#anyway am excited i never even pay attention to when their stuff is launching

[autumnrory]

yayyy i got one of the colourpop heart shaped highlighters and most importantly: heart stamps!!

[someonestolemyshoes]

Off the Record

Hello!! I am super excited to finally post my entry for @levihan-drabbles competition :D The prompt was super interesting and I had a tonne of fun writing this one! 

The prompt I received was: Hange posts a picture of Levi somewhere and it becomes a meme.

(For those curious, this is the meme I used for inspiration) 

Hange pushed her plate across the table and grinned at him. "Levi! Fancy seeing you here! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Levi's lip curled.

"You know what," he said. Hange braced her elbows on the table and rested her chin atop her knotted fingers.

"Enlighten me."

Colour rose in Levi's cheeks. For a moment, Hange felt a little guilty. For all Levi's grumbling and grunting, Hange had never seen him angry before.

"That bullshit article."

"Ah. Was there a problem?"

Hange met Moblit in a small cafe a little way down the road from the newsroom. She was in good spirits—her morning had been productive; she'd made steady headway with research for her next interview, finished the final edits for a few smaller tabloid pieces she'd been meaning to brush up, attended three short, perfunctory meetings on tedious company policy, and laid the groundwork for another exciting interview opportunity.  

She felt good. And now she had the pleasurable prospect of a hearty lunch, a passable cup of coffee, and perhaps best of all, Moblit's company. His company, and his camera.

Hange threw herself into the seat opposite Moblit the moment she spotted him, hunched over his laptop in a corner of the cafe. He lifted his coffee cup just in time for Hange to clatter against the table, the thin metal frame rattling precariously. She offered him a sheepish grin.

"Sorry," she said, and then, "got anything exciting?"

"I don't know about exciting. Interesting, maybe, but no breaking news."

Hange flagged down a passing waitress with one hand, and waved Moblit off with the other. "Doesn't matter, doesn't matter," she said, then paused to order a drink and her favourite sandwich. "Tell me anyway."

"I got a tip-off from a waiter at Sina's."

Hange's eyes sparkled behind her glasses. She sat forward in her chair, folding her arms on the table top as she leaned closer. "Who?"

"Take a guess."

Hange grinned at him. Moblit was not one to play coy; he did his job and did it well, and reported his findings efficiently. To leave her to question it meant one of two things; he had photographed someone very high profile indeed, or it was somebody Hange was, for better or for worse, well acquainted with.

Or perhaps, if she were lucky, it was both.

"Let me see him, then."

**

Hange had taken far too much time in the cafe with Moblit. He had given her a rundown of all the details he'd gathered during his field work that morning, and shown her through his extensive photo gallery. It was impressive, the kind of archive Moblit could cultivate with only a 45 minute breakfast window.

Hange had been delighted. Moblit was right; it wasn't breaking news, nothing particularly thrilling, but there was a corner of the Internet, Hange knew, that would delight in a trashy little article just like this. Something quick and simple to bulk up the social media feed for the afternoon.

Plus, there was a series of pictures Moblit had snapped, a cluster he'd thought to be of no real merit, that Hange simply could not pass up.

She could lay down no facts with a story like this one. There was no hard-hitting investigative journalism to be had, but she could at least offer some speculation based on her knowledge of the subjects involved, and spin a tale juicy enough to get people talking.

It took little time at all to put the article together. Hange scribbled up an outline for the contents—the location; Sina's in downtown Hizuru, a luxurious restaurant serving five star meals at every hour of the day. High in quality, sickeningly steep in price. The time of day; 9am. To the best of Hange's knowledge, this was rather out of character for the subject. He was an early riser, but according to their interview last March pending the premiere of his newest movie, he wasn't the type to eat much at all before lunch time.

And then, the company. Eren Yeager was a relatively well-known actor, barely an adult at nineteen. He starred in his first role a decade earlier, and had seen commercial success in multiple movies and TV shows ever since. He had been something of a prodigy in his younger years, bold and precocious, possessing a natural talent many actors years his senior couldn't even hope for. As Hange understood it, he had recently hit a rather troublesome phase. An interesting line of inquiry, but despite his talent and his fame, Eren's presence was simply a cameo, compared to the subject of the article Hange was drawing up.

Levi Ackerman.

Levi is a fan favourite and a media delight. He's attractive no doubt, and his performance in any and every role is almost always met with critical acclaim. Outside of his career, however, he's an elusive thing, silent in any matters pertaining to his private life. He avoids any public event like the plague, and rarely shows his face at premieres or award ceremonies if he can possibly avoid it. He gives interviews only when required by some contractual obligation or other, or else when the journalist in question is so painfully persistent that it is simply easier to give in than to keep fighting.

Little of his personal life is known, but it is impossible for someone in Levi's position to avoid interacting with anybody at all, and even the great Levi Ackerman is not above scrutiny.

There are rumours. Several of them, accounts from fellow cast members, from staff, from directors, and even Erwin, his manager, has alluded more than once to Levi's sour disposition. He is prone, Hange has heard, to fits of anger, and is easily disgruntled by minor inconveniences. His dislike of anything unclean or untidy is the stuff of legends—Hange has seen this first hand, at their very first interview. He had entered the room, scowled at the chair before sitting in it, and given Hange a thorough once over before announcing, with no hint of humour, "your glasses are filthy."

Hange had found him both fascinating and quite delightful, in his own strange way. When he acts, Levi sounds eloquent; he is a master of emotive performance, wringing the last drops of anger, despair, or grief out of each and every word, or else injecting the perfect giddy jitter, or a tremor of humour when the scene called for it. As soon as the cameras stop rolling, though, Levi's tone becomes flat, and without a script, his words are clumsy and crass. He communicates poorly, quick to throw insults and crude remarks. Hange has interviewed him a number of times—she counts herself very lucky that Levi will consent to her requests without too much fuss, these days—and each time she finds herself spending half of their time together translating his answers into something a) family friendly, and b) understandable to the everyday reader.

There is nothing for Hange to translate this time. Moblit managed to speak to the waiter after Levi and Eren had vacated in hopes of gleaning any small tidbit of knowledge regarding their conversation, but the venture had been hopeless. The pair had grown silent upon the approach of any staff member, and spoke in tones too hushed for anyone nearby to hear. They learned nothing they couldn't extrapolate for themselves from Moblit's pictures; Eren looked sheepish, avoiding Levi's gaze in favour of staring into his drink, while Levi—

Levi looked furious.

Every picture featured his signature frown, which, in and of itself wasn't enough to assume Levi to be in any mood besides neutral, but some of the photos show a hint of bared teeth or pursed lips, with his brows pulled lower than normal, the space between them deeply creased. Hange found herself curious as both a journalist and as an acquaintance. They may not be friends, but Hange liked to think she knew Levi a little better than most people, at least. She could find nothing in their past interactions to suggest any relationship with Eren beyond the strictly professional. They had over a decade between them, and though they had worked together on more than one set, neither party had ever said anything to insinuate so much as a friendly attitude between them.

There was no resolution to her queries to be easily found. And luckily for Hange, this particular piece didn't require any. It was a gossip article, something spicy, jam-packed with buzzwords, what-if's and more questions than answers, designed to make people wonder. Levi's name in the title would be enough to draw people in; Eren's name was an added bonus. But the star of the show was Moblit's photography. Hange arranged the images she had chosen in a grid. In context, the pictures were intriguing, depicting a particularly ferocious part of Levi and Eren's exchange. Out of context, they looked a little ridiculous. Both would bring readers onto their home page.

Satisfied with her work, Hange queued the finished article for review, and turned her attention back to her schedule.

**

The article launched mid-afternoon. Hange watched, somewhat satisfied, as it was received much as she had expected it to be. The activity on their Twitter account skyrocketed, the tweet in question garnering more likes, retweets and replies in the hour after it's post than any other they’d dropped in the last month.

Hange had allowed it to slip from her mind after the first hour or so. She received praise from her bosses, and a text from Moblit, jokingly demanding she pay him even more handsomely for his work than she already had, and her cousin had called her in the evening on a quest for insider gossip she could share with her friends, but that had been the end of it. Hange thought of it no more until early the following morning, when she had stopped by the quiet little cafe beneath her flat for breakfast and her favourite coffee.

She had been polishing off her pancakes when the bell above the door chimed. She had paid little attention to the newcomer, until a shadow passed over her table, and a familiar voice said, "Oi, shitty glasses."

Hange looked up to see Levi Ackerman himself standing over her, his face twisted in a scowl.

There are perks of being reasonably acquainted with Levi. Hange always gets to conduct his interviews, and Levi only ever turns her down if her request is unreasonable. Like that time she demanded he meet her at this very coffee shop for "just a quick piece, about the cameo you did for the new season of Titans", only to show him she'd bought a new pair of glasses—"look, all clean!"—and, when pressed, admitted there was no interview at all. He had been far more hesitant to indulge her in smaller affairs after that, but Hange was still lucky enough to be his only regular interviewer after big releases.

More interviews means more commission for Hange, and more high profile work with other celebrities. Yes, being acquainted with Levi has its bonuses.

But it also has its downsides. Namely, that Levi will not hesitate to turn up at her regular coffee shop to berate her after she has posted some complete and utter wank at his expense.

Hange pushed her plate across the table and grinned at him. "Levi! Fancy seeing you here! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Levi's lip curled.

"You know what," he said. Hange braced her elbows on the table and rested her chin atop her knotted fingers.

"Enlighten me."

Colour rose in Levi's cheeks. For a moment, Hange felt a little guilty. For all Levi's grumbling and grunting, Hange had never seen him angry before.

"That bullshit article."

"Ah. Was there a problem?"

"You're a piece of shit, you know that?"

Hange sat back in her chair and sipped at her coffee. Levi's face was full colour now, a pale pink flush from his neck right up to his hairline. Hange gave him a measured look, then kicked out the chair opposite her.

"Sit," she said. "If you have issues, I'd be happy to discuss."

Levi looked for a moment like he'd like nothing more than to strangle her. Then he pulled out the chair the rest of the way, and dropped himself into it.

"I don't give a fuck about the article," he said. "It's shitty gossip anyway."

Hange raised a brow at him. She opened her mouth to continue when, without prompt, a young waitress approached their table, practically bouncing on the spot as she stopped and gave Levi a dazzling smile. Her cheeks were flushed prettily, and Hange would have thought she were simply starstruck, if it weren't for the light of mirth in her eyes.

"Good morning, sir. Can I get you anything?" She gave Levi no chance to respond, before plowing on. "Water? Or tea, perhaps? Forgive me, but you seem a little upset. Might a nice tea calm you down?"

Levi grit his teeth. "No, thank you."

Hange almost apologised to the poor waitress on his behalf, but she didn't look bothered at all by his rudeness. In fact, she had barely turned from the table before she snorted in laughter, and caught her giggles in her hands as she scurried back behind the counter. A second passed, before all three waitresses snickered.

"That," Levi hissed, "is your fault."

Now Hange truly was confused. She furrowed her brow at him. "How does that have anything to do with me?"

"You and your stupid article," he said. Hange looked back to the waitress, who looked to their table again before falling into a fresh fit of giggles. Hange turned back to Levi, a little sympathetic.

"I think she just fancies you."

"You're trying to tell me you really don't know the mess you've caused?"

Hange shook her head slowly. Levi watched her closely, searching for proof of the lie, but Hange's earnestness must have shown through, for Levi's anger abated a little, and he slumped back on his chair.  

In lieu of a verbal explanation, Levi pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen a few times, typed something out, and scrolled a little way, before placing the phone on the table and sliding it towards her. Hange pulled it closer with a frown.

The screen displayed Twitter, and showed the feed beneath the search for Levi's name. Hange scrolled a few posts, eyes widening little by little as she went.

Levi was right. The contents of the article were of little significance at all. The photo grid, however, had gone viral overnight.

It showed four pictures of Levi and Eren, taken in succession. Each one showed only a portion of the back of Eren's head, but Levi's expression in every frame was more animated than Hange had ever seen him outside of his movie scenes, and each was more distraught than the last. Face tight, jaw clenched, teeth bared, with his finger pointed condescendingly in Eren's face. The second last picture shows his brows arched and his lips pressed into a thin line, and the final one—

Hange had laughed at it in isolation when Moblit had shown her. She had fully expected it to garner a few laughs, but she hadn't expected a photograph of Levi furiously slurping his tea to become a meme in less than 24 hours.  

"I see," Hange said, as she calmly slid the phone back to him. "In my defense, you don't help yourself. It wouldn't be half as funny if you didn't hold your tea cup so weird."

"In my defense," Levi snapped, "If you didn't post it online nobody would have anything to laugh at."

Hange crossed her arms on the table and leaned towards him, smiling pleasantly. "In your defense, you wouldn't have been so angry in public if it weren't for whatever Eren had to say. What was that about, by the way? I'm terribly curious."

Hange expected a very Levi response to her prying; a scowl, perhaps a quick kick under the table, an 'It's none of your damn business, four-eyes', if she were lucky.

What she got instead was a haughty sniff, and a gruff, "He's fucking my cousin."

For a moment, they were silent. Either Levi's anger at his new meme status had temporarily disabled the part of his brain that blocked any mention of his private life from slipping past his lips in the wrong company, or something about Eren's indiscretion had rattled him so much, he couldn't keep silent about it. Either way, he looked increasingly surprised—and horrified—at himself for saying it out loud. Hange's eyes were wide, and Levi's were growing wider by the second. Of all the people to slip up to, he had slipped up to her. An entertainment journalist, the one person in his life who thrived on this kind of insider knowledge.

Hange swallowed. Levi was still staring at her like a deer in headlights, no doubt painfully aware that there was no taking back what he had said now.

Hange doesn't take a great deal of pride in what she does. She feels satisfied when her stories receive the reception she'd predicted, validated in her ability to analyse their consumer base and make accurate assumptions about what will hit and what won't, but the work itself feels dirty, at times. An opportunistic scavenger feeding on whatever carrion they can find, no matter how rotten it may be.

This is a perfect opportunity. Salacious details of Levi's interpersonal relationships, right from the horse's mouth. If it were anyone else, Hange would be scribbling every word verbatim in her notebook.

But this is Levi. Levi, who seems jarred by her last article (though Hange will maintain this, at least, is no real fault of her journalism, and also, absolutely hilarious) and was clearly, for whatever reason, incensed by Eren's actions.

Hange brushed her palms over her thighs, and picked a speck of lint from her trousers.

"This is nice, isn't it?" She said, "having breakfast together. We should do it more often. It feels good to just talk, sometimes. Off the record."  

Levi blinked rapidly at her. He opened his mouth, but, still too shocked by his own loose tongue to speak, he said nothing. Hange pulled her phone from her bag and fiddled around with it some, tapping here and there, until she found what she was looking for. She turned it to Levi, and said, "I think this is my favourite edit so far."

Levi finally pulled his gaze from her, and looked down at the screen. It was truly something, the way the picture snapped him out of his stunned silence. Hange had never seen someone's face pinch up so rapidly.

"Come on, it's kinda funny. And look! That's Tony Stark, right? People are so creative. And maybe, if we're really lucky, Buzzfeed will do a compilation article of all the best ways people have used your new meme."  

Levi rolled his eyes at her. It looked strange, with his face so tightly twisted. Hange chuckled at him.

She nudged his ankle beneath the table with the toe of her shoe. "Lighten up, you look constipated."

"Oi, out of the two of us I'm not the one who's full of—"

"—Full of shit, I know, I know. That honour is all mine."

They lapsed into another silence, this one marginally more comfortable than the last. Hange finished the last of her coffee and checked her emails, while Levi tortured himself some more by scrolling through his Twitter feed. After a short while, he spoke again.

"That...doesn't sound bad," he said.

"Hm?"

"What you said about talking more. Off the record. It doesn't sound bad."

It was Hange's turn to flush. Heat rose in her cheeks, and she occupied herself by rifling through her bag in search of nothing.

"Yeah?" Her voice, an octave higher than usual, cracked around the vowels. She cleared her throat, "will you have more gossip for me? It's almost painful that I can't share it, you know."

"Good. I'll share as many secrets as I've got, if it'll bother you that much."

"Sounds terrible," Hange said. She tore a clean corner off her napkin and scribbled her personal number onto it. She slid it over the table to him. "Text me."

Levi pulled a face at the piece of napkin. "Is that used? Gross, shitty four-eyes." He pocketed it anyway.

Hange didn't know what else to say. Levi didn't seem to either, and so he stood, and tucked his chair back in. Hange turned her eyes down to her empty plate. Her stomach and chest felt strange, almost sickly, but in an oddly pleasant way.

Levi rapped his knuckles on the table. Hange jumped, startled, and looked up at the sound.

"This part is on the record," he said. The corner of Levi's mouth quirked into a small, barely there grin. "I heard from a reliable source that Eren was so scared on the set of Last War that he pissed his pants. Twice."

[btsmosphere]

When You Know | KSJ x MYG

~summary: Seokjin and Yoongi aren’t just neighbours. They are enemies. Well, either that or they were destined to be in each other’s arms, but Yoongi can’t see that happening (nor can his cat). Let their friends try all they want, but they’d have to weather storms together and stand back to back in battle before Yoongi would look twice at Jin... Jin x Yoongi ~word count: 3.3k ~enemies to lovers, soulmate au (you have the name of your enemy AND your soulmate tattooed, without knowing which is which), neighbour au, crack, humour, fluff, angst if you squint? Rating: pg13 Warnings: swearing, that’s it :) ~a/n: welcome to my first mxm fic! This is for a special occasion as it is the wonderful @eternalseokjin​‘s birthday!! To celebrate Dean’s birthday over at @thebtswritersclub​ we were sent a bingo card and a challenge to include everything on it in one fic. Our regular mxr content will resume soon, but this has been super fun to write, even if the outcome is -ahem- quite chaotic. So, enjoy, but don’t ask me what’s going on here. I don’t know, and the characters certainly don’t either...

At the end of the fic, I will include what was on my bingo square, in case anyone wants to know, and some basics about d&d for those who (like me a few weeks ago) know nothing about it, but I promise you don’t need to know this to read the fic!

“You’re not serious.”

“I am totally serious.”

Namjoon’s straight-faced response matched Yoongi’s exactly, leaving the two in a sort of staring contest. Seeing no change in the other, Namjoon cracked first, slumping back into the sofa with a sigh.

“Yoongi, come on. It’s not that big of a deal-“

“Why would I want to do it?” Yoongi grumbled.

“it’s just a bit of fun-“

“Then go and do it with Seokjin. I’m sure you’ll have a great time playing wizards, or whatever the fuck-“

“That’s the entire point!” Namjoon threw his hands up in frustration, “we will all be playing, you and Jin included, and we will have a great time.”

Yoongi wasn’t sure if he had ever been threatened with having fun before. Staring back at his friend, his expression remained guarded. Eventually, he sucked at his teeth, turning his eyes away from the younger man.

“Fine,” he bit out.

“Thank you,” Namjoon huffed, pushing on his knees to stand up, “we’ll start at 5 on Sunday, but I’ll get here earlier. Jin will bring food to make up for the trouble.”

Following Joon out to see him off, Yoongi’s brows furrowed.

“Wait- what trouble? And what do you mean you’ll get here-“

“You’ll be hosting. Okay, bye!”

The door was shut in his face before he could protest any further. Cursing Namjoon for knowing him so damn well, Yoongi stomped to the kitchen and soon began scrubbing the teacups to within an inch of their life.

He’d heard of dungeons and dragons before. Well, vaguely. It hadn’t occurred to him before to pay attention to Namjoon whenever he spoke about it, because surprisingly enough, he hadn’t expected his friend to suddenly whip it out as a method of forcing him and Seokjin – his mortal enemy – to bond.

The whole mortal enemy thing wasn’t even an exaggeration.

What else were you supposed to think when the new neighbour, whose name happens to be printed on your wrist, tries to turn your cat over to the authorities on their first day after it launched a ‘targeted attack’ on their pet sugar gliders.

Yoongi was yet to meet the mysterious V that graced his other wrist, but he knew for sure that Kim Seokjin was his enemy. He could not be soulmates with someone who thinks it’s okay to leave a pair of sugar gliders by an open window and not expect a cat to see them as a tasty meal.

When they had learned each other’s names, and of course connected them with their tattoos, an icy silence fell between the neighbours.

Every now and then, Yoongi would get a reminder of the fact his mortal enemy lived next door. Like this morning, when Seokjin’s wheely bin had blown over and spilled rubbish onto his lawn.

Yes, that man’s evil knew no limits.

And if Yoongi would have to endure his friends’ attempts at reconciling the two of them, in his own house, then he was sure of one thing. He was not going to eat Seokjin’s cooking. It was probably awful, anyway.

That Sunday, at precisely five minutes to five, Namjoon arrived. Yoongi’s eyes widened in alarm at the bulging folder held under his arm. He really had come prepared. Yoongi had barely spent twenty minutes scribbling down some things about his character. Well, except when he had to read all about the different class choices… and then when he needed to select the perfect traits… and picking his spells was quite tough too…

“Are you excited?” Namjoon grinned as he set his stuff down, but then he faltered, “…I did tell you Jin would bring food, didn’t I?”

“Can’t remember,” Yoongi muttered.

He slouched over to the sofa while Namjoon shrugged, grabbing a bite from the nearest bowl of snacks. The table was littered with them, and Yoongi would never admit just how early he had got up that morning to start cooking.

Jungkook turned up next, and of course the brat would instantly wolf down the tub of popcorn rather than the bites Yoongi had been slaving over.

Seokjin’s was the last knock on the door, and a timid one at that. Although it may have had something to do with the food his arms were laden with.

As Yoongi opened the door (Namjoon had shoved him towards it before anyone else had the chance to respond), he couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit guilty. It seemed his neighbour had worked just as hard as him on preparing it all.

But still, more of a grimace than a smile showed on his face.

“This way,” he spoke through gritted teeth.

His guilt was short-lived, irritation setting back in as Seokjin invited himself into the kitchen to put down his things. Jungkook bounded after him almost instantly, the pair’s loud greeting audible from the next room.

Turning away bitterly, Yoongi sat in the empty seat between Namjoon and Taehyung, determined to keep his distance from Seokjin.

In time, however, he came to regret this decision, if only because it put Seokjin in full view of the eyes Yoongi so desperately wanted to roll when he announced he wanted to attempt to charm his way to free dinner at the first inn they got to. His reason? His stupid elf claimed to be ‘worldwide handsome’.

The infuriating smirk on his face as he declared this (and then proceeded to pass his roll, because of course) left Yoongi with little doubt this arrogance was nothing but a projection.

After introducing themselves, Yoongi slumping back in his chair the whole time, he let the others take the lead as they set off to find monsters, or something. A pointed look from Namjoon prompted him to pay more attention.

In fairness, he had been a bit creeped out when Taehyung announced he had named his character ‘V’, but he tried his best to listen to the adventure as Namjoon described it. And so they went along, the supply of snacks steadily dwindling as they made their way through some ruins.

The scene was quite vivid, until-

“That’s cat food, Jungkook!”

“Urgh, gross,” Jimin groaned as Jin pried the bowl away from the sheepish-faced younger.

If it had been anyone else, Yoongi would have returned the fond-but-exasperated look they were all well practised in, given the nature of their younger friends. As it was, he ducked his head, scribbling nonsense on his notepad.

It would be a lie if Yoongi said he wasn’t quite proud of himself for solving a riddle to get them into the final room, and getting the final hit on the hellhound inside. And maybe, just maybe, he was a little excited for their next game.

Shutting the door at long last, Yoongi paused for a moment.

Screw Namjoon and his good ideas.

Clearing away the dishes, Yoongi couldn’t help a glance out the window to watch as Seokjin let himself in to his own place, his own stack of plates in his arms. Not that he would ever admit it, Yoongi hadn’t been able to resist just one bite…

Well, it turned into a lot more than that. Maybe Seokjin was a good cook after all.

But that was just one redeeming quality. Best not get ahead of himself.

Yoongi was in trouble.

It had only been a couple more weeks, but he knew that much. As they sat around his table, he caught himself laughing along to Jin’s jokes. And look, he was already calling him Jin! No, he had to stick to Seokjin, the evil neighbour, his enemy.

If he got fond, he would only be sorry later when Jin – Seokjin – did something to remind Yoongi of what a terrible person he was.

Shame all of this seemed to slip his mind the moment Jin came around again.

“The slope is steep, with rocks falling where you move your feet. You can still hear the song, though, and you are certain it’s coming from inside the dark opening you can see at the bottom of the path.”

“No. Absolutely not,” Yoongi was the first to speak.

“Are you kidding? We just spent like an hour trekking over here specifically because of that music,” Taehyung was next to chip in, jabbing his finger into the table.

“It wasn’t an hour,” Yoongi rolled his eyes, “Joon told us it was hour, it was what? One minute?”

A high pitched giggle from Jin was overtaken next by Jimin.

“No, I can feel the weariness in my bones! It won’t be complete until we hear the song!”

“We’ve been hearing it all this time! Aren’t you guys sick of it by now?” Jin retorted.

“No! Joon specifically said it’s the most beautiful music we’ve ever heard,” Tae insisted.

“I don’t give a shit if there’s a chorus of angels in there, my dexterity is not gonna let me get down that cliff,” Yoongi folded his arms to punctuate his argument.

“Ugh, fine, well I want to go down with V,” Jimin said.

The two factions that had emerged looked expectantly towards Namjoon.

“Okay, so V and Christian want to go down and Genie and Suga want to stay here. Anyone else?”

“Yeah, I’ll go down,” Kook shrugged.

All heads turned now to Hobi. Unease written all over his features, he glanced between the two groups.

“Come one, don’t be boring, hyung!” Jimin elbowed him.

“Yeah, come with us!” Kook bounced in his seat as Taehyung switched on the puppy eyes with a string of ‘pleeeease’s.

Cracking under the force of the youngers’ begging, Hoseok laughed and agreed.

Folding his arms, Yoongi leant back in his chair, more than ready to be a bystander to whatever the hell the others were about to get themselves into.

The others of course had an irritating success rate, somehow making it down the cliff without plummeting to their deaths. Not that Yoongi would ever wish death upon his own party members. Of course not.

It would have been funny, though.

Anyway, despite his aversion to following them, Yoongi admittedly was a little curious about the mysterious music they had followed here.

“Stepping inside the cave, the party hears the music louder than ever, ringing in their ears as it bounces off the rocks, making its source unclear. However, it doesn’t offend your ears. The cave extends further into the cliff, and you follow the sound further in. But as you take a step, a great groaning drowns out the music. Behind you, the mouth of the cave shifts, everything around you going black.

“Those of you at the top of the cliff stumble back from the edge as they see the path crumble away into the sea from the shaking of the earth.”

Namjoon sniggered softly at the silence that followed.

Staring at him with comically large eyes, Hobi and Tae looked terrified. As Yoongi watched, Tae slowly turned his head, a smirk turning the edges of his mouth underneath puppy eyes.

“Come rescue us?” he asked sheepishly.

Before Yoongi could respond, Jin was cutting him off.

“Well, that was a fun detour! Where was it we were heading again, Yoongi?”

Yoongi had been preparing to be mad at Seokjin, but his glare dissolved quickly into a snort.

“Yeah, that demon up the road needs seeing to,” he agreed, creating instant uproar from the others.

“You can’t leave us!”

“Justin’s scared of the dark!”

“Traitors!”

However, Jin’s squeaky laugh as he revelled in the others’ pain was all Yoongi could hear. Then Jin leaned closer.

It was all Yoongi could do not jump from his seat when Seokjin’s voice spoke in his ear.

“Shall we leave them?” he was barely containing his mirth.

Feeling rather like he was plotting a prank in the back of the classroom, Yoongi grinned and agreed with a nod. He didn’t quite trust his voice to function as Jin’s breath tickled his cheek.

“We’re leaving!” Jin declared, sitting back in his chair, satisfied.

Before any more chaos could erupt, Namjoon continued with a smirk.

“Okay, so Suga and Genie carry on their previous path, away from their friends and the cliff…”

This was officially getting out of hand.

First of all, Yoongi couldn’t believe how eagerly he was anticipating the weekend, when Seokjin and the others would come around.

Particularly worrying, however, was the way Yoongi had to restrain himself from going to see Jin before Sunday rolled around. It was as if that writing on his wrist was staring at him. The more he tried to look away, the later he would find himself sat up at night, glancing between his wrists and what was written there.

Surely, if Kim Seokjin was his enemy, he wouldn’t be dying to ask how he makes his ramen taste so good. Or how his day was, or any trivial thing, just to be able to have Jin’s eyes on him and his voice in his ears.

Second of all, he had no idea how their campaign had devolved into such utter chaos.

Since the party split, the others made friends with the sirens they found in the cave, and ended up at a drinking party with some demons while Yoongi and Jin were nearly killed by one some miles away on the surface. The demons had apparently taken a particular shining to V, as a tiefling, which resulted in the group they abandoned somehow siding with the very demons they were trying to kill at the start.

Last Sunday had seen Yoongi and Jin going out of their way to find random things to beat to death in the forest, trying to get as many points as possible to face off against four members and goodness knows how many demons.

Yes, this had got rather out of hand.

Two old foes stand face to face on a precipice. Around them, fire blazes. This battle has ravaged the very land they stand upon, whipped the air into a frenzy.

