#came into work today and two of my coworkers were chatting about the announcement & how it made them feel hopeful

[astriiformes]

Satisfying/entertaining day to be a Minnesotan

[bbugyu]

can i kiss you yet? + hong joshua

a mutual friend always made a great excuse to see you, but he definitely wanted more.

wc.2.4k | joshua x gn!reader, fluff, first snow au, foreigners in korea squad up, josh is a tutor u are an ambiguous worker everything is vague shhh, there are really no warning this is just fluff, oh drinking, but only the once, miss park chaeyoung please text me back

haha..... i am....... im not........... im in my joshie feels ok do not talk to me about it im embarrassed. thanks @babiemingoo for ruining my life by saying joshua would fall in love with me, and i quote, "no cap."

~

you spent a lot of time with joshua. by proxy, mostly, but you enjoyed his company nonetheless. your best friend called him her brother - they weren't related by blood, but by circumstance, having separately moved to korea at an old enough age to take care of themselves but young enough to still need the support of someone going through something similar. they were neighbors, and rosie had no way of stopping him from barging through her front door at all hours of the day. she always yelled at him to let her have some privacy. he insisted that if she was doing something that required privacy, then she should tell him beforehand. you always just laughed from your spot on the couch.

joshua would smile and put up a hand when he pretended to notice you for the first time, as though you weren't the express reason he had made an excuse to show up. "hi, y/n."

you would smile back and wiggle your fingers at him. "hi, josh."

this happened almost every time you came over to rosie's apartment, and while you never intended to see him, you would be lying if you said it wasn't a lovely benefit.

she rolled her eyes. "don't you have a job?"

"that's the great thing about being an online tutor," joshua said, making himself comfortable on the opposite end of the couch from you. "flexible scheduling."

you realized you had never asked him about his work. "what do you tutor?"

he looked at you, and you thought you saw a flash of nervousness in his eyes before he grinned. "english. and korean. and algebra. and calculus, sometimes."

"that's, like," you paused, your head knocking to one side. "impressive?"

"is it?" he laughed. "i just voice chat with high school students in sweats."

you shrugged. "i'm bad at math and i'm pretty sure i'd be bad at teaching, so anything like that is impressive to me."

he nodded, the corner of his mouth quirked upwards. it was hard for him to believe that you could be bad at anything, but he figured math was an okay thing to be lacking in. "noted."

rosie coughed loudly, making you both direct your attention to where she was leaning against the kitchen counter. "if you guys are done, i would love someone's help deciding what kind of pizza to get."

when you left hours later, rosie asked joshua why he even came over, trying to imply that he was taking too long to admit he liked you.

he pouted out his lips and shook his head. "no reason. i just heard you talking to someone and wanted to make sure you're not inviting over weirdos."

she gave him a sideways glare, knowing that if that were the truth, he would have come over when mingyu showed up the day before. or wonwoo last week. or any of her other friends that frequented her studio apartment. but conveniently, he only ever barged in when it was you, and she had a suspicion that it was because he had learned to recognize your laugh through the thin walls.

the first time you ever met joshua, it was at a bar. you and some work friends had agreed to get drinks together, and when your coworker-turned-bestie got a call from her neighbor saying she got a package, you nudged her.

"is he your oppa, like, just a guy, or like a boyfriend?"

she squinted at you, registering your language switch "ew! oh my god, he's just a guy. he's like a brother."

you heard an indignant noise over the line at her exclamation, and you giggled as you guided the straw in your cocktail to your lips.

"am i lying, joshua?" rosie said, rolling her eyes. "are you not like my brother?"

"joshua?" your eyebrows quirked up, realizing he had an english name, and only processing after the fact that he also understood her. "is he like us?"

"foreign?" rosie asked, looking at you. "yeah, he's from la."

you looked at her expectantly. "well, is joshua free tonight?"

she laughed at you, but redirected the question over the phone anyways, then promptly invited him out to join you at the bar, and he said he could be there in 45 minutes. he arrived with 6 minutes to spare (not that you were watching the clock, but you totally were), and rosie waved him down to join your table, quickly introducing him to the coworkers you had deemed fun enough to hang out with.

"and this is y/n," she said, grabbing your arm. she leaned over to joshua, pretending to whisper. "the other foreigner."

you laughed and shook his hand, saying it was nice to meet him. he smiled back, warmly, and returned the sentiment. he was korean, you realized, despite being from america, and he was incredibly handsome. like, absurdly so, in a way that felt impossible in reality, yet here he was, gaze flickering over your face as you brought your (new) drink to your lips, and the liquid almost caught in your throat when you saw an entire galaxy twinkling in his eyes. you blinked when he went to get a drink, thinking you must be drunker than you thought to have mistaken the reflection of the fairy lights that littered the bar as galaxies, but for some reason, your initial impression seemed to suit him more.

months later, you went to rosie's apartment just to drop off some food - you were teaching yourself how to make korean side dishes, and she volunteered to be your auxiliary food tester if you made too much, which, big surprise, you absolutely did. she made fun of your cooler bag and your big puffy jacket, saying you reminded her of the grandma down the hall, and you laughed heartily as you made your way to her kitchen.

she had an essay to write, so you didn't stick around. shortly after you announced your leave and exited to the hall, the next door opened.

"oh," joshua said, hand still gripping the handle of his front door as he made surprised eye contact with you. "you're leaving already?"

you pursed your lips to hide a smile, wrapping your scarf around your neck. "already?"

"you usually, um," he paused, his hand going to the back of his neck, the other pushing into the pocket of his jeans. "you're usually around for a few hours."

you giggled. "i was just dropping off some food, rosie has an essay to write."

he puffed out a cheek and nodded slowly as he let it deflate. "i guess i shouldn't bother her, then."

you watched him avoid your gaze, then peeked slyly past him into his apartment. you had never been, but it looked neat. neutral. comforting. it seemed like him.

the jig was up, joshua thought, studying your eyes briefly. you clearly knew he only ever barged into his neighbor's apartment because you were there. he had obviously just given it away, but maybe you had always known, and you had just let him think he was convincing when he said he had no idea you were over. but maybe he was okay with that, because you never complained. and maybe that meant you liked seeing him, too.

"are you busy?" he asked suddenly. "i don't mean to keep you, but-"

you shook your head quickly. "i don't have plans."

"uh," he turned to his apartment before looking back at you briefly. "let me grab a jacket, i'll walk you home."

you couldn't help but smile. "okay."

joshua made sure he was quick to get his winter coat and a scarf, but instinctively adjusted his bangs in a mirror and checked his breath. he silently scolded himself for making this out to be something that it wasn't - he was walking you home, not taking you out. but he hoped he would work up the nerve to ask before the end of the walk.

"ready?" you asked, pushing off the wall you were leaning against as you waited.

he smiled at you, silently hoping he was. "yeah, let's go. it's gonna start getting dark soon."

when the two of you exited the apartment building, hands shoved into pockets, joshua commented that it felt like it was gonna snow.

"i think the forecast said tomorrow," you mused, looking up at the overcast sky.

he stared at you as you walked beside him, your lips curved upward in a vague smile as you thought about how much you liked the snow, and when you looked over and caught his gaze, he redirected his eyes just a little too late, then laughed at his own behavior. "sorry, you looked really cute just then."

you couldn't help but smile, nuzzling down into your scarf to hide it. "as opposed to normally, when i don't."

"not what i said," he defended immediately. "i think you always look cute."

you giggled into your scarf, hoping he couldn't see how flustered you felt. "thank you. i think you always look cute, too."

you caught a small smile sneak onto his face as he looked down at his shoes. "thanks."

joshua had never once seemed shy to you. a little hesitant, maybe, when you had first met him, but he exuded confidence. you got the impression that he knew himself better than anyone, and he was happy to express himself genuinely around people that accepted him. he was a bit of a smooth talker, you thought. he had a way of saying exactly what people wanted to hear, whether it was true or not. but today, now, he seemed genuinely reserved. quieter. like he wasn't quite sure what to say to you as you walked side by side on the sidewalk, headed to your apartment.

"what kind of food did you bring to roseanne?" he asked, trying to fill the quiet.

"standard fare," you said, smiling at how he used her full name. "kimchi, seasoned beansprouts, sweet potatoes, fishcakes."

"oh, korean?" he asked, looking at you. "i didn't know you cooked like that."

your lip quirked into a smile at the reaction. "i'm practicing. gotta please a korean husband if i wanna get a permanent visa, y'know."

"right," he said, nodding at your joking tone. "a korean husband."

you blinked, eyes focusing on something in the air, then looked up. "oh my god, is it snowing?"

joshua tore his gaze from you, looking around at the flakes that were gently falling from the sky. "i told you it was gonna snow."

"but the forecast said tomorrow!" you laughed, pulling a hand out of your pocket to try to catch some flakes. "has it snowed yet since new year?"

his heart fluttered lightly as he watched you shove your hand back into your pocket. "no, not yet."

you looked over at him and giggled at how much snow had gathered on his dark hair. "oh, jeez, it's starting to come down." you reached out to him, brushing some flakes off his bangs, and he hoped you thought his ears were just red from the cold. "if we don't hurry, you're not gonna be able to walk home."

that wouldn't be the end of the world, joshua thought. maybe if the snow fell heavy enough, you would tell him to sleep on your couch instead of trekking home. maybe the two of you could chat, alone, just enjoying company until too late in the night. and maybe your heating would go out again, like you often complained about, and maybe the two of you could wind up under the same blanket as you got sleepier.

"do you know that belief?" he asked, glancing at you as you walked. "what koreans say about first snow?"

you looked over to him. "no," you said shortly, switching to korean. "what is it?"

he laughed, but continued in english. "they say that if you're with someone during the first snow of the year, you'll stay together for a long time."

you stopped in your tracks, and he only made it two steps in front of you before he turned, looking at you questioningly. "together?"

he gave a short affirmation, blinking and looking away as he shifted his stance. "yeah, like-" he paused. "supposedly, if you confess during the first snow, it's good luck. or something like that."

you stared at him, studying his eyes as he avoided your gaze, a tiny smile creeping across your face. "josh."

he looked at you, eyebrows quirked. "w'sup?"

you giggled. "are you talking about us right now?"

"oh, are you confessing to me?" he asked, eyes wide and making you laugh as he slowly closed the short distance between you. "confessing during the first snow, wow. you must really like me. y'know, i always kind of thought you had a crush on me."

you rolled your eyes. "yet it took you four months to mention it?"

his nose scrunched up as he grimaced apologetically. "i'm sorry for making you wait," he said, quietly and in korean, close enough that you felt his breath on your skin. you just shook your head at him.

"i made you wait, too."

he looked between your eyes, and you couldn't help but feel like the snow was melting around you from his warm you felt. "can i kiss you yet?"

you let out a breathy giggle, enjoying the way his eyes creased as he smiled at you. "of course you can."

this moment, joshua realized, was one that he had imagined a million times in his head. in a million different scenarios throughout the last four months, he had imagined how incredible it would be to feel your lips against his. and when he finally found himself there, his fingers brushing against your cheek as he pulled you into him, the first snow of the year falling around you, he realized he had imagined it all wrong. because despite thinking that you definitely had the most beautiful lips that he could ever press his to, he had not accounted for the fact that you were smiling, and he was too, and that made them the sweetest. the most fun. the most exciting.

and he hoped you would let him keep kissing you for a long time.

[johnismyreason]

I have a request for a oneshot! Meeting tom in a bar, chatting, flirting, ending up at his place and having $ex🔥

It always takes me so much time to write something I’m sorry... Anyway I hope you’ll enjoy :) 

warnings: smutt, alcohol (kinda), praise kink, no foreplay, dom-ish!tom, and obviously the usual bad English 

The longest day ever. Ugh.

It was one of those days where you just think I just should’ve stayed in bed. Your alarm clock didn’t ring. You cracked your favourite pair of jeans right before heading out, making you running late even more. Your boss gave you yet another assignment in addition of you hundred of other ones. Stacy, your favourite co-worker, wasn’t here because she was on vacation with her boyfrie- fiancé now, wow she just texted you a selfie with her ring, and you remain single. Someone spilled their coffee on your shirt and didn’t even apologise. And finally hen you thought nothing bad can happen anymore, the rain was pouring. Of course you didn’t take your umbrella or a coat with a hood. Thank you London shitty weather. And of course, a car splashed the only puddle of water all over you. You wanted to cry, scream and burn everything down. You lift your head and read in bright red lighting the holy word “PUB”. Hallelujah. You didn’t even think about it, you just walked in.

The place was almost empty, which didn’t bother you at all, since you had enough interactions with humans for the day, maybe even for the week.

You sat at the bar, your coat drenched, your hair sticking to your face, your make up was gone and your mascara left black ink under your eyes. You were sticky and looked gross, but you couldn’t care less anymore. After three minutes with your head between your hands and elbows on the counter, the bartender bring you a shot of vodka.

“Wait,” you called him, “I didn’t order yet”

“Yeah, well, the guy over there got this for you” he replied, pointing at a curly hair young man sat on the banquette behind you, who, with a tight smile, waved shyly at you with just two fingers.

You looked at him with your tired eyes. Shit, he’s cute. He must has a weird obsession for desperate girls. You take the small glass and poured it down your throat.

“Thank you,” you told him a little louder than expected but you didn’t bother pretending you were sorry for three other customers. The young man got up and walked towards you, his bottle of beer in his hand.

“You’re welcome,” he said softly, seating on the stool next to yours. “You looked like you needed it” he chuckled.

“T’was that obvious ?”

He chuckled again before replying “a bit.” and you smiled lightly too. He didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds, just looking at you. “I’m Tom by the way” he introduced himself and extended his hand to you.

You looked at his hand, a little surprised by his traditional behaviour, but took it anyways “Y/N”

“Nice to meet you Y/N”. Another smile appeared on his thin lips . He was really cute. “So, what happened ? It seems like you had a rough day, don’t you ?” he asked, taking a sip of his beer. His jaw was sharp and his fingers were long and thin around the bottle.

“You wouldn’t want to know, it’s too long, and boring, and sad and... yeah, pathetic” you said, your head resting on your palm, staring at the counter.

“Well thank god we have all night, and you might think it’s an odd coincidence but, boring, sad and pathetic stories are my favourite.”

You thought about it. He’s a stranger in the creepiest pub in London, you don’t know nothing about him, and he doesn’t know nothing about you. You look a mess and weird, you’re drenched, why does he want to know about your day ?

“You like desperate girls, don’t you ?” you finally said.

“What ?” Tom replied, genuinely confused.

“Or maybe you’re the desperate one and is ready to pick the most rubbish looking girl, as long as you can have your release” you teased

“N-no, no ! I-I just... I saw you by the window getting splashed by the car, I felt so bad for you and I hoped you would come in so I can offer you a drink. I-I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I’ll leave-”

“Wait !” you stopped him from getting out of his stool, placing your hand on his forearm. Now you felt bad. He’s the first and only person today who didn’t annoy you in any kind of way. “Please, stay. It’s been a long day. A very long day” you sighed. Tom sat back on his stool with a tight smile. He ordered two other beers for him and you.

“Wanna talk about it ?” he gently proposed. You nodded and started your narrative. You gave all the details, from the sound of your ripped jeans, the tone of the unkind comment your coworker spat after pouring his coffee on you, to the very beautiful diamond your friend got when she got proposed to what seemed the perfect guy. Tom listened to everything, and kept his focus on your eyes, sometimes your lips, but just for a second. You finished your story after what felt like 10 hours of speaking.

“Wow... that was... a fucking shitty day” he chuckled bringing you warmth to your heart.

You chuckled “I’ll drink to that,” taking your beer and clinked it with his. You sighed dramatically and turned to him.

“What about yours ?”

“Mine ?” he said after taking a sip. “Well, it was way less interesting than yours” he laughed. “Um... I woke up. Got to the grocery store, worked out, watched TV, worked and got to this bar. And now I’m talking to a very pretty girl.” you blushed, not expecting him to say that.

“I bet she smells like flowers” you roasted yourself.

“More like a wet dog but that’s light” Tom teased and you hit him lightly on his arm. You both laughed lightly.

“We’re closing,” the bartender cut you.

“It’s only 9 o’clock...” you responded, your eyebrows frowned.

“We’re closing,” he repeated.

You looked at Tom, rolling your eyes “It’s because of my bad luck, I’m sorry.”

“Oh don’t be. This gives me the opportunity to ask you if you want to come to me place, have another drink.” he asked shyly, putting the money on the counter.

You looked at him awkwardly stuffing his hand in his jean pockets, waiting for your response. He’s really cute. Fuck it, let’s go. You bit your lip into a smile and nodded a yes. His eyes widened.

“Really ? Great ! Um, let’s go then,” he let you walk first towards the door but opened it for you. He told that his appartement is just a few minutes walking from here.

You followed him in the almost empty streets, talking about everything and mostly about him. He was nice and funny and it felt like you knew him for years. He led you to his building and then apartment which was gigantic next to yours. He took your coat and offered you to dry your hair  with his hairdryer while he sets everything to eat. You agreed and followed him in his bathroom. You came back in the kitchen where Tom was preparing dinner. There was a central counter illuminated by three industrial-style lamps. Tom had a folded tea towel on his shoulder and seemed very concentrated on cooking his dish.

“Pasta alla tomato,” he announced with a proud smile and his fingers pinched together, noticing you coming back from the bathroom.

“I’m not quite sure, that’s how Italians call it” you laughed standing next to him.

“Who cares ? It’s gonna be delicious,” he smirked. “Wanna taste ?” he asked with a low voice, his spoon ready to make you taste the tomato sauce. You nodded eagerly, making him chuckle. You parted your lips and leaned towards him, welcoming the spoon in your mouth. You moaned at the taste and watched his pupils dilate for a split second.

“It is delicious,” you confirmed licking your lips. Tom watched your tongue dancing on your mouth and felt his heart beating fast. Suddenly, it was too hot in the room.

“We um... we should take some plates,” he tried to resonate him. He moved around you to grab two plates, forks and knives and placed it on the counter, in front of the chairs.

You kept talking about life and laughed at the strangest stories you two lived. You were having the best time. Tom was nice, funny and it felt like you knew each others for years. Everything since the bar was simple and comfortable. Also, he was really cute. You couldn’t take off your eyes of him. You admired the stain of curls falling on his forehead, and how his biceps contrat when he runs his hand through his hair to replace it. The little wrinkles around his eyes when he was smiling and the joyful burst of his voice as he laughs.

You also noticed a small stain of tomato sauce on his jaw, and without thinking about it, cutting Tom in his sentence, you swiped your thumb over it and brung it to your lips. Before you could reach your mouth, Tom stopped you, interlacing your hand with his fingers, pulling it to his face. He plunged his gaze into yours and wrapped his lips around your thumb. He licked softly your digit without breaking the eye contact. You stopped breathing, your heart pounding in your ears.

“That was mine,” he almost groaned. He then kissed delicately your other fingers while you starred at his lips and his face. He sometimes made eye contact with, making you loose your mind, before closing his eyes refocusing your fingers. He pulled gently on your wrist close to make you lean towards him. Your faces are a few inches away and the tension is so thick, the space between you is barely breathable.

“Y/N,” Tom whispered “please let me kiss you” he tilted his head waiting for your answer. Your breath was jerky, your pupils dilated and all your senses in turmoil. You leaned a little more, closing your eyes and nodded slowly.

Tom placed his other free hand on your cheek and closed the space between you. His lips were warm and rough at the same time, but his kisses were soft and caring. He wanted to make you feel good. The leaned position wasn’t the most comfortable though. So without breaking the kiss, Tom guided you up and sat you on his lap.

“Hm, much better” he said between kisses. You giggled and ran your hands through his soft curls. Tom navigated his lips down your neck and sucked on your hot skin. You tilted your head back giving him all the space he needed. Tom then traced his way down to your chest, his hands running up and down your back, waist and hips. You gently pulled on his curls to bring back his lips on your mouth, both whining and moaning.

“Tom, I need more... so much more” you desperately moaned out of breath. He didn’t say anything. He just got up, holding you around his chest and walked to his bedroom. After letting you falling gracefully on his bed he got up and took off his tight t-shirt. You discovered his muscular features, making you want to touch it.

“Give me your hands,” he nicely ordered. And you obeyed. He placed your palms on his pecs and slowly ran them all over his upper body. Your eyes stared frantically every inch of his skin, in awe of his features. Tom looked at your face with a slight smirk, admiring you.

“You like what see ?” that was so cocky yet so hot. You would gave laughed if it was anyone else, but there was something about him that was so hypnotising.

“I really do,” you whispered, still caressing him.

“Y/N, can I take off your clothes” he gently demanded, lingering his long fingers on your arms.

“Please,” you whimpered. Tom took the time to kiss you before pulling up your almost tired t-shirt and bra.

“Gorgeous,” he groaned and ran his warm hand on your breast. You moaned his name when you felt his lips around your nipples. “you’re so beautiful Y/N”. He pushed you against the mattress, stil sucking on your buds. He slid his hands down your body to take off your panties. “Can I take these off ?”

“Yes, you can” you answered desperately. He wasted no time and admired your glistening core.

“Fuck, I can’t wait to be inside you” Tom got up and grabbed a condom in his bathroom. When he came back he stumbled while taking off his boxers, making you giggle at his eagerness. He almost jumped on the bed and placed the condom on his very hard cock. You looked at him with wanting eyes, licking your lips.

“Do I need to work you out a little ?”

“No, no, don’t worry about that, you’ve done enough” you giggled and he responded the same way. “Please, I just need you...” you whimpered. Tom leaned on you to kiss you, and ever so smoothly entered you. You both moaned loudly.

“Fuck Y/N, you feel amazing” he stayed immobile for a little while so you can accommodate to him, until you moved your hips. He got the message and started thrusting gently but deeply.

Tom never stoped kissing you. On your lips, your cheeks, your neck... every bit on your skin that was reachable was showered by his lips. It was like a drug to him. You couldn’t get your hands off of his body, running them on his back, abs, chest and hair tugging a little on his curls. And each time your did that, he groaned and moaned. He made the prettiest sounds and you were loving it. Tom sped up his movements, holding close to him.

“Tom... umm you feel so good ! Gosh, please don’t stop”, you praised him and deepened his thrusts. They were more calculated, more passionate. Seeing him responding to your praises this way, made you want even more from him, so you continued.

“Um, yes just like that, oh fuck ! Tom, fuck you feel amazing !” he became animalistic in his thrusts and you felt your orgasm getting closer.

“You like this cock pretty girl ? um ?” he groaned in your ear “do you feel how perfect it is for you ? how it makes you loose yourself ? I feel you clenching baby...” his thrusts sped up even harder wanting you to release your pleasure “cum for me Y/N, I’m right behind you. God, fuck- your pussy feels so good, so tight !”

