#but I’m too tired for now so it’s just a soft sketchy thing

[timethehobo]

Just needed something soft. Need post-romance companions to look at Rook all lovey.

[chezzywezzy]

Yandere Miranda Vanderbilt (3/3)

Word count ; 3.1k

I leaned against the building wall, rather peeved by the booming music from inside the gymnasium that was audible even outside. I was loitering by the entrance, waiting, just waiting, for my date to show. I was trying to be lax, since knowing Damien ,he’d think being late OR skipping would be badass. But, an hour had already passed, and there were no text messages from him whatsoever.

Sitting on the back-burner of my mind, I was keenly aware of how Miranda didn’t have a date. She denied every monster who asked and remained sure on her decision. She seemed so confident in her stature though, and I could only strive to be her. After all, she went the route of being a strong, independent woman who didn’t need a date for the first time ever.

I was starting to doze off, too bothered by the constant opuses who filed into the gym to stay awake. But, just as I decided to do so, I heard the soft padding of footsteps coming toward me. Blinking out of surprise, I realized that Miranda was striding in my direction. In her grasp was a bouquet of water Lillies, which complimented her gown and heels. I returned her soft smile, and for some reason, my heart began to accelerate.

She froze, her gaze completely trained on me. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through her head.

“You’re still waiting for him,” she started.

I heaved out a shrug and a sigh. “I don’t like to assume things, but this is pretty sketchy. Sure is an asshole for trying to pull a prank like this.”

Miranda’s smile widened. “Well… That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

I pushed myself off the wall and stared down at her curiously.

A dark pink glow washed over her expression and she bit her lip. Squeaking quietly, she thrust the bouquet into my chest, squinting her eyes shut. “I - I wanted you to have these! I ordered them in advance because I knew that peasant would do something like this.”

I grabbed the bouquet carefully, playing with the petals. I dropped my arms to my side, returning my attention to the princess. “Thanks, Miri. That’s so thoughtful of you. I really appreciate it. But… I have a feeling there’s something else you want.”

She beamed at me, giggling. “You know me too well, Y/n! That’s exactly right. I wanted to royally declare you as my date to the prom.”

My cheeks lit on fire, a habit I picked up from Damien. When they finally extinguished, I couldn’t help but be inclined to answer yes. My date has bailed, and Miranda… well, she was cute. I just never knew she swung that way. I couldn’t help but overthink. Was this platonic or romantic?

“I - I’m flattered, Miri,” I started gently, adorning an inextinguishable smile. “Are you sure you want lil ol’ me as your date?”

Miranda nodded eagerly. “Of course! There’s nobody else I’d want to go with. Nobody else is worthy enough to take me, Miranda Vanderbilt the third, to prom!”

I chuckled and replied,” I’d love to, babes. Nothing would make me happier than to be your royal date to prom.”

Miranda squealed loudly, pouncing at me. Her arms wrapped around my neck, and I fell back against the wall. Laughing, I reciprocated the hug, not caring that the bouquet tumbled to the ground. I rubbed her lower back affectionately. Miranda and I had always been loving with each other, but this time, it felt different. I could tell from how my heart was racing.

We remained in each other’s hold for what seemed like forever, but I didn’t grow tired of it. I loved how her soft hair caressed my neck, and the feeling of her exhilarated gils brushing against my skin was perfect. Had I always felt this way about the adorable mermaid?

She pulled away, a dangerous, mischievous glint present in her kawaii eyes. “Can we go in now? It’s been too long since I’ve watched the contenders for prom queen… And I can’t slaughter them if I can’t decide which death is suitable for them!”

I pursed my lips. “It’s prom, not a ball! Hell, I’ll help you out with that, but let’s just go at it, ya know? No reason why they can’t just… die.”

Miranda giggled and held my hand, intertwining our fingers. “Is that so? Oh - ! We must have our picture taken before we go in! Daddy hired professional photographers.”

We went over to the gazebo, where a camera was set up. The photographer waved us up to the podium. Miranda was a perfectionist, so she critiqued every pose I did. I finally settled on just standing beside her with our arms interlocked, both of us smiling toward the camera.

Flash!

I gasped as I felt warm lips press to my cheek. I was in awe after the photo, pressing my hand to my cheek. Miranda didn’t react, skipping over to the camera to see how what the picture looked like. I was frozen in shock, and probably bet red.

I was shaken out of it as Miranda waved me over. Towering behind her, I saw that the picture looked nice. Miranda had stood on her tippy toes to press a kiss to my cheek, creating a cute, romantic picture.

I liked it.

“Perfect! Just perfect! I want thirty-seven copies plus frames please, one for each guest room,” Miranda demanded.

“Oh, uh, I’ll relay the message,” the photographer replied, knowing better than to argue with royalty on how silly her request was.

I was flattered, though. She loved me so much that this night meant the world to her. I hoped she knew that the notion was reciprocated. I felt… bad for drawing my attention away from her when she clearly does her best in Miranda-fashion.

“Hey, let’s head inside, yeah?” I requested, placing my hand on her shoulder.

Miranda squealed. “Yes! Do you think it would be more romantic to dance before or after corpses litter the dance floor?”

I sighed exasperatedly. “Babes, let’s just see first. No need to overthink, darling.”

Miranda pursed her lips coyly and let me lead her into the gymnasium. I was shocked by the transformation; lights were dangling from the ceiling, there was a rotating disco ball, and the walls were lined with beverage and food tables. Monsters were jiving to the bops, playing from booming stereos. And at the end, was the stage and a throne.

Miranda stomped her foot from beside me. “There’s too many people! I want them gone, gone, gone!” She huffed and her eyes began glazing over the room. A dangerous glint became obvious as she paused. “There. That group of girls… They’re the contenders. How insulting that they thought they could beat me!”

I chuckled. “How ‘bout death by explosions? Everybody loves a good show.”

Miranda scowled. “No, no, no! We still need to be classy… simply beheading them will do. But since you prefer ‘flashy’, I’ll do it myself. Nothing like some organs and blood to really make me glow!”

I didn’t even get a chance to comment as Miranda withdrew a sword from the space-time continuum and shoved her way through the crowd. Monsters began muttering and making way. I trailed behind her loyally, eager to see the show. All the contenders turned and stared at her.

One of them opened their mouths to speak, but just like that -

Slice!

Her head was gone, flying across the room, causing blood to rain. People started screaming and running out of the room, but Miranda didn’t stop there. She went for the next student, beheading her. I had to push the headless corpse off me when it went flying my way.

My suit was completely drenched as Miranda continued her reign of terror. And Miranda had bone fragments stuck in her hair. I couldn’t help but derive a sadistic pleasure from the scene. Puddles were pooling at my feet, and I jumped a bit, causing a splash.

Miranda froze, realizing that the gymnasium was almost empty and we were accompanied only by the corpses of her competitors. She slowly turned to me, and I adored her expression. Completely innocent and pure, as though she hadn’t just slaughtered several classmates. She sauntered over to me.

I stared down at her, a small smile stretching across my face. “Two birds, one stone. We have the whole place to ourselves and you’re the one and only prom queen.”

Miranda beamed. God, this girl was crazy and I loved it. “Y/n… thank you for always being here for me,” she meekly stated.

I pet her hair. “You don’t need to.You’re always gonna be my best friend.” We maintained eye contact for a long time. I couldn’t tell if our faces were inching toward each other, but I broke out of the trance. “You should fetch your crown now.”

Miranda nodded gleefully. “Oh, yes!”

She grabbed my arm and took me with her as we went toward the stage. She abandoned me there and marched toward the back. I heard several crashes and glass shatters, and then silence. And then, she emerged.

A quaint tiara was on her head, and in her hand she held a crown. She he’d a quietly confident smile, her kawaii eyes sparkling. She sauntered right over to the thrown as though it was made just for her. I was surprised at how relaxed her posture was. She slouched. In the seat and threw her legs to the side, kicking them in euphoria. Her gaze was permanently glued to my form.

“Y/n,” she called,” come take your crown! You are my date, after all.”

I approached her and gratefully took the accessory from her manicured hand. Our fingers ghosted over each other. I carefully placed the crown on my head.

It was a bit too large, and it was lopsided, but Miranda didn’t seem to mind. She only giggled and returned to silence. She watched the room, insanity pooling in her orbs. The silence lasted forever, but it wasn’t tense or awkward.

“I love this,” Miranda finally proclaimed. “Just you and me at prom. Sit.”

She stood up and patted at the throne. I obediently did so, allowing her to sit on me. She pulled herself against my chest, her body flush against mine. Her slender arms wrapped around my neck and played with my hair. Her legs occasionally kicked excitedly. She kept examining my face closely, her gaze finally resting on mine.

A blush sprung to her pink cheeks and she cast her fixed look away. My reaction mimicked her’s, but I didn’t look away. I waited for her to compose herself. Miranda was especially cute when she was flusters, although I never had a second thought on why she became flustered… Did she swing this way?

“Y/n,” she breathed.

“Yeah, Miri?”

Her face scrunched up, and in a flurry, she announced,” I want you to marry me!”

I was stock frozen. Marriage? Marriage? Did I mishear her? “Wh - what? Are you serious, Miri? I love you too, but do you mean in a - a romantic —“

“Of course I’m romantically interested! I’m courting you silly!” she huffed, scrunching hr fists together.

“But marriage? Is this your way of confessing your love?” I continued, absolutely flabbergasted.

“Stupid! Of course it is! Don’t you want to marry me?” Her mood deflated, and she appeared to be rather nervous.

Marriage. Right out of high school. To my best friend. Who, apparently, wanted to be more than friends.

Fuck it. Life’s for the living, right?

“Hell yeah. Fuck it. Let’s get married, Miri. I’m down.”

She broke out in a squeal, hugging me close. I laughed, and decided to stand up, taking her with me. I was carrying her bridal style and swayed a bit to commemorate the event. She buried her face in the crook of my neck, and I felt her peppering kisses.

Celebrate now, be realistic later. That’s how we rolled. Just me and Miranda.

She hopped out of my hold and stared up at me. She clapped both of my hands in a caring but strangling hold, not that I minded. She had her adorable smile as always, and her eyes glittered in contrast the dazzling disco ball.

“We must get married right away! Oh, but it must be grand, and we should invite all of the royal families,” she gushed.

I chuckled. “Sure, Miri, whatever you want.”

She pressed a quick kiss to my lips, causing me to flush drastically. Man, it’s crazy how much things could change in the matter of mere hours.

[unloved-cadillac]

May I request a scenario where Levi & y/n are sleeping together. At a dinner someone asks Levi about his love life & he mentions he’s in a relationship. Y/n thinks he’s talking about someone else, so when they’re in private she decides to end whatever is going on between them bc she doesn’t want Levi to cheat. So Levi has to spell it out that he was talking about her. (:

C/n: I like this. I like it a lot. Thanks for requesting and I hope that you enjoy🤍

—————————————————————————���

A Secret Love. (Levi x Reader)

Soft lips pampered your neck with kisses as you straddled Levi’s lap. Your hands scratched his undercut, softly moaning at the feeling of his lips, and he moved away from your collarbone to view his artwork.

“You need to buy me more concealer if you’re gonna keep on doing that.” You chuckle and he looks at you. Your flushed cheeks and soft pants made him want to have you then and there. But he had a meeting in a few minutes and he called you in his office for a few seconds of shenanigans.

“Who said I want you to cover it up?” He shoots you a smirk and you roll your eyes. You plant a kiss on his lips and get up from his lap. You go to a mirror and fix your shirt before looking back at him. “Your meeting starts in five. I suggest you go before it starts.” You say and he gets up. “See you later?” He asks before he leaves and you nod.

You would think that you and him were together but that was so not the case. Levi and you had a strict contract about your relationship being only sex. The whole arrangement was just about relieving stress from the corporate business and trying to find some release. At first, everything was fine. Levi would call you to his apartment, spend a few hours there and you would leave. Then you started to stay over. And that turned into just hanging out.

Being his secretary, you always knew where he was and what he was doing. So if he called you into his office, 9 times out of ten, it’s for a quickie. That was it.

Until you started to catch feelings for him.

Each kiss he gave you made your heart jump and the way his hands roamed your body with more sincerity made you fall for him. He genuinely cared about pleasing you, something you weren’t accustom to since most of the jerks you dated last three thrusts and pulled out leaving you unsatisfied and annoyed.

You sat by your desk as Levi went for his meeting, waiting for him to come back. The day was slow and the only thing that he had planned was this big meeting.

Two hours later, Levi comes back to his office with his colleague, Erwin. Erwin was Levi’s childhood friend and now that he was in a similar business position as Levi, they started to see each other at meetings.

“Ms L/n. How lovely to see you again.” Erwin greets and shakes your hand. “Mr Smith. Likewise.” You smile and glance at Levi. “Say, tomorrow night there’s going to be a dinner with many business people. I’m going, Levi’s going and I will love it if you joined.” Erwin says with a smile and you look at Levi. As much as you two had a secret “affair”, he was still your boss. “Uh, I’m going to have to check with my boss first.” You chuckle and Erwin looks at Levi. “Oh, Levi isn’t going to be a pain and not let you come. It’s at the Rose House Restaurant down on Main Street.”

Your eyes widen at the name of it. That was one of the biggest, most expensive restaurants in the city. You would have to book a reservation at least four months prior.

Erwin laughs at your reaction. “I’ll be looking forward to seeing you there, Y/n. See you, Levi.” He waves at Levi. “Later, Eyebrows.” Erwin disappears into the elevator and as soon as it descends you feel lips on your neck and arms around your waist. “If you wanted to go that shitty restaurant, you could���ve just asked.” He mumbles and you giggle. You turn in his arms and he lifts you onto your desk, settling in between your legs. “Do you want to go? Honestly I’m contemplating on going but if you want to, we’ll go.” He whispers and you nod. “If it’s not a problem?” He scoffs and kisses you as his hands start to roam. “You’ll never be a problem.” See, it was things like that that made you fall hopelessly in love with him. It sucked because you knew it wasn’t true.

~~~~

The next night, you checked your dress and make up for the umpteenth time and finally decided that you were ready. A simple long black dress with a slit up until your upper thigh with thin straps that crossed against your back made you look like a million bucks.

Your phone dinged and you saw that Levi was outside. You quickly grabbed your purse, checked your lipstick and left the apartment. You walked down the stairs and Levi’s eyes widened. You saw the change in his demeanor and you bit your lip as you twirled around, making him see everything. “What do you think? Not bad for a last minute.” You chuckle and he presses his lips against your hand, like a prince.

“You..look beautiful, Y/n.” He whispers and you don’t know if it’s the car lights or your imagination, but you thought Levi was blushing. You smiled and he opened the door for you and you jumped in. Levi sat in the drivers seat and buckled up. He started the car and a few moments later, laid a hand on your thigh.

It made your heart skip.

~~~~

The restaurant was as beautiful as you imagined. Maybe even better. Levi caught sight of the table and escorted you to it.

“Levi! You made it! Oh, Y/n. Looking amazing.” Hange exclaimed and you laughed. You weren’t expecting to see her here. “Hange?!” You say and she hugs you. “Surprised? Got back yesterday and decided to spend the day with my husband. Moblit says hi by the way.” You let go of Levi’s arm and sit next to her as Levi sat next to Erwin and his father. There were many other business men and woman there and although you were nervous, they were all lovely to talk to and Hange made you loosen up.

The night progressed from business talk to family to relationships. A very sketchy topic for you since you didn’t like to talk about it. There was one woman who was by Levi the whole night and you really tried not to be jealous. He wasn’t yours. So why did you feel the angry, green dragon of jealousy wash over you?

“Damn if I had you on my arm, I’ll never complain about anything ever again.” The woman slurs as she sipped her wine. Levi’s buttons were undone and everyone was relatively drunk so you were waiting for Levi to say “yeah. So let’s get outta here.” or something. Instead, something worse was said.

“Too bad I’m in a relationship.” He says and drinks the rest of his whiskey. Erwin, Hange and Erwin’s father snapped to him. “What?! With who?! Why didn’t you tell us?!” Erwin and Hange ask him and Erwin’s father pats him on his shoulder.

“What’s she like?” Hange asks and Levi groans. “As if I’d tell you.” His eyes glance to you. “Come on Levi! Tell us one thing, at least.”

Levi puts his glass down and clears his throat. “She’s beautiful. Witty and clever. She puts up with my shit and she’s special. Very special.” He says and Erwin smiles. You put your head down, staring at the liquid in your glass as if it held all the answers to the universe.

Levi was in a relationship? And he didn’t tell you? That means, this entire time, he was cheating. The thought made you sick to your stomach because as much as you loved Levi, you respected his unknown girlfriend as well and she didn’t deserve to know that her boyfriend had been banging his secretary for the past months.

“She sounds great, son.” Erwin’s father say and he nods. “She is.” She must really have made a special mark on his heart if he’s talking so much about her. You bite your lip trying to not cry. It hurt. It hurt like someone has stabbed your a thousand time and then proceeded to rip your heart out.

When it was time to leave, you kissed Hange and Erwin goodbye as waved goodbye to all of the people. Levi draped his coat over your shoulders and you froze. “Can only imagine how cold you must be.” He says and you nod. Weird. You always joked about everything and was so carefree so what was the change?

You and Levi walked to his car and before he could open the door for you, you opened it for yourself and sat inside. Levi pulled his eyebrows in, confused at your actions but he didn’t say anything. Rather he just went into the car and drove you home.

The entire ride home, you didn’t utter a single word. Not about the restaurant, not about the food, hell not even about him. Your mind was just trying to find a way to break this off in the calmest way possible.

When Levi parked outside your apartment, he turned the car off and looked at you. “You’ve been quiet all night, what’s wrong?” He asks and you breath in a big breath. “I think...we need to stop whatever this is.” You motion between the two of you and Levi’s heart stops. “What? Why?”

“Levi,” you look at him, dejected and tired, “you’re in a relationship and you didn’t tell me. It’s one thing to be doing this but she doesn’t deserve to be cheated on. She sounds like a great girl, by the way. I hope you and her have a good life together.”

Before he could even get a word in, you take off his jacket and jump out the car. You walked up three steps before your arm was caught by a hand, turning you. You almost fell but Levi caught you. “You really are an idiot.” He whispers and you pull away from his shoulder.

“What?”

“I said that you’re an idiot. How can you say that you’re such a great girl and then leave without me agreeing with you?”

Your lips part and before you could say “what?” Levi pulls you in for a kiss. “It’s you, dummy. I was talking about you,” he murmurs against your lips, “you’re witty and clever. You’re the one who can piss me off and turn me on at the same time. You’re the one who can put up with my shit. You’re the one, Y/n.”

You look deep into his gunmetal eyes, flabbergasted and touched. “Wh-Why didn’t you say anything back at the restaurant then?” Levi scoffs.

“I wasn’t going to officially ask you to be mine in front of a bunch of unknown people. What if you rejected me?” He jokes and you kiss him. Again and again.

“Never. I’ll never reject you.” You softly say as he hums against your lips. “Be mine, Y/n.” “I was already yours.”

You stay enveloped in his arms for a while but then he lifts you up and carries you bridal style to your apartment.

“Now can I show you what you being in that dress did to me the whole night?”

——————————————————————————

“It’s only you who loves me like you do.”

🖤🤍Thanks for reading����🖤

-Caddy.

