#and trust me this will not be the last quiz in this series I promise I will be back | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

hallowxiu · 4 years ago

Text

Beelzebub’s Valentine

pairing: beel x gn!mc

word count: 2k

summary: With the help of Luke, you whip up a special Valentine's treat for Beelzebub.

a/n: I don’t think angel cloud cake is real but i’m also stupid and unoriginal so who knows. And if it is real, i bet my stupid ass even had it before

part 3 of the valentine’s series

part one | part two

“I have a plan.” And you did, for once. The two of you were hanging out at his dorm, Luke in the kitchen as he whips up a snack for the two of you. You were hovering over his shoulder, watching as he added ingredients into his mixing bowl. “I’ve been thinking about this long and hard, and I’ve concluded that I can only do this if you help me, Luke.” Barbatos would also be ideal, but realistically Luke had more experience in this matter. Luke’s staring at you with a suspicious look as if he suspects you’re up to no good, but ultimately, decides not to voice his concerns. “Valentine’s Day is coming up; have you heard of that holiday before, Luke?”

He hesitates before he answers. “Simeon’s told me a little bit about it before.”

“Great! I wanted to celebrate the upcoming holiday by giving everyone gifts.” You explain to the blond angel. “And so that brings me to my current dilemma. I need your help with Beel’s gift.” You knew Luke wasn’t big on demons in general (let alone the brothers), but you knew he had a soft spot for the red-headed demon.

With a look of disbelief, Luke turns away from the counter and looks at you. “You need my help? Making a gift? For a demon?” There’s a tone of annoyance to his voice. “Why would I want to make a gift for a demon?”

“It’s not just any demon, Luke! It’s Beelzebub! He’s the nicest demon here, don’t you think? He’s always treated you better than Lucifer or Mammon. And he always eats your samples and gives excellent feedback.” Luke ponders at this, tilting his head to the side as he thinks it over. “And, if I’m being honest,” you lower your voice and lean in closer toward the angel, “I think you’re the only one in the entire Devildom who could help me with this.” That got him. “I mean, I don’t think even Barbatos could help me out with this.” The angel stares at you with a sparkle in his eyes.

“What do you need me to do that Barbatos can’t?”

“I want to bake Beel food from the Celestial Realm, and the last time I checked, I know an angel who happens to be an excellent baker.” Luke flushes at this, the tips of his ears turning red as he quickly looks away from you. There’s a shy smile on his face as he plays with his fingers. “You’re from the Celestial Realm, and you have more experience with the food there. I’m sure Barbatos could mimic the recipes well enough, but I want to give Beel the authentic thing.”

“Beel has been going on and on about how he wants to have food from the Celestial Realm again,” Luke adds. With a small huff, the angel turns to face you completely. “Fine, I’ll help you bake food for Beel! But only for you!” His hands are on his hips as his face reddens. “I don’t want them thinking I’ve gone soft for demons because I most certainly haven’t!”

“Of course not. I’d never expected you to.”

“Good! And this will show Barbatos just how good of a cook I am.” So much for not growing soft for demons, you think to yourself. “Um, just one problem though.” You look down at Luke with a raised eyebrow. “I can only get the ingredients from the Celestial Realm, and Simeon went out for the day. I can’t ask him.”

“Oh, is that your only concern?” You grab your bag from the counter, Luke watching you with a confused expression.

“What do you mean? That’s a big concern and I can’t just leave the Devildom without Simeon’s permission. And if you expect me to just for a demon, then you’re wrong! I could never disappoint Simeon like that. Have you been letting those demons influence you? I knew they weren’t to be trusted. Those--”

“Luke, calm down.” A laugh leaves you as you unzip your bag. “I told Simeon about my plan earlier. He already brought me the ingredients.” With a look of surprise, Luke watches as you place small containers on the counter.

“You had Simeon get you the ingredients even though you weren’t sure that I’d help you?”

“Yup! I figured if you said no, I’d just try it myself, although I’m really glad you said yes because I think that could have been a disaster.” Luke smiles at your honesty.

“Did you have anything in mind that you wanted to bake?” Luke walks over to where you're standing, going through the different containers. “We could make a few things for him with everything Simeon brought.”

“I was thinking about Angel Cloud Cake, and maybe some type of Celestial chocolate.” Luke nods approvingly at your ideas. “If chocolate is too hard to make, maybe we could make a type of cupcake or candy.”

“Chocolate is doable.” Luke nods with a determined look on his face. “And we can add something into the chocolate, too. Maybe we can add bits of candy to it.”

“Has anyone ever told you that they like the way you think?”

“Finally!” With your hands on your hips, you take a long look at the desserts you and Luke whipped up. The two of you managed to make a large Angel Cloud Cake as well as rolled-up balls of chocolate with a candy center. It was unique, and something you haven’t tried before, so hopefully that meant Beelzebub also hasn’t tried it.

“That didn’t take as long as I thought it would.” You looked at Luke in disbelief. Your back was sore, and there was a light sheen of sweat on your skin. You didn’t realize that baking could be so intense, but then again you were baking with an angel who had a habit to make sure that everything he made was absolutely perfect.

“I suppose.” You breathed out. It took half the day, and while it was still a lot to you, you were surprised it didn’t take up the entire day. “Thank you, Luke.” You look over at the angel who looks a little worn out but overall holding up much better than you. You weren’t sure you’d be up to baking something from the Celestial Realm for a while after this.

“You’re welcome!” There’s a pink tint to his cheeks as he addresses you. “I had fun! Any time I get a chance to spend time with you, I’ll take it.” A frown forms on his lips when looking over at the time. “I have to go. I promised Simeon that I’d study with Solomon for an upcoming quiz. I’ll see you later!”

With that, you carefully place the chocolate sweets into your bag, making sure not to squish the container. Lastly, you grab the cake from the counter and begin your walk back to the House of Lamentation.

“Beel?” You poke your head through the front door of the house, a small frown appearing on your lips when you don’t get a response back. Maybe he’s at the gym, you think to yourself. You walk to the kitchen and place the cake on the counter. You pull the container of chocolate candy from your bag, setting it next to the cake. You doubt Beelzebub would even give you a chance to explain before devouring it whole. All he’d need you to tell him was that it was for him.

As your luck would have it, the front door opens and closes only a few minutes after you set up your desserts in the kitchen. “Something smells good,” Beelzebub comments as he walks into the room. “I could smell it during the walk home. It was distracting.” He could smell it from the walk home? It was impressive the way Beelzebub’s body responded when it came to food. “You brought food?” He takes a step forward but hesitates before ultimately moving back. You raise an eyebrow at him.

“What’s wrong?” There’s a small frown that’s tugging his lips downward.

“I don’t like eating your food.” It was an innocent statement laced with honesty. “I feel bad. I know that you know I can’t help it, but I don’t like taking your food. I don’t want to take all your food.” He’s pulling at his fingers, the demon suddenly finding himself restless. “But it smells so good…” A laugh leaves you as you push the container of chocolates forward.

“Beel, Luke helped me make this for you.”

“For me?” His eyes are wide and he looks at you in shock. “You made this for me?”

“Of course! Valentine’s Day is coming up, and I wanted to make you something special for the holiday. I asked Luke if he could help me bake you some treats from the Celestial Realm. Simeon even got the ingredients we’d need beforehand.” As you explain, you reveal the cake that was carefully placed into a larger container. “Angel Cloud Cake and chocolates with a candy center.” He’s practically drooling on the spot. No, he is drooling.

“It’s authentic food from the Celestial Realm?”

“Yup! Luke did most of the baking himself, so it’s authentic food made by an angel.” You glanced over at the cake, a small fear within you that Beelzebub might eat the container with the cake. He’d done that once before, and you knew Luke would be wanting the container back. You weren’t sure if you could save the container holding the chocolates, either. “So have as much as you want--” You couldn’t finish the sentence. Beelzebub was on the chocolates within seconds, and, just as you feared, he ate the container with it. “Was-- was it good?” You clear your throat and look at him with wide eyes. Did he even taste it?

“It was delicious. You and Luke did a great job.” There’s a bright smile on his face after swallowing the chocolates. “It was really good. I liked it a lot.” You’d make sure to pass that feedback to Luke (and to buy him a new container). “I want to share the cake with you, though.”

“The Angel Cloud Cake?” He nods his head at your question. You feel your cheeks heat up and you grab two forks from one of the kitchen cabinets. “If you want to share, we can share. It does look good.”

“Angel Cloud Cake is one of my favorite desserts from the Celestial Realm. I’ll try to share as much as I can.” You find yourself laughing at Beelzebub’s words. You’d be impressed if you got one bite out of it.

“Would you like to watch a movie while we eat it? Maybe we can even invite over Belphie.” Beelzebub beams at the suggestion of his twin, and he finds himself nodding his head quickly.

“There might not be any cake left by the time he gets there though…”

“Yes, well, something tells me he won’t be too disappointed at the lack of cake.” You look over to give him a reassuring smile, though you end up doing a double-take when noticing the cake is no longer on the counter. “Did you..?” You look back at Beelzebub to see that he’s holding the cake, although half of it is already missing.

“Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” There’s a sheepish smile on his lips, and his cheeks are flushed with embarrassment.

“Let’s go to your room before you finish the cake.” You hold out your hand, and Beelzebub adjusts the container with cake in his arms so that he can hold it with one hand, his free one gripping your hand in return. With a soft and gentle squeeze, he smiles down at you.

“Okay.”

137 notes · View notes

karimac · 3 years ago

Text

...in the details, Part 2

A/N: Warning for this series: 18+ audience (minors DNI), some cinematic level violence, some fluff and angst. Doubt that smut will be involved, but it may be implied. I’ll make sure that is noted clearly if it pops up.

All relationships, at this point anyway, are platonic.

Please do not repost or translate my work. Likes, comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated.

A bit about the OC Kari

Part 1

All mistakes are my own.

Word count: 2,249

Before you ventured into Westview, a flight of birds overhead reminded you of Redwing and Sam. Poor Sam. That sixth sense you had told you that fight at the compound was going to lead you all into very weird places. And the first one left you very squarely not in the room once again.

This time it was Steve and Bucky being thick as thieves, and you and Sam were…making a sandwich run? Couldn’t exactly get GrubHub to make a delivery to an attack site, could you? Bruce did not want some driver with a cellphone putting video up on Snapchat. “How would that look?” he bemoaned as he worked on the time travel platform. “We’d be getting tourists left and right. I don’t need that.” So off you and Sam went.

“You know, you could just, you know,” Sam started to say as he waved his hands like he thought a wizard would do, “and just poof up a plate of stuff. Right? With extra food for Banner, of course. He inhales tacos like nobody’s business. Just ask Tic Tac.”

“Sam, what have I told all of you before? Magic is the transfer of energy and matter. No suitable food stuff means no sandwiches. I can’t just think about the deli counter at Wegman’s and make a sandwich and a side of coleslaw appear in my hand. So, we’ll order on the app and pick it up. Just like everyone else. Before I hit the button, any changes to your order?”

“No, it’s fine. But don’t tell me you’ve never done shit like that when you’ve had your back against it,” Falcon huffed as you went to the rental car you’d gotten earlier in the day. That, thank Heaven, was easy to get at the local but extremely small airport.

“I’ve killed small rodents and eaten them, and I don’t mean just rabbits. Snakes, too. And, well, birds of prey, like falcons,” you groaned as you started to get into the car, but you stopped and headed back to the passenger side. “And I know you hate my driving, so here you go,” you said as you handed Sam the keys. “Sorry it isn’t a Ferrari. I was lucky to get this Kia. They didn’t exactly have anything race course worthy.”

As Sam climbed in, he saw bags of gear in the back seat. “You pulling a Wanda? Need some me time away from all us testosterone jockeys? Cyborg is going to be pissed.”

“Bucky has other stuff to deal with, trust me,” you said as you rolled your eyes. “He does not need to add Crazy Old Broad to his growing list of things to do and people to take care of this week. I heard him talking to Steve…”

“You? Eavesdropping? You are human!” Sam smirked, but then he saw the comment had hit a nerve. “You know I was kidding, right?”

“I know you are,” you said as you swallowed hard. In reality, you were not exactly buying that last comment. Sam was a sweetheart, but his comment sounded like things Tony and Steve had said about you in the weeks before the Time Heist. It depended on the situation, but one or the other of them seemed to question you, your motives, your powers and what they could do, and, at times, your grasp on reality. You did have a connection to a goddess they couldn’t see. Blaming them for having those questions just was not in your wheelhouse. “And yeah, maybe I just need to go figure a few things out. You guys know how to get me back here if you need me.”

“Somehow I don’t think Steve, Bucky and I would look so great standing and screaming your name in the middle of a fight,” Sam noted as he finally turned the key in the ignition.

“Now who is having issues with gender roles?” you said with a very pronounced side glance. “Sam, we are all human. We all need a save now and then. Maybe you’ll never have to utter my name again after today, unless you guys can’t find something you think I hid? Thor will be back once he’s done exploring the universe, and you can always get him here fast if you have Strange find him. And Wong is just dying for his shot as a full time Avenger. We all know that! And I can go back and do, well, goddess stuff, I guess. And raise horses. Just, please, make sure no one drops the ball on Parker. He lost his parents and his uncle. Losing Tony will hit him harder than anyone likely expects. He’s a good kid. He just needs support and guidance. Now, want to get this thing moving, or do you want me to drive?”

“And have you antagonize the local cops by going Mach 1? No thank you!”

You had to laugh at that one. You did tend to floor it. A lot.

++++++++++

A short time later, you and Sam rolled back to the site Bruce had chosen to set up the time travel platform. After you two handed out all the food, you realized it was really time for you to get going. No, you didn’t have a train, plane or bus to catch or someone to meet. You just knew it was going to get harder to make the break the longer you stayed there.

“She’s pulling a Wanda on us,” Sam said as he finished off the last of the sweet tea he had grabbed at the deli where you’d gotten food. “I think it’s too much he-man macho stuff, but she won’t fess up to that.”

“Wilson, how many brothers did I have?” you asked as you cleaned up the trash from the table Bruce had borrowed from a local park that had been wrecked during the battle. It had a huge hole in the end, but hey, it was good enough for the moment.

“Eight,” Bucky replied before Sam got the chance. “Just don’t quiz me on all their names. I remember your twin, Branan, and the one who was the vampire. Ewan? Right?”

“Yup, that’s right,” you grinned at Buck. “And no quiz. Promise,” you said as you raised your left hand and crossed your heart with your right.

“Why are you leaving?” Bruce asked as he adjusted the sling on his still injured arm, putting extra emphasis on the word “are” as he uttered it. “We need all the help we can get.”

Bruce, heaven help him, was suddenly one of the last active OG Avengers standing on Earth. Thor was off finding himself with the Guardians, and no one could really begrudge him that. He needed time to heal, and you knew all too well that was not easy nor time limited. Clint had more or less retired again after Natasha’s sacrifice on Vormir. Steve was getting ready to take the stones back, but upon his return, he’d likely join up with Sam and Bucky again to root out any remaining Hydra cells. That left Bruce in a very different place this time around.

“Bruce, you don’t really need me being a head case. Trust me. You do not need me giving any news outlets ammunition to blast headlines that make the team look less than spotless. I need to go home, at least for a little while,” you replied, knowing full well you were not telling him or the others everything. “And as I reminded Sam, you guys can just call me, and I’ll be here. Just whisper my name. Or yell it. Whatever works. Text me! If it’s an emergency, and if I’m not in the middle of some new damned war on my end, I’ll come running. But I have a feeling you guys are going to be just fine. Hell, I’ll give you a blessing before I head out.”

Yeah. A blessing. More like the final nail in the coffin. The words to start the spell to make them forget you.

“Big guy, you first,” you said as you put your hands on Bruce’s injured right arm. “And no, I am doing this, Bruce. It won’t be a full healing, but it should speed things up. You got this, big guy. Biggest brain. Biggest heart. May you realize just how much this team was built with your sweat and tears as it was anyone else’s.”

“I can’t change your mind?” Bruce asked as he pretended to wipe a tear from his eye and pout a bit. “And I am not asking because you are likely the only one of us who can cook…”

“I’m pretty sure all of you guys can cook something. Maybe not a good Colcannon or a fine Dublin coddle, but you’ll survive. As for the cupcakes, you guys may need to get a bakery on speed dial,” you added with a laugh because you knew they’d make that bakery rich. The Avengers loved their sugary snacks.

“Just don’t bug my sister, Bruce,” Sam noted as he waited for you to come over to him. “I still remember asking why the Cupcake Lady had a sword that night when those demon things attacked near the tower. I never asked. Why the cupcakes?”

“And not why the demons or the sword?” you said as you nearly choked on your words. “You realize that was before Steve saw me at Peggy’s funeral. That night was truly a fluke, Sam. No one was supposed to see that side of me then. As for the cupcakes, they were my entry to your world. Gifts from a fan girl. They’re easy to carry, a synch to personalize when needed, and everyone can have their own without fighting,” you said with a grin as Sam shook his head. “What?”

“You sound like Sarah.”

“Then I am in good company. Tell her the good stuff you’ve told me all these years. The words of wisdom. The little jokes. The pep talks. Tell her often. A single mom with two boys needs that. Be there for her, and drag these guys to see her, too. It would do the boys a world of good to have all their uncles stop by. Now, Samuel,” you said as you gave him a hug, “remember to keep these guys flying right. And if the world drops opportunity in your lap, whatever it might be, do not look at it and push it away without a lot of thought. The world needs Sam Wilson, the hero with a heart.”

And now the hardest part of this good bye had you wiping tears from your eyes. “I know. I’m a big mush. Girls from Brooklyn would laugh at me for this, right? Sorry, but girls from Naas and Athy do cry sometimes. I’m going to miss you two lugs. A lot.”

“Lugs. Last time you called us that was in ’43,” Bucky said as he looked down at his feet for a minute. “Somehow Hydra missed that memory.”

“You’ll see us again,” Steve said as he turned briefly to see where the case with the stones was on the platform. “But this time, it better not take 70 years.”

As you looked at the best friends, something about their auras seemed off. They had been planning something when you almost walked in on their chat a few days ago. You had no idea what it was, and you suddenly didn’t want to hang around to find out what the next act was going to bring.

“Just…watch your back, Steve. From what Clint said about Vormir, that one is going to be tough. And Buck, whatever comes next, I’m rooting for you. Even if you can’t see me doing it.”

“You really don’t have to leave,” Bruce kept insisting as you hefted your backpack on your shoulder.

“Dr. Banner, do you really want to fight my demons after all this? I have enemies. You just haven’t seen them yet. Frankly, the only reason that Hydra didn’t grab me before I hooked up with the Howling Commandos was because I was pulled into another dimension by one of those enemies. It was only by some weird twist of fate that Peggy found me when she did. If the veil between worlds had not been so thin near that camp, I might never have made it back, or Hydra might have found me first. It was pure dumb luck.”

{{And, Heaven help me, part of it was these two lugs over here}} you thought as you turned to head to your car. Then you stopped. This was a lot harder than it had been any time before, but it was the curse of an immortal to have to keep moving on. “I wish you luck, joy and happiness. I wish you peace. And, if you are truly lucky, memories long enough to have little space to spare for the likes of me because they are filled with so much more! See you in my dreams, for now anyway, fellas.”

++++++++++

You rolled out of there before Steve started his mission to return the stones, and you got a text from Bruce hours later telling you everything that had happened. Steve not coming back as planned. Then an older version of Steve shows up, sitting on a bench near the platform, and he gives Sam the shield. Right in front of Bucky.

It was now weeks later. No. It was months later, and here you were staring up at the sign for Westview. You’d gotten out of your rental car so you could get a feeling for the area around this little town.

“You made it back,” a voice said behind you. “How are you, after all that mess with Wanda and that Agatha woman? She was a real piece of work.”

The person speaking to you was Dr. Darcy Lewis. Friend of Thor and Dr. Jane Foster. Why was she even here?

You couldn’t fully figure out what the hell she was talking about. You didn’t remember being here before. Yet, you knew who she was, and you had never met her before. Or at least you couldn’t remember meeting her, here or anywhere else.

“Apparently not as great as I thought I was,” you muttered as you winced again. “Dr. Lewis, how long ago was the blip?”

“Give or take a week, about six months ago,” she replied as you started to pace. “Why?”

“Shit. Not this again,” you hissed as you looked up at the sign once more. “I think I’m going to need your help. How much do you know about Celtic myths and Irish history, Dr. Lewis?”

17 notes · View notes

missinghan · 5 years ago

Text

give it a chance ⤖ lee minho

❖ genre : college au; roommates au; friends to lovers au

❖ word count : 9,6k.

❖ warning : explicit language, slightly suggestive & mentions of alcohol

❖ summary : you convinced yourself to attend a party in order to prevent Lee Minho from doing stupid things; however it’s not so stupid anymore when your roommate said he needed to tell you something important.

❖ a/n : the continuation of what if we is dedicated to @chaninfused, so *clears throat* this is where I hereby declare that she deserves more than what the entire universe can possibly give her; oh hi furat, this is why I’ve been so cryptic all this time. I know this isn’t much but I want to thank you for tolerating me and letting me be mean to you even though we only started talking for a few months; you’re an incredibly great friend and an amazing writer, don’t ever forget that 🖤

one.

It’s been almost a week since Jisung last talked to Minho (albeit texts and FaceTime) and he wakes up to his best friend roaming around his crusty kitchen, struggling to find a bottle of honey. Seungmin’s mom has been constantly sending them thirty packets of rib soup per week. And Minho thinks the sight of Han Jisung slurping on nothing but distorted rice with pork ribs while stressing over his paper for seven days straight is more tragic than his non-existent love life.

“It’s like you’re trying to turn us into gym rats,” Hyunjin snickers lazily, flinging his bangs away from his face. “You even brought us Tupperwares, are you really expecting us not to order tacos impulsively on study nights?” He’s a little dubious about stuff like this because he can feel the actual horror of only eating chicken breast and string beans just by seeing Chan cooking them up.

Seungmin chucks a piece of lettuce towards his direction, “Don’t you have anything else to do other than complaining?” He knows that when Jisung and Hyunjin decide to order food on study nights, they’re gonna do anything but study.

“Uhm, I actually do,” he replies nonchalantly. “I’m going through Minho’s phone.”