Your nails scratched his back, searching for something to hold onto, you arched your spine and let your orgasm took over you. Tom thrusted a few more times before he cums in you, moans and groans filling the air. He relaxed his body on top of yours, both you regaining your breath. Who knew, after spending the worst day ever, you would end up in a stranger’s bed. Tom eventually rolled on the side, giggling.

“What’s so funny ?” you asked a bit embarrassed.

“Nothing, nothing,” he reassured you, kissing you softly, “it was just... mind-blowing.” You felt your cheeks heat up against his palm.

“I know,” your confirmed. “Thank you for brighting up my day” you joked.

“Anytime, love !” Tom smiled before hesitantly asking you “actually, I was thinking, maybe we could go on a date, or something... I spent a really good time with you. I’m not only talking about the sex, huh, it was an amazing evening.”

You bit your lips and kissed him delicately “I would love that. I had a great time too”

[professorsnape394]

The Potions Master’s Apprentice

Chapter Seven: Potions Lessons

A/N: This is the seventh part to my fanfiction ‘The Potions Master’s Apprentice (Severus Snape x OC)’. Chapters 1-16 can be found already uploaded on Wattpad under the same name. Feel free to leave requests in my inbox for anything Snape related you want me to write. Leave a comment below if you wish to be added to my tag list.

Pairing: Severus Snape x OC (Dumbledore’s Granddaughter)

Summary: A talented young witch is employed as an apprentice professor at Hogwarts, but who will she be working under? Severus Snape is not best pleased with his new responsibility of taking on an apprentice, however she is relentless to create a friendship between them. Will she be successful? Or might the friendship just go a little two far? With the eyes of her grandfather constantly watching over them, an attempt at a relationship might not be in the cards for Aria Dumbledore and Severus Snape.

Word Count: 2831

Warnings: n/a

Credits to Gif Creator

The orange glow emitting from the floating candles lit the room as the dark star lit sky twinkled above. A distant rumble of thunder filled the Great Hall as the row of Professors sat awaiting the students arrival. Professor Dumbledore sat positioned in the middle of the top table, hands clasped in front of him, a subtle smile resting on his ageing face. On either side of the Headmaster sat the Deputy Headmistress and Head of Slytherin House, while his granddaughter nervously clicking her heel under the table next to the former.

"Don't worry, my dear, you'll be a great professor." Minerva whispered to her colleague, clutching onto her hand.

With a simple double clap from the Headmaster the grand entrance to the hall slowly opened to reveal a clamorous horde of students; from all years and houses. Just as quick as he had summoned them, Dumbledore silenced the crowd immediately after everyone had found a seat. Moments later a small cluster of first year students rushed into the hall, their faces a sea of shock and amazement, almost all of them turning their heads to view the exposed sky above them.

Teachers sat patiently while the children were sorted into their respective houses, the rest of the students however quickly became rowdy, cheering for the students that became part of their house and jeering against those who weren't; particularly the young Slytherins. Aria shook her head disapproving at the clear separation of the student body, wondering why the professors allowed for the other houses to discriminate against the Slytherins.

"I wanted to apologise for last night." Minerva spoke in soft tones. "I was a little merry from all that wine and the excitement of being back at Hogwarts. I was out of line, I should know better than to provoke Severus."

"Don't worry about it Minerva" Aria whispered, reaching out to clasp her hand again, reassuringly. "It was kind of funny when you think back on it. Besides you never done anything wrong, Snape completely overreacted to the whole thing, I mean It was obvious it was meant to be a joke ."

The two witches exchanged a comforting smile and squeeze of the hand, before turning to enjoy the feast.

When everyone seemed full enough from the feast Albus rose to his feet, stepping out to a podium at the front of the hall. He started with the same old reminder to the first years that the dark forest was off limits as was the village of Hogsmeade to all students below their third year. Aria had almost begun to zone out when she was brought back to reality by a loud groan from the students as Dumbledore announced the Quidditch inter-house cup would be cancelled this year. Straight away Aria's attention was pulled to the red headed Weasley twins sitting off to the left of the hall, heckling the headmaster, devastated they would be missing out on playing there favourite sport. Aria chuckled to herself, glad to see the boys again.

The objections from the hall soon came to a halt, not by Dumbledore's upcoming announcement, but by a deep rumble of thunder filling the room, followed by the screams of students as a bolt of lightning pulsed through the sky. Another fork of lightening shot through the sky, illuminating the wounded disfigured face of a suspicious man who had just hobbled into the room. Aria could not take her eyes off the dark silhouette of the man, the only part of his body visible in the shadows was the large unnerving electric blue glass eye which shot about in his head aimlessly, the stark contrast of the fake eye only emphasised when his small black beady one was revealed in the candlelight. The man limped towards the Headmaster, every eye in the room on him.

"Perfect timing." Dumbledore grinned. "May I introduce to you, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Moody. And on that note I would like to also present, My granddaughter and your new Potions Assistant, Professor Aria Dumbledore." Aria stood for a second, smiling to the crowd and gave a small curtsy before once again taking her seat. Less than enthused by his introduction, Moody immediately took his seat at the end of the top table, allowing Professor Dumbledore to continue with his speech.

"As I was saying, the Quidditch inter-house cup will not be taking place this year due to Hogwarts having the honour of hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Dumbledore proceeded to explain the details and rules of the tournament before introducing the competing schools; Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. The excitement among the students only picked up as the opposing schools joined the great feast, each conducting a small show for everyone to enjoy. Aria's nervousness had long passed and she was now thoroughly enjoying the meal with her newfound friends and coworkers. However the silence between Aria and Severus remained as a thick air of tension settled over the Professor's table.

*

First period the next morning Aria was set to assist Snape in teaching first year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw's. She stood at the front of the Potion's classroom, her presence commanding but not intimidating. Aria couldn't help but grin as she watched the new students excitedly chatting away in hushed tones, enthusiastically awaiting their first ever class at Hogwarts. She felt sorry for them knowing their expectations were soon to be let down. Rocking slightly back and forth on her heels, Aria took one last look over the days schedule. She was determined not to give Severus a reason to criticise her today. Speaking of which she was shocked to find the man late for his own lesson.

Just as the thought entered her mind, the loud crashing of the door opening caught the attention of the entire room. The billowing cape of Severus Snape dramatically wafted behind him as he rounded his way around the children's desks and towards the front of the class.

"There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class." He commanded, the velvety monotone of his voice silencing the class. Aria took a step back, not wanting to risk getting in his way as he begun to scribble on the chalkboard behind his desk. "For the select few of you who possess the appreciation for the subtle art that is potion making I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death." Snape enunciated.

Aria continued to stay out of the professors way, waiting for her cue to participate in the lesson. A cue which never came. She stood off to the side, her feet burning from standing so long in the one position, a feigned smile painstakingly plastered on her face, trying her best to keep up appearances for the sake of the students.

It was clear from the look on their faces they were enjoying today's lessons just as much as she was, her heart ached for them, their dreams of having a magical Hogwarts experience was crushed in their first hour of lessons.

Snape continued to teach for the rest of the day pretending like Aria wasn't even there at all. Aria chose to stay silent. Snape's rude demeanour giving her the perfect excuse to report him to Dumbledore for not carrying out his duties as her mentor; allowing her to participate in the teaching of his classes. Not giving him the satisfaction of her arguing she simply walked away at the end of the teaching day, leaving him alone in the class wondering why she simply gave in to him.

This was made clear to him when he was called to Dumbledore's office that evening to discuss the days lessons. Both Dumbledore's sat looking smugly as the Potions Master entered the Headmasters office refusing to take his seat next to the young woman when it was offered.

"I thought I made it abundantly clear Severus that Aria is to assist in all of your lessons." Dumbledore begun, not entertaining the man's supercilious act.

"I thought I made it clear, Headmaster, that I will not work with this woman. I respect she is your granddaughter and you felt the need to give her a job but I will not compromise my teaching for her childish demands."

"Severus, this is your job." Dumbledore said, his tone sharper than usual. "If you will not abide my commands then I shall have to take action into my own hands. Until you chose to cooperate, Aria will teach all potions lessons alone. You will have no interference or participation in any class until you agree to work in partnership with her. That is all I have to say on the matter." He finalised.

"Thank you, grandfather." Aria shot Severus a self-satisfied look, and rose from her seat, pleased with the outcome of her enquiry. Severus seen no point in objecting in fear of making the situation worse. The glare on his face simply intensified. He made to leave, just as did Aria. The two as stubborn as each other refused to stay behind and so they left side by side, the ever growing tension between them more apparent than ever.

"So that's how it shall be, will it?" Severus seethed through gritted teeth. "I do something you don't like and you go running to Granddaddy?"

"It worked didn't it." She chirped with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Besides, there wouldn't be a problem had you not chose to ignore me all day. I do not want to step on your toes Severus, but if you refuse to work with me, I will do everything in my power to change that. I'm here to assist you, to help you. Utilise me! Stop thinking of me as your biggest enemy and start thinking of me as an asset. We could accomplish so much together." The witch pleaded. Severus shot her a look of confusion and slight disgust. "Professionally speaking." She finished, clearing her throat, making it clearer what she meant.

Snape huffed, in response, continuing to walk on, though they both kept a steady pace, remaining side by side all the way to the Dungeons. Showing no sign of stopping for the final word as he reached his private quarters, Severus huffed to himself in a rage of malcontent. "See you tomorrow." Aria called to him, her tone dripping in sarcasm.

And with that Severus slammed the door to his chambers putting a final end to the conversation.

*

For eight days Aria was left to her own devices, happily teaching potions her own way to the students. Depending on his mood Severus would either sit at his desk, muttering irritably to himself in disapproval. Other days he would be feeling more confident and he would consistently make snarky comments regarding her teaching style. And sometimes he wouldn't even show up to class at all. It didn't take Aria long to suspect what he might be doing during those long days he sat alone.

On the ninth day Severus had had enough. He couldn't take it any more. He hated feeling idle. He hated not feeling needed. He hated that students loved the way she taught. And he hated that one day Dumbledore might come to his senses and realise she was just as capable of teaching as he was and he would no longer be needed at Hogwarts.

That night after the Great Feast Severus went to the Headmaster's office and quietly gave in, agreeing to work in partnership with Miss Dumbledore. Aria was impressed by Severus' decision and could not wait to gloat victoriously when she saw him at breakfast the next day.

However when it actually came time for Aria to proudly shove her successful accomplishment in Severus' face, she didn't have the heart to humiliate him. It had been a good few days since she had saw him last and it was clear the time alone had not done him any good. Though he usually had a look of exhaustion about him the dark bags under his eyes were worse then ever, the lines across his face deeper and his general aura was less dangerous and intimidating dungeon bat and more exhausted sleep deprived man. He almost seemed more human to Aria now he was more reserved and timid than his previously obnoxiously arrogant self.

She let him lead the lesson and done as she was asked when she was asked. Snape was happy to use her skills to his advantage and was glad he had an extra pair of hands to take on the physical aspect of the lesson when he became too tired to move from behind his desk. The pair managed to maintain a professional dialogue for the whole day, with little to no arguments as Aria kept her mouth shut and Severus respected her position as his assistant.

By the end of the teaching day Severus was practically falling asleep behind his desk as he made his way through the stack of paperwork he had collected throughout the day. Struggling to keep his eyes open Severus ran a hand through his hair, resting his head in his hands and let out an painful groan of exhaustion. As Miss Dumbledore finished collecting in the small pewter cauldrons she took the opportunity to have a real conversation with the man in front of her.

Letting out a sympathetic huff, Aria couldn't help but give him a sad sort of smile. She pulled a seat over to the desk and waited for Snape to notice her. Although she hadn't known him long, and of course it was clear to everyone he was not the most well balanced human in terms of sleep and work, she could confidently say he looked to be at his worst. A small scruff of a beard threatening to form had appeared from the past days of forgetting to shave and the man could barely keep his heavy eyelids open.

"Can I help you, Miss Dumbledore." Severus grumbled, slowly moving his hands from his head to look at the young woman. "What is it you want?"

"Are you okay, Severus?" She spoke softly, genuinely concerned for the man.

"I'm perfectly fine, Miss Dumbledore." His slightly slurred words saying differently. "Not that it is any of your concern." He mumbled, once again turning to his stack of paperwork.

"What happened to you." Aria muttered more to herself than Snape. The professor looked up at the woman, who had now become preoccupied with straightening out her skirt. Snape let out a final sigh and sat his quill to the side, ready to fully invest in the conversation with the woman.

"What are you mumbling about, woman." He asked, though his tone was not as harsh as it could have been.

"I am truly, truly sorry, Professor." She confessed. "I knew you were unhappy about my being here but I hadn't realised how much it would have took a toll on you. I mean sure I wanted to mess with you for a bit just to give you a taste of your own medicine, but look at you."

"Despite what you may think, you are not the sole reason for my lack of sleep, Miss Dumbledore." He spoke softly, his captivating gaze catching her own. He seemed to be reassuring her more than doing it for the thrill of proving her wrong.

"I'm not?"

"You are not even half the reason. Though you can take full credit for the sudden peak in my blood pressure." Aria couldn't help but chuckle at the comment, and she could have sworn a brief smile flashed across Severus' face too.

"Do you want to talk about what's got you in such a state." The woman pried.

"Not even slightly." He droned, breaking eye contact, once again picking up his quill.

"Clearly its bothering you, I don't imaging keeping it bottled up will do much good."

"I said I don't want to talk about it." He replied curtly. "Now if you could please take your leave, your assistance is no longer required."

Aria thought it best not to aggravate the man more given his current state and chose to obey his command, giving a small nod before heading for the door.

"Miss Dumbledore." Snape called out, just as she made to leave, forcing to spin on her heel to face him. "I'll be okay." He assured, giving her a comforting nod before immediately turning back to his work.

Speechless Aria could only smile in return. Not only had they both had a successful day of teaching and a perfectly civil conversation but Snape had even gone as far as to reassure her, knowing if he hadn't she would have blamed herself for his deteriorating condition.

The soft click of the door closing felt as if it had been amplified a thousand times as the feeling of loneliness engulfed Severus.

Taglist:

@ayamenimthiriel​

[sassyhobbits]

Tinder Au pt 2

yall ask, i deliver. Enjoy!

