#because russ's voice will knock me right out of it

[aoioozora]

Sharing an umbrella with the Ghosts

I shared an umbrella with my boyfriend the other day and I can't help but wonder what the Ghosts would do if you told them you forgot your umbrella and had to share one with them.

Logan Walker:

He owns only one umbrella, and it's a small one, but he shows up anyway

When you get under it, he makes sure to tilt the umbrella more to your side so that your shoulder wouldn't get wet

He eventually gets his shoulder so wet that he goes, "Fuck it we ball," and hands you the umbrella and just begins frolicking in the rain like he's in a Bollywood movie

"Aren't you cold?" "Hell no! I love this!"

Comes back home sneezing and drenched, but not regretting it.

David 'Hesh' Walker:

He takes the only one he has (which is also Logan's) and comes to get you.

When you get under the umbrella, he puts his arm around you and pulls you close to him to keep both of you from getting wet.

"It's so cold, isn't it?" he quips, chuckling. He's definitely not holding you close because he feels cold.

Both of you chat while you walk and it's smooth sailing; both of you are mostly dry when you reach.

He secretly hopes you'll forget your umbrella the next time so he can do this again.

Elias 'Scarecrow' Walker:

He shows up in a CAR.

And he's annoyed that you forgot to take an umbrella with you.

"I told you countless times to take an umbrella when you go out. It's been raining cats and dogs lately!" he scolds you and shakes his head as soon as you sit in the car and strap on the seatbelt.

And when you apologise, he sighs and then proceeds to pat your head and your face to see if you're cold, and when he does, he turns up the car heater and begins driving.

A car is technically an umbrella, right?

Thomas Merrick:

He smartly owns more than one umbrella and brings one along for you to use.

He gives you a very girly looking umbrella, which you are not sure why such a manly man like him owns, but umbrella is umbrella so you use it anyway

Until you find that there's a small hole in the fabric. You inform him of it and he frowns, realising that it could've been gnawed off by pesky bugs after being inside the storeroom for too long. "Need to call pest control," he mutters under his breath.

When you tell him you can manage with the hole since it's just a minor thing, he refuses point blank. "Come here," he gruffly beckons you under his umbrella.

He takes the girly umbrella and holds it for you, not wanting you to carry a burden in addition to your bag.

He lets you hold on to his arm while you walk so you can keep up with him and not stumble (he may or may not have flexed his bicep as you did)

It's a comfortable and quiet walk back.

Keegan Russ:

He also owns only one umbrella, but it's a big one

When you get under the umbrella, he shakes his head and gives you a playful knock on your forehead with his knuckles.

"I'm not doing this again, you hear me?" he chides.

He then shoves his hand in his pocket as both of you walk. When he sees that you're getting a little wet, he holds the umbrella in his other hand and then proceeds to put his arm around your shoulder, keeping you close to his side.

"Getting wet even under the umbrella, just what I would expect of you," he complains, but his voice is affectionate. You roll your eyes. "That's not my fault. You're not holding the umbrella properly." It becomes a bicker-banter fest from there.

He'd do this again. A hundred times.

Kick:

He has more than one umbrella, but deliberately comes with only one.

"I can't believe you forgot your umbrella. Is this a ploy to share one with me?" he asks jokingly. "Yes." you answer. "Oh." He didn't expect that.

Both of you begin walking together, and he appears to be a bit jumpy.

"What's wrong?" you ask. "I kinda want to play in the rain." he replies.

And just like Logan, he hands you the umbrella and goes frolicking while you walk alongside him, watching and smiling.

Your smiles are short-lived when he does the opposite of keeping you dry by kicking water at you from the puddles.

By the time both of you are back home, both of you are far from dry and just cold, wet, and miserable.

"That was fun. We should do it again!" "NO!"

You enjoyed it anyway.

Alex 'Ajax' Johnson:

He's got a variety of umbrellas, but he brings a big one.

"Let me carry those for you," he says, pointing to your bags. "Oh no, it's alright, you don't have to," you say, but he insists and you give him some of your bags. "Come on, give me all of them," he presses. "Why?" "My mama raised a gentleman and I'm not letting a lady carry heavy bags in my presence." You relent, but question him, "But then how are you gonna hold the umbrella?" "Oh." He then gives you a sheepish grin. "Will you hold it?"

You end up holding the umbrella up for both of you, but you don't mind it at all. He is happily carrying the heavier burdens for you.

The walk back has you secretly admiring his strength.

Riley:

The sweet little boy comes dressed in a cute yellow raincoat, holding an umbrella in his mouth.

He's a smart dog! He knows his way around and is well-trained enough to be focused on his mission.

When he delivers the umbrella to you, he happily trots by your side while you hold his leash, offering you his scary dog privileges.

[tosuckmyweenis]

Slow Down

Seen posts about Leon being an absolute menace to society, and now my brain goes brr for Mean!Leon driving way too fast while you beg him to slow down. So I decided to try my hand at writing something what was supposed to be small turned into a novel oop. My digital footprint is ruined already. Poor format. Loss of italics when uploading and too lazy to fix

TW, mean!Leon, patronizing nicknames, unprotected sex, creampie, dub-con/coercion/non-con, threats of tree wrapping in the beginning, outdoor sex, AFAB anatomy, not totally yan! But definitely a little sus. praising is involved(Russ's song gave me an earworm)

"Leon, please slow down; you're going too fast!" you grabbed the handle above the door, trying to brace yourself against it.

"Aw, is this too fast for you, Baby? I thought you liked it fast." He teased, stepping on the gas just a little more

"You're going to get us killed!" you shrieked. Breathing coming in short and sharp, you could hear your racing heartbeat in your ears. Squeezing your eyes closed.

"nonsense, I know how to drive. If we crash, it's because you didn't listen. So what are you going to do?"

You heard the thunk of the mirror being pulled down. You have no idea how fast he was going, but it was way above what's safe and would be fatal should anything happen.

"Lift your dress and spread your legs for me. Then, I'll slow down." Leon pressed down on the gas to prove his point. 

"I- I'm scared," your voice cracking and coming out pathetically.

"clock is ticking; we're running out of road. You wouldn't want to take turns at this speed, would you?" You could hear the click of his tongue. 

Opening your eyes and taking in a shaky breath, you spread your legs as far as they would go, accidentally knocking on the door with your knee. Blue eyes flick to the mirror, licking his lips while taking in your thighs and lacy panties.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it? Wearing my favourite pair too."

He let off the gas letting it coast down

"You know it's only a little fun, and I'd never do anything to hurt you."

reaching over and placing his hand on your thigh, giving it a few squeezes before rubbing circles, making his way to your inner thigh, pinky brushing along your clothed slit, making you shudder

"You're going to do what I say, right, Sweetheart?"

nodding your head, like you even had a choice, willing to do anything to get home in one piece.

"move them to the side so I can see what I can do to your pretty little cunt" his eyes spent more time looking into the mirror than on the road. Thankfully, there was barely anyone travelling it

No wonder he crashes so often

the vulgar words leaving his mouth, making heat rise to your cheeks, a dizzying feeling flooding your body, making you lightheaded.

Fingers gently ghosted over his hand while they continued the ministrations on your thigh, moving his pinky out of the way temporarily so you could hook your two fingers into the band of your dampening panties pulling them to the side and exposing yourself to him.

Moving his hand entirely off your thigh, moving to stroke his middle and ring finger up and down your cunt, gathering arousal and spreading it before sliding down and slowly pushing into your entrance to the first knuckle, curling them to find your sweet spot, massaging walls until he found it

"Aah, right there...please,"  your whimpered words edging him on as he fucked his fingers into you faster, grinding the top of his palm against your clit; "mmh," lowering your head, lips parted, letting out puffs of air, feeling the heat build in your gut, you grind your hips into his hand,

"you're being such a good girl," he cooed

removing his hand

"Hold on, sweet thing; I'll give you something better in a minute."

pulling over to the side of the road and shutting the car off,

"Take those off now." 

leaning over, unbuckling your seatbelt and his, lifting your hips, you dragged the silky lace down and off.

"get out of the car and put your hands on the hood, face forward."

"Yes, Sir"

getting out of the car and following his instructions placing your hands on the cool metal of the car, leaning over, you watched as he climbed out and shut the door with a slam. You watched him take a significant stride toward you until he was out of your vision and directly behind you. Roughly gripping your hips, pulling them back to meet his own, hard cock grinding against you.

"Do you see what you do to me, Baby?"

Leaning his body over yours, placing light kisses on your shoulder, and tearing out a breathy moan.

"Beg for it." hiking, your dress up, wandering hands groped and kneaded your ass.

"Please, please fuck me; I need you," pleading, trying to push back against him.

"Next time, you'll be on your knees."

you could hear him shuffle, tugging his pants down just enough to free himself before sinking himself in, starting a fast pace snapping his hips into yours, pressing a hand into the middle of your back, forcing your chest to the hood with a thud, feeling the weight of him on top of you, making sure you couldn't get up

"You're so wet for me, baby; you like this, yeah? You like being fucked on the side of the road where anyone could drive by and see how good you take me? How good I make you feel; oh Fuck..yeah, that's it, God..You were made for me." 

Clenching around him, moaning at the mix of praises spilling from his heavenly lips, edging you on. His cock hitting all the right places to make you see stars and feel the heat start to build in your lower abdomen again.

"Leon...Ahh...m'not gunna last much longer." 

"That's ok, baby, cum for me; I want you to. You deserve it for being such a good girl for me," he purred in your ear, hips rutting into you.

Letting out a loud moan as heat spreads to the rest of your body, legs shaking 

"You're doing such a good job, sweetheart. Just a little longer, and I'll fill you up." 

He pounded at your over-sensitive cunt, desperately trying to reach his peak. After a few more thrusts, his hips stuttered before thrusting himself as deep as he could go, feeling the pulsing as he came, pushing down on you a little harder while he recovered. Stepping back to savor the sinful sight dripping out of you.

[as-nodt-ghostwriter]

RWBY: Well Hidden — Weiss Schnee / Male!Black Reader

—

written and requested for my friend Russ! Thank you and I hope you all enjoy 🌈

Yet another bore party run by Jacque Schnee..again. Weiss was ordered by her dad to keep up appearance for the Schnee family.

The white haired girl just felt hollow and done with everything today, she just wanted to be left alone. Not to mention her brother was rubbing in earlier that he’s allowed to spend time in his room as much he wants.

“Of course, I wouldn’t do that because I actually want to keep the family lineage proud.”

Weiss scoffed lowly remembering as his words lingered her mind. What brotherly love…

And it’s not like her disinterest and appearances would matter with these guests. She could smile and wave like her father tells her and these pompous partygoers would be too busy having their cake and eating it too.

When her father wasn’t looking, Weiss slowly tiptoed away from the ballroom and made her way to the hallways of the Schnee manor. As she walked down the main entrance of her home, she noticed three boys dressed in casual tuxedos and dress shirts were making a ruckus.

All three were conversing with the outdoor voice, it was nauseating to hear. She walked passed them and noticed one of them was holding a small game handheld with a cute star fragment charm as an accessory.

Cute, but also so disruptive and loud.

She let it go and have Kline deal with it later. Right now she just wanted to go back to her room.

She finally made it to her door, opening it and letting out an exhausted sigh as she closed it behind her. Finally, peace and quiet.

She sat on her bed, her legs making contact with her royal blue comforter. She solemnly closed her eyes, the manor was big enough that the violin playing for the party was silence now. Just hollow silence.

Thunk !

Weiss gasped, immediately opened her eyes, she heard a knock from somewhere in her room just now…

“What was that?” She exclaimed.

Her guard was up and eyeing her surroundings. She got up from her bed. She definitely heard something.

“Show yourself, I really not in the mood for games!” Weiss warned. She had a small feeling it was Whitley messing around in her room.

Her closet door opened suddenly, slowly. Weiss turned her heels, seeing who it was.

A boy stepped out, awkwardly shuffling his feet to stand directly in front of her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He apologized, solemnly. Weiss crossed her arms, blushing in embarrassment as she glared at him.

“You scared me, (Y/n)! What are you doing in my room!” She stomped towards his figure while the boy snickered a bit. She looked so cute when angry.

“Sorry!” He smiled, bashfulness crept over his facial expression. Weiss couldn’t believe her boyfriend almost scared the daylights out of her! She can’t stay too mad…they both know that.

“How did you get into the manor and directly to my room?” The white haired girl quizzed.

“Window.”

Weiss scoffed lightly. “(Y/n), you need to be careful! Crawling through my window is reckless..” she explained, immediately locking the window in question. She turned her head to him. “Wait if one of my father’s security guards saw you?” Concerned lingered in her voice. That just made (y/n) feel guilt waved on him.

Weiss’ eyes softened. She didn’t mean to be so harsh. But these were things that could be worrying. “I’m sorry.” He solemnly apologized. “I just wanted to surprise you and see my cute girlfriend.” Weiss looked away bashful, trying to avoid eye contact and having him see her faint blush.

Weiss felt her hand be held by his suddenly, she stared at his cute face, and warm eyes. His hands rubbed her’s softly “I’ll be more careful next time, for you.” Weiss hugged his fame, broad shoulders and feeling his locks tickle her forehead lovingly. He was too cute to stay mad at.

“Trust me, I tried asking the guards at the front entrance to let me in, but I had the door slam on me.” He chuckled, rubbing his button nose, implying the door slammed against it.

Weiss rolled her eyes and laughed a bit. “Yeah, unless you’re dressed in clothing that costed half your income, the guards won’t let you in, period.” Weiss could faintly remember that she overheard Atlas rich folk brag about how their accessories alone cost close to a million. So gosh and ridiculous.

(Y/n) chuckled a bit, showing his faint smile which in turn made Weiss smile too.

“Man, I love it when you get cute and sassy when it’s not at my expense.” He teased. Weiss pouted and push him away lighty, jokingly. “Actually you know what? I’m having you sleep on my bedroom floor tonight!” She proudly puffed up her chest, going to her small washing station to freshen up before bed.

“Hey! wait, wait, wait!” (Y/n) followed suite after her, having the door close in front of his face. Weiss gave him the snarky cold shoulder, no reply.

“You were gonna let me spend the night with you???”he asked, desperate and confused

“And then we were gonna cuddle up together?!” Bless him. Weiss might’ve changed her mind after that.

She’s not that cold.

[tar-maitime]

how could you think, darling, I'd scare so easily

Rating: T Characters: Maedhros | Maitimo, Fingon | Findekano Additional: modern AU, engaged, shovel talks WC: 500

For @russingonweek Day 2 - Darkness Prompt - Despair and hope

The moment the knock came, Maedhros sprang up, crossing in a few quick strides to let Fingon into the apartment. He greeted her with a quick kiss and a sigh of relief, and quickly went to drop onto the sofa. Maedhros joined him in another moment, curling against his side and letting his head rest on her shoulder.

“So, how did it go?” she asked softly.

“Huh. Well. The twins gave me an incredibly thorough rundown of the easily-executed yet ruinous things they’re capable of doing to my home, Curufin outlined a borderline illegal torture device he could create before telling me if I hurt you he’d burn me from the Tyelpe babysitting list (which was cruel, but fair), Caranthir explained his plan to financially destroy me, and Celegorm just told me that my sister would be on his side and I should be afraid (which I was). Maglor was all right. He said he was confident that I was smart enough, even if I were so abysmally stupid as to break your heart, to commit hara-kiri before he or any of the others could actually get to me.”

Maedhros groaned, leaning her head against his. “I’m so sorry, Finno. I told them to keep it civil. Honestly, I don’t know why I still hold out hope for them being civilized future in-laws.”

Fingon just laughed. “Russe, it’s really all right. I promise. We’ve come a long way, haven’t we, from that first week where we thought Caranthir and Turgon would break each other’s bones over how they wanted the rental kitchen organized? There weren’t even any raised voices today.”

“You are setting the bar far too low,” Maedhros informed him. “And that’s not even touching my father and his coping mechanism of pretending you’re no relation whatsoever to his stepbrother.”

“It could have been worse,” Fingon insisted cheerfully. “And don’t try to pretend that you haven’t put up with rudeness from my family, too. But you know what? In a couple of months, we’ll be getting married and none of it will matter at all.”

“True enough.” Maedhros shifted and pressed a kiss to the braids along his scalp. “Perhaps it is selfish of me,” she murmured, “but I’m glad it’s you I have with me in this, Finno. I don’t think I could go through all of this insanity of getting married if I didn’t have your eternal optimism.”

“Well, that’s why it’s each other we’re marrying, isn’t it?” Fingon returned. “So that i keep you from despairing of the whole enterprise, and you keep me practical and grounded and minding all the problems. And because we love each other, of course.”

“Of course,” Maedhros agreed, smiling and letting herself relax just a bit. “Very much.”

[motownfiction]

popsicle

Emma tries not to read into it when Paul comes back from Orlando, and she’s the first person he wants to see back at home.

She scurries out the door to meet him at his apartment. She’d get out of there faster if her mother wasn’t walking up to the door with that disapproving look in her eye.

“Where are you going so fast?” Lucy asks.

“Out,” Emma says.

“You never go out.”

“I go out. I meet up with Daisy.”

“Daisy’s not in the city.”

“Why are you keeping tabs on my best friend?”

“I love her. We text.”

Emma rolls her eyes. She tries to get past Lucy, but even in her fifties, Lucy hasn’t lost a bit of her speed (mental or physical).

“You’re really not getting this, are you?” Lucy asks.

“I guess not.”

“Emma!”

“Mom!”

“I want to know where you’re going!”

“Why? I’m twenty-six. I don’t even live here. I’m just hanging out because my apartment is boring, and you have better food.”

“Because I’m an old woman! I don’t have fun. I don’t hear gossip that anyone wants to hear. Forgive me if I’m curious about the comings and goings of my youngest daughter’s life.”

“Way more goings than comings. I’ll tell you that.”

“Ah, then you’re doing it wrong.”

“Who says it’s me?”

Lucy stifles a laugh. There’d be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Emma is her daughter. She has the very same blessings (and the very same curses).

Emma sighs.

“If you really must know,” she says, “Paul’s back from his conference in Florida, and he invited me over.”

Lucy makes exactly the face that Emma was trying to avoid. A mixture of disappointment and confusion. Great.

“Don’t give me that,” Emma says.

“Why not?” Lucy asks. “You’re the one rushing to see a boy.”

“A man.”

“Emma. He has a Lego Bat Signal mounted on his bedroom wall. He’s a boy.”

“Well, I think it’s charming. And besides, what does it matter if I’m excited to see him? You got married to a boy when you were sixteen.”

“That was different. I was pregnant, and I was madly in love with your father. You’re not madly in love with this Paul guy.”

Emma looks down at her shoes.

“Emma,” Lucy says. “You’re not in love with him.”

“Sure.”

The conversation tapers off after that. There’s not much you can say when your mother insists you don’t feel the way you know you do. Emma mutters an awkward goodbye and makes her way to the apartment she knows pretty well.

When she knocks on the door, Paul doesn’t answer. It’s Mack (short for Malcolm, which is usually how he introduces himself). Paul’s roommate, going into his third year of a Ph.D. in English. He’s a postmodern scholar who has, on more than one occasion, joked that Ignatius J. Reilly is his best friend. No offense to Paul, of course, whom he’s known since middle school. No offense to him at all.

He stands in the doorway with a bright orange popsicle in his hand, grinning even with his eyes behind Buddy Holly frames. Urban Outfitters fell out of fashion a long time ago, but nobody ever told Mack. He’s taller than Paul, a bit over six feet, and his thick, dark hair makes him closer to classically handsome. At least, that’s how Paul describes him when he’s feeling insecure (which is way more often than he’d be willing to admit on a normal day).

“Hey, Riff,” Mack says.

“I hate when you call me that,” Emma says.

“Hey, don’t blame me. Blame your parents for middle naming you Jett.”

“So, why do you call me Riff when there are so many other things you could call me?”

“Like what?”

“You could call me Ice. Numbers. Tony. Hell, you could call me Joan. That’s how the Jett in my name is spelled, anyway. Two T’s.”

“Nah. I like Riff. There’s something real Russ Tamblyn-y about your dad.”

“Whom you met once.”

“Yeah, and he was Russ Tamblyn-y. Next.”

“Just let me in, Mack.”

Without taking his eyes off her, Mack yells to Paul at the back of the apartment.

“Paul!”

“Yeah?”

Emma’s heart jumps when she hears Paul’s voice in person. How long has it been? Two weeks? Three? She hates it when he’s not around, but now, he’s right here! Her face flushes.

“I think your friend Riff is a vampire.”

“What makes you say that?”

His voice gets closer, and then, he’s at the door. He’s at the door! Emma swallows hard to keep from giggling like a little girl. He’s wearing a navy t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Typical look for the summer. Very plain. She likes it when he’s plain. Makes him feel … feel.

“Well, she asked me to invite her in,” Mack says. “I can only assume that means she needs permission, and I can only assume she wants to suck our blood.”

Emma rolls her eyes. Thankfully, Paul is chuckling.

“Come on,” he says. “Even if she’s a vampire, I want to see her. Emma, come in.”

When she walks through the door, she’s not sure how she should greet Paul. She wants to kiss him, throw her arms around his neck, tell him how much she’s missed him lately. But she can’t do any of that. Not in front of Mack, and not ever, at all. She opts for an awkward wave from across the room, almost like they’ve never met.

“Hi,” she says.

“Hey,” he says. “It’s really good to see you.”

She hopes she’s not blushing too much.

A few seconds later, Mack walks by with a red popsicle, just for Emma. She flips her stare between the popsicle and Mack for a few seconds before he explains.

“Thought this might give you the visual of sucking blood,” he says. “Although, maybe you’d like to suck the blood out of something else.”

Emma takes a long, long drag on the red popsicle. Cherry. Perfect.

She slips it out of her mouth and narrows her gaze.

“This’ll do,” she says. “For now.”

Mack laughs and wanders out of the living room, muttering something under his breath about being outsmarted. Emma turns back to Paul, grinning from ear to ear, damn near glittering like he does whenever he laughs.

“So, that was weird,” she says.

But judging by the panicked look on Paul’s sweet face, maybe it wasn’t weird after all. Maybe it was exactly what he had been expecting.

Maybe.

[ascendancy-echoes]

Chapter 4: Medina

Ismene shut and locked the door behind her. She took a moment to glance back through the window to see Russ still at the table before she resolved to head into town. She hadn’t planned on making any deliveries today but some orders were actually done and she needed to find out something, anything about Russ from the other Mystics in town. Oz had been useless but she knew a few others who might have some idea. Her thoughts were interrupted by an annoyingly familiar voice calling out to her. Oz, against Ismene’s wishes, had stuck around and was now demanding she wait up for him. Ismene sighed and slowed down, refusing to come to a complete stop for him. As Oz caught up, she resumed her pace.

“I told you to get lost and come back tomorrow,” she hissed.

“You’re seriously going to leave that kid unattended in your house?” Oz asked. “What if he robs you?”

“Oh noooo, the scrawny cat-boy is gonna rob the poor apothecary,” she groaned sarcastically. She continued curtly. “If you must know, because I know you will pester me otherwise…. He doesn't remember anything except his name so I doubt he’s going to make off with my hard-earned coin. I mean, where’s he gonna go?”

Oz frowned. “I don’t trust the kid.”

“Well, I do and since it’s my house he’s staying in, let me worry about it,” Ismene replied.

Oz said nothing and Ismene picked up her pace as she said, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have orders to deliver that are complete and were requested in a timely fashion.”

Leaving Oz behind, Ismene made her way down the road. She didn’t have time for small talk with a potentially hurt kid waiting at her house.

The first place she went to was the town physician, Paion. Ismene may have been the town apothecary, but it was Paion who sent folks her way to get medicines. He would know if Russ was actually hurt and needed more than a cup of medicinal tea. Ismene was grateful that his house was just down the road from her property and right before the main part of Medina.

She slithered into the house, a bell ringing to signal her entry. In front was a waiting parlor and a bookshelf full of books on medicine. Down the hall, she heard Paion call out that he would be right there in a moment.

Ismene stayed by the door since she didn’t plan to stay long. Soon enough, a gargoyle wearing a fine tunic came out of a back room and down the hall to her. His wings flexed as he smiled at Ismene. “Ismene, what brings you here?”

“It’s a long story, well a weird one in any case,” Ismene replied. She recounted how she had found Russ out in the forest, unconscious yet seemingly uninjured. After describing how Russ looked, she told Paion how Russ claimed he couldn’t remember anything except his name. Paion expressed surprise at Russ’s description and admitted he had never heard of any Mystics that looked like Russ.

“I’m just worried the kid is hurt in a way I couldn’t see,” she concluded. “He said he had a headache so I gave him some tea. I would have brought him but I don’t want him walking around more than he already had to get to my cottage.”

“I have an appointment coming in but I’ll grab my bag and be down to your house in about half an hour or so,” Paion said. “If he was able to walk to your house and he seems alert, then he’s probably okay, amnesia aside.”

“Thanks,” Ismene said. “I have a couple of deliveries to make but I’ll be back and waiting for you by then.”

The next couple of houses that Ismene delivered to gave her the same answer. No one had ever heard of or seen a Mystic like Russ. Frustrated, Ismene pressed on.

Arriving at the house of her parents’ friend, Cephas, Ismene knocked on the door and waited as she heard a muffled reply from inside. Smiling at the gargoyle that answered, she said, “Hello, Cephas. How’s your wing treating you today?”

“Better since the weather is warm,” Cephas replied. “To what do I owe the pleasure? I wasn’t expecting my order until tomorrow.”

Ismene sighed and explained the situation with Russ. She described him and asked Cephas if he had ever seen a Mystic like him.

“Can’t say that I have,” Cephas sighed. “Where’s the boy now?”

“Back at my place,” Ismene replied. “I figured I’d get a few deliveries done early and ask around about him. Paion is going to stop by and make sure he isn’t hurt.”

Cephas nodded. “I take it you’ve come up empty handed if you’re asking me.”

Ismene nodded. “I’m not about to go door-to-door and leave him alone for much longer, but yeah.”

“I can stop by later if you’d like so I can meet the boy,” Cephas offered. “Maybe seeing the kid will jog my memory.”

“That sounds fine, if you’re feeling up to it,” Ismene replied.

Departing, Ismene looked at her empty basket and the coins she had received in payment for her orders. She glanced down the street at the tailor's shop. Russ with his ill-fitting and seasonally inappropriate clothes immediately came to mind.

Entering the shop, Ismene was greeted by Belinay, the daughter of the shop’s owner. In stark contrast to most Kotengu, Belinay was dressed in a vibrantly colored robe and wore gleaming silver bracelets.

“Hello, Ismene! Come in for a new blouse or two?”

“No, I have a special request,” Ismene replied. “I found this kid lost in the woods earlier and he needs some new clothes.”

Belinay’s eyes went wide with surprise. She leaned on the counter and asked “A human?”

Ismene shook her head and described Russ to Belinay as best as she could. She remarked that the kid was dressed for cold weather and, while she didn’t know a damn thing about having fur, she couldn’t imagine that Russ was comfortable in his current outfit given the current hot weather.

