#anyway… I have to make dinner now. so. yeah. bye again

[foxgloveinspace]

-you come across an abandoned church

-you’ve been on this trail many times, your sure it’s never been there before.

-you must have taken a wrong turn.

-you hear singing inside, sounds like it’s coming from the shadows.

-do you go in?

-yes -no

[junplusone]

i'll always say it's you ; yoon jeonghan

summary: you always used to think that even the end of the world couldn’t keep you and yoon jeonghan apart; you’d find your way back to each other somehow. ten years later, you start to wonder if that’s such a good thing after all.

contains: childhood best friends to ??? to ???, swearing, drinking (+ underage), talk of joshua and cheol's arm muscles, mention of drugs in a joke like once i think, caffeine addiction, peak delusion, jeonghan cheating in games as always, hella yearning

word count: 12.98k

a/n: this is lowkey a mess and probably kind of inaccurate loll but i hope u enjoy! feedback always appreciated xx

the me of today hopes for the you of tomorrow

“What about you, Y/N? Have you ever been in love?”

Hearing your own name slowly zones you back into the conversation at the table. You pause at the question, a drop of soju splashing out of the glass in your hand.

“What?”

“Come on, it’s just a silly question,” the young intern says, rolling his eyes. “You’re no fun, Y/N. We’re off work right now! It’s fine,” he drawls, swaying a little in his chair.

You can’t really remember his name right now, downing the glass in one go, but his bold innocence bothers you. Maybe his demeanor, full of life and promise, is what gets on your nerves. 

Were you like that when you were fresh out of college, too? It’s so unthinkable to you now, at twenty-nine. It feels like ages in the past.

“So? Are you —”

“I hardly think this is an appropriate conversation,” you say quietly, zipping your bag shut. “I think I’m going to head out, anyways. It’s quite late already.”

“But —”

“Chan, just stop asking questions and drink this, okay?” His friends try and calm him down with a glass of water. Amidst the chatter, you decide to slip away, silently pushing in your chair and leaving the bustling restaurant. 

Dinners like this always end up making you feel worse, anyways, like an outlier at a table of people with fervent hopes and dreams of their own. 

You make it two blocks until your phone begins to buzz in your pocket, and you fumble to answer it, knowing there’s only one person who would call you at nine o’clock on a Friday night.

“Hello?”

“Oh, you answered,” Yeonju says, evidently surprised. “I thought you’d still be at work.”

“I’m on my way home now,” you tell her. “Why, did something happen?”

“Kind of,” you hear rustling on her end of the line. “Jeonghan called.”

“Huh?” 

You had stopped abruptly at Yeonju’s words— foolishly in the middle of the road, and you rush to the sidewalk, still reeling. It’s been so long since you’ve even heard his name that it sends your mind into a tailspin when she says it again.

“I thought you knew,” she says, “He said he tried calling you first, but you wouldn’t pick up.”

“I don’t answer calls from numbers I don’t have saved,” you remind her. You haven’t had Jeonghan’s number saved on your phone in a long time. There was no need to keep it if you never used it anymore.

“I think you should talk to him.”

“Yeonju,” you shake your head. “Why would I? There’s nothing to talk about.”

“There is, and you know it, too,” she doubles down. “You won’t say it, but I know you agree with me.”

She’s right, as much as you want to pretend otherwise. When has Choi Yeonju ever been wrong about you? Sometimes it scares you how good she is at reading your mind, but as always, she delivers reality checks right when she feels like you need them.

“Maybe,” you admit begrudgingly. “But things are just easier without him.”

“Yeah, well, nothing is ever easy,” she points out, “but take your own time, no rush. And take care of yourself, Y/N.”

“I will,” you say with a faint smile.

“OK, perfect. Call if you need anything else, yeah? I gotta go now.”

“Okay, Yeonju, take care.”

“Bye!”

She hangs up just as you unlock your front door, shutting it behind you and kicking off your shoes. The peace and quiet of your apartment welcomes you, and you sigh in relief as you sink into your couch.

Pulling out your phone again, you scroll through your call log. There are a few unsaved numbers, likely just spam calls, but when you see the same number four times in a row, there’s no doubt about who it might have been. Your finger hovers over the screen; should you? Shouldn’t you?

No, it’s easier to just stay angry. It’s easier to pretend his name means nothing to you anymore. 

But even as you toss your phone to the side, Chan’s question still haunts you, like it’s a reminder that maybe you need to retrace your steps and do something different this time. 

God, you had finally been able to go a few days without thinking about him, but today just took you right back to square one.

“Have you ever been in love?”

When you close your eyes, all you see is him.

first time feeling my heart race, never thought it'd beat so fast

TEN YEARS AGO

“Yoon Jeonghan, delete that right now or I’m going to kill you.”

Jeonghan shakes his head vehemently, still cackling at the picture of you on his phone. This is nothing new to you; over the years you’ve gotten used to him finding the absolute worst angles of you whenever you fall asleep in class, or on the bus, and it never fails to get you fuming. 

In fact, if Jeonghan has one talent, it’s probably pissing you off.

“Not my fault you dozed off like that during lecture! Even Yeonju would have bullied you if she was there,” he teases. “I’ve been collecting bad Y/N photos since we were sixteen and in high school, why would I stop now?”

“You’re evil.”

“Thanks, I know.”

“Dinner’s on you, by the way.”

“What?!”

“Do you want to keep that horrendous picture or not?”

“Okay, fine,” he concedes immediately, slipping his phone into his pocket. “But we’re going back to my dorm first because I left my wallet on my desk.”

"Why would you not have that with you? Dumbass," you scold. 

To anyone else, you might sound angry, but somewhere in the unspoken words, you and Jeonghan have already reconciled. 

The weather is chilly and perfectly November-esque, and if not for the thick scarf around your neck you’d be shivering by now. Having Jeonghan by your side adds to the warmth spreading throughout your body, a little piece of happiness found in his company. 

You’ve never needed to explain yourself to him. Somehow, whatever you’re feeling, whatever’s going on, he just knows, and it’s perfect. You couldn’t ask for anything more.

Not much to your surprise, Jeonghan’s roommate is there when the two of you walk in, blankets piled over him as he hunches over his laptop. 

“Hey, Josh,” you greet him. “Everything okay?”

“No,” he frowns, rubbing his eyes, “I may have procrastinated a little too hard on this paper and now it’s due in a couple of hours and I’m totally fucked.”

“This is why I told you to drop that philosophy class at the beginning of the semester,” Jeonghan says, pocketing his wallet. “You don’t even need to take it.”

“Just trying to knock off my humanities electives, but honestly, this one kind of backfired on me,” Joshua admits, defeated. “Where are you guys headed?”

Jeonghan points at you accusingly. “This one tricked me into buying her dinner earlier.”

“I did not!” you gasp. “You walked into that one, stop blaming me for the consequences of your actions! Also, I want ramen, which means we’re going off campus, so you’re driving.”

He narrows his eyes at you as he reaches for his car keys. “You are so evil.”

"Takes one to know one, Hannie."

What throws you off is the way Joshua’s eyes flit between the both of you as you bicker, the way he tells you to have fun in that singsong voice of his as you step back out into the cold, like he knows something you don’t. 

You still remember the day you first met him, when Jeonghan left to go grab something after introducing the two of you, and the question that immediately followed.

“Are you guys together or something?”

And of course, Joshua meant no harm — nobody ever does, when they ask something like that. You and Jeonghan have been fielding questions like that since the start of your friendship. Everyone’s wanted to know exactly what it is that you are to each other, and the answer has always come without missing a beat.

Friends, you’ve always said. 

Friends in the way that you can’t go anywhere alone in your hometown without being asked where the other one is, the way that your parents always set out an extra plate and ask if he’s joining for dinner as usual.

The right word for it would be ‘inseparable’. Sometimes, though, you wonder if that’s all that it is. 

Like now, as you notice the cold has Jeonghan trembling next to you. His teeth are chattering, long lashes framing his eyes that are now narrowed in displeasure. 

When you unravel your scarf from around your neck and reach to drape it around his, they go wide in surprise. 

“What are you doing?”

“You never wear enough layers, idiot.” You tuck the ends into his jacket and the way he’s staring at you steals the breath out of your lungs. 

You can’t run from the fact; your best friend is undeniably attractive. It’s a simple truth, down to his soft but sharp features, the slope of his cheeks, and the hair that frames his face so perfectly. It’s dark out, but Jeonghan’s eyes are lit up like stars. You don’t even realize it until you start to hear your heartbeat pounding in your ears.

“Thanks,” he says with a faint smile. “What would I do without you?”

“Freeze, probably,” you reply flippantly, but you look away, unable to take the intensity of his gaze on you.

Just think about the way he looks at you, Y/N.

Was Yeonju right? You have no way of knowing, and you don’t want to tip the scales by bringing any of it up now.

“Alright, let’s go,” you say instead, tugging him along to the parking lot. “It’s late, I’m hungry, and you promised.”

“Why do you always seem so excited to drain my bank account?”

“It’s my favorite hobby,” you quip. “Shall we go?”

“We shall, m’lady,” he says as you get to his car, pulling open the door for you with a wink. Your cheeks burn as you get in, his defined features etched into your brain.

Yes, he’s your dearest, oldest friend, but Yoon Jeonghan has a certain way of making your head spin that throws that very title into question.

when half of me is gone, how can i live as one?

PRESENT DAY

It’s been exactly three days since Jeonghan called you, and you haven’t heard from him since then. You don’t know what you were expecting. Another call? A text? 

No, it would be quite stupid to hope for such things after everything that’s happened.

It’s a quiet Monday night, and your brain decides to take an involuntary trip down memory lane. Ten years ago today, you’d probably be doing homework frantically, most definitely an assignment you’d put off until the night of. Ten years ago today, Jeonghan would be by your side. 

Oh, how some things change over time. 

After another hour of mindless TV and doing whatnot on your phone, your conscience finally wins the moral battle against your pride, and you scroll down through your call log again. Taking a deep breath, you decide to call him back before your brain can convince you otherwise.

All the words evaporate out of your mouth when he picks up on the first ring. 

“Y/N?”

God, it’s been so long since you’ve heard his voice. Just the sound of your name from him is enough to make you tear up.

“... Jeonghan?”

Silence. After a few seconds your heart sinks, thinking maybe he’s hung up on you and gone radio silent yet again. 

Then you hear it, just barely whispered into the phone: “I’ve missed you.”

Those words tug at your heart so badly you press your eyes closed to prevent your tears from welling up. “Jeonghan, don’t do this.”

“I’m sorry, I—”

“I haven’t heard from you in over a year,” you cut him off. “A year, Jeonghan. Do you really think you can just ‘I miss you’ your way back into my life whenever you want?” 

“Don’t say that,” he implores. “You’re my best friend.”

“Yeah, right.”

“It’s true. I mean it.”

“I’ve heard the exact same line from you so many times,” you tell him, the rest of your words dying in your throat. 

You have many more things to say to him, so many unspoken feelings, but now doesn’t feel like the time. Instead, you swallow your anger like you’ve done every time he finds his way back into your life.

“How… how have you been?”

“I’m okay. I wrote a new song,” he says lightly. “Shows have been pretty alright, things are looking up… just the usual.”

“Oh, I see.”

“What about you?”

“I’m okay, too.” A blatant lie. “Jeonghan… why’d you call me on Friday?”

“Oh,” he starts, like he’s surprised you even asked. “Um, I’m actually in town for a bit, so… I was just wondering if you wanted to meet and catch up again. Y’know, like old times.”

It’s the flippant edge in his voice that stings more than anything else, as if he doesn’t care that your friendship hasn’t been the same for years. Do you mean that little to him now?

But, like always, you have a hard time saying no to Yoon Jeonghan.

“Okay,” you agree. “Just tell me where, I guess. And when.”

“Okay.”

It’s not for a few seconds that you realize your cheeks are wet. Jeonghan feels so far away now, the distance hurts like a piercing pain and you have to slap a hand over your mouth so he doesn’t hear you sob against your couch, the stoic wall you put up crumbling away with every passing moment.

“Y/N,” his voice is shaky now. “Y/N, please don’t cry.”

Feeling caught and cornered, your brain enters fight or flight mode, and promptly chooses the latter. “I’m not,” you blurt out, and immediately end the call, tossing your phone across the room so you aren’t tempted to call him again.

If time traveling was an option, you’d go back to a decade in the past without a question. For some reason it hurts more that after all this time, Yoon Jeonghan is still the one that knows you the best.

You wake up the next morning horribly late for work, with a blinding headache and a notification from Jeonghan on your phone.

xxx-xxx-xxxx: is tonight @ semicolon cafe ok with you? after you get off work?

xxx-xxx-xxxx: i won’t take up too much of ur time, i promise

xxx-xxx-xxxx: i’m so sorry y/n

you: its ok. that works, see u then

It’s well past nine o’clock when you finally enter the office. You almost make it to your desk unnoticed until your boss glances at you sneaking in.

“You’re very late,” Seungcheol observes, leaning back in his chair. His gaze is always stern, and today it makes you even more anxious than usual.

“I’m so sorry,” you apologize. “Things just… everything kind of worked against me today. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

“I believe you,” he says, casting another concerned look at you as you nearly drop your laptop going to your desk. “Is everything okay, Y/N? This really isn’t like you.”

“Yeah,” you lie through a tight smile. Damn Yoon Jeonghan and his stupid face for ruining your whole day. “Everything’s fine.”

Looking back, it’s quite impressive how you manage to keep your composure throughout your whole workday. You know you’ve accomplished a feat when even Junhui doesn’t really notice anything’s wrong. 

Despite how oblivious he comes across at first, your colleague is easily one of the most perceptive people you’ve ever met, as you’ve learned in the past five years you’ve spent at this company.

“Long day?” Junhui swivels around in his chair as he catches you taking a break from your screen.

“Yeah,” you admit, glancing at the clock. Almost five. “Even longer when we get asked to fix all of the intern’s mistakes. How do you just forget to write a whole method?!”

“God, I hope Lee Chan never gets hired as a backend developer. Love the kid, but I’m not sure how he got through college with his code looking like this.”

“Hard agree.”

“Hey, do you have plans after? Me and the rest of the team are probably gonna get dinner together. None of the interns,” he clarifies with a grin. “We need some peace and quiet. I think Wonwoo’s genuinely at his final straw, he’s been downstairs with them all day.”

As tempting as that sounds — Junhui has a knack for finding the best spots in Seoul — you have something more important on your plate for the day.

“Maybe next time,” you decline. “I have to meet someone after work.”

“Oh?” A sly grin spreads across his face. “Someone special?”

“It’s not a date,” you insist, face heating up.

“I never asked if it was, Y/N, you’re just outing yourself at this point.”

“It’s not!”

“Yeah, yeah,” he teases, turning back around. “Keep me posted!”

You roll your eyes.

The end of the day couldn’t have come any slower. Usually, you’d get so engrossed in whatever you were working on that you’d end up staying late, but today you shock everyone by packing up when the clock hits five, bidding Junhui a good night as you almost run to leave the building.

(“Someone’s in a rush,” he remarks when you turn your computer off. “Don’t be late on a first date, it’s not very polite!”

“Fuck off,” you respond, when Seungcheol is safely out of earshot.)

The walk home almost freezes your fingertips, and you have to shove your hands deep into your pockets to keep them from going numb. You make a note to dress accordingly for the biting cold later.

At least the weather matches your mood today.

The idea of a hot shower turns out to be a little too inviting, though, because when you finally step out, hair wrapped in a towel, it’s 6:28, and you have a text from Jeonghan waiting to be opened.

xxx-xxx-xxxx: i’m here, i snagged a table in the back

“Fuck,” you curse under your breath, pulling on an old sweater and some jeans. You don’t have time to fully dry your hair, so you just run your round brush through it a couple of times, hope for the best, and throw it into a claw clip, praying it stays up.

You’re officially twenty minutes late when you finally get to the cafe — it’s not too far from your apartment, thankfully, but you still had to book it — and you approach Jeonghan slightly panting and out of breath. 

(If Junhui was right and this was actually a date, you would be royally screwed.)

“Here, sit,” he pulls out your chair, a little alarmed by your flushed face. “Were you running?”

“Yeah. Sorry I’m late,” you answer, and then you look up at him and the air is knocked out of your lungs as if you weren’t already winded from getting there. He’s even more beautiful than the last time you saw him. “Wow, you…”

“I?”

You’re not even sure what the rest of that sentence was going to be, the words slipping out before you could even think about them. Snap out of it. 

“Nothing,” you say quietly.

“How have you been?”

“You already asked me that.”

“I want to know more.” He’s looking at you like he’s trying to memorize your features; it’s hard to ignore. 

“I don’t have anything interesting going on,” you deflect. “Tell me about what’s going on with you. You said you wrote a new song?”

Jeonghan’s face lights up when you say it. “I did. I spent around nine months rewriting and perfecting it. It’s kind of like my child, in a way.”

“Yoon Jeonghan, a father. I never thought I’d see the day.”

He laughs, and it feels like a part of your old selves is back. “Want to listen?”

You nod, and he passes you an AirPod and his phone. “Imperfect Love,” you read out loud. “That’s deep.”

“It came from a pretty raw place,” he confesses. “Something that’s kind of been on my mind for a while.”

“Something or someone?”

Jeonghan’s face reflects something akin to panic. “What are you talking about?”

“This seems like a song about unrequited love,” you deadpan. “Doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.”

“Well, it’s not,” he huffs. ���Don’t assume things.”

“This is the kind of update I was waiting for. You didn’t tell me you’d found someone!”

“I didn’t!” he insists, concealing a smile. “Will you just stop asking questions and listen already?”

“Alright, Mr. Unlucky in Love,” you tease, securing the AirPod in your ear and pressing play.

The instrumentals are beautiful, and Jeonghan’s angelic voice fills your ears a few seconds later. You haven’t heard him sing in a long time, and you’d forgotten just how ethereal he sounds when he’s pouring his heart into the mic.

The sunlight that happily illuminates this dark world 

Becomes a star when night comes

Come down to me

There are many, many things shining in this world

But among them, you’re the only one that’s precious to me

Jeonghan is watching you nervously, like he’s anxious for what you will say. You make the mistake of catching his eyes, because immediately you falter — they are gorgeous, he is gorgeous, and it feels like you lose time with every second you spend admiring him.

Even if I can’t be the perfect weather for you

Will you still love me like this?

It feels like a silent plea — you wonder what kinds of things have happened to him in the past year that you missed, all the things you don’t know about. 

Together we become old and worn out

Even if you come to me, who’s useless

At the end of a shining day

I’m happy that it’s you every day

The song comes to an end, and you hand Jeonghan’s phone back to him. His eyebrows raise, like a question.

“Did you like it?”

“It’s beautiful,” you tell him honestly. “I love it.”

A smile breaks out on his face. “That’s good to hear.”

“I’m still convinced you have a secret crush that you’re not telling me about.”

“Oh, not with that again,” he grumbles, waving off your curious questions. 

What you don’t tell him is that you’ve missed hearing him sing and watching him perform, that the look in his eyes when he’s doing what he loves most is something you adore. There are a lot of things like that you want to say to him, and as good as the both of you are at acting like nothing’s wrong, the situation feels awfully different this time.

“Hey.” Jeonghan has a glint in his eye, the one he usually has when he’s up to something. “Do you wanna leave and go get tteokbokki and fried dumplings at the night market stands instead?”

Your favorites, from when you were a broke college student and couldn’t afford anything nicer. How did he still remember that?

“Yeah,” you say, already grabbing your things and standing. “Let’s go.”

You had forgotten that it was cold as fuck outside.

You had also forgotten that the food stalls were in the opposite direction of your house, so now you’re stuck walking twice the distance in the freezing weather. 

“Are you warm enough?” Jeonghan asks, a bit worried. Stop looking out for me, you want to scream at him. Stop caring. Stop making such a fool out of me.

“I am, but I know you’re not,” you scold instead. “I’ve been telling you for years to dress for the weather.”

“Eh, what’s a little bit of cold?” he jokes, but you catch him shivering violently out of the corner of your eye, and you can’t just watch as he suffers.

“Here.” You pull your scarf off of your neck and hold it out to him. “Wear it.”

“Are you su—”

“Wear it before I take it back.”

You wait until Jeonghan’s listened to you, the warm fabric wrapped around his neck. A part of you thinks you’ll always feel the urge to look after him.

Stop it.

“You still haven’t told me about yourself,” Jeonghan starts hesitantly. “I know I’ve probably missed a lot of things in the past few years.”

