#but they pay me over double what I was previously making so you know

[morganbritton132]

I started a new job a couple weeks ago and I get to work from home (which is great!) except for four hours when I have to go into the office on Wednesday. And like, no complaints. Everybody is super nice and the pay is good, but I have never felt more like a broken vending machine than when people talk to me here. I feel like I’m constantly spitting out the wrong things.

[aconstantstateofbladerunner]

Fanfic Thieves on Youtube

A collection of youtube channels have been uploading preexisting fanfictions in videos with little to no credit to the original authors. These are not podfics, these channels copy-paste the fics into text-to-speech readers then upload the unaltered audio over static or unrelated backgrounds, either art that is also stolen or mobile game footage. In addition to not naming the authors, they alter the title to make it that much harder for readers to recognize or find the original uploads. Some go so far as to pretend they themselves are creating the fics in question. Many claim that their stealing actually helps give fics "exposure" despite the intentional steps they take to conceal the origins of the fics they profit off of. However, this practice has lead many authors to discontinue fics after the frustration of having their hard work stolen. Many of these channels claim they will remove videos upon request, but will either argue with the author in order to keep it up, or simply unlist the video for a time until they think the author isn't paying attention anymore. And their solution to receiving strikes against their channels in the past has been to further obfuscate the origins of their content instead of even considering asking first.

”I got caught stealing, so instead of not stealing anymore, I’m doubling down on stealing even more so it’s harder for people to find out and prove I’m stealing. Stealing doesn't count if the specific person I stole from didn't call me out. I am the real victim.”

That, plus the incessant tag scumming in all the videos (spamming unrelated tags in order to appear in more search results) proves to me that these are lazy attention seekers who don't want to put in creative effort when they could just leech off of the passion of others.

In order to report them, go to their channel's "About" page and click the flag icon. Said icon might be behind the three dots in the top bar on mobile. Go to "Report User" at the bottom and tick the "spam and scams" button. This will allow you to list multiple videos as offenders instead of reporting them individually. Youtube's policy states that video spam constitutes:

Massively uploading content that you scraped from other creators.

Auto-generated content that computers post without regard for quality or viewer experience.

If you recognize one of your fics among the stolen, say so in the additional comments box, and perhaps call out the channel directly in the video's comments. If you recognize someone else's fic, please let the original author know so they can report the channel as well. Many have been confronted for stealing previously and refuse to admit wrongdoing.

Most of what I've found has been My Hero Academia fics since that's my fandom and those are the ones I can recognize as stolen, but there are many other channels that steal from other fandoms, so I invite anyone and everyone to reblog this with their own findings.

The reality is that this extremely low-effort content and new youtube channels are both very easy to make, so most likely they'll start new channels once the ones on this list are run through. But hopefully, if we all work together and keep whacking these moles, perhaps we can instill that same defeatism they caused so many creators who didn't deserve it, and eventually they'll give up.

My sincerest thanks to everyone who helped bring additional channels to my attention. A special thanks to ao3 user InArduisFidelis who brought the initial attention to the issue, and @owlf45 whose work was stolen.

Links under the cut.

YurikoFanfics - Not only stole content, but acted in comments as though they were the one writing these stories.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@YurikoFanfics

What-IF-Anime - Has the exact same "disclaimer" about not being the original author as the one above. Either they're the same person or the thieves are stealing from each other.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@What-IF-Anime

quirkywhatif7 - Either an alt of the above, or all these people are talking to one another because this one made a community post identical to a comment the one above made in response to being called out (the above screenshots).

https://www.youtube.com/@quirkywhatif7/about

DekuFanfic - It's the same fucking guy again.

https://www.youtube.com/@DekuFanfic/about

InfiniteParadoxfanfics - Nothing notable, same deal as the others.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@InfiniteParadoxfanfics/about

WhatIfAnimeChannel - Admits in their community posts that other people write the fics they post but still doesn't give credit. Migrated to a new channel after issues with youtube, likely being flagged previously.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@WhatIfAnimeChannel/about

WhatIfAnimeAll - Alt of above.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@WhatIfAnimeAll

FWNWorld - Makes sure to tell you that the videogame footage is theirs, but can't bother to credit anyone else.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@FWNWorld/about

WTFW - Claims to have "[A] team of talented writers, voice actors, and artists work together to create immersive fan fiction stories that are sure to captivate your imagination." Just the same test-to-speech stolen content over videogames. So straight up lying claiming that everything is theirs (and that anything they make is quality).

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@WTFW

MHA2.0Fanfics - Lots of crossover theft.

https://www.youtube.com/@MHA2.0Fanfics/about

Collerwhatiif - Pretty sure this one is the same guy as the previous 2, also has one for another fandom.

https://www.youtube.com/@Collerwhatiif/about

https://www.youtube.com/@GoJoFanfiction/videos

ko_sensei - Another that claims to have a "team" that makes the stories they steal: " passionate about creating compelling and engaging fanfiction that explores the various "what ifs" in the anime universe."

https://www.youtube.com/@ko_sensei/about

FantasticWhatIf - Multifandom stealing, uses the exact same bs disclaimer as many others.

https://www.youtube.com/@FantasticWhatIf/about

LettuceHeadFanfics - No credit, no acknowledgement of anything. Next one is an alt.

https://www.youtube.com/@LettuceHeadFanfics/about

brocollifanfics - Alt of above, once again admits to stealing with a declaration of "☆If you want to takedown any videos. You can mail us or leave a comment below the video☆"

https://www.youtube.com/@brocollifanfics/about

whatifofficial786 - Focuses on MHA/Naruto crossovers. Identical format.

https://www.youtube.com/@whatifofficial786/about

NotWhatIf - I've lost track of who's an alt of who but yet another identical format, descriptions, and bullshit claims of "enhancing the viewer experience" by putting a robot voice over bootleg fortnite footage.

https://www.youtube.com/@NotWhatIf/about

weebxds - Same again.

https://www.youtube.com/@weebxds/about

ItachiFanfics - Naruto channel, we can at least confirm that this one is run by a human given the rare different descriptions and a real voice at the beginning of videos before the robot comes back.

https://www.youtube.com/@ItachiFanfics/about

WhatIfDN - As if mockingly, a bunch of videos have a "credit" section in their descriptions that is of course blank.

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatIfDN/about

SpiceandBooks and spiceandfiction - Apparently Youtube itself has started picking up on the bullshit, because this multifandom channel is being dinged as ai spam so they started a new one.

https://www.youtube.com/@SpiceandBooks/about

https://www.youtube.com/@spiceandfiction/about

theoriginalastra - Doesn't even bother with disclaimers, the following are multiple alts/potential alts for different fandoms.

https://www.youtube.com/@theoriginalastra/about

SillySenpai12 - Highschool DXD alt.

https://www.youtube.com/@SillySenpai12/about

RosieRealms - Naruto alt.

https://www.youtube.com/@RosieRealms/about

DekuWhatIfs - Potentially another astra alt but not sure, doesn't matter because all these channels do the same thing anyway.

AnimeStark688 - No credits or disclaimers.

https://www.youtube.com/@AnimeStark688/about

Please take the time to report these channels, spread this post around, and reblog with any additional offending channels you find.

[rainydayathogwarts]

The rabbit hole - Remus Lupin

remus lupin has a way with all the ladies, even the popular girls wc: 1.3k

Despite not being the most sought after marauder, Remus Lupin got more than enough attention from the ladies. Everyone knew it, especially you, who lived around girls always gushing about their newest crush. You have to admit, his name did come up a few times. But did it even matter? The term 'popular' wasn't one you’d use to describe yourself because you didn’t believe in putting people up on pedestals, including yourself. However, you couldn’t help it if those words were thrown at you by other people. You weren’t mad at it; getting attention from boys and being admired by younger girls was fulfilling and validating, and meant you never had trouble finding dates when you got bored. 

Unfortunately, it seemed you had fallen into the same rabbit hole many other girls surrounding you fell into - the rabbit hole called 'wanting the one man who wasn't interested'. You don’t know when this fascination over him started, but you assumed it had to do with the fact that he didn’t pay any attention to you. It was refreshing, but frustrating. Guys always gave you what you wanted, or made the first move. Remus, on the other hand, had only ever spoken to you in class when you’d be paired up, and he’d never made a pass at you, unlike the two friends at his right and left side who had both previously flirted with you at parties in an attempt to getting on your roster. You had laughed and thrown a snarky comment at them before amusedly walking away. But Remus Lupin and his stupid chestnut hair had caught your eye, and when you wanted something, you didn’t stop until you got it.

Remus had noticed this new attention from you in potions class - a simple doe eyed look from you when you’d asked him to get pearl dust for your potion had him doing a double take, making sure he hadn’t imagined your signature move. He’d heard boys talking, and he had to admit, even he was intrigued by you. “Mate she just gave me those eyes...” was a popular start to a sentence when he heard boys exchange stories, but now that he’d laid his eyes on them himself, he knew he was in for it.

On the way back to his dorm, he wondered if that was you making a first move, or just a subtle ask for him to make a move. He decided that he'd wait and see, make sure he hadn't been mistaken and make a fool of himself by throwing himself into something nonexistent. The more he waited, the harder it was to hold himself back. Of course, Remus prided himself on being respectful to all women and being quiet, which is what drew many of the ladies in. This meant that he tried incredibly hard to hold back the flirtatious comments and sly responses during lessons. You knew the game he was playing, because you often took the route of playing hard to get.

"You're being delusional" Sirius finally told him, James nodding from his spot beside him on Peter's bed. "Like, good for you man if there is anything there, but there isn't." James said teasingly. "No- I swear! She's flirting with me! She's flirting and I'm enjoying it! She's flirting and now I like her, and now I'm like every other guy at Hogwarts." Sirius and James exchanged a look. "Well you're not like every other guy if you actually end up with her. How many guys have you heard of who actually became her boyfriend?" He thought long and hard, and when he looked back at the other two, knew they shared the same number. "None."

The map showed that you were alone by the black lake. If he wanted to catch you in time, he'd have to hurry along. He stole a book off his bed before rushing off, haphazardly throwing his jumper somewhere into the dorm. He slowed down his pace once he made it past the main entrance, catching his breath as he began walking in your general directly. Remus didn't want to seem to obvious, so he marked the page he had left his book from with his index finger dipping between the pages. His breath hitched when he got closer to you, realising you were just in shorts and a bikini top, enjoying the spring sun, a boombox next to you playing some music.

"Any chance I could sit in the shade under that tree without looking like a total creep?" He asks, gesturing to the tree merely a couple of meters from you. Your eyes flutter open, a hand coming to your face to protect your eyes from the sun. "Mhmm, I don't think there is. But that's okay, I'm used to being admired." Remus scoffs, sitting down with his back against the tree, and opens up his book. From the corner of his eyes, he sees your body turning in his general direction, as though surprised that he's not giving you any attention. If that was the case, his mission was already succeeding. He feels the hesitation from you, glancing up at you to see you open and close your mouth, speechless. You turn onto your back once more, closing your eyes with a sigh.

You both sit there in comfortable silence, but Remus hasn't turned a single page of his book and despite you having your eyes closed, the only thing you can think of is how close he is to you. Suddenly, you sit up, turning to take a long sip of the water bottle next to you. Remus has to pretend he wasn't looking at you, but when you address him by his first name, his head immediately snaps up to meet your gaze. "Yes?" "Want to go in for a swim?" Well he wasn't expecting that. You grin when he begins to stutter; you'd finally caught him off guard for the first time since you'd started flirting with him three weeks ago. "Well, I'm- I'm not in my swimmers." You cock your head to the side, raising an eyebrow at him. "Is that a problem?"

Yes, Remus wants to say. Yes, because I have scars and I'm insecure, and I don't want you to see me like that. But he doesn't say any of those things. Instead, he stands, and you follow his movements promptly. You wait for him to take at least his shirt off, but he only loosens his tie, pulling it over his head before stalking towards you predatorily. You try to take a step away from him when the proximity becomes too intimidating for you, but one of his hands snakes around your waist and your breath is hitching and he's leaning his head down close to your ear and you only hear "Hold your breath" before you're being whisked into his arms and your feet are leaving the ground.

You're suddenly gasping for air, breaking through the surface of the water, but you immediately spot Remus's grinning face, shaking his hair away from his eyes and you can't be mad. Like physically, it is impossible for you, even if your denim shorts are now all wet and you almost died. But you're swimming towards him and holding onto him with your legs wrapping around his waist and somehow you're leaning into him and pressing your lips against his. The position is weird: Remus can probably reach the ground, his hands supporting your denim-clad hips whilst your hands grip onto his wet uniform, but in some odd way, it's perfect.

The second you pull away, Remus's eyes are widening and he's muttering "Oh, no." Confused, you turn to see what he's looking at, only to spot a quickly approaching figure called the insolent Filch, already yelling about "Jumping in with Uniform!" and "Get them Mrs. Norris!"

[kachowden]

You should make the millionare a virgin loser who doesnt know the touch of anything but his own hand and then slut reader outtttt. Make it fresh u kno?

Teaser(?)

His fingertips traced down the curve of your spine, caressing the skin that was presented to him. Calloused pads trailed along blemishes and marks like the most stunning of paintings, mapping each and every feature.

His nose bumped into the curve of your shoulder, nuzzling against the skin as he exhaled. His body cooled from the previous heat and steam of late night activities. And though he yearned for more, his mind craved the comfort of just laying together.

But all good things come to an end. The sound of a small ding coming from your phone, roused you to sit up from the silk sheeted bed. Your fingers rubbed against the sores of your muscles as you reached for the infuriating device, the bright light blinding you amidst the dark room for merely a moment before you swiped through your lock screen. He watched intently as your eyes fluttered over the text.

“Mm…It seems I have to go, Mr. K..” Your voice soothed his senses, though your words made his eyes narrow. Only slightly.

Another client.

Often times, he wondered if you did these things to taunt him. If you somehow knew of his infatuation, and paraded yourself around this way to mock him for his cowardice.

And as he bit back the urge to call you back, to tempt you back into his arms so you could sleep in each others embrace. So he could savor the feel of your skin and the smell of your hair. He believed this to be even further the case, as he was made to watch you re-dress in preparation to leave him. Alone. Again.

But he did nothing. Not even a noise of acknowledgment, leading you to believe he may have fallen asleep.

Kane was not a beggar.

Your bare feet padded across the cold wooden floor of the bedroom, and you shivered. You wanted to go back to the bed, to swaddle yourself in it’s expensive warmth. But, you needed the money. And while one night with Mr.K would hold you over for well into a month, you couldn’t stop a small seed of greed to sprout through your heart.

“I’ll pay double.”

You stopped, hand just about curved around the golden, cold handle of the door. Perhaps you had misheard?

“Im sorry?”

You turned back, nearly jumping at the sight of dark grey eyes that bore deep into your flesh. Mr.K was not an expressive man. Not even in the most intimate of actions did his facade fail him. Hardly even a noise. You often wondered if you pleased him the way he did you.

Mr.K was a very skilled lover, despite having admitted to never laying with another before you. He was attentive in ways none of your clients had ever been. Learning the in’s and out’s of your body, seemingly rapt in your pleasure more so than his own.

“I’ll pay double.”

Your lips pursed in confusion. “Double..what?”

Mr.K did not beg. He asked for very little.

“Double whatever your client is paying. If you stay tonight.”

Your skin tingled. And the offer was deliciously tempting. “It would be bad for business if I canceled now..” that was only partially true.

The air felt warmer then it had before. Your previously cooles skin now feeling hot, under the intense gaze of the man before you.

“Triple.”

Spit lodged in your throat and you choked, eyes widening momentarily, and for just a second you swore a flash of amusement had invaded those cold eyes. “Th-that’s…is there something..you want to do?” Paying so much usually meant the request would be something…more unsavory.

“Rest with me. Then, tomorrow we’ll go out together. For a date.”

That couldn’t be all?

But it was.

With a soft heart for the quiet man before you, you undressed once again and slipped beneath the now cold duvet, exhaling in tired awe at the comfort it swaddled you in.

Your skin tingled as a hot breath beat down on it, and as fingers traced against your skin and through your hair once again. Gentle kisses littered your collar and neck.

It was romantic in a way. Despite him being one of your clients, time with him always felt a bit special. A bit more intimate.

You knew Kane was a lonely man. You often wondered why he never sought out a wife for the comfort he seems to crave.

But, as his strong warm arms curved around your waist, and pulled you flush against his chest, you found yourself a bit selfishly happy about that fact.

Sleep came easily to you that night, under the intense gaze of the man beside you.

Your client stopped responding to you the following morning.

(I lost the plot so we’ll call this part 1 before delving into this guys psyche some more)

[badbatchsprincess]

Heated ~ pt.16

Pt.1 ~ Pt.2 ~ Pt.3 ~ Pt.4 ~ Pt.5 ~ Pt.6 ~ Pt.7 ~ Pt.8 ~ Pt.9 ~ Pt.10 ~Pt.11 ~ Pt.12 ~ Pt.13 ~ Pt.14 ~ Pt.15 ~ Pt.16

Masterlist

Summary: This is an ABO Bad batch!Poly x Omega Reader smut with a plot. This takes place as an AU before order 66. Y/N previously served under the 501st before being transferred to Special Forces 99. This is her adventure with these rowdy Alphas in a quickly changing universe.

THIS IS AN ABO AU ABOUT THE BAD BATCH (NO CANON OMEGA!) Due to the unfortunate situation of her name being Omega… Omega the child from the canon series is not going to be apart of this fanfic/porn with a plot. I feel obligated to put this warning in because it makes my skin crawl thinking anyone could make that mistake. 

Warnings: Canon Typical violence, smut!, blow jobs/oral, mentions of slave girls, Hunter being protective, Wrecker's massive dick

─ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──── ♡ ─── ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──

“Okay, show me how one more time.” Wrecker said studying the photo reference versus the tangled bindings around Tech’s wrists. 

“I already told you twice. You need to pay closer attention.” Tech snapped shoving his wrists into Wrecker’s grasp.

“But you made it look so easy.” Wrecker growled staring to undo the intricate knots. 

“You are skilled at defusing bombs, this can’t possibly be more difficult than that!” Tech argued. They had been a this longer than he would have preferred. 

“I also have a very distracting photo in front of my face!” Wrecker yelled gesturing to the photo of you tied up with your chest pushed out and glistening while Tech was pounding into you from behind. Your cute little ass was all red and your skin was shiny from your body oils, it made Wrecker sweat just looking at you. His hands seemed unable to respond as well.

This had all started once Tech had shared the very explicit video of the two of you trying bondage for the first time. Wrecker was adamant about learning how to do that, and demanded he get a copy of every photo Tech had taken… for educational purposes of course. Tech waited while everyone was out grabbing supplies at some random stop on the way to their next job, to try and educate his younger brother. 

“I just don’t understand, you double up this one but then separate the two strands to do-” Wrecker paused mid sentence to find the three of you standing in the cabin doorway with varying degrees of shock smeared on your faces. 

“Uhh.” Your jaw hit the floor staring at Tech’s red ropes bound around his wrists while Wrecker clearly was the one tying him up. 

“Trying something new there, Tech?” Hunter smirked setting down the bags of rations. 

The two of them looked down at their joined wrists and the red rope tied between them before flying apart like caught teens. 

“There is a perfectly reasonable answer for this.” Tech’s cheeks flushed, just a bit, while Wrecker stood up sheepishly and flushed a deep crimson. 

“Which is?” Echo raised a brow. 

“I was simply trying to educate Wrecker on how to tie shibari knots.” Tech looked down at his still tied hands. 

“I change my mind.” Echo shook his head and started heading down towards the under belly to drop off the restock, “I don’t want to know.” 

“Thank the maker.” Wrecker laughed. 

You stepped over to Tech to help him escape from the knots before shooting the two of them a conspiratorial look. You knew they were up to something, this just wasn’t exactly what you had in mind. 