Admittedly, they can barely remember what started this feud. Rumour has it these two great powers were friends, once. If that was so, it was a long time ago.

V stands, battle-worn, waiting for his adversary to make a move.

Suga looks at the body of his fallen companion.

“I’ve only got one spell slot left.”

“Use it,” a whisper returned.

“Aren’t you dead?! Stop talking to each other!” Jimin exclaimed, finger pointing accusingly towards Jin.

“Okay,” Yoongi cut in before they could start arguing, “if this hits, I can take him down. But there’s a fat chance of that, with his AC…“

Trepidation filled him as he looked across the table to Taehyung, a small but unmistakeably victorious smile already on his lips.

A dry chuckle came from one side.

“It’s been a good run,” Jin clapped him on the shoulder.

“Are you accepting defeat?” Joon prompted.

“No…” a hand ran down Yoongi’s face, “I’ll give it a go…”

“There’s no way! If you succeed…” Jin laughed, “if you succeed, I’ll kiss you.”

A quiet round of laughter went around the others, too focussed on the dice in Yoongi’s hand to pay it any mind. But Yoongi could no longer concentrate on that. What did Jin just say?

He couldn’t mean that.

There was no way he would kiss Yoongi. Was there?

All he could hear was the slow drumming of his heart rushing in his ears. The breath caught in his throat as he reminded himself to raise his hand, dice cupped inside.

It wasn’t just the defeat of V he hoped for as it rolled off his fingers, dropping onto the tabletop.

The faces flipped over, every eye trained on it. Around the table, there was no sound. Even Jungkook had stopped munching his popcorn, mouth hanging open.

Round, round, round…

Yoongi caught a glimpse of 20, the magic number, right within reach.

A small thud, the dice settling. A number glared up at him.

3.

All the air left his lungs, deflating as he stared at the number. For a second, the table remained silent as everyone came to terms with the roll, the only sound the tapping of his cat’s paws-

Wait.

When Yoongi turned to find his cat leaping onto the table, it was already to late to grab her as she dashed across the surface. As she went, her paws caught a bowl of snacks, Joon’s notepaper, the dice. Hobi exclaimed with shock, several yells going up as everyone snatched their own stuff out of her way. Jungkook had dived after the snacks.

“Hey!” Yoongi shooed her as he stood up, watching her dart out into the hall.

“Oh my god…”

The small mutter from Jimin caught his attention. Looking around, Yoongi found him staring at the table and followed his gaze to the crime scene. In the centre of which, the dice still lay.

But now, a different number was displayed.

Yoongi’s jaw dropped. It was 20.

“That’s not fair!” Taehyung cried.

“Shush Tae, Jin has to do what he promised,” Hoseok teased, nudging a very red-eared Jin.

“Yah! Hey, I-I, that’s-” Jin spluttered, mouth seemingly fixed open as his cheeks warmed, growing defensive.

As Yoongi watched, Jin only stuttered more under the teasing cries erupting from the other boys as they egged him on with an array of ‘go on’s and ‘you said you would!’

“I-I-“ his eyes flickered over to Yoongi’s.

And despite the jeering and laughter in the background, neither of them looked away. Jin’s lips remained parted, ears pink with embarrassment, protests lodged in his throat.

Yoongi stepped forwards and kissed him.

The distance between them closed in the blink of an eye, Yoongi’s hand flying to Jin’s jaw as he pulled him in, turning his back to the gasps and cheers of their friends.

But they didn’t hear it. Not when their lips were pressed together like this, lighting fireworks in Yoongi’s stomach until he felt like sparks might fly out of his fingertips, the ones he was trailing down Jin’s neck, the ones pulling at the small of his back to bring him closer.

The others had gone quiet.

By the time he groggily pulled away, Yoongi seemed to have forgotten what the world looked like. Were his feet even on the ground?

In what was probably a mirror image of his own face, Jin stared back at him, eyes wide and those perfect lips round with shock. Jin’s fingers trembled as he brought them to his mouth.

“Holy fuck.”

“U-uh, guys,” a small voice from behind them did little to snap them from their trance.

“That was-“ Yoongi breathed, words escaping him.

“It’s you, you idiot!” a grin broke onto Jin’s face.

A laugh left Yoongi’s throat, taking him by surprise.

“It- really?”

“Did you not feel that too?”

Eyes still not leaving the beautiful man in front of him, Yoongi realised. Jin was completely right. Everyone had always told him how it would feel, when he kissed his soulmate. Like butterflies, or a flame, or like the world turned golden.

But through all the different feelings people described, there was one common thread. When you know, you know.

“You’re my soulmate.”

It wasn’t something he had to question, the words leaving him as easily as air.

“You’re my soulmate!”

And then he was wrapped up in Jin’s arms, his lips captured once again, euphoric feeling surging through his body once more.

“Come on, guys…” Namjoon’s groans were completely ignored.

Taehyung was still a bit put out that V had been slain at the last hurdle, but it hardly seemed fitting to be angry about it anymore, what with his two friends falling in love in front of him.

Everyone left together after the revelation, and pretty swiftly at that, deciding to leave them to it. And for once, Jin wouldn’t be leaving with them, even if he would only be one house away.

Smile never once leaving his face, Jin turned to Yoongi after shutting the door.

“So, what are we going to do about my sugar gliders?”

Thanks everyone for reading!! Reblog if you liked it xx

Taglist: @aianloveseven​ @preciouschimine​ @kb-bangtanenthusiast​

Okay, for anyone interested, my bingo card contained: dungeons & dragons, neighbours, enemies to lovers, namjoon, yoonjin, cats, fluff, music, soulmates And here are some dnd basics for those who want them: you have a dungeon master or dm (Namjoon here) who tells a story. The others play as a character and choose what they want to do in the given situation. There are scores that dictate how good your character is at certain traits, and you roll the dice to see whether you succeed in your choices. That’s really all you need to know for the purposes of this fic, but you can ask me any questions too!

Lastly, I have to give another HUGE happy birthday to the amazing writer and friend and person @eternalseokjin​!! I hope you have the best day, you really deserve it! I’m so glad to have met you and of course played dnd together in the net! Lots of love xx

[tiramisiyu]

【未定事件簿】 Tears of Themis: Xia Yan’s Personal Story 3-3 Translation

Translation Masterlist | Xia Yan Masterlist | Video

Translated Chapter 3: 3-1 / 3-2 / 3-3 / 3-4 / 3-6 / 3-7 / 3-8 / 3-10 / 3-11 / 3-12 / 3-14

See below cut!

--

Home

Early the next day, I called Xia Yan and told him about Tian Xin’s videos. Xia Yan rushed over to my house very quickly, and on the way, he finished watching Tian Xin’s earliest livestream video – “Sphinx’s Riddles”.

Xia Yan: I’m afraid that the person who sent the riddles to Tian Xin isn’t Sphinx – the riddles are set up in a very far-fetched way.

MC: That’s also what I thought. Although, look at the notice he sent afterwards.

One week after the “Sphinx’s Riddles” livestream, Tian Xin sent out a notice about the next video “Sphinx’s Threatening Call”.

Tian Xin: Hello, viewers and friends, greetings to everyone! First, I must express my thanks to everyone. After the streaming of last week’s video, a lot of viewers private-messaged me, expressing concern.

Tian Xin: Because Sphinx has always been a legend in Stellis City’s detective circles. The detectives who have received his riddles have kept it all very secret. Who is he? Why does he send riddles to detectives? What are the specifications that he uses to choose his opponents? These are all mysteries. Everyone worried that there might be problems if I made Sphinx’s riddles public like this.

Tian Xin: Now, I will declare to everyone – Sphinx gave me a call!

In the video, Tian Xin took out his phone, playing a sound recording that had clearly gone through voice-alteration processing.

Voice in Recording: I am Sphinx.

Tian Xin paused the voice recording, and his tone became extremely excited in an instant.

Tian Xin: Everyone, heard that? Heard that? Heard that? This is Sphinx’s call! The voice in the call is somewhat strange – of course, this is because of voice-alteration processing!

Tian Xin played the voice recording again.

Voice in Recording: I need you to – (silenced) – aside from that – (silenced)

The crucial parts of the recording had been silenced.

Tian Xin: I know, everyone must be very curious about what he said in the call. About this –

Tian Xin: Please see next week’s livestream!

However, the video in the week after was Tian Xin’s apology video – “Apology – Stopping Sphinx Updates”.

Xia Yan: Tian Xin said that he would play the entirety of Sphinx’s call in the next video, and investigate Sphinx further. But after, in the actual livestream, he changed the theme completely.

MC: He said “Some legends are more suited to become legends” in his apology video, but viewers didn’t buy it.

Discussion about these actions of Tian Xin’s filled the video comments section.

“Could he have been threatened by Sphinx?” “How could that be – if he were threatened, he’d definitely call the police. But the police didn’t send out a public notice.” “He made it so unnecessarily complicated – it must have all been self-directed and self-acted. He wanted to make an act out of it.” “People will do anything to get popular these days.” “He might also have been bought out by Sphinx’s money.” “People don’t break in times of hardship. Streamers sell their work and their lives.” “Can he even get any money out of this?”

For a while, all sorts of opinions clashed against each other. Under the controversy, Tian Xin’s popularity increased, and his follower fount rose from several hundred to several thousand.

Xia Yan: You think that the person who called Tian Xin was Sphinx?

MC: Not necessarily. Malicious people from the same profession or an extreme fan could’ve used all sorts of weird methods to make trouble for their competition. Some people might even not have a reason – they simply enjoy pranks, so they’ll do stuff like this. I’ve heard about similar cases in work before.

Xia Yan: Yep. Tian Xin’s “Sphinx’s Call”, as well as him suddenly stopping the streams, just might be under these conditions.

Xia Yan sunk into thought for a moment.

Xia Yan: Though the “Sphinx’s Riddles” episode just might be self-directed and self-acted by Tian Xin, there have been people online who have pretended to be Sphinx before. Sphinx has never personally dealt with the fakes before. It’s always been speculation hobbyists who conducted analyses on their own and exposed the fakes’ trickery.

Xia Yan: I don’t think that Sphinx has any reason to call him this time.

MC: Indeed. Although, I still feel like we can investigate Tian Xin first and see.

Xia Yan: Why?

MC: We have to rely on ourselves to dig out evidence! Even if we’re going in circles, it’s still better than remaining stationary where we are now.

MC: Plus, what if there really is a connection to Sphinx there? We don’t have any other clues right now anyway, so let’s just check it out.

Xia Yan: But, it’s hard enough for you to have a day off.

Xia Yan: We should go relax and have fun somewhere. It’s too much of a waste to chase after a clue that we can’t even confirm exists.

MC: It’s not a waste! This is the first time we’ve launched an attack at Sphinx – I feel like it’s really significant! Weren’t we often like this when we were small, playing detective games? We’d run out and investigate whatever we were interested in or curious in at the moment.

MC: Though we didn’t notice anything major in the end, they’re all our precious memories.

MC: Just take it as the first detective game we’ve started after you returned! I don’t think it’s a waste of time at all when we do things together.

Xia Yan looked at me, his clear eyes full of smiles.

Xia Yan: Okay, then we’ll start our detective investigation and properly investigate this Tian Xin!

MC: Mhmm!

Xia Yan: Before taking action, we have to prepare! Before we get to work, I’ll go wash some fruits and prepare some fruit juice!

MC: Sure.

--

Xia Yan walked into the kitchen. Under the cover of the sounds of water as he washed the fruits, he made a call on his phone.

Xia Yan: Brother Yang, did you finish watching the video I sent you this morning? This Tian Xin has nothing to do with you, right?

Yang Xiao: Sorry, my day’s filled with expert meetings and I can’t finish watching it. I just watched the first few minutes and confirmed his appearance. I can completely confirm that this Tian Xin is not one of the detectives I’ve interacted with before.

Xia Yan: That’s what I thought. Aside from how the riddle setups are unreasonable, his video update times were one month ago. You said yesterday that you didn’t pay attention to the detective circle during that period.

Yang Xiao: Yeah, so I didn’t plan on finishing it – no need to waste more time. I’m guessing that he either self-conducted and self-acted this, or he was tricked by someone.

Xia Yan: The only suspicious point is the challenge letter he showed. Though only half of it was shot, it was indeed your symbol.

Yang Xiao: He might have gotten them from other bad detectives. Didn’t you also find out about it this way?

Xia Yan: Mm, we can’t exclude this possibility.

Yang Xiao: Since your little childhood sweetheart wants to investigate Tian Xin, then you two can go investigate and see. If he’s got bad detectives manipulating him, then we can take the opportunity to follow the path of clues, and follow the script we discussed yesterday, and perform this play. If Tian Xin is simply making stuff up, then you can comfort your childhood sweetheart, saying that the prospects of investigating Sphinx are bright, but the road is winding.

Xia Yan: That’s also what I was planning to do.

Yang Xiao: Right, Xia Yan, when you’re taking her on investigation, you’ve got a lot of opportunities. Remember, during the investigation, intersperse some romantic—

Xia Yan: Brother Yang… you should hurry to your meetings. I’m hanging up.

[cocovikings23]

Secret Lover - Chapter 3 (Modern!Hvitserk x Reader)

Summary : The reader’s best friend is Hvitserk Lothbrock. They have known each other since their childhood. She is a photographer, he   is vice-president with his brothers in the company of their father, the great Ragnar Lothbrock. Her life is peaceful until the day she   receives small attentions from a secret admirer. She doesn’t know who he  is and tries to find out with the help of her best friend… But is he   really who he says he is?

Warning : None

Words : 1329

Gif by @therealcalicali​

Chapter 3 - Texting :

"Good morning, Hvitty. Are you all right this morning?" you ask your friend who meets you on the street.

"Yes, honey, I'm fine. You seem to be in a good mood, am I right?" replies Hvitserk. You still haven't told him the news from the day before.

"Well, yes. I finally have some news about you-know-who!" The smile on your lips can't lie about the excitement you're in.

You both enter your studio, signal Hvitserk to sit down on one of the chairs in front of your desk and tell him in great detail what happened yesterday afternoon and finally show him the texts you sent each other.

"It's all very nice but he still doesn't tell you who he is..." On this point, your friend is right. You still don't know the identity of your secret lover.

But at this point, it is no longer your priority. You want to know who he is, but you want to get to know him, what he has deep in his heart. You are not a superficial girl who is interested in whether he is handsome, rich, or has prestigious diplomas. No, what matters to you is to find out if he is good and kind.

"No, that's true, but you see, I want to know more about him, about what he really is before he tells me who he is. I'm not against him telling me who he is, but I find it much more exciting.”

"You were afraid that he would come and kidnap you!" your friend starts laughing.

"Oh don't laugh, Hvitty! I prefer to be wary. Anyway, I can see that his intentions are not so... bad in reality," you say with an embarrassed look.

Hvitserk gets up from the chair, walks behind yours, puts his hands on your shoulders, and puts his mouth close to your ear to whisper to you, "Maybe he has bad thoughts when he sees you…”

You shiver, imagine strong and soft hands at the same time landing on you, caressing you, exploring every inch of your body.

You quickly come to your senses, your friend is there looking at you with a raised eyebrow. "Don't you have to go to work, Lothbrock?” You want to text your lover but you don't dare do it in front of Hvitserk - not that you feel embarrassed - because you want to take full advantage of this pseudo-relationship.

"No, today is a day off, honey. Why? Do you want me to leave?" he asks you.

"No no... not at all..." You don't want him to feel like you’re rejecting him, so you offer him to stay with you. "I have to make prints in the darkroom. If you want to stay at the reception desk and when I'm done we'll go for a drink?”

"All right. I have to check a few small details of a file, I'll do it from here and that will allow me to move forward. My brothers will be surprised that I'm punctual on a file," says Hvitserk.

You go and sit in the darkroom where you can watch Hvitserk open his laptop. He puts his Airpods in his ears and launches, from his smartphone, his favorite playlists.

You close the door slightly, you take out your iPhone and you go through your contacts to look for your secret lover - you simply rename him 'L' - and you write him a message: "Hello L, how are you this morning".

His reply is not long in coming, "Good morning, I'm fine, thank you. I guess you're at work?”.

"You guess or you know exactly where I am?" You tell yourself that you've been smarter than him.

"Touché! I was just asking out of politeness. What are your plans for this weekend?” He's quite bold,  he asks, he wants to know your plans, even though he already knows your hours of work and address.

"Well, I don't have any plans.. for the moment..." It's true, you never plan anything in advance because with Hvitserk it's often improvised.

"Well, that's good! I can already announce to you that you will have a beautiful surprise..." Your blood makes only one turn after the letters, the roses, what is he going to do? Deliver you a giant bear? Pay you a trip? You imagine a multitude of scenarios.

"Do I? Can you tell me more or should I wait until then?" You're hoping he'll leave you a few more clues.

"Well, I'll see you at 2:00 p.m. at Noma this Saturday!" You can't believe your eyes. Finally, you'll - maybe - meet him! You start to open your mouth to call Hvitserk when you get another text message. "It seems to me that Noma is your favorite restaurant, isn't it?” He knows you by heart.

"Yes, that's right. But how long have you been watching me to find out this detail?”

His answer surprises you: "Long enough to have realized that I have fallen in love with you to such an extent that I don't dare to admit it to your face..." You feel your heart melting and this detail doesn't escape you: you must have already met this guy so that he knows so much about you.

You join Hvitserk at the reception desk of your workshop, "Hvitty, I have some news to tell you..." You look like a fifteen-year-old girl who has her first boyfriend.

"Yes, honey, tell me everything.” He looks at you with tenderness and at the same time with a lot of questioning in his eyes.

"Read this!" You give him your smartphone so that he can follow the conversation between you and 'L'.

After a few seconds of reading, your friend speaks again. "Looks like you have a date.”

"Yes, or he's going to have a nice meal delivered," you start laughing nervously and then you add, "Seriously, I don't want to go alone. I'd like you to come with me, please?” You join your hands together to beg your friend.

"Okay, I'll come. But the best thing would be to stay away so that he doesn't notice me. I'll stay a few meters away from you and if there's a problem I'll be close enough to save you like a princess," Hvitserk replies with a smirk on her face.

"Of course, I was thinking the same thing! Thank you, my Hvitty." You embrace him in your arms, he pulls you hard against him, and you like this closeness to him. He has a habit of scratching the back of your head when you embrace each other or when you are glued together in front of a movie.

You let go of his embrace "Good! I'm going to tell them I'm okay on this date!" You take your smartphone back, type your SMS and click ‘send’.

"Are you done with your pictures?" asks Hvitserk.

"Yes, I only have a dozen left, but I could finish them tomorrow. Let's have fun, Lothbrock!" you exclaim as you pick up your stuff and close your store.

On the way to the bar, you are in your thoughts: this mystery will end on Saturday, you will finally put a face to this 'L'. Are they big? Brown or blond? Are their eyes as piercing as those of Hvitserk? Do they have long or short hair?

By asking yourself all these questions you look at Hvitserk and deep down you wish they look like him. He is your best friend, but as a woman, you can't deny that he is attractive, caring, gentle.

You arrive at the bar, you take a seat on a green leather bench, and Hvitserk will greet people he knows. You take your cell phone while waiting for him and you receive a text message from 'L' that freezes you on the psort - you hadn't told him about your plans for tonight : "Enjoy your evening at the bar but don't drink too much, honey".

****************

Thanks for your reading ! Hope you appreciate this story :D

@youbloodymadgenius @waiting4inspiration @whenimaunicorn @zuxiezendler​ @therealcalicali​ @peaceisadirtyword​ @peachyboneless​ @bonniebird​ @salt-is-a-terrible-currency​ @saldelys​ @flokisdaughter​ @flowers-in-your-hayr​ @honestsycrets​ @oddsnendsfanfics​ @ijustwant2write​ @thevikingsheaux​ @castielsangelsx​ @alexhoghsource​ @a-mess-of-fandoms​ @laketaj24​ @ivarswickedqueen​ @ivarsshieldmadien​ @hrhbella​ @lisinfleur​ @heathenarmyimagines​ @car-karaoke​ @vikings-imagine​  @heavenly1927 @alexhandersen-marcoilsoe-fandom

[silent-silver-slip]

For the behind the scenes asks: 1, 4, 16, 18?

Me? Buzzing with excitement to respond to an ask? Always! Thank you for asking lovely. ♥️♥️♥️ I am somewhat sorry for such a long post, but I am incapable of writing small things it appears. 

1. What was the first fandom and/or pairing that you wrote fic for?

Oh god, I think it was Harry Potter? I started out with original works before branching into fanfiction, so I’m not certain though.

4. Do you outline before you start writing? If so, how far do you stray from that outline?

This one’s a bit up in the air to be honest! Sometimes I outline and sometimes I don’t. Almost always, I never outline anything under like 5k, which is normally written with a basic idea that keeps growing. There are also a number of longer things that I’ve done before that didn’t really have an outline either (some of my novellas happened this way). However, a number of my longer works do get an outline - either beginning with one or I hit a roadblock and begin to sketch an outline out and then it ends up being massive and more than I expected.

Parts of my outline go into depth and parts don’t, so as a result I usually keep pretty close to it. Occasionally an extra scene or a side character will take over a bit, but usually it’s very very close which is nice and helpful.

16. What is your most underrated fic?

Oh no, decisions. [I then leave this question blank, and forget to come back to it...] Okay, so I went back and started going through my fics and I was in struggle town, let me tell you.

In the end, I picked up two main ones that I think are my most underrated ones?

There’s the broken bones of our childhood which is an HP fic and actually sparked a piece of writing that got published online in the AZE which is neat. And the other is Everybody Knows (the deal is rotten) which is a Naruto fic that’s based on Orpheus and Eurydice and their legend, but is about family instead. One of these I appreciate because of the meaning behind it and it’s writing style, and the other was a lot of fun to write and I’m pretty proud of it.

18. What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene.

Firstly, this assumes I remember anything I write and it doesn’t just vanish from my brain straight away. I barely know what I did yesterday, let alone an actual scene or line I wrote.

I’ve been staring at a few passages for a while, and this is awful I cannot make decisions. However! I figured I’d go with one that I haven’t mentioned in an ask response before and also isn’t too tricky to explain and comes with a good explanation? And fit my current mood I guess.

This scene comes from tonight’s our time which is a Naruto fic. It was a short fun piece to write and definitely related to something I felt back in summer. My comments are in italics.

And she reaches out, offering her hand, and Minato grips it, tight. Their hands are sweaty and gross, because of the weather and how it’s somehow still humid even as the sun sets, streaking the sky with pale purples and pinks and oranges. (Fuck yeah, I love the sunset! And the sunrise! The sky just looks so pretty almost all the time okay. But also - just the idea of people reaching out to each other even when it’s uncomfortable because they want to and they love each other regardless?)

The sky, however, is not what Kushina or Minato pay attention to. Rather, then launch forward, uncoordinated and laughing, towards where the sprinklers send water over the grass and pavement, turning it dark. (The idea of not paying attention to the sky because someone else is there and more important, more beautiful, definitely strikes a cord with me. And launching forward, laughing and unbalanced and just complete chaos? I can imagine it and it feels so good? Just letting go and- and I don’t even know, living, I suppose.)

They don’t go through the edges of the sprinkler, where the water’s a mist and light, they run through the worst of it, laughing and holding hands. Immediately, they’re soaked, clothes plastered to their skin as droplets of water run down their arms and faces and necks. Minato’s hair falls over his eyes whilst Kushina has flyaway strands finally pinned down, and she rubs a hand across her forehead, shoving them to the side so they stop irritating her. (Not gonna lie, this was partially me just working on descriptions, but hey. If it’s hot and humid and gross even at like 8.30pm, hell yeah I’m gonna run through the worst bit of the sprinkler if my friend wants too as well. That weather is gross and you’re dying, okay? Trust me on that one, it’s not fun. But, well, to meet up with a friend after so long, there’s not much I won’t do.)

Now out of the sprinkler, they turn. The weather no longer feels so hot and muggy. It’s cool and warm and the perfect temperature, even though their clothes have darkened with water and their hair will definitely turn fuzzy. (More description stuff.)

Looking at each other, they laugh, loud and wild and happy. This is, undoubtedly, what life is all about. Laughing and living, looking at each other and grinning. They’re adults but that doesn’t mean they have to leave childish acts behind them. (They’re just so happy!! They’re in their like twenties and they’re “adults” but they’re having such a fine time and they’re loving and happy and it’s just glorious. This is what we all deserve, okay? Around work and uni and life in general - we deserve to be happy and loving and loved in return, laughing and glorious and far frome alone.)

Because of the challenges I had figuring it out, there are a few of the ones I was tossing up beneath the line.

My favourite bits are in bold.

Scene from i don’t believe that love was made to break:

“Hey look,” Reggie says, “the sun’s rising.” And it is, painting the sky with colour. The sun itself is a circle of orange and the lake is fractured by every golden ray, colours rippling across the water.

Yet not one of them watches it. Instead, they are caught by each other. How the sun makes them glow. How the light gentles their faces. How they smile at each other.

The day grows warmer, the sun goes higher, and they are trapped in a single moment, aware of the way they are pressed up against each other, the way they are happy, the way they are loving without reserve.

Scene from the sea isn’t yours but you’re still the sea’s which may or may not be an AU of my own AU:

Sometimes kindness is an innate part of us, sometimes it’s there regardless of whether or not we know it. Sometimes kindness is apologising and saying ‘What can I do to help?’ Sometimes kindness is helping when help isn’t wanted but needed anyway.

In one world, there would be an information network growing in the shadows, spreading further and further with no one aware of it but one boy. In another world, there is no information network growing, but something else grows instead—hands stretching out, faces looking down. Kindness shared is kindness that can be passed on. Small things can stack, one on top of the other, and sometimes they lead to massive changes that are unforeseen. When a boy extends his hand out to a homeless child, she reaches back cautiously, but their story will end in trust and loyalty, (always).

Scene from Wayfinders‘ epilogue:

“This is what it means to be human.” The words seem to shock everyone and Toru smiles as he watches heads turn to one another, muttered discussion growing once again. “It is human to fight when the odds are against you,” he says. “It is human to say ‘we will keep living’ when it seems impossible. It is human to find a way to survive when an army marches towards you.

“It is human to fight. Sometimes this is against another opponent in a test of strength and sometimes it is against grief that threatens to overwhelm you. Sometimes you fail. Sometimes you fall. Sometimes you bow your head and give up. But you are not alone. Someone will reach ask if you’re alright. Someone will gift you a kind word. Someone will reach out a hand. There will always be someone reaching out a hand.

“A new era is dawning,” Toru lifts his chin, looks not to everyone below but to the sun overhead, shining down. “A new era is dawning and it is not one of war. It is one of peace, of love, of acceptance. It is one of kindness, of family, of friendship.” He smiles. “I speak not only to my people now, but to all of you. Let us remember hope, in times of hardship. Let us remember kindness, in times of cruelty. And let us remember to reach out and lift one another up high for you are never alone.”

(There are so many things Toru wants to say. He wants to engrave the lessons he learnt into people’s skin. He wants them to know what he does, that kindness is not a flaw, that mercy is not a weakness. But they will only learn that in time. And they have the time. They have the opportunity. Toru will see that they have all the time in the world.)

 (In the end, there is only one village that hears the words Toru does not say. One full of ghosts and laughing people. One full of refugees and fighters. One full of survivors and graves. Uzushio hears him and hears what he says with every word that escapes his lips.)

 (The sea will never die.)

[sailorzakuro]

STRICTLY LAUNCH 2020 PARTY POST

Idk I’m excited lol this probably won’t be very well thought out cos I am tired I am on a sugar crash I had 2 giant sugary chocolate chip cookies and quite a bit of alcohol so like sorry for the informality but did you ever expect that from my Strictly posts now these are a mess letting anyone new know 😁👍.

Caroline Quentin and Johannes Radebe - Okay she seems kind of short to be paired with a tall fellow but YOU SHOULD KNOW I LOVE JOHANNES and I have a soft spot for Caroline even though I never liked Men Behaving Badly I have to stan comedy actresses 😂. SO YEAH THIS IS A GOOD ONE 😂.

Clara Amfo and Aljaz Skorjanec - Again, another short woman tall bloke pairing (that’s how it looks anyway) but they seem to get along well so... good for them? 😂. Idk I was too excited for Bill Bailey and the hot boxer to pay attention to some of these 😂. Again, if you are new to these, I am VERY biased 😂. These are so bad lmao.

Ranvir Singh and Giovanni Pernice - Heights match lol but again I don’t think I was paying much attention at this point but in all honesty I don’t think any pairing are bad so 😂. (LOL EDIT I just saw their video again and wow she is actually a lot shorter than him rip).

HRVY (come on mate) and Janette Manrara - This one low key was not expecting but it makes sense, she’s short, he’s 12, perfect match 😂.

Jason Bell and Luba Mushtuk - Okay again I have fuck all to say about the pairing so I’ll just say that I knew it was Luba from the second they showed a preview of her on that football pitch like I never knew Luba was so easily identifiable 😂. Also the way his American accent says “Tottenham Hotspur” sounds so much cooler than when we say it 😂.

