#but the thing is i have no way of reaching any of my tutorial classmates because i don't even know who the hell they are

[fearandhatred]

.

[strayinvelvet]

[what a fool in love]

Jisung thinks you couldn’t get any cuter when you have your cheeks all pink because of your tiny crush on him

pairing: han jisung x reader

genre: fluff, high school au, jisung is babo but cute

wc: 1.5k (this was supposed to be around 500 only but  got carried away)

warning: swear words, improper capitalization because i wrote this in tumblr drafts but just hit up my ask if this annoys you!

a/n: finally posting something after bouncing so many times! hopefully i can post consistently :(

Jisung thinks you couldn’t get any cuter when you have your cheeks flushed, especially when it’s because of him.

he has been observing you for months now and he notices. he notices how you would always stutter when you talk to him. you never do that when you talk to hyunjin or seungmin. he notices how your cheeks would turn a bright shade of pink when he calls you first. sometimes it would even reach your nose.

it’s not like he has been watching you. there was just this one time when he felt like eyes are on him. the bugging feeling was present for most of the day 'til he looked around and there you were, staring right at him. now jisung isn’t really one to boast, but he knows he’s one of the “handsome princes” of the school. he is not oblivious to the number of girls and boys that have a puppy to huge crush on him, thanks to the letters and free lunches he receives every once in a while. 

so from then on, he knows. you’ve been showing signs of your secret crush towards him and he finds it absolutely adorable. the silent yet friendly fella of the class who never finds a struggle in having a conversation with someone despite being a stranger to her, except with him. he wouldn’t say he doesn’t enjoy watching it. 

During lunch last time, when your friends abandoned you to go do their unfinished homework, you asked him, with the most shy and the most adorable look, if you can sit with him in his table. of course, the gentleman that he is, he let you sit. how could he let you possibly spend the whole lunch time looking for a seat? he swear he was only doing you a favor. well, he wouldn’t deny finding you stealing a few short glances at him amusing.

there was also this time when your biology teacher assigned the two of you to be “homework buddies.” it must have taken you a lot of courage to start the conversation. he would’ve pinched your cheeks that time if it weren’t for his self control: hey han jisung, she still hasn’t confessed to you. don’t make her uncomfortable. ah! and what was that you asked him? if he understand how the heart works? and then you went to full on nerd mode in explaining to him how it pumps blood and all the science-y stuff. how its beats depend on different factors, including external ones such as thoughts and feelings towards others. he’s pretty sure you were trying to convey something to him. dropping hints, i see. ahh, if only he could physically coo at you. 

now the reason why he enjoys your actions the most is your subtleness. he can tell that you have no plans to tell him how you feel, save for your natural reaction when you see him, unlike the others who basically throw themselves at him. he can see your efforts to not make the two of you uncomfortable. and all it told him was how considerate you are. you’ve probably noticed how the confessions annoy him sometimes, especially when it was given to him at a bad timing. like the person just wanted to let it out with no regards if he’s in the mood to hear it or not. but you, you have always checked on him silently before doing something. not until today.

your classmates have gone to their respective homes. he just finished practicing with the dance club and was just on his way to the school gates when you called his name hastily. you stopped speed-walking in front of him and took a deep breath as if you just ran out of air. you were holding a folded piece of paper in your hand- wait. piece of paper? is that a letter? a love letter?! oh no...

“hey jisung. i have something to say. actually it’s-”

“no! wait!” he hastily said to stop you.

 startled, you looked at him with a puzzled look, “hm..?”

no, you weren’t supposed to confess today. where did you get the sudden courage? is it from hyunjin? that man always encourage people to confess just to piss him off. tsk, that dick.

he looked at you with hesitation. are you nervous? he really didn’t want to leave you heart broken, tho.

he sighed, “how do i say this...” he gulped an imaginary lump in his throat before continuing, “ yn, you’re cute, i admit. but you see i’m not ready for a relationship yet. you’ve seen me turn down other confessions, i think, but i don’t want to do that to you because, well, you’re simply kind and... pure?” shit how do i really say this?

while he’s thinking of nice synonyms he can say instead as a replacement for what he’s about to say, you on the other hand, were left dumbfounded.

what is this guy on...?

when he finally seemed to quiet down, you didn’t even try to comprehend what he said (there’s no need to try honestly it’s impossible) before finally saying what you really needed to say. 

“jisung...” you paused for a while blinking at him, “i- i was gonna say ms. kim wants you in her office tomorrow during self-study hour. it’s about your biology grades,” you gave him the paper you were holding - his biology test marked with a big red, “you failed your preliminary quiz again and she’s afraid you’re going to fail the final quiz. she wanted me to say it because we’ve been partners for this subject.”

and then the most awkward silence ensued. not until he spoke with the most “huh?” tone.

“what?”

“Ms. Kim-”

“no wait i heard that. just... what?”

at this point you didn’t know what to say. your eyes travel from one point to another except to his eyes just because he’s clearly unfathomable right now.

“you weren’t-” he stopped to swallow the lump in his throat that now actually exists, “you weren’t going to confess?” he asked (with a bit of a hope that you actually were on the way to do so just to save him from humiliation).

however, he’s hopeless from his mess.

with a furrowed brows you finally answered, “no...? where’d you get that?”

well shit.

“i mean- don’t you like... have a crush on me?”

“where is this coming from?” you kind of dragged the where part because part of you hoped to understand where he’s coming from.

“you were all blushy with me!!” he is currently on his mission to prove that you liked him.

“when?!”

“last week! it even reached your nose and you were so cu-”

“han jisung! it’s winter! i had colds last week!”

“what about that time in the cafeteria when you were all shy?! and that time when you were explaining to me, OUT OF THE BLUE, about how liking someone makes your heart beat and stuff? or when i would catch your eyes on me?!”

“when were those even?! and you totally took that biology thing out of context!” you crossed your arms in front of your chest. you are so into this argument now.

the both of you went through this banter with your voices going higher the further the banter gets for as long as your memory (or jisung’s. he’s racking up his brain to save himself) could allow. however, as the banter got stretched, the more he realized that he really did misunderstand you and your adorable actions. by a lot. so when it finally donned him that he has such a thick face for thinking like that, plus assuming that you would confess, he finally kept quiet and let himself absorb the stupidity he has done.

for you, however, you find this whole strange exchange hilarious. normally, if it was other guys, you’d have slapped him across the street for assuming things. but it is han jisung. he never rubbed it on anyone’s faces that he has a lot of admirers. he never gets cocky about his popularity. he gets shy over small praises (he loves praises). he also managed to teach the whole class one lesson in calculus minutes before an exam just because his friends asked him to teach them a crash course, until the whole class joined their little tutorial.

“soo...” you tried to start.

“wait don’t talk anymore this is kinda embarrassing for me,” he closed his eyes shut as if he's trying to convince himself to wake up from this embarrassing nightmare.

you giggled, well isn't he adorably clumsy? he's weird but you'd just take it as another opportunity to gain a close friend. “do you still need help in biology? i kinda need help in calculus...”

“alright, let’s head down the diner” he answered immediately before walking straight forward without looking at you.

"jisung!” he stopped on his tracks but without looking at you. “it’s this way!" you pointed at the opposite direction of where he was going. he turned towards you and fast-walked in that direction until you told him to wait for you in which he slowed down his steps by tenfold until you were right beside him. still not letting your eyes meet. he’s that embarrassed.

little did you both know a close friend is not only thing you'd gain from this.

[ticklishtypings]

Ticklish Tutorial (Todo x Deku)

A/N: This took me THREE days to write, holy crap. But it was so much fun to write and I loved some of the personsl headcanons I weasled in there as well. I hope you enjoy <3

Disclaimer: This is a sfw tickle fanfic (I do not do nsfw for any fandom)

Summary: Shouto Todoroki had a hard upbringing, that was known to all. But to have no affection whatsoever? It shocked Izuku when he found out the poor boy had no idea what tickling was but he is more than happy to show him what it is.

Word Count: 1,680

It wasn't a secret amongst class 1-A that Shouto had a rough upbringing. They tried to help him experience things he never got to due to his fathers' "training," so it wasn't a surprise to Midoryia that he had probably never experienced tickling before. Endeavor considered anything that brings pleasure to a weakness that can be used against you in combat. In short words, the boy never received affection, and he always shied away from anything considered remotely close to it.

“No way, you’re ticklish?” Izuku exclaimed, watching the taller boy look at him strangely. 

They had been doing physical training after school, organized by Ida, but before hand they paired up to stretch, Midoryia and Todoroki got paired together. They had been doing simple stretches alongside crunches. Todoroki asked him to hold his feet down, which was a bit hard since he went so fast. It resulted in Izuku having to dig his hands into his feet a bit, his thumbs drilling a bit into the arch of his foot. He wasn’t expecting the son of the #2 hero to cough up a laugh. 

“Todoroki! Are- are you okay?” His voice was full of concern. 

“Yeah. You didn’t hurt me. I don’t know what you did.” He rubbed his foot, trying to get the tingly feeling to go away. 

“What? I was just holding down your feet- wait. Todoroki..no way, you’re ticklish?” 

He had heard that word before, amongst the group, as they engaged in many tickle fights before. But he himself had no clue as to whether or not he was ticklish. 

“I don’t know.” He answered truthfully, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. 

“What do you mean you don’t know? How do you not know?” 

“I just don’t know. It was never in my life.” 

Midoryia felt his heart pang a little bit. How has he never been tickled? Not even by the group? No one dared touch him probably..

Mischievous eyes fell upon the bi-colored hair boy, who shot his friend a worried glance. His mischief left his eyes and was replaced by sympathy instead. 

“Are you okay with me trying to tickle you? Just a quick one, to you know, see if you’re ticklish? We won’t do anything more than you’re comfortable with.” 

“I guess.” He shrugged, he knew Midoryia would probably tell the others and once Kirishima or Kaminari found out they would try to figure it out as well. 

“Okay, I’m going to tickle your sides, they’re commonly ticklish.” Izuku stated before he reached both hands out to squeeze his sides. 

Todoroki watched his hands approach, his body automatically squirming. Why was he moving? Why was his heart racing? What was happening? Sensations. Wiggling hands met sides. The sound was music to Midoryia’s ears, Shoto’s laughter. It was soft, kind of quiet, and had an almost child-like bubbliness to it. It was almost intoxicating. A blush formed on the cheeks of both of them. 

“You are ticklish! That’s funny, but as promised, that was it. Wanna keep doing reps?” Izuku gestured to himself, starting to stand up to continue the training. 

“Do it again.” Was all Todoroki said, his face full of sincerity yet seemed to be confused. 

He wanted to feel it again, to feel what he’s been missing out on all these years. To feel loved. To feel something, and with tickling he felt so much. He felt happy, loved, carefree. 

“Todoroki-kun? Are you sure? You want me to tickle you?” He questioned, unsure if he heard him correctly. 

“Yes. Why won’t you?” God, the boy didn’t experience tickling enough to understand that most people hate being tickled and that it isn’t a common thing to just outright ask for it. 

He felt his heart soften though, the boy found something he enjoyed and probably reminded him of something he didn’t have. Who was he to deny him? He got everything in life, especially motherly love.. 

“Okay, but you need to tell me when to truly stop, we’ll have a safe word. Icyhot.” Todoroki rolled his eyes at that. “Do you want me to tickle you gently or maybe something Bakugo style?” 

He could sense a little fear in the bi-color haired boy once he mentioned Bakugo’s method of tickling. Once Bakugo starts on you, you don’t get a single break until you’re about to pass out. Maybe that was too rough for a first time, maybe they should start with something gentler. 

“We don’t have to do that! I swear! It was just a stupid suggestion!” Midoryia began apologizing, not wanting to ruin his experience with tickling so fast. 

“Midoryia, just tickle me.” There was a hint of desperation in his voice, and Izuku calmed down now, realizing it didn’t have to be anything special, he just wanted the action itself as it was. 

He instructed the boy to lay on his back, asking permission to straddle his waist (which was given) before going further. 

“Do you want any type of restraint? Or would you feel more comfortable with none at all?” He was quick to answer that he didn’t want to be restricted, a bit of anxiety coming with that answer as well that Midoryia picked up on. 

Gently, he began to spider the lee’s sides, starting off experimentally. It wasn’t crazy ticklish there, but it got him squirming and a smile forming. Drifting from his sides he went more towards his midsection, traveling up to his ribs. Applying a bit more pressure now, a few giggles escaped. 

“Come on, Shoto. Let me hear that cute laugh of yours.” He gently teased, he knew Todoroki wasn’t used to teases, and he didn’t want to patronize him or make him feel helpless. He was rewarded by the giggles turning into belly laughs, the same laugh he heard earlier, the one that caught his heart. 

Midoryia switched up tactics from scribbling against his ribs to massaging. God, the boy damn near screamed! He kept thrashing from left to right, but primarily to the right. There was warmth on his fingers suddenly...actually...all over his body. But only on the left side? 

“Todoroki? Are you okay? You’re getting warm, are you trying not to use your quirk?” He asked, genuinely concerned. 

“N-no. Uhm,” He was trying to calm down a bit to answer, “When I blush my entire left side gets a bit warmer.” 

Midoryia couldn’t help but smile, that was the cutest shit ever. He continued, curious about where else the boy was ticklish at. His ribs seemed to be a hot spot but he wanted to explore new places. Skittering his fingers up to the boys neck now, he was rewarded with louder laughs. 

“MIHIHIHDORYIHIHIA!” Todoroki happily laughed out, his hands trying to grasp the fingers teasing his neck and collarbone. 

“Yes, Todoroki?” But no answer came, just more happy laughter. 

Todoroki has never felt this...this...relaxed. There was absolutely nothing on his mind except the tickly feeling and how nice it was. 

“What if I tickle here? Does that tickle?” Those damn teases followed by wiggling fingers traveling towards his underarms but there was no response.

“It does not. Why does it not? Am I broken?” His voice seemed sad, as if tickling was an item that he damaged. 

“No! No, not at all. Some people just aren’t as ticklish in some areas while others are. Like for example, uhm. You may not be ticklish here but you could be ticklish elsewhere...like...here!” He scanned his body, trying to find an odd place to be ticklish before his eyes fell upon the boy’s hands.

Midoryia glided his fingernails carefully over his palms, noticing his eyes widen and giggles stream from his mouth. Squirming constantly, it was hard to stay on top of him. 

“Wow, Todoroki-kun! You’re really ticklish here! I wonder if it will work on you...it always worked on Bakugo when we were kids...” The statement made him shiver, if it worked on Bakugo of all people what was in store for him? 

Shoto eyed the green haired boy as he lifted his palm to his lips and blew. His eyes didn’t stay on him long though, he threw his head back cackling, his back completely arched. The sensation was overwhelming, his mind couldn’t focus on anything other than the tingling sensation that shot all over his hand and up his arm. He could barely catch his breath before Midoryia blew rapsberry. He tried pushing his head away, wildly kicking his feet, tiny fire sparks coming off him on one side and little snowflakes off the other. 

“PLEHEHEHE!” He couldn’t even form a sentence!

“You know the safeword if the tickling is too tickly for the number one ticklish hero~” Midoryia teased, continuing to scratch and trace the little lines on his palm. 

“IIHIHIHICY HOHOHOHOT!!” He pleaded, tears of mirth streaming down his face. 

The tickling came to an immediate halt and Midoryia got off his classmate, who immediately curled up into a ball grabbing his midsection, still drunk off giggles. 

“Are you okay? Did- did I go to far? I’m sorry if I did-” Mindless rambles poured out of Izuku’s mouth before being interrupted. 

“No. It was fun. Thank you, Midoryia. I can see why everyone engages in this play around school. They never include me though.” He seemed to be confused as to why he was left out of something fun. 

“I’m unsure, I don’t think they meant it Shoto, but I don’t think that will last too much longer. I’ll make sure of it.” He smiled, playfully teasing his palm, causing ice to shoot out and make Midoryia scream. 

“You could of done that the entire time?!” 

“Yes. But you weren’t hurting me, so there was no reason to. You caught me off guard this time.” 

“Right, okay, note to self: you need to be aware before you’re tickled or else I might die.” That got a Todoroki chuckle (basically a puff of air) as they both stood up. 

“Continue practice?” Todoroki suggested. 

“You aren’t tired?!” 

“No, why would I be tired? All you did was tickle me.”

[echoghost1]

Lost In Transmission

Word Count: 1208

For: @ectorecs

Summary: There's a Ghost Expo happening at Casper High and Danny thinks it'll be fun to see all the incorrect ways people try to find ghosts. He learns the hard way that just because is old, doesn't mean it doesn't work.

You can read on AO3 or down below the cut.

Danny stared at the flyer in Sam’s hand and didn’t bother holding back his laugh. “Seriously? A Ghost Expo?”

“You’re not worried?” She asked, looking back over the flyer. “It sounds like there’s going to be a lot of people here.”

Danny waved her off with a light scoff, “Yeah, but from what they’ve listed there, they are using super old outdated stuff. I’m pretty sure my parents disproved most of those things as hoaxes years ago.”

“I think he has a point, one of these supposed ‘experts’ says they’re known for their salt ring tutorial videos. And judging by how many fries Danny’s eaten, I think that one is a dud.” Tucker added.

“Exactly.”

“You still want to go?” Sam asked as she folded the paper up and slipped it into her bag.

“Of course! It might even be fun!” Danny grinned, “Plus, going to the Expo means I don’t have to go to algebra.”

==============================================

The day of the Ghost Expo was finally upon them, and Danny was still a little surprised over just how many people were there to share their so-called expertise.

Sam made sure to remind him not to get too cocky and definitely don’t tell anyone here that all of their work might be just old wives' tales.

“I promise I won’t ruin these nice people’s careers.” He said with a hand raised, “But if my parents come in and do that, it’s not my fault.”

Sam agreed, “If anyone asks, you’re not a Fenton?”

“Precisely.”

==============================================

The setup of one of the booths reminded Danny of a science fair. They had the tri-fold display board and everything.

The attendant was in the middle of explaining what their wares supposedly did when the trio walked up.

“And this,” they picked up a small black box and flipped the switch on the side, “is a Spirit Box.”

Danny immediately covered his ears as the box emitted a loud static. It sounded like an untuned radio, which was bad enough, but it kept cycling through different out-of-range stations, and each time it switched it was worse than nails on a chalkboard.

Danny meant to ask if they could turn the thing down, or better yet, off.

He meant to.

The words never left his mouth.

But words were heard.

In between the clicks and rushes of static, a voice broke through the cacophony.

“Ĺ̸̛͇̹͕̥͎͙̲̺̣̝̲̙̖̠̮̑͊̃̂̓̀̕͝o̴͙̦̙̝̍͗̓̔̏̂̀̿ư̴̡͉̼̗̯̣͇̱̟̙̲̝̼̥̠̬̊̔̔̾̓̉͆͛͊̐̓̽͐̃͒͝d̵̛̖͍͖̜̱̻̝̟͓̲͇̰̙̣̖̊́̆̐͋́̋͛̿̅̋̾̿.̶̳̩͎̲̱̈́̄̓̉̄̋̒͝ ̸̯͙̳̥̤̯͚͉͒̇̇̔͋͋̽̊̎̅̔̽̐̀̂̀͠Ţ̶̡̨̤̺͈̠̜̈́͌̑̅̀̉̈́̀͋̎̈́͝͠ͅǭ̷͙͈̭̫̺̳̟̐̄͗̽̍͂̏͗̂̕̕͘͜͝o̵̢̻̤͔̦̤̜̻̺̲̠̒͒͂̓͛̇͑̂͊͛͜ ̸̠̬̀̃͛͋͒͒͜ḷ̸̳̲̑͌̾̌̄͆̎͗͒̄̈́́̀̈́̾͝o̶͖͇͔̩̊̋͠ͅŭ̴̧̨̡͕̦̰̣̦̰̙̓̓͒̍̅͛̈́͐͘d̵̛̞̞̭͙̟̯͎͇͈͒̑̾̓́͛́̃̀̌̑̓̈͜͝.̵̨̢̢̭̠͕̙̞̗͕̱̹̹̹͙̥̏̀̑̈̉̎̈͋͘͜͝͝͝ ̵̢̜̣͙͇̹͔̰͉̺͔̙̖͛̆͌̅́̀̂̓͝H̷̨̤̺̤̺͉̘̲̯̠̦̩͎̞̾́̆̌̀̆̈́́̍à̸̰͋̏̽͗͛̇͂̏̊̕t̵̳͍̅̓̔̊́̈́̾͐́͝ẽ̷̡̛̫͉͎͓͇̮̗͖̋̀̎͗̅́̌̐̏̿̂̐̔͑͜͝ͅ ̸̢͍̹͈͖͕͖̫̤͚͉͇͓̰̈ḯ̸̡̛͙̰͇̮̰̝̝̺̮̖͎̻͉̜͍͋̓͒̈́̔̆͜͠t̵̮̎̃͌̆̔̈́̕͘͘.̴̨̤̹͇̟̖̥̙͍͙̬̰̖̼̈́̌̋͂̃͌͜ ̴̧̳̠͓̯͖̗̯̅̉̀͗̔̎̃̆̈́̋̔̔̆͐̊͠H̷̩̐̍̊a̶̡̘͕͇̞͎̳̽́̓͜t̵̢̟̲̠͖͚̿̐͊̍̎͂̂̃͋̉͘e̷̡̨͍̞̤̙̣̜̩͍͈͗͆̐̓͒̓̂̄̋͛̈̊͘ ̶̡̰̹̬̬͍̣͙͇̫͈͍͚̮̓̋i̸̢͉̹͙̟͉̩̊͆̉̚͜ţ̷͙͓̞͉͚̠̙̲͈̳̬̾.̴̹̞̱͚̗͙̖̈́͐̈́͊͑̏̌́̑͒́́̋̇͊͠ ̸͍͚͎̪̖̣̻̖̺̞̩̭̖̓̀̈́͂͊̿̏́̐ͅĻ̵̡̧̟̪̱͎̼̖̱̬̘̲̺̘̑̒̈̀͐͒̓͋͂̋̀̓̚ǫ̵̤̞̣̼̩͙̥͈̊͗͋̽͂̔͗̐͝u̶̹͈̣̳͑̒̒͒͗̓̇͌̽̆̆͐̈̑͆͐͘d��̳̥̱̣̟͇̘̩̈́̑̾̋̔̀̊͝!̵̣͛̂͒͂̃”

He stared at the device.

“N̶̡̛̜̮̻̪̒́̓́͛̓̈́̾̈̌͆̚̕͘̚͠ö̵͚̺͍̝́͌̋͜.̴̧̛̣̩̣̯̯͔͇̻̠̣̺̤̪̯͆̿̓͋̋̅̔͋̚” it said, “S̵̥͚̓t̶̹͊̅̿̚ơ̶̻̫̫̥̜̘̠͐̐̐̆̅̒͆͝ͅp̵̢̛͉͇̠̲̯̙͔͙̖̩͚͍͙̽̉͊̈́̎̄̍̈́͐́͑̀̃̚̕͝.̴̧̛͕͓̞̟͉̠̳͗̄́̅͂̚͠ ̸̡̙͙̝̝̠̤̙̠̱͔̈̍̓̔̚͠S̷͍̩̫͔̭̘̣͔͕̓̓̕ț̶̨̠̝́̈͗̄̅̓̐ơ̶̡͇̜̪̰̹̥̜͎͛̇̃̓̀͑̀̓p̸̣̐́̅̏͛͘͝ ̴̢̢̧̨̪̤̳̗̝̮̳̠̝̼̻̎̂̈́̈̿į̸̪̏̍͌͊̀̋͝t̸̛̟̬̯̩̳̹̱̘̯͖̗͈̟̯̳̠͂̈́̓͋̊̊̓̔͘̕ͅ!̶̨̡̢̣̮̯̺̹̘͚̤̪̞͓̱̭̱̽͋̚ ̵̢̡̢͓͙̯̠͚̦͓͉͓͍̣̣͊̊̀͐̂̃́͒͊̿͋̀͂̕ͅN̸̡̧̛͖̬̦̗̼̦͙̮̝̎̓Ö̵̭̟̦̹̓͒̓̊͑̈͋̓̂̐̊̈́̀̕̚͠͝ͅ!̴̛̼̟̺̝͇̈́̑̉̐̿́̍͒͜͠ͅͅ ̵͉̍͆͐́̔̕͠G̸̞̖̎̓̂͛̈́̀͑̊͒͌̀͘͜͝͠į̶̣͎͕͎͚͈͓̾̀̈́͐͜͜v̴͙̗̳̦̔̋̆͋̈͊è̸̡̧̡̛̗̰̪̮̜̟͙̞̠͕͂̒̅̋̄̎̄͒͌̾͋͜͜ͅ ̵̧̪̼̰̣̦̩̍̋͂̑̊͆̓̓͋̉̇͒̚͠͝ͅm̶̦̗̣̙̹͕̲̄̏̑̾̄ê̴̫̍̌̓͗̾̈́͛̀̅̎̉̎̍̄̚ ̶̢̧̖̪̫̱̹̜͕͕̺͍̝̘̍́̇̐́̃͝b̶̡͍̯̳̖̻̦̯̤̤͍̟̤̭͇͙̺̓̈̽͌̉̔͐̊̌̐̋͘͝ͅȃ̵̧̧͚͕̻̺̗͈̬͇̣̼̩̻͖̳͍͒̊̓̾̔̇̀̒̈́̚͠c̶̯̬̣̦̀̌́̒͝k̸͚̹̺͔̤̣͚̲̥͓̬̜̂͝ ̷̤̜̳̭̖͇͚̖͙͔̣̝̭͓͂͒͐͂̕͜͝m̷̼͉̦͖͎͌̀̄̿̉͌ͅy̸̨̧͓͚̤̞̭͈̪̮̜͖̺̥̳͆͂̀͆̆͊͠͠ ̵̡͍̬̹̯͔̏́̈́̾̍̇̑̑͊v̴͔̟̱̓̓̂̃o̸̡̢̟͍̟̺͕̱̪̪̹͉̖͕̊́̍͛͜i̴͖͇̋͐̐̊̒͗̓́͠c̶̨̨̭̯͍͍̘̩̝̣̅̄e̶̞̬̳̙̞̗̻̼̪̱͔̝͌̍̀̐̈́̾̒̎̈̍̅̃̓̕̕͝͠ͅͅ!̴̡̛̩̺͙̬̩̱̯͕͈̹̜̜͕̣̠̼̱̎͗̀̒̍̀”

Everyone had to be staring at him. How could they not be?

