#be kind to urself n drink water today!

[inkykeiji]

pours a lil mountain of cocaine onto my tongue then uses my tongue to rub it into dabi’s gums slow and hard and thorough <33 grinding the substance into his tissues and teeth until it’s entirely absorbed, consumed, seeping into the tangle of tiny capillaries and shooting through his blood, leaving his face tingling with little pinpricks of sweat and his pupils gaping with rapid exhilaration, veins cracking with white electricity <3

[lcvejoy]

i didn’t know it (at fifteen)

hs! wilbur soot x gn! reader

tw!: talks of eating and food (this story is not ED coded, i promise. pls eat and drink water and take ur meds and take care of urself and ur body). high school au. fluff?. cocky wilbur. implied mute! reader. so incredibly unoriginal.

word count: 663 words

a/n: this has been sitting in drafts literally since i made this account. if this is liked, i’ll turn it into a lil series. i have ideas for more of this story if y’all like it! if not tho, i’ll literally throw it out the window never to be seen again.

there is a boy in the cafeteria who silently hands you a bright red apple everyday at lunch.

he wears wired framed glasses and a knit sweater, his tall frame walks with a slight hunch in his back, he never makes eye contact with you and you’ve never heard his voice.

he always walks past you afterwards - making his way over to a table crowded with people and taking a seat while placing his white lunch tray in front of him. you watch him as he smiles and talks with each person around that table whilst eating his poorly made and far too expensive school cafeteria lunch.

you aren’t sure why he does this. you’ve never spoken to him before and you don’t share any classes. you don’t know his name and you don’t think he knows yours. and yet, everyday without fail, a bright red apple is placed on the corner of the empty table in the back of the cafeteria where you sit.

sometimes you eat it, sometimes you take a few bites, sometimes you don’t even look at it and throw it out the second the lunch bell rings.

sometimes you study the piece of fruit, most times you study him.

you watch him talk and laugh and smile. you almost envy him - his kindness and seemingly bubbly, outgoing, happy-go-lucky nature.

today is no different.

a hand clutching an apple comes into view as you’re staring down at the table. you don’t look up. you wait the usual 7 seconds it takes for him to reach his table before raising your head.

and once you do, you’re met with wire framed glasses and a knit sweater. you’re not sure how you didn’t notice him take a seat infront of you. he’s looking down at his white tray of food - lasagna with slightly burnt edges, green beans straight from a can, and mashed potatoes that mostly likely were once a powder. he’s silently eating, eyes fixed to his food. you look back down at the apple on the corner of the table. you stare at it, wide-eyed, nervously playing with the sleeves of your sweater.

you’re not sure how much time has passed. “are you gonna eat that?” you look up quickly, startled by the sudden voice. he’s looking at you, one eyebrow raised and a finger pointing down at the untouched fruit. “you really should. you never have a lunch with you. but if you aren’t gonna eat it, i will” he states. you only stare.

he smiles at you kindly, still pointing at the apple as he waits for you to respond.

you shake your head.

“suit yourself” he says, shrugging his shoulders as he reaches over to grab the apple and takes a big bite out of the side.

“i’m wil, by the way” he’s speaking with his mouth full, making his words sound muffled.

you stare for a moment, blinking, before reaching into the backpack behind you and pulling out your notebook. you skip through pages of notes and doodles to find an empty page.

‘y/n’ you write, flipping the notebook so he can read it. he leans forward. “y/n?” he repeats. you nod.

“okay y/n” he says, taking another bite of fruit before speaking again, “why don’t you ever have a lunch?”

you shrug your shoulders, but he remains silent as if waiting for the real answer.

you pull the notebook back towards you - ‘i never have time to pack one’ you write, flipping it towards him again.

he hums in understanding.

“i guess i’ll just have to keep bringing you apples” he states, a cocky smirk adorned on his face.

‘you don’t have to’ you write quickly, making your handwriting appear sloppy and rushed.

“i know” he replies, before the lunch bell blares loudly through the cafeteria and students begin rushing to their next classes.

“see you tomorrow” he smiles, standing up and walking away with his lunch tray in hand.

[b1mbodoll]

WOLF HYBRID LEHAN ARE YOU KIDDING ME OH MY GOOOOOOD 😵‍💫

hi baby hru doing today <3 hope you're well rested n drinking water

im literally gna be SICK he is so puppy to me but its like. lets take that a Step Further… wolf hybrid…. knotting… mounting… idk

and thank you sososo much sweetheart ur so kind <3 make sure to take care of urself as well 🥹

[astralaffairs]

girly.. ilysm and your writing. can you do daveed taking care of you while you're sick with a stomach bug? i feel like crap rn and need comfort. ty! xoxo ♥️

got carried away w this lowkey 😪 and girl i tried my hand at writing daveed just for u so youd better feel loved (and also pls take care of urself and get well soon!! have some tea n take a nap)

-----------

There was a knock at the apartment door.

"Hey, Y/N? Baby? You home?"

Y/N glanced up from where she lay draped across the couch, brow furrowed as she propped herself up onto her elbows. "Who is it?"

"Who do you think?" Daveed's voice was indignant, and despite herself, she allowed herself a small smile.

"What are you doing here? I told you not to come over. I don’t want you getting sick," she said, shutting her laptop and discarding it on the coffee table beside her. She pulled her blanket tighter around herself.

"Are you gonna let me in or not?" he asked, and she sighed. Fatigue was weighing her down; she'd been trying not to move, as she winced every time she shifted her torso, and she wasn't fond of the feeling that she may throw up if she made any sudden movements. Still, she pried herself off the couch, blanket over her shoulders, and went to open the door for him.

"Come in." Her voice was gruff. Daveed's soft smile turned into a concerned frown the minute he managed to get a good look at her.

"You look like hell, baby." She latched the door behind him, and as soon as she turned back around to face him, his hands were on her, one pulling her toward him softly from the small of her back and the other rising to her forehead as he pressed the back of it to her skin. "Are you okay? D'you have a fever? You should be in bed."

"Hey, woah, I'm not feverish." She held up her hands to stop him, and his frown deepened when she took a step away from him. "It's just a stomach bug. WebMD says I should be fine within a day. Relax."

"Why aren't you resting?" he pressed, following her in as she plugged in her laptop and proceeded to her kitchen. She huffed.

"Seriously? I got up to get the door for you." She scowled when he raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I was on the couch getting some work done, before. I swear."

"No. Uh-uh, you shouldn't be working, right now," he insisted, but she only rolled her eyes, going to grab herself a glass of water. He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder before she could. "Go sit down and let me get you whatever you need, alright?"

"I'm not that sick, D," she mumbled, but he raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"I said, sit down. I'm not here to argue with you." When she opened her mouth to protest, he folded his arms, and she stopped herself short. A moment passed in silence. "Y/N," he warned, his conviction unwavering and his tone commanding.

"Fine," she ultimately replied, albeit grudgingly, and Daveed offered her a small smile.

"Good." As his hand rose to the nape of her neck, he dipped down to kiss her on the forehead before sending her on her way. She scrunched up her nose.

"You can't be kissing me. I'm gonna get you sick."

He ignored her words altogether, and when he continued on as though she hadn't spoken, she retreated to the couch with a huff. "Now, what d'you want? Can I make you some tea?"

"That's alright. I'm nauseous; I don't have the flu."

"Tea's still good for your stomach," he argued, and although Y/N raised a skeptical eyebrow, he didn't seem moved. "Y'know, I'm gonna get you something to drink no matter how much you put up a fight. Just lemme make you some tea."

"I don't really drink tea," she said softly, but Daveed was already rooting through her cupboards.

"You do today. What kind d'you like? Green tea? Lemon?"

"Can't you just get me water?"

"I can do both."

Y/N sighed, resting her head on the arm of the couch as he plugged in her little electric kettle and then proceeded to pull down a glass for her, filling it with water from her refrigerator. "This is so unnecessary."

"Don't care." He came to sit next to her on the couch when he handed her the glass of water, and she murmured a 'thank you.' "You clearly aren't gonna take care of yourself, so someone's gotta."

"I'm taking care of myself just fine," she said softly before taking a sip of her water, and she shrunk back into herself when he gave her a disbelieving look.

"Then why are you still working at 6 PM?" he asked.

"Because — and this may surprise you — I have a job," she answered dryly, her tone almost patronizing, and he rolled his eyes.

"That's no excuse for you doing overtime when you called in sick," he said matter-of-factly. "You should be in bed."

"I'm perfectly fine working on the couch."

"No more work for tonight," he said, and the words held an air of finality. Her eyebrows shot up.

"But—"

"No, Y/N." She frowned when he used her name, tone scolding. (What'd happened to 'baby'?) "Go to bed while I finish making you some tea. I'll meet you there in a second."

"I'm fine here," she said defiantly, and he eyed her dubiously.

"Why'd you rather be here than your bedroom, then? So you can use your computer?"

She shrugged. "Better internet connection?"

"Baby," he sighed, and she frowned at how exasperated he sounded. "Why're you being so stubborn on this, hm? Why can't you just let me take care of you?"

"Because I can take care of myself," she insisted, and when he raised a disbelieving eyebrow, she huffed. "I'm serious! I'm perfectly self-sufficient, alright? Stop treating me like a child."

"I will when you stop acting like one," he said, and Y/N scowled. "Don't play; you know you need to rest. So either get up, go to bed, and I'll meet you there in a few, or I'm gonna carry you to bed right now. Your choice."

She eyed his expression warily, and it was clear he wasn't kidding, and when she pulled her knees into herself where she was curled up at the end of the couch, he gave her a warning look. She huffed. "Fine. But I'm bringing my laptop."

"No, you aren't."

"Daveed!" she protested, "You can't just come in here and decide you're calling the shots, now. If I want to work, I'm going to. I didn't even ask you to come here in the first place."

"You gonna act like you want me gone, then?" he asked skeptically, and she pulled herself off the couch with a deep-seated frown, blanket still draped across her shoulders as she shuffled her feet into her slippers. "'Cause I can go. Just say the word."

"I didn't say I wanted you to leave," she mumbled, not looking back at him. "I just don't like being told what to do. You didn't have to criticize everything I'm up to."

"Don't you tell me I'm being unreasonable," he said, and she stopped, glancing back to where he was walking over to her kitchen. "If you'd just take care of yourself, I could've come spent the evening hanging with you in your room. But at the rate you're going, you're boutta be sick for another couple days, so get to bed."

Y/N was beginning to feel like a scolded child; her gaze was downcast as he watched her expectantly, and eventually, she murmured, "Okay."

"Thanks, babygirl," Daveed replied, and as she shuffled out of the room, he called after her, "I love you."

She hesitated. "Love you, too."

She crawled into bed not even minutes later, and she had to admit how nice it felt to just curl up and relax, not trying to work from home, not trying to keep herself going. Just to rest. She checked her phone for a brief moment, propped herself up on a pillow against the headboard, but she didn't keep scrolling through it long, discarding it on her bedside table minutes before Daveed entered with a steaming mug of tea.

"Careful," he warned her as he handed it to her, and she took it delicately, blowing on its surface as he rounded the bed. He took a seat beside her, pulling back the covers to join her in bed. Y/N took a small sip of her drink.

"Thanks," she said quietly, not meeting his eyes, and Daveed frowned.

"Hey, just for the record—" He rested a hand on her knee where she had it tucked into her chest, and she looked up, "—I wasn't trying to be overbearing, or... controlling, or anything. You worry me sometimes, though."

"I know, baby," she murmured. "Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize." He pulled her closer with an arm around her shoulders, and she burrowed into his side, being careful with her tea. "I'm sorry for making you feel like you did. Just... be gentle with yourself, okay?"

"Okay, D," she whispered as he leaned in to kiss the side of her head. She took another sip of the tea, and she couldn't quite determine whether it was the source of the warmth blossoming in her chest.

"Good," he said, and she turned her head to look up at him with a weak smile. "I don't like seeing you feeling so bad. And definitely not when there's something you can do about it."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know," she muttered into her mug, taking another sip. She was appreciating the tea more than she'd expected to. "But you should go, now. I'm just gonna get you sick if you stay."

"Hang on, I was planning on crashing here with you tonight," he protested, and she gave him a deadpanned stare.

"You're really gonna lecture me on taking care of myself and then expose yourself to illness like this?"

"If I'm going to catch your stomach bug, I've already caught it," he argued, "If I've been exposed to the germs, anyway, so I'm gonna make the best of it."

"That's poor logic."

"D'you want me gone?" He raised an expectant eyebrow, and she gave a halfhearted shrug. "'Cause, if not, I'm staying. No point in fighting me on it."

"Alright," she conceded with a sigh. He smiled as she sipped her drink, and when she put it aside on her table, Daveed hooked a finger under her chin, turning her toward him so he could kiss her softly on the lips. When he pulled back, if only an inch, their heads were pressed against one another, and she said, "Well, now you're definitely getting sick."

"Worth every second." He kissed her again, this time pulling her onto him by her hips. "Now, you can dote on me when I'm bedridden."

"Can't wait," she said, and the wry sarcasm in the words just made him smile. "But thanks for taking care of me, Daveed. Really. I love you."

"I love you, too," he whispered. "Do you need any more blankets? A sweatshirt? Can I make you dinner?"

"I'm too nauseous to eat." She frowned, and he brushed a piece of hair away from her forehead.

"Then let's take a nap," he suggested, and upon seeing the hesitance on her face, he went on, "Don't put up a fight on this one, babygirl. You look real tired. You got something to drink, you don't wanna eat, and now you need sleep."

"Do I really look that bad?" she asked hesitantly, and he cracked a soft grin.

"You still look hot. You're wearing the bedhead and eye bags real well, I swear," he teased, and when she rolled her eyes, he kissed her nose. "I'm just playin'. I still think you look great, but you do look like you've been put through the wringer."

"Wonder why that is," she muttered bitterly, and Daveed sighed.

"Since you look so tired, can I suggest sleeping?" he asked. "Might work. Might make you less exhausted. You might even like it."

"Fine," she agreed softly, and he smiled, kissing her forehead.

"Good."

"But can you stay with me?" she asked, and he raised his eyebrows, surprised. "I just don't want to wake up here alone."