“Okay, Tiny!” Echo called from the back of the ship, “Training for an hour then we can head out.” 

“Okay!” You replied setting your bags of goodies down on the dining table.

You followed Echo out of the ship into the desert clearing where Tech landed the ship. You were far enough away from the outpost you knew you’d be safe from wandering eyes. 

Stepping out into the Tatooine sun, you basked in the warmth momentarily. 

“Think fast!” He warned, coming at you with a swinging fist. 

You ducked, and skittered back catching your footing before ducking again. Then he roundhouse kicked, just barely missing your nose. 

You stepped far enough back that you could switch to the offense, and try to mix this all up in your favor. 

Ever since you started training with Echo, and the boys started leaning more into the bonding of your relationships, you noticed you were able to anticipate their moves better. You weren’t entirely sure if this was the soul bond, or just learning them better, but regardless… you knew Echo was going to try to get the upper hand after letting you get a few hits in. You could feel it coming. A certain sense was strengthening in you.

When he went for another right hook, you dodged back and left, bringing your knee up to his ribs forcing him to cough for air on impact.

You heard him before you saw him, but Hunter tried to sneak up behind you. The sound of gravel crunching under his boots alerted you to his position. You spun around swinging your right leg at his middle. He caught it under his bicep and tucked it into his armpit, trying to shake your balance. But you just let him take you both to the ground, where you bent your left leg and used your knee to throw him over you, tossing him into the near by brush with a thud.

“Stun’em pip!” Wrecker cheered from the ship. 

You reached for your blaster when Echo grabbed you, shoving you into the side of the ship knocking the air out of you with a wheeze. You growled pushing back at him but he was using his strength advantage against you keeping you pinned to the warm metal. 

He grabbed the hand holding the blaster and raised it above your head while using his forearm to pin your shoulders back. 

“C’mon.” He encouraged. It was then you realized he put you in the same position Crosshair had on Kasshyyyk. Your blood boiled… then something took over you…

It was like you were seeing the world through Echo’s eyes. Feeling his every move, sensing his own weaknesses and strengths. You made shocked eye contact with him before snapping back to your senses. 

You kicked your feet out tangling his up with your boots while you yanked your extended arm down elbowing him in the jaw with a crack.  

Echo stumble back while you flicked the gun to stun and unloaded on the ARC Trooper. Your aim was impeccable. He dropped into a heap in the dust. 

You only had a moment of victory before Hunter was hurling the vibro blade right at your head. You ducked right in time hearing it cut through the air. It bounced off the durasteel of the ship with a ring making you spring into action. 

You heard Wrecker cheering from the steps as you charged across the clearing.

You aimed your weapon right at Hunter and fired a series of shots. He expertly dodged them making you growl in frustration. He was about to reach for his own weapon when you charged at him, using his own thigh to launch you up in the air, you wrapped both legs around his neck and shoulders twisting your body down to the ground, just like on Kassyyyk, bringing you to the ground. 

But he knew your moves by now, and countered this by grabbing onto your hips, throwing you off of him into the sand carelessly. 

You landed with a grunt rolling in the warm earth quickly getting up onto your feet determined to win this time. 

Echo was just starting to stir when Hunter decided to arch his kicks down at you. You rolled and dodged every kick just in time, watching his heel brutally dig into the sand with every impact. 

You backed up far enough to stand and line up your strike. 

Just when you were ready to make the perfect hit to his beautiful jaw, you missed him pulling out his gun to stun you mercilessly from his hip. 

You yelped before collapsing into the sand in a heap. 

Blackness surrounded you in a numbing sensation.

~~~

“She’s up!” Echo chuckled poking your cheek.

You swatted him away feeling your body coming back to you. You groaned flopping onto your back feeling that you were definitely back on the marauder hearing the rumbling sound of deep space.  

“I was so close.” You whined rubbing your eyes. 

“You were significantly better, out performing your past few sessions by great proportions.” Tech seemed proud of you. 

“Something happened before you shot me.” Echo narrowed his gaze. 

“You felt that too?” You asked sitting up slowly. 

“Yeah… that was strange.” He rubbed his chin. 

“I think it’s a pack bond or something. It was like I was in your mind.” You shook your head confused.

“I noticed your fighting styles take on whoever you’re opposing.” Tech analyzed, “It is most fascinating.” 

 “I think it’s the soul bond.” You said, “I felt like I was Echo. Just for a second. It was strange.” You shook your head still trying to make sense of that. 

“Well, they do say that souls bonds are a unique kind of experience. Two people becoming one in every way. They can even sometimes hear one another in their heads like Jedi.” Tech said. 

“That that has to be it.” You looked to Echo, one of your oldest friends. Of course it was a bond. Platonic as it may be, you viewed Echo as family. He’s been with you for almost your entire career with the GAR. 

You smiled at him and poked him back in the cheek making him playfully shove you back. 

“Cid gave us more intel.” Hunter came into the room partly to check on you but to also let everyone know that they’d be at their location soon. 

He waited for the others to file out, before kneeling down next to you on the cot, “I got something for you.” 

You were curious, “What is it?”

He held up a smaller chest plate that seemed to have been created just for your size. You looked at him with a raised brow. The metal was plain as blaster metal.

“I may not like putting you in the middle of these jobs.” He grabbed your hips sliding you to the edge of the bed before unlatching the pieces, “But, we came across a mandalorian smith who construed this and a few other pieces for you. At least gives me a little more peace of mind.” He sandwiched you between the two metal pieces before securing them together at your shoulders and sides. It looked similar to his own which made you giddy. 

You suddenly felt very overcome with emotion and looked up at your alpha, “Thank you Hunter.” You touched his jaw as he secured the last strap. He wanted to keep you safe. The gesture meant everything to you. 

“How does it feel?” He looked down at you running his hands over the collar of the metal. 

“Good.” You smiled, “Like a glove.” 

“It’s beskar.” He tapped it, “Not even a lightsaber can penetrate it.” 

“Sounds expensive.” You narrowed your eyes. 

“Cid pitched in too.” He smirked. 

That little trandoshan. You knew she cared about you. 

“Actually it was her idea.” Tech walked into the doorway, “Said we were being too reckless with our omega.” 

“Hmm.” You smirked, “I think I owe her a few more shifts then.” 

Tech huffed a laugh, “We’re here by the way.” 

You felt Echo directing the ship down to the surface of Tatooine as you and Hunter returned to the cockpit to join the others. 

~~~

The others showed you how to put on the shoulder guards, the forearm and thigh gauntlets. The last step was Hunter securing the thigh holster over everything along with a knife sheath that ran sideways along your lower back. When he was happy with it, he stood up to stand amongst the others approving their work. 

“Okay, one last present.” Wrecker smiled running into the bunks to grab it. 

“Is it heavy mesh’la?” Hunter asked worrying about you keeping up. 

You raised your arms, testing out the weight, “No, it’s light enough!” 

He nodded approvingly. 

When Wrecker returned, the four boys all looked very excited to show you what they got. 

Wrecker spun around holding a matching helmet, unique it it’s own way, just like theirs. But it seemed to reflect you perfectly. 

Wrecker shuffled forwards to place it over your head being mindful of your hair. 

When he settled it on, you heard it pressurize and suddenly the lens switched on showing you their com channels and the technology inside was analyzing all of your surroundings. 

“Is this what you guys have been seeing this whole time?” You said in wonderment as you looked around the ship and at the alphas standing before you. 

“Heh, yeah pip.” Wrecker chuckled, “Pretty nice huh?” 

“This is wild.” You waved your hands in front of your face watching the technology track your movements.

“That was my doing.” Tech raised his finger, “Wanted it to keep an eye out for you too.” 

“Thank you guys.” You sighed feeling their love as you felt safer than you ever had before. Clearly they had put a lot of thought into this. 

They all smiled looking at you getting used to the armor. 

“Now she looks just like us.” Echo said proudly. 

“Well, she’s gotta paint hers first.” Tech smiled, “Then she’ll be just like us.” 

“I gotta think of what to do.” You shrugged wondering what colors you should use. 

“Alright, let’s get a move on.” Hunter hit the hatch panel, “I don’t want to be here long. The Hutts aren’t people I want to spend much time with.” 

“Keep that on.” Echo thunked you on the head making you whip around to face him, “Hopefully the empire hasn’t put a bounty on you, but incase they have, the Hutts would know about it.” 

“Keep the helmet on. Got it.” You followed after him like a duckling. 

The dome shaped castle Jaba the Hutt inhabited sat right in front of you all. As you approached, the stark surroundings made you a little uneasy, it was even more barren than the little outpost on the other side of the planet. 

Hunter approached the door first when a droid came flying out of the wall yelling at you all in Huttanese. Tech quickly translated explaining that they were there on behalf of Cid for a money transfer. 

The droid camera disappeared into the wall and the massive metal gate creaked open. 

“C’mon.” Hunter waved you all to follow, “Stay close to Echo.” He gave you the order. You swallowed thickly and stuck to Echo like glue. You were getting a little antsy. This was like throwing yourself into the deep end on your first job! No one messed with the Hutts.

The hallway inside the castle was dark and sandy. You noticed gamorrean guards posted in the alcoves watching you closely and holding their massive axes as they snorted.

When all five of you entered the main gallery, you were surrounded by lively music and nearly a hundred bounty hunters, all lounging around in various states of debauchery. You also noticed the slave girls chained to the main throne holding the ugliest mother fucker you’d ever seen. 

Jabba the Hutt…

Hutt’s attendant waved you all over to speak with the slug himself. Hunter stepped forwards saying hello before introducing the group. Then Jabba quickly got into the business deal. Hunter pulled a holo with Cid so the two of them could speak directly. 

While that was happening, you took your time observing the place. A dozen games of sabak were being played while credits and bets were placed. The air was thick with smoke and the light scent of spice. The musicians and show girls were working for their salary. But what surprised you the most was going on in the back of the club. 

You locked in on a few Twi’leks fucking some willing customers in an alcove near the back bar. They were not ashamed in the slightest by the attention they were receiving from other drunk bounty hunters. One girl was perched on a man’s lap as he held her knees up showing everyone just got deep he was inside her as she moaned putting on a show clearly wanton for the looks. 

You felt yourself heat up the longer you watched. It was…hot the way he showed her off. The way all the others were captivated by watching her client’s cock disappear and reappear from her depths. 

Crosshair had done something similar with you and Tech, and the memory had your clothes suddenly feeling a little too restricting… You could still feel the ghost of his hands at the backs of your knees while Tech’s face was buried into your cunt. Even the way Crosshair stretched and displayed you was a clear memory. You shivered trying to will away those feelings. 

You felt Echo nudge you, drawing your attention back to your sergeant. 

It seemed negotiations were going well as the attendant handed over a case of unmarked credits to Hunter. Tech translated a few last words, assumably a thank you, before your alphas turned back to you ushering you all to leave. 

You look one last glance at the slug which was a mistake, his gaze was greedy and hungry as his long foul tongue licked at his slobbering lips. You trotted up to Hunter suddenly realizing how many of the men in the room were staring right at you with the very same look. 

Well… this must be how things are in the outer rim. Not a particularly safe place for women.

You heard Jabba’s voice silence the crowd, “Kava Che Ta mandalorian” 

Tech froze in place looking to Hunter. 

“He asked how much for the mandalorian.” Tech bit out. 

“What?” Hunter was confused, “What mandalorian? 

“He’s talking about Y/N.” Tech said. You shivered. What the kark?

You tucked into Hunter’s side feeling your stomach drop into your ass with nerves. 

“She’s not for sale.” Hunter growled tugging you closer to him. 

Jabba then said, “Jee'll Fofo Cid's Moulee-rah Che Ta Cheeka”

Tech growled, “He’ll double Cid’s amount for the female.” 

You clenched onto Hunter’s belt feeling him get riled up and protective. 

“Not going to happen.” Hunter snarled placing his hand on the hilt of his gun. 

“Is she yours?” The attendant asked with a devilish grin. He clocked the way you clung to Hunter like a typical omega would. 

“Yes.” Hunter tightened his grip on you and the weapon at his side, “She is.” 

You felt the others close in on you keeping you protectively in their circle. Wrecker pressed into your back securely.

Then Jabba gave the order. If they weren’t going to sell you, he was going to take you by force and kill your alpha. The entire club erupted into violence as the other bounty hunters opened fire wanting to be the one to bring Jabba his next prize. 

Hunter grabbed you hauling you behind one of the alcoves as blaster fire whizzed by your heads. 

“We gotta get to the ship!” Echo yelled firing back hitting one bounty hunter after another. 

“Wrecker give us some cover!” Tech yelled firing into the crowd. 

“Oh gotcha!” Wrecker reached into his pack grabbing two flash bangs. 

“Cover your ears.” Hunter covered you with his body as Wrecker chucked the bombs into the lounge. You muffled the sound inside your helmet just in time when the whole building lit up with blinding white light and disorienting smoke. You heard the loud groans and screams coming from the crowd.

“Move!” Hunter nudged you forwards and you broke out into a run. 

More blaster fire flew past you and you grabbed your gun firing back giving yourself more cover. You watched one of the plasma bullets hit a bounty hunter square in the chest. You internally cheered seeing your training finally paying off. 

“Ahh!” Echo was surprised when a gamorrean knocked him off his feet sending his back into the sand with a punching thud.

Then you were surrounded. The greenish guards brandished their axes swinging at you without much grace. You swiftly shuffled backwards before kicking the guard hard in the side of the head. He squealed and stumbled back giving you a window to fire your blaster killing him on the spot.

“Hah!” You cheered. Hearing the commotion in the back. When you turned back around, you saw your alphas finishing off the last gamorrean before grabbing your hand and continuing to run towards the open gate. 

“Just a little further!” Tech said remotely powering up the ship hearing it whirl to life. 

You broke out into a full sprint wanting to fling yourself into the Marauder as fast as possible. 

When the ship was in site, you followed Tech inside skittering into the cockpit helping him start the launch sequence. Tech guided the ship up as the others jumped inside dodging more blaster fire. 

“Shit!” Echo yelped dodging a bullet, “Any day now!” 

Tech angled the nose of the marauder into the sky and hit the accelerator. Hunter hit the hatch door and you all flopped down into your seats letting out a groan. 

“Is it always like that for you?” You yanked the helmet off letting your hair tumble out as you gasped for air. 

“Pretty much.” Tech nodded setting the course for Ord Mantel. 

“Dank ferrik.” Wrecker groaned out in pain as he clutched at his bicep.  

You looked up noticing the red patch on his arm… he must have been shot in the escape.

“Oh no.” You got up running past him to the galley to grab your medical bag. 

“Hold still love.” You helped remove his shoulder pauldron and rolled up his sleeve. He winced when you jostled the skin a bit but you quickly got to work spreading the bacta and applying the bandage to stop the bleeding, “All better alpha.” You smiled up at him getting him to cheer up. 

He held the back of your head in his massive hand bringing you up to his mouth. He pressed a loving kiss to the crown of your head as a thanks. When he was distracted, you jabbed his arm with the pain medication. 

“Oh! Ow!” He whined. But it was over before he could complain. You just smiled sweetly giving him a proper kiss as an apology. 

“You did good Tiny.” Echo praised you, “You handled that really well.” 

“Thanks Echo.” You replied cheerily putting your supplies back in the bag, “It was kind of exciting.” 

“Oh no, we’re creating a monster.” Hunter jested. 

You threw him a playful scowl. 

“We’ve got a few hours until we get to Ord Mantel. I’d get comfortable.” Echo said turning back to face you, “Got any more of those rations from Layla?” 