Jisung takes a seat next to him by the counter, propping his head onto his hands, “What’s the point? There’s nothing but cat photos and cat memes...and also Y/N as his background.”

“That angle is hideous, by the way,” Hyunjin comments like the true photography geek he is, which is completely ignored by Minho because he’s too cranky to start a fight at ten in the morning. “But it’s kinda cute for you to do that, so I’m gonna turn a blind eye.”

Jisung asks out of the blue, “Who’s going to BamBam’s party this Sunday? Well, besides the other two-thirds of 3RACHA.”

“I have a midterm on Monday, dumbass,” Seungmin mumbles while washing his vegetables at the sink.

“And I’m sleeping over at Lix’s for a project,” Hyunjin informs him lamely, having no intention to attend another single frat party. At least not BamBam’s frat parties—that guy has the weirdest friends; a chick was so drunk that she thought Hyunjin was her boyfriend and almost tried to make out with him on the dance floor.

Jisung secretly hates going to parties without his friends- no, actually, he never goes to parties without people from his social circle because he dreads the whole introduction part that requires formalities and inevitable awkwardness. But it’s not like that with Minho, ten minutes into their very first conversation and he feels like he’s known him for years.

In short, he will die if Minho doesn’t come to the party. Chan can only chat with him for so long until his DJ duty occurs and Changbin’s probably gonna be too busy doing keg stands to care about his antisocial friend.

“Fine, I’ll go,” Minho gives in while chopping up the chicken breasts and this prompts Jisung to clap happily like a seal for the next twenty seconds as he skips over to the fridge to fetch a water bottle. “But we’re gonna need a ride, I’m not taking my motorbike for some crackhead to puke on it. Ask Chan later when you crash at his place.”

Jisung tosses his head back to take a peek at the clock hanging by the bookshelf, and it reads 10:07 AM. He really should be getting for his class at eleven because traffic sucks but he’s not feeling like sitting through two hours of Park ranting about marketing strategies. “Can’t Y/N just drive us? I don’t think she’d let anyone else take you home when you’re not sober,” he ponders, earning a nod of agreement from both of his roommates.

Just when Minho opens his mouth to brush it off, he stops himself to process the information again and holds back a ‘you’re right’ because he hates letting people know that they’re not wrong. He wouldn’t let anyone drive you home when you’re drunk either. “Her car’s with her dad right now,” he tries to sound casual when three pairs of curious eyes are glued onto his back. “I, uh, sorta had it run into a tree last week.”

“You what? How are you still alive?” Hyunjin’s jaw is on the floor and Seungmin accidentally dumps too much vinegar into his salad while Jisung’s choking on the iced cold water, coughing furiously after into the sleeve of his hoodie. Guess Chan’s gonna have to drive them both. After all, he can never say ‘no’ to J.One.

Minho murmurs, “A dude rear-ended me, fucking idiot.” He finishes marinating the chicken breasts and arranges them nicely onto a tray with aluminum foil on top, pushing it into the preheated oven. “And basically she’s never letting me touch her car again,” he sighs while staring into midair dreamily, flashbacking to last Friday when you immediately Ubered yourself all the way from campus to downtown after picking up his call. All he got was thirty seconds of affection; you made sure that he’s not hurt and the rest was just a monstrous tantrum. He ended up sleeping on the couch that night.

“My my, you two are just like an old married couple,” Hyunjin chuckles lightheartedly and shakes his head, scrolling through the series of texts in amusement, “What even is this? I swear your conversation consists of 60% ‘when are you going home?’, 40% ‘your lunch is here’ and 20% terrible cat memes.”

“We’re roommates,” Minho drags the word through gritted teeth, holding back all the murderous thoughts inside his head because he feels like Hyunjin’s just asking for a death wish. It’s too early for this.

Unexpectedly, Seungmin decides he’s in a pretty good mood today since he aced his OChem pop quiz yesterday; meaning, he’s gonna stick his nose into his friend’s business whenever there’s a chance. “Don’t you guys share a bed too?” he pretends to play dumb only to receive a kick in the shin from the older boy.

“We’re also broke,” Minho cranes his neck tiredly, washing the dirty knife under the tap. “Besides, the heater in the living room sucks.”

“You both even smell the same, it’s getting kinda creepy. Please don’t tell me you guys also share showers to have a light water bill,” Jisung makes a gagging noise and Minho thinks he’s already said too much. His grip on the knife tightens for a split second before letting it drop into the sink. He doesn’t trust himself with anything sharp the moment Hyunjin started this unwanted conversation. He also regrets stealing Changbin’s meal prep recipes to feed his trash friends.

Minho questions callously, “We just use the same shampoo and shower gel, what’s the big deal?” His hands go for the box of oatmeal that Felix left here last time in the cabinet full of random food. He doesn’t get why Seungmin would buy so much groceries like he’s in a pandemic knowing damn well that his idiotic roommates can’t cook for shit.

Hyunjin purses his lips, trying to prove his point, “Don’t you think that it’s weird? You don’t do those things with us.”

“Because none of you would fucking house me when I was on the verge of being homeless!”

“And why is she yelling at you through texts anyway? Bro, there’s like ten missed calls here with at least a hundred ‘where are you?’. Why is she terrorizing you this early in the morning?” Minho immediately snaps out of his semi-angry trance, chest heaving up and down.

“Oh shit,” he facepalms himself. “I promised to pick her up at ten from class, what time is it again?”

“You’re fifteen minutes late, my friend,” Jisung supplies unhelpfully. “It’ll take another ten to arrive at campus, without traffic that is. You’re so dead. D-E-A-D.” It feels weird to hear something correct coming out of Jisung’s mouth (twice in a row) and now Minho wishes he could just whack his friend unconscious on the floor with the new set of microphones that Chan gave him last year for Secret Santa.

“Oh, I left your rice sitting at ‘warm’, by the way,” Minho makes a grab for his biker jacket and helmet on the counter before fleeing out of the apartment with his sneakers half-way tucked in. It’s not even been thirty minutes since they’ve seen each other for the past week and Jisung’s already choked on water, not once, but twice because of Lee Minho. Sometimes he wonders if the universe is telling him that he needs new friends.

two.

“Your boyfriend is late.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you hiss at Yeji while staring at Minho’s contact on your phone anxiously. There’s no reason for you to be; worst-case scenario, you can just take the 0325 home and lock him outside for the night so that he’ll have no choice but to endure Chan’s embarrassing sleeping habits. He wouldn’t even notice either way because he’d be too busy swearing in his sleep to be annoyed.

Yeji puts her hair up into a ponytail after stretching her limbs tiredly. She only has one class today and no choice but to stay on campus for her shift at the café before lunch break. Too bad Woojin can’t cover her today because of midterms. “I’m only speaking facts,” she tells you with a yawn and notices the slight pout on your face. “Hey, don’t be sad just because your stupid boyfriend can’t pick you up. I can call Chaeryeong if you need a ride here and there, she wouldn’t mind.”

“I’m not fucking sad!”

“Y/N, you look more depressed than Ryujin when she got a B+ in calc.” That’s irrelevant, Shin Ryujin already has a GPA booster after signing up for Kim’s stats class, one B+ won’t make it any less sparkly.

You only let out a prolonged sigh after checking your phone for the tenth time in the past half an hour. He isn’t picking up any of your calls, your messages probably can’t even reach him and now you’re sitting at M.I.A Cafe with a cup of plain water after standing outside at the front gate for so long like an idiot. An idiot, who’s hopelessly in love with her roommate- wait what?

Listen, you already know that this is going to happen. It’s awfully inevitable and it’s getting harder and harder as the days pass by because summer is almost here. Meaning, Minho’s gonna move out soon, according to the contract.

Are you sad about that?

Yeah, kinda.

The more you think about it the more you regret your decision that day to let him stay with you. Because now you don’t think you’d be able to sleep without him next to you, hogging the blanket all to himself; you get angsty when he’s not home even if he’s just at dance practice; you’re definitely getting way too used to sharing an earphone with him while you both are dreading your assignments silently at the kitchen counter. And now you’re getting nervous just because he’s thirty minutes late. He’s never late, not even to your Monday Movie Night where you both can pig out and binge-watch the Avatar: The Last Airbender series until you’re sick of it.

Maybe you’re relying on him too much. Hypothetically speaking, it’s not his fault for the damage of your car but you’re just making excuses to be with him. You even set him as your emergency contact. It’s kinda tedious to be your roommate, you realize. All of those things aren’t mandatory and he can simply mind his own business without having to feel obligated because of the ‘roommates’ label yet he’d still choose you, over everything else. Perhaps he’s dealing with his own first world problems and forgot to leave you a message this time.

Yeji inquires breezily, wiping a cup dry with a towel, “Also, are you going to BamBam’s party this weekend?”

“For me to carry your ass home after getting shitfaced and sit through another two-hour lecture from Lia? I’ll pass thank you very much.”

She indicates with a quirk of her perfectly dark brow, “What if I tell you that Minho’s gonna be there?” Now she sounds like she’s the one who’s crushing on Lee Minho and not you. Never knew that your friends can be this creepy but the more you learn… “Jisung just told me he found a plus one aka Mister Celebrity to attend that frat party with, you wouldn’t have the heart to let me be the loner right?” she pouts with her nose scrunched and it reminds you too much of Light Fury so you look away, knowing that you wouldn’t stand a goddamn chance if she kept this up.

“How is that my problem?” you merely roll your eyes, slightly annoyed. “And also, isn’t Jisung supposed to have his marketing class now?”

Yeji doesn’t give a damn about what on Earth Han Jisung is doing with his life so she just brushes your question off. “Would you let Minho drink irresponsibly?”

You nod without hesitation, though it feels wrong coming out of your mouth, “He can do whatever he wants...as long as my carpet remains clean after his hangover.”

“Would you let me drink irresponsibly?”

“The same goes for you,” you tell her monotonously. “And I only picked you up because Lia sounded like she was hyperventilating when you attended that one law brat’s birthday party. Na Jaemin, wasn’t it? Hate that guy, by the way.”

Yeji thinks it’s time for you to open up even more and not despise people that much. Having Lee Minho as your roommate is already a huge step-up but it’s not like there have been any modifications to your routine except the fact that another human being is simply enduring your bitchy ass of a loner. She wants you to be really out there, just not messing with shit like doing keg stands because Seo Changbin is a terrible influence. Woojin once had to drop his shift at the sushi place to drive Jeongin home because Changbin left him hanging on the beanbag chair for a game of beer pong. Jeongin has never gone to another single party since.

“You hate literally everyone!” Yeji’s getting impatient, you can feel it.

“Are you telling me it’s my fault that people are shitty?” you bark, massaging the sides of your temple tiredly. You wish you could just drop the entirety of your current presentation to Yeji because your brain cells are already evaporating one by one into thin air.

She barks back, merely sneering, “C’mon! Y/N, it’s not like you ever have plans for the weekend.”

“But I’m having midterms on Monday, I didn’t spend my time on those notes for nothing.”

She shakes her head at you almost in disapproval. Sure, you’re a coward for backing out on this because BamBam’s no stranger to you. That Thai kid has been hanging out with Chan since middle school and he always offers to buy you coffee whenever you happen to drop by as they’re working on a project together. He’s a nice guy, but you don’t know him that well. Something in your gut is telling you that he has weird friends (he totally does). And you’re not about to overdrink only to blurt out an awful confession to Minho while being surrounded by a bunch of crackheads that aren’t in your social sphere.

“I heard kids are vapi-” Yeji stops herself, thinking she should just give up, and get ready for the next batch of sleep-deprived customers coming in at lunch break before Jeongin chucks an avocado at her direction for chit-chatting too much about your gigantic crush on Minho. “Nevermind, it’s not like you’d care anyway, have fun with reviewing I guess.” And with that, she leaves you alone with the cup of plain water to dump the used coffee grounds in the trash.

It takes you at least ten seconds to comprehend what she just said. And you’ve come up with a new yet very last-minute decision: screw midterm because you’re making sure that Lee Minho’s going home in one piece.

Very timely, your phone buzzes on the wooden counter.

[10:38 AM]

lino | hey you still on campus?

three.

The blush scattered across your cheekbones just grows ten shades darker when you see Minho at the front gate leaning against his black Kawasaki; disheveled hair, hands stuffed inside his pockets, occasional puffs of smoke escaping his lips, and unbothered gaze. You’ve never told him this, you’re not telling him this now, and you’re never gonna tell him; but he looks stupidly good in that biker jacket. Again, you don’t get how someone can look this good early in the morning.

“What are you doing here?” you murmur grimly, approaching him from behind. It feels like he’s doing this to your heart on purpose, without even trying. And those girls over there are making you very uncomfortable by eyeing your roommate up and down like he’s an expensive piece of steak with a gold leaf sticking to it.

Minho turns sideways and flashes you a smile; your little heart just did a perfect cartwheel because of that, it can only take so much. “Sorry, I kinda lost track of time, but I still promised to pick you up, didn’t I?” he says casually as your face morphs into a deep frown because you’re basically confused. The only problem is: you don’t even know why you’re confused. There’s this fluttering feeling at the pit of your stomach and now you feel as though someone just gives you a blow to the head when Minho looks straight into your eyes, brows slightly knitted together.

This is not healthy.

“You didn’t answer my calls or my texts.”

Minho thinks you look cuter than usual when you’re silently fuming because you’re not the type to lash out on people. But it’s not so cute anymore when you threatened to flush his AirPods down the toilet that one time when he spilled ketchup on your carpet. He just hopes he doesn’t end up sleeping on the couch tonight like last time.

“I put my phone on silent, as always,” he reminds you of how much of a pain in the ass it is to receive a call-back or a simple reply from him.

You make a face, “Whatever, didn’t I tell you not to make a scene? Have you seen those chicks back there? They’re watching me as if I’m sabotaging their dreams of eating you alive.” Well, you can’t exactly blame your roommate for having girls gushing over him wherever he goes because...it’s his fault for looking like a snack all the time.

Minho quickly detects how you’re not overly fond of his admirers and needless to say, he’s fairly amused. “Then let them,” he puts an arm over your shoulders and pulls you flushed against him, ruffling your hair. Moments later, you’re already hearing scandalous gasps along with hushed whispers going through your eardrums like a never-ending train. It’s really setting your nerves on fire.

“Don’t you think that this is weird?”

“What?” Now it’s Minho who’s confused here.

You slightly push him away and avert your gaze elsewhere to avoid eye contact. “We’re roommates, right?” you mumble, slightly unsure about...all of this.

“Hmm, what about it?”

“Well, I don’t know…” you fiddle with the hem of your jacket and sigh. “What if people keep getting the wrong idea about us?” You sound somewhat regretful as if your decision of taking him in as your roommate was a mistake, as if you feel like it’s better off if he wasn’t in your life at all, as if the past month was completely meaningless. Since when did things become this complicated? It started with a harmless one-month contract and now Minho’s not sure of what he should do next. But that’s not it, is it? Maybe he’s just overthinking too much.

He looks hesitant for a moment there, very not-Lee-Minho of him. “We’re still cool right?” Minho tilts his head to the side, the afternoon sunlight slips through fluffs of white clouds and brings the constellations in his warm brown eyes to life. Though he looks like a scolded child, you can’t help but want to put this moment into a frame and simply cherish it for the rest of your life.

“Beats me,” you breathe out, silently hating yourself for not being able to get angry at him. It’s harder than you thought, really, and it doesn’t help when his eyes keep doing that thing to your poor little heart. “Make me pasta and we’re good,” you end up chuckling when Minho’s expression turns a solid three hundred and sixty at the offer.

“That’s not a very smart move for a business major, your loss,” he replies with a goofy smile, tossing the helmet that he got you yesterday in your direction. And if you pay attention enough, you can almost see Minho exhaling out of relief. But you’re too busy staring at the ground to douse yourself in your own giddiness to notice. “Oh crap, I think I left my wallet at Hyunjin’s,” he tells you after swinging a leg over on his shiny vehicle.

You narrow your eyes at him, “You don’t need your wallet to make me pasta now do you?”

“By the way, are you going to BamBam’s party?”

“Only if you’re going,” you scratch the bridge of your nose with your ring finger, a little embarrassed to admit that he’s the only reason why you’re ditching midterms.

Minho’s hearty laugh fills your eardrums, shit-eating grin and all. “If it makes you feel better, Chan’s driving us,” he voices without looking at you, but your chest still swells either way.

You fucking hate how you have the softest spot for him.

four.

You’re already regretting this although you’ve only been sitting in Chan’s back seats for less than twenty minutes. Crankiness takes over your body as a result of reviewing for the whole afternoon, your eyelids are getting droopy, and your head seems to be all too big for your neck at this rate. More reasons for you to not drink tonight.

“Ugh, why am I even here?” you groan, and Jisung scrunches his nose, slightly alarmed because you’re not usually this loud unless you’re high on caffeine.

Minho tells you in the most lighthearted way possible, “Because you love me.”

You wish you could just put his head through a wall because everything and anything coming out of his mouth are never healthy for your mind, or heart. “Uhm, no I don’t.”

“But you did confess your love to me,” he singsongs as if he just hit a jackpot with his lottery ticket, angling his head to toss you a wink. “I have receipts, ma’am. They’re right here, in my heart.” Minho’s never seen you so giddy before so he recorded everything, but he’s not planning on putting himself on a chopping block by telling you that.

You shove his arm and purse your lips, flaming cheeks but the car’s too dark for him to see it. “I was sick, asshole, I talk shit more when I have a fever than when I’m drunk,” you defend yourself helplessly, not enjoying the fact that he had to bring it up when you’re in a confined space with Seo Changbin and Han Jisung.

“Minho doesn’t like it when Y/N raises her voice.” Great, now he’s talking in third person.

“What are you even? Four?”

He winks at you, “Baby me, baby.”

“Oh my god shut the fuck up and get away from me!”

“You’ll never get rid of me, baby.” Eventually, you give up because you’re too mentally exhausted and there’s still a long night ahead of you. You’re not wasting your energy in pointless arguments with him because you both yell at each other on a daily basis anyway.

“Maybe he’ll zip it if you tell him that you love him,” Jisung suggests innocently with a not-so-innocent look on his face. He’s already acting dumb when he’s this fucking sober so you’re not looking forward to two hours later when vodka’s practically replaced his own blood.

“I’d rather chew off my own foot.” Changbin snorts involuntarily at your stiff remark, Chan mutters a small ‘ouch’ while Jisung’s too busy laughing his ass off. And a demeaning silence descends after that.

Minho’s right next to you, oddly unresponsive to the situation, his head leaning against your shoulder as he gazes dejectedly out the window. You don’t see how stormy his eyes are. He also misses his motorcycle tremendously because Chan’s the safest (slowest) driver to ever exist. No joke, if he keeps going at the pace of thirty miles per hour then you should just skip the party and watch a movie while getting drunk at his place altogether.

“Can you go any fucking slower?”

“Excuse me?” Chan laughs in disbelief, he’s a little offended because he personally thinks he’s a good driver, maybe a little bit too obedient when it comes to the law. Hey, at least you know you’re in good hands. “I’m not trying to get us all killed before BamBam could poison one of you guys.”

Jisung purses his lips as he’s reminded of the last party where he ran into that Thai dude. He gave him a plastic cup, telling him that it’s merely a harmless fruity vodka only for Jisung to get kicked out by an Uber driver after throwing up in the back seats. Turns out, the lemons and oranges in the cocktail were relatively spoilt.

“I’m gonna die from boredom before we could even get into a car accident,” Minho informs him unconstructively, staring at some random notifications from Instagram of people commenting on his cats’ photos, text messages from his mom and swipes them all away. Mostly to chuckle to himself like a moron because of his lock screen. Yes, your stupid face is still on there after three weeks and you don’t know if you should be crying or laughing.

Chan narrows his eyes at the rear-view mirror, “It seems like you’re entertaining yourself just fine by looking at Y/N’s face.”

“This photo does make me laugh because it’s priceless,” the younger boy states without turning his head to look at you. “But still, bored.”

The car grows silent again soon after because Chan’s already been stressed out enough from traffic since clearly, people can’t drive to save their own lives. But it’s not like your friends can keep their mouths shut for the rest of the trip anyway.

“Boreddd,” Minho voices randomly while a J.One’s song is blasting through the speaker. It’s a terribly soft song and it doesn’t help when Minho feels like he can downright sleep through an earthquake, potentially falling into an enormous crack on the Earth’s surface and still being able to nap like there’s no tomorrow. He’s just glad that Jisung grew out of ‘Wow’ and embraces his awkward self through his own music. It’s..sentimental but what’s a J.One song without that element?

Changbin looks up from his phone for half a second, wholly uninterested. “Then shut up and sleep,” he says expressionlessly. Very timely, his most recent track comes up next on the playlist and he starts rapping along with it. Minho thinks he can really use a good eye shut as SpearB is performing live right behind him because Changbin can only stay sober like this for so long until he gets his hands on one of BamBam’s sketchy-looking concoctions.

You’re starting to get bored too at this rate because usually, during times like this when the car is filled with nothing but music and everyone (except for the driver) feels like they’re falling into a food coma, a certain idiot will—

“Y/N, don’t you have a midterm on Monday?” Ah, there it is.

Jisung bends himself forward and drapes an arm over the leather seat, scrunching his nose at the sight of Minho sleeping soundly against your shoulder. He’s still bitter about the fact that Minho refuses to drive anyone other than you with his motorcycle for some reason. Exclusive things are always so annoying.

You exhale deeply because Jisung reminds you of that one kid who always asks questions that stress the hell out of the teachers back in high school. Would it kill for him to just shut up once in a while?

“I do, and I haven’t got a wink of sleep since yesterday afternoon,” you tell him rather lazily, shifting when Minho snuggles himself closer to you, his hair tickling your jawline. You pray he doesn’t know how fast your heart is beating. “A little alcohol might spare me a night of crying myself to sleep.”

Jisung lets his bottom lip stuck out like he’s a fucking five-year-old not allowed to get his favorite ice-cream flavor. “Aww, you should have asked Minho for cuddles then, pretty sure he’d be more than happy to—,” he remarks sarcastically and you wish you could just throw him in the middle of an intersection. He’s lucky because Minho’s a heavy sleeper or he would have been knocked senseless or something. The last thing Chan needs is being forced to pull over for having wild animals wrestle the shit out of each other in his vehicle.