The device clicked off.

He took a shuddering breath.

A nervous laugh escaped his lips.

Finally, his voice was back in his mouth, where it was supposed to be.

He slowly dropped his hands from his ears and looked to the table’s attendant.

They were staring right at him that was for sure.

“Are you okay?” they asked as they slowly set the box down.

“Yeah, fine. It was just too loud. Like it said. Anyway, I’m gonna go.”

And he speed-walked out of there as fast as he could.

Sam and Tucker stopped him before he entered the nearest bathroom and pulled him into an empty classroom instead.

“What the heck was that?” Tucker asked.

“I don’t know. I only meant to ask if they could turn the thing down.”

“Wait, that was you?”

Danny nodded sheepishly. “Every time I tried to say something the spirit box acted up.” he sighed, “But the really weird part is it wasn’t saying what I wanted to say. At least not exactly.”

“What do you mean, ‘not exactly’?”

“It was like every thought I had came out instead of just the things I was planning on saying.”

“Well if it makes you feel any better it was kind of hard to understand what was being said.”

“Really?” Danny tilted his head in confusion, “What did you guys hear?”

“I only caught a few words here and there. Sounded like someone was angry and shouting but from really far away.”

“Yeah, I think I heard the words, ‘loud’ and ‘stop’. But I’m honestly not even sure that’s what it was. Or what you were saying, I guess?”

“So you’re telling me that when I told the person that the box was too loud, ‘like it said’, I sounded like a crazy person?”

Both Tucker and Sam shrugged and had matching grimaces, “Kind of?”

Danny sighed in defeat. “How many of our classmates saw it?”

“At the time? Not many.”

Danny just raised an eyebrow and waited for the other shoe to drop.

“But Wes was scrambling to record you so…” Tucker trailed off not needing to explain further.

“Well hopefully they’ll just think I’m a weirdo and this isn’t the thing that finally makes people listen to him.”

“That’s the spirit,” Sam chuckled.

“Pun intended?” Danny asked with a grin feeling better already.

She groaned and slid her hand down her face, “No,” she whined knowing it was already too late.

“You should know better than to say things like that when he’s around,” Tucker teased.

Sam playfully batted him away, “Oh shut up.”

There was a click and the static returned.

Danny clapped his hands over his ears desperate to keep the sound out.

“Ņ̴̪̫͔̫̖̍̀̽̕͝͠ǫ̷̡̤͚͎̝̱̯̰͈͍̫̈́̓̑͜ͅţ̵̡̨̛̞̱̖̬̯͙̘͉̤̑̔̌̇̒̒͒̕̚͝͝ͅ ̷̨̝̻̞̖̝̙͛́͗͑̋̊̐̆̇̓̄͘̕͝͝͝͝a̷̙̭͓̗͈͕͒̐͗̀͛̎g̸̝͙̘̠̳̪̳͎͕̼̪̥̊̌̆̇̆̾̊̓̇̍̾̊͗̕͘͝͠a̸̧̢̧̻͈͖͉̝̗̩̪͈͍̎̈́̑̃̉͛͜ͅͅḯ̷̡̡̧͉̱͔̗͇͖̠͎̠͚̪̪̯̳̈́ñ̷̨̢̥̮͈̲͑̒͂͑̄́̽̕͝.̸̢̨͇̦̺̳̳̦̞̤͙͍̤̳͕͊̽̿̈́̏͝ ̶̧͓̺̟̹͈͋͊̃̆͒Ṉ̶̩̤̺̜̫̠̘̪͑̓̚͜ö̴̢͔̫̩͇̙̞́̓̃̃͆̇̔̎̀̔̓.̶̢̣͓̣̙̥̮̺̯̣̭̬̗̿͐͊̏̂̇̊͒̾̕͘̚͜͠ ̷̧̢̦̦̎̒̈́͋̄̕͘Ñ̴̠̜̱̟̋́̈̀̓͆̐͊̐̚͝Ơ̷͇̪̝͍̦̳͖͍̄̀́̊̄̕̚͠͝!̸̛͚̱͉̥̲̺̮̹̞͍̖̋̀́̕ ̵͇̙̮̥̰̰̍̍͆͂H̷̨̱̱̱̝̗̠̠̥̯̒̈̃͗͛̐̓͗̄̋̓͘͝ͅå̶̡̛̘̩̦̭̮͉̻̺̖̟͉͒́̔͠ţ̵̡̡͍̝͉͚̻̯͎̟͕̫̯͉̭͌̔͌̅̓̈́̈́̃̾é̶̮͓̤̙͙͎̎͑̍̓̀ ̴̧̢̣͈̘̠͍̙͆̍͐̔̂̋͆̋́̕̕̚̚͠ì̷̠̪̺͙̖̼͍̙̩͉̝̘̮̱̹̓̍͂̃͠͝ţ̷̲͙͖͚͎̒̅͌̄̿́͗̈́̊̕͝ ̶̳̣̞̯͈̗̪̮̌̍̏̄̈́́̈͌H̵̢̰͓͈͍̀̌͂̍̃͒̍̑́̀́͗͋̕̕͠a̵̡̤̪͈̭̙͈̬̼͛͆́͐̿́̈͗͐ͅṱ̸̨̦̟͍̜̓̆̽̌̏e̷̢̡̹̲͈̳̠̙͉̳͊̄̽̊̍́́͋̉̽̒͜!̵̛̛͔̻̞̲̠̫̤̝̱͌̽̒̀̍̏̾̚͝͝͠” the voice from the static screamed in protest.

His voice.

“Ṯ̸̤̦͔͗͂̀̃̊r̶̡̡̬͕̬͕̗̮̳̱̳̹̤̲͉̓̍̏͒̉͊̔͆͘a̸̛͉̙̭̪̲̠̪̫̱͕͚̣͚̤̋̈́͂͋͌̚̕͠ͅp̷̛͚̪̪̜̝̩͍̩̣̺̂̀͐̋̿͛̋̆̊͒͑̿̚͝͠͝.̴̧̢͕̹̥̮̳̬̞͆̏͊́̒͒̀̊͂̔̅̌́ ̴̡̳͙̯͖̋̿̆̉̒̀̏́̆̒S̸̻̩̯̖͇̜̯͙͑̒̃̌͘t̸͔̣̹̝͎̦̤̺̼̳͎͋̓͑̍̑́̆̏͋̓̏̚̚͠͠ͅo̵̱̫̺̖̐̊̑̑͝p̴̧̰͎̬̗͕̯͓͎̝̟̘̽́̄̾̎͗̽́̄̏͆̃̚͜ͅ.̷̧͎̉ ̵̧̮͚̖̩̟̠̰͕̞̝̞̻̺̙̂̅͌ͅḢ̴̯̰̮͔̥̙̠͚̳̘̻̝͎̿͒̓͆͒̀̕̚͜͜ę̷̡̛̲̗̻̺͚̇͆̄̾͊̇̈́̑̾͝͠ͅļ̵̢̧͙͍̙̱͈̹̮̣̙̈́̐ͅp̶͙̼̝͔̩͙̯̳͔̉̈̏͠͝ͅ ̸̨̟̳̯̦̤̟͈̙̹͉̟͓̹͕̖̾͆̈́̏̉͆m̷̨̫̯̗̹̰̩̈́͋̔̏͜͝ě̴̡̡̨̬̣͎̱̖͚̘͚͇͔̹̘̓̀͑̄͛̃̈́̆͌́̈͒̊͘͝.̵̡̩̮̱͕̞̹̱̫̺̦̄̌̽͒͊̌̐͆̆̎̕”

He looked up and saw none other than Wes standing in the doorway brandishing the Spirit Box like it was a weapon. Although, in this case, maybe it was.

“Wes come on, turn that stupid thing off!” Tucker said trying to swipe it from him but missing when the taller redhead just pulled it up out of reach.

“Not a chance!” he turned to look out the doorway and spoke to someone just outside, “Quick get in here! It’s already working.”

Another boy came in holding a small handheld camera and aimed it into the room, “What is this supposed to prove again?” he asked looking from Wes’s manic grin to Danny’s obvious discomfort.

“It proves that Wes has no boundaries,” Sam said standing in front of Danny so he was blocked out of the shot. “Now just put that down and go back to the Expo. I’m sure the person you stole that from is going to want it back.”

“Ľ̵̢̤̖̯̂̈́̊̈́͑͋̌͋̒̚͝ę̸̧̢̦̼̣͓̳͕̼̳͍̱̞̝̟̎a̸͖̜̗̱̻͙̻͎̲͈͕̙̫̩̼͖̓́̒̄̀̄̔̏̏̓̆̉̄̓̀v̴̛͈͉̈́́̋̇̌̈́͌̅͊̀͊͂̊͝͝ę̷̣̙̖̺̦̽̓͂̈́́̈̔͌̄̌̕̚̚͝ͅ.̷̌͛͛��̖͖̊̅̏̿̕͜͝ ̷̧̛̻̝̬̥̙͕̩̖̫̟̻̇̅̔͛͂̓̓͝G̸̨͍̜̫͕̱͔̯͎̜̘̖̝͕̯͋̏͋͗̇̓̌̀̅͆̇̈̑̑̆̓ͅͅẻ̵̢̡̢͕̦̰͙̺̣̬͕͖̟̺͚̤̥̕t̵̞̣͔̻̤̣̓̾͐͗ ̸̢̧͓̠̗̹̻̮͓̭̱͔̰̬̒͗͐͌̃̾͜͝o̷̙̦̾͋̈̿̃̽͗̇͛̃̌̄͑̊̕̕ͅư̶̢͔͎̜̝̜̺̟̺̟̤̲̦̿̒̆͋̈̎̐̌̌͌̓͌̉͘ͅt̷̛̖͓̞̺͖̀̌̓̆̒͂̿̎̄̅͠.̸͓̻͕̹̘͓̱͕̉̚ ̴̱͕͔͓̗̘͍̣̖͍̲͚͕͉̀͗̍͘Ĝ̴̳̳͓̬̘̙͚͇͋̉̈́͊̋̊͐̄̈́̓̕͘͜͜͠͠ȯ̸̡̢̝͔͔̘̘̻͐̎̾͋̆̀̽̔̓̽͘̚͝ ̶͓̥̳̬̣̦͓̳̖̗͈̭̪͈̔͛ͅâ̵̛̛͈̼̪̫̩͙̳͎̍̑̌̓̑̈́̈̀̈́̀̚͘͝w̵̡̛̫̮̯͙̥̤͈̲̰̿̆̎͂ä̷̗͓͛͋y̷̢̡͍̞̤̱̦̤̙̮̱̥̬̟͉͑̏̀̏͊̾̑̓̄̑̚̚͝.̸̢͍̤̱̻͖̲̟̞̪̹͌̈͛̅́”

“Oh please, Manson. Just get out of the way so I can finally have the proof I need.” Wes argued as he clutched onto the spirit box protectively.

“Come on Wes, let’s just go. I think there’s enough here.” the other boy said as he flipped the small view screen closed to stop the recording.

“What?” Wes turned to his unwilling accomplice.

Taking the chance Sam snatched the box and turned it off.

“Alright, shows over.” Tucker placed a hand on both boys and pushed them out of the room.

Danny sighed. “Today was supposed to be fun. Why can’t I just have a fun day?”

Sam patted him on the shoulder, “Sorry buddy. No such luck.”

===============================================

Zalgo/corrupted text translations: “Loud. Too loud. Hate it. Hate it. Loud!” “No.” it said, “Stop. Stop it! NO! Give me back my voice!” “Not again. No. NO! Hate it Hate!” “Trap. Stop. Help me.” “Leave. Get out. Go away.”

[alitaimagines]

“I will leave you satisfied, forever past time, you don't have to hide your free to fly. I know after tonight you don’t have to look up at the stars.”

bakugou katsuki - MY HERO ACADEMIA 

note: still looking for more MHA character imagine suggestions. 

you plus a few of the girls in the class were lounging around the common room on a very lazy Saturday afternoon. you and Momo were cuddling, your back was against her chest as the two of you watched some random make up tutorials on your phone. 

ya know, just girly tingz~ 

“oh, we know where this is going!” you heard Mineta’s disgusting comment as him and a few other people walked in, “yeah, it’s going to be me getting up and kicking your ass so hard you’ll regret even making that comment.”

“it’s not unusual for friends to cuddle each other Mineta, you’re just a pervert,” Kirishima inquired as you shouted a very loud ‘thank you’, “do we have any plans for dinner? it’s getting late and we need to go shopping for whatever it is that we eat,” you said trying to get off the current subject. 

this was the dreaded conversation every weekend at the dorms. everyone liked to make home made food on the weekends but none of you were able to agree on just one dish and tended to make three different meals to give some options. 

you shifted yourself against Momo and looked to see all of your roommates in deep thought, “okay, what if two of us just go to the store and see what we find? I’ll go since I haven’t left the dorms all day,” you told them as you looked for a partner to accompany you. 

you were pleasantly surprised to see that it was Bakugou who offered to come with you. the two of you ran in the same friend group but the two of you hardly ever talked each other one on one. 

Bakugou was cute, you couldn’t deny that. you knew his anger was an issue but when you sat down to think about it, he hardly ever got loud with you. yeah, he might’ve gotten annoyed with you but he never treated you the way he treated the rest of his classmates. 

once you grabbed your bag and ran back downstairs, you noticed Bakugou’s red face while Kirishima and Kaminari tried to hold back their laughter. 

“did I miss something?” you asked the three of them, “no, you idiot!” Bakugou screamed making you flinch, “didn’t mean to yell, I’m sorry,” he muttered as he stalked towards the entrance. 

your eyebrows fluttered in confusion before waving off the class and walking towards Bakugou. he opened the door for you and the two of you started the tread to the grocery store. 

“did you need something the store, Bakugou?” you asked him, “you never come on these trips,” you added on. 

he shrugged, “just felt like it,” he simply said as you shrugged, “oh, okay! were you in the mood for something in particular? since we’re the ones going to the store, it’s ultimately up to us,” you pondered. 

Bakugou thought for a moment, “ramen?” he mentioned as he watched your eyes light up, “ramen! that sounds amazing Bakugou!” you exclaimed as he tried to shrug off your excitement. 

the store near the U.A. dorms wasn’t too far away so it didn’t take long for the both of you to arrive. you noticed a few stands on the side of the store and although you wanted to check out what they were, you knew you weren’t getting money from your parents for another few days and you didn’t want to come across something you liked and couldn’t buy. 

“let me grab a cart so we can get everything for the ramen,” you told Bakugou as he nodded. he was eerily quiet and maybe the only reason why he offered to come along was because he wanted fresh air, “aww, if I had enough money, I would totally offer to make dessert for everyone but I don’t think I have enough,” you told yourself. 

Bakugou heard what you said and although he wasn’t going to feed the rest of his idiotic classmates dessert, he found something the two of you could share after dinner. 

now he just had to figure out how to actually ask you. 

he grabbed a small red velvet cake and stuffed it into the cart, hidden among the other grocery items and walked until you got everything you needed. after the cashier checked everything out, between you and Bakugou, you were carrying three bags each. 

“young children!” you heard an elderly voice say. you turned around to see that it was an old woman at one of the stands. you pointed at yourself and Bakugou as she nodded, “yes you two! come here!” she exclaimed as you sighed. 

the two of you approached the woman who looked like she was straight out of the 70s, “would you like to test your love? this machine has never hit 100 and you guys could possibly be the first!” she teased as you tried to deny, “it’s completely free and if you guys hit 100, I’ll gift both of you a matching necklace and bracelet,” she offered. 

you gave Bakugou a look of annoyance, “we aren’t even together, old lady,” Bakugou yelled as she gave him a dumbfounded expression, “didn’t ask that, you juvenile,” you couldn’t help but laugh at her comeback. 

“fine, we’ll try it, just so we can hurry this up and get back to the rest of the class,” you told him as Bakugou annoyingly agreed. 

the two of you placed your hands on this small controller thing and squeezed the red handle of the controller. it took a few minutes but you were immediately startled by the ringing noise coming from the machine. 

“oh my,” she whispered as she looked at the machine, “what?” you could tell Bakugou was becoming increasingly more annoyed as the lady was silent, “not only did the two of you reach 100, the two of you read for marriage,” your eyes widened at her epiphany. 

you couldn’t dare to look at Bakugou as he scoffed, “wow, I’ve been doing this for ten years and you two have been the only ones to reach 100,” she continued as you tried to usher Bakugou to finally leave. 

“as promised, here are your gifts,” she whispered digging out the matching pair of necklace and bracelet, “are these real gold?” you hesitated on taking the items as she nodded, “as real as they get. it’s truly an honor,” she exclaimed as she shoved the jewelry into your hands. 

Bakugou and you stared at each other as a red hue crossed Bakugou’s face. your hand gripped the jewelry but you couldn’t muster to say anything to break the awkward silence. 

“crazy old lady,” Bakugou muttered making you laugh, “right? you would think her family would stop her from doing such things,” you replied as he nodded. 

the semi-awkward conversation continued until the two of you finally reached the dorms again. you had texted one of the girls to prepare the few things that were already in the dorms so you could immediately start on dinner. 

“hey, how was everything?” Midoriya asked as you fell silent to question, “fine, why? did you think there would be a problem?” Bakugou asked as the two of them started arguing. 

you rolled your eyes and went to the kitchen to start dinner. your mind had drifted from the interaction from earlier but as you were about to set out the bowls for everyone to pour themselves, you reached into your back pocket and felt the jewelry making your face turn warm. 

“dinner is ready! come pour yourselves!” you yelled to your classmates as you grabbed your already full plate and made your way to the two chaired table. 

everyone grabbed their plates and scouted for chairs and tables to eat. what you didn’t expect again was to see Bakugou sit across from you. you gave him a warm smile making his stomach do a flip. 

he had never felt this way before and frankly, he would have found the idea of liking someone disgusting but being that it was you, Bakugou wasn’t exactly opposed to it.

even though dinner between the two of you was decently quiet, it wasn’t until almost everyone was going back into their rooms when Bakugou finally tried to keep up a conversation. 

“here, I bought this for us to share,” he grunted as he went to the freezer and took out the cake, “I didn’t see you buy it,” you told him as he ignored your statement and brought it to the table. 

while Bakugou would have been embarrassed at such an action, the only ones in the common area were Momo and Kota and he knew that neither one of them would open their mouth to say anything. 

you opened the cake when you snapped your fingers in realization, “the night is quite nice, wanna sit on the table that’s on the patio and eat it?” you asked, a bit shyly. 

he nodded taking the two forks as you grabbed the cake and made your way to the patio table. the good thing about the patio was that there was a small screen like cover on top of the building to not let in any flies or bugs. 

“god, I felt like this is the first time we’ve gotten to relax,” you told Bakugou as he hummed, “with training, school work, and homework, it’s like we only get Saturday to actually relax or catch up on homework,” you added on. 

Bakugou wanted reply but the nervousness, something he hardly felt, was too much to handle. 

“but I’m sure you’re caught up on your work, right?” you asked as he nodded, “everything is fairly easy,” he responded as you shrugged, “ah, I’m struggling a bit in All Might’s class,” you admitted as you tried to hide your embarrassed face. 

Bakugou’s eyes lit up, “I can help you, if you need it,” he managed to say as you agreed excitedly, “sure! are you free tomorrow? after lunch?” you asked as he nodded yes. 

“awesome!” you exclaimed as Bakugou tried his hardest to hide his very flustered expression, “hey, so I still have this shit in my back pocket. if what the lady said was true, I just don’t want to throw it away,” you told Bakugou as you put the necklace and bracelet on table. 

he grabbed the more masculine looking one, the bracelet, and slapped it over his wrist, “we can get this shit tested,” he inquired as you nodded, “right! I mean, I think the necklace is really pretty,” you said as you wrapped it around your neck. 

Bakugou watched as you struggled to clip the two pieces together and finally got up to do it for you. he snapped the two pieces together and you turned your head to fix your hair, you noticed just how close your faces were. 

taking a deep breath, you gave him a small peck on the lips before quickly retracting. Bakugou sighed in content as he reciprocated the kiss but this time, he lasted a lot longer than you did. 

“we can continue this tomorrow,” he muttered giving you one final peck, “but I’ll text you after I get out of the shower,” he said a bit smugly. 

you rolled your eyes jokingly as the two of you made your way back inside of the dorms. a part of you was glad that you made the first move because god knew how long it would’ve taken Bakugou to make his first move. 

ALITA 

[yukiwrites]

A New Chapter

Thank you for the support as always, @breeachuu! I hope you like the pilogue for Wolfie's story~ Watch out ye who reads, for the sin!

Summary: With the end of the war, it was time to bring in a new beginning. With Caspar by his side, Wolfie now had only the future to look forward to, a future alongside the one he loved and the family he had left behind to fulfill his mission...

Commission info HERE and HERE!

__________________________

The end of the war.

Surely there was not one person who felt the same about the outcome of the almost six years long war. Some were overjoyed, some had lingering regrets, some even felt bitter at the destruction that it had left in its wake.

It did not feel real for the first few hours after the defeat of the emperor. What happened after a war? What did the living do during times of peace? War scarred people in a way that made them forget how it was to simply live.

Wolfram had heard from his siblings that the end of their fighting left a bitter taste in their mouths, especially due to the destruction of their original world. Since a long time had passed after the end of the first Plegia-Ylisse war, Wolfram never heard about how Chrom hadn’t felt happy after dealing with the Mad King. Basilio, at that time, had said that victory could be bitter as well as sweet, though there was no way for Wolfie to know that.

To him, the end of the war carried the sweetest of tastes. It carried the taste of his blossoming love for Caspar, as well as the end of his lonely days.

The end of the fighting, which Wolfram grew to despise. Hearing about the hopeless battles his siblings had to go through made him wary enough of any fights -- and having to participate in a war at all was enough to make Wolfie want to distance himself from such things as much as he could.

Thus, Wolfram was overjoyed with the end of the war. There would be no more fights in his near future, nor would he need to worry to look over his shoulder in order to keep a secret he never wanted to hide in the first place.

This end meant a new beginning to Wolfie. It was the dawn of a new chapter of his long, long life -- this time, accompanied by his beloved Caspar.

Even though they hadn’t actually made any plans for the future, Wolfram took the trip back home with Caspar as a given, while they walked around camp hand in hand.

Most of the classmates from Garreg Mach still had many issues to resolve -- some would need to return to their estates right away while others wanted to help with the war relief. That was especially the case for those who still saw byleth as the guiding hand that had helped decide the outcome of their lives, so some of them even proclaimed to stay by her side for as long as they could.

Dimitri would be crowned King of the new Unified Fódlan, so he would need all the help he could get -- now especially that he and Byleth would unite through marriage and run both the political and religious sides of Fódlan together.