“Eight years,” you correct him. “We graduated and then you disappeared.”

“I didn’t disappear, things just got really hectic,” he tries to explain. “Like, all of a sudden everything was on my shoulders, and I had to spend all my time working towards what I wanted. That or it was all just gonna go to waste.”

“Right,” you leave it at that, not wanting to start an argument on the road. This always happens — you’ll run into Jeonghan somehow, you’ll somewhat reconcile, fight, make up, and then it’s radio silence from him again. A year after you graduated college, you stopped looking for news articles on him entirely, actively avoiding any headlines with his name in them. It hurt a little too much to bear. “Well, what do you want to know?”

“Everything.”

You suck in a breath at the quick response. 

“Yeonju’s doing well,” you start, even though he probably knows that already. “She has a cat now, actually. She adopted him a couple of months ago.”

“Really? What’s his name?”

“Mandu, because she says he’s round and fat like a dumpling.”

Jeonghan snorts. “That’s like when Josh told us his dog’s name was Bingsu.”

“Oh, I remember that,” you say, faintly reminded of his college roommate. “Um, there’s not much else, honestly. Junhui is still a major pain in my ass, that definitely hasn’t changed.”

“Your work friend, right? I thought you two got along pretty well?”

“Yeah, we do,” you admit. You don’t need to explain any further, because Jeonghan knows that your sarcastic remarks are reserved for those you cherish the most.

“It’s been a really long time since you introduced us,” he muses. “But I still remember him pretty clearly.”

He remembers you, too, you think to yourself, recounting all the times you’ve ranted to Junhui about all the times Jeonghan got on your very last nerve. Just not as fondly.

“Oh! Wonwoo actually joined the same company two years ago. I think I told you this already,” Jeonghan confirms with a nod, “But it’s really nice getting to see him again, I missed when we used to hang out in college.”

“Aw, that must be really nice.”

“And the three of us still work for Seungcheol,” you conclude.

“I remember him, too. The one with the huge ass biceps,” Jeonghan says, a bit miffed. “I don’t think he liked me very much.”

“He doesn’t like randoms coming in during work hours, which is what you did, Han.”

“Oh. Right.”

Despite his short response, you know Jeonghan is smiling to himself right now, and you kick yourself mentally for letting the decades-old nickname slip. The two of you may be on a truce right now, but that doesn’t mean you’ve forgiven him.

A few minutes later, the lanterns and lights of the night market come into view. A little piece of childhood memory burrows its way into your heart. The vendors and stalls may have changed, but you used to love visiting this street with Jeonghan when you were still students. 

“I really feel so old right now,” Jeonghan remarks as he follows you through the narrow walkways. “I feel like the last time I’ve been here was when we were eighteen.”

“It probably was,” you say. “Oh! Tteokbokki!”

You don’t even realize the way you’re holding on to the sleeve of Jeonghan’s sweater as you pull him along with you in excitement. He doesn’t say anything, just chuckles to himself as he walks behind you.

“Two cups, please,” you request the vendor when you finally get to the cart, and reach for your wallet. Jeonghan stops you before you can get to your pocket.

“No way,” he says firmly. “This one’s on me.”

“Jeonghan.”

“That voice isn’t working on me this time.” He hands the vendor a couple of bills with a friendly smile. “Just let me buy dinner tonight.”

You cross your arms. “No.”

“Why not? You had no problem doing it back in college.”

“Don’t bring that up now,” you say sharply, stung by the familiar memory. Jeonghan senses the shift in your attitude and drops the subject immediately.

“Wait here,” he tells you. “I’ll be back in a second.”

What are you supposed to do with yourself? Oh, you’re a mess, you realize, the way your feelings haven’t been in check for the entire evening. You were supposed to be so calm and collected, and now you’re anything but.

“Here you go,” the vendor hands you two steaming cups of the spicy rice cakes. “One for you, one for your friend.”

“Thank you.”

The man nods towards Jeonghan, making his way back through the sea of people. “Never let go of someone who cherishes you that much,” he says offhandedly, stirring the tteok in the pot.

You just blink, confused. “What?”

Before the vendor can answer, Jeonghan’s already caught up to you again. “There was nobody in line for fried dumplings,” he tells you excitedly. “Here, have some.”

“Thanks,” you say as you exchange with him for the tteokbokki, ignoring the awkward encounter you’ve just had. “We should probably get out of the way and find somewhere to sit down.”

“Yeah, we should.”

There are a few benches at the corner of the street, and you pick the empty one under one of the streetlamps, a hazy yellow glow cast over it. Sitting down, you bite into the first dumpling, the flavor flooding into your mouth.

“Jeonghan.”

“Yes?”

“Is this shrimp?”

“Yes?” He looks adorably confused in the dim light. “You prefer seafood over pork, right?”

Your heart feels like it’s beating at double the pace. “I do,” you reassure him. “It’s really good. Thank you.”

“Try the tteokbokki, too, it’s just the right level of spicy.”

“I will.”

Just being there and enjoying the food in silence reminds you of how easy it is to just be around Jeonghan. There’s no pressure to break the quiet; it’s comforting and peaceful. 

You watch him savor the tteokbokki sauce and smile to yourself when he winces slightly. He’s always had less of a spice tolerance than you.

“Jeonghan?”

“Hm?”

“Are you going to vanish on me again when you leave Seoul?”

The question stops him in his tracks. He doesn’t seem to have the words to answer, and the lack of a response makes your heart sink.

“Why are you thinking about that right now?” he says instead, chiding you gently. “Did you finish eating?”

The way you’re looking at him now, your eyes are imploring him. Please don’t make me empty promises again. 

“It’s rude to answer a question with another question.”

Jeonghan rakes a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. “I’ve never vanished, Y/N, it’s just hard for me to leave my work that often,” he insists, “and besides, you’ve got Junhui and Yeonju and Wonwoo to entertain you in the meantime —”

“None of them are you!” Several people passing by glance over at you, but you can’t help that your voice is rising when you feel the anger bubbling up. “You’re my best friend, Jeonghan, do you have any idea how hard it’s been doing life without you?”

“Y/N, we’re past our youth,” he tries reasoning with you. “We don’t have to be attached at the hip all the time.”

Every word he says is like a knife to your chest. “You shouldn’t have asked to meet up today, then.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.” Jeonghan shuts his eyes, trying to think of the right words. “I just can’t be there for you all the time in the way that you want anymore. You’re stable, you have a solid job, but my livelihood depends on my music and whether people like me or not. That’s the harsh truth of it. And I’m not getting any younger, either.”

“I’m not asking you to be there for me all the time,” you snap. “All I ever wanted was the occasional message. A few updates. Whether you’re doing okay, how your life is going, things like that. Don’t give me bullshit excuses. I know you have thirty seconds to text me back letting me know that you’re alive.”

And stop playing with my heart, you want to add. Whether you’re aware of it or not.

“Fuck,” Jeonghan swears under his breath. “Y/N, let’s calm down and talk about this inside —”

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down, Yoon Jeonghan.” Your fists are clenched right now. Jeonghan knows this about you; you don’t get angry quite often, but when you do, you are a force to be reckoned with. “It’s always a goddamn cycle with you. You show up, make all these promises, and then abandon me again. What am I supposed to do with that?”

You’re on the verge of tears, but you can’t cry in front of him. Anywhere but here.

“Y/N, I’m sorry,” he pleads with you. “I don’t know what more to say other than I’ve been trying my best, I really have been.”

You’re not having any of it. “Yeah, right,” you scoff, averting your eyes so you have time to blink the tears away. 

“I mean it. I want to be there for you, but…” he trails off, voice shaky. “It’s just been so difficult.”

“Save it, Jeonghan.” You don’t think you can be here for a minute longer without totally breaking down. “I should really get going now.”

“Y/N, wait —”

“If you took the subway, there’s a station down that street if you keep walking for a few minutes.”

“Wait,” Jeonghan insists, standing. “Let me at least walk you home.”

“No need,” you retort, turning around and setting off towards your apartment. It’s even colder now that it’s completely dark out, and you start to regret your choice of coat as your teeth chatter quietly. All you can do is thug it out for the remaining three blocks to your apartment building.

The wind stings your eyes and you tear up anyway, despite your attempts to keep it down for now. Why did you think today was going to go any better than every other time this has happened? 

Stupid. Your fault for thinking anything would have changed in eight years. 

It’s not until you approach the entrance to your building that you hear the quiet shuffling of footsteps. You whirl around, ready to fight, but you stop short when you see Jeonghan standing several feet behind you.

“Just to make sure you got back okay,” he says quietly, walking over to you. You accept gingerly when he places your scarf back in your hands. “It’s late.”

You don’t even know how to feel; you’re too high-strung with too many lines of thought in your brain at the same time. “Thank you.”

“One more thing.” Jeonghan hands you a small plastic bag. You peer inside.

“What is this?”

“Tiramisu,” he says, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

“Oh,” you’re confused. “Why?”

It should make you even more furious that he has the audacity to give you a soft smile, but for some reason it doesn’t.

“Happy birthday, Y/N.”

The realization hits you belatedly — how did you manage to forget? — that you were so swamped with work commitments, it had totally slipped your mind today. (So that was why your phone had been constantly buzzing with notifications from Yeonju before you’d put it on silent.) 

Jeonghan’s gesture, though, comes as a complete surprise, and it starts to dissipate the irritation from earlier.

“You remembered.”

“Of course,” he says simply, like it’s the most natural thing in the world. “I never forgot.”

just friends, that's not enough for me

EIGHT YEARS AGO

Normally, you are not someone who is criminally inclined. 

However, it’s currently five in the morning on a day where you don’t have class until noon, so whoever is calling you at this time is most definitely going to end up six feet under.

You answer without checking who it is first, eyes still closed. “Hello?” 

“Happy birthday!”

“Huh?” You lift your head just to be sure you heard correctly. “Yoon Jeonghan, it’s five a.m!”

“I know!”

“Why are you awake?”

“To tell you happy birthday?”

“Thank you, but cut the crap,” you tell him.

“I pulled an all-nighter to finish a project,” he admits. “Worth it, though. I’m the first person who told you, right?”

“You keep forgetting I live with Yeonju,” you point out, glancing over at your sleeping roommate.

“Damn it, Choi Yeonju!”

You grimace at his loud exclamation. “Jeonghan?”

“Yeah?”

“Do me a favor and let me go back to sleep.”

“Okay, but I’m waking you up at ten so you don’t skip your linear algebra class.”

“That class is at noon!”

“Yeah, and you take centuries to get ready, dumbass.”

When ten o’clock does roll around, you’re wide awake already. Yeonju is still fast asleep, so you try to get ready for class as quietly as possible.

jeonghan: i’m outside ur building

jeonghan: hurry up i’m hungry

you: ??? when u said u were gonna wake me up i thought u meant u would call

jeonghan: uhh surprise?

“Are you serious,” you mutter under your breath, haphazardly throwing an outfit on and rushing downstairs. Quickly, you press your key card against the reader and push the door open to the sight of Jeonghan leaning against the side wall.

“How long were you waiting?” 

“Long enough. God, you really take forever, but I guess you get a pass because it’s your birthday,” he says begrudgingly, gesturing for you to walk with him.

The weather is quite bleak, but the slight smile on Jeonghan’s face is enough to chase the dreary atmosphere away, like your very own sun.

“Did you sleep at all?” you question, noticing the dark circles under his eyes.

“I tried, but by the time I finished the project it was already seven and Joshua was up, so I just didn’t bother. That guy’s a freak, I’m telling you. I don’t know anybody else who wakes up that early just to go to the gym.”

“Well, you don’t go at all. Maybe that’s why he has those nice muscles and you don’t.”

Jeonghan’s mouth drops open in surprise. “Are you kidding? Is this why you keep coming over? To ogle Joshua Hong’s arms?”

“Yeah, cause Joshua Hong is my best friend,” you deadpan. “Is it such a crime to just appreciate a nice set of muscles?”

“Okay, okay, stop talking about Josh when you’re with me and get in the car,” he urges, fishing out his keys. “Or we’ll be late and you won’t make it to that class.”

“I don’t even go half the time,” you point out. “And you still haven’t told me where we’re going.”

“What I can do is promise you will be happy and fed by approximately half past eleven.” Jeonghan starts the car, adjusting his mirrors. “Is that good enough for you?”

“Deal.”

It strikes you then, beneath the dim sunshine, how good he looks when he’s driving. His eyebrows are furrowed as he focuses on the road, humming along to the song playing through Bluetooth. For all the jokes you throw at him for never being seen at the gym, his arms are quite toned, subtly flexed as he makes a turn with one hand on the wheel.

God, you are so done for.

A few minutes later, Jeonghan pulls into a relatively empty lot. The building is quite unassuming, but you recognize this cafe as the one you frequent during exam season for your coffee fix.

“I love this place!” you exclaim, beaming at him. “How did you know?”

“‘Cause you never shut up about it,” he quips back, grinning.. “Stay here, I’ll just be a minute.”

You hum quietly to yourself as you wait for him to come back, content where you are. There couldn’t have been a better start to your day, aside from Jeonghan’s early morning call, and you think you’d be happy to spend the day just like this, peacefully with him and your closest friends.

In truth, you aren’t really sure how to navigate things with Jeonghan at the moment. Your relationship has always been labeled as strictly platonic, but lately there have been things that make you want to think otherwise. A few stolen glances, the way he looks out for you a little extra… you think you’re going insane. 

That, and the way your heart has been reacting when you make eye contact with him lately has been a bit unsettling.

(“Don’t be so delusional,” Yeonju had told you a week ago. “You have a lot to lose here if anything happens. Plus, it’s Yoon Jeonghan, everyone thinks he’s flirting with them.”

“Yeah,” you’d replied flatly. “You’re right.”)

But maybe you’re allowed to be a little selfish. Maybe those sunlit smiles and most vulnerable moments are memories reserved just for you.

The car door opens again, and Jeonghan pokes his head in, handing you a plastic bag as he gets in. 

“Sustenance,” is all he says. “Eat before you go to class or I’ll have to deal with your hangry whining after.”

His words sound annoyed, but his tone is soft with you, like it usually is. You flash him a grateful smile before pulling the boxes out.

“What’s this?”

“Avocado toast, but yours has egg on it.” He wrinkles his nose with displeasure at the combination. “Plus a little sweet treat for your caffeine addiction.”

“This is beautiful,” you hold up the tiramisu box. “The caffeine is speaking to me, Hannie. We are one and the same.”

“One would think you’re on drugs.”

“One would think living with a chemistry major would teach you that caffeine is a drug,” you tease, sinking your teeth into the golden toast. You hadn’t realized just how hungry you were until now — maybe you shouldn’t have skipped dinner last night. “Wow, this is good.”

“It is,” Jeonghan agrees, “but I’ll stick with no eggs for now.”

“You’re just ignorant and have bad taste.”

“Again, free pass only because it’s your birthday.” Jeonghan waits for you to swallow, then asks, “So, does twenty-one feel any different?”

“Nope,” you say decidedly. “Why would it? The only thing that’s changed is that drinking is legal now.”

“Oh, and you can gamble.”

“Right, but I don’t have enough savings to do that.”

Jeonghan laughs to himself at a stray memory. “Remember when I turned twenty-one? I’ve never had a night more disastrous than that one.”

“I do remember! Anyone would assume you were a raging alcoholic,” you snicker. “Even Soonyoung felt the need to sober up and help me get you back to your place. Do you know how impossible that is for him?”

Jeonghan looks like he’s questioning his whole life. “Yeah, that is pretty bad,” he admits. “Good thing it hasn’t happened since and I’m a responsible alcohol enjoyer now.”

“You drank a whole bottle of soju before your exam last week because you ‘needed to pregame’ or you’d fail it.”

“... Right.”

The two of you eat in silence, careful not to drop crumbs in his car, enjoying the midday quiet with each other’s company and nothing else. It’s moments like these with him that you cherish the most.

Yeonju’s Don’t be so delusional echoes in your head, like a silent rebuke.

“Hey, we should start heading back,” Jeonghan says, glancing at the time. “Let this be the day that Y/N graces the lecture hall with her presence.”

You groan, not wanting to spend another hour and a half trying not to doze off listening to who is possibly the most boring professor at your entire university. Jeonghan pats your back empathetically.

“It’s okay,” he consoles you, “Just think about how you’ll feel later when it’s all over and done with.”

“I’ll feel like it was a huge waste of time and I could have just asked Wonwoo to catch me up,” you grumble. 

Jeonghan’s smile falters a little bit at the mention of your classmate, one of Soonyoung’s friends and therefore a part of the friend group. You still can’t figure out why Jeonghan isn’t too fond of him, but you  just assume they haven’t had the opportunity to connect as much and brush it off.

“He got me through data structures last semester,” you offer, trying to defend your point. “Or I’d probably have failed.”

“Right, I remember,” Jeonghan says absentmindedly. You don’t say anything more until you’re back on campus again, picking up on his sensitive mood. When you start making your way to your lecture hall, he follows you, and you let him.

“I’ll walk you to class, I have to print something out at the student center, anyways,” he explains, bag on one shoulder. “Also, you left this in the car. Eat it after class, or whenever.”

You take the plastic bag he hands you, the faint scent of coffee filling your nose. “Thanks.”

Jeonghan fills your ears with silly stories about his friends over the short walk and you listen carefully, always happy to hear about the boys. It’s been a while since you’ve seen them anyways; you’ve been swamped with work, and time that all of you have free together is quite rare.

“I should go in now,” you tell him when you reach the hall. You wish you didn’t have to be here, but you might as well, and Jeonghan can easily read the annoyance written on your face. He pats your shoulder gently.

“It’s okay,” he consoles you. “Come over later so we can all eat cake and listen to you rant about your god-awful professor.”

“Okay.”

“And so you can get an eyeful of Joshua’s arms, you freaking pervert.”

You gasp. “Am not!” you screech, punching his arm.

“Ow!”

“Take it back!”

“Not afraid to speak my truth,” Jeonghan says instead, feigning injury. “This is literally abuse.”

You roll your eyes. “Get out.”

“Go in.”

“Fine,” you huff, pulling open the double doors, but you look back over your shoulder before you let them close behind you. “See you later?”

Jeonghan nods, a twinkle in his eye. 

(You won’t know it now, but this is the look on his face that you’ll remember for the rest of your life.) 

 “See you later.”

Choi Yeonju is, you discover, the lightweight of all lightweights.

That title had belonged to Soonyoung up until now, but tonight even he’s watching her in disbelief from where he’s perched on Joshua and Jeonghan’s couch.

“I only gave her a shot,” he promises you, eyes big and pleading. “I swear on my life.”

“I know,” you sigh, grabbing her sleeve and pulling her away from the wall she’s about to faceplant into. “It’s okay, I’ve got an eye on her.”

“Sorry,” Soonyoung offers sheepishly. “I know you were planning on getting wasted tonight.”

You were not, in fact, planning on that at all. “Who told you that?”

“Jeonghan?”

“That evil bastard.”

The evil bastard in question is currently deeply immersed in a card game with a couple of others at the small kitchen table. The subtle flush on his face tells you he’s a couple of drinks in, and if you squint enough, you can see the silhouette of cards hidden in the sleeve of his jacket. Typical.

“Y/N!” Yeonju taps your shoulder urgently. “I need to tell you something.”

“Yeah? What’s up?”

She grins. “I wanna go to the bathroom.”

“Alright, come on. You gotta stand up,” you inform her gently when she doesn’t budge from her spot on the sofa.

“Comfy,” is all she says, mumbling into the furniture.

“Do you still need to go to the bathroom?”

“No.”

Soonyoung just looks at you in total confusion and shrugs. 

“Nothing to do about it until she asks again,” he says before sinking into the couch beside her. He still looks relatively sober — sober enough to handle the situation if Yeonju decides to walk into a wall again — so you tell him you’ll be right back and decide to check in on the game going on.

You walk in on a crime scene.

“You!” Seungkwan throws an accusing finger at Jeonghan, who you can tell is playing innocent through his surprised expression. “You rigged the game!”

“I didn’t do anything! I won fair and square!”

“Count the cards,” Seungkwan tells Wonwoo vengefully. “There won’t be fifty-two, I’m telling you!”

Jeonghan stands suddenly, laying his hand on the table. Everyone else is too busy yelling amongst themselves, and Wonwoo seems to be content with watching them argue, but you catch the way Jeonghan slips the cards in his sleeve into the pile unassumingly.

“Excuse me, boys,” he says smugly, “but I’m going to go on a little victory walk. Don’t mind me, enjoy!”

