#but i forgot to change his hairstyle for this oops

[sinileijona]

hrothtober day 3 - sanctuary

against the wind

[vigilbutts]

oh, um, meet creature, my newest strange sonboy ???? his gender is a mystery and he is crunchy.

also! glowy freckles!!!

[justwinginglife]

Wait For Me

Inspired by ideas from @adaizel (my dude, you really do be milking the longest fics out of me lmao I appreciate you though)

You'd known Soshiro Hoshina your whole life as both of you came from respectable kaiju-slaying clans, and though you knew most everything about him, you wanted to ignore one particular thing about him- that he was probably not into you.

Having seen you in diapers and then seen you in braces, you were more likely to be seen as a little sister to him rather than a love interest. He'd bandaged you up too many times after you got hurt and wiped your snot from your tear stained face too regularly to think any different. You denied the painful thought frequently though, continuing your active pursuit of him.

He was several years older than you, but you never stopped trying to remind him that you were a woman.

You recalled the first time you'd ever worn a bikini in front of him. He'd wanted to take you swimming in the ocean, the way he always did every summer, and you thought that it was high time that you show off what the lord gave you. But unfortunately, if he was shocked or awestruck at all by the lack of coverage over your body, he didn't show it. Even when you'd jumped in the air trying to hit a beach volleyball and your boobs had bounced their way to kingdom come, he still didn't react.

It made you want to try anything to get his attention. Suck a popsicle a little too hard, little too deep. Dry your dripping body off with his towel, because oops you forgot one. And you even made sure to drag the towel extra slow in between your legs.

Eventually you resorted to trying out different hairstyles and different makeup to try and get any sort of reaction from him. You thought the man should try gambling because he had one hell of a poker face, always treating you the exact same as he always did.

You thought it might be hopeless after all, but you had found out that Soshiro planned on leaving to join the Defense Force soon and you didn't want to give up on him, not after having pined for him your whole life. You felt you needed some sort of closure at least.

You already knew your parents would never let you follow him into battle, you were the sole heir to the clan. It was your duty to run the household, settle down, make more heirs. But before you resigned yourself to your fate, you needed him to know how you felt even if he didn't return the feelings (though you desperately hoped he did).

Your heart pounds as you begin to write him a letter and then you think your heart might just give in and collapse as you hand the letter off to your lady's maid to deliver to him.

Soshiro had been packing the last of his things in the dead of the night, getting ready to ship out in the morning, when he got your letter. He reads it over carefully, his eyes widening as they trail down the page. He rereads it again, making sure he didn't misinterpret.

Then he slips his shoes on quick as he can, and makes the short walk to your house, knocking gently on your bedroom door.

You open the door and smile when you see him but when you notice the letter in his hand and the solemnity etched into his face, you know he's not here to deliver good news. Before he can say anything, you begin to speak, wanting to get your words out before the tears come. "Can you- can you just wait for me? Please? Wait for me to be someone you can love? I'll be finished with my lessons soon and they say I'll be the lady of the house in no time at all. I can come visit you when I find the time. I can... I can make it work. Just please. Wait for me."

He holds both of your hands in his, giving them a gentle squeeze. For the first time in your life, you see his poker face wavering. He musters up his best smile for you, but it's not the sweet smile you know, it's apologetic from top to bottom.

"Thank you... for entrusting your feelings to a fool like me. If I'd known how you felt... well never mind that. I can't change what I would've done just as much as I can't change the different directions we're going in. We- we're living separate lives now, darling. And I can't wait for you, much as I'd like to. I need to do this, I need to go. And you have to stay here. I can't take you with me. Please forgive me."

With every word he says, the tears spill out more and more aggressively until all you are is a quivering mess, watching your one and only true love fade from your life.

"You'll forget me soon enough." He whispers as he pulls you into a quick hug, then he wipes your tears and begins to walk away.

Before he fades from view completely, you yell at the top of your lungs, not caring that it's the middle of the night, "I'd never forget you! I'll wait for you then! I'll always wait for you."

All you can see is his back, and you wonder if he heard you. If he smiled at all. If he reacted at all.

Then he rounds the corner and disappears with all your hopes and dreams.

You fall to the floor, knees crashing against the hard surface, but they don't hurt nearly as much as the ache in your empty chest.

You don't get a good sleep that night. In fact, you don't get a good sleep for many nights to come.

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

Soshiro made Vice Captain of the Third Division rather quickly. The view from the top (he was told) was supposedly rather glorious, but when he got there he found it empty and lacking, realizing there was no one to share in his triumph. No one to cheer on his victory, to tell him they knew he could do it.

Then he thought of you again. It'd been years since he'd seen you but he still thought of you. Nearly everyday, against his will. He'd tried to force the feelings down, tried to ignore the picture of your tear-stained face in his mind, tried to stop hearing your voice echoing in his ears. He'd stayed up late training every night, until the ache in his heart was drowned out by the aching in the rest of his body. He'd even gone on random dates with random women to try to break the cycle of dreaming about you day and night, but he'd hear your voice in someone's laugh or he'd see your sparkle in someone's eyes, and he knew he couldn't deny himself any longer.

Trying not to love you was like trying to stop the push and pull of the waves, or trying to stop the rotation of the Earth, it couldn't be done.

He opens the top drawer of his desk again. Your letter is sitting right there, where he'd left it, for easy viewing access whenever he felt like wondering about what could've been. Wondering about how you're doing, about who you're with.

Do you still visit the secret spot he'd found for the two of you? Do you still play the violin, the one that he bought you? Do you... still love him? Did you wait for him?

The downward spiral of his thoughts sends him into a frenzy, as he hurriedly jams random clothes into a suitcase with just one clear thought in mind- he wants, he needs to see you. He needs to smell you, to hear you, to tell you how he feels. To make up for making you cry. To make up for all these years of lost time. To beg you for another chance. To let you love him. To let himself love you.

Captain Ashiro approves his hasty request for leave (having never seen the man take any time off at all in the many years he'd been in the Defense Force) and soon enough he's on the first bullet train back to his hometown.

He knocks on the familiar wood of your front door. His hands are shaking and his mind is scattered, filled with endless, useless, worrying thoughts, but he knows when he sees you everything will be okay. If he can just see you again, he'll know what to say, he'll know what to do, he'll be whole again.

The door opens and his smile is at the ready, waiting to greet you, but it's your mother that answers the door and his lips freeze mid-smile. He listens intently, his heart dropping into his stomach, as she explains that you've eloped with his brother- Soichiro.

He tastes salt and he realizes he's crying on your doorstep the way you did for him all those years ago. He hurriedly wipes his cheeks and thanks your mother quickly, before backing away. She gives him a sympathetic look as he stumbles down the street, lost in a daze.

For the first time in years, he doesn't know what he wants. What he should do. But he still needs to see you, married or not, and that desire drives him to get onto the next train to the Sixth Division.

When he arrives, it looks like they're throwing some sort of party. He checks his reflection in a nearby window, making sure the crying he did on the way here isn't visible in his eyes or his cheeks. When he's fixed his hair and adjusted his collar to his liking, he heads into the main building.

He asks around and it appears they're inducting a new Vice Captain.

He watches from the back row as the new Vice Captain takes the stage, waving and grinning. His heart roars in his chest when he realizes it's you.

Your speech is sweet and short but he hangs onto every word, watching your lips as they move.

Then you step down from the stage and the ceremony is concluded. Officers start to file out of the room and then eventually it's just you and him.

He lifts a hand awkwardly, giving you a little wave.

He thinks you might ignore him. Thinks you might turn around and walk away. Leave through the nearest exit. Run through the nearest exit, desperate to get away from him. From the man who broke your heart.

But he never could've expected what you'd do.

You do run but you run towards him, leaping into his arms.

He's shocked but he quickly pulls himself together and pulls you tight against him, inhaling the sweet scent of you. He doesn't want to talk about what happened or what is going to happen when you finally let go, he just wants to hold you and let this be enough. But the erratic beat of his heart isn't satisfied with just holding you. He needs to make you his.

He pulls away and grabs your hands, checking for a ring. He almost cries again when he doesn't see one.

You laugh, looking at him puzzled. "Yes? Something you need?"

"You're... you're not married." His breath is so shaky it's a wonder he was able to form words at all.

"I said I'd wait, didn't I?" You whisper, pulling your hands away from his so you can cup his face and stroke his cheeks with your thumbs.

Now he starts crying.

You kiss the tears away from his cheeks. "Hey, I don't remember you being such a crybaby. What happened to the tough Vice Captain of the Third Division?" You tease him but your voice is still soft, filled with concern at his sudden burst of emotion.

"H-he's not here right now. Just me. Just a man who's in love with you, wondering if you can still find it in you to love him back."

You smile warmly at him and he thinks he might just die now and go to heaven, having finally seen your smile for real and not just in his haunting dreams.

"I said I'd wait, and I have. I'd wait a thousand years for you. I'd wait more than that. It's you, it's always been you and it always will be."

He sighs, relieved. He takes you in his arms again, pulling you close and trailing kisses all over you. Then he freezes.

"Wait, I heard you ran off to get married with my brother?"

You laugh and the sound is enough to melt his heart and ease his nerves. "Well I guess that's partially true. I mean I did run away with him but only to join his division, that's it. I was hoping to run into you."

Soshiro squeezes you tighter, afraid if he lets you go this might be a dream. "So marry me then."

The waves continue to push and pull, the Earth continues to spin on its axis, and Soshiro continues to love you immensely and infinitely the rest of his entire life.

[manochulios]

MY NINJAGO DESIGNS (UPDATED)

Ok FIRST OF ALL!!! follow me on tiktok and AO3!! I'm posting my art there and I have a fanfic project centered on Nya (and Morro) that I started writing, I think you might be interested!

Secondly..... YES! After less than a week of posting the first designs, I decided to change some things!!!!! If you compare it to the old post you'll see that there weren't any very drastic changes, but there were a few things that were particularly bothering me and now I feel like I'm satisfied (for now.....)

Obviously, as you can see, I haven't changed a lot of things. Maybe I shouldn't have made this update in a new post, changing the main one would have been more than enough but.... nah.

Colors of the gold armor - I gave them a brighter tone, the old one was very dull

Zane and Nya's boots - brother wtf were those, now they are sooo much better

Zane gloves - I totally forgot about them in the first version, but now he has them!!

Kai and Nya eyes - in the old version they already had matching eyes (main color in their own color palette and pupil in the color of their siblings), but I made Nya's eye color more towards gray and Kai's towards brown, instead of the dark -cyan-almost-green and amber that they had)

Nya's hair and sleeves - I left her hair a little closer to her original hair, I felt that in the old one I ended up giving her a hairstyle more similar to mine in real life..... oops? I also changed the flowing sleeve to a more well behaved one similar to Kai's, I don't know if I totally like this change to be honest

Marks on their body - Lloyd now has marks from the oni transformation!! although they are not that visible from far; Nya and Cole's marks are better done than before and Zane has more robot features (although these three in particular are more visible under his clothes *wink wink*)

Jay has goggles now :D

Some close ups (I swear I don't know what I'm doing wrong for the images to be saved in SUCH poor quality)

Some headshots

So I guess this is it? NOW I'm gonna leave these designs alone. I already posted on my tiktok too, so if you can stop by and give me a boost I'd really appreciate it!! I'm already working on the individual images of each one with some headcanons and more specifications on the details of each one's designs, but it will probably take a while. I also plan to do a part two of the designs with some secondary characters, but that totally depends on my willingness and willpower LOL

see you soon <3

[kaijuworldorder]

Gadzooki + Konky Donk: The Empire Magazine review

Oh shit I was supposed to post this weeks ago and forgot, oops. Anyway, having seen Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire a second time and solidified my opinion of it, yeah it's pretty good! Major glow-up from the previous entry. It's not perfect and is no less stupid than its predecessor, but it's the kind of dumb movie that I like, one that doesn't go out of its way to insult my intelligence or annoy me. The things that worked about Godzilla vs. Kong are here only way more, and the things that sucked are mostly not here. There's just enough substance that my adult self is happy, and all the mindless wild spectacle that makes kWo Junior cheer and want to bash action figures together. Adam Wingard said in an interview that his aim was to make a modern-day Toho Champion Festival movie, and I think he succeeded. I'm no longer nearly as worried about the future of the MonsterVerse as I was. I thought this picture was going to suck ass, but I sure ate my words. 4 stars, check it out if you haven't yet.

There's the short version. Under the cut, I'll get into specifics of what I liked and what I didn't. If you're still wanting to see GxK and somehow haven't yet, I recommend doing so before reading on, because I spoil a lot of the movie here.

WHAT I LIKED

Big-time Inhumanoids vibes. The tone, the “journey into a subterranean world to stop evil monsters from taking over Earth” plot, Skar King being kinda like Metlar personality-wise and living in a horrible lava hell, the wacky pseudoscience and power armor (well, just a gauntlet but you get the picture), the gruesome violence…I half-expected the end credits to sound like this. GxK is the closest I think we will ever get to a big-budget theatrical Inhumanoids motion picture, unless a miracle happens and Hasbro decides to give a shit again and buys back the rights. For those who aren't familiar with Inhumanoids: get familiar with it, you’ll thank me later.

Rebecca Hall's new hairstyle. Yeah.

Bernie no longer sucks. Way less grating and unfunny, doesn't parrot fascist talking points every goddamned second, and the sense of wonder he shows upon seeing the Hollow Earth for the first time really won me over.

Jia. One of the previous movie’s strongest aspects in my opinion, particularly her dynamic with Kong, and that holds true in this picture as well. She gets a good deal more to do, shows off more range, and her whole emotional arc in this hits just right for me. Feeling alone even though you’re not, feeling like you don’t fit in anywhere, thinking there must be something wrong with you but you can’t put it into words…these are things I can relate to all too well. And I won’t lie, I choked up when she chose to stay with Andrews at the end.

Unfridging the Iwi. The previous film’s most egregious, unforgivable misstep has been walked back, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s also good to see the Iwi having a more active role in the story, instead of basically being window dressing like in Kong: Skull Island, which as much as I love that movie was kind of a problem. It helps that the Hollow Earth Iwi are just extremely cool. Love the crystal spears, the gravity pyramid and all their other Sufficiently Advanced tech. They’re like if Seatopia weren’t horrible assholes, or if the Nilai Kanai were in a better movie. I like 'em!

Dentist! A thing I love about the MonsterVerse is how it comes up with creative stuff involving kaiju that no other movie has ever really thought to do (e.g. Godzilla flashing Chellen-kov LIGHT from his spines as a threat display). I also like that it shows how the world has changed in response to the emergence of Godzilla and the others—how culture, the economy, politics, and general day-to-day life have shaped themselves around these creatures. Trapper exemplifies both of these things really well. I doubt I would ever have come up with the idea of a kaiju veterinarian, let alone written a scene showing how a dental procedure on a 300-foot ape would work, but I'm so grateful for that level of worldbuilding. He’s also just a goofy weird guy and I like him.

Golden Earring "Twilight Zone" needle drop. One of my favorite songs of all time is in this movie and I know it's kinda stupid to pop for things like that, but goddammit I loved it.

Kong’s arc. There’s just something really satisfying about finally seeing a King Kong who isn’t the last of his kind. Plus he gets a Trendmasters accessory robo-glove gimmick, which is just stupid enough that I'm into it.

Monster rasslin'. I do wish the fight scenes had more weight and scale to them, but goddamn, they're just so much fun and visually engaging. I can't dislike a movie where Godzilla does a vertical suplex.

Sucko. I love this horrible little ugly-cute weirdo/giant ape version of Rock Howard, and not just because “hehe funni mokney” or the bit where Kong uses him as a blunt object to clobber those other assholes. I got genuinely invested in him and Kong bonding, as he realizes that barely anyone in the Skar King’s domain ever showed him genuine kindness before. He is good and can stay.

The Skar King. Fantastic love-to-hate-him scumbag villain, chock-full of personality. You really want to see Kong and Godzilla kick this guy’s ass, and his cruelty and tyranny getting paid back in full at the end is so satisfying. The only thing that really sucks about him is his uncreative name. Like come on, “Hanuman” was RIGHT THERE, especially since the Whipslash can totally stand in for a tail.

Skar King’s soldiers. I love these Lost City of Zinj-ass motherfuckers. They're nasty and fun and I want action figures of them yesterday, so hey uh, Playmates, maybe get on that? Not like you'd have to spend a ton of money either, just reuse the Ferocious Kong and Skar King body molds and make a couple new heads, splash some red paint on em and voila, instant gorilla warfare. That one balding ape with the fucked-up eye who Sucko kicks off the pyramid to his death might require some new tooling, but nothing major.

Shimo. It's nice to have an antagonist monster who isn't evil, and is still alive at the end of the picture. We don't often get reptilian monsters not named Godzilla that are babyfaces, and ice powers are rare in Toho kaiju circles. She's just a breath of fresh air, with a simple but effective design and a genuine emotional hook; I really felt bad for her when the Skar King was bossing her around and basically torturing her, and the joy she feels at her freedom from his control transcends onto me, the viewer.

Mothra is so fucking back. She makes her presence felt, she doesn't die this time, and she gets a little more to do here than in King of the Monsters, which I appreciate. I still say she ought to have a solo spinoff movie; she's Strong and Cool™ enough to stand on her own, and there's so much more you can do with her than just being Godzilla's conscience and bestest pal.

Tiamat. It was nice to see her in motion finally instead of just being relegated to tie-in comics that the movies ignore 99.9% of the time. Shame we’re never gonna see her again.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

Junkie XL's score. Soulless and unmemorable hackery, just like his work on Godzilla vs. Kong. The Skar King motif sounds like he started to compose something and then just gave up. He also has a Jimmy Hart version of "Mothra's Song" to accompany the previous movie's Jimmy Hart Godzilla theme, and it's just as lame. Bring back McCreary or Desplat, please and thank ya.

AVP-wi. As much as I like the Hollow Earth Iwi, I’m a little annoyed that the Iwi are now apparently the only ancient monster-worshiping culture there has ever been. It feels dumbed down, and limits what future stories in this setting will be able to do.

Godzilla Evolved. Boy oh boy do I have a lot to say about this, none of it good. Godzilla's new look is way too busy and overdesigned with all these spiky greebles all over him that make him look more like a Monster Hunter boss than the King of the Monsters, and his proportions physically hurt me to look at. Where did all the internal organs in his torso go to make his waist that slim? What the fuck is up with his arms? Why are there dorsal spines growing out of his elbows and forearms? It just doesn't look right. I get that they're trying to evoke the Godzilla 2000 design with the giant pink spines and slimmer body proportions and the spikier and slightly greener skin (it's even got the same feet) but it just isn't done that well, and besides, if I wanted to see that design, I'd watch that movie. It’s just fucking up the cohesion of the Legendary Godzilla design and eroding its visual identity even more, dragging it further and further in directions it wasn’t meant to go in a cynical capitalistic move to sell new toys. I said it in 2019 and I'll say it again: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Moreover, it's 100% cosmetic and doesn't actually affect the movie at all in any meaningful way, it's just Dragon Ball-style "new color = stronger" power creep. We keep being told how much more powerful Godzilla is now, but we're not shown any evidence that there's a significant difference. It doesn't feel like there's anything Evolved Godzilla does that regular Godzilla couldn't or hasn't before. He doesn't act any different or display new abilities. His new thagomizer and Batmanesque arm spines? Never uses 'em, they're just more surface greebles to clutter up the design. Why make changes like that if you're not gonna do anything with them? Hell, the only new trick Godzilla shows off in this, the classic blue Nuclear Pulse, is something he uses before he evolves! And then he never does it again after that! Even the atomic breath color change is meaningless. We're told it's stronger than before, but again, we never actually see that; it doesn’t seem to do any more damage to monsters or buildings than the old one did. Sure, it burns away Shimo's ice storm at the end, but Godziller burned a tunnel all the way through the fucking Earth with the regular blue breath in the last movie, so it doesn't really feel like something he needed a new form to be able to do. I don't believe for one second that Godzilla Evolved was necessary; there's not enough real difference between it and Original Flavor Godzilla to justify its existence. I realize that's probably unfair of me to say since I don't know if or how much anything that would've helped illustrate the difference better may have been part of the movie before but got cut for time, but to me at least, the effect on the finished film is that Most Powered-Up New Godzilla® just feels like a palette swap in a video game, and that's not great. Maybe instead, oh I dunno, you could have Godzilla have a rough time and just barely win against Scylla in Rome instead of wasting her in seconds, Final Wars-style? Maybe have a little flashback to the ancient war of Godzilla vs. Hanuman & 700 Big Gorilla, like show him barely surviving that, so we get an idea of what he's up against? Then when he powers up, we can buy that he's stronger now, like a sense of progression or something. Instead, what we get is basically a Hong Kong martial arts flick if it showed the hero doing a training montage and then beating all the bad guys, but didn't show any of why he needed to train in the first place, e.g. the bad guys kicking his ass. It's a payoff with no setup. I assume this is probably a side effect of Godzilla in New Empire being what immature people with bad opinions claim he was in Godzilla (2014)—a guest star in his own movie—so there might not have been a way to avoid this problem without significantly altering the pacing, but like…could they have at least fucking tried?

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

HIIII I see that u hv a match up goin on and Id like to try! Would u mind doing one for me with Obey Me?