Wolfie would be lying if he said he was surprised by the fact that there was something going on between Dimitri and Byleth -- he had seen how deep their bond had been since five years ago, so being witness to their love brought him overflowing warmth that fell through his eyes.

He had embraced both the future King and the Professor with warm tears on his cheeks, laughing happily at how there were many new, hopeful chapters being opened with him at the center. He truly couldn’t contain his happiness at how despite witnessing the end of an Empire, that also meant that he was looking at the birth of a great Kingdom from the closest seat possible.

That made Wolfram more emotional than he could handle, even while being sometimes surprised by Caspar’s sudden pecks at his lips -- which, if Wolfie was being frank, were dangerous to his heart’s health. He didn’t know if he would faint from palpitations from Caspar’s rough sneak attacks or from his heart bursting with happiness.

The half-manakete could barely sleep during the march back to the monastery, taking it upon himself to stretch his wings every single night. The cold air felt good in his permanently-red cheeks -- now that he and Caspar had shared their feelings, sleeping beside his boyfriend in a tent full of other people made Wolfram hot and bothered -- so he welcomed the moonlight in high spirits.

Besides, the hair that Caspar had given him still weighed deeply inside Wolfram’s pocket. Now, more than ever, he wanted to make that jewel with these feelings into his fire. The joy of the war’s ending. The happiness of being reciprocated in his love. The longing he felt to be back home, with his family.

The anticipation of presenting his boyfriend to the family of immortals.

He had so many things he could pour into his fire that he wanted the moon to be full, already!

… However, he would probably not be able to make the jewel in Fódlan. The time allotted for him to complete his mission was nearly at its end, so he would most likely hear from Naga soon, regarding the portal to return to Ylisse.

It made him a bit lonely to have to make the jewel far from where he first met Caspar -- far from Caspar’s homeworld, as well -- but it also brought him a bit of giddiness. It meant that he could make the jewel that was so important to his kind, back in the world that had raised him into what he was today.

It all held a special meaning to the half-manakete.

The night before they arrived at the monastery, Caspar was lying down on his back with both hands behind his head, staring at the top of the tent with a content smirk. Seeing and appreciating this, Wolfie, who lay on the side so he could take a better look at his boyfriend, sighed happily.

“Do you have something in mind?” He whispered, careful not to wake up his fellow soldiers.

“Nah.” Caspar replied immediately. “I was just thinking that being with you is really a blast.”

Wolfram sputtered, choking on saliva. He dug his face under the blanket to muffle his coughs, feeling Caspar’s arm from outside the covers to bring him closer.

His coughing fit stopped almost immediately, being replaced by a very much red face inside the custom-made Wolfram package, inside the blanket. “I love being with you, too.”

“Yeah.” Caspar nodded, looking up as though he could see the night sky.

After a few moments of silence, Wolfie popped his head out of the blanket, looking at Caspar with his thin eyes. “You remember I told you about my mission, right? And how I had to go back after a set amount of time?”

Caspar moved his head to look at Wolfram, who was snuggling on his chest. “Yeah?”

“The time is, um, almost up. I never actually asked if you wanted to come back home with me, since I took it for granted, but I was wondering if you didn’t have anything to do back here-”

“No way, man, I’m not letting you leave.” Caspar cut Wolfie off, speaking so matter-of-factly that it made the taller boy blush. “We’re going together, wherever it is. I don’t really have anything holding me down anywhere.”

Wolfram’s eyes sparkled, his cheeks so red he almost forgot how to breathe. “... You’re so cool.” He whispered before digging his face into Caspar’s well-defined chest.

“Hehe,” Caspar snorted proudly. “Aren’t I?”

Wolfram simply giggled in response, snuggling into Caspar as if he were a little cat and not someone who towered over his boyfriend for a good many inches.

Once they were back at the monastery; back at a place that made all of them instinctively think of being productive, those who chose to return with Byleth and Dimitri started to get ready to work.

For some reason, Wolfie was captured by Dorothea on the afternoon of their arrival, completely unprompted. He had told her about his relationship with Caspar during the march back, but since there were many things to do and many miles to cover, there wasn’t much time for talking and gossiping. So, once back at a familiar place, Dorothea dragged Wolfie into her room, finding that there was another guest in there, as well.

“Eh? Ah, hi there, Yuri.” Wolfie greeted, with one arm still hostage to Dorothea’s grasp. He bowed awkwardly, as he hadn’t had much time to get acquainted with the beautiful man during their short interactions within the army.

Yuri simply crossed his arms and looked at Wolfram from top to bottom, then directed his gaze, under the beautifully long eyelashes, to Dorothea. “So you’re gonna have me explain it all in detail, yeah? The kid looks so pure…”

The songstress giggled, her melodious laugh stealing a smile from Wolfie even as he was confused with this situation. “I figured you’d know better how to talk about these things than me.”

“Well, you’re right about that.” Yuri smirked, his beautiful face making Wolfram nervous for some reason. Yuri then reached for something inside his cloak, directing it to Wolfie once he got it.

It was a vial small enough to fit into one palm. Receiving the tiny bottle, Wolfram tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Um…?”

Yuri snorted, almost laughing loudly. “Sit down, kid. I’m gonna give you a tutorial on how to take it up to your-”

“ALRIGHT, perhaps I should still remain to filter out the language, yes?” Dorothea placed a teacup with a loud clunk in front of Yuri, deafening the improper words he was about to utter. Still confused out of his mind, Wolfram sat down on the table as Dorothea organized it as though they were going to have a tea party for three.

Once their eyes met, Dorothea winked to Wolfram.

“Remember what I told you about taking the initiative?” She explained, making him open his mouth to reply.

But before he could even nod, Yuri interrupted. “So, I’m here to tell you how to take things to the next level.”

“Next-” Wolfram repeated the word without understanding it at first, but then realization sunk in like a slap on the face -- making his cheeks, neck and ears flush with a vibrant red. “Ah.”

Finding the reaction refreshing, Yuri threw his head back in laughter as Dorothea slapped him while at the same time holding Wolfram’s hand. It would prove to be a very… informative afternoon.

Wolfram didn’t even know how he managed to walk from Dorothea’s room to the dining hall once it was time for dinner. His entire body was still, his face was so red he thought they could mistake him for a tomato and cook him and there were some… graphic images imprinted into his mind.

He kept remembering the glimpses he took of Caspar’s body whenever they trained or bathed together -- and that made his own body fire up in response. He felt so dirty and embarrassed, but at the same time excited and expectant.

However, he wasn’t confident in being able to do the… well, things that Yuri had hammered into his head throughout the afternoon. It was all so overwhelming.

Yuri had even instructed him on how to start the intercourse in a natural manner, but- it was impossible! Wolfram didn’t even know if he was chewing on food or someone else’s hair at that moment, let alone be able to keep his cool enough to- to!!!

“Yo there, Wolf! Where have you been the whole day, man?” Caspar slapped Wolfram’s back, sitting right beside him with his tray of food, which made the half-manakete choke with whatever he had swallowed and bend his body forward. “Whoa, howa, you okay? Hey!” Caspar slapped Wolfie’s back with more and more strength, as though hitting someone on the back was a sure fire way of helping them with a coughing fit.

It only made Wolfram’s back sore, though the reason for his nervousness was right there beside him, with a warm hand on his shoulder.

“I-I’m, ack,” he cleared his throat, “I’m fine now, thanks, Caspar.”

Wearing a proud smile, Caspar nodded, finally turning his attention to his food. “No prob.” He said with a wide smile, downing the food that probably amounted to three times what Wolfie was eating in a speed that didn’t feel that belonged to a human. “Oh yeah, our room is still ours, they said! We can stay there till we leave for your world.” Caspar mentioned in passing, but that only made Wolfram almost choke again.

‘Our room.’

Wolfie hid his face between his hands, pressing his lips into a thin line in embarrassment. “I-I see! That’s great, nyahah…!” Wolfram stammered, but Caspar simply took it at face value and nodded happily with a mouth full of food.

… It would be the first time that they would sleep alone in the same room after becoming a couple, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary for Caspar, so Wolfram knew that he had to follow at least one of the pieces of advice he had learned earlier today.

If he didn’t act, nothing would happen.

Still, that didn’t mean that it was easy. He could barely see in front of him due to how nervous he was just to climb up the stairs to their quarters.

Hehe. ‘Their quarters’. Hehe.

“Ahem,” Wolfie cleared his throat as though he hadn’t just smiled inside his head, closing his eyes to be able to calm himself down. They arrived soon enough, as the route was well ingrained into their bodies.

Once inside, Caspar immediately crashed onto the bed, then looked up at the fidgeting Wolfram, who was planted in the middle of the room without a clear action to take.

Blinking, the shorter man looked to his boyfriend, then to the pile of luggage by the side, then back at his boyfriend and something lit up in his head. “OH yeah! Now we don’t need to sleep on separate beds, yeah? This bed’s big, so it’ll fit the two of us just fine.”

Wolfram swore he could actually hear his head exploding.

“We- um, sleep?”

“Yeah?” Caspar nodded with a question in his gaze. “We were basically sharing one sleeping bag anyway, so this bed’ll do just fine, doncha think?”

Of course.

Of course, of course, of course.

Caspar wasn’t thinking of ‘that’. He was just truly and literally talking about purely sleeping together.

Hiding his face with both hands, Wolfram took two steps towards the bed and sat besides his clueless, stupid and wonderful boyfriend. “Caspar…”

“Muh?” Caspar was looking at the dresser, thinking that he should probably change to his pajamas soon, before turning back to face Wolfram -- or at least Wolfram’s hands that covered his face.

“Fwooo… hahh…” Wolfram took deep breaths before sliding his hands down. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

Caspar frowned deeply, “get what?”

“What… what do couples…” Wolfram choked on the words, looking down to their touching knees. “What do couples do when they sleep together?”

If one were to explain the expression on Caspar’s face, it would be something akin to ‘lag’. It was like the midway of an expression -- like he was in the middle of doing something, but froze like that for a few moments.

“OOOH, YEAH MAN, wow that was dumb.” He placed one fist on his open palm as though making the discovery of the century, not realizing that he was repeating basically word for word what he had said after Wolfram first kissed him, back in Enbarr. “I never done it before, though, so it’s gonna be a shot in the dark.” He cocked his neck to the side in a way that made Wolfie’s legs tremble -- and if he wasn’t already seated, he would lose strength in them.

Being the gung-ho person that he was, Caspar already went for the attack, 100% ready to just give it a shot at this thing he had no experience on, leaning close to Wolfram to insert his tongue into his boyfriend’s lips.

“Mmpph..!” Surprised out of his mind, Wolfram widened his thin eyes, being pushed down on the bed by his eager boyfriend. He was ashamed to say that that neck cocking Caspar had done and the way his eyes looked almost savage before they kissed made a mess inside Wolfram’s mind. He even felt the heat circle around his pants, ready to push up excitement. “W-wait, wait-” Wolfram managed to plead as his head reached the pillow, completely robbed of his breath.

“Yeah?” Caspar huffed as well, his lips moist and slightly swollen from the roughness of their kiss.

“A-a friend with experience told me how to do this,” Wolfram stuttered, reaching for the vial he had hidden inside his pant’s pocket. “And he said that we can use this.”

“Muh?” Caspar sat back down, giving Wolfram the space to sit as well, as he examined the bottle. “What’s this for?”

“Um,” Wolfram’s face was burning hot, but he had to say this, at least now. From what he noticed from this short relationship he had with Caspar, Wolfram only had to take the initiative once. Then, Caspar would know what to do for later. “I heard that it’s, ah, um… hard to put it in when it’s between men.”

“Really?” Caspar frowned, still trying to discern what was inside the bottle. He popped the lid open and smelled it, but apart from the smell of herbs, there wasn’t much to go about it.

“Y-yeah, so I got this to, um… help… the way in.” Wolfram gestured to Caspar to give the vial back, which he did with a confused face. Wolfie then tilted the vial a bit, making a drop of a thick oil drip on his finger. “It’s to rub around and inside and, um…”

“Oh, I put this around my dick? So it’ll slide in?” Caspar took Wolfram’s hand to smell the oil again, then looked down at his pants.

Unfortunately, Wolfram followed his boyfriend’s gaze, meeting a half-erect bulge inside Caspar’s pants. It made Wolfie gulp and let out a small moan without realizing.

In a daze, it took Wolfie a few more moments to remember where the conversation had stopped. “N-no, it’s actually to… but inside… me…” His voice got weaker and weaker as he lowered his head with embarrassment. He mumbled something about two or three fingers, but Caspar didn’t catch all of that.

“Seems complicated. But alright, wanna try it?” Caspar asked, already taking off his shirt. Flustered with the sight of his boyfriend’s bare skin, Wolfie averted his gaze.

“Eh? Um, just like that?”

“Well, yeah. The sooner we get the hang of it, the better, right? C’mon,” Caspar nudged the hem of Wolfram’s bareback turtleneck, pulling it over his head with a swiftness one usually wouldn’t expect from him.

Bashful, Wolfram held onto the vial as though it was his salvation or something, as Caspar got up to take off his pants. Watching the spectacle made Wolfram feel something poking inside his own pants, as he was unable to take his eyes off of Caspar’s half-erect manhood.

Gulping, Wolfram didn’t realize Caspar pulled him up as well, only noticing what was going on once he felt hands pulling his pants down. “W-wait, um-”

“You don’t want it? But you’re hard, too.” Caspar poked at the head, making Wolfram shiver as hold back a hot sigh.

“I-I’m nervous, okay! I’m-” Wolfie complained, sitting back on the bed under Caspar’s strong arms.

“You think it’ll hurt? I don’t wanna stick it in you and hurt you.” Caspar pouted, not realizing his erection had fully grown during their talk. Seeing Wolfram’s white, glistening skin and slightly trembling shoulders made something crack inside of him for some reason. Even his dick looked cute to the point of Caspar wanting to touch it if only to see how Wolfie would react to it.

Of course, Wolfram was worried about the pain, too, but more than anything, he was just embarrassed in general. He had never even touched himself before, so this was truly the first time he even entertained such lewd thoughts. It was a bit overwhelming.

Seeing the hesitation in his boyfriend’s actions, Caspar pulled Wolfie closer, making Wolfram’s legs go around Caspar’s hips as they sat in front of one another -- with their erections touching each other in the middle.

“If you don’t wanna, I’m just gonna get this resolved for us, aight?” Practical as always, Caspar held both of their cocks with his hand, rubbing them together as he moved up and down.

Wolfram let out an ‘eek’, followed by a muffled moan, while his entire body flinched with the sudden wave of pleasure.

The noise made something else crack inside Caspar’s mind. He blinked, licking his lower lips as though he wanted to eat Wolfram all up and took his eyes away from their joined erections towards Wolfram’s face.

He was so adorable. “What the hell, you’re so cute.” Caspar cursed, pulling Wolfram for a kiss as his hand between them moved. He felt Wolfie’s tongue and body tremble, which fired him up even more. Once they parted, huffing hot air between them, Caspar placed his forehead on Wolfram’s. “Actually, can I go back on that? I wanna put it in so bad.”

Drunk with the pleasure from only Caspar’s hand and rough kisses, Wolfram dazedly nodded, not realizing he pulled his boyfriend down so he could be on top of himself. “Y-you can.”

“... hot!” Caspar huffed before digging into Wolfram’s lips once more, moving his hand a little bit faster if only to feel Wolfram tremble under him.

“A-ah…” Wolfie gasped a moan once their lips parted, feeling his body tremble with a premature ejaculation. He felt hot and relaxed at the same time, his fluids shooting up to his and Caspar’s chests. It wasn’t unnatural -- after all, it was the first time Wolfram had ever touched himself (or had someone do so).

Caspar thought it was even hotter now that he saw how good Wolfram felt, already wanting to shove it in as he prodded into Wolfram’s bottom.

“W-wait, the oil…” Wolfram opened his palm to give the vial to Caspar.

“How much do I put?” Caspar adjusted himself in a better position to penetrate, holding Wolfram’s legs on either side of his body.

Biting his lips, Wolfram didn’t notice he rocked his hips right on Caspar’s erection. “Three fingers… once three fingers are in, you can put it in… It’s what I heard.”

“What? But my dick’s larger than just three fingers.” Caspar mentioned shamelessly, making Wolfram press his mouth shut and squeeze his eyes with anticipation.

“I heard it’s awkward and difficult to position the hand with more than three fingers inside, so those are enough to ‘open a path’.” He rolled his head to the sides, speaking as though in a trance as he remembered the earlier talk.

Caspar shrugged. “Alright.” He replied, coating his fingers with the warm oil before teasing them around Wolfram’s bottom.

His touch was rough and clumsy, but whenever he hit a sweet spot, it made Wolfram’s whole body shiver with pleasure, which in turn spurred him to try harder into ‘loosening’ his boyfriend so he could put it in.

Each time a new finger went inside, Wolfram’s body heated up more. He felt feverish, in a way that made him want to succumb to the heat instead of finding something to cool him off.

He barely held enough consciousness to muffle his moans, but the longer he was stimulated, the looser his lips became; letting out countless of hot and stammering breaths.

More and more did Caspar hear cracking sounds inside of himself. What the hell, how was his boyfriend so cute? How? That voice? That glistening skin? That body that clenched around his fingers…

He wanted more. Goddess, he wanted so much more.

Caspar muttered something about reaching the three fingers and once again prodded his erection at Wolfram’s bottom, feeling the tip slide in much easier than before. He gritted his teeth and pushed it in, feeling enough resistance to make him squeeze his eyes, but enough warmth that made him want to stay inside forever.

Wolfram stretched out a long moan as Caspar slid it all in, feeling like there were tiny firecrackers all around his body; exploding each in a different way, making him tremble with pleasure the moment their bodies conjoined.

“Haah, hah… This feels so good.” Caspar panted, struggling to pull it out so he could shove it in, feeling Wolfram stretch himself to accommodate him. Caspar even felt stupid for not thinking of this before -- it felt this good and he only remembered it existed because Wolfram mentioned it?

Never again he would forget how good it felt to be inside the man he loved.

Wolfram felt that he was close to the climax again, with only the first insertion -- and it soon became reality. He covered his face with both arms as his entire body shook with pleasure; but Caspar was only getting started.

The spasms from the orgasm only spurred Caspar on -- with each thrust, his way became more comfortable inside Wolfram, and with each thrust, the heat enveloped them further. Wolfie’s mind was a mess -- he didn’t even remember how many times he came anymore, to the point that he could only focus on the thick rod inside of him, going in and out… in and out.

It felt so good.

By the gods, it felt so good! He cried tears of pleasure as Caspar accelerated his movements, onto the road of the climax himself.

As though ordained, Wolfram felt the blanket of pleasure cover him once again, now at the same time as Caspar, as his seeds shot inside Wolfram with a loud and deep groan.

Huffing, Caspar fell on top of Wolfram’s chest, his entire body tingling in the best way he had ever felt. “What… the hell,” he gasped, resting his face on his boyfriend’s neck for a beat. “This was amazing.”

“Y-yes… yes…” Wolfram nodded, exhausted, unable to continue the conversation as his heavy eyelids closed, his whole body protesting. “I love you, Caspar…”

“I love you too, Wolf.” Caspar nodded, still wanting to stay inside Wolfram for a moment, only realizing a few moments later that Wolfie had fallen asleep.

Wolfram felt his entire body aching once he opened his eyes. “Ouch, ouch…” He groaned, reaching for his lower back. He found himself inside Caspar’s arms, despite it feeling like late morning.

“You okay? Did it hurt?”

Before replying, Wolfram wanted to ask why Caspar hadn’t gone to training, but his mind was too much focused on how sore everywhere else was. In truth, Caspar woke up at dawn as it was his custom, but for some reason, he didn’t want to go train. He wanted to stay with his man a while longer, so he just hung out in bed, snuggling his tall boyfriend into his chest.

“It… didn’t, but now I’m all sore. Ugh.” Wolfie groaned, closing his eyes to check himself out.

“Huh. So we won’t be able to do it everyday. Got it.” Caspar nodded matter-of-factly, making Wolfram immediately blush.

“Wha- hu- every day…?”

“Yeah, no? If you’re like this today, we can’t do it again tonight. You think you’ll be good by tomorrow?”

“C-Caspar!” Wolfram nudged his boyfriend with an accusing tone, but the other man seemed serious.

“Muh? What? We’re doing it anyway, right?”

“...” Wolfie lowered his gaze, then dug his face into Caspar’s bare chest. “... yes.”

“Haha, yes!” Caspar celebrated, squeezing his boyfriend in a tight hug before receiving groans of protest. “Whoops, my bad.”

“Heehee,” Wolfram giggled, closing his eyes again to drift into a comfortable sleep; safe in his beloved’s arms.

There was fog, once Wolfram became conscious of himself. It was so foggy he wasn’t able to see his own hand in front of himself. Frowning, the half-manakete looked around him, trying to pull out the last of his memories before he ended up in this place.

Soon enough, he came up with the answer. “Ah, this is a dream.”

“Indeed, child.” A Holy voice echoed from below and above; from all sides and from within Wolfram himself. The boy widened his eyes.

“Naga!”

He felt a small laugh in the air, suddenly not hearing the words per se, but receiving flowing understanding inside his mind.

It was about a time. And a place.

The time and place he was supposed to leave Fódlan. Blinking inside the dream, Wolfram counted within his mind. Roughly one week until the portal opened inside the very woods he had arrived from, right below the monastery -- actually rather close to the place he had lived in isolation during the five years it took for Byleth’s Slumber to last.

Perhaps the energy around that place was special enough to hold for a portal between worlds to be erected. There was no way to know, at least not now.

Once Wolfram opened his eyes again, he was back in Caspar’s bed, though now he was alone. Blinking, he lifted himself up, still feeling sore, but much better than earlier that morning.

It wasn’t long after that his sensitive ears picked up steps reaching closer to the door, just as he had finished putting his clothes back on -- Caspar burst the door open, holding a tray with piles of food in his hands.

“Oh, Wolf! You woke up!” Caspar grinned, placing the tray on the secretary. “I ran once it was dinner time ‘cause I didn’t want to lose out on all the food, hah!” He said proudly, pulling Wolfram to sit on his lap by the desk. “Let’s dig in!”

Wolfram was a bit embarrassed by how easily Caspar did that, shyly taking a piece of bread from the overflowing tray. “Thanks, Caspar. I was really hungry.”

“Well, yeah, after all that exercise yesterday.” Caspar bobbed his head to the sides, making Wolfram blush at how casual he was about it all.

Muffling a giggle, Wolfram finished munching on his food. “I had a dream about when and where the portal to my world will open up.”

“That’s sick. I’ll never NOT get surprised every time you mention your powers.” Caspar shoved an uncut piece of meat into his mouth. “When’s it?”

“In a week, down at the woods not far from here.”

“Nice. Good thing it wasn’t back in the Empire, yeah? We’d need to run.”

Wolfram nodded comfortably, leaning more on Caspar. It was just so… surreal. To be so openly accepted. Of course, it wasn’t as though Wolfram had experienced any prejudice, so he felt even bad for feeling so happy about being accepted when nothing adverse had actually happened -- but it still made him feel so… at home.

It was like he had found a home outside of his own world, and that home was called ‘Caspar’. Hiding his face from all the cheesy lines growing inside of him, Wolfram kept these a secret as he munched on his food.

The week that would follow would be busy -- it would be filled with farewells and well wishes from his friends and classmates. Wolfram also planned to ask Dorothea and Dedue for a lock of their hair so he could make them their jewels.

Of course, he wouldn’t be able to do so here in Fódlan, but he was sure that the portal would open again, someday. It wouldn’t be the first time a portal to another world opened in Ylisse, after all.

Holding that confidence, he said a ‘momentary’ goodbye to his friends. He even spent a few hours crying when he had to talk with Dimitri and Byleth, holding them and their hands and wishing for their happiness to last forever while babbling about his own world. The royal couple smiled widely even though they were saying goodbye to each other. It was simply momentary goodbye.

With a refreshed face and a light heart, Wolfram led the way to the forest he had first appeared in, somehow dorwning in memories of all of the days he had shared with the people he had brought into his heart in that Monastery.

He looked and felt melancholy once they were far enough that only small outer wall could be seen from the distance. Caspar followed, talking about this and that, and asking about how the food was back in Wolfie’s home and how were the folks in his house like.

Talking about his family made Wolfie miss them much more strongly -- even more so now that he was just about to meet them again. His chin trembling, Wolfie had just finished speaking about how he looked a LOT like his dad when he felt It.

It was like the air itself distorted around them -- like the space they were in was actually two-dimensional and that one could simply put a hand up and rip it like paper. The power of the dragonstone inside his locket glowed, making Wolfie’s wings, horn and tail pop up as though in ressonance with the amount of energy all around him.