Seungkwan grumbles, but lets him go in favor of helping Seokmin back into the chair he’s just fallen off of. In the meantime, Jeonghan sidles up to you, faintly smelling of tequila.

“You seem very sober,” he observes.

“I am,” you laugh. “Not entirely, but sober enough to notice the cards you stashed during the game.”

Jeonghan’s face morphs into one of surprise, then mirth. “Shh,” he winks, placing a finger on your lips. That alone short-circuits your brain, so you nearly miss his next words. “It can be our little secret.”

“Oh, you are tipsy tipsy,” you murmur, resting a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know if you’re up for that victory walk you were talking about.”

“I am! I’m so up for it,” he announces, tucking his arm in yours. “Let’s go take a walk outside.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very.”

“What’s four plus four?”

He rolls his eyes. “Ninety-two,” he says sarcastically. “Please, I’m not a lightweight like the rest of our friends.”

You cast a glance at the couch; Soonyoung has been roped into listening into whatever story Yeonju’s telling him very animatedly, sitting attentively with his back unnaturally straight. He looks a little scared of her energetic narration, which is a first for someone like him.

They should be fine, right? You don’t plan on being gone for long — usually you wouldn’t think twice about leaving Soonyoung and Yeonju together, but in their current state you’re not sure how chaotic they’ll get.

“They’ll be fine.” Jeonghan mirrors your thoughts as if he’s read your mind. His voice feels a little too close, like his lips are right by your ear. Too close, too close — you’re faintly aware of your breathing accelerating, heart running on sheer adrenaline.

By the time you snap out of it, he’s already at the door, turning to find you when he realizes you’re not next to him. “Are you coming?”

“Yeah,” is all you can manage before you grab your coat off the hook and follow him out the door. A part of you wishes Yeonju was sober so she could slap the delusion out of you.

Jeonghan opts for the stairs — “We’re only on the second floor!” — and is waiting patiently at the main door for you. The smile he greets you with is blinding, and his eyes crinkle a little more when you return it. 

“Did you bring your keys?”

“Right here.” Jeonghan pats his pocket reassuringly and pulls the door open. “After you, m’lady.”

“Thank you, kind sir,” you laugh, reveling in the moment. 

It’s windy outside, and you glance over at Jeonghan, satisfied to see that he’s dressed warmly for once. His hands are stuffed in his pockets and for a man his size, his thick sweater is draped over his body in a way that makes him look a little smaller. It’s adorable, and it just makes you want to reach over and squish his cheeks.

“You’re awfully quiet for a man who just won a game against Boo Seungkwan,” you tease gently. Jeonghan chuckles, rubbing his hands together to warm them up.

“Nothing new,” he says. “Seungkwan just has bad strategy and won’t admit it.”

“Or you just enjoy cheating a little too much.”

He gives you a knowing smile. “Touché.”

You’re not exactly sure where you’re going; you don’t think Jeonghan does, either, but the two of you fall in step together perfectly on the sidewalk. It’s not too late yet, maybe nine or ten, and the streets are relatively crowded, as expected for a college city.

“Do you think we’ll be really different when we’re thirty?”

You look at Jeonghan, a bit surprised at the question. “What do you mean?”

“Like, we’re twenty-one now,” he explains, “Remember when we were sixteen? We had so many ideas about what we were gonna be, and we’re already there. Five years passed so quickly.”

You nod, reminiscent of your childhood days. “We’re gonna hit thirty before we know it.”

“Do you think I’ll be bald by thirty?”

“If you are, I’ll take lots of pictures of you and your shiny head,” you joke. “For memories.”

“Noo, not my hair,” Jeonghan laments theatrically. “My gorgeous, gorgeous hair.”

You can’t even counter that, because it’s true: Jeonghan must have won the gene pool because his hair has always been soft and silky. It’s longer now than it used to be, curling a little bit just under his ears and brushing the back of his neck.

“Soonyoung’s been campaigning for you to go platinum blond,” you inform him. “He keeps saying if you do it, he’ll dye his whole head bright yellow.”

“Highlighter Soonyoung is really not something I want to see.”

The more the wind picks up, the tighter Jeonghan has his arm looped around yours. His lips are pursed, like he’s preoccupied with something else.

“Y/N.”

“Yes?”

“Are we still gonna be friends when we’re thirty years old?”

The subtle, vulnerable tone in his voice surprises you a little bit. Drunk words are sober thoughts, you suppose.

You try to cheer him up, saying, “Why, did you think you could get rid of me that easily?”

“No,” he shakes his head firmly. “Everything is so much easier with you.”

Don’t be delusional, don’t be delusional, is the mantra in your head as you attempt to ignore your rapid heartbeat. The truth is that you agree — the way Jeonghan just gets you makes things so uncomplicated and free.

It’s been this way since middle school, when twelve-year-old you found home in the boy who always helped you sneak snacks from your desk during class when the teacher wasn’t watching. 

Jeonghan has always been the first person you think of in a sticky situation; he’s always been reliable, above all, because he knows you would do the same for him without even needing to think about it. He’s been by your side for so long, you can’t even picture what a life without him would look like now.

Your next words would never see the light of day had Jeonghan been sober, but you suppose you can get away with erring on the side of honesty.

“Me too,” you tell him quietly, holding onto him just a little bit tighter. “I like life a little better when it’s with you.”

because i love you, because saying i love you isn't enough

PRESENT DAY

The office is quiet when it’s late at night; there aren’t many people who enjoy staying past their stated hours, but you figure it can’t hurt to finish some additional tasks when you don’t really have much to go home to. You can’t remember the last time you had a day to yourself without worrying about deadlines; the lines of code haunt you in your sleep and fill every waking hour. Every night spent working overtime is a testament to your determination, though it crumbles it a little each time.

Today, though, you’re joined by Junhui and Wonwoo, the three of you working under the dim light. The rest of your team packed up and left hours ago, so it’s just you on this floor of the building.

“I feel like my eyes are melting in their sockets,” Junhui complains, stretching for the first time in what you think is a solid eight hours. “I don’t know how Wonwoo does it.”

“He’s a machine,” you joke. He’s got headphones on, most probably noise canceling, so you know he can’t hear you two. (Or he’s choosing not to.) “I just don’t want to go home with this stuff unfinished because I know I won’t stop thinking about it all night.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time you’ve pulled an all-nighter in the office.”

“Unfortunately.”

Junhui frowns. “You need to take time for yourself,” he expresses. You let him lecture you, even though he’s younger. “Do stuff that you enjoy that doesn’t involve writing code. You know, enrich your personal life.”

“Maybe,” you sigh, putting your head in your hands. “There’s barely any time as of now.”

“Speaking of personal lives, I still can’t believe you won’t tell me about your date,” he sulks. “You’ve always come back with stories about your dates.”

“There haven’t even been that many,” you say at the same time Wonwoo turns around with his headphones off of one ear, asking, “Date? Really?”

You give the man a look. “You didn’t hear us say your name, but that was what caught your attention?”

“Well, Jun’s always talking, but the last time you went on a date was two years ago, so this is news to me.”

“It couldn’t have been that bad,” Junhui reasons. “Everyone has bad dates. It’s a universal experience.”

“Okay, first of all, it was not a date,” you clarify. “I just met up with a friend from college.”

This piques Wonwoo’s interest. “Wait, really? Who?”

“Right, I keep forgetting you guys went to college together,” Junhui mutters under his breath.

“Did you see Yeonju again?”

“It was nobody,” you lie through your teeth, kicking yourself internally for your choice of words. As much as both men know about your ongoing tug-of-war situation with Jeonghan, you don’t really want to bring it up in conversation, and definitely not now of all times. “It went fine, just some catching up.”

“So it wasn’t a date?”

“You really need to stop believing everything Junhui tells you without fact checking it first.”

“Damn,” he says. “And we thought you were finally getting some action.”

“Wonwoo!”

The conversation is interrupted by the low rumble of your stomach in the few seconds of silence that pass afterwards. Both men turn to look at you expectantly.

“I haven’t eaten all day,” you admit, a little embarrassed. “I’m starving.”

“I’ll order takeout,” Wonwoo volunteers, already reaching for his phone. “Is kimchi fried rice okay with you guys?”

“Fine by me.”

“With pork?” Junhui asks hopefully.

“Done.”

The three of you promptly get back to work, aiming to maximize the amount of work you get done before the food arrives and you inevitably break focus. By the time the delivery notification goes off on Wonwoo’s phone, you’ve knocked off about three quarters of your to-do list for the day.

Good enough, you reassure yourself, pulling the sticky note off of your desk and flicking it into the trash can. 

Junhui eats in a record time of ten minutes — you swear you’ve never seen him scarf down food this fast before — and starts packing up at his desk, dropping off a couple of notes on Seungcheol’s desk for tomorrow morning’s meeting.

“My girlfriend is going to be so upset if I’m not home soon,” he says ruefully, slinging his bag over one shoulder. “Take care, guys! And thanks for dinner, Wonwoo, I owe you one.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

You and Wonwoo finish not too long after, and you take your time cleaning up the place, making sure everything is thrown away and in its place. 

“Are you ready to lock up and go?”

“Yeah, let’s head out.”

It’s not until you’re in the elevator, heading to the parking garage, that Wonwoo speaks up again. A little hesitantly at first, but the concern in his tone is still evident.

“Hey, has everything been good with you lately?”

“Hm?” You look at him curiously, wondering what it was that made him ask. “Yeah, why?”

He shrugs, looking down at you through thick-rimmed glasses. “Just haven’t checked in with you in a bit. Seungcheol’s needed me all over the place lately, so it’s been a while since I caught up with you guys.”

“Right, you’ve been in back to back meetings with the design team,” you muse. “Seolhwa was talking about how chaotic it’s been in the restroom earlier.”

“Yeah, it’s been pretty tough.”

The elevator opens with a ding! and you follow him out, fishing for your keys that are probably somewhere in one of your pockets.

“I parked a little far,” you tell him, “so I’ll get going now. But I’ll see you at tomorrow’s meeting, right?”

Wonwoo just looks at you gently, like he’s seeing right through you. 

“Jeonghan’s the one you met up with, isn’t he?”

You freeze. “What?”

“I had a feeling, but it was a little more obvious when you started getting defensive,” he chuckles. “Plus, I think you forget I’ve known you for nearly a decade now.”

You allow yourself to breathe, relaxing the taut muscles in your neck. “I didn’t want to make it awkward,” you admit. “I know you said you guys still keep in touch sometimes. I don’t want to make it weird.”

Wonwoo raises his eyebrows. “Just for birthdays and things like that. We weren’t really that close in college, either.”

Not really knowing what to say, you stay silent, eyes glued to the ground. He seems to sense this and drops the matter, reaching over to pat your shoulder.

“I won’t pry,” he says lightly, “But if you ever want to talk about it, just know you can always call up an old friend.”

You smile. “Thanks, Wonwoo.”

“Take care, Y/N. Get home safe.”

The drive home is numbing. The playlist you have on dulls into background noise as you focus on the road, fighting the urge to yawn. It’s nearly eleven o’clock at night, and all you want is to be back in your bed.

At the back of your mind, all you can think about is the text you woke up to this morning.

yoon jeonghan: hey, i just wanted to tell you tomorrow is my last day in seoul 

yoon jeonghan: i don’t know if you want to see me or not, but i’ll be at semicolon cafe working for most of the day. pls drop by if you have some free time. i really miss you.

So typical of him, to leave it up to you to go find him. And yet, you would — if it came down to it, you would go to the ends of the earth if he asked you to. 

Yeonju would be furious if you told her you were even considering it, you scold yourself. After all, she’d only told you to speak to him once for your own peace of mind. Last week should have given you all the closure you needed. 

Still, your conscience is swayed at the idea of being able to see him again. 

You shake the thoughts out of your head, as if the subtle action could erase the pain and longing you’ve felt for the past eight years. 

The traffic light turns green. You step on the gas and don’t look back.

even if i can't be the perfect weather for you, will you still love me like this?

SIX YEARS AGO

Jeonghan has been in the studio for hours.

Nothing seems to sound right, and the frustration makes him want to pull his hair out. He can’t even remember the last time he got out of the chair, but he doesn’t want to lose even a little bit of whatever workflow he’s managed to maintain while he’s been in here.

Occasionally, when the weather is just a little dull and time seems to tick by too slowly, he wonders if he made the right choice. Maybe he should have stuck with his career, actually put his degree to use, instead of setting it aside in the name of passion.

He’s vocalized these thoughts to his manager many times, and Jihoon is awfully good at raising his spirits, but the self doubt seeping into his soul is very hard to ignore.

Reluctantly, he presses the play button again, whatever he’s conjured up in the last couple of hours playing in his headphones again. It doesn’t sound any better this time. 

Yes, he could swallow his pride and ask Jihoon for help, but after a year and a half of unsuccessful ventures in the music industry, he wants to be able to do something on his own.

Prove himself; to Jihoon, the world, and you.

Jeonghan will never forget your only words to him when he’d first revealed his plan to switch career paths, just a month or two before graduation. 

(“I always believe in you,” you’d said, following it up with a comforting hug. 

“Always?”

“Always.”)

And when you said that with such conviction, placing all of that trust and belief in his hands, he knew there was no way he could turn back on what he’d set his sights on. In truth, on days where things just seem so bleak, you are his strength, and he wishes he could tell you that.

But when your name comes through on his phone, he falters.

What is he supposed to say? All he can give is excuses, that nothing’s really worked, nothing has panned out in his favor yet. As it is, the two of you haven’t spoken that much since graduating, both of you occupied with your own goals and careers, and at times like these he feels your absence a little extra.

Is this what it means to grow up and grow apart?

For now, he ignores the buzzing, telling himself he’ll come back when he’s snagged his first real achievement. You’ll be proud of him, and he’ll finally make something of himself.

Jihoon walks into the room, closing the door quietly, right when he’s about to listen to the track for maybe the hundredth time.

“Oh, hey.” Jeonghan can hear the exhaustion in his own voice. “What’s up?”

“Wondering when the last time you slept was.” Jihoon sinks into the chair beside him, trying to lighten the mood. “You look like a zombie.”

“Yeah, I feel like one.”

“You need to spend less time in here,” Jihoon advises gently. “Or you’re going to lose your mind. Trust me, I’ve been there.”

“I just can’t figure out what it is I’m missing,” Jeonghan sighs, evidently frustrated. “It’s like, almost there, but not really. It’s been killing me for days.”

“You know, these things do take time.”

“Or maybe I’m just not cut out for this and I should just go work for a news channel instead.”

Jihoon watches him carefully, picking up on his slumped shoulders and tired eyes. “And then you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering what would have happened if you held on just a little bit longer. Do you really want that?”

Jeonghan doesn’t really know what else to say. He’s been hearing the same things from everyone around him — his parents, his sister; everyone talks of a future where he’s already succeeded, but that isn’t set in stone. Nothing is promised, he knows.

“I need a miracle,” he mumbles instead.

“You need to eat,” Jihoon corrects. “I just placed an order for dinner, and I know you like sundubu-jjigae, so you have no excuse to bail on me this time.”

Jeonghan considers this for a moment, then gives in. “Fine,” he says, “but I can’t stay too long.”

“Good.” Jihoon rises, and then places a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. “I’m proud of you. You’ve been working really hard.”

“Thank you.”

He’s alone again, when the door closes behind the shorter man. It’s something he’s had to get used to; he’s learned to rely on himself over the past year or so, but when the reality of loneliness sinks in, it breaks his heart just a little. 

Even more so knowing that it’s his fault that he’s pushed everyone away, including you.

Your name is still burned into Jeonghan’s brain, and his fingers itch to respond, but he ignores the urge. His phone is left forgotten as he slips his headphones on again, tinkering with the unfinished track.

And the thought of you dissolves into the music.

we used to be best friends, i remember you said you can be yourself when i'm around

PRESENT DAY

Today is the day that Choi Seungcheol learns that you are full of surprises.

In all your five years of working for him, he’s never once had you call in sick for work or ask for a day off. You’ve always been hard-working, maybe too much at times, but he sounds like he definitely didn’t anticipate this.

“Oh,” is all he says when you request the morning off. “Yeah, sure. Are you feeling alright?”

“Not really, but I will be before the client meeting at three, so I’ll be present for that.”

“Oh, all right. We’ll see you then.”

“See you.”

It weighs on your conscience that the first time you request time off also happens to be the first time you blatantly lie to your boss, but you’ve already deliberated this enough with Yeonju over call last night.

(“I’ve been such an honest worker,” you said dramatically, “and now I’m running all that to the ground.”

“Don’t be so theatrical. Choi Seungcheol can afford to give you half a day of paid leave.”)

Now that you’ve settled that, you grab your heavy winter coat, setting out into the morning cold. Damn Yoon Jeonghan for making you move your whole day around for him. You had predicted correctly that Yeonju would berate you for it — you sat through a lecture over the phone last night — but that hadn’t deterred your resolve to see him again.

Who knows? His behavior is so erratic that even you, who knew him like the back of your hand at one point, can’t predict him anymore. Today could very well be the last time you see him for another few years until he decides he has the time for you again.

Whatever, you huff to yourself as you walk briskly, knowing that as upset as you get, the soft spot you harbor for him will never go away.

You had worried that it would be a little too early, since it’s only eight in the morning, but you have no problem finding Jeonghan in the sea of caffeine-deprived corporate workers getting their fix in the small establishment. He’s engrossed in his laptop, and he doesn’t realize you’re there until you take the seat across from him, waiting for him to look up.

“Oh,” is all he says, pushing his screen down. “I didn’t think you’d come.”

You sigh. “Yeah, I didn’t think I would, either.”

Jeonghan gives you a sorrowful look, hair fluffy like a halo around his face. “I’m trying, I really am.”

“Jeonghan —”

“I’m juggling so many things at once,” he says quietly. “And I never wanted you to think any less of me. I wanted you to be proud of me..”

“I was. I still am.”

“But I still haven’t done anything.” He sounds more agitated as he speaks. “I haven’t gotten anywhere, I’ve barely made a name for myself. Nothing I do is paying off.”

“You’re trying, though,” you tell him. It saddens you to see him like this. It’s not often that Jeonghan talks about how he feels, especially not now that you’ve grown so distant. “And you don’t have to go off and accomplish great things for me to be proud of you. I already am.”

He’s quiet, like he’s dwelling on something.

“I’m sorry,” he says a few seconds later. “It’s just all been such a mess.”

“That’s okay.”

In the silence between those two words are many more that don’t need to be spoken for him to understand. You’re doing okay. Everything will turn out okay.

“I wish things could go back to the way they were,” he says again, eyes a little shiny when he looks back at you. 

Nostalgia fills your brain, all of those treasured memories with him resting in a well-lit corner of your heart. 

“You know, it really hurts, Han, to keep doing this push and pull with you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too.”

“Don’t apologize,” he laughs wistfully, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Shit, I never meant to hurt you, Y/N, honestly. And I’m really trying to be better about it. Things are looking up now, I think. It’s getting a little easier than before.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” You offer him a reassuring smile. “I knew you could do it.”

“How…” Jeonghan starts tentatively. “How long are you here for?”

“I’m not sure,” you reply, fidgeting with one of your bracelets. “Not too long.”

“Are you going to have something to eat?” An olive branch.

“I have food I meal-prepped at home.” A subtle denial.

The silence is loud. You try to think of something, anything to say to fill it, but you come up blank. There’s not much else to be said in the fraught air between the two of you. Not now, anyways.

“I’m sorry, I should let you get back to work,” you say suddenly, eyes landing on his half shut laptop. “I didn’t mean to take time out of your day.”

“That’s okay,” he says softly. “I’m really glad I got to see you.”

“Have a safe trip to… wherever you’re going.”

He chuckles. “Just Jeju, but thank you.”

Before you leave, you reach for the scarf loosely wrapped around your neck — your favorite one you’ve had since college, the plaid cream-colored one — and you set it down on the table. He just looks at you questioningly.

“Why…?”

“It’s cold,” you say with a faint smile. “You haven’t changed, Yoon Jeonghan.”

“Thank you.”

You take the time to memorize him — the curve of his face, the soft look in his eyes, the one reserved for you and the ones he holds close. If you could etch his features in your brain here and now, you would.

“Well,” you start, swallowing the lump in your throat. “Don’t be a stranger, Han. The next time I see your name, it better be a call from you instead of another news headline.”

Jeonghan nods, eyes forming crescents. “I’ll do my best.”

And there is something to be said about the love in looking back, for sure, but there is also love in not looking back, in choosing to keep your eyes trained on the path before you. There is love in knowing your weaknesses, that if you turn around you might not be able to walk away after all. 