"You really thought I was gonna miss out on taking an extra nap?" he asked indignantly, and she huffed out a light, all but inaudible laugh. "Oh, no, babygirl. It's been a long week. This is as much for me as it is for you."

"Well, I really feel loved," she said sarcastically. When he swept his thumb across the skin of her cheek, eyes crinkling at the corners, adoration shone in his gaze; her words couldn't have too much irony to them.

"Good. 'Cause I love you."

"I love you, too." Though she'd been all but leaning against his chest where she sat in his lap, it was then that she pulled away, shifted herself off of him as she gravitated back to her side of the bed. "You're really gonna stay?"

When she curled into the covers, facing him, she raised her eyebrows, watching him hopefully, and he combed his fingers into her hair where she lay. He lowered himself into bed beside her and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close with his hand at the small of her back.

"Absolutely," he whispered. "I'll always be here when you need me."

[seijorhi]

hi rhi showering u with love and support! i just wanna let u know that for the past six months ur blog n ur writing has been just like a godsend in my life. anytime im feeling down i just have to go to ur page and u know i'll feel better. its not just ur fics either, tho those are phenomenal, but also just how u answer asks! u come across as such a kind, wonderful person n i know that im not the only one thankful to have u in my life :) thanks for all ur hardwork and i hope this rough patch in ur life smoothes out soon. kisses n love take care of urself n remember to drink enough water today!!

Hhhhhhhh y’all really out here tryna steal my heart, huh? 🥺 no but oh my god, bby this was the sweetest thing to read, thank you so much!!

I hope you’re having a good day 💕💕💕

[pocmuzings]

🌹💌 𝙤𝙝 , 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 ! a lil valentine has been left jus for u ! in ur very own valentine card , it reads: rmr how loved u are n to love n take care of urself on this special day ( and always ) . pretty please water the lil rose n drink water urself today too ! ❤️ , 𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 , ���𝒐𝒐 ♡

this is . . . so ..  . so . SO FUCKING CUTE !?!?! THIS IS SO FUCKING CUTE THIS IS SO FUCKING CUTE OH MY GOD !?!??!!?!??! this is literally the most romantic thing i’ve received all year oh my god thank u for blessing me and lighting my Day like this . u r so beautiful and selfless and kind . i love u

[writeiolite]

IO !!! hiiiiii i'm so glad you had a lot of fun yesterday!!! i'm always hoping your days get better and better as they pass 🥺 my day was fine!!! it was a little uneventful, but fine!! thank you so much for asking :""(( as for my all time favorite food... there's this really neat japanese restaurant here called yabu that has really good tonkatsu but then there's this hotel restaurant called the nest that has the best lamb chop... i wouldn't mind calling either my favorite but its really hard to choose between them .. but i wanna know what's your all time favorite food!!! are you a sweets person or do you usually go for something more savory? :DD and CutiePie picked up a new skill???? 🥺🥺🥺 that's so cute that makes me so happy 🥺🥺🥺 hopefully one day CutiePie will get a permanent kitty friend???? and i just saw that you updated wtf u!!!! AAAAA i cant wait to read it!!! im a little nervous but all the more excited for the next events thatll happen but uhhhh this got a little too long JSBANHA i hope you're having a good day today!!! dont forget to drink lots and lots of water and eat at the right times ok !!!! please take care of urself and ur kitties io !!!! -🗞

ps. i reread dive today and now my heart is once again just in a puddle by my feet. i am still inexplicably amazed at how good you are with characterizing and keeping true to their personalities in any prompt 🥺 as always, YOURE SO GOOD IO !!! <333

🥺im hoping the same for you!! seeing u come by my inbox almost everyday with kind words rly warms my heart but also makes me wonder if u have anyone else doing the same for you!! you deserve someone to come in and tell you kind words and frequently remind you that you matter!! you’re such a wonderfully nice person so thank you for being here for me🥺🥺🥺🥺

LAMB CHOP!!! SOOO YUMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY OMGOMGOMGOGM i love lamb, maybe as much as i love beef xDD i’m DEFINITELY a sweets person!! i love sugar in all its forms <333 but it think the beeeeessstttt food i’ve had was a filet my parents made the other day! it was so thick and juicy and buttery... ugh i miss it LFMAOOO

YES CUTIEPIE IS SO SMARRRTTTT!! :”) he’s sad now bc Midnight went home so he’s just laying around :( 

AS FOR FICS!!!! OMGGGG i hope you enjoy WTF U! it’s my babyyyy hehe n it’s helped me grow a lot as a writer ~^^~ the complete opposite of dive in terms of genre but it’s fine,,,!! ASJGSJKSj I CAN’T BELIEVE U LIKE IT THAT MIUCH OMGGG THANK YOU HAHAHAH IMMA HAVE TO REREAD IT TO GET SOFT FEELIES TOO ㅠㅠ ♡ THANK YOUUU!!!

I LOVE YOU PLS TAKE CARE OF URSELF FOR MEEEEE!! I ATE LOTS TODAY SO FAR N I’LL HAVE MORE WATER SO YOU DO THE SAME :3

[hwangskz]

dancing star(s) | dancer! seulgi

im a liar who promised a minsung fic next, but too in love with ms. kang seulgi;;;;; n e ways LET'S GO LESBIANS AND BISEXUALS!!!! <3

• kang seulgi

• that name...GOD how that name made ur blood boil but heart beat at the same time

• how can someone have such a mercilessly competitive but sweet heart o(╥﹏╥)o

• everytime u would make eye contact, ur would just???? almost jump out??? yk??? but then u would have to remind urself that she is just ur competitor :(

• and that's also the way she thinks about u, probably; like a competitor :(

• "y/n!!!!!!!!!! get ready for today's freestyle battle!!!!!!!!!! let's do great!!!!!!!"

• kang seulgi stop being so nice challenge

• from the first day on, she had honestly been such a sweetheart;;;;;;;;;;

• "u forgot ur water bottle? D: oh no y/n... but it's okay!!! i have mine take my h2o"

• "here have some bandages!!!!!!! stay safe y/n, this is a competition only, not some war :("

• literally one moment she's this devil on stage and the other.. she's a literal Babie???? that isn't even legal dear lord

• she wildt

• so is ur heart for her...wildt

• no one :

y/n' heart : <kangseulgi3

• at the end of today's competition tho

• "we have come to a decision that in order for one of u to win, u will now form pairs! the pair winning the final match, which will be held in a week from now, will win ₩1,000,000! good luck to everyone!"

• ur heart's first suggestion : kang seulgi

• ur heart's second suggestion : kang seulgi

• the suggestion everyone knows ur heart will give no matter what : kang seulgi

• god she really has u by the throat huh

• (NOT IN A KINKY WAY I SWEAR JDHDVDB)

• "hey, y/n?"

• "ye- seulgi?"

• "hi uh,,,, i was kinda wondering if we could partner up? they all seem very up abt the money...but i really hope u aren't like that... bcs it kinda scares me"

• "me? u would really partner up with ME????"

• "yeah???? is that wrong?? :0"

• "i- no no!! it's just... ur such a great dancer... and what if i mess up something that causes the both of us to lose? :("

• y/n, u have no idea how much seulgi just wants to protect u from all dangers rn

• "winning isn't everything, y/n. sure, i love dancing, and maybe so do u, but a simple paycheck and a trophy doesn't define one's qualities. what matters to me is that even if i went down, we did it together."

• god,,,,,,,,kang seulgi stop being the Love Of Y/n's Life challenge

• "if that's what u think..then sure! let's be partners!"

• and that is how u r now sitting in the practice room @ 2am, w ur head in ur hands bcs u can't get that one damn move right

• who knows that bcs of this yall might even lose

• and u can't afford to see seulgi sad

• not again

• u once saw it last year, when the dance instructor didn't take seulgi in his team for the same competition last year

• u saw how she pretended to be strong as she held in her tears and smiled widely, her eyes still glossy, and kept saying "it's okay" to herself

• and "congratulations" to others

• no

• u can't do that to her

• for the sake of seulgi

• for the sake of ur heart-

• "y/n?"

• her small but clear voice almost made u jump out of ur place bcs GODDAMNIT WHO'S AT HERE AT LITERALLY 2 IN THE MORNIN-

• "....seulgi?"

• she slowly opens the door, enters the room, and closes it behind her as she makes her way towards u, then crouches down in front of u

• "what's up?"

• when u hadn't responded to her, she sighed and threw herself on to u, giving u a giant hug

• bcs obviously she knew what was up

• (u were overworking urself)

• (obv bcs like,,,,,why would someone be in a practice room at this hour for a reason except that???? like??? idk to eat corns???)

• "y/n..i told u that it's ok to not win!! didn't i!! :( then why r u doing this to urself?? :("

• "i'm sorry.."

• she was now facing u, her arms still around ur waist (making ur heart go THUMP like always)

• "have u had anything yet?"

• "......no"

• she furrows her eyebrows, and her tone is suspicious when she says

• "when was the last time u had food?"

• "like…….23 hours ago…..i think????..."

• "i- u REALLY ARE STUPID HUH- WAIT HERE ILL BRING U SOME SNACKS AND WATER!!!!!!!!!! U NEED THE DAMN H2O"

• and she comes back with 5 packets of hot cheetos, 4 bowls of pre-cooked (covered) ramen and 15 bottles of water

• "these many water bottles weren't really necessary seulgi-"

• "!!!!!!!! n o !!!!!!!!"

• after u both settled down the conversation abt how much u need water in ur body

• u both were silently eating ur food and having drinks (read : water)

• when suddenly

• "y/n...are u doing this bcs of me?"

• "doing w-what?"

• "yk.. overworking urself in order to win? are u doing this bcs of me?"

• u look down bcs GOSH DARN IT SHE'S RIGHT

• she sighs and hits u lightly on ur arm with her chopsticks

• "y/n!!! i didn't get in last year bcs of MYSELF. the one who needs to work harder is me, not u. ur already here. and about me being...well…..happy...u being here with me….us doing this together...it makes me happy enough. so please,, don't overwork urself, yeah?"

• u took her advice

• and maybe that's why, today, at the day of the dance competition, u were!!!!!! SO MF NERVOUS

• "SEULGI WHAT IF I MESS SOMETHING UP"

• "y/n!!!!!! just focus and u won't!!!!"

• 'yeah like u dancing WITH me will make me focus…….sure…..'

• "now on stage, i would like to call miss y/n l/n and her partner miss kang seulgi! please give them a round of applause!"

• the crowd burst into applause and as u, along w seulgi, walked onto the stage, the mc added a small "good luck!" to u both before leaving the stage

• yeah that's honestly what u need rn; some good luck

• and once u both took ur positions, seulgi turned back and looked at u

• "u can do this!"

• she mumbled towards u

• and the music began, and so did ur bodies' movement once it heard the first note

• u looked at seulgi and saw the rhythmic flow within her

• she looked at u and wondered how great u looked today in this dim stage light

• u wondered how many times u had missed to acknowledge the kindness that was flowing through seulgi

• how she had been so caring towards u. always

• she wondered how many times u had said that u were a terrible dancer but u are such a liar, y/n l/n, seulgi can see the talent that flows within u and the effort that ur putting on the stage right now

• and this is when the both of ur hearts wondered- maybe u both were in love. with each other.

• when suddenly the music stopped

• and u panicked

• but then looked at the audience who stood up and clapped for the both of u

• and the stage light went off again, signaling u both to take ur leave

• "we did so great y/n!!!!!!"

• "yeah!!!!!"

• u cheered happily before hugging her so tight

• god u were so thankful for her

• when u pulled away, thought, the both of ur faces were so utterly close

• and her lips were right there..

• but then

• "miss y/n and miss seulgi! please come up on stage to take ur paycheck as well as the trophy!"

• u both rushed to see the prizes

• u did it, y/n.

• soon after getting the prize, it was seulgi's turn to thank everyone on behalf of the both of u

• "i would like to thank everyone around here for enjoying our performance and my instructor who let me perform this year, with such a wonderful person."

• ur eyes shot up; smile gone

• "and this wonderful person..god im so thankful to her for just.. being there. she's so hardworking, so beautiful, and so passionate..it makes my heart hurt so much and..y/n.. wait for me after this ends, alright?"

• ur mouth still hung open, u nod ur head yes, hearing many "date!" statements along with whistles and coos

• so after she's done with her speaking, both of u move out of the stage, and as soon as ur abt to get ur bag from the chair in the dressing room, seulgi held ur wrist, making u look up at her

• "y/n? come with me for a sec?"

• so she drags u slowly to the backstage, where no one was, and left ur hand as she turned around and took deep breaths

• "about the speech there.. about u...if u didn't understand already.. uh.. i think u should know that-"

• seulgi was taking some time as she fiddled with her fingers

• and u probably thought she was gonna take some time to tell u whatever it was

• so u decided to drop ur own Confession Bomb

• however

• "i like u"

• "-i like u"

• u both stood in shock as u looked at each other

• "really?"

• seulgi blushed and looked down

• "yeah.."

• when the both of u looked at each other again, u both quickly looked down again and GOD u both were so red

• "so like…...does it mean we're….a thing?"

• "yeah.."

• u laugh at seulgi's statement

• *your girlfriend's statement

• "hey, seulgi?"

• "yeah?"

• "can i….kiss u?"

• she looked up too quickly and saw ur eyes sparkling, under which ur lips were just there- almost as if asking permission to touch her own lips.

• "sure."

[utopianvoices]

bittersweet | k.seungmin

↭ genre: barista au; fluff 

↭ word count: 4.24k

↭ description: Your blind date went to the depths of shit, but was that an entirely bad thing?

↭ a/n: finally a seungmin fic aksdj i always feel some kind of guilt when i don’t see fics under certain members :( it’s also not proofread oops hehe hope y’all like it!! x 

↭ warnings: explicit language

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

“Come on, Y/n. Just one date?” your best friend pestered you. “You haven’t been out in that field for months and don’t you think it’s time to move on from Mr. Dickhead?” 

“This is the fifth time you’re asking me this week, and my answer is still no, Minho,” you said calmly, letting out a sigh once again, shaking your head. “You’re making me sigh so much, I’m going to grow older faster.”

Truth be told, you were heartbroken.

It was your first-ever relationship, lasting for about a year and a half when suddenly, said boyfriend wasn’t giving you as much attention and love as before. No calls, no texts, fewer meetups, and more avoidance. 

