a Saturday meant for you both. ‘Of course. I’ll be there soon.’

The disappointment at your ruined weekend plans was evident on your face. Aaron was already sitting up, stretching out sleep-sore muscles and trying to get the blood circulating back around his entire body. You opened your mouth to try and persuade him to lie back down, just for five more minutes, when your own phone rang. You didn’t need to see the caller ID to know it was Penelope, the unique ringtone she’d set for herself playing loud and clear.

‘Please god let this be a social call.’ There were nicer ways to answer the phone; you didn’t care to use one.

‘I hate being the bearer of bad news, but they found a body in Monogahela national forest, and its not looking pretty,’ Penelope said, an apologetic tone to her normally cheery voice, ‘But don’t worry my love, our resident Boy Genius promised to bring coffees and pastries for everyone.’

‘He’s really earning that genius title,’ You laughed, turning your head slightly to get a better view of Aaron, who was pulling dress pants out of the wardrobe and searching for a tie to match the shirt he’d already laid out at the foot of the bed. He held up two options when he saw you looking. It was very domestic, and you felt all the more disappointed that in one short hour, you’d be back to pretending you hadn’t spent the night - and start of the morning - between the sheets with him. Back to pretending that you weren’t planning to spend the weekend helping Jack bake cookies and cakes for his schools bake sale on Monday, and going for a run with Aaron before you tried to recreate one of Dave’s pasta recipes for dinner with Jack and Jessica. Back to pretending he was just your boss.

You looked away, trying to focus back on Penelope’s words as she explained the flight times and what you needed to add to your go bag. You were glad you’d put your spare overnight bag into the boot of Aarons car.

‘Fuck!’

Yours eyes widened at the sudden exclamation, head whipping back around to see Aaron holding his foot. You barely had time to deduce that he’d stubbed his toe before Penelope’s voice was screaming through the receiver at you.

‘OH MY GOD! Was that a man???’ You were at a loss for words, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation. Thankfully, Penelope had no interest in waiting for your response. ‘I thought you went home early, you sly fox!’

‘Listen Pen, I have to go,’ You said quickly, ‘See you soon!’

You pulled the phone away from your ear, her threats of finding out all the details later cut off as you hung up. There was a moment of silence, before you burst out laughing, clutching your stomach tightly. Aaron’s laugh followed yours seconds later, both of you revelling in the ridiculousness of the situation. Seven months of secrets and it was nearly all revealed over a stubbed toe. By the time the laughter had subsided, Aaron had sat back down next to you. You leaned into him, pressing a kiss to his exposed collarbone.

‘You know she’s gonna quiz me about this the entire flight, right?’

2

Cases involving children were always hard. After a week of searching and profiling and praying, the team had identified and located the unsub. Five missing children over six months. The latest victim, a young girl kidnapped from the local fair, had been the missing piece of the puzzle that led you to the unsub, but the team had been too late, arriving in time to catch the unsub wrapping her body for disposal. The arrest had been horrible, but sitting with JJ while she informed the victim’s parents was even worse.

By the end of the day, you were completely and utterly drained. You wanted to be back in your own bed, in your own apartment, not in a stuffy hotel room overthinking every decision you had made. Those parents wanted their little girl back. You tried to push the thought from your mind. After nearly an hour in the vicious hell of your own company, you dragged yourself off the bed, and down the hallway to the room you knew Aaron had. You had never been more grateful for the increased hotel budget allowing the team individual rooms on this case.

He was quick to answer the door, still in his suit, though his tie hung undone around his neck. He looked roughly how you felt.  His frown deepened when he saw you, standing with your arms around your torso, eyes red and puffy.

‘Come here,’ he said, already reaching out for you. No more words were needed as he wrapped you up in his embrace, holding you against him. The door swung shut behind you as he guided you further into the room. It was identical to yours, with a double bed in the centre, a small coffee machine and mug on the edge of a small desk, and a door leading into a small bathroom.  Unlike yours, most of Aaron’s belongings had been packed away into his overnight bag, gun and badge sitting on top of the open bag.

‘I hate cases like this,’ you whispered into his neck, letting the repetitive motion of his hand rubbing your back soothe you.

‘I know, so do I.’

You stood together in the middle of the room for a long time before you pulled back. Not far enough to be out of Aaron’s arms, but enough that you could look at him. His brow was furrowed as he met your gaze, face all full of worry and exhaustion. You reached up, running your thumb along his brow to soften the expression, smoothing out the lines. He leaned into your touch. Catching your wrist in his hand, he peppered kisses along the inside of it, following the line all the way to your palm. It was methodical, kisses following the vein as far as they could.

You looped the fingers of your free hand into the loop of his tie, pulling him to you until your lips met his. The kiss wasn’t rushed, or hungry. It was soft and gentle, anchoring you to the present, and away from the past two days. When he pulled back, he let his forehead rest against yours, eyes still closed. It was the moment of calm you had been hoping for since you’d first arrived. It wouldn’t solve all your problems, or take away all the guilt you felt, but it could keep them from overwhelming you entirely. After a minute, you opened your eyes.

‘I really should head back, my bags not going to pack itself, and I do not want to be stuck here any longer than I have to be,’ you said, stepping out of his space with much difficulty. You wanted to stay, borrow his shirt to sleep in and worry about everything else tomorrow, but your flight was early, and you really didn’t want to be rushing to get packed before take-off.

‘I’ll be here if you need me,’ He voice was almost hoarse with how soft he spoke, pulling you back in for one last kiss. You turned then, and left the room, pulling the door shut behind you. You still felt horrible, but the heavy weight on your chest had eased off. That was all you could hope for tonight.

‘Isn’t that Hotch’s room?’ You froze like a deer in headlights outside the door as Spencer’s voice reached your ears. You turned to look at him over your shoulder, hoping he wouldn’t notice the panic-stricken expression on your face.

‘Uh, yeah,’ You forced out, ‘Yeah he uh- you see, my shower wasn’t working.’ Your brain felt fried, but the excuse wasn’t the worst you’d come up with over the previous nine months. ‘He let me us his. Shower.’ Spencer blinked at you, and for a frighteningly long minute, he said nothing.

‘That’s nice of him,’ He said finally, lips curling into a half-smile, ‘Hey, Emily, Derek and I were going to go down to the bar for a drink, if you want to come?’

‘Sounds great, Spence,’ You mirrored his smile, ‘I need to pack, so I’ll meet you down there?’ He nodded, and with that he disappeared down the hall, and you took a deep breath. You’d have to tell them eventually, but not tonight. Not tonight.

You wouldn’t realise until days later that your hair had been completely dry, you had no towels with you, and your excuse had been ridiculously transparent.

1

You knew it was a bad idea to sit next to Aaron on the flight back, but it had been a tough case, and you couldn’t help but yearn for his comfort. Even though it had been short, everyone seemed to be feeling it. With Derek passed out across the couch, and Emily and Spencer focused on their game of cards, there hadn’t been much stopping you gingerly leaning closer to the warmth radiating from the man next to you. He acknowledged your careful closeness by letting the free hand not occupied by the case report drop to rest on your knee under the table.

The coffee you’d made for yourself after boarding had only increased your adrenaline crash, and you could feel your eyelids drooping even as you fought to keep them open. It was a losing battle. The soft material of Aaron’s shirt made contact with your cheek as you leaned against his shoulder. The muscles beneath you tensed, but not enough to wake you from the sleep that had taken over quite rapidly.