“Oh… it’s here.” Wolfie said in a dazed voice, making Caspar look from him to the tiny blue hole that started appearing in front of them. Before he could even open his mouth, the hole opened further, with a weird buzzing sound coming out of it. Wolfram took a deep breath, a large smile forming on his lips as he took Caspar’s hand. “C’mon! It’s here! Aquilo, fly, boy! Fly!” Wolfie jumped into the hole at the same time Aquilo dove in from the sky.

“A-alright!” Caspar nodded, hesitating only for a fraction of second before following his boyfriend into the light. He felt his uncertainty in his steps as all of his surroundings were distorted in a way that felt like when one hit their elbow at a corner. His surroundings looked exactly like how that felt.

Before he could blink, however, he felt the cool night air, and water seeping into his boots. “Water?” Barely was the word out of his lips, something immediately tackled Wolfram onto the ground, shoving Caspar out of the way.

“Wolfie!” Nidra hugged her youngest with tears in her eyes, her entire body still glowing from being the medium of Naga’s power. “Oh, my boy, my little boy…” Nidra sobbed, patting Wolfie’s face and chest, looking for injuries. “How are you? How was your mission? You didn’t get hurt? Oh, look how the tips of your hair are looking like mine…”

At his mother’s bombarding questions, Wolfie was barely able to breathe. But he didn’t want to push her away either. “Mother…!” He sniffled, hugging her back with everything he had. He sobbed into her shoulder. “I-I’m back! Wolfie’s back!”

Another set of tackles followed, now from both sides -- making the lump of people roll around the wet roots. Both Cynthias sobbed loudly as they hugged their little brother.

“Rammy!! Rammmyy!” They cried, but immediately started the questioning. “How was your epic adventure? You GOTTA tell us everything!”

Still overwhelmed with all of his family’s love, Wolfram couldn’t do anything but cry, holding onto his mother for dear life.

Caspar watched it all with a huge grin, happy to see Wolfram so happy as well. He felt a pat on his shoulder and looked on to see, uh, Wolfi?

Frowning, Caspar looked from the standing Wolf to the Wolf between the three girls, then back at the standing Wolf.

“Nyaha, we look alike, don’t we? But look clooosely,” Henry turned his head to the side, showing his perfectly round ears. “It took me a long time to get a kid that looked like me, you know!”

“Ooh! So you’re Wolf’s dad, then? Man, you two are identical.”

“Nyahaha, right?” Henry laughed heartily, but then gripped on Caspar’s shoulder a bit more strongly in a way that didn’t fit with his thin arms. “By the way, who’re you?”

Caspar pointed at himself. “Me? Oh, I’m Wolf’s boyfriend.”

“WHAT?!” Nidra jumped from the hug as though she had been listening to everything around her, rising in shock. “His- what?!”

“O-oh yeah, Mother!” Embarrassed for having lost himself amidst his family’s hugs, Wolfram got up to quickly head to where Caspar was, strangely surrounded by Henry, Meli and Meliodas. “His name’s Caspar and I brought him back here ‘cause I didn’t want to leave without him…” The more he spoke, the more bashful he became, looking down in embarrassment while Caspar nodded proudly beside him.

“Yup. I dunno what’s going on around here since there wasn’t much time for Wolf to tell me everything, but we’ll be fine as long as we’re together, right, Wolf?” He pulled the tall boy with an arm around his neck, smiling brightly in the face of five dragons -- not counting Nah and Tiki that had served as mediums, as well -- and an immortal.

Nidra felt faint, staggering in her spot as Henry materialized beside her to hold her up.

“Nyahaha, that sounds fun, doesn’t it? C’mon, let’s all go back and have a loooooong and fun talk!” Henry smiled brightly, though there was a shadow covering his thin eyes -- which, of course, went way over Caspar’s head.

He only grinned in response and puffed his chest up in pride. “Alright! Lead the way!”

Just as Wolfram had wondered that day, back in Enbarr, it now truly felt like a new chapter of his life was beginning -- a new chapter that involved his entire family, which included Caspar, and all the years that would follow their story together.

[whitherliliesbloom]

the instagram boyfriends club

[ ffxivwrite2020 ] ★ [ masterlist ] ★ [ prompt #16 - lucubration ]

[ various wol/npc ships ] ★ [ 2,576 words ] [ highschool / modern au ]

haurchefant greystone, estinien wyrmblood and alphinaud leveilleur. mentions laurelis by @ancientechos​, peppermint by @mintdrop​. illya is also mentioned and appears briefly at the end. may be a little ooc but do i care?? a lot of the jokes were stolen from this youtube video, which was also the main inspiration for this fic. 

instagram pics are #seriousbusiness

Saturday mornings were typically an uneventful affair, and thankfully so. His duties as the student council president often meant hectic school days filled with a mountain high of paperwork on top of his already impressive laundry list of assignments. Alphinaud was thankful for any little moment of peace he can get - weekends in particular were sacred, reserved only for either relaxation or outings with his family, friends or girlfriend.

And yet...

[[One unread message from Estinien]]

Estinien: meet me at haurchefant’s house in 1 hour. You: Wait. In an hour??? What for?? Estinien: just be there You: ???? You: This is so sudden. Is something wrong?? You: Estinien???

Of course he’d be left on read, as was common when texting Estinien.. sometimes at the most egregious of times. This in particular would be one of the absolute worst examples of Estinien’s utter lack of prudence. No matter how many times Alphinaud would dial his friend’s number, the unanswered ringing would only cause his nerves to spike.

Within the campus grounds he was a well respected figure who possessed more authority than any of the other students of his cohort.. and yet outside of it, he’d always be reduced to being something of a pushover, one who couldn’t help but to allow himself to be pulled by the whims of his friends. 

He could only pray that whatever it was Estinien’s decided to drag him into this time, it wouldn’t take too much of his precious saturday rest.

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

“You want Haurchefant to teach us how to take instagram photos??” Alphinaud’s voice raises in pitch, nothing short of bewildered by Estinien’s request to their mutual friend as he stepped inside of the house. “I never took you to be the type who cared about that-”

“It’s not for me.” With a low grunt, Estinien mutters between grit teeth before settling himself onto the couch with a burdened thud. “It’s for Totomi.”

In an instant, it all made sense, and Alphinaud has to withhold himself from letting out an audible chuckle. It’s no surprise that an outgoing girl from the drama club who has a penchant for the extravagant and flare would like to post photos online for her following to see. Though Alphinaud himself wasn’t exactly an expert on the matter - his own instagram profile was only ever updated semi-regularly with ordinary photos of classmates and student council activities, he was at least aware that there were others who practically lived their entire lives on that app.

“Ah! You wish to learn how to take better pictures for your beloved! How wonderful!”

Haurchefant’s jovial tone elicits a grimace from Estinien, whose grip on his phone only tightens.

“I’m just sick of her asking me to constantly retake shots. I’d rather not have to stand in the middle of the street for ten minutes just to take a single picture of her in front of a brick wall.”

“And you thought to ask Haurchefant...why?” Alphinaud asks with an inquisitive tilt of his head.

“You seriously don’t know??”

“Know what?”

“Haurchefant is called the god of instagram boyfriends.. or some dumb shit like that.” 

“Uh... what?” He’s heard of instagram. He’s heard of instagram models... but what in twelves name was an instagram boyfriend?

Haurchefant’s shoulders pull back in pride upon hearing that indirect praise, however, evidently more than a little pleased that his reputation and ‘fame’.. if it could be considered that, was beginning to spread by word of mouth.

“I’m so truly flattered that you would think so highly of me!” With a raise of both his arms, Haurchefant grins. Estinien rolls his eyes and mutters ‘i wasn’t praising you’ beneath his breath. “Indeed! I will admit to be at least well experienced in the art of taking instagram pictures for my beloved!”

“Laurelis? Pardon me for asking.. I’m not surprised that she has an instagram account.. but what makes you so special?”

Right on cue, Haurchefant raises up the screen of his phone, proudly displaying the profile of the ever familiar pink-haired miqo’te. Admittedly, Alphinaud didn’t know very much about Laurelis. What little he did know was only informed to him by her best friend, who just so happened to be the very same young lady he was dating. And from the few times they’ve spoken, he could see the miqo’te as being quite an instagram addict too - as most extroverted types typically are.

Upon seeing the numbers listed on the profile, however, Alphinaud’s eyes very nearly pop out of his sockets.

“Over five thousand followers?!” That’s more than the entire student body and staff members of Eorzea academy combined. The twelve knows it will take an eternity for Alphinaud himself to see that amount of followers on his account. 

“My dear is something of a minor celebrity! And I take great pride in knowing that I was able to play a small part in helping her take the pristine, ‘aesthetically pleasing’ shots as they say that she is known for today!”

“Good for you.” If estinien’s eyes could roll any harder they’d roll to the back of his skull. 

“Ah, but what of you, Alphinaud? Are you here to learn how to take better photos for Illya?”

The shorter elezen widens his eyes in surprise, not having expected to have a question directed straight at him, but he is quick to shake his head in response. As far as he was aware, Illya wasn’t exactly more instagram savvy than he himself was. She did have an account, one he naturally followed, but it would only ever be updated once every several days - and rarely with actual photographs of herself. Food, plant life and animals made up the majority of her profile’s portfolio, not that Alphinaud ever failed to double tap on any of her pictures, no matter how menial they seemed. 

Though, he supposes she could be considered slightly internet famous as well - just not at all in the same way her best friend was. He hears that her gardening blog has just reached a 2 thousand subscriber milestone, recently.. which he imagines to be quite a feat especially considering it was by all accounts quite literally a website filled with nothing but gardening tips, tutorials and floral arrangement pictures.

“Not exactly. Estinien forced-” he nearly continues to speak, but the low grunt emitted from the couch causes Alphinaud to swallow his words “-encouraged me to come along for the lesson. He said it’d be....livelier with the three of us.”

“Well, there certainly is no harm in more company! Regardless of your reasons for being here, I’m sure the things you’ll learn today will help you and Illya in the future!” 

Haurchefant moves over to the couch, tapping on Estinien’s shoulder who could only let out a groan in annoyance.

“Now then.. shall we get on with the lesson?”

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

“Now, let’s do some practice shots! Say that I have asked you to take an OOTD picture!” 

“The hell’s OOTD.”

“Ah, outfit of the day, my friend! Now let’s have you take a picture of me and I shall give you my candid feedback! Starting with you, Alphinaud!”

The shortest of the trio thinks to protest for a moment, but quickly presses his lips together and reluctantly holds his phone up to snap a photo of his taller peer, who has already taken station by the window and posed for the camera.

“Ah a perfectly serviceable photo, my friend! But it has one critical, devastating flaw.”

“I-It’s that serious?? What is it?”

Haurchefant points to the bottom of the picture where his legs were cut off and shakes his head.

“You must never, ever cut off the feet in a full body shot, especially for an outfit of the day picture! This is one of the most common pitfalls of instagram boyfriends!” With an exaggerated wave, he gestures to his boots. “Remember! The shoes are part of the outfit!”

The sheer enthusiasm of Haurchefant’s loud proclamation only gives Alphinaud further whiplash when he turns to look at Estinien, whose face has darkened with the deepest frown he’s seen his friend wear in a long while. 

“It’s just shoes... why the hell does it matter?”

He’s more than a little disgruntled as he recalled the way Totomi had asked him to take a photo of her new wool sweater and jeans, and her numerous loud demands for him to retake the shot with her bright red sneakers in frame. It wasn’t even a new pair - but one she’s worn for years...unable to appreciate the effort she’d went into making sure her entire wardrobe was perfectly color coordinated.

“Grumble all you wish, friend, but these are things of great importance in the eyes of our ladies! Now, repeat after me! The shoes are part of the outfit!”

“T-the shoes are part of the outfit...” Alphinaud mutters, as Estinien grumbles even further. His uncooperative behavior only causes Haurchefant to grow more pushy.

“Louder! With more gusto! THE SHOES ARE PART OF THE OUTFIT!”

“Nobody gives a damn about your shoes!”

No wonder Totomi has to nag him to retake her photos...

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

“The angle you take the photo can either turn the picture into a stunning piece of work, or an unaesthetic disaster! Please Alphinaud my friend, demonstrate by taking a photo of Estinien sitting on this chair.”

Alphinaud has never held his phone in his hands for as long as he has on this day, so much that he can practically feel the heat from its overuse start to scald his palms and fingers. And yet he dares not to argue, and instead quickly snaps a photo of Estinien as instructed, who looks just as unamused and tired as he was, if not even more so. 

“Splendid, Alphinaud! The focus is just right! However, you would have done better were you to have taken the photo at a higher angle.”

“What difference would that have made?”

“A high-angled photo slims down the face, while a low-angled picture elongates the legs! Indeed, it may seem surprising, but such small, subtle differences in even the height at which you hold your camera could make all the difference in the world!” One would assume they were listening to a professional photographer speak from the way Haurchefant lectured them about the intricacies and importance of camera placement in taking instagram photographs.. and Alphinaud wasn’t sure if he was more exasperated or amazed. “Now, take a photo of Alphinaud and show me your fine work, Estinien!”

With yet another roll of his eyes, and a barely audible grumble, Estinien steps forward and holds up his phone, towering over his seated friend and quickly snaps a photo.

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

“Now, we shall practice taking pictures of one another within an imaginary scenario.” The cups of coffee and plates of biscuit Haurchefant had fetched from the kitchen were gently placed upon the dining table, before he steps back and gestures towards Alphinaud. “Say your lady and you are on a date, and she asks you to take a photo of her at the table.”

 “Um.. well, something like this?”

Alphinaud holds his phone up to Haurchefant, whose smile falters for but a brief moment.

“Oh dear, my friend.. Did you not notice the misplaced broom in the background?” He leans down and taps on the side of the photograph, where sure enough a blurry and seemingly innocuous broom stood just on the edge of the frame. It seemed harmless enough to him, and yet that mistake seemed enough to cause even Haurchefant, whose joyous demeanor never seemed to be breakable, to slump his shoulders. “The secret to success is a keen eye and attention to detail, my friend.”

For the first time in three hours, Estinien lets out a smirk and a chuckle. It seems the only way he’d get any enjoyment out of this little photo taking lesson is to see Alphinaud be told off and dejected.

“You suck at this, don’t you?”

Alphinaud’s shoulders rise and fall with a nonchalant shrug.

“Pardon, but at least my photographs are in focus.” 

“You wanna say that a little louder again, punk?”

“Now, now! Let us not fight! We are brothers in arms, and there is still much and more to learn! For our next lesson, I shall teach you how to take pictures of food and drinks!”

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

Alphinaud’s phone battery has never once died on him in his life. Even with his normally liberal use of his applications such as the notepad, calculators and on the rare occasions, prolonged social media use, he’s never used his phone enough in a single day for the battery to ever run out.

That day had certainly been the first.. and it was also at the end of that saturday, upon watching the light and life from his smart phone die out on him, that Haurchefant urged him to get a portable charger... among other things such as a selfie stick. He’d even downloaded one of those photo editing applications, one that he has still yet to fully figure his way around. 

If there was anything he’d learn on that fateful day, and thought to himself as he walked home under the hues of the setting sun that evening, it was that taking instagram pictures was seriously not a joke.

And here he was on a date with the gardening club president a mere week later.. and a far changed... and scarred man.

“Is something wrong, Alphinaud?”

Illya had caught him staring at a brick wall with a piece of particularly ‘aesthetic’ looking graffiti, and for a moment his head had been filled with naught by red blaring sirens and a words that repeatedly chanted ‘photo op’ in his head. It was only by the grace of her voice, and a slight tug of her hand in his that his attention would be pulled away, a forced smile upon his expression.

“Oh, forgive me. I was just.. distracted.”

Illya has never asked him to take a photo of her, much less stopped their date dead in its tracks in order to take a picture for her social media. She never was the type who cared much for arbitrary internet fame and followers.. and he thought he had been as well. 

T’would seem however, that he’s taken Haurchefant’s advice to heart, a little too much for his own good.. and he’s certainly far more attentive of his surroundings and much to his own horror, of the outfits that the people around him wore. One thing he hadn’t exactly counted on however... was an interest being ignited within him, an urge to take photos at golden opportunities in life when he would have otherwise thought it too mundane to capture before his lesson with Haurchefant and Estinien.

And as he stands stock still with a phone in his hands, his adorable and well dressed girlfriend by his side.. and an incredibly aesthetically pleasing looking brick wall.. And the motto of the instagram boyfriends club Haurchefant had asked him to repeat like a mantra that day echoed incessantly in his ears.

‘Her likes are your likes’

The eyes of the camera were to be treated like a gods’.. and if they thought their girlfriends beautiful, what better way to express that love than to capture that beauty on camera and share it for the world to see?

“Would you like to take a picture, Illya?”

[you-and-i-for-forever]

10 Things I Hate About You AU Chapter 11

Fandom: Be More Chill, Dear Evan Hansen

Word count: 6.5k

Feel free the read this on my ao3 instead!

Evan tried to force himself to feel confident as he walked down the stairs. He had been able to keep his anxiety at bay so far, but there was no telling when it might overtake him.

He swallowed heavily behind the tie he had taken eight minutes to successfully put on. Evan quickly grabbed a small container out of the fridge and made his way to the front door.

Mr. Heere was sitting on the couch, legs propped up on the coffee table, reading a book about parenting.

“I’m going to the dance. I’ll be home later.” Evan said, looking out the window to see Michael was parked in on the road, waiting for him.

“That’s funny Evan,” Mr. Heere said, who didn’t look up from his book.

Evan let out a quick, breathy laugh as he closed the front door.

It was kinda was funny.

 -

Jeremy ran his fingers through his hair again, making sure it was perfect before racing downstairs. He smiled at his dad made his way to the front door where his ride of Brooke, Chloe, and Jake were waiting.

“What is that?” His dad asked, getting up from the couch and gesturing at him.

“A…suit?” Jeremy answered confused by the confusion.

“Stop. Explain.” His dad said, crossing over to him.

“Okay. Remember how you said I could date if Evan dated? Well, he somehow found this guy and they’re dating now. Which kind of really works out for me because I was asked to the dance. And since Evan went, I guess I’m allowed to go too.” Jeremy said with a smile and a shrug before opening the door and waving to his dad.

“This is not good.” Jeremy heard his dad sigh under his breath before he closed the door completely.

-

When they got to the school, Michael and Evan found Rich right away, standing outside and away from the crowds of people filling in through the doors.

Once they were out of the car, Evan watched Michael bounce over to Rich and fist bump each other and laugh. Evan smiled, happy that Michael was going to have a good time tonight, regardless of Jeremy.

“Hey.” A voice said from behind him. Evan jumped and turned around.

Connor looked so…amazing. He was wearing a black suit with a long black ribbon where a tie should be. His suit jacket was textured, almost velvety, with little detailing instead of buttons. His hair looked slightly styled and pushed behind one ear. He was so tall and lanky and absolutely, devastatingly beautiful.

Evan wanted to tell him so.

“Connor you look…I-I-I-mean-I mean you really look, just…you look...” Evan stumbled and stammered before coming up with “wow.”

Connor’s face grew a little red but he smiled, “You too…Nice tie.”

Both of them let out nervous laughs. Evan was just wearing a blue suit with black lining and Connor’s tie, nothing special. Nothing like how Connor looked.

“Oh here. I got this for you.” Connor said and pulled a bundle of flowers out of his pocket. Cedar leaves and small purplish-blueish flowers. Evan thought they might be forget-me-nots.

“We didn’t really say if we were gonna do these but I thought it could be cool.” Connor moved forward and skillfully pinned the boutonniere to Evan’s lapel.

Evan pulled his hands from behind his back to reveal his boutonniere for Connor in a plastic container. It had been sitting in his fridge for the past few hours. Evan fumbled with opening the lid but was finally able to pull out the arrangement of half blooming red roses. A small heart dangled from a chain on the end of the pin and Evan saw Connor raised his eyebrows at it.

“You might not wear your heart on your sleeve, but…” Evan let out a small laugh, and the air between them seemed to say, “but you can wear mine.”

Connor’s gaze trailed up from the pin to Evan’s eyes. Evan was surprised to see Connor’s face as red as the roses. He put his hands on either side of Evan’s face and pulled him in for a deep kiss. Evan made a noise in surprise but kissed back, pleased to know that he could make Connor look as flustered as he made Evan feel all the time.

“Hey! Come on you guys!” Michael called and Rich snickered.

The two of them broke apart and Evan gave an acknowledging wave to Michael before finally pinning the flowers to Connor’s lapel. Connor reached up and touched the heart charm delicately.

“Let’s go,” Connor said and grabbed for Evan’s hand but paused. He scrunched up his face in confusion, “Wait a minute.”

Connor pulled Evan’s hand up to inspect it. Evan had messily painted his nails black, with the help of a YouTube tutorial, to match Connor’s. 

“Oh, I thought we could match,” Evan said.

They smiled at each other and giggled, Connor brought his hand closer to kiss it.

“You’re a good boyfriend,” Connor said against his hand.

“Boy-boyfriend?” Evan stuttered out.

Connor squeezed his hand and nodded, “Well yeah, I wouldn’t just do all this with just anyone. Come on, let’s go inside.” He walked with Evan over to where Michael and Rich were waiting.

-

As soon as they entered the building, Michael tried to pull Evan and Connor onto the dance floor. The pair uncomfortably laughed him off and said they wanted to go and get something to eat first. They wandered off and ate some cookies and drank punch and sat at one of the decorated cafeteria tables.

Evan, not exactly sure of his end goal, kept shying closer and closer to Connor. Eventually, Connor put his hand on Evan’s waist and pulled him close. They watched their classmates jump around and dance to a bunch of pop music Evan had heard once or twice on the radio.

Evan saw Michael dancing around with Rich. Well, it was more flailing. After a while, Jared appeared out of nowhere joined them. Evan watched Michael point Jared towards him. Jared jogged over and rested his hands on the table.

“Hey Connor, love the jacket,” Jared said in a voice that was between teasing and genuine.

Evan watched Connor stare Jared down before giving a cautious, “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Jared grinned like the Cheshire cat and leaned forward, “Say, you wouldn’t mind if I danced with Evan for a bit, would you?”

Jared reached his hand out to Evan. Evan felt Connor’s grip on his waist tighten.

“I’ll come with you,” Connor said and stood up, Evan following his lead.

Jared smirked, “Come on then!”

Evan and Connor followed Jared over to the group.

“Hey, finally!” Michael cried, out of breath as he continued to spring up and down.

“Told you I could get them out here.” Jared laughed.

Evan glanced over at Connor and was surprised to see his head bobbing to the music. Connor glanced over at his with a small smile before starting to rock on his heels in time with the music. He looked so genuinely happy and young. When Connor was upset it looked like he was much older to Evan. But right now he looked like any other 17 year old in the room, having fun and starting to dance a little.

Evan started to bop up and down, so embarrassed to be doing this where anyone could see, but willing to do anything at this point to keep the smile on Connor’s face.

After a bit, he and Connor were both jumping up and down with the rest of their group and singing loudly to songs that all sounded the same. He and Connor held hands the entire time.

-

Jeremy, Jake, Chloe, and Brooke finally arrived at the dance after sitting in front of the school in Brooke’s mom’s minivan for 20 minutes.

“It’s called fashionably late,” Chloe had said, rolling her eyes and applying more pink lipstick.

Jeremy and Chloe hadn’t spoken about what happened that night at the party and, honestly, Jeremy wasn’t sure he ever wanted to. Jake didn’t know it had happened and Jeremy didn’t want to bring it up now. Or ever, maybe. It didn’t sit well with him, but for now, it was better than causing a fuss.

As promised, Jake was wearing a purple suit, lined with gold trim and he did look good in it. He had painted the white casts on his legs purple to match and decided that this was the perfect night to dump the wheelchair and totter around on crutches.

Jeremy had his arms wrapped around Jake’s waist as they slowly made their way into the school, wary of the snow that was just starting to fall.

Chloe and Brooke immediately left Jeremy and Jake once they got inside.

“Probably going off to find their dates,” Jake said, smiling down at Jeremy.

Jeremy smiled back at him then looked out to the sea of dancers.

Michael caught his eye immediately.

He was jumping up and down, hair flying all over the place.

Jeremy felt the corner of his mouth pull up, almost completely forgetting everything bad that had happened between them lately. As soon as he saw who Michael was dancing with, Jeremy’s mood immediately took a nosedive.

Jared.

And Rich, for some weird reason.

But he was here with Jared. Of course, he was here with Jared. Who else would it be? They were always together and it was so obvious they liked each other so it really wasn’t that surprising.

Jeremy swallowed around a lump in his throat.