[ppangjae]

THE STORY UNTOLD | Jaehyun

SEVEN LETTERS | THE STORY UNTOLD

SUMMARY. Jaehyun finds himself catching feelings for you, his best friend. But the problem is that he’s in a relationship with someone else. In hopes of receiving a sign, the last sign he expects to receive is a letter. A letter from his future self. 

GENRE. soulmate!au | childhood friends to lovers!au | fluff | angst

WORD COUNT. 6.6k+ words

author’s note. BEFORE you read this, i strongly suggest you read Seven Letters. this is a sequel to that fic. if you haven’t read Seven Letters, you’re probably going to get really confused when you read this sequel. also, i just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who read Seven Letters. the amount of feedback i got is just so overwhelming and i never expected things to turn out like this omg. happy reading!

—Future

This is impossible.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

Johnny frowns. “Like that.”

Jaehyun lets out a scoff. Johnny lets out a soft snort, shaking his head at his best friend who’s sitting across from his desk. Johnny adjusts his glasses before clasping his hands on the table. “Do you not believe me or something?”

“This feels stupid. No, this is stupid.” Jaehyun mutters, gesturing at the blank piece of paper on the desk. “You want me to write a letter to my past self? About what?”

“You do know that I charge my patients an extra fifty bucks for every half hour past their scheduled appointment time.” Johnny reminds me. “If I were you, save your fifty bucks and start writing your letter.”

“Stop lying, you don’t do that.” Jaehyun scoffs again. “What is a stupid letter to my past self gonna do? Change my future?”

Johnny points at him. “Bingo.”

“And you expect me to believe you?”

“Why don’t you just try it? Besides, if it doesn’t change your future, at least you did yourself some self-counselling. Closure. Don’t you want closure?” Johnny folds his arms. He has a point. “As your best friend, I care about you. But I’m tired of having you come here for counselling sessions.”

“You’re not helping—”

“Just give a try! God, you make me want to pull my hair off my scalp and I’m already losing hair from all the stress you’ve been giving me since your divorce.”

—Present

“Jaehyun, you have mail!”

His mother is waving an envelope in the air just as he steps out on the front porch. He squints his eyes at the envelope with suspicion. “Who sends letters these days? We live in a world where technology is evolving—”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just take your mail, Jaehyun.” His mother disregards his ramble by placing the envelope into his hands. “Your father wants us to make a trip to the grocery store. Do you want us to get you something?”

“I’m good,” he replies. He’s too busy staring at the familiar handwriting on the envelope. The strong familiarity bothers him. 

As his parents are hopping into the car and pulling out of the parkway, Jaehyun’s heading back inside of the house. He’s gently closing the door shut before making a beeline for the kitchen. He pulls out the kitchen scissors and cuts the envelope open.

“Why is this letter so thick?” He thinks aloud, pulling out a 10-page letter. “If this letter isn’t life changing and if I waste my time reading a thick ass letter, I might just combust—”

He stops mid-sentence when he finally realizes it. It’s his handwriting. He’s confused. Why would he send himself a letter? In fact, why would he send himself a 10-page letter when he can literally just type it all out in an email instead? He tilts his head in confusion. He decides to start reading it. 

To Jaehyun,

Don’t be alarmed. You recognize the handwriting, right? It’s because it is your handwriting. 

I am you from the future. 

You’re probably wondering how and why you’re getting this letter. Trust me, I’m not even sure if you’ll get this letter. But if you do, then damn, what the flipping fuck? 

Read this letter carefully because it will be a lot to take in. 

He lets out a laugh. Is he going crazy? Him from the future? Sending him a handwritten letter? For what? What kind of sick joke is this and who is pulling it? Who is the culprit? Oh right, it’s him from the future. 

I made the biggest mistake and I need you to fix it. 

Do you remember Y/N, your childhood best friend? Y/N is your soulmate. You are destined to be with her. As I write this letter to you, I have lost almost all forms of communication with Y/N. 

I made the biggest mistake of falling in love with someone else. I fell in love with someone who I am not destined to be with. I married this person and have been married to her for three years. We had just filed for a divorce a month ago. 

His eyebrows knit together in confusion. His future self must have fucked up that bad that he resorted into writing a letter to his past self. But why? 

I don’t want you to experience what I went through, past Jaehyun. I don’t want you to lose Y/N. I’m sure you don’t want to lose Y/N either. Y/N is everything you could ever want. 

He’s almost done reading the first page of the letter before carelessly shoving the letter back into its envelope. He’s rushing out the door with his car keys. He’s literally running out the door in nothing but a pair of sweats, a hoodie, and his infamous pink house slippers. There’s only one thing on his mind right now.

Here are three things I need you to remember:

The moment you realize you’re in love with Y/N, you must tell her before it’s too late. 

Y/N will be moving out when you get this letter. Y/N will be moving into another city and won’t tell you. 

Y/N’s going to board the train at 4pm. You must get to her before then if you plan on confessing to her. 

It’s funny how all it takes is one sketchy letter from what claims to be his future self to make him realize the truth; he’s in love with you.

Those feelings you have for Y/N? Yes, they are true and sincere. Y/N has been in love with you for the longest time. It was my biggest mistake of thinking it was a joke and letting her become the one that got away. 

—Future

Jaehyun puts his pen down onto the table and picks up his cup of coffee. He can already imagine his past self cussing him out for making the letter too long. But he made sure that he stated the most important points on the first page of the letter. 

There are many things that he regrets doing. He hopes that his past self will make things right.

“Where are you, Y/N?” He thinks out loud as he looks out the window. 

It’s the first snowfall of the winter season. There are couples scattered down the sidewalks, enjoying and taking advantage of this romantic day. He can’t help but remember the first snowfall that changed the way he saw you. He remembers it like it was just yesterday.

He picks up his pen and continues to write his letter.

If you get to Y/N on time, tell her that you love her. I wish I told her.

I regret not telling her.

You’re probably wondering why the fuck is this letter so long? But trust the process. I’ll tell you all of the things I regret doing in this letter because it’s the only way to give myself closure. 

I caught feelings for Y/N on the night of Christmas Eve. In fact, I was probably already in love with her before that. But on the night of Christmas Eve, that’s when I realized that I was in love with her and that she wasn’t just a best friend.

He sucks in a deep breath and places the pen back down onto the table. He shuts his eyes and remembers that night.

“Y/N!” 

You’re standing right in front of him, snowflakes slowly falling from the sky and landing on the top of your head. He feels warm with his thick scarf wrapped around his neck, but your presence makes him feel much more warmer; like home.

“Jaehyun!” 

You finally spot him when you hear his voice. He feels overjoyed. He feels like he’s floating among the stars that scatter across the sky. This is the first time he’s felt this way in weeks. Heck, probably months.

He stops to look up at the sky. “It’s snowing!”

“The first snowfall of the season.” You add, letting out a soft giggle. “Long time no see, dork.”

He remembers looking at you in awe. Your hair had grown longer and you had matured. The snowflakes that fall from the sky make you stand out more. You’re smiling at him so wide that your eyes form into beautiful crescents. He remembers feeling his heart stop. He remembers wondering why he always felt this way whenever he was with you.

“Do you know what the first snowfall of the season means?”

“First snowfall means first love. It also means that the person you’re with on the first snowfall of the season will be the love of your life.”

“Do you believe in it?” You let out a lighthearted chuckle. “If you do, then that means I’m the love of your life.”

“Why? Are you in love with me or something?” He chuckles as he makes the joke.

He swore he saw your smile falter. He swore he saw you look taken aback. He swore he saw you look serious for a split second before mustering up a fake smile and saying—

“Me? In love with you? No, you’re my best friend!” 

“You’re joking. Stop joking around, Y/N. Are you in love with me?” He asks for reassurance.

You shake your head. He swore he felt his heart shatter. He swore he felt disappointed. He swore he felt heartbroken hearing you tell him that you weren’t in love with him.

Because he’s in love with you.

He’s caught feelings for you.

“I see you as my best friend, Jaehyun. Nothing more and nothing less.”

But who would’ve thought that it would be a lie?

—Present

He hopes he’s not too late. He hopes he’s not too late. He hopes he’s not too late—

If you get to Y/N on time, tell her that you love her. I wish I told her.

I regret not telling her.

Don’t be a hopeless fool like me.

You’ll regret it. Ever since I married someone else, all I’ve ever done was reminisce and regret.

I hope you get to her on time. You must get to her on time. Or else you’ll be a little too late… again.

She’ll be waiting. In fact, all she’s done was wait for the perfect time and moment.

“Y/N!”

He spots you sitting on the waiting bench. You’re holding what seems like a letter. You’re shoving the letter into your pocket. He starts jogging up to you after running across the entire parking lot. He even bought himself a train ticket just to get inside the station to find you. 

And he’s glad he did.

“Jaehyun?”

He’s rushing over to you. He watches you stand up to greet him until he crashes you into a tight embrace. He shifts all of his weight on you as you stand there, completely caught off guard. “Jaehyun, what are you doing here?”

He pulls away from the hug. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? What are you doing here?”

You look up at him with a confused look. “I—I got hired at a company out of town. I moved out. I’m moving into an apartment in another city—”

The letter from his future self was right. You’re moving out of town for your job. You’re moving out and you didn’t tell him. The letter was right. What kind of magic is this? 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He frowns.

“I figured it would be best not to tell you because I knew that you would hold me back. And if you held me back, I don’t think I’d ever move out.”

“But you should’ve told me. I came over to take you out for lunch only to find out that you’re moving out of town and into a new city. Do you know how sad I felt?”

“I’m sorry—”

“And then I started wondering why you didn’t tell me about this. I started to wonder if I did something wrong. I couldn’t think straight. I drove all the way here in hopes that I don’t miss you and that I catch you right before you ride.” He finds himself rambling. “If I didn’t catch you on time, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

“Jaehyun—”

Before you go to the train station, I want you to break up with Yeona— “I broke up with Yeona.”

Y/N will probably get mad at you for it. “What?! Why would you do that?!”

He looks at you for a brief moment. You are mad. A laugh of disbelief threatens to escape his lips. 

“Why did you break up with her? She’s in love with you, Jaehyun! You’re supposed to propose to her—”

Tell her that you’re in love with her. Because you are. I was a stupid fool for not believing that my feelings for her were true and real. Don’t be like me. 

“Because I’m in love with you.”

“Huh?”

“I’m in love with you.” He lets out a nervous laugh as he repeats it for you.

When you tell her that you’re in love with her, it’ll be the most simplest thing to do. When it comes out of your mouth, it will sound right. It will sound like you’re meant to tell her that you’re in love with her, because you are.

“You’re in love with me?”

His future self is right. He’s completely surprised at how perfect and easy it felt to tell you his feelings for you. It was like he was destined to tell you. Loving you sure is easy.

“I’m in love with you, stupid.”

You blink up at him. “Jaehyun, you’re not making any sense right now. It was just weeks ago when you asked me if I should ask Yeona to marry you. It was just weeks ago when you told me that you missed her a lot. It was just weeks ago when you thought my confession was a joke—”

I want you to tell her that you’ve been in love with her since the night of Christmas Eve.

“On Christmas Eve, I picked you up. Yeona and I were going through a rough time in our relationship and I was starting to question if we were meant to be together. I asked and begged for a sign.”

“A sign?”

“The first snowfall. You and I were together on the night of Christmas Eve, where we both witnessed the first snowfall. You asked me if I knew what it meant,” he explains. “I thought ‘Is this the sign I’ve been looking for?’ and then I joked around asking if you were in love with me, not expecting you to say yes. And you did. I couldn’t believe it.”

“Jaehyun—”

“And that summer where you didn’t come up to the cottage. I felt lonely even though I was with Yeona. Things just didn’t feel the same.” He lets out a shaky laugh. “Everything started to remind me of you. I just knew Yeona was annoyed about it. I kept talking about how this and that reminded me of you. It was all starting to make sense.”

“But you still had thoughts about asking her to marry you.” You say and he shakes his head.

If she tries to test you by saying that you were contemplating on proposing to Yeona, I want you to say this— “I asked you for your opinion on it because I couldn’t trust my own decision. I wanted to see if you would say no. A part of me was begging you to say no.” He tells you the truth. He really was hoping you to say no. “But you told me that you love me and that your confession wasn’t a joke. That’s when I knew.”

“So,” you mumble. “You’re in love with me?”

“I confessed my feelings for you three times already.”

“But I want to hear it again—”

“The train is arriving in two minutes. The train is arriving in two minutes.” The speaker announces. The two of you look at each other.”

“I’m in love with you, Y/N.” He confesses again. He can say it as many times as he wants, and it will still feel true and it will still be sincere. “But do you really have to leave me here?”

“I’m in love with you too, Jaehyun.” No matter how many times you’ve already told him that, it always feels like it’s his first time hearing it. He can hear it over and over again and he will still feel like the only man in the entire universe. “And yes, I have to go, Jaehyun. I can’t keep taking the train everyday to work.”

“Can I move in with you, then?”

“Not until you give me a kiss first—”

“How about I marry you instead?”

If you both end up together, which I know you will, 

I will finally get the closure that I needed.

—Future

He looks up from his phone to stare up at a building. He looks back down at his phone to make sure that he’s at the right address. As he confirms the address, he shoves his phone back into his pocket.

“Y/N?”

He spots a familiar figure exiting the building of the company that you work at. The figure is walking away and down the sidewalk. He finds himself following the familiar person, trying to catch up to them. Once he finally does, he taps on their shoulder. They turn around and it’s not you.

“Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else.” He apologizes.

“Oh!” The woman exclaims. “You’re Jeong Jaehyun, right?”

He furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “You know who I am?”

She nods her head. “You’re Y/N’s best friend, right?”

That’s odd. How does she know who he is— “Yes. Do you know her?”

She smiles. “I’m sure you’ve known of me. We were roommates in college. Do you happen to remember that infamous cookie recipe—”

“Holy shit.” That’s all he utters out. “Those cookies are fucking delicious but—how—you guys work together?”

“I see her on the daily and we’re kind of tired of seeing each other. Honestly, we both thought we’d never see each other again after university. But here we are,” she chuckles, extending her hand out. “I’m Sunghwa, by the way.”

He shakes her hand. “Nice meeting you.”

She tilts her head. “Are you looking for her?”

He slowly nods his head. “Well, actually, we left on really bad terms—”

“I know. I kind of hate you for that.” She cuts him off while shrugging her shoulders. “But what can we do, right? Unless you have the power to change the past, there’s not much we can do. But I do believe in fixing things for the future.”

“I’m sorry—”

“Save that for Y/N.” She smiles. “Y/N took two days off from work. She’s probably in her apartment getting some rest. The company had just finished its merge with another company and ever since then, she hasn’t gotten any rest.”

“Do you know where she lives?” He asks.

“I do. I’ll give you her address,” she replies. “But promise me one thing.”

“I’ll do anything—”

“Don’t tell her that I gave you her address. She’ll kill me.”

“You’re already wilting? I just got you yesterday!”

You stare at the vase of roses sitting on your dining table. There are a couple of petals that have fallen off and a few of them have wilted. You frown, taking a few of them, along with the petals, to dry them and add them to your letters.

Sitting on one end of your dining table is your last letter to your past self. You glance at it. Your phone buzzes in your pocket, diverting your thoughts from the letter. “Hello?”

“How are you, honey?” You hear your mother’s soothing voice on the other line. “Have you run out of groceries? Is your fridge full? I hope it is. If anything, your father and I can drop by the grocery store before visiting you on Friday—”

“You don’t need to, mother.” You chuckle. “I just came home from the grocery store. Hey, do you know how to stop flowers from wilting so fast?”

You can hear her frown. “Have the roses wilted already?”

“Yeah, and I just got them yesterday.” You sigh. “It’s okay. I’ll just make another stop by the flower shop to get a new bouquet.”

“Have you been eating your meals?”

You smile. “Yes, mother. In fact, I’m going to be meeting someone tonight.”

“Is it a boy?” 

You snort. “No.”

“Do I know them?”

“I’m meeting Yeona tonight.” You say softly. “We’re going to have dinner at a restaurant that opened up down the road. I’m not sure how it’ll go but—”

“Are you sure you want to go? You don’t have to meet her if you don’t want to.” She cuts you off. 

You purse your lips into a tight line. “I asked her if we could meet. I’m surprised she said yes, to be honest.”

“You know, when your father and I heard the news about their divorce, we weren’t sure how to react.” Your mother begins. “But Jaehyun’s parents didn’t seem to mind. In fact, when we paid them a visit, they seemed more… relieved?”

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion. “Relieved?”

“It was like a weight was lifted off their shoulders.” Your mother explains. “Ever since they got married, there was never a peaceful day between the two.”

You frown. “Ah, I see.”

She notices your sudden quietness. “Are you perhaps… still in love with Jaehyun?”

You let out a lighthearted chuckle. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.”

“You know, you should try to get in touch with Jaehyun, sweetheart. You’re his only best friend. I’m sure whatever tension you have between the two of you would go away the moment you see each other.”

You sigh. “It’s easy to say but hard to do, mother.”

“I know, I understand.” She says softly. “Have you sent out your letters?”

You laugh, looking at your last letter sitting on your dining table.

“I’m actually sending out my last one on my way out.”

—Present

He runs his fingers through your hair as you’re sleeping peacefully next to him. You had a rough day at work and the moment you came home, you knocked out on the bed. Jaehyun took this opportunity to finish reading the letter he received from his future self.

I’m sure you’re wondering what happened between Y/N and I. Now, sit tight because this will be a long one.

On July 31st, I asked Y/N to go to the beach. I asked her because I knew that Yeona would be going to the beach that day. I figured it was a great opportunity to try and make Yeona jealous, and maybe get to know her more. And we did. 

But something felt off.

I remember Y/N asking me if we could go to the town fair instead. The town fair was only open for a week. But I was persistent on going to the beach instead. I wish we went to the town fair instead. 

Ever since I lost contact with Y/N and ever since she moved out of town, she stopped going up to the cottage for the summer. Those summers have been lonely. Whenever I go up to the cottage for the summer, the town fair would immediately remind me of her and how much I regret not taking her to the fair instead. 

Jaehyun’s phone buzzes in his pocket. He looks at his phone to check the new text notification, only to take notice of his phone’s lock screen. It’s a picture he took of you when the both of you rode the Ferris Wheel. 

“Y/N—” 

“Yeah?” He takes a quick candid photo of you.

“Did you just take a picture of me?”

“Yes, I did. I think it’ll be a good picture to use for your Tinder or something. I’ll send it to you.”

“Why, you little—”

“Sent it!”

He looks up from his phone to see you looking down at yours. You’re busy muttering underneath your breath over how he took the worst angle of your face. A smile threatens to form across his lips. He sets it as his lock screen.

On August 14th, Yeona and her parents came over for dinner. I was so in love with Yeona that I decided to tell her the truth. I told her that Y/N and I weren’t dating and it was all just an act. At the time, I was so happy to see the look of relief of Yeona’s face. That night, she confessed to me. She told me that she was in love with me and that she’s glad that Y/N and I weren’t dating.

But believe me when I say this, her confession didn’t feel special. I remember feeling shocked. I remember wondering, is this how I’m supposed to feel when someone reciprocates your feelings? I remember asking myself, shouldn’t I feel happy right now?