It had started about a year into your relationship — which you thought to be the happiest time of your relationship, seeing that you had reached the first milestone. But fate had different plans.

Initially, you just made excuses for him, blaming it on practices (he was on the school’s basketball team), convincing yourself that he couldn’t hang out with you because he was too tired after practice. But once off-seasons hit, you were left with no other reason to hold on to your relationship. The truth was glaring in your face, and yet you still decided to put on your pair of ignorant sunglasses and carry on as if nothing was wrong.

The first hit was when you saw him out at a restaurant with his teammates, after telling you that he was not able to hang out with you because he was down with a really bad flu and had to stay in bed. 

It was like the whole universe was trying to convince you to let him go, that he was definitely not worth your time and energy.

You still didn’t let go. 

Years of watching clichéd and unrealistic rom-coms had started to take its toll on the rational part of your brain, the part that was screaming the very obvious and correct answer at you, every time you saw him. You wished you had listened to that part of you, because a few days later, you saw him show up to school with another girl, arms around her waist, looking the happiest he has ever looked. 

Your eyes met from across the hallway, one pair reflecting hurt and the other nonchalance. He felt zero remorse for what he had done, and that was what hurt the most. 

"Am I bad in relationships?” you asked out of the blue, surprising the boy beside you. “Am I going to be single for the rest of my life?” 

“No, Y/n. You’re not bad. You just happened to fall for the wrong person. But trust me, when you find the right one, you’ll have a blast because that’s what you deserve,” Minho said firmly, sending you a slight smile at the end of his little speech.

“You know, you’re not that bad when you’re not acting like a sassy little bitch,” you say, blocking the pillow that came flying towards not a second later, soft chuckles escaping your mouth. “But really, thanks Minho. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Die alone.”

“And, he’s back,” you say, rolling your eyes at your intolerable best friend. “So... Um, what were you saying about that date?”

And as those words leave your mouth, you get the shock of your life, because you have never seen your best friend get that excited.

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

Pushing the door to the little coffee shop near your campus, the little bell tinkles above your head, causing a series of “Welcome” to echo through your ears as the workers behind the cafe put on the brightest and fakest smile to make sure you believe that they’re having the time of their lives working long hours after school, and occasionally dealing with snobs just to make sure they’re able to afford basic necessities such as air, water, food, and shelter. 

Walking up to the counter, you are served by a face you had never seen before, considering the fact that you were a regular and loyal customer. If your mind wasn’t occupied with pre-date jitters, you totally would’ve chosen the table at the far right — perfect view, and all — to admire the faces stressing out behind the counter. 

“Hi! What can I get you today?” the boy speaks up, flashing you a smile that almost made you think he enjoyed serving you. 

“I’ll get a vanilla latte, please,” you say, fishing around your bag for your wallet, as the boy in front of you entered your order into the machine. After considering it for a while, you decided to get something for your date as well. “Actually make that two vanilla lattes. And a chocolate chip muffin too.”

The boy nods, adding your extra orders in. “Can I get your name?” he asks, grabbing a marker, tip hovering over the plastic cup, as waited for an answer.

“Y/n.”

“Nice name,” he said with a smile, not looking up at you as he wrote it down. “Here for a first date?”

Taken aback by his straightforward behaviour, you look up, surprised that he had noticed. “Yea, how’d you notice?” 

He moves over a few steps towards the coffee machine, as he starts prepping your drink, causing your feet to involuntarily shuffle towards the direction in which he was moving. 

“Your body language kind of gave it away,” he started, speaking over the loud coffee machine. “Psych major, and all that. Why so nervous?”

Ah.

“It’s because I don’t even know the guy,” you said, and immediately realising how that sounded, frantically added more to your sentence. “I mean, it’s a blind date, of sorts. My best friend wouldn’t stop bugging me to go on a date because apparently, I need to move on from horribles ex’s.”

The boy in front of you nodded understandingly, finishing up your order during your little rant. You were not sure why you opened up to him —a complete stranger. But somehow it didn’t feel forced. On the contrary, it felt almost natural.

“Well, here’s your order Ms. Y/n, and I hope you have a great date!” he said, passing you the tray with your drinks and confectionary on it, nodding with a smile as he noticed you had tipped him quite generously. What? Anyone who listened to one of your rants deserved some kind of compensation. 

Mhm, sure. Definitely not because he was cute or anything. 

You rolled your eyes to yourself, ignoring the little voice that was whispering absurd but otherwise true things in your mind. 

You walk over to the back of the cafe and whip out your phone, tapping on your frequently contacted list and drafting a message to the number at the top of that list.

you: whr is he cat boy: patience, little one. he said he’s reaching cat boy: you’re sitting at the back right? you: yea cat boy: he said he’s there. look for someone wearing red plaid. g’luck be urself  cat boy: but not too much bcs u’ll scare him away you: gtfo cat boy: if he says anything stupid or is mean just sent me a text. he might be sung’s friend, but anyone who messes with my best friend answers to my hammer-like fists you: mjölnir is shaking in thor’s hands

Putting your phone away, you look up, and true enough, you see a rather dashing boy in red plaid, standing at the entrance and looking towards the back of the cafe in confusion. Unsure of what to do, you awkwardly raise your hand, in hopes that he would understand your pathetic attempts in trying to get him to notice you without attracting too much attention. 

Soon enough the both of you made eye contact, a smile blooming on his face as he walked over towards you.

“Hi, I’m Hyungsik! Jisung’s friend,” he said, extending a hand out. “You must be Y/n.”

You reach over and shake his hand, returning his smile with your own, letting out a “yes” to his question. 

���I got a drink for you!” you said, pushing one of the lattes towards him. “I didn’t know what you’d like so I just went with a safe option,”

“Oh no,  I don’t drink coffee from here,” he said, pushing the cup back towards you. “The ingredients are cheap and low quality, my body just won’t be able to accept it.”

Thinking back to the days where you lived off of instant noodles because you just were too lazy to cook for yourself, or when you finished a whole tub of ice cream while watching a movie, you felt your face slowly heat up as you let out an awkward chuckle, hoping that he’d drop that topic.

“Actually I wouldn’t really have chosen this place — not really my scene. I usually go over to the cafe on Main Street,” he continued, adding more and more details about the exquisite dishes they serve there and the ingredients they use. 

Just as you were starting to zone out (something that you should never be doing on a date), another question was thrown in your way. 

“So, Y/n, what is your family like?”

“Uh, so I have my parents and no siblings. They live in-” you started, but got cut off almost right after. 

“Mhm interesting. Do they own any companies or any own businesses?” 

Now you were confused. 

“No they don’t?” you answered, your answer sounding more like a question. 

You noticed the slight fall of expression from his face, as he heard that you were not some rich spoiled brat who got plenty of money from her parents. 

“I see. Because you know, my ex-girlfriend’s parents had this huge company? Really rich people, just like my parents,” he continued, once again falling into a whole ramble about how great his ex-girlfriend was or something like that; you weren’t listening. 

Instead, you were hurriedly typing on your phone, as you just continued to smile and nod at something the boy in front of you was saying. 

you: sos you: can you call me and start crying or smth you: i’m going to kill myself if i hear him talk about how his dog shits gold or wtv you: minhO CHECK UR PHONE ITS A LEVEL 9 EMERGENCY you: ugh you suck

Realising that your best friend wasn’t going to come to your rescue, you resorted to cutting the boy off with the lamest excuse you can think of.

“Hey, can you give me a moment? My hands are kind of dirty after eating the muffin,” you say, slowly getting up even before you could receive an answer. 

“Um sure,” the boy in front of you said, looking slightly perturbed at the fact that someone could even afford to get their hands dirty. Not in his rich household. 

Shooting him a final smile, you walk over to the small sink at the side of the cafe, gripping the sides of the sink as you regulate your breathing, unsure of how to get away from that not-so-amazing date you were having. 

“Need help?” 

Your head whipped up at the familiar voice, as the barista who made you your order stood beside you, tray in hand, as he looked upon you with concern. Who would blame him though — you looked like you were about to enter panic mode any moment.

“I-I, uh-” you stuttered, internally smacking yourself for not being able to form coherent sentences making you look more of an idiot than you already seemed like. But thankfully, someone was able to put two and two together. 

“Bad date, huh?” he said, setting the tray down on the counter beside him and shooting you a sad smile. 

You let out a breath of relief, somewhat happy that you didn’t have to explain yourself. “Yeah. I’m trying to think of ways to escape.”

“I’ve got an idea. Wanna hear it?”

“Colour me interested.”

Smiling at your response, the boy laid out his plans in front of you, making you both feel like you were in another episode of True Detective or something. 

“When you go back there, just make small conversation for five minutes. My shift’s over, so I’ll come there and pretend to be your best friend, saying there’s some emergency. Once we convince him that someone’s dying, we’ll go out the back door and escape from there. Cool?”

“Totally cool.”

With an encouraging nod from the boy in front of you, you take a deep breath and walk towards the dreaded table at the back, as you see your date scrolling through his phone, impatient sighs escaping him every 10 seconds. 

“I’m back!” you say, faking some enthusiasm as you finally take a seat. “Sorry, there was a problem with the... tap.”

Hearing your voice, Hyungsik set his phone down onto the table, smiling at your return. “Ah, you see, that’s the problem with these low-quality cafes. Nothing ever works right.”

And just like that, you both were back to your conversation about how he thought Gucci was better than Louis Vuitton. Not that you could relate, your go-to was definitely plain ol’ H&M.

As promised, four minutes later, you were met with a frantic looking boy, dressed in a dark blue denim jacket and a pair of black jeans. 

“Hey Y/n! I’ve been trying to call your phone for the past half an hour! You’ve got to come with me now,” he said, hands flailing around frantically as you were trying to best to hold back the laugh that was threatening to spill out any moment. 

“Hey....” you started, coming to a sudden halt as you realised something. You didn’t know this boy’s name. But you were not going to let that small setback hinder your whole plan. 

“Hey... Bob! Long time no see,” you say, mentally facepalming yourself for thinking of the lamest name ever. “What’s up? Sorry, I’m just on a really amazing date right now that I couldn’t check my phone.”

Okay, maybe you were exaggerating a bit, but who cares? You had to milk out the best outcome possible from this little skit. 

“Oh hi. I’m Bob, Y/n’s best friend. Sorry to cut your amazing date short, but I really gotta bring Y/n with me now. Her dog was just admitted to the hospital,” he said, not even sparing Hyungsik, who was now looking extremely confused, a glance. 

“What? I better leave now. Sorry for cutting the date short, Hyungsik!” you said, quickly grabbing your things and leaving before your date figured out what was happening with your terrible acting. 

“Yea... See you-” Hyungsik started, but was left alone before he could finish his sentence. 

You sprint out the back door, as planned, with “Bob” leading the way, falling into a heap of laughter as you were sure the door was closed behind you. 

“What kind of a name is Bob?! Seriously, Y/n?” the boy asked, trying to catch his own breath after the laughing fit. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t do well under pressure!” you defended yourself, wiping the stray tears that escaped the corners of your eyes. “Hey, but thank you so much for helping me out. I probably would’ve gone mad.”

“Anytime!” he said, finally settling down only to warm your heart with a small smile on his face. “It’s Seungmin, by the way.”

“Definitely better than Bob.”

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

As you open the door to your shared apartment, you are almost immediately engulfed in a hug, as this person hugging you chants “I’m sorry” over and over again like some cult leader. 

“Okay, Minho, I got it. You can let go now.”

“I can’t believe I forgot to charge my phone like who does that?” your best friend screeched, tugging at his hair as he looked at you as if he had committed a murder. “I’m a horrible best friend.” 

You roll your eyes at his dramatic antics and grab him by the collar, dragging him towards the couch and throwing him on it. “Nobody died. I’m alive and fine. Phones die all the fucking time. Get your shit together, Lee Minho.”

“B-but...” your friend stuttered, pout already forming on his lips. 

If there was one thing about Minho that everyone knew about, it was his tendency to blame everything on himself. Even if it wasn’t his fault and he had no control over it whatsoever. 

“Enough about that. Are you gonna hear my interesting story or not?” you said, a playful smirk playing at your lips as your best friend perks up at the fact that you were about to share your day with him. 

Nodding his head to signify that he was ready and listening, you narrated that day’s happenings. 

“So, basically he was cute and all, but all he could talk about was how high class he was? And how he didn’t like to enter, and I quote, low-class cafes,” you say, earning an offended gasp from Minho. “And on top of that, he looked disappointed when he found out that I didn’t own some hugeass business or whatever.” 

“Dick.” 

“Mhm, right. That’s when I messaged you and tried my best to get out of the situation, but you couldn’t reply,” you continue, hastily adding on a “but that wasn’t your fault because phone batteries suck,” when you see Minho’s face drop into a slight pout. 

“I had to get out of that place so I just went over to the sink and tried to think of ways to escape when the barista that took my order offered to help,” you say, thinking back to Seungmin’s cute smile. “So he just came over and pretended to be my best friend and said there was an emergency and kind of just dragged me away through the back door.” 

You were unaware of the fact that your face softened at the mention of your saviour, but it didn’t go unnoticed by the boy in front of you, who was studying your every facial expression since you started your little story. 

“Barista, huh?” Minho started, smirk evident on his face. “Was he cute?” 

You slowly felt the heat creep up your cheeks as you fiddled with your fingers, a sign that you were flustered. 

“Does it matter?” 

“Yes, yes it does, Y/n. It matters a whole lot,” Minho teased, glad that he had grabbed the perfect opportunity to annoy you. “It matters because the blush on your face is giving me many, many indications on how you feel about this barista of yours.”

“Shut your mouth, dipshit. There’s nothing like that,” you counter, desperately praying for the heat to leave your face.

“Whatever you say, m’love.” 

You roll your eyes for the umpteenth time, leaving to prepare for bed, as that day’s events replayed in your mind. You weren’t sure how to feel about the barista occupying your mind, but all you knew was that you had to see him again. 

After all, you didn’t manage to get his number. 

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

The familiar ring of the small bell fills your ear as you step foot into the same cafe you were in four days ago. You had actually planned to go the day after, but you were, sadly, a college student who apparently had to go to classes to make sure your grades don’t fall below expectations. 

