#anyway yes there's not much to the story yet it's just a town a vibe a scoop of vampire lore and two dilf homos. what about it

[ruvviks]

there is no place for you here

[bigtreefest]

Chapter 1: Breakin’ Up With a Broken Heart

From: Bigger Houses Series

Pairing: (Future) Mountain Ranger! Ari Levinson x Reader, mentions of past ex x reader

Summary: A year after a breakup that left you shattered, you’re ready to start life anew in your secluded Colorado mountain cabin. Just when you swear off love is when a new beast crosses your path.

Word Count: 1,896

Content/Warnings: Mentions of heartbreak, in-depth description of a breakup and feelings regarding that, safe driving in juxtaposition to a reckless person, deep introspection, enjoyment of mountain cabin vibes, lmk if I missed any

Author’s Note: This serves as a lot of exposition for what I hope will be a very lovey story; everyone knows you’ll probably face some heartbreak first. Also, yes, this is heavily based on my first heartbreak. What about it? Anyway, please enjoy the start of this long-anticipated fic. Likes, comments, reblogs, and asks are appreciated more than you know. And in case you didn’t hear it yet today, I love you.

Dividers by @animatedglittergraphics-n-more

I STRONGLY suggest listening to this song, not just because it’ll help get across the vibes I’d like, but also because it’s a really good song.

Main Masterlist | Series Masterlist | Next >

Your break-up

It’s been months since you walked out on him and left town in a cloud of dust. It didn’t end well, but you’d be lying if you said you thought he was right for you.

One year ago

It ended in a text. Nine months gone in a text.

I’m done.

To which you responded: You mean our relationship? Ok.

It was honestly a relief. You had been looking for a way out, but couldn’t bring yourself to do it. Maybe a part of you wondered if someone would ever want you that much again, even though he only ever showed it in words and not action. Your head was okay with the situation, but it seemed your heart didn’t get the memo. Even though it ended by what you considered a mutual agreement (if that’s what you call him dumping you over you not visiting on a weekend you were spending with your family since he didn’t prioritize anyone’s time but his own), it still hurt. Three days later, he posted a pic with a new girl and a new car the same price as the ring you two had looked at.

He was a textbook narcissist with mommy issues, how’d they always find you? It was the kind of relationship where three months in, you should’ve ended it, but stuck around for another six. It was full of late-night calls, but not even the good ones. These were the ones that happened because he never seemed to have time for you during the day. The attention seemed good at first, but the calls would leave you tired the next morning, unable to get up as early as you wanted to so you could be productive. And you couldn’t talk to your mom and sister about it. They hated him. They saw through his selfish behavior before you and you wish you would’ve listened before giving him everything you could, which still wasn’t enough.

He said he wanted to get married hardly a month in because he loved everything about you. At first, you thought it was a joke, but the more he said it, the more you somehow convinced yourself that was what you wanted, too, but it could not have been more far from the truth. You wanted a happy life with a partner, but not like that and not that fast. Well, was it too fast? Or did it just feel that way because it was with the wrong person? Plus, it was less of a partnership, and more of a continuous compromise put on your part. Either way, as time went on, you realized that every small conversation was leading to a fight and your work and other relationships were suffering from the time he expected of you, but never returned. All he did was expect you to give, not holding himself to that same standard, but for some reason, you kept holding on. You had even looked at rings, not committing, though, because he knew you’d want him to speak to your mother first and she would never go for it. So, the relationship continued to drag on until he got upset since you said no to him one too many times.

But that was so long ago now. You did your time crying, listening to all the sad songs, wondering where you could have possibly gone wrong until you had enough. The only thing you really did wrong was not trust your instincts. You went too far following his heart and not far enough with your own mind. Love can be cerebral, right? It should be. There was no reason to feel sorry for yourself, you were better off and doing all the things you wanted that he’d held you back from before. He had very evidently moved on, and so could you. Sick of feeling down in a town that only reminded you of heartbreak, you found what you needed right now: a new job and an open Zillow posting you’d been watching for forever: your ticket out.

You were taking a vacation to your brand new start, tears long gone and dried with the wind that blew through your hair as you drove through the wooded mountainside. The sun was warm on your face, all loneliness was left in the darkness you left behind. Boxes and bags graciously organized by your mom filled the back of your SUV, and her’s sat just as full, driving behind you up the mountain passes. Before you’d gotten up here, the two of you had stopped at the last gas station, filling up your cars, getting a couple snacks, and stretching your legs before the final couple miles upward. Standing outside your cars gassing up, she looked over to you.

“Hey, just a reminder to be careful in the mountains. You don’t know what’s up there. Mountain lions, bears, snakes.”

“Oh my” you said giggling at your own Wizard of Oz reference.

She smiled and rolled her eyes at you “haha, very funny, but I’m serious. Not just about living there, but driving, too. You never know when a deer could jump out.”

You’d heard this a thousand times, being from wooded, albeit less dense, areas before. Plus, your mom was always concerned about you. Perks of growing up with a dad who was never really present. All of her focus could go to you. Never seeing a proper model relationship was probably half of the reason you had gotten into this mess, too, but you’d never blame that. She’d given you all she could and done a darn good job raising a driven, successful daughter (in every aspect except romance). You were eternally grateful for her support of moving where you had always wanted. It was honestly the perfect opportunity. Once the pumps clicked and the gas was finished, you both prepared to hop back into your cars.

“And remember, don’t talk to strangers.”

“Mom, we’re driving. I doubt we’ll run into anyone else up there.”

She shrugged and you responded with a small smirk, shaking your head as you put the keys in the ignition.

Back to driving higher and higher in elevation, you were drumming your fingers on the dashboard to the songs on the radio that you had blasting. Benefit of driving alone: no interrupted music. As you kept going, the road was becoming narrower and windier, pairing with the dimming afternoon sun. As you were rounding a big bend, you saw something step out into the road and you immediately swerved around it to avoid crashing, pulling over onto the side right after. What was that? A bear? A deer? No, not a deer, too tall. Your mom pulled over right behind you and rolled down her window as you got out of the car and walked back to hers to fill her in.

“What happened?”

“Something stepped out into the road. I’m not sure what it was.” A tall man with cascading brown hair and a full, fitting beard stepped into your vision through your mom’s passenger window. “Or should I say someone. I’m gonna go talk to him, make sure he’s okay.”

“Alright, kiddo. Be careful, though. I’ll be right here.”

You stood up from leaning against your mom’s driver side door and made your way around the front of the car, your eyes drifting upwards from the ground to a narrow waist and broad shoulders, chest rising and falling with deep breaths, eventually meeting with the most gorgeous pair of ocean blues. All these features belonged to the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen, but that didn’t excuse the fact that he ran out into the middle of the road and could’ve killed either of you.

Caught off guard by the whole situation, your brain defaulted to panic and defensive mode.

“Oh my gosh! I thought you were a bear! I almost hit you!”

The man looked at you with wide eyes and simply blinked, unable to form a response until he stuttered out

“I-it’s really my fault. I’m not sure what I was thinking.”

Even when evidently distracted and out of it, he was still insanely attractive, making you grow more anxious by the second under his intense stare and scrutinization as he continued to stand there, taking you in and then catching himself and looking anywhere else. You were self-conscious of your hair that was tucked under a beanie to combat the cold mountain air and likely disheveled from your long day. He was obviously in a state where arguing wouldn’t benefit either of you, and honestly, you were in the same boat, ready to get to your new home and start unpacking. The sun was starting to set already and you definitely didn’t want to be out after dark, plus you knew the exhaustion from the drive would be catching up soon.

“Um, it’s ok, I just think you need to be more careful next time. Listen, I don’t wanna be pulled over on this stretch of road for too long, God forbid a real bear, or someone without good reflexes comes around, but, I’m glad you’re not hurt. Take care.”

Wanting to avoid any more awkward interactions and the opportunity of embarrassing yourself in front of an adonis, you rushed back to your car and started back up the mountain. You could see the image of the man in your side mirror getting smaller, his gaze still fixed on your car, until you turned and lost sight of him.

Once you pulled into your new home, your mom met you with a suitcase, ready to take the stairs to the entrance.

“Well he was cute, albeit a little reckless. Wonder what was going on”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever see him again, though. Maybe that’s for the best. I don’t need to make a habit of almost hitting things when driving around up here.”

You unlocked the door and held it open for your mom as she walked in and turned back to look at you. “Well, by the looks of how small this town is, you might. And once you figure out whatever’s going on in his head, maybe he’ll be a nice new friend to have up here.”

“Um, yeah, I guess. Maybe. After all this time, I think I’ll need a friend. Someone to restore my hope for humanity.”

You tried to lighten the mood regarding your distaste for others that had grown from feeling so deeply betrayed and your mom gave a knowing glance in response. But it seemed there was something more to it. It was knowing in more ways than one, hardly noticeable, as you turned to go get another load to bring in from the trunk.

Your mind raced with thoughts of having to get all of this junk into the house. You stepped out into the crisp mountain air, admiring the deepening blue sky and unobstructed stars, the darkness in contrast to the way your mood had brightened slowly from something similarly dark over the past year, becoming more like the stars that glowed in the beautiful night ski. As you trotted down the stairs, your tried to convince yourself that being here was going to be everything you hoped for yourself and your future ticket to happiness. That the last thing on your mind was love.

Next >

[soaps-mohawk]

Okay, so first I wanna say I adore your writing, CRCB and Kyletober, you make me feel so many emotions while reading it’s amazing (and I’m so excited for the upcoming fluff 🥰)

And second (and I know this is like so irrelevant to the whole story but whatever), is CRCB’s cabin that they’re at now, at rocky waters, or like cute beachy waters. I don’t know if I missed something about the description or what, but I need to know bc I lowkey kinda wanna make what I imagine in the sims 4, but I need to know if it’s gonna be a Sulani build or if I’m gonna be making my own ocean

Ahh, anyway, thank you for your amazing writing contributions to the COD community 🙇‍♀️

Aww thank you lovely!!! Yes, there will be plenty of fluff on the way, but still some angst because we're not out of the woods with that yet by any means.

And as far as where the cottage is, which absolutely is relevant to the story, is definitely rocky beach. They're in like Northwest (or at least what I would call northwest) Cornwall near the Port Isaac area. So very rocky, cliffy beaches not more island paradise like Sulani. When they talk about going to the beach it's going to be like Lundy Bay kind of vibe. When they talk about going to town to shop it's going to be like Polzeath or even all the way to Padstow (since there's a Tesco there and they want bigger areas with bigger stores where they won't be as noticeable or recognizable if they're shopping there constantly).

I built the cottage build (in the Sims) in Brindleton Bay since it matched more the vibe of the rocky shores and Northern coast vibe versus the more warmer, open sand beach vibe. Of course you can build wherever you like and imagine it however you want, but that's more the area I was envisioning.

And yes, I did that much research. I spent like 30 minutes learning how UK license plates work so I could include a one sentence detail that was completely irrelevant to the entire story just for fun (no one even noticed that which makes me kind of sad because UK license plates are confusing af) but that's the lengths that I go to, to make this story as realistic as possible. So yeah, I literally scrolled a map of Cornwall for two hours to find an area that fit the vibe of where the cottage is. I just didn't include specifics in the story because ya know, it's scary including specific details of areas you're not familiar with because you might get called out by those who are familiar and then the hours you spent researching were for nothing.

Anyway that might just be me.

Way off topic but yes. Not irrelevant, rocky shores, build wherever you like, and thank you for the lovely comments 💚

[darby-draws]

1 and 12 for Quinn, 18 for Andre ?

Thanks for asking! [questions]

Read More for big long post! <3

1 What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

It was right after Art Fight and I desperately wanted a Queer Horror OC before Halloween season. There was a lot of talk about what kind of horror we wanted to go towards. (which maybe still is not quite settled as there are multiple "Horror Movie Plots" in our Whorror Movie story.) But we settled on demon possessed with some religious trauma and a bit of delicious revenge, and Darla and I both worked on designing our own guys separately and see how they would fit together. I sketched these:

I thought the demon might be similar to an AU demon we have, Goopy, who possesses Lucky and Nate in a story, so that's why I have the drippy drawing in the corner and the inspo for the top surgery tattoos. That's how Goopy was! But Quinn's Demon is a bit different now! Black hair with horns was a must but it mostly became spiky hair with the Vibe of horns. (… unless! rule of cool: draw them as horns anyway its badass!!)

In an early iteration of the story Quinn and Parker were going to find a baby possessed by a demon, from an Evil Cult Town. Quinn's demon and Parker's strength (and bloodthirst) destroyed their Big Bad leader who was doing the baby/demon sacrifices, and the baby was abandoned, maybe thought to be dead? They were like sure… We'll see what we can do with this little thang. They named it Blair Belladonna. They knew of an older witchy/demon knowledgeable grandma figure (literally Domino's Grandma before Domino was a character) who could help them learn about this baby's demon and how to raise a little demonling. BUT That never settled into canon, there is no baby Blair. (However! Much of the baby demon possessing cult thing turned into Domino's backstory. 👀)

12 What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC?

Remembering the dripping perma crying eyeliner down his cheeks. Yes it's supposed to be a permanent feature. 😔 Also figuring out how to draw the hair in between the "horns", how to make it spiky but not distract from The Big Spikes, which direction its going off in, etc. Otherwise I think Quinns pretty easy to grasp for me! 🤔 I love when I get to use flat black for hair and clothes when I'm just doodling so thats always a relief.

18 What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

This was trickyyy ahh Andre's such an old character that hasn't been the main focus lately, so a lot of thinking of him recently has been like. Reminiscing on old facts and not necessarily bringing in anything new. If theres something I've recently discovered of him, I can't think of it!

One thing I've recently decided after some consideration is that I'm going to fuse the Original Andre story where he adopts Delilah the robot and the AU where Andre has an Actual Human Baby instead of the robot together. So now, Delilah and baby Leia exist at the same time! Yay, two of them!!! It's gonna have to make me rethink and plan out his timeline a bit differently and see how he reacts to things now. I just haven't actually set out the time to plan the combined story yet. I feel like I softened up Andre's story a bit in the baby AU, (less drug use, less bad relationships with sketchy people, etc) so I'll have to see if I end up keeping it slightly more balanced or if it'll stay more true to the Actual Canon events, maybe just pushed around the timeline a bit.

Something else that feels new from semi recent times: I thought of an AU where all three of his parents actually like. Get together/stay together polycule it up and raise Andre together rather than the usual backstory of:

two good friends in college befriend and get a crush on the same woman

the guys start a business together

one of them marries the woman and they have a kid together but he gets way too into his work and neglects his wife, oops :(

she then goes to their friend for comfort, which leads to cheating, which leads to she GETS PrEGNANT (WITH ANDRE!) (NOT her Husband's child!) oops :(

she tells her husband the truth and they talk about separating

The Friend leaves The Business and is told to basically never speak to them again

Husband decides will simply raise this child as his own and works on bettering himself and the marriage (if only for appearances and/or for their older daughters sake) and he will simply Not resent the New Child for any reason, it's That Easy! (he said, you know, like a liar.)

Andre finds this out (Accidentally! From his SISTER) as a full grown ass adult and it fucks him up for a bit. oops :(

⬆ this is a lot to Get Into. And also it's Not the new stuff, although I probably haven't actually delved into it before…!

But basically, all this to say, this New 3 Parent AU leads to Andre being much more well adjusted, because so much of his… THing in his life (in canon timeline) has juust been. family treating him unfairly for something he had no part in and resenting/reacting to that. 🥴 And his two dads are such opposite strict/lenient personalities that they'd balance each other like, reallly wellll if they had that opportunity to both raise him from the start, and Andre would have someone in his corner when he's Going Through rough times in life. AUgh. If only… (Also his bio dad is … probably autistic like him so I think someone would like, UNDERSTAND him and the way he does things while growing up which is like, wow groundbreaking.)

[lostandfoundbook]

Chapter 14

Read it on AO3

Read it on Wattpad

Time had passed since Alexandria's day out on the town. She'd enjoyed being able to spend time with Oliver, just ice skating and talking. People were taking their photos, and something about the moment felt truly ethereal to Alex. 

Right now, she was planning a trip back home to go and see Benji. She had started to remember so much, yet so little at the same time. She figured that headed back home for a day or two might do her some good. She hadn't told Oliver yet, but she packed anyway.

Simple things. Like a different change of clothes, and an outfit for working out in, just in case. She brought lots of hair ties and different kinds of notebooks. She didn't know what inspiration might strike her. She was currently aiming to write an album. Something about how she was feeling, and her experiences with navigating the world with amnesia.

She had gotten her hands on her demo track and it sounded perfect. She posted a tiny snippet of it on her Twitter and it went absolutely wildly popular. She wasn't expecting it. She never had people there waiting for her music to be released. She was used to having to heavily promote it for it to do anything. 

When she was a teenager, she used to make music on her own. Stuff she'd produced when she visited Benji and played around with the soundboard. Making music based off of vibes and vibes alone. Her stems would come first, and then the lyrics. It was easier to work that way. But she didn't do that anymore.

She looked at the duffel bag sitting on her bed stuffed full of items to help her spawn memories. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and looked down at the t-shirt and jeans she was wearing. It would have to do. She picked up her phone and shot Oliver a text stating that she'd be visiting friends back home. 

She walked out into the hallway and came face to face with Oliver. "You're leaving now?" He asked out. A piece of him seemed protective over the girl. "Yeah. I'm just headed up to see Benji so it shouldn't take too long. Why? You want to tag along?"

The man rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. "I don't know. I don't think Benji would want to see me."

This made curiosity spike up in the blonde girls chest with child-like wonder. "What happened, anyway?"

"It's a really really long story."

She rolled her eyes and readjusted the strap on her shoulder, silently heaving the bag as she did so. "Everything's a long story with you. If I asked Benji, he'd welcome you with open arms. Why don't you come? You wouldn't even need a change of clothes."

Oliver leaned against the cool wood of the door frames. "I really don't know. I think you should probably ask him first. It's just kind of embarrassing talking about what happened."

Alex matched his gaze for a moment before her mouth formed a line and her eyebrows squeezed tightly together. "What do you mean by that?" She asked, searching for an answer in his eyes.

He lowered his head down and a small smile started to spread across his face. "What if I tell you along the way."

Her head lifted with shock as she heard this. "You're coming!" she pulled her hands together in glee. "Yes, I'll come. But if he wants me to leave, I'm staying in the car." He pushed himself off of the door frame and stood straight up.

"Alright, that makes sense."

He looked back towards his own room for a moment. "Let me go change?" He asked. "Yeah, of course." she replied. She sat against the door to her suite and waited for him to get back. She wondered what could've possibly happened between the two. Benji never talked about it, whatever it was. 

He had only supported Alex in her hate for Oliver. She had seen it in their text messages talking about the event, and all the times she'd ranted and raved about Oliver to him during her time away from him. 

Speaking of messages, she was still receiving messages from Everette, despite blocking MULTIPLE of his numbers by this point. He continued to create fake numbers to reach out to her. She tried her hardest to ignore it through the sea of messages on her phone. Just another notification in the mass of notifications.

Alex was excited to see Benji again. She knows from her research on herself that she hasn't seen him in a long time. He was one of the few men that Alex truly trusted with her life. Men hadn't treated her right throughout her life, and it's lead her to her distaste in men. She tried not to dwell on that thought too hard, or else it might threaten to expose a whole new trove of memories she dared not dive into. 

She watched as Oliver slinked back out of his room wearing a cream colored long sleeve shirt with black slacks and a pair of designer tennis shoes made for actually playing the sport. She wondered how often he did, you know, play tennis for real. Maybe he sat out there in his tank top and shorts just hitting a ball around. She couldn't imagine it, though.

He gave off more golfer vibes, right now. He had his own satchel wrapped around his shoulder. Add a visor to his head and he'd be perfect. "You really don't know how to dress down, do you?"

He looked up from the door he was busy locking and a smile spread across his face. "Of course not. I wouldn't be caught dead outside without my usual get up. You should know this by now." He headed towards her with a smirk. "C'mon. I'm driving."

She tilted her head. "You know the way?"

He shut his eyes for a moment and stopped walking. "I might need some help. You don't care if I drive, do you?"

She fixed her gaze on the man. "I don't care. I just want to know what happened between you two." Alex watched at Oliver physically grimaced at that. The pair began walking again, headed for the golden elevators around the corner.

"We might have... I don't know.. Almost been a thing at one point? It was really confusing."

Alex was now the one to stop dead in her tracks, gawking at the man. "And he never told me?! What the hell."

She reached to pull out her phone and scroll through their messages. Not once had this been a thing they talked about. "It was a really long time ago. It was when we were in college. It's been years. Maybe he doesn't even remember." He shrugged his shoulders, as if this were inconsequential to him. 

"Oh no. He wouldn't forget." 

She stared at her phone as she typed out a message towards him. 'Be on our way soon! Bringing a friend. Need to talk.'

She looked back up and shuffled it in her pocket. "Listen. I only didn't tell you sooner because it's embarrassing. It was before I even met my wife, and I had no clue what I was doing with my life. It was all complicated and he was also there."

The two had begun to walk again. "We had a couple classes together and got stuck together on a project. We got real close after a couple of weeks. We might've kissed. It was stupid."

She tried not to make eye contact with him, and he did the same. It would've only worsened the feelings he was having. He sort of thanked her for that, mentally. "I don't think it was stupid. You were young."

He pursed his lips to the side. In the end he decided to reply. "Yeah, I guess so. I figured it's the reason he's never reached out for any brand deals." 

Alex nodded, and they turned the corner to reach the elevator. "I just figured it was because he associated with me. I never thought any deeper into it, but, it makes sense."

The walked up and pressed the button to head down. Why hadn't Benji told her about this? What was his perspective? How did he feel about Oliver? 

As they reached the car, Oliver walked over towards the passenger side and opened the door for Alex. This made her blush a bit. Maybe, after all, chivalry isn't dead. She stepped in and sat in the seat. She noticed the way the car shone as if it had just been buffed out for them. Oliver popped open his car door and slid in. "You ready for a road trip?"

Alexandria let out a little giggle. "It's not that far. 40 minutes, at most. I wouldn't exactly call that a road trip!"

He smiled as he plugged the eyes into the engine block. "I don't drive very often. I love it, but I usually have people driving me around. It's safer that way. So even a 20 minute drive is exciting to me."

The girl raised an eyebrow towards the man. "And how do you expect you'll do in the traffic?"

He brushed his hands over the steering wheel as he pulled out of the parking space they were in. They were off on the city together. "I'll do perfectly fine, I think. We've got music, and I've got you to talk to. Tell me, what have you been planning with your career?" 

A sigh left her lips. What was she doing with her career? That was a very good question. "I don't even know where to begin."

She had always considered all of the things she wanted to do when she was famous, and yet, they still seemed so out of reach. She wanted to perform at the hotel at one point, but that would involve a lot of planning. She wanted to keep doing theatre, if possible with all the time crunches she's expecting to have.

"I think I want to do music videos, eventually. Something simple to start out with. I think I want to direct my first music video back, which would make it seem like an easy transition for my fanbase. I've always made my own stuff with me and my friends."

She looked out at the window and saw skyscraper next to skyscraper, each building getting taller as they passed through. Something about this felt familiar to Alex. "Hey, did you ever figure out what Everette was breaking in for?"

Oliver shook his head. "We don't have as many camera's as you'd imagine. Most of the backstage is a dead zone in regards to the footage we get. We don't want any leaks happening, so we don't allow any cameras whatsoever."

Alex stopped to think for a moment. So say, theoretically, if something were to happen in there. Nobody would see? 

"Isn't that dangerous?" Alex replied, pulling her feet up onto the dashboard. "Not really. We've got lots of security. They found you, after all."

"Yeah..."

She continued watching the buildings outside the window. She could see all the people going about their daily life, unaware of the two people inside the armored car. In fact, it looked pretty normal from the outside. A black BMW with thick borders along the windows. You'd never expect anything different from the outside looking in. It made her feel safe, like she could go anywhere in the world, and not a person could touch her.

Oliver suddenly broke the silence between the two. "So, how often did you used to visit Benji, anyway?" He fiddled with the steering wheel as he spoke. "Pretty often. I used to live with him at one point. He gave me a place to stay when I had no where else to go."

"But you moved in with Everette?" He asked. He seemed to regret it the moment it left his mouth. The two didn't talk about her past with Everette very often, only their present and lack-of-future together. "Yeah, I guess I did. I wish I could remember why. I'm hoping this trip will bring me some sort of clarity."

A low gruff sound left Oliver's mouth, a sound of approval. "It's a good idea, you know. At the very least, you get to see friends you haven't seen in months."

The car ride was long and filled with chatter of the two. They switched between talking about friends, to talking about clothes. They talked about the latest fashion trends, which Alex was shocked Oliver would keep up with. They talked about the latest news and everything that was happening in the media.

They did their best to avoid continuing talking about Everette. It was a sore subject, and Alex was trying to put it behind her. Not very well, but she was trying. The ride was nice. She watched as the skyscraper landscapes transformed into greenery for days as they slowly worked their way out of the heart of the city and into one of the suburbs. 

Trees lines the rows of housing, acting as shading to block out the heat. The front laws were littered with green lawns and white picket fences and the girl noted how idealistic this part of the city must be. Close enough towards the action, but far enough away to get peace.

They continued to make their way out of the neighborhood and into the next section of the city where Benji's theatre was located. Alex had to help Oliver with navigation, but besides that, they were well on their way to reacquainting themselves with old friends. 

As they pulled up to the hotel, Oliver turned the car off and pulled the eyes out of the ignition. "Welp. We're here. Are you ready?" 

Alex reached over for her duffel bag and lugged it back around her shoulder. "Yeah, I really am." She popped her car door open and looked both ways before exiting and looping around the other side. She stood next to Oliver and her head came to his shoulder-neck area. She felt tiny next to him. "Well? Let's go inside."

* * *

Meeting up face to face with Benji was a different experience. She could smell the cologne he wore and it drowned her scenes in familiarity, comfort, and warmth. She could spend hours in his scent. It smelled like family, a real family, not like the ones she had grown up with originally. A found family that she had made herself, and she had finally returned.

"Andie! How are you?" he spoke out before taking a step back and eyeing up Oliver. He leaned in for another hug before whispering in her ear. "You brought him" She pulled out of the hug and put her hands on her hips. "Trust me. A lot has changed over the past couple of months."

The two boys exchanged awkward eye contact with each other before Oliver offered him a small wave. Benji looked back towards Alex. "If you say so."

She did. She trusted Oliver, and she hoped that Benji could learn to trust him one day, too. This were very different. Alex wasn't stuck with her shitty boyfriend anymore, and she could do so much more with her life now that she was free. 

Well. Semi-free. "So." Benji started to say, side eyeing Oliver as the two walked further into the theatre. "What have you been up to?"

"Making music. Doing theatre." Alex replied. Benji whipped around to face her. "You're doing theatre again?!" The girl replied by nodding fervently. "It's really exciting! I love doing theatre!"

"I know, but you kept telling me you couldn't do music and theatre at the same time?!" Benji replied, now walking backwards to keep the pace. "Yes, I'll admit, I haven't been thinking about theatre in a bit since I did my last production, but I want to find a way to balance the two."

Benji turned around as they reached the stairs of the stage, walking up them. "I'm glad you're finding yourself again."

They walked up the stage and Alex stopped to stare at the ever-so-familiar beams and metal poles across the ceiling and the rusty old catwalk that nobody dared to walk across. It was magnificent. She missed every second of being here. "Is the apartment still in good shapes?"

"Yeah! I live there, still. Do you want a cup of coffee or something?" Benji's eyes scanned over Oliver and Alex both. "I could go for a cup." She replied.

And that's how she found herself sitting in Benji's apartment, going through all of the old photos with Oliver. It felt like the kind of thing your parents would do when you invite a boyfriend over, but instead it was just Alex and the guy who gave her a house.

She didn't know where they laid together. What position they were in. Was he her manager? Her friend? Something more? The way he constantly put his hands around her, and the way he popped her car door for her his morning told her otherwise. It wasn't what she should've been thinking about when sat in Benji's place. 

She should be thinking about him, or her life there, or at least, trying to regain her memories. Yet she found herself reminiscing with Oliver over things she already remembered. "This is the first time I was cast in a named role" she said, handing a picture over to him. They were sitting on the couch as Benji fixed up everyone's brew.

 "That's really cool" he said with a smile, as if he truly meant it. He was getting to know little pieces of her life, and it was interesting to see what pieces she decided to keep and which she didn't. There was a clear gap in her photo's from the years she was dating Mason. From when she was pregnant. She had a few photos, but those were stashed away somewhere. 

Benji approached the two on the couch. "Here's your coffee" he spoke out. "Thank you" Oliver replied, taking the cup from his hands. The two exchanged another moment of eye contact before breaking it. Alex noticed now hurt they looked, like they wanted to talk to each other, but there was this barrier being put up. 

"Thank you, Benji" She finally replied. She wanted to give them a moment. The vibe that was just happening between the pictures was finally broken, and Alex quelled the worry in her stomach with a hardy sip of coffee. The caffeine would make her feel better.

"So, why did you come all this way? Not just for a visit, I suspect?" 

Alex took another sip. She wasn't ready to ask any favors. "Right now, let's just talk. How have you been? It's been months." 

Benji sat down next to her. She had both men sat by her side, with her sandwiched in the middle between them. A physical example of their metaphorical relationship. "I've been busy. We're putting on a production of Bye Bye Birdie next week." 

Alex gasped and set her mug down. "You're putting on a production and you didn't invite me?!" She chirped out. "You seemed so busy! I didn't want to burden you with anything" Benji replied, defending himself. 

"You'd never be a burden on me. I'd love to come."

Benji eyed over towards Oliver. "And you?"

Oliver seemingly choked on his drink then and there by pure shock of being called on by the man. He wasn't expecting to be addressed. He was thankful enough to be allowed to third wheel in his house to begin with.

"I'd come, if you wanted me to."

Benji's eyes searched through Oliver's for something, but Alex wasn't sure what that something was. "I would. Would you review it, or just come for fun?"

"For fun, of course. Not everything has to involve work."

Alexandria picked her cup back up. "So." she broke the tension between the two. "I wanted to talk about Everette."

Benji scowled. "What about him? The way he's using you?"

Alex faked a smile, as if to mock him. "Yeah, I got that part. That would've been useful information to know."

"You never believed me, anyway. You always said he provided so much that it was impossible he was using you."

Alex let out a scoff. "Okay, fine! I was an idiot back then! I've seen the light. Give me a little credit here, I'm trying my best." She set her cup back down and pulled her duffel bag onto her lap. She unzip it and grabbed out her journal. "I want to expose him, Benji. I need to know why I left to move in with him. He was chatting so much shit about you, and I need to know the truth."

Benji seemed to stop and process for a moment. "He's talking shit about me? Of course he is. He's a piece of shit. You left to live with him because you couldn't focus on your music career while being around musical theatre all the time. At least, that's what you said."

Alex sighed. "I don't think that's true. I think there's more to the story somewhere. I feel like I'm still missing something."

Oliver put a hand on her shoulder. "Alex..."

She sighed and put her head in her hands before reaching for her cup of coffee again. It was nearly half way empty at this point and Alex wasn't feeling energized at all. "I know. I just wish I knew. It sucks."

Benji put his hand on her leg. "I'm sorry, Andie."

What a position she had gotten herself into?

[ooffies]

ʀᴏᴀᴅᴛʀɪᴘ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴɴᴏɴꜱ

Characters: Venti, Zhongli and Diluc

Warnings: Just some kissing, nothing too extreme

A/N: okay so this isn't a request but the idea wormed it's way into my head and I couldn't get it out. I'm definitely doing other characters so this will probably be a 2 or 3 part series! Anyways, I hope you like it! :)

Tagging @genshin-obsessed (hi pocket! -🍷❤)

Venti:

Probably knows the lyrics to all the songs on the radio/playlist

Definitely made at least two or more playlist for the trip

Makes you drive because it’s too much effort and drains so much of his energy He’s just lazy

Makes you stop at Starbucks every morning, if it’s a multiple day drive it’s at least 3 times

He has three moods during road trips

One: Overly excited 

Talks on and on about the stuff you two will do and how much fun you two will

Two: Complaining way too much

His back hurts

His legs are stiff

The seat is uncomfortable 

“Are we there yet?” x100000

Will literally ask it every 2 seconds

He’s all pouty and grumpy

Three: Deep sleep

Finally you have a few hours peace and quiet

Probably caused from a caffeine crash

Sleeps like he’s dead, you literally cannot wake him up and you don’t want too jkjkjk

He’s usually quiet when he wakes up or is about to fall asleep. But when he is half asleep he always wants to hold your hand. Will probably tell you how much he loves you and how lucky he is to go on this trip with you while struggling not to fall asleep. Then conks out 5 minutes later.

Empty landscape surrounded you for miles, it looked like it went on forever. Music hummed in the background as the car kept a steady pace. “Are we there yet?” Venti asked in an annoyed tone. For the past eight minutes he had been moving around in his seat trying to find a comfortable position.  He was now sitting crossed legged, a large frown on his face as he twirled his hair. “Not yet love, we have 3 more hours till we reach the hotel,” you replied. “UGHHHHHHHHH! And then we have 7 more hours to drive tomorrow and how many days till we actually get there!?!” “2 babe,” “UGHHHHHH THAT’S SO LONG!” he whined. He sunk into his chair, his frown growing. You chuckled at his antics, “Weren’t you talking about how great this trip was gonna be like an hour ago?” you said with a smile. “Hush it” you couldn’t help but laugh at his response. The sun began to set as the car continued on down the highway. You felt a hand lightly rest itself on yours. You looked over at Venti. His half lidded eyes focused on the road. You smiled and brought his hand to your lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of it, “Feeling sleepy? Are you finally crashing from all that caffeine?” “Mhm” he hummed sleepily. There was a brief peaceful moment of silence between the two of you. “Thanks for taking me on this trip babe…… I love you….” you laughed lightly at his sleep tone, “Love you too.” You looked over to see him conked out and already lightly snoring. Another quiet laugh escaped you, “Sleep well sleeping beauty.”

Zhongli:

Doesn’t mind driving, he’ll drive for the whole trip if you’d like

But also doesn’t mind switching driving shifts with you

He’s actually a decent driver which came as a bit of a surprise (he got a little offended when you told him that)

He can and will talk the whole trip

Has a abundance of topics and stories he will talk about

He will go into deep detail, even if it’s just about his morning cup of tea he will go into detail about it.

If you two take turns driving he’ll definitely nap while you drive

Peepaw needs his naps :((((

He 100% doesn’t get car sick

He can read a whole book during a drive without looking at the road even once

Probably talks you while you’re sleeping when he’s the driver

He won’t even notice you’re asleep for a good while, he’ll just keep talking and talking

One time he didn’t even notice you were asleep and when you woke up he was still going on about that same subject.

He won’t eat fast food. He will make you two eat at restaurant or diner

Also he always books fancy hotels too. Not Marriot or Motel 6 for him. Nope. Not in a million years.

He loves exploring the towns and cities you guys stop in. Checking out the shops and local attractions, he’s all for that.

Probably plans for your two to stay a few extra days in the big cities

You stepped out into the cool night taking a deep breath of air. You and Zhongli had just finished eating dinner at some fancy restaurant he had picked out. (You had pay of course). “Thank you for dinner beloved.” you looked over him, “Yeah it’s no problem but maybe next time you shouldn’t forget your wallet so you can actually pay for once.” you said with a cheeky grin. “Urk” he clutched his chest and said with a chuckle, “Why must you wound me with your harsh words darling?” “ I’m just messing with ya peepaw!” you said as you lightly punched his shoulder. “Hey I’m not that old,” as he offered you his arm. You wrapped your arm around his as you two began walking back to the hotel. “You seriously act like an old man though,” “It’s because I have an old soul,” “Yeah you sure do…….” he let out a laugh and kissed your forehead, “It’s never a boring conversation with you my love.” “Can’t say the same about you peepaw” he burst out laughing at that comment, he even snorted once or twice much to your amusement. You couldn’t help but laugh with him. After the laughter you looked at him and said, “Sorry if I was a bit harsh but I couldn’t help myself!” you said, still giggling a bit. He returned your gaze with a warm smile and wrapped his arms around your waist. He pulled you in and pressed his lips to yours. The kiss was sweet and you couldn’t help but smile when his lips left yours. Still hand in hand you two had resumed walking back to the hotel, “So…. are you ready to hit the road again tomorrow morning?” “Yes my darling, I’m actually quite excited to spend more time with you. This trip has been fantastic so far, part of me wishes it will never end…..”