But my thoughts were interrupted when Yeona pulled me in for a kiss. I was surprised. I was caught off guard. Y/N suddenly walked out on the porch and saw us kissing. 

That night, I officially asked Yeona out. But on that same night, I remember walking past Y/N’s room to hear her crying.

I felt horrible. I felt bad. 

On Christmas Eve, Y/N’s arrival time was delayed by an hour. I remember being so excited to see her after months of talking to each other through a laptop screen. I remember being so excited that the moment her father announced that Y/N would be arriving late, I insisted on picking her up instead.

I’m glad I did.

Around that time, Yeona and I were going through a tough time in our relationship. It seemed like she was falling out of love with me. She was posting more photos of her and her guy friend on her account. Our video calls were becoming less frequent. Our good morning and good night texts were becoming less frequent. I really thought that this was it, this was the end of it all. 

I was slowly catching feelings for Y/N. I think her absence really got to me. When Yeona and I passed on our usual video calls, I’d call Y/N instead and we’d talk for hours on end. She would even have a midterm the following day but still made the effort to talk to me. I was finding myself texting my usual good morning and good night texts to Y/N instead of Yeona. But now that I think about it, I think I’ve always been in love with Y/N.

I was just too stupid to realize it. 

I asked and begged for a sign. I was too blinded by love and I wanted a sign to tell me that being with Yeona was right. That fighting for our relationship was the right thing to do. That trying to mend our already broken relationship was the right thing to do.

When I picked Y/N up at the train station, it was the first snowfall of the season. We made a couple of jokes about the first snowfall that somehow led to me asking her if she was in love with me. She said she wasn’t in love with me. She continued to joke around.

I wondered, is this the sign I was looking for? I remember thinking, if this was the sign, then it’s pretty disappointing.

Because a part of me was hoping Y/N would say that she was in love with me.

—Future

“You came?”

Yeona came earlier than you. She’s sitting at the booth, greeting you as you take the seat right across from her. This feels awkward, you think to yourself as you take off your coat. Right on time, a waitress comes by your table to give you two glasses of wine.

“I hope I’m not late.” You say with a lighthearted chuckle.

She smiles. “I’m just a bit too early.”

“How are you?” You ask.

She takes a sip of her wine. “I’ve been doing better. How have you been?”

You smile. “Likewise.”

As the both of you are picking dishes to eat from the menu, you can feel her look at you every now and then. You’re not sure why she’s staring at you, but you pay no attention to it. As the waitress collects the menus and your orders, she leaves the two of you to talk.

“When you called me to ask if we could meet, I was quite surprised.” She chuckles. “I figured that I’d be the last person you’d want to see.”

You bite your lip. “To be honest with you, I’m surprised you came. I was sort of expecting you to bail out on me.”

The both of you share a chuckle. She looks out the window. It’s snowing. “Have you seen Jaehyun?”

You shake your head. “I haven’t gotten in touch with him for years. Ever since your wedding, actually.”

She tears her gaze away from the window, specifically from the snowflakes that fall from the sky. She looks at you, surprised. “Why not?”

You shrug your shoulders. “I guess I was just too busy with work. I mean, I still am, but—”

“You should, Y/N.” She places her hand on top of yours. 

You stare at her hand that’s on top of yours. There’s no longer a wedding ring on her fourth finger. It kind of throws you off. “I don’t think he’ll want to see me. I bet you didn’t even want to see me either—”

“When Jaehyun and I got divorced, I felt like I was finally setting him free.” She confesses. “I felt like something or someone was holding him back. I knew it was always you, Y/N.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Yeona. Jaehyun’s not in love with me—”

“First snowfall means first love. It means that the person you’re with on the first snowfall of the season will be the love of your life.” She cuts you off. You look at her with slightly widened eyes. “That’s what Jaehyun told me. He also told me that the first snowfall always reminds him of you.”

“Yeona, I’m not sure what to say.” You say with a breathy laugh.

“You didn’t attend our wedding.” She mumbles. “Jaehyun was looking for you the entire night. Even when reception was over, he was still looking for you. Let me remind you that I was the one he got married to. It felt weird, it felt heartbreaking, because although his bride was standing right beside him, he was still looking and waiting for someone else.”

“I didn’t attend your wedding because—”

“Because you’re in love with him.” She finishes it for you. “Y/N, I’m not stupid. I can see it with my own two eyes. You’re in love with him and he’s in love with you.”

“Shouldn’t you be mad at me?” You ask.

She shakes her head. “I wish I could be mad at you, but I’m not. Our divorce was mutual. We filed a divorce because I knew Jaehyun was in love with you, and he still is. But we also filed a divorce because I was slowly falling out of love with him and falling in love with someone else.”

“But I feel like this was all because of me—”

She smiles. “Don’t feel bad. If there’s someone who should feel bad, it should be me. I’ve been selfishly holding Jaehyun back for so long, for three years, from someone he should be with.”

You wipe away tears that have managed to stream down your cheeks. “I—”

“Can I ask you one favour?”

The waitress arrives with your dishes and places them onto the table. As the waitress leaves the two of you again, she reaches out to hold your hands.

You nod. “Sure.”

“Please get in touch with Jaehyun. I’m sure he’s looking for you.”

—Present

Jaehyun calls it a night, placing the letter back into its envelope before putting it back in a drawer. He turns off the night light and settles in bed, wrapping his arm around your waist. You snuggle closer to his chest, continuing to let out soft snores. Jaehyun smiles, using his other free hand to tuck a few stray strands of hair away from your face.

“Good night, Y/N.”

On August 8th, Y/N and I had a conversation at the bonfire. I wanted to test the waters again for the second time. I was so confused. My mind was in love with Yeona but my heart belonged to Y/N. I asked her if I should propose to Yeona.

She looked at me and asked me if I love her. I said that I love her. But she asked me if I love her with all my heart. It took me a while to answer, but eventually, I said that I love her with all of my heart.

Y/N simply smiled at me with a smile that didn’t look real. 

She said, if I love Yeona with all of my heart, then what was I waiting for?

I remember my heart answering her question with,

I’m waiting for you to stop me.

—Future

“Thanks for the ride, Yeona.”

She smiles. “No worries. Text me when you get home safely!”

And off Yeona goes. You watch her car get smaller and smaller as it grows farther. You let out a happy sigh, stepping inside of your apartment complex. You make a quick stop at the mailbox, placing your last letter to your past self into the slit. As you hop onto the elevator, you find yourself thinking back to your conversation with Yeona. 

Just as you step out of your elevator, you stop in your tracks. 

“Please get in touch with Jaehyun. I’m sure he’s looking for you.”

Sitting right in front of the door to your apartment is Jaehyun. He’s looking down at his phone. The closer you get to him, the more you realize that he’s playing a game on his phone. A smile threatens to spread across your lips.

“Excuse me, sir, but I think you’ve got the wrong apartment.”

Jaehyun recognizes the voice and his head shoots up. At first, he doesn’t recognize your face. You had definitely matured. You look like a grown woman. Your hair is long. He looks up at you in awe until he realizes how stupid he looks. He’s immediately getting up onto his two feet, but you stop him when you take a seat next to him on the carpet floor. 

“Y/N,” he breathes out. “Hi.”

You smile. “Hi.”

“I—Long time no see.” He stutters, scratching the back of his neck.

“How did you get my address?”

“Well, I got it from—”

“You got it from Sunghwa, didn’t you?” You cut him off with squinted eyes. He gulps nervously, nodding his head. You sigh. “God, I’m going to kill her for this.”

The both of you look at each other before bursting out into laughter. 

He bites his lip. “How—How have you been?”

You fold your arms. “I think I should be asking you that, Mr. Just Got Divorced.”

He chuckles. “I’ve been doing better. Actually, I think I’ll do even better now that I’ve seen you.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really.” He sighs. He feels hesitant to ask you a question he’s been dying to ask you. He decides to take a leap of faith. “Have you been seeing someone lately?”

You shake your head. “No. Why? Should I be seeing someone—”

“No.” He cuts you off. You glance at him with a look of suspicion. He feels nervous again. “Well—that’s not what I meant! What I meant was—”

“What are you doing here?” You ask him with a soft voice. You’re looking at him seriously. “Why did you want to see me, Jaehyun?”

“Because there are many things I want to tell you.” He mumbles.

“And what are those things you want to tell me?”

He swears he feels his heart is on fire. He avoids your gaze. “I’m in love with you.”

It feels nice to hear him say it. It’s like time has slowed down and it’s just the two of you in the universe. When you don’t reply, he courageously looks at you to get some sort of answer from your eyes.

You smile. “I know.”

“You know?”

You hum in reply. “I know that you’re in love with me.”

“But are you in love with me?” He whispers. “I mean, it’s fine if you’re not. I just figured that it would be best for me to let you know that I’m in love with you. All I want is closure and a piece of mind knowing that you know that I’m in love with you.”

“You’re rambling agan, Jaehyun.” You chuckle. You look away from him. “What if I’m in love with you?”

“Are you?”

You let out a sigh. “God, I’m so in love with you, Jaehyun. I’m still in love with you.”

“Huh?”

“I’m in love with you.” You repeat yourself.

“You’re in love with me?”

“I’m in love with you, stupid.”

He doesn’t say anything that it makes you start to worry. You look at him, only to find him looking at you. You really want to kiss him. But you’ll probably have to save that for later.

“So,” he mumbles. “You’re in love with me?”

“I told you like three times already in the span of two minutes, Jaehyun.”

“But I want to hear it again—”

“I’m in love with you, Jaehyun.” You repeat it one last time for him. “But do we really have to be sitting on the floor like this in front of my apartment? When we could literally be chilling inside?”

“I’m in love with you too.” He whispers. “And no, we can definitely go inside. If you’re okay with me being in your apartment, of course.”

“Or, you can move in with me. Do you want to move in with me?”

“Not until you give me a kiss first—”

“How about you ask me to marry you instead?”

“Would you say yes, though?”

You laugh.

“Yes.”

“Babe, I’m going to make a quick stop downstairs! I just need to mail something.”

Jaehyun sees you give him two thumbs up. He’s hopping into the elevator to lead him down to the lower floor. He steps out of the apartment and reaches the mailbox. He seals the envelope before placing his letter to his past self through the slit.

He dusts his hands off. “I hope you get there safely.”

—Present

“Babe, have you seen an envelope?”

You step out of the washroom to find Jaehyun rummaging through the drawers. “An envelope? No, why?”

“I swear I placed it in this drawer last night, but now it’s gone.” He frowns, checking all the drawers one last time before sighing with defeat. 

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion. It’s probably his letters, you think to yourself. “I think I might know where it went.”

“Really?” He asks.

You nod. “Yeah, I’ll look for it. You should go take a shower before you run late for work.”

As he steps out of the bedroom to take a shower, you open your closet to pull out a box where you’ve put all of your letters in. You can hear the shower turn on as you close the closet door shut. You take a seat on the bed, opening the box—

“What the fuck?” You blurt out.

You’re pulling out the letters, one by one, but as you take them out, they all start to disappear into thin air. One by one, they start crumbling up into thin dust, disappearing in your fingertips.

And what was once a box filled with letters from your future self is now, empty.

And just like the letters that have disappeared as if they’ve never happened, the future has been successfully rewritten.

author’s note. thank you for reading! i hope you enjoyed this short sequel to seven letters lmao. kjsdhfjkshdf 

[yunhoiseyecandy]

✕ 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞; 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞

✕ 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞; 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭

✕ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠; 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠 ◆ 𝐟.𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

✕ 𝐰/𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭; 𝐧𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧

✕ 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬; 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥- 𝐟.𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐧𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞

[𝐭𝐚𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭]

 happy birthday, @hanatiny !!! a big thanks to @barnesbabee​ for giving me the plot for this story

─────

it was like a constant cycle

he goes to work, deems his workers' articles unworthy of being published, and then drives home late in the night only to be greeted by the emptiness of his home.

and he was starting to lose his mind

he needed a change in his schedule, like an escape from the real world. it’s normal to grow a need to leave a place you’ve grown to get tired from after so long.

the only thing closest to an escape for him would have to be sarah, his assistant at work. but he can’t remember the last time she’s made him feel something. 

it started out as fuck buddies, but hongjoong soon got bored of her. she wasn’t into the things that he was, which made hongjoong confused because she said she liked it rough.

and it’s not like he did anything that she wouldn’t want, he made sure to respect her boundaries. but he was tired of being vanilla, so he opted to do the one thing he never thought he’d do,

sign up as sugar daddy

“mingi, are you sure this is a good idea?” hongjoong said, his thumbs swiping up and down the screen of his phone. they’ve had no luck so far, only finding sketchy accounts that seem to be run by bots. “Yeah, I mean I got olivia from this app.”

“that doesn’t mean shit, dude.” san chuckled, slapping mingi upside the head. online dating is one thing, but finding a sugar baby who only really wants money is another. 

it was hard finding someone who wasn’t only there for money, and he knew it would probably take a while before he found someone, considering money is the only reason they even had an account.

he wanted someone to take care of, to get his mind away from work and only focus on the way she felt wrapped around him, focusing on the sharp gasps for air that left her mouth.

“guys, I think we should just give up alread-”

san snatched hongjoong’s phone from mingi’s hand, motioning towards him with a wide smirk on his face. “I think you’ll like her. read the description.”

hongjoong laughed, surprised at how excited san seemed to be. he looked down at his phone, mouth agape at the words on screen. he’d never seen someone as intriguing as you, and the white lace you had on only made it harder for him to not press message right then and there.

introduction

hey baby, my name’s rose. are you my next sugar daddy? I’m 22 years old, and I’m looking for someone who always has time for me. 

what are my interests?

I love painting, and photography is a close second on my favorites. I’m open to just about anything, so I don’t mind it if we have different hobbies.

hard no’s in bed?

nope, I’m open to anything and everything. maybe even a little bit of pain..

"you can breath if you want." san said, and hongjoong scoffed at the younger ones words.

he couldn't peel his eyes away from the screen, you were just too pretty. and he knew he had to have you.

"you guys can leave now, I think we're done here."

—

as soon as he saw you walk into the restaurant, he knew this was going to be a long night.

you had on a black dress with small slits on the side of it that made him want to bend you over the table you two were about to eat on.

he stood up from his seat to greet you, pulling out your chair and gesturing you to sit. "you look beautiful, rose."

he really didn't know what else to say, and the words left his mouth so effortlessly.

you couldn't lie that he looked more than handsome, and you felt slightly intimidated by the look in his eyes.

"thank you. and you look really nice, too."

it was a long and comfortable evening, but you couldn't help but tease him every now and then.

sometimes by going to "grab a napkin", but just using it as an excuse to show off your cleavage. or even going as far as to flirt with the waiter, slightly touched their arm when they would bring a new glass of water.

hongjoong lost it when you both had ordered dessert, and you decided it would be a good idea to suck the chocolate off the spoon while looking right in his eyes.

you loved his reactions, and you could tell you'd be in for it tonight. but after all, that was your whole plan.

this seemed different than all of your other sugar daddy's. he was genuinely interested in you, and not only for the sex. even though, you wouldn't mind it if he was.

"I can tell what you're doing, and you might want to stop while you can," he said, leaning in towards you.

you smirked at him, tilting your head to the side. "I don't think I understand what you mean, hongjoong."

scoffing, he waved down the host to bring the check. "I doubt that, sweetheart."

—

maybe teasing him was a bad idea. because as soon as you walked through the front door of his apartment he had your clothes scattered across the floor, already leading you to his room and on the bed.

“what’s your name, baby?” his voice was deep as he whispered into your ear, biting down on the shell of it as he sat you on his lap.

you leaned back, hands resting on his chest. “rose, I thought you knew?”

he chuckled, “no, you’re real name.”

you didn’t know what to say to him. no one has ever asked you for your real name, let alone care enough to ask if rose was your actual one. you couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face when he brushed his hand against your cheek, feeling the warmth through his actions.

you hesitated, leaning back into his touch. “it’s y/n..” 

your lips brushed against his as you spoke, and you could taste the chocolate ice cream from earlier on them. 

he hummed, his hands running up and down your body before he placed his thumb on your lip, trapping your jaw between his pointer finger and thumb. it was a soft movement, and it took your body by surprise when he tilted your head to the side so he could place wet, hot kisses all over your chest.

no one has ever done that before, and you loved the rush it gave your body. you tried your hardest to keep your legs from closing around his waist, but your underwear was starting to rub against you in a way that had your mouth closing to keep any noises from escaping your mouth.

“mhm, y/n,” he groaned into your skin. it was a beautiful name, and he thought it fit you all too well.

maybe it was the way he felt your wetness when you brushed against his shirt that had him flip you over, or it could’ve been because of the lingerie you had on. but he needed to hear you, taste you, anything that would have you screaming his name over and over again. 

you gasped when he un-clipped your bra and pulled it off, tossing it on the ground and getting on his knees in front of you. 

“I’ve been trying to picture how you’d look like this,” his hands ran up your legs, pushing them apart, “but nothing that I’ve imagined could ever compare to the view I have right now.”

your hands gripped the sheets beneath you as you took in everything. his lips as he dragged them up your thighs, the way his fingers teased the hem of your panties. and the way his eyes never once left yours. 

“hongjoong,” you moaned as you felt him pull your underwear from your body as he returned back to his previous place. “please just do something already.”

he teased you, kissing right above where you needed him the most. he'd usually tease you since that's what you'd done to him. but right now there's no time for that.

he pressed the flat of his tongue against your clit, flicking up into it and moaning around you. your head dropped back, and you couldn't help the whine the left your mouth.

"fuck, right there."

he made sure to take his time with you, wanting to make you come more than once tonight. his movements were slow at first, but they got faster with every moan you let past your lips.

his lips parted from your core, slipping a finger in you and groaning at how wet you were. "you taste so good,"

he felt you clench around him, and he easily slipped in another finger while watching your mouth drop open again.

his mouth found its way back to your clit as he sucked on it hard, curling his fingers to push you over the edge.

"h-hongjoong!" you clenched one last time around his fingers, feeling yourself tense up when his teeth grazed your clit.

he sat up slowly, enjoying your fucked out face more than he should. and as pretty as you looked right now, he wanted to see tears streaming down your face while making you come.

you were already tired and he hasn't even fucked you yet, so to say you were excited would be an understatement.

without warning, he flipped you onto your stomach and spread your thighs apart, pulling his boxers down.

his hand grabbed the base of his cock and he dragged it up your core, his knees digging into the matress behind you.

he pushed in slowly, making sure you were comfortable and not in pain. your eyes fluttered closed at your good he felt, and you clenched tightly around him when his finger moved to draw circles around your clit.

just like earlier, his strokes were slow. but with every passing moment his hips seemed to have a mind of their own and his place quickened.

you felt one of his hands press on the small of your back, pushing you into the matress.

the angle that you were at now had you screaming his name, and you could feel his cock hit all the places your fingers never could.

he made a warmth spread through your body when he angled his hips a certain way, hitting that one spot inside of you that made a silent scream come out.

"you close, baby? gonna make a mess on my cock?"

you couldn't tell if it was because of your previous orgasm, but you came as soon as those words left his mouth, nail ripping the bed sheets as you came around him.

hongjoong's head fell back as you came, his bangs sticking to his forehead from all the sweat he's built up.

it wasn't long after you came that he pulled out, ropes of his cum lining your back as he took in the view.

you slumped onto the bed legs giving out while he went to the bathroom and turned the shower on.

never in his life has he ever taken a shower with someone, only grabbing a wet towel to clean them up. but this felt different, and he felt the need to pamper you after all the stress he's put on your body.