He completely missed how Jake was staring at the same group, how his eyes lingered on Rich.

“Let’s get some punch.” They both said and made their way towards the food table, both quietly trying to ignore their sadness.

-

The DJ continued with the steady flow of fast-paced songs before she finally reached for the mic and announced, “All right party people, it’s time to slow things down a bit, so grab a partner if you have one, and if not, this is a great time to go rehydrate and chat up that cutie you’ve been eyeing all night.”

Evan’s group of friends all stopped dancing around and Michael and Rich partnered off with each other. Connor pulled Evan close to him, looking warily at Jared, the only person without someone in the group.

“Don’t worry, lover boy.” Jared smiled and cocked his head toward the snack table, “I’ve already got someone else in mind.”

Jared disappeared and Evan turned to face Connor.

“I’ve never slow danced before,” Evan said, a hand instinctively coming up to pick at a cast what wasn’t there anymore.

“Me either.” Connor said and grabbed both of Evan’s arms and wrapped them around his waist then placed his hands on Evan’s shoulders, “But I’ve seen movies.”

Evan leaned forward and kissed Connor before nestling his head on his chest. Their feet shuffled along the floor and they just sort of swayed together. It was probably stupid…but Evan felt so safe when Connor had his hands on him.

As a second slow song started, Evan heard Rich and Michael gasp.

“What would I do without your smart mouth? Drawing me in, and you kicking me out” Rich and Michael started to sing.

They sang fairly quiet for the most part, but as soon as the chorus hit, their voices became very loud and very obnoxious.

“'Cause aaaaaaaaall of me! Loves aaaaaaaall of you! Love your curves and all your edges! All your perfect imperfections!” They shout-sang.

Evan opened his eyes and saw that most other couples were moving away from the two, glaring. He laughed a little, but Connor huffed and started dancing them away from them as well.

“They’re having a good time.” Evan hummed.

“They can go have a good time somewhere else, I don’t want them ruining our night.” Connor murmured into his ear.

Evan pulled back so look into Connor’s blue and brown eyes, “Nothing could ruin this night for me.”

Connor’s face broke into a goofy grin then roughly pulled Evan into a kiss. Evan giggled as Connor trailed kisses up to his forehead. They started swaying again.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” Connor whispered.

“Me too,” Evan breathed, feeling like all the wind was knocked out of him.

Connor leaned down and they kissed again. They were in their own little world, dancing closely together.

-

This night was not going as Jake had planned. He had wanted to dance and have fun and make out with Jeremy.

They had tried to dance, but Jake’s legs kept giving out from under him and his arms were tired from holding himself up.

They had tried to have fun, they went into the photo booth and watched Mr. Reyes perform some magic tricks and talked to a bunch of people, but Jake just wasn’t feeling it at all.

They hadn’t even tried to make out yet. Sure, Jeremy’s hands were all over him, but Jake knew that was to make sure he didn’t fall over.

None of this was right.

Now, he and Jeremy were sitting at a white-clothed table, Jeremy picking at some food on his plate and Jake watching Rich.

Why was he with those other guys? Since when was he friends with them? He recognized Jeremy’s brother and the weird guy he was paying, and he knew the other two were familiar, but he couldn’t really place them.

Rich was smiling and laughing and genuinely looked like he was having a good time. Rich never acted like that when he wasn’t with Jake.

Jake couldn’t help but hyper fixate on Rich’s face. A large red burn ran from his left cheek, down his neck, and disappeared under the collar of the shirt he was wearing.

He felt like an idiot. Rich was his best friend, what the hell was he doing here without him? What the hell was he doing anywhere without him?

Jake stood up suddenly, causing Jeremy to Jake.

“Jake? You okay?” Jeremy asked.

Jake didn’t answer, just stood staring ahead at Rich before coming to his senses and sitting back down.

What would he even say to him?

“Hey, sorry for not doing or saying anything while you were in the hospital for weeks?”

“You were smoking hot even before you caught on fire?”

“I don’t want to be with him, I want to be with you?”

The last one bounced around his head for a long time.

Jake flinched when he felt a gentle hand touch his arm. He looked over at Jeremy.

“You should go talk to him,” Jeremy said with a small smile.

Jake looked between him and Rich. Usually, at times like these, Jake would start talking a mile a minute trying to explain himself.

“I’m sorry.” Was all that came out.

“I think we both need to sort some things out,” Jeremy said with a kind smile.

Jake smiled back at him, “Yeah.”

Jake leaned over and kissed Jeremy’s cheek before grabbing his crutches and standing up. He took a few shaky steps before looking back at Jeremy.

“Thanks. I’ll never forget you.” Jake said.

Jeremy scrunched his eyebrows together, “We’re breaking up, not dying. And we’ll still go to school together.”

“Right,” Jake said with a huge smile and a laugh before making his way over to Rich.

-

Rich spun around when he collided with someone behind him. He was about ready to cuss them out for hitting a particular patch of sensitive skin on the back of his bicep when he realized who it was.

 “Hey, can we talk?” Jake asked, towering over him.

Rich couldn’t even make eye contact with him, he just nodded.

~

Rich staggered down the hallway. Jake was heavy. Rich tried not to jostle his legs too much, but he was so tall. Rich felt like he was so hunched over, his face was practically parallel with his ribcage, skin sensitive.

“Rich, stop, I can walk,” Jake said, Rich rolled his eyes at him.

“Yeah, barely.” Rich huffed out.

It was a long walk down a hallway from the cafeteria to the nurse’s office. He grunted and readjusted Jake on his back. Rich was really out of shape from having to not move too much with the burns.

Jake moved his arm that was dangling around Rich’s neck and Rich gritted his teeth to not let out a pained breath.

“Seriously man, I wanna talk,” Jake said.

“We���ll talk when you can get around without falling over,” Rich said between gritted teeth, “you almost fell over like seven times just walking away from the dance floor.”

Jake had kept stumbling and staggering every few feet when they walked off together so Rich stood in front of him and told him to hop on. Jake had tried to sidestep him but had slipped and basically fallen onto Rich. He had dropped the crutches and held onto Rich when he started moving and now, they were here, almost to the nurse’s office.

Carrying Jake was like carrying a huge dead body, a dead body wearing a purple suit and two heavy leg casts.

Jake helped Rich open the main office door and the nurse’s door when they got to it.

Once they were in, Rich practically dropped Jake down on the small, plastic bed that sat in the corner.

“How do you even know there’s a wheelchair in here?” Jake asked.

“I’m in here most days to put stuff on my burns. Saw this in here randomly” Rich said, opening the closet and pulling out the infamous wheelchair. 

“Here.” Rich brought it over to Jake.

“Thanks,” Jake said with a smile.

Rich braced himself for the pain and grabbed Jake behind the knees and around the back. Rich’s skin burned and itched and pulled but he bit the inside of his mouth to not let Jake know. He lifted him, shuffled over to the wheelchair, and gently set Jake in it.

“So…what did you want to talk about?” Rich asked after kneeling to help Jake’s feet find the footrests.

Jake reached up and rubbed the side of his face.

“I wanted to say…I’m sorry about…lots of stuff. I kinda got all wrapped up in Jeremy and stupid bullshit and it took me coming to the dance with some other guy to make me realize that.”

Rich felt his heart soften.

“It’s cool.” He said.

“No dude! It’s not! I wasn’t myself, we stopped hanging out, I didn’t even come see you in the hospital!”

“It’s cool,” Rich said again.

“Bro! No, it’s not! Stop saying that! You’re my boy and I was such a dick to you, that’s not cool!” Jake grabbed Rich’s hand and pulled him close, “I’m sorry Rich.”

Rich felt his heart flutter at his hand being held.

“I’m sorry too.” Rich said after a deep sigh, “I was annoyed you were hanging out with some rando. You’re, like, my only friend and I guess I got jealous or something.”

“Okay, I’m definitely not your only friend, that’s stupid.”

“No dude, you’re my only friend…and my first friend.”

“What?” Jake asked.

“Until we started talking last year, I wasn’t friends with anyone here.”

“Didn’t you have friends at your other school?”

“What other school?” Rich asked.

Did Jake mean middle school?

“Like before you transferred here?” Jake said, Rich tilted his head confused.

“I’ve been here since freshman year; I didn’t transfer from anywhere.”

“Wait, what? You went here then? How the hell didn’t I know?” Jake said.

Rich felt his face heat up and pulled his hand away. He walked over to a cupboard and pulled out his burn cream. He started rubbing his arms down with his to distract himself from having to look at Jake.

Fucking embarrassing.

“I was here, you probably just didn’t remember me. I was a lot different then. Like, I was just super lame and dressed like a fucking bitch. And I didn’t talk to anyone and I had this god-awful lisp and, you know, thank god you don’t remember me like that.”

It was silent for a moment then Jake rolled up to Rich and held out his hand. Rich sighed and handed the cream over to Jake. Jake lightly started smoothing the ointment over Rich’s collarbone.

Rich closed his eyes and blew air out through his nose.

  “I remember you. I thought you were so fucking cool. There was just something about you.”

Rich swallowed hard when Jake’s fingers moved up to the side of his neck.

“I just wanted to be your friend so bad, dude. You were just cool so fucking effortlessly and I just wanted to be around you so I changed so I could have a chance.”

Rich opened his eyes and Jake was looking down at his hands, getting more ointment. He put his hand on the back on Rich’s neck and rubbed in the cream.

Rich’s face heated up as he thought about what to say next. He was telling Jake the truth, might as well be the whole truth.

“And I also sorta had…a crush on you.”

Jake jerked Rich forward with the hand on the back of his neck and brought their lips together.

Rich instantly threw himself backward, almost off the chair.

“What the fuck was that?” He asked, practically sputtering.

Rich couldn’t think. His mind was completely blank. His heartbeat was in his ears.

“Dude,” Jake said with a side smile, “the whole time I was with Jeremy, all I could ever think about was you.”

Rich just sat there with his mouth parted and his eyes bugging out of his head.

“What?”

“I like you too!” Jake said, throwing his arms out towards him for emphasis.

Rich blinked a few times, “What?”

“Rich, I have a crush on you too!” Jake said

Rich sat there, processing for a moment.

“Oh.” He finally came up with.

Before he even realized what he was doing, Rich pretty much leaped on to Jake.

Their mouths collided painfully and they almost tipped backward over in the wheelchair and the burns on Rich’s legs hurt but, fuck, they were kissing.

Rich’s hands scrambling between Jake’s neck, face, and hair, touching everything he could. Jake still had ointment on his hands so he sat there with his arms spread out on either side of him, kissing Rich back.

Jake’s teeth caught Rich’s lips between his teeth and Rich immediately pulled away in pain.

“Careful, dude! My face is burnt!” Rich said, using one hand to shield his sensitive mouth.

Jake’s hands came up and started rubbing the rest of the cream on Rich’s face. Rich’s shoulders relaxed and Jake started kissing him gently.

“Better?” Jake asked after a few minutes.

“Yeah,” Rich said with a sigh.

“Nice,” Jake said, a large smile spreading across his face.

“Soooo…You had a lisp?” Jake said after a moment of silence.

Rich rolled his eyes.

“Yeth!” Rich said, letting his long-forgotten lisp come back.

Jake threw his head back and let out a good-natured laugh.

Rich let himself laugh too.

“Come on, let’s get back to the dance,” Rich said and got off Jake’s lap to push the wheelchair

“Let’s see how fast this baby can go!” Jake said, slapping the side of the wheelchair once they got out into the hallway.

Rich started running and they took off down the hallway, zooming quickly back to the dance. Large smiles plastered on both of their faces.

-

Jeremy watched Jake hobble over to Rich and the two of them walked for together. Michael was left alone on the edge of the dance floor. Jeremy saw him give Rich a thumbs up then scratch his head and look around. Michael had never been good with crowds or being by himself in crowded places.

Jeremy wasn’t sure what he should do though. He and Michael had been fighting so much, does Michael even want to talk to him? The last time they spoke Michael had said he never wanted to see him again.

Michael looked over at him and his chest tightened. Jeremy looked away to fiddle with his hair and smooth down his suit jacket.

When he looked back, Michael was standing right in front of him. Jeremy jumped a little in surprise.

Michael was scratching the back on his head awkwardly and Jeremy fiddled with his fingers.

They both started talking at the same time

“I-” 

“Jer-”

They laughed nervously and Michael gestured for Jeremy to go first.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been such a shitty friend…shitty person. I didn’t even…I didn’t even like Jake. I just wanted to be popular. You’re my best friend and I’m just really, really sorry. And oh my god the party! What was I thinking? I was hanging out with Jake and you could have died! I’m such an idiot.” Jeremy said, not able to meet Michael’s eyes.

“It’s cool, dude,” Michael said and Jeremy chanced a glance up at him. He was smiling so Jeremy let out the breath he was holding.

Michael clicked his tongue, “Come one let’s go sit down, my feet hurt from dancing.”

Jeremy followed Michael over to one of the tables and sat down next to him.

“Won’t Jared miss you?” Jeremy asked, trying not to sound jealous or annoyed or hopeful.

“Jared? I was dancing with Rich,” Michael said confusion coloring his face.

“Yeah, but…you came here with Jared, right?” Jeremy said.

“No dude, Rich’s my date…well was.” Michael said with a laugh.

“But I thought you liked Jared,” Jeremy said.

Michael looked at him with an incredulous look on his face, “What?”

“Don’t you like Jared? You guys are hanging out all the time and stuff and it seems a lot different than when you and I hang out so I just thought...” Jeremy said

Michael started out chuckling at Jeremy but soon started roaring with laughter. People stared at the pair as they passed by. Jeremy blushed, feeling stupid that he had guessed so wrong about Michael’s interest.

“What? It’s not that outrageous!” Jeremy said, defending his beliefs.

Michael howled with laughter and he wiped away tears from his eyes. Michael pointed over to the direction of the dance floor and Jeremy’s gaze followed its direction. He saw Jared dancing up on a girl from the musical theater department. The girl seemed to like it.

“Jared’s straight?!” Jeremy cried.

Michael laughed had died down enough that he could answer, “Jared’s bi, but he likes that girl, Christine.”

Jeremy raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Jeremy…I actually have to tell you something…like really important.” Michael said

“Okay,” Jeremy said, feeling nervous all over again, not really knowing what Michael needed to say.

Jeremy scooted closer to him as people started to fill in the table, no longer scared off by Michael’s loud laughter.

“So…when you told me that whole rule about dating thing, Jared and I actually came up with this plan to get someone to date Evan so we told Jake to pay Connor to date Evan so Jake could take you out,” Michael said in all one breath

“Oh,” Jeremy said, nodding.

…Wait, what? 

“Wait, what?” Jeremy asked

Michael nervously tugged at his suit cuffs in lieu of his red sweatshirt sleeves.

“Jake paid someone to take Evan out and so we told him to pay Connor cuz he needs money or weed or crack or something and–“

“Why?” Jeremy asked

“Cuz I don’t like Jared, Jeremy…I like you.” Michael said, “Jared was helping me out, that’s why we were hanging out so much, we were trying to figure out this whole stupid plan.”

Oh.

Jeremy felt his face, back, and hands tingle and get sweaty. He could feel like face getting red and itchy from a blush and he swallowed the lump in his throat.

Michael liked him? Mikey M, the coolest guy Jeremy knew, liked him? Best friend from preschool liked him? A loser like him? An asshole like him?

Jeremy swallowed again and reached out a shaky hand, Michael watching him like a hawk the whole time. He slowly set it down on Michael’s own. Michael moved his hand and for half a second, Jeremy was afraid he was going to pull his hand away. But Michael turned his hand over and laced their fingers together.

Jeremy put on a self-conscious smile, cheeks sore from the blush continuing to grow on his face.

“You set up a whole plot, just to date me?” Jeremy asked

“Well, yeah,” Michael said

“And even though I was a complete tool…you still might like me?” Jeremy asked, trying not to sound vulnerable.

“Yeah,” Michael said

Jeremy felt pinpricks go up his arms and neck.

“I like you too.” Came tumbling out of Jeremy’s mouth.

“Really?” Michael said, giving Jeremy a look filled with so much hope and fear.

Jeremy watched tears start to pool in Michael’s eyes and he nodded. Michael let go of Jeremy’s hand and pulled him into a tight hug. Jeremy hugged him back and felt Michael practically vibrating.

“Jeremy, do you want to go out with me?” Michael asked, voice thick.

“Yeah,” Jeremy said, squeezing Michael tighter.

They broke apart after a few more minutes and snuggled together on the bench. One of Michael’s arms was around Jeremy’s shoulders and Jeremy held his other hand in between his own sweaty ones. Michael didn’t seem to care though.

“I can’t believe you did all that just to date my lame ass.” Jeremy laughed and rested his temple on Michael’s cheek.

“I’d do anything to date your lame ass,” Michael said and squeezed Jeremy’s shoulder.

Jeremy hummed and leaned up to place a quick peck right next to Michael’s mouth.

-

Evan and Connor had lost their group, but they didn’t mind. They went back to dancing around like idiots once the music started pumping out pop songs again.

Connor spun Evan around and kept doing little dance moves that reminded Evan of a swing style. How Connor knew any sort of dancing was beyond Evan, but that was the best part about Connor, learning every little part of him.

The song ended and Evan wiped sweat from his brow as Connor ran his hand through his hair.

“Punch?” Evan asked. 

Connor nodded and offered Evan his arm. Evan curled his arms around Connor’s bicep and they made their way over to the punch bowl.

They filled their cups then walked over to a wall that was unoccupied to lean against it as they drank. Evan sipped his drink and watched the other people keep dancing.

“Smokey Point,” Connor said just loud enough that Evan could hear him over the music.

“What?” Evan asked as he turned to look up at him.

“That’s where I was last year. I wasn’t in juvie, I don’t know Marilyn Manson, and I didn’t sleep with someone from Fall Out Boy. I…at the beginning of last year…” Connor’s voice trailed off.

Evan squeezed his arm and pulled him down a more closed off hallway, “You can tell me if you want, but you don’t have to.”

Connor nodded and took a few ragged breaths. Evan saw tears shining in his eyes.

“I tried to kill myself.” Connor’s voice broke a little. Evan felt his stomach drop and his throat tighten.

“I spent the year in a psychiatric and behavioral mental hospital in Smokey Point…also some time in rehab. Prescription pills were my way in and out. You know, when I saw your meds on the bathroom floor that day I thought about just taking them and running but…then I saw you and the panic you were in and I recognized it and I had to give them back to you.”

Evan didn’t know what to say.

“That’s why I’ve been so different this year…I’m sedated now by all kinds of medication, and I go to therapy a lot so my anger issues have calmed down. But…you – you just asked me a few times about where I was and I wanted to tell you.”

“Connor.” Evan croaked and pulled him into an iron grip embrace. Connor relaxed into Evan’s touch and wrapped his arms around Evan’s shoulders.

“I tried too,” Evan spoke into Connor’s chest.

“What?” Connor said and let go of Evan. Evan reluctantly copied him.

He brought his hand up and started pulling at the bottom of his suit jacket. 

“I tried too. That’s why…I had the cast.” Evan said and pulled at his jacket harder. “I thought falling out of the tallest tree in Ellison Park…that tree we sat under…would do it but I only got a broken arm. I remember laying there, waiting for someone to come find me…anyone to find me…but no one ever came.”

Connor’s face was twisted into pain. He grabbed for Evan’s hand and held it. They were both shaking and weepy.

“If I could have…If I hadn’t been gone, if I had known you…If I had been there…I would have found you if I could have.” Connor whispered

Evan let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob and Connor pressed his back up against the wall and seemed to use his body as a shield from anyone who could possibly walk by. Connor reached up a hand and started brushing away tears on Evan’s face, Evan couldn’t help but close his eyes and lean into the gentle touch.

Evan wasn’t surprised at all when Connor’s lips brushed against his own. He reached up and cupped Connor’s face. Evan felt relief flood his body at telling Connor about how he broke his arm but it felt like torture to know what Connor had gone through. 

Being carted off to a hospital and having to be reminded every day of his attempt just by where he was. He probably had to talk about what he was feeling every day and try to find an answer when there was no real answer at all. Suffering through the mood swings and mental pain of the trial and error of medications and wrong dosages. Trying to shove food down his throat when really all he wanted to do was starve himself in his bedroom then keep doing something that was keeping him alive.

Evan knew all those feelings all too well, but at least in the end Connor was here and seemed to be doing fairly well. He couldn’t decide if Connor was the lucky one for getting treatment or Evan was for no one else knowing.

Evan was ripped from his thoughts when Connor’s loving touch suddenly disappeared and didn’t instantly return. His eyes flew open when he heard someone shouting loudly.

Connor was on the sprawled out on the ground and Zoe was standing above him, breathing heavily.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Connor? Money?! For drugs?! AGAIN?!” Zoe roared

“What?” Connor asked, shock melting away and anger blooming on his face.

Evan tried to take a step forward but a hand was placed on his shoulder. He looked over and found Alana, sympathy clear on her face.

“Don’t play innocent! I heard Jeremy talking with that Michael kid!” Zoe continued to bark “You were getting paid to take Evan out? By Jake Dillinger? So you could buy weed or pills or something else?! What the fuck?”

Evan froze. No…That couldn’t be right. Connor would never.

Zoe straightened and spun around to face Evan.

“Evan, I’m so sorry. Jake wanted to date your brother so he paid mine to take you out…somehow it was all Michael and Jared’s idea.” Zoe said with a stony face

“You’re wrong,” Evan said, heart beating hard in his chest

Zoe ran her hand through her nicely curled hair, in such a way that echoed exactly how Connor did it.

“I’m not!” She insisted, “Ask anybody! Ask your brother or Michael or Jared or – or ask Jake even!”

Evan knew his face had a look of horror and disbelief on it. He turned to look at Connor, still on the ground. Connor didn’t look up at him.

“Con –Connor?” Evan asked in a hoarse voice.

Connor didn’t reply, eyes glued to the ground, looking guilty.

Evan’s heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest.

Zoe started to speak to him again but everything turned into white noise. His head started spinning and he thought he might throw up.

He didn’t believe this. He couldn’t believe this. Connor wasn’t like that.

Evan knocked Alana’s hand off his shoulder and shoved past Zoe, stumbling over to the dance floor.

He whipped his head around, looking for any of the four people Zoe had mentioned. This was all a joke. Zoe was just angry at Connor, Connor would never do this to him. He’d find one of the boys and bring them over to Zoe and then he’d know she was making it all up.

Evan reeled around and spotted Jared walking towards the bathroom. Evan careened over and almost ran into him.

“Jared!” He cried and grabbed him.

“Woah dude, watch the goods,” Jared said and tried to pry Evan’s hands from his suit jacket

“Jared!” Evan tried again 

“What?” Jared asked

“Did you and Michael make Jake pay Connor to take me out so he could go out with Jeremy?” He said in one, heaving breath.

“Oh…” Jared said and looked away, looking like he had just been caught red-handed.

Evan’s head started spinning more and he felt the panic attack that was looming over him set in.

Jared started to speak, “Well see –” But Evan pushed away from him and saw Michael across the room. He sprinted as fast as his shaking legs could carry him.

“Michael” He gasped when he reached him

Michael turned to face him with a wide smile

“Evan! Dude Jeremy and I are totally together now! It’s that awesome?... What’s wrong?” Michael asked

Evan gasped for breath even though he had only run maybe 30 feet. He was definitely going to throw up.

“Michael! Jake didn’t pay Connor to take me out, right? That’s a lie, right? Please say it’s a lie. Please.” Evan begged in between sobs.

“Oh…Evan, I’m really sorry…” Michael’s expression changed to one of remorse and shame, “It wasn’t to hurt you or anything, I swear…Just to get around your step-dads rule.”

Evan couldn’t believe it. His speeding heart shattered into a million stabbing pieces. He was heaving now, his panic attack taking over.

He had to get out of there now.

His brain screamed at him to find the nearest exit.

Michael shouting at him as he ran.

He tripped and stumbled and barreled into people but he didn’t stop running. Someone else was calling his name.

He somehow made it to the entrance of the school.

“EVAN WAIT!!!” A voice shouted from behind him.

Evan froze just as he reached the doors. He flung himself around and there was Connor, only a few feet away from him.

“Please!” Connor said in between puffs of air, “Let me explain!”

“You were paid to take me out! This was all a set-up, this was just a joke!” Evan cried, barely able to see Connor through his tears.

“NO! No! It wasn’t like that!” Connor said

“What was it like? A down payment now and a bonus for sleeping with me later?”

“No, I don't care about the money, okay? I care about you, please Evan.” Connor said and took a step towards him.

Evan pressed himself up against the door, terrified of him.