Pronouns : She/they

Sexuality: Im not sure exactly??... still discovering but I know that I like both sexes

Infp 4w5 / Cancer sun Taurus moon n Scorpio rising (I saw some doing not just the sun sign so i think it would be fun if i include all 3 lol)

Appearance: Im South East Asian. Around 5'2. I hv shoulder length black hair, black eyes and olive toned skin. My hairstyle is akin to the jellyfish hair. I rarely wear makeup and would just hv my bare face out due to its sensitivity to breakouts. And my clothing, its mostly modest/covering for academic places or just comfy and quick with any cool baggy tees i hv. Its my current closet, since i dont hv much occasions to go grand and i just wanna blend in with everyone around me lookin like an npc. But id love to wear more self expressing stuff in the future, to my desire. More accessories, colorful makeups and fashions like dark couquette/gyaru or so!

Personality: My personality, id say its two sided. I guess hv an open mind and easy going (to some degree ofc). A dream chaser and a listener. Sometimes (just sometimes), i can get my mind through a problem and stay grounded. Im also empathic? I like consoling with people and I appreciate the smallest details. I feel for people's struggle and I hold hopes in them. However, i can get moody, its so unexpected and intense that even im scared of it. I can be very quiet then, and dissociative. Id just want to be alone by that time to figure out my situation. Ive been said to appear gloomy or hard to approach too :cry: If im pissed, im venomous. And im actually an anxious person, of all sorts of things. Self deprecating too, i almost forgot abt that. But if i feel suitable, i get funky and enjoy myself hehe.

Likes/Dislikes : I like visual novels, rhythm games and those with good storytelling; a variety of music genres that focus on melody, instrument, composing; local asian food; sleeping with plushies; arts n crafts; esoteric things; philosophy study; my friends; solitude and continuation; aesthetic or hidden values and uhhh nice, mannered intriguing people.

I dont like smelly people doe. People who are narrow minded icks me oops. Pls dont tryna barge in on me when im busy unless it helps. I hate the sun... And not getting myself tented after a long day. I dislike my parents as well, yikes. Worst of all, being opressed.

Hobbies : doll, bracelet making; drawing, online shopping, rhythm game arcade, reading philosophy works, uhh getting invested in random medias...

Anyways, thats my submission! If u do reply, tysm for the matchup!!!

Hi Anon! Thank you for the request! I hope you like your matchup!

In Obey Me, I match you with...

Asmo is the best person to hype you up about wearing more self-expressing things. He’s great at putting outfits together and will give you honest and genuine feedback.

Doesn’t mind your personality changes. He knows what mood swings are like so he’s very understanding.

Please go online shopping with him! But set a budget because you’re both liable to get caught up in the energy and spend too much. But online shopping with Asmo would be so much fun.

Not great at giving you alone time but if you say you need some space, he’ll respect your wishes. While you’re enjoying your alone time, he’ll do a spa day or hang out with some of his friends.

Asmo loves your plushies. He thinks they’re really cute and, if you’re okay with it, would love to borrow some of them to sleep with as well. He’ll take good care of them and swaps them out occasionally so you’ve got a constantly rotating roster of plushies in your room.

[sunatooru]

hello!! was wondering if i could request smth? i’m assuming most schools (esp japanese ones) would be quite strict in terms of piercings and stuff so maybe smth w nekoma getting a new manager and it’s like a running joke within the team about her constantly having her hair down and she wont even tuck it behind her ears to make sure she hides her ear piercings lmaooo or if she has to tie it she ties it in a low pony making sure it covers her ears so she doesn’t get in trouble (this was me in high school oop) OKAYY so basically at training camp it’s not as strict ??? i’m assuming SO she wears her septum and her belly button piercing, maybe a tongue one too, and nekoma + other team’s reactions hehe thanks so much, if this is too long dw about it AHAHA

Hellooo this was so fun to write and I low-key relate with hiding piercings haha. Thank you for requesting and let me know if you like it xx

~

You knew the minute you pierced you ears you wouldn't be able to show them. You knew your school would never allow them but that didn't stop you. Not the first time, second time and many many times after. It was an obsession. The semi second of pain meaning nothing as you admire the final results.

You were almost bitter at the fact you had to hide your piercings. The jewellery left on your bed at home as you walk into school. You tried to remove anything that was directly seen. You figured it was too much of a hassle to take off and put on your earrings everyday, so you settled to tie your hair in a low pony. Hair covering your ears as if they didn't exist.

This of course was an unusual look. You were receiving looks from everyone. Teachers could say nothing, however, it's not like you were breaking any rules. It fact you was making sure you wouldn't break rules.

When you applied for manager for Nekoma's volleyball team and got the role, you didn't expect to get along with them so well. But that didn't mean they knew about your piercings and they made sure to tease you about your choice of hairstyle.

"I'm convinced you don't even have ears." Kuroo grinned.

Rolling your eyes you collect their towels. This wasn't new. Each team member had come up with a theory about your ears, how they looked and if they were even their. Kenma even commented on how he wished he didn't have ears so he could enjoy silence. You made sure to check up on him after that. Somehow, the nickname 'muffle ears' replaced your name. Yaku mocking how your hair covering your ears acted as mufflers. Oh how strongly you agreed with Kenma's comment in that moment. The dynamic with the team was always playful, however, only really being intense for matches or if there were any injuries. You'd brush off their comments and even call them out. Your ears were covered, not your mouth.

You learnt that in the summer the team would meet up with other school teams at Tokyo, practicing and playing matches to train better. The thought of not having hair making your neck itch,and finally letting your hair out for the day, was comforting. You also gleamed at the idea of getting to show off your piercings, knowing how much of a surprise it would be for the team. But mostly, you just missed how you look with your jewellery on.

On the first day you were too busy with setting up and scheduling that you couldn't even greet your team or the visiting ones. You didn't think it would get as busy, or how hungry boys could get.

"Hey, does Y/n have a twin?" Lev ask as he enters the gym.

"What kind of question is that? No she doesn't..do you even pay attention to information?" Yaku replies, Lev standing straight as he remembers how he forgot Yaku's advice the previous game.

"But then who's the girl who looks like Y/n but with the crazy piercings?" This piques the teams interest.

They get Lev to bring them to your so-called twin. Their mouths open in shock. They watch as you slowly push your hair behind your ears. Your earrings sparkling from the sun. And then they look at you, staring really, and see light shimmering above your lip.

"Is that-is that a septum piercing?" Yamamoto gasps.

"What the- muffle ears!" Kuroo shouts.

Your head snaps to the direction of his voice. You try to hide your smirk as they look at you with widen eyes. You give them a wave before they are stood in front of you.

"Hey guys, are you hungry?" You motion to the laid out of snacks but their gaze don't waver. Their eyes almost bugle out when they catch the silver on your tongue.

"How many piercings do you even have?" Kuroo asks and the rest of the team eagerly wait for the answer, except Kenma, he's somewhere avoiding everyone.

You grin as you show off your piercings and they just watch you excitedly point and answer their questions.

"Wow! You look so cool!" You turn and see a boy with black and grey streaks of hair approach you.

"Bokuto!"

"Kuroo!" They greet each other and you watch as a boy with dark hair quickly come behind Bokuto.

"Is this your manager? I thought your school didn't allow piercings?" Bokuto looks at you.

"Oh they don't. I just take them off or hide them." You answer and the boy, who you learn is called Akaashi, watches you attentively before flicking his eyes to your piercings. You blush under his gaze, not use to having this many people (boys) staring at you.

"Oh we have a game against you next, so let's go." Kuroo states, him and the team starts to walk away but he stops and turns.

"Save some food for us, muffle ears!" You suck in your lip.

"So you're not going to change that name?!" You huff and he grins.

"Nope." He gives you a quick wink and you feel your face get warmer.

The day goes on, more people asking about your piercings and more people looking surprised. Everyone was nice though. No judgement just pure curiosity.

It's finally break time. You watch as high school boys swarm the snack tables. Everyone grabbing a slice of watermelon to cool off the summer heat. You try to clean up but one of the boys almost run into you. You hold the tray you're carrying high so nothing drops, making your shirt lift. This catches Kenma's attention.

"She has a belly piercing(?)" he mumbles but Kuroo hears and instantly looks at you. But he's not the only one. The jewellery reflects off light and gains everyone's attention.

"Is that really Y/n?" Yaku chooses to ignore Lev, not wanting to waste his energy for the next match.

[nayialovecat]

The Ink Demonth 2022 - Day 11 Prison

Let me introduce you: Linda and Henry Stein, a few months after Henry left Workshop. Linda in the flesh, finally! Until now, you might have seen her once - in the first series' strip called "Linda", when Henry drew her from memory. As for Henry, being in the human world did him good. He changed his hairstyle, shaved, eat some good meals a bit - and finally stopped looking like a ravenous tramp or homeless.

Relax. Linda and Henry were not put in jail by Sammy. The Prophet simply shows an old friend what the life of most inky people was like through his murderous actions and swinging an ax over their heads. (As a reminder, on the list of Workshop people most feared by others, Henry ranks second after Bendy.)

For this scene, I made 3 sketches and I couldn't choose which one is the best. So I let my friends decide for me - and they chose sketch number 2. Maybe at the end of the Ink Demonth I will make a summary of unused sketches, you will see other versions of this picture.

PS. Linda's dress is actually blue - but in sepia this colour doesn't exist :D (And we can all feel a bit colour-blind.) PPS. I noticed that I forgot to draw Henry's glasses. Interestingly, I forgot to give him these glasses in the story as well. Oops! Welcome blurry vision again!

The plot of "Samdy Kids" takes place after Joey's death and the release of all the people from the Workshop. Bendy, together with his children and all the toons (Borises, members of the Butcher Gang), are forced to stay in the Workshop - which, however, doesn't turn out to be a bad thing, when Sammy returns to his family and begins to build New Workshop, an utopian underground country where everyone can live peacefully and happily.

Link to rules of the Ink Demonth.

[i-need-air]

Truthful mess.

Summary: Truth quirk shenanigans. HCs type with Bakugou, Kirishima, Shouto and Shinsou.

Note: Still don't know how to add "Read more" on phone, still need to make a masterlist. At least I have coffee. [I’M DOING BOTH RN, BE PROUD;;;LOOKATTHEReADMORE] Ty for reading! ♥

Bakugou Katsuki:

× well, shit

× he fucked up real bad and now he had to pay for it

× noticed something was wrong when he thanked Kirishima for saving his life instead of giving him the usual snappy attitude

× made the redhead promise to keep the secret or he'll kill him

× seriously kill and incinerate his body and was 100% serious about it

× Bakugou tried his hardest to keep his mouth shut and everything went okay until you just existed in the same room at him

× he'd just get the fuck out because all he wanted to tell you was how good you looked in whatever you were wearing or how beautiful your face was when kissed by the rays of sunshine and he was so confused

× he literally wanted to word vomit all of that

× thankfully the police arresting the mf that did this to him informed Katsuki about the effects of the quirk itself

× approximately 3 days of spilling truths

× he could handle that

× easy

× but not really; the less he talked the more he needed to spill out his mind

× he'd still snap at people, they were just dumb and he voiced that but

× well, hello there, [y/n]

× he prays you don't waltz around him

× life can be a bitch though

× it happened while training, Cementos made an area for each of you to improve your quirks and guess what? you're placed just by his side

× you just waved at him and he ignored you

× asshole much; until you kick-dropped and broke a big piece of cement in half

× "Fuck, that was so sexy..."

× your head turned slowly towards Bakugou because that was his voice, definitely, no doubt

× but it was raspy and low and it did some things to your, ehem, lowers and holy shit

× Bakugou looked like a deer caught in the highlights; he was full "step on me" mode and????????

× instantly turned the other way and yes, he is blushing

× he just couldn't hold it in, man

× so you're confused, blushing, Kirishima is near-by shook as fuck because he's ✨ realizing things ✨ since of course he's now Bakugou's self-proclaimed guard dog

× and Bakugou is back at ignoring you, his friend and the world

× you decide to keep an eye on him because that was not normal and oh my god why is that voice still affecting you? did he seriously say that??

× meanwhile you catch him looking at you from the corner of your eyes

× boy is staring real bad

× so you just go his way

× he panics as you approach him and blows shit up

× "Don't fucking come closer!" you freeze because what the hell? you thought you were getting along? yeah he's been snappy recently but it's Bakugou, he has mood-swings

× but not like this? at least with you?

× also what he said before just gave you hope??

× so you decide Fuck it all and get closer, noticing how Kirishima also approaches, looking like a bodyguard

× you raise your eyebrow because Excuse you?

× "[L/N], you should leave him be for now–"

× "Get out of my way or I'll break you, Kirishima."

× so you're having a staring match with the red-head, almost nose to nose when legit a growl shakes you to the core

× "[Y/N]'s mine, Shitty Hair, back down." he said between his teeth, his palms sparkling, quirk ready

× so his friend backs up, hands raised in defeat but a knowing grin on his face

× even in full shock you expected him to ignore you again but he just stomps towards you angrily, teeth greeted

× "You have a thing for him, hmm? You like Kirishima?" he was glaring at you, breathing heavily but suddenly locked his eyes in your lips

× and while he's throwing this fit or whatever it was, all the class kinda stopped whatever they were doing to see what's going on

× but Cementos ain't having any of that so parts you guys with a cement wall and orders you to keep training

× Bakugou was never more thankful because holy shit what was about to happen?

× you're full mind-blown, remembering his words again and again not even focusing on training; you decide to talk with his dumb ass to clarify what he said and wAs he jealous? i mean he literally said you're his so—... HE FUCKING SAID YOU'RE HIS????

× after that he went back to his grumpy old man form, you don't talk again until days later, although you did try to approach him again, many times, because YOU'RE HIS????????

× it's when he finally realizes the quirk is wearing off and he's relieved because it got to a point where he couldn't sleep

× so when you confront him in the common room the next morning he shrugs it off with a "I thought I'd accidentally confess that I love you and that would've been a problem."

× he freezes

× you freeze

× he wanted to call you a dumbass and move on until he figures his shit up but...

× that's when he realizes the effect of the quirk was dying off in waves

× save him from the mortification and confess too, please?

Kirishima Eijirou:

× he's normally a truthful guy

× but not like this, man, not like this

× Fatgum saved his ass but it was too late since he already got hit by a quirk, although none knew what it was about, so his mentor was having a full Panic moment

× later on he was informed about it's nature and was confused because nothing changed?

× he still compliments people, he's still his old self and is actually so happy that's the case

× thinks he's manly because he's honest about his feelings

× although he forgot about a tiny little detail

× his big fat crush on you

× like he'd blush when you came around, almost stuttered when responding to you, would try harder when you were around because pretty please, notice him, shows off more, all the I-need-YOUR-attention bag

× because he's smooth but in a Kirishima way, you know?

× felt he had zero (0) game [so not manly of him]

× will hands down not avoid you; thinks it's lame to run away from this

× who would've thought this was the best thing that could've happened to him?

× still had his boyish charm, cute smiles, blushes

× but now we add the honest "You look amazing today. Well, more than usual." with a wink because if he can't stop himself, at least he'll make it work big time

× and oh, shit that's doing stuff to your poor heart because his compliments are all over the roof? wth is going on?

× everyone knew about his feelings for you but now they really knew

× literally takes him half a day to spill all out

× he did try to clear his mind of those feelings in class because that would be so awkward and weird; he spent so much time daydreaming how to confess before and doing it there was definitely not the plan, but something more personal and meaningful

× when Kiri saw you in the common room though, alone and minding your own business, a grin broke on his face and had hearts in his eyes

× Bakugou had to hear a lot of shit about you, tho just rolled his eyes; "whatever, shitty hair."

× because you're so flawlessly beautiful and you're not even trying

× your head snaps up at him, blushing

× OOP–did he just blurt that out?

× so he's laughing awkwardly because not like this, man

× but goes with it because We die like men here 😤

× cue word vomit about how great you are and this quirk hit him and god you're amazing and it's not a lie because remember when you first met at UA? well he thought you were an angel and when you smiled at him? perfection and your blushing face is adorable and needs to see it everyday and ok this quirk needs to stop–

× meanwhile

× [Y/N].exe has stopped working

× legit tho, he won't shut the hell up and it's adorable

× all day he's been super smooth about his compliments to you and now he's the sweetest mess ever

× and you only notice yourself smiling when he points it out and says it's the single most beautiful thing he's ever seen in his entire life

× and even if that almost makes you 404 again you laugh and walk towards him

× which he follows and steps closer to you too

× smiling

× so he calms down when you're not freaking out about what he's spilling and goes back to being cha-cha-real-smooth again

× "I want to be able to call you mine"

Todoroki Shouto:

× another guy that doesn't really notice it at first

× he got hit by this weird blue-purple dust while on patrol with his dad

× and Endeavor went feral on this low-life villain deciding to attack suddenly

× low and behold, seems the guy wasn't a villain, just a civilian that sneezed and activated his quirk by accident

× quirk that landed on Shouto here

× which just stared confused because what?

× explanations happen, Endeavor is looking down at Shouto expecting something anytime now

× but Icy-Hot here just shrugs it off because it's okay, it's just 3 or 4 days

× funny thing is his dad asked him questions and realized pretty quick that Shouto has been really honest with him until now, which bummed him because Endeavor Is Trying™

× Todoroki Shouto was confident that nothing would go wrong so he forgets about it basically

× two days pass; class time happens

× is so fucking casual about it but it's so hilariously confusing

× he was honest before but he was quiet in general, that's why his honesty came in small dosages

× now he has no filter and won't shut up, he has this absolute need to share his thoughts

× my boy has opinions about everything

× but especially about [Y/N]

× oh yeah, he definitely tells you how that color enhances your natural beauty or how you're really smart

× is so casual and nonchalant, shooks everyone, leaves you full confusion mode while he just smiles and leaves

× legit doesn't realize it

× he complimented you before, that's the thing, but now he's really intensifying it but without changing the tone and execution and it's just a mess

× example:

× goes from "You changed your hairstyle. It looks nice." to "The way you style your hair now makes your eyes pop out more. I love it."

× lowkey proclaims his love about you; it's so obvious it hurts; you have to take it like a champ, man

× it takes Tsu to actually ask what's going on, in the first hour of class

× [even Aizawa is listening, pretending to sleep]

× explains why he's acting like this; "I got hit accidentally by a quirk that makes me speak only the truth."

× everyone just goes crazy while you're piecing stuff together in deep thought

× "Who do you think is the strongest in the class?"

× "Aizawa."

× lowkey a little shit

× "Between the students."

× "Me."

× big time a little shit

× it's until Mina asks who he likes that all hell breaks loose

× Shouto just turns to look at you, blinks and says your name

× just as everyone goes mental after a moment of silence, the bell rings signaling the next class, to which Aizawa [the mature man he is, acting as if this wasn't the best tea-spill he's gonna have at lunch with the other teachers 💅] wakes up, silences everyone and continues class

× every pair of eyes are on you all class

× Shouto is having an existencial crisis because he's actually realizing himself that he likes you

× a lot

× hands down he thought about how great you are, wondered deep in though at night why his heart beat so fast when you smiled at him, how come he got jealous???? when you'd pair with someone else to study or train... the boy didn't even know it was jealousy until now

× as in now he knew he wanted to hold your hand, have more inside jokes between you two, kiss you, marry you, wait what—

× you on the other hand are hyperventilating because Shouto likes you

× and you like him back and oH my god, wHAT just happened????

× lunch break comes, nobody moved from their seats while Todoroki just walks by, stares at you, slight blush on his face

× "I'd like to speak alone with you. About my feelings. Towards you. I like you."

× nice alone chat, Shouto 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏

× legit nobody is breathing, not making a single noise, waiting for your reaction

× so through stutters and all, you have to grab him by his wrist and get the hell out, the attention being too much

× before you reach a quiet place to talk he just stares at your hand

× "I like it when you touch me. Your hand is warm and it makes my skin tingle–"

× so you're a blushing mess when you let go of his wrist fastly

× "Do you not like me back?" [insert kicked puppy face]

× [insert you telling him that you do, but all the attention in class was killing you]

× "Good. Now hold my hand properly."

× that day Shouto learned that being bold with you was the perfect way to get the sweetest reactions out of you

× it's called teasing and Todoroki Shouto will never stop

Hitoshi Shinsou:

× Shinsou had a Reputation™, ok?

× Calm, cool, collected, that's Hitoshi Shinsou

× so how come Monoma did him so dirty?

× it seems the blond borrowed a quirk from someone he knew and fled to school to just bring Hell on Earth

× but the only person he managed to throw the quirk at was at Shinsou

× it wasn't even intended for him, but for Bakugou to embarrass him

× so here he was, Mister Tired-of-this-fucking-world now having another reason to be done with everything

× the boy wasn't dumb

× made a strategy just as Monoma was apologizing for the mistake

× somehow the blond took a liking on him and even if he was now part of class 2-A, Monoma proclaimed he was a 2-B at heart; moving on...

× 3 to 5 days of not talking lies

× great, amazing, marvelous, incredible, fantastic

× Rule #1: Avoid [Y/N] at all costs

× which would prove rather difficult since you're part of the same group he was in

× and you were starting to be really good friends

× something he loved/hated because yes, he wants your friendship but he also wants much more

× so when you came to class, would you look at that! Shinsou is sleeping!