“Hey, fuck off,” you snarl at him, knowing you should have chosen the passenger seat instead. That way, you wouldn’t be fuming inside because you can’t physically strangle Han Jisung to his imminent death. He has already tattooed that image into the back of your brain and you swear you’ve never heard a creepier chuckle from your friend.

Jisung notices the coral tint on your cheeks and sneers, leaning back against his seat. “Yeah right, as if you’re actually gonna get drunk,” he says snarkily. “You’re just gonna be there to prevent Lee Minho from making bad decisions.”

“I decided to come because Yeji wanted me-“

“Yeji who? In what world will you have time for her when you’re too busy staring at Minho like a total creep? Wanna bet ten bucks?”

That’s bullshit because Lee Minho is already your entire world.

Chan butts in, “Make that fifty.”

Changbin raises his hand, “I’d bet my Tesla.” Your friends really spelled out ‘a bunch of fucking clowns’ in bold, gigantic capital letters and you’re this close to facepalm yourself against Chan’s steering wheel. This is why you don’t go to parties with them that often because you’re stuck with cleanup duties with Seungmin until these crackheads grow out of their amateur drinking habits.

“You’re just jealous because he would rather call you an Uber than give you a lift himself,” you say pointedly and Jisung lets out the loudest, most scandalous gasp. So dramatic.

“You,” he jabs a finger at you, eyes wide in accusation. “Need a nap.”

You laugh dryly, ignoring the urge to snap a picture of his flabbergasted expression and turn it into a new meme for your group chat. “You don’t say, Han, you don’t say.”

And Changbin rolls his eyes over the moon, vividly picturing where this disastrous conversation is gonna go. Basically, he wants you to get shitfaced as soon as you step foot into BamBam’s house so he’ll have a sappy, drunk confession video to toss on Twitter tonight because Woojin just posted a picture of him with a drumstick dipped inside a glass of what looks like a watered-down Margarita. He’s highly concerned since there hasn’t been anything juicy on his feed other than his friends creeping people out with their questionable content.

“If you two don’t end up getting drunk and kiss, I’m gonna be pissed,” Changbin says casually as if it’s just an afterthought. This prompts you to chuck your phone in his direction—you can care less about your screen protector at this point if it means stopping him from taunting you further.

He asserts like a snake, “Hey, remember that time where you tripped over Kkami and totally crushed Minho under your weight?”

“I blame gravity for that.”

“But Albert Einstein said you can’t blame gravity for falling in love.”

“Who cares about Albert Einstein?!” you whisper-shout harshly, cautiously eyeing Minho’s sleeping figure. He scrunches his nose and murmurs something that you can’t quite hear before turning over to face you completely. His arms unexpectedly slip underneath yours like second nature. He furrows his eyebrows occasionally, other times he’d be grinning like an idiot and his lips are slightly agape, full eyelashes framing his eyes beautifully. Sometimes you wonder how weird his dreams are whenever you caught him talking (and cursing) in his slumber.

Changbin wants to pry aloud when you start staring at Minho for too long; he might as well be tossed on the freeway at this point before exasperation squeezes the little amount of oxygen left out of his chest. This is worse than Hyunjin’s terrible rom coms. He props his head onto his hand in boredom as Chan pulls over and turns off the engine. “Hey we’re here, why not wake your prince up with a kiss—”

“I’m gonna kick your ass,” you threaten.

Now there are two distasteful tattoos at the back of your head. And you will not hesitate for a heartbeat sacrificing the entirety of your bank account to get them removed. To get Lee Minho removed from your mind.

If only it were that easy.

“Mhmm,” the figure beside you lets out a low grunt and hugs your arm closer instinctively. His warmth seeps through the fabric of your denim jacket and sets your heart on fire. You’re ready to flick his forehead any second now to interrupt his slumber but before you could even do anything, Seo Changbin aggressively opens the door and you widen your eyes in horror. Where the fuck did he get a megaphone? And what for?

“Bitch wake up! Those drinks aren’t gonna finish themselves!”

It’d be a miracle if you ended up finding him alive by dawn.

five.

“Y/N you ass, give it back!

“No, we’ve only been here for three hours and this is your fifth cup already,” you tell her in a mildly serious tone before dumping her cup of whatever the fuck of a yellow substance that Ryujin gave her ten minutes ago into the sink.

Yeji plops herself onto the sofa in the living room after you drag her out of the kitchen where people are making out on the marble counter. Glad to see nothing’s changed...idiots. “God, you’re such a party pooper, I shouldn’t have told you to come,” she complains in between small hiccups, alcohol tinting her cheeks beet red.

“I’m here to save your ass and this is how you’re repaying me?” Your question didn’t come out as coherent and threatening as you imagined and every single cell inside your body is shaking for no specific reason.

Your friend narrows her eyes down into a mere glare like a detective in those crimes shows that you spend way too much time on and you’re debating whether you should be laughing or pissing yourself. She fucking knows that you’re lying. She fucking knows the sole reason for you to be here. “Give me a break, it’s not like you’re doing anything besides staring at your boyfriend from afar,” Yeji scoffs dejectedly.

“God forbids ‘Lee Minho’ and ‘my boyfriend’ go in the same sentence,” you grit, subconsciously averting your gaze around the living room to spot your roommate. All he’s been doing is being held back by Chan when he tried to murder Changbin once, catching up with his old friends from high school and hanging out with some of his classmates, ranting about how much he dreads Kim’s eight AM, gushing with Hyunjin over some senior’s choreography set. By the looks of it, Jisung must have handed him at least seven of those red party cups from the bar—thanks to BamBam who keeps restocking them every hour.

Yeji chuckles creepily when the alcohol finally hits her hard, you think you just got chills by the way that she’s leaning closer. “Of course not,” she hiccups into your ear, words slurred, “Lee Minho’s not my boyfriend, he’s your boyfriend.” You look at her in the eye, and mentally regret your life choices. How insufferable.

“I mean, seriously,” she slams her body back onto the couch and groans; you can’t tell if it’s out of frustration or the cushion is too soft for her back. “It’s like you’re living the life of the main protagonist in a Harry Styles fanfiction! Do you know how many girls and boys would kill to live in the same apartment as that?” Her index finger is pointed directly at the person you’ve been watching and avoiding all night, across the room with a dart in his hand as he stands in front of the dartboard.

“Were you aiming for the board or were you plotting to kill me? Because I can’t tell! I-can’t-fucking-tell!” Changbin shouts over the music and you momentarily cringe at the crack in his voice; it’s never a college party without one of your friends riling each other up over the dumbest things. And also, who thinks it’s a good idea to lend an unstable Lee Minho a sharp object of any kind?

You look away as heat flares through your nostrils when Minho accidentally glances at you after laughing at some corny joke that Chan made. He’s more than mildly hammered right now, you suppose, because, well, Chan can only make people laugh when they’re exceptionally drunk.

A stupid question then slips out of your lips. “With what?” It sounds like you only have one brain cell and are perpetually dumb. It makes you feel even dumber when there’s nothing but a can of Coke inside your body.

“A hottie who dances, cooks, has a good sense of humor, lowkey a genius, highkey a tsundere, shares a name with a famous actor. Far more handsome than the actor himself, if I dare.” Yeji has no hesitation whatsoever naming every reason as to why people on campus shamelessly throw themselves at your roommate on a daily basis. And now your head grows ten times fuzzier, floating mundanely in the clouds above. Basically, you feel like you’re drunk—except your confidence isn’t sky high enough to do something stupid—which makes no absolute sense.

The silver-haired girl next to you puts an arm around your neck and giggles, you’re highly perturbed that her vocal cords are gonna give in tomorrow when she convinces you through FaceTime that you should be extra careful with your notes since she won’t be showing up to class. “Oh! And he has three cats, right? Cat people are said to be more intuitive and thoughtful, that’s a bonus,” Yeji asserts and your jaw is on the floor at this rate. She doesn’t even spare him a second glance during lunch break and she already knows this much?

No wonder Minho never talked about his cats with Felix and Seungmin again.

“I bet you read that off a Buzzfeed article.”

“Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong!”

You inhale and exhale deeply, linking your fingers together, “Yeah, but that’s all people will ever see.”

“Well, what else can they like about him?”

“I don’t know,” you say bluntly, but the rouge on your cheeks is anything but ‘blunt’. “They don’t see how stuck-up he is, how he loves hogging the blanket all to himself, how he secretly stocks up a stash of trashy snacks. They don’t see the way his eyes sparkle when he looks into their eyes during a conversation because he’s actually a very attentive listener.”

Yeji pats your back without turning her head, slightly amused, “I think you meant how he looks into your eyes during a conversation.”

Your eyes scan the room one more time to find Minho hugging his stomach from laughing too much, there are actual tears in his eyes because Changbin just lost a bet and apparently he has to belly flop himself into the pool as a punishment. You haven’t seen him this happy in a while, even when he’s potentially dying from a really bad stomachache but it still puts your heart at ease knowing he’s having fun tonight.

Needless to say, he always knocks the breath right out of your lungs without much effort. Even when he’s ditched the leather jacket and ripped jeans, you still think no one looks better than him in a large t-shirt and sweatpants.

“But I don’t get it,” Yeji looks over at you this time, real carefully because your tone just grows firmer and more serious. “How can he just stand there, laugh...and look so beautiful?”

“I told you—”

“Yeah that’s exactly what I need to hear right now, Yeji,” you facepalm almost immediately, highly disappointed in yourself.

Jisung’s getting his ten dollars on Monday when you surprise him with two slices of cheesecake from his favorite dessert place. Changbin can keep his Tesla and Chan...Chan isn’t getting anything.

You push yourself off the blue velvet couch and groan, you’re getting sore quickly because the cushions are far too soft. “Let me get some fresh air, I feel like I’m gonna to lose my mind,” you tell your friend but you doubt that she caught it since the music is all too loud for students to communicate properly. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why fistfights during parties are a thing.

“Uhm, wait,” Yeji tugs onto your sleeve and jerks her head towards the direction of Minho. “I’m sorry but what the hell does your boyfriend want now?”

“Huh where—“

Like..three feet away. Or a whole lot closer.

“Why didn’t you answer my texts?” And you find Minho standing in front of you with his arms crossed stubbornly, eyebrows knitted together and tinted pink cheeks. He looks a little pissed off, and you don’t think you’re both on the same page here.

When you give him a ‘what do you mean’ look, your roommate feels the need to unlock his phone and jab his index finger against his poor crusty screen as he shows you at least fifty messages that he’s been spamming in the last half an hour. This reminds you of the yellow Post-It note that Minho violently smacked onto your fridge the very night when he first moved in.

‘I hereby fucking declare that if we did end up going to the same party (doubt btw), we would keep our phones with us 25/8 so one can save the other’s ass from stupid decisions— lee minho’ he wrote. Minho knows all too well the only ass that needs to be saved is his. And you’ve thought about taking the note down several times but you don’t think you’d have the heart to.

“Oh,” your head draws a blank canvas and you look for your phone in your pocket. But then, “I left my phone in Chan’s car.”

Minho rolls his eyes at you and decides that he’s too impatient to wait for Chan to sober up and remember where he left his keys. “Whatever,” he manages to crack a small smile, one that shines through the dimmed LED light on the ceiling and makes your heart stuck in your throat. “Let’s get out of here, I have something to tell you.”

“Hey hey hey,” Yeji tries to get up from the couch but her limbs are too wobbly. “You can’t just tap out all of a sudden and steal her from me like that. Don’t even think for a minute you second rate—”

“Yeah, no, she’s mine.”

You’re downright baffled. But you’re not sure if it’s because of what he said ten seconds ago and your heart is going haywire, your brain cells are giving in on you or it’s because he’s tugging you by the wrist and piloting you through the impending chaos of sloppy college students.

You’re not sure if you want to know. You’re not sure if you’re ready.

six.

Fall arrives sooner than you thought and it almost makes you miss summer. Though you didn’t really have anything exciting besides an internship that refrained you from living on YouTube for too long.

The evening is oddly cold, but you’ve never had a problem with the tips of your fingers growing chilly. It’s different tonight—it’s the kind of coldness that slips through your flesh and into your bones, coming in contact with the thumping force of your heart, causing it to shiver. There’s nothing to do but keep your gaze straight forward, your feet moving on their own with the one and only goal of heading home. Clouds with the murky color of wet ashes pass by, and the ground as its dank reflection—a reminder of how humanity is ruining the planet.

The streets are so quiet and tranquil; you’re afraid that Minho might be able to hear your heartbeat. Now you’re pointing a finger at society in accusation because it’s the weekend yet no elder couples are taking their night strolls, no middle-aged ladies in fluffy jackets are walking their spoiled teacups dogs and no wasted college students are roaming the streets with ‘trouble’ spelled out on their forehead. Really, you’d rather stare at people in a creepy way and zone out than constantly thinking about Lee Minho when he’s right beside you.

This is terribly suffocating and you don’t think if you can keep this up in the next thirty minutes until both of you get home and melt into the comfort of your bed.

“Sober up, Mister Celebrity, that’s too much fun for tonight.” Minho winces slightly when you press a can of cold green tea against his cheeks as he’s about to doze off on the wooden bench next to the vending machine. While he’s taking a swig, you feel a silent obligation to take a seat but your eyes are determinedly fixed on the curb.

The bench suddenly feels far too big and the night breeze is far too cold for Minho’s liking, so he shifts his body closer, fingers brushing over yours and sending electricity down your spine. “What do you mean?” he scoffs, finding it hard to not look at you so his gaze is temporarily glued onto the can of green tea in his palms. “Tonight was nothing compared to Jisung’s birthday.” He can still feel the remaining warmth from your hands, it makes him wonder how it’d feel to actually hold them.

“Ugh, god,” you shake your head in disbelief, internally cringing. “Don’t even remind me.”

You still don’t know what Hyunjin fed him that day to the point he couldn’t remember what happened. All hell broke loose Felix posted a video of him pretending to be a stupid ostrich and trying to do a mating dance towards Jisung on Twitter. No one dares to talk about that scarred video since. Now that he’s reminded you of it, you wish you didn’t own brain cells in the first place. This is why the internet is scary.

“What is it that you wanted to tell me anyway?”

Minho stops for a second at your question and places his beverage down on the bench. He stares distantly at the space ahead as if he’s fighting with himself inside his own head, seriously contemplating something. It’s come to your attention that this isn’t very like his usual self. Minho never hesitates for a second when he has something in mind. Even when he knows that you might rip his head off.

He exhales deeply, turns his head, and makes direct eye contact with you for what seems like an eternity. His eyes are as wide open and honest as a child’s, they possess something so much more the longer you stare at them. A warmth, safety. Your heart is gonna combust if he doesn’t get this over with soon.

Then, “I think I forgot to put yeast in the batter.” Wait what?

“Minho!” you punch his arm, earning a low grunt from the blond-haired boy. “Don’t fucking scare me like that!” He’s looking at you as though your eyes are turning red with rage and smoke is coming out of your ears, scared for his own life but truthfully, you’re just relieved. Surprisingly.

“Wait, so you’re not mad?” he asks you with a wide-eyed expression, trying way too hard to keep a straight face. “Aren’t we supposed to bring homemade bread for the get together at the nursing home tomorrow?”

“Old people still enjoy Bingo for some reason, they can have that instead of bread.” His mouth forms a small ‘o’ as he scoots closer to you and you can tell that he reeks off alcohol, which is making you a little dizzy. When your gaze falls elsewhere but Lee Minho, you attempt to appear casual, “But if you wanna bake so badly, I can still pull an all-nighter and start over with you.” That was doable, but you could have done better—should have sounded like you didn’t really care.

Minho flings his bangs away from his face and tosses his head back, chuckling breathlessly. “Don’t you have a midterm to stress over instead of me? I don’t want you to pick out every single strand of hair on your head after baking with me.” He finally said something nice once in a while, you sorta appreciate it. “It’d be embarrassing when my parents FaceTime me and see you as bald as my great grandfather.” Nevermind, he’s still the same old jerk.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed, you’ll be moving out in two weeks, either way, right?” Your tone sounds sad and grim all of a sudden; it really dampens the atmosphere because Minho is now looking at you with concern laced in his brown eyes. “Look, I get that it’s bothersome to be my roommate so there’s no need to feel bad. I’ll be fine going back to my old life where my feet don’t get cold in the middle of the night because no one would be there to hog the blanket anymore.”

Minho feels the need to clear things up here. “I never said anything about moving out,” he grabs you by the shoulders and hopes you could just look at him when he’s being serious for once. “Y/N, who even said anything about moving out? Was it the landlord?”

“No,“ you say, still not willing to face him directly. You’re such a coward.

“If so, why would I move out? Did I do something wrong? Did I piss you off or something?”

You’re trying so hard not to snap at this point. “No!”

“Then why can’t you just fucking look at me?!”

“You’re still drunk, let me buy you another—“

Minho shakes you forcefully, hoping to knock some common sense into that brain of yours. “For fuck’s sake, I’m not drunk!” he cries helplessly, not caring about the fact that he’s waking up every cat possible in the neighborhood. “Just- just look at me, will you?”

You stubbornly keep your eyes anywhere but him. “Why would I look at your stupid face?”

“Don’t bullshit me, Y/N. You’re not usually like this.”

Every single cell inside your body quivers simultaneously when he says so—good god, no, he’s testing you. Minho knows something’s off. Now to think about it again, you’d rather let him dirty your carpet than being put on trial like this.

“You wanna know why I’m acting like this? It’s because of you! You’re making me nervous! It’s your fault for making me feel this way!”

“What?” he blurts, eyes blinking numerous times in disbelief. “What did I ever do to you?”

“God, Minho, you can’t possibly be this dense. Tell me, that you’ve never, not even once, seen me turning beet red when you simply look at me in the eye. Or when you’re just sitting there, laughing your ass off about something stupid. It makes my heart flutter, okay? You make my heart flutter. Do you know how much of an effect you can have on me? You don’t go around juggling with others’ feelings like that,” your voice grows smaller and smaller towards the end until there’s nothing but an oddly comfortable silene floating midair. A sense of relief washes over you; you unknowingly exhale.

Minho stares at you in awe for a moment there, until he also speaks up for himself. “Maybe you should take your own advice,” he almost snickers, and this causes you to peel your gaze away from a random bush to gawk at his response. “You’re telling me to not go around juggling with others’ feelings? If anything, you’re the one who keeps messing with my heart. What am I supposed to do? Not get drunk so that I won’t be able to get away for doing dumb things?”

“What dumb things?”

“I don’t know, kiss you?”

“Fuck, you can’t get away with it this time now, can you?”

You’re already regretting this and there’s no turning back. Because when Minho subconsciously runs his tongue over his bottom lips, you’re already fighting the rouge spreading on your cheekbones. He shortens the distance between your heads until your lips are practically a breath away from his. Impatient, you grab a fistful of his shirt to smash your lips against his. Minho stays frozen for a nanosecond, taken aback by your boldness before pulling you closer by the waist. You’re hesitant at first, but he guides you through it, telling you that it’s okay by embracing you more tightly. Dear god, Minho’s kissing you and the world just falls away. It’s slow, comforting in ways that words can never be. He slackens his jaw to deepen the kiss, smiling into it when giddiness bubbles up inside his stomach.

The world still feels like it’s spinning when he parts away, an alcoholic taste mixed with the green tea ghosts your lips, and your face grows ten times hotter. Even in this cracked darkness, Minho sees you blush hard and is fully aware that his cheeks are mirroring yours—he doesn’t even bother to convince himself that it’s from the alcohol, because it isn’t.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Minho questions though his breath is still a bit shaky from the kiss. He really didn’t lie when he said that he could never stop bothering you.

You can’t help but smile at him brightly; this causes his heartbeat to spike inside his chest. “Well, do I have to?” He shakes his head and stares down at your hands until he musters up every strand of courage left to finally intertwine them with his own. Fits like a glove.

“Come on, let’s go home,” he tells you softly, eyes crinkling into a pretty crescent moon shape. But you stop him right there when he attempts to stand up and wordlessly lean your forehead against his. Minho understands that you simply need a moment so you both hover right there, simply melting into each other’s touch. But what you say next just makes the ignited passion inside his heart flare-up. He’s at a loss for words, utterly speechless.

“I am home.”

“Welcome home then, Y/N,” Minho whispers.

Everything feels like a dream that you’d never want to wake up from. His hands are clasped on either side of your face, resting just below the lobes of your ears. His thumbs gently caress your cheeks so that you won’t drift away, your breaths mingling. Never before has your own name made your heart flutter. But you guess it’s only because Minho said it. You do know that it’s not an afterthought, nor out of impulse. It’s a promise, for whatever’s coming your way on this path, he’s never gonna leave you behind. And the moment he feels that thing beating inside his chest is in sync with yours, he slowly leans in again.

Albert Einstein once said you can’t blame gravity for falling in love. And you have every right to argue with him in the afterlife because you’ve confirmed that Minho is your gravity. Gravity keeps you grounded, always get a hold of you so that you won’t ever have to wander off too far away. It’s there for you but it doesn’t have to act like it cares. Minho’s kinda like that too—he picked you up every time you said you’re good walking home, he only stocked up the stash of candies to secretly feed your midnight cravings. They only differ so much where his heartbeat for you is loud, undaunted and he loves you fearlessly; nothing shall meddle with his feelings for you as long as the way your eyes light up when they meet his doesn’t change.

Before you met Minho, you didn’t know that it was possible to just look at someone and smile for no reason. The way his lips curl up when he smiles, his sarcastic remarks, his kindhearted nature though he’s awfully good at hiding it. That’s what people do when they’re in love, they say—to fawn over the littlest things but they’re what makes you fall so hard for him. But as time passes by, you’ve learned that it’s actually quite nice to be in love with someone. Because then, you get to spend your time and effort on their happiness as well, not just your own. In exchange, that person is capable of bringing colors to your dull world, tearing down your walls, and showing you just how beautiful life can be. Surely, Minho might not stay by your side forever in this crazy game of Monopoly but you’d risk it all for him even if the sky comes crashing and the universe turns upside down.

After all, you can’t love alone.