Diluc:

Will drive the whole time

He refuses to let you drive

Why may you ask?

Because he gets car sick very easily. He’ll never admit it though.

Tease him about it and he’ll get all flustered.

Probably has road rage

Not much of a big talker so it’s either idle chit chat between you two, him listening to you or just a comfortable silence while listening to music.

I feel like he has jazz CDs, he just gives off the vibe

Like you guys will drive through a dead zone and the you know you have some sweet jazz music serenading your ears

Doesn’t mind listening to your music either, he’s not very picky.

He always turns down the volume of the music when you’re sleeping because he doesn’t want you to wake you up

Doesn’t mind fast food at all which is a bit surprising.

When he needs a quick nap he’ll pull into a rest stop

Even if you offer to drive while he’s asleep he still won’t let you

Definitely planned out everything beforehand. Already booked the hotel rooms and all that.

He asked you what you wanted to do and practically based the whole plan off that because he wants you to see you smile.

The rest stop parking lot was practically empty. You looked up at the blue sky through the sunroof. Absolutely no clouds were in the sky, it was just like a never ending bright blue blanket. You looked over at Dliuc who was quietly sleeping. You watched his chest rise and fall. He looked so peaceful, so at ease. You twirled the ends of his bright red hair between your fingers. He had asked you to wake him up in twenty minutes. You checked the time. Five more minutes. You let out a soft sigh, turning your gaze back to the sky. You continued to play with his hair as you stared into never ending blue. After what felt like an eternity later, you finally checked the time again. Looks like you gave him an extra minute. “Hmmmm...How should I wake him up?” you thought to yourself. Well you could be nice to him and gently shake him awake, but that was boring. You could tickle him but you weren’t sure if he was tickle-ish or not…… After a little more pondering you finally got the perfect idea. You quickly sat up and leaned over him and gently cupped his face in your hands. You brought your lips to his and gave him a deep kiss. His eyes quickly snapped open as he jolted awake. You broke the kiss to say “Good morning sleeping beauty. How was your nap?” he just stared back at you, a bright red blush covering his face. “I-it was fine,” was all he managed to muster out. You giggled and leaned back in your seat, “Well that's nice-'' But before you could finish Diluc’s lips were on yours, continuing the kiss. This time he was the one cupping your face as he pulled you closer. His kisses were tender and soft, his hands were warm against your face. Once the kiss finally broke, Diluc cleared his throat, “Are you ready to get back on the road.” He was still clearly blushing, even the tips of his ears were burning red. You couldn’t help but giggle at him, “Yep! Let’s get this show back on the road!”

[bonky-n-steeb]

𝐵𝑅𝐸𝐴𝑇𝐻𝐸

𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃 𝙾𝙽𝙴

𝘿𝘼𝙍𝙆!𝘽𝙐𝘾𝙆𝙔 𝘽𝘼𝙍𝙉𝙀𝙎 𝙭 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝘿𝙀𝙍 | 𝙈𝙊𝘽!𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙑𝙀 𝙍𝙊𝙂𝙀𝙍𝙎 𝙓 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝘿𝙀𝙍

𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬: Your life is as good as it gets. The perfect husband, the perfect daughter, the perfect job. But what you are unaware is that your husband is a deadly assassin and your long-lost friend, now a fearsome mob boss is hell bent on getting you back. But what you don’t know can't hurt you, right?

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦: psychological disorder, PTSD, domestic abuse, yandere, obsession, violence, cursing. If you find any of this triggering please DNI. Also inform me if I left something out.

ᴛʜɪs ɪs ɴᴏᴛ ʙᴇᴛᴀ ʀᴇᴀᴅ, sᴏ ᴀʟʟ ᴍɪsᴛᴀᴋᴇs ᴀʀᴇ ᴍʏ ᴏᴡɴ

Oh, lawd! i have to post everything again! Send me all your energy. If you wanna be tagged, just inform me!

Also, I’ll be changing the story by a little, (or by a lot, idk) from my previous version.

You were feeling like John Travolta from the music video of Stayin’ Alive. Vibing to your own rhythm, living your own freedom. Attending college miles away from your hometown, you were the captain of your ship. Though you loved your parents more than anything, you were glad for the freedom granted upon you.

Your Freshmen year had just begun and you had already made a few friends. But what you didn’t want to accept just yet was your crush on one of them, Bucky. With his steely blue eyes and boyish charm, even a goddess might fall for him, and you were just a mortal. You were simply happy with being friends as you believed he would never like you and well, a little crush never hurt nobody.  

Completing your shift in a local bookstore, just outside the campus, you were walking back, lost in your own thoughts. What caught your attention was a group of howling high schoolers; from the look of it, they were barely a year to two younger than you. A group of tall and popular kids were bullying a skinny, helpless dude; ufff the usual cliché you thought to yourself. What you failed to notice though was his bleeding nose.  

You were a kind soul, always helping others, but you were no fool. All alone in an unknown town, you weren't going to confront the burly teens who were twice your own size. After giggling and cracking some stupid jokes on the poor dude trying to impress a girl, they left him and that’s when you noticed all the blood. You quickly crossed the road and walked towards him. He seemed smaller than he was as he was crouching down and trying to rub all the blood.

“Hey! Pinch your nose, don’t disturb it by rubbing.” you said while bending down. “Uhh, okay... thanks!” he looked at you with big doe eyes and you were utterly mesmerized by the blue oceans he had for his eyes. “Do you.. Do you need something else kid? Where do you live?” you asked giving him a candy and your water bottle. “I’m no kid!” he exclaimed and you flinched.  

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. You are helping me and here I am shouting at you.” You could clearly see remorse in his eyes and you wondered why would someone hurt him? “yeah, yeah.. It's Okay... now have this candy, the sugar will help you feel better.” you said with a soft smile. “thank you so much... and by the way I live two streets across. I mean I can go by myself, I'm a grown-up.. But...” he trailed off and you helped him get up.

“I’m Steve” he tried his best to smile and you followed by sharing your own name. And with that his chatter train began, he explained that he was just trying to help another girl getting bullied, when the bullies decided to change their target and chase Steve instead.

“you should wear your own mask first and then help others wear theirs.” you quipped and instantly bit your tongue. “Hmm, what?” he asked genuinely curious. “what I meant is that you did what is correct and very brave, but sometimes you gotta think for yourself too. But these are just my thoughts.” you shrugged. “I’ll remember that.” he said with a genuine expression. And after a million thank yous he finally went in his house. By the size of his house, he seemed rich and you wondered maybe this wasn't that cliché.  

☮︎︎☮︎︎☮︎︎☮︎︎☮︎︎

The next day, you were walking back the same road, when you thought of Steve. He really was a kind and sweet person. This world needed more of people like him. And just then you saw him smiling brightly and waving at you, his nose bandaged. He had a huge box in his hand.

“Heyyyyy! Thank you for helping me yesterday. So I just... kinda got this as a ... a token of appreciation. I considered you might like donuts, so I got you this.” He said rubbing his nape. His cheeks had become so red he looked like a ripe tomato. “well, if you haven’t already given me diabetes by saying so many thank yous, after eating sooo many donuts I’ll surely get it.” At that you both chuckled and the atmosphere became lighter. As you picked a donut, he looked at you with such admiration you thought you would melt then and there.

Suddenly with a stern expression you asked “what if it’s drugged?” His eyes widened and he stuttered, “I... I would never do that ...” he looked down and you thought he might cry. “hey waittt.. don’t get so sad.. I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry. I was just joking. I have this really bad habit of saying things when I shouldn’t. God I just ruined everything.” You just made a mental note not to joke around him, he seemed to be quite emotional. Though it was going to be difficult to tame your tongue. “don’t be. I just take things too literally.... anyway let’s have some donuts what say?” He said with such shine in his eyes you wondered whether he was sad just a moment before.

You both walked up to your university campus, munching on donuts. You both shared things about yourselves. You told him how you were passionate in becoming a doctor. He on the other hand talked about his struggles in studying. “will you help me? You are so smart and bright, will you help me study if I have a doubt or something?” he asked giving his big doe eyes.

You weren’t going to agree at first, you had just met him a day ago. But after looking in those calm blue pools of his eyes you agreed. Seeing the joy on his face, you wondered whether he just won an Oscar.

What you didn’t know was that Steve had already fallen in love with you, yes love, he was convinced that you were the one for him, his one true love. Not a moment had he been able to think of anything but you since he had met you. You were everything he needed and wanted and much more. He was simply desperate to spend more time with you.

☮︎︎☮︎︎☮︎︎☮︎︎☮︎︎

It had been around six months since you met Steve. Over the time you two had turned out to be best friends. While Steve had fallen even more in love with you, you had fallen hopelessly in love with bucky. While you always told bucky about Steve and vice versa, you never confessed to Steve about your love for Bucky, thus furthermore increasing his hopes. You desperately wished to make Steve and Bucky meet. They were two important people in your life and you more than anything wished that they got together well.  

Today was the day when you decided to arrange a small meet and greet at the park where you and Steve met every day. You and Bucky walked together towards the tree where you usually sat with Steve waiting there for you. You knew both would like each other, but somewhere deep within your gut you were getting a not-so good feeling about this.  

Steve’s eyes lit up seeing you but as they turned to Bucky, it felt as if all the energy had been sucked out of him. You didn’t like that one bit. “Bucky!?” Steve exclaimed in half disappointment and half fear. “You both... you both know each other?” you ask bewildered. You tried chuckling to lighten the mood but by the looks of it they were sworn enemies, but you prayed that you were wrong. “yeah, we know each other a little too well... Uh... We were good friends once.” Steve quietly admitted.

All this time Bucky had his jaw clenched, dragging in a deep breath he began. “I knew it! I knew it would be you, you little fucker! You want to have everything don’t you? Goddammit! I had this feeling it was you but I thought it was too much of a coincidence, but no. fate had to be so cruel.” you were shocked to see Bucky's sudden outburst. You wondered what conspired between the two, as either hadn’t ever mentioned the other.  

You were snapped out of your thoughts with Bucky calling your name. “let’s go. I don’t want to see him even for a minute more and neither do you.” Bucky started pulling your hand but you stopped him “Bucky no. I guess you have some misunderstanding; Steve is a good person. And you don’t get to tell me who to talk to and who to not.”

Suddenly Bucky turned back to Steve, anger written all over his face. “You didn’t tell her, huh, did you? Don’t worry I'll tell her. Steve is the son of Joseph Rogers and he is the freaking Don Corleone of this area. Do you know how my father died? Steve’s father had him killed just because unknowingly he provided shelter to his father’s fugitive. Steve just pretends to be a caring, emotional person but he is a snake behind that mask, so is everyone in his family.” towards the end Bucky was in tears and you were in utter shock. Now that you tried to remember, Steve never really did tell you much about his family. And the fact that Steve wasn’t denying any single allegation made you want to puke your guts out.

“You have taken too much from me. But not this. Not her. Not the woman I love more than anything.” Bucky said it out loud in the heat of the moment. You were too dumbstruck to even blink. Did Bucky just confess that he loved you?  

Bucky turned to you and held your arm with such softness you wondered if he was just now screaming his lungs out at Steve. “I know I can't tell you who to be with, and I promise I never will in the future, but trust me you want to be caught up with him or his family. And still, if you choose him, well then, I can’t be with you.”

You knew you had to make a choice then and there, there was no going back, and you chose Bucky.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

I kinda find it funny how, if Ed didn't break up with Bella and then chase after Victoria in NM, we might not have gotten the events of Eclipse. Girl was just vibing with her makeshift "guards," and he had to mess it all up by having her see how newborn armies work and inspire her. Do you think Vic would've still would've gone after Bella if not for NM's events (and how it'd go down)? Cause low key I think it's funnier if she wasn't a danger but Ed made her into one jfksaldjf.-Sw

I think she would have.

True, Victoria comes up with the newborn army scheme after Edward chases her down to Mexico, but she also doesn't use it right away. She tests the waters in Forks for a very long time before she decides to invade.

In other words I, sigh, agree with Edward on this: Victoria was coming back to murder Bella Swan in vengeance no matter what was happening.

Without the newborn army, however, things would have played out very differently.

A Bit on the Romantic Tragedy Penned by Edward Cullen

First, a note, Edward had always intended to leave Bella. From the moment he realized he was in love with her he told himself that he would one day leave her. It was just a matter of when.

In Twilight, he's torn. He knows he shouldn't be a part of her life, that bringing her into his world almost necessitates her becoming a vampire, but he also really doesn't want to let her go. He doesn't think he's strong enough to do it.

And as Bella keeps getting herself into danger he gives himself more and more excuses.

If he's not there, then Bella will get crushed by a van or raped in an alley or eaten by bears. Her number's up, and Edward is single handedly fighting fate to keep this angel alive.

Bella needs Edward, therefore he can't possibly go.

The birthday party put things back into perspective. Edward's family is the most dangerous threat to Bella there is, Edward himself really may lose control one day and devour her, and unless she turns (which Edward absolutely does not want) then she has no future with him.

The family has to leave now.

However, if there's no birthday party, then Edward doesn't have that catalyst and reminder. He likely decides to himself that he will leave Bella after graduation, his family will move towns, Bella will attend whichever university she attends, and he will have had a few wonderful years with Bella pretending he's a regular high school boy dating a regular high school girl.

When Bella then dies a natural human death sometime later, Edward will go to Volterra and kill himself (and force the Volturi's hand when Aro refuses to do it).

Of course, he'd probably break here too, but that's a different story.

I do think without Jasper's slip up and the birthday party, that Edward would have stuck around for New Moon.

The World Without Bella's Birthday Party

Bella throws the fit she didn't in canon.

She doesn't want this birthday party, she never asked for this birthday party, AND WHY DOES BELLA ALWAYS HAVE TO HUMOR ALICE?!

Bella has had a summer filled with Alice. In canon, this was a delight, in this world Bella realizes that maybe they spend most of their time doing what Alice wants to do rather than what Bella wants to do.

Alice is clearly throwing this party for Alice's sake, everyone knows it, and Edward tells her, "Please humor my sister and be a good sport."

Isn't this party supposed to be about Bella?

Alice is terribly upset and does not handle any of this well, Edward tells Bella to be reasonable and be the better person and give Alice this party, Rosalie thinks this is all petty bullshit but has mild respect for Bella on calling Alice out on this, and Carlisle is rubbing his temples somewhere trying to let the children deal with this themselves.

In the end, they compromise, Bella's birthday is Edward taking her out to dinner at an expensive restaurant in Seattle of Alice's choice, Bella wearing a fancy Chanel dress that Alice selected for her.

Bella's still embarrassed and miserable, but at least there aren't a billion pink candles.

As a result, there's no birthday party, no papercut, and no dumping.

The next several months instead are spent with Bella and Alice in a battle of wills and a real rough spot in their friendship. Bella tries to explain to Edward that Alice treats her like a doll, not a person.

Edward, of course, has no idea what she's talking about.

Bella fails to realize that Edward also treats her like a doll and not a person.

Laurent's Scouting Mission

As in canon, Laurent is probably sent by Victoria to scout. Victoria probably never left the area which means (remember this is book universe where Riley was in California) that she never turned Riley.

Without being all over the Forks area killing hikers, probably fewer wolves are turned. Yes, the Cullens are in the area, but they've been there three years, are very non-threatening, and in that time only Sam shifted.

We don't see the deluge of shifting until after the Cullens have left and Victoria starts actively attacking the area.

(Yes, this is worthy of a meta but that meta is not this meta)

Regardless, Laurent shows up, Sam's not sure if he's one of those friends of the Cullens or not, and Laurent walks in to see that all the Cullens are there.

Just like he expected.

Because Victoria has sent him to die.

Carlisle feels a headache coming on but is not shocked to see that Laurent's eyes are red again after only a few months. (Though this explains the sobbing phone call that Carlisle got from Irina asking if he'd seen Laurent because that beautiful, perfect, man has gone missing!)

Laurent provides some weasley bullshit explanation anyway. He asks, though it's really more of a demand, that he join the Cullen coven (much larger than the Denali, very gifted, and very powerful). Carlisle says no, Laurent has to stick to the diet if he joins the coven and he has to mean it. Given Laurent's current appearance, it seems as if Laurent is not willing to do that.

Laurent then begs them to let him stay: Victoria will murder him otherwise (and oh by the way she's after your Lunchable Bella Swan). That gets Edward into action, he demands Laurent's death and that he then hunt down Victoria personally.

Carlisle politely suggests that Laurent, rather than seek shelter from them who he knows Victoria intends to cross paths with, go back to the Denali and give the diet another whirl.

Laurent flees back to the Denali, Irina is ecstatic to see him. Victoria's not even surprised.

The family discusses what to do about Victoria. Carlisle would rather not hunt this woman down on hearsay alone. Jasper thinks they should have killed her to start and letting her escape was foolishness, he told them she'd be back. Edward for once is with Jasper, Victoria must be destroyed before she can harm Bella. They look to Alice and, yeah, there's a good possibility that Victoria will be back.

Edward is torn between hunting down Victoria and protecting Bella in person. Jasper leaves before he can make the decision, which of course angers Edward beyond belief, but, well, he guesses it is what it is.

Edward decides to not tell Bella that a vampire is after her life: it'll just worry her.

Jasper's Hunting Mission

Jasper likely has a devil of a time catching Victoria, as he did the first time, because of her gift. He ends up having very long phone calls with Alice as he tries to coordinate a successful solution to this.

Because Edward never left Bella, she never sought out Jake. She never forms her friendship with Jake nor realizes the secret behind the shapeshifters.

Billy tries to give Bella a few more ominous warnings but there's no getting through to this girl.

Edward never proposes to Bella because he's intent on leaving her after graduation. He does not tell Bella this though she constantly worries about it.

He assures her they can have a long distance relationship at college (he has no such intentions).

Victoria is kept out of the Forks area by Jasper and likely takes the one obvious route left to her. She has nothing left to live for, and it doesn't matter how much terror she lives in the Volturi, if this means her death then so be it.

She goes to the Volturi and narks on the Cullens.

Victoria Narks

It... does not go as planned.

Aro placates Caius with many excuses: this girl is in her primary schooling, is the only daughter of a police chief, she cannot simply disappear.

Carlisle is likely waiting until after she graduates and can disappear across the country.

And yes, technically this James fellow had bit Bella and they had their perfect chance but... Well, Aro will talk to Carlisle, it is not breaking the law yet.

Aro travels to Forks in person with Renata, shows up on Carlisle's doorstep, and says, "We need to talk."

Aro lays down the law, this girl better be turned after graduation, and Aro can only stall Caius so long. Also, great to see you, you built yourself a coven and that's perfectly marvelous.

Edward, of course, throws a fit but the law is the law and the law just visited them for tea. Aro makes it very clear that either Bella is turned, she dies, or Aro will have no choice to take adverse action against Edward at the very least (if not Carlisle and the rest of the Cullens).

Aro also points out this is an unsustainable relationship that's not good for anybody. Yes, it's too bad the girl has no choice, but they really should have thought of that before Edward walked around strongly hinting he wasn't human.

Edward insists they vote.

The vote doesn't go the way he likes.

Esme doesn't want Edward to live in misery after Bella dies, Rosalie doesn't like the idea of turning Bella but it appears they have no choice, Jasper (via conference call) doesn't want to be the one to eat Bella and it's stupid given the VOLTURI IS IN THE ROOM FOR THIS VOTE, and Carlisle notes that it appears Bella has no other option and at least this seems to be what she wants?

They will turn Bella after graduation.

Edward smashes a TV.

They tell Edward to tell Bella, it should come from him, Edward never does.

Instead, out of nowhere, he asks her to marry him and elope. They can live on a deserted island somewhere.

Bella thinks this is stupid and says no.

Edward dies inside.

Victoria Chooses Death

Victoria is out of options, the Volturi did not come through, and she wanders out of Volterra in a daze.

She guns it for Forks with Jasper hot on her tail. If there's one thing left for her, she will murder this Bella Swan before she dies. She fails, Jasper catches up to her in Forks and murders her.

No one tells Bella.

Graduation

After graduation, Carlisle picks Bella up. Bella has no idea what's happening, Carlisle assumes she does. Carlisle lays down the game plan, she's going to take a summer abroad before school starts, travelling with Alice, then both she and Alice will disappear in an accident.

Bella asks him to hold up, what the hell is he talking about?

Carlisle realizes with dull horror that Edward never told Bella. He awkwardly explains that the Volturi personally came to visit and, well, they have to turn Bella into a vampire.

He's very sorry.

Bella's very on board with this, she asks if it can be Edward that does it.

Carlisle says no, that's not a good idea.

They stare at each other.

Carlisle cannot believe Edward didn't tell her.

Edward and Bella do not get married nor does she have sex with him as a human.

[taelme]

Too Much Time Together

genre: best-friends-to-lovers!au, childhood-friends-to-lovers!au, indie rock band member!Yuta, corporate worker!reader (fluff, slow burn, angst with a happy ending, a lot of pining from Yuta in the first half, frustrating office environment (jungwoo’s parents are really crazy in this) 

pairing/s: Yuta/Reader (I use fem pronouns for the reader), Jungwoo/Reader (for a solid portion of the story), ft some of the nct kids 

word count: 29k+ I wasn’t kidding when I said this was gna be long 

tw: misogyny in the work place, toxic behaviour in jungwoo & reader’s relationship, uhh there's like 1 f word in this HAHHA, mild swearing, they drink in this too  taglist: @infnteen​ (do let me know if u want to be tagged in my future stuff) 

a/n: hello!! this is something I had a lot of fun writing so I hope you guys enjoy it :) I too wanted to k*ss Yuta while I wrote this.... but yes. this is also based on the song ‘too much time together’ by san cisco! so u cld listen to that to get some of the vibes~ anyway, enjoy! happy Friday everyone...  read this on ao3

Seven in the evening. Your favourite time of the day.

When you were younger, you always thought your town was calmest during this time. When the sun had started to set and everything was just a mix of blues and greys. When the stars weren’t visible yet and you could see the faint pink of the clouds lingering in the sky. When the wind was just the right amount of cold and the roads were almost empty save for the few cyclists or family vans.

It wasn’t common in your town for people to work late. By 5 o’clock, you’d be able to hear the light clinking of cutlery and see the glow of warm light shining out from the houses and laughter echoing from diners in your street while you were on your way home, the occasional couple or dog-owner taking a walk around the neighbourhood.

But that wasn’t why you liked it so much.

“Oh my god, look at what my mom just sent me.”

Yuta struggled to contain his boisterous laughter, clutching his stomach as he shoved his phone in front of you, frankly not being bothered to line it up with your vision with how hard he was laughing.

Grabbing his wrist to pull his phone towards you, you squinted at his phone, raising the brightness level only to see a group photo taken with Yuta’s mom’s old film camera on the day of your very first soccer lesson, a sweaty, red-faced Yuta with his long hair sticking to his forehead like glue as he glared at you, who was kneeling in the front row with a bright smile on your face.

You couldn’t help yourself from laughing, cooing at the image, “We look like babies! Why are you even glaring at me like that?”

“It gets better, swipe to the next picture,” he sighed, bringing his palms up to dab at the tears forming in his eyes.

You did as he told, swiping only to see another film picture of you and Yuta taken on the same day, except this time, it was a rather furtively taken photo of the both of you in a McDonald's booth, with you holding out your ice cream towards Yuta, the next picture showing him now with your ice cream in his hands, smiling at you as though all wrongdoings were forgiven.

When you were just turning eight, your mom had decided to sign you and your cousin up for soccer classes. Though your cousin had quit after two lessons, Yuta was somewhat the reason you stayed. You didn’t like soccer that much, frankly. Well, not as much as Yuta did, at least.

What you liked about it was that seven in the evening was when soccer practices ended and your parents would bring you to hang out with each other, be it dinners at each other’s houses, or ice cream at McDonald’s, or picnics at the park.

The added bonus of the both of you living in the same apartment building was just something you always thought was fated, as if the universe was just conveniently helping you spend more time with your soon-to-be best friend.

In high school, seven was when Yuta would end soccer practice and show up at your apartment with his beaten-up second hand textbooks and dog-eared exercise books, taking his place in your room (usually on your bed) to study with you.

Most times, you’d start to doze off in the middle of quizzing each other, or you’d simply not be able to tolerate studying when it reached a certain time in the night, adjourning to your balcony to enjoy the quiet town and gentle breeze as you talked each other’s ears off about anything that was on your minds. It didn’t matter what you talked about; it could’ve been about a teacher you didn’t like or a movie you watched recently or ranting about the school’s soccer team. Sometimes, either of you would be too pissed off to talk that you’d just sit there in silence or argue with each other until you both got tired and decided to make-up, but that was what was so nice about it.

You could talk about anything with Yuta, you could be your truest self around him and you loved it. Puberty or not, it was almost like you’d had an agreement that together, you’d navigate all that your adolescence could possibly throw at you.

In college, Yuta and his friends started a band, (we’re experimenting with genres, he would always insist) and it seemed that he’d started to become someone not just admired by you (if you were to use a mild word to describe it) but by the majority of people in your school. As ridiculous as it seemed, it was true.

The lead guitarist of the band, his gigs were awfully crowded, swarms of students crowding around the stage of whatever venue they were playing, while you…  preferred to take a seat further away from the crowd.

Yuta didn’t mind, he knew you didn’t come for the music anyway.

That was your first year of college. Whenever the evenings rolled around, if you weren’t at Yuta’s gigs, you’d be meeting him after classes for dinner and late-night study sessions where he would stay in your dorm past curfew.

“People are talking about us, you know. They think we’re dating,” you would tell him, especially after you were approached too many times by Yuta’s fans who were desperate to hear you tell them Yuta was single and available. 

To which he would simply smile at you, no remorse whatsoever detected in his expression as a mere ‘oops’ would leave him. 

“What do you mean ‘oops’? It’s bad for you, you know. You’re ruining your chances at a relationship.” 

He would always giggle whenever you reminded him of that. 

“And yours too,” he sing-songed.

Looking back now, you figured you should’ve known Yuta meant what he said. Because in your second year of college, that was when Jungwoo had entered your life, and it was like everything had shifted.

It had happened like something out of a movie.

Jungwoo wasn’t your typical college student. He was the son of an (all too wealthy) conglomerate owner, with a perfect GPA even while doing a double degree in mechanical engineering and business administration, and a disposition accompanied with a certain gentle boyish charm that had won your friends and family over instantly, yourself included. The only person that wasn’t exactly ‘won over’, was your now best friend, Yuta.

Ironically enough, you’d met him at one of Yuta’s gigs.

Sat on the balcony of the bar their band was playing at this time, you were surprised to say the least when you’d felt a tap on your shoulder halfway through the band’s cover of ‘She moves in her own way’ (which Yuta would never admit was a song that made him think of you).

Turning to see your classmate from your English Literature module, Mark Lee, you almost didn’t notice the tall boy standing beside him dressed in a plain black t-shirt and cargo pants that looked just slightly too baggy to be his, long brown hair hanging over his eyes that he shook aside when greeting you with a nod.

“Yo, what are you doing here?” Mark asked incredulously, realisation washing over his features almost instantly after the sentence had left him, “Wait, nevermind, I think I know why. Yuta?”

You could only return a nod as a small burst of chuckles left you.

“Are you guys staying for the rest of the gig? There’s no one sitting here so we could share a table, I doubt anyone else here would be keen on sharing.”

Mark’s relief was all too obvious, nodding gratefully as he’d slumped into the seat next to you, his friend sitting down next to him and glancing between you and the drink you were holding.

Exchanging a look with his friend (who looked rather expectant, if you may add), Mark sputtered, pursing his lips and poorly containing his smile, “Oh, right. Not that he needs any introduction but this is Jungwoo. Jungwoo, this is Y/N.”

Raising your eyebrows, a tight-lipped smile on your face, you’d nodded, “Nice to meet you.”

If Jungwoo was surprised at how calm you were, he hadn’t shown it. He did a once-over at your appearance, from the loudly coloured sweater you were wearing to the ripped jeans adorning your legs, not to mention the accessories adorning your ears, neck and fingers, Jungwoo couldn’t understand why he was so drawn to you. Maybe it was the genuine smile you’d given him, he hadn’t been at the receiving end of those in a long while.

Truth be told, he just wasn’t used to seeing people react so calmly to his presence (especially since he’d been met with nothing but stares and gossipy whispers ever since he’d walked into this dingy place).

“Are you a Sophomore too?” you asked, running the pad of your finger in a circle on your glass absently, collecting the condensation only to rub it off on the piece of tissue next to your hand.

Jungwoo’s eyebrows perked up, nodding his head with a smile, “Yeah, I am. I’m quite sure I haven’t seen you around before, though.”

There was something delicate about the tone of his voice, a stark contrast to Mark’s harshly pronounced words and schoolboy slang that littered his speech.  

You had to stop yourself from wondering how he would sound saying your name.

“Me neither.”

Mark sighed, his leg bouncing along with the music, a small giggle leaving him as Donghyuck, the band’s lead singer, had muttered something unintelligible into the microphone after forgetting the lyrics.

“Is that a gin and tonic? Mind if I have some? I’m super thirsty,” Mark eyed your drink, Jungwoo’s attention unwavering as he continued to observe you while you entertained Mark.

“Sprite. But go wild,” you pushed the glass towards him, using your elbow to prop your head up on the table as you softly hummed along with the music, knowing almost all the lyrics having heard Yuta play them all too often.

“So, uh, what do you study?” you asked, leaning closer so you could hear his answer over the sound of Yuta’s too-loud guitar solo.

Mark seemed to be too eager to answer on behalf of Jungwoo, gulping down the sprite in his mouth with a wince, “Dude! He’s crazy. He’s doing a double degree.”

Mark beat at his chest (probably the after effects of chugging a carbonated drink), oblivious to the embarrassment that seemed to overwhelm Jungwoo, who had shook his head dismissively.

“It’s not that big of a deal, Mark’s just exaggerating,” Jungwoo seemed bashful, shaking his head as he looked down at Yuta’s band playing, wondering if he was hallucinating the way Yuta was practically glaring at him.

“So, you’re not doing a double degree?” your mouth curved into a smile, a teasing lilt to your tone as you raised your eyebrows at him.

Jungwoo’s lips parted, his hand coming up to run it through his hair, his bangs falling back lightly against his forehead.

“I- well, I mean. Yeah, I am,” he huffed, scrunching his nose up, “Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration.”

The words had seemed so foreign coming out of his mouth, as if you hadn’t expected such heavy majors from someone as unassuming as him.

How did Mark even get to know this guy?

“Wow… that’s… something. What are you planning on doing with that?”

Mark’s eyes went wide, looking at you almost incredulously.

“Wait, dude, you don’t know? Jungwoo’s dad—” Mark had been cut off halfway by Jungwoo clearing his throat loudly.

“It’s nothing impressive. Just an office job, you know?” A nervous laugh had left him, making Mark’s expression go blank, staring at Jungwoo as if to ask if he was seriously going to try to hide his background as if the whole population of your university (and maybe even the city) didn’t already know.

“Oh,” was all you could muster.

You were never one to be drawn to the life of nine-to-five office jobs, especially after hearing so many stories from your relatives and seniors about how ‘it’s not realistic to get a job you’re actually happy in and passionate about’. You guessed the ‘rational’ choice just didn’t seem appealing to you.

Mark had excused himself to go down to the bar and get another drink, leaving you and Jungwoo alone (much to Yuta’s dismay. The boy was finding himself rather annoyed at Jungwoo’s presence at your table. Especially since that meant you weren’t paying attention to his performance).

“You’re not getting a drink?” you asked, earning a shake of the head from him.

“Not really a fan of sprite,” he joked, making you roll your eyes.

“Not a fan of alcohol either?”

He nodded, a simple ‘yep’ leaving him.

“So are you just gonna like…” you fiddled with your straw absently, raising your volume as Lucas’ drumming had only gotten louder, Jungwoo leaning in slightly in an attempt to hear you better, “you know, start working at your uh, ‘office job’ after you graduate?”

He nodded, shrugging, “Yeah… my parents have already kind of discussed it with me.”

His parents… you swore you heard Mark mention something about his dad, yet something about Jungwoo’s tone (and the fact that it was only your first meeting) made it seem like it was too soon to ask.

“Is there something wrong?” Jungwoo hummed, seeming to have noticed the way your face fell at his words.

Quick to dismiss him, you shook your head, “No, it’s just… do you like it?”

Jungwoo’s breath hitched. It was a normal question, sure, but something about it seemed to trigger emotions in Jungwoo that he’d been trying hard to repress.

“Huh,” he breathed, a soft smile playing at his lips, “the mechanical engineering part, yeah. I really like it. But, the business administration… not so much.”

“Guess you can’t have the best of both worlds,” you shrugged, leaning back in your seat, almost diverting your attention back to the song the band was playing now before Jungwoo had cut in.

“What about you, then? Are you studying something you like?” he tilted his head at you, the soft gaze he was giving you only encouraging you to share more.  

Giving Jungwoo a shrug, you nodded, “I guess… I’m majoring in Human Resource Management and Journalism.”

Jungwoo hummed, nodding slowly as his lower lip stuck out slightly in a pout.

“What made you choose human resources?”

You shrugged, “I didn’t want to… honestly. But, you know, everyone’s telling me it pays better. And I’m pretty sure if I get a job at one of those big companies I'm basically set for... life. So, there’s that.”

Jungwoo nodded, a soft sigh leaving him.

“I totally get that…” he rested an elbow on the table, supporting his head on his palm, looking at you with an unreadable emotion to his gaze, “mind if I ask what it is that you really wanna do?”

You huffed, “Publishing.”

Jungwoo nodded, “That sounds interesting, why specifically publishing?”

You shrugged, “I really like it, the idea of being able to work with authors to get their work out, just… feels interesting to me, thinking about all the great stories that haven’t been discovered yet.”

The smile Jungwoo had given you accompanied with the look in his eyes had served to comfort you more than you knew you needed.

“Who knows? Maybe you’ll be able to find a job that gives you both stability and happiness.”

You couldn’t help the chuckle that left you, “Slim chance. Is that your plan?”

Jungwoo shrugged, a little giggle bubbling out from his lips, “I’d like it to be, but who knows how things will turn out. You know, with everyone telling me to make the ‘rational’ choice. Most people I know end up having to sacrifice one or the other.”

You gave him a smile, pleased by how it seemed that the both of you had some sort of similarity in your experiences and thoughts.  

You liked how positive Jungwoo was, most of all.

But like you said, you didn’t like making the rational choice.

Jungwoo was the perfect, rational choice on paper and from how he behaved when you met him. He was kind, funny, and he was gentle. Looking at him, you figured maybe the rational choice wasn’t so bad after all. So you made it.

You’d only found out later on that night from a very passive aggressive Yuta that Jungwoo was the heir to a corporation you’d only ever seen or heard about in the news.

Office life? He was practically born for it.

“Yuta?”

“What.”

“What do you wanna do in the future?”

Yuta snorted, “God, I don’t know. Why are you asking all of a sudden? Are you planning on switching majors or something?”

You shook your head, not knowing how to explain your thought process after your conversation with Jungwoo.

“Nah, I was just wondering, you know. Since I was talking to Jungwoo just now... sort of seemed kind of scary that we’re just supposed to decide what we wanna spend the next big chunk of our lives doing now, you know? Like, taking into consideration salaries and starting families and getting married and whatever,” you rambled off the top of your head, oblivious to the curious look Yuta was giving you.