“Kark yeah.” You shot up running to the underbelly. 

~~~

“Delicious as always darling.” Echo licked his fingers making sure to get the last of the sauce left over on his plate. 

You hummed shoving the last piece of soaked bread into your mouth enjoying every chew. 

“Let me take Wrecker’s portion to him before he gets hangry.” You put your dirty dish in the sink leaving the others to lick their plates clean. 

Picking up a tray for Wrecker, you grabbed a cup of water and a spork walking back to the bunks. Wrecker must have dozed off from the pain meds. When you hit the access panel, he stirred noticing you had food and instantly woke up from his nap. 

“Here big guy.” You sat down on the cot next to him passing him the tray, “How are you feeling?” 

“A lot better pip.” He smiled shoving the food into his face like a starving rancor. You giggled watching him inhale his food. Good. At least that is a good sign he’s healing.

While he wolfed down his food, you gently lifted the bandage checking the progress the bacta had made while he slept. The wound was nearly closed up and all that was left was a small indent and angry irritated skin. You nodded approvingly liking how quickly the healing was progressing. 

He finished his meal and set the tray down on his nightstand before cuddling you into the mattress rather aggressively. You giggled adjusting to get comfortable in his grasp while he sighed peacefully scenting you. 

You gently ran your nails up and down his arm making him rumble from the sensation. He rolled you onto of him snuggling you to his chest like he does with Lula. 

You couldn’t help but wriggle around enjoying his warmth. 

“Mega.” He looked up at you, “You gotta stop doing that.” 

You smirked knowingly, “Why hun?” 

“You know why.” He adjusted his lap and you felt the hardness push up against your core. You hummed still feeling the lingering effects of what you saw at the Hutt palace today still playing in your mind. You wanted Wrecker to hold you like that… 

“What if I don’t want to?” You bit his arm lightly making him growl. 

“I don’t think I can with those pain killers in me.” He was still little groggy. 

“What if I make you feel good instead?” You bit your lip and sat up. He lazily ran his hands over your hips giving you a little pat on the ass.

You smiled down at him massaging his chest with your hands, “You did so good for me today, it’s a little reward for the shot.” 

“Hmm.” He smiled liking where this was going, “Okay.” 

“I’’ll take care of you alpha.” You slid down lower reaching for his sleep pants. You gently ran a hand over the bulge making him groan as you teased him. Wrecker groaned watching your small frame slide even lower keeping sinful eye contact with him. It made him squirm with anticipation. It wasn’t often women had offered to do this for him due to his size, but seeing you so eager made his blood run hot. Make you were perfect.

“Just want my alpha to feel good.” You nudged between his legs spreading them a bit while you teased the elastic of his boxers. He tensed feeling your finger slip lower getting dangerously close to where he wanted you. 

When you tugged down his boxers you were happy to find him throbbingly hard. You bit back a moan when you wrapped your hands around him fitting both along his shaft, and started to work your way up and down. Wrecker threw his head back covering his eyes with his forearm and groaned so loud you were certain the others could hear. 

Well it’s not like they didn’t know what you were doing. It was his night after all. 

Then you leaned forwards to give him an experimental lick. He gasped at the warmth of your tongue and inhaled sharply when you slid your whole mouth over him taking him as best as you could. 

Tech had taken the time one night to try and train you to take him as deep as he could go. It took a while, and your throat was so sore after, but eventually it started to work and you were able to repress your gag reflex like you had during your heat. 

Wrecker choked as you began to bob up and down using your slobber to lube your hands to work his shaft. There was no way you’d be able to deep throat Wrek, but you went as far as you possibly could. Your jaw was starting to ache but the sounds he was making had your core dripping with arousal. 

He subconsciously started to buck up into you letting you know he was getting closer to cumming. You decided to tease him a little bit more and drag this out. You withdrew your mouth making him whimper and look down at you from under his arm in curiosity. 

You kept massaging him with both your hands while you sunk closer until you could nuzzle his balls with your nose. 

“Fuck.” He cried out when you sucked one into your mouth laving it with your tongue greedily. 

“Shit, Pip!” He crossed both arms above his head fighting every instinct to grab you and shove you closer. 

You smirked and continued to lick and suck on his balls until he was a writhing mess. Then you took mercy on him and returned to sucking on his tip wanting to watch him cum now.

He opened his mouth to speak but you sped up your hands and doubled down on sucking harder making him thrust up into you a bit mindlessly. Wrecker came with a grunt, trying to still his hips but you licked up every last drop swallowing proudly. 

He gasped for air trying to catch his breath still stunned at your work. 

“That was amazing mesh’la.” He sighed looking down at you adoringly. You smiled pulling his boxers and sleep pants back up before crawling up his body and perching yourself on his lap again. 

His expression turned devilish, “Your turn.”

“Wait Wrek! Ahh!” He lifted like you weighed nothing sitting you on top of his face. 

“I wanna taste you sweetheart.” He yanked down your pants pushing you up slightly to slide them off. When he chucked them to the floor he yanked your hips down onto his face so he could nuzzle your damp panties making sure to inhale your intoxicating scent.

“This was supposed to be about you.” You whined unable to resist the way his nose dug deliciously into your clothed clit. 

“This is about me.” He smirked poking a finger under the wet fabric and shoved it to the side revealing your dripping core to him. 

You whined as he licked a big stripe through your folds making you buck. Usually you’d be a little cautious but Wrecker had assured you that he’s strong and big enough to handle you riding his face. 

So thats exactly what you did. 

With his encouragement you set your whole weigh ton him making him hum with joy. He ate out your cunt with fervor making you writhe and squirm on him just like you had made him do not long ago. You moaned loudly when he sucked your clit into his mouth quickly rushing you to the edge. Between the twilek and then sucking off Wrecker, your orgasm was coming fast. 

You whimpered barring down on him as his skilled tongue brought you to your needed orgasm. The dizzying pleasure consumed you making you flop forwards catching yourself on the wall as you flinched away from his tongue from overstimulation. You shook as you came down feeling his hot breath on your thighs. 

“How was that mesh’la?” He chuckled reaching up to tease your breast while you calmed down above him. 

“Too good.” You laughed shaking your head still trembling from aftershocks. 

He helped you back down his body so you could lay on him. You both stripped out of your remaining clothes so you could lay skin to skin, feeling each other closely as you cuddled. It was nice. It reminded you of that night in your apartment before everything fell apart. It was a small pocket of peace that you would never take for granted. 

“You did good today too.” He said taking your hand in his. The size difference was laughable. His palm dwarfed yours significantly. 

“It was kind of wild.” You said watching him play with your hand, “and exciting.”

“I thought Hunter was gonna kill Jabba.” He said rubbing his thumb into your palm, “I sure wanted to.” 

You smiled liking the protective talk, “I knew I was safe. You’d all protect me no matter what.” 

“Damn straight.” He held your wrist in his grasp.

“Though, I think I might prefer staying on the ship.” You giggled as his fingers tickled up your forearm before massaging up to your shoulder, “Getting almost sold is a little off putting.” 

You preened rubbing your face into his pectorals scenting him affectionately wanting his smell all over you. 

“But you do look so sexy with a blaster.” He leaned down to kiss you. You giggled into the kiss using your hands to pull his face closer to yours. He snuggled you in closer pressing you to his warm chest. 

Maybe being a mercenary wouldn’t be too bad…

uhm chile...anyway...soooo

─ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──── ♡ ─── ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──

Taglist: @substantial-exposure

@rains-on-kamino

@minimissmoo

@z-and-the-batboys

@aynavaano

@9902sgirl

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@booksandtitts-blog

[cafeseoulmate]

Why We (Don’t) Work

i'm okay with being by your side for as long as i can hide what if i told you that i've fallen?

featuring: music major!beomgyu x fine arts major!gn!reader

genre: fluff, angst, childhood best friends to lovers, neighbors to lovers au, idiots to lovers au, high school au, college au, band au, hurt/comfort, slice of life, slowburn, mutual pining, 5+1 & nonlinear format

wc: 13k

warnings and other notes: cursing, alcohol consumption, reader is implied bi/pan, two jokes about murder, mention of the flu, brief mention of making out, cliches, inaccurate portrayal of a painting & sculpture double major, idk where this was going tbh

I. WE'VE BEEN FRIENDS FOR TOO LONG

The idea of friends eventually becoming lovers, especially those who have known each other for a long time, is okay in your opinion. In theory, the principle of falling in love with someone whom you've previously built a relationship with is not that great but not that awful either.

It's reasonable, practical and natural even in many situations. You would know from the amount of friends you've watched over the years who only started seeing each other romantically after a few years of getting to know and being comfortable around each other platonically.

You just figure that it's not for you and Choi Beomgyu, the nuisance who's been affectionately stuck to your hip since your days at the neighborhood playground.

For starters, you've known him for far too long. Not that love is supposed to have an expiration date, it's just that most people who start off friends—like your college friends Yeji and Ryujin who started dating before your junior year—usually take less than a decade, and that is really pushing it in your humble opinion.

Beomgyu's known you since the time you were sporting bowl cuts your mom fashioned with your kitchen scissors, probably and unconsciously even longer than that given that your respective moms have also been close friends since you were toddlers. You've pushed each other at the swings and the slides more than any of your other childhood friends, have gone to the same schools together spent most of your non-holidays with each other since kindergarten, and even live in the same university dorm at the present.

You both had almost 16 years to bring up anything remotely close to romantic feelings with each other and the closest to romantic-leaning affection that you got from him was the time he gave you a bouquet of roses, and he didn't even buy it for you originally.

It was in your 10th grade, when Valentine's Day gifts have finally reached normal status among the consciousness of your teen peers. Since Halloween, Beomgyu had been saving up his money to buy Yeeun from Class 4 a bouquet of roses—bribing you to pay for his lunch two out of five days in the week, singing and dancing his ass off at his family's Christmas and Lunar New Year parties for money, and working the afternoon shift at the neighborhood guitar store—only to chicken out at the last minute because Jaehyun from Class 6 had asked Yeeun to be his girlfriend in a very public proposal at the soccer field.

In a small class reunion last Christmas, Taehyun had asked about the whole ordeal, supported by the drunk cheerings of your former classmates at the memory of Beomgyu handing you the abnormally large bouquet by the school gate during dismissal almost five years ago.

"What else do you want to know about that?" You asked with a frown, feeling light-headed from all the barbecue and soju yourself. It was finals week for most of you as well, somehow making all the shots of peach-flavored alcohol taste sweeter and the stories bitterer. "You all know how it went: Gyu chickened out and didn't want to waste his hard-earned money on a girl who got a boyfriend that same day so he gave it to me before we went home."

"You also gave me half of the money to buy it! That's also an important detail!" Beomgyu slurred out to your right, leaning his head on your arm with a giggle and making you roll your eyes. "I thought, 'ya, this person bought me lunch for three months they kind of bought this bouquet so I'll just give it to them. That's only fair!'"

Yunjin raised a finger this time, as if making a shushing motion in the air as she took a long sip of her soju bottle across the table. "Okay but!" She exclaimed after slamming her bottle down, momentarily covering her mouth as she hiccuped before continuing. "You...you could've just gave it to your mom or something!"

"Auntie's allergic to flowers." You pointed out. "My dad also forgot to buy my mom flowers that time so I gave it to him when I got home. I technically saved two lives that day.”

"So it didn't spark anything?" Jeongin pointed to you then to Beomgyu who was contemplating on falling asleep on you by that point, clearly uninterested in this conversation you've had with the rest of the world a million times already. "Not even a little bit?"

Of course there were times over the years, at least on your part—moments where Beomgyu spent an hour too long in your childhood home when he just told you that his parents wanted him to come home at a certain time, filled a day with questionably sweet gestures only to bribe you with trouble after, or comforted you too well in your darkest moments among others that made your heart flutter more than it's supposed to.

You never told anyone about how on that day, you plucked out a single rose from the bouquet before secretly handing it to your dad as he cooked a quick Valentine's Day dinner for your mom. There was no denying that, even if he gave it to you under pitiful circumstances, it was still a sweet gesture. After Yeeun, he thought of giving it to you, the next immediate person and his best friend.

The red rose drank fresh water by your windowsill for three days until Beomgyu invited himself over for a cram session when you ended up hiding the flower shamefully under your bed and convincing yourself that you were just momentarily blinded by the principle of the gesture.

Though it accidentally wilted after you've forgotten about it amidst your busy high school schedule, you still keep the petals in a box under your bed as a reminder of all those moments you've thought you were starting to feel something for your best friend, only to snap yourself out of it after. You even had one of the petals made into a resin necklace by Yeji when she picked up on the hobby, wearing it everyday since without Beomgyu ever asking about it’s significance.

He just thinks you got it from the congratulatory bouquet the boys all pitched in to give when you won a sculpting competition at the university museum.

But as mentioned, you've mostly come to terms with the fact that you've known Beomgyu long enough to let a lot of opportunities to pass by, even if it pains you. Though romantic love doesn’t have to have an expiration date, you think you’ve been around your best friend long enough to know and accept that nothing is going to happen.

So to keep up appearances, you shook your head in front of your demanding friends that night at the reunion and teasingly pushed the sleeping Beomgyu to Taehyun's shoulder, much to everyone's disappointment.

"I've known him for all my life, literally. If something remotely romantic were to happen, it should've happened years ago." You grimaced before downing another shot of peach soju, that particular shot stinging a bit too much for your liking.

"But that's, like, the tricky thing with friends: you never really know when things are starting to be something else with one or both people." Sieun pointed out with a pout.

"Oh, I can assure you, it's not like that with us." You waved your hand dismissively in response before quickly going back to gathering your next mouthful of lettuce wrap. “Anyway, you guys have known us pretty well too. We just don’t match that way.”

Next to you, Beomgyu groaned seemingly in agreement as he stirred on Taehyun's shoulder, moving to lean on you again. "You're all so fucking noisy." He mumbled on the nook of your neck, hands encircling around your waist as he then pointed at the jug of water on the table. “If Y/N says it's not like that then it's not like that. So let me sleep and let Y/N eat their food!"

You shrugged at Sieun and Yunjin, smoothly shifting the conversation's focus to Sieun after before filling in a glass of water for Beomgyu as he’s requested.

"You're going to have a nasty hangover later, you know." You pointed out to him, making sure to keep your voice low knowing that he's sensitive to noise when he's drunk.

"You'll take care of me." He replied confidently with a boyish grin, more as a statement than a question. "Can I sleep over your dorm later? Hyuka won't let me in the room like this and Ryujin's already on vacation anyway."

You then rolled your eyes, knowing full well that you don’t have a choice anyway. "Sure, sure."

II. WE HAVE SHIT TASTE IN PEOPLE (AND IT WOULD BE AN INSULT TO OURSELVES IF WE START LIKING EACH OTHER)

The first time someone directly and publicly questioned Beomgyu's relationship with you, however, was at the traditional secret gathering your classmates had arranged in your two-day senior retreat just four years ago. On that night, after a whole day of tedious team-building activities and an evening of getting lectured by your teachers on house rules, most of Class 2 gathered at the boys' shared room for swiped alcohol and midnight snacks.

At that time, it was Daehwi who had asked and the context was the equally traditional game of truth or dare. When Beomgyu was picked for the second time that night, he surprisingly chose truth, prompting the question everyone has apparently been asking among themselves.

"Would you date Y/N?"

Beomgyu laughed. It was always his instinct to laugh whenever his own relatives asked the same question or when you would tell your own similar experiences but also because he saw you throwing your head back in laughter as well from where you were seated between Yunjin and Ryujin.

But what really solidifies this question as an inside joke between the two of you was the time when you watched When Harry Met Sally together at a sleepover in Beomgyu's house a year before the class retreat.

It was the classic friends to lovers romcom that you ended up watching in that particular sleepover in the first place because Yunjin mentioned that it reminded her of you and Beomgyu. So of course it had to be brought up before you could accidentally fall asleep on Beomgyu that night, you pointing to Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan before smacking Beomgyu in the head and asking the exact same question the boy would face at the senior retreat.

"Without thinking about all the gross couple shit like kissing or whatever," You gagged between your question, making Beomgyu roll his eyes and scoff. "would you date me?"

"First of all: gross—"

"That's why I said without all the couple stuff!"

"Still gross! Why would you think of that question!"

Back to the class retreat, once Beomgyu had calmed down from laughing and before Jeongin or Hueningkai could start leading the teasing on how you and your best friend reacted to the question in the same way at the same time, he said, "Y/N has shit taste in people. It'd be an insult to myself if they start liking me, even more if we do date."

You laughed even harder, repeating the words back to him. "Ya, you have shit taste in people too!"

Daehwi almost did a whole spit take with his glass of Cola while hearing your exchange. "Damn, you two are brutal with each other!"

Taehyun told Beomgyu later on that he felt as if that particular answer could be misinterpreted as the latter being mean to you. But your best friend was quick to explain that it's something you actually talked about in the aforementioned sleepover. You also backed him up on this over breakfast the next day when you sat with the two boys.

On the night of your sleepover, after you asked the question and Beomgyu was done making his teasing disgusted faces in front of you, he had said the exact same words for the first time and even elaborated on it.

And like Daehwi, you also almost did a spit take hearing it for the first time but your own glass of hot chocolate.

"You had a crush on Yeonjun two years ago before he was cool and you dated that annoying what's-her-name from the softball team who, by the way, cheated on you before you could even celebrate 100 days." The blunt 11th-grader Beomgyu said in front of your surprised face on that sleepover. "Ah, and don't get me started on that time you were swooning over that asshole Taejoon from Class 7 last semester because he sat next to you on the bus when I got the flu? You were crushing on a guy who thought he was jack shit and played with a lot of girls while I was almost dying in the hospital! Shit taste and inconsiderate!"

You and Beomgyu also did not forget to mention to Taehyun about how you almost smothered Beomgyu to death with a pillow in response, pausing the movie so Meg Ryan didn't have to see the crime you were about to do before tackling your best friend on the bed.

"Hey, Yeonjun's cool and Minji from softball really is an asshole but I didn't know Taejoon had a reputation in Class 7 back then! I just thought he was cute and really polite to the old ladies and the kids on the bus!" You retorted aggressively, smacking Beomgyu's face repeatedly with the Hello Kitty pillow he lent you for that night. "And I visited you with the boys and Yunjin after school while you were sick to catch you up in class, you ungrateful brat! I have shit taste but I'll never be inconsiderate to you!

"While we're at it, you also have shit taste, mind you! Pining after girls like Yeeun and Rina right when they start dating other people! Ah, and you dated that girl, Areum, in the 9th grade too even when everyone kept telling you that she was trying to get to Soobin through you! Shit taste and idiotic!"

Your college years would not spare the both of you from having more strings of failed romantic relationships just as much as it did not stop all the questions from friends, both new and old, about Beomgyu's relationship with you so the answer always remained the same: both of you have shit taste in people so dating each other would be somehow insults to yourselves.

But there are times, of course, when it would just be you and Beomgyu alone and, instead of the usual jokes and banter, he allows himself to be just slightly honest for the sake of his sanity and to make sure that you never feel as if he has some hidden ill-intent in always jokingly bringing up the uglier sides of your dating history.

In another sleepover at his house last summer, he didn't fight you when you decide on watching My Best Friend's Wedding and blurted out halfway, "As your own best friend, I think you deserve the best."

Though no one did a spit take this time, you did momentarily freeze while trying to tuck yourself in under the weighted blanket you were sharing. On his laptop perched comfortably on a foldable table, the movie was coincidentally at the part where Julia Roberts was delivering the iconic, "Choose Me” speech.

“I'll have to say this quick or I'm just going to have this massive coronary and then you'll never hear it and.....and....you have to. This is, by far the dumbest thing I've ever done in my entire life.” Julia Roberts dramatically delivered on the laptop screen as if filling in the silence. “Ugh—so dumb in fact—uh—that I can't...... oh but I'm gonna.”

“What’s wrong?” Her male lead, Dermont Mulroney, asked and Beomgyu felt like he should be asking that question to you when your silence started dragging on for too long.

When you did regain your composure, you chuckled nervously. "I-I mean yeah, I know, but...what's with that all of a sudden?" You furrowed your brows up at him.

And like he was mirroring you, Beomgyu also paused for a moment as he too contemplated on why he said it out of nowhere.

Meanwhile, Julia Roberts just continued delivering her lines flawlessly, filling in the silence between the two of you. “Michael......I love you. I've loved you for nine years. I've just been too arrogant and scared to realize it and, well, now I'm just scared. So I, I......realize that this comes at a very inopportune time. But I really have this gigantic favor to ask of you.” Though the sound coming in on your respective earphones was only at 75%, suddenly it felt louder the longer that Beomgyu didn't speak. “Choose me? Marry me. Let me make you happy.”

Beomgyu scratched the nape of his neck and smiled sheepishly, turning away for a second as you finally pause the movie and the light illuminates the side of his face a little too brightly.

“Oh God, please don’t tell me you’re gonna pull a Julia Roberts right now. You know—“

“What? No!"

“Then answer the question!”

"I just remembered, you know, how we always say that we won't date each other because we both have shitty taste in people and everything." He shrugged when he did explain himself, unconsciously sinking lower on the bed as he pressed his back harder on the bed frame behind you. "And I know it's a joke and all but I—I also think that you deserve better than someone like me...or Yeonjun, Soobin, Tae, and Hyuka.

“Though I guess it is hard to find someone better than us, especially me and Soobin, I think you should still look for someone who’s really kind, smart, and will never give you a hard time. You deserve someone who looks out for you and makes you feel like home but also like you’re flying.

“Someone who’s funny too but not too funny to upstage me! Just enough to get you through the dark times because you do get really stressed out these days. I—I don’t know, I guess I was just thinking about—about that, yeah…”

You relaxed your expression as he spoke, though a small pout remained. "Okay..." You pressed play on the laptop again with a laugh. "Random but okay.”

“I give my whole heart out to you in a speech and that’s all you have to say?”

“What else do you want me to say?” You scoffed and playfully nudged him away, earning you a dramatic wince from him. "With how you generally act around people I like, it's not that hard to figure out that it's because you think this way."

“Yeah but, I don’t know, maybe say it back to me too and comfort my lonely, lonely heart?” He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in response.

“I think that’s a you problem. We all tell you to just get yourself out there then you reject every person who throws themself at you.”

The boy feigned a glare next. “I’m going to kill you in your sleep later.”

“Fine.” You rolled your eyes, moving carefully on the bed to face him fully. “You deserve someone infinitely better than me too. Someone gorgeous—not just pretty!—and smart enough to keep your dumbass in check and just overall awesome, but not too awesome, of course! I’m literally the coolest person you’ll ever meet…ever!”

"Oh you flatter me, Y/N!" He exclaimed dramatically with his hands to his chest, smiling when you snorted and turned your attention back to the laptop again to press play on the movie.

Though he partly thinks otherwise—that it’s impossible that there’s someone out there infinitely better than you overall—he does agree that you are the coolest person in his life.

"You're so annoying." You mumbled under your breath and he quickly retaliated by pinching your cheek affectionately. "Ya!"

"You love me."

"I know right, how will I even find someone better than you?" You teased but Beomgyu's observant enough to understand that you only mean it halfway.

"Maybe you won't?" He teased back with a wink. "I know for sure no one's better than you."

"Shut up."

III. WE ARE EXTREME OPPOSITES (AND WE ANNOY EACH OTHER A LOT)

If you were to be asked about the things that annoy you about Beomgyu and vice versa, you both would probably need a month of preparation and a year each just to list everything you've come up with. Sure, you’ve known each other for a long enough time to be comfortable in each other’s presence but that doesn’t make everyday perfect as there are still instances when you get the undeniable urge to smack him in the head or dropkick him for being insufferable.

If you were to make a top five shortlist, however, the fact that Beomgyu has no concept of personal space when it comes to you would take the cake—pinching your cheeks, holding your hand whenever a remotely attractive person passes you by, always putting his legs on top of yours, hugging you to death, and always headlocking you when you meet up among others.

But beyond that, ever since he got comfortable with initiating skinship with you around the 3rd grade, he's also somehow managed to convince himself that he had the right to be all up in your personal business too even when you didn't want him to—from simple things like stealing your food, spamming you with messages the second you don't reply as quickly as he'd like, to always having insisting that he accompanies you whenever you mention going to a new place, online stalking anyone you find interesting, randomly popping up at the studio in the Fine Arts department, and loosely keeping tabs on people you hang out with.

There have been times, however, when Beomgyu’s nosiness has actually saved you from a date or unwanted attention in public and even comforted you. In elementary and high school, whenever you’re allowed to pick groupmates, he’s always ready with gossip about everyone’s work ethic for some reason. Whenever a creep at the mall or at a party would try to hit on you, he’s always by your side ready with a glare and all intent to report the creep to the authorities. And even when he’s a shit drunk, he’s always aware enough to defend you whenever your friends pick on you.

But more importantly, as the more reserved person between the two of you, Beomgyu’s always the one who’s forcing you to open up to at least one person when you’re down (aka him).

The first sleepover that the two of you ever had was in the 6th grade when Beomgyu invited himself over to your house and stayed up with you until 3 AM to finish a Science project your three other groupmates basically gave up on. You never asked him to do it, just complained about it over lunch once, then suddenly he was barging in your house with his own stationary and your Science teacher already notified of how your groupmates have been slacking the past two weeks.

“Why did you do that?” You pouted after turning in your finished paper online. Fortunately for the two of you that time, it was a Friday and sleeping in wasn’t going to be an issue, especially for 6th grader Beomgyu who had the tendency to sleep the whole day. “I could’ve just told Mrs. Kim on Monday myself.”