Aaron glanced down at you before back up at the rest of the team. JJ was nowhere to be seen, probably in the small airplane kitchen, and the others seemed to be otherwise occupied. When he was sure no one was paying any attention to your little corner of the plane, he allowed himself to relax. It was a needed comfort after the weeks work. His thumb drew soft circles on your thigh, and for the first time all week, he closed the case file and his eyes. Just a minute of peace, that’s all he needed.

The minute ended rather abruptly when the hushed voices of Emily and JJ reached his ears. He stubbornly kept his eyes shut.

‘Think he’d let the rest of his drool on his shoulder like that?’ Emily’s voice was just about audible, the teasing grin on her face clear in his mind even without seeing it. He thought about waking you, pretending it was all just tiredness, and moving on like there weren’t four pairs of eyes on you both. But he couldn’t. Not when your body curved toward him, unaware of its unconscious betrayal. Your hair tickled where it brushed against his neck.

Instead, he opened his eyes slowly, giving the onlookers a chance to turn away. They didn’t need to know he’d heard them. He didn’t need to know they would be continuing this conversation shortly after the plane landed. Dave, who sat across the row from Aaron, hid his smirk with his coffee mug, returning his focus to his book. With one last soft look in your direction (which didn’t go unnoticed by Emily and Spencer), Aaron picked up the case file and got back to work.

+1

‘Fuck.’ You were bent at the middle, hands on your knees for support as you tried to catch a breath. Derek and one of the uniformed officers were already hauling the unsub off towards a police cruiser. A second uniformed officer was searching the area for the weapon, which had been lost in the scuffle. You brushed off Emily’s concern, promising her you were just winded. Straightening up, you swallowed a wince as your hands ached to go to your stinging side. ‘Just, just need to sit for a minute.’

‘We’ll take care of everything here, why don’t you go with Reid, get checked out by the paramedics?’ You blinked rapidly as you tried to focus back on her words.

‘I’m okay, Em, really,’ Your chest felt like it was on fire with every breath you took, but you forced a reassuring smile. She didn’t look reassured. ‘Fine, mom, I’ll get checked when Reid’s done.’

Emily’s concerned look didn’t fade, but she nodded, and you turned back towards the line of black SUVs. Once she had moved off to help make a perimeter around the scene, you slowly walked back to them. Thankfully, the lights and sirens had since been switched off. You pulled yourself into the passenger seat, trying to pretend it didn’t hurt so much. You couldn’t be weak in front of your team. You’d gotten a shock, that’s all. You were fine.

 A wave of tiredness crashed over you as soon as you sat down, leaning forward to balance yourself against the dash. You weren’t catching your breath, instead finding it harder and harder to fill your lungs. A few more minutes, that’s all you needed. You tried desperately to convince yourself the words were true, but as another breath burned its way down your trachea, panic started to set in. All too suddenly, your FBI vest felt too tight, your arms heavy as you tried to tear it off. With a lot of activity, you managed to get it loosened, but as soon as the pressure was released, your head started to spin rapidly. You closed your eyes tightly, trying to dispel the feeling, but within seconds, a darkness had swallowed you.

It could’ve been seconds, minutes, or hours before a sliver of consciousness crept back into your body. There was a noise to your left, and you dazedly tried to turn your head, but it wouldn’t move. You tried to focus on the window in front of you, but your vision was swimming. Feeling wobbly, you tried to push yourself up straighter, tried to turn and move, and then there was a warm hand on your shoulder, pushing you gently back against the seat.

‘Stay still.’ The words were commanding, but the voice was laced with worry. ‘The paramedics are almost here.’ And then, more distant as if the owner of the voice had moved away from you, he yelled, ‘Where are the medics?!’

You didn’t remember much after that, holding onto the voice as you drifted in and out of consciousness. Aaron remembered the whole journey too clearly. Guilt crept through him, worsening the longer it took to reach the hospital. He was sent to the waiting room while you were rushed into surgery. With an abundance of time, and a lack of answers, all he could do was replay the scene in his mind over and over and over again.

The arrest was meant to be easy. With no victims in the house, and no wives or kids in the picture to be used as hostages, it should’ve been easy to disarm the suspect and bring him into custody. Instead, he had let you just close enough to him to grab you and press a small knife against your side. You’d let your guard down when he’d given up so easily. You should’ve known better. It was a tense negotiation, the point of the blade piercing the material of your vest as JJ spoke to the man, Derek sneaking slowly behind him.

As soon as the unsub was fully distracted by JJ, Derek had moved in. Tackling the unsub to the ground had knocked you down with them, your head hitting the ground with a thump. The knife went skittering off as the man’s arm collided with the ground, but with Derek’s knee against his back and arms pressing down on his shoulders, he quickly lost the fight.

Aaron wanted to rush to you, to gather you in his arms and not let you go, but the captain of the police department had already turned his attention to the growing crowd of journalists and bystanders trying to get closer to get the full story. Emily had already gone to you, so with an unconscious scowl, Aaron turned and followed the captain towards the tape.  

It wasn’t long before he was joined by JJ and Dave, as the trio attempted to subdue the now impatient journalists and horrified neighbours.

‘Hotch!’ Emily’s voice carried over the commotion to reach his ears. He turned to watch her as she weaved through the crowd of officers to reach him. Dave glanced at them, before redirecting the journalists in front of them onto another question, leaving Aaron the gap he needed to step back.

‘What’s wrong?’ He didn’t wait for her to come to a stop, the concerned look on her face clueing him into the fact something was amiss.

‘Its y/n.’ Aaron swore in that moment his heart stopped beating. ‘They promised they’d get checked out by the medics, but Reid said they haven’t been anywhere near the ambulances.’

A quick glance over his shoulder showed JJ and Dave gaining control of the mob, and he nodded to Emily, already striding away from the mass of bodies. She was quick to follow. Taking the lead, she headed back towards the SUVs, where she assumed you must’ve gone. She hadn’t seen you when she passed, but it had been a quick pass.

Aaron himself nearly missed your figure through the tinted windows, slumped down in the seat. His heart stopped for a second time that day.

‘Get a medic!’ It was his voice yelling out, but it sounded distant, even to his own ears. With the door flung open, he put his hand on your shoulder and shook. Your head lolled with the motion, but your eyes fought to open. You were alive. Feeling resistance under his fingers, he gently pushed you back against the seat, eyes scanning your figure trying to find the damage. ‘Stay still,’ He tried to keep his voice steady and calm, swallowing the lump in his throat as a trail of red caught his attention. The bottom of your vest was torn and a shaded darker than the rest, a small red trail leaking out from underneath onto your white shirt. Carefully manoeuvring you to a position where he had better access, he pressed down hard against the dark spot.

‘The paramedics are almost here.’ He couldn’t tell if you could still hear him, your eyelids fluttering rapidly. He leaned out of the car as far as he could without lessening the pressure, ‘Where are the medics?!’

He could see two people in high vis jackets approaching quickly, Emily leading the way. Two big bags and a stretcher was carried between the two, and it was only mere seconds before they were ushering him back and out of their way so they could assess the damage.