#stayshub #skzwritersclub #stray kids lee know #stray kids scenarios #lee know imagines #stray kids imagines #lee know scenarios #stray kids minho #minho roommate au #minho college au #lino fic #lee minho #lee know #college au #roommate au

768 notes · View notes

excelsi-or · 4 years ago

Text

your type (pt. 2)

Hello friends! I’ve been working on my comic and applying for jobs and doing research, so I haven’t had much time to write.

I hope you guys enjoy this series. As I’m writing it, it’s different from the two I’ve written before. Hope you’re all well~~

BIPOC rec: I’m recommending a variety show and drama that I’ve watched the last two weeks. I finished Busted! and The Uncanny Counter and I’m recommending Kim Sejeong’s EP Plant.

LOL yes, the theme is Kim Sejeong. After watching her on Busted!, I really became a fan of her energy and her charm. I thoroughly admire her. Enjoy her work like I do!

w.c. 1.6k (enjoy the snarky conversation)

pt. 1; pt. 2; pt. 3

The next morning, Jihyo steps into the apartment looking dishevelled but happy. The sight of her roommate in the kitchen catches her off guard. “Why are you up so early? You went home late.”

“You’re back early,” she comments, scrolling through her phone.

“I wanted to get home before you got up, which obviously wasn’t early enough.” Jihyo goes into her bedroom to drop off her things and change. “You didn’t say why you were up so early?” she calls.

“Jihoon is taking me to breakfast apparently,” she calls back.

“What?” Jihyo steps out of her bedroom and moves to the doorway of the kitchen in her bra and jeans. “Who’staking you to breakfast?”

“Jihoon.”

Jihyo’s eyebrows furrow. “You know who he is, right?”

She sips her tea with a nod. “Well aware.”

“So why are you going to breakfast with him?”

She shrugs. “He asked. It’s not like it’s going to be anything and I’m not going to pass up breakfast.”

“Lee Jihoon only talks to a very select number of people: his twelve friends, plus or minus a few in his classes, and girls that he’s trying to get into his bed.”

“And you know I don’t do that anymore,” she huffs. “He asked me to breakfast. I said 9 AM in the lobby.” She shrugs as she sips her tea. “If he’s not there, then it’s whatever. I’ll bring back coffee and croissants.”

Jihyo shakes her head in disbelief as she goes back to the bedroom to finish changing. “Lee Jihoon is untouchable. You must be some special breed!”

She laughs and downs the rest of her tea. She slips into her sneakers and throws on a coat. Her plan is to sit in the chairs in the lobby, wait until 9, and then head back upstairs. When she steps off the elevator, she finds Lee Jihoon leaning against the stairs’ handrail with his phone in hand.

She pushes the door open. “Morning.”

Jihoon looks over at her. “Ready?”

She hesitates, but nods, letting the door shut behind her. “Yeah, let’s go.”

They start walking, and once again, it’s silent. She wonders if he’ll break it. Since they didn’t decide on an actual breakfast place and she doesn’t want to break the silence first, she leads him to her favourite breakfast spot. She smiles at a few of the storeowners who are just opening up.

“Some new books have just come in. I think you’ll like them,” the bookshop owner calls to her.

“I promise I’ll come in after my exams.”

“Study hard!” the woman calls before ducking into her store.

They walk into the restaurant and the host smiles when he sees her. “Hey, noona. How are you?”

“Tired, but good,” she says with a smile. “For 2?”

Taeyong collects two menus, glances at the man over her shoulder, reorders his face from surprised to neutral, and leads them to a table by the window. “Can I start you with anything?”

His question is directed at Jihoon. Jihoon looks to her and she holds his gaze. When he doesn’t say anything, she looks up to Taeyong. “Black coffee.”

“And your iced chai,” Taeyong adds. He walks away, still scribbling in his notebook.

She flips through her menu, debating trying something new despite knowing that she’ll just get the same thing in the end.

“You just don’t talk much?” Jihoon asks.

“I talk plenty,” she answers, dropping her menu. “You just don’t seem to have anything to say to me.”

“Other people usually start the conversation.”

“You’re the one who asked me to breakfast.” She looks over when Taeyong returns with their drinks. “Thank you.”

“Do you need a few more minutes with menu?”

She looks to Jihoon.

Jihoon doesn’t meet his eye. “Yes, please.”

She and Taeyong share a small smile before he nods and walks away to serve another table.

“I’ve never seen you around,” Jihoon starts.

“I’m graduating next winter.”

Jihoon lifts an eyebrow. “So am I. Did you transfer in?”

She shakes her head. “Nope. I guess we just don’t run in the same circles.” She toys with the corner of the menu.

“I guess I only just met your friends a few weeks ago when Cheol started inviting them over.” He skims through the menu. “You not that close or just choose not to come?”

“Choose not to come.” She traces the grain in the tabletop.

Jihoon frowns slightly at the short answers. She seems to sense him staring and her eyes lift. “You have a boyfriend?”

“If I did, I definitely wouldn’t be sitting across this table from you.”

“So… is this a date?”

She shrugs. “Is it?”

“I’ve noticed you’re nicer to everyone else than me.”

A small smile grows on her face. “I didn’t realize that you noticed.”

“So, you’re doing it on purpose.”

“You’re not really giving me much to vibe off of, you do realize that, right?”

Jihoon’s eyes stop moving over the menu, as he thinks about that statement. “Most people just talk to fill all the silences. Or go on their phone until they can think of something to say.”

“Who are these people?” she asks.

“Other girls I’ve taken on dates. New people I meet.”

“Ever think that maybe they were intimidated or were seeking out your attention already?”

“You could have not met me for breakfast.”

“I’m currently unresponsive, not evil,” she snorts, a grin on her face.

Taeyong returns to the table. “Do we know what we want?”

“Yes, I’m ready.” Jihoon fires off his order and looks to her expectantly. She simply turns to Taeyong and her smile broadens.

He nods. “Your usual. Got it.” The man collects the menus and walks away.

“How often do you come here?” Jihoon asks. He sips his coffee. “And how did you know I like my coffee black?”

“Since I moved in with Jihyo in first year. And I didn’t. I figured if you hated black coffee, you would’ve said so.”

Jihoon hums, sipping his coffee again. “So, you’re not seeking out my attention, you don’t want to hang out with my friends. You still haven’t answered why you bothered to meet me for breakfast when you could have said no if you were so uninterested.”

“I’m intrigued.” She fiddles with the utensils. “I’m not opposed to dating. I’m just not actively seeking anything out.”

“You have a lot of exes then?”

“You’re gonna ask that during our first conversation? Wow.” She chuckles and cups her water between her hands. “No. I have one.”

“One of the guys that you’re meeting later?”

“Yeah, actually.” She sips her chai and looks out the window, watching a group of high school girls laughing together.

When she doesn’t come right out with anything to ask him, Jihoon tries a different approach. “So, what do you want to know about me?”

“I don’t know yet.” She tips her head. “How much are you willing to share?”

“I’m an open book.”

This causes her to laugh. “Could’ve fooled me.”

Jihoon readjusts himself in his seat and leans forward on his elbows, his coffee between his hands.

She studies him a moment before matching his posture. “What draws you to a woman? What makes you pick her out of a crowd and go ‘she’s the one today’?”

“Today?”

She smirks. “I’ve heard your reputation even if you haven’t heard mine.”

“I’ve met people who have dated your friends. They like the chase; are you the same?”

“Not anymore.” She sips her drink, not taking her eyes off him. “And you didn’t answer my question.”

“What makes me pick out a woman in a crowd? Honestly?”

She nods once.

“How she looks. Her ass.” Jihoon shrugs. Since it seems she only asks if she wants to know the answers, he figures he might as well be blunt. “It’s superficial and crude, but it gets the job done.”

“Normally that would be a real turn off.” Her brow lifts. “But I’m not typically known for my ass.” She points her fork at him. “Don’t talk about my ass.”

He smirks. “I didn’t pick you because of your ass.”

“I know.” She rests her cheek in her palm. “You picked me out because I beat you at Stress last night.”

Jihoon tries not to react, but he wonders how she knows.

“You were surprised I beat you,” she says. “I’m taking it that you don’t like to lose or aren’t used to losing.”

“Music department’s competitive. I don’t think a lot of people understand that.”

“Every degree is competitive. Everyone wants to be the best student. I don’t get how that translates to cards.”

“Do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Want to be the best student?”

She laughs. “I’m kinda over trying to be the best. I just want to be done.”

“What degree are you in?”

Conversation starts to flow a bit easier after the initial icebreaker questions. Hers aren’t icebreakers; they are definitely personal deep dives. Jihoon finds, though, that he doesn’t mind answering them. They make it through their meal and wind up talking for an hour afterwards. The only reason that they get up is because she wants to study for her chemistry quiz before going to lunch with Yoongi and Jungkook.

Jihoon walks her back to her apartment and waits at the bottom of the steps until she opens the lobby door.

“I still don’t get your number?” Jihoon calls.

She looks over her shoulder and shakes her head. “Phone numbers promise future dates.” She gives him a once over and smirks. “And I don’t trust your promises. Thanks for a great breakfast, Jihoon.”

Jihoon can’t help but chuckle at that. “Will you at least come the next time Cheol invites your friends over?”

She lifts her chin and tips her head both ways. “I had fun.” She smiles at him and ducks into her building.

pt. 3

#woozi #woozi imagines #woozi scenarios #Lee Jihoon #lee jihoon scenarios #Seventeen #seventeen scenarios #seventeen imagines #svt

35 notes · View notes

cosmiclatte28 · 4 years ago

Text

Quarantine (Baekhyun x you; domestic fluff)

I love Domestic Baekhyun and here is more of it

ENJOY! PS. stay happy in quarantine okay, things will get better. We’re all in this together. 💖

You want to go home. You miss the busy street from your home town, you miss your mother's cooking, you miss your cats, and mostly you just miss the feeling of being home. COVID-19 has messed up all of your plans, you're supposed to be at home now with your mother and father, sitting down as you tell them stories from the secret life of dating the young prince of King of KPOP, EXO Baekhyun and right now in a project with SuperM too, The Avengers of KPOP. You bend to turn off the vacuum robot circling the big room. Baekhyun and you have been sharing the roof and sheets after two years of relationship. You were just a student, transferring to Korea and taking some job in one of the uprising firm consultation group. You were supposed to go back after graduating, but the pandemic made it impossible for you to fly back safe. Your parents knew about your relationship with Baekhyun, even your mother is secretly tuning in to UN Village and carefully tries to remember EXO and SuperM. You met Baekhyun not in office, but from a colleague of yours. He invited you to his lunch birthday party only to sit face to face with the man who gives you energies when doing endless home work and quiz. He was Baekhyun, the Baekhyun of EXO, whose songs were on repeat every time you study, the same group where you spent all of your money to. You remember how his friend introduced you that Baekhyun is his best friend, and to your surprise, Baekhyun was so easy to talk to. By the last scoop of ice cream and cake you both have, he already got your number. The next day and night flew by so fast. With small greetings and good night texts, you got closer to him. In six month, he brought you over to his favorite café, handed you a fresh bouquet of roses, and asked the oh so surprising statement. You were so surprised that night, but you made sure to nod your head. With that and one hug, you were now his official girl friend.

Baekhyun made sure you were comfortable with the relationship. He did not tell anyone first, so that you won't be overwhelmed. When you asked why he didn't tell his friends about this, he simply said "Having a relationship is not something I boast around about. I keep my personal life secret. When it is the time, I will make sure to tell everyone. Just be patient okay." You trust him, with all your heart. You cannot hate him, not even when you're annoyed by his eating habit. He kept his promise, after one year of dating you and feeling even more comfortable with you and the relationship; he introduced you to the band. Xiumin, Kyungsoo, and Suho were already away when Baekhyun introduced you to them. You knew Kai even better after visiting them onset for SuperM's comeback. You can keep up with the dating life, because at morning both of you are busy with works, and at night Baekhyun always come back home. With EXO doing sub-unit works, he didn't really stay together. He has his manager to drive him to work and back home. You always make sure to finish your work before going home, so that when you're in his apartment, you can just sit and relax with him. Baekhyun likes to play games, and so are you. The two of you can just sit in his special game room and spend the night screaming into microphone while frantically pressing keyboard and mouse. For your second anniversary, he bought you a gaming set and that was the sweetest thing you did not expect from Baekhyun. However since quarantine, you've been taking your work from home (his home) and he still have to go to the studio to train and record, but other than that he cannot go anywhere. It was fun to see Baekhyun having his comeback and doing a V-live from his bed room. Little did the fans knew, someone else was cooking the food he ate, and his girl is laughing on the living room seeing how Baekhyun still try his best to entertain the fans although situation is challenging. You teased him after he finished his V-live. "Told you, you cannot finish all of it. It's a lot and I know your portion honey." Baekhyun chuckled from his half sleeping state, "I slept a bit." You snickered, "Yeah I saw everything. I even left comments too but did you catch mine?" He yawned, "Too much to see, I mean you can always tell me what's in your mind, so it's their time to share. Thanks for understanding." You cleaned up his plates, "Ah yeah, I get it. Do your job bae, make sure the fans are happy to see you again. This time of life is challenging, so I want you to be their mental and moral support." You understand their feelings, you are one of them, just a lucky one who can win his heart. "Thanks for always understanding. Hey what time is it now in your parent's?" You glanced to the watch, "Night I guess, why?" Baekhyun shrugged, "Ah you missed your time to call them to see my live?" You grinned and giggled, "They will understand, I can call tomorrow." Baekhyun pulled you into his hug, "Okay then, we go to bed now it's late." You pushed him away, "Let me put your plates away. I save my works and we sleep." Baekhyun gave you his cheeky smile, "I love you." "Yeah say that whenever I want to wash your dishes. Smart move eh?" The next quarantine was even funnier with SuperM and his Mtopia series. Watching Mtopia with Baekhyun was even better since he explained things that happened. You also shed tears watching his short drama and you praised him for his acting skills. You remembered seeing Baekyun blushed when you pretended to re-enact the scene. "You know, I am a bit thankful to the flight ban." he said one day when you and him were sitting on the sofa, watching the sun sets. You quirked an eyebrow, pulling your body to sit straight, "What?" He pulled you back into his embrace, "Because you can stay here, and I am happier with you in this challenging time." You smiled, "Well, I am also quite happy to have you here and I like staying here. Would be even better if we have Mongryeong and not a Roomba." Baekhyun laughed at your remark "Well, I can't take Mongryeong here to disturb your work, but a Roomba is enough right for now?" You slapped his arm playfully, "Well at least I don't have to sweep the floor." You made him laugh, "Now that shows how we are even made for each other. We have the same humor. Dry ones." "We just got another level of humor honey." you taunted at him and bend to turn off the Roomba. "If you really like the Roomba that much, I can get you another 10 of those." You deadpanned look at him, "Really? Eleven cleaning robots? No thanks. I'd rather buy your albums or book a flight with you to my parents." "Becaue you know Baekhyun, you're like a high test score..." you looked into his eyes with adoration. "Why?" "Coz I want to take you home and show you to my mother." you stifled a laugh and he burst out laughing too. "She saw me frequently from TV and video calls!" "Yeah but it's unfair how your mother have seen me but my mother hasn't seen you for real." you pinched his cheeks. His crisp laugh erupted, "Who taught you those cheesy pick up lines?" "Running a blog of incorrect SuperM made me research a lot of pick up lines.. cheesy ones, and I am keeping the one I like." "You run a blog?!" Your eyes pop open, "Uh-oh... wrong information.." You escaped from his hug and stood up to run away before he can ask you anything else "Hey why you never tell me anything!" He rose from his seat. "No pretend I said nothing! It's too much information." "Come back here! I want to support you!" "No Baek, I am shy!" you pocket your phone and run away from his chase. The house is big, big enough for two adults to run around and play chase. "I won't let you live if you make me anything weird in the posts." "Uh-oh I am in trouble."

“Stop, okay okay I will tell you! Just stop and stay away okay.” You said between your breaths and he stopped finally. You quickly run away from him once again, this time locking yourself inside the room so he cannot reach you.

“I swear you tricky little peach!” Baekhyun banged on the door when he realized you’ve tricked him and locked him out.

You quickly logged out your tumblr and after some time, reopened the door for Baekhyun.

“What?” you hold your laugh back, there’s no way he will be calm when he sees your post.

“Let’s keep it a secret okay Baekhyun. You heard nothing!” you kissed him quick and he gave up.

“I’ll discover it one day!” his mischievous smile is back on his cute face.

end.

#baekhyun x you #baekhyun x oc #baekhyun x reader #baekhyun domestic fluff #baekhyun fluff #baekhyun imagine #imagine bae #imagine baekhyun #exo imagine #superm imagines #exo fluff #superm fluff #super m fluff #super m imagines #super m fanfic

62 notes · View notes

luminous-studiess · 5 years ago

Note

Seeing as you mentioned in one of your last posts that you’ve learnt how to study in the pas semester, I was wondering if you could share with us your tips & tricks, please? I love your blog ❤️

hi!!!!! first of all, thank you so much for the kind words. it always helps when i hear that people like my content, and it’s nice to know when people on studyblr reach out and motivate each other. i hope you’re doing well as well!i guess i have to preface this with the fact that studying in undergrad is very different from studying in law school. also, studying in different undergraduate courses constitutes very different studying styles as well. for me, i took literature, so it was a lot of writing papers and not much memory work. in law school, there was a LOT of memory work. i did really badly for several months because i wasn’t used to studying for those kinds of exams. i may make posts if anyone’s interested on how to study specifically for literature or law classes, but for now, these are general tips on how to study.this is a long-ass post, so my apologies!

HOW TO STUDY!!!!!!! A HUGE GENERAL GUIDE FROM SAM FROM LUMINOUS STUDIES, AFTER ~7 YEARS OF HOMESCHOOLING, 4 YEARS OF UNDERGRAD (AND A MAGNA CUM LAUDE) AND ONE TERRIFYING SEMESTER OF LAW SCHOOL.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: general tips, some life advice, preparation

- actual intelligence matters very little in school. some people learn faster, some take a little more time. being smart in itself does not matter when you don’t work. actual hard work can compensate for a less retentive memory (as i’ve found out over the semester). discipline and a lot of hard work always pay off, even if it seems rocky at first. make the resolve to dedicate a set amount of time to study everyday, even if it’s just an hour or so. a little is better than nothing. - my constitutional law professor (aka my favorite professor) advised one of my classmates to log her work hours. while it seems tempting to set a specific timeslot to get things done, sometimes life gets in the way, and you don’t actually get to work at 3 pm. maybe most of the time you sit at 3 pm is spent fiddling on your phone. to actually track productivity and consistency, time the hours you actively spend studying. put away all your distractions. personally, i like the forest app because it forces me to stay away from social media and lets me use the pomodoro method. on good study days, i get to log my work time in batches of 25 minutes. again, it can be the amount of hours you put in, but what matters is the quality of work you put in. stay consistent. i promise you. it helps- on the study environment: sometimes studyblr convinces you that you need a coffeeshop, an aesthetic library, a beautiful italian garden to get things done. that would be ideal, but most of us don’t have access to that. i suggest you evaluate if you work better in public spaces with a little sound ambience, to hold yourself accountable (coffeeshops, the school library, with friends), or in private, quiet spaces. once you know where you work best, know what keeps you focused. is it tea? a glass of iced coffee? a lofi playlist? a podcast? i find that process a little fun because it keeps the study process a little less dull and uncomfortable, as it often can be. don’t forget to keep it pleasant/rewarding, but note that overindulgence can distract you. trust me, i know this from experience.- study materials: are what you want and what you need. you don’t need anything fancy. personally, i need many colored pens and highlighters because i have a color-coding system for cases and provisions, but for undergrad, my best weapons were just a black ballpen and a nice mildliner. it’s preferential, and just see what works for you. - on study anxiety: i have mental health issues. i’ve been seeing a psychiatrist (and lately a therapist) for depression and anxiety, and it used to be really, really bad, to the point i couldn’t start. i think the best place to start is to find that kind of help if you really have bad mental health. but if it’s the kind of anxiety that stems from being worried that things won’t turn out well, or that there’s too much to do, it’s always best to start, and to remember that even a little, or something imperfect, is still progress. try it for 5 minutes. if you still can’t do it, rest. but sometimes we just need a little push. other things that really calm my anxiety are a good baroque playlist (check out baroque lute/jordi savali’s the celtic viol/bach’s goldberg variations on spotify!!!), jazz, or lofi, and lavender room spray. i also like to use gifs which help you with breathing techniques. you can find them all over tumblr and twitter. it’s also really helpful to ask others for help when you feel stuck. i’ve asked professors for a little consideration and classmates for advice and clarifications when i’m confused. reaching out to other people is often a great way to start the learning process.