“I trusted– I trusted you.” Evan wept, “But you’re no different than the rest of them. I should have known that you were too wonderful and perfect and understanding to be real. No one like you could ever really want someone like me.”

He pulled his arms tight around himself, like that could somehow protect him now, after all that had happened.

“Evan, please, it’s not like that.” Connor pleaded

“I let you see me…I told you everything!” Evan angrily wiped at the snot and tears dripping down his face, “I told myself I couldn’t let anyone see the mess that I am because they’d hate it...no one could ever really want me if they saw it! I’ve never – ever let anyone see me before...but I thought you were different!”

“Evan,” Connor begged.

Evan was sobbing so hard his sides hurt and he was gasping for breath.

“But you’re not!” Evan lamented through tears “You’re so much worse than all of them! At least- at least they didn’t pretend to be my friend to get close to me then get me to fall in love with them! It was only ever about money for you! I’m so stupid!”

Evan ripped the boutonniere off his chest and threw it at Connor as hard as he could. It barely went two feet before hitting the ground.

“I hope you and Jake and Michael and Jared and my brother all have a good laugh because I never want to see you ever again!” Evan screamed and finally ran out the door, escaping into the night.

[every1studio]

SERIES: “stages of love: words left unsaid” [ateez: wooyoung]

genre: a dash of angst + small fluff + some smut + kind of long 

ficstyle: bulletpoints + series  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [END]

prompt: inspired by “1,2″ by Lee Hi [listen to Hanbin demo version for max. effects] + “We Don’t Talk Together” by Heize ft Giriboy  + “Hold Me Tight” by BTS 

note: [this fic as some smut, so if you are uncomfortable with smut; DO NOT READ //  also has mentions of alcohol and self-harm ): ]

your heart was caught in your throat when you got that text from Mingi

the one saying that he was still touring in Japan and wasn’t going to meet up with Yunho at the airport

so why did Yunho text you that

why would he lie to you?

all of your trust for him slowly started to crumble 

right then and there, you get a call from Yunho 

your shaking hands fumbled as you swiped to answer the call 

“h-hey?” you didn’t want to suspect him of anything without any evidence

“hey are you free? I... I wanna see you..” you could see his puppy-like smile through the tone of his voice

but this could all be a facade; maybe you didn’t know everything about him like you thought you did

“yeah! sure! did...” you prayed that this conversation wouldn’t be the break of your relationship 

“did you pick up Mingi from the airport?”

you hear him nervously chuckle, “his flight got cancelled so I just went to dance studio to get ready for this week’s classes..”

you wish he was telling the truth

what was so bad that he had to lie to you?

you just recently reunited with your best friend from your childhood 

not only was he your best friend.. but he was your crush 

you couldn’t talk to him in person about this

with the safety of being in your own bed, you HAD to know the truth 

you had dealt through too many problems with your love life

you had enough 

“I texted Mingi”

there was no reply on the other side of the line 

“Y/N...can I please talk to you in person..”

you felt your tightening the grip on your phone

“whatever you need to say, you can say it right now.. if you feel like there’s nothing you NEED to say... then I don’t want to talk to you.. at all”

the line was still on but the only thing you heard was his devastation 

“that’s it then...goodbye Yunho” 

you hung up the phone and blocked him right away

you didn’t want to feel so pathetic but you did

you clenched your fists so tight you could feel your fingernails digging pain into your hands 

but nothing hurt more than having the concept of love failing you 

over and over and over again 

you got a text from San

-hey! there’s a party tonight at a friend’s place, wanna come with?

that was all you needed to get all of this off of your mind

even though you were more of the reserved type and would consider yourself to be more of an introvert than an extrovert, you wanted to go to that party 

and have fun without worrying about anything or anyone 

you wanted to feel like expensive version of yourself 

you always covered your body but tonight was the night you were going to show off your curves

you wanted to stand out so you found the brightest and tightest dress you owned; which was a bright, true red bodycon dress with piped linings that extenuated your boobs and your chest 

it was shorter than what you usually wore but having it be held up by two non functional strings that were meant to be straps that constantly fell off of your shoulders

you matched this dress with some nude, red-bottom heels that your mom got you for Christmas 

you let your hair out of your usual messy ponytail and lightly curled it

watching makeup tutorials for fun made you inspired to get more into this new character of yours; your followed an easy smokey eyeshadow look that wouldn’t be overwhelming for some mascara 

paired it with a transferproof darker red lip and packed on some highlighter so you could glow to the gods

and pray that with a look like this, you can finally find a guy who appreciates you 

San sends you a text saying that he’s at the door as you were spraying on some luxurious perfume 

he could hear you trotting to the door in what sounded like high heels 

his brows were raised as his eyes were about to pop out of his sockets

you were absolutely stunning and breathtaking and all of the words in the dictionary could not describe how beautiful you looked 

San almost forgot the promise he made to himself when you loop your arm around his

“ready?”

he smiles and nods as he walks you to his car 

San was trying hard to keep his eyes on the road when you were right there next to him 

“so... is Mingi in town?”

you clenched your teeth so that you try and control your tears from welling up

“no... I.. don’t wanna talk about Mingi... or Yunho..”

it broke his heart to see you so sad but he nods and changes the subject 

you were so surprised to see that there was a parking lot for house near a college campus 

you didn’t know that it was a GRAND party

“how do you know someone like this?” you were in awe as the cool air hit you as you got out of the car

“you could say he is just a classmate who has become a pretty good friend of mine..”

you started to feel self-conscious of yourself; maybe you wouldn’t fit in

right when the door open was when you saw the closest thing you’ve seen of a Greek God 

“oh.. San.. is this your plus one?” the boy’s voice was just as charming as his face  

San put his arm around your shoulder, “this is Y/N, my friend.. Y/N, this is Wooyoung.. who’s also my friend..”

Wooyoung reached out for a hug, “a friend of San is a friend of mine”

you could get intoxicated by his scent

how could a guy be so infuriatingly handsome in every way?

a group of girls were passing by when Wooyoung politely stops them, “excuse me ladies, could you help my friend here get settled in with some drinks?” 

they giggled and nodded as they took your hand and led you into the house 

you look back at San and Wooyoung as they nodded at you indicating that is was okay 

San turns back to Wooyoung

“so what’s up?” 

Wooyoung massaged the back of his neck in a shy manner

“Y/N.. you said she was just a friend right?”

San’s stomach began to churn, “yup.. just a friend..”

San could see the glimmer of hope in Wooyoung’s eye

“it’s okay if I... get to know her?” he moves his head in the direction you walked in 

“maybe you should just... yeah... just get to know her I guess...” 

you were surrounded by the bunch of girls that escorted you to the table with the drinks 

“how do you know such a handsome guy?”

“are you close with Wooyoung?”

“what’s the other guy’s name?”

“you’re so pretty! no wonder the guys are into you! who are you interested in?”

you were so confused by the choices of questions that were asked, you had no idea how to answer them 

but before you could say anything, you felt a gentle hand on your back 

“sorry ladies, I’m gonna have to steal Y/N from you for a moment..”

they nodded as they giggled about finding San 

you looked up and saw Wooyoung

he was such a gentleman; you found yourself blushing 

he refills your drink then leads you out to the area where the music was blaring 

small talk led to a heart to heart talk 

“so... are you seeing anyone?” you were surprised that someone like Wooyoung would be interested in someone like you 

“well... it’s kind of complicating but-”

“Y/N?”

that familiar voice made chills rush down your spine 

you turned as saw Yunho

with Aurora clinging onto his arm 

as if this girl couldn’t stop ruining your life, she had to take your best friend, your childhood friend, your first love

you wanted to hide and runaway; you subconsciously gripped the shirt 

Wooyoung reading your body language, he slithered his arm around your waist and pulled you closer

“what business do you have with Y/N?”

Yunho sobered up right when he saw you 

he wanted to push Aurora off of his arm but she was clinging in a little too tightly for comfort 

“I wanted to check up on her-”

“are you her boyfriend?” Wooyoung cuts him off

but you answer instead of Yunho, “no, he isn’t.. I wouldn’t want a boyfriend who would lie to me...”

you pulled Wooyoung into the dance circle

Aurora wanted to follow suit and tried to drag Yunho

Yunho doesn’t budge, “what are you doing?”

“who does she think she is? now she’s with some rich guy? come on we have to show her that we’re better than her..”

Yunho still doesn’t budge when Aurora tries to tug a little harder

“what is it to you anyways? just leave her alone..”

“because all the guys that I want to be with always talk about her, okay? I’m sick of it!” Aurora screams only for a couple of people around her to hear her through the blasting music 

when Aurora went for Hongjoong, all he kept talking about was how amazing you were at composing and singing and playing the guitar

when she went back to Seonghwa to sabotage you, he ended up not going back with her because he was the one missing you and not her 

when she dated Jongho, he would say that he would be better being single than ever dating someone as toxic as her, then saw him smiling at your little gestures a couple days after 

she was sick of hearing about you and seeing you 

she wanted to be the one with the attention; you were in her way 

so when Yunho confronted her about ruining your love life, she blackmailed him saying that if he didn’t date her, she would continue to destroy your life in ways that couldn’t even be explained

Yunho only wanted your happiness and was scared for you, so he agreed 

he hated every moment of it; she made sure that he would lie to you via texting or calling

taking up all of his free time so that you couldn’t even meet up with him 

she even told him that if he told her, she would injure herself because of him

although he didn’t like her, he didn’t want her to inflict self-harm 

he knew she needed some sort of mental help so he decided to be her “boyfriend” to help her out 

in exchange, he didn’t have the chance of telling how he felt about you and how much he cared for you 

seeing you with another guy shattered his heart in pieces but he knew that he probably shattered yours into fine dust 

and all of this was his fault

Yunho let Aurora drag him like a ragdoll 

when you saw Yunho and Aurora in your sight, you turned yourself to them as you started to dance on Wooyoung

Wooyoung gently sweeps your hair off of your shoulders as he leans in to ask, “are you okay? is there anything I can do? do you want me to kick them out?”

you could feel the tears accumulating as you interlocked your hands around his neck

“please make me forget about him..”

without another word, Wooyoung pulls you in closer to his body and cups his other hand on your face as he leans in to kiss you 

it was a needy yet gentle kiss; you couldn’t get enough of it 

you felt a little pride swell up inside of you knowing that Yunho and Aurora were watching the two of you 

Aurora wanted to copy you and Wooyoung but Yunho just couldn’t take his eyes off of you

he was so angry at himself; he could’ve been the one kissing you and holding you tight 

“shall we take this elsewhere?” Wooyoung lets you catch your breath

when your eyes meet his, it’s like the world stopped for a minute

you could tell that he was genuinely worried about you and that you were okay with everything that he asked of 

you nodded and he led you to another part of the house where no one was allowed

how classy was it to be escorted to his room while getting frisky in the elevator 

his thick thigh kept some friction for you inbetween your legs 

your hands were tugging his hair to his shirt 

his hands were all over your body yet you were comfortable with it 

if anything you wanted more

it was like..

“it’s like my hands are made for your body”

he said exactly what you were thinking

right when you heard the ding of the elevator, Wooyoung swept you up like a princess as he was huffing through his smile 

“I’m gonna make sure that you’ll only be thinking about me tonight, princess”

maybe it was the alcohol but you felt a certain type of warm tingling sensation fill you up to the brim 

despite of the lust in his eyes, he was really gentle with you 

he placed you comfortably on the bed as he peppered you in kisses from your forehead down to your pooling heat as he hikes your dress up to get access to where you needed attention 

before he continues he looks to meet eyes with you, “I want to know that you’re okay with this..”

you nod but he wasn’t satisfied with just that; he cowers over you so that you could look at him, face to face

“I want to hear you say if you are.. I want you to be comfortable with-”

you cut him off with a passionate kiss

you had sex before but it was only a one-night stand kind of deal

but this time, you felt like it was going to be different 

“I’m okay.. I’ll let you know if it isn’t...”

you could feel him smile through the kiss

“you’re absolutely beautiful... I want you to feel like the most beautiful girl in the world because you are”

he goes back down to take off your panties with his teeth

if you didn’t feel yourself growing wet since you were dancing with him

you definitely did now

Wooyoung leaned in to take in all of your essence; you whined at the lack of pleasure 

“Wooyoung.. please..”

“so eager for me..”

with that he dove himself right into your heat; his nose continuously hitting your clit 

you didn’t know that he was going to go that hard but you loved every moment of it 

he was working you up so good that you didn’t know what to do between pushing his head away or pushing closer to you

you felt yourself quickly spiraling into an abyss of pleasure 

“Woo-Wooyoung.. I-I..”

he quickens the pace of his tongue as he adds in his finger

for every time that you clench around his tongue and finger, he adds another finger

by the time he got to three fingers, you were seeing the Milky Way 

your body convulsively shook under Wooyoung

he was just in awe watching you come down from your high

you were sprawled out for him; your straps hanging off of your shoulders, hair placed as if you were an art piece from the Renaissance and just panting as you squeezed tears of pleasure from your eyes

Wooyoung leans down to kiss them with the scent of you still covering his mouth, “how’s my baby doing?”

you didn’t know why; you just met this guy and yet you have completely fallen head over heels for him 

the way he called you baby made you feel like he was just about everything you wanted and more  

“I want more”

that was all Wooyoung needed to unravel

he unbuttoned his black satin shirt showcasing his toned-body 

although he left his shirt on, he completely took off everything from the lower part of his body

you drooled at the sight of his proudly standing member; you couldn’t keep your eyes off of it

Wooyoung chuckles as he lifts your chin up to look at him, “eyes up here, princess..”

you too wanted to take off your clothes but Wooyoung stops you

“leave them on.. you look so good I want to remember me fucking you in this dress so that every time I see this dress I can remember how we met..”

Wooyoung reaches over to grab a condom but you gently grab his wrist

“it’s okay, I’m on birth control... I want to feel all of you...”

he lines himself up to your entrance as he leans into your neck, “you really know how to drive a man crazy...”

there was a mix feeling of pain and pleasure as you could feel him stretching you out

your hands ran through his hair as he continued to work on his deep, purple love bites on your neck 

you didn’t notice how spacious his room was until you heard the echos of the lewd sounds of Wooyoung slamming himself into you 

you couldn’t stop saying his name 

it was as if it was the only word you knew 

“nngh..Y/N.. baby please... don’t clench like that or I’ll cum in seconds...” Wooyoung grunted 

surprised by how much strength he had while still being able to fuck you, he picked you up to flip you around

you were propped up on your elbow as he placed his hands on your raised hips 

he never stopped pumping his dick in and out of you

as soon as you were adjusted into your new position, you started to clench around him again; you couldn’t help it

Wooyoung exhales through his smiles as he could feel himself reaching his peak

“baby, please tell me that you’re getting close because I am-” 

but you reached it before you could even reply to him

your body shook even harder than the first time he made you orgasm; making you squeeze around him harder than you have before 

he came a couple seconds after

you could feel how his thick cum fill you up inside to the point that you could feel it overflowing out of you 

Wooyoung lightly swept the hair away from your neck to kiss it before slowly taking himself out of you

you were and looked completely spent 

he gets up to get you something to clean you up

you took this time to look around his room 

although it was a spacious room, it wasn’t heavily decorated; if anything it was kind of empty, kind of lonely 

he returns with his pants back on, holding a wet towel and some water

“you’re really something you know that?” he’s always smiling but you feel like there’s something more to his smile 

you chuckle trying to hide your blush, “are you like this with all of the girls?”

he gets up from cleaning you up and fixes your dress and hair

“I actually don’t do this as often as you think..” Wooyoung brushes his sweat-covered hair back so that it’s not sticking to his forehead

“even though you host all of these glamorous parties?” you were feeling pretty exhausted but you wanted to talk to him and get to know him

you didn’t want this to be another one-night stand for the books

Wooyoung wraps his arm around you and has your head in the crook of his neck and shoulder 

“hey now, I’m not your typical college fuckboy, you know..” 

you both laughed softly over the muffled sound of the party downstairs 

“so I’m guessing the guy with Aurora was the guy you were seeing but it was complicated?”

you nodded, “everyone knows Aurora huh...”

Wooyoung sees you sulking, so he pulls you back onto the bed so that your head falls onto his chest, “she’s just a homewrecker... she’s not worth your time, sweetie.. trust me”

“I don’t know.. he was my best friend, childhood friend and first love all in one.. and she’s ruin my life more than just one time a year...”

you wanted to change the topic, “what about you? what’s going on in your life?”

it was like you knew that Wooyoung’s smile was just a mask under his worries, “well.. my dad wants me to take over his plane company.. but I don’t want to. I want to pursue being a pilot. I can’t be a pilot and run a company at the same time. he wants me to run the company, even though my brother is the one who wants to run it...so you can say me and you have it pretty tough huh”

“are you kidding? you’re dealing with grown up stuff and I’m still caught up on the idea of love!”

you didn’t notice that Wooyoung was just looking at you the whole time as you raised your voice

“I think that love is some pretty hardcore group stuff too...” 

you nodded and you both just sat there in the dimmed room with the music still playing in the background 

“you wanna go back down to the party? to show off your battle scars?” Wooyoung broke the silence, “or do you want to runaway, to start over?”

your eyes widened as you looked up at him, “runaway?”

“we could start over? I know we just met.. but I’m willing to take that chance and give you everything to be happy”

you were feeling kind of skeptical, “you wish happiness upon a stranger at first sight?”

“I wish happiness for a girl who deserves more than what the world has to offer”

you got up from his bed to get a better look at him, “I need a couple days...”

Wooyoung follows your action and grabs your hands, “take all the time you need.. it was just an option... maybe we could just get to know each other before we take a big step..”

Wooyoung escorts you back downstairs with his black denim jacket thrown over your shoulders 

you were wobbly from how hard he went on you; he couldn’t help chuckle at his handiwork

you’d jokingly give him a side glare every time he did

you met San on the other side of the elevator 

the first thing he saw was how you clung onto Wooyoung 

how the hickies he gave you popped under Wooyoung’s denim jacket 

to be frankly speaking, San was already heartbroken when he knew he didn’t have a chance with you 

but he was even more broken to see that you would never see him the way you saw a potential lover 

but nevertheless, he smiles, “looks like the two of you were busy. ready to go home?”

you kissed Wooyoung on the cheek before looping your arm through San’s, “I’ll text you when I get home?” 

“I’d rather you call,” Wooyoung said with a seductive smile 

San gives Wooyoung a handshake before taking you back to the car

you and San walked passed all the guys that have affected your love life since you started college

Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yeosang, Yunho, Jongho

every time you saw one of them, you clung closer and tighter to San

San stares at all of them; knowing who they were and how they broke your heart 

and what he could’ve done to be the one by your side making you happy 

earlier when Wooyoung took you upstairs, San pulled Yunho over to talk to him when Aurora went to the bathroom

“are you trying to break Y/N’s heart? you already broke it once and you’re gonna do it again?”

Yunho shoves San, “don’t talk about Y/N like you know her-”

“I know that she loved you.. I know that she was head over heels for you.. I know that Aurora was the bitch that made you lose hope in love.. so seeing her with you? you’re basically ripping her heart out of her chest..” 

San shoves Yunho back and walks away 

Yunho couldn’t take it anymore 

he had to find you

he had to tell you the truth 

so when he finally found you exiting the elevator, clearly having moved on with Wooyoung, he lost hope

maybe he should just keep the truth to himself

you already seem like you’re happier in the last hour with Wooyoung than you have with Yunho for all your life 

but Hongjoong had words he wanted to say to you too

so did Seonghwa

and Yeosang

and San

and Mingi 

and Jongho 

but they would’ve all kept it to themselves.. because you were glowing now

you had shelled out of your cocoon and had transformed into a beautiful, unattainable butterfly 

these were the boys that left their words unsaid; for the happiness of the girl that they love 

PLEASE LEMME KNOW IF YOU WANT A SEPARATE ENDING FOR EACH MEMBER OR ONE FINAL ENDING WITH ONE SPECIAL MEMBER???

[ masterlist + guidelines ]

[nyanbinary-chatnoir]

MLB Holiday Month - Ornaments

Day 4 Prompt - Read on AO3

Characters: Adrien (& Plagg)

Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3 /

--

Adrien had his gifts for his friends halfway completed. He was currently working on Nino's, Alya's, Marinette's, and Ladybugs. In the morning he had completed his classmates. Including Chloe's. This year he decided to make everyone's gift. So he went with ornament making. Adrien had looked up several tutorials on ornament making. Going with the more simpler, which for him is clay.

He molded and crafted the ornaments in the shapes he wanted. Hoping his classmates would like their gifts.

In the meantime, while he let the other's cool and dry with their paint. Adrien had the four leftover ornaments heating in the oven. Checking on them every minute, making sure they didn't start to crack. While Adrien wasn't going for perfection, he did want to make sure they were decent and could be used for years.

Checking on the ones in the over he smiled happily when he deemed them done. Adrien grabbed oven mitts, slipping them on his hands. Taking the tray of ornaments from the oven he placed it on the stove, turning it off. With gentle pokes, he scooted them from their original place. Turning them around, checking for any cracks.

While he poked Nino's ornament Plagg flew into the kitchen, yawning with a tiny pawn.

He paused on Adrien's shoulder. “Still working on those things??”

“I want to be able to give them to my friends in time before the holidays.” Adrien smiled. Carrying the tray back to his work counter.

“Cheese is a wonderful and simple gift.”

“You think cheese is the solution to everything, Plagg.”

“Because it is,” Plagg said. “You just haven't learned or come to understand cheese beauty.” He poked Adrien's cheek.

“I don't think anyone, including, would know what to do with cheese.”

“Eat it of course.”

“Not everyone enjoys smelly cheese as you do,” Adrien commented. He grabbed a paintbrush, dipping its black paint, painting Nino's headphone ornament with extreme care. Getting some paint on his fingers, but he didn't seem to care or mind.

The plan is to paint it black, adding in some gray, and green details. Of course, knowing how much Nino loves music. But he also knew his friend was a big fan of Chat Noir. Adrien figured he could paint a little green cat print on one of the sides.

“A travesty at it's finest. This world needs to embrace the love of cheese more.” Plagg's eye's following Adrien's movement. He had been napping for the third time that day. Taking a second nap when Adrien began his other ornaments in the afternoon.

Adrien placed Nino's ornament down, he grabbed a towel wiping his hands off.

“Speaking of cheese,” Adrien said. Stepping back towards the completed ornaments he grabbed one in particular. “It's a little early to be gifting this but I think you would like it.”

He helped up a cheese ornament. It was tiny. Shaped like camembert. Or it was Plagg's assumption of its odd shape.

No Plagg wasn't tearing up he just yawned. “Is, is it for me??”

“Of course it's for you silly.” Adrien held it up, Plagg took it. He held it close to him.

“Thank you, Adrien.” Quickly flying to give Adrien a quick kiss on his cheek before floating away, still holding onto his cheese ornament. Plagg hugged it close as he lay down on a pillow. Curled up around it for his fourth nap.

Stunned for a moment Adrien stared where Plagg took off, while Plagg wasn't too touchy-feely. Adrien received hugs and gave pats and scratches to Plagg.

“You're welcome, Plagg.” Happy Plagg seemed to like, scratch that, love his gift, Adrien set back to work.

Within 20 minutes he had Nino's and Alya's ornaments painted and finished. Alya's was a camera. Or so Adrien tried to make it a camera. He was proud of it nonetheless.

The final two were left, Marinette's and Ladybug.

For the longest time, Adrien struggled with decided on the ornament to make them. He needed them to be special.

He eventually settled on an umbrella for Marinette. A pink one. Adrien's hopes for this were to also add on Marinette's signature to the umbrella. As he had seen on her purse and backpack. Adding white details along with.

For Ladybug's, extreme difficult came with this ornament. She was his partner, friend, teammate, love of his life, and someone who had become of the utmost importance to him. His original thought for a red rose but scrapped it. He sat on his bed writing down possible ideas but not one ever caught his attention.

Until one idea came to mind. Adrien had worried he wouldn't be able to pull it off but his mind was set.

He wanted to make a heart, one that if you have the two pieces they fit together like a puzzle. One side being Chat Noir themed. The other part being Ladybug themed. Having the words “you and I against the world” painted on them. Ladybug would take the chat noir themed heart, and Adrien would keep the ladybug themed.

The idea seemed cheesy, ha! Cheese.

Adrien was proud of his ideas and hard work.

Within an hour he had both final ornaments completed. And a half-hour of cleaning up before Gorilla would be showing up. Paint stained his fingers and clothes, thankful he chose to wear old ratted clothing to work in.