"can you walk, baby, or do you want me to carry you?"

─────

[justatiredghost]

Grey Part 2 Klaus' abilities are what keep a ghost from losing themselves, and Dave has spent 50 years without him.

-

His memory was still a sketchy thing, but Dave could distantly remember nights when he’d tried so hard to stay awake just to get a chance to watch Klaus sleep in those rare peaceful moments they had together. Now that he didn’t need sleep, he planned to make up for it. He had this second chance and he wasn’t going to waste it.

Klaus had looked so tired before, and, as bad as things got, Dave had never seen him cry himself to sleep like that. It was heartbreaking. He was glad Klaus was able to get some sleep now, but all too soon his brows drew together and he flinched, trapped in some sort of nightmare. Dave might not have been able to touch him, but he could still help.

He leaned close and whispered his name, talking him out of it and eventually into wakefulness, relieved when he finally opened his eyes. Klaus looked around in confusion, raising a hand to block out the early morning light, but then his eyes fell on Dave and his expression softened and he relaxed.

“Hey, handsome.”

“Hey,” Dave said with a soft smile.

He looked better. Happier. One night wasn’t going to relieve the shadows behind their eyes, and their situation might not have been ideal, but Dave was so glad to have just this. And it seemed like Klaus felt similarly.

Klaus closed his eyes, concentrating, and his hands glowed blue for a moment before he reached up to cup Dave’s face in his hands. There was so much love in those eyes, Dave ached. He turned his head to kiss into his palm, at the word, ‘Hello,’ tattooed there. He may have still felt foggy, words difficult and distant, but he hoped everything he felt he could convey like this.

Maybe it worked, because Klaus surged forward, pulling him in for a kiss. There was so much emotion behind it, fear and joy and need all bundled together, and Dave was fairly certain if he’d still needed to breathe, he would have been reeling from it all. He honestly didn’t know how Klaus was able to hold it together as well as he was, but then he always had been the strong one.

Klaus pushed him onto his back, straddling him for a better angle before kissing him again and again. When he finally pulled away to gasp for breath, he hid his face in Dave’s neck, hands clutching his shirt like it was the only thing keeping him steady, so Dave just held him tighter, hand rubbing his back.

“Don’t,” Klaus began, breath hitching, and he had to take a moment before he could continue. “Don’t do that— don’t leave me like that again.”

“I’m sorry, I never wanted to,” Dave said, taking his hand and squeezing it gently.

“I’m sorry,” Klaus said shakily, pulling away enough to see his face, foreheads pressed together. “I took the quick way.”

Dave knew what he meant. He’d known about the time travel, about all his strangeness and wonder, and how could he begrudge him that, when it made him who he was?

“It’s okay, I’m just glad you got outa there,” he said. “I’m glad you found me, too. I can’t stop thinking of all the great pranks we’ll be able to pull now.”

Klaus failed to stifle a snort at his attempt at lightening the mood “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“Well, I think I’ve slept more than enough,” Klaus said, clearing his throat and sitting up. He rubbed his eyes and wiped at the smudged eyeliner. “Ugh, I’m a mess. Just give me a sec to clean up.”

Dave watched him go with a fond smile. He didn’t know what was going to happen to them now, but maybe he could be forgiven for just wanting to enjoy this while he could.

[cooliogirl101]

When they meet, Hashirama is a 18-year-old boy who’s known as an idealist fool with dreams bigger than himself and Hisana is a 15-year-old civilian girl with a cranky, elderly donkey as her only companion.

“No, no, no, not again,” Hisana groaned as she woke up to see that Carrot had-- once again-- chewed through her ropes and was now chomping away at some flowers further down the road. “Goddammit, get back here, you stupid donkey!”

At the sight of Hisana running towards her, Carrot took off at a fairly impressive speed, considering she was 22 years old and had arthritis. Not for the first time, Hisana considered just letting her go-- but then, that wouldn’t do. There were wolves out there (probably), just waiting to make a meal out of some poor old donkey, and Carrot was pretty slow when she wasn’t making Hisana’s life difficult. She wouldn’t survive.

The sound of muffled laughter caught Hisana’s attention and she looked up to see a teenage boy perched in a tree (where had he even come from??), one hand covering his mouth in a very poor attempt at hiding his amusement.

“Need some help?” He offered, eyes glinting with humor as he took in Hisana’s sorry attempt at chasing down her donkey.

Hisana briefly considered turning him down to try and preserve what remained of her dignity, then glanced back at Carrot’s departing figure and promptly decided it was too early in the morning for things like personal pride and chasing down donkeys.

“If you don’t mind,” she said, only a little grudgingly. The stranger’s lips quirked up and he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, only to reappear holding Carrot’s reins a second later.

Hisana blinked. So he was a shinobi. Alrighty, then.

“Here you go,” the stranger said cheerfully, a grumpy donkey trotting behind him.

Scowling, Hisana marched up to Carrot and swatted her lightly on the head.

“Do that again and I’ll make donkey skewers out of you, don’t think I won’t,” she threatened. Carrot nudged at her, nosing around for something to eat, and Hisana sighed, wrapping her arms around Carrot’s neck in a hug before turning to the stranger.

“Thank you. Really,” she said, giving him a faint smile. “You saved me ten minutes of chasing after her.”

“No need to thank me! It was no trouble at all, honestly,” the stranger laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was glad to help.”

Hisana studied him for a moment. She didn’t think he was acting, exactly, but there was something almost scripted about the way he spoke, his posture, his expressions, every movement carefully telegraphed. Like he was taking care to appear as harmless as possible.

It didn’t take a genius to realize why. This may have been her first time encountering a shinobi in person, but she’d heard more than enough stories.

They’re killers, Hisana, plain and simple. People without honor, who slaughter children, innocents, each other-- whoever they’re paid to slaughter-- without hesitation or remorse. Monsters in every sense of the word.

“Hey, um,” she said slowly. “Have you eaten?”

“I beg your pardon?” The shinobi asked, startled.

“I asked if you’d had breakfast yet,” Hisana repeated. “If not, would you care for something to eat? I can offer you--” She paused to mentally take stock of her food inventory. “--leftover meat buns, half an apple, and some vaguely sketchy berries.”

The shinobi coughed.

“Vaguely sketchy berries?” He asked, lips twitching. Hisana shrugged.

“I mean, I’m pretty sure they’re harmless. I’ve been snacking on them for days and I haven’t died yet, which is a good sign.” She smiled at him. “So, breakfast?”

“Yeah,” the shinobi said quietly, after a pause. There was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes, almost like he was waiting for her to withdraw her invitation. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

~~

“I’m Hisana, by the way.”

“Hashirama. It’s very nice to meet you, Hisana.”

~~

Hashirama ended up staying for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then for another two days past that. Shinobi, it turned out, made for very good hunters, something Hisana discovered very quickly into their acquaintance.

“Hashirama,” she said, staring at the struggling rabbit in Hashirama’s hand. “This is the fifth rabbit you’ve brought me. I appreciate the thought, but--” She gestured helplessly in the general direction of the rabbit. “--it’s really too much.”

“It’s okay, you can save it for later!” His expression fell. “Unless you’re tired of rabbits? Wait no, of course you’d be tired of rabbits, I should have thought of that. I can get you something else instead? Maybe a pheasant? I think I saw some pheasants around here.”

Hisana studied him for a moment.

“Hashirama,” she said abruptly. “Why did you decide to travel with me?”

“What do you mean?” Hashirama asked, brow furrowed.

“I mean that I’m well-aware I’m slowing you down. Don’t deny it, you can’t tell me that your maximum speed is that of a twenty-something year-old donkey,” she said, exasperated. “I’m not the best at cooking, and we’ve already established that you’re a far better of a hunter than I am. So why stay? Why travel with me when it’d be easier for you to travel alone?”

He was quiet for a long moment.

“You knew I was a shinobi and invited me to stay anyway,” he said finally, voice soft. He wasn’t quite meeting her eyes. “And besides, I like talking to you.”

Hisana swallowed, caught off guard.

“And I like talking to you,” she replied quietly. “I didn’t invite you along because I wanted your protection, or someone to hunt for me, or anything like that, Hashirama, I did so because I have fun spending time with you. If you like catching rabbits or whatever, that’s fine. But don’t feel like you have to do so for my sake, or that you need to-- to prove something to me.”

Hashirama let out a slightly shaky laugh.

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m not very used to this,” he admitted. “You know, you’re the first civilian I’ve spent time with outside of a mission?”

“Well, you’re the first shinobi I’ve ever met,” she replied. He looked at her, surprised.

“Seriously? But you weren’t scared at all!” He exclaimed.

“Well, that’s on you,” she scoffed. “You weren’t very frightening.”

“Or maybe you’re just not very easy to scare,” he answered.

“If that helps your ego, sure,” Hisana grinned.

She reached down to stroke Carrot’s neck.

“So tell me, what was it like, growing up as a shinobi?

When Hashirama hesitated, she added, “You can lie about all the classified parts. It’s not like I would know, anyway.”

Hashirama laughed, shaking his head.

“Alright, then,” he said, smiling. “But I’m warning you, it’s really not as interesting as you’re probably imagining. I grew up in a large ninja clan, and--”

Bonus:

“Care to explain why you came back from your mission three days late?” Tobirama asked flatly. “Half the clan thought you’d died.”

Hashirama smiled, a slightly dreamy look in his eyes. Tobirama didn’t like it at all.

“Just took a detour, that’s all.”

The next time they meet, several years later, Hashirama is the newly appointed leader of his clan and Hisana has built a name for herself as a wandering clan-less healer (she listens for rumors of recent battles/bandit attacks/shinobi disputes and goes wherever there’s recent bloodshed. In doing so, she creates quite a few connections and ends up building the shinobi world’s largest, most detailed information network completely by accident).

[leoneslover]

“You make me feel like a princess”

Bucci gang x reader(fem!)

Synopsis: The little things they do that make you feel like a Disney princess 🥺

Warnings: none!

A/n: just thought this was a cute idea idk I just wanna be treated like a princess sometimes y’know

☆彡 BRUNO: likes to take you out as much as he can. He acts like a gentleman most of the time, specially before you guys got together (he just wanted to make a good impression 🥺). The type to open doors for you at any circumstance, and take you out to fancy restaurants just because.

“You make me feel like a princess sometimes” you giggled as you took a sip from your glass.

“Well that’s cause you are, my dear” he chuckled, staring at you with a soft look, “mia dolce principessa”

☆彡 LEONE: isn’t the most romantic per se, however, he will slow dance with you if he’s in a good mood. And he’s a pretty good dancer too, he will patiently teach you how to move fluently. And if you’re shorter than him, he will press you agaisnt his chest with a hand on your waist, forcing you to look up at him, a small smile on his lips as his hair tickles your face.

“I feel like I’m a Disney princess right now” you mumbled, a little flustered as you looked up into his eyes.

He just snorted, leaning to press a kiss on your forehead, and then proceeded to spin you around the room to the rhythm of some old classical song in the background.

☆彡 MISTA: likes to act a little extra around you. And by extra I mean he will 100% act like he’s your bodyguard everytime you guys go out or in a mission together. He doesn’t mean wrong, he just cares a lot about you and wants to protect you at all costs :(

“You’re making me feel like I’m some sort of princess” you laughed lightly as he kept a close eye on some sketchy guys across the street.

“Don’t be silly you’re not a princess” he turned around to face you, “you’re a full blown QUEEN, nothing more and nothing less. Now give me a kiss to show those guys over there who’s really your type”.

☆彡 NARANCIA: thinks you’re the most perfect person who ever stepped a foot into this planet. He will praise absolutely every single thing you do, giving you that sprarkly look on his eyes that shows nothing but pure love and admiration every time you show him something new.

“Y’know, when you look at me like that it kinda makes me feel like I’m a princess or something” you chuckled.

“Well of course you are!” He excitedly stated, jumping from his seat and into your arms, “you’re my princess after all!”

☆彡 FUGO: will bring you breakfast to bed at every chance he gets. I feel like he’s more of a morning person, so if he wakes up before you, he’d sneak out of bed and into the kitchen to make you your favorite breakfast, and then proceed to wake you up with a string of sweet nothings into your ear and small kisses all over your face.

“It feels like I’m a princess, waking up like this...” you mumbled sleepily, sitting up so he could leave the tray in front of you.

“Well, it’s my goal to make you feel like you are, and I’m glad it’s working so far” he chuckled, giving you a quick peck.

☆彡 GIORNO: likes to leave flowers for you all over the house. If he has to go to work early, he’d leave a couple of roses on his pillow for you. If you’re gonna cook something, he’d make sure you’d find a couple of tulips in the cabinets. And if you come home tired and stressed, he’d run you a bath filled with petals and a bunch of other stuff for you to relax in.

“Hmm you make me feel like a movie princess with all these flowers” you mumbled with your eyes closed as you let him massage your scalp.

“I’m glad I’m making you feel like that, principessa” he chuckled at the last word.

[doctoranon]

I Must Be Dreaming

Written for the MGI Civil war for Team Jason Supremacy

TW: Angst, Major character death, swearing

~~~~~

“Come on, baby. We’re going to be fine.” Jason mumbled into Marinette's dirty matted hair, desperation colouring his tone. “Gonna get us out of here, we’ll be fine.” he huddled close to the semi conscious woman, being careful as possible to not disturb any of the rubble that trapped them where they were.

They’d underestimated how desperate the Joker was this time, underestimated how many bombs were placed and now they were paying the price, he and Marinette were trapped under fuck knows how much rubble with sketchy comm links and no way of knowing quite how far off a rescue would be.

They had at least garnered that one was underway through the static of the comms, that they’d called in the big guns with Supes and the Flash to help with getting to them quicker. Still, he wasn’t sure that- no, no of course they’d both make it. Their wedding was next month and then they were starting their life together. The one they’d always dreamed of. But looking at the flow of blood from Mari’s head wound his heart kept shooting straight to his throat. Logically he knew that head wounds bleed a lot and he was trying to stem the flow with a ripped piece of his uniform. But he’d been a vigilante for more than half his life at this point, and he’d seen-

Shaking the thought from his head roughly, he placed a kiss on Marinette's hair line, smoothing it out of her face as she watched him in a daze, mumbling incoherently every now and then. Everytime she did so his heart calmed a little. Consciousness was good. As long as she kept awake and stayed with him they’d both be fine.

“Jay-” his attention diverted quickly to Marinette and he smiled down at her, tears pricking at his eyes.

“Hey, Baby.” he warbled, dropping a kiss to her lips. “You’ve scared me.” he admitted, feeling his shoulders relax slightly. Help was coming. Mari was awake.

“‘M not-'” the words were slurred and seemed to take all of her energy and concentration to push past her lips. Taking a small breath, she let go of a longer one before uttering “‘M Tired.”

“I know baby, but you can’t fall asleep right now. You know that.” he explained, moving his free hand to his comm and trying to get someone's attention, growling angrily when all that could be heard was a static reply. He knew Tim was trying to reply, but he didn’t know what he was saying, and wasn't even sure if Tim was getting his own messages.

Wincing when he bit his already split lip, Jason sighed and kept a watch on Marinette, before he started to feel a shift in the rubble surrounding them. Straightening himself as much as he could he gave a yell. If it was Supes then he probably already knew exactly where they were, but anyone else might have needed the sound to redirect them.

As more and more pieces of rubble started to shift, he bent over Mari, protecting her from as much debri as possible. “See, toldja we’d get out of this, didn’t I?” he smirked down at her, before noticing her closed eyes and shallow breaths.

Immediately becoming panicked, he patted at her cheek. “Hey! No! No, you stay with me for a little longer Baby. They’ve almost got us.” he insisted. Before shouting at whoever it was to hurry it the fuck up.

Patches of light started to come in and he could hear the others now, he wasted no time to relay Marinette's condition to them and their efforts seemed to double. But, as Marinette liked to remind him, Too much of a good thing can sometimes be bad. The universe balances itself out and all that jazz.

One wrong movement of the concrete had a rather large piece dislodge. Jason's position protecting Marinette had put him directly in its path and with a solid crack hit him in the back of the head, whiting out his vision with pain. Ears ringing he tried to shake it off and check on Marinette, but that only served to make him dizzy as fuck and spots dace across his quickly dimming vision.

The last thing he saw was a silhouette against a bright light where a large body sized gap now was in the rubble they’d been trapped in. Then his vision went black and he was swept into unconsciousness.

~~~

Feelings came back to him slowly and consciousness felt just beyond his grasp, but through sheer will he opened his eyes to look around. He was in a med bed in the bat cave. So at least that meant they were out, but Marinette was nowhere in his sight and he needed to make sure she was okay.

Struggling to sit up, Jason had already started to get out of bed when Dick rounded the corner and rushed to his side.

“Get back in bed!” he was scolded, as Dick tried to stop him from getting up, and failing miserably. Jason was going to find his Fiance and no one was stopping him.

“Not till I’ve seen Mari.”

“Well that’s not happening.” he was told, as Dick called for the others not far out of hearing range. “You’re getting back in that bed.”

“Get the fuck out of my way, Dick. I’m seeing Mari.” Jason insisted, trying to push his brother away from him as he staggered under his own weight for a moment. Reinforcements arrived under the guise of Tim, Chloe and Alfred and he groaned internally before noticing the red rimmed eyes the blonde was sporting and his heart froze.

Doubling his efforts, he pushed Dick away successfully this time. “Where is she, Tim?” His tone was frantic as he started on his way past his other brother. “Where the fuck is Marinette.” her name brought a whimper from the blonde and Jason's frantic eyes zeroed in on her. “Please.” he begged, refusing to believe the worst.

When no one moved or tried to answer his question he growled angrily, moving to push past them again before being stopped by both Dick and Tim.

“Jay, please, get back in bed. We’ll explain-”

“NO!” Jason struggled against the two former robins, his eyes beginning to drake on a greener hue. “Let me see Marinette!”

Feeling a presence come up from behind him, he felt rather than saw as something pricked his skin.

“I’m afraid, Master Jason, you need to calm down.” came the guilt laced tone of the Wayne butler. Something Jason felt triple his anxiety before the sedative began to kick in and his weight was caught by Tim and Dick.