- scheduling: i find it hard to keep on top of things, so i’m really thankful to the classmate who added me to a google calendar with all the class assignments. i think it’s a great system for knowing what the assignments are, so google calendar is your friend. for daily tasks, bullet journals help keep me accountable. i have a really simple one. quick and dirty. ACTUALLY STUDYING: methods, tricks, tips- consider the subject. different classes require different methods. some classes like math and chemistry – which, disclaimer, i have very little experience with – require practice problems. for literature classes, this requires much free analysis, annotations, research, and your own interpretations. other classes like history and geology require the memorization of topics. consider what information you need to learn, and how you want to approach it.- TAKE NOTES DURING THE LECTURE. i can’t stress this enough. if the teacher or professor mentions it, it’s probably important. nowadays, for major classes, i mark the topic on the syllabus with a special-colored highlighter that i won’t use for anything else so i know it’s crucial and will probably turn up on an exam. note: if they place special emphasis on a bit of information because it probably WILL turn up during the exam. one of my professors mentioned that a case would probably turn up during the philippine bar exam and guess what. it did. listen to the professor, don’t goof around on twitter (me to my undergraduate self, tbh), take good notes. make the notes into a reviewer during exam season. pass the class.- pre-studying helps. this is mandatory in law school, because mostly, you go to class to regurgitate what you’ve studied (or didn’t study) on your own from the syllabus. for undergrad, however, it helps to give yourself a background on the material so you can engage in the class, and take notes more efficiently. also, as much as possible, do the required reading. you’ll probably do it in one night anyway before the exam, so at least spread your work out and do a reasonable amount weekly.- on that note: if you’re going to rush through the syllabus and do “a semester’s worth of info” in one night (yes we’ve all seen Those Memes) anyway, it will be less of a pain in the ass to actually do the work slowly and consistently every week. trust me. this comes from a procrastinator who’s getting bitten in the ass, so please learn this as early as you can. it saves you a lot of pain later on.- THE CLASS SYLLABUS IS YOUR BIBLE. it’s all there. before classes, go through it. keep it with you during class and annotate it if you have to. some of my friends like to space the syllabus out on a document file so they use the headings for note-making. the syllabus will be your friend during review season.- always learn actively. if you don’t know a word or term, it will always help to google. make notes in the margins. make flashcards so you state information and retrieve it instead of just recognizing it. form study groups. rewrite your notes. engage with what you’re learning and it becomes so much more interesting, and so much easier. - set a time to unwind religiously. breaks are so important to avoid burnout. i like friday nights for unwinding, family dinners, reading, watching series. please rest. REVIEW SEASON: HOW TO COPE. HOW TO PASS. HOW TO CRY AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. - exams are scary. i used to enjoy them, until law school, where i’ve been beaten up thoroughly by every exam. but strangely enough, this is where i only learned how to actually study for an exam with huge blocks of information. i realized that this method really helps for undergrad, and probably will get you honors if you stick to a similarly solid method. - study as early as you can. once you know when the exam is, make a study plan. two weeks is a good minimum. sometimes, there are professors and teachers who announce only a week before, which is unavoidable, so honestly. just make a plan. i tend to assign a set number of syllabus pages to cover/study for on each day so i have time to do a second reading/quizzing. - HOW TO REVIEW: remember the class notes? remember the syllabus? those will help you cover everything you need once you schedule. the syllabus is your map for what you need to cover. assume that everything in the syllabus is something you need to go over at least once, so assign a set number of pages/topics per day. the class notes are your guide on what to focus on. note the special topics which have been emphasized by the lecturer. it also helps if you know what parts you’re very unsure about, so you know what to work on again when you have extra time. i tend to make reviewers out of my class notes, which also helps to retain info, because i go over it again. make time to re-read and quiz yourself. - blanking out on exam day? i can honestly assure you that it’s probably because you didn’t sleep enough. you’ve studied the information, but sleep deprivation either makes you fall asleep during the exam (which has happened) or forget what you learned (which has also happened). if you’ve made the time to repeat what you’ve needed to learn, the studying isn’t the problem. i make a rule to try and avoid all-nighters when necessary because sleep is integral in helping you retain information. when i need extra time to study, i go to bed early, and wake up around 3 or 4 am to study some more. it really helps.DEALING WITH FAILURE: - my professor (a huge businessman, constitutionalist, overall a very successful person) told me that he would not get where he is now if he hadn’t failed. failure is growth because you know you’re doing something. the only true “failure” is when you stop trying. some days are hard, some days don’t yield the results even when you work hard. it’s okay. be gentle on yourself. you are still growing.- sometimes i think about the fact that “gifted child syndrome” aka burnout and perfectionism stem from how many smart kids are often praised for their intelligence and not their work ethic. so when they do badly later in life, they think it’s because they weren’t “smart enough” and give up easily. i think much of doing anything entails a lot of embarrassment, a lot of hard work, and lots of failure. it’s so hard to put up with, and it can often be depressing and unhealthy and put you in a bad place. sometimes we need to talk to someone professional, if it gets to that point. but sometimes, it also helps to realize that a little hard work will help us to get where we want to be. - ask for help. i talk to my friends, my parents, and my professors when i’m stuck. it really helps.ok, whew. i know there’s so much more about studying. but i hope this helps for now. please let me know if you guys want more specific study guides. good luck, loves! you got this.– sam

458 notes · View notes

medea10 · 5 years ago

Text

Medea’s Anime/Game Superlative of 2019

Well it’s that time of the year where I look back on the animes I’ve watched and the games I played with this outdated meme quiz from 10 years ago. But I still do it for the fun of it! As usual, it doesn’t matter what year the anime or game came out. If I messed with it this year, it counts for the honors. So if it came out two years ago (which feels like forever ago), it counts. Let’s get at it!

First Fandom of 2019: The Promised Neverland

Episode 1! That’s all you need to watch to officially get hooked to this series. I jumped on this title at the beginning of the year not knowing what to expect due to Aniplex and Crunchyroll whoring this particular anime months prior. But once I saw the first episode, I was immediately hooked. It shook me to my core to watch one of the most graphic scenes to come from this year. I was captivated by Emma, Norman, and Ray’s plans in order to escape their doomed fate of becoming food for creepy demons. Each episode, I was at the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. Is Gilda in cahoots with Sister Krone? Will Don learn the truth about what really happened to Connie in episode 1? Can Ray be trusted? IS NORMAN STILL ALIVE?! Come on, I’m like really far ahead in the manga. I want to see Norman and Emma together again. I’m so happy this series is getting a second season in 2020.

Favorite Main Character of 2019: Haru from My Roommate is a Cat

It was a close call this year for main characters and normally I don’t shoot for main characters. This year I will admit that I fell in love with Chika from Kaguya-sama. Plus, I still love me some Lana from Pokemon Sun/Moon! And I finally started part III of Jojo’s, so Grandpa Joestar is just the awesome OH MY GOD that I need. However, they all lose out to a cat! Yeah, just like that one year where I picked Nyanko-sensei as my favorite main character, I’m doing it again.

I know Haru can’t actually talk back to her human, but the audience can hear what she’s really saying and it’s absolutely amusing. She was funny when she thought the word “Haru” meant food. She’s so adorable when she’s playing with whatever catches her eye. She’s got quite the personality (almost tsundere even). But I gotta admire Haru too. Before she was adopted, Haru was on the street trying her best to look out for her younger siblings. Even giving them more food scraps when she would go hungry herself. After Haru was adopted by Subaru, she eventually warmed up to him as “her human”. It was a learning experience for both as Haru didn’t know how to react to having a human care for her and Subaru has never taken care of a cat before. But Haru is a loyal kitty who loves her human. Hell, she ran away from home because she feared her human collapsed somewhere. Haru’s the greatest!

Favorite Villain of 2019:

…

…Dear God, give me the strength to pull through this one.

Princess Malty “Myne, Bitch, Whore” Melromarc (The Rising of the Shield Hero)

No, this is not me insulting her. These are all her official names. Really! In many of the animes I watched this year, the villains were pretty hit-and-miss with me. I’m in the middle of watching the elven uprise with Black Clover and didn’t want to talk about that this year. Fairy Tail’s villains are just okay. And I didn’t watch Frieza this year! So let’s talk about the ONE villain who even out-trump’s the actual villain to the series.

It only took one episode for an entire fandom to turn on one single character. A single lie that figuratively speaking threw our main protagonist Naofumi under the bus, kicked him in the nuts, shanked him, robbed him, and thrown him off a cliff. Myne did so much throughout this series. She lied about being raped. She abused her power to get what she wanted. She set up someone to fail constantly. She attempted murder on her own sister (several times) just to keep her status as first in line to the throne. And she cheats so she gets her way! It was so sickening to watch this vile woman for more than just one episode. When you created a character who was so disgusting and revolting as a secondary villain, you did something right! It’s like with Shou Tucker and Father from Full Metal Alchemist. Ask any anime fan and they’ll definitely remember Tucker over Father. Myne is this anime’s Shou Tucker! And I have to give her some credit, she is now one memorable villain. And aren’t villains usually supposed to be despised? I, Naofumi, most characters in Shield Hero after episode 21, and all of the internet can come together in agreement to say, we hate Malty, Myne, Bitch, Whore.

Final insult on the matter, she’s a cunt!

Favorite Video Game Character(s) of 2019: Piers & Marnie (Pokemon: Sword and Shield)

I knew point blank that Marnie was going to be my favorite rival in this game. I knew I was going to enjoy the antics of her yell squad (a.k.a. Team Yell) too. But I never expected to meet her brother and enjoy him too. Like in more recent games, Pokemon has given your character a total of three rivals to look out for. And while Hop is just the British version of Hau and Bede is just…a fuck-face, Marnie was someone who marched to the beat of her own drum. She recognizes a powerful foe and has a level of respect for her rival. She has her own fanbase, but isn’t totally arrogant about it. Plus, she doesn’t mind helping you out and giving an extra boost in battle. Plus that smile scene is just too adorable for words. And then there’s Piers!

First of all, I just love the design of this guy. What did I say when I first laid eyes on him? It’s like if David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, and Sid Vicious threw up on a pentagram crafted from Hot Topic gear and this dude emerges! And much like his sister, he marches to the beat of his own drum. That’s why he’s the only gym leader in Galar that doesn’t use the Dynamax method. I would have been satisfied if I only got to see him once or twice in the game. But I was blessed when Piers came to my aid to take down the Marco Cosmos thugs AND take on all the rogue Dynamax pokemon in the post-game. I’m impressed! Out of all the people they picked to help the protagonist and Hop in this adventure, it was Piers. I am ever so happy by this. I am so heavily invested in this guy that I’m already thinking of fic ideas involving him.

Favorite Game of 2019: Pokemon Masters

As much as I really do love Pokemon Sword and Shield, I gotta give it to the mobile game this year. This game not only made one of my reoccurring dreams come true, but gave it something no other Pokemon game has been able to do in over twenty years. HUMAN VOICES! The trainers, they speak! AND YOU CAN CHANGE BETWEEN ENGLISH AND JAPANESE! Do you have any idea how much of a win this is for me! I know they’ll never have Tracey Sketchit in the game, but this still rocks my world. Do you know how much I love hearing Mamoru Miyano play a dickish bad guy? Do you know how badly I need to hear Daisuke Ono on a day-to-day basis? I’m a voice queen!

I know I don’t usually like to give praise to freemium games for the mobile phones, but this game is quite nice. I mean, yeah, you really do have to save up your gems in order to (hopefully) get the 5-star trainer that’s currently advertised and the urge of wanting to open up your wallet to actually purchase gems is tantalizing. Not as fucked as Fate/Grand Order, but you get my meaning. Unlike a lot of the freemium games, this one doesn’t limit you so much to play (unless you spend fake or real money in the game). You can super train all you want and not lose stamina! Plus, I like these special sync moves between trainer and pokemon. And there’s just something about seeing all of these different trainers from all these regions together and interacting with each other. Despite never seeing a lot of this in the anime, manga, or previous games.

Favorite Het Couple of 2019: Retsuko x Haida (Aggretsuko)

In one of my baby accomplishments this year, I stopped being a tight-wad and splurged on a Netflix account. Right around the same time it becomes unpopular. Hahaha! Why does this always happen to me?

Throughout the series, we’ve watched Retsuko take chances with a lot of guys including a charming polar bear, a red panda with the brain of a pot plant, and the world’s handsomest donkey. But Retsuko has friend-zoned her workmate Haida the whole time. Meanwhile, I and pretty much like 90% of the fanbase ship the fuck out of this. Rightfully so! Haida has been admiring her from afar for so long. He tries his best to be supportive of her in the office and elsewhere. He was even nice enough to run back to the office to try and help Retsuko with the last-minute paperwork thrown at her on Christmas Eve. Hell, we watched him at his best in the season two finale helping to corner Tadano. And even though she turned him down at the end of season one, I still hold out that there’s hope. I mean, it was right after a break-up, so it was kind of the right call for Retsuko to not go out with Haida. Season three could give us this ship in the end. I know Retsuko doesn’t see Haida as boyfriend material as of now, but I have a feeling it can change.

Favorite Yuri Couple of 2019: Atsuko “Akko” Kagari x Amanda O’Neill (Little Witch Academia)

That’s right, Akko and Amanda. This is the one Yuri ship I’m leaning on more than all the other ones. I know she wasn’t involved in the infamous love-bee episode, but that still didn’t stop me from making dirty jokes whenever these two girls were together for an episode. And that’s what makes it better! Akko and Amanda’s relationship wasn’t tampered with because of a love bee, what they have is real! Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating. But whenever I see them together doing something in an episode, I can totally see them as something more. Then again, my mind is warped.

Besides, this is as close to a yuri couple as I got this year. I can’t mention the one second we got of Ymir x Historia from Attack on Titan. Yayoi and Shion didn’t get much in Psycho Pass 3. And it’s leaps and bounds better than that OTHER anime I watched with two girls. Happy Sugar Life? More like a big pile of nope!

Favorite Yaoi Couple of 2019: Mafuyu Satou x Ritsuka Uenoyama (Given)

You knew it was coming! I was rooting for these two boys since they met in episode one. And even though I had to hold it back a bit when I learned of Mafuyu’s grieving, I still hoped that one day, these two boys would defy the odds and become the sweetest couple of 2019. Was I correct? While it wasn’t as full-blown gay as Yuri on Ice, it still gave us so much.

As I mentioned, Mafuyu was in a relationship prior to meeting Uenoyama. And this one ended in heartbreak as Mafuyu’s lover dies. But meeting Uenoyama, Mafuyu was able to smile again and got to play the instrument his previous lover left behind. Mafuyu was able to shake off the sad shackles of the past and start life anew. Now is this feeling mutual? Of course! Uenoyama dealt with the worry of “will he, won’t he” and by the end of the series, the audience seems pretty satisfied with the outcome and hope for the best of these sweet boys.

Fandom That You Didn’t Expect To Get Into: Domestic Girlfriend

2019 has given me surprise amounts of incest! This year alone I wound up watching several surprise incest anime plots including Kiss x Sis, Marmalade Boy, and Eromanga Sensei. And those of you who are not on the up-take, surprise incest is primarily a love plot involving your step-sibling. But there was just something about Domestic Girlfriend that I just couldn’t shake. I couldn’t believe I binge-watched this entire series. I couldn’t believe I picked up the manga immediately after the finale. I couldn’t believe…that I didn’t despise this anime! Yeah, usually anything with even a whiff of incest, I throw in the trash and put a bullet through its head. This one, I did not.

Simple story! Boy named Natsuo fucks a random girl and also has a crush on his teacher. Natsuo’s father tells him he’s getting remarried. Then, BIG BOMBSHELL, the random girl that got fucked and his teacher are now going to be his step-sisters. Concept alone was just fifty shades of messed up. I mean, who the heck do you root for in this situation? Throughout the 12 episodes I went back and forth either rooting for Rui or Hina. And for episode, I rooted for Miu, the cute literary girl. I was so intrigued that I had to dig through the manga for more answers. But I enjoyed this trashy soap opera! I doubt it’ll get a sequel, but it was…fun for the most part. Too hot for television fun! And if that makes me trash, well call me Forky because...

Yeah, I can admit that freely now.

Fandom That Made An Unexpected Comeback: Fruits Basket

*squeals* I never thought this would come back into my life. One of my all-time favorite animes was returning with a reboot. AND IT WAS GLORIOUS! Oh sure, the first half of this series was literally a shot-for-shot remake of the original Studio Deen anime. But even that was enough to make me love every frame of it. Fruits Basket was just one of those animes that grabs you with the intriguing tale of a cursed family that changes into members of the zodiac. Then they take you on a fun ride with silly moments like Kyo and Yuki fighting each other or Ayame telling his ridiculous stories or Hatsuharu flashing some guy his junk. But then this series takes you on a detour of the most heart-wrenching stories involving heartbreak, bullying, gangs, abandonment, and hiding your true self.

This show re-introduced us to the many colorful and complex characters that exist. From the ultra-flaymboyant Ayame to the complex Ritsu! Many of these characters have severe baggage coming and going and you just wish the best for them. And seeing Tohru reach out to just about everyone in her own way, to tell them she’s there for them and she accepts them all for who they are, it just gets to you. 18 years was too long to keep this gem away from us. Welcome back Fruits Basket, we missed you.

Fandom That Inspired the Most Crack: Zombieland Saga

I know it came out last year, but I got the opportunity to finally watch it this year. And it was every bit of crazy as people told me it would be. Who would have thought mashing zombies and idol shows together would be a good idea?

Seriously! You’ve got Mamoru Miyano voicing the craziest character to date, who’s a necromancer who brings back seven girls from the dead. Puts special makeup on them to fool unsuspecting audience members! All to bring life back to the Saga prefecture. Add another layer to the WTF cake, these dead girls are all from different times including 2008, 1997, the showa period in the 1980’s…you even have one from the freakin’ 19th century! But that’s not all! These girls end up becoming an idol group singing different kinds of genres. One episode they’re head-banging to metal rock and the next IT’S A FRIGGIN’ 8 MILE RAP-BATTLE! And then you have this one girl named Yamada Tae. She doesn’t speak and usually makes weird noises throughout the entire series, but we don’t care! We freakin’ love her! And even with the oddball girl, she’s not the craziest character on here. Who needs a Best Girl category when you know the best girl is just going to be the crazy dude in the shades!

I’m absolutely cereal on this! Kotaro Tatsumi STOLE this show for his own! With his crazy antics, constant shouting random phrases every five seconds, and eccentric behavior, this made for one of the most entertaining animes I’ve ever watched.

Last Fandom of 2019: Pokemon: Sun & Moon/2019

I know I spent the greater part of Sun/Moon bashing several aspects of the series. But Sun/Moon was gradually getting better compared to its slow start. This year we’ve got some extreme character growth from some of Ash’s friends and even pokemon. I was amazed to watch episodes featuring Lana, Mallow, and even Sophocles growing. Lana up against Kyogre, Mallow’s thank you to her deceased mother, and Sophocles mastering Z-moves, all of these were great! Add to that, a Pokemon League that showed all of us up after 20 years of disbelief of Ash ever winning a competition. Where HE WON THE FUCKING COMPETITION! With the exception of one of the matches, this Pokemon League is definitely one for the history books for Ash. From his epic dog fight with Gladion, to the six-on-six with his mentor, to taking down a massive Ultra Beast, to taking on an island deity! All leading up to one of the most beautiful goodbyes and finale! Seriously, I screamed balls when I saw a pregnant Professor Burnet.

And my high continues with the new continuation of Pokemon 2019 (yeah, still the name). First of all, praise Arceus the animation has improved! Secondly, I am fully digging Ash and Gou traveling together. In answer to your question, yes I’m already shipping the hell out of them. Third, having these boys travel all around the pokemon world has given me so much hope in the world. The boys are going to be traveling the pokemon world revisitng old places including Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Kalos. I know I was disappointed in Ash not soley traveling to Galar and having Pikachu wear a Sherlock Holmes hat, but this I can’t cast to the side.

…

And yes, I support Ash x Gou like a beast!

255 notes · View notes

fiercyy · 5 years ago

Link

Chapters: 11/? Fandom: Naruto Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi, Team 7 - Relationship, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Characters: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi, Tsunade (Naruto), Orochimaru (Naruto) Additional Tags: AU, Post-Chuunin Exams, post chuunin exams attack, Minor Character Death, Trauma, Team 7 Family bonding, Genin Era, Everybody moves in with Sasuke, he's got room, semi-au, Plot Twists, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Roommates, Friends to Enemies, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto) Feels, BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto), Team as Family, Slow Burn Series: Part 1 of Post-Chuunin Exam AU Summary:

Sakura always wished she could relate to her teammates better. She wishes she could take it back.

In which Sasuke acquires some unwanted roommates and a team becomes a family.

"You skipped training," Kakashi's one visible eye is narrowed in a foreboding expression. His large body takes up the whole doorframe when he holds himself up at full height.

Sasuke turns back to his book, earmarked not him but by Sakura, who the book belongs to. It's a historical account of the longest battle of the First Ninja War. For something so violent, it's extremely boring. "What's the point?" He asks petulantly.

"What's the point in training?" Kakashi asks incredulously. Surely Sakura's win hadn't hit him that hard.

"What's the point in the training we're doing? I'm not getting any stronger!"

"I'm teaching you restraint," begins the lecture he's heard what feels like a hundred times, "The Chidori is powerful and dangerous. You could hurt someone without meaning to."

Sasuke scoffs, "Sakura can beat me. I don't need restraint. In a fight, I'm trying to hurt someone."

"If your ego is so fragile then you're not ready for the responsibility of power."

"I am!" he argues. "But if power is such a burden then why can Sakura and Naruto keep getting stronger and now me?"

"They don't want power for power's sake!"

"Neither do I, I want power so I can use it."

Kakashi's eyes narrow, "I'm your mentor, not theirs. If you want my techniques you'll do things my way."

"Then I don't need you!" And desperate to escape the conversation, he jumps out the window.

"If you had control you wouldn't have hurt Sakura!" Kakashi shouts after him.

"I don't care!" he screams back. But that's a lie.

Sakura, for her part, has never been so thrilled to lose a fight. It doesn't feel egotistical to think that she basically won. She's just a softy who couldn't let him fall. It's a good thing, isn't it? That her instinct was to protect her teammate. (Even if, had he been thinking properly, he could have grabbed onto the wall with chakra.) That was what Kakashi was always ragging on her about, no? Not putting her team first?

She managed to surprise Sasuke and get the upper hand. She never thought she could do that. Never would have thought to… before.

Thinking about her parents brings her down. She can't do it often, it hurts too much. Since her heart to heart with Kakashi, she's being trying to focus on what she does have, not what she lost.

Her life has been in a quagmire since the attack, but at least she isn't alone. For that reason, she pities Sasuke. They both lost so much but afterward he had nobody. And she had so much. She's learning to be grateful for that, honest she is. She just gets so mad sometimes.

It's like when she was little. She was an angry kid. Her parents worked with her and taught her all the calming techniques; breaking deepy, counting, shoving it all into a box… The box worked best. All her longterm furies shut up where no one could see them. She let the bullies hit her as hard as they wanted. She wouldn't strike out. They could tease her all they liked, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of a reaction.

She can't hold in that inner Sakura anymore. She won't be contained. Instead she's trying to come to terms with it all; work through it as best she can. It's freeing, to be a being who can feel anger again. The fight now, is to not allow it to consume her.

"Hey," Naruto starts, only for Sasuke to stalk right past him and slam the door to their room. He glances at the clock on the VCR. It's 11:00. The lock clicks. Shit. He's terrible at picking locks. "Aw man, what am I gonna do now?"

Sakura—who sits on the opposite side of the table, books open and post-its at the ready—is unsympathetic. "Sleep on the couch."