Whatever they decided, it wasn’t good. They removed your vest, and shirt, and by the amount of packing being shoved back into one of the bags, the bleeding wasn’t slowing. If he wasn’t so panicked, Aaron would’ve appreciated how efficiently they worked. It was only five minutes before you were being packed into the back of the ambulance. Dave had been left in charge at the scene, with instructions to come to the hospital as soon as everything was cleared at the scene and the precinct.

The paramedic in the back with Aaron – Thomas, as he’d introduced himself – busied himself with taking sets of vitals every 5 minutes, monitoring the pressure bandages around your abdomen, and ensuring the flow of oxygen was at a steady level. All the while, he tried to keep Aaron clued into what was happening for every step.

By the time they’d reached the hospital, you had a sickly pallor. You were rushed immediately into an emergency theatre. Once the doors closed in front of him, it took every ounce of strength to carry his body to the waiting room. He sat for what felt like days, before a nurse came to find him. In reality it had been an intensive two-hour surgery, and a thankfully uneventful recovery. On route to your room, he was given the news that everything had gone smoothly. Luck had been on your side, and the wound had missed everything important. It had only barely nicked a large vein, which had caused the large bleed, but had been easy to fix. It would be at least six weeks of desk duty, but you would recover.

Sitting at your bedside, Aaron gripped your hand in his, careful not to squeeze too hard. He was positive you’d hit him if you felt he was treating you as if you were fragile, but until you woke up, he would take that chance. With the adrenaline dropping and the relief flooding in, all he could do was hold on and not let go. After 40 minutes of watching for signs of you waking up, Aaron could feel his eyelids dropping. He didn’t try keep them open, instead shuffling the chair closer to the edge of the bed. You would be there when he woke, as he would be when you woke.

Which you did, just over an hour later. Aaron was still asleep, and you were careful not to wake him. If it took you getting stabbed to get him a few extra hours of sleep, you were making damn sure he got all he could. A nurse came into the room shortly after you woke, and Aaron slept through the check-up. It was your turn to watch him. Admiring the calm in his sleepy features, and gently squeezing the hand still clutching yours. The nurse had let you know he’d been there from the second he'd been allowed in the room. You didn’t need to hear the words. You knew he loved you.

‘You can see them now.’

It had been a longer wait for the rest of the team, who’d arrived shortly after Aaron had left the waiting room. Together they stood and followed the nurse down the hallway into a quieter section of the hospital. Through the open door, they could see you, attached to tubes and wires, but eyes open and sitting up. Next to you was Aaron. The spare visitors seat had been pulled as close to the bed as possible, and that’s where he sat. He was clearly asleep, given the closed eyes and steady breaths. He was leaned slightly towards you, head tilted down. With his sleeves rolled to his elbows, his tie loose around his neck, and his hair in disarray, he looked about as unkempt as the team had ever seen him. But he also looked calm. His usually furrowed brow was relaxed, and his lips forwent their usual downturn in exchange for a slightly parted straight line. Your thumb absentmindedly smoothed over the skin of his knuckles, and you smiled fondly at his sleeping figure. It was sickeningly obvious from your expression that you had so much love for him.

When you finally felt eyes on you, you looked up to see four eager faces greeting you just outside your door. The fond smile on your face only got fonder as they quietly piled into the room. The noise woke Aaron, who’s eyes immediately found yours. Pulling your joined hands up, he pressed his lips to the back of your hand, before straightening up in the seat. He didn’t drop your hand.