Jamie Laing and Karen Hauer - OKAY THIS WAS THE MOST SURPRISING WTF I think we were all absolutely expecting him to be with Oti again but nope he’s got the woman who taught CHRIS FUCKING RAMSEY THE LEGEND how to dance so he has a bright future 😂. Even though he was first paired with the winner ANYWAY I love that from the back they look like the same person 😂.

Nicola Adams OBE (yes I’m keeping that in her name) and Katya Jones - Another plot twist of the night, I was still secretly praying it would be Oti, someone convinced me it would be Janette, the nation thought it would be Karen (KAREN thought it would be Karen), then they give us Katya 😂. IS IT BECAUSE THERE’S NO CHANCE OF HER HAVING A DRUNKEN AFFAIR WITH THIS PARTNER??? Cos honestly that’s a good idea 😂. But HI I HAVE THE FATTEST CRUSH ON NICOLA THIS IS GONNA SLAY ME ESP WITH KATYA’S CHOREO I THINK I’M GOING TO DIE HELP.

Jacqui Smith and Anton du Beke - And the most obvious pairing of the night goes to 😂. With Anton’s partners for the most part it’s “who’s the oldest or has the least societal approved body type” so yeah everyone saw this coming rip Anton’s chances it’ll be another few years before he gets another decent crack 😂.

Maisie Smith and Gorka Marquez - GORKA’S BAAAAACK and he got paired with a wotsit rip okay ngl this is probably my least favourite pairing (not cos of Gorka I stan a king) cos like this woman already knows how to dance she won the Children In Need one last year WHY IS SHE HERE 😂. She’s very excited and I’m happy for her but how excited can you be for something you’ve already done you know 😂. Also SHE IS YOUNGER THAN ME SHE IS MONTHS YOUNGER THAN ME AND SHE IS DANCING WITH A 30 YEAR OLD yeah I don’t like this 😂.

JJ Chalmers and Amy Dowden - Not much to say here rip but they don’t look bad at all 😂.

Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse - BILL BAILEEEEEEEEY joint favourite omg my favourite pro with one of the greatest comedians of all time HOW CAN I NOT STAN 😂. I do find it ironic though that last year Oti was originally paired with Jamie and Karen got the comedian, and this year Karen’s been paired with Jamie and Oti got the comedian 😂. BUT I STAN you should also know that my favourites are USUALLY the comedians I’m a comedian what can I say (and I can say that with more credit now cos I’m like actually actively trying to get into stand up pandemic set me RIGHT back but just before it all kicked off I was getting help from a comedian at the place I volunteer and he actually read my stuff and ACTUALLY thought I was funny so...).

Max George and Dianne Buswell - I feel like it’s gonna be a trend where Dianne gets good partners that go out really early... NOT THAT I THINK MAX WILL BE A REPEAT OF DEV like maybe that was a mistake on BBC voting idk but even if he’s really good I’d be concerned for Max’s safety cos with the momentum Dianne has for going out with Joe it could hit back again... all I’m saying.

Anyway that’s it! Overall decent pairings, some surprising, some obvious 😂. But I’m looking forward to this series!! Week 1 is NEXT WEEK so not as long to anticipate it 😂.

[sherlollydramoine]

Can I request a belated Rami NYE elopement? It can be really fluffy just a glittery wonderland. If not I am totally down for a real nice rom-com moment for valentine's day in NYC xx

Here it is doll. I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: Just some cuteness, might be some language, no smut, pure fluff. 

Word Count: 1917

Glancing at yourself in the mirror one last time smiling to yourself. You couldn’t help the excitement that was building because your friends and family were going to be in for one hell of a shock. They all thought they were just showing up to a fancy dress New Year’s Eve party at a nice bar that you and Rami had rented out for the evening, but what they didn’t know was that the two of you had been planning this moment for over a year. Noone even knew that the two of you were actually engaged to be married. 

Heading downstairs you find Rami sitting on the couch nervously playing with his tie. He wore them so well, but he never really liked them. 

Letting out a small sigh you smile up at him, “You ready babe? I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when they realize what’s going to happen tonight.”

“I’m nervous.” was all he managed to say.

“Don’t be my love. This was all your idea anyway.” you reassure him. His eyes finding yours as he smiles up at you, reaching out for your hands. 

“I love you. Also, Joe called and he’s sweating bullets. He said that he was having a hard time keeping this a secret. You look absolutely stunning. That white dress looks good on you.” he rambles, while you you just nuzzle your head into his chest. 

“Shall we go? Do you have everything we need? I have your ring on my right hand, do you have mine?” you ask with a brow raised. He would accidentally forget the one thing that he actually needed to bring.

He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls it out, “I’ve got it!”

You laugh as you take his hand and lead him towards the garage. 

“We have to go, or we’ll be late for our own wedding. And by the way my love, you look so fucking gorgeous tonight. Just quit fiddling with your damn tie.” you gently scold, as you pull him towards the car. 

The location that you had chosen was actually located just off the water. Half the building was glass which made the water view spectacular. The rest of the building was decorated to look like a very classy, glittery, winter wonderland. 

You wandered around surveying all the gorgeous decorations, the tables were set and everything was absolutely perfect for tonight. 

“The party planner sure did a fantastic job with this place didn’t she?”Rami asks, and you just nod your head. 

“I don’t think one detail was overlooked. It’s just perfect Rami. Absolutely perfect!” you coo, while dancing around him in a circle. He just laughs at your goofiness. 

Suddenly the door to the bar swings open and in walks Joe, the one you’ve asked to officiate your wedding ceremony. He had gotten certified online just to do this for the two of you, and he was fully prepared with all the necessary paperwork. 

After about an hour or so the rest of your family and friends had finally arrived to the venue all dressed to the nines. The party was in full swing. 

Your nerves were starting to get the best of you and the closer it got to midnight the antsier the both of you became. You were about four glasses of champagne deep and feeling warm and giggly. 

Joe called everyone’s attention at about eleven-thirty. A whole room full of people went absolutely silent at the sight of Joe standing on a chair yelling at the top of his lungs to pay attention. Your hand in Rami’s as Joe does exactly as you asked him to do.

“So you all may be wondering why I’ve called all of your attention. I know you all think that you are just here for a New Year’s Eve party. That is part of it but Rami and YN have also decided that tonight would be a great time for a very special surprise. If you all could please find a seat and get settled as quickly as possible.”

A lot of murmuring was going around but eventually everyone found a seat. 

Rami took your hand and guided you to the front of the bar, the little fairy lights that had been placed all around making his eyes sparkle. 

Joe clears his throat at the same time you hear some gasps coming from around the room. 

“Yes, this is exactly what you think it is. These two dweebs are finally going to tie the knot! So children, if we can all settle down, we’re running short on time and they wanted this done before midnight.” Joe addresses the group.

The whole time you are standing there in front of Joe, holding Rami’s hands looking up at him nervously. You both had planned this for about a year and you know the decision is for the best, but you still couldn’t help the nervousness. Rami can sense your unease and squeezes your hands before leaning in to give you a small chaste kiss. 

“Hey none of that kissing stuff yet, you have to wait for that my man!” Joe scolds, and everyone laughs including the two of you.

“Just trying to ease her nerves a little bit dude. Chill.” Rami laughs.

Joe clears his throat again and then launches into the actual wedding speeches he had planned. You had both told him that you didn’t care what he said as long as it wasn’t too gross, because Joe has a propensity for saying inappropriate things at the worst time.

All too quickly it was time for the vows and exchanging of the rings. 

“YN, I just, I know I was supposed to have prepared something and I did, but here now in the moment I can’t remember what I wrote. I just want to say that from the first moment we met I knew that you were the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. You make me feel alive and so very loved. I could never imagine my life without you in it ever, and so if you’ll have me, will you allow me to love you every day for the rest of our lives? Because I want nothing more than to be yours, and only yours forever.” he says, with tears in his eyes. You knew he meant it all of his words were coming straight from his heart. 

Your eyes filling with tears at the thoughtfulness, sincerity and absolute love behind his words. Choking back a small sob he continues on.

“So YN I make this promise to you now that I, Rami Said Malek,will love you and only you for the rest of our days. Through everything that life may throw at us. Ups and downs, sickness and health, and I promise that nothing will ever tear us apart. With this ring, I take you as my Wife, my one and only until death do us part.” he says, as he slides the ring that he’d had in his pocket onto your finger. Giving your hand a gentle squeeze his eyes shining with tears. 

Joe turns to you and informs you quietly that it is your time to speak your vows.

“Rami, my love. I-I-Oh man-How do I follow that beautiful speech up?”you laugh and he chuckles. 

“Rami, I too have known since we met that you were the only man that I would ever want. You make life an adventure everyday and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The way you love me, you make me laugh, you make me smile. I’ve never met anyone that has made me feel the way that you do and for that I’m glad. I hope that we have many more years of love and laughter. The joy you have brought to my life along with the chaos has always been worth it. I will love you until the day I die, and to answer your question; yes, yes I will allow you to me every day for the rest of our lives. I too want nothing more than to be yours, and only yours forever. So Rami I make this promise to you now that I, YFN/YMN/YLN, will love you and only you for the rest of our days. Through everything that life may throw at us. Ups and downs, sickness and health, and I promise that nothing will ever tear us apart. With this ring, I take you as my Husband, my one and only until death do us part.”you say, as you pull the ring you’d had on your right hand off, and slid it on his finger. 

Joe just smiles at you two, knowing he has to speak quickly or else you’ll both jump the gun.

“So YN and Rami, now that you guys have officially declared your love for each other, I have one more important question to ask you.”

Both you and Rami look up at Joe, as Joe asks the question. 

“Rami, do you take YN to be the wife of your days, the companion of your heart and the friend of your life? To stand united in the face of adversity and bask together in the light of good fortune? With these words spoken, and all those as yet unspoken, do you wish to marry YN and join your life with hers?”

“Oh my God I do! I do! I do!” he repeats while smiling up at you, eyes shining with unshed tears again.

Joe turns to you and asks the same question.

“YN, do you take Rami to be the husband of your days, the companion of your heart and the friend of your life? To stand united in the face of adversity and bask together in the light of good fortune? With these words spoken, and all those as yet unspoken, do you wish to marry Rami and join your life with his?”

“Yes! I do! I really fucking do!” you laugh out, and all of your friends and family join in, as you bring your hand to your mouth realizing what you had just said.

“Well folks, I think we know what happens next, don’t we? YN and Rami, you have expressed your love to one another through the commitment and promises you have just made. It is with these in mind that I pronounce you husband and wife. You have kissed a thousand times, maybe more. But today the feeling is new. No longer simply partners and best friends, you have become husband and wife and can now seal the agreement with a kiss. Today, your kiss is a promise. Rami, you now may kiss your bride.” 

Joe barely finished before you found yourself being pulled closer to Rami.His hands coming up to your face as your lips crash together, your tongues dancing  as your fingers thread through his hair. You can hear the various shouts and cheers from your friends and family. As soon as you pull apart, you both look up at the clock and realize that you had just had your first kiss at midnight, which is what you had planned for. 

The fireworks began going off outside lighting up the room with their technicolor shades. Your family and friends began shouting “Happy New Year!” and also exchanging hugs and kisses, as you both just stand there wrapped in each other’s arms watching the fireworks display over the water.

@free-rami @xmxisxforxmaybe @mrhoemazzello @txmel @ramimedley @itsme690 @the-real-ramimalekpeen @hissom1933 @youthtea @r-ahh-mi @spacedustmazzello @imnottiredofgettingoveryou @ramimalekpan @itslula1991 @sasha–1996 @safinsscar @warmommy @mezzomercury @sassystrawberryk @happy-rami @alottanothing @ladyr0b0t

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #273

ew, wtf is this new /tagged formatting???? ugh.

What is something you dislike about the dating world? I haven't dated around enough to have first-hand experience, really. But from an outside view, people don't seem all that interested in serious commitment. Don't fwm if you aren't into the idea of working towards a whole lifetime together. What gives you confidence? Bitch nothing lmao. Have you ever dated someone with very different sexual tastes than you? No. What is the most meaningful gift you’ve ever given? Both Jason and Sara got a huge list of reasons I love them for certain relationship "milestones," both which really did take a long time because there were loads. I did it with each because I really did feel like it was a very personal, uplifting, and full-of-adoration gift, not just for the sake of recycling an idea because I had no others. I have a shitload of romantic ideas, ngl man. Do you feel as though someone ‘won’ in your last break up? Neither of us "won" or "lost," really. It was a mutual agreement that now just isn't the time for a relationship between us. Whatever happened to the first person you ever loved? Sometimes I'm scared to know. Do you still shop at the same stores you liked when you were a teenager? Yeah. Thankfully Hot Topic became more accessible to plus-size people. Is there anyone significantly older than you that you would date? No. I won't go over like... nine years. Even eight it pushing it. Please share your embarrassing and weird celeb crushes. Post pictures. What do you like about them? I don't have any "embarrassing" or "weird" ones. What is something your partner does that is unattractive to you? N/A What is something that would have made the show better/you would have liked to see happen on one of your favorite series? I honestly wish Weed in Ginga Densetsu Weed was more realistic and realized Hougen was worth killing himself. The lightning seemed cheap and anti-climactic. He had EVERY reason to kill him, and it sounds weird to consider killing as a form of growth, but I feel like it would've been. Maybe that's just a personal thing, believing killing is sometimes justified, but it actually annoyed me. Nevertheless, fucking fantastic show. How do you feel about celebrities that are silent about political or human rights issues? Do you think celebrities should use their platform to speak out? I have... mixed feelings. I think most of me says to use their prominence for good, to be a loud voice to look up to and bring greater attention to issues, but at the same time, some people just like/feel safer being non-political. When you were a kid, what child characters did you admire or relate to most? BINDI IRWIN!!!!!!!!!! I still follow and fucking adore her. Y'all she recently got married and she is just so beautiful and so happy and the Irwins are just genuinely angels on this earth. Tell me about a time that you were bored in a relationship (can be romantic or friendship). What was it about them/the situation that bored you? I've never been romantically bored, and not really with a friendship, either. Sure, I've been bored in another's presence, but it was never a consistent issue. Who’s your favorite Tiktoker? I have never even touched it. How high or low is the barrier to entry in your field or desired field? It's tough, but not that high. More than anything, photography depends on who you know to help get you out there, sadly. It's luck, too. There is most certainly skill involved, but yeah... building your brand up to stand out with only your own hands is ridiculously hard. But that's really any small business/self-employed position. Where would you look if you were looking for a job (e.g., indeed.com, company websites, asking a friend…)? I've pretty much always used Indeed, or I hear from family/friends. How much lower than your ideal salary would you take? What would the job have to entail for you to take a less than ideal wage? Hi, I live in America, where the government doesn't give a fuck if you can support yourself on minimum wage or not. :^) But anyway, this is a difficult question to answer with how little experience I have. I can say, however, that I will fucking not work to just barely scrape by with minimum wage. If I'm going to bust my ass, it's gonna be fucking worth it. Even if you were able to support yourself/your own family, would there ever be a situation in which you would choose to live in a shared house with another family or individual, be it your parents or a sibling’s family, or some other housemate? Sure, I wouldn't mind. Especially family. Do bridges make you nervous? To a degree. Are there any movies that you find so dumb, you find funny? Napoleon Dynamite, of course. How often do you vacation? Pretty much never ever. Do you think it’s cruel to leave a live fish to die in an ice box? I am genuinely concerned for you if you say no to this. Have you ever done anything sexual with someone of the same sex? Yes. Have you ever pawned anything off at a pawn shop? No. Do you have stomach abs? OH, HUNNY- Do you know anyone who is trying to physically impersonate a celebrity? No. Have you ever seen a shuttle launch? I mean, on TV, but even then I didn't seriously watch it. Are we having signs of the apocalypse? I don't believe in the "apocalypse." We're going to fall through natural methods. We're definitely heading deeper into destruction in some ways, though, by our own hands. I'm quite sure humans themselves will be the end of humanity. Would you rather see The Blue Man Group or Fear Factor live? BLUE MAN GROUP!!! They're dooooope. Do you have any exciting plans for this upcoming weekend? No. I'm staying in the goddamn house like we're fucking supposed to. What color of colored contacts would you like to have? To wear regularly? Sapphire blue. Ohhh, maybe one that, and the other icy blue. What’s on your bedside table? It's more a shelf than a table, so I have quite a bit. My medicine basket, fan, a drink, books, sketchbook, some other miscellaneous things. What’s on your bed? A bedsheet, comforter, two pillows, and me, ha ha. Your floor besides furniture? Nothing. Your dresser? All my meerkat stuffed animals, plus some others. The top shelf in your closet? Ha, good question. Are there any dead stuffed animals in your house? No. What’s the best prize you’ve won on an amusement park/carnival game? *shrug* Have you ever done anything sexual in a school? No, I was a good noodle. Have you ever been indoor skydiving? No. Would you have any interest in going on a cruise? Not really. What did you have for dinner last night? I made some hot wings. What's your ideal indoor temperature? High 60s, ig. It’s hard to really tell because my room is always the hottest in the house and I have a fan on me, so I don’t really feel the “normal” temperature most of the time. Does your kitchen have a theme? No. What's the grossest thing u have found in your food? Probably nothing worse than a hair or something, idk. Are you a flip flop lover? I am NOTORIOUS for wearing flipflops absolutely year-round. A little bit of snow on the ground? I’m wearing my gd flipflops because they’re just easy to slide on and I care about convenience probably too much lmao. What namebrand dishwashing liquid do u use? … Dawn, I think? I don’t really pay attention. Do you like ice cream sandwiches? UGH yesssssssssss hunty. Do you prefer hard or soft shell tacos? I hate tacos, but I’d definitely rather have a soft shell than hard. Ever worn a flower in your hair? Maybe as a kid? Name five random things in your kitchen? Nothing abnormal, really… no, wait. You know those sticky cylinder things that flies are attracted to and die a slow death for their brazen intrusion upon your property? We have one of those hanging up in there. Magnets and pictures on the fridge is considered pretty normal, right? Name four things in your fridge? Milk, apples, a bigass bag of pepperoni, and some cold water bottles because I strongly prefer cold water. Name two things in your meds cabinet? We’ve got a load… Different kinds of pain pills, things like Pepto, etc. Name six things in your family room? A couch, a reclining chair, the TV, Mom’s bed, loads of pictures on the walls, and uh… sidetables? Name three things in your bedroom? My snake, my bed, and my dresser. Name three things in your yard? A bird feeder that squirrels like to steal from, a random fucking dolphin statue thingy that deadass looks like a distorted dick (it’s been here since we got here, idfk), and two sheds. Name two things in your bathroom? Our bathroom is tiiiny, so very normal stuff. Y’know, a toilet and sink. What health problems do you have? A lot that I don’t feel like thinking through. Fave name brand of water? Essentia. Do you have a trampoline? Not since I was a teenager. The last time you were in the fridge, what were you looking for? Jam to make a pb&j. Do you like clowns? No opinion. Are you listening to anything at the moment? Surprisingly nothing, but Halocene’s cover of “My Immortal” is seeeeeriously jammed in my head. Do you twitch when your falling asleep? YES. They’re more like muscle spasms. Are your dishes in the dishwasher clean or dirty? We don’t have one; we have to wash by hand. Buuut that house we’re moving into has one! :’) When is the last time you were on a bicycle? Not since I was a teenager. I used to love love loooove to ride my bike after school. What have you eaten today? Special K cereal and aforementioned sandwich. Do you own a strapless bra? Fuckin Y I K E S that would not work w/ my size lmfao. Does the person you like know it? Ye. Did anything brighten up your day today? Our lawn FINALLY got mowed and the bushes trimmed. We had to tidy it up before we can move. It looked like a jungle, deadass serious. Do you ever wonder how other people see you? Only all the time. What is one good thing you're known for? I write well. How about one bad thing? I’m very dependent. When was the last time you sang an ENTIRE song? Wow, no clue. I rarely sing, never mind an entire song. What is one thing that is currently bothering you? Actually my stomach kinda hurts. What did you do today? Wander around the Internet looking for something to even mildly entertain me, play World of Warcraft for a very brief period since I’m going through a bored phase of it, read for a bit, showered… not a lot, but later today we’re celebrating my mom’s birthday early, actually. Do you consider yourself to be attractive? No. I think my dimples are kinda cute, but that’s it. Do you regret going out with the last person you did? Not at all. Do you realize it when you curse? It’s so normal in my vocabulary that generally, no. I’m very mindful around kids, though. I still remember the first time I said “fuck” in my mom’s presence without realizing it and she just like f r o z e. Have you ever been extremely tired but refused to go to sleep? Yeah, for various reasons. That is veeeeery rare nowadays, though, partially because I’m so fucking bored that I’m just happy to close the day. What's the longest amount of time you've been stuck in traffic? An hour or so is my guess while traveling. I don’t recall any specific instances. Best field trip experience? We went to the zoo!!!! It was the one and only time thus far that I’ve seen meerkats irl. What is the most amount of money you've spent on a meal before? I’ve never really been able to buy my own meal, never mind something expensive. What museums have you visited, if any? Just local ones centered around art or science, generally. What's your worst traveling experience? Idk. Sims 1, 2, or 3? Why? Never played. Not my kinda game. What area of math are you best at? Worst? lol I suck at them all. How do you feel when you meet someone with the same music taste as you? It’s exciting! Do you believe in luck? Why or why not? No, because I don’t believe in any “magical” influence over events that occur. Shit just happens, sometimes to good people, sometimes to bad people, and everything in-between. How often do you "half-ass" things (put little effort in)? IIII tend to do that a lot.. Do you ever feel self-conscious when you eat around other people? Not really. Have you ever missed a meeting/event that was required/necessary? You could say so, but it turned out fine that I missed it anyway. What's something that makes you incredibly nervous? Talking to people I don’t know or being alone with a man. If you don't have glasses, how would you feel if you had to get them? N/A If you do have glasses, how would you feel if you didn't need them anymore? I’d be fuckin’ stoked, I could get my undereye dermal without it looking stupid. How many vegetarians do you know? I’m not sure. Have you ever considered going to art school? Does Photography count? I majored in that. Otherwise, no. Have you ever had problems falling asleep in class? No, I was always very attentive in class. Are your parents supportive of you? Very.

[rnr-guitarist]

Through Thick and Thin - Jae

Leanna’s POV

Leanna sits in her music theory class, waiting for her best friend who still hadn’t shown up. She’s flipping through her notebook when someone plops down beside her, dropping a notebook on the desk. 

“Took you long enough.” She turns to her best friend, who looks dead on his feet. 

“Lemme guess you worked all day on the only day you don’t have classes then came home did a bunch of homework then proceeded to playing video games until you passed out at 6 am.” she raises an eyebrow at him as he grins tiredly at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Le.” Brian replies as he lays his head down on the desk. “Don’t lie to me, Bri. Just take a nap and I’ll take notes.” she grumbles and he giggles causing her to roll her eyes. “Thanks, babe. You’re the best.” he mumbles already halfway to dreamland. “You are the reason why I can never get a boyfriend, Brian.” she sighs as she thinks about how much she does for the dork sleeping beside her. 

They had been friends since they were in diapers and had been inseparable since. They went through all the awkward phases of middle school and high school together, tried to do the dating each other thing but realized the first time they kissed that they were definitely better as friends. They were now in their last year of university, majoring in music, living together in an apartment off campus. 

They had made friends along the way too, there was Mark, who they had met their junior year of high school and with him came Jackson. Her and Brian had teased Jackson mercilessly when he would hit on her and she’d turn him down but then the summer after their senior year Mark had told her that he and Jackson were together. She’d hugged Mark and told Jackson that she’d called it to which Jackson replied with the middle finger before kissing Mark’s cheek. 

Then their first year of college they had met Sungjin, their resident rich kid, whose father owned an entertainment company, and Dowoon, who all of them referred to as their little drummer boy. When Brian and Dowoon had taken a job at Sungjin’s company, she had taken a job at a coffee shop a few blocks away from their apartment where she met Wonpil, who fit so naturally in with the others that it was like he had been there the whole time. She smiles as she thinks of her friends before paying attention to the professor, diligently taking notes like she’d told Brian she would. She would be lying if she said that being the only girl in the friend group was easy but she loved all of her boys to death. 

She hides Brian’s video games when she gets home that night and makes him sleep instead. A few weeks go by and she’s cooking dinner on their one day without classes when Brian comes bouncing into the kitchen, having already shed his blazer and shoes at the door. She turns to say hello and he grabs her by the waist, spins her around and sits her on the counter before finishing dinner. “Excuse me rude ass. Who the hell gave you the giggle juice?” she asks, placing her hands on the counter on either side of her thighs. “Well I have something I want to talk to you about and you can’t say no.” he throws her a grin over his shoulder as she raises an eyebrow. 

“Tell me what it is, Bri. I’m sure I can say no.” she replies with a teasing smirk as he plates the stir fry she had made for dinner. “So Jae has an idea for a project.” he starts as she slips off the counter and opens the fridge, pulling out two beers. “That’s great. Who the hell is Jae?'' She sets the beers on the table as he stares at her incredulously. “My boss? Sungjin’s older brother?” he replies and realization dawns on her. “Oh right. The infamous boss who hates suits. Sorry I barely pay attention when you and Jinnie talk anymore.” she giggles at his offended expression before gesturing for him to continue as she sits down at the table. “Anyway, Jae has an idea for a project and we have almost everything we need for it but we need a keyboardist and a female vocalist.” he finishes by giving her his best puppy eyes to which she responds by rolling her own. 

“No.” she replies before shoving veggies in her mouth. “Please, Le. Please.” Brian pouts at her and she shakes her head continuing to chew. “Please, baby girl. I’ll do all the laundry for three months and cook dinner.” she shakes her head again and he continues to pout. “Please, please, please.” she swallows her food and finally gives in knowing he’s about to get down on his knees to beg at her feet. “Fine, I’ll do it but only if Wonpil says he will too.” she grins at him before taking another bite of her stir fry. “Great.” he says, giving her a big smile which she finds suspicious. “Wonpil already said he’d do it.” he finishes as she swallows her food. “Fuck.” she replies and he laughs almost hysterically. “I’ve known you for how long, Le? Did you really think that I would ask without having everything already in the works?” she just flips him off and finishes her dinner. 

That is how she finds herself walking into Park Entertainment sandwiched between an overly excited Wonpil and Brian. “Wow. I never thought I’d get to see the inside of this building.” Wonpil murmurs to Leanna, who raises her eyebrow at him. “I guess it was a good thing I became friends with you.” he finishes causing them to laugh as they walk into the practice room. “What’s so funny?” Sungjin’s voice causes Leanna to look up just before launching herself at the guitarist. “Sungjinnie! I missed you! It’s been so long!” she exclaims, wrapping her arms and legs around Sungjin, who laughs and wraps his arms around her waist. “We had class together literally two days ago, Le.” he replies, still laughing. “Shhhh. It’s been so long.” she rubs her hand from the top of his head, down his cheek to his chin. “Get off me, weirdo.” Sungjin sets her on her feet as she hears grumbling from her right. “I see how it is. Sungjin gets all the love.” Dowoon mumbles just loud enough to be heard. 

“Awww Dowoonie.” she says before launching herself at the drummer, who isn’t completely expecting it and stumbles slightly at the added weight. “How is my little drummer boy?” she asks, petting Dowoon’s hair. “I’m fine. Get off.” he mumbles, his ears turning red as she drops to her feet again and turns to find a man she doesn’t know watching the scene with his arms crossed and look of amusement. She freezes for a split second because this man is beautiful with his honey colored hair, full lips and gold rimmed glasses. “You must be Leanna.” he states in a voice like velvet. 

“Let’s see. Flannel, ripped jeans, glasses. You must be Jae. Brianna talks about you a lot.” she watches as his amused expression turns to one of confusion. “Brianna?” he asks and all the boys point to Brian as the mentioned man raised his hand. “Sorry. I’ve known Brian since we all thought he was a girl.” she apologizes causing Dowoon and Sungjin to snort and Brian to go ‘hey’ in an offended tone. She walks over to Brian and cups his cheeks before saying. “Aww Bri you know I love you no matter what gender you decide to be.” she pinches his cheeks before continuing. “But if you leave your underwear on the bathroom floor again, I’ll kill you. I almost died this morning.” she lets go as he whines and Jae bursts out laughing. “Anyway, Bri said you wanted us for a project?” Leanna prompts Jae as she shoves her hands into the pockets of her leather vest. “Yes. I know that these guys can play. I got the idea when I caught Dowoon in one of the practice rooms going at it with the drums.” Jae starts and Leanna spins around to face Dowoon. 

“What did I tell you about doing weird stuff with the drums, Dowoonie?” she asks and watches his whole face turn red before he starts stuttering. “No, that’s not-” he gets out before giving up and throwing a drumstick at her which she catches then points at him “No.” she says sternly before turning back around to face Jae and shoving the drumstick in her back pocket. She finds Jae laughing again but doesn’t notice the weirded out look on Sungjin’s face. 

“Anyway I don’t know about the two of you.” he gestures to her and Wonpil causing her to glance at Wonpil and share a sly smirk with him. “Is there a keyboard in here?” she asks, turning back to face the CEO, who nods and gestures behind her. “May I?” Wonpil asks politely and Jae gestures again. As Wonpil rushes to set up the keyboard, Leanna watches Brian rush to his spot across the room and pick up his bass. “Pick a song.” she says, looking Jae directly in the eye. “Uhhh…” he says, mind obviously going blank at being put on the spot. “You’re taking too long.” she says, taking Jae by surprise as she turns to the boys and says. “Rock Show by Halestorm.” she grins as the music starts and she closes her eyes to sing. 