Beomgyu shrugged as he fluffed the pillows and arranged your plushies on the bed. He hasn’t had his sudden growth spurt at that time so fitting in your old bed frame was still fairly easy then. “Knowing you and how long your groupmates have been bailing on you, you’d probably chicken out if Yunjin or I don’t do it ourselves or push you to do it.”

“No—“

“You know I’m right.“

You glared at him then, standing up from your desk to punch his arm. “I hate you.”

But he only rolled his eyes. “Then next time, I’ll try to not meddle that much anymore. Just…when our classmates are taking advantage of your kindness like this again, report it immediately, okay?” He nagged, his voice soft while his expression was determined. “Even if you don’t tell me directly, I know you’ve been having a hard time with that even more this year for some reason and, knowing you, you’d rather suck it up because you think you’re bothering people when you bring it up when you’re not.”

“That’s not true.”

“Y/N.” He squinted his eyes and pursed his lips.

You scoffed, climbing in the bed and laying down on the side next to the wall. “Okay, maybe sometimes it’s true.”

“Y/N.” He repeated your name in the same tone, lying next to you with your teddy bear in his arms. "Ms. Fluffy doesn't think so and I kind of agree with her."

You rolled your eyes in response, Beomgyu catching the gesture before he could turn off your bedside lamp. “Fine, fine. I admit it, I wasn’t—I wasn’t planning to tell Mrs. Kim because I thought my groupmates would get mad and think of me as a nuisance.” You winced at the admission, lifting your blanket up to your nose.

But Beomgyu was quick to stop your hand, flicking your forehead after. “Stop doing that. You literally did half of your paper, even the parts you weren’t assigned to. You’re far from a nuisance.” He retorted, tucking Ms. Fluffy the teddy bear next to you. “And Mrs. Kim’s job is literally to make sure we’re not having a hard time learning, she’d understand.”

That time, and most times when Beomgyu would be the one nagging you, you felt like shrinking under his fierce gaze. “I don’t want to get into trouble with anyone in class—“

“I’d fight anyone off for you if that happens."

“But I can handle myself if ever!”

“Now, you’re just contradicting yourself.” He pointed out with a chuckle, settling down next to you. “Just...next time, okay? You should never suffer in silence by choice, you’re better than that.”

You had no choice but to nod in agreement and fulfill your promise that very next Monday, talking to Mrs. Kim yourself to elaborate on the incident further with Beomgyu holding your hand the entire time.

Most of the time, it's sweet and thoughtful that your best friend looks out for you out of genuine concern. You can’t admit it to his face, knowing he’ll tease you endlessly for it, but you like Beomgyu having his full attention on you most of the time and how he can literally rival your family as the person who knows you best.

But alas, there are still numerous instances when it's caused you more harm than good to disastrous levels.

At the top of your head, there was that incident in the summer before your sophomore year when Yeji first set you up on a blind date with Theo, a friend of a friend from the Vocal Performance department.

You even made sure that Beomgyu wouldn't get anywhere near your bowling date, threatening all of your mutual friends to keep the agenda a secret over message (and free food for Taehyun and Hueningkai) and scheduling the date on the same weekend Beomgyu was going to take an exam for one of his summer classes.

However, when Theo briefly left you alone in your lane to buy snacks, a familiar mop of brown hair, black hoodie, and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses suddenly whooshed in your peripheral vision, followed by two figures in hoodies you unmasked at the end of the night as Yeonjun and Soobin.

Another annoying thing that Beomgyu does is that when he’s “investigating” something—whether it’s a friend’s date or that time everyone thought Taehyun was secretly seeing someone—he always brings the same get-up of hoodie and thick-rimmed glasses along as "disguise." It's a stupid idea that first came to him when Yunjin went on her very first date in high school that he never bothered to change even when everyone started catching on, making it easier to spot him in your surroundings.

Though he didn't approach you until you approached him back in your dorms, it was still unnerving to spot him, Yeonjun, and Soobin playing five lanes away from you and your date. Their glances felt heavy on your back as the night went on.

"He was literally in two of your classes last semester. It's not like he's some stranger to you." You frowned at Beomgyu after letting Yeonjun and Soobin go with an earful of a speech of their own. Though you and Theo agreed that you clicked better as friends, you still lectured and nagged at your three friends in your dorm's communal kitchen with Beomgyu staying an hour longer than the other two. "How did you even get to the bowling alley? I thought you have an exam tonight?"

"My exam was only until 7 PM so I got Yeonjun to drive us to the bowling alley as soon as I got out. It was a celebratory thing for me too! That English final really kicked me in the ass, if you must know." Beomgyu answered with a pout, hands deep in his hoodie pockets and his glasses slipping on his nose. "And even if I do know Theo in passing, I don't know him that way. He’s more Yeji’s friend than mine. What if he was a shit dude when it comes to dates? What if he stood you up tonight or something?"

"You say that for all the people I like."

Beomgyu waved his hand dismissively in defense. "I only say that to the objectively trashy ones and the ones I don’t know enough about. Theo’s under the second category.”

"Still! You get what I mean!" You frowned as you smacked him on the back of his head, earning you a wince from him. "Gyu, once, just one date where you leave me alone. No disguises and no spam texts. Can you do that?"

There's a long pause that followed after with Beomgyu opening his mouth a couple of times only to close it back again, keeping you on edge for what felt like forever but was only for around five minutes.

He never told you what he was going to say at first or if he was even thinking of something else to say, you can just easily infer that it's different from what he actually ended up saying with the way his expression softened right before he finally spoke.

"Only if you tell me more about these things before you actually go on them. Even just the basic things are fine.” He frowned this time, crossing his arms. Even without you scanning every inch of his face, his expression easily gave away to the fact that he was thinking of saying something else but was trying his best to hold back. “I’m...I'm worried, okay? I don’t want you getting in trouble.”

"You know I can handle myself. We've been through this hundreds of times, I'm not that kid from the 4th grade who couldn't tell on my shit groupmates." You interjected, crossing your arms in front of the taller boy. "Anyway, if I ever need help, you're always the first one I'll call, you already know that."

He pouted down at you. "Sure?"

And you nodded with a laugh at his ridiculous expression, uncrossing your arms as you couldn't fight the amusement creeping up on you whenever Beomgyu tries to act cute anymore. "Positive."

So on the next two blind dates that Yeji set up for you that summer, you were pretty sure that Beomgyu only kept tabs on you through text as the hoodie and glasses were nowhere to be seen when you and your dates went out.

♡

On Beomgyu’s end, if he were to pick a top one habit of yours that he finds the most annoying it would be your tendency to hide your artworks from him until it’s finished when he’s always showing you his drafts.

Much like how you often try hiding your burdens, troubles, and blind dates from him, you often ban Beomgyu from seeing your drafts and sketches until the work itself is done which, as a fellow artist, makes him want to sneak up on you even more.

Especially when you think that you’ll be working on a particular project for a long time or if it’s in a medium you haven’t tried before, you’d often be blocking Beomgyu from seeing a peek of your plans out of a weird superstition that you might not finish anything if you hear a comment from him too early.

As your musician best friend who’s always showing you his own work even when it’s still disjointed lyrics and melodies in his head, Beomgyu sometimes thinks that you don’t trust him enough in something important as your own art. Without you knowing, it hurts him a bit sometimes because it’s as if he can’t be useful for you in that sense when you're always his most trusted critic when it comes to his music.

“It’s not like I can possibly make a bad comment.” Beomgyu insisted sometime during midterms as you talked over your senior thesis projects over dinner. It was almost 2 AM in your dorm’s communal kitchen, your mugs only half-filled with lukewarm chocolate when the boy asked if he could take a peek at your sketchbook after letting you hear some of his new music. “With you and your art? Impossible to make any bad comments I’m telling you!”

“Eh, but—“ Maybe it was the tiredness from having been up for 24 hours straight, trying to stay on top of your piling requirements, that unlike your usual response to Beomgyu’s pouting and puppy eyes, you decided to blurt out, “I just—I don’t know…I think too highly of your opinion.”

Beomgyu was effectively rendered frozen and speechless, missing the way you slouched your shoulders and hid your face behind your hair after your confession. “I—what?”

“Don’t make me repeat it.” You deadpanned, taking another sip of your chocolate next to him. At least with your shoulders touching, you couldn't see the way his expression unconsciously softened while listening to you. "It's already embarrassing enough as it is."

“But…but why?”

“Why what?”

“Why would you think highly of my opinion? It’s just me.” Beomgyu chuckled nervously, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment as he spoke. “Not like I’m a professional artist or whatever.”

“Do I really have to say it?”

Beomgyu nodded, pursing his lips. "I'm being serious right now." He pretended to squint his eyes and furrow his brows and you rolled your eyes in response.

With a sigh, you then answered. “It’s exactly because you’re you. You’re Choi Beomgyu, the annoying kid from the neighborhood who just decided one day that he’d join me at the plastic tables in the playground when he saw me drawing flowers on my mom's notepad. The one who bought me my first oil paint set for Christmas in the 7th grade because he said he noticed how much I enjoyed it in our Art class. The one who always adds more compliments to my work along with actually helpful feedback even when I ask for criticisms only because he’s too nice for his own good but he’s also very intuitive.

“You…annoying as it is, you’re kind of very important in my art and it makes me nervous sometimes to show you anything before it’s complete because I think it has to be perfect and totally not disappointing even when you first see it. I only want you to see good things from me...”

While the silence that followed felt like an hour for you, it felt like forever in Beomgyu's mind as his thoughts flew to the memories as you mentioned them.

Much like you, he can also vividly remember how exactly you befriended each other at the playground then, when he complimented your doodle of the daisy bushes by the swings because you drew them a little too well for a five-year-old with broken crayons and an unsharpened pencil. You even complained to him that you can render the flowers better if you just didn't forget your sharpener at home, leading to a whole conversation that you continued at the swings where he offered to push you for the rest of that afternoon.

He remembers that 7th grade Christmas when he picked your name for the class Secret Santa and didn't even have to read more on the wishlist below your name because he was already set on buying you an oil paint set and some brushes to go with it outside of the classroom. He knew you were saving up to buy it in the summer yourself but he also knew that it'd make you even happier to get it six months earlier so it was easy for him to take money from his own savings that were supposed to go on a new ukulele.

But more importantly, his mind lingers to a memory you didn't mention, to that day outside of the teacher's lounge when you were first filling in your college applications. While your other friends were talking animatedly about what they were planning to do after your high school graduation, you were unusually quiet next to Beomgyu as you filled out your application which quickly prompted him to ask if you were okay.

"What did you put in your program?" He had asked after, leaning his head on your shoulder only for you to cover the top half of your application with your hands. "Ya, I want to see!"

"No, it's embarrassing!" You protested, moving the form away from his peering eyes when his hand tries to reach for it. "You'll know later anyway if I pass Seoul University!"

"You mean 'when' you pass." He corrected, resting his chin on your shoulder this time before peering up at you. "And why are you embarrassed over your program? It's not the most embarrassing choice you've made in front of me."

"Ya!"

"So what is it?"

You leaned away from him and Beomgyu found it weirdly strange to be on eye-level with you while seated after he's suddenly grown almost a head taller than you over the summer. "I might...do a double degree on Painting and Sculpture."

"What's embarrassing about that? If anything, I'd be surprised if those two are nowhere near your top five options." He raised a brow almost instinctively. "Y/N, a double degree's impressive as hell!"

"It's just that..." You stumbled shyly over your words, scratching the nape of your neck. "I don't know, it's a shot in the dark. It's not like I'm that good like how you're great with your music."

"That's bullshit. You've always been talented and hardworking when it comes to your art. If anything, it's me who's always trying to catch up with you." He countered immediately, sitting up straight with a serious expression on his face. "And it's something you love and want to learn more of so why would it be embarrassing? Be confident and own your passions, Y/N."

"They might not actually see that if I don't do well in the exams and the portfolio I turn in. For all we know, I suck compared to other people."

"You literally just won a mural competition last summer." Beomgyu rolled his eyes. "Admissions would be dumb to reject you."

Looking back on that memory almost four years ago, the revelation of what you really think of him makes Beomgyu's head spin that he had to quickly snap himself back to reality when you downed the last of your chocolate and mumbled how opening up was a mistake to yourself.

"I'm going to bed." You announced, rubbing your eyes tiredly and clutching your mug to your chest.

Before you could leave the table, however, Beomgyu quickly grabs onto your arm. "Wait, wait, no!"

"I'm tired as shit. You can rub my emotional comments on my face tomorrow morning."

"It's not that." Beomgyu frowned, tugging on your arm for you to sit down again. When you hesitantly follow along with him, he then continued, "It's just...is that why you tried hiding your application form from me back then?"

"I mean, I wasn't as confident in myself then as I am now and I had my other doubts about taking the program itself but...yeah, I guess." You shrugged slowly, looking everywhere but him. "I also thought that if I take both Painting and Sculpture, I have to make you proud no matter what."

On any other day, he would've teased you for it but he knew you'd probably smack his head on the table in that moment. So, instead, he held back on a smile and nudged you gently on the shoulder. "You make me proud no matter what you do." He assured. "And, if you must know, I also think highly of your opinion on my music...I guess we just show it in different ways.

"And if you're not ready to show me some of your new projects yet, it's okay. I can wait for all of them because I know they'll all turn out great."

You then looked up at him with raised brows. "Even if I make you wait until graduation for some of them?"

"I might ask Ryujin or Soobin to take photos of your progress for me if I have to wait that long." He joked, making you chuckle. "You know, the usual."

"Sure you will." You scoffed before picking up his mug on the table and standing up again. "Dude, come on, we really have to go to bed."

IV. WE KEEP SECRETS FROM EACH OTHER

It's not to say, however, that there aren't any instances when your roles are unwittingly reversed. Beomgyu also closes himself off from you and everyone else from time to time and you naturally end up being the nosy one banging on his door and demanding for him to at least let you know that he's eating well.

It's often when Beomgyu's stressed—when there's too much work to be done, especially in his music, or when he suddenly finds himself in a problem that he unusually doesn't share with you at the first encounter.

In these moments, you usually start noticing a week before he could even lock himself in his room and isolate himself from all of your friends. Especially since university began when you'd mostly meet in the day at lunch with your friends, he'd stop pestering you to elaborate more on a story you'd tell half-heartedly but he'll still hold your hand under the tables in front of all of your friends, squeezing it more often than usual out of anxiety.

And his smile never reaches his eyes when he's stressed, the same way his laugh would be quieter, an easy giveaway that he's going through something he's decided to keep on his own.

So as someone who's noticed his patterns over the years, you let him be at first, squeezing his hand back and initiating all the jokes in the group for him to finish with the punchline so he doesn't linger too much in his own thoughts.

Then when Hueningkai or Soobin do message you that Beomgyu hasn't left his room except to go to only half of his classes, you're quick to come up to his dorm with takeout and whatever project you're working on, knowing that what he really needs best in these moments is company.

There's times when Beomgyu acts extra bratty and doesn't let you in his personal space for a couple of days, a week at most like the time he was so stressed about Toto getting sick back in your Freshman year. It takes a lot of time out of your week and money from your weekly allowance buying him food but you wait patiently by his door anyway, catching up on your studies on the hallway floor if you're at the dorms or outside his room back in your neighborhood and occasionally knocking on his door to ensure that he's still alive.

But when he does let you in, opening the door just wide enough for you to see his bloodshot tired eyes and a blanket over his head, you take the initiative to open the door wider and hug him before anything else.

You almost never initiate skinship as much as you never share things until they're prodded out of you by Beomgyu, he knows that well so that's exactly what you do when you first see him in this state. All the time.

You don't speak until he lets you go and you're allowed to occupy his space with him. Back in your old neighborhood, you would put your things on his desk next to his own and work quietly until he decides to open up to you on his own accord.

Since college started, however, things have been slightly different in that once you're in the room, you'd sit on his bed first and let him hug you until he's ready to talk. If his roommate, Hueningkai, would be there at the end of the day, you'd throw a shoe at the younger boy and ask him to come back after dinner with the promise that you'd play Mario Kart with him the next weekend.

When Beomgyu's stressed, he likes it better when it's just the two of you, your exact opposite since you'd rather have all of your close friends with you on a hangout when you're in a similar state of mind.

The most stressed Beomgyu has been in college was when he was finishing the first official album for TXT, the band he formed with Yeonjun, Soobin, Taehyun, and Hueningkai in the summer before your freshman year. It was in the second semester of your junior year, when both of you were also preparing for internship applications on top of academics and the clubs piling one on top of each other that you sort of saw this coming as soon as you felt stressed out yourself.

Beomgyu only let you in his dorm room on your fifth day of camping out, crying out his frustrations on your shoulders for almost two hours that you had to change into one of his shirts after and ask Hueningkai to bring up a whole pitcher of water for your best friend to drink over dinner.

"I—I...I just...I can't! I can't finish the songs! I'm going insane!" He exclaimed on your shoulder, his cries muffled against you but you don't mind as you continue rubbing his back in circles and reminding him to breathe. "And...and nothing's been going my way these days! Not in my classes, not in the radio show or on the soccer team! I'm just...I'm just so out of it, Y/N!"

You hummed comfortingly, carefully moving both him and yourself so you're both sitting up properly once more. You then pointed to his open laptop and computer screens on the desk across the room with a small smile, "I can see your progress from here, though. You've been doing well. You're trying and getting things done, that's what matters."

"It's not all that good..."

You shook your head almost immediately, handing him another pack of tissues you've brought with you before discarding the used ones in the nearby trash bin. "Yes, it is! I've heard the drafts before you locked yourself up in here, they're all great." You retorted, tilting your head when he buries his face in the crook of your neck once more. "I think I like Thursday's Child Has Far To Go and Maze in the Mirror the most. They're very you.

"And about your classes and clubs, just take your time with them. Soobin and I e-mailed some of your profs already, Jeongin and Tae are handling the radio show well, and I'm sure Sunwoo and the rest of the soccer team would understand your absence for now.

"For now, just do what you want to do. Rest if you want to rest. If you want to focus on the band, then that's fine too. Everything will align themselves in time, just please don't forget to take care of yourself."

"And if they don't? Align themselves in time, I mean?"

His breathing was ragged then from all of the crying and his eyes the reddest and puffiest you've ever seen them. You figured from then on that you really hate seeing Beomgyu cry in frustration the most.

"They will, I promise. They always do with you." You replied without thinking, hesitantly patting his head and gently wiping his tears with your thumbs. "And you know I'll stay with you here until you're satisfied with your progress. Or at least for a couple of days because I have tons of presentations next week."

He sniffled a bit, spraying his hands with alcohol and adjusting the blanket wrapped around him. "W-What are you going to work on in a bit?"

You scoffed, already expecting that he'd ask. "I brought a project for my Sculpture II class, if that's okay. I also brought newspapers so I don't make a mess on the floor." You answered anyway, chuckling when his eyes immediately lit up. "You've been bugging me about it so I thought I can show you the my progress just this once to cheer you up."

And as if a light switch was turned, the glossiness previously in his eyes suddenly looked like sparkles as he sat up straight. "I could smother your face in kisses right now."

"Wipe that snot off of your nose first." You pretended to cringe when he dramatically opened his arms wide and puckered his lips. At that moment, you immediately knew that he was feeling a bit better, at least. "Geez, sometimes, I think you just sulk sometimes to get me to come here and show you my works early."

"I'm not that evil!" He pouted, taking the weighted blanket off of his back and getting off the bed. "Though, now that you've suggested it..."

A pillow then quickly landed on his face. "Choi Beomgyu!"

So you spent three nights at Beomgyu and Hueningkai's dorm room, working on a bust of Yeonjun (it's a long story involving you losing a bet to him at your last group hangout) on the floor while Beomgyu finished the final edits to TXT's songs. You then go back to your own dorm room before breakfast to freshen up for your class then come back again after your classes, often around 4 PM.

And when Beomgyu finally caught up with his classes and extra-curriculars, he surprised you with an invitation to TXT's surprise album launch over a month later.

Another thing about Beomgyu is that he's strangely great with surprises, preparing elaborate plans for occasions like your birthday, the holidays, or when he's bounced back from a difficult situation right under your nose.

Initially, the boys only told you that they'd release the album after finals week and play it at the year-end school festival, the first time they would be performing a full set of original songs. Though you, Yeji, Ryujin, and Yunjin insisted that they should do a proper album launch, all five of the boys just kept saying excuses or shifting the topic to something else.

On your last official school day for that semester, however, you suddenly received a notification from TXT's social medias about a surprise album launch at a cafe you frequent with all of your friends and a personal message from Beomgyu telling you to come over 30 minutes before the show.

So in retaliation, you made sure to stop over at the nearest flower shop with the girls and surprise Beomgyu with at least a congratulatory bouquet of roses, the same size as the one he gave you all of those years ago.

Said bouquet almost getting ruined when Beomgyu hugged you the moment you entered the cafe.

"You came!" He exclaimed giddily on your neck, almost toppling you to the ground as his arms encircled your waist. "You came! You came! You came!"

You scoffed, taking a moment to regain your footing as you rested your cheek against your best friend and carefully held the bouquet behind his head. "Of course I'd come. I'm your number one fan."

"Sure you are." He feigned a sniffle before tilting his head away to press a kiss to your cheek. "But still, thank you for coming. This means a lot to me."

"I know."

"You helped finished this album."

"I doubt that. I just worked with you in silence for three days straight."

He shook his head fervently, pulling away from you fully by then and leading you to the makeshift stage across the room. "You helped me refocus and get back on my feet so I can finish everything. I think you helped big time." He retorted before picking up his guitar from its stand. "Anyway, I have another surprise!"

"I only got you one." You feigned a frown while shaking the bouquet in your hands, making him chuckle before occupying the empty high stool next to him. "I'll have to get back at you again after this."

"You're already doing so much for me coming here tonight. And you bought me really expensive flowers!" He assured, strumming the guitar a few times. When you then opened your mouth to retort, he quickly interjected, "Anyway, I wrote this song for you! I'm still thinking if I want us to perform this later but I really just want to play it for you right now before anything."

So in the middle of that cafe, while your friends ran around preparing the decorations and doing soundchecks, Beomgyu sang his song, "Nap of a Star," with his guitar on his lap and his phone with the lyrics on the music stand.

"I can see even without you in front of me. I feel you, even without saying anything. Because I believe in you, even if I'm anxious

"I can touch even without you in front of my eyes. I reach even if you go far away from me. Just by remembering you, my heart always dances like before

"I want to become your nap and dream together always as if nothing happened. The evening sunset and the darkened night sky, my heart is full of you."

He occasionally giggled and fumbled on the guitar a bit everytime he glanced over in your general direction but he finished the song with you nearly in tears, something you instinctively hid by smacking him in the arm once the guitar was out of the way.

"You jerk! You wrote that for me? Are you sure?" You exclaimed, rapidly blinking back tears. "And I only got you flowers today! God, you're making me look like a bad friend!"

He rolled his eyes, getting down from the high stool and standing in front of you. With your own chair's height, you were easily at eye-level with him as he smiled at you. "I already told you, just coming over to hear us is already enough. Don't worry about it." He assured. "Anyway, what did you think of the song?"

"It's beautiful, of course." You scoffed half-heartedly, making him chuckle. "Was that night walk in the lyrics about—?"

"That night walk at the art fair? Yeah." He grinned shyly, rubbing the nape of his neck.

Once, in the 9th grade, you had a big fight with Beomgyu over Areum, at that point his ex-girlfriend. What you both do remember the most about it is how it happened on the week before a planned trip to an art fair in the busier district of Seoul that you were really excited about.

Though you were pretty sure that you weren't on speaking terms with him that time, he still showed up at the bus stop on the day itself, prompting you to apologize to each other before heading to the art fair together.

"You were crying like shit in public that we had to move to a more secluded area because people were looking. Then, you almost choked me to death with your hug." You recalled in confusion. "Not like I was any better but..."

"I put it in because I really thought our friendship was over then." He explained with a pout. "Then the first words we told each other when you saw me at the bus stop were apologies and...ah, it's very cheesy but I just think back to that time whenever I miss you. I think it's one of those moments I remember when I think of our bond."

You smack him again, this time directly on his chest, but the tears also flow freely this time. "God, you're so...you're so poetic and annoying! And you're making me cry!"

"I take that as a win." He laughed deeply as he hugged you, one hand rubbing your back soothingly while the other cupped your face and wiped your tears gently.

"How can you even say those things without crying? We've been friends for almost 16 years, damn it, Gyu." You mumbled in his plaid shirt, hugging him back. "I-I really love the song…”

"Years of practice on how to say it properly, actually." He joked half-heartedly, rubbing your back even more and mumbling to a passing Soobin something about the last preparations for the album launch. "That's why I do all the talking for us."

V. I LOVE YOU TOO MUCH

Your thesis for your Painting degree, you realize right before the Winter break this senior year, is the perfect surprise to get back at Beomgyu. While you've briefly mentioned that you'll have to take an extra year to complete your Sculpture degree's senior thesis, you're focusing on your Painting degree in your 4th year and have miraculously kept it under wraps from everyone including your best friend because everything's been hidden in your laptop and at the studios.

At the same time, it sort of fits. Though overall, most of the studies, actual finished works, and research you've done so far for your thesis are focused on human relationships overall, traces of Beomgyu have been slipping in here and there, reminding you that it's quite hard to paint anything about your friends or your first love without him.