part 1

~~~

When Rowan’s Tinder match had ended up being his new coworker, he had expected a few tense days of awkwardness that they would eventually work through. He then hoped for them to become friends, or at least build a kind of casual, professional relationship. Eventually, the entire thing would have been a funny memory they would be able to laugh at in the future.

He hadn’t expected that she would end up driving him up the fucking wall.

Aelin was loud and opinionated. In the short month and a half she had been at the gym, she had practically taken over, moving through the facility like wildfire. All of the members adored her, as did the staff. Even Lorcan, who only really liked the nutritionist, Elide, managed to tolerate Aelin.

Maybe what pissed him off the most was the fact that she barely paid him a second glance. Aelin talked to everyone, knew all their names and facts about them, but almost never spoke to him. When he had called off the date and put some professional distance between them, Rowan didn’t expect her to take it as she had. He had liked her enough when they chatted, he didn’t want to cut off ties completely.

Maybe he was extra pissed off because of how people flocked to her, of how she soaked up the attention. She was a beautiful girl, afterall. She smiled and flirted here and there, but none of that attention went towards Rowan.

Maybe… maybe he was just pissed because he had missed out on the opportunity to be the one she smiled at like that.

Regardless of why, it didn’t change the fact that he was pissed. Extra pissed this morning, actually. He had reached out towards a usual client of his, wondering when he wanted to train again, only to find out that he had started training with Aelin.

Rowan had been clenching his jaw all morning, nearly on the verge of breaking a tooth, when he spotted her at the front desk, handing a coffee to Lysandra. He strode towards her, slamming his clipboard down on the marble, and bit out, “Quit stealing my fucking clients, Galathynius!”

Aelin barely reacted to his fury, only raising a brow and taking a sip from her coffee. “Good morning to you too, Rowan.”

He narrowed her eyes. “I’m serious. This is the second client this week. Why?”

“To begin with, I’m not stealing them. They’re coming willingly to me.” Aelin leaned her weight against the desk. “If you’re wondering why they’re coming to me… one, my ass looks great in leggings. Two, I do this thing called smiling. People tend to like it when you smile instead of scowling like you love to do.”

Rowan scowled. “Why do you even work here? Don’t you make money from your stupid Instagram?”

Apparently, Aelin had a solid following on Instagram. His coworker, Fenrys, had shown him a few days after she had started. Fenrys had become instantly enamoured with Aelin and her Instagram. It was full of pictures of Aelin showing off her body that she had worked so hard for, fitness tips, pictures of her and her friends, tasteful selfies. Rowan had spent more time than he cared to admit scrolling through it once he got home that evening. Gods, she was a beautiful girl.

Aelin rolled her eyes. “Do you know how to make money through Instagram? Running ads. And the only people who want me to run their ads are the fake-detox teas that are just diuretics. So, besides the money I get here and there from sponsoring some leggings, I do need an actual job to pay my rent. But don’t worry. Remelle hates me, so she’ll pay yours.”

Rowan’s scowl only deepened at the mention of the client he had been training for the past few months. Remelle only trained with him because she was attracted to him. The only reason he hadn’t told her to fuck off was beacuse her frequent sessions did help pay for his groceries. And she did absolutely despise Aelin because of the attention she received from the other males in the gym and her popularity online, so she wouldn’t be going to her for training.

Rowan heard footsteps approach from behind, felt someone slap his shoulder in greeting.

“You look like you woke up with a stick up your ass this morning, Whitethorn,” Fenrys said as a form of hello.

“He doesn’t look like that everyday?” Aelin asked, raising a brow. Lysandra at least tried to hide her laugh behind her hand. She handed Fenrys a coffee from the drink carrier she had brought.

“You working tomorrow?” Fenrys asked her, completely oblivious to the argument he just interrupted.

“Nope.”

“You wanna hit legs with me?”

“Only if you buy lunch after.”

“Deal.”

Rowan ground his teeth again at the exchange. He, unfortunately, worked tomorrow and would get the pleasure of watching them dick around together while he had to work. Not to mention, Remelle was his client tomorrow, so he would also get to listen to her make passive aggressive comments about Aelin the entire session.

“Well, if all you fine people would excuse me, I have a client,” Aelin announced, pushing away from the desk. As she brushed past him, she placed a hand on Rowan’s shoulder. “Do try and stay busy. I know you don’t have a full schedule today.”

Rowan glared at her. Brat.

Her brows flickered up. And proud.

With that, she dropped her hand and strode away.

The place her hand had been burned like a brand.

…

The next day, Rowan was struggling to focus on his session. Remelle was being her normal… charming self as he walked her through a few new exercises. Unfortunately for him, Aelin was working out only a few feet away and she was… distracting, to say the least.

When she was working, Aelin wore the standard quarter-zip and plain leggings. But, when she came to workout on her days off, she sported a much more varied wardrobe. Today, she wore a matching legging and sports bra set in a deep green. It was flattering, and fit her in all the right places. Her golden hair was swept out of her face in a high ponytail that swung around animatedly as she moved. She tossed her head back in a laugh at something Fenrys had said.

Rowan watched as she adjusted the weight on the bar, positioning herself below it, and doing a set of lunges. Her form was perfect, of course, face pinched in concentration. It was an impressive amount of weight to be fair.  

She finished her set, reracking the weights and wiping her brows with a towel. Rowan’s eyes ran up and down her body, her golden-tan skin, toned stomach, strong legs and shaped ass. It was no wonder why she had so many followers, why so many people looked to her for advice.

“Rowan!”

Rowan blinked, realizing he had been lost in his own thoughts. Or, lost in Aelin, rather. He hadn’t noticed that Remelle had been trying to get his attention.

“Sorry, what?”

Remelle huffed out a breath, blowing a strand of her pale blonde-hair out of her eyes. “Am I doing this right?”

Rowan refrained from rolling his eyes as Remelle did the move wrong, no doubt intentionally. It was a game she liked to play, doing an exercise wrong to get Rowan to touch her to get it right. He was quickly growing tired of it.

“Move your feet a bit closer together.”

Remelle huffed again, clearly upset that her plan didn’t work. She finished the exercise before straightening and planting her hands on her hips. “So, you busy later tonight?”

Rowan lowered his brows. “Why?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner together.”

Rowan hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. It was always awkward trying to turn down a client, something that Lysandra had often griped about. When you worked customer service, it made rejection that much harder. What the fuck was he supposed to say that wouldn’t piss her off enough to complain to Lorcan?

Remelle raised a brow at his prolonged silence.

Rowan’s savior came dressed in Lululemon.

“Hey,” Aelin greeted breathily, placing her hand on his back. “Are we still getting dinner tonight?”

He had to struggle to keep his confusion to himself. They had made no such plans, and Aelin was touching him so casually after barely looking his way for a month. Rowan glanced down at her questioning, but the look on her face only seemed to say, Go along with it, buzzard.

“Yeah, of course.”

Remelle pressed her lips into a tight line. “Oh. I didn’t know that you two were together.”

“Yeah,” Aelin nodded, cocking her head to the side and holding out a hand. “I don’t think we’ve met before. Rebecca, isn’t it?”

Aelin knew damn well who Remelle was, even if they hadn’t been formally introduced. It made her purposeful butchering of her name even more entertaining. Rowan struggled to hold back the bark of laughter he wanted to release.

“Remelle,” she ground out, shaking Aelin’s hand once and dropping it so fast one would think it burned her. Remelle picked up her phone and glanced at the time. “Well, it looks like our session is up. I’ll see you next week.”

With that, Remelle swept away down the hall, leaving them alone. Once she was far enough away, Aelin took a step back.

“You owe me, Rowan Whitethorn.”

“I didn’t ask you to do that.”

“No, but you looked so lost and uncomfortable that I took pity.” Aelin gave a tiny shrug. “Besides, at least she didn’t cancel on you next week. She probably thinks she can get you to leave me. Hell, maybe she’ll book more sessions now. So… you’re welcome.”

“You’re impossible.”

“Maybe I am,” Aelin said, walking back towards where Fenrys stood to finish her workout. “And yet… you still owe me. Be ready.”

She didn’t even give him a chance to say something snappy back before she turned her back and strode away.

God gods was she infuriating. And yet Rowan knew he would keep coming back for more.  

[p-artsypants]

The Ghost of Smokey Joe (5)

Nightmare

No lyrics in this chapter, because the song in the title has no words. But it really embodies everything I wanted to say with the chapter.

Also, ALL ABOARD THE ANGST TRAIN CHOO CHOOOOOO

Ao3 | FF.net

—

“Do you have those drafts ready for the meeting?” Asked Marinette, peering into her co-worker’s office, a very peppy woman named Jill. 

“Of course! I’ve gotten them matted, just like you asked. 10, right?” 

“Yes! Thank God someone is doing their job right today.” 

“Oh, Marinette, where are your shoes?” 

Marinette looked down to her bare feet. “Oh, I wore pumps that are great for working at my desk and walking to the water cooler, but they got kicked off somewhere around 9 this morning.” 

“That bad, huh?” 

“Have you seen Tim? He’s fixing the sizing sheet and I can’t find him anywhere!” 

“Did you try his office?” 

Marinette’s jaw dropped. “Tim has an office?! Since when?” 

“Since always? Are you okay? You look like you could use a nap…or at least a cup of coffee.” 

Marinette groaned. “No naps! No more coffee! My heart is just a hum now anyway! I haven’t been able to sleep the last few days and last night I didn’t sleep at all. I got this weird phone call—“ she stopped herself before she said too much. “Anyway, yes, Tim does have an office. I forgot.” 

“And he’s always so good at emails, you never need to talk to him. I know. We had this same conversation last week.” 

Marinette groaned again as she covered her face in shame. “Why is Mr. Agreste doing this to me?” 

“Speaking of Mr. Agreste, have you gotten any answers from him today? I’ve sent three emails and he’s not responding at all. Apparently Tim’s having the same problem with Adrien.” 

“I haven’t heard a thing from the manor. Not Gabriel, not Adrien, not even Nathalie. We’re supposed to have a meeting at 2, but I haven’t heard if that’s still on.” 

“Doesn’t Adrien usually come into the office on meeting days?” 

“He did…I don’t know what's up with him. He was being super cagey with me yesterday when I went to talk to him.” She sighed, hunching her shoulders. “I’m worried.” She didn’t disclose the truth of the conversation, that Adrien had effectively ended their friendship. It was too painful, but too fresh to ignore. 

“I’ve been working here since Emilie was still around. Gabriel went through a huge personality shift when she disappeared. Maybe Adrien takes after his dad? Maybe something happened?” 

“Ugh, don’t talk like that, I’ll just worry more!” An alert beeped from her phone, letting her know she had an email. “Ah! An intern’s job is never done! See you later!” 

“Good luck, Marinette!” Jill called. After she left, she added, “you’re going to need it.” 

At two o’clock, the department heads and designers all came together in the conference room. Marinette set up her laptop to the screen and had the presentation open, as well as the Skype call to Gabriel. 

He had yet to join the session, but it was still a few minutes before the meeting officially began. 

“I see you’re wearing shoes now,” said Jill. 

“I don’t know if I could handle the ridicule from Mr. Agreste if he saw me bare foot in the conference room.” Marinette chuckled weakly. 

“As if Gabriel would ever reprimand you,” said someone else. “He adores you.” 

“That must be why he took a vacation and told no one,” she laughed again. Was her filter fading with all this sleep deprivation? Probably. 

Finally, the call started, but Nathalie took the helm instead. 

Before questions could be asked, she announced, “I’m afraid this meeting must be postponed.” No ‘hello’, no ‘thank you for your patience and hard work’. It was enough to make Marinette snap in all of her exhaustion and emotional turmoil. 

“Nathalie, with all due respect, everyone is here and ready to go. Why isn’t Gabriel ready?” She huffed. 

Nathalie glanced away from the camera, a tell that she was about to deliver a great blow. “Mr. Agreste is deceased.” 

The room went silent. Someone dropped a pen. 

Marinette fell into a chair, feeling like the ground was shaking under her. 

“Early this morning, both Gabriel and Adrien passed away. A joint visitation and funeral will be held at the manor on Friday evening and Saturday morning, respectively. Everyone is invited, but it’s not mandatory, of course.” 

Marinette couldn’t swallow the lump in her throat; it was so thick. 

“The fall line will not be released this season. Two weeks paid vacation will be passed on as we prepare the new head designer to take Gabriel’s place.” 

Someone asked, “Who is the new designer?” 

Most heads looked to Marinette, knowing the answer. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng has been determined to be the new head designer.” 

She sputtered out of her shock. “What? Me?! No! Surely not! I’m just an intern!” 

“Intern to the head designer,” someone clarified. “We all knew you were going to be hired as his assistant soon. It was obvious.” 

“But—but—“ she stammered. It was rather obvious, thinking about it. Gabriel was just waiting for her to secure that college degree to make it official. “I can’t! I just—“ Without any preamble, tears burst forth and rolled down her face. 

Adrien was gone. 

Her best friend. The love of her life. Without a goodbye, and on such horrible terms. 

Screw the responsibilities, the job title didn’t matter. She didn’t care at all.

Several arms wrapped around her, her coworkers, her friends, comforting as best as they could. 

“No one is expecting you to jump right in,” Nathalie explained. “You were quite close to both of them.” 

“What about you?” Marinette rasped out. 

“I had my moment earlier. I’m in business mode now. If anyone would like more details, please reach me privately.” 

And she left. Like a whirlwind, leaving destruction in her path. 

“Can you get home on your own?” Someone asked Marinette. 

She thought she confirmed affirmative, but someone led her from the room with an arm around the shoulder. Maybe it was Tim. She didn’t really know. She didn’t really care. 

When she arrived home, she dropped her purse on the floor. Where were her other bags? At the office? Oh well, didn’t matter now. 

Nothing mattered anymore.

“Girl, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

Alya and Nino were home, they were here and alive, and they didn’t know. 

They didn’t know and she had to tell them. 

“He’s gone,” She whispered.

“Who?” Asked Alya, resting a comforting hand on her arm. 

“Adrien…he—he’s dead.” 

“…what?” Nino squeaked out. “H-how? Why?” 

“I don’t know…he and Gabriel—“ she stopped and flexed her hand. Her phone was still in her hand. It held answers. 

She called Nathalie on video. 

“Hello Marinette. I’m glad to see you made it home safe. I was worried.” 

“What happened?” She blurted. “Nino and Alya know that he died. What happened?” Because there had to be a reasonable explanation. 

Nathalie’s face morphed from serious business to pain and pity. “Are you sure you want to know?” 

God, with a preamble like that, it couldn’t be good. Not painless like Carbon monoxide poisoning in their sleep, and not instant like a car accident. 

“Please Nathalie, I have to know.” 

She breathed shakily and admitted, “it was a murder-suicide, as enacted by Adrien. He first stabbed Gabriel, and then himself.” 

“Augh!” Marinette sobbed out. It was an ugly sound that couldn’t be controlled or silenced. 

“I’m sorry. I wish I could lie…but I can’t. Adrien had been acting strange lately…I think Gabriel knew this was going to happen.” 

“No! You’re lying!” Marinette yelled. “Adrien loved his father! He would never—he’s not like that!” 

“Marinette, I saw them. Adrien was obviously deeply disturbed.” 

“SHUT UP!!” She ended the call and dropped the phone on the floor. 

Then she looked to her friends, who were both bawling like her. Nino moved first and pulled her into a tight hug. Alya came around the other side, crushing her in a Marinette-sandwich. 

“You’re right, he wouldn’t do that.” Alya offered. “But they’re both gone, so we can’t prove anything.” 

“If Nathalie didn’t tell the office, then the truth might never come out,” Said Nino, nodding in reassurance. “Only the four of us will have any idea.” 

After a long time, numbness started to set in. There was a degree of disbelief in her still, where she may have heard it, but she didn’t see it. 

That left room for doubt. 

Without a word, she took her phone from the floor and wandered back to her room. 

After the door closed, Tikki appeared. “Marinette…” 

But she wasn’t listening. She was staring at her phone screen, like she was trying to solve a puzzle. 

Then she started a call. 

It rang and rang and rang and rang…

“Hey there, it’s Adrien, I’m not available to answer right now. But leave me a message or shoot me a text, and I’ll get back to you. Hope you have a great day!” 

The phone beeped. 

“Adrien,” she sobbed. “Adrien I know—goddamnit this sucks. I’m too late. I love you so much, and I’m too late. I wish I told you sooner. Even last night when you called—I’m sorry I didn’t know you were struggling. I’m sorry I didn’t know how to help you. I loved you so much and I couldn’t save you and I’m so sorry…” 

“Marinette…” Tikki tried to tell her to stop. 

“This is the closest I could get to telling you. And you’ll never hear it and—“ 

The phone beeped again, signaling the end of the recording. 

She saved it, and set the phone down. 

“Marinette…” 

“What is it, Tikki? What’s so important?” 

“I have to tell you something…but it’s really really bad.” 

“Well, hit me with it. Today is literally the worst day of my life.” 

“Adrien…well, he was Chat Noir.” 

As if the day couldn’t get any worse. 

“What?” 

“Chat Noir. He was Adrien.” 

“But—but he can’t be. You must be confused.” 

“Marinette, he literally wore the earrings before.” 

“I KNOW!” She screamed. “But you have to tell me he's someone else! Because I can’t lose both of them! I can’t do it Tikki!” 

“I know it hurts. You two were literally soul mates. The Ladybug and Black Cat always are.” 

“You’re not helping!” She sobbed. 

“I know, I’m sorry.” 

Tikki allowed Marinette to sob for a while, letting her anguish spill out of her. Tikki just kept watch for the Akuma that never came. 

“You know what you have to do next, right?” Asked Tikki. 

“What?” 

She sighed. “You have to go to the visitation and take back the ring.” 

“I can’t do that!” Marinette cried, horrified. “I can’t! There’s no way!” 

“We’ll he can’t be buried with it. You have to, Marinette.” 

Marinette crawled into bed, still fully clothed and wept and wept and wept until her tears burned her cheeks and exhaustion took hold.

--

All the chapter titles are songs from my spooky halloween playlist that inspired this fic (and their lyrics will be in the chapters)! You can find that playlist here. The playlist will be updated as the fic goes on.

[jettingtothemoon]

War Of Hearts; chapter 2

➳ pairing: shigaraki tomura x f!reader (also features eraserhead x all might) ➳ genre: angst, fluff, smut ➳ warnings: violence, swearing, smut, spoilers for some of the canon ➳ word count: 2 ➳ rating: 18+ ➳ summary: In which y/n, a young pro-hero find her fate tangled with the leader of the league of villains.

Chapters: 01, 02,

Injury

By the morning, your uncle seemed at least somewhat better rested than usual and even stayed to eat breakfast before heading off to work.

You had, just like any other day, waved him goodbye and headed out not much longer after he did.

"Morning, Tamaki." You grinned upon your arrival.

"Morning." He smiled back, seeming ready for the day.

Within a few minutes, you were out on patrol with Suneater. You and Fat Gum liked to take turns taking him with you because Fat Gum didn't like to send him out on his own, especially while he was still full of self-doubt. Today was your turn so Fat Gum headed off on his own, leaving the two of you to do your patrol independently.

"How was your few days off?"

"Alright, I guess. Class wasn't too bad at least."

Tamaki was like that, he preferred this over his lessons. He was eager to get to the real thing.

"You just have to survive this last year and you'll be a full-time hero." You grinned, slapping his back.

Your conversation was cut short, however, when you heard yelling coming from just down the street.

"Hero! We need a hero, please help!"

The two of you looked at each other with a nod and both sprouted your wings as you rushed over to the scene.

There was only a couple more instances before it was time for you to head back and report to Fat Gum. While you were on your way back, however, you received a phone call.

"Mic? What's up?" You questioned, wondering what reason he had to call you.

"y/n, it's your uncle..."

You turned to Tamaki and told him you had to go before once again sprouting your wings and flying off towards the hospital.

You were fine until you reached the hospital room he was in, well, not quite. Only, the moment you saw him lying there wrapped head to toe in bandages, your already trembling body collapsed to the ground by the side of his bed.

"Uncle..."

You sniffled, burying your head into the sheets around him as you clutched at them, too scared to grab for his hand in case it would hurt him.

Aizawa was all you had, the only family you had left. He couldn't leave you like this, he just couldn't. He had to be okay. He had to be...

His whole face was covered in bandages and there was some dried blood still matted into his hair. When you had arrived, naming yourself as his next of kin, the doctors told you about his condition. They said he should be alright and that it he only fractured both his arms and his face. That had given you hope that he was in a better condition than this, but when they told you he was lucky not to have any lasting brain damage, your whole body began to shake.

You had lost your parents the same way ten years ago. Their bodies were barely recognisable after the fight. If it wasn't for their hero suits it would have probably taken a DNA test just to identify them.

After that, after losing them, you had always feared losing your uncle in the same way but it had never been this bad before. This was the closest you had ever come to really losing him.

A gentle hand soon rested on your shoulder but you still didn't move from his side, "He'll be alright, y/n."

You sniffled again and lifted your head from the bed, turning quickly to bury it again in the chest of the man who came to comfort you.

"How did this happen?" You mumbled through your tears.

"Eraser and Thirteen took class 1-A to USJ today and there was an unexpected attack by a group of villains. Your uncle, Thirteen, All Might and a number of students suffered injuries. None quite as serious as the teachers though." Mic explained, rubbing your back to soothe you.

You let out a relieved sigh because at least the students were mostly okay. That's why Eraser was in this state, he gave his all to protect them.

"How are All Might and Thirteen?" You asked with another sniffle as you pulled out of his hug.

"They're okay. Thirteen will live and All Might is being treated by Recovery Girl as we speak."

You nodded and turned your head back to your uncle, "Will he really be okay?"

"Of course he will, but he'll be a pain for you when he returns home. You're going to have to do everything for him, you poor thing. But don't worry, I'll come by to help the two of you whenever you need me." Mic announced, offering his help with a grin.

You smiled softly, "Thank you."

Mic stayed with you for a while longer before admitting that he had to go since there was lots of paperwork to do. You understood why. Villains attacked a class of first years, wounding three teachers and some of the students. They would probably be doing paperwork for the next few days.

Every time you looked at your uncle, you began to cry again but before long, you found yourself falling asleep with your head once again resting on the side of his bed.

By the time morning came, the doctors were coming in to usher you out so they could run some more tests and check on his condition. They said you could come back later to see him and that he would hopefully be awake by then.

You had almost lost him yesterday just like you lost your parents all those years ago. You were upset but right now you were angry. Livid, actually. You marched home with clenched fists but, the moment you were sat in that quiet apartment all alone, you began to cry again.

When lunch came around, you had found yourself directing your anger at someone who likely didn't deserve it and yet, you blamed the one hero who should have been there. The one hero who could have protected your uncle, Thirteen and those students if he had only been there like he was supposed to be.

That was why you soon found yourself marching over to UA, expecting the teachers to be there discussing what to do after the incident at USJ. Mic came to meet you when you arrived, letting you past the security as he asked you what you were doing there.

"I need to speak to him. Where is All Might?"

Although Mic seemed unsure of whether to answer you or not, he told you and soon you were storming off in search of the man you were after once again.

You barged in, shocked to find only a thin man lying in bed with a bandage wrapped around his chest.

"Um, sorry. I was looking for All Might." You apologised and went to leave the room.

"You've found him." The man sighed, stopping you in your tracks.

Slowly, you turned back around, "Wait, you're-"

"I am."

You let the shock pass for a moment and then felt the anger boiling up inside you again as you clenched your fist.

"Why weren't you there? Why didn't you protect them? Why did he have to get hurt? Why did I have to come so close to losing the only family I have left?" You questioned as a tear rolled down your cheek.

All Might sat up and looked at you with a guilt-ridden face, "I'm sorry. It's my fault, I know that I should have been there. I had reached my limit and couldn't take the class so I didn't go. It's my fault you're in pain now. It's my fault he's in pain."

You unclenched your fist as the feeling of anger you had was subsided by sorrow. This man was All Might which meant that this was probably the reason he couldn't go. He felt guilty but you knew it wasn't really his fault, none of it was.

"It's not your fault. I'm sorry I came here. I was looking for someone to blame but the only people to blame are those Villains."

There was a silence between you for a moment before you spoke again, "How are you- Why are you-"

"Like this? I was wounded fighting a villain a few years ago. I can only act as a hero for a certain amount of time before I hit my limit and then I have to stop because I go back to this form."

"Do the other teachers know?"

He nodded, "Yeah, they do."

You hummed, "I'll leave you to it then. Get better soon, okay?"

All Might grinned but stopped you from leaving once again, "Wait. How is he, Aizawa-kun?"

"He's alright. I can go back to visit him later today. The doctors said he should be awake by then."

"Can you please tell him I'm sorry I wasn't there."

You smiled, hearing the sincerity in his voice, and finally took your leave.