Once the music ends, she looks back at Jae with the biggest grin on her face. “You got a song yet?” she asks, causing him to look to Sungjin. “Jinnie, what was the song that you were working on the other night?” Leanna turns to Sungjin, who looks confused for a second. “Well Done Again My Friend?” he asks and Jae nods vigorously, his hair flopping around. “How did you even know about that?” Sungjin asks and Jae chuckles. “Well if you don’t want me to know what weird things you’re doing in your room then maybe you should close the door.” Leanna laughs at Sungjin’s bright red face before turning to Brian. “I wonder when he walked past Jin’s room because weren’t we on the phone with him to work on that?” Brian nods and she turns to Wonpil. 

“Pil, is there a chair over there?” he looks around and nods before bringing her the chair. “Thanks, love. Who’s guitar is that?” She points to the guitar behind Brian and Jae points to himself. “May I?” she asks and he nods, this time she doesn’t miss the look on Sungjin’s face as she pulls a pick out of her inside pocket, shoving it between her teeth while on her way to grab the guitar. She plops down in the chair and sets the guitar on her knees before turning to nod at Dowoon. She grins at the look of shock that plants itself on Jae’s face when Dowoon starts singing the opening verse. She watches his eyes flit to every member of her little band when they sing their parts of the song with Wonpil finishing it. 

“You can sing?” Jae directs the question to Dowoon, who grins sheepishly and points to Leanna. “Only with her.” Leanna giggles at the giant smile on Brian’s face, both extremely proud of their little drummer. “It’s been so long since I sang. Jeez. We need to do this more often.” Wonpil says to Leanna, who nods enthusiastically as Jae turns to look at them in shock. “I only sing-” Brian starts but is cut off by Leanna. “Don’t even lie, Kang. You sing all the time, in the shower, while cooking, while you’re taking a shit. You sing the weirdest things in the bathroom.” She takes pride in the shade of red her best friend’s face takes on. “Le, no one needed to know that.” he whines as Sungjin doubles over in laughter. “He’s right, Le. Absolutely no one needed to know that. Especially me. I’m innocent.” Dowoon whines shortly after Brian shuts up. 

“Anyway, did we give you enough of a show to convince you of our skills or do we need to sing more?” Leanna asks Jae as she replaces his guitar on it’s stand. “No, that was plenty. You guys play so well together.” he glances around at everyone before Leanna starts laughing. “Did Jinnie not tell you that this isn’t the first time we’ve played together?” she asks glancing from Jae, who is shaking his head, to Sungjin, who is rolling his eyes. “I have told him, Le, but like you he doesn’t listen to me.” Sungjin replies causing Jae to chuckle as Dowoon mumbles. “I didn’t like how you phrased that, Le. You made us sound like little kids.” she turns to him with a wicked grin. “I could have said that this isn’t the first time we’ve played with each other, Do. Which do you prefer?” she wiggles her eyebrows at him as him, Sungjin and Brian choke on air. “Jeez you guys really are children.” she mumbles, turning back to Jae. 

“What is this project anyway?” she crosses her arms over her chest to indicate that she is all ears. “So every year or so a couple of the entertainment companies get together and have a battle of the bands type of thing. Some of them put their current artists out or maybe their artists about to debut but sometimes they pull something new out of the blue, which is what I want to do with this.” Jae finishes with a grin and Leanna’s eyes widen just a fraction. 

“Even though we advised against it.” Brian mumbles and Jae turns to him with a slight glare. “Shut up, Brian. This is the first one I’ve been involved in.” he sighs a little and Leanna has to almost physically restrain herself from laughing. She glances around at the boys behind her with a raised eyebrow, once she receives a nod from each of them she turns back to Jae with a grin. “We’re in.” 

Over the next month, not only does she juggle school and work but also the project for Jae. She still barely sees Brian, Dowoon and Sungjin except for classes, practice or at lunch. Sometimes they would come into the coffee shop to study a little or get coffee when they looked like they needed it. She starts to notice little things about the boys as well, cuts or bruising on their faces, Brian came home one night with a bandage around his arm and when she asked what happened, he told her that he caught some jagged part of the wall. 

She brushed it off, figuring he’d tell her what really happened when he wanted to. It wasn’t until halfway through the second month of the project that Leanna found out what was really going on. They had finished practice and she had stayed to clean up after her idiots and also maybe just maybe to hang out with Jae, who she had developed a slight crush on. As they walk out of the building, Jae’s phone rings and he steps away to answer it, telling her to wait a second. When he comes back, he’s in a rush, apologizing profusely about offering her a ride then having to bail but something really important came up and he really had to go. 

She told him not to worry about it and that she would take a taxi home. She never made it home that night. Almost as soon as Jae’s car is out of sight a black van pulls up in front of her and a rag is placed over her mouth and nose. She wakes up who knows how long later in an unfamiliar room, tied to a chair. “What the actual fuck? This is not my apartment. Where the fuck am I?” she mumbles, slightly freaking out when the door in the room opens and a man walks in. “Do you know why you’re here?” the man asks and she gives him a deadpan look. 

“If I knew why I was here then I wouldn’t be freaking out now would I? Why don’t you enlighten me?” she replies snidely and the man looks taken aback for a second before he puts up a calm facade. “We know you work for them.” he says and her eyebrows knit together in confusion. “The coffee shop?” she asks and the man looks surprised for a second. “No. For Jaehyung Park.” he replies and that just confuses Leanna more. “Jae? I’m doing a project with him and he’s my friend’s brother but I don’t really know him that well. Why would I be working for him?” she asks as the door opens again and a second man walks in. 

“Oh she’s awake? Why didn’t you say anything?” he asks the first man, who glances at his accomplice before looking back to Leanna. “I’m debating whether to knock her out again because she won’t stop talking or to torture her for information.” he replies, not expecting the reply he receives from the girl in front of him. “Oh oh! Torture me. That one sounds more fun.” 

Brian’s POV

Leanna has been gone for a week now and Brian is starting to panic. He wasn’t necessarily surprised that Leanna wasn’t home when he had come home late after meeting with Jae that night but she hadn’t been home in a week and he was worried. He had called her mom to find out if she had heard from Leanna to which she had told him that she hadn’t and that Leanna had probably run off with a boyfriend again. Brian knew it had happened before but this time felt different, which is how he ended up pacing the length of Jae’s office. 

“I don’t know, Jae. I don’t even know who the last person to see her that night was.” Brian says, continuing his pacing as Jae realizes that it was him that had seen Leanna last that night. “It was me that last saw her that night, Bri.” Jae says quietly causing Brian to freeze before turning to his boss. “ What do you mean?” Brian asks, on the verge of tears. “She stayed late after practice and I offered to take her home but then Jarred called and you know all about that fucking fiasco. She assured me that she’d be fine and that she’d call a taxi.” Jae explains and watches a tear roll down Brian’s face. 

“Let’s go see if Dowoon can access the CCTV footage from that night then see if she’s contacted Wonpil.” Jae suggests, standing from behind his desk as Brian wipes his tears and nods. “You seem to care about her a lot.” Jae remarks as they walk down the halls of the building. “Well yeah. She’s my best friend and my roommate.” Brian replies quietly, worrying greatly for his missing best friend. “She’s just your friend? I thought the two of you were together.” Jae says in surprise which causes Brian to chuckle. “Nah, we tried once in high school but the one and only time we kissed, we both gagged. It was like kissing my sister.” 

Brian smiles at the memories from high school as Jae remains silent, thinking over this new piece of information. When they walk into the tech room, they find Sungjin inside with Dowoon having lunch. “Hey, boss, Brian. What’s up?” Dowoon says when he notices the two enter the room. “Do, can you find the video footage from last Wednesday for the front of the building?” Jae asks causing Dowoon and Sungjin to give him a confused look. 

“I mean sure but why?” Dowoon asks, already working on the request from his boss. “Leanna has been missing for a week now and she was last seen in front of the building that night by me.” Jae replies causing Dowoon and Sungjin’s heads to snap up in concern. “It’s gonna take me a bit but I’ll call you when I have it.” Dowoon says in a serious tone as Jae and Brian nod. “Thanks, Do. We’re gonna go see if Pil has heard from her.” Brian says before turning and following Jae out the door. 

Wonpil beckons them to the counter when he sees them walk in. “Where the fuck is Le?” Wonpil asks Brian as soon as he gets close enough. “I take it that you haven’t heard from her either.” Jae sighs and Wonpil shakes his head. “I haven’t but she’s lucky I’ve been covering for her. She would have lost her damn job by now.” Wonpil says before noticing the look on Brian’s face. “Oh shit. She’s missing isn’t she?” Brian just nods and Wonpil places a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Bri. She’s strong.” Brian smiles slightly at his friend’s reassurance. “Thanks, Pil. We’ll let you know if we find anything.” Brian says and Wonpil nods before stepping away to take the next customer in line. 

Jae’s POV

“Let’s go see what Dowoon’s found.” Jae says leading Brian out of the coffee shop. Not much could be seen from the footage other than that Leanna was chloroformed and stuffed into a van. Jae has Dowoon set up a trace on his phone after he sends Brian home to sleep but it’s another four days before anything happens. Jae watches Brian pace his office, a habit that would usually annoy Jae to no end but he knows that Brian is worried about Leanna just as he is, when Jae’s phone suddenly rings. 

“Jaehyung Park. What can I do for you?” he answers and Brian continues pacing. “We have your girlfriend.” the man on the other line says and Jae freezes. “I have a girlfriend?” he replies causing Brian to freeze mid step and turn to him. “Yes, don’t play dumb with us. We took her from right in front of your building after watching you leave.” the man replies in a snide tone. “Wait is she kind of short, long brown hair and her favorite word is fuck?” Jae asks and Brian raises his eyebrows at him. 

“Yes. Stop running weapons in the south side of the city or we’ll kill her.” the man says somewhat impatiently and Jae chuckles quietly. “You have her and you’re still alive. That’s good on you.” he says and Brian’s eyes widen in shock. “She can’t do anything, she’s tied to a chair. Now stop running weapons in the south side of the city or we’ll kill her.” the man replies causing Jae to snort loudly. “No. Go ahead and try to kill her. See how well that works.” Jae replies and Brian’s eyes widen even more. “What?” the man says in confusion and Jae laughs. “Thanks for the warning but I politely decline.” Jae says just before hanging up. 

“Jae, what the fuck did you just do? Now they’re gonna kill her!” Brian exclaims, on the verge of tears as Dowoon walks into the room with Sungjin. “Brian, calm your titties. I had Do set up a trace on my phone after you went home a couple of days ago. He knows where she is.” Jae replies but as Brian opens his mouth to say something the door opens and Wonpil walks in. “Let’s go get her then.” Wonpil says, placing a gun on Jae’s desk with a grin. “What the fuck, Wonpil?” Brian says in surprise as the smaller man turns to grin wickedly at him. “Everyone has their secrets, Brian. Just be glad you didn’t know me in high school.” Brian exchanges a glance with Jae, who shrugs and they head out. 

Brian’s POV

The warehouse that Dowoon’s directions lead them to is small compared to the other ones and Brian is thankful for that. It doesn’t take them that long to get inside, thanks to Wonpil who surprisingly knows the warehouse pretty well. There are two guards on the main floor that Sungjin takes out pretty easily before he and Dowoon take the stairs to the upper level. Brian and Wonpil take the basement level where they find another three guards and Wonpil surprises Brian again by taking them out quickly. They bust the door open to find Leanna coherent but bloody. 

Leanna’s POV

“Hey. You did the dishes right?” she asks when she sees Brian and he chuckles in spite of the situation. “Nope. I left them all for you.” he replies with a grin as he looks at his best friend fondly. “You know if I wasn’t tied to this damn chair then I would smack the crap out of you, Bri.” Leanna remarks which makes Brian’s eyes widen in realization. “Oh right.” he says as he rushes forward to cut the ropes securing her wrists. 

“Wonpil, what are you doing here?” She looks at the man with wide eyes as he grins at her while brandishing the gun. “Saving your ass, Le. This is nothing compared to high school. Let’s go.” he turns and heads back to the door with Leanna following. “Now I want to know what you did in high school.” she tells Wonpil as they make their way up the stairs. “And you!” she spins on Brian who jumps at the sudden attention. “Why didn’t you tell me you joined the mafia?” she glares at her best friend standing at the top of the stairs. “Jae asked us not to.” It's Dowoon who speaks instead of Brian. 

“Well I have half a mind to kick his ass too but for now I want to go home, shower and nap forever.” she says making her way to the door of the warehouse. “We can only give two out of the three of those things.” Sungjin says with a chuckle and she turns her glare on him as they step out into the sunshine. “You can go home and shower but we can’t let you nap yet. Jae wants to see you.” Wonpil says from behind her and she groans. “Great. I can kick his ass first then nap.” she grumbles causing Sungjin and Dowoon to laugh. 

They arrived at her apartment about twenty minutes later after an argument between Dowoon and Brian about who got to sit beside Leanna until she put her foot down that neither one got to sit by her and took the passenger seat beside Sungjin. She takes forty-five minutes in the shower, trying to wash all the blood from her hair as well as trying to relax her sore shoulders. 

“Did you use all the hot water in there?” Dowoon asks from her couch when she walks out and she flips him off. “I was trying to get the blood and dirt out of my hair, Do. I haven’t been able to shower in close to two weeks.” she replies heading to the kitchen in search of food. “Come on, woman. The boss is waiting.” Brian says from the hallway coming from his room. “He said he’s buying lunch too.” Sungjin says from the kitchen doorway before grabbing her arm and pulling her to the door. She groans again as Sungjin shoves her into the car gently and Dowoon laughs. “Haven’t I been shoved into a vehicle enough recently?” she grumbles causing Dowoon, Wonpil and Sungjin to laugh and Brian to get misty eyed. 

“Don’t start, Brian. If I hadn't been chloroformed I wouldn’t have been taken and you know it.” Leanna catches her best friend’s eye and grins at him in the rearview mirror. “I know but you were gone for two weeks and I didn’t know what happened, I thought you were dead, Le.” his voice becoming thick with unshed tears. She reaches back and takes his hand, giving it a squeeze in reassurance. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. Now save your breakdown for when we get home. I don’t wanna be crying when I beat up your boss.” she grins at him and he gives her a watery laugh. 

“You’re really gonna beat him up?” Dowoon asks and she grins at him with a nod. “Fuck yeah. He’s the reason I got kidnapped in the first place! Plus he told you guys not to tell me something important.” she rants as Sungjin pulls up outside the company building. She gets out quickly, immediately storming into the building leaving the boys to rush after her. “Jaehyung Park!” She bursts into his office, making him jump and toss his phone across the room. “Jesus, Le! You scared the shit out of me!” he exclaims, standing up to come around his desk and meet her halfway. Jae isn’t sure what he was expecting but it certainly was not Leanna’s fist connecting with the side of his jaw. 

“You little motherfucker!” she exclaims as she punches him again. “Did you think I wouldn’t be involved if you didn’t tell me?” She aims a kick at his side which he barely dodges, still in shock over being hit in the first place. “Did you think that having the boys hide it from me would keep me out of it?” the next time she swings it doesn’t connect because Dowoon has grabbed her by the waist and is pulling her back. “She really fucking hit him.” Sungjin mumbles to Brian and Wonpil and Brian nods as they watch Dowoon hold Leanna back while she continues yelling at their boss. 

“Are you calm now?” Dowoon asks when Leanna takes a deep breath and she nods. “Yes, I’m fine now.” Dowoon lets her go and she lunges for Jae again only to have him wrap his arms around her, dropping his head to her shoulder. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I’m sorry I had them keep it from you. I’m sorry that this happened to you. No more secrets I promise. Now will you stop hitting me?” he mumbles and she pulls her arm back to lightly punch him in the ribs. “Now I’m done.” she pulls away from him and heads over to the couch he has in his office. “I’m taking a nap and when I wake up we’ll talk. All of us.” her eyes land on Wonpil who nods before backing away from the door. 

She flops down on her stomach on the couch and falls asleep pretty quickly. Jae keeps glancing over at her while trying to focus on the papers stacked on his desk, until he gives up. He rubs the bruise that bloomed on his jaw as he watches her sleep on his couch, wondering what had happened to her in that basement. She starts to stir and he tears his eyes away from her, making himself look busy. “Where are the boys?” she asks, sitting up and running her hand through her hair in an attempt to tame it. “Practice room.” he replies, still looking at the paper on his desk, not really seeing it. “Well let’s go then. We need to talk.” She stands from the couch, stretching before heading for the door, followed shortly by Jae. 

“Hey! You’re up.” Wonpil says when they walk into the practice room and Dowoon shoots up from his spot behind his drums. “Le!” he wraps his arms around her and buries his face in her neck. “I was so scared.” he mumbles as she wraps her arms around him. “I’m fine, Dowoonie. I will always be fine. I promise.” she rubs his back as Brian stands and joins the hug, before she knows it, Leanna has all five boys hugging her. “Alright. I can’t breathe.” she starts wiggling until they let her go. 

She ends up being pulled into Brian’s lap which causes her to roll her eyes at his clinginess. “What happened while I was gone?” she asks, glancing around at her friend’s waiting for someone to answer. “Brian paced my office a lot.” Jae finally says and she laughs as Brian whines behind her. “He does that when he’s stressed, always has. What else?” she asks, patting Brian’s hands in reassurance. “You almost lost your job but I covered for you.” Wonpil grins at her when she shrugs. “Fuck it. I hate that job anyways. I only stay for you.” She returns Wonpil’s grin and he laughs as he nods in agreement. “I called your mom.” Brian says quietly and Leanna bursts out laughing, almost falling from Brian’s lap. “Lemme guess she told you that I probably ran off with a boyfriend right? That’s what my dad thought I was doing when you and I moved in together.” She laughs harder at Brian’s shocked face as Sungjin and Dowoon look at her confused. 

“Wait, you like boys?” Dowoon asks in surprise causing Wonpil, Brian, Jae and Leanna to look at him. “Yes, I like boys. What kind of question is that?” Leanna asks with a raised eyebrow and Dowoon’s face turns red. “I mean he’s right though, Le. I thought you liked girls.” Sungjin says, looking confused when Leanna covers her mouth clearly laughing and Brian snorts ratherly loudly behind her. “I mean I do like girls, Jinnie. I like both. Why are we talking about this right now?” Leanna asks, glancing between the two boys, who both shrug. “We just always thought you were into girls.” Sungjin mumbles as his ears start to turn red and Leanna laughs a little. “I am into girls but I’m also into boys. Like Dowoon.” she grins when the youngest’s head snaps up to look at her with wide eyes. 

“How did you know that?” Dowoon asks, voice edged with panic. “I’m not blind, babe.” she winks at him before turning to Sungjin. “Anything else happen while I was away?” she asks and he shrugs before a sly grin takes over his face. “We all got to see Brian cry.” Sungjin laughs when Brian flips him off and buries his face in Leanna’s back. “What happened to you while you were away?” Jae speaks for the first time in a while. “Hmmm…” she taps her finger against her chin as if in thought. “Got beat up for information I didn’t have, found out almost all of my friends are in the mafia and got called your girlfriend more than once. I also missed a bunch of work, class and practice for the battle of the bands.” she grins at Jae mischievously as he frowns at her attitude towards her kidnapping. 

“Don’t give me that look, Park. I’m not some weak little girl. The only reason they got me is because they snuck up on me. I did however find out that it’s a weapons dealer who wants to take the south side from you. They also want to attack the battle of the bands.” She stares at Jae unwaveringly and he frowns as he takes in the information. “We’ll have to put extra security because we won’t have Dowoon to man the cameras as he’ll be performing. All of you will be.” Jae sighs, losing himself in thought for a second trying to figure out a way for them to pull this off without getting anyone hurt. “You could always call Soorin to man the cameras. She’s the one who taught me.” Dowoon says suddenly and Jae frowns at him. 

“You’re right. I could but I don’t wanna. She annoys me so much. No offense, Do.” Jae says and Dowoon nods, waving him off. “None taken. She annoys me too.” Leanna is silent taking in the information and the situation they have found themselves in before patting Brian’s hands to get him to let go. “Let go, Bri. I have to smack Jae again.” Instead of letting go, Brian’s arms tighten around her waist as the other boys look at her in surprise. “Why do I need to get hit again?” Jae asks surprise lacing his voice as he stares at the girl in front of him. 

“You need to be hit because it doesn’t fucking matter how you feel about Dowoon’s sister if she can keep someone, anyone from being hurt because of these assholes then you need to call her.” Leanna snaps at the man before huffing and leaning back against Brian’s chest, still glaring at Jae. “I didn’t get kidnapped and not escape so you could be stupid because someone annoys you.” Sungjin is staring wide eyed at his friend before his eyes widen further at the sight of his brother hanging his head. “You’re right, Le. Dowoon, call your sister.” Jae turns to the younger boy as Wonpil chuckles quietly. “I love you, Le. You know that right?” Wonpil asks his friend in amusement causing her to nod before she turns to Brian. 

“Do you still have the keys to your dad’s gym?” she asks curiously and he nods looking somewhat surprised. “Good. I need to go.” she replies quietly and Brian knows the look on her face so he tightens his grip on her before whispering in her ear. “You are good enough, Leanna. They surprised you and because you didn’t know anything about the situation beforehand they had the upper hand. It’s our fault not yours.” she shakes her head at him before pulling back completely to look him in the eyes. “I need to go, Bri. Now if possible.” she says sternly, raising her eyebrow at him to question if he’ll argue with her. “Fine but at least one of us is going with you.” he sighs in defeat while the other boys look at the two of them in confusion. “I have somewhere I have to go. I’m fine with going alone.” She stands from Brian’s lap and makes her way to the door only to realize that all five boys have followed her. 

She rolls her eyes but continues out of the building and onto the street. The walk to the gym isn’t a long one but it’s completely silent as most of the boys don’t know what’s going on and Brian is frustrated. When she reaches the door, Leanna turns to Brian with her hand extended and he places the key from his wallet in her hand. She smiles at him before turning back to the door and unlocking it. The six of them wander in and Leanna turns on the lights before wandering over to the punching bag. She sighs as she trails her hand over the faded fabric and it invokes memories of her childhood that make her smile. 

Jae’s POV

The boys watch her disappear into the changing room and they hear Brian sigh before he does the same. 

When the two of them come back out, they’re both wearing plain white clothes and smiling at each other. Jae notices that both of their belts are black before watching Leanna throw a high kick at the punching bag that Brian is holding. He watches her alternate between kicks, jabs and punches, knowing that it’s more than one martial art. “Are you ready?” Jae hears Leanna ask Brian, who just nods before walking to the center of the room with Leanna following. “What are they doing?” Dowoon asks no one in particular as he watches his two friends bow to each other. “They’re sparring.” comes Wonpil’s answer as Brian goes on the offensive and begins attacking Leanna. 

The four boys remain silent as they watch Leanna flip Brian over and over again for almost two hours. The sparring match he’s watching seems wrong to Jae but it takes him a while to realize why: Brian never goes on the defensive. “Are you done with your pity party, Leanna?’ Jae hears Brian ask suddenly, just realizing that the match has stopped. “It’s not a pity party, Brian. I wasn’t strong enough which led to me being kidnapped and tortured for information I didn’t have.” Leanna replies with a fierce look in her eyes which makes Brian sigh heavily. “I already told you that it had nothing to do with that and I’m pretty sure you know it too. So what is this really about, Le?” he stares at her with very much the same look. 

It happens quickly, almost too fast for Jae to see, Leanna is standing there glaring at Brian then she’s on the floor sobbing suddenly. Brian is at her side in seconds followed closely by Wonpil, Dowoon and Sungjin. Jae sits in shock because of not only witnessing Leanna’s breakdown but also how easily his younger brother, who avoids skinship like the plague, hugs the girl along with his friends. “It was so easy for them to get me, Bri. I was powerless.” she sobs into her best friend’s shirt as he rubs her back soothingly. “I know, babygirl, I know. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.” Brian replies continuing to rub her back as the other boys hug the two of them tightly. “None of us will let anything happen to you, Le. We all love you.” Sungjin says suddenly and Jae is shocked by how true his brother’s words are for him as well as the other boys. 

Leanna’s POV

Soon Leanna’s sobs turn into sniffles and Brian pulls back to look down at her softly. “Better now, Le?” he asks when she meets his eyes as she nods her head slightly. “Yeah. Sorry, Bri. I didn’t mean to have a breakdown.” she replies quietly and Brian chuckles at her as he pulls her into a hug yet again. “And you said I couldn’t break down until we got home.” Brian teases her to which she starts laughing loudly. “I’m sorry that I deprived you of your breakdown, Bri. I really tried to prevent mine from happening. It’s why I wanted to come here in the first place.” she mumbles against Brian’s shoulder and he nods slowly. “I know, babe.” Brian replies seconds before Wonpil whacks the back of her head. 

“Leanna Narie Holmes!” he doesn’t have to say anything else when she looks up at him and nods. “I know, Pil. I’m sorry, guys.'' She hangs her head and Brian and Dowoon smack her. “What the hell?” she asks Dowoon, who has a stern look on his face that surprises her. “Leanna, why are you apologizing? Breaking down after a traumatic experience is normal and shows that you are human and not some freaky alien. All Pil and Bri were doing was reassuring you that we are here for you. All five of us.” Dowoon tells her before pulling her into a hug and resting his cheek on top of her head. 

“We all care about you and don’t want to see you hurt yourself because of something you had no control over.” he continues when no one says anything, all too in shock over the youngest’s outburst. “Thank you, Do. I really appreciate it.” Leanna says as her stomach growls loud enough for Jae to hear it across the room. “Alright, let’s go eat. I promised lunch but it’s too late for that now so dinner it is.” Jae says loud enough to be heard as he leans against the wall by the door to wait. 

The six of them go out to dinner and not much is actually said just idle chatter about the battle of the bands. The next morning finds the six of them sitting in Jae’s office awaiting the arrival of Dowoon’s sister, Soorin. They hear Flight of the Valkyrie just before the door bursts open to reveal a woman, maybe a year or two older than Leanna, standing there with her arm above her head in a crop top with a flamingo in sunglasses on it and ripped skinny jeans. “Where is the music coming from?” Sungjin asks with a deadpan look on his face to which Soorin pulls her phone out of her back pocket and taps the screen. Leanna chuckles quietly as the music stops but the shit eating grin never leaves Soorin’s face as the woman’s eyes roam the room. 

“Dowoonie!” she exclaims when her eyes land on her younger brother just before she takes a running leap at him. “I missed you, baby bro.” she says when he catches her without stumbling. “I missed you too. Get off me.” Dowoon replies in an annoyed tone and Soorin climbs off of her brother. “Why with the music, Soorin?” Jae asks tiredly as he watches the woman grin. “I needed a theme song since I was coming to save the day, babe.” her grin widens as Jae rolls his eyes. “Don’t call me that.” he replies, sounding completely done with the woman in front of him. “Oh come on, Jae. You know that the only person in this room that I would date..” she pauses as her gaze settles on Brian before she smirks and turns away. 

“Is Sungjin.” she grins at the man, who rolls his eyes. “No, just no.” Sungjin says pointing his index finger at her causing her to laugh. “Come on, Sungjinnie, I’ve seen everyone in this room naked at least once. Well except for you two.” her gaze finds Leanna and Wonpil, who both raise their eyebrows at the others. “It was a weird day.” Sungjin mumbles as Soorin keeps her gaze on Leanna. “Hi there, cutie. I haven’t caught your name.” Soorin smiles sweetly at Leanna, who returns it. “I’m Leanna and you’re not so bad yourself, love.” Leanna replies with a wink which causes Soorin to turn to Jae with a wide grin. “Leanna, no.” Brian and Dowoon say at the same time after witnessing the two women flirting. “Leanna, yes.” she replies grinning at the two boys, who both roll their eyes. “Leanna, no.” Jae sighs, sounding almost frustrated. “Leanna, yes. Don’t tell me what to do, you’re not my real mom.” Leanna replies sticking her tongue out at the man behind the desk causing Soorin to laugh loudly. 

“I like this one, Jae. Keep her.” Soorin says which causes Jae’s face to turn a bright red. “For now, tell me why I’m here instead of in the US like I’m supposed to be.” Soorin’s smile drops and she seats herself in Leanna’s lap on the couch. Leanna chuckles at the looks on her friend’s faces as she wraps her arms securely around Dowoon’s sister’s waist. They start to explain the situation to Soorin, who listens intently, nodding every now and then. When Jae has Leanna explain about being kidnapped and what she had overheard, Soorin wraps her arms around Leanna’s head, cooing. 

“You always have the best stories, Jae. You never cease to amuse me. I’ll do it of course.” Soorin smiles softly at the CEO, who has moved to lean against his desk. “Thank you, Soo. It means a lot.” Jae thanks the woman still in Leanna’s lap causing her to nod. “Of course, Jae. Not only does it ensure that I get to see my baby brother perform but it keeps all of you safe.” she grins at Dowoon, who rolls his eyes in annoyance. “Speaking of the battle of the bands, I missed two practices in that basement so we need to do that.” Leanna stresses, the boys nodding along with what she says. 