You don’t release the breath you’re holding until you walk out the door. It’s raining, you realize with a start, the previously clear sky clouded over. It seems that your overcast heart has been mirrored by the earth.

The rhythmic droplets provide a strange sense of comfort as you let yourself get soaked, for lack of an umbrella. It works in your favor, anyway, because nobody will assume anything’s amiss if your face is already drenched.

Pit, pat. The smell of wet soil rises in your nostrils, and you let the tears fall.

no matter where i am in the world, i'll say it's you

FOUR YEARS LATER

The lights are blinding, and the sounds of the camera shutters are incessant. But this is the life Jeonghan has always dreamed of, so he doesn’t dare complain.

In truth, he doesn’t care for a lot of the interviews he’s been asked to do — he can’t be bothered by the mundane, mind-numbing questions he gets asked over and over again. Nothing ticks him off like the insensitive digs into his personal life they always ask him, searching for information he doesn’t wish to disclose.

But he does it, anyway, because what choice does he really have? It’s good for your image, Jihoon always tells him, adding another event to his schedule. It’s for your public platform.

“So, you’ve come out with another hit single,” the interviewer starts, beaming at him. His teeth are so artificially white, they seem to reflect the bright studio lights. “How does it feel to accomplish such a success yet again?”

“It’s really great,” Jeonghan answers honestly. “I’m very grateful to my manager, producer, and my beloved family. And, of course, all of the wonderful fans. I couldn’t have done any of this without them.”

“A touching answer as always, Jeonghan-ssi.” The man flashes a smile at the cameras. “Your new single To You was really well received by fans, especially for its fresh and passionate take on what it feels like to be in love.”

The blazer feels stiff now, under the heat of the lights. Jeonghan tries not to dwell too deeply on the true inspiration for the song he’d written late at night a couple years ago, overcome by his own heart.

“I’m really glad that everyone’s been enjoying it so much. That really was the intention,” he says, “to have a song that makes you feel like you’re floating.”

“And it does!” the interviewer laughs. “A lot of viewers really appreciated the sincerity of feelings that was conveyed through the song. Which raised the question; have you ever been in love before?”

Something akin to a late realization suddenly hits Jeonghan right there in the hot seat, under all those lights and cameras. His hand comes up to toy with the end of the scarf he’s wearing, a keepsake of treasured memories.

“Maybe,” he says with a wistful smile.

Wherever you are in the world right now, there’s a small part of him that dares to hope you’re watching.

“Maybe I have.”

thank you for reading! if you have any feedback, i'd love to hear it :) much love, ashi xx

[joeys-babe]

Joey B Imagines: Peewee

————————————————————————-

Summary: You take your boyfriend, Joe, to your little brother’s first tackle football game. Your little brother, Tommy, has always been such a huge fan of your NFL boyfriend and both you and Joe loved how much he idolized him.

Warnings: So so fluffy.

Pairing: Joe Burrow x Reader

Imagine universe: None! (Misc.)

A/N: Joe isn't injured and the Bengals have a very late bye week!

————————————————————————-

December 18th, 2023

If you told me a year ago, when I started dating Joe, that we would have to go two months without seeing each other, I wouldn't have even agreed to go on a date with him.

Joe and I had an… age gap. He was 27, with an amazing career and a life built for himself, and I was 20 and still in college.

He was in Cincinnati while I was in Athens attending Ohio University.

We had met through our fathers who were both on the coaching staff at OU. We had a family dinner together, and Joe was the only one of Jimmy’s three boys who was able to make it.

Joe swears up and down still to this day that it was love at first sight when he saw me. He was just out of a relationship and wasn't looking for anything but he says that all changed when he saw me.

Now back to the two months without each other. Obviously, we were long-distance, and it was the mid-football season for him so that meant he was busy all of the time. I had just gotten done with finals for my fall semester, so up until now I had been super busy with university stuff.

Today I would see Joe for the first time since early October, and I couldn't be more excited.

My parents were even super excited because they were the ones on the receiving end of my griping the past couple of months.

My little brother was also super excited. Tommy was 10 years old and playing his first-ever tackle football game today. It was my dad’s travel football team he was playing for. My dad doesn't trust the coaches at his school so Tommy’s not allowed to play there.

Tommy’s only request for his first game was that his favorite NFL player be there.

It was Joe of course, and he promised he would be there.

He didn't disappoint either, just as my dad and Tommy took the field, Joe texted me saying he was a couple of minutes away.

“Are you excited?” - my mom nudged me

“Yeah. I've missed him.” - you smiled

“Oh, we know.” - your mom

I glared at her and rolled my eyes before I pulled out my phone to pass the time.

“Look, there he is!” - my mom

My head snapped up and there he was in all of his glory. Joe was walking over to the bleachers while watching the field.

“Go!” - my mom

I jumped up and ran down the stairs, seeing my mom get her phone out to record in the corner of my eye.

Joe by now had realized I'd seen him and stopped walking to open his arms for me.

When I was within inches of him I jumped into his arms.

His strong arms wrapped around my body and he slowly swayed with me.

“There’s my beautiful girl.” - Joe

“I missed you so much.” - you

“I missed you more. A day didn't go by that I didn't wish I was with you.” - Joe

My legs wrapped around his waist and my arms were around his neck. I knew that Joe wasn't a fan of PDA but this moment was too good, and there were barely any people in the bleachers anyways.

“You’re not allowed to leave me for that long again.” - you

“Never again sweetheart. I'll take you with me if I have to.” - Joe

“I love you.” - you

“I love you too…. so much.” - Joe whispered

A few moments of just hugging later, I spoke up.

“Can you walk us up to my mom? I don't want to let go yet.” - you

“Of course.” - Joe chuckled

My grip on him tightened as he easily started walking in his usual loose-hipped strides.

Climbing the stairs wasn't a problem for him either with me in his arms, Joe was taking two steps at a time.

“Hey Joe!” - your mom

“Hey! It's good to see you.” - Joe

“I don't know if you can tell, but she's missed you a lot.” - your mom

“I think I picked up on that.” - Joe chuckled

Joe gently lowered me onto the bleacher and plopped down next to me. We always sat at the top so we could sit against the wall of chain fencing.

I couldn't help but admire how cute he looked right now. Joe was wearing light grey sweatpants with a dark grey sweatshirt and flannel over top of it. The white backward hat was the icing on the cake.

“You're so handsome, Joe.” - you laid your head on his shoulder

“You say that all the time, baby.” - Joe smiled

“Because I mean it.” - you

Joe looked down at me with a large smile and kissed my forehead. One of his arms looped around my waist as he pulled away.

“Well, you're pretty gorgeous yourself.” - Joe

Feeling my cheeks heating up, I hid my face in his neck. Joe would usually try to make me blush more, but he was enjoying the heat of your red cheeks against his cold neck.

My mom handed Joe a blanket to which he gave her a thankful smile before draping it over our legs.

“You warm?” - Joe

“Mhm. You emit a lot of heat.” - you giggled

“Good.” - Joe

“By the way, you're going to have to activate your muscles and carry my bags to your car later. I have a few.” - you

“I’ll start warming them up.” - Joe joked

My mom laughed along with me and I couldn't feel any happier in that moment.

——

I knew Joe would cheer the boys on, but I didn't expect him to be jumping up, yelling, warning the defense when the other team was doing a pass play, and so much more.

This one time specifically, the game was kind of getting slow so I was falling asleep on Joe’s shoulder. My brother’s team got a touchdown and Joe abruptly jumped, waking me up in the process.

“Sorry, my love.” - Joe sat back down and pulled you back into his chest

The scene made me wonder about my future with Joe. Maybe one day we’ll be doing the same thing with our own son.

“I'm so proud of Tommy. He acts so maturely football-wise for his age.” - Joe

His statement sealed my previous thought. There will be a future for us, and maybe I'm right about us cheering on our future son.

——

Come halftime, my dad’s team was up 12-0.

“Joey.” - you nudged your boyfriend, who was deep into a conversation with your mom.

“Mhm?” - Joe

“Can you get me some hot chocolate from the concession stand?” - you

“Of course. I'll be right back. Do you want anything to snack on?” - Joe

“Mm, no I'm okay. Thank you! I love you!” - you

Joe stood up and moved the blanket onto me more before placing a kiss on my cheek.

“I love you too.” - Joe grinned and walked away

A few minutes later, Joe walked back with a drink carrier and a paper bag in his other hand.

“What is all of that?” - you laughed

He handed me and my mom a hot chocolate before setting one down for himself.

“You said you didn't want a snack but I know that means you wanted one.” - Joe handed you the bag

Gosh, he knew me so well. After giving Joe an appreciative smile I opened the bag to find three chocolate chip cookies.

“There was an older lady up there selling baked goods so I thought I'd snag a couple cookies. You can have one if you want to, y/m/n.” - Joe

“Well aren't you sweet.” - your mom took a cookie from you as you handed it to her

My mom happily munched on her cookie and I couldn't help but laugh at my own thoughts.

“What?” - Joe

“You're trying to impress my parents, huh?” - you

“Well, I’m taking you three hours away for a week! I want them to know you're safe staying at my place.” - Joe

That's probably what I'm most looking forward to out of this whole day. After the game is over, I'm going with Joe to Cincinnati where I'll be staying at his house for the week since it's their Bye.

“Joey, they already know that. I wouldn't be going if they didn't. Also, I'm an adult I can do what I want!” - you

“Babe. I know you're an adult. I just don't want them to be wary because I'm an older guy.” - Joe

“Joseph, you're seven years older stop acting like you're forty.” - you

Joe rolled his eyes but I scooted closer to him and threw the blanket over his lap.

“You're allowed to want to impress my parents, but don't feel like you have to. They love you, because I love you.” - you

My heart did pretty much the exact opposite of the rest of my body and warmed deeply when Joe placed a tiny kiss on the tip of my nose. It was a signal that he didn't know what to say back in the moment but appreciated my statement.

——

“Joe!” - Tommy ran out of the gate and up to Joe, who had his arms open for your brother

The team had won, thankfully and now we were all standing and waiting for the kids to get out of their post-game huddle.

I couldn't put into words how I felt when I watched Joe hug Tommy like his own brother. It was so sweet and I'd never felt so in love.

“You’ve got one good man, y/n.” - your mom

“I know.” - you grinned

My eyes drifted from my mom’s smiling face back down to my boyfriend, the love of my life, hyping up my little brother over a couple of his receptions.

That's when I knew Joe was the one.

————————————————————————-

Authors note: the fourth day of Christmassss

Guys who is she… consistently updating like this…

This fic came from my own mind! 🤍

Hope you enjoyed! 🫶

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 124 (Ash Meets the Old Man)

"Of course I can see you! Why shouldn't I? You don't look like a ghost like Felix Psyded."

"I don't know who that is."

"He only used to be a ghost, but now he's a lawyer and a friend of my mom and Conrad."

Ben perked up, standing as his dog came bounding up the path. "You know Conrad Gordon?"

Ash followed the old man, kneeling to greet the friendly Chesapeake Bay retriever. "Yeah, he's my stepdad. Do you know Conrad?"

The old man nodded happily. "We met not too long ago," he said. "Your stepdad's a good man."

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers, but it's a good thing you know Conrad, because now you're not a stranger anymore! So if you're lonely on Love Day, I can hang out with you. My name's Ash and I'm eight and a half."

"Is that what today is? No wonder I've seen so many lovers circling the lighthouse." He grinned, staring wistfully out to sea. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ash. I'm Ben, and this is my dog."

"You don't know today's Love Day?"

He shook his head. "I haven't celebrated Love Day in a long, long time. Not since I was a teenager."

"I can help you celebrate! I even made tissue paper flowers, if you want them." Ash's excitement faded when he opened his backpack. "Oh no! My math textbook crushed the flowers."

Ben offered a warm smile and the dog rushed to his side. "Oh, that's okay. I'm not sure I have a place to put flowers, anyway."

Ash liked the old man. He was nice and felt like a friend already. "What's your dog's name?"

"His name's Captain Whitaker. He's the only friend I need on Love Day, really."

Ash smiled. "That's nice! We have three pets at home. There's Mayor Whiskers and Queen Cupcake - those are the cats. And Gord is our dog. He's the best dog ever."

The retriever barked and Ben smiled. "Captain Whitaker says he's pretty amazing, too."

"It seems like he is!" Ash gave Captain Whitaker another squeeze, slipping him a Buttercup treat that he kept in his backpack for his own pets.

"The Captain's not competitive. He loves other dogs, kids...anyone, really," the old man mused. "He'd love if you and Conrad brought Gord out to play one afternoon. Especially now that the weather will be warm soon."

Ash heard the foghorn behind them and remembered the time. "That's a great idea! But I should get the next ferry home before my mom starts to worry where I am."

The old man nodded as Ash gathered his things to head to the docks, still a little sad about the crushed flowers. "See you again, lad."

"Bye, Mr. Ben. Have a nice Love Day with Captain Whitaker!"

The old man and his dog waved him off and he returned to the mainland, running inside to find his mother. "There you are. I thought you'd be home from school already."

"I stayed to talk to an old man named Ben because I thought he was lonely, but he was just spending the day with his dog."

"You saw Ben?"

"Do you know Ben, too? He said he knew Conrad so I knew he wasn't a stranger."

She was at a loss for words, unsure how much to tell him about the old man without talking to Conrad first. Conrad and Ash could both see Ben and his dog, though Ash didn't seem to think they were spectres at all. But Conrad could be weird about ghosts, and Heather didn't want to say the wrong thing.

"Did you shake the man's hand?" she wondered.

Ash shook his head. "No, but I played with his dog. Captain Whitaker was really nice. I bet he'd get along great with Gord and the cats!"

"I bet he would, but it's time to get cleaned up for dinner. I'm making spaghetti with Dulce sauce tonight."

Ash ran upstairs, excited for pasta with his favourite tomato sauce, while Heather grew even more anxious for Conrad to get home from Sulani. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 2.1 Summary

Gen 1 Start | Gen 1 Summary

NOTE: EA wants to reanimate the dog before I can do it myself with ambrosia treats? Fine. That's still the plan, but we're working with this a little since I already made it canon that ghosts can look corporeal, thanks to Ben! But the notion that Ash can see and interact with them when no one but Conrad has previously done so only came about after the random Love Day pop-up, when Ben was the first old man in a park on Deadgrass Isle (where my headcanon puts the school) who came to mind.

WHY can Ash see Ben? It might be obvious once it's revealed, but I love all your theories so far!

WCIF: The functional backpack build/buy item by Cassity Simmer was placed with TOOL for this and the previous installment, and I felt it was necessary because of the pop-up. It acts like a storage trunk and sits anywhere in world or on desks/tables, with lots of swatches!

[wonderful-writers-au]

Why Can't You Stop Part 2 (NSFW)

Sociopath!Ethan Landry X Innocent!F!reader

W/C - 1.5 K

Summary - You've started to notice some recent chnges in Ethans behavior towards you and he can't help but watch you from afar.

Warnings - Making out, kinda foreplay but like nothing happens, fluff, kinda smut, angst, stalking, perv ethan, inno but kinda bimbo y/n, blood and gore, underage drinking, mentions of stalking

A/N - I'm open to requests guys!

*first part

*last partt (COMING SOON)

You couldn't deny it, ever since that moment on your porch with Ethan, everything has been awkward, well for you anyways. Ethan hasn't said a word and it's been three weeks since everything happened. You wanted him to talk to you about it.

"Y/N, what's up? you've been awfully quiet today." Tara notes, everyone at the dinner table then looks at you, all the conversation in the dining room coming to a complete stop. You hated how he was just sitting there and having a conversation with anyone but you.

"Nothing, it's just...there's someone on this table who won't even fucking talk to me, and I don't know what the hell I did!" You half yell. Ethan's eyes go wide in shock as he squirms in his chair. You get up and sigh. "I'm tired, I'm going home, bye guys."

"Oh, bye..." Mindy trails off, as you start to leave and start to close the door, someone's doc martins stop the door from fully closing. "Ethan, please, just leave me be." You say and he chuckles.

"You know I could never do that." He says in a dark tone as he starts to walk with you. "Look, about me not taking to you...you're a distraction Y/N, a big one and there's some big shit going on and I can't date you, it'll get in the way of everything."

"You could've told me that two or possibly one week ago, but now! I thought I did something wrong! I thought I fucked up and you hated me! But no, it's because your too worried about some big thing you have going on!" You rant, you didn't even care how selfish that sounded to yourself. He should've told you.

"Look, I know, but let me walk you home." He asks and you nod. You were terrified of New York streets at night, all the alley ways and homeless people who your parents taught you that they'll kidnap you if you're walking on the streets alone at night. Horrible plan really, now your terrified of them in general.

The rest of the walk to your little apartment is silent, until you get to the door. "Shit, I forgot my keys and Chad is staying over at Sam's, can I chill here?" Ethan asks. You slightly grimace at the idea of him staying over. You don't want him to kiss you and never talk to you for ages again. You nod your head and open the door.

Why couldn't Ethan just stay over at Sam's as well? "I was probably just going to watch a movie, if you wanted to join, you could...if you wanted too." You say to Ethan as you shift on your feet, the tension thickening in the air.

"Yeah, sure! Thanks for the offer." Ethan smiles and you smile awkwardly. As you both get settled in on the couch, you play a random movie as you both are on the other ends of the couch, furthest away from each other. "Look, Y/N, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have ghosted you and I certainly should've talked to you."

You sigh a little and he moves closer to you on the couch and grabs your hand. He slowly starts to caress the back of your head with his thumb lightly. "You really should've." You squeak. He pouts a little and then shifts his position so he's facing you directly. He then moves his hand up to your cheek, watching you carefully. Unwantedly, butterflies flutter in your stomach making you regret everything about this decision. His face slowly leans in and closes the gap of space between you both and his lips meet yours.

You kiss him back and let the pleasure take over you. He cups the back of your neck, and he slides his tongue across your bottom lip, slowly but surely, earning a light moan from you. You were going insane, he touches you, treats you like a precious piece of stone and then degrades you when he feels like it. And some reason why, you lusted for it, every bit of attention he could give you wanted. As he lightly pulls of his shirt and then starts to unbutton yours, you grab his neck and kiss his jawline.

As your shirt is fully of your body, Tara slams the door open with Chad, Mindy and Anika and she screams "Party time Y/N! Shit- Sorry did I interrupt something?" You and Ethan scurry off each other and just like that, his other side hides away again. You weren't ready for the next moments of the day.

You got ready in your room with Tara and Mindy, Anika was getting snacks in your kitchen. "So, are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?" Mindy says. "Yeah, Ethan's boner." Tara laughs and I stare at her wide eyed. Mindy laughs a little. "When? When did this start? We need details"

"I don't know, a couple weeks ago he came to my apartment and we kissed." You shrug. Mindy looks shocked and Tara looks confused. "Wait- virgin, shy, would never kiss a girl, Ethan?" Mindy asks and I nod. "But he wasn't like that, he was brave, endearing and kind of psychotic."

"That's crazy." Anika says, walking in with a bowl of chips. "No, cause like he doesn't seem like that kind of guy." You smile a little and nod. "He really doesn't." You smile.

You all arrive to the party, everything becoming a blur as a red cup gets placed in your hands and quickly gets switched out for a new one once you've finished.

After a while, you start to notice a blonde guy in the corner, taking a slow interest in you, staring at you, biting his lip when he looks at you and he slowly starts to walk his way over. "Hey, wanna dance?" The guy asks, you shake your head, having a slight feeling that you know how this is going to pan out.

"No thank you, I'm just going to stand here and wait for my boyfriend." You lie, it wasn't a full lie, you were waiting for Ethan, and you wanted to talk to him about what you guys were. Someone's hands crawl around your waist and a pair of lips attach to your neck.

"Hey babyy." Ethan slurs from behind you, "Please don't give my girlfriend anymore trouble bro, or tomorrow morning there'll be an ice pack on your face." The guy puts his hands up in the air defenselessly and walks away. You giggle lightly and turn around and you wrap your arms around Ethan's neck. Your lips meet with Ethan's and you couldn't contain yourself to a slight moan as the alcohol or your reaction to all this fizzles in the pit of your stomach.

You smile as you pull away and smirk, "Want to ditch and go back to my place?" He asks and you shake your head. "Nope, I'm here for Tara and the girls, I am here for them." "Then, meet me up in the first bedroom in ten minutes, there will be a great surprise for you." He winks as he pulls away from you and walks up the stairs.