You didn't understand why they didn't get along. It was clear All Might cared for you uncle and not just as a coworker but as a friend. Then again, you knew your uncle was stubborn and distant at the best of times, so it also wasn't a surprise that the number one hero had struggled to befriend him.

After wasting the next few hours wandering around the city to clear your head, you went back to the hospital.

The second you saw your uncle sitting up, chatting with Mic, you rushed in. Of course, as soon as you dived on him, you had to quickly jump off when he winced in pain. You apologised quickly and, although you couldn't quite tell because of all the bandages, you swear Eraser rolled his eyes.

 "This one hasn't stopped worrying about you all day. She even went to give All Might an earful at lunch today." Mic chuckled, although your uncle didn't seem too impressed.

He simply sighed and grumbled, "It wasn't his fault, y/n."

You looked down with a sigh, "He said he's sorry you know. For not being there when you needed him."

Eraser hummed and, with Mic's help, lied back down. Despite the bandages, he turned his head to you, "Go home, y/n. Get some sleep. I'll be fine here on my own tonight."

You nodded, leaning over to give him a gentle hug before taking your leave. Mic took you home since your uncle had asked him to look out for you while he was in the hospital. After seeing him awake, even if only for a little while, you felt somewhat at ease and managed to get a good nights sleep.

The next few days went by slowly but before long, your uncle returned home again. He was still wrapped head to toe in bandages that even covered his face and couldn't really do anything without your help. Due to this, Mic had been staying at yours. That way, when you were at work, your uncle still had the help he needed. Plus, he wasn't going to ask you when he needed help going to the toilet. Not that he was particularly happy having Mic help him with that either but a male childhood friend was much better than his young niece.

Of course, now that he was home and the doctor had given you the say so, you were allowed to start healing him with your quirk. Given how bad of a state he was in, it would still take weeks of healing from both you and recovery girl before he is back to normal. Regardless, he still ignored your advice and had even returned to work. His dedication to his class was admirable but you were worried about him. Although, knowing the other teachers would help and keep an eye on him put you at ease somewhat. Especially knowing that both Present Mic and All Might would keep an extra close eye on him until he heals.

The UA sports festival was coming up so you understood why your uncle wanted to be there. He wanted to prepare his class since it seemed as though most eyes would be on the first years this year. Especially his class after the USJ incident.

The school was on high alert so you weren't worried about there being another attack any time soon and, even if there was, you had faith that they'd be ready for it.

"How's your class doing? Are they preparing for the sports festival?" You asked, massaging your hands gently into your uncle's back to try and remove some of the tension there as you healed him with your quirk.

He hummed, "They're excited."

He, however, sounded anything but. Eraser wasn't one to show his emotion, not so openly. Even with you he tried to act cold and as if he didn't care at times but you knew he was itching to see how his class would do at the sports festival. He was a strict teacher, there was no doubting that, but he really did only want the best for his students. He was once in their shoes, after all, he knew what they pressure felt like. He had even experienced a great many things back when he was a student at UA, and not all of those things were good.

Aizawa Shouta closed him off to everyone when he was very young. So young, in fact, that you could barely remember what he was like before now. The only people he ever opened up to were you and occasionally Mic, although he used to talk to your mother the most. His beloved sister but now even she was gone.

"That's all for today." You declared with a yawn, after exhausting your quirk.

Like everything, there was a limit to your quirk. You could use your wings whenever you pleased but your healing could only be used for so long before needing a recharge as such. So, for tonight, your healing session was over but you would have another tomorrow.

"Thanks, y/n." Your uncle smiled, although you could only tell from the way the bandages around his face moved slightly.

You simply smiled back and got up to stretch, yawing once again.

"Go to bed, y/n. You've got work early tomorrow don't you?" Mic asked as he entered the room.

"I do. Goodnight then, try to be careful with your wounds, Uncle. Especially your arms. They will feel a little numb for a while but if you push them they will only get worse." You warned, although he only grumbled in response.

Mic tutted and carefully pulled Eraser up, "You're going to bed too, you need your beauty sleep."

"You're only saying that because you want your beauty sleep and you need the sofa to get it." Eraser sighed, although he complied nonetheless.

"Well, I can't go home and leave y/n behind to look after you all on her own, can I? So, for the foreseeable future, I'll be taking the couch." He chuckled, grabbing the spare pillow and blanket you had offered him the first night he arrived.

With that, the three of you headed to bed.

Chapters: 01, 02,

[lilibetts]

Sometimes A Girl Just Wants Some...

Falling in love with Riverdale, Theme 2: Spicy

Part 1/3

The 14th of February. A fraught time for the serially single in New Haven, to hear Veronica describe it.

“The end of Cuffing Season is nigh!” she proclaimed, holding an enormous dildo aloft.

(“That’s Colt,” their boss, Zelda Spellman, had explained when she hired Betty, upon seeing the younger woman’s wide-eyed fascination. “He’s a replica of a porn star’s penis. A very popular order, but also a very popular return.”)

In true Veronica Lodge fashion, she didn’t seem the least bit put out by this development. Next to her, Kevin Keller seemed markedly somber, but that was because his own casual boyfriend had ditched him on the very last day of January.

Betty, however, was indifferent in opinion to it all.

From her seat next to their workstation, she held up her pink mug with the penis-shaped handle in a toast. “Cheers, I deleted Findr from my phone,” she announced before taking a gulp of lukewarm coffee.

“Betty!” 

“Betty!” 

Both Veronica and Kevin were aghast.

“It’s barely February. What happened to TwentyTwenty being ‘The Year of Horny Betty’?” asked Kevin.

In her defense, she’d made that New Year’s Resolution last December, after one of those ‘look at your life, look at your choices’ epiphanies that left her life seeming very lacking. The reality of putting herself out there on a matchmaking app and meeting with the rare specimen who didn’t seem completely terrible and who seemed to have an actual body that was not 100% an ugly penis, however, had been nowhere near as exciting as she’d expected.

She was saved by Kevin’s computer chiming. “Sorry, satisfaction waits for no gossip.” He tapped a few keys and answered the incoming call. “Good afternoon and welcome to the Toyz R Us Customer Support Helpline. My name is Kevin. How may I help you today?”

Veronica’s computer chimed too and she pointed an expensively manicured, accusative finger in Betty’s direction. “Don’t think you’re getting away with this!” She hissed before taking the call.

Toyz R Us only had two brick-and-mortar stores, but it did fairly well with online sales in New England. Betty had only taken the job because she needed some extra spending money around the holidays, and she’d stuck with it into the following semester because she liked the new friends she’d made and found the atmosphere surprisingly enjoyable. At least she got to put her writing skills to good use, even if it was for composing informative, yet enticing descriptions of sex toys.

Of course, her parents had no idea she worked here, and if she was careful enough, they never would.

Veronica’s call ended much more quickly once the man on the other end realized she wasn’t Cheryl. Unfortunately, Cheryl Blossom’s brusque and insulting phoneside manner was such a turn-on to a specific subset of men that she really could’ve started her own side hustle and made bank. Ridiculous bank.

“No sir, I can’t tell you how much thicker it will make your penis. We do recommend that if you use a penis pump, you do so regularly and continually,” Kevin advised before tapping a few keys and removing his headset. To Veronica and Betty, he exclaimed. “That idiot just asked me how much bigger the penis pump would make his dick...my god, how would he think we’d know?”

Betty snorted as she stood, penis-mug in hand. 

“Hey!” Kevin called after her. “We weren’t finished!”

“My break time’s over!”

There actually were a few minutes left of her break, but she had a good reason for being sneaky. You see, it might be Valentine’s Day, but it was also a Friday, and Fridays at Toyz R Us meant freebies in the Friday Reject Box. Due to the sheer volume of products that got moved between Christmas and Valentine’s Day, management had provided them with *two* Friday Reject Boxes.

Betty was a college student at heart—if she was going to support her newfound lingerie and sex toy habit, she had to avail herself of cheap and free products whenever possible. 

Carefully sticking her head out around hallway corners, Betty tiptoed around the building like Nancy Drew herself, on the lookout for her coworkers. 

It had taken her about a month of working here before she stopped feeling embarrassed by the products, although she tried to always approach it as any other job...with professionalism.  Still, there was something illicitly thrilling about being twenty years-old and working at Toyz R Us that made Betty feel like a truly independent woman, more so than moving 350 miles away from her hometown.

Betty wasn’t inexperienced, exactly, but she’d been raised a very straitlaced 'good-girl-next-door' and while college had done wonders for her independence and self-affirmation, she still struggled with the idea of discussing sex with her friends/coworkers.

Luckily, she made it to the table holding the Friday Reject Boxes without running into anyone, and Betty wasted no time starting to rifle through them. Hurry, hurry, before anybody else comes and sees you.

In the first one, there was a Fingo Nubby finger vibrator, a very intimidating looking Booty Camp Training Kit that featured three sizes of anal plugs. She didn’t care for the pink crotchless tights but she grabbed the package with the lavender babydoll that had small slits for the nipples and a matching set of panties with an open crotch. That went on the table, and, after assessing the toys in the first box, the Sweetheart Choker and finger vibrator was added to the small but growing pile of goodies. Just the thought of playing with those was already turning her on. With hot cheeks, she turned to the second box.

Since she started working at Toyz R Us, Betty had been exploring her own sexuality, giving more consideration to what actually turned her on and put aside the time to make herself feel good.

She was distracted from the quick nature of her mission when she noticed a stack of dvd cases towards the bottom. “Ooh,” she cooed, intrigued. “The Seduction of Heidi.” That was added to her pile. She skipped The Best of Ron Jeremy and picked up 49 Positions for Lovers, whose cover promised better sex for couples. Well, the way her sex life had been going lately, Betty needed all the help she could get. 

Deciding she had enough, and that she really should be nice enough to leave some things for her coworkers, Betty gathered up her loot and spun around, only to collide with the hard body of the man who had been standing behind her. She yelped and felt a few of her selections spill out of her arms as she nearly stumbled backwards into the table.

Strong arms grabbed ahold of her, righting her, and Betty’s eyes widened when she realized who it was.

“Jughead,” she croaked. “Have you come to look through the Reject Boxes?” 

Jughead Jones was more or less her mentor on the Content team, in some ways her boss. It was him to whom she showed her first product descriptions for approval, him who she worked hard to please. Over the months, they’d gotten to chatting from time to time, and that had been how she found out he was working on writing his first novel.  

Over the weeks, they had shared their personal work—chapters and articles—for the other to comment on. Jughead encouraged her, Betty cheerleaded him. She came to admire him...his intelligence, soul, personality...and she liked to believe he did so for her, as well. He was thoughtful, too, in a way that threw her because none of her boyfriends had been this attentive...it had always been her that listened and took care of people. Jughead turned the temperature up in their office and kept it relatively higher than he was comfortable with because Betty had kept shivering and working with thick cardigans and hoodies on. He remembered how she liked her coffee and made sure their room had a steady supply of scrap paper and colored pens so she could work out word choice and technical phrasing before typing anything up.

One thing was for certain: she was ponytail over heels in lust with him.

She wanted him to do things to her. Things.

Jughead stood there and adjusted his crown beanie ever so slightly. “Uh, yeah, I’ll just…” he trailed off and, to her horror, he bent down to pick up the things she’d just dropped. All she could do was watch as he straightened up and glanced at the educational dvd and the choker before handing them back to her. “Here, Betty.” 

She couldn’t even look him in the eye, so she stood there, intensely aware of the flush climbing up her chest and into her cheeks.

Betty wanted to die.

“Thanks. Uh...I better go get back to work. I’ll see you when your break’s over. Bye!” She couldn’t get away fast enough.

Once she turned the corner, however, Betty did not head back to the Content room. Instead, she slowly craned her head around the corner, just enough to see Jughead as he bent over one of the Friday Reject Boxes. Scarcely daring to breathe, she watched as he quickly grabbed two dvds. Squinting, she recognized them. Scooby-Doo: A XXX Parody, and The Twenty: Self Pleasuring, which featured a bunch of solo female masturbation scenes.

Well.

She knew what tonight’s masturbatory fantasy was going to be about.

[hypmic-writings]

Hi, I'd like number 8 for Nemu and her colleague at work (灬º‿º灬)♡ btw i love your writings ❤️

Oh yay, I’m happy Nemu finally got a request! I like her character a lot; I think we’re going to see more of her. She really is too precious for this world. This is my first time writing for her so I hope you like it~

8. “For some reason I’m attracted to you.” 

--

You placed your lunch tray on the table and sighed as you sank down into your seat. It was barely noon and you were already so tired from a long day’s work.

“Ah, today is going by so slowly!” one of your coworkers announced, pouting as she sat next to you. You nodded in agreement and flagged down your other coworkers giving them each a warm greeting. Once they were all seated, you began chatting away with them regarding all of the office gossip.

“Good afternoon everyone!”

You heard a cheerful voice call out behind you and almost spat out your lunch as you turned to face Nemu Aohitsugi.

“Hey, Nemu!” your friendly coworker said, waving Nemu to come and sit beside her. You stared down at your food, peeking up to see your crush walking over and sitting in the chair opposite you.

“Hi Y/N-chan, how’s your day been so far?” she asked with a sweet smile. You bit your lip and tried to keep calm, picking at your food while looking up at her.

“Ah, it’s been busy, but I’m managing,” you say, smiling weakly. “What about yourself?” you ask, casually. You prayed that nobody could hear your heart as it thumped louder in your chest. Nemu let out her own sigh and nodded.

“Yea, it’s been pretty busy for me too,” she agreed, looking over at you once more. “I think it’s the rise in all of these unsanctioned hypnosis microphone fights. They just keep getting worse and there’s so much paperwork to do with each one!” she exclaimed, dramatically shaking her head.

You held on to each word she said as if it was the last you would ever hear from her. Nemu worked in a different division as you, but you had often seen her coming and going as the two of you worked on the same floor.

A few months ago, both of your divisions had been assigned a project together and that was when you finally got to meet her face to face. To say you were excited was…an understatement.

You only hoped that none of your colleagues knew about your crush on her. Office romances were highly frowned upon and although you could always find a new job, you would never want to put Nemu in that position.

Especially not after her recent promotion.

“Y/N-chan, are you alright?” she asked. You were pulled away from your thoughts as Nemu stared at you with a worried expression on her face. You quickly threw your hands up and nodded.

“Ah, yes! Yes…um, sorry, my thoughts got away from me,” you hurriedly stated, stumbling over your words. One of your nearby coworkers patted you on the back.

“Really, Y/N, you’re too stressed out,” the coworker said, shaking her head. “You should ask for more vacation time…or a raise!” This comment made everyone laugh and excitedly nod in agreement, all of them taking turns announcing how much more vacation time they deserved.

“Don’t push yourself too hard, okay, Y/N-chan?” Nemu said, pulling your attention back to her once more. You could only nod in quiet admiration for the girl as she gave you another award-winning smile. “It would be bad if you were to fall sick so take good care of yourself!”

You were about to respond that you would, when you heard your cell phone go off. You pulled it out and checked the caller ID, groaning when you saw that it was your manager. You shot Nemu an apologetic look as you accepted the call.

Hearing that your manager needed you to come back to your desk at once, you groaned once more and brought your fingers up to your temples. You politely told her that you would be back shortly and hung up as cordially as possible.

“Was that your boss?” Nemu asked. You heard a bit of sadness in her voice and you bit back a smile as you nodded. How could someone be so endearing and empathetic?

“Unfortunately,” you remarked, standing up to put your tray away. “Sorry guys, work calls,” you announced to the moans and ‘boos’ of your rowdy coworkers. You moved to put away your tray when you noticed Nemu had stood up as well.

“Let me walk up with you!” she exclaimed. “I have to get back to work as well and we’re on the same floor,” she quickly added, waving nonchalantly at your other coworkers. You gave her a quick glance and nodded as you noticed that her cheeks had become ever so slightly pink. Surely yours had to be the same color.

Putting away your tray, you walked side by side with Nemu towards the elevators. There was a brief moment of silence, but it was rather comfortable. You were thinking of your project, and you were sure that Nemu also had work on her mind since –

“Y/N-chan…can I ask you something?” Nemu asked, pulling you from your thoughts for the second time that day. You turned to her and cocked your head slightly. She was looking at the ground now and you wondered why her gaze was averted.

“Of course,” you said, giving her an encouraging smile, even though she couldn’t see it. “What is it?”

The elevator dinged and the doors opened as you stepped inside with Nemu stepping beside you. Glancing at her, you waited for her to speak, wondering what it was she had on her mind.

“Would you…do you want to go to the sakura festival with me this Saturday?” she asked, hurriedly, looking at you abruptly.

You mind blanked as you tried to understand what she just said. The sakura festival…this Saturday…was this a date? Was she asking you out on a date? Or was it just as friends? Would other people be going with you? Or would it just be the two of you? If it was only the two of you, wouldn’t that make it a date even if you were only just friends?

“Um…why?”

‘WHAT WAS THAT? DID YOU REALLY JUST ASK HER WHY SHE WANTS TO HANG OUT WITH YOU? Way to go, idiot, now she’s probably even more confused,’ you berated yourself as you stared at your crush of over a year. 

Nemu looked back at you with a surprised face, showing that your answer was not the one she was expecting.

After a few seconds, her face broke into a smile and she let out a small laugh.

“I guess it’s because, for some reason, I’m attracted to you,” she stated, simply, her cheeks retaining their pinkness. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and let a smile float to your lips.

“I’m attracted to you too,” you said, blushing slightly at how forward of a proclamation you were both making to each other.

Nemu was about to respond when the elevator dinged once more and opened on your floor. You both stepped out and looked around to see if anyone was within hearing distance. Not seeing anyone, you turned to Nemu once more.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t answer your original question,” you remarked, finding your confidence as you steadied your breathing. Nemu looked at you with anticipation.

“I would love to go out with you.”

Now it was Nemu’s turn to let out a sigh of relief as she clapped her hands together happily.

“I’m glad to hear that,” she said, continuing to smile. “I’ll text you the details later, okay?”

You nodded as you came to her desk, giving her a small wave before walking over to your own, inconspicuously. You knew that you weren’t drawing any specific attention, but after your recent conversation, you felt as though you had a big secret that nobody could know about.  

“Looking forward to it.”

[rottenbrains]

Kuroo Tetsurou X Reader

Wordcount : 1554 words

Warning :

The cold wind conquered the air as raindrops made their way, pitter-patter on the concrete path while you rushed to your favorite coffee shop. Entering the shop, the invigorating smell of sweet drinks molded together invade your nostrils, sending signals to your muscle for them to relax. The premise itself was quite warm, considering the lack of humans inside help you to relax further as you ventured towards the counter to place your order.

A tall male with broad shoulders and unique hairstyle, not to forget his hazel-colored pupils were ready to take your order as he stood comfortably behind the counter. He’s a new guy. Apparently, it’s his second week since he first started. Before this, your best bud would be the one to take your order. But since the new guy came in, Koutarou always… like always attend the cakes and cookies section as he pushed the new guy to attend you in his stead. While glaring at Koutarou for his tenacity to stay away from you, the catlike-male voiced out to you.

“I guess you really do run out of caffeine fast, huh?” He commented, flashing his smirk towards you. For a person that you’ve regarded as ‘your best friend coworker’, he sure does know how to cut the gap short, acting like he’d known you forever. On the other hand, the only thing you know about him was his name, Kuroo Tetsurou (written on his nametag), and the fact that both of you enrolled in the same university (Koutarou told you).

The fact that he is strikingly handsome.

And playful, with a hint of a jerk-personality.

Annoyingly smart (Koutarou would brag about him to you, all the time).

How his smile totally melted your heart.

How his eyes felt like it’s piercing through your very soul whenever he looked at you.

How his lips looked so tasty you can lick it all day.

And totally your taste.

“Daydreamin’ about me?” Kuroo asked as his face inched closer to you, making you flustered from the sudden realization of his face closing into yours.

“In your dreams, longcat… Oh, one hot Vanilla Latte, grande, to-go”, you said swiftly as you glared at him, still annoyed from his previous comment. From the floor, your best friend suddenly popped himself to greet you as Kuroo went to prepare your drink after you paid for it.

“Y/n, I thought your class ended a few hours ago?” Koutarou asked as he raised his eyebrows, wondering why are you here when you were supposed to be relaxing in your apartment now instead of ordering a hot drink with your shoulder clearly wet from the rain.

“Urgent meeting for the festival next week… and it dragged for too long. Are you coming for the event?” you answered and inquired back at him as you fished your phone, the screen lighting up from the notification.

“Of course… who would want to miss a festival?” Koutarou beamed, but soon his smile dampens when he saw your crinkled forehead as you read the chat sent to you. Realizing that his tone went down, you looked up to your best friend when you saw his horn-like tufts, somehow wilt down. “You’re okay, Y/n?”

Mustering a smile, you tried your best to flash your heartiest smile to him.

“…Yeah, I’m fine... But, I’ll be super busy starting tomorrow until the end so I’m not sure I’ll come and meet you guys… Well, I’ll somehow manage. So make sure you come, and bring the others…” You softly announced to him, giving him a toothy grin when you realized your drink are done as Kuroo walked towards the counter bringing your drink.

“It’s yours… enjoy and come again soon~” Kuroo cheered at you as he pushed the drink to you. Taking the warm drink, you turned around to walk out from the premise when Koutarou called out to you.

“Hey, it’s raining. Why are you going out??”

Sighing, you turned back towards the two workers.

“Got some extra papers to look into, I need to go back to university… I’ll see both of you around”, you said as you briskly turned around. Taking a sip from the sweet and warm liquid, you pushed open the door walked quickly with a plastic folder on top of your head, shielding you from the rain and the drink on your other hand.

You were quick to disappear from the shop as you focused solely on your steps, two worried gazes easily slipped away unnoticed by you.

.

.

.

It’s the last day of the festival. You’ve been busy making sure that every stall are operating properly while making adjustments to where it needs that enjoying the festival was not on your to-do-list for today. You were about to take a breather in the meeting room when the door burst open, revealing one of the committee members of the event.

“Y/n-san, I brought a drink for you,” Takato-kun said as he showed you a transparent tumbler with a greenish drink inside. “There are also your friends here…”

Golden round orbs showed themselves behind your committee member.

“Koutarou!!” you cheered weakly since the tour and inspections took a toll on your energy. Your best friend walked towards you, followed by Keiji.

And of course, Kuroo Tetsurou.

Takato-kun was the first one to arrive at your place. Giving you the drink, he looked at you, smiling apologetically.

“Your friends brought it for you… and you should take a break, go enjoy the festival. I can do the rest…”

“Yaa, we’ve arrived here so let’s go visit the stalls after resting…” Keiji interjects from beside you while Kuroo stayed behind him.

…

You’re still sipping the Green Tea Latte while walking around the stalls with your friends, Koutarou was totally pumped while gazing at the food as Keiji tried to keep him in check.

“You like it?” Kuroo tilts his head sideways to look at you, all the while matching his pace with yours.

“Yeah, I really need this… I guess you made this?” you inquired him with your lips carved a small smile.

“Bokuto told me you’ll need this when you’re super weary and tired… Stopped by the café to make it before coming here...”

“Since when? … and I thought you’d rather work than come here…”

“Y/n, me and Kuroo had been friends since high school… that’s why I told you to come to one of my matches…” Koutarou cuts you as he shoves a piping hot takoyaki in his mouth, quickly regretting his actions as he tried to cool down the food while inside his mouth.

“I did come, you fool bird!” you growled at the poor owl as you felt stupid for believing that Koutarou and Kuroo had known each other since they worked together. To your delight, Keiji just had to add his own comment.

“You did run off somewhere directly after the matches… or you actually came to matches that have nothing to do with Kuroo-san.

“Just shut up, both of you…” you said, giving up as you finished the drink.

.

.

.