Belinay clacked her beak and shook her head.

“It would help if the kid was here so I could do measurements for a proper fit,” she remarked as she looked over the pre-made items that were in stock. “But I can wing it.”

“Bird puns, really?” Ismene deadpanned.

Belinay chuckled, setting down a pair of shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. “You need to work on your sense of humor, Ismene. It makes work more fun. Here, these should fit the kid based on how you described him. Maybe come by tomorrow when he’s decent and I’ll tailor anything that doesn’t fit.”

Suddenly, the store door slammed open, surprising both Belinay and Ismene.

“You’re buying that kid some clothes now?!” barked Oz’s voice from behind Ismene.

Ismene grumbled quietly and turned around while Belinay bagged the clothes. She put her hands on her hips and said, “What of it?”

“You just met the kid!”

“And he doesn’t have properly fitting clothes,” Ismene replied. “I ain’t looking to see the kid’s trousers fall off his ass cuz they don’t fit.”

Belinay soon became witness to the all too familiar scene of Oz trying to assert authority over Ismene and getting back-talked by her. Belinay leaned on the counter and allowed the debacle to continue for the usual amount of time before clearing her throat and asking the two to take it outside.

Ismene snatched the bag of clothes off the counter and slammed down a handful of coins in payment. “Keep the change, Bel.”

Oz jumped out of the way as Ismene slithered out the door, making it clear she would whip him with her tail unless he moved. Once Ismene had left the shop, slamming the door behind her, Belinay sighed and asked Oz if he ever knew when to quit.

“She-”

“Save it, Oz,” Belinay interjected as she counted up the coins Ismene had left. “It’s not becoming of the Elder’s son to be bickering with Medina’s citizens. You are better than that and you know it.”

Oz frowned but he knew Belinay was right. “You’re right.. I shouldn't argue with her like that but you see how she acts. I know half the village sees it and my father keeps telling me to set her straight but he won’t do anything about it himself.”

“She’ll come around or it will come back to her eventually,” Belinay replied calmly as she looked up. “Now, are we still going to meet tonight?”

Oz nodded. “I’ll remind the others. See you then.”

~o~O~o~

Meanwhile, Isemene made her way back home. She found Russ standing by the bookshelf and looking over an old book. She smirked and called out, “Find something interesting?”

“Why do you have this old book about medicine and plants from four hundred years ago?” Russ asked, turning to her. “It can’t possibly be helpful.”

“Honestly? I like Harland’s illustrations,” Ismene replied. “And most of his knowledge still holds up. Just because the world’s advanced doesn’t mean old knowledge is useless.”

“Here, I got you some clothes while I was out,” she added, offering the bag of clothes.

Taking the bag, Russ looked over the clothes and stammered out a thanks.

“Yeah, no problem,” Ismene said. “Just go down the hall to the bathroom to get changed. It’s on the left.”

Russ nodded and followed Ismene’s directions to what he assumed was the bathroom as he saw a small basin and a larger one. He could see no beds so he figured he was in the right room.

His current clothes confused him. They were so big and worn out. Why on earth had he been wearing such strange clothing? He took off his belt and looked it over. It was made of a thick, treated leather, worn out in various places from presumably years of use. Was it from his father or perhaps another older relative? The tarnished brass buckle had some kind of hawk or eagle carved into it with odd triangles resembling waves around it. Intricate knotwork bordered the image. Setting the belt aside, Russ focused on changing into the clothes Ismene had purchased for him. While a better fit than the clothes he had woken up in, they were still a bit loose.

~o~O~o~

Ismene had just finished putting her money away where she kept it hidden, pleased to see she was right that Russ didn’t snoop around beyond her bookshelf when she heard Russ’s footsteps. She looked up to see him standing at the beginning of the hallway, wearing the new clothes.

“How do the clothes fit?”

“The pants are still loose but at least I still have the belt,” Russ admitted.

“We can worry about that and shoes later,” Ismene remarked.

There was a knock at the door and the muffled sound of Paion calling out to Ismene. Ismene made her way to the door and opened it, inviting Paion in, who apologized for running late.

“Russ, this is our town physician, Paion,” Ismene gestured. “Paion, this is Russ.”

Paion smiled at Russ and asked him to have a seat at the couch in Ismene’s living room. Ismene went to the kitchen to give Paion some space to examine Russ although she kept an eye on Russ the whole time.

Paion examined Russ and asked him all sorts of questions, ranging from questions about his age and origins, where Russ was currently and where he was from. Russ looked more ashamed than afraid that he couldn’t remember anything except his name as he continually apologized and repeatedly answered, “I don’t know.”

Finally, Paion opened his bag and pulled out a scope. Summoning a small note of light, he asked Russ to look at the light for a moment. Russ eyed the light and asked why he needed to do such a thing.

“I’m going to see how your eyes react to the light. It’s a good way to see if you hit your head,” Paion explained. “Ismene said you complained of a headache, correct?”

Russ nodded. He looked at the light like he was asked to but wasn’t too fond of the spots it left in his vision. He felt uncomfortable as Paion looked him over for injuries, made him take deep breaths as Paion listened to his heart and breathing, and asked more questions, even asking Russ if he knew what year it was to which Russ hesitantly answered, only remembering what the calendar on Ismene’s wall had said after much thought.

After looking Russ over for any possible injuries, Paion thanked the young Mystic for his time, put his tools away and walked over to Ismene.

“Despite not knowing anything about his physiology, he seems to be like any other Mystic,” Paion said softly. “I’d guess he’s in his late adolescence, probably close to entering puberty. He doesn’t seem to be injured as you noted to me, but I am concerned about some sort of trauma given his amnesia and accent.”

“You think he hit his head and has recovered since?” Ismene asked.

“Could be,” Paion admitted. “Amnesia isn’t always injury related but it can be a cause. In any case, amnesia aside, he seems to be perfectly healthy and his motor skills haven’t been affected.”

Ismene nodded.

“So what do you want to do about the boy?” Paion asked quietly, turning away from Russ to speak to Ismene more privately.

Ismene shot Paion a slight glare. “What the fuck do you mean by that?”

“Surely you don’t want him getting in the way,” Paion remarked. “I’m sure a family in town could take him in until we have some idea of where he’s from or where his parents are.”

It was a simple fact in Medina that Ismene liked her solitude and liked being left alone unless someone had business with her. She looked over at Russ who had been listening to the whole conversation, his ears turned towards them even as he stared at his hands in his lap.

As it stood, Russ had no family, something Ismene could sympathize with. She knew that painful loneliness. Could anyone else understand that pain? She looked back at Paion and said, “He’s fine here. I have an extra room.”

“Are you sure?”

“Did I stutter?” Ismene hissed. “He’ll be fine here. Thanks for making sure he wasn’t hurt or sick. You can go now.”

Paion frowned but gave a slight nod. “If you say so… I’ll be seeing you around town then.”

He went out the door and paused a moment, telling Russ to tell Ismene if any new symptoms came up, before departing. Ismene quickly locked the door behind Paion and turned to Russ.

“Follow me.”

[blkchxrryblyss]

When the Fox and the Ackerman Meet

levi ackerman x blk oc!

warnings: suggestive, cussing, blood, broken bones, child birthing, fighting

a/n: this is an original character fic from a story that I was previously writing on Wattpad, but I removed it because of my inactivity on it. right now I'm thinking of revamping it to make it better. FYI Melanie's daughter has Waardenburg syndrome (a group of genetic conditions that can cause hearing loss and changes in coloring (pigmentation) of the hair, skin, and eyes) so when you see descriptions of "white hair" that is what's being described.

w .c - 7.9k

July 1999

18 and pregnant. Yep, Foxy is really living her best life right now. Being an 18-year-old black pregnant woman and walking down the cold, dark Los Angeles streets after being kicked out. Sounds like a stereotypical statistic if you ask her. First, she was kicked out by her bible-thumping mother and then by her baby's father who she thought would step up to the plate. But no, he laughed in her face and told her to kick rocks, so in response, Foxy did what first came to her mind. Kicked him square in the dick and punched him in the nose, breaking it. He screamed in pain while she walked off, but she didn't care. She walked with her head held high and went to the only place that she hoped would welcome her with open arms and even a job.

After walking for what seemed hours, she finally showed up at the entrance of a mixed martial arts gym run by her grandfather and his late best friend, Jin Tsukiyama. It was really late at night, around 2 am, but the lights were still on. Carefully pushing the door she made her way inside the warm dim-lit gym and walked towards where the light was coming from. Her eyes caught what seemed to be an office and quickly walked in only to see that no one is there.

"Papa!", she yelled starting to become a bit worried when she didn't get a response. Someone is obviously here. She heard a muffled voice come from the other door in the dimly lit office. Grabbing a steel rod that laid loose on the floor, she walked towards the door "Papa Russ, it's me! You're only granddaughter, Foxy!"

"Didn't know Russell had a granddaughter-", Melanie screamed and swung the steel rod so hard she could've knocked the person's head off. Instead, she hit the office chair in front of her and it flew across the room. She gripped the rod like a baseball bat and looked at who the voice belonged to. Some white boy. He stood at about 5'3 with his hands in his pockets wearing a tired, irritated, but also alert face. He was wearing black sweats, a white t-shirt, and his hair was styled in an undercut but it looked like bedhead so it was clear that he just woke up. His grey-cut-shaped eyes stared her down as if he was ready for any attack to come his way. He started to walk towards her, but her grip got tighter on the steel rod and she prepared herself to swing again.

"You better not stop another foot towards me, shorty. I'll knock your head clean off", The stoic man rolled his eyes, but he did stop walking so he wouldn't scare her. "Now, who are you and where is my papa?"

The man licked his lips and ran his hands over his face to wake himself up. Deciding against telling his name to the girl, he pointed towards the door that she previously heard the muffles. She side-eyed him and walked towards the door. This gave the man an opportunity to overlook her features. Her clothes were soaking wet as well as her curly hair. The red sweats she sported were beginning to look blood-red, her long sleeve black shirt clung to her arms and chest like it was permanently attached to her skin, water drops slid down her chubby cheeks and down her neck. Her brown eyes seemed a bit dull, and as a whole her body language was tired but she mustered up enough strength to attack if needed. The man looked her over once more before connecting his eyes to the door she was walking towards.

"L! YOU AWAKE IN THERE BOY!?", A deep voice behind the door boomed. She noticed it was the sound of her papa. She dropped the rod, flung the door open, and wrapped her soaking wet arms around her papa's warm body.

He was standing in shock, wondering why his granddaughter was hugging him while she was soaking wet at 2 am. He hugged her back briefly and pulled her back to study her face. She was tired, her eyes were dull, her face was long, and her body looked so tired. He grimaced at her wet clothes and looked at the stoic man. The man knew that Russ wanted for her to have some warm clothes so he departed and went to get what was requested.

"What you doing here at almost 3 in the morning, little girl? Your momma ain't call me, I mean she never does but she would at least tell me if you were coming at the devil's hour."

The young mother dropped her arms from her grandpa and looked at the ground trying to hold back her tears. She was scared. This is the last place she could turn to and if he rejects her now, she would have no one. Even though she is scared, she knew better than to lie about something like this. If he does decide to reject her, she would move along and let the universe decide her next steps. She took a deep breath and looked at her grandfather dead in his eyes.

"I'm pregnant. Momma kicked me out and the baby's father doesn't want anything to do with me. I would really appreciate it if you could let me stay with you and help me through this. Now if you don't want to help I'll just take some warm clothes and lea-"

"Shut the hell up," Her face went from serious to shocked hearing her papa tell her to shut up. "Don't ever put me in the same box as your mother. I would never turn my back on you. Now yes, you are in a serious situation but you are my only granddaughter and I couldn't bear the thought of you or my grandbaby getting hurt in these streets. Now L went to get you some warm clothes, I just gotta find a place for you to lay your hea-"

"She can sleep in my bed. I'm not going back to sleep anyway. Pregnant women need to sleep in a bed not a futon, Russell.", Foxy turned her head to the stoic man who is now standing a foot away from her. She glared at him, but it softened when she saw the clothes in his hand. She gently took them and looked down slightly inspecting them.

"You weren't supposed to hear that.", the young girl mumbled, fiddling with the string on the dry sweats. The raven-haired man rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Tch, the walls are thin. You can't keep a secret even if you tried. I laid down some new sheets and extra blankets. I put a towel on top so you can shower. You smell like shit.", L walked past the both of them and sat behind the empty office desks occupying himself on the computer. She began to say something until her grandfather turned her towards the door.

"That's just how he talks. Don't worry, when you get to know him more you'll get used to it and understand why. Now go take a shower and get some rest. Oh, and everyone got a job around here, so you'll be our new receptionist.", he patted his granddaughter on the back in a loving way why she smiled at him appreciatively. They exchanged "I love you's" and she went to end off her rough night leaving the two men alone.

Russell turned his head to L, whose head was leaned back against the chair, and his eyes closed. Russell knew the 19-year-old wasn't asleep so he decided to bring the most important thing to his attention.

"Levi," the raven head opened his eyes full alert and turned towards Russell. It wasn't often when the old man used his real name, but when he did the man meant business. "Whenever I ain't here, look after my grandbaby and her little one. She means the world to me. If a woman named Rhonda Smalls comes up in here looking for her, don't let her step past that desk out front. That's that girl crazy controlling ass momma. She already drove my son to his grave, she ain't gon kill my babygirl too. You understand me, boy?"

"Tu as ma parole, Russell." You have my word, Russell.

December 31st, 1999

5 months pregnant

"You never told me your last name, Levi."

"Has anyone ever told you that you are a nosey little shit?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're too small to be acting so damn big?"

"Trust me, ma chérie, I'm big enough where it counts. Now, why don't you go rest them swollen feet and tend to those three customers that just came through the doors instead of harassing me while I'm training."

Foxy, well Levi now knows her real name is Melanie, looked at him with big eyes. Levi just smirked and glanced at her while still sending uppercuts to the punching bag. Just as much as she loved annoying him, he loved making her flustered by the little slick things he said to her. She huffed and mumbled "ole freaky, short, French-speaking motherfucker" thinking he wouldn't hear her, but he did, he just chose not to confront her. She waddled over to her desk and tended to two parents and their son who seemed to want to know more about the facility.

Over the past five months, Melanie and Levi have grown closer and have developed their own special relationship. They weren't in love or anything but they were happy and appreciated each other's presence. After the rainy night when Melanie first stumbled in, Levi was distant. He didn't know how to deal with a pregnant woman, let alone a pregnant woman that was the granddaughter of his trainer. He didn't break his word to Russell while keeping this distance though. He would never lead Russell on like that. Levi would do subtle things like make her favorite drink and leave it by her bedside, made her a plate of food when he cooked, leave her favorite snacks by her bedside when she was running low, he would help her with some of the receptionist tasks that seemed a bit more difficult for her, and he even comes with her to her monthly check-ups to make sure the baby was healthy and growing properly. The doctors always asked if he was the father, but Melanie always told them he was just a really good friend. At first, he was doing it simply for Russell, but the more he was around her he began to do these things purely because he wanted to whether Russell told him to or not. After one encounter though, he finally realized the true reason he did these things for her.....

~Flashback~

November 15th, 1999

4 months pregnant

It was around 8 at night and Melanie was trying to organize the sparring partners for training the next day, but it has proven to be difficult when she didn't know a lick about any of the fighters fighting styles and techniques. She sighed and decided to ask the only other person that could help her since her grandfather was dead asleep to the world. She waddled to the man's room and softly knocked on his door.

"Leviiiii", she sang

No response.

"Leviiiiiiiii", she sang a bit longer.

No response, but a shuffle behind the door is heard.

"I really need help with matching the sparring partners for tomorrrrrr-wooooah," The door was flung open and Melanie was met with a sight that she wasn't afraid to acknowledge. A shirtless Levi with gray sweats hanging around his hips and a gold chain around his neck. "You can grate cheese on them bad boys. I bet all the girlies around the way like you, white boy."

Levi looked at the pregnant woman with a neutral face, but if you looked closely his ears were tinted red. He rolled his eyes and walked around the woman and made his way to her desk. He grimaced at the messy papers and decided he'll organize it tomorrow for her. She sat down next to him and began to show him what she had so far.

"Okay so at first I put Reece with Zolch, but then I was like no because Zolch is an unpredictable maniac. Oh, and I was thinking that you maybe you and that Smith cat have different partners other than yourselves. I just need help with Ross, Dazai, LoveHeart, and Archie. I think that-", Levi interrupted her by taking the papers from her small hands and looked over her pairings.

She huffed and mumbled "well shit" under her breath at the sudden interruption. Levi interrupted her for two reasons, 1) her pairings were horrible besides Reece and Zolch. Fighting an unpredictable fighter keeps the opponent on their toes and forces them to use new techniques. 2) He was beginning to stare at her a bit too long. Levi found Melanie beautiful. Ethereal if you say. She reminded him of his mother with her caring, outgoing, and strong personality. She gave him an innocent, child-like view of life despite the things she has been through. He didn't get along with a lot his age besides his close friends Erwin and Farlan, so when Melanie peaked his interests it genuinely shocked him in more ways than one. She is a special girl and he wonders why anyone would treat her any less. But then again, the world is shitty and doesn't care how special you are.

"Reece and Zolch are good. He needs to stop using the same shitty technique and give his opponent a surprise. Zolch is unpredictable but she strategic with her moves. Smith is with me 'cause I like whooping his ass. Seeing those thick-ass eyebrows makes me want to throw him across the ring. Dazai is similar to Zolch but he's more on the wild side and doesn't think his moves through. Put him with Ross. He's more strategic and it'll make Dazai think instead of going in the fucking ring blind like a shithead. Archie-", A sharp gasp was let out by the woman, interrupting him. He focused his attention on her while she looked down at her stomach trying to make sure she felt what she felt.

"You okay? You need to lay down or some-"

"It kicked...." she gasped.

Levi's eyes grew big, shocked at the girl's words. The baby kicked? That little fucker in her stomach kicked her. He looked at her face and saw the biggest smile he has ever seen. The baby must have kicked again because she began to get giddier and she even squealed.

"Oh my goooood, Levi, my baby is kicking! Oh my god, oh my gooood, I'm gonna cry. I'm gonna fucking cry! Levi, feel it, oh my god!", Melanie exclaimed in pure joy.

Melanie snatched his hand and rested it where the baby was kicking. His face grew warmer and his eyes grew even bigger at the sudden contact between him and the baby. Feeling the same outline of a foot against his hand made him grow warm inside. He never felt like this and needless to say. he liked the feeling. He felt a connection with the baby as well as Melanie. He felt like everything was alright in the world when he was with her.

"Wow.........that little shit is really moving, huh?", he voiced in astonishment. Melanie playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"My baby is not a little shit, you dick.", Melanie scoffed while letting go of his wrist, leaning back against the chair. Levi never moved his hand away though. He gently rubbed her stomach and occasionally felt a little kick to his hand.

"Yes, they are. And they gonna be a shitty baby. Shitting left and right. Hell, they probably shitting in there right now.", Melanie laughed at how he sounded so serious even though he was clearly joking.

"Boy shut up. What's up with you and shit? Was that your first word as a kid?", she questioned as she cocked her head to the side.

"Actually no. My first word was 'fuck'. My uncle used every swear word in the book around me. 'Shit' is just a good way to describe everything around me. This shitshow of a neighborhood, this shitty gym, my shitty career, your shitty ass.", Melanie gasped.

"I ain't fucking shitty. Take that shit back.", Levi shook his head, still focused on her belly.

"I ain't taking shit back, shitty. You make the bathroom stink.", Levi playfully scoffed.

"Fuck you, no I don't. That be Papa. He more shitty than me and you combined.", she huffed.

They both laughed at their "shitty" comments before falling into a comfortable silence. Melanie took this time to admire him. He looked soft, at peace. He had a look of warmth while keeping his attention on her stomach. His grey eyes sparkled under the moonlight and she swore she saw a smile fall on his lips. The feeling of his warm hand against her stomach made her feel warm inside. She always felt warm around him. She felt like everything was alright in the world when she was with him. She liked him and she didn't have a problem with these feelings.

Eventually, Levi looked up and they made eye contact. At first, he was in shock because, why was she staring at him? Then his stare softened and he decided to take this moment in. Everything felt warm on this cold LA night with her. Nothing could go wrong right at this moment because she was right here. That's when he realized. He liked her. He liked her personality, he liked her smile, he liked her chubby cheeks, he liked the mole that was under her eye, he liked her presence overall.

"Levi..." Melanie mumbled.

He blinked and floated back down to reality.

"Hmmm," he hummed deep in his throat.

"You know, you ummm, you just said all that out loud?", she spoke out nervously.

On the outside, Levi remained with a neutral face, but on the inside, his brain went on flatline. He felt like a demon just sucked his soul right out of his body. If he was alone right now he would most likely give himself the most brutal beating in history. He couldn't stay quiet for long so he attempted to express himself. That was one thing he knew he couldn't do, but he will try, for her. He cleared his throat and sat up slightly moving his hand away from Melanie's stomach.

"I got shitty feelings for you, so what? You gonna throw it back in my face or something?", he sounded very intimidating, but Melanie knew a nervous face when she saw one. This face was just easier to read because he was terrible at hiding the blush on his ears.

She smirked at kept the eye contact they had been having. She leaned a bit closer to his face and, yes, that made his heart fall to his ass. Their faces were now inches apart and Levi anticipated what the doe-eyed woman would do next.

"What if I had shitty feelings for you too?", He was silent. She understands that Levi wasn't the best at expressing himself through words, unless it's by accident of course, so she remained silent as well waiting for a silent gesture.

Ever so slowly, his forehead came and rests against Melanie's, causing her eyes to flutter closed. His minty breath tickled her lips making her shiver in anticipation. He reached out to touch her, laying his hand right on her neck, caressing it gently. His touch was so warm, so tender, so light. She never felt anything like it before.

"Levi...." she breathed.

Levi's caress on her neck turned into a light grip, easing her lips to come closer to his. When his lips barely brushed hers, she couldn't help the sharp inhale she took. So light and so soft. She wanted the full thing. He let out an unstable breath and fully connected his lips to hers. His lips were soft and surprisingly supple, which was a beautiful compliment to his otherwise hard body. She could kiss him all day and all night if she could. The kiss that started out passionate and deep turned slow and lazy as time passed. She wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer, not wanting this to end. His hands gripped her thighs and a soft moan escaped him when she began to idly play with his hair. This made her laugh softly and end the kiss much to his disappointment. They rest their foreheads against each other's and just stared lovingly into each other's eyes.

~End of Flashback~

After the confession and kiss, Melanie and Levi began to date. They've only been dating for a month and a half, but this was the best month and a half of his life as well as hers. They didn't care what anyone thought. People around the gym knew that Levi was not the real father of Melanie's baby and often wondered why he would date a pregnant woman. In all honesty, he didn't care that she was pregnant. No matter if they dated or not, he was going to be in her child's life because she genuinely wanted him there and he genuinely wanted to be there. Whether he was announced as an uncle, big brother, godfather, or even stepfather he was going to be there because he cared for her child just as much as he cared for Melanie herself.

March 1st, 2000

8 months pregnant

She relaxed her aching pregnant body in the warm bath, feeling all the knots begin to loosen. Her last-minute and very active baby shower just ended an hour ago and being able to relax after being entertained by the select people she cared about, felt like heaven. Babygirl was due in a month and Melanie is so excited, but she is not excited about the pain she has to endure. Babygirl has been pushing against her uterus causing Melanie to be in more pain and even stop her receptionist gig. Even with all the pain, she truly couldn't wait to hold her little girl.

"Lean back, dummy.", Melanie rolled her eyes at the man she was currently sharing a bath with, but she leaned back flush against his chest.

Levi suggested sharing a warm bath would help put her body at ease and while it did she also thinks Levi wanted to see her naked for the first time. Handsome perv. He rested his chin on top of her hair that was slicked into a low bun with messy coiled tendrils sticking out. He softly caressed her swollen stomach, hoping it was easing her pain.

"You liked the baby shower?", Levi questioned the woman who rested against his body.

"Yes. It was a pleasant surprise despite the fact that I ain't want one. But I ain't ungrateful so I appreciate you and papa doing that for me.", she turned her head up and smiled at him while he glared down.

"Tch. I planned and decorated everything, all your grandfather did was call everyone to come. I think I deserve a bit more thanks than him, yeah?", He whispered, leaning down, and pressing his lips on hers and she didn't hesitate to kiss back. They moved together slowly before pulling back and staring at each other.

"Thought of any names for her?", Melanie shook her head no and smiled.

"I might just name her after Papa's first wife, Diedra. I find the name beautiful. It's unique.", Levi hummed in agreement. He grabbed the towel that was floating in the water, lathered it with soap, and began to wash her stomach and anywhere else he could reach.

He was silent, too silent. Something was wrong and Melanie was sure of it. Was it bad? Was it good but a bad outcome would come out of it. It didn't make her nervous, but it did worry her. Levi never had a problem talking about things since they now have been together for 4 months and counting. He opened up to her about his mother, his uncle, his life on the streets, him getting shot, and being affiliated with the Crips. When he told her that, at first, she thought he was kidding. But the solemn look on his face proved that he wasn't fucking around. Whatever he was about to say, she hoped that it won't be too horrible to hear.

"Tell me. You a lil too quiet for me and it's making me worry. You in trouble or something?", he chuckled and she felt his head shake no.

"It's funny how you can tell the difference between my good silence and bad silence," Melanie hummed in agreement, "It's actually good news and bad news. The good news, I landed a big fight. One that could really get my name out there in MMA. If it goes well, I'll be lining up fights left and right and I'll be getting a hefty check-"

Melanie squealed switching her position to kneel in front of him, splashing some of the warm water over the tub. She gripped his face and brought him closer, covering his face with kisses. Levi laughed softly, letting Melanie do as she pleased.

"That's so great, boo, I'm so proud of you! But you did say bad news so, come on. Tell me so I can cry and blame the hormones.", Melanie chuckled softly.

Levi sighed. Shifting positions again, they were now sitting in the lotus position, with Levi's hands resting on her lower back and Melanie's around his neck. Levi stayed silent for a couple more seconds easing himself to tell her the destination of said fights. She placed a kiss on his nose to reassure him that everything was fine and she would completely understand what was going to be revealed.

"My first fight is gonna be in New York and I have to leave on the 31st of this month. At first, I had to leave in a week, but I told the agent to give me until the end of the month so I can be there for you and the baby. I might be doing a lot of fights in different states at that.", Levi looked a bit dejected about leaving Melanie and the baby, but Melanie didn't. She had other plans in mind.

"We'll come with you.", Levi looked at Melanie like she just said Babygirl was his daughter.

"Wha- No, you can't just up and leave like that with the baby. It's gonna be a lot of traveling and I don't want you or her getting sick. And what about the old ma-", Melanie hushed Levi with a kiss on lips. When Levi settled, she pulled away and gave him a weak smile.