“Welcome to SKZ ca-” Seungmin started, instinctively, until he saw the person who had entered the cafe. “Y/n! You’re back!” 

“I am!” you say, with equal enthusiasm, as you walk up towards the counter and get your wallet ready. 

“Another blind date?” Seungmin teased, wiping his hands on a paper towel as he walked up towards the main counter. 

“Shut up,” you deadpanned, shaking your head at the boy’s little jab. “I came here for some caffeine because I am currently behind on my assignments and I don’t really feel like repeating this semester. Any drinks to recommend?” 

“Relatable,” Seungmin grimaced, thinking about the pile of assignments in his bag that was locked up in the staff locker. “How about an iced americano? The ice will definitely make sure that you’re wide awake, maybe more so than the coffee itself.”

“Sure, anything to keep me from snoring away on that table,” you replied, letting a tired sigh escape your lips. “I wish Minho was here to study with me, ugh. I hate studying alone.” 

Although that last sentence was muttered under your breath, Seungmin’s ear still caught it, his mind immediately whirring with solutions. 

“I finish my shift in about an hour,” he started cautiously, not knowing what your answer would be. “Maybe, we could study together?” 

You freeze on the spot and slowly look up at the boy in front of you, unsure if you had heard him correctly, but the look on his face told you that you had heard him perfectly well. 

You let out a breathy laugh and nod your head. “Sure, I’d love that.” 

“Great! Drink’s on me then!” Seungmin grinned, fishing out his own card to pay for your drink and the muffin (he took the liberty to add it in for you), and left to make the drink before you could even start to protest. 

You shake your head and walk towards the table against the window, big enough for two people, and set your heavy bag down as you plopped onto one of the seats. 

Not wasting any time, you grab your laptop and your notes, diving right into your assignments, afraid that you’d change your mind and go back home if you procrastinated one second longer. 

One hour later, you’re halfway through your drink and there are crumbs left on the pastry plate, as you hurriedly type away on your laptop, initially not noticing Seungmin walking towards your table, out of his work attire and school bag slung over his shoulders. 

“Move slightly forward and you’ll fall into your computer screen,” a familiar voice rang out, causing you to snap out of your bubble and focus on the boy taking his seat in front of you. “I’m surprised you don’t wear glasses.”

“I do wear glasses, just not often,” you replied, going back to your essay on how Shakespeare had made a change in the world’s arts. Seriously, who cared. All you got out from your literature lectures were that you could annoy Minho by talking in Shakespearean English for a whole day. He definitely did not appreciate that. 

Realising that you were in your zone and that he shouldn’t disturb you, Seungmin grabbed his own pile of worries and got to work, the fatigue of working a four-hour shift after school slowly catching up to him. 

Three hours later, and you finally stop tapping away incessantly on your computer, leaning back in your chair and stretching your arms above your head. 

“Hey Seungmin, I’m do-” you started, but abruptly cut yourself off as you see Seungmin’s head resting on his hand, eyes closed as he let out even breaths, indicating that he was fast asleep. 

Seeing that he was exploring dreamland, you took this opportunity to admire the boy’s features, in a non-creepy way, of course. The way his left cheek was slightly chubbier than his right, and the little mole on his cheek, or even how brown his eyes we- Wait. 

You shouldn’t be able to see the colour of his eyes if he was sleeping. 

Just like that, you stare into the eyes of the cute barista in front of you, unable to tear your gaze away, even as colour rushes to your cheek as you realise that you have been caught admiring him. 

“Take a picture, Y/n, it’ll last longer,” he said, not passing up on the opportunity to tease you even though it had been less than a minute since he was awake. 

“I-I wasn’t staring,” you started, immediately falling into defensive mode, as embarrassment took over every cell in your body. “I was about to wake you up, okay.”

“Sure,” he humoured you, but not stopping the smile that was spreading across his face. 

“Oh, look at the time! It’s time for me to go back!” you said, frantically packing up your things as you wished to get away from the cafe as far as possible until you were sure that your heart wasn’t going to burst. 

But just as you were reaching for the last piece of paper on your desk, a hand stopped you, forcing you to look up at the boy who’s eyes you had been avoiding for the past few minutes. 

“Um, do you think we can do this tomorrow?” he started, eyes darting around everywhere except your eyes. “But without the studying?”

You could feel your heart abruptly stop, as your mind slowly processed the question that had just left Seungmin’s mouth. Was he implying what you thought was implying? The only way to find out was to ask. 

“Like a date?” you asked, voice small due to the lack of courage. 

“Like a date,” the boy confirms, eyes finally meeting yours, as he awaits your answer. 

It hadn’t been long since you met him, but you couldn’t deny the fact that something was blossoming between you, whether it be a strong friendship or something more. And you were willing to find out.

“Let’s do it.” 

∞ end ∞

[jungshookz]

I don’t really know if you take requests or not, but I think I have a cute idea I’d like to share! Maybe like, new puppy owner Y/N and pet shop employee Taehyung!

→ pairing: kim taehyung x reader

→ genre: petshopemployee!au, the cuTEST GOLDEN RETRIEVER PUPPY evER and it belongs to you now!!, an extra biG serving of fluff, u and tae r so shy it’s adorable

→ wordcount: 3.2k

(gif isn’t mine!)

what the hell are you doing here

out of all the places you could be on a sunday morning (aka in your nice warm bed) you are at… a pet store???

okay

here’s the backstory

you’ve been feeling pretty lonely lately (your ex broke up with you a month ago and it’s been diffiCuLT to say the least)

he said something about how you were holding him back and the spark is gone because you’re so busy with school and your job and blah blah blah all you remember is throwing your drink on him and storming out of the restaurant

it’s fine

he was a dick anyway!! you deserve better

but you’re not used to being.,,. alone

the apartment is just so quiet

you’re trying to get used to sleeping in the middle of your queen-sized bed again but somehow you always shift over to the right side of the bed because that’s your side

it’s been your side for the past four years

things are just different now

and sure you have your friends and stuff to hang out with (namjoon asked if you wanted to go out yesterday night with him and the rest of the boys but you turned him down because you were too busy throwing your own pity party) but it’s just not the same u kno

so that’s why you’re here now

at a pet shop

because you feel like getting a pet will help with the whole being lonely thing!! and also you’ve always wanted a pet so this will be great (when you were younger you had a goldfish one day you came home from school and kevin was on the floor because he juMPED OUT OF HIS TANK RIP kevin)  

you kind of have an idea of what kind of pet you want

you definitely want something small

something low-maintenance since you’ll be busy at school

maybe like a hermit crab or something

a hamster? the constant running on the wheel would probably drive you insane

maybe a bird? but what if it flies out the window

a goldfish would bring back the painful memories of kevin so that’s going to be a HARd pass

and then

you see it

the gates of heaven

a pUPPY PIT

A WHOLE PIT OF PUPPIES

GO L DEN RETRIEVER PUPP IE S

you gasp and immediately turn away from the lovebird you were just looking at and the lovebird squawks like fuCK me i guESS

“oh my god” you whine quietly when all the puppies start running up to you as you stand in front of the pit

they’re all yipping and barking and getting up on their hind legs to try to get closer to you

sO CUTE

“hi! are you thinking about taking one of these guys home with you today?”

you turn around to-

oh

oh my

your eyes flicker down to the employee’s name tag

‘taehyung’

you look back up at him

he might be cuter than the puppies

he smiles at you and tilts his head

oH he is DEFInitely cuter than the puppies

“oh! uh…”

girl

you can barely take care of yourself how the hell r u going to take care of a puppy

just tell taehyung no and ask him about pets that are easy to take care of

oH BUT LOOK AT THEIR WIDDLE PAWS AND THE CUTE LITTLE SNOOT ARE U KIDDING ME

and if you don’t take one of them home whO WILL

oh my god y/n

think this through

you don’t have space for a puppy

but you can MAKE space

puppies are expensive

but you can MAKE monEY

puppies need a lot of love and attention and affection and-

buT YOU HAVE A LOT OF LOVE AND ATTENTION AND AFFECTION TO GIVE

y/n no

y/n yes

y/n no

y/n yES

y/N N-

“yes! yes i am” you clear your throat before reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear

oh man

it’s like you don’t even know how to interact with boys anymore

it’s okaY just go with the flow it’s not a big deal

everything’s chill

super cool

don’t be weird

please don’t be weird

“oh, that’s great!!!” he gasps and claps his hand together “are you a first time puppy owner?”

you nod excitedly and look down at the puppies yipping for your attention

“well, we should probably hook you up with the basics before you get the puppy part, hm? follow me!”

wha

wait what

waIT BUT THE PUPPIES

taehyung notices your hesitation and he raises a brow “this’ll only take like ten minutes, miss. fifteen minutes tops. c’mon!” he gestures for you to follow him before pulling out a cart by the counter

“so, what made you decide to get a puppy, if you don’t mind me asking?” taehyung starts picking up things here and there for you as the two of you wheel your way down the aisles

“well, i’ve always wanted a dog and now that i’m-“ oOF okay you’re not going to tell this cute stranger about your failed relationship

let’s not go there

maybe some other time!! “uh… now that i…. have a bigger apartment i decided i could fill up some space with a puppy!” you shrug and pluck a little mustard yellow harness from the shelf

you heard that harnesses are better because leashes can choke ur doggo and you don’t want to choke your doggo

plus a tiny harness on a tiny puppy cOMe on

“oH..,.,. my god,.,.” your heart basically stops in your chest when you spot the cutest pair of yellow rainboots with a matching raincoat

…yeah you’re getting those too

you don’t even care if you spenD like $1000 here (okay you’d care just a liTtle bit because u don’t even spend that much on urself)

meanwhile taehyung’s talking to you about how often you should take the dog out and how much to feed it and how much exercise it needs and how you need to put down puppy pee pads and you need to puppy-proof your house there’s just a loT of p’s flying around right now

yes you appreciate him for doing his job throughly but you can barely focus on what he’s saying because you’re picking out a bed and a little blankie and pillow and toyS and a food bowl and a water bowl and-

“whichever pup you end up choosing is going to be very lucky” taehyung chuckles as you duMP a whole load of treats into the cart and you look down at everything you’ve picked out before flashing him a sheepish smile

“think i’m getting a bit ahead of myself?”

“you probably don’t need-“ he pauses and looks down at the cart “-three full sized bags of carob-chip dog cookies? or four different pairs of rain boots??”

“oH but look how cuTE-“

usually taehyung would be aLL for the customer going crazy because that means he gets more commission but u seem really nice and just really excited and he doesn’t want u wasting your money on things you don’t need

the puppy itself is going to cost a good chunk of money so there’s that

“i think we’re all good to go!” tae sighs as he puts the last of your family-sized food bags back onto the shelf

he turns and grins at you “how about i bring all this stuff over to the front counter and i meet you by the puppy pit?”

fINALLY

FINALLY THE PUPPY PIT

you nod excitedly and ziP off towards the puppy pit and almost immediately the barking intensifies at your presence

you drop to your knees in front of the gate and stick your hand through the gaps between the bars and giggle when the pups start licking at your fingers (probably because u were touching dog cookies earlier because they looked like humaN cookies and you were about to treat urself to one but tae stopped you before you inhaled it)

“okay, which one of you wants to come home with me!!!!!” you squeal excitedly when tae finally comes around and unlocks the gate for you and you drop to your butt

you coo when a majority of the puppies start clambering over each other to get to you

you really are in heaven

this was a greAT way to spend your sunday morning

good job sad and lonely y/n!!!!!! (oof)

“oOH i can’t decide i wanna take them all home” you sigh and lean back against your palms and tae can’t help but laugh before taking a seat across from you

“yeah, it’s definitely going to be a difficult decision. i remember when i was choosing my dog it took me like three whole hours to finally say ‘okay, i’m choosing thiS one’”

“oh, you have a dog?”

“mhm! a pomeranian. his name is yeontan, but i call him tannie. he was supEr duper tiny when…” you don’t mean to be rude and space out while taehyung’s telling you about his dog but like,..,,. he’s just.,.,. so beautiful.,,

his soft, dark brown hair

his jawline and his cheekbones and his strong eyebrows and his sparkling eyes and his boxy grin and woW god really spent time on him because he is so,.,.., so handsome.,.,.,

maybe you’re just getting ahead of yourself

just because you’re lonely doesn’t mean you should go and juMP on the first guy that’s nice to you

maybe tae’s not actually thAt handsome and it’s just your sadness and desperation making you thiNK he’s handsome (no this is a complete lie even if you weren’t sad and desperate and lonely you would know that tae is very vERY attractive)

and what makes you think tae might be interested in you??? he’s literally only being nice because that’s his joB

you deflate a little bit at your own pessimistic thoughts and bring your attention back to the pups

taehyung is fully aware of the fact that he’s blabbering

but he can’t help it

he blabbers when he’s nervous!!!!! and right now he is vERy nervous because there is a very pretty girl sitting across from him and he hasn’t made a move on someone in so long so he’s reaLLy really out of the groove of things

is he talking too much about yeontan???? is he not talking enouGH about yeontan?? should he have let you keep those 4 pairs of rain boots and 3 bags of treats??? he doesn’t know!!!!! aHHHHH!!!!!!!!

also he doesn’t want there to be any awkward silence if he stopped talking so that’s why he’s keeping his mouth running and running and running and ruNNing-

“hey, buddy~ do you wanna come home with me?” you coo and lift up the puppy that’s calmly stuck by your side the entire time

he pokes his lil tongue out and you grin “what do you say?”

he yips and leans in to lick your nose

you feel an insTANT connection

you turn the puppy around so that he’s facing tae

and tae can’t help but laugh at the sight of you just holding the puppy like that

his legs are just dangling in midair but his tail is still wagging a mile a minute

“i think this might be my guy” you coo and let him back down onto his feet and he hops up onto your lap

you scratch behind his ear and he barks

“have you thought about potential names yet?”

you purse your lips and look down at the nameless puppy

“not yet… maybe you can help me come up with one?”

you didn’t know how hard it was to choose a name for something

it took you like three seconds to name kevin

but you and tae have been sitting here for almost forty minutes trying to come up with something

but also it’s not just up to you you think its important that the doG reacts to the name too

tae has multiple tabs open on his phone and he’s just reading names out to you

“baxter?”

you look down at the pup and it blinks back up at you

“jax?”

no reaction

“ace?”

nope

“scooter?”

nuh-uh

“sparky?”

still nothing

“rusty”

the pup growls at that one because rusty??? how inSULTING

“teddy”

nope

“cooper”

stiLL nothing

“duke”

nah

“how about milo?” you interrupt tae and keep your eyes trained on the pup

you want to thank the lords above when it barks and twirls around in a circle before sitting on his butt

“milo!” he barks again and sticks his tongue out “milo~” you coo and lift him up so that you can smoosh a kiss on his cheek

and if that’s not the cutest thing he’s ever seen in his entire life taehyung doesn’t know whAT IS

“thank you for everything, by the way. you’ve been really helpful.” you tuck your credit card back into your wallet (it’s a good thing you didn’t end up getting those extra rain boots because ouCh the total was not a pretty number)

and then u realise

you haven’t even introduced yourself to tae

“oh! i’m y/n, by the way. probably should’ve started with that.” you chuckle sheepishly

taehyung smiles to himself as he sneaks an extra dog cookie into your bag

is he going to make his move

,.,., yes he is

“i’m taehyung,” he grins and you feel your heart flutter

hoO

your heart hasn’t fluttered like that in a long time

“-but you can call me later.” you can’t help but snort and taehyung grins as he rings up the last of your things

you can’t help but feel a sense of relief knowing that tae has taken an interest in you as well

“you’re lucky you’re cute” you mutter and tae looks up at you and raises a brow

“did you just call me cute?”