“Thanks for the hard work!!!” Everyone yelled and slowly packed their belongings with their sore limbs from the cleaning of the festival. You waved and wished the others goodnight before exiting the room. Slowly, your path change to a path lit by streetlights. Looking forward, you saw a familiar figure standing a few meters away. You continued on walking until you reached the figure.

“Why are you here??” you asked quizically at the figure who had his right eye covered by his bedhead.

“I’m waiting for you, of course. Bokuto said you would probably walk home late… so, here I am.”

Hearing his response, you let out a small giggle before looking at him again.

“And, if Koutarou didn’t tell you that??”

“I would still be here, waiting for you….”

The pathway was lit by streetlight, and the lights from cars zooming past both of you. With the streetlight just above your head, both your shadows are fixed on the ground. Only when cars passed by, the silhouette of you and him stretched on the bushes beside the path.

“Stupid teasing bedhead..” you muttered under your breath, but still noticed by the male. A warm hand found your cold ones, warming the patch of skin by simply enveloping your small hand in his big one. Before you could even question him, he gripped your hand tighter.

“Be happy that your handsome boyfriend is here to walk you home…” Kuroo teasingly said as he looked at you. Baffled, you chuckled and raised your hand that was held by him as you retort back to him to cover your embarrassment.

“Oh, since when?? Getting a little bit too high, are we?” you said while smiling slyly at him. All too sudden, he stopped in his tracks and turned his whole body to look at you.

“Since now.” He let out, a sweet smile decorated his lips as his eyes look straight on yours. All the while his eyes searched for an answer from you, your hand confirmed it for him. Gripping on his hand, you smiled teasingly.

“Well, there’s no reason for me to reject… Now, let’s go… I really want to go back home and take a long bath.

“I can always wash your back..” He retorted back, a nasty look on his face as he eyed you.

“Oho, someone’s up for some beating…” you glared at him while he has a stupefied look on his face. Amused by your boyfriend’s confession and honesty, you softly muttered.

“We have a lot of time for that, so don’t worry.”

.

.

“I hear that, kitten”

[tealvz]

Make Like a Bubble (And Fade Away)

(AO3) Summary: Despite everything, Remy finally makes a friend. He tries not to let this one slip his grasp too. Warning(s): Near drowning, vomiting, bullying(??) Pairing(s): Remile (platonic or romantic it’s up to you lol) Character(s): Remy, Emile, Deceit (Ethan in this) Word Count: 7188 A/N: sooo uhh here’s the story i said i was writing like 3 months ago sdhfsjkdfjkdsfh sorry it took so long, i got kind of self conscious about it… but now enough time has elapsed so that i dont really care that much anymore lmfao also… just a reminder… i dont really write that much so dont bully me too hard ple ase dssdhfjkdsh hope you enjoy tho! :)

A yawn escaped Remy’s mouth, and he held a hand over it in a feeble attempt to disguise it.

Today it seemed like the lights in the coffee shop were especially bright (he supposed it was due to the gloomy weather outside), so he’d opted to wear his glasses inside as well. Business was slow, since the hellish rush that were the hours after school let out had already passed. Remy found peace in the quietness of the shop, his only other companions being an old lady with tea chatting quietly with her husband and a college student clack clack clacking away at her keyboard in the corner next to the fern.

The bell atop the door jingled as someone walked in. Remy shut off his phone and stood up from the stool he was crossing his legs on, placing the device under the countertop.

“What can I get for you, cutie?” Sure, this method of greeting had gotten him in many heated conversations with his manager over the years, so he dialed it back from using it on every single person that entered the store to cute old ladies and cute boys.

And boy was he cute. And boy did he stand out. Remy had never met a person with dyed pink hair before (although he did have a period in middle school where he seriously considered it), but the vibrant color was fading so that it gave way to his natural brown. He was wearing a cardigan, and, perhaps most pressingly, was soaking wet.

The boy took off one of his earbuds, digging around in a pocket of his cardigan with a tongue sticking out. He was creating puddles on the hard wax floor that Remy would have to clean up (read: leave it for the next guy to deal with). “I’ll just take a large black coffee!” He chirped, seemingly unfazed by the nickname. Remy quickly punched the order in.

“Can I get your name?” Remy asked once more.

“It’s Emile,” The stranger said. Remy typed in ‘Emil’ into the machine and allowed a white sticker to print out.

A faint purple glow surrounded one of the large cups stacked near the register. It grew in intensity as Remy levitated it towards his person, slapping the sticker onto it lazily as it spun away from him. He was counting the $2.57 he’d have to give back in change to Emile as a similar purple aura lifted the coffee pitcher behind him.

“Oh… Wow,” Emile mumbled, causing Remy to glance up. His light brown eyes were trained on the scene unfolding in front of him, coffee pitcher pouring into a white cup all by itself. Streaks of yellow light accompanied the purple aura occasionally.

The finished drink landed in his hand alongside a lid to cap it. He settled the coffee pitcher safely on the table as he handed the drink and change to Emile.

“What’s your size cap?” Emile asked, leaning in ever so slightly as he took the items. “My mom has powers too, but they don’t look nearly as pretty as yours!”

“Well, I don’t do cars,” Remy listed. “I think the biggest it’ll go is people,” He omitted the fact that the only person he’d done it on was himself.

“My mom’s can only go up to jars… Things like that. Hers don’t have any colors though,” Emile nodded, more to himself than to Remy he supposed. “Imagine you could levitate buildings and stuff? Li-Like freaking Superman?! How awe- I mean, I guess it wouldn’t be that cool now that I think about it...”

“Nah, I think it’d be pretty cool,” Remy absently tapped his finger to his chin. “Lifting up the Statue of Liberty and just dunking it into the sea for kicks. That sounds kinda rad. But I guess it’d suck if it were some kind of like… Maniac.”

Emile nodded again solemnly. “With great power comes great responsibility,” He said. “In the wise words of Uncle Ben.”

“Sounds like a nice guy,” Remy conceded.

“... It was a reference,” Emile laughed to himself quietly. “Anyways! Thank you, I don’t want to keep you away from your work for too long!”

Remy glanced around the near empty Starbucks. The elderly couple were getting up to leave. “No, it’s okay, you really aren’t. It usually doesn’t get too busy unless it’s like, 3 or 4 o’clock.”

A grin spread across Emile’s face. “Ah! Good thing I usually stay behind a little later then,” He laughed to himself again, looking down and one hand playing with the wires on his earbuds. “Will you be here again tomorrow?”

“All week, babe,” Remy responded.

“Cool! That’s cool,” Emile mentioned that he had a bus to catch soon, and he apologized for not sticking around longer. Remy in response told him not to worry about it, and truth be told he had never met anyone who apologized for not being able to hang out with him more. Most of his friendships had ultimately ended with the other party always slowly but surely trimming him out of their life.

So Remy sat back down on the stool as Emile left the shop, bell jingling to signal his departure. His phone sat forgotten underneath the table as he leaned into the palm of his hand. Remy watched the fluorescent lights of the Starbucks filter into his vision as his glasses slipped further down his nose, raindrops falling against the clear windows allowing him to close his eyes…

-

As Remy fell into the depths of the ocean, feeling his body catapult deep into an underwater cave, light entered his vision.

The dream ended as soon as it began, and Remy stirred at someone gently shaking him awake. He blinked sleepily from behind his glasses, and he used them to hold back his hair as he looked around in bewilderment. Various objects were hovering in the air surrounding him, a few couple cups, lids, spare change and a Sharpie. The purple glow surrounding them faded as Remy became more aware of his surroundings, and they all dropped to the floor.

“Wha’ time,” Remy mumbled, rubbing his right eye as he looked to the person who woke him up. The lights were way too bright, lines and starbursts nearly blinding him. He put his glasses back on.

“Almost 6,” His coworker responded. He had a disinterested expression on his face as he tied his green apron around his waist. “I’m guessing it wasn’t very busy?”

Remy felt hot all over. He abruptly stood up, the world spinning slightly before everything stabilized. “No, I don’t think so.”

He left before he could hear his coworker’s reply. As soon as he collected his bag from the back room, Remy realized he’d forgotten to bring an umbrella. While this elicited a strong swear from him (mentally), Remy decided not to dwell on it for too long and proceeded to exit the establishment only mildly annoyed with himself.

It wasn’t pouring, but it wasn’t drizzling either. Remy took a deep breath, holding his leather shoulder bag over his head as he lightly jogged towards the bus stop. He was not going to look like an absolute clown sprinting and slipping on a puddle. Or worse, just flat out passing out in the middle of the sidewalk. No ma’am. Not today.

As he rounded the corner however, a familiar stranger sitting on the bus stop’s bench made his jog slow.

This wasn’t a stop with a roof covering the bench, so the boy with pink hair was even more soaked than when he’d come into the shop for the first time. He was holding a mint colored umbrella with his knees, shielding not his head but the yellow notepad he was scribbling furiously on. Remy wondered how he could see with his glasses dripping water down the lenses like that.

“Hey,” Remy announced his arrival, pace slowing to a walk as he approached. Emile jumped at his voice, turning to look at him with wide eyes as his pen finally stopped writing. However, as soon as their gazes met the tension in his shoulders relaxed, and he gave Remy a sheepish smile.

“H-Hello again!” Emile said cheerfully, like he was desperately trying to hide the shaking of his voice. “Gosh, what abhorrent weather, huh?”

“True that,” Remy plopped down on the bench next to him and shifted his bag so it rested on his lap. Raindrops dripped down his dark hair. “Bus never came?”

Emile laughed to himself and rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, no it did. Several times probably. I think I got a little carried away…”

Remy glances down at his notepad, filled with lines and lines of tiny text all squished together as to conserve space. He seemed to be almost running out of pages. “You don’t say?”

“I-It was important, so!! I just wanted to take a little extra time-“

“An hour.”

Emile blinked in bewilderment at him. “Excuse me?”

“You left the shop an hour ago,” Remy elaborated.

Emile swiftly checked the time on his (waterproof) watch and groaned loudly. “Ah, dangit, mom’s gonna kill me! … Oh, wait, do you need this?”

Remy stared at him as he scooted closer to him on the bench, putting his notebook back into his bag (it was shaped like a cheeseburger, Remy realized. A really soggy cheeseburger). He lifted his umbrella from between his knees with one hand and held it up over the two of them.

Although, truthfully, it wasn’t working that well. The umbrella only covered Remy’s right side as the left was exposed to the relentless rain, but he still gave a soft thank you regardless.

After a moment’s silence (Remy checked his pocket for his phone, except it wasn’t there. He cursed his forgetful brain for the second time as he now had to settle for staring awkwardly at the cars passing in front of them), Remy opted to speak up.

“... What were you writing?” He asked.

Emile gave a noncommittal shrug, shifting the umbrella so that it was covering Remy more. Remy frowned at this, pushing Emile’s hand back to where it was hovering between the two of them.

“It’s kind of dumb-,” Emile cut himself off with a sneeze.

“Bless you,”

“Tha-”

“And nah, I’m sure it isn’t,” Remy reassured him. “Anything that makes a guy stay outside in the rain for an extra hour probably isn’t that dumb.”

It seemed as though this was enough for Emile’s expression to brighten, and he immediately sat straight up on the bench while unknowingly bumping Remy in the glasses with his umbrella. “Well!! If you must know,” Emile began. “I actually write just a teensy, weensy bit,”

He emphasized this with a pinch of his fingers before he leaned backwards on his free arm. “Basically, I thought of this idea where a girl named Elizabeth gains the ability to travel through different dimensions as a result of her ingesting some bad salmon! On her journey, she meets a cute girl who, plot twist, is actually a fish! And then, they’d both get married in a meadow on another dimension’s Mars, and she’d have salmon as a part of the catering on their wedding day which is where Fish-Girl, horrified, would be disgusted with Elizabeth due to the very notion of consuming salmon because of her ancestors, who-”

Emile took a deep breath of air, red coloring his cheeks as Remy tried to retain the information that had just been spilled out in front of him. Elizabeth was a constant, there was a fish in there somewhere, multiverse…

“Elizabeth doesn’t know she’s a salmon,” Remy asked.

“Well, actually, salmon isn’t a specific type of fish. It encompasses a wide variety of them (I read that once on Buzzfeed), and no, that revelation comes in the second act,” Emile pushed up his glasses. “It’s kind of a metaphor on how you may not know your partner as well as you do, and the value one should place on communication in a relationship.”

It seemed as though pure, unadulterated happiness was radiating off the boy next to him, and it took everything within Remy to keep his smirk at bay. Emile seemed content, despite him sniffing occasionally (because of the rain) and his fingers twitching (because of the cold) as he played with the sleeve of his cardigan.

“It’s okay if you didn’t follow that,” Emile laughed hollowly, tone suddenly turning self deprecating. “I know my words are ah, kinda a handful! To keep track of that is.”

“I don’t follow anything anyone says,” Remy blurted out. “Like, ever. So it’s cool.” Emile blinked, opening his mouth to respond before a bus suddenly pulled up in front of them as though it materialized out of the raindrops. It wasn’t Remy’s bus, but Emile stood up from the bench and tugged his school bag over his shoulders.

“Oh! Here, you can have this!” Emile exclaimed abruptly. He jerkily shoved the umbrella towards Remy, who only stared at him for a few moments in bewilderment.

“Uh, what?” Remy said dumbly.

“You can have it! I’ll just tell my mom I lost it,” Emile looked off to the side, rain cascading down his face in rivulets. Remy thought he looked like he desperately needed it more than he did. “I-It’s as thank you! For talking to me.”

Remy began, “I don’t really need it-” He was cut off by Emile all but throwing the umbrella towards him as the bus driver honked loudly.

“I’lltakeitbackfromyoutomorrowbye!” Emile sprinted up the steps of the bus and Remy was left fumbling to gain a grip on the mint colored accessory, it clattering to the ground as the bus pulled away.

Remy stretched out his cold, numb fingers towards the umbrella. Upon closer examination, there was a little tag that looked suspiciously like a yellow Post-It note stuck to the inside with clear tape, the words “Emile Picani! =)” scrawled across it in barely legible handwriting.

Ah… There was an extra ‘e’ at the end of ‘Emile’. He’d keep that in mind for next time.

-

Remy’s head slammed against the underside of the countertop when he woke, and he let out a hiss of pain as he dropped back to the floor again. His glasses, hovering in the air in front of him, promptly fell onto his face and proceeded to clatter to the floor. A couple other items followed suit, including but not limited to: An old Sharpie, some spare change, and Emile’s umbrella.

“Good morning,” A voice called curtly. Remy, not moving from his spot on the floor, turned towards the darkness under the countertop and let out a groan.

“Oh, don’t even right now, Ethan.”

Ethan shrugged, slipping off of (Remy’s) barstool easily. He stepped towards Remy, crouching down and picking up the umbrella. “Didn’t peg you for a teal kinda guy,” Ethan said, turning it over in his hands.

Remy snapped his attention to Emile’s umbrella, and hastily began trying to scramble to his knees. “P-Put that down, man” He huffed, gripping the edge of the countertop as the world spun around him. Ugh, he got up too quick. “That isn’t mine.”

A frown appeared on Ethan’s face. “You… Stole it…?”

“No I- I didn’t,” Remy wobbled over to Ethan, grateful for the fact the only customer in at the moment being the same college student from yesterday. With a quick hand that totally wasn’t shaking at all, he snatched the umbrella from his hands with a scowl.

His scowl, however, quickly softened into an expression of anxiousness. He bit his lip as he leaned against the counter. “Hey, you didn’t see a guy with pink hair come in here, by any chance?”

Ethan shrugged. “I just got here. They totally shouldn’t give me more hours for the afternoon when the only guy working here keeps passing ou-”

“Ah ah ah!” Remy jabbed the end of the umbrella at Ethan’s shoulder. He let out an offended hiss in response. “That’s enough outta you, sis.”

As though he hadn’t just assaulted his coworker, Remy continued, “He had pink hair and glasses,” Remy explained this by making circles in front of his eyes to imitate glasses, as though he wasn’t already wearing a pair. “And his school bag was, like, a burger or something. He-”

“By any chance was his name Emile?” Ethan interrupted. 

Blinking, Remy nodded. “Wow, that was easy.”

“Yeah, he totally blends in at school,” Ethan said bluntly. “Like, I barely ever notice him.”

“Really?”

“I was being sarcastic.”

“Whatever, just,” Remy, exasperated, shoved the umbrella towards him. “Give this to him, please? He was supposed to come in today but I think I missed him.”

Ethan eyed him warily before saying, “He wasn’t at school today, so I’m guessing he probably didn’t come in anyways,” Although he took the umbrella from Remy regardless.

A sudden pang of concern hit Remy as he recalled the boy’s creative episode in the rain the day prior. Maybe he should have thrown the umbrella back at him (Wait, no, it would’ve just hit the bus instead…).

“Does he skip a lot?” Remy asked, trying not to let the worry show from behind his glasses.

Ethan kept feeling at the handle of the umbrella, like rubbing it was going to unearth some ancient rune that he needed to discover. “Hm… I don’t think so. He cares a lot about his grades, definitely,” Ethan, smile suddenly appearing on his face, turned the umbrella once more. “Wow, this is bumpy.”

“... Alright I’m gonna go now,” Remy said, walking into the back room. “Make sure he gets it.” He added, only slightly threatening. “Like, seriously.”

“Yeah, yeah, definitely,” Ethan mumbled. His attention was diverted from the umbrella to a customer walking into the store, his voice fading into the background as Remy walked, “Hi, how may I help you…”

Remy shook his head, pushing open the door to the back room. Well, it wasn’t like Ethan was totally untrustworthy or anything.

-

The next day it was raining again (Because of course it was, it was Florida), but Remy was, surprisingly, not fast asleep when Ethan walked in for his shift.

The first thing he noticed was the mint umbrella in his hand, and Remy’s neutral expression very quickly turned into a frown.

“Hey-”

“He said I could keep it,” Ethan explained cryptically.

“He what-” Remy, who had been busy questioning Ethan’s moral integrity all day already, tried not to scream as his coworker briskly entered the back room to deposit his things. Because his mind was already going to the very imperative questions of Well, why didn’t he come in today? Didn’t he give me the umbrella? Am I being #clingy right now? 

“Also, he had to monitor for a teacher after school for parent teacher conference, so he couldn’t come today.” Ethan emerged from the back room, in the middle of tying his apron around his waist. “He told me to tell you that.”

“Are you two friends or something?”

Ethan moved to the register after tying his apron and pulled out his phone. “Eh… We just have Latin together.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. He already has a bunch of them, so I’m sure he’s fine without me.”

For some reason that statement made a knot twist in Remy’s stomach, but he ignored it. Because jealousy was not a good look, and Remy would not be caught dead looking so desperate for friendship he saw in a dude he’d only known for one day.

So he made himself a coffee (so that he wouldn’t fall asleep waiting for the bus) and ended his shift. He glanced back at Ethan as he neared the front door, still toying with the umbrella handle under the counter while on his phone, and realized that he’d once again forgotten his umbrella at home.

-

Emile came back in for a black coffee. Remy spelled his name correctly.

They talked briefly, Remy questioning his decision on the umbrella, and Emile just gave that same nervous laugh. He was wearing a sweater today, with a cartoon cat on it shaped like a cookie.

“He seemed to like it a lot, so I thought I’d give it to him!” Emile heaved his backpack up so that it rested more comfortably on his shoulders, smiling so brightly at Remy he felt like he needed to put his glasses back on. “I didn’t know you two worked together!”

Remy smiled. “Small world.”

He couldn’t stay for long this time, because he was going to be hanging out with his friends, Remy learned. They were going to be studying for a test together at the library, which didn’t sound that fun to Remy, but Emile seemed rather ecstatic about the whole thing.

Before he left the shop, Emile paused at the front door and turned his head around. “Oh! I almost forgot to tell you! I was working on the story again yesterday: Elizabeth and Ella (her girlfriend) make up afterwards! But the story leaves off at a cliffhanger when a meteor strikes the wedding reception. Whether or not it was premeditated is still to be determined.”

Remy took a long sip of his coffee as Emile was talking. “Love that for them.”

Emile grinned, pushing up his glasses and waving as he exited the coffee shop. Remy decided to begin wiping down the counter while waiting for his shift to end.

-

“You haven’t seen Steven Universe?!”

Remy picked at the inside of his ear with a pinky finger. “I mean. I’ve probably seen like, half of an episode. Or something.”

“Ohmygosh, you have to watch it-” Emile abruptly cut himself off, realization dawning on his face. A wide grin spread across his blank expression, and he pulled the hem of his sweater down to gesture at it.

“Look! Remy, this is Steven Universe!” Emile animatedly went through the effort of pointing each colorful character out on his sweater, going as far as to explain their faults, character arcs, backstories…

“I like this one,” Remy said as Emile was taking a breath, and pointed at a girl in large comical glasses. “She looks pretty cool.”

“That’s Connie,” Emile continued, Despite him being in the middle of explaining… One of the colorful ones before Remy interjected. “She’s very inquisitive yet cautious, and I think one of the most interesting traits about her is her feelings of loneliness.”

Remy quirked an eyebrow at him, absently rubbing the countertop with a cloth. “She doesn’t look very lonely here,” He said, poking at the character on his shirt. She was grinning with her eyebrows set in a determined expression. Also she was carrying a huge sword.

“Well, due to her father’s job, there is a lot of instability in her life,” Emile elaborated, leaning forwards so that his elbows were on the counter and a hand was propping his chin up. “Simply put, her family moves around a lot, and thus she finds it difficult to hold onto friendships.”

“That’s… Kind of depressing,” Remy said, an odd knot of sympathy forming in his throat. “For a kids show.”

“Well, I guess, but it’s just so… So frickin cool how realistic that is,” He sighed dreamily, and he let his head rest on his forearm instead of his elbow. “Gosh, I love cartoons! Do you have a favorite show, um…”

Emile blinked at him owlishly, straightening up. “Wait, I don’t know your name.”

“Oh.” Was Remy’s only response to that.

“Gosh, that’s so rude of me!” Emile squeaked, the onset of embarrassment on his face so fast that Remy almost had whiplash witnessing it. “I-It must have slipped my mind! I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Remy said with a smirk. “I was just worried you’d never forget it if I told you.”

“Don’t keep me in the dark any longer!” Emile gasped, leaning forwards suddenly. “What’s your name? Or I’ll just keep referring you to as ‘Starbucks Guy’ in my head.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It could be.”

After a drawn out pause as Remy sipped his iced coffee, he responded with a simple, “Remy.”

Emile stared at him for a moment, before a squeal escaped his mouth and he clamped his hands over his lips. “Li-Like from Ratatouille!! Remy and Emile, oh my god!!” He exclaimed loudly. A woman on the phone in the corner of the establishment sent him an odd look that Emile didn’t notice.

“Like… From France…?”

“Ratatouille!” Emile repeated. “Please tell me you’ve seen Ratatouille.”

Remy took a guilty sip from his coffee. “It’s probably a TV show?”

“It’s a Pixar movie,” Emile took out his phone and typed something into Google (He didn’t have a passcode it seemed) and showed him various pictures of a 3D cartoon mouse. In a chefs hat.

“Wow, she’s cute,” Remy deadpanned. “Glad that reminds you of me.”

“He’s great! It’s a great movie!” Emile smiled despite the sardonic slight. “You should watch it sometime! Oh, you have Netflix, right? It’s probably there.”

“Totally,” Remy lied.

“Awesome! Um…” With his gaze stuck on his phone, Emile trailed off, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. A look of horror then struck his face, and he immediately shoved his phone in his pocket. “Shoot! I was supposed to meet up with them like thirty minutes ago! Ah-”

Emile gave him an apologetic look. “Sorry I can’t stay for much longer, I’ll see you on Monday, though!”

“Why Mon-” Oh, yeah, the school week ended on Friday. “Yeah… Yeah I’ll see you then.”

Emile waved as he bolted out of the Starbucks, and Remy all but sagged onto the countertop, glasses sliding off the bridge of his nose as he glared at a speck of dust in his peripheral vision.

He probably should have asked for his number… Or was it too soon for that? Ah, whatever.

-

One nap, his boss yelling at him for it, and an hour later, Remy had officially clocked out. He didn’t have much else to do for the night, since he had finished his homework the day prior, so Remy settled for the grim reality of going home to watch a rerun of The Office before he inevitably fell asleep halfway through the episode.

On the way to his bus stop, there was a bridge he had to walk past. It laid across the polluted river, shitty paint job and all. Graffiti consistently covered the underside of it (somehow), and Remy never spared a second glance towards it.

Well, the reason why this insignificant, minute detail in his own insignificant, minute life was suddenly relevant was due to the head of pink hair on the bridge.

It was a group of about five people, including Emile. His bright, pastel colored sweater was tinted to a pretty shade of dark periwinkle due to the sunset over the bridge. He stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the group of individuals wearing mostly earthy, warm colors.

Remy catapulted himself behind a building, sticking his body up against it and digging out his phone. He was just going to check Instagram really quick. He definitely wasn’t eavesdropping, nope.

“... ile, isn’t that show like, for little kids?” A voice drifted from over the bridge. Remy adjusted his sunglasses. This was stupid. He should just keep walking. Pathetic how attached he grew to one person even after knowing them for a grand total of three days at most.