“What songs is he having you do?” Soorin asks, standing to allow Leanna to get up. “We’re doing Bad Boy by Big Bang, Middle of the Night by Monsta X, one that Brian and I wrote and California by The Rose.” Leanna replies as she leads the way to the practice room, followed closely by everyone else. “He fucking loves that damn song.” Soorin mumbles and Leanna turns to her with a raised eyebrow. “Which one?” she asks quietly so she isn’t heard by the boys a few paces behind them. “Bad Boy.” Soorin replies causing Leanna to snort loudly. “Figures. He seems like the type but then again he’s an idiot so who knows.” Soorin laughs at Leanna’s comment before glancing back at the boys, who are now watching them interact. 

“I meant to ask earlier but I got distracted. Who got the best of you, Jae?” Soorin turns to face the boys now, walking backwards. “Ah. That would be me.” Leanna says, opening the door to the practice room and rushing immediately to her guitar while Soorin’s incredulous gaze follows her before flicking to Jae. “She bruised you?” Soorin asks Jae, her voice an octave higher in surprise. When Jae nods his head, Soorin rushes over to Leanna, picks her up by her waist and spins her around twice. “You are beautiful and the next you hit Jae, someone has to film it for me.” Soorin tells Leanna as she sets her down and Leanna laughs while shaking her head. 

Jae’s POV

Over the next two weeks, Leanna is swamped with all the homework she missed out on and daily practices for the battle of the bands. Three days before the competition, Jae and Soorin find Leanna slumped over a chair in the practice room with dark circles under her eyes and music theory homework under her head. “She’s working too hard for this, Jae.” Soorin tells the man beside her, who nods his agreement. “I know but none of us can get her to stop. The homework is one thing but her and the guys have already perfected the songs. She insists on being here even though she doesn’t have to be.” Jae replies, worried for the girl in front of him. 

“Have any of you stopped to think that maybe I just don’t want to be alone in that damn apartment all the time?” Leanna’s voice startles the two people standing in the doorway as she sits up, cracks her neck and turns to look at them. “Why haven’t you said anything then, love? You could’ve hung out with any of us?” Soorin says, approaching the girl still sitting on the floor in front of the chair. “You all have been working and I don’t want to be a nuisance. So I do my homework here until I can’t focus on it anymore then I run through the songs again before going back to my homework.” Leanna stands from the floor with Soorin’s help but keeps her eyes down. 

“Leanna?” Jae calls carefully and watches her head turn his way but she never looks him in the eye. “You’re not a nuisance and you never will be. Even if you just want to sit in my office to do your homework so you have some company. You are welcome to do that.” he tells her and she nods, still not looking him in the eye.  “Soorin, can we have a moment please?” Jae asks, eyes never leaving Leanna, who continues to stare at the ground. “Of course.” Soorin smiles at him before mouthing ‘tell her’ to which Jae just shakes his head. “Not the time.” he mumbles as Soorin passes by him on her way out the door, which she closes behind her. 

“Le, are you sure you’re okay?” Jae asks, taking a careful step towards the girl that he can’t get out of his head lately. “I’m fine, Jae. Why wouldn’t I be?” she asks as she turns to the chair, beginning to gather her homework into a neat pile. “Well how about the fact that you won’t look me in the eye? Or that you haven’t been sleeping except for the small naps you take here when your body finally gives out?” he asks rhetorically which she answers with a sigh but continues what she’s doing. 

“Hey.” he places a hand on her shoulder, slowly turning her to face him. “Talk to me, Le. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.” Leanna keeps her head down when she speaks. “I can’t sleep for longer than a few minutes without having a nightmare. I haven’t been able to eat a lot because I’m so sleep deprived.” her voice gets thicker as she speaks and she stops when the first sob wracks her body. Jae pulls her into a hug which causes her to grip the back of his shirt and sob into his chest. “Does Brian know?” he feels her shake her head in answer to his question. “He’s almost never home nowadays because he’s helping Do or Jinnie. I haven’t actually seen him in almost a week.” she mumbles into his shirt but he hears her anyway. 

“Come on.” he pulls away from the hug but takes her hand and drags her out of the practice room to his office. “What are we doing?” Leanna asks finally meeting Jae’s eye, confusion written all over her face. “You are going to lay on that couch over there and go to sleep while I finish up some of this damn paperwork for the battle of the bands.” he smiles at her when her eyes widen. “Jae..” she starts but he cuts her off with a shake of his head. “Go to sleep, Leanna.” he says somewhat sternly and she complies, grumbling about bossy men as she goes. Jae chuckles when she finally lays and sits behind his desk to finish the papers he’s been putting off. 

He’s about halfway through the papers when she whimpers the first time, he almost doesn’t hear it. She flops over and he glances up to see her face contorted in what can only be described as fear. She whimpers again as he stands from his desk and makes his way to her. “Le, honey, come on.” he gently shakes her shoulder but she’s still firmly asleep and starting to thrash. “Leanna, it’s just a dream. Come on.” he shakes her shoulder harder and this time she wakes up with a start, shooting upright. “Fuck.” she mumbles and goes to get up but Jae pushes her shoulder back. “What were you dreaming about?” he asks and she looks away to the floor. “It always starts with us up on stage but then they attack and I have to watch all of you die.” she mumbles and Jae hugs her for the second time in as many hours. 

“That won’t happen, Le. I promise.” Jae says against her hair and she shakes her head before pulling away. “I know but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t terrify me, Jae. I love all of you to pieces and it would literally kill me if you guys got hurt.” Leanna sighs before standing up and stretching. “I need some food and Brian.” She heads for the door and Jae follows her but she blocks his way. “What do you think you’re doing, mister? You need to stay here and finish your damn paperwork.” 

Jae laughs at her demanding tone before mock saluting her. “Yes, boss.” he says as he turns to head back to his desk and she kicks him right in the ass “Ow! What the fuck, Le?” he spins around to stare at her but can’t stay mad when she’s wearing a grin he hasn’t seen in weeks on her face. “I figured I’d kick your ass into motion.” she chuckles before leaving his office in search of food and her best friend while Jae just shakes his head. Jae finds Leanna sleeping in his office multiple times over the next couple of days, he doesn’t mind because she looks better. 

The day of the battle of the bands hits and everyone is excited, they’ve made sure that there are cameras literally everywhere at the venue and Soorin surprises them all by handing each of them a gun. “I know that at least most of you know how to use it. Just in case anything happens.” She smiles at them as they look at her skeptically and she pulls Leanna to the side to show her how to use it. Sungjin bumps Jae’s arm with his shoulder to get his attention. “Have you told her yet?” Sungjin asks his brother, who shakes his head causing Sungjin to scoff in disbelief. “I haven’t had the time. I’m planning on telling her tonight, Jin. I promise.” Jae says not taking his eyes off the two women in front of them. “You know that she’ll be more of a target if she feels the same.” Brian says bitterly and Jae turns to the younger man with his eyebrow raised. “Because she’s not already a target now? She’s not a target living with you or spending a majority of her time at the company building?” Jae asks seriously and Brian backs down instantly, knowing his boss is right. 

Leanna’s POV

“Five minutes.” someone calls into the waiting room they are in and Jae calls out a thank you as Soorin and Leanna approach the group of boys. “You ready, boss?” Jae asks Leanna with a grin causing her to roll her eyes and everyone to look at him in shock. “Definitely but Bri seems booty tickled about something.” she stares at her best friend as he tries to rearrange his features into something other than a frown. “I’m fine, babygirl. I promise.” Brian reassures his best friend, who gives him a playful glare. “You better be, bass boy, cause if you fuck up I’ll kill you.” she grins when she sees a genuine smile take over Brian’s face. “Ooooh daddy promise?” he replies only to be smacked by Dowoon, who almost shouts ‘no’ which causes the rest to laugh. “Maybe later, BriBri.” Leanna replies causing Dowoon to groan and Sungjin to snort. 

“Le, please, I’m innocent.” Dowoon whines which causes Wonpil to snort loudly. “Are you, Do?” Wonpil asks in a teasing tone while poking Dowoon’s neck causing the youngest to flush a bright red. Soorin and Leanna share a look before they high five and Leanna turns to Brian, who is frowning deeply again. “You owe me fifty bucks, bitch.” Leanna sticks her hand out to her best friend, who pulls his wallet out and puts the money in her hand. “You bet on us?!” Wonpil asks in shock as Leanna counts the bills Brian had placed in her hand. “Of course we did, Pil.” she replies glancing up at him with a grin. “Ready, guys?” Sungjin asks and everyone nods before heading out on stage. 

They make it through Starlight, the song Brian and Leanna wrote, California and Middle of the Night without a problem, but halfway through Bad Boy they hear multiple windows shatter. The five on stage freeze for a split second before about twenty men come rushing in and everything happens rather quickly after that. Brian is the first to draw his gun and gets two shots off before getting hit in the shoulder and going down. “Fuck, Bri.” Leanna pulls her gun from her waistband and takes out three guys on her way to Brian. “Why are you so stupid?” she asks as she crouches by her best friend and grabs his uninjured arm. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Le.” Brian replies, pain lacing his voice as Leanna drags him off the stage. 

“Don’t move. I’ll be back in a bit.” Leanna tells her best friend as she heads back to the stage, picking up Brian’s gun on the way. “Le? What are you doing? Get out of here.” Sungjin tells her as she re-emerges from back stage. “Fuck off, Sungjin.” she replies as she takes out the guy trying to sneak up on Sungjin from the left. “I am more than capable of taking care of myself.” she continues with a smirk as he stares at her in shock. It seems like their ambush was unexpected and the ones that weren’t dead or injured fled when they realized they were losing. 

“What are we gonna do with the bodies?” Leanna asks as she walks through the now empty auditorium kicking random body parts out of her way. “We’ll dispose of them.” Sungjin says as the others stare at her in shock. “What?” she asks upon looking up to find everyone’s eyes on her. “Are you okay, Le? You don’t seem too torn up about just shooting multiple people.” Soorin says when the boys can’t seem to find the words. Leanna chuckles as she looks at the dumbfounded expressions of her friends. “These people kidnapped me, tortured me and were most certainly going to kill me if the guys hadn’t come for me. This one right here…” she kicks a man’s head to turn his face toward the others before continuing. “Is the one who hit me the first time.” she finishes and looks from the man’s face to the shocked looks on her friend’s faces. 

“They had every intention of killing at least one of us when they showed up here tonight so pardon me if I feel nothing about ending their lives.” Leanna walks back stage to check on Brian. “How is he?” she asks the doctor Jae had called when it was over. “It was a clean shot. The bullet exited through his back so all I had to do was stitch him up and bandage it.” comes the reply and Leanna nods as she gazes at her best friend, who is staring at her intently. “How are you doing?” Brian asks when she approaches where he’s sitting with his arm in a sling. “I’m fine. Why is everyone so worried about how I’m doing?” she grumbles the last part causing Brian to scoff. “Maybe because you killed like six people tonight and you weren’t a part of any of this to begin with.” She turns to look at him while he’s talking and raises her eyebrow. “Are you finished?” she asks when he stops talking and he nods. 

“Great my turn. You’re an idiot if you think that I haven’t been involved in this since the damn day I was kidnapped, Brian. Whether it’s been officially stated or not I’m just as much a part of this as you are now and like I told the others not even five minutes ago. Those men came here with the intent to kill us so I have no remorse for the lives I took.” he stares at her for a long minute before his features soften and he sighs deeply. “You’re right.” she rolls her eyes at him before grinning widely. “When am I not.” There’s a laugh from behind her and she turns to see Soorin walking toward them. “You were definitely wrong, handsome. She’s totally cut out for this line of work.” Soorin tells Brian and Leanna looks at her best friend in time to see red spread across his face. “I know. I just didn’t want her to be.” Brian replies to Soorin, avoiding Leanna’s judging look until she leans in to whisper in his ear. 

“If you don’t tell her then I will.” Leanna pulls away as Brian starts stuttering and turning even more red. “I will when you do.” he finally replies and she grins widely at him again. “Deal. Hey, Soo, have you seen Jae?'' She turns from her best friend to the woman she knows holds Brian’s heart. “Last time I saw him he was stepping outside.” Soorin replies with a confused look on her face and Brian mutters ‘fuck’ beside Leanna as she stands. “Thanks, Soo. I’ll be back in a bit.” she makes her way back on stage only to jump right off and head out the door. 

She finds Jae leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and she stops for a second to admire his side profile. “Glad it’s finally over?” she asks after a minute causing Jae to jump violently and almost fall over. “Jesus woman! Why do you make it a habit to scared the shit out of me?” Jae asks with his hand over his heart. “I find it’s the best way to get someone’s heart rate up.” she replies sarcastically and Jae chuckles while shaking his head. “Well, you’ve succeeded in doing that. What’s up, Le?” Jae asks watching her glance around the street before her eyes land back on his. “Well I made a deal with Brian to get him to confess to Soorin.” she starts and Jae raises his eyebrows in disbelief. “What was the deal?” he asks as she takes a step toward him with a grin. Instead of answering him, she grabs his face and pulls him in for a kiss. Jae is shocked to say the least but kisses her back eventually. 

“The deal was that I would confess to you if he confessed to her.” she says when she breaks the kiss, resting her forehead against his for a second before pulling away completely. She starts to fidget when all Jae does is stare at her for what feels like forever. “Sorry.” she mumbles as she starts to turn back to the door but he grabs her wrist. He turns her back around and pulls her in for another kiss much to her surprise. “How did you beat me to it, Le?” he whispers against her lips before kissing her again. She pulls back after a minute to breathe and he grins at her. “What do you mean?” she asks after catching her breath and Jae rubs the back of his neck. “Soorin and Sungjin have been trying to get me to confess for a while now but I couldn’t ever find the right time. Plus Brian was against it because he didn’t want you to become more of a target if you felt the same way which now confuses me because I have a feeling that he knew how you felt the whole time.” he glances at her for confirmation which she gives in the form of a nod and he sighs. 

“That’s what the two of you were arguing about before we went on stage earlier wasn’t it?” she asks sounding a little frustrated as he nods and she turns to the door. “Where are you going?” Jae asks as she heads back inside the auditorium and he follows her. “I would like to have words with my oh so lovely best friend.” she replies quickly as she vaults herself up onto the stage, followed closely by Jae. “Brian Kang!” she calls out when she gets back stage and Brian’s head shoots up from where he was talking to Soorin. “What’s up, Le?” he asks starting to smile until he saw the look on her face. “You are an idiot.” she says, smacking the back of his head when she gets to his side. “Ow! Why am I an idiot now?” he asks, rubbing the spot she’d smacked him with his uninjured arm. “You didn’t want me to become more of a target?’ she asks and realization dawns across his face as the other boys gather to watch. 

“As if living with you and spending as much time at the company doesn’t make me a target already or did you forget that I was kidnapped just because I was at the company?” she raises her eyebrow at her fidgeting best friend. “I’m sorry, Le. I just wanted to protect you.” he says in a quiet tone and she huffs as he continues. “I almost lost you, Leanna. I didn’t want to go through that again.” he finishes with his head hanging low and she sighs heavily before dropping to her knees to look him in the eyes. “Hey. I’m still here and always will be. Did you forget our promise? Through thick and thin, ride or die, Bri. Nothing and no one will ever change that right?” she grips her best friend’s hand as he nods his head and looks up into her eyes. “I think that applies to everyone in this room now, don’t you, Le?” he asks and they both look up at the other boys. 

“I think you’re right, BriBri.” she says as she takes in the sight of Sungjin, with his arms crossed over his chest and a soft smile, of Dowoon with his arm around Wonpil’s waist, pulling him tightly to his side, of Soorin beside Brian with her hand on his knee both as a show of affection and comfort, and finally of Jae standing off to the side also with his arms crossed, watching the scene before him unfold just like he was the first time Leanna had met him. She extends her free hand to him and he takes it without hesitation, helping her stand before wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her into his side. 

“I agree.” Sungjin says after a few minutes of silence as he glances from his brother to his friends. “I know this is out of nowhere, well kind of, but Sungjin you owe me fifty bucks, bro.” Dowoon says with a mischievous grin on his face that widens when Jae’s jaw drops in shock. “You bet on us?” he asks in disbelief as Sungjin hands Dowoon the money. “Why are you surprised that we bet on you but not that Le and Bri bet on us?” Wonpil asks with a chuckle and Jae turns to him, eyes still wide. “Well because I knew about it and also the fact that my own brother bet on my love life.” Leanna buries her face in Jae’s chest to hide her laughter as Sungjin snorts. “It’s not the first time, Jae.” Sungjin tells his brother, who makes a noise of disbelief in the back of his throat. 

“Oh my god. I’m gonna die I swear.” Leanna says, still laughing at her boyfriend, who turns to her in concern. “Why? Are you hurt?” he starts to pull away and she just laughs harder as she pulls him back. “Nope. Just hungry all of a sudden.” she replies with a big grin still on her face. “Well where do you wanna eat then, boss?” Jae asks with a grin as Sungjin rolls his eyes and mumbles ‘yay she’s the boss now.’ Leanna turns to him with a raised eyebrow and Sungjin puts his hands up in surrender causing everyone to laugh.  

[sellingmysoulforbts]

Anytime

Jeon Jungkook x Female! Reader

Genre: fluff. It's a really cheesy college! AU.