“You talked about all that during my gig?”

Yuta wondered momentarily if he should stop letting you sit in for band practices to keep you in suspense.

“What were you doing with that Jungwoo guy, anyway?”

“Oh, do you know him?”

Yuta rolled his eyes, “Do I know him? Shit, of course, I know him_._ The whole town knows about him. His dad’s the owner of Z Global Enterprises. I mean, I know I always say you live under a rock but I didn’t think it was actually true.”

You scoffed at him. You remember that night because it was the first of many of Yuta’s tirades against Jungwoo’s family. Not that you’d listened to him, anyway.

“What does the Z stand for anyway?”

Yuta huffed, spitting his words with unconcealed venom, “Zeus. Talk about a stupid name.”

You, on the contrary, had simply giggled, “Zeus? That’s funny. I can’t imagine someone as gentle as him living up to that kind of reputation.”

“Y/N,” he gave you a pointed look, “I’m warning you. You shouldn’t put it past him.”

You remember scoffing at him, so insistent that Jungwoo wasn’t all that bad.

“You don’t even know him. Why are you being such a hater?”

“I’m not being a… hater,” Yuta shrugged, “I just hate everyone around him. Well, except Mark.”

Maybe he really just hated the way Jungwoo had taken your attention away from his performance, or the fact that he’d never seen you so smitten with anyone in his life yet the sight of it annoyed him more than he would’ve expected it to. _Sure, Yuta was annoyed, definitely. _

And that wouldn’t have been an issue on normal terms, you and Yuta would just talk it out like always. But what was different about this time, was that he didn’t think he could tell you the reason behind his annoyance. Not when it all pointed back to wanting to be the one you were smiling and laughing at and being all smitten with—Yuta figured he’d better unpack those feelings first.

“Oh, right,” You added, “I can’t come for your next gig.”

Yuta wondered how you could mention that so casually, especially when it was so out of the ordinary for you to bail on him. You weren’t a very social person, _maybe it was a group project or something. _

“Which one?” Yuta asked, narrowing his eyes at you, hoping that his disappointment wasn’t too obvious.

“The one on Thursday evening.”

“Oh… why? Night class?”

You shook your head, a giddy smile on your face, “Jungwoo asked me out.”

Yuta shot you a look, a very skeptical look.

“You’re really gonna go out with him,” he said, more of a statement than a question.

You nodded, staring at your phone as you read your text from Jungwoo that had come in.

Kim Jungwoo   9:23pm -my schedule’s pretty packed usually, so my free time is mostly in the evenings, hope that’s alright with you :)- 9:23pm -anyway, was nice talking to you just now. see you on Thursday, y/n- 

When seven in the evening was no longer just protected time for you and Yuta, Yuta figured there was nothing else he could do than to support you.

“Fine. Whatever, enjoy your date.”

===

Twirling his pen in his hand for what seemed like the thousandth time as his leg bounced impatiently, Yuta glared at the clock, following the second-hand with his eyes, counting down for when the time for his lunch break would come.

Yuta had barely even noticed the customer that came in with a measly bouquet in her hands that definitely wasn't from this shop. He'd only snapped out of his trance staring at the clock when said uniform-clad girl slammed the bouquet down on the table accidentally (or not, now that Yuta was thinking about it), looking at Yuta with nothing but adoration on her face. She adjusted her uniform as she waited for his response, glancing out the glass doors at her group of friends who were waiting expectantly for her.

She was a regular here. 

"Yes?" he murmured as he ran his hand through his dark brown hair, one hand fiddling with his necklace as he carefully maneuvered his phone screen with his free hand, working on getting his cup pong aim perfect so he could beat you and your 2 measly cups left.  

“What do these flowers mean?" her voice held an expectant tone, which probably turned to annoyance once she realised Yuta really wasn’t paying attention.

Yuta glanced at the flowers, a crumpled looking small bouquet, making him furrow his eyebrows in confusion because what am I a flower dictionary? He tilted his head to face the girl with his eyebrows raised.

"This isn't a tarot card reading, miss. Why don't you go ask the person who gave them to you?”

She scoffed, mouth opening and closing in disbelief, mostly at the fact that Yuta couldn’t tell that she was only here to see him.

"I mean, this is a flower shop, shouldn't you know?"

Yuta huffed, shrugging nonchalantly as he moved to pack up his things, disinterested in the conversation after having made his opinion on the flowers clear. Yuta’s phone chimed signalling a notification from you.

bestie 11:56am -how r u so good at this game :( - 11:57am - also im here wru- 11:57am -oh right i forgot u were working i'll just get us a seat first-

Yuta was about to punch out a reply on his phone when he heard a voice (and a rather annoyed one at that) snap him out of his daze.

“Hello?” the high school student’s voice was scratchy, taking on a rather impatient undertone.

Yuta, with his bag already slung over his shoulder, had mentally cheered when he saw his co-worker Doyoung walk into the store, bells jingling to alert the shop of his presence.

Yuta shot one more look at the girl who was still waiting for his answer before finally deciding to look closer at the flowers, noting that the flowers were lilacs, stock flowers and forget-me-nots. They all had something to do with love, if Yuta remembered what his grandfather told him correctly.

"I don't know. They look ugly. Maybe they hate you." Yuta told her with a sickly sweet smile before he left promptly, leaving Doyoung with a pat on his back, the keychains on his backpack jingling softly as he stepped out.

“Where’d you go before this?” Yuta asked you, nodding politely at the waiter as she served you two your food.

“I had work before this, idiot. I’m not that free,” you huffed.

Yuta feigned shock, giggling at the annoyed expression on your face as he’d sipped his coffee happily, “Right, forgot you were working with the almighty children of Zeus. How’s that going, anyway?”

You scrunched your nose up in distaste, biting into your burger angrily.

“It’s almost been four years, Yuta, stop pretending like you don’t know that. But it’s the same as always, nothing worth talking about.”

Yuta sighed, sarcasm laced in his tone, “Well, you sure sound happy.”

You shrugged, shifting in your seat to cross your legs, the pencil skirt you were wearing not doing much to aid your movement.

“I mean it’s not like it’s a bad job. I’m good at what I do, I like my office space, I’m getting a hell of a good pay—”

“I’m sure you and your boyfriend are practically drowning in money now,” you didn’t miss the way he’d pronounced boyfriend particularly harshly,

“Of course, you want some?” you teased, sticking out your tongue at him.

“Oh, speaking of which,” Yuta hummed, “the shop just got a new batch of chrysanthemums. Do you want some for your apartment?”

You really, really wanted to, but you knew the impending earful you would get from Jungwoo’s mom if you did. She always went on and on about the useless decor in your house.

Whatever, she doesn’t have a key to your shared apartment anyway. 

“Okay. I can drop by after work to get them.”

Yuta shook his head, “That’ll be too late. And plus, I have band practice tonight.”

Your smile had widened at the mention of band practice, as if only just noticing then the way Yuta was dressed, a flashy printed button down shirt and ripped jeans, with a multitude of accessories on him, not to mention the biker jacket hanging from the back of his seat. Oh, and his freshly dyed red hair. All part of his ‘rocker’ image.

You sighed, “Wish I could sit in… it’s been ages.”

Yuta shot you a look, a teasing smirk playing at his lips as he twirled his pasta around his fork slowly.

“Miss me that much?”

You rolled your eyes, a wistful sigh leaving you, “not so much you as the idea of doing something as mindless as listening to your band practice the same setlist fifty times.”

Rolling his eyes, Yuta couldn’t help the smile that lingered at his lips, though it didn’t reach his eyes like it used to.

Staring at you with an unplaceable emotion in his gaze, he watched as your attention was diverted by a text message from your department’s intern Jaehyun asking when you would be back from lunch, apparently needing help with a talent review you were working on together.

You wouldn’t have noticed, but as Yuta was looking at you, he thought of how much you’d grown since you started dating Jungwoo, hating how that feeling he’d gotten when he’d first seen the two of you together hadn’t disappeared.

Looking back at him, your eyebrows raised in question, suspicion raised by his silence.

“What?” you nodded your head at him, eyebrows furrowing as you brought your glass up to your lips to take a sip, glancing at the time on the watch Jungwoo had gifted you for your birthday as you did so.

You didn’t have much time left for lunch, you were supposed to meet Jaehyun to help him with preparing the Chairman’s speech for the next dinner to celebrate another amazing milestone the company had reached.

“Take a break,” he murmured, “you look tired.”

Your gaze softened at his words, something about the gentleness of his tone stirring a sense of comfort within you.

Clearing your throat softly, averting your gaze elsewhere, you nodded, “I know. I will.”

Changing the subject just as quickly, you’d asked Yuta how the band had been doing.

“Pretty well, actually. We’re gonna be in town for a while, since we don’t have any gigs out of town for now.”

“Really? That’s great,” you breathed, somehow relieved at the knowledge that Yuta was here not just temporarily, but for ‘a while’. You weren’t sure why the sound of that was enough to bring happiness to your heart. Maybe you didn’t realise how much you missed him. 

“Uh-huh,” he grinned, “we’ll be able to hang out more now. Remember how I told you Hendery left ‘cause he was migrating?”

You nodded.

“We found a replacement for him,” Yuta told you, awfully resembling a cat with the way he looked at you. The sight alone was enough to draw a smile from you as well.

“Who?”

His eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, clicking his tongue at you.

“Guess!” he insisted, the smile returning to his face, eyes widening and eyebrows lifting.

You thought hard, laughing to yourself at the name that popped into your head.

“Taeil?”

Yuta rolled his eyes, “C’mon, Taeil’s married. Think harder.”

You scoffed, trying to stifle your laughter, “What? Married men can’t be in a band?”

“Okay, fine. I’ll give you a clue. We both love him and he’s friends with Jungwoo too.”

Staring at him blankly, you did a quick run through of your list of mutual friends before your eyes widened in realisation, a soft gasp leaving you.

“Mark?” excitement was practically dripping from your tone, making Yuta scoff playfully at you, giving you a nod in affirmation.

“Uh-huh,” Yuta leant back in his seat, running his hand through his hair before folding his arms across his chest.

“He told me to ask you when you could meet up, kept saying he needed to introduce you to someone.”

You scrunch your nose up, “Not another Zeus employee hopeful, I hope.”

Yuta snickered, shaking his head, “Pretty sure it’s the girl he’s been seeing.”

Your eyes widened, “Alright, I’ll text him… Do you know if he’s met with Jungwoo recently?”

Yuta’s eyebrows lifted, an incredulous look in his gaze, “You’re asking me? You’re the one dating the guy… and plus, I don’t think Jungwoo’s met with any of his friends outside of the office in years…”

You sighed, “it’s not that bad… he still meets with Lucas sometimes…” you shrugged.

“Lucas’ birthday doesn’t count, we were all there.”

You brought a hand up to wave him off, “Whatever, he’s busy. I’ll just talk to him about it when he’s free.”

“You literally live together,” Yuta deadpanned, his statement going ignored by you who had chosen to think about Mark again.

Not that you would ever admit you avoided thinking about Jungwoo; you knew it was kind of overdue for you to have a proper talk with him, most of your conversations these days were all too brief and superficial to belong to a couple who were supposed to be on their path to marriage.

You slouched in your seat, an arm resting on the side of your chair as you propped your head up with your palm, excited at the thought of Mark joining Yuta’s band.

“That’s so cool… I always thought he’d make a good guitarist.”

Yuta never missed an opportunity to tease you.

“Not as good as me, of course, right?”

You rolled your eyes, though you couldn’t help yourself from playing along.

“Yeah, yeah, totally.”

You didn’t bother to notice the silence that fell just momentarily between the both of you. The way Yuta looked, just the slightest of redness tinting his ears as he pretended he wasn’t flattered by the subtext of your sarcasm. You were almost reluctant to leave that little moment you were sharing with him, giddy smiles and warmth in your chest reminding you of how much you missed spending time with your best friend.

Yuta, however, was drawn back to reality first. His gaze flickering sharply to your phone as it began to buzz, the caller id spelling out Jaehyun’s name big and bold across your screen.

Knowing what that meant, your shoulders sank, Yuta receiving everything he needed to know from your expression alone.

Of course you felt bad, it was the first time you were able to meet with Yuta for months and now you couldn’t even enjoy that little time together. But what else was there left to do when you missed your best friend but your schedules hated each other? 

You opened your mouth to speak.

“I’m sorry Yu—”

“It’s okay,” Yuta shook his head, a soft smile on his lips, “I understand. Work is work, love.”

You purse your lips, picking up your glass and downing whatever remained of your drink, already beginning to sling your purse around your arm and stand up.

“Put it on my tab—”

“It’s okay, I got it.”

You frowned, “Just put it on my tab.”

Yuta’s smile stayed unwavering, waving one hand as he used his other hand to wave you off, “You can get our next meal.”

Suppressing the happiness that bubbled in you at the thought of the next time you’d get to meet Yuta, you smiled, waving before you started your hectic journey back to the office.

===

With the gust of cold wind from the air conditioning that hit you when you passed through the equally harsh black marbled walls of the lobby, the only thought that was in your head was to quickly drop off the cookies you’d bought for Jungwoo on the way back to the office and figure out what Jaehyun was so urgently texting you about. None of which you assumed was going to be easy. 

Ignoring the way people were staring as you walked through the corridors to the lift lobby, you gripped the handles of the paper bag tighter in your fists, holding it behind your back as you waited for the lift numbers to reach the ground floor.

You’d barely noticed the tall figure next to you until you’d felt a sudden force of a hand on your shoulder, surprising you with a yelp. The tell-tale burst of laughter that followed was all you needed to know who was responsible.

“Not cool, Johnny.”

Calming down from his laughter, the said man gave you an innocent smile, “Couldn’t help myself. And plus, it’s fine, there’s no one else here.”

You raised an eyebrow at him, using your gaze to gesture to the other people at the lift lobby.

“Okay, fine. Correction, no one else I know here.”

You huffed, the elevator doors finally opening to let a few people out, some of whom you recognized to be from the legal department, knowing they were especially busy with the company President’s plans for an acquisition.

“Just had your lunch?” you asked, earning a satisfied sigh from him, who placed a hand over his stomach to rub at it.

“Uh-huh, ate with Jaehyun,” he murmured, “oh, hope you don’t mind that we used your office, by the way.”

Your lips parted, though you didn’t make any move to reprimand him. If anything, you were glad you still had a friend like Johnny in the office to remind you that not everyone here was a walking machine.

“It’s fine. Not like I don’t know you guys do that often, anyway.”

You didn’t miss the way Johnny’s lips pressed into a firm line, poorly stifling his sheepish smile.

Reaching your hand out between the two people standing in front of you and Johnny, you pressed the floor to Jungwoo’s office, not missing the way the people had turned to see who exactly was pressing the button to that floor, especially since the only thing on that floor was Jungwoo’s office and the rest of his team’s cubicles.

“Oh?” Johnny raised an eyebrow at you, making you roll your eyes, the smallest of embarrassed smiles lingering on your features as you trained your gaze to the bag in your hands.

“Thought i’d drop something off,” you lifted the bag to show him, his lips parting.

Johnny sighed wistfully, “That man does not deserve you,” he shook his head, gaze flickering to the floor number when the lift had dinged.

“That’s me. See you around, Y/N.”

You nodded in response, letting the elevator slowly filter out as you went higher and higher in the building, leaving just you alone in the elevator until you reached his floor.

The lift doors opened to reveal dark black marbled floors and an equally elegant-looking receptionist desk, someone you recognized to be Jungwoo’s secretary seated behind the desk typing furiously at their computer.

“Hey! What can I do for you?”

You greeted Chenle with a smile, “Is Jungwoo in? Wanted to drop something off.”

Chenle’s bright smile was unwavering, giving you a nod, his eyes quickly glancing over the bag in your hands.

“Food? Thank God, he refused to eat lunch today. Said he had no time.”

Your eyebrows knitted in worry, a small pout on your lips, “Can I leave it here? Is he busy with something?”

You missed the glint of mischief that flickered in Chenle’s eyes, seeing him shake his head, lifting one hand to gesture towards the tinted double doors of Jungwoo’s office.

“Head right in.”

Strangely feeling nervous, you missed the added murmur of ‘he needs it’ that came from Chenle.

Straightening out your blouse, you stalked towards Jungwoo’s office, pushing the heavy door open and scanning the room, your gaze landing on a figure seated on the sofa, laptop perched on one of his legs and the other hand draped over his stomach, snoring lightly with his head against the back of the sofa.

Chenle totally let you in on purpose. You knew about Jungwoo’s little ‘no guests during lunch’ rule.  

Carefully making your way to where he was, you were about to pick up the blanket from the recliner in the corner of the room when it seemed the rustling of your paper bag had woken him up.

Hearing him inhale sharply, your stare was wide-eyed as you looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights, watching Jungwoo’s head lift from the back of the sofa, blinking slowly at you before a small smile graced his features.

A hand coming up to loosen his tie, he ran a palm along the side of his hair in a lazy attempt to fix it.

“Surprise?” you uttered weakly, giving up on your light footsteps and walking over to the sofa, slumping down on the seat next to him with a sigh.

Jungwoo took in a deep breath, angling his body on the sofa to face you, bringing a hand up to rest his head against.

Something you’d noticed over the past year together with Jungwoo, the second year of his term as Vice-President of the company, was that you still managed to catch glimpses of the Jungwoo you’d fallen in love with once in a while. Such times were times like this, where he was still half-asleep, looking at you with a soft smile on his face.

“Bought you cookies,” you pushed the bag towards him, taking the liberty of opening the bag and feeding him a cookie, which he’d gratefully opened his mouth to accept in his tired daze.

“Thank you,” his voice was barely a whisper, knowing that it was too hoarse to go any louder at the moment.

However, the moment was gone as quickly as it came, his phone buzzing with a text message from his dad, the name reminding him of where he was, what he was doing (or maybe, what he should’ve been doing).

Immediately, he’d turned away from you, clearing his throat and adjusting his tie, scanning the screen of his laptop as if making sure nothing was lost in his slumber.

He cleared his throat again softly, not bothering to take his gaze off the screen as he spoke, his tone curt and clipped, the gentleness from before long gone.

“You should go.”

You frowned, there was the Jungwoo you’d grown used to seeing.  

Unsure if it was some sort of Yuta-possessed part of you, but you spoke before you could help yourself, “Can’t even spare me five minutes?”

Jungwoo seemed unfazed by your snarky tone, lifting his gaze from his laptop to cast an apathetic glance at his watch, “Your lunch break is already over. Go.”

You huffed, a small mutter of “whatever” leaving you as you began making your way out.

“Oh, Y/N?” he spoke, your eyes widening as you turned (a little too quickly than you’re proud to admit), hoping he would say something sweet to ease the sting of his harsh words.

“I’m not coming back for dinner, I’m having dinner with the directors.”

“Don’t drink more than you can handle,” you murmured, a grunt leaving him as you let the doors close behind you, stalking off before Chenle could ask any questions.

That night, when Jungwoo stumbled through the door to your apartment, rushing to the bathroom to hurl his stomach’s contents out, you bit your tongue and did what you supposed a good partner should’ve done. You sat with him, patting his back and giving him water when he needed.

“You could just… politely decline when the directors offer you drinks, you know?” you murmured once Jungwoo had showered and climbed into bed next to you, feeling him drape an arm around you to pull you close, your head against his neck.

“It’s not that easy,” he retorted, his thumb rubbing the skin over your ribs gently.

“They can’t force you to—”

“Yes, they can. Don’t push this, Y/N. We can talk about this another time. Let’s just go to sleep, okay?”

“Whatever.”

===

You checked the time. 7:06pm.

You let out a deep sigh as you rest your arms on your knees, legs propped up close to your chest as you let the wind blow your hair into disarray, shutting your eyes as you almost let yourself lie back onto the grass beneath you. Though you couldn’t bear to close your eyes, the sunset was just that pretty.

You weren’t sure when you first discovered this place, at a park next to a river just outside the city. As cheesy as it sounded, it was the only place in this city that reminded you of home. So, needless to say, you didn’t feel the need to tell anyone about it, not even Jungwoo. Only Yuta.

It wasn’t as quiet as home, there were families and couples having picnics and exercising or maybe even just cycling past you, not to mention how the sheer number of cars in the city sent the pollution going crazy, but you guessed you owed the beautiful colours in the sky to that (as messed up as it was).

The way the wind brushed through your hair and through your blazer, sending a shiver through you, you’d almost forgotten why you’d come here. Almost.

Jungwoo wasn’t coming home for dinner again, not after the little spat you had when you said you didn’t want to join his parents for dinner, not after the shitty day you had.

You were allowed that much, weren’t you? Just a quiet evening by yourself, away from the scrutiny of his mother’s eyes and the sharp words from his father. That was all you were asking for, yet he made it seem like you’d spit on his grandfather’s grave.

Your phone chimed, an incoming text from Jungwoo. It was then that you saw you had a text from Yuta as well, a picture of the sunset.

Kim Jungwoo 7:06pm  -when you’re done being childish, text my mom to apologize. I told her you weren’t feeling well.- 

Leaving his text message on read, you set your phone back down, prepared to screen the incoming call before you noticed the little emoticons next to the caller id.

“Hey,” you sighed, hearing Mark’s laughter accompanied by Johnny insistently trying to say something in the background (you swore you could hear Lucas shouting about something you weren’t able to make out).

“Guess what?” Yuta sounded excited.

“What?”

You didn’t think Yuta was perceptive enough to notice the hint of fatigue in your voice, but then again, you shouldn’t have underestimated the amount of attention he paid to you. Which was, well, a lot.

“What’s up with you?” Abrasive was what his tone would have sounded like to anyone else, but this was just how Yuta was.

You shook your head, one hand going next to you to pick at the long grass that was almost flattened by the wind.

“Yo, did you tell Y/N yet?” Mark asked, sounding awfully close to Yuta.

You took in a deep breath before speaking, “Nothing, just… kind of tired.”

Yuta frowned, holding a hand up to Mark as he excused himself from the restaurant, standing in the empty alley so he could hear you better.

“What happened? Work?” Yuta prompted, hearing you hum, not denying it but not affirming his suspicions either.

“You know what? It’s okay, we don’t have to talk about it—”

“C’mon, don’t give me that shit. You can tell me anything, you know that.”

You took in another deep breath, realising it had become almost instinctual for you to keep your burdens to yourself. It wasn’t like you had the privilege of time with your best friend recently, and it wasn’t like Jungwoo even let you talk about work things or just personal things in general for a while now.

“It’s just… I don’t know. It’s not specifically related to work or anything… just…”

“Trouble in paradise?” Yuta attempted to stifle his giggle, though you could practically hear his smile through the phone.

You rolled your eyes, “Do I even wanna know why you sound so happy about that?”

Yuta scoffed.

“Well, it’s not a secret that i’m not Jungwoo’s biggest fan. Anyway, what did he do this time?”

“This time? When you say it like that it makes it sound like he’s always upsetting me,” you frowned.

Yuta shrugged even though he knew you couldn’t see him.

“There is truth to that, though…” he paused when he hadn’t heard any response from you, “okay, forget what I said, now tell me what happened.”

You let out an annoyed groan, “You know how we have dinner with his parents pretty often, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, today… I don’t know, I just had a really tough day at work and I told him I didn’t feel up to going for dinner with them and he got really pissed off at me,” you shrugged, huffing as you recalled Jungwoo’s attitude.

“Pissed? Why? What’s there to get pissed over?” You could tell by his tone that Yuta was already annoyed, though you didn’t mind.

If you were being honest, It felt nice to have someone be angry with you (since everyone else you knew found Jungwoo absolutely flawless).

“That’s exactly my point. He kept talking about how it wasn’t ‘respectful to his mom’ or whatever, I really don’t care. It’s not like his mom even wants me there in the first place,” you scoffed, biting out your words bitterly.

Yuta sighed, “Never liked that woman.”

You couldn’t help the huff of laughter that left you, “You don’t like a lot of people.”

“Except you, of course,” he felt the need to add.

You rolled your eyes, “Yeah, sure. As if that’s important information right now.”

Yuta’s tone remained serious, not hesitating before giving his reply, “It is.”

It was pathetic, really, how less than 10 words from your best friend could make you feel better than the less than 10 word quota Jungwoo had for conversations when you were both together at home.  

A small pause ensued.

“Jungwoo’s an idiot.”

You clucked your tongue at Yuta’s words, not knowing that Yuta truly was angry at Jungwoo, but for a reason he couldn’t bring himself to explain to you, not with all the possible consequences that would follow.

“Don’t say that, Yu. He’s still my boyfriend.”

He scoffed, “Am I wrong? You know if this happened like five years ago you wouldn’t have reacted like this.”

You sighed, “Yeah? Then how would I have reacted?”

Yuta didn’t miss a beat.

“You would’ve bitched back at him. You should, in fact. I’m watching from an outside perspective but I should know best that you’re letting him get away with shit he shouldn’t be let off so easily for.”

You huffed, unsure why you were pursuing the topic, but a part of you knowing that it was because you’d just wanted Yuta to say what you were too afraid to.

“How do you know that?”

“Because if it was me doing what Jungwoo’s doing, you’d talk to me about it. Not… whatever you’re doing now.”

You let out a soft sigh, nodding even though you knew Yuta couldn’t see you.

“Anyway, what was the thing you called me for?”

Yuta let out a hum of confusion, “Oh, uh, it’s nothing actually… nothing important.”

It wasn’t like he could tell you now that his band was finally going to release the song he’d written (about you) from your college days. It didn’t feel appropriate, especially given your current situation.

“Nah just, wanted to ask if you wanted to get dinner on Thursday after my gig,” he lied, “that is, if you’re not working late.”

You hummed, going through your mental schedule as quickly as you could, “Thursday... yeah, Thursday sounds good.”

“Great.”

You huffed, the smallest of smiles playing at your lips, “Great,” you echoed.

“Should probably go, the guys are getting impatient…”

You’d be lying if you said you were a tad bit disappointed, but the promise of Thursday was enough to sustain you for the time being.

“Alright, see you—”

“Oh, and Y/N?” Yuta winced, regretting his slip of the tongue, panic washing over him.

“Yeah?”

_I missed you. _Yuta wanted to say, but he couldn’t. _Snap out of it! She has a boyfriend! (though albeit not a very good one). No, Yuta told himself, it wouldn’t be good. For him and for you. _

Yuta inhaled deeply.

“Get home safe.”

Your smile widened, nodding yet again, “Thanks, I will.”

When you’d gotten home, Jungwoo was already there, seated on the sofa in the living room, dressed in a plain shirt and sweatpants (evidently looking ready to go to sleep), a glass of water in front of him on the coffee table as he watched the news, casting you an unreadable glance when you’d entered the house, the sound of the automated lock echoing in the otherwise silent apartment.

No greetings were exchanged. You were still angry at him and he knew that. So you went into your bedroom first, setting all your things down as you took your blazer off, running a hand through your hair with a sigh.

Walking into the bathroom, you’d taken a long shower with the hope that the water would wash away the heaviness in your mind. Once you were done, you changed into your sleeping clothes and tossed your towel into the laundry basket, opening the door, the steam from your shower drifts out into the cold of your apartment, a shiver running through you as your skin met the cold air.

Walking out of the bathroom after washing your face and brushing your teeth, you’d gone to your little dresser in front of your bed, busying yourself with your skincare products as you ignored the sound of house slippers shuffling getting louder until a pair of arms had wrapped around your shoulders, Jungwoo’s chin resting gently on your shoulder, pressing a kiss to your neck.

“You still mad?”

You frowned. He always did this. You could already predict how this would play out; you’d try to talk to him about it, he’d say ‘let’s not talk about it’ and ask you how he could make it up to you instead.

“Yes.” You shrugged his arms off though he didn’t seem to budge, so you carried on applying your skincare products, ignoring the way he was pressing kisses to your collarbones and your _oh-so-tense _shoulders.

“C’mon, what do you want me to do, hmm? How can I make it up to you?”

You thought back to what Yuta said, knowing he was right. You would’ve never let Jungwoo get away with what he was doing now if he’d done it when you’d first started dating.

“You can’t ‘make it up to me’. You flared up at me for no reason,” you huffed.

Jungwoo huffed, “Alright, alright, i’m sorry, okay? You know how my parents are...”

“Okay, now will you get off me?”

Jungwoo had let go of you in an instant, going back to the bed as if nothing had happened, getting under the covers and picking his ipad up again, as if you weren’t even there.

You let out a deep sigh.

You were a simple person, you would like to think. All you wanted was someone you could love and be comfortable around, someone you could have fun with, share your joys and struggles with. Someone who didn’t brush your feelings off, or make you feel like it was wrong to have bad days. Simple cuddle sessions where you could talk about your day without feeling like you’re walking on eggshells and avoiding the ‘wrong thing to say’.

“We should get married soon,” he murmured, as simple as if he were telling you what he had for breakfast.

Your heart sank.

Day by day, it was like you were growing to feel like Jungwoo just… wasn’t that someone for you.

“Huh?” was all you could manage, the unsettling feeling in your heart growing.

“You know,” Jungwoo shrugged, eyes never leaving his ipad, “my parents brought it up during dinner, and it’s true… we’re both getting older, it’s about time we start thinking about it… we could get our own house so we don’t have to rent this one anymore cause the landlord kind of sucks… we could go to work together since I won’t have a reason to hide our relationship, ‘cause i mean, if the public knows we’re married then we won’t really have to do that anymore…”

You couldn’t have been misreading it, those things had nothing to do with marriage. Well, at least, not to you.

“So you want to get married so things will be more convenient for you?”

Jungwoo’s eyebrows furrowed, as if wondering why you were getting angry.

He huffed, a small smile on his face, “Well, yeah. That’s part of it, isn’t it?”

Your frown deepened, “Part of it? It sounded like the only reason why you wanna get married.”

“What are you talking about? We’ve been together for ages, isn’t that enough of a reason?”

You let out a frustrated groan, getting up and facing him, only getting more angered at the sight of him lying on the bed with his ipad still in hand.

“Jungwoo—” you stopped yourself short, exasperated.

The boy you were looking at was definitely not the same boy you met in the bar that night during Yuta’s gig.

You brought your hands up to your face, wiping harshly at your eyes which were beginning to grow warm in your frustration.

Jungwoo frowned, getting out of bed and walking towards you, his hands finding their way to your face, “Hey, hey, it’s okay.”

His words did nothing to soothe you, not even when he’d cupped your face to press a kiss to your lips, pulling away and searching your expression as though that were supposed to rid you of your worries. You already knew what he was going to do, find a simple statement that was supposed to appease you so you wouldn’t pursue a fight with him.

You didn’t want to marry Jungwoo. 

“I think you’re stressed. Let’s just go to bed, alright?”

That night, you figured the less exhausting option was to just go to bed.

===

The bells hanging over the café door had jingled loudly when you entered, the warm lighting and multitude of plants and flowers within the little space putting a smile on your face, which had only widened when you spotted the boy in the far end of the café grinning at you.

“Yo,” he drawled, “Long time no see, dude!”

You wrinkled your nose as you laughed, seating yourself on the plush chair facing him, sighing as you let yourself melt into the velvet material, enjoying the change from the usual stiff office chair you were on for most of the day.

“Oh, damn, now I feel kind of underdressed,” Mark joked, making you roll your eyes.

“This is nothing. If anything, i’m the inappropriately dressed one at stupid z global.”

Mark raised an eyebrow at you, “Feels like there’s a storytime behind that.”

“A lot.”

Mark giggled, “Wanna order first?” He’d beckoned the waitress over, the both of you voicing your orders quickly in anticipation of the conversation you were about to have.

“So, you were saying? Stupid z global?”

“Everyone there dresses like they're in ‘Men in Black’. Isn’t it already enough that the building has no colour whatsoever? But they still feel the need to dress like they’re trying to blend in with the building,” you rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, Johnny told me about that before,” Mark chuckled, “I’ve seen the building a couple times but never gone inside. Kind of curious to see what it looks like, though. I heard they got this famous architect to do the design.”

You shrugged, “Well, yeah, it looks nice, definitely. Really chic and modern and shit, but it feels horrible. It’s like walking into a box everyday. Or a spaceship.”

Mark giggled, “I would think spaceships are pretty cool.”

You shot him a patronizing smile, “I was going for suffocating but sure. If you wanna work in Zeus go ahead, i’d trade places with you anyday.”

“I’ll pass,” he wrinkled his nose, gladly receiving the drinks from the waitress and taking a sip as soon as it was in his hands, one hand pushing your glass towards you.

“You’re not getting anything to eat?” Concern was laced in Mark’s tone, and you almost felt bad, but it was true, you didn’t have much of an appetite at the moment.

You shook your head, “Nah, had a pretty big breakfast this morning. Don’t think I can stomach lunch before the stupid meeting later.”

“Oh, yeah. I saw that article about the Art Gallery opening, how’s that going?” Mark asked, pulling his plate of food towards him (trust him to get a burger in a place that specialised in their fancy pasta) and it was then that you were reminded just how ‘high profile’ Zeus Global Enterprises was, for everyone in the city to be sent scrambling with the company’s every move.

“Yeah, that’s actually what the meeting later’s for. Honestly, just… kind of been dreading going to work these days. We’ve got a few meetings coming up for the opening of the Art Gallery since we need to prepare for the exhibition and all that, and that means dinners as well, and I don’t know… I’m just… not looking forward to being in that setting.”

Mark scrunched his nose up. He saw enough on the news and heard enough from Yuta to understand your sentiments.

“The meetings or the dinners?”

A huff of laughter escaped you, taking another sip from your glass as you used the pad of your index finger to draw shapes in the little droplets of condensation building.

“Both,” you huffed, a sheepish laugh leaving you.

“You’ll be the emcee for the dinner, right?”

You nodded.

“Just focus on that, then. Don’t pay attention to the rest of them, it’ll only piss you off more.”

“That’s very true,” you laughed, “honestly, I'm just glad I get to prepare the speeches and newsletters and everything. At least it makes me feel like i’m doing some sort of writing.”

Mark’s eyes lit up.

“That reminded me, I keep telling Yuta, my friend would absolutely love you.”

You raised a questioning eyebrow at him, not having expected his ears to grow red and his smile to turn bashful as he mentioned said friend.

“Who?” you prompted, his smile causing your lips to curve into a small smile of your own.

“She’s uh… this girl I met—”

“Girlfriend?” you teased, Mark’s reaction only proving your suspicions of him having fond feelings for her.

He dismissed your teasing smile with a wave, shaking his head, “She’s editor-in-chief at this publishing company I signed with recently. I told her about you, and showed her some of your stuff, she’d love to have you in her company.”

You grimaced, leaning your head back with a groan, “Don’t tempt me, Mark.”

Mark giggled, shaking his head at you, “Seriously, though. It’s a good company, and the work culture there is nothing like Zeus. She really likes you… said to just let her know if you’re willing and she’ll take care of everything.”

You shot him a look, letting him tell you more about the pay and the job, each word of his leaving you more and more on your toes, feeling as though you were a runner at the start line, simply waiting for the gunshot to go off.

“I’ll… I’ll think about it.”

Mark grinned, “That’s all I needed to hear.”

A small silence ensued, Mark was absolutely itching to ask how things were between you and Jungwoo. Especially since he’d overheard the phone conversation you had with Yuta when you fought with Jungwoo the other day. But Mark’s motive in wanting to know was a little different, a little different because he knew the meaning behind the song they’d just released.

As if you read his mind, you straightened up in your seat, taking a long sip of your drink.

“Hey, anyway, I heard someone’s the new guitarist for the band?”

Mark flushed, nodding.

“You’re doing really well! You have no idea how excited I was when I saw that you guys released the studio version of ‘Too Much Time Together’,” you gushed.

Mark’s eyes widened, “You… you like that song?”

You nodded with a smile, sipping your drink with pure nonchalance written on your features, “Uh-huh, it’s one of my favourites, actually. On second thought, maybe it is my favourite. Really gotta thank whoever Yuta was crushing on back in the day ‘cause without them I wouldn’t have the song.”