× when you went to lunch with the squad? he fled the scene, not opening his mouth

× asked to borrow a pen in class? didn't even look into your eyes as he just gave you one

× after 3 days of this you were starting to get annoyed

× and Midoriya was writing shit down in that notebook of his mumbling stuff every single time Hitoshi bailed

× what you didn't know is that the whole Dekusquad caught on to Shinsou's shenanigans and demanded answers

× well, Ochaco did and she instantly got them because she's terrifying when serious

× so Izuku is in deep fascination with the quirk, Iida is stiff as fuck and Uraraka has this really creepy I-know-something-you-don't smile on her face; Shouto was existing there too, minding his business 🍵

× you really tried to grab a hold of Shinsou but he wasn't even answering your texts

× time to make a game-plan

× and the easiest way to understand what's going on was through Deku and that suspicious notebook of his

× it wasn't even that hard to get it because you got the perfect opportunity basically thrown in your lap

× he was mumbling your name as he was writing down

× you literally demanded to see what he's writing about involving you

× the boy went full panic but before he could manage to escape the situation, the guy that's been avoiding you grabs you by your forearm and tugs you in the hallway

× there he was, purple messy head you wanted to smack, looking all uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck

× "Ok, listen, I have something to tell you and I want you to know through me, not through that notebook" he sighed, eyes avoiding you

× and while you're hurt and exhausted he just mumbles "Who knows what type of embarrassing stuff he wrote there..."

× hold up, he blushing?

× so while you're processing that he explains

× "Been hit by a quirk..." yada-yada, this and that

× "Ok, but why have you been avoiding me of all people?" you just go hard on him for a little bit, not hiding that you're hurting "Do you not trust me?"

× he's caught off guard

× "Because I love you and I'm scared you'll never look at me the same."

× longest silence of his life

× he never felt the need to fill a silent moment more than now

× so he mumbles

× oh, yah, he just blurts it all out while looking everywhere but you

× "I mean you deserve better than a guy with a quirk like this. I didn't want to make things uncomfortable between us so I thought avoiding you was the best, just so we can continue being friends and–"

× he's a fucking mess and it hurts you that he's saying stuff like that because holy shit you love this sleepy idiot?

× of course you kiss him to silence his rant

× and when you separate from it and start to reassure him he's just a m a z i n g, how dare he say stuff like that and how dare he avoid you for so long; now it's his time to kiss you back slowly and sweetly

× cue instant, lazy smile

× "You're adorable..."

[apriorisea]

Yoongi said he has a rough time sleeping on tour bc of jet lag... imagine where you keep him company/help him fall asleep? 💕

"Relax” Yoongi x You

Clutching your favorite travel pillow, you sleepily follow Jungkook down the steps of the chartered plane into the bright afternoon sunshine. Your internal clock groans: it should be the middle of the night still. Caught up in your exhaustion, you nearly miss the final step and stumble, mentally preparing yourself for the fall that was coming.      Instead, you feel Yoongi’s hands on your hips, keeping you upright. He doesn’t release you until you’re steady on your feet once again. “Careful there, sweetheart,” he murmurs near your ear.       Smiling, you lean back against him a little in relief. “Thanks,” you say, once the two of you reach solid ground for good. Turning to face him, your smile grows bigger as you see his post-plane-nap messy hairstyle. Pressing your pillow into his hands, you reach up and run your fingers through his hair, quickly settling it into less of a mess.      When you’re finished, he leans forward and kisses you. “Am I decent now?” he asks with a quick grin.       “You’ll do,” you tease back.       Seokjin appears suddenly; he was smart enough to hide his messy hair under a baseball cap. “I forgot to leave him with my other stuff,” he says, extending his custom-made RJ plushy towards you. “Could you take him back to the hotel with you right now?”      You gasp dramatically. “Am I...am I being entrusted with...with THE RJ himself???”       He rolls his eyes.       You grin, taking hold of the doll gently. “Of course. Me and RJ will have a grand time together, won’t we?”       “Thanks,” he flashes you a genuine smile before turning to Yoongi. “We’re all taking one van to the venue, I guess. Are you ready?”       “Yes,” your boyfriend agrees. “I’ll be there in just a second.”       Seokjin nods and looks back at you. “Thanks again, Squid.” He grins playfully as he uses your nickname. “I expect to see him relaxing in my room when I get back.”       “I don’t know, Jin-oppa,” you say seriously. “What if RJ decides he likes it better with me?”       He gives you a look. “Don’t even joke.”       You laugh, lifting one of the doll’s arms to wave at him as he turns to go. Still smiling, you turn back to your boyfriend. “How long do you think you guys will be today?”      “Why?” he asks, one side of his mouth lifting in a crooked grin. “How much time do you need to pull off the great RJ-heist?”      “Nah, that’s too easy,” you say, lifting the doll and wiggling it around playfully. “Mission accomplished already.”       “Yah!” Seokjin’s voice carries all the way from where he stands next to the waiting van. “Don’t shake him like that!”      “Oops, sorry.”       Yoongi reaches out to brush a strand of your hair back behind your ear. “Hopefully it won’t be too long today.”       You nod, leaning into his hand as he lets it rest softly on your cheek. “Agreed. Be---”       “Noona!” Taehyung appears, carrying his thick brown peacoat in his arms. “Can you please, pretty please, extra please take this back to the hotel, too? I think it’ll be too hot.”       You’re already reaching for the coat as Yoongi sighs. “Taehyung-ah, she’s not a delivery service.”      You give him a placating smile. “I don’t mind. Anything else, Taehyungie?”      “Nope!” He gives your arm a grateful squeeze. “See you later! Hyung,” he adds seriously, looking at your boyfriend, “We’re leaving in 5 minutes.”      “I got it,” Yoongi says patiently. “I’ll be there.” After the younger man is gone, he studies you and sighs again. “You sure you’re okay?”      Arms now full, you smile and lean forward, lips puckered; your smile grows to a grin as he gives you what you want. “Yes. Don’t worry, baby. Just have a good soundcheck. Are you guys also rehearsing?”      He smooths another strand of your hair back. “We’ll probably do a rough run-through of some of the more difficult things, but nothing extreme.”      You nod. “I---” Catching sight of something behind him, you grin.       “What?” He narrows his eyes. “What---”      Namjoon calls your name as he approaches. “I forgot to put this back in its case before we got off the plane,” he says, gesturing to his brand new tablet. “Can you---”      “Take it back to the hotel for you?” You cut in with a laugh.      He smiles sheepishly. “Yeah.”      “You got it, Joonie. Anything else?” You pivot to look at the van where the others are waiting. “Last chance to check your stuff with the Me-Express, no-stop delivery service headed straight to the hotel!”      “We love you,” Namjoon volunteers with a grin.       You roll your eyes playfully. “You’re lucky I love you guys, too.”      “Thank you,” he emphasizes, then: “Hyung---”      “I know, I know,” Yoongi interrupts him. “I’m coming!”      When you’re finally alone again, he snakes an arm around your waist, pulling you close.       “How about you?” you say softly, smiling as you look up into his face. “Anything to send with me?”      He smiles back briefly. “Just this,” he answers, then leans in and kisses you.      When you finally break apart, you nod. “I think that’s my favorite item I’m delivering.”      “You think?” he asks, absently looking around to make sure he has all his things with him. “What about RJ?”      “Hmm...” you pretend to think. “A kiss from you has the tiniest edge over the world’s cutest alpaca.”      “Thank goodness,” he deadpans. Finally deciding he’s got everything, he looks back at you. “I’ll see you soon?”      You nod. “Be safe, baby.”      “Love you,” he says quietly, then turns and heads towards the van.       Watching them pile into the van, you wait until they’ve left before making your way to the remaining vehicles.       “Whoa. Can I help you with that?” one of the managers asks, raising his eyebrows at the load of things in your arms.       You laugh. “You can take the coat and the tablet if you want,” you answer. “But RJ’s off-limits.”

It’s dark by the time you hear commotion in the hotel hallway. Lying on your stomach, you reach for the remote and mute the TV to make sure it’s really them---the sound of controlled, comfortable chaos is unmistakable. Glancing at your watch, you’re both relieved that it’s not too late and worried that it’s that late for them to return, but both emotions are chased away when you hear Yoongi open the door to the room.      You slowly sit up, waiting for him to appear.       The automatic smile on his face when he sees you makes your heart squirm happily. “Hi sweetheart,” he says. His eyes dart around the room. “I won’t lie: I half-expected to see RJ in my spot there.”      “She wouldn’t dare!” Seokjin says from the hallway.     Yoongi sighs. “Goodnight, hyung!” he calls, then goes back and shuts the door more securely. Turning back to you, his smile grows even wider and he crosses to where you sit on the bed, taking your face gently in both hands and kissing you.       When you finally break apart, he plants another soft kiss on the tip of your nose. “I missed you.”      You grab the front of his shirt to keep him in place. “I missed you more. How was it?”     Ruffling a hand through his hair, he nods in satisfaction. “Good. The venue is huge, sweetheart, and the sound system is amazing. I can’t wait until you hear the title track tomorrow, it sounds perfect.”      You release him, watching as he wanders to the mini-fridge to grab a bottle of water, twisting it open as he talks. Too amped up, you think. You glance at your watch again: 2.5 hours.       “---and then the transition from Jungkookie’s song to Jin-hyung, it’s perfect, it might actually be my favorite thing in the whole show.” He’s still going, pacing around the room a little.       “That sounds amazing, baby,” you say calmly. “I can’t wait to see it. Did you eat yet?”      “I---eat?” He pulls up short, considering it. “No. Not yet. It---”      Four short knocks on the door cut him off. He goes to answer it, but you know who it is already.     “Hyung,” Jimin wanders in, dressed in loose sweats, hair messy. “Hobi-hyung and I ordered the dinner, do you want to come over to my room? Or---oh!” He spots you, a delighted smile crossing his face. “Noonaaaaaa,” he sings out, rolling onto the bed next to you. “Nevermind, we’ll eat here instead.” Sprawled on his back next to you, he pats your leg as a greeting and then focuses on his phone.       “Sure,” Yoongi agrees vaguely. He’s looking around the room, brow furrowed. “Sweetheart?”      “Yes?” You try to hide your smile, already knowing what he was going to ask. You absently reach out to fix a strand of Jimin’s messy, dyed-pink hair. “This is starting to fade already,” you add in an undertone to the younger man. “Are you going to re-do it before the concert?”      “Do you know where my equipment bag got put?” Yoongi’s still focused on his own task.        “It’s over there, babe,” you gesture. “Are you going to unpack now?”      He nods, already preoccupied with the task.        “I don’t know,” Jimin finally answers your question, looking up from his phone. “We were talking about it today. Should I do more pink, or change it up?”       You shrug. “What would you change it to?”       “I haven’t done mint in a long time...” he muses.       “Mint?” You lift another strand of hair. “I’m not sure it’s faded enough to do that yet, Jiminie.”      He pouts. “That’s what stylist-noona thinks, too.”      By the time Hoseok and the food arrives, Yoongi has most of his stuff unpacked. You sit curled up next to him while he and the others eat, and though they all gradually start to calm down, their full bellies leading them to drowsiness, you can still feel the restless energy coursing through him. You glance at your watch: 1.5 hours.      “Uggh,” Hoseok groans. “So full.”      “You ate well,” you grin, reaching out to playfully pat his head. “Ready to sleep now?”      Nodding, he gets to his feet. “Yep. See you guys in the morning.”      “Wait for me,” Jimin says, rolling off the bed like a puppy. “Noona, are you coming to rehearsal tomorrow morning?”      “Yes. I’ve heard the venue is amazing,” you say, sharing a quick glance with Yoongi.       Hoseok nods enthusiastically. “It’s going to be a good show.”      “The best,” you agree lightly. “Goodnight, guys.” When they leave, closing the door carefully behind them, you lean over to brush a kiss to Yoongi’s cheek. “How was your dinner, my genius boy?”      He turns his head to catch your lips with his. “Delicious,” he says when he pulls back. “The food wasn’t bad either.”      You laugh, playfully rolling your eyes. “Are you ready for bed now?”      He shakes his head a little. “No...I think I’m going to work for a little bit.”      Even though it’s what you expected, you can’t help but sigh. “You need some rest, Yoongi.”      “I know.” He cups the side of your face, stroking your cheek with his thumb fondly. “But I’m still too awake---the jet-lag and everything. I won’t be able to fall asleep yet.”      “Okay.”      “Are you tired, sweetheart?” he asks, searching your face. “I’ll turn down most of the lights and work quietly...”      You shake your head. “It’s okay. I’ve got a couple things I need to do first.”      He kisses you one more time, then gets up, moving to the corner area of the room where he had set up his equipment. With little preamble, he slips on his headphones and is lost in his own musical world.       You turn the tv on to something quiet and lie back in bed, scrolling mindlessly on your phone and smiling every time you hear him accidentally humming or singing to himself.      At 11:30, you quietly get up and rummage through one of your bags, finding what you need and taking it to the bathroom to get ready. By 11:55, everything is set.      At midnight, you walk over to where he’s still working, your eyes roving over the music program on his computer curiously. “Yoongi?” you say softly.       With his headphones on, he’s far too engrossed in what he’s doing to hear you.     Smiling faintly, you reach out and carefully slip the headphones off. When he looks up in protest, you gently run your fingers through his hair, pushing it back from his face, and lean down to kiss him. Leaning back just a little, you murmur against his lips: “Time for bed, baby.”       He nods a little, obviously tired though still avoiding it.       Slipping your hand into his, you pull on it until he gets to his feet and lead him to the bathroom; he follows you obediently.      You were prepared for this: the first day was always the worst, getting settled into a new timezone and a different routine,  and he always came back from rehearsals a little amped up. As soon as the two of you stepped into the lavish bathroom, the scents washed over you, and you heard him take a deep breath. Dropping his hand, you go over to check the temperature of the bath water: you’d timed it perfectly. Satisfied, you turn back, moving past him to dim the lights.      “It smells incredible, sweetheart,” he says, his voice a tired mumble.       You move to stand in front of him. “It’s relaxing, isn’t it?” you say softly, reaching out to help him take off his shirt. “Come on, love: the water’s perfect right now.”      The two of you spend nearly 20 minutes in the tub, talking softly about his day, your day, his worries, the things he’s excited about, plans for the next stop. He holds you tight, your back pressed up against his chest, and every so often he presses lazy kisses to your neck and shoulders. By the time you climb out, he’s a little pruney but also far more relaxed: his eyelids start to droop a little as he gets dressed in his favorite pajama set.       When he’s finished, you take him by the hand again and guide him back to the bed; he doesn’t protest, sitting on the edge easily, but his gaze wanders to the hallway and he frowns slightly. “I don’t think I double-locked the door,” he says, making a move to get up.       You put a hand on his shoulder, holding him in place. “It’s okay, I’ve got it. Just lie down.”       He does as you say, a ferocious yawn breaking free despite his best efforts to keep it hidden.       You lock the door and turn out all of the lights until all that’s left is the lamp on your side of the bed. You’re happy to see that he’s crawled under the covers already. Moving slowly so as not to disturb him, you climb onto the bed next to him and reach for your phone. “What time do you have to leave for rehearsal?”      “9,” he says, his eyes opening a little more at the thought. “I didn’t set---”     “Shh,” you run your hand through his hair again. “I’ve got it, baby. Don’t worry.” You set a few alarms on your phone, ensuring that he’ll get up early enough to break the jetlag cycle, but not so early that he’ll be a total wreck the next day.      He looks up at you and a smile slowly crosses his face. “I love you.” He says your name softly a few times. “I’m so lucky you’re here with me.”      Smiling back at him, you turn on a soothing-sounds podcast, make sure both of your phones are plugged in and charging, then reach over to turn out your lamp. As the darkness settles, you crawl under the covers, laughing a little as he pulls you into his arms immediately. He holds you close against him, brushing a few soft kisses across your forehead.       “I love you, too,” you say quietly. “Just get some rest, okay?”      He nods sleepily.       “So a few of us were talking,” you begin, keeping your voice low and calm even as you feel sleepiness start to creep over you, “And tomorrow we’re going to get dinner from that amazing steak place again.”      “Mm?” He rubs your arm absently. “Sounds good, sweetheart.”      “Yeah.”      “We also...” He’s fading fast. “..Can’t forget to grab that camera Taehyungie wants...”      You nod, pressing a kiss to his collarbone. “Right.”      By this point, he’s completely relaxed in your arms, jetlag forgotten. His breathing starts to slow and even out, so you squeeze him tight and murmur, “I love you.”      The last thing he does before he falls asleep is kiss your forehead; then, he’s out, coaxed into a deep sleep by your carefully planned relaxation techniques.      Day 1, you think as you start to drift off, Check.

[slightlymore]

cute~

- a pride spin-off -

pairing: haechan x mark

other characters: doyoung, jaemin, jungwoo, onew (??? only bc I needed a name 😔)

genre: angst!! smut! fluff!!! one-shot, company!au (you can read this without reading "pride" first but make sure to read at least the little synopsis below, just to have some kind of context for the first part)

warnings: 18+, language, sexual activities, alcohol, drunk characters

words: 14K (oops)

for those who didn’t read pride and don't want to: doyoung and y/n are in love with each other but because of a series of unfortunate events (them being stupid) they can’t be together. doyoung leaves her after college and starts working at haechan’s company while being miserable; the two boys become enemies/friends. everything goes relatively well until one day y/n makes an appearance and starts working there as well. doyoung and y/n finally get (their shit) together and become a couple. haechan is the happy friend witnessing all of that and this is his story

(the photo was meant to be a shitpost but now I kinda like it lmaooo)

The phone rang for the millionth time that morning, a piercing and resounding noise, making Haechan unable to hear his own thoughts. The boy groaned. It was only 10 am yet everyone suddenly needed to speak with him. Haechan would have loved to spend his workday gossiping on the phone. Maybe chit-chatting about everyone. Listening to his colleagues talk about George's new too-expensive-for-his pockets-but-he's-an-idiot car, or the scandalous hairstyle Alex tried out to impress his already-married-and-twenty-years-older flame, or to hear how someone heard from someone else that somebody had sex with someone somewhere. But not that day. Haechan was exhausted, physically, and mentally, head buried between his arms, the white noises of the office almost putting him to sleep. The infernal device stopped ringing for a second and the young man sighed relieved before it rang again soon after. Haechan whined, almost sobbing, while lightly hitting his forehead on the desk. A soft 'what the fuck' made him raise his face with pained eyes squinting from the sudden too much light. "Are you alright?", the same voice asked, his desk neighbour inquiring. "Mind your own business, Owen", Haechan mumbled and finally put one hand on the phone while massaging the base of his nose with the other. "... my name is Onew", the dude whispered offended, but Haechan's little attention was already drifting away. A female voice said something that Haechan couldn't catch but to which he replied with a short "yeah, thanks", having figured out the words "intern" and "acceptance" through her quick mumbling. When he first heard the news during the beginning of the year reunion, Haechan was ecstatic, to say the least. They said he was responsible and could handle taking care of an intern making Haechan's shoulders widen at the compliments. Also, having an innocent soul to bother for a few months? It meant some company and less work for himself. Paradise. But Haechan had already forgotten about the joy he felt before. He had been feeling weird for a while now and he hated it. The previous night he didn't go home after Doyoung and Y/N left the company building. He listened to them talk for an excruciating period while pretending to sleep. It was beautiful, choked voices and raw confessions, and he felt like the third wheel in his own life. When Haechan walked out of his office one day, months before that, with the intention of "grabbing something important from somewhere" (or taking a break while making it pass as work) and heard the loud bang of the neighbour office door, he didn’t think that his life would go spiralling down from that moment on. It took him days. No, it took him weeks, maybe months, before the uncomfortable feeling creeping on him, making his spine shiver and palms sweat could be classified as something real by his brain. As a feeling. Sitting down on his chair, tired fingers tapping away at the keyboard for hours, he would suddenly feel this ungodly urge to get up and go to that office again as if an obscure force possessed him. To do what? To see a pair of angry eyes. Angry and full of pain. They were beautiful: round but also angled, dark but also light, absent as if looking at anything but their surroundings. Looking at something only they could see. That thing, sadly, was never Haechan. The boy tried everything to be seen by them. Being friendly, being funny, being helpful. Then he tried being rude. To his immense joy, the latter worked better, as if those eyes hatched such an enormous amount of anger that they had to spill some onto someone. And Haechan didn’t mind being that someone if it also meant being the object of those eyes’ attention at the same time. Then he realized that he didn’t want to see only the eyes. Something else was fighting for Haechan’s regard. Pink and soft looking, often stretched in a line, sometimes forming a pout. God, Haechan would have done everything to be able to touch those lips even once, even for a second. And he did it during his most feverish dreams. The first time, he woke up panting, ashamed, shaken to the core, the feeling of that soft skin still ghosting his own lips. The second time Haechan raised a trembling hand and touched the place where his subconsciousness created such a realistic scenario. He caressed it slowly, laying in that obscure slumber, silently, afraid to wake up his rational side. The third time he didn’t need to dream. He just imagined, shamelessly. His lips got kissed and his name was pronounced with such lust and desire to leave Haechan panting. So real, as if Doyoung whispered that while being beside Haechan in his room. It took Doyoung a few good weeks to call Haechan by his name in real life. When he finally did it, he wasn't even scolding him. No. From weird conjunction of stars, Haechan didn’t need to do something to gain Doyoung’s attention that day. He was in the photocopying room. One hand was mindlessly using the machines, the other was warmly hugging a mug of coffee. His slowly descending glasses were being pushed back by one of his fingers when a fluttering shadow appeared behind him. Haechan’s hands stopped as if his crawling skin could physically predict the future.   “Haechan”, Doyoung said. Just like that, sweet and soft. And the boy with that name let his coffee mug fall to the ground. Oh. “Haechan!” Doyoung repeated. “What the hell?” Yes. Yes. Haechan. That’s me. That’s my name on your lips. Say it again. “Haechan! You’re doing this on purpose now”. Doyoung stood tall with hands on his hips, looking at the way Haechan was failing to grab his mug, letting it comically slip from his hands, again and again, new coffee stains covering the carpet. I just love how my name sounds in your mouth. I don't want you to stop. Please. “Oops”, Haechan chuckled, the mask he carefully crafted for Doyoung easily slipping on his face, and despite everything, Doyoung rolled his eyes with a little smile himself. “You’re such an idiot”. Oh fuck. That. Haechan almost forgot. The boy could drown in the light that Doyoung’s face emitted when he was smiling. It would dissipate for a split second the darkness lingering around him and it was Haechan’s doing. Haechan did that. It made his little heart buzz every time and soon enough he started to fantasize about a day in which Doyoung would not have that expression line between his eyebrows anymore. And it arrived eventually. Haechan realized everything would go downhill for himself when he got blinded by Doyoung’s soul. He could see it before as well but not this way. Not while the older man's cheeks got red and his pupils were trembling. And Haechan understood soon what that was because a sick person recognizes another sick person easily. Was Haechan like that as well? Were his cheeks flushed and eyes glossy every time he looked at Doyoung? Ah, Doyoung’s soul. He took it out so suddenly and poured it into that girl’s hands. Haechan felt like dying. No. No, wait. It's supposed to go like this. I should be there. I worked so hard. I endured so much. It can’t end like this. This is my story. Isn’t it? And it was, but not the type of story Haechan imagined. In this universe it ended in him being alone, bones cold and empty, looking at Doyoung’s back as he carried his love in his arms. Haechan stayed back there, motionless, no arms holding him. He bit his lips for a little while, looking around the office as if not knowing on which planet he was. Then he crouched down and cried. He was tired. Yeah, he was just tired. It has been a long week and a long day. He was exhausted. That was the reason. Haechan, you're good. Just get a good night sleep. You’ll be fine. Now get up and go home. And he did that. Like a robot. He was alone inside the 4 am metro, blinding, fluorescent lights burning his fatigued eyes. His feet dragged him towards his apartment although he found himself knocking on Jaemin's door instead. Jaemin was a weird guy and Haechan loved him dearly. He just never slept. Every time Haechan called him, he somehow was wide awake doing some random shit. Haechan hoped that he didn't suddenly change his habits because he desperately needed some arms to crash into. And Jaemin opened the door as expected, a popsicle between his lips, eyes wide and bright. Haechan stepped inside and took the snack away, putting his lips on Jaemin's instead, pushing him against the wall, letting the coldness of Jaemin's tongue numb his thoughts. And he let the popsicle fall from his fingers when Jaemin wrapped him between his arms, guiding him towards the bedroom, no questions asked, no romance. I need a distraction right now, Haechan's whole being was screaming and Jaemin was good at reading people. Quickly and effortless, clothes sliding down, Haechan's mind finally lingered in a grey bliss as the only thing he could think of was the way Jaemin rolled his hips into him, sending shots of pleasure through his whole body. But then Haechan's slipped. "Doyoung-", he whimpered then gasped, eyes wide with horror and cheeks reddening. Jaemin didn't care if Haechan called other guys’ names but when Haechan put his palms on his face, chest rising and falling quickly, sobbing desperately, Jaemin stopped and sighed. He let Haechan go and rolled over, wrapping his shaking frame with his arms. "Do you want to talk?" he asked softly. Haechan shook his head, burying it into the other's chest. Jaemin stayed quiet, the only sound in the dark room being Haechan's irregular breaths, his fingers delicately drawing patterns on the other’s skin. "It's going to get better", Jaemin whispered after a while. "You're going to be seen by someone one day, just like you see everyone else”. It was weird how Jaemin always had the perfect thing to say. Though Haechan didn’t believe that, he had no force to argue. He stayed like that for the next hour, in silence, until the sun came out. Then he got up and let Jaemin prepare his breakfast that he barely touched. Haechan then borrowed the other's clothes and said it was fine for him to go to work that morning. You have to be sick to be able to call in sick, Haechan said. Because you’re someone that follows rules and does an honest job, Jaemin commented sarcasting with a raise of the brow. I just need to be busy, Haechan added and left.