"I want to. Levi, you are so special to me. This has been the happiest 4 months of my life and I can't even imagine spending a day without you. And what's so bad about me coming? It's not like I got anything here with me anyways besides Papa. I ain't got no home and I never did. Until I met you," She cupped his reddening cheeks and gently caressed her thumbs over them, "Levi, what I'm saying is that-that I love you so much. I know 4 months ain't enough to develop such deep feelings, but it's just enough for me. I want to be everywhere with you. Just the three of us, baby."

She took one of his hands that were gripping the absolute shit out of her thigh and rested it on her stomach where Diedra resided. Levi was at a loss for words. She loves him? She was this bold to tell him now. In the dead of the night. This absolute angel wanted to be wherever he was? He couldn't believe it, but he enjoyed this. Someone loving him. It felt so.....right. He felt loved, something that he hasn't felt since he was 10-years-old. Many women have told Levi that they loved him, but they only said it to get something out of him. With Melanie, it poured out of her like a warm light. It felt real, and he felt the same way. He just stared at her frozen like an idiot trying to make sure he was in the right world. What snapped him out of his trance was the small kick to his hand. He looked down, then looked back up to Melanie's teary eyes.

"Wait, why are you crying? Don't fucking cry," He cupped her cheeks and pecked her lips excessively, "I love you, ma cherie. And I love the little shit, too. I was just shocked 's all."

She nodded wiping her tears, giving him a strained smile.

"If you really want to, you can come to every fight with me. I'm just worried, you know? People and their shitty germs being all around you and her," he grimaced, "And then the men. I swear if any of those sweaty, meathead fucks try to push up on you they better hope they don't get in the ring with me. It'll be their last fucking day walking."

"Oooooh I love it when you threaten people for my honor.", Melanie whispered while biting her lip.

Levi chuckled, playfully pushing her forehead back.

"Don't start all that 'cause as soon as I get to touching you start going 'noooo my stomach too big', 'what if your dick hits the baby head?', 'when you eat me out, I won't be able to see your head cause her big-headed ass is in the way'. Like you know I don't care about any of that. You were beautiful when I first saw you and you look beautiful now.", The pregnant woman gave Levi a stank face.

"Don't start all that sappy shit just cause we confessed. Where the grumpy, rude, old, but very much young man I first met?", she asked, flicking water in his face. Levi flinched at the impact and gave Melanie a straight face.

"He fell in love with your shitty ass."

"FUCK YOU BITCH!"

March 31st, 2000

9 months pregnant ( 4 days overdue)

"Papa, me and Diedra are fine...Haha, no I feel fine, besides her pressing against my uterus, I'm good enough to attend his fight...Levi? Oh, he's.... he's pretty mad, I think. He's been really quiet since we got back from the conference, just pacing around and punching his fist. I think that Arlert nigga said something to piss him off......Yeah, I'll talk to him. Make sure he doesn't let whatever he said hang over him too much.....We love you too, papa. Bye..."

Melanie hung up the phone and turned to a zoned-out Levi. He's been quiet all morning and she feels the slight anger radiating off of him. It's his first big fight compared to his amateur fights and him getting angry is not the best thing right now. Levi is going to be fighting against a well-known fighter, Aaron Arlert. He isn't a top-tier fighter but he made it in the Top 20 in less than a year due to his strategic and quick moves. He is also well known for being an arrogant, manipulative, misogynistic prick, that allegedly cheats on his wife who takes care of their young son. Levi did not want to fight him to be his first fight. He hates people like Aaron. People who think they're all that and feel that they are entitled to everything. People that are controlling and don't care about anyone's feelings. People constantly disrespect women, but always expect them to grovel at their feet. People like his father.

At first, Levi finally processed and calmed himself over the fact that he is going to fight Aaron Arlet and he will, hopefully, lay him on his ass. Unfortunately, Levi got angered all over again nearing the end of the conference when Aaron said something fetishizing and degrading about Melanie to him. Of course, when Aaron said such a thing in his ear during the handshake he didn't say anything, but he did give him the deadliest glare that spoke the words "I'm going to fucking kill you." Levi did not tell Melanie any of what Aaron said. Why? Because and angry Melanie meant a stressed Melanie and he didn't want to stress her to the point that her water broke right before the fight. Also because Melanie is a violent person, like really violent. No, he has not seen Melanie fight, but she has told him stories of altercations she had when attending middle and high school. Let's just say, she is a weapon grabber and won't stop hitting until she sees blood. The same way Levi used to fight before he got into mixed martial arts. They really are a match made in heaven.

"Baby......Boo......Poohbear......PoohPooh......Shorty......Shortstack......SHITHEAD!?? GODDAMN, YOU DON'T HEAR ME TALKING?, " Levi turned to an annoyed Melanie, "I gotta insult your ass for you to hear me now? Anyways, are you good, baby? Did that nigga say something to piss my baby off-"

"Stop, Melanie", Levi sighed, "He did say something, but I'm not telling you. Just know it reminds me of something my father would say. I'll just beat the shit out of him so bad he'll never step foot in the fucking ring again."

Melanie sighed before standing up and waddling towards him until she was standing right in front of him. She ran her hands up his naked chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. He looked down at her short stature and chuckled a bit.

"You're so short, ma cherie.", He mumbled before planting a soft peck to her lips.

"You only 2 inches taller, baby, don't get bigheaded," she moved her hands to rest upon his cheeks, "Don't let what he said cloud your thoughts, baby. I want you to go in that ring with a clear head. 'Cause if you don't, the anger will blind you and that's what he wants. You are smarter than that. You are stronger than that. You are Levi fucking Ackerman and you are gonna make a name for yourself in that goddamn ring and you are gonna kick his fucking ass. 'Cause if you don't, I'm gonna kick your ass."

Levi groaned throwing his head back.

"Fuuuuck, I love it when you threaten me, baby.", he muttered against her lips, biting the bottom one softly.

Melanie shivered and jumped back.

"Stop before you make my water break, being all seductive and shit."

"Ew, stay away, pissy."

"IT'S NOT PEE! IT'S AMNIOTIC FLUID!"

March 31st, 2000

Night of the fight

It's the final round of Levi's first fight and it was a struggle to watch. The first was going well. Levi was using quick moves, thinking on his feet, not letting Aaron get a hit in. He had a clear head. But Melanie noticed Aaron whisper something to Levi that made his eyes turn dark. She doesn't what he said, but Levi was not the type to get rattled easily so she knew that it was something that hit close to home. Meanwhile, Levi knew that the bastard was just saying things to get under his skin, but just hearing him disrespect Melanie when he was a whole wife and child just grinds his gears. He shows that he has no regard for the ones that love him. He's selfish. This made Levi turn blind and almost lose his mind in the second round.

Levi staggered to his corner breathing heavily. He wasn't thinking straight and he knows that if he keeps going he is going to lose. He was going to lose everything.

"Levi! LEVI FUCKING ACKERMAN," The said man looked up and turned around to see his very angry, pregnant, girlfriend waddling to the gate of the ring, "Tell me what he said right now! It's pissing you off so bad so you need to say it right now-"

"He was disrespecting you and saying some fetishizing shit about you. Saying how it must have been nice to fuck a black girl and knock her up. And other shit that I don't want to repeat cause it doesn't feel right coming out of my mouth. I know what he saying isn't true but, fuck, it's really fucking with me-", Melanie yelled Levi's name again making him go quiet.

"I know this irritates you, but Levi, I could give two fucks about what that racist, white, fuck has to say about me. I've heard worst from the fucking crackheads and prostitutes on 120th and Fig. You need to stop thinking about me. Okay? Clear your head, pull out your best strategies then pull out the hard-hitters when he least expects it. If you wanna defend my honor and your morals, do it, but don't be fucking stupid and let your anger blind you. Be smart about it, please. Baby, you gotta win this.", she was teary-eyed and holding her stomach, trying to calm herself.

Levi bit his lip looking at a stressed Melanie. He avoided telling her so he wouldn't stress her out, but it ended up stressing her even more. He kissed her forehead before leaning back and looking into her eyes.

"I'll win. And then we can go home and celebrate.", They smiled at each other and the signal rang, gaining attention that the final round was starting.

Levi and Aaron were circling around each other, throwing false attacks. Win, win, win. That's all Levi was thinking at the moment. Aaron, being the cocky arrogant bastard that he is, is just waiting for Levi with a smirk. He seems so unbothered like he is so sure that he can win. He sees Levi's height as a disadvantage, but what he doesn't know is that his height is actually something he should be concerned about. Levi's height makes it easier for him to get his opponent in hard-to-reach places.

Aaron finally makes the first move, first throwing his right fist towards Levi's left jaw. Levi saw it coming so he blocked the hit with his left forearm and sent a kick straight to Aaron's left rib cage, making him lose his balance a bit. That's how it went for the first 3 minutes of the fight. Swing, block, kick, blood splatter, repeat. Both of their moves were calculated and quick, leaving the audience in awe and anticipation wondering who was going to talk the crown and win. Standing near the gate of the ring, Melanie was looking at the fight closely looking over Levi's spent body. Come on baby, you can do this. She was nervous but she knew her man wouldn't just lay down and lose. And lose was something he never did.

At this time Aaron had managed to make Levi stumble down on the floor, taking this as an advantage to get on top of him. Big mistake. Even with Aaron getting on top of Levi, Levi was quick. He knew exactly how to get from under someone or at least beat someone's ass while that person is on top. Before Aaron could get any damaging hit on the smaller man, Levi locked his legs around Aaron and mustered up the strength to flip them over. Levi began releasing a series of punches to Aaron's face, leaving him no time to block his head or face. Before the ref could even run to them Aaron delivered a punch to Levi's rib then one to his jaw, making him roll off of Aaron. They both stood up quickly, coming towards each other. Aaron tried to make a quick kick to Levi's side but it seemed to be a bit slow. Catching him by the ankle, Levi kept a tight grip and planted several punches to Aaron's knee. Then a crack was heard. Levi instantly dropped his ankle and stepped looking at the injured man, rolling on the floor in pain.

Levi wasn't expecting him to break his leg, but he didn't care. All he cared about was the feeling of the ref lifting up his right arm and hearing the announcers saying Levi won the biggest fight of his life followed by the cheers of support. His face was neutral but on the inside, he was in utter shock. He knew he was going to lay Aaron on his face but to actually see him on the floor, brings him satisfaction. Snapping out of his clouded mind, he turns to find Melanie clapping her hands screaming in happiness that he won. He met her at the side of the gate she was on and smiled down at her.

"You fucking did that shit babe! You really broke his leg, oh my god! I'm so proud of yo- OH MY GOD", Melanie put a hand right under her stomach and started to breathe heavily while looking down. She looked up at Levi in awe, "M-my water just broke in the middle of a goddam MMA stadium. Oh shit!"

Melanie began to lose balance, luckily someone caught her and sat her on the floor. Levi ran to the gate opening and snatched it open so hard it nearly broke. He pushed people out the way and squatted next to his exhausted girlfriend. She grabbed his bloody hand, not caring about the mess, just wanting to feel his skin on hers.

"Melanie, we have to get to the hospit-", Melanie shook her head harshly, taking deep breathes, "I can't, it fucking hurts! She's not gonna wait, baby, she's coming now."

Levi groaned, not liking the fact that she's gonna give birth in such an unsanitary place, but he can't force her to move. He settled behind her and shifted her body to mean against his chest. When finally situated, he looked up at the crowd around him. It ticked him off.

"Is there a fucking doctor in this crowd or do you all just look fucking stupid?!", Levi said through his gritted teeth, while caressing his girlfriend's stomach.

A woman stumbled to the front and presented herself in front of the couple with towels and a bag of ice.

"I'm a surgeon, but my girlfriend is an OB/GYN. I can call her and she can walk me and you two through the labor while the ambulance is on their way?", Levi nodded and motioned for her to get down here and help, "Keep her cool with this ice. And you ma'am, I want you to take deep breathes and keep your breathing leveled. I don't want you to pass out or anything."

They both followed her directions and tried to calm themselves while the woman called her girlfriend. After two hours of screaming, crying, and cussing, the cry of a baby was finally heard throughout the stadium. The surgeon quickly cleaned the baby and wrapped her in a towel, but not before screaming out "ITS A GIRL!". Melanie and Levi already knew Diedra was a girl but they figured the woman announced it because everyone in the stadium was interested. Everyone cheered and congratulated the happy couple while still giving them space so they can bask in their new chapter in life.

"Here's your beautiful baby girl", The woman, whose name is Nastasia according to her girlfriend that blurted it out over the phone, handed Melanie her baby girl, "The ambulance is making their way downstairs, so you'll be transported soon.

Melanie thanked the woman even though her eyes were focused on her daughter. She's beautiful. My beautiful Diedra. Melanie slightly turned her head to look at the expression on Levi's face and laughed to see it in disgust. The baby was a bit slimy if you can say, but even with the slight disgust on his face he wiped the blood off her forehead and carefully took the baby from Melanie.

"Hey, mini shitty-", He didn't even flinch when Melanie flicked him in the head, "Your momma right here loves you so much. So do I. As your- your umm step-"

"No, as Diedra's father", Levi froze in shock. He slowly looked up at Melanie to see if she was serious. She was, "She's your daughter, I don't care. You didn't have to step up, but you did, so you're her father and I couldn't ask for a better person to be called that."

Levi was astonished. He has always seen Diedra as a daughter but never spoke it out loud to avoid overstepping any boundaries. Especially with Diedra's real father. What if he just so happened wanted to step up? It was slim to none but it was still a slim chance. But every time Melanie tried to include him he would just brush her off and tell her to stop playing on his phone. Whereas Levi, he did many things to support Melanie with her pregnancy. He grew to love both Melanie and Diedra dearly. So much that he couldn't see his future without either one of them. The stadium went quiet, along with the ambulance that had managed to get right on time to see Melanie's reaction.

"Marry me.", He stated never shifting his eyes from hers.

"Wha-"

"Marry me. Let's elope right now. We can call a pastor and do it right at the hospital. We can even do it right here for all I care, I know there has got to be someone in here that can marry us. I love you and Diedra, so I don't care. Just marry me please.", Levi said everything so confidently. Melanie was still in shock that Levi even said such a thing just because she said she considers him as Diedra's father.

"MARRY HIM!"

"If she doesn't marry his fine self, I will!"

"Ma'am, I know you are in shock but can you please answer so we can get you and your daughter to the hospital."

The feeling of being picked up and placed on a gurney brought her back down to the real world. Levi placed Diedra in her arms while walking beside her gurney waiting for an answer.

"Of course, I'll marry you, pooh", tears were running down her puffy cheeks, "Sorry I hesitated. I'm overwhelmed right now, especially with her."

They were now riding in the ambulance calming themselves from such a life-changing experience.

"So she's really gonna take me last name huh? I mean Diedra Fox sounds perfect alone.", Levi questioned, looking down at the mini Melanie. He noticed a lack of pigment on Diedra's forehead close to her hairline making a patch of her hair in the front a ghost white. He didn't bring attention to it seeing as Melanie didn't either because it is very noticeable. He felt a hand graze his cheek, so he looked up at her

"How about she takes both? I love my name, but I also love yours. So we can take your last name and still keep ours. Doesn't 'Diedra Fox-Ackerman' sound good?", She smiled down at the Ackerman man.

For the first time she has known Levi, he gave her a big smile nodding. He shifted his gaze, giving a loving look to his semi-white-haired baby girl.

"Ma petite tempête.", he whispered lowly. My little storm

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[wfanfic56]

Intention | Behind us | Weaver x Reader

Chapter 4

"She's playing with you. Those aren't her real intentions. She wants to take her revenge." Woods told him, Mason, Adler and Belikov were looking at him.

"Belikov, what do you think?"

"I don't know comrade. As long as I know her, she is stubborn and she will do everything to get what she wants and for now, I don't know what her intentions are." Weaver looked at his hands. Damn what was he thinking about? Did he really think you would love him?

"I guess you're right." He stood up and went to the bathroom. While he was there Adler went to your apartment and just as he wanted to knock on your door he heard something break inside.

He got in and he found you laying on the floor, trying to reach your gun. Adler looked around and saw that your window was broken and just as he wanted to pick you up, you sensed his movement and you aimed your gun at him, not knowing it was Adler, because you became blind due the fight between you and Perseus' agent.

"Easy Y/N, it's me." Adler spoke noticing blood in your eyes

"Russell? Russell they know about the mission, I don't know how but I assume that we have a snitch."

"Maybe it was you. You're the one who didn't want to cooperate at the beginning."

"What are you talking about Russ? I was with you from the beginning. I'm helping you because I want to be free, I want to be a normal woman."

"Then why did you aim your gun at me? How can you explain that?"

"I'm blind. He hit me and I can't see."

"Adler, what happened?!" Woods came in apartment after realising that Adler was gone for too long without his aviators. "L/N, what the hell happened to you? And why are you Adler standing just there, you could help her." He helped you to stand up, but while you're still holding him for his biceps, he realised that you're blind.

___________

You were alone with Grigori, everyone went back to CIA Headquarters, even Belikov went with them. It wasn't easy to adapt to other senses. You're temporally blind, that's great, but until your sight is back, you have to be concentrated on other ones.

It wasn't easy, moving around the apartment and hit every damn thing is an adventure for Weaver. He was laughing at you, not because you hit something, it's because of your reaction. -"Can I at least be one minute perfect in this?" , "Are you kidding me?!" , "Who put this goddamn chairs on my way?!"

"Grigori stop laughing, I need help here, but you're just sitting at that couch."

"Calm down, I'm here." he stood up from the couch and slowly approached you. "I'm in front of you, so I will take your hand so you can follow me. Anyway why are you walking around when you can just sit at the same couch?"

"I can't be on one place doing nothing. It freaks me out. What would I-" you couldn't even finish your sentence. You felt his lips on yours, his hands on your hips slowly pulling you closer to him. He breaks the kiss apologizing for his act.

"Y/N, I'm sorry I shouldn't-"

"-just shut up and kiss me again." Did you just said "...kiss me again."? Well just so you know you were already in his hands, your legs wrapped around his waist, your hands around his neck. He pinned you against the wall, kissing every inch of your neck and collarbone. You wished you could see his eyes now, but you sensed the lust in them. Your fingers weng through his thick half-gray hair, and lowly moaned in his ear.

"What the hell are you two doing?!" the familiar voice caught you two off guard. Hudson came in the apartment and first thing he saw was you two having a love session. Your cheeks went red instantly, while Grigori slowly puts you down on the floor. He tried to explain it, but he didn't need to. "I don't need to know what you two would do in your apartment, but everything you do, do it in the bedroom while we're sharing this apartment."

You two nodded, Weaver taking your hand to lead you in the bedroom. He locked the door and he pushes you on the bed. "I don't know what your intentions are, but you're teasing me from those days when I saw you in that bunker. You're going to scream until everyone knows who you belong to." his voice was lower, thicker and for sure you didn't expect to sense this side of him.

[violetmuses]

Black Rose || Chapter 11

Author’s Note: Long chapter ahead! Wrote this one just in time for our man’s birthday as well. (Early June for my Gemini Boss) Happy reading. - V. 💜

Black Rose - Masterlist ���

J Krew: @nerdysuperchick @a-reader-and-a-writer @babblydrabbly @lacontroller1991 @shadowkittybucky @loverhymeswith @justin-hammers @weallhaveadestiny @xoxabs88xox @katjnordstrom96  @skvatnavle @mayhem24-7forever @lilisangel @peakyrogers @sociiallydiisoriiented @heresathreebee

===

2013

Cyrus Hugo 

It was a miracle to still wake up in one piece every day, let alone mark this particular time of year: 

My birthday. 

I’d hardly left the shower and started my day before noticing that pings still lit up the phone. Voicemails, missed calls, text messages and even social media posts had filed in. On and on. 

No matter what happened at night, there was no mistake in trying to stay grateful at this point. People genuinely cared, even if my life seemed to be shouldered in family chaos or darkness otherwise.  

Just when I planned on stepping out for the gym, my phone rang again and Drew had called again. 

“Russ.” I shouldered my phone while taking two brief steps at a time down this longtime stoop. 

“Bro! I’ve been trying to call all morning. Happy birthday.” Drew showed off that familiar boost in his voice that always seemed to make people feel better about themselves. 

“Thanks, D.” I said, walking down the block and turning to face another corner before heading to one nearby intersection. 

“You’re welcome. Look, I’ve said this before, but I’ll definitely say it again: no matter what happens, you’ll always be part of my family, blood or not.” Drew offered his kindness again, reminding me of so much. 

We met for the first time as kids at a city park because of our parents. 

We both toughed out puberty as far back as Junior High. 

We ended up graduating college together. 

In good times and bad times, he was always there, even now, decades later. 

“Thanks, man. Heading to the gym now. Ready to get your ass beat in some basketball or what?” I joked, finally reaching my destination and opening one of the frontal glass doors. 

“Oh! Do you just mean letting you win one-on-one for your birthday?” As usual, Drew messed with me on the other line. 

“Nah, there’s a reason why Coach Moore didn’t let you in as one of the Point Guards.” I rasped my voice during this call, but Drew recognized that some laughter peaked here, passing my entry card to the front desk clerk. 

“Got jokes on your birthday? Damn!” Drew cackled. 

“Wasting time with you. Thanks for the birthday wishes, D. See you later.” While still humored, I beelined for the indoor basketball court after hanging up this call. 

_______

Hours later, I stopped playing for today and stepped off the court, waving goodbye to nearby members on my way out of here. 

As I planned to head home for another shower and knock out real work, my footsteps paused near the front desk. 

This brunette ponytail scaled down towards the woman’s shoulders and from this angle, she seemed to wear a t-shirt with athletic pants and sneakers, holding some kind of box with veined hands. Manicured fingers gripped that same box. 

Mom was here, no longer hiding from the city. At least for now.  

“Oh, Ms. Reynolds. Cyrus is right behind you.” The clerk had seemed to hurry through their answers, but pointed my mother in the right direction. 

As soon as Mom turned around, she ditched that random box on the front desk. 

I opened both arms to hug her without even caring about sweat this time around. Hell, she was the only person besides Drew’s family who’d support me through our games back in high school. 

“You’re strong enough to lift me now.” Mom pulled away and showed off the same smile that I’d see at night during bedtime stories. “Happy birthday, Sweetheart.” 

“Thanks, Ma.” I grinned back, noticing that had worn a New York Knicks cap while hiding her ponytail from the heatwave outside. “What’s the box for?” I pointed back towards the front desk and picked up that box while still shouldering my gym bag. 

“Let’s sit down first. Don’t want to spoil another surprise.” Mom beamed, almost skipping towards the cafe entrance as if we planned on an adventure. I hadn’t seen this overjoyed in years. 

“All right, Ma. What’s in here?” I sat down, setting the box in front of us after choosing a table.  

“Took a little secret work, but I pulled some strings and put together something special for you.” Mom almost rubbed her hands together and showed another great smile. 

“Let’s see.” I unraveled this navy-blue ribbon that centered the box first and kept moving, almost frantic with my hands like it was the holidays or something.  Even its wrapping paper seemed to take a long time until I finally reached the jackpot. 

It was one hardcover photo album. The word “Family” centered this gift using beautifully dark letters.

“Mom, this is amazing. Thank you.” Smiling again, I stood from our table and hugged her. She still didn’t even care about my workout sweat. 

“You’re welcome. Happy birthday.” Mom couldn’t help showing off joy again and we opened these pages together. 

“Thank you.” I repeated myself, still extremely grateful. 

Mom and I were included first. Even various pictures of me with Drew and his cousins or siblings had been featured. Of course, there were no snapshots of me with Dad given our circumstances, but it was expected. 

“Flip to the very last page.” Mom still looked joyful at this point. I didn’t know what to think, but looked forward to seeing another surprise. I turned to the final page as she said, looking immediately. 

At that moment, I nearly froze. There was an old picture of me and Bianca while we were officially dating. 

Back then, we were invited to my aunt Sarah's wedding. At the semi-formal event, I sported one great suit and covered my tattoos for the first time in quite a while. 

Bianca, an angel, wanted us to fit that special occasion without ever upstaging the couple. Her cocktail dress still looked gorgeous, almost leaving me in awe that night. 

In the picture, I’d dipped Bianca while dancing and smiled downward as if we were going to kiss. Mom had taken this candid shot of us with her favorite digital camera. 

I snapped back to the present time after reading something that was written at the bottom of this photo album’s last page. 

Cyrus, 

Whenever darkness shrouds your mind, remember our family. Remember friendships. Remember simple things. Remember joy. 

But most of all, remember her. 

Happy birthday to you, forever my little Rascal. 

Love, 

-Moms 

By the time I closed the photo album and stood up from our table again, Mom already wiped away tears as we hugged. 

“Happy birthday.” Mom whispered again, nodding between us as we moved away from each other. “Take care of yourself and go see her. Please.” 

“Hopefully, Mom. I don’t even know how I’ll celebrate this year.” I honestly shrugged. I hadn't thrown big-time parties like that since college. 

“Maybe invite Drew with a few other friends to dinner and Bianca might show up.” Mom smiled again after pulling herself together.

“We'll see.” I assured her with this white-lie. Who knew at this point if something would happen tonight or not? 

“All right. I’m going to head out of here and I’ll text you when I’m home. I love you.” Mom offered this sweet goodbye after kissing my sweaty cheek anyway. Still No shame whatsoever. 

“I love you too, Mom. Drive safe. Thank you.” I waved goodbye, watching my mother pull out of the parking lot soon after we left that building. 

______

Later that night, an Escalade truck pulled up to the curb of my apartment and beamed its headlights. Even its driver honked out loud, but I recognized those hysterics. 

“Yo!” Drew called from the widow and didn’t even attempt using Bluetooth to call me from the truck.  

Despite rolling my eyes, I laughed out loud for once, forgetting bullshit. Mom wrote to choose joy, so I’d try for once. 

Heading out again, I readied for the night and almost yanked the passenger seat door open, which prompted Drew to nearly shout with genuine excitement. 

“Happy birthday, man! Let’s get the hell out of here and get this party started.” Drew  exclaimed with almost the same amount of energy as our college years. 

Tonight, his own personality had spiked up several notches and my best friend wasn’t tipsy yet. Even two of my guards who joined in the back seats were hyped too, ready for anything. 

“If you say so.” Humored again, I replied to him and turned up the radio almost as soon as this truck moved away from the curb. 

________

By the time we entered Shadow as usual, I couldn’t even pass guests without hearing birthday wishes. 

“Before we go in, don’t be mad.” Drew tilted his head while facing me and those guards. I folded both arms, but kept smiling. We had reached my favorite private room on the top floor, usually reserved for so-called meetings. 

“What did you do?” I shook my head in return. 

“You’ll see.” Drew pushed the door open and we stepped through, casted with those bright overhead lights. 

Music thumped out loud from downstairs as usual, but voices yelled with happiness over that same noise. 

“Surprise!” More guests were here and it was as if the room had grown much larger. Even some of our college friends had arrived. 

“No way…” I almost ended up whispering like some kid who’d found the best gift from a toy store now. 

“Planned months ahead. I wanted to do something special.” Drew patted my shoulder. 