Mark sputtered, his reaction eliciting a raised eyebrow from you, though he was quick to brush it off, choking out a, “Went down the wrong pipe.”

“You guys have a gig on Thursday, right?” you asked, earning a nod from him, his eyes lighting up as he gave you a smile.

“Are you coming? Please tell me you’re coming. It’s nice having a familiar face in the crowd.”

You scoffed, “Oh, so I’m just another one in the crowd now?” the teasing lilt to your tone made him scrunch his nose up, his giggle bubbling out of him as he waved his hands in front of him.

“Of course not. Definitely not,” and most definitely not to Yuta he’d wanted to add but stopped himself in time.

“Yuta?” you hummed. Or at least he thought he stopped himself.

“Huh?”

“You said ‘most definitely not to Yuta’,” you mimicked his tone, making Mark squint at you, trying his best to contain his nervous laughter.

“What? No, I didn’t.”

You narrowed your eyes at him, expression almost mimicking his as you sipped on your drink, shocking yourself when you’d sucked in air through your straw, a small pout forming on your lips at the realisation that you were done with your drink.

Taking his opportunity while you were distracted, Mark swallowed the food in his mouth with a wince, “Anyway, you were saying? The gig on Thursday?”

You held his gaze, still finding it weird that he’d singled out Yuta that way. Maybe it was because you hadn’t been to their gigs in a while, and you knew Yuta wanted you to go.

“Yeah… anyway,” you shot him a look, rolling your shoulders back with a sigh, “yeah, I was saying I’ll be going for the gig on Thursday. I figured I might as well attend it ‘cause I’m not working late that day and I’m getting dinner with Yuta afterwards anyway.”

Mark’s lips parted, realisation washing over his features before his mouth grew into a smile. So that explains why Yuta mentioned he had dinner plans that could ‘absolutely not be interrupted’ by the band.

“Oh? Bestie time?” was all Mark could muster.

Yuta was hopeless, really hopeless.

You rolled your eyes despite the smile on your face.

“Yes,” you huffed, “bestie time.”

Mark chewed on his lower lip, debating within himself whether the information in his head was worth revealing to you (not like he had much control over it, he was horrible at keeping secrets).

“You can tell he misses spending time with you,” Mark blurted, eyes widening in shock before he tried to play it off, clearing his throat.

You frowned, “I know… it’s my fault, honestly. I was so busy with work and moving and Jungwoo—”

“Hey, uh, how is he, anyway?”

You purse your lips, unsure what sort of answer to give him.

Mark couldn’t help the little prick of pity from stinging his heart. _Guess Yuta wasn’t lying when he said things were rocky, huh. _

“He’s… swamped with work,” you began, fiddling with the straw between your fingers as you fumbled for an answer.

Frankly, you didn’t know how he was doing because he never told you how he was. Another Zeus thing his dad had ingrained into him was to just avoid all sorts of emotion and communication about said emotions, apparently, to your significant other as well.

Mark could sense your discomfort, choosing not to prod further, “It’s okay, forget I asked. It’s been a while since we’ve contacted each other anyway.”

You took in a deep breath, forcing yourself to come back to your surroundings, telling yourself over and over again that you were okay, and that you definitely couldn’t afford to spiral into such thoughts over Jungwoo right before a conference meeting with him.

“Could you try? You know, like, getting into contact with him? It’s just…I don’t think he’s met any of his friends in a long while...” you mustered enough courage to ask, exchanging a sympathetic glance with Mark who was kind enough to nod.

“Of course,” his tone was gentler now.

This was why you loved Mark. He may be clumsy and naive at times, but maybe it was his days practicing his writing that made him just so good at reading people and emotions. You were especially glad he possessed such an ability because at times like this, a thousand words were being exchanged without a single one needing to be uttered.

Your phone buzzed.

Reminder: head back to z to prepare for the meeting now! 

“Hey, I’ve gotta head back to the office now. I’ll see you on Thursday?” you asked, Mark’s smile doing everything to boost your mood.

He nodded. “Think about the offer, okay?”

You gave him a wave as you made to walk away, “Trust me. Now that you’ve put the thought in my head, it’s gonna be hard to think of anything else.”

===

You guess you spoke too soon.

Because as you sat, in the uncomfortable, hard leather chairs of the carpeted conference room, you’d wanted nothing more but to strangle the Head of Human Resource.

You’d forced yourself to rejoin whatever conversation they were having now, catching on to mentions of Olympus and the gold themes that could be developed on.

You leant over to Johnny who was (fortunately) seated next to you, your tone harsh and clipped, “Didn’t they already curate the art pieces? Why are they suddenly changing the theme?”

The said Head of Marketing seemed just as baffled as you were, “I only heard about it this morning but I didn’t think it was real. Not when it’s so close to the date of the exhibition. But from what I know…” Johnny sighed, “Chairman’s orders.”

You almost rolled your eyes, you should’ve known he just wanted another excuse to rub Zeus into everyone’s faces. Probably explains why Jungwoo looks the least shocked.

As if sensing your distress, Johnny’s eyebrows furrowed, “Nobody told you?”

You huffed, shaking your head as you let your arms fold over your chest, “Not a single soul.”

You cast a pointed glare at the Head of Human Resource, the middle-aged man who was laughing without a care in the world.

Your leg bounced soundlessly on the grey carpeted floor, your gaze wandering over to your prepared documents, the initial theme staring at you almost mockingly in the special design you’d spent almost hours perfecting. The boisterous laughter from the other members present in the meeting almost served as a cherry on top.

Paracosm. It was a greek word. The detailed imaginary world created inside one’s mind. Humans, animals, things that exist in imagination and reality. How you could imagine all the beautiful art that could come out of that. In fact, you’d already seen some of it, and they were meant to be appreciated.

But Olympus? The theme had been recycled for ages and everyone knew that.

“I’m sure it won’t be a problem, right? For HR to make necessary preparations according to the new theme? Y/N?” A faceless voice had asked, a frown taking over your features as you made to answer, only to get interrupted by your boss.

“Of course, of course. I’ll handle it. After all, I’ll have my pretty head cheerleader by my side.”

As if. You wanted to hurl. You knew that after the meeting it’d be all left to you to figure out on your own. He’ll handle it? Please. 

Johnny was visibly disgruntled by the connotations behind ‘cheerleader’ in this case, his friendship with you and Jaehyun letting him know just how little your Head actually did for events. Not to mention what a classic example of a predator he was, relishing in how his department just so happened (as if he isn’t swayed by this) to be a group full of young, societally-deemed gorgeous women (and men, if you included Jaehyun).

But what put you off the most was the way your boyfriend had simply laughed, the sweetest of smiles on his face.

���Definitely, definitely,” he agreed with your boss.

Blame your own hopes that Jungwoo would make some (or any) effort to defend you. He knew about the reputation your boss had, how uncomfortable it made his staff, yet nothing could be done to punish him because he was one of the Chairman’s drinking buddies.

Vice-President or not, the Jungwoo you’d met in college wasn’t a coward. Not like the one you were looking at now, too afraid of damaging his reputation and his relationship with his subordinates to defend his own girlfriend.

“Y/N, ready to present?” your boss spoke, the shock that jolted through you causing your eyes to widen, lips parting in shock. You remembered very clearly that it was supposed to be done by your boss, not you. _And if anything, how could you prepare for something you had no idea about? _

Johnny leant over to inspect the documents in front of you, a confused knit to his brow, “What is he talking about?”

You knew it wasn’t the first time you’d been thrown under the bus like this, and you could already hear your boss’ voice ringing in your ears. _‘Grow up, Y/N. This is an office, not a playground’. _

“I have nothing to present,” you let out an exasperated huff, fists clenching and unclenching as you met the gazes of the 8 other people in the conference room.

“I have nothing to present,” you said, louder this time.

You locked eyes with Jungwoo, who looked at you as if you’d grown another head, frowning at you.

“What did you say?” the Vice President, one of Jungwoo’s cousins had spoken up, the glare in his eyes more evident than Jungwoo’s.

You stayed nonchalant in response to the murmurs that had started, echoing around the otherwise empty room. The way the conference rooms were built, the panelled white walls and unnecessarily large black tinted glass table placed smack in the middle of the room. It was like every sound seemed to echo through the room, so you knew they heard you.

“The materials i’ve prepared are for the previous theme.”

You inhaled deeply, resisting the urge to hug your arms to yourself, the room almost growing colder than it already felt.

Oh, Mark. Sweet, naive Mark. If only it was that easy to ignore how much this company made your blood boil.

“Are you kidding?” Your boss scoffed.

Johnny straightened up, setting his coffee cup down on the table harshly, a frown etched onto his face, “It’s not her fa—”

“I apologize,” you muttered through gritted teeth, “I wasn’t informed of the changes until attending this meeting.”

Your boss didn’t feel any need to spare you, and you could tell from the look on his face that he was intent on saving his face before even giving a second thought about yours.

“In the first place, you should’ve been on top of things. How is it that everyone knew about the changes aside from you?” He stood up from his seat, pointing an accusatory finger at you, “I don’t know what you take this place for but we’re trying to run an organization here, Y/N. Do you really expect everyone to be giving you updates twenty-four seven? Do you expect everyone to treat you like a princess here?”

You cast a sideways glance at Jungwoo, who seemed as though he were oblivious to the entire situation, simply tapping away at his phone, disinterested in the fact that you were getting humiliated in front of the whole planning committee.

Johnny rolled his eyes, a deep sigh leaving him, “That has nothing to do with it. Half of us weren’t aware of the changes either—”

Your fists were balled at your sides. How was it that even Johnny was easily trying to defend you when Jungwoo was acting as though he didn’t even know you. You understood professionalism, don’t get me wrong. But there was something different about Jungwoo’s ‘professionalism’, something in the pattern of his behaviour that portrayed it as more of a convenient sense of apathy as compared to professionalism.

Just like that, it was like a switch had flipped in your boss, turning to the rest of the room with a forced smile on his face.

“Well, if no one else has any input, i’d say we can end the meeting here. Mr Kim, anything else?” he asked Jungwoo, earning a quick shake of the head from said man.

“Nope, I think that’s all.”

Hoping that was the end of your humiliation, you began to pack your things, almost jumping at the echo of your boss’ next words, “Y/N, stay behind.”

Exchanging a knowing glance with Johnny, you’d felt him lean over, lowering his voice to a murmur as he said, “Good luck. Text me if you need anything. I’ve got soju in my cubicle drawer.”

Letting out the little huff of laughter that was all you seemed to be able to muster at the moment, you inhaled deeply, letting out a shaky sigh as you made your way to where your boss was sitting, one ankle propped on his other knee as you stood before him, hands clasped in front of you and your head bowed.

You could almost laugh. Never would you (or Yuta) have imagined that you’d ever be rendered so passive, but you guessed that was just what Jungwoo’s family did to people.

“What the hell was that shit about? You ‘have nothing to present’? Are you trying to get me fired?” his tone was more cutting and spiteful compared to how it was just minutes ago.

“No, sir. I’m very sorry.”

“You’re sorry? Darling, if a simple little sorry fixed everything why don’t you just go tell the Chairman sorry for not doing your job properly?”

You chewed on your lower lip, averting your gaze and letting it fixate on the coffee cup next to his hand.

“Whatever your relationship with the Chairman’s son is, it doesn’t excuse sloppy behaviour.”

You inhaled deeply, your fingers grasping tighter on each other, as if that was the only thing holding you together from a mental breakdown; maybe it was.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you,” he bit out.

Forcing your gaze away from the coffee cup, you looked at him. He didn’t even look that angry. But then again, you didn’t think you looked as angry as you felt either, because on the inside you were absolutely fuming.

“I’m sorry. I’ll do better at the next meeting.”

Your boss stood up, “For some reason… that answer doesn’t satisfy me…” he trailed off, giving you a once-over that was enough to make your skin crawl.

“What?” he suddenly spat, your eyes widening in response, a questioning squeak of a hum leaving you.

“You look like you have something to say, so say it,” he continued, folding his arms in front of him.

“Uh… Sir, I uh… I didn’t think it was very appropriate for you to refer to me as a…” you refrained from wincing, “head cheerleader just now…”

Watching his expression intently, you were at a loss when he’d started to laugh, though a bitter one at that. It was as if you were stuck in place just watching. Watching and watching, your body was unable to form a response quickly enough as you saw him pick up his coffee cup from the table, staring you dead in the eye before emptying it over your head. That was definitely an untouched cup of coffee. 

This counted as workplace abuse, right? He wasn’t allowed to do this. Your first thoughts were enough to send you reeling. More than the fact that your hair and clothes were now covered in freezing coffee.

“Wake up, Y/N. You’ve been getting cocky because I haven’t bitched at you in a while. So take this as a reminder. This isn’t any piece of shit company. This is Zeus. Whatever shit you think you can pull here, it’s not gonna work.”  

Without another word, he’d gathered his things and stalked off, the door shutting loudly behind him.

Black coffee dripping from your hair and clothes, your body moved like clockwork. Gathering your things, you’d made your way out of the room, beginning your long journey back to your office tower.

If you were fuming before, you were utterly numb now, wanting nothing more than to just get to the confines of your colourless office and cry.

Maybe this time you were glad the office was so plain. As you were walking through the corridors, you’d let the brown coffee drip off of you, staining their precious white tiles, the clicking of your heels a mere punctuation to the trail you were leaving in their spotless office.

You didn’t care that you could hear the staff murmuring about you, or that you were on the receiving end of their scandalised looks. You wanted to yell a big screw you to this office and everything it stood for, especially its chairman. But you guessed for now, that ‘screw you’ would be in the form of the coffee leaking off your hair and clothes. You hoped they saw you like this.

Walking through the walkway connecting your office tower to the main building, up the sleek black stairs bringing you up three stories, you spent your time observing the surroundings you’d entered.

The floors had changed, the victim of your dirty coffee shoes now being the black marble floor tiles, the white walls and bright lights irritating you to no end.

You always thought there was something wrong about this place, but now you were feeling it. It was cold and it was heartless.

In short, that was the moment you decided maybe Mark’s offer was worth accepting.

Finally reaching your office, you’d kicked off your heels once you walked through the black tinted doors, doing away with the ‘my door is always open’ policy just for now as you made your way to your desk, fishing underneath for your spare change of clothes.

Trying to find a towel, you’d let out a frustrated groan when you’d found nothing of the sort, deciding to just get out of these clothes first.

Already beginning to undo the clasp of your skirt, the sight of the coffee on your legs eliciting a bitter huff from you, you heard the doors open, your head snapping around only to see Jungwoo shutting the door behind him, eyebrows furrowed and letting out a frustrated sigh.

Upon realising it was him, you couldn’t help but scoff, turning away to resume changing your clothes.

“Hey,” you heard him speak, “what got into you just now?”

You tilted your head, lips pursing, your grip on your skirt tightening. Your heart sank at the feeling of warmth building at your eyes, the tears you thought you’d done well containing on your journey here threatening to spill over.

“No ‘are you okay’?” you dumped your clean skirt onto your desk with a harsh thud, “No ‘can I get you a towel?’ Not even ‘what did that idiot do to you’?”

“Look, I’m sorry but there was nothing I could do—”

“Nothing?” you bit harshly at your lower lip, wiping haphazardly at your tears with your palms as you struggled with the zip of your skirt that got caught on the fabric, the blurring of your vision rendering it almost impossible in addition to your already high-strung state.

“Yes,” he folded his arms over his chest, leaning on the recliner at the corner of your office, looking around the room as if now was the best time to scrutinise your sense of interior design, “Nothing.”

Your lower lip quivered as more tears had spilled over, groaning at your inability to take off your skirt. You didn’t even know if you wanted to look at him right now, not with how overwhelmed you were.

“You didn’t even try to defend me, you know? Even Johnny was doing more than you so don’t tell me there was ‘nothing you could do’.”

Jungwoo let out an exasperated sigh, seemingly frustrated at the way you were behaving towards him.

“It wasn’t my place to get involved,” he told you simply, the words he’d heard so often from his father, as if that was his trump card that ended all discussion on the topic.

“Then what is your place, Jungwoo?” you hiccupped, coughing out a choked sob, “Johnny got ‘involved’ because of his ‘place’ as my colleague and my friend. What the hell is your place? If not my boyfriend, or my superior?”

You knew the answer to that without him needing to say it. His place was always as his parents’ son. You guessed you had to learn that the hard way.

Struggling to maintain your volume, you shook your head when you were met with silence.

“Get out of my office. I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

Passively, he did as you told, leaving the office without another word.

Seconds later, you heard a knock at the door, your annoyance getting the better of you.

“I said I didn’t want to fucking talk right now, Jungwoo.”

“Woah, woah. Not Jungwoo. Jaehyun and Johnny,” you could practically hear Johnny’s muffled giggle of ‘someone’s in trouble’ in the background.

You sighed, poking at the zip of your skirt.

“What do you want,” you sighed.

“We come in peace. It’s almost time to get off work. Get changed and let’s go for dinner.”

You gladly obliged.

===

How was it that you were starting to find it hard to answer Johnny, when the answer to his question should’ve come easy to you? 

“When’s the last time you and Jungwoo said ‘I love you’ to each other?”

It was fine, right? 

You’d just ended a (very short) phone call with Jungwoo, mainly involving him asking where you were and that he was going to bed early. In other words, not to get back too late and that he wouldn’t wait up for you, the lack of ‘couple niceties’ (as Johnny put it) making the two boys cast questioning looks at you.  

You shrugged, “We’re fighting. Does it look like I wanna tell him I love him?” you let out a bitter huff of laughter, though Johnny seemed to be able to see right through you.

“You’re being evasive,” he told you with a pointed look.  

You scoffed, “Fine, I can’t remember. But that doesn’t matter! I know lots of couples that don’t say that often, but it’s alright ‘cause... it’s not like they have to say it to know they’re loved.”

Strangely, you weren’t convinced that you and Jungwoo were one of those couples. And it seemed that Jaehyun (and Johnny after Jaehyun filled him in on his conspiracy theory) wasn’t either.

“I’d believe you if you sounded more convinced yourself,” Jaehyun snickered around his mouthful of noodles.

You sighed, your lack of an answer doing nothing but confirming Jaehyun’s suspicions further.

“He came to talk to you, right? Before we showed up.”

You nodded, reaching over to flip the meat on the grill, Johnny quickly reaching over to take the tongs from you, insisting that he do it instead.

“Well?” Jaehyun prompted, “what did he say? You sounded pissed just now.”

“Said he didn’t defend me because there was ‘nothing he could do’,” you made air-quotes around Jungwoo’s words, your eyeroll punctuating the sentence. Pausing to take a sip of your cold water, you continued, “that it ‘wasn’t his place’ to do anything.”

Jaehyun scrunched his nose up in distaste while Johnny simply stared at you, lips parted in shock.

“It’s not the first time it’s happened either…” you murmured, “whenever we have dinner with the Chairman and his wife, it’s like he just chooses not to hear what they say to me.”

“Have you tried telling him how you feel?” Jaehyun asked, earning an earnest nod from you.

“Many times. He never wants to pursue it,” you sighed, pressing your lips into a firm line before letting out a breath you were holding, “Always blames it on me being stressed and shit like that.”

Johnny sucked in a sharp breath.

“That’s… different.”

Jaehyun snorted, “You mean unhealthy?”

You raised your eyebrows, offering a meek shrug, “Yeah. Different, that’s for sure.”

“You mean unhealthy,” Jaehyun repeated.

You scoffed, not being able to help but laugh at your pathetic situation, “Yeah? What do you think I should do, then? I already wanna quit my job, should I just break up with him too while I’m at it?” you joked (or at least you hoped it was a joke, you weren’t sure how much of your words you were ready to admit were true).

Jaehyun and Johnny nodded, eliciting wide-eyed shock from you.

Jaehyun winced, nodding slowly, “I mean, you already said it yourself. He doesn’t support you or listen to you. He basically gaslights you whenever you try to talk things out… he’s too caught up in whatever game his parents are playing that—”

“Okay, can we stop talking about this?” You blurted, letting out a shaky breath you didn’t realise you were holding, your heartbeat thumping rapidly in your ears at the thought of Jaehyun’s words.

Johnny had nodded, smoothly interjecting and changing the subject to talk about Mark’s best-selling book.  

You were glad for Jaehyun and Johnny’s company, nonetheless. They’d managed to distract you and cheer you up until it was time for you to make your way home at one in the morning in the backseat of Johnny’s car.

yuta 1:11am -u still out w jae and john? Need a ride back?-   1:11am -also any song requests for thursday? Setlist is looking kind of boring according to Jeno- 

You huffed, a small smile playing at your lips as you replied to his message.

1:11am -since when did you listen to jeno?- 1:12am **-and yes johnnys sending me home now … were u nearby?- **

Yuta 1:12am -you’re right but still, the kid got to me, now i’m wondering if its really boring or if hes just messing with me-  1:12am -good text me when youre home-   1:12am -anyway, really no song requests?- 

You hummed, your eyes lighting up in excitement at the song that came to mind, hurriedly typing out your reply.

1:12am -too much time together is a must!!!!- 

Yuta’s fingers froze over the keypad of his computer, not knowing how to respond to your selection. You obviously didn’t know the meaning of the song if you liked it that much.

Yuta 1:14am -u like that song?- 

Your reply came quickly.

1:14am - LOVE it…- 

Yuta fought to contain his smile, nodding slowly as he replied to you.

Yuta 1:14am -alright, i’ll add it-

“We’re here,” Johnny yawned, your head snapping up to take in your surroundings, almost forgetting what time it was.

“Thanks, Johnny.”

He cast you a glance through the rearview mirror before turning his body to face you, watching as you gathered your things, “It’s fine. Get some rest, alright?... You had a... tough day.”

You huffed, giving him a smile, “I’ll be fine. Drive safe,” you got out of the car.

“Oh, and Y/N?” he spoke before you could shut the door, a hum leaving you.

“I know i’m speaking from an outside perspective but… I’ve been in a similar situation before and… it might help if you just spend some time thinking about what you do want in a partner, you know?”

You smiled, the comfort slowly stirring within you relieving you to an extent, knowing he was right.

“Thanks, I will.” You shut the car door behind you as you made your way to your apartment building.

Unlocking your apartment door as softly as you could, you shut it behind you, shivering at the temperature in your apartment, almost reaching for the thermostat but deciding against it. You knew Jungwoo liked the temperature like this.

Setting your things down on the sofa, you’d gone to take a quick shower, padding softly around your room so as not to wake Jungwoo.

Finally settled down, you’d eased yourself under the duvet, somehow having woken Jungwoo with the rustling of the covers. The boy had rolled over, habitually draping his arm over you to tug you closer to him.

“What time is it?” the frown was evident in his tone.

“A little close to 1:45,” you murmured softly, not being able to find as much comfort in his embrace as you used to.  

“Jungwoo?” you dared to whisper after a while, a soft hum leaving him.

“Remember how I met up with Mark that day?”

He let out another soft hum, snuggling closer to you with a tired sigh.

“He was telling me about this job offer at the publishing company he’s signed to… and he explained to me all the benefits and everything… I’m just… I was thinking of taking up his offer… you know, to work in the publishing firm,” you kept your gaze fixed onto the ceiling, the darkness of the room almost swallowing you whole as you awaited his answer.

“I think you’re just stressed from work. Let’s not make any rash decisions, okay?” his tone was gentle, soft, but his words had only hit a nerve.

“But i’ve been really thinking about it, I think i’d be much happier there,” you told him, trying again.

Jungwoo sighed, “You have a good job now, Y/N. I really think you’re just tired and stressed out, you know, with the art gallery opening preparations and everything… don’t let Mark put ideas in your head that you’ll regret.”

You inhaled deeply, shutting your eyes. Jaehyun was right, even if he didn’t say it out loud, you knew what he was thinking, yet now you could only agree.

You weren’t in love with Jungwoo. 

===

Sitting at the bar that Yuta’s band was performing at, dressed in comfortable clothes and sipping your sprite as you watched Yuta show off in front of the sweaty, starstruck people gathered in front of the stage, you almost felt like you were in college again.

Locking your phone after saving the picture of the sunset from the rooftop of the bar that Yuta had sent you half an hour ago, you looked up when you heard Haechan’s voice in the microphone.

“By special request, this next song is dedicated to…” Haechan announced into the microphone loudly, one of his legs clad in overly ripped black jeans kicking at the wire of his microphone.

You missed the urgent glare Yuta sent Haechan’s way, too distracted by the way Mark’s giggles had verberated through the bar.

“To a special someone,” Mark offered.

“Uh-huh,” Haechan drawled, “very special someone.”

Lucas had giggled softly as well, his shoulders exposed by his sleeveless shirt shaking with laughter, one hand clasping his drumsticks between his fingers coming up to cover his mouth though his smile was simply too contagious to contain.

Jeno’s played a few notes absently on his bass guitar, voice was just barely caught by the microphone, a soft teasing murmur of, “Wonder if they’re here today.”

You glanced at Yuta, who had run a hand through his freshly dyed black hair with little neon green highlights running through it. He looked good, you had to admit, even if he was busy glaring at Jeno.

“Okay, okay, let’s just get on with it,” Yuta dismissed them quickly, guitar pick pinched between his index finger and thumb as his hand came up to touch his earring.

Once they started the song, you sang along, smiling more than you had in a while as you watched the band perform, the way Yuta made eye contact with you while he performed reminding you of the first time he’d led sports day in high school and told you that he only looked your way whenever he spoke in the microphone because it helped his nerves.

Though it was as if you were the one growing anxious, a large chunk of the song lyrics remind you of Jungwoo.

“Your touch used to feel loving, now it just feels smothering. Something’s changed, no one’s to blame, I’d try to talk it out but I don’t think you want to,” Haechan sang, the tone of his vocals making you wonder what Yuta sounded like singing the song.

Sure, you’d heard him sing other songs countless times, but each song was an experience of its own. You were getting distracted.

“We spend too much time together, I wanna be with you forever but we need space,” you sang along, “you should stay at your place.”

Yuta sang together with Haechan, his stare almost unnerving you as you started to think about the lyrics more deeply. “We spend too much time alone, when we’re not together we talk on the phone. Yeah, we need space.”

You stopped singing, gulping down the rest of the sprite as you sat in a pensive silence for the rest of the gig.

Something was definitely wrong. It was wrong because as much as you knew this song was probably written for one of Yuta’s lost college loves, now you couldn’t stop thinking of the song in the context of yours and Yuta’s relationship. You didn’t know which was worse, when it reminded you or Jungwoo or Yuta.

You shook your head (as if it would help clear your mind of such thoughts), nodding along to the rest of whatever song they were playing until the gig was over, the crowd dispersing after a while which you took as your cue to head out and wait for Yuta.

Hearing a sharp-toned shout of your name, drawn out like an excited little child, you’d turned to spot Yuta bounding toward you, the rest of the band trailing behind him and chatting happily, still riding on their post-performance buzz.

“Ready to go?” He grinned.

Your eyebrows raised in question, tugging your coat tighter around yourself as a sudden shiver went through you, “They’ve already decided on where to go?”

Yuta shook his head.

“Thought dinner could be just us,” he said, deciding he’d spoken a little too quickly, his gaze flickering to your surroundings as he shrugged, “you know, so we can like… just chill.”

You couldn't say you were disappointed. Sure, you loved the band, but you had to admit that the sound of hanging out mindlessly in Yuta’s cozy studio apartment with simple food for dinner sounded awfully enticing.

“Alright, let’s go,” you smiled. (You tried to ignore the dramatic yells of mock disappointment from the rest of the guys as you and Yuta walked off).

After much bickering and entertaining distractions at the supermarket, Yuta and yourself had decided on just making instant noodles for dinner, too tired to think of putting any actual effort into preparing anything more elaborate.

Ripping the noodle packet open, you hadn’t noticed the way Yuta was staring at you, leant against the white marble countertop with his arms folded over his chest, debating on whether to ask you about what he’d heard from Johnny.

“Are things better?” He began, hoping you didn’t notice how he’d momentarily forgotten what he was about to say when you turned to look at him, humming as you gave him a small smile.

“What things?” You plopped the noodles into the little pot.

“You know,” a small huff of breathy laughter left him, “in… paradise?”

You scoffed, “Don’t know if you can call it paradise but… I guess it’s alright. Oh, I managed to meet up with Mark.”

Yuta smiled, nodding, his hand coming up to unclasp the metal chain around his neck, “Yeah, he was really happy about it. What did you guys talk about?”

You fiddled with the packets of powder. “He was telling me about his girlfriend’s publishing company. He was saying how she wanted to offer me a job there as an editor—”

Yuta almost squealed, accidentally smacking you on the arm in his excitement. “That’s a really good opportunity! Why don’t you just take it? You hate your job at Zeus, anyway. Plus, you’ve been wanting a job in publishing for so long, I heard his girlfriend’s company’s pretty good. Why not, you know?”

You’d almost faltered, thinking about how differently Jungwoo had reacted compared to Yuta’s excited rambling. You could only manage a deflated sigh as you looked at him, empty powder packets clenched in your fist.

“What’s stopping you? Is the pay shit?” he’d asked, a more serious tone taking over him. It would’ve made you laugh under normal circumstances if you weren’t so busy thinking about how understanding and supportive Yuta was, two of the things you didn’t seem to be receiving from Jungwoo.

You huffed, not being able to stifle the smile on your face, shaking your head at him, “No, the pay’s perfectly fine actually… it’s just…”

“Just?”

“No, I was just a little shocked, that’s all… your reaction was really different from Jungwoo,” you huffed.

“You guys managed to talk things out?” Yuta’s eyebrows lifted in surprise as he fidgeted with the hem of his black singlet, since he’d recalled Johnny’s story not having ended very well.

You weren’t sure whether you should tell Yuta about yours and Jungwoo’s situation. Sure, you’d told him before, but a part of you felt almost embarrassed to tell him about how badly your relationship was doing. After all, he’d been the first one to warn you about Jungwoo’s family.

But it was then that you’d remembered Yuta’s words from before, that promise that you didn’t have to trod on eggshells when it came to talking to him, a wave of relief washing over you.

You shook your head, leaning against his fridge, your lips pursing before a small shrug left you.

“We don’t usually get to… ‘talk things out’.”

He shot you a knowing look.

“Okay, I know what you’re gonna say, that ‘it’s not healthy’ and ‘_you need good communication in a relationship’ _and yes, I know that. But it's just… difficult to talk to him about work things, he gets really defensive and like… practical about it.”

“What kind of work things?” Yuta asked.

“Well...firstly, things like switching jobs, and like stuff like what happened the other day.”

Watching Yuta’s confusion heighten, your lips parted in shock, features pulling into a frown, “Oh, I didn’t tell you?”

Yuta giggled, shaking his head, “Okay, hit it.” He glanced over at the noodles, urging you to step aside since the noodles were done.

“Wait, don’t hit it yet.” he picked the pot up and just like clockwork, you’d adjourned to his living room, setting the pot onto a magazine on the coffee table. The two of you settled down on his comfortable rug, Yuta scooping some noodles into a bowl and prompting you to start.

“Okay, so i’m assuming the last I told you was regarding the anniversary dinner, which I was already pissed off about because the idiot asked me to draft the speech for Jungwoo even though it was assigned to him, and then…” you continued in your tirade, stopping every now and then to eat your noodles.

“... oh, yeah! I almost forgot, and then- wait actually, let me give you some context on that first, so since we recently had an acquisition of this startup…” you continued, Yuta patiently listening to you as he ate, his eyebrows raising and a small smile on his face as he watched you talk. He almost felt like he was back on your balcony in high school, sharing comfort after a long and tiring day. It’d been a while since he’d gotten to feel that way.

“I guess that’s why it’s tough to talk to him about this stuff, you know? Since he’s involved in a lot of it. I don’t know, what do you think?”

Yuta had a strange look in his eyes, a smile slowly appearing on his face, as though he were in some sort of daze, “I have no idea about half the things that just came out of your mouth,” he confessed.

A gasp left you, followed by a groan, “Why didn’t you stop me! I could’ve explained it better.”

Yuta shook his head, a small insistent sound of protest leaving him.

“This is fine, I just wanted to hear you talk. Plus, you looked like you needed it.”

You glared at him, ignoring the way you’d softened at his words. It was always like Yuta to be casually sweet like this, especially when you didn’t expect it.

“Fine, I understood the parts about Jungwoo, okay?” Yuta lied, it's not like he wanted to zone out while you were talking, he just… couldn’t help it, you’d lost him when you’d brought in the acquisition. And plus, he was trying to understand how someone could look so pretty while they were angry.

You let out a tired sigh, “I know I can’t blame him, because he’s in a tough position himself. You know, having to lead the company and not go against his parents' wants for the company, but it just kind of sucked to see how much he changed because of that. He’s… not as sensitive or optimistic as before… he’s a lot more avoidant and… cynical.” It’s like we're still together for the sake of still being together. You wanted to add, but stopped yourself short, glancing cautiously at Yuta.

Yuta pressed his lips into a firm line, setting his bowl down on the coffee table to lean his side against his sofa, facing you.

“I can’t say i’m surprised… I heard enough about Zeus to know that his family was capable of being so cold but… I don’t know, a part of me was always hoping that Jungwoo would prove me wrong,” you murmured, fishing around in the pot to see if there were any noodles left and coming up short, setting your bowl down as well.

Yuta shook his head, a disgruntled sound leaving him, “It’s not your fault, the jerk had everyone convinced he was an angel. Well, except me, of course.”

“Don’t say that, Yu. He’s still my boyfriend,” you sighed, unsure if you were just saying that out of habit now, the meaning behind your words having gotten fuzzy overtime.

You sighed, leaning back against his sofa, your eyes shutting as you tried to understand why your heart rate seemed to be picking up. If you could describe what you were feeling, it was almost as if you wanted to empty out your innermost thoughts to Yuta, as if something in you was feeling compelled to just vomit everything you’d wanted to tell him. Every joke you’d archived and made a note of ‘I should tell this to Yuta the next time I see him’, to your thoughts on all the shows you’d binged while he was touring, to even your frustrations over the past few months that you couldn’t tell Jungwoo about. The biggest of all those thoughts was weighing down on you and making you feel like you couldn’t breathe. Getting it out would obviously be a better option, wouldn’t it? 

“He asked me to marry him,” you blurted out, shutting your eyes even tighter as you anticipated his response.

You were only met with silence, what felt like solid minutes of it.

Forcing your eyes open, you stared at the painting Yuta hung on the wall you were facing, something he’d painted himself, you noted. It was loud, complex, messy, yet beautiful all the same. His art tended to mirror him, somewhat. But now, he was quite the opposite, the only sound in the apartment was the sound of your breathing and the low hum of traffic from downstairs.

“Why are you so quiet?” you muttered, wishing you could melt into his sofa, heavily unnerved by his lack of a response.

You were expecting a huff of ‘marriage?’ at least, or maybe an off-handed comment about not wanting to be the florist for your wedding. Not… this.

“What do you want me to say?”

You bit the inside of your cheek, your hands clasped in your lap, “I don’t know.”

Yuta’s expression was serious, “You don’t know?”

You nodded.

“Do you want to marry him?”

You frowned, “What kind of question is that?” your defensiveness got the better of you, making Yuta scoff.

“It’s a question anybody could ask you. And if you’re leaning towards a no, then there’s your answer.”

You dared to meet his gaze, “Do you want me to say no?”

Yuta’s answer came so quickly you’d almost thought you’d imagined it, “Do you think I want you to say yes?”

His gaze was unwavering, a hint of restraint in his actions, his gaze searching yours in what you almost labelled as desperation.

“It’s not my decision to make, Y/N. It’s your marriage. Your love life. Even if I say no, if you…” Yuta swallowed, “love him, who am I to stop you? Nothing I say is supposed to make that decision for you,” he told you firmly. He almost sounded frustrated.