Now, heading towards the acceptance, he regretted not staying home, maybe sleeping the whole day. Sleeping would be good but dreaming? He was afraid of that. The squeaking sound of Haechan’s shoes on the main floor tiles was so distressing that Haechan felt like taking them off and throw a tantrum in the middle of all those white collars. Blinking fast he sighed when he saw the new guy, an anonymous-looking young man looking around as if uncomfortable and slightly afraid. Haechan introduced himself in a monotone voice, letting the intern shake his hand then he turned around with a short 'follow me', not giving the other time to do anything else besides tailing his supervisor. Haechan has been babbling about the company for a good five minutes now, walking quickly through the corridors, showing rooms and people. He wasn't doing a very good job because he didn't care. The new guy, weirdly enough, didn't seem disoriented at all and Haechan shrugged internally. "And this is the terrace", the boy finally finished his monologue as they both stepped outside. It was a sunny day but the wind was quite strong, making Haechan close his eyes as his fluffy hair danced around his forehead. "Cute," the guy commented with a soft chuckle. Haechan looked around. Cute? It was kinda cute, he guessed. Too many ugly buildings around though and it wasn't the best-kept terrace. He turned his head to face the intern. "What's cute?" Haechan asked. It was the first word that guy said and Haechan wanted to hear him speak.  The intern was looking at him already instead of the surroundings and Haechan could have sworn that the dude's cheeks were flushed with a pink hue.    "You are", he said shyly, eyes big and twinkling. Haechan could only blink back. Wait. What? Did this guy just call him cute? Cute? "Listen, thanks, but you have to pay me respect. I'm your supervisor", Haechan replied trying hard to keep his voice stable. He wasn't annoyed but he couldn't just giggle, could he? Also, who calls strangers cute? On the workplace? What a weirdo. The guy’s expression shifted at Haechan’s words as if in slow motion. "Oh God, sorry, I don't know what just happened. I apologize. It was inappropriate", the intern babbled and stuttered, cheeks going from pink to red, eyes darting around, not knowing where to look. Haechan has never seen someone that transparent with his feelings before and he could tell that he was very honest. Looking so naive, Haechan fought the urge to roll his eyes at him just to make him feel even more embarrassed. "I can't fire you personally or anything and I'm not your boss, but I can tell people to fire you", Haechan tried to sound cold even if the situation was rather funny. The look the guy gave to Haechan was of pure terror a for a split second Haechan felt almost sorry. But then the dude’s eyes darted to Haechan’s hair, still flying around his forehead. Haechan puffed annoyed and put one hand on top of his head as to stop the motion. The intern’s expression relaxed. "And what are you going to say? That it's because I called you cute?" he asked. His lips were back into a timid smile. Haechan was baffled. "What is so cute about me?", he sniffled, sure that he caught a cold already and switched the hand from his hair to his ear as the wind got even stronger. The intern took the question seriously. "You have curly purple hair-", he started then stopped as if that was enough to explain his comment, "-and well, your cheeks are full and now they're uhm red and it's... very cute. Also, your eyes are big and round and it's very cute-" 

Haechan groaned incredulously. 

"Oh my God! Stop saying cute", he spoke up to make his voice heard over the loud rumble of the wind, before turning on his heels and walking towards the terrace door. The intern’s cheeks turned pink again as he tried hard to not add whatever he wanted to say.

_______

Mark was told that he was somewhat of a dense guy. He disapproved. He just paid attention to what he wanted and disregarded the rest. So, if you asked him to show off the company to you, what tasks he had to do or where the bathroom was, he wouldn't know where to start. But if you asked him to tell you how many moles Haechan Lee the Supervisor had, he could answer in a second. It was weird and Mark wasn't a romantic person at all. But when he saw the guy walking out the elevator, eyebrows furrowed and dark circles underneath a pair of tired and red eyes, Mark felt a tingle in his stomach that he could only describe as love at first sight. Okay. Maybe not love. Crush at first sight? Attraction? Mark didn't know what that was and it made him so confused that he could only look at the guy's back when walking around the company as if it could give him some answers. Haechan, he said while letting Mark shake his hand. Of course. It fit him perfectly. Mark could see it - the sun - underneath his skin. Their fingers parted ways too quickly after shaking hands and Mark felt so paralyzed by the sudden tingle on his skin that he couldn’t fully pay attention. Was he also warm to the touch? Mark desperately wanted to find out. Was it weird? He was being weird. But God, he was so cute. Cute. Very cute. Cute. Cute. So fucking cute. 

This is all Mark’s mind was thinking about and when Mark thought about something he would just say it. Just like that. Cute. Don’t say it now though. Cute. I swear, Mark, shut up, for once. So cute. Please, not now. “Cute”, his tongue slipped. 

Goddammit. 

“What’s cute?” Haechan asked. The view. The view is cute. The view, Mark. Mark, say it. Mark, are you listening? The view. “You are”, Mark said instead and Haechan suddenly turned even cuter. Mark gasped, firstly because of the way Haechan’s cheeks turned red and his eyes round and big, then after a good full second that felt like an eternity, because of embarrassment. Oh shit. Fired. He was about to get fired. "God, sorry, I don't know what just happened. I apologize. It was inappropriate", Mark felt like running away. He woke up that morning with the intent of finally living the life he worked so hard for and there he was instead, calling strangers cute and making everyone uncomfortable for the sole reason of not being able to shut his mouth for once. Haechan looked embarrassed as he was though and that little detail made Mark hope that it wasn’t all over. Then Haechan shut some cold blinds on his own face and Mark knew that Haechan thought he was safe, that Mark wasn’t able to see his feelings underneath all that. It wasn’t an efficient job and Mark wondered if other people needed just that little act to not see Haechan anymore.

_______

"Good morning". Haechan saw the intern’s feet first before hearing his voice, but he didn't raise his face as suddenly something very important and urgent was being shown on the computer screen and he couldn't physically let his eyes fall on the way the guy wore his suit. 

It was terrible. Long legs and strong thighs on display right in front of his desk? Terrible, and he didn’t need any more distractions in the workplace. After the intern left for the day with a soft “see you on Monday”, both tired having spent most of the time walking around the company and explaining boring paperwork, Haechan had not been able to stop thinking about him the whole weekend. No. No, it wasn’t a crush or anything. Haechan was just, what’s the word? baffled, s h o c k e d, appalled. Some random guy called him cute and Haechan acted that way? Blushing timidly? Was he feeling that bad? Was he that sick? Unacceptable. He was Haechan, for fuck’s sake. And Haechan didn’t just blush. He could not slip anymore. "Yeah, hi Mike", he replied lazily, fingers typing something he didn’t really need to write. "It's Mark", the intern replied in a neutral tone. Haechan knew it was Mark. In fact, he also knew his full name. Mark Lee. Born on August 2nd, 1999. Toronto. Moved to Vancouver. Graduated from university a few years ago. Great grades. Interested in music and sports. Plays the guitar. Good boy. Loves animals. Does charity work regularly. Has a normal amount of friends. Doesn't know how to take selfies. No, he was not being weird. He just read his CV. 

Obviously. 

He was his supervisor. He needed to read that. The other info? He Googled him only to make sure that he wasn't a criminal. And the social media research? It was just to check on his personality. 

Obviously. 

What if he posted about illegal shit? He had to check every photo and tagged person. It was part of his job. He was single, even if Haechan didn't search for that in particular. Haechan loved his work a lot and he didn't care that he worked on that until 3 am, scrolling through his phone, drifting to sleep with Mark's selfies impregnated on his lids. It's just that he took his job seriously.  

Okay. Okay. 

It wasn’t the whole truth. Haechan was curious. Who calls you cute all of a sudden? Haechan had to know more. 

"Okay, Matt. What about you go and bring me a coff-", Haechan started but got interrupted by a hand, delicately placing a cup of steamy coffee in front of him. Haechan stared at it as if not understanding what that was then finally raised his eyes to meet Mark's gentle ones. He was smiling. "I stalked your Instagram. Full of food and coffee", Mark explained honestly with a shrug while walking around the desk and sitting down on his chair. They had to share a desk and Mark was as close as to touch elbows. Haechan hated having people so close to him when he didn't want them; especially at that moment, as Mark rested his head on his hand and just stared. 

Yeah, he stared. His eyes were piercing, looking at Haechan as if that’s what normal people do. Scanning him from head to toe, then looking into his eyes as if able to see something there. 

Haechan ignored him and looked away. "Stalking my social media is problematic, Mike". Mark chuckled lightly. "You did the same". Haechan's head snapped. "And why would I do that?”. Mark shrugged. "Close the tabs if you didn't want me to find out," he smiled staring at Haechan's laptop. 

The younger’s eyes suddenly widened and with a quick hand, he closed it in a second, cheeks hot with shame. He opened his mouth to say something to get himself out of that embarrassing situation but Mark thankfully didn't give him any time. 

"What are we doing today, sir?" he asked instead with a sly smile. "We write codes", Haechan replied quietly. "Fun", was Mark's comment. 

And they did that the whole morning, ignoring each other's knees as they sometimes brushed against each other. And they ignored the way their knuckles touched when both reached for their own cup of coffee. And Haechan ignored Mark's cologne while Mark ignored the way the computer lights made Haechan's skin glow. Mark loved programming, he always did, but that morning he thought that it would be nice to not be a programmer, just for a minute, just to be in a well-lit office and see how different Haechan would look under the sun instead.

_______

Haechan stared down at his sandwich, sitting still wrapped and untouched in his lap. Then he looked up at the blue sky and let the white fluffy clouds calm him. 

It happened close to the lunch break. 

"Spaghetti", Mark said suddenly. Onew had left already and in front of their office, everyone was walking the corridor heading out. Haechan was finally getting into the flow of working when Mark's hoarse voice startled him. "It's your favourite food, isn't it?" Mark asked, explaining himself. "Soup. I don't put things I love on my Instagram", Haechan replied. Mark looked pensive. "This is why there's no girlfriend photo there?" he wondered with a timid smile. Huh? What was that? So this is what was happening? This is the reason for the cute? 

Haechan had no force to being hit on, as much as Mark intrigued him. He had zero force and suddenly all the thoughts that Haechan buried away for a few days, came back like a bulldozer. 

Haechan bit his tongue before talking too much. "Maybe the girlfriend doesn't exist", he mumbled before getting up and grabbing his wallet.  

"Wait, are you going away?" Mark got up as well, surprised. "I thought we were going to eat together. I don't know other people-". "Well, I don't want to. Make some new friends", he replied and just walked away. No, he ran away and the first place he thought about was the terrace. It was the only uncontaminated place in the whole company. Doyoung has never been there before. 

And Haechan loved the clouds. He loved the wind moving them around fast. It was mesmerizing and in moments like those, he was able to not think about anything, until he was not Haechan anymore, until he was a cloud himself, floating in the blue sky. 

"Sorry, I didn't know this was your favourite place", a voice startled him for the second time that day. 

Haechan looked at his right where Mark was standing with a plate of food in his hands. He looked like a scared deer, turning around to leave Haechan alone, probably wondering what he did wrong but too anxious to confront Haechan about it.  

"It's alright. You can stay", Haechan spoke softly and resumed his cloud gazing. 

Mark stopped uncertain, standing still for a little while but then he walked towards Haechan and slowly sat down, resting his back on the wall as Haechan did, raising his eyes to watch the sky.

"Pretty", Mark commented and this time he was actually talking about the view. 

Haechan hummed, then after a moment of silence, he apologized. 

Mark began eating his food. "For what?" he asked with his mouth full. They both knew the reason but Haechan still appreciated Mark’s effort to showcase that he wasn’t mad at him. "For telling you that I don't want to eat together. I was being an ass for no reason", Haechan explained. Mark shook his head. "It's alright. I'm sorry if I came off clingy". Haechan huffed. "Funny. Usually, I'm the clingy one". 

Mark swallowed and Haechan looked at him. "I haven't been myself lately. But I promise I'm not an asshole". Mark smiled back kindly. "I know. I can see that". 

Haechan's expression flattered. 

Mark took another bite. "You look very warm. Your name is very appropriate for your personality. You're just… very cute", he added with a shy smile. 

Haechan continued staring at the other, unable to make a single sound. 

The other had a few other bites as if not noticing the way his words made Haechan feel then he finally raised his gaze. 

"Why are you not eating? Are you sick?" Mark inquired eyeing Haechan's sandwich. The boy finally sighed and looked up at the sky again. "Maybe". "Well, you'll get worse if you don't eat", Mark commented and grabbed the sandwich, unwrapping it and putting it into Haechan's hand with force. "I can't believe you're treating your supervisor like this. Calling him cute and forcing him to eat", Haechan stared at the food in his hand before taking a small bite, mostly to make Mark happy. The other shrugged. "You act like no one calls you cute every minute. Also, I am older than you. I can do that”. Haechan rolled his eyes. "I'm still your senior. You don't want to see me get mad. I can guarantee you that". Mark opened his mouth to say something dangerously similar to “cute” but then smiled instead, shaking his head. Haechan forced himself to keep a straight face. "If you say it again…", he warned the other. Mark cleaned his already clean fingers on a napkin then suddenly grabbed Haechan's cheek with two fingers. The boy's eyes got wide and he almost dropped his food, his mouth open in a surprised o. 

Mark smiled even more at his reaction, gulping his last piece of food while gently pinching Haechan's face as if he were a child. Then he let him go and got up, dusting his pants. "I didn't say anything this time", Mark explained innocently. 

Haechan looked up at him, still shocked. 

"I'll see you in the office. Finish your food", Mark told him and left. Haechan could distinctly hear Mark comment "so fucking cute" while he was descending the stairs.

_______

That night Haechan fell into his usual decadent slumber. He was almost fully unconscious, the twilight sleep making space for a depraved and troubled dream. Fingers twitching and muscles quivering, Haechan’s mind transformed his day yearning in darkness. Images of eyes and lips tormented him again. It has always been the same pattern, yet something new derailed the boy’s focus that night. Little details. The roundness of the eyes, the form of the lips, the touch of the fingers, the voice. That voice sounded different and it whispered something Haechan has never dreamt about before. A single word, soft but sensual, repeated again and again in Haechan’s ear. 

That morning, after a very long time, the boy woke up with a new name on his lips.

_______

Mark sometimes thought that everyone was just stupid besides himself. 

Not because of an unhealthy superiority complex or something, but because he couldn’t understand how everyone could be that blind. 

“Oh, Lara, I love your new blazer”, Haechan would say while walking around the company with Mark following suit. Poor Lara would blush and be genuinely happy about the compliment. But Mark could see that Haechan thought it was atrocious. And Adam’s stuttering speech a well. Oh, and Joseph’s wrinkly newborn. 

However, it wasn’t this fake persona Haechan had that made Mark uneasy. It was the one he would wear when talking about himself. Oh, I slept very well last night. No, I don’t need any help. Yes, everything is fine, what do you mean? Smiles and laughs and sarcastic comments. 

Mark wanted to know. He wanted to get closer and dust off the misty layer on Haechan’s eyes. 

Maybe Mark thought too highly of himself. Maybe it was his ego talking. 

I’m going to be the one to help Haechan, that’s the only thing he could think about. 

And lately, during sleepless nights, Mark would beat himself up about it. 

It’s not your business, Mark. You want this to feel a good person. 

Except, he would then frown and hug his pillow tighter, getting annoyed at himself. 

No, I would want it even it wasn’t me to help Haechan out. I just want to see him happy. 

Yeah. This sounds good. 

So he would drift away to sleep, peaceful, knowing that he was selfless. 

Alas, it took very little to Mark to realize that he wasn’t that selfless as he thought. 

Mark raised his eyes when Haechan’s abrupt manners opened the office door with a kick. “Haechan, you look good today”. The other smirked. “I always look good. What do you mean?” As if the literal sun entered the room. Mark was blinded. “Did something good happen?”, he watched Haechan’s hair bounce at his every step, like a little seedling gently moved by the breeze. Haechan’s smile widened as he sat down, rolling around in his seat, pure energy sprinkling from every pore. “So I guess the answer is yes,” Mark found himself smiling as well, although a bitter taste pasted his tongue on the palate as he spoke. “I just remembered how much serotonin a good fuck gives you,” Haechan opened his computer and started working on his tasks, not paying attention to Mark’s face. 

Oh. 

Mark hated it. Oh, he hated it so much. God, he hated it. 

The boy tried hard to not think about Haechan that day, resulting in him thinking about Haechan all day. Don't think about Haechan. Don't think about Haechan. Don't think about his body touched by somebody else. 

It was almost lunchtime when Mark finally broke the silence. “So, now you’re dating someone?” Haechan raised an eyebrow, eyes still too focused on his computer to give his full attention to Mark. “What? No. Why?”, he mumbled distractedly. Mark blinked for a few seconds. Haechan finally processed and laughed. “You’re kinda sweet Mark. I just got dicked down, that’s all”, he got up and stretched his arms up with a whiny yawn. “Come on,” he lightly hit the other’s shoulder, “I think today’s menu is soup”.

______

Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark. 

It was as if Haechan was going crazy. 

It was just a dream. A single dream. 

When did this happen? How was it possible? 

“Fuck, Haechan, you’re-”, Jaemin gulped, his adam apple going up and down inside his stretched out throat just like Haechan’s body moved on top of him. “Yeah?” the directly concerned boy smiled. “-crazy today”, Jaemin concluded. “Who made you this horny?” Haechan bit his lower lip, hating his mind for not leaving that thought out, even if for a single second. “Call me--”, he ignore the other’s question, cheeks violently turning red. Jaemin groaned at the way Haechan sunk deeper on him in the process. “Call you what?”, he asked breathless, fingers tightening around Haechan’s painfully hard length. “Cute”, the boy finally whispered. And Jaemin said it, again and again until that word replaced Mark’s name from Haechan’s head.

_______

That day’s menu was indeed soup which only added to Haechan’s general euphoria. Mark walked one step behind him, troubled by the double sword his feelings formed inside his heart. His eyes were only on the younger’s face and Mark could only sigh every few seconds. 