“i was talking to milo” you joke and tae raises his hands in defense

a moment of silence goes by

“hey, maybe milo and yeontan can meet each other one day or something…?” he clears his throat and punches a couple buttons on the computer

he’s not actually doing anything he’s just pretending like he’s doing something so that he can keep talking to u

“what do you think, milo?” you look down at milo and he blinks up at you “you wanna meet yeontan?” his mouth opens and he starts panting “what day is good for you, hm?”

milo barks before his hind leg is scratching behind his ear

ah

classy

“is this sunday good for you? milo and i can meet you here, or… we could meet at the dog park, or…”

“or maybe i can take you out for breakfast first? there’s a really nice café downtown that allows dogs in there too… and, um, and then we could go to the dog park? we don’t have to, if you don’t want to, we can just go straight to the dog park if-“

“i would love to go for breakfast.” you smile shyly and your stomach does a flip-flop

taehyung sucks his bottom lip in between his teeth before nodding and reaching for the printer as your receipt starts printing out

you’re a bit preoccupied fawning over your new puppy so tae quickly scribbles his number down on the back of your receipt

he steps out from behind the counter so that he can help you carry your things to the car

“so, this is for you,” tae hands you the receipt and you take it from him “like i said before, you should probably puppy-proof your place if you haven’t done so yet. milo’s at the age where everything is something to chew on, so if you have a pair of expensive shoes or something you might wanna put them away-“ milo barks and starts walking slowly around you and tae

tae looks down at him and takes a step closer to you because he doesn’t want to accidentally steP on your puppy “um, yeah, so, electrical cords, laundry, especially dirty socks-“

milo starts walking again and his little paws pit-pat against the floor

“uh-huh,” you furrow your brows and look down at milo and he stops walking and promptly sits and looks up at you “sorry, what were you saying?”

“training treats are good, but don’t give him too many treats because…”  

and now that you’re distracted again

milo makes his move

he’s a lil man with a lil plan

milo barks and starts running circles around you and tae

“milo-!”

you feel his leash starting to tighten around your ankles and the next thing you know you’re pressed riGHT up against tae

you stumble a little and let out a squeak of surprise

your hands shoot up to rest against tae’s chest to keep yourself balanced and tae instinctively reaches out to grab onto your hips

the two of you lock gazes and a beat of silence goes by before you’re both breaking out into nervous giggles

almost immediately your entire face flushes bright red

you certainly weren’t expecting this

“here, hand me his leash-“ taehyung takes it from you and bends down a little and starts unwinding the leash from around your guys’ legs

you want to diE (in a good way??) because tae still has one hand on your waist to keep you steady

then he’s scoOping milo up into his arms and turning him around so that he can look him in the eye “i can tell you’re going to be a bit of a troublemaker…”

milo barks and licks tae’s nose and tae grins before plopping him back onto the ground and handing you back the leash

“so…” tae shuts your trunk after helping you put everything in “i’ll see you sunday?” 

you nod and offer him a smile before deciding to just dO iT 

you are young and life is short and taehyung is cuTE 

tae’s eyes widen when you plant a kiss on his cheek and a big fat grin immediately appears on his face 

“i’ll see you su-“ you’re cut off when milo suddenly pops his head out from the passenger seat and barks 

tae scoffs playfully “yeah, i’ll see you sunday too, milo” 

help me help you make your wishes come tru (aka send me a request)

masterlist

[cinnaminsvga]

i always somehow remember u at the most random times n like want to send my uhh every 6 month ily n i hope ur doing very well ask hehehe,,,,,,, but yes i hope ur okay and taking care of urself!! drink water and eat lots and remember to put urself first!! ur so kind n funny n deserve literally everything good!!! ty for making me n many others smile n laugh w ur writing :'))) love u!

oh hello!! its nice to hear from you again with your biannual greeting HAHAH but thank you so much for coming by, if only for a moment. hope you’re doing great with your life, and i sincerely wish you the best with everything!! love you loads and hope you get to eat some good food today!!

[huangfilms]

Florist!Renjun

summary: i need cash because it’s summer and my parents don’t give me allowance so i applied for this job and on the first day someone ran into me and now i have coffee all over me and wow you’re pretty cute but i gtg and when i first check in for my shift i see you there,,, with my boss,,, who’s your grandma-- oh im working with you

(A/N) ok kids i am back with another renjun bulleted fic!!!! because i have nothing else to do!!! I honestly don’t know how this is going to go but I hope u like whatever i made, feedback is appreciated! also i suck at summaries so let’s Just Pretend that i have a decent summary up there

i mean I Love Flowers ya know

renjun is a flower himself but u dont know that yet

so it’s summer break and you want to make that ca$h money because ur parents don’t give u allowance during the summer,, that Blows.

okay well you decide to apply for some job in places that interest you

like the cafe around the corner of your family’s apartment complex

or the photography studio, or the arts studio

maybe even the animal shelter because!!! animals!!!

but none of those really caught your attention

sure u liked smelling coffee at like,, 5 am, and u liked taking nice pictures and drawing, and you loved!!! animals!!!

but the thing you loved the most

u guessed it!! flowers!!!

so there was a really cute flower shop that was just across your home

and you applied ofc

step one: done

all u need to do is to w a i t 

but you’ve checked out the place, and its literally the cutest place ever!!! 

you Really Want The Job Now

so you get a cute little envelope in the mail saying that you could start full time in like 2 days!

u get super psyched because it’s your first job

so fast forward two days, and u wake up bright and early because you’re really excited!!! 

when you walk in, you see the cutest old lady just watering the plants 

the door jingles since there’s a bell, and she turns around and just looks at you for like,, 5 seconds

and then she gives you THE MOST PRECIOUS SMILE EVER

so she goes in to tell you what you should do today, and says that her grandson will be working with you for summer as well

and you’re like??? oh 

because you don’t

you’ve never interacted,,

with,,, boys.

you get SHY my dude but it’s all good because he arrives tomorrow from where ever he came from

SO anyway, you water the plants, tend to the customers, and all that jazz

you go home and you start to think about her grandson,, like

what does he look like? is he nice or what??? how old,,, is he???

so you think about ur job and then you have anxiety because wow new people who might be ur age

that doesn’t mix well with you

(unless you’re a social butterfly but a bitch can’t relate)

so you wake up and you’re feeling a little nervous to meet this kid

you leave the house really early because you’re just gonna walk around to the cafe before your shift started

but then on the way, you bump into this Pure Soul

and he spills coffee all over you

and it’s ho t like that boy?? facts

who drinks hot coffee in summer

ANYWAY you jump in shock and let out a yelp from how hot it is, and then you look up about to POP OFF but then u take a look at him

and he’s a mess, he looks so flustered, he’s r e d, and he’s stuttering out apologies

and then he dabs your t-shirt with the s i n g l e napkin that he has, wasn’t going to help but hey, A for Effort

and u gotta admit, it’s kinda cute

but anyway you say that it’s fine, it was an honest mistake, and it was kind of, both of your faults.

so he apologizes once more and then offers up his light jacket, but then u refuse because your apartment isn’t even that far away.

so you leave hastily before u could get the Cute Boy’s Name

and u literally run to change into like a sweater or something, and then Blast to the flower shop

and u see that boy again with the cute old lady 

and then u connect th e dots

it’s the grandson

oh god

and your heart??? speedy fast, like,,, sonic Wishes

so you say a greeting to his gma, and then u speed walk to check in and then start your shift

idk u felt lowkey embarrassed cause!! cute boy!! u ran!! now hes h ere!!

it isnt until the pot is overflowing to know that youre overthinking a lot, and there’s like,,, a huge puddle,, at your feet,,,

so you almost drop the stupid watering can and then fuck your life over because that boy??

across from u

in the next isle

looking at u

and he

He Smiles That Smile

I think he was trying not to laugh because he puts his hand over his mouth

i mean,,,,, u embarrassed urself once more

big OOF

but anyway you turn ur self to look away from him becaus e You Just Cant look at him

But life goes on,,,

Fast forward like idk, maybe 2 hours??? you get your first break of the day so u tell ur boss that you are just going to get a snack back at that cafe that u didn’t get to go into yet cause of That Boy 

she tells u to be careful and that you could take like 30 minutes to an hour since you were working so hard

i mean, you were just watering plants but ok,, thanks gma

ur getting off topic sis

and then d cute boy decides he’s gonna take his break too

wow life must be Crazy to have you blessed with his presence

So you see him just like jogging to catch up to you and you hear his little ‘Wait!!’

then you feel all giddy inside because he??? wants to go??? with  you???? wha t

anyway you slow your step a little so he can catch up and then he

he puts his hand on your shoulder WOW PHYSICAL CONTACT

and your heart skipped a beat more like all of them

and then he like,,, he kept his hand on your back while you guys were walking

a whole?? gentleman???

you guys didn’t really talk on the way to the cafe but u really wish u did

because u get in there, you order a snacc, and then u guys sit

in awkward

silence

and its so cringeworthy 

is this embarrassment installment number 3?? why must life Play You Like This

when you’re about to Finally say something, your guys’ orders were called up and he offered to get them

so he went with a small smile and left u with your Stupid Thoughts

but he left for like 5 seconds LMAO

so anyway

he comes back, and you both go to talk at the same time--

‘Oh no u should go first’ and then he laughs

wtf that sounded beautiful

but u don’t even remember what you were going to say

yeah, staring at his face is THAT powerful

‘oh um its ok i kinda forgot haha’

and then its awkward again

embarrassment installment number 4???

of course though you guys introduce yourselves

“My name’s Renjun”

so he just smiles and tries small talk, like why u decided to get a job, or if you’re still in school, your hobbies

all the great stuff ya feel

and by the end of the break you guys are getting closer

i mean you guys arent in any awkward silences anymore

you guys are walking back to your shifts and for the rest of the time

its just you guys messing around

like you guys Got Close hm who knew also this is getting long oops

but it’s the end of your shift,,, and then u go to check out and leav e

and it isnt until you get home that you didnt even

get his number

ayo ma can i get yo numba

so youre just in bed.

questioning life

but hey!! you made a new friend!!

life goes the same for the next few weeks or so,,, and you and renjun become Really Really Close

So close that youre actually leaving your house!! Voluntarily!!

and one day you go in to your kitchen

to see flowers on the table

and a card right next to it lol its in your moms hand 

and you just go up to it cause you see your name on the card 

you McSnatch the card away bc your moms all like ‘you have a secret admirer’ and she gives you the Mom Look

so you just Blush and read the stupid card

‘Please come to work, i miss seeing your pretty face.’ and you go !!!! what !!! 

and so you throw on some pants and the closest t-shirt near you

and then you yell that you’re going to work

so you step into the flower shop and there are wa y more flowers than you remember there to be

like theres,,, one spot that has Just Flowers

and you walk up to it and then 

Renjun comes to scare you what a little shit

and then you yelp!! once more!! 

and then he!! hugs !! you!!

but not before he gives you all of these flowers!!!!

and then he!!! says!! he made the arrangement!! just!! for!!! you!!!

so on the inside you are yelling!! wtfkdfjlsdjg

and you are just wondering w hat did you ever do to deserve this precious

and the he!! says!!

‘Will you be my girlfriend?’ and then he just!! smiles so big!

because you say of course!!! 

He is a whole Catch, he’s caring, knows how to joke around, AND he’s cute!!!

okay but boyfriend renjun who is also your co-worker would be so cute! 

because you would be watering the plants, and then you would see some flowers around with small notes tied with ribbons

with the CUTEST messages on them

and you keep every single one of them in a jar on your desk

by now you have 3 jars filled

thanks for making me the Softest Stan Renjun

and so you would always find cute arrangements in you home!!

and his gma would b watching in the back with That Look

she would think ‘i made a good decision’

BECAUSE SHE DID

his gma: god tier

but anyway florist!renjun who is also your bf!! would be so!! cute!! wtf!!

my heart: melting

honestly my heart cannot handle

SO you guys would just b so happy with each other, life is good,,,

and everytime someone asks how you guys got together,,, youwould always say

lol his grandma like u would Not Believe

but you would always say that the flower shop you both work in, has brought you guys together.

Masterlist

[botanistlester]

A Dance With Death

Summary: Dan is the God of Death, who helps people to the Underworld when they pass. One day, he randomly pops up at a masquerade ball for Prince Philip's coming of age ceremony. He doesn't know why he is there, but it's hard to focus on his job when the prince asks him to dance. Word Count: 7,919 Warnings: character death, blood, graphic depictions of dying A/N: Many thanks to Haley ( @haleykinz) for this WONDERFUL idea! I just kinda took this idea and ran with it, and now it's far too long. As you can see, this does have character death in it. BUT, it is a happy ending. I mean, Dan's the God of Death, what do you expect? Also thank you to Jillian ( @jilliancares) and Elizajane ( @snowbunnylester) for helping me develop this fic, and thank you to Hannah ( @flyingstarshowell) for betaing this for me :') love u all

Voted Second for Best Combination in the phanfic awards 2017! tag urself, god edition art by haley art by @dilshamster​ Read it on AO3!