“Mari-” he mumbled, before unconsciousness took him over again.

~~~~

The next time he was aware, he felt a hand in his own and a soft humming coming from his left. A familiar humming. A beautiful humming that belonged to-

 “Marinette.” he mumbled, opening his eyes and searching for her visage, smiling sleepily at her when he saw her sitting in a chair next to the bed. Bandages wrapped around her head.

“Hey, Sleepy head. It’s about time you woke up.” she smiled, squeezing his hand and placing a kiss on the back of it. “You gave everyone a scare earlier.”

“You scared me. You weren’t here when I woke up- I thought-” he choked but he grinned at her through his tears. Pulling their hands to him and returning the kiss on the back of her hand. “I was worried, beautiful.”

Chuckling at him, she booped his nose with a scrunched up grinning face; A scrunched up, grinning alive face. “I’m not leaving you that easily.” she comforted, before letting go of his hand and waving her engagement ring in his face. “Besides, you put a ring on it. I’m yours. Forever.” she teased him, gaining a chuckle from him as he relaxed back into the pillows.

“If Dick-head had just old me you were okay-”

“Hey, don't blame your brother for your half cocked plans and jumping to conclusions!” she scolded him, a grin still fixed to her face. “You need to wake up when i'm here next time.”

Chuckling Jason felt at peace, knowing they were both okay. “Or you could not scare me in the first place”

Resting his eyes, he breathed a sigh of relief, letting go of all residual tension he had been holding onto. “So, any chance you’re going to show me that dress before the wedding now?” he teased, opening his eyes and over acting a pathetic look on his face. “Please?”

“Never. The day I walk up the aisle or not at all.”

“I had to try.”

Both chuckling at their antics, Marinette moved to cuddle up on the bed with him. “I can’t wait until the day after the wedding.” She told him, resting her chin on his shoulder. “When I wake up as Mrs Jason Todd.”

“I can’t wait for that either.” he beamed, kissing her sweetly and pulling back to stare into her eyes. “For that day, and every day afterwards.”

~~~~

Over the next few weeks, Jason felt like he was walking through a dream. The days felt like they moved slowly and quickly all at once. They both healed up and anticipation grew as the big day was suddenly upon them, and he was there, standing at the bottom of the aisle waiting for his soon to be wife to join him. 

As the song he didn’t even remember picking played, the most beautiful woman in the world walked towards him. Ready to commit her love and life to him forever. Something finally all his. Something permanent.

Dick leaned over his shoulder and nudged him with a wide grin. “You look mesmerised, Little Wing.” he whispered, the proudest grin Jason had ever seen aimed at him.

“I feel like I'm dreaming.”

Dick chuckled lightly as he faced the front again, eyes on the procession. “Then you better wake up, Jay. Because she's nearly here.”

As Marinette reached him at the altar, he reached for her hands, pulling her towards him and stealing a small kiss.

“Hey, save it for the end.” Tim, who was officiating at the behest of his brother teased them, as the seemingly faceless congregation chuckled in the background.

“I couldn’t help myself.” Jason laughed, feeling so full of love and life. Everything was perfect. Just like he and Marinette had dreamed.

Clapping his hands together with a bright and wide grin, Tim turned to face the audience. “Welcome, to the wedding of my Big brother, Jason Todd, and the girl I introduced him too, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“Both the Bride and Groom have written their own vows and Marinette won the coin flip to go first.” Tim joked, before gesturing to the vision in white.

“Jason, the day we met, I knew you’d be a pain in my ass.” she teased, gaining a chuckle and ‘hear, hear’ from the people present, himself included. “And you are,” she added to a few more chuckles, as tears formed in both their eyes. “The day you first kissed me, I knew forever was what I wanted from you.” she grinned at him, tears falling down her cheeks, and he moved his hand to wipe them away.

“And the day I died, I knew I would leave you heartbroken.” Jason froze, the smile was still plastered on her face, and looking at Tim showed the same, as if Marinette had said nothing wrong at all.

“Wait, what?” His brow furrowed and heart starting to beat quickly in his chest. “I don't understand, Mari?”

“You need to wake up, Jason,” Tim was speaking now, the happy smile still plastered on his face as if he wasn’t breaking Jason's entire world.

“No. No I don't. We’re getting married,” Jason said frantically, looking around him at the guests and feeling a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck.

“Please, Little wing. Wake up.”

The world both fizzled out to black, the image of Marinette in her wedding dress fading quickly, and also gained a more realistic feeling behind closed eyelids.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Jason felt his lips tremble as he turned his head and slowly opened his eyes to his brother sitting next to him in a med bed in the bat cave.

His brother met his eyes, red rimmed and full of pain.

“She’s gone, isn’t she?”

The pause was a hundred years and no time at all.

“I- Yeah, Little wing. She’s gone.”

He closed his eyes again and turned to face the ceiling, tears spilling from under his eyelids.

“We were getting married.”

“I know.” was the choked reply, and he could hear the pain in Dicks voice, but he couldn’t feel anything over the rush of absolute nothing he felt.

“I love her so much, Dick.” he whispered, teeth clenching as he began to cry in earnest. Breathing felt strange, the whoosh of in and out feeling nothing like it should, and two arms encircled him as a low keening noise escaped from behind his still clenched teeth.

He was supposed to be stuck with her, forever. And as the thought of forever filled his mind, a forever now not including Marinette; Jason felt something in his chest shatter so explosively he knew he’d never find all the pieces again.

[adhdeancas]

Hm, mommy issues anybody? Daddy issues anybody? Yeah. Let’s unpack that a little. Not a lot.

Dean runs his hand up the back of his head, feeling the soft spikes of his haircut. It was a stupid tic he’d picked up in his teens, it usually made girls melt. The sensitive guy, the nervous guy, the guy who’s eager to please. It made him look vulnerable. Girls liked that. He started catching himself on it and stopping when he got into his twenties. 

His phone buzzes. He looks at it quickly, ignoring the stupid clench in his heart that comes with the action.

One New System Update Available: Install Now?

He sighs and turns it off.

---

Long hours in the car are usually… uneventful. Full of all kinds of empty time that frankly? Dean likes. It’s a nice break from the constant weird noises of sketchy motel rooms with paper-thin walls, from the creaking pipes in the bunker. Mostly, it’s a break from thinking about whatever batshit depressing problems they have up their ass that week. 

But this time? The open road is endless, like a really shitty, really boring acid trip. A fucking infinity of his ankle cramping up on the side roads. And Sam always gives him the stink eye when he reaches for his phone, so he can’t even do that. He does make pit stops more often than usual, so he doesn’t crawl out of his own skin, and his glares keep Sam from mentioning it. Maybe he just thinks he’s got the shits. He’ll let him keep thinking that.

At least on the pot he can check his phone.

But time and time again, he lays down a loud paper cover that doesn’t do much to cover up the griminess of the seat and sits down, and unlocks his phone. He waits until he’s fully in the stall to do it, even though he could end the suspense the second he puts Baby in park. Maybe he knows what the answer is gonna be.

What the answer always is.

No New Messages. 

He sighs. Story of his life.

---

Sam snatches his phone next time it buzzes in the cup holder before Dean can even reach for it. Dean opens his mouth to gripe, but his stomach ties itself in a knot anyway. He doesn’t know whether he wants it to be… or whether he’s dreading it. 

“Who is it?” he tries to say it casually. It sounds forced to him, but Sam doesn’t notice. 

“Cas,” he’s got this dopey little smile on his face, and Dean feels his face heat up. For no goddamn reason, it’s not like-

“Why’re you- what’s up? Anything wrong?” Dean knows Sam would’ve said right away if something was wrong, but he wants his brother to spit it out already, and Sam looks like the cat that got the cream. That means he’s about to try to be funny. 

“Nah, nah.” Sam grins again, glancing away from the phone finally. 

“Well then put it down, Nosy, what the fuck,” He’s already seen the text, whatever it is, so it’s no use, but Dean bristles anyway. It’s not like Cas would’ve sent him anything actually embarrassing, right? What was the last thing they were talking about… the best roadside pancakes? Yeah, so, it couldn’t be anything weird. Well, it’s Cas, so it could always be something weird. But nothing incriminating. Hell, Sam’s accidentally opened a nude a girl sent him one time so it’s not like it could be worse than that. Not like Cas is sending him nudes. Dean cracks a grin at the thought of what a thirst trap would look like for Cas. Probably him in a, like, half unbuttoned button up laid out in a library chair. Maybe a book in hand. An angel blade. The weapon! Not-

“He just- he just wanted to update you on where he is in Gilligan’s Island.” There’s a laugh in Sam’s voice, and Dean wants to know why. Probably just the way Cas described it, he always finds this certain way of saying things that’s just… kinda endearing and kinda confusing.

“He’s watching without me? Son of a bitch!” 

Sam smirks. “Yeah, he and Jack. Jack finished Pirates of the Carribean and he wanted more island stuff.”

Dean shakes his head. “Motherfuckers…”

Sam rolls his eyes. “You want me to text him back for you?”

Dean rolls his shoulders out. “It’s fine, I’ll just do it at the next stop.”

They pull into the next gas station and Dean doesn’t look at his phone again until he’s hidden. 

---

Because Sam is a nosy bitch, he asks. Well that, and he’s really tired of the car ride taking twice as long with all the stops they’re making. Dean’s usually a ‘pee in a bottle and don’t pitch a fit’ kind of driver, himself included (Sam’s scarred for life at this point), but now? It’s like they’re traveling with a six year old kid, stopping every hour.

The third stop in Oklahoma alone, he stops Dean. “Okay, do we need to go to the hospital?”

Dean quirks his eyebrows and frowns. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

He’s got a clue what they’re talking about.

Sam bitches with his whole face. “We’ve been stopping every four fucking feet for days now, so you’re either dying and we need to go to the ER and get an endoscopy, or-

“An endoscope who?”

Sam doesn’t take the bait. Shocker. “Dean.”

Dean rolls his eyes and tries to bypass him. Sam is smarter than he looks. They grab his phone. “Sammy!” This time the word’s annoyed, a warning. Like he used to say right before he really viciously wrestled Sam to the ground and pried the last cookie out of his delicate little hands when they were kids.

Unfortunately, Sam has a height and reach advantage. He holds the phone up and Dean doesn’t have a chance unless- Dean punches him in the stomach. Sam makes a winded noise but manages to keep his arm raised. He glares harder. “You’re gonna talk to me, or you’re not getting this back.”

God, they’re a bitch. “Fine, fuck you. I’ll shit the old fashioned way.” Dean saunters off to the horrifically artificial lights of the gas station, a middle finger waving back just for his little bro. 

 When he gets back, Sam’s looking much more compassionate. It’s worse. “Dean, why are you so obsessed with your phone? What’re you waiting on?”

Dean rolls his eyes and gets in his car, leaving Sam to follow him. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, dude, I’m just making sure I don’t miss any texts from Mom,” He jams the key into the ignition and steps on the gas. Sam’s door snaps the rest of the way shut with the sudden force and they yelp. “Oh, don’t be a drama queen.”

“You’re the dramatic one right now, Dean.” Sam raises his eyebrows, condescension dripping off his expression. “Did she say she’d text soon?”

“Nope.” Dean shrugs. “Just making sure. It’s kinda my fault she died and then came back to life in a world she didn’t understand; least I can do is pick up the damn phone.”

Sam sighs. “Dean, she’s not gonna freak out if you don’t answer right away. Unclench, man.”

“Unclench?” Dean’s hands tighten on the wheel. “Fuck off, Sam, I’m fine!”

There’s a tense silence. Dean finally starts to think he’s given up this stupid argument, but then Sam shifts in his seat. “She’s not Dad, Dean. She’s gonna come back.”

Dean bites the inside of his cheek. “Never said she was. And Dad always came back.”

“Dean-”

“Sam, just drop it, please-”

“I know how hard it is-” 

Dean’s harsh laugh cuts the car into silence again. Sam’s got that kicked puppy look on his face, Dean knows it, and he forces his shoulder to relax before talking. “Look, Sammy, I appreciate it and all but- you have no fucking clue what it’s like for your parent to just fucking… ignore you.”

“I grew up with Dad too, Dean. Hell, he lied to me until I was like 6, he ran out on both of us all the time; I never knew where he was, he never told me where he was going-”

“Yeah, well, he always picked up the phone for you, didn’t he?” Dean lets out a harsh breath and changes lanes just for something to do with his hands. 

“He’d stay out for weeks no matter how much I called-”

“Yeah, but he answered. He answered when you called, when you texted, to tell you when he’d be home or to tell you to fuck off and stop calling, but he’d answer.” Dean wipes at his eyebrow. He doesn’t care about this shit. He doesn’t fucking care. “Dad called me when he wanted to talk to me,” then Dean corrects himself “-when he wanted to tell me something. So excuse me… if I get a little antsy. But you- you don’t get it at all.” Dad and Mom, they both left him. Both ditched him as soon as they could and never looked back. Not until they needed him to hunt something. And he got it, he did. But just because he understood didn’t mean he wasn’t pissed. And just because he was pissed didn’t mean he didn’t want them to call. Expect them or hope them to text, just to check in. Something more than coordinates and a link to a news article. 

He wants someone to care about him. And fuck if that isn’t the saddest thing anybody’s ever heard. 

“Dean…” 

It’s been a full five minutes, and Dean’s been waiting for Sam to bring it back up again, to not let this stupid thing go. “What?” he says sullenly.

Sam holds the phone up so Dean can see the screen without taking his eyes totally off the road. It’s a video, and he sees Cas awkwardly holding the camera away from him, two heads of blonde hair behind him. Sam taps the play arrow. 

“Hello, Dean.” Jack waves behind him with his usual energy, and Cas looks incredibly fond. “I’m here with Jack and your mother-”

“Mary,” Mary corrects. She crosses her arms uncomfortably, but her expression is soft. 

“Mary.” Cas repeats. “I decided to invite her to come by before you and Sam got back- that is, if you’re still coming back today. Sam has been telling me that you’re not going as fast as usual, and while I do appreciate you finally gaining some self-preservation-”

Dean rolls his eyes at the smiling jab. 

“- I do hope you’ll get back tonight. Mary has requested we order pizza and chicken wings, and I got the kind you like- the Mango Habenero, but-”

“No promises they’ll be here tomorrow!” Mary calls out jokingly. Sam’s grinning behind the phone now. 

“Hurry home! I miss you!” Jack adds sincerely.

The camera turns back toward Cas fully for a moment, and he holds it way too close to his face. “Yes. I- We- just stay safe. And stop worrying. And iHop is superior to Waffle House.”

There’s a rustling noise and then the video cuts off. Sam is grinning smugly from the passenger seat. Dean raises his eyebrows. “So you’ve been updating Cas about me?”

Sam shrugs. “We snapchat.”

“You what?”

“I send him pictures of you when you’re looking really constipated.” Sam clarifies unhelpfully. “Cas and I like to think up reasons for why you’re mad this time- avocado toast, streaks on the windshield when you try to wipe it at the gas station, that one piece of hair that does the weird-”

“Okay, okay, I get it!” Dean snaps. “Wait, what about my hair?”

Sam laughs. “Just drive, Dean. For the wings.”

Dean frowns and pushes Baby faster. Well… now he doesn’t have to stop so much.

He makes Sam pee in a bottle next time he has to go.

[aminiatureworld]

In My Dreams IV

Characters: Xiao, fm!reader

Word Count: 3,167

Warnings: Brief depiction of violence, nightmares

Premise: The past is many things. Something to admire, something to learn from, something to hold dear. And yet how unreliable it can be, especially in the hands of ghosts.

In which the reader dreams of the past.

Author’s Note: Translation notes and historical references will come after the fic. This one was a little sketchy/ooc, prolly because I’m tired.

Xiao

If there was one thing that you appreciated most about your relationship with Xiao it was the fact that he never attempted to cage your independence.

Though the adeptus had a penchant for clinginess – something he’d never actually admit to – the circumstances of both his and your past had set a standard for a level of separation that you greatly appreciated. You were never pressured to tell Xiao about things you weren’t comfortable sharing and in return you never pressed your partner in regards to topics or events that made him somewhat uncomfortable.

And yet there was something very isolating about such a freedom.

It was an ordinary enough commission, laughably so in fact, the kind that you could knock back in ten minutes flat if you put a little effort into it. Treasure Hoarders were once more encroaching on Liyue, this time gathering at the vicinity of Dunyu Ruins, something that would surely be a hazard to the archaeologists who gathered to study the lost jade monument. The act of chasing out the Treasure Hoarders was indeed easy enough, and it was only until you started rifling through their loot that you found yourself uneasy.

The lid was an innocuous enough item. Though the box that it once covered was nowhere to be found it must’ve been a work of art, as the smooth tortoiseshell lid was clearly the result of patience and love. Painted a deep blue it depicted a snowy scene, with a castle or cathedral at the front and center. The building itself was of a unique design; a tall turret stuck out at the top while small onion domes sat a little lower, each painted a more outlandish color than the last. The architecture was completely unlike what one might see in either Liyue or Mondstadt, and really there should’ve been nothing to it except the odd design of the building. Yet the moment you set your eyes upon the building you felt something harden in the pit of your stomach.

You never thought about what you couldn’t remember; after all, what was the point of it? Why mourn something you weren’t even sure was good or bad? Yet in that moment you felt that you would give very little to not remember just a little bit. At least enough to know why the image of a cathedral in the snow made you wish deeply for something you couldn’t remember, and frightened you just as much.

“Something’s wrong with you face.”

“Xiao!” You sputtered, surprised by the sudden bluntness of your partner. “My face is just fine, a little dirt won’t kill me.”

“That’s not it.” Xiao scowled. “Your face is harder than usual. Did something happen?”

“Nothing happened! Sometimes I just don’t smile, okay?” You instinctively moved the corners of your mouth upwards, trying to ignore the sudden jump in your heart rate. “I’m fine.”

Xiao looked supremely unimpressed at your efforts, sighing and flying up to the balcony of the Inn. You sighed, letting your expression once more droop. It was easy sometimes to forget how in tune Xiao was. You wouldn’t expect it from an adeptus who had spent thousands of years mostly secluded from humans, but your partner was impressively good at reading your mood. Usually you didn’t mind the ability of his, even welcoming the fact that he so bluntly brought up the question of your feelings. But today you wished despite yourself that he was a little less aware. After all, how could you explain to your partner what you didn’t even understand yourself?

The rest of the night was oddly tense. Though Xiao said nothing you could tell from the way he stared intently at your face that he hadn’t given up his suspicions. For your part you tried to ignore his gaze, talking about trivial matters such as the question of replacing the Guild roof and the fact that you had managed to gather a few Qingxin during your commissions. All the while you felt the roiling of your heart; and all the while you kept rubbing your fingers along the smooth finish of the lid in your pocket as if in doing so you might suddenly be struck with what you currently missed and currently, desperately, needed.

The next day you walked up to Katherine utterly exhausted. Though you’d made a concerted effort to sleep, knowing that if not you’d just arouse more worry in Xiao, most of the night had been spent tossing and turning, your eyelids feeling paper thin as you attempted to drag yourself down into the depths of sleep. Of course now that the sun was shining you felt like even a stone bench would be a soft enough mattress. Blinking heavily you smiled awkwardly at Katheryne.

“Any commissions today?”

“Two ordinary sweeps and one request.” Katheryne tilted her head slightly. “Are you sure you don’t need rest?”

“I’m perfectly fine Katheryne, thank you for worrying. You said there was a request?”

“Yes. It seems that the citizen who noticed the Treasure Hoarders for us claims to have been robbed by them. He says to meet you at Dunyu Ruins so you can hand over the item.”

“And what item is that?”

“He said it was some sort of box lid. He didn’t give many details I’m sorry. If you’re uncomfortable though of course we could send someone with you.”

“I’ll be fine, thanks for worrying.”

“Of course! Good luck!”

“Thanks.”

You turned around, trying to stem the ice that flooded your veins. Who was this man to whom the cathedral belonged? How did he come across such an odd item, was he from one of the other nations of Teyvat you hadn’t visited? Most of all you wondered if he held some connection to your past. The idea thrilled you in some way, though dread also lingered. You weren’t entirely sure you wanted to meet this mysterious person. Commissions were commissions however; you wouldn’t betray the Guild. No matter how much you wanted to; you couldn’t.