He's in the series of studies you did of all of your friend groups, in a watercolor rendition of the faces you remember from your old neighborhood's playground, and even in a charcoal rendition of your favorite romance book characters as your thesis advisor suggested that you try and explore.

And he's in even more finished works and abandoned sketches way before that, some you unconvered in your old binders while researching for your thesis.

It could just be the extra hustle and bustle of your senior year, with you and all of your friends busier than ever as you work on your final year. Not to mention, you still have to prepare balancing a job at the university museum with your fifth year classes next year and Beomgyu's been busy putting out new music with TXT and discussing a junior producer position at an entertainment company.

But it's been almost a whole month since you last went to a proper lunch (one that isn't jut coffee and convenience store ramen) with any of your friends which is a whole record for you and Beomgyu, in particular. You're probably just missing the guy a bit too much these days that even just getting his daily cheer up messages has been messing with your thoughts all over again.

(Not that it doesn't mess you up on any normal day. It's just a tad bit extra now that you haven't seen his face around in a while)

So when you brought up to your thesis advisor the idea of painting a portrait of Beomgyu, the studies of which you would gift him for Christmas then remake as a proper oil painting for your thesis after the Winter break, there wasn't much of a complaint on her part.

Hell, you might even suspect that Prof Kim, a mentor whom you've also had in past studio classes, has been secretly rooting for you this whole time after years of always seeing Beomgyu randomly pop up around the department building.

"And what kind of relationship will a portrait of Choi Beomgyu represent in your exhibit?" She asked on Monday with a teasing glint in her eyes, a copy of your project research in her hands.

Your face heated up in an instant as you fumbled over your words, something you quickly excuse as a reaction related to the snow outside. "I—well...I'll figure that out later which I know is a cop out answer academically but I'll connect it to something in my RRL later, I promise!"

Prof Kim chuckled, closing her binder. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Personally, I think you already have it in your RRL and project proposal, you just need to make a more explicit mention of your friend in the paper moving forward since he'll be a subject in one of your finished works."

You nodded sheepishly, quickly gathering your things and standing up to bow at your advisor. "I'll e-mail you my progress again next week before the break!"

"No, no, it's okay! Just e-mail me after the holidays, I won't deduct grades or anything!"

A few days later, you're on the floor of your dorm room with Ryujin and Yeji cramming their own choreographies for their respective senior theses in another corner of the room while you finished your second study of Beomgyu, using your most recent photos as a reference.

The small 12x16 canvas you were working on sat comfortably on an equally small easel on your work desk, another canvas of the same dimensions drying by the windowsill next to a pile of old photos at the same time. Since your thesis would only require photos of your studies, you figured that you can give all of them to Beomgyu then make an extra oil painting of the two of you, knowing that he'd probably shy away (after making egotistical jokes, of course) if it's all just him.

"So what would the final painting be?" Ryujin suddenly asked as Yeji pauses the music for a five-minute break, approaching you as she drinks a bottle of cold water. "They're all so different."

You glanced over your shoulder and frown. "That's the thing, I'm not really sure how I want to paint him in the final work."

"Why?" Yeji asked this time, sitting cross-legged on a nearby mat.

You shrugged in response. "I don't know. Honestly, I thought if I do some studies, I'd get a clearer idea but I'm already three paintings in and I still have no plan of action for the one that actually counts to a grade." You sighed, turning your attention back to your unfinished painting.

"At least you have the Christmas gift ready!" Ryujin half-heartedly joked, sitting on an empty chair next to you. On your peripheral vision, you also caught Yeji nodding with a hopeful smile. "You don't have to paint the final work until after the break, anyway."

"Yeah, but it's the one that's going to be displayed at the exhibit at the end of the year." You pointed out matter-of-factly, carefully finishing the last layer of your painting. "And it has to be perfect."

"Maybe you can work something out over the break? You're going home to your neighborhood with Beomgyu and spending more time with him, anyway." Yeji suggested next. "Maybe then you'll have a clearer idea, hm?"

And Yeji was definitely right, as she always is, when you do go home to your old neighborhood with Beomgyu after the last official school day of the semester and find yourself hanging out in his childhood bedroom on the days leading up to Christmas much like the old days.

The idea comes to you on the afternoon of Christmas Eve almost two weeks later, when you invited yourself at the Choi's once more to listen to TXT's new songs and catch up with Toto. You sat cross-legged on Beomgyu's bed with your own earphones connected to his laptop and a live-sketch of the boy in his favorite green plaid shirt and freshly cut and dyed black hair on your lap.

Glancing over at him and seeing the way his eyes sparkled as you listened to "Way Home," it was a rather quick revelation to you that the best way to paint your best friend is in his most comfortable state. Just like this: when it's just the two of you drawing and listening to music, basking in the comfort of each other's company.

So you looked back at him again as the song transitioned to "Blue Hour," trying to take in as much of his features in that moment as much as you can. The faint sunlight coming in through the fogged up windows, Beomgyu's messy hair and skewed reading glasses, his hand propped up on his desk as he rested his cheek on his palm, his brows furrowed slightly in concentration as he worked only to consciously soften them when he looks at you, the way he talked animatedly about certain parts of the song with a boyish but proud grin on his lips.

Before you can even listen to the third song, you were already placing your hand on his upper arm and asking him to stay still for a moment.

"Why?" He asked, blinking twice while his hands go to pausing the song on his laptop anyway.

"I'm trying to memorize your face in this light." You answered absentmindedly, turning to a fresh page on your sketchbook and looking at him for a minute longer before removing your hand from him. "Okay."

"Okay?" He chuckled nervously. "What was that for? Are you going to send the mafia to kill me or something?"

You rolled your eyes, folding your knees closer to your chest to hide your sketchbook as you start anew. "It's a secret."

He then tried peering over your shoulder, moving the chair he was sitting on closer to the bed. "Are you drawing me?"

"Maybe." You teased with a smirk before pulling the sketchbook closer to your chest when he tried peering again. "Play the next song, Gyu."

Painting him in another solo portrait then on one of the two of you after that was relatively quick and easy as you finished your final gifts on Christmas Day while Beomgyu and his family went to a reunion out of town. While the last painting study, the one you'll render to a bigger canvas after the break, is him looking back at you fondly on that Christmas Eve afternoon, the additional painting of the two of you was from a candid photo Taehyun took when Beomgu played you Nap of a Star.

So now, here you are, in your room this time with the portraits gift-wrapped on the foot of your bed while your best friend handed you a late Christmas gift of his own.

"I was going to make it on my computer at first since everyone was sending in pictures on chats but then Yeonjun said that it might end up looking like the slideshows you have at funerals even with my superior editing skills." Beomgyu explained with a nervous chuckle as you unwrapped the gift, finding a thick scrapbook of all of your memories and mementos growing up. "Since everything else of you that I have—the pictures, the craft store receipts, Lotte World tickets, and everything—are all in boxes at home and at the dorms, I just thought I'd print the pictures I got from our friends and instead of scanning the things I already have then make it into a physical scrapbook.

"You did always say that you want to make one someday but we never really had the time so I thought I'd start it for you and, surprisingly, there are too many things in my own space that are yours or remind me of you."

You browse through the abnormally thick book in surprise and amusement, not even knowing that Beomgyu's kept even the simplest scraps of paper related to you after all these years. From the pictures his mom took of the two of you for every first day of school until the 12th grade to the candid photos he's taken of you over the years on his phone (regardless of how unflattering they are—you make sure to smack him in the arm everytime you come across one as you continue browsing) to notes you'd leave on his locker whenever he missed school and all the Christmas tags you've put on your previous gifts, it's the most detailed history of the two of you from when you met up until the present, complete with small captions handwritten by the boy himself.

So much so that you even linger on some of the pages you never thought you'd see, including the sketch you drew that day on the playground, the first note he passed you in class in the 1st grade, and a copy of the front page of the Science paper you crammed with him in the 6th grade.

"How did you even get some of these?" You ask, pointing to a photo of the two of you from your first Christmas together you somehow forgot existed. It was in the 1st grade when the Chois had to cancel going to their annual family reunion because of Mr. Choi's work so your families ended up watching the neighborhood fireworks display together. "I don't even think I have a copy of this!"

"That's from my mom! Also took her a long time to find on her phone." Beomgyu grins before turning to another page just full of flattened flowers, mostly daisies and roses. "And these are from all the bouquets you've bought me for recitals, graduations, and our first album launch! I kept at least one of everything because I wanted to use them in a project someday but I wasn't really sure what until I got the idea to make you a scrapbook."

"How did you even decide to give me a scrapbook for Christmas? And going through all the trouble of asking everyone we know for extra pictures? I thought you were busy with the band and your thesis?" You ask next, turning to the last page and finding a bunch of old letters and old invitations, the one from your senior prom standing out. By this point, it was hard to keep the stray tears at bay as you sniffle, making Beomgyu laugh before passing you tissues.

You went with all of your friends back then but you only danced alone with Beomgyu, somehow deluding yourself into thinking that he would confess and reciprocate your feelings.

But he never did, holding himself back from saying anymore in front of your house and simply kissing your forehead at the end of the night, and that was probably the only time you cried over the boy for that reason.

Beomgyu scratches his head and smiles sheepishly before slowly gesturing over to your wrapped gift for him. "A-Ah, well...Ryujin may or may not have mentioned something about you slaving away the past few weeks for your gift."

Your jaw slacks. "Are you serious?"

Before you could protest even more, however, Beomgyu's quick to raise his hands up in defense and interject, "Well, to be fair, I got the original idea of a simple scrapbook with everything I have way before Ryujin approached me! Then she mentioned sometime ago how hard you were working on my Christmas present that I had to up the stakes and ask for more pictures and stuff from everyone else after.

"And it wasn't that time consuming, actually! Everyone was happy to share photos and even some stories about you which I wrote in some of the entries because I thought it was sweet. Just...I want you to feel absolutely loved with this gift.

"And I mean, isn't it also nice seeing us from other people's point of view?" He points out next, flipping back to the pages mainly dedicated to photos of you and your mutual friends mixed in with photos they took of you. "It's also kind of a gift from everyone else in that sense."

You wipe another set of stray tears, making Beomgyu pout and reach a hand up to help you.

"Are you okay—?"

"I love it so much." You sniffle, smacking his arm before hugging the scrapbook to your chest. "Thank you, Gyu."

He heaves a sigh of relief, clutching his chest with his free hand. "There are still some blank pages towards the end. I figured you can put your own stuff in it if since I know you keep some things in the box under the bed." He suggests, patting the bed as if to gesture to the boxes you keep under it. "Or if you want, we can just fill it with new stuff later."

"Will you help me add in my own things?"

He nods with a bright smile. "We can do it before dinner with your parents." He then reaches towards the opposite end of the bed and picks up his gift, shaking it in front of him and asking next, "Should I open my gift in the meantime?"

"Yes, please. I can't be the only one crying right now." You nod with a chuckle, moving the scrapbook to your bedside table and helping him remove the tapes all over his gift.

"Before you make your usual complaint that it's too much, it's also actually part of my senior thesis for my Painting degree. Remember how I mentioned last time that I decided to make two separate theses for my programs? So, these are studies for one of my final paintings." You explain as the paintings come into view, Beomgyu's eyes widening and his jaw slacking in an instant.

"Woah..." He breathes, laying the canvases next to each other gently. “This is...this is amazing!"

"And there's one of the two of us. Look." You point at the last painting with a small smile. "The reference is from a photo Taehyun sent to our chat after the album launch."

"A-And...and where are the other portraits from?" He asks in a lower voice after a moment, eyes sparkling when he looks up at you again.

You gulp down any feelings of wanting to melt on the spot, pointing to each painting as you answer, "The first portrait's from a photo I took at your last gig, the second one's from last summer when we went to Haeundae beach, and the third one's from just the other day when you were letting me listen to your new music."

He points to the last one shyly, his cheeks flushed pink as the two of you look over at the painting of him listening to music on his headphones with a small smile on his face. "This was in my room?"

You nod, equally shy now that he's asking the questions upfront. "I-I just figured...you looked so warm and cozy then and that's always how I remember you so...yeah. That's also the one I'll be painting in the final work that's going in my thesis."

"Really?" His eyes widen even more, to which you simply nod once more before briefly looking away from him.

"Yeah, because my thesis is mostly on human relationships and, really, the rationale in all of these paintings is that I wanted to portray you as how you are in my eyes which is—"

Before you could even finish your thought, however, Beomgyu's oversized hoodie engulfs you and his lips land on your cheek. Then he gives you another peck, this time on a spot just slightly higher on the same cheek.

Then another, and another, before moving to another cheek. "You're amazing. I love you so much." He whispers against your skin dangerously close to your lips, almost as if he was telling you a very important secret.

And you know he means it differently than the other times he casually says it to you when he doesn't laugh excitedly between his words or jokingly force you to say it back as he would often do.

Instead, he punctuates the declaration by cupping your face gently and repeating the words again. "I love you so much. I love you the most." He sighs, meeting your gaze desperately.

And it's probably the years of knowing him that he doesn't have to elaborate on it further for you to catch on. At the same time, you feel a weight lift itself off of your shoulders at this, one that you haven't even realized you've been carrying along with you this whole time, hugging the boy back tighter with your arms on his waist in response.

“Can I?” He asks next, stroking your cheek with his thumb as his eyes momentarily flickers down to your lips.

You nod with a soft hum almost instantly, tilting your face as he closes the gap between your lips.

Beomgyu kisses you like it's the most natural thing in the world for him to do, his lips feeling comforting on top of yours as he conveys every built up feeling and all the kinds of love he’s had for you in the past 16 years and receives the same back from you.

And all negative thoughts you’ve had, worries that your best friend will never look at you the same way you’ve always hoped for him to, are immediately thrown off the window and replaced by the assurance that Choi Beomgyu, the nuisance who’s been affectionately stuck to your hip since day one, is in love with you.

"I love you." He repeats, voice muffled towards the end as he gives you another fleeting kiss before rubbing your noses together. "You know what I mean, right?"

"I love you too." You reply on your own accord, panting slightly as you fill your lungs in with air and biting your lip as you feel your face heat up after. "I outlined it out at the bottom of our painting too with my signature, in case you didn't spot it."

"Ya, I did." He chuckles sheepishly, briefly moving to sit away to put your paintings on the side of the bed. Before the space he previously occupied in front of you grows cold, his arms are back around you once more as he tackles you down on the bed. "I'll hang all of them in my dorm when we get back."

"You can't nail things to the walls then graduate. That's not how it works." You laugh with a shake of your head, encircling your arms on his neck as he props himself on his elbows on top of you. When he laughs along, something in your heart stirs happily at how the two of you could go from intimate to casual so smoothly, assuring you that nothing much is going to change—just now with more-than-friendly kisses and the assurance that your best friend feels the same about you. "Anyway, they're all small enough to go on your desk at the dorms and at the studio."

"Then I'll put them on my work desk at the studio. Everyone has to know I have a really talented partner."

"Partner?" You scoff teasingly against the sudden rapid beating of your heart, playfully pushing him away. "I'm your significant other now?"

"Didn't I make it clear enough with the kisses and the hug? Not even with the fact that I've been sticking by you my entire life?" He feigns a pout as he easily rolls the two of you over with you comfortably on top of him now. "Should we make out instead?"

Your face heats up more at the comment, eyes widening when he does press a longer kiss on your lips and even manages to open your mouth while you’re distracted. "That's also not how it works, Gyu!" You manage to successfully push him away and roll your eyes, hiding your face in his chest in embarrassment.

"Then will you be my significant other? I'll take care of you like I always have, just with more kisses! Maybe some other things too like just five seconds ago." He dramatically asks with a smirk, teasingly prying your hands away from your face. "What? You wanted me to ask!"

"What happened to having shit taste in people and dating each other being an insult, then?” You tease one last time, making him groan. "Or not liking anyone I like, hm? You’re kind of contradicting yourself here.”

"We’re contradicting ourselves. I think I know enough Math to know that negatives cancel each other out." He retorts before leaning down for another kiss and resting his head on your chest after.

"But you suck at Math.”

"Do you want help with the scrapbook or not?"

VI. (epilogue) MAYBE WE WORK A LITTLE TOO WELL

A big bouquet of red roses and sunflowers is dropped in your arms by Beomgyu for the second time in your life, purposeful this time as he follows it with a an extra daisy tucked in your ear and a kiss.

"Congratulations on the exhibit, baby!" He greets you giddily after with a grin and a soft pat on your head. "I’m so proud of you! You’ve worked so hard!”

"Ew, ew, ew, not in front of us, please." Hueningkai complains, hiding behind Yeonjun and Taehyun as you lead your friends around your thesis exhibit. “I’m a child!”

You roll your eyes, draping your free arm around Beomgyu's waist anyway as Ryujin and Yeji wander off to the portraits you made of your family while the boys approach your studies on your high school and college friends.

"I have another surprise, by the way!" Your boyfriend speaks up again, taking out his phone and placing an earphone on your left ear. "I may or may not have gotten the idea from that time you were finishing up your thesis in the studio."

"I'm fucking scared." You joke, adjusting the earphone anyway while he wears the right bud on his right ear. "What is this?"

From what you can remember of those all-nighters two weeks ago, you brought your remaining works in his studio to work with him in the same space. While Beomgyu was winding down from having just finished his own thesis and recording the demo for a new song, you were trying to work quietly in your own corner, alternating between singing TXT's old songs to yourself or mumbling about how you were going to present the written part of your thesis to Prof Kim.

You also remember making out on the studio sofa while you’re on break but you’re pretty sure (well, you’re hoping your boyfriend's not insane like that) that it’s not anything remotely related to that in particular.

Beomgyu then takes your hand, leading you to where Yeji and Ryujin are. "Let's start here. I followed your gallery's pamphlet but modified it a bit towards the end so we'll end up in the painting you made of us."

And when you do stop in front of the painting series, that of your family over the years, Beomgyu's pre-recorded voice rings through your ears.

"Hello and welcome to "Why We Work,” a senior thesis by artist and my beautiful, beautiful partner, Y/N Y/L/N." Beomgyu proudly announces in the recording, making you laugh out loud in an instant. Faint in the background, you can distinctly hear Maze in the Mirror's instrumentals playing. "Y/N, baby, are you tuning in? Congratulations on finally finishing your Painting thesis! I made you an audio guide!”

You smack the real Beomgyu on his arm as you try and regain your composure. "Ya, you brat! What is this?”

He only giggles in response, making a shushing gesture dramatically. "Shh, just continue listening in. I made it for the whole gallery."

You roll your eyes but tune in anyway, responding well to the commentary as you walk with Beomgyu and even discussing some of the works yourself live and more in-depth.

“This was really sweet of you.”

“It is sweet of me, you’re welcome.” He teases, earning him another smack on the arm.

taglist: @wccycc @4beomy

[lemonnsss]

Moral of the Story Chapter 6

A/N: School is pain. ALSO- I changed MC’s(?) I’m universe name to make it more GN

Warnings: Trypanophobia

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Taglist: @vicmc624 , @mostlymarvelgirl , @yvonneeeee, @beetlejuicesupremacy , @moonlightreader649 , @whattheduckisupkyle , @chrisevans-realwife, @nekoannie-chan , @mrsbarnes32557038 , @imyourbratzdoll , @weallhaveadestiny

Word Count: 1.2k

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” A bright blue light accompanied by the sound of the Iron Man suit’s beam powering up came as a shock, seemingly out of nowhere.

She brought her arms back up and turned around, shocked, obviously not expecting his appearance.

“You know, if you’re going to kill someone, then at least don’t call their boss to let them know their assistant’s awake. Amateur move, honestly. Although, I guess this would be your first time intentionally killing someone.” He moved his other hand languidly, illustrating his point.

Her hand moved down again, the needle almost grazing my skin, “You don’t understand. I don’t have a choice.” Unspilled tears broke her voice.

“Everyone has a choice, though the other option may not be so appealing.”

She started shaking her head from side to side and let the syringe drop against my skin, “You don’t know what it’s like to be so poor that you are used to the feeling of borderline starvation. To work two or more jobs so you don’t end up on the streets.” She couldn’t help but let the tears flow. That much was evident despite her face being turned away from me.

“So, your loyalty lies with money? How much did they pay you?”

“About forty thousand euros, enough to afford my son’s treatment.”

“What? Isn’t healthcare free in Europe?” he shifted his weight onto his other leg.

My heart was pounding in my chest so hard it felt like I couldn’t breathe. Despite that, I was breathing too much too fast. I did everything I could to stay focused and present as they spoke. I was trying to prevent myself from hyperventilating.

“... It is. He is very sick. The specialists are in America. They are his best chance.”

His features softened, still firm, yet now more sympathetic, “I can’t say I know what it’s like, financially I mean, but my mother died when I was seventeen. If I were alone in a foreign country when I discovered she wasn’t coming back. I don’t know what I would’ve done. Put the syringe away, and I’ll put double in your account. Does that sound okay?”

I couldn’t understand why Mr. Star-Tony, was doing this. Eighty-thousand euros? That’s what- fifty-six, fifty-seven thousand dollars? What could he gain from this? Is he doing this as an act of charity?

She looked at me, tears streaming down her face, staining her shirt, "They know where he is, or at least where to look. I can't put him in danger." She turned back to Tony, "I'm sorry."

The needle plunged through my skin unnoticeably initially, the sharpness of the needle to blame - then, not even a second after its insertion the entire area stung with a pinch.

If I wasn’t shaking before I was shaking now. My whole body shook as the threat of my death was coming closer to fruition. Whoever ordered my death had succeeded.

The high-pitched hum that had previously filled the room dissipated with a high shriek and a beam of bright blue light. Her arm was blown off along with the plunger of the syringe. Her arm, the muscle structure, tendons, nerves, everything that had been attached to her not even a second ago was now incinerated, leaving nothing but the blood that was spurting across the bed. 

She cried animalistically at the burnt-off nerve endings screamed out in pain, her blood spat out drenching the fabric of my hospital sheets and the floor beneath us.

The syringe was still in my arm. I expected the morphine to flow out of the needle; instead, my bloodshot up through the needle, mixing with the pain meds. I couldn’t move. Tony dashed over to me, ignoring the woman writing on the ground, and pulled what remained of the syringe before an air bubble found its way into my bloodstream. 

A little blood came out of the insertion point but Tony pressed his armored hand around, stopping the overall, minor blood flow.

Finally, another nurse ran into the doorway looking into the room, he gasped slightly, face turning white, at the sight of his coworker on the ground, her blood surrounding her.

He ran over to her, grabbing gloves and a tourniquet along the way, “What happened here?”

“Your colleague tried to kill my assistant.”

His head jolted up, “What? Maria attacked you? I-I’m sorry. You must know she hasn’t been in a great mental state recently. She isn’t normally like this.”

 “I’ll be requesting a transfer to a different hospital in the area, I’d also like to recommend telling your manager that I’ll be suing until they are transferred though I will not be leaving their room which I hope will be changed. Okay?”

After the nurse, whose name was Maria apparently, was taken out of the room to fix the end of what remained of her arm I was taken to a new room where I took a shower and returned to a new bed. The only people in the room were myself and Tony. Now felt like the best time to pop the question that had beset in my mind.

"Why did you do that?" He looked up from his phone, swiveling his head to the door I was standing beside.

"Do what? You'll have to be a bit more specific."

"I don't know. Maybe shooting a person's arm off?" He raised a brow, my sarcasm not lost on him.

"You're the first person who hasn't tried to jump my bones, who's been offended at the notion of it, in a few years. If you died, Pep would kill me. Simple as that." He shrugged his shoulders before leaning on one of the arms of the chair, “How did you transfer the gunshot wound from my body to yours? And why would someone pay to have you killed, or at least subdued? And are those questions related?”

I looked down at my feet, “I don’t know why someone would try to kill me. And I don’t know if it’s related, but I would assume yes.”

“Hm…” That was all the response I got.

It’s been about a year since I started working for Mr. Stark. Thankfully, the topic of how I healed him hasn’t come up again. His security team got buffed after the incident and I got a bonus plus the sign-on bonus plus my first month's salary - the total of which, after taxes, was more than my yearly pay from Xaviers. Things were calm.

When I came into work today the main door to Mr. Starks office was locked. It wasn’t unusual. He rarely came into work, so when he did it was typically earlier than I came in. I went to my office to finish up what I could for this week's paperwork.

A quiet ring came from the in-office phone, Mr. Stark’s line. I picked up the clunky handset- which probably hadn’t been replaced since the nineties- “Hello, Mr. Stark-”

“For the last time, it’s Tony. Stop it with the, ‘Mr. Stark’ nonsense.”

“Apologies, Tony. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Yeah, do you mind coming into my office? There’s someone for you.”

“Of course, give me just a moment.”

I stood up and flattened the creases in my clothes before walking through the door that joined our offices. A man was wearing all black with an eyepatch standing in front of Tony’s desk.

“Hello, Mx… Eirsson?”

“Yeah, a bit of an odd last name, I know. Pardon but, what is this about?”

“My name is Director Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D.” 

[vintagexherry]

Treasure for Three Days [3]

Pirate!Miguel x Princess!Reader

// Arguments, denial, consumption of alcohol, Ooc Miguel, Miguel is mean

A/N: This ones a bit short since im a busy for a moment but I'll still post dw

Previously

"Shut up."

He didn't shout this time, but you know better than to disobey, he gripped your forearm, and you both head back to the ship.

This night marks the end of Day One

Day two [Early in The Morning]