-

Dan has a guilty pleasure.

It’s a weird one, that’s for sure, something that most people like him don’t have any desire for. But he can’t seem to help it, honestly. He likes the way people move around him, how they laugh and dance and genuinely don’t care about anything else in the world. He likes the way girls’ dresses flow as they twirl and the way men wear little bow ties around their necks. Hell, sometimes girls wear bowties, and Dan likes that too.

And for a single moment, nobody thinks about death.

Masquerade dances are the perfect excuses for Dan to be himself. Well, kind of.

He’s dead. He’s been dead for thousands of years, in fact. He is a creature of the underworld, one made of bone and paper-thin flesh that he can mould to his liking. He have s changed his appearance sometimes, just because he could. Once, he had found himself moulding into Shrek and had laughed for a good three weeks before deciding to change it up.

His current appearance was one that he’d taken quite a liking to. He looked human. As human as someone without a soul could look, at least. He had dark brown eyes and curly brown hair to match. His skin was pale, because he was dead of course, and there were two dimples in his cheeks when he smiled. He towered over other humans, but he kind of liked it, and he wore black because he was dead, damn it.

To some, he was known as the devil. To others, he was known as death. But to Dan? He was Dan. Just a guy who accompanied those who passed on their journey to the Underworld. He made sure that they didn’t get lost, like the fumbling babies they truly were upon dying, made sure that they didn’t get stuck in Purgatory, and for God’s sake, don’t drink the water, Susan.

That’s why Dan liked masquerade balls so much. He liked how nobody knew who he was, how nobody paid attention to death staring them right in the face. He liked the life that flitted around the room, and he definitely liked the punch that made his brain rattle in his skull.

He thought he looked particularly snazzy that night. His hair wasn’t as frizzy as normal and actually had some defined curls, which was nice. A black mask covered his face, one decorated with rubies and had roses crawling up the sides. It perched upon his nose like a bird and he liked the protection it gave him. He was wearing an all-black tux as well, including a black undershirt and a black bow tie. He wore a black cloak just because he could, because he was Death, and he was extra, damn it.

He looked like Death himself. Pun intended.

He didn’t have to worry about whether or not he was invited, because he could just say a name and have it pop up on the list. Being a person of the Underworld had it’s perks, he supposed.

Today was one of the days where Dan popped up at a masquerade dance without expecting it. Normally, whenever somebody was close to death, he would just pop up somewhere and he'd have to wait for a little bit to know who was actually going to pass, and today was one of those times.

It just so happened to be at a masquerade ball, much to Dan’s excitement.

He made his way through the crowd, watching as the humans all chattered away, dancing to weirdly fancy violin music. They ate little cakes on tiny porcelain plates and their drinks were in champagne glasses, regardless of whether or not it was actually alcohol or not. Just from this, Dan figured that he was at some sort of important event.

Maybe something to do with royalty?

He blended in for a while, tried to chat to some of the humans as if he were one of them, as if he wasn’t rotting flesh stretched around dead bones. Meanwhile, he kept his eyes on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary, for someone who would randomly drop dead, sending their soul into the fourth dimension.

Nothing yet, so he engaged in a conversation about how the punch was absolutely divine with a woman wearing a white dress made mostly out of feathers. Dan didn’t quite understand human fashion, but he appreciated the absolute absurdity of it anyway. Back when he had been alive, Dan had been wearing pretty much just a loin cloth, so the evolution of clothing was always so fascinating to him.

Suddenly, a hush fell over the crowd and Dan thought, this is it. The humans all turned, the music stopped, and a trumpet started to sing a tune that hurt Dan’s ears. He didn’t know why there was a trumpet playing when someone had died, but Dan didn’t pay any mind to it and stepped forth, trying to shove himself between the masses to the center where he would be able to walk the poor soul to the Underworld.

Except, nobody was dead.

For some reason, everybody had turned to look at a man. He walked onto the floor wearing a navy blue blazer with a white undershirt and black bowtie. He was also wearing black dress pants and had various pins on his blazer that screamed royalty. His hair was as black as a raven’s wing, his skin putting Snow White herself to shame, and his eyes sparkled against the blue of his dress clothes. There was a white mask perched against his face, pearls dancing around the edges. It made his skin seem ever more pale, but it also made him seem to shine.

For a moment, Dan lost his breath. And then he remembered that he didn’t have to breathe in general, so he let out a useless breath anyway and gaped because that’s what he felt like he should do. If he had a heart, it would have stuttered a beat, probably fallen out of his ass and shattered on the floor.

Dan didn’t believe in love. He was a god of death, not a god of love. Adoré was in charge of love and all things gross, not him.

And yet, for a moment, Dan forgot he was the god of death. He looked around for any signs of Adoré hanging around. Maybe she’d hit him with her magic love potions or something. But alas, she was nowhere to be found, and Dan caught himself staring at this beautiful human once more, taking in the beauty mark on his cheek and the way his eyes sparkled three different colours in the light.

The trumpet stopped singing, and a voice rang out then. “Thank you all for coming to our Royal Ball to celebrate Prince Philip’s coming of age! By the end of the night, we are hoping to find a bride for the Prince, who will carry on the Lester name.” Dan glanced around to find the source of the voice, and he found the man a little ways in front of Philip, holding himself with his head held high and his fist to his chest. It was a bit strange, but Dan didn’t question it.

He didn’t quite understand human customs yet, apparently.

The ball commenced then, and Dan stood back as a mass of people flocked to the prince like bugs to a light. Dan crinkled his nose, figuring that it would be pretty horrible to have that many people stood around him, so he decided to leave the prince to himself (no matter how badly he also wanted to flock to him). Instead, he busied himself by looking around, taking in the exquisite details of the room.

There were giant pillars that cast shadows on the floors and paintings on the ceiling of various flowers and trees. The floors were black and white marble, and Dan could even see gold glinting on the floor under the bright lights. Lanterns hung on the walls, long mahogany tables lining them, obviously pushed out of the way so that people could use the dance floor. A few people were eating at the tables, and there were butlers carrying around plates of food.

One approached him, and Dan couldn’t help but be surprised by that. Usually if he wanted to talk to a human, he was the one who typically approached them. Someone had mentioned to him before that it’s because he has an uneasy aura, which he could understand. He is Death after all. “Would you like a strawberry fudge brownie bite?” the man asked, and Dan couldn’t help but snort at how not fancy the foods were.

“Of course,” Dan said nonchalantly, and then he took three off of the plate just because he could.

The man held up his finger. “Ah, only one per guest,” he said timidly, and Dan frowned.

“I’m taking three,” he told the man, cocking his head with a smirk. He narrowed his eyes, basking in the way the man seemed to shrink under his gaze. “Or did you have a problem with that?”

He knew he was scary, and he took full advantage of that fact. He knew that his eyes would glow red on command, something that the humans didn’t fully understand - something the humans didn’t want to understand. So they quaked in their shoes, terrified for their lives, and gossip spread around towns like wildfire about a man with eyes of blood and a cloak of black death. Most people didn’t believe in Death, but the folktale was there nonetheless, a story to tell the kids at night to make them stay in bed, a story that made people fear the dark.

The man fled. Dan smiled at his three brownies and began to dig in.

Dan was halfway through his second brownie when he heard a chuckle behind him. He didn’t pay any attention to it at first, because this brownie was truly delicious so he didn’t really care about anything else, but then a voice followed the chuckle, and Dan furrowed his eyebrows as he realised that the person was talking to him.

“Excuse me?” the voice came again, and Dan turned, only to nearly choke on his brownie. He swallowed it down, cleared his throat, and tried to look presentable, because the prince was standing in front of him, his eyes shining against the blue of his blazer. He looked so alive that Dan wanted to press his head against his chest to listen to his still-beating heart.

He didn’t understand why he was having these feelings all of a sudden. He’s seen many humans, many that were alive, and even more that were dead. None of them gave him a fuzzy feeling in his chest that made him wonder if he had come back to life. None until the prince of wherever the hell they were, at least.

Dan set his brownie on the table. He’d seen enough humans to know that he was supposed to bow down when he was graced by a royal presence. He didn’t usually care about human customs, but for some reason when it came to this ethereal specimen, he just couldn’t help himself. “What can I do you this honour, your grace?” he asked, a bit confused as to why the prince was talking to him, of all people.

The prince smiled, a pink tongue sticking out between his white teeth. His eyes sparkled and Dan was once again in amazement of how alive he was. Dan didn’t want to think about how one day, he was going to be the one to lead this beautiful human to the Underworld, never to be seen again. “That was impressive how you just ordered the servant around like that. I’m quite intrigued.”

Dan was at a loss of words, rather taken aback, so he just fiddled a bit with his cloak. He bit the inside of his cheek. He was supposed to be Death, he scolded himself. Now was no time to be shy about it. So he smiled, his lips that weren’t really his lips turning upwards. Under the scrutiny of the prince, he felt as though he could feel every twitch of his muscle, as though he were a machine being watched for any mistake. It was a strange feeling, one that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. “Thank you?” he said, a bit confused at the statement.

This just made the prince laugh, who threw his head back heartily, showing the skin of his neck. Dan could see his adam’s apple bounce and his tongue felt heavy in his mouth. “I like your cape,” the prince said sincerely, and Dan frowned despite himself.

“It’s a cloak,” he corrected before he could stop himself. Immediately, he internally groaned and wanted to bash his head into the wall. Why would he say something like that to the most beautiful human in existence? He probably thought he was weird now or something.

But Prince Philip just laughed, and shook his head a little bit. “I like your cloak then,” he corrected himself, and his smile was blinding now. Dan could feel the presence of the hundreds of other guests around them, watching them, but Philip didn’t pay any attention to them. His eyes were all on Dan, and God, Dan must have died all over again. “I’m Phil. And you are…?” Phil. The nickname made Dan’s cheeks warm, which is weird because he definitely didn’t have any blood in his veins the last time he checked. “I’m Dan,” Dan replied dumbly. There was a reason he was the god of death, damn it! He wasn’t good with people, didn’t understand them! The last time he was human, he didn’t have any of the new age crap they had, so it all went over his head.

“Dan,” Phil said, and the name rolled off of Phil’s tongue like it was greeting an old friend. Dan shivered because it’d been awhile since anyone had said his name. Or maybe it was just because it was Phil who was saying it. “Would you like to dance with me?”

Dan’s first instinct was to eye the brownies he’d set on the table. There was still one and a half left, and they were so good that he didn’t really want to leave them. But then he cleared his head a little, yelled at himself a little bit, and had a moment of realisation that a prince wanted to dance with Death.

... What?

Dan gaped at him. “You want to dance with me?” he asked stupidly.

Phil smiled and didn’t say anything, just extended an arm to him, and Dan could do nothing else but take it. He didn’t quite know what was happening or why Phil wanted to dance with him, but he did know that Phil was supposed to be looking for a wife and Dan was supposed to be looking for a lost soul. However, when Phil’s arm curled around his waist, and his hand settled on Dan’s shoulder, Dan’s mind went completely blank.

He couldn’t see anyone else, couldn’t think of anything else. All he could focus on was the prince, how he was so full of life, how his skin was illuminated under the lights. It was like he was emitting his own golden glow, like he was some otherworldly creature that had captured Dan under his spell. It was unsettling, but Dan didn’t pay any attention to that.

He laughed a little when he tripped over the prince’s feet. He’d never danced before in his life, but Phil was quick to steady him, his arms strong and supportive, and Dan could feel himself falling deeper into infatuation for this human. He was really going to have to get on Adoré’s case later, because she was no doubt playing a trick on him.

They danced until Dan’s feet were aching and Phil’s breath was coming out in short gasps, but they were grinning nonetheless. They didn’t pay any mind to the people around them, and Phil seemed to be ignoring the whole wife thing completely.

Dan was curious though. He’s always been a curious guy; it was just in his nature. So he brought it up when they broke away to grab some punch from one of the servants, served in some crystal champagne glasses that were far too fancy for punch.

“Why are you wasting your time dancing with me when you could be looking for a beautiful bride?”

Phil paused before he could take a sip of his drink, and Dan’s eyes were drawn to the glass. Something was niggling in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t quite tell what, so he decided to ignore it instead, hanging onto every word that Phil said. “I wanted to dance with you,” Phil told him, smiling as Dan met his eyes again. He swore he could get lost in those eyes. “Out of all of the people in the room, you were the only one who stood out to me. You and that cape, that is.” He flicked Dan’s cloak with a finger to accentuate his point and Dan gasped in mock offense.

“Excuse you, this is a cloak!” Dan exclaimed, watching as Phil lifted the glass to his lips once more.

All of a sudden, Dan could feel everything turn to slow motion. His fingers began to tingle and his eyes widened in horror. The glass rose to Phil’s lips inch by inch, and Dan’s chest began to ache. The god of death inside of him began to tremble with want, the way that it always did right before someone was about to die, and-

Holy shit, Dan was here because Phil was going to die.

He didn’t know what to do. For the first time in his immortal life, Dan didn’t want to see a human die and go to the Underworld. In fact, he didn’t want to see this human die at all. Phil was too good, too full of life, and Dan didn’t think he could fathom it if he had to watch those gorgeous blue eyes slowly lose their light.

Without thinking, Dan caught Phil’s wrist in his hand. Phil squeaked and a little bit of punch spilled out of the chute and onto the pretty marble floors, staining it with the poison. Their eyes met, Phil’s expression one of horror and confusion, and Dan didn’t even have to see his own reflection to know that his eyes were glowing red, his cloak seeming to flutter without any breeze in the room.

Dan was well aware that people were staring, that a guard was yelling at him to unhand the prince, but all he could focus on was the fact that Phil was safe, that he wasn’t going to die tonight.

“Don’t drink the punch,” Dan said, his voice coming out as more of a growl. He could feel his physical body start to dissipate and he let go of Phil’s hand to throw the punch on the floor before lifting his hood up to cover his face.