Warnings: mentions of death, and just one or two bad words 🤐

Word count: 3.444

~~~~

You were sitting in the stool, completely stressing over the fact that it was the first week of the semester and you were already late with your homework. The class was going to start soon and the room started filling up, still you were really focused on getting the answers right, to notice all the people coming in.

Jungkook was entering the class laughing along his friends and started descending to get a good seat in the theater-like classroom, but as they made their way he didn't fail to notice you, all balled up over a bunch of papers, your hair tied up in a messy bun, and how your glasses stayed cutely at the tip of your nose.

“Hey Jimin!” he called.”what?” the older boy asked, going back the few steps that separated him from his friend. Jungkook subtly signaled your way with his head. “I've found my seat” he said. Jimin chuckled and highfived the boy. “nice” he said, eyeing you, “see you after class” and with a wink he left to catch up with Taehyung, who was waiting for them. He casually walked over to the seat next to this girl, and he got to admire your features more closely. She's so pretty he thought. “hey, mind if I sit?” he asked. You didn't even bother to look at who was asking quickly shaking your head and signaling him to sit down. He was upset, how am I going to make her fall for me if she won't even look at me?! Determined to make a move he leaned in close to take a look at what you're doing. Things are never in his favor though, once he got close enough the professor entered and you quickly gathered all your stuff. He leaned back in his seat with a sigh. Class was so boring, you really didn't want to pay attention, stupid class in which attendance matters, like the teacher knew no one would come if he didn't count your attendance. Jungkook wasn't any better, he was trying to think of what to do to get your attention. As the teacher started talking about penguins,God knows why, he thought of something. He shifted, closer to your body. “you know, this reminds me of the time I went to the beach with my friends” startled by the closeness of the boy and his breath tickling the side of your neck, you almost launched yourself over the other side. “whaaa~, what's wrong with you?!” you half yelled trying to move him to his place, he grinned and moved back. You had finally looked at him. “and what do penguins have to do with the beach, anyway?“ you mumbled, fixing your hoodie as you went back into your original position. “ah! See there's this tropical island where penguins live” “oh really?! Please, do tell me more” you exclaimed in fake interest, resting your chin in your hand for emphasis. Your sarcastic comment threw him off for a second, and your face staring directly at him distracted him, he could admire your eyes glistening behind those glasses. “I'd love to tell you all my stories and I'd love to hear yours too” he said making the distance between you two smaller. You retracted to your seat and chuckled. “who are you?” you whispered. “your future boyfriend” he said, your head snapped to look at him, looking ahead with a beautiful bunny smile adorning his face. You tried hard not to blush. “In your dreams” you said. “well then, if I fall asleep now I'll meet you sooner” he said and positioned himself to take a nap. What the hell is going on? You tried to ignore him, unsure if he had actually fallen asleep. Soon the paper to write your name down was coming your way and so you decided it will be a good time to wake him up. “hey you, wake up” you said shaking him. He turned your way and smiled, “I have a name you know?”. “Well I guessed so, but didn't care enough to actually get it” you shrugged. He hissed, “that hurt” he said and placed a hand in his chest. “You're unbelievable” you laughed. “unbelievably charming” he corrected. “I'm Jungkook by the way. Nice to meet you” he extended his hand “okay” you responded. “you're not going to tell me yours?” he moved his neck to get a better glimpse of your face, and saw you trying to hide your smile.”Well, I guess we're going to stick to beautiful” he suggested, making you giggle, right before answering the list reached you. He snatched it from your hands and wrote down his name as you observed him, surprised. Once he finished he looked at you with a smirk. “now you have to tell me your name, or I'll literally write down ‘the pretty girl next to me’” you scoffed. He was still looking at you. “Fine” you breathed. “I'm y/n, L/n y/n.” he smiled.”See? It wasn't that hard.“ he told you and wrote your name. At that you responded by simply rolling your eyes and crossing your arms. “let me rectify, you're impossible” you said. “impossible not to love” he sang in your ear. Deciding on ignoring him for the rest of the class you turned your head to the front and tried to pay attention. Meanwhile he was having the time of his life. Still not sure what pulled him towards you, or why he was being so straightforward, he didn't regret a second of it. He had seen you pass him by on campus, a few semesters before, so caught up in your things, looking so effortlessly pretty and he was instantly intrigued, every time he saw you he'd smile, and you were so unaware of that. So the second he found you on one of his classes he didn't hesitate, it was his chance to finally meet you. You were so caught up in your daydream, pretending to pay attention for you to notice his stare. Just when a strand of hair fell from your bun, did he move, you were still unfazed. He so lightly moved it to the back of your ear, annoyed that it was blocking the view. And you got startled. Slapping his hand away, making him chuckle and scooting all the way to the other end of your seat as you said “what do you think you're doing?” “making you fall in love with me” he shrugged. Taken aback by his answer, you couldn't hold back the blush that reached your cheeks in seconds. He laughed. “you're so cute” he whispered. “Fuck you” was your final reply. Glad when the class was dismissed you rushed out of there. Over the next few classes he seemed to be glued to you. He would always sit next to you, try and distract you, make you laugh and tease you a little bit. He felt so proud every time he had made you blush. You had tried to avoid him the first few times by getting to class late, changing seats, sitting next to other people, etc., but he was not about to leave you, so you eventually gave up. After sometime, you could say that Jungkook had become someone special to you. How could he not? He was unbelievably charming after all. Even after all this time you weren't sure where your relationship with him stood. He would always flirt with you but never really tried to make a move, also you two never saw each other outside of that particular class, and would only wave at each other if you happened to cross paths. So was he your friend? Not really. A possible love interest? Not clear. A pain in the ass? Sometimes. The only thing you knew for sure was that he was really fun to be around and you were glad you had met him. Half of the semester had gone by with this dynamic going on between you two. Spring break was approaching by the minute and you were really looking forward to going home and just chilling for a while. “Hey” you said as you took your seat, Jungkook already waiting for you. He smiled “hello, beautiful.” he responded. You rolled your eyes, as per usual. It was always like this, he flirted, you acted as if you didn't care, ignoring the butterflies that erupted inside you. God, that's just my stomach asking for food, you told yourself. You took a granola bar out of your backpack and started eating. Soon enough you felt eyes on you, well more like on your food. Playfully you turned around not facing Jungkook, and he didn't like that. He placed his head on your shoulder, hugging you from behind “aren't you gonna give me some?” he asked. His closeness not surprising nor bothering you. Jungkook, you learned, really enjoyed skinship, so you just got used to him hugging you, sleeping on you, playfully trying to take your hand. “No” you said and took another bite. “please” he continued. If he’d set his mind to it he could be incredibly cute - or frustratingly hot, but not important now- so you sighed annoyed and handed him the bar. A normal person would have taken it with one hand, take a bite and handed it over again. Also, another thing about Jungkook is that he doesn't fit into that, so he just bit it and chewed, without removing his head off your shoulder. “thanks” he said once finished, and kissed your cheek. That did surprise you, he has never done that before and blood just rushed to heat your face. He knew he got you flustered, for two reasons, 1) your lack of response, and 2) you still didn't face him. He just smirked and decided to leave you alone for a little bit. You used the fact that you wanted to eat at peace as an excuse,for both yourself and the world, to not face him. After throwing the wrapper away, you were ready to “interact” with him again, so you just sat down. Class had started a while ago, when you were eating. “do you have any plans for spring break?” he whispered. You nodded enthusiastically. “I'm going home” you answered as his face fell. He was hoping you’d stay so he could finally ask you out. In his mind, if he did it then, you couldn't possibly reject him, your friends will probably be leaving, there was plenty of time for you to do your homework, and the weather was nice, it was perfect. Now he didn't know what to do. Quickly composing himself, he said “are you excited?” “I am, actually. I really want to spend time with my family, see some old friends, and I want to visit my grandparents” you were smiling, how could he feel down if you were smiling, he couldn't be that selfish. “sounds fun” he sounded kinda weird, like forced happiness. “are you okay?” he nodded. “you think it's boring, don't you?  Well I guess it kinda is, but I promised my grandpa to solve some crossword puzzles together.” You giggled. “fun” he answers sarcastically, making the U really long. “ what are you doing, then?” you said. “ I'll probably stay here, hang with the guys, and play Overwatch or something” “yeah that's way more fun”. The class continued like that, you teasing each other, him making you laugh. “hey, can I have your number?” he asked, finally. “what for?” you teased. “spring break is next week, aren't you gonna miss me?” “are you?” you raised your brows, still teasing. “oh, you know I will” he said. “I'll think about it” you smiled. Turning around to leave, ‘cause the class had been dismissed. He grabbed your hand, and turned you around. “c’mon, don't be like that” “okay fine” He smiled as you proceeded to save your number in his phone, as ‘don't call me’.  When he saw it, he just smiled, and changed it to ‘y/n 🖤’ with a black heart because he didn't want to be cringy. As soon as the break started he was so tempted to call you. He really missed your voice and was really disappointed that he couldn't ask you on a date. After two days he finally gave up and sent you a text. You didn't say anything about texting 😉                                          Well, you definitely took your time to figure THAT out. Safe to say you two texted the whole week. When you came back it was as if you hadn't been apart. He kept texting you, even now that you would see each other. Until you stopped replying, and then you didn't come to class, for a whole week. He started wondering what he did wrong, reading and rereading all the conversations, and replaying the last moments he got to see you. You were smiling, the last text he sent was a 'good night' text. Maybe it was to soon? To forward? Did he make you uncomfortable? Are you avoiding him? He wanted to know so bad, but was conflicted, he shouldn't text you, right? If you're upset it'll just make you even more uncomfortable. Next week he came to class, and saw you all balled up in your regular chair with a huge black hoodie covering your entire face. Well she wouldn't have sat there if she was avoiding me, he thought. He moved closer and sat down, a few seats to the right, to give you space. When you heard the rustling of his backpack being put down, you turned your head and mumbled a very soft hey. “hi” he said with a smile, and started digging into his backpack. You returned to your position, not really in the mood to interact with any humans. “mm y/n” Jungkook called and you turned to face him again. “I took notes for you, and I also wrote your name on the list” he said as he handed you a bunch of papers. The gesture so sweet it made you smile, and he couldn't be happier. You stood up and sat down again right next to him, taking the papers and putting them in your binder. “ Thank you” you kissed his cheek, and that erased every doubt of you avoiding him in Jungkook’s mind, he was still curious as to why you were all gloomy though. Afterwards, a little into the lecture, you had returned to looking sad and sulking. Thoughts racing in your mind, you couldn't control the tears in your eyes, and before he knew it you were out the door and rushing to the bathroom. He was so surprised by you sudden action, that it took him a minute to snap back into reality and follow you. He was just in time to watch you enter the ladies room, so he decided to wait outside. You came back a few moments later, your eyes red. His heart broke. “Oh! Hi, I didn't see you there” you said, pretending to be okay. He just walked up to you and hugged you. His arms giving you a sense of safety you've been craving, putting your defenses down, you hugged him back. “Is everything okay?” he asked softly, you just shook your head against his chest. “do you wanna talk about it?” he asked again, the broken no that came out of your mouth before you bursted into tears, shattered him, to the point where he was holding back his tears now. He hugged you tighter and let you cry all you needed. After a while your sobs stopped and you came back to your senses, letting go of him and wiping your tears away so quickly while mumbling a bunch of apologies. He shushed you, “Hey, I'm gonna go get our stuff, and we can go get some ice cream, okay? I'll be right back” and he left before you could even answer. After a couple of minutes he came back with both of your backpacks, one on each shoulder, and gave you a smile. “Hey do you happen to carry bricks around campus?” He jokingly asked. “Not on daily basis” you responded, the awkward atmosphere your sobbing created, disappearing. “No,but seriously, what the hell do you carry in here?” he said, moving your backpack “My laptop is kinda old, and with the book it adds up. But is not that heavy” you tried to grab your backpack, but Jungkook was quicker, and tuned his body so you reached nothing but air. "Oh no! I’m carrying this, you already look like the hunchback of Notre Dame.” playfully hitting his chest, you replied “I do NOT!” he just laughed and started to guide you to the parking lot, and into his car. Honestly, you were scared when you caught your reflexion in the side mirror. Jungkook had been driving the both of you to the nearest Ice Cream Parlor, while making small talk. He wasn't pressuring you, and it was appreciated. You subtly moved your cold hands to your cheeks in a lame attempt to get rid of their swollen appearance. He caught a glimpse of you, and couldn’t help the smile that reached his face. You looked adorable. Once you reached the place, he got out of the car and like the gentleman he is, helped you out. Leaving your backpacks in the car he patted his pockets before locking the car. He asked you what flavour you wanted and got a cup with two flavors and cream to share. The whole time, you simply talked, the usual conversations you two shared in class, he made you laugh, and for a little while you felt like you weren't drowning in sadness. "Thanks for that" you said, while walking again to the car. "Anytime" he answered, with a smile. The tone he used made you feel like to him it wasn't that big of a deal, but to you it meant a lot. "I really mean it, I desperately needed a break, so thank you" "And I mean it too" he said stopping to look at you. "Look I don't know what is bothering you so much, but at this point I would assume we're at least friends, so if you need someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on, here I am" he locked so deep into your eyes, you just nodded overwhelmed. He smiled and opened the car door for you. The car ride was silent, you were deciding if you should tell him or not. "Hey, should I drive back to campus or do you want me to take you home?" He asked, you didn't even hear him. "My grandpa died" you blurted out, and started crying again. He just pulled over so he could hold you again. Trying his best to soothe you. "I'm really sorry" he said rubbing your back. "He was my inspiration, I wanted so bad for him to see me graduate, and now I can't. I wanted to make him proud" you sobbed. "Hey, I know he's proud of you, he has always been. Ever since I met you i could tell how much of a wonderful human being you are. I don't there is ever room for disappointment when it comes to you. Now you just gotta work hard to graduate and let everyone know who was the one to make you into the successful woman you'll become." "Thank you, Jungkook" "anytime" he said again with a smile, happy he had stopped your crying. "You know, I thought you wanted us to be more than friends" you said chuckling, remembering his previous comment. "Trust I've been trying to achieve that since the semester started." Kook said, you just reached and kissed his cheek. He smiled so widely and hugged you again. "I really like you y/n" "I like you too, Jungkook. Thank you for being here for me" you said hugging him back. He pulled back enough to look eye to eye. "Anytime" he laughed, you smiled too. He was leaning into kiss you but stopped right before your lips. "So if I asked you out on a date, would you say yes?" He whispered millimeters away from your lips. "Anytime" you answered, and finally closed the gap.

Jungkook was really there for you, he helped you cope with your grandfather passing away, and would hold you anytime you needed. Going on playful dates, just chilling or in class he'd make you laugh. You thanked every God above for putting him in your life because he made everything better.

----

A/N: heeeey! i hope you liked it. 

[earth-ambassador-jim]

Changeling Loyalties

Toby is quite happy with his life, but then the Amulet of Daylight just had to choose his human friend. What’s a changeling to do?

Good thing Toby never really liked Gunmar anyway.

Fanfiction - AO3

“Toby-pie!”

Toby quickly changed back into a human before Nana opened the door. It was really just a precaution. Her vision was so poor he could probably lie about in full troll form on the couch and she would remark on how his new outfit was so cute. He had never been quite bold enough to try it. Maybe next Halloween…

Toby threw all of his homework into his backpack and trotted out of his house and over to Jim’s. He got there as his friend emerged from the garage.

“We’re late for school, Jimbo,” He said.

“Sorry busy with the lunches,” Jim said.

Oh Toby knew. Even in human form he could smell the delicious sent of meatloaf. Why trolls wanted to eat humans instead of their cooking was always a mystery to him. Bular had probably gotten a bad donut or something.

Jim finished straightening up a garbage can. Toby snorted when he heard him grumbling about raccoons. Arcadia didn’t even have raccoons any more. It was no doubt one of the goblins. There were usually a few hanging around the Domzalski house.

Jim handed him a brown paper bag which he made a big show of smelling before listing off the ingredients. Jim had always been impressed by his ability to figure out the ingredients and often made more complex dishes in an attempt to stump him. He had yet to win.

“Hmmm. Balsamic mushrooms, meatloaf, chunky, sun-dried tomatoes aaaannd… cardamom! Taking a chance there, Chef Jim.”

Jim shook his head in amazement as he got on his bike. Before he could take off Toby grabbed his shoulder.

“Could we not take the canals?” He asked.

Jim’s brows furrowed as he turned back toward Toby.

“But it will save us five minutes.”

“I know, but I’m really not feeling that good today,” Toby said.

Kracka, a goblin that often stayed over, had told him that the Trollhunter and Bular were fighting under the bridge that morning. If there was any chance that the Trollhunter or, even worse, Bular was still around he did not want to risk running into one of them. The Gum-Gum would probably find Jim tastier than his cooking. He would no doubt eat Toby for good measure too.

Jim’s eyes widened with concern. He was always so trusting, Toby almost felt bad for the lies he fed him

“Are you sure you should go to school today? I could collect your homework for you?”

Tempting, but if he didn’t show up to history class Stickler would probably put him on Bular clean-up duty. He shuddered at the thought.

“No, I should be fine. I’m just worried that the canals will make me lose my breakfast,” Toby said as he mounted his bike. “Come on, let’s get going.”

It wasn’t until gym class that the problem made itself known. Toby and Jim were sitting in the room getting ready when suddenly Jim’s head jerked up like a dog that has heard its name called.

Toby stopped struggling with his socks to watch Jim look around with a puzzled expression.

“Something wrong?”

“Did you hear that, Tobes?” Jim asked still looking around.

“Hear what?”

“I thought someone was calling me?”

He trailed off, head tilted, a frown playing across his lips.

“There!”

Okay, now Toby was concerned… There was no way Jim would have been able to hear something Toby couldn’t. At least not now that he was paying attention. He finished pulling on his sock and jammed his shoe on.

“What are you…”

“James Lake.”

Toby yelped and backpedaled at the voice.

“So you did hear it!” Jim said triumphantly. “I think it’s coming from my locker.”

Jim opened the locker as Toby peered warily over his shoulder. Bright blue light hit their faces and Toby felt his heart drop down into the pit of his stomach. That was the Trollhunter Amulet.

“James Lake.”

The Trollhunter Amulet was calling Jim’s name. That was not good. That was the exact opposite of good. Toby could feel himself starting to sweat. His eyes darted around frantically. Fortunately they were the only ones in the locker room.

Jim was looking at it as if entranced. His hand started to drift toward it and Toby grabbed his wrist. Jim blinked and looked at him in surprise. Toby mentally cursed. He needed an excuse fast.

“I think that’s a prank. You should definitely not touch it.”

“A prank?”

“Yeah people do stuff like this all the time,” Toby forced a laugh. “They put something cool looking in a locker and then when you touch it there’s a trip cord and you get sprayed with all sorts of nasty stuff. It was probably Steve.”

Jim nodded with a frown.

“That does sound like something he’d do…”

“Great!” Toby clapped his hands together. “You get going to gym class and I’ll grab a teacher or someone to take care of this!”

“But…”

Toby pushed Jim toward the door.

“Don’t worry about it. It’ll give me a good excuse to be late. It won’t take long.”

“If you’re sure…” Jim reluctantly left the locker room.

Toby darted back to the locker. He needed to get rid of that thing. He reached for the handle and paused to take a few deep breaths. He had this. All he had to do was grab the amulet and give it to Strickler. It would score him some points in the older changeling’s eyes and Jim would stay uninvolved. Easy as pie. He opened the door to the locker…

It was empty. Toby growled and launched into a string of curses in trollish.

“Waaaacki?”

“Nope, go fish,” Toby said.

Kracka stared at him with narrowed eyes, his nose wrinkled slightly.

“Chet-wa?” He asked suspiciously.

Toby rolled his eyes.

“Of course I’m not cheating.”

After all he didn’t have the card Kracka asked for. It was hidden under the rug. There was a difference.

The front door slammed open. He quickly shoved the protesting goblin out the window before Jim came upstairs.

“Toby!” Jim burst into his room without knocking. “Look what was at my house!”

Toby froze at the sight of the amulet in Jim’s hand.

Jim, oblivious to his inner turmoil, continued on.

“It was just sitting on my bed when I got home. I have no idea how it got there. Maybe someone threw it in my window?”

“Maybe it’s another part of the prank?” Toby said hopefully.

“No, I doubt anyone would…”

The amulet pinged and Jim looked down at it with a puzzled expression. His eyes widened.

“Woah,” Jim breathed.

“What’s it doing?” Toby asked, trying to edge closer.

This was bad. He needed to get the Amulet away from the human as quickly as possible, before someone saw him with it and drew the wrong conclusions. They’d probably assume Toby was involved too. It wouldn’t be good.

Jim, oblivious as always, continued to scrutinize the amulet.

“The inscription on it just changed.” He rotated it in his hands. “It says:  ‘For the Glory of Merlin… Daylight… is mine to command’.”

The amulet pinged again and the air felt supercharged as if they were in the middle of a lightning storm. Toby could feel his hair standing up on end as objects around the room started floating. Several orbs of light shot out of the amulet and into Jim’s chest.

Toby watched helplessly as his friend floated into the air. Troll sized armor materialized around him and then he clashed down to the floor with a loud thud. For a second he stood there looking very awkward and then the armor shrunk down to fit him.

“Wow!”

Jim sounded awed and excited. He had no idea what this meant. No idea of the death sentence he had received. Toby’s stomach and heart clenched painfully.

There was another flash of blue light and the infamous sword Daylight appeared in Jim’s hand.  Toby flinched back and fell off the bed.

“Isn’t this awesome!” Jim was smiling like an overexcited puppy.

His blue eyes met Toby’s. Clearly he was looking for his friend to share in his elation. Toby shoved down his fear and horror and forced on a wide smile.

“This is so cool!” He said a little higher pitched than he really meant to. “You’re like some sort of warrior! You must have like a sacred duty or something.”

“I know right!”

He was going to get himself killed. He loved Jim but the kid had never been in a fight in his life. He lacked the aggression and drive necessary to be a warrior, let alone the Trollhunter. What was Merlin thinking?

He needed to think up something quickly.

The door slammed open again and he heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. Far too heavy to be human. Toby felt himself start to tremble. Bular had found out. He was toast. He was getting ready to throw himself out the window when the door opened and…

“Master Jim!”

That was definitely not Bular.

Jim screamed. Toby screamed. The strange six-eyed troll also screamed when Jim reflexively threw Daylight at it.

Jim attempted to run away and crashed into a wall going down with a clatter. Daylight vanished with a flash of light and the troll stopped screaming. Another troll, larger with shaggy green fur, appeared and started to force itself through the doorway. Toby contemplated whether or not it would be a good idea to transform and try to fight them off. Probably not… Aside from being outnumbered, the second troll was very big. If he transformed and they captured him…

“We mean no harm!” The four armed one was saying to Jim.

Jim stared at him from his spot on the floor. Judging by the way he was gasping he was very close to passing out.

“I am called Blinky and my large friend here is AAARRRGGHH!!!”

“Hi!” The big troll, now stuck half-way through the door, gave a little wave.

Blinky waited a few seconds, clearly expecting Jim to return the greeting. Unfortunately he was in no condition to do that so Toby decided to step in.

“What are you guys?” He asked.

He flinched when all the attention in the room shifted to him. A trickle of sweat ran down his neck as Blinky studied him. If they figured out what he was… He nearly let out a sigh of relief as the troll gave him a wide smile.

“Why we are trolls of course. Beings of stone and earth.”

“Cool. Cool. So what are you doing in my house?”

After the Trolls had finished explaining the amulet and Toby had convinced them to leave for the night, he sat down on the bed with a considerably less enthusiastic Jim.

“What do I do now?” Jim groaned covering his face with his hands. “I’m not ready to die. What if this Bular troll eats me? What will happen to Mom?”

Toby put an arm around his shoulder and Jim leaned into him. Toby sighed.

“We’ll figure something out.”

“We?” Jim looked up at him, his eyes already a little red and glistening.

“Of course,” Toby said and realized that he meant it.

Toby had grown up knowing he was disposable, worthless in the scheme of things. Nana loved him because she thought he was her grandson. Gunmar despised his kind and Bular would sooner eat him then look at him. The Janus Order only barely cared about another changeling and only if he was useful. Even Mr. Strickler, who knew him personally, would turn on him the moment it suited him. (He wondered sometimes if that was why he related to the goblins so much: No one cared if they lived or died either.)

Jim was different; Jim cared about Toby.  

He could be a complete mess and unable to even get out of bed and Jim would be there for him.

Something warm and solid settled in his chest.

“I’m with you to the end of the line. Whether you want it or not.”

“Thanks,” Jim breathed out and smiled at him.

Toby smiled back. He had something worth protecting here and, Gunmar be dammed, he was ready to fight for it.

Not sure if I’m going to continue this or not. For the moment I’m going to call it a oneshot, but I might come back to it in the future. I’m going for it!

Be sure to let me know what you think!

[dabble-writes]

The Magician and I- (4)

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |

Pairing:

Yoongi/Reader

Summary:

Suga is a wish-granting magician. He grants wishes—for the price of your most prized possession.

Your parents and brother died tragically in a plane crash and you visit Suga to grant your wish to bring them back to life...but instead you become his assistant.

Now you’re thrust into a world of magic and the mysterious being known as Suga.

Tags:

Fantasy, romance, comedy, a bit of a slow burn, angst

Warnings:

Smoking (not the drug kind, just good old-fashion cigarettes)

CHAPTER 4: TO BE GOOD ENOUGH

“I deserve a day off.” You said as you walked into Suga’s office, “I can’t just come here everyday—it’s basically abuse. Plus, it’s not like you pay me or anything.”

Suga didn’t open his eyes, “You’re here because you couldn’t make a wish or win a bet.”

“Still, this is too much.” You argued, walking up to him laying in the couch, “From now on I’m not coming on Sundays.”

Suga started to open his eyes, “What makes you think--?” He saw you and stopped, “Is that a dress?”

You blushed and crossed your arms, “Yeah, what of it?”

“Nothing, never thought you owned a stitch of feminine clothing.”

“I’m feminine, thank you.” You grit your teeth, trying to calm yourself so that you don’t launch yourself into another fight with him. Stupid git.

“Sure you are. Why are you all dressed up?”

“I…have somewhere I need to be.” You said, “So since today is Sunday I’m going on my way—”

“Hey, who says you can just leave?”

“I do! I’m going to rest today. I’m supposed to meet my boyfriend.”

This caused Suga to sit up, “Boyfriend, you had something like that? Wow.” He started to clap, impressed.

“What’s with that reaction?” You asked him, annoyed, “Is it that incredulous that I have one?”

“Honestly yes.” Suga replied, “I can’t imagine anyone putting up with you for so long. Did he just met you or something?”

“No, it’s not like that. He’s been my good friend since I was young. So he knows me, okay? I don’t know yet how he thinks of me, but I know we’ll be great together.”

“…so in other words he’s not a boyfriend but an ‘unrequited love’.” Suga said and you had to restrain yourself from strangling him.

“No, I’ll get Jimin to like me too! He just needs a push.”

Suga pulled out a cigarette packet from his pocket and took a cigarette out, “Oh, so the name of your unrequited love is Jimin?” He lit the cigarette.

“It’s not unrequited love!” You insisted, “I just haven’t been able to see him so much recently. His family moved to a farther place after high school. It’s been hard to see him regularly and since I’ve been busy here recently I haven’t been able to see him.” You sighed, “There’s so many girls after him because he’s very hot. Not that I like him because of that.” You said quickly, “but he is really hot. And cute. How can one be hot and cute? Only Jimin, I swear. He has the cutest chubby cheeks but has really nice muscles. He’s not that tall, but he’s the perfect height to hug him. And he gives such great hugs. But what I really love must about him is that he’s the nicest person I know. Really, he’s so sweet. And so genuine. He genuinely cares about people and will always help someone in need. Even in elementary school he will never break a single rule���"

“Fine, rest on Sundays now, if it’ll make you stop blabbering about him.” Suga cut you off as he took a long drag from his cigarette.

“Oh really?” You said, so excited you let the other comment slide, “Then I’m leaving!”

As he took another drag out of his cigarette, you finally noticed he was smoking.

“Wait, since when you smoke?” You frowned. Now that you notice it, the office does have a faint smell of smoke and there’s ashtrays all around the office with used up cigarette buds.

“Why do you care?” Suga murmured, breathing out the smoke, “Go on your date with Jimin.”

“You didn’t used to smoke before…”

Now that you thought of it, he started to smoke ever since that day. The day that Suga refuses to talk about no matter how many times you asked. It’s like you went one step forward and two steps back concerning him. 

“Well now I do.” Suga simply said, “Now leave before I change my mind.”

You decided to continue the conversation later as you nodded and smiled as you waved goodbye.

“Okay, see you tomorrow then.”

You texted Jimin that you were on your way and he texted back that he was already at the park. Typical, he’s always very early. You smiled at his antics. As you made your way to the park, you noticed Jimin sitting on a bench.

“Jimin!” You called out and he turned and smiled at you.

“Hi Y/--wow, is that a dress?” He looked surprised as he pointed at your outfit and you were annoyed he was reacting the same way Suga did.

“Do I really look weird in a dress?” You asked, a bit hurt, and he noticed your pouty expression.

“Oh no,” he said quickly, “it’s pretty. You look pretty in anything you wear.”

You blushed at the compliment, “Oh, thanks, you’re…”

“Hey, look, Y/N!” You saw that he was looking somewhere else now, “there’s a really pretty kid!”

You looked and saw the ugliest kid you’ve ever seen. You looked to see if Jimin was joking but he was smiling and approaching the kid. Wow, his beauty standards are something…wait, am I the same level as her? You couldn’t help but be a little disappointed.

“Ah!”

The kid squirted water at Jimin with a water gun and you sighed as you went through your purse to find a handkerchief so he can dry himself in.

“I only wanted to play with her.” Jimin pouted as you handed him the handkerchief.

“Yeah, kids these days are scary. Here, wipe it off.”

Jimin studied the handkerchief, “...Ah? It’s a handkerchief with star prints… Seulgi…”

Tears started to pour from his eyes and you panicked, “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

Jimin tried to wipe his tears, “Um…it’s nothing, I don’t want to bother you…”

“Clearly something is bothering you. And who’s Seulgi?”

You saw that he sobbed when you said her name.

“Did she hurt you?”

“She…was my girlfriend.”

Your heart dropped at that sentence.

“Girlfriend?” You echoed, trying hard not to start crying as well, “You have a girlfriend? For how long?”

Why didn’t he told me before that he has a girlfriend?

Jimin bit his lip, “Not anymore. She broke up with me yesterday.”

You had to stop yourself from giving out a sigh of relief. So he doesn’t have a girlfriend anymore, thank god. Wait…who in their right mind would dump Jimin? He’s literally perfect in every way.

“Why did she break up with you?”

“She said I was too nice.” He muttered.

You were shocked, “For being nice? That’s too much. What was she like?”

She sounds like a bitch, you thought bitterly.

“Well…” he smiled, “She’s really cute because she’s short. She has beautiful long hair. She has these eyes that look like stars will fall from them at any given time. I always feel the need to stand by and protect her. Her name is Kang Seulgi--her name is pretty, isn’t it?”

You felt sick as he described her to you. Is that his ideal woman?

“Yeah…it’s really pretty.” You murmured, can I even be compared to her? She’s probably as beautiful as her name.

Jimin had a determined look on his face, “If she really wants me to, then I won’t act nice to anyone anymore.”

“…you really like that Seulgi girl, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I like her a lot.”

Ouch, that hurt a lot. It’s frustrating how oblivious Jimin is of your feelings for him. You liked him for such a long time, never hid it, but he never took the hint. Now he’s talking about some other girl to you.

“If she wants me to,” he continue, “I’ll become the bad boy from now on.”

Jimin? Bad boy? You almost had to laugh. That’s the exact opposite of what Jimin is.

Before you could say anything though, an old woman approached Jimin.

“Excuse me, young man. I don’t have money to catch a ride. Could you please spare me 1000 Won?”

Jimin looked shocked and tried to look at you for support, “Eh? No, I…lady, I’m a really bad boy.”

You almost snorted, even the way he said ‘bad boy’ was cute. 

“Please, it’s only 1000 won.”

You knew Jimin wouldn’t last. He would never be able to refuse a plea from an old lady anyway.

“Lady, I’m really sorry,” This caught your attention, is he really refusing?, “I don’t really have spare change…. would you take a 10000 Won bill?”

He held up the bill and the lady snatched it, “Thank you so much, young man.”