The Dunyu Ruins were still, no monsters seemed to linger at the gates and no other adventurers peeked out from behind old walls. The air was utterly still, something which worried you greatly. Walking at an increased rate you sought out your mysterious commissioner. The more you thought about it the more you wished the whole thing to be over as soon as possible. Turning the corner you stopped in your tracks, gazing in awe at the person a few meters in front of you.

The first thing you thought was how oddly he was dressed. The second thing was that he was much younger than you had expected. The third thing was that you felt an odd sense of familiarity from him.

“Ah yes, the adventurer who accepted my commission. Have you brought what I asked of you?”

Though a response was certainly in order you found the words stuck in your mouth. Staring at him you felt the ground shift between your feet slightly. He was familiar, this young man in front of you, and yet he was also a perfect stranger. He seemed more like an apparition than anything, a spirit who had yet to cross to the far side. You stepped closer, reaching out your arm slightly. If you went to touch his shoulder, would your fingers go right through him?

“You really must think it’s odd that I’ve returned.” The man chuckled. “I assure you I’m completely real. You weren’t the only one to survive sister, though I know that information might be too little too late?”

“Sister?” You snapped out of your trance. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Surely you aren’t pretending not to recognize me? I think that’s beneath even you. Come now, was I such a brat as that?” Reaching out the young man went to grab your hand. Instinctively you pulled away, feeling discomfort shoot through you.

“I don’t know what you mean? And you certainly aren’t my brother! I’ve never had a brother!”

“Then who was the kid you lived with your whole life before the incident?”

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know about any incident or any brother. You asked me here to return something so I’m returning it.” Reaching for the lid you thrust the little work of art in front of you. “Here. Take it.”

“So you really don’t know who I am?” The young man reached out to take the lid. “How is that possible? Have they gone so far as to erase me from your memories? Have I been taken out of your family?”

“They?”

“The gods.” The young man’s eyes seemed incredibly harsh all of a sudden. “Their presumptiveness holds no bounds.”

“Don’t speak of the archons that way.”

“Answer me this,” the young man ignored your protest, “where are you from.”

“Why should I tell you that?”

“Humor me.”

“I…” You stood there for a moment, wondering whether or not you should tell this strange figure the truth. Morbid curiosity floated in your mind, and you took a sharp breath. “I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

“So I really have been erased from your mind.”

“Nothing’s been erased! I just don’t remember, should that surprise you so much?”

“Yes, it does. I see my plans will have to be changed.” The young man took a deep breath. “Very well then, we shall see what we shall see. I have an offer for you.”

“And what is that?” You felt suspicion wash over you.

“Join the Abyss.”

“Over my dead body!” Instinctively stepping away you drew your polearm. So that’s what this was about.

“I figured you might say that. However, let me tell you this. Our family was torn apart by the cruel whims of faraway gods. Teyvat suffered the same fate, still suffers it. You may not remember what happened to us, but I know it is buried in you somewhere. If you wish to avenge our family, then you’ll join us.”

“I have no petty thoughts of revenge against the gods.”

“That may very well change.” The young man smirked. “I’ll be back in a week. I expect your answers then.”

He was gone before you could say anything, carried away by a blanket of purple stars. You stared at the empty ruins, confused and empty, feeling far worse than you had felt when you arrived here.

“You look worse.”

“Thanks Xiao.” You let out a sigh, unsure how to respond.

You’d spent the rest of the walk back to the Wangshu Inn in agony, thoughts darting back and forth as you tried to reason with yourself about the veracity of the young man’s claims. There was no proof he was who he said he was after all, no proof that he wasn’t simply insane, or trying to convince you to join him by lying. Yet there was something about him, his demeanor, his anger, something that spoke to a truth about him. Not that the idea made you any happier. After all truth or not, he was still an Abyss member, or at least an advocate. You could never side with him, even if he was your long lost family. And yet what if he was your family? What then? Would it truly be a betrayal then to simply send him packing?

Xiao’s hand enveloped your own, the soft warmth drawing you out of your confused thoughts. Looking up you found him leaning into you, the tips of his hair lightly brushing your cheeks. His eyes bored into you ask he scanned your face. You stood perfectly still. You knew what Xiao was doing, knew that he was trying to figure out the depths of your discomfort. It was valiant of him, even if you hoped that he turned up empty handed. How could you tell Xiao, an adeptus who served directly under Rex Lapis, about the man who blasphemed the gods.

“You should sleep.” Xiao finally pulled away.

“It’s still early evening.”

“You didn’t sleep well last night, I could tell. You should sleep now; maybe you’ll feel better.”

“Maybe.” You replied, knowing that even if you slept better than you had ever before nothing would change when you woke up.

Still your eyelids were heavy and your feet aching. Sleep beckoned you with open arms, and you were quick to fall into its depths. Pressing a soft kiss on Xiao’s cheek you made your way up the stairs. Collapsing onto your bed you let out a sigh of relief. Sleep was coming on fast, and you quickly found the outside world swirling away. The last thing you were aware of was a dent in your mattress, and a set of familiar eyes staring down at you, filled with affection and worry.

It was dreadfully hot. That was the first thing you were aware of. The second was how loud everything was. There was a terrible sound swirling around you, inhuman shrieks seemed to rise up from the ground beneath you, accompanied with a banging that cracked through the air, echoing oddly in a night that was all too quiet. The third thing was that you had no idea where you were. Looking around you found yourself reeling at the scene that met your eyes. The house in front of you must’ve been nice at some point, but now had fallen into ruin and disrepair. Smoke was drifting up from a door that led into the ground, and bottles lay in pieces on the ground. A wall seemed to separate the house from the outside world, so tall that you had no idea what lay beyond it. Trembling slightly you felt yourself move towards the source of the noise, feet moving despite the rising dread that you felt. Making your way down a set of stairs a few lines came to you all of a sudden.

A ceiling of amber, a pavement of pearl

The smoke was thicker now, filling your lungs, leaving you short of breath. Little bits of orange blurred your vision, wielded by strange men in strange uniforms. They seemed distorted in the smoke, made into ghosts that might haunt a child’s nightmares.

Through the narrow paved streets, where all was still

You didn’t move your head towards the back of the room, somehow you couldn’t. Your very soul fought against it. Instead you closed your eyes, overwhelmed with how hot it was.

“You’ve come so far and you can’t even look?”

The voice was mocking, familiar, full of scorn. Opening your eyes you stared at the men in front of you, the men with fire at the tips of their hands. Why did he want you to look? You knew what you’d see. Somehow you knew.

We climb’d on the graves, on the stone worn with rains

You couldn’t make it out among the smoke. All you knew was that it was red.

You screwed your eyes shut, even as sudden clarity danced before you. Someone was calling your name.

There was a hand on your shoulder.

And alone dwell forever

The smoke cleared, and with it the dream.

The scream ripped through your throat before you could even process it. You knew that you should stop, knew that you were no longer dreaming, knew that the hand on your shoulder belonged to your terrified partner. Still you screamed. You screamed and screamed and screamed.

“Hey. Hey!” Xiao’s voice was frantic. Shifting your gaze towards him you felt yourself begin to tremble.

“It, it was true. It was true, I saw him. I saw him. I saw me. It was true. I, I, they’re dead. They’re dead.”

“It was a dream. No one’s dead.”

“But Xiao, they’re dead. He was right, they’re gone and dead and somehow I forget them.”

The loneliness slammed into you, mixing with the horror that sent your stomach churning. You dug you nails into your palm, desperately trying to stop shaking. Everything seemed distorted, the light emerging through the window just as menacing as the dark.

“Take my hand.”

Xiao pulled one of your hands on his lap, gently opening it and running his fingers over the marks that now rested in your palms. Unfurling your hand you it was flat against his he covered it with his own. Letting his palm rest gently against yours he looked up at you.

“No one is dead. You were having a nightmare.”

“I was remembering, Xiao. I finally remembered something. And now I wish I never had.” You unfurled your other hand, wiping furiously at the tears that pooled in your eyes. “I’m so alone Xiao, I’m so alone.”

“You aren’t alone.”

“My family, my family is gone. The only one left is an Abyss member. I, I’m so utterly alone.”

You felt Xiao drop your hand slightly. The sudden lost connection made your founder for a moment, but soon the feeling was lost as Xiao wrapped his arms around you. Pressing kisses to your forehead his grip was tight and strong, encasing you utterly in soft comfort. Letting yourself collapse slightly you leaned into his embrace.

“You’ll never be alone. I’ll always be here.”

If promises were conveyed in actions then you had no reason to doubt Xiao’s. Though the air around you was sticky with heat you found yourself pressing into your partner’s chest eyes more, soaking up every bit of connection that you could get. Xiao said nothing more, simply keeping you in his embrace, lips brushing against your cheeks as he kissed away your tears.

You knew that he wouldn’t ask about your brother that night, perhaps not even the morning afterwards, or even tomorrow evening. After all your partner wasn’t one for words, and your relationship wasn’t built upon the expectation of painful transparency. If you weren’t ready to talk he wouldn’t push you.

Eventually your tears slowed, though the pain in your chest still burned like a brand. Bringing your hands to your chest you gazed up at the adeptus who was still wrapped around you.

“Can we stay this way a little longer?”

Xiao’s eyes gleamed catlike in the moonlight. Leaning down he brushed his lips against yours, sighing slightly as you met him with exhausted ardor. Pulling back you rested your head on your partner’s chest. The dulled beat seemed almost musical, a reminder that Xiao was alive, a reminder that he was right next to you.

You had assumed in some way that it meant he didn’t care, or didn’t want to know. Though you would’ve never thought that before, the feeling of loneliness that had threatened to swallow you up had made that perfectly clear. Yet Xiao did care, cared enough not to prod and poke at wounds that were surely bleeding even now. Cared enough to kiss your worries away, cared enough to let you embrace him as long as you needed. Cared enough to show that you weren’t truly alone. 

In a week you’d give the young man who had once been your brother an answer. In a week you’d face the fact of your loneliness, of a family that you’d once been a part of. In a week you would let yourself be truly lonely. But until then you would listen to the familiar beat of Xiao’s heart as you remembered that you weren’t truly alone. That you never would be.

-------

The box lid itself was based off nothing in particular. The building painted on it is a reference to Saint Basil’s Cathedral. 

The poem I used was “The Forsaken Merman” by Matthew Arnold

The scene in the reader’s dream is a reference to the execution of the last Imperial family of Russia. It took place in the basement of the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg on July 17th/18th 1918. 

[kimistorm]

Late Night Shenanigans [Minho x Reader]

Fandom: Stray Kids

Pairing: Lee Minho x GN! Reader

Warnings: mentions of really drunk people

When Lee Minho invited you to the house party on Friday night, you didn’t expect it to end up with you staring in shock as he absolutely teared up the dance floor. Which, when looking at the grand scheme of things, was an underwhelming patio in the backyard surrounded by drunk people shouting with excitement. You watched in awe as he executed sharp moves that matched perfectly with the beat. Never over-dancing and always looking clean and awesome. When he started bodyrolling you had to put a hand up to your face to hide the blush (not that anybody was looking at you).

The song ended and with a raucous cheer and an epic final pose, he sidled away from the crowd, finding his way next to you. “How long have you been hiding that?” you asked as you gave him a light punch with the hand that wasn’t holding the cup full of dubious liquid.

“Hiding what?” he questioned easily as he leaned against the wall next to you. He didn’t even break a sweat, not that it was easy to tell from the feeble porchlight several feet away.

“Your sick dancing skills?” you gestured to him wildly.

He had a devious smirk on his face as he looked at you, “you thought they were sick?”

“I mean yeah,” you busied yourself with taking a sip of your drink, “that was amazing.”

His smile softened and he shyly ducked his head like one of his cats that he adored, “thanks. Not many people think so.”

You choked on your drink, “what?” you wiped some of the liquid from your drink and let out a couple coughs, “who am I beating up?”

He let out a laugh, “with your scrawny arms?”

“Hey!” you shouted in protest and tried to tackle him into a head lock, “these scrawny arms are gonna drag you back home!”

He continued laughing as he easily batted your arms away, “you can hardly lift your backpack half of the time!”

“Shut up!” your cup was sitting abandoned on the table next to you as you tried to tackle your friend. Key word being try.

Eventually you gave up and you fell into a comfortable silence as you watched a guy in a horse mask attempt some kind of noodle-arm wave in the center of the dance floor. Most of the crowd was too wasted to even notice how bad his dancing was as they excitedly cheered him on. “Hey,” you poked Minho’s side and he immediately flinched back with a light squeak, “when was the last time you drank water?”

“When was the last time you drank water?” he countered.

“You’re the one who just had a dance session over there,” you jerked your head to the rowdy ‘dance floor.’

He sighed and pushed himself off from the wall, “all right. I’ll find some water,” he glared down at the liquid in your cup, “don’t drink that. I’ll get you some water too.”

“Thanks,” you smiled as he left your side and you put down the sketchy cup. He did have a point, it was not a good-tasting drink, but you wanted something to do with your hands. You watched the party rage on in silence. The sky was dark and the lights from the porch drowned out most of the stars. The last time you checked, the party inside was getting a little out-of-control as people started chugging beer and throwing the empty (and not empty) bottles around. You decided to save yourself from a potential injury, you’d flee outside.

“Heyyy,” you cringed as a drunk fellow made themself comfortable in the place where Minho was standing, pushing themself closer into your personal space.

“No thanks,” you replied and inched towards the light. You’d brave returning into the house if that got you away from this creep.

“Aww come on,” you could literally smell the alcohol on their breath, “you’re alone. I’m alone. How about we do something fun.”

Now you were taking actual steps back towards the house, “not interested.” You told him as forcefully as you could.

“Your boyfriend,” you felt a hand grab your wrist and your heart rate jumped. You twisted your hand around and used the flat side with your pinky as leverage to force his hand off of yours, “he doesn’t need to know.” You had to give him credit for being able to finish his sentence, but a lunge towards you made you leap back in fear.

“Too late for you,” you turned and felt security wash over you as you saw Minho standing by your side with two sealed waterbottles in his grasp, “because he already does.” Upon seeing Minho’s dark glare the drunk person scampered away.

“Thanks,” you replied with relief as he handed you a waterbottle.

“Do you want to head out now?” he asked as he jerked a thumb in the direction of the front door.

“If you’re ready.” You shrugged non committedly, not wanting to take the fun out of his night, especially since he was the one who invited you.

He gave a nod, “let’s go.” The two of you made your way through the house out the front door, waving goodbye to friends (Seungmin seemed to be the only sober one left out of all your friends) and stepping carefully away from fallen cups, cans, and people. “Thanks for coming with me,” he smiled as the two of you walked through the streets back to your homes.

You smiled, “thanks for inviting me! It was fun!” He fixed you with a disbelieving look, “okay, the most fun part was watching you dance.” You finally conceded.

“Are you okay with crashing at my place for the night?” he suddenly asked and it was your turn to fix him with a concerned look, “it’s closer.” He offered, and after a second of you contemplating it he added, “Soonie, Doongie, and Dori miss you.”

You couldn’t help the squeal from your lips as you thought about his three cats, “aww, I miss them too!”

A hand slipped into your own and the two of you carelessly swung your hands around, enjoying the quiet night and the calm, dark atmosphere. It wasn’t long until you arrived at his apartment and he quickly unlocked it, the click of the deadbolt almost echoing down the hall.

As to be expected of cats, when the two of you entered his home, they were nowhere to be seen. Making you doubt Minho’s statement that they missed you. “Do you want to shower first?” he offered after the two of you ditched your shoes at the rack near the door, “I’ll find you a towel and you can borrow some of my clothes.”

“Are you sure?” you were nervous about feeling like you were intruding and he took a moment to fix you with a deadpanned look.

“Why else would I offer?”

You ducked your head in embarrassment, “okay. Thank you.”

He let out a sound that was somewhere between the click of a tongue and an adoring coo as he pulled you in for a hug, “don’t worry about it. You’re not a bother.” You comfortably wrapped your arms around him, burying your face in his hoodie that only slightly smelled like sweat. “Now go take a shower,” he gave you a light shove in the direction of the bathroom, “I’ll find the towel and clothes and put it outside the door.” It wasn’t your first time in Minho’s apartment, so you easily found your way to the bathroom, and as you shut the door behind you, you could’ve sworn you heard him mumbling things under his breath.

You quickly changed out of your clothes and hopped into the shower, wanting to go quick so Minho didn’t have to wait as long. The warm water felt nice, it washed away the chaos and sweat from the day and the bodywash you used felt like a warm hug. Probably because it smelled like Minho and he reminded you of warm hugs.

When you emerged from the warm stream of water and into the foggy room, you found he had already slipped in a small stack of fabrics with a toothbrush on top. The shower curtain was opaque, so you didn’t worry he saw anything. Plus, the way it was crumpled made it look like he shoved it in without looking at what products it knocked off the sink.

You quickly finished cleaning up and came out of the shower wearing one of Minho’s hoodies and sweatpants. You found him preparing the sofa with some pillows and blankets, while Dori supervised. “Hey there,” you smiled as you made a beeline for the gray cat and began running your hand over Dori’s soft fur.

“Told you they missed you,” he gave you a soft, somewhat tired smile as he watched you play with one of his babies.

“Where are the other two?” you asked as Dori purred in your hands and you couldn’t help but smile and coo at the youngest cat.

“Soonie’s asleep over there,” he pointed to the scratching post with a little house perched on top in the corner of the room, “Doongie’s eating food.” He vaguely pointed towards the kitchen, where the cat food also had a permanent spot. “Jisung is going to show up at some point.” He explained as he got off the sofa to take a shower

Ah, that explained why he set up the pillows and blankets, “what’s wrong?” you asked as you curiously tilted your head to the side.

“Something about being scared of the dark and Chan not having enough sofas.” He shrugged before disappearing into the bathroom. You planted yourself on the sofa with one hand still absentmindedly petting Dori before turning on your phone and browsed through the chat messages from the group chat.

There was an annoyed meow from Dori before the gray cat scampered away, probably upset from you removing your hand to send the text. “Doongie!” you called out into the apartment, getting off of the couch to find the ginger and white cat. Just like Minho mentioned, you found the cat by the food, eating some of the dry pellets. “Hey there,” you smiled as you rubbed the striped cat, who happily nuzzled into your hand.

Your attention was broken by a knock on the door and you quickly headed over to retrieve your drunk friend. When you opened it, you saw Chan looking bedraggled as Jisung clung to his side. “At this point maybe you should let Felix crash here.” You frowned as you took note of how tightly Jisung was holding onto Chan.

“He’s passed out in my car,” the dark haired man explained, “I don’t know how he’ll take waking up to a place he didn’t expect to be in.”

You gave a shrug, “I mean, he’s been here before.”

“Are you telling me I dragged his butt up here only for you to tell me to get the other kid?” Chan joked as he shook his arm that was captured by Jisung.

You laughed, “no, I won’t make you do that. Hey, Ji,” you tried to shake Jisung awake as Chan led him through the apartment to the sofa. The dark haired boy grumbled a bit and clung to Chan’s arm as he tried to pry him off.

You sniggered at the situation and tried to help with the situation, “I’m glad I won’t be Jisung in the morning.”