Alone in his room, the nightmares plague him worse than before. The prophecy of being swallowed by the earth came true. He finds new things to fear.

Sasuke wakes in the middle of the night.

The voices no longer reside in sleep. Orochimaru's whispers reverberate all around him; promises of power, of bargains. How will you kill your brother if you keep you as you are? He asks with condescension.

Sasuke shakes his head and for now, the pressure in his skull is dislodged. He rises and leaves the bedroom for the living room.

The apartment is dark. There is just enough moonlight to see by. He treads softly into the living room and stares at Naruto's slack body, thrown over the couch and covered in the red wool blanket. It's large enough that all three of them fit under it but in the heat of sleep he's kicked it off his feet. His soft snores, so familiar, settle Sasuke.

He didn't want Naruto to hear his nightmares. They've woken him before, but he never seems to grasp what the nightmares are about. He knew he'd be talking in his sleep tonight. It's always worse when he goes to bed angry. Orochimaru is preying on those feelings, he won't be taken in.

Except he's told no one. They might see it as a sign of weakness, or Kakashi might try and reseal him. What power reserves would be taken from him then? The temptation of more than a taste of what the curse can give him… He's stagnating here, while others flourish. He needs to be stronger. Now. And Orochimaru wants to give him strength. It's that simple.

He'll kill him before fulfilling his end of the bargain.

That thought, formulating a plan, is what makes it too real.

Sasuke's birthday is last in the calendar year and on the first morning of his 13th year, he wakes up to yelling and the sweet smells of an unhealthy breakfast.

"I made you an omelette actually," Sakura assures, plating her pancakes. It's dry and over seasoned, but he eats every bite slathered in ketchup. There's candles in it and they make him blow them out.

The day is spent in his favourite manner: outside, training. They read together in peace in the grass, for a while after that. (Sasuke and Sakura read. Naruto doodles crude caricatures in the margins of a magazine.) They go to lunch, then the baths. They henge into adult versions of themselves, laughing all the while at their absurd visions of the future. They use the illusions to sneak into a bar that's hosting a pub quiz. A jolly civilian in his 20s hosts. Naruto's only correct contribution is a question about the minutiae of the Teenage Mutant Firefighting Turtles lore.

They win second prize—a pitcher of beer. Their weak, 13-year-old tolerance ensures than they're unable to hold their henges for long after that. Once one breaks, the others do too and laughing all the while, they're kicked out of the bar.

"Technically this is your fault for giving it to us!" Sakura argues, "We didn't order any drinks!" The bouncer is unamused.

They stumble home, leaning on each other.

And when Sasuke stares at the spinning ceiling that night, he doesn't think of his childhood, his anger or the future. For the first time, he relives the same day he'll relive for years-the best birthday he ever had.

"Teach me how to unlock the Magekyou Sharingan," Sasuke demands. He doesn't know what he's asking.

Kakashi tries to tell himself this, but when he reaches inside himself, looking for compassion, he finds only rage. "No."

"It's my clan's legacy, the next logical step. I need it if I ever hope to-!"

"If you're very lucky you will never have the Magekyou," Kakashi warns, "The cost is too great."

"I'll pay it!"

"If you do," he replies, enunciating carefully, "I will strike you down myself."

They ambush him in the evening on his way home from another seemingly useless session with Kakashi. The Sound Four and all of their formidable strength and second-hand arguments (such as they are) meant to persuade him to defect on his own. Or to take him by force.

His curse seal burns, curling across his body.

The time has come to remember his purpose.

Sasuke strains against his restraints, spitting and snarling at his teacher. Kakashi's impassive eyes rove around, but his fingers are tight on the wire. The bark itches and the blood trickles down his arm where the wire has cut him.

"What's this all about?!" He demands.

"Sorry, but I knew you wouldn't want to sit still for another lecture." The second today. "Let it go, forget about revenge. Trust me, following the path of revenge never ends well. You'll only tear yourself apart. Even if you succeed, what will you have then? Nothing. Emptiness."

"Shut up!" Sasuke's blood boils, "What makes you think you know anything about it? You have no idea! Maybe if I were to kill the most important people in your life, anyone who's ever meant anything then you'd understand," he threatens cruelly, uselessly.

"Interesting theory, but everyone I've ever loved is already dead," he says it so calmly. Sasuke never knew that about him. "Besides you. And Naruto and Sakura."

Sasuke's sharp intake of breath is the only indication that his words have any effect.

"You and I are lucky. We've found new people to love, who love us."

The boy looks so small, his head drops so Kakashi can't see his face anymore. He loosens the restraints.

"That's all I wanted to say. You'll do what you want."

In the room he shares with his teammate, only feet away from his bed, Sasuke packs a bag in the dark. There's a photograph on the desk that he considers taking with him, but that wouldn't be wise. He lays it face down and leaves the room.

He hesitates at the front door and doubles back.

He doesn't know which cousin Sakura's bedroom belonged to. He never visited them before the Massacre. It's one of the reasons he feels safe here, it's untouched by death. They died at the compound with everybody else.

He opens her door a crack. The hinges are well oiled so they don't creak.

Asleep in bed, Sakura's back is to him, arm tucked under her chin and hair falling over her shoulders. He watches her for longer than he should, heart hammering in his chest. He's really going to do this.

He stays until he can't stand it anymore, it's too much.

Outside, the village is quiet. The streetlamps haven't been fixed in many neighborhoods, so he passes through the light and darkness with equal swiftness. His unhurried gait stops at the gates. They loom in front of him, a portal into his future.

"SASUKE!" Sakura shouts, breaking the stillness of the night.

He turns and can't hide his surprise at seeing her. He's a fool. He must have woken her with his goodbye. "What are you doing here?"

"This is the only way out of the village," she evades.

"Go home Sakura."

Before I say things we'll both regret.

"No," her voice breaks. She darts in front of him to block his path. "Why? I thought I understood you but I don't. I just don't. How can you throw everything away?"

"You could never understand me," he replies coldly. "I'm throwing away everything that doesn't matter. Anything that doesn't help me accomplish my goals."

"I know in the beginning you couldn't stand me. You probably hated me. But I thought-" here Sakura hesitates and the tears drip from her chin. "I thought that things were different now. You told me once that I have no idea what it means to be alone, well now I do. I do and I wish I didn't. It's horrible. But it's a little less horrible with you." She chokes on a sob and slaps a hand over her mouth to muffle it.

"You're just as annoying now as you were then." He steps up to her, so they're standing close. "Move," he commands.

"No."

"Move or I'll move you."

Her stance widens but her knees quake. "Try it then."

"Don't you understand that I'll kill you if I have to?" Move!

She laughs, so sad, "For the sake of your revenge."

"I'm travelling a path that you can't follow," in telling her so, he hopes to be kind.

Sasuke pushes past her. Like a willow branch, she moves aside then springs back to watch him walk away. All the fight has gone out of her. "You don't have to be alone. You don't think we would help you?" She cries, "Naruto and I would do anything for you. Why won't you let us?!"

"I don't need you!" He roars. "We aren't the same."

"I love you, don't you understand? Please don't walk away!"

With his back to her, neither can see the effect their words are having on the other, but they can hope. They can imagine.

"Stay," she whispers brokenly. "Or take me with you."

He turns. "Where I'm going, I have no use for you. Forget you ever knew me."

"No. You know that I can't," she says with force. He advances and her speech quickens. "If you move I'll scream, I swear I will, I-" In a flash, he's behind her. A sharp pain in her neck. Darkness descends.

Whispered words. Thank you.

12 hours earlier…

Though some ninjas choose to work under the cover of night, many realize that it's far easier to work in plain sight, in the day, hidden by the crowd. Sasuke has only been to Kakashi's apartment once before, but he remembers the way. It's not so odd that a student would visit his master in the day time.

He knocks and Kakashi's surprised to find him at the door.

"Can I come in?" He trusts that his sensei's home is secure.

"Sure, Sasuke," Kakashi replies in his usual breezy tone. "What can I do for you?"

"I need you to get me a covert meeting with the Hokage."

In under an hour they're in her office. Shizune, their only witness. Tsunade surveys the boy over her steeples fingers. "What can I do for you, Uchiha?"

"I need you to assign me an S-rank mission, to infiltrate Sound." Kakashi's eye cuts to him, "As a double agent."

#sasusaku #team 7 #sasuke x sakura #naruto #fanfiction #IYC #if you can't hold on hold on #my fic

18 notes · View notes

lovemesomesurveys · 4 years ago

Text

Animals Do you prefer cats or dogs? I’m a dog person for sure.

If you had to choose, which animal would you like to be reincarnated as? A dog.

Some say peoples personalities or looks resemble animals. Whats your animal? Probably a sloth, ha.

Books Which book series was the first you read? As a kid I loved Nancy Drew, The Babysitter’s Club, Sweet Valley High, and Goosebumps.

What was the last book you read? I’m currently reading Autumn’s Game by Mary Stone.

Would you rather write a book or direct a movie? Write a book.

Characters Which TV show/movie/book character do you think you are most like? Hmm. I don’t know.

Which superhero is your favourite and why? Iron Man, Spiderman, Ant-Man, Star Lord, Thor.

What's your favourite fairytale character? Is Alice in Wonderland a fairytale?

Dreams Do you usually remember your dreams? I’ll remember it briefly and then it like vanishes. My dreams are like a Snapchat.

Are most of your dreams good, scary or just plain weird? Just plain weird, man.

What dream that you've had has stuck in your head the most? Describe: The nightmares or the ones that make me wake up crying and shaking don’t like to vanish, unfortunately. Those get saved to the camera roll.

Emotions What emotion do you find yourself trying to hide from others? I’m definitely not as good at hiding my emotions anymore. They took over and control me now.

How emotional/sentimental would you say you are? A lot. I’m so damn moody.

Do your emotions control you or do you control your emotions? Like I said, they definitely control me.

Fun What do you do for fun? May not be considered fun, but my days are spent checking my social medias, watching YouTube, watching TV, reading, scrolling through Tumblr, doing surveys, spending time with my family, lounging around, and perhaps a little coloring. I like doing those things, though, so it works for me.

Which is more fun: cycling, watching tv, roller coaster ride or cooking? Uhh, the only thing I like out of those choices is watching TV.

What is the funnest game to play? I love board games.

Geometry Nearest square thing to you? The throw pillows on my bed.

What was the last circular thing you ate? Cookies.

Is there anything triangular in the room you're in right now? I’m sure, but nothing triangular is popping out at me at the moment and I don’t feel like really looking around and thinking about it.

Height Are you taller or shorter than average? I’m 5′4, which is short, but not shorter than average I don’t think.

Is your Mum tall or short? How about your Dad? My mom is about 5′5 and my dad is about 5′9.

Do you wish you were taller or shorter? I wish I was taller.

If... If you became pregnant or your partner did, what would you do? Well, I can’t get pregnant, sooo.

If you lost something your friend lent to you, what would you do? I would feel really bad, first of all. I’d be nervous to tell them, especially if it was something that was special and unique. I’d of course have to tell them, though, and I’d replace it if possible. If it wasn’t replaceable... I don’t know what I would do. All I could do is apologize immensely and somehow try to make it up to them. I’d be super careful if a friend lent me anything, though, regardless of what it was. I also probably would just not borrow something that wasn’t replaceable or expensive to avoid all of that.

If you had to talk about 1 subject for a minute live on TV, which one? Yikes. That minute would feel like forever, I have no idea. Pass.

Jokes Do you normally tell jokes or listen to the jokes? I’m not a joke teller except maybe some cheesy, corny one I might have heard now and then.

What is your sense of humour like (dry, dark, sarcastic etc)? I laugh at a lot of things. I like puns and clever humour but I also like dumb things and dry things too. I think it's just really easy to make me laugh. <<< Yeah, pretty much.

Kisses Do you put x's in your text messages? No.

When did you last have a kiss? 8 years ago...

Does your grandma give you big sloppy kisses when she sees you? No. She gives me a big hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.

Language How many languages can you say 'hello my name is...' in? Three.

What language do you think sounds the nicest? I think they’re all unique and interesting.

What language do you want to learn more of? I’d love to be fluent in Spanish. I can only speak and understand a little. Brushing up on it by helping my mom do her Duolingo everyday for the past few months has been helpful.

Marriage Do you ever want to get married? No. I truly don’t see that happening for me.

Church or Registery Office? Dream wedding?

Names Your closest friends names? I don’t have any friends.

What names would you ever call your kids? I don’t want to have kids.

What name is the cutest for a little black and white doggie? I’m someone who needs to see and get a vibe from the dog first before naming them. And not just something that has to do with their color.

Order Are you tidy? I’m not a messy person, like I don’t have clothes or stuff on my floor, I put my dishes in the sink after using them, I throw stuff away when I’m done, etc, but my room has become disorganized and a bit cluttered. I just have too much stuff and not enough space.

Do you colour code things or put them in alphabetical order? No.

Do you have any form of OCD? No. People throw that around loosely.

Promises Do you make promises often? No.

What was the last promise you made? I don’t even remember.

Do you plan to keep that promise?

Quizzes What types of online quizzes/surveys do you like taking? I like surveys with random and interesting questions that allow me to elaborate. And vent and ramble, too. I like ones like this that are divided up into categories. Themed surveys are fun as well.

Have you ever made a quiz? What was it about? No. I made a survey once a longggg time ago.

Have you ever taken an EQ or IQ test? If so, what did you get? I’ve taken IQ tests and got “above average.”

Responsibility Do you class yourself as 'responsible'? Not as much as I should be at 31 years old. :/ These past few years especially I really feel like I haven’t been responsible with a lot of things that I should be.

What do you think defines a 'responsible' person? Someone dependable, keeps their commitments, and handles their business. They get shit done.

What is it that you are responsible for? Paying my bills, taking care of myself (haven’t been doing very well with that...), my doctor appointments, cleaning up after myself...

Secrets Do you have a lot of secrets? Not really. I’m quite boring.

"A secret isn't a secret if you tell one person." Is this true to you? Uhhh, that does make sense. You think of a secret as something you don’t share with someone else. I guess if it’s something you tell someone or a few select people that you trust that you wouldn’t want getting out to anyone else it could still be a secret, right? Something you don’t want everyone to know. *shrug*

Thought Provoking If you knew you had a high chance of dying, would you kill yourself before disease riddled you unable or hope for the best? Jeez. I don’t want to think about that.

Choose a box: 1 has a large amount of money, the other either a wish or fear of yours come true. Which do you pick? The money is tempting, but I might go with the wish...

An angel comes to you and offers to show you one thing from the future or the past; past or future and what is that thing gonna be? The future terrifies me, I’d be afraid to know a lot of things regarding my future. But I already know my past, so I don’t know what I’d ask them to show me. I don’t knowwww.

Unlucky

Would you say you are more unlucky or lucky? I don’t believe in luck. I would say I have had a lot of bad cards dealt to me and I also am fortunate in other ways.

A leprechaun pops up and offers to plant some luck on you but it could go either way. Risk it or dismiss it? Dismiss it.

Violence When did you last hit or punch someone? I haven’t hit or punched anyone.

When did you last get hit or punched? Never.

Are you more likely to be verbally aggressive or physically? I’m not an aggressive person.

Warnings Do you listen when someone gives you a warning? I want to say I would likely listen to a warning, but I guess it would depend what it was about.

What warning has someone gave you that you wish you'd have listened to? That I should have taken care of some things sooner and not ignored/put them off for so long.

What warning has someone gave you you are glad you didn't take? I’m blanking right now. XXX

Have you ever had sex? No.

Have you ever accidentally saw someone having sex? No.

YouTube Do you go onto YouTube? I spend a lot of time on YouTube.

What is your favourite video of on YouTube? I don’t have just one favorite, I have a ton. I’m especially into ASMR.

What channels do you go on the most? I’m subscribed to several people---ASMRtists, vloggers, lifestyle videos, Disney related channels, a mukbanger, a drama commentary channel, and a channel that does videos on abandoned places and the rise and fall of former businesses that are no longer around.

Zodiac What's your starsign? Leo.

What are the traits of that sign? Do you have them? Leos are described as being very opposite of me that’s for sure. I don’t believe in that stuff anyway, though.

What zodiac sign do you think you suit the most? I don’t care.

Number 1 Name me 1 person who has changed your life for the better? My mom.

Name me 1 object that's in your kitchen right now? My Keurig.

Name one creature that freaks you out/scares you? ALL bugs.

Number 2 2nd person that you talked to today was... I haven’t talked to anyone yet, it’s 820AM and my mom is asleep and my dad and brother are at work.

What is 2 times your favourite number? 16.

You and two of your friends have got in trouble with the law. Who are the 2 friends you have got in trouble with and what did you do? No friends, sooo.

Number 3 3 words that don't describe you at all: Healthy, ambitious, confident.

Who is 3rd in your contacts list on your phone? I don’t feel like checking.

In 3 more days, what will the date be? It will be January 25, 2021.

#personal #text #survey #surveys #categories

2 notes · View notes

goldenhemmings · 6 years ago

Text

When You Love Someone | Streetfighter!Shawn (Part Three)

Here we go, friends!! Thank you so much for sticking with me through the time it took to get this part up and thank you to every single person who has taken the time to read, comment on, and message me about this series. It means the absolute world to me. You can read parts one and two linked in my masterlist, but if you’re all caught up please enjoy just over 7k words of Streetfighter!Shawn. I’d love to hear your feedback, and I hope you like it!! Credit to @/nbaroses on Twitter for the edit and @fourtristattoos for sharing it with me >:-)

Thursday. It had been nearly two weeks since Y/N and Shawn had met and five days since she’d last seen him, but Y/N swore she hadn’t gone a single hour in that time without talking to him. She’d started leaving her ringer on when she studied--something she never did, nor would ever admit to--to ensure that she never missed one of his messages. So, as she sat on the front porch of her house that afternoon studying, there was no exception.

Nose in a textbook, she was twenty minutes deep in a chapter about some economic principle she couldn’t care less about when her phone rang from beside her on the table. She picked it up with cat-like reflexes, immediately answering when she saw Shawn’s name lighting up the screen.

“Hi,” she chirped, and Shawn could hear the smile in her voice. He stared out the large window in the living room of his apartment, locating the light posts from her university’s baseball field towering in the distance. He focused on them as he spoke; it made him feel closer to her.

“What are you doing tonight?”

“Um,” Y/N mused, looking up as she combed through her schedule in her mind. “Just studying, I think. I have a quiz on Monday.”

“Would you be willing to take a night off from all that?”

She laughed, and it made Shawn grin from the other end of the phone. “I don’t know,” she teased, but she was just stringing him along. She was already sold on whatever he had in mind. “Being this bright takes constant work.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he scoffed, eliciting a giggle from Y/N. “Let’s pretend like you weren’t born smarter than everyone on this damn planet.” Y/N laughed again, louder this time, and Shawn’s cheeks flushed. There was nothing he wouldn’t give to be able to hear that sound.

“What did you have in mind for my potential night off?” Y/N pressed, absentmindedly biting the corner of her lower lip as she focused on his voice.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

“You never said anything about a surprise.”

“Did I forget to mention that?”

“Yes!” she answered, through the giddy laughter that hadn’t stopped since she’d picked up Shawn’s call.

“Well, I’m mentioning it now. It’s a surprise.”

Y/N was willing to let this go on a bit longer. “What if I’m too busy?”

She could hear Shawn shrug from the other line, though by this point he knew she was only messing with him. “Then I guess you’ll never know.”

“We can’t have that.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“What should I wear to this surprise of yours?” Y/N asked, picking up a blue pen to doodle on the corner of the paper she was taking notes on.

“Whatever you want.”

“I need a little more to go off of than that.”

Shawn blew a puff of air out of his cheeks as he thought. He’d really assumed this would be as simple as her immediately agreeing to be ready at seven. “Shit, I don’t know. Jeans?”

“Okay,” Y/N assented, already mentally skimming her closet. “Is this an indoor surprise or an outdoor surprise?”

He loved how careful she was. “Outdoor. Might be a little chilly.”

“Noted.”

“And be ready at seven.”

She grinned. “Also noted. Now let me get my studying done.”

She could practically hear him roll his eyes. “Whatever. See you in a few hours.”

“Bye,” she replied, and (reluctantly) ended the call in favor of turning back to her textbook, although being able to focus was an ambitious goal now that she had something to look forward to.

When 6:30 rolled around, Y/N put a pause on her schoolwork to go inside and change. She traded out her frumpy gray sweater for a denim jacket and exchanged her worn-out Converse for booties that looked a bit nicer with the black jeans she’d slid on. Content with her outfit, Y/N quickly fixed her hair until it looked how she wanted and then swiped her trusty cherry Chapstick over her lips.

She headed back out to the porch to grab her textbooks and bring them inside, and as she finished scooping everything up into her arms she noticed Shawn’s familiar black Jeep turn onto her street. Suddenly hit with a fresh wave of giddiness, she dashed back inside, threw her books haphazardly on her bed, and then raced back out to meet Shawn.

He hopped out of the driver’s seat, smiling at the sight of Y/N coming down the driveway towards him. “Eager, eh?”

“I saw your car pulling up,” she grinned, not bothering to defend herself. He laughed and strode towards her, and she squealed as he unexpectedly looped a leather-clad arm around her waist to lift her up and spin her in a little circle.

“Where are we going?” she asked when he set her down, but he was still stubborn.

“You’re gonna have to wait and see.”

She laughed. “That makes me nervous.”

He shook his head, reaching to open the passenger door for her. “Don’t be nervous. It’s a good surprise.”

Normally, Shawn would find something like where he was planning to take her stupid and cliche, but he was past the point of caring about the trivial things that would usually make him roll his eyes, too focused on Y/N instead. She brought a different energy to his life, perhaps because she was so separated from the world in which he existed. Being with her was like an escape, in a way, from hiding on the other side of the wall that he’d lived his entire life behind. He didn’t have to put up defenses by constantly watching his back or maintaining a tough demeanor when he was around her; he could just be. And while it was a feeling with which he was unfamiliar, he knew he liked it. He liked Y/N.

As they drove, Y/N carefully took in her surroundings in a curious attempt to figure out where they were going before they got there. Shawn couldn’t help but smile to himself as he warded off all of her incorrect guesses, and it took everything he had to keep his eyes on the road as opposed to the adorably focused expression he was sure she was wearing.