And the truth is, he was. He was frustrated. Of course he didn’t want you to marry Jungwoo. He didn’t understand how even after all the stories he’d heard from you, Johnny and Jaehyun that you’d still cared so much for Jungwoo. It just didn’t seem mutual to him.

Of course he wished he could just tell you not to marry Jungwoo, tell you how he felt, but he didn’t want to be selfish. It wasn’t right for him to expect you to love him when you already had so many things in your own love life to deal with. Loving him was probably the least of your worries, he figured.

“I know,” you shrugged, “just thought I'd tell you first. You’re my best friend. Of course, your opinion matters to me.”

You weren’t sure why the thought had suddenly come to mind, but was it appropriate for you to be spending time with Yuta like this? Sure, you were friends but… why did it feel so inappropriate? It wasn’t like you had feelings for Yuta, right? Maybe that song was right. As much as you wanted to be with Yuta forever, you were spending too much time together. The more time you spent with him, the more you didn’t want to leave. You needed space. 

Curse the stupid song for putting you through so many ridiculous thought processes.

“I know you, Y/N. And knowing you, you’ve probably already made the decision and you’re just waiting for that push to say it.”

Your eyes widened, lips parting and shutting again, knowing fully well that he was right.

“When’s that art gallery thing opening? Mark won’t shut up about it,” He changed the subject smoothly, which you had to admit you were thankful for, that conversation seemed to have reached its end.

“Next week, it’s a really tight deadline… you guys are free to come for the opening if you want.”

“Really? Pretty sure Mark would die if I told him that. He keeps talking about the architect that designed it,” he laughed, earning an insistent nod from you.

“Yeah, totally. It’s free admission, you guys are more than welcome.”

Yuta nodded, shifting so he was sitting on the sofa now, “I’ll make sure to tell him that. Wanna watch something?”

Angling your body to face the television, you nodded, seeing him already start to browse through the movie selection.

You had a better evening than you had the past week, choosing to be away from work (even though you knew you’d come back to a storm of emails from your boss) just for one evening. Though you didn’t regret it, it felt nice, to just relax in Yuta’s comfortable apartment, being in each other’s presence but not feeling uncomfortable. You liked that.

Just as you were starting to feel even more relaxed, cozied up in Yuta’s sofa with a blanket draped over you, a fluffy pillow comfortably nested beside you, you’d checked the time. You figured you should check on Jungwoo, hoping he wasn’t working late.

9:48pm - where are you? - 

Kim Jungwoo 9:48pm - having drinks with some clients.- 

9:48pm -will u be back late?-

Kim Jungwoo 9:49pm -yes- 

9:50pm -please don’t drink too much- 9:50pm -and come back safe-

He didn’t reply. You and Yuta had continued to watch spiderman, waiting till the credits to decide to call it a day.

“It’s pretty late. I’ll drive you home,” Yuta murmured softly, getting up from the sofa to retrieve his car keys from his bedroom.

“Right, forgot you had a car,” you smiled, unlocking Yuta’s front door to put on your shoes first, the said boy strolling up behind you, plastic bag in hand.

“From my mom,” he told you simply, holding up the bag to show you, unsure why he was flushed from embarrassment. Get yourself together, Yuta, it’s no big deal, it’s just fruits.   

“Tell her I say thanks. Somehow, eating the fruits I pick myself isn’t nearly as nice as eating the ones she picks,” you sighed, walking in a tired silence down with him to the parking lot of his apartment complex.

“You’re working tomorrow, right?”

You nodded.

“Don’t sleep too late,” he yawned.

“What about you? Are you working tomorrow?” you asked, getting into the passenger seat of his car, yawning as well.

Yuta nodded, “I’m covering Doyoung’s shift tomorrow ‘cause he’s moving, so i’ll be at the shop the whole day.”

You hummed in acknowledgement, “Oh, that reminds me. I really like the flowers.”

“Really? You’ve managed to keep them alive till now?” he teased, starting the engine and pulling out of the parking lot smoothly.

“Shut up, I’m not that bad,” you rolled your eyes, “can I drop by tomorrow during lunch?”

Yuta let out a huff of breathy laughter, a small smile on his face. You had to stop yourself from staring. “That’s funny... that you’d want to visit tomorrow of all days.”

You frowned, “What’s so funny about it? It’s just a Friday.”

“It’s the first day of spring,” he grinned, letting go of one hand on the steering wheel to run it through his hair, “but sure, you can come. You’ll be especially welcome if you’re bringing lunch.”

Rolling your eyes, you’d watched with a small sense of disappointment as he pulled over to the sidewalk next to your apartment complex.

“Y/N?” he suddenly spoke, his tone gentle, as if testing the waters.

“What?” you fished in your bag for your apartment keys, the rustling somehow giving Yuta the confidence to continue.

“I’m not gonna say that ‘whatever your decision is, i’ll support you’ shit because that’s… not true. You know, ‘cause if you’re gonna make a bad decision, I obviously wouldn’t want you to do that. But… where I was going with this was that I just want you to know that I trust that you’re smart. You’ve always known what you want, even if you’re scared to do something about it. I mean, you know yourself best… what makes you happy and what doesn’t.” Yuta sighed, “so I just wanted you to know that I’ll still be here, supporting you, because I know you want to be happier, and I want that for you too.”

His gaze was unwavering, looking at you as though it would help his words be heard better. You’d felt as though your heart had stopped, as though you were looking at yourself from outside your body. Something about Yuta’s words had made a way into your heart and solidified your thoughts. That push you were waiting for, the one he’d spoken about in his house. That was it and he knew that from the look in your eyes.

A small pout formed on your lips, nodding at him. “Thanks, Yuta.”

Just like that, all seriousness was gone as he gave you a tired smile, “Goodnight, love.”

===

You would’ve normally understood why you were receiving stares and hushed murmurs followed you wherever you walked around the office, but on days like today, something just felt off about it. You hadn’t managed to catch the news in the morning because of how soundly you’d slept, and Jungwoo had left the house long before you’d woken up.

You’d realised after your morning meeting when you’d been approached by a rather sympathetic-looking Jaehyun, who’d practically shoved you into your office and almost gave you a concussion with his mini ipad.

Your hands on his shoulders to stabilise yourself, you’d grabbed his wrist, holding his ipad far enough for you to read comfortably from it, the headline almost making your blood run cold.

There at the top of the article in mocking bold lettering, it read: ‘Trouble in Paradise?: Suspected Affair of Kim Jungwoo’s Long Time Partner’

You had enough of hearing that stupid phrase.

“Give me that,” you took the tablet from Jaehyun, walking over to your desk and slumping down on your chair, your gaze darting from line to line, scanning the article for what it wrote.

‘Lead guitarist of up-and-coming band’.... ‘Sources say the couple are rumoured to be engaged’... ‘Pair were spotted heading out from a bar after the guitarist’s show’... ‘photos taken by an unnamed source show the two sharing an intimate conversation in a car’. 

“There's photos?” you gasped, the horror on your expression only being met with Jaehyun’s grim expression, nodding at you.

“I wish they weren’t clear but… it’s really obvious that it’s you and Yuta.”

You scrolled further down to see the photos, feeling sick when you saw how clear they were. You could already imagine what was awaiting you if Jungwoo’s parents had already seen the article.

“Shit,” you leant back in your seat, already feeling a headache coming on. You handed the ipad back to Jaehyun, who had looked on in concern.

“What are you gonna do?”

You huffed, burying your face in your hands, a muffled, “I wish I knew,” coming out.

You decided to take your phone out, going to Yuta’s chat.

10:16am - i don’t think i can come to the shop later- 

Yuta’s reply came quicker than you expected.

Yuta 10:16am -im guessing u saw the article…- 10:16am -its fine, i understand. I’ll just have the flowers delivered- 

You heard a knock at the door. The door opening to reveal the very woman you weren’t hoping to see, not until the opening of the art gallery.

Jaehyun became stoic in an instant, bowing deeply, “Good morning, Mrs Kim.”

You’d stood up slowly, giving her a bow as well, “Good morning, Mrs Kim. Are you here to see Jungwoo?”

She laughed, sharp and a little squawk-y, kind of like a bird. Or maybe an eagle, in this case, especially from the way she was looking at you as though she were about to eat you alive.

“No, no. Actually, I was hoping to have a little chat with you?” she cast a sideways glance at Jaehyun, “privately.”

Quick to excuse himself, Jaehyun had left the room quickly, mouthing a ‘good luck’ before disappearing behind your tinted office doors.

You watched, wide-eyed and anxious as Jungwoo’s mom had made her way to your office desk slowly, taking a seat in front of you, her hands clasped in a relaxed manner around the handle of her handbag that was perched on her lap delicately.

“Y/N,” she smiled, albeit forced, “my Jungwoo always used to tell me that you’re a good girl. And I understand, how many can fall for this… charm of yours, whatever it is.”

“I just need you to remember that so long as you’re together with him. So long as the public associates the two of you together as partners, whatever you do reflects on him, and on the company,” she told you.

You struggled to maintain your composure. It scared you, almost, how her words and tone could be so spiteful even with that smile plastered on her face.

“Frankly, I don’t care what you want to do in private. But if it hurts my son… if it hurts the reputation of the company my husband and I have worked so hard to build. Just know that you will bear the consequences for that.”

Your lips parted, “I-I’m sorry, Yuta’s just a friend of mine, we’ve been friends since—”

“I don’t,” she clipped, her tone bordering on angry before she’d reverted back to her smile, “care, if the both of you were forced in that car together against your will. The public does not know about your relationship. They believe what they see, they will believe what the media tells them.”

You nodded, “I’m sorry, I’ll try to get the article taken down.”

There it was again, her laugh, mocking you as you sat there dumb on your office chair.

“You think this is about the article? We’ve been monitoring you for a while, Y/N. We knew about your friend a long time ago. Zeus Global Enterprises isn’t run by a child, you know? If we wanted to, we would’ve taken down that article long ago. In fact, we could’ve decided whether or not that article even got to see the light of day,” she giggled, standing up and picking up her handbag.

“This was a message from me to you. Especially because my son wants to marry you, you have to be careful about what you let the public see, dear. Take this as a warning,” she focused her gaze on you, before flashing you another smile, turning to leave your office.

Leaving you, mind reeling and absolutely dizzy from the interaction you just had, you got a message from Jaehyun.

Jaehyun 10:22am -coast is clear? Can i come back in now?- 

You gave him a reply of a thumbs up emoji, seeing said boy walk into your office not long after.

“I was thinking about it while I was hiding in my cubicle, something about this feels planned.”

You nodded, lifeless as you stared at your laptop, open on an excel sheet you weren’t even reading, “it was.”

“Like if you- wait, it was?”

You nodded, “She told me they knew about Yuta for a while already, they knew I met up with him. But they only chose to publish an article about it now. Why? Because Jungwoo told them we’re getting married and they don’t like it.”

“God,” you groaned, bringing your palms up to rub at your eyes, “I don’t know why I didn’t figure it out sooner.”

“Figure out what? That your in-law’s are crazy?”

“Not my in-laws,” you clipped back quickly, shocking yourself with how smoothly it’d come out of you, the low whistle that came from Jaehyun only serving to make you regret saying it.

Jaehyun shrugged, and you only noticed the laptop in his hands now as he brought it over to the recliner, sitting down and setting it on his lap, “Honestly, if I were you, I’d be mentally preparing myself for the art gallery opening dinner.”

You could only manage a groan, a notification for your email popping up at the corner of your screen.

Your eyebrows furrowed, “What did you send me? Is it the finalised speech?” you exited the excel sheet and swiping over to your email to see what Jaehyun had just forwarded to you.

“I have to give it to her, that woman’s smart. Now all eyes will be on you,” he shrugged, nonchalant in his behaviour as he continued typing away at his computer.

Opening the email, your eyes flickered to the attachment first.

Resignation Letter Template.docx

You could only laugh in spite of yourself, “Very funny, idiot.”

He nodded, a hand to his chest as if he was very moved by your statement, his eyes shutting and a shit-eating grin on his face, “You can thank me later. I wish I could use it too.”

“You’re literally an intern.”

“I know, isn’t it tragic?”

===

As unaffected as you chose to portray yourself for the rest of the day, you couldn’t deny that you needed some time alone, away from the scrutinising gazes of your colleagues and the nagging anxiousness within you as you wondered how Jungwoo would react, or why he wasn’t reacting, for that matter.

You glared at the pink waters of the river you sat at, the reflection of the sunset on the waters should’ve calmed you. Maybe it would have, if you weren’t too busy trying to entertain each and every one of your million thoughts.

If you resigned now, people would definitely think it was because of the article. I mean, that was part of the reason, wasn’t it? How suffocating it felt being under Jungwoo’s parents’ control all the time. That wasn’t how you imagined you’d be living your adult life, and it wasn’t how you wanted to be living it either. Unhappy and too afraid to do anything about it.

You would have to tender your resignation for two months, anyway, so you guessed you’d still be able to complete whatever it was you had left to do before you were finally able to leave.

You felt a sudden gust of wind brush against you, the grass and trees beside you rustling at being tossed by the wind.

You glanced at the time on your phone, ignoring the texts and social media notifications that bombarded you, 7:06pm.

Strangely, as you looked at the expanse of open field on the other side of the river, you couldn’t help but feel comforted. If you squinted, it looked just like the park in your hometown. In that realisation, there was a sense of reassurance that came over you.

The reassurance was similar to the words Yuta had shared with you in his car. Maybe you had already decided on what you wanted to do. You were just waiting for the right time to make the decision official.

Jungwoo was the rational choice you made in college that ended you up in this position, that had shaped your character into someone capable of working in an environment like Zeus. You guessed you had him to thank for that. How optimistic he was when you met him, wishing that you would be able to find a job that could give you stability and happiness. Admittedly, at Zeus you did have stability and for a solid four years for that matter. Happiness… not so much.

Jungwoo would understand, right? 

This reassurance you felt was dangerous, you had to admit, it made you feel brave enough to stand up to his parents, something you would’ve done four years ago if you had known all the things they would put you through, perhaps moreso because it made you feel brave enough to take your life into your own hands again. You liked that.

You sighed, fishing in your bag for your notebook and pen, beginning to draft your letter of resignation. Maybe you will thank Jaehyun when you see him on Monday.

===

“Zeus!” you heard one of Jungwoo’s clients practically hooting at him as he was walking past them, the name almost making you flinch as you stood at the podium, waiting for Jungwoo to come up and give his speech.

Stepping down from the podium carefully, you’d gestured for Jungwoo to take his spot at the makeshift podium, not missing the way his hand had grazed your waist as he avoided stepping on your dress, a small mutter of thanks leaving him as he took his place.

You took that as your cue to join the rest of the crowd, taking your place next to Jaehyun, who beckoned you closer as if he wanted to tell you something.

“Jungwoo couldn’t stop staring at you when you were up there,” he teased, earning an eye-roll from you.

“Yeah, it’s called being respectful, idiot.”

Jaehyun scoffed, “You look great, though. It’s a really pretty dress.”

You hummed, “Really? Jungwoo bought it for me a few years ago.”

An impressed pout on his lips, Jaehyun nodded, “Man’s got taste, gotta give him that.”

You directed your attention back to Jungwoo, his tone gentle yet firm as he read the words you’d so carefully prepared.

You looked around the room, the sound of Jungwoo’s voice flowing through that section of the gallery, spotting Mark and Yuta standing behind Johnny, scanning the area behind them to see that the rest of the band were there as well. You almost giggled at the (endearing) amount of effort they’d put in to dress well, a stark contrast from their usual attire while performing.

“I’d also like to thank the creative team and Mr Lim from HR for helping to make this opening possible, I’ll definitely go to you for future events,” he spoke, your eyes darting up because you knew you did not include that in the speech.

You didn’t miss the way your boss, said Mr Lim, had gushed, shouting back, “my cheerleaders will be here if you need them!”

You rolled your eyes, tuning out the rest of the speech as you glared at your boss’ back. We’ll see how his ‘cheer team’ does once you resign.

“...may this be the start of a fruitful partnership between us, thank you.”

The sound of clapping and cheering had directed your gaze back to the stage. Jungwoo stepped down from the podium, meeting your gaze with a small smile on his face as he walked towards your table, though he was stopped halfway when his father had beckoned him over to his standing table with a few other friends of his.

“Zeus!” one of the men had greeted Jungwoo, “where’s Hera?” they joked, making Jungwoo laugh, shaking his head.

“She’s over there with her department.”

“Well, call her over! I’d like to meet her,” they insisted, Jungwoo trying to meet your gaze so he could beckon you over.

Finally making eye contact with you as you were finishing your glass of champagne, he’d waved you over, making you set your glass down quickly, starting to make your way over.

Jungwoo’s father leaned over, “How’s the Marketing department doing? One of my friends here was talking about a pretty good marketing strategy, you should set up a meeting with him and your marketing team. It’d be worth your time.”

Jungwoo waited for his dad to get to his real point.

“Did you see Chairman Jung? He brought his daughter. She’s a very sweet girl… it’s not easy making it to where she is, especially at such a young age. She’s only twenty-two and she’s one of the best prosecutors in the city.”

Jungwoo shook his head, keeping his expression stoic in front of his father, “I already told you, if it’s not Y/N, i’m not getting married.”

His father clucked his tongue in distaste, watching as you grew closer to the table.

“Why are you so stubborn about this? You’re not getting any younger, you know? The least you could do is try to meet some of the girls. Knowing you, you’ll keep dragging it out until you have no more options. You’re wasting your time on people you could do much better without,” he murmured harshly.

“Y/N’s a good girl, dad. I’ve been with her for a long time now. I mean it when I say I don’t see myself getting married if it’s not to her,” Jungwoo murmured, the polite smile on his face making it look as though he and his father were having the best time talking.

You wondered what they were talking about, especially as you’d reached the table and been welcomed by the men so quickly, all of them gushing over your dress and telling you how gorgeous you looked.

“There are many ‘good girls’, son. Don’t knock the idea just yet. In my eyes, you’re single unless you’re married.”

Jungwoo straightened up, his hand finding your waist quickly, his thumb rubbing your waist soothingly.

“Zeus, if I was with such a gorgeous young lady, I would’ve sealed the deal a long time ago,” one of the directors had chuckled, making you laugh nervously.

“He’s planning to soon, right son?”

Jungwoo nodded, “That’s right.” He cast you a glance, the calm, confident smile on his face making your thoughts spiral.

You weren’t sure what bothered you more, the presumptuous comments from the directors or the way Jungwoo was acting as if you were already engaged.

“Smart move, I can imagine how many suitors she has. Young, sweet girl. It’d be nice to work with a woman like that supporting you,” another man had added, Jungwoo giving your waist a small squeeze, almost making you shy away from his touch.

“I’d be more than happy to have someone like Y/N supporting me as well,” Jungwoo smiled.

“You’re a lucky girl, doll,” one of the directors had told you, “Bet there’s a thousand girls who’d kill to be you.”

You wanted to puke. If anything, you would love for them to take your place, you doubt you could tolerate Zeus’ work environment much longer, each word from the Chairman’s friends making your stomach churn.

You’d followed Jungwoo to walk around and greet the other guests, spotting Mark and Johnny retrieving more champagne from one of the waiters.

“Hey, can we go say ‘hi’ to Mark? You haven’t spoken to him in a while right?”

Jungwoo shot you a look as if asking if you were serious.

“He’s with Yuta, I don't think it’s a good idea,” he murmured gently.

“Oh,” you tried not to sound disappointed, understanding that it would’ve caused more gossip to surface if the three of you were seen together.

So you’d continued. As the night went on, Jungwoo’s hands had never left you, as though he were trying to show that you were his partner. Ironic, it was, considering he barely acknowledged you at work.

The more people you’d greeted, the more you’d felt like the person you were with just wasn’t quite Jungwoo. The fake smile plastered on his face and his readiness to entertain their inappropriate jokes about you, not to mention the way it seemed like his name had become almost synonymous with ‘Zeus’. It was all making you uncomfortable, and you’d wanted nothing more but to simply go home.

You reached out a hand to tug on Jungwoo’s fingers, his head leaning down to hear you better.

“Can we get going soon? I’m kind of tired,” you told him, a small yawn leaving you just as you said it.

Clearly enjoying himself in such a setting, Jungwoo almost looked disappointed, but nodded nonetheless, already beginning to guide you towards the exit.

Meeting his chauffeur outside the gallery, you’d exchanged a passing glance with Yuta, the boy simply staring as you were pulled towards the car by Jungwoo.

Once you’d entered, you slumped in your seat, shutting your eyes and already getting comfortable for the moderately long drive home.

“Could you put the partition up, please?” Jungwoo muttered, the low whirring sounding until there was a small click.

“Thanks,” you murmured, tensing up when you’d felt Jungwoo pull you closer to him.

Leaning down, you heard him murmur, “It’s been a while since you wore this dress.”

You hummed in acknowledgement, too tired to form a proper response.

“Made me realise how much i’ve been neglecting the fact that I have such a beautiful woman with me,” he huffed, and you felt him press a kiss to your cheek, another one at your jaw, trailing down to your neck.

“Jungwoo,” you began, interrupted when he’d pressed an urgent kiss to your lips, one of his hands at the back of your neck.

It felt weird. You knew you enjoyed the giddy feeling you would get when you kissed Jungwoo, or well, you used to at least. But there was none of that in the kiss you just shared, it made you feel yucky, the situation itself was uncomfortable. Something about it wasn’t right.

Pulling away, he’d trailed kisses down your neck.

“When’s the last time I kissed you? Maybe I should do it more often.”

“Are you just saying this because of what the directors were saying?” you sighed, opening your eyes to cast him a pointed look.

Jungwoo scoffed, smiling at you, “Of course not, just thought we could both use some stress relief. Especially since all that’s over,” he told you casually, his hand making its way to your thigh, slipping under the skirt of your dress and massaging the skin at your thigh.

Your hand moved to grab his, trying to halt his actions.

“That’s all this is? Stress relief?”

Jungwoo looked confused, speaking between kisses, “What else do you want it to be?”

You sighed, “Of course, I want it to be more than ‘stress relief’. This is ridiculous, you don’t acknowledge me at all in the office and then suddenly now just because you’re in front of your stupid friends—”

“There are people listening, Y/N,” he warned in a low tone, making your frustration build.

“I don’t care if they’re listening. They can transcribe this conversation for all I care. Don’t you see how suffocating it is to always have to put on a front for everybody? That’s including you, you know? I can’t even tell you how I feel without you trying to make everything PC,” you were frustrated now, Jungwoo’s hands on your thigh and his kisses halting, seeing him eyeing you with a thoughtful look in his gaze.

“Well, you don’t seem very suffocated, with all your outings with Yuta.”

Your eyebrows furrowed.

“Why are you bringing that up? You told me you never had a problem with it.”

Jungwoo scoffed, “that’s because it was never a problem until now!”

Glancing outside the window, you could faintly see the buildings on the corner of your street.

You shoved his hands off of you, folding your arms and waiting for the car to pull up at your shared apartment, with you stepping out first and Jungwoo quietly following after you. You’d both continued trudging in silence to your apartment, the shutting of the door and the whirring of the automated lock echoing in the narrow walkway.

“We’re not finished talking,” you told him sternly, seeing him making his way to your bedroom, your statement making him walk back out to meet you at the kitchen counter.

That was when you noticed it. The absence of a vase on the counter.

“What did you do to my flowers?” you murmured.

Jungwoo shrugged, “I threw them out.”

Your features pinched with annoyance, “Why would you do that? They were lasting so long,” you groaned.

Casting you a skeptical look, “You want my honest answer?”

“Well, obviously I don’t want you to lie to my face, do I?” You snapped, Jungwoo almost taken aback by your words.

It’d been a while since he’d seen you like this, the last time being when you’d gotten into a fight with one of Yuta’s soccer team upperclassmen that was giving him shit. Again, Yuta.

“Fine,” Jungwoo raised his hands in surrender, “I threw them out ‘cause I was mad.”

“Mad? Mad about what? The article?” You frowned, “You of all people should know who was behind that.”

“Yes, I was mad about the article. I was mad that one night with Yuta was all it took for us to start fighting again. Was that why you’ve been acting so weird recently? You haven’t been yourself at work, and don’t think I didn’t see your resignation—”

“You were looking in my bag?”

Jungwoo let out an exasperated sigh, “Yes. I was, because I can’t trust you these days. Not with how you keep giving me reasons not to trust you.”

He knew it wasn’t him talking at this point, he’d learnt it best from his parents. How manipulative they had been, turning everything that possibly went wrong against him.

You were at a loss for words, unable to comprehend how things managed to get so ridiculous so quickly.

“Admit it. It’s because of Yuta, isn’t it?” He prodded, his words prickly and irritating you to no end.

“No, this is about you. This is all about you. It didn’t take just one night with Yuta, Jungwoo. It took four years with you to realise It’s about how you’ve been treating me like shit ever since you let your parents and precious Zeus groom you into this… into this asshole.”

Your fists were balled at your sides, the fabric of your dress starting to make you feel as though you couldn’t breathe, your vision starting to blur as you felt that wave of reassurance take over you again, already opening your mouth to speak.

“I want to break up.”

You slumped down onto the floor, your back against the wall as you let yourself cry, immense relief flooding you that you'd finally managed to get that off your chest. Jungwoo��s eyes had glazed over, sitting halfway on one of the counter stools, his fingers fidgety and his mind full of thoughts.

You weren’t sure how much time had passed, and neither was Jungwoo. But the traffic downstairs had grown quiet and your tears were dried on your face by the time Jungwoo had chosen to speak, his voice slightly hoarse, “Me too.”

Jungwoo stood up slowly, making his way over to the fridge and taking out two cans of beer, walking over to you and handing you one, sitting next to you with a sigh. This time, you’d gladly let him drape an arm around your shoulder, feeling his head rest against yours.

“I’m sorry,” his voice was barely above a whisper.

“I was thinking about it,” he continued, bringing the hand holding his beer up to wipe his tears with the back of his hand, “and I realised, I was just scared of what my parents would do… you know, if we really did decide to break up. I mean, you were someone I got to choose myself, without their interference. You were someone I was comfortable with, and cared for me even when I was acting like a dick. I just… didn’t want them to just pawn me off to one of their business partner’s daughters, so I… tried to force us to work. Even if we did… you know, stop working a long time ago.”

Your lips pursed, trying to contain your tears.

“I’m sorry about what I said about your resignation when you asked me that day. I mean, I mostly said it because I knew my parents weren’t gonna take it well if they found out but… I’ll make sure they don’t try anything on you. I’m… just, I’m just really sorry for letting you take their hits on my behalf.”

Your lower lip had started to quiver as the rate of tears spilling from your eyes had increased, “apologize for Mr Lim too.”

Jungwoo let out a small huff of laughter, “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Are you kidding?” you brought a hand up to swipe at your tears, not being able to help yourself from laughing either, “of course, I am.”

You were sure if anyone else had seen the two of you, they would’ve had many questions, maybe even disbelief that Jungwoo would be willing to apologize and see what he did wrong. But you knew Jungwoo, you knew how he dealt with conflict. All he’d done to you were just manifestations of how his own parents dealt with him. Maybe that was why he’d chosen to avoid it for so long, because he knew that he was stuck in a loveless relationship too, and that there wouldn’t be any saving it when push comes to shove. You didn’t deserve that, no one does.

Before today, whenever you’d pictured what it would be like to break up with Jungwoo, you’d always imagined that you’d finally be able to dramatically tell him about all the times he’d done you wrong, every little incident that pricked at your heart till the day itself. But strangely, there was no urge to do that now as you sat with him, nursing your beer. You were just glad that it seemed you were both on the same page for once.

You’d continued to talk, relishing in one of the first proper conversations you were able to share with him in a long time. Even if you both looked like absolute wrecks, you had to admit, it felt good. And Jungwoo thought so too.

“Can I ask you something, though?” Jungwoo asked, his cheeks already flushed from the beer (he’d always been a lightweight).

“Yeah, go ahead,” you shrugged.

Jungwoo pressed his lips into a firm line, “What kind of uh… you know, what do you look for in a partner?”

You giggled, “Why? Are you trying to matchmake me already?”

Jungwoo shook his head, flustered as he smiled, “Just describe it, I’m curious.”

You hummed, “Well… I’d like someone funny, that I can have fun with… someone who’s considerate, who I can talk to freely and who isn’t afraid to communicate when we fight… someone who supports me… it’d be nice if they have some of the same interests as me? Like shows or whatever, it’d be fun to watch things together...I guess, someone who pushes me to do what makes me happy too?” you cast a sideways glance at Jungwoo, the look on his face making you feel embarrassed, “I don’t know, okay? I’ve never thought about this before.”

One hand coming up to cover his mouth, Jungwoo had poorly stifled his smile, the sight of his amusement only making you even more flustered.

“What’s so funny?” you scoffed.

Jungwoo shook his head, “No, it’s just… don’t kill me for saying this but you kind of just described how Yuta treats you.”

“Did I? No, I didn’t.”

“You totally did.”

You huffed, “Let me just enjoy tonight peacefully, I’d rather not think about that right now.”

“It’s not a bad thing, you know,” he told you simply, “I mean, It’s not a secret that he’s someone you can depend on. I’m sure he’d treat you a lot better than I ever could.”

You frowned, a small pout on your lips.

“Don’t say that,” you frowned.

Jungwoo shook his head, “It’s okay, It’s true.”

You let a short silence fall between the both of you, the sound of Jungwoo’s fingernails tapping against the metal can filling the absence of words spoken.

“Just… think about it, okay? Literally anyone can see that he’s into you.”

You grimaced, “This is weird, I feel weird talking to my ex about my best friend.”

Jungwoo rolled his eyes, taking another long sip of his beer.

“That’s life for you.”

You’d gotten a text from Yuta then, Jungwoo peeking over your shoulder to read it.

Yuta 12:20am -  r you ok? u looked rly tired jn- 2:19am -im guessing ure sleeping now but if u need anything just text me-

“Told you,” Jungwoo shrugged nonchalantly, making you roll your eyes.

You sighed deeply.

“What are we gonna do now?” you let out yet another sigh.

“Stop sighing, we’ll be fine,” Jungwoo told you with a laugh, “I can move out of here, get my own apartment… you can keep this one.”

You scrunched your nose up, “Sounds about right, it’s under my name, anyway. But what about you? Aren’t your parents gonna try to marry you off as soon as they can now?”

Jungwoo shrugged, “Probably. But I don’t think I will get married… just, not really interested.”

“You’d better make that clear to them. Knowing them, they’ve already got a list of brides lined up,” you laughed at the horror in his expression.

Standing up with a grunt, Jungwoo held a hand out to you, “Let’s go wash up. We’ll settle all the details tomorrow.”

You nodded, taking his hand and standing up as well, Jungwoo shocking you when he’d pulled you into a hug.

“Thank you, you know, for being so patient and understanding with me… I know I didn’t deserve it,” he murmured softly.

You huffed, nodding, “I would say you got lucky, but I know you’re being serious. So, yes, I know.”

That night, when you were both in bed, this time you were lying on your backs and trying to sleep while knowing fully well you couldn’t.

Jungwoo sighed, hoping you were awake.

“Y/N?” he tried, relieved when he heard your hum of acknowledgement.

Jungwoo pursed his lips, “Again, I know sorry won’t change the fact that I hurt you, but I really am sorry that I didn’t stand up for you… all those times when I should have.”

You nodded, turning to look at the blue moonlight peeking through the curtains and casting shadows on your bed.

“Jungwoo, just…” you spoke suddenly, “stop letting them step all over you. Zeus is almost yours for God’s sake, if you don’t want to be their puppet then stop acting like one.”

Jungwoo smiled, “Yes, ma’am.”

===

When do you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with someone? 

You didn’t assume it would happen in an instant, much less when you were squeezed in the middle of the sweaty crowd of a music festival.

As cliché as it sounded, it came when you least expected it. And you meant that in the most literal way. Because you’d never expected that it would be when you were standing there, gaze fixed on a smiley Yuta, hair recently bleached blonde and sporting a dark haired undercut, teasing the crowd as he played a riff of ‘Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer’, Haechan catching along and singing a quick bit of the chorus.

You didn’t know that looking at him having fun on stage, his smile exuding pure happiness, would be what made you realise that you wanted to be around him for as long as you were alive.

Performing in front of fifty thousand people wasn’t easy, but he made it look like it was with how easily he engaged the crowd. His happiness, and those of the rest of the band, was infectious, so much so that you allowed yourself to let loose, enjoying yourself fully even despite Jaehyun’s constant effort to remain chic next to you and Jungwoo trying not to get shoved around by the crowd.

“He’s really good,” Jungwoo shouted over the noise of the crowd while Yuta was singing, earning a giddy nod from you.

“You should tell him that yourself!” you told him with a smile, making Jungwoo laugh, stumbling at a sudden push from behind him.

“I’d like to, but I have a feeling he still doesn’t like me very much.”

Maybe Jungwoo was right, because once the festival was over and you had all gone to find the band, Yuta had shot you a grin when he’d spotted you, only to revert to a glare once he’d seen who was walking behind you.

Giving you a hug in greeting, Yuta let one of his arms drape around your shoulder.

“What’s he doing here?” he was practically glaring at Jungwoo, who stood awkwardly before Yuta.

“Yo, dude you made it!” Mark called out from behind Yuta, coming over to greet Jungwoo.

“Sorry, hope you don’t mind that I invited him,” Mark told his very disgruntled band member with a sheepish smile.

“Jungwoo has something he wants to tell you,” you shot a pointed look at Jungwoo, raising your eyebrows as if telling him that now was his cue.

Yuta took his arm from your shoulder, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at Jungwoo with evident contempt in his gaze, “Uh-huh, sure.”

Jungwoo smiled, “I wanted to tell you that you played really well just now, your singing is really good too,” he let out a little laugh in his anxiousness.

“Yeah, I know,” Yuta muttered, apathy in his tone.

You nudged him in the side harshly, “C’mon, don’t be mean.”

Yuta gave you a skeptical look, lips parting in shock.

“You’re seriously defending him?”

Mark let out a low whistle, “Someone’s jealous,” stopping his giggles quickly at the glare Yuta sent his way.

Noticing the knowing look Jungwoo sent your way, you shook your head, thankful that Yuta was just as eager as you to change the subject.

“Whatever. I’m hungry, let’s go for dinner.”  

After your realisation during the music festival, it was like something had shifted. It was like the weight of the words you’d told Jungwoo when describing the qualities you wanted in a partner had grown stronger and were being revealed to you, slowly but surely.

You hadn’t felt it as strongly before, but it was as if it had made you hyperaware of your heart, the way its beats would quicken when Yuta would lean over you to grab something from the far side of the table, or the way it slowed down nearing the end of the dinner when you leaned your head on his shoulder in your little food coma, or the way it stirred when he took his jacket off to drape it over your shoulders just as you thought it was getting a little too cold.

“Are you excited?” Jeno had asked you as you all waited for Haechan to settle the payment, his sudden statement making you glance around you, wondering what it was in your environment that you would’ve been excited about (It was your fault for not paying attention to the conversation, you were too busy watching Yuta finish the maze on the kids menu), “you know, it’s like what… less than a week till you end your job, right?”

Oh, that. 

You nodded, “Yeah, it is. I mean I am excited, definitely. A little nervous but your girlfriend’s definitely been a very big help,” you shot a look at Mark, who visibly flushed.

“She’s not my girlfriend…”

“Yet,” Lucas chimed in with a giggle, enjoying the sight of a flustered Mark.

Yuta was leant against the corner of the booth, looking at you with a small smile on his face as the boys had discussed a congratulatory party for your career switch, Jungwoo chiming in and saying that he could help to arrange it.

You were glad to see him starting to connect with his friends again. Though it’d been almost two months since the both of you broke up, it was nice to see that he was actively working on himself, seeking help and trying to be a better friend and leader (even if it’d taken him a month to set ground rules with his mom, one of which included letting him attend therapy sessions). Though he had definitely changed over the years, and some things were less likely to change, like his business mentality and his cynicism, you figured you were still glad that he was trying for everything else.