~~~

The ship was quiet aside from the on and off chatter, the birds squaking and waves crashing. The ship's sails have wind, and the weather perfect.

The ship also has a thick tension in the air, and everybody felt it deep in their bones, but everybody decided to ignore it for their safety.

Except for two.

Two crewmates looked at Miguel, who was looking at the distance by the helm, his eyebrows furrowed with a frown on his lips.

Usually, they wouldn't mind, but his frown was deeper than usual.

"So.... Wutz up with big man ovah der?" A man with dark skin and braided locs asked another crew with a bandana on his forehead while his hair was styled with to an mini black power style.

"Im actually not sure, Hobie , He's been like that since yesterday night." The crewmate replied.

"Bet it was da fight wid da princess and all that."

"Fight?"

"I tell you what, Miles, I wuz just comin back from the bar, but didn't wana go in. Herd shoutin and all" Hobie shrugged.

"They had a fight?!" Miles whipered-shouted.

Hobie shrugged again and got quiet.

Then, as if a light bulb went out of his head. He smirked.

"I don't like that smirk" Miles deadpanned as he felt like his life is in danger.

"Tell you what."

"Im not gonna gonna sneak you into Miguel's cabin with you again to get another stash of gold." Miles shivered from the memory, Miguel didn't let it slide and gave them both all of the crew's chorework for a week.

"Nah. You want to know why he's moody?"

Miles knows where this is going.

"Oh hell n-"

"Ask him."

"Hobie! I can't just!-"

Hobie suddenly produced a stash of coins and smirked with his eyebrow raised.

Miles contemplated long until his brain could burn.

"Fine! But if I get punished again, im blaming you for mutiny." He didn't wait for Hobie's reply and marched straight to Miguel who was standing by the helm.

Miles gulp the closer he got.

"What do you want now?" Miguel groaned as he heard Miles not-so-subtle steps toward him.

"I...uh... Just wanna know how's the best captain in the world doing."

Miles started to sweat even if the weather wasn't even hot. He didn't know why he said that. He'll make sure Hobie pays double.

"None of your business." Miguel's frown deepened with his words.

"We-well-"

"I recommend you to go back to your duties, Morales."

With that, Miles didn't waste time saying goodbye and head back to Hobie, who was busy chuckling.

Miguel sighed as he remembers again what happened last night.

□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■

You and Miguel got back from the ship, letting the crew enjoy the night, but Miguel only led you back to the cabin and once he forcefully sat you down on the bed he didn't waste time scolding you.

You swore you felt as if you're a child all over again, adults telling you to go back to your room when they caught you slipping your hand in a cookie jar.

"Didn't I tell you to stay where I can see you?!"

You remembered him shouting, his deep voice slightly echoes throughout the room, the volume making you wince.

"You think I want to actually stay with you? You think I asked to be here?!"

You also remember shouting back, furious that he expects you to be alright with your situation.

"Fine then! Go out on your own! Go and get your ass touched by another man!You should be thankful that I was there to save you! Is going out on your own the safest thing you could think of?!"

"Safe?" You chuckled with no humor.

"You kidnapped me, threatened me, and held me hostage with hands behind my back and a sword to my neck. And you're talking about 'safe'."

You pushed yourself to stand up and look at him dead in the eyes.

"Don't talk to me about safety when I'm not even safe with you." You calmly stated as you jabbed a finger to his chest.

And with a puff of annoyance, you turned around and decided to watch the scenery outside instead of Miguel's face cus you swear you want to slap it if you look at it more.

While you looked out the window, you heard Miguel's anger huffed and took a bottle of rum off his shelf and, finally, with his heavy footsteps, he left you alone with a loud thud of the door.

□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■

Now here he is seething.

Your attitude.

Your ungratfulness.

Your spoiled ass.

Your exposed cleavage.

Your words...

Your face

Your eyes.

Your....

Just you.

You drive him crazy. Who do you think you are?

With one swipe of his sword, he could kill you, make you bleed into the floor, and after that, burn your kingdom to the ground.

Wait, no, maybe he could make you watch him burn your town, and after that, he kills you.

Yea...

That...

He ignores the feeling deep in his guts saying that you wouldn't be happy.

Who cares, right? Why does he care for your happiness? He kidnapped you just to get the treasure he wants. He doesn't care if you cry or scream for help.

With that thought, He took another big gulp of his rum.

Damn that guy for touching you. Maybe he should have killed him more, damn him for wasting his time.

He feels a rising headache upcoming, and he sighed heavily. He was about to drink more, but as he tilted the bottle to his lips, he realized he had already finished the bottle.

How long has he been here thinking bout you?

He shook his head out of his thoughts. He stood straight from his position and decided to man up and talk to you.

He ignores how his brain buzzes back to you.

Maybe it's just the alcohol talking.

Yeah....It's the alcohol.

□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■

You paced around the cabin for a while.

Back and forth

Forth and back

Repeat.

Should you feel sorry for shouting? No.

You had a point in what you said.

But so does he.

You were thinking of thanked him, but thanks to his mouth, you didn't.

He was right. You aren't safe out there, and you should have sticked the company you know. Plus, once you did ask for help, how would you know their trustworthy?

Then again, trusting a pirate doesn't seem like a good idea either.

You groaned.

You can't trust people outside, and you can't trust people from the inside.

You don't have a plan of escape since you barely know life outside tall, golden encrusted walls of the palace.

Do you remember trying to learn about the ocean, forests, or different lands.

But such knowledge is forbidden for a lady like you.

All you could gather is how to handle the people, the law, and the land as the future queen.

Aside from hobbies you learned from your mentor, such as stitching, gardening and embroidery.

You sigh as tough as she was. You kinda miss her nagging. You never thought you would say that, but here you are.

Negative things aside.

At least you get to experience, the world as it was.

Children find happiness in the simplest things, such as bugs, random plants, and flying kites.

Adults go by their day to work, open up their shops, and sell bread,vegetables or live stock.

Then you met pirates.

Miguel, specifically.

You don't really talk to the others since you'll probably be reported to the captain.

You can admit during the first day of your captivity, the stories he told you were amusing. Even more interesting than reading it on a book, hearing it from an actual person who experienced it first hand just felt different.

Your heart wishes you could hear more of his adventures, know the stories behind each treasure, gruesome or not.

You suddenly shook your head out of this thoughts, it's still early in the morning and your head is already filled with unnecessary thoughts.

Maybe you just need to suck it up and just thank him for what he did.

Granted, you might not completely forgive him for kidnapping you and all that, but the least you could do is thanked him for a part of it.

Yeah.....You're gonna thank a part of it.

Before you could head out, you hear the door open with slam.

Your eyes widened, and you flinched hard from the impact. But your shoulders slightly relax upon seeing Miguel's form in the doorway.

Miguel saw your frightened eyes and cursed himself for slamming the door, so much for an entrance.

He went in with a slight wobble in his footsteps thanks to the alcohol.

He stopped in front of you, and you froze.

Is he gonna hit you? Shout at you more?

You gulp as you wait for his words.

○●○●○

taglist:

@yougavemeyourheartyouknow @autismsupermusicalassassin @lionhearted-soldier@hearts-4-lanadelray @sukioyakio @chshiresins @ginger23@amelialysm

[geekwiththeglasses]

Would love to hear you rant about Fourth Wing. That book makes me so mad lmao

I literally dashed to my desktop when I saw this because this deserves a desktop response (out of character for a millenial/genz cusper I actually type much faster with a keyboard).

Now to note, I am only 50% done with the book so far so this is limited to that (though I have watched spoiler reviews so I feel justified in my thoughts because I know it's not getting better).