Allowing them to dry Adrien began washing and scrubbing his hands to rinse off his paint mess. Humming softly to himself. Wash his hands, clean up kitchen area, move ornaments to continue to dry, should he tempt to try and get dinner going? Some days Gorilla had ingredients and everything needed to start before he left for work, and Adrien to get started on when he returned home. Typical stuff Adrien could easily cook or begin.

Drying his hands off Adrien began putting lids back on, setting the paintbrushes in the sink. Oh yeah, he would need to rinse those too.

He was halfway done when Plagg landed on his head. “Finished now?”

Adrien laughed. “Yes, Plagg. After I'm done the cleaning I will get you some cheese.”

“I am starving.”

“Oh, how surprising, you poor thing” Adrien teased. He felt a soft bop at the top of his head. Grinning he reached with one hand to scratch Plagg's ear. The other hand washing the counters.

Ornaments caught Plagg's attention and he plopped down to check them all. Pride rose in Plagg's chest. Adrien had done this all by himself, put his heart and soul into them. If anybody said anything they would be meeting his cataclysm. No way would he allow anyone to laugh or scorn at Adrien's hard work.

Wait a second.

“Hey, Adrien?”

Adrien who was pulling out ingredients for dinner, replied, “Yeah?” He placed the vegetables on the cutting board.

“Aren't there supposed to be, like, things on the ornaments to hang them up?”

Plagg heard his chosen pausing. His words thinking.

Letting a groan Adrien thumped his head against their fridge. A feeling rose up during times where he had the ornaments in the oven. Now he knew.

Hopefully, his friends would still like them.

– And he was wrong.

They all LOVED his ornaments.

[rainandhotchocolate]

One Life Stand - Part 2

A/N WHEW this took me ages - I’ve struggled super hard with this one but I like this chapter it’s got a realll fun ending hehe feel free to lmk what you’d love to see happen next! Anyways. enjoooy. 

Synopsis: Sirius x reader - one night stand to one life stand classic

Lily waved fervently at her from the science building, holding two large coffees. Y/N grinned at her and jogged over, trying to warm her hands from the snow and frosty air that whipped through her.

“How much do you love me” Lily passed over the steaming coffee as Y/N gripped it tightly, hoping it will warm herself up.

“As much as me buying you a coffee later”

“Pathetic”

“Have you done the assignment yet”

“Yes, have you?” Lily raised an eyebrow. Y/N resisted the urge to glare at her hyper organised friend and shook her head, following her into the building and towards their chemistry class.

“I thought you were studying last night?” Lily was clearly goading her. Y/N thought back to her ‘study session’ last night, which included 2 orgasms and multiple bites down her neck and chest courtesy of Sirius convincing her they could ever hang out with him finding a way to get her out of her underwear.

“I was, I just got distracted by all the noise next door was making, I cannot WAIT to move out this fall.”

“Oh man, you’re telling me! Here I was thinking that living next to Marlene would be a breeze, I could hear her through the walls until 4 in the morning, if you know what I mean” Lily winked, giggling at Y/N’s shocked face.

“Who was she with?” Y/N leaned in slightly, not wanting to be in earshot of any of their classmates beginning to line up outside the lecture theatre.

“Sirius!” Lily whispered in excitement, grinning at Y/N as her stomach dropped. It took everything to avoid looking very disappointed. Is that what he'd hurriedly run off to the night before? Was one girl not enough for him?

“When did that start happening?”

“No idea just got a very excited text when I told her to shut the fuck up. Gave her an extra 10 minutes” Lily giggled again, standing upright as the class began to filter into the lecture hall.

“Good on Marls” Y/N smiled at her and followed her in, messing around with her laptop and textbook until Professor Slughorn walked in and she could pretend to focus on him instead. Her mind began to wander as he began explaining ionic bonding, why was this bothering her so much? The idea of Sirius being with Marlene, touching her, making her feel as good as he made Y/N feel-

“Are you ok?” Lily nudged Y/N softly, whispering to avoid being called out by Slughorn.

“What? Oh yeah yeah, just confused about what Slughorn is saying”

“You were explaining this to me last week for my assignment”

“I’m tired”

“Y/N!”

“Is there something you’d like to share Miss Evans?” Slughorn suddenly called out across the lecture theatre, smiling irritatingly up at them.

“No, sorry Professor” Lily smiled back sweetly. Slughorn chuckled at her and continued with her lecture.

“You are the queen of sucking up to Professors”

“It’s one of my best talents” Lily winked at her and went back to her notes, focusing back in on Slughorn, leaving Y/N to mull over her thoroughly depressing thoughts.

Y/N sulked for the rest of the day, brushing it off as sleep deprivation to Lily and Marlene when they met up for coffee as an excuse to go back to her dorm and try to find a way to distract herself. Instead she found herself staring at the ceiling, desperately avoiding picking up her phone and sending a very, very idiotic text.

Her phone sent out a very obnoxious ‘ding’ and she (much to the annoyance of the rational part of her brain) grabbed her phone, checking it instantly[SH2] .

Bar, now. – Remus

Lily waves fervently at her from the science building, holding two large coffees. Y/N grinned at her and jogged over, trying to warm her hands from the snow and frosty air that whipped through her.

“How much do you love me” Lily passed over the steaming coffee as Y/N gripped it tightly, hoping it will warm herself up.

“As much as me buying you a coffee later”

“Pathetic”

“Have you done the assignment yet”

“Yes, have you?” Lily raised an eyebrow. Y/N resisted the urge to glare at her hyper organised friend and shook her head, following her into the building and towards their chemistry class.

“I thought you were studying last night?” Lily was clearly goading her. Y/N thought back to her ‘study session’ last night, which included 2 orgasms and multiple bites down her neck and chest courtesy of Sirius convincing her they could ever hang out with him finding a way to get her out of her underwear.

“I was, I just got distracted by all the noise next door was making, I cannot WAIT to move out this fall.”

“Oh man, you’re telling me! Here I was thinking that living next to Marlene would be a breeze, I could hear her through the walls until 4 in the morning, if you know what I mean” Lily winked, giggling at Y/N’s shocked face.

“Who was she with?” Y/N leaned in slightly, not wanting to be in earshot of any of their classmates beginning to line up outside the lecture theatre.

“Sirius!” Lily whispered in excitement, grinning at Y/N as her stomach dropped. It took everything to avoid looking very disappointed.

“When did that start happening?”

“No idea just got a very excited text when I told her to shut the fuck up. Gave her an extra 10 minutes” Lily giggled again, standing upright as the class began to filter into the lecture hall.

“Good on Marls” Y/N smiled at her and followed her in, messing around with her laptop and textbook until Professor Slughorn walked in and she could pretend to focus on him instead. Her mind began to wander as he began explaining ionic bonding, why was this bothering her so much? The idea of Sirius being with Marlene, touching her, making her feel as good as he made Y/N feel-

“Are you ok?” Lily nudged Y/N softly, whispering to avoid being called out by Slughorn.

“What? Oh yeah yeah, just confused about what Slughorn is saying”

“You were explaining this to me last week for my assignment”

“I’m tired”

“Y/N!”

“Is there something you’d like to share Miss Evans?” Slughorn suddenly called out across the lecture theatre, smiling irritatingly up at them.

“No, sorry Professor” Lily smiled back sweetly. Slughorn chuckled at her and continued with her lecture.

“You are the queen of sucking up to Professors”

“It’s one of my best talents” Lily winked at her and went back to her notes, focusing back in on Slughorn, leaving Y/N to mull over her thoroughly depressing thoughts.

Y/N sulked for the rest of the day, brushing it off as sleep deprivation to Lily and Marlene when they met up for coffee as an excuse to go back to her dorm and try to find a way to distract herself. Instead, she found herself staring at the ceiling, desperately avoiding picking up her phone and sending a very, very idiotic text.

Her phone sent out a very obnoxious ‘ding’ and she (much to the annoyance of the rational part of her brain) grabbed her phone, checking it instantly.

Bar, now. – Remus

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“That’s a very flat beer” Remus raised an eyebrow at Y/N as she sat down in front of him. The booth was quite sticky, standard for this time of the evening when everyone was ignoring the homework they were meant to be completing before tomorrow’s tutorials.

“It’s whiskey”

“Merlin’s Beard, Y/N” Remus laughed but watched her closely as she took a shot of the pot of whiskey she’d ordered, “Not feeling peachy today are we?”

“Planning on feeling peachier when I finish this” Y/N grinned, her lips twitching into a grimace as she swallowed another shot.

“You know you’re being an idiot right?”

“I’m sure I am, but what about?”

“Sirius”

“Mmmmmk” Y/N gave no indication that what he said had made her heart beat a little faster, “What about him”

“Lily mentioned certain escapades with Marlene which I presume she would have told you as well.” Remus took a sip at his gin and tonic before continuing, “She thinks you’re being an idiot as well by the way”

“I’m glad to hear you all love talking about me so much,” Y/N said, rather sarcastically.

“She also mentioned you acting very weird today”

“Of course she did”

“She’s just looking out for you, you know” Remus poked her elbow, trying to get Y/N to not look so serious, “If you just told her-“

“If you think I’m about to proclaim my love for S- cheesy toast you’ve got another thing coming”

Remus looked incredibly confused, following Y/N’s eyesight towards the bar where Sirius had waved at them and begun to walk over to join.

“Speak of the devil” Remus muttered, winking at Y/N, “Hey Sirius, how's it going?"

“Very well, though I'd love to hear more about why Y/N is so against cheesy toast! Come on it's a classic!" Sirius grinned his wide, infectious grin and Y/N downed her whiskey. 

"Want another beer?" Sirius grabbed her glass, pointing at the bar. 

"I think she wants som-ow!" Remus started but was hit hard on the shin by Y/N's sneakers.

"Yep, that would be great" Y/N smiled sweetly, turning to glare at Remus once Sirius had walked back over to the bar.

"Not a god damned word" She growled, leaning over the table slightly. 

"My lips are sealed". 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N could feel the world spinning around her as she shook her head when asked for another refill. She was giddy, smiling goofily at anyone who spoke to her and very much trying to avoid ever having to stand up again in case she fell straight back over.

“Y/N” a voice to her left called out, a hand reaching out and gripping her shoulder.

“Yeppo mcyepperson” Y/N closed her eyes for a second, wondering if it would make everything a little less fuzzy.

“Oh yeah, sounds like it” The deep voice chuckled, “Come on, we should get you home”

“Yep, probbbbbably a good idea” Y/N nodded slowly turning to face a very concerned looking Sirius. Y/N gulped, hating how much she enjoyed him helping her up and checking in on her. He reached his arm around her and helped her up, walking her out of the pub and towards the student apartments across the street.

“You remembererered my code” Y/N slurred slightly as he typed in her building code and brought her over to the elevator.

“You’d hope so, I’ve been here enough times” He chuckled, catching her slightly as she stumbled on the step up to the elevator. It felt like every place he touched was on fire, each finger pressing into the lower part of her spine, his other arm gripping her waist, keeping her upright. They reached her floor and Sirius grabbed her key out of her bag, opening the lock and getting Y/N inside.

“Ok, let's get you into bed,” Sirius said as Y/N swayed uncomfortably, trying to match Sirius’ gaze but struggling severely, “Yeah ok, I’m going to have to lift you up ok?”

Y/N nodded, feeling progressively more embarrassed at her state of being as she began to lose motor control. He ducked down and lifted her up with surprising ease, carrying her over to her bedroom.

“Very strong man” Y/N murmured awkwardly, trying to ensure her words came out without a slur.

“Thanks, Y/N” Sirius shook his head, smiling softly.

“No, thank YOU Mr Black” Y/N attempted to sound sincere, but by the look on Sirius’ face, it hadn’t worked.

“Are you ok if I get you into some Pajamas? I won’t look for you taking everything off don’t worry”

“You’ve seen it all before” Y/N tried to wink but blinked multiple times instead.

“Yes, when you’re less drunk and have more capacity to make decisions” He laughed, opening her bottom drawer and grabbing out her favourite oversized t-shirt, “How about you take off the straps of your dress and put this top on, and I’ll help you shimmy out of it.”

“Yes, smart thinking”

Sirius undid her sneakers and pulled them off her feet gently, only looking up once Y/N had called out to say her top was on and he helped her unzip and pull off her dress, ensuring she was covered the entire time. He placed a towel beside her bed and a glass of water on her bedside table.

“If you feel like you’re not going to puke super soon, drink this slowly, otherwise you’ve got this down here for when you likely do throw up”

“Thank you, Sirius” Y/N mumbled softly, curling up into her blankets.

“Anytime, Y/N” He smiled and got up to leave, but Y/N felt her hand reach out and grab him.

“No, actually though. Thank you so much, you really didn’t have to do any of this.”

“It’s really no-“

“I’m sorry if I kept you from Marlene tonight, I didn’t mean to get in the way of you two”

“Wait what-“

“No it’s ok, Lily told me, I’m super happy for you guys. Just don’t tell anyone about us ok”

“Oh…ok” Sirius’ smile faded, but Y/N was now fading, the alcohol finally making her sleepy.

“Thanks… again” Y/N smiled and fell into a deep sleep.

 Taglist:  @laue-bb @brokenhearted-littlegirl  @avengersassemblee   @gemofthegalaxy   @ruefulposts  @dude-whatawave   @itsilvermorny    @cosmetology-and-poetry    @broadwaytrash101  

@blackpinkdolan @blushingskywalker   @maraudersandco @thebabblingbookworm   @cherrie511  @imlukesnirvana  @sly-vixen-up2nogood    @katbernoulli @siriuslyjanhvi  @evyiione   @sirius-lysad   @cherrie511  @blushingskywalker    @imlukesnirvana @aikeia  

[uni-life-tips]

Grades aren’t what matter; Dreams are what matter

I've been thinking back on High School a lot recently, after graduating from Post-Secondary.

I still remember the morning of my Math 30 diploma. I remember sitting on a bench in the foyer of my school, waiting for us to be let into the exam room. I remember sitting there and thinking, "Nobody will stop me if I were to run--right now."

I spent the night before the exam wondering if I should kill myself. I was that terrified of the Math 30 exam. I was trying to weigh my options: 1) Not take the exam and fail at life. 2) Take the exam, fail it, and still fail at life. I spent the whole night in tears rather than getting the recommended hours of sleep. Not like sleeping a full night would have prevented me from completely blanking on the exam.

I was remembering all of that tonight. I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of dread in the hours before the Math 30 exam. I remember truly believing that if I failed Math 30 my life was over. All I could think was that my parents would forever be disappointed in me, I'd be barred from post-secondary, and I'd have no future whatsoever. I truly thought failing Math 30 was a death-sentence that would doom me to living life on the streets of downtown, being a homeless bum because I was too dumb to pass Math 30 and math was essential to life.

That was about seven years ago. I'm still here. I graduated from a post-secondary institution. I don't have a career yet...but I have a life and I have aspirations for a field I want to get into that will require more education (and thus more funds...funds are the step I'm on now).

I was thinking back on that Math 30 exam. I don't remember my exact grades. I know there was a 55 or a 54 and a 46 or something. I think I got a 40-something% on the diploma exam alone, but with my 60-something class-average I managed to pass overall with a 54% or something. I don't remember the exact numbers and nobody but some nosey, gossipy, boastful, vindictive housewives/friends of my parents have cared (and they don't matter). Just like that--those number don't matter and haven't mattered for years now. The anxiety of that day is still fresh in my mind though.

The amount of tears I shed over my grades in math would probably be enough to drown myself in if I had managed to collect them all. It'd be a really shallow bowl of tears...but it would have been enough.

The grades don't matter...but what about that anxiety? What about all of the pain the students went through? While we were living through High School, everyone around us made a big deal of our grades and how we'd do on that exam. Parents threatened to disown their kids if they brought home another bad grade. Teachers ridiculed students for getting less-than-stellar grades. Students made fun of each other when they compared their marks. Those of us on the "wrong" side of the bell-curve genuinely wanted to die. It hurt beyond words.

What was the point of all that? Seven years later, am I just supposed to forget that I wanted to die? That I was terrified enough of that exam to wet myself? Or that I watched a classmate hurl into a trash-can going into the exam because they were so damned anxious they couldn't keep it down? People kept saying that once you were accepted into a post-secondary institution your high school grades wouldn't ever matter again. Awesome...so what about the trauma? What about how we were made to feel that our fates would be decided in that three hour exam? What about those of us that still wake up in a cold sweat years later because we were dreaming about sitting in those uncomfortable desks crammed into the gym?

For anyone reading this that is currently going through High School or whatever, please try to relax. Your worth has nothing to do with that damned "mandatory" course or test or whatever. If you've got your heart set on a mathematics career, but you do less-than-stellar in Math 30, it's not the end of the world. I didn't know how to properly study or apply myself in High School. That was something I had to figure out through experimentation during the first three years of University. In first year I thought "studying" meant locking oneself in one's dorm room and reading the textbook. In second year I thought writing out notes by-hand was the way to go and I spent hours and hours writing my right arm sore...only to realize after the exam that all I had done was re-write the powerpoints and textbook in point-form. In year three I learned I couldn't focus properly while locked in my own room. There were too many temptations to spend hours on youtube, or take a nap, or cook something. I found out in third year that I focus/apply myself best when I settle down with the material in a crowded location (e.g. the cafeteria, a fast-food restaurant) and plug my headphones in, listening to ambient noise (rain noises, white-noise, slow instrumental music, etc.). I couldn't do that in High School. There were no fast-food joints near enough to my house or school to do that; my parents were the sheltering type and would freak out if we went anywhere near the doors and windows.

My grades and academic performance in University were supposed to matter more than High School. And yet, I wasn't nearly as anxious over my University stress-load as I was for that Math 30 exam. I broke down a few times in University. I had a few panic-attacks. I developed stress/tension headaches. I got anxiety so bad that some nights I wouldn't sleep, I'd forget to eat, and I'd cry in the shower every night for weeks at a time. There were weeks where I forgot how to hold a pencil or write my own name because I was stressing over a typed-out research paper I had to hand in within a week. Despite all of that, I look back on my University days fondly where I still cry over Math 30. University was hard...but it was enjoyable. Math 30 felt like a dead-end.

I remember how much Math 30 hurt. I remember how scared I was seven years after it went down. That is not education. That is not how High School should go. We shouldn't be putting so much pressure on anyone--especially high school kids. The Diploma exam is just like any other exam they've taken in their lives--the only difference being that it's cumulative. Stop psyching them out. We all know that getting anxious over something impacts performance negatively...so why are we amping up the diploma exams like they're the be-all-end-all of life? As though there is no life if one fails the exam?

Anyone out there that's going through this, regardless of your level of schooling, your feelings are valid. Your fears are valid. Your anxiety is valid. It feels like the biggest damned thing in your life right now with a million repercussions. I'm not trying to downplay how it feels to you in that moment because I remember it vividly. I want you to know that when you get over this--and you will, because the exam has a set end-time. When it's all over it's just another thing you did. In my memory, the diploma exam was just like any of the other unit exams I did poorly in. Everyone around me was treating it like some great decider or that it was somehow different. It was just an exam. It was just ink on paper. Take it, get it over with, and don't let it weigh on your mind when you walk out of that exam room. Regardless of how you did on it, regardless if you even tried--the exam will end and you will be the one left standing. To my knowledge, the standardized tests are only kept for up to 5 years before they are shreded/incinerated or whatever (I heard something like that when I was in an Education degree...originally trying to become a High School Social Studies teacher). It's ben seven years since my Math 30 diploma exam...I'm pretty sure my exam has been cremated. I'm still alive. Now...if someone would like to point me in the direction of the grave of exams, I'd like to tap-dance on the SOB that still gives me lingering anxiety.

Anyone out there going through something like this: what matters is what you want to do. If you've got your heart set on a mathematics career but you failed Math 30, spend a while figuring out how you learn best. Hire a tutor. Go to tutorials. Youtube how to do certain questions or how to use certain formulas. Figure out how you learn best. Practice. What matters isn't the grade on an exam; what matters is what you are passionate about, what you want to do in life, and what the steps are to reaching that goal. It's not the damned exam that matters, but what your next step is.

Good luck!

[redroseinsanity]

Not Everything Changes

Happy Birthday, Sugawara Koushi!!! 13/6/2019

Featuring an overthinking Suga LOOK I know it’s his birthday and he sounds sad at first, but birthday boys must be happy and so by that decree, this Suga is given a happy birthday. I promise. 

Sugawara Koushi was restless. He paced the length of his apartment, which was closer to a shoebox than an actual apartment so he was really making circles rather than pacing, and sighed more often than an eighteen year old should. Well, nineteen year old. 

You see, today was Koushi’s birthday and it was his first birthday as a university student. Which meant that he was here in the city, away from his parents, who never failed to celebrate his birthday, away from friends, who always bought him a cake and wished him as soon as they met him, away from everyone who knew it was his birthday. 

Most unsettling of all, was that it was Koushi’s birthday and he was away from Daichi.

You sound spoiled, he chastised himself, feeling guilty on top of being restless. But it wasn’t really that he wanted someone to celebrate him, it wasn’t that at all. It was the accumulation of the acute loneliness of living in a city, moving out of home and not completely settling into an intimidating university course that made this particular day extra disquieting. 

To top it off, he hadn’t really spoken to Daichi all summer, with them travelling with their respective families (missing each other by hours at the airport), being too preoccupied with moving into their university dorms (they’d both gotten into Tokyo colleges, but they were on opposite ends of this bustling metropolis and had moved in at different times too) and generally trying to figure out how the next chapter of their lives worked. 

For almost a month now, Koushi had been plagued with the uneasy notion this was the start of the end. Away from all that he’d ever known, he was in a concrete jungle that he feared moved too fast for him to catch up with, surrounded by people he was scared he would never truly feel at home with and perhaps that would turn him into someone he didn’t know. What he was even more afraid of was that Daichi would turn into someone he didn’t know because wasn’t this summer just the beginning of them slowly splitting off to start their own lives? Maybe they’d slowly drift apart until Koushi turned to find his best friend, the one he’d been hopelessly in love with for three years, gone. 

The oven dinged and he whipped around with the mitts at the ready, delivering his cookies from the stifling heat of his oven. Apart from three batches of cookies that he would distribute to his neighbours and classmates, he had done a morning session of yoga and booked all his appointments for the next six months including the dreaded dentist. 

It had been an incredibly productive morning for Sugawara Koushi, all the dishes were done, the laundry was in the dryer and there was nothing else to do. Nothing much else to keep him busy with to ignore the fact that for the first time in a long while, he felt quite alone. 

He was alright with being alone, or else he would have looked for accommodation with a roommate. But it was this sense of… Knowing that it shouldn’t matter and feeling that it did, that set up this prickling feeling in his chest, that didn’t let him sit in his chair for more than five minutes. 

Koushi knew he could go out to the bookstore that he liked, order the cake that he’d had his eye on for a while, treat himself to anything he liked. I would like to be with Daichi, he heard himself think sulkily. 

Well, he pulled himself up with a dignified inhale, deftly moving cookies to a cooling rack, it’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to. I can be stupid and selfish and sulky today and no one can say anything about it.

His phone buzzed and he nearly upended a tray full of double chocolate chip to get to it, his shoulders visibly slumping when it was a message from an old teammate. Most of his friends and family had already wished him, but not a peep from his best friend and honestly, Koushi was running out of plausible reasons at this point. 

I will sulk but I will not feel sorry for myself to the point that I am bitter or mean, and nodding decisively, he set about packing cookies that had cooled. 

When most of the baked goods had been neatly packed into labelled boxes and Koushi had just been about to click on a Youtube video tutorial about making DIY home decor, the door bell rang. 

He lifted a curious hazel eye to the door, most packages went to the mail room and having only moved in a week ago, only his parents had his address. 

For a brief moment, episodes of true crime podcasts flashed through his mind, reminding him of the high crime rates in big cities and just to make himself feel a teensy bit better, he picked up his rolling pin. Not as lethal as knife, but good enough to bludgeon someone’s brains out, he thought with satisfaction. 

Holding the rolling pin next to the door frame and hiding it behind the wall, he opened the door as his grip tightened. 

“Daichi??!”

Warm dark brown eyes crinkled as a familiar smile turned his anxiety into golden syrup, making him loose-limbed and quieting all the possibilities that had been crowding his head. 

An answering smile found its way to his face immediately as he dropped the rolling pin as discreetly as he could, opening the door to admit the man. 

“Happy birthday, Suga,” Daichi grinned up from where he had crouched, hands on his knees. 

“Thank you,” Koushi replied automatically, before, “Are you panting? Daichi, did you run here or something?”

He eyed his best friend and sure enough, he could pick out trickles of sweat running down Daichi’s neck and a faint flush on tanned cheeks. 