Surrounded by your family, you couldn’t help but think that really, you were going to be just fine.

~~~~~

taglist: @michasia24

[charlidos]

Viggo has published two of the photos he took of Orlando (I'm sure there are plenty more. For instance that "best photo ever taken of Orlando" from getting lost in the rainforest... Will it ever be published? Fear it won't).

Elf Head is dated 1999, and in my mind this was taken very early on after Viggo arrived in NZ, October 1999. If you look at other clips and pics of Orlando in his mohawk hairdo, I don't see that long patch of hair in the neck like in this pic. It's a more extreme version here, less polished. So maybe this was an early version of the 'do.

According to what I've understood, the first scenes with Legolas didn't start shooting until after a week or so of shooting, so I think Orlando hadn't started filming anything when Viggo arrived on set (and started filming from the get go). I think they tinkered with Legolas' costume and wig for a bit at that time. For instance, I'm not sure what that collar is in the pic. Does it look like something Legolas wears in the films? In other words, I think the decision to have a mohawk might have coincided with Viggo's arrival on set. And I think this photo was taken very early on, maybe the first weeks of filming.

According to Orlando, it was Liv who suggested the style, as they'd realised that he'd need to remove most of his hair in order to facilitate putting on the Legolas' wig. But if Viggo had already arrived at this point, maybe he had something to do with it; maybe he even suggested it, and Liv thought it was a great idea.

Viggo used to be a part of the LA punk scene, via his marriage to one of its stars. I don't know to what extent he felt like a part of that scene back then, but I imagine Viggo was not only used to wild styles, hair and dress, but was perhaps rather fond of it. Finding a co-star with such an punk-ish style probably appealed to him a great deal.

Because I see a fascination in this photo. And it's not with Orlando's face, but with the hairstyle, the strange contrast of hair and pointy ears, the form of that skull and neck. Maybe he was intrigued by the contradiction of Orlando's very pretty face and the unruly, almost-ugly hair flap and strange ears.

The title "elf head" is a bit unexpected, considering the only thing even close to elvish about this portrait, is the ears. Certainly, no elf would ever have such hair, right? Unless it's a punk-elf. But maybe Viggo thought Orlando looked like a beautiful elf, no matter what hairstyle.

This photo was taken sometime in 2000, but there's no way to tell exactly when, I think. They filmed so many battles, so who knows which one. Maybe Helm's Deep, with those long, arduous weeks of night shoots, when they must have spent so much time with each other, when no one else in the main cast was even awake. There's this feeling of being in the dark in this photo, or in a twilight of sorts.

Again, there's a sense of fascination here; with the beauty of Legolas the elf, and the transformation from Orlando, the young, pretty, energetic, sweet young man to Legolas, old, wise, calm and focused. Viggo is an artist, so I imagine he's got a sense of beauty when he sees it.

There's also a sense of intimacy, like we're intruding, like we are in Orlando's mirror. Considering they shared a make-up trailer all that time, sitting beside each other, getting ready, not only for battle but for everything, it must have seemed, at times, quite intimate. Orlando studying Viggo, fascinated. And obviously, Viggo studied Orlando back, also fascinated.

I wonder if the photo was spontaneous or staged; did Viggo just catch Orlando putting in Legolas' eyes, like Orlando did every day, or did Viggo decide this was a shot he wanted and asked Orlando to pose?

I can read the added text two ways: full awe and respect, like Orlando really is transforming into Legolas, a fearsome warrior to be reckoned with. Or like it's slightly teasing: to point out the irony of this fey, lithe creature being able to fight orchs. Kind of like you'd pretend to scared of a little kid, acting like a scary monster.

After a discussion with @vamp-ress, I realised something else: these two pics have one particular thing in common, namely that they catch that twilight moment between reality and fiction. That moment when O is still O, but is about to become Legolas (or the other way around). That moment when he's neither completely O, nor completely Legolas. A transitional moment of blur between the two worlds. I imagine this is what caught Viggo's eye, that transformation.

Now, Viggo please show us the rest of your Orlando stash, I know you've got plenty!

And I'm sure Orlando does too..

[cconfusedkat]

Spooky month means spooky ideas and spooky ideas ??? Lead to AU's!! >:-D i was dwelling on it for a few months and wasn't really sure on how i wanted to create this up?? But nonetheless i managed :-]

"Vampyres of the Old Faith" is an AU centered around the sudden uprise of vampyr (which are the Bishops in this case) and the vampyre hunters intend to stop this revolt before it gets any worse !! This takes place in the eaaaarly 2000's ,,, so it's a modern au ,,, and is a little funny to consider that the vampyr are Old as hell and arent adapted well enough to modern society 😭😭

YIPPEE Now that i got that down here are the four main vampyres :-3c there is a Green Coven, Golden Coven, Blue Coven, and Purple Coven. Each vampyre is able to shapeshift into smaller forms—like how a vampyre can change into a bat—these four can turn into different animals !! Theyve all been alive for different amounts of time, yet 300 years ago they all managed to find eachother and create a pact of vampyr covens!!

Leshy is Def known as the cruelest and invasive one,, he does happen to be the only one to mess with the shaping and mirroring of reality,,,, which honestly is concerning the most 😭 throughout history people have claimed they've seen "a big tree creature walking and taking people's skin" ,,,, So the eldritch rumors are NOT very helpful for him-

Originally i wanted to give heket a hellhound form but i actually liked the snake form better :-] !! Deciding her outfit was a little complicated but ,,, i think it turned out well ? Hekets known for being the most angry and cold vampyre. Despite , yknow, using fire magick . HELP

Kallamar o kallamar !!! She is a siren and she stays only in the water :-) if her siblings needs to speak to her then they make sure to have a water circle in the middle of their meeting room so they can all talk with her there,,, kallamar is known for her manipulative tactics and ways of persuasion which help her catch and convert people into vampyrism

Lastly is our main coven leader Everyone knows that built up the ideas for a vampyre uprising would be none other thann Shamura 👍👍👍 known for their sadistic self and invincibility , using wind magick to get away with a variety of things in a literal snap of a finger ,,, because of being a vampyre longer than all of them they're uniquely the one with sensitivity to blood?? They can still take blood but they dont drink it as often as the other three do (minus the way leshy does it because he literally latches himself onto a victim's shoulder with his mouth ,,,, )

With all the vampyres in mind who are our hunters ???

Well here's the first three bigshots of the company >:-D Sozonius has been hunting and obtaining information about vampyr for years, narinder is fairly new to vampyr bounty hunting yet still exceeded the expectation of a regular bounty hunter (surprisingly the strongest 23 year old), and lamb only recently started researching the vampyr after they lost their mother to vampyrism,, they are mainly known for being a detective and trying to help people out with finding their lost family members or attempting to help revert a vampyr they found back into a mortal !!!!

The company (which im,,,, Honestly not sure of a name about still 😭 i dont know what to call it) has been a benefit to society more than they realize. The unmentioned references happen to be Forneus and Monch. The head scientist is Monch, and Forneus IS the founder of the company to hunt down vampyres! Shes lost her family to vampyrism all the same, especially her two sons (aym & baal) which were kidnapped by Shamura too since theyve stalked narinder and knew he had a fondness over those two kittens just as much as forneus did.

There are more roles within this universe,, ive also been trying to think of how many characters I could add into this,, BUT YEAH !!!! Something really silly and self indulgent over the past few days of making finalized refs for them :-D

Ive been kinda plotting out another secret story for Narinder on how *he* was the one who caused this sudden uprising,, how the betrayal of leaving his siblings caused them to rage in revolution,, but that can be for another time 🕺

[kodiackwrites]

More country music Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley

—

As I said in my previous post of him, Ghost listens to rock, metal, anything loud to pull him from his thoughts. But the second he’s left those god awful war grounds, Simon Riley is listening to good ol’ country music.

He isn’t very fond of newer country, But there’s the odd hit or two he’ll enjoy.

Because of this, he’s not very fond of listening to the radio since all they play is the top 10 hits of that month on repeat, so he has a 2000’s thick CD case, filled to the brim with anything from George Strait to Eric Church. You’ve grown used to his pattern of getting in, pulling open the centre console, Flipping through the CD collection, some burnt by himself or mates of his, Pulling one out, Starting the truck, One finger still in the disc he selected as he turns the key, the engine lowly rumbling to life, And holding the brake as he pulls whatever disc was left in the stereo out and slipping it into the case, Dropping the new one in and putting the case back.