After about ten minutes of finishing two drinks, you start to walk up the stairs, you also start to realize that you haven't seen the blonde guy ever since that thing between him and Ethan. You open the door to the first bathroom and your eyes open wide in shock.

The blonde was there, you close the door as blood was everywhere, his body was teared apart, and he was eating his own eyes as trails of blood flowed down his face and you can't help but scream. There ghost face was in all his glory and as the mask was removed, you gasp.

The curly haired boy you had just kissed was behind the mask. "E-Ethan, why?" You ask, terrified of all the possibilities of what could happen to you. The knife was still in his hands, and it was same one from that night on the porch, people died that night as well from an infamous ghost face killer.

"Well, baby, let me start from the start." He half slurs. He walks around you and starts playing with strands of your hair. You flinch at him touching you. "When I saw you for the first time, I knew you were the one for me baby, I started watching you, stealing things of yours, then my, what you call them, my co-workers were going on about killing you and we just couldn't have that, you mean way too much to me."

He then places kisses on your neck and traces the knife across your cheek, blood spreading from the blonde that was in front of you. "So, I killed them, it wasn't a part of the plan, baby. But I knew you'd be safe. You're just so trusting and it's sad to see people hit on you and you just fucking stand there, so I killed all of them, it really helped me get rid of my anger."

You sob as you see the dead person in front of you. "Why would you kill people for me?" You ask and Ethan chuckles. "Because...baby...you're like a drug."

🎯 = @idky5 @acornacreacure @nowitsmissing @1950schick

[kithtaehyung]

3tan slice:

yoongi watching reader get ready 🍊

stopppp i love this :((( this is for the 3tan yoongi and irl yoongi missers (at least, one of the things i have planned<;333)

"How about this one?"

Oh, you're back already. Adjusting his arm, Yoongi lifts his head to check his phone screen, wondering if you're gonna pass up this next dress too despite him liking the hell out of it.

"Is that new?"

Your smile is truly one of his favorite things.

"Yeah! Got it when I went shopping with Yuri. Well. She made me get it."

When you pout, do you know how it affects him?

Yoongi just huffs through his nose, settling into the crook of his elbow and letting the warmth of afternoon coat his shoulder. Casting a quick look out his blinds, he wishes you were here instead, coming in and out of another closet that comes to mind.

"Is it bad? Damn."

"Huh?" Shit, he never answered out loud. "Nah, that's the one."

"Oh, okay. You didn't say anything."

Still his problem. A million thoughts, with nowhere to go. "Sorry, doll. Just thinking."

You're in the middle of undressing offscreen, which is yet another thing he finds incredibly endearing. He can only see one of your elbows peek into the frame as you question,

"Work again?"

"You," he corrects, full of sleepiness and void of hesitation.

"Oh."

Eyes fully shut, Yoongi doesn't lift them again until you fetch for another opinion. Which is longer than he expects because you go fully silent for a bit.

"Okay, how's this?"

His eyes flicker open seconds before his heart skips.

Fuck.

He hasn't felt his chest beat like that in a minute.

Are words coming out this time? Or is his tongue as uncooperative as his brain? Why can't he say the simplest shit when you're just standing in front of him? Fuck, he can't even articulate anything but he just knows you're fucking beautiful.

When the hell did you steal his voice, too?

"I'll let you sleep," you whisper, and he hates how down you sound because should never have a reason to feel that way. "Just text me when you can, yeah?"

If he can't say how he feels, Yoongi goes for the second option. And he's not letting that one fail. "Come over when you're done."

"Wait, what?"

He adjusts his head again, slanting a bit higher to admire everything about you. "After your dinner."

"You need to sleep..."

Why are you so considerate when it comes to him? What did he ever do to deserve anything you're willing to give? He's thought about these things so much that they take up most of his sleepless, tired nights. "You're gonna keep me up looking like that anyway."

"But.. what about.."

"I won't take long."

"You sure?"

"No."

God. Yoongi will never, ever get over the ways you try to hide that shyness. There's no way he can stop his grin, and when you make him swear it will be quick, he also can't stop himself from teasing yet again,

"Depends on how long you last."

"Alright, bye," you deadpan, giving him sweet rejection and hitting him where it hurts so good. But you smile once more, agreeing to come over but only for a tiny, tiny bit.

"That's all I need, doll."

"Prove it."

Oh.

He intends to.

Because you can make him speechless for now.

But when it comes to showing you how he feels?

There's no way you're shutting his ass up.

-

-

3tanslices: mini-scenarios!

series: three tangerines

[littlemissmentallyunstable]

title: the mysterious blonde (PART 2)

pairing: grayson hawthorne x (first person) reader

synopsis: you are gigi’s best friend and you’re working on a project together… but her mysterious brother grayson hawthorne seems to be around every corner lately, it’s like you can’t avoid him… not that you’re complaining because maybe, just maybe you have a little thing for him…

parts: PART 1 PART 2 PART 3

warnings:

a/n: there is a first part to this story, so if I were you I’d check that one out first… and there is also a third part when you finish this one… this part is also very long, so apologies. thank you for reading :)

tag list: there is not tag list but let me know if you want to be on it :)

Gigi and I work on the project for a couple more hours after dinner but when it was getting a little too late I knew I needed to go.

“You know you can just sleep over,” Gigi says.

“I know but I need to get home tonight, maybe another time,” I reply, gathering my things.

“I have a spare toothbrush if that’s what you’re worried about,” she reassured me, “and it’s not been used at all.”

I laugh, she knows me too well, “no it’s not just that but thanks for letting me know. I promise I’ll stay another night just not tonight.”

“Okay,” she pouts, “but I’ll miss you.”

“I’m literally going to see you tomorrow,” I say.

Gigi gasps holding her heart, “no! Not tomorrow! That’s so long away!”

She falls backwards into her bed and plays dead.

I laugh, “you’ll survive.”

She sits up, her wide eyes looking almost impossible to say no to, “It’ll be difficult.”

“You’ll manage,” I chuckle as together we walk down the stairs.

“Are you sure you can’t stay?” she asks one last time.

I nod sadly, then notice Savannah in the living room.

I poke my head in, “bye Savannah, see you soon.”

“Bye Y/N,” she winks at me, blowing me a kiss. I pretend to catch in the air and touch my cheek. She grins widely at me and sends me off with a quick wave. I make my way back towards the door, pulling my shoes on. I’m tying my laces when a voice comes from behind me.

“Are you leaving?”

I turn around and there he is. Grayson.

I nod, standing up straight, “gotta get some sleep.”

“Are you going to be okay on your own? It’s dark out,” he says, sounding almost concerned. It makes me want to kiss him even more.

“Oh yeah I’ll be find don’t worry,” I curse the words leaving my lips and curse myself for saying them

“I don’t mind taking you back, I’m going back to my home anyway,” he offers again.

“I don’t want to be any trouble,” I smiled shyly, tucking the loose strands of hair out of the way.

“You wouldn’t be,” he murmurs quietly, softly. I almost melt right there and then on the spot but pull myself together quickly to give an appropriate reply.

“It’s okay, I’ve done the journey a thousand times, I’m sure I’ll survive,” I assure him.

Now why the hell did I say that? I mentally kick myself for giving up time with that beautiful thing and make sure I have everything, that’s when I realise what I’m missing.

“Oh shoot, I forgot my jumper,” I groan aloud, knowing I’ll have to take my shoes off and put them back on all over again.

“I’ll go and grab it,” Grayson offers.

“It’s okay I can-“

“No I’ve got it, the grey one right?” he makes sure.

My face flushes, he remebers what I wore, “yeah that one.”

I want to jump up and down and do a happy dance but I manage to stop myself. Feeding into my delusions I convince myself that he definitely memorised the colour of my jumper because he’s madly in love with me not just because he’s a regular person who’s seen me in the last two hours who can recollect the colour of jumper. Grayson returns within a few moments holding my jumper. He walks towards me. It’s probably the closest I’ve been to him all night. It’s only now I notice how nice he smells. Not that I was sniffing him but he was naturally giving off the smell of his cologne, how I hoped to be giving off my perfume.

“Thank you so much,” I smile bashfully as he hands he the jumper. Our hands brush for a fraction of a second and I think my heart stops beating. I know this moment will replay non stop in my mind until there is twelve fanfiction and several movies made about the slightest of contact.

“You’re most welcome,” he says, “it was nice to meet you.”

“Yeah you too,” I reply, “… well goodbye, for now.”

“Goodbye for now,” he repeats, retreating to wherever he came.

I wipe the idiotic grin off of my face and turn back to Gigi, who’d I forgotten was standing there the whole time. And I suddenly felt guilty for that but brushed it off to say my goodbyes. It was then she asked me a question.

“So what did you think of my brother?”

“He seemed nice,” I say, except he was a bit more than nice to me. He was a gentleman who was sweet and really hot and irresistibly poetic. I wanted nothing more than to run my fingers through his golden hair and kiss him with the much passion his lips would burn and his eyes would water… but of course I couldn’t tell Gigi that.

“I think he liked you,” she says,

“What?” I exclaim a little too loudly, my eyes wide, my heart racing in anticipation and excitement and maybe even fear,

“I think he thought you were really nice too and he definitely approves of you as my friend,” she adds.

I’d clearly gotten the wrong end of the stick. Now I felt entirely stupid for believing for a second that someone like him could ever like someone like me.

“Oh,” I say trying to stop my sinking heart and to not sound too disappointed, “that’s good then.”

Gigi nods, “same again tomorrow?”

“You got it girl,” I nod.

She hugs me tightly and kisses my forehead, before softly booping my nose, “see you later alligator.”

I do the same to her, replying with, “in a while crocodile.”

***

That night I lay in my bed and I couldn’t stop thinking about Grayson Hawthorne. Everything about him was on my mind. And oh his voice. It replayed over and over like a broken record but I didn’t care. It actually soothed me, made me feel calmer. I could see in my mind every inch of his perfect face. The exact few flecks of blue in his stormcloud eyes when the light hits them right, the way his eyelashes are darker than his golden hair and the fact that he wore a single silver band on his middle finger.

The next few days I’d go to Gigi’s hoping Grayson would be there too. But the next day he wasn’t, much to my disappointment. Gigi and I worked on the project all through the afternoon and evening and yet he failed to make an appearance. I left feeling somewhat unfulfilled and disappointed. Even though I didn’t see him in person though, I did see him that night. I never dreamed vividly but that night I had the most spectacular dream I’ve ever had. It was like I had some obsessive disorder over the guy, I cared so much he was not infecting my sleep. I’d dreamed of us sitting on a sunset beach in each other’s arms, discussing a future that revolved around our love for one another.

When I wake up suddenly and sit up straight in my bed. I come to a realisation. I just might be in love with Grayson Hawthorne.

***

On Friday, I sleep over, just as I had promised Gigi. After finishing the project and then possibly having a dance party in celebration, we feel straight to sleep in her bed. I am awoken by nothing in particular and roll over. Gigi is still asleep, her limbs spread across the entirety of the bed, even my side, snoring in the most adorable way. I smile and then lay back into my back staring up at the plain, empty ceiling. I decide that I need a cup of tea. I’m comfortable enough with everyone in this house to know that I shouldn’t be shy to make myself a cup of tea in the morning. I was often over at Gigi’s house and everyone living here was constantly reminding me to just grab whatever I wanted when I wanted it. I crawl over Gigi’s body, careful not to land on her or wake her. Not that it would be possible, she was such a deep sleeper, I doubted an earthquake could wake her.

Once I’d made my way out of the bed, I pulled a pair of socks on and left the room. I didn’t bother to brush my hair or wash my face, presuming I’d just walk back up after my tea was ready. I yawn, walking down the stairs lazily, in attempts to get to the kitchen. I slowly grab a mug from the cupboard and put the kettle on to boil.

“Good morning.”

The voice is so surprising that I jump out my skin, screaming aloud. I spin around, clutching my chest, breathing heavily to recover from the initial shock. None other than Grayson Hawthorne is standing behind me shirtless… fucking shirtless. It was 6am in the morning and this man looks like some sort of glowing Greek god in contrast to me who has raccoon eyes and a rat’s nest for hair.

“Sorry if I startled you,” he says soothingly.

I let a breath out, “oh, no worries. Just didn’t expect anyone to be here.”

I run my finger through in attempt to tame the knotted mess and quickly brush the sleep from my eyes, suddenly realising I was standing there in my pyjamas. I try and not let my face heat up as I lean on the kitchen side.

“I thought you were only Wednesdays?” I say, tilting my head slightly.

“I wanted to stay for the weekend, my brothers are all off elsewhere and it’s nice to spend some time with my sisters,” he explains.

Suddenly I feel guilty… was I stealing him away from his sisters?

“Sorry if I’m getting in the way,” I say.

“Oh no no no, not like that,” he says quickly, “it’s nice to spend time with you too, I’ve missed so much of their lives so even the little things like getting to know who my sisters friends are, are important moments for me.”

“Oh… thanks…” I reply awkwardly as the kettle finishes boiling, “okay so I’m going to make some tea, care for any?”

“Yes, actually,” he nods, smiling slightly, “I was just going to do that.”

“Do you drink tea a lot?” I ask, trying not to cringe at my own horrible small talk skills.

“A cup every morning,” Grayson replies, “you?”

“Exactly the same,” I smile.

I make the two mugs of tea in silence, feeling his eyes pinned to my every move. It made me nervous that he was staring so intently. I discover that he too only takes a splash of milk in his tea and no sugar. We stand together, leaning on the counters, drinking our cups of tea.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable last night at dinner,” he says.

“Last night?” I ask, trying to recall the dinner, “oh I’d literally forgotten, it’s okay”

He nods and takes a delicate sip of tea, then begins to say, “Y/N-“

“Morning.”

I turn to see Savannah waking through the door in full sports gear, holding her training bag. Her hair was in a dutch plait the went into a ponytail. She freezes when she sees both me, in my pyjamas, and a shirtless Grayson, standing together drinking tea in her kitchen. Savannah gaze flicks between me and Grayson a few time before narrows her eyes at me. I subtly shake my head, knowing what she was presuming. Her eyebrow quivers upwards but I ignore it.

“Morning,” Grayson replies, “did you sleep okay?”

“Fine,” she says quickly, “I see you two are getting acquainted.”

She stares me down accusingly and I sigh, “yes, well it’s nice to meet my best friends’ brother.”

“Maybe a bit more than nice,” she murmurs under her breath so I can hear but Grayson can’t.

“Not true,” I whisper.

“How long have you been up anyway?” she asks, directing the question at Grayson.

“About half an hour,” he says.

“I’m off to train, see you guys later,” she says, grabbing some food and water before heading out of the door.

Neither me nor Grayson dare to say anything else. Empty space hangs in the air and there’s something we both want to say but are too cowardly to do so.

“She doesn’t like me talking to you,” he says, being the brave one of the two of us.

“Oh?” I question, playing dumb.

“I don’t know why but she doesn’t,” he shrugs.

“Oh that’s a shame,” I say, “does that mean you’re going to stop talking to me?”

“Well I never said that,” Grayson replies, “I’m not someone who does something based on others likes or dislikes and I don’t intend to start today.”

“That’s good then,” I smile, taking another swig of my now lukewarm tea.

He smiles back softly and I hear my heart thumping in my ears. In this moment words aren’t needed, conversation is unnecessary, talking seems silly. Because everything is carried in our eyes and our smiles that we can’t seem to shake. I take in his beauty again and enjoy this silent moment. His eyes and glued to mine and neither of us can seem to physically turn away at this point in time.

Interrupting the moment was a small voice attached to a sleepy face and oversized teddy-bear slippers, “am I the last up?”

Gigi trudged into the kitchen also in her pyjamas, one sleeve falling off of her shoulder. Her loose braids had nearly completely falling out, baby hairs flying everywhere. She looked the most tired out of all of us despite getting the most sleep. Grayson and I immediately turn our eyes away from one another.

“Of course,” I tease her, poking my tongue out.

“Where’s Savannah then?” she counters, arms folded, eyebrows raised.

“At training,” I reply, “you just missed her.”

“Gray? I didn’t realise you were coming so early,” she remarks, finally noticing his presence.

“Savannah let me in,” he says, “I’m going to go and get ready now.”

“Okay, see you later,” she replies, with a lopsided grin.

I watch as he walks out and as he turns back and makes eye contact with me, sending my heart fluttering. Gigi sighs and then picks up a cookbook on the side, “do you know what I’m thinking?”

“Chocolate chip pancakes?”

“You know me so well,” she says, her face breaking out into a wide smile.

“Let’s get cooking,” I say, grabbing the spatula sitting on the side.

***

Gigi and I would like to think of ourselves as somewhat pro chefs when in reality we’d make a mess, have a laugh and produce something somewhat edible. It may not always look edible but it always seemed to taste delicious. This morning our chocolate chip pancakes came out in questionable shapes and sizes but were fluffy and delicious.

“I swear we should enter a cooking show,” Gigi tells me, looking like she’d entered heaven at the first bite.

“And make chocolate chip pancakes?” I chuckle.

“What’s wrong with that? Who doesn’t love choclate chip pancakes,” she replies.

“Judges on cooking shows,” I reply, “besides look how dilapidated they look.”

“But the taste is so good,” she says, her eyes wide, almost bursting with enjoyment.

“That is one thing I can agree with,” I nod, shovelling another forkful of goodness into my mouth.

At that moment Grayson walks in and we pause conversation. He is now dressed in a suit that compliments just about any and every angle of the man. The suit had clearly tailored just to his body type. How could he be so overdressed yet act so casual? As if this were the norm. Maybe it was for him. It certainly was making me and Gigi look very uncouth still in our pyjamas.

“We made pancakes,” Gigi tells him proudly, “you should try them, they’re like eating liquid gold.”

“Liquid gold doesn’t sound all that appetising,” he replies.

Gigi groans, “just try this.”

She stands up and puts a bit of pancake into her brother’s mouth. He has no choice but to try it now. He chews thoughtfully and swallows. And suddenly I’m nervous and I don’t even know why because it’s just a pancake. Just a chocolate chip pancake that I’d baked with my best friend and I was absolutely petrified of what Grayson would think.

“They’re actually really good,” he nods.

I take a breath of relief and feel stupid for feeling so worried over a damn pancake.

“See?” she says.

“I’m going out for a walk,” Grayson tells her, “I’ll be back in in an hour, alright?”

“Okay,” Gigi nods.

“Anyone need anything,” he asks.

“No,” she replies.

“Y/N?”

I startle at my own name and startle even more when I realise he cared enough to ask me.

I look up and smile, praying my blush wasn’t as bold as I felt it was, “no thank you.”

He nods and leaves. I listen as the door shuts and his footsteps fade. When I turn back to Gigi she’s grinning widely and staring right at me.

“What?” I ask her, my tone flat and bored.

“You like him!” she exclaims.

“No I don’t,” I lie.

“How did you know who I was talking about?” she grins, backing me into a corner.

“Because the only ‘him’ around just walked out of this house,” I say, keeping my cool. She could not find out.

“Okay but you like him,” she presses on.

“I don’t Gigi,” I state, more harshly than I’d intended.

“Yes you do!” she tells me.

“Yes I do,” I groan, giving up on keeping this pathetic lie going on any longer.

“Oh my sparkling rainbow gumdrops you like him, you like him, you like him,” she yells, disguarding her beloved pancakes.

“Scream it even louder Gigi I don’t think the aliens Jupiter quite heard you,” I hiss.

“Sorry but this is the biggest piece of news in my life,” she squeals practically bouncing up and down, “my best friend likes my brother.”

“He cannot know,” I warn, my tone sincere and dangerous.

“My lips are sealed,” she grins, miming locking her lips and throwing away the key.

“I mean it Gigi,” I say.

“I know you do,” she says sincerely before she breaks out into a large smile, “you two would actually look so cute together! Oh my flying sea-lions and leprechauns when you guys get married we’ll be sisters!”

“Woah woah woah, slow down,” I say with a nervous laugh. Leave it to Gigi to start envisaging a whole lifetime of us together.

“Can’t,” she tells me, “I’m already picturing the wedding.”

“Gigi!” I exclaim.

“And your children,” she cries, clutching the left side of her chest melodramatically, “oh they’d be so cute,”

“Oh my-“

“I think we should get some coffee and discuss your future,” she says, a bit too seriously for my liking

“You are not going anywhere near coffee espeically not now and there is no future,” I reply, “I like him sure, but nothing will come of it I’m sure. He’s probably got his eye on some pretty, smart, rich girl.”

“I ship you too hard for him to fall for a pretty, smart, rich girl,” she says, “besides why would he rather that than a drop-dead gorgeous, kind and funny girl, he’s really missing out if you ask me.”