“We’re going downtown,” Y/N suddenly remarked, confidently this time, as she began to fully recognize the roads he was taking.

Shawn finally hummed his affirmation, and Y/N’s eagerness grew. “I can’t remember the last time I came out here,” she said, mostly to herself, the memories of familiar buildings and streets beginning to flood back to her. It had likely been a year since she’d been downtown, which was atypical considering how immensely she’d always adored the area. But most of the memories she’d made there were with her ex-boyfriend, and the eventual but necessary end of their relationship had soured her love for what was, in Y/N’s opinion, the best part of the city.

However, the fact that she was now going downtown with Shawn essentially erased all of the bitterness and replaced it with a thrilling feeling of anticipation. Y/N already recognized Shawn as a dangerously exciting presence in her life; uncharted territory that both electrified and frightened her at the same time. He was so unique compared to the people she had always been surrounded with, and the fact that he was a bit rough around the edges only further exhilarated her. He was still almost entirely an enigma, and she never knew what to expect from him or their time together. Structure and preparedness had always been, in Y/N’s eyes, critical; if it were anyone else, Y/N wouldn’t be willing to give that up. But, needless to say, Shawn was clearly not just “anyone,” and Y/N felt as though she deserved to finally feel the excitement that came with venturing into the unknown with him. It was about time she broke free of the structure that she’d always ensured was guiding her life and instead just lived. Without knowing, Shawn was beginning to show her how.

Shawn parallel-parked his Jeep at a meter on the street, adjacent to a fancy hotel that was so tall it seemed to disappear into the sky. Y/N slid out of the car and waited for him to meet her on the sidewalk, her lips curling up in curiosity. Shawn nodded his head in the direction of the hotel’s entrance as a signal for Y/N to follow him, so she wordlessly reached for his hand and trailed after him into the lobby and straight to the elevators.

“What did you do?” she giggled, unsure of whether she was more nervous or excited.

Once inside the elevator, he pressed the button for the floor right below the penthouse. “You’ll see.”

Still flush with anticipation, Y/N allowed Shawn to pull her by the hand off of the elevator once the doors re-opened with a ding. He led her around the corner to a door that read hotel staff only on a gold plaque, ducking over his shoulder to check that the coast was clear before reaching for the handle and pulling her inside. In his experience, the door was rarely locked; the sign alone was usually enough to keep people away.

“Wait,” Y/N whispered, suddenly uneasy. “What are we doing?”

Shawn flicked the light on, simply pointing to a short flight of stairs off to the right that led up to another door labeled roof access. “Are we allowed to be here?” she continued, checking back behind her to make sure the door was fully closed.

“Relax,” Shawn cooed, turning to place his hands on her upper arms. “I come here all the time without getting caught. It’ll be fine, I promise.”

He felt her shoulders rise as she took a deep, calming breath. Y/N had never been keen on breaking rules, and she knew the staff only sign on the door was there for a reason. But she trusted Shawn, and the gleaming look of excitement in his eyes was enticing her to lower her inhibitions for once and just go with it. She sighed, biting back a smile. “Fine.”

Shawn grinned, dashing up the stairs and pulling Y/N, her nerves forgotten, after him. He pushed open the door that led to the roof and held it open for her, allowing her to go out first. An involuntary gasp slipped from her mouth as she stepped out onto the roof of the hotel.

“Holy shit,” she mumbled, eyes wide as she took in the view before her. They were on a rooftop that towered above the city, offering 360-degree visuals of the skyline laid out in front of them. City lights glistened from all angles, casting a dim light by which they could see. Y/N looked all around her, her face surely showing just how awestruck she was by the view and how beautiful the city truly was from above. She couldn’t believe a place like this existed.

Meanwhile, as he watched Y/N wondrously take in the scenery, Shawn began to feel a slight nervousness bubbling up in his stomach. For most of his life, this had always been his spot. He came here all the time when he needed to be alone, and sometimes when he was just plain bored. He’d never shared it with anyone--until now, at least. It would never be exclusively his spot again, and he was beginning to grapple with this idea. But then Y/N turned back to look at him with a light in her eyes that made his head spin, and suddenly he no longer cared. He remembered how badly he wanted to share his rooftop with her, how he wanted it to be hers just as much as it was his.

“How do you know about this place?” Y/N beamed, her face cloaked in shadow due to the fact that the only source of light was from the city down below and the waxing moon in the sky.

“I’ve been coming up here for years,” Shawn replied, avoiding her question, but Y/N decided to temporarily let it go in favor of walking closer to the wall at the edge of the roof to take in the skyline. Her features lit up so beautifully that Shawn swore it made the city lights cower in comparison.

She stared out at the city a little while longer, until her curiosity once again got the better of her. “Seriously, how did you find this place?”

Shawn cleared his throat, trying to decide just how much he was willing to share with Y/N. He hated talking about his past and his own life, that much was clear, but he had a desire to be honest with Y/N; to tell her the things he’d never spoken aloud. She compelled him so strongly to let his guard down, though he knew it would only come piece by piece. He sighed. “One of the owners of this hotel lived next-door to my family when I was younger. She was awesome. Used to let me come stay here sometimes as a kid, and she’s the one that showed me this place. I still come up here all the time when I need to think.”

He left out the explanation of why she would let him spend nights at the hotel, but was relieved by the fact that Y/N didn’t seem focused on that. “That’s amazing. I wish I’d had somewhere like this growing up,” she mused softly, stepping over to lean against the thick, shoulder-high wall that bordered the perimeter of the rooftop. She watched with a mesmerized gaze as the city lights danced before her, and was so caught up in the beauty of the scene that Shawn moving to stand next to her was almost startling.

“Do you see that dark region over there?” he rasped, but Y/N’s eyes couldn’t locate it.

“Where?” she asked, hoping for clarity, but getting so much more than she’d bargained for when Shawn moved to stand directly behind her, extending his hand over her shoulder to point at the area. Her eyes followed the length of his arm until they found what they were looking for.

“There,” he answered, his breath hot against her ear. She was painfully aware of his chest pressing against her back and effectively pinning her between him and the wall. She swallowed hard as he finally lowered his hand and stepped away from her, and she felt like she could breathe again. Shawn smirked to himself at the way she sucked a breath through her parted lips.

“I see it now.”

He studied her face; wanted to memorize every detail of it. “That’s where Dynamite is. Where I have my fights.”

“I remember,” Y/N smiled, looking up at him. “Why is that area so dark?”

“It’s not very developed over there,” he shrugged. “Most of the buildings around Dynamite are abandoned. That’s part of why it’s safe to fight there.”

Y/N nodded, then hesitantly posed a question. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Shawn replied, reaching up to move a strand of hair that the breeze had blown into her eyes. Y/N’s skin burned under his touch.

“Why do you fight?”

Shawn took in a breath. “I’ve told you that,” he mumbled, but they both knew it wasn’t true.

Y/N sighed, turning to look back at the city in time to see a distant stoplight turn from red to green. “You don’t have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable, but I hope it’s not because you don’t trust me. Because you know that you can.”

He shrugged, running his hands through his hair. “I know, sweetheart, I just—I don’t know why, honestly. I’ve just been fighting for so long that it’s a part of my life now.”

Y/N gnawed on the side of her lower lip, thinking. “How long?”

“I’ve been streetfighting since, like, my last year of high school, but I had a thing for fighting in general long before then.”

Y/N felt her stomach twist at his words, but she still wanted to know more despite how unsettled it made her feel. “What do you mean you ‘had a thing’ for it?”

Shawn huffed, reaching a hand up to scrub at the underside of his jaw. He was quiet, staring off into space as though he hadn’t heard Y/N’s question. “It’s okay,” she continued after a prolonged silence. “I shouldn’t have asked. You don’t have to tell me.”

“No, no,” Shawn interjected, turning to look at her with a troubled expression. “I want to tell you, I’m just trying to figure out how.” And, shockingly, he really did find himself wanting to tell her. He paused for a few more seconds as he formed the words in his head, and Y/N waited patiently.

“My parents,” he finally began, looking out at the horizon as he spoke, “never gave me much attention when I was growing up. I have a sister who was born when I was five, and from then on it was pretty much always all about her. My mom and dad never helped me with my homework, never played with me, never did anything that didn’t involve either working or being with my sister. And it fucked me up.” He laughed dryly, shaking his head with his eyes still pointed up. “She was the perfect child, and I just...wasn’t. I felt like I was invisible to them. When I got to be around thirteen or fourteen, I started getting in trouble at school on purpose. It was the only way I could think to get their attention, even if it was bad. And it worked, so I kept doing it. Being loud in class eventually escalated into me picking fights with random kids in the hallway, and after getting caught enough times we just started arranging fights behind the school after hours. Somewhere in there, it stopped being about getting my parents to notice me and more about me just wanting to fight.”

A long silence followed Shawn’s words as Y/N took them in, her heart twisting for the man standing in front of her. She finally spoke. “Do you like fighting?”

“I honestly don’t know,” he sighed, turning to look at her with suddenly red-rimmed eyes. “But it helps me cope with my feelings, in a fucked up way. It’s familiar. And I don’t have much familiarity in my life.”

“It’s made you strong,” she offered. Then, with a playful nudge, “In more ways than one.” Shawn smiled back at her, but it was forced. “You don’t have to be a victim of your circumstances,” she continued, serious this time. “You’ve clearly always been a fighter, and now a part of your life is a physical tribute to that.”

He scoffed, returning his focus to the sky. “I’m not a victim. I never will be.”

“You know that wasn’t what I meant,” she sighed softly, reaching over to take his face between her hands. He resisted her, gently tugging her wrists away, but she wasn’t going to give into his stubbornness. She pushed off the wall and walked to the other side of him, delicately placing her hands to rest on his abdomen, and suddenly she knew the reason he had refused to look at her: He was trying not to cry.

“Hey,” she murmured, moving her hands from his biceps to his face. “What’s going on?” He cleared his throat, taking a breath and pinching his thumb and index finger on the bridge of his nose. His eyes were squeezed shut, and Y/N delicately and silently ran a finger over each of his eyebrows to relieve the tension in his face.

“It’s all just fucked up,” he eventually mumbled. “Hate talking about it. ‘S why I never do.”

“Then don’t,” she sympathized, moving to place her hands on the leather jacket covering his upper arms because she didn’t know what else to do. This certainly hadn’t been a turn she’d expected the night to take. “You don’t have to.”

Shawn simply nodded, finally opening his pained eyes. He grabbed at her jacket, pulling her into his chest and resting his chin on top of her head. They stayed like that for quite a while, Y/N staring out at the city while Shawn just held her until his breathing returned to normal. Her head moved with his broad chest as it expanded with a sudden, deep intake of breath.

“Tell anyone that I actually have feelings and I’ll kill you.”

Y/N giggled softly at Shawn’s abrupt outburst, pulling away from him to be met with a small smile that didn’t quite touch his eyes. “You wouldn’t,” she joked quietly, feigning offense.

Shawn sucked in a breath of air through his teeth, teasing. “I don’t know. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”

“I can imagine,” she retorted, extending the joke. “But I see right through you, Mendes.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm. You’re not all intense and tough like you appear.”

He raised his eyebrows, conveying his dissent in regard to her claim. “I’m not tough?” he challenged, immediately reaching for Y/N’s hand. He curled her fingers into a fist and pressed them against his chest, which was--as Y/N could have guessed--rock solid. “Tell me I’m not tough one more time,” he smirked. “I dare you.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she laughed, tugging her hand away and rolling her eyes as though her cheeks weren’t suddenly burning. “Arrogant much?”

“Defending my honor,” Shawn corrected, but he was joking by this point, too. “You’re so honest with me,” he continued, his eyes glued to the first face that had ever made him feel physically weak. “No one ever is.”

“It’s that reputation of yours,” she mocked. “Someone says the wrong thing and suddenly the patterns from your rings are imprinted on the side of their head.”

She was only messing with him, but Shawn was suddenly stoic. “You know that’s not how I do things.” Her smile faltered a little as she took in his serious expression, but a mischievous glint soon came into his eye. “I’d take the rings off first.”

“You’re bad,” she laughed, and Shawn was immediately grinning in response to her joy. “But you don’t intimidate me.”

Shawn chuckled breathily. “You’re probably the only person in the world who I don’t, then.”

Y/N quirked her head to the side, looking up at him curiously. “What makes you say that?”

“Because I’m different when I’m around you,” he answered, still smiling, but Y/N’s intuition told her he wasn’t kidding around anymore. “It’s like my personality split or something when I met you, I don’t know. You’re not intimidated by me because I don’t present myself to you the way I do to everyone else. And I don’t know why that is.”

She breathed in heavily, taken aback by his confession. “Just because the world sees you a certain way doesn’t mean that’s who you really are,” she responded truthfully, noticing his eyes widen ever-so-slightly. “I think it’s all just a front you put up because you’ve been on your own basically your entire life. When you’re constantly thrown into situations where you have to be tough, being tough eventually becomes your reality and you probably forget how to be anything else.” She paused, her eyes cast to the sky as she continued to concentrate on her words. “You said you’re different when you’re around me, but I don’t think I’m changing you, or anything. I don’t think you’ve ever been surrounded by people who cared about you enough to want to know who you actually are, but I do. And I don’t think that this so-called ‘split personality’ is actually separate from you. It’s more like two sides of the same coin; what you see, and what you don’t. It’s just that you’ve always kept people from getting past what they see.”

Shawn tipped his head back, harshly scrubbing both of his hands over his face. “God damn,” he muttered, barely audible, turning to stare her right in the eyes. “What are you doing to me?”

“Can’t answer that,” she answered sheepishly, staring down at her shoes and pretending that her heart wasn’t racing a million miles an hour. “I’m not you.”

He breathed out, focus unmoving from her face. The color of her eyes was his favorite color in the world. “Guess not.”

Y/N turned to look back out at the city, and Shawn stood frozen in place as he studied the side of her face. He didn’t have the strength to tear his gaze away, nor would he want to. Y/N, on the other hand, was burning under the heat of his stare and tried with all her might to act as though she wasn’t.

“What time do you have to be home?”

“Never,” she answered, smiling slyly. He was a fool if he thought she’d be willing to leave him any time soon.

Shawn raised his eyebrows to convey an exaggerated sense of shock. “But it’s a school night.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “I’m a big girl. Plus, my first class tomorrow isn’t until eleven.”

“Okay,” Shawn assented, more thrilled than he’d ever admit about the fact that he’d have more time with her. “Then what should we do now?”

“I want to see Dynamite,” she admitted quickly, though fully expecting him to say no.

Shawn reached up to run a hand through his hair. “Really?”

She nodded. “Just wanna see what it’s like.”

“There’s no fight tonight,” he mused, thinking out loud. “It’s probably empty.”

“Are you okay with taking me there?”

“Would love to,” he answered, and he meant it. There wasn’t any part of his life that he wouldn’t be willing to share with her.

The corners of her lips pulled up. “Seriously?”

She had her answer when he began walking towards the door that had led them onto the roof, and Y/N giggled like a child as she darted after him, reaching to take the hand he’d extended towards her.

--------------------

Shawn parked his Jeep on the street closest to the alley that led through to Dynamite, then raced around to the side of the car to help Y/N slide out. She laughed, not because anything was funny, but because she’d built up so much giddy excitement that she could no longer contain herself. She linked the fingers of her left hand through his right one and followed his lead, eager and nervous all at once to finally be able to see the infamous Dynamite where he spent so much of his time.

“It’s okay,” Shawn said, squeezing Y/N’s hand as though he could sense her anxiousness. “These buildings are all empty. There’s nothing else over here.” Y/N nodded, reaching her free hand up to wrap around Shawn’s arm as though that would provide her with added security. It wasn’t exactly an inviting area, but she was safe with Shawn; she was sure of it.

They reached the familiar courtyard, Shawn letting out a sigh of relief when it appeared to be empty. He turned to Y/N to begin explaining his favorite parts of Dynamite to her, but then he heard a voice that made his blood run cold. The smile dropped from his face.

“Is that you, Sugar?”

There was only one person in the world who called him Sugar, and her tone of voice immediately signaled that she meant trouble. “What are you doing here?” he demanded, his tone rigid. Leave it to Raven to ruin my fucking night.

“I come here when I need to think,” Raven answered, stepping closer to the pair, but then trailed off as she pretended to notice the figure at his side for the first time. “Who’s this?”

“This is my, uh,” Shawn stumbled, reaching a hand up to pull at the front of his hair. “This is Y/N.”

“Y/N,” Raven repeated, the name tinged with a sort of bitterness as it rolled off her tongue.

“Hi,” Y/N greeted, her cheery demeanor a stark contrast to Raven’s sour one. “What did you say your name was?”

“I didn’t,” she spoke, her tongue coming up to run along her top row of teeth. “It’s Raven.” She turned to Shawn, a glint in her eye that told him nothing good was about to come out of her mouth.

“So,” she continued, Shawn’s skin crawling over the way her narrowed eyes stared Y/N down. He instinctively reached over to loop a strong arm around Y/N’s waist, pulling her all the way into his side. She looked up at him, confused, but he just stared straight ahead in anticipation of Raven’s words. She didn’t miss how tightly his jaw was clenched. “This must be the reason you’ve been acting different.”

“No. I’m not doing this,” he spat, the feeling of Y/N curling further into his side no longer enough to make the tension in his chest dissipate. “We’re going somewhere else.”

“No, no!” Raven replied, reaching her hand out as a mocking smile graced her lips. “Don’t leave on my account.” She gestured to Y/N, whose confusion was manifesting itself in her facial expression. “I just cannot believe you went from me to this. Can’t say it makes sense.”

Y/N frowned as her eyes took in Raven’s tall, slender figure and clearly agitated expression. I thought he didn’t date? Confused, she tilted her chin up, only to still be met with Shawn’s profile. “What is she talking about?” she whispered. This was enough to get Shawn to look at her, and his eyes immediately softened.

“I promise I’ll tell you all of it. Let’s just go somewhere else first, okay?” His hands slid from around her waist down to intertwine their fingers, but before he could pull her away the sound of Raven’s witchy laughter cut the air.

“Does she not know, Shawn?” she gasped, feigning shock.

“Know what?” Y/N asked, growing increasingly uncomfortable. “Hey,” she demanded, pulling on Shawn’s hands in an attempt to force him to meet her eyes. “What’s going on?”

But his focus was still laser-sharp on their unwelcome visitor. “I’ve only known her for a few weeks, Raven. And besides, you give yourself too much credit. Sitting around telling people about you is probably the most unbearable thing I could think of doing.”

Raven laughed bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest. “You villainize me because you’re too weak to accept that you’re the one who’s fucked up here.”

“You’re delusional.”

Y/N was beginning to get whiplash from all the back and forth, and quite frankly, it was annoying the hell out of her. Furthermore, she didn’t appreciate being ignored. She broke free of Shawn, pushing her hands into the pockets of her denim jacket. “You know what? I’m just going to wait by the car until you’re done with this,” she cut in, but Shawn was instantly blocking her path.

“You can’t be by yourself this late at night, especially not here,” he stated, his tone of voice much gentler than it had been. His concern brought her back to the night they’d met, which had been extended due to his unwillingness to knowingly let her walk home unaccompanied in the early hours of the morning. Y/N huffed, but stayed put as she muttered a fine under her breath. Shawn turned back to the dark-haired girl staring back at him.

“We’re leaving,” he stated, voice flat but still tinged with an obvious frustration.

“Don’t bother,” Raven smirked. “I’m bored anyways. Have a good night, you two.” With that, she was retreating down the alley towards the street to finally leave Y/N and Shawn alone. Shawn was almost convinced she’d somehow been tipped off to know that they were coming.

“Bitch,” he mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief as Raven sauntered away knowing exactly what she had done. He turned to Y/N, who looked just as small and unnerved as she had when he’d first spoken to her in the bathroom of that bar. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know she’d be here.”

“I thought you didn’t date,” she said quietly, attempting to seem nonchalant despite the bubble of anxiety rising in her chest. She was worried that he’d played her; unleashed his supposed vulnerability to make her feel special by taking advantage of her empathy. It terrified her to think she’d fallen for it.

But Shawn was quick to refute her doubts, though clearly taken aback. “I don’t date. Not before you.”

“So what was that about, then?”

Shawn let out a heavy huff of breath, bringing a hand up to anxiously tug at his hair. “Raven is a complicated story.”

“Tell me,” Y/N implored softly, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth in the chilly night air.

“I was never with her, ever,” Shawn began, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his leather jacket. “But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t...with her.”

Y/N’s eyebrows quirked subtly as she put together his words. “Oh.”

“I never felt anything for her,” he added hurriedly. “I don’t even like her. At all. She’s crazy.”

Y/N narrowed her eyes at him. “How do you have a history with someone you never even liked?”

“Because I’m an asshole,” Shawn quipped, a humorless smile crossing his face. Y/N quirked her head to the side, challenging his answer, but not realizing just how serious Shawn was. “I mean it,” he continued, emphatically. “I knew I was leading her on and I didn’t care. I wish I had a better explanation, but I don’t.”

Y/N exhaled, not knowing how to respond. While his confession concerned her, she knew she wasn’t upset. She was nothing close to it, because she had no reason or right to be; it didn’t involve her. She was, however, suddenly plagued with a wave of insecurity the longer she thought about it. This girl, Raven, was stunning. And confident. And a part of Shawn’s lifestyle. And they obviously had some sort of history together. Moreover, the nonchalance with which Shawn treated that history was off-putting, to say the least. Would he disregard me like that?

Shawn finally speaking pulled her from her thoughts. “Say something,” he pleaded, swallowing hard.

“There’s nothing to say,” Y/N shrugged, batting her eyes at him. “It doesn’t affect me.”

“But it bothers you, anyway,” he deduced. His expression bordered on smug.

“Yeah, a little,” she admitted. She averted her eyes to a piece of fence off to the side. “It doesn’t bother me that you were with her, I just don’t get how you could write it off so easily.”

He was quick to defend himself. “I told you the second time we ever saw each other that I don’t ever get attached to people. Except you, now.”

“Well when did you end things with her?”

“The night after I met you,” he replied immediately, and Y/N’s eyes snapped up. She hadn’t expected that.