Turning to Yuta in the midst of all the discussion, you raised an eyebrow at him, wondering why he was looking at you like that, the slow smile he gave you and the unreadable look in his eyes was almost...endearing.

“What? Are you tipsy?” you glanced at his cup, seeing that he was indeed not drunk, his glass still a quarter filled with coke.

He simply shook his head at you, “Nope. Just… happy for you.”

You smiled, trying to ignore the way your heart had swelled with happiness, urging yourself to snap out of it.

“We should write a song for you!” Lucas chimed in excitedly, almost knocking over his glass with his abrupt movements.

“Let’s ask Yuta, he’s got plenty of experience, right Yu?” Haechan, back from making the payment, had drawled, eyeing Yuta with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Your eyebrows raised in surprise, “Experience? Dammit, I knew you dated around.”

Yuta scoffed, “I didn’t ‘date around’.”

“You totally did! Or well, at least you had crushes.”

Mark snickered, and you missed the glance he exchanged with Haechan. Jeno pretended to be nonchalant as he started to hum the tune to the chorus of Too Much Time Together. 

Yuta stood up abruptly, casting a sideways glare at Jungwoo when a poorly stifled chortle had escaped the said boy, “We should start heading back now.”

You’d walked beside Yuta as the group of you made your way out of the quaint restaurant, Yuta’s car parked next to Jungwoos.

“Y/N, do you need a ride home or..?” Jungwoo asked you, only to get interrupted by Yuta, who’d squeezed himself in between the both of you with an unapologetic smile on his face.

“I’ll send her home, thank you very much.”

You rolled your eyes, trying to ignore the way Jaehyun had snickered, his tone almost identical to Mark’s as he drawled, “Someone’s jealous.”

“Shut up, Jaehyun,” Yuta clipped back just as quickly, taking your hand and beginning to pull you towards his car, leaving you to wave your goodbyes quickly before practically being shoved into the passenger’s seat, the boys sending teasing statements Yuta’s way.

“You’re insane,” you laughed, earning a grunt from Yuta.

“I’m sorry, what? Can’t hear you, too many crazy people outside the car,” Yuta feigned nonchalance, already beginning to drive out.

“Hey, can I hang at your place for a while? Don’t really feel like going home yet,” you yawned, seeing him nod.

“Yeah, of course you can.”

You leaned over to switch the radio channels, eventually deciding on going without the radio since it was a short drive to Yuta’s apartment.

“I still don’t believe that you didn’t date around,” you voiced out your thoughts, amused at the groan Yuta had given you in response.

Yuta rolled his eyes, “Is it that hard to believe? I was pretty focused on my studies, okay?”

You couldn’t help but laugh, your laugh cut short at the sharp turn Yuta had taken as he entered his street, “drive carefully, idiot. But yes, I don’t believe you. C’mon, not even like one relationship?”

He shrugged, “Nothing serious, at least.”

You looked at him in disbelief, Yuta too focused on parallel parking to pay you any heed.

“You’re kidding… so you’re saying that since college the furthest you’ve gone is a talking stage?”

Yuta nodded.

You gasped, “Well, who did you like the most? Wait, wait, no don’t tell me. I wanna guess myself…” you hummed as you thought out loud,  “who were you the most whipped for?”

Yuta rolled his eyes, putting the car into park and stepping out, waiting for you to get out of the car as he walked into the lobby, pressing the lift button and shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Can I have a clue, at least?”

Yuta snorted, “Yeah, she’s pretty clueless.”

You hummed, “Oh, I don’t know many girls from college that we know… most of my friends knew you but I don’t think they actually talked to you…” With how seriously you were considering it, you would’ve thought you weren’t trying very hard on purpose, a part of you not wanting to imagine Yuta with one of your friends.

“Uh… is she my age? Have you ever written a song about her?”

Yuta stalked past you, unlocking his apartment with ease as you trailed behind him in your pensive silence.

“Yes to both questions,” he held the door open for you and you walked in, though this time, you saw the way he’d fiddled with the thermostat, making it slightly warmer for you.

“What are you doing?” you asked, momentarily distracted from your guessing game.

Yuta hummed, confusion written over his features before he saw you pointing at the thermostat, his mouth forming a little ‘o’.

“Oh, you don’t like the cold,” he said simply, walking over to his fridge to pour you and himself a glass of ice water, handing one to you before going over to his sofa.

Letting out a breath you hadn’t known you were holding, you shrugged off his jacket, hanging it at the coat rack and removing your shoes, meeting him at his sofa.

“Oh my God, I know. It’s definitely the girl you wrote ‘Too Much Time Together’ for,” you suddenly announced, a eureka moment of sorts that made Yuta sputter around his mouthful of water, “I mean, you said you wanted to be with them forever. If that doesn’t show that you were down bad, I don’t know what does.”

Yuta had an unreadable expression on his face, wondering if this was the universe’s way of giving him an opportunity to make his feelings known to you.

“Yeah, it was her,” he told you simply, hating how breathless he sounded.

You cheered, enjoying your momentary triumph, “Okay, so… you definitely met her in college.”

“Met her long before that.”

“You did? Then why didn’t you do anything?” You were momentarily distracted, taking your newfound information and sending a text to Lucas to ask if he remembered any girls Yuta hung out with during college.

Yuta shrugged, reluctantly tearing his gaze away from you to stare into his cup, shrugging, “Missed my chance. Didn’t realise I had feelings for her until she started dating this asshole so I figured I shouldn’t get myself involved.”

Your eyes widened, “No way, do I know the asshole?”

Yuta’s eyebrows raised, unsure whether to be amused that you had no idea you were talking about yourself.

Nodding, he pressed his lips into a firm line in a poor effort to contain his smile, “Yeah, you know him. Behaves exactly like Jungwoo.”

You’d straightened up at that, your thoughts temporarily diverted from Yuta’s college crush, “About that. You should try to understand Jungwoo more. Stop being so mean to him, you can tell he’s really trying to improve.”

“I’m humbling him,” Yuta shrugged, switching channels as he tried to find the movie he wanted you to watch.

“Yuta, I’m being serious,” you said, a little more firmly this time.

Yuta halted his channel surfing, setting the remote down next to him before narrowing his eyes at you, “You’re seriously defending him? You can’t be serious. What are you, his mom?” he scoffed, making you roll your eyes.

You clucked your tongue in annoyance, “I already said I was being serious. Yes, yes, I'm ‘seriously’ defending him. Take just now, for example, you could’ve just said thanks when he complimented your performance, but you were being a total dick about it!” you frowned.

Your persuasion seemed to have struck a nerve with Yuta, the boy’s eyebrows knitting into a frown as he bit the inside of his cheek.

“Why are you so protective over him?”

You scoffed, “You’re not actually gonna pull that ‘what about me?’ bullshit now, right? I know the guys were saying that you were jealous but are you actually jealous? Just because I’m asking you to be less… abrasive with your words towards Jungwoo?”

Yuta let out an exasperated huff, figuring that even if it wasn’t the universe giving him signs, he couldn’t stop himself from his next words.

“So what if I’m jealous? You already know I don’t like him. Maybe I’d even go as far as to say I hate him, but it’s not because of what you think, that’s for sure.” he started, taking in a deep breath and letting out a sigh.

“Okay, fine, why do you hate him so much, then? His family? What his company does?”

Yuta poked his tongue in his cheek, shaking his head, “Y/N, I really couldn’t give a shit about his job, or his family, or his money, or his million connections on linkedin. I hate him because I hate the fact that for four years he had you to come home to every single day, and even though he had that, he wasn’t good to you.”

Yuta’s gaze was intent, even as he watched a flash of realisation in your eyes, your lips parting slightly.

“I can’t forgive him for that… at least not yet. Do you think it was fun to watch? How you were always second guessing his feelings for you, how he would hurt your feelings and you would just suck it up and say it ‘wasn’t him talking’. Because it sucked.”

You huffed, “You weren’t there for the worst of it, anyway… you were on your exchange trip in college. We barely managed to align our schedules to call each other. The only contact I had with you was that letter and postcard you sent me.”

The look on Yuta’s face was purely incredulous, not knowing whether to laugh or grab you by the shoulders and shake some sense into you.

“You haven’t figured it out, have you?” he huffed, the frown on your face only serving to surprise him more. You really were clueless.

“Figured out what?” you clipped back in annoyance.

“When do you think the song was written?”

You furrowed your eyebrows, not understanding where he was going with this, your mind still reeling from trying to figure out whether you actually wanted to know who the song was about. You didn’t think you’d be able to like the song much afterwards.

“You said you wrote it when you were on exchange, right?” you frowned.

“Yeah, our second year of college. C’mon, just think, Y/N. What else happened to you that year?” he prompted.

“I…” you began, not being able to think of anything momentous that happened to you that year, “I can’t think of anything. All I know is that that’s when I got together with Jungwoo…”

You stopped yourself, your heart sinking when you realised. That was when you’d started dating Jungwoo. 

As if guided by divine timing, you’d received your reply from Lucas.

Lucas 9:39pm -??? He literally only hung out with you and the band LOL, and johnny ig- 

“So…” you paused, trying to find your words as you only managed to blink dumbly at him, “Jungwoo’s the asshole?”

Yuta stifled a laugh, nodding.

“You don’t seem shocked,” you blurted, immediately regretting your words, finding no logic behind them.

Yuta’s eyebrows raised in question, smirking at you, “Should I be shocked about my own crush?”

You couldn’t describe what you were feeling. You wanted to say you were glad, but should you have been glad that he wrote a song about you? Especially a song like that?

“But you got over it, right? Did you?” you dared to ask.

Yuta scrunched his nose up, shaking his head, “Don’t kill me for saying this but… I thought I did, but… I don’t think I really… did.”

Your lack of a response had only made Yuta sigh.

“If you’re worried about the state of our friendship, it’s fine, we can just pretend nothing happened and that I never said anything—”

“No, no,” you cut him off, wincing at how you’d done so a little too quickly, “I mean. I’m not like… worried. Okay, maybe I am, I don’t know. I’m feeling a lot of things right now.”

Yuta, calm as ever, had simply rested his arm on the back of his sofa, supporting his head with his palm as he looked at you, a hint of amusement in the curve of his lips. “Like what?”

You opened your mouth to speak only to shut it again just as quickly, tilting your head as you averted your gaze, “... For some… odd reason… I feel… I’m kind of glad you still feel that way.”

Yuta nodded slowly, “You are?”

You nodded, flushing in embarrassment, “Yeah… because… I don’t know, I think… I think I feel the same way too, but I’m not sure.”

It wasn’t as if you could press a confirmation button on your feelings, could you? You didn’t mean that. You knew you liked him. You’d just so happened to have grown to become more passive in your speech, something Yuta realised was an after-effect of working at Zeus.

“I take that back, I mean—”

Reaching out a hand to grasp yours gently, Yuta let out a small huff of laughter, “So, you’re sure? Or you’re still not sure?”

Giving your hand a gentle tug, you were surprised with the way you’d moved so fluidly, letting Yuta pull you towards him, so you were balanced on your knees, with his face barely inches away from yours.

“Do you need a confirmation?” he murmured, his gaze flickering between your eyes and your lips. You were almost embarrassed from what you were feeling.

Something about the warmth of his touch, to the way you’d felt sick but in the best possible way, the anxious beating of your heart as you wondered just how you’d ended up like this, yet not regretting it in the least bit.

It was like your body was moving on autopilot, judging from the ease with which you’d let your eyes flutter closed when you felt his hand gently cup the side of your face, his thumb softly rubbing your cheek and eliciting a soft sigh from you.

You could only manage a nod, Yuta not wasting any time to let one of his hands find its way to your hip, supporting you as he leaned forward to close the gap between the both of you.

It started off slow, delicate, as though the both of you were trying to exercise a certain level of restraint. Though you felt it almost impossible, not with the way his kiss made you feel like it was your very first, not even minding when he tucked your hair away from your face, the warmth spreading through your cheeks and making them feel hotter than they already were.

Your hands rested on his shoulders, the fabric of his too-big muscle tee sliding down to expose his collarbone with your movements. A small sound of surprise left you when he’d let his teeth graze over your lower lip just slightly, one hand coming up to move your hand resting on his shoulder to bring it up to cup his face, deciding to take the liberty to run it through his hair, the stirring in your heart only worsening when you’d felt him smile against your lips.

Feeling one of his hands move from your hip to touch the skin of your thigh, you’d finally pulled away, breathless and giddy, his forehead resting against yours while you caught your breath. Separating just slightly as you tried to gather your thoughts, his smooth caressing of the skin on your thigh making your head spin.

That was more than enough of a confirmation for you.

“I was stupid…” Yuta began, his tongue peeking out to lick at his lips as you absently ran your hands through his hair again, the smile on his face after you did so almost affirming you for your actions, “to think that being friends with you was enough.”

“Was that why you wrote that in the song? That you wanted to be with me forever?”

He nodded, a zoned out look in his eyes as he looked at you, giddy with love for you as well, “And I do, I really do.” You’d felt his other hand move from your waist to your hips, finding your hand to interlock your fingers absently as if he’d done it a million times.

And he has, but this time was different.

“Not platonically?” you asked, though it came out as more of a statement than a question.

The smile he gave you in return was all you needed.

He shook his head, “No. In the most romantic way possible.”

===

You ended work early today, considering it was your last day of work. Parties and going-away dinners from previous days having tired you out, but in a good way. You’d spotted Jungwoo’s parents while you were on your way out from the office just now, and though they barely acknowledged you, it felt good not to be acknowledged by them for once. It just made the reality of you finally leaving this office feel a whole lot more.. well, real.

Johnny was a wreck, to say the least, claiming that now he had no one to share his ‘desk soju’ with (much to Jaehyun’s dismay), but it was fine, it wasn’t as if he didn’t hang out with Yuta’s band every other weekend.

Somehow, in the process of trying to get used to the fact that you wouldn’t have to walk through the cold, unwelcoming walls of Zeus Global Enterprises anymore, you’d let yourself wander back to the little park that you’d grown fond of overtime, finding yourself seated in the middle of the grass enjoying the cold for once (even though it made goosebumps rise on your skin).

You glanced at the time, just a little over seven in the evening.

Perhaps the reason why you liked this time of the day so much was because it was like an ending of sorts. When things slowed down, your heart slowed down along with it. It reminded you of when you would finish soccer practice, and your heart would be thrumming wildly with all the running you done and excitement you’d felt, the only thing on your mind being the hope that your mom would show up to pick you up.

And whenever you saw her, that was just how it was. Your heart slowed down, an overwhelming sense of relief would wash over you. All from the promise of comfort.

Yuta just so happened to come along with it.

“Excuse me, ma’am. You’re not allowed to be within 2 metres of the river, it’s not safe.”

Jumping at the sudden intrusion, you’d turned quickly, relaxing when you’d spotted none other than Yuta, picnic basket in hand and his phone in the other that waved at you.

“How’d you know I was here?” you laughed, watching as he’d laid out an unnecessarily big picnic mat next to where you were, holding the edges down with his shoes and phone.

“Of course I knew where you’d be. You’re my best friend,” he smiled, beckoning you over to sit on the mat.

“C’mere, your clothes will get dirty.”

Sitting on the mat, you pursed your lips as Yuta sprawled himself onto the mat, bringing his arm up to support his head as he lay on his back.

Looking in the picnic basket, you’d wanted to laugh at what you saw. Gummy packets and Yuta’s favourite snacks, bottles of soda and a single can of beer.

Yuta held a hand to cover the opening of the picnic basket to get your attention, “I haven’t done groceries for the week yet, take it or leave it.”

You scoffed, fishing out a bag of gummies and tearing it open, mentally debating whether it would be a good idea to lie with him.

As if reading your mind, he’d huffed.

“You can still lay by me in public, you know. It’s not like it’s gonna kill you.”

You relaxed visibly, leaning back against the inclined patch of grass, enjoying the sunset as it started to change colour.

“What’s the special occasion? Is it ‘cause it’s my last day?”

Yuta shrugged, “Partly... But, I just… felt like being here with you.”

You couldn’t help the smile from your face.

“The sunset is really pretty, I can understand why you come here so much,” he murmured.

“Do you remember? When we used to hang out after soccer practice?” you prompted, “kind of reminds me of that… the sunsets back home were always so pretty.”

Yuta nodded, a small smile making its way on his features.

“You know, I don’t know when it started, but… whenever I saw a sunset like this, it made me think of you,” he confessed, lost in the way the sky had begun to turn purplish.

You smiled, thinking back to all the pictures of the sunset he’d sent you from his times in exchange, from when he was touring, even on normal days, how much comfort it brought you. That was it, wasn’t it? The comfort you found in something as simple as colours in a sky that was so far from you, yet so close to your heart.

“That’s very touching,” you teased, turning to watch as Yuta scoffed.

“Fine, I take it back. I just thought you were a nerd for sunsets.”

You laughed at that, Yuta turning to you with a smile of his own, feigning annoyance before he pulled you closer to him, letting you rest your head on his chest.

Like you said, you loved this time of the day, this sky that brought you comfort. Most of all, you loved Yuta, who just… happened to come along with it.

[charlotteswriting]

how would thh cast comfort you // gn!reader -mod kaede

makoto naegi

—even though he's clueless, he'll do his best to cheer you up. his encouraging words already make you feel better, plus he'll hug you. i feel like he gives the best hugs, the hugs that makes you feel loved (i hc nagito and gonta too) he'll try to get anything you want, snacks, chocolate, candies, drinks. keyword, try. he's got like, $1, he can't buy you mcdonald's but still he passes the vibe check because he is so caring.

byakuya togami

—speaking of mcdonald's... he can and will buy you the whole company. that's it, i am out. well... he isn't the best at comforting people because he is blunt, but i feel like he'd show his love by actions, so he'll lend you his shoulder if you feel like crying. he won't complain about it but he might have a disgusted face the whole time. he is trying to get better

mondo owada

—because he doesn't want you to feel trapped inside, he'll take you out and you 2 will ride around the entire town. getting fresh air is always the best, isn't it? after the ride, he'd take you to a calming place to picnic and he would ask you what's wrong while resting his head on your lap. if it's a person bothering you, he'll get pissed at them but if it isn't, he'll be much calmer and try to come up with advice, though he isn't really good at it, he tries his best for u to feel better.

kiyotaka ishimaru

—taka might be dense at first but as soon as he notices your mood, he'll drop everything he has to do and will pay his whole attention to you. i headcanon taka likes to cook, so he'll cook with you or for you! he enjoys baking you cookies. he is actually good at giving advice, he's disappointed that you didn't come to him when you were bothered, he'll be there for you from now on and give you his love.

hifumi yamada

—i feel like hifumi would notice your bad mood but wouldn't know what to do, he'll try to crack jokes but he isn't the best joker around :'( if you have any shows you'd like to watch, he'll watch it with you and that'll be enough to cheer you up! but he talks a lot when watching, so you gotta bear with him. also man himself is comfortable like a pillow, so you can lay on him while watching it

leon kuwata

—he's bothered that you are upset, so he will do his best for you. taking you outside is one of things that comes to his mind first, walking in the streets while holding hands? yes. but if you feel like staying home, that's ok too! he is always down to cuddle. cuddle bug? cuddle bug. and yeah, he'll spoon you, so you don't feel alone.

yasuhiro hagakure

—oh no, it's so awkward. he isn't used to you being like this but he'll still try his best! another one that will take you to mcdonald's, he's a bit broke now, but who else is he going to spend his money on if it's not you? i feel like he'd joke around to lighten up your bad mood and tell you his whole life story. his memories are so terrifying that you eventually forget what's been bothering you. mission accomplished, but at what cost..? he is crying due to the nostalgia.

chihiro fujisaki

—at first he's like, is it me made you sad? :( you give him hugs all the time so it's time to payback! another one that gives the best hugs, they're so sweet. he will listen to every word you have to say patiently and at some point, he'll probably join you crying—if you aren't crying, well, he is crying alone. he'd play games with you until you are tired, it's him usually gets tired first. hearing his little snores in bed is already enough to make you smile. succeed!

kyoko kirigiri

—she can read people well, so she can say something's bothering you, so she'll be more affectionate than usual in return. kyoko will stay with you the whole time and listen to you without judging you, also i feel like she'd do some of your hobbies with you, so you'd feel better. in the end of the day, you know she believes you and it makes you feel better. kyoko will do your hair while you are ranting about your day. it comforts you.

sayaka maizono

—sayaka is geniunely sad, she cares so much. she'll take your hand and ask you if there's anything you'd want to do to feel better, she's down to anything, really. she's worried about your well being so much. like taka, she's a good cook, she'll spoil you a lot! she'll be affectionate the whole day and will not leave your side unless you are feeling better, afterwards, you tell her the reason of your sadness and she's like :0 then :( she is more clingy.

toko fukawa

—toko is aware you aren't feeling at your best, she wants to cheer you up but her low self-esteem doesn't let her. i think she's good at giving hugs, but they won't last long, because she thinks she's not respecting your boundaries. with short hugs and words that won't leave her lips, she isn't the type to comfort, but still just her presence itself helps you to feel better. she'll sit by you and will read with you, sometimes she'll even give you headpats. and i think that's really sweet.

sakura ogami

—i feel like sakura would immediately want to know the problem, so she can solve it. that would make you feel better, right? if you don't feel like talking about it yet, that's ok! she respects your privacy, but she won't leave you alone. she'd never when you are this upset! i think she'd carry you around with those big arms of hers, she knew you enjoyed a lot when she lifted you up or carried you in general. she gives good piggyback rides, too.

asahina aoi

—if you are upset, she's upset too. :( but still she's willing to make you feel better! she will want to talk about it, though that's only if you wanna. she'll take you the nearest donut shop and will buy you snacks as well when returning home. if there is no donut shop around, then she's more than excited to bake some with u! she's so passionate about it. you can't help but laugh at the way she fails baking, she is embarrassed about it but hey! at least you are smiling again

celestia ludenberg

—she knows you good enough to tell you are lying or not, pretending doesn't work on her, peace was never an option. celeste probably going to offer watching movies, i feel like she would like k-drama. also don't @ me but she will play uno with you, and no, don't try to change my mind. i also hc celeste likes birdwatching, there are many things in her mind to do with you. but if you don't like any of these things, she'll just shrug, giving in and joining you, staying with you the whole time.

mukuro ikusaba

—mukuro isn't great at comforting, but she'll not let you stay in a bad mood, either! she'd say you nicest things ever, probably about how much he admires you and stuff like that, well, she does. she is really embarrassed about showing affection, but still will embrace you, just like how you embraced her. will let you rest your head on her shoulder and you'll tell her about what's bothering you. the whole time she has a serious face but in mind she's forcing herself not to have a heart attack because of the closeness

junko enoshima

—now now, the only person she doesn't get bored around is upset? no, we can't have that. thanks to her analyst talent, she could already tell the problem and told mukuro to take care of it. while it's getting solved, she'll spend all of her time with you now! she'll tell you you're the best one around and you have no words for that because you know it's true. she's not the great comforter because her personality changes literally each second, but that's fine, too.

hey hey! this wasn't requested by anyone but still i felt like writing because i was kinda upset lately, and this idea popped out! anyway, hope you enjoy this! tomorrow, i'll be having my exams so i better get back to study :) i won't write for a week and few days but when i am done with them, i'll get back to writing requests immediately!! ily!!! 💖💕

[lesbianrobin]

What do you think are the good and bad aspects of each season of ST?

ok 1. thank u for this question omg and 2. this answer may or may not be a mess, but either way it’s long (almost 7k words lmao) bc i’m insane, which is why it’s under a cut. it’s still by no means an exhaustive list but these are the things that just kinda came to mind.

also i realize you asked “good and bad” and i wrote this whole post as “strengths and weaknesses” which um. is not Exactly what you asked. but close enough <3 i also ended up including a lot of au ideas ksjdckmn bc like i personally hate when people say a certain plot or whatever was bad without suggesting anything that could have improved it yknow so whenever possible i tried to provide Some idea for fixing the issues i had with the show!!

season 1

strengths (this is probably gonna be the longest section but that’s because a lot of these strengths also apply to s2/s3 by default)

nostalgia and authenticity

this one’s pretty simple, but i think that season one did a good job of blending classic eighties media homages (such as the many many e.t./el parallels) with explicit pop culture references (such as mike’s yoda impression, mentions of the x-men, etc) to create a show that’s essentially dripping in early eighties nostalgia without it feeling too forced. before st, i think the most popular depiction of the eighties in mainstream media was that overly exaggerated neon scrunchie aesthetic from the mid to late eighties, and it was usually done in a comedic sense first and foremost. st took a different approach, instead focusing on the early eighties, a time that’s often ignored in favor of going either Full Seventies or Full Eighties, and i think that this choice likely resonated with adults who lived through the eighties and hadn’t yet seen something that felt quite so accurate to their own adolescence. a lot of young people who watched st were totally unfamiliar with this period of time, unfamiliar with books/movies like “stand by me” that st borrows from heavily, and i think st lent more seriousness to the eighties than most young people had experienced so far, and this was refreshing and interesting!

the use of dnd in the show is also quite genius in a way i’m not sure i can articulate?? it isn’t something Everyone would have played at the time, but it’s something that existed within a different context back in the eighties than it does today, and it really lent a sort of authenticity to the naming of the show’s sci-fi elements. like, of course these kids would name parallel dimensions and monsters and superpowers after these similar things in their favorite game! it just feels so real and it grounds st in our reality moreso than you might expect from the typical sci-fi or horror universe.

utilization of existing tropes

almost every single character in st clearly originates from some popular trope. the plot itself is riddled with classic eighties movie tropes. almost every single element of stranger things can be clearly traced back to some iconic eighties film or just to, like, overused horror/sci-fi/mystery/coming-of-age movie tropes in general. this might sound like a bad thing, but it really works in st’s favor! starting off with familiar tropes gives st the ability to easily create a lot of complexity and make a big impact by selectively deviating from those familiar, comfortable tropes!! while el’s whole plot, hopper’s character, etc, are all examples of this in action, i think the steve/nancy/jonathan plot is the greatest example. even from the start, the fact that good girl barb dies while nancy is off having sex with her asshole boyfriend is an incredibly thorough inversion of the most well-known horror movie trope in the book. how often do girls in horror movies have sex for the first time, walk home alone in the dark of night, and live to tell the tale? nancy and jonathan’s dynamic at first glance is a sort of classic “good girl meets boy from the wrong side of the tracks, discovers he’s actually got a heart of gold” thing, but instead of following this well-trodden path, st diverged. nancy is brash, impulsive, and at times downright insensitive. jonathan is angry, bitter, and actually a bit of a creep at first. while they have the capacity to emotionally connect and support one another, they can also bring out each other’s darker side, which is not what we’ve come to expect from that initial tropey dynamic.

in addition, steve, the popular rich asshole boyfriend, is actually... a human being! unlike the cartoonishly evil jocks that we’ve come to expect (especially from eighties movies), steve has complexity. despite his initial immaturity and selfishness, he’s also kind to barb, he backs off when nancy says no, he’s gentle and sweet when they sleep together, his first big Dick Move of the season is in defense of nancy, he realizes the error of his ways after the fight and does what he can to fix it, he’s worried about nancy when he sees that she’s hurt at jonathan’s house, and to top it all off, he ends up saving both nancy and jonathan’s lives when he could have just walked away, and the three of them all work together to fight the demogorgon. like... steve began as the most stereotypical character of all time, and by the end of the season, he had one of the most compelling and unique arcs among the whole cast!

finally, at the very end of the season, instead of dumping steve for jonathan as expected, nancy ends up getting back together with steve, and they’re both on friendly terms with jonathan. i realize that i just kinda. summarized s1. but my POINT is that i don’t think the dynamics between the monster hunting trio would be nearly as fun and interesting had the characters of nancy, steve, and jonathan not been set up to follow certain paths that we already had charted in our own heads. like, within the first couple episodes of s1, it’s pretty obvious that nancy and steve are gonna break up, nancy will get with jonathan, and steve will either die or go full evil or just never be seen again. like, duh! you’ve seen this story a million times! you know that’s how it’s gonna go! so, when the story DOESN’T go that way, the impact of each character’s arc and the relationship dynamics become stronger due to their unexpected complexity and authenticity. 

distinct plotlines separated by age group

this one’s rather obvious, but the way that the adults in s1 were essentially in a conspiracy thriller while the teens were in a horror flick and the kids were in a sci fi power-of-friendship story and all three converged at the end... wow. brilliant showstopping etc. not only was it just really well done and unique, it also gave stranger things near-universal appeal. like, there’s genuinely something for pretty much everyone in season one!

casting

obviously this applies to every season sorta by default, but when i think about what made season one So successful, i always think about the cast, and not just winona ryder. yes, she’s absolutely amazing in the show and it’s very doubtful that st would be as big as it is today without her name being attached to it from the start!! however, i think the greatest determining factor in st’s success is the casting of the kids, particularly millie bobby brown. like... el is just absolutely incredible. she’s amazing. this has all been said many times before so i won’t harp on it, but millie and the other kids are all So talented and charismatic and i think their casting has been instrumental to the show’s success.

strong visuals

the way that multicolored christmas lights which have been around for decades are now kinda like. a Stranger Things thing. jesus christ. those lights are probably the biggest stroke of stylistic genius on the show.

atmosphere and setting

this is probably like. the least important one here for me sdjncdsc because i think s2 and s3 both had like Even Better atmospheres and shit but s1 was good too and it laid the groundwork!! i know a lot of people would have preferred st be set somewhere more Spooky with lots of fog or giant forests or whatnot, and while i do enjoy thinking about alternate st settings and how they might alter the vibe, i think hawkins indiana was a good choice. as the duffers have said, placing stranger things in a fictional town allows them more flexibility than if they’d gone with their original plan of using montauk, new york. besides that, i think the plainness and like... flatness... of small-town indiana just Works. like, the fact that hawkins is never really scary on the surface is a big part of the horror in the lab’s actions and their impact. hawkins isn’t somewhere that people just disappear all the time. it isn’t somewhere known for strange occurrences (prior to s1, that is). it isn’t somewhere shrouded in mist and secrecy. hawkins on its surface seems like the sort of place with no secrets and nothing to fear, and that’s the point! the lab is out in the open! it’s right there! everything is so close to the surface, yet so far out of the public eye, and i think that really works.

the byers family’s whole deal (specifically the joyce/jonathan dynamic)

this is going here bc i miss it so bad in s2 and s3. i’m not one of those people who believe The Byers Are The Whole Point of the show, because st is and always has been an ensemble, and el, hopper, and the wheelers are just as instrumental to the plot as the byers, but ANYWAY, i do think the byers were one of the most interesting aspects of s1. joyce’s difficulties with supporting her sons as a poor and (implied mentally ill) single mother, jonathan’s stress as a result of having to earn money, care for his brother, and keep the house in order when his mother is unable to do so, and the resulting tension between them when will’s disappearance and supposed “death” brings the situation to a tipping point? holy shit! it’s so good! that argument after they see will’s “body” is just incredible and gut-wrenching. their relationship feels so real and messy and i think it’s just... good. also winona ryder REALLY acted her heart out and she carried a lot of s1 which i think people often forget to mention so i’m saying it here.

weaknesses

pacing/timing

ok so pacing is probably going to go in each season’s weaknesses, to be honest, because i think they all had a blend of some good and some bad pacing. good pacing is invisible pacing, though, so i probably won’t be putting it in any of the strengths sections and will only be focusing on it in the weaknesses. i’m also probably not going to talk about weird day/night cycle things, just because i don’t want to get nitpicky on timelines because that would require going back and rewatching things to double check timing which i don’t wanna do at the moment lmao. anyway, when i think of bad pacing in season one, i primarily think of two things: nancy’s little trip into the upside down and subsequent sleepover with jonathan, and the sort of staggered nature of the climax in the final episode. the latter is simple so i’ll explain it first: while i understand that each group’s respective climax is like part of a chain reaction and that’s why each big moment happens separately and at different times, i think that st is strongest when the whole group is together, and i think that makes the stakes feel higher too, so i’m not In Love with the way s1 separated everyone and gave each group their own climax. 

okay, now on to the nancy/upside down thing! idk if i’ve ever talked about it before, but i think the worst decision made in s1 by far is the inclusion of nancy’s brief trip into the upside down, wherein she dives headfirst into another dimension with absolutely no backup, watches the demogorgon chow down, freaks out and runs around for a minute, and then leaves. like... what the fuck? even putting aside what an idiotic decision this was (because i do think nancy’s tendency to rush into things headfirst is an intentional and consistent character trait), it just kind of destroys any remaining suspense surrounding the demogorgon and the upside down, and it accomplishes basically nothing besides scaring nancy enough to have jonathan sleep over, which is lame. i will break it down.

like, first of all, nancy just getting to waltz in and out of the upside down and get a good, long look at the demogorgon makes the entire thing far less mysterious, and by extension far less scary. like... before this scene, we the audience haven’t got a good look at the demogorgon. we’ve seen its silhouette briefly and we’ve seen a blurry picture of it, but nothing more, and i think that is far more effective at building fear than this jaunt nancy goes on which gives us a full view of the thing and makes it into less of a horrifying nightmare and into more of a humanoid animal. like, maybe this is just me, but i found the demogorgon far less intimidating after that scene than before. it also lets nancy and jonathan know For Sure that they’re right without providing any crucial information that they need to fight the demogorgon (aka it’s unnecessary to the plot), which removes a very compelling story element (the faith nancy and jonathan need to have in order to keep going against a vague and poorly understood enemy, the doubt they might have about each other and their own sanity, the possibility that they might be wrong, the trust they need to have in each other) a bit earlier in the plot than i believe is ideal. at the end of episode 5, nancy goes into the upside down and jonathan doesn’t know where she is and it’s intense!!! you’re thinking like, oh fuck, not only is nancy missing and fighting for her life now too, jonathan might be implicated in her disappearance!! some people already think he’s the one who killed will and people know that he took creepy pictures of barb and nancy before they both disappeared, maybe this is gonna cause some serious problems for him!! maybe nancy will find will in the upside down and she’ll help him survive!! fuck, maybe she’ll actually die!! this is huge!! and then episode 6 starts and they’re immediately like oh nevermind jonathan found the tree and got nancy out and she’s fine. my point with all of this is that nancy entering the upside down could have done A Lot in the grand scheme of the plot, but all it did was just... get jonathan to sleep over so he and nancy could have some awkward romance moments and steve could see them together and pick a fight. which could have honestly happened at Any point while nancy and jonathan were working together to hunt down the demogorgon, without ruining the demogorgon’s and the upside down’s mystique. so yeah <3

weird behavior and dumbass decisions that make no sense (aka the whole camera thing)

gonna go off about the teen plot again sorry but: why was nancy so unbothered and quick to forgive jonathan for taking those pictures? girl what the fuck are you doing? why wasn’t that a bigger deal? why was jonathan’s motivation for doing it so weak and why did they just kind of forget about the whole thing? why did nancy TRACK HIM DOWN AT THE FUNERAL HOME while he was PICKING OUT HIS BABY BROTHER’S CASKET to be like hey can you tell me what’s in this creepshot you took? it’s insane. it’s so insane. i mean i think the funeral home thing is hilarious and i don’t mind it being in the show necessarily but like my point here is that i think a lot of character decisions in s1 just kind of.. happened because they Needed to happen for the plot. like, they wrote this plot that required jonathan to be secretly taking pictures of the party and required him and nancy to work together after seeing something odd in the pictures, but they didn’t like... really consider what that event would mean for their characterization and relationship. the whole thing was sort of just dropped with minimal discussion and i think it did both nancy and jonathan’s characters a disservice and was really mishandled.

lighting and saturation/color grading

i am literally begging horror/sci-fi shows to let me see shit. i GET IT okay i understand that when you’re doing cgi effects it helps to keep the lights down and i’m not mad at any of the lighting in the demogorgon/upside down scenes!! i’m really not i think the demogorgon scenes in s1 all look sick!! but like... dude. the colors. where are they. why does everyone look like a vampire. i know blah blah this was probably an intentional stylistic choice intended to mimic film at the time blah blah but dude a lot of old movies are very colorful!! please just let people have color in their faces so everyone doesn’t look like a sheet of paper!!! also i’m white and not a professional lighting designer so yknow grain of salt but i think lucas was kinda poorly served by the lighting sometimes in s1. not Hugely so, not to the degree that i’ve seen poc be poorly served by lighting in other shows, but there were some times where it felt kinda like the lighting setup was just not designed with darker skin in mind. 

horror

i just personally don’t find s1 very scary like... ever. i don’t think they were really Trying to be extremely scary yknow so i’m not counting this as a big deal, but i do think that each season has improved on the horror aspects. i think s1′s horror lies more in the mystery and the unknown than in what’s seen onscreen, and as i’ve said already, i think s1 kind of fumbled that suspense ball.

season 2

strengths

the possession plot

i’ll warn u rn this whole s2 strengths section is probably gonna be really short bc idk like. how much there is to really say i feel like it’s all so self-explanatory skjncmn. anyway yeah the possession plot!! eerie as fuck, and noah OWNED. so did winona tbh and finn and sean etc but like. noah. wow! i think the possession plot helped the show maintain a good amount of tension and suspense throughout the season, and a lot of scenes with possessed!will are flatout disturbing to watch. in a good way. i think the mindflayer and will’s possession were far more genuinely frightening than s1′s demogorgon, and it provided a new layer of depth and intrigue to the antagonist besides just “bad monster want eat people.”

tone and aesthetics

halloween season... literally halloween season. halloween season. that is all.

actually i will elaborate a bit and just say that i think s2 did a good job of having the sort of foreboding vibe that s1 was often going for, but without the annoying darkness and desaturation. so points for that.

also st2 is like one of the best Autumn pieces of media ever like it just. like steve and dustin on those train tracks with the fallen leaves all around them.... god. god the vibes are unparalleled. all of the halloween stuff also really contributes to the nostalgia st runs on yknow it makes you think about childhood and trick-or-treating and you kind of get transported like damn... i remember going to the rich neighborhoods to score the good candy..... idk i just think the whole thing is incredibly effective. 