“Dan, what-?!” Phil gasped out when he got over his initial shock. He reached out to grab Dan’s arm, but his hand went right through him. Dan watched, his stomach sunk to the floor as Phil flinched away, staring at his own hands as if they’d offended him themselves.

Before Dan could completely disappear from sight, he smiled as best as he could. But it was a sad smile, knowing that he would most likely not see this man again for a very long time. He didn’t know what would happen because he just defied Fate, but he knew it would not be good.

“Someone is trying to kill you,” Dan told him in a soft voice. “Please don’t make me come back here. I really don’t want to have to help you travel to the Underworld.”

Phil didn’t get to reply before Dan vanished into thin air, leaving chaos in his wake. He only knew that he would no longer be able to show his face around Phil’s city again without changing his features.

After all, the God of Death isn’t welcomed to masquerade parties.

-

“Dan, what the hell?”

Dan opened his eyes to find that he was in the deity conference room, a huge colosseum in the sky where the gods held important meetings. He should have figured he’d end up here after the stunt he’d pulled.

It was Adoré who’d spoken, her rose coloured eyes filled with fury. Her ebony skin shined in the iridescent light of the colosseum and she wore intricate patterns of gold that sat against her skin like it was engraved into it.

Dan frowned and rubbed a hand through his face. He could feel the bones jutting out from his cheeks, the skin having dissolved from his bones. He focused on his soul and formed a body for himself once more, despite how it made his head ache and his bones crack. He just really didn't feel like walking around as a giant skeleton in front of the other gods at the moment. “What are you yelling at me for?” he mumbled, pulling his cloak back over his head.

This time his statement made a round of grumbles travel its way around the table. Dan sighed, bracing himself.

“You can’t just fuck with fate, Dan!” Theos, the God of Fate shrilled. Dan knew that this would happen; Theos never liked him, even though Dan had never really screwed around with fate until now. Yet now that he did, Theos was taking full advantage of his hatred. Dan didn’t really blame him. He didn’t know what had come over him in that ballroom, but it was definitely not Death God-like. “Do you know what you’ve done?!”

Dan could guess, but he shook his head anyways because he liked hearing Theos freak out on him. It was a bit funny to see such a small man - only rearing on three feet tall - yelling at him in a strong voice, his face turning the same shade as a tomato. It was rather hilarious and Dan found himself stifling his laughter, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

“You- how can you be so relaxed right now?!” Theos snarled, shaking his head with a scoff. His beautiful golden locks of hair flicked around the air and Dan watched in rapt fascination. If he truly wanted to, he could also have hair that bodacious and beautiful, but he found himself more comfortable in his current form, and that saddened him greatly. He wanted cool hair too. “You just upset the sequence of time! That man - Philip Lester - was supposed to die tonight. What is going to happen to the time sequence now?! That man currently doesn’t have a fate! He is literally a being with no meaning!”

Dan frowned. He didn’t like the way they were talking about Phil. He was too good of a person to die. He should live a happy life, maybe have a wife and kids, and then Dan could watch from afar as he lived to his fullest potential. And only when Phil was ready, Dan would be there to take his hand and walk him to the Underworld. Now was not his time. “Well then just make up a timeline for him. It’s not that hard, and you and I both know it.”

The whole table gaped at him, and it was Leonidas who spoke next. He was the God of Time, and Dan was pretty sure he and Theos were sleeping together. “Dan, you unfathomable idiot.” Leonidas flexed his muscles and Dan hummed, staring at his biceps. Physical bodies were so fascinating. Theos was a lucky man. “I’m afraid it doesn’t quite work like that.”

“Well, why not?” Dan asked, feeling like a child stomping his foot. The entire god race was pissed at him and Dan didn’t understand why. So what? Death saved a life. Sure, it was ironic, but they were literally gods. They could do what they wanted.

“If a god saves another human, none of the other gods can touch him,” Adoré murmured in her soft tone of voice. This time, she seemed sad, as if she could look right through Dan and see exactly why he’d decided to save Phil’s life. “Philip literally doesn’t have a fate anymore. He has no reason to live. The entire world will be against him now and he’ll most likely be dead within a fortnight at this rate. It’s nothing Theos or Leonidas or you can fix. He’s a goner, Dan.”

Dan’s heart dropped. Well, if he had one. He felt like he had one, that’s for sure. How many millennia has it been since he’s felt like there was a physical muscle beating in his body? He didn’t have emotions, he didn’t have feelings. And yet, he still felt as though he was going to pass out. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not, Dan,” Adoré murmured quietly, and the whole room went completely silent, waiting for Dan’s reaction.

Dan couldn’t breathe. He could never breathe, but now his entire chest was constricting and he could feel his skin beginning to melt away, revealing his true form. He didn’t have enough energy to keep on the mask anymore, it seemed. Why had nobody told him of this? Why was he so blissfully unaware that if he saved a human life, he would have to end it shortly after? Phil had a life before Dan. He had a reason to live. He could have had a happy night before passing.

And then Dan had to get involved and ruin it all.

“Are… are you in love with him?” Adoré asked, and Dan’s head snapped up.

“No!” he snarled, his cape beginning to rise and his eyes shining red. “I’m the God of Death, Adoré, I don’t have human emotions like the rest of you!”

It seemed to cause a riot throughout the colosseum, because everyone started talking at once. Dan could make out snippets here and there, but nothing really stood out to him. They were all rambling, coming up with their own theories, trying to figure out why Dan had saved a human if he didn’t feel anything for him. Dan didn’t know why either, but his head was beginning to hurt. He hated being scrutinized by the rest of the gods like a piece of bad meat.

“Wait!” a voice shouted then, and all of the attention was turned to the end of the table. Gabrielle stood tall. She had climbed on the table and her white hair shone in the godly light of the room. Her purple skin sparkled silver and her eyes burned blue bullets into Dan’s body. He froze, uncertain as to why the God of all gods was talking to him. She usually didn’t give a care in the world about what the rest of them were doing. When they were fighting, she was usually cooing over the dogs that were birthed every day on Earth. Dan didn’t know too much about her besides that fact, but he always thought she looked cooler than the rest of them. “Dan,” she said, pointing at him. Dan raised his eyebrows, pointing to himself. He could tell that she was talking to him. There was no need to point. “You were a human before you became a god.”

Dan rolled his eyes. He’d known that already, could remember being a human. So why did that have anything to do with the topic? “Okay, yeah, I know. I remember.” He scowled, raising an eyebrow. “The fuck does that have to do with anything, Gabrielle?”

She walked towards him, still on the table, and her white gown flowed behind her as though it was performing a ballet. Dan always liked dresses, had even worn some on occasion, but they always felt too breezy for him to be fully comfortable. “You’re the only one of us who was born a human. What if those human emotions remained after you became the God of Death? What if you’re feeling something because that’s what your human part wants you to feel?”

“If that’s the case, then why did it take me tens of thousands of years to actually feel something?”

Gabrielle shrugged. “Obviously Philip triggered something in you that made you remember how to feel. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. However, I think it’s wrong of you to act on those emotions and mess with the fate that Theos chose for him. That was a huge mistake on your part, Dan.”

Theos muttered aloud, “You tell him, Gab,” under his breath, and Dan resisted the urge to growl at him.

“But!” Gabrielle continued, holding up her finger to silence the other gods. Her eyes burned brighter and her cheekbones were sharp and slightly terrifying, but Dan has seen things, has seen Death itself, so he wasn’t scared of her in the slightest. “I pity you, so I’m going to let it slide this time.”

A round of groans sounded around the colosseum. Dan wasn’t exactly the most loved of the gods, mostly because he simply didn’t care about anything; he had to bet that most of them wanted to see him fall. But Dan knew Gabrielle, knew her more than any of the other gods knew her. She was there when Dan had become a god, had been there when death took him and abandoned him in Purgatory. She’d opened her arms wide, told Dan that he was special and that he could live an eternal life as long as he helped lost souls find their way home.

He hadn’t understood what she’d meant at the time, but he was eternally grateful for her and the way she’d raised him into the being he was today. In a sense, she was the mother that Dan had been craving since he’d shown his own mother her way to the Underworld.

“You can’t just let him get off with this,” Leonidas cried out, followed by angry nods from the other gods. The only exception was Adoré, who seemed a bit intrigued, staring at Dan with something curious and soft in those magenta eyes. Dan hated it.

Gabrielle snorted, rolling her eyes. “I can do what I want. Don’t talk to me, Leo. I’m talking to Dan.” She turned those blue eyes back on Dan, looking thoughtful. She twirled white hair around her finger until it was in a tight coil, kind of like a snake. “I’m not going to punish you because I like you and I think you had good intentions, Dan. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you display any human emotions.” Dan knew exactly the last time she was talking about. When he’d just walked his mum to the Underworld and he completely broke down in Gabrielle’s arms. After that, he couldn’t really feel anything at all, and that’s when he guessed his humanity left his body. “The fact of the matter is that Phil does not have a fate anymore because you saved him, so he will not be able to live. But I made the same mistake as you before, and it was the best decision of my life.”

Murmurs broke out around them, and Dan couldn’t look away from those bright blue eyes. He had a feeling that he knew exactly what she was talking about, but he couldn’t remember what it was. It was on the tip of his tongue, a memory on the edge of his mind that just couldn’t come to life.

Gabrielle smiled and memories flooded his mind.

He had just celebrated his birthday and had been out with some of his friends. They spoke an ancient language, one that Dan could understand because it was his original language. They were all shooting their bows and arrows, having a good laugh, when all of a sudden a cry came from behind Dan.

Dan had turned, found his friend staring in horror at a woman with skin that held a million galaxies and white hair that sparkled in the sun. She had an arrow in her shoulder, one that was oozing blood the colour of ink. Dan couldn’t tell much from the situation, but he could tell enough to know that this woman, this strange and alien woman, had just jumped in front of an arrow and saved his life.

He had sprung forward, speaking so quickly that his tongue tied up and he could barely understand what he was saying, but he found himself at her side, trying to pry out the arrow. His mum had been the healer in his village so he’d known a lot about medicines and how to patch people up, so he used that information to extract the arrow and stitch the wound with a needle and twine.

The woman disappeared after that, and Dan only saw her days later when he’d drowned in a river and she was there to greet him, kissing him on the forehead and offering him eternal life.

Now, Dan understood. She had made the same mistake as he had. For some reason, she had saved his life, and when Dan had later passed away, he was made into a God because he had no fate with life nor death.

Gabrielle smiled at him and she closed her eyes, ignoring the backlash from the other gods. She knew that Dan understood, knew that Dan could choose to follow in her footsteps for the person that Dan felt affection for. It was a rare circumstance, one that had only happened once before, but Dan was ready to take the risk.

Even if he didn’t want to watch Philip die.

“Go to him,” Gabrielle told him, and Dan nodded. He felt a bit brighter now, more hopeful than he had in his entire life.

He wrapped his cloak around his shoulders, put his hood over his head, and focused on the image of Phil in his mind. He didn’t know what he was doing at the moment, but Dan knew that he would show up wherever Phil was.

The colosseum broke into loud chatter as Dan dissolved from the room, only to pop up in a room that he’d never seen before. It was dark, the only light emanating from the open window where the moon was leaving a kiss of silver upon the walls. There was a bed in the middle of the room, and Dan figured that it was Phil who was wrapped up in the elegant duvet, a lump among the covers.

Dan watched for a moment, not moving. Now that he was here, he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. Wasn’t it a bit creepy to watch someone sleep? Would it scare Phil off if he had just randomly appeared in his bedchamber? Dan hesitated, not moving, and just waited.

He waited until a cough erupted from the bed and Phil moved, turning around in bed. He turned so that Dan could see his face, that beautiful face that Dan had missed so dearly in the short time they’d been away. Although, time passed differently between the realms, so whereas only a few hours had passed in the colosseum, Dan knew that a few days had passed in the human world.

His nonexistent heart dropped when he saw Phil’s face. His eyes were closed, he was sleeping, but he seemed horribly sick. His eyes were sunken into his head and his cheeks were caved in. He reminded Dan of what he looked like when he didn’t mould himself some skin, and it made Dan’s chest ache to see. His skin was so pale that there was a light blue tinge to it, and his lips were dry and cracked. As Dan watched, Phil coughed again, one that was congested and made blood spurt onto the sheets.

He was dying and Dan was here to take away his life.

Slowly, Phil began to open his eyes. Dan could tell that it took him a moment to focus on him, that he probably just saw a black shadow, but when he made out who it was, Phil smiled, albeit a bit bitterly. “Are you here to kill me?” he rasped out, letting out a sour laugh that made Dan frown sadly.

He didn’t want to kill Phil. He didn’t like seeing him like this. He missed when Phil was so full of life, that first moment that Dan had seen him and had been so enraptured by his beauty that it made him feel human once again. Seeing Phil like this, so close to death, made Dan hurt. He felt as though he could cry, as though he wanted to curl around Phil and shield him away from death.

Shield him away from himself.

And that was the worst feeling of all, knowing that he was the one who would have to bring Phil to his doom. Is this how Gabrielle felt when she had to see Dan to his own death?

“I’m here to offer you eternal life,” Dan told him sincerely, taking a step towards Phil. He had expected Phil to shrink backwards, because everyone was afraid of Death. But alas, he didn’t, just stared up at him, his mouth still in that half smile. Dan wanted him to smile for real, but Phil seemed so sickly that he wasn’t sure he would even be able to do so.

“Eternal life?” Phil mimicked, before coughing some more. This time it seemed worse than the others, staining the white sheets with crimson. Dan took another step forward and brushed the hair out of Phil’s face. Phil’s eyelashes fluttered under his touch, and Dan was amazed by how calm Phil seemed around him. “How is that? Aren’t you the God of Death?”

Dan smiled painfully at him. He was glad that Phil didn’t seem angry at him, didn’t seem scared of him, but he couldn’t help the pool of guilt starting in his stomach that told him you did this, you’re a monster, you ruined this man’s life. “Basically I pissed off the God of Fate by saving your life, so now you don’t have a place in life or death. So Gabrielle, the Goddess in charge of all of us told me that the only way to save you is if you become a god.” Dan paused. The words sounded rather insane when he said them, but he didn’t know a better way to explain it. “That’s how I became the God of Death, because Gabrielle saved my life. So I’m offering you another chance at life.”