“Kind of,” Daichi straightened, his expression sheepish, “Shit, Suga, I’m so sorry I’m late. I meant to come first thing in the morning so I didn’t text you but then when I was about to leave my neighbour lost her cat so I was looking for it. And then I took the wrong turn about two streets down so I ended up in the wrong place and I just-”

“Daichi,” Suga felt a bit faint, “That’s fine, you couldn’t have helped any of those things. I’m just really glad you came, I thought, you know because we didn’t really have time to make plans and then we haven’t been in contact much and so I was um-”

“Wait wait, hang on,” Daichi had an incredulous look on his face, “Are you saying you thought I forgot your birthday?”

Koushi laughed weakly, trying to play it off.

“Not forgot per say, more like, that maybe you had other plans or something, I mean! Because now we’re in university and not living so near each other and I was baking cookies-”

He was saved from his rambling when Daichi pulled him into a tight hug and he took the chance to bury his nose into the crook of Daichi’s shoulder, inhaling that comforting scent that he associated with safety. 

Daichi drew back, hands firmly on Koushi’s shoulders and locked his dark eyes on Koushi’s.

“Suga, I don’t know what you’ve been cooking up in that brain of yours, but if you think that going to different universities is going to change anything, you’re sorely mistaken. Maybe we’re a little further from each other than we’re used to, but it’s not that far; maybe we’ll have a different routine and circle of friends and courses, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to tell you everything as usual,” he shook Koushi a little, “Everything can change, but not us.”

Koushi had been Daichi’s voice of reason a fair number of times, but Daichi was just as often Koushi’s. Just as it had in high school, his level, certain baritone cut straight through all of Koushi’s fretting and insecurities to ground him, as securely as an anchor holds a ship. 

Taking a deep breath, he absorbed it, processed it and beamed up at Daichi. 

“Well, looks like I’m stuck with you,” he teased, startling a laugh out of his best friend. 

“Come on, birthday boy,” Daichi held out his hand, “Let’s go on an adventure.” 

Grinning, Koushi reached out for that warm, calloused hand, wishing that it could always be his birthday, that he could always have this hand in his. 

“Let’s.”

- You gotta give Daichi time, man, it’ll be like the second year of college before he gets the balls to ask Suga out

- In the meantime, they’re practically dating already so I wouldn’t be too worried

- SEE It’s a happy ending, don’t worry. 

[morkeus]

return on capital employed | l. mark

Mark Lee | 2.8K In which following your father for his business functions prepares you for more than just inheriting the company.

a/n: this was requested by @keemburley !! sorry it took so long. i’m not sure how to feel about this? i kinda rushed it a little because i’m still in the midst of exams but i needed a break. i’ll be writing more after next week cos i’ll be out of school finally :”) it’s not rly a story i’m proud of but i hope you like it :^)

p.s. not proofread!! 

AM 8:49

You loved your father. You really did. But whenever you were dragged to events by your father, you wished you had not loved him so much. Being a businessman, your father was constantly held down by work. However, he still made an effort to spend time with you, which was why you were made to follow him for business functions whenever you could. And that was exactly why you were sitting down watching your father and his business associates play golf on a Saturday morning when you could have been catching up on sleep.

While you burnt your weekdays attending lectures and tutorials in preparation of inheriting your father’s business, your weekends were spent following your father orientating yourself to the life that awaited you after university. It was difficult for you to appreciate a bunch of men hitting balls with sticks, trying to get them into holes. But the smile on your father’s face whenever he met your eyes made it a little more bearable.

Speaking of bearable, another reason why you found it within you to drag yourself out of bed every Saturday morning was your newly discovered eye candy who had just walked onto the course with a bunch of other men. Just a few weeks before, the new target of your admiration came waltzing in, his lean figure contrasting to the beer bellies the other businessmen had. His face was mostly covered by a cap all the time but from the hours of starring, you managed to catch multiple glimpses of his face and boy, was he a good-looking one. You could not really discern how old he was but considering the fact that he was playing golf instead of something like basketball, you guessed that he was probably slightly older than you.

Somehow, he made the game look more interesting and your gaze remained transfixed on his form, clad in some olive polo shirt and white slacks. He was always so focused on the game with his eyes squinting under the hot sun. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he was always immersed in the game and never spared you a glance, allowing you to secretly admire him. However, you realised that he was approaching you, his eyes fixed on you for the first time since he started playing golf on Saturday mornings.

“Ah Mr. Lee, this is my daughter. This is Mr. Lee and his son, Mark. We’re in the midst of discussing a possible merger between the two companies so you’ll be seeing them a lot more often.” While you were busy admiring the boy, whose name you now know – Mark, your father had ended the game and made his way over to you along with the Lees. You snapped out of your thoughts and introduced yourself to the father and son, feigning confidence. When your eyes met Mark’s, you almost got lost in them if not for the playful wink he gave you, hinting that he was well aware of your very blatant staring. Trembling slightly, you reached out to shake his outstretched hand as the grin on his face grew wider at your embarrassment. And that concluded your first meeting with Mark.

AM 11:42

“Y/N, I hope you've dressed appropriately!! The Lees are arriving soon,” Your mother shouted from the living room, drawing your attention from your phone. Your father was not kidding when he said that you would be seeing the Lees often because other than the usual Saturday morning golf sessions, your father invited the Lees over for meals often. Over the meals shared, you and Mark had gotten to know each other and even exchanged numbers. Turns out, he had also taken Business Management at the same university and was four years your senior. That meant that you turned to him whenever you had difficulty understanding certain concepts.

Just the night before, you were texting him some questions and he offered to help you with your essay after lunch. To say you had a crush on the boy was an understatement. You admired Mark. He was smart, good at golf (according to your father), filial and patient with you. Despite running a business with his father, he still took time out of his busy schedule to reply your lengthy messages, most of which was you whining about having to inherit the business from your father. He had somehow become this role model to you and he was basically everything your parents wanted you to be.

Despite it not being working hours, the fathers were constantly talking about business and the current financial situation, with Mark adding a comment once in a while. Sure, you had an interest in business and it was only a matter of time when you would join your father's company. However, that did not stop you from dozing off, embracing the food coma.

"Psst, munchkin..." just before your face hit the dining table, Mark, who sat beside you, started nudging you in the rib.

"Psst... wake up sleepyhead. You're going to hurt your neck like that," Mark whispered to you, drowning out the boring conversation your fathers were having. "How about this, let's take a shot every time one of them says the word "money"?"

That was the thing about Mark - despite being a good four years older than you, he still made an effort to connect with you, not behaving like the other snobby children of your father's business associates. His jokes were mostly business related or just terrible puns but you still appreciated his attempts to make you smile during the boring meetings your father dragged you to.

Turning around, you joked, "Gosh, it's too early for alco-" Your voice was stuck in your throat as you looked at his face. The playful grin on his face made him seem like a normal twenty-something year old, without the weight of a multinational company on his shoulders. You knew that Mark was attractive since the first day you met him but recently, there was something about the curve of his lips and the glimmer in his eyes that seemed to light up the whole world. As cheesy as it sounded, you never wanted to see the light in his eyes dim.

PM 3:27

Finishing your last lecture for the day, you made your way over to Lee Corporation to meet your father and the Lees for another discussion regarding the partnership between the two companies. With the details of the partnership being ironed out, the frequency of meetings between your father and the Lees increased. Thankfully, your lectures usually crashed with most of the meetings, sparing you from the agony. It had been more than a week since the last time you met the Lees.

Mark was getting busier because of the partnership and even though you missed his presence, you could not bring yourself to disturb him with questions you could have simply asked your classmates. Unbeknownst to you, your lack of texts made Mark think that he was of no help to you and that perhaps you were not interested in him.

For some odd reason, you started to feel nervous as you watched the numbers of the elevator increase. You and Mark were relatively close but you could not help but fiddle with your fingers, conjuring different conversations starters just in case it became awkward between the two of you.

"Good afternoon, CEO Mark Lee Min-Hyung," you teased as you pushed the large mahogany doors of his office.

You were not sure how you were expecting Mark respond but his response was definitely not one of the scenarios that played out in your head.

"Mrs. Kim, I thought I said- Oh? Y/N!" You watched the furrow between his brows disappear as the frown on his face morphed into a smile. Once again, you were charmed by the boy and it was almost as if you were standing before your crush in kindergarten.

"Yeah, good mor-afternoon, I'm an hour early," you remained rooted right in front of the doors not sure how to human.

Sensing your hesitation, Mark got up from his seat and approached your frozen figure. You could have blamed the five-hour lecture you had today for the short-circuiting of your brain but you were sure it was the way that Mark looked as removed his watch before making his way to you that caused you to become speechless.

"You alright, Munchkin? I haven't seen you in a while. For a moment, I thought you found younger friends to hang out with," the adoration in his voice along with his hand gently patting your head made you melt instantly. But you did not fail to hear the slight insecurity despite his joking tone.

Finding your voice, you reasoned, "Of course not! I just didn't want to disturb you. I'm sure our fathers are doing enough of that..."

Seeing you before him after more than a week, so understanding and so bashful made Mark's heart beat faster than he would have liked to admit. When he had joined the company, he knew that any chance of finding a girl would be difficult and that he would have to set that aside until he proved to his father that he was ready to run the business by himself. He even told himself that he would probably be thankful if his parents found him a girl instead so that he could focus on running the business.

But there you were. Some girl who spent every Saturday morning watching him play golf with bright eyes, becoming his daily source of entertainment with your incessant whining and his confidant whenever the weight of his parents' expectations wore him down. You were younger than him and maybe not the best advisor - you once told him to just imagine that every person around him was a potato to help with the nerves before a big presentation to investors. However, that did not stop the soft hums you gave in response to his problems from bringing him comfort. Who would have guessed that the next in line for Lee Corporation needed to call a university student the night before his presentations to ease the nerves?

PM 8:53

If you knew that the meeting was going to last the entire evening, you definitely would have packed some granola bars to snack on. What was supposed to have been a thirty-minute update on the marketing plan had somehow turned into hours of intense discussion. You tried your best to stay focused but the grumbling of your stomach distracted you and apparently, stole Mark's attention away from the big numbers leaving his father’s mouth.

“Dad, Uncle, it’s getting late. Why don’t we get some rest tonight and continue this meeting tomorrow?” Mark suggested, winking at you. At times like these, you were not sure how Mark viewed you. He made it seem so normal for him to wink at you but goodness, the things it did to your heart were definitely not normal.

Your fathers left the office building chatting about the upcoming gala that some rival company was having, leaving you and Mark in the office. You were about to follow suit when your stomach decided to make it clear that the last meal you had was more than eight hours ago. This time, you were sure Mark had heard it loud and clear.

Placing a hand on the small of your back, Mark led you out of his office, “Come on, munchkin, let’s get some dinner and you could ask me two weeks’ worth of questions.”  

Sure, you had your fair share of experiences with boys but somehow, Mark was so confusing. One moment he would be treating you like a child and ruffling your hair but there were also little intimate moments when you swore that the look he gave you meant something more.

The entire car ride to the burger joint consisted of Mark complaining about his week and how stressed he was. Normally, you would have responded with more than just occasional hums but Mark was being Mark. Frustrating Mark. He was constantly turning to make eye contact as if you were going to disappear, looking so Mark. The way he stuttered occasionally contrasted so greatly to the professional front he put on in front of your fathers. It made you feel special that he decided to put his guard down around you. While he was talking, he left his hand on your thigh, tightening his grip whenever another car got too near to his. Stupid Mark was making you feel things and you were not sure if he was willing to catch you if you were to fall.

The both of you entered a nearly empty burger joint and settled in one of the booths near the back. Mark definitely stood out, wearing a suit in a burger joint at 9:34PM. It was the new burger joint you casually brought up during one of your conversations with Mark. You could not tell if it was intentional and that he picked this place because you mentioned that you wanted to try it out or that it was a complete coincidence. Well, your suspicions were confirmed when he returned with two burgers and the strawberry milkshake you were raving about to him.

“One burger meal and a strawberry milkshake for the Princess,” Mark winked, adding a nickname for you. He had this habit of winking at you and even after knowing him for more than a month, the butterflies in your stomach never failed to do some somersaults and the blood vessels in your cheeks would dilate, dusting your cheeks pink. Despite the availability of seats across you, Mark decided to squeeze next to you, placing his arm around the back of your seat.

Recovering quickly from your embarrassment, you decided to clarify some doubts you had regarding your latest paper, “Mark, I still can’t understand what exactly return on capital employed is? What’s the point of it?”

“It’s basically what it is – the returns of an investment compared to the capital employed,” Mark explained. “No, this is probably why you didn’t come to me for help for so long.”

Chewing his lips in concentration, Mark tried to think of the way to simplify the concept to you, “Ok, so it’s a financial ratio to assess the profitability of an investment. Let’s say before spending time with you and treating you to this very extravagant meal, I need to think of what I get in return and consider the profits from this investment I’m making.”

Jokingly, you responded, “I would consider this a pretty darn good investment. You get my everlasting gratitude for helping this poor soul!”

Turning his body to face you, he looked you straight in the eyes. His face was so close to yours you could practically count the number of lashes he had. You were not sure how but Mark had evolved into someone you trusted, someone you looked to when life got a little too tough - the one who made you feel like you could do anything.

Breaking the silence, Mark breathed, “Well, I was hoping to get your love in return.”

PM 10:17

“Munchkin?” Mark called out to you as he entered his penthouse. With your back facing him and headphones on, you did not notice him entering the house as you typed away on your computer, preparing the financial report your father wanted in preparation for another investment he wanted to make.

Sneaking up to you, Mark wrapped his arms around you, scaring the daylights out of you. You tensed up but upon realising that it was just Mark, you relaxed instantly, basking in the embrace of your boyfriend. After his very unconventional profession of love, who could reject such a sweetheart? The three months of being together had been absolutely blissful except for the teasing the both of you had to put up with from your fathers during business meetings. Of course, golf Saturdays were your favourite now because you could openly stare at Mark. However, now that he was dating you, he definitely had to purposely lose to your father once in a while to appease him.

“Happy third monthsary, Munchkin,” he whispered, slipping a glimmering necklace around your neck. The heart-shaped pendant sat gently on your neck with both of your initials reflecting light. It was almost as beautiful as Mark’s eyes whenever you gazed into them.

“Mark, you didn’t have to! It must have been so expensive,” you whined standing up to hug him.

With his arms still wrapped around you and face nuzzled in your shoulder, Mark commented, “I’m not investing capital without expecting anything in return.”

You sighed. Mark was such a nerd and he always found some way to bring business into your conversations, reasoning that it was his responsibility to ensure that you scored straight As. Well, this big nerd was yours now. Despite his teasing, you could tell from the way that he tightened his arms around you that he really loved you.

Deciding to humour him, you whispered, “Well, Mark, you get my entire heart in return.”

[saskiaraynefmpyear2]

Project Evaluation

Media And techniques:

The program I used for this project was Blender, as this is the program I am most familiar with and work with often. As I took the initiative to learn something completely new, there was a lot of research and things to learn for this project. 

I learned fully, from scratch, how to sculpt and model a character in 3D. Research helped a lot as I had to constantly go back to tutorials to see what techniques other people used, and how they modelled and sculpted their own characters. This was useful when it came to things such as trying new techniques to make a face without it ending up looking weird. It was also helpful when modelling things like the main body, as people would tell you about the right proportion to use and how to sculpt the details of muscles.

Blender was a good choice of program, I feel like, to use this project. As I said, I am already familiar with it, and so I know my way around it pretty easily, and I know about the shortcuts used for a productive workflow. It also worked well for my character modelling, as I wanted to make something more stylised, and not realistic - if I wanted to do realism, Zbrush 100% would’ve been a lot better of a program to use for this. Zbrush would’ve made things a fair bit easier for me when sculpting, as it is a sculpting program, but I managed to reach my goal with Blender, and I am fairly happy with the result.

Purpose/ Theme/ Concept:

A lot of the time I came across a lot of problems, which is unavoidable as this was an entire new area I was going into. If I did come across some issues, which most of the time was something not being sculpted right, I would try again, and watch some tutorials or speed sculpts to get a general idea for how most people would sculpt something I was struggling on. 

For example, I had a lot of issues sculpting the face, so I kept retrying different artists' ways of sculpting a face until I came across one that worked for me. A lot of the time, the whole process was to go with the flow, see what looked good and getting criticism from classmates to further improve my work, and this seemed to work out well as in the end I had something I was content with. 

My proposal was pretty broad, and all I wanted was to create the body of the character, so overall I didn’t need to change my direction or change anything to hit the themes of my proposal.

Outcome:

Overall, I feel very happy with what I have ended up with. I feel like, even though some of my expectations weren’t met, like posing and making the FULL body of my character, I have ended up with something I am proud of, and I can take a lot of the skills I have learned from this project to make better characters in the future. 

In my brief, I mainly wanted to get familiar with character sculpting, and wanted to get as far down the body as I could, and I managed to get to the knees of my character, so I am very content. My MVP too, was also completed in time, and I was proud of what I had made for that. Overall, even though there was some stressful moments, I managed to finish with something I am happy with.

Conclusion:

Even though I feel like this project has gone very well for me, there are a fair amount of things I would do differently and improve on if I was to do this again. For example, creating my character in an A pose, or in an already thought of pose, and waiting to join the objects together to avoid any weird merging (like what happened with my arm and torso). Looking into more facial expressions too would’ve helped me to make my character convey more emotion. 

I have learned a lot overall, like remeshing, voxel sizing, body proportion, stylising a character in 3D and how to sculpt details. All of this will help me in the future.

[upinternet]

Remote Learning in the Time of Worsening Political Crisis: Q&A with UPLB students

Written by Mac Andre Arboleda and Benjie Gallero

It has been a month into the 2nd semester of the Academic Year 2020-2021, and the second semester of remote learning enforced by the University of the Philippines. If you, reader, can remember, the 2nd semester of AY 2019-2020 was halted in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown, and at the end of that semester, students were given either passing or deferred grades. The 1st semester of AY 2020-2021 was postponed, and in November, the UPLB University Council of Student Leaders called for a university-wide strike to end the semester in protest of the ongoing setup and in solidarity with fellow students and Filipinos who were affected by the super typhoon. All of this have been happening as the youth joined protests against the government’s failed response to the pandemic and the human rights violations under the Duterte administration.

Although the 2nd semester of AY 2020-2021 was similarly moved to start in March instead of January, students still expressed their concern about the readiness of teachers, the administration, and fellow students. As the Rise for Education-UPLB once again calls for academic ease and the Department of Health reports an all-time high in single-day deaths (401) and active cases (178, 351), we look back on our interviews with UPLB students Chelsea Sison (CHE) Clarice “Clang” Sumagaysay (CVM), Bianca “Bia” Arce (CAS), Theresa “Teri” Manalo (CAS), Aliyah “Iyane” Mata (CEAT), and Julianne Afable (GS) who shared their experience about their first week of classes. How far are we in our campaign for #NoStudentLeftBehind?

How would you describe your first week of classes?

Chelsea: As for the first week of classes, there’s not much to talk about since all we did in class was to orient ourselves as to how the semester would course through. However, overall, it was alright and overwhelming because the workload for the semester was given to us already and complete modules were disseminated. It also made me anxious since there were no advice from any of my professors days prior to the start of the classes and I didn’t have any assurance that an email regarding their class would reach me. I had to sit and wait all day for their emails, and I had to look for possible classmates as well to make sure that I was not left behind.

Clang: Since last semester, I’ve always been struggling to focus on doing my academics because of all the distractions this remote learning. I couldn’t go to the university library to study or at study cafes because of the pandemic. I don’t know how to snap out of the current trance I’m in.

Bia: Personally, it's overwhelming and scary. As a person who started her freshie year online, it's scary to think how much I've learned from my prior courses. I felt like last semester didn't provide the quality learning that we needed. However, when it comes to load, I can say that some subjects improved and tried to lessen the load without compromising as much learning as possible.

Teri: I know from my previous semester that trying to adapt to online classes is really hard. Even so, for this semester I tried preparing for things to go smoothly according to plan. But it was still stressful for me. I didn’t hear from most of my professors until the day of our first meeting; some of them had trouble contacting us because they couldn’t access SAIS. I encountered internet issues during some of my lectures, both from my end and the lecturers’. And it’s difficult to try and shift my focus back to school when normal house things happen around me all the time and abnormal events happen outside. So it goes. Overall, I think it still overwhelmed me, like it did last time. My peers and I rely on each other to keep up.

Iyane: Overwhelming. Despite the demands forwarded by the councils to the admin, there are still heavy workloads and unreasonable deadlines. There may have been minimal adjustments, but considering the circumstances from various sectors, such as the students and academic employees, it is still not enough. A lot of students are still left behind.

Julianne: My first week of classes was a bit frustrating, as a new GS student, I had zero knowledge about how LMS work. Although the emails from ITC like tutorials and SAIS updates are very much appreciated, there were still some missing info that I had to figure out by myself. For instance, I (and some of my classmates) were on a different moodle site than what UPLB is supposed to be using so there was confusion between us and our prof. Aside from that, internet connectivity is also another frustration, since we have internet problems in the office, I had to attend my classes through broadband so there were instances where I was disconnected from the zoom class.

What are your expectations for the rest of the semester?

Chelsea: For this semester, I do not expect much. First, nothing much really changed. The delivery of materials is still similar from the previous semester. Although classes would say they “improved” it. The improvements were minimal, and it didn’t change the fact that there are still students in out university who are unable to afford this kind of learning setup. However, in an ideal world, I do expect that this semester would be better than the previous one and that students and faculty are more geared towards this kind of learning.

Clang: My expectations is that I hope the students and professors would come to a mutual agreement on how the classes should be conducted. Learning is a two-way relationship. There should be an avenue to talk about what is the most efficient way for the students to learn and for the professors to teach specially with the current set up we are in.

Bia: I expect nothing but understanding, leniency, and consideration from each other (admin-faculty-student). These should be the bases when it comes to implementing measures if need be. Also, I expect that our calls should be heeded by the admin in times of challenges and struggles.

Teri: Again, online classes, you can't really plan for these. You can prepare yourself mentally, organize your things, create a routine, only to see everything crumble in end. Planning helps, but it also leads to more frustration in this condition. Modules and requirements will only get harder as lessons get more complex. Some professors adjust for the sake of their students, which is really compassionate, but some do it in a way that sacrifices part of what could have been imparted, what could have been learned.

Iyane: I'm expecting that this sem will be more tiring than ever. However, I'm hoping that the profs are now well-adjusted; thus, they'll be conducting the virtual learning in a more manageable and systematic way wherein considering academic excellence and the student's well-being. The mental health of the students should be one of the top priorities during these times.  

Julianne: Given the experiences I had in my first week, I expect that I will have to exert more effort this sem. I expect difficulty in internet connectivity and that I would have to spend more money on mobile data for our wireless broadband. I also expect that both profs and students will be able to address the challenges of the current set up based on their experience from the past semester.

How would you like to see the semester unfold for the next couple of months? In other words, for you, what is an "ideal" semester?

Chelsea: In an “ideal” semester, I look for students being able to learn and understand their modules well. That students are able to truly acquire knowledge and not just for the sake of accomplishing their requirements. However, though, as long as the possibility of students being left behind due to lack of access in materials is still eminent, I still firmly believe there would be no “ideal” semester in this kind of setup.

Clang: The ideal semester for me would be that no student should be left behind and that the professors are also being provided with the learning materials needed to conduct remote classes.

Bia: Personally, I don't see an ideal semester in this setup. Regardless, there'll be people struggling and challenged. However, for the next few months, I'd like to see the semester unfold in such a way that the admin, faculty, and students go hand-in-hand to make this setup bearable. I want to see actions that are constituent-oriented, as its constituents are greatly affected by whatever actions or plans are implemented for this semester.

Teri: In an online set-up, I would like to have open classrooms: no graded requirements but continuous discussions and complete access to all the class materials. This way, learning at a regular pace would still be an option, without leaving vulnerable students behind.

Iyane: First and foremost, an ideal semester would include minimal workloads, lenient deadlines, and utmost compassion. The course packs should be delivered to students on time, not two weeks after the class started. The said adjustment should not only be appealing to students but also to the faculty and staff. They must have timely salaries, labor rights, and funds for improvements of the academic facilities.  We are in a pandemic, and the admin should have extraordinary measures.  Free education is not limited to having a free tuition fee alone; it should be accessible to everyone. Learning should be fun and procreative, not frustrating.

Julianne: Despite the frustrations of the first week, I'm very grateful for my profs who understand the challenges faced by their students in the current set up. An ideal sem for me is a sem where both profs and students will be considerate with each other given that we all experience the same struggles especially with internet connectivity and transitioning to a set-up we were not really preparing for as no one predicted how long the pandemic would last.

Interviews were edited for clarity.