“Thanks, man.” I showed gratitude and moved around the room, genuinely smiling again instead of trying to keep guards up. 

****

Hours later, quite a few guests had filed out here, but of course the party wasn’t over yet. Drew and I even shared classic cheesecake between sips of champagne, my favorite. 

There was no sign of Eric and his goons all night, either. Especially considering how Mom surprised me earlier today, this year’s birthday just couldn’t get any better in my opinion. 

“Cheers, Bro.” Drew clinked his glass with me, finishing off that drink. 

“This has been the best day of my life.” I lowered my voice, buzzed without feeling too loopy right now. 

“Really?” Someone other than Drew asked that next question. 

I turned around while sitting across from Drew and almost over my shoulder. Right then, my mouth nearly gaped. 

Bianca showed up. 

“Oh, well. That’s our cue to bounce. Come on, fellas.” Whistling downward Drew rounded up our guards who still kept watch despite the party.  Even the guards mumbled their farewells and smiled at Bianca out of respect before heading elsewhere in the nightclub.  

“You’ve probably heard guests say it all night, but happy birthday.” Once the door finally closed behind us, Bianca lifted a gift bag while standing across from me and offered one smile. She looked beautiful, dressed for the night without doing too much. 

“Thank you.” I repeated my answer kindly. “I appreciate you for visiting me.” 

“No problem.” Bianca seemed timid. Even on this important day in my life, she kept guards up, probably still thinking of the worst case scenario despite joy this time around. 

Just you existing is enough for me. I thought to myself. 

“Here goes nothing.” I sat down and gently reached into the shimmering gift bag while smiling in hopes of cheering her up a little more. 

First, there was a birthday card with my first name written perfectly on the front. I didn’t open that envelope yet, giving myself time to read it alone instead. 

Next, I’d picked this small box out of the bag, but its familiar logo caught my attention. The symbol itself had linked to a pet store. 

“Open it.” Bianca encouraged, watching me open the box almost delicately by this point.  

After passing the wrapping paper, I immediately recognized what had been placed at the center of this gift box: 

A rounded bell collar deemed small enough for puppies. 

“Oh my God.” I shook my head, but avoided eye contact with her, holding this puppy collar gently of course. “What’s going on? Where’s the puppy?” 

“I would’ve surprised you earlier today, but the shelter’s already closed for the night. We can pick her up tomorrow.” 

“Wait. I have so many questions first.” I nearly rattled off for once, almost  sounding immature for my age tonight. 

“Go ahead.” Bianca went on. 

“What’s her name?” I asked, setting this collar back into the gift bag. 

“Shiloh. She’s a German Shepherd puppy, too.” Bianca replied. 

“You remembered?” I questioned, whispering. “That’s my favorite breed.” 

“Of course.” she affirmed. “What’s your next question?” 

“Where is Shiloh staying? I can’t take her with me because my apartment doesn’t allow pets.” I frowned while telling the truth. 

“I know. She’ll stay with me until further notice, but your name will still be on the paperwork.” Bianca winked. 

“My lease ends this year anyway, so you’ve got yourself a deal.” I reached out to shake hands with her, but paused, noticing that Bianca turned down her curls to avoid looking at me. 

“Cy?” When she looked back up and shortened my name, her eyes, those pretty brown eyes, stared into my soul. 

“Yeah?” I leveled my voice to stay calm. 

She “answered” our question by leaning across the table and kissing me. 

[aoioozora]

The Ghosts Comfort You

Part 3: Keegan P. Russ

Part 1: Thomas Merrick Part 2: Logan Walker Part 4: David 'Hesh' Walker

The apartment is awfully quiet when Keegan returns with bags of his groceries. The living room is dark, with only the faint light of an appliance cutting through it. So is the hallway, lighted only by the Wi-Fi router stationed like a sentry on the wall.

Just as he is about to assume that you, his roomie, had stepped out, he notices your bedroom door ajar with faint yellow light streaming out of it. He wonders what could've been the case because he always knew you to be in the living room, either watching television, lazing on the couch with a book or your phone, or going on a cleaning spree. This is truly odd.

After he leaves the groceries on the kitchen counter, he quietly steps towards your door. He peeks through the crevice of the ajar door and finds you laying on your bed with an open book laid upon your face. He knocks on the door.

"Hey, I'm back," he calls, announcing his presence, "You alright there?"

You don't stir for a moment and he is about to assume you were asleep when you slowly move the book out of your face and crane your neck. You see him upside down and answer, "Yeah, I'm good."

Keegan isn't convinced. He could detect some tiredness of a different caliber from your voice; like that of stress. "You sure?" he asks, raising a brow, motioning with his hand for permission to enter.

You nod, granting permission. "I'm fine," you insist, rolling on your side to face away from him.

He notices the mismatch between your words and your body language. "Look me in the eye and say it," he demands gently as he enters, sauntering towards the base of your bed to look down at you.

You whip your face upwards to look at him, ready to lie through your teeth, but his damned blue eyes stare searchingly into yours. You liked the colour of his eyes, but boy did they unnerve you sometimes. He knew the effect his eyes had on you, and takes full advantage of it.

"Fine. I'm not alright," you relent.

"What's the matter?"

You look away, hesitating. "It's not anything important."

He fights the urge to roll his eyes. "You wouldn't be stressed about it if it wasn't important."

You purse your lips, still hesitating.

He lets out a soft sigh. "Hold on, I'll be right back." That being said, he promptly steps out of the room.

You roll back on your side and fiddle with the pages of the book you were reading earlier. Within five minutes, he comes back with two mugs of tea, one of which he silently hands to you.

"Thanks?" You sit up and receive the mug, unsure, but grateful. You watch as he grabs a chair and sits down on it, facing you as he takes a sip.

You copy. He doesn't say a word, and both of you slowly drink the piping hot tea in silence. You wonder about the flavour of the tea; it is quite relaxing and warming to your stomach, lightly sweetened so as to not overshadow the earthy, flowery taste.

He watches you closely, feeling a sense of relief at the slow but steady appearance of comfort and relaxation in your eyes and your dropped shoulders. "Better?" he finally speaks.

You nod slowly, sighing. "Yeah. This stuff's good. I didn't know you made such good tea."

He is flattered, but shrugs it off. "I tend to have a cup when I'm stressed out. Herbal teas help best, and I've made so many cups that I'd say I'm not too bad at making them."

"You're too humble," you chuckle.

The corner of his lip tugs ever so slightly at your chuckle, pleased to see you smiling. He shifts in his seat, taking another sip. "So, now that you're relaxed, do you want to talk about what's bothering you? I'm a champion listener," he jokes without cracking a grin, hoping you'd be amused.

You are, and you smile a little. With your head now feeling somewhat cleared, and his kindness and unobtrusiveness making you at ease, you gingerly begin to pour out your heart to him. You talk about your situation, whatever you are going through, and go in excruciating detail. He listens and nods in silence, only occasionally interrupting to remind you to drink your tea before it gets cold. In between the rant session, he feels it necessary to get off the chair and sit next to you on your bed to keep his presence closer to you.

When he sees your emotions running strong enough to force tears out, he pats his shoulder, offering it to you.

You hesitate. "You really don't have to," you tell him, "You're listening to me, and that's all I need."

He shakes his head. "I don't have to, but I want to," he flicks his chin to his shoulder, "and you look like you need more than a listening ear."

His persuasion is enough. You succumb to your need and lean your head against his shoulder, letting your tears dampen his shirt. He is unused to such closeness, and feels uncomfortable, but he stifles the feeling for your sake; he is not going to let you feel even the slightest bit lonely in your distress, especially not when he knew that feeling intimately.

As you cry and continue to complain, he tries his best to think of what he could say to comfort you, but nothing comes to mind. He isn't good at comforting, but he tries, and does so by loosely putting an arm around you and awkwardly patting your shoulder, trying to soothe you as much as he could.

By the end of your rant and your crying, you wipe your tears let out a sigh of relief, feeling lighter and more relaxed than before. He sees how your features have eased and he too lets out a sigh. "You alright?" he echoes his earlier question, still holding you close to him.

"I'm alright," you smile genuinely now as you blink your bloodshot eyes and wipe a stray tear. "Thanks a lot for letting me talk your ear off. You really are a champion listener."

His normally subtle smiles tug a hint wider this time, and he ruffles your hair. "Anytime."

Read Part 4: David 'Hesh' Walker

Masterlist

[taehyungs-perm]

strawberry girl pt 5

taehyung x reader; college au; childhood best friends to lovers au; jock!fratboy taehyung

genre: fluff; major angst lol

word count: 16k

summary: i can pretend i don’t miss you. i can pretend i dont care. all i want to do is kiss you. what a shame you’re not here.

Part 1 here ; Part 2 here; part 3 here; part 4

playlist vibes

fuck it i love you | lana del ray 

still with you | jk

la vie en rose | edith piaf 

the remedy of a broken heart | xxxtentacion 

cant help falling in love with you | kina grannis 

sweet night | v

cherry hill | russ

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

All of the days had pretty much begun to blend together. There was no difference between morning and night. You just sat in your room, shades drawn, binging TV shows and movies. After the first night, you began to cry in random spurts. It would go a bit something like this: you would be staring at the cereal swirling in the milk and burst into tears because your heart would just seize up in pain; you would focus on the spinning of your ceiling fan before you would realize the tears were spilling out of your eyes; you would tear up as you scrolled through your camera photos just to see his face. Every ounce of your being missed him but there was no way in hell you could face him, not after that night. 

You had blocked his number when he began to text and call you after a week. You had hoped he would never contact you, but that wasn’t the case. 

Tae: hey

Tae: can we talk

Tae: I’m sorry 

Tae: can we stay friends 

Tae: missed call (5)

Tae: why r u ignoring me

Tae: u fucked it up

Tae: not me

Tae: I’m sorry that was uncalled for

Tae: can we talk 

Tae: pls 

Every time his name popped up on your phone screen, you felt like throwing your phone against the wall. It was after a few days of this when you realized you couldn’t take it anymore. You just wanted him out of your life. It became much easier to deal with the pain once you weren’t bombarded by messages from him.

You laid on your bed, with Gossip Girl mindlessly playing in the background, thinking about him. Before the break started, you and Taehyung talked about all of the things you wanted to do since this was the first time in a long time where it would be you two alone at home: have picnics, go ice skating, watch movies all night. All of that, gone to shit. Just cause you fucking had to tell him about your feelings. 

Your mom had enough of you lying in your bed all day and forced you to get out of your room. It just ended up with you lying on the living room couch all day instead. You had just gotten a copy of “Freedom is a Constant Struggle” by Angela Davis but you felt like your brain was mush and couldn't bring yourself to read it. One morning, your parents tried convincing you to come shopping and get some fresh air but you felt like you had no energy to do so. You laid on the couch, face squished on a pillow, curled up in a blanket, completely not comprehending the episode of gossip girl you had switched on. The doorbell rang and you groaned, barely shifting, not wanting to answer the door. The doorbell rang again and you rolled off the couch, annoyed. You tried peering through the side window to see who was at your door bothering you. Then you heard loud rapid knocks. Ugh who the fuck is knocking at my door and why aren’t they leaving? 

You reluctantly opened the door, still wrapped in your blanket, completely prepared to yell at whoever was annoying the shit out of you, but when you saw him standing there, every thought in your head completely disappeared, your heart completely dropping. 

Your voice broke, “Taehyung?”

He looked at you, peering at your eyes behind his shaggy curly strands of hair, shivering in his jacket and sweatpants, “__________”. His voice was shaking, as if he was scared.

You wanted to slam the door on his face, but the way his big brown eyes were staring at you, full of innocence, you knew you couldn’t bring yourself to do that. You couldn’t help but wonder, did he not get the message? And why does he even want to talk to you? 

“What do you want?” you asked, sternly. 

“Can we talk? please?”

“Taehyung, please, leave me alone. please.” You tried to close the door but he stepped forward and held the door open with his hand.

“You blocked my number. I can't even contact you anymore. Can I just have this at least? Can we just talk once more?” he pleaded. His eyes were filled with a sadness that you couldn’t quite understand. You desperately just wanted to reject him just like he did to you, but you couldn’t. He was and always would be your weakness. Seeing him, standing here in front of you, doe eyed and heartbroken because of your actions made you hate yourself even more. You would rather have your heart broken a thousand times than to see him in pain. 

“Okay. we can talk,” you whispered softly. 

You didn't want to let him in though. You just leaned on the doorframe, staring at him as the wind sent shivers up your spine. 

“Why are you ignoring me again? I told you not to do that. Ignoring me doesn’t do anything.”

“I needed space. And I still do.”

“Space from me?” he stepped closer to you. His closeness made you uneasy. You glanced up into his eyes, and there were stone cold seriousness. You hadn’t seen Taehyung like this in a while. For all the talk of you thinking Taehyung was adorable and cute, he could be just as intimidating. The look in his eyes made you almost scared. 

“Yes.” you breathed out, trying to match his serious tone.

“Are you mad at me?”

“I’m not mad at you, just at myself…because I knew this would happen, but I let myself fall in love with you anyways.”

“I'm sorry.”

“There's nothing to be sorry about. It's just I should have known better. It's what happens to people like me. And this is why I don’t let myself fall in love.”

“___________ don't let this ruin you. Don’t let me fuck up everything you believed in. You’ll fall in love again.”

“Taehyung. I’ve been in love with you for years. I just never had the guts to say it. I dunno if I'll fall in love again because my heart belongs to you. I didn’t choose to give it to you and it fucking kills me to admit it,” you felt tears welling up in your eyes. Your voice began to crack, shaking from the tears, “but my heart is yours and you don’t even want it.”

Taehyung had been staring at the ground, scared to make eye contact with you. But once you said those words, he looked up at you, his eyes trembling, “_________ I like you. okay? Please don't forget that. You're my best friend.”

You looked deep into his eyes and shook your head softly, “Taehyung, Stop looking at me like you want me because we both know you don’t. I know you don’t feel the same way, but I wish you did.” 

“_______ I told you, I just don't know right now. I just don't know how I feel about you but maybe if you give me time I could fi-“

You cut him off, not wanting to hear any bullshit, “Don’t fuck with my feelings just because you’re unsure of yours. I didn’t mean to fall in love but I did. And you didn’t mean to hurt me but you did. Try to understand how I feel.”

Taehyung took another step towards you, his hand came up to your face, resting on your cheek as he wiped a falling tear, “Why do you need space from me? Why do you need to cut me off completely?”

You pushed his hand away, feeling annoyed at his words. All of this was bullshit. Taehyung doesn’t care about you. He broke your heart and he was just acting now. He just pretends to care but really he doesn’t give a shit about you. 

You furrowed your eyebrows in anger, “I just want to fucking get over you okay? Like Taehyung, you have no idea what you do to me. The way my heart goes completely erratic. The way that one look from you is all that I need to smile. I can’t think around you. Because all I think about it is you. I don’t think...I’m capable of being just friends with you. At least not for a long time. Maybe that’s selfish but that’s all I’m asking of you. I’m not asking you to love me because I know you can’t do that. So just give me space.”

He was quiet, not saying a single word. You sighed out your last few thoughts, “You don’t love me the way I love you. And I know you never will. And that’s okay. But understand that just being friends with you and seeing you everyday is a reminder that you don’t love me.”

Taehyung scoffed, kicking his foot against the door frame, “Why did you do that? Why did you have to tell me your feelings? Why did you fuck it up?”

Your lip trembled. You already felt like shit, like the biggest idiot on the planet for thinking he could love you back, and now he was just shoving your mistakes right back in your face, “Why did you kiss me? You keep saying I fucked it up! I didn’t, you did! If you just didn’t fucking kiss me, then this wouldn’t have happened. So why the fuck did you kiss me?”

He took a step back, shocked at your outburst. His voice faltered, coming out weak and soft, “I..I..I dunno. I don’t know.” 

You scoffed, “You want me in your life, but I can’t do that. You’re asking too much of me. You’re asking me to pretend these feelings I have for you are insignificant. Something that can be stored away as if they didn’t matter. But it did matter. To me.” You stepped towards him, feeling a bit reckless but fuck it right? you had nothing else to lose. you just wanted the truth from him. You asked, your voice icy, “Do I even matter to you?”

He looked at you, confused, “Of course you matter to me. You're my everything.”

You couldn't help but let out a cold laugh, “The things you say sometimes make me feel like I actually have a chance with you, but then I snap back to reality and realize I never really did.”

Taehyung looked at you with defeated eyes. You looked at him and saw that he knew he had done things and said things that he couldn’t take back. 

His eyes were now puffy and bloodshot. His voice croaked, “So where does this leave us? We go back to ignoring each other? You pretend I don't exist and I do the same to you?”

You sighed as you walked back to your front door. you turned to look at him before you shut the door close, “It's for the best Taehyung.”

You closed the door, not waiting to see if he had left your porch. You sat on the ground, back against the door as tears collected in your eyelashes. You know you really love someone when you don’t hate them for breaking your heart

———————————————————————————————————

You left later than planned, purposefully just so you could avoid traveling with Taehyung or even running into him by accident on campus. When you got back to school, Hana was out with Jungkook so you began to unpack, trying to distract yourself. You had told her a little bit about what happened, that you told him how you felt but he didn't reciprocate. You definitely made it seem you weren’t as torn up about it as you actually were, avoiding her FaceTime calls so she couldn’t see your bloodshot eyes. 

You slumped on your bed, scrolling through an academic paper you were attempting to read for class but you couldn’t focus. His fucking smile, his fucking laugh, his fucking curly hair, it was all swimming in your mind and you couldn’t stop thinking about him. 

You felt your eyes well up with tears and shut your laptop. You laid down on your bed and buried yourself in your blankets. You drifted off to sleep, exhausted from being so emotionally drained. 

You jolted awake when you felt a hand on your shoulder. 

“__________.”

“Whatttt?” You groaned as rolled over and saw Hana sitting on the edge of your bed. You rubbed your eyes and broke out into a smile when you saw your roommate, “Hana!”

She gave you a hug and gave you a concerned look, “How are you?”

You felt your words get caught in your throat, immediately feeling tears well up in your eyes, “I’m okay. Dunno why I can/t stop crying.” 

Hana rubbed your shoulder soothingly, “You just lost one of your best friends. Your heart got completely broken. It’s okay to cry __________.”

“I’m so fucking stupid. I wish I didn't give him this power to hurt me,” you whispered softly.

“Hey, it's okay ___________. I'm so proud of you. You worked up the courage to tell him how you feel. And what you feel matters, so you shouldn’t feel bad about it, okay?”

You shook your head. You couldn’t even explain your heartbreak to Hana. Because she wouldn’t understand. You wouldn’t wish this kind of pain on anyone. Unrequited love doesn’t just make you feel sad. It breaks you down. It preys on your deepest insecurities and leaves you hollow and empty. Because in the end, it was you. You were the problem, you were the reason why it didn’t work out. It's not even that he was in love with someone else. It was simply that he didn't love you. 

Hana spoke cautiously, “What exactly did he say when you told him?”

You tried to recall but your mind was a bit foggy as you tried to mentally block out that day, “Um, well he said he doesn’t love me that way. And that he was confused about his feelings.”

“He said he was confused?”

“Yea,”

“Hmm. it's a weird word choice but…”

“But what?”

“Im sorry ___________. I'm going to be honest with you, just so it doesn’t hurt more later. When a guy says they’re confused, they probably don't have feelings at all and are just trying to be nice. That's the only thing not complicated about them. If a guy likes a girl, he won’t hide it and say he is confused.”

“I’m fucking crazy to think he was into me” you said, tears slowly rolling down your cheeks.

“Do you still love him?” 

“Yea”

“How much?” 

“Why does it matter?” You retorted coldly, staring at your blankets.

She responded in a soft tone, “Why does it not?” 

You met her eyes, “Because he doesn’t love me back” 

“If you still love him, then you can't be around him right now. But you shouldn’t regret your feelings towards him. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but you’ll get through this.”

You fiddled with your hands, trying to steady your breathing, “It’s unfathomable. I can’t possibly envision a future with him loving me the way I want him to. But I can't get rid of this feeling, that somewhere deep inside me, I still have hope that he’ll fall for me.  It’s pathetic really, how much I still hope it’s him and me in the end.”

She put her arm around your shoulder, pulling you into her embrace, “It's not pathetic. You love him, its okay to want him. But I promise you, you’ll get through this, and I'll be there for you the entire time. You are such an amazing person, you are kind and smart and if he can’t see that, then fuck him.”

you laughed humorlessly, “Thanks Hana.” You paused and then whispered hoarsely, “I wish love was perfect as love itself.”

“it will be. Once you find the one. It will all feel so easy and natural when you find your actual love.”

It was silent for a few moments and then she looked at your puffy eyes, “Are you feeling better?”

You sniffled and nodded, “I’ll be fine.”

“How do you know that?” she asked seriously. 

You glanced at the window, seeing the rain droplets slide down the window pane, “Because my whole life I’ve been in love with someone who doesn’t love me back. It’s nothing new.”

“Boys are fucking stupid” Hana said, shaking her head.

“So fucking stupid.” 

———————————————————————————————————

Hana did her best to keep you distracted, walking with you to class, eating meals with you, hanging out with you on the weekends, always going to the library with you. Jungkook tagged along most of the time but only after Hana asked you if it was okay. Seeing Jungkook did remind you of Taehyung, but his presence didn't bother you too much since he was always cracking jokes to make you smile. 

You didn't see Taehyung around campus at all. It was like he was a ghost, completely gone from your life. It almost made it worse because then you yearned to see him, just to see his cute smile, to hear his adorable laugh. You missed his annoying headass personality that made your heart flutter, you missed the way you could talk to him about anything and everything because he actually listened, you missed being the person he could trust the most to talk to about his feelings. 

Sometimes you got these heart aches, you could physically feel yourself falling apart at the seams. And it just hurt. It hurt to breathe, to think, to feel. And you didn’t know what hurt the most: The fact that he wasn’t in your life anymore and you won’t ever see his doe eyes and boxy smile again or the fact that you weren’t enough for him and that you’ll never be enough for him. 

 The pain of him just not being in your life was worse than you could ever imagine. Then, that combined with the realization your love was unrequited made you feel like you weren't ever going to get through this. 

You sat on the first floor of the library with Hana, working through some biology worksheets to prepare for class. Hana was talking to you about the new boba place on campus, “They have the best green milk tea.”

“Damn I miss boba. I haven’t had it in so long.”

“Lets go right after this. They have a bunch of flavors.”

You nodded, feeling weirdly excited for just boba. 

“Hi” you heard a voice say.

You looked up and saw Jennie. 

“Hi?” you said, very confused. 

She smoothed out her pink tennis skirt and sat down on the seat next to you, “Can we talk?”

“About?”

“Him.”

You glanced at Hana, who was also clearly uncomfortable. You really didn't want to talk to her about Taehyung but Hana gave you a small nod.

“Fine.”

Jennie looked at Hana uneasily, “Can we talk alone?”

You crossed your arms defensively, “Anything you have to say to me, Hana can hear it too.”

Hana put her hand on your shoulder reassuringly, “It’s okay. You should talk to her alone. I'll be by the vending machines in the back. Come and find me when you're done talking.”

She got up after giving you a smile.

You sighed deeply, facing Jennie, “So what’s up?”

“What happened? With you and Taehyung?”

“That's literally none of your business. Did he tell you something?”

She looked concerned, “No. Well. Kinda. Not really. After we all got back to campus, Taehyung didn't text me or call me. Which is strange because he usually calls or texts around every two weeks or so to hook up. But once we got back, he didn't respond to any of my messages. So I went over to his dorm.”

“And?”

“And he looked like shit. Like he hadn't slept or showered or eaten properly. I tried asking him what happened but he just told me to leave and not to come back. I ran into Jimin on the way out. He said you two had a falling out and Taehyung has been a wreck since. Tae has barely left his room, only for school and soccer and thats with Jimin and his other friends forcing him to.”

What? What was going on with him? Was he really this affected by your friendship? That didn't make any sense you guys had only recently become friends. Surely he could easily just resume his lifestyle to when you guys weren’t close. 

You looked at Jennie, “I told him that I loved him. And he said he didn’t love me. I said we couldn’t be friends, at least not for a while. I guess he didn't take it well.”

You thought Jennie would just laugh in your face or say “I told you so”, but she didn't. She pulled you into a side hug, “Oh honey, I'm so sorry. I’m sorry. I know how it feels.”

“Did you ever tell him how you felt?”

She laughed softly, “I didn’t. I was too scared. I knew he would reject me. I guess I was scared of losing him, even just as a fuck buddy. So I just quietly pined over him from a distance.”

You chuckled, “You and me both.”

“I kinda admire that you had the guts to tell him how you felt. If he didn't have feelings for you, there's no possible way he ever liked me.”

You scoffed, “I'm sure he has feelings for you. You're so beautiful. And nice. And pretty. There's no way he didn't like you.”

“__________, you know you're beautiful too. I was actually always jealous of you.”

You were completely shocked, “Jealous of me?”

“Yes! No matter where we were, you could always get Taehyung's attention without even trying. I had to literally climb on top of him to get him to even think about me. Sorry about that by the way.”

“You don't have to be sorry about that. It's not a big deal. Honestly boys are so fucking stupid. I don't know why we let him use us and hurt us so much.”

“Exactly. I hope...we can be friends. Like for real.”

You nodded, “I'm sorry too. I was kinda a bitch to you.”

“Like you said, it's not a big deal. that's all in the past.” 

Jennie got up and smiled at you. She paused for a moment, looking at you carefully, “By the way, you mean a lot to Taehyung. I know you're upset at him right now but maybe you can consider being friends with him in awhile.”

She stalked away leaving you in your thoughts. It was still too soon. But you felt better. Some of your sadness that you felt for yourself went away, transforming into a sort of anger and annoyance at Taehyung: he used girls like you and Jennie all the time and would play with their feelings just so he could feel good about himself. Fuck boys. 

———————————————————————————————————

You were sitting on the picnic benches near the soccer field like how you used to do, but now Taehyung doesn’t come and sit next to you. The peacefulness of being outdoors allowed you to finally focus on your work without any distractions. As you were studying your statistics homework, you heard someone call your name. You looked up and it was Jimin's smiling face.

“Hey ___________!”

“Hey” you said quietly. You were a bit surprised to see Jimin talking to you. You kinda figured whatever friendship you two had was gone once you and Taehyung stopped talking.

“Are you doing the stats homework?” He said walking over to you, both his backpack and soccer bag slung over his shoulder.

“Um yea,” you said, shifting uneasily. Why was he talking to you? If he was here to talk about Taehyung, you were going to get up and leave. You really weren’t emotionally or mentally prepared to talk about him with one his closest friends.

“I was actually having some trouble with the assignment. Could you help me with it?” He said, dropping his bags on the picnic table.

“Uh sure I guess,” you mumbled out as he sat next to you. Jimin gave you his signature beautiful smile and you felt terrible because all you could offer was your half hearted one. He pulled out his notes and you began to help him with a few of his questions. 