“babysitter” steve

by sending nancy and jonathan off together, the show created a problem: what to do with steve? this problem pushed them to create the unconventional and unexpected duo of steve and dustin, and the world is so much brighter for it. seriously though we all know steve and dustin are great i don’t need to argue that point. all i’ll add is that i think allowing steve to grow in this way, serving as a mentor figure and becoming genuine friends with someone so unexpected, really took the originality of his character to the next level. no longer content just to defy his archetype, in s2 steve begins branching out in ways that never would have been considered in s1, creating an incredibly complex and interesting person from the sort of character that most shows would have simply written out or killed off for convenience’s sake. and it works and steve and dustin are such a joy to watch and i love them. <3

the lucas/max plot

so first of all max mayfield is the most perfect baby girl on god’s green earth and idk what i would do without her but anyway. i think lumax is the best romantic relationship in the show and not just because they’re the only ones with like an age-appropriate approach to the whole thing. it’s also because their relationship accomplishes more than just putting the two of them in a relationship!! lucas and max spending time together motivates billy to do his evil shit, providing more conflict in the narrative, and it also helps establish max as part of the group in a relatively natural way while giving both her and lucas a great subplot. lucas (and dustin) has a crush on the new girl, they start spending some time together, and lucas ends up needing to decide whether he’ll keep the secret of the upside down and lose her, or risk both of their lives by telling her the truth. that’s a pretty big, character-defining decision that he gets to make!! max has to choose whether to trust this boy she barely knows and endanger herself, or to walk away and stay safe, yet another great character-defining choice that also contributes to the sense we get as an audience of max as somebody who’s incredibly lonely and desperate for love and connection. this post is way too long already and i have a ton more to say so i’ll stop now but yeah i think lumax really Works in the show without ever distracting or detracting from the overall plot and narrative in the way that some other ships (coughjancycough) often do.

balance between the normal and abnormal

s2 i think did a pretty solid job of melding daily life with more fantastical sci-fi horror elements. i enjoyed seeing so much of the kids at school in the first few episodes!! you really get a strong sense of where they’re at in life, what their daily lives are like, and you get a sort of gradual shift into madness that makes everything feel more grounded than i think it would if they had just leapt straight into the horror shit, yknow? 

the el and hopper dynamic

go back and rewatch s2 and tell me that’s not one of the most moving portrayals of parenthood and trauma and growing up that you’ve ever seen. you can’t. or well you can but i won’t listen. i really can’t imagine stranger things without el and hopper’s relationship, and it’s my absolute favorite part of s2. their whole dynamic is so beautiful and complex, and gives them each amazing personal arcs in addition! the black hole scene is literally one of the show’s greatest moments of all time. any given scene between the two of them in s2 is just guaranteed to be heartwarming as well as heartbreaking, and i think that makes for an incredible show.

weaknesses

flashbacks

okay this applies to Every season they All have too many flashbacks but in s2 specifically... please stop showing me shit from season one. i watched it. i know what happened. you don’t need to spoon feed everything to me!! flashbacks can be a really helpful way of delivering information to an audience, but st has a bad habit of not only being kinda demeaning in how often they flash back to shit that the audience already knows, but they also have a bad habit of using flashbacks almost as a crutch to avoid having to deliver information subtly and naturally. 

you know i gotta say it... the lost sister

this is so sad. the lost sister really is like a great concept for an st episode, and i’m not mad about the idea of st taking a break from the normal action to focus on one story for a full episode, but the execution of it was just dreadful. kali and her crew feel very over-the-top and stereotypical, and its placement in the season totally kills the tension and excitement that was built in “the spy.” 

i think the lost sister honestly could have gone over far better, even with the stereotypical fake-feeling gang kali has, if they had just swapped it with “the spy” like... ok, the end of episode five has el setting off to find kali and will collapsing on the ground seizing. right? imagine if, instead of immediately following will to the lab, we’d followed el. we don’t know what’s happening with will, but it’s a very simple cliffhanger that leaves us on edge without making us feel cheated by the show cutting away. we follow el on her little journey, everything happens much the same as canon, and then at the end, el sees hopper in scrubs. she sees mike, screaming, sees that they’re both in danger. holy shit!!! what the fuck!!! what’s happened since we left will seizing on the ground??? we feel el’s fear and confusion. she decides to go home. and then... boom. “the lost sister” is over. now, we rewind, right back to will seizing on the ground, and “the spy” commences. we learn how they got into the danger that el saw in the end of “the lost sister,” and we sit on the edge of our seats all through “the spy” and “the mind flayer,” KNOWING that el is on her way back to save them but not knowing when she’ll arrive!! idk i don’t think that would have necessarily saved lost sister but i think it may have alleviated some of the issues that i and many others have with it, timing-wise.

the nancy/jonathan sidequest

once again, the idea of nancy going off on her own little mission to find justice for barb after s1 is like. amazing. genuinely i love that plot for her and i can’t imagine anything better for her to have focused on in s2. unfortunately though i think her and jonathan’s little trip to see murray was just kind of... lame. the whole thing just felt like an excuse to get the two of them alone together, yknow? which is fine i guess people contrive all sorts of situations to get characters alone together for romance reasons but in this case i think it just really doesn’t work for me because of what it’s juxtaposed with. like, will is POSSESSED, and jonathan is just off on a mini road trip and sleeping with his bestie, and jonathan never seems to communicate to joyce/will that he left town, and joyce never like... thinks to tell him that will is like sick and fucked up and they’re looking at him in the lab??? like it’s so weird i know joyce always forgets about jonathan when shit’s happening with will but jfc you’d think at some point in that like... 72-ish-hour period where jonathan was out of town she would have thought about him. like at least once. maybe i’m forgetting something and she mentioned him sometime and i missed it but even still, i hate the juxtaposition of nancy and jonathan just like cheers-ing at murray’s place and sleeping together and whatnot while everyone else is dealing with possession or trying to hunt down dart yknow? it feels really boring in comparison and i think it could have been done far better. like it was SO insanely easy for them to get into the lab and get an admission of guilt and escape with it!! i think it might have been a lot more engaging if maybe someone from the lab tailed them to murray’s place and they had to like lose the tail and race to get the recording out to as many news outlets as possible before they got caught, or something like that. the tension in their plotline is completely resolved in episode four!! episodes five and six are just them screwing around and addressing envelopes. while there were a lot of strong ideas in this plotline (i really enjoy nancy going out of her way to get justice, and the fact that they have to water down the story to make it believable), i just think the focus on nancy and jonathan getting together hindered it a lot without adding a ton to the plot or their individual characters.

season 3

strengths

starcourt mall as a setting

while i don’t think the mall was utilized quite to its full potential (something i could make a separate post about if anyone’s interested), i do think that starcourt was a genius addition to the series. i’ve said this before, but building a new mall is a literal Perfect in-universe justification for a significant leap forward in fashion and aesthetics, and it provides a great location for characters to just... be characters. idk how else to articulate this i just think that the mall is a great setting to let people interact with each other and to bring people together who may not have been otherwise (i.e. scoops troop). not to mention how sick it was to see the mall get wrecked toward the end kdjncdkm like they were able to do so much more with the mall in terms of like The Finale than they could with just the byers house or the cabin or the school or even the lab. i love all the back tunnels they run through it’s such a fun like acknowledgement of how this glitzy eighties mall is just a real place where employees get shipments and take out the trash and shit idk it’s all about the perfect facade and what’s hidden what’s underneath what’s hiding in plain sight etc etc i’m just saying words now. anyway. 

willingness to experiment and go against expectations

gay robin. neon aesthetics. giant fucking meat monster. i know some people hate both the neon and the meat monster but i personally think they were kind of amazing and like. yknow regardless of personal tastes i think it’s impossible to deny that s3 had a lot of incredible visuals, and they’re all visuals that just wouldn’t have been possible if the show were too afraid to stray from its s1 aesthetic. robin being canonically gay (and her resulting friendship with steve) and the season’s striking visuals are two things that most everyone (besides like homophobes skjncdknm) can agree were great, right? and they were both departures from where the show began and what we all expected!! so yeah i think while some of the experimentation in s3 wasn’t ideal it was also that experimentation that allowed for some of the season’s strongest elements to come about.

the hospital sequence (and the season’s action/horror scenes in general)

this one is fairly self-explanatory. while they may have underutilized the “body snatching” element of the season, the hospital sequence with nancy and jonathan fighting off their possessed bosses did an amazing job of building tension and creating a genuine sense of really intense and personal danger.

in general i think that s3 melded action and horror rather well, particularly in the sauna test, the hospital, and when the mindflayer busts through the roof of hop’s cabin. horror can come from many things, and in this case, st elicited horror largely from the feeling of helplessness, and it was really effective for me personally. i think it worked better for me than s1′s brand of horror because it doesn’t rely so much on a lack of knowledge or a sense of suspense that inevitable disappears upon a second viewing.

the body horror we got in s3 was also really fun! that’s it i just think all the blood and guts and slime were fun and i would like more of them. once again, the impacts of body horror are less dependent upon the viewer being in the dark or unsure as to what’s happening, and as such i think it tends to be a little more effective at eliciting reaction in the long term.

timing and mechanics of the battle of starcourt/finale

i think the battle of starcourt is just fucking awesome, and beyond that personal opinion, i think it’s the most high-stakes and intense finale of all three seasons, and this is for two main reasons! 1. el is out of commission, and 2. (almost) everyone is in the same cental location. this means that (almost) everyone is in danger all at once, and they are all working together at the same time to fight the same threat. s1/s2 have their groups more fragmented for the finales, and while i understand why in each case and i wouldn’t call either season’s finale necessarily weak, i do think the centralized nature of the s3 finale just Works on another level. in s1 and s2, large segments of the cast are already perfectly safe by the time el dispatches the primary threat. in s3, however, everybody save for dustin and erica is still in danger up until the last moment, and el is seemingly (you can def debate how much power she still had in her when she peeked into billy’s mind and whether the memory broke the mindflayer’s hold on him or if she was actually controlling him to some degree) completely vulnerable. this increases the tension and raises the stakes, making the finale a real crescendo to fortissimo as opposed to a series of little mezzo forte moments. i hope everyone reading this knows music idk how else to phrase that my brain is stupid.

emphasis on friendship and adolescence (but in a different way than s1/2)

this is definitely a controversial one but i think that s3 really did like... show a side of friendship that had been more or less unexplored thus far in the show. el and max were amazing, and i think it’s really nice that we got an opportunity to see the kids have some growing pains as well as see them support each other through Normal Adolescent Stuff like boyfriends and breakups instead of just like. death and trauma. this is maybe just a personal preference, but i think it can be really enlightening and provide a lot of depth when you get to see how characters respond to normal everyday conflict and not just how they respond to giant world-ending conflict!! letting el use her powers for goofy teenage shit like spying on boys and messing with mean girls at the mall is not only fun for her and the audience, but it also really emphasizes just how much those powers are a part of el, making it that much more devastating when she loses them at the end of the season. 

weaknesses

tonal dissonance

so this is like. obvious. but it must still be said! i won’t go on and on about it since we all know this so i’ll try to like talk about it from an angle people don’t usually? anyway. it seems to me like they were maybe a little worried about s3 being too dark. while the choice to really lean into humor was definitely driven by the sorts of eighties teen films from which s3 drew inspiration (like fast times at ridgemont high), i think it was also done in an attempt to alleviate the more troubling implications of some events in the season, particularly the russian bunker plot. like, yeah, st can be incredibly dark, but if they’d played the whole “children being stuck inside of a foreign military base, tied up, tortured, and drugged” thing completely straight without the humorous elements that exist in canon, it had the potential to be like... disturbing on a new level. steve and robin don’t have powers like el yknow their kidnapping/torture doesn’t have any sci-fi elements to sorta soften the blow. they’re just innocent teenagers being brutalized and traumatized by grown men. so anyway yeah i think maybe the writers were concerned about this storyline coming off as too dark and they wanted it to be a little more whimsical but they ended up pushing way too hard in that direction and creating extreme dissonance at times. this goes for joyce/hopper/murray/alexei too, but to a lesser extent. i think the ridiculousness in that group felt a lot more like... realistic. but still. 

newspaper plot

once again i feel like i don’t even need to say this skjdncmn we all know it was insane how the show basically ended up delivering the message “while misogyny is a serious problem poverty and classism are not” and i’ve said it on this blog a million times so i don’t need to repeat myself. i’ll focus on another weak point of this plot: the fact that it completely separates nancy and jonathan from everyone else. once again, the show’s preoccupation with j/ancy held them back! like... can you imagine a version of s3 where nancy and jonathan both worked in the mall? i have a lot of ideas about this possible au and like how the plot could play out differently if they worked in the mall but first of all it’s just more realistic, second of all it further utilizes the mall as a central setting, and third of all, it would bring everyone together. as it is in canon, nancy and jonathan were unnecessarily isolated from the rest of the group, and this isolation was detrimental to both of their characters. like, they only ever get to interact with each other! if they’d gotten summer jobs in the mall, they could have had more interactions with the kids/steve/robin, and they absolutely still could have had a similar argument! maybe in this case, nancy notices the rat thing (or something else odd) herself when taking out the trash behind the mall, and she wants jonathan to ditch work with her to check it out bc she thinks it may be related to the lab. jonathan doesn’t want to ditch work because he needs his job, nancy argues that they’re working shitty mall jobs anyway and who cares if they get fired, and we get more or less the same thing as s3 without the cartoonishly over-the-top misogyny. i mean honestly i think the rat shit could have been cut entirely it didn’t rly... accomplish much of anything. in my opinion. like imagine s3 without the rat plot you literally would not be missing anything except it would be more surprising when the dudes melted into goo at the hospital. so yeah i think it would have been better if nancy and jonathan had jobs at the mall, weren’t isolated from everybody else, and were maybe absorbed into the party’s plot or the scoops troop’s plot from very early on, allowing them to interact with more characters and have a less... dumb.... plot. like god splitting up nancy and jonathan between the party/scoops troop would have been So Much better i just. sdkjcnksdmn anyway yeah.

briefness of group reunion/separation of groups

remember in s2 at the beginning of “the gate,” where mike and hopper had a confrontation and max and el met for the first time and el hugged everyone and steve and nancy had their sad little moment together outside... where’s that energy? obviously the s2 reunion wasn’t that long either, but it made space for some significant emotional moments to take place. s3′s reunion had some hopper/el/mike resolution, but besides that... there was nothing, really. i just think that the whole group getting together in s3 was SO exciting and powerful the way they did it (with both the scoops troop and the adults having their own Big Moment reconnecting with team griswold family), but the emotional potential was more or less squandered. 

i also think in s3 at times they were really stretching to keep everybody separated even though it made no sense. and like... in s1 the separation worked bc nobody else knew that (x group) was experiencing weird shit too, and beyond that, each group (as i mentioned in the s1 section) was sort of operating within their own genre and bringing something unique to the season. they’ve stopped doing that though! now, the groups aren’t separate bc each plot is tonally/structurally different, the groups are just separate bc... they need to be, because it’s a big ensemble cast and you can’t just have them all be together for a whole season or it would be way too difficult to coordinate things and keep the show dynamic. all this is to say that i’m excited for s4 because the location differences make it so there’s a Reason for each plot to be separate at the beginning, and i think that’ll work better.

general ridiculousness

i dont mean like i think it’s bad that they made jokes this is just me lumping in all the dumb shit like hopper not worrying about el and not wanting to check on the kids, him and joyce bickering long after they both know they and their children are in danger, max seemingly forgetting that billy is a racist abuser, etc etc. i think many of these are just a symptom of the show 1. trying desperately to keep the groups split up a certain way even though it may not make any sense, and 2. trying to fit into a certain genre/trope mold when their actual characters are more complex than the tropes they’re imitating. this is so fucking long already i am not gonna elaborate further rn but i trust u all know what i mean.

soooo... yeah, that’s about all! i mean it’s not all there are definitely many more things i could talk about and i know i focused sorta disproportionately on the teens which is my bad :/ but i’m done for now. thank you for asking, and apologies for the delay in responding!! i’m sure some people reading (if anyone read this far) will disagree with some of what i’ve said and that’s alright like i’m not The Authority on st or anything i’m just trying to talk about like my own thoughts yknow? so yeah luv u all i hope someone enjoyed reading this!!

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

The Mysterious Guests of the Boothe Hotel

Rated: Mature

Young Adult, Supernatural, Mild Language, Descriptions of Violence, Queer Themes

The Boothe Hotel has been standing for almost one hundred and fifty years. Despite its rich history and ever-growing additions in these modern times, it’s actually a pretty average building. On the surface at least. This summer was supposed to be great, but it turns out Great doesn’t always mean Good.

PROLOGUE

Boothe Hotel has been in my family for several generations. It’s a tall, five story manor house with dozens of rooms, secret passages, and a bomb shelter beneath the building. All I know is my great great grandfather insisted on the bomb shelter when he had the place built. It’s super huge and has this cool echo effect.

I don’t think it was called a bomb shelter at the time. It was 1874 and I’m not sure bombings were a thing then. American History is like the worst class in our schools. You can’t blame me for not knowing anything useful. I’m sixteen, I have other stuff to do.

So anyway, the hotel. The name came from my late, great-great-grandfather’s family. Edvard Boothe was his name, and he wanted desperately to own a massive building where he could rent rooms out to tourists for exorbitant prices. I’ve seen some of the paperwork saved from that time period, it was not cheap in the slightest. He did everything he could to skin people of their fleece and was all too happy to do it too, yet no one held it against him.

The family business basically revolves around this massive building and keeping the business going. It’s been renovated once every quarter century and updated with the newest technology of the times. Edvard Boothe made so much money off of foolish tourists that my family are still finding his money stashes even to this day. Do you know how much the currency from the mid-to-late-1800s is worth? At least once a decade we find more and then literally sell it to the highest bidder since we have no use for it.

Mom kept one bill and one coin for preservation purposes in a glass case, but everything else is always sold off.

Obviously we aren’t hurting financially, which is why we can afford to be much more lenient in renting out rooms in this day and age.

I gotta say, I’m very fortunate to have this as my life. I don’t have to look for a job. I don’t have to marry in a specific way. I don’t even have to go to college. This is great! I get to work in the hotel, eventually inherit the building, and then be comfortable for life. Not a bad lot in my opinion.

Dealing with some people with nasty attitudes now and then is definitely worth all of this. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

~.O.~

“Is this place haunted?” the woman across from me asked as I went through the paperwork necessary for her to rent the room she desired. Northside, facing the greenhouse, window seat, and a queen-sized bed to be exact. One of the better rooms on the third floor and it came with a nice view.

Her glasses made her look bug-eyed. It was kinda funny. She gave me Trelawney vibes. The flowing clothes and whimsical nature added into the idea very well. Or maybe more like Miss Grotke? Both at once? If they had a kid maybe?

“Not that I’m aware,” I told her as I considered the long history of the hotel. “No one in the family has ever mentioned such a thing and we have records dating back to Boothe Hotel’s founding day.” Though I’m pretty sure suggesting the existence of ghosts in the late 1800s, in the middle of a severely Roman Catholic town, would be a very bad idea.

“Is it alright if I place a salt line in every ‘tween just in case?” Our new guest asked, pulling an elaborately carved, crystal salt shaker from her mauve purse. The kind you’d find in some antique shop or something.

I blinked. Salt in the ‘tweens? “You mean in the doorways and windows?”

“Yes.”

“You can try, but there are drafts in the house. Those lines probably won’t last for very long, especially at night,” I told her apologetically. Unfortunately, that’s not something I can control around here. “There are space heaters in each of the rooms though, so you don’t have to worry about getting cold at least.”

The woman, a Ms. Eva Markle, beamed revealing some very shiny teeth. “Thank you, dear!”

If it makes her feel better than more power to her. It won’t take much effort to clean it up since someone will have to sweep and then mop it every few days just to be safe. A bit of salt never hurt anyone… much.

~.O.~

“I’m just not understanding the thought process behind this decision,” I said as I helped my friend Carlie carry her luggage up to her temporary room. In my hands were two massive suitcases that could probably knock a grown man unconscious if thrown hard enough. She had the other three. “You live a few blocks away in a big mansion of your own. One that’s bigger than this place if you recall,” was my remark.

“Yeah, but since I’ve decided to spend my summer vacation here, I get to use your pool every day, get to eat your mom’s food for breakfast, get to sleep in a massive room all by myself without being interrupted by shouting brothers, and get to hang out with you while you work.”

Well… her siblings were all very nosy. The sleeping arrangement made sense at least.

We stopped on the second floor, third door on the left, Room 203. “You can do all of that at any time though, for free,” I reminded her. “You come over often enough.”

Carlie stuck her tongue out at me. “But when the day’s done, I won’t have to go back home this time.”

Ah. That made sense.

It wasn’t that Carlie had a horrible home life or anything. Her parents were just so consumed with work that they were never around. As such, the eldest child ended up being the one in charge of taking care of the household. Carlie was not the eldest or the second eldest, but because the other two, both eighteen year old twins, always managed to have plans they ‘couldn’t cancel without being rude’, she ended up the next in line to watch her five younger siblings.

This actually made Carlie’s choice to reserve a room for 10 weeks back in May, make more sense. School didn’t end until June 2nd, but she had already called in her reservation a month in advance. Since she spent her own money on the room ahead of time, she had prior commitments basically and would not be around for the entire summer. Her mother only went along with it and provided signatures for Carlie who was still a minor, because she lost some bet with Carlie about the conclusion of their favorite sitcom.

Carlie’s whole family operated on keeping promises and arranged engagements to the best of your ability. Her older brothers got away with basically being useless to the family because they were smart enough to have prior commitments lined up all the time. This time however, Carlie had beaten them to it, planning out everything meticulously over a month in advance.

Such a belief system was unique in the sense that honoring your word was most important. It took precedence over everything. Even punishments received at home. The punishment would have to be put off until later or ignored entirely if a child got in trouble but had a commitment they could not abandon.

It made finding loopholes very easy, but Carlie’s parents didn’t really seem to mind. In fact, from what I recall, they got a kick out of the inner machinations of the minds of their children. Successfully getting out of a punishment or postponing it long enough for it to no longer matter took skill in manipulation.

It was also really funny!

Hell, Carlie’s younger brother Inigo had once intended to break a rule, but knew he’d get grounded for it due to past experience, so he signed up for a school play which then required him to be at every practice the school had for the next two months. This meant he would never be home long enough to be successfully grounded and his parents had to either dream up something else that could work with such a schedule, or simply give him a stern talking to.

Carlie and I had gotten a kick out of it. Especially when he tried pulling out of the play a month later because he didn’t want to have to sing. Yet he was a Rousseau. He’d chosen to commit himself to something, so he would finish what he started, as family tradition dictated. Being in the play ended up being more of a punishment than anything else he would have gotten.

Unfortunately for Carlie, manipulation wasn’t her forte, so rarely did she win in these kinds of games.

“Smart,” I murmured as I handed her the room key. “Devious. I like it.”

“I know, right?”

With Carlie here all the time, things would be so much cooler. We could go swimming and exploring. Maybe even check out the bomb shelter in person while we’re at it since we’re older now. I haven’t been down there personally, I’ve just sung into the hole a lot like I’m Snow White looking for someone I love to find me and getting nothing but a lame echo of myself in return.

Once her things were set up properly, we went back downstairs to the dining hall where my mom was already setting up the breakfast table. Currently we had nine guests and as such, the hall was always open in the morning, with food ready to eat until eleven. The breakfast was complimentary and my mom’s pancakes were awesome. The superior breakfast food in this house. They have chocolate chips.

“Hi, Ms. Boothe!” Carlie said with a wave as we took a seat at the first table near the double door entrance.

“Glad to have you with us, Carlie. How’s your head been?” mom asked as she shifted the plates on the breakfast table around so they were more easily accessible to the guests. The nameplates were also set up showing which foods were made with what allergy-inducing ingredient.

Mom was talking about the unfortunate accident Carlie had had with the front door last week. Meaning she walked right into it while someone was opening it, somehow, and ended up with a massive egg on her forehead. The swelling had receded by now and she’d expertly hidden the evidence of a wound with concealer, but the memory of how purple it had gotten was still fresh in mind.

It had been really gross, so obviously I had to poke it just because I’m that type of friend.

I got a sharp elbow in my ribs in return, don’t worry.

“So long as I don’t touch it, I’m golden, Ms. Boothe!” Carlie said, sending me a dirty look that I couldn’t help but cackle at.

Mom smiled and set down a massive platter full of pancakes right at our table. Ten in total, five for each of us. The chocolate chips were all melty and awesome. “Since I know that’s where you’ll both go, I brought them to you.”

“Thanks!” we chorused.

I grabbed the chocolate syrup already on the table, while Carlie monopolized the maple praline. We chatted quietly amongst ourselves for a few moments until the quiet was interrupted by the click-clacking of a familiar pair of shoes.

Our newest guest walked into the room, mauve purse slung over one forearm and large, round glasses firmly set in place. She took note of us and beamed, walking over quickly to place her bag down on Carlie’s other side. “Hello, dears!”

“Hi, Ms. Markle. How’s your morning been?” I asked as I rolled a pancake up like it was a newspaper and dipped it in my syrup.

The woman adjusted her dozens of silver bangles and righted her flowy, green shirt. “Quite well, thank you. I didn’t have to deal with any of the drafts that you warned about. I’m very pleased with the state of my room as well as the antique furniture! So fetch!”

Oh my God.

“That’s good,” I said with a barely-repressed grin. “Mom’s set out breakfast by the long window if you’re interested.”

“Don’t mind if I do!”

Carlie sent me a look as Ms. Markle went to get her own breakfast.

I leaned in to say, “She wanted to put down protective salt lines in her room.” I found it rather adorable, but the frown on Carlie’s face was concerning. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Why would she do that?”

I shrugged. “She thinks the place is haunted and since it won’t harm anyone, I didn’t see a problem with her putting the salt down.”

Carlie was silent for a brief moment, before asking, “Are we staying on the same floor?”

“No…? Why?”

Carlie sighed in obvious relief. “Overly superstitious people weird me out, but if we’re on different floors then it’s okay. Also, her jewelry is made of silver and I hate silver. It rubs me the wrong way, literally.”

Weird. I don’t get what her concern is about but to each their own. So long as they were civil to each other it didn’t matter to me what happened between them. Guest infighting was so annoying to deal with, you have no idea.

Ms. Markle returned with a bowl full of… bacon covered in mayonnaise and relish. Carlie and I shared a look as if somehow the other had the answer for why this was a thing we had to be exposed to. The woman then seated herself and began rummaging through her purse until she withdrew a stalk of rhubarb and some whole ginger?

Why? Who just carries that stuff in their bag? Where did she fit it in the bag? Like, it was a decent sized bag but it wasn’t like a tote or anything.

The rhubarb was dipped into the relish, then the mayo, and then very clearly munched on like it was some kind of candy.

Okay, maybe there is a reason to be concerned about Ms. Markle. Rhubarb is nasty. Relish and mayonnaise on rhubarb sounds like it would produce the flavor of licking Satan’s anus in person.

Ignoring the eating habits of our tablemate wasn’t easy. Especially when she began working on the whole ginger, dipping it in the sauce combo as well. Why? What possessed this woman to eat like this?

I’m so glad breakfast is the only complimentary meal we offer. I will only have to deal with this once a day if I’m lucky.

~.O.~

The south side of the hotel faces the woods. It’s a big area around here, and the trees can grow exceptionally high in the right conditions.

The woods border the mini golf course that was added to the property about ten years ago. Golf is pretty popular in Gaylord. Mini golf is more for funsies though and less competitive when it comes to normal people.

Anyway, the setup is nice and Carlie loves it. Especially since the course only costs $3 to play through. The money earned through the mini golf course is donated to a local charity since we don’t actually need it.

As usual, Carlie was dressed in her head-to-toe black ensemble. Only the skin of her face was visible and she carried a large, black parasol around as we played. When it was her turn to use the putter, I’d hold it over her head for her. I’m just nice like that.

She was one of those pasty white people. The kind who would turn to flame if the sun even blinked at them for a second. To protect her skin she wore SPF 90 sunscreen all the time and always smelled like bananas as a result. Carlie hates bananas by the way.

“I feel like you want to beat the hell out of that ball,” I told her as she tapped the ball into the hole in order to get a Par. “Like, it’s in your aura or something, not necessarily in anything you’ve done. You know?”

“I haven’t been to the driving range in months. It’s a great way to let out some pent up aggression,” she confessed with a frown, giving her putter the stink eye.

Yeah. Carlie’s swing was ridiculous. Baseball, golf, you name it, she’d cave your head in if you stood too close.

On my end, I like to leave the sports to the people who are good at them. I’m not about that life.

I handed the parasol back with a smile. “For your delicate, baby butt skin.”

She stuck her tongue out. “Ha ha. So funny. Truly a talent unlike any other. Really.”

“Your sarcasm powers my dark soul.”

A roll of the eyes was her response.

Before we could tease each other any further, Ms. Markle appeared in our line of sight. She was walking down the path that surrounded the hotel, reading a book while also nibbling on a raw, uncooked beet. I don’t know where she got it from. Certainly not the hotel since we’d never waste money on something like that. I never saw her leave for the town either.

Carlie turned away, nose wrinkled in disgust. She really didn’t like Ms. Markle at all, huh? How odd. I thought she was pretty nice, if a little weird.

The woman felt fine to me. In fact, everyone in the hotel was pretty chill in my opinion. It was rare that everyone staying here was a nice person. I planned to fully appreciate that fact as much as possible, for as long as possible.

I just have a feeling that this summer is going to be a great one. I can’t really explain it, but I’m looking forward to it. My best friend will be here everyday, which is awesome! The weather is supposed to be nice all summer, which is good for our plans. The guests are decent people on top of all that.

Great times ahead.

~.O.~

Act I is available for purchase on my [Ko-Fi]. Read the Commission details before committing to anything. Act I is $4, containing the Prologue + Ch. 1-4. 15K+ words available.

The release schedule will be iffy because I'm homeless and trying to find a place to live. Ko-Fi is the only way I'm making money right now so I'm doing my best. Apologies.

[disorganizedkitten]

Every now and then I look back at this blog and the entire Miraculous Focus on it and I feel bad because I've stepped back except for Felinette and Maribat, pretty much, and there's stuff that hasn't been finished yet, but I always tell myself it will be because I am pedantic and barely ever delete things.

Anyway. Today is not the Rewind And Finish All Projects Miraculous day, although that day will probably be pretty Miraculous in and of itself 😉👉👉

Anyway, no this is me publicly claiming my twin/wbwl aus because they bring me joy and I wanna shout into the void for all who echo.

Titles and summaries under the cut-

Are these gonna be in chronological order? Only until Connor appears. If you don't know, Connor features in almost every branch of this chart and those bounce around.

Cobra Lily- Inspired by The Farland Files and a fic that's since been deleted and was also based off Farland Files; What if, instead of fighting against each other and the system, the abandoned children teamed up?

 Eden's is not the only place Iris has ever known. But it is the one she knows the most.

 Fished out of a building after a small town massacre and shipped across the country for long-term placement three days later, Iris has no ties to her dead-or-worse birth family.

 Instead, Iris has Eden. Among the children, the name is an inside joke.

 Jacinta Peréz, Florine Dupont, Clemencia Doe, Kamal Doe, Aletris Carson, and Hana Griffith call it their Garden of Eden.

 The Garden is a good enough family anyway.

Hydrangea- Cobra Lily but I looked at it and myself and said why is the vibe so different genderbent, can I do this with a male Harry? The answer is yes.

Cobra Lily but instead of Iris Doe, future Dark Lady and friend of Charlie Potter, we have Hawthorn Doe, living dark artifact and secret metamorphmagus.

(Not) Our Parents (' Children)- I have so many explanations for this so maybe check the NOPC tag when you're done but for now 'WBWL au sautéed in found family and drizzled with chaos'

This is a story you know. In a sense.

 Let’s try this, shall we? Once upon a time, there was a little boy destined to save the world- oh goodness I sound dramatic. Nevermind. You know that part. You know about the child soldiers and split souls.

 So what about what you don’t already know? You don’t know of two little boys who decide to save the other instead. You don’t know the secret to immortality. And you may not know, however cliché it sounds, just how useful love can be.

 They say the pen is mightier than the sword, and a wand can be both and neither. So let’s say love is stronger than hate - because it can be, of course. Let’s say… you can choose people you’ve already been given. Let’s say the only ties that matter are those you give power to- let’s say the only way anything has power is if you give it that power.

 Now let’s say there are children. There are children in the 1500s and there are children in the 100s and there are children in the 1900s. There are children raised in war who wish for peace.

 None of them have succeeded. Adversely, many of them have.

 [Cathy, get to the point.]

 [Timothy, get out of my office!]

 [It’s our lunch break, Catherine. I was told to ensure you ate.]

 [Thank you, Sally. Let me finish first, right?]

 [Sure, but we’re watching.]

 [Timothy, I’m recording, shut up.]

 Let’s say that once upon a time a war was fought, and maybe it’s been won. Maybe it hasn’t been. But there are people living in its wake.

 Black clawed his way out of a cave and won. Riddle threw three killing curses and left that many survivors. Potter cheated Death. Nott watched values degrade and mourned it. Peverell kissed her daughter goodbye. Lestrange laughed as she went to prison. Granger prayed to never see war. Warren died screaming. Zabini betrayed his beloved. Norman choked on smoke and ash. Weasley looked over a battlefield and saw the living overlay the dead.

 Because this is what Weasley saw, darling readers. Their children? They do better.

Mathverse/It's Only Right As A Math Problem- Okay from NOPC onwards we are in Connor Potter territory and I love him. This is a conglomeration of deleted scenes turned into a new universe from NOPC

Wherein Harry is traumatized but pretending he's not, Connor definitely does not have possession problems, and Bryony has decided that becoming a Dark Lady is a wonderful career choice.

 Once upon a time, children chose kindness, but war chose children.