Sounds like it takes forever, but he’s got it down to a tee, only taking a minute to pull the truck into drive, turn around to face the back of the truck, one arm on the back of your head rest and pulling out of the driveway.

When you first got with him, you tried to convince him to just use Bluetooth, but he argued that “it’s just not the same.”

So despite all his friends telling him to upgrade his 2017 Chevy Silverado, he refuses to. It’s a reliable truck, But it also has a CD player built in, although if he had to get a new truck for whenever reason, he would totally tear out and replace the entire head unit just to have a CD player.

Occasionally, you’d flip through the large case, scanning over his ever growing collection, asking where they’re from or to hear that one next, And he’d certainly let you pick from time to time.

He never played the music very loudly, it was always a comfortable 10-15 volume, With him humming or mumbling along as his long fingers tapped the steering wheel along to the beat of the drums or the melody of the guitar.

(NSFW below the cut)

——

He isn’t the biggest fan of playing music during intimacy, he claims it ruins the moment. However he isn’t objected to sliding into the backseat if you were parked in the middle of nowhere and a good song came on.

And he’d certainly pick certain CD’s that are just long enough to drive to your lookout spot and end with just the right mix to make love<3

—

This might become a series but idk👍

[pancake-breakfast]

Ok, now that I've finished Road to El Dorado, two things really stand out to me:

Chel, and the general conclusion.

First, Chel. I cannot express to you how unlikely it was to have a character like her in Western animation in the Year of Our Lord 2000. Girl characters with her looks were rarely given personalities. Girls with her flirtatiousness were vixens there to be used by the bad guys and a stumbling block to the heroes. (Think: Megara in Hercules, which came out three years earlier.) Chel is neither. She's at least the con artist of Miguel and Tulio, and about 15 times more observant than either. When she wants something, she knows how to get it while making her mark feel good about being swindled (which, of course, is the difference between a con man and a con artist).

Her sexuality isn't a weapon. It's not even a tool. It's whatever she wants it to be in the moment. She's the one in control of it, and she gets to say how it's used.

While she might be a bit of a damsel in distress at the very beginning of the film, that hardly lasts, and she's the one who sets her own saving in motion. She takes one look at the New Guys and immediately pegs them for rubes, and she leans into that to get them to help her escape. Yes, she's attracted to Tulio, but that attraction grows into genuine fondness, and doesn't stop her from caring for Miguel. She never intentionally plays the two off of each other, and seems to genuinely be sad for Tulio when he and Miguel are fighting. She even gives Miguel a fond (but not really flirty) kiss when she and Tulio initially get ready to depart.

Could she have used more story? Sure, but a lot of characters could have here. It's just nice to see her not be The Girl tacked onto the side of Tulio and Miguel. She's got her own goals and her own way of doing things, and she takes charge of her own destiny almost from the beginning. Good for her.

Second, the general conclusion. While there's this fancy battle against Mr. Wizard Guy and his stone jaguar, most movies would have (also) had a big fight against the Spanish. But oh, no. Not this one. Instead, the battle is won by preventing a battle in the first place. And yes, it requires our intrepid antiheros (these boys are NOT hero material, my friends) to make a sacrifice, but while most stories would have the battle build up to that sacrifice, their sacrifice is the whole plan. There's no moment of passion that inspires change. They've genuinely grown to care for their marks to some degree or another, and they realize that all their dreams of fortune and glory aren't worth what's going to happen to this place if the people on their way here manage to arrive.

The sacrifice is premeditated and carefully executed. And that shows more growth than so many last-minute changes of heart.

I kinda want to say something about not entirely buying how quickly they wrapped up the conflict between Tulio and Miguel, but even in their little break-up song, it's pretty clear they (especially Miguel) don't want to stay mad at each other. They're just letting their pride get in the way of apologizing and reconciling.

After all, they're still each other's greatest adventure... even if they've picked up a third member in their party.

[lover-of-mine]

I have realized what is making my head explode when a BT post accidentally goes through my tags!!!! They are completely ignoring Buck is bi. They are acting like my aunt in the early 2000s. I may not have been fond of all the LUs but they were valid relationships. If Taylor had not fucked up who knows where that relationship would have gone. I mean clearly nowhere once Eddie was out because once Eddie broke up with him he spiraled and kissed Lucy. But they are still valid relationships and at this point in time I don't see how Tommy is better than any of them. To be honest he has the worst traits of Abby and Taylor but the screen time of Ally. So frustrating.

Well, when have people ever been normal about bisexuality? But here's the thing, every relationship Buck had so far had his own set of issues that somehow have been reduced to the way he was dating women, which is fucked in so many ways and the amount of times I have to stop myself from picking a fight because of bucktaylor it's actually hysterical to me because we're seriously at a point where I need to defend the validity of Taylor's place in Buck's life. Like, how did we get here? Because here's the thing, do I think Buck and Taylor were meant to be? No. Do I think Buck would've clung to her until he literally couldn't anymore if her actions hadn't hurt his family? Absolutely. I see Buck going as far as panic proposing to her if that particular situation hadn't happened, just to have someone. Because they had chemistry and Buck kept trying to force that to become love. Taylor was wrong for Buck for a multitude of reasons, but none of those reasons were because she's a woman and Buck is gay. And the relationship with Tommy is not gonna magically last forever just because Tommy is a man. Tommy is this weird amalgamation of all of Buck's love interests with Ali/Ana levels of screentime and he doesn't magically have a fighting chance just because he has a dick and people can't seem to see this. And I think that's crazy. Because Tommy was given to us in an episode that had the theme of not recognizing people, while actively making us think it was about someone else and then they did the Kim storyline and I want to scream because people can't see the parallels. And the more I look at it the more insane I get because he's all of Buck's love interests smashed into someone who's Eddie two steps to the left with none of the things we love about him. But somehow he's perfect because he's not a woman. The only thing Tommy has going for him is not being a woman. You turn him into one and none of the things he did would fly. Letting Buck get away with physically hurting Eddie? Leaving him in the curb? Not dressing up? Making a kink joke after someone Buck loves almost died? Picture those scenes with Lucy and tell me anyone in the fandom would be shipping them. Let alone fighting for them the way people are right now. But he's a man so he gets a pass and that's so fucking weird. Evan Buckley is bisexual but getting dicked down isn't going to magically make everything perfect. Jesus.

Also, since you mentioned Eddie coming out, something that I've been thinking about since we found out it was supposed to be Eddie, a Buck who thinks he's straight finding out Eddie has a boyfriend would shortcircuit. I legit think they could not find a way to write Buck's reaction to Eddie being queer that didn't end with him figuring his feelings out so they switched things up, so Buck would for sure would've gotten there once Eddie got there because he would've had big feelings about it and Buck is not the repressed one.

[channiechxn]

Blossoming Love

bang chan x reader

word count: 2000+

It has been about half an hour since you finished work. You were now standing in the lobby, waiting for your fiancé to pick you up. You had texted him and updated him on where you were on work and when you would be ready. But, you received no answer. By this point you were getting very agitated. You would have walked to the train station by now except it was down pouring. And of course, you didn’t bring your umbrella. This pissed you off a little more.

You groaned as you watched another car pass by. You shifted on your feet, trying to relieve the pain in your heels. “Y/n?” A voice called out behind you. “What are you still doing here?”

You turned to see one of the idols of the company, Bang Chan. He was a sweet man. Caring for everyone in the office, staying late to work on his music, talking and laughing with the staff. He made you feel so welcomed when you started here. You never really had support or inspiration in your life and he gave you both the moment he said hello. To be honest, you grew quite fond of the man in front of you. You gave him a soft smile. “I suppose I’m waiting for my ride but, he hasn’t shown up nor answered me back so I’m not too sure anymore.”