Being around Jimin was actually immensely helpful. He successfully distracted you with his cute jokes and charming personality. After about an hour or so, you realized you should be heading back to your dorm so you stood and began to pack up your things. 

“___________?”

“Yeah?”

“I was wondering...” he looked a bit nervous, giving you a shy smile, “I was wondering if you want to get dinner together tomorrow?”

You blinked. Was Park Jimin asking you out? What? What the fuck was going on?

“You want to get dinner...with me?” You asked, confused.

He laughed, “Yes I want to. Do you want to...with me?”

Was this a prank or something? Did he want something from you? 

“Wait is this like a study dinner thing with a group?” You asked, very unsure.

Jimin chuckled again as he ran his hand through his brown hair, “No _________, this isn’t a study dinner thing with a group. I want to get dinner with just you with no studying involved.”

You fiddled with the end of your hair, trying to process what he was saying, “Is this a date or...” 

“It can be whatever you want. It can be two friends getting food together or it can be something more.”

“Jimin...I dunno. I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea” you said, thinking of Taehyung.

He put his hand gently on your shoulder, “If you’re upset about Taehyung, I get it. But that’s why I said it can be two friends hanging out.”

You thought about it and pursed your lips. Why do I give a fuck about what Taehyung thinks? He made it clear that we are just friends and that he has no feelings for me. Honestly we aren’t even friends anymore so I don’t give a fuck about what he thinks.

You slung your bag over your shoulder and smiled at Jimin, “You know what? You’re right. We can hang. Just text me later.” 

You wanted to feel confident and happy that you were trying to move on and make plans with people instead of laying in your dorm room bed all day but there was still a nagging feeling of hurt and longing in your heart that didn’t know would ever disappear.

———————————————————————————————————

You wanted to feel the same butterflies you always felt whenever you saw Taehyung, but as you stepped out of your dorm and saw Jimin leaning against his black Audi, wearing sunglasses and a black tee tucked into black skinny jeans, you didn’t feel anything.

He smiled at you, “Hey __________. You look cute.” Again, nothing.

“Thanks. You look pretty good yourself.” You retorted playfully. 

He opened the car door for you and you sat in the car, immediately getting flashbacks to Taehyung's birthday party and how he took you for a joyride in this very car. You smoothed out your black pleated skirt and picked at your leggings hoping you would get distracted and not reminisce over the happiness you felt sitting in this car with Taehyung. 

You and Jimin chatted quietly about your days and your classes before you realized he had parked in front of a small restaurant.

“I actually have been meaning to go here for a while, but never found the time. Or the right person to go with,” Jimin said with a teasing smile as you walked into the restaurant.

Sometimes you would forget that Jimin was just as much as a fuckboi as Taehyung except with more braincells but then he would tease you, just like Taehyung used to, with flirty jokes and seductive smiles and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at his antics.

As you slurped on your ramen noodles, you found that you and Jimin had more in common than you realized. 

“You watch Gossip Girl?” you said widening your eyes when he lit up at your off hand comment about re binging the show over break.

“Of course! Nate is my literal inspiration!” he exclaimed with a huge smile.

“Nate?” you thought about it for a moment and then continued, “Actually, he’s definitely the least problematic one out of everyone in the show.”

“And…he definitely has the best style.” Jimin added as he sipped his water.

you talked a bit about his winter break and his adventures in europe. 

“So did you go with your family or..” you asked, curious.

“I went with some friends from home. I wanted to get some of the BTS guys to go with me but we decided to go on a group trip for spring break.” 

“Where did you go in Europe?”

“Um, I went to England, then France, then Germany.”

“Oh wow. that's a lot of places,” you commented, a bit surprised since break was only two weeks.

“I dunno. I think traveling is such a great way to relax I guess. Going to new places and experiencing new cultures with friends.”

“That's valid. I guess in my head traveling gives me stress. So did you go sight seeing or just kinda wandered around the city?”

He chuckled, a light blush coming to his cheeks, “Uh, kinda, I guess.”

You wrinkled your eyebrows, not understanding why he was getting flustered, “What? What did you do?”

He ran his hand through his hair, catching a glimpse at how silky his dark brown locks were, “Well, it was like 25 percent sightseeing historical buildings.”

“And the other 75 percent?”

“Sightseeing night clubs” he said laughing.

“So you went to Europe to go to clubs?” you said trying to stifle your laughs.

“In my defense, European clubs are way different so there’s that.”

You raised your eyebrows at him, “And?”

“And what?” he said leaning forward on his arms.

“What about the European girls?”

“Oh fuck off,” Jimin said, averting his eyes and laughing.

“What else should I expect from Park Jimin? European vacation for clubbing and girls.”

“Dude, you make me sound like I'm Chuck Bass,” Jimin countered, his face a complete shade of pink, fully embarrassed at your teasing.

After you two paid for your meals, Jimin walked you over to a cute little cafe next door. You excitedly picked out a slice of strawberry cake, desperately wanting something comforting after feeling alone for the past month while Jimin ordered a coffee. You tried to pay for your own cake but of course Jimin wouldn’t hear of it and paid for it, insisting it was the “gentlemanly” thing to do (you had to roll your eyes at this). 

You two made your way to a picnic table in front of the restaurant, sitting underneath the bright fairy lights hung up outside, giving just enough light in the darkness of the night. He sat across from you, sipping his coffee. You opened up the box that contained the cake and smiled, remembering the good memories you had attached with it. You brushed your hair behind your ear and took a bite.

You offered some to him which he accepted.

“___________, I'm not sure if you want to talk about this yet, but I just wanted to ask how you are doing? Like for real?”

You sighed. You figured he was going to ask you about this at some point tonight, “Okay I guess. I mean not great but i'm going on. It’s whatever I guess” 

“It's not whatever. I'm really sorry that happened to you. It hurts, doesn’t it?”

You nodded softly and whispered out, “It does.” 

You were scared to ask but you knew you couldn’t go home tonight without asking Jimin, “How is he?”

He set his coffee on the table, “Not good. He misses you. A lot.”

Your heart broke at his words. You wished he just told you that Taehyung didn't give a shit. That he was doing great and that he was still fucking Jennie and didnt even notice that you weren’t in his life anymore. 

Part of you didn't believe his words, “Nah. I'm sure he’s fine.”

“No __________ he isn't. He doesn’t go out anymore. He just goes to class and soccer practice. That's it.”

You closed your eyes, processing what Jimin was saying. Why is he so upset? He broke your heart. He made you cry. He made you feel worthless so why is he acting like this? 

“Does he know you’re hanging out with me tonight?”

“Uh no. But I didn't want him to get the wrong idea. You said this was just as friends so there’s no reason for me to tell him and have him get all worked up about it,” Jimin said, shrugging his shoulders. 

You nodded, resting your hands on the picnic table, trying to take deep breaths to calm your nerves.

He stood up and sat next to you, his legs touching yours. He reached over and took your hands in his, “I don't know why he’s so torn up about this whole situation, especially since he broke your heart. I tried telling him that you need space and that it's completely fair of you to not want to be friends for now but he always dodges the conversation. I'll try talking to him again.”

Your voice cracked as you looked at Jimin, Thank you. For being a good friend. For listening to me. For caring about me.”

He put his arm around your shoulder, pulling you into his embrace, “Of course. I just really want you and Taehyung to be okay. Both of you are my friends and I care about you guys a lot.” 

Jimin dropped you off at your dorm and told you to call him if you ever needed anything. You gave him a weak smile and went back to your room, feeling slightly okay.

You laid on your bed and checked Instagram since you hadn’t looked at it in a while. You noticed Jimin had something recently posted which was kinda odd because he rarely posted on his Instagram story and you were just with him. You clicked on his story and your eyes widened when you saw it was a picture of you captioned with a single purple heart. 

It was a photo he took of you sitting across from him at the picnic table. You were smiling at the strawberry cake in front of you. You couldn’t clearly see your face since your hair was somewhat covering it but if anyone knew you, it was very obvious. You were worried for a moment that Taehyung would see it before you remembered you two weren’t on speaking terms anymore. Well, its a cute picture and I had a good time with Jimin tonight so who cares? you thought, shrugging your worries away. 

———————————————————————————————————

The next morning, you woke up feeling better than you had in a long time. The weight that you had been dredging around for the past month or so had felt lighter. You grabbed your baking basket and some strawberries from your fridge, finally feeling the excitement to bake in a long time. You also wanted some time to think; a lot had changed since you came back home from break and you wanted to properly sort out how you were feeling about the whole situation. 

You tied up your hair, and laid out the ingredients to make strawberry muffins. You thought about Jennie as you mixed the flour, baking soda, and salt together. She was hurt too. You never really thought about how she felt in this whole situation, but in her own way, she was dealing with her own personal insecurities. She wanted Taehyung too and you had him in a way she never did. 

You were glad that you two were on friendly terms now because she was a sweet and kind person once you got to actually knowing her. You felt upset at the way Taehyung treated her. He knew her feelings and yet he continued to play with them, just like he played with yours. After hanging out with Jimin, you were also heartbroken to hear that Taehyung’s behavior hadn’t improved. You wanted him to recover just like you were. 

But it seemed like he needed you. And you didn't need him. You wanted him, that was for sure. But you didn’t need him because you were moving on. Each day it was getting easier to breathe and to think clearly. You began to mix the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract into the dry ingredients, slowly stirring as you thought. You paused and realized that you felt empty. Like your heart had finally gone numb. 

As if it were finally exhausted of the roller coaster of emotions you spent with him: anger, jealousy, nervousness, love, happiness. Your heart burned and burned and then suddenly turned to ice. You mixed the chopped up strawberry pieces with flour then added it to the batter. 

It felt nice, not feeling completely overwhelmed with emotions. You thought about what Hana had told you when you came back, that if he couldn’t recognize your worth, then fuck him. And then suddenly you cared even less.  Because the only person’s validation you needed was your own. You evenly divided the batter into 12 equal portions in the muffin tin. You popped the tin into the oven and sat down on the empty chair. 

You didn't need Taehyung's validation, you didn't need his love, to feel complete. You were complete on your own. You still had sadness for him, you still wanted him, but after these past few weeks, you came to the realization that you were enough and that pining and sitting in your room all day, waiting for him wasn’t going to do you any good. You breathed out softly, trying to reassure yourself, “It's going to be fine.”

———————————————————————————————————

“You’ll really come?” Hana asked excitedly.

You were sitting on your bed, relaxing as you attempted to proofread your essay. 

“Ya, I will. I’m not really making any progress with this essay right now. So I'll come.” Hana had been trying to convince you to come to a party all day and you had finally agreed. It had been a while since you went out, especially with the whole situation with Taehyung going on, you rarely left your room. But now, you were feeling much better emotionally and mentally. 

You got ready with Hana, opting for a simple jeans and sweater because it was still cold outside. 

She told you that the party wasn’t at the BTS frat and it calmed your nerves a little. Even though you were feeling better, you didn’t know what you would do if you saw Taehyung. It was still too soon. The wounds he left still hurt. 

“EXO parties are always fucking insane,” Hana raved as you two entered the frat house.

“Why?” you asked curious

“Cuz they rarely have parties but when they do, they go all out.” she said smiling as you looked around. Your eyes widened when you saw a huge tower of beer cans stacked in the middle, a DJ at the front of the house, and several stripper poles.

“What the fuck…” you mumbled as you looked around. 

“Jungkook is here somewhere.” Hana muttered as she led you through the enormous crowd. 

She found Jungkook in the kitchen by drinks, talking with Yoongi and Hobi. The second Jungkook saw Hana he pulled her into a deep kiss. You were really happy for Hana but it stung. Would anyone ever love you like that? You sighed and said hello to Yoongi and Hobi. 

“How is it going _________. Haven’t seen you in awhile.” Hobi said, smiling widely. 

Yoongi elbowed him in the stomach and whispered loudly, “Bro, shut up.”

You laughed awkwardly, “It's okay. I'm fine. just been doing school stuff.”

Yoongi gave you a soft smile, “I'm glad you are doing well. I know it's all complicated but I hope we can all still be friends.”

You nodded, “Of course.”

 Hobi handed you a drink, “Try this.”

You looked in the red solo cup and it was a blue colored drink, “What the fuck is this?”

“There isn’t any alcohol! It's just a blue Hawaiian punch mixed with sprite.”

“That sounds like a heart attack in a cup.” Yoongi said, utterly confused at the combination. 

“I'm telling you, It's good. Try it _________.”

You took a sip and it was very sweet, but not bad tasting. “It's decent. Not terrible,” you said nodding. 

Jungkook came over with Hana wrapped in his hard, “Guys I heard that EXO got strippers for tonight. That’s fucking insane.”

Hana punched his arm and Jungkook exclaimed, “Owww. I never said I was going to do anything about it. Just stating a fact.”

You were laughing at Jungkook’s pure stupidity when someone caught your eye. Your heart stopped. Of course he was here tonight. All his friends were.  You hadn’t seen him since that day on your porch. Then you saw his arm wrapped around her. Then the sadness that was in your heart immediately bloomed into anger. What the fuck? All this fucking talk of not wanting a girlfriend yet he was here with her? 

Hana put a hand on your shoulder, “Do you want to leave? We can go.”

You shook your head, “I'm fine.” 

“I can literally beat his ass right now if you want,” She said aggressively.

Jungkong squeezed Hana’s shoulder, “That's my Hana, lovely and scary.”

You gave her a weak smile, “I'm okay. For real. I just need you to be here for me. Thats all.”

You hadn’t spoken or seen Taehyung since that day on your porch. He looked sad. You could tell. You knew him better than anyone else in your life. He was putting on a mask, pretending like he was happy. But you could see it, the hollowness in his cheeks, the fact that he hadn’t shaved because of all the stubble on his face, his curly hair now long and unruly because he hadn’t gotten a haircut in awhile. He was wearing a simple white shirt tucked into a pair of jeans (unfortunately he still did look hot but you weren’t going to admit that) 

He walked up to you guys with Jennie by his side. He gave you a glance but you didn't meet his eyes, quickly looking away. Jennie gave you a small wave and you returned it. It was kinda ironic because before you would focus on the fact that Jennie was with him but since you guys were friends now, you fixed your annoyance on Taehyung. 

Taehyung and Jennie were talking to the group casually but about five minutes into the conversation, you couldn’t handle it anymore, pretending like everything was fine when it really wasn’t. 

You slowly left the circle and leaned on the drinks table behind your group of friends, exhaling deeply.

Jimin walked over, grinning with his beautiful smile, “Hey”

He leaned against the table, standing right next to you, “Hi”

“Shitty party right?” Jimin said, chuckling.

“It just became shitty” you said, sipping your drink, eyeing Taehyung.

“I don't why he came here with her. He literally hasn’t properly spoken to her or seen her since last semester,” Jimin said sincerely.

“Ya well I don’t give a fuck. He can do whatever he wants. We aren’t even friends anymore,” You said harshly. 

You and Jimin chatted a bit, and you almost forgot your annoyance at Taehyung. Then he walked over, with a stupid smirk on his face, “Excuse me __________ could you move? You’re standing in front of the drinks.”

You glared at him as you sipped your drink cooly, shrugging your shoulders, “Sucks.”

He towered over you, giving you an intimidating stare, slowly biting his lip, “C’mon _______ don’t be a bitch. Just move/”

Jimin stood up straight, “What the fuck did you just say to her?”

Taehyung gave you a cold laugh and raised his eyebrows teasingly, “Wow __________ you really need him to fight your battles?”

You knew that Taehyung was pissed at this point but you wanted to push his buttons further. You spoke in a calm tone, knowing that would make him even more annoyed, “I don’t, but he does have something called manners which is something that you could use.” 

He leaned his face close to yours. You felt his breath tickling your neck as you got a whiff of his cologne, “Aww, I think you’re just salty _________” 

You took a step towards him, not wanting him to get the satisfaction that he could intimidate you, “What could I possibly be salty about?”

Taehyung gave you a cocky smile, “Maybe that I’m here with Jennie. It must sting a little.”

You clenched your jaw. He had stepped over the line now. You knew exactly what he was trying to imply, that he had moved on with her. You were mad because he was once again just using Jennie for his own douchebag reasons. You looked Taehyung directly in the eye and scoffed, “You’re a fucking asshole.” 

He put his hands up defensively, “Calm down _________ no need to make a scene.” 

The amount of anger that flared in you in that moment was unprecedented. You wanted to embarrass him. You wanted to humiliate him. You wanted him to know how you felt right now. 

Then an idea popped in your head. You gave him a small smile and spoke in a sweet, innocent voice, “Oh my gosh you’re right Taehyung. I shouldn’t make a scene.”

Then you dumped your entire blue drink on his white shirt and smiled. Taehyung's eyes widened as he looked at his ruined shirt and Jimin gasped in shock. The second you dropped your drink onto Taehyung, Jennie turned around and laughed at what you did. Taehyung's eyes met yours and you realized you might have gone too far. His eyes were dangerous and dark. But if you were going to be honest, it felt really fucking good to do that. 

You shrugged and said sweetly, “Oops” 

Taehyung growled, “What the fu-“

You crushed the red solo cup you were still clutching against his chest and let it drop to the ground, “Calm down Tae you wouldn’t want to make a scene, right?”

You smirked at him and walked away. You could hear Yoongi and Hobi laughing while Jimin was trying to apologize for your behavior. 

Hana was able to find you on the couch a few minutes later.

She was laughing as she sat down next to you, “___________ that was so fucking hilarious.”

“I knew you would appreciate it.”

“It was good. I thought it was funny.”

You knew something was up because she had a concerned look in her eyes

“But...?” You asked cautiously 

“How long is this going to go on between you and Taehyung?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you guys used to be best friends. Are you guys just going to hate each other from now on?”

“I’m not the one who needs to make amends. He was an asshole to me.”

“Both of you need to make amends. You guys just need to talk. I’m not saying you guys should be besties again or anything but I think you guys need to learn how to be civil with one another. This shit can’t keep happening every time you see each other.”

“I’m not talking to him Hana.” You said forcefully.

She sighed and got up, defeated. After a few minutes she came back with a huge smile.

“Oh my gosh __________ I need to tell you something!” 

“What?”

“We need to go somewhere private. No one else can hear,” She said tugging you from the couch.

You tried asking her questions as she dragged you but Hana wouldn’t budge.

She opened a door that revealed to be a closet and said, “Perfect. Let’s go in here.”

Hana pushed you in the closet and closed the door behind you two.

“Okay what’s going on Hana?”

She glanced at her phone as if she were waiting for a text or something, “oh um so...Jungkook told me that he loves me.”

“Really? Oh my gosh! Well, how do you feel about it?”

“Oh I told him I loved him back.”

“Did you mean it? Do you actually love him?”

“Of course! He’s kinda stupid but he’s so caring and he loves me so much.”

You wrinkled your eyebrows, confused, “Okay so what’s the problem? Why did you drag me into a closet to tell me this?”

Her phone buzzed, “I’ll be right back __________. Jungkook just texted me. Just stay right here, don’t leave.” She said as she left the closet, leaving you in the darkness.

You tapped your foot impatiently wondering what Hana was up to.

You heard hurried, rushed voices and then the door of the closer swung open. You heard a very familiar deep voice exclaim, “What the fuck Jimin? Why are you pushing me Into this closet?” 

The closet door slammed shut. 

You rolled your eyes, “You have got to be fucking with me.”

“___________?” Taehyung asked from the darkness next to you. 

You banged on the door, “Hana I swear to god let me out right now.”

You heard her muffled voice, “No! You guys need to talk!”

Taehyung pounded on the door next to you, “Jimin I’m not fucking around. Open the door. Now.”

Jimin's voice sounded strained, “I’m sorry guys! But this is good for you! You guys need to figure your shit out.”

You sighed, leaning against the door, “I hate both of you.”

Taehyung whispered out hoarsely, breaking the silence “This is your fucking fault.”

You turned to face him, shocked at his accusation, “My fault? How is this my fault? You were the one being a complete douchebag!” 

“You dumped your drink on me!” Taehyung exclaimed, pulling at his now blue stained shirt. 

You stabbed your finger in his chest,“You were the one who was being rude first!”

“You went out with my best friend!” 

You went quiet. What? Is he talking about Jimin? That was a while ago and even so, he has no right to care about who I go out with!

“Are you talking about Jimin?” You asked, annoyed.

“Who else posted you on their story with heart captions?” he scoffed.

“First of all, it's none of your business who I spend my time with. And second, not that it even matters, Jimin and I are just friends.”

He taunted, “Yea I’ve heard that one before.”

“Why the fuck do you even care Taehyung? We aren’t together, we aren’t even friends.”

He paused, trying to think of an answer, “Whatever. I don’t care. Do whatever you want. I just thought you were better than that.”

“Better than what? I'm so confused. I dont get why you are so angry with me. If anything, I'm the one who has the right to be angry right now.”

“You? Why do you get to be angry?”

“Because you broke my heart! And you're shoving it in my face. You're literally mocking my feelings. First you told me that my first kiss didn't matter, that it was only a kiss and I was making too much of it. And now you're here with Jennie, asking me if I feel jealous of her! Like how the fuck should I respond to that? All of your shitty actions made me realize that you don’t give a fuck about me and my feelings. I’m moving on from you Taehyung. You don’t want my love so I’m trying to move the fuck on. Isn’t this what you want?” You gasped out, holding back the tears forming in your eyes. You just had to let it all out, all of your hurt feelings that had been building up for the past couple of months. 

He wasn’t looking at you, just staring at the wooden floors of the closet, “I dunno. I just never thought you would just start talking to new guys already. I thought you wanted love.”

“I’m not the romantic you think I am. I’m not looking for someone to make me complete or to make me feel like I’m worth something. I am complete on my own and I know my worth. I just want to be with someone who can give me the same amount of love and appreciate I have finally figured out how to give myself.”

He made eye contact with you finally, “So what, we’re just going to cut each other off? Completely? Don’t you want me?”

You breathed out, leaning against the door, “I want you but I want you to want me too. I fucking miss you all day every day and you can’t even imagine how pathetic it makes me feel because I don’t even know if you miss me back.”

His shoulder brushed against yours, his voice hoarse, “I've been a shitty friend. I'm sorry. I am really, really fucking sorry. We shouldn’t have kissed. I shouldn’t have kissed you. I don't regret it but I regret what it did to us. I regret how I acted afterwards. I’m so immature. I don't have feelings for Jennie. The only reason why I came tonight is because she told me you were coming. And I knew I just had to see you. But then when I saw you with Jimin, I just felt so jealous. Because that should have been me, we should have been here tonight, hanging out. But I fucked up. You told me you wanted those moments to be meaningful and I stole it from you. And that can’t be replaced. You deserve better than me, okay? But I want you back. I want us to be friends again. Because I’m fucking falling apart without you. I miss you so much. Please, can you forgive me? Can we be friends again?”

You looked into his huge brown doe eyes and your heart did a flip flop. Fuck I still love him. Even though pretending to not love him was exhausting, completely having him out of your life hurt a thousand times worse. God you were the biggest headass on the planet. 

You cringed at your own words, “Yea Tae, we can be friends.” 

He pulled you into a huge hug and didn't let go. You could feel your heart breaking in your chest, you could never tell him how much he’s hurt you. 

———————————————————————————————————

You felt like you were getting a literal migraine because of the deja vu you were experiencing, again. Pretending to be friends with Taehyung while secretly pining for him. It had been around a month or so since you two had reconciled and agreed to be friends again. 

But you still found yourself staring at him for too long when you sat at the picnic benches to do work, you still found your heart beating too fast whenever he would lean in close to you, you still found yourself in love with him. 

However, it was different this time because there was no ‘what if’ or ‘maybe’. He didn't love you the way you wanted him to. If you were going to be honest, you did appreciate knowing this. It made it easier to try to move on. Taehyung did have one thing wrong: you weren’t talking to new guys. Your method of moving on consisted of trying to remember the hurt things he did to you to stop yourself from falling further in the pit of despair. But for him, you could pretend like you were happy when you were actually sad; for him, you could pretend like you were strong when you were actually hurt. 

You were pretty sure he thought you didn't love him anymore. He acted completely normal around you, going on as if you two hadn’t had the biggest fall out in your friendship. It helped, you guessed, pretending. It was something you were both good at. 

You were sitting on your bed when your phone buzzed. It was a snap from Taehyung. You opened and groaned when you saw his snapchat. Taehyung had the infuriating habit of sending suggestive snaps. It was almost always a blurry selfie, very clearly indicating that he was shirtless (he told you he didn't see a reason to wear a shirt if he was in the comfort of his own room). You couldn’t help but feel your heart skip a beat when you caught a glimpse of his well defined collarbones. It was so on brand of him, to tease you like this. Luckily, he did have something actual to say and it wasn’t just a shirtless snap. 

He added the caption r u busy Saturday.

There was a nagging thought in your head that you had something planned on Saturday but you couldn’t remember. 

You snapped back a picture of your ceiling uhh I don’t think so.

Right away he responded (with another blurry selca) come to the soccer banquet w me

Oh shit. The soccer banquet. You had completely forgotten. Jimin had told you about the banquet last week while you two were waiting for biology class to start. He asked you if you wanted to go with him. You said maybe but Jimin told you that Taehyung was planning on asking you. Going with Jimin immediately sounded like a better option. You really just wanted to maintain some sort of distance from Taehyung, it made it easier to ignore the heartbreak. You ended up agreeing to go with Jimin as friends. 

you typed i kinda forgot but jimin actually asked me to go w him and i said ok.

he sent a clear picture of his face, his curly hair looking very fluffy oh, ok. have fun.

Fuck he was definitely mad. You nervously bit your lip, thinking if you should go with Taehyung and cancel with Jimin. 

You: taehyung just asked me about Saturday. He seemed kinda annoyed that I was going w u

Jimin: ah that makes sense. I just walked into the kitchen and he was eating my leftover dumplings.

You: I don’t want him to be upset. 

You: ugh maybe I just won’t go

Jimin: he just gets pouty sometimes it’s not a big deal

You: what if he shows up w a date? idk if i wanna see that

Jimin: it'll be ok. He might not even go anymore. I’ll tell u if he says anything 

You tried to occupy yourself with homework and studies so you wouldn’t frantic over the banquet. By the time the banquet day rolled around, Jimin heard nothing from Taehyung. He tried to reassure you that there was little chance Taehyung would actually show up since he hadn’t talked to any of the BTS members about it.

Hana also tried to calm your nerves as she helped you get ready but she had to leave you a bit early so she could help Jungkook (apparently the man was incapable of knotting a bowtie). She told you that she would finish her makeup and get dressed at his room so she would see you there.

You stared at yourself in the mirror, trying to think in positive thoughts. You were attempting to follow through on your mindset change and trying not to only focus on your insecurities. You combed through the loose waves in your hair, adjusting your soft pink tulle skirt. Jimin texted you that he was outside so you left your room quickly, just wanting for this night to be over already. 

He flashed his gorgeous smile at you, opening the car door for you, “You look so pretty __________.”

You gave him a weak smile, knowing he was just saying that to be nice, “Thank you Jimin. You look good too. I like your sunglasses.” 