By the way, I learned that this entire series was a publisher request, not like a passion project of Yarros and while I ain't judging (I would do it in a heartbeat if it meant I could pay rent for the next year), to me, you can kinda feel it, like there's a distinct lack of creative verve. You can especially feel it in how shallow everything (and everyone) feels.

A read more because this became obnoxiously long (it's almost 2000 words) and I respect people's dashboards.

Except for this article about toxic perseverance which I think everyone should have to read if they've read Fourth Wing.

There are, first of all, some major issues with this book. The biggest one is, of course, the toxic perseverance, which is covered quite well in the article, but if you're not going to read it, to pull a quote from it:

Creating a narrative in which a character with a disability overcomes all of their pain and other symptoms through force of will alone sets unrealistic expectations—unrealistic expectations which are, as I mentioned previously, a very real issue for very real disabled people in our very real world.  I believe we should have seen some impact of that lifestyle if the author was trying to engage with this intentionally. Because fiction is not created in a vacuum and this narrative goes unproblematised in-text, it’s unclear whether Yarros actively endorses this mindset, or is accidentally endorsing it, neither of which is good.

Just to elaborate a little on something I didn't see in the article, but this book hates the idea of accommodations. Like it's a horrible, horrible thing and how dare you ever suggest Violet might need something as disgusting as a saddle to stay on the equivalent of an airplane. It's not like accommodations are something that actually can end up helping non-disabled people as well. There wasn't potential for a scene where she actually acknowledged she needed help and suddenly everyone's like "hey, that's actually really smart, we should totally do this too, this makes life much easier/safer and will improve everyone's quality of life". Or even just a scene where it only helps her but damn it helps her a lot because it takes in to account her needs and specific body. Because that would require acknowledging that Violet has limitations and not allow her to power through the pain. And also get thrown from her dragon repeatedly, which definitely doesn't fuck up her joints.

Rhiannon gets so shafted. She gets the double whammy of two stereotypes: the black best friend and the promiscuous bisexual. She's seen with multiple partners, none of which seem like long-term or serious partners. And while some bisexual people have more sex with more people than others, if you're going to do that, include more than one bisexual person in your story. She has very little to do with the story unless she is there for the white, straight main character. We've gotten her helping Violet, but so far there's zero dedicated scenes of that tutoring help that was offered in the beginning and as far as I know we never get it (I may be wrong). I hear we get her family later, but that they're also glossed over for More Important Things. It doesn't feel like Rhiannon (or honestly any other character) exists except for when they're around Violet. They all kinda blend together, which at the 50% mark is fucking unacceptable. What is special about them, distinguishes them from the others other than Liam (is it Liam? whoever her bodyguard is) who whittles? There is so little to distinguish any background characters except for Dain. Even Xaden feels lackluster and a bit hazy around the edges, like he never finished rendering.

Let's not forget that Yarros is 100% a military wife and a US military bootlicker and from what I've heard she's had some unsavory and unsupportable opinions on Palestine. We do not like.

She also took Gaelic names and just decided the pronunciation doesn't matter??? Insulting.

Onto the less serious issues:

Firstly, as to my previous complaint, the entirety of Dain's storyline is the most impressive speedrun in character assassination I have ever seen. I described it to a friend as Yarros lovingly caressing a 2x4 before repeatedly beating you over the head with it. He gets like... a scene to be besties and then immediately he must be the worst thing to ever exist, specifically to prop up Xaden. Dain is the asshole holding her back, unlike Xaden who pushes her to be her best (entirely ignoring that her body literally has physical limitations and accommodations are not a dirty word)! He's such a rule follower, but Xaden understands when to bend or break them (pay no attention to him breaking all the rules to try to get her into the scribe's quadrant)! He doesn't believe her immediately when she accuses someone of murder, but Xaden absolutely believes her with no proof (let's forget that Amber is a good friend of Dain and that it would honestly be natural to want to believe that your friend isn't capable of cold-blooded murder with zero proof especially since that would lead to her execution which Violet somehow forgot would be a consequence of her accusation). Dain is overprotective and condescending to Violet (I mean he wasn't the one to force her to have a bodyguard, but he just doesn't believe in her). I bet he doesn't even wash his ass. Xaden definitely washes his ass.

Murder college makes zero sense, especially since she definitely based the military off the US (which makes sense since it's the one she has the most exposure to). Most militaries that I am aware of have rather high requirements for physical fitness, especially an academy for officers (which, in Yarros' face, I actually have experience with, as my father went to the Naval Academy so I know for a fact they're strict as hell with requirements). The US military won't even let you be slightly overweight, even if you can fulfill the physical requirements. It was hard to find any info on whether EDS would out and out disqualify you, but the fact that it wasn't even brought up as a barrier for entry that she had to overcome does not make sense to me.

Ah, I hear someone hypothetically argue, but the college is supposed to (theoretically) weed out the weak so they'll let anyone in who wants to join! Ok, then why is Violet the only physically disabled person in the entire college? I have been to rodeos with bull riders who were amputees, but there ain't one person missing an arm or a leg in that college. The only other disabled person we get so far is a scribe, but you're telling me not one deaf person wants to be a rider? Why is Violet the only one that gets to be "exceptional"?

Back to the murder part of murder college, the fact that this is a murder college gets technically lampshaded, but never really justified in why people keep coming. Like it's not some greater commentary on the lengths people will go for power or greatness or the insidious nature of military propaganda. It just felt like we needed to up the stakes that our protagonist was in danger at every turn, but honestly I never feel like the stakes are that high, because, well, she keeps emphasizing how much danger her life is in, how screwed and dead she is. And if her life is always in danger, it's never in danger.

Speaking of murder, the story doesn't challenge the idea that "weed out the weak through murder" doesn't actually work but just kills people and probably gives the survivors like the worst anxiety (because if everything can kill you your mental health will probably deteriorate). It's like that meme:

Basgiath War College: I have made the perfect rider Me: you fucked up a perfectly good person is what you did. Look at him. He's got anxiety.

Why is Violet so enlightened and above having any prejudice? If anything she should have way more animosity towards the rebel kids than she does. It's literally stated in text that she was not immune to the propaganda and misinformation she's read, but you want me to believe that between (what she believes is) losing a brother to the rebellion and a mother who was kinda involved, not to mention growing up in a group that would be full of anti-rebel propaganda she somehow didn't end up believing anything beyond "yeah some of them will definitely want you dead" which is true??? Instead she's fine with them and will definitely sit with rebel kids because unlike people who grew up with probably less or about the same propaganda than her, she knows not to judge people for the sins of their parents. Those other kids are just so much more prejudiced than she is, isn't she wonderful and has zero biases to unlearn. Oh, you may say, but she thought Xaden was going to kill her! He literally does confirm that the only reason initially he doesn't kill her is to keep a hold of his humanity which does actually confirm that he wants her dead! So the narrative even confirms that this bias was, in fact, the correct opinion to have.

I do not understand why Violet and Xaden are drawn to each other beyond Xaden hot. I am asexual and somewhere on the aromantic spectrum so perhaps it is just not in my nature to understand the ways of the heterosexuals, but I don't get it. Why does she like him? The only reason given is he's hot. Maybe a reason is given later down the line but this is a romantasy. You live and die by building up that damn romance and I am not convinced! I haven't even been given like a "oh I see him with his dragon and it's heart meltingly cute how he interacts with her". Is this why Dain had to be assassinated (we are holding his burial next week by the way, there will be funeral potatoes)? So that Xaden had something to be compared to because he has all the substance of one of those inflatable dancing men?

(Dance, Xaden, dance.)

Yarros cannot do exposition, it's so jarring. She tells us so much, shows little, and bores me the entire time. You seriously decide to make exposition a character quirk for when she needs to calm down? Seriously???? The parapet scene was hard to listen to because you were jerked around like a rag doll between quick action and exposition. Who thought that was a good idea? Exposition is always a difficult thing to include and make it work and sound natural, but this is not how you do it.

A minor complaint, but once you learn Yarros is Mormon you cannot unsee the fingerprints of Mormonism throughout this book. People do not cuss like people, they cuss like you put fuck into a fresh AI and asked it to try it out. I cuss like a sailor and I was wondering why it felt so jarring until I realized that it's not how people talk. I mean Holy. Fucking. Hot. I'm well the fuck aware. You tried ma'am, you tried. Here's a gold star. Also, I'm 99% sure there is zero alcohol. You seriously want me to believe that none of these kids are sneaking in alcohol? That no one is using booze to cope with being in a murder college? As if, we all know these kids are making midnight dragon runs to the liquor store.

Also, the fact that I had to hear an audiobook narrator try to make this dialogue and prose sound like something that would actually come out of a human mouth was truly something to behold. The fact that "for the win" was not left in the 2010s where it belonged is an outrage. If I had a better memory I would put in more quotes cause there have been other doozies.

But really, the greatest crime this book commits, is that it has the audacity to be boring. You give me dragons and you have the sheer, unmitigated gall to bore me. I will accept a lot from a book. I will accept plot holes. I will ignore shallow world building. I will tolerate character assassinations. Do all that if you must, but at the very least make it interesting. This book is not interesting. I listen to a few chapters at a time and I am not having a good time. I only continue out of sheer stubbornness and feeling an obligation that for once I should actually read a book that I have seen negative reviews about to see if perhaps it is not so bad.

I just happened to pick a book where it is, in fact, that bad.

[reidslovely]

heyy! can you give us more about frat!peter?

totally!! I'm not sure what you wanna know though specifically so here's some word vomit i sent to my moot stella weeks ago. you guys should totally feel free to talk to me about any frat!peter headcanons and questions you have him and reader/bashful are my world rn and I could answer any question you have about him/her/them. but right here is a run down of only frat!pete and how I perceive him

Frat!Peter has the biggest ego but he's totally not a jerk..at least not once you get to know him. He's an engineering and biochem double major but he's taken journalism/photography electives and that’s where he and his gf met. He's automatically flirting with her and it's like dude come on..really?? Cause everyone knows about Peter Parker. He could have any girl he wants but he's never publicly dated anyone?? Weird. Maybe he's too good. Which makes her skeptical, so it’s like leave me alone totally not interested but he very quickly wins her over. The jerk side a total front and she is quick to discredit that rumor and let everyone know what a big soft teddy bear nerd he really is. (however it is not a front when it comes to his girl though stay twenty five feet away from her)

He definitely rushed with his friend as a joke and didn’t actually think he’s get in but turns out he’s a legacy (his dad and uncle ben both were members) and the guys think he’s a great pick and i mean it doesn’t hurt that the girls like him so come on how could they not let this dude in?? He does let it go to his head a little because it’s basically gonna pay for his college. How could he not get a little cocky and slacky. Besides for once in his life people like him and not just because he’ll get them a good grade on a project. However he does start to come down from this and gets his head out of his ass.

Yes he does still have his powers and is managing spider man, college, and his frat responsibilities. Which is why he had to step down from secretary to social chair sophomore/junior year. He totally showed up in the frat in his costume several times and his brothers chose to never mention it, it’s a secret that dies with them. Besides, their best friend is spider man?? How fucking cool.

His girlfriend does find out four months into the relationship when he shows up to their date dressed in the top of the costume and his button up not covering it at all and it finally explains so so sos os SO much.

Like stated previously he was elected secretary his sophomore year (first to happen) and had to step down to social chair later which he enjoyed much better cause their stuff was pretty much laid out in a rule book for them.

YES he does have a little (a freshman you mentor not the other kind of little) in my mind I aged Miles up a little bit to be his little freshie which ends up being super convenient when Miles ends up getting bit and they split spider man and other duties within the frat. But if not Miles I like to think he takes on carbon copy of himself when he first joined: angry, skeptical, and kind of shy and scared to reach out in fear of rejection and he teaches him that all these emotions are okay and valid but there are alot of good people in this community.

Speed run: he played on the lacrosse team very briefly until spider man got him thrown off- he rejoined later after Miles came into the picture, however he and the other guys are known for playing basketball on their front lawn and all the girls like to stop and watch (which drives his gf crazy and she has to make out with him to reclaim what’s hers and he eats that the fuck up.) As social chair he is obligated to work homecoming, and even though it’s not allowed since his gf is not in greek life he def asks her for help/ideas (his brothers know but they like him and his gf to much to care).

And yes he’s shocked that he's on the honor roll because how can he balance all this stuff and still come out? Maybe he is a genius, and slowly burning out.

That's all I got right now, please ask me more lore about frat!peter and or him and bashful/reader thank you that was my press conference

[penny-anna]

as mentioned previously, i've been trying to get new towels to replace my old worn out ones

bought new ones the other week in john lewis. optimistically bought 2 sets. they did not work for me (too thick n soft) so i had to return them

today is the first day all week when i've not been viewing any flats so off i go!!

get down to the street and realise that it's spitting a little. this is worrying as i'm concerned that if i show up w the towels all damp they might not accept the return

for those not familiar: john lewis isn't like POSH posh but it is a nice department store and their stuff runs pricy. this is like £50 worth of towels i'm carrying in a reusable shopping bag.

realise i should go upstairs and get a plastic bag to put over them in the shopping bag so they won't get wet but i'm feeling very lazy. have another reusable (cloth) shopping bag. arrange that over them. it's barely raining anyway.

get some distance from my flat when it starts raining for real. uh oh!!

options at this point are: 1) attempt to keep the bag fully under my umbrella the whole way (tried this briefly, not tenable) 2) double back to the little supermarket and acquire a bag 3) do what i should have done in the first place and just go home and get a plastic bag

don't want to do any of those things due to aforementioned laziness. scan the street ahead to see if there's any businesses where i might procure a plastic bag that won't require doubling back. street is largely bakeries + (i shit u not) an eco friendly vegan grocery shop.

BUT WAIT!! there is also! Iceland!

for non-brits: Iceland is a supermarket chain that specialises in frozen food. they sell like ice cream n freezer dinners. they will for sure have bags.

go into Iceland and proceed directly to the self check outs. there are only paper bags :(

confused?? Iceland seems like an unlikely place to have pivoted exclusively to paper bags. flag down the guy at the self checks and ask if there are any plastic bags.

at the same moment that he answers, notice that there are plastic bags right next to the paper bags.

they are good big bags also!!

for anyone not in the know: as of a few years ago businesses in Scotland are required to charge you for single use plastic bags. this honestly makes me feel a lot better about the situation bcos like i'm a paying customer i'm buying. 1 single plastic bag. for 30p.

ask if it's ok for me to just buy a bag, guy says ofc it is. explain that i need to waterproof something. It Is Raining (he can see that it's raining)

unfortunately self check out machine scale doesn't like that i'm just buying 1 bag. guy has to come over and override the scale for me. this is a lot of hassle for a 30p purchase.

buy the bag. there's now someone waiting for the self check out. retreat further into Iceland and use a freezer as a work surface to rainproof my towels with the bag.

go outside. it is now raining even harder. loiter in the porch of Iceland for a while improving my rainproofing job.

walk securely to John Lewis. it has mostly stopped raining before i'm even halfway there. oh well.

get to John Lewis. fortunately there's a queue so i have time to un-rainproof the towels

goodbye towels :)

[underaverageheight]

Dancing With Death

Death!KSM x sick!gn!reader Genre: ANGST with bits of fluff Warning(s): mentions of death, Seungmin kinda being a jerk, profanity if I missed anything, let me know!

Summary: After finding out you have 2 months left to live, Death comes to visit. He finds moving between realms to be bothersome, shamelessly asking to live with you. Eventually, Death warms up to you, confessing how much he hates bringing things to an end.

Masterlist | DWD Masterlist

Question: What the hell? word count: 0.55 k previously...

All of a sudden you felt the rain stop. Seungmin was next to you, holding an umbrella. He grinned, looking straight. “My dear, I have no need to follow you home when I’ve already been there multiple times.”

“Wait what?” You stopped walking, stunned. “You’ve… been to my apartment? When?”

He chuckles, the noise chilling you more than your rain-soaked clothes. “When I move between realms, it can be difficult. But near your apartment and many other places, there are rifts between realms, allowing me a much smoother and easier transfer but it’s still time-consuming. So whether you like it or not, I’ll be sticking around you.”

As you approached your apartment door, you faced him. “Yeah… how about no?” You shut the door in his face quickly, shivering from the cold. You went to your room to grab clothes for your shower, passing by your office. Doing a double take, you look back into your office. There he was, sitting at your desk, inspecting the little things you had on there.

“You can’t lock me out. Physical barriers don’t do much for me,” Seungmin grins, setting down a paperweight. “Do go ahead and shower, I wouldn’t want you dying earlier than you’re supposed to. Don’t worry. I won’t peek or anything.”

Screw it. You went to the bathroom, quickly getting underneath the warm water. Standing there, you had so many thoughts running through your head. Should I move? If I ask my job for an advance on pay, will I be able to get treatment to make him leave? Why is he still here? I can’t force him out either…

After your shower, you go to your room, writing down a list of things to do before you die. “’Fall in love’? That’s a pathetic wish but alas, a common one.” Flinching, you whirled around in your seat, glaring at Seungmin who was looking over your shoulder.

“What the hell? I’m sure you haven’t fallen in love with anyone,” you shot back, adrenaline pumping from the shock.

“I won’t respond to that. But it is a dumb wish to accomplish.”

“I still want to experience it. It’s my life, not yours.”

“It’s so boring and plain pathetic to watch you humans attempt to love another before your life ends.” Seungmin scoffed, fiddling with your pen.

You were silent for a moment before you began to speak. “Yeah. It’s pathetic. I know because that’s how my life is. That’s how a lot of our lives are. So if you’re gonna act like an asshole about this, go away. Leave. I just found out today.” Your voice broke and you took a deep breath. “I…I know it’s pathetic and- and stupid. Humans, we’re dumb. We take things for granted and then when we might lose it for real…” You looked down at your lap, tears forming. “We don’t face reality until the end. I regret not living my life. Enjoying more.”

Seungmin was speechless. He’s listened to pitiful stories before so why is this human’s story hurting the heart he doesn’t have? “I’m sorry for calling that pathetic. You’re the only human who has really regretted the things they missed out on, the things they held onto when they should’ve let go. But listen. You still have time. I will help you fulfill your wishes since I am helping you to your afterlife and then your next life once you pass. I’ll��I’ll go now,” He disappeared from your room. You walked around your apartment, no sign of him. He really left.

<- previous chapter | next chapter ->

taglist: @jiisungllvr

a/n: it's much shorter than what i wanted but classes are super super busy and life in general is stressful :( ... but of course, if you've enjoyed, feel free to let me know here or here at my main account, or reblog this post! I enjoy reading what you guys think, whether it's positive or constructive feedback

[bigskydreaming]

Jason, randomly, out of nowhere, without warning: Hah, I'm taller than you now. LMAO. Loser.

Dick, who knows perfectly well that height has absolutely nothing to do with self worth and also that he's supposed to be above being blatantly baited by his little brother, who is obviously the REAL loser, and needs to be reminded of that fact which so doesn't count as actually being baited: Please. You're only that tall now because you got revived in a magical pit of green ooze that optimized your growth when bringing you back from the dead which is CHEATING, and thus doesn't count. Loser.

Jason: Really? Me dying and being dunked in a magical pit of green ooze to undo the physical trauma of my MURDER and also the years of malnutrition that led to my growth previously NOT being optimized is 'cheating?'

Dick: I regretted it as soon as I said it but I can not afford to set the precedent that I made a misstep in the minefield that is our fraught sibling relationship. I have no choice but to double down. The only way this ends well is if you choose to let it slide and gracefully accept a subject change. I'll even let you pick. As long as its understood that me letting you pick is not an admission of wrongdoing on my part, its just me being Awesome and you're welcome.

Jason: First off, I have never let anything slide gracefully a day in my life and I'm damn sure not about to start NOW, when you were being an ASS....

Dick: Oh biiiiig surprise, little brother can talk a big talk about being the bigger man, but god forbid someone give him the opportunity to back it up.....