“Thanks Gigi, but I don’t think it’s happening,” I sigh

“That’s a shame because I already had so many dress options to show you,” Gigi explains, “there’s literally a whole catalogue upstairs.”

“You are mental,” I laugh.

“But you love me,” she smile sweetly.

“But I love you,” I reply.

a/n: I promise there is way more grayson x reader action in PART 3 but I hope you enjoyed this anyways :)

more fics like this on my TIG masterlist

[beebeetheclown]

Hey! I have an imagine request for domonic from banshees

Hi thank you for this request💕

I was obsessed with Barry’s character in this film and am happy to write about him for you though I don’t write many imagines but I hope I did this right and you enjoy it🥰

Dominic Kearney Imagine

Dominic Kearney x reader

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~🌿~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Living alone had its pros and cons. You liked the quiet and it was just easier in general to live alone, but if you ever planned to go out for a long period of time, you always had to find someone to look over the house and take care of the three cows you had. You didn’t trust a lot of the people around you, you worried that they’d steal something when you were away or that they would do a poor job of looking after the cows. Dominic was the only one you really seemed to trust.

He didn’t live far from you, so you thought it wouldn’t be that much of a bother to make him be the one to guard the house and cows while you were away. He was always happy to do it as it always gave him something to do; he grew bored quite often.

As the two of you got to know each other more, he would sometimes stop by your house without telling you that he was coming over. He’d knock on the door and he would have a smile on his face every time you would open it for him.

“I hope I’m not being a bother to you.” He would say. You’d let him come into the house as he would keep you company wherever you felt lonely. Sometimes, you would let him stay for dinner or while you did house work. He talked a lot, sometimes he talked so much that he would just ramble on and on and you wouldn’t even really pay attention, you’d just nod your head and act like you were listening to him.

One time, he came out to help you with the cows. He pet them and helped you feed them. He helped you name the three cows, calling them Ferguson, Penelope, and Leonard. As he was petting Ferguson a thought came up and he shared it without thinking, it was a thing he always did, he would share his thoughts out loud without thinking first,

“Have you ever thought about having one of these guys for dinner? Ferguson looks like he'd make a good burger.”

“Dominic! Bloody hell, not ever have I thought like that.”

“Right, sorry, sorry. It was just a thought I had I guess. What’s for dinner anyways?”

“I don’t know, ask your father.”

“Can’t I just stay here? I’m sure you’re cooking up something better than my daddy.”

“Dominic, you have been staying for dinner for the past three days, I think it’s time you go back to your own place for dinner.”

He scratched the back of his head, “Yeah, okay, I guess you’re right. My daddy will probably like me to eat with him anyways. He always gets bored easily that one.” He took his hand off Ferguson and began to walk towards the gate, “Well, if you’re not having me for dinner, I guess I should be heading off then.”

“Okay, good bye Dominic.”

“Goodbye, do you think I could come by tomorrow?”

“Oh, I don’t know, I have quite a lot to do.”

“I could always help you out.”

“We’ll see okay? Now you get back home.”

He nodded his head a little, “Alright, I’ll get back home, Goodbye again.”

“Goodbye.”

He began to walk back home now and you watched him leave. The truth was that you didn’t think you could bear to have another meal with him, he talked so much even when he had taken bites of his food. Dominic always had so much to say. You needed to eat dinner in silence for once. You did like Dominic, but he was just a bit much at times.

On that same day, he came back to see you just as you were cleaning up the dishes. He knocked on the door four times before he began to call your name then he knocked on the door again. He kept hollering and knocking until you had opened the door. It was a little dark out now as the sun had set, but you could still see the scars on his face. The scars were not there earlier that day.

“Dominic, what’s happened to your face?”

“My daddy didn’t really like me sayin’ that I didn’t like his cooking. I guess it made him a little angry.” He said with an awkward little giggle. “I know I wasn’t supposed to come here but I didn’t want to stay with him.”

“Come in, come in. Let me fix you up.” You put a hand on his shoulder and allowed him to step inside your small home, “Sit right at the table, I’ll clean you up.”

With your hand still on his shoulder, you guided him over to the table and pulled a chair out for him and he sat. You went to the sink and got a clean washcloth and ran it under the water before walking over to him. You sat right next to him at the table and faced him. You brought the cloth to his face and lightly dabbed where his scars were, wiping away the blood. His blue eyes watched yours the whole time you cleaned up his scars.

“I hope I’m not being a bother to you.” He said quietly, “I guess I just didn’t really know where else to go.”

“No, not at all, don’t worry about it. I am always here to help you Dominic.”

“But why?”

You lower the cloth down into your lap and smile at him, “You help me with things like taking care of my cows and looking after the house when I’m gone.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” You could tell he had something else t say but for once, he was hesitant.

“What is it?”

“What is what?”

“What is on your mind?”

“A lot of things.” He replied with a little grin, “Which would you like to know first.”

“You were hesitant about something, I could tell, what were you being so hesitant about.”

He inhaled, then let a sigh leave him, “I don’t know, you probably won’t like the idea very much.”

“Just tell me anyway.” You brought your thumb to brush over the scar that was on his cheek just below his eye.

It got quiet for a moment, “Do you think maybe I could, I don’t know, stay here for the night? My daddy is probably still angry with me for runnin’ out of the house, or he’s probably wanging himself to sleep.”

You couldn’t help but giggle a little at the last part, Dominic wasn’t very good at keeping private information to himself.

“Oh, I don’t know-”

“I can sleep right on that couch there, I won’t be a bother to you. I promise I don’t snore, at least I don’t think I do.”

You weren’t sure if you liked the idea of him spending the night, but you also didn’t want to force him to go back home, “Alright, but just for this one night and then you go back home.”

He got excited, “Really? No one’s ever let me have a sleepover before you know? Thank you!” He leaned over and gave you a hug. You were taken back by the hug at first but them hugged him back,

“Yes, you’re welcome, but just for this one night.”

“Just for this one night.” He repeated.

He got up when the hug ended and walked over to the small couch. He immediately lied down as soon as he got on it, “It is not as comfortable as I thought.”

“Well, would you rather sleep with the smelly old cows?”

“No, no. Don’t make me sleep with the cows. Here is just fine.” He sat up again, “It would be nice to have a blanket though.”

“This is no motel you know? I am not your servant.” You teased, “But I’ll get you some blankets, I won’t make you sleep cold.” You went to get him some extra blankets you had in your bedroom and when you brought them out to him, you sat down next to him, “I don’t have many extras, I hope this is enough.”

“I think it will be enough for me, thank you. I didn’t make you take blankets off of your bed did I?”

“No, I’ve got my own, you’re alright.” He fidgeted with his sleeves then looked at you deeply without saying anything, “What is it now?” You asked softly.

The next thing he did took you by surprise as you weren’t expecting it at all. He leaned in and kissed your lips. It was a very quick kiss; it was the type of kiss little elementary school children would give each other. You looked at him blankly, not knowing what to do or say.

“I’m sorry,” He said, “I’m sorry, that was silly of me wasn’t it?” He looked down at his lap then laughed a little, “I guess I’ve made a mistake haven’t I?”

You felt a little bad for him as you could tell he was embarrassed by his actions, “No, it’s okay. Don’t, uh, don’t worry about it.” The room got quiet for a moment, “I think I’ll be off to bed now.” You said.

“But it isn’t even late yet.”

You couldn’t help by lie to him, you felt a little awkward, “Yes, but I guess I’m just feeling very tired.”

“Oh, okay.” He replied, sounding a little disappointed, “Goodnight then I guess.”

“Goodnight Dominic.” You stood from the couch and when you made it a couple feet away from him he spoke again, “I didn’t make you dislike me did I?”

You turned to face him, “No, of course not Dominc. I’m fine, really. Just try and sleep now, okay?”

He nodded his head, “Okay, I will sleep now.”

When you made it back to your room, you stayed lying wide awake in your bed. You didn’t know how you felt about Dominic kissing you. You never thought of him that way, then again, you didn’t dislike feeling his lips on your lips.

Maybe you liked the kiss because you felt sorry for poor little Dominic, maybe you liked it out of sorrowness. Or maybe, you liked the kiss because you actually enjoyed it.

…

[phoenixisobsessed]

A very nice Whirl oneshot, since I have noticed you like the guy. https://archiveofourown.org/works/7929196

I don't know if the author has a tumblr, but if you feel like making fanart, you could always drop a comment with a link to the art.

Also, what do you look for in fanfics?

Yeah guys totally not obsessed with him (lie)

ANYWAY!! Finally back with something that isn’t just a doodle. It’s pretty silly and I am working through my eepiness.

What I generally look for in fanfics is honestly just good old fashioned action OOR something so crazy and downright evil that will leave me broken. The fact that the bigger part of my fave characters are the ones with crazy psychological issues should be a big teller. HEUHE I LOVE reading shit that is so downright violent, evil, scarring and traumatising that I will never be the same again.

Other than that silly little ships that I like. I think I already said what ships I like in a diff post but II’m too tired to dig it up rn oh lordy. Maybe under #ships but oh well. I need to make dinner now. Bye-byes :3

[dibidibidismynameisleeknow]

Baby You're Mine

Pairing: Bambam x female Reader

A/N: I wrote smut again, same rules. MDNI. If you hate it, don't tell me. Unprotected sex. They might both be switches, I don't know. Best friends, Bambam and Reader, he finally caves and expresses how he feels. Guest staring Jaehyun, kind of. 2100-ish words

You were starting to get dinner ready for you and Bambam when he yells out, asking you to grab his ringing cell phone. Neither of you are sure how the friendship developed the way it did, but you have trust in each other like no other, you were even each other’s emergency contacts. 

“Hey, Bambam’s phone, can I take a message?”

“Oh, shit. Hey. I wasn’t expecting you. It’s Jaehyun.”

“Yep, I kind of figured, your contact info did pop up. What’s up? Did you want Bambam to call you back?”

Jaehyun froze on the other end, not sure what he should say next. Obviously you were going to pick up, the two of you are inseparable. It was something Jaehyun didn’t take into consideration when he called.

“Actually. Nevermind. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

You let out an annoyed sigh, sick of trying to get any information out of Jaehyun. Normally he was much more put together than whatever the hell this phone call was. “I’ll have him call you back.”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s too late anyways.”

“Really cryptic of you but whatever.”

“I was going to ask you out. But you’re seeing Bambam now aren’t you?”

You couldn’t help but laugh, it was something you regularly dealt with. So many failed dates, men that were about to approach you but would turn around the moment Bambam appeared beside you.

“No, actually, we’re just friends.”

“Oh, I wanted to ask him if he was cool with me asking you out, I was hoping I could get your phone number from him if you were interested.”

Bambam was waiting by the kitchen doorway, curious about who you were talking to for so long considering it was his phone. You mouth out Jaehyun’s name and point to the phone.

“Yeah, sounds great. I’ll have him text you my phone number. Bye Jaehyun.”

“You’re friends with Jaehyun now?” Bambam questions as you hand him his phone back to him.

“He actually asked me out.”

You couldn’t be sure but it looked almost as if Bambam was disappointed with the recent development and being the accidental wing man in the process. 

“Sure. Cool. Whatever. Jaehyun’s great.”

There was no way you were going to decode all of that, trying to get any information out of Jaehyun was challenging enough. At some point Bambam would come around, he had to, you could tell that there was something bothering him and he could only hold it in for so long.

You called for Bambam to come over and taste test the soup you were making for dinner for the two of you. Carefully, you lift a spoon to Bambam’s mouth, and a little bit spills out from the side of his mouth. You bring your hand to his mouth and drag your thumb at the corner of his mouth to wipe the spill off him. Bambam brings his hand to capture your wrist and hold it in place.

“Please, don’t go out with him.” Bambam’s eyes were filled with such sadness that you have never seen before, and never want to see again. “I’m sorry this has taken me so long. I’ve been too nervous to ask you out myself.” Bambam took a step back and lowered himself to his knees in front of you. “Please, cancel your date with Jaehyun. Go out with me instead.”

The sight of Bambam on his knees filled you with a desire you didn’t know you had, he looked beautiful. You let out a low whine of his name, alerting him to the effect he currently has on you.

“Oh, fuck. Are you turned on?” There was no point in answering, he knew you were. That just happened to be a side effect of being so close, you might have overshared one too many desires and stories with each other. “Having me completely at your will? Is that all it takes for you to finally notice me? I should have done this a long time ago.”

Maybe there’s a reason everyone thinks you’re dating, maybe there is something there that you had always been too blind to see. The way you’re always there for each other, how you’re each other’s favourite person and first priority in every situation. Clearly there’s something there if you’ve both had failed relationships because their partner didn’t approve of how close the two of you are. 

“I’ll cancel. We’ll give the two of us a shot. I’m just scared to lose you” 

Pleased with your answer, Bambam began to lift your shirt up and place delicate kisses along the waistband of your jeans while waiting for you to send that text to Jaehyun.

“You won’t, I'm not going anywhere.”

“Not even my bedroom?” you tease him.

“I’m definitely going there.”

“I guess dinner can wait.”

You pull Bambam to his feet and lead him to your bedroom, like he hadn’t been in your place a thousand times before, he was more familiar with your apartment than his own at this point. Bambam kicks your door closed behind him and pulls you into him, one hand on your hip and the other holding the back of your head.

“Can I kiss you?”

You gently press your lips against his, just testing the waters waiting for him to reciprocate. Bambam mutters a quiet curse before closing the distance, kissing you like he was scared you were going to disappear. No one else has ever held you as tight as he did, or kissed you like he did. Bambam quickly grew impatient and even more desperate for you, switching positions so he had you pinned against the bedroom door, slotting his thigh between your legs. 

“Grind on me. Show me that you want me as bad as I want you.”

You follow Bambam’s instructions, using his thigh to try to get yourself off, moaning into his neck at the friction. Using the hand that wasn’t supporting the two of you against the door, Bambam dips the tips of his fingers into your jeans, making you want more and waiting for your approval.

“Fuck Bambam, just touch me. I don’t care where or how. I just need something.”

You moved your hands that have been grabbing at Bambam to undo the button on your jeans giving him more space to slide his hand into your underwear. Painfully slow, he runs one finger over your clit before sliding it into you. Needing more, you begin rolling your hips, using the palm of his hand to rub your clit against. Bambam slightly pulls his finger out to tease you before sliding a second one in. The stretch leaves you needing more and has you riding his fingers even harder than you already had been.

“If you’re already this desperate from a few fingers, how’re you going to take my cock?” Again, he pulls his fingers out to provide more attention to your clit, gently rubbing it, teasing while you whine for more.

You toy with the button and zipper of his jeans, wanting to finally touch him. Bambam helps your fumbling hands undress him, leaving him in his shirt and a pair of tight fitting boxers, the tip of his cock sticking out of the top. You gently dragged your thumb across the tip, making him wince in pleasure of finally being touched.

“Look who’s all sensitive now.” 

You place your hands on his chest for some space as you finish undressing yourself, instructing him to do the same. Bambam sits on the edge of your bed while you drop to your knees in front of him.

“I can see why me being on my knees turned you on so much. It’s hot.”

“Hey, Bam, shut up for a minute.”

“Make me shut u-” 

Cutting off his smart ass comment, you instantly take as much of Bambam’s cock in your mouth as you can manage. Bambam moans, unintentionally thrusting into your mouth.

“Fuck. You didn’t even give me time to prepare.”

 You pull back at Bambam’s sudden intrusion, and using your free hand you pump what your mouth can’t reach, you use your tongue to give extra attention to the tip. Bambam places his hand on the back of your head, gently grabbing onto your hair, unsure if he’s allowed to ask for more. You can sense the internal battle he’s having with himself and again, without warning, take even more of him, pressing your nose into his pubic bone. Bambam tries to hold himself still as he catches you reaching between your legs to touch yourself. 

“Are you-” He holds himself back from fucking into your face when he realizes that you are in fact touching yourself. “Did sucking my cock turn you on that much? I bet you wish my fingers were fucking you.”

You pull off Bambam and switch to using your hand to jerk him off. “You’re so fucking chatty.”  The rise and fall of Bambam’s chest paired with the sinful moans leaving his mouth were a tell-tale sign that he was getting close, but he wasn’t quite ready yet. You began to slow down the movement of your hand and make sure to tease the tip of his cock with each passing movement.

“Shit. I’m close. So close. Just a little more.” 

The sight of Bambam on his knees in the kitchen begging for your attention was enough for you to want him to do it again, so you stop and pull your hand away from him, denying him the orgasm he was so close to.

“What the fuck!”

“I wonder if Jaehyun is more patient than you,” you mutter, mocking him. Annoyed, Bambam places his hand at the back of your head, giving your hair a slight tug.

“Don’t you ever mention another guy’s name while we’re about to fuck.”

Ready for more, you stand up and place a hand on Bambam’s chest, pushing him to lay down on the bed. 

“You have such a way with words, Bam.”

Once Bambam was comfortable and laying back, ready for you, you climbed on top of him, straddling his hips. Eager and more than happy to help out, Bambam grabbed his cock to tease along your folds, intentionally catching himself on your clit, repeatedly. 

“How do you like being teased?”

“Is that the best you’ve got?”

Bambam’s hands find their way to your hips, gripping tightly so he can flip you underneath him. “I might be chatty but you’re so mouthy.” You watch as Bambam’s eyes meet yours and that’s when it hits you. You’re about to sleep with your best friend.

“Are you sure about this?” you ask. “This is going to change the whole foundation of our friendship.”

Bambam lowers himself to trail his lips along your collarbone and up your neck before stopping and lifting your chin to look him in the eyes. “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

You close the remaining distance to gently press your lips against his. “Let’s do this.”

Encouraged by your words, Bambam presses his lips harder against yours, as he leans into you to push you to lay down. With a groan of having to break away, he supports his weight one one arm and uses his other hand to guide his cock into you, slowly, wanting to give you time to adjust.

“More. I need more Bam.”

Bambam grabs you by the back of your thigh to hold you at an angle to fuck you deeper and harder. 

“Touch yourself.” 

You bring two fingers to Bambam’s lips, him taking them in his mouth and sucking and moaning around them. Bambam watches as you bring your wet fingers to rub at your clit, which encourages him to move faster, his hips slamming into you.

“Please tell me you’re close.”

“So close,” he answers, punctuating each word with a thrust harder than the last. “Not without you.” The surprise feeling of Bambam’s hands holding yours was enough to make you clench around him with the sudden affection. “That’s it. Gripping me so tight, baby. Keep it up.”

“Bam. I’m cu-.” Between the feeling of his hand in yours and encouragement it was enough to send you over the edge, your orgasm triggering Bambam’s own as you tighten around him and arch your back off the bed into him. Bambam stilled inside of you waiting for your orgasms to pass while he placed light kisses over your chest. 

“Take care of my heart, will you?”

With a smile you place a hand on Bambam’s cheek. “With honour.” Neither of you wanted to break the shared moment, you knew you had to. “Bam, we need to clean up.”

Bambam watched as he slowly pulled out of you, before jumping to his feet with excitement. “Round two in the shower!”

You knew you would be in for a long night with the recent development of the relationship but with Bambam it didn’t seem so bad.

taglist: @leejenoenthusiast

[ch0k3herwithaseaview]

@jegulus-microfic | feb 20 shiver | words: 864

yeah, so, someone said they would like a part 2 to this so i wrote it. i don’t know if it’s any good but here it is, hope y’all like it (also sorry for all the mistakes, english still isn’t my first language)

next part 👀

“He just stayed over for dinner, Sirius. It was a ‘thank you’ for helping me with Gigi” James repeated for what felt like a hundredth time.

“Oh, I know your ‘thank yous’. Don’t try to fool me, I haven’t met you yesterday” Sirius laughed through the phone. James was surprised his best friend didn’t get mad at him for spending the evening with said friend’s brother.

He was expecting the man to throw a tantrum about it, that’s why he called Moony and asked for Sirius as soon as Regulus left his flat with the dog.

“You know, it’s kind of your fault. Why would you leave your phone to your brother? If you hadn’t done that nothing would have happened!”

“So, something did happen?” James heard the cheeky smile even though he couldn't see it and simply groaned at the response he received. Sirius could be his best friend, who James loved dearly, but he could also piss him off like nobody else.

“Don’t change the subject, just- why did he have your phone? I really was terrified with the whole situation and as if it wasn’t enough I almost got a heart attack because you really didn’t have your phone and I didn’t know who got my address, and if they wouldn’t ki-“

“Okay, James, breathe” he heard from the other side. He did just that. “Now, stop spiralling. He had my phone, because I left it there on my way to the venue. He was fucking with you, you know how he is” Sirius explained calmly and James felt a little better. But then “While we’re on the topic of fucking-“

“I’m hanging up” his bestie just barked a laugh at that.