As she walked away, Jimin turned to you, “Wait…this isn’t what a bad boy would do....”

I knew it, you thought, he’s too tender-hearted to refuse someone in need,

“I’m so confused. I shouldn’t be doing stuff like this. What can I do to make me a real bad boy? If I do nice things, Seulgi’s going to put me down again.”

You idiot, you thought sadly, I like how you are right now.

You knocked and Suga opened the door.

He looked at you, confused, “Y/N? You told me you’d be going out. What are you doing here in the middle of the night?”  

You looked at the cigarette he was holding.

“Does smoking make you feel good?”

“Huh?”

You snatched the cigarette as you walked past him and put it in your mouth, taking a long drag.

“Ugh, what the hell? What is this?” You coughed up smoke, “It just stinks and hurts my throat and makes me dizzy.”

You started to feel tears fall from your eyes and you sat on the couch, “It’s not making me feel any better.”

You took another drag, hoping the second would be better than the first; it wasn’t. You coughed and continued to cry.

Suga watched all this silently and went to sit next to you.

“…you know that cigarette was mine…”

“You stingy bastard,” you cried out, “I’ll get you a new pack!”

You put it in your mouth again, intending to try a third time.

“…I had it in my mouth.” 

You spit it out and put it in the ashtray next to you.

He watched you cry, “…there’s water coming out of your face.”

“They’re called tears, you idiot!”

Why did I even come here? He’s literally the worst at comforting someone.

“…but there’s more coming from your nose.”

“Shut up,” you sobbed, trying to wipe the tears and snot with your hand; Suga just looked at you in disgust.

“Why won’t he like me?” You lamented, falling into self-pity, “Why don’t I have long, beautiful hair and have a beautiful name. Why don’t I cry stars instead of tears, and why do I have so much mucus coming from my nose?” You sniffled, “This is so depressing. Not as much as when mom and dad died, but this still hurts.”

Suga didn’t say anything, he just studied you, his face like stone.

The next thing you remember, you were waking up to an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. Panicking, you wondered what happened last night when you heard Suga’s voice.

“After you complained that the cigarette made you dizzy, you passed out.” Suga stated.

“So I slept here? In your bed? I’m so dead! Mom and dad are going to…” You then remembered, “…wait, I don’t have parents.”

“….you’re late.”

You gasped, coming to your senses, “Oh my god, today’s Monday. Crap, I have to go to school!”

Suga looked unbothered, “Your bag, your lunch,” with a snap of his fingers they appeared in front of you. “Automatic face wash.” Water slapped you face and you felt refreshed, “And fresh clothes.” You were no longer wearing your rumpled dress from last night.

You were in awe, “Wow, is this magic? This is so cool! Thank you, I’ll see you later at night.”

“Wait.” You paused at the doorway, “The thing about yesterday…I shouldn’t be putting my nose where it doesn’t belong. But if you desire something badly, you could just deal with it yourself and confess to him. Sitting around crying isn’t really like you.”

You sighed, “I’d never be able to tell him I like him.”

“Why? Because you’re afraid of rejection?”

“No, it’s not like that. I’m afraid of the opposite.” You answered, “When we were kids, I gave him a box of chocolate I made for him on Valentine’s Day. I didn’t know he had a serious allergy to chocolate. He finished the whole box because he knew I had worked hard making it. He had to be taken to the emergency room afterwards. He’s just like that, he doesn’t know how to say no. Jimin always thinks of others first. That’s why I’m afraid. He might accept me just because he doesn’t want to hurt me.  Knowing what he’ like, it doesn’t seem right to confess to him.”

“So make a wish.”

“Yeah, that would be even worse. And besides, you’d take my most prized possession.”

“That’s okay,” Suga said, “I wouldn’t accept it even if you offered it to me. You don’t have anything precious anyway.”

You looked at him in surprise, “Wha-what’s that? But don’t you have to take something precious or you could die…?”

He leaned against the doorway, “I don’t have to accept a prized possession from an ugly girl.”

Seriously?

“Are you kidding me? Don’t lie, how can you say that?” You exclaimed, “Also, I’m pretty. Very, very pretty—”

“Oh look at the time, shouldn’t you be in class?” Suga said lazily and brought his hand up.

“Ah wait, hey I’m not fini—”

With a snap of his fingers you were teleported in front of the door to your classroom. Your mind was reeling, both from the sudden teleportation and the conversation with Suga. You went into the class, but couldn’t stop thinking about it.

You debated on using a wish to make Jimin like you. You liked Jimin. So much. You know you’ll be a good match, and he likes you as well….just not in the way you want him to. You sighed, but you also knew that you couldn’t live with that doubt. Doubt about whether or not he truly loved you.

As you made your way to lunch, you thought of how strange Suga was acting. What is he thinking? Not taking my most prized possession, what’s up with that? Wouldn’t that get him into trouble?

“Wow, your lunch looks awesome!”

You were brought out of your thoughts by Hyelin, who sat next to you and was admiring the lunchbox in front of you. You didn’t realized her entrance from how distracted you were.

“Oh hi Hyelin.” You said with a smile.

“You alright, Y/N? You sound a bit off.” Hyelin  asked you in concern and you sighed.

“Remember Jimin?”

“Yes, you’re totally mad about him.”

“He…has a girlfriend. Or had.”

“Oh wow, I’m so sorry.” Hyelin said in sympathy, she knew how much you liked him, “But at least they’re not together anymore.”

You shook your head, “But he still loves her and is still going on and on about her. She literally seems perfect—how can I ever compete with her?”

“Hey!”, Hyelin said as she gave you a serious look, “You are an amazing, beautiful, kind and anyone will be lucky to have you. Jimin is literally blind, I swear. Why should you be hung up in somebody like him?”

You sighed, “I know, but it’s not something I can just turn off, Hyelin—I really like him.”

“Then don’t give up.” Hyelin said, “So what if he’s hung up over her? Help him get over her. What you need is confidence!”

You laughed at Hyelin’s enthusiasm, “I wish it were that simple, Hyelin.”

Hm, maybe that can be my wish—that everything was simple…nah, it’s too vague. Leaves Suga too much room for interpretation.

“Then make it that simple. Either try to get over him or try to get together with him, but don’t do nothing. The Y/N I know isn’t one to sit idle.”

She’s right, you thought, but what should I do?

“Okay, but seriously, your lunch looks amazing.” Hyelin said, admiring the lunch Suga gave you, “It literally looks like one from a magazine or one of those cooking shows.”

You looked at the lunch and narrowed your eyes at it, he must have made this with magic too.

“Can I have a bite from it?” Hyelin asked, “It looks so yummy.”

You decided you won’t make the wish, I don’t need magic.

“You can eat it.” You told her, pushing the lunch box to her.

She looked at you in surprised, “Really? Are you sure? Where did you even got such a cute lunch?”

“I passed by Suga’s office this morning and he gave me a spare lunch box he had.”, You lied, you couldn’t tell her that you spent the night there. Wow, that sounds worse than what it actually is.

Hyelin took a bite and moaned, “Oh my god, this is so good. He must be so talented at cooking. You sure you don’t want a bite?”

You shook your head, knowing the truth, “I’m fine. I’m going to the bathroom, okay?”

She nodded, stuffing herself with the lunch, “I’ll see you in Chem then.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” You laughed as you walked away.

 As you left the bathroom, your phone ringed. You checked the caller ID and your heart raced when you saw Jimin’s name on the screen. What could he want at this time?, you wondered as you answered the call.

“Hey Jimin, what’s up?”, you tried to sound casual. 

“Ah, Y/N…”, he sounded a little uncertain, “Can I ask you for a favor?”

You knew you’d probably do anything for him, “Yeah, what do you need?”

It couldn’t be anything bad, you thought, it was Jimin after all.

“I heard from Hyelin that you worked with a magician that can make wishes come true, is that true?”

You bit your lip, I’m going to kill Hyelin.

“Yeah but I don’t think—”

“Please, Y/N.” He begged, “I really need to meet him. There’s a wish I need to make. Please.”

You sighed, you knew you couldn’t resist him.

I don’t want to make the wish, but apparently Jimin wants magic—it’s kind of ironic huh.

You reluctantly gave him Suga’s address and Jimin gave you lots of praises and thanks. You couldn’t help but blush at that. You then realized you didn’t tell him about the prized possession part and was about to but he hung up. You were about to call him again when you realized you should be in class. You ran off, furiously texting as you were doing so.

Wait! Jimin, don’t go! He’ll take your prized possession, please reconsider!

You hoped he read the message before he made the wish.

You slammed the door open.

“Don’t do it, Jimin! No matter what kind of wish it is, you’ll lose something precious!”

You were met with the scene of Suga sitting on a chair, smoking, not fazed by your entrance.

“You’re too late. Your boyfriend made his wish and left.”

“What? Already?”

You rushed as soon as your class ended, Jimin must have immediately came here after your phone call. You walked up to Suga.

“What kind of wish did he make? And what did you take from him?”

Suga leaned back in his chair, “Don’t worry, neither his wish or the thing I took was important. And if you were going to get so upset, why did you tell him where I was in the first place?”

“That…that’s because I can’t really refuse him.” You said, blushing, “But anyway, you shouldn’t talk so carelessly about another person’s important thing. It may not be nothing to you, but it could really be significant to someone else.”

Suga closed his eyes and furrowed his brows as he leaned his head against his hand, “If you’re done talking, you can leave. Stop annoying me. I didn’t get enough sleep so I’m not in a good mood.”

You were angered at his dismissive tone, “I refuse, I’m not done talking. You’re responsible if something bad happens to Jimin.”

Suga opened his eyes, “Whatever, why don’t you run after him and see for yourself? He’s at Seulgi’s house.”

“Fine, I will.” You huffed as you made your way to the door.

“Also, when you see him this time, be sure to tell him you like him.”

“I told you I can’t say that!”

“No, you can go ahead and tell him. He’s not the same person he was before.”

You felt nervous, what kind of wish did Jimin did? He didn’t really wish to become a bad boy, right?....Right?

After getting the address from Suga, you made your way to Seulgi’s house. You heard raised voices and saw Jimin and a beautiful girl in front of the house. Wow, she really is beautiful, you couldn’t help but feel a wave of jealousy. You then looked at Jimin and almost tripped. He looks completely different. He’s wearing all black, a leather jacket, black boots--is that eyeliner? He was sitting on the steps of the house, casually fiddling with a lighter. His posture was relaxed and confident, so different from the Jimin you knew. 

In other words, he looked like a bad boy. 

You cautiously approached them and heard their conversation.  

“Who are you?”, cried Seulgi, “You’re not the Jimin I used to know!”

“Me?” Jimin smirked, “I’m the Park Jimin you dumped because I was too nice. I made a wish to become a really bad guy, and this is the result. Don’t look so surprised, isn’t this what you wanted?”

No! Jimin!, you thought in despair, you didn’t…

Seulgi looked so shocked for words, Jimin continued.

“Do you want to take over the world? We can be the bad guys. Or would you rather take revenge for the time those people made you an outcast?”

“Huh? W-what are you talking about?”

“I can take revenge on those bullies and the girl who betrayed you. You guys were in the same class in high school right? You tried being nice to her because everyone was treating her like an outsider, but you ended up as the outsider. The girl you tried to help joined the group that was bullying you. I’ll avenge you, isn’t that what you want?”

“I don’t need anything like that!” Seulgi cried in frustration, “Did I ever ask you to do such a thing?”

“Then what do you want? I’ll do it for you. I can do it for you—”

“I don’t want that! Leave me alone, I just…just…” She slid down the wall and ran a hand through her hair, “This is embarrassing. Yeah, no matter how hard I try to be bad, I’m just like my parents. As a result, I get used and betrayed by other—that’s not being nice, it’s being stupid. I’m embarrassed to be so stupid, so I try to act tough. But every time I come home, whenever I see you, I’m ashamed of myself. Still, I can’t stand the embarrassment of being stupidly nice. I’d rather be smart and bad, that’s how I want to live.”

Jimin just smiled, “Seulgi, there’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m going to stick by you whether you’re good or bad. Because I love you.”

Seulgi stared at Jimin and then, all of sudden, pinched him.

“Ouch! That hurts!”

“Are you back now? Back to Park Jimin, the nice guy?”

Jimin laughed, “I’ve always been the nice Park Jimin.”

“But…you were being so bad. I thought you sold your soul to the devil or something.”

Almost, you thought dryly.

“I made a wish to be the best actor in the entire world. Everything I said before was an act.”

“Wish? What are you talking about?”

“Yeah, it’s possible to have such a wish granted. I could have wished for something else, but I wanted to do something on my own. I’m not trying to make anything happen right now, I know wounds take a long time to heal. I just wanted you to say what you honestly felt. I’m not trying to preach or tell you to be nicer. I like you for being you. But Seulgi, please don’t be embarrassed anymore. A world in where people have to be embarrassed sounds so sad.”

Seulgi looked at Jimin with tearful eyes, “Jimin.”

She went up to him and gave him a tight hug. They stood there for a few minutes and you felt like a creep to see this intimate moment. You turned away to make your escape but accidentally kicked a rock, which made a noise.

They broke apart and Jimin noticed you. You wanted to sink into the ground and never come out. 

Jimin looked at you and smiled, “Oh, Y/N! How long have you been standing there?”

Too long, you thought. You felt your heart breaking for a second time and didn’t know how to respond to him.

“Why are you here?” Jimin asked, continuing, “As you see, everything went well. It’s all thanks to you…and that guy. He even helped me with the scene and suggested this outfit.”

He pointed at his outfit, which looked really good on him. Everything looks good on Jimin. 

You gave him a sad smile, “Yes, I saw everything.” You turned to Seulgi, “You…went through a lot.” You turned back to Jimin, “I guess you really like her…” You took a deep breath, fuck it.

“But Jimin…I…I like you. Can’t it be me?”

Jimin looked completely shocked. You wondered for the second time how he could be so oblivious that he didn’t even had an inkling of your feelings. He seemed conflicted and you wondered if he’s be able to say no. You didn’t know what you would prefer, being told the truth or being told a lie.

“Sorry,” Jimin simply said as he took hold of Seulgi’s hand and squeezing it, “I’m really sorry.”

You nodded, willing yourself to not cry, “I understand. See you around, Jimin.”

Without waiting for his response, you turned around and left. You started to walk and noticed that Suga was there, smoking a cigarette.

You walked together and you explained to him what happened.

“I thought about calling him,” You said, staring at the night sky, “but I’m not going to. At least for now.”

“You haven’t considered making a wish?” Suga asked and you shook your head.

“Not at all. They like each other so much, how could I use magic to break them up? And a free wish…sounds strange.”

You walked in silence.

“Oh right, what did you take from Jimin? What was important to him?” You asked curiously.

Suga held out his hand and a piggy bank appeared; he handed it to you.

“A piggybank?” You asked in shock, “How does that guy’s mind work? I don’t get him. Does this mean he’s a greedy person?”

He discarded his cigarette, “Don’t talk like that about things that are important to humans.”

Wow, he totally threw that line back at me, you thought. You were surprised he even remembered.

“This means he’s not greedy at all,” Suga continued, “He has so little greed, his most important thing is actually a gift he was going to give to someone.”

“Wait,” you said, remembering something, “was this the money he was saving since elementary school to send his parents on a trip for their 25th wedding anniversary?”

Suga nodded, “He’s the first human I’ve met like that. Jeez, I didn’t get a thing out of this.”

“So…why did you come all the way here? After I yelled at you like that…” You asked bashfully, remembering your outburst, “You know, it was partly your fault. If you had told me before, I wouldn’t have gotten so upset.”

“You started off being angry, you never gave me a chance to talk.” Suga answered, “Besides, I was tired and didn’t have the strength to argue.”

“Why didn’t you get enough sleep?” You asked, curious, “You sleep so often, how are you so tired?”

“Making lunch for you took me three whole hours.” Suga said.

 “Wait, that’s silly, shouldn’t it take you...” You realized that the lunch Suga gave you wasn’t magic. “Wait, so you made the lunch?”

“Yes,” Suga said, crossing his arms, “I wanted to try it out, making a lunch for someone.” 

You felt so insanely guilty that you gave it away but so touched that Suga did that to you. Maybe he does care…in his own way.

“Let’s be friends.” You said, “I just lost a friend and you lost one…a while ago. So let’s be substitutes for our lost friends. I’ll stop sulking about Jimin and…” you look at Suga lighting up another cigarette, “…you stop smoking.”

Suga stared at you as he put the cigarette in his mouth, considering it. He then turned around and started to walk.

“I’ll think about it.”

This guy.

“Give me a better answer!” You called to him, annoyed he left you hanging like that.

“Whatever,” he said, not turning around and holding up the cigarette, “I’ll throw this away.”

You saw him flick the cigarette to the ground and smiled.

“Hey Suga!” You said cheerfully as you walked in, “What’s the plan for today?”

So far, friendship with Suga consisted of him occasionally walking you home and you coming over on Sundays to watch movies with him. You had to admit it wasn’t as bad as you thought it’s be, though his commentary during the movies can be a little exasperating at times. 

“Come over here.”

Suga was by his desk and you noticed he was sitting behind a computer. You were amazed.

“Wow, a computer, I didn’t even know you can use one, old man.” You teased as you walked toward him.

Suga glared at you, “Funny.”

“So what are you reading?”, you asked, leaning over his shoulder.

“An email I got from a Kim Yerim, it’s very long. Why don’t you read it out loud for me. my eyes are getting tired at looking at this computer.”

You snorted as you got a chair and put it next to him, “Yup, definitely an old man.”

He flashed you another glare, “Just read the email.”

You laughed, “Okay, okay.” You turned your attention to the screen in front of you, “Wow, this really is a long email. Is this Yerim writing an essay?”

“Come on, we haven’t got all day.” Suga grumbled and you nod.

“Right, okay, here goes nothing. ‘Dear friendly magician’—” you snorted, “Have she met you?”

“Less comments and more reading.” Suga simply said.

“You just say that because you know I’m right,” you retorted, “Okay then, ‘Dear friendly magician, I really don’t like sending emails. The last time I wrote one was for a solider many years ago. I found your website by chance” ,You thought about the state of Suga’s website and felt sorry for Yerim, “ ‘and it had your email. I was compelled to write to you. You probably are wondering who I am. I’m sad, did you already forget me? I am your savior and the only person who didn’t lose something important when I made my wish.”

You looked up to Suga, who you saw had a very annoyed expression on his face, “Is that true?”

“Yes, I remember now, the brat.” He muttered, “It was about 18 years ago and I was in a…bind. Yerim, I guess her name was, was a little kid then. She found the key that will open the lock where I was trapped in a tree, but she insisted that I do something for her and I reluctantly agreed that I would grant her a wish and not take her precious possession.”

“You can do that?” You ask curiously.

“Only in special circumstances,” Suga answered, “like if someone saves my life and I’m indebted to them.”

“So did she get you out?”

“No,” Suga said, annoyed, “she just gave me the key and left, not realizing that she was supposed to unlock it from the outside; I couldn’t do anything from the inside.”

“So how did you get out?”

“Luckily a little boy came around later and got me out.”

“Wait, how did you end up stuck in a tree?”

He muttered something, but you couldn’t hear.

“What?”

“That’s a whole other story.” Suga muttered, his mood darkened.

You quickly went back to the email, “ ‘Now that I’ve refreshed your memory, I’m sure you’re happy to hear from me—’ ”

“Hardly,” Suga muttered and you had to hide your smile.

“Don’t interrupt,” you said cheekily, “ ‘I thought a long time about what wish I should make. You don’t know how painful it is, Magician, to pick one wish out of fifty thousand possibilities. Really—I am your rescuer! What’s up with only one wish? Next time, don’t be so stingy, you should be more giving!’ ”

You snorted, “She’s hilarious.”

“She’s very conceited.” Suga muttered and you had to agree with him.

“But she isn’t your savior, so she doesn’t have the wish, right?”

“That’s what vexes me the most, it still counts because I gave my word.”

“ ‘In no time, I was 16 years old. A young woman in 9thgrade, full of dreams. I’ve attached a picture of those early days so you can look at me.”

Curious, you clicked on the attachment called pretty.jpg. It opened to a very pretty teenager.

“She is very pretty,” you commented, “I can see why she’s arrogant.”

“Just continue reading so we can get this over with.” Suga said and you followed his instruction.

“ ‘Are you wondering why I didn’t already make a wish? Be patient—I’m about to tell you. Every morning, at 7:00AM sharp, when I rode the #976 bus, he was there. The first time I met him was about a week ago, when my friend was sick. I was riding the bus because I didn’t feel like walking alone. I saw him and it was love at first sight. But I knew that he had no interest in me at all. Because every time I was near him, all he did was look out the window. Of course, it hurt my pride. As you can see from the 2nd attached picture, I was the best-looking girl in town.”

You opened the attachment called beautiful.jpg and it looked like a professional photoshoot and was very high-quality. You wonder if she was a model or something.

“ ‘I couldn’t just give up, so one say I decided to start a conversation. He totally ignored me. I was so frustrated that I sort of yelled at him to hold my bag, saying it was heavy. Yelling this might have ruined my image, but my heart was pounding because it was the first time he looked directly at me. His surprised face was so cute—just like a rabbit! Involuntarily, I started to drool and that drool fell on his knee. But that was nothing? As my gaze moved to his knee, the thing that horrified me was the bag I was forcing him to hold was leaking kimchi! Really smelly kimchi! And it was all over his pants.’ ”

You couldn’t help yourself, you snorted, “Wow, she had such rotten luck.”

“She’ll be fine.” Suga simply said and you shrugged.

“Still, that was in front of her crush.”

“Just read.”

“Fine….’As I looked at his face again, the best thing I could do was to take my bag and run away as fast as I could. But I tripped and ended up flat on my face, flashing everyone my panties. There were so many people on that bus that day. Even though I felt like dying, the bus rumbled on. I was frozen in the ground, mortified and not knowing what to do. For a few minutes, total darkness was my heart’s only desire. And that moment, an unexpected solar eclipse happened. I took the opportunity and I ran for my life, leaving through a door the driver had left open. It was so dark, I had no idea where I was going. After ten minutes, I regained my senses and the sky started to brighten again. You don’t have to say it, I know how stupid my wish was. I will be remembered as one of the stupidest people in the world, right after that guy who stuck a sausage up his nose. But the saddest thing wasn’t that I missed my chance at world domination or becoming a beauty queen or becoming the richest person in the world. It’s that I will never again be able to ride the #976 bus. I won’t be able to see his cute  face. And I will never again be able to enjoy my favorite food, kimchi. Are you wondering if this is the end of my story? Maybe you should take a bathroom break. You see, it’s only the beginning…’ ”

You looked up to Suga, “I can’t believe this story is nowhere near done…”

“Me either.” He muttered.

“Is this the story of her life?” You wondered, “Is there a point to all this?”

“Just keep reading.” Suga simply said and you complied.

“ ‘And one year later I became a high school student. I had decided not to think about that terrible day anymore. I’m not the type of person to linger over old Events. Worrying about the past is just too stressful for me, plus it gave me pimples. How could anyone live like that? I decided that I could live perfectly well without a stupid wish. Because I’m pretty, talkative, smart, and a natural leader’ and humble too.” You added, “ ‘When I thought about it, that wish wasn’t all bad. Think about it: I mean, a solar eclipse? I had actually moved the moon! Astronauts? Hey all they did was leave some footprints. But me, I had moved the moon! Isn’t that awesome? Have you ever moved the moon, Magician? You haven’t have you?’”

“Do you want to take a break?” Suga asked and you nodded.

“Yeah…I feel a bit sick.”

You prepared some tea and served it for the both of you, thankful for the break. This Yerim is a bit much and your throat was starting to get dry from reading her words out loud.

“Do you know where this is going?” You asked sipping the tea.

“Nope,” he answered, “but I may have an idea. Let’s get this over with.”

You nod and looked back at the computer, “ ‘And with that self-confidence, I lived on, honest and true. At least, until that fateful day in my second year. The boy I had such a crush on, the one who saw my panties, transferred to my class. His name was Youngjae and even though it had been two years since we had last seen each other, my first feeling was not love, joy, or nervousness. It was rage. I ended up threatening him and telling him not to tell anyone what he saw and spread rumors. But he stayed quiet and ignored me, which made me even angrier. When the teacher introduced him to the class though, I learned he was mute. I felt really bad about snapping at him and decided to help him, since he might have a hard time since he’s mute. I found myself wondering what his voice would sound like, I must have still liked him, after all this time. But it was hard to get close to him. He was so popular that he was surrounded all the time. I started to get jealous. But during gym one day, some guy started to make fun of Youngjae and saying he was disabled. I couldn’t let it slide and kept throwing balls at him. That shut him up and I could tell Youngjae appreciated it. After that incident, the awkwardness disappeared and I was able to get closer to him. He’s really good at the piano, I mean really good, and he let me hear him play after school. He had such a great personality, whenever I was with him I felt happy. Yet I was always the only one making a commotion. Magician, what was I to do? I had decided to never regret the way I wasted my wish, but I couldn’t help it—I started to hate you, magician. Granting such a lame wish, aren’t you ashamed of yourself? I had finally found what I truly wanted. What I really wanted was to hear his voice…You thought that was the end, right?”

Wait, there’s more?, you thought.

“ ‘Of course I’m not done. I still have something to talk—to argue about with you, Magician.”

“Argue? What did I do?” Suga asked from the couch.

“A lot of it is really your fault,” you defended Yerim, “ how could you give something like a solar eclipse as a wish? Because of you, she lost the chance to wish for something more important!”

Suga frowned, “If something goes wrong, it’s always my fault. You have no idea…just keep reading.”

“Why don’t you read it yourself?” You huffed, a bit tired of reading out loud.

“But you have such a beautiful voice…”

Beautiful voice! Probably the first time he’s ever complimented me.

You perked up and started reading again, “ ‘Seven years passed and now the story gets worse. By then I was a successful lawyer and my reputation was growing. After I passed the test to become a lawyer, I joined a distinguished law firm and won every one of my cases.” There was another attachment called sexy.jpg and you opened it. Yerim obviously grew up and looks like a model, wearing elegant business clothes and posing like a model for the photo. You wondered if she just randomly did professional photoshoots in her life; you wouldn’t put it pass her.

“ ‘My life was going great but my family was already pressuring me to get married. My mom kept trying to introduce me to guys, but I wasn’t interested. Youngjae, who became a renowned concert pianist. By then I had known him for ten years. Sometimes I wondered what he thought of me. Because we went to the same high school and college we were very close but there was always distance between us. At time I felt like he barely noticed me—like I was as forgettable as one of the countless stars in the sky. So I decide to confess to him. That night the moon was so beautiful, the full moon makes people do crazy things. I asked him to marry me and even told my mother I was going to marry him. She disapproved, saying he was mute. But I never cared what my mother said. But there was something I didn’t consider and that was Youngjae’s heart. He wrote to me that he wanted to stay friends with me. I was upset and said some very insensitive things and I regretted it immediately. But it was already too late to recover those words. He just stared at me blankly and he turned around and left. That’s what it was. For him, I was common, like one of the countless stars in the sky. Still, just sitting there and crying wasn’t my style so I refused to give up and vowed to me like the moon, no, the sun. But I never expected what happened next. My mother informed me that she visited a magician—you—and she wished for me to marry the perfect man. Someone with lots of money, good education, perfect looks, and a great family. Worst yet, she told me that it would be granted in three months. I was horrified! I should have thrown the key into the Han River that day. I should have blocked the hole with cement. No, I should have thrown you into a tub of poo, you moronic magician!’ ”

You couldn’t help but snort at that, “I’m sorry, this is all serious and everything but…I can’t get that image out of my head.” You started to laugh.

“Maybe I should put you in a tub of poo.” Suga grumbled, but you knew that he wasn’t serious. Hopefully.

You quickly read on, “ ‘I don’t know if it was because of my mother’s wish or because I simply gave up my desire to live, but the marriage plan was going smoothly. Tomorrow, I’m getting married to the ideal person—lots of money, good education, perfect looks, a great family. After hearing about my upcoming marriage, Youngjae seemed surprised. And he told, as promised, he would play the Wedding March. Of course, that’s because he considers me as nothing more than a friend.’ “

“Just what did you do, Suga? Can you still say you’re not guilty after all this?”

“Just continue reading with that pretty voice.”

Pretty voice!

You smiled, “Tomorrow is my wedding day, you stupid magician. For some unknown reason, I can’t avoid this marriage. As of tomorrow, my life is over. After ten long years, my one-sided love for Youngjae will end. But…’ ….huh?”

“What is it?”

“ It says ‘But as of now, your famous website has ended too!’”

Suga sprung up and went to look at the computer, “What?”

“That’s what it says—”

“Go to my website and see if it’s true.”

You were about to check when the computer died. You turned to Suga, “This can’t be good.”

When you came back the next day, Suga was in a sour mood.

“Yeah, I checked your website using my computer and it’s completely destroyed. Apparently, it happened right after we read that e-mail. What happened to the hard drive?”

“I went to the repair center this morning, but they said it was a new virus and they couldn’t fix it. Everything on it disappeared—300 years worth of magic data down the drain.”

“Wow—to think those attachment contained the virus. She might be arrogant, but she’s pretty smart, hacking our system like that. But you can do everything else with your magic, but you can’t save a computer?”

You turned and saw Suga was on the phone.

“Hello, police? I would like to report a criminal.”

“Hey!” You went up to him, “What are you doing? How can you call the police? It’s not like you haven’t done bad things!”

“As I said before, I did nothing wrong.” Suga replied.

“Don’t give me that! You messed up that girl’s life!”

“Just forget about me and deliver this to Yerim as soon as possible.” He handed you an envelope, “you have to give it to her before the wedding.”

“What’s this letter? What are you planning? I don’t like this, I don’t want to be a part of it.” You exclaimed as you held the letter. Maybe it’s a time bomb!

Suga studied you, “…So this is what you call friendship.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Last time, wasn’t it you who said you wanted to be friends?”

“Y-yes, that’s right. Friends.”

“If you think of me as a friends, shouldn’t you at least pretend to believe me when I say I didn’t so anything bad?”

You were speechless and he leaned closer to you, “Even if I did do something wrong, if friendship means that you’re just going to waste a lot of time questioning me, then I don’t need friends.”

“Okay, I get it!” You exclaimed, feeling guilty, “I’m sorry! I promise to deliver it, cross my heart.”

As you made your way out, you heard Suga on the phone.

“Ah hello, I would like to report something.”

You hoped for Yerim’s sake everything turns out alright.

You rushed to the church, which was bustling. Apparently it was a high profile wedding because there were many cars and paparazzi and people. You wondered how you were going to get the letter to Yerim. You snuck through the back door while a security guard was distracted by some snooping paparazzi. How can I find Yerim?, you thought and caught sight of a woman in white pacing the hallway.

Luck must be on my side today, you thought. 

“Yerim!” You recognized the bride from the photos. She looks even more beautiful up close, how is that possible? Does she even have pores?

She turned to you, “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“Not really, but I’m Suga’s assistant.”

“Who?”

Oh right, she doesn’t know his name.

“The magician.”

Her face furrowed in anger, “I don’t want anything to do—”

You brought out the letter, “Please read this; it’s important.”

“Why would I—”

“Please.” You pleaded and she huffed, but took the envelope.

Yerim tore the envelope and started to read the letter. She stood there, frozen like stone, and she looked very shocked.

“What does it say?” You asked, curious.

She gave a gasp, “I…I have to go!”

She started to run out the door.

You were confused and saw that in her excitement, she dropped the letter. You decided to read it.

To the person who never listens to anybody, Kim Yerim:

I have no reason whatsoever to be listening to your complaints. Don’t rip up this letter. And this time, read all the way through the end. First of all, I have never granted your wish. Second, I have yet to grant your mother’s wish---

You heard commotion at the church and rushed over there, wondering what Suga’s words will make Yerim do. You saw police enter the church and put the groom into handcuffs, apparently he was being arrested for marriage fraud. Oh so that’s what Suga was calling for, you thought, embarrassed. You saw Yerim was being held by and older woman, probably her mother.

“Youngjae!” She cried.

“No you can’t!” The lady said, “anyone but him! This time we were unlucky, but you can have any bridegroom you want! Why choose someone who can’t even speak?”

“Let go!” Yerim growled, “Why won’t you let go?”

“Are you going to elope with him if I let go? What’s wrong with you? Why do you want to marry a freak? What can he do for you?”

“What can he do for me?” Yerim asked.

“Right!” Her mother said, “What great things can he do for you?”

Yerim was in tears, “You want me to show you what he can really do? Youngjae! Move the moon!”

She was looking intently at a handsome young man by the piano. He looked shocked. But there was a rumble and all of a sudden went very dark. In the middle of the afternoon. You looked out the window and sure enough, there was a solar eclipse.  It was very dark and the electricity also suddenly went out. Everyone was murmuring and in the commotion, Youngjae took Yerim’s hand and they ran out of the church.

You were organizing Suga’s inbox, which was a mess by the way, when you spotted a familiar name. 

“Oh look, Yerim sent another email.” You said to Suga and he gave you a cautious look.

“Does it have attachments?”

“Thankfully no attachments this time. Want me to read it?”

“Sure, why not.” He muttered and sank into the couch.