Oh, I’m falling in love. I’m falling in love. 

Lost in his melodramatic thoughts, Mark didn’t notice when Haechan suddenly stopped.  “Hey, boys. Haechan,” a dude greeted generally before locking eyes with the younger one.  Haechan rolled his eyes and made a step back from where that guy was. The dude’s smile flattered as if annoyed at that obvious showcase of hatred towards him but kept his fake expression on as he looked at Mark instead. “So, I’m organizing this party downtown at the Garages. Do you want to come?”, he asked.  

Mark furrowed his eyebrows and eyed Haechan to see what the deal was about.  

Haechan huffed. “Mark doesn’t like parties and neither do I, Jungwoo. Thank you”, he replied snarkily while making a step to continue walking. 

Jungwoo smirked. “Says the party animal. You never mentioned it to me while I had you on my-”, but Haechan interrupted him, hitting his chest with the back of his hand. 

Jungwoo chuckled with satisfaction. 

“Oh, so the boy doesn’t have to know?” he asked indicating to Mark, faking innocence.”

Mark felt his jaw muscle flinch and a sudden urge to punch that dude in the face made his fists almost tremble. 

“The boy doesn’t like the way you’re making his friend uncomfortable right now”, he spoke with a cold voice not breaking eye contact. “Whatever happened between you before, now Haechan doesn’t want to see you again and certainly he doesn’t want to come to your party”. 

Haechan opened his mouth to say something but Jungwoo's laugh interrupted him. 

“Oh, but he does want to see me again and come to my party. Don’t you, Haechan?” the dude asked. 

“Of course I don’t, Jungwoo. Get fucked”, Haechan replied quickly, eyes rolling in their sockets, feet turning direction and walking away. 

“I bet I will”, Jungwoo shrugged with a little smile, throwing one finger gun at Mark.  “By Haechan”, he whispered with a wink while leaving him alone in the corridor. 

To Mark’s horror, despite those two’s abrasive conversation, he could definitely see that as a silent promise.

So Mark went there as well. 

Why? He didn’t know. He liked to think that he was concerned about Haechan’s safety. 

That Jungwoo guy had some rancid vibes and Mark hated the idea of the two together. Because he was concerned for his safety. 

Not because he was jealous or anything. 

Haechan could do whatever he wanted and sleep with whoever he wanted to, but what if, just what if, Haechan changed his mind and chose Mark over the Jungwoo dude? 

Mark could do that. 

Mark wasn’t self-centred but he still realized that Haechan deserved better and he could provide that. 

If that was Haechan needed to soothe the darkness in his eyes, Mark could do that.

But Haechan wasn’t there and neither was Jungwoo and the thought of that man’s hands on Haechan’s skin made Mark’s guts twirl on themselves. 

He looked around, frantically, breathing the sweat-impregnated air, trying to avoid being hit by people’s sticky shoulders. Until he started to feel sick, not only because of the loud music and blinding lights but also for some obscure reason, grabbing his throat and choking him. 

He had to drown that down.

_______

When Haechan arrived Mark was surrounded by people, eyes closed, face up exposing his neck, laughing and screaming, jumping and moving his body as Haechan has never seen someone do before. 

His legs were nicely on display in a pair of severely ripped black jeans that Haechan had no idea Mark liked to wear. 

The younger boy was so concentrated on the way a plain white T-shirt could look so good on a person that he noticed too late the way Mark directed his eyes towards him. 

He was far away and Haechan couldn’t decipher the other's expression but it didn’t matter as Mark quickly made his way to where the younger boy nervously stood. 

Mark was drunk. A lot. 

But he still somewhat fluidly avoided the crowd as if dancing until getting as close as hovering above Haechan. The boy had never noticed that Mark was taller until he had to raise his face to look up, his back and palms pressed against the wall. He didn’t notice when he walked backwards either. 

“Haechan”, Mark said his name with such worry to make the other’s heart beat like crazy. “Are you okay? Where have you been?”, or that's what Haechan deciphered from his lips since the music was so loud that his ribcage felt about to be ripped apart. “Home. I’ve just arrived”, Haechan yelled and Mark got even closer, giving his ear to the boy’s lips to hear better. 

Haechan couldn’t do anything else besides inhaling his odour. Mark was a little sweaty and his breath smelled of alcohol, but Haechan has never found someone sexier than him at that moment. 

His eyes were dark under his black curls and his lips looked swollen as if someone sucked on them. Haechan felt like prey and unconsciously pressed his body against the wall even harder.

“And where’s Jungwoo?”, Mark’s voice tingled Haechan’s earbuds. “I have no idea. Why would I know?”, Haechan replied, acting as if he didn’t realize why Mark was behaving like that. 

It made Haechan’s palms sweat. 

He thought about that a lot, at the way Mark got defensive of him in front of Jungwoo, at the way Mark’s expression darkened even after Haechan told them that he had no intention to go to the party, at the way Mark has been looking at Haechan a lot, at the way Haechan couldn’t just stop thinking about Mark for a single second either.  

He came to the party because of that. Haechan’s mind was running again and he wanted to stop it. And also because he played with his phone all day, looking at Mark’s number for a long time. 

Mark would have replied but did Haechan really want it? He was such a sweet person and Haechan didn’t dare to contaminate him with his presence. Mark didn’t deserve to be used as Haechan needed. 

So he went to the party, ready to contaminate somebody else instead. Who knew that Mark was there waiting for him? 

“I’ve been thinking about you the whole night”, Mark talked again after staring at Haechan as if trying to understand the younger one’s thoughts. Just like he has been for the past few months, making Haechan feel small and naked. "Yeah, I bet. While letting those people grind on you?" Haechan replied sarcastic trying hard to conceal his shaking voice. 

Mark got closer, bold and cocky, putting his hands on the wall, caging Haechan between his arms, leaning in and whispering into his ear. "Yeah, I was imagining you grinding on me", his confession tickled Haechan’s ear and the boy tried to move his head away on the side, afraid to do something he would regret, but Mark's hand was there and his head had nowhere to go. It wasn't right. 

Haechan was sober while Mark was drunk and had no idea what he was talking about. He had to go away, push him back, but his limbs weren't cooperating. Mark's hand though was working just fine and it gently grabbed Haechan's face, turning it into his direction. 

"Haechan, please, let me kiss you", he begged, his breath caressing Haechan’s lips. 

The boy gulped down surprised, shivering with desire, fighting with himself. He put his hands on Mark's chest, with the intent of lightly pushing him away, but he was made of iron. No, Mark, no, please. You’re too precious to me for this. 

"You don't know what you're talking about", Haechan mumbled. 

Mark breathed heavily. His jaw muscles tightened. Then he put his head down as if trying to gain forces. 

"Yeah, sorry, okay okay, I'm leaving", he retrieved his arms and let them fall to his sides like dead flesh. 

Haechan looked at them with some relief, suddenly feeling exposed and cold, even if the club's air was so hot that it was hard to breathe. Or maybe it was just him having breathing difficulties. Haechan had no idea. 

"No, wait", his lips betrayed him. "Just-", Haechan interrupted himself, eyes squeezed together as if already regretting what he was about to say, unsure, holding Mark's wrist with both hands. Then he opened his eyes again. 

Mark was looking at him his heavy lids. His gaze wandered from his face to his exposed neck, then to his collarbones and chest. Mark was undressing him without touching anything and Haechan felt like going crazy. 

"-just a kiss. Okay? It's going to be a short kiss", Haechan continued, unable to believe he was actually saying that. 

But there was no harm in that. A little kiss. Just a harmless little kiss. Like the ones you'd have in college during stupid games. No one thought about those in the mornings.

But when Mark's lips curved in a little smirk and his body got as close as to press on Haechan's one again, the younger boy knew that it wasn't going to be just a kiss. Not for him at least. And not only he would think about it in the morning. He probably would think about it for a long time. And he was right. It was indeed memorable. Slow and careful but not timid. Mark cupped the other’s face, palm pressed on his jaw, fingers as far as touching his neck and ear, the other grabbing his hips, pulling them against his. Haechan’s head felt light and he couldn't fathom how Mark managed to have so much control when he was about to lose it all. And then it became even worse as Mark slipped his tongue inside of Haechan’s mouth and the younger boy had to tighten his grip around Mark’s torso. He whined into Mark's mouth, making the other hum back, picking up the pace, biting his lower lip and sucking on it, letting his hand fall from Haechan's face to his neck, then chest, then to his stomach, grazing the skin separated by Mark's fingers only by his thin button-down. 

Haechan had to stop him. It was going too far. That was a mistake. They still had to work together. There’s a reason why Haechan avoided talking to the coworkers he fucked before. Mark wasn't realizing that but Haechan did. He had to be responsible. 

Stop him, Haechan. Stop him. 

"Mark, wait", he broke off the kiss when Mark's hands reached his jeans button. The boy looked down at him, panting, eyes half-closed: he was begging Haechan to let him continue. 

Haechan grabbed his shirt and dragged him around the corner, into the shadows. 

"Tomorrow we forget about this, okay?", he warned him, shutting his brain off. "Okay", Mark replied quickly putting his mouth on Haechan's again as if unable to be away from it for too long. And he put his hands on Haechan's jeans again as well, opening the button, letting the zip fall slowly, tucking his hand underneath Haechan's boxers, feeling his soft and hot skin, wrapping his fingers around him tightly, not letting the struggling Haechan to break off the kiss to moan. And he didn't even last too long. The boy came shuddering all over Mark's fist after a few good strokes and the older finally let him press his face into his chest. 

Shit, he had never lasted this little. What the hell.

Haechan was fucking embarrassed and if Mark wouldn't have been too drunk to remember anyway, he would have just run away to hide in that exact moment. 

"Fuck", Mark cursed under his breath, feeling Haechan’s hot release on his skin, nudging at Haechan's temple with his lips while the other came down from his high.   "Oh, fuck, you're so hot like this, Haechan. And cute. Shit, you're so cute, I'm going crazy", he babbled before letting Haechan's cock go and trying to bring his fingers to his lips. "Oh no", Haechan gulped trying to stop him. "Mark, don't. You touched all sort of things in the club with that hand", and Mark stopped for a second as if processing the information before dropping to his knees and tasting Haechan directly. 

The boy opened his mouth in a silent gasp and he was still so aroused that feeling Mark's tongue made him hard again in a second. 

"Fuck", Haechan swore loudly, pressing his fingers into the wall behind him, letting his head fall back, feeling himself grow harder inside Mark's mouth. 

He didn't expect it. He didn't expect any of this. Innocent and soft Mark Lee sucking him off like no one has done before in the dark corner of a club? Haechan the slut coming in two seconds and getting hard again soon after? Past Haechan would have laughed, yet there he was, moaning Mark's name like a mantra, coming for the second time in minutes like a little virgin. 

It was no dream. It was a reality. 

Mark didn't let him go and Haechan felt like flying as his cum descended inside Mark's throat. And then he looked down right in time to catch a glimpse of Mark's eyes, looking up at him, letting his cock out with a lewd plop. "Mark, where did you learn that?", Haechan asked suddenly exhausted. The boy licked his lips and held onto Haechan to get up, shakily. "Was that good? It was my first time doing it", he mumbled with a smile before resting his head on Haechan's shoulder, the cocktail he had right before adding to his brain fog.

_______

Mark woke up to the sound of a heartbeat. It was a comforting sound. Deep and regular. 

He groaned softly as his lids realized they were getting hit by bright and irritating sunlight. Then he opened his eyes slowly, focusing on the windows first, vision blurry, then on the plant underneath it, then on the young man underneath him. 

Mark's muscles got a spasm and woke up completely as his brain finally made sense of what was going on. Meaning that his face was resting on Haechan's chest. Bare chest. And his own torso, bare torso, was wrapped by the boy's arms. 

Oh fuck, he thought. Oh shit. 

"It's too late in the morning to run away", Haechan mumbled, waking up softly as well. 

Mark froze as he was trying to get up. He was propped up on an elbow when Haechan opened his eyes and Mark felt his breath hitch. 

Haechan was there, pillow adorned with his luscious locks lying all around his head like a halo, chocolate eyes warmed by the sun shining through the windows and his skin, God, he looked like an angel. 

"I'm not going away", Mark lied, surprising himself by how deep and hoarse his voice sounded like. "Fuck, you're so cute right now", he whispered soon after, unable to control himself. 

Haechan's eyes got wider at Mark's words. He expected Mark to freak out, and Mark was freaking out inside a lot, but having Haechan like that, underneath him, vulnerable and beautiful as never before, made Mark feel peaceful at the same time. 

This is all he wanted in life. 

The older managed to keep it together for a few other seconds, trying to look confident, but when Haechan's cheeks reddened with blush, Mark lost it and blushed as well, rolling away, grabbing a pillow to hide his face in with a scream. 

"I can't believe it", his voice came out muffled. "Oh my God", he yelled quietly. 

Haechan started to chuckle embarrassed. "What an idiot". 

"How-", Mark removed the pillow enough for one eye to poke out. "How far-", he stuttered. 

Haechan rolled his eyes, faking nonchalance. 

"Just oral", he whispered while getting up and putting his feet on the ground, turning his back to Mark, unable to look at him in the face either. 

"Oh", the other sounded weirdly disappointed. Haechan pinched the base of his nose. That man was sending such mixed messages. "You did dry hump my ass if that makes things better", Haechan spoke through his teeth, embarrassed out of his mind, grabbing the bottle of water he kept on his nightstand. "I'm sorry. You deserve to get fucked properly", Mark replied quietly as if thinking at loud, making Haechan choke on his water and spit it all around the room. 

Mark sat up quickly and placed a hand on Haechan's shoulder. "Are you okay?" 

The choking boy turned around to face him. 

"I thought you'd be all embarrassed about this", he commented while drying his wet lips with the back of his hand. 

"I am!" Mark's eyes got wide and his red ears confirmed it, but it was still not what Haechan expected. 

"I mean", Haechan hesitated, unsure of what words to use, "I thought you'd regret it in the morning. You were really drunk last night and you had no idea what you were doing”. 

Mark's face visibly darkened. 

"Do you regret it?", he asked. 

Haechan went on with his phrase ignoring Mark’s question. "-like I was sober and I was worried that maybe I should have-". 

"Haechan". 

Mark's voice was so deep and serious that Haechan's heart started to beat faster upon hearing him calling his name like that. "Answer me. Do you regret it? Did I- fuck - did I do something wrong?", Mark asked ruffling his hair with one hand. He looked so worried and distressed that Haechan for a second didn't know what to say. 

"No", the younger finally shook his head. "No", he repeated. "I was aware of everything and I made my choice consciously but you-", Haechan hesitated again.  "Me too", Mark spoke up, nodding. "I remember everything until you helped me to get out of the club. After I sucked y-".

"Don't say it", Haechan stopped him with a raised palm. 

Mark chuckled embarrassedly. 

If only Haechan knew how cute he was being in that moment, faking his serious face and steading his voice. Mark would have wanted to see Haechan confess just how weak he was. 

"So you, like, you wanted it? Not because you were just drunk and I happened to be there?", Haechan asked timidly. Haechan couldn't believe he was so shy to talk about sex with someone. It has never happened before. Nothing he did with Mark happened before. 

Mark gulped down. "I wanted it, yeah. I didn't do it because I was drunk. I did it thanks to that. I don't think I would have had the courage otherwise", he explained. "But I'm also sorry. It mustn't be nice to- like--uh, you know, with a drunk person", he stuttered, eyes closing and opening as he thought about the words to use. 

Haechan looked down, shyly. "You were very hot actually", he whispered back, scratching the back of his head. 

"Haechan," Mark finally found his voice after a moment of shocked silence. "I swear to God, I would take you-", but interrupted himself abruptly. 

Haechan looked at him flustered. 

Mark cleared his voice. 

Then he shook his head. 

"No", he chuckled at himself. "Nothing, never mind", he added suddenly getting up, the covers sliding down his naked body. 

Haechan looked at it. He had looked at it the whole night. That night he kissed every inch of that skin and listened to Mark's soft moans. And Haechan realized that it wasn't a hookup. At all. Not for him. But Mark didn't remember that part and Haechan didn't want to tell him. If Haechan had to think about it for the next month, so be it. It was all on him. He let himself go too far and he wasn't talking about the physical aspect. It was all his fault if his heart was aching to see Mark get dressed instead of lying beside him, cuddling, or better, doing what Mark didn't dare to tell him.

_______

"Tomorrow we forget about this, okay?".

Forgetting. 

Mark wanted to forget but he couldn't do it. Not the day after and not on Monday morning, seeing Haechan's pretty lips so close to him and not being able to kiss them. 

Mark lied when Haechan asked him what he remembered. 

Well, not entirely, because he did forget some parts. 

But he was definitely lucid when Haechan went down on him, slowly, after kissing his lips, then his neck, sucking on his skin, then his chest and stomach as Mark wrapped Haechan's hair around his fingers. The boy asked multiple times if Mark was okay with that until Mark had to basically beg to just suck him off already. And God, he was so cute doing it. He would never forget how that felt. Divine. His head was so light as if zero oxygen got to it, every drop of blood concentrated inside of Haechan's warm and wet mouth instead. 

And he was staring at that mouth now, as Haechan explained the work to do for the day. Mark wasn't even that horny. No. He just wanted to hold him again and softly press his lips on Haechan's plump ones. 

"Tomorrow we forget about this". 

Haechan was sober when he said that. He meant it. He wouldn't have said that if he didn't mean it. Right? Should he ask? Haechan, did you forget? Do you want to forget? Because I don't. 

And I can't. 

"Mark", Haechan snapped his fingers in front of him making the boy jolt. "Focus", he ordered. "What are you thinking about?".

You. I'm thinking about you. You. You. I've been thinking about you for days, Haechan. 

"Lunch", Mark shrugged. Haechan rolled his eyes. "What an idiot".

_______

That afternoon Haechan was in a relatively good mood. 

He should have known that the most peaceful days could bring the most terrible storms though. 

So he jolted at the sound of a voice he almost forgot how it sounded like. 

"Haechan, I thought you died or something". 

The boy in question looked up from his computer to see a pair of feline eyes. 

They were bright and amused. Then he saw the lips. Soft and pink stretched in a sweet smile. 

Doyoung was still like a house with all the lights on, but now it wasn’t empty anymore. Now everyone was home. This house was full of people, all happy and content. 

Haechan was so glad. He truly was. This is what he has always wanted to see since first locking eyes with that man. But he also felt suddenly miserable. Miserable and confused. 

His heart shouldn't have skipped a beat like that. Not anymore. 

"I did die and I just got back from hell", he replied, trying to sound as snarky as possible. It wasn't entirely a lie. 

"What about you? You also went missing". Doyoung blushed subtly at the innuendo and Haechan felt the urge to punch the table. Or himself. "I've been busy", Doyoung replied softly. "So you went to paradise instead, I see", Haechan commented with a smile hoping that no one noticed how fake it was.

_______

"A man can't have his alone time in peace. What do you want?", Haechan rolled his eyes while Mark sat down beside him, resting his back on the rooftop wall, looking in front of him at the blue sky. 

It was a sunny day with a slight breeze, enough for Haechan's fringe to wave gently. 

Mark loved it when the wind ruffled Haechan's hair but he couldn't bring himself to look at the younger boy. Not at that moment. 

"I didn't know", Mark whispered. "What?", Haechan's voice came out irritated but he didn't care. 

"That you were in love", Mark added. 

Haechan choked on his breath. 

"I'm not", he crossed his arms on his chest and closed his eyes as if sunbathing. Conversation over, it meant. An angry bronzing session. 

Mark finally looked at him then, feeling safe as he wasn't seen back. He watched the way Haechan’s skin glowed under the warm rays. Mark thought about how it would feel under his fingertips but he wasn’t sure. He touched it before but now he couldn’t remember it. Mark wanted to raise one hand and touch his cheek again, this time fully concentrating on the feeling. He wanted to let it slide down the boy’s jawline, feeling the sharp bone, then on his neck where the angry pulsating artery pumped blood at a crazy speed. Then he wanted to hear Haechan’s soft breath as his hand unbuttoned his shirt, this time feeling his heartbeat. Mark wanted it to be fast and only for him. For Mark. 

It all made sense now. But why does it have to be like that? What should Mark do? What do people do in this scenario? 

Was he thinking about this Doyoung guy? Has Haechan been thinking about other men? The whole time? While Mark was thinking about him? 

Was he imagining kissing that man's lips while Mark's mind was full of Haechan and Haechan only? 

Of course, he would. 

What was Mark thinking? Isn’t this what he accepted? Isn’t this what he decided to adventure in? Why was Mark suddenly so hurt about Haechan behaving as he anticipated him to do? 

We forget about this in the morning and Mark was certain now that Haechan actually did forget. 

"Does he know?", Mark asked after a while. Haechan snorted. "Of course he doesn't". "He doesn't know what?".

The other boy sighed at the trap. 

"Just leave me alone", he ordered. And Mark actually got up and left. 

Haechan's cheeks got wet right when it started to rain.

_______

"Mark, if you have something to say, just say it". 

It's been a few days of Mark not talking but still looking at Haechan as if about to burst in a monologue anytime soon. 

Haechan had been brusque with him before, but it never came to Mark not talking to him. 

The younger boy wasn’t stupid. It was obvious what was going on with Mark but Haechan didn’t have the force to deal with it sooner. 

"I don't have anything to say", Mark replied. "Do you have anything to say?".

Haechan rested his back on the chair and looked at Mark, irritated. 