Jason: Not my fault if you're feeling particularly SMALL at the moment, pun absolutely intended. Since its not like you have a monopoly on those no matter HOW much you've tried to act like you do over the years....

Dick: Hey, I've never claimed to have a monopoly on puns. I just said I find it INTERESTING that you were totally cool with using the name, costume and SIGNATURE BRAND OF HUMOR I DELIBERATELY SPENT YEARS CULTIVATING AS A LITERAL SIGNATURE BRAND all while insisting that noooooo, no need to CREDIT your older brother who quite literally paved the way with all of that and gave you his express PERMISSION to adopt it all as your own, hahaha, who actually gives credit where credit's due, that would be so weird right....

Jason: Tell you what, since you're sooooo sore about not being properly credited for your work why don't you go ahead and figure out a royalty rate for all the times I used YOUR intellectual vigilante property or what the fuck ever, and I will PAY you to never bring it up again.....

Dick: I would LOVE that, actually. I think it would be a great way to acknowledge MY trailblazing hard work, but I think we both know you'd literally just make a show of stealing the money from Bruce to make some kind of statement about how beneath you all this is which KINDA DEFEATS THE POINT of acknowledging or crediting someone's work as WORTH something, so -

Their siblings, who have been standing right there the whole time, and who are all Very Tired, and literally just wanted to know if their older brothers wanted to go to Bat-Burger with them and are now regretting everything, why does this always happen and why don't any of them know better by now: Is it done? Is it over? Can you stop? Ever?

Dick and Jason, simultaneously swiveling in instant older sibling solidarity: Wow. So impatient. So entitled. So demanding. Why, in OUR day, we'd be LUCKY to be granted even ten minutes between patrol and bedtime, to scarf down an Alfred-Approved Healthy Snack, but its not enough that Bruce lets you run around Gotham stuffing your faces with fast food at any hour of the night, noooooooo, its gotta happen RIGHT NOW, like THIS INSTANT, how dare anyone make you wait five whole minutes to get whatever you want.....

Tim: I honestly can't tell if I hate it more when they're just being obnoxious at each other & we're stuck bearing witness or when they combine their powers of obnoxious and aim it at us.

Cass, gravely: There are no winners here.

Damian: And Father doesn't get why I wish I was an only child.

Duke, wistfully: I took being an only child for granted.

Stephanie, with popcorn: None of you appreciate good theater.

Bruce, from somewhere offscreen, even miles away: My parents died because of the theater, STEPHANIE.

[piglet26]

A Year In the Mess and the Millennial Cross Rory Bears. WINTER

Let's address the elephant in the room while I have you front and center. Rory in A Year in The Life was a commentary on millennials. Amy Sherman-Palladino, the creator, confirmed this was the inspiration for Rory's turn in AYITL. Rory was saddled with all the complaints the previous generations have of millennials such as millennials are spoiled, entitled, privileged blah blah blah. Hey now, now that we have not one but two generations under us I do understand the desire to complain (and be terrified). Gen Z and Gen Alpha general aesthetic is to be Billie Eilish lite as in angry, depressed, violent, or, antisocial. They have the lowest attention span recorded in human history and Taylor Swift is their greatest philosopher. Jesus take the wheel

The problem? None of this was in Rory Gilmore 1.0-character DNA. Matter of fact who the hell was Rory in the revival?! What the hell happened to her? We don't know. The Palladino's don't even bother expanding on it, but who does?! When it comes to Millennials we're to be mocked not understood. Most millennials came of age where there was a horrible job, house market and were in an economic recession. Our lives were being taken over by technology and social media. Rory picked a profession that was still mostly print at the time of her college graduation.... this is an entirely digital market now and one readers now pay for if they want something of substance. How lucrative is a real authentic journalism career? Not just think pieces or a seat on CNN or Fox News roundtable?

This is why A Year in the Life was a Mess

Believe me, I wanted to love it. This is my childhood we're talking about here. I loved Stars Hallow. Love my Gilmores. Yet, when I finally tuned I did so when just a hint of dread.....gradually all my fears were realized. Thus after 6.2 hours concluded somehow, we got somewhere, nowhere, found out little, nothing at all, were satisfied and just plain frustrated. So, let's break this mess down by episode. While mainly I will cover how the revival failed Rory - I will mention other frustrations because I can.

Winter

Why is Rory only in town for a day?! She's gotta leave for London soon. What has she been doing?! Ok, she's written a piece in the New Yorker, but how does that work?! Are you on staff? Do you submit freelance pieces and they choose them? She's a good writer, she's always been a good writer, and she's shown she is capable of running a paper - why is she struggling?! They doubled down on the millennial annoyance by having Rory abandoned Brooklyn as it was going condo and Lena Dunham. Subtle.

Super-Proud Luke is and always will be cute and Rory is so his kid. He's now a subscriber to The New Yorker which he reads every week just to support Rory. Also, he's attached her article to his menus so everyone can read it. Which she treats as cringe instead of sweet and supportive, but I'll let it go. Luke, Lorelai and Rory really are found family and super adorable.

Yes, the bit about everyone forgetting Paul is funny but THIS ISN'T RORY?! Paul seems genuinely sweet and thoughtful not just to Rory but her whole family so why are we doing this? Again, this is someone's depiction of a millennial. I guess we're really shitty to great guys. Rory had never been previously depicted as self-centered jerk just slightly oblivious as well all are.

It's a thrill to see all the old characters make a cameo.

The loss of Ed Herrmann was a gut punch to his cast. You can tell. It's also serves as a gut punch to the audience. We will miss you old chap. Rory following Emily around at the repast is the first hint of old Rory we've seen on this show yet.

It also serves as another wasted opportunity. No one except Emily seems to be genuinely affected by Richard's passing. The Gilmores are a small family, but a tight one. The patriarch passing surely would've affected all three gilmore girls deeply. It would've been better had we found Rory on a cooperate writing staff in London (employed by Logan) that she quit to spend more time at home to support her mother and grandmother. It would've been nice had Richard's passing compelled her into finding meaning beyond professional success. It would've been nice if they showed her pursuing something related to Richard from a journalistic perspective. They could've showed her on the road chasing a story to run into Jess or Dean or hell any of the countless characters. SOMETHING. Instead, we got spiraling millennial which is continuing to just seem misguided.

Berta and her roving family is trash and I didn't need them.

Emily starts in on Rory current state of homelessness which bring me to my next point of contention..... How is Rory broke?! She's had Trixie/Gran, her grandparents, Logan, Luke and her father?! I don't care that she's privileged unlike a lot of the privileged but not as privilege youtubers who enjoy spitefully and bitterly complaining. Despite what these grips say no, Rory's success has never come easily to her. The reality she was studying and investing her teenage years in academic pursuits while Rory's haters were partying or watching TV. Rory's always been resourceful and yet can't find a way to make a steady income in addition to writing. What's going on?

April/ Knock-off Rory is annoying, and it doesn't escape me that Luke prefers Rory. I'm glad hehehe. I mean he has a kid biologically and yet he considers going to Rory's graduation as going to his kids graduation. Side note: I know the creators would like to pretend that season 7 never happened but what are we doing here?! LnL have seriously never talked about having kids in the last 9 freakin' years?! Well at least we know why..... miscommunication and we needed a way to write medical Paris Geller into the story. Surrogacy is actually perfect for a medical student that doesn't actually like sick people.

Paris Geller ah I love this cold-hearted little psycho.

Okay Rory is writing a book with a queer drunk brit who steals food from other people, this is who she wrote her New Yorker piece on. This is the depiction of the feminist on the show.

I love Logan and I Love Rogan, but WHAT ARE WE DOING?! Why are they both having affairs with people they don't care about. Rory cheated once? twice?......okay Rory is a cheater, but why?

Paris and Doyle but of course they did! Can't have a happy couple in Stars Hallow or anywhere near it for long. I can see them having problems though because they've always had problems and sexually resolved them. Plus, in Paris's ideal functioning world she's married to Rory and Doyle.

WHY DOES RORY GILMORE HAVE ALL OF HER SHIT ACROSS FIVE HOMES?! How much stuff does she have? Honestly. Rory was always organized. At this point we've just got a personality transplant.

Once again, this is the main problem with the revival. None of this is behavior or characteristics we've associated with Rory. It's insert millennial here from a jaded baby boomer.

This is exhausting....................................... and I'm gonna have to take this in shifts. Next up spring.

Side note: Christmas here would be amazing and so charming.

[theshotsheardacrossworlds]

FFXIV Write: Morsel

Set early in Dawntrail MSQ, Agnes experiences what she considers to be a culinary tragedy and then Estinien makes it up to her later. Starts SFW and then delves into NSFW territory (no actual sex occurs---just talk and references) towards the end.

It was a nightmare.

Agnes’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as the scene played out in front of her.

The confrontation between her, Krile, Wuk Lamat, and the two-headed twat which ended in—

NOT THE TACOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Their bag of tacos hit the ground and were destroyed by the two-headed twat.

Not a morsel can be saved.

I’m so fucking hungry.

And this…two-headed little bitch thinks he…wait, if someone has two heads…fuck it, that asshole better watch out.

Because you don’t fuck around with Agi Varlineau.

Especially when it comes to food.

I will crush a Blood Lily, twat.

Unfortunately for the Warrior of Light, there would not be another opportunity to eat before a late evening dinner with Estinien and the children were already asleep. FUCK.

The elezen watched with great amusement at his wife wolfing down tacos. My grumpy dragon got me tacos, because he LOVES me. “Are you good, madam?” He began to laugh uncontrollably. Doubling over. Laughing.

“Wot?!” Agnes asked through a mouthful of taco.

Estinien was unable to answer for several moments because he’s still laughing. I’m hungry! I’ve been hungry! I need to pack some snacks in my bag… “You’re just really hungry, I suppose!” He moved his chair closer to hers and gave one of her soft sides a pinch. And a wink. SER!

She reached for her water and sipped. “I’ll have you know, ser, that the last time I ate today was breakfast this morning. We were supposed to have tacos around lunch, but that two-headed little bitch ruined them. And then we had to do a billion fucking things, and Krile and Wuk Lamat seemed alright so I just sort of went along…and Estinien, stop laughing, you naughty man!” Agnes playfully smacked her husband and then gave him several kisses. “You…are…very…naughty…”

“Well, tis a good thing I got plenty of tacos for my overworked and underappreciated wife.” He teased, rubbing her sides. I love him. “I’d be a piss poor husband if I didn’t see to all my lady’s needs.”

Raising an eyebrow, she made a face at him as she picked up another taco. “You are not a piss poor husband, love.” She took a bite of the taco and laughed softly. “You’re the very best husband.”

Without missing a beat, Estinien smirked. “And you’re the very breast wife, Agi.”

“ESTINIEN!” She mumble-yelled around her taco, swallowing the bite she previously took. “You. Are.” Kiss. Kiss for my grumpy dragon. “The. Breast. Husband. Ever.”

Devolving into giggles, the couple held each other as they laughed. Laughing so hard we’re both crying. Gods, he’s so silly when he wants to be. “Wants to be” being the key phrase, Mr. Grumpy Dragon. At some point when they collected themselves, Estinien held the unfinished taco to Agnes’s lips, which quirked into a smile. “The very best.” She whispered before taking a bite and kissing him. “You know, love…” she began as she reached for her glass. “I’m getting very well compensated for this little job.”

He hummed, watching her sip her water.

“I was thinking that maybe we could donate some of it to the orphanage in Radz-at-Han. They could always use it, and I remember one of the ladies there said an upcoming project would be to build an outdoor play area for the children.” She shrugged. “Why not use some of my fee to pay for it?” Her eyes widened. “But of course, it would be anonymous. I don’t want that sort of attention on us. It’s a good thing. It’s about the children, not who paid for it.”

Estinien nodded. “I agree.” Oh, he’s smiling, which means he thinks I fucking nailed it. “An excellent idea, my angel.” He picked up his bottle of ale and sipped. “My fee for sparring with the Dawnservant is substantial as well. Mayhap when we return to Radz-at-Han, we can look into getting a larger apartment—”

Excuse me?!?!?

She could have sworn her jaw dropped. “Estinien! I…” Agnes took a breath to calm down. Because, fuck he’s right but also we can manage for a while yet. “I realize that now with three children, our two-bedroom apartment is feeling…slightly…more cramped, but…hear me out. Please.” She took his hands in his and gazed into pale blue eyes. I love you. Please. “We can make it work for now. I love our apartment. I-It’s our home. It’s where we’ve finally been able to live as a couple and then as a family. I love our neighbors. I love it. I love us being there.” But. There’s always a but. “However, I know that if---gods’ forbid---I have another set of twins, then we really need to get something bigger.”

He barked a laugh. “Agi, for Fury’s sake, even with one more baby, we’ll need at least three bedrooms, if not four. But as you say, for now we’ll manage. After all, me and Hami shared a room in our cottage, and they’re still little yet.” He grinned. “Though, I don’t think Hami and Marc will want to share a room with their big sister in the future.”

Oh good gods, no.

“They absolutely won’t, and more importantly, it won’t get to that point. So to be clear, after the next one we find a bigger place?”

I have him.

It’s reasonable enough.

He sighed, a rueful smile on his face. “Aye. No matter what it is---one, two, three, five---doesn’t matter. We need to get a larger home, Agi.” He rested his hands on her ample waist and kissed her. “Don’t worry, my love. We shall make it our home. I promise.”

Then the Warrior of Light had a realization that felt like she was slapped across the face.

Home is wherever he is.

So long as Estinien is there, it’s home.

Because he’s my home.

“You’re my home.” She whispered against his lips, her eyes meeting his.

“And you’re mine.”

Yours. I’m yours. Always.

Estinien suddenly smirked as red aether swirled around him. OH?!?!?! “I should very much like to reacquaint myself with the very breast wife’s tits.” OH?!?!?!?!?!? “If that is to her liking.”

To Agnes, there was only one possible response.

“You bet your ass it’s to her liking. Oh my gods!” She gasped as he lifted her using Nidhogg’s strength, laughing. “Estinien, I love you so much!” Wrapping her long, soft arms around his neck, she kissed him. I love you. I love you. I love you.

“As I ever love you,” he murmured through fangs that just appeared. Oooooooh. This is going to be a very fun night indeed! “My pretty wife.” He then glanced at the table. “One taco left.”

Taco.

She huffed, “Oh fuck it,” and reached for it, causing her husband to burst out laughing.

Silly bastard didn’t stop laughing until it was gone, but by then he had his mouth doing other things.

Like having his dessert.

[twistafr]

Double On The Door

TedxSchlatt smut fic, pretty short thingy i made

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 1,012 Summary: "Holy shit, Ted," Schlatt whispers between a sound so high-pitched and drunk with giddiness that it could qualify for a giggle. He braces a hand against the wooden door he's leaning against, and flings his other arm over Ted's shoulder. "And I thought you were only into the chicks."

The party kinda sucked anyways.

It's not the best guest etiquette, but neither of them care. One of them has downed too many drinks and the other's smoked too much to care, after all.

And, well, maybe even without all of that Ted and Schlatt would still have locked the door of the bathroom with booming laughter that still wasn't louder than the generic music playing throughout the house.

They both suppose, sure, yeah, somebody might hold a house party and still not want people to get all handsy in their own bathroom. But they'd like to propose the fact that at least it's not somebody's bed, since the bathroom would be less gross and devastating to hear than two strangers going at it in the bed one wakes up in most of the time.

So it's the bathroom Schlatt and Ted are in, where Ted has a hand down Schlatt's shorts, making the other puff out hot air into his ear. Ted wraps his hand around his dick, and the headache Schlatt previously had formed due to the annoying laughter of anyone not named Ted suddenly wipes off from his head.

"Holy shit, Ted," Schlatt whispers between a sound so high-pitched and drunk with giddiness that it could qualify for a giggle. He braces a hand against the wooden door he's leaning against, and flings his other arm over Ted's shoulder. "And I thought you were only into the chicks."

Ted laughs with him. Or at him. Nobody really knows. He just smiles, and it's this genuine thing that makes Schlatt's head tilt back with a well endowed stroke from Ted's hand, palm warm and engulfing Schlatt who gasps slightly, then attempts to whack Ted.

"I could say the same," Ted says, huffing as he glances down, eyes hazed over with a whirl of desire and carelessness as he presses his lips to Schlatt's neck with absolutely no aim. Schlatt doesn't stop him, just glances at him in confusion, heavily judging the other as he parts his mouth against the bare skin.

"The hell are you-" But then Ted dares to bare his teeth, just opening his mouth lazily and tempting Schlatt's neck with a new possible design, canines tapping at the door. Schlatt scoffs, almost in disbelief, and feels a wave of arousal and disgust wash over him at the same time. This leaves him to swat Ted's face away, groaning with annoyance as he does. "Biting me? Get outta here, dude."

Ted chuckles, a slow and casual thing, but he can't seem to keep it there and bursts out into gradual fits of laughter as he shrugs, then sighs heavily. "My bad, bro."

With that Ted squeezes his hold, like a total weirdo, Schlatt can confirm, as his dick pusles and he reels in on himself, bumping his head against Ted's as the other's thumb swipes over the head.

"Well fuck you too, then," Schlatt tries to tell him, but his voice cuts off, sounding terribly weathered. All clipped and breathy, like just maybe the way Ted runs his finger across a vein is actually doing something to Schlatt as he gives a brief moan at the sensation purely provided by Ted's fngerpads.

"Oo, what's that you said?" Ted asks teasingly, an absolute jerk full of corny lines that can make anybody anywhere cringe. But he's good with what he's doing, so they both don't quit, and Ted hums as Schlatt lifts his hips, wordlessly trying to somehow upgrade his handjob intensity or whatever he's attempting, Ted doesn't pay attention as he grins all smug. "Did you say something that implies me fucking you? Cus it's a yes, one-hundo."

"You're so fucking annoying," Schlatt complains, but it's timed with efficient work from Ted's hand, and his cock twitches in his hold, and he bucks up into it. So his words of frustration simply end up sounding like a breathless lil moan from a voice of endearment. Not what Schlatt meant. But it doesn't matter when there's bundles of heat exploding with pleasure all throughout as Ted shifts his hand. "I-" He pauses, breath hitching as Ted uses his free hand to push Schlatt closer, hips angled upward. "Damn- look, you're not fucking me."

Ted frowns dramatically, heart stabbed by an event he knew was coming. "Right, you'll never be fucked by a dude-"

Schlatt leans up, craning his neck forward, and grasping to cuff Ted's face. "In a damn shitty bathroom, Ted."

Ted's spine straightens up for a second at the explanation, heart spiking with possibility as he flicks his wrist, causing Schlatt's eyelashes to flutter nearly. "Then the hell are we still doing in here? We gotta go to where you would let that happen, Schlatt. Dude, come on-"

Schlatt clutches onto him with both hands all of a sudden, and knocks Ted's calf with his heel. "Not tonight, pal."

Right before Ted can ask why somebody knocks on the door, so instead Ted is stuck yelling something about being occupied. Only after he gets back to work, big fingers wrapping around Schlatt who groans, the noise dragged out with satisfaction, punched out straight from his lungs, maybe even his soul as Ted moves.

 Ted inches forward, sucking in a deep breath as Schlatt moans once more, noises becoming more and more likely as he progresses into a more reactive person.

"This is so-" Schlatt pants for a second, bowing his head. He remembers to disregard this, of course, and rolls his eyes as he laboriously breathes. "This is unfair."

And well, Schlatt said it, even if either of them mean it because to be completely frank, Schlatt doesn't actually consider a handjob from his own Ted, his best friend, to be an unfair thing that happened to him.

It does, in fact, make him finish, leaving him to mumble out Ted's name and a bunch of half-assed insults as Ted soaks everything from him- Before he sinisterly takes out his phone and snaps a photo of Schlatt from chest up.

Schlatt tries to delete it, of course.