“Well,” Emile’s voice was loud. There was a cartoonish quality to it that Remy couldn’t place, maybe it was the way he said his e’s. It might’ve been an accent, but Remy could not place which one for the life of him. Despite this, his voice didn’t seem to carry as much authority as the speaker prior. “I just thought it was fun, I guess.”

A bubble of bitterness welled up in his throat at Emile’s tone, because it was softer than when he had spoken to him at the bus stop. Like he wasn’t using it to its full potential.

Whatever, Remy conceded he’d leave it alone. This was kind of bad, wasn’t it? To be eavesdropping like this. #Clingy! Blared in his mind as he walked slowly away from the scene, towards his bus stop.

“That’s weird, Emile,” Another speaker said. “Don’t you watch any, like, real shows?”

“... I don’t really watch that much TV.”

-

Remy awoke with a start, much like he always did. Though this time he was floating above the ground, drool pooling in a puddle on the countertop.

The barstool clattered to the ground as Remy scrambled to get a grip on the countertop before he fell off of it. He heard snickering, and whipped his head around to glare at Ethan.

“Your shift’s over, princess,” Ethan said. He sprayed whipped cream into his mouth, setting it back down before his attention returned to his phone once again. Remy sighed, rubbing his still groggy head before clocking out for the day.

The sky was clear, though there were a gaggle of looming rainclouds near the horizon. Remy didn’t mind, however, since he found the sunset was freaking gorgeous today. Definitely Instagram-worthy.

So he decided to take a picture of it before heading to the bus stop. Who knew when he’d get another opportunity like this, especially since it was rainy season. Maybe the bridge would be a nice photo-op?

As he passed by the old, graffiti-littered bridge, Remy’s steps slowed.

It was Emile again. While Remy didn’t find it odd to witness highschool students being outside during the weekends, the odd thing about this was that Emile was completely alone.

He had an elbow on the railing of the bridge, propping up his chin in a way that he looked almost serene, gazing out over the polluted water. The oranges and angry yellows of the sun made his beige cardigan look more like a deep red-brown.

Remy’s hand lingered over his hand. This was probably the most perfect photo he could ever imagine for his Instagram, but of course he wasn’t going to take a picture of someone just standing there. That would be weird, right? Should he forget about this now? Go up to Emile and talk to him? The lack of an expression on his face didn’t suit him well, Remy noticed.

In his other hand, hanging by his side, was the yellow notebook Remy had witnessed him writing into many days ago.

As Remy continued debating whether or not he should go up to him, Emile had shifted his position. He was walking backwards from the railing, face set in a determined grimace. His grip tightened on the notebook so much that his fingers were smudging the ink and the pages were wrinkling in his grasp. He seemed to be psyching himself up for something, clenching and unclenching his fingers as he kept his gaze on the water in front of the bridge.

Then he swung his hand back, and flung the notebook into the river.

Similar to how people, quote on quote, had their lives flashing before their eyes upon their deathbed, Remy only saw his friends. Or lack thereof. The empty birthday parties, the pitying stares from other students, a teacher extending a hand to him as he laid asleep on the floor…

And it was probably then that he realized he hated being alone. The feeling clawed inside of him like a vice, and yet he could never seem to hold onto anyone before they faded away from his life. He didn’t want to feel that way again.

He felt his feet moving before his mind could wrap itself around the situation. It was like a primal instinct had taken over, and suddenly Remy was vaulting over the railing with a strength he never knew he possessed, extending a hand towards the yellow pages that were half submerged into the water.

And as he let the notebook float gently into the air, his familiar purple aura surrounding it, Remy felt his knees give way.

A mute scream bubbled from his throat as his grip slacked on the railing, body falling into the water despite his mind yelling at him to move, to regroup, to do something-

A rush of cold water hit him like a ton of bricks, and Remy felt dizzy as all the breath from his lungs left him despite himself. He felt the familiar haze of sleep cloud his mind, and he thought ruefully that he had never fallen asleep in a river before…

As his vision went darker and bubbles filled it, he saw the stream of light from the sunset, a soda can surrounded by purple float to the top of the river, and there was something pink coming towards him… He was fading, fading...

-

Emile Picani watched as the Starbucks barista, the one who always knew to get him a black coffee, vaulted over the railing of the bridge. He watched as his powers made his notepad levitate into the air, and watched as the barista’s legs seemed to freeze up, hold on the railing slacking all of a sudden. And he watched as he plummeted into the polluted river, notepad still floating with a pretty spark of purple surrounding it despite it all.

He was stunned! Flabbergasted, floored, er… He didn’t really know what to do. Emile was still standing and staring at where the man had disappeared under the water… And he wasn’t floating back to the surface… Oh no-

Things suddenly started shooting to the surface, a soda can, old shoes, a couple fish and a hair dryer. That was probably what spurred Emile to lurch himself over the railing as well to dive into the water.

It was murky and hard to see- And oh god why was everything brown?! Emile resisted the urge to gag as his heart raced, eyes squinting to make out anything in the water atop the bubbles escaping his nose. There were still things rising to the top of the water, a phone, a ring of keys, glasses…

Emile’s eyes focused on a hazy blob of darkness lying on the river floor, and he quickly shot his hands out to grab at it. By now he was very quickly running out of air, and it didn’t seem like Starbucks was going to wake up at any point either. So Emile gathered as much of the man’s jacket as he could in his hands, panic pooling within his stomach as he felt a large amount of air leave his nose through bubbles.

Okay, okay, it’s fine, this is fine, fine and dandy, Emile heard his voice scream inside of his head. He tried not to gasp at the darkness fluttering in and out of his vision, trying to kick his way back to the top of the river. But his movements were growing sluggish, and everything was suddenly covered in a haze that wasn’t there before. And Emile was sinking, sinking…

Floating…?

He felt a light feeling overwhelm him, and looked down to see his hands surrounded in a purple aura. Was Remy… Doing this?

Emile’s hands were in a death grip on Remy’s jacket, squeezing his eyes shut as his body was shooting to the top. Bubbles were escaping his mouth, but soon enough, his head broke the surface and he was gasping for air.

Sweet, sweet oxygen invaded his lungs and Emile allowed himself to cough up the water he had accidentally swallowed while resurfacing. His attention snapped to Remy, still submerged in the river and he quickly brought the other boy up to the surface while trying to kick to shore at the same time.

As the effects of Remy’s powers wore off, Emile had gradually reached the shore. He all but threw Starbucks onto the shore, and laid himself down next to the sleeping barista atop crushed soda cans and sharp plastic. His arms felt like they were on fire, and his heart wouldn’t stop beating like he was running from a known serial killer… Man, maybe he should start working out more.

Then, Emile’s attention refocused onto the matter at hand… Oh god, Remy probably swallowed a gallon of dirty  river water or something. Emile quickly scrambled to his side, looming over him as he surveyed the condition of the unconscious teenager. Would he have to perform CPR? Oh no, Emile wasn’t qualified to do that!! Maybe if he looked it up on Google he’d have a better understanding- Oh, but he’d lost his phone in the river…

As soon as the feeling of helplessness welled up inside of him, it popped like a bubble. Remy’s eyes cracked open, squinting against the harsh rays of the sunset. His fingers twitched as he tried to sit up.

“Wh-” Remy began, voice hoarse, but as soon as he started his face turned a sickly shade of green and he turned his head to vomit up river water. Emile kindly looked away from the scene, grimace present on his face. “Um,” Emile started, but a strange feeling overwhelmed him, made his eyes water and the back of his throat burn. He’d realized that most of what happened was mostly because of him, and his little stunt back on the bridge. If he hadn’t been so stupid, Remy wouldn’t have…

“I’m sorry,” Emile couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down his cheeks, and he was pointedly looking away from Remy as well. “I-I, oh gosh,” He mumbled wiping at them with the sleeves of his cardigan despite them also being soaking wet.

As Remy opened his mouth to respond, another torrent of river water escaped him and onto the shore. He held out a hand, motioning for Emile to wait a second and spoke after vomiting.

“Do-Don’t apologize,” Remy muttered, wiping his mouth sheepishly. “I think I dropped it anyways. Your notebook.”

All that statement did was make him cry even harder, and he curled in on himself, hugging his knees and burying his head in them. He tried saying that he didn’t care, it really didn’t matter to him, because the fact of the matter was that his actions nearly caused another human being to die. Not only that, it was Remy, someone who had been nothing but kind to him through the brief interactions they’d shared together.

Remy was patting him awkwardly on the back. “Sor-Sorry, yi-yikes, it’s kind of cold out, huh?” He said, laughing. 

Emile didn’t respond, and Remy opted to draw his hand away from Emile to sit cross legged on the shore line. He reached down to extract a soggy piece of paper from one of his leather boots.

“So… I kind of fall asleep sometimes,” Remy blurted out suddenly. Emile blinked at him, furrowing his eyebrows in questioning. “Like, it’s really random.”

“Huh,” Emile said. “That’s why you-”

“Yeah. Um,” Remy scratched the back of his head. “It gets really strong when I fall asleep. My powers, I mean. I’m usually not strong enough to lift people or anything.”

Emile thought back to when he was surrounded in a purple aura, the feeling of weightlessness as he floated to the top of the river despite him sinking just a moment before… “Ah.”

“Sorry if that’s weird,” Remy laughed bitterly. “But I just thought I should tell you ‘cause… You know.”

He didn’t know, but Emile suddenly wondered what Remy’s life must have been like living with a condition like that. He wondered if he had a hard time connecting with other people too, he wondered if he was lonely too.

“It-It’s not,” Emile remedied. “I mean, kinda but I don’t care… You’re great, I-I just don’t know why you… Did that.”

He wondered if it was the lighting or if Remy’s face had grown red. “I just… I know it means a lot to you,” He answered. “And don’t give me that crap and pretend it doesn’t matter. I know it does.”

Emile tried to pretend like that statement didn’t make a new wall of tears well up in his eyes. “Y-Yeah,” He whispered, hugging his knees closer to his chest. “It does.”

So they sat together on the shoreline, Emile trying to ignore the chill that came with a gust of wind. Looking up at the sky above, Emile wondered if there would ever come a day where he’d make a friend that he could show his writing to without the debilitating anxiety that came with being judged. Maybe a friend he could watch cartoons with without them asking to change the channel to something like a reality show instead. He wanted someone who would spend time with him that didn’t come at the expense of having to do a project together for AP English.

Then he looked over at the barista, staring blankly out at the water, dark hair plastered unflatteringly to his forehead while squinting. Was it too bright? Was that why he wore sunglasses indoors too? It seemed like Emile was learning something new about him every time they interacted.

A hopeful feeling ignited in his chest, and Emile wished that he could learn more about Remy with time.

-

“This is my number!”

Remy quirked an eyebrow as he took the post-it note. “Uh-”

“I lost my phone because of, you know,” Emile waved his hand vaguely, but Remy already knew the incident he was talking about. “So I had to get a new one.”

“... Thanks,” Remy said. He furiously engraved it into his skull to remember to text Emile, because he’d probably never forgive himself if he forgot. “I’ll text you after my shift’s over.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course!” Emile said flippantly. “I just wanted to say thanks for the other day… I was kind of- heh, kind of a wreck! Emotionally, haha.”

“Yeah, it’s cool,” Remy thumbed over the new cracks on his phone- He referred to them as battle scars in his mind though. “I’d nearly drown in a shit-filled river anytime for you, babe.”

Although he was kind of joking, Remy was delighted to see a nervous smile on Emile’s face. Much better than tears for sure. 

“Haha!! Um, I uh, hah,” Emile squeaked, putting a hand to his red face. “Gosh, it feels like Agrab- You probably don’t know what that is! Haha!! Anyways!”

He unceremoniously dumped a shoddily wrapped parcel onto the table. The wrapper was a repeating pattern of cartoon characters he didn’t recognize.

“It’s the Loud House! Okay, uh, happy Saint Patrick’s day, bye!”

With that, as soon as he came he was gone. Remy watched mutely as Emile bolted out of the shop, though not before nearly tackling an older gentleman making his way in and apologizing to him profusely as he colorfully swore at the retreating teenager. A genuine snicker left his mouth, and he looked down at the gift in his hands.

He’d open it after his shift ended, Remy decided. Using his powers, he levitated it so that it rested underneath the counter, hidden from view. Remy smiled at the older guy and adjusted his glasses.

“How may I help you?”

[goldenretriever-nicknelson]

I just really like your writing you do of Tom Holland and I was wondering if could do like reader/oc (either one is fine don't mind one over the other) but she is Tom's girl and a nurse and Tom talks about her on like a talk show and is just proud of her for helping others and like could the talk show be like Jimmy Fallon or Graham Norton show ( dont really mind either one too). Please and Thank you. ( ps. This is my first request so I really dont know how they work at all!😁)

Sorry this request took so long love but I finally got inspiration for it. You probably don’t even remember sending it aha but here you go and hope you enjoy! 

A/n: Okay so I choose Graham Norton a) because Tom is gold on that show and b) it’s not taped live and is filmed in London so it works better. This is just some fluff and if you want me to make a fic out of it let me know and I’ll see what I can do because I really enjoyed writing it!

Word count: 1.6k 

Warnings: I’m not a nurse so probably some inaccuracies there, cute fluff, mentions of a hospital setting. 

“We also have Tom Holland on the show tonight.” You watched on the small screen as the crowd cheered loudly and it made you smile. 

It was just past half ten as you sat on the small sofa in the nurses break room, a hot cup of coffee held in your hands warning you up and most importantly keeping you awake. You were quite thankful really, your break had lined up perfectly with your boyfriend’s appearance on the Graham Norton show and since you were understaffed that night it was just you on break.  

“So Tom I hear there’s a new romance on the cards for you?” Graham asked and you almost choked on a sip of coffee you took. Tom’s face came on the screen, the lighting letting you see his slight blush. 

“Well actually we’ve been dating for 6 months now.” Tom said proudly, smiling at the camera since he knew you would be watching. Your heart pounded tightly in your chest, although your relationship was no longer a secret, it was still the first time Tom had acknowledged the relationship on television.

“Here you both are on your instagram.” The picture that Tom had used to announce your relationship was on the screen; a selfie of Tom kissing your cheek and you smiling. A collective aww was heard from the audience as Tom blushed. “You kept that quiet didn’t you?.” Graham noted with a laugh and you giggled behind your cup as Tom shrugged with a smirk. 

“Yeah well there’s no one better at keeping secrets than me.” From the left of Tom, Jake let out a loud scoff with a thumb gesturing towards him. Tom rolled his eyes before letting out a laugh, not being able to keep up the act. 

“Seriously, she’s amazing and I know she’ll be working when she sees this but I want her to know I’m so proud of her.” Tom sent a wink to the camera and you felt your heart soar above it’s normal rate. He rambled on for a bit about how you were a nurse and more words of how proud he was before the topic was changed to the Far from home movie. 

You sniffled into a tissue as Tom’s words hit a place in your heart, warming you up even more than the coffee had. You were just listening to Tom Hanks speak about Toy Story 4 when there was a knock on the door, you assumed your break was over so you got back up just as the door opened.

It wasn’t your co-worker but instead your boyfriend holding a bouquet of flowers and a dopey smirk. He looked unsure if he should be there before you gasped and wrapped your arms around him. 

“Tommy what are you doing here?” 

“I came to surprise my best girl and to let her know how proud I am of her with these-“ Tom tried to turn the package to see the name of the flowers, forgetting what the florist had told him before he gave up at your small giggle. “Flowers.”

“They’re beautiful.” You took them and smelled the sweet scent before placing them in water in the side of the break room kitchen so you could collect them after your shift. 

“And so are you.” He kissed your lips and you sighed. “Is your shift over soon?” He asked hopefully, noticing the tired bags underneath your eyes and hoping to take you home and snuggle whilst eating a large pizza. 

“Oh Tommy I’m sorry, I said I’d work overtime tonight.” You but your lip as Tom’s shoulder sagged slightly. “Michelle is getting worse and she won’t talk to any of the other nurses plus we’re understaffed again.” Tom ran a hand down your cheek and then cupped it so he could pull you into a kiss. 

“I’ll have dinner/breakfast all ready for you when you get home.” He smiled warmly before pecking your lips gently again. “Go save some lives.” 

You laughed and shook your head. “We’re not all superheroes Tom.” You smirked as your forehead leant against his. The talk show was still running in the background which made Tom smile even wider when he realised what you were watching.

“You’re my superhero. You could save anybody with that smile.”

You sighed against his lips as he kissed you again, a blush highlighting your cheeks. It was far from a romantic setting with the cold, dimness of the break room, the old coffee machine whirring on alongside the tv in the background and yet your heart still fluttered, the butterflies in your stomach running rampant. 

There was another knock on the door that made you pull back away from Tom. Your co-worker appeared in her matching colour scrubs, a kind smile painted on her lips.  “Hey y/n, Michelle’s asking for you.” 

“I’ll be right there.” You called over Tom’s shoulder, smiling back at her before you said your goodbyes to your boyfriend for the night. He kept chasing your lips and making you giggle. “Tommy.” Your voice was amused but with a slight hint of sadness that warned him you had to go.

“Okay goodnight love, go be a superhero.” You laughed and nodded, winking at Tom as he watched you leave. 

When he saw himself out he bumped into your co-worker who smiled at him and told him that you were a lucky girl. She was married and he knew there was no underlying flirty tone which made him sigh in relief. 

“No I’m the lucky one.” Tom corrected before exiting the doors, a smile that crinkled his eyes on his face as he spotted you smiling at your patient. 

Tom sat at home with his half of the pizza as he watched an old friends rerun. He wistfully looked over it your side of the couch and sighed. As proud as he was there were times when he wished you were nowhere else rather than in his arms laughing at the jokes that you’d watched a thousand times but still found funny. 

He hated it even more when your schedules would clash and you would go days, weeks or months even without seeing each other. But at the end of the day you came home to each other and that was worth the pain of being apart for so long. 

You came home at 6am and found your half of the pizza in the fridge, your favourite chocolate bar next to it with a note that simply said “I love you.” And it was enough to make you smile tiredly as you heated up the pizza and ate away happily before cleaning up. You got changed into one of Tom’s shirts and snuck into your side of the bed, wrapping yourself into Tom’s warmth. 

The next night at the hospital was a slow one, You mainly sat with Michelle who had been your patient for the past week and who seemed to have grown a liking to you above the other nurses who the young teen refused to talk to. 

“Can we play cards again?” You pretended to think about it for a moment before pulling the pack of marvel cards she loved from your pockets. You set up a game of go fish and was just about to start when there was a knock on her door. 

“Hey!” 

Your jaw dropped as you watched a familiar red and blue suit appear in the doorway. You stopped yourself from calling his actual name as he looked at you, you could sense the smile beneath his mask. 

Michelle gasped and sat up straighter especially as Zendaya walked in behind him. Tom walked over and shook Michelle’s hand. 

“Hi I’m Spider-man.” Tom took off the mask and shook his curls which made you stifle a giggle. He sent you a wink before turning back to the young girl who was looking back and forth between Tom and Zendaya in shock. “You must be Michelle.” 

Michelle gave a small shy nod before looking to Zendaya who held out her fist for a bump.

“Michelle is an awesome name.” Zendaya smiled and the younger girl reached out to give her a hug. Z gave a grin and hugged back.

“Is this your nurse?” Tom’s eyes glanced at you before looking back to Michelle who nodded. “She’s pretty.” The girl giggled as you blushed, rolling your eyes covertly. 

“Her names y/n.” Michelle whispered and you felt yourself smile wider as Tom got up and held out his hand for you to shake. He wore a smirk and you matched it.

“Hi y/n it’s nice to meet you!” His queens accent was as adorable as always and never failed to make him you smile. You returned the greeting before he was focusing his attention back on Michelle who was still sat in awe.

“Do you wanna see me do a backflip?” Tom asked and Michelle nodded quickly, you joined in. He sent you a smirk before finding a space and flipping over. He showed off by doing two and Michelle burst into laughter and applause which you and Z joined in on. 

At the end of your shift, Tom came to pick you up still dressed in his Spider-Man suit which made you and your coworkers laugh. You lifted the mask up to kiss his lips before taking it off entirely. 

He drove you home and he let you rant about day, his hand rubbing sweetly on his thighs. When you got home he cooked you dinner, letting you relax and get changed before you helped him out. You sat down and ate, chatting happily as you felt yourself relax for the first time in weeks. 

Tom even ran you a bath, complete with candles and soft music before you both got into bed, snuggling under the covers and fighting against the cold London air with each other’s body heat. He peppered kisses to your face and lips as he spoke about how proud he was of you and you returned his words about him and what he had done at the hospital today.

You slept contently that night with Tom’s arms tight around you and the amount of love for him in your heart practically radiating from you. 

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[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

Finding His Courage

Characters: Spencer Reid x Reader, the team

Word Count: 1,197

Warnings: pure fluff

Summary: Work you and Home you are completely different and everyone has only seen work you, so you are nervous to let your hair down.

Author’s Note: This is the July 7th fic “Cookout” for the 30 Day Writing Challenge. If you have any requests, please send them in! this is unbeta’d and every mistake is all on me.

Feedback the glue that holds my writing together

Tags at the bottom

Staring at yourself in the mirror, you wondered if you should even go to this thing. Rossi was holding a cookout at his mansion to celebrate the success of a really huge case that has been lasting for months. Everyone was going to be there, but you were really worried about only one person: Spencer Reid. Everything about that man made you want to run and hide. He was just so handsome, charming, and very skilled at what he does. He had an intelligence level that is to die for, and he really just has a good heart. He makes your swell whenever you even think about him.

The reason why you are so worried about this event was because you normally never dress up. Every single day it’s always blazer, pencil skirt, and a tight bun. Makeup wasn’t usually worn because if you had to chase someone on the field, then it kind of gets messy. Everything about you was professional, and that’s all your coworkers have seen you wear. Derek always teases you for not loosening up a little bit at work, but Spencer always saves the day with really nice comments that make a blush creep up from your neck.

“Do you even own a pair of jeans?” Derek asked when you walked by his desk on Friday morning.

“What?”

“It’s casual day today. We get to dress down a little bit.”

“And? I’d prefer what I’m wearing,” you shrugged as you set your purse down on your desk.

“Yeah, but, do you own any jeans? Or anything other than ten of those?” he chuckled. Rolling your eyes, you were about to ignore him when Spencer spoke up from his desk.

“Leave her alone. I happen to think what she’s wearing is suitable for an office like this. It’s nice to look professional.”

“Yeah, but all the time?” Derek asked as he got up and left for the break room.

“Don’t listen to him. I think you look great,” Spencer said with a shy smile. A blush threatened to creep up your neck, so you placed your hand there to subtly try and hide it.

“Thank you, Spencer.”

“Anytime,” he smiled.

Spencer was always giving you compliments on your look which is why you were really nervous to show up at this really casual cookout. No one was going to wear business clothing, so you had to put on the nicest and most casual thing you owned which was a light yellow sundress that flowed at the bottom and with spaghetti straps. It was a warm one, so you didn’t want to bring a jacket or anything. Your hair was down tonight, and you had made sure it looked nice. No one saw your hair in anything other than a bun, so they didn’t know its true length. It rested right above your ass, so it was really long. There was light makeup on your face, but it’s a lot more than what you usually wore in the office.

You liked your look, but you were nervous to see your reactions from your peers. Derek would most likely tease you for dressing down so much, but you were more nervous for what Spencer might think. Was he going to like it? Did he only like your professional look? Was he going to take one look at you and look away in disgust for showing so much skin? No, Spencer would never do that, but you couldn’t help but think he might.

Before you could talk yourself out of staying home for the night, you grabbed your clutch purse and headed out the door. Rossi lived a while away, but it didn't take long to drive there. Having not been to his house before, you gasped at the sight. He was rich beyond compare since this wasn’t a mansion, it was bigger. Pulling into the driveway, you got out and walked to the door before spotting the note on it.

Door is open. We’re in the backyard.

Opening the door, you took a deep breath before walking inside. The note was right because you could see your coworkers chatting and laughing from the glass windows of the backyard. Derek was talking with Spencer by the pool, laughing at something he said.