Chan frowned. “Why don’t I give you a ride home?”

“Chan, you don’t have to do that. I can walk to the train station.”

“In this rain? Absolutely not. I’m bringing you home, y/n.” You hesitated. What if the paparazzi saw the two of you together? You didn’t care much about your reputation as much as his. Chan gave you a reassuring smile, sensing your hesitation. “It’ll be fine. Skijigi will be with us.” You gave a look to the man behind Chan, who was giving you an approving nod. You let your shoulders relax a little before accepting his offer.

The ride home was comfortable. Soft music playing while Chan told you about the upcoming events he and his members are going to attend. He even asked you about your upcoming projects you would be working on. It felt nice to have a conversation that lasted more than a few minutes. To talk to someone who seemed to care about how your day was or what kind of work the company has been giving you. It felt nice to not be so…lonely.

You looked up at your apartment building as the car came to a stop. “Thank you, again.” You said as you turned to face Chan and Skijigi.

“It was my pleasure.” He said with a huge smile. “Let me walk you up.”

“Chan, you don't have to do that. The ride was enough.” You said with a small chuckle. You got out of the car before he could protest. Giving him a small wave before running up the building stairs. It was quiet in the lobby. It usually was this late but you didn’t mind too much. It was the silence of your home that was going to bother you to death. Your life with Dae used to be so lively. Going out on Friday nights to see friends, having date nights, but that slowly faded away. It turned into him having more and more “work” piled up and you putting all your focus on the company. You knew it wasn’t healthy to ignore these problems, these signs but you were still working your way to figuring out how to deal with them. You loved Dae you did but honestly, you’re not entirely sure you’re in love with him anymore.

You looked down at your engagement ring as you held your keys. You sighed before unlocking your apartment and making your way inside. It was dark and quiet like you predicted. You muttered a small ‘I’m home’ before getting yourself ready for bed.

-

Your knee bounced as you looked at your phone. It had been a few months since Chan had brought you home. The two of you had grown closer and closer and you had to admit you were getting feelings for the idol. You knew it was wrong. It was so wrong. But you couldn’t help yourself. He gave you attention, he showed he cared for your well being, he sat there and listened to your rambling. It was sweet. It was so sweet. But today, you couldn’t handle the compliments coming from your new found crush because today was your anniversary and you felt guilty. You knew you shouldn’t. You shouldn’t feel this way about a day with a man who hardly said good morning to you this morning. To a man who barely acknowledges your existence at this point. But the reason you were looking at your phone wasn’t to see if Dae wanted to meet up tonight, no. You were waiting for a message from Chan. He typically comes to see you if he hasn’t responded to you. Or he’ll give you a sleepy smile before heading back to his dorm with Changbin and Jisung.

Your coworker, Nari, glanced your way. She sighed before placing a hand on your knee. “What’s up? You’ve been staring at your phone all day. Is it Dae?” You groaned before shaking your head. You feel stupid before being called out like that. But, in all honesty, Nari was the only one who knew what was going on.

“Chan hasn’t texted me today…” You said quietly so only she could hear you. She hummed with realization. “I feel guilty about it. Like, I’m engaged, Nari.” She laughed before grabbing your arm. You gave her a questioning look as she pulled you out into the hall. “Wha-”

“Walk and talk.” She demanded as she began to drag you down the hall, to the lunch room. “Listen, y/n. You have to realize that you and Dae have nothing left. You share things, yes, but you haven’t loved each other for a long time. It is okay for you to move on. Your heart wants to but your mind is telling you no. Your heart is screaming for Chan while your mind is telling you to be this perfect little house wife for Dae. I know you don’t want that. It’s okay to break this off.” 

You let what she said sink in. She was right. You and Dae had nothing left. You were holding onto something that had broken a long time ago. You loved Dae. He was your first love but you weren’t in love with him anymore. You jumped slightly as she put a hand on your back and a cup of tea in front of you. “I’m sorry, y/n but, I can’t see you tear yourself up anymore. I care for you.” You gave her a smile before giving her a small hug and muttering a thank you. You took a sip of your tea, the warm feeling washing away any guilt and anxiety you had. The two of you sat in a comfortable silence as you watched people come and go from the lunch room. You felt like the weight had lifted on your shoulders slightly. 

-

You swirled the glass of wine in your hand. A little liquid courage never hurts when you’re trying to gather the confidence to break off a year long engagement. If someone had taken a look at how you are right now, they would say you were nervous. Nervous wasn’t the right word. You were scared. Since high school, all you knew was Dae. He was your life. He was what you based your life around. You would have to start fresh. Change was a different thing for you. You were broken out of your thoughts when the door opened. You glanced at the clock to see it was eleven pm. You turned back to the door when you heard Dae groan. You watched as he made his way to the kitchen, loosening his tie. He grabbed a glass before pouring himself a thing of whiskey. “How was your day?” He said before taking a sip. 

This shocked you. He never really noticed if you had watched his movements. He also wasn’t a man who engaged in small talk unless he absolutely had to. “I- I mean, it was fine. Nothing too crazy today. How was yours?”

“The usual. I managed to gather a new client today.” He replied before making his way into the bedroom, downing his whiskey in the process. 

You gave yourself a second before following him. You placed your glass down before leaning against the doorframe. “Can we talk?”

He glanced at you before throwing a t-shirt on. “Isn’t that what we're doing?”

“Really talk.” He sighed before sitting on the bed, motioning you to continue. “Are you happy? With us?” You could see his muscles tense. You knew the answer already. Because you felt the same way. But, you needed this. You needed this closure. Even if it ends in heartbreak. 

“No, I’m not.” You picked your glass as he continued. “I, I did something I’m not proud of. I should have never done it. Especially not to you.” He glanced up to see you wiping your tears away. You knew. You always knew. He gave a weak chuckle. “I reconnected with an old high school sweetheart. One before you came along.”

You took a breath, calming yourself down. You nodded, fiddling with your ring. “How long?”

“Six months.” You nodded at his answer before taking the ring off. He watched as you approached him. You then gently placed the ring into the palm of his hand. “What?”

“Dae listen to me. I love you. I will love you till the end of time. You will forever be my first love but I am not in love with you anymore. And I know you’re not in love with me. We both knew this was bound to happen. Thank you for some of the happiest years I’ve ever had but it’s time for both of us to move on.” You gave him a small smile as you wiped the lone tear away. “Goodbye, Dae.” You squeezed his hand before grabbing the overnight bag you packed earlier and left. You took your phone out as soon as you left the building. You smiled as you saw an apology message from Chan. Your finger hovered over his contact for a second, debating if you should call and tell him. You shook the thought off before calling Nari.

-

You left lighter since that night. You moved in with Nari, focused more on your work and grew more of a bond with Chan. When you explained to him why you had become MIA for a while, he yelled at you for not calling him. It’s been about a month since you last saw Dae. From what you have heard from your mother, he just up and took a leave from the company. You didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth about the breakup. A knock at the door broke you from your thoughts. You smiled as you saw Chan’s dimpled smile. “Are you busy?”

“At the moment, no. Do you need me?” You smiled as you watched his ears turn a slight shade of red.

“I want your opinion on this new track.” He said with a shy chuckle. You nodded before following him to his studio. You took in the room as he slid into his chair, pulling up the track. “It’s a bit rough but Changbin and Han aren’t coming in til later and I wanted someone’s opinion. That and I trust your judgment.” You hummed, leaning up against his desk. He leaned back and watched your reaction as you listened to the beat. He knew you absolutely loved music. That’s the whole reason you applied to work here. He smiled as you moved your head slightly, feeling the beat of the music.

Once the track finished, you opened your eyes and gave him a smile. “That sounds amazing.”

“You think so? I know there are a few parts I want to touch up but I can do that later.” You laughed softly as he rambled on. “What are you laughing at?”

“You. You’re just so cute when you ramble.” Your eyes widened at what you just said. Chan blushed as he turned to fully face you. “I- Just ignore what I said. I should be getting back to work anyway.” You moved to leave before Chan grabbed your wrist. He turned you around to be flush at his chest.