He walked around to the other side of the car and drove to the banquet. Once you got there, you realized this event was insanely fancy. Since the BTS guys won the championship, they were essentially the guests of honor, with a few other teams receiving recognition for their own achievements. Jimin explained to you the different awards that would be presented tonight and told you a bit about the other teams. When he kept on droning on about the different roles of the midfielder position, you glanced around the large hall, a bit bored from Jimin’s monologue when you spotted him. I thought he wasn’t coming! He was alone, hands shoved in his pocket, walking coolly.

You internally groaned when you felt your heart skip a beat when you saw his fluffy hair. He was wearing black slacks, a soft pink collared shirt, and a white coat jacket with a black carnation pinned to it (191029 Taehyung). Once again, your thoughts immediately ran to “oh shit he’s hot.” His eyes met yours for a split second and you pretended not to see him, turning to listen back into Jimin’s lecture on soccer. 

After 15 more minutes of explaining the technicalities of shooting a goal, Jimin patted your shoulder softly, “I’ll go get us some drinks. I’ll be back.” 

You nodded at him and looked for Hana. You saw her sitting at a table with Jungkook so you walked over, not wanting to bump into Taehyung. 

“Hey!” She said giving you a hug. Hana looked stunning as always. She was wearing a deep red, long silk dress with a slit running from Her upper thigh.  You saw that Jungkook's bowtie matched her dress. 

You smiled at her, “How do you get prettier Hana? It’s not fair for the rest of us plebs.”

“Shut up. You look gorgeous. Trying to impress someone tonight?” She said teasingly, looking in the direction of Jimin.

You chuckled “oh no. We’re just friends. He asked me here as friends.”

She looked unconvinced, “Rightt.” 

You heard a voice go “ahem” behind you. You turned around at the sound of the familiar voice and saw Taehyung smirking at you. 

“Hey _________”

“Oh. Hey. “ You said nonchalantly.  

“Where’s Jimin?” Taehyung's eyes sparkled mischievously .

“He went to go get me a drink. He’s such a gentleman.” you said, trying to push his buttons a bit. 

He smiled, playing along with your game, “Of course. Except for the fact that he’s never had a steady relationship. And that he’s even more of a fuckboi than me.”

You rolled your eyes, “Taehyung you should probably go back to your date.”

He leaned in close, his breath tickling your neck and whispered huskily “You’re cute when you're jealous.”

Your face immediately reddened and you got up hastily, “Jimin’s probably waiting for me.” 

He pulled your arm back to face him, “If you must know, I came alone tonight. The only girl who I wanted to go with conveniently already had a date for tonight.”

You retorted back, snarkily, “If you must know, Jimin asked me properly, not the day before and through snapchat.”

You stormed away, infuriated at your own feelings and how you easily could fall for his one liners. You found Jimin talking with Namjoon, his girlfriend, and Yoongi. He smiled when he saw you, “Oh sorry. I just got a bit caught up. I have your drink.” He gave you a clear glass with a pink liquid, “It’s punch. No alcohol. Don’t worry.” 

Namjoon was talking about how he did not want to TA for biology lab next semester since the experience was a bit traumatizing, dealing with frantic and stressed out students at very inconvenient hours (you definitely being one of those students). Yoongi berated him for even signing up for such a draining job along with soccer and studies.

You spotted Taehyung from the corner of your eye, slowly inching into the conversation, first talking to Yoongi then Namjoon and his girlfriend. 

You were trying to focus on what Jimin was saying but you found yourself listening in Taehyung's conversation. 

You overheard him talking casually, “Yea I’m thinking about shaving my head. It’s just my hair has gotten way too long and curly. I can’t manage it” 

Your heart stopped. Not the curly hair. You were literally obsessed with his hair, and he knew it.  

You burst out from across the conversation, “Oh my god don’t touch your hair!”

He smirked and winked at you and you closed your eyes in embarrassment: you gave him exactly what he wanted, your attention.

Yoongi laughed “Damn __________ really likes your hair then Taehyungie. Guess you can’t cut it now.”

You felt your face redden even more when Jimin laughed at Yoongi's comment. 

Ugh Taehyung was pushing all your buttons. You walked away, annoyed at his behavior. You found a spot where there were little to no people and leaned on the cool marble wall, just observing the party from a distance. You saw Jungkook and Hana on the dance floor. Once again, you couldn’t help but feel a tad bit jealous. You wanted that and you wanted it with Taehyung. Hana threw her head back in laughter as Jungkook attempted to dance with her. 

“He’s always been shit at slow dancing,” You heard the voice behind you say. You already knew he would come and find you. He must want something otherwise why else would he be following you around like a lost puppy dog?

You didn't bother to look back at him, “Yea this is like the fourth time he’s stepped on Hana’s toes. I'm surprised she hasn’t kicked him in the shins yet.” 

You felt his shoulder brush against yours, “It's bound to happen at this rate.”

You laughed softly about to say something but you found yourself getting interrupted. 

A pretty girl that you didn't recognize came up to you two, extending her hand out to him, “Taehyung right?” 

He smiled sheepishly, shaking her hand awkwardly, “Uh yea. Sorry I don't know who you are. We didn't hook up right?”

She giggled, “No we didn't. I'm actually from Central University.”

“Ooh the rival school.”

She nodded, “Yep. I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Yuna. If you're ever at Central for a game, you should totally let me know.”

You rolled your eyes, once again you found yourself in a situation where Taehyung was blatantly flirting in front of you. You blew on a dangling strand of hair that covered your eye. 

“Um sure. I'll let you know.”

She put her hand on her hip, “Great. Just dm me on Instagram.” She then walked away, completely ignoring the fact that you were standing right next to Taehyung the entire time. You couldn't help but feel insecure: why would she expect someone like Taehyung to be with someone like you? It didn't make sense. That's why she thought she could flirt with him and pretend like you were completely irrelevant, because you were. 

He looked at you, “Wow that was kinda weird.”

You crossed your arms, “Was it? I mean she just wanted to flirt with you.”

“She was flirting with me?”

You blew on the strand of hair again, “God you're dense.”

He shrugged, clearly not wanting to get into it, “Wanna dance?”

You shook your head, as you began to watch Jungkook and Hana again, “Not interested.”

“Not interested in dancing? Or not interested in dancing with me?”

“Both I guess.”

“So if Jimin asked you to dance, would you say no?”

“Why does it matter if it's Jimin?”

“It's just a question,” Taehyung said defensively. 

Your tone came out accusatory, “If it's just a question, then why do you care so much about the answer? Why are you following me around? Do you want something from me?”

“I don't want anything. I just want to talk to you. I just don't get why you came here with Jimin and not me. Is he your boyfriend or something like I just don't understand. Why did you choose him over me?” 

You looked over your shoulder and you found him staring at the marble, hands shoved deep in his pockets. You wanted to shout “I did choose you but you didn't want me” but you saw the hurt look on his face and simply sighed deeply, “I didn't choose anyone. He just asked me first.”

“Okay.” He paused for a moment then looked at you, “I'm sorry for being pushy.”

“I’m sorry too. I'm just tired. I didn't really wanna come here tonight. And I guess I feel kinda shitty.”

He looked up, “Why?”

You spoke softly, “I didn’t get to come here with the guy I really wanted to.”

Taehyung’s eyes met yours and the corner of his mouth lifted up in a smirk, “There's my strawberry girl.” 

You rolled your eyes at him, “You're so annoying.”

“Nope. I heard it. You said I was your first choice. You must not really think I'm annoying.”

“I think you are extensively annoying.”

“Hey! At least I didn't throw gatorade all over you.”

“I already said sorry for that! And for your information, it was blue hawaiian punch and sprite. And Hobi made it. So if anything you should be getting mad at him.”

“Alright, next time I see him, I'll throw blue hawaiian punch at him.”

“Go ahead. I will not be stopping you. But I will also not be responsible for him dislocating your shoulder.” 

He winced in pain as he rolled his shoulder, “Ugh, he doesnt need to that since I already dislocated the stupid thing myself.”

You wrinkled your eyebrows in concern, “Why? What happened? What did you do?”

He laughed nervously, “Well, Jimin was trying to teach me how to do like a front roll and I kinda ended up putting too much weight on my right shoulder and it fucking hurts every time I move it.” 

“Did you go to the nurse? Did you ice it? Have you taken tylenol or ibuprofen?”

“Um, no, no, and no”

“What the fuck Taehyung! Why didn't you do anything? Did you not tell anyone?”

“Uhhh, no I didn't tell anyone”

You punched his left arm, “Why not?”

“Ow! Don't dislocate the other one!” he rubbed his arm where you punched him, “Because…I didn't want anyone to worry.”

“Well I'm worrying right now!”

Then he had the audacity to give his boxy smile to you, “I know and it's honestly pretty adorable.”

You crossed your arms and scoffed, “Oh my god, you are insufferable.” 

“It's not a big deal ___________ .I'll be fine.”

You asked, “Are you in pain right now?” 

He massaged his shoulder and winced again, “Eh it's fine. I can manage.”

You pulled his arm, “Cmon lets go. Let me take a look and see if it's actually dislocated and if it's bad we can go to the nurse tomorrow.” 

“Where are we going?” he said trailing behind you.

“Lets just go back to your dorm. It's closer and I'm betting you have more medicine than I have.”

You made your way through the crowd before remembering that you should probably tell Hana you're leaving, “Uh Taehyung, can you get the car and meet me by the front? I just need to say bye to Hana really quick”

He nodded and let go of your hand.

You glanced around the hall and saw Hana by the drinks with Jungkook and some of the other guys. 

You walked over to her, “Hey Hana! Im gonna leave now.”

She looked around and then giggled, “Ooh are you leaving?”

You nodded, not sure what she was trying to imply.

She laughed again, wriggling her eyebrows, “Are you going to leave with him?”

“Um..” You didn't want to tell her that you were leaving with Taehyung because she would not let you do that but you didn't want to lie to her, “Uh um actually I j-“

She cut you off, “Oh my gosh I'm so excited for you. Jimin is so sweet. Have fun!!” 

You thought about clarifying the situation to her but it was whatever now. You would explain in the morning. 

As you walked away, you turned around and saw Hana smiling widely and Jungkook giving you a thumbs up. God this is so embarrassing. But you didnt know what was worse: having them think you were going to have sex with Park Jimin when you really weren’t or having them realize you were going with Taehyung, your unrequited love. 

You walked out of the building and found Taehyung in his car, waiting for you. You quickly got in, not wanting anyone to see you and he drove away. 

He pulled up to the frat house and he led you to his room. For once, you didn't feel anxious. You were only here to see if his shoulder was okay. And then you would leave to go to your dorm. And not think about how much you wanted to kiss him. 

You raided their medicine cabinet and found some Tylenol and some muscle pain reliever cream. 

You re-entered his bedroom and saw him facing his closet, back towards you.

Your mouth went dry when he took off his white coat and began to unbutton his shirt. He removed his shirt to reveal his honey colored skin. 

You quickly looked away when you heard him unzipping his pants. God why is he so comfortable with taking off his clothes in front of me? You tried to distract yourself with your phone but you couldn’t help but peak. He pulled on a plain navy blue short sleeved shirt and remained in his forest green boxers. He walked over, messing with his curly hair, and sat down on the edge of the bed, right next to you. Now you started to feel your heart pound again, his closeness was making it hard for you to stay calm. You hated the effect he had on you. He could make you nervous without even trying. 

Taehyung spoke, chuckling, “Are you okay? Your cheeks are kinda pink.”

“I’m fine. Now let me just see your shoulder.” 

You slowly pressed on his shoulder and he groaned in pain. You bit your lip, thinking about what to do. 

“Can you um take off your shirt? I just want to see if th-“

He excitedly took it off, “You don't have to ask me twice.”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. You tried to focus on his shoulder and not get distracted by his really attractive body. You scanned his shoulder and found a huge bruise on the back of his shoulder. 

“Okay so good news I don’t think it's dislocated. There's just a huge bruise here. Which I cannot believe you didn’t notice since it’s the size of my hand.”

“Well your hand is small so..”

“Shut up. Anyways, I think you just have to leave it and let it heal on its own. You can put this cream on and it can help with the pain and also take Tylenol.”

“Can you put the cream on me? Please?” he whined.

“God you're so an-“

“I know I know I'm annoying. Now pleaseee!”

You put some of the cream on your hand and put it on his shoulder. 

“Done.”

“You didn't even rub it in!”

You really were not interested in rubbing your hands all over his chest, “Taehyung, can't you just do it?”

“It's literally on my back I can't reach it! Pleaseee!”

You huffed, annoyed at his puppy dog eyes that could literally convince you to do anything. You slowly rubbed the cream on his shoulder, trying hard not to think how soft his skin felt, how toned his body was, and how his body was literally radiating so much heat, making your entire face flush.

“Your hands are literally so soft __________. I should hire you to do massages for me.”

You chuckled nervously, trying to hide your blushing face, “Well for you it would be $1000.”

You wiped your hands on a napkin, “Anyways, I should go. I'm sure you’ve got someone to meet.” You started to get up, but he pulled you back next to him.

“I have nothing to do. Just sit with me. We never hang out anymore. I mean it's usually never just the two of us.”

Why the fuck does he have to do this? Why is he still acting so flirty? Doesn't he know it hurts me? 

You felt the anxiety building up in your heart, you just really, really fucking wanted to get over him. You sat on the bed, a little too close to him for your taste.

“Can I tell you a secret _________?” he said leaning back on his bed, pulling on his shirt.

“What?”

He gave you his iconic teasing smirk, “You were my first crush.”

He was yours too. Kinda pathetic right? You loved him since 3rd grade and here you are, so many years later, still in love with him.

“I didn't know that,” you said, adjusting your sitting position. You rested your head comfortably against the headboard, crossing your legs.

“Yep, I had a crush on you in second grade. And third grade. and also fourth. Then in 5th grade, all the boys collectively decided girls were gross so I had to pretend I didn't like you.” He said, scooting so his shoulder was pressing against yours.

You chuckled, “I remember that. You told me I had cooties and that we couldn’t hang out anymore.”

“Yea I was kinda stupid then.”

“Just then?” You said teasingly.

He ruffled his hair, “Okay I’m still kinda stupid. But I got better with girls.”

You felt a pang to your heart. He got better with girls and fell out of his crush for you because he probably came to the not so surprising conclusion that there were so many other pretty girls. Obviously his crush on you was because you were just children, nothing that actually meant anything real. His feelings for you were absolutely none existent now. You had to keep reminding yourself of that. 

“Is that why you used to pick flowers from the neighbor’s garden for me?” You said, recalling your younger days with Taehyung

He nodded, laughing “Yea I didn't really know how to impress you but I noticed you would always talk about how pretty their flowers were. And thus the romancing began.”

“I appreciated the flowers for sure, not so much all the teasing.” You were fiddling with your hands, recalling how Taehyung used to pull at your braids or do stupid things like get detention just to get your attention.

Taehyung shrugged, “Don't you know ____________ that's how boys flirt. They tease the girls they like, just so they can see them blush and smile.”

“Hmm I guess. Jungkook did that to Hana a lot, and he honestly still teases her. it's so cute.” 

“Hey! Whenever i tease you, you just punch me or call me fucking annoying.”

“It's different.” 

“How?”

“Cause you're not flirting with me. You're just teasing me cuz we’re friends. So its different.”

“What if I told you that I tease you to see that cute blush on your face?”

This was getting too much. You couldn’t take it. He was doing the same exact shit again. You couldn’t handle being his friend if he was going to act like this. You knew Taehyung was a naturally flirty person but it was different now. You had actual feelings for him and he didn't so all of this teasing and flirting was just shoving your heartbreak back into your face. If this friendship was going to last, you needed to set some boundaries with him. The old you wouldn't have done this. Before, you would have just brushed it off, ignoring all of his flirty comments. But you were going to put yourself and your feelings first now. 

You spoke seriously, “Taehyung, I can't be your friend if you're going to act like this. You can't flirt with me okay? Friends don’t flirt with each other. Friends are just friends and nothing more. This is what you wanted so please make this easier for me.”

The mischievousness and the dangerous flirtiness disappeared replaced with your weakness, his innocent huge doe eyes, “Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realize.”

You stared at your hands in your lap, “It's okay.”

You looked at him and gave him a reassuring smile. Taehyung slowly bit his lip and leaned his face close to yours, “Do you still like me?”

You were taken aback by his closeness, “Of course I like you, I mean we are still friends.”

He leaned in even closer, his nose touching yours, his breath tickling your neck, “No, I mean do you like me, like me? Are you still in love with me?”

Your heart was beating out of your chest, you felt like you couldn’t breathe, he was so close to your face. You couldn’t lie to him, he would know right away. Looking deep into his eyes, you softly nodded.

He broke into his boxy grin and licked his lips, his gaze dropping to your lips, “Good, because it will make this a lot easier.” 

Then he kissed you. Hard. He pushed you into the pillows on the bed, his legs planted on each side of your hips, his body pressing into yours all while kissing you deeply. Your entire body was electrified, buzzing. It felt so good again, so comforting, so natural. One of his hands traveled to your face, cupping your cheek while the other pressed into the curve of your waist. Your hands immediately twisted into his curls. His lips were warm and soft, just like you remembered. He softly bit your lower lip and you gasped, providing him an opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth. You couldn’t help but moaned against his mouth when you felt his tongue. Taehyung rasped into your ear, sending shivers through your body, “Fuck you’re beautiful.” He pushed his chest against yours, kissing you deeper as if he was trying to get closer.

You broke the kiss, the flavor of strawberry still tingling on your lips, completely out of breath, your heart hammering. You looked up at him hovering above you, his lips swollen from kissing you, “Tae, what..? I’m confused. I cant be your fuck buddy or something. I have feelings for you and I know you don't lo-“

He stopped your sentence by kissing your lips softly and slowly. He pulled away slowly, his eyes dancing with excitement. He kissed your cheek sweetly. He spoke, his voice deep and melodic, “I love you ____________”

Your eyes widened in disbelief, you laughed nervously as you sat up properly, “No, no, you don't love me Taehyung. You don't have feelings for me. You told me that.”

He settled next to you as he took your hands in his, “I told you that I was confused and that I wasn’t sure. I never said that I didn't have any feelings for you.”

You shook your head, remembering what Hana told you, “Taehyung if you said you were confused, it means you didn't have feelings. People say they are confused when they are trying to be nice. If you had real feelings for me, then you wouldn’t be confused, you would know that.”

His words came out as a whisper, “I know it now. I know I love you. All these years, I grew to be in love with you and I think I fell in love with you but I didn’t realize it until you told me how you felt. I realized once you weren’t in my life anymore, everything felt different. I didn’t realize I loved you until I did. And I don’t love the idea of you. I love you. Your smiles, your laughs, the way you say fuck in every sentence, The way you call me headass. I love you more than you could possibly understand.”

For the first time, you were completely speechless. You looked around and blinked a few times just to make sure that you weren’t in a dream. Actually what would be worse is if he took it all back. Just like how he did with the first kiss. You were literally on cloud 9 and then he broke the reality to you that he didn't have feelings for you.

He spoke again “I don't know if this is too much right now but if you want I can give you space. i can give you time. I can give you all the time in the world because I'll wait for you.  Cause frankly the way that I see it, you and me? We’re Inevitable.”

 Your hand came up to his cheek, “Taehyung, are you being serious? Are you telling me the truth right now? Do you actually love me? I just…I don't know what I would do if you didn't mean every word you just said right now.”

“I'm sorry _________. I was scared of my feelings. That's why I acted the way I did. The way I feel about you is like nothing I’ve felt before, so I was scared. And I was confused. But I do love you. Everything that happens to you matters to me. You're worth everything and more to me. And I want this. I want you. So badly.”

Your heart swelled, you couldn’t think properly not only because he kissed you but also because of his confession that you waited for since high school. You cupped his cheek and whispered hoarsely, “Kiss me…please.” 

Taehyung then rolled on top of you, pinning you underneath him. He gave you a smirk that made your heart skip a beat and pressed his soft lips against yours once again. He went slowly this time as if he were trying to memorize your lips. Your hands wrapped around his neck, trying to bring him closer to you. The hand on your waist traveled to the outside of your thigh and he slowly wrapped your leg around his waist, pushing his body into yours. He pushed his tongue into your mouth eagerly, and his hand on your leg slowly traveled up your body just until his thumb grazed the underside of your breast. You unconsciously arched up into his touch as your breath hitched at the contact, never having been touched there before. He growled softly, “Fuck, you’re such a good girl.” 

You whimpered as you melted against his plushy lips. His lips left yours as he softly kissed your jaw. Your heart began to pound, you knew where this was going but you were scared. You had never done this before and he had dozens of times with much more beautiful girls. Your anxiety began to crawl over your mind and you exhaled uncomfortably. He felt your body tense so he removed his lips from your jaw. 

He spoke softly, “Hey, are you okay? We don't have to do anything. We can just sit on the bed and chill.”

You tried to control your breathing, “No it's not that. I want to but…I'm nervous. i've never done this before. and you have. a lot. with much more pretty girls. I just…I’m scared..I have no idea what I'm doing.”

Taehyung kissed your cheek, then your forehead, then your lips. He looked deep into your eyes, “You’re beautiful, you know that? Like ridiculously stunning. It's honestly not fair. But I also want you to know I love you for you. The way my heart skips a beat when you talk about what you're passionate about, the way you know what exactly to say to me, the way you aren’t afraid of calling people out on their bullshit. You're my dream girl. Also don't worry about not knowing what to do.  Let me take care of you.”

You nodded softly, your heart completely elated at his words. You had never felt like this before, so loved, so wanted, so warm, “Okay.”

 He slowly began to trace his lips along your jaw and neck, sucking and biting softly with the hot and open mouth kisses. Your mind was completely hazy as you sighed deeply, heart racing. You heard him whisper “mine” into your skin in between kisses and soft bites. 

He made his way back to your lips. You uncontrollably moaned into his lips when he licked into your mouth. Taehyung groaned softly, “Fuck you taste so good.” He bit on your lower lip again when his hips pressed into yours. You moaned his name breathlessly, your cheeks completely red, feeling embarrassed at how desperate you sound. 

He stopped kissing you for a moment and you realized you were completely out of breath. You looked up at him, his pupils were completely blown, his curly hair a mess, a glint of adoration in his eyes. You tugged at his shirt, “Can you take this off?”

Taehyung kissed your forehead, “Of course princess.” He pulled off his shirt and looked at you with his sincere eyes, “Whenever you want to stop, we can stop, tonight is about you.”

You nodded, knowing he would immediately pause whenever you started to feel nervous or anxious. Your words tumbled out when you saw his defined golden body, “You're so hot”

He immediately cupped your face, pulling you in for a needy kiss. He broke away for a moment, “I’ve waited so long to hear those words from you.”

You smiled shyly, “I've always thought you were hot. I just never wanted to tell you.”

He kissed you softly, “What else do you like about me? What do you love about me?”

You tried to hide a smile, looking up at him, “um..”

He gave a fake gasp, “Um?!”

Your cheeks twinged red and you began to ramble, “Sorry! I know what I love about you but it's hard for me to pinpoint. I love just everything. Your personality, you're so kind and sweet and gentle and you make me feel like I matter. You listen to me, like actually listen and care. I mean you're the one I think about as I lie awake at night. I also love how yo-“

He cut you off with a kiss and pulled away delicately, “You are so cute.”

You anchored one of your hands in his hair and one around his neck, pressing your lips against his, warmth coursing through your body. Your eyes rolled back as his hips rolled against yours. He whispered, his voice low and husky, “Fuck, you’re so needy for me.” He continued to place open mouth kisses on your lips, his hands remaining your waist, pressing into your body. 

You trembled as you moaned breathlessly when you felt his fingers slip underneath your shirt, skimming  the waistband of your underwear. You couldn’t stop panting into his mouth. you felt his breath tickled your neck, nipping gently, when he praised, “You're being so good for me.”

You were completely intoxicated in his touch, sucking on his bottom lip, responding to his praises with soft moans of his name, with one leg of yours wrapped around his waist.

“Tae.”

“Yes princess?”

“I want you.”

“You have me.”

“No I want you, want you.”

His eyes blinked in realization of what you were saying. He kissed your lips softly again, one hand on your cheek, the other twirling your hair, “Are you sure?”

“Yes”

“Just because you say yes now doesn’t mean you can't say no later. So whenever you want to stop, we stop.”

You nodded, reassuring him you would definitely let him know if you wanted to stop. But you knew you wouldn’t want to. You had wanted this so badly for so long. You trusted him completely, he was your best friend and the only guy you had ever loved. 

Taehyung flashed his boxy smile at you. He tilted your chin as he kissed you deeply. He spoke in his deep voice, sending trembles through your body,  “I can’t wait to fucking wreck you.”

———————————————————————————————————

You tapped your foot impatiently, waiting by the entrance of the building, leaning on the cream colored column. 

He was late. Of course he was late. Even though you reminded him this morning about your plans together. You looked at your phone for the third time in the past ten minutes. No text yet.

You heard the rumblings of thunder, indicating it was going to rain soon. You sighed and stepped into the building, tired of waiting for him. You placed your purse in the x-ray and stepped through the scanner. You walked around and found a bench in front of a large photograph depicting two modestly dressed women looking at each other on beige steps. You stared at the photograph for a few minutes, wishing that the person who would appreciate it the most was here next to you. You felt a tap on your shoulder so you looked to your right and then heard his voice from your left, “Hi.”

You crossed your arms, annoyed, “You're late.”

His curly hair was messy, and he was still breathing heavily as if he just ran all the way here. He sat down next to you and he kissed your cheek, “I know, I know. I'm sorry. I got caught up with Jimin. We were playing smash and then I forgot about the time.”

“Taehyung, I planned this because it was something you were excited about.”

He cupped your cheek, “I know and I thoroughly appreciate it. You're way too good for me.”

You couldn’t help but blush, “Shut the fuck up. I'm mad at you.”

“Aww you're adorable.” he smirked at you, “Nice hickey, by the way,” 

You gasped, clasping your hands over your neck. You felt your face heating up, scandalized by his actions,  “Taehyung! I told you not to make it so visible. This is so embarrassing.”

“Sorry but not really. I like seeing you blush.” He tugged on your arm, lifting you up from the bench, “Now c'mon, lets go look around. It's not everyday I get to walk around a photography museum with my girlfriend.”

After spending a few hours walking through each and every exhibit in the museum, you were thoroughly exhausted. Taehyung held your hand as you walked out of the museum. It was getting dark, with the soft light of the street lamps giving a warm glow. it was sprinkling, giving the air a cool misty tinge. 

Taehyung sat on the wooden bench facing the gardens outside the museum, and pulled you onto his lap. It started to rain harder but the pitter patter of the rain drops on the cobblestone was comforting, reminding you of home. He looked at you with his huge eyes that were sparkling in the dim moonlight. 

You smiled, “What?”

He returned your smile, “Nothing. I just can't believe I get to date my best friend.”

You tried to hide your smile, “You're so mushy.”

He leaned in close to you, “What? I can't say romantic things to my strawberry girl?”