“When is Y/N getting here?” Spencer asked, looking at his watch for the second time that hour.

“Why? You miss her?” Derek teased.

“Yeah, actually.”

“Oh,” Derek realized his teasing wasn’t necessary since he knew of Spencer’s feelings for you. “I’m sure she’ll be here soon.”

“The invitation said seven pm, and it’s almost eight.”

“Kid, she’s going to be here,” Derek assured him before spotting you walking out of the glass back door. “Whoa.”

Spencer turned his head to see what captured his friend’s attention when he laid eyes on you. His own widened at the sight of you in something other than professional clothing. The sundress fit you perfectly, the makeup wasn’t overdone, and your hair fanned across your body perfectly. He even spotted hints of tattoos that he never knew you sported. His mouth must have been open because Derek reached over and shut it for him. He watched as you greeted Rossi and Hotch with a smile, but he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off you.

“Why don’t you ask her out?” Derek asked.

“A-ask her out? Are you kidding me? Why would she want to go out with me?”

“Reid, you gotta stop doing this to yourself. You’re a prize. Any woman would be lucky to have you. Plus, I heard from Garcia that she’s into geniuses with curly hair and big hazel eyes with an eidetic memory,” he grinned as he patted his back. When he saw you walking over to them, he quickly walked away to give you two some privacy.

“Hi Spencer,” you smiled shyly.

“You look a-amazing. Absolutely stunning,” he said before his brain could process what Derek said and stop him from saying those words. He was about to mentally slap himself when he heard you giggle, and the biggest grin spread across his face from hearing it.

“Thank you. I was so nervous to come to this thing.”

“Why?”

“I mean, look at me. This isn’t what I usually wear. I was worried about what you might think of me.”

“What I would think of you? Why were you worried about that?”

“Just because,” you shrugged. You had the courage to tell him how you feel, but after hearing him say those words, you lost it all.

“I always think you’re beautiful no matter what you wear,” he said as his brain caught up on what Derek had told him before you came over. Did you really like him? Find him attractive? There is only one way to find out. “I have tickets to go to the Smithsonian this weekend. Did you want to come with me?”

“Just us? Like a date?” you whispered.

“Yeah,” he smiled shyly.

“I think that would be fun. I would love to go with you,” you giggled nervously.

“Food’s ready!” Rossi announced as Hotch plated the burgers. Both you and the doctor blushed before getting food together.

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[goodnightkisseu]

Ong Seongwu - Resentment [Part 1]

Requested By: anonny​ (“ hi! could i please request an enemies to lovers scenario with seongwoo? i would really appreciate it, thank you!!<3 ”)

Genre: Angst, Enemies to Lovers

Word Count: 2446

Note: I struggle a lot with Enemies to Lovers as a prompt because I never know how I’m supposed to shift them into lovers ;A; This one was no different, but it was still an interesting one to write! It’s a two-part piece because I felt like it read better as two parts, so here you all go! I hope that you all enjoy it, and as always, feel free to let me know what you think! ^^

Enjoy~

Because of the situation with tumblr links, please check my bio for links to my masterlist~

- ashley <3

You were one of the lucky few who loved your job. You knew that wasn't normal. Usually, people disliked what they did, or a job was just a job to them. But you, you much enjoyed what you did. You loved simplifying complex processes, helping others by creating something that would make their day to day life a little easier. Maybe deep down you were just a big nerd and things like this made you feel complete and needed, but you really enjoyed doing it. The people at your job were collaborative too. Your coworkers were willing to chat with you, to explain their process so that you could make it faster, because honestly, the less that they had to manually do, the better. Whether it was to make the company's internal network simpler to use, or just providing a small set of tools to help their workflow, you got to make a difference, and you liked that a lot. Or rather, you used to love it.

Everything changed when he switched into your department.

Seongwu had been working at a different department, doing a similar job to yours. When that project was winding down, and yours was winding up, the company decided to shuffle some people around. The timing was absolutely perfect because for the last month you had felt a bit overwhelmed. Any help with tools was much appreciated. You were beyond excited when they announced that someone would be moving over. It was a bit lonely being the only one on your team, and you thought that having another person to talk to, would really make your day a lot better.

And when Seongwu had first arrived, you felt that. He was kind, even a little shy, but the two of you seemed to get along. He was a bit closed off, but sweet, and unsurprisingly, you found him attractive. After all, how did someone so good looking end up in your field? You had a small crush on him, though it didn't take long for your perception of him to change. The two of you would often chat and poke fun at each other, but one day, his jabs hurt a bit more than they used to. You tried not to let it bother you, but the more comfortable he got with your coworkers, the more time he started to spend with them. The more time he spent with them, the more he had to pick on you for, and soon, it wasn't fun and games anymore. The two of you were just hostile.

Seongwu had that personality; however, that made him very likable. He was fun, and he fit right into the team. It made you a bit of an outcast amongst your coworkers. The guys wanted to hang with him, while the girls wanted to be with him. It left you with about a handful of people that wanted to work with you, while the others just flat out asked for Seongwu instead. It irked you. You did your job well. Sure, you weren't going to go out for drinks with them later, but damn it, you knew what you were doing. You didn't like your ideas being tossed aside for Seongwu's. It was irritating being treated like that, but even so, nothing could be done for the time being. There needed to be at least two of you here, and hiring someone else wasn't an option. You were left to be miserable.

"Oh, Seongwu isn't here?" Yena asked when she reached your shared cubicle and realized that the male wasn't there. A frown formed on her lips.

"Ah, no, he isn't. Seongwu went to help the accounting team guys with getting their network set up," you told her, looking at the list of tasks that were currently marked 'in progress.' "Is it something urgent? I have some free time, and would be more than happy to help," you offered. Though, as typical of every time someone replied to you, you saw that forced smile on her lips, and you knew that she didn't want your help.

“That’s really kind of you, but I’ll just wait until Seongwu is back. Could you let him know that I was looking for him?” And before you could even agree, she left.

Honestly, you hated working with Seongwu. You didn't feel like anyone appreciated you, and most of the time, you felt like his secretary. And that was frustrating. You had more seniority than he did, but he just waltzed right in and made you look like a joke. It drove you mad, and there were times when you thought of quitting. However, the company treated you well financially, and you couldn't afford a period of unemployment, no matter how much you despised him.

Booming male laughter could be heard, and it immediately pulled your eyes away from the task you were working on. You lifted your head, peering over the cubicle, and saw exactly who you had expected to. It was Seongwu, walking with a bunch of the guys, chatting and laughing about something. When they arrived at your cubicle, they politely greeted you before scurrying away and heading back to work.

"You're in early," Seongwu stated, though all you could do was roll your eyes at him.

"I'm always in at this time, Seongwu. It's not my fault you're never here to see when I get in," you retorted.

"I don't know, I feel like you usually get in later," he challenged.  

On any other day, you probably would have argued with him. Today, wasn't one of those days, however, so you changed the subject. "Yena came looking for you. I offered to help, but she rejected me."

"Ah, I know what that's about," Seongwu replied as he stood up, eyeing you as you sat at your desk. "You know, you'd be a perfect secretary. Like you're so good at telling me when people come looking for me."

Those words hit a chord, hurting your pride. You had worked hard to get your degree. Did this asshole really just call you a secretary? Not being able to contain your anger anymore, you reached for your nearest plushie and threw it right at Seongwu as he was getting up to walk away. You had been aiming for his back, but your angled trajectory sent the puppy right for his head, hitting it with a thud. Seongwu stopped in his tracks, momentarily turning around to face you, utter surprise written all over his features. But almost as soon as that shock has spread across his face, it was replaced with a smirk as he walked away.

Even when you got him, it was so easy for him to disregard you. It was frustrating. You kept telling yourself that he wasn't worth it, even as you picked up your plushie from the ground. But that didn't mean his words and actions didn't hurt.

========

Your days continued on as they always had. The two of you trying to do your work while also bickering at each other. Your jabs never seemed to do much to Seongwu, but he had gotten some cheap shots in that made you want to throw another plushie at his head. One day, one of the upper-level managers called you and Seongwu into his office. At first, you thought that the male next to you had complained about the things you had thrown at him, but it was quite the opposite of that.

The two of you had been doing such good work, automating so much of your team's workflow that one of the other offices had asked if you could come and get their teams back on track. With where the project was now, it was possible for both of you to take a two-month trip to work at a different office. The manager had called you in to explain the logistics and to let you know that you should both pack your things and take the company car when you were ready to go. You both thanked him, telling him it was an honor before leaving his office. Yet as soon as you stepped outside, you were overrun by a sudden terror. You would be stuck with Seongwu... for two... whole... months.

"Two months? I have to share a place with you for two months?!" Seongwu exclaimed when the two of you got into the elevator. He made a face at the thought.

"It's not like I want to live with you either," you muttered, rolling your eyes at his overdramatic nature.

"Whatever. This has disaster written all over it. Just go home and get your things, and be back in two hours so that we can leave. I want to head out before we hit traffic."

"Yes, mom," you mocked, and this was the only time you managed to get the last word when talking to Seongwu. At that moment, the elevator stopped at the garage level, and the two of you exited. You got in your car and drove home to pack, but you couldn't help dreading that you would have to see Seongwu again.

Surprisingly, it didn't take either of you long to pack your things. After grabbing necessities, some clothes, and a handful of other items, you were back within an hour and on your way to your destination. Seongwu offered to drive, and the two of you were rather quiet as you set off. Seongwu fiddled with the music, trying to find something suitable to drive to, while you pulled out your phone, seeing a message from your friend, Jongin. He sent you a couple of texts asking if you were alright, having explained what your situation would be for the next couple of months. You quickly replied that you were okay for the time being. At his messages though, you couldn't help but smile.

Jongin had become a close friend over the years, which was surprising considering that the two of you had never actually met in person. You had started talking to Jongin after meeting him in one of your online group chats. Initially, you had only talked about your shared interests, but over time that changed. Your friendship grew close, and you started to talk about your everyday lives. You would confide in each other about things that bothered you or other life problems you were having. You knew that some people found it strange, but you didn't mind. After all, it wasn't like anyone at work was reaching out to you.

Following the message that said that you were alright, Jongin sent you a couple more. He must have been on his break at work. A couple of things were cute animal gifs. Other encouraging words for you before his last message that read, 'don't let that wannabe bro bother you. He's not all that great. He couldn't even dodge the plushie you threw at his head >)' making you giggle.

Seongwu must have heard you quietly giggling to yourself because you could see him peering at you out of the corner of his eye, a smirk playing on his lips. Oh shit. "Who are you talking to that you're giggling like a school girl?" he inquired.

"It's none of your damn business," you said quickly, sending something back to Jongin before locking your phone.

"Is it that guy you've been talking to online? Jongin?" he poked, watching as you shifted uncomfortably in your seat. Oh, he got you. "You know that guy isn't interested in you, right?"

"I don't need him to be. He's just a good friend," you insisted, inwardly cursing at yourself for having told Seongwu about Jongin. In your defense, it was before he started acting like such a jerk. It didn't mean that you didn't regret it though. Talk about giving him more ammo.

"I'm calling bull. I don't believe for one second that you don't want this guy to be interested in you. Look, you're lonely, so you're going to want attention from someone. I'm just telling you to not seek out a boyfriend from some random guy online. Really, you could probably find someone at work if you just clean up a bit,” he told you.

"I don't need to hear that from you," you said flatly, trying to stop the conversation in its tracks. You could feel your temper building. Seongwu had found a particularly sensitive topic and had been poking at it unknowingly.

"Oh come on, you know it’s true. If you just –"

"If I just acted girlier, changed the way I dress to be more feminine, slapped on some more makeup to the point where I don't even look like myself, and lost some weight, I could have any guy I wanted, right? Look Seongwu, you sound just like every other guy at the office. They've told me the same things when they were drunk out of their minds and weren't controlling their mouths. Want to know why don't hang out with you all after work? Having to hear them run their mouths like that is only one of many reasons. You aren't the first asshole to recommend that I change my entire being to attract someone. Your advice isn't special, so just save your breath," you shot back.

All of your anger boiled to the surface, and it all came rushing out in words that you had always wanted to say but were too afraid to. Seongwu was just the unlucky one that got the last push in, that made your temper of a volcano explode. You were still fuming, but you made sure that your eyes were looking elsewhere but at Seongwu. He had grown silent, and you weren't sure why. Wasn't he going to push you again, get the last word, and make you feel even worse? Why wasn't he speaking?

"H-hey, look, I didn't mean it like that..." he started, but when he saw you turn away from him, he knew that his words were futile. He had overstepped on this particular tease, and he didn't need another person to tell him that he had screwed up.

"Save it, okay?" you said shortly, wanting to change the topic. "Let's just... not talk about those things."

There was a bit of silence at that moment before Seongwu sighed. “Fine.”

You nodded, crossing your arms over your chest as you settled in, eyes watching the city flash by outside of your window. Not once did you pick up your phone, even though it was evident that you received a few messages. Your two months together had barely started... and you already wanted it to be over...

[krystalkoya]

Ad Hoc | 01

So I finally did it. My first published fic, hopefully it’s not as cringe as I think it is. If y’all like this let me know. I have a couple ideas for this fic that I won’t completely give up on if at least one person likes this

read on ao3! 

pairing: coworker!hoseok x reader

genre: enemies to lovers (the superior trope!), future angst, future smut (18+), humour

rating: nc17

word count: 3.1k

chapter warnings: none!

———

Summary: Landing your dream job as an advertising exec at Kim Entertainment straight out of college was nothing like you imagined. Mostly due to the fact that your college rival, Jung Hoseok, sits ten feet away from you and never misses an opportunity to make your life a living hell. When a position opens up at the firm to be chief of advertising, you jump at the opportunity, but not without having to go up against Hoseok who is also vying for the position. In a dirty game of deception and betrayal, the last thing you expect to come out of it is love.

Series Masterpost

———

Dear god if you had to sit through another minute of this goddamn staff meeting you were going to kill yourself. That is, if the meeting didn’t bore you to death first.

Ever since the company had come under new management a few months ago, the new manager, Minho, had instituted routine monthly meetings to go over the company’s goals, its relationship with clients, projected sales for the year… you know, all that business mumbo jumbo.

And that was all fine and dandy. In fact, you actually thought the meetings were beneficial… if they were being held once every few months or so, not every damn month of the year. But, like a good employee, you faithfully attended each monthly meeting just to hear that nothing had changed since the last one.

If you were being honest, you had no idea how Minho got so far in his career. He was a nice guy, too nice really, a little awkward, but absolutely no balls below the belt whatsoever. The man couldn’t even tell Barbara, the resident granny (who, frankly, was due to retire ten years ago) that she was taking too long on her breaks. And not the socially acceptable one or two minutes late but more like fifteen minute breaks becoming thirties instead.

Looking past the fact that the man seemed the type to be terrified of his own reflection, you guess you could see why corporate hired him — when it came to marketing, he knew his stuff.

Just as you were beginning to ponder what you would be having for lunch that day, a reuben from the sub shop down the street sounded nice, but then again you had been craving Mexican lately…, you suddenly felt a [not-so-light] kick to your shin.

Jerking in your seat, you looked up to see the smirking man beside you. You were about to retaliate with a scolding and an even harsher kick to the shin but before you even had a chance he was he shushing you with a finger to his plump lips, pointing in the direction of Minho to indicate that you should pay attention.

“… to conclude our meeting today, I have some good news pertaining to the advertising department.“ You perked up a little in your seat, thoroughly intrigued for the first time ever first time that day.

“Corporate wants to change things up a bit in the ad department. That’s why they told me to let you all know that a new position is opening up here to be Chief Advertising Officer. CAO if you will.”

At the silence that ensued in response to his attempt at a ‘joke’, Minho took that as his cue to explain it (which only ever makes things worse).

“Get it… CAO, like CEO and CFO. They’re… they’re acronyms.”

“We get it, it just wasn’t funny.” Calls, you guessed it, Barbara from her seat in the back. The only one bold enough to say what everyone else was thinking because she’s set for life. Minho won’t fire her, a) because of the lack of balls situation mentioned earlier, and b) out of fear of securing a lawsuit for age discrimination on their hands.

At this point, it was just better to let the old bat retire on her own terms — she only had about a year left, two tops.

Minho, poor guy, shakes his head defeatedly, ignoring Barb’s comment in favor of finishing his announcement. Chuckling awkwardly, he begins again, “Right… Ah- as I was saying, a new position is opening up to be Chief of Advertising. Corporate wants things to be a little more streamlined in the ad department. They’re thinking a head of advertising position will achieve that. Anyone can apply so if you think you have the necessary skills, by all means have at it. But unless anyone has any further comments or concerns, this meeting’s adjourned.”

Usually you’re already up and on your feet before Minho can say ‘any further questions’ but today you’re left stewing in your seat. As a member of the advertising team here at Kim Entertainment you couldn’t be happier in your current position. But now that this opportunity had been presented to you, you couldn’t turn it away. More creative freedom and a higher salary? There was no way in hell you weren’t getting this promotion.

But with opportunities always come challenges. And you don’t know how you managed to forget one of the biggest challenges standing in your way ever since you started working here a year ago.

“I actually have a question, if you don’t mind.”

God, even the sound of his voice irritates the mother-loving shit out of you.

“Yes, Hoseok, go ahead.” Minho says, slowing in his collection of the papers on his desk.

Jung. Fucking. Hoseok.

“So what differentiates the Chief of Advertising from a regular person on the ad committee? And salary? What’s that like?”

“Of course, yes the perks of the position! You can expect a higher salary. It’s not set and generally depends on your experience and skill set, but it will be higher nonetheless. But some of the other benefits more freedom to work on your own commissions or projects, and you have final say in what ideas get pushed and what doesn’t.”

Everyone and everything that stood in your way could suck your left tit as far as you were concerned — you were getting this job. And fortunately, you would get to bury Jung’s ass in the process, a win-win situation for you.

“And, the interview process. How does that work? Is it just the standard interview and a ‘Congratulations, you got the job’ or a 'Sorry, better luck next time?’ or are they looking for something more?” He asks, arms folded and leaning back in his chair, his head tilted slightly in inquiry.

Despite not wanting to admit it, the man did ask good questions. You had been wondering this yourself.

“Oh! How could I forget! Yes there’s going to be a standard interview but in addition to that they also want to see an example of your own work. A personal project, if you will.”

A personal project? So in other words, they want to see what you can do when you are given full creative control over a project. This works out great because this has been exactly what you wanted to do for a while now. You couldn’t wait until the members of your team let you take the reigns on a project. Sure it was nice having a team to bounce ideas off of but sometimes, the feeling of being shot down for an idea you felt strongly for was disheartening.

“Come see me in my office so I can give you the full rundown of what corporate expects to see from you for this position.” He says looking at Hoseok before adding, “And that goes for anyone else who plans on applying. But for now, meeting adjourned. Let’s keep up the good work guys. I like what I’m seeing, great improvement from last month.”

Literally nothing had changed from last month, but that is the last thing on your mind right now, as it is too preoccupied with figuring out what you are going to do for your personal project. And also, how you are going to make it better than Hoseok’s as he is clearly also interested in the position.

As everyone begins to file out of the conference room, some chatting excitedly with each other, others uninterested in a job offer that has nothing to do with them, you follow suit. As you make the trek back to your desk, a pep in your step while you run over all the possible ideas you have for your personal project, Park Jimin falls into step with you.

He bumps his shoulder against yours as you walk, alerting you of his presence, rather violently, you might add.

“Big opportunity right? I have no doubt you’re applying for it. Or am I wrong?”

You give him a look. “You bet your cute ass I’m applying. I’d be an idiot to pass up this opportunity. I just have to figure out a way to outdo that asshole Hoseok and I’m set.”

Jimin flashes you a grin saying, “Aww, you think my ass is cute?” He briefly glances back at his derriere, giving himself a pleased smile before he turns back to you. “I’ve been doing this new thing where I incorporate squats into my workouts. They’re killer on leg day but I guess they’re finally paying off. Anyways, what have you got against that guy? Seriously, he’s not a bad dude from what I can tell.”

“Yeah, to you maybe!” you exclaim.

By this time you have reached the break room and Jimin reaches for the coffee pot to pour himself a mug while you watch him, thoroughly annoyed with the direction the conversation has taken. He offers you a cup but you shake your head, leaning against the counter with a sigh.

“Him and I… we have history. Goes back to my college days and I’d rather not relive those thank you very much.”

Jimin turns around to face you, leaning his back against the counter as well as he takes a sip of his coffee. You giggle when he grimaces, presumably because he forgot to add in the appropriate amount of sugar and creamer to the bitter cup of black coffee.

His next statement, however, wipes the grin right off your face.

“Ooh, a romantic tragedy. Tell me more. What, did he dump you for another girl and now you’ve got some sort of vendetta against him? Spicy. Tell me more.”

“What? No! Absolutely not. First of all, I’ve never dated nor will I ever date that asshole. And second of all, why couldn’t I have been the one dumping him?”

Jimin shrugs, muttering into his mug as he takes a sip, “I guess it could’ve gone that way too. But it’s easier to imagine him dumping you because… and don’t take this the wrong way… you’re you.”

Okay ouch. You’re offended to say the least. “And what is that supposed to mean?!?” You explode. You were doing that a lot today. Jimin must be in the mood for mischief.

“I tell her not to take it the wrong way and what does she do, she takes it the wrong way,” he mutters into his coffee mug, almost as if he’s talking more to himself than to you.

“Listen, no offense, but you didn’t seem like the type to be popular throughout college, or high school, or… at all really. You’ve got this quirky, kinda awkward, vibe going on with you. Don’t get me wrong, it’s cute but you don’t strike me as the type to be the ‘life of the party’.” Despite the fact that you’re glaring daggers into the side of his head right now, he elaborates. Unfortunately for you (and fortunately for Jimin), looks can’t kill.

“…Hoseok on the other hand radiates 'I was popular my entire life’ type of energy. I was thinking maybe you two hooked up or even dated for a bit but he dumped you to avoid jeopardizing his social status. Again, no offense to you or anything. If anything I’m offending him, because he was the asshole in this hypothetical situation.“

"You’ve put lots of thought into this haven’t you?” You say incredulously, truly astounded by how elaborate his story is.

Jimin takes a sip of his coffee (now appropriately sweetened) and sighs dramatically. “Sadly, yes. I’m afraid it’s kept me up into the wee hours of the morning for several nights now. So please, do me a favor and tell me what happened. I’m right aren’t I?”

Try as you might to deny it Jimin was right. At least partially. The part about about you and Hoseok dating or hooking up or whatever definitely wasn’t true, but is is true that the two of you ran in different social circles. You were more likely to be caught with your head in a textbook than at a party, where Hoseok seemed to have spent at least 40% of his time in college.

With a sigh you relent, dropping your guarded stance and admitting your defeat.

"Ok, fine, you might be onto something.” Jimin’s eyes widen excitedly and you’re quick to elaborate before he can get anymore ideas.