Phil closed his eyes, and for a moment, Dan was scared that he was dead. But then he spoke, his voice a mere whisper. “Will I be a Death God too?” A pause. “And what happens if I say no?”

Dan didn’t want to think about the second question just yet, so he only focused on the first. He knelt to the ground beside Phil’s bed and found Phil’s hand under the duvet, holding it tightly in his own. He spoke in a hushed voice, almost like he was telling Phil a bedtime story, one that would follow him to death. “You will take on the role of a God whose soul represents you. That could range from anything from the God of the Sea to the God of Plants. You’re chosen based off of what your soul represents.”

Phil nodded weakly, taking this in. Dan knew what he was thinking: how had Dan’s soul reflected death? And what would Phil’s soul take on? “And my second question.”

“If you do not take on this duty, then your soul will be lost in Purgatory for eternity.”

That fact hurt Dan more than Phil could ever know. He hated how he’d done this, how he’d made Phil give up a life of eternal happiness in the Underworld for his own selfish reasons. He hated how he’s basically forcing Phil to become a god for his own selfish needs, because he hadn’t wanted to let a man he’d just met die from poison. He was the worst Death God the world had ever seen, for sure.

Phil laid back in his bed, turning so that he was staring at the ceiling. He was still holding Dan’s hand, which was a good sign, and his skin was so warm whilst Dan’s was ice cold. It made him feel as though he were on fire, but it was a good feeling, one that lit up Dan’s insides and made him feel something other than harsh emptiness.

“If I decide to do this whole thing,” he gestured to Dan with his free hand, but didn’t turn to look at him, “will I still get to see you?”

The words were so innocent, almost like a child who was fearing that they’d never see their mother again. They made Dan’s face feel hot, just like when he’d first met Phil, and he had to take a deep breath to force himself back to earth. “Of course you’d still get to see me,” Dan told him honestly, because at this point he didn’t think he would be able to stay away even if Gabrielle ordered him to. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. I destroyed your life, after all.”

That made Phil laugh, but it was weak and made him cough some more. He ended his chuckle with an elongated sigh;he looked truly and utterly exhausted. Another flash of guilt went through Dan but he tried to push it away. It wouldn’t be long now before Phil’s soul would leave his body and would join Dan in the fourth dimension.

“Tell me a story,” Phil murmured, and Dan could do nothing else but obey.

He told him a story of an immortal being, one who had no purpose into life other than to witness the death of others. He told him of how that being had grown bored of his undead life and found solace in masquerade balls because they let him hide away from who he was and just enjoy himself for once. However, one night, he saw a man so beautiful that he could have sworn his dead heart had come back to life and made him human again. They danced the night away and the immortal found himself falling for this human, only to find that he was supposed to be bringing death upon him. When the time came, the man found that he couldn’t do it, and ended up saving the man’s life instead, knowing that it would bring displeasure to the other immortals.

It was blindingly obvious that it was the story of how they’d met, of why Dan had saved Phil’s life, but Phil didn’t care. It brought a smile to his face, one that was weak, yet still so beautiful that Dan thanked the other gods for this very moment. Time was running out, and Dan could feel his cloak begin to quiver with the precipice of death.

Then Phil turned and looked at Dan and his eyes sparkled in the moonlight, despite the exhaustion on his face. He was still smiling and Dan didn’t know how he did it when he was dying so soon. “Can you kiss me?” he asked suddenly, and Dan was taken aback.

In his entire life, nobody had ever asked Dan to kiss them. Especially not someone who was more beautiful than Gabrielle herself, with eyes the colour of the grass and seas and skin so pale that it reflected the moonlight. Dan didn’t know what to do at first. He found it a bit ironic at the same time, those rumours coming to mind about how death would come to you if the God of Death gave you a kiss.

He pushed all of those thoughts out of his mind as he leaned forward and pressed their lips together. Phil’s lips were cold and Dan could taste the blood on his tongue. But the kiss was soft nonetheless, something meaningful and full of life despite the fact that both beings were anything but. Kissing Phil made Dan feel as though he’d been brought back to life, like his heart was beating and his blood was rushing through his veins. He felt warm all over, everything that death wasn’t supposed to be like.

When he pulled away, Dan kept his eyes closed because he wanted to bask in the feeling of kissing Phil. He didn’t want to open his eyes and come back to reality. He didn’t want to acknowledge the way Phil had gone limp in his arms or how Phil had slowly grown colder.

He didn’t want to see a cold and motionless Phil laying right in front of him, eyes dark and soulless.

“Dan?”

A ray of sunshine poked through the clouds. Dan twirled around, ignoring the empty body in front of him, and instead focusing on the being that was now standing behind him, standing tall and smiling so widely that it seemed as though his face was going to split in half.

If Dan had thought Phil looked alive when he was alive, then he was exuberant in death.

His eyes, those beautiful ocean eyes, sparkled with the light of a thousand suns. If Dan looked close enough, he could see rolling hills of grass in those gorgeous irises. His cheeks were tinted pink, his skin shining like the moonlight. His hair was glossy and seemed to have a life of its own, and he was emanating a certain bright light all around him, one that was a light yellow colour that Dan had never seen before in a God.

Before he could stop himself, Dan was crossing the short distance between them and hugging him close. He littered kisses over his shoulders and his cheeks, and they were laughing, and Phil was crying, and it was nothing like when Dan had accepted his own eternal life. This time, Phil was greeting him with hope and happiness, shining so brightly that Dan nearly had to shield his eyes.

“Thank God, thank God,” Dan whispered over and over, even though he knew that Phil was going to be here even after he’d passed, that he was going to stay with Dan for eternity and longer, until they were just specks of dust in a large, meaningless expanse of nothingness.

Phil was here, and he was never going to leave.

After they parted, Phil kissed Dan once more on the lips, and then took his hand. They were both ignoring the soulless body lying on the bed behind them, not wanting to look back at what Phil’s life used to be, and instead focused on each other.

“So?” Phil asked, cocking his head. He was smiling so widely that his tongue was sticking between his teeth. “What God am I, then?”

Dan didn’t have to even think to know the answer. He’d known it as soon as he’d first laid eyes on Phil, known it as soon as he saw that gorgeous smile and the way he carried himself. He knew it by the yellow glow surrounding him and the ethereal beauty that took Dan’s breath away.

“You’re the God of Life.”

Part Two

[babiewonho]

1/2 hi, you don't need to reply if you don't want to. i'm sorry you're feeling self conscious. the only impressions i have of you are your posts and your tags but i really like reading/seeing them, i think you're super funny and really sweet and i genuinely love seeing literally anything you post on my dash and i love that you seem talkative because i like the stuff you're saying. i don't think there's anything wrong with working on changing something about yourself if you don't like it,

2/2 but i felt like sharing this with you anyway because i’m sure i’m not the only person that thinks this. i hope you feel better soon ❤ also a reminder to go to the bathroom and eat something and drink some water and take care of yourself in general because it’s what you deserve!anon that already left 2 asks is back because i have lots to say apparently! just a reminder that not everyone expresses themselves the same way.i don’t usually say much because i don’t feel the need to but, when i do, i don’t think i should feel bad about it. and i think that’s great. my closest friend talks a lot and has A LOT to say about LOTS of stuff and i think that’s great. i love seeing your rants and i think you’re great. sorry for bothering you i’m done now take care you’re wonderful!

first of all icb u sent me three asks wtf ur so caring n nice thank u so much :(( for thinking of me taking the time 2 send these. this made me feel a lot better esp bc i. Posted So Much today i posted like eight billion times kasfjasf i was like  it’s Shut Up O’Clock  ! skfjasf i’m always goin off for no reason…but i’m Really glad u like my posts :((( i’m glad there is some value in me chatting away all day askfj please you’re so Kind…i’m Emo…[that gif of spongebob where he cries into a mug n then drinks the tears n cries some more] n i did !! i didn’t answer this quickly bc i had dinner but i drank water :DD n thank you so much wtf you deserve the Best i hope u are also taking care of urself…n ur right i haven’t thought abt that …idk i’m sure ppl aren’t even like! thinking abt it that much or scrutinizing my every move so it’s honestly irrational n PLEASE u are not Bothering me at all i appreciate these asks so much   ur so kind n sweet thank u so much u have a lot of love in ur heart please take care

[snowdrop-yoongi]

Hun, i see im late, but hey. Dont get drunk, sweetie. Twill bring u headache n. Just dont. Or get drunk with tea. Tea s good. Find some crazy ff, make urself cave of blankets n cushions.

hi, sweetie, my dear lil flower, Do U Like Chocolate? if so, eat chocolate! I cant believe myself that i didnt write bout chocolate before? How stupidly stupid of me. kissess hugs love n peace, drink ur tea today, hm?

Or u kknow what. My bro invented (heh) it like two or three weeks ago . he bought tons of tangerines, now hes takin one, slice it n put into a glass, then pour it with cold water, then wait a little, n tadam we have yummy fresh refreshin drink. Tangerines! c:

getting drunk is nice tho :/

i do like chocolate, i have a bunch of chili chocolate that i got for christmas and it’s so good. mm and i love tangerines too (tho it’s kind of confusing because here we have these fruits that are usually just labeled as “cuties” or smth similar and they are sometimes tangerines, clementines, or mandarins so i’m not always sure which one i’m eating … i think the mandarins are the ones that r my favorite though, they r sour (i looked it up and apparently clementines and maybe tangerines too technically are mandarins, just a different kind from the usual ones? idek. i like the sour ones lol)

[heckyeahsurveys]

#245

Where do you plan on living within the next few years? birmingham probs

What was the topic of your last text message? meeting charley 

What was the last thing you cooked yourself? pasta 

Do you have an addiction? yeah

Has one of your friends ever stabbed you in the back? idk i guess years ago

Have you ever skipped school? no, i’ve faked being ill but never just skipped it

Are you very stressed at the moment? always 

Do you like surprises? nooo

Do you/did you like high school? it was ok, idk i have v mixed feelings about it tbh

Are any of your friends so close that you consider them family? well my mum considers jenny her daughter so i guess haha

Do you like the rain? sometimes 

If you had to delete one year of your life completely, which would it be? this year lmao

When did you last see your mom? like an hour ago

Do you have any homework tonight? no

Do you want someone back in your life? idk

Were you happy when you woke up today? no, who’s happy when they wake up??

What’s the last drink you had? water

Were you single on your last birthday? yep

Do you believe you should change who you are for the person you love? not rly but like at the same time ppl change all the time so it might be a good thing to change?? but like u shouldn't go out of ur way to change urself for them, idk

When you’re home alone, do you still keep the door closed when you shower? yeah

Do you know what you are going to wear tomorrow? idek what i’m doing tomorrow so definitely not

Do you think anybody likes you right now? nooo not at all 

What if you got pregnant by the last person who texted you? it’d be a miracle!!

Do you miss anyone? not RN 

Do you currently have a hickey? nope

Now your cell phone, what color is it? rose gold :))

Who called you last? kt

Ever been kissed under fireworks and with who? nope

Do you talk about your feelings or hide them? hide them tbh

How many times have you gotten into a argument with the last person you kissed? never 

What is your favorite color? idk

Do you think you have made a difference in anyone’s life? fuck knows, i guess?

Have you recently lost someone that means everything to you? no

The last person you texted is the person a he or a she? she

What kind of phone do you have? iphone se

Is your current hair color mostly your natural hair colour? no only my roots (which i rly need to do smth w/ tbh ://)

Do you like to cuddle? yeh

Have you ever trusted someone too much? probs

Why do you hate your ex? i don’t 

What are you listening to right now? boom by pouya n fat nick

Do you wear makeup? yep

Do you look your age? feel like i look about 12 tbh

Does anybody hate you? idk probs

What animal did you last pet or hold? a cat?

Do you have a best friend to lean on? yeah

Are you in a relationship? nope

What color is your hair? blonde

What were you doing at 8 AM this morning? sleeping

What will you be doing in 3 hours? probs sleeping

Did anyone tell you they’ll always love you and left? no

How often do you straighten your hair? most days

What are you currently looking forward to? idk nothing rn 

Have you dated the person you texted last? yeah 

Are you satisfied with your life as of now? no

Who was the last person you texted before you went to bed last night? charley i think

In the next 6 months, what are you looking forward to most? finishing exams n leaving college forever 

Have you ever gone out of your way to make someone happy? idk probs

Does it bother you when people respond with one word texts? depends 

Have you spoken to any of your exes today? yeh

Your parents are divorced/married/separated? married

Does anyone call you babe? nope

Could you cry right now? if something rly upset me 

Do you like the color orange? not especially

Does it take a lot to make you cry? not rly

Relationship status: Single, taken, complicated? single 

If you were pregnant, who would you tell first? probs jenny 

Do you believe that there’s good in everybody? probs but there’s bad in everybody too

Have you ever stayed up at night waiting for someone to call / text you back? lol not all night but yeah

Do you feel your life is at it’s best? not remotely

Have you ever let someone be your everything? no??

Do you bite your nails? yeah

Whose hoodie did you wear last? mine

Are you a forgiving person? depends?

Have you ever intentionally made someone jealous? probs

Do you think that you’re good enough for the one you like? no but neither's he. i’m done w/ it anyways so it doesn’t matter

What do you usually do right when you wake up? go back to sleep

Is it easy for others to make you feel awkward? idk

It’s midnight and you’re crying, who do you call? i don’t 

Have you ever been called heartless? yep

Do you like someone older than you? no

Is there anyone you cannot go a day without talking to? yeah

Did you speak to your father today? yes

Have you ever fallen asleep in someones arms? yeah

Can you honestly say you’re okay right now? idk not rly

Do you like winter? nah, cba w/ how cold it gets 

Who was the last person you messaged? kt

Has your heart ever truly ached for somebody? sure

Where’s your cell phone? next to me

Would you curse in front of your parents? yeah

Is any part of your body sore? my back aches a bit but not rly

Are you watching TV? If so what’s on? nope

Are you hungry for anything? nah 

Do you have a sweatshirt on right now? nope

What time is it? 22:57

What grade are you in this year? year 13 so 12th grade

Are you old enough to vote? nope

Have any vacations planned for anytime soon? not rly 

Do you think skunks are cute? not particularly