“Yeah, Reggie’s here anyways, I have to pester him now. Bye, love ya” and with that Sirius ended the call.

James breathed heavily and slumped into the couch. Excluding the Gigi incident, the evening was really nice - he and Regulus prepared the butter chicken together (using tofu instead of chicken since Reg doesn’t eat meat). They laughed at what the vet said about them not being good uncles to the dog and talked about their lives. James knew from Sirius that Regulus went to art school but still listened eagerly as the younger man talked about his latest project.

“You should come to the opening. I think you’ll like it” Regulus said midway through his dish. He also smirked when James started choking on his rice. After a moment he calmed down, whipping his face with a napkin.

“Yeah, of course, I’ll try to make it. When is it exactly?” he asked, pretending like nothing happened just seconds ago. Regulus laughed at him, sounding so very sweet again, and James tried to hide the small smile and blush that appeared on his face.

“Next Friday at 8” the black-haired man replied simply, going back to his meal. He looked so soft and peaceful sitting at the table, the older man felt a need to squish him tightly, because what the fuck - how can someone look so pretty?

With James’ internal crisis and Regulus’ quiet chewing they fell into a comfortable silence. It was new to James - usually, while eating with his parents and friends, it was very loud, everyone talking and laughing all the time. But it was nice - to just sit and enjoy a dinner together.

When they were finished Regulus took Gigi and said he’ll drop her off at Sirius’. James just thanked him again, walking the other man down the hall. When Regulus was out, he turned over his shoulder and smiled warmly.

“See you next Friday” he said and walked to the elevator. James didn’t even have a chance to reply as the younger man disappeared behind the metal door.

He took another deep breath and went to his bathroom, taking a quick shower and preparing to go to sleep. He was halfway through his skincare routine when his phone beeped. As always, he didn’t bother checking it while he’s having his alone time, but as soon as he laid his head on the pillow he opened the unread message.

Unknown

Sirius is fucking mad

Whatever he says to you - do NOT believe him

He’s delusional, I swear

It’s Regulus, by the way

James felt a pleasant shiver going down his spine. Regulus didn’t ask for his numer, but apparently took it from Sirius’ phone. Sneaky little thing he was.

James

didnt expect you to be not only a murderer but also a thief

and i know your brothers mad ive known him half my life

Reg

I’m not a thief, I’m THE thief

If I managed to steal your number maybe I’ll be able to steal some of your time ;)))

THAT MESSAGE WAS FILLED WITH SARCASM

James laughed at that.

James

yeah sure

you can steal as much of my time as you want

THAT MESSAGE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOT FILLED WITH SARCASM

The reply didn’t come right away. He could see the three dots appearing and disappearing every now and then, though. And when it finally came, James just smiled at it.

Reg

You’re being cheesy, please don’t act like that at the opening

[madridfangirl]

Star Crossed Lovers - Ch 18 blurb

Jude had an extended Christmas break, but Jobe didn’t, so the family flew in to Sunderland on 24th and Jude joined in that evening. Jobe interrogated him extensively about what went down in Madrid. Denise & Mark were curious too but Denise’s emphatic guideline to Mark was to just let Jude be. He’d talk to them when he’s ready. 

Jobe texted Ananya, while she was on the way to the cabin.

Jobe: 😊

It was simple, but communicated a lot of things. Ananya smiled & responded immediately.

‘Merry Christmas Eve. Sorry for stealing your brother but I sent him right back :)’

‘To you too. And thanks, but he’s yapping non-stop now, more than usual.’

‘Well, good luck with that.’

‘Yeah I’m mostly ignoring him & Dad. Mum’s completely ignoring them!'

Ananya smiled while trying to picture the scene.

‘Have a great Christmas, Jobe. See you soon!'

‘You too. See ya!’

Immediately after that, she received a text from Jude. He had texted her earlier when he had landed, and then when he reached home, which was 30 mins ago.

‘Wassup?’

‘On my way. You?’

‘Sitting by the tree. Will read the letters soon.’

‘Tonight?’

‘Yeah, we do it on Christmas Eve. The presents are also tonight, so to wake up happy on Christmas Day.’

‘Lovely. Have fun.’

‘You too. But not too much.’

She laughed out loud and Anna turned to look at her from the driver’s seat.

‘Will try. Bye now.’

‘Bye.’

The letters were lovely. The whole family was a little overwhelmed but Mark started to make some silly jokes about Jude’s handwriting, when Jude had expressly warned them not to, and Jobe joined in. Laughter & mock wrestles filled the room while Denise stayed perched up on the side, smiling at the 3 kids.

The presents were a long, long affair. Jude had gone well & truly overboard this time - wanted to celebrate the massive Madrid contract & everything else that had come his way this year with his family. Denise even admonished him a little for the overspending and Mark tried to figure out how he even managed that when all his accounts were under their supervision. Jude just smiled smugly, saying he had his ways.

They stayed in for dinner, preferring a cozy home-made meal by the fireplace. It was already 11 pm. Jude checked his phone. Her last message was at 8:30 pm, when she reached the cabin. His mind kept picturing what could be happening there, and if he had made the right call to nudge her to go. 

Nudge her? You practically threw her into his waiting arms.

Sometimes, Jude hated his mind for playing such cruel tricks. 

He needed to talk to her right now. Fuck maturity! Fuck pride!

Jude called. The phone kept ringing. He tried again. Same outcome. After 15 mins, when his mind was about to go into a full-blown overdrive (he was close to pinging Roma for Anna’s number), his phone flashed with a message from her.

‘Bad network here. Just saw you called?’

Well yeah he called. That’s how the calls got registered on her phone. 

Knowing fully well he couldn’t take that tone with her, Jude took two full rounds around his room before responding.

‘Yeah. Can we talk?’

He proceeded to stare at his screen for 1 full minute, then she called him.

‘Hey youuu.’

Jude could tell that tone from a million miles away. She was drunk. Bad idea, he needed her to be fully in her senses tonight. But, she was away celebrating with her friends and he couldn’t possibly hold that against her.

‘Having fun?’

‘Oh yeah. Just ate half a cake. Downed it with wine. In hindsight not a great call but hey.’

She was still using big proper words. Jude surmised she was more buzzed than drunk. Good, some respite!

‘Nice. What else is happening?’

‘Just eating & drinking & playing some music & a little bit of dancing.’

‘Nothing else?’

She smiled, getting his drift.

‘Nothing that I need to tell, like we discussed.’

‘About that, I changed my mind. Tell me everything.’

Not knowing was driving him up the wall. She knew he wouldn’t last long anyway.

‘Jude, we are just joking, bitching rather, about folks at work & some clients. Typical IB stuff.’

‘Hmm.’

She caught the annoyance in his tone. It was time to change the topic.

‘How did it go there? Your folks were surprised?’

That worked like a charm. 

............................................................................

Happy New Year folks :)

[jetblack4realz]

sleepovers - tate dutton

summary - it's the first night you're allowed to sleep over at the dutton house and tate's parents are pretty intrusive

word count - 2k

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

when you got the text from tate that you'd officially been cleared to stay the night, you were jumping for joy. carter looked over at you with a frown.

"what are you so happy about?" he asked.

"i'm sleeping over at tate's tonight," you hummed, a bit of a song in your tone.

his mouth dropped over. "no way."

"yes way."

"no way monica's letting that happen. no way your dad is letting that happen."

you laughed. "do you really think my dad cares that much? and anyways, my mom said it was okay months ago, all we were waiting for was the go ahead from his parents. well, and to get a bit further in the relationship."

the scrunch of carter's nose made you laugh and you bounced up, moving to the door of the stables.

"hey, where the hell are you going?"

"to get my things! tell rip i'm off work!"

he sighed, shaking his head. you were always allowed whatever you wanted on this ranch - everyone had a soft spot for you.

even the oh so terrifying monica dutton.

when tate opened the door you were in his arms in a split second, hugging him around the shoulders tightly. when you pulled back, you pressed a quick kiss to his lips before leaning away completely to look at him.

"how'd you convince them?" you asked, holding his hands.

he shrugged, smirking slightly. "i have my ways."

you laughed, letting him grab your backpack from your shoulder and set it to the side nearest the hallway. he pushed the door closed and began dragging you to the kitchen, calling as he went, "she's here!"

monica and kayce were both waiting at the kitchen counter with an awkward look about them, hands clasped or crossed in front of them. when you came into view, they both smiled.

"hey," monica said, a strange upbeat lilt to her tone. "we were just about to go grab a pizza for you two. what kind do you want?"

"we were actually planning on making homemade pizzas," tate answered, smiling casually. "maybe you guys could go out tonight? get yourselves some food?"

he squeezed your hand without sparing a glance, only making it harder for you to resist the laugh bubbling to your lips. monica's brows raised to her hairline, glancing back at kayce who didn't seem opposed to the idea.

"oh, well, i don't know baby..." she said as she glanced between her husband and her son.

"i think it's a good idea," kayce said, smiling as he looked to tate. "they can hold down the fort while we're gone. take care of sunka."

as if summoned, the sheep dog ran into the room and waited patiently at your feet. you giggled, leaning down to pet her fur.

"well, okay," monica sighed reluctantly. "just... don't burn the house down, okay? and-"

"don't break the law, take anything out of the world, or bring anything in," tate rehearsed with a roll of his eyes. "yes, yes. you guys have fun."

monica sighed. "yeah, alright. you too."

she and kayce moved to grab their coats and keys from the hooks in the hallway, monica patting your arm as they went.

"see you guys later," you said, smiling.

"bye kids."

"bye kids!"

as soon as the door was shut, tate pulled you in by your hand and smiled, "all by ourselves now." just as he leaned down to kiss you, the door opened again.

"you guys sure you're good?" monica asked as she peeked her head back in. you laughed, letting your head fall forward on his chest awkwardly.

tate sighed dramatically. "we're good, mom. bye."

"okay. bye." she slipped back out, the door shutting and locking behind her.

you couldn't help but laugh as you looked back up at your boyfriend. "this'll be an adventure."

he captured your lips in his for a few moments before breaking and letting out a breathy laugh of agreement. "yes, it will."

after dinner, you decided to watch a movie in his room. after changing into comfy clothes - the boy offering you a hoodie you would never pass on, you tucked into his side comfortably and settled into the blankets. he set up his laptop in front of you, arm wrapped around your shoulders as he pressed a kiss to the side of your head.

"i love the lion king," he mumbled.

you laughed. "i could tell."

you were both propped up against pillows with lion king cases on them, a large picture of simba and nala on them respectively. you squeezed him, smiling.

"it's cute."

about halfway through, you head the front door open and footsteps rapidly approach tate's bedroom. "guys? hey, where are y'all at-?"

when monica flung the door open, she was greeted by the adorable image of you snuggled into tate's chest, the large blue comforter covering y'all as his laptop sat on his legs. you both looked up at her, tate's hand running over your arm as you shifted to be able to meet her gaze with less embarrassment.

"hi mom," tate said as kayce came up behind her, a soft smile tugging at his lips at the sight of you two. "hey, dad. how was dinner?"

"it was good," monica said hesitantly, a furrow pulling at her brows as she looked over your position again. as if sensing that you were about to lean away from him, tate pulled you back into his side, his hand resting comfortably on your hip. "what movie are you guys watching?"

"the lion king," you answered with a smile.

kayce let out a laugh and monica matched your smile. "fun." she got squirrely suddenly, glancing back at kayce and then you and tate again. "well, aren't you guys kind of bored? it is a kids movie, it'd be easy to get, uh, bored."

kayce laughed again as tate raised his brows boredly at his mom. "no, mom, we're perfectly entertained."

you elbowed his side. that was exactly her worry.

"no, you'll get bored," she insisted, moving out of the doorway and down the hall. "i'll grab you a game! you can be preoccupied with a game!"

"preoccupied?" tate asked. "preoccupied from what?"

kayce shook his head, glancing over at his wife who was digging through a bin of card games. "you know exactly what, son. i just don't know if she should be as worried as she is."

"she shouldn't be," you mumbled, earning another amused smile from tate's dad.

"i don't think so either."

monica returned with a proud smile and a box of uno in her hands.

"here!" she said, entering the room to toss it onto the bed. "uno. you won't really be needing this anymore..."

tate and kayce were flabbergasted when she grabbed the laptop, backing towards the door. kayce entered the picture then, coming behind his wife with his lips to her ear.

"babe, they'll get just as bored with uno as they would a movie," he mumbled. he reached around her to take the laptop back and set it on tate's lap once more, shooting you both a small smile. "there. a movie and uno. have fun, kids."

"don't tell them that," monica whispered as he guided her out of the room.

"okay. don't have fun kids!"

"we won't!" you said, laughing as tate rolled his eyes and the door finally shut. you turned to him, gesturing to the box of cards on the blanket with a grin. "wanna play a game?"

he hummed in thought, grabbing the deck before shooting you a grin. "sure. but, i think i wanna do something else first."

to your total surprise, he tossed the cards onto his nightstand, grabbed you by the back of your head, and pressed his lips to yours, his other hand pulling at your hip to drag you closer to him. in between you kissing him back, you let out a short laugh, your hands finding their way to his shoulders. "damn, dutton."

you heard two knocks at the door, and as you pulled away tate only dragged you closer. he smiled against your lips. "don't."

when the handle started to turn and you became more desperate to break away, you heard the muffled whispers of his father telling monica to just leave y'all alone.

"they're just playing uno," he told her, which only made you both laugh, even as tate pulled you closer.

"just playing uno," he mumbled to you.

"they are not playing uno," monica said to kayce, their voices fading when they began walking away as tate finally let you go, your head falling onto his chest as you both laughed breathlessly.

"well, on the plus side he can't make fun of us for making out too."

"you made fun of your parents for making out?" you asked, raising your brows as you laughed at him. you turned to settle back against the pillows, tate's arm wrapping around you instinctively as you reached around him to grab the uno cards, pushing the laptop to the side and beginning to deal cards.

"did," he said, holding a finger up. he pressed a short kiss to your lips, grinning all the way through. "that was before i discovered how nice it could actually be."

"how nice it could be?" you asked with raised brows, picking up your cards and gesturing for him to draw. "correction, how nice it is, cowboy."

"how nice it is," he repeated, chuckling as he rested his head on yours. he placed down a card and you followed, beginning the lame game of uno.

the door flung open then, monica about to say something before she faltered. tate lifted his head from yours, raising a brow at his mom. "yes?"

"i - nothing," she mumbled. she took you guys in again, a small smile on her lips now. "you guys are cute."

you both laughed, but tate rolled his eyes again.

"thanks mrs. dutton," you said with a smile.

she nodded. "well, have fun you two."

the door shut again and you looked up at your boyfriend, wiggling your brows with a laugh. "ooh, she said to have fun."

"i plan on it," he told you, kissing your lips shortly again.

you heard monica down the hall. "they were playing uno."

and two hours later when she checked again, still not completely convinced that her teenage son could handle having a sleepover with his girlfriend of a year and a half without any funny business happening, she was surprised to not hear anything.

no movie, no smack talk, no laughter, no giggling, no nothing.

"aw shit," she muttered, swinging the door open despite the desire to not ever see her son in this position waging war in her mind.

luckily for her, she didn't.

instead, she found the adorable image of you cradled in tate's arms, halfway on top of him and snuggled into his chest as he held you tightly around the waist. the blanket was pulled up to your shoulders, but she could still tell that your legs were tangled in a heap of blankets and pajama pants. the laptop had gotten kicked to the end of the bed and the uno cards were back in the box, but were discarded on the nightstand to the right.

you shifted in your sleep, tate reacting instantly with a hand running over your back, the other pulling you impossibly closer to him and shifting you to be more on top of him. a sigh escaped your lips as you hugged him and monica almost wanted to take a picture at how cute this was.

"see?" kayce mumbled as he came up behind her, leaning against the doorframe. "they're good kids. we don't gotta worry about 'em."

"no, we still worry. we just trust them more," monica said instead, shooting him a smile. "and pray he isn't too much like his father and doesn't get that girl knocked up in two months."

he laughed at that. "he won't. i think."

they shut the door, leaving you and tate to your contented cuddling, letting y'all sleep together finally.

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i hope this turned out like you wanted! i feel like it's cute, but lmk if there's anything different or if you want more! :)

thanks for reading! leave a request in the comments or message me privately! i love writing, so if you've got an idea you need fleshed out on paper i'd love to be the one to do that for you

masterlist!!

[marymary-diva17]

Two separate homes and still a family

Jake, lo'ak, and reader + neytiri, tsu'tey, and sully kids

This is a modern twist to the outcast twin series I have on here.

Family had been everything to you since you were small, and you really love your family and you had thought nothing will change about it. That was until one day had changed everything for everyone in your family, and soon the once happy and whole family was no longer the same. The family was no longer the same and your family home was the same as well.

Jake " so will you two be fine spending the weekend at Neytiri and tsu'tey home"

y/n " yes everything will be fine dad"

lo'ak " it no like we can go with you anyways"

Jake " I'm sorry kids if I could I would but it the rules"

y/n " we underhand dad it will be fine" Jake was dropping you and your twin bother off and your guys old family home, as he was leaving for a training corse he was helping out with this weekend. Soon the car had stopped meaning you all had reached the home.

y/n " it just for the weekend right not longer I don't mind staying for longer, but it feels like it become uncomfortable"

Jake " if it longer I will call you both and tell you and you have some clothes here as well"

lo'ak " yeah"

Jake " I can walk you all to the door if need"

lo'ak " sure" Jake had walked the twins to the house all three of them felt uneasy, as they soon reach the door that had opened.

tuk " you are here finally daddy hey" tuk ran to Jake happy to see him after so long.

Jake " hey baby girl"

kiri " hey guys you made it finally I was staring to think you were not, going to come"

lo'ak " well we are here"

neteyam " hey dad"

Jake " hey kids ti good to see you all again after dropping off and pick up from school yesterday"

neteyam " yeah mom and father are around if you wish to speak with them"

Jake " I think I ...."

neytiri " kids why are you all outside ... hey my loves and Jake"

y/n " hey"

neytiri " it good you all are here"

Jake " I just came to walk the kids to the door"

tsu'tey " Jake"

Jake " hey well I will get going I have to hit the road I will call you all later kids, bye for now and listen to your mom and father"

the kids " yes sir"

Jake " good that what I love to hear and if you are good I will get you all what you want as rewards"

neytiri " wiat Jake will you like to stay for dinner or take something for the road it a every long ride there from here"

tsu'tey " yes it will be good"

Jake " I will love to stay but I need to get there on time and I don't wish to make anyone uncomfortable"

neytiri " it will be fine"

y/n " dad will love to stay but he has important calls to make and others he driving there as well, and he wishes not to be late"

tsu'tey " oh"

Jake " I will make sure to make up for lost time with the kids later, what do you all say a dad and sully kids outing to aquarium/zoo"

tuk " yes"

kiri " sure I will love that they have a new fish exhibit I will love to see"

neteyam " cool that will be fun"

lo'ak " yeah that amazing dad"

y/n " it will be amazing and we all get something out of it"

Jake " that what I love to hear bye my kids" Jake soon hugged everyone goodbye before he walked off, as he got in his car and drove off.

tsu'tey " well come on lets get everyone inside" the group soon moved inside the home.

neytiri " well dinner er will be ready soon"

y/n " okay"

tsu'tey " hey you will be sharing a room with kiri as your bed has been replaced for a better one, and so has loak as well”

loak “ so I’m roommates with who”

Neteyam “ me just like old times it will be fun”

loak “ cool”

Tsu’tey “ well why don’t you get settled and your mom will call us for dinner” the kids had soon went upstairs and the adults stayed downstairs.