Chan let out a sigh as he finally got himself free by replacing his arm with one of the pillows, “me too.” Jisung let out another groan and buried himself into the corner of the sofa as you took the blanket and pulled it over him. “Thanks for taking him.” Chan mentioned as you walked him back to the door.

You shrugged, “it was really Minho. Good night Chan.” You gave him a quick hug in farewell.

He gave you a little wave as he headed back down to his car, “night (y/n)!”

The door to the bathroom opened the same time you locked the door to the apartment and you turned to see Minho smirking at Jisung, “he called me rhino.”

“It was more like ree no.” You disagreed as you went to the kitchen to fetch a cup of water and a pain killer. Chances are you and Minho would wake up before Jisung woke up, but you decided it’d be easier if he didn’t have to scrabble around the kitchen.

“How much do you want to bet that we’ll be woken up by something breaking?” Minho asked as you filled up a cup with water and he rattled a bottle of pills around to get out a couple.

“Let’s not entertain that thought.” You muttered as you switched off the tap, “I got a plastic cup for a reason.”

“Okay, then it’ll be the sound of him falling off the couch.” Minho snickered after the two of you placed the items onto the coffee table and headed farther in the apartment to his bedroom.

“That I believe.” You laughed as the two of you crawled into his bed.

Minho let out a content hum as he wrapped his arms around you, “good night (y/n).”

You smiled and tried to burrow into his hug, happy to be in his warm embrace, “night Minho.”

Shoutout to hanniiesuckle17 for helping me find an app for the text posts!

Masterlist

[cryptids-and-muses]

Warming Up

(More of @a-sketchy-character ‘s wonderful @streetsiblings au!!!)

Ao3

Cassandra did NOT like the other boy in the house. The boy, or Dick as the others called him, made everything confusing and bad. Bruce, who was always so kind and patient, would get into screaming matches with him. Big fights full of upset angry frustrated. She never really paid attention to what was said during the fights, too busy comforting Jason. The screaming made him scared, so very scared.

The boy also seemed to switch between being friendly kind with her and jay and hostile jealous hurt. Sometimes he pretended to be happy friendly when she could see the sad angry he truly felt. Cass did not like it. Neither did Jason or Bruce. She could tell the boy was hurting Bruce, and Bruce was kind nice loving, he didn’t deserve to be hurt like that.

So Cassandra watched him, like she would with any threat. She hid in the house’s many shadows and stalked him through the halls. And she began to notice things. For one, Alfred loved the boy, and the boy loved him. There was no poorly hidden anger when he was with Alfred. She also noticed how smart the boy was. Spotting her on multiple occasions while she was supposed to be hiding. He never stopped her though, just continuing what he was doing like she wasn’t there. Cass didn’t know what to make of it. Her curiosity only grew. The boy didn’t make sense and she wanted to know why. She stopped bothering to hide herself when she watched him, he continued to let her stay.

This time wasn’t any different. Another fight between Bruce and the boy had just ended, and after Jason fell asleep she decided to check on the boy. He was sitting in the lounge, legs crossed with a bowl of popcorn. His eyes were puffy, he radiated hurt upset tired. He perked up a bit when Cass entered the room, giving her a long look before turning back to the TV. It was playing some cartoon she didn’t recognise, something with a weird looking dog and a bird. They stayed like that for a while, him absently watching the show while she observed from the edge of the room. But then the boy did something unexpected.

“There’s plenty of room on the couch if you want.”

Cass cocked her head but the boy only gave her a small smile and gestured to the emty cushions, “I’m just saying, it seems more comfortable than standing there.”

There was a pause as Cass considered him. The hurt was still there, but now there were bits of warm curious hopeful. With narrowed eyes she walked over and sat on the other side of the couch. The boy’s smile grew and he turned back to the TV. It drew Cass’s attention too. The weird dog kept trying to catch the bird. She watched intently as it set up traps, each failing more spectacularly. It was surprisingly entertaining. A giggle escaped her as the bird beeped, taunting the dog.

The boy looked over, amused, “You like looney toons?”

She shrugged, she’d never seen it before. The continued to watch it together, the tension slowly fading. He offered her popcorn and joked about a rouge using the exact same trap as the dog. Cass liked this version of the boy, how his usual angry upset had been replaced by relaxed playful happy. He laughed when she stole the popcorn bowl rather than snapping at her.

“I thought that was mine!”

Cass threw some at his face, “Beep Beep.”

He let out a loud snort, but then got a weird expression on his face. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you speak.”

There was a long pause as the two started at each other. He sighed, looked down at the floor, “I’m sorry for dragging you and Jay into my fight with Bruce, what’s going on isn’t your fault and I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you.”

Cass could see the guilt regret sad swirling in him. He ment what he was saying. A frown formed on Cass’s face, she could see now Bruce wasn’t the only one hurting. She crept over and squeezed Dick’s hand, giving him a soft smile. Forgive you.

At first her gesture caused surprise, but soon it melted into grateful. He squeezed her hand back, “Thanks.”

And with that Dick pulled her closer and played the next episode.

[ebdaydreamer]

New Chapter

Written for @mashikkara for the @b99fandomevents summer fic exchange, inspired by the prompts ‘ 'Moving Houses' and 'Santiago getting a promotion'. I hope you like it!

Summary: Everything in Amy's life is going great: new house, new baby on the way and a promotion that takes her one step closer to her dream of Captain. She's happy - of course, she is - her life is going exactly how she planned. Except there's just one small catch...

[AO3]

“C’mon, Ames, this one is it, I can feel it!” Jake insisted, gently pulling his wife along.

Amy couldn’t help but giggle at his enthusiasm. “Babe, you’ve said that about the last three houses.”

“And? Were they really so bad?” Jake asked, “Or did they just not meet up to your impossible standards?”

“The first one was in a sketchy neighbourhood, the second one had a weird smell and the third one was a health hazard!” she insisted.

Jake rolled his eyes, “Squeaky stairs and a couple of broken cabinets are not health hazards, babe.”

Amy bit her lip as they reached the door of the fourth house, “It’s just… with another one on the way, and Mac still being so young I don’t want to have to spend months working on a house.”

Before Jake could reassure her, the estate agent opened the door. “Hi, you must be Jake and Amy. I’m Linda, c’mon in.”

They stepped inside to a spacious living area, complete with a fireplace and huge sliding glass doors that let them peer into the garden.

Linda began her tour, “So, as you know, this place has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, one of which is just here-” she pointed at a door on the left, “and through here is the kitchen.” She led them through a large archway to the right, revealing what had to be a brand new kitchen in blue and white with an island that could seat 4 around it.

“Now obviously there’s not enough room in here for a dining area, but there’s enough space in the living area that you could find room in there if you need it.” She turned to face them with a smile, “How many of you will it be?”

“Four, in a few months,” said Amy, unable to stop herself from holding her bump and smiling. They’d hoped that they’d be moved into a house in time to have the sex reveal party there, but they were running out of time.

Linda’s smile brightened, “Congratulations! So you already have one? How old are they?”

“He’ll be five next month,” Jake answered. “He’s really excited.”

“Well you should know, the schools around here are excellent,” Linda assured them, “and there’s been quite an uptake of young families moving to this neighbourhood, so there are plenty of other kids to have playdates with.”

Amy’s grip on Jake’s arm tightened: that was exactly what they had wanted. Mac had tons of friends at school already, but most of them didn’t live close by. In fact, one of his closest friends - Jamie - had moved just a few streets over to this house a couple of months ago.

“Shall we explore upstairs next,” Linda asked, “or would you like to see the garden?”

*

Their tour ended in the smallest bedroom, and Linda left to give them a moment.

“Ames,” Jake called, pulling her attention away from the window, “I know there are other houses on your list but this-”

“Me too,” she smiled. “I can see this being our home, where we raise our family. And Mac will make so many new friends, and he can play in the garden, and we can get him that swingset he’s always wanted.”

“Yeah! And we can get a sandpit and some chairs and we can have barbecues with everyone from the Nine-Nine…” Jake trailed off as Amy’s face drop as she was reminded. “And, the Nine-Three once you become their favourite Lieutenant ever.”

Amy had received her results of the Lieutenants exam two weeks ago now, but she hadn’t told anyone but Jake and Holt. There wasn’t a Lieutenant position available at the Nine-Nine, so Holt had helped her look into other precincts, sending a glowing recommendation over with her application, and she had quickly been accepted at the Nine-Three. Luckily, her new Captain (whoever they were, Holt had been very tight-lipped on the Nine-Three, assuring her it would be a great fit and asking her to trust him) had been very understanding about her pregnancy and the transfer wouldn’t be until she returned from maternity leave, so she still had a few months left with the Nine-Nine.

A few months left to tell the squad she was leaving.

Linda returned, peeping around the door. “So, how are we feeling?”

Jake and Amy didn’t even need to look at each other.

“We want to place an offer.”

*

“Charles, please don’t cry,” Jake begged.

Charles just sobbed louder. “How can I not! My best friend is moving away!”

“Charles, it’s not that far. You can still come visit us anytime.”

His best friend turned to him, face red and blotchy, “You mean it?”

“Of course, buddy!” Jake placed his hand on Charles’ shoulder. “Mac loves hanging out with his Uncle Charles and his cousin Nikolaj.”

“Nikolaj.”

“What about Auntie RoRo?” Rosa piqued up.

Amy answered her, “Of course, Rosa. Come round whenever.” Amy gestured around the briefing room, “All of you are welcome anytime.” She was sure Jake would be the only one to notice the tightness in her smile. He knew how eager she was to have the squad over, for them to feel at home to make up for not seeing them at work.

“And, you’re all welcome to our house-warming party,” Jake declared. “And our house-moving-in party, especially you, Terry. When are your next days off?”

Holt interrupted, “If that’s all, may I start the briefing, considering we are currently in the briefing room?”

“Actually, Captain, we do have one more announcement.” Amy could feel Jake shaking with anticipation, knowing he was revelling in Holt’s somewhat tired expression, but they knew he was used to the squad eating up briefing room time. Besides, their next announcement should cheer the robot up. “Now I know you’re all wondering, why the move?” 

“We are not,” said Rosa.

Jake ignored her, “You’re all on the edge of your seats! Amy, would you like to tell them why we’re moving?”

Amy grinned, “I’m pregnant.”

With an ear-splitting shriek, Charles fainted.

“Yes!” Jake cheered, high-fiving Amy, “We got him first time!”

*

This pregnancy was not going as smoothly as the first. Her doctors were worried because Mac was early, and she was a bit older, which meant increased risk. Amy was already on desk duty and couldn’t lift anything too heavy, soon enough she’d be on bed rest.

Her last couple of months at the Nine-Nine being spent like this: it saddened her a bit.

“Hey Sarge,” Rosa greeted, sitting across from Amy at her desk. “Or is it Lieutenant yet?”

Amy fought back any reaction. “Nope, still just Sarge.” She still hadn’t worked up the courage to tell the squad about her transfer. She needed to do it before she went on maternity leave, she needed to do it soon.

This weekend, at the house-warming party/sex reveal. Most of the renovations and decorations were done, the baby’s room was all that was left and they were waiting on Terry’s next day off so he could paint a mural.

“Did you need something?” Amy asked.

Rosa slapped a file down on her desk, “I’ve been staring at this for two hours and my brain is mush. I need a second pair of eyes.”

“Thank you,” Amy grabbed the file, “I’m bored out of my mind.”

Amy spent the rest of the day consulting Rosa on her case. Helping others out had been the only thing keeping her sane during desk duty, and Amy suspected Rosa had noticed, as she had been regularly slapping case files down on her desk claiming she needed a ‘fresh pair of eyes’, or ‘her specific expertise’.

Gripping the file, Amy felt her throat tighten. As much as she loved working with the whole squad, she’d probably miss cases with Rosa the most. Sure, she’d miss working with Jake, and they always did work really well together, but there was something about working cases with her best friend that made her day just a little brighter.

Amy almost told her about the transfer then and there but stopped herself. This weekend. She wanted to tell everyone at once, so she was committing to the party this weekend.

*

The weekend finally arrived and Amy’s stomach was in knots, but she refused to back down. She was a Santiago, goddamnit: when they made plans they stuck to them.

Guests were milling around the house, most of them being led by Mac who was giving them a tour, which seemed to linger for a very long time in his bedroom. His grandparents in particular - all three sets: Santiago, Peralta and Cozner-Holt - were made to sit through a long presentation about his toys.

It was fitting in a way: their first sex reveal party was ruined by the cake being destroyed and this one would be ruined by her announcing she was leaving all her friends.

“Ames,” Jakes grabbed her hands and Amy startled. She hadn’t noticed him approach. “Breathe, you’re freaking out.”

Amy inhaled deeply. “They’ll all be so upset, it’ll ruin the party!”

“Or, they could be super happy for you?” Jake wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “They’ve been even more anxious than you were waiting to hear about your Lieutenant exams results.”

“Mija,” a soft voice called out to her. Her mom, she hadn’t noticed her come over either. She really needed to calm down. “Are you alright? You look upset.”

“Just nerves, Camila,” Jake assured her. “Y’know, pregnancy and hormones. She’s just been a little anxious recently.”

Her mom cooed and Jake stood aside so she could embrace her. She began stroking her hair and Amy slowly felt herself calm down.

“Tell you what, why don’t we cut the cake now?” Jake suggested.

Amy nodded, staying in her mother’s arms as Jake left for the kitchen.

He came back carrying the beautiful white cake (that had not been baked by Peraltas this time) and placed it on the dining table.

“Everyone, if I could have your atten-”

Jake was cut off by the lights going out.

Amy groaned, “Please don’t tell me there’s been a power cut. Nothing good ever happens when I’m pregnant in a power cut.”

Lights suddenly returned to the room, but they were not the ones that had just gone out. Instead, the room was lit up with blue and pink laser lights.

Mac’s face lit up and he started pointing to the back door. “Auntie Gi!”

Everyone turned, to see the one and only Gina Linetti in the door frame. “Correct, Mac! Auntie Gina is here and the party can begin!”

The crowd started clapping: another classic Gina Linetti entrance.

“Gina!” Jake rushed to hug her. “I thought you couldn’t make it!”

She giggled, “Last minute change of plans, Jacob.”

���We’re glad you’re here, Gina,” Amy grinned, her mood thoroughly lifted. “But can we have the normal lights back, please?”

Gina rolled her eyes but clicked a button on a little remote in her hand, and the laser lights disappeared. “Thank you for being my prop man, Charles.”

“My pleasure,” Charles beamed, switching the lights back on, clearly very proud of himself. “But the suspense is killing me, can we cut the cake now?”

Laughter rippled across the room as everyone crowded around the table.

“Ok,” said Amy, grabbing the knife, the excitement beginning to bubble. “We are having a-”

She lifted up the slice of cake: pink.

“GIRL!”

“IT’S A GIRL!”

“Congratulations!”

“One of each!”

Charles burst into tears.

Once everyone had calmed down (well, Charles wasn’t exactly calm, per se, but he was calm enough) and had a slice of cake, Amy knew. It was time to rip off the band-aid.

“If I could have your attention, once again?”

The chatter quieted down, as people turned their gaze to Amy, who had stood up from her very comfy chair.

Band-aid: off.“I got my results from the Lieutenant’s exam. I’m gonna be a Lieutenant.”

Whoops and cheers rippled throughout the room. Her father raced over to embrace her, whispering in her ear, “I’m so proud of you.” Amy felt tears swell in her eyes at his words but fought them back. Not yet.

“But,” she had to shout, regaining everyone’s attention, “unfortunately, there isn’t a position open in the Nine-Nine, so I’m transferring to the Nine-Three.”

And everyone’s faces dropped.

The silence seemed to drag on forever, until Terry spoke up. “Congratulations, Amy. You’re gonna be a great Lieutenant and they’re gonna love you there.”

Some people perked up, congratulating her, but the squad was still clearly tense.

“When do you transfer?” Charles asked, his voice still hoarse from crying.

Amy tried to smile, “Not until after my maternity leave.”

“So you’ll be on desk duty, go on maternity leave and then that’s it?” Rosa snapped.

Her smile dropped, “Well, yeah, but I mean, we’ll still see each other all the time. You guys all have keys for the house.”

“I don’t,” Scully piped up for the first time.

“Me either,” echoed Hitchcock.

“Uhhhhhh,” said Jake and Amy in sync, staring at them for a moment, before ignoring them and turning back to Rosa.

“But none of us will ever work on a case with you again,” Rosa frowned. “How long have you known?”

“Rosa-” Amy began.

“How. Long. Have. You. Known?”

Amy began to stutter, which seemed to be answer enough for Rosa, who stormed off upstairs.

*

Whilst the mood of the party still wasn’t great, it had improved significantly as people chatted and danced to the music. Rosa still hadn’t come down.

Amy was sitting on the sofa, one of Mac’s juice boxes in hand, feeling guilty when a ‘thud’ alerted her to a presence next to her.

“She’ll get over it,” Gina told her. “Once she realises she’s sad, not angry and also super duper proud of you.”

Amy sighed, “I just feel so bad-”

“Don’t,” Gina cut her off. “Don’t feel bad for pursuing your career, your dreams. I certainly didn’t when I left the Nine-Nine. Does that make me a bad person?”

She smiled, “Of course not, but-”

“She’s just gonna miss you, dude,” Gina interrupted again. “Also means she’s stuck with Boyle and Jake most of the time, which sucks.”

Amy laughed, the guilt slowly ebbing away. “Thanks, Gina.”

“Don’t let other people stop you from achieving your dreams: new Gina-mandment.”

*

It was Amy’s last day at the Nine-Nine, and Rosa was still being stand-offish with her. It stung because it reminded Amy too much of when they first - before they were friends.

They were in the briefing room, and Amy had tried to sit next to Rosa, who immediately got up and made Scully switch seats with her. Amy had tried to listen to Holt, but all she could think about was the friend she hurt.

She zoned back in once she heard her name. “-Santiago’s last day with us here in the Nine-Nine before she goes on maternity leave, and then becomes a Lieutenant in the Nine-Three.”

He looked at her, a rare warm smile across his face, “We’re all very proud of you, and we’ll miss having you as one of our own.” He turned back to the squad, “I apologise for being so overly sentimental. Dismissed.”

Most of Amy’s last day at the Nine-Nina was taken up by people coming up to her, congratulating her on the baby, the promotion, saying they’ll miss her - everyone but the one person she wanted to hear it from the most.

It was near the end of her shift when Holt called her into his office.

“Everything alright, Sir?” she asked, lowering herself into the chair across from Holt.

Instead of answering, he asked a question of his own. “How has your last day been, Lieutenant?”

“Good,” Amy smiled. “Finished everything up,” she nodded, feeling the tears come on, “said my goodbyes.” She carried on nodding, fighting back the tears. Pregnancy and saying goodbye was not a good combination. She knew she’d be emotional wherever she left the Nine-Nine, but the pregnancy hormones were making it a thousand times worse.

His lips quirked upwards ever so slightly. “I just wanted to tell you again how proud of you I am. It has been my absolute honour to be your mentor, and I cannot wait to see you make improvements elsewhere within the NYPD. I hope your time here, with us, with me, proves itself useful…” he trailed off, the guise of formality dropping. “And I am so elated to see you succeed. I know it won’t be long until you yourself become a Captain, and make great change in this city.”