You pressed your lips against his, warmth coursing through your body. He whispered softly, “Your lips are so soft, I could kiss them all day.”

You smiled against his lips, kissing him once more.

“___________”

“Yes?”

“I want you to know, It was always you. You’re my beginning and my end.”

You rested your forehead against his, feeling his hands planted on your hips, “From the moment you called me strawberry girl, I knew it was always you.”

Taehyung looked at you with concern in his eyes, “Are you sure?”

“Sure about what?”

“About loving me.”

You leaned away to study his face, “Of course I’m sure. Why do you ask?”

“I’m scared...that you might love me now but in a few years you might hate me...you might fall out of love with me...that you won’t want me anymore. What happens if you see a side of me that makes you not want me anymore? I can’t help but wonder what I will do if you don’t want me.” 

You cupped his face in your hands, speaking seriously, “I’ll always want you. I’ll always love you. I always have loved you. Even when we fight, even when we say horrible things to each other, we somehow always make our way back to each other. I know you, I’ve seen every side of you good and bad and I want it all.”

He held your hands that were pressed against his face and said gently, “It’s kinda hard for me to put into words but I love you in ways I have never loved anyone else.”

You rested your forehead against his, letting the rain tickle your cheeks as your lips pressed against his.

author’s note: i love the rain aesthetic; its so comforting and romantic (esp the idea of kissing in the rain) anyways thank you to everyone for reading. i really, really never thought anyone would be reading my writing, much less relate and invest in strawberry girl so thank you to everyone who has been following along w the story! i wanted to make the mc as realistic as possible and insecurities is something that we all have to face. bts has been such an important symbol of self love and im so thankful for that bc theyve changed the lives of so many armys! im rambling lol ty for reading and i hope you all enjoyed the final part of strawberry girl. 🥺💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

tags: @fleurmoon @tangledsparkles @chocolatebelievercrusade @brokenobserver @ncitydreamies @soulstaes @bonnyskies @thelilbutifulthings @busansgloss @imluckybitches @xlectrahearts @embrace-themagic @bts-dreamybaby @belshka @trinbin039 @xxlostinseoul @sheislikearock @madjammil @guksflavor @yn-the-reader @kingjvngins @ggukkieland @waves-and-woods @aa-ronpa @agabud @n-dingscene @daydreamersblog @dionysusrage @coolinwbu 

[yinyanchan]

Housemates x Zoot Suit Riot Crossover: Lucky and Strike part 2

Last part of the crossover. I will be trying to do one from what happened to Blue and Orange on the otherside but please enjoy Lucky and Strikes shennanigans! Also there is a bit of a teaser for a couple of skeletons not yet introduced in Zoot Suit Riot. Merica and Spirit. Dusttale Mafia Sans and Papyrus. Cigarrette brand American Spirit.

Under the Cut!

This was going to be a lot harder than they thought.

One thing for sure as they look at eachother… Nook possibly knows the truth but is deciding to stay out of it. He’s a Papyrus after all… far more clever than they let on.

They go the direction Nook had pointed out earlier and sure enough Lucky opens a door that looks to be Oranges and Strike opens the door that screams Blue. Well at least they knew where “their” rooms were. Now came time to plan… but as it seems… Maybe these guys were pushovers in this timeline. Other than the horror brothers… Can they confess to outright murdering? And for fun at times?

This wasn’t the dog eat dog atmosphere they were used to… It seemed like they all got along under one roof here. Not to mention… there was another you.

One so willing to give physical affection that Lucky had been striving for since he had arrived in the other “Original” Sans world… only this one wasn’t ripe with gangsters and rife with Mafia undertones.

Strike was in his own little world as well. Apparently debating their options as well as he hummed. They could play along for a bit and see how it goes. So what if Red “knew” they could pass it off as a dare gone bad.

Both smirked at one another as they came to the same conclusion.

Great minds think alike.

They were going to test this world out and see how open this world’s Y/N would be to being with them. Not that they didn’t like the other you… they were pretty fond of you as well but there hasn’t been a chance to really get to know you and you had your guard up a lot.

This you was different. Far more open it seemed… It made them feel bad that in the times they had been with the other you… the other you had never smiled that big… as if something was constantly on your mind and it was a heavy burden.

The more they thought about the other you… they found they actually missed you.

“You think she misses us?” Lucky looks down and Strike is floored with his older brother's question.

“Dunno we were quite the handful.” Strike chuckles but even doubt was in his soul as well. Lucky had never questioned the consequences before. They always happened whether they were good or bad. They were an inevitable outcome.

Strike could only stare in awe as he sees his brother briefly look so vulnerable.

“What if… what if she does and we can’t get back?”

Both didn’t want to answer Lucky’s question… they already knew they’d be stuck… The machinery here was far more advanced than Strike had ever worked with… seeing as he had to use scrap from the dump to make his. Yet he recognizes how modern tech works… just not the inner workings just yet.

“Then I guess our soulmate here will do… yeah?” 

“Yeah.”

The silence was awkward… even for them.

They both went to what was their rooms to search a few things and get situated. Probably wouldn’t take this world's Sans long after Red found him. Strike was hard up on information but Lucky at least found a journal that Blue kept that would provide a lot of useful tidbits. They then both reconvened into Blue’s room for a quick briefing as sure enough…

*knock knock*

“Hey, M’lord says dinner is ready. We’re just waitin’ on everyone ta get home.” Clueing in on the voice and the m’lord… That must be Russ.

“He also asks why ya didn’t come down ta help him but he then said ya were traumatized by Orange’s laundry.” They heard him snicker as the door pops open a little and there is a skeleton that looks like Mild. Yet wearing almost similar attire to the one they knew as Red. They watch as he stretches his lanky body with a yawn. Gold fang glittering in the light.

“Heh, one things fer sure Orange is at least ya don’t have ta put up wit wearin’ a security uniform… thems the pits.” Then his lazy gaze sharpens when he notices Lucky and Orange look at him in shocked almost fear… or anger… Russ wasn’t sure but it wasn’t something he was used to seeing from either skeleton unless it was something they thought was wrong.

“Ya two ok?” He asks and both skeletons seem to loosen themselves a bit and even though they had the laid back and cheerful disposition… they were still a bit tense.

“ARMED SECURITY?” Lucky asks with a grin.

“What the? No Blue. They don’t let me walk around the school campus wit a gun. I’m not a police officer.” Russ looks helpless as to why now Blue would even ask that.

“Yeah he’s not feelin’ all there after finding a sweet stash I had in my pockets that I… may have forgotten about… for longer than I care to mention.” Strike snickers and pats Lucky’s skull. It eases the more taller skeleton but the feeling that something was off was still there.

“Right… well I’m goin’ down ta get a good spot next to Darlin’.” With a wave he exits, shutting the door behind him.

Lucky instantly is growling.

“Damn rivals… no matter where we fucking go.” Lucky flings the journal back onto the desk and then back flops on the bed. Strike shakes his head.

“Guess we gotta go to dinner.” Strike heads his way to the door.

“Think it wise?” Lucky glares at him then wistfully gets up as his brother lifts a brow.

“I think it would be unwise not to.” Strike counters and they both put on their best game faces and make their way out.

As they turn to go down the other flight of stairs that was nearby… there was another skeleton they hadn’t seen… well in this world… before.

Kentucky as they knew him… his brother was Twist… well in this world this must be Axe. Nook's older brother.

He was just standing there leaning his back up against the hallway wall… his gaze not leaving them as they exited.

“HI AXE! HOW ARE YOU?” Luck does his bright and bubbly routine and Strike lazily waves with a grin.

Axe’s hollow smile dims slightly then stretches widely. His eye light narrowed in his skull. He chuckles and then kicks himself off the wall and ambles down the stairs. Once they were sure he was out of earshot.

“I don’t understand… I’ve read the journal and I’m definitely nailing the peppy persona… yet it’s like he knew instantly.” Lucky whispers over to Strike.

“Maybe Nook talked to him about us.” They both eyed each other then raised their guard before slapping on their persona attitudes.

As soon as they entered the kitchen…

“THERE YOU ARE! I HAD TO HELP IN THE KITCHEN BECAUSE YOU ARE TO BUSY SLACKING! JUST WHAT I WANTED TO DO AFTER A LONG DAY OF WORK.” Was a tall and fearsome skeleton, yet definitely not their Swisher… this must be Edge. Swisher was tall, dark, and more importantly silent.

They looked at the table and everyone was there… including Red that was sitting by the one they took as the original Sans at the head of the table. His brother Papyrus was sitting on the other side reading a book.

“OH COME ON EDGE! IT WAS REVOLTING… I NEEDED SOME SPACE.” Lucky puts on his best puppy dog eyes and Edge scoffs.

“EXCUSES!!!” Edge fires back and brings a loaded serving dish to the table along with Berry.

“So… ya gonna do Red’s laundry I take it?” Strike smirks as Edge blanches and almost gags. It took everything for Lucky not to laugh, having been in said person's room, but instead give Strike a cross look. Strike pulls off a shrug as Lucky pretends to give that scolding gaze.

“FAIR ENOUGH.” Edge groans and motions for them to take a seat. You were already seated with Russ beside you and there was a vacant seat beside you. Lucky was eyeing it until Red growled and moved to sit next to you. Leaving everyone a little puzzled but Red was Red.

So Strike took the seat next Sans and Lucky took a seat next to Papyrus. Sans nods at Strike and Papyrus instantly latches onto Lucky’s attention. Showing off what was surely a courtship guide.

The meal was going great save for Red not really eating and his gaze constantly going back and forth between Lucky and Strike.

After dinner and dessert… which Lucky merrily ate seconds…

Sans clears his throat to gain everyone's attention.

“Now that everyone is settled and fed… elephant in the room… Who are you two and where’s Blue and Orange?” Sans scowls… Lucky and Strike freeze and just look at him in disbelief.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” Lucky plays up his innocent act and anyone who didn’t know him personally could instantly be fooled with it.

“Yeah… not buying it.” Axe snickers.

“What were ya two fucks doin’ in my room?” Red growls.

“Language!” Berry fires at him but then… he turns to look at Lucky strangely as if waiting for Lucky to say something. When Lucky looked around they were all looking at him like he had grown two heads for being silent. Strike was trying to hide the fact he was starting to sweat… normally he’s good under pressure but usually because he’s got the upper hand… not so here.

Even you were looking at him oddly.

Sans set on a table a black with a little blue bowler hat on the table.

“MY BOWL…. I MEAN A BOWLER HAT!!! THATS NEAT.” Strike groans… Lucky loves that hat and has gone through death, gore, and destruction if it ever falls off. As everyone eyes him curiously.

“SERIOUSLY! I LIKE A TYPE OF HAT AND I'M A BAD GUY!? A SKELETON LIKE ME CAN ADMIRE THINGS… BESIDES I THINK IT SUITS ME.” He pouts.

“I’m gonna ask ya again. What tha fuck were ya doin’ in my room.” Red growls and glares at Berry as he looks to yell at him again for his language. Berry actually backs off with how serious Red is taking this.

“Blue said they had found one of your shirts in the dryer and he was returning it. Right Blue?” You ask even though you seemed very wary of this situation.

“Oh yeah? Where'd ya put it because I didn’t find shit.” He smacks his hands down on the table and raises himself to look at Lucky.

“LIKE I’D WANT TO ACTUALLY TOUCH ANYTHING IN YOUR ROOM. IT’S YOUR FAULT YOU CAN’T FIND IT.” Lucky glares back.

“SPEAKING OF COULDN’T FIND… YOU WEREN’T ABLE TO FIND YOUR OWN ROOMS AND THEN BLAMED IT ON A ROGUE SOCK.” Nook pipes up and Axe snickers.

“Also didn’t think ya guys liked my jokes.” Axe leers.

Lucky and Strike seem taken aback by how much these skeletons communicated.

“As fer not touching my stuff… Where is it?” Red scowls eyeing both Lucky and Strike. Strike seems to realize something very important, Lucky had pocketed something, he shoots his brother a ‘you didn’t!” look but Lucky was busy playing the part of the innocent.

“I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN.” Lucky looks absolutely puzzled… Strike could only wonder what it was… The only thing Lucky had picked up was the magazine but tossed it when he thought he was caught.

Then Red does something that shocks everyone.

He pulls out said magazine and slaps on the table in front of Lucky. The cover sporting a fully nude woman giving a come hither look. There were gasps all around the table and you were blushing like mad.

“JESUS H FUCKING CHRIST!!!! THERE IS A LADY PRESENT YOU FUCKING DAFT CUNT!!!!” Lucky screams as he grabs the magazine and throws it away from your view. As he turns back everyone is slack jawed looking at him save for Red. Strike face palms as this world’s Sans turns to look at him.

“Give me back my centerfold ya damn creepy imposter!!! I know one of ya has it!” He turns his glare at Strike but he’s shaking his head.

“For fucks sake Lucky! You took the man's centerfold!?” Strike glares at his brother. Red puffs out his chest in pride knowing they had been caught.

“DAMMIT STRIKE!!! I TOLD YOU THAT I FELT JIPPED BECAUSE WE HAD NOTHING THAT SHOWED EVEN A SLIVER OF SKIN. THIS SHOWS EVERYTHING!!!!” Lucky reaches in the battle body and flips out the centerfold, that landed open for all to see. Lucky pauses and then turns to you sheepishly.

“I am so sorry… a lady like yourself shouldn’t have heard or seen any of that. My lady, I apologize.” Lucky is actually blushing and apologizing. That was a new one for Strike.

“MY WORD SANS… IT DOES SHOW EVERYTHING.” Papyrus blushes and Sans looks ballistic.

Berry is catatonic from the foul language as well as the lewd imagery. Russ seems bewildered at what to do. Looking around at his brother, the centerfold, then at you.

Edge is glaring at his proud brother.

“THIS IS WHY I TRY NOT TO GO IN YOUR ROOM. THIS IS NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF.” Edge growls at Red who then looks sheepish himself.

Nook and Axe are still eating their dessert merrily. Pretty much enjoying the show.

“Get. it. Off. the. Table. N o w.” Sans bellows his sockets become voids and Red grabs it and instantly stuffs it inside his jacket.

Once it is off the table Berry seems to reboot leaving Russ to sigh in relief.

“Strike and Lucky is it?” Sans growls.

They look over at him nervously.

“WHERE IS BLUE AND ORANGE?” Papyrus glares and they instantly freeze. Papyrus is the very serious boss attitude where they came from and he didn’t pull punches either.

“W-Well you see Papyrus all of a sudden we got thrown here in these clothes!” Strike immediately says, as Lucky glares.

“Stool pigeon.” Lucky gripes.

“Lucky!!! This is not the time! Look, we didn’t know what to think! We come from a very harsh environment alright? We are from the world of gangsters, hit men, Mafia. Hell our nicknames are after a cigarette brand called Lucky Strike. Same with all of you sitting here… save for the original Sans and Papyrus.” Strike holds his hand up. He knows when things get real and when to bow out. Lucky never knows when to quit.

“We just want to go back home but we didn’t want to say anything because we didn’t know who we were dealing with.” Strike sighs and then glares at Lucky who sighs as well.

“Your guys must’ve been pulled through to our side… SHIT… STRIKE IF THEY WERE PULLED TO THAT TIMELINE THEY’D BE EATEN ALIVE!!!” Lucky comes to the realization that leaving more kinder souls with the rough mafia types would be trouble.

Sans stands up.

“Let’s go.” Sans rallies the other skeletons and as you get up he halts you.

“Kiddo, that machine is dangerous. We know what it can do with skeletons. Just not humans.” He warns and you sigh, having to stay behind.

“It was nice to meet another you, honeybun.” Strike pats your head.

“Though it was a little too brief… we miss our Y/N.” Lucky says shyly and you hug both of them.

“I know Blue and Orange… and if you’re their counterparts… You can’t be all bad.” You say with a smile making them blush as you let them go.

The pull making them want to stay longer until Berry places the bowler hat on Lucky’s head.

“I WANT BLUE BACK. I MISS MY PARTNER IN KEEPING THINGS SANE AROUND HERE.” Berry huffs.

All the skeletons quickly made their way to the basement and to the machine. Sans goes over the records and quickly types in buttons as the other skeletons ask the pair questions.

Answering what they could about their homelife, the type of guns they prefered with their magic… The whirring of the machine caught everyone’s attention.

Bright light enveloped them and Blue and Orange came stumbling out in suits. As soon as they see everyone they run for hugs… even Orange.

“I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SEE ANY OF YOU AGAIN!!!” Blue wails and Orange whispers thank yous.

Then they turned and looked at their doubles. 

“YOU TWO ARE TROUBLE.” Blue glares.

“AND YOU TWO ARE TOO NICE.” Lucky glares back with a smirk.

“They knew instantly we were not you two and they almost tried to kill us when we asked honey questions.”

“Yeah… about that… she still doesn’t know about the machine… still thinks we’re cousins and all that bs.” Strike snickers.

“Yet it seems this Sans has told the truth which is commendable.” Lucky nods.

“ACTUALLY THAT WAS OUR BAD.” Nook pipes up.

“Yep.” Axe concurs.

“Right… seems to be Kentucky and Twist's goal as well, if they can get to her that is. Oh and they are mafia versions of you two.” Lucky points at Nook and Axe.

Then they look worried…

“Has there been an Merica or a Spirit here?” Strike asks nervously.

They all look at him questioningly.

“A FUCKED UP PSYCHO OF A SANS AND A GHOSTLY FLOATING PAPYRUS HEAD!?” Lucky informs.

They all looked puzzled but shook their heads no.

“Thank yer lucky stars. Keep the machine off.” Strike warns.

Soon they swap their attires with each other. Lucky revelling being back in his suit while Strike seems to miss what he was wearing.

The machine is ready as Sans motions them to get ready to head back.

Lucky then approaches Blue and places a hand on his shoulder. Leaning his skull in with a wry smile.

“Take good care of our soulmate here and we will take good care of ours back… home.” Lucky says with a shy smile still clasping Blue’s shoulder.

With a pat on Blue’s shoulder Lucky then walks to join his brother as the light of the machine begins to get brighter, about to send them both back where they belonged.

“Soulmate?” Blue questions making both Lucky and Strike falter.

As the whirring got louder Lucky let out a string of curses before.

“ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN LIVING WITH YOUR SOULMATE THIS ENTIRE FUCKING TIME AND YOU NEVER KNEW!!!? WHAT THE FUCKING HELL…” His rant is cut off as the machine sucks them back to their world.

All the skeletons look at one another and begin blushing.

Except Axe.

He laughs and they all look at him.

“What? Explains a lot don’t it?” He smirks then leaves the others to ponder on it. Then blush even more as they had noticed that they did indeed seem to gravitate towards you.

[dojaspankow]

dumbstruck

(*NOT MY GIF)

summary: you and jj have been friends for a long time and somewhere along the way you develop a small crush for the cute blond. you want to know if he feels the same way so you decide to do something about it.

word count: 3,400

a/n: hiii!! This is my first obx blog and jj piece I’ve ever written so plspls give it some love!! i hope this is enough for now hehe, enjoy babies! xx

based on the song : dumbstruck - ceraadi

*

*

“I don’t get it. The two of you are affectionate with one and another eye fucking every time both of you are in the room and none of you are planning to confess?!”

you laugh softly at Kie’s exclaims and waving her hands in exaggeration as you pour another batch of brownie into the pan. Popping it inside the oven before turning around to face her shocked face,

“There’s nothing to get. It’s just how we are. Flirty and shit. Strictly platonic.” You remind her, though you know deep down in your heart, you want more than just friends with JJ,

She rolls her eyes at your comment, shaking her head in disagreement. “Yeah no. I’ve seen the way you look at him and I’ve seen the way he looks at you. That boy is head over heels for you.”

“No, he isn’t.” You press, chuckling a little, sitting yourself down on a stool across her. “He’s my best friend, Kie.”

She casually brushes your defense. “Again, no.” She disagrees, grabbing a couple of fries before shoving them into her mouth. “I’m no expert but he’s definitely into you. And since you are too, both of you need to gut up and confess!”

“Who are you talking about?”

A familiar voice of John B’s causes the two of you to glance towards the door. Watching his figure walk in and towards the kitchen, sitting down next to Kie,

“Have you ever heard of knocking, JB?” you playfully asks, raising your eyebrow before handing him a bottle of cold soda,

“Have you ever heard of locking your doors?” He asks back, making you laugh and nod,

“Okay, you’ve got a point.”

John B leans forward and settles his elbows on the counter, flickering his eyes to you then Kie. “So” he starts, smacking his lips, “What are you guys gossiping about?”

You open up your mouth to say something but Kie beats you to it,

“JJ and y/n”

You widen your eyes and gasp before reaching over to smack her lightly on the arm. “Kiara!”

She laughs and raises her hands in surrender, giving you a ‘sorry not sorry’ look,

“Ah!” John B’s eyes snap back towards you and giving you a teasing smile. 

“That boy is fucking crazy about you.”

“See!” Kie claps her hands and looks at you, trying to get you to understand. “I wasn’t lying!”

You blush at John B’s statement, looking down and fiddle with your fingers a little. “No, he’s not.”

“Yes, he is.” He argues. “Man, you should see the way he looks at you when you’re not looking. He’s got this dopey smile and heart-eyes when you’re in the room. Turning down a bunch of girls at parties because his heart is set on yours, drop my ass off at midnight because you needed him.” He casually spares the details about JJ, chuckling at the last sentence

now you can feel your stomach is filled with butterflies

“And the way he talks about you when you’re not around?” He asks as he stares at you, throwing his head back in disbelief with a small laugh. “He talks about you as if he’s writing a fucking poem. Doing John Green shit and he could go on for hours without stopping especially when he’s high, I’m telling you that boy is in love with you.”

Biting your lip, you’re trying hard to hide your smile. your cheeks redden even more while John B continues to unbox every little secret of JJ’s to you,

“You think so?”

John B nods his head fast, cracking open the bottle before taking a chug. “Oh, I know so. Don’t blame him though. You’re hot as fuck y/n—don’t tell JJ that— Two of you are perfect for each other. He can’t stop talking about you”

Kie nods furiously, “I second that.”

“Then why hasn’t he said anything?” you frown, putting your hands on your hips,

“The same reason why you hadn’t said anything too” John B fires, putting a cocky smirk on his face, “You’re a daredevil y/l/n, what’s so scary and hard about saying ‘i love you’ to him when you do? You keyed Rafe’s car last summer yet you’re scared of this?”

You shoot him a glare before answering, “The fact that he could either turn me down or laugh his ass off for being in love with him” you say in an obvious tone, picking the strings of your jean shorts. “You pick.”

“Jesus Christ, woman!” He groans in frustration, running his hands over his face as Kie shakes her head at your stubbornness. “He likes you! more than a friend! I know this!”

Kie rubs John B’s arm in an attempt to calm him down in a joking manner before switching to another subject. “Look, there’s a party at Kegger’s tonight. Do your thing and that boy will surely prove our points.”

*

*

It was around 7 and the gang decides to meet you there at the party. Except for JJ himself. He wants you to come with him and he doesn’t take no for an answer, despite the number of times you’ve told him that you can drive by yourself,

looking in the mirror, you feel satisfied as you stare at your own body up and down with the choice of clothing you’re wearing. A simple white bralette and black swimming undies, along with a short sheer wrap up skirt also in white that compliments the plump of your butt and thick thighs.

What? you love showing off your assets

you let your long thick brown hair fall over your shoulders before clasping JJ's your necklace. Then spraying your chest and neck with your favorite body spray, setting the bottle down on the table when you’re done,

hearing a ding from your table, you crane your neck to see a text message from the pretty blond,

JJ💞 : hey gorgeous, I’m outside. come out whenever you’re ready x

a smile taking over your lips as you reply to him, you have no idea why simple text messages like this could guarantee heebie-jeebies from you. but it always works.

God, you love this man,

after replying with a simple ‘okay boo’ you shove your phone in your small bag and walk out of your room. writing a note on the table for your mom so she knows you’ll be ‘staying at a friend’s house’ because there’s no way you’d be honest about going to a party,

locking the door behind you, you see a glimpse of golden-haired boy a few feet apart leaning against the motorcycle with a white muscle tank and red snapback on, busy playing with his phone to even notice you,

“hey pretty boy” you greet him with a smile in which he looks up, a frown is replaced with a grin,

“holy-shit. you look hot.” he compliments bluntly, looking at you up and down as he bites down his lower lip softly. chuckling as he sees you blush. “Is that new?” he asks as he points at the skirt,

nodding excitedly as you step closer to him so you can hop in behind him. “you look hot too tonight, Maybank. have I ever told you that your white tank and a red cap is my favorite look on you?”

he feels the butterflies erupt his stomach when he hears that, smiling to himself as he looks down to start his engine. “no you haven’t actually. I’m glad you told me.” he says, feeling your hands wrap around his waist and he can’t help but loving how your delicate touch makes him weak on his knees and cheeks red,

“you always look good though. smells nice too.”

he tries to ignore the feeling you give him and clears his throat. “ready princess?”

“ready, my love” you smile softly as he begins to drift off to the Kegger.

soon as the two of you arrive, JJ keeps his hand against your lower back as he guides you to the party. Not that you minded one bit, you even lean towards his touch. Feeling warm and protected under it.

“Not even five seconds in and a bunch of Kooks and shit start looking at you like a piece of meat” he grunts, shooting glares at the guys who keeps staring at you,

chuckling, you turn your head to look at him and squeeze his shoulder. “Down boy” you joke, feeling his muscles soften soon as you touch him. “They know I’m with you, they wouldn’t even dare to lay a hand on me. Plus I’d knock their teeth in even if they tried.”

A soft chuckle escapes from his mouth, pulling you even closer. “That’s my girl”

Again with making your heart flutter. This boy won’t stop!

Kie is the first one to notice about your arrival, waving her hand enthusiastically as you giggle. Waving your hand back,

her eyes then stop at JJ’s hand on you. Her mouth drop open and eyes wide like a bug, squealing a little as you sign to her to ‘tone it down’ with your hands,

“I’m getting high tonight,” you say out of nowhere, sighing as you look out at the scene. dozens of kids getting drunk, sweaty bodies grinding against each other, endless chatters can be heard from left to right. 

JJ raises his left eyebrow, baby blue eyes are now focused on you. “With me right?” His protective side is showing making your lips curve,

“Of course silly. You’re the only person I want to get high with... at the moment” You say in a whisper, nudging him in the stomach as he smiles fondly at you,

“Good. Because I brought just enough for the two of us.” He states, pulling a Ziploc bag out of his pocket just enough so you can see. “Want something to drink?”

Nodding your head, he gives a quick peck on your head, muttering a ‘be right back’ before wandering off. You stand there with your hands behind your back, watching the beautiful scene of young kids enjoying their moment like it’s their last and you can’t help but smile. The sound of ‘Best On Earth’ by Russ is blasting through the speakers as you bob your head to the beat,

“hey cutie” you hear a voice from behind, noticing that it’s Kie greeting you, with her hand interlocked with Pope’s,

smiling at the couple, you greet back. “hey you two. Awe aren’t you two the most adorable shits I’ve ever seen” you poke out your bottom lip, placing your palms against your chest,

Kie just giggles and looks up at her man who has a shy smile plastered on his face. “You and JJ next.”

rolling your eyes playfully, you give a small pinch on her stomach making the girl squeal. “stoop that. God, you’re so annoying.”