“You think I’m cute, huh?” You didn’t know how to save yourself from this. You felt his arm wrap around your waist before you opened your mouth to defend yourself but no words came out. He chuckled before grabbing your chin. You tensed in surprise as you felt his lips on yours. He pulled away before you could return the kiss. “I’m going to ask you just this once, and if you don’t want to continue, I’ll let you go and we can pretend this has never happened. Do you want this?” You nodded, hands moving to grab the front of his shirt. “No sweetheart, I need words.” 

“Yes.” You breathed out as you pulled him by his shirt. He smiled before reconnecting his lips to yours. You moaned in satisfaction, not wanting to leave this position any time soon. He pulled away once more, causing you to groan. He chuckled before placing a soft peck to your temple. “I’ve wanted to do that for such a long time.” He mumbled a ‘me too’ as he held you in his arms. “I love you, Chan.” You whispered in the silence.

“I love you too, y/n.”

Taglist: @yxngbxkkie @mxnsxngie

[teddypines]

The weekend with Alpine (Part 1)

--------------------------------------------------------------------- Sumary: Cat has a sleepover with a rather upset Alpine. Alpine doesn't like the new appartment Steve and Bucky have. Note: Doing this in parts because my idea got too long for just one story. This is like the longest story I wrote so far, this is like 2000 +/- words for just the Friday part of the story. Also a small part for Logan and Professor X :). Art/picture is from Google, credits go to whoever made it.

Part 2.

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The weekend was slowly approaching and Steve and Bucky just moved into their new apartment in Brooklyn. The only problem was, Alpine didn't like the move and it took a toll on the little feline. So in an attempt to cheer Alpine up, Steve and Bucky were going to take Cat with them for a little sleep over. They only had to ask everyone and convince them it was a good idea.

“Come on Tony, it's just four nights. I know Cat has never really been anywhere else besides the compound, but Alpine really needs a friend. He hasn't been the same since the move.” Steve explained to Tony as he and Bucky tried to convince him. “Well have you asked Cat if she wants to go in the first place?” Tony responded as she spun around in his spinny chair towards his other desk. “Because if she's okay with it, then I'm okay with it.” 

Steve and Bucky looked at each other and then back at Tony. “Alright. Do you know where Cat is?” Bucky asked Tony as he slowly grabbed onto Steve's hand. Locking his fingers with Steve's. 

“There is only one place she can be if she isn't around one of us” Tony answered with a small smile. He continued to tinker on his helmet. Of course Bucky and Steve knew immediately where Cat was. They left Tony in his lab to look for Cat in Coulson's office.

The moment Bucky and Steve walked through the door of Coulson’s office they were met with two other men and Cat on one of their laps. Cat looked up at Bucky and Steve from her spot on Charles’s lap. She gave them a soft meow before nuzzling back against the professor. Coulson looked up at Bucky and Steve and gave them both a soft smile. “What can I do for you two? I hope it’s not much since I am in the middle of a meeting.” Bucky nervously rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit embarrassed about interrupting Coulson’s meeting. “Well, we were looking for Cat. Wanted to know if she would like to spend the weekend with us. We have this new apartment, but Alpine doesn’t seem to like it a lot and we are kind of worried about him. So we thought that bringing Cat over might make him feel a bit more at home.” Bucky overexplained as the three men and Cat looked at Bucky. 

“We just need to borrow her for a bit so we can take her to Loki or Wanda for an answer.” Steve said quickly. “She would like to go,” Charles said in answer. “So no need to go to your friend for an answer. Cat would love to go with you and see Alpine” 

Cat quickly meowed after Charles was done telling everyone about her answer.

Steve looked a bit baffled and Bucky just blinked in confusion. “How do you know that?” Steve asked after a good few minutes of silence. “The professor can read minds, he’s telepathic” Logan answered a bit grumpy as he folded his arms over his chest. He thought it would be obvious that everybody knew who he was, but he was wrong. “Well you don’t really need telepathy to know what Cat wants. She’s already always so clear about what she wants.” Coulson said with a fond smile.

“Yes, thank you Logan for explaining and yes I have to agree with Mr. Coulson. Cat is a very outspoken cat . Now you two better get Cat’s things ready, she really wants to go and see Alpine now” Charles said as he placed Cat on the floor. Cat looked up at him and gave him a soft meow in thanks. 

Steve and Bucky just nodded and said their goodbyes to Coulson, Charles and Logan. “We better look them up once we get home.” Bucky said when the two of them were out of the office and out of ears reach. Steve nodded as he carried Cat in his arms to get by a bit faster. The two of them got everything that Cat might need over the weekend. There was now only one problem, getting Cat into her travel basket. It was clear that Cat didn’t want to go in the cage, but she had to for her own safety. “Come on, Cat, Please it’s just for a few minutes!” Bucky said as he tried to push Cat into the cage. 

“Buck, be careful, you know Cat doesn’t like to be pushed into things she doesn’t like” Steve quickly but carefully grabbed Cat from Bucky’s grip. “Let’s just see if she goes in herself,” Steve carefully put Cat down. “Please, Cat, could you please go in?” Cat looked up at Steve and then at Bucky before slowly walking away from her travel basket. 

“Yeah, nicely done Steve, now she won’t go in at all!”

<------------------------------------------------------------------------>

After a long struggle of getting Cat into her travel basket and a lot of scratches and meows in protest the three of them were finally on their way to Brooklyn. Cat kept whining and meowing in her cage, not liking that she was in such a small space. It was like she was constantly meowing about if they were there yet.

“Yes, yes we are almost there Cat, stop your whining, please.” Bucky said as he tried to focus on the road. Hating how busy the streets got on Fridays. Steve gave Bucky a small slap on the thigh. “Don’t tell Cat to stop whining. She is scared and uncomfortable. You would whine too if you were in her situation!” Steve said as he gave Bucky a stern but soft look.

Bucky looked at Steve, knowing he was right, but he didn’t want to admit to that. Not really when he was finally getting better and feeling happy. He stopped the car in front of a red light and looked back at Cat in the backseat of the car. “Sorry Cat, I know you are scared, I would be too, but we are almost home. Just 3 more traffic lights okay?” Cat answered with a soft meow and leaned against the side wall of the travel basket, tufts of cat hair sticking out of the side.

Steve gave Bucky a soft smile and held onto his hand until the light turned green and they could go home.

Once Steve and Bucky finally got home to their apartment Cat could get out of her travel basket. Alpine was on top of his cat tree near the window, not caring that Bucky and Steve brought home several cat things. He didn’t know that they brought Cat with them. Cat let out a soft meow when she got out of the cage, Alpine looked down at Cat and felt a little happier. He jumped down from the cat tree and greeted Cat. 

Steve set up the few things Cat needed before starting dinner. Bucky sighed and started to help Steve with dinner. 

Cat licked Alpines head and started to purr, happy to see her friend again. Alpine grumbled a bit before slowly walking away to show Cat around the apartment. He still didn’t like it, but Cat needed to know where everything was so he showed her. 

<------------------------------------------------------------------------->

(Cat and Alpine’s pov) 

“And this is their bedroom. They have a cat bed near the end of the bed, but they really don’t mind it if we sleep on the bed with them.” Alpine explained as he jumped onto Steve and Bucky’s bed and lay down on the sheets. Cat looked up at Alpine and tried to jump onto the bed as well. “hmpf. Why is this bed so tall?!” “The bed isn’t tall, you are just smaller than me.” Alpine answered while watching Cat struggle to get on the bed. “I am not small!!” Cat yelled as she finally got onto the bed. “Am average, like most cat’s” 

“No, you are small, just accept it” Alpine smirked. Cat curled up beside him. “No, not small!” “You are small, Cat. Truly, you are small, sweet but small” Cat pouted and pushed Alpine away, which made him fix the hairs that got roughed up. Cat looked at Alpine, trying to figure out why he was sad in the first place, but he didn’t seem all that sad. She decided to let it be for now and curled back up to Alpine’s side for a nap. Alpine didn’t sleep even when it was the perfect moment to take a nap. He just couldn’t stop looking at Cat. The sun that made her Brown and orange spots glow, how calm she looked even in this completely new place. She always amazed Alpine, even the small things that nobody but him noticed. It made him a bit more peaceful knowing Cat was with him right now. Unconsciously telling him everything was safe and going to be okay.

<------------------------------------------------------------------------>