"Okay, we need to sort this thing out. We can't work like this". "Like this how? We're working just fine", Mark didn't raise his eyes from the computer. "Mark, you've been writing and deleting the same line for a while now", Haechan indicated the screen with his chin. "Well, maybe something is going on with me but it doesn't have anything to do with you, so we don't need to talk about anything", Mark replied finally starting a new line. 

So Mark was able to lie as well, huh?

"Mark", Haechan lowered his voice. "Do you perhaps have feelings for me?", he whispered. 

"What?!" Mark yelled. 

Onew jolted on his seat. 

"Keep your voice down, you dumbass", Haechan put one hand on his thigh. Mark looked down at it then at Haechan's face. 

Haechan retrieved his hand back. 

Mark breathed heavily before talking. 

"It's just--”, he rested his back on the chair as well, “I've never been with someone like that before and I'm so confused right now, like, I don't know if I have feelings for you or just--like, I need closure?", he questioned as if talking to himself. 

Haechan was surprised that Mark told him all that. 

"You mean that you're a virgin?", the younger asked incredulously. "Uhm, I can hear you", Onew said. "Then get your ass up and take a stroll, Owen", Haechan spoke up. 

Mark flinched at his sudden and loud voice. 

Their colleague shook his head as if not believing he was dealing with some weirdos and got out of the office mumbling something about gen z people. 

"I am not a virgin. I meant hookups", Mark explained after a little pause while his cheeks acted like a virgin's. "You said you've never sucked someone before", Haechan raised one eyebrow. "It's alright if you're a virgin, Mark. You just have to tell me and-”, he interrupted himself as if realizing what they actually did, “-fuck, you had to tell me before as well. God, I acted recklessly, I should hav-".

"I am not a virgin! Stop saying that. I've never sucked before because I've been eating pussy, okay?", Mark raised his voice.

Haechan blinked at him. "So you're confused about your sexuality?" 

Mark rolled his eyes defeated. "I know what I like! I'm not confused. Just hear me out!" "You said you were confused just a minute ago", Haechan said. "But not about my sexuality. Because of the hookup!"  "Why are you yelling?", Haechan yelled.  "I'm not yelling!", Mark yelled back.  "You're arguing with me right now". "Because you're not listening! I don't know how I'm feeling about you because I've never slept around before. I-- just--don't like it", Mark stuttered.  "Then why did you sleep with me?", Haechan was exasperated.  Mark whined. "Because I liked you already”.  "So you do like me. You have feelings for me", Haechan raised his hands as if talking with a fool. 

The other shifted in his seat as if uncomfortable. 

"Don't all people like their hookup partners though? Like, would you sleep with someone if they were ugly as fuck? I don't think so. You still need to be attracted to them a little". 

Haechan sighed while massaging his temples. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation. Didn't you have crushes before? Don't you know what it feels like to be in love?".

Mark groaned tiredly. "I did. And I know. But this is different", he spoke with a softer tone. 

Haechan sighed. "So what? Am I supposed to help you figure that out? If you like me or not?". 

Mark straightened his tie and focused on his computer again as if the conversation was over. 

"Listen, you wanted to hear me talk, so I did". 

The younger boy stared at the other’s fingers as they started to type something, probably useless. 

"Do you even want to like me? Like what's your expectation?". 

Mark’s fingers stopped and he remained silent for a little while. "Well, you like somebody else, so it wouldn't be nice if I had feelings for you, would it?". 

Haechan prolonged the silence a bit. "I'm getting out of it".

Mark turned his head to him. 

That was a lie, Mark could see it. A blatant lie. 

"Do you want me to like you?", he asked. His voice was soft and low. 

Haechan thought about it for a second. He didn’t know what to say. 

Mark sighed, unable to wait like that, and closed his eyes, reclining back on his seat again. 

"I like you, Haechan. Okay? I like you, fuck. I don't care if you like somebody else". 

Haechan’s heart started to beat even faster than before. 

“Was this the problem, then? You were jealous?”, Haechan’s voice came out quieter than he intended. 

Mark opened his eyes and looked down at his hands clasped together. 

He shrugged. 

“You don’t have to worry about me. I just needed to say it. I’m not asking for anything from you”, Mark directed his gaze towards Haechan. 

He looked so serious that it made Haechan’s cheeks get pink again. 

Mark’s eyes trembled imperceptibly at that reaction but he didn’t dare to say anything about it. 

He cleared his voice as Haechan couldn’t bring himself to add anything either and got back to work.

_______

It was very late at night. 

Haechan had no idea what time it was but it was not a time normal people would be awake at. 

He fidgeted under the covers, restless and irritated. He felt hot and his mind wouldn’t let him sleep. 

His hands found his phone after a while, ready to click on Jaemin’s name. But then his thumb slid down and it stopped over Mark instead. 

Haechan stared at the bright screen until he felt his eyes tear up from lack of blinking then just pressed it with a huff. 

Bad person Haechan. You’re a bad person. You’re such a bad person. A mistake. You did a mistake a now you were about to make another one.

“Yes”, Mark’s rough voice interrupted Haechan’s train of thoughts. 

The younger boy opened his mouth to breathe better and he let that monosyllable caress his ears even after the sound already died. 

“Hey”, Haechan whispered, closing his eyes, helping his other senses to get sharper. 

Mark groaned softly and shifted in his bed, probably turning in a more comfortable position. “Haechan”, he said in the same sleepy and deep voice and Haechan had to make an effort to not whimper into the phone. 

Why was Haechan so affected by this boy but at the same time so afraid of him? He shouldn’t have let Mark get so involved. Haechan should have put a wall between them the first time his lips said that first “cute”, then another one when he blatantly saw the way Mark’s eyes couldn’t leave him, then another one that night in the club, and another one when Mark asked him if Haechan wanted to be liked. And now as well. Just end the call. 

But he couldn’t. 

His walls were not strong enough for Mark and Haechan was a bad person. 

He liked it. He liked a lot. Haechan wanted more and more even if he could give back only darkness. 

“I’m sorry I woke you up”, Haechan said after waiting a few seconds to recollect himself. 

Mark hummed as if telling him that it was alright. “Is everything okay?” he asked and Haechan noticed the way Mark was slowly waking up by the growing concern in his voice. “Yeah, yeah, everything is good. I just…”, Haechan hesitated. 

Why did he even call Mark in the first place? Did he need company? Rude. Did he miss him? Gross. He was a bad person, using people when he needed, disregarding their feelings? Yeah. 

“I wanted to speak to someone”, he decided to be honest. 

Mark’s breath got louder for a second as if he laughed lightly. “I’m glad you thought of me, then. Unless you called other people first and no one replied”. 

Haechan smiled, feeling like a teenager talking to his first crush, then stopped, starting to hate himself. “No. You’re the only one I called”, he confessed. 

What was he doing? Bad. Bad Haechan. Bad. 

Mark went silent and Haechan listened to his breath for a while.

“You confuse me so much, Haechan”, Mark’s voice was a whisper and Haechan swallowed nothing, feeling his throat suddenly dry. 

Yeah. It was not fair. Not when Mark told him how he was feeling and Haechan couldn’t do the same. 

“But I’m not complaining”, Mark added before Haechan could apologize and end the call, finally getting to his senses. “I don’t care, Haechan. I like you so much. You can do whatever you want to me”. 

Haechan bit his lower lip. God, he hated himself. 

“Mark-”. “Would you do something for me?”, the boy interrupted him. “Mm? What?”. “Would you-”, Mark stopped, breath suddenly quicker, “-would you-uhm-- shit”, he repeated softly before chuckling, slightly embarrassed. 

Haechan’s skin got goosebumps, wondering if he understood what Mark wanted. His heartbeat started to pump blood at a crazy speed at it all went in a single place. 

So he did what Mark asked, even if he would end up being wrong, only because he wanted it too. He slid a hand under his t-shirt, slowly, until reaching his nipples, and whined into the phone. 

Mark went completely silent for a second. 

Haechan whined again a little louder. 

“Fuck, Haechan”, Mark’s voice trembled. "Are you-- are you touching yourself?”.

Haechan hummed. “My nipples”, he simply replied as he pinched them, playing with himself, feeling his boxers get tighter at every stroke. “Oh fuck”, Mark’s rough voice made Haechan squeeze his eyes together and open his mouth in a silent moan. 

They were both panting. Haechan couldn’t tell if Mark was just lying there and imagining or if he started to shyly let his hand slide south as well. 

“How does it feel?”, Mark inquired with a shaken voice and Haechan realized he still had too much control to be rubbing one out as well. “It feels so good, Mark”, the younger one replied, adding soft swears as his fingers got under the fabric of his boxers, letting the elastic hit his abdomen once, loudly, making sure Mark heard it as well. “Hmm -a-ah”, he wrapped his cock with his hand, pumping it slowly a few times, pressing his thumb on the slit. 

He didn’t need to exaggerate any sound. Knowing that Mark was listening could make Haechan go over the edge alone. 

“Haechan, you make me go so fucking crazy”, Mark’s shaking voice made Haechan bite his lower lip. “You too, Mark”, he confessed in the cloud of sensations. 

Then listened to the way the other boy’s bed sheets irrefutably shifted and the bed creaked and his breath hitched as he started to pleasure himself to the sound of Haechan’s whimpers and the image he had of him.  

They didn’t talk anymore. There was no need to and they weren’t able to either. Not having Mark near him, made Haechan last longer but it was still too quickly than usual so he stopped right before cumming, edging himself until the other whined into his pillow, cursing and calling Haechan’s name.

_______

Haechan avoided Mark the whole day. He told Mark that he had some other work and barely came into the office. 

The older boy would sigh every five minutes, mind racing, making the poor Onew groan. 

“He’s feeling awkward. You guys fucked, it’s normal”. 

Mark turned his head towards him as if awoken from a dream, cheeks blushing violently as soon as he made sense of the other’s words. 

“Also, you’re in love with him. I would avoid someone in love with me as well if I only wanted to fuck them,” Onew added as if talking about the weather. Mark was unable to speak. “He’s afraid to hurt you now”. 

“I told him it was alright, though”, Mark finally whispered, trying hard to suppress the hysterical little chuckle he would get when nervous or talking about embarrassing stuff. 

Onew got up with his empty coffee mug in his hand. 

“Show it. Do something that can make him realize that it’s okay for you to be in this type of relationship”, he added before walking out whistling with not one single worry in the world. 

Mark would have wanted to whistle as well but couldn’t. 

That advice was breaking his heart. 

It was true. Mark said that he was okay, but he was lying. 

Of course, he was not alright. 

He wanted to, oh he wanted so bad to be alright but it was so late. It was already late from the beginning. Mark didn’t want that kind of relationship. He wanted more. 

But Onew was also right. Mark had to do something. If being able to have Haechan like that meant breaking his own heart, Mark was ready to do it. 

And when that night he went to Jungwoo’s monthly party again, he forced his beating heart to stop upon seeing Haechan’s back. 

The young men’s slender figure was curved in a laugh, the pretty sound almost audible to Mark’s far away ears. Then Haechan sipped from the drink in front of him, still amused by the handsome bartender’s joke, and spun around in his chair right in time to see Mark being hit on by a woman. 

Haechan’s lips stopped on the edge of the glass, eyes unable to blink, staring emotionless at the way Mark’s lips curved in a timid smile while his hands weren’t timid at all, firmly grabbing that girl’s hips as she wiggled her ass against Mark’s crotch. 

Haechan turned around, placing the drink on the counter with a slightly shaking hand. 

“Everything alright?”, the bartender asked. 

Haechan didn’t reply and threw his head back, finished his cocktail in one gulp.

_______

It was quite early when the boy left the party. Haechan felt like suffocating in the middle of all those people breathing heavily, clouding his mind. 

Waiting for his taxi outside, ignoring the stares of horny people smoking and grinding against each other by the entrance of the Garages, he got reasonable startled when two hands suddenly wrapped his torso. 

But those were some delicate fingers and Haechan could recognize that cologne in a thousand others. 

Mark rested his face on Haechan’s shoulder and no one said anything for a little while, listening to the deep bass coming out of the club, the yelling and the traffic on the main road just a few blocks away. 

“Sorry if I startled you”, Mark mumbled. 

Haechan bit his lower lip and turned around, expecting a drunk and horny Mark yet again. But the boy’s eyes were wide and awake, his usual staring-as-if-reading-your-soul eyes met Haechan’s ones. 

The younger looked at them for a second then he eyed the bright red hickeys on the other’s neck as well as the slightly unbuttoned shirt. 

“I see you’ve had some fun tonight”, Haechan commented unable to hide his bitter tone. Not that Mark wouldn’t have been able to see through his fake face anyway. 

Mark licked his lips and tugged Haechan’s hips towards him. 

"Is this alright?", his voice was low and sultry, ignoring Haechan’s little jab, caressing his lower back instead. 

Haechan started to pant softly, unsuccessfully trying to take a step back then he gulped down staring at the other’s lips getting each second closer. 

"We can pretend it didn't happen", Mark went on, "just like we've always done, isn’t that right?", and Haechan could have sworn that Mark was a little pissed off. “Fucking at night then pretending we don’t know each other during the day, huh? Isn’t this what you want? I can do that”. 

Mark's fingers reached the hem of Haechan's t-shirt by now, hiking it up slowly, dragging his fingertips on his skin. It was warm, just like Mark had always imagined. A loud cheer mixed with glass shattering made Haechan flinch but Mark shushed him, every second closer until they were breathing each other's air. 

"I really want to take you right now, just like this". 

Mark's whisper made both of their hearts beat like crazy.  The first, not believing he was talking like that, the second, not believing that Mark was telling him that. 

And when Haechan finally closed his eyes, ready to melt into the kiss, Mark's lips ghosted his cheek and neck instead, fingers still drawing little circles on the younger's chest, resting his palm on the beating heart. Then he pulled away. 

“It’s a shame that you’re pushing me away like this”, Mark straightened his back and walked away.

_______

Mark was a weird guy. 

And when Haechan bumped into him inside the local supermarket near his apartment, a large sweatshirt on his frame, boyfriend jeans, ruffled hair, a little stubble, concerned expression behind his golden round glasses, the tip of his tongue out, licking his lips mindlessly, deciding what brand of cereal he wanted, Haechan felt the urge to go there and yell at him that he's in love. 

Haechan never liked the "what are we" question. 

Everyone around him asked that. What are we? Friends. Friends with benefits. Nothing, we're just fucking. Haechan has never adventured there. But now, looking at Mark's profile, his hand finally picking up the cereal pack, Haechan wanted to ask him that question. 

What are we, Mark? 

Because I want us to be something. 

I want to claim you in ways that give other people no place to do the same. 

Not a friend, not a colleague, not a friend with benefits. 

An etiquette that only Haechan could claim. 

Even if Haechan didn’t deserve that. 

Mine. My boyfriend. Mine. Mine. All mine. 

Was that wrong? Probably. 

But Haechan felt no remorse. 

Was that love? Haechan was unsure but he wanted to find out. 

So he walked over. Was Mark there because he hoped to see Haechan? "Oh, Haechan", Mark seemed genuinely surprised when the younger called his name. "What are you doing here?", the boy asked. 

Mark looked around briefly as if suddenly not knowing where he was. "The meat here is higher quality than the supermarket near my apartment", he explained and Haechan could see the way Mark's expression screamed honesty. 

He wasn’t there because of Haechan. Mark might have had a crush on the other but he was slipping away now. 

Come back, Mark. Come back to me. Call me cute again. Touch my skin. Don’t do this. Don’t play with me like this. 

"Haechan", Mark's voice wavered as the boy got suddenly closer. "We're in public". 

Haechan didn’t look away. “You didn’t care about the public last night. You let that slut fuck you in front of everyone then you dared to flirt with me and leave me on the edge like that?”, he confronted him. 

Mark’s little stunt made the younger so mad the day before that he felt like bursting in his pants during the drive home. Cheeks flushed and trembling hand, he didn’t even bother to walk to the bedroom. He closed his eyes and threw his head back to rest against the entrance door as soon as he stepped into his empty apartment. He came and came, again and again, until he felt too sensitive to touch himself anymore. God, he was so mad. 

“Haechan, are you jealous?”, Mark’s eyes relaxed, the cereal pack still between them, the gaze of some elderly ladies not leaving their backs. 

Haechan’s jaw muscles flexed. “Yeah. I am. I am jealous. I am fucking jealous. Okay? I hate it. I hate that you sleep with other people. You’re mine and mine only”, Haechan spat out quickly before he could regret saying it. 

He was panting and he didn’t even have to look at himself to know that he was all red. 

Mark’s breath hitched in a startled laugh. 

“And I hate that you have all of this control over me. I was done, okay? I was done with feelings and here you are, doing all of this bullshit to me. Your little game worked. Are you happy?”. 

Getting out of the apartment that late morning, Mark didn’t anticipate getting a confession from Haechan in the cereal aisle while said person looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows, doe eyes and a trembling lower lip. 

God, he was so cute, Mark wanted to grab his face and kiss him. 

“You saw my game and played by my rules?”, Mark asked impressed. 

“You didn’t even give me time to play at all! I got defeated before starting”, the other admitted frustrated. 

Mark chuckled. “Why are you getting mad at me, Haechan? You ignored me in the first place, sleeping with other people.” 

The boy huffed exasperated and walked away, bumping Mark in the shoulder, making the other pirouette and grab him by the forearm. 

“I was joking. Come on”, he cooed. “This is what I’ve always wanted”. 

Haechan put his tongue inside his cheek, annoyed. “What? Me making a fool out of myself?”

“Showing yourself to me”, Mark replied kindly. 

Haechan rolled his eyes, still using his faking-nonchalance-to-not-show-his-feelings technique, but Mark was already immune to that. In fact, he has been immune to that from the start. 

Haechan loved it. 

Haechan loved it so much that he got scared. It was too good to be true.

________

It was pouring heavily when they got out of the supermarket. Haechan had his apartment windows open and they could smell the scent of rain, clean and refreshing. 

It was cold but Mark's body heated the boy in a second, groceries fallen on the floor, wrapping his arms around the other’s frame. 

They did not kiss and Haechan was quite surprised but he didn't say anything, hiding his face the crook of Mark's neck instead, inhaling all of his favourite scents at the same time. 

"I called you upstairs for a different reason," Haechan mumbled, surprised at the sudden softness, the sound of his voice muffled by the other's slightly damp sweatshirt. 

"I know," Mark whispered against his temple. 

He placed a delicate kiss there, then another one slightly below, then another one, drawing a line until reaching the jaw. Haechan raised his face and Mark kissed the corner of his lips, then the other cheek, and jaw again, and the other temple. 

Haechan closed his eyes with a little smile as if giving up. 

Mark, what are you doing?".

"I want you to think", the other replied, lips still busy. Haechan scoffed. "I want to stop thinking". "I want you to think about me". 

His lips reached Haechan's forehead and stayed there for a little. 

The only sound was the rain and Haechan's quick heart. 

"I already think about you a lot", Haechan confessed, face close to Mark's collarbones. 

"And why do you want to stop?" the other murmured. 

His voice was so relaxing and calming that Haechan for a second forgot why was he trying to not think about Mark in the first place. Why was he pushing him away? Why has he been pushing him away all of that time?

Then he remembered when Mark's hands slid down Haechan's back. 

"Because I'm a bad person". Mark sighed as if he expected that but still wanted to hear the other say it. "You're not a good judge". Haechan tsk-ed. "Well, thanks, I guess." "I am the one who has to decide if you're a bad person or not, and I say that you're not." "You're blinded by love”. 

Mark hugged Haechan even tighter. 

"Yeah, I am, so Haechan, please, let me love you", his tone darkened suddenly. "Stop pushing me away. I can handle anything". 

"I'm going to fuck up", Haechan shook his head. 

"You won't and if you do, I still want to take my chances. What if I fuck up before you do?" 

Haechan laughed, resting his chin on Mark's chest, rising his face to look at the boy in the eyes. "Mark, you're a saint".

The saint’s eyes were those of a sinner though when he pressed his thumb on Haechan’s plump, lower lip. 

"Have you ever made love to someone before?", he asked with a deep voice. 

Haechan's eyes widened with amusement. "Are you joking? I’m a hoe.” 

Mark hummed. "No. I said, love. Have you? Because I haven't either and I desperately want to make love to you right now". 

And Mark was right. 

Haechan had never made love with someone before and he realized it as soon as the other's hands cupped his cheeks, kissing his lips softly, pushing him back towards the bed, making him sit on it, letting Haechan watch as Mark elegantly took away his sweatshirt first then the shirt underneath it. 

Haechan blinked, emotions he has never felt before invading his whole body as Mark pushed him down with a gentle touch, kissing his stomach and going up, taking Haechan's top with him, letting the cold air caress his skin making it all shiver. It would have shivered anyways, goosebumps forming at every feathery touch of Mark's lips. They took away all of the remaining clothes, touching each other slowly, curiously, exploring everything, with fingertips and lips and tongues. Attentive, remembering which stroke made the other whine louder, what kind of whisper pleased the ears more, what pet name made the other blush. 

It was still raining hard, but they weren't cold, tightly wrapped in each other arms, the heavy covers to hide their secret whispers from the world. They were hidden in giggles and heavy breaths, "here?", "yeah", "like this?", "hmm", and Haechan felt so present. He was there, at that moment and he was seen. Mark was looking at him, really looking and Haechan didn't have to do anything to make it happen. There was no reason to put on an act. He just had to be himself. Vulnerable and- "cute," Mark whispered, chests rising, short breaths, his thumb caressing Haechan's red cheeks. 

"Say it again", Haechan smiled. 

Mark imitated him, his lips murmuring the word until they didn't have to, the feeling of it lingering in the air by itself.