Kiri “ it so good to have you here I missed having you around the home so often”

y/n “ I missed you as well there are rooms at dad home for you and the others as well”

kiri “ I might take the offer as I missed dad as well”

y/n “ he misses you as well all of his kids”

Kiri “ now come one let’s have some sibling talk”

Tuk “ can I join” tuk came into the room and looked at her older sisters.

y/n “ yes you can and so can the boys”

neteyam “ we came as it felt like we were being called”

loak “ siblings talk I see well let’s talk before dinner” the kids had gather on the bed and soon started taking with each other. It started to feel like old times, but was what missing was the parents still being together and happy.

later that dinner

neytiri “ eat up kids” everyone started getting some food and sat around the table, as the tv played on in background.

neteyam " thanks for the food mom"

y/n " yes thank you"

Neytiri " well I'm happy to have all your kids here"

tsu'tey " it sad that Jake couldn't stay for dinner with us"

neteyam " maybe we can ask him next time and it can be like old family times"

neytiri " that sounds wonderful"

tsu'tey " so y/n how has school been going"

y/n " it been well"

tsu'tey " that good"

y/n " yeah but lo'ak has made great improvements as well"

neytiri "really"

lo'ak " it not that a big of deal"

neteyam " come on bro you were given an award on most improved on class, you are totally good"

lo'ak " thanks"

tsu'tey " well that amazing"

lo'ak " thanks"

tuk " when can we have a sleepover at dad home it will be fun, we never get to spend the night at dads homes"

neytiri " maybe when you dad get back we can ask him"

tsu'tey " maybe we can make a thing out of this you kids spend some night here and some night at Jake home, we can also do dinners as well it will be good"

lo'ak " sure we can invited your and mom new lover"everyone had gotten quite after what lo'ak had said, it was true that neytiri and tsu'tey started dating after thier divorce with Jake.

tsu'tey " we are no longer dating we realized it was not a good time, or the right person"

y/n ' oh sorry to hear that"

kiri " we are just finding is out right now"

neytiri " yeah we were planning to tell you kids later on but things changed"

neteyam " well don't worry everything will turn our well"

tsu'tey " well I have some good news I was think about taking you kids and your mom on trip, and Jake can come as well my parents and your uncle will be there" you and lo'ak had gotten quite it was easy at times to see, some of the family favor the others kids over the twins.

neteyam " that amazing father we haven't had a family trip in so long"

kiri " hey maybe this weekend we can hangout all of us and spider"

neytiri " I think it will be good if you kids spend time outside"

kiri " yes mom"

lo'ak " well we have plans with spider and tsireya and her brothers, we were planning to ask you but we didn't know if you wish to come"

neteyam " we want to come it will be fun"

lo'ak " cool we can talk more about it in the group chat"

kiri " this will be amazing and maybe we can all meet here"

neytiri " ......"

y/n " maybe we can meet elsewhere to hangout as I don't think mom will like the idea of to many people in her home"

kiri " sure"

y/n " you can come as well tuk"

tuk " yeah" soon your phone started ringing you ahd grabbed it to see a face time call from dad.

y/n " hey it dad I can go into the ..."

neytiri " no answer the call it fine we understand" you soon smiled answer the call and see you dad face.

Jake " hey sweetie well I made it to base I was going to call all my kids"

y/n " here I can added them and tuk can share with me" you had soon added your siblings to FaceTime call.

neteyam " hey dad loving the new look you have going on"

Jake " thanks son I thought it was time and so did everyone else"

neteyam " I love it"

tuk " daddy is it true I have my own room at your place"

Jake " yes you do baby girl and you can have it when you stay over"

kiri " we had been talking about having some sleepover there if that okay, with you"

Jake " I will love that kids"

lo'ak " nice room you have there dad"

Jake " yeah got a good offer this time around"

kiri " wait dad are you planning to go out"

Jake " oh yes some this had gotten pushed back here and I'm going out for dinner with some friends how do I look"

kids " good"

???? " hey Jake are you ready to leave everyone ready" neytiri and tsu'tey ear went up when they heard someone else voice. This voice had belong to a women.

Jake " yes but I will be there soon I'm on call with my kids"

???? " hey y/n and lo'ak"

lo'ak " hey"

Jake " these are my other kids neteyam, kiri, and tuk"

neteyam/kiri/tuk " hello"

???? "aww it nice to meet you all your dad and siblings speak well of you three"

Jake " this my friend anii when I'm back home I will make sure you all meet her"

???? " hey Jake reayd to go or not we can do something else while we are here"

lo'ak " hey Txoko"

txoko " lo'ak hey buddy and y/n kiddo"

y/n " hey I didn't know you all will be working with dad"

anii " we didnt know as well it was surprise hey come meet the rest of Jake kids, they are so cute"

txoko " hey kids I'm a good friend of your dads he has told me so much, about you all"

neteyam " hello it nice to meet you both"

????? ' hurry up everyone we can't be ate for the reservations"

Jake " sorry kids I have to go ..."

kiri " we understand dad have some fun"

Jake " thanks sweetie I love you all and I will call you tomorrow"

kids " bye" the call soon ended and you had placed your phone down, as you looked at neytiri and tsu'tey.

tsu'tey " so your dad has been hanging out with his friends even more then before"

lo'ak " well uncle norm and uncle max said it will be good for him, and he seems to be enjoying himself we even got to come as well"

kiri " really why haven't we been invited"

lo'ak " well it was during the times when you all went to see the rest of the family and we didn't come"

kiri " oh"

y/n "it okay we will make sure you can meet them we can do it during our upcoming outing"

tuk " i will love that idea we should do it"

tsu'tey " maybe we should rush into stuff they are just your dad friends nothing else, you all shouldn't get your hopes up" the twins could sense something was the matter.

y/n " well it will still be good to meet them as we have meet everyone you and mother have brought over and have a relationship with, it will be fair in the end"

tsu'tey " oh yes"

tuk "they are very nice I like them" the siblings had laughed at what tuk had said, as the family went back to watching the tv and eating dinner as well. The rest of the dinner had gone well for the family, and watching some tv before the kids had went into their room.

later that night

kiri " so is dad dating again"

y/n " matters if I tell you the truth will you tell mom and dad, or keep it to siblings"

kiri " fair point I just wanted to know what is going on"

y/n " I don't know he hasn't told me or lo'ak but he seems very happy, after the whole divorce he really loves mom and dad or loved I don't know"

neteyam " hey can we come inside" neteyam and lo'ak were by the door, they soon came into the room.

neteyam " so dinner was interesting"

lo'ak " oh you don't say"

neteyam " it seems like they didn't like the idea of dad dating or dad friends"

lo'ak " they are the ones who asked for the divorce dad did fight for the marriage, and was doing his best but that the end the marriage was over .... they start dating as well it double standard"

neteyam " I know but it feels like we are going to lose you two and dad"

y/n " you will never lose us we will still be family no matter what happens" the four sibling had hugged each other and soon smiled, soon someone else can crashing into the hug.

tuk " group hug I love group hugs" the four teens laugh as they bring tuk into the hug, even due they are living in two separate homes they are still a family. Always having love for each other and support as well for any of their life decisions, they choose to make in their lives. Even due they knew things will never be the same as it was in the past, they are still going to be a family to each other.

[lantanasmuttyfanfics]

I apologize to whoever request this but I just can’t for the life of me find your post so yeahhh

Anyway this def not my best work but hey I’m juggling writing, school and exams all in one so I’m trying my best to

Hope you means have a great dayy!!

————————

“We’ll be back for dinner. Alright sweetheart?” The good king sighed, looking down at the stack of reports, papers and documents he had been slacking off on.

“… fine. I’ll have the chef make your favorite.” The evil queen gave a small smile, grabbing Ravens little hand in hers as she kneeled down.

“Raven my dear say bye to daddy. He’ll miss you very much.” The good king opened his arms as his little daughter jumped into them, her head resting on his shoulder.

“Bye daddy! I’ll bring you back a gift!”

“Alright have my darling! And be safe. And don’t leave your mother’s side. And always listen to-.”

“We will be fine. Besides everyone’s to scared to approach me.”

With a final wave the evil queen guided her daughter down the hall where a certain friend was waiting. “Would you look at who it is! Raven you’ve grown so much.”

The evil queen rolled her eyes as Wolf ruffled Ravens hair up. “Look very grown for a 5 year old.” Raven giggled and held up and incorrect amount of fingers.

“I’m 3 uncle Wolf!”

The evil queen grabbed her daughter’s hand again as they headed to the carriage, Wolf keeping Raven entertained with his hundreds of questions.

“I see you’ve got this parenting thing down to a point.” Wolf shrugged looking distantly at the forest passing by.

“I do have two- …one daughter of my own.” There was a somber silence in the air as Raven clutched at her mother’s hand, pointing to a bird flying by.

“… yeah. How is Ramona?”

“Same same. Getting up to no good as always.”

“That’s what we like to hear. Isn’t it Raven?”

“No. Daddy says he kind.”

Wolf kicked her leg subtly as Raven proceeded to go on a rant about not liking mischief and wanting to be exactly like daddy.

Really, how did she end up with a daughter seemingly complete opposite to her.

—

The carriage ride to Book End was shorter than expected, arriving a whole half hour earlier than they expected.

Raven jumped out the carriage without second thought. She was about to run of when a steady hand gripped her shoulders. “Raven. We do not run off like that.”

The little girl huffed but nodded as she locked her hand with her mothers, following silently as they passed stores filled to the brim with shoes, dresses, jewelry.

It all seemed frightfully boring to the three year old girl.

“Mummy! I want to pick a gift for daddy!” The evil queen stopped in the tracks as her daughter’s loud voice echoed through the street.

Wolf picked her up on his shoulders without second thought, walking straight to the store Raven was pointing at. The evil queen sighed, so much for evil persona.

“So ms Raven. What should we buy your dad?”

The evil queen have a indifferent glance at the salesman, trailing behind Wolf as he showed off everything Raven pointed at.

After 20 minutes of Wolf showing, the evil queen browsing and deciding to buy some antique weapons and Raven exclaiming that “nothing in this store is good enough for daddy!”

Now finally much to the two adults relief they were leaving. Yet just they stepped foot out the store, Raven gasped and climbed of a wolfs shoulders, not caring as he ran off.

“That is one fast kid. You should have her join the track team when she goes to Ever After High.”

“That’s not important right now! Raven! Get back here!”

Wolf sighed back but ran after the evil queen and Raven. The young girl stopped before a store with large oak carvings and dark windows. Almost as if it was abandoned.

As they walked in, lines upon lines of trinkets and books covered the space. The salesperson greeted them with a small smile before going to whatever they were doing.

“Creepy taste in stores. I can definitely tell she’s your daughter.”

The evil queen rolled her eyes but didn’t object as she looked around the store. Wolf followed after Raven listening intently to some story about a talking dog.

And yet, he didn’t know when it happened but from the point where the evil queen told them they were leaving to them actually getting in the carriage Raven was nowhere to be seen.

“Umm where’s Raven?” The evil queen looked around frantically, and when no sign of her daughter came up she turned to Wolf with a deadly glare.

“Shit… umm the store?”

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, oh my grimm.”

The evil queen stormed out the carriage, a deep motherly furry burning in her bones. Grimm help her if her daughter was hurt.

“Raven? My sweetheart come here!” Being met with silence the evil queen walked further in, her eyes glowing a deep purple as Wolf tried to calm her down.

The minutes ticked by but in reality on a handful of time had passed before they heard the sound of small giggle.

The evil queen rounded the corner in a haze, letting out a loud sigh as Raven sat with a boy about her age, with dark hair a pair of glasses.

“Mummy! Look I’ve made a friend.”

The boy seemed to shrink at the even the smallest glance of the evil queen and the big bad wolf. Good she thought, he should be scared.

“Yes well you also gave mummy a heart attack.”

“And uncle Wolf. You have no idea what trouble you could’ve put me in.”

Raven frowned and turned to the dark haired boy she was sitting with. He gave her a tentative smile as he avoided her mother’s gaze.

“When we get home I’m going to tell daddy all out today!”

“Perhaps if you care about your dear, loving, sweet, wonderful uncle you’ll not”

————————

I just know that before eq got sent to the mirror prison the big bad wolf was like an unofficial uncle to her

Anyway just some cute family fluff today with a small young Dexter hint at the end because why not. Hopefully I’ll be posting a eq x gk angst fic on Friday

Hope you enjoyed and have a great dayy!!

[hearts4golbach]

Get the Angles Right!

chapter 9.

pairing:

Johnnie Guilbert x Fem!Reader.

a/n:

sorry I didn't get anything out yesterday, I had a birthday party to go to.

proofread

warnings:

Bryan Stars mention...

word count:

2.0k

the loud ringing of your phone startled you awake. you were having one of those cold sweat naps. you quickly checked the time, the clock read 4:30. Johnnies contact showed on the screen. you quickly answered the phone. "Hello?" you answered, your voice raspy. you rubbed the sleepiness from your eyes.

you didn't get much sleep the night before. Thoughts of Johnnie plagued your mind after the shoot, so you stayed up all night editing the photos. not the smartest idea on your part, but at least they were done and looked very good.

"Hey, y/n." Your name rolled off his tongue. He always thought it tasted so sweet. "i was wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner before the party? we could just Uber there after dinner." he explained his thoughts further.

you cleared your throat, dragging yourself out of the pool of sweat you were laying in. "Uh, yeah. of course, let me get ready. where do you want me to meet you? and we're going to the restaurant in what we're wearing to the party, right?"

"That's what i was going to do, yeah." You heard shuffling in the background. "and I was hoping you could pick the place. i wanna try more actually good places before i leave."

your small smile dropped at that reminder. that fact was beginning to eat you alive. you sighed, "yeah! there's this really good Thai place a couple blocks away from my place. there's also an Italian restaurant across the street from there that has the best vodka pasta i've ever had."

"then let's go to that Italian place." you could hear the excitement in his voice. "how soon can you be there?"

"what? excited to see me?" you giggled. you pulled yourself off the bed and grabbed the dress that you had made out of your closet. it was a layered wine red silk dress. some of the fabric was frayed, it had a slit where at the leg and made your tits look great.

"maybe." on the other side of the phone, his face was beet red.

"i can probably get there around 5:15. does that work?" you sat in front of the vanity and put the phone on speaker.

he hummed, "yeah, that works."

"what? on the phone with your girlfriend?" a familiar voice came form the background. Jake giggled to himself.

"dude, shut the fuck up." Johnnie sighed. you rolled your eyes and laughed. "i'll see you there?"

"mhm. see you in a bit, Johnnie. bye."

"bye." he replied before scolding jake. he hung up the phone before you could hear what else he was saying.

you rushed your makeup but still tried to make it look decent. you know it'd be fully gone by the end of the party anyway. you slipped the dress on and adjusted what was needed. just like that, you were ready. you tried to ignore the ache in your heart.

you had called an uber after Johnnie hung up, so it arrived shortly after you were ready. you stared out the window, watching as raindrops raced down. your feelings for Johnnie made the thought of him leaving dreadful. you knew you'd never see him again. you weren't even sure if you two would truly stay in contact. why would he want to? you figured he saw you as so,e hookup rather than someone he could actually love.

your uber driver grabbed your attention when he said you had arrived. you thanked him and climbed out of the car, Johnnie stood in front of the restaurant smoking a cigarette. his face lit up when he saw you. he was wearing the zebra print and leather jacket, which shocked you so much your jaw dropped.

"you're actually wearing it?!" you approached him.

his eyes grazed over your body. he had never seen you in something like that before. "yeah, this jacket is so fucking sick. i'm gonna be wearing it all the time now."

you nearly cried from happiness. someone actually enjoyed your art. "i'm actually so glad you love it just as much as i do."

"i might like it more than you do." he took another drag before passing the cig to you.

"impossible," you laughed, taking the last hit before handing it back to him. he out the cigarette out and walked inside. he held the door for you and you followed in behind him.

he spoke to the waiter and got a table for the two of you. the kind lady led you to your table. you sat across from Johnnie. "can i get you two started with something to drink?"

"i'll take a dr pepper." Johnnie said before looking towards you. the waiter was beautiful, but he never gave her a second glance.

"i'll just take a coke, please." you opened the small menu on the table. she wrote your two orders down and walked away. "i think i want to try their chicken alfredo, but i don't know. that vodka pasta was actually mind blowing."

"you get the alfredo, i'll get the vodka pasta and we'll split. do you wanna do that?" he asked, his eyes down on the menu. he looked up at you, his icy blue eyes gazing into yours. he seemed to be trying to read your facial expression. "i don't know, whatever you wanna do."

"yeah, we can do that. that's a really good idea, actually." the eye contact made your stomach flip, you looked down at your lap.

the waiter came back with your drinks and a small basket of warm bread sticks with a pepper sauce and a garlic sauce. "i'll be back over soon to take your orders." she looked at Johnnie, who was looking at you. she looked back at you and flashed an embarrassed smile.

"thank you," you smiled back before she walked away. "these breadsticks are really good too, especially when you mix the pepper and the garlic dip." you explained, ripping a piece of the bread off and dipping it before popping it into your mouth.

he followed your lead,trying the combination. "i don't know how i feel about that." he laughed.

"fair," you giggled, "it is a weird combo. i've been doing it since i was little, so." you trailed off.

he took another piece and dipped it into the garlic sauce. "you look really pretty tonight, y/n." he complimented, a small blush growing on his face.

there was so much you wanted to say to him, but you didn't know where to start. your mind blanked as you stared at him with a small smile on your face. "thank you, i- i don't know what to say." you laughed, looking down at the table.

a small smile grew on his face. he loved seeing you flustered, he thought you looked adorable. "that's fine," he took your hand from across the table. the bold move shocked you, but you were far from complaining. when you accepted the gesture, his smile grew. "you excited for the party? you get to meet Tara, carrington, and Jake. like, actually meet them."

"yeah, i'm excited. are you sure they'll like me?" you asked cautiously.

his thumb rubbed the back of your hand, "they already like you from what i've told them."

"you tell them about me?" you asked. he talks about you more than he'd like to admit. "i guess that takes a lot of the anxiety away."

a soft smile formed on his face. "good."

Johnnie told you more about his life back in LA. did he have to rub it in your face even more? he finally told you what his job was. he told you he was a youtuber. needless to say, you were shocked. he also explained Tara, Carrington, and Jake were also youtubers. he didn't state why they were in New York, but you had a general idea now. he told you he lives with Carrington and Jake and they record together frequently. he told you more about his family, his brother and sister, and more about his dad. he spoke very highly of all of them. he held your hand the whole time. he had a sparkle in his eye whenever he spoke about his career. but, he also told you about his burnout with making content at some points in time. you were invested the whole time, and that only made him fall harder for you.

you were engaged in the conversation and were coming up with a response before food arrived. the waitress stared at your hands. Johnnie didn't let go until your food was put in front of you and his was put in front of him. the two of you thanked the waitress, who was visibly annoyed but kept up the sweetheart act. before she left, Johnnie asked her to bring two extra plates.

"your life is so interesting, i could listen to you talk about it all day. i love your voice, Johnnie." you complemented him confidently, this time. you were starting to learn that Johnnie did like you the way you wanted him to. your compliment made him blush.

the waiter came back and placed two extra plated on the table. you thanked her before she walked off without saying a word. Johnnie split up the food and handed you your plate. whenever he tried the vodka pasta, he looked at you with furrowed eyebrows. "what the fuck, y/n?"

your heart dropped, "what? what's wrong?"

"how is this so fucking good and why do you know all the good places?" he took another bite, as if he was double checking his taste buds.

"what can i say?" you smiled before beginning to dig into your own food.

he tried to hide the smile on his face as he kept talking to you about his life. he told you about his complications with Bryan Stars and My Digital Escape. That person and group were things you had heard about, but never fully looked into. all of the drama he told you shocked you. Johnnie felt comfortable with telling you anything. he made sure to inform you about his ex girlfriend and everything that happened with her. he phrased it in a way that didn't make you worry, thankfully.

the rest of the dinner you listened to him talk. you enjoyed hearing all about him, and it was a relief you didn't need to talk very much. you weren't sure what dangerous words would spill out of your mouth. the dinner was so intimate, you didn't want it to end. at that point, you'd rather spend the rest of the night alone with Johnnie instead of going to a party. but, you were still excited for the party. you were even more excited to meet his friends.

the waitress came back with the check. you began to take out your wallet but Johnnie pushed your hand down. "it's on me." he said before placing his card inside of the check.

"you don't have to pay for everything, Johnnie. you know i have big girl money, too." you giggled.

"i want to." he put simply.

a couple minutes later she took the check and went to enter it. you and Johnnie made small talk about bands while you waited. she came back soon after. "thank you guys for coming in." her monotone voice rang.

"thank you," Johnnie stayed kind. "ready to go? i'll call the uber."

"yeah," a smile formed on your face. Johnnie couldn't help but smile back, a love stricken look shined in his eyes. "thank you for taking me out. it means a lot."

"it was my pleasure, y/n. i love going out with you, you make everything so fucking fun." he laughed, taking your hand once more. "wanna go wait outside?"

"yeah, let's get out of here." you intertwined your fingers with his and walked out of the restaurant. you two stood out front, hands interlocked as you waited for the uber.