“Hoseok and I were never together in any way, thank god, but it is true that we were at completely separate ends of the social spectrum.”

Jimin smirks proudly but you pointedly ignore him.

“And… there was a brief moment in time where we were actually friends, or acquaintances, I guess? But that didn’t last long.”

“Friends? The two of you?”

“Very briefly. We stopped being friends when I found out he was a gigantic asshole. But I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Let’s get back to talking about that promotion. I was thinking– ”

“Promotion? You mean the one I’m going to get?”

At the sound of a voice that didn’t come from one of the two of you, you and Jimin snap your head around to see Hoseok standing near the doorway of the breakroom.

Unfortunately for you the universe had not answered your calls for a stress free day void of having to interact with the devil in a suit standing a couple feet away from you. Better luck tomorrow.

“Ew, have you just been standing there like a creep listening to our conversation this entire time?” you scowl out at him.

Hoseok shakes his head, hands in his pants pockets and a sly smirk on his face as approaches. He walks past the both of you, not paying you any mind, as he stops at the coffee machine and pours himself a cup.

“No. Trust me, I have better things to do than eavesdrop on your conversations. I just happened to come in and I heard the two of you talking about the new job offer opening up.” He’s not even looking at you, the pretentious prick, too focused on stirring in the appropriate amount of creamer into his cup.

“Want some advice?”

“I don’t ” you bite back.

He ignores you. “Hey, I’m just looking out for you. I don’t want you to get your feelings hurt when I get the job so I wouldn’t even bother applying if I were you.”

He’s still stirring that stupid cup of coffee and the fact that he’s not even looking at you while he insults you, like you’re not even worth the time of day, is extremely infuriating.

At this point you are seething, but you try your very best to not to go off on him as much as you want to. Working with him on a daily was already difficult but now that you two are vying for the same position? Oh, things are only about to get a hell of a lot worse.

“Thanks for your concern, but if you’re so sure that you’ve got this job already then you won’t mind if I go ahead and apply then. Since you don’t consider me to be any competition then it should be fine, right? Or did I read this all wrong and you’re actually worried I might get the job over you?”

Finally finished meddling with his coffee, he licks the red stirrer clean with his tongue and discards it with a flick into the trash can nearby. Mug in hand he spins around and leans against the counter, flashing a smug grin your way. And you’d be lying if you said that it didn’t affect you at least a smidgen. His smile was stunning, smugness to it and all. So what, he’s attractive. You still hated the man’s guts.

“I tried to warn you so I don’t wanna see any tears when I get it. But I suggest you get used to calling me 'Chief’ from now on. Has a nice ring to it doesn’t it?”

And before you can respond he’s already brushing past you and heading back to his desk, no doubt thoroughly enjoying the fact that he got the last word in while you’re left to gape like a fish out of water.

There’s a moment of silence while Jimin just stares at you seething at Hoseok’s retreating form disappearing into the main room. You almost forgot he was there at all until he finally speaks.

“God, the sexual tension between you two is strong. Can’t you guys just fuck already and end… whatever this is…?”

“Jimin!” you exclaim at him. “What you just witnessed was not sexual tension. It was just passionate mutual hate for each other.”

“Uh huh, sure.”

“You know what, fuck you.”

Jimin’s airy laugh floods your hearing and you wonder not for the first time how someone so mischievous could look so innocent.

“Listen, I just need your support with this, can I trust you to give me that?”

“Right, about that. I was thinking of applying for the position too.”

You give him an incredulous look. He can’t be serious.

“Jimin, you’re in accounting.”

“So? You heard the boss man. He said anyone could apply!”

“Yes, anyone with the right credentials. Do you have a degree in marketing or advertising or any other remotely related field? No you don’t. Come on Jimin, I don’t have time for this right now. I’ve already got enough on my plate dealing with Hoseok, I don’t need to add you to the mix.”

“Relax, I’m just kidding. My department can’t lose me. I’m the best accountant they have. And trust me, you have my full support. I have no doubt you’ll get the job.”

You give Jimin a bright smile and thank him dearly. Despite being a pain in your ass at times, he really was a great coworker and friend at that. He’s one of the few people always reassuring you when you’re nervous about a pitch or an idea you have in mind.

Still, you couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. You hated to admit it but Hoseok was good at his job. If there was anyone who could beat you out of this promotion it was him, not to mention you have no idea who else was considering applying for the position as well. But you were determined. You had to get this job. And you’d bury Hoseok and whoever else decided to go up against you to get it. But first things first… you needed a project idea.

[paradisobound]

(1) New Text

Summary: Dan is a very lonely person and for the past few years Dan has received a text message simply saying 'merry christmas' until one year a present shows up in front of his doorstep.

Word Count: 5k

Warnings: It looks like Phil is stalking Dan but I promise he’s not. 

Genre: Fluff and slight Angst with a happy ending 

Written for the @phandomreversebang! This was originally supposed to go with art made by @rwdaf but Alex had to leave so I decided to continue the fic anyway and finish it! Also thanks to my lovely beta Melissa @loyal-phan! You did the last little touches that helped a lot! 

2011

It’s been a tough year. Dan says to himself as he pours some leftover wine into a glass and then puts the bottle away in the cupboard. Christmas was always stressful for him and this year wasn’t any other exception. It was another year of being alone. Another year of feeling lost and like his future wasn’t going anywhere anymore. It was another year of rejections from jobs and working at the local bookstore just to pay rent, living paycheck to paycheck.

But as he tossed back the rest of his wine, he let out a loud sigh and clanked the empty glass onto his counter. There was always the promise of new year. In the next two weeks, it would be 2012 and maybe 2012 would finally be his year.

He just wished the universe would give him a break every once and awhile. He hasn’t felt like he’s gotten a break since he dropped out of law school the year before. His parents had warned him about this; about how he wasn’t mature enough to possibly drop out of Uni and move to London. But he did it anyway.

Now though, he feels like maybe they were correct. What was a nineteen year old supposed to do in London if they weren’t going to Uni or they weren’t already affluent? Maybe it was a dumb idea. But if he went back to Wokingham, it’d be like he admitted defeat with his tail between his legs.

He didn’t want that. He didn’t want his parents to know they were correct and he couldn’t possibly do this.

He dropped the glass into his sink along with the other dishes that were settled there and turned the faucet on, washing out the strong scent. He then flicked off the light over top of his sink and walked back into the living room to the sight of a tiny tree in the corner and a beat up couch with an old TV thrown on the floor on top of a cardboard box.

He should be ashamed of his lack of possessions. He should be embarrassed at the fact that his TV was sitting on a broken box and his couch had more tears than fabric. But he can’t bother to be. He’d buy more furniture if he could.

He grabs his remote,  turns on the TV, and the BBC is talking all about Christmas and he begins to feel a little bit sick. He’d love to go home and spend the holidays with his parents so he wasn’t alone but his parents decided to go to India for Christmas and his work didn’t allow him the time off.

He turns the TV back off and settles into the corner of his couch, letting his body fit into its normal mould. He fishes for his phone out of one of the creases on his sofa and holds it in his hand. He unlocks it and sighs when he notices that no one has sent him any messages yet.

Dan had to admit that that stung.

None of his family had said anything to him and now, it was nearly midnight on Christmas Eve and he knew he was going to wake up tomorrow to the same disappointment.

Not having anything to look forward to, he slowly gets up from his sofa and heads down the short hallway to his bathroom. He quickly strips his clothes and takes a quick shower to try and sober his thoughts from the wine.

When he steps out, he wraps his torso in a towel and heads to his room, picking up a pair of old pyjama pants on the floor and hiking them up his legs. He throws his towel in a heap with the other laundry that he doesn’t have the time to do and then fishes for a shirt.

He eventually ends up on his mattress on the floor, the one that he can’t afford a bed frame for, and yanks his sheets up over him to combat the chill that’ll seep across his room when his heat turns off sometime in the night to conserve it.

When he falls asleep, he tries to ignore that tomorrow is Christmas and instead thinks about the bar he might go to tomorrow night to forget about everything along with all of the other sad and lonely people in London.

He dreams of nothing and when he wakes up, he feels nothing. He finds himself struggling to get out of his bed but the chill in the air is hovering over his skin, begging him to get up and get a warm coffee.

Dan eventually makes his way to the bathroom and then to the kitchen where he begins to pour some instant coffee into a mug, followed by some hot water. He stirs and watches the water turn brown and when he brings the drink to his lips, he nearly gags at the putrid taste. But it’s all he can afford so he stomachs it down and tries to pretend that it’s giving him a caffeine buzz and a liquid warmth.

He takes his mug with him into the living room and he tries to act surprised when he sees the bare tree thrown in the corner with no presents underneath. He doesn’t know why he still expects to find some magical gifts left for him but Santa isn’t real and no one is going to come into his apartment and deliver any to him.

He finds himself walking over to his sofa and plopping down, sitting on something hard underneath his butt. He shuffles and reaches under himself to pull out his cell phone that he had just sat on. As he goes to set it down, he notices that when the screen flashed on, he had a text message.

Dan hadn’t been expecting any text messages today.

He looked it over and a feeling of warmth spread over his chest.

It was from a number he didn’t recognize. He wasn’t even sure how someone would have gotten his number, but the message was enough for him. All it read was Merry Christmas with a copy and pasted Christmas tree but it made Dan smile stupidly big.

So maybe his family wouldn’t wish him a Merry Christmas, but this strange number had and that was something.

2012

Christmas Eve finds Dan out with friends in the town centre, enjoying a few drinks at the local pub. It’s the first year that he’s had friends to spend Christmas Eve with and to Dan, it was nice.

But as he takes a sip of a raspberry beer and looks outside to the soft blowing snowflakes under the lamplight, he almost wishes he was back at his flat. For one, it was slightly cold in the pub and the alcohol hasn’t worked in his system yet. Two, his friends weren’t too keen on doing anything besides get shit-faced and Dan wasn’t looking into actually getting drunk.

He more or less just wanted to get his mind off from the fact that he, once more, didn’t have the availability to go home for Christmas so he was alone all over again for another year. If it wasn’t for his friends—which now he think that term is used very lightly—inviting him out after work, he would still be alone in his flat.

“Got a lot on your mind?”

Dan looked up from his beer at his co-worker Jessie. She was a nice person. Always smiling but not so happy that she’s unbearable to be around. She was a nice balance. He enjoyed working with her at the restaurant.

He shrugged. “Normal thoughts, really.”

She nodded. “Same.” Her lips smacked and then she raised her own glass to her lips.

He watched her slowly move a strand of dark hair and tuck it behind her ear before she pursed her lips and rose her glass back to them. Dan had to admit that Jessie was quite pretty. Maybe even beautiful.

Wait, he shouldn’t be thinking about Jessie like this. He was lonely. It was Christmas Eve. This was stupid and he was thinking recklessly. Isn’t there also a rule that you shouldn’t do anything with a coworker?

He shook his head.

These were stupid thoughts.

He continued to mindlessly chat to Jessie across the pub table until the bar announced they were doing one last round. Eventually, he found himself leaving with her, both of them dizzy but not intoxicated.

They shared a taxi—just to split the cost— but Jessie still ended up in his flat that night, sharing a bed with him in more ways than one. He rang in Christmas with him and Jessie tangled between scratchy cotton sheets.

When he woke up the next morning, she was gone. But he knew that would happen. As awkward as it was, it was going to be even more awkward when he has to see her at work the next day. But he wasn’t in the correct mindset to deal with that today.

He grabbed his phone, fully aware to have an array of mixed texts that would range from his mum wishing him a Merry Christmas to his brother asking when he was coming home.

But instead, he had a message from an unknown number. It read Merry Christmas. Have a good year :) and Dan was confused. He didn’t know where it came from or who it was. But then he saw the message with the Christmas tree from last year.

The same person had sent him a message again this year...should he be creeped out? Probably. But is he? No. Because the fact that this person cared enough to text him again made him happy.

He responded back, just saying Merry Christmas.

He won’t get a message back but he doesn’t care.

2014  

This is the first year that Dan has a real Christmas tree in his flat. Maybe because this is also the first time that he’s not alone in nearly three years. This year, he gets to share Christmas with his boyfriend Carter.

It was Carter’s idea to get a tree. Dan was so used to not having one that he didn’t even notice that much of a difference whether or not they have one, but Carter insisted and Dan has to admit that it does fill the empty corner of his flat.

It feels good, different, but good, to finally not be alone on a Christmas Eve in London. He was so used to the feeling that when Carter insisted on them staying at their flat for Christmas, he very nearly declined. But now that he’s here, sitting in front of the fireplace that is now being lit, snuggled on Carter’s chest, he’s glad for their decision.

They’d already exchanged their gifts: Carter gave Dan a nice candle set that he had been wanting and in return, he gave Carter the new Armani sweater he couldn’t afford himself.

And now it’s just them. Dan has to admit that it feels good to not be alone on Christmas for once.

The sound of the doorbell ringing from inside the flat draws Dan from his haze. He slowly moves up from his position on Carter’s chest and looks towards the door. “Did you invite someone over?” Dan asks, standing up to walk to the door.

Carter shook his head. “I mentioned to my friends that we were just having a lay in tonight but I doubt any of them would come here.”

Dan nodded slowly. He had mentioned to his coworkers that he wasn’t going anywhere for Christmas but he seriously doubted them being here as well. The only possible answer was maybe his neighbor or something but he wasn’t sure.

He looked through the peephole in his door and peered into the hallway but no one was there. He was going to shrug it off as a prank or he took too long to answer the door so whoever was there assumed he wasn't home, until he happened to notice a wrapped box.

He opened the door slowly and looked down, seeing the messily wrapped gift sitting on his welcome mat. He bent down and picked it up, looking it over. The tag on the bow said hope you like your gift! Merry Christmas, Dan xxx

“Dan, who was at the door?” Carter called from the living room.

“Oh,” Dan turned around and shut the door, walking back to the living room with the gift in hand. “Someone just dropped this off.”

Carter put his hand out as if he wanted Dan to hand it to him so Dan passed the gift to him. He looked it over and then read the tag, “Was this from one of your parents?”

Dan shrugged. “I’m not sure. I can call them tonight, but I don’t think they would have left me a gift. That’s strange.”

“Are you gonna open it?” Carter asked. “This looks slightly suspicious.”

“It might have been a neighbor or something.” Dan countered. “I do have an elderly neighbor down the hall so it might be her.”

Carter handed him back the gift and Dan slowly began to take it apart, ripping the already messy wrapping. He slowly opened the box and came face to face with a brand new Studio Ghibli film, still wrapped in plastic, inside the box with a small note. He pulls it out and finds himself unable to stop smiling.

He was a nerd for Studio Ghibli films and this new version of My Neighbor Totoro was just amazing. But Dan still had no idea who it was from. So he slowly opened the note, despite Carter still staring at him.

Hey Dan! I hope you don’t find this weird but I remember you saying that you enjoyed Studio Ghibli films. I meant to give you this earlier but I chickened out. I hope you don’t find this creepy, or weird. I don’t mean it to be. I just want to be able to give you a gift that I think you’d like. Hope you don’t already have this one! It sounded like you had many already xxx

“Who was it from?” Carter asked, peering his green eyes over the top of the paper to see what was written.

“I think I have a secret admirer.” Dan says with an incredulous laugh. “This person literally knows who I am but I have no clue who they might be.”

Carter’s eyebrows furrowed and his blonde locks fell down his forehead. “Dan, that’s really creepy. This person could be a stalker.”

Dan quickly shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think it’s just someone that wants to be my friend.”

“That’s pretty much the definition of a stalker.” Carter presses.

Dan rolls his eyes. “It’s fine, Carter.” He leans over and presses a kiss to Carter’s cheek. “I promise.”

Carter gives him a look of I don’t believe you but I trust you and the conversation ends. Dan takes the gift to his bedroom and places the note in his bedside drawer along with other miscellaneous items.

That night, after he and Carter got ready for bed, he hears his cell phone vibrate next to him and he slowly picks it up to see a familiar message from a familiar unknown number.

Hope you liked your gift and it didn’t come across as weird. That’s the last thing I want. I hope you have a great Christmas Dan!

Dan falls asleep with a smile on his face. He might not know where he will be in one year, but he does know that this same number will be here for him.

2015

“Doing anything fun for Christmas this year?”

Dan looked up at his longtime co worker Phil and shook his head. He didn’t have any plans because he was back to his lonely self again for Christmas this year after the unexpected break up with Carter that September. He kind of figured that he’d be alone again come Christmas time. Carter had acted pretty strangely following the gift that Dan had gotten at Christmas.

“No,” Dan answers truthfully. “I’m probably just gonna sit home and have a few drinks and then go to bed at nine.”

Phil laughs in the most unique way, with his tongue poking out between his teeth. Over the last four years that he has worked with Phil, they haven't even talked to each other that much. Just little hit or miss convos if they walked by each other while on the floor. But ever since Dan got promoted to senior bartender and Phil became a manager at the restaurant, they saw each other a little bit more and more each time they worked.

He’s grown used to Phil. His charismatic charm and his childlike presence was refreshing in this place that caused them both hell on a daily basis. He liked when Phil would waltz over to the bar and take a seat to talk before the restaurant even opened to the public.

“Literally me.” Phil said with a laugh. “I’m probably gonna watch rom-coms with my dog Buffy and then pass out for the night.”

Dan stopped what he was doing—which was just staking the glasses under the bar—and looked up at Phil. “You have a dog named Buffy?”

Phil nodded with a smile. “Named her after my favorite person in the world!”

“And who might that be?”

“Buffy Summers of course!” Phil answered, turning on the stool to sit at the bar. “The only good vampire slayer to ever exist.”

Dan smiled at him. “You were a Buffy nerd?”

Phil nodded, his mouth curling up into a massive smile. “I still am and I’m proud of it.”

“That’s amazing.” Dan answered. “I’ve never even seen that show before.”

Phil looked actually offended at him. “You’ve never seen Buffy?!”

Dan shook his head. “Before my time, mate.”

“How old are you?”

“24.”

“Ahh.” Phil said, smiling at him. “You’re just a baby.”

Dan scoffed. “Says Grandpa over here.”

Phil laughed. “I’m 28.”

“Still old.”

The conversation stalled for a moment so Dan went back to stacking his glasses again. But Phil started speaking once more. “So you really have no plans for Christmas? A bit sad, don’t you think?”

Dan let out a sigh. “I mean, yes and no.” He says. “I’m mostly always alone on Christmas so that doesn’t really bother me anymore, but each year since I moved to London and began working here, I’ve been getting this text from an unknown number that tells me Merry Christmas. Last year, this number got me a gift and left it on my doorstep.”

When he looked up from the glasses, Phil wasn’t looking at him. His attention was diverted to the a small speck of dust on the counter. He picked at it with his fingernail and didn’t say anything for a moment. “Do you know who the unknown number is?”

Dan shook his head. “Wouldn’t be an unknown number if I did.” He said. “I don’t know. I’m not creeped out by it in the least. I think it’s rather endearing that someone is sending me a message every year. But I’d like to know who it is.”

“Did you text the number back?”

“One year I did.” Dan says. “But they never replied.”

“Maybe you should try to text them again.” Phil says, finally looking up. “I’m sure they mean no harm.”

Dan nods, but notes the odd behavior that Phil suddenly began to show. The wheels in his head turn but he doesn’t make heads or tails of it in that moment.

Later that evening, after Dan has been home from work for a while, he texts the unknown number.

Dan: Hey, this is Dan. You text my number every year for Christmas and I’m curious to find out who you are.

When two hours went by and nothing had been texted back, Dan gave up and threw his phone across the bed. Maybe Carter was right…maybe this was creepy.

***

Christmas Eve came and went with nothing from the number. It left a slight pit in Dan’s chest. He got so used to receiving these messages that to not get them anymore was slightly sad.

It was stupid to get attached to an unknown entity but he had anyway. And now it’s Christmas and he’s sitting alone, with a dead tree in the corner undecorated, and nothing to even open.

He’s about to sleep his day away, not even waste his breath, when his phone vibrates.

You said you wanted to know who I am...so come open your door.

Dan felt goosebumps flow up his spine. He could run and not open the door. Or he could call the police. Or this person could be harmless.

He hoped it was the later because he was already up and walking to the door out of curiosity. He made it to the door and looked out the peephole, but he couldn’t make out who was standing there.

He undid his locks and then grabbed the handle and twisted, letting the door come open with a swing.

Standing on his doorstep was Phil. The same Phil who was his co worker. The one he had just started getting to know…

”Surprise?” Phil asked, his hands in his pockets. “I feel like this is weird so I can leave.”

Dan shook his head and stopped him. “No! No! Please, don’t go. I just...I have some questions?”

Phil let out a sad sign. “Well, Dan. I can probably answer them all right now.”

“Well, come in at least.” Dan insisted, moving out of the way.

Phil slowly walked inside of his apartment and dragged his feet. When they got far enough inside, Dan shut the door and ushered for Phil to come to his kitchen to sit down. So they walked there and both took a seat.

Phil takes a deep breath and Dan sees his eyes fall to his hands in his lap.

“Ever since you walked into the restaurant for your first day of work, I’ve had a crush on you. But here you were, this beautiful brown eyed man and I was just this lanky emo boy who had no business liking you. I was too scared to ever say anything to you. I don’t think I could even if I wanted to.” Phil stopped. “So I asked around and got your number and that’s when I sent you the first text.”

Dan sucked in a breath, watching the raven haired male continue to speak, pushing his glasses back against his nose before he ran his hand through his quiff. “I never was going to give you a present. But I really really wanted to after talking to you briefly about Studio Ghibli. So I got your address from Jessie and came here. I was gonna wait and give you the gift myself when I came to your door but I realized how god awful it looked and I ditched.”

“Phil,” Dan says carefully. “I would have loved for you to give me my gift in person. I was so happy to get it, you have no idea. For the past four years, your messages were what got me through the holidays. I loved knowing I was gonna get a message from you...I just wish you came forward sooner.” Dan says with a laugh. “You’ve been pining over me for four years now, that’s too long.”

Phil lets out a watery sigh. “I feel like this is stupid because I probably look creepy now and I’ve ruined any friendship we may have and…”

Dan let his hand reach out and steady Phil’s that was shaking at his side. “I loved what you did, Phil. There is nothing creepy about it...well, maybe on paper it is but to me it was so endearing.”

Phil looked slowly up at him. “It was?”

Dan nodded. “I’ve never been so miserable as I have been every holiday since I moved here. If you’d have come forward sooner, I might have been less lonely on Christmas.”

“What do you mean?” Phil asks, his voice soft and quiet.

“Phil,” Dan begins. “Do you wanna go out to coffee with me sometime this week?”

2016

Just like almost every other year since 2011, it comes as no surprise that Dan is once again alone on Christmas. But this year, it’s different.

Dan’s not alone because he has no one to spend Christmas with, in fact, it’s the exact opposite. He has a loving boyfriend now, and many more friends. And he even spent Christmas Eve with some of his co workers who were doing fun Christmas parties.

This year was different because Phil had to go home for Christmas to the Isle of Man, so Dan was alone because of that. Not because he had no one to be there for him anymore. He had Phil, who very nearly almost didn’t go home so he could spend the holidays with Dan.

But it’s been a year since they’ve began to date, and Dan doesn’t want to intrude on the family Christmases yet. So he told Phil to go and he’d stay back this year and look over the flat.

It feels good though, to know that when he’ll eventually get sad and begin to miss Phil a lot, that he can just text Phil and ask him to Skype. It also feels good to know now, that he won’t be alone anymore for Christmas.

He’s in it for the long haul with Phil by his side.

On Christmas morning, he checks his phone and smiles.

He has a message from that familiar unknown number, except it’s not unknown anymore. It’s contact now says Phil <3 and he knows that each year, he’ll forever be getting that message wishing him a Merry Christmas.

But now it reads “Merry Christmas, love! Hope you have a good day! I’ll be home tomorrow afternoon but I love and miss you lots. Skype later?” instead.