[skywardsoul]

Diannakko Week 2019

@dianakko-week day 6, Adulthood! I want to apologize for having fallen a day behind. I hope you enjoy this nonetheless!

Diana and Akko go to visit her family in Japan. It might just be a fun trip for Akko, but for Diana, it's a chance to ask Akko's parents for her hand in marriage.

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20391742/chapters/48565283

Read on FF.Net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13372417/6/Dianakko-Week-2019

Few things scared Diana Cavendish. She was raised a proper witch, and witches were supposed to instil fear, command it. Not to mention she had years of aristocratic training under her belt. Trying to intimidate her was about as difficult as moving a mountain. That being said, as she stepped out of the car and followed her girlfriend to her parent’s house, Diana was very afraid. 

It wasn’t that Akko’s family scared her at all, no it was quite the opposite. What Diana was scared of, was herself. For there was a moment, a single grave mistake Diana made when she first met the Kagari family, and the fear of ever making another one had hung over her ever since. Here she was, one of the most distinguished witches of her era, the family head of one of magic’s oldest and noblest clans, a fully fledged doctor at the Lady Beatrix Hospital for Magical Maladies and yet the first impression she made was that of a bumbling goofs.

The incident happened when Akko’s family had flown into England to visit their daughter. Since It was Diana’s first time meeting Akko’s parents, she had wanted to obviously make a good impression. She had Akko tell her everything about them in the days leading up to their arrival. What was their favorite foods? What did they like to see on their travels? What was their opinions on magic? Everything but the goddamn kitchen sink. When it came time to greet them at the airport, Diana felt confident that she had the perfect understanding of who Kumiko and Hayato Kagari were. What she wasn’t aware of however, was that Akko was not an only child. As Akko so conveniently forgot to explain in all the time they knew each other, she had a kid brother, two years younger than her. A kid brother who, when viewed from behind, looked remarkably similar to his elder sister, especially since Akko had just cut her hair.

Akko had gone off to buy a snack from a kiosk while Diana had patiently remained at the gate. It had been several minutes since Akko left on her venture when Diana thought she spotted her, turned around and staring at a restaurant. It seemed like the snack was not enough for her insatiable love. Struck with a random and rare romantic whim, Diana decided to sneak up on her girlfriend, and hug her from behind. So she did just that, pouncing on Akko and wrapping her arms around her waist.

“Hello there Miss Kagari,” Diana said in a somewhat sultry voice. “Hungry? Got tired of waiting?”

She had expected Akko to respond with a surprised squeak, and maybe follow it up with an adorable bout of embarrassment and a flustered excuse.

Only that was not the response she received. What she got instead was a surprised scream, followed by a decidedly more masculine voice then the one that belonged to her love speaking very rapidly and very angrily in Japanese. Turns out she hadn’t snuck up on her girlfriend at all. No Diana Cavendish had the great pleasure to make her first interaction with Akko’s parents be one where it looked as if she decided to assault their son Kaito.

Thankfully Akko was nearby and was able to quickly explain and somewhat smooth over the incident while Diana felt her very soul leave her body. The Kagari’s were very understanding, well except maybe for Kaito, and accepted Diana’s apology easily. Akko’s father found the whole fiasco quite humorous.

“I told you to change up your hairstyle Kaito!” Hayato said through a booming laugh. “You look too much like your sister for your own good!”

Of course Diana had seen Akko’s family many times since then, each one going off without any major issue. Yet that first meeting, that incident at the airport still haunted Diana’s mind anytime she was set to interact with the Kagaris. As she stepped out of the car and followed her excitable girlfriend up to the door of her parent’s home, Diana’s worry returned with a vengeance. If there was anytime she couldn’t mess up in front of Akko’s parents, it was now. Akko believed this trip to be a simple visit. For Diana, it was much more important. Sometime over the course of their week spent in Japan, Diana was going to ask Akko’s parents for her hand in marriage.

She was aware of the fact that the concept was a bit outdated, and was seen in a generally negative light nowadays, but it was the way of the Cavendish family and goddamnit maybe sometimes Diana liked being old fashioned.

Akko knocked at the door eagerly and stood back, practically buzzing in place as she waited for it to open. It wasn’t long until they heard a voice through the door.

“I told you salesmen to go away, I don’t want to buy any!” Hayato’s voice had a playful tone to it.

“Dad!! It’s us!” Akko responded with a giggle.

The door to the Kagari household swung open to reveal Hayato Kagari standing in the doorway.

“Well would you look at that! It wasn’t a salesman at all! Just and adorable bunny and her wonderful girlfriend.”

Akko practically tackled her father as she leapt forward to hug him.

“Tadaima!” Akko said through a bout of laughter.

“Okaeri,” her father responded in turn. 

Akko’s father was a very kind and goofy man, standing no taller than Akko herself. If not for the grey in his hair and the lines on his face, he could easily be mistaken for a man much younger. He was energetic, much like his daughter and the ruby red eyes he shared with her more often than not were warm and welcoming. 

“Hayato, who was at the door?” Akko’s mother’s voice drifted in from the kitchen. “Was it the girls? Are they here yet?”

“Yes honey! It’s them! Cool it in the kitchen for a bit and come to greet your daughter will yah?”

There came an annoyed “hmph!” in response before Kumiko Kagari entered the living room, wiping her hands on a towel.

Akko’s mother was fairly opposite from her father. While still a wonderfully polite woman, she was much more reserved and would scold her excitable husband and daughter when necessary. She was a good deal taller than Akko and her father and had pale, green eyes. The only physical features she shared with her daughter was her brown hair, and rounded face. Although a year older than her husband, pretty much anyone would agree Kumiko looked younger.

“Atsuko!” Kumiko said as she wrapped her daughter in a hug. “Oh it feels like ages since we last saw you!”

“Mom, It’s only been a couple of months…”

“Someday, if you’re ever a mother you will understand why that feels like ages,” Kumiko retorted.

“Hello Miss Kagari, Mr. Kagari. It’s a pleasure to see you again,” Diana greeted, figuring now was a good time to do so.

Hayato turned to her with a smile. “Oh Diana, always so formal eh?”

“Well I-” was all Diana got out before she received a similar hug to the one Akko got.

“Dontcha know you don’t have to be so stiff around us by now? You’re practically family!” Hayato said. “And you’re Japanese has gotten so good! I can’t even tell you’re not a native speaker.”

“Hayato! Put the poor girl down, you’re making her uncomfortable!” Kumiko said commandingly.

“Oops! Sorry Diana. Got carried away there,” Akko’s father said, releasing her from his hug.

“That’s quite alright,” Diana said, giving him a smile. “It makes me happy to know you see me as such.”

“Say, Mom,” Akko interjected. “Where’s Kaito?”

“I sent him to the store a little a while ago to pick up some ingredients I still needed,” Kumiko explained.

“Yeah you’re mother is really going overboard with dinner today. Halfway through making the main course and she decides she’s gonna serve soup too. She’s been sending your brother back and forth all day.”

“It’s not ‘overboard,’ Hayato. Our daughter lives halfway across the world. Excuse me if I want to make sure dinner is special when she comes home.”

“Still! You spend so much time in that kitchen it’s almost like you live halfway across the world. Sometimes I think you love the stove more than me.”

Akko laughed as her parent’s started a strange sort of playful bickering. Diana couldn’t help but laugh at the antics too. She thought back to Hayato’s earlier words, how she was considered part of the family. She smiled as she watched Kumiko gesture angrily at her husband with a wooden spoon. It felt nice, having parents again.

“Tadaima!” Came a call from the front door, as Akko’s brother returned. “Who’s car is in the driveway?”

“It’s ours!” Akko replied with an excited shout as she tackled her brother in a similar fashion to the way she greeted her dad. “Okaeri, Kaito!”

“Argh! Akko! Get offa me!” Kaito said struggling to remove his elder sister.

“Oh come on! Don’t pretend like you aren’t happy to see me!” Akko said, releasing her brother and ruffling his hair.

Kaito smacked away her hand, but had a smile on his face as he fixed his hair. “Yeah, Yeah...It’s good to see you again Akko.”

“Heard mom had you playing errand boy. Just like when we were kids.”

Kaito rolled his eyes. “You don’t know the half of it. If i have to go back to the marketplace one more time, I swear old man Ryuo is gonna assume I’m making some kinda cry for help.”

The two siblings broke into a bit of shared laughter...one that ended semi abruptly when Kaito’s eyes meet Diana’s own.

“Good evening Kaito,” Diana said.

“Hello Diana,” he responded curtly, and somewhat dead pan.

Diana knew that Kaito didn’t quite like her. After how they first met, she couldn’t blame him for holding a little resentment, but she had an inkling that the issue went further. According to Akko, the two siblings were very close growing up as kids. When Akko made the announcement to her family that she wanted to go to school overseas, Kaito got fairly upset. Akko even said that the siblings relationship strained somewhat in the months leading up to her departure. If Diana had to hazard a guess, even factoring out their strange first encounter, Kaito saw Diana as a representation of everything that made Akko move away. 

That was just a guess, but really the only guess she had. Diana grew up learning to read people to an absurd level of perfection, yet she could never tell just what Akko’s brother was thinking. It really was striking, just how much Kaito resembled his older sister. Everything from their height, general body build, shape of their face, and hair color were nearly identical. It didn’t help that Kaito like wearing his hair fairly long. The only real way to tell the two apart was their voice and eye color. Kaito had his mother’s striking green rather than his father’s red. It was honestly hard to believe they weren’t twins. 

Now if only Kaito shared his sister’s friendly personality. Thankfully, before things could get truly awkward, Kumiko called out from the kitchen.

“Dinner is almost ready! Everyone wash-up and then get you butts to the dining room stat!”

No arguments were made as the other members of the house did just that. The Kagari’s ‘dining room,’ was really just a nice table situated in a corner of their living room. Akko had long since explained that the act of referring to it as its own proper room was a family in-joke. Once everyone was seated, Kumiko arrived, balancing various plates of food on her arms. Diana would have offered to help, but had learned the hard way that Kumiko Kagari never accepted help in the kitchen, carrying dishes to the table or otherwise.

“I’d be careful with the curry Diana,” Kumiko said to her once she was seated. “I know you aren’t the best with spicy foods. I may have made it with a bit too much kick.”

“Thank you for the warning,” Diana said with a nervous chuckle.

For awhile, Dinner had been going great. Akko talked excitedly with her parents, cramming as much of her day to day happenings as she could into her rapid fire sentences. Hayato kept the atmosphere at the table light telling jokes, and much to Akko’s charging, sharing embarrassing stories from her past. Every once in awhile, Kumiko would chime in with her two cents. Kaito largely stayed silent, but would laugh along with his family whenever he found something funny. Yup, it was a typical dinner with the Kagari family. Just like ones Diana had shared with them before. She had been a bit on edge what with her secret objective but as the Dinner went on, Diana felt herself begin to relax. Everything was going great.

“I still don’t see why you went and bought a house,” Kumiko said to her daughter. “Diana’s family owns a mansion, a mansion Atsuko!! Think of all the space you could’ve had!”

“Moooooom, I told you,” Akko said with a roll of her eyes. “Diana didn’t want to live in the mansion her whole life. Besides, I’m more comfortable in our house then a big place like that anyway.”

“What makes you not want to live there?” Hayato asked Diana.

“Well, I have a lot of complicated feelings towards my family home. One’s I’d rather not associate my relationship with,” Diana explained as politely as she could.

It would do her no good to explode into a rant about her aunt or reminisce about her mother.

“Well I can understand wanting to make your own life, trust me,” Kumiko said. “But giving up such a big living space for it? I mean a manor like that is the perfect place to raise a family! If you ever have children you might get crowded in that current house of yours.”

Diana nearly choked on her food.

“Mom!” Akko said, a blush staining her face.

“Oh come on. I said ‘if,’ not ‘when,” Kumkio replied with a wave of her hand. “Besides, you want children eventually right Diana?”

Diana felt her earlier nervousness return with a vengeance.

“Um, well, I suppose-”

“Wait a minute, is that even possible?” Kaito interjected. “They’re both women.”

Diana doubted it was her sake, but used to opportunity to shovel some food into her mouth. Hopefully that would keep the question from being directed at her.

“Please Kaito, don’t be silly. Adopting children is always a possibility. Besides, they’re witches,” Kumiko said in a know-it-all kind of way. “I know they have ways to conceive children between women. I wasn’t born yesterday.”

Diana swallowed her food, but immediately went for another bite. This was definitely not. Where she wanted this conversation to go. It was much too proposal adjacent for her tastes.

“Can’t be worrying about kids yet Kumiko! The weddings gotta come first!” Hayato said with a loud laugh.

Akko groaned in annoyance. Diana felt like she was starting to sweat.

“You’re getting married?” Kaito asked Diana flatly.

Diana swallowed the food in her mouth before responding with a waver “Well, no, but-”

“But you do plan to don’t you?” Kumiko asked pointedly “Marry my daughter I mean.”

“Mom, stop.” Akko said “This isn’t an interrogation.”

“Nobody’s interrogating anyone Akko. Your mothers just curious.”

Diana felt her face starting to heat up. Was it always this hot in here? She tried to ignore it and kept eating.

“Weddings are important Atsuko. I just want to get an idea of when I should expect one.”

“You’ll know when I know!” Akko said to her mother.

“Is that soon?” Kaito asked dryly, again directly to Diana.

Yeah. He definitely didn’t like her. Diana tried to act natural, taking a couple of more bites of food before responding.

“Uh, Diana,” Akko said, trying to get her girlfriends attention.

She had a feeling that her girlfriend was trying to save her from having to answer, but Diana was determined to tackle this herself. If she appeared to be nervous about marrying Akko, her parents would never sign off on her proposal.

“It's hard to say. It’s definitely a goal, after all I love Akko, but I don’t know if I could-”

“Diana,” Akko tried again.

“I mean trying to nail such a specific time frame is-”

“Diana!” Akko shouted.

Diana finally snapped her attention to Akko, freezing mid sentence holding her spoon above her plate.

“You know you’ve been eating mom’s super spicy curry right?”

Slowly, Diana looked to the food she had been shoveling into her mouth in her attempts to appear nonchalant. Ah. so she was. The sweating and sudden increase in temperature made sense now. Suddenly the effect of the curry all hit Diana at once, and she felt like she was on fire. She remembered shooting up from her seat in a panic, remembered Akko shouting something, Kumiko steering her into the kitchen, and then drinking an inordinate amount of milk.

Diana felt like an idiot. For the second time, she had utterly embarrassed herself in front of Akko’s family. She slid to the kitchen floor, defeat written across her face. She could hear Akko’s voice coming from the living room. From what Diana could hear, she wasn’t happy. Diana brought her knees up her face and rested her head against them. She felt like a child. She wasn’t a nervous teenage girl, meeting her girlfriends parents for the first time, but that was exactly what she acted like. If she could have melted through the floor just then, she would have. 

Diana heard someone enter the kitchen, and looked up, expecting it to be Akko. She was surprised to say in the least to see Kaito standing there instead. The youngest Kagari shuffled a bit awkwardly.

“Hey. Akko sent me here to check on you,” he said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

Even his mannerisms were similar to his sister’s.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes, I am now,” Diana answered.

Kaito looked like he wanted to leave just then but instead let out a sigh and moved to sit next to Diana on the kitchen floor.

“Look, I’m sorry for earlier,” He said after a second.

Sorry? For what? That she made herself look stupid.

“I hardly see what you have to be sorry about,” Diana responded. “It’s not like you forced me to eat the curry.”

“No but anyone could see you only did that because we were making you nervous,” Kaito said. “And that, was at least partially my fault.”

Huh, he was a perceptive one wasn’t he.

“Honestly I thought you would be enjoying this. A chance to see the girlfriend you dislike make a fool of herself?”

Diana didn’t know why she said that. She usually had more tact for things of this nature, but after everything that had just happened, maybe she didn’t have the patience for tact.

“I don’t dislike you,” Kaito said.

Diana merely raised an eyebrow at him.

“Okay well I did...maybe I still do a little, I don’t know,” Kaito stammered. He rubbed his head again. “It’s not like I don’t like you as a person or anything Diana… It’s just…”

He tapered off the thought.

“Just, what?” Diana pressed.

“Akko and I have been partners in crime for pretty much forever. I guess I just got kinda mad when she decided to move away. I thought, at the very least, she was gonna come back once she graduated you know?” Kaito paused to take a breath.

“But then she met you, and the next thing I know she’s living halfway across the world for probably the rest of her life. I don’t hate you Diana...I just hate not getting to hangout with my sister. Anyone that reminds me my best friend moved away is gonna make me a little cranky. That’s all.”

Silence fell between the two. Until Diana broke it with a laugh. Here they were, two adults, both with such childish problems.

“You know what, Kaito? I understand,” She said, turning to Akko’s brother with a smile. She saw him blink in surprise as she held out her hand to him. “But maybe we can move past that?”

Kaito shot her a grin that would have looked perfectly at home on Akko, and shook her hand.

“Deal.”

There was another pause, although this time Kaito broke it.

“You were gonna ask my folks if you could marry her, weren’t you?”

Again, perceptive.

“I was.”

Kaito stood, stretching his legs a bit before walking to the kitchen door.

“Don’t bother. The answers gonna be yes. They consider you a part of this family more than my dad’s own brother, although that might be because he nuts,” Kaito said, turning to look to her with a smile.

“That’s not exactly a high vote of confidence,” Diana responded.

“You love her, right?” He asked.

“With all my heart,” Diana instantly responded.

“Then you’ll be fine,” Kaito said as he walked out.

Akko walked in right as her brother left. Instantly she was at Diana’s side, and pressed a much needed kiss to her lips.

“You doin okay?” Akko asked worriedly, running her hand through Diana’s hair.

Diana smiled. “Yeah, I am. And you know what Akko? I think I finally got your brother to like me.”

[bumblesimagines]

Rewatching Breaking Dawn

Red

I don't get- monologue lmao

Rain

Oop angry Jake

Billy get back inside before you catch a cold

Poor Charlie

Yikes heels

Lmao Alice

OwO Rosalie

Edward

Can't she wear flats?

Why is there random paintings/pictures of animals in her room?

Lmaoo what if Ed was like "lmao oops yeah, I'm not a virgin my bad"

I forgot about that part of Edwards past but at least he did it to bad guys

Are his eyes brown?? uGH

Bell is such a good girlfriend, thirsty but a great girlfriend

Wtf was that Emmett?? He did like a squat against her house lmao

Jasper and his constantly changing hair lmao

We should've had more of the brothers being brothers

She's finna sleep in that??

Ugly wedding dream dress

It'd be a lit ass wedding lmao

Rosalie 💕💕

Charlie lmao

Her mom is so sweet

Charlie with his something old besides your mother lmaooo

Rosalie did that hairstyle super fucking quick

The wedding place is pretty

Tbh same Mike/Ned/Nate. The girls from Alaska are gorgeous

Was... Was.. The girl with glasses checking them out while biting her lip??

Watch out for the front of the dress, you step on that and faceplant

Pretty dress

She seems terrified instead of nervous or excited

I hope they didn't rent the dress cuz that shit is gonna get dirty

Who are all these people? The Cullens never get out and Bell's family can't be that huge unless those are vampire cousins

Weddings are super fucking long

Esme and Carlisle uwu

I love the cakeee

sETH

bILLY

Sue and Charlie lmao

I love the Alaskan cousins 💕💕

Omfg imagine if Seth imprinted on one

The person who whistled at Emmett lmao

Emmett's joke and Charlie's face

Out of everyone's speech I love Charlies and Esme speech the most

The dancing omfg

Bell crying

Her fucking dress is gonna be so dirty

Everyone does cries at weddings, everyone balled at my cousins wedding

Jake don't ruin it

She's that stupid lol

Jake don't be a dick

Baby Seth

Sam has a point

Sethhhh

Lmao imagine he murders her like that's the big plan

Charlie lmao

Cute father-daughter moment

Bet they kicked everyone out after they left

Wolf howl

Brazill

I love places where everyone is seen as family and they party all the time

Edward driving a boat was something I was not expecting

thEY HAVE THEIR OWN ISLAND?? HOW FUCKING RICH ARE THEY???

I would love to live there

Human minutes lmao

Wtf does she have in that bag

Lmao that whole scene is funny

"Don't be a coward"

Is he just standing there??? Not doing anything?? No splashing around??? Lmao what??

Ew love

Are they actively trying for a child??

Lmao the feathers- the bROKEN BED

This song is *chefs kiss*

Oof lmao those bruises look tough

She ain't even notice them bro

"Or was five seconds ago" lmao

Let's stop talking about that pls

Boring ass honeymoon with chess...

That looks terrible but aye more power to ya Bell

That looks dangerous

Chess again??

Him tucking her in was cute tho

She's so aggressive with the whole chess thing

And she's so thirsty

Tripped and fell off a cliff lmao

Sam is a good guy

Jake is such a bore

Do they shun everyone without imprints?? All the ones without imprints are far away fron the ones with imprints lmao

Leah has a point

They look shook

Poor housekeepers

Interesting breakfast

A) periods can be late. Mine are always late B) you're as skinny as a stick C) Ed is supposed to be dead sis. As in, his bodily fluids shouldn't be working

Vampire shock lmao

Lmao she pulls out a knife and just stabs her "problem solved"

"That thing" omg damn

The contrast when they arrived vs when they left oml

She turned on her phone and it just.. Instantly called

Rosalieeeee

Wolf dramaaa

"Is it true?" "How are ya?"