Amy was freely crying now. “Thank you, sir. I just want you to know that whatever good I do, whatever change I make, it will be because you helped me get there. You set the example. I can only hope to live up to you.”

Tears glistened in Holt’s eyes, “You already have.”

*

After crying with Holt for a while, Amy pulled herself together and left his office, heading to her desk to collect her things. As she was putting the last of her stuff in her bag she heard a cough. She looked up and saw the one person who’d been avoiding her all day.

“Look, dude, obviously I’m super happy for you,” Rosa said quickly, making it impossible for her to get a word in edgeways. “You totally deserve this and if you need to leave to get that amazing career that you deserve then of course you had to do it. You’re gonna crush it. I was upset that you didn’t tell me earlier, so we could’ve made the most of your time here. But then I realised whilst I was brooding that I was the one wasting the last of our time working together. But I was too stubborn to tell you that, but now you’re leaving I can tell you.” Rosa finally took a breath, her face getting red as her eyes began to water. “I’m sorry.”

Amy just pulled into the tightest hug a pregnancy belly would allow.

“As soon as I can we’re going on a girls night,” she declared.

Rosa chuckled into her shoulder “If anyone in your new precinct gives you crap just call me. I’ll bring my axe… and my throwing stars, just to be sure.”

The sleuth sisters laughed.

*

3 months later

“You sure you’ve got everything?” Jake asked as she got out of the car.

Amy rolled her eyes, “I’m sure. I’m not your child, you don’t need to fret over me.”

“I’ll send you updates if you send me updates,” Jake offered, getting out of the car to hug her goodbye. “And I’ll bring the kids when I pick you up later.”

She smiled at her doting husband. “Thank you. Have a good day.”

“You too.” He kissed her goodbye.

Amy watched him drive away before turning to the building before her: the Nine-Three. Her new precinct.

Walking into the building, Amy kept her eyes peeled for anyone she might know. There had to be a reason Holt recommended this place so highly yet refused to tell her anything about it. 

“Lieutenant Santiago!”

As much joy as being called that gave her, it was overshadowed by the joy at hearing that voice.

“Captain Kim!”

She turned around to the older woman holding out her hand. “Welcome to the Nine-Three, Lieutenant. I’m so glad to have you onboard.”

Amy spluttered, trying to get past her shock.

“So, a nice surprise?” she asked.

Finally finding her tongue, Amy cried, “Yes! Absolutely!”

“Good! I’ve been so excited to work with you, the wait was killing me,” Kim chuckled. “When Holt reached out to ask if we had an opening here and that you were looking to transfer, I said yes in a heartbeat.”

Amy’s eyebrows shot up, “Really? I thought with the impression the squad must have given, especially my husband…”

Kim waved her hand, “Oh no, water under the bridge. I actually found it inspiring how close you all were.” Kim began walking, leading her to her office. “After Holt was promoted again he reached out to apologise, and we got to talking. He gave me lots of advice on how being so close made you better detectives. And lots of other advice.” She opened the door to her office, gesturing at Amy to have a seat. “The last Lieutenant was an older gentleman. Good at his job, but very resistant to change. I hope with your help we’ll be able to do some good here and make this precinct an actual force for good in this city.”

Amy beamed. “I can’t wait to get started.”

[ofwolvesandbutterflies]

pink silk, black leather

Jung Jaehyun x Reader

requested by anonymous

--

“You’re infuriating,” Jaehyun growled, ripping the black leather jacket off his shoulders to drape it much gently around your quivering body. “You call me in the middle of the night, in a sketchy bar on the outskirts of town and for what? I’m in the middle of a goddamn meeting and I get a call because you lost your left high heel?!” the fuming male slammed a hand down on the frame of his car mere centimeters from where your head rested. His dark eyes looked murderous and the icy glare he sent you shot a grimace down your spine. Despite the entirety of the unfortunate situation you had found yourself in with your body pressed against the cool metal of your best friend’s car and said man glowering at you, all you could think was damn, that man would make one hell of a good mafia boss.

“Jesus, Y/N,” He tore his frustrated gaze away from you to roll his neck. Though the chill of the evening had been enough to expel most of the drunkenness from your system, the intoxicated part of you greedily drank in the way the dark red dress shirt hugged his toned torso. The top three buttons of his top had been left open, only heightening the butterflies starting to form in the pit of your stomach. And you would have kept staring at your childhood friend for much, much longer had he not leaned in, rage flitting in his dark irises. “Couldn’t you have chosen a different day to go clubbing? My god, this is the worst evening...” 

Well shit, you thought, a bitter taste filling your mouth and killing the butterflies as he went on, muttering on about his obvious distaste for the situation at hand. He didn’t need to yell so loudly.

“Jae-” you faltered when his gaze zeroed in on you. “I… You didn’t have to come- I mean, if you were that busy, I could have just called a cab...” the shamefully murmured words fell almost inaudibly from your lips. A lame excuse, really, but it was the only thing you could think of to say. A wretched combination of panic and hurt coursed through your bloodstream when Jaehyun gritted his teeth, glaring darkly at you. That, you thought to yourself. Had definitely been the wrong thing to say. 

There had only been a couple of occasions you had seen your best friend get so heated, and up until now, none of those times had been directed at you. However, if his hair wasn’t so disheveled, if his eyes weren’t so crazed from sleep deprivation, if the bags under his eyes weren’t so dark… you just may have been angry, too. 

“You didn’t have to come, Jaehyun,” he mocked you, pulling his usual baritone voice much higher than was necessary. The words - though just words - struck out at you and you winced as if you had just been slapped. Hot tears burned at your eyelids and he continued in his mimicry, oblivious to the hurt welling up in your stomach. You had known Jaehyun for long enough to know that he wasn’t angry at you, rather just at his wit’s end with work and misdirecting the stress. Still though, it didn’t make the accusations hurt any less. 

“If you were that busy,” he went on imitating you, jaw clenched. “-you should have just left m- No!” Another grimace shook your body at the sheer volume of his voice. You bit your lip, fighting down the whimper. “I would come to get you even if you had called from China about scraping your knee! Dumb, right? But I guess that's what I get for caring so much about a clumsy kid like you, huh?” he barked, finally finished with his rant. A few pathetic sniffles sounded in the back of your throat and your best friend's eyes shot towards the tears streaked down your face. Horrified, Jaehyun shut his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

“Fuck," he sighed, all the anger and rage from before melted into tired exasperation as he rubbed a hand over his tired features. For a moment, his mouth opened and closed, trying to formulate some sort of apology for the unspeakable way he had just treated you. 

“Jae...?” Shoving your fears aside, you stepped forward to cup his warm cheeks. His ivory eyes met yours, slowly, reluctantly and all you could see was tired regret. “Are you… are you done now?” 

“...Yeah.” Dropping his forehead onto your shoulder, you let him pull you into his arms. "I just- I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean that. Any of that. It’s not your fault, none of this is because of you. I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you and I’m- I… God, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have had to see me like that. It's just been a rough couple weeks at work, business deals falling through, people not doing their jobs correctly. It's hard, it's annoying, and half the time I'm like 'why are we even having meetings at 2 in the morning?'"

His words were muffled as they slid harshly down the skin of your shoulder, but all you could do was rub careful circles into his back. Jaehyun never talked much about his job to you and you never minded it. All you knew was that he was in business administration of some sort and most days you saw him, he had much too fancy of a suit on for the bruises and cuts littering his porcelain skin. You had learned not to ask him. The first time you inquired, he brushed you off quickly, telling you that when it came to spending time with you, it was strictly 'you time'; nothing would be said about his job because he wanted to keep work life and home life separate. You could respect that. 

But you didn’t like this side of him. Jaehyun pulled away only enough to wipe at the dried tears on your cheeks. “I know you’re probably angry with me,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair as he tried for a smile. “-but please don’t hesitate to call me if you need something. I promise I won’t yell at you.” 

“Well, I know I won’t call as often now... I don’t know how much I like getting yelled at by ‘big boss Jaehyun’.” You shot him a look and he chuckled sheepishly. 

“I-I’m sorry, I really am. I won’t do it agai-” 

“I’m kidding, you big lunk,” you brushed the fallen hair from out of his eyes with a soft smile. “Although I would still like not to be yelled at again.” 

“That,” Jaehyun grinned. “I can do. Now, let’s get you home.” 

Unraveling you from his grip, he opened the car door for you. You climbed in, body relaxing under the welcoming residual warmth of the inside of his Tesla. 

“Oh right,” he paused, catching the passenger door just before it closed. “You look beautiful tonight.” 

The door closed and a rush of red hurried to your cheeks. And as Jaehyun jogged around the back of the car, you spared a fond glance down at your pink silk minidress.

--

send me a title and an nct member and i’ll write a blurb for you

[nightashes]

And We Were Roommates

A/N: A gift for @who-said-i-was-asleep for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange. I hope you enjoy!!

Summary: Virgil is tired. So very tired. Luckily, he has the best roommate in the world. Who also might have a crush on him?

Warnings: food mention, creepy face mention

writing masterlist - ao3 version

***

The wood of the bunk was kinda weird. Virgil thought to himself as he laid in bed, staring at the grain of the frame above him. If he squinted and tilted his head just right, he could make out the image of a face. It was kinda unsettling, the way it stared back at him with it’s eyeless visage. It caused a shiver to pass through his bone-weary body. Virgil knew his exhausted mind was making it seem worse than it actually was. But his eyes were heavy and his brain was foggy. And the last thing Virgil wanted to see, as he struggled to calm his mind enough to rest, was the image of a haunted face made up of the sketchy lines of wood grain. 

Virgil rolled his head to the side to escape the stare. The clock greeted him, blinking unforgivingly back at him. Six o’clock. Virgil slapped his hand against his forehead and let out a curse in frustration. Great. Another sleepless night. And another day of fighting to stay awake during class. Just perfect.

Above him, he could hear the beginnings of movement. His roommate climbed down from the top bunk. Virgil watched him attentively, what must it be like to be able to just sleep when you were supposed to? Logan stared back, no doubt noticing the growing bags beneath his eyes. 

“You know, Virgil, your curses in the morning work better than any alarm clock I’ve ever had.”

“I hate you.” Virgil only half joked.

“Another sleepless night?”

His answer was a groan of pain and exhaustion. He pulled his comforter up and over his face, hoping to hide from a world that could be so cruel as to deny him rest.

“Do you want to skip our morning class again? Try and get at least a couple hours of sleep?”

“I can’t miss any more, I’ll fail.” He mumbled from beneath the blanket. 

“I’ll grab you something to eat.” Logan shuffled off to dress for class. 

Virgil laid there listening to the sounds of his roommate. Silently, in his mind, Virgil conversed with his body. It’s time to get up, he whispered to his legs that refused to move. Leaving the safety and comfort of his bed seemed to be impossible at this moment. Perhaps a compromise could be reached?

He rolled out of bed, taking his comforter with him, and flopped onto the floor into a messy pile. He laid there, breathing in the stench of old carpet. This is fine, he thought, he could live here happily, on the floor.

“I’ll be back with food.” His roommate called. The door clicked shut and Virgil was left alone with the floor.

Coffee. He needed coffee. Virgil departed his friend, the carpet, with a reassuring pat to the polyester fibers. The room tilted as he stood. His head whirling from the movement. He steadied himself against the wall and breathed in deeply until his vision cleared. He slipped on a sweatshirt as the chill began to seep into his bones. His hands buzzed from exhaustion as he shuffled over to their busted second-hand coffee maker. It did not glitter but it sure did produce the finest gold, a hot cup of coffee.

He sipped at the steaming hot liquid, as he stared out the window, slowly forcing his mind to clear. It did not work.

Today was going to suck.

He took another sip.

Virgil slipped on a pair of shoes and groggily tied up the laces. His fingers fumbled as his hands buzzed, jittery and fatigued. Logan returned with a white paper bag of fast food. He passed Virgil a steaming breakfast burrito.  Yummy.  The idea of food was not a welcome one at this moment. Not that he wasn’t hungry. He was. But it just felt like too much. Still he forced himself to take several small bites. The taste was better than what his mind had expected. And once he got into the rhythm of eating, it became a little easier. He could do this.

They departed their dorm together and walked across campus in silence. Virgil hummed along to the tunes blasting through his earbuds, desperately clinging to the energy that the noise provided. Lost in his own little world, he tried to imagine a different one. A world without morning classes or sleepless nights or deadlines. A world full of pillowy clouds to drift to sleep on. He thought that would be quite a nice place to live. 

Logan was attempting to read as he walked. His gaze flicking furiously from the page to the sidewalk and back again. Virgil wasn’t sure how much Logan could retain anything reading like that. But then again, it was Logan. If anyone could manage it, he could.

The TA greeted them as they entered the lecture hall. Virgil led the way to a seat in the back. No way was he sitting up close while this tired. He plopped down into a chair and allowed all the tension to drop away. He was here now. All he had to do was make it through this class and then he could try and sleep after.

The hush of chattering voices began to die down as the professor took command of the room. Her voice was soft and monotonous. The sounds of her chalk scratched against the blackboard. Virgil could feel his eyes begin to droop. He shook his head, forcing himself back to attention. He fiddled with his pen. Trying to move enough to keep his body awake, while also making sure to not draw the attention of his fellow classmates. 

In the back of the class, he fought against his own mind. The fog that filled his head and softened the voices of rationality. He struggled to keep his eyes wide and open. He pinched at his skin, as if this were a bad dream that he could force himself to awaken from. But the room was warm from the packed bodies. It was warm and it was quiet. The lecture was a lullaby, a meditative chant that softened his gaze. As the hour ticked on, Virgil lost himself to the fog of sleep. He could feel his head bobbing. And then he lost his sense of presence.

Virgil drifted in consciousness. He knew a little about where he was and what he should be doing. But his body and mind were out of his control. He floated through the haze of thought. And in that classroom he slept.

The sounds of chatter jerked him back to awareness. Class. He was in class. He frantically swiveled his head, taking in as much as he could. What had he missed? Had anyone noticed him sleeping?

People were packing up their books. They were getting ready to leave. Class… he had missed the entire class. Virgil thumped his head against his textbook.

“You mustn't be too hard on yourself, Virgil. You were here, you were marked present. That’s all that matters right now.” Logan reassures him, closing up his own two notebooks. Wait, why did he have two notebooks?

Logan passed one of them to Virgil as he finished collecting his things. “Ready to go?”

Virgil stared down at the notebook in his hand. He flipped it open. It was full of lecture notes. Not just from today. The dates… they were from everyday that he had skipped so far and then today as well! 

“What is this?” Virgil asked dumbfounded.

“You expressed displeasure at the idea of failing. This will help. It is everything that you have missed so far.”

“You copied your notes into a separate notebook?”

“Well, no. I formatted these slightly differently and included certain contexts that you would need after having missed the lectures… It should help.”

“Logan, this is incredible.”

A blush of pink dusted the cheeks of his roommate. “It’s no big deal. I just thought it would help.” He cleared his throat and cast his eyes about, “No one should miss out on the chance to learn, afterall.”

Virgil smiled at his roommate. “I was going to take a nap before my next class. But later on, maybe we could study together? If you want that is. I mean it’d probably be easier to just study on your own and I know I’m really behind-”

“Yes.” Logan interrupted the torrent of thoughts spilling from Virgil’s mouth. “I would love to go over the notes with you.” 

He paused as if just realizing he had used the word love. Logan quickly tacked on: “I have a passion for teaching is all.”

“Of course,” Virgil rolled his eyes at the awkwardness. Logan was such a dork when he was flustered. Wait? He was flustered! Did this mean that… Logan liked him? Virgil cheeks flushed at the thought. “Uhhh… I’ll see you later?”

“Later then.” Logan stiffly departed the hall, leaving Virgil alone with a whirlwind of thoughts. His roommate had a crush on him? His roommate had a crush on him! 

After passing out in their dorm for his afternoon nap, Virgil spent his next class with one thought and one thought only running through his mind. Logan had a crush on him. Logan: who had gone out of his way to take notes for him. Logan: who was one of the smartest people he had ever met. Logan: who had blushed! 

Virgil wasn’t really sure what to make of it. All he knew was that with every passing minute, he was getting closer to their study date. Well, not a study  date, more like a study session. Wait, was it a date? Could it be a date? Did Logan think of it that way? No. Certainly not. He had been flustered by even the insinuation of romance! But maybe… Maybe it could become one… eventually?

And that is how Virgil found himself, pacing their dorm clutching the gifted notebook to his chest, and worrying his lip, as the time for the study session drew ever near. Logan arrived only a minute late. He was weighed down with books from the library and he smiled tiredly at his roommate. Despite this a soft blush was present on his face.

“Hello, Virgil. Are you ready? I got some extra books that might help.” He plopped himself down at his desk, swiveling the chair to face outwards. Virgil followed suit, still clutching his notebook to him.

“Yeah. Yeah. Let’s do this. Ummm… how was your day?”

“Adequate. A small mishap in labs, but nothing I couldn’t handle.” Logan rubbed at the bridge of his nose. 

“If you're tired. We can do this later. You know I would understand.”

Logan’s gaze locked onto him. “I want to do this.”

The heat in Virgil’s cheek was like a warning bell. He was in dangerous territory now. His heart was being stolen by a nerd in glasses. What a way to go!

“Alright, let’s do this!” Virgil smiled brightly.

They worked their way through the gifted notebook. Going over all the notes that were provided there. They stopped whenever Virgil found himself confused. Logan assured Virgil that no question was too small. And then he would beam at Virgil whenever he finally understood it. It made Virgil feel like he could accomplish anything. Virgil’s favorite part was when Logan would pick up a book to rant in depth about his favorite parts. His passion for academics was like a blazing fire. It flooded Virgil’s stomach with butterflies and made his heart race with the knowledge that he was falling hard. Eventually, they began to lapse into silence as they slowly got further into their own readings. 

Virgil was going over today’s lecture notes again. But he couldn’t stop thinking about the person beside him. The notes were written in a tight script. It was precise and easy to read. A sharp contrast to Virgil’s own chicken scratch. He traced his fingers over the blue ink. Virgil didn’t think Logan would be one to write with colored ink, but Logan enjoyed the color blue. The thought drifted into his head again. Logan liked him, right? 

Virgil flipped a page.

Virgil liked Logan. 

He really really did.

He should say something right?

Virgil looked up, the words forming on his lips, only to find Logan slumped over his desk. His face pressed into his arms, his glasses askew and digging into his skin. There was the smallest trail of drool beginning to form at the corner of his lips.

Virgil chuckled.

Now Logan was the bone-tired one.

Virgil stood from his seat. He carefully and gently removed the glasses from his roommate’s face. Pulling the blanket down from Logan’s bunk, Virgil draped it across his shoulders. And with a flick of the switch, the room is darkened.

Virgil readies himself for bed quickly and quietly. As he lays down in his bunk, he watches Logan at the desk. It couldn’t be comfortable to sleep at a desk. But selfishly, Virgil enjoyed seeing his crush asleep beside him. 

He whispered into their darkened room, “Goodnight, Logan.” And promptly fell asleep.

taglist: @stop-it-anxiety @hexatrash @ollyollyoxinfree @battlebunnyteardropsinthesun @leiasolo77 @arya-skywalker @alexxadontplaydespasito