 Or-

 The adventures of a horcrux and his necromancer, set to the background of proper wbwl tropes.

A Conspiracy of Errors- I was thinking of Hydrangea meeting NOPC and Sorrel and Hawthorne insisting very stubbornly that Harry Potter is dead. I wanted to try smth.

 On October 31st, 1981, The Dark Lord Voldemort broke into the Potter’s home and killed James and Henry Potter. Lily and Connor Potter survived, if barely.

 Two months later, Lily Potter remarries Jacob Black and adopts his son, Hadrian.

 Nine years later, the half-brothers reach Hogwarts. For years things haven’t quite added up, but it’s been negligible because that’s just what home is like. Their parents are trying to shelter them from something or other.

 Of course, once they see how history views their family, every dodged question and untrue answer is suddenly cast in a much more sinister light. Connor and Harry are going to get to the bottom of this, even if it breaks them.

 Meanwhile, Lily and James Potter fret over their children’s sparse letters and choppy attitudes.

Incubus- Horcrux thoughts go brr

The Students of Hogwarts will tell you that the Potter twins are needlessly affectionate.

 They're wrong.

The Boys Who LiVeD- I don't remember :v:

 Lily Potter is going to raise her children. That’s non negotiable. War won’t stop her, a dark lord won’t, and death will try.

I have a couple others but they're all really lose, like two sentence things. /shrug

[haikyuu-sins]

Fluff Alphabet-Trafalgar Law

Since no one wanted to send me any Law requests, I took matters into my own hands and did this. I got the prompt from @dragonprincess18 so thank you for this because I needed it! :) 

*********

A-Activities: What do they like to do with their boyfriends/girlfriend? How do they spend their free time together?

For the most part, if you’re on the sub with him and there’s nowhere to go but yours and his rooms, his office, and the kitchen area he prefers to stay in his office and room because he enjoys the quiet. Law absolutely loves reading with you. Especially if you’re reading one of his medical books and you ask questions about it. He just really likes that you’re interested in it and want to learn more. He also likes that you know about this kind of stuff in case you need the information. If you do know that he likes Sora, Warrior of the Sea, (he will try to hide it) then he’ll probably geek out once or twice about it. You can’t help but smile when he talks about it so in depth because you love seeing him talk about something he enjoys. If you aren’t on the sub and you’re on a new island, he will begrudgingly (he secretly loves it, but won’t admit) explore the town with you as long as the last stop is a book store of some sort.

B-Beauty: What do they admire about their boyfriends/girlfriend? What do they think is beautiful about them?

He admires how much you care about him. He can see how much you do and he hasn’t had someone like that since Cora. He melts on the inside when he sees you smiling at him and he’s the reason for it.

C-Comfort: How would they help their boyfriends/girlfriend when they feel down, have a panic attack, etc?

He understands what it’s like and sometimes because from time to time he’ll get them when he’s alone. It depends on how you want to be comforted. If you don’t want to be touched, he won’t. He’ll probably just go to the kitchen and get you something warm to drink to help you calm down. But if physical touch helps you, he’ll have you sit on his desk and he’ll rub your thigh or he’ll let you sit on his lap while he rubs your back up and down or cards his fingers through your hair. He’ll reassure you that everything is going to be okay and it’s going to pass and it’s not going to last forever. He lets you talk about it after it’s over and listens to what you have to say. Law will give you advice on what he thinks will help you in whatever situation you’re in. When he sees you sad, he just wants to hold you because he hates seeing you sad. He’ll bring you your favorite comfort drink and food to his room with you (even though I think he’d hate having food and drinks in his bed, he would absolutely make an exception for you) and you guys will just cuddle together while you talk about what’s wrong.

D-Dreams: How do they picture their future with their boyfriends/girlfriend?

Law doesn’t exactly think very far. He’s basically on a suicide mission so honestly he doesn’t see a future yet. Once everything is over and if he survives then he starts to think about his future with you because he really doesn’t want to get your hopes up. He really just always wants to be around you and as long as you’re there with him, everything is perfectly fine. 

E-Equal: Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

He’s a little bit of both, it depends on the day. I’d say he very much tends to be on the more dominant side but there are days where he’s just kind of, whatever about things. That’s only when he has time to relax and that’s almost never.

F-Fight: Would they be easy to forgive their boyfriends/girlfriend? How are they fighting?

I think you’d probably fight with him about how he’s so willing and ready to throw his life away for his causes and how much it bothers you. He says some hurtful things that he’ll admit that he only said out of anger. He’ll be angry for a while but eventually he’ll go and talk to you about the fight and apologize for what he said to you.

G-Gratitude: How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their boyfriends/girlfriend do for them?

He’s very grateful for the things you do for him but he may not show it all the time. Like when he forgets to eat and you bring him something that you made for him. He’s also very aware that you take care of him better than he takes care of himself in terms of making him eat and drink water instead of coffee for once.

H-Honesty: Do they have secrets they hide from their boyfriends/girlfriend? Or do they share everything?

He hides a lot. Law is not a very open person and I don’t even think he’s told his crew about his entire past. You might be an exception but honestly, don’t count on it. It’s difficult to get him to open up about himself and you do have to pry a lot. He might get a little annoyed, but when you tell him that you just want to know more about him, he may give in a bit and tell you a thing or two. Definitely hides the fact that he loves Sora, Warrior of the Sea. He doesn’t know that there’s a good chance that you’ve seen the comics before so he thinks he does a good job at hiding them. They’re either in a box under his bed or in his desk drawer.

I-Inspiration: Did their boyfriends/girlfriend change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things, or helping them overcome personal problems?

If you do get him to open up, you made him realize how good it feels to get things off his chest. Law has been living with this weight on his shoulders about his past and everything that has happened to him. So when you sit there and just listen to him, he likes knowing that you’re actually listening and taking it all in. Don’t say anything, just let him talk. It’s very rare that he comes and talks to you about his problems because he feels like he’s dragging you into unnecessary drama about his plans. He’s taught you to look at things from a different perspective and to think things out thoroughly.

J-Jealousy: Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

He doesn’t get jealous at all really, mostly annoyed I guess. He doesn’t really do anything unless you can’t get out of the situation, it gets out of hand, or you look to him for help. If he does get jealous, he doesn’t say it and you’ll have to ask Mr. PoutyPants about it. He’ll be shut in his office and probably be a bit petty about it. I can see him hating the fact that Sanji gives you a lot of attention if you don’t shut it down. He may or may not tell you to “go talk to your other boyfriend” at some point because, well, petty. 

K-Kiss: Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Oh he’s a good kisser alright. Among plenty other things. Something tells me that pre timeskip Law would be a cocky bastard and pull you to him by your shirt and lift your chin and whatnot- just being a tease. But post timeskip Law just gives me awkward vibes but in the best way possible. He’d be a little more shy about it, honestly I think he may even plan it out in his head and just hopes that everything goes accordingly. 

L-Love Confession: How would they confess to their boyfriends/girlfriend?

He didn’t realize his feelings until the two of you were in real danger. Well he actually did but he didn’t want to admit it. He thought he was really good at pushing his feelings down and not letting bubble up but seeing you so bloody and beat up, it changed in an instant. He knew that he couldn’t lose you. When he was able to patch you up and you woke up after asking how he was, Law was mad. “How am I? You should be asking about yourself, dumbass-ya.” “Seriously Law, are you okay?” “No. I could have lost you.” That’s basically his confession and it’s the best you’re going to get until you actually hear him say that he loves you.

M-Marriage: Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

I don’t think Law would want to get married-officially, anyway- he’s not the kind of guy to settle down. He’s a pirate. If you wanted a ring, then sure he’ll get you one but I don’t think he would actually propose to you. It would be more like an unspoken thing that you guys are very much together so technically you’re married in his eyes and he’ll call you his wife/partner. **Spoilers for Wano Arc!!!** When you get captured and are in the prison with Bepo and the others and when Shinobu says to kill you guys after she thinks you snitched, he’s pissed. Absolutely livid. “You think I’m going to let you put a finger my wife/partner? You’ll be dead before you can take one step towards them.”

N-Nicknames: What do they call their boyfriends/girlfriend?

The only name I can think of him calling you is possibly “love” but it is in the utmost of privacy when he absolutely knows that no one can hear him. He just gets all flustered when others tease him for it and it’s happened a handful of times. The bedroom though is a different story

O-On Cloud Nine: What are they like when they’re in love? Is it obvious to others? How do they express their feelings?

Oh it’s so painfully obvious when he loves you to everyone but him. He thinks he’s hiding it so well, but the small unnecessary touches say otherwise. A brush past your shoulder, “Here, I made extra tea,” or him not yelling at you when you come into his office without knocking on accident. It’s the little things that make it obvious when he thinks it’s not. 

P-PDA: Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag about their boyfriends/girlfriend in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss, etc, when others are watching?

Not really. The only time he would do something like that is if you needed some sort of help and someone was hitting on you and you asked him to come over. “I don’t think my partner is very interested. I think it would be best if you leave.” He doesn’t brag very much, I’m sorry, he’s just not that kind of guy. He would much rather have your relationship be private. That being said, yes he’s way too shy to kiss you in front of others. Unless he’s sleepy, you might be able to get away with a little peck here and there. 

Q-Quirk: Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

He’s in no way romantic but what he does notice is when you and him are walking along some shops and he sees when something catches your eye or when you look at something longer than the rest. You may find it on your pillow that night. (He will have stolen it.) It makes you happy and that’s all he cares about.

R-Romance: How romantic are they? What would they do to make their boyfriends/girlfriend happy? Cliche, or rather creative?

There is not one romantic bone in this man’s body. He very much relies on his crew to help him. It’s not like they set everything up, although they have a few times but it was a surprise on both of your parts. They wanted you two to have a nice evening together by yourselves and be able to relax without planning it all. That all being said, the romantic stuff is a little on the cliche side, but in the best way possible and it makes really nice memories. 

S-Support: Are they helping their boyfriends/girlfriend achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Oh my goodness yes yes yes! He might not show it often but every once in a while he’ll say that he’s proud of you at how far you’ve come as a pirate. Especially if he’s helped you train and feels how much stronger your punches and kicks are.

T-Thrill: Do they need to try out new things to spice up the relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Routine. Routine. Routine. He does not want to differ from his routine. Sure one new thing every once in a while is okay depending on what it is. But he probably won’t want to incorporate it into the everyday relationship. He likes what he has going with you. Though if you insist on something new, then he’ll try it and see if he gets used to it. If he doesn’t he’ll say something about it. If he does, he’ll stay quiet and not mention it. The second you do is when he wants to stop.

U-Understanding: How well do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

He gets you. How well depends on how far you are in the relationship and how much you’ve talked. He’s also not very empathetic, I’m sorry. He’ll say what he thinks is best no matter what you may think about it and how much it will hurt your feelings. Sometimes it’s best because you can see another perspective and maybe he can help you from there. He will empathize with you if there’s a death or something tragic happens, he’s not that cruel. He would be there for you. 

V-Value: How important is the relationship to them? What is it worth in comparison to other things in their life?

You’re one of the most important things to Law in the world. He’s even found himself second guessing his plans and missions because he doesn’t want to lose you somehow. *spoilers I guess* If Doflamingo or Kaido ever got his hands on you and hurt you, he’d never forgive himself. He does put you first though and like I said before, you’ve argued with him over his plans and he’s very headstrong about it so he’s not going to back down.

W-Wild Card: A random fluff headcanon.

He’s let you paint his nails black one time and one time only. He won’t tell you that he actually didn’t mind it but he made you take it off before you guys went out to eat with the crew.

X-XOXO: Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

Only in private. He’s a touch starved baby and he does actually really appreciate your touch when he’s stressed. So if you come into his office when he’s working on something and you can tell he’s ready to rip his hair out, he’ll love if you came up to him and hugged him from behind or rubbed his shoulders. Law actually does like to cuddle at night though when he’s trying to sleep. He’s found that when you’re either on his chest or he’s holding you it’s easier for him to get some shut eye even if it’s just for a few hours.

Y-Yearning: How will they cope when they’re missing their boyfriends/girlfriend?

He copes well enough. Of course he does miss you but he’s not going to cry about it. He might just kinda lean back in his office chair and sigh while he’s thinking about you. But when he’s really missing you, he’ll take a picture out from his desk that Bepo and Penguin made him take with you. He looks annoyed in the photo and he’s rolling his eyes, but he only pays attention to you and your bright smile and goofy pose. He can’t help but smile fondly at it. He won’t admit it but he actually really loves the picture and would never tell Bepo and Penguin that.

Z-Zeal: Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind?

Absofuckinlutely! He loves you with all his heart even if he doesn’t say it very often. He hasn’t loved someone like this in a very long time so he wants to protect what he has with you at all costs. I 100% believe he would risk his life for you. He does not want to lose you or anyone he loves ever again.

[willidleaway]

OK, let’s talk about Deltarune Chapter 2. Right off the bat two things:

Toby Fox could have been charging 20 USD for this or asked people to pre-purchase the remaining chapters to play Chapter 2, and I’m frankly very surprised (if delighted) that he didn’t.

Soundtrack’s bopping. If you don’t feel like playing two free chapters of a game, which by themselves will give you nine hours of a brilliant time in an absolutely insane world filled with mad characters that all still manages to hold together somehow, I can still recommend giving the OST a listen and then a buy if you are so inclined.

And with that and the spoiler-free lead image out of the way, let’s actually (largely incoherently) talk about Deltarune Chapter 2 below the Read More line. Spoilers galore, including for a bonus enemy ...

OK, so this guy is still a card:

But some non-positive observations to begin with: the Castle Town is nice to look at but maybe a bit uninteresting for the moment, since it’s a completely separate Dark World from the main underworld of Chapter 2. It seems perhaps like a decent hub world for people who haven’t replayed the previous chapter and need some refreshers, especially with the dojo challenges. But some of the other mechanics associated with the Castle Town like recruiting, fusing items, and so forth are as yet unclear. But perhaps it hints at more interaction between chapters through the Castle Town.

And that’s all the non-positive observations I have about Deltarune Chapter 2. It’s not even a negative observation, just taking note of potential seeds being planted for the remainder of the game.

Now. Now now now now now.

I don’t know how Toby Fox manages to continue coming up with such a diverse array of antagonists all so ridiculous and insane in their own special way, but he continues to outdo himself. And not only is Queen insane but so is literally everything that happens in Cyber City and then in Queen’s Mansion, like the layers of truces across Queen and her quasi-willing peons:

and indeed, ye Triumphant Returne of Rouxls Kaard, absolute card:

But the madcap side of things doesn’t mean there isn’t real attention to fleshing out everything introduced in Chapter 1, in tandem on both the narrative side and the gameplay side. As far as the latter, we can (finally) get party members other than Kris to undertake at least basic standard non-magical actions on their own that don’t cost Tension Points, which is very much welcome. But at the same time managing TP well is even more important than before. A lot of careful grazing makes certain fights a great deal easier, in a way that I didn’t really notice for most of Chapter 1 (with the possible exception of Jevil, who I still haven’t successfully pacified). The attacks are correspondingly far denser and often don’t leave too much margin for error, but as someone with minimal hand-eye coordination I still had a reasonable time completing Chapter 2.

Well, except for one particular enemy.

oh god this fight used up every single recovery item I had

Spamton NEO is an interesting enemy, arguably more so than Jevil, and I’m not just saying that because I managed to spare Spamton but still haven’t had any success with Jevil. For one, finding the pieces of the key for Jevil’s cell is straightforward, whereas finding the Empty Disk for Spamton is itself a nightmarish dodge-fest. But more importantly, you actively have to seek Jevil out in Chapter 1, whereas your first encounter with Spamton is actually mandatory as part of the main story and then you optionally follow up on Spamton’s lead later to be able to face off against his NEO form.

Perhaps relevant to the forced nature of Spamton’s introduction is his relevance to Deltarune as a whole despite his bonus boss status. Compared to Jevil’s dialogue, Spamton’s babblings seem far more directly tied to the central themes of Deltarune around choice or agency, or rather a lack thereof (in stark contrast to Undertale’s general ethos). Jevil mostly just wants to wreak mischief and chaos; Spamton is fuelled by a need for freedom, to no longer be a puppet of ... something. And facing him in this way obviously clearly affects Kris, whose own free will is in real question ...

Oh yes, it seems now we’re really getting into the real core of Deltarune’s story, with all of the lore about the Roaring and more talk of the Knight leading up to this ending. But are Kris and the Knight one and the same? Or is Kris a puppet of the Knight? Or ... is it even the other way around? (No idea if that makes any sense but it sounds like a cool thing to throw out there.)

And another thing: this staticky smile ...

I would guess that’s Chapter 3′s boss once we actually go through this new Dark World, but why does this static remind me of the static you see behind Spamton’s glasses in some of his creepier shop dialogue? Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but there’s certainly an embarrassment of riches to over-analyse, even around Chapter 2′s bonus boss.

And I haven’t even talked about every other character being amazing. Susie of course continues to undergo really positive development, but Noelle seems to get the bulk of the attention honestly—we not only get her to finally interact with Susie, but we also learn more about her past as well her family, both about her lost sister (strongly implied to be named December) and her mother. The latter we get not only through more dialogue with her father Rudy but also in an implicit sense through her interactions with Queen, which may well mirror her fractious relationship with an overbearing mother.

Ralsei’s characterisation doesn’t try to expand as much, instead continuing to detail what’s already been planted throughout Chapter 1—his rule of the Castle Town, his awareness of the danger posed by the potential dark/light imbalance, and so forth—but nothing quite as revelatory as with Noelle. It doesn’t mean I can’t try my best to ship Kris with Ralsei though ...

Anyway, fluffy boys and mean girls aside, it’s also nice to see characters like Berdly—who seemed like a completely incidental one-note gag character in Chapter 1—get fleshed out with reasonably compelling (although obviously insane) motivation and backstory, and one wonders which other characters may get this sort of treatment in future.

Speaking of other characters as well, how cute and/or cool are all of the new enemies and enemy-adjacent characters???

Part of me suspects Tasque Manager in particular is actually carefully engineered to break the Internet. But my favourite is Swatch, who gives off weirdly Tuxedo Mask-esque vibes to me:

And an additional bit of speculation: I strongly suspect we’ll see some persistent things across the chapters that aren’t necessarily linear in progression. When I brought Spamton’s shadow crystal to Seam, they basically chided me for not having Jevil’s crystal (for god’s sake Seam it’s not for lack of trying), but then said this:

Is it possible that the game’s keeping track of certain global things outside of any of your individual saves, and some of these certain global things might not just have to do with optional bonuses ... ? Is it possible that some of these certain global things may enable cross-chapter nonlinear gameplay to accompany all of the other Castle Town mechanics introduced in Chapter 2?

Or do I just not want to replay all of Chapter 2 if I manage to pacify Jevil?

Time will tell. How much time?

Only time will tell on that front too, I guess.

Overall: Chapter 2 of Deltarune is another spectacular episode in Toby Fox fleshing out this unbelievable yet somehow credible world in his madcap way, and you can bet I will be watching for future chapters with great interest.

PS: I finished Chapter 2 of Deltarune to have a good time and I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now—

look expiration dates are important okay

[fullmetalscullyy]

For the sharing a bed ask bc I can't remember for the life of me if I've sent one to you yet 🙈 'they took turns sharing it while the other was on watch' or however exactly that one was worded ❤️❤️

aaa tysm for the prompt! i loved it and i hope you enjoy! continuing with the no plot just vibes agenda~

send me a prompt

rated: g | words: 3679 | tags: royai, there was only one bed, shelter from the storm, snowstorm, tending to wounds, comfort, fluff

read on ao3

Exhaustion followed both occupants of the crumbling bothy like a shadow. It clung to them, slowing their movements, as if it was physically attached to their ankles like two weights. Booted feet were dragged across the polished, undulating stones underfoot, worn down after years of use, and finally came to stop in the centre of the main room.

Years of use didn’t warrant years of upkeep apparently, Riza thought, as she did a sweep of the building. It was not in the best condition however it was still standing, and it was shelter from the storm outside. That was all Riza was currently concerned with.

There were only two rooms, plus a bathroom with a functioning sink and toilet – surprisingly enough. The pipes grunted and groaned, screaming in protest at being used, but it worked and was clean. A worn plaque above the sink indicated the water was drinkable as well, which was the best news she’d heard all day. A small blessing in this wretched situation they’d found themselves in.

To counteract that thought, at that exact moment, a howling gust of wind rattled the door thoroughly and whistled through the cracked class of the windows to its left and right. The Colonel whipped around to stare, partly in fright and partly because he was on edge. They both were. The sudden scream that sounded as the wind tried to force its way inside through the glass made Riza jump as well.

They shared a look and the Colonel’s lips pressed into a thin line.

“So much for the famed northern hospitality,” he muttered. His words held a bite to them, however Riza was unsure whether it was directed at the situation itself or at anyone in particular.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault they’d found themselves in this situation, however it was not ideal, nor was it pleasant. The first point on their ‘bad things that have happened today’ list (at this point, they were up to around number six) was a snowstorm had rendered their transport from the station in North City to the town they were supposed to be visiting useless. The truck owner boasted it was an all-terrain, all-weather vehicle, that he was handpicked by the military for transport because of his “beauty’s” prowess. He quickly stopped bragging though and started muttering angrily at his prized possession, kicking the tyre in fury as it sat pitifully in a snowy ditch, unable to escape the confines of it. It was safe to say his “beauty” fell short of the mark for the two soldiers. No amount of pushing from the three of them would shift it. However, they had deadlines to meet, so were forced to say their goodbyes and go ahead on foot.

There was no way they’d make it in time but at least they could honestly say they had tried when questioned.

It was by a stroke of luck they’d stumbled upon a walker’s bothy. Night was creeping in quickly, especially with the ongoing snowstorm. The world was turning greyer by the second and when Riza spotted it, she made a beeline straight for the shelter. The wind was too loud to talk over, but the Colonel saw her beckoning gesture and nodded, following behind her without question, already trusting her judgement and thought process.

The main room housed a single wooden bedframe with no mattress. There was another spot where another bed frame should be, but only half it remained. It had been broken in half. Whether that had been from an accident, an act of vandalism, or due to the passage of time, Riza wasn’t sure. Not that it would be of any use to them split in half, but simple curiosity had the Colonel searching the rest of the small building for the other half. There was a large stone fireplace that was bereft of any wood, they noticed with dismay, however after venturing through to the second room on the left, there was a massive pile of it within. It was a supply for the winter months for anyone who needed it, so the piece of paper tacked to an old corkboard on the wall said. There were two chairs placed around the fire and some cast iron cooking utensils stacked in a neat pile upon the hearth, lifting their spirits slightly. They had rations from the truck driver that would not require their use, but the sight of them was still a positive.

“I think we’ll be safe enough to sleep here tonight,” she announced, ignoring the Colonel’s petulant comment.

“Lieutenant,” he called quietly to her, catching her attention. When she turned her head, he gestured to one of the chairs. “You should rest.” He glanced down at her feet, and Riza knew exactly what he was thinking.

She’d stumbled and twisted her ankle while they walked. The pain had eased completely the more she’d walked, so Riza assumed it would be fine. Now they’d stopped, it was throbbing in time with her pulse. It appeared to be worse than she’d thought.

Just what they needed.

She sighed and mentally added that as number seven to their list.

Sitting on one of the chairs, Riza sighed quietly in relief as it lessened the pressure on her injured joint. The Colonel followed suit and he too sounded extremely relieved to finally sit down.

“What a day,” he muttered, tilting his head back and closing his eyes.

Riza hummed in agreement, causing him to reopen his eyes and glance tiredly over at her. She shifted in place, feeling a shiver travel down her spine.

Without a word, the Colonel stood and ventured into the other room. He came back with arms full of firewood and started the process of arranging them within the fireplace. After a single snap the fire roared to life, filling the room with a soft orange glow and warmth. A few minutes later the invading bite of the winter chill was beginning to alleviate and Riza could feel her muscles relaxing.

“Do you think there will be anything outside waiting for us?”

His question was so sudden as he stared into the fire that it took Riza a moment to process it.

“Pardon?”

The Colonel blinked and tore his eyes away from the dancing flames. He repeated his question as he turned to look at her, expression serious.

“Like what?”

“What about bears?” He looked genuinely concerned.

Riza blinked at him. “Probably. I think so, yes.” She faintly recalled hearing stories about the size and might of the bears in the north but elected not to bring it up. She didn’t think that would have been beneficial or productive in that moment, especially not after recognising a faint glint of fear that was discernible in the Colonel’s eyes.

“Do you think we should be concerned?”

Riza glanced over her shoulder at the door as it rattled on its hinges. “I don’t think so. We’ll be safe in here.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Do you know any bears that can open doors?” Both her brows lifted as she regarded him.

“I know a bear could open that door,” he scoffed, jerking his head towards it. “It’s hardly a strong line of defence.”

That was true. One more gust of wind might snap it off one of the hinges. The top one rattled playfully to emphasise his point.

“I think we’ll be okay, sir,” Riza replied smoothly, trying to keep her amusement out of her tone.

The Colonel scowled at her anyway. Apparently she hadn’t been entirely successful.

Riza chuckled upon seeing his expression. “City boy,” she muttered to herself, her tone light and playful.

“I would say it was a legitimate concern,” he replied haughtily.

“You also thought there were bears in the woods outside my father’s house.”

“I think my point still stands.”

“Bears do not exist in every wooded area and forest, Roy.” She rolled her eyes at him in amused exasperation, momentarily forgetting herself.

It was so easy talking to him like this. The two of them were alone together and stuck in a predicament that neither could have ever predicted or conjured up, yet here they were. It was surreal, but it was nice. Despite everything that had happened today she was still relatively happy. She was grateful to be with him. Ideally, she’d have neither of them stranded in a snowstorm, however she was glad he was here. If there was anyone she’d want to be stranded with, it would be him.

After she’d realised her minor slip up, Riza paused and glanced over at him, noting his soft expression and smile. It was so genuine and happy that she didn’t cringe or apologise. She didn’t feel the need to.

“We sound like we did when we were children,” he replied.

Riza felt her own nostalgic smile spread across her face. “We do.”

“I’ll take first watch,” he offered.

Riza opened her mouth to protest but he’d already shoved a threadbare blanket he’d found towards her. Riza didn’t particularly want to use it – she had no way of knowing how clean it was – however the building was not heated in the slightest, aside from the fire. It was built for hikers who were well prepared with sleeping bags, which they were not. For survival, Riza had to accept any kind of warmth she could get.

“You need to rest that ankle,” he added.

She nodded and took the blanket from him. Riza settled herself on the hard, wooden bedframe so she was facing into the room. It was warmer than facing the cold stone of the wall beside the bed.

“Colonel?”

He glanced over at her expectantly.

“Watch out for those bears.”

* * * * * * * *

The wind had died down throughout the night at least. Roy had been partly joking when he brought up the bears that may be lurking outside for them, however now that he’d put the idea inside his own head, he couldn’t help but take an extra glance every now and then out the window.

Just in case.

It was worth bringing it up to hear the Lieutenant’s laugh. To hear her accidentally call him by his first name. It had been so worth it.

To whittle away the time his mind tried its best to summon a plan of attack against any bear that did appear, going over how he would react and how he would fend one off, but Roy had come to only one conclusion after about half an hour of plotting. It was folly. There was absolutely no way he’d be able to take on a bear. His eyes narrowed at the rickety old door and took solace in the fact the doorway looked too small for a bear to fit through. They were safe from them so long as they stayed inside, and that was good enough for him.

Now the bear appearance dilemma, likely or not, had been put to bed, Roy’s thoughts turned towards the Lieutenant. He glanced down at her ankle as she lay sound asleep, remembering how she’d stumbled and fallen in a snowdrift. Insisting she was fine, they’d pressed on. They didn’t have much choice in the matter anyway, but he was still concerned. He had a strong inkling she was suffering for it as they travelled. A sprained ankle under normal conditions would ease with rest, but that was not a luxury they’d been afforded as they traversed the snowy landscape to safety. Snowdrifts up to their knees were common and Roy had felt dead on his feet when they finally came to a stop inside this shelter.

That was one blessing of the day, at least. He’d simply laughed at their luck, shaking his head, now they were safe beneath shelter, dry, and out of the storm.

But if he’d felt tired down to his bones, then he couldn’t imagine how the Lieutenant must have felt upon their arrival.

Steadying his resolve, Roy determined there was no imminent danger. No bears coming through the night to get them. Now the storm had eased, looking through the shards of the window, Roy could see the gorgeous landscape splayed before him, illuminated by the moonlight, and enhanced by the heavy snow. It looked a lot more inviting than it had a few hours ago.

He wouldn’t, but he was tempted to wake up the Lieutenant to show her how beautiful it looked.

Roy smiled to himself, the thought dredging up an old memory from their past. He faintly recalled doing something similar when he’d experienced his first winter at the Hawkeye house. He’d ran to her room without a thought, excited and eager to show her how the dark forest outside had transformed into a silvery white and green wonderland.

It had been something he’d been desperate to share with her.

“Colonel?”

A tired voice called to him, and Roy immediately lost his interest in the world outside. He turned, seeing the Lieutenant blink tiredly at him.

“Lieutenant,” he greeted, an air of concern about him. He hadn’t expected her to wake so soon, and if she did, he knew she’d want to take over watch duties.

She shot him a small smile, placating his nerves somewhat. Pushing herself up into a seated position, the Lieutenant stretched her arms over her head.

“How’s the ankle?”

She grimaced, but only slightly. “Better now that I’ve taken my weight off it.”

That didn’t answer his question entirely. “Is there any pain?”

She was silent as she looked down at her legs. “It does throb every now and again. That’s what woke me up.”

Roy nodded, dismayed to hear she was in pain. If he could take it away, he would, but they didn’t have painkillers in their first aid kits. The only thing that would help was a support, which the Lieutenant had already put on after gently easing her boot off. She didn’t react to the angry red hue of her skin, but Roy felt his stomach tense. It hadn’t looked good. The compression support had been slipped on slowly, but Roy saw the way her eye twitched twice and how her jaw clenched while obviously trying to conceal any kind of pain.

“Why don’t you try and get a few hours sleep,” the Lieutenant offered. “I think I’ll be up for a while now.” She swung her legs around and to the floor, visibly wincing when her sore ankle contacted the floor. Another appeared when she tried to stand, but Roy quickly scrambled towards her.

“Please, stay seated,” he insisted. “You shouldn’t be walking on that ankle.”

The Lieutenant shot him a strained smile. “That doesn’t bode well for us for tomorrow,” she quipped.

Roy opened his mouth to reply, but she was right. Still, hewas right. She shouldn’t be walking on that ankle.

“Regardless,” he admonished, placing his hands on her shoulders as a gentle restraint to keep her in place. “All the more reason to remain seated and keep resting it then, right?” Triumph flashed through him, and he smirked when the Lieutenant’s lips pursed, because she knew he was right.

“You can’t sleep on the floor, though,” she warned.

His shoulders fell in defeat, glancing down at the bed. His mind rejoiced with the idea that sprung into it, however it was so far out the realm of what was appropriate that it was completely out of the question.

Roy retracted his hands as the Lieutenant placed both hands by her sides and effortlessly slid herself backwards, so her back came to rest upon the stone wall behind her. She made herself comfortable and looked at him expectantly, patting the space beside her to indicate he should join her and sit.

Even if it wasn’t appropriate to share a bed with his Lieutenant, Roy only needed to take one look around them both and remember where they were. This day was already bizarre enough. What was one more occurrence to add to that list?

He wouldn’t particularly class it as sharing a bed with her either. They would both be sitting upright, looking out at the room, with considerable distance in place between them.

“We can take turns with the blanket,” she smirked as she handed it over.

Roy snorted lightly and gratefully received her offering. The room was warm enough with the fire but the stone behind his back still stubbornly clung to the icy temperatures from outside, refusing to accept the warmth they’d provided the room. Wrapping it around his shoulders, Roy settled back in place and made himself comfortable.

He woke with a start a few hours later. His head jerked upright and swung left and right, unseeing as he still tried to shake the vision from his dreams.

“Colonel? Colonel!”

He paused for a second, recognising the voice. It was from someone he thought he’d lost in his dream.

“Roy,” the Lieutenant called to him.

It was enough to surprise him, that it brought him back to the present. Glancing to his right, he saw his Lieutenant still seated next to him, eyes wide and concerned.

“Are you okay?” Her eyes were searching his, moving back and forth frantically as she scanned his face with worry.

“Yes,” he breathed, trying to get a hold of his racing heart to slow it down. He was all right. She was all right. They were safe. He gulped down air, trying to get enough into his lungs and take away the fear that had both restricted them and wrapped tightly around his heart. “Just… A bad dream.”

The Lieutenant nodded in understanding and patted his forearm. That was when Roy realised she didn’t remove it, and that it had been there the entire time.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Roy shook his head. “It’s okay,” he breathed. “Thank you, though,” he quickly added. “It was just… the usual,” he offered. The usual nowadays was him losing someone dear to him. The Promised Day had not been kind on his mind. To this day he still suffered, and he didn’t particularly want to relive it after it was so fresh. His reply was code enough that the Lieutenant knew exactly what he was referring to. They’d already been open about what their ‘usual’ nightmares consisted of nowadays.

As suspected, realisation dawned upon her features, and she nodded in sympathy.

“I… I need some time before I can sleep again,” he admitted. There was no shame in his voice though, not with her. Never with her. They were both very well acquainted with the reasons the other struggled to sleep. “You should try for a while.”

“Okay,” she acquiesced. She gave his forearm a squeeze and again, she didn’t remove it. “Wake me if you need anything, all right?” She waited for him to verbally agree with her. Only once he did, did the Lieutenant’s eyes close.

Watching her do so caused Roy’s brow to furrow slightly in confusion.

She must have moved closer to him as he slept, because where there had been about two feet of distance between them before, there was now mere centimetres. Just enough distance for the Lieutenant’s head to loll and fall against his shoulder comfortably as she slept.

He’d been startled awake, so Roy hadn’t realised he’d initiated it. In sleep, his head had bowed and rolled to the side, seeking out her presence. After shifting closer, the Lieutenant had eased him from his uncomfortable position and lifted his head to lie upon her shoulder.

Now recovered from the turmoil of his dream, Roy smiled down at her and relished in the comfort her presence brought him. The weight of her head against him eased his mind and slowed his racing pulse. He could breathe easier with her lying against him. A peace washed over his body, relaxing his taught muscles, and soothing his very soul.

Despite their predicament, he was glad she was here with him.

The grip she had on his forearm loosened, so Roy snaked his hand over to it, hooking their fingers together and holding on tightly. The Lieutenant stirred next to him, disturbed from sleep.

“Sorry,” he whispered, “it’s okay. It’s just me.” He gave her hand a quick squeeze.

There was a brief pause with no reply, then the Lieutenant’s grip on him tightened and remained.

“Okay,” she exhaled peacefully. She moved next to him, shuffling closer, which Roy was more than happy to indulge in.

As she was lulled back to sleep, her grip on his hand slackened but Roy never let her go. He anchored himself to her.

They’d get through this and get home. Not that she’d allow it of course, but Roy would carry her through the snow with that ankle if need be to ensure their safety. It had been the day from hell professionally, however ending it with the two of them curled together on that uncomfortable bed, gripping onto one another, was not bad in the slightest. Roy thought that was the closest to heaven he was ever going to get.

* * * * * * * *

Their luck must have finally been turning for the better, as that morning a group of hikers entered the bothy loudly, laughing and joking with one another, while Roy helped the Lieutenant strap up her ankle. They were offered food and directions to the nearest town, which was only two miles away. The group set off with them, insistent on offering their help and support, and even assisted the Lieutenant with some painkillers as well.

After the day of travel they’d had before, it brightened up both soldier’s moods somewhat as they set off again through the snowy northern landscape with their new company.

Thankfully, they didn’t come across any bears.

They made it to the town in one peace and called North City Headquarters for assistance. And also requested back up for that assistance.

Just in case.