“That quickly?”

He nodded, reaching to pull Y/N closer to him. Despite her uneasiness after seeing the side of him Raven brought out, it was impossible for her to be tense when she was close to him. “I’m serious when I say that you’re different to me,” Shawn started, and Y/N really did believe him. “I knew it as soon as I met you. Yes, I’ve been shitty to Raven, and I know that. I’m not trying to excuse it. But I’d never be able to blow you off like that, if that’s what you’re worried about, and that’s a complete promise. You mean something to me. I want you around. I’ve never had that with someone before, especially not with Raven.”

Y/N couldn’t help the smile that came to her face, her body warm all over. But the way his demeanor had shifted so suddenly in Raven’s presence was still weighing on her, and she’d be remiss to not speak her mind. “Can you at least try to be a little nicer to Raven, though?”

“Not if she’s going to keep coming at me like that,” Shawn argued, and Y/N sighed.

“Did you ever think that her aggression might be a defense mechanism to hide the fact that she actually felt something for you?”

Shawn ignored her question. “Why do you care so much?”

Y/N shrugged. “I don’t know. Something tells me she could use a little kindness, that’s all.”

“You sound like a kindergarten teacher.”

She laughed, lightly hitting his chest. “I’m serious!” she emphasized, but her giggles conveyed the opposite. “Just promise that you’ll at least be civil around her.”

“You don’t even know her.”

“Shawn.”

“Fine,” he assented, letting out a dramatic sigh. “But only ‘cause you’re the one asking.”

“Thank you,” she answered, drawing out the ‘u’ sound.

A smirk made its way onto Shawn’s face, and Y/N quirked her head at him in bemusement. “Sure you won’t get jealous?”

She laughed, reaching up to brush a stray curl off of his forehead. “I’m not too worried,” she said, but it wasn’t exactly the truth.

“No reason to be,” he answered, more quietly, reaching to pull her closer by the waist.

Her heart skipped. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Promise.”

His grip tightened around her waist, and she reached up to place her hands on the lapels of his leather jacket. The chill in the air was almost unnoticeable when she was pressed up against him, and Shawn’s poker face was in full effect as he hid how intensely his stomach was fluttering. He couldn’t remember the last time a girl had made him nervous; the last time a girl--or anyone, for that matter--had made him feel anything. Admit it or not, he was wrapped around Y/N’s finger.

The longer Shawn looked at Y/N the more slowed her breathing became, and it stopped altogether when he hesitantly took one of his hands from her waist and brought it up to place gingerly on the side of her face, his thumb resting adjacent to her ear as the rest of his fingers slid back into her hair. Before her racing mind could register what was happening, he was asking if he could kiss her.

She didn’t trust that her voice wouldn’t fail her, so all she could do was helplessly nod. He stared down at her, and the soft smile he wore combined with the look in his dark eyes was enough to have Y/N convinced she’d never breathe properly again. He leaned down, tantalizingly slowly, and finally pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was delicate at first, but it wasn’t long before Y/N was feverishly grabbing at Shawn’s shirt as though it would somehow pull her closer to him. She’d been waiting for this since the night they’d met; the sheer heat of the moment knocked the wind out of her in the best way possible.

The hand of Shawn’s that wasn’t on Y/N’s face slid from the side of her waist around to the small of her back, anchoring her against him as though he were worried she’d float away. He swiped his tongue softly along her lower lip, eliciting the faintest of moans from Y/N that nearly made his knees give out. He finally pulled away to take in a deep breath, his forehead resting on hers.

“I hate to do this right now,” he began, voice low, “but I really should get you home.”

“No,” Y/N panted, still clinging to his shirt.

He frowned, slightly amused. “But it’s late. And you have class tomorrow.”

Is he seriously asking me about this? “I don’t give a shit about class right now, Shawn,” she sassed, moving to link her arms around his neck and reattach her lips with his. He gave in, kissing her back until he reached the point of realizing that if he didn’t stop now, he never would.

“Are you sure?” he questioned, pulling back to fully look at her this time. Her hair was slightly tangled from where his hand had been, parted lips more plump than usual. His cheeks were flushed, and without thinking, Y/N dragged the pad of her thumb along one of them.

She sighed. “If you’re ready to drop me off at me home, that’s fine. But I want to stay with you a little longer.”

“Shit, no I--” he stuttered, so fucked for her he could hardly speak. “I want to stay with you, too. I just don’t want you to miss school because of me.”

She let out a soft laugh. “I never said anything about missing school. And regardless, it’s my decision to make.”

He groaned, burying his face in the crook of her neck. This elicited a laugh from Y/N, who reached a hand up to thread through his hair. “I don’t want to be a bad influence on you.”

“I’ve known you fight people for fun for how long now?” she asked, teasing. “But when I’m staying out late on a school night, then you start to think that you’re a bad influence?”

He let out another groan, muffled from his face being pressed into her neck. He finally picked his head up to look at her, still undecided as to whether or not she was thinking straight. “Are you sure?”

“Stop asking me that!” she cried, eyes wild with anticipation.

He threw his hands up as if to say I surrender, but Y/N was grabbing at them in an instant to place them back on her waist. He grinned. “Okay, well...We could go to my place? I have wine. Shitty, cheap wine, but it’ll still do the trick.”

She giggled, nodding vehemently. “I’d love some cheap wine.”

That was all it took to have him grabbing at her hand, pulling her along with him as they raced back to his Jeep and laughed like little kids along the way. Shawn felt like a different person, and Y/N was all the way up on cloud nine. It was plain to see that each was quickly becoming addicted to the feeling that accompanied being with the other, and a perfect, unstoppable storm of a relationship was undoubtedly brewing.

Thank you endlessly for reading!! Should I continue?? Feedback makes me very happy.

Taglist: (I’m so sorry if it wouldn’t let me tag you! If you’ve changed your username or want to be added/removed from the taglist just shoot me a message.)

When You Love Someone - @joyfullyswimmingface @fourtristattoos @goldiean @justmesadgirl @shawns-curls @iam-a-painted-whore @quit-it-stilinski @min-amani @implicitmendes @ashwarren32 @rare-breed-of-human @curlsofshawn @thewackywriter @whoopcalpal @pastelshawns @daisychains4 @falling-stars-never-cry @accidental-miracle

Permanent - @nedthegay

#alrighty now for the tags #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn mendes one shot #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes writing #shawn mendes au #shawn mendes blurb #shawn mendes angst #shawn mendes fluff #shawn mendes imagines #shawn mendes fanfics #shawn mendes one shots #shawn mendes aus #shawn mendes #imagines #writing #sm #streetfighter!shawn

515 notes · View notes

gastricpierrot · 5 years ago

Text

Title: Heartbeat

Series: Promare

Pairing: GaloLio

Rating: T

Summary:

Lio turns himself in after the final battle, the start of a new life he must get used to.

This is a story of how Lio Fotia navigates through the days that follow, learns that support comes in more forms than he’s ever familiar with, and deals with his alarmingly developing feelings for Galo Thymos.

Also on AO3

[Prologue][Chapter 1][Chapter 2][Chapter 3][Chapter 4][Chapter 5][Chapter 6]

[Chapter 7 (END)]

There’s scarcely a twitch in Galo’s expression.

“Oh. Um. Okay.”

“I’m being serious here, Galo,” Lio says, casually turning to thank the waitress as she places their food on their table as though he hadn’t said what he said. Galo runs a hand over his face, gesturing for him to not misunderstand with the other.

“I know. I... I just need a bit of time to process that.” He covers his mouth and takes a deep breath. Lio notices a wave of red gradually spreading from his ears to his cheeks. “This is bad. I really want to hug you right now.”

“It’s not the best place.” Some embarrassment is finally sinking in for Lio as well, though overshadowing that is a much stronger, much more intense sense of sheer, unadulterated fondness. “Bear with it just a little longer?”

Galo nods, but he refuses to meet his gaze. He absently shoves a forkful of food into his mouth, mumbling, “God, you’re so unfair, Lio. Why did you have to say that here and now...”

Lio doesn’t know either. He doesn’t know why he’d chosen this timing to tell him, why the words have insisted on spilling out before he even had a chance to ponder over them and their consequences. He's in love with Galo. The realization could’ve terrified him, could’ve sent him into fits of anxiety because what if that ruins everything between them? What if it’s just... not meant to be?

Yet right now, Lio has never felt as liberated. He doesn’t have to worry about what-ifs. He doesn’t have to fear anything when he’s with Galo.

They finish lunch at record speed, all the while hyperfocusing on their food and not exchanging even the slightest eye contact. Galo asks Lio if he’s got time once they’ve settled the bill, words blurred so badly together that Lio barely catches what he mutters. He responds that he’ll have the rest of the day free, he just maybe needs to get back by nighttime to do some last-minute revisions for a quiz.

Galo nods, then grabs Lio’s hand and holds on as he drags him along to go retrieve his bike. Lio keeps a bit of distance between himself and Galo when they both climb on, sensing Galo’s tension and not quite sure what he should do. He’d never imagine he’d even make it this far, honestly—much less how he should handle everything else that happens afterwards. What’s Galo thinking? How should he thread the now ambiguous boundary between them?

“Galo,” Lio begins at one point, deciding that perhaps it’s best to slowly talk it all out, but Galo only asks to trust him and wait.

There’s really not much he can argue with, so Lio listens and slips back into the strange silence.

Galo brings him out of the bustling roads of the city, into a highway, and eventually to the forests near the hills in the outskirts. He parks his bike under a tree that flowers despite the winter; its branches heavy with bloom serving as a landmark with the large contrast to the barrenness around it. Lio climbs off first, then follows Galo as they continue their way to this unknown destination by foot along some beaten paths.

It’s even colder here than in the city. Lio tugs his jacket a little tighter around his body, nose and throat stinging from the cool air. It'd snowed in Promepolis during the height of its winter, and although most of the snow in the city has melted, patches of them still remain here. Untouched, barely even melting.

It takes a bit of time, but the trees eventually clear, and they come to stand before a frozen lake.

“This is...” Lio trails off, words lost to the breathtaking scenery before him. The lake’s surface is a pristine sheet of ice, reflecting the blue of the sky and glistening wherever sunlight hits. Opposite where they stand is the slope of a hill, one covered with an even denser forest of trees sprinkled with snow. Somewhere in the distance, a wild bird cry echoes through the air. The minutes seem to come to a standstill.

Galo’s told him about this place before, in one of the many insignificant conversations they’d shared to pass time, to get to know each other just a little more. Galo used to have a favorite lake he’d go to calm down when he gets much too agitated—but it had been the very same one they’d fallen into and completely evaporated during the whole Parnassus ordeal. The one now is the second lake Galo has managed to find and taken a liking to; he’d even once promised Lio to bring him here one day when there’s a chance.

And to think that the chance would be now, under these circumstances.

Galo proceeds to step onto the ice and make a show of inhaling huge, wheezing breaths; wildly swinging his arms and slapping his cheeks. He even hollers toward the distance for good measure as he skates in wide circles, getting whatever he’s been suppressing thoroughly out of his system. Lio quietly watches it all unfold, just a tad bit worried about the way he’s acting.

He really worked hard controlling himself back there, huh?

Galo does manage to calm down enough, eventually. It’s only then that he turns around, and stomps back to shore to place both hands on Lio’s shoulders.

“Right. Now let’s do that all over again,” he says, in all seriousness. Lio, understandably, blinks at him in abject confusion.

“Do what??”

Galo's ears start turning red once more. “Say the things you said earlier!!”

Lio is still a little taken aback, but his amusement brings a lopsided smile to his lips. “You want me to confess my feelings all over again?”

“T-The previous one doesn’t count because it wasn’t in the right time and place!!”

“Do you have to be so particular?” And such a hopeless romantic, on top of that. Lio finds himself barking out a laugh, sparks bursting within his chest as Galo sputters more excuses about wanting to react timelier and properly and all kinds of nonsense. Lio’s mirth fades as he listens to him ramble on, morphing into a pleasant tingle that spreads all the way to his fingertips. He takes a step forward, shutting Galo up the moment he closes the distance between them.

“I’ll say it as many times as you want to hear, Galo Thymos,” he states, holding his gaze as he reaches out to cup his cheek with his palm. “My heart’s on fire for your love.”

His voice comes out rawer than he expects, charged with so much emotion that he can’t seem to breathe right. He has the chance to hear Galo’s breath catch, to spot his eyebrows draw together—before he’s yanked forward and enveloped in a tight, almost desperate embrace.

“That’s not what you said,” Galo protests weakly. Lio smiles, struggling to free his other arm so he could hug back with just as much intensity.

“Same difference.”

“I can’t believe you actually just blurted all that so casually back there!” Galo’s sounds unnecessarily distressed. “What if I don’t feel the same about you!?”

“Hmm,” Lio gives it a brief, halfhearted ponder. “Then I’ll just eat my feelings until I die, I guess.”

“Liooooo!!!”

Lio lets out another laugh, only patting the back of Galo's head gently in response to that. Galo is still somber when he continues, arms hugging tighter by a fraction.

“But why me? You know I’m not—”

“You’re enough,” Lio insists. “You’re already more than I will ever deserve.”

“There you go again, yappin’ about deserving this, deserving that!” Galo immediately complains, moving to part them and face him properly as if he’s one to whine. “We’re having a Moment here so can’t you stop that for one hot second? Please??”

“Sorry.” Lio shrugs. “It’s still true, though.”

“Lio, I will kiss you if you don’t stop talking.”

“Can’t you do that even if I do?”

Galo obviously isn’t expecting that brazen return, immediately getting extremely flustered and making more incoherent noises. Lio calls his name once, just to get his attention for that split second.

Then he shifts his weight to his toes, and tilts his head up to press his lips against Galo’s.

The first kiss is just a peck, his eyes shut and breath held and Galo’s frozen in place.

The second kiss, Galo leans down and chases after his lips, their noses brushing as they try to adjust better to the unfamiliar posture and contact.

The third kiss, they hold each other closer, closer, and Lio’s heart soars.

xXx

As with everything else, Lio gets used to his new schedule and all its challenges.

He gets used to the headaches, the voices of his roommates, the taste of stale coffee he’s probably come to rely too much on to keep himself awake after the long days. He gets used even to the strain on his muscles, to the burn of ice on his skin, the weight of a gun in his hands. Everything, over time, he grows used to them all.

One of the more unexpected things is, though, the fact that Lio eventually chooses to specialize in command and support. His first choice had actually been learning how to pilot Gears, him thinking it’s probably not too difficult because Galo and his team make everything seem to smooth and natural. They’ve come so far with technological innovation, surely mecha suits are designed to seamlessly respond to their pilots’ wills. Surely all pilots must do is think of a certain movement and maneuver, and computers would interpret their brain signals and command the suits to respond. Surely, it can’t be too much harder than driving a normal vehicle.

Except it is. The first time Lio sits in the cockpit of their training Gear, he immediately notices how he's surrounded by a ridiculous number of knobs and cranks and handles. The good news is that the basic movements are mainly controlled a single pair of handles and pedals; the bad news is that Lio, for the life of him, can’t seem to understand how it’s all supposed to work in coordination. He almost launches himself out of the cockpit maybe about a hundred times through the first week.

He doesn’t even blame the instructor for later walking up to him and suggesting to consider transferring into another stream. Lio might fail his way out of training at this rate even if his grades for other classes are decent. So he ends up in the command and support course instead after some deliberation, and fortunately realizes he enjoys it much more than piloting. He’s eventually one of the top scorers for most mission simulations, his ability to take charge and lead calmly not lost despite all the time he’s spent inactive. He could still be brash and rely way too much on himself at times, too, but he knows it’s a work in progress. It will take time for him to unlearn these habits.

As for his relationship with Galo, nothing much has actually changed. They still hang out together when they have the chance, they still bicker, they still goof around and let loose through impulsive pizza binges. Perhaps the main difference is that their physical boundaries seemed to have thinned out; they hold hands more frequently now, they’re less awkward about huddling close together in public when it gets too cold, and the little pecks and kisses they exchange have begun to feel more comforting than embarrassing.

It's just the little things. The phone calls made through the payphone when he misses his voice, their outings that can now sometimes be called dates. The hair-touching, the hands on waists. Yet at the very core, it all still feels the same.

Three months eventually pass, through days of hard work, of frustration and doubt and unexpected fun.

Lio goes over his parts of the room one final time to make sure he hasn’t left anything behind, before zipping his duffel bag close and slinging its strap over his shoulder. His roommates have all left earlier in the afternoon after the graduation ceremony and a quick celebratory buffet at the cafeteria. He steps out and turns around to lock the door, swallowing the sudden sense of forlornness that assaults him.

It... really is over.

Three months isn’t a long time; it’s the daily hecticness that made it feel like it would never pass. Lio had somewhat expected it to resemble his time in detention to some degree, yet he ends up enjoying himself much more here. Training activities are miles more engaging than community service, he’s got Gueira and Meis with him this time, and it had been so much easier to get along with everyone else around him. Fire training hadn’t necessarily been an experience he genuinely wanted, but it’d turned out to be something he unconsciously needed. A sense of reconnection, a chance to act and feel his age.

A chance to simply be Lio Fotia, and not Lio Fotia of Mad Burnish.

Lio leaves after returning his keys and settling some final documental revisions at the office. His brothers have gone off just a bit earlier, hurrying to deal with some sudden issues with the apartment they’d managed to find and temporarily rent. Lio walks through the deserted hallways alone, trying not to think about missing the place too much. He exits the building, crosses the courtyard, and his pace once again quickens as he makes his way towards the gates.

Galo greets and congratulates him with a hug, one that’s warm and just a little suffocating. And it’s when Lio laughs, it’s when they part and he sees the infinite pride and affection in Galo’s gaze, that he feels like he’s finally come home again.

xXx

Early one particular morning not long after Lio’s completed his training, he nearly burns the eggs.

Galo reacts faster than any fire detector, rushing in to snatch the pan out of Lio’s hands and save the food before it all goes to waste. Lio apologizes, though he never quite manages to say more than an “I’m sorry.” He realizes that his mind is filled with static, his fingers trembling.

“You okay?” Galo asks when he notices his disquiet after plating their breakfast, waiting for him to nod before walking over to where he stands by the sink and circling his arms around his waist from behind. Lio sighs, leaning into the contact while he tries to get his thoughts in order.

“Just didn’t sleep too well,” he admits. He could feel the tremors from Galo’s chest when he responds.

“Nervous about your first day?” he asks, and snickers when Lio hums affirmative. He starts swaying side to side, coaxing Lio into some strange little dance. “Don’t worry too much about it, Lio! It’s not like it’s your first time meeting the team!”

Lio idly matches his movements, shifting his weight from left foot to right, right foot to left. “It’s still my first time doing the job, though.”

“You’ll be fineeee! You’re not expected to help out in operations so soon after joining, anyway,” Galo reasons. “And I’m sure the Cap’n and the girls would be more than excited to teach you how things work.”

“I’m just hoping I won’t disappoint them.” Lio broods. He truly hopes he wouldn’t hold the team back when it matters; he can’t drag them down when they too, have done so much for his sake even when they were still virtually strangers. Lio stands here as a result of their goodwill just as much as he does from Galo’s.

“It’s normal to struggle at the start when you’re still getting the hang of things,” Galo assures as he guides him to their table. “Some might take a little more time than others and that’s okay, too! Not everyone could be as cool as your boyfriend here!”

“Not everyone’s as reckless as my boyfriend here, either.” Lio reaches to pinch Galo’s nose lightly, fully familiar with the stunt he’d pulled on the very day he joined Burning Rescue. Rushing into danger with minimal preparation and scarcely a plan, then saving someone but still ending up being burnt in the process. It's truly something so on brand for him that it’s amusing.

Galo only laughs gently to his retort, shifting out of his grasp to nuzzle against his hair. “But you love me for that, firebug.”

It’s only recently that he’s learnt to utter that as a statement and not a question. It's only recently that he’s learnt to accept that gosh, yes, Lio does love him for that. He loves him for all the heart he has to give, for all the silly things he does, and for even more, even the parts of him he still struggles to love himself.

Galo’s voice is soft, husky with a wonder Lio understands too well. Often Lio would lie in Galo’s arms, surrounded by his warmth and comfort, filled with an unrelenting sense of disbelief that he’s where he is. Often their kisses would end with silence basked in the very same amazement, with awed gazes and hushed voices followed by heated touches desperate to make sure it all isn’t just a dream.

And it’s not. They’re here, where they’re meant to be, surely.

“Stop, you’re gonna make me lose my appetite even more,” Lio protests, though they both know it’s just another excuse on his part. Lio has never quite gotten used to the pet names just yet. Galo happily obliges, nonetheless, and they finally sit down to have their toast with eggs just a little overcooked.

They’re silent as they eat, as they often are. Don’t speak while you chew or you’ll bite your tongue, Galo would nag despite doing the very same thing himself. Lio savors the present simplicity, basks in the normalcy and warm morning sunlight seeping through the windows. He listens to the idle hum of the refrigerator, the soft drone of the ventilation system. The scent of their favorite hand soap wafts mutedly in the air.

Lio breathes. His hands have stopped shaking.

“Have you gotten everything?”

Galo asks later as he waits for Lio to tie his shoelaces at the entryway. Lio pulls the final knot tight, then stands up to pat his bag and pockets. ID, documents, a water bottle. A foldable umbrella, boxed leftovers from dinner the night before to be heated up for lunch. His wallet, keycard.

“I think so.” He seems to have brought all the important things, anyway.

Galo nods, then moves to push the front door open. He turns around, and holds out a hand to Lio.

“Let’s go, then!”

And it’s like this, hand in hand with Galo Thymos, that Lio takes his first step towards a new tomorrow.

#promare #galolio #liogalo #lio fotia #galo thymos #we're finally at the end laddies!!!!#its been a ride...wow #theres a slightly longer a/n in the ao3 post so if anyone wants to have a read there hhh #the song that inspired the fic is also linked there!!#tumblr messed with my blog layout tho... hope the new one's okay i havent really done anything i just picked one #that looks the closest to what i originally had #anYWAYS THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR READING RBIGN AND LIKING!!#SEE YALL AGAIN IN THE NEXT FIC!!!#fanfiction

13 notes · View notes