After a few hours of napping and Alpine looking at Cat it was time for their dinner. Bucky called out for the two of them from the kitchen. Steve in the meantime was setting up the dinner table for their own special dinner. Take away from the amazing Italian place down the street. Cat happily trotted towards the kitchen with Alpine slowly walking behind her, not as excited as she was, but happy to eat nonetheless. “Come on Alpine, won’t want Cat to eat your dinner while your still on the way” Bucky teasted his fluffy friend. He held two bowls with each cat’s favorite cat food. Bucky waited for both cat’s to sit down near the bowl holder before setting down their bowls for them to eat. Alpine started to eat, but Cat looked at the bowl of mush. “Alpine? What is this? It smells funny.” Cat asked as she touched the wet mushy cat food with her front paw. Before Alpine could even answer Cat, Bucky had already picked her up. “Come on Cat, don't play with your food. You’ll like it, I promise. It’s the same brand you always have, just a different flavor.” Bucky tried to reassure Cat, knowing the small calico cat a bit too well. “Did she smash her food already?” Steve asked concerned, he stopped setting the table to come over and check on them. “No, not yet, but i think she was about to”

Alpine looked up at Cat and gave her a taunting look as he chewed on his food. Cat growled a bit and gave Bucky a small smack on his cheek. Steve bursted out laughing when Bucky gave Cat a look of bewilderment. He did not expect Cat to just slap him over a change in her dieet.  

“Now that was unnecessary” Bucky said and put Cat back down on the floor in front of her food bowl. “Just try it, Cat, please.” Cat looked at her food bowl, taking a quick sniff of the mush inside it. She took a small bite and swallowed soon after. She didn’t like the flavor, but ate everything that was in the bowl so she wouldn’t upset Bucky. Steve saw that Cat didn’t like the food, but wouldn’t dare tell Bucky about it. Not wanting to take the chance of breaking Bucky’s heart. 

Bucky smiled at the empty bowls and picked them up to be cleaned. He smiled at Steve and started to unpack their take out. Steve let out a sigh as he sat down at the dinner table “Buck? You do have Cat’s regular food here, Right?” “Yes, of course, why do you ask?” Bucky gave Steve a look while setting down dinner on the table. “Nothing, just make sure you give her that from now on, okay?” Bucky gave Steve a questionable look but nodded his head in agreement. “Fine”

<------------------>

After dinner and a few hours off cuddling on the couch Bucky and Steve went to bed. Cat jumped at the opportunity to sleep on the bed with them. She looked back at Alpine with a worried look. “Aren’t you joining?” “No, I don’t like sleeping with Bucky and Steve anymore. It just doesn’t feel as safe as it used to.” Alpine answered as he jumped on top of his cat tree. Cat looked back at Steve and Bucky and then quickly ran over to give them both a quick goodnight meow before running back to Apine. “Can I join you tonight Alpine? Please” Alpine gave Cat a look, nodding his head slowly as he made room for her on the cat bed. Cat climbed her way up and lay down next to Apine. “Good night, Alpine” “Night, Cat” 

[seventeenlovesthree]

Digi Dynamic Shipping Game

Send me two names among the following 12 and I’ll write a short analysis post about them:

Taichi Yagami | Yamato Ishida | Sora Takenouchi | Koushirou Izumi | Mimi Tachikawa | Jyou Kidou | Takeru Takaishi | Hikari Yagami | Daisuke Motomiya | Miyako Inoue | Iori Hida | Ken Ichijouji

Whether canon provides input on them or not.

Boy, do I love to refer back to "Butterfly" and how it basically framed Taichi as the male main character and Sora as the female main character throughout. One might argue that this is a combination that has been occurring in quite a lot of anime - particularly kids and Shounen related - back in the 90s and early 2000s, so... Asking whether or not canon provides input on them is like asking if water is wet. They've known each other since elementary school, have been in the same class ever since (and will continue to be classmates until graduation) and even attended the same football club for a while. They start the series as "almost telepathically connected" football club duo (basically a novel quote right here), adventurous and hands-on plot drivers, the courageous leader and the tomboyish but caring voice of reason right by his side. You instantly get the impression that they are familiar and close with each other and it's a theme that continues throughout the entire first season; not only because they consistently jump into action and call out, care for and protect each other, but because they, their bond, their loyalty and development are basically responsible for the fact that the kids get through everything alive in the end.

Trying to describe the extent and depth of their relationship would probably end with me writing a whole novel, so I will try to keep this brief, because... You know them. Similarly to Taito, Koumi and Takari, Taiora has been a staple in the shipping scene ever since the conception of Digimon Adventure back in 1999 - and for good reason. As mentioned, there used to be - and still is - a trope to pair up the main boy and main girl with one another and this case is no exception, considering how well they play off of each other, supporting and saving each other time and time again. Digimon Adventure is a special series though - a series whose creators intended to break through tropes and stereotypes, turning those on the head whenever possible. So while Taichi's and Sora's bond may be so significant that the idea of them ending up together seems inherently plausible - this is not how their story ends.

The tomboy, who struggles with her sense of femininity and identity, cannot deal with her best friend gifting her a hairclip - and while they seem thoroughly devoted to and on each other's minds, they develop in different directions. There is a theme of miscommunication between them as they grow older, little quarrels here and there - but at the same time, there is still an incredible sense of mutual fondness and protectiveness that, despite a growing physical distance, never completely vanishes. "If you love someone, let them go", is a quote that may come to mind when you take a look at the screenshot above and are aware of its context. Whether that kind of love was romantic or platonic at this point? We may never know.

This is the story of two close long-term friends, who were not meant to be together - wrong time, wrong place.

... Which doesn't mean that there isn't a potential "right time", right...?

Whether I think why and how they’d work.

What I mentioned above seems to be somewhat cryptic and what I'm about to outline may or may not break canon to a certain degree, but HEAR ME OUT.

While this headcanon is, for now, nothing more than a headcanon, but I am a big supporter of @dutchforstrangers' interpretation of the epilogue, leading to the idea that Yamato and Sora might not remain together/married. This post is not meant to be Sorato slander in any way and I will not go into detail here as to why I think this is a valid headcanon - just know that there are a few subtext aspects in regards to their behavioural patterns and body languages that leave room for speculation. And that's all there is to it: SPECULATION!

The point I am trying to make here is, once again, that Taichi and Sora may not have been ready to be in a relationship early in life - because they first had to come to terms with themselves, their real dreams, aspirations and needs. They had to become comfortable with themselves (particularly after the loss of their Digimon partners) to bridge the (physical and emotional) distance that had festered between them through the years. Because if you think about it, due to their underlying insecurities, they both chose the same approach in their early twenties: Isolating themselves from the rest of their friend group. And I feel like they both have to come to the conclusion first that this is a state that could never bring them long-lasting happiness. They're both social beings that shrivel when they're left alone for too long. (They may also need the encouragement of their friends - particularly Mimi, Koushirou and Hikari - to get there though.)

So it may take a while, weeks, months, maybe even years, to reconcile, step by step. Rekindling their bond, making up their minds about their true passions and career paths, rediscovering old and finding new hobbies and similarities along the way; whether it's about their shared love for their friends, football, adventurous and sporty activities, probably therapy???, whatever it may be... Until they'd reunite with their partners and, with a gleeful but weary smile on their faces, realize that they just had to grow up to this point to eventually find each other as well.

Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship.

In case the way I've been talking about them hasn't made it obvious yet - I do love Taiora a lot. While I hadn't started actively shipping Digimon characters until I started watching Tamers, I always had an incredible soft spot for them and up to this day, Taichi and Sora are my second favourite choice for each other. You could say that, in every possible universe in which Taich doesn't end up with Koushirou, he WOULD end up with Sora if I had anything to say. It's also no secret that Taikoura is my absolute favourite OT3 and I really think they COULD work out beautifully together. In the end, both romantic and platonic Taiora is absolutely beautiful to me - especially because it brought some very special, wonderful people into my life. Long story short: As long as their closeness persists in any way, shape or form, I'll be happy.

I also still maintain that the reboot timeline could potentially go there, but I will not get my hopes up... Yet.