Pope then wraps his arm around his girl’s shoulder, pulling her close before giving you a playful smirk. “So you and JJ, eh? Not surprised, man.”

“Oh my God we’re just friends” You laugh at the two, putting your hands on your hips and you stare down at Kie. “You should stop spreading false rumors” You joke,

“they’re FACTS, not rumors” she shrugs, sipping on her red solo cup. “Pope thinks if you two get together, you’d be the hottest couple in the box.”

he nods his head aggressively. “oh yeah definitely. plus, he won’t stop bragging about it. God, you need to lock him down, y/n”

you’re trying so hard to suppress a giggle, just before you could respond to his statement, you feel a figure bumping from your side,

“don’t even try to steal her away from me. I’m planning to spend the whole night with this woman.” JJ jokes, his hand goes out to grip on your waist and keep you close to his body which makes you melt,

“All yours buddy” Pope sends him a wink and Kie just shoots you a smirk before the couple bids you bye and walk off,

"Here you go beautiful” He hands you your drink with a smile, admiring how gorgeous you look under the dark sky with him by your side,

you’re so fucking beautiful it hurts him,

“Thank you my lovely escort” you look up at him before taking a small sip. “Just so you know I’m not planning to get drunk tonight.”

“Me too. I have to drive you back home and make sure you’re safe.” He explains, lacing his fingers with yours as he guides you out from the crowded scene to find a spot just for the two of you,

shaking your head, you look at him who has his eyes on the ground. “You don’t have to. I can just ask Kie or John B to drive me home.”

“Nonsense. I’m taking you home, I always do.” He responds, finding a quiet spot which drives the two of you away from the scene before sitting down on the sand. “Come here, pretty.” He pats a spot next to him before you plop down,

His hand digs into his pocket to pull out the bag he shows you earlier, grabbing a couple of joints as he hands you one. “me and my dad got into a fight this morning when I stopped by the house to grab a few clothes of mine”

With that, you freeze. Your focus is no longer on the joint but rather the boy who’s sitting next to you with a sad smile on his face. “Oh no JJ, what did he do?” Your tone begins to roughen,

as he takes a notice of the tone of your voice, he assures you that nothing happened. “He was about to knock me to the ground but I bolted out of the door before he even got the chance.”

your brows furrow, bottling up your anger deep at the thought of his father hurting the boy you love so much. it pains you to know that you can’t do anything about it, mainly because JJ tells you to stay out of it. Not wanting you to get hurt too.

“where have you been staying?” you can’t help but ask,

he shrugs lightly, lighting the joint before his hand goes to your behind, setting his palm firmly on your back and rubs small circles around it,

“here and there, doesn’t matter.” 

“of course it does” you get a little defensive, scooting closer to him. “i don’t want anything to happen to you jay... you know the guest room at my place is always available right? my mom loves you so she doesn’t mind.”

he smiles at your concern for him, grabbing your hand and kisses your knuckles. “don’t worry about me. i got you, the guys, a job. I could give two fucks about my dad. He’s the least of my concerns.”

though you feel unsatisfied with the answer, you decide to not push him since you know all he wants is to enjoy this night with you and you do too.

“okay.” you smile, softly inhaling the weed before exhaling and closes your eyes. “you know... me, Kie and John B talked about you today” you tease as you bite your lip,

he groans playfully, rolling his eyes before smiling back at you. “Oh yeah? what did you guys talk about?” he asks, 

“they said ... you have a crush on me aaand that you’re like a John Green when it comes to talking about me” you giggle, watching his hand covering his eyes and cheeks flush. you reach out to peel his hand off so he can look at you. 

“heeey don’t be embarrassed. it’s cute as fuck.”

he hums in reply, staring at your pretty brown eyes and find himself getting lost deeper and deeper in them,

“not cute. it’s embarrassing.” he mumbles, leaning his back against the stone wall. “i can’t believe they told you that, fuck! i told them not to tell you!” he groans cutely, 

giggling, you shift your body a little so you’re laying on your side and let your thighs touch with his. “why?” you question,

he knits his eyebrows together, confused by your question, his hand on your hip. “why what?”

“why do you have a crush on me?”

he scoffs at that, chewing on his lip before choosing the next few words to say to you. “1. you’re gorgeous and sexy as hell” the start of the sentence causes you to throw your head back with a laughter. “2. you have always been there for me and no matter how much i think myself as a fuck up-”

“that’s because you’re not” you cut him off

he smiles for a second and continues, “you always remind me the good things i’ve done and what a good person i am to a lot of people, especially our friends. i’ve never had someone do that to me, you know?” he says sadly, his eyes looking forward,

you bite your lip as you put your focus on him, fingers playing with the hem of the material of his tank,

“And every time you talk? Fuck, i’d never want you to stop. Your voice is fucking angelic and makes me smile like a dumbass which is now a joking matter to JB and Pope.” he chuckles and you laugh too, smiling softly as you watch him explain the things he loves about you. “I love how passionate you are about your work but not forgetting about your friends, i love how you stick up for me that one time when we’re at the police station, i love how you know exactly how to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich and got me hooked on your Empanadas, i love how you punched Topper and gave him a nose bleed that time, i love how you’re willing to guide me through everything in life just so we can get the fuck out of here and move to New York.”

he pauses for a while, taking a deep breath as he now moves his gaze down towards you, who’s eyes already looking at him getting teary.

“but most of all... i love how much i love you and have no intention of going back.” he confesses. “i want to stay in that bubble. would you let me stay?”

you can feel the tears start to building up and blurring your vision, blinking fast as they start to run down your cheeks in which you quickly wipe it off. Nodding your head. “of course... i love you too”

he breathes out a relief, showing you a toothy grin before crashing his lips onto yours, humming deeply as you kiss him back. he smiles against your mouth, heart skips a beat when he feels your soft lips moving hungrily. he bites onto your bottom lip making you gasp and he takes it as an opportunity to slip his tongue inside you. 

the two of you make out for a couple more seconds before pulling away to catch each other’s breathes, laughing lightly at how hungry you two are for each other’s kisses.

“God i’m fucking crazy about you, baby." he sighs out, shaking his head as he admires how plump and sexy your lips are after he kisses you. “driving me insane but i love it. i love you.”

you giggle shyly, sucking on your bottom lip as he chucks off the joint he has on his fingers and so do you. ”i love you too and i’m into you, JJ. i hope you know that.” you wrap your arms around his shoulders and drapes your leg over his lap. “there’s no place i’d rather be right now.”

JJ is over the moon. He can’t believe he got you. He got you... his gorgeous best friend is now his girlfriend, who’s cuddling against his chest and just shared their first kiss. he doesn’t have to hear about you going on a date with other guys because now, you’re his girl.

he fucking wins in life.

“you know” he starts, smiling at you, the ‘i’m so fucking in love with you and there’s no going back’ kind of smile. one of his palms is settled on your waist and the other on your ass. “from the number of times i’ve smoked with the guys, you might be the best high i’ve ever had, baby”*

*

a/n : omg this kind of sucks i’m sorry lmaoo but please give me feedback or leave a comment down below. thank you for reading babies:)

[spacetimewraithwrites-archive]

OC Kiss Week Day 2: Blanket

WIP: To Annex the Kid/The Invention of Fire Pairing: Works x Russell (with a cameo by one of Works’ aliases) Timeline: TIoF CW: More yearning! Yay! Rating: T Words: 1,653

***

Cady shivered and pulled her blanket tighter around her small shoulders, teeth chattering against the frigid cold seeping mercilessly through the doors of the coach. Works turned to her in alarm at the sound.

“My goodness,” he exclaimed, squeezing her to his side on the seat. He rubbed her arms to force warmth into her wiry frame. “Why didn’t you tell me you were this cold?”

Sitting across from this display and facing the rear of the coach, Russell watched Works take a spare blanket from his satchel and tuck it under Cady’s chin, wrapping it tight across her chest and essentially swaddling her within thick wool, and after a few moments the chattering stopped.

“Sorry, Mr. Works,” Cady said. “Guess I didn’t think much of it.”

“Nonsense.” Works peered through the window as best as he could through the endless snow and fog hiding London from view. “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times not to feel that you’re being an inconvenience by asking for ordinary things such as an extra blanket.” He swung around and affected a humorously severe face, brows drawn too tight together and mouth tugged down in an exaggerated frown. “Can you imagine the inconvenience if you’d expired?”

Cady belly-laughed and Russell shook his head, bewildered.

"I do not understand why y’all think the things you think is so funny is so funny sometimes," he muttered, though he let out a quiet snort anyway if for no other reason than because he enjoyed when they interacted with such familiarity.

Still laughing, Cady buried her face in her blanket. “It’s not my fault!”

"There isn’t a lot to envy in the way of having a macabre sense of humor,” Works said. He looked at Russell with an expression of false surprise. “Some say it’s a sign of low intelligence or maturity, you know.”

“Low intelligence, no.” Russell’s face split into an playful grin. “Maturity? That might be up for discussion.”

Works pretended to be affronted and placed a firm hand on the top of Cady’s head. “This is a child!”

Russell opened his mouth to respond when the coach came to a rolling stop. One glance outside told him they’d arrived at the house rented out to them by Dr. Keller, and an overwhelming yawn burst forth from him in anticipation of stretching out on the most comfortable bed he’d ever experienced.

And stretch out he did some minutes later, with a steaming cup of tea brewed by the housekeeper, reclined on a sofa in the well-lit drawing room and another five or six blankets piled onto his lap. He wasn’t sure how he got to that point or why begging Mrs. Gabb to leave him be just this once always resulted in a cup of tea that went to waste.

“Y’ever been dragged along the dirt behind a galloping horse for thirty seconds?” he asked.

Works, freshly changed into a gemstone-hued dressing gown, stifled the sounds of Cady enjoying a lively song with Mrs. Gabb in the kitchen as he pushed the doors closed. “...I can’t say I have.”

“Well, it feels kinda like this.” Russell deposited the teacup along with its saucer onto the table in front of him.

A pause settled over the floor and Works slid his hands into his pockets. “I wanted to speak to you about that, actually.” He hesitated. “About you being here, with me—”

“Works,” Russell interjected, holding up a hand to stop him, “we already talked about it enough.”

Works spared a cautionary look over his shoulder at the doors, where the jovial noise continued from further into the house. The chances of being interrupted were low, yet he dropped his voice anyway. “I still need you to know how much it means to me that you’d come so far from home, into such foreign waters for the sole purpose—”

“Works....”

“—For the sole purpose of letting me pursue a silly whim.” Works’ eyes followed Russell as he got to his feet, leaving the blanket pile behind. “I can see how uncomfortable you are here.”

“First of all, if you call this...this....”

“Symposium.”

“If you call this symposium a silly whim again, you’re gonna have to answer to me. Also, I would let you drag me along the dirt into the deepest depths of the ocean, McCoy.”

The silence that followed surprised them both. Not even Mrs. Gabb’s distant and boisterous laughter could stop the furious blush from cropping up on Russell’s face as he realized he’d taken Works’ shoulder in hand, fingers digging into the muscle meeting his neck, and they stood impeccably close to one another.

“I get seasick,” Works murmured.

“I am all too familiar with the concept.”

“I haven’t stopped thinking about what you said to me up in that balloon.” Works made eye contact and held it for ages. “I fear I’ve underplayed what hearing those words from you has done to me emotionally.”

Russell swallowed. “Yeah...I actually think this might be the first time you’ve looked me in the eye since we left home.” He, too, glanced to the doors. “You’re lookin’ a little like you wanna make somethin’ right, however.”

Magnetically, Works bowed toward Russell, pressing a purposeful kiss to the hollow of his cheek. The flutter of his nervous breath against Russell’s skin sprouted a shiver.

“Works,” he said with finality. Concession.

Taking that cue, Works met his lips, gathering the fabric of the waistcoat Russell hated wearing into tight fists and backing him into the wall with aggression so suppressed it almost snapped like a dry and brittle branch across Russell’s shoulders. Works kissed him like he needed to taste him or accept death, and Russell felt a rumble of courage in his stomach he hadn’t felt in quite a few years that allowed him to hold Works in place by the back of the neck and reciprocate enthusiastically.

Russell had the belt of the dressing gown open and his arms around Works’ waist so quickly the chill of the air hadn’t set in yet. Works inhaled sharp, shuddering under the pressure of large palms splayed flat against the curve of his backside, caught between his trousers and the softness of the robe.

Works tangled his fingers within Russell’s previously kempt hair, and the crash of a dish breaking in the kitchen followed by an undistressed yelp fueled Russell into pushing Works in the direction of the door to his own bedroom on the other side of the drawing room, to get out of open space, to sate the clawing hunger in privacy.

Russell’s famished mouth found its way to Works’ jawline, hands preoccupied by the buttons of his shirt, completely in a haze that he wouldn’t have given an ounce of recognition had it not been for Works suddenly gripping the door frame to stop them with immediacy.

“Russell...” Works hissed. He took hold of Russell’s chin. “Russ, darling....”

Russell gazed up at him with glossy eyes. “Yeah.”

“Not like this.” Works touched his forehead to Russell’s, nails so far into the wall that he tore a bit of the paper, breath coming out in forceful gusts. “I would never forgive myself.”

Russell kissed him again, slow, heart humming into his bones, parts of him aching low and urgent, and though he agreed with Works in the end, he couldn’t help but feel a sting of frustration at the tables being turned for once.

Footsteps in the hall forced them apart, and Works helped flatten Russell’s hair while simultaneously re-tying the dressing gown. He was still in the process of securing the knot in the belt when the drawing room doors opened.

“Sirs,” Mrs. Gabb sang upon entering the room. “Nothing to worry about! I’ve made a right mess is all."

“Everything alright?” Works asked, and only Russell picked up on the strained way he talked.

“Oh, yes. I dropped a teacup. Shattered it to pieces.”

Russell exchanged a look with Works. “Tragic.”

“I’ve sent the young Miss to freshen up for supper while I clean up.”

Works coughed a bit. “Allow me to help, Mrs. Gabb—”

“No, no, Mr. Robinson, I won’t have it at all. You’re guests to this house! What would Dr. Keller say?”

“Let ‘im help,” Russell grunted. “He won’t leave you alone if you don’t.”

Mrs. Gabb’s rosy cheeks pinched out as she grinned. “Well, alright. I’ve got a broom this way....”

The remainder of the evening went on much like nothing had transpired, other than Russell occasionally catching Works in the act of watching him as if he had a particularly puzzling riddle marked on his forehead from across the dinner table. The intensity of his clear blue stare gave him goosebumps.

A knock on Russell’s door much later, after he’d assumed everyone else had retired for the night, startled him. He looked up from his lettering book and tensed up. “...Whozit?”

“It’s me,” Works said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Russell tossed the book onto the bed and pulled the door open just enough to see Works silhouetted by the hall light, bottom lip between his teeth and worry lines aging him somewhat.

They stood unspeaking for a moment.

Works took a calming breath. “I love you.”

Russell nodded. He’d heard it before, but it still made his entire body warm. Insecurity prevented him from repeating what he’d said in the balloon. “I know.”

“I didn’t want you to think...I apologize if I gave you the impression that I wasn’t....”

“Gimme a kiss g’night, McCoy.”

Works leaned in to press a chaste kiss, the softest kiss to his lips. Russell let it course into his veins.

“Good night,” Works whispered.

Russell found it a little easy to fall asleep that night. If he’d known it could’ve ended up being the last time he’d ever kiss Works McCoy, however...he sure would’ve changed his mind about a lot of things.

[fics-for-my-heart]

Broken  (b.h)

Summary: After a bad breakup you go to the only person you know can help

Word count: 2332 

Warning: The ex is a dick, some cussing, mention of getting sick

Requested: I love your blog so much omg! I’m not sure if requests are open but if they are may I please request something with Ben? Could you maybe do something where reader has just come out of a long term relationship bc the partner said they didn’t love her anymore? And she goes to best friends Bens house crying wth makeup all down her face and runny nose and it’s just the sweetest comfort he could ever give her? Maybe a sweet lil kiss if you could? I’m not having a great day as you can probs tell 😭❤️

A/N: I hate writing people who are dicks. Ugh. But I hope this is good. Honestly i was thinking of maybe making another part? Let me know please!

Masterlist

“Russ will be here any minute. What if he doesn’t like my dress?” Your eyes widened as you met the green ones watching you through your phone screen. 

“Y/N, you look beautiful. Take a deep breath. He’s going to love your dress.” Ben said, his reassurance calmed you down, like it always did. He’d been your best friend for ages, and was always your rock when your mind started getting too jumpy. 

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, centering yourself. “Okay. I think I’m ready.” After looking over yourself you picked up your phone. “Thank you Benny. I hope you have a good night. I’ll text you when I get home.” 

“Have fun tonight, but not too much fun.” 

You laughed, shaking your head as you hung up. 

“Y/N! He’s here!” Cordelia, one of your roommates called. 

“Alright. Tonight is the night. It’s happening. Tonight.” You examined your left hand, the ring finger currently empty. But hopefully not for long if your suspensions are correct. All signs point to yes. He had lunch with his mother and grandmother a month back, and he’s been acting slightly nervous. After three years there’s really only one thing you can think of that could make him that way. 

With one more glance at the mirror you were out the door, nervous butterflies fluttering around your belly. 

Russ was leaning against the door with his phone in his hand as you came down. He looked handsome as always, his suit tailored to him, his white button down chrisp against the black of the jacket. His blond hair was quaffed just right while still looking slightly ragged. 

The butterflies intensified as you drank him in. Smiling about just how lucky you were. 

“Hi.” You whispered once you hit the bottom step. 

He hadn’t looked up until you spoke, his soft smile didn’t quite meet his eyes as he pecked your cheek. “Hello dear. Are you ready?” 

“Yes! I’m starving. I already checked online at their menu so it won’t take me long to make a decision.” 

He chuckled lightly as his hand met your back, leading you out to his car. 

Russ was quiet through most of the ride, which was weird because normally the two of you had a good flow. But he was probably nervous about what was about to happen. You sure were. And bless him he just let you talk and talk the entire way there, and part way through the meal. Reminiscing on some of your favorite memories together. 

“Do you remember that time we got snowed in at the cabin?” You sighed, remembering how nice it had been. Just the two of you for three days. “We should definitely do that again.” 

“I want to break up.” 

“We can go aft...wait.” Your heart stopped, but was also making your ears ring. You must have heard him wrong. “What?” The squeak was almost too soft to hear. 

Russ rubbed his brow with his thumb and forefinger, and gave a heavy sign. “I said I want to break up.” He wouldn’t look at you as your mouth gaped like a fish. 

The world got blurry as you silently started crying. “You. You’re not.” Your chest shuddered. “You’re not proposing?” Again, barely a whisper. 

A look that could only be described as disgust crossed his face, becoming stronger as he spoke. “Proposing? Why would you even think that?”

You started picking at a thread in the napkin on your lap. Still crying. Still hardly able to speak. “I told Cordelia you went to eat with your mom and grandmother and she said that you must be asking for your great grandmother's ring.” 

He sighed, again. “Oh my god.” You glanced up just as he was shaking his head. “No, Y/N. I’m not asking you to marry me. I,” again with the sighing, like he has better things he could be doing. “I met someone else, and I just don’t love you anymore.” 

You were going to puke. Yup, bile was definitely burning your throat just like the tears burning your eyes. “Som-someone e-else?” 

“Yes. That’s who I was with when I told you I was with mom and gran.” 

“That was.” You shook your head, a new emotion starting to build in your gut. “That was a month ag..how long?” You weren’t sure you even wanted to know. Dread. Sadness. Anger. To many emotions at once. Your hands were shaking as you looked at him. Waiting on his answer. 

Finally guilt flashed across his face. “Eight months ago.” 

Suddenly you were on your feet, chair knocked over and your voice the loudest it’s ever been. “EIGHT MONTHS? You’ve been cheating on me for eight months?” Your voice broke at the end with a full body sob. “Ei-eight fucking months? After almost four years!” Everyone was looking at you.

Again, Russ sighed, he really must have better things to be doing. Or a better someone. “Look Y/N. We had a great time together.” His voice was the low one now, trying to not be overheard. But everyone in the restaurant was quiet. Even the chef and line cooks had come out to watch. “I’m sorry. I just needed something new. We’ve got lots of good memories together, as you know since you talked about a lot of them tonight. But I just don’t want to be with you anymore.” 

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me sooner? Why fucking stay with me?” 

You couldn’t bring yourself to look at anyone else. The embarrassment only added to your nausea. 

Russ shrugged one shoulder. “Since I’m being honest, you’re really good at a..few things. And I wasn’t quite ready to give them up.” 

“You fucking dick! You piece of sh..” Your own body cut you off with a wretched sob that had firm, but soft hands wrapping around your arm. 

“Shh.” A gentle breath hit your ear as the hand turned to an arm, wrapping around you. “Come on dear, let’s get you out of here.” Russ moved to get up as you finally looked at the women at your side. Her hard stare was enough to send him back on his butt. “You better sit your ass down and don’t move.” She turned you, grabbing your bag on the way to the door. 

“Here hun.” Another soft voice said, as a phone was placed gently in your hand. “Enter your address, I’m paying for your Lyft home.” It was the hostess who had taken you to your table. Her face saying she heard everything. 

There was only one place you could think of to go, and it wasn’t home. With shaky hands you typed in the address, thanking the hostess. Then waited, still in the arms of the nice women who had come to your rescue.

“Thank you.” You whispered, eyes finally drying enough. 

She tisked. “No need dear. I couldn’t let him talk to you like that. Howard, my husband, is making sure he doesn’t come out here while you’re still here. I’m Wanda by the way.” She reached in her pocket, pulling out a business card. “My husband and I are realtors. If you need anything. This number is my cell.”

You nodded, spilling the card in your purse as a car pulled up. 

“Lyft for Y/N?” The female called through the window. 

“That’s me.” You turned to Wanda, “thank you again, really. I. I don’t know what could have happened if you hadn’t stepped in.” 

“I’ve got girls of my own and a son too. I couldn’t sit back and watch it go on. You go home and get some rest.” She opened the door and you climbed in, thankful for the quiet of the car. 

The ride wasn’t long, but it felt like forever. Your mind was reliving the past 30 minutes over and over. Your jaw was hurting from trying not to cry in a strangers car. It was taking everything in you not to lose it, but the moment Ben opened the door you collapsed. 

“Fuck.” He gasped, reaching for you before you were all the way down. “Y/N? Y/N what happened?” He was pulling you inside as you shook with sobs, clinging to him as if he might disappear. 

“Shit.” You heard him whisper as he wrapped an arm around you, using the other to lift you. “Y/N. Talk to me what’s going on?” 

You still couldn’t speak, just sobbed more and pressed your face into his shoulder as he carried you to the living room, keeping you in his lap as he sat. 

And he let you cry. Gently rocking side to side, a hand softly rubbing your back as the other kept you against him. His breath was warm as he shushed you. His lips occasionally pressing against the crown of your head. 

“Russ broke up with me.” You finally whispered against his chest, hiccups causing your body to jump. His entire body froze as you kept talking. “He’d...he was cheating on me. Has been for..for a while. Then, said the only reason he stayed with me was for the sex.” Another hiccup had you gasping for a moment. “Everyone in the restaurant heard him….I think I’m going to be sick.” 

You jumped out of his lap, running to the bathroom under the stairs and dry heaved. The tears started again, as nothing came up, but Ben’s general fingers were pulling your hair back just in time. 

“It’s okay. It’ll all be okay.” His voice was general as he stood there. Then once you were flopped on the floor, he handed you a glass of water. 

“Why me, what did I do? Why wasn’t I good enough?” You sniffed. How many tears could someone cry? “I’m sorry.” 

“No. There’s no need to be sorry. Here.” He extended his hand. “Let’s go upstairs and get you cleaned up.” 

The only sound in the house were your hiccups and both your feet walking up the steps. He led you to his bathroom, handing you a toothbrush. As you brushed your teeth he went back to his room, returning with one of his hoodies and shorts. 

Your face was a mess, and you almost started crying again looking at how different you looked now compared to just two or so hours earlier. Eyeliner and mascara streaked your face, eyeshadow was smeared everywhere, and your hair was all over the place. Not to mention how red and swollen your eyes were. 

“Up.” Ben said, patting the space beside the sink and pulling out some makeup wipes. “I want you to know something.” His voice was a whisper as he gently started removing your makeup. “You are so strong and amazing, Y/N. I know it hurts now, but I promise it’ll get better. And I’ll be here through it all with you.” He placed a soft kiss on your now clean forehead. “You are beautiful, and smart, and funny. Russ is a moron for what he did.” He finished with your eyes and pushed your chin up to look at him. “But that’s his fault. He’s the dumbass who fucked up. Not you. It’s not your fault. Okay?”

Tears were threatening to fall again as you pinched your lips and nodded. As you looked away you saw the mess on his shoulder from your makeup. “Oh. I’m s-“ 

He put a finger to your mouth. “It’s a shirt. It’ll wash out. Please, Y/N, stop apologizing.” 

The two of you were silent as he finished wiping your face. Then he gently brushed out your hair, braiding it behind you. 

He stepped away, letting you get off the sink. “Alright. You, bed. I’m going to go make you some tea.” 

You just nodded, exhaustion weighing every movement down as you buried yourself in his bed. 

Ben's bed was always one you preferred over your own. It was the perfect amount of softness and firmness. His duvet was light as a cloud but still warm. And his sheets always smelled like him. 

“Y/N?” 

You grunted in response, moving the blanket down. 

“Tea, love.” Carefully he joined you, passing you the tea once you were sitting up comfortably. “It’ll help with your stomach.” 

Ben turned the tv on to a movie you'd each seen a few times as you sipped the tea that was made just how you liked it.  

“I’m sorry I’m such a mess.” You whispered to your empty tea cup. There were so many thoughts swimming in your head, yet you felt empty. Drained physically and emotionally. 

Ben took the cup and sat it on the nightstand before gently placing both hands on your face. His green eyes unyielding at his seriousness. Yet his voice was just as gentle as it was all night. “Please stop apologizing. I’m serious. There is nothing you need to tell me sorry for.” His thumb swiped at a tear as you nodded. “Your feelings are valid. You have every right to be upset and to show how upset you are. And I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here through all the tears and for anything you need.” 

Your body relaxed, his hands the only thing holding you up. After another nod from you, he pressed his lips against your head, holding them there for a bit before pulling you to lay with him. 

The gentleness of his hand rubbing your back, and the rhythm of his heart beat relaxed you more. And you knew, even if it was just for tonight, that you were safe and that he was right, even if it’s not okay right now it will be. That was the last thought you had as you drifted off to sleep, thankful to forget the events of the day even if only for a few hours. Knowing Ben would be there when you woke up to keep you grounded. Just has he always had been.