Rosalie being protective is so uwu

She looks dead

Oof oof oof pregnant belly

Is it a good idea for them to be talking in private

The real villian is Jake lmao

It's eating you alive, Bell. It's not a miracle

You look half dead already Bell

Pull the puppy eyes Jake

Omg he did lmao

"I'm not sticking around to watch" he stuck around anyways

The scene with the wolves howling and all the voices is so good I wish we would've gotten more

I love Seth

Seth and Jake are such cute bros

"I'll shut up! Can do."

Leah and Seth are so cute

Leah and Jake could've been a couple.

He's such a dick to her nvm

Leah awee she looked so happy to have Jake accept her

Esme feeding them is so cute

His voice sounded different when he said "we were supposed to be partners"

It's not even fully developed lmao

Don't lie, it taste like shit

Poor Charlie

ITS NOT EVEN FULLY FUCKING DEVELOPED EDWARD

This movie is on crack

Or maybe this is a fever dream

Jake trying to be heroic and shit

Paulllll

Paul 💕💕

Oop traitor

Distractionnn

Horrible baby names

EJ is such an ugly name

Oof that sucks

I felt that back pain

Poor Rosalie

I think this is what traumatized me about giving birth lmao

Oop she ded

Rosalie don't give a fuck about Bella

Jake cryinggg

Random wolf

The fucking voom in on her dead face as Ed bit her lmao

The fuck going on??

Rosalie being an aunt awe

Jared looking mighty fine

Rosalieeee awee

That fucking baby

Oh no..

I mean they can't even fit into the house

Sigh.

They just did the imprinting thing to make Jake look like the good guy again

Listen to her heart?? Vampires? Oh.. Newborns still have human blood in them lmao

Apparently vampire venom gives you makeup

The fucking piano

A littel recap nice

The fuck is the song for the credits??

Breaking Dawn p2

Lots of red.

Making it look like a horror movie with this intro credits scene

fUCK that piano

So fucking long omg

FINALLY

When did she sit up?

Okay

Whatever

Lmao vampire Bell should've yeeted Ed

She suddenly feels thirsty

Is my mans climbing a mountain without gear???

Poor puma

Yeah yeah Bella's cool or whateve

Oop

Disgust lmao

oh my god CGI BABY LMAO I THOUGHT IN P2 THEY HAD A REAL ONE

Rosalie and Emmett lmao I love them

'Oh.. oh"

Oop ouch

Nessie

Lmao

Sethhhh nuuu

No it wasn't

Rosalieee

A nice little place that they'll never use

Gross

That ring needs to go

Rosalieeeee

You know what? Rosalie, Emmett, and Jake as a couple

Emmett lmao

Someone could've told Charlie he's super chill

Chopping wood pretty far off

Charlie probably thought Jake was seducing him

Edward stfu for once

Lmao she deadass could just breathe on command she doesn't have to move her shoulders

Carlisle and Charlie probably banged once lmao

He really does need an explanation

Wtf is she wearing?

Cgi baby bro

Emmett and Bell are now chaotic twins

Jake and Sam.

Cgi child

Oop

No she won't lmao

Snitchhhhh

They really hate the Cullens lmao

Wow... Someone playing the piano...

Oof the cgi

Emmett in a turtleneck lmao

Esme and Carlisle

Alaskan cousinsss

Ew Jake no

BENJAMIN YESS

Ben and Jake should've been a couple

Yesss the amazon vampsss

Aye Garrett

Eighteen hm

Omg the stumbling pups lmao

Is that Mickey? Wait a minute

Benjaminnnnn

"That didn't take much" lmao

Alec got a haircut

Lmao I love the Alaskan cousins

Lmao Emmett and Garett are such bros

I love Kate

Jake and Bella bonding awe

Sue and Charlie

Oop passports

Kate and Garrett

Interesting handwriting

Giant... Scissors.. Lit

Why bother wearing contacts when Charlieand Sue already saw you with gold eyes??

Mhm super pretty cause he's her uncle not her imprinter

Jake had a massive crush on Ben

The vamps bonding is cute

Tbh Jake would've been cute with Tanya or Ben

The war with the smallest group of fighters

Wolvesss

The shots zoomed out make it so funny cuz they look like ants

Did Aro see them fuck??

Rosalie, Emmett, and Jake as mates someone write about them

Aro's giggle/laugh oof

Nessie is so pretty

Impossible lmao

Oop she ded

Oop

Aro you a bitch

And anyways I'm out ✌✌

[wait-im-an-adult-now]

Ladynoir July 2019- Day 1: Miraculouses

Words: 746

[AO3]    

Part: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

>>Next chapter

Chapter 1

His eyes blew up like saucers “You want to what?!” he creased his brow “who are you and what did you do to my beautiful yet cynical no-fun partner?”

“Hey!” Ladybug crossed her arms in front of her. The smile tugging at her lips sent a goofy grin onto Chat as well.

“So, what’s brought this up bug? I would’ve never pegged you as the reckless kind.” He swung his tail behind him lazily, but his eyes shone curiously.

She almost laughed aloud what was that saying about cats? “You’d be surprised. I just thought if anything happened, we should at least have baseline skills of the other’s power.”

Chat raised an eyebrow and stopped swinging his tail. “Is that all Milady?” he leaned against his baton resting his head on top of his arms. His large green eyes peered up at her. “No other reason?”

She grinned “Well maybe I’m a little curious about how your suit works. It’s been a couple years and I wonder if the puns come with the suit.”

“No, no bugaboo those are 100 purrcent mine.”

She laughed “Well then, I pity whoever ends up with you.”

Chat clutched his chest “You wound me milady.”

Ladybugs eyes gleamed as she made eye contact. “So, you wanna do this?”

“I’ve always wondered what I’d look like with spots”

_______________________________________________________________________

The negative luck swirled inside Marinette. They had gone to an abandoned building and turned their backs to each other to swap miraculouses. It was exhilarating. Nothing like the Ladybug miraculous. It was expected, of course, they were supposed to be opposites, but Marinette had no idea how different it would be. As Ladybug, there was a strange sense of calmness, a feeling of focus similar to when she would design, and the world melted around her but as Chat Noire everything was heightened. Colors looked sharper, sounds grew clearer, everything felt chaotic as if she was given a permanent adrenaline rush.

 “Woah!” Chat ran over grabbing at her new ears “Your ears are different than mine. They’re so much smaller and the inside is pink.”

 It was comforting, his hands on her feline ears, in a weird probably cat way. He was so close to her that she couldn’t help but stare at his eyes. They were beautiful. She always wondered if his eyes were still that shade of green or if the transformation changed them like it changed the whites of his eyes but no, they were still green. Vibrantly, brilliantly, dazzlingly beautiful shade of green. This is what his eyes must look like in his civilian life.

 With that thought, she felt her face flush. No, she couldn’t start thinking he has attractive features in his civilian life she chastised herself or she would get more curious and ruin the whole secret identity thing.

 She almost whined when he broke contact, but she had to be professional. God was that how Chat felt when she pet him behind the ear?

 “Oops” Chat backed away “forgot that they were sensitive”

 “It’s okay” she tried to tuck some of her hair behind her ear finding that not only was it down it was remarkably puffier than she expected. Not to say her hair didn’t have volume it just…wasn’t quite this much.

 Her surprise must’ve shown on her face because chat let out a chuckle. “Yeah, Plagg messes up even the nicest of hairstyles you’d think he’d be the kwami of lion manes rather than cats.”

 She giggled “So I’m supposed to believe you actually style your hair in the morning?”

 “Hey! I’ll have you know my hair is always styled purrfectly.” He ran his hands through his hair. To his credit, it actually did look really well styled at least in the ladybug suit which she assumed didn’t alter hair. If she was honest his hair almost looked like a model’s not that she’s ever tell him that.

 “I’m offended Monsieur Bug.” She gave him a competitive grin “I’m Chat Noire now I’m afurraid cat puns are out of your jurisdiction.”

 “You’re right kitten! I’ll try to not bee so insectative.” He gave a cheesy grin.

 She shook with laughter “That was so bad!” She held her stomach “Oh my god Chat.”

 “That’s Monsieur Bug or maybe Mister bug to you” he corrected laughing despite his best attempt at a serious face “I’m wearing the spots”

 “That’s true but they’re too long maybe” she teased “I should call you lovebug”

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

So I’m super late to this. Tbh I wasn’t going to do it A. because I’m never done one of these month things and B. my inspo for writing has a terrible track record but I was in the mood today (read as 11 p.m. because I’m dumb) and decided to look at one of those writing tips things. Most of them said practice like all the time so what’s better than taunting my need to complete things and start halfway through Ladynoir month? Anyway, I’m going to try to do 2-3 a day to catch up and I’m planning on making it all continuous. Do I have any semblance of plot? No. Will I bs my way through a plotline while stubbornly trying to make it cohesive. Definitely.

[twracehorse]

Cringing at my own videos

Training Videos Edition!

I got bored, needed motivation to start editing, went back to take a look at my older videos, and now I judge and cringe at them because that’s a given at this stage

Under the cut to keep your dash shorter :3

Determined Horse Training, the title I came up with to be a little unique. I obviously couldn’t use something akin to Northena’s “Training Is Fun...Right?” and I wanted to give it a proper title knowing this would be a series of videos. I thought, and thought, and came up with the title after thinking of Undertale and how you are filled with determination in the game. “I am filled with determination to train these horses!” is what I thought and so the title of the series became that!

I use // as a way to separate different topics I’m talking about

Brave Rebel- First off...the thumbnail. He was originally themed sort of after Nathan Drake from Uncharted, since I was into that series at the time. So the map was, you know, for the treasure hunting. But I didn’t want to stretch the map to fit and somehow decided that a brown background was a good idea?? // AH THE CLOTHES! THE NECK!! AHHH GATORADE OCEAN BLEHH. // Oh yeah I have a spelling error in the video “Let’s go defeat this traning day!”. // Been training with Sage from the start of the series. I wonder how many fails of their’s I’ve caught XD // Ah the rocks, the rocks that I caught Sage stumbling out of in a later training video. // Let’s not forget the double mouse thing going on that makes its appearance in many videos before I figured out to click off of the web pages (which had a music playlist going while training). // Omg there’s someone with the club name The Babies standing nearby when I turn in the final race. // Low-key still love this horse. He was my first true Soul Steed before we were designated to our starter. I don’t take him out much, the difference in horse animations from new to old is getting bigger and for dynamic photos, it just doesn’t look good ( @~@)

Cool Hero- The horse based off of Markiplier back when he had red hair. I also uploaded the video on his birthday! // The song choice....I mean it fits the theme, otherwise I’d pick a better song. // The mini references I’m still low-key proud of. // There’s quite the amount of gliding pons in this video and some horror texture pons. // I obviously had to max Markimoo at the observatory! // I also mimicked Mark’s outros where an image is boomeranging. It took a couple tries with my friend in the background, but it was worth it!

Violet Mystery- I hope when I introduced her as “The winner of the Jorvik Wild horse competition” I mean, she was the first coat to be picked. Back when it was only one horse coat is being made. They added the top two coats afterwards. // Oh yeah the character’s whole head would move to the side to keep eye contact with the camera. // It’s so weird to think that I caught a bit of footage of Swifty just before meeting her. Then again I remember NOT editing this training video until months later and uploaded it in September. Mind you that I got Cool Hero and Violet Mystery at the same time and Cool Hero’s video was out in June...oops. // Ironic that I have the pandoric cracks around when the horse is based off them. // People running up from the riding arena, ah the fog glitch that would happen when you left your horse in the riding area, ran all the way to the dino valley elevator, took it, and there was no fog in the valley! 

Megalove- Ah the first Undertale horse! I mean technically still the only Undertale themed horse I have, but I do have others planned. Haven’t gotten them yet and some plans changed. // The thumbnail....why did I make the stickers super tiny?? // Finally changed Elsa’s hairstyle to the ponytail I still wear to this day. We need updated ponytails with side bangs! I know we have the awesome braided ponytail in Mistfall, but there’s too much forehead! // Also the first training footage with the meet up....was 4 hours long. This was back when I recorded all stages of training and went through the footage in real time....I’m glad I changed strategy. // Can’t remember if crashing into a jump and the jump of the music timed at the same point was on purpose or if it was editing magic. // Oof cringing that I put comic sans as Sans “talking” in the video nnngghhhhh! // Ah my old club name Royal Ambassadors. I gave that club over to my side account Chiara Monsterhope for obvious reasons. // Annoying Dog in the credits, I still love that

Lucky Hero- I’m still proud that I came up with his nickname Vien short of Vienna where the famous riding school is. He, along with Brave Rebel, are my top horses. Please get an update eventually boys! // Finally Mac users had clear water! I was so happy over this you do not understand XD // Warriors by Imagine Dragons fits this horse, but quite a pain when I got Dark Warrior and didn’t want repeating songs. // Oh yeah early on, the Lipizzaners had a weird reflective tail glitch going on. // Vien was the first horse of mine that I got the day of release, bright and early in the morning! // I love how in the face of danger, an approaching bull dozer, I just stare at it. It wasn’t even a “oh no I should get out of the way” and instead was “huh that’s a thing”. // ALLY CHUM! I forgot that was a nickname to good friend!

Grey Ghost- OH BOY HERE WE GO!! Honestly my favorite training video. It was so much fun to edit with the music and the Halloween stickers hidden around the screen! Despite waking up at 5am to train for that aesthetic™. // Okay but that mushroom with the dark green sign did legit give me a spook. My body froze for a second and then I remembered that Slenderman doesn’t exist in Star Stable XD. // Ngl two of the stickers are hard to see cause of their surroundings. // GALLOPER THOMPSON MY MAN! Honestly I waited till midnight for him to be in Goldenleaf forest, just to see what would happen if you were racing and he caught you. By the gods of editing magic, the song was at a good point that fits perfectly with that scene. // For the scarecrow race I did actually take two different takes. I failed the first one and when I was editing I noticed that the two runs looked similar. So I put the first part of run 1 and cut before I failed and then put the remaining of the race with run 2. Looks almost seamless! 

Silent Promise- My favorite mare in my stable! She ends up being my AoT cosplay photo horse...until I get the actual themed horse XP. // Shadows were a little glitchy at first. // Why am I using Rud instead of Rude. Like I know why cause that’s how we got around the filter, but I didn’t need to put it like that in the video. It’s like back in my WolfQuest days where I learned to use Cuz as a short version of Cause and it bled into my text vocab. // The witch bombs...I wanted to make it dramatic, but in hindsight it’s just tasteless really. Also to note that the sound which was fine before uploading, got more rough once it was on YouTube

Small Potential- Real cringe theme here, Hetalia. It was fun while watching and all that, but since then I’ve seen some well done anime! Growth! // I love the nickname Finny. Not too sure if I want to keep this pony or not, sadly. // The Christmas remix song is because I had no other ideas XD

Brave Eagle- Oh this is another slight cringe theme. Even more cringe is the fact that I had to re-upload this training video since it got blocked all over the world! due to the Hamilton musical songs. So I....had to layer over the songs with other songs....it’s a whole mess and was a whole pain since I had to re-edit the sound effects. // I’m proud of the thumbnail though....that’s it

Winter Dust- Why did I make the “there’s a new app with these foals you can train” with the dramatic music? // I think because I had less levels to train, I tried filling that space with “cool looking shots”. // Ah, yes, my How To Get Over A Jump wikipedia step by step

Hollow Phantom- Had to bring a creepy vibe even though it was February. So he’s like a Halloween not Halloween horse. // Can you believe that I found the main song from a Haikyuu!! crack video? XD. // That zoom on the pony surrounded by magic shires was weird. We’re saying “SO TINY” but the clip was so short it was done and over without much sense. // Mmm that slight irritation that the music and clip didn’t match with the drop. // Tried to blend the music together with itself....it’s obvious. // Of course had to max the Galloper horse where I first met the phantom himself

North Guardian- I wanna talk about the thumbnail....that background...is literally just the horse’s hindquarters. I wanted something mossy since the horse is sort of based off of Pelagia from Shadow of the Colossus. I couldn’t find good enough backgrounds, so I used the horse itself. // Again that urge to want to make the clip and music match but ahhh

Lucky Lucky- Still wish I could name this horse Gold Luck or something. // I think one of the camera turns during a race was just to show off the rainbow nearby. // Ahh! back when we could say “demon” in the chat. // Hmm instead of letting the clip run, I could’ve just cut to Reed calling the askew fence “a disgrace”. // Text was onscreen for just too long. // Trying to do the riding arena jumps with a good camera angle. But at that point, the camera kept moving and wouldn’t hold still. I’m glad it’s better now. Maybe I’ll try it again with a future horse. // Huh, forgot to add sound effects when I hit something on the last race

Silent Surprise- Cause I had to let the people know that I bought the horse after watching the Belmont. // AH STILL THE NECK! // 2 minutes in and we haven’t even gotten to the actual training yet. // Another day, another SSO glitch, this time it’s shadow rocks. // Oop missed a sound effect

Hot Spot- THE MUSTACHE! // I forgot I put a filter over the video to give it an old timey look. I should do more like that if it’s in theme. // Of course I had to have The Wanted be playing with this song since it’s old west sounding. // What was the purpose of editing the scarecrow race like that? XD. // Random running clip. // Walking the whole bobcat race would be nice if I didn’t keep moving the camera

Pumpkin Candy- As much as I love my Halloween horses, this training video isn’t up to the standards that the first Halloween training video set up. It’s still got Halloween themed music, it’s still got stickers hidden in the video, but it doesn’t feel the same. // Having text be their default instead of making them the same agh. // The spooky filter I overlayed the clips with changes at times. Would be nice if it stayed consistent

Dragon Dawn- Hmm now that I have more songs to choose from (getting into another artist as much as I did with The Wanted), I would have another song playing to fit the horse better. Maybe Euphoria or Mikrokosmos. Oh well those will be for future horses eventually! // Didn’t drop with the music...disappointed

Thunder Spirit- The horse that trains through three months. You can easily tell by the Valentine race, the rainbows of March, and April Fools. // Man I really need to work on making the text not be so BIG. // The first rainbow race had lots of sound effects. After that one I was just like “yeah not doing that again”

Sun Chaser- Eh the slowed down music is not the best idea. But I think it was also an intro to a remix of the song. So it was only so long and I had a bit to say for the intro of the horse. // The second clip of the mysterious Icelandic cryptid you can’t see them once it zooms in....annoying. // Too much of a slow build up with another cryptid spotting. // Also using the same sound but slower after just using it...smooth (not). // You know the very last clip of the horse as he’s turning around on the beach? Yeah that’s the exact moment I did the intro for the horse XD

Dragon Warrior- The contrast between me and Sage’s bantering vs the sadder song (I found the song because of a Zeno AMV) well it’s kinda weird having laughs and then sad melody. // YouTube again ruins the quality of the mic as it sounds fuzzier than it was pre-uploaded. // Low-key recording voices was fun aside from having to make sure the clips matched the voices and clicking of the mouse. // I’m still annoyed I couldn’t find the perfect snoring sound effect when Sage’s Connemara is sleeping and starts gliding away

Smoke Mirror- A little too much of a pause between text in the intro. // I love how I’m wearing a Halloween shirt because no other shirt matched with the blue of the hat except for the dress it came with THAT I GOT RID OF! 

Obsidian Mystery- I love the thumbnail for her training video. It’s so spooky and cool! Favorite thumbnail of the entire series right there. // Ironic that with the three Halloween horses I’ve had. The two with the upbeat music are the ones where Galloper was present that year. The one where Galloper was missing that October, the music was softer, generic Halloween music. Not intentional, but it works. Though the first Halloween training video still gets the trick-or-treats because it has nostalgic music. // Some text isn’t easily visible

Dark Warrior- The horse I wish I could name Secret Warrior cause that would make SO MUCH MORE SENSE than Dark Warrior, but here we are. // Since Warriors by Imagine Dragons was in a previous training video, I had to search for another song to fit the horse. I literally went through those anime character theme song videos to find one! That was a terrible jump cut of the song

Ember Flame- Coming Soon

[64bit-gamer]

AU Revisions

So, I was going through some of my old stuff looking for drawing references (Because I forgot how to draw some of my characters’ hairstyles... oops), and I realize that I’ve had a few.... inconsistencies in my au.  Things I couldn’t remember my original idea for, so I made up new lore on the spot.  I usually just keep all my ideas in my head, so at times, I do forget things and remember what it was supposed to be later.  So I just want to clear up a few of these mistakes and solidify some important aspects of my au.

The most important one to me is the topic of how Spencer received spirit vision.  I’ve been saying for a while now that it was gifted to him by an angel when he was little... but... that wasn’t originally the case.  At some point near the beginning of my blog (I’ll link posts when I re-find them), Spencer mentioned that he was born with his power.  I’ve been mulling over my mistake for a while, and I’m officially deciding to revert to the original version.  Why?  It honestly makes more sense and it isn’t as cheesy. Spencer’s mother was possessed by a demon most of her life.  It makes sense that Spencer would get some weird side-effects as a result, so I’m sticking with it.

Scott’s relationship with Molly and Emma.  I completely spaced on this one.  At the beginning of the blog, I said Molly and Emma had never met Scott when they were alive, but that was very silly of me to say, because Spencer still needed to be involved in their lives to get the job done.  Often times babysitting them for Mitch when she was at work.  This would often result in them spending time at Freddy’s while he was working.  So naturally, they knew Scott from that.  This is pretty obvious from my more recent posts covering it, but I want to acknowledge the change myself so no one point’s back at the old post and reminds me of my inconsistencies.

I’m pretty sure there are more minor issues out there, and I’ll add them to this list as I find them, but I wanted to get the couple I found out of the way while I was thinking about it.  I’m frustrated with myself for having inconsistencies, as I take story lore very seriously, so I will always go out of my way to clear it up.  Hope you can forgive my mistakes.

See ya around!