“ ‘Dear friendly—no, honorable!—magician, I am writing an email once again. I send you 100 apologies. I will restore your hard drive and your website within the week. Thanks to your letter, I now know everything. The fact he turned back and smiled when he learned hat we were I the same high school, and that I was lively as ever. The fact that he was incredible happy when he could use his phone to send me the messages that built a link between us. The fact that he was breathless when I asked him to marry me, and he would have eventually asked me to marry him if I hadn’t spoken first.  And the fact that when my mother came to visit him and demanded him not to marry me, he would have preferred to be deaf. The fact that he loves me; he had loved me for over ten years. I now know everything. So now, it’s my turn to make a wish for him. The wish I’ve been longing to make for ten years, to grant him his voice. And after so many silent years, the first thing he said was my name. Yerim. It was as though he couldn’t believe it. He repeated my name twice, three times, as if he was saying a prayer. At that moment, the moon and sun came together to create a solar eclipse. So I don’t mind not being the ruler of the world. You granted the world’s greatest wish. We are getting married in one month. And because Youngjae can talk now, he became everything my mom ever wanted in a son-in-law, so she ended up getting her wish as well. But there’s one thing I want to know, just what did you take from my mom? She’s been acting quite strange…”

You looked at Suga in question and he responded.

“I took her vanity, which means that once again I ended up with something useless.”

“Anyway, it’s a happy ending.” You said with a smile, “Everything is great, even your website is restored. Is the hard drive fixed?”

“Yes, Yerim sent an expert technician yesterday.”

You nodded, “That’s good. But how did Youngjae end up with the power to move the moon? Was that you?”

Suga nodded, “Do you remember when I was trapped a little boy came after Yerim and actually helped me out?”

“Yeah?”

“Youngjae was that little boy, so he also had a free wish. It was he who made the wish that day in the bus.”

“Oh, so that’s how you knew that you didn’t grant her wish yet.” You then remembered something, “But really, why were you locked up in a tree?”

Suga’s expression turned sour, “Let’s talk about that some other time.”

“Oh come in, is it super embarrassing? It must be, for you to be locked up in a tree.”

Suga didn’t give a response, he just closed his eyes and pretended to fall asleep.

Coward.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 007: Costumes and Comforting White Rice

Previously on BnHA: Aizawa had everyone do fitness tests. Turns out superpowered children are very talented. Deku broke his finger.

Today on BnHA: COSTUMES. AND A GUY NAMED LUNCH RUSH

Notes: As always, all comments not prefaced by an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 11 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.

so the title is “costume change”, ooh I’m intrigued

All Might is helpfully rehashing the shit that just went down in the last chapter in case we missed it or weren’t paying attention

basically “Deku fucked up his finger but it was actually somehow the coolest thing ever”

right away Izuku is still crying his gritted-teeth pain!tears, so the unbroken streak continues!

aw Ocha is really happy that he did well and now won’t get expelled

I think Bakugou is broken

[waves a hand in front of his face] you okay there pal. deep breaths. it’s going to be all right

and now he’s fucking launching himself at Deku, presumably with the intent to beat the living shit out of him, oh dear

but teacher’s not having that shit

OH MY GOD AN ACTUAL EXPLANATION FOR THE MAGIC SCARF

YEEES THIS IS HOW WE DO THINGS IN GROWN-UP MANGA! WE EXPLAIN OUR PLOT HOLES LIKE ADULTS

THIS IS SUCH A FUCKING RUSH GUYS

also these panels are hilarious

voop

god bless, the logical explanations for everything just keep on coming. now EH is explaining that the reason he always looks so fucking shake-and-baked is because he has to maintain eye contact in order for his powers to work. I love this, it explains so much. the goggles, the eye drops, the creepy intense staring. and it’s such a good handicap for what would otherwise be an insanely OP quirk

just. thank you jesus. thank you oprah winfrey. thank you tom cruise

do you know, so far I haven’t had a single plot thing to complain about in this entire manga series. (except maybe the whole “surrounding community somehow doesn’t notice the beach cleanup happening right under their noses for ten entire months” thing.) can they possibly keep this up?

“is your finger okay?” “yeah.” NO

HGUMNANAA A FLASHBACKKKKKK A BAKUDEKU FLASHBACK. HOLD ME. I NEED TO SIT DOWN

they’re so cute they’re so fucking cute. Izuku following him around fanboying about quirks. Baku saying Deku’s probably won’t be as cool as his. trampsing along through the woods catching bugs. using the nicknames

and now Baku is FREAKING THE FUCK OUT because he’s been the special one all this time and now Izu finally has a quirk too. like, he seems pissed off, but also strangely threatened. like he’s really nervous that Deku might all of a sudden outshine him. once again, I am speculating if there are possibly secret self-esteem issues. I know it’s too early to be theorizing and I’m just going to look like an idiot but I CAN’T HELP IT. Deku is so good and pure and kind and smart, like he has everything going for him, but because he didn’t have a quirk, Bakugou could always rest assured that he was still better! but now DEKU HAS A FUCKING QUIRK. that’s like the ONE thing he solidly had on him and now the gap is narrowing by the minute. hmm. hmmmmmmmmm

disclaimer, he’s probably just an asshole and I’m projecting character development onto him that doesn’t exist sob I know

BUT MAYBE NOT?????

anyway we’ve apparently seen all we needed to see of these tests, because Deku sums up the rest of it in a couple of summary bubbles. “after this we finished up and I hung in there but it sucked”

yay now the results. which sad son of a bitch gets kicked out I wonder. it’s occurred to me that it might not be anyone and EH might just have been fucking with them, but you never know

HAHAHA

[SLAMS HAND ON TABLE]

NOT TO TOOT MY OWN HORN BUT I CALLED IT AND I’M A FUCKING GENIUS. [drinks a glass of water too fast and chokes]

this motherfucker is such a troll

Izuku appears to be phasing into another dimension from the shock of this news. meanwhile this smug-looking girl with a ponytail standing next to him is all like “I already fucking knew”

you know what, smug ponytail girl, ANYONE can say that AFTER the big reveal. the real MVPs are the ones who saw it coming a whole entire page before it actually happened, so you can shove it okay

and now Eraser Head is saying “we’re done here”? but I want to see the rankings, damn it

(ETA: funny how in the anime he shows the rankings first thing and THEN all the rest of this goes down. somehow he’s an even bigger troll there.)

and he finally takes pity on Izuku and sends him to the nurse’s office. you really shouldn’t need a teacher’s permission to go see the nurse, but I guess it’s the thought that counts

and there we go! rankings. so Izu’s all the way down at the bottom. and surprisingly Bakugou is not quite at the top? AND WHAT’S THIS?

THIS IS A NAME I RECOGNIZE. THAT’S DISCOUNT ZUKO BY GEORGE 8D

please be introduced soon, I’m excited to meet you

no idea who that person is at the very top. but hey good for them

hey guys. guess who ships All Might/Aizawa ever since their rivalish history was established in the previous chapter. [points to self]

so this is good stuff

look at this shade being thrown back and forth. or rather, EH throwing shade and AM struggling to throw it back but he’s too much of a straight arrow for it to really work lmao. “april fool’s day was over a week ago”

also oh shit last year he threw out the whole damn bunch. those guys must have SUCKED

oh my god now All Might is smugly confirming that EH likes Izuku too

hey guys here’s a closeup of All Might’s reaction to this:

you like krabby patties don’t you squidward

my boy Izuku out here accumulating mentors like... something... that accumulates a lot

that’s right, he has TWO whole mentors. what a legend

I got really confused for a second when the following panel said Izu was going home after the first day. even though I know it’s not a boarding school, I somehow tricked myself into thinking it was for a sec

oh hey it’s Iida. he wants to know how Deku’s finger is

lol he didn’t remember being healed last time. thank you for that, information bubble

I’m serious, it’s not essential information but it helps the series to remain consistent with itself, and it shows that the mangaka so far is remembering even minor details like this, and I’m honestly really impressed

Horikoshi Kouhei is the author. just looked it up. I gotta remember that. Good job so far Horikoshi-sensei. also he’s apparently younger than me?? nice to know that some of us millennials are out there crushing it at least

oh snap Recovery Girl cautions him that if he keeps getting hurt he’ll eventually run out of stamina and die. wtf. is “stamina” really a finite resource like that? can’t he just get a good night’s sleep and replenish that shit

I’m genuinely wondering how long him not being able to control his powers is going to be an issue then. I’m starting to think not that long. at first I thought it would be a very slow process, because if he got too strong too quickly it would be bad for the story. but on further reflection, it’s really the other way around. there’s only so many times he can be the only guy without any powers and trying to figure out what to do before that shit gets really old. basically right now he’s TOO nerfed

“I thought Iida was scary but he’s actually just super-serious.” he’s very nice for a 40-year-old trying to hang out with a bunch of teenagers. I’m sure you two will be good friends

Ochako!

Iida’s calling her “Infinity Girl” since she threw the ball so high it registered as “infinity meters” on Aizawa’s scale. I wonder if this name will stick, cuz I like it

haha Ochako doesn’t know Izuku’s actual first name and calls him Deku. he was listed as “Izuku” on the results board, though. you could hardly fail to notice that, since he was in last place. she just wants to call him by the cute nickname. fucking sly move there

hmm apparently he doesn’t like the name Deku? or he’s just trying to play it cool with the Girl He Likes

(ETA: now I know the whole sad story of “Deku” and its various meanings. I wonder just how much work Horikoshi put into selecting this name and its kanji)

like he said, he fucking loves that name

“it’s like the Copernican Revolution” hahaha what. a quick Google search confirms that this was the whole shift from people thinking the sun revolved around the earth to realizing it was the other way around. I completely fail to understand what this has to do with the situation of Deku letting Ocha call him “Deku” because she thinks it’s cute. this metaphor is beyond my fucking grasp

(ETA: I must have been tired or something because it’s obviously just that he’s done a 180 from hating the name to embracing it. still a weird analogy but whatever.)

ohhhhhh here come the feels ready or not

SHIELDS UP. IT’S THE PURE, GENTLE HAPPINESS OF A BLOSSOMING SHOUNEN FRIENDSHIP. THE PROTAGONIST’S FIRST FRIENDS EVER. NO, I MUST BE STRONG, DAMN IT. DAMN ITT

oh what the fresh hell, All Might

first the training!! ten months! grueling!! then the entrance exam!! fighting a bunch of giant robots! not having the slightest clue about how to actually use his brand new powers! then the first day of school!! you think you’re finally safe, but NO we’re going to have a trial that may possibly expel you! but he somehow makes it past that too! surely he’s in the clear NOW, right? he has to be?? but nooo, the SECOND day of school, THAT’S when tHE REAL FUCKING TEST BEGINS, FUCK

WHAT THE FUCK IS THE THIRD DAY GOING TO BE. THE END OF THE WORLD?

lmao Mic teaching them English

lmaaaaao everyone is bored out of their fucking minds except fucking Izuku, that FUCKING NERD

the school chef is a sentient humanoid vacuum cleaner named Lunch Rush

nice try with that gimmick there Lunch Rush, but you’re no Best Fucking Jeanist

“the white rice is comforting, so I go with that!” fucking damn, Deku. maybe try branching out just a little

by the way, Izu is narrating all of this like it’s already an established routine, but isn’t it still just the second day? or was All Might just talking out of his ass before about that “real test”

omg

it’s All Might’s class. don’t tell me this was what he was talking about when he was going on about the “real test” fjksj

PROFESSOR LOCKHART. PROFESSOR GILDEROY LOCKHART IS THAT YOU

yet again they talk about how differently he’s drawn sob I can’t

everyone: [turns and winks at the camera] WE KNOW WE’RE CARTOOOONS

what is this pose

gri gri gri

“today’s activity is [holds up a card that says BATTLE] BATTLE”

UNIFOOOOOOORMS

I MEAN COSTUMES

YEEEES. I’VE SEEN DEKU’S COSTUME IN TUMBLR POSTS. I WANT TO SEE HIM WEAR IT YES PLEASE

HERE WE GO

-- PFFFFFFT

Bakugou looks... I’ll let you know when I stop laughing

Ochako looks like your standard Marvel heroine really but the two little buttons on her chest give it an extra dash of cuteness

Iida looks like a fucking super sentai with that helmet

Yuri on Ice, Mickey Mouse, Kermit the Frog, and Tall Guy with Pterodactyl Arms look fine, I guess

do not fucking tell me the chapter’s going to end before we actually see Izuku

...

the chapter ended before we actually saw Izuku

I’m going to kick you you stupid chapter

there isn’t even a bonus character bio at the end, it’s just a thing about all of Horikoshi’s assistants. good for them, I guess, I know they work fucking hard and they’re doing a good job so far

guess what I’m going to do. “read the next chapter.” yep

[dr-gloom]

It’ll be Okay

Part 5!

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9

This is essentially just a filler for now - something I thought of in my nutrition class and had to write out. As they say, a series is only as good as its fillers, so I hope this is okay! I’m taking this chance to explore more introspective, emotional aspects. Should be making more plot-substantial works soon. 

This takes place right after Coffee Date?

Fandom: Sanders’ Sides

Pairing: platonic Prinxiety

Summary: Virgil reflects on some thoughts and feelings while he hangs out with Roman and Patton.

Tags/Warnings: self deprecation, introspection

Read it on AO3

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Virgil sat on the couch, close to Patton but not quite touching. Roman sat on the carpet, back against Virgil’s legs. Virgil was glad for the solidity provided by Roman’s back pressing his legs into the couch, and even though he never outwardly said anything, he had a feeling Roman already knew. When the two of them had first gotten to know each other (after Virgil had shared his story), Roman had confided in Virgil his own past troubles with a less-than-pleasant ex, and the two held an understanding Virgil didn’t even share with his best friend. 

Virgil could tell Patton was reluctant to touch him (one too many panic attacks caused by someone approaching him from behind had put an end to Patton’s surprise hugs), but he wasn’t completely adverse to touch, and Roman understood his need for it. How it defined his validity. So Roman wasn’t afraid to get in Virgil’s space and touch him - with permission of course. 

The three of them were watching Finding Nemo (Patton’s idea) and a bowl of half-eaten popcorn separated the two best friends. Patton was completely absorbed in the movie, and Roman was distractedly playing with the purple laces of Virgil’s vans, only half paying attention to the movie. Virgil was glad the two of his friends got along so well (he supposed he should say three - Logan was his friend after all); it meant he didn’t have to worry about disagreements or tension. Dee hadn’t liked any of his friends - he barely liked Patton, though the other didn’t know that. Of course, Virgil wasn’t dating either of them, but in his opinion that made it more important for them to get along. They were all he had.

Thinking about Dee and how easily all of this could fall apart had Virgil tense. Roman could feel it in the way Virgil’s calves stiffened behind him, and he rubbed Virgil’s ankle comfortingly. Virgil took a slow, steady breath to ground himself, relaxing and thanking the Powers That Be for bringing Roman into his life. He loved Patton, really, but Patton never understood things like this; how seemingly mundane moments could remind him of darker times, how giving Virgil his space made him feel disgusting and wrong and rotten even though Virgil knew that wasn’t the reasoning behind his actions. 

Virgil felt like Patton was babying him a lot, honestly. He felt like Patton didn’t trust him like he used to, and that... really hurt. It was for a lot of small reasons, of course. All stuff Virgil felt a little ridiculous for anyways, but Roman always reassured him they were legitimate. One of the things that bothered him the most was a couple months ago when Virgil had introduced them to Roman and Patton hadn’t trusted Roman’s validity until Logan said he knew the other. It made Virgil feel like Patton didn’t trust him, that his opinions and his judgement weren’t good or didn’t matter. Of course, Virgil knew Patton wouldn’t ever say that, didn’t mean it that way, but he’d been told for years that he was useless, that his opinions didn’t matter, that he didn’t matter unless someone loved him. 

So when Patton acted like Virgil’s judgement didn’t matter and that he couldn’t think for himself, as horrible as it sounded, he felt like he was reliving his relationship with Dee. Virgil had cried when he admitted that to Roman, because he felt like such a horrible friend comparing Patton to Dee, but Roman told him his feelings were valid, that he can feel however he needs to feel, and that just because he thinks like this doesn’t always mean he’s right. Which is okay. Roman, in one of his more serious moments, told Virgil that in times like that he needed to take a look at why he was feeling those things - where the feeling was coming from - rather than focusing on the who. 

That’s what Virgil did. He watched Nemo in the aquarium tank and he thought about why he felt the way he did. When he was with Dee, all of his ideas and plans had to be run by the other. He never really left the house without Dee, and the times he did was only to do small things like grab coffee with Patton. He didn’t have much independence, or leeway, or... anything. And when he came to live with Patton the sudden unencumbered freedom was like being dunked in ice water. He had been so tense and cautious for the longest time, and it took a while to get used to the new lifestyle. Which isn’t to say he doesn’t have nightmares or anxiety attacks, but he (usually) isn’t tense and jittery with paranoia. 

And just when he’d gotten used to being treated like his own person, like a valid adult who had his own life and opinions and freedoms and choices, Patton had gone and taken back his trust in Virgil. Virgil... guessed he understood where Patton was coming from? In a way? But for the one person he trusted more than anything to doubt him and question him when he never had before... it hurt. But he knew Patton would never mean to hurt him, and if he knew, he’d probably burst into tears and apologize until he was blue in the face. 

Patton wasn’t like Dee. At all. He didn’t make Virgil feel guilty for doing or saying something, he didn’t get mad over small mistakes, he never got angry at Virgil for having an anxiety attack. He was kind and understanding and supportive. His smile was the brightest thing he’d ever seen, and always made him feel warm. When Patton frowned or cried, Virgil felt the physical need to help him, to make him happy again. And Virgil wanted Patton to be happy, no matter what that meant for their friendship. When Patton smiled because of him? Well Virgil felt like he could fly right into the sky and never come down. When Patton got excited, he got excited for Patton. When Patton was hurt, Virgil felt protective, and angry at whatever/whoever hurt Patton. 

Virgil glanced over at his friend, slowly taking in his appearance. His eyes shone brightly and he had an excited smile plastered on his face. He was leaning forward a little, his arms resting on his thighs and his fists clenched in anticipation. Virgil smiled slightly at that; Patton was so cute. 

That thought had Virgil recoiling mentally. Wait, cute? Where did that come from? Virgil looked at his hands, nails bitten down and torn in a horrible habit he hasn’t been able to kick. Did he really think Patton was cute? ....Sure, yeah, objectively. He looks at Patton, at his lashes that were just shy of brushing against the lenses of his glasses, and his nose that sloped up just slightly toward the tip. His lips looked soft, and Virgil wondered what it’d be like to kiss them.

He starts, blinking as his chest filled with dread. 

Oh no.

He shoots up to his feet, kicking Roman in the process, and darts off to his room. Patton pauses the movie and calls after Virgil, concern lacing his voice, but when Virgil’s door slams shut his frown only deepens. He starts to get up, but Roman shoots to his feet. “Don’t worry Padre, I got it.” Patton glances toward the hall, “Are you sure?” Roman smiles and nods. “Yeah, I am. I’ll be right back.”

Roman turns and heads down the short hallway to Virgil’s door, gently trying it to find it locked, and knocks softly. “Virge? Hey, come on, let me in. How am I supposed to sweep the prince off his feet if he’s locked away?” Roman leans on the door a bit, listening for movement. After a moment there’s movement from inside and the sound of the lock turning is Virgil’s way of telling Roman to come in. Roman smiles and opens the door just as something - Virgil - moves back onto the bed, collecting into a mass of black fabric. Roman looks around the modest room, purple walls only interrupted by a desk, a sparsely-occupied book case, and a couple band posters. 

Virgil’s sniffling brings Roman’s attention back to the bed, and Roman moves slowly to sit on the edge of the mattress. Virgil doesn’t typically like people on his bed (surprise, surprise), but this was fine. Roman hums in thought before speaking quietly so he doesn’t startle Virgil. “What’s up? Bad Day?” Bad Day was their way of telling each other when they were getting caught up in thoughts of the past, in case they were within range of prying ears. 

Virgil shakes his head and sits up slowly. A pang goes through Roman’s heart at the sight of black lines down Virgil’s cheeks, his tears smearing his eyeshadow. Roman scoots closer, reassured when Virgil doesn’t move away. “What’s wrong, Little Stormcloud?” Virgil sniffles and more tears drip down his cheeks. His voice is weak when he finally answers. “I love Patton.” 

At first, Roman’s confused. Why was that a bad thing? Patton was great, everyone loved him. Then he took in Virgil’s appearance, and his reaction to this apparent revelation, and it finally sunk in. “...Oh.” Virgil’s face scrunches up and he launches himself forward. Roman takes Virgil into his arm as the other starts crying anew, not even caring that he was getting black eyeshadow on his Be More Chill shirt. This was far more important. Roman pet Virgil’s hair, his other arm holding his friend close. “It’s okay Virge. It’ll be okay.” Virgil shakes his head, shaking slightly with sobs.

“H-he’s never gonna love m-me back, R-Ro.”

Roman’s heart physically hurt with how sad Virgil sounded. He wished he could say Virgil was full of it, that this was just the abuse talking, but even he had seen the way Patton and Logan were around each other. He pursed his lips, pressing his nose into Virgil’s hair a moment before speaking. “He could someday. You’re amazing Virgil. Really. You guys would be lucky to have each other. And even if he doesn’t, I know you’ll find someone amazing someday.”

“B-but how? I-I’m so fucked u-up. I’m b-broken. Used g-goods that aren’t e-even that good.” Okay, this Roman could handle. He sighs quietly and flicks the back of Virgil’s head. “What’s that thing Patton says.... Oh yeah. I will physically fight you, young man. Seriously, though, none of that is true. You’re an amazing, beautiful, kind and loving person. You’re incredibly special, and perfect in your own right. Whoever can’t see that doesn’t deserve to lick the dirt off your shoes.” Virgil’s shoulders shake with soft laughter, and Roman relaxes a little. The two sit in silence for a while, neither feeling the pressure to force conversation or move from their spots. 

After easily twenty minutes, Virgil says something. “It hurts, Roman.”

Roman smiles sadly and pets Virgil’s purple fringe out of his face. “I know. It’ll be okay, though.”

A/N: bluh

I feel like I wanna do more with this but there are children in my living room making it impossible to focus and this is a good place to end it anyways?

I guess this is kind of plot-important, but I personally feel like it’s a filler

eh

Taglist: @bunny222 @metaphoricalpluto2

[tozier-boy]

The losers club Hogwarts AU

I said  I would have done it and I did it. So here’s the first chapter of my Hogwarts Au! Any feedback is appreciated, and if you want to be added to my still nonexistent tag list, just say so!

All We Know

Chapter One Main pairing: Reddie Words count: 2306 Ao3

There was something oddly familiar in the smell of the train’s vapor, Eddie realized as he walked down the Hogwarts Express’ corridor. If he turned his head and glanced outside the window, he knew that he could have spotted his mother in the crowd, waving her arms (and probably elbowing anyone near her) and yelling some reminder about the pills being in the suitcase. But Eddie wasn’t turning his head, and he kept walking fast, praying for the train to leave soon.

It wasn’t like he wasn’t grateful to his mother for all the things she did for him, such as paying for his school supplies and send him treats from home every now and then, it was just that he was about to start his seventh and last year at Hogwarts, and the first years’ parents weren’t nearly as apprehensive and excited as his mom was.

It was embarrassing, and Eddie wasn’t having any of it. Not on his last first day, anyway. He was  17, for Merlin’ sake.

“Did you take your pills, Eddie-Bear? You know how dusty the library is! And your allergy might get pretty serious. Did you remember to pack your inhaler?” “Yes, mom.” “What about your Remembrall? So you’ll never forget to take your medications.” “Yes, mom.” “You’ll write to me, won’t you, Eddie? You wouldn’t forget about your mommy, right?” “No, mom.” “Will you be careful? You always need to be safe, Eddie. Do you promise you’ll always be safe?” “Yes, mom.” “You’re such a good boy, Eddie-Bear. Come give mommy a kiss.”

There was objectively nothing wrong about the whole dialogue. Except that it was entertained five minutes before. In the middle of the platform. In front of everyone. And of course, Mrs Kaspbrak knew nothing about keeping her voice down.

Getting on the Hogwarts Express was the thing Eddie looked forward to the most during his summers. September the 1st had been his favorite day since he was eleven years old, and nothing had changed that over the years. September the 1st meant Hogwarts. It meant friends and classes. It meant he got to sleep again in his cozy, warm bed in the Hufflepuff dormitory instead of bleach smelling sheets and it meant getting away from home. Eddie loved his mother, he really did, but Sonia Kaspbrak knew how to make it hard for him. Eddie didn’t feel like he needed his inhaler when he was at school, but he used it on a regular basis when he was at home. His mom lived in a muggle neighborhood. She moved there with Eddie’s father, since they both believed it would have been a safer and quieter choice, and decided to stay there after he died. Soon enough, she started to blend herself perfectly among muggles. She almost had a breakdown when Eddie got his letter, too afraid that something could have happened to her little angel in the wizarding world. If it wasn’t for the self washing dishes in the morning, Eddie would have believed his mother had lost her powers over the years. “Eddie-Bear! You’re such a good boy! Come give daddy a kiss!” Eddie stopped on his tracks as he heard that voice. He sighed and closed his eyes, feeling tired already. When he opened them again, Richie Tozier’s head was popping out of a compartment. Eddie prayed that he was being mistaking, but Richie seemed taller, which was honestly unfair, because he was already the tallest of the group and it was just inacceptable for him to keep growing like that. His hair, over the summer, had grown wilder and messier,  a splash of freckles still covered the boy’s nose and his front teeth were still a little too big, but that didn’t stop Richie from smiling from ear to ear. His eyes, as usual, looked way bigger behind his huge glasses. “Shut your mouth, Tozier.” Eddie hissed. Of course Richie had listened to the whole conversation he had with his mother, because that was just Eddie’s luck. “That’s it? You haven’t seen me in months and that’s the first thing you want to say to your best friend?” Richie said, in mock shock. “Bill’s my best friend.” Eddie reminded him, rolling his eyes and walking past him into the compartment. Richie brought his hands to his heard and bent in two, whining and moaning in pain. “For fuck’s sake, Richie, sit down and give us a break.” Stan scolded, leaning against the seat and sighing loudly. Eddie giggled and sat down next to him, and the two boys bumped their fists together as Richie sat in front of them, folding his arms on his chest. “You are both so lovely today, aren’t you?” He launched his legs between them, and yes, Eddie could definitely tell that Richie was taller. Eddie wrinkled his nose, but a smile was tugging the corner of his lips. Of course he had missed Richie. He had missed every single one of his friends, obviously, but Richie was the loudest, hence the one you’d immediately notice if he was not around.   Yes, Richie was loud and annoying and obnoxious and his jokes were honestly terrible, but they all loved him immensely. “Am I particularly handsome today? Because you’re staring, Eds.” Richie said, smiling widely. Eddie’s eyes widened and his cheeks turned bright pink as he moved his attention to the window, pleased to see that the train had started moving. “I wasn’t. And don’t call me that, I hate it when you call me that. Eddie is already short for Edward. It doesn’t need to be shorter.” “I don’t know, Eds, you’re pretty short yourself.” Richie said, laughing at his own joke, which only made Eddie roll his eyes and fold his arms on his chest. “Your jokes are getting old.” “Not as old as your mom.” “That’s not even an insult! It’s a mere fact!” “The fact that I bang your mom is a mere fact!” At that point, Stan got up and left the compartment, which didn’t surprise neither of them. Richie was grinning, and Eddie, despite himself, was too. As weird as it might have sounded, he had really fucking missed this. The bickering, the arguing, the awful jokes and the look of absolute joy that would lit up Richie’s eyes anytime he was getting attention. Things were already back to normal, and Eddie couldn’t have been more grateful for that. “Watch your trash mouth, Trashmouth, or there might be a missing student when we get to the castle.” Eddie said, but his smile hadn’t vanished. “You know, for a Hufflepuff, you’re rather hostile.” Richie said, gesturing towards the Hufflepuff’ patch on Eddie’s robes. “You guys!” They both turned their heads at the same time, but Richie was the first one to get up, lifting Beverly Marsh off of the ground and spinning her around. “Miss Marsh! Long time no see! How are you doing on this fine day?” Richie said happily, without putting her down. Beverly laughed lightly, wrapping her arms around Richie’s shoulders and planting a firm kiss on his lips. Anyone who might have seen them, would have thought they were a couple. A power couple, actually. They were both gorgeous: Beverly, with her wonderful auburn hair and her green eyes, and Richie, tall and lanky and with amazing cheekbones. They were both Slytherins, which meant they spent a great amount of time together, and they both had a crude sense of humor and a tendency to ignore whatever rule was given. But no, they weren’t a couple. That was common knowledge. They had been best friends since the very first day at Hogwarts. Inseparable, actually. “Let me down, you giant fuck. How fucking tall are you? Did your folks watered you overnights?” Beverly laughed, reaching up to ruffle his hair as he pushed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose. “Hi, Eddie!” She said happily, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek. “Hi, Bev, did you have a nice summer?” Eddie asked cheerfully. “Horrendous, thanks for asking.” She replied, just as cheerfully, as Richie and her flopped down on the seat at the same time. “How about you?” Eddie shrugged and opened a pack of Skittles, which were always a great hit among those who weren’t used to muggle stuff. “Just as boring as usual, I guess. My mom still thinks I’m a fragile toddler, but what’s new about that? So yeah. Boring.” “He missed me.” Richie said confidentially, elbowing her lightly and making her laugh and shake her head. “Keep telling yourself that, Richie.” Eddie said, throwing a skittle at him and raising his eyebrows when the boy caught it with his mouth. Impressive. “Uh-uh-hello guh-guys!” Bill, already in his Gryffindor uniform, was standing in the doorway, smiling at pointing to his left. “Any ruh-ruh-reason why S-Stan’s buh-banging his head ah-against the window?” He asked, amused, and Richie gestured vaguely with his hands. “Leave him be, Billiam, he’s just being pissy.” He said, making room on his right. “Have a seat! Have a skittle! Why the hell took you so long to show up? Have your feet started stuttering as well?” Bill couldn’t help but giggle, but he choose to sit by Eddie’s side. The two of them hugged each other and Richie rolled his eyes. Bill had been Eddie's best friend ever since they could remember. Bill's parents were muggles, and they lived just next door to Eddie's house. The boys had met each other while playing out in the garden, and they could barely believe their eyes when they both got their letters. Bill even more so, since his parents were muggles. Eddie, on the other hand, was kinda expecting it. Bill had been there when Eddie's dad died, Eddie had been there when Georgie was born and Bill had to learn how to be a proper big brother. “Bill’s got a hug and he barely said hello to me.” He muttered to Beverly, loud enough for Eddie to hear. “Now who’s the one being pissy?” Eddie inquired, smiling smugly, hoping he wasn’t blushing. “Anyway, I wuh-was with G-Georgie. It’s his fuh-first day. He is a bih-bih-bit nervous.” Bill explained shoving a fistful of skittles into his mouth. “He duh-doesn’t want to be a S-Slytherin buh-beacause I’m a Gh-Gryffindor.” Richie and Beverly eyed each other. They hated how people seemed to believe that nothing good could ever came from Slytherin. If you asked them, being sorted into Slytherin, had been the best thing that had ever happened to them. Both Richie and Beverly didn’t come from pleasant families, so finding a new one at school had been more than they could have ever asked for. “Don’t worry, Bill, we’ll keep an eye on him if he’s sorted into Slytherin.” Beverly said, smiling at Bill, who smiled a grateful smile back. Everyone knew how much Bill loved and cared for his little brother and how much he missed him when he was away. “Who’s gonna be sorted into Slytherin?” Mike Hanlon, already in his black and yellow Quidditch sweater, was smiling brightly. He had been working out over the summer, because, Eddie noticed, he was way more built up. Among  the boys in the group, Mike was probably the only one who already looked like more like a man and less like a boy.  “Bless their soul, anyway. Being in the same house as Richie. Hellish.” Mike joked, bumping his fists with the boys and high fiving Beverly. “Ya’ll so nice to me today. I’m moved, I’m touched. Pour all that love on me.” Richie said, flipping them off, and they all laughed. Eddie could feel his heart feel up with joy as he watched at his friends: Beverly’s legs were thrown on Richie’s and her eyes were bright and slightly wrinkled at the sides from all the laughter; Mike was stealing some Skittles from the bag and talking to Bill, who was laughing and clapping his hands together. And Richie, of course, whose smile could have lighted up an entire city. Eddie felt his heart skipping a beat when Richie met his gaze and winked playfully, but ignored it and stuck his tongue out at him. “What did we miss?” Ben, who had grown taller as well over the summer, was grinning, but his gaze was fixed on Beverly. By his side, with a grumpy frown, was Stan, who sat down next to the window, greeting everyone who wasn’t in the compartment when he left.   “Hello Ben, did you have a good summer?” Beverly grinned, shifting closer to Richie to make space for Ben next to her. Ben smiled back at her, slightly flushed on the cheeks, and sat down. Here we go again, Eddie thought, eyeing between Beverly and Ben, wondering if they were going to get their shits together this year. “Hey Ben, we’re going to beat your Ravenclaw’ asses on the field this year.” Mike teased. They had both been in the respective houses Quidditch teams since their second year. Ben was a beater, Mike was the chaser. It had became a bit of a tradition to go to every single Quidditch match together. Even if any of them were playing, they would go and root for their houses. “Bitch, you wish.” Ben and Stanley replied at the same time. “Yuh-you’re not even in the tuh-tuh-team, Stan.” Bill said, chuckling, and Stan shrugged. “But I’m still a Ravenclaw. And I enjoy watching Quidditch so, of course, I root for my house.” Ben and Stan bumped their fists together and Mike shook his head lightly, giggling. “This is gonna be a damn good year!” Richie shouted, cupping his mouth to make his voice louder. As if there was any need for that. “Almost as good as Eddie’s mom’ bl-“ “Shut up, Richie!”